Unto the Universe

Chapter Thirty-Three: The Fires of Karn: Moment of Naming

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: The location of Karn is weird. In Classic Who, they say it is in the Kasterborous Constellation, which is also where Gallifrey is. Time Lords seem to consider constellations as something very different from us. Since, well, the stars in a constellation only look close together from a certain point and, in reality, are usually very far apart. Other times Kasterborous is referred to as a star system which could be a reference to Gallifrey being a binary planet. So, if Karn and Gallifrey were both in the Kasterborous star system, they were potentially planets orbiting the same stars. Brain of Morbius said Karn was a few billion miles from Gallifrey, which also matches it potentially being a planet in the same solar system.

Also, we're getting into some deeper Doctor Who lore in this chapter. Don't worry; I will be providing more explanations.

….

The Doctor stared at the box, straining his memory of what had happened. He couldn't remember bringing the box onto his TARDIS, and yet here it was. More than that, the TARDIS had led him to it. The room wasn't familiar to him. But then again, his TARDIS had many rooms that he'd only been in a few times, if at all. And his recent experience being able to speak with her had revealed some things even he didn't know. Such as the old console rooms being preserved.

So, he took a breath and stepped forward, reaching for the box. If nothing else, he trusted the TARDIS. The Moment hummed under his fingertips, and the Doctor heard some clicking as gears moved, but there was no dramatic change. Nothing.

"Oh, look at you," Rose's voice said.

The Doctor spun around, pulling his hand off The Moment as surprise and relief flooded him. Rose was back in the TARDIS! But that relief vanished the moment he laid eyes on the figure beside him. The Doctor stepped back, narrowing his eyes on the familiar and yet not figure. It looked like Rose. Except that he'd never seen Rose in these clothes. They were torn and ripped, hanging awkwardly on her frame as if she had just walked out of a fight. There were small braids in her hair, but it was a wild mess. And the soothing telepathic presence of Rose was missing. This image or being had none at all.

"Hello, Doctor," she said.

"You aren't Rose," the Doctor said.

"No," she agreed with a smile. She put her hands on her hips. "It's a bit complicated. But we are connected. I told you once that I chose this form for you, but it's not that simple." She tilted her head as if listening for something.

"You haven't-"

"Your timeline is out of sync," she said patiently with a gentle smile. Rose's smile. "But ironically, we haven't got time. I am the Interface of the Moment and this," she spread her hands and grinned, "Is MY Moment. The real Moment, the Moment that the Old Father of Lies feared so much. Or would have if he'd ever had any sense." The Moment rubbed her hands together and headed for the door. "Come on, Doctor. So much to do."

"But-"

She stopped and turned back to him, that same soft smile that Rose often gave him on her face. "I know you don't remember my interface. And you don't remember bringing the Moment into the TARDIS. You haven't done that yet, but you will. The TARDIS simply always exists and can access her rooms when she needs to. Now, come along, Doctor."

She turned on her heel, pale boots of all things and strode out of the room. Gone were the twisting corridors the Doctor discovered as he followed her out. They were back in the console room. The Interface paused and smiled up at the TARDIS's central column before she headed for the doorway. A million questions burned the Doctor's tongue. But the TARDIS had wanted him to find The Moment. If he trusted nothing else, he would trust his oldest companion. The Moment glanced back at him, an amused smile on its face.

"Take another form," he ordered. "Not hers."

"I both chose and did not choose this form, Doctor. Don't tell me that you're afraid of the Big Bad Wolf."

Then it turned and walked out the front of doors of the TARDIS. The Moment didn't even touch them. The TARDIS opened ahead of her, and the Doctor hurried after her, stepping outside only a moment after her. The Moment walked across the surface of Karn, not leaving a single footprint.

The Monk had rejoined the Master. Both of them were smiling. The Time Storm was closer, and the Time Analogue had slowed in his absence. Yet neither of them was paying The Moment any mind. She or it had stepped out ahead of him and was looking up at the Time Storm. The Doctor's fingers twitched. His eyes jumped between the Moment and his fellow Time Lords, trying to decide what was going to happen next. But he wasn't even sure what he wanted to happen next. Then the Doctor realized that neither the Master nor the Monk was reacting to The Moment. It had taken Rose's form. That should have caused some kind of reaction.

"They can't see me, Doctor," the Moment said with a hint of amusement. "Oh, I've been waiting for this."

"What are you waiting for?" the Doctor asked.

The Master laughed. "Oh, you'll find out soon, Doctor."

"I'm waiting for her," the Moment replied. She rolled her shoulders and stretched. "Oh, it's been a long time coming. And it doesn't always work out, you know. Sometimes, I get left behind. Become a remanent all my own."

The Doctor had no idea what The Moment was talking about. Already, he was fighting back regret over touching the box. This was the ultimate weapon. The Galaxy Eater. The Eye of Discord. It was the most powerful and most dangerous weapon in all of creation. He'd used it to end the Time War. He knew that much and thought it had been destroyed then. But he'd been wrong. It was on his bloody TARDIS this whole time and clearly had some agenda of its own. He tried to remember using it before, but it was a blur. Everything had been burned away, just like his last body and the interior of the TARDIS that had been destroyed in the aftermath.

