The Christmas Reunion

Chapter Seven: Mending the Rip

By Lumendea

Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any spinoff material, and I gain no income from this story, just the satisfaction of playing with the characters.

AN: Happy New Year. My prior two wishes for the new year haven't aged well, so I'll just say have a great day.

….

Shouting and the sounds of machines down below did nothing to calm Rose as the rip churned and sputtered. Occasionally, in the corner of her eyes, she caught sight of small transport ships rising out of the streets. That much was reassuring. So far, the neverweres hadn't made it far, but that could easily change. Susan was talking off and on with different people on her futuristic mobile, allowing Rose to catch bits and pieces of the conversation.

"Yes, I know that the anomaly is," Susan told someone calmly. "And it is being dealt with, Chancellor, I assure you." There was a pause, and Susan signed. "No, I'm not going to tell you everything right now, but an old ally of Earth has arrived to help. I give you my personal assurance that things are in hand."

Rose smirked despite the situation. This call sounded very similar to some that she'd been on in the past. Then she shivered and groaned. The cold was painful now, and she was gritting her teeth to stay standing. Being so close to the open tear was pulling at her in a way these sorts of things never had before. She kept it to herself. It was probably a Guardian thing, and there was little chance Susan would be able to help.

"Are you sure they won't come up and investigate?" Rose asked Susan as she heard the woman end the call.

"I'm sure," Susan answered with a hint of pride in her voice. "They don't know that I'm not human, but I am regarded as an expert."

"Oh?"

"Grandfather doesn't know everything I've been up to," Susan replied. "It was interesting, during the rebuilding and reorganization years, to find the old UNIT files."

That made Rose laugh. "Yes, I suppose those would still be around for you, wouldn't they."

"Yes, damaged a bit, but they were available to me," Susan agreed. "Thankfully, if UNIT had any records regarding me, they didn't survive the Dalek Invasion." Susan chuckled. "Now I think about it; I'm guessing that Agent Thorn is you."

"Uh… yes," Rose admitted. "Though, some of what is in those files might not have happened to me yet. Is my name not in them?"

"Lots of the information regarding Grandfather and I suppose you are encrypted. I left it alone back when I was in charge, though I suppose it has probably been decrypted by this point."

"That makes sense," Rose sighed. "An arc ship for humans thousands of years from now was able to identify me, so records from my time will make it through."

"It is amazing," Susan said softly. "What survives."

"Yes," Rose replied. It helped her, thinking forward to all the species that would survive out in the universe after the Earth died. It didn't make up for the lives and worlds lost to the Time War, that wasn't how it worked, but it helped. "It is."

Rose knew that was true, she knew it in her blood and bones, but that didn't make all the loss go away. Then again, that was how it always worked at the highest cosmic tier or the personal level. She held back a groan and tried to calm her whirling mind. The last thing they needed was her abilities causing another strange event.

"Did you read about your Grandfather with UNIT?" Rose asked.

"Some of it," Susan answered. "But it was difficult. All of that was from a human perspective. No matter how long I live here, how many holidays and milestones I join in on, there's a part of me that still sees things from a Gallifreyan perspective."

"That's understandable," Rose answered. She still didn't dare turn to look at Susan and wondered what expression she might have on her face. "I think I'll always carry some of Earth during my home era with me."

There was a long silence, and this time it wasn't comfortable. Rose could feel the weight of Susan's gaze and hoped that the woman would just ask the questions she wanted to. Denying the Doctor's grandchild… her step-granddaughter anything seemed wrong, but at least they could mark that hurdle off. The whine of the rip changed and Rose returned her attention to it was a frown.

"Susan, I think more are coming," Rose announced. "Stay back."

That was all the warning Rose was able to give. She didn't even have time to worry about how she could feel the rip changing all of a sudden. Probably a Guarding self-defence thing, like the mental shields against the living star and Cassandra. Inhaling slowly, Rose brought up her sword and shifted her right leg back.

Three neverweres came tumbling out. One caught itself quickly and opened its mouth, releasing a jumble of words that were horribly distorted. It looked at Rose, those glowing eyes finding hers easily. Then came the images of its life. Its planet had a violet sky as the sun rose. Two moons hung low and much closer to the planet than Earth's did. They reflected the light of the star and glittered in the twilight. A scent of wood smoke filled Rose's nose, and she heard singing.

"Rose!" Susan's cry pulled her back, and Rose moved the blade as the neverwere reached for her.

"I'm sorry," Rose whispered. "I can't let your pain destroy others."

