Disclaimer: This is a fan based creation. Doctor Who, Torchwood, and the Sarah Jane Chronicle are the property of the BBC and their assorted creators. Please support the official release.
The Beast, the Reaver aka Mina, and Mirage are original creations brought into the story for varying reasons. (Mostly because the Beast is an attention whore and demanded to be part of this.)
A/N: Alright! It is time for a new chapter that might leave more questions than answers for the curious or those who might have picked up on the bigger picture.
I am terribly sorry for the delay. I was wrestling with this chapter more then I should have. Thank you everyone who was patiently for this new chapter. Another thank you and welcome to the new followers and favorites of this story. You all were the final push I needed to make a rather bloody battle. To those who left comments, thank you so very much. It is because of you all, gentle readers, that keeps this story flowing.
That, and Jack Harkness and more sassy Thorn moments.
Now, without further ado, on with the show!
Once More With Feeling
Chapter 44: Let's Do the Time Warp!
The Honno-Ji Temple historical re-enactment was hailed as the biggest event on Neo-Nippon's Kyoto district. A complete recreation of the famous temple that saw the end of the fabled Demon Warlord, Oda Nobunaga's life, it was the height of popularity amongst tourists to the area. It was renowned as well for hiring the homeless or the down trodden for staff on a regular basis. As such it was a favored establishment of the local government. Most tourists to the area were unaware that outside of the district with the nightclubs, the bars, the restaurants, theatres, and events, was miles of overpopulated slums. The homeless and the poor were treated like an epidemic the government wanted to ignore.
Thus, businesses that were dedicated to the Humanitarian Way were seen with high favor and given breaks. The best and first on that list was the Temple.
The Temple was a large set of land on the top of an artificially created mountain to give the wildness look and feel. All staff were dressed in period appropriate clothing. Different events were held throughout the year for tourists that wish to leave the modern world behind and lose themselves to a long forgotten history from the home Planet that Mankind started on. Electrical was held to a minimum to enhance the feeling of stepping back in time. The staff were all highly trained to be able to speak the proper language for the time period, to cook the foods, the drinks, even women were hired as traditional Geisha to entertain guests with flower arrangement, tea and music. Guests were allowed to draw a role card before they enter the immersion and matching clothing would be given. No modern clothing was allowed within the ground of the Temple area.
It was all part of the experience that was the Honni-Ji Temple.
"What a load of bullshit," Jack Harkness mumbled as he caught his shoe for the umpteenth time.
Jack had convinced the Doctor to do this dinner thing here with Rose Tyler. Got them tickets, roles were purchased ahead of time, the whole nine yards. The former Time Agent had planned to enter with the couple then make his way to where the Geisha were. While he didn't anticipate getting any from the beautiful hostesses, he did so very much enjoy the attention they paid to their clients. Making them feel like there were the only man in the world for them during the time they were there.
And Jack Harkness had wanted to feel that. To feel the relaxation the women could bring. And if he was able to coax one into bed once her shift was over, all the better.
A thud to the right of him broke Jack's train of thought of how he ended up in a cell with three clear walls and an empty cell between him and a very, very angry Time Lord. Looking over, the human male watched as the Doctor paced in his cell, glaring at the door at the end of the hallway. His lips were pressed into a thin line. They took his jacket, everything in his pockets, his boots and his belt. He was left in just the top Mirage had talked him into, the tight jeans that made Jack drool a little, and socks.
Honestly, Jack wasn't in a much better state. He had no shirt, one shoe, his belt was missing, but he still had his pants. Shaking his head, Jack closed his eyes. The two of them had been in these cells now for a while. He was willing to bet if he asked, the Doctor could tell him down to the minute how long they had been here. The worst part was, he wasn't sure he wanted to know how long since it was that Rose was taken from the middle cell.
It wasn't the taken clothing, or the missing shoes, jacket or even the loss of the ever handy, rule breaking sonic screwdriver that had the Doctor on edge. It was the fact their captors had taken Rose Tyler from them, helpless to stop them.
When the trio got to the entrance, they were given their role cards and sent into separate changing areas. Rose had given the Doctor a kiss and that cheeky grin of hers, the one where her tongue peeked out, then went in to change. The Doctor had watched her leave like a kid whose puppy was taken from him for a half a second. But as soon as she was out of sight, the look was gone and he went in with Jack. The last thing Jack recalled clearly was getting lightheaded then the Doctor calling out for him, then for Rose in a frantic voice. After that was only darkness. They had awakened in these cells.
Rose was had been wearing only what looked like a thin cotton kimono like wrap. She was the second one up, she told him, glaring at the door before she winced and put a hand to her head. The Doctor was standing before the door, at least Jack was sure that was the door, and glaring his Oncoming Storm glare. Rose explained that for the last five minutes, she and the Doctor had been trying to get the doors open. Or break the glass.
"Made of something impossible," the Doctor mumbled when asked what.
"Best I can get," Rose added, her head rolling back to rest against the wall, her eyes closed, "is it is something synthetic. It seems to absorb energy used against it, but is unyielding like diamond, with the thinness of glass."
"Whatever it is, they did their homework," Jack commented as he approached, looking for a weak point to exploit.
"Very good!" a voice announced to them then, clapping as he walked forward. "Never a doubt you would figure it out."
The man was dressed like a business man, suit and tie, very Japanese with strangely bright blue eyes. "My Master told me you would be hard to catch, yet here you are, Time Lord. My prize. At last. And what have we here." He turned to Rose who was glaring at him from the back of her cell. "A pretty one, strange one. Not human, but not anything else on record. And last, we have a human. Tell me, Time Lord, what are your names?"
Jack answered with a cheeky grin, "Well, I'm Hootie, she is called Blow and he's Fish."
"Oi! Why am I 'Blow'?"
The reference went over the man's head. "You lie. Tell me your names."
This time it was Rose who answered. "Fine… if it makes you go away. I'm Mary, the one with hair," she gestured weakly towards Jack, "is Judas, and he," she motioned to the Doctor, "is Yeshua."
