Sorry! I have been at part time job all week (half term? what's that then?) Enjoy the new chapter!
I don't own Doctor Who or any of it's trademarks... shame really...
Rose and Mickey peered into the room where the tenth doctor was lying quite serenely, he seemed to be in either deep concentration or relaxation.
Rose and Mickey looked for a moment around the strange room. It was different to every other room in the Tardis… it seemed quite minimalist… yet developed, as if it has been there for many years, with strange relics, a recorder, a cricket bat, some strange form of shield, and something Mickey was convinced that he'd seen it on some Japanese cooking program. Was this the Doctor's bedroom? Well the Doctor's room, they were unsure whether he actually slept frequently or not. They both pondered on this as they cautiously tip-toed in, trying to be as quiet as possible. Hoping not to wake the doctor up from this apparently deep sleep.
Rose suddenly stopped. She realized that the Doctor was in too deep a sleep to hear them, she sighed with slight relief and walked towards the doctor looking with a mix of concern and curiosity.
She frowned slightly; the Doctor didn't seem to be in pain or in discomfort, in fact he had an extremely neutral expression on his face, it seemed ironic that he was ill or weak at all, despite the slight ebbing of his presence, as he became more and less opaque from time to time. She gently placed her hand on his face and make sure he wasn't' suffering from a fever.
He didn't seem too cold; however, she could feel a freshness... almost like when you walk out near the sea front… well… what Rose remembered of walking near the sea front.
She watched as he breathed gently, she had always found it strange that the Doctor seemed to inhale and exhale so silently, despite having two hearts. She decided to not dwell on the fact. Rose smiled at his slightly boyish features, they made him look endearing and youthful, considering how old he was… Which was very old. He'd always said over 900… Do all Time Lords live to be 900? Are all Time Lords like the Doctor? After some thought she concluded that he must have been an out of the ordinary time lord… Rose couldn't image a planet full of people as unique as the Doctor.
She felt more and more absorbed by the Doctor the more she stared at him in this sleeping unobtrusive state, for a moment Rose felt quite detached from the Tardis and everything else. She felt like she could have watched for an entire hour and not realized the time had gone by.
The silence was quickly broken when a mighty book came crashing down off a shelf on the opposite wall, it thudded loudly the sound echoed through the room and corridors. Rose turned her head quickly. Mickey was stood against the wall, he looked tense for a moment and then whispered in relief" Sorry!"
"Mickey you're such a klutz!" Rose said half annoyed, half smiling, now realizing that the Doctor was unable to hear them. She then stopped for a moment, and picked up the thick ancient looking book. It seemed quite dusty and worse for wear. It was leather bound and had golden ribbed pages on the inside, despite it's aged appearance, it must have originally looked quite splendid. It looked valuable, Mickey frowned when he looked at the cover, the Doctor never seemed the extravagant kind. "I didn't fink he was the rich type…"
"He isn't…" Rose strained to read the strange character's that were on the front. She opened the first page of the book. It had a young man's scruffy writing in it. The words 'Theta Sigma' were printed and embossed in fine gold lettering, however, the words were crossed out hurriedly and replaced with a crude hand written 'The Doctor.'
"What is it anyway?" Mickey asked coming closer to Rose, who was sat at the foot of the tenth Doctor's bed.
"I dunno." Rose said, looking perplexed, she turned over quite a few pages. "I'm sure I've seen this book before…" she flicked through a number of the first pages, she eventually stopped to see a list of names.
Susan, Barbara, Ian… All of the names were written in different hands of writing, all of the first hands of writing were quite formal and posh
"My teacher at school had writing just like that." Mickey said, sitting next to Rose on the bed. She flicked a few pages forward…
Polly, Jamie, Zoe…
All these names seemed slightly familiar from somewhere… But Rose couldn't think for a moment. And a few more pages…
Jo Grant, Harry Sullivan…Sarah-Jane Smith.
"We've met her." Mickey said, pointing out the journalist's rather neat hand writing.
"Yeah…" Rose said, looking through the pages quite engrossed… although she didn't really know why she was so interested, they were only names.
Romanadevoraterlunda…
"Oh come on!" Mickey said incredulously. "I refuse to believe that's a name."
Rose, for some reason recognised that name… she must have heard the Doctor mentioned it to her… she then remembered the occasion. It was when the Doctor had first let Rose travel with him, he was 'setting down some ground rules…' as he put it.
"Are all Time Lords like you Doctor?" Rose said, she was so excited that the Doctor had let her travel with him.
"Naaa." The ninth doctor said reading a random book about the growth of Cacti on the Planet Barcelona… wherever that was. "They're all boring…"
"Borin'?" Rose asked.
"Yep… boring boring people… all they do is complain all day…"
"Like you then?" Rose said quickly.
"Yo!... I can take you 'ome if you don't start behaving…" he then began to speak more seriously. "Except Romana…"the ninth Doctor paused. He looked quite forlorn. "She was different."
