"And just where the bloody hell have you been?" The woman raged as she swept towards Rose.
Rose's eyes widened and glowed a bright gold. Knowledge from the Time Vortex rushed into her mind, and with it, confusion and… happiness. Rose lowered her arms and smiled cheekily at the woman. "River Song." She greeted.
River stomped up to the blonde and glared. "Is this some kind of joke? Is that it?"
Rose's smile faded. "I'm sorry?"
River let out a huff of air. "You're just like the Doctor." How could she be mad at Rose if she didn't even know what she'd done yet? River straightened her back and held out her hand. "Doctor River Song; and you're Rose Tyler, companion of the Doctor." Rose shook the other woman's hand. A nervous smile on her face.
This wasn't what Rose had expected. She'd used Bad Wolf to see who River was, the child of Amy and Rory Pond. She also knew the two would be close, and trust each other greatly. Beyond that, she was a bit at a loss. Except for what her husband had told her. The Doctor had said River Song had whispered something precious to him in The Library. Rose knew she could look further and see the exact nature of their relationship. To see her own and Rivers future if she wanted to; or River's and the Doctor's. But foreknowledge was dangerous, the Doctor had taught her that.
River glanced at Rose's wrist. "Your vortex manipulator won't work. I already tried mine." She held up her own wrist and tapped some buttons on it. It was dead. Rose glanced up at the ceiling and looked around. She didn't see anything, but there had to be some sort of electrical charge impairing the tech.
Rose nodded and looked back to the woman. "How long have you been here?" Rose gestured at River's vortex manipulator. "May I?" River didn't even hesitate in removing the machine and handing it to the blonde. Rose tried desperately not to show her surprise. River trusted her with that? Rose looked down at the device. She could easily pop out of there with her own, and take River too, but Rose wanted answers.
"…a week, I think." River was saying. Rose turned her attention to the curly haired brunette. "I think time here might be compressed. I haven't gotten hungry at all." Rose pulled out her sonic screwdriver. River raised her eye brows. "Now that looks handy. Where did you get it?"
Rose frowned. River trusted her enough to give her the vortex manipulator, but she didn't know Rose well enough to know she had a sonic screwdriver? River had also called Rose the Doctor's companion, if River had known Rose for long then she'd know that wasn't Rose's first title anymore. Rose was the Bad Wolf. "I made it." Rose commented. River didn't seem all too surprised. So River knew she was smart enough to do that. Curious.
Rose scanned the area and looked at the readings on the sonic. She shook her head. "Time isn't compressed in here. Must be something in the oxygen. If they're feedin' you nutrients then you won't get hungry." Rose held up River's vortex manipulator and began poking around with the sonic. She glanced up at River, who had been analyzing Rose with a look akin to awe. It vanished the second Rose looked up. Oh this was dangerous, Rose thought, this was very, very dangerous. "What's the last thing you remember?"
River shrugged. "I was in a museum. Someone came up behind me; before I could pull my blaster out they were on me. Next thing I knew they threw me in here." She pulled a gun from a holster at her hip. "Still have it, but no door to blast so." She twirled it around her finger and put it back. Rose frowned at the gun but nodded. "Are you with the Doctor?" She wasn't sure what it was, but Rose could hear something else behind that question. It sounded almost like dread. Rose nodded. She didn't mention Rory. Her heart tore at the thought. Oh Rory. A shadow crossed River's face but disappeared as quickly as it had come. She smiled forcibly. "Well then. It shouldn't take too long to escape. The Doctor never leaves a companion behind."
Rose turned back to the vortex manipulator. The warbling of her sonic filled the awkward silence. Rose paused and looked up. "How do you know me exactly?"
River smiled past the pain in her eyes. "Oh Rose. Spoilers." River turned around and walked a few paces away.
Something was wrong. The thought entered her head much like it had with the TARDIS. A song, like the TARDIS' entered her mind. It came from River. A daughter of the TARDIS. Of course River would have her own song. River Song after all. Rose focused on the tune. It was low and lamenting, sad. Her eyes widened. "Oh River." She whispered. The woman turned around curiously. "This isn't the end. You don't die here."
River's eyes widened. "How do you know?" She asked sharply.
Rose shook her head. "You run backwards to the Doctor, not to me. You don't ever have to fear meeting me." River looked like she didn't know if she wanted to laugh, cry, or scream. She nodded once, ever the soldier. "I think I've almost got it figured." Rose gestured to River's vortex manipulator. "Once I've finished updating it, it should bypass any securities they've put into place."
"Then we'll find the Doctor." River took a deep breath, her posture straight.
Rose frowned at the woman. "Does it ever bother you? Bottlin' up your emotions like that? I told you that you don't need to fear me, yeah? Anything you say, I either know or could easily figure out myself."
River levelled a steely stare on Rose. It was cold, in command, and completely unyielding. "My life isn't normal, Rose. I have to keep my emotions in check. One wrong look and an enemy can have me. Or worse, I could give away future knowledge." Rose ignored her little spiel.
"You don't like me." River didn't respond. "But you also can't seem to hate me." The other woman looked away. "I jus' want to understand River."
