Yes, I know! I'm a useless excuse for a writer. I can only apologise so much for my lack of updates, and make up for it with a rather long and (I think at least) exciting and, might I mention, my own personal favourite chapter. It made one of my friends who read it cry.
Unbeta'd I'm afraid, so all mistakes my own. If anyone reads the end of this chapter and thinks I've missed someone out that you think I should have in, bear in mind that I haven't seen the old series and I'm working only with what I know, and make a suggestion in a review.
Reviews are love, people!
The Girl and the Time Lords- Chapter 8
After leaving Mickey's flat, the Doctor headed straight to the TARDIS. Right now, he had no idea how to find Rose. He had no leads, no-one knew anything about these disappearing children, and he…
…he didn't know what to do.
Every time he thought of her, the terror in her voice when she cried out to him in his head, the image that his mind had so helpfully painted of her standing in darkness, it felt as if tiny shards of ice were burrowing themselves deeper and deeper into his hearts. He had promised Jackie that he would keep her safe, but it was his fault she was missing. If he hadn't left her… if he hadn't run from her… she wouldn't have taken it upon herself to search for answers for him; wouldn't have gone to that park.
She wouldn't have been taken.
And the worst thing was that it wasn't even on some far flung planet, or a million years in the future. It was her home; her time. Her city. She had just come home to get a shower. And that thought made it all even worse. If he had only fixed the heater, she wouldn't be…
What? What was it she was going through?
Was she even still alive?
He didn't know what had stopped her from talking. She might be…
He came to an abrupt stop. With his mind tying itself in guilt-knots, his feet seemed to have taken over, leading him straight back to the TARDIS, only to find it blocked off by a gaggle of people.
'What the hell is going on here?!' the Doctor said over the hubbub. Every face turned to look at him, but he did not falter. "The world stands aside to let anyone pass who knows where he is going," a wise man once said, and it was so true.
A rough looking boy, about thirteen maybe, stepped forwards, 'Wha's it to you?'
An elderly lady pushed forwards through the crowd, standing behind the boy, clipping him around the ear and pushing him aside.
'Excuse my grandson, he has no manners,' she gave the sulking boy a pointed look, 'does this box belong to you, sir?'
The Doctor nodded politely to the woman, admiring her spark.
'It lit up,' the boy put in, ignoring his grandmother, 'it was, like, making all these weird noises, the light on top was flashing.'
The Doctor's eyes went to the ship, his lighting up as realised what the boys words must mean and pushing through the crowd as politely and quickly as possible, claiming that the lights and sounds were a sort of burglar alarm and that he had to make sure that nothing was damaged or had been taken. Slowly but surely they left, though seemingly convinced that he was off his rocker, by the overexcited way he was bouncing around.
As soon as they were gone, the Doctor had his key in the lock, pushing open the door to the cavernous insides of his marvellous ship, flinging his coat over one of the coral like struts and running towards the console.
Then he stopped. There, hanging alone, was a denim jacket.
Rose's jacket.
His hearts clenched momentarily, before releasing, the jacket giving him hope and strength instead of weakening him.
He was going to get her back.
He went to the control panel, typing quickly into the little screen on the console, talking soothingly to the ship.
'You helped her call to me, didn't you ol' girl? You want her back safe, just as much as I do, don't you? Help me find her, my beautiful, fantastic ship.'
He followed the instructions she gave him, allowing her to nudge him into action; flipping levers, pushing buttons, working with his oldest and most faithful companion. The central column glowed a vibrant turquoise, throwing strange shadows over the Doctor's face and the entire room. But something was wrong. The rise and fall of the column was laboured, and beneath the usual rasping melody of the ship's departure, there was another, discordant sound, strained and sharp.
'Come on, my brilliant ship,' the Doctor murmured, stroking the console lovingly, 'follow the signal, just a little further. Come on, almost there.'
Sparks flew and steam curled from the console as the strain grew. Suddenly he was on the floor as the ship tossed and turned, before crashing down to a stop.
He bounced to his feet, reaching out with his mind to check she was okay, and upon confirmation, he was at the door, leaving his coat behind in the rush to find out where they were.
