Rise of the Cybermen Part 1

The morning after, surprising to both the Doctor and Rose, was hardly awkward at all. They both had woken up slowly, unwilling to ascend from their comfortable graves. The Doctor was astounded he'd gotten any sleep at all. He never slept, and when he did, it was once every week or two. He had blamed the pink and yellow human in his arms, whose head was in his chest, breathing in the scent of Time, Space and Banana Daiquiris.

Thinking about their angry conversation the night before, he gave a sigh. That, he promised, was never going to happen again. He was tired of running away. From her, in particular, and he was certain she felt the same way.

The rest of the morning past in a very hazy, fast blur. The Doctor remembered a bit about being in the kitchen, then retreating to his room to change out of custard drenched clothes, then running quickly to the Console Room. He then found himself sitting in the Jump Seat with Rose, laughing about a small lady they'd met on a distant planet long ago. "Do you remember the way she looked at you?" the Doctor asked enthusiastically. "And then she opens her mouth and fire comes out!"

"I thought I was gonna get frazzled!" Rose laughed manically, imitating the scene with him. Mickey nodded, smiling slightly as if they were to two strangest people in the world- well, Universe. "Yeah… so where was this, then?"

The Doctor, coming back down from a laughing high, said dismissively, "Oh, it was on this thing… planet- asteroid thing. It's a long story, you had to be there." Mickey nodded his head in acceptance, the Doctor's face turning serious as he looked down at the Console. "What are you doing that for?" he nodded to Mickey's finger, which was pressing down a round, black button.

"You told me to," Mickey replied.

The Doctor blinked in confusion, looking back at Rose for help. "When was that?" he asked after a few moments.

"'bout half hour ago."

"Oh," the Doctor wondered, remembering what he'd asked Mickey to hold to button for. "You can let go now," he ended, holding back a chuckle as Rose sniggered quietly. Mickey released his finger from the button, the tip of his finger white from the lack of blood. "How long's it been since I could'a stopped?" he asked injuredly as Rose continued to giggle.

"Ten minutes?" the Doctor guessed, a smile tugging on his lips. "Twenty... Twenty-nine?"

Mickey mouth hung open slightly, but he closed it immediately. "You forgot about me!"" he yelled accusingly.

"No, no, no!" the Doctor denied quickly. "No, I was- I was just… I was calibrating," he lied. "I- no, I know exactly what I'm-" Before he could finish his sentence, the TARDIS Console gave a loud bang, explosions erupting from the Rotor, under the Console itself, a few of the button flying across the room. The Doctor fell roughly against the Console, flicking as many switches as he could in a desperate attempt to get the TARDIS to land. "What's happened?" Rose asked breathlessly.

"The Time Vortex," the Doctor breathed. "It's gone. That's just impossible, it's gone!" Noticing the readings on the monitor and the blearing of the familiar alarm in the background, just hear able from the explosions, the Doctor exclaimed, "Brace yourselves! We're gonna crash!"

The TARDIS gave a violent jolt, sending all three of them flying from the Console. Mickey ended banging his head on one of the railings, but nevertheless unharmed, and the Doctor and Rose ended up under the Jump Seat, the Doctor having one arm clamped over Rose and onto the grating, making sure neither of them went very far.

Opening his eyes, the Doctor found immediately something was very wrong. The TARDIS lights were out, as was the light blue Rotor in the middle of the Console. Everything was just dark. But what worried him the most was that he couldn't sense the TARDIS in his mind. "Everyone alright?" he called as Rose began to emerge from the grating. "Mickey?" he called.

"Yeah," Mickey replied as he too scrambled off the floor. "I'm okay, sorry."

The Doctor got up with the other two, looking at the TARDIS Rotor. There was no light at all, no power- no life. He searched his head thoroughly, defiantly not liking the sign of the great, big absence in his mind, which the TARDIS herself had always occupied. It was dark, gloomy, and quite frankly, scary. There was nothing. Nothing what so ever. Watching the smoke and steam rising from the Console, he muttered, "She's dead…" he paced around the middle slowly, manically touching the metal material. "The TARDIS is dead."

"But you can fix it?" Rose asked, panic beginning to show in her voice.

"There's nothing to fix," the Doctor shook his head sadly. "She's perished," he flicked one of the Console's switches, knowing nothing was going to happen, shredding his last, tiny light of hope. "The last TARDIS in the Universe. Extinct."

