Sister Star
Chapter 13: Parting of the Ways
Almadynis
Disclaimer: I only own Astrid. *glomps* No takies!
AN: Beta is peaceloverhealer101. All mistakes are mine.
Astrid's thoughts
Rose and Astrid stood together by the far wall of the screen where the Doctor had appeared before, holding hands tightly together. The Daleks themselves were looking to be in a state of—at least—mild panic. One of them, the one that had spoken before, rounded and focused on Rose. "You know the Doctor. You understand him. You will predict his actions." It was a demand. But they really don't know us. Morons.
Rose was afraid. "I don't know!"
The Dalek glided towards her, his toilet bowl plunger pointed at her dangerously. Astrid slid Rose behind her protectively. The brunette's voice was filled with a strength she didn't feel. "And even if we did, we wouldn't tell you." That transmat seriously screwed with my head, but it's fixed now and I DO remember what the Doctor will do…and the hell am I going to tell you!
If a Dalek could be hysterical, this one would be. "Predict! Predict! Predict!" It glided so close that Astrid and Rose had to back up right against the wall to keep from touching the thing.
The second Dalek, the one that had talked to the Doctor before—I think, they all look alike and they all sound pretty much alike—turned his eyestalk in their direction as it stated, "TARDIS detected in flight."
The Dalek in front of them—maybe Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum to tell them apart? Or…hmmm…Dumb and Dumber? How about Thing One and Thing Two? No, that is an insult to Dr. Seuss.—turned its head around to look away from them as it practically yelled, "Launch missiles! Exterminate!"
Rose heard this and was very angry, terrified for her adopted big brother and boyfriend. Her tone was desperate to save them. "You can't! The TARDIS hasn't got any defenses. You're gonna kill them."
This of course, caught the Dalek's attention and he turned back to threateningly say, "You have predicted correctly."
Rose trembled in her fear and the girls held each other for comfort. After about a minute of waiting for the results of the torpedoes—intergalactic space killer Dalek exterminator torpedoes—Rose looked at Astrid in askance, because she could hear the TARDIS materializing. Astrid gave a small grin and nodded. She had heard it too. The Daleks were the next to notice and were looking all around, trying to spot where the ship would appear. A breeze began to ruffle their hair. Astrid held Rose tighter to her chest. They started to see a faint outline of the TARDIS around them slowly appear, encapsulating both of them and one of the Daleks—Dumber.
The Doctor was slowly coming into more and more focus, as was the outside of the TARDIS, the console, and Jack. As soon as the Doctor was almost completely solid, he shouted "Star, Rose, get down!" Astrid was expecting it, and even as the Dalek's eyestalk was swiveling around to face the Doctor, she tugged the blond to the floor and practically fell on top of her.
Dumber yelled out in hysteria, "Exterminate!" and fired at Jack—which is his first mistake, since the Doctor is almost never armed and Jack will never be unarmed—who was holding a very very large black gun that Astrid remembered used to be a Defabricator. Jack deflected to exterminator ray to the side—I'm sorry Lexi!—and fired his gun at the Dalek. The Dalek only had enough time to scream before it exploded in a shower of sparks and flying metal pieces.
Astrid and Rose winced at the explosion, and Astrid coughed a couple times from the smoke billowing out of the metal husk before the two girls got to their feet. Rose was amazed. "You did it." After all of the noise of the landing, the Dalek, and then the 'boom'… it was really quiet in the TARDIS. No one said a word as Rose walked over to Jack, who was occupied in putting down the giant gun, and hugged him tightly. "Feels like I haven't seen you in years."
Astrid didn't have to go to the Doctor, he came over to her and wrapped his arms around her. She held him just as firmly, burrowing her head into the crook of his neck. He whispered into her ear, "I told you I'd come and get you."
They pulled away slightly, but Astrid only took a breath before going back to kiss him soundly. After a month of kissing, she was getting much better. The world dissolved around her as his lips moved across hers hungrily. This wasn't a kiss passion; this was a kiss of need. The need to affirm that they were both alive and alright. When they finally parted again, they were both breathless. Her voice was soft as she rested her head against his chest. "I never doubted it."
"I did! You all right?" He looked her over once to make sure no pieces were smoldering or bleeding.
"5 by 5. You?"
He chuckled at her phrase, knowing the reference to this one and knowing that if she was making quotations that she was fine. "Not bad. Been better." He moved to closely examine the still smoking remains of Dumber.
Jack came over with a big smile and opened his arms. Astrid grinned and gave him a sisterly hug from the side. "Welcome home!"
Astrid pulled away from him, still grinning. "You look in one piece."
"Oh, we were lucky. I was just a one-shot wonder. Drained the gun of all its power supply. Now it's just a piece of junk." What had started as a good welcome home turned into a sad and slightly irritated statement.
The Doctor was paying no attention to any of them as he took out his sonic screwdriver and began to use it to even more closely identify the remains. All of them bent to look at the Dalek creature inside. With the battle armor in huge pieces, it was easy to see the mutated creature inside. It had two eyes, unlike the last Dalek they had seen, and a squashed head with one side about an inch longer than the other and covered in goop. It made Astrid slightly sick looking at it, smelling the burnt flesh, knowing what exactly was sitting there.
Rose was curious. "You said they were extinct. How comes they're still alive?"
"One minute they're the greatest threat in the universe, the next minute they vanished out of time and space." Jack explained as best he could, but he didn't know the whole story.
The Doctor was still looking at the dead creature intently and he absently told them. "They went off to fight a bigger war—The Time War." He straightened, frowning at the remains.
