A/N: Firefly bits here are from "Serenity" Part one, the initial pilot episode for the TV show, not the BDM, and Mei-gui means 'Rose or red-pink flower' in Chinese. (Offers Jelly Babies)
Thank you to OtherMeWriter for the review. I know the Firefly bits seem a bit disjointed. But they tie in with the opening scenes for Simon back in "Doctor Who and the Great Eclipse". We're going to see just how close Simon came to meeting himself before this is over. But don't worry… The Doctor is with him. Just a few chapters more and everything will fall into place. Honest.
Huggabledog, Hi there! Yes, this will veer away from the shows, while picking up pieces of the plotlines that are still relevant (that might exist). This is why there's no Clive (although I'm thinking of having Mickey or Jackie do that line of research…), and the plastic planter ate Mickey… And more. Yes, there will be more (Like… why and how did the TARDIS get moved without the Doctor knowing it? Should that still happen? Will it? I suppose you'll have to read to find out.).
So anyone want Mickey to pack along with us at the end of 'Rose'?

Summary: The Doctor, reeling from the effects of the TimeWar as the last surviving TimeLord, stumbled into a situation he could not ignore when the TARDIS landed him inside a ship that was clearly in trouble. After the rescue, he's left with eight survivors that he must somehow get to safety. But the situation is not as cut and dry as he might like. His people may be gone, but the stamp he's made on the universe is still there, and he finds himself caught in a web spun of the choices he's made in his past…

Something in history has prompted humanity to explode out from their home world. Could the events of 2164 be responsible? Was Earth a myth or was it real? In fleeing Earth-that-Was, humanity scattered to the stars across the galactic arm. Initial survey teams targeted likely planets and systems for habitation and not all of them ended up on the same side of the sector. Blue Sun exists on one side, separated by a patch of 'wild space' filled with exotic binary and triple star systems, from the rest of civilized space. Few ships brave the route. But luck had it that one ship did. Risking a ghost run, the only contact that the two sides have, the Hunter-Gratzner crashed midway through the journey. Original Port of Departure: Eavesdown Docks, Persephone. Mixed Sino-Anglo culture. Original Port of Call: Tangiers-5. Darkside. Mixed Islamic-Anglo culture. Crew complement: Four. Passengers: Forty. Living 'Cargo': Two. Survivors: Eight plus One

So what happens in 2517 to Dr. Simon Tam, his brilliant but damaged sister, a convicted murder by the name of Richard B. Riddick, and Jack B. Badd now that they are on their way home? They end up slightly out of their own Time, on a ship filled with living sculptures and then a 'quiet' trip to 2005 London brings them face to face with living sculptures of another kind… And just how is this related to the TimeWar?

A Doctor Who / Firefly / Riddick crossover.

Features Doctor 9, companion Rose Tyler; The cast of Firefly; 'Jack B. Badd' and Richard B. Riddick…

Doctor Who and the Ties that Bind.

Part Twenty-Seven

Mastery

Rose stood, unsure. The others had exited and she heard no screams. Taking a deep breath she walked down the ramp and to the open door. Looking out she is shocked to find that they are in a different area than before. "Wha--?" Somehow she should have known, right. The box had moved from one alley to another, and before that the Doctor had called it his 'ship'. Right. She needed to pay more attention to what they were saying and she'd be less surprised more often.

The other four were somewhat scattered. Jack and River were together, hunched over a PDA. Simon was pacing, his own PDA out. Richard was standing near the Doctor, very near, intimately near… Oh. "-lost the signal? We have to be close," the Time Lord is mumbling as the bronze man kneads the back of his neck. He's leaned over with his pale hands braced on the stone wall that separates them from the Thames River, looking down. "And it knows I'm here, Amadak," he whispers.

"This might sound callous, but I'm more concerned about you than the invasion attempt. You pushed Verity into bringing us closer and exposed yourself to the very thing that you needed to avoid. You're getting warm again."

"And if I don't stop this, Richard, all of you will be lost to me. Don't you dare say that your lives are not worth mine."

"I'd never say that," the bronze skinned man raised his head and looked out across the water.

