Disclaimer: I don't in any way own the series Doctor Who . Those are the sole property of the BBC.
Return to Satellite 5 AU: "Bad Wolf", "The Parting of the Ways" and "Born Again".
Note: I am glad that everyone is enjoying my story. I thank everyone for making this story a favorite, an alert and reviewing. One of my longest chapters.
Chapter Twenty: Apart But Not Separate
Jack pushed himself to run faster, all the while shooting back at the advancing troop of Daleks. He'd never been so scared but he shoved it aside in order to give the Doctor more time to activate the Delta Wave. The ex-time agent gave Lydia a brief thought, not having heard anything from the former contestant. He could imagine that the blonde had hidden away in an effort to save herself. Jack knew it would be in vain as he had no doubts that they'd all die, but given a choice he'd rather be done in by the Doctor's hand than the metal monstrosities.
"Hey Doc, not trying to rush ya but you got about thirty seconds tops!" The ex-time agent shouted breathlessly as he found a spot to take cover.
The Doctor scrambled like a madman piecing together the last bits to make the Delta Wave work. The smooth, quick movements belied the desperation the alien man felt.
The TARDIS careened through the swirling multi-colored tunnel of the Time Vortex; streaks of energy bounced off the blue box as she sped in an even wilder, uncharacteristic fashion for the time-space ship.
Inside the TARDIS another storm took place. The time-space machine and the blonde woman were linked with silvery gold streams of the Time Vortex, the heart of the magnificent living ship, the light reflected off the green lit console and coppery gold coral struts and walls. The power tumultuously blew between the console and Rose, tugging at the woman's hair and clothes; even so she remained unmoved.
Time compressed between the TARDIS and Rose; the energy from the Vortex drew the blonde into the recesses of her mind. The Powell estate girl eventually found herself standing in the TARDIS console room in front of two women and a baby. The first woman appeared sitting on the console, legs crossed in a battered Victorian type dress of a deep blue; her curly mass of dark brown hair was pulled back to flow down the back and her dark eyes felt ancient, which contrasted with the upbeat and friendly smile lighting up her pale face. The second woman was a kaleidoscope . . . like that of a fiber optic. Her hair and features shifted slowly: the hair would change first slipping from blonde to brown to red then onto black and so on. The same happened with her features: from small to big; nose, mouth, ears, eyes like the hair constantly shifting tones and color. Rose's attention briefly fell on the baby's cradle, marked by circular designs she now knew very well was Gallifreyan. The baby looked familiar, but Rose felt she shouldn't linger further.
"Do you know why we have been, will be and are here?" The woman on the console asked.
Rose blinked at the strange sounding question. She knew after traveling with the Doctor for so long that she should really be use to such convoluted time type inquires. "Um. Say again."
Instead of the Victorian woman answering, an eerie mesh of voices spoke out. "We need to know if you can comprehend why you are here."
A shiver ran down Rose's spine, but she didn't back down from the unnerving female creature who'd spoken. "Yeah, I suppose we're in some sort of weird telepathic meeting."
"Well, that is, has been, and will be kind of true." The dark haired woman gleefully inserted.
Rose groaned inwardly. "Do you always talk like that?"
Victorian woman smiled even broader and gave an amused laugh. "Sorry I'm very bad with tenses. What with the past, present and future flowing through us."
"Um, us?" The blonde woman quizzed, disquieted that she seemed to be missing something important.
The strange female finally settled down to one form but it wasn't that of any of combinations of women, she'd gone through, instead taking the shape of a mansize wolf. The large, silver and gold wolf-being approached Rose, the creature's eyes boring into the blonde woman's brown ones. The eerie voice again broke over the group. "You, Rose Marion Tyler, have a decision to make. What you chose… in the end will set in motion events that will affect not only you and those you love but the entire existence of all time and creation."
"What do you mean? Of course it will change things. We're saving the Doctor." Rose could sense that wasn't what the entities meant. She trembled as the large wolf bristled with indignation.
The Victorian woman quickly vanished from the console, re-appearing next to the creature's head, she laid a soothing hand on its fur ruffled neck.
"Now... Now dear hearts, she has, had, and will require the choices. Our destiny was, will, and has already been chosen." The dark haired woman mollified.