Jack was surprised at the new information. "I thought that was just a legend."
The Doctor didn't change expressions, his tone so frank and resigned. "I was there. The war between the Daleks and the Time Lords, with the whole of creation at stake. My people were destroyed, but they took the Daleks with them." He continued to stare at the smoking Dalek and continued quietly. "I almost thought it was worth it. Now it turns out they died for nothing."
Rose entered into the conversation, just as quiet as the Doctor. "There's thousands of them now. We could hardly stop ONE. What're we gonna do? Astrid?"
The Doctor looked at the female brunette who hadn't taken her eyes off the Dalek. Her blue eyes held such a sorrowful look in them, which he knew she knew what they were. Something he was missing. The brunette gave a deep breath, but then gagged slightly at the smell. She looked up at him and her eyes were so sad. "I can't help. This next bit is balanced on a knife edge. If even a small part comes out of place, everyone dies."
He nodded in understanding. Then suddenly he seemed to cheer up. "No good standing round here chin-wagging. Human race, you'd gossip all day. The Daleks have got the answers." He clapped his hands together once and his grin was playful. "Let's go and meet the neighbors." He headed down the TARDIS entrance ramp and Astrid shook her head.
"Sometimes, I think he gets off on being slightly crazy." He looked back, winked at her, and stepped out of the ship.
As soon as the Doctor showed his head, the Daleks around the TARDIS all cried out 'Exterminate!' and fired their death rays straight at him. Astrid was second out of the TARDIS, followed by Jack and Rose. The brunette girl grinned hugely at the Daleks when they finally gave up trying to kill them. The Extrapolator's force field simply absorbed all of the energy anyway. It did absolutely no good. The Daleks gave up after only three shots.
The Doctor raised his hands to either side and looked at them all mockingly. "Is that it? Useless." His voice took on a French accent. "Nul points!" He started back to the TARDIS and spoke to Jack and Rose, who were still in the doorway. "It's all right, come on out. That force field can hold back anything." He leaned against the TARDIS on the right. Astrid, leaning against the TARDIS on the left, slapped her hand up to cover Jack's mouth. His startled blue eyes quickly shot to hers where she was giving him a warning look. The Doctor's eyebrows rose at her actions, but knew there had to be a good reason for it.
He turned his attention back to the Daleks surrounding the TARDIS. He stepped forward a few feet, talking as he walked. "You know what they call me in the ancient legends of the Dalek homeworld?" He reached as far as he wanted to go and stopped, staring at the group of three in front of him with a serious expression to match his tone. "The Oncoming Storm." He paused slightly before continuing, building up suspense and fear. His volume soft, almost a whisper. "You might have removed all your emotions, but I reckon right down deep in your DNA, there's one little spark left. And that's fear." It was amazing how he grabbed their attention. The Daleks were hanging on his every word, almost shaking with nervousness. "Doesn't it just BURN when you face me?" His voice got louder, stronger. "So tell me, how did you survive the Time War?"
A new voice entered the monologue. It was a Dalek voice, but so much stronger, deeper, more powerful. Even with her earring-filters in, Astrid shivered at that voice. "They survived through me."
The Doctor hadn't noticed the owner of the voice so far, and turned in surprise at the answer from a different corner. His mouth dropped open as he took a few steps toward the huge Dalek that became illuminated.
It stood on three massive dalekanium legs, a head like every other Dalek on top, but much bigger than any other Dalek. But what was most unusual about this Dalek, was that hanging down from the head at the center of the tri-pod, and was what looked like a glass container. It was filled with liquid and blue light illuminated the Dalek body within. This Dalek looked like the one in Nevada, not like the others here.
The Doctor's voice was filled with blank fascination. Not that it is impressive; he's seen it…but that it survived. I'm so sorry, Doctor. "Rose. Captain. This is the Emperor of the Daleks."
"You destroyed us, Doctor. The Dalek race died in your inferno." For a creature with no emotions, this one sure does sound angry… "But my ship survived, falling through time, crippled but alive." …and now smug.
The Doctor understood. "I get it-"
Immediately, all around from the Daleks surrounding them, the group of humans and humanoid heard 'Do not interrupt!' yelled out at such volume that Astrid was extremely glad for her earrings. Even Rose and Jack flinched at the volume and tone.
The Doctor now had a look of annoyance. His voice was actually now mildly amused, but it was still strong, unwavering. "I think you're forgetting something. I'm the Doctor and if there's one thing I can do, its talk. I've got five billion languages and you haven't got one way of stopping me. So if anyone's gonna shut up," he suddenly turned around, his face a mask of fury and half-charged the group of Daleks that had shouted. "IT'S YOU!" The Daleks were scared enough—even if they don't admit it—that they rolled backward from the Doctor. When he sees this reaction, the Gallifreyan is in a much better mood. He turns back to the Emperor with a grin. "Okey doke. So, where were we?"
"We waited here in the dark space, damaged but rebuilding. Centuries passed and we quietly infiltrated the systems of Earth, harvesting the waste of humanity. The prisoners, the refugees, the dispossessed, they all came to us. The bodies were filleted, pulped, sifted." Even as the Emperor spoke, Astrid looked at Rose. Rose's face was as if she had swallowed a lemon. "The seed of the human race is perverted. Only one cell in a billion was fit to be nurtured." Jack took a deep breath, he understood what was being said, and his face said it all.
The Doctor's face was blank, but there was a look in his eyes, a set to his lips. He's angry. So, so angry. "So you created an army of Daleks out of the dead."
