Dalek
Rose's legs swung, freely, as she stared outside into a nebula, watching as stars were born in front of her in massive, forceful dance of dust, pressure and gas. She had seen this sort of thing before, often really. The Doctor liked to watch them because something about the birth of stars made him feel better(that didn't change, no matter which face he wore), like how her mum always watched some old home movies of her father. It was something that brought hope to them in the wake of everything. It was a sort of inspiration that sometimes people needed once in a while. For Rose, it was reading Harry Potter, especially the seventh one, because it had made her and the brown eyed Doctor sob like babies.
Rose smiled slightly, her legs swinging, humming in a rhythm matching the golden song of the TARDIS in the back of her head. She herself could never get ride of the feeling of breathlessness at the sight of a nebula. Because they were beautiful, with all of its fire and dust and rocks, it screamed of creation and the vastness of space like no other thing she had seen. And she had seen quite a bit of space, so she thought she was a fair judge.
"I told you the view was better than the monitor."mentioned the Doctor, leaning against the door frame, his blue eyes far away as she stared off into the swirling mass of super hot gas and dust.
She smiled.
"Well excuse me, someone didn't mention the fact that the TARDIS had a shield that would prevent the vacuum of space from killin' us."she replied, she had acted her part of the ignorant very well, screaming and nearly tackling the Doctor to prevent him from opening the door. It was, after all, what she had done the first time around.
The Doctor looked at her, and winked.
"Never asked."
She laughed, thinking he really could be a bit of a prat, much as she loved him.
"How far does it go?"she pondered, never having asked that question before.
The Doctor frowned at the question, before walking over to the console and picking up a large golden ball. He tied a tape measure from his pocket around it, eyes calculating. He tossed it around for a beat, between his hands, and then up before she could ask what he was doing, threw a sharp, curving ball that would make any cricket player green with envy. The ball reached out, twenty or so meters, floating for another few meters before he pulled it back sharply.
Seemingly gathering momentum, because of his immense strength, the ball headed towards her with surprising speed (considering it was in zero-gravity). The Doctor caught it easily, an inch from her face, and gathered up the tape measure. At the twenty meter mark, Rose noticed that the measure had turned a vivid mauve, a clear sign of danger, and was like that for the rest of the tape, all the way 'til the hundred mark.
" 'Bought twenty meters."he replied smartly, tossing the ball over his shoulder. It landed on the console neatly as he sat, and he again leaned against the door frame. Porrco cuddled into his leather side, snorting slightly.
Rose rolled her eyes at The Doctor's antics and showman ship as he patted Porrco softly on the head.
"Thank you, you could have said you didn't know."
"It made me curious."he said with a shrug.
"Next time, do catch it a little farther away from my face."she said somewhat pointedly, leaning a little farther into the door. Her eyes were focused in front of her, but she kept an eye on him on from the corner of her eyes.
He hummed, crossing his arms, letting his own legs dangle as well. His gaze was steady and towards the nebula. She returned her full attention to it, before something occurred to her. She stood, and walked over to the console, looking around for a beat before the TARDIS let out a hum of amusement at her rather idiotic idea, directing her towards a long piece of rope coiled around a coral strut.
Rose grinned, and picked it up, noting that it was actually two pieces. She hauled them both onto her shoulder, and went over to the closest railing to the doors. She tied both pieces tightly, with a Palomar knot that Jack had taught her when they had went fishing on a sailing ship, in the Caribbean in 1758 on one of those trips that hadn't ended with running or any sort of saving the world.
Sure of their security, she did the same around her right ankle(the opposite of the one she had twisted recently that is, as much as that cream did, it still left her with some lingering tenderness for a couple days), and tugged it for a bit to make sure it held her weight. It seemed firm enough, but the Rose worried for bit until a soft, amused hum went off in the back of her head. Grinning at the reassurance from the TARDIS that she would be fine, Rose turned to see the Doctor staring at her, brows raised.
"What are you doing?"he asked, slowly, eyes narrowing.
Rose couldn't help it, she blew him a kiss, and said;
"Porrco, don't follow."in stern tone.
She gave a running jump outside the TARDIS's doors, waiting for a beat as before she caught herself to make sure she didn't go too far away from the doors. She checked the length of the rope and the amount of freedom it gave her, a goofy grin on her at the sense of weightlessness. The Doctor gave out an unmanly yelp, and she laughed, floating gracefully in the expanse of space, a nebula in front of her, and a thousand of other stars around her in the velvety darkness of space. It was like a surreal dream.
"Rose Tyler!"he thundered, his brows all draw together as she did a graceful flip in space to look at him.
She couldn't help it. She giggled, smiling, tongue-in-teeth.
"Doctor, I'm in space."she all but sang out at him, flipping again in her joy.
She had never done this. Once upon a time the Doctor had held her out by her legs, and that had been amazing, but this time she was able to move around, and she did so with a laugh, tugging at the rope so she could pull herself forward to clamber onto the TARDIS's top, clutching to the glass lamp for a spell before she kicked off, doing an exploratory trip around Old Girl before she came to rest in front of the doors again. The Doctor stared at her for a beat, before he grinned;
"Don't you move an inch."
He turned around and came back with a some sort of glowing, color changing square, and the other rope around his ankle.
Unlike her, he took a cautious step out, testing the amount of gravity no doubt, before he pushed off the TARDIS. He reached about twenty meters out, before he very carefully set a the glowing square in what seemed like empty space. It flickered, before a large bubble pulsed into existence around them, shifting colors and marking the protective shielding around them. Then, the colors faded to a clear, but visible glow of light that pointed out the limit of the TARDIS's shield without hindering the view too much. Porrco gave out a small whine, but stayed where he was, seemingly understanding that he couldn't follow.
"What's that?"she asked, pointing to the square.
The Doctor shrugged.
"It's a bit complex. But I can just say its a TARDIS compatible shield signal. It was originally meant to hail other TARDIS's in case the communications were down in the ship, or if someone wanted to avoid using their physic abilities. "
"And your using it to make sure we can see the TARDIS's protection?"
He nodded.
"That's 'bout right."
"Ta!"
They were silent for bit, taking it all in. The sheer beauty. The sheer impossibility of it all, or at least on Rose's end, because really, it was all that, no matter how many times she had witnessed it. Even if she was experiencing a couple of her old adventures, there was still new things in-between. And she was still with that mad man in his gorgeous blue box, in fact she had been given more time with her first Doctor.
She loved him, as she loved the next Doctor, but she had spent more time with the one that was to come. Despite the fact that she understood that they were the same person, she couldn't deny that at times she found herself missing a quirk or two the of Leather and Big Ears (as the brown eyed Doctor had called his past self so snidely, and she did it fondly). The fact that he was only a foot or so away was incredible...
Here she was an ex-shop girl, dead a universe over technically, in the vast expansive cosmos. That never failed to amaze her, no matter how long she had this sort of life. And it was fantastic. It was molto-bene! It was-
"Brilliant."she mused aloud, doing a exploratory little twirl.
The Doctor grinned.
"I can't believe I never thought of this. It's fantastic."he agreed, and he pulled on his rope to do a smooth lap around the TARDIS.
Thinking again, Rose pulled out her mobile, keeping a firm hold on it before she flipped through the songs she had saved on it. Surprisingly, she found a couple that she knew for sure that her nineteen year old self would never listen to.
"Did you add music to this?"she asked, and the Doctor turned with her to a raised brow.
" 'Course. Did you really think that Toxic was acceptable to listen to?"he said, scathingly.
Rose frowned at him, looking back at her mobile, trying to find a good song, as the emptiness of space was deathly quiet and slightly creepy with just the sound of her and the Doctor's breathing.
"I happen to know it's a classic in the year six billion apple dash six."