The golden wolf sniffed but backed down, with a toss of the regal creature's head the cradled baby appeared with the two otherworldly beings. The wolf's wet nose nuzzled the infant making the little girl giggle and wiggle about. The wolf's silvery gold eyes returned to level intently on Rose. "From the beginning you had many different and difficult decisions to make, all led you to the Doctor. There was never a moment in all of space and time when your paths would not have crossed. You are the lost daughter of Gallifrey."
Rose stood gaping at the trio wondering if she was still back on Earth. Perhaps she had taken a tumble which landed her into a coma or she could be snuggled up in bed having a bizarre dream. Cause Rose thought the gold wolf just said that she, Rose Tyler of the Powell Estates, was actually from another planet... and not just any planet but the long destroyed Time Lord one… that was the Doctor's home world.
"Wait… Wait… Wait so you're saying I'm an alien, but that's impossible. I'm human. I've only got one heart and you know very average human."
Both the wolf and dark haired woman snorted derisively and even the baby girl seemed to huff in indignation.
"You, daughter of Gallifrey have four possible paths remaining to you; the first requires only that you allow me to merge with you. Together we will alter the course of time destroying the Doctor's enemies but in doing so the consequences will be dire; for we will also be the Doctor's destruction and you will be left with no memory as why." The beast's eyes glowed steadily as she imparted Rose's choices.
Rose frowned not liking that one at all. She waited patiently as she knew that time acted differently inside the TARDIS. They could have stood there for months and still show up at precisely the right moment.
"The second is a bit like the first in that we will become the Bad Wolf saving the Doctor, destroying the Daleks except you won't survive, at least not as a corporeal entity. You will become one with the Time Vortex and essentially combine with the TARDIS, thereby keeping a promise yet made."
Rose stared in disbelief as she attempted to process the information so far. Her first two choices weren't all that appealing, she dreaded what the last two would be.
The she-wolf appeared almost to grin at Rose's discomfort. "The third requires you acknowledge your alien essence which had been trapped within the gold watch-locket. You will become a true child of Gallifrey; with help from the TARDIS and a minimal intervention from myself, you will be able to rescue the Doctor but in doing so the cost would be your unborn time tots."
Rose's brown eyes went wide and a bit glassy as she slowly shook her head in denial. "What? Wait… Wait, I'm not pregnant."
The silver-golden beast glowed more brightly bristling her fur again and growling crossly at the interruption.
The Victorian woman sighed once again laying a calming hand to quell the beast's temper. She gently rocked the cradle with a booted foot as the baby gave a whimper at the silver-gold being's upset.
The dark haired woman enthusiastically beamed a large smile and bounced slightly on one booted foot, as if any minute she would abandoned her companions to rush over to Rose, to envelope the confused estate girl in a tremendous hug. "Oh, that thief of yours, mine, ours, he is, has and always will be such a naughty Time Lord."
Rose furrowed her brow further in annoyance. Her thoughts whirled, clever earth girl that she was; Rose didn't need more to connect the instants together. She arrived at the inevitable conclusion that it had to be when they'd been on the planet Sarkios, that had been only place she'd very little memory of. "So, you're say that the Doctor deliberately blocked my memories. Was it that horrible?"
The beings gave each other sideways looks as if trying to decide which would tell her.
"Oh, come on out with it!" Rose cried becoming more worried by the second.
"No and Yes. What you and the Doctor had, did and will have done, bonding so beautifully such a blending of physical and mental life-essence. Big… Large… Massively bad really, what those Sarkios scientist had done, did do and will have done tampering with your body and mind."
"Okay, hold on. Um… you're saying that me and the Doctor shagged and that it was because of some scientists from Sarkios." Rose couldn't quite grasp that she'd been intimate with the big alien git. As for the idiot scientists doing weird body and mind alterations that was a normal day when traveling with the Doctor. She thanked god however that it hadn't been Jack. Rose loved Jack dearly and they flirted like crazy but only so as to tease the Doctor.
"Yes." said the giddy dark haired woman.
"There must be more to it?" Rose demand, it was obvious to her that a little poking and prodding even resulting with her and the Doctor having to have sex. Yeah that would be embarrassing and just a bit disappointing for herself, because Rose knew the Doctor did not have those kind of feelings for her.