Rose's voice was calm, but with such a tone of incredulity. She looked from Jack to the Doctor and back again, didn't want to believe. "That makes them half human."
Now the Emperor Dalek rose in terrible anger. "Those words are blasphemy!"
From around them, making them all turn to watch in amazement—the Doctor especially—the Daleks called out in anger as well, backing up their leader. "Do not blaspheme!"
The Emperor went on, speaking in pride. "Everything human has been purged. I cultivated pure and blessed Dalek."
But the Doctor's face was so confused. His eyes were looking around at all the Dalek's, disturbed by this new piece of information. He turned to again face the Emperor. "Since when did the Daleks have a concept of blasphemy?"
"I reached into the dirt and made new life. I am the God of all Daleks!" Even with all this going on, the only thing I hear when he said that was the old joke about the scientists and God. The scientists found a way to create man out of dirt, like Adam and Eve and have a contest on who can make the best person. God goes first and the woman is perfect in every way. But when the scientists go to take their turn God looks at them and says 'Get your own dirt!'.
From all around, the Daleks that surrounded them all said in tandem, "Worship him! Worship him! Worship him!"
The Doctor's face hasn't changed expression, he has figured it out. He faces the Daleks still yelling and Rose, Jack, and Astrid. "They're insane. Hiding in silence for hundreds of years, that's enough to drive anyone mad." His tone and voice are realizing the depth of the problem. Astrid nodded at his conclusions. "But it's worse than that." He stared intently at the Daleks, walking towards them with such pity in his eyes. "Driven mad by your own flesh. The stink of humanity." His smile was only a very small one, full of sadness, as he shook his head. "You hate your own existence." His voice got harder. "And that makes them more deadly than ever." He turned to face the Emperor one last time. "We're going."
The Emperor Dalek practically screamed at them, "You may NOT leave my presence!"
But it was too late, all of them were either in the TARDIS or almost there. The Daleks yell at them to stay, but even as they fire their exterminator rays at them, they are fended off by the Extrapolator shielding.
Astrid watched the Doctor, pity and sadness in her eyes. He leaned against the TARDIS, his head on the door, his shoulders slumped. His whole body was in direct contrast to his attitude just moments before. He didn't know what to do, he felt so helpless as the Dalek cries of 'exterminate!' could still be heard through the door.
She went up to him and carefully placed a hand on his shoulder in as much comfort as she could give. I hope that this goes as planned, Doctor. But even if it does, the Daleks are always going to come back…even if they are all destroyed today, there is still that Void Ship out there. I am sorry. I am so so sorry. It was all she could do right now.
The Doctor was the first out of the TARDIS when they arrived at one end of Floor 500. He immediately started to give out orders as he walked quickly to the control panel. "Turn everything up! All transmitters, full power, wide open, now! Do it!" Rose, Jack and Astrid were already out of the ship and following on his heels.
Even one of the male technicians did as he was told; he asked, "What does this do?"
"Stops the Daleks from transmatting on board. How did you get on? Did you contact Earth?"
The programmer shrugged helplessly. "We tried to warn them, but all they did was suspend our license 'cause we stopped the programs."
The Doctor had that little frown right between his eyes. "And the planet's just sitting there. Defenseless." He looked around and noticed a blond girl, her hair done up in a pair of ponytails. "Lynda, what are you still doing on board?" His head went back to the male programmer, this time with an angry tone. "I told you to evacuate everyone!"
"She wouldn't go."
"I didn't wanna leave ya." Her voice was quiet, even as she gave him a soft smile. Astrid looked at her sadly, knowing how she would die. Rose eyed the woman up and down, not liking the sudden competition for her friend.
The programmer beside the male one, this one a female, said in irritation. "There weren't enough shuttles anyway, or I wouldn't be here. We've got about a hundred people stranded on Floor Zero."
The male technician was staring at his screen in silent fear. "Oh, my God. The Fleet is moving. They're on their way!" The Doctor moved closer for a better look.
The Doctor had seen them coming and bolted into action. He was now ripping out panels and handfuls, armfuls, of wires from the backs of the desks and into the corridor they had recently walked down, the TARDIS at one end providing illumination. Astrid was right beside him, working on the other side, ripping out wires and panels. Everyone else watched him, not having any idea what he was thinking. He was talking so fast as he tried to explain. "Dalek plan, big mistake, 'cause what've they left me with? Anyone? Anyone? Come on, it's obvious! A great big transmitter. This station! If I can change the signal, fold it back, sequence it? Anyone?"
Astrid caught Jack's face. He had no idea what was going on, but then it all clicked in his head and the expression turned into one of astonishment. "You've gotta be kidding."
The Doctor gave him a huge grin as a reward. "Give the man a medal!"
Jack still couldn't believe it. "A Delta Wave?"
The Doctor was so excited by his idea, he was grinning from ear to ear. "A Delta Wave!" Astrid giggled at his antics.
Rose didn't have the background to understand. "What's a Delta Wave?"
Jack explained as best he could to the 21st century girl. "A wave of Van Cassadyne energy. It fries your brain. Stand in the way of a Delta Wave and your head gets barbecued."
Even as Jack was saying all this, the Doctor never slowed down his dismantling of the desks. He pointed Astrid to pull out specific wires in the bundles, then looked back at Jack and Rose. "And this place can transmit a MASSIVE wave. Wipe out the Daleks!"
Rose opened her mouth to say something but Lynda, smiling just as much as he was, shouted out to him. "Well get started and do it then!"
