The Companion Connection
By Lumendea
Chapter Fifty-Three: The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith: Enter the Silver Lord
Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any of the spinoff material and I gain no income off of this story, just the satisfaction of playing with the characters.
…
"Hello Rose Tyler," a smooth male voice said behind her.
Rose turned and blinked in surprise. A tall man a little older than her with brown hair and green eyes was standing at the end of the hallway in the light. He was smiling widely at her, "So nice to finally put a face to a name."
She didn't move towards the figure but instead glanced around the hallway. Everything looked the same as before, but Rose didn't trust the sudden arrival of his unknown man.
"Are you Schreck?" Rose questioned when she looked back at the man and studied him. He was wearing a nicely tailored suit and seemed very relaxed with the situation. His green eyes were bright with amusement and in any other situation, Rose would say that he was very attractive.
"No," the man said with a smile, "The Terika is merely a conduit between us. When I discovered him trapped on Earth and performing marriages to gather emotional energy I knew that Sarah Jane's wedding would be the perfect time to finally meet you."
"So whose mind are we in?" Rose asked, trying not to let her nervousness show. "Schreck's?"
"No, we're in your mind," the man answered and he glanced around the hallway. "This is a bit dark. Let's try something else."
He snapped his fingers and Rose closed her eyes as a bright silver light surrounded them. Opening her eyes, Rose gasped slightly as she found herself sitting across from the strange man at a small elegant dinner table, the sort in expensive restaurants. Except they were alone in a large elegant room.
"Much better. Much more my style," the man said picking up a bottle of wine on the table and pouring two glasses. "Do try to relax my dear."
"Why did you want to meet me?" Rose demanded. "And why use this method?"
"I don't have a physical form just yet," the man replied. "And I was becoming impatient to meet you."
"That only answered the second question," Rose said, ignoring the wine the man put in front of her.
"Let's just say that I'm an old friend of the Guardians," the man answered with an almost hungry and feral smile. "And I wanted to meet the great Rose Tyler that they have so much interest in." The man's eyes swept over Rose. "I'll be honest, I'm not sure if they're right or not, but I can't take chances on the subject."
"What are you talking about?" Rose hissed.
The man chuckled and took a sip of his wine before he answered, "It must frustrate you so much to be aware that strings are being pulled around you and being unable to see them."
Rose didn't' answer him, she tried to act calm as she leaned back in her own chair and studied the stranger.
"So what should I call you?" Rose asked.
"My real name isn't something you could pronounce," he said with a smirk, "Not even with the TARDIS' help, so how about you call me…. The Silver Lord."
"The Silver Lord," Rose repeated. "That's a bit much isn't it."
"You've got spunk I'll give you that," the Silver Lord replied. "But that won't stop what I'm going to do to you." The Silver Lord paused. "How about this Rose, you walk away from the Doctor and other aliens and I'll leave you alone. Marry that boy Mickey Smith, have 2.5 kids, and get a job in research and you won't have to be involved in what is coming."
"What's coming that is so bad?"
"My revenge," the Silver Lord said with a grin. "My revenge against the Guardians and this universe."
"You'd do well in the theatre," Rose remarked with a shrug, "You like the dramatic."
"Are you always this impertinent?" the Silver Lord asked.
"I find being impertinent preferable to screaming in terror."
"I'd rather you were screaming in terror," the Silver Lord said.
"I've yet to see any reason to go screaming in terror," Rose said with a shrug.
"I'm in your head Rose," the Silver Lord replied. "Your precious boyfriend is trying to get in, but I'm holding his back. Do you truly not understand what I can do to you here?"
Rose didn't answer, but she felt a cold weight of dread in her stomach. The Silver Lord examined her and smiled slowly. "I think you have some idea and are just trying to stall long enough for your Doctor to save you." The Silver Lord shrugged, "It doesn't matter, I've decided what to do with you now. Not what I originally planned, but it should show the Guardians that I can rip their plans apart."
"Why do you want revenge?" Rose forced herself to ask.
"The Guardians decided long ago that I shouldn't exist," the Silver Lord said. "Hardly my fault that father was a Chronovore and Mum was an Eternal."
"What did they do?"
"They shoved me into the Void," the Silver Lord said, a strange glint in his eyes. "My mother's kind call in the Howling and my father's kind called it the Nothing. It is the emptiness between universes. Time isn't real there and only a few tiny fragments of anything exist there." The Silver Lord leaned forward. "Imagine endless time with absolutely nothing to see, do, feel, taste or touch forever. That is what they did to me."
"Just because you were a hybrid?" Rose asked in a soft voice.
