Hello! Welcome back! I liked this chapter. I've had this one in mind for a while now. I hope you guys enjoy it as much as I have enjoyed writing it!
OMG—I can't even talk about the 50th anniversary special. All I want is an episode about Rose and Ten in the other universe. I feel like we deserve that after hyping about Rose's return for months. (Sorry, I'm trying to be as ambiguous as I can in case you haven't seen it yet.)
Onto brighter notes, thank you so, so much to Gallifreyan927, this is my pseudonym, Equality4Puppies, skidney, NeverMessWithTeddyBears, LeilaTheGalaxyDefender, MaryMatthesen, Aria Mai Olican-Wren, supernena25, and ChaleseWinchester789 for reviewing. You're wonderful humans, and I honestly am just incapable of praising you enough. Thank you!
Chapter 8: The Retaliation of the Vikings
Rory followed the Doctor as they exited the TARDIS.
"We are very close to Rose," the Doctor announced excitedly, his eyes glued to the Scan-O-Meter 2,000 in his hand.
Rory surveyed the area, realizing they had landed on the cliff face of some beach. "Please tell me she's not in the water," he begged, peering down at the dark, rough ocean waves below.
The Doctor glanced warily at the crashing waves before squinting at his scanner's screen. After a moment he relaxed and pivoted, pointing the opposite direction. "Nope! She's this way."
The Doctor took off through the knee-high underbrush with a dramatic bound. Rory hurried after, trying to get a look at the scanner over the Doctor's shoulder.
"She should be right…" the Doctor put his round spectacles onto his face, bringing the scanner up closer. "Here…"
Rory threw him a skeptical look. "I don't see anybody."
The underbrush seemed endless in this direction, nothing in particular sticking out before fading into a thick blanket of fog.
"Ish," the Doctor amended defensively. "Here-ish."
"Didn't you design this thing?" Rory asked disbelievingly, reaching for the device. "Here, let me have a go."
"No!" the Doctor fought, trying to yank the scanner out of the Centurion's hands. "I made it! I'm in charge of it!"
"Oh, real mature, Doctor," Rory criticized, trying to reach for the scanner again after it escaped him.
"It's freshly charged!" the Doctor shot back. "It needs proper handling!"
"Just let me have a look!" Rory argued, chasing after the retreating Doctor.
"No!" the Doctor squealed, sticking his glasses back into his coat pocket and running farther into the underbrush land.
"Doctor!" Rory shouted, running after him.
The Doctor held the scanner up in front of his face as he continued running away from his companion. "It says she's right here! I don't know why—!"
"Doctor?!"
The Doctor slowed to a halt, recognizing her voice instantly. Rory pulled up quickly next to him, having heard the voice as well.
Tentatively, Rose emerged from hiding down in the underbrush. Her blonde hair was frazzled to the point of catching wayward twigs; her casual, twenty-first century clothes were a bit worn.
The Doctor couldn't help but grin. "Rose Tyler, how I've missed you!"
"Doctor!" Rose screeched with joy, running over to the Time Lord.
He met her in a strong, overly welcoming hug before kissing the top of her head.
"I thought you'd been killed!" she explained with wild, excited eyes as she pulled back.
The Doctor remained grinning. "Oh, I always turn up again."
Rose laughed before gripping him into another hug. "I've missed you."
"I've missed you too, Rose," the Doctor murmured, breathing in the scent of her hair.
She pulled away for the second time, grinning her tongue-in-teeth smile.
Rory cleared his throat awkwardly, making his presence known.
"Oh, right," the Doctor added before motioning to his companion. "Rose, meet Rory. Rory, well, you know Rose…"
Rose gave him a confused look. "Is he from my future?"
"Well, not exactly," the Doctor amended as Rory scratched the back of his head uncomfortably. "But never mind that! What are you doing here? Roman Iron Age, is it?" He licked his finger before exposing it to the open air, trying to deduce their time and location.
"Vikings," Rose said with suddenly fearful eyes.
"No," the Doctor objected, thinking hard about the readings from his finger. "I would say it's more of the Germanic Iron Age."
"Doctor," Rory acknowledged, fear beginning to creep into his tone as well.
"Hold on, I think you may be right," the Doctor revised cheerfully, refocusing his eyes on Rose. It was then that he noticed her frightened eyes and defensive stance.
"What?" the Doctor asked, finally turning around to see what his companions were facing. "What is it?"
The shouting reached them then. Erupting out of the distant fog, an entire line of angry Vikings was charging at the three.
"Yes, yes," the Doctor corrected nervously. "I think we actually are in the Viking Age."
"Perhaps in Scandinavia, then," Rory offered, his eyes glued to the advancing fleet.
"You know your Viking history," the Doctor congratulated, nudging Rory's shoulder with a smile.
"Studied them for a bit, yeah," he admitted bashfully.
"Um, I think we should be running now," Rose stated anxiously.
"Yes, Yes, I agree," the Doctor decided, turning hurriedly as his hand found Rose's. "Run!"
The three began their escape, sprinting back towards the edges of the cliff where the TARDIS had been left.
Off the cliff face, another group of Vikings began pulling themselves onto the level ground.