Rose glared at the girl slightly, irritated at being interrupted. Astrid had been watching and she giggled softly. Rose looked up at her friend and smiled in turn. Somehow, she no longer felt threatened by the pig-tail girl. He was her brother, but Astrid's boyfriend, and if the brunette wasn't threatened, then she shouldn't be either.
The Doctor answered Lynda's unasked question, oblivious to the interplay between the girls. "Trouble it, wave this size, building this big, brain as clever as mine, should take about—ooh—three days? How long till the Fleet arrive?"
The male technician checked the computer screen behind him. "Twenty two minutes."
The Doctor frantically restarted to pull out cables from underneath one desk, stared at the end of the bundle for a split second, looked up at all the people staring at him, and gave them all a beautiful beam of a smile. Astrid laughed.
Astrid was working diligently with the Doctor as Jack and Rose spoke with the others out of her hearing range since she had the filters in. She decided that now would be a good time to privately speak to her Doctor. "This is it, Doctor. This is the end of season one of Doctor Who and the event I'm supposed to be a part of will happen within thirty minutes." Her crystal blue eyes looking into his own ice blue depths. "I want you to keep your promise." She could see that he didn't immediately remember. "If I can't protect Rose…" Now she could see that he remembered, and that he would rather not. "…it falls to you. Alright?"
He nodded firmly, understanding in his eyes. He knew that she didn't expect to live out the next half hour. She fully expected to die. The hell he was going to let her. He called out to the group of people at the other end of the room. "Rose, you can help me and Astrid. I need all these wires stripping bare." Rose immediately joined the two with a hesitant smile. Astrid handed her a pair of wire-cutters and they both got to work.
Lynda came over to the Doctor, ignoring the two girls. "I-I just wanna say…thanks, I suppose. And I'll do my best."
He smiled at her gently. "Me too."
They awkwardly tried to decide on the best way of saying goodbye. At one point the Doctor looked as though he's going to kiss her forehead, but they settled for a handshake. They laughed embarrassedly, while Rose looked on with a semi-amused smile, Astrid beside her trying hard not to laugh. Lynda headed off, glancing back at the Doctor who watched her go.
Jack approached them and stood before them, ready to say his goodbyes. He tried to keep his tone light a friendly, "It's been fun." The Doctor grinned at him. Then Jack's voice gained a more serious edge. "But I guess this is goodbye." Rose dropped the wires she was holding and threw her arms around him and kissed him soundly. He gazed deeply into her eyes and wiped away the tear that threatened as he held her face in his two hands. He had never been more sincere when he said, "Rose…you are worth fighting for."
Jack turned to the Doctor and grinned at him animatedly. "Wish I'd never met you, Doctor." He reached out to cup the other man's face in his hands like he had done Rose. "I was much better off as a coward." Then he kissed the Doctor, but it was a friendly kiss. A goodbye kiss. It had nowhere near the passion he had kissed Rose with.
Now it was Astrid's turn. She smiled at him and threw her arms around him in a glomp hug, the kind that made him wince slightly at the tightness, but he wouldn't say anything about it. Not this one. He was much taller than her and had to curve his neck down. "Little Star, you are the best little sister I could have hoped for and never wanted." Astrid gave a startled bark of laughter and nodded in assent. He kissed her as well, cupping her face like Rose and the Doctor, but this kiss was on her forehead. A last brotherly gesture of love.
A whisper came to his ears, soft enough that no one else could hear it. "If all goes well, I'll find you in Cardiff." His look went from startled to blank in a nanosecond. He understood that this was her future knowledge, and that she was trying to give him hope. He faced the exit, put a hand on each of the Doctor and Rose's shoulders, then pointed forward in a gun-like gesture toward the exit. "See you in hell." And then he ran off, the three of them watching him leave. Rose had tears in her eyes, the Doctor more stoic than normal.
Rose looked at the Doctor nervously, hope in her eyes. "He's gonna be all right." The Doctor didn't answer, and Astrid went back to work on the wires. Rose needed an answer, slightly desperate. "Isn't he?"
Silence was her only answer.
Now that Jack was organizing the people below to mount a defense, Rose, Astrid and the Doctor were the only people left on Floor 500. All of them were busily working on the wires, splicing together and stripping bundles as fast as they could. By this time, the middle row of desks were covered with wires, as was the floor. The three of them were sitting on the floor in a companionable silence as they worked.
Rose was the first to break it. "Suppose…" her voice drifted off.
The Doctor didn't look up as he capped the end of a bundle of wires, asking after a moment. "What?"
"Nothing."
"You said 'suppose'."
Rose shook her head slightly. "No, I was just thinking. I mean, obviously you can't, but you've got a time machine. Why can't you just go back to last week and warn them?"
Astrid answered absently. "The Dalek's have been hiding for hundreds of years, Rose. One week wouldn't make any difference."
The Doctor didn't look up from his work either as he added onto her thought. "Also, as soon as the TARDIS lands, in that second, I become part of events. Stuck in the timeline."
Rose nodded as if she expected such an answer from him. Astrid peaked up at her and gave a wink and a small smile. "Yeah, thought it'd be something like that." She kept on working.
The Doctor let the silence carry for a few more seconds. "There's another thing the TARDIS could do. It could take us away." Rose looked up at him briefly, smiling softly. "We could leave. Let history take its course. We got to Marbella in 1989."
Rose, who after a year of travelling with him had gotten to know the Doctor really well, knew that this was an empty question. She smiled up at him. "Yeah, but you'd never do that."
