Chapter 7
For one who was able to feel the seconds tic by, could feel the very turning of the Earth, the Doctor was no longer sure how long he had been in this cave, strapped to the steel table, filled with pain and fear. Every moment seemed to blend into the next, broken only between times of pain and less pain.
Ka'ras was still just as silent as he had been that second time. One by one the Doctor's senses began to dull and narrow as the days of pain and torture dragged on.
The only sound that he could hear was the sound of his own screams and the rattling of the metal restraints as he flailed against them. As well as the scrape of the metal door allowing Ka'ras entrance and exit.
Smell was that of his own sweat and occasionally the stench of his scorched skin whenever Ka'ras chose to use the electrified rod against his battered body.
Sight was a blur of red and black with a glimpse of Ka'ras' evil grin from time to time.
Taste was his own saline tears. As well as fear, coming to him like a sharp metallic twinge at the back of his throat every time he heard the metal door grate open.
The only sense that never seemed to fade was touch. If anything it became heightened and super sensitive. There were times that Ka'ras would inject him with a drug that would do this. It made even the touch of the table against his back and the restraints around his wrists and ankles scream with pain. On those days Ka'ras barely had to touch him to get the reaction that he was after.
His throat was raw and beginning to blister and bleed from the screams that were drawn from his ragged body everyday. He tried to suppress it. He had tried to tell himself that he didn't need to scream, that the pain was just as much if he held it in than not. But there was no way to stop it from happening. It was something that was no longer under his control.
But everyday, he seemed to be able to produce less and less volume with his screams and he felt as his body wasted away around him. Now, every time that he was left alone, all he could do was float in oblivion of pained unconsciousness.
He had been broken, and still there was nothing offered to him to end it. There was no reason, no point behind it all, just more of the same agony everyday.
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"Well, Rose. Here we are. Center of the Asteroid Helios," The Doctor announced to Rose.
"We're here already?"
"You should know that it doesn't take all that long to get anywhere in the TARDIS," the Doctor told her.
"Yeah, it just seems that I have been trying to get here for so long that it was all too easy."
The Doctor just looked at her and then began to punch up the viewer to see what was outside. On the screen a vision of the future TARDIS showed. Apparently they landed right next to the other one.
"Well, it's a good thing that we didn't land on top of it. Crossing the same time vortex could have destroyed the galaxy," the Doctor said.
Rose wasn't paying attention anymore. She was staring at the door, trying to figure what she needed to do. "I'm coming," she whispered before saying louder, "I'm ready. Thank you and I'll let you know how it turns out."
"I'm sure we'll both be fine," he said as he pulled the lever that opened the door. "And just so you know, I won't remember any of this. I plan on wiping both mine and Sarah's memories of ever meeting you."
Rose glanced at the Doctor and nodded. She figured that something of the sort would have to happen in order to maintain the timeline. Then she turned back to the open door. She took a deep breath before looking down at her dog and said, "Come on K-9. Let's go find the Doctor."
With that she walked out with K-9 close on her heels. As they cleared the doorway, Rose turned back around to see the doors closing and hear the engines of the TARDIS begin to grind as it faded away.
"Well, it's just us now K-9. Any ideas?"
"Negative, mistress."
"Me either," she sighed as she turned and faced her Doctor's TARDIS. She wondered if maybe there was something in there that could help her. She had carried her TARDIS key with her where ever she went since she had been left in the other world on a chain around her neck.
As she began to pull the key free, she physically heard what she had been hearing in her head for weeks. She could hear him screaming in pain. And this time, it was near by instead of feeling so distant as it had been.
She was about to take off after the sound when K-9 interrupted her. "Mistress, I am detecting two human life forms in the opposite direction."
Rose paused a second and considered. "That must be Jack. I don't know about the other, but they probably don't belong here either." She thought another second. "Alright. K-9, you go see what you can do for Jack and whoever he is with. I'll go to the Doctor. Bring Jack with you. I'll probably need his help."
"Yes mistress." And with that K-9 rolled off away from where they had heard the scream.
