The Doctor sat back in shock. "How many?"
Rose shook her head. "I don't know, but it was at least a couple hundred." She looked up at him, regret and pain clear. "I knew." She closed her eyes and gave a deep shuddering breath. "I knew about the ships. Eracxel told me. And I still gave the command." She opened her eyes and stared unseeing at the glowing Time Rotor. She suddenly snorted, the sound lacking its usual humor. "I remember being so mad at Harriet Jones for the whole Sycorax incident. I'm no better."
The Doctor grabbed Rose by the shoulders and forced her to look at him. "No. You are so much better, Rose. You didn't kill them while they were retreating did you?" Rose shook her head and the Doctor grinned. "Good old Rose. Always a good girl, you are." He tweaked her chin. "Now, we've got a bit of problem then." The Doctor frowned. "Never had a companion with an entire species out for their blood. Of course, practically speaking, it's not that unusual of a position for me to be in, so we might as well operate on the same plan."
"What plan?" Rose asked suspiciously. "Since when do you have a plan?"
The Doctor positively beamed. "Talk to them!"
Rose's jaw dropped. "Talk! Doctor, in case you didn't notice, they trans-matted you out of a museum and held you captive! They killed over three thousand on Pete's World! They chased me through time, space, and a bloody alternate universe!"
The Doctor shrugged. "Well, I am a bit curious about that." He rubbed the back of his neck in thought. "I don't quite remember them having multi-verse travel before." He whirled around and started reading through the TARDIS files on the Pratorlusions. "Ah…." He pushed his glasses back up and turned around to face Rose, a rather smug look on his face. "They didn't."
"Excuse me?" Rose stood up and walked over to him, not bothering to try and read the display. "They do have it, 'cause they're here."
"Now." The Doctor smirked. "They have it now, Rose. They didn't before." The Doctor's grin widened as Rose's confusion grew. "Thing is, when the Time Lords died," his voice lost a bit of its joviality, "there wasn't anyone running around regulating things. The Pratorlusions had only time travel but not multi-verse travel, until we weren't around anymore to stop them. They've developed it since the War." The Doctor thumped the console happily. "They were the ones that managed to stabilize things! I thought it was a natural phenomenon!" He whirled around and grabbed Rose's hand. "That's how I managed to finally get back to get you. The whole multi-verse was sort of shimmery after the Time War, unstable, bouncy." The Doctor waved his free arm around like crazy. "All of a sudden it hardened back up. It was the Pratorlusions. They took over for the Time Lords, stabilizing the spaces in-between universes so people could travel around again."
"Why?" Rose asked quietly. "What would be the point? They aren't like Time Lords, they exist in both universes so it's got to be confusing for them."
The Doctor cocked his head to the side and looked at her. "Humans would have done the same thing if they could, Rose. Because it's there." He smiled at her reassuringly. "It's the drive to find things out, to explore. It's what makes you apes so special. Most species don't have it."
"Great," Rose huffed. "I just happen to commit genocide against another species that does, and also happens to have tech to rival Time Lords." She angrily pushed her hair back behind her ears and sat back down on the jump-seat. "Fantastic."
The Doctor shrugged. "We do have one advantage here."
"That being?" Rose asked, one hand placed on her hip and her glare ready and waiting.
The Doctor grinned and bounced a bit in place. "New new Rose. They don't know you're you. They want Rose Tyler, old human woman, not Rose Tyler – ginger Gallifreyan."
Rose looked at him as if by staring she could somehow figure out how his brain worked. "So, you're planning on phoning them up, telling them Rose Tyler is dead, they'll believe you and we'll all go on our merry way?"
"Yup." He struck a dramatic pose and smiled. "Good plan. Solid plan."
"Only eventually word will get back to them that Rose Tyler is still traveling around in a blue box with a Time Lord on a sugar high." She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "Unless you expect me to start using a different name or something."