There was a ling silence, Rose taking his hand tightly. "We can get help, yeah?"

"Where from?" he replied.

"We've landed," she said reasonable. "We've gotta be somewhere."

The Doctor shook his head, continuing to look at the lifeless room. "We fell out of the Vortex, into Void- nothingness. We're in some sort of… no place. The Silent Realm, The Lost Dimension-"

"Otherwise known as London!" Mickey called from the TARDIS doors, which he was peeking out of. The Doctor and Rose hurried over to him to see his comment was correct. They were in London. Twenty First century London, filled with people, cars and more people. "London, England, Earth!" Mickey exclaimed happily. "Hold on-" he jumped down from the grass and onto concrete, where he found an abandoned newspaper sitting all alone on a park bench. "1st of February this year. Not exactly far-flung, is it?"

"So this is London?" the Doctor asked, looking up at the sky at something- something's- that the other two had completely unnoticed in their phase of happiness. "Your city?"

"That's the one!" Mickey replied, looking down at the paper still.

"Just as you left it?"

"Bang on!"

Testily, the Doctor added, "Does that include the zeppelins?" Snapping his neck up, Mickey looked quizzically at the Doctor, who was gesturing above their heads. As he claimed, there were two great zeppelins flying over their heads, slowly soaring through the sky. "What the hell…" Mickey muttered lowly. "Okay, so it's London with the International Zeppelin Festival."

The Doctor continued to look around grimly, replying coldly, "This is not your world."

"But- if the dates the same-" Mickey stuttered, a bright light flicking on in his brain as he realized what was happening. "It's parallel, right? Am I right? A parallel Earth where they have like Zeppelins and stuff? Am I right? I'm right aren't I?"

"Must be," the Doctor nodded.

"So, a parallel world where-" Rose stuttered, looking towards a bus stop. Well, what was advertised on the bus stop, to be more precise.

"Oh, c'mon!" Mickey exclaimed. "You've seen it in films! An alternative to out world where everything's the same, but just a little bit different like- I don't know- traffic lights are blue, Tony Blaire never got elected-"

"And he's still alive," Rose finished. Frowning, Mickey turned to see a man smiling in suit -an orange drink in his hand- slapped against the bus stop. Above the man was the name Vitex Lite, probably referring to the drink in his hand. Mickey and the Doctor looked between Rose and the picture for a good few moments as Rose tip toed toward it. "A parallel world and my dad's still alive."

"Don't look at it, Rose," the Doctor ordered sternly. "Don't even think about it, this is not your world."

"But he's my dad," Rose whispered brokenly. As soon as she was in distance, she extended her hand to touch the figure, jumping back in surprise as the advertisement started to talk. "Trust me on this," said the picture of Peter Alan Tyler. He gave a thumbs up to his observers and said the phrase again. "Trust me on this."

"That's weird," Rose admitted. "But he's alive, and he's a success! He was always planning these daft little schemes, healthy drinks and stuff. Everyone said there were useless, but he did it!" A smile was plastered on her face. Until the Doctor blocked her view. He took her firmly by the shoulders and made sure she couldn't see her father. "Rose, if you've ever trusted me, then listen to me now, okay- stop looking at him! Your father is dead. He died when you were six months old. That is not your Pete, that is a Pete. For all we know he's got his own Jackie, his own Rose. His own daughter who is someone else, but not you." Rose looked down at the ground as she took on board what he was saying. He was right, He was always bloody right. But that wouldn't stop her. As the words 'trust me on this' continued in the background, Rose slipped her arms around the Doctor middle, giving him a quick hug which he returned.

Rose found herself idly strolling along the bank of the Thames after telling Mickey she'd be fine. Noticing a bench, she sat down, burying herself deep in thought. Darkness washed over her as a zeppelin trudged across the sky, a big 'C' on its belly. Rose's phone gave a loud beeping; notifying her she had a message. Taking the phone from her pocket, 'welcome- free trial period' flashing itself across her screen. Pressing the play button to a video, she listened to a news reporter.

"And it's good news for Great Britain as John Lumic returns to the country of his birth. Mr Lumic, the inventor of high-content metal, has denied allegations of ill health."