Now Rose was bubbling over with questions, so many that she scarcely knew where to start. She wondered about how they got here, if they'd been seen, and what the hell was Richard talking about? He made it sound like the alien was ill or something. And what about the headless plastic body? She reached out and stopped Simon mid-step, "What are we going to do about the headless version of my boyfriend that was threatening all those people?"

"It's ok," Simon told her, "It melted with the head. When the Nestene gave up on part of it, it all went the same way. Relax, Mei-gui. No one is in immediate danger."

"Um… Mee-gway?"

Simon smiled at her, "Mei-gui. It means 'Rose Blossom'. We call River Mei-Mei, that's 'Little Sister'. Consider it a complement, Rose." She nodded and glanced over at Richard and the Doctor who were huddled over the stone wall still, trying to keep the questions about them off her face. "They are close," the raven-haired young man told her, "They've known each other for a very long time, from what I gather. But, Rose, it's not entirely what you're thinking." She looked at him, "Please, don't judge until you know more."

She shrugged, "I don't care. It's cool. I mean – they are, um, tight. Right? Like a couple?"

He shook his head, "The Doctor's not human, Mei-gui. What he asks of us, what he needs to survive, it's not the same as being someone's paramour. It's not – totally physical. I can't describe it in words that reach deep enough, that mean enough. We're his kith. Kindred, by heart if not blood. His support, defenders and nurturers, his eyes and ears, his company and companions. And maybe even more." As he looked at Rose her aura pulsed and glittered. "I'm worried about him though. His internal temperature is rising again. That's not healthy for him."

While this bothers her, she's not sure she knows enough to ask an intelligent question about it so she sticks to what she knows, "Do you reckon that you'll still be able to find Mickey?"

"Of course. He's got to be here, very close. Look, I'm getting a non-directional steady signal. Almost like I'm right on top of the transmitter."

She glances at his PDA, studying it as the pulses of the signal wash over the screen in waves. After a moment she says, "What would this transmitter look like?" Rose has an odd feeling as her eyes rove out across the water at the huge lit reflection on the other side. It is fairly new, after all. She notes that Simon, River, and Richard all follow her gaze. Jack even seems to catch where she's looking.

The Doctor says, "Oh, it's got to be huge. To control all that plastic, it must be. But how do you hide a transmitter that size in a city so small? It would be – round. A massive metal circular structure like a dish, like a wheel, radial, close to where we're standing, somewhere slap bang in the middle of London."

Richard looks over at him with an expression along the lines of 'dense, very dense', and then he raises his face up so that the white lit circle reflects in his sunglasses. He motioned with his chin, "Rose, what is that?"

"That? The London Eye, we call it. Built for the millennium celebrations." She cocks her eyebrow, "You don't suppose that the Nestene is behind us building it, do you?"

"What?" The Doctor looks around. River steps over to him and points. "Wha--? Oh." He then smiles. "Yes, I do think that might be it. You lot are Fantastic." That lifts Rose's spirits right up. "Come on then, We've got a planet and a boyfriend to save."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Zoë and her husband were on their way to carry out Mal's orders. Now this normally wouldn't be a problem except for the tiny fact that Zoë knew something was off and felt the need to voice it, "I know something ain't right."

Her husband, witty as he was, did his usual thing and made a joke out of it, "Sweetie, we're crooks. If everything were right, we'd be in jail."

This was perfectly true, as things went. But it wasn't just that, "It's just that the Captain's so tense..."

"The man needs a break. In fact, we could all use a couple days' leave."

Another thing that was true, but she always put business before pleasure; "We still gotta drop the goods."

The reddish blonde head in front of her nodded, "And when we do, we fly off to Boros rich and prosperous. Well, less poor. But with enough to find some sweet little getaway."

The bridge opens up as they step into the space, but maybe that is because he turns and envelopes her in his arms. Thinking of that she lets her mind settle on something that is always a luxury in space, "Oh, wouldn't mind a real bath..."

"Yeah, and a meal that included some sort of food."

She kisses him over the thought, "Ooh."

"Just a couple of days lying around, you with the bathing. Me with the watching you bathe." She moves in closer molding herself to him. They kiss again.

"I'd love that. But, honey – Let me talk to Mal."

