Unto the Universe
Chapter Fourteen: The Doctor's Wife: House
By Lumendea
….
The Doctor had no idea what Rose was talking about when she announced that the madwoman was the TARDIS. He trusted her, of course, but his Time Lord brain immediately rejected the notion as impossible. The woman must have been doing something to confuse Rose. And yet, the woman called Rose "her Wolf," which could only be a reference to Bad Wolf and what had happened.
Maybe, just maybe, it would be possible for Rose to know the TARDIS. After all, the TARDIS had been Rose's conduit to the Time Vortex. Rose kept her eyes on the three figures, and he noted that the Ood was completely silent. It was a standoff, and he wasn't sure what Rose was waiting for.
"I'm…" the woman said behind her. "What is the word… It's a big word. Sad word. Important word to you, my Wolf."
"Lots of words are important to me," Rose replied. She eyed the others. "Why is our TARDIS in a human body? Why did you drain the Matrix?"
"We mean no harm," the male, Uncle, said calmly. "Come with us. You can see the House, and he can explain to you. He fixes things that fall here."
"There was nothing wrong with the TARDIS," Rose said firmly.
"Yes, yes," the woman laughed. "I'm Gorgeous."
"You are," Rose agreed, and the Doctor was once again thoughtfully that maybe she was right.
"You think he was trying to fix the TARDIS?" the Doctor asks. It is a difficult thing for him to believe, but then again, it wouldn't the strangest thing.
"He doesn't believe I'm me," the woman pouted, poking Rose. She looked at the Doctor. "I'm the TARDIS. Time And Relative Dimension In Space. Yes, that's it. Names are funny, aren't they?"
"It isn't possible."
"A Type Forty Tardis. I was already a museum piece when you were young, and the first time you touched my console, you said-"
"I said you were the most beautiful thing I had ever known," the Doctor said. He wanted to be dismissive, but the memory warmed him, and a smile tugged at his lips.
"And then you stole me," the woman laughed. "And I stole you."
"I borrowed the TARDIS," the Doctor said.
"Borrowing implies the intention to return the thing that was taken. What makes you think I would ever give you back?" The woman was beaming at him knowingly, and Rose was smiling, though she hadn't taken her eyes off the Aunt, Uncle, and Nephew.
The Doctor stared at her. His eyes met hers, and he suddenly knew exactly what Rose had seen. His clever girl, always seeing the truth in the small details no matter how much others tried to hide it. The revelation filled him with awe and glee, but then an immediate rush of worry.
"What did you do to her?" he demanded, whirling on the Uncle, Aunt, and Nephew. "You've trapped her in a human body!"
"So, it is the TARDIS?" Jack laughed. He blinked in surprise and then smiled at the TARDIS. "Charming to meet you properly."
"Oh, the dying one," the TARDIS laughed.
"What?" Jack asked, eyes widening. "Uh… that's how you know me?"
"Of course, oh wait, not yet." The TARDIS blinked and shook her head. "That's the future. Don't worry; you always get back up."
The Doctor had no idea what to think, and Jack had gone pale. Rose, on the other hand, looked uncomfortable but calm. Too calm. What did the TARDIS mean? She seemed to know. It was dangerous, he shouldn't be wondering, but he was.
"Gorgeous," Rose said softly. "Careful of spoilers. We need to get you back into your body."
"I don't see Time like you," the TARDIS grumbled. "You only see one thing at a time. I see all of it at once. There are no spoilers."
"House can explain," Auntie said, cutting into the conversation. "House will help you. Come with us."
"You were trying to grab the TARDIS," Rose said, glaring at them.
"She was wild and shouting strange things," Uncle said. "Bit nephew when she woke. We thought she might harm you."
"Yes, please," Auntie said. "Come with us. House will help, and House will explain."
"Can House not come to us?" the Doctor asked.
"House is already here," Auntie said, a flicker of a smile on her face that was quickly gone. "House is all around us."
The Doctor frowned and looked around before nodding. "I see," the Doctor said slowly. "This asteroid is sentient."
"We walk on his back, breathe his air, eat his food," Auntie explained with a reverence that rubbed Rose the wrong way. She kept a tight hold on the TARDIS's hand, unwilling to risk allowing the unstable woman to wander off.
"Shall we go and meet our host?" the Doctor asked. He cast a look at Rose. She wasn't happy with the idea but didn't object. "After all, no one has attacked us yet."
