On A Wolf And A Whim
Part 3 Of Plans and Their Holes
By Literary Litany
The Doctor felt the jarring of each step in that strange different sense of gravity that came with being so close to a planet's center. The dust still scattered at his passing though, and he still came down again after each step up. He ground to a halt when he felt that familiar pulse of warmth against his chest. The burn of his TARDIS key that meant his ship was close. On pure instinct he went to the crumbled wall on his left, tossing away rocks indiscriminately.
He let out a short exclamation of triumph as he came against the smooth surface of blue-painted wood. It only took a few more minutes to clear the door, but he felt the weight of those minutes as if they were hours. Every second brought Rose closer to an abyss even he couldn't pull her out of. He practically fell into his time ship, stumbling to the console as he readjusted to the gravity.
That was about when he noticed what felt so wrong about the whole situation.
The TARDIS was fine. He could tell she felt a little bit rubbed at having fallen into a chasm, but otherwise completely normal. No gaping hole where the Time Vortex should be.
Well, that certainly complicated things.
He frowned in confusion even as he moved to mechanically throw switched and press buttons that would get them moving again. He still had to go after Rose, but now he was faced with a big mystery that threatened to put a big gaping hole into his formerly clever plan.
If Rose wasn't drawing from the Time Vortex, if that wasn't where the Bad Wolf was getting its power, then where was it coming from?
His scowl deepened when he once again encountered the TARDIS' reluctance to materialize so close to a black hole. His hand froze above the final switch at that thought.
Black Hole. Singularity. The Universe's Big Drain.
The ship gave a violent shake as it landed a little less than gracefully at the given co-ordinates, sprawling him forcefully onto the floor even as a grin plastered itself onto his face. Oh, forget his last plan. This was even cleverer.
"Rose would not have me let you go…" The Wolf admitted, stance now less challenging though no less confident. "The Doctor would sacrifice them both to stop you."
"But you are wiser than the Time Lord. He overestimates my importance, and underestimates his own. You know that." The Beast also looked less intimidating now, and the Wolf could almost swear its features were becoming more human by the minute. It was all imploring persuasion.
Yes. She knew more than the Doctor could. He was still mortal, after all, and that was why the Bad Wolf existed. To protect the Doctor and his Rose, because they were important. They mattered.
But this thing was dangerous. How dangerous she wasn't sure, and that was even more worrying. It didn't know enough about the Beast to make an informed decision. What was it, truly? What did it want? Could it be controlled? Beaten?
No answer was definite enough.
A/N: I AM A HORRIBLE, TERRIBLE PERSON! I know I'm late, and the chapter is short. SO SO SORRY! I got sick and had to work on my history earlier this week, and this weekend I procrastinated like a n00b. I'll be gone all next week though at RYM, and figured this short little bit is better than nothing… I hope. Please don't hurt me.
Thanks to all my Reviewers! You guys are fantastic! Glad you guys like my handling of Bad Wolf… I wasn't so sure, and I'm a little shaky on the writing of it, as you can tell with this last bit, but as always the Doctor's return should fix everything. I hope. Heh.