River looked back sharply. "Oh and I don't? Despite what you may think Rose, I don't really know you. And now I'm beginning to think everything I did know was an act."
Rose smiled. "Now were gettin' somewhere. Twenty questions, yeah? Answer for an answer. If the question is too dangerous, we can ask for a different one. What do you say River?" Rose looked around the prison and made a face. "Locked in here for a week, alone? I'd be dyin' for a bit of risk, but maybe that's just me…"
Very slowly, a smile crept across River Song's face.
The Doctor and Amy raced into an exhibit only to find it empty. Glass was shattered across the ground and what looked to be armour scattered with it. Blood pooled around an area near a bloody sword.
"Oh my god." Amy gasped and turned around. She looked to the Doctor, her eyes wide as saucers. He glanced at her and quickly unfroze. The Doctor closed the distance between them and pulled her into a hug. He stroked her hair as she shook. "Is it Rory's? Is it his blood?"
"I don't know." The Doctor whispered. "I'm going to check." He slowly pulled away from Amelia and took out his sonic. It warbled in the silence of the exhibit. He didn't say anything.
"Oh my god." Amy cried out, taking his silence for what it was. "Not again. I can't do this again."
The Doctor turned around and hope crept into his heart. "He's not dead." The Doctor informed his nearly hysterical companion.
"What?" Amy latched onto the hope instantly. "How? How do you know?"
The Doctor gestured to the exhibit title. "The Last Centurion. Max said that the director of the museum was kidnapping people as exhibits. What's better then having an exhibit about the person then having the person as an exhibit?" He turned back around and looked at the broken glass. They'd fought, but clearly they were taken. That meant the director had more people under his command, willing to kidnap and possibly kill.
"So where did they go?"
The Doctor sniffed the air. "Ozone. They teleported out. Probably with a vortex manipulator. We won't be able to track them."
"What about Rose?" Amy asked, fear for her husband gone, she moved onto the next thing to be considered. She saw the Doctor's shoulder's tense and when he turned around she certainly wasn't prepared for what she saw there. Amy Pond had never seen the Doctor look so furious. The green of his eyes were consumed by his pupils, the tension in his very being created an almost palpable atmosphere around him.
"If Rose had used her vortex manipulator, she'd have Rory and she'd have gone to us or the TARDIS. No. She's been taken too." He took a deep breath. "We need to see Max. He'll know where they are." The Doctor stormed out of the room and raced back towards the TARDIS. Amy just barely kept up behind him.
When they reached Max's office, the Doctor threw the door open and barged in. Amy was hot on his heels. The room was empty.
"Where did he go!?" The Doctor swooped down on Max's desk and threw the papers off. Objects went crashing to the ground. Amy winced at the sound of something shattering.
"Doctor. Doctor." He spun around. She stepped toward the man, more of one now then he'd ever been before. "We'll find them, okay? Nothing is going to happen to them. Like you said, Rose can take care of herself. And Rory… well he was a Roman for over a thousand years."
The tension fell away from the Doctor and he collapsed against the desk. He crushed the heels of his palms against his eyes. "I should have gone after them."
Amy sat down beside him on the desk. "You didn't know this was going to happen."
He turned to her desperately. "You wanted to find them."
"And we will, Doctor." Amy stood up and looked around the office. She turned back to the Doctor. "Come on then, Doctor. Up you get. We've got to find that apple, save my husband and reunite you with Rose. Again." The Doctor grinned despite himself. Oh, Pond. Mind set, he pushed his fear for Rory and Rose to the side. They would be fine, he promised himself.
He jumped up, all boundless energy again. "Right. Apple." The Doctor pulled out his sonic and flipped it on. "I've already programmed this to find the apple so…" The Doctor frowned and turned in a slow circle. He flicked the sonic off and attempted to slide over the desk, but only ended up falling over the end. Amy ran over just as the Doctor popped back up. He raised his hand and brought the glowing gold apple in it to eye level.
"What's that doing in Max's office?" Amy asked, her voice all awe. The apple was gorgeous and glimmering.
"I don't know." The Doctor replied slowly. He examined the apple and scanned it with the sonic. "But Max was acting odd. Well, more odd that usual. And he didn't seem all too affected by the apple's magic."
"So you think he did it? Why?"
The Doctor shrugged. "I don't know, but I'm sure –"
POP!
Amy stumbled and the Doctor quickly steadied her. They looked around. The room they'd been teleported to was black with short and wide halls. "Doctor?"
"Yes Pond?"
"Where are we?"
The Doctor looked around. The room was wide and circular; it was also sort of domed shape, except for the multifaceted appearance of the ceiling and walls. "At a guess? I'd say the ship of the Chelonians."
"You mean the ship that has the aliens that want the golden apple?"
"Yes.
"The one we currently posses?"
"Yes." He looked behind him at Amy. The Doctor winked and tossed her the apple. "Come along, Pond." Then he headed off through the spaceship. Amy groaned and followed after him. She sent a silent prayer, that wherever Rose and Rory were, that they were okay.
Rose sat in the middle of the white walled cell across from River Song. She was still fiddling with the vortex manipulator, which was proving harder to fix then she'd originally assumed. She nodded her head at River. "You go first, River."