"Remanent of what?" the Doctor asked softly.

The churning Time Storm was howling as it approached, but it wasn't enough to hide his voice. The Master's eyes narrowed, and he stepped forward. The Moment chuckled as he approached the shield.

"Who are you talking to, Doctor?" the Master demanded. He reached out and tapped on the shield. "This won't hold much longer. Not against that storm."

"Remanent of what?" the Doctor repeated. "I won't allow you to harm Rose."

"The TARDIS wanted you to find me and wake me," the Moment chuckled. "Do you really imagine your ship would want harm to come to her any more than you?" The Moment shook its head and sighed. "Been locked up in the dark too long. Time for the light, I think."

It hadn't answered the question. The Doctor tried to remember all he could of The Moment. None of the original founders had created it. Instead, it had been made a little later after the Time Lord civilization was established. Still in the Ancient Times, though. Rassilon had tried to use it in the Empire Wars, but the device proved to have a consciousness. It had been locked away in the Omega Arsenal out of fear of its moral judgements.

"What is going on, Doctor?" the Monk demanded. His eyes were searching around the Doctor. "What are you planning? Or has your mind snapped under the strain?"

"Surrender, Doctor," the Master said. He sounded confident, but the Doctor could see some worry in his eyes. Good; the Master hadn't forgotten every time that the Doctor had beaten him. "There is no need for Karn and the last Gallifreyans to be ripped apart."

"That is not up to you," the Monk hissed.

The Doctor glanced at the Moment, but its eyes were distant, and a smile was growing on its face. He stepped forward, moving towards the struggling Time Analogue. Maybe with The Moment's help, he could boost its power. Or maybe The Moment would actually help. He wasn't sure if it was even safe to ask it for help. Seeing as how he couldn't remember ever seeing this Interface before. He tried to think about it, and there was a sense of… hope, oddly enough. And that just didn't make sense.

"Generally, not," The Moment said calmly. "Asking for my help has consequences. Besides, she is coming. Brace yourself, Doctor," The Moment said. She turned just enough to meet his gaze. "This gonna be fantastic."

Before he could ask, before he could push and demand to know what was going on, there was a flare of light between him and the Moment. The Doctor stepped back as Rose appeared, surrounded by the golden light. It was familiar, so very familiar, and his hearts both jumped in alarm. But the glow around Rose was slight, barely perceptible, and he allowed himself to hope that nothing had happened. But then, he saw The Moment smiling a wide and sharp grin.

"Leave, Karn," Rose said firmly.

There was no echo to her voice, but the Doctor could see light glittering around her fingertips. He started to take a step forward, but The Moment held up a hand.

"Stay back, Doctor. It's best you're not too close for this." The Moment then smiled at him. Rose's tongue touched smile, and he almost snarled. "Oh, don't be like that," The Moment said. Her tone was softer now. "It's all a bit complicated, but she and I are connected."

"Oh, I remember you," the Master said. He laughed. "I should have known you were allied to the Doctor. A human, after all, but I owe you. Blood for blood."

"Careful, Master," the Monk cautioned.

"Leave, Karn," Rose repeated, but this time, she raised her eyes to the Time Storm. "You will not receive another warning."

"And who are you to command us?" the Master taunted. Nonetheless, the Doctor saw a touch of worry in his eyes. He remembered her then. "I am the Master! I do not obey the whims of humans."

Rose took a step forward. "I am Rose Tyler."

Another step. Around the Doctor, the air shuddered, and the flow of time slowed. Both the Monk and the Master tensed at the feeling. The slight shimmer of the shield vanished as the system finally gave out before the force of the Time Storm.

"I am the Bad Wolf."

The Moment's form flashed, Rose's visage vanishing and a ghostly golden wolf left in its place. It lunged towards Rose, turning into a stream of light that vanished into the aura lingering around Rose. But there was no time for the Doctor to try and figure out what had happened. Golden light flared around Rose. The Doctor stumbled forward as the Monk, and the Master cowered. He needed to see Rose's face. The Moment was gone. A thousand terrifying ideas were cascading through his brain, each more horrible than the last. This wasn't the Time Vortex, but the timelines were quivering. And it wasn't just his or Rose's. Everything was braced as if the whole universe was holding its breath.

"I am the Gold Guardian."

Timelines snapped into place. The Doctor couldn't breathe. Above the Time Storm wailed only to begin clearing as Rose waved a hand. Eternals came rushing out of the dissipating storm, their ethereal forms glowing brilliantly. Golden light flared off of Rose's hands. The Eternals, their pale forms withering in the air, began to draw back. But the light reached them too quickly. A strange sound, almost like screaming, rippled through the air and sent a chill rolling down the Doctor's spine.

Ohila and the rest of the Sisterhood came rushing out, expressions of shock and glee on all of their faces. The Doctor spared only a glance towards Ohila as she stepped up beside him, crossing her arms in front of her. A soft chant rose up from the Sisters, but the Doctor didn't focus on their words. His eyes returned to Rose as the streams of light from the Eternals linked back to Rose. The Eternal twisted in frantic attempts to escape, but their forms dissolved into golden light.

