"What did you mean?" Sage asked, looking at him upside down. "When you said that a storm was approaching at the Olympics- what did you mean by that?"
The Doctor swallowed, the weary feeling of paranoia biting at his heels. "I don't really want to tell you."
She looked at him, head tilted and eyes curious but not demanding. She shifted to sit upright, red blossoming at the head rush; she put her hand to her temple but didn't say anything else about that. "Okay, okay."
And though he couldn't hear the disappointment, the words were only weighed down by it. He bit his bottom lip, chewing at it. "I don't want to seem paranoid."
"No, no, no, you're fine," she said quickly.
"It's just- hard to put into English, to words," he pushed out, words not agreeing with him. "It's- a feeling I get, I can't- explain."
"Okay, okay," Sage nodded, and her words seemed much more assured than it was before. "I just- I just want you to know that if you ever- if you ever need someone to talk to… I'm here."
He gave her a smile, hearts warming at her sincere admission. "Of course, love. Thank you. Seriously."
Sage returned his smile, hand reaching out to his hand and playing with his fingers again. "Of course, Doctor."
"Is she okay?!"
The Doctor was panicking, his hearts racing. Sage was hurt. She was hurt, and the Doctor wasn't there to help her. He hadn't been able to save her. Now she was in the infirmary, and he had been kicked out of there because he had been 'a danger to all and especially to Sage' which was ridiculous when he was the one capable of saving her, screw what the TARDIS said.
He was pacing, muttering to himself about all the things that he should've done to help her, all the things he could've done to prevent this from happening, how he was a mistake-
"Doctor, Doctor," Rose tried to get his attention. "DOCTOR!"
The Doctor skidded to a stop, thoughts piling on top of each other and falling down a tower.
"What? What is it? Is Sage alright? Did something happen? Oh god, I knew I never should've-"
"Doctor, shut the fuck up." Rose's voice was firm, a quick slap to the face that the Doctor was too shocked to berate her for the language.
She took that as an incentive to continue, the Doctor's shocked silence allowing her to speak. "Sage only has cramps. This has nothing to do with our adventure to Tayne."
"But she was bleeding!" The Doctor was at least 92% sure that she was bleeding, seeing red drip down her legs.
Rose leveled him with a flat look. "Cramps and bleeding. Hmm, I wonder what that could mean."
He stared at her incomprehensibly, eyes wide and face scrunched up in confusion. It took a moment before the abject horror overtook his face and he blanched.
"I see you figured it out," Rose stifled her giggles.
"But- but how, doesn't she take something for that?" The Doctor felt the embarrassment and awkwardness in his words.
Rose shrugged, "Yeah, but it still happens. It's just sometimes it can get worse or it gets better."
The Doctor looked somewhat sick as he digested that information, Rose's face only showing amusement and no sympathy for his current situation. "Now what?"
"Sage is sleeping it off, so she should be out for another few hours or a week. Who knows, but I'm itching for an adventure."
The Doctor frowned, tapping his foot in worry. "Should we really go without Sage, though? I mean, leaving her here alone."
Rose rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "So now you can't do anything without Sage's approval? I know that you two are together now, and don't get me wrong I am overjoyed that you two are finally together, but you don't have to do everything together. Come on, Doctor, please?"
The Doctor was crumpling under her pleading eyes, feeling his will power weaken. "Well, well, I'll tell Sage and then, sure, yes. We'll go somewhere."
Her eyes softened, taking in his tapping feet and agitated expression. She put a steady hand on his shoulder, "Thank you, we'll be alright. *She'll be alright."
He cast a look at Sage's closed door, the soft hum of music and vibrations floating outside. "Yeah, yeah. Of course."
Rose squealed, clapping her hands together in excitement. "Brilliant! I always wanted to meet Cleopatra."
"Why just meet her, when you can also go to the planet?"
"You're kidding!" Rose gawked in disbelief. "They named a planet after her?"
The Doctor nodded. "First it was an asteroid, then a planet. It's a brilliant place. The asteroid, I mean. Entirely fascinating, you see it's a trinary system as well as an asteroid. And although it's too small to be considered a planet, it still has a functioning oxygenic atmosphere that sustains a complex environment. It's considered one of the hottest dwarf planets in the Andromeda galaxy."
Rose made an inquisitive hum, and he took that as confirmation to continue. "You see the planet didn't form until a meteor hit one of its surrounding planets and…."
They walked down the hall, the Doctor animatedly retelling the history and formation of the planet with passion.
He was so engrossed with his regaling of the story that he nearly forgot to tell Sage about their going.
(He was forgetful but not that forgetful.)
Rose opened the TARDIS doors, hands flung wide open as she took in her surroundings. Then she had to wrap her arms around herself, the sudden rush of coldness making her face flush.
"Er, Doctor?" She grabbed a jacket by the coat rack, putting it on tightly then took a hesitant step on solid ice. "Is Kleopatra meant to be a freezing tundra? I thought you said it was hot. Because all I'm seeing right now is icicles and snow."
"What?" The Doctor poked his head out the TARDIS doors, eyes widening at the environment. He rushed back inside, pressing buttons and reading the scans.
"No, no, no, this is wrong."
Rose tilted her head, closing the doors and walking back inside the TARDIS with curiosity. "What's wrong?"
"Well, not these coordinates." The Doctor swung out the monitor, showing some sort of science jargon that Rose cannot make heads or tails of, "We're definitely where Kleopatra is. Scanner says that we're in the right spot. But it shouldn't be cold at all. We're in its Goldilocks zone for a Red Giant star."
He ran a hand through his hair, typing away at the keyboard. Words scrolled around in circles, far too advanced for Rose to comprehend. "It just doesn't make sense. Even the history of Kleopatra doesn't suggest anything about it ever getting cold."
"That means something's wrong," Rose hazarded a guess. She grinned, "Let's go and find out!"
The Doctor looked up, hair sticky every which way. His eyes were gleaming, and Rose knew that he was taking this mystery for the challenge that it was. "Let's go then, Rose Tyler."
He grinned, grabbing her hand and dragged her out the TARDIS doors.
Xe ran, blood humming through xyr veins. The feeling was electric, a red glow surrounding xem. Xe cackled, distantly hearing screams as xe flew farther and farther away from Dwalan Hall.
"Ara, please, stop!" Xe heard the plea, but xe paid it no mind, floating down to hover a metre before the trembling form of Grykin, faer eyes glazing over at the pain.
Xe painfully gripped faer chin, blue bruises blossoming beautifully on the orange skin. Ara breathed out xyr next words, a menacing grin split with white teeth. "Now why would I do that, apa?"
