Forgotten Roses
By Kyizi
Disclaimer: The Doctor, Rose, TARDIS, and all related items do not belong to me; to my knowledge, they're some lucky git at the beeb's.
Rating: PG (may up later on)
Pairing: Ninth Doctor/Rose
Spoilers: Let's just say any episodes 9th Doctor/Rose are fair game.
Notes: You guys rock! I'm trying to update steadily, but I can't say when the next part will be ready. Soon, I hope!
Acid Lee: Good guess, but you'll have to wait and see if you're right or not:p
Avelynn Tame: SCORE! I'm just not telling you what part:p Also, glad you like Kit; she's far from a Mary Sue and I'm so glad she's not coming off as one! Thanks for the review!
To everyone who reviewed: Thank you very much, I love you all!
Once again, thank you so much for the response, keep hitting that review button!
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Part Three: Fragments of Hope
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As the night settles over the planet and the temperature drops considerably, he forces himself to focus on the task ahead. His blood is coursing through his veins as the thrill of the adventure begins to take hold, but he cannot stop thinking of Kit's words. She would never lie to him; omit the truth perhaps, but never lie. She hasn't asked him again, but he knows she wants to. The idea that he doesn't know what he's saying is not a foreign concept to her; she's always adamant that he's 'talking crap' whenever things are beyond her comprehension, but this is different and the question remains on her lips…who is Rose?
"I think they're changing guard," she whispers suddenly, startling him slightly. He hates when she's able to do that, he's normally so unflappable, but not recently.
"Yeah, time for the fun to start." He flashes her a cheeky grin and she returns in kind, just knowing that he doesn't want to talk about it. He knows she wants to ask, but they're not like that. They have fun, they're companions, and they trust each other implicitly, but there's a line that they've never crossed. They're friends, but not confidants; they're both too private for that and that's one of the reasons he loves travelling with her. The occasional touch of history, the random mention of family; it's enough to know that the she'll listen if he wants her to and he knows she takes comfort in the same fact; the door's open, but they've never really used it. She hates domestic and so does he. Something about that thought stirs a hidden snatch of memory, but he hasn't the time to think on it; they have a job to do, another world to save.
They creep towards the stone wall and he pulls out his sonic screwdriver, ignoring Kit's, 'Boys and their toys' remark. Holding it in front of him, he studies the wall, looking for anything that might signify an opening. After a moment, he grins at her.
"This way," he says cheerfully, not really caring that the guards are changing over less than ten metres away. He uses the screwdriver to pass through the force field and quickly makes an opening in the iron grate in front of them.
"Come on, Doctor, we haven't got all night."
She's getting grumpy, which means she's either hungry, tired, or entering into the female cycle that he'd really rather not have anything to do with. Especially with this companion. He shakes his head and finishes the opening, gently pulling the grate aside and allowing her to enter before him.
"So, thought of a plan yet?" she asks, taking his hand as he leads the way towards the castle. It's a lot more daunting than it was from outside the walls and he's glad. Where's the fun if there's no challenge?
"Yes, I have."
"I'll rephrase; thought of a plan that doesn't involve us running away in the end?"
"I think I'm insulted."
"You only think? Boy, am I losing my touch." She winks at him and he rolls his eyes. He can't help but be reminded a little of Jack. He frowns, not quite sure why he finds his memories of Jack so patchy. No matter how hard he tries to clarify it, he still finds it difficult to remember exactly what happened to the human. He's sure there should be more, but something in him has always pushed the thoughts away; he's never really thought that much about it and now is definitely not the time.
"How do you plan to get us in?" Kit asks wryly. He follows her gaze and suddenly understands why the main gates were so easy to breech; the castle itself is more than a little covered. An entire troop of people stand outside, marching in a military style that's so at odds with the people he saw in the streets that he almost can't believe they're of the same race.
"Well? How are we going to get in?"
"I thought we'd knock."