River pulled out her sonic blaster and fiddled with the dials on the side while she thought. She'd never had an opportunity like this before. Rose Tyler, she could ask her anything she wanted. But this Rose was from the past, very far in the past. River had no clue what the woman did, or did not know. "Do you know who I am?"
Rose cocked her head to the side and glanced up at River from beneath her lashes. She kept most of her attention on her work, but managed to pass a small smile to River. "Do you mean, do I know you're an archaeologist who sometimes travels with the Doctor? Or that you're Melody Pond, daughter of Amy and Rory Pond? A child of the TARDIS."
River's eyes widened slowly. She opened her mouth but Rose shook her head. "Oh no," she said, "it's my turn now. How do you know me?"
River licked her lips and looked around the empty cell. "I met you when I met the Doctor." She replied slowly. Rose nodded and waited for her to continue. When she didn't, Rose smirked. Bad habits died hard, Rose surmised, and River had an awful one. "You said you could easily find out any information I didn't tell you. How?" River's eyes analysed Rose, as if looking for a device on her that would explain it.
Rose stopped working on the vortex manipulator and looked up. How to explain all of time and space and her connection with it? Well, River was an archaeologist. "Bad Wolf."
River's eyes bugged out. "I'm sorry?"
"You wanted to know how I could figure it out, yeah? The answer's Bad Wolf." Rose looked down at the vortex manipulator. Almost done.
"Bad Wolf is a mythical creature, said to be the Goddess of Time. Her words spread across all of time and space. You expect me to believe you know her? That she would help you?" River frowned at Rose, disappointed.
Rose smiled down at her sonic as she turned it back on and went to work. "Believe whatever you want, Melody Pond." She glanced back up and her eyes glowed gold. "But I am Bad Wolf." River's mouth snapped shut and lips pursed into a straight line. Rose idly noted the increase of breath in the other woman, but didn't comment. "How long has it been since you last saw me River?"
At that, River's face saddened and she looked away again. "Years." She whispered. "I haven't seen you in years." Rose stopped her sonic and pressed a few buttons on the vortex manipulator. She peeked up at River who was staring at Rose with a lost look in her eyes. "I didn't realise it would be so long. I thought I'd see you often, while I studied in school." She smiled and failed to hide her laugh, it wasn't a happy one. "I spent most of my time trying to find the Doctor; you know what else I studied? Bad Wolf. She kept popping up everywhere and I thought – Oh, why not. It'll make searching for a mad man all the more bearable. And now I've found the Doctor. And now I've found you."
Rose smiled with her tongue between her teeth. "Now just try gettin' rid of us." River tossed her head back a bit and laughed. Rose passed the woman's vortex manipulator back to her. "Right, well that's fixed." Rose hopped up to her feet and River followed suit. "River?" The woman finished buckling her device back on and looked at Rose. "Do you trust me?"
"Of course." She didn't even hesitate.
Rose wanted to leave it there, but really, she couldn't resist. "Why?"
River smirked. "Spoilers." She threw her head back and laughed again.
Rose groaned, but she was smiling. "An' here I was thinkin' I made progress with you." She shook her head.
River smiled lovingly at the woman. "You did." She whispered. She wasn't sure if Rose had heard her, but the other woman smiled brightly and launched herself into River's arms. River smiled and wrapped Rose up in a warm hug.
When Rose pulled back she rested her hands on the other woman's cheeks, still smiling. "Well come on then, Pond. We've got to find the Doctor. Lord knows what he's gotten himself into." She pulled back and the two women instantly went to their vortex manipulators.
"We're on a rebuilding planet." River explained as she typed into the device on her wrist. "It was destroyed several centuries ago, this is the new colony. Despite that, there are still several million life forms around. They could be any of them." She frowned at her screen. "There are other prisoners on this level."
Rose looked over at River's vortex manipulator. "When we find the Doctor, we'll sort out this mess. I scanned for a bi-vascular system. Oh! Got him. He's… orbitin' the planet on a spaceship. It seems to be Chelonian. Chelonian?" Rose's eyes glowed gold. "Oh…" She glanced up at River. "We should go. The sooner everyone is released from the apple's hold, the sooner we can get the prisoners out."
POP!
"So why weren't there any Chelonians in the room we appeared in?"
"They were probably on their way. Chelonians can be a bit slow sometimes." The Doctor sped down a squat black hall until he and Amy came across a window. The Doctor looked out. He winced. "Not good." They were in outer space. Amy looked out the window and stared at the foreign sky.
"So how do we get back? Doctor?" She looked to him; he was heading down the hallway again. Amy sighed and raced after him. "Doctor," she hissed, "what do we do?"
The Doctor gave Amy a quick look and continued forward. "We have to put the apple back into a stasis chamber, like the one in the museum. Then the Chelonians should go back home."
Amy glared at the Doctor's back. "Should?" Footsteps echoed down the hallway. The Doctor grabbed Amy and dove into a small alcove in the hallway. They waited in silence as tall, turtle looking aliens marched by with bulky shell covered torsos. They had long arms with sharp black talons at the edges of their fingers. A sharp beak replaced what would be otherwise the rest of their face, and instead of having teeth their beaks were ridged and hard. Their turtle like appearance ended abruptly at their legs, where they looked distinctly human.
