Lady A: Hey everyone and welcome back to the second installment of the Warrior Saga, Ember! I do apologize for not updating this story sooner but both Phoenix Saga: Origin and Warrior Saga: Rebirth were calling to me. Also, though it is not a requirement, but might be helpful to the comprehension of this story, I suggest you read Warrior Saga: Rebirth. It is rated M because it does happen before and during the Time War, so there is some very bad things at times. I might bump it back to rated T because it isn't that bad yet. It doesn't turn mega dark until like the end of Chapter Nine, maybe when Chapter Ten is done. Anyways, my suggestion is to read Rebirth alongside Ember…and leave reviews!
Thanks to all those who faved, followed and reviewed this story and the others! Much love to Arya, Winry, Hannah, and Grape for their continuing support. This chapter is dedicated to you guys.
Brief Recap: Mickey tries to pull a ruse about the girls needing a stronger drink after their traumatic experience just so he could catch the tail end of a match down at the pub. The girls waved him off and they went to bed. Rose discovers the odd effect the Doctor has on her sister and how the red head slept through the night without her usual nightmares. The sisters are then reunited with the mysterious Doctor and Artimes and the Timelord have a nice conversation…sort of. Anyways, the arm attacks them and the ginger ended up in the line of fire. The Doctor saved her and she hugged him in her appreciation, surprising the nine hundred year old alien.
Looking Forward: The Doctor is running off and the girls are giving chase. The Timelord is becoming accustomed to the odd things a certain ginger says and is enjoying her company while trying to shrug off her younger sister's questions. The Doctor does his whole epic speech about the world turning and Rose gets a bit overloaded. Artimes, on the other hand, continues after him. After some words, she gets in between him and the Tardis. He tries to move around her but she falls through the doors, bringing the Timelord down with her. The door shut and the ship took off and oh my, Artimes is hearing voices in her head…oh it's just one voice.
Now enough spoilers from me! On with the show!
Chapter Four: Swanning Off
The Doctor walked down the stairs of the complex at a brisk pace, the Tyler sisters in hot pursuit and the blonde wanting answers while the ginger just didn't want to be left behind by the nine hundred year old, time traveling alien.
"Hold on a minute! You can't just go swanning off!" Artimes yelled trying to keep up with his long legs.
"Yes I can. Here I am, this is me, swanning off. See ya!" He replied cheerily, making her smile at his cheekiness.
"That arm was moving! It tried to kill my sister!" Rose shouted extremely annoyed by the leather clad Timelord's attitude.
"Ten out of ten for observation." Both the Doctor and Artimes said together.
The Timelord simply shook his head at the ginger, a fond smile on his face. Artimes grinned back, happy that he seemed to be doing better. Rose glared at the long legged alien for poking fun at her. Only her sister had the right to do that, not him and she didn't take too kindly to how he kept looking at her and acting so familiar with her. Let's just say she was a little jealous of how easily they got along after knowing each other for such a short time. Come to think of it, when was the last time her sister was ever this friendly towards someone?
"You can't just walk away! That's not fair! You've got to tell us what's going on!" Rose demanded changing thought tracks.
This man was different from everyone else and her sister was responding to that. The ginger seemed honestly happy with the strange man that blew up their jobs.
"No, he doesn't." Artimes said at the same time he said, "No, I don't."
The Timelord gave her a curious look before simply smiling at her. He reached the bottom of the stairs and went through the doors. He was already on the street by the time the girls exited the staircase. They ran after the leather clad alien and swiftly caught up to him.
"Alright then. We'll go to the police. We'll tell everyone. You said, if we did that, we'd get people killed. So, your choice. Tell us or we'll start talking." Rose threatened making her elder sibling look at her questioningly.
"Is that supposed to sound tough?" The ginger asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Sort of." The blonde answered slightly less confident than before.
"Doesn't work." The Doctor replied casting an amused look at the ginger, who was struggling to keep up with him.
He slowed down marginally and she shot him a look of gratitude. His eyes softened and he was about to reach out for her hand when Rose interrupted his thoughts.
"Who are you?" The blonde demanded trying to get his attention away from her sister.
"He told us already. He's the Doctor." Artimes answered like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
The Timelord flashed the red head an appreciative smile causing her to blush and chuckle a little.
"Yeah, but Doctor what?" Rose asked trying to understand.
"Just the Doctor." He answered cheekily.
"The Doctor." The blonde repeated in disbelief.
"Hello!" He replied giving the younger Tyler a little wave.
Artimes couldn't stop herself from snorting in a vain attempt to keep herself from laughing. Within a fraction of a second, the giggles erupted from her mouth on their own accord. Rose shot her a glare, very unhappy that her elder sister was laughing at her, but the Timelord smiled at the ginger haired woman, glad that at least someone saw the humor in their current situation.
"Is that supposed to sound impressive?" The ginger asked smirking, a playful look in her eyes.
"Sort of." He answered his eyes barely wavering from hers.
