Disclaimer: Doctor Who belongs to the BBC. I do not own anything.
A/N Part 4 of 'The Best Enemy'. Thanks to Vampiyaa for the beta.
Happy Reading!
The Best Enemy: Full Circle
Previously
"Where are we going?" she asked him.
He shook his head. "Nowhere," he said. "At least, you and I are not."
His words set alarm bells ringing in her head and Rose only had a moment before he lunged towards her and wrapped his hands around her throat.
"I am so sorry, my Rose," he said, tightening his grip. "I am so very sorry."
Rose gasped for air but before she could struggle too much, the Valeyard's grip slackened and he fell to the ground unconsciousness. She backed away quickly, trying to regain her breath and saw the Master calmly putting away a short truncheon back into his jacket pocket.
"Are you alright, Miss Tyler?" he asked her politely, as if he hadn't just knocked out the Valeyard. Her expression of disbelief must have shown on her face, since he chuckled lightly. "I was never going to go along with his ridiculous plan. Unravel the whole of reality? Psh!"
"Then why did you bring me to him?" asked Rose, finally finding her voice.
"I needed his TARDIS, of course," he said, going over to the console and flipping a few switches. "The Conceptual Bomb is still working and we are out of time. The new timeline is already taking shape."
"It can't, though," said Rose. "I'm still here."
"Yes, but you won't be for much longer, which is why I'm hurrying to get to our next destination," he said, piloting the TARDIS frantically.
"Which is what?" asked Rose. "And why didn't you tell me that this was your plan all along?"
He took a moment to look up from piloting to shoot her a gaze full of condescension. "Oh my dear Rose, you may be a lot of things, but a good liar is not one of them," he said. "As for our next destination, well, we are going to Gallifrey."
"Why?" asked Rose, but the TARDIS materialisation sound filled the console room and they landed a moment later with a thud.
"Come on," said the Master.
"Hold on, what about him?" asked Rose, looking towards the Valeyard's unconscious form.
"Ah, yes," said the Master. "Almost forgot about him. We need him for where we are going."
Rose watched with wide eyes as the Master drew out simple zip ties from his jacket and tied the Valeyard's hands behind his back before pressing two fingers none too gently against the Valeyard's forehead, making him wake up with a gasp.
"Wha..?" The Valeyard looked utterly confused.
The Master tutted as he all but lifted the Valeyard to his feet. "Now, don't strain yourself too much," he said, taking his arm and marching him towards the doors. "There's still work to be done."
"Why are we on Gallifrey?" asked Rose, following the Master and the Valeyard out of the TARDIS. "The Time Lords can't fix this…" She trailed off when she saw that the Master had landed the TARDIS right in the middle of the Panopticon and there was a whole platoon of Chancellery Guards surrounding the TARDIS.
"Don't fret," said the Master, at once. "I come bearing gifts. Tell him that I have brought his Arkytior to him."
The guards glanced at each other in confusion and Rose was inclined to share that sentiment. She looked at the Master questioningly but he didn't look at her.
"Let them approach," ordered a cool voice and Rose's heart jumped.
The guards parted to reveal a grand throne and Rose's eyes went wide when she saw the man that sat atop it, wearing a bored expression on his face which tensed when his eyes fell on them.
"Doctor?" asked Rose, before she could help it. Then she looked at him again, and realised that while it was the Doctor's face, it wasn't him. Not quite. Unbidden, the Master's words rang in her mind. The Other becoming the only ruler Gallifrey shall ever have until the end of time itself.
He got to his feet slowly, his eyes fixed on Rose. Then, seemingly without warning, he shook his head. "Kill her," he ordered.
"Wait," said the Master as Rose stood stunned. "It's her, I swear to you."
He snorted in reply. "Do you think you are the first to present me with a visage of her to try and sway me?" he asked coldly. "My Arkytior is dead and no power in the universe can bring her back, and believe me, I have tried." He waved a lazy hand towards his guards. "Kill them all."