When the Chelonians passed, Amy turned back to the Doctor. "Why wouldn't they go back home?" Amy glared at the alien as she crushed the mythic apple to her chest.
"Yes. Well…" The Doctor fixed his bowtie. "Chelonians by the 60 Century have lost their home and Empire to a huge war. This being the late 59 Century. Well…"
"It might already be gone." Amy supplied. The Doctor looked up at the read head meekly. Amy groaned. "Fine, so what do we do? Should we talk to them? Try and negotiate a deal, yeah?"
"A deal for that apple?" A deep voice said behind them. Amy and the Doctor spun around and faced the scowling Chelonian. Well, he appeared to be scowling, Amy thought. She couldn't really tell. "That sounds agreeable."
Two more Chelonians came forward and grabbed the Doctor and Amy by the arms. Amy struggled for a bit, but eventually gave up when she saw the Doctor being calmly led away. She kept a hold of the apple, clutching it against her and refusing to let go.
The two were led down a long hallway, squat and black like all the others. Eventually the hallway opened up to a control centre for the ship. The room was domed, like the first area they'd appeared in, but much bigger. The ceiling and walls were multifaceted and reflected the lights from the work stations of the Chelonians flying the ship. At the back of the room and sitting upon a raised dais was a black throne. It was made of the same black material as the rest of the ship. An old spotted turtle sat in the throne with wrinkled skin and a curved beak. Its black beady eyes stared at the Doctor and Amy as they were brought before it.
The Doctor bowed flamboyantly. "God-Mother." He greeted. Amy glanced between the turtle and the Doctor, she quickly curtsied. "How can we be of service? You did call us onto your ship after all." The Doctor tossed back his fringe and smiled. Amy continued to stare warily at the turtle, trying desperately not to think about the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
"Doctor," the turtle said in a deep, gravely voice, "we want Aphrodite's Apple. And we will use whatever means necessary to get it." The Doctor glared darkly at the Chelonian God-Mother. He did not like threats.
Amy glared as well. "What are you going to do? Eat us?"
The Chelonians laughed. Amy's eyes widened. Oh my god, she thought, they were going to eat them.
The Doctor sighed and dropped his face into his hands. He turned to his companion. "Amy… Chelonians are herbivores… they – they don't eat humans." He sounded disgusted at the very idea. Amy blushed furiously and stepped back, instantly having decided she would not actively participate in the conversation anymore. "Right, anyway…" The Doctor turned back to the snickering God-Mother. "I can't just give you the apple, it's dangerous."
The God-Mother scowled. "Then we will poison all the waters on this rebuilding planet and destroy its life."
"What!?" The Doctor looked more confused then outraged. "Why? What does this planet have anything to do with the apple? We have it, not the planet."
"Of course not, Doctor. But we've faced you before, even if you have not. And though your face has changed, your habits have not. You won't stand by and watch a civilization starve."
The Doctor glared venomously at the turtle and fumed. "Yes, you're right. I won't let a civilization die. But if I give you the apple it will pass from place to place and hundreds of civilizations will fall. And I can't let that happen either."
The two aliens stared at each other a moment longer, both silent. "It seems we have arrived at an impasse." The Doctor nodded mutely. He scanned the room. There wasn't a teleport in sight. He had to get Amy back to the museum though, she could protect the apple. He glanced at Amy holding it, she was perfectly fine. His assumption had been right earlier. Amy had the love she wanted, the apple had nothing to activate within her mind. Once Amy was safe, he could deal with their tech that would pollute the water.
He turned back to the Chelonian leader. "It appears so." The Doctor said nothing else. All he needed was a distraction, and then Amy could run to the teleport. He could give her his sonic and she'd be able to get back. Of course he'd be left without one then, but he could manage. Sort of.
The God-Mother nodded at one of his soldiers. The Chelonian rushed forward in an unexpected burst of speed and grabbed Amy. The Doctor jumped towards her but another Chelonian soldier restrained him.
"What are you doing? Stop it! Stop this now!" The turtle soldier raised its claw and pressed the black talons against Amy's throat and paused, awaiting further orders. Amy leaned as far away from the talons as she could, her neck strained at an awkward angle. The apple in her hands was pushed close to her breast as she protected it with her life. "Let. Her. Go." The Doctor ordered in a deceptively calm voice, his stare never wavering from his companions wide eyed watch.
"Give us the apple." The God-Mother countered. Amy's fingers slowly turned white from her grasp on the apple. She watched the Doctor for any sign of a plan, an escape, hell she'd even take a stupid catchphrase at that point. The man looked frantically back and forth between the God-Mother and his companion. No catchphrase. "We've been watching you, Doctor." The God-Mother continued venomously. "You've already lost one companion today, are you prepared to lose another?" The Doctor froze.
"No!" Amy cried out. She drove her heel into the Chelonian's shin behind her then ripped herself from his grasp. She glared up at the God-Mother and shook her head. "I don't believe you."
"Your mate is dead." He informed her uncaringly. "He died by the very sword he had carried around for centuries, protecting you with. Give us the apple, and we'll spare you."
