Hello everyone...*hangs head in shame* I am SO sorry it's been so long since I updated but I hope this chapter will make up for it. I promised I would give the Youtuber lilyandtherose a shout out next time I updated so I would just like to do that. They make excellent Doctor/Rose videos that are very inspiring for fanfiction writers and full of feels :) To reviewer Wolfbloods unite- I couldn't reply to your review but I would just like to apologise for not using the right term as I'm not from the UK and in Australia I have never heard of that term before.
Anyway, to get back to the story I must warn you all that it takes quite a dark turn in this chapter. I nearly made it M rated because of some of the more violent pictures in this chapter but I think you guys can handle it. Happy reading and I hope you enjoy the new update :)
WARNING: Contains feels carried on from an earlier chapter last season.
The TARDIS shook violently as the Doctor piloted it back to Earth. He and Rose had agreed that if Martha wanted to leave, this would be her opportunity. They both hoped she wouldn't want to leave. She had become a part of their lives in the short time they'd known her, much like Jack or Mickey, a necessary part of life that was there whenever they needed her to be.
Martha herself was confused why the other two seemed so nervous. Was it something to do with Rose going missing in the TARDIS? Had Martha done something wrong to anger them and they were now awkwardly trying to figure out how to kick her out?
Regardless of these ideas, she still bolted excitedly out of the door. Sure enough, her apartment was waiting for her when she exited.
"Home?" she turned to the other two who were just coming out behind her. "You took me home?"
"Yeah," the Doctor nodded, "back to the morning after we left. You've only been gone about twelve hours to everyone else".
"And I made sure of it," Rose added in with a sideways glance at the Doctor. "We wouldn't want anyone you think you're missing or anything".
"You still haven't let that go, have you?" the Doctor asked exasperatedly. "I knew it! After all this time you're still mad about that measly little year".
"Oi!" they both jumped and looked wide-eyed at their companion. "What about all the stuff we've done?"
"All in one night," the Doctor grinned. "Everything should be exactly as it was when you left, just as we promised".
"So this is it?" Martha asked in disbelief. "You're just going to show me all that and just drop me off?"
Rose's eyes narrowed and she leaned closer to the Doctor's ear. "I'm sensing a bit of a negative reaction here".
"You're damn right!" Martha yelled. "I thought we were friends?!"
"We"-
Martha's phone rang and her mother's voice filled the apartment. "I'm sorry," she murmured, "just let it ring out".
Rose frowned and looked around the room. Something was off, she could feel it. "Doct"-
"What is it?" she asked her quietly. He had felt a disturbance through their bond and he could tell she was rather uncomfortable.
"I'm not sure," she whispered and Martha turned off the TV again.
"Do you want us to give you some time?" the Doctor asked.
Rose nodded. "Maybe you might be able to find whatever it is before I do. Martha, keep an eye on him would you?"
"With pleasure," Martha smiled at her. "But I don't understand. Where are you"-
Rose disappeared in an instant with no trace that she was ever there to begin with. Even the Doctor's eyes were wide when he turned to Martha.
"Right, shall we?"
"How did-but how..."
"Best not to ask," the Doctor chuckled as he led her back inside the TARDIS.
Xxx
Rose found herself on a rooftop and looked around. That had been the first time she had ever teleported outside of the TARDIS. It was a strange feeling. To know that she could feasibly teleport anywhere in time and space was quite a lot to take in. She was yet to travel through the time vortex itself, but she knew that if she ever had to it would be an amazing experience. Traveling through the vortex in the TARDIS was exciting enough because she could feel the TARDIS, but doing it herself? Having the wind whipping through her hair and the pure essence of time flowing around her had an alluring charm she could not immediately resist.
She had gradually been becoming more daring with her powers. The Doctor had walked in on her only the night before to find her growing a small plant from a seed.
Rose was unsure if these powers made him uncomfortable or not but for once it was nice to be the one to shock him for a change. Maybe he felt she was emasculating him by taking away his ability to shock her, but she certainly didn't mean to. It was true that her powers made her more independent, but was that really a bad thing? It gave the Doctor more time to concentrate on whatever the problem was. She could just imagine how much time they would save when the Doctor didn't have to waste his time on a damsel in distress.