"Well, my natural instincts may have threatened the continued existence of the universe," he answered with a shrug. "The Leader of the Guardians, the Gold Lady herself, thought that the Void would be a mercy for me rather than destroying me."
"Ah, that would explain the name Silver Lord."
"You're the lover of a man who chose his own name," the Silver Lord replied. "Anyway, I owe the Guardians a lesson and you'll do nicely."
"Sorry, I'm not interested in playing your games," Rose replied. "How did you escape anyway?" She asked, wondering if he could still be trapped away.
"A marvellous set of humans are poking at something they don't understand," the Silver Lord answered with a smile. "A 'black spot' I believe they are calling it."
Rose glanced around the room as it suddenly shimmered. "And there is the boyfriend breaking through. He's not being very careful." The Silver Lord shook his head in disapproval. "He really should know better when dealing with the brain of a human."
Rose almost felt like she was being pulled. There was a pressure in her mind drawing her away from this man. She stood from her chair and looked around at the fading scene. Part of her really wanted to go, but another part of her was worried about leaving right now. The Silver Lord was far too calm.
"Time to go, my dear," the Silver Lord said. He rose from the table just before it vanished. "I'm about to be ejected, but this was a pleasant conversation." He sighed. "Pity you won't remember it."
"What?!" Rose demanded.
"Well, I can't have you going back to the Doctor and telling him all about this. He still might find a way to stop me."
"So you just like hearing yourself talk?"
"No Rose darling," the Silver Lord said, "You'll remember when I want you too, you'll see how completely outmatched you and the Doctor were and how hopeless your situation really is when I wish you to." The Silver Lord smirked and stepped closer, Rose held her ground unwilling to show fear. "I've done what I needed to do Bad Wolf and you'll only remember two words: Silver Lord." Then he grabbed Rose's arm and pulled her against him, sealing his lips against hers. Rose struggled and then she woke up.
"Rose," the Doctor's warm and worried voice asked.
She forced her eyes to open. They felt heavy like she was waking up from a long deep sleep. The Doctor's fingers brushed her cheek and her eyes met his. "Silver Lord," Rose whispered in confusion.
"Rose?"
"I don't know," Rose said as she carefully sat up. The Doctor was holding her in his arms gently and Donna was sitting next to them. Schreck was lying next to Donna and was slowly stirring himself. Donna looked over at him and then back at the Doctor.
"Should I hit him?"
"No," the Doctor said. "I don't think he was himself. Whatever was using him to establish a connection to Rose was pushed out by me." The Doctor looked back to Rose, "Do you remember anything?"
"No," Rose said looking around in confusion, "We were in the hallway looking for Schreck and there was a noise." She shook her head, "That's it."
"Silver Lord," the Doctor said with a frown. "You've never mentioned that name before in the videos or to me."
"What name?" Rose asked, "Silver Lord? Where did that come from?"
"You said it when you woke up," Donna explained gently. "Don't you remember?"
"What happened to me?" Schreck asked as his eyes opened. "Why am I-" His eyes widened and he leapt to his feet.
Rose found it hard to be afraid of the strange alien form with it looking so confused between them. It calmed down a moment later and its form shifted back to the humanoid shape it had arrived at the building in. "I did something, didn't I."
"Does the name Silver Lord mean anything to you?" the Doctor asked, not moving from his place with Rose.
"Silver Lord, yes, I know that name," Schreck said. "But I don't know how."
"You're a Terika," the Doctor said. "Did you crash on Earth?"
"Yes," the Terika answered, "I am working as a wedding register to gather emotional energy to recharge my ship."
"What's your real name?" the Doctor asked.
The alien rambled off a long string of sounds that made Rose's headache. The Doctor nodded and repeated it. "But I think for the humans we should keep using Schreck."
"Of course," Schreck answered shifting nervously on his feet and looking at Rose. "Did I do that?"
"Sort of," the Doctor answered, "But you were being controlled."
"My kind is not easy to control," Schreck said looking around nervously. "What could do that?"
"A few things," the Doctor answered as he helped Rose to her feet, "None of them pleasant."
"I'm fine," Rose said with a smile to reassure both Schreck and the Doctor. "The connection must have been broken before anything could happen."
"Maybe," the Doctor said in a low tone.
There was a sudden burst of noise down the hallway and Rose along with the others spun as the companions darted around the corner. The General raised his gun towards Schreck but didn't fire as he looked at the Doctor.
"Put it away Alistair," the Doctor said. "Everything is fine. Schreck here was under another's control and I've ended that connection."
"Oh you poor dear," Jo Jones said, shaking her head as she walked closer to Schreck. "Let's get you a nice cuppa, uh you can drink tea right?"
"Indeed, madam," Schreck answered looking rather confused. "Perhaps that and sitting down would be a good idea."