"You gonna ask or tell?"

She pulls back, "Let's see what Boros looks like, huh? If it's not dangerous then I'll tell, alright?"

He's not fully happy with that, but his wife has a point. If Mal's enemies are afoot then the plan is a bad one no matter how much they both want it. He sighs, at least she's taking his side this time.

"Has the Ambassador checked in yet?" comes Mal's voice from the hall.

Zoë goes from leaning to an upright, near military stance in an instant. Wash settles into his chair, "Naw, I think she had a pretty full docket."

Mal nods to Wash then turns to Zoë, "Well, after you talk to Badger, let her know we may be leaving Persephone in a hurry."

"Inara knows our timetable. I'm sure she'll be checking in soon."

The pilot adds, "Well, I can tell her to cut it short, meet us at the docks."

Mal shakes his head, "No, no." No matter how he feels about her line of work he's not going to ruin her business, "Don't want to get in her way if we don't have to." He heads back out, "Somebody on this boat has to make an honest living."

Zoë gives her husband a long look. Wash sighs.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

They have a long walk, down the Thames and across the bridge, the six of them. For once Rose feels like she is part of something huge, so much bigger than herself. She ends up part of a chain of hands, with the bronze skinned man in the lead, followed by the Doctor, and then herself and River and Jack and finally Simon. She could laugh with the joy of it, even though she knows danger lurks under their feet. While she notes that the Doctor's hand is warm, too warm for what she remembers, she holds it tight unwilling to let him go. It's likely kind of strange, a chain of six heading toward the huge Eye, but the people around them seem to look right past them, as if there is not a thing wrong. As they cross the river and head up the road to the gardens where the Eye sits the Doctor says, "Think of it. Plastic, all over the world, every artificial thing waiting to come alive. The shop window dummies, the phones, the wires, the cables…"

He lets that trail off and Rose quite in spite of herself says, "The breast implants." That makes Simon cringe. Oh, right. He's a medical doctor. Likely he knows how messy that would be.

"All right, stop grossing out Simon," the ex-ranger scolds, "Here we are. What now?"

"The Consciousness must be somewhere underneath the transmitter," the Time Lord says.

They, then, need a way down. Splitting up they begin to search. Eventually Jack calls "What about down here?"

They all converge on the boy's location and look at the steps leading down to the maintenance area below the Eye proper. River says, "Timorous. Huddled. Disbelief." She blinks, "Mickey is down here."

"Let's go." Richard steps down and opens the door. The air is humid and very warm inside. A faint red glow paints everything shadowed crimson.

"Looks good to me," the Time Lord ducks inside. He pauses for the rest of them to gather around him in the small chamber, and then he pulls out a modest vial of blue liquid. "River, you are not going to be able to sense these beings." She nods her understanding. "This will destroy it, but I want to attempt to get it to leave first. There are other worlds where it could survive, and I – owe it a chance to decide to go to one of them before wiping it out. Jack, I want you to hold this. But don't use it until I tell you to. Understood?"

"Yes, sir," Jack says.

"Stay in the back, try to keep to the shadows. I'll attempt to reason with it." Then he turns to the door, "Oh and Simon, please help Rose get Mickey out of there. You should be able to slip him away while the Consciousness is focused on me." Simon nods. That set, he opens the door and sets off over a series of catwalks with Richard close behind. Simon looks around and then indicates for he and Rose to follow quietly. She does so. Behind them River and Jack slink into the shadows, unseen and unheard.

The grime and dingy air here is made worse by the smell of melted plastic, steam and heat. Rose has to focus on Simon to keep from coughing from the fumes. She reaches forward and puts a hand on his arm. He pauses and she points over at Mickey's curled form on a side landing. Just below them the Doctor's voice rises into her ears, "The Nestene Consciousness. That's it inside the vat, Amadak. An ancient, living, plastic creature."

"I sure hope it listens," the ex-ranger rumbles.