The screen turned to a man, stuck helplessly in a wheel chair as he struggled to speak. "We're all flesh and blood. It's the brain that makes us human, and my mind is more creative than ever!"

The screen turned back to the news reporter, the young man speaking once again. "With shares in Cybus Industries doubling in price, Mr Lumic..." Rose pressed the button to stop the video, looking up again at the zeppelin that covered her. She now knew that this machine belonged to the head of the Cybus Network, whatever that was.

Rose smiled as she looked up information about her Parallel father. It was true. The Doctor had said that Parallel Pete had his own Jackie, and he was right. But the thought that saddened her wasn't the fact her father was dead back home and alive here, not the fact she was missing her Parallel mothers birthday. It was the fact they hadn't had any children, they didn't have their own Rose. She didn't even exist in this Universe, she was dead. Non-existent. That thought sent a cold shiver up her spine.

Before she could go too deep into thought, she noticed someone was walking toward her. A young man and a dog. The young man had shaggy dirty blonde hair, which nearly feel into his TARDIS blue eyes. As he got nearer, she noticed there was a long, red scar running down his cheek, fairly new. She recognised this boy. He'd travelled with her and the Doctor for a short time. This was Jason. But it was the dog that made her smile. Pulling on the red lead was a puppy. A red, brown and white welsh border collie with merle green eyes. This was Eliza's dog, Wolf; or at least, a younger version of him considering he was pulling against the lead roughly and panting as his collar chocked him.

"Run!" Wolf called as he pulled harder. "Fast, run! Bird, chase!" he called again, now pulling Jason with him.

Rose frowned as the scene continued. She remembered that Eliza and Wolf could communicate telepathically, but she never once heard anything herself. She shouldn't be able to hear what the puppy version of Wolf was saying; neither should she have been able to hear Jason's stern reply. "Wolf, pack it in!"

Leaving the thought for later, she smiled at the young man as he reached her. "Need a hand, mate?" she asked, gesturing to Wolf, who was sniffing Rose up and down, wagging his tail when he thought she was friendly enough. Jumping up, his paws bounced onto her legs, with a lot less grace as he used to, and stuck his nose in the air. "Scratch!" he ordered Rose, herself laughing as she complied.

"Nah, thanks," Jason replied meekly as he watched cautiously what the dog was doing. "Not really fully trained yet, so if he starts licking you or anything, just push him off," he smiled. He sat down on the bench next to Rose, laughing as Wolf pounced into the bench in-between them. "He's friendly enough, just very… boy stress."

Rose nodded as she petted Wolf behind the ears. "Is he yours?" she asked hesitantly.

"Nah, I'm only taking him for a walk," Jason replied. "My mum's dog, I'm only training him for her."

Whoa, hang on… Rose thought, having an epiphany. His mum's dog? But he told us he was training the dog for Eliza…

"What's your mum's name?" Rose asked insistently.

Jason chuckled to himself, replying, "She's got a lot of names. Lupine, Lizzie, Riva, Rachel-"

"Eliza?" Rose butted in, looking at the young man intensely.

It was the look in Jason's eyes that told her she'd gone way too far. Way, way too far. One thing she had learnt through their short time of travelling together was that he was a very kind hearted boy. But she wasn't sure what to say to this. She'd never seen this side of him before, now wishing she would never see it again. "How do you know that name?"

Not sure whether she should answer the question or not, not sure if it would be safe or not, she considered it. Jason was, at the end of the day, just a teenage boy. What was he going to do? Hurt her merely because she knew his supposed mothers name? "I used to travel with her a while back, is all," Rose shrugged, hoping her voice came by as casual. "She left not too long ago. Said something about a job, or something like that," she continued to pat Wolf's head, but looked down at her feet. "So, I'm right in thinking that's your mum?"

Jason continued to stare as her bemusingly, but then seemed like he'd remembered something. He gave a weak smile, replying, "Yeah, that's her," he paused for a second before adding curiously, "Is your name Rose Tyler?"

"Yeah," Rose laughed. "She's talked about me?"

Jason nodded. "Sort of," he replied.

"But how are you even here?" Rose asked the question as it popped into her mind. "Me and my friends are on a Parallel world, you shouldn't even be here."