The Doctor snorted at this, before she chose a song. Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds sounded out, and the Doctor laughed, beaming at her.
"Good choice."he said, approvingly.
She winked at him, and twirled again, mimicking a ballerina, lifting her leg, as high as she could. Her skirt, long and with a tendency to float around her legs even without the aid of zero gravity moved with her. She didn't really so much mind if she flashed the Doctor, because she knew in the next two or so years, he would see much more than that. Not by design, unfortunately, but because their sort of life warranted accidental nudity(full and partial) on occasion, more when Jack was involved. Besides she thought, pulling on her rope a bit so she could get closer to the TARDIS, it wasn't if he was focused on her, his attention was solely on watching the nebula.
"Suddenly someone is there at the turnstile
The girl with kaleidoscope eyes
Lucy in the sky with diamonds
Lucy in the sky with diamonds
Lucy in the sky with diamonds
Aaaaahhhhh..."
"An even better view."she mentioned, coming to float next to him.
The Doctor's eyes slid to her, but he didn't turn to her, he only laughed.
"Fantastic, even."
She grinned, and turned to the beautiful display in front of her.
"I never did ask, what's the name of the nebula?"
"Rose Tyler, welcome to the home of 'The Pillars of Creation', Messier 16, the Eagle Nebula, also known as Star Queen Nebula. It's roughly seven thousand light years away from Earth."he said softly, his northern bur revert.
Rose reached over, and squeezed his arm. She didn't look at him, but at the beautiful, impossible thing in front of her.
"I'm watching stars being born, yeah?"
"Yeah."
She laughed again, before she pushed him gently, using the momentum to spin herself around gracefully, dancing a bit in the starlight. She was tempted to ask him to dance with her. Rose really, so desperately wanted him to dance with her, there in the starlight with the birth of stars in front of them. But they weren't there. Not yet. She pushed her mobile towards him instead.
"Chose the next song."
He nodded, caught it easily, and started flipping through thoughtfully through the songs. She was surprised when a song she didn't recognize came on, and she peered at him as he hummed along.
"Lately I've been, I've been losing sleep
Dreaming about the things that we could be
But, baby I've been, I've been praying hard
Said no more counting dollars, we'll be counting stars
Yeah, we'll be counting stars..."
"What's that?"
"Counting Stars, One Republic. It comes out 2013."
"Old but, I'm not that old
Young, but I'm not that bold
And I don't think the world is sold
I'm just doing what we're told..."
"I like it."she mentioned, and she did.
It was both appropriate and a good dance to in space she mused, doing just that, moving around the TARDIS. She got the hand of the lack of gravity, and how it affected her movement. She kept a close eye on the bubble around them, and pulled and tugged herself easily, twisting in a messy, choreography that she made up as she went along. The Doctor did more or less the same thing, though with far less little twists. He did expert flips and neat cartwheels, tucking and rolling like a professional gymnast. They went along like that for a good while, passing the mobile back and forth to switch songs.
She felt positively giddy, yet impossibly relaxed about the whole thing until a reluctant hum sounded in the back of her head. Automatically, she turned to the TARDIS, brows furrowing. The Doctor did the same, but more because of the sounded of the monitor going off inside. She reached for her mobile, shut the music off and stuffed it into her skirt pocket. Following the Doctor's lead, she pulled herself into the TARDIS, and he helped her in by grabbing her by the waist. His fingers flexed slightly, large and nearly expanding the span of her waist, cool and familiar. She was weightless for a bit in his grip before her feet hit the grating, and she smoothed down her hair as she closed the doors.
"What is it?"she asked curiously, watching as he chucked off the rope, coiling it around the railing where it was tied. She copied him, and he went off to the Console.
"Don't know. There's some kind of signal drawing the TARDIS towards it."he mentioned.
Rose felt herself freeze as the Doctor did his little, familiar jig around the Console, no doubt following the signal. Straight to a Dalek. Her first. Unfortunately, not her last. She forced herself to breathe, clenching her fists for a beat before she clutched at the Console to keep herself from being knocked about as he pulled the Old Girl into the Vortex. Her heart rose to her throat, beat heavy and fast, and Rose tried not to hyperventilate. The TARDIS soothed her softly, her golden song reassuring and comforting. It was as if she was telling Rose that this had to be done.
Rose hummed back in reluctant acceptance. She knew it had to happen. They couldn't leave a random Dalek in Van Statten's hands. They landed with a slight jolt, and Rose breathed deeply through her nose, patted Porcco on the head, before she followed the Doctor as he went out of doors.
"Where are we?"she asked softly as he locked her up, glancing around at Van Statten's museum.
She shivered in her thin top as despite the slight stiffing heat of America's Utah, cursing herself for thinking that it would be a lazy day today, as it had been for a couple days. They hadn't run into anything since the Landons, and she had relaxed, thinking that their next stop would be something new, as it had been for a while. She should have thought it through she mused, adjusting her skirt and wishing she at least had dressed a little more sensibly instead of how she had. She had been feeling a bit like dressing up, and it showed in her thin little cami, long, layered skirt, and curled hair. She nearly moaned, and wished she had at least thought to be in pants like she had last time. Or sensible shoes, since she curtly was sporting pretty little wedges. At least she hadn't daft enough to wear stilettos she thought, because she had been eyeing a pair in the wardrobe before she had thought that she liked the wedges better.
"Earth. Utah, North America. About half a mile underground."said the Doctor, looking around with clear interest.
"Year?"
She followed behind him closely, watching as he glanced at a display case. Unsurprisingly, she didn't recognized it, and she made a mental note to find a book about alien species so she could be more careful. It frustrated her that she didn't know what it was, even if she knew logically that she wouldn't be able to point out even a fraction of all species across space and time. She bet her left shoe that even the Doctor couldn't name them all.
"2012."
She frowned. That meant either A, she was already dead at this point in the worst case scenario. Or B, best case scenario her mum was in the other Universe with her semi-sort of Step-dad, with a baby and nothing on the Earth except perhaps the occasional invasion that had to be prevented by the Doctor would bring her back to her home planet. That certainly was an odd thought she mused. And it made her be on edge even more, but somehow, despite that she couldn't help but say;
"Seven years. You take me to the end of the world, Christmas in 1869 and somehow that's still amazin'."she found herself beaming, because it was.
The Doctor grinned back, subdued no doubt by his hyper-awareness on how they could be in danger, but there nonetheless. He fiddled with the lights, before they all turned on. Alerting Van Stettan's staff of their location, no doubt. She whistled, and it echoed around her.
"Blimey. It's a great big museum."
The Doctor nodded tightly, and looked around him with renewed interest.
"An alien museum. Someone's got a hobby. They must have spent a fortune on this. Chunks of meteorite, moon dust. That's the milometer from the Roswell spaceship."he said, pointing.
She trailed behind him, and pointed at another case.
"That's a Slitheen's arm, or at least a Raxacoricofallapatorian one. It's been stuffed, I wonder how they got their hands on it?"she wondered.
The Doctor paused in his steps. It took all of Rose's self control not to react violently at the site of the Cyberman head. She flinched, and was glad the Doctor had his back to her as he looked at it with interest.
"Oh, look at you."he mused, brows raised.
Rose shuddered, wondered at the fact that she had forgotten that thing was here. To think that she would see two of the three things that caused her death, if in a delayed way. Because she knew that if it weren't for bloody Daleks, Cybermen, and Torchwood she would have never gotten trapped in Pete's World... And subjected to whatever had happened to her. If she saw something from Torchwood she would run back to the TARDIS, not because she was afraid she thought, even if she was a little. But only because she wasn't sure if she could prevent herself from going crazy and ruining everything she was working for.
"What is it?"she asked reluctantly.