Amy clutched the apple in one hand and pointed at the Chelonian leader. "No! I will not give up on him. Rory is not dead. As long as I live, as long as I breathe I will never stop giving up on that man. And nothing you say or do can change that. I love him and I know, without a doubt. Rory Williams is not dead." The golden apple sparked. Amy cried out and dropped it to the floor, quickly cradling her singed hand.
"What is this?" The God-Mother demanded. "What have you done?"
The Doctor flipped out his sonic screwdriver and rushed toward Amy. He scanned the apple. "You shorted it out!" The Doctor grabbed Amy's cheeks and kissed her forehead as he laughed. "Oi!" He pulled back and glared at her sharply. "Amelia Pond, you destroyed a priceless, ancient artefact."
Amy looked at the Doctor and then the Chelonian leader and back again. "Yeah, not really our biggest problem right now, Doctor."
"Right, yes." He turned back to the God-Mother and quickly pocketed his sonic. "The apple's dead." He explained to the confused alien. "Its magic died with it. There is nothing left for you here, return home."
The God-Mother growled. "Aphrodite's Apple was our last chance in winning our Empire back, Doctor. You've doomed my race, so I'll doom this one. Know that you will always be the prophesier of doom. Where you go, a disease is left." An alarm blared and flashing mauve lights appeared from the ceiling.
"Intruders on board!" A Chelonian hollered.
The Doctor grabbed Amy's and they ran from the room. "And that's our queue."
"Doctor?" Amy yelled over the alarms as they went. "How did I break the apple? How do you even break an apple?"
"Not now Pond I'm trying to es–" He stopped abruptly at the entrance to a hydraulics room. The Doctor smiled and raced in.
"What are we doing? I thought we were escaping?"
The Doctor scanned a machine in the room with his sonic. He quickly popped off the cover to the control panel. "The Chelonian's threatened this world. I can't let them pollute the waters here. The civilization would fall, again. This here," he tapped the machine as he worked, "is what they'll use to do it. If I muck up their systems, they won't be able to use it."
"That's great Doctor, but we really should be going, yeah?"
"Couldn't have agreed more." Amy spun around and launched herself into Rose's arms.
"Oh thank god you're okay." Rose laughed, pleasantly surprised by Amy's actions. Her eyes lighted up on the Doctor, staring at her over Amy's shoulder. His eyes glimmered and he smiled happily at her. Rose let go of Amy and rushed over to hug him. She laughed as he lifted her off her feet and swung her back and forth.
"The Chelonian's are on their way." Amy looked back around and, much to her disbelief saw River. The archaeologist smiled at the woman's confusion. "Hello Amy, good to see you again." She turned to the Doctor. "Hello sweetie. Good to see you've found the hydraulics. I'm assuming there's a reason. Best finish up, though. I'd really hate to use my gun." River smiled wickedly and took out her blaster.
The Doctor shook his head, glanced once more between River and Rose then went back to the machine he'd been tinkering with. Rose pulled out her own sonic and they talked back and forth as they tried to find a way to impair the machine.
River and Amy stood by the door, keeping watch. The alarms still blared from around them. There were sounds of movement coming from both directions down the halls but no Chelonians had made it their way yet. Amy leaned against the door and watched River. "How'd you yet here then?"
"I was captured by the museum director a week ago."
Understanding dawned on Amy. "Oh! You're the one he took."
"Yes," River replied tightly, "among a few others. We need to get out of here and set the prisoners free." She glanced back at Rose and the Doctor. They were almost done.
Amy also glanced back at them. "You run backwards from the Doctor right?"
River narrowed her eyes, already knowing where Amy was going with this. "Yes."
"So you've met Rose before?" Of course she had.
River sighed. "Amy, if you have any questions about Rose you really should ask her yourself."
Amy crossed her arms and sighed, put out. "That's what the Doctor said."
"He's not wrong."
"Done!" Rose chirped. River and Amy quickly joined the other two. "Right, River and I have our vortex manipulators, yeah? Partner up! We'll head back down to the museum now."
River nodded and quickly typed the coordinates into the device on her wrist. She took Amy's hand and placed it over the vortex manipulator then slammed her hand down on one of the buttons.
POP!
They disappeared, leaving behind the scent of ozone and a small puff of smoke.
Rose turned to the Doctor and smiled. "Ready?" The Doctor nodded. Rose took one of the Doctor's hands and wrapped it around her waist. "Hold on tight, cowboy."
POP!
The hallway was tall, white and curved at the top. They were back in the museum. River tapped a few buttons on her vortex manipulator. At the sound of their arrival, she turned to Rose and the Doctor. "We're in the basement again. It used to hold exhibits not on display, but the director quickly converted it into his personal People Warehouse." She looked up and saw the Doctor take his arm from around Rose's waist. She swallowed and turned back to the long hallway, putting her back to the two.
River always knew this was coming. She knew this would eventually happen. She'd been a fool to think otherwise. She sighed. It would have been so much easier if she hated Rose for it.
"Righ'" Rose said, "you mentioned other prisoners down here. We should take care of that after we've dealt with the apple."
"Oh!" The Doctor's head shot up and he spun around from where he'd been inspecting a wall. "Already taken care of. Amy shorted it out."