Ignoring Kit's spluttering, he stands up straight and walks out from behind the large statue they're hiding behind, dragging his uncooperative companion with him. When the first guard notices him, there's a stilted surprise in the movement of the regiment and the Doctor grins and waves. They quickly surround him and he continues to smile. People are so easy to confuse and he can't deny that he gets an immense amount of pleasure out of baffling them; humans especially, but not specifically.
"Hello."
"Identify yourself!" A young man wearing what the Doctor could only describe as an over-ornamented toga approaches them. The colour of his 'uniform' varies only slightly from the others, but is noticeably darker than the pale red of his companions. He acts as though he is in charge, but the Doctor has one advantage; he can sense fear, like a dog, as Kit always liked to point out, and the young man before him is most definitely afraid. These people aren't soldiers and they know it.
"I'm the Doctor and this is my companion, Rose."
"Kit," she says slowly, correcting him, and he turns to face her, surprise etched on his face.
"Huh."
"Tell me you know you said it this time."
"I know. I have no idea why, but I know."
"Your names are irrelevant!" the young man all but shouts and the Doctor looks at him with a frown.
"Then why did you ask us to identify ourselves?"
"I…Silence!"
The Doctor rolls his eyes and takes a step closer, lowering the man's gun. The others around them straighten up and close in a little.
"Look, we all know that not one of you is properly trained to handle these guns. Now, we can do this the easy way and you can all put your guns down and take me to your leader," he ignores Kit's snort and continues, "or we can do this the hard way and you can all blow your own heads off, because you're holding them backwards."
There's a moment of confusion and rocks slightly on his feet, his facial expression not altering from his patented grin. He knows the guns are the right way round, Kit knows the guns are the right way round, and he's pretty sure that most of them know; however, his tone left no room for anything other than agreement and he knows he's won.
"There now," he says gleefully, as the last weapon is lowered. "Now, how about we go inside your lovely big fortress so I can meet the bad man with the weapons, eh?"
Not quite knowing how to take him, they shift slightly and begin to lead the way towards the castle. The 'leader' of the group orders the others to remain at their post as he leads the Doctor and Kit into the castle.
"I can't believe that worked," Kit mumbles and he squeezes her hand a little.
"See, that's your problem, you know, not enough faith in me. I'm brilliant, I am."
She rolls her eyes and shakes her head. "And don't you just know it."
"Yes, I do," he clarifies. "I'm glad you finally agree."
"I agree to disagree."
"Somehow I thought you might."
She grins up at him and he chuckles slightly. They follow the young guard through the castle in silence, save a few muttered comments from Kit regarding the 'awful décor' (an obsession of hers that he'll never understand). The inside is cluttered with what could have been classy had it not all been thrown in haphazardly and cluttered to the point of being tacky. Gold trims the walls and flowers trail in their wake, but taste was ever absent.
After traversing the entire layout of the castle, or so it felt, they finally reach the main audience chamber. The Doctor glances at Kit to see her reaction to the mishmash of ornaments and is pleasantly entertained by the twisting of her face as it contorts in disgust. At least her hobbies provided him amusement on occasion.
"Who is this?" a voice demands and his attention is drawn to the throne at the centre of the room. He wasn't sure what he had expected in this 'leader', the person running the entire planet, in a sense, but it certainly wasn't the small child that's frowning at him from the raised area. She looks to be about eight or nine and she's standing with her hands on her hips, glaring at them.
He stifles his laughter, but it isn't his fault; he didn't start it. Kit's face is buried in his jacket sleeve as her shoulders shake and she's not helping matters. He amends that it's really not that amusing; or rather it isn't for him. He's seen the universe in so many different times, from so many different ways and it's not an unusual occurrence to find children both revered and looked up to; he's not even laughing at the situation, he's laughing at Kit. The snorts coming from his sleeve continue and he nudges her in warning. Laughing in the face of a child is never a good idea (he hates dealing with children in the huff), but to do so in front of one in possession of a nuclear weapon was just plain stupid, especially given the feelings he was getting from the girl. If only he could get Kit to understand that.