Where Rose was.
They had landed in the corner of a vast, oval-shaped room. It was huge, seeming to stretch out before him forever. The ceiling rose high above him in a shallow curve with bright bare strip lights handing from it, lighting the room and making it look like a warehouse of some sort.
The room was filled with a seemingly never-ending maze of low corridors, covering every inch of the room. He chose the nearest opening, following the twists and turns, keeping track in his mind the exact route that he had taken. All along the walls there were strange hollows, reminding him horridly of pods that he had seen in the Hospital on New Earth. Each was open-fronted, and long, multicoloured wires hung down inside the man-sized space, as if something was missing.
And he had a sneaking suspicion that he knew what it that missing component was.
He walked on and on, passing empty pod after pod, his Converse barely making a sound on the bare metal from which the room was made. He could hear the almost silent engines beneath him, and he infered that he was on some sort of ship. But there were other noises too. Little living sounds from the other side of the walls around him.
And there was something else that was tugging at his senses. A scent on the air in this place. A sharp metallic tang that seemed familiar, but he couldn't think where he had discovered it before. Right on the edge of his mind, just out of grasp.
He turned a corner…
And suddenly he was faced with what was missing from the other pods.
Oh how he hated having to be right.
There, standing in the centre of the pod, was one of the missing children.
It was a young girl, no older than thirteen, dwarfed in such a large space compared to her tiny features. The wires that hung limply in the other pods had found their uses here. All over her body, multi-coloured cords were attached to her skin, with half a dozen stuck to her forehead alone. Her dark blonde hair hung limp around her shoulders, damp from the sweat that formed on her face.
The Doctor reached out for her, anger coursing through him at the way in which the child appeared to be nothing more than a science experiment, but he pulled his hand back with a yelp of pain as he was zapped by an invisible electric field in place around the girl.
As he watched, flexing his hand as he tried to get feeling back, the girl began to whisper pleading words, moaning as she threw her head this way and that. For the first time he noticed a small screen beside the pod, monitoring the heart and breathing rate.
They were both rising.
The girls cries were getting louder now, and the Doctor had to bite back a growl as he fought the urge to put his hand through the field again, desperate to do something; anything to help.
But just then, her tormented face became calm and she sighed, the monitor showing that her heart rate was falling to normal again.
It was over.
Whatever it was.
'I'm sorry,' the Doctor said sincerely, 'I'm going to help you. I promise.'
He turned slowly, his eyes still on the now calm girl, wanting to continue his search of the ship. But when he looked away, he jumped back a step when he saw that his way was blocked.
A little girl stood before him, much younger than the one in the pod, about six or seven years old. She stood before him, watching him with innocent curiosity, her bright blue eyes seeing to see right through him. She seemed unaware of the slight chill in the air, dressed only in a short-sleeved white nightie cut around her knees. Her long, wavy brown hair hung half-way down her back, the fringe held back from her face by a delicate little clip.
"Oh! Hello!' the Doctor said brightly, dropping to his haunches in front of the child to look her in those unnerving blue eyes. Something is wrong a voice in his head screamed. He ignored it. 'What's your name, sweetheart? I'm the Doctor.'
The girl didn't answer him immediately, but instead looked him up and down with unblinking eyes, her head tilted to one side, those seeming to look right into his soul.
This is bad!
'You're not like the Humans,' she commented. Her voice was not as he expected. It was more mature that she looked, and it cracked and croaked as if she had been parched of water.
The Doctor jumped away, standing up in shock. I told you so, the voice in his head sneered. The little girl laughed. It sounded like metal being rasped against a cheese grater. 'What is it, Doctor? You're not afraid of a child, now are you?' she stared into his eyes for a second, a vile grin twisting her face, 'not after all the horrors you've seen. You've faced down Daleks and Sea Devils, Axons and Zygons. Flying through space, seeing all the nightmares that there are to see, and yet here you stand, terrified to face a pretty little girl?'
'What are you?'