He'd seen this before—the Daleks on Satellite Five. The golden energy, life energy, he realized, rushed towards Rose, gathering around her hands. The glow was so bright, so intense that he could no longer see her face. Her golden hair had escaped her braid and was billowing around her. The glory of an angel. Or a goddess. Again. Rose shifted her hands, putting her palms down and spread her fingers before thrusting her hands towards the ground. Gold light poured from her hands and into the dead rocky soil of Karn like water.

Red grass burst out of the ground around Rose, spreading across the terrain faster than the Doctor could track. Flowers bloomed across the surface in spots of red, yellow, and white. Moonlight blooms, sarlains, arkyitors and memento mori could be seen. With loud groans, trees twisted out of the rocky earth and reached towards the clearing sky. The two suns of Karn came into view as the last of the Time Storm vanished. The same two stars that had warmed Gallifrey.

His eyes rose back to the Eternals, but they were vanishing in soft shimmers of light against the clearing sky. It was burnt orange, so similar to Gallifrey's. A bit darker due to Karn's place further out from the sun, but so similar. The gold light swept further and further over Karn, out of sight as more red grass, familiar trees, and plants sprang to life. Fueled by the life essence of the Eternals, the Doctor concluded. It was all so impossible, and yet…

"Doctor!" Jack's voice called from behind him.

The Doctor spun around, finding the Sisters staring at his TARDIS's doorway where Jack stood. His companion was still pale, but he was alive and breathing and staring at Rose with every bit of shock that the Doctor felt. He stepped out of the TARDIS, swaying on his feet before two of the Sisters grabbed him. Jack managed a flirty smile and reassured that Jack had once again recovered from death; the Doctor turned back to watch Rose.

"Did you know?" The Master demanded of the Monk. "This is why they wanted her-"

Then Rose's gaze fell on them. The Master lunged for the Monk, grabbing onto the other Time Lord while the Monk punched coordinates into the Vortex Manipulator. They vanished in a flash of light, leaving a silent but bright landscape in front of Rose and the Doctor. He stepped closer to her, aware of the energy rolling across his exposed skin. The Doctor hesitated. Old memories and fears stirred.

She was the Gold Guardian. Rose Tyler was the Gold Guardian. The young woman he's known ever since he saved her from Odd Bob had at some point, somehow became a Guardian. She hadn't been wrong about her future being big. No wonder it scared her. If she was right then, it changed everything.

The Doctor swallowed. He forced his hands to stay at his side. He dared not reach for Rose, dared not touch her as the golden glow finally began to fade. The Time Storm was gone, the Eternals were gone, his fellow Time Lords had fled, and even The Moment had vanished. And Karn… Karn's surface was now almost identical to Gallifrey's. All that was missing were the cities. Even the distant mountains now looked achingly familiar to him.

"Doctor?" Rose's soft voice asked.

He looked back to her, instinct telling him to back away. Maybe bow. Except the instinct eased as he met her eyes. Their amber colour was familiar, but now he was certain that there were more gold flecks in them. Her hair seemed a shade brighter. The glow was gone. She looked… oh, she was beautiful. And alive despite all that power that had been coursing through her body. Rose reached towards him, hurt flashing in her eyes when he didn't immediately reach back. He had only a moment to feel guilty for that before Rose swayed. Lunging forward, the Doctor caught her and kept Rose upright.

"You're okay," he whispered. Rose's arms came around him in a tight hug. He took a risk and returned the gesture. The Doctor was relieved that he wasn't immediately smote. "Precious girl." Quickly, he pressed a kiss to the crown of her head. "I love you." He needed to say it. Even if he knew he shouldn't.

"I love you too," Rose sighed against his chest.

The Doctor's grip on her tightened. Jack was watching them with confused eyes. Ohila's expression was a blend of happiness and sympathy. Rose shifted against him, trying to move, and the Doctor didn't want to release her. If he let her go, then whatever came next would start to unfold.

But then, in flashes of light, the White and the Black Guardians appeared. Jack tensed and glanced his way. The Doctor shook his head but didn't release Rose. Nonetheless, she squirmed in his arms. Finally relenting, the Doctor let her go, and Rose turned to face them. How she didn't hear his hearts racing, the Doctor did not know.

"Gold," the Black Guardian greeted. There was a slight hint of a smile on his face before he glared at the Doctor.

"Gold," the White Guardian repeated. He gave Rose a slight bow. "We must speak with you."

"Black," Rose greeted. "White." She sighed softly and nodded. "Yeah, we probably need to talk." Rose turned and headed up the hill towards one of the nearly grown trees. White and Black exchanged a glance but followed her. The Doctor itched to follow, but…

Coward every time. The memories were closer now. Clawing at him with the shame and guilt he'd been all but born with and had coloured every phase of his life. And now, surely, the source of those emotions, his buried truth, would cost him Rose Tyler.