All three of them let out a cry after the man snapped his fingers. It was like electric currents were blazing through their systems. It was gone a second later. Jack looked sharply at Rose who was lying on the ground, breathing heavily.
"The fuck is the matter with you?" Jack yelled, moving towards the wall he shared with Rose's cell calling softly for her to look at him.
"Your names. Last chance," the man stated calmly.
"Fine!" The Doctor called out, his position mirroring Jack's on the other side of Rose's cell. "I'm the Doctor. He's Jack Harkness and she's Rose Tyler. Happy now?"
"Tell me where the blue box is," the man stated, even though the three knew it was a demand.
"What blue box?" Jack asked, feigning ignorance.
"The Type 40 TARDIS that is owned by the famous Time Lord called the Doctor," the man clarified, sounding bored. "Where. Is. It?"
"Safe," the Doctor answered, the whole time his mind was frantically calling out to Rose.
"That shall work," the man sighed. "For now."
Another snap of his fingers and four armored guards entered the area. Stepping back, the nameless man waited as the door to Rose's cell opened and the guards entered. Rose growled like a cornered wolf and tried to fight them. She was able to get one down before she was knocked out. In fact, she fought much like a cornered animal, only faster and more dangerous. A blow with the butt of a gun that was nothing like Jack had seen aimed low to the base of Rose's skull did the trick. Two guards lifted her, taking her from the cell, while the third drug his fallen comrade out.
"She will remain in my care until you feel the need to tell me where the ship is," the man called out as he left.
That had been hours ago.
The only time since then the man came back, being dubbed Suits by the two imprisoned men, was to ask again about their ship, and surprisingly, why they were here. When neither answered, the man merely sighed in disappointment before playing a sound clip for them.
The sound was of a woman screaming in pain.
"Continue to resist, and we will continue," Suits stated calmly, apparently having missed the Villains' Code part about the lead up to torture. "Oh, and I should add, that while this Rose woman seems to be fairly strong psychically, my machines are more than adequate at drilling through those defenses."
He left after that, leaving a furiously screaming Doctor behind.
With another sigh, Jack set his single shoe aside, since there was no point in wearing it. Getting to his feet, he rolled his neck and stretched, popping his back. Turning towards the Doctor, he figured they would talk and figure out what the hell was happening here. I mean, who the hell was the Master person Suits had been talking about and how the hell did they know about Time Lords? Let alone the Doctor. As Jack opened his mouth to speak, the Doctor suddenly stopped moving. Watching in fascination, the Doctor's head snapped to the right, eyes narrowing. It was like he was hearing something or sensing them.
That was when the explosion rocked the room, cracking the floor and anything that wasn't the glass like walls.
Then the lights went out.
"Why, that isn't good," a woman's voice whispered in the now dark hallways.
"Indeed," the smooth baritone of man's voice answered. "Pet, why don't you run along and find something to play with. Clear the way for us, while you are at it, won't you?"
The sound of giggling echoed before the woman was off, running full tilt down the dark hallway. Crimson eyes flashed a moment before bodies began to hit the ground, still warm blood splattering the metal walls.
"Shall we get started then?" the Beast asked with a dark chuckle, walking down after his Reaver at a slower pace.
No one answered him.
There was no one alive in the hall to do so.
"What is it, Doc?" Jack asked as he gained his feet. The Doctor had frozen completely; those brilliant blue eyes of his seemed almost to glow in the darkness as the emergency lights started to come on. Jack shivered turning his attention to the door. The Doctor's eyes reminded him of the look he had only twice before. Once when he and the Time Lord watched as Rose was taken by the nanogenes in World War II and then again on a misadventure in which he had to tell the alien that Rose hadn't gotten on board the TARDIS before the ship they were escaping blew up.
Neither man spoke, but slowly Jack became aware of shouting outside their holding area and the smell of smoke. Narrowing his eyes, the former conman tried to puzzle everything out in his head as the Doctor was just standing there. It was almost more creepy then helpful when the great Doctor stopped talking altogether.
Finally the Doctor moved, stepping back from the cage door as the start of smoke began to curl under the door of the room. Jack's first instinct was to retreat to the back of the cell quickly followed by shifting to watch the other man's body language. In the time he had traveled with the recently mated pair, he learned heavily to watch the Doctor or Rose for sublet clues to what they were planning. A slight shifting of weight, or the twitch of the first two fingers of the right hand could be signals.
The Doctor was standing perfectly still, if one didn't count the clenching of his jaw.
The door burst open almost like a small explosion forced the heavy metal to blow inward. Smoke billowed into the room and a couple of bodies fall backwards into the room. Both men had their throats slit open. Blood pumped out. Looking closely, Jack noted that the cuts were deep, precise. Whoever did this made sure the men died in seconds, and they had a very sharp blade. Two more men were backing into the room now. Jack blinked twice. It was two of the soldiers that hand hauled Rose out hours earlier. They were firing at something that was still in the hallway, shouting out to that something to stay away.
The Doctor narrowed his eyes. He could all but taste the men's fear. Something whistled into the room, there was a flash of metal and one of the soldiers hit the ground. A wicked looking blade was embedded between his eyes, cutting through his helmet like it was paper. His buddy made the mistake of looking over at Jack. The two captives saw the wide eyed look of pure terror. The guard turned and ran towards the control panel, either intending to let them out for help, or to stand between him and whatever it was that was killing people with simple, brutal efficiency.
The sound of running feet drew the two males of the TARDIS' attention back towards the smoky hallway as shouts could be heard, followed by the sound of metal clashing against metal.
"Oi! Mate!" The Doctor called to the shaking guard. "Let us out! We can help!"
Jack nodded absently as he watched the hall while the Doctor pleaded with the man. There was a clicking sound and Jack's door slide open, dropping into the floor. However, it seemed Fate, Time, or maybe whatever "Bad Wolf" that flashed across the monitors for a second had other plans for the guard struck. The door had no sooner dropped, freeing the captain when a blur darted into the room. The sick sound of flesh being ripped open and the tangy scent of fresh blood filled the room.