"No." The Doctor frowned. "I'd really rather you didn't. I'm a bit found of it actually, your name." His ears turned just a touch pink. "It's so short! Gallifrey didn't have short names, not real names anyway…" He trailed off, rubbing his neck for a moment before he sort of deflated and sat down heavily on the grating. "It would buy us some time at least."
Rose snorted. "Yeah, except they're time travelers. It might take them 100,000 years to figure it out and we could still end up with a problem next week." The Doctor actually cringed and Rose took pity on him and sat down next to him. "Look, I'm not saying it's not worth a try, just…they might be twice as angry when they figure out you've lied." She smiled fondly and reached a hand out to take his. "I'd rather not have them out for both of us."
The Doctor nodded and squeezed her hand before standing back up and pulling her with him. "It's the best I've got. I don't want to fight them, Rose." He sighed and impulsively pulled her into a tight hug. "They made it possible for me to get you back! They…they could be the next Time Lords." His eyes pleaded with her as they parted and Rose closed her eyes.
"Alright, we'll try it your way, Doctor." She opened her eyes and stared into his for a long moment. "I don't really want to fight either. I'm rather tired of the fighting."
The Doctor's mouth twitched but he didn't smile. "I'll just ring them up then." He quickly hugged Rose again and then turned around to the console, lacking his usual springiness. It didn't take long before he'd managed to patch a signal into the Pratorlusion ship
Rose backed slowly away from the console, long experience telling her where the edge of the camera field would be and she made sure she was outside its range. The console gave a small beep and the larger view-screen filled with a rather unhappy looking chartreuse covered Pratorlusion, that just so happened to look remarkably like he wanted to rip off the Doctor's head.
The Doctor didn't seem affected at all by the Pratorlusion's dour expression; instead he smiled and gave the camera a small wave. "Hello! We didn't have a chance to talk the last time we met. I thought proper introductions were in order." The chartreuse alien narrowed its eyes and let out a keening sound that Rose knew was their equivalent of a warning growl. The Doctor's posture changed subtly, his eagerness instantly taking on a more calculated air, his body tense as if ready to spring. His voice hardened and a hint of the Oncoming Storm leaked into his eyes. "Care to explain why you abducted me?"
The Pratorlusion keened again and slammed a fist down on its control panel causing the image to blur for a moment before stabilizing. "You took one human known as Rose Tyler from the other universe. We spent years looking for her and were about to have justice when you and your antiquated blue box interfered. What have you done with her, Time Lord?"
Suddenly it was if the Doctor deflated, his shoulders slumped and his eyes turned haunted. "She died, in my arms. I was too late." His voice hitched a small bit and with sudden clarity Rose realized what her death, however short, had done to him. "I ran out of time."
The keening got louder. "What reason did you have for taking her?"
The Doctor looked up at the screen, his eyes sad but hard. "Rose was my best friend. She had been trapped in the other universe after saving this one. I'd spent over 80 years, subjective, looking for a way back to her." His eyes briefly closed. "Thank you for firming up the barrier walls. I wasn't able to do it alone without the resources of Gallifrey. As soon as I detected what your people had accomplished I went to find her." The Doctor caught her eyes quickly before turning back to the screen. "I didn't really expect her to be alive still... I'd promised her I'd be there for her, in the end. I was just glad I got to hold her hand one last time."
The keening had lessened but the Pratorlusion's displeasure was still clear, its suspicion evident in its posture. "Why did you take her off the planet? Why bring her here to die?"
The Doctor's back snapped up straight and his eyes blazed again with anger. "You know I'm a Time Lord, you can tell that this ship is a TARDIS. Your people are one of the few that remembers my kind, our traditions, our reasons for existing. You have begun the work we no longer can do. I should not have to explain to you why."
"I do not require an explanation so much as a justification, Time Lord." The chartreuse figure glared.
Again, Rose could sense the Oncoming Storm in the Doctor, his anger and his hurt poorly hidden. "I wanted her to die in the vortex! She may have been human but she deserved to be one of us! The Academy would never have admitted her, even if it still existed, but she would have made an incredible Time Lady. The only thing I could do for her was to take her home to die." It was the Doctor's turn to slam his fist on to the console. "I took her here so she could leave this existence in the vortex, as was her right."