Jason watched her closely, chuckling to himself, stroking Wolf gently. "You're right, I shouldn't," he ended petting the dog, and brought his hand up to Rose temple, pressing on it gently. Rose tried to take his hand away, even look in another direction, but she couldn't. She couldn't move, at all. "Don't worry," Jason assured, taking his hand off and getting off the bench. "I'll give mum your love." Rose watched out of the corner of her eye as the young man and dog strode away, looking back every ten seconds or so, until he disappeared around a corner. This was when Rose was beginning to panic. Why couldn't she move? What had he done to her? She listened as the waves hit the wall, making her feel dizzy. She felt numb, light-headed and sick.

What the hell has he done to me? Rose thought to herself. Feeling the very tip of her fingers was coming back. That was not like him at all… hang on, who was that? As the numbness began to subside, she tried to remember the face of her attacker… was she even attacked? He must have done something to stop her from moving. Was that even classed as being attacked? She tried to remember their conversation. She remembered there was a dog involved… maybe?

What am I on about? Rose thought to herself. I wasn't attacked! Nobody's even passed me, let alone a guy with a dog! I really have to stop day dreaming…

It was at least another half hour before the Doctor and Mickey came strutting around the corner, the Doctor greeting her happily, "There you are!" He gave an even happier smile, pulling a mall roundish object from his coat pocket. "No applaud, I fixed it! Twenty four hours, then we're flying back to reality!" he plopped himself on the bench beside her a Mickey did the same.

Although the Doctor was brimming with excitement with the news, Rose was not. She stared down at her phone, not even looking at what the Doctor was holding. The Doctor's grin fell when he noticed the phone as he remembered what phones could do, giving the right network. Hesitantly, he asked, "What is it?"

Taking a breath, Roe replied shakily, "My phone connected. It's this Cybus Network; it finds your phone. It gave me internet access."

The Doctor gave an irritated smile, looking back up at her. "Rose, whatever it said, this is the wrong world."

She shook her head in reply, adding, "I don't exist. There's no Rose Tyler, I was never born," she fiddled with her mobile again, continuing, "There's Pete and Jackie, they still got married, but they never had kids."

The Doctor noticed the well covered crack in her voice, signalling she was close to tears. Moving quickly to grab her mobile, he ordered, "Give me that phone." But Rose was quicker. She snapped her hand back, not letting his fingers grasp the small plastic object. "They're rich," she continued, giving a weak smile. "They've got a house, and cars, and everything they want… but they haven't got me," she stood up, walking to a nearby railing and looking down at her phone. Knowing his respond, she turned and looking back at the Doctor. "I wonna see 'em," she told him."

"You can't," he tried to reason.

"I just wonna see 'em," Rose repeated, more in a begging tone this time. "You just said twenty four hours!"

"But you can't become their daughter, that's not how it works," the Doctor replied sternly.

Mickey, who had stayed in his own thoughts since Rose mentioned their twenty four hour limit, stood up slowly, looking down at the Doctor. "We've got twenty four hours, yeah?"

The Doctor whipped his head back around to see the young man backing away slowly from the bench, walking in the opposite direction Rose was. "Where are you going?" he asked, bewildered.

"Well, I can do what I want!" Mickey called back as Rose continued walking in the other direction. "I've got the address and everything," she called back.

"Both of you, stay where you are!" the Doctor ordered. "Rose, come back here! Mickey, come back here right now!"

"I just wonna see 'em," Rose insisted, as Mickey agreed. "Yeah, I've got things to see as well."

"Like what?" the Doctor exclaimed, too annoyed with the pair of them to notice he'd just said the wrong words.

Mickey scoffed angrily. "You don't know anything about me, do you? It's always about Rose, I'm just a spare part."

Rose turned around again, looking apologetically as the Doctor. "Sorry, I've got to go," she called, walking quickly in the other direction again, not looking back. The Doctor looked towards Mickey again, himself pointing towards Rose. "Go on then. You can only go after one of us, and it aint never gonna be me, is it?" Looking between them, the Doctor decided there wasn't really any choice, walking in the direction Rose went, he looked back at Mickey. "Back here in twenty four hours!" he barked as he began to run. As soon as he was out of earshot, Mickey scoffed. "Yeah, if I aint found something better," he said quietly, walking in the opposite direction.

AN: So there was me sat in my room thinking 'It's New Years, sod it' and ended up clicking the upload button. Happy New Year!