(AN) I hope you enjoy this latest chapter! Thanks to anyone who has favorited/followed/reviewed!
The Doctor slammed into the TARDIS door, half expecting it to just swing open in his rage clouded mind. Of course, it stayed locked firmly shut, and the Doctor jerked back, the tiniest bit of rationality seeping into his mind. He shoved a hand into his dimensional pockets, yanking out the key. Due to his hands shaking severely, it took him several attempts to put the key in properly and turn it, but eventually the door swung open, and he stormed into the console room.
A soothing presence entered his mind as soon as he breached the console room, but the Doctor paid it no mind. The TARDIS was clearly trying to calm him down, but there was nothing she could do to possibly calm him in this state. He angrily stomped past the console, the peaceful presence fleeing from him as soon as it had entered his head. The TARDIS had travelled with the Doctor long enough to know when to back off.
The Doctor made his way into the hall leading down to the rooms of his companions. It was possible that he would be able to track Rose's coordinates if he scanned something that belonged to her. He ran into her room, taking in his surroundings.
Nothing. The room was entirely vacant, aside from the furniture that already occupied it. The Doctor dug his fingers into the top of his head, groaning with anxiety. He fell to his knees, face pressing into the carpet. He had lost her. Again. He had been given a second chance, and he had messed everything up. The Doctor shook his head in denial of this fact, curling in on himself. He had messed everything up. He was entirely alone in this universe. Images that were entirely too vivid assaulted his brain, and he cried out, shaking his head. Buildings, burning, as people screamed and ran, trying to shelter themselves. Trying to escape the monstrosity that descended upon them. Not the Daleks, nor the Cybermen. Only him, the Doctor. He had destroyed his people, obliterated a whole civilization in a manner of seconds.
But he had lived. For some horrid, unknown reason, the universe had decided that he hadn't suffered enough, and let him live with himself. For so long after Galifrey had even destroyed, weeks, months, years, the Doctor had asked himself a simple question. Why. Why had he been forced to endure this existence? Why couldn't have he been caught up in the massive explosion that had obliterated everyone and everything around him? After the longest amount of time, the Doctor had finally come to the realization that this could only be his punishment. There couldn't be other rational reason that he still dragged his leaden feet across the grated surface othe the TARDIS floor, his head still stuck in a war that had forever ended. The universe refused to grant him oblivion. Because, for a man like him, there couldn't be any greater punishment than living.
It had been this way, for quite a while, until the day that the TARDIS had suddenly jerked into motion, rather alarming the Doctor. Until she had landed him on earth, in the year 43011. A rather unextrordinary year, as far as the Doctor knew. Around twenty years after the humans had emerged from a devastating world war that had completely shaken the planet. At least, it had seemed to be unextrordinary until he had met her. A beautiful, caring, pink and yellow human. Rose Tyler, who worked as a shopkeeper somewhere around the forty third district of Eurasia. Almost all electricity had been entirely wiped out of the planet, in the decades before hand and the new generation of human beings didn't have computer chips installed in their heads, making it so the human race had to convert back to rather rudimentary processes, dating back to the twenty first century. He had saved her life, and unknowingly, she had saved his. Something about her flashing smile, the way her tongue stuck out of the corner of her mouth, made him only want to smile back. Something about the ways she took his hand in her's even when it wasn't necessary, lit him up inside. She had healed him and erased his misery, and soon he had grown to...care...about her in a way that he hadn't entirely expected.
The Doctor's head shot up, and he scrambled to his feet. An idea was scrambling in his heads and it was quite far fetched. But also, very possible. The Doctor sped out of Rose's room, and down the hall to another door at the end. Once more, Rose's room. But his first Rose, the one he had known before. It was possible that he could trace Rose's whereabouts by using something from this room. The Doctor yanked the sonic out of his pocket, and used it on the door. The lock clicked, and the door swung open slightly. But the Doctor was hesitant as he placed his shaking hand on the doorknob. What if...he got taken to his first Rose. Her grave. It was always possible that could happen, and that possibility sent a chill down the Doctor's spine. But he had to try. He had try anything, because it was possible that Rose was out there somewhere, alive and breathing, and he wouldn't be able to live with himself if he didn't try anything and everything in his capabilities.
The Doctor pushed the door open, and then grabbed the nearest object off of a small dresser situated by the door. He didn't linger, and he didn't let his eyes wander over the dimly lit room, over the space which Rose had inhabited for so long. He couldn't let his emotions overtake him, not when the situation was this dire. He was out of the room only a second after he had entered it, the door savagely slammed behind him. He tore down the hall to the console room, his heart beating in his throat, and he tried to calm himself. There was no telling what would happen if he gave in.
Upon entering the console room, he made a bee line towards the console, immediately pulling a switch. He dropped the object he had retrieved into a clamp on the console, sparing it a brief glance. It appeared to be a tube of lipstick, unopened and still in the packaging. The Doctor jerked away from it, tapping his fingers over a keyboard and twisting some knobs. The TARDIS pitched wildly, but the Doctor didn't budge, grabbing firmly onto the rim of the console for support. But that was to no avail, for soon the TARDIS was rolling all over the place and emitting an unhealthy groan. The Doctor was thrown back against the wall with a shout. The TARDIS continued rock treacherously, emitting the same sound as before. The Doctor's brows knitted together in concern. When the floor stopped pitching for the briefest moment, the Doctor struggled up towards the console, trying to read what the flashing monitor was saying. But before he could, the room started rocking again, and he was knocked to the floor. A moment after this, the TARDIS stilled, and the Doctor made no waste of time. He scrambled to his feet, and outright bolted for the door. He couldn't waste a single second in preparations for what he was about to do. Rose's life was on the line.