Her frown deepened, and the… the TARDIS tilted her head and considered them. But he had the strange feeling that she wasn't really seeing them. His understanding of the TARDIS was limited, no matter what he might say to Rose and all his companions. They were a strange blend of organic and manufactured. He knew how to fly her, even without the manual, and had done his best to care for her after the Time War, but the inner working of a TARDIS mind was a mystery to him. His TARDIS. In human form. He had no frame of reference for it. The Doctor had never heard of anything like this.
"It's alright," he offered. The Doctor hesitated but held out his hand to the TARDIS and smiled. "We'll stay together."
She wrinkled her nose at him as if he'd said something silly. "Well, of course, we will. You're mine." Reaching out, the TARDIS grabbed the Doctor's arm and pulled him over by her and Rose, keeping herself firmly between them.
….
The darkness felt like a living thing in the corridors of metal. Shivering, Rose stayed close to the TARDIS. Suspicion was tearing at her, and the sick feeling had yet to leave her. They weren't supposed to be here, and Rose couldn't understand how Jack and the Doctor were so calm. The Doctor glanced over at her and the TARDIS.
They were brought into a room with a strange machine that the Doctor eyed. Rose wasn't sure what it was, and the TARDIS made an odd noise as she peered at it. But it didn't hold her interest for long, and she started reaching out to touch the walls. Keeping a grip on the TARDIS with her left hand, Rose pulled her back to her side.
"Don't wander off," Rose murmured.
"You always ignore that rule," the TARDIS pouted.
"So, this is your home?" the Doctor asked their guides.
"Allow us to introduce House," Uncle said.
"House fixed us," Auntie said. There was no expression on her face.
Then another voice came, speaking through Uncle and Auntie as if they are puppets, and Rose considered that perhaps they were. Her grip on the TARDIS's hand tightened, and she glanced over to find the woman tilting her head curiously at them.
"And do my will," the voice said. "You are most welcome, travellers."
"Sentient, talking asteroid," Jack murmured. "That's new."
"Rose and I met an evil talking sun once," the Doctor replied calmly. "Nice to meet you, House. I am the Doctor. I'm getting the impression that you have a hard outer shell. Our presence doesn't harm you, correct?"
"That is correct, Time Lord," House answered formerly. "I am aware of you, but your steps on my outer surface bring me no pain."
"So, you have met Time Lords before?" the Doctor asked. Rose watched him swallow.
"Many travellers have come through the rift, like Auntie and Uncle and Nephew. I repair them when they break."
"So, there are Time Lords here?" the Doctor asked.
"Not anymore, but there have been many TARDISes on my back in days gone by," House answered.
Rose watched the Doctor's eyes flicker. His hands tightened into fists, and the TARDIS made a small sound of distress as his body tensed. The sound seemed to reach the Doctor because he forces himself to relax and sigh.
"I'm afraid that we are an uncommon sight in the universe now," the Doctor answered vaguely. "One of the last Time Lords and last TARDIS."
"A pity. Your people were so kind," House said, the voice echoing around them. "Be here in safety, Doctor. Rest, feed, if you will."
"We're not staying, right?" Jack whispered. "Tell me we aren't staying."
"Seems like a friendly enough planet," the Doctor chided him. "Mind if we take a look around?"
"You can look all you want. Go. Look," Auntie said, keeping her eyes on Rose. "House loves you."
Rose tensed at the words and kept her eyes on the Doctor. Beside her, the TARDIS was inspecting her fingers with curiosity, seemingly unconcerned with the conversation occurring now that the Doctor had calmed a little.
"What did you do to the TARDIS?" Rose asked.
"I sought to fix the mind that fell onto me," House said.
"But you've encountered TARDISes before," Rose pointed out. "You should have known that it didn't belong in another form."
"Indeed," House answered. Rose didn't trust the voice. It sounded like someone scrambling for a good explanation. "What has occurred… was not intentional. It will be fixed."
"What of the person whose body this was?" Rose demanded. "The TARDIS will suppress them to death!" She shivered at her own memories of Cassandra. "It needs to be fixed immediately."
"The mind of that body was gone," House offered. Rose wasn't sure she believed him. "Not all that enter can be fixed. Their parts are stored to help others. The mind of your TARDIS entered one such body. I shall review the equipment at my disposal and summon you when the reversal is ready."
Rose managed not to flinch at the use of the word summon. Her eyes moved to the three figures who were little more than puppets. If they even were more. Rose didn't let go of the TARDIS's hand. The itch to summon her sword was back, and that uneasy and sick feeling was clinging to her. But there was no resistance to them as they wandered down one of the corridors and started looking around. Then again, the TARDIS controls weren't working, and this whole place was alive. It likely was confident that they were trapped. After all, the TARDIS matrix was trapped in a human body.