And, imbuing as much of the magic that xe could, Ara clenched xyr hand tight, destroying Grykin's skull with a single clenched fist. Xe rose up, little tentacled feet grazing the new cold floor.
Mouth open with a tooty white grin, "So who's next?"
Ara couldn't tell who started screaming first.
"Is it just me or is it getting hotter?" Rose fanned herself, feeling grimy as sweat started to roll down her face. She struggled to clamber over the rock, feet slipping as she climbed.
"It's definitely not you," the Doctor panted out, wiping sweat from his brow. He stooped over rock, heaving out harsh breaths. "This is not what we were feeling when we landed, that's for sure."
He stripped out of his brown coat, folding it and tucking it into his pants pocket. Covering his forehead with a hand, he gazed out over the horizon, eyes squinting at the red sun. "That's… odd."
Rose wobbled unsteadily as she made her own way up to stand near the Doctor. She squinted in the dying red lights. Blinking, she rubbed her eyes and looked again, brow creasing at the sight before her.
"Why is there a split in weather? Is that how to properly describe this? Because I have no idea what I'm looking at." Rose looked up at the Doctor whose face showed the same bafflement that she felt.
"Honestly?" He looked down at Rose, eyes still wide. "I don't know what's happening either. Something is wrong."
"Yeah, I got that," she nodded. "Keep climbing?"
He nodded, looking forward determinedly. "Keep climbing."
It was cold. But it couldn't be. It shouldn't be. This was Kleopatra. Kleopatra is never cold. It was a tropical dwarf planet. Emphasis on the tropical part of that sentence.
Tynewn shivered, and that was a new experience for xem. Shivering. That had always seemed so novel when Ara described it on xyr travels. Xe never knew Ara would do something like this, murder Grykin, Ara's apa!, turn Kleopatra into a wasteland of ice, take over Dwalan Hall in xyr rage.
Xe curled xyr arms tighter around xemself. Whimpering, xe tried to centre xyr core. The tangled spirits of the town swirling in xyr core. Tynewn let out a whine when xe couldn't feel Grykin's spirit within xyrself.
It was painful feeling the spirits of the town start to wither and die off, breaking and snapping within xem. Could Ara feel it too? Xe had to, right?, even with how far xe was in xyr insanity.
It just didn't make sense. How did Ara snap like that? How did xe get magic like that? It was only in tales of Ole that magic existed. Xiv and Arak were the only beings that could wield magic, so it was told.
Just how did Ara get xyr hands on magic? It was impossible! All the Elders said so, but the Council of Elders was decimated within a matter of seconds after Ara arrived. And Tynewn shuddered to remember that crazed look in xyr eyes, the purple washed out with red as ice blue covered the walls.
Tynwen escaped with the skin of xyr teeth, barely dodging a blast of the freezing cold fire as xe ran far, far away from the destruction.
The severance of all the Elders' spirits within Tynwen nearly made xem stumble in xyr escape, the pain of it wanting xem to fall to xyr knees.
Tynwen remembered Ara and xyr bright purple eyes, gleaming as xe retold stories and adventures, the joy in that face as xe dreamed of the stars. Tynwen grew up with xem, and seeing that maniacal face cackle at the screams of babies and xyr town tore at Tynwen's hearts.
Xe shivered. The memory of Ara's purple eyes bleeding away to red only causing xyr heart to hurt once more.
"Hello?!"
Distantly voices creeped closer, and xe panicked, bolting up and accidentally knocking into some rocks.
"What was that?!" Footsteps hurried over, and xe tried to bolt, tripping over xyr feet in xyr rush to escape.
Fear gripped xyr hearts as xe tried to scramble away, looking for any cover to squeeze into.
"Doctor, over here! There's someone here!" A high pitched voice beckoned, and xe saw so much pink and yellow that it blinded xem.
A splash of brown appeared in xyr vision, and xe stepped back. The feeling of unease crawled over xyr tentacles, ants and needles prickling xem as strangers approached with xem on high alert.
"Are you okay?" The yellow one asked, following xem, but xe shook xyr head, ready to bolt.
"Rose, stay back," the brown one warned.
"What, why?" Pink and yellow asked but dutifully took two steps back.
Tynwen appreciated it, feeling the unease creep slightly away. The brown one did the traditional Kleopatran greeting, a half bow with a hand on the back of the neck and palm up.
"We mean no harm," Brown said, looking up after the greeting. "We were here for a quick jaunt, a little fun in the sun. But it's hard to do that in an icy wasteland, and I was wondering if you had any idea what was going on."
Xe shook xyr head, blinking fast. "No. My mate, Ara, just went berserk. Xe came home from an expedition and -"
("Xe?" The pink one asked.
"Different pronouns. Did you really think it was just male and female?" and the brown one whispered back before hushing the pink one and listened raptly with attention to xem.)
"Ara's a scientist, and xe was always one for learning. After the trip to Tayne, something changed. I don't know what it was, but… xe was more anxious... "
Tynwen couldn't stop. Once the words came out, xe couldn't stop them from spilling out, the story piling on and on. "Ara started holing up in xyr pod, scribbling notes and yelling at anyone who interrupted xyr findings. I went over to xyr pod one day, and it was a mess. Pamphlets strewn everywhere, clothes thrown on everything, food spoiled. It was horrible."
"You're saying your friend, Ara was it?" Tynwen nodded when the brown one looked at xem, "went… berserk after an expedition from Tayne."
"But Doctor," Pink one said, "We were just on Tayne, and nothing happened to us."
"Good point, Rose," the Doctor acknowledged, tilting his head before starting to pace around the scattered ruins. "But we couldn't have been in the same time period. Gah, what time are we in?"
Xe startled when eyes turned toward xem, odd to stare at only two pairs of eyes instead of sixteen. "Uh, twenty two/apple/lanning. Why? Is that important?"
"Dunno, could be?" the Doctor shrugged. "Anything is important at this point. Agg!" He ran his fingers through his hair, clenching his jaw. "This is too little information. Tell me more about this Ara. What was xe like? What was xyr job on this expedition? Who went with xem?"
"Uh," Tynwen wracked xyr memories, "Ara was the expedition's scientist, gathering information and providing the necessary data. Something- something happened, the ship exploded or Taynes revolted on us. It was never clear. The Elders wanted to keep it from us, for our safety they said."
"Why would they do that?" Rose asked, looking at the Doctor in confusion. "Keeping something that important from their people, it just makes no sense."
"Wanting to stay in power?" The Doctor put his hands in his pockets, kicking a stray pebble, "Keeping their people from panicking? Who knows? Power makes men think in different ways than what you and I think."
"How are you going to help my people?"
"I don't know, but I promise you that we'll help you to the best of our abilities," the Doctor said with a severe look in his eye.
