Chapter 6:

With a bold flash of light unnoticed by the citizens of the busy city below, Rose Tyler appeared on a high rooftop in London. She stood in the dusk with her eyes closed, listening to the sounds around her. She strained her ears to hear the trademark sound of Pete's world- the Zeppelins. Failing to hear the whir of their large engines, she slowly opened her eyes and peered up at the sky. There were no loud floating ships littering the air, which she took as a good sign. She looked down from the rooftop and saw before her the Powell Estate, her old home. She smiled in gratitude to John for sending her to these coordinates and quickly made her way down off the building and into the street.

She had to make sure that this was the right universe, and the best way to do that would be to find and examine her old home. Just because this wasn't Pete's world didn't mean that she was in the right universe. She doubted she would be so lucky as to land in the correct universe the first time round, especially since it took her a good forty-eight times the last time she tried it. However, something in her gut told her that for once things might just be going her way.

Upon reaching the street, she broke out in a sprint towards the old flat she once shared with her mum. Excited, with adrenaline pumping through her veins, she moved the lampshade on the outside light of the apartment, picking up the spare key that was hidden there. Same key meant same apartment, right? She inserted it into the lock and turned it, satisfied when she heard a click. Pushing the door open, she rushed inside and stopped short, surprised at what she saw.

For a moment, disappointment overwhelmed her as she looked at the shambles in front of her. The whole place was torn apart, furniture knocked over and photos strewn across the room. She stepped forward and picked up a picture frame, brushing aside the broken glass and looking at the photo. From her hands, she saw her mother and a four-year-old Rose smiling up at her.

Laughing in relief, Rose picked up a few more pictures; all of them captured moments from her childhood and other times in her life. After the thankfulness of being in the correct universe wore off, the young woman walked around the abandoned flat aimlessly, her guilt taking over her.

How many times had she just up and left her family without giving them a proper goodbye?

She pushed the couch back up into its rightful position and sat down on it, allowing a few tears to fall from her brown eyes. Never again would she see her mother, Pete, Tony, or even that stupid little Yorkie that shared her name. She hadn't even told her brother or father where she was going.

Sniffling, she looked around the flat again. Looking down the hall, she noticed the door to her room propped open, a gentle breeze wafting from that direction. Wiping her cheeks, she stood and walked towards her room- though it hadn't really been hers for over four years.

She entered the room, walking over to the open window overlooking the street below. Across the road, she could see by the light of the street lamps the building on which she appeared earlier. She stood and inhaled the musky smell, distinctly different from the clean scent of Pete's world. Looking down, she saw that her nightstand had been moved to sit beneath the open window. On the small table was an intricate glass vase, delicately carved with a familiar circular pattern. Resting within the vase was a blood red flower, a rose, which was frozen in an eternal bloom. There was no other explanation for the flower looking as perfect as it did, there was no way that kind of beauty was natural. Next to the vase, wrapped in a blue ribbon, a folded piece of paper rested against a small porcelain bust of a golden wolf.

Hesitantly, the young woman reached her arm out and picked up the small statue. The animal was fixed in a pose in which its neck was stretched out above the rest of the body, howling to a moon that wasn't there. Tied around the wolf's neck was a delicate pink ribbon, tied in a bow with the ends curled.

Rose smiled and placed the wolf back on the table, reaching instead for the small piece of parchment. She unfolded it gingerly, the paper crinkling as she did so. Undoing the last fold, she discovered six words written in a beautiful script.

Rose Tyler: Defender Of The Earth

With a sharp intake of breath, Rose clutched the paper to her chest. She never imagined that the Doctor would set up a small memorial for her in her old room, the only one with access to it being himself. For so long she had worried that she would be just another companion that the Doctor would leave behind, forgetting her forever. His old words echoed through her head.

"Not you, never you."

Rose had mentally scoffed at the time. Surely he had said that to all his companions to offer them some assurance- even if it was a lie. But now, as she looked down at her old nightstand table, she allowed herself to believe that maybe she truly was different. John had assured her many times that she was, but no matter how he looked or acted, her head refused to accept that him and the Doctor were the same man.

A strong gust of wind blew through the open window, the rich red flower petals ruffling in response. Rose placed the paper back on the small table next to the wolf. Smiling to herself, she shut the window and walked back into the common room. As she walked in, she was quickly alerted to a rapid beeping coming from the forgotten dimension cannon resting haphazardly on the couch. The young woman shifted the heavy gun until a small screen was visible on the metal. On the screen was a set of coordinates, the words 'source of alien tech' flashing beneath the little yellow dot. Rose laughed to herself, checking that her gun was in her holster and with one last look at the cannon's information, set out the door.