"What do you think?" Jack asked softly. "Return to the TARDIS-"
"I'm right here," the TARDIS answered cheerfully. "You're the ones that wander off. I stay put."
"Not always," Rose pointed out. "Sometimes you get taken places."
"That is never my fault!" Then the TARDIS giggled. "Oh, you're teasing me. This is how you manage the worry, isn't it? Banter and flirting."
"We need to look around," the Doctor said firmly, showing no signs of amusement. "There are Time Lords here."
"Maybe," Jack sighed. "But do you really want to see them? Given…" he trailed off and waved his hand. "What happened with the Time War?"
"I had to do it," the Doctor said.
"Doctor," Rose said softly. "I don't think there's anyone here, not anymore." She gestured around at the junkyard. "And our TARDIS was ripped out from her body when we arrived. We need to focus on her so we can leave. I don't think she'll last long in a living human body, and despite what House says, I don't think it was an accident."
"Yes, why pull the living soul from a Tardis and pop it in a human body?" the Doctor asked, looking back at the TARDIS. "If it wasn't an accident, then why do that. What does he want with you?"
"It wasn't an accident," Rose said confidently. "If nothing else, it has trapped us here."
"But why trap us?" the Doctor asked. "And where did the message from Corsair come from?"
"I don't know," Rose said. "But, Doctor, it lured us in, and then something bad immediately happened to the TARDIS. How many enemies have tried and failed to time things that perfectly? It was ready for a Time Lord to arrive."
The Doctor ignored the question and looked at the TARDIS. "Why would he want you like this?" the Doctor asked the TARDIS, gesturing at the human body. "You can't access most of your knowledge; you don't have any power-"
"Oh, it doesn't want me," the TARDIS answered. "And my Wolf would call that rude or will call it rude." The TARDIS shook her head. "Rude and not ginger."
"Not yet," Rose said softly. "And what do you mean it doesn't want you? How do you know?"
"House eats Tardises," the TARDIS answered matter of fact.
"House what?" the Doctor's eyes widened. "What do you mean?"
"I don't know." The TARDIS shrugged as if they weren't the middle of a very important conversation. "It's something I heard you say."
"When?" the Doctor asked.
"In the future."
"House eats Tardises?"
"There you go."
Rose laughed, but Jack's expression was serious. "Then we need to find a way to get you back into your proper form and get away from here." The Doctor opened his mouth. "I know a little temporal loop isn't absolute proof, but it fits. It all fits. It would explain why they are using Time Lord distress calls; only Time Lords have TARDISes."
Rose nodded seriously and pushed her amusement at the TARDISes behavior away, Jack was right, and he was staying focused on the danger. She nodded her agreement. "Yes, we need to get away from here." She stepped over to the Doctor and took his hands. "Doctor, I doubt that they willingly allowed House to destroy their TARDISes."
"And remember what he said about parts," Jack added. "You saw those two… humanoids. They were patched together. It might not have been from those who arrived dead."
"Wait, what?" Rose asked.
"Ears didn't match," Jack said. "And one of them had two left feet, literally."
"And one's arm is longer than the other," the Doctor added. "Normally noticing things like that is what you do, Rose."
"I'm a bit distracted," Rose huffed, gesturing at the TARDIS. "We need to go. We need to get the TARDIS back into… well herself!"
"I need to check on the source of the distress signal," the Doctor said. He rubbed his eyes and groaned. "You may be might, I know that you're probably right, I know that! But…"
Rose sighed and nodded, releasing the TARDIS's hand so she could step forward to hug the Doctor. "But your hearts don't know that."
"The boxes will make you angry," the TARDIS warned. "Make you hurt."
The Doctor stopped and looked at the TARDIS. Something like a smile played at the corners of his mouth. "But you know what I'm going to do, don't you?"
The TARDIS tilted her head. "I know what you've done and what you're going to do, yes. But it's all mixed up; I can't keep it clear. Especially not with this little brain."
No one knew what to say to that. Rose desperately hoped that whoever had been in that body had been gone before House did whatever he did. Cassandra had nearly suppressed her to death, triggering some sort of self-defense system when she threatened the Doctor. The size, the weight of a TARDIS must have snuffed out whoever the woman had been at once.
"Come on," the Doctor said gruffly. "Signals are this way. We confirm that there aren't any prisoners and then get out of here."
He turned and stalked away, leaving Rose and Jack hurrying after him, Rose pulling the TARDIS along behind them. The being really didn't seem to understand urgency. Then again, Rose decided, when you were always aware of all time, nothing was urgent. The Doctor led them back towards House's main base, or at least when Uncle, Auntie, and Nephew had taken them. But this time, they entered a narrow corridor away from the main heart of the complex.
