Lady A: Hey everyone and welcome back to The Jumper Chronicles! I do apologize for the long wait, but I was having some issues with this chapter, but now I'm back and ready to update!
Much thanks and love to all those who have faved, followed, and reviewed this story! Both Matt and myself truly appreciate your support and it means the world to us. Reminder: Ren is Matt's OC and Artz is mine.
Brief Recap: Our favorite time/space jumper was flashed away in a silver light and found herself in the First Doctor's Tardis, with a First Ren no less. After hearing the tale of the Seer, Artz took it upon herself to make things right. She sought out the Doctor and told him what had happened to Ren. The Oncoming Storm threatened to appear, but fortunately, the Timelord was able to regain control of himself.
Now on with the show!
Chapter Three: A Tale of Two Teachers
The crimson haired time/space jumper known as Artz was currently pacing the Doctor's study. Susan, Theta's granddaughter, was sitting off to the side, watching the red head pace out her frustration. Ren was currently leaning against the wall opposite of the dark haired teenager and the Doctor, himself, was standing in front of his desk, holding the lapels of his suit in a dignified manner.
For the last several hours, the Timelord and the jumper had been discussing how she had come to be in this world. Their discussion had quickly deteriorated into a shouting match of ever-growing intensity. Artimes growled in frustration, running a hand through her long red locks in exasperation as she paced.
"What more do you want me to say? I'm a bloody fricking Whovian from a parallel world! No, I have no idea how I got here! I've told you that a thousand times already!" She shouted angrily.
"Preposterous! You must have some idea at how you came to be in our world!" The Doctor shouted back.
She whirled around, her hands clenched and unknown to the jumper, her eyes were glowing with a swirling silver light. No words came from her as objects began to deatomize around her. Susan let out a squeak of fright as the chair beneath her disintegrated. Ren was in front of the red head instantly, her hands on shoulders.
"Artz, calm down. Take deep breaths." The grey haired Timelady instructed.
The ginger did as she was told and the silver light faded from her eyes. She leaned heavily against Ren, her body feeling completely drained.
"Susan, be a dear and take Artz to her room. She needs to lie down for a bit." The Timelady requested.
Susan, who had returned to her feet, guided the exhausted jumper from the room, leaving Ren and the Doctor alone.
"She must be told…immediately." The Timelord stated.
The grey haired Timelady closed her eyes and focused on the crimson haired woman's timeline. She reopened her eyes as she sighed heavily.
"What is it, Ren? What did you see?" The Doctor asked quietly.
"We can't tell her…not yet anyways. She has to ask. Moreover, it is a fixed point in her time stream. To alter it, would have catastrophic consequences…for all of us." Ren answered sitting on the edge of his desk.
"Why do you trust her so much? You know nothing about her." He asked sitting next to her.
"I can't really explain it, Theta. It's almost like she is a part of me…like rejecting her would be like rejecting myself." She answered shrugging her shoulders.
"I don't trust her." He stated bluntly, earning an annoyed look from the grey haired Timelady.
"You trusted me when we first met. What makes her any different than me?" Ren snapped her own eyes flickering with a glowing gold light for a moment.
The Doctor opened his mouth to defend himself, but no words came.
"I thought as much." The Timelady stated getting to her feet.
The grey haired Timelady walked out of the study at a brisk pace, her anger and frustration with the Timelord rolling off her being in waves.
It had been almost three weeks since Artimes had lost her temper in the Doctor's study. For the most part, she had been avoiding him. She spent most of her time with Ren and Susan. Ren would read with her in the library or play games and watch TV in the theatre room. Susan would commonly gush to her about her days at school and pointed out the many mistakes in human history and science.
The time/space jumper knew it was only a matter of time before Ian and Barbara would show up and a part of her was not looking forward to it. The two teachers had seemed so idiotic and inflexible when she had first watched Classic Who and she had spent a good portion of the first several episodes wanting to slap Barbara and punch Ian.
She honestly hoped that she wouldn't lose her temper around them, because she wasn't quite certain what she would do. She was already aware of the slight changes in her personality. She was braver, more compassionate, and a slightly bit easier to anger. She had always prided herself on being able to control her emotions but ever since coming to this universe, she had been far more emotionally open than she would have liked, but there seemed to be no way in stopping it…it just was.
Lady Luck was not her side because she bumped into the Timelord she had been trying to avoid and they ended up in another argument, ending with the ginger agreeing to picking up Susan from school. Once dressed in appropriate attire, she exited the sentient time ship and made her way to Coal Hill High School.
The dark haired teenager smiled brightly upon seeing the crimson haired woman. She waved goodbye to Ian and Barbara and joined the jumper on the sidewalk.
"Hey Artz! Had another fight with Grandfather?" Susan surmised as they began to walk.