Thrust, swing, slash. Rose's body moved with all of its practised grace even while Rose's mind struggled to function. The overwhelming pain and grief tore at her, just the same as the rip was tearing at time. The first neverwere was destroyed by the sword. She'd never asked the White Guardian about that. The swords had been made to fight Eternals, not creatures that never were. But then again, maybe their shared existence of being outside of Time was enough. Either way, Rose both hated it and was grateful for it as she sliced through the creatures.

Weakness shook her limbs as a neverwere reached for her. The chill was worse, and Rose's vision blurred. She stumbled back and swung blindly. It was enough. She heard the shriek and flinched. Shaking her head, Rose exhaled and blinked to clear her eyes. There were no neverweres in sight.

"Susan? You okay?" Rose asked.

"I'm fine," Susan replied with only the slight quiver in her voice. "We're lucky that you can stop them. But… maybe you should use the disrupter next time. It seems to be taking a toll on you."

Rose couldn't argue with that, but she hesitated to burn through the disrupter. If Susan couldn't repair it quickly, then they may find themselves having to retreat and allowing the neverweres more freedom. Rose preferred keeping them contained to the roof and the roof only.

The door to the roof opened with a bang, and Rose spun around on instinct. It was the Doctor, and she immediately relaxed out of relief. The soft whine of the rip and the echoing scream took a temporary backseat in Rose's mind, and she was grateful for the moment of rest.

"Doctor," Rose greeted with a grateful smile. In his arms, he was carrying a rather crude looking device, but Rose had faith that it would do its job.

Whining from behind her quickly drew Rose's attention back to the rip. She listened to the Doctor join Susan and get a quick rundown of events from her.

"So only two waves of Neverweres?" the Doctor repeated. "Good, that's good." He huffed. "Got stopped by the evacuation teams."

"Sorry," Susan said. "They're doing their jobs."

"Psychic paper?" Rose guessed.

"Yep," he replied with a happier tone. Rose smiled at that. "You alright, Rose?"

"Worried," Rose admitted. "But holding up." There was no reason to tell him about the unsettled feeling. "Do you have a plan?"

"I was able to cobble together a new temporal manipulator," the Doctor answered. "Gave it a starting charge from the TARDIS, but it'll need to sync up with the energy pattern of the rip. Won't take long, and we can stitch it back together."

"Excellent," Susan breathed, her voice ringing with relief. "That's good to hear." She immediately joined her grandfather near the rip, but the Doctor waved her back.

"You best keep some distance, Susan," the Doctor said. "You may be Gallifreyan, but there's a lot of warping time this close to the rip. Better stay back until the signal is clear."

"And Rose?" Susan asked, glancing in Rose's direction.

The Doctor looked up at Rose with a thoughtful frown.

"I was next to it in the past," Rose said. "When you closed the other rip."

"Yeah, but I probably assumed you were just a human," the Doctor grumbled.

"I doubt you assumed such a thing," Rose laughed despite the situation. "I'll be fine. Besides, I need to stay on guard for more Neverweres."

"If you start feeling sick or-"

"I'll move back if I need to," Rose assured the Doctor. "You do what you need to do. I want to go inside and enjoy the holiday." She offered the Doctor a small smile. "So don't waste time."

"True," Susan said. "Dinner is still cooking back at my flat. The oven won't let it burn, but I think finishing this is an excellent idea."

The Doctor huffed and knelt down to set up his machine. Rose eyed it curiously, but it looked more like a collection of junk shoved into part of an old appliance. There were a couple of lights that had been fused to the side, and one of them lit up red, making the Doctor nod so clearly it had meaning to him. Rose would never have been able to use it, but she had faith in the Doctor's technical abilities, even when under pressure.

Suddenly, that same odd

feeling overtook Rose, and she looked back to the rip as half a dozen neverweres came clawing out. Gibberish fell from their mouths, along with distorted screams and animalistic snarls. Too many were the first thought in Rose's head as she caught sight of more trying to escape through the rip. Stepping forward, Rose swung her sword, catching two of the neverweres as she shifted towards the distrupter.

But then a neverwere stumbled into the disrupter before Rose could stop it. The device fell over and sparked. Susan made a sound of alarm and rushed forward. Swinging her sword, Rose sliced through the neverwere and the one beside it, clearing the way for Susan. The Gallifreyan woman righted the disrupter and began to fuss with it, but there was no time.

"Susan, get back!" Rose shouted.

Another neverwere launched itself towards Susan. Rose jumped ahead of her and cut through the creature, gritting her teeth as more images poured into her head. She held back an alien curse she'd picked up from the Doctor. She already had decades worth of lives that weren't her own in her head; did she really need more?

