Authors Note:

I do not own Doctor Who. I only own this story.

Thank you.

Prologue: Bad Wolf

"Bad Wolf," she heard the whispers in her sleep, "I create myself…"

"I am the Bad Wolf," it said, "I take the words…"

"…I scatter them in time and space… A message to lead myself here…"

It hurt. Why did it hurt? What hurt? She had no body. No head, hands, or legs. Then why did it hurt? She felt like she could burst any second. But time had no meaning. She just existed. There was nothing, yet there was everything. Where was she? Who was she? What was she? There was no sight or smell. But she could hear.

"You are the Bad Wolf," said several voices together.

Then she could see. A blinding light. Tendrils of gold scatter from the silhouette of a woman. Eyes glowing golden. A strange song echoed in her mind.

"Watch," said the voice (or voices?). And so, she watched.

Images flashed past of a life yet to be lived. Faces, people, and creatures out of this world. Nothing made sense, but then everything did. She had lived this all before. She was the Bad Wolf. Rose Tyler. Defender of the Earth. He made her who she was. A mad man with a blue box bigger on the inside. The Doctor. Last of the Time Lords. The TARDIS. Time And Relative Dimension In Space. A Time War. All of time and space.

But then…

Torchwood. An army of ghosts. Daleks. Cybermen. A parallel world. Trapped. Her father. But not her father. A different Pete Tyler.

And then…

Fading away. It rejected her. She was the Bad Wolf. She was not meant to be here. To correct the mistake and the wrongness that was her existence in this world, she began to fade away.

"Protect him," she said to her, "My Doctor. Your Doctor…"

She could see everything. Was this all real? Why did it hurt? What was happening? Why is it happening? She didn't want to fade away. What had she done? What had Bad Wolf done?

"Rose Tyler," she addressed her, "You are the Bad Wolf. The Bad Wolf is you. We are the same."

'We are not the same!' she screamed in her head, 'We are nothing alike!'

"Rose Tyler," she said again, "I create myself for you. I scatter the words in time and space. A message to lead myself where I am needed."

Her thoughts raced. She wished to wake up from this nightmare. She wanted her mother. She wanted nothing to do with this Doctor and his terrifying adventures in time and space. The death and the destruction. The monsters and the demons.

"We will be one again," Bad Wolf said to her, "We need to be one again."

"No!" she replied, unaware that she was muttering out loud in her sleep, "I won't! We're not the same!"

"Watch," it said again.

And she did. Images flashed past once again. She watched. She watched as the Doctor changed. He lost her. Then he lost himself. Time Lord Victorious. The Lonely God. The Lonely Angel. So alone.

"… one may tolerate a world of demons," a woman's voice echoed, "for the sake of an angel…"

"Now, understand," urged Bad Wolf.

Now she saw the time streams. Converging and diverging, over and over again. Fixed points in time. Life and death. The sun and the moon, the day and night. She saw everything. All that is, all that was, all that could ever be. She saw his burden. She saw his struggle. And she understood. Then she heard.

"… and all the things I've seen him do …," her own voice resonated, "… for every planet out there. He does it alone …"

"… one may tolerate a world of demons for the sake of an angel…" that voice echoed again.

"But not anymore, because now he's got me!" Her voice cried on.

She hurt all over. Her body ached (but there was no body?!). So did her heart. Oh, how her heart ached.

"You are Bad Wolf," the figure spoke again, "We are Bad Wolf. We are One. He needs us. We need him. You need him."

She felt herself weep at the pain from the fragmented memories she had just relived. She had loved him. And she had lost him. Then she had lost herself. Just like he had lost himself. Then she had faded from existence. Oh, how she wished to change her fate. This was her future. She needed to find a way to avoid ending up in a parallel world. But how?

Maybe if she never met the Doctor…?

Just then images flashed before her once more. The future where she never met the Doctor. Oh, the terrible future where, in his head, he never left the Time War. Where he remained a soldier, a warrior, and forgot what it meant to be the Doctor. The oath in his name.

Never cruel or cowardly. Never give up, never give in.

The universe suffered for it. The figure was right. He needed her. But why did she need him? She never got her answer.

"Wake up, Rose Tyler," the voices echoed, "Wake up. Save the universe. Save the Doctor. Change your fate. Change his fate."

The figure began fading away, and it took the pain with it. As everything went back to black, she heard the final echoes.

"Remember. Never cruel or cowardly. Never give up, never give in…"

Everything went black.

Second Bedroom, Flat #33, Building B, Powell Estate, London, England – January 24, 1995

Rose Tyler woke up in her bed. Sweating and panting, her head hurt as she felt an ache in her heart. Very much like in her dream. Or was it a nightmare?

Author's Note:

Yes, I am aware that I have not updated any of my past stories. Believe me, I hate myself for it. But I couldn't help myself. Thanks for reading!