"Don't I always. That's all we seem to have done since I got here." Artimes replied noticing that the teen's teachers were following them in a car.
"It won't always be like that, Artz. He'll warm up to you eventually. Gum?" Susan responded offering a stick of gum to the ginger.
Artimes shook her head no as they entered the junkyard where the Tardis was parked. The ginger glanced back briefly and sure enough, the teachers were there, but looked to be in deep conversation with one another. The ginger sighed and followed after the dark haired teen, not wanting to get involved in the little argument that the two teachers were going to have with the Doctor…though it would be entertaining to watch considering that the Timelord was very early in his time stream and didn't know how to handle humans just yet.
Artimes quickly made her way back to the Tardis and changed into something more comfortable; a pair of blue jeans, a white short sleeved shirt, black converse and a black leather jacket. What could she say, she was a girl from the twenty first century. She reentered the control room and discovered Ren snickering by the monitor.
"Anything good on?" The ginger asked a smile on her face.
"Oh yes, bit of comedy on right now. He really has no idea how to deal with humans, does he?" Ren answered gesturing to the screen and chuckling.
The red head glanced at the screen and nearly busted out laughing at the perturbed expression on the Timelord's face. He was getting rather annoyed by the constant pestering of the two teachers. Susan made things worse by alerting her teachers that she was inside the police box. Pretty soon after, Barbara rushed in and came to a grinding a halt as she noticed her surroundings.
"Penny in the air." Artimes whispered to Ren, who snorted slightly in amusement.
Ian followed the Doctor in and started gaping like a fish.
"Susan, close the door." The Timelord ordered.
The dark haired teen did as she was told and flipped a switch on the console, closing the door. After a few words, Barbara finally got her brain to start again.
"Where are we?" The history asked in awe and confusion.
"And the penny drops." Artimes mumbled inaudibly.
Ren went to console the Doctor when he started complaining and the crimson haired time/space jumper simply ignored them, already fed up with the two teachers.
"Who are those women?" Barbara asked.
"Artz." The ginger responded automatically.
"The Seer." Ren answered instantly.
"Artz and the Seer?" Ian echoed in confusion.
"Can we skip to the part where they ask why it's bigger on the inside?" Artimes asked in annoyance.
"But it can't be! It was just a police box!" Ian practically shouted in disbelief.
"Well obviously it is, so don't waste my time." The ginger snapped.
Ren placed her hand on the jumper's shoulder to keep her from verbally ripping the science teacher a new one. The ginger added a low tolerance for stupidity to her ever-growing list of changes to her personality. She was usually much more tolerant of these things, but apparently, being dragged from one parallel world to another really mucked up one's personality traits.
"I'm skipping this bit." Artimes whispered to Ren and left the room quickly.
The time/space jumper wandered the corridors, trying to understand what she was even doing here. She shouldn't be in the Whoniverse in the first place. There was no rhyme or reason to it. She did not know how she got to this reality or why. Sadly, a part of her wanted to go home…back to what she knew and what was familiar, but fortunately, that part of her was rather miniscule. A larger portion of her was rather happy to be away from the dull and boring existence that had been her life in the other world.
The ginger was still coming to grips with the very cold and very harsh reality that the Timelord she loved so much was completely off the market. The Seer had already claimed his hearts in the future and because she had lived it, there was no chance in changing. She had lost before she had even begun. That realization was a very hard and bitter pill to swallow, but she couldn't blame the Doctor. Ren walked the slower path and had more time to get to know him while she, the time/space jumper, just appeared at random in his life. She was nothing more than a nuisance...completely unimportant.
She gasped as her vision suddenly went silver and she was standing on some sort of cliff.
"Help me! Someone help! I can't hold on!" A boy screamed.
Artimes ran to the edge and saw a boy with sandy blonde hair and green eyes, clinging to the cliff face just two feet below the edge.
"Oh my god! Hold on! I'm coming!" She replied immediately making her way over the side and climbing down to him, "Wrap your arms around my neck and I'll carry you back up."
The boy looked at the cliff he was holding onto then at her, fear dancing in his eyes.
"You can do it." She coaxed smiling at him reassuringly.
"I'm scared." He whispered tears in his eyes.
"And you think I'm not. I hate heights, but I made a promise when I chose my name, a name that means Doctor, and it's that promise that makes me do the impossible, despite my fear." She replied confidently.
"What was the promise?" He asked.
"Never cruel or cowardly, never give up, never give in. The promise I live by." She answered softly.
She watched as courage and resolve entered the boy's forest green orbs. He reached for her and managed to get onto her back, holding on tightly.
"Very good. Now here we go." She stated happily.