As she crept down the halls, she pulled out the small handgun that Gwen had given her before she had left. She felt rather silly with it. All the time that she had traveled with the Doctor and gotten into so much trouble, she had never had to carry a gun before.
But now she knew that it was the only defense that she had. She was no where near as brilliant and witty as the Doctor and if he had been unable to get himself out of this with those things, then it obviously had come down to need force.
She cringed as she heard him cry out again, this time closer. She tried to think to him, to tell him to just hold on a moment more. She was almost there.
She slid along the wall, dreading running into someone, but no one seemed to be around. The place felt deserted.
Finally, she made it to a small wooden door set into the rock hallway. This was where he was, she was sure of it.
Quietly and slowly, she pushed open the door and slid into the dark room. There was a single light ahead of her that was shining down on a raised table. She was looking at it from the back but could tell that there was someone laying on it. There was also another man, standing to the right of the table, holding a slender rod and sparked at the end.
Rose closed the door behind her and began to make her way around the room. Trying to come up silently behind the man. As she maneuvered around, she was able to see a hand stretched out on the table. There was dried blood around the wrist where the metal restraint that held it had cut into it. It appeared that the metal was still biting into the flesh as it was currently bearing all of the person's weight.
Rose knew who it was. It was her Doctor that was trussed up on that table, too weak to support himself, and was hanging in the metal clasps.
Rose watched in horror as the man with an evil grin plunged the sparking end of the rod into the Doctor and heard as his screams echoed in the room once again. In a mad rush, she came up behind the man and slammed the barrel of her gun into his back with one hand as she grabbed his throat with the other.
"Stop now or I'll kill you!" she demanded.
Immediately the man pulled the rod away from the Doctor who collapsed once again, nearly unconscious.
For the first time, she was able to actually see him. He looked terrible. Blood dripped from his wrists and ankles. Bruises of various hues and colors covered his body, which was severely shrunken from when Rose had last seen him. He had never been very meaty, but now he was nearly a skeleton. His eyes were sunken and his skin was nearly translucent. And pain lines seemed permanently etched into his face.
A tear rolled down Rose's face as she looked at him and what had been done to him. But she quickly pulled herself out of it as the man she was holding spoke.
"Well my dear. You certainly took your time, but you made it at last."
Anger flared through her as she jabbed the gun into his side and demanded, "Release him, or you die!"
The man chuckled softly. "I do not think so my dear. I have been waiting ever so long for you to show up. I can not just let you walk away with him, now can I?"
"What are you talking about?"
"Why do you think we captured him but to bring you to us." He said as he dropped the rod from his hand onto a small switch on the floor. Suddenly an alarm began to sound as men rushed into the room, grabbing a hold of Rose and wresting the gun from her hand.
She struggled against them, but there were too many and were too strong for her. Before she knew it, she was being held in place by two burly men, facing the man who she had recently threatened.
"It is so good to meet you Rose, I have heard so much about you," the man said.
"Who the hell are you?" Rose spat.
"I am Ka'ras. I must admit that I had doubts that you were ever going to show. But my master has proven to be right yet again."
"Why do you want me? What have I got to do with anything?"
Ka'ras chuckled. "You… nothing. It is what you hold that I… that we, my master and I, want."
"What I hold? What's that supposed to mean?!" she demanded.
"Well, let us see if we can find out, hmm," he said as he turned and picked up the rod.
As he did so, a grating voice whispered, "Rose?"
Rose looked and saw that the Doctor was awake again. He was looking at her as if she were a mirage. He couldn't believe what his eyes and ears were telling him. He had forced himself out of his unconscious state when he thought he had heard her voice, and now there she was, standing in front of him.
"Doctor! It's me. I'm here!" she called to him.
Slowly he blinked as his fogged mind tried to take in what he was seeing. "No, it can't be," he said.
"I am. I'm here."
"Of course she is Doctor, thanks to you," Ka'ras said cheerfully.
"What?" the Doctor said as he turned to look at Ka'ras once again.
"Did you not wonder what the Psycho recorder was for? We have been sending your voice, your thoughts and feelings, to her, bringing her here."