"Very Spock." She stated as she shut and locked the door behind her, tucking the key in her jean pocket.

Wilfred Mott was, among others, a strange old man. Not that he minded in the least of course, for though strange, he was happy. He had lived a long life and was still quite healthy and lively. He had a beautiful daughter, and an equally extravagant granddaughter. However, there was more to
Wilfred Mott than met the eye. He had a led a nice, normal, boring life, until he met the Doctor and his life took a drastic turn. Many crazy, dangerous, and tragic things had come about from meeting this man and Wilfred Mott wouldn't change it for the world.

Now the old man stood in his room looking down at the revolver in his hand left over from his service days in the military. He had never killed a man, and of that he was proud. He never thought it was necessary, that no man deserved death no matter the crime. The strange woman on the telly told him differently. He gazed conflictingly at the weapon as the words of the mysterious woman ran through his head. She had said that there would come a time when he would have to take arms, that it was the only way in which the Doctor's life could be saved. He'd never killed a man, and he never wanted to, but he would in a heartbeat if it meant saving the man who had become such an integral part of his life.

He was roused from his musings by the sound of something hitting his window. Looking up, the old man saw the retreating tails of a brown trench coat disappearing into a large blue police box. Quickly, he stuffed his gun in his jacket and ran outside, calling out an excuse to Sylvia and Donna as he went.

"Naismith," The Doctor muttered, plugging coordinates into the console as he ran frantically throughout the TARDIS control room. After showing up at the Noble household and attracting the attention of Wilfred, the old man mentioned an unusual gift given to him by Donna. The fiery ex-companion had gifted him with a book written by Joshua Naismith; a completely irrelevant text that Wilfred would never have bought on his own. The Doctor quickly recognized the man from his psychic connection with the Ood earlier. Reasonably, the Doctor assumed that the Doctor-Donna was still lying dormant in the young woman's head, weaving its way into her consciousness and telling her to buy the book knowing that it would, ultimately, lead the Doctor to the right place. "If I can track him down. Ah. Right. Yes. Bigger on the inside. Do you like it?" The Time Lord continued, stopping briefly to acknowledge the awe on Wilfred's face. After a quick row and some choice words from Sylvia, Wilf had quickly jumped aboard the TARDIS and was now looking around in amazement.

"I thought it'd be cleaner." The old man stated, pulling his eyes away from the ship's interior and focusing them on the man in front of him.

"Cleaner?" The Doctor scoffed, mock offense showing in his features. "I could take you back home right now." Wilf gave a small laugh before turning his full attention on the Doctor, his face serious.

"Listen, Doctor, if this is a time machine... That man you're chasing, why can't you just pop back to yesterday and catch him?" he asked in obvious confusion. The Doctor gave a small smile, wishing it could only be that simple.

"I can't go back inside my own timeline," he began, looking down and fiddling with a knob on the console. "I have to stay relative to the Master within the causal nexus. Understand?"

"Not a word." Wilf replied confidently. The Doctor gave a chuckle as a wide grin spread across his face.

"Welcome aboard!" He said playfully before turning his full attention back on the task of flying the ship to the Naismith manor.

"Thank you." Wilfred whispered seriously, the revolver in his coat pocket weighing heavily against his chest like a promise left unfulfilled.

"We've moved!" Wilf exclaimed, hopping out of the TARDIS. "We've really moved!" The Doctor climbed out behind him, quickly shushing the old man with a comment of his own.

"You should stay here," The Doctor told him to which Wilf replied with "Not bloody likely." "And don't swear!" he added in resignation as he turned towards the TARDIS and pressed a button on his small remote, turning the blue box invisible. "Just a second out of sync. Don't want the Master finding the TARDIS," he explained to Wilfred as they set about finding the man from the Ood's vision. "That's the last thing we need."

"That man's a millionaire," Wilf whispered frantically as the two men snuck across the grounds of the mansion. "He's got his own private army!" The Doctor ignored him as they ducked behind an archway, out of the way of the soldiers marching by.

"Down here." The Doctor stated, opening a small door in another archway.

"Miss Addams, we're getting encouraging results from the ratio-foldback. Can you confirm?" A voice floated up from behind the door as The Doctor opened it, ushering Wilfred inside.

"The man's a miracle," another voice replied. "All the systems are slotting back into place! The shatterthreads have harmonised, the fibre links intensified," the voice continued to speak as the Doctor peeked his head around the corner to have a look. There he saw a short woman, obviously alien, typing away at a computer. " And the multiple overshots have triplicated!"