The Pratorlusion leaned back in its chair and gave the Doctor a thoughtful once over. "You loved this human. The last of the great Time Lords, loved a human." There was snickering sound over the connection. Obviously there were more Pratorlusions in the background, watching and amused by the turn of events.
Rose expected the Doctor to deny it, but instead he caught her eye and quietly answered. "Yes, I did." He reluctantly looked back at the screen and away from her. "She was more of a family to me than all the life on Gallifrey ever was." His expression suddenly became as immobile as granite. "Now explain to me why you would be after my Rose?"
The story was pretty much exactly as Rose had told it, only from the other side. The man they'd been talking to was named Davexil and was from Pete's universe. He was Eracxel's uncle. He was out for "justice" for the death of his brother and his family as well as all those on the ship. They had learned who had ordered the strike and had been trying to find Rose for several of their years, subjectively. Surprisingly, given his brother's actions and attempts to remove anyone that had had contact with a "lesser species" or any "lesser being" that had contact with them, Davexil wasn't inclined to blow up Earth in revenge and he had even been content to allow nature to take its course. They had been monitoring Rose's condition for weeks, linear, and had been perfectly happy to let her die from her disease. Davexil seemed to think her dying alone and friendless in a bare hospital room a fitting punishment. The Doctor's last minute rescue had robbed them of the pleasure of watching her last few pained moments.
Davexil explained his motives and gave what sounded vaguely like a terse apology for kidnapping the Doctor. At the time they didn't realize what he was and had grabbed him in the hopes of finding out what he had done to their prize. When he'd been on their ship they had been running scans, trying to figure out who and what he was. They'd finally realized he was a Time Lord shortly before he'd been rescued. It seemed that the Pratorlusions still held a considerable amount of respect for the lost Time Lords and still remembered them as more than legends. For the Pratorlusions it had been close to three millennia since the Time War, but they still honored the Doctor and his people for the gift of the Vortex and the ability to travel between universes. The Pratorlusions were working to recreate the safeguards that the Time Lords had made, much as the Doctor had suspected. They had even started to employ many of the same laws that had governed time travel prior to the War.
Rose could see how much the conversation was hurting the Doctor. He'd bared his soul to this man and now he was actively contemplating helping them setup a new system to take over for Gallifrey. If it worked, his people would cease to be even legend, with the Pratorlusions taking over their role in Time. It was inevitable, really, that someone would rise to fill the gap. The Doctor could not be the sole champion of Time, he could not do it all alone. The reapers were evidence of that, the closure of multi-verse travel a painful reminder that one man, even as wonderful a man as the Doctor, couldn't police all of creation.
The Doctor's main concern was the Pratorlusion idea of superiority. The Doctor, in a voice laden with pain, explained the end of the Time War, the death of his people. He told Davexil the cost of such an attitude. Davexil listened and Rose thought, just maybe, he heard the Doctor and his warning.
Eventually the two men had said all there really was to say. The Doctor had promised to consult with the Pratorlusions when they needed help. They'd agreed on a set frequency for messages and all that. Rose really hadn't followed most of the technical details. Davexil eyed the Doctor carefully and then ordered the others to leave the control room, asking for a private word with the Doctor.
"You have lied to us, Time Lord." Davexil stated flatly, without any evident anger. "There is another traveling with you. I know your kind. If you loved this Rose you would not have replaced her so quickly." Davexil narrowed his eyes and huffed. "The one that is with you, she is Rose Tyler."
Rose sighed heavily and stepped into range of the screen, slowly taking the Doctor's hand. He squeezed it to reassure her. Davexil looked her over and shook his head in confusion.
"I do not understand. She does not appear as Rose Tyler did. Our records of the rescue she preformed on our ship indicate she is also a Time Lord? How is this possible?" Davexil keened in warning and the Doctor reached his free hand up to rub his neck.