The Doctor tried to shake his head but it hurt too much. "But she can't be. She was cut off. I sealed the only way."
"Then she is a very determined girl when it comes to you, Doctor," Ka'ras said with his evil grin. "Let us just see how determined she is."
With that he plunged the rod into the Doctor's side yet again. Another scream was torn from his lips as Rose watched his body arc in agony.
"No! Stop it! If it's me you want then stop!" she pleaded.
But Ka'ras persisted and dragged the pain out, shoving the rod into the Doctor's side, nearly drawing blood with the pressure.
"Stop!" Rose cried again.
Finally Ka'ras pulled away. The Doctor hung in his restraints yet again, gulping for air. But this time he fought against the blackness that was trying to take him. He had to know what this man wanted with Rose. It was the whole reason that he had gone through this and he needed to understand.
"Why are you doing this?!" Rose sobbed, mirroring the Doctor's thoughts.
Ka'ras walked over to Rose and looked at her. It felt as if he was trying to look through her and into her. His eyes bore down on her before he seemed to make up his mind.
He walked back to the Doctor and said, "Well Doctor. It seems that the girl is right. I have no more use for you. Any final words?"
"No!" Rose called. "You have me, let him go," she cried.
"And allow him to come back and rescue you? Hardly my dear. As I was saying, any final words Doctor?"
With his head hung, the Doctor took several deep breaths as he tried to find a last bit of strength. Finally, he raised his head and looked at Rose. There were tears streaming down her face, reminding him of how she had looked standing on the shores of Bad Wolf Bay as he had said goodbye.
He had never been able to finish his goodbye to her then, and now seemed like the last time that he would have to do so.
"Rose Tyler…" he started.
She knew what it was he was doing, and she didn't want to hear it. "No, don't you dare say goodbye to me now. Not after I have finally gotten you back."
"Oh, Rose. I'm so sorry." He took one more deep breath and said as strongly as he could, "Rose Tyler, I love you."
Rose tried to choke back the sob that was building in her throat as Ka'ras said, "Ah, what touching final words. Well, goodbye, Doctor," he said.
And with that he viciously shoved the rod against him once again. Both the screams of the Doctor and Rose echoed through the cave as Ka'ras coolly held his instrument in place. He held it there far longer than he had ever done before, dialing up the amount of energy on it. Eventually, he knew that this would kill the Doctor. But he had to risk it. He needed to evoke a reaction from the girl.
And a reaction was exactly what he got.
Suddenly the room was filled with brilliant golden light that seemed to erupt from Rose. The men that held her were knocked to the floor as the light swirled around her and spilled from her eyes.
"Stop!" she commanded. Her voice rang with a power that was not there before.
Ka'ras smiled as he finally pulled the rod away and let it drop to the floor once again.
"Bad Wolf, I presume," he said.
"Release him," she commanded.
"And if I refuse?"
"I will destroy you. It will be as if you were never even born."
Ka'ras smiled as he reached into his pocket and drew out a small cylindrical device. "I do not think so," he said as he pressed a small blue button on the top. Nothing happened.
He looked at the thing in his hand as he watched himself press the button again. Still nothing happened.
Rose began to walk towards him and he began to frantically press the button as for the first time his cool and cold demeanor began to fade into panic.
As she drew closer, Rose began to talk, "You and your master believed that you could capture me, control my power. And it is true, what power I have is from the time vortex, which the Time Lords have been able to control. But the difference is, where a time vortex is alive, it is not sentient. I am. The moment that you called me forth, I could see all that there was, is, and will be. I know what you were planning and it is I who destroyed your instrument." She was nearly on top of Ka'ras now. His panic had melted into outright terror. He had allowed the device to roll from his fingers and hit the floor as he seemed to melt before her.
"Tell me why I should let you live?" Rose asked.
Ka'ras lost his tongue. He was completely unable to think of what to say to save himself.
"Because you're not a murderer, Rose," the Doctor said. Rose looked up to the Doctor who was just coming around. He couldn't understand how it was that she had the Time Vortex yet again, but the how didn't matter so much right now.