"What I want to know is how this place is split between hot and cold." Rose threw her hands up in the air, looking between the two. "It looks like something out of a fantasy movie."
"Perhaps the thing that is making this erratic weather pattern doesn't have enough power yet."
Tynwen shuddered, "The magic of Ara is unhinged, nearly impossible and unattainable to our people. The fact that xe has it, and is killing with it, that is not the mate that I know."
Rose looked at xem, taking a few steps closer with a concerned look. "We'll save xem, I promise."
"That's-" Tynwen sucked in a deep breath, "that's- thank you. I needed that."
She gave xem a gentle smile and looked back at the Doctor. "So where should we start, Doctor?"
The Doctor clicked his tongue, pointing at Tynwen with a curious vigor. "Could you take us back to Ara's pod? I want to see if there are any clues there that would help us."
Tynwen's tentacles shivered, recoiling at the thought of invading someone else's private pod. "I don't know…. It's not good practice to invade someone else's pod…."
"How did you know about Ara's pod then if you didn't go into it?" Rose asked curiously.
"Xe invited me. I don't think it was a conscious decision on xyr part," Tynwen said, looking down, the memories of that visit still haunting xem. "Ara was- xe was different that day."
"Different how?" the Doctor asked, pulling out a notepad and immensely scribbling into it. "Would you say xe was more paranoid? Chaotic? Frantic? Or was it something else?"
"No, no, that works. Ara was always a cautious soul. Xyr soul line was tinged with purple, wary but curious." Tynwen dug through the feelings, the memory of the chaos when Ara let go and wreaked havoc on their planet.
"Soul line?" Rose asked.
"Ah," the Doctor flipped his notebook shut, addressing Rose directly, "the Kleopatrans are a race connected with each other through this intangible connection within themselves. Sorta like an empathetic phone call that they're all talking and feeling their whole lives."
"Cool," Rose turned back to Tynwen with a brilliant smile that made xem blush green. "So you can feel your people all the time?"
Tynwen nodded shyly, tentacles retracting as Rose approached. "Me and my people are always entangled with each other. On the Day of Lines, Ara's soul line was bright red, and then… it happened. For Ara to do such a thing especially on the Day of Lines- willingly shattering our bonds… It's unspeakable."
"It's that bad?" Rose asked, brows furrowing at the despair and distraught in xyr voice.
"It's like murdering your significant other when you just celebrated Valentine's Day the day before." The Doctor shuddered as he explained. "That chaos, that- that abhorrent action after just spending a day of love is just…"
"Despicable," Rose filled in softly, understanding leaking through her whole demeanor.
"Yes," he nodded with a heavy finality, "just despicable." Turning back to Tynwen with a brittle smile, "Sorry about that. We never introduced ourselves. I'm the Doctor and this is my companion, Rose Tyler."
Rose waved, "It's nice to meet you."
Tynwen greeted back with a traditional introduction. "I'm Tynwen of the Fimien family."
"Now that introductions are over!" The Doctor jumped back into action, pulling out something cylindrical and Tynwen gasped as it whirred to life. He caught xyr eyes, smiling, "Like it?" he flipped it toward his other hand. "It's my sonic screwdriver."
"It's…" xe started as the Doctor looked at xem gleefully, "rather simplistic in design, isn't it?"
Rose broke out into raucous laughter, pointing at the pout that fell upon the Doctor's face. "Ha! Xe got you there. Thank you! He always goes on about his sonic. You're lucky we're not on his ship. Once he gets started, he never stops."
Tynwen smiled, embarrassed, at the two's antics, feeling a bit more at ease with the other two.
"Oh, ha ha. Where's Sage when I need her? She wouldn't make fun of my sonic," the Doctor put his sonic away.
"She's your wife, of course she doesn't make fun of your sonic."
"She's not my wife!"
"Close enough," Rose giggled at the indignant red look on the Doctor's face. Getting her breath back, she straightened. "Alright, let's go and save Kleopatra."
The Doctor sighed, rolling his eyes. "Will you take us to Ara's pod?"
Tynwen felt the command instead of how it was phrased as a question. Xe straightened, feeling fear creep on xyr back and freezing xyr tentacles into place. Xe shook it off, gritting xyr teeth.
"Follow me."
"What do you want?!" the sobs wracked faer spine. Faer tentacles were being ripped apart, the cold biting at its tips and arms, a few splattered on the ground and tangles of it far, far away from faer body.
"Now, now, Hylgron," Ara tsked. "Isn't it a scientist's duty to learn all that is possible? A little experiment on your reactions of the cold is just too interesting an experiment to pass up."
"You're sick," fae gasped out when the cold grasped at faer torso.
"Sick?" Ara tilted xyr head. Xe shook xyr head, "I wouldn't say that, Hylgron. Just… morbidly curious."
"It's… Elder… Hylgron to… you," fae panted out and purple eyes were washed away as red overtook xyr face.
"AGGHH!" Hylgron screamed when a cold blast hit the side of faer face.
"Interesting…" Xe murmured, writing down notes as xe pulled faer face side to side. "The cold reacts differently to Elder Hylgron's blood than it did to young Rukanon."
Hylgron's blood ran cold, but not from the blasts of ice from Ara. "You- What did you do?!"
"Hmm?" Ara looked over the lids of xyr eyes, "Oh… didn't you know?"
Fae hissed at the nonchalance Ara held, the false dignity in that stance. "Why would you target the young? How could you be so cruel? Can't you feel our soul lines breaking?"
"Soul line?" The red had washed out the purple of xyr eyes completely, and Hylgron could only shiver at the frigidity of that glare. "What does that matter?"
Even exhausted, Hylgron sputtered at that nonchalance. "Soul lines not mattering? That- that is our life! That is our family!"
"Family?!" The purple flickered back for a moment before red came back at full force. "What family? You all abandoned me! You left me for dead!"
"We didn't know you survived!" Fae pleaded when a cold blast of ice hit faer other side of faer face. "Your ship had malfunctioned and exploded! There were no other survivors! We looked, Tynwen looked, and you weren't there! No one was!"
"You should've looked harder!" Xe hit faer eyes with anger, and Hylgron shrieked in pain, blinding faer. Xe grasped a tentacle, ripping it out with all xyr might and the cold wrapped and spread throughout faer body .
Hylgron sobbed as the pain increased, the cold nipping at faer until only numbness remained. Fae struggled in faer bonds, the remaining tentacles recoiling in agony.
Xe watched on cooly, no emotions hiding in xyr red eyes. The screaming, writhing form of Hylgron providing no joy or sadness to xem, just empty, empty feelings.
"Okay, this is way harder to climb than what I thought it was going to be," Rose panted out. "Are you sure that this is the way to the pod."
