Unto the Universe
Chapter Fifty-Eight: Gallery of Time: The Collection
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: Welcome to episode twelve and the start of a two parter season finale! Hope you all enjoy it! It's been a great season so far and I'm pretty darn happy with all of the episodes! Thank you for sticking with me this far!
….
The Doctor paced around the console, his hands moving around the controls. A headache was building at the back of his skull. Since their adventure with Yi Sao and Bao's sacrifice, it had been there and hadn't eased even once they left the stable event. And despite Rose keeping it quiet, the Doctor knew that she'd felt it then though it seemed to have passed for her. Why she hadn't told him, he didn't want to think about. Maybe she didn't want to worry him, or maybe she didn't want to involve him in Guardian business, given his history. Holding back a growl, he made more adjustments to the controls.
"What are you working on?" Jack asked from the doorway. His tone was light, but the Doctor could hear the caution in Jack's voice. He took a breath and tried to relax his shoulders. It wouldn't do for him to snap at his companion. "Doctor? Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," he answered. Stepping back from the controls, he gestured at them before crossing his arms. "I've been working on a program to try and track the Monk or the Master," the Doctor explained darkly. "They've been absent for too long."
"Do you think they're behind the rips?" Jack asked.
"I didn't at first, but knowing that they're originating from Rose's home time, I'm rethinking that," the Doctor said. "The Master knows how important Earth is to me, and you add Rose to that equation-"
"It's a tempting target," Jack finished. He nodded his understanding. "How does tracking a Time Lord work? I can't imagine that's easy."
"It isn't." The Doctor tapped the TARDIS screen a couple of times. "They have a Vortex manipulator, which is dirty time travel."
"Part of me feels that I should be offended," Jack laughed. "But I can be a bit-"
"Anyway, the TARDIS is scanning the Time Vortex when we're within it. Vortex manipulators leave a trail that can be detected. Then the program checks for the life signs. If it registers two hearts, then I'll be alerted."
"Can't you detect Time Lords?"
"No. The genetics that make a Time Lord are complicated," the Doctor said. "Very complicated, and they take some time to get a read on with the background interference of the Time Vortex. Keeping it simple is a better option, but it's still a question of the TARDIS detecting them because of overlap in the Time Vortex. Far from perfect."
"Yeah, well, the TARDIS is brilliant," Jack said fondly.
The Doctor smiled. It was interesting having two companions who understood properly that the TARDIS was alive. Then again, Rose had known that very early on, and Jack had met the TARDIS when she'd been in a human form. That sort of thing solidified the notion of sentience even for people very unused to life in such an odd shape. Stroking the TARDIS for a moment, the Doctor noted that the second stage scan was running.
"Hold on," the Doctor said. "She's found a vortex manipulator."
"Doc, what are the chances?"
The screen beeped and the Doctor ignored Jack's question. He'd seen far greater coincidences than this. And if something dangerous was coming, it would explain the dull ache in his temporal senses that he'd been dealing with for the past eight days. Throwing the lever before Jack could talk him out of it, the Doctor grinned when Jack yelped and grabbed the railing. Jack wasn't wrong. There were Time Agents, and anyone who got ahold of a Vortex Manipulator after them and some might be of a species with two hearts. It was possible, but the sense of weight against his time sense made the Doctor doubt it.
"What's going on?" Rose rushed into the console room. She was dressed in jeans and one of her t-shirts with her hair still damp from her shower. The Doctor stared at her, his earlier unease and frustration fading away. "The cloister bell isn't ringing."
"Not a crisis yet," the Doctor said. "Hold down the third stabilizer!"
Rose ran to the console and did as he said. Gesturing at another switch, the Doctor ordered Jack to hold down two of the buttons. The TARDIS lurched, but she was staying on target. They were chasing something now. Properly chasing though the Doctor wasn't sure if their target knew they were there. Hopefully not.
"More space junk?" Rose asked. She glanced toward Jack. "Are we chasing another con man?"
"Well, it hopefully isn't me," Jack teased. "But no. The Doctor had the TARDIS looking for the Master and the Monk."
The Doctor looked up from the controls in time to see Rose's eyes widen. He heard her gasp softly. She glanced his way but didn't ask any questions. The Doctor wasn't sure how to take that. Hopefully, Rose wasn't worried about him encountering his fellow Time Lord again. He'd already decided that he'd pick Rose over them every time. Even without their relationship, that would have been the truth of the matter.
She shifted closer to him, pressing her shoulder against his arm even as she kept helping him fly the TARDIS. The ache eased a little, and he so wanted to take her hand. An odd expression crossed Rose's face that he caught in the corner of his eye.
"Doctor… this is important, isn't it?" Rose shivered. "I can feel something. I'm not sure."