"Was she a friend?" Rose asked smirking, thinking Romana must have been his girlfriend. She wasn't looking at the Doctor and stared at the Tardis walls, having only just started travelling with the Doctor.
"Yeah…" the ninth doctor said. "She was special she was… she used to like the name Fred…"
"Doesn't she like it now?" Rose asked, unpacking her bag.
The ninth doctor laughed, with an air of irony. "No Rose… that's not what I meant…Anyway… Romana helped me the with Key to Time quest…"
"Sound interesting…" Rose said.
"It was an experience…" The ninth doctor became quite depressed. "She was the President of Gallifrey during the Time War…"
Tegan, Nyssa, Adric…
"She must be an alien…" Mickey pointed at a name. "Peri…isn't that a chicken?"
"It's short for Perpegillium…" Rose said quickly. "You tool."
"That's a real name?" Mickey said incredulously. Rose smiled at Mickey, she really did find him so cute sometimes.
"Course it is!" Rose added.
"A human name?" Mickey looked baffled.
"Errr yeah…" Rose smiled. "Haven't you heard of a weirder name?"
"There was this guy down the road called Tristan once…" Mickey added, as if recalling it from the distant past.
"Oh Mickey! You make me laugh you!" Rose smiled. She then carried on reading the list.
Mel…Ace…Charlie… Then their seemed to be a big gap in the list… and finally
"It's you!" Mickey pointed at Rose's name written on the book. Mickey recognised Roses' neat hand writing.
"I remember now… the Doctor made me sign it when I first entered the Tardis…" Rose said touching the page gently.
"What is this a crew manifest?" Mickey started, "I guess that these are all the people who have travelled with the Doctor…"
"It's my scrapbook…"
Mickey and Rose both turned around to see the Doctor sat up in bed. "So I don't forget anyone…Sorry… didn't mean to make you jump…"
"It's alright…No offence Doctor but wouldn't pictures be better… for you're scrapbook I mean?" Mickey said gently, trying to diffuse the situation with humour.
"Photographic memory." the tenth doctor said placidly, not sounding as excited and jolly as usual, looking at his fading hands and clenching them slightly. "But I always struggled with names." he said, with a slight smile. "No… it's not the names… I can always remember them… it's remembering the name with the face…"
"Not that you struggle with much." Rose added, also trying to add some cheer to the seemingly bleak situation.
"Well…" the tenth doctor said quietly. "Enough…"
"So how are you feeling?" Rose said with a slight urgency.
"Felt worse…" he said with a smile. "And better…" he added on a more solemn note. "But I wouldn't worry Rose…I always find a solution." He said, forcing a smile.
"That inspired confidence…" Mickey said quietly, trying not to discourage the doctor, yet at the same time making sure Rose could hear.
"Shut up!" Rose said, smacking him.
"It's alright Mickey." The Doctor added, making it obvious that he had heard him. "But I'll be fine, trust me…Anyway I've got number nine on the case…Why should I be worried?"
"Because you've got number nine on the case." Mickey added sharply.
"Mickey my other self's ego is panging with pain on the inside." The tenth doctor smiled, with a slight bit of sarcasm.
"I bet he is..." Mickey smiled.
"You know… for a small moment my inner…ness seemed to hurt slightly..." the ninth doctor said, with a degree of displeasure, but nothing too serious.
"Ah… of course…" the fifth doctor said, looking dubious, at his other self.
They had been conversing for quite some time, for over an hour in fact, talking about the current predicament and of course, as all re-generations of the doctor did, deviating from the point and discussing other matters.
"I think that I will be able to help or as you said… offer some advice…" the fifth doctor concluded.
"That'd be-"
"Fantastic… yes I thought as much." The fifth doctor finished. The ninth doctor looked shocked, for the first time, he had been completely predictable. He stood looking open mouthed and surprised. The fifth doctor ignored this and continued to speak.
"The solutions are simple enough if you have the right resources… Firstly… do you have a zero room? Or rather did you build one?" the fifth doctor asked, sounding hopeful and desperate at the same time.
"I knew there was something I'd forgotten about!" the ninth doctor said quite suddenly with a slight smile, almost impressed that he had suddenly remembered.
"I'll take that as a 'no' then…" the fifth doctor said looking quite unsurprised and disappointed.
"Don't you give me that! Who was the one who said… 'Jettison the Zero room' in the first place…" the ninth doctor said defensively.
"Alright then… the alternative… is that you'll have to go to where you are being summoned to with haste…time is of the essence!" the fifth doctor said with urgency.
"That's what I hate about being a time lord… one minute you've got bags of time… the next minute every second is a valuable commodity…but time is a passing thing… I'm sure I'll get over it." The ninth doctor finished sighing as if time was like a troubling wife that always seemed to nag at him and never leave him alone.
