The night had now fully descended, the stars bright like diamonds with no moon to outshine them. Two dark forms walked over the dark landscape, their outlines hard to distinguish from any other dark shape; only their constant movement gave them away. In the distance the shape of the TARDIS could just be seen blocking out the stars with its presence. It was to this the two forms moved with purpose. Finally one opened the front of the blue box, the light spilling out to illuminate two faces, one with ice blue eyes swirling with concern, his face a mask to all else. The other eyes lit with a trace of anger at the form before him, his black hair spiking up, face handsome enough to melt butter. Both went inside and up to the main console, the dull yellow glow of the TARDIS making their mood seem darker.
"Jack give me your wrist device," The Doctor asked, his voice clipped, fear and anger restrained deep inside. Numerous ideas playing across his mind. The Doctor was so smart. Hundreds of ideas could pass through his brain in seconds. Normally he welcomed this as often it got them out of trouble. But right now all thoughts were filled with Rose. Visions of her dead, in pain, and other numerous things haunting his hearts. Jack handed over his writs scanner to the Doctor, watching as the Time Lord started to patch it into the TARDIS systems.
"You going to scan for one heartbeat? Don't you think whoever has her would think of that?" Jack asked, anger still tainting his voice.
"I don't know Jack, why don't you help instead of standing there like a stupid ape!" The Doctor snapped, his face dark as he glared at the flyboy before him.
Jack made no comment but helped the Doctor attach the wires from the TARDIS to the wrist device.
Finally it was all hooked in and he asked the TARDIS to search for a life form with one heartbeat. They waited as the TARDIS scanned the entire planet of Gallifrey. The Doctor eyes never leaving the screen attached to the console, when the results came through, it was as Jack expected.
"Oh come on!"
"Let me guess Doc, no trace"
"Nothing. Where the hell is she?"
" Told you Doc." Jack went over to the wrist device; he knew he was being a little unfair to the Doctor. But right now he had Galen in a coma and Rose missing, Jack was beyond worry and verging on blind panic. It was only his training in the Time agency that kept it in check.
All of a sudden the wrist device sparked as the TARDIS started to access it on her own. The Doctor looked on wide-eyed a moment as numbers and information sped across the screen.
"Oh you brilliant girl" he shouted at the TARDIS.
"What?"
"This fantastic TARDIS of mine is looking for traces of herself, the traces that would be in Rose. I'm betting whoever has Rose would not know to shield for that" The Doctor rushed round the console, trying to aid his fantastic time ship. Finally with a victorious beep the TARDIS showed Rose's location and the Doctor sped from the TARDIS. Jack close on his heals.
"Where is she?"
"In the oldest part of the city. Where the Pythia used to reside," the Doctor shouted back. They ran through the citadel and through side streets, finally coming to the old building that once held the Pythia's royal guard…the Guardians. Empty for aeons. Well it was until now. The Seal upon the door had been broken, the centuries of dust mirroring the disturbance, as the passage of someone was plain to see.
"They haven't gone to any trouble to disguise their entry" Jack said quietly into the dusty shadows.
"No need, this is a forbidden area. After the guardians left, it was closed. Then finally sealed when they were marked as traitors" The Doctor followed the trail of dust footprints, they walked deeper into the building, passing ancient relics of a dead world.
"What are these things?" Jack asked, looking a picture in a display case beside some kind of statue. The Doctor came beside him and looked.
"That is the statue of the Rozgreezed. The Holy tree that grew on Galen's world" the Doctor pointed the statue made of some strange multi-colored material, it was in the shape of a tree, so life like you expected it to sway in a breeze any moment. The Doctor then blew some dust from the picture beside it " and this is a picture of the tree in the palace garden"
Jack took the picture from the Doctor, seeing the large multicoloured tree in the front behind it reaching to the clear skies was an emerald tower.
"What's that?" Jack asked pointing to it
"The Emerald palace. Galen's home"
"Huh? He must be a prince or something"
"He was" the Doctor said sadly.
They had come to the door, the light coming from beneath. Hearing a beeping sound only on the other side the Doctor cautiously opened the door. The light reflecting off steel walls blinded them momentarily. They looked around, at first not seeing the desperate eyes that screamed to them for help.
Jack saw her first; he turned and gagged at the sight before him. He had seen many things, dead bodies blown to soup by bombs, hacked to pieces. But the sight before him turned his stomach to stone, made all the worse because it was a friend. He couldn't make a sound. Not even a squeak to alert the Doctor who was looking at a computer terminal.