He looked at her, odd emotions storming through him. All he could think was that Rose was developing a time sense without context and that she hadn't been hiding it from him. She'd probably been confused, and upon realizing that, he felt guilty for his earlier anger.
"Yes," the Doctor answered, settling on being factual. "It is important. Rose, I think you're developing a time sense. Or at least something similar. Probably because you're a Guardian."
Rose looked thoughtful for a moment before nodding. The Doctor wanted to ask her questions and explore the limits of what she could do. It was another thing that they'd need to work on along with her telepathy. But the TARDIS came to a stop, and the screen beeped, indicating that they were close to the signal.
"Doctor?" Jack called softly. "Is there a plan?"
"We need to take a look around," the Doctor answered. He took Rose's hand and gave his companions a smile. "Might not be them, but be careful. Rose-"
"No, I will not stay in the TARDIS."
The Doctor nodded. It had been a long shot, but he'd had to try. The idea of Rose close to the Monk, who was likely still angry both about the Eternals and Rose causing a regeneration, made him worry. She squeezed his hand and glanced at the door. He nodded in response. It was time to investigate.
They stepped out into a large courtyard near a fountain with a very familiar-looking palace before them. The palace gleamed in the warm daylight, and Rose gasped softly, recognizing not only the building but also the gardens around it. She glanced around only to notice that the gardens were surprisingly empty. This was Versailles and, in the summer, based on the warm temperature. It would either be busy with tourists or if they were in the past, nobles and royals.
"Versailles!" Rose laughed.
"Not exactly." The Doctor was staring at the building with both confusion and dread. "How can we be here?"
"The Braxitiel Collection!" Jack grinned and looked around. "I've heard stories of this place, but I thought it was lost. Destroyed."
"So did I," the Doctor said. He was frowning as he studied the buildings. "Odd to find it here."
"The what collection?" Rose asked. She looked over at the Doctor. That name was familiar. She was fairly sure that she'd heard the Doctor's next self say that name. "What is this place?"
"An art museum," the Doctor snorted.
"THE art museum," Jack added. "The Time Agency heart plenty of rumours about it. There were records of representatives taking art and artefacts out of areas about to be destroyed, but it was lost long ago."
"Apparently, it wasn't so lost," the Doctor said. A soft sigh, one that almost pained, escaped him. "He never told me what he did with it. Then again, there were more important things."
"Who?" Jack asked.
"Braxitiel," the Doctor answered. "Collection's Founder. The obnoxious man who named it after himself."
"You knew him?"
The Doctor grimaced and glanced at Rose. "My brother. Older brother."
"You had a brother?" Jack asked softly.
Rose squeezed his hand. "I'm sorry. It must have been hard to lose him." He didn't talk about his brother much, not even in his future.
"We weren't close. Hadn't been for a long time."
Rose had never had a sibling. Not in this life. But in others, she had. The memory flashed at the back of her mind, and an echo of pain radiated through her. A deep and aching understanding took hold in her chest.
"I doubt that really mattered," she whispered. "I'm still sorry."
"Yeah." The Doctor sighed again. Then he shook his head while Jack studied the pair of them. He said nothing and nodded towards the building. "Suppose so."
Rose looked back at the palace and the small artificial suns warming the asteroid's gardens. It looked so much like France that she found herself marvelling at the reconstruction work. There were no signs or banners that marked it as a museum, and Rose was confused as to how it functioned. There didn't seem to be anyone here.
"It looks empty," Jack said. "Is it possible that it was abandoned?"
"Brax would have locked it down at the very least," the Doctor replied. "He cared about this place." He swallowed, and Rose nearly flinched as his grip on her hand tightened. "But… he might have left a path for the TARDIS to get inside."
"That makes sense," Jack said. "You are his brother, and if he didn't make it out of the war… Maybe he set up something that's what the TARDIS was picking up on. Do you sense any other Time Lords here? After all, this is where the TARDIS took us?"
"No," the Doctor answered. "I don't sense the Master or the Monk here. Though, it's time travel; we might have arrived before they did."
Jack nodded uneasily, his eyes scanning the large garden with a hint of nervousness. Rose wasn't sure what to say or do. Leaning against the Doctor's shoulder, she lowered her shield and shoved as much love and affection as she could at the Doctor. She heard him gasp softly, and his death grip on her hand softened. He turned his face and kissed the crown of her head.
"Thanks." Then he cleared his throat. "Come on, let's check it out. Brax collected art for the most part here, but it wouldn't shock me if there is time travel technology or worse here as well. It would shock me if there wasn't."
Rose didn't argue against the Doctor slipping into business mode. There was so much she wanted to ask, but right now, he didn't need that. Rose sent another wave of affection to the Doctor and watched as his lips quirked into a smile. Then she carefully put her shields back up in case they really were on the trail of the Master and the Monk.