The gold beast huffed shaking her great head, "That doesn't matter right at this moment. You will remember most everything when you choose. Let us get back to our real purpose. The fourth path; this will require that all four of us combine together. In this way we will destroy the Daleks, save the Doctor, as well as the time tots and you. A benefit is that you, the TARDIS and myself will continue to remain connected, though not to the extent as to be detrimental."
"Detrimental, that means what?" asked Rose.
"You will have a better understanding of the TARDIS and I would only make an appearance if the need is dire. But child of Gallifrey understand that there are events that need to happen."
Rose let her brown eyed gaze drift from the she-wolf, who pulsed with power; over to the exuberant dark haired woman that she took to be the TARDIS in humanoid form and last to the small baby that was her time lord essence which had been trapped since birth. Swallowing, Rose took in all three, the four choices had drawbacks, but only one would do everything with the least amount of damage. There was just one thing. "I don't think this is only my decision. Shouldn't she have a say?" Rose nodded down to the wiggling infant.
The Victorian woman giggled, nudging the silver-gold being, the duo nodded. The TARDIS bent down placing a kiss on the child's forehead. The gold wolf lent forward exhaling gold-silver mist which engulfed the tiny baby. The cradle and child glowed and flared blinding bright silver-gold before disappearing leaving a twin version of Rose wearing a long white robe with circular designs along the border of the sleeves and around the skirt.
"Blimey. That was weird." The Gallifreyan version of Rose exclaimed.
Rose stood not completely shocked by the current events. She hadn't thought exactly how they would get the infant's thoughts on the matter but she supposed an older form would be the easiest.
"So... you're me." Stated the jeaned and hoodie clad Rose.
"Yup… Well… It's more like your life could be mine and mine yours. You already know that in the end there will be just one of us. But Rose Tyler will always remain for I wouldn't be anything without your memories. A baby can only create so many memories in the brief amount of time I had. I have been a constant in your life even before mum gave the locket to you. Your dreams of a larger world and endless possibility came from me, but being locked away I could only grow so much." Time Lord Rose explained as she gave the TARDIS a hug and stroked one hand down the gold she-wolf fur before turning to stand eye to eye with earthling Rose.
Rose took in what her other self revealed. To join would be like fixing something that had been broken. She wasn't a whole person, something had always been missing. Her time with the Doctor, she'd felt more herself than ever but still in there had been niggling feeling that she wasn't yet complete. Now she understood why and she… They knew precisely what needed to be done.
Even as Jack reached the end of the corridor his gun discharged it's last bullet. The ex-time agent tossed the large firearm away in favor of a small one. He knew it wasn't going to faze the Daleks but he wasn't going down without a fight.
He turned and fired at the approaching Daleks. The bullets bounced uselessly off their shields, Jack yelled in futile anger. The click of the small gun signalled the end of his last bit of defense. He felt the wall at his back, end game.
The long line of Daleks paused briefly, "Exterminate! Exterminate!"
Lifting his chin in defiance, Jack faced his coming end with the same amount of bravado as when he'd taken the bomb out of the London blitz to save Rose, the Doctor and all those innocent WWII Londoners.
The Daleks in the two lead raised their laser guns. "Exterminate!"
"Surprise… Surprise… I knew you'd say that." Jack opened his arms wide in invitation.. His body went crashing back into the wall as both fired, he slided down blue eyes staring devoid of life that made them so extraordinary.
The Daleks rolled past the ex-time agent with no more thought as the perfect killing machines went on to their intended target.
Lynda trembled even as she tried to squeeze into the cramped compartment. The sounds of the Daleks cries of "Exterminate!"added to her desperation. The pulsing laser blast cutting through the thick bulk head and entrance door reverberated from the inner chamber to the small alcove.
Panting, the blonde woman pushed and pulled frantic to hide and maybe avoid being found by the metal monsters. Tears streamed down Lynda's cheeks leaving dirty salt trails.
Another louder thrumming and grinding noise, she couldn't identify in her distress, sliced through the Daleks bid to enter the Observation room. Lynda stilled at the overwhelming silence, gasping in an effort to slow her hammering heart.
"Deviate!"was the only coherent word that Lynda could hear over the pounding in her ears. She released a sigh of relief as the racket of the pepper potts receded. Lynda began to panic again as she realized that meant they would be going after the Doctor.