Tynwen hummed, "We're nearly there, just a couple more clicks."
The Doctor was having the time of his life, documenting the journey with his sonic. "This is brilliant! Just look at the construction of those boulders. Its carbon data says that it was here even longer than the birth of Kleopatra. Fascinating!"
"So Tynwen," Rose said, ignoring the Doctor's excited little monologue behind them. "Ara was a scientist?"
Xe nodded in affirmation, heaving xyr torso forward the ridge top. "Yes, xe was one of the top scientists in our coven. Xe was really well-known and the top choice for the expedition for Tayne."
"Okay, but why were you guys traveling to Tayne? It was an expedition, I got that, but what were you exploring?"
"The new terrain," Tynwen said, "Tayne has been in our orbit for awhile now, but that had been the only time Kleopatra and Tayne had been close enough to travel to. Our coven loves the unknown, the mystery of the world. Tayne offers that much more into discovering more of the universe."
"Oh, I get it. But wait," Rose furrowed her brows, looking deep into Tynwen's purple eyes, "Ara was the only one to survive? What happened?"
Tynwen faltered on the next climb up, tentacle scrabbling for balance. Xe stopped, settling down as Rose did the same. "The ship exploded. It exploded with Kleopatra's best and brightest, and there were no survivors."
"Except for Ara, right?"
Xe shook xyr head. "The ship exploded mid-landing. As the legs were extending down onto the platform, something gave, and the engines erupted, destroying the whole ship and taking the team and ship with it. We searched through the rubble, but nothing was found. Nothing and no one. So when Ara came back, looking raggled and death warmed over, we were overjoyed, and that's when it should've been clear that something was wrong."
Tynwen remembered the day, the joy xe felt at seeing xyr mate again. The happiness that overwhelmed xem. But it only led to xyr people's downfall.
"What do you mean?"
"Ara wouldn't tell us anything about Tayne, wouldn't report xyr findings, nothing. It was like xe was repressing that the whole event even happened in the first place."
Rose looked troubled, biting her bottom lip. "That's odd. So he- sorry, xe started to become paranoid after that?"
"It was more gradual than that, something creeping up on us until it was too late and xe took it out on the whole coven." Tynwen shivered at the memory of Ara's enraged red eyes, so different from the purple of before.
"So it just happened one day? Right out of the blue?"
"Blue?" Tynwen tilted xyr head. "It happened without warning, yes. But I don't know what the colour blue has anything to do with that."
"Never mind, it's an idiom. So Ara just went crazy and started to attack people right away after some time?"
"It was about a week after xe came back that xe started to hurt the coven, yes," Tynwen nodded. The memory of it disgusted xem, the chilling feeling of a severed soul line, the horrible loneliness of xyr bond, the empty feeling of where souls should be.
"A week?" the Doctor piped up, coming over and pocketing his sonic. "And xe came back from Tayne, right?"
"Yes, that's right. Why? Is that important?"
"Could be," the Doctor shrugged, getting a faraway look in his eyes. He shook his head, clearing the glaze away. "Never mind, let's keep going, yes?"
"Alright, let's go."
"This- this is a mess." The Doctor took in his surroundings. Tynwen wasn't wrong when xe said that it was a mess in the pod.
"I warned you," Tynwen said as the Doctor wandered around, looking at items intently. "A pod is private and specialized for everyone. Kleopatrans usually never bring anyone to their den unless necessary. But Ara… xe was weird before xe went crazy, not caring who came into xyr pod, not cleaning up. Usually xe's very meticulous about xyr pod, but it was like xe was inviting Misfortune."
"Misfortune?" Rose asked, grimacing at the grime around her.
"It's a legend," Tynwen started, "or really a children's tale, a cautionary warning to podlets. 'A clean den is your friend, or let Misfortune bring about your end.' I don't know where it came from, but it's always scared podlets witless, so that they always have a clean den."
"A little nursery rhyme to keep your house clean," Rose said. "I wish I had that when I was younger, maybe my room would've stayed cleaner and I wouldn't have lost my mobile so often."
"Look at this," the Doctor called them over. He was standing in front of a corkboard or at least the equivalent of one. String of various colours and papers were pinned in different directions. There were deep carvings scratched in the board, jagged and crooked.
"My god," the Doctor breathed out. His hand reached up to hover over the scratching, fingers gently touching the indents. "This- this is madness."
"What is it, Doctor?" Rose asked, looking between him and the board.
"Look," the Doctor pointed at one of the papers. "Ara was documenting xyr change. From the explosion until the day that xe started the weather change."
"What do you mean xyr change?" Tynwen asked. "How did xe change?"
"Xe knew what was happening to xem. Look at these documents there," he tapped at the markings, red ink spilled everywhere. "It says that xe felt the madness within. And these markings here…. I've never seen anything like them. No, wait. I have. But where…?"
Rose peeked over his shoulder, eye immediately catching the blood like stains on yellowing pages. The engravings on the stained paper did seem familiar, old too….
"Doctor, remember that impossible planet? With the Ood?" Rose started, picking up one of the stained pages. "These markings kind of look like it, you see?"
He snapped his fingers, "You're right!" Snatching the papers out of her hands, he scanned the markings, muttering excitedly under his breath. "I'm still not able to translate it all that well, the words are flickering. Still too old…. But the TARDIS translation circuit is acting weird right now…."
"Weird how?" Rose asked. The Doctor handed her the papers, and she looked down at them, not sure what to expect. The words flickered between English and back to those weird symbols over again. She looked again and saw the words flicker back and forth, straining her eyes.
"Is it supposed to do that?" Rose handed the papers back, rubbing her temple as the headache lessened.
"Absolutely not!" The Doctor grinned. "Do you know what that means? It means, Rose Tyler, that Ara is not xemself right now. And that xe knew it and left clues to try and fix the situation."
"What? How is that possible? Why is it changing between languages and what does that have to do with Ara?"
"Xe knew that xe was corrupted, taken over, whatever! Xe knew and xe wrote it down. The subtle transformations, the taking over, the events that caused the explosion on that expedition. All of it! Right here! Oh, this is brilliant!"
"Um, excuse me," Tynwen coughed, grabbing both Rose and the Doctor's attention. "What are you talking about? You can read those?"
"Welllllll, not exactly. It's interspersed with Kleopatran right now and that language older than time. BUT! I think with a little bit of time, I can probably translate it. Probably. Maybe. Most definitely."
"Okay," Tynwen nodded. "But how will that help Ara and my people?"
"Ara was a scientist right?" Tynwen barely nodded before the Doctor barrelled on, "Even if Ara was corrupted, habits bleed through, so these are notes from that time. From before Ara went berserk to xyr final days."
