Chapter Twenty-One; Into The Mirror
"Do you have any two's?" Jane asked her mother as she sat a crossed the table from her playing a game of Go Fish with her and Cassie who sat right night to them.
"Nope sorry, go fish." Rose told her.
"Aw man! This is taking forever." She muttered as Rose grinned while she drew a card when suddenly the doorbell rang.
"Hold on a second I'll be right back. Cassie, take your turn." Rose said before she stood up and went to go answer the door.
"Alright Jane, do you have any sixes?" Cassie asked her.
"Go fish." She told her while their mother got up to answer the door and saw Mickey on the other side of it breathing heavily.
"Where's The Doctor?" he asked her anxiously.
"He went back in time with Peter, why?" she asked him out of concern.
"We've got a big problem." He began before he pulled her out into the hallway and pulled the door shut behind them. "There's an army of cybermen outside." He told her.
"What!?" she exclaimed. "Why are they here, what do they want?" she asked him worriedly.
"They're coming to delete everybody and this world altogether." He answered when suddenly Rose grew silent.
"Oh no." she mouthed. "The reason that The Doctor went back in time was to stop The Master from taking control of it. Something must have happened, he must have not been able to." She realized.
"We have to do something then." He told her.
"I know but what!?" she cried.
"You're the one whose part time lady not me!" he snapped.
"I know but this is the first time I've had to figure things out on my own, I've always had The Doctor with me before." She explained.
"Yeah well, he's not here now is he so that means that you're going to have to think of something." He told her as she grew silent again for another moment while she thought.
"The mirror." She began.
"Mirror? What mirror?" he questioned her.
"There's a mirror in my daughters' bedroom, well it's portal actually, it leads to Fantasy Island." She told him.
"Well how's that going to help?" he asked her.
"Every dream that ever existed goes to live there, even if you dream something up while you're inside it. I know because one time I dreamed up the TARDIS and it saved The Doctor and I from getting eaten by a T-Rex. If it receives enough positive energy, and I dream that time goes back the way that it should, then maybe it will." She explained.
"Alright then, if you say so." He told her.
"You don't believe me, do you?" she questioned.
"In all honesty,.. no not really." He told her as she shot him an evil dirty glare.
"C'mon!" she cried as she grabbed him by the arm and dragged him inside.
"Rose wait! This is crazy!" he exclaimed.
"Mummy, it's your turn." Cassie told her.
"I'm sorry baby I can't play right now, your uncle Mickey and I've got a job to do. Stay here!" she yelled while she dragged Mickey into the hallway and continued to drag him inside the girls' bedroom before shutting the door behind them. Then they both turned to stare into the glistening object.
"That's it?" he questioned.
"Yep, that's it." She answered.
"Well then how are we going to get into it?" he asked her.
"Jump I guess." She answered.
"You're joking, if we jump into it we'll either bump into it or break it." He told her.
"Well, there's only one way to find out." She began before she clasped onto his hand before she started running towards it and then leaped into the air. Mickey quickly shut his eyes as they neared towards the mirror but with great astonishment and relief they passed right through it. He slowly opened his eyes and started to look around and study the world in front of him.
Rose noticed that even though it still looked beautiful they were in a meadow of daisies and other pretty flowers (like tulips and lily's) this time rather than on the island. Mickey slowly began to open his eyes when a blue butterfly flew straight past his head. "What just happened?" he asked with uncertainty.
"We're inside the mirror." She told him.
"Well thank you captain obvious." He told her sarcastically with a roll of his eyes.
"Yeah, well, you're the one who asked." She told him when suddenly she saw a great bright light ahead of her. "C'mon, I think we're supposed to follow it." She said as she started to run and pull him along behind her.
"What are you nuts!? What do they always tell you to do when you're about to die? Stay away from the light! It's just like in that movie Poltergeist!" he exclaimed but Rose ignored him and continued to run. That's when suddenly she came to a dead stop when she saw who was standing in front of her.
"Mum?" she questioned as her mother smiled back at her. "Is it really you?" she asked her as her mother slightly nodded back at her.
"Hullo, my darling Rose." She said.
"So it's true, Jane was right," she began as she felt tears of joy trickle down her cheeks. "she said that you were living inside the mirror and here you are." She finished.
"This is a place where dreams exist, I never left. And I never will." Her mother told her.
"Mum listen, something's gone horribly wrong. Time has changed and now the cybermen are trying to delete our world. There must be a way to stop all of it." She said.
"Yes of course there is, but in order for time itself to rewind, a sacrifice must be made." Her mother told her.
"What do you mean? What sacrifice?" Rose questioned her anxiously.
"Time is not meant to be meddled with, you know that." Her mother began with a shake of her head.
"Yes, I know that. That's why I want to do whatever it takes to change it back." Rose told her. "Just tell me what to do." She said when her mother grew silent for a moment. "Mum? What is it? Tell me what I need to do!" she shouted.
"I'm afraid the answer isn't all that simple child. You see in order for time to rewind it has to gain something or rather stop something in return. It must fill in the gap between life and the hereafter." Her mother told her.
"You mean, somebody has to die?" Rose asked her.
"Yes darling, I'm afraid so." She answered. "That's the terrible price that has to be paid in the end." Her mother told her.
"But that's not fair! That can't be right! Time has been changed before and_" Rose began. "my father died. But I thought that was just because that was what was supposed to happen." She said.
"That's true but I'm afraid that the one who will end up paying the ultimate sacrifice was the one who was supposed to all along." Her mother said.
"It's me isn't it? I'm the one who's supposed to die. Jane was right all along, she's been saying it for almost her whole entire life." Rose realized.
"Rose wait, you don't have to do this. You might not be the one that she's talking about." Mickey told her as he squeezed her hand.
"No Mickey, I have to." She began as she turned to look over at him. "I love you all too much to sacrifice any of you." She told him. "Besides, it's not a total loss. After I'm dead I'll just come to live here with my parents and then you can just come and see me whenever you want to." She told him shakily with a sniff trying not to burst into tears.
"You can't go, I'll miss you too much. What am I supposed to do without you?" he questioned her.
"Take care of my family." She answered with a sniff as she brushed away her tears.
"I love you." Mickey began as a tear rolled down his own cheek. "And even though it didn't work out between us, I always will." He told her as she tightly embraced him.
"I love you too." She whispered with another sniff before planting a kiss on his cheek. Then she quickly pulled away from him. "I'll be back soon, I promise." She told her mother as she nodded back at her and then the two of them (Mickey and Rose) turned back around. Rose took ahold of Mickey's hand again and visualized the bedroom before they started to run and leap back out of the mirror back into the real world.