Despite this, however, they still kept Martha with them. Martha was a lovely person and Rose liked her a great deal, but as her power grew Rose was slowly losing the ability to empathize with humans. She knew this was a problem, but she was gradually losing the ability to care about it. She could do what she wanted whenever she wanted. Who was going to stop her? Her husband? Rose chuckled at the thought. The Doctor was a very influential person and she would never stop loving him...but not even he could make her do anything she didn't want to. The only thing with any power to control her was the TARDIS and the TARDIS was just a box, a machine.
Rose gasped and clapped a hand over her mouth. Where had these thoughts come from? Why was her brain filled with dark thoughts?
'Because you like them,' a voice hissed inside her head.
She knew it was only her mind speaking to her, but she was confused at how those thoughts got in there in the first place. How did she skip so easily from a loving wife to a power-hungry killer and back again within moments? How could she tell the Doctor?
Sighing, she scrubbed her hands down her face and looked around her once more. She could battle this. She could continue the way that she always had. The Doctor and she had only just battled through one problem and she didn't want to burden him with another.
Suddenly, a vision flashed in her head of the Doctor strapped down to a sort of bench. There was blood around him and she could hear laughter. But when she turned in the direction of the laughter all she saw was a reflection of her, closing the TARDIS doors and leaving her husband behind to die.
Another gasp got caught in her throat and she choked. Hot liquid made its way up her throat and she spat it out on the ground in front of her. An acidic taste filled her mouth and she retched again.
Only once she had emptied the entire contents of her stomach did she stand up again.
"Jack," she panted. "Jack!"
Barely a minute later Jack appeared in front of her looking very concerned. "Rose!" he rushed to her side and placed a hand on her shoulder. "It's alright. I heard you sweetie, I'm here now".
Rose didn't meet his eyes but kept her head down and her body crouched. "Jack..."
"I'm here," he crouched down beside her and patted her back gently. "I'm not gonna leave until you tell me to".
She turned her head and Jack almost leapt back in shock. Her eyes were glowing with dark golden light and she looked almost murderous...almost like a feral animal. Only a few seconds later the light faded and her normal whiskey coloured eyes met his.
"Jack," she cried and flung her arms around his neck.
"Rose, what happened? Where's the Doctor?"
"Investigating with Martha," Rose murmured. "I told them I could sense something was wrong but I don't even know if it wasn't just me all along. Jack...I'm changing".
"What do you mean by 'changing'?"
Rose's eyes seemed to glaze over and she looked off into the distance. "I can see everything and feel everything but at the same time I can't. My powers are increasing and I have these moments when I can't feel anything. All of my compassion and cares drift away for a while and I feel...good. I feel like I'm invincible and nothing can stop me, not even the Doctor. I feel like the universe is mine to do with as I please...and then it stops. My feelings come back and I left terrified with the echoes of some of the thoughts I had during the episode. Jack...I want to kill when I'm like that".
Jack sat quietly and waited for her to finish speaking. What had happened to his friend? This was his doing too. What if she couldn't change it and she became a vengeful goddess?
"I think you better come with me and we can run some tests on you," he spoke quietly and nodded to himself. Would that work? Anything to keep her from harming the Doctor and Martha would be ideal. Both Jack and Eva were immortal so it didn't really bother him if she killed them, as long as it wasn't permanent.
"No," she shook her head. "I know that I should go with you and that it would be for the safety of everyone...but I can't leave him. The one thing that I can feel when I change is my love for him coursing through me like a lifeline. It irritates me and I try my best to shake it off but it's still there".
"Do you think...it is possible that the wolf is trying to break free? No one has ever done what you've done before and it is possible that the power is getting restless being so dormant".
"Are you saying that I should just stop fighting it and allow myself to just let go?"
"No," Jack shook his head. "That would be dangerous for the whole universe. I was thinking more that if you use more of the power then the wolf won't need to take over".