They reached the TARDIS just in time. With a twist of Rory's key, Rose and Rory shuffled into the blue box.
"Quick as you like!" the Doctor encouraged, clapping his hands.
Just as the Doctor was to duck into the time machine, a heavy axe slammed down across the doorway, blocking his entrance.
The Doctor took an involuntary step back from the axe, allowing the Vikings to grab ahold of his flailing arms.
"Doctor!" Rose screeched, leaning underneath the imbedded axe.
The Doctor stared at her for a moment, his hand already reaching into his coat pocket for his sonic. He could do it. He could wiz out his sonic screwdriver and force these Vikings to the ground with a high-pitched frequency.
But if this wasn't Rose… If he brought back the wrong Rose into the Vortex, into his universe… She would overwrite the real Rose's existence. He needed to be sure.
"Doctor," Rory cautioned, watching the Doctor's unsure eyes.
They shared a look. The Doctor's hand dropped from his coat pocket.
"Doctor!" The voice was deep and angry. Its owner stepped out of the line of swarming men; he was a large, brutish man with a crooked nose screwed onto his hungry, grinning face. "We meet again!"
"Again?" the Doctor parroted incredulously. "I'm sorry, but if there's one place I've never been, it's Scandinavia in the Viking Age."
This thought resonated with him, causing his mind to drift. "Well, except for that one time. And the other. I love the pointy hats. 'Want one of them, myself." With a distant smile, his attention focused back on the man. "But I sure have not met you quite yet—especially not with this body."
"Say what you like!" the leader spat, advancing threateningly towards the Doctor. "I will never forget your blasted face."
"And I'm sure I'd remember that nose!" the Doctor disputed, leaning in as much as his restrained arms would allow. "Now, I'm a bit busy at the moment, so if you'd just allow us to return to my TARDIS—"
"You, Doctor, have humiliated me," the leader shot back through clenched teeth. "The only thing I will allow is your head on a spike."
Rose shot out of the TARDIS, rushing to separate the Doctor and the leader. "Yeah, well, you'll hafta kill me first!"
"Rose," the Doctor cautioned. His Rose or not, he would never be able to permit her death for his sake.
The leader's angry eyes flared. His men went to snatch her back, but the leader held up his hand to stop their advancements. "And who are you?"
"I am the Bad Wolf," Rose challenged feistily, raising an eyebrow. "Heard of me?"
"No," the leader spat.
"Then you're lucky," she hissed.
The leader's mouth twitched into a dark smile. "Perhaps you've heard of me?" He leaned in before whispering menacingly, "Hastein."
"Can't say I have," she responded, unaffected by his theatrics.
"I've slaughtered political and religious leaders," he went on. "I've conquered more lands than you can wrap your head around, concubine."
"Oi, oi," the Doctor said, trying to intervene from his fixed position, "That's enough with the name calling."
"Tie them up!" Hastein demanded of his men, turning away from Rose. "And grab the cowardice one, too," he added, pointing at the frozen Rory.
"Oi!" Rory shot back defensively as his hands were bound with rope. "Just because I have the common sense to not piss off a killer Viking does not mean I am a coward!"
Hastein ignored the Roman.
As the three were being led back to the beach towards the Vikings' ships, the Doctor trotted up to walk alongside Rose.
"Rose, there's something you must know before any of this—"
"Doctor, I am not leaving your arse to get shoved onto a stake, got it?" she interrupted, giving him that Tyler glare.
He seemed taken aback. "Rose, that is not—oi, why do you think I'll end up on a stake?"
She rolled her eyes.
The Doctor pointed his restrained finger in her direction. "Not the point. But before we get into this, you must know, I am not your Doctor."
She gave him an amused grin. "My Doctor, eh?"
He became defensive. "No! No, no, no! I mean I am not from this universe!"
"I thought Gallifrey was from this universe," she murmured back, glancing conspiratorially at the surrounding, marching Vikings.
"It is! Well, not my Gallifrey," the Doctor explained, his eyes becoming lost into the wordplay of the situation.
"He means we've travelled here from our universe," Rory interjected. "Like a different time stream, a different reality."
Rose's eyes drifted from Rory back to the Doctor. "So you're… not the Doctor I've been with?"
"No," the Doctor explained softly. "Well, I mean, I might be. It depends on if you're from my reality. Wait, what do you mean by 'been with?'"
"What's the one thing I asked for when we traveled to Barcelona?" she asked, her suddenly wet eyes staring at him with determination. "The planet—not, not the city."
The Doctor stared at her, gaping and floundering for an answer. "Rose, we never made it to Barcelona."
She turned away from him then. Using her bound hands, she wiped away some dripping tears. "My Doctor's still out there then. He'll rescue us from all this mess."
"Rose, how long have you been waiting—"
"You'd never abandon me, yeah?" she assumed, turning back to the Doctor.
He stared at her in mute agony.
She twisted away, taking the lack of response for an affirmation. "Neither would he; he's coming."
They reached the beach then, having climbed down a steep slope carved into the earthy face of the cliff.