He had that small frown between his eyes again when he looked up to meet her gaze. "No, but you could ask." She didn't answer. She didn't have to. Astrid picked her friends well, with an extremely high rate of discharge. Astrid had a grand total of three true friends: Rose, the Doctor, and Julian. If she was back home, that would expand to five to include her parents. By her definition, a true friend never left you to fight on your own, you could trust them to watch your back, and would be willing to drop everything if you needed them. Very few people could live up to those expectations. Rose was one of them. The Doctor knew this too. His voice was full of affection and pride for her, "Never even occurred to you, did it?"
Rose smiled up at him at the small praise and teased him. "Well, I'm just too good." Astrid laughed softly, nodding in agreement. His face was full of brotherly affection and tenderness as he looked at her.
The computer begins to whir and buzz. He looked over at it, alert. "The Delta Wave's started building. How long does it need?" Rose and the Doctor got to their feet and ran over to the computers, Astrid staying behind to continue working on the wires, knowing the results, but she can hear Rose.
"Is that bad?" There was no reply, and Astrid could see that the Doctor's head was sinking to his knees. "Okay, it's bad. How bad is it?"
The Doctor suddenly perked up and leapt to his feet, his face lit up in a bright smile, his tone gleeful to the point of laughter and delight. "Rose Tyler, you're a GENIUS!" Rose smiled at him even as he grabbed her head and put a great big kiss on her forehead. "We can do it! If I use the TARDIS to cross my own timeline… Yes!" He ran down between the corridor of desks, Rose close behind. As he passed the brunette, he grabbed her arm and physically dragged her with him. Her 125 pounds versus his 180, when he had momentum and inertia on his side was a losing battle. Even though she knew what he had in mind, and her eyes widened in shock and realization, by the time she was ready to fight him to stay with him, they were already in the TARDIS. Discreetly as he could, as soon as they were inside and the doors closed, he turned to Astrid and could see the recognition in her eyes; she knew what he would do and was against it. He had planned for this already though. Ever since Jack had joined them, and Astrid had given her pronouncement that she didn't expect to live through the first season she had watched, he had been planning this. She knew what he would normally do without her around, so he had to make special provisions just for her. Things that she wouldn't know, couldn't anticipate. The solution had come to him easily. A pair of handcuffs from the 21st century—for they weren't meant to hold her for long—went around the wrist of her dominant hand, her right, and the other around the railing close to the ramp and console of the TARDIS.
Astrid's eyes went wide at these unforeseen circumstances. She opened her mouth to yell at him, but he wasn't listening. It had happened so fast, she had been so slow to react, that he had already directed Rose to hold down a lever and was talking loudly as if in excitement, but it was really to keep anything Astrid might say from Rose overhearing. Astrid's blue eyes begged him not to do this. But he kept right on going, talking a mile a minute. "…and I'm more than clever, I'm BRILLIANT, I might just save the world. Or rip it apart."
Rose, obediently held down the indicated lever. "I'd go for the first one."
The Doctor gave a quick look at the other brunette to see that she was silently crying, watching him mutely. She wasn't even trying to talk anymore; she had sunk to the floor in resignation, her wrist hanging by the cuff by her ear. She just watched him, drinking in the sight of him. He turned back to Rose. "Me too. Now, I've just got to go and power up the Game Station. Hold on!" He ran down the ramp, running his fingers over Astrid's face as he passed for one last touch, and was out the door in just a second or two.
Astrid waited until the door shut, knowing it was already locked. Tears rolled down her cheeks silently as she sobbed. Rose, from her position at the control console, couldn't see Astrid at all since the brunette had sunk to the floor, she doesn't understand what had happened.
The engines begin to groan and shift as the Time Rotor rose and fell steadily. Rose called out, yelling for him, "Doctor, what are you doing? Can I take my hand off? It's moving." Making a quick decision when there was no answer, she ran down the ramp, right past Astrid and threw herself at the doors, but couldn't get them to open. She started to panic. "Doctor, let me out!" Astrid sobbed harder, finally starting to make noise in her grief, as the TARDIS began to fly. Rose looked back to see her friend handcuffed to the railing of the console, sitting awkwardly on the floor, crying desperately. Rose hammered on the doors, her voice accusing. "Doctor, what've you done?" Rose was still pounding frantically on the door when a hologram of the Doctor appeared standing just a few feet from where Astrid was slumped to the floor. Rose spun around as it started to speak.
"This is Emergency Program One. Rose, now listen, this is important. If this message is activated, then it can only mean one thing." Rose stared, wide-eyed at the blue hologram. "We must be in danger. And I mean fatal. I'm dead or about to die any second with no chance of escape." Rose cried out in denial.
Astrid had gotten to her feet shakily, staring at the hologram. He would be the last image of her Doctor she got to see if Bad Wolf wasn't created. She wanted to remember it.
The hologram was oblivious to the reactions of the two girls. "And that's okay. Hope it's a good death." Rose came to the top of the ramp, staring at him directly in the face while Astrid had to stare from the side. "But I promised to look after you, and that's what I'm doing. The TARDIS is taking you home."
Rose's voice is flat as she runs up the remaining ramp. "I won't let you."
The Doctor's hologram doesn't notice, still staring straight ahead. "And I bet you're fussing and moaning now. Typical! But hold on and listen a bit more. The TARDIS can never return for me. Emergency Program One means I'm facing an enemy that should never get their hands on this machine. So this is what you should do, let the TARDIS die." Astrid's head hung down for a split second, acknowledging to herself she would never let that happen in her lifetime, before looking back up at the hologram. "Just let this old box gather dust. No one can open it; no one will even notice it. Let it become a strange little thing standing on a street corner. And over the years, the world will move on and the box will be buried. And if you want to remember me, then you can do one thing. That's all. One thing." His face turned to face the two girls, one crying silently again, the other shocked into silence. His expression was full of affection, as if he could really see the blond girl. His voice seemed more alive, like he was right there in the room with them. "Have a good life. Do that for me, Rose. Have a fantastic life."