Lynda's bravery returned since she wasn't in immediate danger and she began to worry about the Doctor. She renewed her efforts though now in an attempt to get out of the small cubbyhole. Her elbows scraped and bumped at the sides. Lynda wiggled and tried to gain purchase to no avail. "Bloody hell, 'm stuck."
The Doctor put the final touch on the Delta wave which astounded the Time Lord, "Now it's done. All ready to fire." Just in the nick of time too, as Daleks came streaming in from all the entrances creating a barrier from which there could be no escape.
"Come on. You know I'll do it. I'll activate the Delta wave and we'll all die here. Finally both sides lose. The Time War will be over." The Doctor gazed up at the image of the Dalek Emperor.
"Perhaps you and all those insignificant humans will! But I am eternal!"The Emperor cried mad in his belief of immortality.
The Doctor laughed hollowly, "Really. You want to test that theory?"
"Yes. Do proceed, I revel in seeing you commit genocide again. We are the same, Doctor. Yes, bravo, Doctor, you are the Great Exterminator!"The Dalek Emperor chortled smug in his own superiority.
"Your taunts mean nothing. I'll activate the Delta Wave." The Doctor's hands hovered over the lever that would destroy the last remaining Daleks and humanity would go on; there were thousands of human colonies.
The Dalek Emperor's arrogant voice boomed with conviction. "Such a choice Doctor. I challenge you at to what your true character is… coward or killer?"
Hands trembling, the Doctor pulled back from the lever. Sadness radiated off the Time Lord at his decision. "Yes a coward, preferable any day." The Doctor announced in resignation.
"For your deficiency, I will cultivate from the human race pure Daleks."
The Doctor looked on the Dalek Emperor in impotent rage. "Yeah I get that. So am I destined to be a part of your holy order?"
The Dalek Emperor shivered noticeably in indignation at the Doctor's question. "You are unworthy to be reborn as a divine Dalek. Extermination is your future."
The Doctor sagged in defeat, his only consolation being that Rose and the time tots were safe in the past. He felt everyone of his over nine hundred years. "It was fun while it lasted. Guess this old Time Lord's time is literally up."
The Doctor closed his blue eyes blocking out the smug countenance of his enemy. The encircling Daleks raised their weapons, quivering in their metal shells, their eye-stalks turned towards a bare space surrounded by wires and cables. The grinding and humming of the TARDIS' return resonated through floor five hundred, everything closest to the time-space ship's arrival was buffeted by the winds she created. The blue police box faded in and out until becoming completely solid.
"The Doctor has called back the TARDIS! Warning! Alert! TARDIS has returned.! Warning!"The Daleks hostilely screamed out.
The Doctor's eyes were wide in disbelief, as he spun around to see his longest faithful companion came back. It should have been impossible, he made sure that the controls were locked, he'd never shown Rose how to fly the TARDIS, only Jack had the barest knowledge as how to drive the time-space ship.
The Dalek Emperor squirmed and writhed in his confining chamber at the sight of the Doctor's time-space ship's arrival. He angrily shrieked, "There is no escape for you Doctor! Your TARDIS can not save you now!"
The doors of the police box flew open, bright silver gold energy illuminated inside spreading out in streams; a human shape emerged. In an instant the figure vanished only reappear in front of the Doctor.
The Doctor had to look away when the TARDIS opened; the brilliant energy was bright… blindingly so. He at first could just barely make out a silhouette, before the form abruptly stood inches away; giving the Doctor a start, he stumbled back tripping and landed on his bum.
"Oh Rose. What did you do?" Frightened, the Doctor's voice quavered; he sat staring up at the silver-golden vision of his companion and mother to his children, standing meters away from him.
Rose regarded the Time Lord, her eyes glowed a silvery gold with the light of the Time Vortex pulsing within and around her. Her voice echoed, otherworldly devoid of her normal London accent, she answered the Doctor. "We looked into our hearts. Together we were shown our hearts' eternal bond."
The Doctor had been terrified earlier but now hearing his beloved Rose telling him she'd absorbed the Time Vortex, his mind whirled; it slid past her last words and focused on the implications her actions might have; a million questions sprang forth. The main all encompassing one was what would that energy do to Rose and their unborn time tots? "No Rose, that's a full concentration of the Time Vortex. Nobody's supposed to see it."
