A/N: So sorry for the delay, but I'm incredibly nervous about this chapter. I've written it and re-written it and I hope it's good. Thanks so much for all your comments! Let me know what you think! I really hope I don't disappoint!
chapter fifty three – Origin of the Phoenix
Gallifrey Blackhole Shipyard, 1963
Rixel blinked. She hadn't even realized she did so until everything around her was completely different. She spun around in a circle, looking for Rose, but the blonde was nowhere to be found. She was alone.
She shivered. The room was dark and cold, but she could make out a small structure sitting behind a stairwell off to the side. Rixel took a step towards it and jumped as her footsteps echoed around her. She looked down at the floor, which was polished so well she could see a near perfect reflection of herself. Where the heck was she?
Something clicked on in the distance, and she lifted her head to see a strange strip of light. She took a few steps towards it and noticed it was a backlit sign that said 'police box'. Her heart leaped into her throat and she started to run towards the familiar box. Her steps echoed loudly, but she didn't care.
Rixel slammed into the Tardis and started to pound on the door. "Doctor! Doctor, it's me! Open up!" Her voice echoed around her, almost too loud. "Doctor, please!"
The red headed girl looked back over her shoulder into the darkness. She could tell the room was massive and well kept, but it was just so dark. The only light seemed to be coming from the illuminated police box sign above her head, and it wasn't very bright.
"Doctor?" Rixel tried the door. She pushed and pulled on it, praying it would open, but it didn't. She placed her ear up against the door and listened, but she didn't hear anything. No voices. No footsteps. Maybe he wasn't in there.
She turned and leaned up against the Tardis. So where was he then? It was so dark in here. Rixel hugged herself. How'd she get here, anyhow? Normally she couldn't jump outside of the Tardis. And yet now she'd gone from seeing Rose to this dark room.
Just as she was about to pushed herself off and go wondering in the darkness, that awfully familiar golden warmth raced through her. It hit her so hard she actually gasped. Rixel turned and looked back at the Tardis. The light from the back lit sign seemed to glow even brighter. She reached her hand out towards the door. The moment her fingers brushed the wood, she heard a click and the door flew open. Inside, however, was not at all what she expected.
Rixel stepped into the Tardis, looking around the giant hallway. It had been ten years since she'd last been to that lab in France, but this place was identical. The living quarters spread out in front of her, and the hall disappeared up the stairs to the lab above.
As she walked forward, she couldn't hear anything over the pounding of her heart. She was taller now, so much taller, and the hall seemed far more cramped than she ever realized. She peered into the rooms as she walked by. Some of the doors were closed, but some were open, revealing the perfect replica of how she remembered the other scientists rooms.
Her own bedroom door was closed. She paused outside of it, debating on whether or not she should enter. Before she made the choice, a soft hum clicked on. Rixel turned her head to see a glow coming out of her parents room into the hall. She knew that glow. Even after ten years, she'd never forget that glow. It was the tv.
Rixel walked down the hall and glanced into her parents bedroom. It was exactly as it had been, right down to the blanket in the corner that she sometimes used as a pillow when she fell asleep watching tv. She'd swear she was actually in the lab if it wasn't for that strange golden glow.
She walked into the room and sat down on the bed, staring at the tv. Instead of the Wizard of Oz or Indiana Jones, the screen showed a small white room. Her breath caught in her throat she she noticed who was standing in the center of the room with his arms folded.
"Lu-Luke!" Rixel grasped the locket around her neck. How long had it been since she'd seen him?
He smiled back at her and walked towards the screen, enlarging his face. He looked just as good as she remembered. "Hello, Rixel."
"But...how?" She looked around the room, unsure of what she'd see. But nothing looked out of place. Well, nothing other than her being in her parents bedroom from a lab that she hadn't seen since she was six.
Luke shook his head. "I figured this was the best way to talk with you. That you'd feel the most comfortable like this."
She leaned forward. "Where are you? Can I see you?"
He smirked. "I'm not... real, you know. I'm not Luke."
Rixel blinked. "What?"
Luke rolled his shoulders. "I just figured this would be the best shape to approach you in. Would you prefer I change?" The screen flicked, and standing in Luke's place was the Doctor. The bowtie Doctor.
"Is this better?" The Doctor asked with a smirk.
"What's going on?" Rixel frowned. "Who are you?"
"Ah, that's the question of the hour, isn't it my little Pheonix?" He clapped his hands together. "Don't worry, I'm going to answer all your questions. Just remember one thing."
The screen flickered again, this time Rose appeared in place of the Doctor. "You can't tell him until after the Pandorica."