"We've met before," said Rose, as the guards started to approach them. "When the Guardians used the Key to Time."
"Stop!" ordered the Other and turned his sharp gaze on her. "I have never held the Key to Time."
"Yes, you have, or you will, at least," said Rose and took a deep breath. "They didn't kill me in the original timeline. They sentenced me to a mortal life. My name's not Arkytior. It's Rose Tyler. And I am married to the Doctor. He's a Time Lord who had once been you."
The Other stared at her and approached her with slow steps, though he kept a wide gap between them. "Do you have proof?" he asked.
"He is proof," said Rose, pointing at the bound Valeyard. "He tried to change it by wiping my existence from time so that Arkytior would be killed by the Guardians."
"And who is he?" asked the Other, turning his gaze on the Valeyard.
"He is an amalgamation of the Doctor's worst evils," said the Master. "He was born in a universe without time and he learned that he could prevent his own creation as well as the Doctor's, if he could keep you alive by getting rid of Rose Tyler."
"Is it true?" asked the Other, looking at the Valeyard.
"Yes," he admitted. "But I only did it to prevent a worse timeline. Look at you. You are the Lord of Gallifrey. You command an army. You sit on a throne in the Panopticon without opposition. This is the best timeline that there could be. I only did what was always meant to be."
The Other was silent before he held his hand out to the closest guard. The guard placed what looked like a plain old black cane in his hand. The Master released the Valeyard and put some distance between them quickly. Rose stared in confusion until the Other touched the cane right between the Valeyard's hearts. The Valeyard screamed in agony and fell to his knees.
Rose gasped and tried to say something but the Master grabbed her elbow and shook his head. The Other held the cane at the Valeyard's chest, his expression blank as he listened to his screams.
"Stop!" shouted Rose, ignoring the Master's warning. "You'll kill him."
"That is the point," said the Other, without flinching. "All these years, I waited to know who it was that was responsible for her death and he walks in here expecting praise for making me the monster that I am." He pressed the cane harder and the Valeyard's screams got louder. "HOW DARE YOU?"
"Stop it," shouted Rose and the Other withdrew the cane and pointed it at her instead.
"Give me a reason," he said.
"You are not a killer," she said.
"Wrong, try again," he said. "I have killed so many over the years that I have lost count."
"But it wasn't meant to be like this," protested Rose. "Help us fix this. If you hate this timeline just as much as we do, then help us fix this."
The Other lowered the cane and stared at her. "You are asking me to unravel this entire timeline for you," he said.
"Yes," said Rose, hating how her voice shook as she said it.
"Give me a reason," he repeated.
Rose nodded slowly and raised her hands to her side as she approached him. The Other tensed but stood where he was as Rose got closer and leaned in to whisper in his ear. The silence was deafening in the Panopticon, broken only by the Valeyard's pained whimpers.
The Other and Rose drew back and stared at each other for a moment. A beat later, the Other nodded. "Very well," he said.
"Okay," nodded Rose, looking relieved. "So, how do we fix it?"
The Other smiled and closed the distance between them to kiss her deeply. Rose barely had time to feel his lips on hers before she felt a bright light in her vision and the feeling of something heavy slamming into her gut. She opened her mouth to scream but found herself flat on her back with the Valeyard's TARDIS ceiling in her line of sight. She sat up and glanced around to see the Master looking a bit winded but there was no sign of the Valeyard.
"What happened?" asked Rose, holding onto the console to get to her feet.
The Master readjusted his tie and shook his head. "He fixed the timeline in the quickest way he knew how," he said. At Rose's blank look, he rolled his eyes. "Two impossibilities touched. The only reason he existed was because you didn't. When two impossible things come into contact, things go boom and only one exists. You were a much stronger possibility while his existence had only just solidified. Hence, you survived when you touched and he was wiped from time. Though, I am curious as to what you whispered to him."
"His name," said Rose shortly. "But the Doctor's still alive, isn't he?"