"So that's where you two are," the Reaver turned, lifting up a white featureless mask from her face. The only thing to note on the damn thing other than its red eyes, was the splattered blood, and reminded Jack of death incarnate. The woman was dressed in a black cat suit with thin crimson swirls and circles on it. She looked around the otherwise empty room before looking towards the Doctor. "Where's Rose?"
"Good question. I got another one," Jack asked slowly, his eyes on the door now, pointing at figures coming through the smoke, "are those fucking samurai!?"
Rose Tyler had no idea where she was or what was happening.
The last thing she clearly remembered was someone who sounded familiar and American asking her questions that her pain-hazed mind didn't understand. Then the pain came back. It was horrifying. It was like someone was trying to drill through her forehead into her brain, and when that didn't work, that simply added more drills to other areas of her skull. A part of her knew there was no actual drill, the lack of blood on her forehead told her that. The blood had been dripping from her bottom lip where at first she tried to keep the screams to herself by biting. Then it was coming from her ears and her nose as the pressure built. Someone was trying to dig their way into her mind.
Well, better have tried and failed, Rose thought as one of the tiny pauses between sessions.
Through all the pain and questions and hours, Rose had been aware of the TARDIS singing in the back of her mind and the Doctor buzzing somewhere in there too. She couldn't speak to either of them, the machines seemed to prevent that, but she could still feel them and hear them, muffled but still there. It helped more than she was willing to admit since the pain was honestly the least of her problems. Ever since they arrived on Neo-Nippon, she was been battling against vertigo and nasesa something bad. When they were taken into this facility, the feeling got so much worse. The whole world seemed to be twisted on itself, turning and circling.
Almost like… Rose cracked an eye open before shutting it quickly.
The room was silent for the moment, only the light of the floor emergency lights gave her any light to see. Slowly, she opened her eyes again to take in her surroundings. She was suspended by her arms in some infernal machine that was crude for its design. It was definitely made by human, she thought dryly. The tech they were trying to duplicate had been perfected by a dozen other races but nothing was like this. Her knees had long since gone numb on the cold floor. She had been left in only an under shift when they put her in the machine. Rose had a moment to thank the Omega that she was mostly unphased by cold.
Beyond her room, she could hear faintly shouting and the sounds of fighting. Looking around, she was almost surprised when the door opened suddenly. A man, likely a scientist stumbled into the room and shut the door behind him. Turning, their eyes locked a moment. Before any questions could be asked, the man scrambled behind the machine. His fear was confusing to Rose as she tried to ask him through a raw throat what the hell was going on.
The sound of metal ripping against metal rang out in the room as the door was literally cut in half before their eyes. For a moment, honey brown eyes flashed gold and the scientist screamed out.
"Oh, bugger," Rose croaked out, eyes wide at the sight of what was standing before her.
"You can't just kill people, Reaver!" The Doctor snapped for the sixth time since the trio started down the halls.
"Yes, I can," she responded behind her mask as she stabbed a samurai in the heart, turning to the Time Lord. "See?"
"Seriously, you can't," the Doctor insisted, realizing he sounded like Rose during their first real argument in Cardiff.
"Seriously, I can, Doctor," she stopped long enough to address this. She did not have the patience or time to go through this every time she ended someone. "Haven't you been watching?"
"These men are out of their own time," the Doctor stalked up to the shorter Gallifreyan. "You are messing with time here and I don't know about you, but would like to avoid a paradox, me."
Jack knelt down and picked up a rifle from a fallen guard and a blade from one of the samurai. He watched the hall while the two hashed this out. While he personally was all for the no killing rule, it sometimes wasn't possible. He knew it, Reaver knew it, hell the Doctor did too. But that didn't mean they couldn't at least try.
"Look, Lord Commander," Reaver started, ignoring the growl at the title, "as far as history cares, these men are dead already. Killed during the storming of Honno-Ji Temple on Earth on June 21st, 16th Century Japan. These are the forces of the men that turned on and would kill Oda Nobunaga. All I am doing is sticking to the script here. My job is to find the convergence point, plant the needle and close the rip in space and time that is resulting in the current situation."
"And how the bloody hell do you even know that!?" the Doctor growled, not used to be questioned or anyone logically explaining their actions like this.
Jack nodded a little, he at least understood why she was doing it, would bet a year supply of his beloved hypervodka that the Doctor did too.
"First, Gallifreyan. I may not have been exposed to the Vortex properly, but I still have a time sense like you. Second, I'm a warrior, duh," the woman stated plainly. "This is my job, the job of the Red Fleet."
Turning quickly, she set off down the hallway with the two men hot on her heels.
"Fine," the Doctor growled, his mind already turning. He could feel Rose in his mind, but she seemed to be behind a curtain for lack of a better term, mentally. He could feel her, know she was still alive, and she was moving around the place. "We need to find a central control room then. Figure out what in the name of Omega this place is."
"Lucky for you, I have a map," Reaver grinned, tossing a small glowing cube to the Doctor. "As for what, I have no idea. Not my job. Beast is looking into that little nugget. Divide and conquer and all that Jazz."
The Doctor grunted as he studied the map. The place was like a multi storied underground labyrinth. Halls twisting around, rooms leading into other rooms, dead ends. This place was designed with the idea of keeping something out. Or something in. "Turn right!"
The group shifted down a right hallway, stopping to watch two groups of 16th Century samurai engaged in combat. The time rift was getting worse, making the Doctor's time sense spin and his head throb. He could only image what the Beast must be feeling. The Reaver was moving pretty easily, which told him that her time sense was nowhere near as sensitive as his, or that of a fully realized Time Lord. A part of him wondered how his TARDIS was doing. This would likely be messing with her central circuits as well.
If she was still where he left her parked.
His other more important worry was the fact he couldn't feel Rose at all.
Jack nodded once, moving quietly around the two forces, following after the Doctor as he used the map to lead them through the facility. Jack kept his eyes out, knowing that the Doctor wanted them to avoid any fighting, but he agreed with Reaver. They wouldn't be able to always and the Doctor would throw him out an airlock if he tried to shoot anyone. Or destroy the gun. Watching the Doctor, Jack could see the tenses of the muscles of his back. Like him, Jack was nearly frantic with worry for Rose. Reaver thought she would have been with them.