His face drifted down to where Astrid was on the floor again, defeated. "I choose you, Star. You are the bravest human I have ever met. Your soul shines with the light of the sun. You are going to do fantastic things. Do that for me, my Star." His hand reached down and seemed to caress her cheek. She leaned into the stroke, closing her eyes as her imagination filled in the warmth and feel of his skin. Then the hologram flickered, and faded altogether.
Astrid collapsed into sobs, her shoulders shaking in defeat and betrayal, as Rose screamed in denial. The TARDIS finally stopped making the flight noise; the Time Rotor stopped moving up and down. Rose abandoned the console and her attempts at flying, to rush to the doors and fling them open. But on the other side is the 21st century and the Powell Estate.
The brunette finally ran out of tears waiting for someone with handcuff keys. She hadn't spoken since before she had been practically kidnapped. This time it had been by a man she loved dearly—she could admit it to herself now—and her grief over his betrayal was overshadowed by her grief for him. It threw into relief how devastating everything and everyone would be if Bad Wolf didn't happen like it was supposed to. With that thought the one foremost in her mind, she steeled her heart, and focused on getting Rose on the right path.
Astrid, now so very very calm that many who knew her well would be very very scared, calmly gave an intense look at the handcuffs. "If you don't open, I'll melt you down for plumbing parts." And, surprisingly, the seemingly 21st century handcuffs popped open immediately. She nodded sharply, got to her feet, and went to find Rose.
Astrid found Rose sitting in the front window of a chip shop, watching out the window into the distance. She walked in easily and sat down by Rose, across from Jackie and Mickey across from Rose. Jackie grinned at her semi-daughter easily, but didn't even get up to hug her, especially with the look in the brunette's eyes. They were dead, cold.
Jackie went on and spoke to her true daughter, pleading with the blond. She knew how much Astrid protected Rose, and knew this might draw both girls out of whatever mood they were in. "Oh, Rose, have something to eat."
Rose didn't stop looking out the window. Astrid place her hand on Rose's shoulder in as much comfort as she could give. Rose barely noticed. "Two hundred thousand years in the future he's dying and there's NOTHING I can do."
Jackie didn't understand. "Well, like you said, two hundred thousand years, its way off."
Astrid shook her head and Rose finally looked at her mother, emphatic. "But it's not, it's now. That fight is happening right now. And he's fighting for us! For the whole planet! And I'm just sitting here eating chips!" She was angry and upset, but it was a hot anger while Astrid's was cold. It a lot of ways, the two girls were similar, but in this they were opposite.
"Listen to me." Jackie was insistent enough to turn Rose's head toward her. "God knows I've hated that man, but right now I love him and do you know why? 'Cause he did the right thing. He sent both of you back to me." Jackie went back to her fries as if that was it, the matter was closed, the conversation over.
Rose had other ideas. Her voice was so desperate, trying to get her mother to understand. "But what do I do every day, Mum? What do I do? Get up, catch the bus, go to work, come back home, eat chips and go to bed, is that it?
Mickey's tone was as cold as ice. "It's what the rest of us do."
"But I can't!"
"Why, 'cause you're better than us?"
Astrid's hand striking the surface of the table shocked them all with the abruptness and the volume. Her blue eyes were icy depths of anger. "Mickey, you know that is not what she meant. Stop being mean because you can. I just lost the man I love more than life itself, so don't you DARE do this."
Rose nodded and continued quietly. "But it was... It was a betterlife. And I - I don't mean all the travelling and... Seeing aliens and spaceships and things, that don't matter. The Doctor showed me a better way of LIVING your life." She looked up to Jackie and Mickey and spoke earnestly, particularly to him. "You know, he showed you too." Her voice was passionate and gained strength as she spoke. "That you don't just give up. You don't just let things happen. You make a stand. You say no. You have the guts to do what's right when everyone else just runs away! And I just can't-" She broke off, unable to go on. She kicked the table in frustration, leapt to her feet, and took off running out of the shop.
Astrid looked at the two of them silently, letting the silence grow. "The Doctor was like a brother to her and he means more to me than I can express. The people we care about are dying. What would you do?" She calmly got to her feet and left.
Astrid met Rose at the TARDIS, Rose had Mickey with her.
Rose was hopeful and lively, gesturing to the console with Mickey behind and to the side of her with Astrid watching. "All the TARDIS needs to do is make a return trip. Just reverse. Astrid, you've done that."
Astrid was already shaking her head. "Not without the Doctor's help. Besides, Lexi gets destinations from your head, she's telepathic."
"You've spoken to her though!"
Astrid gave her friend a raised eyebrow. "This is not a yes or no question, Rose. This is very specific. Lexi is alive, she can listen, but she is an eleventh dimensional being. Shoving herself down to understand us takes a lot of effort."
Rose nodded in understanding. She had seen Astrid 'talk' to Lexi and knew from experience that afterward, a conversation would be impossible for at least a few days. "Fine. Then we need to get inside her. Last time I saw you, Mickey, with the Slitheen, this middle bit opened. And there was this light and the Doctor said it was the heart of the TARDIS. If we can open it, I can make contact. I can tell it what to do."