It looked to be a relic of the Battle of Carney Wharf. She shuddered lightly. To think that she had seen something so early one that would lead to her death... To think that Van Stettan had the inhumanity to reap the tragedy that had taken so many lives. That would have eventually taken her's. She felt disgusted.
"An old friend of mine. Well, enemy. The stuff of nightmares reduced to an exhibit. I'm getting old."he said, and he sounded slightly off.
"What brought us here to Ripley's Believe it or Not, Alien themed then, because I doubt it was that. Looks dead."she mentioned, eyeing the head warily.
"Don't know..."
Just her luck that thing came to life and tried to off her and the Doctor. Of course, that was when the Doctor touched the display case, curious no doubt. The alarms set off, and she wondered how many museums he had gotten himself kicked out of because of his urge to touch. She knew for sure that they would be kicked out of other places because his licking fixation in his next body.
"If someone's collecting aliens, that makes you Exhibit A."she mentioned, grinning as he blinked at her.
~BW~DW~BW~DW~BW~
"What does it do?"mentioned a man with rather thick mustache, the Doctor noted.
Rather silly in his opinion. In all of his lives, he had never really liked the thought of hair on his face. Bit too itchy. And for some reason most found the thought enjoyable. He tutted as a boy, looking hardly older than Rose, lifted a musical instrument, holding it a little too roughly for something that produced something so beautiful and delicate. He passed it to the seated man, who took it with interest. The boy gestured to it, eyes earnest.
"Well, you see the tubes on the side? It must be to channel something. I think maybe fuel."he said, his English accent rather out of place as he had heard nothing but American since the staff of this museum had caught them.
He snorted at the assumption.
"I really wouldn't hold it like that."he mentioned, frowning.
The woman besides him turned to him swiftly.
"Shut it." she snapped, frowning at him.
The Doctor turned to her, raised a brow at her rude tone, then promptly ignored her, and shook his head.
"Really, though, that's wrong."he continued.
The boy visibly paled, and stepped away slightly from the man holding it.
"Is it dangerous?"asked the man in the chair, raising a brow.
"No, it just looks silly."
He grinned, reaching for it. Rose's hand fisted in the back of his jumper at the sound of several safeties being removed, and as guns were quickly pointed at him. He froze, and Rose's grip on his jumper tightened, the back of her knuckles were a warm presence against his bare skin. The man in the chair lifted his empty hand, and the guns lowered slightly. The safeties were left off, and the man stood and passed the instrument. Rose's grip relaxed, and she stepped forward cautiously to peer at the instrument, the Doctor saw from the corner of his eyes as she reached over to wind her arm around his. He let her, eyes flickering back to the men in front of them.
"You just need to be,"he stroked it softly, "delicate."
Several notes sounded off, soft and wonderful. The man with the facial hair lifted his brows, smirking and reaching out his hand.
"It's a musical instrument."he stated, seemingly surprised.
"And it's a long way from home."mused the Doctor, stroking it a bit more. Playing a song from said home.
"Here, let me."mentioned the man.
The Doctor, ever aware of the guns around him, passed it to the man. He had rough fingers, he thought, watching as he butchered out a song. Couldn't be gentle with it!
"I did say delicate. It reacts to the smallest fingerprint. It needs precision."he said pointedly, smiling at the man.
The man frowned, but slowly got the hand of it. A soft, pretty little melody came out, but not as nice as the Doctor's he noted with slight pride.
"Very good. Quite the expert."
The man raised a brow.
"As are you."he said with a grin.
He tossed the instrument on the floor with a casual flick of his wrist. The Doctor frowned, following the path of the object. It was quite rare in this section of the galaxy, the people who made it, The Narhe always guarded their creations jealously. The fact that it was even here in this time period was amazing, but of course the man in front of him didn't know it. But besides all that, it was a beautiful thing. It wasn't something to be tossed about.
"Who exactly are you?"asked the man, lifting a brow, eyes directed
"I'm the Doctor. And who are you?"
The man smiled, easily. He drew himself up, as if he was someone of importance.
"Like you don't know. We're hidden away with the most valuable collection of extra-terrestrial artifacts in the world, and you just stumbled in by mistake."he said with a shake of his head, no doubt in disbelief.
The Doctor grinned.
"Pretty much sums me up, yeah."Because it did.
The man frowned, walking around the desk. As he did so, several of the men lowered their guns even further, and he heard the tell tell sound of the safeties being clicked back on. They stood straighter, and the woman that had told him to be quiet straighten up immensely. Rose's grip went slightly tighter, her eyes narrow from the corner of his eyes.
"The question is, how did you get in? Fifty three floors down, with your little cat burglar accomplice. You're quite a collector yourself, she's rather pretty."he continued, as if he didn't hear him, and he leered at Rose, smirking at the young woman.
Rose, being Rose, couldn't let that slide or mind the various guns around them. She bristled, eyes narrowing as she tossed her long, curled hair over her shoulder and as she stared down what seemed to be a powerful man. She didn't flinch. She didn't falter. She didn't seem to care. Rose Tyler just defended.
"Yeah, I'm more than a skirt, mate. Why don't you address me before you go on 'bout the way I look. If you want to start somethin', I can say that you look like you think too highly of yourself. I gotta warn you, even the highest can fall, and I have to say, for you? It seems to me that you have a bitch of a fall ahead of you."
The man seemed both amused and taken aback at her speech. But he dismissed her at the same time;
"She's English too! Hey, little Lord Fauntleroy. Got you a girlfriend. Careful though, she seems a bit feisty."
"Yeah, I am, and I'm also not afraid to kick your arse from here back to Britain."she hissed, narrowing her eyes at the man.
He raised a brow at her rather violent reaction, eyes flickering to her wedged covered feet to her curled hair. He didn't seem impressed. Not one bit. But he did seem to like what he saw, because the Doctor saw that his gaze did a slower, leisurely crawl up her body. Rose glared as he smirked.
"Well, strike that Fauntleroy, I doubt you could handle her. Try me, sweetheart. It promises... To be very educational."he said, and he all but purred it out.
The Doctor frowned, straightening at his tone and stepped in front of Rose. The man didn't flinch at his sudden movement, looking interested in his interaction. The boy, sensing the tension, stepped up, and gave them a slight, if nervous smile;
"This is Mister Henry Van Statten."
The boy said it as if it was impressive. Rose only stared at the boy, a frown on her face. The Doctor, from experience knew that she wasn't one to impress easily. Not by men's with impressive titles. He shifted nervously over her unbending and unimpressed stare no doubt, and gave her another nervous smile.
"Mister Van Statten owns the internet."he said, brightly. Again, it seemed that it was suppose to be impressive.
The Doctor rose a brow at that as Rose did the same, and she turned pointedly away from the pretty boy to look back at him as he spoke;
"So you're just about an expert in everything except the things in your museum. Anything you don't understand, you lock up."he said, pointedly.
Van Statten frowned, looking disgruntled at the description. But he quickly went back to the over confidence.
"And you claim greater knowledge?"he all but sneered this out.
The Doctor merely smiled.
"I don't need to make claims, I know how good I am."he said, and he said it because it was true.
Van Statten laughed, as if he had been telling a joke.
"And yet, I captured you. Right next to the Cage. What were you doing down there?"he said, and it was shrewd.
Now that caught the Doctor's attention. The Cage. Sounded worth looking into. Too important not to be.
"You tell me."
The mustached man relaxed, leaning against his desk in a casual fashion. He smirked.
"The cage contains my one living specimen."he said this smugly, arrogantly.
The signal. The Doctor leaned forward, eyes narrowed.
"And what's that?"he asked.
Van Statten only grinned, wiggling his brows.
"Like you don't know."
"Show me."demanded the Doctor, firmly.