Thete nods. He hopes so too. They grip hands briefly before the Doctor starts down another ladder that takes him to a platform that overlooks the vat. He pulls himself up to his full height and says in rather proper tones, "I seek audience with the Nestene Consciousness under peaceful contract, according to Convention Fifteen of the Shadow Proclamation." While the molten plastic focuses on the Doctor, Simon and Rose head over to Mickey. The Nestene Conscious rumbles something that is vaguely like an affirmative to the Doctor's request. "Thank you. If I might have permission to approach?" It rumbles at him again in a similar manner.

Rose and Simon reach Mickey who turns to look at her, "Mickey, it's me! It's okay. It's all right," she tells him. "Come on, we're to get you out of here."

Mickey Smith is very scared and rather unwilling to move. "Shush, Rose," he whispers, "That thing down there the liquid, it can talk!"

She nods to him, "I know. Come on, Mickey." She takes his hand and tugs him to his feet as the Doctor and Richard keep heading to the lower landing.

"But—it's alien!" He says with wide eyes. Rose nods again, this time Simon begins helping her tug the other man to his feet and up the stairs.

Below them the Doctor reaches the platform overlooking the vat. The heat is getting to him, with him weakened as he is, but he is determined to do this, "Am I addressing the Consciousness?" The plastic inside the vat rumbles again and forms a blob that can look the Doctor in the eyes. "Thank you. If I might observe, you infiltrated this civilization by means of war, shunt technology. So, may I suggest with the greatest respect that you ... shunt off." Richard rolls his eyes and reaches out to put his hand on the back of the Doctor's neck while the Nestene shakes and rumbles back at him rather in a huff. "Oh, don't give me that. This is an invasion, plain and simple. Don't talk about constitutional rights." That really sets it off, sending it into a swaying rumble that the Doctor alone can understand.

But Richard interrupts, "Whoa, wait a second!" The creature goes silent, surprised. "Now I know this is getting off to a bad start, so let's just back up here. There are thousands of other planets that have no intelligent life on them that would suit your needs. Surely we could work together to find you one."

The blob turns to the second form and rumbles at him. "It wants to know where these worlds are," The Doctor translates.

"Well there's Alysum, a dead world, but with plenty of trash and oil deposits but little protein. There's Proxima two, way too warm for human habitation but filled with natural polymers. Lots of native life, alien to humans, but carbon based, which I assume you prefer. I can get you star maps for either one. With your warp technology you can get to these worlds at any time you desire. Proxmia Two you could get to now, it's not that far away." He pulls out the PDA and finds a current star map, which he then projects as a hologram into the air. "See?"

The blob rumbles. "Why?" says the Doctor, "This planet is just starting. These stupid little people have only just learnt how to walk, but they are capable of so much more. I'm asking you on their behalf. Please," he begs. "We can work this out, give you a new home, let you rebuild, and exist in peace again."

Behind the Time Lord and the ex-ranger a flank of mannequins step up, the Nestene rumbles again, "I'm aware that you know who I am. Look, I've got nothing on me that can harm you. Just my sonic screwdriver, see?" He holds it up. "Yes, I blew up the relay to stop you because I didn't know where you were. I needed to talk to you. Yes, you're right. The War had no winners, but my people didn't start it. You know that."

Rose and Simon manage to get Mickey back to the door leading in, high up over the events going on below. "We can't leave them," Rose says.

"We're not. But the fewer people are in there the better our chances are of all making it out, Mei-gui." The affection in Simon's reply makes Mickey sputter. Rose's lack of objection makes him sputter too, and Mickey feels more than a little threatened.

Down below them the mannequins move in and search both the Doctor and Richard, "See, I told you the truth. I'm here to help. I'm not your enemy. I swear, I'm not," the Time Lord says as the shop dummies come up with nothing. The Nestene Consciousness rumbles and sways at him, "That's not true! I should know, I was there! I fought in the War! It wasn't my people's fault. There was no way to save your worlds, any of them. But it's not like we didn't try. The weapon used on them was Skaro-based. Even my own people suffered. If anyone is to blame it is the Daleks. Look at me! I'm infected with it right now."