She climbed back up to the top and deposited the boy and the ground. She then noticed the burnt orange sky above her head and the silver leafed trees lining the cliff. Her eyes widened when she realized that she was on Gallifrey and it was beautiful, truly stunning.
"I'm Theta, by the way, Theta Sigma." The boy introduced, "Thanks for saving my life."
Her eyes snapped to his in shock. She had just saved the boy who would one day become the Doctor, the man she loved.
"Do you know a Serenity or a Ren, by any chance?" She asked.
The boy shook his head no and the jumper realized that this was the time before he had met the Seer.
"Is she important?" He asked curiously.
Her heart thudded hard in her chest causing the sensation to ripple across her chest like she had two hearts. In this moment, she had a choice. She could lie to him and say that Ren wasn't important, that she was someone he couldn't trust, and that he should stay far away from her, but she knew that it was selfish to do such a thing to the woman who had been so kind to her. The other option was to tell him the truth and lose him forever. She looked down at the ground…the decision having already been made by her heart.
"She's very important. One day, she'll be your best friend, someone you can really rely on, someone you will hold dear to you heart for a very long time." Artimes answered.
"It's you, isn't it?! You're Ren!" He exclaimed excitedly.
His words cut deep, deeper than any blade, but she knew that she had to do what was right and damn the consequences. She looked up at him with brave but sorrowful eyes, making him frown in confusion.
"No, I'm not Ren. Remember, I said that my name means Doctor and Serenity means calmness." She replied softly.
"Well I don't know this Serenity but I do know you, so when I graduate from the Academy, I will choose the name, The Doctor, and make the same promise you made when you chose your name. I'll save others like you saved me! The whole universe will know the name, Doctor. It's the only way I can repay you for saving me." He countered shocking her with his words.
Her eyes softened as she understood why she was brought to this time. She was meant to set him on the path that he would walk. She was meant to plant the seed that would one day grow into a legend. He pulled out a necklace with a black medallion on it. The medallion had a beautiful sparkling starburst that had gold and silver rays extending from the center which was a royal blue stone that seemed to glow with a soft blue light. He held it out to her.
"This was given to me by my brother. He said that I would know when to give it to someone and that someone would have a soul that shined like a supernova. They say that the eyes are the windows to the soul and I can see yours. So bright and so kind…I want you to have this." He stated placing it around her neck, shocking her yet again, "Because you are my Doctor, my guiding star, and I will never forget you or the promise you taught me."
She honestly felt like crying because in the end, he did forget her. His older self that she had just left was proof of that sad truth, but he never forgot the promise he made when he chose his name…the very same promise she made when she became the Doctor's Artz. Her body began to glow with a silver light and she knew her time was up.
"I have one more gift to give to you, Theta Sigma…a promise. No matter where you are or how far you run, I will always find you and I always be there…in the happy times and the sad times, in the light and in the darkness…because I am your Artz." She replied tilting his chin upwards and placing a kiss to his forehead.
The light whisked her away, back to the First Doctor, and she rose to her feet, determination in her eyes. She started walking towards the control room. She decided then and there that no matter how stubborn, arrogant, or downright frustrating he was, she would always be by his side. She would protect him, guide him, and if she had to, she would stop him when he goes too far…because that was who she was.
She was the Doctor's Artz.
Lady A: Voila! Chapter Three: A Tale of Two Teachers is over and done with! I got a bit off track but turned out that it was a good off track. Anyways, leave tons and tons of reviews and be on the lookout for Chapter Four: The Doctor and His Artz! Stay Tuned!
Sneak Preview
The Doctor was completely stunned by the sudden arrival of the time/space jumper. She smiled at him before pulling out a knife and cutting him loose.
"What are you doing here?" He demanded quietly.
"What's it look like? I'm saving you. I am, after all, your Artz." She answered cheekily.
He was going to chastise her and start up another argument, but then he saw the medallion hanging around her neck. His mind brought forth a very old memory from his early childhood of a ginger haired woman saving his life. He had given that woman the starburst medallion and had chosen his name and promise to honor her.
'No matter where you are or how far you run, I will always find you and I always be there…in the happy times and the sad times, in the light and in the darkness…because I am your Artz.' Her voice echoed in his mind.
He stared at her with wide eyes as she cut the others free. It was the same woman…the woman who had saved him when he was a boy and made him into the man he was today, The Doctor. A strange but warm feeling blossomed in his chest as he gazed upon her, all doubts and misgivings slipping away into nothingness. He held his head high as he looked at her with pride. She was his Artz and she always would be.
Lady A: *snickers* So he finally gets it, but how will this affect The Seer? Will it complicate his growing admiration for the Timelady or will time be rewritten for our favorite time/space jumper? You'll just have to continue reading and find out, now won't you? *smiles like the Cheshire cat* Until next time, dearies. *vanishes in a puff of blue smoke*