"I'm sorry," she says, trying to compose herself. She looks up at him and offers an apologetic smile.
"Please behave."
"It's not my fault you think my laugh's funny."
"You laugh like a hyena. On helium."
"Oi!" She punches his arm. "Watch it!"
"Who are you?" the young voice demands again and he turns to the girl, with one last look at Kit.
"I am the Doctor and this is-"
"Kit."
"- my companion, Kit." He frowns at her. "I know your name." She just raises her eyebrows at him and he clears his throat, turning back to the girl. "And who are you?"
"I am Kylahna and you're in my castle."
"Just what we need," Kit mutters, "an eight year old megalomaniac with the firepower to destroy a planet."
"You're not helping."
"Why are you here?" Kylahna says with the pretensions of authority.
The Doctor smiles and lets go of Kit's hand, approaching the child. "We're here because you've been a naughty girl."
She glares at him. "I have not."
He looks at her sceptically. "Are you sure? Because a little bird told me that you want to play with bombs."
"They're not bombs, they're plant growers."
He clucks his tongue at her and shakes his head. "Now we both know that's not true, don't we. You've told everybody else that, but you're lying."
"I am not!"
He smiles and taps her head, causing her to step away from him quickly. The zap of power that runs through his finger only solidifies his theories. "I can see in here, Kylahna and I know that you're not really one of these people, are you?" She glares at him and his skin tingles at the prospect of a challenge.
"Leave now or I'll hurt you."
"Now that's not very nice, is it?"
"I'll hurt your pretty friend then."
He shrugs. "Go on. I dare you."
"Doctor, what the hell are you doing?"
He turns to his companion, who is sporting a glare not unlike the child beside him. "I'm trying to sort out this mess, now will you be quiet?" She gives him a look that says he's going to pay for this later, but he's more concerned with the now. He turns back to the Kylahna and grins. "Now, where were we? Oh, yes, let's see what happens when I do this."
Without giving her a chance to move, he clamps his hands on either side of her head, allowing her power to course through him. Her thoughts open to him and he calms her struggling, not forcing her to accept his way of thinking, but letting her know, without doubt, that he'll stop her, no matter what. She slowly relents and he lets go, stepping away from her. She glares one last time and picks up a small device from the throne.
"I'll get you back, Doctor," she says, a song in her childlike voice, before clicking the device and slipping from existence.
He takes a deep breath to steady himself and turns around to face Kit. The thoughts come at him, unbidden, and he falters, stumbling in his movement and landing on the few stairs to the raised area. Kit is at his side in an instant and he barely notes that the guard that had shown them to the room has just fled in terror at the fact that his 'queen' has just vanished without a trace.
"Doctor, what's wrong? What did she do to you?"
"I…I don't know."
There are thoughts running through his mind; memories of his dreams finally flowing freely and this time he's awake, this time he can see her and remember her. She stands before him with her tongue between her teeth and a twinkle in her eyes, but it's not all there. There are gaps, holes in his thoughts and, no matter how hard he tries, he can't fill them.
"Rose," he says softly and Kit frowns at him, her worry evident on her face.
"You're scaring me," she whispers and he lets out a breath.
"I'm scaring myself."
"Doctor, who is Rose?"
He shakes his head and wracks his brains for an answer, but he doesn't have one…but he does have more than he started with. He has her face and her name. He just doesn't know everything and the question still haunts him.
Who is Rose?
He only wishes he knew.
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End of Part Three
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Yeah, I'm not entirely enamoured with this chapter, but I'm not sure what I'd fix about it. Never mind.
Thanks once again for all the reviews this fic has got; I'm so chuffed! Now, whilst you're waiting for the next part, I highly recommend you head over to TheEvenstarEstel's profile and read her wonderful fic 'The City of the Evening Star', because it's incredible!
Go on, hit the review button, you know you want to! ;)