Rose almost felt like a third wheel with how her sister and the leather wearing bloke were silently communicating with their eyes and body movements. It was like they had known each other for years and it was very disconcerting to the young blonde. She had never seen her sister hold that level of familiarity with anyone before and it was both shocking and kind of nice at the same time. Artimes had always seemed out of step with the rest of the world, but now because if this odd fellow, she seemed completely at ease...like she had found where she belonged.
"Come on. You can tell us. We've seen enough. Are you the police?" She asked trying to understand this strange man that had such a profound effect on the crimson haired woman.
"Do the police blow up buildings?" The red head countered giving a meaningful look at the blue eyed man.
The Doctor chuckled at her rhetorical question, his eyes dancing in amusement.
"No. I was just passing through. I'm a long way from home." He answered as his eyes momentarily lost their former luster and filled with a deep sadness that made the ginger's heart ache in response.
She knew exactly how he felt. Her world, her home, her brother…all of it was gone and there was no way for her to return home. She understood his pain better than anyone and she honestly wished that she knew what to say or do to make him feel better. She was fighting the incredibly strong urge to hug him and hold him close, to give him her strength, but she kept herself in control. Now was not the time to lose emotional control and slip up about her true origins.
"But what have we done wrong? How comes those plastic things keep coming after us?" Rose asked breaking through her sister's morose thoughts.
"They weren't after us, Rosie. They were after him. We were just an accident." Artimes piped up.
"It tried to kill you, Artz!" The blonde snapped frustrated by the entire situation and how her sister seemed to side with the blue eyed alien so easily.
"She's right though. It was after me, not you two! Last night, in the shop, I was there, you two blundered it. Almost ruined the whole thing." He started.
"Sorry for doing our jobs, you clot." Artimes mumbled a little ticked off that he was trying to blame them for something that wasn't their fault.
The Timelord heard her comment and flashed her an apologetic smile, silently saying he was sorry, before continuing on his rant.
"This morning, I was tracking it down, it was tracking me down…the only reason it fixed on you two is that you met me." He explained.
"So, what you're saying is, the entire world revolves around you." Rose commented sarcastically.
"Sort of, yeah." He replied making the ginger snort in amusement at how quickly he had responded.
"You're full of it!" The blonde responded thinking he was a complete nutter.
"Sort of, yeah." He replied in the same tone as before.
Artimes was trying very hard not to laugh at the hilarity of this situation. She had totally forgotten how funny this particular scene had been in the show and it was even funnier now that she was seeing it in person.
"But, all this plastic stuff…who else knows about it?" Rose asked giving the red head time to calm herself and get back to business.
"No one." He answered slight tinge of loneliness in his voice.
"You're on your own." The ginger said making it a statement rather than a question.
The Doctor took it as a question though and proceeded to answer it.
"Well, who else is there? I mean, you lot, all you do is eat chips, go to bed, and watch telly! When all the time, underneath you, there's a war going on!" He rambled not noticing the effect his words had on the red head.
Rose saw how her sister's body stiffened at the word 'war' and the distant look she loathed returned to her elder sibling's eyes. The younger Tyler knew she needed to distract the Timelord while her sister got a hold of herself. She reached across the leather wearing bloke and grabbed the plastic arm from him, effectively distracting him from her sister and giving the ginger the time she needed to force back the memories of her recurring nightmares.
"Okay, start from the beginning." Rose ordered, the Doctor's attention staying on the blonde for a moment as she talked, "If you're gonna go with this living plastic, and I don't even believe that, but if we do…how did you kill it?"
The blonde glanced quickly at her sister, seeing the internal struggle, and determined that she needed just a little more time.
"The thing controlling it projects life into the arm. I cut off the signal, dead." The Doctor answered about to shift his attention back to her sister to find out why she was so quiet.
"So that's radio control?" Rose asked redirecting him back to her for a moment.
The blonde's question seemed to snap her elder sibling back into the present and Rose nearly sighed in relief, but caught herself before she did.
"It can't be radio control. I had a good look at that arm last night. There were no signs of wires, cables, or circuitry of any kind. It was solid plastic." Artimes answered.
"Well done. It wasn't radio control. It's thought control." The Doctor replied giving the ginger an impressed look.
She blushed slightly, looking away quickly from his intense and curious gaze. He made her so flustered that it was ridiculous…not to mention, she absolutely loved his pale blue eyes. Out of all his regenerations, the Ninth Doctor had the best eyes in her opinion, followed by Eleven's green eyes and Ten's brown eyes.
"Are you alright?" The Doctor asked when the younger Tyler had remained silent too long.
Artimes wondered briefly what her sister had been thinking about to make her have such an introspective look on her face.
"Yeah, so who's controlling it then?" Rose asked shaking her head slightly and getting back on track.
"Long story." The Doctor answered immediately, not really wanting to talk about it.
"Long walk." Artimes sassed sending him a playful smirk and not letting him side step the question so easily.