"You want to see it?"
They both were leaning near each other, glaring. Rose snorted.
"Blimey, you can smell the testosterone. Why don't you take them out to measure?"she said sharply.
The Doctor snickered even as he sheepishly drew back away from the ape. Van Statten just straightened, and turned to the the woman with curly hair and shushing abilities.
"Goddard, inform the Cage we're heading down. You, English. Look after the girl. Go and canoodle or spoon or whatever it is you British do. And you, Doctor with no name, come and see my pet."he said, glancing at his watching before starting forward.
The Doctor frowned.
"The girl comes with me."he said firmly, and Rose smirked at Van Statten's raised brow.
"I'm afraid not."said the man, sneering slightly.
Rose narrowed her eyes, and the Doctor tensed.
"She comes with me."repeated the Doctor, even more firmly, and he was visibly frowning at the man. Van Statten raised a brow.
"My compound, my rules."
"My plus one, follows me everywhere. That's my rule."
Van Statten didn't seem to like that, and the Doctor had no intention of letting her out of his sight. Last time that had led to her bucking wildly on top of a Ladon. Rose's hand came to rest on his arm, and she squeezed the leather. Even through the thick material, he felt her higher body temperature, steady and over the past four months, something that was becoming both uncomfortably and comfortably familiar.
"Doctor, domestic approach, yeah?"she said lightly.
He looked over at her, his eyes flickering to Adam. The boy looked a little too eager at the prospect of the blonde being in his 'care'. But Rose looked confident, almost at ease. He frowned again, but nodded, if reluctantly. He may not like it, but he couldn't really stop her. She had an incredible knack for wandering off when he told her specifically to stick close, especially if she was like she was now, looking determined and ready to approach a problem away from him. He sighed.
"Be careful."he said softly, following after Van Statten.
She sighed as well, hazel eyes troubled, and the golden flecks seemed to flash. But she didn't move after him, though it seemed that she almost wanted to.
"Same to you."she said, just as softly, and she frowned after him as he left.
The Doctor walked away and made a mental note to have a talk with her not to get in the faces of the people with guns and to stop being so unreasonably jeopardy friendly. Honestly. It was as if she was doing it on purpose.
They took a lift, this time a different one then they had used to bring him and Rose up. That had been dingy and closer to what looked like a mine's lift. This one was posh, with a a corny, calming set of music, as well as a set of lights that didn't flicker. Guards were around them with the safeties distinctively off, and Van Statten was very well at ease, use to whole thing. Frankly, the Doctor never felt comfortable with guns, even if they weren't aimed at him. The Time War had only increased that.
"We've tried everything. The creature has shielded itself but there's definite signs of life inside."said Van Statten, proud.
"Inside? Inside what?"
The Doctor frowned, as the man didn't answer verbally, only grinned. They exited the lift and followed the man, who was positively skipping. They rounded a corner, and another man, manning computers in front of a foreboding large, and heavy steal set of open doors saluted to Van Statten.
"Welcome back, sir. I've had to take the power down. The Metaltron is resting."said the man, and he sneered at this, before he went back to the computers.
"Metaltron?"
The American chuckled.
"Thought of it myself. Good, isn't it? Although I'd much to prefer to find out it's real name."he said, and at this he seemed to almost sulk.
Past the doors, even with his better sight, the Doctor couldn't see a thing. He walked forward, only to be hailed by the man by the computers.
"Here, you'd better put these on.", He tossed him something, and the Doctor caught them easily, and he raised a brow at heavy gauntlets, "The last guy that touched it burst into flames."
The Doctor raised a brow. He threw them to the ground, and rolled his eyes.
"I won't touch it then."he said firmly, taking a step forward.
"Go ahead, Doctor. Impress me."goaded Van Statten.
The Doctor very nearly rolled his eyes again. Honestly. Apes and their pissing contests. Never-mind that he sometimes got caught in them. He stepped past the heavy doors, and upon entering the dark room, he noted that he could see faintly the closer he got to anything. The doors slammed shut. He took another step forward, sighing.
"Look, I'm sorry about this. Mister Van Statten might think he's clever, but never mind him. I've come to help. I'm the Doctor."he said.
In the shadows, a small blimp of light turned on. It was blue and roughly the size of his fist.
"DOC-TOR?!"
The Doctor felt his blood freeze. He heard a roar in his ears. His hearts doubled their tempo, and it was like a drumming in head.
Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.
"Impossible."he breathed.
Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.
"THE DOC-TOR?"said that horrible, horrible metallic voice. That voice that haunted him and would forever be etched into his memory, no matter how many times he changed his face.
The lights flickered on. And one of his worst nightmares came true.
"EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE!"
~BW~DW~BW~DW~BW~
"Sorry about the mess. Mister Van Statten sort of lets me do my own thing, so long as I deliver the goods. What do you think that is?"said Adam.
They were in a the same stuffy room as before, which Rose figured was probably his work shop. She took the offered lump of metal. She examined it for a beat, with a frown. She twisted it this way and that, and found a series of etchings on the side, that made her eyes widen. Both in recognition and surprise.
"It looks to be fuel cell for a level two star ship from the Constellation Third Empire."she said softly, rubbing it carefully to see if it was still active. Thankfully, it seemed not to be.
Adam's eyes widen and he frowned at her.
"You know what it is?!"
Rose shrugged, placing back the hunk of metal with care, it was, after all, when active rather explosive. At least in Pete's World, and she wasn't going to take chances. She knew it wasn't active, it wasn't glowing or anyhing, but one could never be too careful. Sometimes even the inert ones could go off if they had even a just one of micro-cells on. That could bring the entire structure down in a heartbeat. While it hadn't gone off last time, Rose wasn't one to rock the boat. Much. Or at least when it risked her getting blown up. She got rather irritated when that happened.
"Traveling with the Doctor you learn a lot... He sort of is an collector of knowledge if you will. Like a tourist, gets lost, finds things he isn't suppose too, get's thrown in jail and maybe finds a memento that isn't exactly normal."she said, and she laughed at the fact that was that was what summed up what the Doctor and the people that traveled with him got up to.
Adam looked impressed, leaning his hip against the counter-top.
"Where have you've been?"he asked, curiously.
She smiled.
"Oh, everywhere."she gushed, and she even talking to Adam of all people she couldn't help but sound excited or wistful about it.
Because it really was amazing. The boy, because that was what he was, an arrogant little boy, smiled, wistfully.
"And here I am with a simple desk job."he said, a far away look in his eyes.
Rose shrugged.
"Seems like your simple desk job involves getting your hands on a lot of alien stuff."she said, gesturing around.
"Yeah, but it isn't the same... Imagine going out among the stars? But I don't think it's ever going to happen. Not in our lifetimes."
She leaned carefully against the table with her hip, leaning back. She made it so she looked defenseless, relaxed. Something that wasn't a threat and you could trust. She gave an internal chuckle. Much as she hated people looking down on her because of her pretty face and accent, she sure as hell used it to her advantage.
"Oh, you never know. What about all those people who say they've been inside of spaceships and things and talked to aliens? "she said carefully.
Adam snorted.
"I think they're nutters."
She grinned, nearly savagely. In reality, she was in that category. She wasn't a nutter. Or at least not to much of one.
"Could be. Could not be, I mean, you tell anyone about this place and you'd be called a nutter yourself. Why are you here?"
That made Adam pause, but then he brushed it off in favor of showing off:
"Van Statten has agents all over the world looking for geniuses to recruit."
She snorts at this, thinking how not smart the self proclaimed genius had been in getting a door in his head. And then being too childish to live with the consequences. Even if she knew it wouldn't do anything, she had the urge to snap her fingers. Adam took the snort as one of disbelief, and gave her what he assumed was a charming smile. It was a smirk more than anything.