Their planet had been beautiful with a brilliant blue sky and stunning warm waters surrounding lush islands. Rose caught glimpses of small domed buildings constructed out of wood, glass, and an unfamiliar metal. And she saw Daleks descending from a burning sky.

Thrusting her sword down into the disrupter, Rose braced herself for the odd sensation, but it didn't come. The disrupter fizzled, sparks jumping off of it around Rose's sword. But the neverweres were still coming. The front line was lunging, and more were stumbling out of the rip in Time. Pulling her sword out of the disrupter, Rose lunged at the neverwere closest to the Doctor. Head pounding and arms shaking, she swung the blade and cut into the shadowy form. Two more neverweres were now focused on her. Slicing at the first, Rose tried to avoid the second.

A freezing hand closed around her arm. The air left Rose's lungs in a sharp exhale. It burned. More images, and this time, a sense of horror and dread filled her that wasn't her own. The neverweres were spreading out, moving towards the Doctor and the edge of the building. She could hear Susan speaking as the woman frantically worked to repair the disrupter. The Doctor shouted her name. The song grew louder. Rose's limbs were suddenly warm despite the bitter chill of the Christmas night. She could hear the scream through the rip and the voices of the families down below being evacuated. Bringing up her arm, Rose stabbed the neverwere holding onto her, fighting her way through the cold, the burn, and the pain. It dissolved, and she could breathe again. Inhaling, Rose gave voice to the only word she could think of.

"Stop!"

Rose gasped; the word had slipped out. While the world didn't stop, everything slowed down. The neverweres were moving at a snail's pace. Time had slowed. Rose shook herself out of her shock and moved. In the corner of her eye, she saw the Doctor watching with wide eyes. Their gazes met, and realization sparked in his blue eyes. He shifted his attention back to the temporal manipulator, leaving the neverweres to Rose.

Swinging her sword, she cut through the first of those who had made it out. They were moving slowly, but already a couple of them were beginning to twist their shadowy forms in an attempt to move away. Her skin burned, and Rose's chest tightened. This was her. It had to be her, but already it was taking a toll. Opening her mouth, Rose tried to call for the White and Black Guardians, but no words came out. A howling filled her head, echoing and thrumming.

Stumbling back, Rose swung her sword again, catching a neverwere in the side. They were speeding up again. There wasn't much time. A high pitched whine erupted nearby though Rose didn't dare turn to look. Two more Neverweres were lunging towards the Doctor and the machine—both humanoid. The shadows betrayed the long hair that both had once had. This time, Rose didn't fight the flood of images but pushed through them.

Her vision was blurred, maybe from pain, maybe from tears or maybe from the nature of the rip. Rose could still make out the dark shapes and struck the first one down before it reached the Doctor. The second shouted at her, its voice distorted and warped beyond the abilities of the TARDIS. Still, Rose heard the echo of pain. She kept moving, catching the slowed neverweres from any anglE she could reach, cutting them down and clearing the way. But the world was speeding up, and more were coming.

Rose looked to the Doctor as the world shuddered. Time snapped back into its proper rhythm, and Rose's knees gave out. Falling to the ground, she caught herself on her hands and inhaled the cold night air. Looking up, she saw the Doctor doing something with the temporal manipulator. She hoped the delay had been enough. She could stand, but Rose twisted around and saw up enough to summon her sword.

The rip seized. The colours churned violently and the scream distorted. Holding her breath, Rose stayed close to the Doctor with her sword at the ready. The hum of the sonic screwdriver was comforting as he made frantic adjustments. Staying silent, Rose ignored the exhausted trembling in her limbs. Whatever power she had used, it had a high price. A strong hand gripped her arm a moment later, helping her stay upright.

"It's alright," the Doctor's warm voice rumbled in her ear. "It's closing."

The pressure was easing, and Rose blinked, clearing her vision. What the Doctor said was true. The vivid colours of the rip were fading, and the churning opening was shrinking. A few feet away, the machine was humming, and the small lights on it were flashing. The Doctor kept hold of her with his left hand, and the sonic screwdriver was pointed at the temporal manipulator in his left hand. Shaking her head, Rose relaxed as her senses returned to normal.

"Rose, are you with us?" the Doctor asked. He was kneeling beside her and gently turning her face towards him and away from the closing rip. "Can you hear me?"

"Yeah," Rose breathed. "I hear you." With a groan, she leaned against the Doctor's chest and smiled when he wrapped his arms around her.