"So how does that help us?" Rose watched as the Doctor scribbled on the papers from a magically procured pen that she had no idea where it came from.
"It may solve this problem sooner than we think." He paused in his writing, tilting his head. "Did you hear that?"
"Hear what?" Tynwen asked.
"That-"
A giant explosion sounded from the distance, catching the attention of all three of them. They exchanged wide-eyes, frozen in horror until another explosion from the distance jolted them out of their horror-stricken state.
As fast as their legs (and tentacles) would allow, they bolted from the pod, bursting out of the frame. Outside, absolute mayhem covered the tiny village hillside.
"Oh, Tynwen!" A voice sang threateningly. "Come out, come out, wherever you are!"
Tynwen was frozen in fear, stumbling when xe heard Ara mention xem. The three were hiding in the shadows of the destruction, just barely out of range from Ara.
"Did you really think that I wouldn't notice you in my pod? How disrespectful of you, Tynwen, and here I thought you had more sense, more respect than that. I must've been mistaken."
Rose watched with bated breath as Tynwen's scales appeared to change, shimmering between blue and red, the anger apparent in the air as Ara taunted xem.
Her heart pounded, heavy and fast in her chest. This was different, this was a personal affair that she felt she shouldn't be involved in. At first, she thought that this was just another war ridden planet, something else that she and the Doctor could help save. But it was becoming clearer and clearer to Rose that that wasn't the case.
One person wreaking havoc on a small area of land, something didn't seem to make a blip in history. It must've been buried, the people too embarrassed to remember that they had nearly been destroyed by one of their own.
Tynwen trembled, xyr sadness wanting to lash out in anger. A sudden blast of coldness hit close to where they were hiding, and Rose nearly yelped in fright, hands reaching out blindly to hold the Doctor for comfort.
He didn't respond, only tensing slightly as he furiously tried to decipher the words even faster.
Rose closed her eyes, she didn't want to die. But something was calling for her, something was telling her to make a stand. To at least stall for time so that the Doctor can decipher and that no more Kleopatrans would die.
She took a deep breath, jaw clenched as she made her decision.
"Here I am, Ara."
And she froze, eyes flying open as she recognized that voice.
Tynwen stood tall and proud ten paces in front of the rubble. Her heart leapt into her throat. Xe wasn't supposed to be there! Rose was! Not xem! Xyr life was not worth dying.
"So there you are, Tynwen," Ara purred. Xe floated right in front of xyr face, and with that distance, Rose can see the flecks of purple hiding in the depths of the red. "And here I thought that you would take the coward's way out. Again."
"This wasn't my doing, Ara." Tynewn said. "I wouldn't hide when my village was in trouble."
"Yet when I was in trouble, all the village did was hide my problems! Threw me out like yesterday's paper because they didn't know how to fix me! They never helped me!"
Tynwen winced, cowering at the accusations, feelings of guilt welling up within xem. Xe took a few steps forward, tentacles out in an attempt at placation. The feelings and emotions of anger and sadness were welling up inside xem. Blue and purple were clouding xyr vision, and xe screwed xyr vision to focus on Ara.
"Ara, Ara, please. Stop this." There wasn't any time. The Doctor was still translating, still trying his best, but he wouldn't be able to finish in time Tynwen knew.
Ara broke out into manic laughter, almost doubling over in the effort of it all. "Did you really think that a plea, a plea as pitiful as that would be enough to stop me? The gods gave me this power, this right, to destroy us. And by the gods am I going to use it."
Tynwen knew it. Xe wouldn't stop, so it was up to Tynwen to fix this. And there was only one way, and it was going to hurt.
"Wait, wait, wait, wait!" The Doctor popped out from hiding, hair a mess from the stress and worry of translating. "It doesn't have to be like this! Look at me, look at me."
He pointed two fingers at Ara, the startled reaction from the Kleopatran enough to get xem to comply. "You're in pain, aren't you…? Weary and lost?"
Ara hovered, lowering a few inches, entranced by the severe and compelling nature of the Doctor. Rose bit her bottom lip, concerned with the proceedings. She didn't think that this was going to work. She had full faith in the Doctor, she knew that he would get her out of there safe, but the way he was going at it didn't sit right with her.
"Doctor…."
"Quiet, Rose," he snapped, but without real bite. The Doctor was sweating, a feat he rarely did. Something was telling him that this wasn't going to turn out how he wanted it to. "Listen to me Ara. You don't want to do this."
And this was where the bad feeling Rose had felt flared with strength, her body moving before she even realized what was happening. She yanked the Doctor back toward her away from the blast of ice heading his way, saving him from frostbite with seconds to spare.
"YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT I WANT!" Ara exploded with rage, power unyielding as the three ducked for cover. "HOW WOULD YOU KNOW WHAT I WANT! YOU'RE NOTHING MORE THAN A DISTRACTION!"
The Doctor had to leap away from another blast, knocking into Rose and getting a cut on his forehead, slight blood dripping into his face.
"Ara, stop!" Tynwen tried one more time, ducking another blast of ice. Xyr powers were getting out of hand, tulmotous and sloppy. The finesse was gone, the subtle planning, there was only anger and emotion controlling xem.
"Especially you Tynwen," Ara spat, heaving from the spectacle. The red eyes fully outlined the purple, the other colour nowhere to be seen. "My little mate. Did you enjoy the show?"
"You know I didn't, Ara." Tynwen stood tall, proud, gazing at the distorted form of xyr mate. "Why? Why kill our people?"
"Why? WHY?" Ara laughed in disbelief. "They were never my people. They were only deserters. They never cared for me."
"I did," Tynwen said softly, and Ara faltered.
Rose looked between the two, eyes widening as she watched the spectacle. If Tynwen's people were connected by soul bonds, then did having romantic relationships differ in some way? She looked back at the Doctor who was just as enraptured in the show as she was.
"No! You can't do this to me, Tynwen. You can't come to me with that look on your face and expect me to cave again! Like I always did, not this time." Ara made the conscious effort to move away, freezing the bottom of Tynwen's feet so xe couldn't move.
"You think a few words of apology is going to make this all better? You think I'm just going to trip over my tentacles and accept this? NO! Not anymore!"
Rose saw the Doctor tense, a resignation in his eyes. Everything in her was telling her, yelling at her to get him out of there, that this was a forbidden affair, a private one. But they had to see this one til the end, like always.
She laid a gentle hand on his shoulder, usually Sage would be here, comforting him, knowing exactly what to say. He tensed under her hand, and he didn't look like he was going to relax.
Rose let go, saddened that she couldn't help him. But the sight in front of her hurt her even more. Tynwen looked defeated, resigned, even worse than was the Doctor. And she couldn't do a damned thing to help any of them.