'Rose,' Jack prayed in his mind, calling out, 'please be safe. For Doc's sake. For all of us.'
For a moment, Jack felt something tickle the back of his mind. Something golden, and he felt like someone pulled away a block of cement off his shoulders.
"Hey, Doc," Jack called out when they were in a room alone. "I know this sounds crazy, but I have a feeling Rosie is okay. Why don't you head towards the main Control room and I'll go with Reaver to stop this time storm from getting worse. Maybe you can find Rose."
The Time Lord turned ice blue eyes towards the pair and nodded only once. He was still strung as tight as a bow string, Jack thought as he and Reaver moved off out the door they just came through. For a moment, the Doctor allowed himself to sag and hold his head. The timelines in this place were twisting up on each other and pulling tight. This was no normal time storm. It was like a Paradox Point had opened up suddenly. Shaking off the sick feeling, he moved out himself. There was a room not too far from him that looked promising for answers.
And if there were only a few things the Doctor hated, it was not having answers.
"My lord, I must protest this course of action," the voice of a young man called out to the older man that was walking ahead of him. On his back, a limp and weak blonde haired beauty. "We have no way of knowing if this woman is a demon or a goddess. I cannot risk your safety on this matter, my Lord."
"Ranmaru, hush," the deep voice called back. The black haired man looked back at his loyal aide. "She is no demon, this I can promise you."
Mori Ranmaru gritted his teeth, grinding his molars as he adjusted the weight of the woman they rescued from that cold metal room. He did not see that which his lord and master saw, but he would never stand against Lord Oda Nobunaga.
"Not a demon," the woman mumbled softly. While he heard her speaking Japanese, she had a strange accent he could not place and it made him even more suspicious of her. "Put me down. I can walk."
Kneeling down, Ranmaru dutifully allowed the weakened woman to slide off his back. She was unsteady on her bare feet. A part of him worried that the floor would be too cold for her. Standing, he helped steady her as his lord came over to them, a katana in his hand.
"My lady," Nobunaga acknowledged the woman before moving past them. Looking back, Ranmaru sighed. Another dead end. This place of metal and strange lights must be the realm of some demon lord or another. The last thing he remembered was the cry of attack and the temple suddenly being swarmed with soldiers. Unlike his aide, Nobunaga's mind was hard at work. Eyes so brown that they almost looked red like drying blood swept the hallway, taking in details most would miss. In addition, the warlord knew the woman was not human, not with eyes like her. They were timeless, wise, and golden. To be truthful, the Oda lord was not sure if she was Amaretsu, the Sun Goddess, or Kushinada, wife of the Trickster. Either way, he knew she was special.
No woman, aside from his lady wife, Nohime, he knew had eyes like that of a warrior.
The identity of the woman was of little concern right now, as far as Nobunaga cared. What was learning who caused the attack, though he already knew that answer, and where was he. Above the ground, the temple was burning as enemy samurai slaughtered anyone in their path, be them innocent or enemy. Below, where Nobunaga and his aide, Ranmaru found themselves, was a labyrinth of metal halls and strange men and warriors. Warriors armed with what almost seemed to be guns, but far more advanced and deadly than the ones his own riflemen employed.
The mystery was one he looked forward to unraveling. For the first time in years, Nobunaga felt something other than a dark madness sweeping into his mind. If he had to name it, he was almost excited. Finally, something new. Different, much needed for his sleep depraved mind.
The trio turned down a new hall, Nobunaga himself leading, and stopped short. The movement of the katana in his hands was pure instinct as he slashed upwards through the armoring of the strange gun man that rushed at them. Ranmaru released the golden Lady and rushed forward, his own blade making quick work of another gun man that threatened the small group.
"Watch out!" the woman cried, before she flung a hand out. A piece of metal she had been holding snapped forward, embedding into the hand of another strange gun man, making him drop the weapon and stagger back against the wall. Ranmaru ended his life quickly.
"You know," the woman walked forward, looking odd with Nobunaga's overcoat draped over her slim shoulders, "you don't need to kill them. Just stop them."
The two men looked at the woman, one with suspicion and the other with curiosity. Her eyes told them both she was a blooded warrior, she has killed and would again with ease. Yet she pleaded her case to not kill her opponent, merely unarm and render them unable to continue to fight.
"My Lady," Ranmaru began, "these men mean to kill us. If we do not end them, they were simply be able to raise up again, and try once more. I understand that you might be against-"
"What year is it?" the woman asked suddenly, her eyes flicker that golden glow again.
"1582, my Lady," Ranmaru answered, a brow arched. He watched as the woman turned to look at his lord then back at him, as if gauging how she should respond to that statement of fact. There was almost a look of pity in those depthless eyes of hers as she regarded them both. For a moment, to the young page, it was like he was watching the Queen of the Underworld making a judgment of death and rebirth on them.
"I see," the woman murmured softly.
Nobunaga simply nodded at her, as if they just had a long conversation only they were a part of before turning. "Come, we should keep moving."
The Control room was sparking and empty when the Reaver ushered the Doctor and Jack into it. A quick glance around told her that the room had been abandoned in a hurry. Moving over to a panel, she quickly hit a series of buttons before looking at the screens. The ones that were undamaged flickered to life, showing her the different parts of the facility. The strange samurai were swarming and fighting against another group, while both sides were being attacked by the guards. Shifting her mask up, her eyes flickered from screen to screen, looking for something.
"What the hell…?" Jack breathed beside her as he watched the chaos. Cameras showed a blood bath and fire all over. It was like somehow they landed in the middle of a war zone.
"You're not completely wrong," Reaver muttered distractedly as she was letting her fingers fly over the keys. "You were talking out loud, by the way."
Jack gave her a slightly annoyed looked at the fact she seemed to know him so well before looking back at the monitors. "Wait, go back."
Reaver clicked the cameras back slowly. "There! Do you see that?" Jack asked, focusing on the screen.
The Doctor came over and looked intently at the screen over Reaver's shoulder. "The date… it keeps changing."