The Dalek Emperor twitched and wiggled franticly. At the sight of the golden radiant figure who had emerged out of the TARDIS, he screamed out, denouncing the false goddess that stood before him on the screen. "The creature! She is a Pariah!"
"We must Exterminate!" The center Dalek screamed at their Dalek God's words. It fired a laser bolt at the glowing form.
Fluidly, Rose raised her hand freezing the on coming projectile, and with a small flick of her fingers she sent the energy back into the Dalek's gun apparatus. The Doctor could only stare in amazed disbelieve and sheer abject adoration.
Rose fearlessly stood exposed to the gathered contingent that had been delegated to destroy the Doctor and his device to defeat the Dalek fleet. "We are the Howling Wind of the Oncoming Storm. We are the Time Champion's Sentinel. We are the mother of the Valiant children. We are the Bad Wolf. We created ourselves. Our name we take…" The glowing entity flung wide her slim arms and silvery golden light erupted from splayed fingertips disintegrating the Bad Wolf sign from the wall. "We disperse them throughout the universe and time."Flicking her wrists the golden molecules shimmer before vanishing across the cosmos into the forever… past, present and future."
"We spread our name as the key to unlock ourselves and lead us back to our Doctor." Bad Wolf stood defiant, humming with a timeless melody.
"No… No… No, Rose stop. You have to stop now." The Doctor frantically shouted to his companion. He knew Rose had very little time before the power would consume her.
Rose's outside form remained blank, unheading of the Doctor's words. Inside, a balancing acting of knowledge and compassion was perilous as the TARDIS and Bad Wolf tried to calm Rose. 'The Doctor doesn't know all. Be steady, we are almost done.'
"Rose, vortex energy is battering through your head. It's gonna consume you." The Doctor cried worry in syllable.
Rose's eyes shifted from gold to brown as they drifted down where the Doctor sprawled. Her face softened as tears slowly slide down her cheeks. "We want you safe. I want you safe. Our Doctor."
The Doctor stared mouth agape at Rose's depth of feeling. His concerns knew no bounds though as the energy cracked around them. Timelines were in flux and he couldn't grasp what would happen.
"We will protect our Doctor from the enemies of time. And shield him from the heretic God." The Bad Wolf's voice fluctuated between softly gentle to hard determination.
The Dalek Emperor's one eye widened momentarily before narrowing with demented fury. "You abomination; you are nothing! You have no power over me, for I am external!"
"Insect. I feel and behold all of the universe and flow of time. I discern every particle and molecule of your being and sever them." The gold energy returned to Rose's eyes, in an instant, her voice going arctic cold. Her gaze went to the nearest Dalek even as she directed the powerful energy of the time vortex through her extended arm. The golden metal killing machine dissolved into fluid silver-gold grains before disappearing.
The Bad Wolf swiftly changed her attention to the image of the Dalek Emperor, her echoing tone hardened further. "All things die leaving only ash. Every being passes great or small."
The Bad Wolf's arms raised; the Daleks surrounding them began to dissolve enblazened as the first. All the Daleks, not just the ones on Satellite Five, but down on the planet and in the ships. "The Time War Ends."
The Dalek Emperor moved frantically about, it's eye wild with fear. "No, I am your Lord and Master! Stop! I will not die!" All around him the ship melt away into the same silver-gold grains of light, the self proclaimed Dalek god with it.
As the image of the Dalek's control ship disappeared, Rose slowly lowered her arms. Her body began to shake, the Vortex energy remained burning powerfully between the TARDIS and Rose.
The Doctor felt momentary relief that the Daleks were now gone, and he hoped for good, but his concern persisted as Rose stood pulsing with the power of the Time Vortex. He again tried to make Rose or entity Bad Wolf see reason. "It's finished, Rose. The Daleks are gone. You can let it go now."
The Bad Wolf stared at the Doctor perplexed and spoke blissfully, "Finished, yes. But I'm alive. I can change so many things. I can save or bring back so many."
The hesitant foot steps, echoed down the corridor. Lynda cautiously paused at each new junction peering around corners before moving on. The blonde cradled her arm close, she was filthy and banged up from her escape from her self imposed trapping. Lynda cringed each time she passed a dead body.