She didn't answer him, instead tipping her head to the side, 'Your body… your mind is so much… better designed than all the frail little humans that I've found on this backwater planet. So many faces for just one man to wear. A lonely life, is it not, Doctor, living for such a long time has its flaws, am I right? Ohh… but look!' her delicate eyebrows rose, 'that's just what I've been looking for. Oh what a brilliant mind you have, dear Doctor. So many thoughts rushing through your head, even this very second,' she gasped, then laughed her nasty laugh, 'walls don't keep me out, sir. But hidden the very deepest, oh I can see everything,' her face flickered into a hungry grin. It actually flickered, disappearing and reappearing so fast, it would have been invisible to anyone but him, 'Your memory! Oh, such fear… such pain… Just what I need.'
'Name yourself!' the Doctor demanded.
'Oh, I don't have a name. Just like you,' she said casually, an odd smile playing across her face.
The Doctor took the Sonic Screwdriver out of his pocket, pointing it at the girl like a weapon, 'Where is Rose?' he said firmly, threatening, 'Give her back to me.'
The girl tilted her head back straight, her grin frozen in place. Then it grew into a demonic sneer, her pale lips pulling back over her white teeth.
Her body was changing, stretching, becoming taller, her hair receding into her head and turning blonde. Her eyes became brown, softening the edge that resided in the icy blue stare of the child as her nightie became a powder blue top, a pale green parka and tight-fitting blue jeans.
Rose Tyler stood before him, taking the place of the odious child.
The Doctor was numbly aware that his arm had fallen, hypnotised by the eyes that he had thought he'd never see again.
It wasn't the real Rose. He knew that. It was a hologram. He knew that he knew that. But still his arm fell.
'Ahh… there it is,' the Rose before him whispered victoriously, 'the killer blow. The girl you love, in danger. Hard, isn't it? Keeping her with you when she exhibits such a craving for the disasters you so desperately try to keep her away from.
'That's just what I can use. And… oh! Even deeper still, buried so very deep, but I can see! Oh how very delicious!' she licked her lips, biting her lip in apparent ecstasy, 'The death of your planet! Your family. Your species. Oh, I can taste it already!'
The Doctor snapped from the trance, his arm pointing out in front of him, 'Where is Rose! Take me to the real Rose, right now!' he yelled at the holo-Rose.
'Why would I do that? After all her travels, she's a tasty little morsel all by herself. Nothing compared to the feast I shall with you, but sweet enough to keep for a little longer, I assure you. Ohh now, but look…' the hologram giggled, this time imitating Rose's sweet laugh, making the Doctor's hearts clench painfully, 'it's a family reunion!'
The Doctor turned, keeping the Sonic Screwdriver pointed at the woman who was not Rose.
It felt like the world had slowed down.
There, in front of him, walking calmly around the corner, were hundreds of faces, all piling in. All of them he recognised.
His hearts were beating painfully against his chest, blood banging in his ears. Tears built in his eyes, and he blinked them away, unable to move to brush them with his hands.
The faces of his people stared at him. At the front, Susan, Romana, his parents, Azmeal. So many faces, friends and allies, people he had passed when he visited.
Shock had numbed his mind, stuck his feet.
The Time Lords stopped before him. His arm dropped to his side, unable to keep it up as the strength to do anything but stare abandoned him.
This is wrong.
Romana stepped forward, dressed in her Presidential robes and her young face was creased by sadness and reproach.
"You left us, Doctor,' she said. Her voice was sharp and strong, each word cutting deep into his hearts like shards of ice. 'You ran away.'
'Why did you leave us, Grandfather?' Susan asked, her voice quiet but still strong, still painful, 'Why didn't you help us?'
Others gathered around him, circling him, blocking off escape routes.
"Why did you run?' they asked, again and again.
'I had to…' the Doctor said weakly, 'I tried to… but I… it wasn't my fault!'
Two men from the council, henchmen, grabbed him around the arms. He didn't even struggle. He didn't fight the encroaching darkness at the corners of his mind as his consciousness began to fade.
'You had a choice, my friend,' Romana said, shaking her head.
'And you made the wrong one.'
Quote by David Staff Jordan.