The door slammed open, and the Doctor cringed at the echoing sound it produced as he stepped out. The TARDIS had landed in a dim, almost pitch black corridor that appeared to be empty. The Doctor tried to shut the TARDIS door as quietly as he could, locking it behind him. He then stepped farther into the dark hall. The floor beneath his feet was constructed from cement, and a faintly damp scent hung on the air. It appeared that wherever he was, it was underground. No light shown in the hall, and he pulled out the sonic, lighting it up as he started walking.
The Doctor couldn't help but get a chill down his spine as he proceeded down the corridor. He had anticipated facing immediate danger upon landing, but was instead faced with an overbearing silence. He wasn't quite sure where exactly he had landed, having not checked the monitor before he left. Something had gone awry with the TARDIS on the way though, and it was quite possible there had been a steering error. Either way, this place was giving him the creeps.
He was just about to try scanning the area to pinpoint exactly where he was when the slightest shuffle of sound hit his ears. Before the Doctor could even begin to react, he found himself pinned to the wall by an unknown force, his head slamming into the stone wall painfully.
"State your name and intent!" a warbled voice yelled next to his ear. The Doctor tried to twist, to face whoever had disabled him, but he was rendered entirely immobile. "John Smith," he choked out. "I'm here to check your...plumbing. If you let me go, I can show you my card."
As soon as the words had left his mouth, the person holding him stiffened. A second later, they released him, backing away. Slumping against the wall as he tried to regain his balance, the Doctor turned to the form, bewildered. He could hardly see in the dark hall, but the person who stood before him wore some type black body armor, a large helmet obscuring their head. A massive gun was strapped to their back. Their size suggested they were male, but the Doctor couldn't tell what gender their voice was. They had some form of voice-distorter on their helmet.
"Come with me," they said shortly, before walking stiffly down the hall. The Doctor followed after them hesitantly, not sure whether to run. He had positively no idea where he was being taken, and only followed because of the possibility that he might be brought closer to Rose. After a few tense minutes, the two of them turned the corner, and abruptly, the figure turned to the Doctor.
"This is a blind spot for the cameras," the person said tersely to him. "And they only scan the visual information usually, not the sound."
The Doctor raised a confused eyebrow. "What is this all about?"
In response, the figure reached up around their neck, easing the helmet off of their head.
"Hello, Doctor," said Jack Harkness, a broad grin on his face.
The Doctor staggered away from him, feeling vaguely nauseous. The person who stood before him now was the last face that he needed to see. He had left Jack behind for a reason on the game station. He was incorrect, and defying the laws of the universe just by standing there.
Apparently, the horror that the Doctor felt inside showed on his face, and Jack's smile faded away. "Doctor?" he asked hesitantly. When the word left his lips, the Doctor felt an entirely new fear fill him. What if Jack didn't know? What if he was completely oblivious to what he had been turned into?
"J-Jack," the Doctor managed to stammer, nodding at him. He reached forward and shook Jacks hand, and even that smallest gesture pained him. Jack was an anomaly. Jack wasn't supposed to exist. But the Doctor kept a neutral expression on his face. The less Jack knew, the easier it would be for the Doctor to make his escape.
Jack gave a surprised laugh, shaking his head as he broke the handshake. "Doctor, how the hell are you here?" he asked. He had a lighthearted, joking tone to his voice, but the Doctor could percieve a greater hurt beneath his words.
"Jack, I-" the Doctor started, but Jack held up a hand to silence him.
"I understand," Jack said. "Things were chaotic, and it was safe to assume I was dead," The Doctor heard the sharp edge of sarcasm, and it cut into him. He genuinely didn't want to hurt Jack, but he was simply just too dangerous.
"Jack, I'm sorry," the Doctor replied. "I really am. But I-"
"That isn't what is important," Jack interrupted. "What I need to know is, how did you get here?" He gave a short laugh, gesturing around him. "I mean, I've been looking for you this whole time, and then you just com waltzing along!"
"Jack, I wasn't looking for you," the Doctor said bluntly, and he tried to ignore the briefest flash of hurt that appeared on the con man's face. "I'm looking for...Rose," he continued. He wouldn't elaborate on which Rose he was looking for specifically. "In fact, I think I might have made a steering error, so..." The Doctor turned around abruptly, but was soon stopped by Jack, who blocked his way.
"Doctor, what happened to her? Did someone take her? Is she hurt?" Jack asked concernedly.
The questions pounded in on the Doctor's head, and they only added to the anxiety and dread building up in his stomach. "Jack, I don't know!" He finally exploded, flinging his hands up in the air. "I don't know where she is, okay?!"
Jack, rather than backing off at this exclamation, came closer to him. "Doctor, I can help," he said calmly. "She's my friend too."
The Doctor looked up at him, and despite the repulsion he felt at the sight of him, he appreciated the gesture. The Doctor didn't deserve Jack's kindness, and yet he took it, greedily sucking it in. He needed all the help he could get.
"Well," the Doctor said. "It would help to know where we are right now."
Jack chuckled. "That's so like you, just wandering out of your ship without checking to see where you are. But, since you asked..." Jack gestured around him.
"Welcome to the office," Jack said smoothly. "I work here now, at Torchwood industries."