"You!" Rixel's eyes widened. "You're the one that's been messing with my dreams!"
Rose laughed, shaking her head. "No, that was really Rose. She's sending messages from the other dimention, but that's not the point."
"Other dimention?" Rixel asked.
"Don't worry about it. That's not important right now. Right now, we are here to discuss you."
"Me?" Rixel shuddered. "Who are you?"
Rose sighed. "That's... a bit more complex. Let's start with who you are first."
"I know who I am." Rixel replied.
"Do you now?" Rose folded her arms and grinned. "Ok then, shoot."
"What?"
"Tell me who you are then!"
"I-" Rixel paused. What was she suppose to say? Her entire life story? That's not something she cared to relive, especially not in front of this ...this... whatever this was. Alien? She didn't know. She'd never heard of an alien that could change shape into anyone else, but she supposed it was possible.
"Feeling shy?" Rose laughed. "Alright, I'll tell you who you are. You're Rixel Kirii. Conqueror of the Requiem, Healer of the Sunstar virus, the Pheonix, the Light bringer and guardian of the Doctor."
Rixel scoffed. "Never heard of those last two."
Rose shrugged. "To be fair, they are same thing in your mind."
"What?"
The screen flickered again, this time showing Amy Pond. "Rixel! You're suppose to be all brilliant. You figure it out!"
"Figure what out?" Rixel shouted. "You're not making any sense! Who are you? What do you want!"
The screen flickered again to show her Martha. And again, showing the huggable Doctor. And again to show Jack. Then Trish. Then Jamie. Rory. Alistair. River. Her mother. And then if finally stopped flickering, leaving her staring back at herself.
Sixteen years had done a number on the once little red headed girl. Her hair was long, falling in curls past her shoulders. Her face was littered in freckles, not the dangerous ones from the virus, but light natural freckles that crept over her nose and splattered on her cheeks. Her eyes were a soft faded blue. Her nose was rounded, just like her mother's had been. Around her neck was the locket the Doctor had stolen off her mother's corpse when she was only a child.
"Is this better?" The Rixel on the tv asked.
Rixel stared at herself on the screen. "That's not funny. Tell me who you are right now!"
"Seriously?" The tv version sighed. "How much more clear do I need to be? I'm you, silly."
"No, you're not." Rixel clenched her teeth. "Change. Now. I don't want you like that."
The screen flickered, leaving the bowtie Doctor. "Just because I look like him doesn't mean I'm any less of you."
Rixel grabbed the edge of the bed, trying to hold back the wave of anger she felt. It was odd. She faced the Requiem, who caused her own parents death, without much anger. She hated them, sure, but she thought rationally the whole time. Well, sorta. But now, something about seeing herself like this, it angered her. Infuriated her.
"Who are you?" She demanded again.
"I told you." The Doctor said, adjusting his bowtie. "I'm you."
"That's not possible."
"You've traveled though time and space and seeing yourself in the future is impossible?"
"You expect me to believe you're me in the future?" Rixel scoffed. "Doubt it."
The screen flickered again, but instead of the Doctor changing, the background did. He was standing in the middle of a young girl's bedroom. It took her a moment, but she recognized it as Amy Pond's room. The Doctor grabbed one of the dolls from the window sill and brought it close to the screen.
"Remember this? The dolls that all looked like you?" The Doctor pointed to the necklace around the doll. "Even has your locket!"
"I didn't tell the Doctor that." Rixel narrowed her eyes.
"No, but I'm not the Doctor, remember?" He tossed the doll over his shoulder. "Oh! I know! When I was being taken out of the lab, with the Doctor and Rose, he asked me to keep my eyes closed. And being the clever imaginative girl I was, I prtended that he was Robin Hood and Rose was-"
"Maid Marian." Rixel said quietly. Now that she hadn't told anyone. She barely even remembered it herself.
The Doctor snapped his fingers. "Exactly!"
Rixel shook her head. "That proves nothing."
"Rixel, Rixel, Rixel." The Doctor sighed, leaning his head forward. "I need you to start believing. This is incredibly important."
"Why?" Rixel said. "If you're me, how come you can't just explain what's going on?"
"It's complicated." The Doctor said. "Just... close your eyes. Ok? Just close them and think about where you are."
Rixel rolled her eyes. "I'm in my parents bedroom."
"Oh, don't be silly. That's been gone for ages." The Doctor waived his hand in air, dismissing the idea. "This about where you really are. How did you get here?"
Rixel thought about it for a moment. "The Tardis?"
"Yes, yes! That's a good start! Come on now, you're clever. You're so very clever."
"I...I don't understand." Rixel said.
