So here's the next chapter! This one is another long one! I enjoyed writing this a little too much methinks... Also, I did point out at the start of the fic that this is a Doctor/River fic. That's reflected here. Don't Like - Don't Read. Simple.
Anyway - On with the chapter!
Chapter 13: Raw Time
The TARDIS appeared with its trademark 'vworp' at the edge of the Untempered Schism. Several Sisters of Infinity were milling about the area. They ran one of the best hospitals in the Universe; he knew because he had left River there once, a long time ago. She'd been there again since, but not for the same reasons.
No one was allowed to approach the rip in the Universe that looked out at time itself. No one except Time Lords that is.
The Doctor exited the blue box, supporting an unconscious River Song. Jack remained in the TARDIS, tracking Eyphah through the endless maze of corridors that covered the ship's interior.
One of the Sisters swished up to the Doctor, blocking his path. Her face was hidden beneath an opaque veil. She wore robes of powder blue cinched with a brown belt around her middle. The colour meant that she was of one of the higher ranks of the Sisterhood - the paler the robe, the more senior the Sister.
"Halt! None may visit the Schism!" Her voice was placid, yet confident. It was a voice used to giving orders. The Doctor stopped like she said and addressed her calmly.
"Greetings Sister. I need to get to the Schism. I know the rules - I think you'll find I am allowed to gain access to it." She cocked her head - if it was her head. The Sisters included members of practically every race. One could never be sure that the Sister was necessarily as humanoid as they appeared.
"That is not possible," she said after a pause. "No Time Lords remain. Identify yourself immediately!" She raised a small blaster. What was it with women pointing guns at him, the Doctor wondered, shifting River's weight slightly. He decided to be blunt - there was no point in beating around the bush when River's life was in danger - and by extension of that, his own was probably on the line too.
"I'm the Doctor. I am over twelve hundred years old. I am the last surviving Time Lord of Gallifrey. I was the one who Time Locked the planet, and I was the one who brought about the end of the Last Time War. I had to make that choice and have had to carry the burden of what I did every day since. And right now, my wife is going to die of Augeas Oforkansi poisoning if I don't get access to the Schism as quickly as possible. So please, Sister of Infinity, put that gun down!"
The Sister remained still for a moment, then lowered the gun. Raising her other arm (or it might have been a tentacle or something - you could never tell) she spoke into a com link. "Sisters - we have a Visitor to the Schism."
The Doctor relaxed slightly, until a voice on the other end of the com link came back. "We require proof of identification. Allow the Visitor to proceed to the base of the Schism." The Sister before him bowed slightly and stood aside. The Doctor spared her a small smile as he walked past towards the base of a stone structure.
It was a set of stone stairs that were carved into the rock of the planet. Gallifrey used to be visible in these skies - it was the closest the Doctor had been to home for an awfully long time. At the top of the stairs, he knew, there was a plateau of rock that sat beneath the Schism. He shuddered slightly as he remembered it.
Reaching the stone stairs, another Sister stepped from the shadows. He immediately bowed his head out of respect. She wore robes of the purest white. This must be the Mother of the Sisterhood, he realised. She spoke first.
"Doctor," her voice sounded human, he was sure of it. "I am Mother Tessa of the Infinite Sisterhood. I require irrefutable proof of your identity before allowing you access to the Schism."
"What would you like as proof, Lady Tessa, seventy-second Mother of Infinity?" He asked. He used her full title out of respect. From the slight movement of her head - she was human, he knew, so it was definitely her head - she was both surprised by his use of the name and approving of it.
"Knowledge will suffice. Tell me something only a true Time Lord of Gallifrey would know. The Sisterhood has long guarded this place - the Time Lords have told us certain things so as that we may test Visitors accordingly." She said softly.
The Doctor considered for a moment, then addressed her again. This time he spoke in High Gallifreyan - a variation of his language forgotten by most races, but not the Sisterhood. "Mother of Infinity, I tell you this; When the wind blows South and the clouds move North, and the leaves fall East as the grass grows West, and the moons of Gallifrey stand still, a certain fruit shall grow from the red soil."
