a/n: I don't like how short this chapter is. I feel like there should be more words but nothing more will come. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it. Thank you for the kind reviews, favorites, and follows.
Chapter 29
The Doctor fell for a brief moment into darkness and landed on his feet with a thud. His ankle twisted and he fell on his ass.
"Ta-ta for now!" he heard Bad Wolf say. He looked up and saw her waving at him before the hole closed and he was plunged into the black of a lightless room.
He let out a small groan of pain before forcing himself to his feet. His ankle protested slightly but it held his weight. He turned in a small circle but could see nothing. Fantastic. How long would she keep him waiting?
"Who's there?" said a horribly familiar voice.
"Who do you think?" the Doctor replied sarcastically.
"Ah, so she locked you up here with me," the Valeyard replied.
Light suddenly filled the room and the Doctor found himself in a small cell. A thin mattress was next to the wall with a flat pillow and a ragged blanket. He went to the door and inspected it with his sonic screwdriver. Deadlock seal. There was no getting out. He turned and found himself facing an exact replica of his cell separated by thick bars. The Valeyard was sitting on the mattress with the blanket wrapped around his left leg. The Doctor could see blood. This was the injury Bad Wolf had mentioned.
Rage filled him at the sight of the Valeyard. He wanted to pry open the bars and kill the Valeyard with his bare hands. The Valeyard looked like he was bored but the Doctor knew he had to be in pain. It was obviously it was a serious wound.
"What happened to you?"
"I got bitten by a wolf."
"How the hell did you manage that?"
"Rose took the form of the gold wolf and bit me before Bad Wolf dropped me down here. This is the first time I've had the chance to really look at it. The lights haven't been on." He unwrapped the blanket and the Doctor could see torn flesh and bone.
"Looks painful."
"I've had worse," the Valeyard said airly.
The Doctor knew it had to be hurting him. He was happy to see the Valeyard in pain but it sadden him that it was Rose who had inflicted it. He did not like to think that Rose was capable of such things. Of course, Rose was very different now. Rose wasn't even talking at the moment. Bad Wolf was. And Bad Wolf had had her say and then dropped him in hole.
"I have a feeling Bad Wolf placed us here for a particular reason. So, what does this mean to Rose?"
"This is an exact replica of the her room at Torchwood."
The Doctor looked at the flat mattress, the threadbare blanket, the metal toilet and sink in the corner, the lack of windows, and a door that locked on the outside. This wasn't a room. This was a cell. He knew that the Valeyard had tortured her but seeing the conditions in which she had lived infuriated him.
"You bastard. This is not a room. You tortured her in here. You tortured her and you enjoyed it. I know it. I can see it in your eyes. You should be glad that these bars are here or I'd rip you to shreds."
"Oh, I'm so frightened. The Oncoming Storm is nothing compared to me. You should know. You know what I'm capable of."
Yes, the Doctor had met the Valeyard in a previous regeneration. He never would have guessed that his clone would become this monster. He could never have imagined it. And he never would have left him with Rose if he had known. He should have known. Somehow he should have known.
"Why? Why did you do this to her?"
"I had to. I had to free Bad Wolf. I had to find a way back home. She has forgiven me. She understands why I did what I did. She loves me."
The Doctor laughed. He actually laughed at the man across the room from him. The Valeyard was delusional if he thought Rose loved him. He may have broken her to the point of giving in, but Rose couldn't possibly love a man who tortured her over and over. Their situation made that much obvious to the Doctor. The Valeyard seemed to be in denial.
"Look at yourself. You have a broken leg and you're in a cell. This is not love. This is rage. This is revenge," the Doctor told the Valeyard.
"You don't know what you're talking about. You don't-"
The Valeyard was interrupted by a glowing gold orb that appeared in the air. It was on the Valeyard's side of the room. It looked just the gold light that had poured out of the TARDIS console when Blon Fel-Fotch Passameer-Day Siltheen had tried to use the extrapolator and when Rose had returned to the game station with light spilling from the TARDIS doors. The golden globe hovered in the air for a moment before moving towards the Valeyard. The Doctor could see the fear on the Valeyard's face despite his attempt to hide it. The globe shifted shapes and wrapped itself around the Valeyard's injury. The room was filled with a blinding light before it suddenly vanished, leaving no trace.
Both men looked at the Valeyard's formerly injured leg. It was completely healed. The only sign that there had been any kind of injury was the torn trousers and a scar that matched the teeth marks you'd find on a wolf.
"See, Rose loves me. She just healed me," the Valeyard said triumphantly.
The Doctor was unconvinced. There had to be a reason behind it. He had a feeling that all would be revealed when Bad Wolf moved on to the next step in her planned revenge.
"Believe what you will. We shall see," the Doctor said in a weary voice. He lay down on the springy, uncomfortable mattress and closed his eyes. All they could do was wait.
Rose threw more clothes onto the growing pile just outside the TARDIS doors. She'd already empty the dresser of his clothing and dragged out all the furniture that she and the Valeyard had shared. She didn't want anything of the Valeyard's left on her TARDIS. Bad Wolf agreed with her. So Rose was emptying the entire bedroom of his clothing, the mattress, and anything else he had touched. The TARDIS had already remade the bathroom so it no longer reminded her of the man she hated.
His leg has been healed. Bad Wolf told her.
"Good. Let him think I've forgiven him. Let him think he's caught a break. We will show him in the end."