"I don't remember it being this hard to figure it out." The Doctor ran his hand through his hair. "Ok, think about this. The Dream Lord. Remember him?"
"Yeah. Kinda. That was ages ago."
"Yeah, but what happened with him?"
Rixel shrugged. "Nothing. He stole three years of my life and-"
"Exactly!" The Doctor interrupted her. "And how did he do that?"
"I don't know!" Rixel frowned. "You're not making any sense!"
"Arg! Rixel, where were you during all that?"
"I don't remember!" Rixel sighed. This was starting to frustrate her. She still didn't know where she was. Though she could still feel the golden warmth of the Tardis, she didn't understand why it looked like this. Or why the tv was talking to her. "The lab. At the end of the world."
"And!"
"And... the Tardis." Rixel shook her head. "What's it matter?"
"But you wern't there, remember?"
"What?"
"In the Tardis! No one else could see you!" The Doctor started to pace. "They talked about how I-how you died. And they couldn't see you. You were stranded up in the center console."
"So?" Rixel asked, not really following.
"I'm trying to tell you who you really are!" The Doctor shouted.
"Then tell me!" Rixel snapped back.
"I can't! You have to figure it out for yourself!"
Rixel growled and closed her eyes. She was done with this. Whatever this thing was trying to do, she wouldn't let it. She didn't want to be here anymore. Her parents bedroom was one of the worst places in the world. She'd never see them again.
"Rixel, please, listen to me." The Doctor begged quietly. "Think about everything the Doctor's ever said to you. How you feel in the Tardis. Think about all the clues. You're the lightbringer."
Rixel turned her head away from the screen, even though her eyes weren't open. She had no idea what the thing was talking about. Yes, the Tardis felt like home, but that didn't mean anything other than it was where she practically grew up.
But it wasn't really, was it? Sure, she spent some time on there, but the majority of her time was spent off the Tardis. At the Academy. In her parents house. Even in Pennsylvania. The Tardis was just a small blip in all of it. But it always felt like home. It always felt like a part of her.
The locket around her neck started to burn. She reached up and grabbed it, but there was no pain. Instead, all she felt was the same golden warmth from the Tardis.
"The Tardis is alive." Rixel said, remembering the Doctor's words.
"Yes!" The Doctor said. "Yes, yes, keep going!"
"I'm sixteen." Rixel said. "No one has said they've seen me older than sixteen. And you just said they talked about how I died. So...I die... in the Tardis?" She opened her eyes and glanced over at the screen.
The Doctor sighed. "Death isn't the right word."
"Wait, I do die in the Tardis?" Rixel's eyes widened. "When? Is it now!"
"No, no, not yet." The Doctor sighed. "And I told you, it's not like that. Death isn't the-"
"Tell me what happens!" Rixel snapped.
"You just said it seconds ago!"
"What, that the Tardis is alive?" Rixel scoffed. "It's all I can remember. And I think he said she's special or something."
"I can't believe I was ever this slow." The Doctor grumbled, shaking his head.
"What?" Rixel jumped up to her feet. "You're calling me slow! You're the one giving me criptic clues here! I have no idea what you're getting at!"
"Just take a guess." The Doctor muttered.
"Oh, what, am I suppose to believe I turn into the Tardis or something!" Rixel growled, turning away from the tv. "Stupid alien. I want leave. I'm through with you. Take me home."
The Doctor was quiet for a moment, then burst out laughing.
Rixel glanced back at the tv over her shoulder. "What?"
"You've been able to jump through time and space on your own and you're calling me stupid?"
"Hmph." Rixel turned back away from the tv. When the Doctor didn't say anything more, she looked back at the screen. "You're serious?"
"Don't I look it?" The Doctor grinned.
"I'm the Tardis?"
"Well, sort of." He shrugged. "It's complex."
"Yeah, no, what?" Rixel frowned. "The Tardis? The machine that flies through the sky?"
He sighed. "She's not just a machine. Tardis' are grown. They're a life force."
Rixel stared at him. "You do realize this sounds like a stupid science fiction movie, right?"
He smirked. "We do love a good movie, don't we?"
"I'm the Tardis?"
The Doctor vanished with a flicker of the screen, showing Rose once more. "You're always with him."
"You can't be serious."
"I told you, it's complex. You'll get your answers soon. But for now, just keep it a secret."
"Then why tell me?" Rixel grumbled.
"Because." Rose smiled. "He might start asking questions."
"Who, the Doctor?"
Rose nodded. "But remember! You can't tell him-"
"Yeah, yeah." Rixel rolled her eyes. "Geez, I thought I was more clever than needing to tell myself something a million times."
Rose laughed.