Rose lay behind a curtain, her body only partially visible but it was enough. She had been vivisected, gutted, what ever you wanted to call it. It would have been a small mercy to know she had not gone through the pain, as she surly had to be dead. But her eyes showed otherwise. Who ever had done this to her had kept her alive and conscious as they did this. He could see her heart open to the air, her ribs broken to gain access. The slick shiny red of the heart as it beat its life rhythm in some kind of mockery. But that was not the worst that had been done to her. No the worse was that he could see her brain. The top of her skull had been cut off as if someone was doing brain surgery. The top of the skull sat in a stasis device, to keep it alive. Her blonde hair had been shaven off to stop contamination and the cuttings lay on the blood stained floor.
As he gagged he must have caught the Doctor's attention, for he turned to say something then saw Rose. He froze, his face in total naked shock at what he saw. It was if he could not comprehend, which is something so unnatural to a Time Lord. Then he moved to Rose's side, her eyes following him in a silent plea to make the pain go away. Jack could still not move.
"Oh Rose, what have they done to you?" the Doctor whispered, stroking her cheek gently.
"We did what was necessary" came the voice of the Bursar from the open doorway. "I must say Doctor I am surprised you found us so quick. I was hoping to finish the experiment before I had to deal with Time's champion….but it is of little importance"
"Of little importance!" the Doctor growled out in a good imitation of the Bursar. "Of little importance!" The Doctors full fury was rising to the surface, making his ice-blue eyes turn black with his anger. The Oncoming storm was building. Never had this storm been fully unleashed against a living being other than a Dalek. It was some sick mockery that it would be a fellow Time lord that would be looked upon like a Dalek. Some ironic twist of fate.
"She is a living being, and you treat her like a lab rat. No wait you treat her worse. At least they kill the rat before they cut open it's chest and skull!" The Doctor raged moving towards the Bursar, Jack by this time had come to stand beside Rose. He took her hand, not sure she could feel it but he would protect her, then both he and the Doctor would make them pay for what they had done to her. But then a movement behind the Bursar stopped the Doctor.
There was the doctor called Orlith, in his hand he held a black device that looked like a small remote control.
"I really wouldn't Doctor. You see we decided to as the humans say "take a leaf out of your book" she has a neural inhibitor placed in the frontal lobe of her brain. If Orlith here presses that button. Then your pathetic pet will ceases to function." The Doctor stopped mid stride and growled low in pure anger.
"Her name is Rose Tyler"
"Or Bad Wolf" the Bursar countered, shocking the Doctor again, the Bursar smirked at this. "But what's in a name?"
"How do you know that name?"
"Marvellous things Guardians, so loyal to their masters. And the Chosen one was always loyal to you wasn't he Doctor?"
"It was you that forced him to have a deep mind scan!" Jack exclaimed as all the pieces fell in to place.
"Of course. The traitorous filth tried to lie and defy the council. Only serve Rassilon. Ha, once I harness the Time Vortex I will become greater that Rassilon ever was. And the Guardian will bow to me"
"You will never be greater that Rassilon, I will not allow this."
"Allow? Doctor you have no choice"
"Put Rose back how she was…NOW!" the oncoming storm had finally reached it's tempest.
"And you will do what exactly?"
"I'll stop you" low and dangerous.
"We'll stop you." Jacks voice equally full of menace and retribution.
"I think not" The Bursar said coldly, next thing they knew they both felt a sharp pain as both of them were hit with darts. On Jack it was instantaneous, on the Doctor it was marginally slower. He began to sink to the floor, trying to fight the effects.
"I will stop…you," he gasped out.
"Sorry my dear Doctor, but you having found this. I will have to accelerate my plans. You see I will have to use you're dear little human pet as the filter now. Of course she will feel every moment of decay from the Time Vortex meant for me. Her body will be burnt to cinders in the golden power. Tapering it for habitation in my body. I will command the Time Vortex and there is nothing you can do to stop it." The Bursar turned away from the Doctor laughing, Orlith having gone over to the body of Rose. He re-attached the top of her skull but no more.
"He heart will be good enough to pass the raw Time Vortex through." That was Orlith's voice.
"The we shall take her to the tower." That was all the Doctor heard as he slipped into the Darkness, haunted by Rose's silent screams and pleading eyes.
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Something called the Sultarrvec.
"Awaken dark creature""Why do you call me? I am not bound to you," The Sultarrvec snarled
"Because you are all there is to answer"
"Find someone else. I have no interest is following the wishes of a ghost"
"Not even to get revenge on the one that has harmed you and your host?" The deep gruff voice asked in manipulative tone.
"I am listening…."
TBC…….