Rose stood on the threshold of the empty bedroom. The ceiling still showed twinkling stars. She hadn't wanted to get rid of that feature of the room. Stars and planets had no correlation to the Valeyard. He couldn't harm her love of them. He couldn't touch that part of her heart. Looking around the empty space one last time, Rose closed her eyes and pictured what she wanted the room to look like. When she opened them again, furniture filled the space. The walls were a light gray that matched the cherry wood furniture well. The king size bed had a large headboard with gallifreyan words etched into it. She would look at what the words said later. The dresser, night stands, chest, and floor length mirror matched the bed set. A purple, cream, and gray comforter covered the mattress, matching the walls perfectly. Rose was tempted to try out the thick mattress but she wanted to complete one task first.
She grabbed a can of a fire accelerant and matches. Bad Wolf appeared at her side in her largest wolf form. After pouring the accelerant on the pile of clothes and furniture, Rose lit and dropped a few matches onto the pile. The flames licked gleefully at the wood and clothing. All too soon the clothes turned to ash and the wood burned to embers. Rose stamped out anything that glowed and stared at the black mark marring the pure white snow. It was a blight on the land but it was a necessary one. Rose looked up as the snow began to fall harder. The ashes would soon be covered. That was for the better. She didn't want to step back out and see the remains of her relationship with the Valeyard. She didn't want that sight to continue to mar the beautiful land of the Oodsphere.
Rose returned to her new room and collapsed on the bed. The bed was so comfortable and soft. She curled up under the sheets and sighed. She would get some good rest before returning to the two men. They would get to spend the night in a cell and understand a little, or a lot, of what she went through with it. The lights would remain on for the entire night. Unfortunately, the Doctor had a perfect Time Sense that not even the TARDIS could block. She was unsure of the Valeyard's abilities however. Hopefully he would suffer like she did.
The Doctor was in the brightly lit cell in one moment, in the next he was standing on a familiar beach with waves frozen in their path towards the shoreline, hundreds of feet in the air. Woman Wept. It was a beautiful sight. He had fond memories of this beach.
A few steps away from him stood Rose, staring out at the waves, her hair blowing in the wind. She didn't say anything when he walked up to her. He saw tears on her cheeks. It hurt his hearts to see that pain. He wanted to pull her into his arms and comfort her. But she wouldn't allow that to happen. He knew she wouldn't.
"Do you remember this day?" Rose asked finally.
For a few moments he had thought that the woman next to him would be Bad Wolf but now he knew it was Rose. He was grateful for that.
"Yes. This was a good day."
Jack had stayed in the TARDIS and had given them some alone time. The Captain had seen their relationship early on and had encouraged it. It just took the Doctor and Rose a little longer to see it.
"I have so many good memories of the times when you were in your Ninth incarnation."
She waved her hands and suddenly they were on Platform One, pieces of the Earth were floating past the viewing window. This had been their true first adventure. He had been afraid that she would leave him after everything that had happened. But she hadn't. She had stayed. Though she had been afraid, though she had missed Earth's destruction, she had stayed.
"My memories of your Tenth self are tainted now."
She waved her hand again and they were suddenly in the Warp Hotel, drinking tea, Rose raising her cup to the Doctor. He remembered this day as well. He hadn't liked being considered a hero but he'd let Rose buy him "some of the best tea in the universe."
"This had been a good day. But now I only see the Valeyard's face, not yours."
"I'm so sorry Rose. I never believed this would have happened. I never would have left you with him if-"
"Spare me," Rose interrupted. "I don't want to hear anymore of your apologies and stories of regret. You made your choice. You left me in a parallel world with a monster, a monster that you created. You will face the consequences. Just as the Valeyard will face the consequences of his actions. Bad Wolf is very angry. I don't know what she has planned for you."
She waved her hand once again and the scene changed. She had brought them to the console room in her TARDIS. It seemed she needed to escape the memories and the only way she could do that was in a place that held no reminders of him.
"Why did you bring me here? Why did you pull me into this dream world?" the Doctor asked.
She was quiet for so long, he wasn't sure she would answer him. Finally she said, "I don't know. I don't think I meant to."
She finally turned to face him. "How many? How many years has it been?"
The Doctor hadn't expected that question. "I'm not sure. I don't like to think about that. I traveled with the Ponds for a long time. Then Clara."
"How many times have you forgotten my name?"
"I have never forgotten you. I have never forgotten you name. How could I ever forget?"
"But you tried."
"I always try. It hurts to remember. But I always remember." Ignoring all the signs of Rose not wanting his touch, he grabbed her hand and looked straight into her eyes. "I remember the feel of your hand in mine. I remember the look on your face. I remember the first word I ever spoke to you."
"Run,"she whispered
They stood there for a moment before Rose seemed to return to the present. She yanked her hand out of his and held it protectively to her chest. He'd reached her old self for those few seconds but now she was gone, back behind the wall of rage and hurt.
"Goodbye Doctor," she said harshly. "The next time you see this face, it will be Bad Wolf talking to you."
The Doctor jackknifed into a sitting position. He felt the burn of the hand print on his chest. But also felt the warmth of Rose's hand still lingering. Maybe there was hope that the Rose he knew and loved was still in there after all.
Rose woke, furious with herself. She had opened up. She had shown her vulnerability. She had vowed she would not do that. But she had and there was no erasing that mistake. But she could move forward. It was time to move on and there was only one way to do that.
"Let's do this," she said to the wolf laying at her side.
Bad Wolf nodded. Yes.
The wolf dissolved and Rose allowed Bad Wolf to have control again.
"It is time," Bad Wolf announced and walked down the hallway towards the cell that held the Doctor and the Valeyard.
They would pay. They would feel the wrath of the Wolf.
a/n again: the Warp Hotel is from the short story "Hero Factor."