She could see that he was trying really hard not to laugh. Rose spoke up, only adding to his amusement for the moment.
"But what's it all for? I mean, shop window dummies…what's that about? Is someone trying to take over Britain's shops?" The younger Tyler joked.
The trio descended into laughter despite the seriousness of their current situation and topic of discussion.
"No." Both he and the ginger answered together, still chuckling.
"I know." Rose responded smiling widely.
"It's not a price war." He replied laughing again before becoming serious very quickly, "They want to overthrow the human race and destroy you. Do you believe me?"
"No." Rose answered at the exact time Artimes said, "Yes."
"You believe him?" The blonde asked surprised.
"Once you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be true." Artimes answered quoting Sherlock Holmes.
"Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, very good." The Doctor commented before looking over at Rose for a moment, "And you're still listening."
The younger Tyler stopped, grabbing her sister's hand and forcing her to stop as well.
"Really though, Doctor. Tell us, who are you?" The blonde asked tired of their little game and wanting proper answers.
The Doctor stopped and looked back at them, but at the ginger specifically.
"Do you know like we were saying? About the Earth revolving?" He started walking back over to them, "It's like when you were kids. The first time they tell you the world's turning and you just can't quite believe it because everything looks like it's standing still. I can feel it."
He took their hands in his own and Artimes was overcome by a strange and powerful sensation unlike anything she had ever felt before. It was like she could feel the world turning just like he said and she realized he was using a mild form of his touch telepathy, probably without realizing it too. It felt weird yet incredibly right...like she could almost feel life exploding around her and time flowing by like a river. It was exhilarating and disconcerting, but totally awesome as well. Did he feel like that all the time? Was that what it meant to be a Timelord?
"The turn of the Earth. The ground beneath our feet is spinning at a thousand miles an hour, and the entire planet is hurtling around the sun at sixty seven thousand miles an hour, and I can feel it. We're falling through space, the three of us. Clinging to the skin of this tiny little world, and if we let go…" He continued dropping Rose's hand but Artimes clung to his other hand, refusing to drop it.
He gave her a rather sorrowful expression when he removed his hand from hers, his strength much greater than her own. In that instant of time, she felt like she had lost something very important when he let go and she didn't like how it made her feel. She felt off balance and almost incomplete, the void in her mind becoming a little more noticeable to her.
"That's who I am. Now, forget me, Artz and Rose Tyler." He ordered taking the plastic arm and waving it front of the blonde's face, "Go home."
The younger Tyler turned around and walked away, overloaded by everything she had seen, heard and felt. Artimes, on the other hand, was not about to let him go and she ran after the Doctor. She started walking backwards in front of him, forcing the Timelord to slow down slightly to not bump into her.
"Did you really think that I would give up on you so easily, Doctor?" She asked giving him a pointed look.
"Go home, Artz. It's too dangerous." He answered continuing towards the Tardis.
She stayed with him and finally put herself in between him and the blue box that was his home, both coming to a stop.
"I'm staying with you." She stated firmly, her eyes burning with determination.
She could see the struggle in his pale blue eyes. A part of him wanted her to stay, but the other part of him wanted to keep her safe.
"No, Artz." He denied trying to move past her but she blocked him.
"I'm not gonna leave you on your own. It's wrong, it's so wrong." She countered keeping herself directly in front of him and away from the Tardis doors.
He stopped and looked at her, trying to understand what she meant.
"Why? Why is it wrong?" He asked softly, his eyes sad and the longing in those pale blue depths made her heart clench painfully in response.
"I can see it in your eyes. Hell, I felt it when you took my hand: sadness, pain, loss, grief, loneliness, and a whole lot of regret. Something terrible happened to you, something that hurt you deeply. My heart aches seeing you like this, so torn up and lost. All I know is that you need someone. If for no other reason than to simply be there." She answered her eyes starting to water slightly.
His pale blue eyes were raging with a storm of emotions. She had hit the nail on the head perfectly and it was causing him to become emotionally raw and very quickly too. He looked at her with so much pain and sadness in his eyes that she nearly cried.
"No." He stated sternly, trying to reach for the doors.
Artimes backed up until she was pressed against the wood. She cried out in surprise when the doors suddenly swung inward. She fell backwards and brought the Doctor down with her when she grabbed onto his leather jacket. They landed hard on the grating, a mess of tangled limbs and the Timelord fully in between her legs. They heard the doors slamming shut of their own accord and locking. The wheezing and groaning sound indicated that the Tardis had taken flight into the Time Vortex by her own choosing.
'Welcome home, my Artz.' A female voice spoke in the ginger's mind.
Lady A: Voila! Chapter 4: Swanning Off is complete! A bit of humor and wit in this chapter and then a bit of seriousness. Anyways, things become interesting in the next chapter so leave tons and tons of reviews and be on the lookout for Chapter 5: Kindred Spirit! Stay Tuned and have a box of tissues ready!