The dummies step back and the Nestene roars at him, "Why would you think I'm trying to contaminate you? All you have to do is study me and you'll see that I've blocked all the chemical and psychic routes it has to exit from. I'm killing myself and still endeavoring to assist you!" The lump sways looking very angered, rumbling all the while. "But I'm not! I haven't let it go. I'm containing it. It's killing me. Even you can see that." The rumbling continues, and then the Doctor says, "So, Proxmia Two is acceptable? Of course I'd protect your rights to be there. Yes, I'll step back and you can use your shunt warp to leave. Take the mannequins with you, even. I don't the humans here will miss them." He backed up and the dummies allowed he and Richard to go up the metal steps. Above them, River and Jack are already joining Rose, Simon and Mickey.

Rose answers her phone to discover that her caller is her mother, "Mum?"

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Of all the parts of her job that Inara was eager to not have to do anymore, this topped her list. Not that it didn't pay well, or that she disliked the act itself, but the after was always awkward, and the clients had stopped flattering her with their constant attempts to acquire her services on a more permanent basis. And really, she shouldn't be thinking about such things while engaged in the act. Only she wasn't engaged, only her training kept her moving just so, guiding with her muscles so that the client never knew the difference.

It was, after all, an act. One she excelled in, calculations figured out in advance of exactly which 'dance' was the correct one for this individual, how to manipulate the situation into one that would be remembered with fondness and further the goals of the Guild. She as the perfect Companion because her emotions never came into play. They weren't supposed to. That was not her role. Instead she was the mirror that reflected the emotional display of the client.

The virgin she led into manhood now at the behest of his father was a fast learner, but lacking in endurance that would be gained only with time. She was letting him come to his completion, acting the role of the eager lover, for him and him alone, although she'd done this for many, many others in the past. And then it's done, almost too fast. And she wonders even as she smiles at his need to be told that he'd done well, if she will ever have a real lover that can reach inside and touch her soul.

It's something she aches for, even as she knows that her role of Companion and spy does not allow for it. She tends to bathing him with the same care that she later serves him tea with. He's relaxed and curious to know about her life. She slips on a robe, and settles down to answer his questions, "Sihnon isn't that different from this planet. More crowded, obviously, and I guess more complicated. The great city itself is... pictures can't capture it. It's like an ocean of light."

"Is that where you studied? To be a Companion?"

She lies smoothly, "I was born there."

"I can't imagine ever leaving."

Inara smiles at him, "Well, I wanted to see the universe." And besides, she is a creature of space, a fire elemental, and she needs the void much more than she needs earth. She can see the offer coming, again. The attempt to get her to stay, as if he's been so wonderful that her entire life now hinges on his say so. She's not bitter, no. But sometimes she thinks that the act is too good, too perfect.

He stumbles through the offer and she just smiles at him, looking down so he doesn't see how she really feels about staying here. But unlike others he seems to understand that she won't stay, that he can't cage her. If only he really knew what she was, how close he was to really playing with fire…

Then it's time for this to be over and he's dressed again, "Experience has been more than – it was very good. Thank you."

She is still in her robe, but ready to be away from here, "The time went too quickly." It's another lie, but one that flatters they young man. Only he's not gracious enough to see it that way.

"Your clock's probably rigged to speed up and cheat us out of our fun." She feels that like a slap. The smile she's been wearing slips. At least he has the decency to feel guilt over the slight.

She doesn't get a chance to order him out because he leaves quickly. After the door closes she stands there centering herself again, eyes shut, fighting back the rise of flames. She hopes that the Red Guardian will find her soon, before she starts setting things on fire. Time to go back to the ship she's learned to call home. She moves into the cockpit and settles into the pilot's chair, "Serenity, this is Shuttle One, what's your ETA?" Her voice is composed and steady unlike the roaring emotions that she so carefully hides from the world.

Wash's cheerful voice answers her, "Inara, hey. We're touching down at the Eavesdown docks in about ten minutes."

Relieved she answers, "I'll join you there, thanks."

Wash continues, "Looking forward to it. We missed you out here."

She doesn't answer him directly because he's already logged the coms off, but she does share his feeling, "Yeah. Me too." Inara is tired of the ruse. She's ready to end this all. But the duty she has to her people won't let her just walk away. If the Red Guardian needs her then she will be there when he arrives. She preps and lifts off, leaving being the shining cityscape and joining the traffic until she can slip to the dock and meet Serenity.