"So I should just exploit it?" Rose asked as her face screwed up in torment. "Jack, I can't do that".
"Would you rather use the power or let the wolf use the power the way it sees fit?"
Rose sat down and the ground and nodded. "I can do it, but I don't know how to tell the Doctor".
"Do you want me to go and find him?"
She shrugged. "I can find him no trouble. Here," she raised a hand to Jack's head and placed a location inside his mind. "He and Martha will be there tonight".
"Thanks," Jack smiled warmly at her. "What are you going to do?"
"Blow off some steam," Rose sucked in a deep breath and waved her hand over the puddle of vomit in front of her. It disappeared and she looked back up to meet his eyes. "Every bit counts".
Jack pulled her into another hug. "I'll call for you when we need you".
"You think you'll need me?"
"Why wouldn't we?"
She shrugged again. "No reason".
"You be careful".
"You too," she turned away from him and walked towards the edge of the building. Jack watched in awe as she dropped off of the side only to disappear just as she began falling.
"She's gained a taste for theatrics I see," he grinned to himself.
Xxx
Rose sped through the time vortex. She knew exactly where she was going the moment she entered and it only took a matter of seconds before she landed on the soft grass. The world seemed to build itself around her and she watched as the palace emerged from the fog. If she was correct, then she had arrived merely days before it was too late.
She looked down at her body in the darkness and waved a hand. Her clothes vanished only to be replaced by more appropriate ones for the time period.
Deciding it would be prudent to use as much power as possible she simply teleported into the palace. People passed her in the corridors but none of them saw her. Even if they could she doubted they'd give her even a second glance.
She found the room she'd been looking for and eased her way carefully inside. In the bed across the room lay the woman she never got to say goodbye to. Her blonde hair was plaited to the side and lay across her left shoulder. She looked terrible, though that was hardly unexpected of someone who was dying.
Rose carefully padded over to the bed and sat down on its edge. She took her friend's hand and squeezed it gently. Eyelids fluttered open and the eyes beneath them widened in shock.
"Rose?" the woman whispered softly.
"Yes, it's me," Rose smiled warmly back. "I'm here, Reinette".
"You still haven't aged," Reinette murmured in false anger.
Rose grinned and Reinette chuckled softly, only to bring on a fit of coughing.
"Here," Rose waved a hand over her friend's chest and the coughing ceased. Of course she couldn't heal her, but Rose didn't want her to suffer in the last days of her life.
"Thank you," Reinette spoke a little louder.
"You're welcome," Rose whispered.
"Why are you here?" Reinette asked suddenly. "I did not think you would arrive again in time. I wrote you both a letter..."
"Which I still have," Rose reached into her pocket (because all dresses should have pockets) and pulled out the letter.
"So you did come back," Reinette smiled. "But why then are you here now?"
Rose shook her head. "I did come back, but that was about a year ago for me now. I missed you the last time I came here. I didn't get to say goodbye," she let out a puff of air and a tear trailed down her cheek.
Reinette nodded in understanding. "I am sorry then, that I did not wait for you".
Rose smiled sadly. "Don't be. I guess I was always meant to come back here".
"So how are you, my dearest friend?" Reinette asked.
Rose laughed but it sounded more like she was choking. "You're asking me that when you're the one..."
Reinette grinned slyly. "Well, you can't exactly ask me now, can you? Besides, I can have nothing to tell you that will cause any excitement. I merely wish to know about you, you with a long life ahead of you".
Rose shook her head. "How do you manage to make me laugh and cry at the same time?"
"Because I have made peace with myself and I know that I can now laugh at my situation and not feel bad. Why should I darken somebody else's day when I can make my last days memorable?"
Rose snorted. "You can do what you like. If any days in life are worth making the most of, they're your last".
"And yet here we are wasting our time arguing about how to spend it," Reinette chuckled. "How very much like us that is".
Rose rolled her eyes and grinned. "I've really missed you".
"And I you," Reinette placed her other hand on top of Rose's. "Though I can imagine it has been harder for you knowing that I am gone than it has been for me waiting for you, knowing you'll return".