"Ara, I'm sorry."
"Sorry didn't save me, Tywnen," Ara spat out. Xe was lowering by the second, the emotions practically radiating off of xem. "Sorry didn't keep me alive."
The Doctor sucked in a breath, eyes flitting between the papers and Ara. Rose furrowed her brow, wondering what made the Doctor so worried.
"I know," Tywnen's voice was so soft, all four pairs of eyes gazing intently at Ara. "But I'm still sorry."
There was quiet, and Rose could feel the tension of the air vibrating through her soul. Something was happening, something important, but she couldn't figure out what.
"Why?" Ara asked, and Rose startled at the near normalness in xyr voice.
"You know why, Ara."
And Rose startled at how familiar this scene was. How many times has she seen this exact moment with the Doctor and Sage? How many times has she seen the two of them give up their lives for the other, for everyone else, for her? How many times had she felt terror grip at her heart at the thought that she would never see the two of them ever again?
Too many.
Watching this, seeing this play out with the certainty of death for Ara made Rose swear that she would never see the Doctor or Sage be alone ever. She was so goddamn glad that they were together, that they had each other, but they were too similar sometimes, too stubborn, too stuck in their own heads.
They both needed someone to kick them off of their pedestal, give them something to save, give them the reason to keep living.
Rose would never, ever leave Sage or the Doctor of her own free will. Not if she could help it.
"You know what I have to do, Ara." Tywnen was still, voice steady with only the barest tremble betraying xyr emotion.
"I do." Ara's eyes were purple, which startled Rose because she remembered them being red before. Did that mean Ara had been possessed? Possessed by that demon on that impossible planet?
She didn't want to look at the Doctor to see his expression, something telling her that she wouldn't like it, that it would frighten her.
Ara lowered until xe stood on the ground, right in front of Tynwen. This close, Rose could see the flickering red and purple in xyr eyes, the pain emanating from xyr very body.
Tynwen reached out blindly, hugging Ara as close as xe could. Ara hugged back as best xe could, trembling with tears falling down.
"I didn't want to do this," Ara said, hushed.
"I know you didn't," Tywnen soothed, humming something quiet and lulling. "It's okay."
"It's not, it's not!" Ara whimpered.
"I love you."
"I'm sorry."
Rose trudged back, feeling terrible and sick to her stomach. It didn't take long for her to figure out what Tynwen was going to do with Ara. But it still hurt to see it happen.
The Doctor was walking as if there was a dark cloud hanging over his head, feet dragging behind him as he moved forward, papers clutched tightly in his hand that the whites of his knuckles were showing.
Tynwen had fainted after breaking Ara's soul line, practically shredding xyr own soul in the process. Rose and the Doctor, frozen at the sight, jumped at xyr weak voice, calling out for the two of them.
Rose didn't even remember what had happened, what xe said, the tears flooding out from her with no signs of any stopping.
The two dragged xem to xyr village, the wreckage looking worse for wear. Xyr people came out, scattered, war-torn, and battered. They took xem, and the Doctor and Rose looked on, lost with nothing to do as the day took its toll from them.
Tears were beckoning to break free and flow down her cheeks, but Rose pushed the stinging away, rubbing at her eyes roughly.
After they had dropped Tynwen off with xyr village, the Doctor had wandered off to who knew where, and Rose was alone.
She watched the other villagers chattering happily in relief that the terror had disappeared, that the destruction had stopped. Sitting down in the shade far, far away from Ara's body, Rose could only wait for the Doctor and Sage to get her.
She knew he wouldn't abandon her. At least not on purpose, but she also knew that Ara's death was eating away at him right now, the guilt at not being able to save xem, and subsequently Tynwen was probably not helping his mental state.
She only hoped that he was smart enough to go to Sage right now and break down or something. Let it all out, and not just pretend that everything was alright.
"-alright?"
Rose's eyes flew open, seeing the withered form of Tynwen, the tiredness written in every wrinkle.
"What? Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," Rose tried to dismiss xem, but it was hard under those knowing eyes.
"Why?" She asked after a moment's silence.
"Why what?"
"Why would you- you-?"
"Give up my life? Break my soul line and soul bond with Ara, knowing that I will die soon? Basically commit suicide?"
"Yeah," Rose's voice was quiet, almost desolate in tone.
"Because I have nothing else to love for."
Rose started to protest, words dying away at the sad look in those purple eyes. Those same purple eyes that Ara had, and Rose could only look away, feeling shame rise up in the back of her throat.
"Ara was ready to die. I could feel it, I could see it. It just wasn't possible for xem to do so by themself."
"So it was up to you to deal the finishing blow?" Rose spat out. She knew she was being unfair. She knew that it was xyr choice to do so, but she just couldn't accept it, couldn't wrap it around her head.
She couldn't possibly imagine giving up her life just like that. She would keep fighting, keep looking for a way for everyone to get out safe.
"Are you saying that you wouldn't give up your life for someone you love?"
"I-" That made Rose stop what she was going to say. Because she'd done it before, hadn't she? Saving the Doctor's life before he regenerated. Her father. That day during the Olympics.
She would always try to save her loved ones. So why was she yelling at someone else for doing the exact same thing? Why was it right for her to give herself up when someone else would do the same thing?
"I'm sorry," she said after the silence went on for too long. "It's difficult- different, I guess when it comes to me saving other people and other people saving me."
"You want to save other people, not have them save you, correct? It is often difficult to give up the reins when you were the one steering." Tynwen looked at her knowingly, a wise look in those tired, purple eyes.
"Yeah, I guess you can say that." Rose sighed, wrapping her knees up in her arms. She looked at Tynwen next to her with her chin resting on top of her knees. It was difficult to imagine, this kind, gentle person dying so soon after she met xem.
And she could only help but feel that it was her fault.
"It's not, you know," Tynwen said nonchalantly.
"What isn't?" Rose looked up and saw soft purple eyes smiling at her.
"Your fault. I chose this, Rose, not you, not the Doctor, but me. Don't feel guilty for my choice."
Her eyes shifted back to the blue grass, the red sun setting casting beautiful shadows of bloody tears dropping in the ocean. "It's difficult to accept. Your life just gone… instantly."
"Life is like that. Beautiful and bright but quickly snuffed out." Tynwen sighed, looking at the setting sun. "Look, Rose, this is going to be difficult to hear, but life will never be what you expect. And you can only hope to accept what you're faced with sometimes or change it to what you want."
"But I can't change that you're dying!" Rose cried, slamming her hands onto the ground. The tears were starting to pour down her cheeks.