Mickey was watching the two girls, who were avidly looking at the console panel that could open. "Rose…if you go back, you're gonna die."
Rose shook her head, her voice was confident. "That's a risk I've got to take. 'Cause there's nothing left for me here."
He didn't like the sound of that. "Nothing?"
"No." Her response was quick and that in and of itself communicated how strong that one word was. She couldn't meet his eyes, knowing how much it would hurt him, but it was wrong to string him along when she had Jack now, and she knew it. It was time he understood.
Mickey took the news with as much dignity as he was able and smiled at his former girlfriend. "Okay, if that's what you think, let's get this thing open." He ran off down the ramp.
Mickey was in his car, which was hooked up with a very strong, thick, heavy chain. The chain went from his bumper to the TARDIS panel with a hook. Rose stood by the panel, hoping to see some progress. Astrid was by the TARDIS doors, making sure that the chain wasn't catching on anything, as she relayed communication between Rose and Mickey.
"Faster!" Rose yelled.
Smoke billowed from the front wheels of Mickey's little blue Beetle, but the console still refused to budge.
Rose called out. "It's not moving!"
The chain got more and more taut, but it still did nothing. Until with a groan from Mickey's car, the chain snaps.
Rose yelped in frustration, kicked the console and leaned down in frustration.
Astrid let Rose and Jackie have their semi-private conversation from the other side of the console. Just because I know what they are going to say doesn't mean I should butt in. After a few minutes, Jackie ran from the TARDIS, crying, leaving Rose alone. Rose's whole body was shaking with the strength of her grief. Astrid came up to her, drew the blond girl into her arms, and held her for all she was worth. The cold shield she had built up dissolved and the two girls sobbed into each other's arms.
They were all leaning against Mickey's blue car as they looked at the TARDIS.
Mickey didn't want to give up, just like none of them did. "There's gotta be something else we can do. "
Rose was starting to get defeated. "Mum was right. Maybe we should just lock the door and walk away."
Astrid glared at the blond angrily. "I'm not having that. I'm not having you just- just give up now. No."
Mickey nodded in agreement. "We just need something stronger than my car...something bigger...something like that!" He was looking down the road where a large rescue and recovery truck. It was bright yellow and being driven by Jackie herself. It came to a halt right beside the TARDIS, all of them grinning in amazement and awe.
Jackie jumped out. "Right. You've only got this until six o'clock, so get on with it."
Rose was both astonished that her mother had accomplished such an amazing feat, and amused at the turn around. "Mum, where the hell did you get that from?"
"Rodrigo. He owes me a favor. Never mind why, but you were right about your dad, sweetheart. He was full of mad ideas, and this is exactlywhat he would've done. Now, get on with it before I change my mind." Jackie chucked the keys at Mickey, who caught them with a nod of thanks and they all ran to get into position with the chains and the TARDIS. Oh, Rassilon. Let us get there in time. Please, let us be in time!
One end of the chain was attached to the trunk and the hook end was on the console. Jackie watched from outside the TARDIS doors to help communication; Rose was right by the console, Mickey driving the truck. Astrid stood by the console too, but on the other side. She knew it would work this time, and she was getting all the buttons she knew about for certain into the right position.
Rose shouted out to Jackie. "Keep going!"
Jackie in turn called to Mickey. "Put your foot down!"
"Faster!" Rose yelled.
"Give it some more, Mickey!" Astrid barely heard Mickey roar with effort.
"Keep going!"
"Come on, come on!"
The chain began to creak with the strain.
"Keep going!"
"Give it some more!"
That seemed to do it, the catch ripped off of the console and the panel flew up. The same blinding white light from before lit up the entire room, but specifically focused on Rose's eyes. She deliberately gazed into the heart of the TARDIS, and the Time Rotor began to move. It was working.
Astrid watched as two golden streams of the Time Vortex flowed into Rose's eyes. In invisible wind coming from nowhere brushed Rose's hair away from her body even as the golden light vanished into her eyes. Astrid nodded. It was done. But as she looked down, she noticed something else. A small tendrils of light, the heart of the TARDIS, the Time Vortex, creeped along the console and flowed easily into her right hand, making it glow. Astrid jerked her hand back in fear, but it was too late. Her hand glowed golden for a second more before her skin returned to its normal creamy color. What the hell was that?
As this was happening, the TARDIS was flying with unnatural speed and they got to the Doctor even faster than they had left. As soon as the ship fully materialized, the doors flew open of their own accord and Rose was at the doorway in an instant, golden light billowing out as she stepped forward.
The light became even brighter, so bright that Astrid had to close her eyes. She had to go to her knees by the console, her hands the only things keeping her upright, trying to get away from the bright white light. She never saw a second small tendril of golden light enter her right hand again. Astrid knew the love Rose had for the Doctor, her sisterly love for the Doctor they both cared so much about, would kill all of the Daleks. Her love for Jack, that love that she had given up Mickey for, would bring him back to life. She knew the Doctor would save Rose because he loved her. He would sacrifice himself to save her life.
So she waited. In only a few minutes, the Time Vortex began to flow back into the TARDIS and the console panel snapped down. The doors to the TARDIS closed gently and quietly and the TARDIS looked normal once again. Astrid opened her eyes and slowly got to her feet as the Doctor came through the doors, holding Rose to his chest. He set her down on the main console floor and looked up at Astrid. The brunette had tears in her eyes, just as she had the last time he had seen her. "I'm sorry, Doctor. There was no other way."