"Rose, let it go. It will burn you," he said.
She shook her head. "Not yet," she answered. "I have been with Rose all along. I never truly left her. I have been remaking her, making it so she would be able to handle my power. I have not yet finished, but she and I could not let you die. We want you safe, my Doctor," she said, echoing what she had said all that time ago on the game station.
"Let her go. She is not a murderer," he told the Bad Wolf.
She smiled as for a second the light intensified and swirled around the men in the room. All of them dropped to the floor as the light touched them, including Ka'ras. The light swirled around Rose once as she said, "they are asleep, as I shall be for a time."
With that the light drew into her through her eyes and then faded from them as well. Rose staggered a step as the power left her.
"Rose!" the Doctor called.
"I'm alright," she said as she placed a hand to her forehead. Looking around she tried to comprehend what had just happened. "What?"
"Never mind right now Rose," he said. "Let's just get out of here."
She looked at him once again and nodded. She walked over to him and forced open the metal clasps that held his wrists and ankles. Then reaching up, she wrapped her arm around him under his arms and helped him down.
He nearly collapsed face first into the floor as he tried to get his feet under him but Rose was at least able to keep him from hitting the ground as she took all of his weight.
It took a few minutes, but, using her to take most of his weight, he was able to get to his feet and they began to make their way out with him leaning on her heavily.
It was very slow, but she made sure that she didn't utter a single word of complaint. She knew that he was completely drained and if he thought for a moment that he was hurting her or slowing her down, he would try and walk on his own. Which she knew he could not do.
She led him out the back wooden door that she had come in through and began to guide him down the stone corridor. He was breathing heavily and with every step, more of his weight came to bear on her.
"Doctor, we're almost there," she tried to coax him. But he was fading fast. In a few more steps Rose had to lower him to the ground.
Leaning against the wall, he gasped out, "I can't, Rose."
Catching her own breath, Rose shook her head. "We're almost there. The TARDIS is just around this corner. I'm not leaving you if I have to drag you there."
Just then they heard laser fire coming from down the next corridor. "Come on," she said as she reached down to help him up once again.
Knowing that there was no use in arguing with her, he tried to comply. But as he came away from the wall, his head began to spin as everything became dark. "Rose," he gasped just before he lost consciousness once again.
She had him half standing when he had called and suddenly she was holding all his weight yet again. She nearly crumpled under it, but she grabbed a hold of him and began to drag him as she had promised to do.
The sound of weapons was getting closer as she slowly made her way to the TARDIS. She could hear heavy footfalls running up behind her as she tried to hurry. But she knew that whoever it was, was gaining on her.
"Hey!" a familiar voice rang out. "Put him down!" it commanded.
With a slight smile Rose did so and turned around, "Gladly," she said.
Jack was standing there, weapon aimed at her, completely frozen on the spot, jaw nearly touching the floor. It took him a good ten seconds to actually respond. "Rose!?"
"Yeah. Now if you don't mind. I need some help here," she said waving at the Doctor.
"How?" Jack began to say as he crossed over to her.
"Never mind right now. Let's just get out of here."
Jack shook himself. "Right," he said as he bent over and practically threw the Doctor over his shoulder. Standing up he said, "Where's Martha and that mechanical Dog?"
"Right here!" Martha called as she, followed by K-9, came running up the next corridor.
Rose turned and felt her own jaw hit the floor. "Martha?!" she exclaimed.
The woman looked at her. "Yeah, and you are?"
"Martha, this is Rose, Rose, obviously you already know Martha. Now let's get out of here, shall we?" And he made his way over to the TARDIS. As he got to it he swore, "Damn. I don't have my key."
"Me either," Martha cried.
"Oh I do," Rose said as she pulled the key from around her neck and opened the TARDIS.
They all piled inside, followed lastly by K-9. Rose slammed the doors shut as Jack laid the Doctor on the floor and rushed over to the controls.
As he reached for the levers, a hand reached out and grabbed a hold of him as a knife was brought to his neck. "Touch those controls and you die," a cold voice whispered in his ear.