"Found the Point on contact," Reaver said, as if reporting to someone. "Lord Commander, can you guide me there? I need to get there fast. The Convergence is happening faster than expected."
"Convergence?" Jack asked, looking at the Doctor who was paling, his lips pressing into a thin lip. "What's that? I thought this was just a time storm."
"Worse than that, Jack Harkness," Reaver answered for the Doctor. "Come on, I'll explain on the way. Lord Commander?"
The Doctor still had said nothing to them, but nodding, taking the Gallifreyan's place at the panel. Jack looked at the Time Lord then at the warrioress and shrugged. The other two left the Doctor alone in the dark room, only the monitors providing light. After the door closed, the Doctor started his only investigation on the facility after sending Reaver a current map based on the damages done. In the next ten minutes, he would call out directions to keep the pair from running into any fighting. He would be damned if he allowed that little blood thirsty woman to kill any more regardless of the situation.
At the fifteen minute mark, the Doctor went tearing out of the room. Desperation rushing through his veins making his hearts squeeze tightly.
He had his answers now.
The Beast easily side-stepped another shot from the guards blaster before lashing out and ripping the fool's hand with the gun off. Shaking his head, he stepped over the screaming human and continued on. He was wearing what looked almost like a circlet or crown that was blocking the effects of the area should have had on him. The downside of the dampener was that it blocked his own time senses, making his locating the problem harder, but it allowed him to function normally as well. Centuries of training kicked in allowing him to be as deadly as he was handsome, he thought smugly.
The last transmission he got from his mate told him she had located the point of Convergence, which, if he was being truthful, was a fantastic bit of news. His forces on the outside had recently told him that the effects were started to become too strong for the Lock they placed around the temple grounds. The fact that someone managed to create not just a point of Convergence artificially, but were tying two different planets together was a problem and more than a little troublesome. It also created a lot of questions.
Chief amongst the question was how did this go so unnoticed until now?
Pushing the troubling thoughts to the back of his mind, the Beast pushed himself deeper into the facility. Unlike his Reaver, he was tasked from the higher ups with locating the truth behind this place and how in the name of the Omega and Rassilion's rotting corpse this situation could even happen. A sudden movement to his right made him swing around, weapon raised then lowered.
"Theta!" the Beast growled as the Doctor came barreling out a smoking room, coughing. "What in the hell are you doing down here?"
"Your little killer didn't tell you? Can't avoid a mystery, me," the Doctor coughed, glaring up at his one time friend with one eye. The headache he dealing with was turning into a full blown migraine. The ancient Time Lord refused to nurse it though. His Rose was somewhere in this mess and likely hurt. She needed him as much as he needed her in this very moment.
"She did not, as a matter of fact," the Beast growled again, coiling up the three tailed scourge he called a weapon. "This explains why she slowed down though. I assume the Captain is with her, correct?"
"He is," the Doctor straightened to his full height, refusing to look weak at all. "They found the point of contact and I learned how the hell Neo-Nippon is connecting with 16th Century Earth."
"Oh good, share? You show me yours, and I'll show you mine."
The sounds of battle echoed down the metal halls as Jack lead Reaver. The former Time Agent followed the directions that the Doctor sent him as well, via the Vortex Manipulator. Reaver had her own map as well, but left Jack to lead while she dealt with anyone who attacked them. Jack mentioned once as they moved to their destination that she really didn't need to kill anyone, but left it alone after that. Sadly, in this situation, he did not agree with the Doctor about trying to save lives. These men had taken Rosie, tortured her, drugged them all, and who knows how many other people they did this too. It was hard for the Agent to find it in his soldier's heart to show mercy.
For Reaver, it was less than that. To her, the guards were something to end and the samurai that attacked them were already dead, so no harm there. The only thing about the curvy woman that set Jack a little off was the fact she kept giggling whenever someone issued her a challenge or made a war cry at her. It was plain to see the young looking alien woman really liked killing.
"How much further?" she called back after slitting another samurai throat.
"Not much, if the distortion field is to be believed," Jack answered, having been faced away from her, taking a shot at a desperate or stupid guard. "This is seriously getting out of control."
Reaver turned to reply with a tremor shook the whole of the corridor, knocking everyone off balance. Falling into the wall, her masked face lifted to the ceiling and a low, hollow sounding growl crept out of her. "Look."
Turning his gaze up, Jack watched horrified as the metal ceiling flickered before turning to stone and the lights from the emergency lights went out. There were shouts around the two from those who were still alive, confusion and fear filled the air.
"Not good," Reaver muttered, reaching back for Jack and the two took off at a sprint, her leading now, since she could see in the nearly gone light. "The two times are starting to merge."
"Hold on," Jack called out, racing alongside the Gallifreyan. "That only happens with a Paradox Point! Are you saying this isn't just a Time Storm or Convergence created by a weak point in the Vortex?"
"Basically," Reaver muttered as she turned a corner and stopped dead. "I am saying that some stupid mon-keh attempted to make a Paradox Machine it looks like. Take a look." She was pointing at something as red light flared to life as Jack turned the corner.
"Oh, you have got to be fucking kidding me," Jack groaned.
Before the two stood a rather crude attempt at a TARDIS console that looked frighteningly like the one Jack knew very well. Wires and coils, pipes and other parts were cobbled together around it, the center column blazing a pained red and the sound was both nerve grating and heart breaking at the same time.
It was hard to believe they were staring at a prototype Paradox Machine. Honestly, the technology should have been impossible to get. "So how?" Was the thought that echoed between both their minds.
"If this is it, do what you need to, Sexy, and get out of here," Jack grinned for the first time in the sixteen minutes since they left the Doctor behind.
"Thought you'd never ask," Reaver purred, pulling a canister out of a pack that was hidden at the same of her back. Pressing a button, a long thin needle like stake about three feet in length flicked out of the bottom. The top produced a glowing golden orb with swirling, circular writing on it. Glancing at it, Jack recognized the language he would see around the TARDIS. A shout from the hall got his attention.
"Looks like we got some party crashers," he laughed as he pulled the blaster he 'borrowed' to take aim and fell into a defense stance. "Talk about rude."
