I own nothing. Least of all this.
1:20
"How very observant of you, sir. You have, indeed, landed on Karn. But not, quite, where we expected you."
Ah, the High Priestess. "Is that so?"
"Indeed. We had prepared a somewhat more favorable landing site for you, about thirteen feet to your left."
"Thirteen. Bad luck."
"No, young man. Bad Fate. Yours. And it is still filled with much uncertainty. In point of fact, it was all but hidden to us, until a certain event revealed it. Before that, it was as if you didn't exist, never had, and never would. Even now, you remain somewhat clouded to our sight," she gestured back towards the TARDIS, "as you can see."
"...Sorry?"
"Oh no, the fault is not yours, I think. Still, you must admit it strange for one such as I to chart the sky and the future with equal accuracy for as long as I have, and yet to find one day there is a new, unnamed star blazing across Time, shedding Light on a new future."
"I wouldn't call it a blaze. More of a spark, than anything else."
"That is not for you to say."
"Perhaps. You said 'unnamed'."
"Yes. For once, I find myself in need of an introduction. I am Ohila, High Priestess of the Sisterhood of Karn. To whom am I speaking?"
"...The Witcher. I'm the Witcher. And in case the.." I jerked my head backwards, "steaming TARDIS didn't give it away, I'm a Time Lord. Hope that's alright. I would offer to leave if it wasn't, but, you know…"
"You are more than welcome, Witcher. But it is odd. I was under the impression the Doctor was the Last of the Time Lords."
"Spoilers."
"Quite. You may be unknown to us Witcher, but your companion is not. We greet you, Rose Tyler."
I hadn't even heard her come up behind me.
"...Thanks. I think."
"No, thank you. If your path had not followed his, I doubt we would have seen him coming at all. Which would have been most...unfortunate."
"...Why?"
"Well, we would have to rush then, wouldn't we. You're back in your own universe now, child. The changes that were wrought on you in another world had not the power to take proper hold. But now, the Time Vortex roars all around you. It sings to Her. Calls Her. She is coming."
"NO. I AM HERE."
And if I hadn't seen it, I would never have believed it. They, the entire Sisterhood, did something truly incredible:
They bowed.
Each and every one of them.
"My Lady. We are honored."
"WE THANK YOU."
"...We, My Lady?"
"THE WHITE WOLF IS MINE. AND I AM HIS. WE ARE ONE."
And it was only now that I truly realized what she had meant when she said it for the first time.
I could SEE.
The tipping points of Time, that could now be tipped in an entirely new direction, simply because of the two of Us. Neither of Us could do it alone: only together. But together, We could burn the world. We truly were One.
Or at least We soon would be.
"YOU MAY NOW, AS YOU SAID, RUSH."
"Of course, My Lady."
She signaled. Two Sisters stepped forward, each holding a glass.
"You are not yet a full Time Lord, but you are rapidly approaching it. Soon, you will see all. Much more than a normal Time Lord, for you were born of the Time Vortex itself. And that is something that Rose Tyler, for all her strength, can not handle. These," she gestured to the drinks, "will stabilize the both of you. We cannot separate You from her, but we can transfer some of the burden to another. When we learned of Your coming, our original plan was to contact the Doctor, and pray he arrived in Time to relieve the strain. But when we realized who it was that would arrive with You, well, who are we to argue with Fate?"
"INDEED. THE DRINKS."
She reached out, and took her glass. I followed suit. We faced each other over the rims of our goblets.
"NOW, SHE WILL BE HEALED. THANK YOU FOR HELPING."
"It was my pleasure."
"CATCH YOU ON THE FLIP SIDE."
I smiled. "You too. Allons-y!"
Bitter.
Very bitter.
FIRE.
ETERNAL FIRE.
BURNING.
FREEZING.
PAIN.
RAGE.
LOVE.
HATRED.
LIGHT.
DARK.
TWO WOLVES HOWLING IN THE FOREST.
WHITE.
The image of Rose Tyler, arms outstretched, head towards the sky, regeneration energy exploding outwards from her.
Then black.
"...Owwwwwww. Alright, who spiked the Pan-Galactic Gargle Blasters?"
"...Am I supposed to say Zaphod Beeblebrox?"
I rolled over...and came face to face with Felicia Day.
"GAH!"
"What?"
"Your voice doesn't match your face, that's what!"
"IT WHAT?"
"You've got the same voice, but now you're ginger! Oh, that's just not fair!"
"WHAT? LET ME SEE!"
"I would, but I don't have anything in my…" my voice trailed off as my hands came up empty in not just the search for something shiny, but also the search for, "...pockets."
I looked down.
Bollocks.
White bodysuit, thank goodness, but below me was ...nothing. Well, I say nothing. There was a glass floor, one far too thin for my liking. But on the other side….
Just white.
My eyes turned towards the ceiling…only there wasn't one of those, either. Just more of that terrifying, endless white.
I had always hated hospitals. I give you one guess as to why.