"No, you can't," Tynwen said evenly. "And it is horrible, learning that death is inevitable no matter what you do…. It's humiliating."
Rose scrubbed hard at her cheeks. "Yeah, it is pretty humiliating."
"No, no, you misunderstand me, Rose," Tynwen shook xyr head. "I mean that it's humbling to remember that you are not always so powerful. That you are capable of mistakes."
"Why would anyone want to remember their mistakes?" Rose asked, remembering her mistake with her father.
"Well… to be human, I suppose."
Sage was just eating a bowl of soup when the Doctor came in looking like hell warmed over, clutching at a bunch of papers like his life depended on them.
She froze, unable to do anything in case it startled the Doctor into doing something he might regret. It didn't take long for Sage to realize something was wrong. His figure spoke stories of the anxiety radiating off from him. There was that wild, terrified expression on his face which was speaking levels of his mood, something he rarely let her see at times.
To have his face bare and wild spoke volumes of how whatever happened on Kleopatra shook him up so bad to have no handle on his emotions right now. He must've lost control, she realized. He couldn't save someone, and her heart cried out in pain at seeing the Doctor like this.
The unseeing glaze in his eyes worried her the most. If she wasn't careful, then she might lose the Doctor to his past.
And that was not something she wished to experience again.
He stumbled closer to her, as if a magnetism was drawing him ever closer to her. She startled, dropping her spoon in shock as he crumpled in her arms, half of his body draped over the table and arms reaching out to her.
"Fuck," she hissed, hurrying to catch the bowl of hot soup that wanted to fall over. The Doctor didn't even move, body sagging in exhaustion.
Sage briefly mourned the loss of her soup before quickly focusing on the Doctor's weary and bedraggled form. With tremendous effort, she hauled him up to his feet, the limpness in which he followed concerning her even more.
Silently, she whispered to the TARDIS to move their room closer, opening the kitchen door and feeling immense relief that it opened up to their room. Stepping over the various items on the ground, she heaved the Doctor onto their bed, his limbs sprawling out in every direction.
Wiping the sweat from her brow, she winced at the strain in her muscles, briefly wondering if she should work out some more. She took off his long coat with much difficulty, then his shoes, laying them carefully at the foot of the bed. The Doctor rolled over, the crumple of papers redirecting her focus again.
Prying the papers out from his knuckles took more time than she would've liked, the Doctor clinging onto them as hard as he could. When she finally got them out, she replaced it with a pillow that the Doctor immediately latched onto.
Sage read over the crumpled pieces of papers, brows furrowing as the words seemed to float across the page. There was English mixed in there somewhere, but everything else only gave her a headache.
She shook her head, smoothing out the papers before setting it aside. Putting her hands on her hips, she looked over the Doctor's seemingly comatose form. This was going to take some time.
"Doctor, I don't know if you can hear me…" Sage didn't know how to finish that statement. He was clearly dissociating, but she had no idea how to help with that. Was it the same as her panic attacks? Was there any special procedures? Did she have to be cautious about something? Oh, if only Vee were here…
"Wait!" Sage scrambled to her desk, looking around for her phone. Snatching it up, she quickly dialed the number she knew at heart.
The dial tone rang. "C'mon, Vee, c'mon," she muttered half-finished prayers.
"Sage?" Vee's voice greeted her groggily, and she felt like sobbing in relief.
"Vee, Vee! Thank god! I don't know what to do!" Her breathing started to quicken, short gasps coming out.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Sage, take a deep breath in. Four seconds, c'mon, you know the drill. Four, seven, eight."
Sage sucked in a deep breath, breathing in for four seconds, then holding it for eight, finally letting go for seven. Doing this a few times let Sage regain her breathing back to normal.
"There we go," Vee praised. "Better now?"
"Yeah, yeah," Sage panted out, heart trying to regulate itself. "The Doctor's disassociating. How do I help him?"
"He might be feeling over stimulated right now. Did you turn the lights down? It doesn't even have to be down all the way, just dim the lights." Vee's voice was even and level, which was a relief to Sage who was feeling five seconds away from freaking out.
"Okay, okay, okay." Her voice was staggered in panic, but she took in another deep breath. "Dearest, can you-?"
Before she could even finish the sentence, the lights lowered. "Thank you," she murmured.
"Now, is the Doctor in a comfortable space?" Vee asked, Sage almost forgetting she was still on the phone with her.
"He's in our bed," Sage confirmed, and she really hoped that Vee wouldn't say anything about that sentence because she was not in the mood for this.
"Are his clothes comfortable?"
"Well, it's just what he usually wears, so I think they're comfortable for him."
"Let's hope you're right. It might be for the best, anyhow. Familiarity always helps, and I don't know how the Doctor would react with something new." Sage remembered The less stimulation on him, the better. Do you have a weighted blanket?"
"Yeah, do you think that will help?"
"It can. Do you think the Doctor will need it?"
"I don't know! That's why I called you. You're the psychiatrist!" Sage started to hyperventilate again.
"Hey, hey! You did the right job in calling me. Admitting you need help is a major accomplishment that many people have difficulty with. I'm proud of you for calling me."
Vee's words calmed her down a little bit. Sage felt less like a failure for once. "Thanks. Okay, now what?"
"How far gone is he? Can he respond? Even the slightest movement or barest acknowledgement works."
Sage glanced over at the Doctor, his huddled form was less tense from what she could see. His face was towards her, smothered by the pillow. His shoulders moved up and down as he breathed.
Cautiously, she moved toward him, keeping Vee on the line after telling her to wait a moment. "Doctor?" she asked quietly. "Can you hear me? Move your shoulders up once for yes, don't move it for no."
With bated breath, Sage watched the Doctor rapt attention, letting out a breath she didn't know she was holding when he lifted his shoulders once.
"Oh, thank god!" she breathed out in relief.
"Ask him if you can touch him," Vee advised.
"Oh, right!" Turning back to the Doctor, she asked, "Is it alright to touch you. Same rules apply."
There was a shuffle, and the Doctor lifted up his head, nodding. There weren't any tear stains, but his eyes held so much pain, the redness outlining his eyes.
"Vee, I'm gonna have to let you go. Thanks so much for all your help. Love you, bye!" She rushed that out, clicking the end of the call. Vee could barely rush out a hurried goodbye before Sage threw the phone on her desk.
She gathered the Doctor up into her arms, resting his head in the crook of her neck. With only a little bit of struggle, the two scooted up to the head of the bed, Sage resting her back on the headboard and the Doctor in her arms and her legs hugging his thighs. Her arms were wrapped around his shoulders, his lanky form easy for her to hold on to.
