Hi! Sorry this took so long again, but I wanted to get it just right and I've been fighting the block lately. A big thank you to all my reviewers, you're the best! Anyway, here it is. Hope you enjoy chapter ten xx
I just changed the ending because it sucked. Sorry for any confusion xx
For Disclaimer see chapter 2
Chapter 10: Through the Gateway
The TARDIS hurtled through space, searching for the Dreamcaster shuttle. The Doctor stood at the controls, his face a mixture of fear and determination. Tracking one small shuttle should have been a piece of cake, but as it had the technology to make subspace portals, it could be anywhere in the galaxy. The Keeper had said the Dreamcaster was headed to the Gateway, but the Gateway moved, he knew that. He recalled the stories he was told back on Galifrey about the mysterious anomaly, which should be left in peace, and was not even explored by the Time Lords. But these were exceptional circumstances. His Rose was in danger, and there was no way an ancient taboo was going to stop him from saving her. He just hoped he would get there in time.
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Rose's head was foggy. She barely knew where she was, let alone where she was going. But she had her goal in mind, to prove herself to her Doctor, the end of her journey. The voice of the Dreamcaster was loud and uncompromising in her head, showing her how to pilot the machine, reassuring her of her path. There was no going back now. She had seen the Doctor's memories, how he looked at her, all the pain he had felt throughout the centuries. And she could do this one thing, this one thing to prove herself, to heal his pain and to make him love her. There was no going back now.
Suddenly Rose could see clearly into the space around them, and she saw what she could only describe as a living rainbow: all moving and swirling and a mass of colours. She heard the voice in the back of her mind once more.
-Onward, Rose Tyler. Onwards to the Gateway-
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The Doctor spun round on his heels at the sound of the alarm. It was a quiet sound, hidden away in amongst the TARDIS controls. It hummed quietly, unassuming, almost politely drawing the Doctor's attention. It was the TARDIS herself. And she was calling Rose.
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Rose was getting confused. Her head was full of the voice of the Dreamcaster. But something else was in there now, not as supercilious and imposing as the Dreamcaster; something quiet, something familiar, like an old friend.
**He worries for you, Rose**
"What?"
**I worry for you**
It took Rose several moments to place the voice.
"TARDIS?"
**Why are you doing this, Rose? It is dangerous. Too dangerous even for the Time Lords. Too dangerous for myself**
-Do not listen to it; it does not want you to fulfil your journey! It will betray you at the first independent move you make!-
"No she won't," Rose replied slowly. "I know her. She wouldn't do that."
-How well can you know a machine! I am a mind, a living consciousness, and I want to help you-
The TARDIS's presence in her mind was beginning to lift the fog, and she was able to think more clearly.
"Why?" she asked suddenly.
-I do not understand-
"Why do you want to help me? I've done nothing to help you, we were just… passing through."
**It does not want to help you, Rose. It is a mental parasite, and it will bleed you dry**
Suddenly the Dreamcaster surged in her mind, asserting it's dominance over her logic and the TARDIS's pleading. Rose sighed as the TARDIS was pushed from her mind.
"It's too late. No turning back. The Gateway approaches. I know what I must do."
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The TARDIS managed to hold onto Rose's consciousness long enough for the Doctor to get a lock on her location. And sure enough, the scanners showed the massive anomaly looming over the tiny shuttle like a cat over a mouse. His hearts filled with fear, but he acted fast. Latching onto the shuttle's coordinates, he pulled the TARDIS closer.
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Rose screened her eyes from the all-consuming light that flashed around the shuttle as it entered the threshold of the mysterious anomaly. She felt the presence of the Dreamcaster shift in her mind, the thoughts that were once calming and understanding now full of selfishness. But not, she noticed, hate or malice. She now understood its intentions, deceiving her all along. But not to cause her downfall. It just wanted to get home.
The light dissipated, and was replaced by blackness, all around, an ebony sea, interspersed with tiny clouds of rainbow light, like organic prisms.
-The Gateway-
Rose shuddered at the phrase uttered in her mind.
-The greatest of gratitude to you, Rose Tyler of Earth, for assistance most appreciated. The Gateway is open to me for my path. I hope you find yours-
With that the Dreamcaster left her, draining from her mind and from the ship, towards one of the specks of light. And it disappeared. Home.
Rose was left with a ship she didn't know how to pilot. Panic arose in her heart, but was calmed by something residual at the back of her mind. The Dreamcaster had left her instructions.
Slowly, she used the controls to manoeuvre the shuttle towards one of the specks of light, a tiny, unassuming one in the distance. A presence was emanating from it, something that told her it was a gateway to the past, to a forgotten event, a point in time that had been locked and sealed. Until now.
"The Time War."
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The TARDIS shook and shuddered and complained as the Doctor put his plan into action. It was dangerous, ridiculous the TARDIS had said, but it had to be done. There was no other way. If Rose went too far into the Gateway…
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Rose peered into the prism of light before her as the shuttle inched closer. In her mind it was so clear: the start of all his pain, the cause: The Time War. But she could stop it. All his heartache, all his loneliness… she could prove herself worthy of his love by becoming the saviour of his people. Through the fog in her mind, that thought was clear.
As she approached, she started to make out vague shapes and images projecting through the prism. She could see countless planets, burning. She could hear the screaming and wailing, the death and destruction, and she could see them. The Daleks.
Without warning, a sound like time and space ripping apart began echoing in her ears, and all around her, space and the Gateway and the mystical rainbows of light began to fade away, replaced by a familiar curved design, circles and organic shapes and a homely glow. The shuttle sat in the TARDIS.
"No!" Rose screamed, as she tried with fury to restart the shuttle's engine, but to no avail. The Doctor was in control now, and he rendered the shuttle dead, before pulling his beloved ship away from the Gateway.
Rose's head was a tangled mess of anger, despair, betrayal, and so many other things that she couldn't handle. With a last look at the shuttle's controls, she blacked out, withdrawing into the chaos of her mind.
The Doctor wrenched open the shuttle's hatch, and threw himself down on the floor next to the unconscious girl. He couldn't stop the tears building in his eyes as he thought of what could have happened. His mind was still full of questions; what had she wanted to prove? What did she expect to find? Most of all, why?
He shook her gently and called her name in a soothing tone, but there was no response. Her eyes flickered behind her lids, just as they had when she passed out on Gambit Junction. The Doctor knew the dangers of entering someone's mind when they had already been influenced by telepathy, but he couldn't help her by being at her side. He needed to be inside her mind. So, with heaviness of hearts, he drew her head into his lap and pressed a kiss into her hair.
"I'm so sorry," he whispered into her ear. He used those words so often now that the phrase hardly meant a thing. But not this time. Those words stirred up in him such regret and sorrow that he almost couldn't do it. But he knew he had to. He swallowed his fear, pressed his fingers to her temples and entered her mind.
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Ok I think I'd better stop there. I was gonna carry on but I reckon that's a good place to leave this chapter, start the next one with the two of them inside Rose's mind. What d'ya think? Please review xx