"Sorry, but yeah. I can't help it. I was born clever. When I was eight, I logged onto the US Defence System. Nearly caused World War Three."he said, and he sounded giddy.
Rose found herself remembering a Torchwood agent that had nearly caused a intergalactic incident for hacking into a Hueol Warship. He had died after the Hueol had tracked the source, and it had taken nearly three weeks of negotiation to stop them from destroying the planet of his origin with him.
"What, and that's funny, is it?"she snapped, and it was harsher than last time. Of course, it went over Adam's head.
"Well, you should've been there just to see them running about. Fantastic!"he said with a chuckle.
She frowned. He was like the Doctor in the ego part, but not even close to being the same caliber of the type of man he was. She sighed.
"So, that's my story. What about you? How'd you end up with the Doctor anyway? Are you and him...?"
Rose didn't dignify that with an answer, just another question and just raised a brow;
"What do you think?"
Adam smiled, flirtatiously, hovering over her with his height advantaged and smiling.
"You and him? Not a chance. I mean, he's what, forty? You're about my age. Probably younger."
She pursed his lips at his assumption, even if it was correct, even if it was by this pounce, it did sting slightly. She wormed her away around the pretty boy's arm.
"I'm twenty six."she said smartly, using the date to her advantage.
"Seriously?"he asked, seemingly surprised. Well considering she was physically nineteen, she figured it was justified.
She ignored the question, and asked the question that got her near the Dalek the first time around:
"So, wouldn't you rather be downstairs? I mean, you've got these bits of metal and stuff, but Mister Van Statten's got a living creature down there."she said, and she forced a good amount of curiosity and excitement into her tone.
The boy smiled, nodding his head.
"Yeah. Yeah, well, I did ask, but he keeps it to himself. Although, if you're a genius, it doesn't take long to patch through on the comm. System."
He walked over to the computer, fingertips lightening fast.
"Let's have a look, then."she said, and she took a deep breathe to steady herself. Because she knew what she was about to see wouldn't be pretty.
"It doesn't do much, the alien. It's weird. It's kind of useless. It's just like this great big pepper pot."he said, dismissively.
Rose frowned. Of course Adam would claim to want to touch the stars, and then ignore something that could be so potentially wise and information giving. But beyond that, yes, it certainty seemed harmless enough. But they were a race of fear and hate and pure destruction. This lot was too stupid to look pass their own arrogance and look at all of the possibilities. The screen flickered to life, and the Cage was in front of them in less then a second.
It screamed.
Despite the metallic note to it, it was still a cry of agony and that was nearly more than she could bare, at least from this particular Dalek . The light of a cattle prod, or possibly something stronger and enhanced, blazed and flickered across the screen. Despite knowing what was coming, she couldn't hold back the sharp hiss that escaped her.
"It's being tortured! Where's the Doctor?"she said urgently, grabbing Adam by the shoulder and spinning him in his chair.
He looked up at her, wide eyed, before her turned back to the screen, typing away. It changed and flickered to other places, but she saw no sigh of the Doctor. It settled back on the feed of the Cage.
"I don't know."said the boy, and she tightened her grip on his shoulder.
"Take me down there now."
~BW~DW~BW~DW~ BW~
"Don't get too close."Adam warned.
The doors behind them closed with a resounding thud, and had she been anyone else but herself Rose would have been frightened by the finality of that sound. Instead, she just felt herself walk forward. Not being able to find any words, she simply repeated the ones she had said the first time around;
"Hello. Are you in pain? My name's Rose Tyler. I can help, if you just let me."she said firmly.
There was silence, and then, in that metallic voice that echoed in her nightmares came a soft;
"Yes."
"How much pain?"she asked.
"Beyond what you could imagine. They torture me, but still they fear me. Do you fear me?"
And with all honesty she could say:
"No."in a firm, unwavering voice.
Because she couldn't bring herself to fear it. Not this Dalek at least. She could be wary. She could be anxious and not want to be anywhere near it. But she couldn't find it in her to be afraid.
"I am dying."it said.
She nearly laughed at the lie. Or maybe it was the truth?
"I can help."
"I welcome death. But I am glad that before I die I have met a human who was not afraid."it said, and again, she wondered if it was lying or not.
"Isn't there anything I can do?"she asked, softly, and she stepped closer even though she didn't want to.
Because she couldn't leave it as it was.
"My race is dead, and I shall die alone."
Rose hesitated. She knew she couldn't allow the Doctor to kill it, as he would if it wasn't at full capacity. It would destroy him in more ways than she could ever think. Because to him this really was the last Dalek, and there weren't two more events that had them in their clutches. She also knew she didn't want it able to kill anyone at all... But... It deserved to feel the sun. She reached over, hesitated a fraction of a second more, and let her fingertips touch the Dalek. She felt a warmth, a tingle, and she pulled back her hand to watch as the golden imprint of time energy seep through.
"Rose, no!"screamed Adam.
The Dalek suddenly moved faster, and she backed away, letting her hand drop.
"Genetic material extrapolated. Initiate cellular reconstruction!"it cried.
The chains around it snapped like twigs with an ugly screech of grinding metal.
"What the hell have you done?"cried its guard, alarmed, posed and ready with its torture device, a drill this time.
He pushed Rose to the ground, rushing forward past her and straight at its victim. The Dalek reached over with its posed with one of its weapons. The guard sneered.
"What are you going to do? Sucker me to death?"
"Get back!"yelled Rose, but the man was to close.
And she wasn't fast enough.
It killed the man in a few seconds flat, though it didn't even give him the mercy of the laser. No, the Dalek took its torturer slowly, with his plunger. Sucking away the life and enjoying it as much as a Dalek could enjoy anything. Rose only regretted the man's death as a life lost, simply because she had a feeling that that man had done more than shock it once or twice.
Adam turned tail, scrambling to get out, screaming at her to follow. Rose didn't move an inch, chest heaving. The Dalek swiveled towards her. She still didn't move, even as she heard the door seal tightly behind her. It stared at her with it's eyestalk, and she wanted to hate it with all her being because an army of Daleks had technically lead to her death, and more importantly her separation from the Doctor... But...
Rose remembered.
She remembered this Dalek and its mercy towards her. What type of a monster would she be if she tossed that aside and pushed all of the emotions she felt towards the other members of its race towards it? Because it hadn't done it to her.
"Rose Tyler."it said., and it raised it's laser arm to kill her.
Rose didn't even flinch.
~BW~DW~BW~DW~BW~
"I repeat, this is not a drill!"went a voice over the intercom, firm, with the undercurrent of panic.
The Doctor struggled, turning the direction of the camera. He felt the fury of the Oncoming Storm rage in his eyes, and he felt his chest heave from the strain of the body scans. He was drenched in sweat and his hearts were roaring in his ears. The last of the Daleks and the last of the Time-Lords he thought bitterly, with an entire compound of stupid apes caught in the crossfire...
And Rose.
"Release me if you want to live."he growled.
His metal restraints opened, and he dropped to the ground in a steady crouch. He stood, fast, the doors opened as he raced for them, grabbing his jumper and jacket as a near after thought. A set of guards escorted him to an office, full of computer monitors, Van Statten and the woman who tried to shut him up, Goddard, were looking at the screens, barking orders into their head setts. He growled to announce his arrival, and the apes jumped as he prowled towards him. They both shrank back.
"That thing is created to kill. It mission is to conquer and destroy anything that isn't Dalek. It will destroy the compound in less than an hour, and the entire planet less than a year. We have find a way to contain it."he said sharply.
Both Goddard and Van Statten looked at him in surprise.
"We didn't know!"protested the woman.
He grinned at them. It was not kind.