"I always liked Mandrivus it reminded me of The-" the fifth doctor began
"Eye of Orion… I know it does…" the ninth doctor reminisced, trying to retort after the fifth doctor had found him so predictable. "But…it's not the same anymore…"
The fifth doctor sensed by the later regeneration's delivery that something grave had happened to the planet. The doctor was only too aware of the fact that planet's had to suffer the consequences of time. One of the victims of time had been Trakken… thinking of Trakken always made him sad for reason. But he couldn't really think why.
"Ah… I see…" the fifth doctor found it difficult to talk about things that were quite emotive… in fact all of the Doctor's did, even behind the occasional bravado…he didn't find it easy talking about any sensitive matters. "Well… then you know what you have to do…"
"Follow the second star to the right until morning?" the ninth doctor asked, with a slight grin.
"Make your way to Mandrivus… as quickly as you can… our future depends on it." The fifth doctor finished.
"Don't worry…" the ninth doctor said, "I won't let myself down… none of me…" even he became confused with the use of tenses.
The fifth doctor smiled at the perplexed expression on the ninth doctor's face.
"I suppose our meeting has been brief… but eventful." The fifth doctor brought his hand out. "This time it has been a pleasure… and I can say that my future is in good hands…"
The ninth doctor smiled and didn't put his hand out. "Thanks…"
The fifth doctor then remembered that this was merely a projection of the ninth doctor, not the ninth doctor himself. "But before you leave I must ask… how have you managed to project yourself into the past?" the fifth doctor asked.
"It's funny the thing's you can do with a sonic screwdriver… when I choose to remake one…" the ninth doctor said, producing it from his hand.
The fifth doctor looked relieved and glad, almost like seeing an old friend again. "Well thanks goodness for that…" the fifth doctor sighed.
"Yep…And what lesson did we learn… Don't 'show and tell' Gallifreian things… they just get broken…" the ninth doctor said gradually slowing down with every word then stopped, what was at first quite a humorous comment took quite a sinister turn.
The fifth doctor sensed that the ninth doctor's words had more meaning than he initially thought.
"Goodbye…" the ninth doctor said finally.
The fifth doctor was then left alone in the console room for a few moments, alone with his thoughts pondering on what his other regeneration had said.
"You can come back in now…" the fifth doctor said,
"What was that all about?" Tegan said flustered coming back in.
"It's a story as old as time itself…" the fifth doctor said. "So where to now then?"
"I don't know Doctor." Turlough said.
"Let's see those stars…"
The ninth doctor shook his head a little and regained his orientation. But before rushing to the other doctor's aid he checked the console to see if he was on course. Hoping that for some reason, they wouldn't have to go…
He then considered it more. The Tardis never went to the correct co-ordinates… it usually managed to somehow be in the wrong place "For once, please be one of those times…"
It wasn't that he didn't want to help his other self… it was more a case of not wanting to go to Mandrivus.
The Tardis was, for the first time in years was being extremely well behaved and had not changed it's course.
"Why?" the ninth doctor said frustratedly. It was strange the Tardis had never stayed on course so well. He frowned. Although the Tardis was been led to Mandrivus… it would usually deviate slightly… no one alive could still pilot a Tardis as well as he could. But whether he piloted well was a matter of opinion. This time however, the Tardis did not falter.
"What's up Doc?" Mickey asked, walking into the console room and jumping down the stairs.
"Don't you dare…all you need is the carrot-" the ninth doctor lifted his finger threateningly. "What's up' is that the Tardis is doing exactly what it's told…"
"Isn't that a good thing?" Mickey asked, trying to see the problem. It seemed that the Doctor made a lot of problems out of nothing.
"Nope… she never behaves…" the ninth doctor frowned, trying to think of a reason why the Tardis wasn't deviating, he had even tried to deliberately change the Tardis' co-ordinates to no effect.
"Ah right… is it a love/ hate relationship between you two? Should I give you some space?" Mickey smirked. "Maybe it's havin' an affair…" he then laughed at his own joke.
The ninth doctor stared at Mickey for a moment, looking deadly serious. Mickey was freaked out, the Doctor wasn't seriously in love with the-
"Mickey…you are… on a rare occasion…not completely dense…" the ninth doctor ran around the console, sounding like he had found the solution. "In fact, this time…"
The ninth doctor and Mickey were looking at a strange wave length on the Tardis' console. "You're a genius…"
"What's that?"
"The anomaly…or the other 'fella' in your crude metaphor…" the ninth doctor said. He squinted at the console… then stopped dead in his tracks… frozen in familiarity. Absolutely phased by what he had seen.
"So whose Mr Right?" Mickey asked, still trying to use the context of his metaphor. He then took the Doctor's long silence as a bad sign.
"The… Omega Algorithm…" the ninth doctor stopped "The ultimate Scientist on Gallifrey's calling card …"
"Calling card?" Mickey said.
The ninth doctor was too stunted to elaborate. "But it can't be here…" he now began to get quite nervous. "Only certain Time Lords know the Omega Algorithm…"
"Like who?" Mickey asked.
"The Deca."