"I tried not to think about it," Rose confessed quietly. "I did not think you'd want me to dwell on it. Your letter clearly stated your wishes for my future".
"And did you do as I had wished you to do?"
Rose smiled. "I married him".
Reinette's face broke into the most beautiful and joyful look Rose had ever seen. "Oh my dear friend," a tear rolled down her cheek and she wiped it away with her sleeve. "I believe I may die contentedly, knowing that you have the happiness you deserve".
Rose forced the smile on her face to remain genuine as she took in her friend's words. Even on her deathbed all Reinette wanted was for Rose to be happy and Rose was doing practically everything right to mess that up.
"I'm so sorry, Reinette," she buried her face in a blanket and cried.
Reinette stroked her friend's hair to sooth her. "Don't worry, dearest Rose. Let me chase away your cares as you have chased away mine".
Rose continued to cry for a very long time until she didn't think it was possible for anymore tears to flow. Reinette was still watching her, their hands still intertwined.
"Will you stay with me, Rose?" Reinette asked. "If this is to be our last goodbye, will you stay here and watch over me?"
"Of course," Rose whispered and rested her head once more on the bed.
Xxx
"Doctor!" Jack yelled through the crowd of screaming people.
"Jack!" the Doctor swivelled around to find his friend a few metres away. "What are you doing here?"
"Rose called me," Jack yelled back as they ushered more people out. "Have you seen her?"
The Doctor shook his head. "No, is she alright?"
"That's for her to tell you," Jack shook his head.
The Doctor frowned at him in confusion.
Jack rolled his eyes and ran over to his friend. "Come on, we've got to distract that thing!"
Xxx
Rose stirred from her sleep to find Reinette still dozing. It was still dark outside so it couldn't be morning yet. A voice rang through her mind and she shot up.
"Rose! ROSE! ANY TIME NOW!"
Xxx
"What're you doing?!" Tish yelled at Jack as they ran from Lazarus.
"Calling a friend," Jack replied. "But she's not answering. ROSE!"
Xxx
"Reinette," Rose shook her shoulder and Reinette stirred.
"Rose, whatever is the matter?"
"I have to go now, I'm being called".
Reinette smiled. "Then go, Rose. Go to your Doctor".
Rose hesitated. "This is it then".
Reinette tilted her head to the side and sighed. "It seems like it".
"I'll never forget you, Reinette," Rose pulled her gently into a hug and kissed her forehead.
"And you will never leave my thoughts," Reinette replied quietly.
"Thank you for everything," Rose smiled one last time and placed her hand to Reinette's head. "You go back to sleep now and rest. You won't have to suffer much longer, I promise".
Reinette slowly fell asleep again with a small smile on her face. Tears pricked once again in Rose's eyes and she quickly transported herself back into the vortex. Luckily for her, Jack had had the good sense to leave his vortex manipulator on. Very easy to track when you know the right signals.
Xxx
"ROSE!" Jack yelled as Lazarus cornered him, Martha and Tish. They had been trying to get him upstairs but something had gone terribly wrong. Jack had tried and failed to use a blaster to incapacitate Lazarus which only lead to the Doctor getting trapped and Lazarus getting angrier.
The Doctor himself called to Rose in his mind as he watched through a gap in the rock fall as Lazarus approached the others. "LAZARUS!" he yelled with all him might, trying desperately to distract the monster from his friends.
Suddenly a bright light filled the room as Rose appeared in front of Jack, Martha and Tish. Her eyebrows rose in surprise when she saw Lazarus, but instead of cowering she laughed.
Dread filled Jack's stomach as Rose turned to glance back at him, her eyes once again filled with the dark golden colour. She was not herself in that moment and Jack was truly terrified.
"Lazarus is it?" she asked casually.
Lazarus seemed to hesitate for a moment but still continued to approach when he saw she had no weapon. "And who are you?" he asked roughly.
Rose smiled. "The Doctor's wife".
"What?!" Tish exclaimed at the same time as Lazarus looked behind to where the Doctor was still stuck.