River frowned. "How do you short out an apple?"
"Thank you!" Amy exclaimed.
The Doctor ignored her. "The apple was technology. Very advanced and frankly a very interesting piece of it too. It tapped into the brain centres and…" All three women crossed their arms and gave him a look. "Oh fine… It was scienc-y and then Amy stopped it. The apple fed off of desire and love, and it created false love to further feed off of it."
"Like a parasite." Amy piped in. She smiled proudly.
"Exactly!" He tapped her nose and then turned back to the wall he was examining. "But Amy had what she loved already, she had Rory. And when that love was threatened, she brought forth a huge wave of emotion." He turned back around. "It's not just fairytale stuff. True love. Amy's undying love for Rory was too much for the apple. The connections of the brain creating that and sending it to the apple were too much. It short circuited." The Doctor knocked on the wall and leaned his ear against it. "And with it," he continued, "she stopped all the madness that was spreading. People should already be going back to normal. By tomorrow, it'll be all a bad dream. A really vivid bad dream. That actually happened." He turned to his companions. "You know, there's a door here."
Rose nodded. "Yeah it's one of the cells for the prisoners." She glanced down at the device on her wrist. "No one in that one though. There are some that way." She nodded down the hall. Rose frowned and tapped the device a couple of more times. "Looks like most people are startin' to escape. We should help."
Amy looked down the long hall. "Is Rory in one of those cells?"
River looked up from her own vortex manipulator. "Yes. I've got his signature. We can trace him from this. Come on then."
Amy fell back behind the Doctor and River to walk with Rose. She looked to the blonde and then back down the hall. She did it twice more before finally speaking. "Look, I'm not going to pretend to know your connection with the TARDIS, but from what I can understand. You two have some sort of connection, right?" Rose looked at her, but said nothing. "Is Rory alive? There was blood in the Centurion exhibit and the God-Mother said the Doctor had lost a companion and you're still alive so I was… I was wondering…"
Rose bit her lip. "The last thing I saw and heard, was Rory get stabbed by the sword." Amy's face remained fierce, she would not give in. She watched Rose intently as the woman's eyes glowed gold. "He's alive." The blonde confirmed a moment later. She smiled in relief with Amy. Rose hadn't even checked earlier if Rory was alive. She'd seen and heard the blow he'd sustained, no one could have survived that. Rory was an incredibly lucky man.
The Doctor glanced at River. "So… You met Rose then."
River didn't even look up from her vortex manipulator. "Yes, dear. I actually met Rose a very long time ago."
The Doctor winced. "I'm sorry River." And he sounded it. He cared for her, deeply. River vaguely thought that that was the reason she wasn't so upset. Or maybe it was because Rose was one of the most incredibly women in the world. Or because the Doctor loved River in his own way. Or because she was with her parents again, it'd been almost a year since she saw them. No. River felt the excitement in the pit of her stomach. With one lost soul comes another, she thought.
River shook her head. "Don't be Doctor. I always knew this was coming." She looked at him and smiled. "Just because Rose is back, it doesn't mean I won't see you. Oh and believe me, you've got lots left to do with me." She laughed as her memories of his future adventures rushed through her mind.
"Oh River Song." The Doctor said adoringly. "Will I ever figure you out?"
"I sure hope so. I might get tired of this game sooner or later."
River walked up to a white wall and the Doctor soniced open a control panel. He leaned against the wall beside it and crossed his arms. The Doctor smiled crookedly at her. "No you won't." River laughed her agreement back. She could do this forever. But this chapter of her life was ending. The Doctor was starting a new journey, and so was she.
River's fingers flew over the keyboard on the panel as she worked to open the door. The Doctor waved his screwdriver in the air, taunting her. She rolled her eyes. Oh the man was insufferable when he was childish, River thought. She nodded her head at him and smiled anyways. "If it's all the same to you sweetie, I should be getting back to Stormcage. I've been missing for a week after all. They must be going right out of their minds."
The Doctor frowned. "You're leaving?"
River began typing in the coordinates on her vortex manipulator. "It's not like you need me here Doctor. This is all just about wrapped up. Besides, I feel like if I stay I'll get caught up in another adventure."
"And that's a bad thing?"
River didn't smile. She turned and looked at Amy who had fallen behind with Rose. The Doctor looked too. "Yes. It would be."
"You know what's wrong." It wasn't an accusation, more a statement of fact.
"Of course I do. I'm from your future." She turned back to him and sighed. "Do be careful, dear." She smiled sadly. "I'm sure I'll be seeing you soon." The Doctor smiled and nodded and then River was gone.
POP!
Amy and Rose rushed over. "Where'd she go?" Amy asked.
"Back to Stormcage." Rose's eyebrows shot up at that. "Now, let's get this door open and reunite you with your hubby, yeah Pond?" The Doctor smiled at Amy and threw his sonic into the air. It flipped end over end and when he caught it, he soniced the door.
The door to the cell slid open. Amy gasped happily and rushed into her husbands waiting arms. She checked him over for wounds, but Rose had been right, he was fine. "I thought you were dead you stupid face." She smacked his arm and hugged him again.