"Nice Gate." The Doctor said, stepping out from his hiding spot, Wilf following behind him and letting out a small greeting and apology. "Don't try calling security, or I'll tell them you're wearing a Shimmer. Because I reckon anyone wearing a Shimmer doesn't want the Shimmer to be noticed, or they wouldn't need a Shimmer in the first place." The Doctor threatened aimlessly. The woman visibly paled before quickly catching herself and eyeing the newcomers with a confused look.

" I'm sorry? What's a Shimmer?" She asked to which the Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver and pointed it at her wrist lazily. The small device on her watch sparked and the woman turned a bright shade of green with little pricks coming out of the skin on her face.

"Shimmer." The Doctor stated pointedly.

"Oh, my Lord," Wilf exclaimed. "She's a cactus!"

"Miss Addams?" The same voice from earlier called from the small comm device belonging to the presumed Miss Addams. Ignoring it, the Time Lord pushed passed the now irritated looking alien woman to the computer she was typing at previously. He clicked a few buttons and observed some previously acquired data, noting the success of the machine once the Master was brought into the custody of Naismith.

"He's got it working, but what is it? What's working?" he yelled frantically to himself, looking intently at the screen as numbers and statistics flew by.

"What are you doing here?" A panicked male voice exclaimed from behind him. Without turning around, the Doctor held up his sonic and pointed it at the person behind him.

"Shimmer!" He sang as the man turned into the same green alien as the woman standing beside him. "Now, tell me quickly, what's going on?" He demanded, twirling to face the extraterrestrial pair. "The Master, Harold Saxon, Skeletor, whatever you're calling him, what's he doing up there?"

After a quick argument about the dangers of allowing the Master near the machine, the two aliens eventually identified themselves as Vinvocci. The two of them were a salvage team, come to collect the gate now that it was repaired and return it back to their home planet.

"It doesn't just mend one person at a time," the female, Addams, said with a scoff after the Doctor and Wilf questioned the relevance and size of the machine. "It mends whole planets!" Immediately the Doctor froze and turned his gaze fully upon the cactus-like woman.

"It does what?" He asked, praying to any deity that was listening that he had heard her wrong.

"It transmits the medical template across the entire population-" she began, but the Doctor was already gone. He raced down the corridor and up the stairs as fast as his legs would carry him, his hearts beating double time with the exertion. He really never did anything but run, he mused to himself before shaking his head clear of any errant thoughts and focusing on the problem in front of him. Racing into the room where the gate was being stored, The Doctor found himself face to face with the Master and Naismith, the two arguing frantically over something. After a moment of pause he quickly jumped into action, calling to the dark skinned man.

"Turn the Gate off right now!" The Doctor shouted desperately. In response, all the soldiers in the room lifted their guns and pointed them at the pinstripe-clad man. "No, no, no, no, no! Whatever you do, just don't let him near that device!"

"Oh, like that was ever going to happen." The Master scoffed as the guards continued to point their weapons at the Doctor. Glancing over to the floor on his right, the Doctor noticed that the Master's straight jacket had been haphazardly discarded, as well as some of the soldiers were lying unconscious on the carpet.

"What?" The Doctor asked quietly, genuinely confused with the situation. Surely Naismith wouldn't just allow the Master to do whatever he wanted with the machine? Why were the guards knocked out? Deciding to answer his questions later, the Doctor stepped into a ready position, silently challenging the other Time Lord.

"Oh Doctor," The Master laughed, grinning maniacally at him. "I wouldn't be so reckless if I were you." Concerned, the Doctor looked about his surroundings once more. Wilf was standing safe in the doorway, there were no other guards hiding anywhere, and Rossiter, the male alien, had just sidled his way into the room wearing one of the guard's outfits. Confused, he looked back at the Master. The madman simply laughed, his skull illuminating through his skin as he did so. "Maybe you should learn to take better care of your pets. Bring her in!"

The Doctor's blood ran cold. Had the Master found out about Donna and brought her here? If so, she would be in terrible danger. Not only would her memory returning pose a threat, and Wilf was bound to act irrationally if his granddaughter was involved. There was no way that the Doctor could see her being here a good thing. He swallowed thickly, praying that she was still safe at home with Sylvia. His prayers stopped short however when two guards came out of a side doorway, wrestling a small female figure in an attempt to hold her down. The Master laughed evilly as the woman looked up, eyes wide, and spotted the Doctor.

"Rose?"

(A/N): As I said, I was really busy and did skip a week of updates! Sorry about that! I hope this chapter has made up for the wait! All your reviews have been begging for Rose and the Doctor to get back together! I won't leave you hanging without an update next week, promise! Please review and let me know what you think!

Thanks for reading!

~JediLlama