"That's the entire thing, isn't it, you don't know. You didn't even think to know. All you stupid apes are the same. And know you placed everyone in danger over your arrogance."
Van Satten simply grinned. It wasn't grim. It wasn't afraid. It was just cocky.
"Already taken care of." he gestured to the screen.
"I've sealed the compartment. It can't get out, that lock's got a billion combinations. The girl... She didn't move."said a guard, and he sounded remorseful.
The Doctor froze.
He spun sharply around towards the monitor the man indicated. Rose was there, of course she was, on the floor but still sitting up. Not dead. But in the Cage. A dead body not two feet away from her and a Dalek that was fiddling with the computers. Jeopardy friendly at the worst of times. And he also knew something that had his hearts leaping into his throats and wanting to scream and rage and kill the bloody apes that made this happen. He spun around, looking Van Statten straight in the eye and snarled at him.
She smiled with her tongue-in-teeth with sparkling eyes that warmed him to his hearts. She held his hand and somehow he couldn't bare the thought of his hand staying empty. She was only nineteen and yet she was so wise.
She was...
"The Daleks a genius. It can calculate a billion combinations in one second flat. That door is nothing but a mild annoyance. Open the doors, and... Get. Her. Out. Of. There. Give her a chance to run."he hissed.
Van Statten shook his head, eyes narrowing.
"We can't. If this Dalek is as deadly as you say then you risk the entire base for one person."
The Doctor growled, and turned to the boy, A something, as he came into the office, pale and breathing heavily.
"You left her there."he hissed, and the boy lifted her arms in defense.
"She didn't move!"he protested.
Wrong answer. He stalked forward. One voice stopped him from throttling the imbecilic, cowardly, idiotic thing that called itself human.
"Doctor? Doctor can you hear me?"it was Rose and her voice was steady, shaky but steady.
He spun back, nearly tripping over his feet to look at the screen again. There she was, eyes wide, still alive, and looking at the camera above her. He snatched the head set off of Van Statten, lifting it to his own, and switched to the appropriate channel.
"Rose?"
At his voice, the Dalek whipped around, screaming;
"The Daleks survive in me!"
Rose didn't flinch, didn't move, as several lasers went off around her. She didn't even turn around. She took a deep, measured breathe as she looked at the camera. The Dalek rolled forward next to Rose.
"I shall speak only to the Doctor."it cried.
He trembled, eyes narrowing in fury.
"You're going to get rusty."he seethed.
"I fed off the DNA of Rose Tyler. Extrapolating the biomass of a time traveler regenerated me."it replied.
Rose closed her eyes, face pained.
"Doctor, its my fault. I'm sorry."
"SI-LENCE!"
The Doctor sucked in his breathe as it shot a laser, efficiently smashing a piece of the doors clean off.
"What's your next trick?"he said, and though he sounded calm, all the Doctor could feel was rage.
"I have been searching for the Daleks."it said.
"Yeah, I saw. downloading the internet. What did you find?"
"I scanned your satellites and radio telescopes."it continued, ignoring his question.
"And?"
The Dalek paused, seemingly to hesitate.
"Nothing. Where shall I get my orders now?"
"You're just a soldier without commands."
The Dalek hesitated again.
"Then I shall follow the Primary Order, the Dalek instinct to destroy, to conquer."
The Doctor laughed, shaking his head.
"What for? What's the point? Don't you see it's all gone? Everything you were, everything you stood for."and he hated how much of his own pain was in that statement.
"Then what should I do?"
The Doctor grinned, savagely.
"All right, then. If you want orders, follow this one. Kill yourself."he snarled.
The Dalek shook, blasting laser after laser out in a steady stream in front of it.
"The Daleks must survive! And you do not command me Doc-Tor!"
"The Daleks have failed! Why don't you finish the job and make the Daleks extinct. Rid the Universe of your filth. Why don't you just die?"
Silence met his desperate yells. Then, almost smugly, its said:
"You would make a good Dalek."
It turned towards Rose, and the Doctor felt his hearts stop as it started to move towards her.
"Doctor, don't you dare blame yourself. Do you hear me? Don't you dare. Tell my mum and Micks that I love them... And do you know what? I wouldn't have missed it for the world."she said, and again, of course, Rose Tyler said this with a voice so sure, so honest and NO-
"EXTERMINATE!"
And its blasted weapon went off. And the Doctor's hearts stopped.
"I killed her."he whispered, horrifyingly.
His head fell to his hands. And he thought of everything they had been through together in the past few months. Her laughing, her eagerness to save other's... Her acceptance of his hand in his... She was only nineteen. A hand settled tentatively on his shoulder.
"I'm sorry."it was Van Statten, and his hand was wrong. It wasn't small nor warm enough nor did it feel right on him.
He moved, so fast that it caused the arrogant man to stumble backwards.
"I said I'd protect her. She was only here because of me, and you're sorry? I could've killed that Dalek in it's cell, but you stopped me."
He stalked forward, grabbing the lapels of his idiotically expensive suit, dragging the man forward with ease and trembling violently. He didn't know if it was him or Van Statten. But he did know he could shake him, sharply and with his superior strength. Because she was only nineteen and he had known her so little, and it wasn't meant to be that way he wanted to show her- And NO.
"It was the prize of my collection!"screamed the man.
And the Doctor laughed. Long and hard. He threw the man towards the wall, satisfied when he heard the wind knock out of him and the sound of his wrist bone snapping as he landed on it. He cried out, and the Doctor hissed:
"Your collection? But was it worth it? Worth Rose? Worth the life of everyone here? Because it won't stop, it'll crawl over her corpse, and she was just a girl, and leave. It can process faster than you believe and it will not stop until everything it sees dead. Let me tell you something, Van Statten. Mankind goes into space to explore, to be part of something greater."
The man on the floor hissed, eyes gleaming in pain and fury.
"Exactly! I wanted to touch the stars!"
The Doctor shook his head.
"You just want to drag the stars down and stick them underground, underneath tons of sand and dirt, and label them. You're about as far from the stars as you can get. And you took her down with you. She was nineteen years old." he said, and he wanted to rage at the universe because-
"And she's still alive."said Adam, eyes wide. The Doctor whipped back to the screen.
Rose was standing. The Dalek inches from her. The Doctor breathed, lunging towards the screen.
"Go on then, kill me."she said, and of course, only Rose Tyler could keep her voice steady as she goaded in the face of a bloody Dalek.
"I am armed. I will kill. It is my purpose."
She smiled. It was closed lips, and even through the grainy video feed the Doctor knew it was a hard smile.
"And now what? What're you waiting for?"
The Dalek didn't move.
"You are not afraid."it said after a moment. Rose snorts.
"Of course I'm afraid. What do you expect? For me to be happy? You killed that man and now it's my turn."and she sounds angry but not afraid like the she suggests.
"Daleks do not fear. Must not fear."
It gave off two more shots, this time on either side of the girl. If she had even flinched for a fraction of a second, she would be dead.
"You gave me life. What else have you given me? I am contaminated."it cried, and it flailed back, moving quickly away from the human girl.
She merely took a step forward, right at its heels.
" You said you took my DNA yeah? Well, I gave you more than that. I gave you part of me. Feel that? That's humanity, my humanity."she said softly.
"Rose?"asked the Doctor, voice pained as he put it through the PA system.
"Can't get rid of me."
And he found himself smiling and why was she so... Rose?
"I thought you were dead."he confessed.
"Still kickin'"she teased.
The Dalek advanced again.
"I MUST KILL YOU."
"Why? I'm begging you, don't kill. You can't seem to kill me. Why kill beyond all those you've already slaughtered?"she said this calmly, firm. A tone no one could argue with.
"But why not? Why are you alive? My function is to kill. What am I? What am I?"