He smiled at her so tenderly, caught her neck in his hand, and pulled her into a deep kiss. She hungrily kissed him back, knowing this would be the last. "It's alright, my little Star." He started up the TARDIS and threw her a wink. "Besides, you said you liked Ten more than Nine."
She gave him a half-hearted glare. "But he won't taste the same as you do."
Rose began to stir and was disoriented as she spoke. "What happened?"
The Doctor looked over at her, surprised. "Don't you remember?"
Rose sat up, her face full of confusion. "It's like… There was this singing."
He gave a grin and cheerfully exclaimed, "That's right! I sang a song and the Daleks ran away."
Astrid rolled her eyes at his small joke, even as Rose struggled to remember. "I was at home. No, I wasn't. I was in the TARDIS and… I can't remember anything else." Astrid looks over and sees the golden glow in the Doctor's hands begin. She glanced up into his face and gave him an encouraging smile.
He turned to Rose, the only one who didn't know what was going to happen. He smiled at her gently. "Rose Tyler." He gave a small laugh, trying to lighten the mood. "I was gonna take you to so many places. Barcelona, not the city Barcelona, the planet Barcelona. You'd love it. Fantastic place! They've got dogs with no noses." He laughed at his own joke, the girls joining him with Rose rolling her eyes. "Imagine how many times a day you end up telling that joke, and it's still funny!"
"Then, why can't we go?"
"Maybe you will. And maybe I will. But not like this." He didn't elaborate at all and Rose was starting to get really confused. He wasn't helping.
Rose got to her feet slowly. "You're not making sense!"
"I might never make sense again! I might have two heads. Or no head!" He laughed and gave her a bright smile. "Imagine me with no head!And don't say that's an improvement!" Rose grinned at him with mirth making her eyes twinkle. "But it's a bit dodgy, this process. You never know what you're gonna end up with." He was suddenly propelled backwards as a blast of golden light encompassed him.
Astrid ran around the console the long way to grab Rose and hold her as well as she could. "Stay back, Rose!"
The Doctor agreed with her, his voice full of urgency as he called out to both of them, "Stay away!"
Rose stopped, staring at him, eyes wide. The Doctor winced in pain. "Doctor. Please. Tell me what's going on."
He still tried to keep his tone light for Rose, despite how much pain he was in. "I absorbed all the energy of the Time Vortex, and no one's meant to do that." His face was screwed up in so much pain that Astrid ached in sympathy. Rose could only stare in concern. His tone couldn't keep light hearted. "Every cell in my body's dying."
Rose was horrified, why was Astrid over with her? "Can't you do something?"
"Yeah, I'm doing it now! Time Lords have this little trick, it's... sort of a way of cheating death. Except..." He looked directly into her eyes, trying to convey that he was sorry. He knew that Rose didn't understand. "It means I'm gonna change." Rose shook her head. "And I'm not gonna see you again. Not like this. Not with this daft old face." He laughed softly, not wanting to scare the blond girl. "And before I go…"
Rose cut him off, upset with the conversation. They had just saved everyone from the Daleks and he was still going to die? "Don't say that."
"Rose…" She backed down, listening. "Before I go I just wanna tell you, you were fantastic." His blue eyes went to Astrid, who was standing behind Rose and to the side. He smiled widely, his voice so full of pride and his eyes were holding so much care for his Star. "Absolutely fantastic." He looked back at Rose. "And d'you know what?" Rose shook her head sadly even as the Doctor grinned. "So was I." Rose smiled, nodding through the tears she refused to let fall.
The Doctor smiled widely back at her for the last few moments before suddenly, he convulsed and orange, yellow, and golden energy exploded from his skin, blasting out of the neck of his jumper, the sleeves of his jacket and the bottoms of his trousers. Rose and Astrid staggered backwards, shielding their eyes from the heat and light - but they cannot look away. Rose stared transfixed, as gradually, the Doctor's hair lengthened, his face changed... until the energy eventually died away and a completely new man stood before her, still wearing the old Doctor's clothes. He looked slightly surprised for a moment, before turning to look at Rose and Astrid.
"Hello! Okay-oo." He gulped and ran his tongue over his teeth, brow furrowed in a small frown. He looks just like David Tennant! Why the heck does that sort of coincidence occur? If this is all a delusion in my head, I'm going to be really pissed off when I wake up in the mental hospital! He was still talking. "New teeth. That's weird. So, where was I? Oh, that's right! Barcelona."
Rose stared at him with undisguised shock and he grinned at her.
Astrid had no such compunction. She marched right up to Ten, balled up her fist, and punched him directly in his nose. "That's for handcuffing me to the railing! Where the hell did you get psychic handcuffs anyway?" He hand one hand over his nose, staring at her in shock, unable to answer. She grabbed the lapels of his jacket—well, the Ninth Doctor's jacket—and pulled him close to kiss the dickens out of him. He grinned into her mouth and she mapped out his mouth with her tongue and he with hers. When she finally pulled back, she was breathless, but she still managed to say, "And that's for not dying." She smiled up at him and his new brown eyes stared down at her, smiling. "Oh, and if you EVER handcuff me again without my consent first, I will force you into an early Eleven. Got it?" He nodded quickly.
Okay, everybody! This is the end of 'Sister Star'. Now, don't get your panties in a twist, Astrid is not done yet. I just changed Doctors, which means I have to change stories so that the correct characters can be listed. No biggee. The next story will be called 'Starfall' and should have the first chapter out within the week. And for a teaser, just remember that little golden light that went into Astrid. I'm going to have all kinds of fun with that in 'Starfall'! I hope you continue to read!
Remember people! Reviews are love!