He was shaking, not from the cold she could tell, but from whatever had happened on Kleopatra. She hugged him closer to her, wanting to fight those thoughts inside his head. But at least he wasn't listless again. The times she found him looking empty and emotionless scared her the most. Because the Doctor was all about emotions, regardless of how much he hid them. He had them and he wasn't one to shy away from them.
So to find him without any scared her the most. He can hide them, he can shove them down (even though she highly advised against that), he can even shut himself away from her and the rest of the world if he wanted to. But he should never feel empty since he was so full of life.
"Thank you," the Doctor said, hushed.
She looked down at him, a sad smile on her lips. "For what?"
"For caring for me. For loving me. For… everything I suppose."
"Oh, Doctor," she sighed. "Of course. I'll do anything for you for as long as you want me by your side."
"Forever then," he murmured into her neck, hugging her closer to him.
Sage smiled, eyes fond and full of love, "Forever."
Rose looked at the rim of her mug, the steam rising in little tufts of heat warmed her face.
Her legs swung back and forth, the freedom to do so easy with sitting on the doorstep of the TARDIS, doors flung wide open.
She sighed. They had been in the Vortex for awhile and even after a day or so, the Doctor had only taken them into space, never landing them anywhere in time or space.
The extended air shell around the TARDIS was a nice touch, and Rose was grateful for Sage for showing this to her.
Looking up again, her eyes adjusted to the night of space. The lack of light only emphasized the stars, the beauty and power that this space held left Rose awestruck.
"Beautiful view, huh?" The Doctor's soft voice only slightly startled Rose from her perch, but she didn't make a noise, only scooting slightly to the left for himi to sit down next to her.
"This is one of the reasons I love doing what I do so much," he continued, eyes fixed on the stars before him. "It's this sight, the people, the amazing wonders of the world that are just so brilliant that I get to be among them. It's ..."
"Fantastic," Rose finished softly.
The Doctor gave her a shrewd smile, "It is, isn't it? And you know? Spending all this time with Sage and you, making all these memories makes it all worth it."
And Rose wanted to talk about Kleopatra. About Ara and Tynwen and where he went and if he was okay. But something was telling her that he would clam up if she tried, so she bit her tongue. Instead she focused on the present and not the death of two people that she felt like was clawing at her throat. Is this what the Doctor felt after the Time War? Okay, Rose, stop. Get back on track.
Rose gave him a smile, "Thank you."
He gave her a long side glance, "For what?"
"For always saving me, for showing me all this, for being my best friend."
"I'm your best friend? What about Sage?"
"She's got honourary sister already, and you're not really a brother to me, so best friend it is. Of course, Mickey is my best friend forever, and you can't even contest for it."
"Ah, Ricky the Idiot," the Doctor laughed as Rose swatted his arm. "I'll never say this to his face, but he'd changed. A bit braver, a bit stronger, but still mostly an idiot."
"Doctor," she chastised. Then she sighed, casting her eyes back toward the stars. She couldn't hold back her silence for long. "I miss him."
"Mickey?"
Rose hummed an affirmative. It had been months since he left, nearly a full year. She was 21 now and had been traveling with the Doctor and Sage for a solid three years, and she could never get enough.
But there were times when she sort of missed the moments with her family, her mum, Mickey. Traveling and adventuring with Sage and the Doctor were amazing, and she would never give that up in a million years, but she missed her family too.
"Tell you what? How about after we travel to another market, we visit your mum," the Doctor offered. "You're bound to have some dirty laundry for her to do."
"Yeah?" Rose asked, excited.
"Yeah."
"You know, Doctor? You're different."
"Well, I do have a new face," he gestured to his face a bit.
"No, no, I didn't mean that. I mean you're… softer?" Rose made a face at that, clutching her mug tighter. "No, um… more open."
"Are you saying I wasn't as open with you as before."
Rose shook her head, "Not at all. Getting information out of you was like pulling teeth, and now here you are offering me comfort."
The Doctor made an offended noise, "Are you implying that I don't care about you!"
"Not at all," she shook her head, looking at him thoughtfully. "I know that you care about me. It's your biggest defining trait. It's just now you're… I don't know, soft? Louder that you care, and I think you know why."
He cast a long look behind him, and Rose didn't have to look to know that he was looking for Sage.
"She's made me weak," the Doctor said, but it wasn't accusatory. It was full of love, and Rose was hesitant to interrupt him. "She's my one weakness and all my strength."
It took everything in her to stop from cooing right then and there. And she was reminded unwillfully of Kleopatra and Ara and Tynwen. She shuddered slightly and silently vowed that she would do everything she can to not let them have that ending. They were not going to end in tragedy, not if Rose had anything to do about that.
"Are you cold, Rosie?" Sage's soft voice broke through her thoughts, and she looked up to see Sage staring at her in concern, carrying three mugs and a kettle.
"Ah, only a little."
"Nothing a good ol' cuppa will fix then," Sage smiled, lifting the kettle and pouring it into three mugs. "I'll take that," she grabbed Rose's empty mug, replacing it with the freshly made one.
"Ooh," the Doctor said, wiggling his fingers in excitement. "Do you have my-?"
"Yes, I have your jam," Sage sighed. "Though why you would ruin perfectly good tea with jam is beyond me."
"It tastes better," the Doctor said defensively, snatching his mug immediately.
Sage sighed again but didn't say anything, only kissing the top of his head. "Can you believe he likes jam in his tea? I know he's an alien, but I guess everyone has their faults."
Rose smiled as the Doctor started up indignantly. "I'll have you know that the Russians on your planet were the ones to put jam in their tea, and they were right geniuses for doing so!"
The two women shared a look, fond and long-suffering as the alien in their life started ranting about the amazingness of jam in tea.
Rose took a sip of her tea, made just the way she liked it. She would never give this up for the world, and if she lost them, she would break.
It was a good thing she was stubborn, she'd need it to fight against the universe if it tried to take this away from her.
The Doctor splashed a little tea on her, making Rose jump back a bit in surprise. The mischievous look on his face had a grin spreading, one that was immediately shared with Sage.
They shared devious grins.
"One."
"Two."
"Three!"
And they launched themselves at the Doctor, who scrambled away as quickly as he could. Which wasn't quickly enough.
Gleeful laughter filled the TARDIS again.
Hello, hello, hello!
Happy 2020, everybody! Series 12 was amazing and that is all I will say about that. We're almost done with Sereies 2 of New Who, and you know what that means! Another three months until the next update. Fingers crossed that it is three months and not a year, lol. Sorry if it seems a little rushed, but any other POV that isn't Sage is a little difficult for me to write, hopefully it's enough. Thank you all so much for reading. All mistakes are mine. Tell me what you liked and disliked down below, and I will see you in the next chapter.
Goodbye, bye, bye!