"Oh, yes, of course," said the Master. "Things snapped back into place as soon as he kissed you. The Guardians still condemn Arkytior to a mortal life, the Other did jump in the looms, yada yada yada and history happened just as it always has."
"Then what happened to the Valeyard?" she asked.
The Master shrugged. "I doubt he had enough life force left in him to survive the timeline resetting. Even if the Other hadn't tortured him, he wouldn't have lived. You saw the way he was, didn't you?" He made a gesture meant to indicate a loose screw. "He was losing it long before the timeline reset."
Rose bit back tears and nodded. "So, everything is where it's supposed to be?" she asked.
"Nearly, yes," nodded the Master. "I suppose I could get you to the Doctor now."
Rose looked at him. "Why did you help?" she asked. "You didn't have to but you still took me to that fledgling timeline with the Other. You wanted this timeline to prevail over that one too. Why?"
The Master smirked. "I do not take kindly to being subjugated," he said. "This timeline, chaotic as it might be, is quite conducive to me. I have thirteen lives back and this TARDIS too, from the look of things." He smirked and leaned in closer to Rose as if imparting a secret. "And just between you and me, a universe without the Doctor scarcely bears thinking about."
The TARDIS sat on a deserted asteroid in the solar system, the only one of its kind with natural breathable air and no population. The five Doctors walked back inside the TARDIS, the waiting getting on their nerves. A few hours ago, they had received coordinates to this place from the Valeyard's TARDIS but so far, there had been no sign of anyone.
At the Ninth Doctor's insistence, they had given Fitz a proper burial on the asteroid. It would remain undisturbed and the Eighth Doctor had even built a small perception filter to keep it safe from any travellers who might happen upon it.
"I need to check those coordinates again," muttered the Eighth Doctor, moving towards the console.
"The coordinates are fine," said the Twelfth Doctor, calmly blocking his way.
"Then let me try and establish communications with the other TARDIS," he protested.
"We've tried that already," the Eleventh Doctor pointed out. "Besides…"
His words were cut off by the sound of a materialising TARDIS outside. The Doctors exchanged a quick look before they moved as one towards the door. However, the Eighth Doctor pushed past them and turned around to point at the rest of his selves. "Stay here," he ordered and left, closing the doors behind himself.
"Stay here? Stay here?" sputtered the Tenth Doctor indignantly. "Who does he think he is?"
"He's right," said the Ninth Doctor. "If he needs help, he'll ask."
The rest of the Doctors seemed reluctant but nodded under the cool gaze of their ninth self. Meanwhile, the Eighth Doctor walked out of his TARDIS in time to see a black police box materialising a few yards in front of him. It landed with a thud and the exterior changed immediately to resemble one of the many tall boulders on the asteroid.
Brow furrowing, the Doctor started to walk towards it but he heard a slight scuffle before Rose emerged from behind the boulder, looking tired but utterly glorious. As soon as her gaze fell on the Doctor, she broke out into a sprint and threw herself in his arms. The Doctor caught her expertly and muffled a groan of relief into her neck as he held her tightly, relief filling his hearts and mind when she reached out to him voluntarily and he felt their bond rejoice in their reunion.
There was a sound of a throat clearing and the Doctor drew Rose behind him instinctively. "Master?" he asked, stunned.
"Oh, my, my, Doctor," said the Master, sounding utterly delighted. "I do so love it when you say my name."
"I knew it!" said the Doctor angrily. "I knew that you had to be behind all of this. When I couldn't find Rose in the pocket universe, I knew someone else had taken her. Not the Valeyard, no, I made sure of that. So it had to be someone he had worked with before."
"Doctor," interrupted Rose. "Doctor, stop." The Doctor looked at Rose in confusion. "He helped," she said. "Believe it or not, he helped me."
The Doctor turned back to the Master, disbelief written clearly all over his face. "Why?" he asked finally.