"I won't care if they want to dance," Reaver laughed as she moved to put the instrument into position. "But only after I get my first dance in. Bloody Mon-keh, no manners."
The first guard swung around the corner and was taken down with ease. "Mon-keh?" Jack asked as another guard went down.
"Term I learned for silly humans in, oh I think it was 2010 Earth?" she responded as she stabbed the needle like part of the instrument into the console. "From a game, actually. Pretty fun one I thought. It's what the aliens called humans. Thought it was fitting. Activating now. Get down!"
Reaver's shout for cover was the last thing Jack heard before the sound of screams and metal ripping filled his ears and he blacked out.
The Doctor was grinning as he raced with the Beast through the now cavern tunnels that were once the metal walls of the underground facility. Despite his worry for his mate, concern for the situation, he was starting to have fun. The Beast next to him was grinning as well. It was like being back at the Academy for the two of them. The walls shook letting debris rain down around them.
"Looks like the compression just went nuclear," the Beast commented as they leapt apart as a part of the ceiling collapsed between them. Not once did they slow in their race towards to safety of the surface.
"Any word from above?" the Doctor's Northern accent growled as they tore through the darkness.
"None, interference," the Beast answered. "I know that look, Theta. You learned what is going on here, did you not? Don't try to hide from me, old friend. I know you too well."
The Doctor glanced at the red headed Time Lord a moment before murmuring "I wonder about that." Ever since they ran into the Beast on the streets above, the Doctor was pondering over the other man's words. He spoke of things that never happened during the Time War and was ignorant of events that did happen according to the Doctor's memories. Too many things were swirling around the mind of the Time Lord.
Rose, a woman who defied Time and all logic to live again.
Jack, a man who was sharper than he seemed, missing time.
The Beast, a friend he saw dead at the Fall of Arcadia.
The Red Fleet, something he had never heard of.
Now this event, which he was more convinced, was less a Time Compression or Storm and more a convergence point for a Paradox Wave.
Couple that all together with the information he learned while going through the Temple's records and computer, impossible was the only word that kept coming to his mind. And yet here they all were; in an impossible situation, yet again.
Light ahead of the two men and the upward elevation was both a relief and a moment of dread as they burst into the burning Temple above ground. The electricity had given out when the two timelines meshed together. To the right, the Doctor heard the communication device of the Beast's spark to life.
"My Lord! The effects are starting to spread out of containment."
"Copy that," the Beast answered calmly as he and the Doctor sprinted out into the open courtyard of the reconstructed Temple. "Any time now, love," the Beast spoke to someone else just as a shockwave hit. It was like a fountain, pulling up from the center of the courtyard, underground before ringing outwards.
The two Time Lords were tossed backwards onto the wooden outdoor halls of the temple like rag dolls, the force was that great. With a groan, the Doctor rolled over and looked up at the temple. The raging fire was starting to subside and the events of the Convergence were fading fast. It seemed as if the Reaver was able to complete her mission. Pulling himself to his feet, the ancient alien was only partially surprised, if the slight widening of his eyes was any clue, when he spotted a group of samurai still there. They had run into the courtyard as well and were looking around, confused, breathing hard and covered with splatters of blood and energy weapon burns. Watching them lower their weapons, the words of Reaver came back to the Doctor as he recalled her saying something about these men being dead to history already.
So that was why.
The sound of coughing to his left made the Doctor turn, defense going up as a group of three stumbled out of the smoking building. Two men and a woman. One man, he recognized easily enough. Once his eyes moved from the Demon Warlord of ancient Japan, he took in ash coated blond hair. Suddenly, his long limbs could not move fast enough as the force of his bonded one's mind exploded into his after hours of silence and disconnection.
Rose Tyler lifted her head with a snap feeling the Doctor close to her. With a husky cry of his name, she was running from Ranmaru's protective hands and into the arms of her mate. He looked weird without his leather jacket, still wearing the top the Beast gave him. Stumbling a little, Rose collapsed into her lover's arms as he pulled her protectively into his arms.
"Rose," he murmured into her hair as he kissed her forehead.
The people gathered looked confused as the couple clung to each other. It took the samurai loyal to the Oda Warlord only a second to realize he was there and rushed to his side, all speaking at once inquiring about the status of their beloved lord's health. A slight smile graced the Shogun's lips as he looked fondly at his remaining followers. There were only about as many of his men left that he had fingers on his two hands. In a moment of clarity, he realized the reasoning behind that sneaky lay about, Sanada Yukimaru's brave ten. Ranmaru immediately started to lecture the warriors about proper decorum and respect to their lord. That allowed Nobunaga to look over at the couple still embracing.
In the pair, his dark eyes saw light and darkness, swirling as one around one another. A perfect balance that any man would give his life easily to obtain. The pair were murmuring to each other softly. The young goddess he rescued gazed up with devotion plain in her golden gaze. The man, the shadow to her sun, watched her speak with eyes of water that reminded Nobunaga of ice in the middle of the winters. Yet within those depthless orbs, he saw easily enough a warrior's heart, and a lover's gaze. A motion to the side of the couple drew his attention to the red haired man. As the ancient warlord watched the demon man with violet eyes, he felt no danger.
At least not from him. He felt the danger a half heartbeat before the others in the courtyard.
Clapping announced the arrival of a true threat. Or rather, Nobunaga thought, threats.
"How touching," a new voice called out over the clapping.
The Doctor spun around, pushing Rose behind him in the same motion as the samurai all lifted their swords and moved to stand before Oda.
"I must say though," the American voice drawled from the shadows as a tailored business suit stepped from the shadows, "you look very different without your jacket. Doctor with No Name."
Rose gasped in surprise at the appearance of a familiar face. That same smugly charming grin, the cruel set of his steel blue eyes, the same thinning hair. "Van Statton? How!?"
"Ah, the lovely Rose Tyler," Van Statton grinned in a more lewd way as his eyes traveled over her form. "As beautiful as you were the day you two ruined my life, my empire, my collection. Fancy the chances of me being in your presence again after, how many centuries has it been?"