"Well then Doctor," Lazarus cooed. "Isn't she a pretty young thing?"
"Leave her alone!" The Doctor yelled.
Rose quirked an eyebrow at Lazarus and chuckled. "And what do you intend to do about that since you obviously aren't particularly friendly with my husband and my friends?"
Lazarus laughed darkly and continued towards her. "I'm going to suck the life out of you. All of that beauty and promise will be gone, and the Doctor's wife will be a memory".
He picked up his pace and Jack and Martha tried to pull Rose out of the way. "No, go!" she hissed at them.
Jack understood and pulled the other two out of the way while the Doctor yelled pleadingly at both Rose and Lazarus.
The point of Lazarus' tail stabbed into Rose's chest and Lazarus began to try and suck the life out of her. The thing that was most unnerving to everyone else in the room was that Rose hadn't even flinched. Of course she still felt pain, everyone felt pain, but it seemed she was just so focused on Lazarus that she didn't care.
"I don't understand!" Lazarus yelled when he failed to kill her.
Rose grinned maliciously and she almost looked wolfish. "Don't you know that you can't kill time?" she laughed. "That is merely a phrase people use as an excuse to do nothing".
"I still don't understand!"
Rose rolled her eyes and placed her hands on Lazarus tail which was still imbedded in her chest. "Time is the only thing in the universe that kills people. The time it takes for a blade to pierce a body, the time it takes for the blood the flow out, the time it takes for the heart to stop. You can't kill time. Time is infinite. I am the vessel of time and I decide when you die!"
Everyone in the room stood open-mouthed as Lazarus' tail slowly began to disappear from where Rose was holding it and he transformed back into a human.
"Is he dead?" Tish asked quietly.
"Yes," Rose replied emotionlessly. "His time was up". The glow faded from her eyes and she fell backwards onto the ground.
"ROSE!" both Jack and the Doctor yelled at the same moment. Martha quickly set about freeing the Doctor as Jack raced to Rose's side.
"Jack," she gasped as the blood flowed gently from her wound. "How do I tell him?"
"I think he's got a fair idea now," Jack replied quickly, ripping a piece off of his shirt and using it the apply pressure on her wound. "Right now you've got to heal yourself".
"ROSE!" the Doctor yelled again from where Martha was still trying to get him out.
Rose glanced at him and then back at Jack. "I have to go," she whispered and disappeared, leaving Jack crouched on the ground beside a small pool of blood.
"Jack, what happened?!" the Doctor yelled as Jack came to assist Martha.
"The power inside her is growing restless," Jack explained as the Doctor was finally set free. "She can still contain it but if she doesn't use it the wolf takes over," he gestured to where Rose had disappeared. "That was the wolf".
The Doctor fell to his knees and cried out in anguish. "Why can't we just be happy?! It's just one thing after another, isn't it?!" he yelled into the sky.
Jack's eyes widened in shock at the Doctor doing something so...human. "She'll be back, Doc, she always will be".
"And what then?" the Doctor asked quietly.
"Then you can work through it together. You have to keep moving though. Keep travelling and she'll join you when she's ready".
"How do you know all of this?"
"Because she told me," golden light glowed in Jack's eyes for a moment before he slumped, panting.
Rose watched from down the corridor as the Doctor helped Jack to his feet and they all started preparing to leave. The Doctor's head snapped in her direction but she knew he couldn't really see her. His eyes lingered on the exact place where she was standing and she retreated into the shadows as he looked away.
What would she do, where would she go? Would Jack trust her now that she had invaded his body?
'Anywhere,' the voice in her head replied. 'Time is constant and time is infinite. Let its flow take you where you need to go'.
So that's that done. You guys wanted to see a bit more of Rose's power so I decided to give you some. I know this chapter was very dark but I guess it was influenced by the last Hobbit movie. I won't spoil anything for those who haven't seen it but to those who have you can compare Rose's condition to a kind of dragon sickness. Anyway, before I get all sad again from the feels in that movie I better leave this here and go write some more of something else. Thanks for reading and feel free to review :)
By the way: Happy New Year!