"I'm fine Amy." He calmly assured her as he hugged her tightly.
"Hey, I'm fine too. Where's my hug from a beautiful lady?" Rory turned to glare at his cellmate but was stopped by the bright pink and yellow body that flew into the man's arms. "Rose?" Jack laughed and pulled Rose in for a kiss. Rory frowned, how did they know each other? Jack pulled back and looked up at the door. He frowned at the Doctor. "You regenerated." Jack took Rose's hand and walked towards the man. The Doctor wrung his hands nervously, his eyes going from Jack's face, to Rose's to their hands. He didn't look happy. "That's what all that was at the spacebar? Alonso?" The Doctor nodded once.
Then tension in the room was palpable. Rose was smiling though, which gave Rory a little comfort. Jack dropped Rose's hand and broke into a wide grin. The Time Lord and fixed point embraced and before the Doctor could pull away, Jack was kissing him. Rory chocked.
The Doctor wiped his mouth. "Yes, well, thanks for that, Harkness."
Jack winked. "Anytime."
Amy coughed. "Sorry to interrupt this heart breaking reunion, really I am. But Doctor, we need to find who took the apple still."
The Doctor eyed Jack, as if he thought the other man would grab him for another kiss any second, which was entirely possible. Then he clapped his hands and rubbed them together, something Rose was quickly realising was a habit of his. "Right! Well, we found the apple in Max's office. He wasn't acting affected by the apple, not nearly as much as he should have been at least."
"Yeah," Rory cut in, "and why weren't we affected?"
Amy turned to her husband. "The Doctor was saying the apple feeds on desire for love. We love each other, so it had nothing to draw from."
"Had?"
"I destroyed it." She nodded and shrugged like it was no big deal.
"Right." Rory turned to the Doctor. "What about the rest of you?"
Jack and Rose looked to the Doctor. The Doctor's eyes widened. "I'm a Time Lord." Amy smirked as she noted that he didn't stutter that time, though he most certainly glanced at Rose. Jack smirked too, noticing the look. "And Rose isn't human." Amy and Jack's ears perked up at that. "And Jack is a fixed point. But this is off topic. We should head back to Max's office and find out where he went."
The group exited the cell and Rose looked at the schematics of the museum on her vortex manipulator. Jack flipped open his and pulled up the same plans.
"Jack?" The Doctor asked as he spun around to the man. "What are you doing here?"
The time traveller smiled lopsidedly. "Well, I heard they were rebuilding the Boeshane Peninsula and what can I say? I got nostalgic." The Doctor didn't respond. He understood what Jack meant. If he had the opportunity to see Gallifrey again, he didn't think anything would stop him from taking it. "So…apple?"
The Doctor caught Jack up as Rose readied the device on her wrist. She took Jack's arm as the boys talked and soniced it so that it would work properly. "'Kay," Rose interrupted when their conversation quickly deteriorated into bickering. The Ponds watched on in amusement. They'd never seen someone so quickly push the Doctor's buttons, nor with such ease, "we're all set to head back up to the main level."
Jack winked at the Ponds. "I'll take the handsome couple."
POP!
The Doctor glanced at Rose. She gave him a stern look back. "Oi. Wipe that look off your face Time Lord. I'm not the one that kidnapped him and brought him here."
The Doctor crossed his arms and pouted. "No. But you're the one that's going to invite him along anyways."
She took his hand. "As if that was even up for debate."
POP!
Rose and the Doctor teleported into Max's office to find the man frantically rushing towards the door. Rose jumped forward and slammed it shut. Jack and Rory grabbed his arm and pulled him back.
"Whoa there cowboy." Jack said. He looked to Rose curiously. "This the one that kidnapped me?" Rose shook her head.
"Max." The Doctor walked towards his friend, calm and concerned. "What have you done?"
Max's eyes darted about the room and he licked his lips. "I – I'm sorry, Doctor."
"Maximus…"
"I just wanted her back!" The smaller man shouted. His eyes watered and he looked desperately to Rose. "Just like you wanted Rose back." The tears rolled down his cheeks and Jack and Rory slowly let go of his arms.
"Who Max? Who did you want back?" Even as he asked, the Doctor could guess.
Max sniffled and wiped his nose along his sleeve. "My wife…" He chocked out.
Rose walked toward the man and wrapped an arm around him. "I didn't know you were married." She whispered.
Max wrapped his arms around himself but didn't pull away from her touch. "She died a bit before I first met you and the Doctor." He looked imploringly at the Time Lord. "I thought it'd bring her back."
Amy walked towards the group and stood by her husband. "So when the apple exhibit finally came back to the museum. You used it."
The Doctor shook his head. "The apple doesn't have any history about bringing people back to life."
"But it's from the gods!" He argued with a loud desperation. He didn't mean to hurt anyone, just stop the hurting himself. There was so much darkness. The gods had to help him, he couldn't have failed. It had worked.
Jack's hand went to his gun as he calmly eyed the man. He kept an eye on the Doctor, awaiting any orders to move. Rose continued to try and sooth the frantic man. "It's not magic Max. It's technology, yeah? Someone made it and it got thrown back into ancient times."