Hastein looked them over with heated eyes. "You thwarted by empire after the Strait of Gibraltar. You humiliated me in front of my men. Now, I will make you weep in front of yours."
With a wave of his hand, three of the men grabbed Rose. The Doctor and Rory were held back by others as Rose was dragged further towards the Vikings' beached ships.
"Doctor!" Rose cried, struggling out of the grips of the brutish men.
"No!" the Doctor yelled, pain tearing through his voice. "Please! I'll repay you! I'll, I'll—please, just let Rose go! She doesn't deserve this!"
"You will think before you inflict pain on me or my men again!" Hastein shouted back.
Quietly, he muttered to six of his men, "Stay here with them; kill them once the deed is done."
Six nods were given.
With a final glare, Hastein turned and boarded the ship as the men dragged Rose aboard. Nearly all of the Vikings joined them onto the vessels, preparing to set sail. Only the six indicated men were left on the beach with the Doctor and Rory.
The Doctor shouted in despair, tears flowing down his cheeks. Rose, poor Rose. Why did she have to suffer for his faults? Why was it always her?
With regretful eyes, Rory could do nothing but watch as the ships were pushed off the shore and into water.
"No, no! You don't have to do this!" the Doctor pleaded frantically. But his shouts were ignored as Rose's feet were tied to hefty, bulky rocks.
The Vikings didn't sail far; Hastein wanted to be sure that the Doctor had a good view.
"Hastein!" the Doctor screamed. "Bring her back! I will restore your honor! I have a time machine! I can—!"
"Enough!" Hastein shouted. "Enough with your trickery! You will suffer as I have!"
"It'll be OK!" Rose called to him, smiling despite her tears. "The Doctor'll come back! You'll save me in time!" She was so sure.
"Rose!" the Doctor called back, his heart breaking for her. "I am so sorry! I am so, so sorry!"
Through heavy tears, the Doctor was condemned to watch as Hastein roughly shoved Rose over the edge of the ship. With a sickening swirl, Rose tumbled down into the churning, dark waves. Her weighted feet dragged her down quickly, drowning out her scream with a swift end.
The horribly painful silence stretched only for a second before the Vikings broke out into gloating cheers.
The Doctor fell to his knees. It was all so very unfair. His Rose's life had been carbon copied into a million pieces and scattered all over these damn realities. She couldn't cope without him, she hated him, she wanted him dead, he died with her, he killed her family, he killed her… He needed Her. He needed Rose. He couldn't stand watching another, agonizing moment of her existences. Because, delusional reality or not, his mind physically would be incapable of withstanding this pain again.
Rory shot him a worried glance as the Doctor mourned. But then his eyes returned to the six Vikings still surrounding them. In any moment, they would turn on them and kill them; what business did Vikings have in letting their betrayers live?
And, sure enough, the Vikings refocused their attentions on the two men. With sly grins, they unsheathed their swords.
Rory racked his brain for knowledge about the Vikings. God, why did it have to be so long ago? A stupid high school project on the Vikings and Old Norse and the Norse theology—
"Oh!" the word popped out of Rory's mouth without thought, but no one seemed to hear him.
Then in the darkest, most powerful voice he could muster, Rory Pond turned on their captors. "You, sons of Scandinavia! Most feared Vikings! Do you comprehend what you have done?!"
The power radiating from Rory's voice gave the threatening Vikings pause.
"Do you know who we are?!" Rory continued darkly.
"He's the Doctor," one ventured, giving a gesture to the Time Lord kneeling on the beach.
"He is Odin!" Rory shouted with as much volume as he could muster. "And I. Am. Thor."
Just then, a bolt of lightning cracked across the sky. It was sheer luck in their favor, as Thor was the god of lightning. Still, Rory inwardly cringed, wondering if his God was commending him or threatening him for his Pagan impersonation.
"Yes," the Doctor agreed, rising from his fallen state. "You have deeply angered me and my son. And do you know what I am the god of…?"
The Vikings gave one another frightened side glances. Everybody practicing Old Custom knew exactly what Odin controlled: poetry, wisdom. War, battle. And death.
"I suggest you untie us," Rory thundered.
"Immediately," the Doctor emphasized darkly.
They knew they should question it, but the Vikings' faith was too strong; with shaking hands, they cut the ropes before bowing at their feet.
"Right," the Doctor said, brushing away any remaining tears. "Stay here until I command you to move."
Frantic nods were given from bowed, helmeted heads.
"Let's go, Rory," the Doctor murmured softly, marching resolutely past the Vikings.
With a softened glare to the stooped men, Rory trailed after the Doctor.
They made their way up to the TARDIS, the Doctor leading the way inside. Rory scanned the area below, watching the bowed Vikings murmur in renewed awe at the blue box.
Rory turned back inside.
And just before he closed the doors, just before their TARDIS took them back into the Vortex, Rory Williams swore that he heard the TARDIS's familiar vwoop-vwoop of engine sounds, sounding out just before they took off.
Just underneath the surface of the water.
Happy Thanksgiving to my fellow Americans and any other citizens of the world who would like to join in on the festivities!
Thanks for sticking with me! Please review about your thoughts for this chapter/storyline! :)