It swiveled on its access, twirling around and shooting its lasers everywhere and anywhere. Several pieces of its former Cage fell to the ground in a massive swirl of super heated concrete and molten metal.
"You took DNA from me. I am human. I do more than kill. All that is your own doing."
"EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE!"
But still, no lasers flew, at least, not into Rose. The Doctor released the breathe her didn't realize he had been holding.
"What am I?"it repeated, and even then it sounded pitiful.
Rose smiled.
"A new being. Somethin' different. So, tell me, Dalek, what do you want to do?"
"I... I do not know. I have no purpose. No orders. No urge to exterminate."
"Follow me then. I'll give you purpose. Doctor... Doctor make sure no one interferes, clear my way. All the way to the ground floor."
"Rose what are you doing?"
She glanced at the camera, and though he couldn't see it through the grainy video, the Doctor thought that perhaps she looked to be agonized.
"Rose-"
"Do you trust me?"she asked, begging really.
Even though she couldn't see, he nodded;
"Yes."
"Than I'll see you soon, Doctor."
The Dalek came in behind her. Arm raised. The camera exploded and the Doctor jumped away from the screen, turning towards the three stunned apes.
"Do as she says."he snapped.
The scrambled about, barking orders and then they gave the go ahead to the Cage, not knowing if Rose or the Dalek could hear them. He didn't care.
"You have any weapons?"he snarled, hearts beating at a rapid pace, threatening to give his cardiac arrest. Because she was in danger...
She couldn't die.
He had to save her from the monster.
~BW~DW~BW~DW~BW~
"You're out. You made it. And there, that's sunlight. That's what I can give you."she said gently, admiring the feel of it from the hole the Dalek had blasted into the roof.
It was warm, dry, because it was Utah, and felt great on her skin after being in a sort of clammy sweat the last couple of hours.
"How does it feel?"asked the Dalek.
She smiled, and turned to him, voice soft;
"Wonderful."
The Dalek opened its middle and dome sections to reveal its true self. It was even more pitiful than what she remembered. It was gasping, twitching, its one eye blood-shot and wary. It breathed for a beat, harsh and fast. It held out a tendril. Biting back her disgust, Rose walked forward, arm extended. It felt cold, covered in a thin layer of slime. But it was steady and its grip was surprisingly strong. She squeezed back, and the Dalek gave a gasp.
"Get out of the way. Rose, get out of the way now!"thundered the Doctor.
Rose paused, looking back to see him. In his arms was a gun. She shivered, watching the man that hated guns above near anything else wield one was almost too much. He barred down on them, lifting the gun with the ease of a solider. Because that was what he had been not to long ago... But it wasn't what he was now. It wasn't what he wanted to be. And that was what mattered. She shook her head sadly at him.
"No. I won't let you do this."
He growled, eyes flashing with the Oncoming Storm. She had no reason to fear it. Because it was also the man she loved.
"That thing killed all of its wretched life!"
She gave him a sad smile.
"It's not the one pointing the gun at me."
The Doctor faltered, blinking at her words, before he narrowed his eyes. But he did lower the gun slightly.
"I've got to do this. I've got to end it. The Daleks destroyed my home, my people. I've got nothing left."
And as he ranted it was as if he was trying to convince himself. She frowned at him, and shook her head.
"Look at it."she asked of him, begged of him.
The Doctor looked straight at her for a fraction of second. Seemingly taking her all in before he turned his steely gaze to the Dalek. How it was curled around her hand, it's breathing labor and the most horribly, weak thing anyone could imagine. He blinked rapidly, brows furrowing. The gun lowered another fraction.
"What's it doing?"he asked, and he sounded so scared. So small.
The fury of the Storm was going, dying in the howl and pleading of the Wolf. She looked away from him, towards that warm, hot sun on both her and the Dalek. It felt so good. Like breathing again after nearly drowning.
"It's the sunlight, that's all it wants. To feel."she whispered.
The Dalek gave a squeeze to her fingers, and she returned the gesture.
"But it can't."
"It couldn't kill me. It's changing. What about you, Doctor? What the hell are you changing into?"
He blinked again, the gun clattering to the ground as his face twisted. She felt her own heart twist, and she wanted nothing but to hold him. But she didn't dare move. Because he wasn't the only lost thing in the room. Not this time.
"I couldn't. I wasn't. Oh, Rose. They're all dead."he said, and he sounded so horrified and so guilty.
"Yes, your people are dead. But so are Dalek's."
The Doctor stared, face ashed. Ashamed. Hurt. In agony. She breached the distant between them, one hand on the Dalek, the other on the Doctor. She was a bridge then, between the two enemies of the Time War. The Doctor shuddered. And so did the Dalek. Disgust or shame, or grief? Rose didn't know. It could be one of those or all of those, or even none of those. She knew she could never understand it. All she could do was hold on to them both.
"Why do we survive?"the Dalek breathed, voice soft and a deadly whisper.
The Doctor gave a wet chuckle, looking at what was his people's enemy and looked so hurt and so many things that she could never understand.
"I don't know."
And he sounded as if he honestly didn't.
"I am the last of the Daleks."
The Doctor shook his head, looking at the Dalek with something that was different from disgust or horror.
"You're not even that. Rose did more than regenerate you. You've absorbed her DNA. You're mutating. Just as she said."
Silence met that.
"Into what?" it asked finally, and it sounded as if it wanted the answers and at the same time didn't.
"Something new. I'm sorry."
And he did sound sorry. The Doctor sounded sorry and horrified at its behalf.
"I can feel so many ideas. So much light. Like there's something of the Wolf in me... It like the sun burns inside me. I cannot survive it... I will burn. And it will be beyond any agony. Rose, give me orders. Order me to die."
Once upon a time, Rose has hesitated. Once upon a time, she knew for sure that the Dalek had not said that. Not for the first time, Rose wondered just exactly coming back to rewrite her time-line had done to her. Really, what had it done to her? It had already affected her mentally: it was as if she was in constant flux. At one moment she thought herself as the woman that had died in Pete's World surrounded by people she loved, the next she was that girl that wanted nothing more than to touch the stars or find something to make her more than just a simple shop-girl, but mostly she found herself at a middle ground between the two. Now with this... With what Gwyn had said, she felt herself shuddering...
"You could live. You could explore what you have become. Give the humanity in a chance."she said after a long moment, and it was whispered. She said it without much hope but maybe...
Just maybe?
"Why?"and it sounded both dishearten and horrified by the very idea. Well, as much as a Dalek-human hybrid could sound any emotion.
"Because the feel of the sun is only the tip of the ice burg. You could live something beautiful."
It made a rasping sound. At first she thought she had touched it the wrong way until she realized that it was as close as to a chuckle as it would ever give.
"This is not life. This is sickness. I shall not be like you. I cannot hold this sun, this howling inside of me. I have not the strength. Order my destruction! Have mercy. Obey! Obey!Obey! "it pleaded, ardently.
Rose sighed, squeezing its tentacle again.
"Is that what you wish?"
"Yes."
She closed her eyes, feeling tears in its eyes as it squeezed her hand again.
"Then I obey. Exterminate." she whispered, and she felt as the Dalek shuddered in relief.
The Doctor grabbed her around the waist, dragging her back. She let her fingertips linger and stretched so as to not lose contact. Because it had her inside it, and she knew, without a doubt if she had been in its place she would have wanted nothing but to be held until she died. She had appreciated the gesture herself when she had died, even if she hadn't exactly felt it, after all. And though she couldn't be with it during the explosion, she could extend the contact as much as she could. It returned the gesture.
"Are you frightened, Rose Tyler?"
"Yes."
The Dalek gave something close to a sob.
"I am as well. Exterminate."