Lynda sped up when she caught sight of Jack's prone body. Gasping out a sob, the blonde woman fall to her knees beside him. She ran a trembling hand thru his fine hair. She leaned down pressing a gentle kiss to his forehead.
Lynda pushed up right as tears and more gasping sobs escaped. She jerked back even further when the ex-time agent jerked and sprang up.
Jack looked surprised, but at seeing Lynda he gave her a exuberant kiss on the lips. Lynda followed after him as he quickly sprang back and jumped to his feet. "I don't know what happen but we need to get to the Doctor."
Jack pulled Lynda up and along the hallway towards the lift to go to floor five hundred.
"Bad Wolf, stop it's wrong! You need to let Rose go. The power of life and death isn't yours to control here." The Doctor could feel his skin crawl as the unnaturalness of Jack moved closer.
The Bad Wolf's gaze fell to him once again; her body quivered with excess of energy. "But it is my right. The Medusa Cascade and Centaurus… the dawn of universe to end of time." Her face twisted with pain and her form shudder, as she spoke with an uneasy quaver. "But Doctor why is there so much pain."
"This is my fault. Bad Wolf the energy will kill Rose." The Doctor plead with the powerful being residing in his Rose.
Tears ran freely down her cheeks, as inside she struggled. 'You said we would separate, this is not suppose to be happening. "I feel more of everything. Every planet, galaxy and creature… birth and death I can see and feel them all."
"I can help. Please." The Doctor stood and carefully approached Rose.
Alarm flashed through Rose's mind. 'No. He can't be allow to remove the energy. It would destroy him.' "Oh our Doctor. That you could. We shall go back leaving your Rose intact. " Rose turned back to the TARDIS. Once again she raised her arms; the silver-gold energy flew from the tips of her fingertips.
The Doctor watched in suspenseful worry; yes, the harmful energy dissipated from Rose, but there might so many different side effects that could and most likely would remain after such long exposure to so dangerous an energy. He was barely fast enough to catch Rose when the last bit left. Her body slumped as if someone had cut her strings. "Oh, Rose, brave stupid girl."
"Doctor, my Doctor." Rose murmured; with her tiny amount of strength she pulled herself up, placing a kiss on his lips then another next to his ear and there she whispered a name: one that only he would ever know. The Doctor tightened his arms around Rose in surprise, his Time Lord brain looping on the unexpected information.
During The Doctor's distraction, Jack and Lynda arrived at the Game Station control room. The sight of the TARDIS gave Jack pause as he remembered the Doctor had said he'd sent Rose home, but there sat the blue police box in the exact spot he'd seen her last, except the double doors were wide open. Jack rushed to where the Doctor stood holding an unconscious Rose Tyler; Lynda held back, avoiding stepping in the piles of dust that littered the floor. "Doctor…"
"Jack, stop!" The Doctor ordered, for the first time since he'd been shown the Untempered Schism did he have the strongest urge to run away. The Doctor knew logically it wasn't Jack's fault, and he couldn't just leave him and Lynda stranded on the deserted Satellite. His mind wouldn't settle; it seemed to be too full of questions which he didn't have any answers for.
"Jack… Lynda, I need you two to stay here a mo'." The Doctor stared ahead not daring to look in Jack's direction; if he did there wouldn't be anything that could stop him from taking off without them. He carefully went by the pair, carrying Rose gently into the TARDIS. He could feel the ship's unease at the ex-time agent's close proximity. "All right, old girl. No, taking off on your own. You and I both know that Rose would have our heads… well my head. We're just going to have to deal with it."
The Doctor went up the ramp, striding straight to the jump seat. Carefully he laid Rose down. With a callused hand he brushed blonde hair back from her serene face. Rose continued to amaze him, and the Doctor's thanked whatever deity wanted to take credit that she hadn't died; though, that didn't mean she would be unscathed. He forced himself to pull away.
The Doctor circled the console for a second before taking out his sonic screwdriver. Bending over he made a few adjustments that would allow Jack to enter the TARDIS without the time-space ship from bolting like a skittish doe. The Doctor called out to his waiting companions. "Ready, com' in."
The pair came rushing in and before either could voice any inquires the TARDIS doors slammed shut. The loud grinding of the TARDIS engines announced their departure... which echoed throughout the vaulted chamber.
TBC...
Author note: Wow... Just two chapters to go.