"Excellent, just come with me," Jo said leading Schreck back to the other companions, ignoring the General's stunned look.
"She never changes," the Doctor said with a smile. "That's brilliant."
Sarah Jane walked towards them, studying Rose. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine Sarah Jane," Rose promised with a smile. "Just a bit of a turn." Rose looked over at Donna, "What time is it?"
"We're fine," Sarah Jane assured Rose. "We shut down the force field and came to find you since we hadn't heard anything." She gave the Doctor a hard look and he shifted on his feet.
"This ended up being slightly different than usual," the Doctor answered with a shrug. "Come on then, Sarah, let's make sure that your register is good to go so you can get married." The Doctor paused and grinned. "Strangely, Earth is one of the planets were I do not have the authority to marry people."
"I'm not sure I'd want you in control of the ceremony," Sarah Jane told him with a smile. She took Rose's hand and said, "Come on, let's get cleaned up."
Rose looked up at the Doctor. "I am alright, aren't I?"
"I didn't detect anything wrong when I woke you up," the Doctor told her with a smile, but it was a touch forced. Rose nodded and reached down to squeeze his hand.
"I'll see you later then," Rose told him before she nodded to Sarah Jane and they walked down the hall to join the others. Donna glanced at the Doctor who nodded to her and she followed them.
"Doctor, about the alien-" the General began to say.
"I'll fix his ship once the wedding is over so he can leave," the Doctor said. "Don't worry about it."
"Worrying about it is my job," the General replied. He gave the Doctor a warm, but somehow also stern look.
"Why don't you retire again?"
"Because I still need to convince Geneva to name Benton as my successor," the General grumbled. "The other candidates just aren't ready to take the lead."
"John is a good choice," the Doctor agreed as they came to the main staircase. "Plus he gets along well with Rose."
"That is one of Geneva's concerns," the General admitted. "They worry he'll give her too much freedom."
"Well nobody's perfect," the Doctor said, "But Rose likes him enough that she'll actually listen to him and then go and do what she thinks she has to." The Doctor grinned, "Otherwise she'll just ignore whoever is in charge and still go and do what she wants."
"Speaking from experience?"
"A bit," the Doctor answered with a smile before his face darkened. "Alistair, something tried to connect to Rose and I'm not sure how successful it was so just…"
"I'll keep an eye on her," Alistair promised with a nod. "She's back in London for a while and will be helping Malcolm in the lab so he can let me know if anything is off."
"Thank you," the Doctor said. He looked over into the lounge where his companions were sitting and speaking with Schreck. Barbara was dusting off the back of Sarah Jane's dress and fixing up her hair. Tegan and Victoria were fixing Rose's dress and hair.
"That girl means a lot to you," Alistair observed.
"They all mean a lot to me," the Doctor said quickly. "They are my friends."
"Indeed," Alistair said, but he had a thoughtful look on his face. "Come on then Doctor."
"So you crashed here?" Jo asked Schreck as she poured him more tea. "Oh, you poor dear. That must have been terrifying."
Schreck looked absolutely stunned but nodded. "Indeed, I was able to create an identity and start working as a wedding register. Emotions run so high at weddings that I was able to collect enough energy to maintain my health and start recharging my ship."
"Why didn't you work as a therapist?" Tegan asked. "The Doctor said that your people travel the universe to help people that way."
"We travel to planets that know us," Schreck answered. "But humans don't know about my kind and could not give proper consent to have me work with them as such. A register position merely allowed me to be in the right area at the right time to survive." He flushed, "I became aware of Sarah Jane's unique history when she was in the building getting her license. Thus I was able to convince the other register to switch with me. I hoped that this wedding would provide enough energy to let me leave."
"You knew that I knew about aliens?" Sarah Jane asked.
"You were projecting your excitement," Schreck explained with a slight blush. "About not just getting married, but having all your alien club friends with you. I am very sorry for the problem this caused."
"No matter," Sarah Jane said calmly. "Something had to happen with all of us together, better something easily solved. Hopefully, the wedding and reception will recharge your ship." Sarah Jane looked over at the Doctor.
The Doctor shrugged and picked up a biscuit, "Should work." Sarah Jane's look was joined by Jo, Tegan, Victoria, and Barbara. "Uh, I'll go and check on the ship." He turned and headed towards the door while the companions grinned. A moment later he stuck his head back in, "Where is it by the way?"
"Basement, second door to the right, it is the large work table. And don't forget to move the TARDIS," Sarah Jane said. "The guests will be arriving soon."
"This is why you lot shouldn't be together," the Doctor muttered, ignoring Donna laughing in her chair and the others smirking. "This must never be allowed again," he muttered as he headed for the basement.