It closed its eyes, breathe harsh and faster. The Doctor pulled her father back, and Rose watched as it retreated, curling into itself as if it was trying to hug itself but didn't quite know how to do it. The Dalek's armor closed, and it rose steadily into the air. The balls on its lower body spread out around it, creating a soft, glowing force field. She trembled, biting her lip to hold back a sob as it exploded.
~BW~DW~BW~DW~BW~
"A little piece of home. Better than nothing."said the Doctor softly.
They were walking towards the TARDIS, side by side. They hadn't really said a word. Not to each other, and no one on their way over here had dared stop them. Rose didn't know what to make of the awe that followed them. For one, it hadn't been just directed at the Doctor. But at her too, just her. Rose Tyler, and even after all she had done it amazed her and made her nervous. Once upon a time that was all she had wanted was that, adoration and awe, but she had long grown past that.
"Are you alright? With what happened I mean?"she asked him carefully.
He gave a smile. It didn't reach his eyes. No, they were flat, near dead. His grip on her hand tightened, and she could feel the tension in him.
"I'm the only one left. I win. How about that? "he said this cheerfully. But it didn't reflect in any other part of him, not his posture, the stiff grin on his face or his dead eyes.
She curled herself into him, ignoring how he grew stiff. She placed her arm around his waist, and leaned against his chest. She didn't look at him. She knew he wouldn't want her to. Not then. Hesitantly, he placed his arm around her shoulders.
"No one really wins. Not really."
He didn't respond to that, only gave a soft sigh that vibrated throughout his chest.
"The Dalek survived. Maybe someone else. Maybe another Time-Lord. Or Lady."she said softly.
It was a slim chance, but considering how many Daleks had managed to claw their way through the wood works, she knew that their might be someone else out there.
"I'd know. In here.", the Doctor lifted his arm, and she knew it was so he could tap his head with his finger, "Feels like there's no one."
"There's me."she whispered, and she squeezed his waist.
He, gently, as if he was afraid he would hurt her if he did it too harshly, squeezed her shoulders.
"Yeah."
They made it to the TARDIS, just as Adam ran up, chest heaving. The Doctor made to move away, but Rose held fast. The boy gave a double take, but shrugged it off.
"We'd better get out. Van Statten's disappeared. They're closing down the base. Goddard says
they're going to fill it full of cement, like it never existed."he said, huffing and puffing.
He must have ran faster than last time because he was winded, bending over to rest his hands on his knees as he caught his breathe. She smiled. It was more than a little vicious.
"About time."she said fiercely.
The self proclaimed genius straightened up, looking depressed.
"I'll have to go back home."he whined, and to Rose he looked like a five year old that had been put in time out.
'Pretty' boy or not, that was very unattractive. God, if she could smack her younger self for buying into him the first time around she would.
"Better hurry up then. Next flight to Heathrow leaves at fifteen hundred hours."said the Doctor smartly, and he unwound himself from Rose's grip to unlock the TARDIS. He turned away from Adam.
"What're you talking about? We've got to leave. Rose, Doctor, leave the box!"he said, and he sounded harassed and irritated.
The Doctor gave an amused chuckle. It wasn't exactly kind.
"I knew it, he's a bit pretty to understand the TARDIS."
Rose laughed.
"Really? I hadn't noticed. Come on, let's get out of here."
The Doctor went in first, and she made to follow but Adam grabbed her arm, rather tightly in fact.
"What're you doing? She said cement. She wasn't joking. We're going to get sealed in."he said, urgently, tugging.
Carefully, she pried his fingers off, twisting a little harder than necessary. Call it a petty, and call it bias, but his greed had nearly gotten her killed the first time around after all. And Rose was nothing if human.
"Bye Adam, better get out of here!"said Rose sternly, dropping his hand, and wrinkling her nose at him as he cried out in pain.
"Doctor? What're you doing standing inside a box? Rose?"
She went in, and closed the door behind her with a purposeful shove. Watching from the monitor, Rose saw as Adam hesitated, pounding on the door for them to leave. She rolled her eyes, even if she appreciated the fact that he wasn't a complete prat to leaved them to drown in cement and walked back over, opened the door. He stared, and she wondered if he wasn't such a grubby handed boy if he would have become something great among the stars. She was just glad that in his life time he would never get the chance. Or at least he wouldn't get the chance until he matured. He gaped at the glimpse at the sight of the inside of the TARDIS.
"Adam, it's been wonderful, but kindly get out of the way from our flight path."
"It's bigger on the inside."he said, and he sounded dumb founded.
She grinned.
"Ta, go on, off to your mum and dad and beans and toast. I got enough genius in the ship with him."
With that she shut the door, went to the monitor, watching as the boy gaped before he backed up. The Doctor started his dance 'round the Console, and she watched as Adam scrambled away from it as they went into the Vortex. It wasn't until they were in the Vortex did the she speak again.
"I see why you play the all knowing mysterious man. That was fun."she mused, hopping onto the jump seat as the Doctor steadied them.
"I'd almost think you were going to ask him to come along."mentioned the Doctor, brow raised.
Rose snorted. Again, she might have to repeat this chapter in her life, but it didn't mean she'd have to repeat stupidity. She was sure Adam had his good points beyond his genius and his fit form, but she also saw his arrogance. His ego. His superiority. His greed that made him fit too well with the likes of Van Stettan. So no, Rose was not going to invite him along this time. It just wasn't worth nearly getting eaten or zapped on Satellite Five. Even if it did merit the man learning to truly think before he acted, she doubted many people were going to escape this horrible place with their memories intact. Genius or not.
"Him? The fact that he was working for Van Statten himself? Nah, besides, I already have enough ego with you on the ship."
"Oi!"
She grinned.
"Really, I'm fine with just us."
Porrco, no doubt bored and grumpy from being alone for the past couple of hours, snorted, and butted her leg. She reached down to scratch him carefully behind the ears.
"Sorry, Porrco. I meant the three of us."
Of course, that was when the TARDIS gave an irradiated hum. She hummed back, amused, and thought that the TARDIS was of course included as well. It wasn't as if they could do anything without her! She gave Rose a satisfied hum at the thought.
"Really?"
He looked as if he didn't believe her, brows raised at her. She smiled, tongue-in-teeth.
"Really."
He grinned, his whole face lighting up like when he had seen the nebula.
"Fantastic!"
And it was.
AN: I do not own any shape or form of Doctor Who, all of its rights go to its broadcasting and publishing companies, and all the faces go to the thespians who kindly give life to these stories.
On that note, I haven't slept in over twenty-four hours but that's what happens when inspiration hits, so excuse the fact that I might ramble.
Anywho, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and get a kick out of Rose being a bit of bitch towards Adam. Despite the fact that he hasn't done anything to her in this time-line, and that Rose is older, and more mature, she has been known how to hold a grudge over guys that cross her. 'Cause yeah. I got a kick out of writing it at least.
Funny-ingly enough, I thought this chapter was going to be much shorter than it was because I cut a lot of scenes that I felt were unnecessary in the terms of flow, but of course things never go as plan and Rose and the Doctor have to think. Yesh. Well, at least I got it done at only 12569 words c; ... Imagine if I hadn't cut the scenes (ToT).
Again, I hope you enjoy, feel free to leave your thoughts and questions in reviews, PMs, ect.
~Peace,
Moon Witch '96
P.S. WHOOOOO THANK YOU for 100 REVIEWS! YOU GUYS KICK-ARSE! Number 100 goes to lylyevans! Also thanks to the 375 followers(welcome to the cult of Blooming Again C^.^). No but seriously I know followers is from Twiter and stuff but it still seems a bit culty. Fan-fiction. net what is your agenda?!), and 209 faves!
P.P.S. You guys want me to cut straight to The Long Game or add another 'bits' in between chapter?