"Where are you?" the Doctor asked softly. "Where?"
A small alcove was covered with a ragged curtain. It wasn't much, but it stood out in the mess of metal that was the walls. The Doctor pulled back the curtain to reveal a collection of flickering boxes similar to the one that had led them here. Images were flashing across them, creating the impression of a security control station, but far more eerie to Rose's eyes.
The cubes were all on and sending out messages, voices of those long dead echoing in the room. The Doctor stared at them and was completely silent. Behind him, Jack, Rose, and the TARDIS said nothing. Just distress signals. The Doctor and his shoulders slumped.
"An impressive collection," he said. "No living Time Lords. They're using the Ood, or what's left of the Ood to help broadcast."
"Indeed," Auntie's voice said behind him. They spun to see Auntie smiling at them with Uncle beside her. "House is wise-"
"We've heard your sales pitch," Jack said. He shifted forward, tucking the TARDIS behind him and standing next to Rose. "Not buying."
"You gave me hope," the Doctor said lowly. There wasn't even anger in his voice, and Rose tensed at the tone. "You gave me hope and then took it away. I'm not sure yet what I will do to you for that." The last words were a low growl.
"Poor old Time Lord. Too late," Uncle laughed. "House is too clever."
"Back to the TARDIS," the Doctor snapped. "Hurry!"
"I'm right-"
"Back to your proper body!"
Rose grabbed the TARDIS's hand again and bolted back the way they'd come. Behind them, Uncle, Aunt, and Nephew began to follow while House's deep rolling laughter began to echo around them. When they reached the outside, the Doctor scowled up at the dark sky.
"Eats TARDISes," the Doctor said as he kept walking. "You can't eat a TARDIS; it would destroy you. The Matrix would overwhelm anything that tried to consume it."
"But House removed the TARDIS Matrix," Jack said, gesturing at the TARDIS.
"Exactly, you can't delete something that big and complex. TARDISes, when decommissioned, had to go through a long process and then were essentially put in a retirement field. So House pulled out the Matrix and put it into a living receptacle so that it can safely consume the Artron energy."
"I mostly understood that," Rose sighed.
"I understood all of it," the TARDIS chuckled. "And it is not good. What is not good?"
"Bad," Rose offered.
"Oh yes, but Bad Wolf isn't not good," the TARDIS pointed out.
"Yeah, the name is a bit weird," Rose agreed. "How do we stop it?"
"If we go to the TARDIS, then we're in danger," the Doctor said, finally stopping and turning to look at Rose and the TARDIS. "House is already consuming it."
Jack and Rose looked at each other, and Jack shrugged. "I say we try," Jack said. "Our other option is staying here. We might survive, but we'd have House and his minions to watch out for every second and every day." He nodded at the TARDIS. "And I don't think that human body is going to stand up to the TARDIS Matrix for long based on what you said."
"Agreed," Rose said firmly. "We need to try."
"Awww," the TARDIS cooed. "This is why you like the strays, isn't it. I feel… I feel warm, I think." The TARDIS touched her chest and looked down in confusion. "It's odd. It's that big word, that very big word."
"Love," Jack offered with a sly smile which got him a look from the Doctor.
"No, not that one. The gold one." TARDIS shook her head.
"You'll find it," Rose said. "But now, we need to go."
"Too late," came Auntie's voice. They turned to find Uncle and Auntie standing a few feet away in the narrow trench. But now, Uncle was holding some sort of firearm. Rose eyed the walls of junk around them. "House is gone. Your TARDIS is gone. Your fault, you know. You told House it was the last TARDIS."
"Gone?" the Doctor repeated.
"Yes, House took the TARDIS," Uncle said. "He's off to your universe to find more TARDISes."
"And time for us to die," Auntie said.
"But a bit of fun first," Uncle added. Then he brought up his firearm and pointed it at them. "Before shedding the coil."
"Oh, the dying one is about to go down," the TARDIS said.
Rose lunged for the walls, summoning her sword and slicing into the lower section of metal. A blast went off, and she turned just fast enough to see Jack moving to protect the TARDIS. She'd gone the wrong way, Rose realized too late. Jack dropped to the ground.
Junk crashed down, blocking the path, and Rose drew the others back as Auntie and Uncle vanished behind the cascade of metal. Jack was still on the ground, unmoving and unbreathing. Rose's breath caught as the Doctor stepped forward and turned Jack right side up, revealing a deep blistering burn on his chest. Her friend's eyes were open and already too glassy.
"I'm sorry," the Doctor whispered. "Rose, he's gone."