"Not long enough," the Doctor growled, his lips pressing into a thin line as his jaw tighten. "Somehow, not surprised, me. Not after reading the truth behind his place."
Nobunaga exchanged a look with the red haired man who nodded slightly. Both men noted the Doctor's fixation on this new comer, ignoring the real danger that had yet to show itself.
"You've been kidnapping people, experimenting on then, all for what?" the Doctor continued, even as Rose shifted her weight to her back foot. "A sad attempt to keep working on Project Messaline?"
"Project Messaline," Van Statton smiled at the memory fondly. "Speaking of, how is Subject 0010?"
"None of your damn business," Rose snarled from the Doctor's shoulder, tensing up as if she was readying to launch herself at the former businessman.
Van Statton's brows shot up to his thinning hair lip and made a 'oh' shape with his lips, delight dancing in his eyes. The madness there was hard to miss. "It seems I touched a nerve there, Miss Tyler. But that is okay. I no longer need you to complete my life's work. I almost completed the test run of the machine my Master had me built. I assume you destroyed it already, Doctor."
The Beast was the one who answered this time, with a question. "If you are referring to the piece of equipment you kept in your basement, Human, then yes. It had been destroyed."
"And you, exactly are you? Another stray picked up by the Doctor?" Van Statton asked, the confidence on him oozing out around them. He had not a care in the cosmos. "Oh how rude of me. Introduction, of course. I am Henry Van Statton, formerly of the 21st century Earth, until my life was stolen from me and I was cast aside."
"I am the Beast, commander of the Red Fleet, General of Gallifrey," the Beast answered smoothly with a slight bow. The shock that ran through steel blue eyes was interesting to the second Time Lord.
"I am Lord Oda Nobunaga," was all the ancient Japanese man said briefly. His aide and none of his warriors offered their names.
"There, introductions are completed," the Doctor huffed, crossing his arms, mentally making a note to speak to the Beast about his introduction later. "Now, what the fuck are you doing here?"
"Why, Doctor, I am surprised at you," Van Statton laughed. "No matter how dire the situation, there is no need for bad manners."
The Doctor only glared more at the human who just smiled. "I read the reports, Van Statton. Not enough you finally touched the stars, was it? You had to try to play God and one up them, didn't you?"
"What are you talking about?" Ranmaru was the one to ask this time.
"Let me tell you all a little story," Van Statton said as he walked down the steps of the temple into the courtyard with them. "Once, there was a rich, handsome man who ruled the world. But all he wanted was to touch the stars. He collected anything not of his world. Then one day, a Doctor with No Name and his flower stumbled into his collection. They destroyed everything, took the one living thing I had to my collection and had me thrown out with the trash. But later, I was found by a great and powerful man. He became my master. He brought me to this place, granted my memories and genius back to me. He gave me my mission. To create a new race of beings to watch, guide and govern this universe."
At the mention of a Master, the three Time touched beings all stiffened.
"My master gave my life again," Van Statton boasted, spreading his arms wide. "And for him, I started to build him his own TARDIS. Yes, I know its name now, Doctor. And my Master promised me the Earth in return for an army and the ships to travel in time and space. What you see, is the results of my hard work!
It was then that the beings that were sensed as dangerous stepped out into the courtyard as well. They were huge. Easily over six and a half feet tall and built like line backers you find in American Football. They all were wearing white scrubs and were shoeless. Each one was male, very obviously male with pale blonde or soft brown hair and each had brown eyes the color of dried blood. All and all, the three beings were radiating menace and seemed to be eager for the taste of blood.
"Beautiful, aren't my boys?" Van Statton was talking again, as he looked proudly on. "The perfect hybrid of Time Lord and other DNA. Two hearts, denser bones, thicker muscles. They have heightened reflexes and superior intelligence. The perfect warriors to govern this reality. The new Time Lords of this Universe."
No one knew what to say really as they started back at the three beings that were all but drooling over the impending fight. Van Statton, though, had no problems. "Kill them all, except the girl. The Master wants her for himself."
The fight was on.
Rose shifted backwards with the Doctor at her front as he fell back. The three people Van Statton created were faster than she thought was possible for anything to be. The Doctor's reaction time was equal to it, she realized with a small shock. It was in that moment, Rose realized with a start, she had/has never seen the Doctor actually fight. Normally their method was to fall back, lead the enemy on a merry chase until they could be contained or turned in a different direction. The Doctor never actually engaged in combat. That was normally for her and Jack to do.
Which was silly, she found herself thinking as she and the Doctor split suddenly, shifting around their attacker to meet up behind the male. She sparred with him nearly daily, so she knew just what a good fighter, both with hand to hand and weapons the Time Lord actually was. Narrowing her eyes, she shifted again with him and snapped out a front kick, catching the attacker in the jaw.
'Theta,' Rose mentally growled as she ducked under a lunging grab. 'Have you been letting me handle combat on purpose or by accident?'
'What do you mean, love?' was the reply, even as the Doctor turned and threw a quick kidney shot at the attacker's lower back ribcage.
Something that sounded like a thunder crack distracted Rose, long enough to allow the Doctor the chance to redirect his opponent's attention off his mate and back on him. To their right, the Beast was holding back his opponent with a scourge the length of a bull whip. With each crack, it was like thunder in the room. The faux Time Lord was being torn up to ribbons by the hooks at the end of each of the three tails and the razor sharp spikes where each link in chains met the next. Rose was half expecting the Beast to be smiling, but the hard look in his violet eyes was a look she was familiar with: barely suppressed rage.
The Doctor had the same look in his own ice blue eyes.
To her left, Nobunaga and his men where dancing around their own opponent. Three men were on the floor, broken already. Nobunaga had a look in his red eyes as he moved like water with his enemy's movement, anticipating them and striking as needed. His men made a line around the faux Time Lord to keep him occupied while Nobunaga and Ranmaru worked away, seeking a weak spot.
"Beautiful!" Van Statton clapped, laughing with a twinge of madness to his voice as he watched another samurai go down. "We are getting wonderful data from this. The Doctor struggling, his Rose weakened. Oh, my Master will love this!"