"I'm not really sure, Davexil. Rose did die. I didn't lie to you at all." He turned and looked at Rose, back to the screen. "Somehow her genetic structure was altered during our travels together. At her death, she regenerated as if she were one of my people."
Davexil keened louder for a moment before stopping the sound abruptly, his shoulders sagging. "By the laws of my people I should kill you both." He let his head fall into his hands and glared at them through the screen. "My brother was foul and his actions were not ones I would ever condone. But he was my brother."
Rose couldn't stop her tears from falling. "I didn't want to order the strike. You have to believe that! I tried to find another way, but he was killing so many people! And he'd killed Eracxel! She was just a kid." Rose sniffed hard and the Doctor put an arm around her in support. "I don't understand why he did it, any of it."
Davexil's eyes hardened as he looked at Rose and his fingers twitched on the control panel. "There are two philosophies on Pratorlusia. One my brother followed. I am sure Eracxel explained it to you." Rose nodded and he continued. "The other I have chosen. My brother and those that follow his way of thinking do not travel in time or in universes, Rose Tyler. They avoid all outside contact. They believe it is their solemn duty to maintain the purity of our species. They are a dwindling people. The ship you destroyed was one of only three left." Davexil looked towards his ceiling and sighed heavily. "Traveling in time is a heavy burden, Rose Tyler. One I am sure you have some concept of. My brother's way of life has only a few more centuries of being before they cease to exist, of their own stupidity. I have seen the last of them go but I could not tell them it was pointless."
"The future isn't fixed, Davexil." The Doctor spoke quietly. "What we have discussed here could change many things."
"True." Davexil actually smiled. "I hope it does so, Time Lord. But what I am trying to tell the former human is that my brother acted out of fear and the inborn knowledge that his way of life was not fated to remain. Had he lived, he would have been tried by my people the same as we would have tried Rose Tyler had she been physically capable of withstanding the ordeal when I found her." Davexil stood and slowly stripped of the chartreuse scales his people wore. Underneath the man was quite short with slightly pink skin and rather sharp looking teeth. It was no wonder they wore the scaled suits. Without them they were less than impressive. Davexil smoothed down the embroidered tonic he wore under his armor and sighed heavily before looking Rose in the eye. "We are not the warriors we pretend to be, former human. This is a case of the worst possible first contact."
Rose couldn't help but smile. "I wish it hadn't happened like this." She looked cautiously at the Doctor and back at the screen. "Will you take me to trial now that you know?" She felt the Doctor tense.
Davexil keened again, the sound less threatening without the armor. He looked at the Doctor and Rose could feel her friend's tension increasing through their joined hands. Davexil let out a huff of air in resignation. "No, Rose Tyler. I will not." He looked back at her, his face grim. "You are bound to the last Time Lord. He has suffered enough already. I will not be the cause of more pain to a man that has endured such a large quantity already." Davexil sat back down in his seat and steepled his fingers in front of him, resting his elbows on the control panel. "Your people were cursed, Doctor. Thirteen lives, countless centuries of living. My people are like the humans, short lived in comparison. I think we are the fortunate ones. Only so much suffering can be had in the years we walk the stars, but you, you have a limitless capacity for both joy and pain. I think..." Davexil nodded to himself. "I think that you, Time Lord, have known one far more than the other."
Davexil smirked and clapped his hands. "So be it. As the last remaining member of my family unit, I waive the extradition of Rose Tyler, former human, and leave her to the justice of her kind. Seeing as the Time Lord known as the Doctor is the only one even close to her kind, I leave her punishment to him." Davexil then hissed and narrowed his eyes. "However, I do banish both of you from my universe. I do not wish to see you in my home again. I will confer with you, Doctor, over what we have discussed by transmission only. I am far more understanding than many others will be. We do not have many ships yet capable of this journey. As long as you do not enter our universe you should be safe. By the time other ships have been built, we may hope that their anger will have cooled."
Rose nodded. "Thank you." The Doctor started to say something, but wisely closed is mouth and nodded his agreement with Rose.
The screen blanked out leaving the Doctor and Rose still holding hands in the now silent console room.