The Master adjusted the lapels of his jacket and smirked. "The Time Lords offered me a whole new life cycle if I assisted," he said. "So I took them up on their offer. Everything else I did, including rescuing your lovely new wife, I did it to ensure that I would live long enough to enjoy all thirteen of my new lives."
"And I suppose I'll just have to take your word for that?" asked the Doctor.
The Master's smirk widened. "Yes, I suppose you will just have to," he said.
The Doctor tightened his grip on Rose and nodded at the Master. "Thank you," he said, sounding sincere despite the tension rolling off him.
"Of course," nodded the Master. "I'll just say you owe me one. Besides, the universe isn't such a big place after all. I'm sure we will run into each other again. One way or another."
With that, he turned to go back into his TARDIS. He was almost behind the boulder when he turned back. "Oh, and," he said, smiling at them. "It was very nice meeting you, Rose Tyler."
Rose nodded back at him and he whistled jauntily as he walked into his TARDIS and dematerialised a moment later. The Doctor exhaled heavily before he turned to Rose and ran his knuckles gently over her cheek. "Tell me everything," he said.
She sighed and closed her eyes, resting her forehead against his and letting the events play out over the bond. It was physically and mentally draining but she kept on until she had shown him everything from the moment she had disappeared to running into his arms a few minutes ago. When she was done, she let her head fall on his shoulder, giving him time to process it all.
A few seconds later, the Doctor lifted her into his arms but instead of going to the TARDIS, he carried her towards the heather-covered ground near the boulders. He sat down with Rose on his lap and ran his fingers through her hair, occasionally brushing his lips against her forehead. Rose closed her eyes and let his gentle actions soothe her frazzled psyche and exhausted body. Several long minutes later, Rose raised her head to meet his gaze and saw anguish written clearly across his features.
Dread filling her heart, Rose placed her palm against his cheek. "Tell me everything," she said, repeating his words back to him.
He closed his eyes briefly and turned his head to kiss her wrist. The feeling of dread in Rose's heart worsened. He was about to lean forward to initiate a deeper connection to do what Rose had done before but the TARDIS door opened and a tall man in a brown pinstriped suit leaned out with an apologetic look on his face.
"Sorry to interrupt," he said. "But we don't have long. We need to take care of a few memories."
Rose glanced back at the Doctor, who nodded in irritation at the stranger. "Who is he?" asked Rose as they got to their feet, though they didn't let go of each other.
The Doctor grimaced. "He's me," he said. "My tenth self. Well, not quite, since his memories…"
"Actually," interrupted the Tenth Doctor, waving his left hand at them, which showed a wedding ring on it. "That's what I meant. We don't have long because the timeline has snapped back in place. Things are nearly back where they should be."
Rose glanced at her husband as they followed his tenth self back inside the TARDIS. There were three other men inside, and Rose guessed that they must be the Doctor too. His future selves.
"Is it allowed?" she asked her husband. "For us to remember seeing what your future selves look like?"
"No," answered the one in the leather jacket with a soft smile towards her. "His memories will lock themselves but…"
"But you'll need to wipe my memories of seeing you," nodded Rose.
"I won't erase much, just the memories of our faces," said the grey-haired one.
Rose bit her lip but nodded, glancing at the youngest-appearing one of them, who hadn't said a word but was beaming at her just the same. Her husband squeezed her hand. "I'll be right here," he said.
The grey-haired Doctor approached them. "I won't hurt you," he said.
"I know," said Rose and closed her eyes as he cupped her face and touched his fingers to her temple. She felt something cool trickle into her mind and then his hands withdrew from her face. "Is that it?" she asked.
"The memories will disappear once we do," said the pinstriped Doctor.
"Speak of the devil," said the Ninth Doctor, glancing at his hand which phased in and out of existence. "Goodbye, love," he said, smiling at Rose before vanishing completely.
"Ooh, me next," said the Tenth Doctor. Ignoring the warning glare that his eighth self shot him, he took Rose's hand and kissed the back of it. "Be seeing you, darling."