"Who is your Master?" called out the Doctor, casting a look over to the Beast who arched a brow at the question.
"I know who you are thinking of," Van Statton yawned, dusting off his suit jacket. "It's not him. My Master is someone else. Better than you, Doctor-with-no-name. He transcends Time itself, above it. Time is his bitch! He commands it, lords over it. And it is He who gave me the keys to my revenge against you."
Before the Doctor could reply he was sent flying into the walls of the great hall of the temple, crashing through the bamboo wood paneling. Rose let out a scream, trying to run to him only to be swept up into their enemy's arm. Everything seemed to slow down then for the blonde as she watched the Beast shift, spinning around in a graceful circle to lash out with his scourge, the tails wrapping around the throat of her capture. To the left, Ranmaru broke away from his lord and was sprinting in her direction, bending low at the waist as he dashed forward. Nobunaga was stepping off the back of one of his samurai as he launched himself up. To Rose it was like a deadly dance that someone hit the slow button on replay. The Oda Warlord was turning, no real expression on his handsome, regal face.
Then time resumed its normal speed. Rose dropped down onto the turf of the courtyard, Ranmaru was standing in front of her, his sword held out before him, parallel to the ground. Blood dripped from the blade of the katana. At the same time, a spray of warm blood seemed to rain down on the pair as the experiment dropped backwards. His now lifeless body hit the ground hard. Looking around Ranmaru, Rose had a moment to be grateful for her pervious life. It made her less likely to be sick at the sight of her would be kidnapper's hole where his throat had been and the missing part of his left from the knee down more bearable. To her left was the now headless body of the creation's brother.
Narrowing her eyes, she noted that the two bodies were starting to glow golden.
"Fuck," she breathed before lifting her voice and screaming out, "Regeneration! Doctor! Beast!"
"What is happening?" Ranmaru asked at the same time, backing up with Rose still behind him. "What manner of demons are these men?"
"Not demons," Rose told him as they backed away. "Time Lord TNA, um... blooded. When a Time Lord, like the Doctor or the Beast, apparently, are hurt badly, or killed like that, they rebuild every cell in their bodies then come back to life."
"How do you stop it then?" came Nobunaga's calm voice. He directed his few remaining men back as well.
"Kill him again," the Beast growled, having somehow to tear his opponent's belly open, felling him as well.
The Doctor came from the hole he made then, only a few seconds had passed really. He paled at the sight of all the blood, on the ground, and coating his Rose. Moving to her side, he watched in awe as the three started to regenerate. The Beast and Nobunaga walked forward to end two of them for good when the Doctor called out to them.
"Wait!"
"Theta, please," the Beast sighed. "I am well aware of you stance on gratuitous violence, but allowing these to live is pushing it."
"He's right," Nobunaga agreed. "These unholy demons would attack us again at the first chance. Neutralize this threat so that we may deal with our true enemy, the Statton man."
The Doctor's ice blue eyes moved to the trio on the ground and tightened his jaw. "These three may be the only other Time Lords in existence. I can't let them just die. Not if they can be freed from Van Statton. I learned once to not judge where someone comes from. If I had done that, I would not have my companions. Especially Thorn."
Rose looked up at the Doctor and nodded, understanding all too well his feelings. Once she allowed him to kill the Dalek that was now so ingrained into their lives. That was before. And now, faced with three living, breathing Time Lords, for all intended purposes, she was with him. They couldn't let them just die. It wasn't their fault how they were made.
"Doctor," Rose warned, as the flames of the regenerations overtook the trio, their bodies shifting under the intense light, everything about them shifting. Once the light died down, a black man, an Asian woman, and a red headed man lay on the ground, unconscious.
"Now that's just not fair, that," the Doctor huffed, making Rose giggle.
"Theta," the Beast started to ask before the shout of madness distracted him. The sound of a gun cocking and the safety being switched off drew his violet gaze back to where Van Statton was standing. The man was shaking with uncontrolled rage. His eyes were bright with the madness so often seen in people who lived passed their expiration date, as his Mina would say.
"No! No, no, no, no, no!" Van Statton was raging. "You will not win again! My Master saw the future and you were not in it! I ruled the Earth as was my right for my service! I will not allow you to erase me again, Doctor!"
The gun was aiming at the Doctor's head as he pulled Rose behind him protectively. The Beast held his hands up, watching the mad human intently. Ranmaru and Nobunaga pulled back slowly, no sudden movements. They knew all too well what a man with a weapon lost to madness was capable of.
"With you dead, I will take Rose Tyler to my Master," Van Statton grinned that handsome grin of his that was lost to the madness. "He will be so pleased, even with this set back. But with her blood, we can build better, stronger Time Lords. He will be Lord of Time, King of All!" Lifting his hand, his finger starting to squeeze the trigger. "Good bye, Doctor. Can't say it was a pleasure."
The sound of the gun exploding made Rose scream and close her eyes.
Gentle hands drew her to a firm chest carefully, turning her face to face the mesh shirt that was the Doctor's wardrobe. Lifting her face, she looked into the Doctor's grim face as he was facing away from her. Peeking over, she spotted Henry Van Statton.
Blood was everywhere, as was expected from the exit wound of a gunshot from behind. Standing there was Jack, holding a gun up still. He was pale, grim faced. He was looking down at the body of their captor. Lowering the gun, he looked to the right and nodded. Rose looked over and spotted a woman in a form fitting cat suit what made her green with envy. Damn that woman had curves- oh. That was Mina. The white featureless mask she wore was spattered with old and new blood.
Taking a deep breath, Rose turned to see the trio slowly sitting up and looking at the remains of their creator. They turned and looked at the Beast and the Doctor. Even Rose could feel the buzzing in the back of her mind, signaling them as Time Lord minds as well.
"What now?" Rose asked as Jack stepped over the body of Van Statton, and jogging over to the Doctor and the rest.
"I don't know," the Doctor breathed out.
The moonlight shone down on the blood stained courtyard as silence took over. No one moved, or spoke. It was like Time was holding her breath.
Waiting.