She seemed pleased by his use of the ancient riddle. "Good Doctor, but tell me this - what fruit is it?" She spoke in the same tongue.
The Doctor smiled. "The fruit is of the mind; Rassillon's Gift." He replied.
The joy of having a conversation in the language was upon him in waves. River was fluent in all the written forms of Gallifreyan by this point in her timeline, but not so the spoken variants. She had mastered Basic, but was just beginning to learn High Gallifreyan. Having a conversation like this was an experience the Doctor hadn't had in far too long.
The Mother nodded. "Go," she said, no longer in his native tongue. "The Schism awaits." He nodded at her reverently, then climbed the stairs to the plateau.
Reaching the flat rock, he gulped nervously. Memories of when he was eight years old came crashing back, not pleasant memories either. Staring into the Schism had revealed to him his true name, as well as causing him to start running. Of course, the two weren't mutually exclusive either.
Swallowing his fear, he advanced towards the Schism. He was careful not to look into it - the vastness of Time still made him want to run, and he wasn't sure he could resist the impulse. He had to say focused to help River.
Reaching the jutting piece of rock that led right up to the schism, he placed River down. "Come on River, I need you to open your eyes. Please." He said to her gently, stroking her cheek.
Her face was contorted in pain and her muscles were twitching uncontrollably - she was not long for this world. The Doctor reached out and pressed his fingertips to her temples.
He hated doing this, especially to River. An unconscious person can't block out memories, so often the Doctor would see quite personal things even when lightly skimming an unconscious person's mind. Hence he hated doing it. But there was no alternative that he could think of.
He reached into her mind tenderly. He kept his 'eyes' tightly closed so as that he wouldn't see anything that was drifting about in her head. Moving quickly, he reached for a random memory and yanked. Hard.
Letting go of the memory, he zipped back into his own head and opened his eyes. River's eyes were wide open. "Sweetie...?" She sounded tired and ill - not surprising considering how close she was to death. Her eyelids began to close again.
"No! River, please you need to stay conscious! You have to do this!" He grabbed her hand.
"But it hurts..." River - his strong, capable River - was begging. Seeing her curled up on the stone, writhing in pain - it broke the Doctor's hearts.
"I know sweetie..." He stroked the back of her hand. "But you need to look. If you don't you'll die. Please!"
She looked up at him. Pain was barely concealed in her eyes as she gazed at his face. Seeing the worry and concern written across his features, she nodded with difficulty. "Help me." She said, weaker even than before.
The Doctor gently picked her up again, much like he had before. Except, this time he stood with both arms around her, supporting her as she tried to put her weight on her feet. It wasn't working.
"Lean on me." He murmured into her ear, turning her to face away from him, towards the schism. They weren't angled such that she could look into it, but the stiffening of her body beneath his hands told him that she knew what was happening.
"Augeas Oforkansi." He told her before she could ask. Her hands grasped his arms as he moved slightly, so as that she was mere millimetres away from staring into the Untempered Schism.
"Oh River," he spoke in Gallifreyan now, "I never wanted you to have to do this..." She rubbed his arm gently, telling him that he was forgiven through her simple action - she was too weak to talk.
Together they moved, slipping into the exact spot necessary for River to gaze into the Untempered Schism. River blinked weakly, and upon opening her eyes, found herself confronted with the vastness of Time itself.
And her mind was changed.
Okay - quick footnote for clarification. I don't know if the Classic series said anything about the Schism, but in my mind it wasn't on Gallifrey. The first journey a Time Lord child ever made was to a nearby (as in - as close to Gallifrey as Mars is to Earth) planet in order to look into the Schism. The Sisters of Infinity (the 'Sisters of the Infinite Schism' is a hospital according to the TARDIS wiki) have always looked after this planet and protected the Schism. Blah blah. If you want more background info on all of this, send me a review or a PM and I'll get back to you.