Rose couldn't help but smile at his flirtatious wink, so very different from the sweet grin of the Doctor in the leather jacket. He didn't stop looking at Rose until the moment he vanished. The youngest one in the tweed jacket and bow tie bounced over to them in awkward movements that made Rose fear for his safety, but he made it to them without falling over. He placed a soft kiss on her forehead and beamed at her.
"Glad to know you are okay," he said and vanished almost immediately.
The grey-haired Doctor was much slower as he walked, as if he was weighing a thousand things on his mind. He nodded at his eighth self before he turned to Rose with a quiet smile that made her think that it was a rare thing for him to smile like that.
"Be strong, my love," he said solemnly. "You have to be strong now."
Rose's brow furrowed but he didn't elaborate. He turned back to his eighth self. "You'll know when Rose is holding the bazoolium," he said. "Remember, her name is Miranda."
"What?" asked the Doctor but his twelfth self vanished, leaving only the two of them in the console room.
"What did he mean by that?" asked Rose, the memories of the four faces already blurring in her mind.
"I don't know," said the Doctor. "A bazoolium is a stone that tells the weather. It's a trinket, nothing more. And I have no idea who Miranda is."
"No, about me being strong," said Rose. "Doctor, what's going on?"
The Doctor closed his eyes briefly. "I am so sorry, Rose," he said.
"You're scaring me," she said. "Doctor, what's happened?" Then she glanced around the console room quickly. "Where's Fitz? He said you were on your way to him."
"Rose," said the Doctor in a pained whisper and Rose started shaking her head.
"No," she said, a tear falling down her cheek even as she shook her head in denial. "No, no, no, no."
"He's gone, Rose," said the Doctor. "The Valeyard, he…"
"NO!" shouted Rose, stumbling away from the Doctor. "I told him to come with me but he refused. He risked his life...oh my god." Rose's knees buckled but she steadied herself before the Doctor could touch her. She whirled around and realised that the Doctor still had that look of anguish on his face but it was somehow deeper. "What else?" she asked. When he didn't answer, Rose raised her voice. "Doctor, what else?"
The Doctor sighed deeply and stuck his hands in his pocket. "The Time Lords managed to repair the timeline once you and the Other reset it," he said, hesitating before saying the next part. "What they couldn't fix was the first event that triggered it."
"The first event…?" asked Rose in confusion before her eyes went wide with horror. "Mum? Something's happened to mum?"
"She's fine, she's alive," said the Doctor hurriedly. "As is your father." Rose inhaled sharply but the Doctor pressed on. "The Time Lords had to seal off that universe."
"You mean, our universe," said Rose.
He shook his head sadly. "That universe is no longer ours, Rose," he said. "Where we are now is our universe. Amy and Rory are in this universe and we met Fitz in this same universe."
"I don't understand," said Rose, numbly.
"That alternate timeline saw Jackie and Pete Tyler without children. It's no longer the prime universe. Your existence contradicts that entirely," he explained. "The Time Lords made a few alterations to retain this universe as the prime one by isolating only Jackie and Pete's timeline as the other universe."
"But we can still go to that universe, can't we?" she asked.
"No, my darling," said the Doctor regretfully. "If either of us were to enter that bit of universe, it would be like when the Other kissed you. Except this time, two or maybe even three universes will be destroyed."
Rose just stared at him in silence before she nodded slowly. "Okay," she said and turned around to go back deeper inside the TARDIS.
"Rose!" called the Doctor, pained at how she seemed to have simply shut down. "Rose, wait!"
He started after her but Rose kept walking and disappeared around the corner. When the Doctor went to follow her, he was met with a solid wall. He opened his mouth to call for her when he felt himself go cold all over. His eyes went wide with fear when he felt Rose block her side of the bond completely from him. He reached for her frantically but was met with the mental equivalent of a solid wall.
His wife had decided to shut him out completely.
A/N I am sorry! Thanks for reading.
The next one up is #6 The Doctor's Daughter.