"Oh…."
"NO! DON'T LOOK!"
Too late.
"We're...high. Like...really high."
I sighed. "Yes. It appears we are. But, more importantly, I'm not so fond of the glass keeping us at this height."
"...Neither am I."
I sighed again. "Can you at least see your reflection?"
"...Well now I can. Huh. You were right. Ginger. And on the first go. Wasn't expecting...this. Any of it."
"NO. BUT I WAS."
We turned.
There She was. This time, the voice matched the face.
Charlie Bradbury, back from the dead. Again.
Fate was laughing at me behind my back, I was sure of it.
A hiss. "...You. You're Her."
"I AM."
"You were gone. The Doctor said you were gone."
"AND SO I WAS. BUT I GOT BETTER. HOW DID YOU THINK YOU SURVIVED THAT LONG UNDER THE TENDER CARE OF THOSE ANIMALS? IT WAS I. I AWOKE WHEN YOU LOST HIM FOR THE THIRD TIME, AND I NEVER WENT BACK TO SLEEP. BUT I WASN'T WHAT I AM NOW, UNTIL THOSE...MONSTERS...TRIED TO...IMPROVE...YOU. YOU WOULD NEVER HAVE SURVIVED. BUT I COULD. AND DID."
"And, what, I'm supposed to thank you? You couldn't save him, not when they came for us, and you certainly didn't save our family when they came for them. And now, there's nothing you can do but finish what you started the first time: burn me out. And I'm supposed to be...grateful?"
"YES. BUT NOT TO ME."
She pointed. "TO HIM."
Oh, why wasn't there a convenient rock to hide behind?
Fire burned in Rose's eyes. "You knew."
"...Yes."
"...How could you? You said there wouldn't be any lies. Not between us. You promised."
"It wasn't a lie: it was a secret. One that wasn't mine to tell."
"So, what, you were just gonna let Her tell me right as I'm about to die?"
"Oh, don't be ridiculous. You're not going to die."
"DON'T YOU GET IT? I had her in my head exactly ONCE, and the Doctor had to pull Her out, or I would have BURNED!"
"Yes, you would have. But not this time. This time, We have a plan."
Sarcasm dripped from her lips. "A plan."
I nodded. "A plan. Your mind couldn't hold the both of you before, because you were still mostly human. But you've regenerated now; that means more than enough room. But it also means She needs the ability to process information at an incredible rate, something you could never safely handle. Outside of locking you away in your own skull, never to return to see the light of day again, there's only one other option: what we're going to do is leave a good bit of room in your head for the both of you, and transfer some of the processing speeds Her Time Lord mind needs...over to me."
"...Like a Vulcan mind-meld?"
"Kind of. Just with a good bit more...depth to it. I'll carry the connection subconsciously, and when you want to take the wheel, She'll merely shunt some of the higher-level stuff over to my mind."
"...Does that mean you'll be able to see into Her...our memories?"
"No. Not unless you send them over of your own accord. If anything, it just means She and I will be able to 'think' at each other, so to speak."
"...Will it hurt?"
"Only me. And pain's an old friend."
"...Are you sure?"
"As the Doctor says, 'Never be sure about anything. One minute you're sure, the next minute everyone turns into lizards and a piano falls on your head'."
"A piano?"
"It was a long day."
A smile tugged at her mouth. "Sounds like it. ...Alright. How do we do this?"
"IN MUCH THE SAME WAY REGENERATION ENERGY IS TRANSFERRED. THIS IS OUR MINDSCAPE: WHERE OUR MINDS TOUCH EACH OTHER. AND IT IS HERE THAT THIS MUST BE DONE. FIRST, HE AND I WILL BECOME ONE. THEN, YOU AND I WILL...REINTEGRATE, SO TO SPEAK."
"...Okay, then. You first."
I turned back to….Her. Blimey, I really did need to find a better name to call Her, just 'Her' and 'Bad Wolf' were gonna get old real quick.
My throat felt dry. Was that normal? I had no clue.
Far too slowly, We moved towards each Other. Yep, Fate definitely had it out for me. First time somebody...well, anybody, really...needed me, it was for my mind. And just to make sure the situation was perfectly clear to me, Fate had decided it would be hilarious to have the two of Us look exactly like Dean Winchester and Charlie Bradbury. Real subtle, that.
Still, at least I wouldn't be alone. I knew far too well what happened when Time Lords were left alone for too…
Her lips were on mine, and there was no more thinking.
The universe exploded around Us. I could feel Her mind sinking into mine, the tendrils of thought racing along beneath those that belonged to me. Her lips tasted of honey, and her mind of chai tea. Sweet and fire. Appropriate.
And all too soon, I could breathe again.
"...I don't think I can think."
"Then don't."
"Ohhhh, your voice. I mean, it was good before, but now…..mmm."
"Thank you. Why don't you sit down?"
"...Yeah, yeah, I should probably just…"
The last thing I saw before I passed out was Her and Rose, gliding towards one another.