The Doctor kept hold of her hand as they entered the main doors. Rose had been to Paris a couple of times in her life, both in her own time and in the past. While the days she'd been with Reinette in pre-revolutionary France had been few, Rose remembered enough of the palace to know that this building was a marvellous reproduction. Then again, it was established by the Doctor's brother, so Rose couldn't rule out anything.
The main entry hall was quiet. There were a few banners and plaques set up with information, but no ticket counter and nothing that seemed out of place. A portrait of a man with dark hair, high cheekbones and a dark goatee hung on one wall. The Doctor stared at it with that carefully neutral expression he always wore when he was trying not to give anything away.
"Hello, I am the Curator," a female voice with a rich London accent said. "How can I help you?"
They all looked to the right as the woman walked towards them from the corridor. The Curator was a tall woman with brown hair styled in an elegant, twisting bun that was half hidden under a small Victorian-style hat. Her dress was of a similar era style and made of rich dark blue fabric with gold trim. A wolf head brooch was pinned to the left side of her chest, and she wore a cameo collar. In her hand, she carried a cane with a knob covered in small buttons at the end. But what really drew Rose's attention was the woman's eyes. They were a brilliant, icy blue similar to the Doctor's.
"Greetings," the Curator said. She smiled softly, her expression oddly gentle as she looked at them. "I wasn't expecting visitors. It isn't easy to reach the Collection."
"Sorry to bother you," the Doctor said. His tone was guarded. "Wasn't sure if anyone would be here."
"Well, as you can see, the Collection is tended to." Her smile widened, and she cast her gaze around the hall fondly. "Welcome to the Braxitiel Collection."
"Are we the first visitors today?" Rose asked.
"You are."
"Then you have a problem," the Doctor informed her darkly.
"What sort of problem?" the woman's smile melted away.
"We tracked an odd signal here. I believe it's two fugitives that are very dangerous and likely looking to steal something." The Doctor paused. "They're a threat."
"A threat?" the Curator repeated. "Can you give me more information?"
"A time traveller," the Doctor answered. "Maybe two of them together of they could be separated."
"What were you tracking?" the Curator asked. She adjusted the cane in her hands and pulled a pocket watch from a small pocket sewn into her dress. "The Collection has sensors across the asteroid.
"They're using vortex manipulator tech," Jack answered.
"I see." The Curator studied them for a moment. Then she pressed a few buttons at the top of her cane. "I'll have the Collection scanned in a few minutes."
"You're taking this very well," the Doctor said suspiciously.
The woman laughed, the sound warm and amused. "Oh, this Collection is a frequent target of thieves. Part of my job is not just collecting the items and caring for them, but protecting them." She glanced over them all. "I suppose you might be a threat, trying to get into my good graces, but…." Her watch beeped, and she glanced down at it. "Actually, the Collection's sensors indicate that you are welcome here. Apparently, the Founder programmed your biodata into the system. Says here that you are Braxitiel's brother." A small smile took hold. "The Doctor. I suppose if the Founder's brother says that there might be danger, I best believe it."
The Doctor studied her in return, his eyes narrowing. "Who are you?"
"The Curator. I took over managing and protecting the Collection when I unlocked the Braxitiel Collection."
"How did you get here? Brax…" The Doctor shook his head. "He left the Collection behind. Pretty sure he shoved it into a pocket dimension."
"Followed some clues, solved a puzzle or two and convinced the system to accept me as the new Curator." She shrugged; the action somehow still elegant. "It's an interesting story, to be sure, but hardly what you came for."
"And you're just the Curator now?" Jack asked. He gave the woman a flirty smile. "I'm Captain Jack Harkness." He extended his hand as if to shake hers. When she took his hand, he turned it and lifted it to his lips.
The expression on the woman's face was… odd. She looked horrified and amused all at once. Her smile became very fixed. Jack noticed and immediately released her hand.
"Please… no flirting with me," she said. "Just… please don't." She coughed lightly and shook herself, recovering her poise. "Feel free to look around the Collection. It is the single best Collection anywhere in time and space."
"Just like that?" the Doctor asked.
"This is a museum, Doctor. I have the system scanning for your intruders, and the security network is active. You might be mistaken. While I don't use a Vortex Manipulator as part of my duties, there are occasionally visitors using such means at their method of transit."
"That's possible," the Doctor agreed. Rose knew he didn't mean it. He studied the woman again. "Who were you before you were the Curator?"
"I travelled a great deal," she said. "Looking for interesting things." Her blue eyes moved to Rose. "My name is Alice." Her cane beeped, and she sighed delicately. "Please excuse me. Enjoy the Collection. Take a look around. There are alarms in every room if you do find these fugitives, and the system doesn't activate."
Rose watched Alice walk away. The way the woman had looked at her when she said her name seemed odd to Rose. She couldn't help but feel that she was missing something.