"But it worked." He insisted in a whisper. He turned to Rose. "You came back. What else could have done that?"
The Doctor narrowed his eyes. "Your apple has nothing to do with Rose Tyler. She found her way home because she is brilliant. She doesn't need magic. Max you've endangered people. I know you're in pain, I know you're grieving. Believe me, I've been there. I am so old. And I have lost so many. But that doesn't excuse your actions." He tightened his fist, angry. Not with Ma, but very possibly with himself. "Nothing could ever excuse the things you've done. You could have killed people; you could have destroyed this civilization and hundreds of others." Rose very slowly stepped away from Max and took the Doctor's hand. She watched him intently as he breathed in deep breaths. She knew; she knew he wasn't talking about Max anymore.
Max didn't. "What are you going to do with me?"
Silence.
The Doctor stared at the small man. He tightened his grip on Rose's hand as he took strength from her presence. It had been so long, years probably, since he'd been able to do that. The Doctor focused on Max, the man had endangered possibly millions of people. He couldn't just let him roam about, but he couldn't really throw him in jail.
"We're going to get you help." All eyes turned to Rory. "It hurts when the one you love is gone. You wish you could do anything to save them. Even if that means living for centuries, waiting for her to come back. But sometimes they don't, and you have to learn to cope with that idea. It's hard, it isn't fun and I can't guarantee it'll be easy. But I can assure you, that it is easier if you have someone." Rory turned to the Doctor who was smiling proudly. Amy took her husbands hand. "We will get him help, right Doctor?"
The Doctor stroked his thumb across Rose's hand. "On my hearts."
Rose stood at the door to the library. She leaned her shoulder against the frame as she watched Jack snoring soundly on one of the couches in front of the fireplace. The Doctor came up behind her.
"I just wanted to make sure he settled in." She whispered to him. "And got a good nights rest. He's been sleeping badly." The Doctor wrapped his arms around Rose's waist and rested his chin on her shoulder. Rose didn't expect the oddly intimate action, but she didn't pull away. Her body moulded into his and yes, she realised, they would always fit.
"Are you looking into his life? He might not like that."
Rose rolled her eyes. Jack wouldn't care. The Doctor simply wanted her to use Bad Wolf less than she was. "Not really, bit more common sense than that. The TARDIS was home to Jack, and when the TARDIS feels like home, you can't fall asleep without that humming noise. He hasn't had a good night sleep since before Bad Wolf. I don't think I had a single good sleep in the other universe. When you stayed with us, after Bad Wolf Bay the second time, we sort of became insomniacs."
The Doctor frowned. He straightened up and turned Rose in his arms so they faced each other. Rose rested her hands against his hearts and looked into his light green eyes. She liked them, she had decided. His floppy hair and wide features were different then the last body. She definitely wasn't opposed to it. "You don't really talk much about your life with me then. Or your life there in general."
Rose raised her eyebrows. "You don't really ask much." They ginned at each other. Jack's snoring increased and Rose smiled over her shoulder at him. She looked back at the Doctor. "You think Max'll be okay?"
"I should think so. Rory has some brilliant advice when it comes to dealing with a loved ones… yeah, probably not a good thing." Rose frowned, remembering his speech about being forgiven, just before Rory spoke. Rose reached up and cupped the Doctor's face. She searched his eyes, searched for something the Doctor wasn't sure she'd find. Rose didn't speak. She knew whatever she said would do nothing. The Doctor believed he was the fault in everything. Telling him he wasn't would do nothing. She'd have to show him, and over time, he'd learn to see. Rose smiled at him.
She slid her hands down from his face and rested them against his beating hearts. "Doctor?" Rose bit her lip. "'Bout Rory and Amy. What are we going to do about them?"
The Doctor looked up from the ground where his eyes had wandered. He quickly realised what Rose meant and frowned. "I've got a lead I think. But we should drop them off somewhere first. You and Jack can tag along with me and figure it out." Rose nodded.
"I should get in an hour or so then." Her eyes glowed. "I have a feeling this isn't going to be a short trip." She wrapped her arms around the Doctor's neck and held him tightly. "I don't think it was the apple, Doctor." She whispered. "I think it was something stronger."
Long after Rose had walked away, the Doctor was still standing there, staring at where she had disappeared. "Fate." He whispered to himself.
And that's all she wrote.. I don't really like this part as much as the first, but I do hope it was somewhat satisfactory. It's hard to write original adventures for Doctor Who. COMING SOON: The Rebel Flesh, with JACK and ROSE. Can we all just appreciate that for a moment?
Also side not about River. I love her and Eleven. But because of the obvious Rose/Eleven of this story I had to do something with her. I didn't want to make her mean to Rose, or hate the Doctor, but I also didn't want to discount everything she'd had with the Doctor before Rose came back. I hope you're okay with what I've done. There's still clearly a bit of mystery to that story line and some questions that have to be answered. And we'll get there, soon hopefully!
Thanks for reading :)
PS. There is another part I might write another original adventure, before Let's Kill Hitler. If you guys thinks I should, then let me know. I'll try to make it less, blah in the second half. That, or I could play around with a Classic Who episode? Something I'll probably do anyway at some point. Let me know!