Disclaimer: Doctor Who belongs to the BBC. I do not own any of it, nor do I get paid for it.

A/N Thanks for the amazing response on the last chapter. Glad to know that you guys are having just as much fun reading this as I am writing it.

Part 3 of 'Different Beginnings' and focuses on the Other as you can guess from the titles. As always, feel free to ask anything that is unclear.

Happy Reading!

Different Beginnings: The Other

Previously

Closing her eyes, she focused on the song that she had only heard a few times before now.

She didn't know what she expected to happen but she started to feel the now-familiar tilt of the world. She heard the Crystal Guardian scream in fury but Rose kept running the song lyrics over and over in her head, some instinct within her asking her to keep up with it.

The Crystal Guardian's screams became fainter and fainter as 'Blue Skies' kept playing in Rose's mind. She felt the air around her change and knew she had escaped that void space where the Crystal Guardian had taken her.

At the same time, in the void space, the Crystal Guardian stopped his screams and rolled his eyes before allowing a triumphant smile to grace his face as he saw Rose Tyler disappear. "Walk into my parlour," he murmured silkily. "Said the spider to the fly."

Rose's head felt a bit heavy and she didn't have a chance to gauge her surroundings before her knees buckled and her vision swam. She extended her hand in front of her to find something to steady herself and encountered a cold pole of some sort. Through her blurry vision, she realised that it was a lamppost. Holding onto it tightly, she tried to steady her breathing and clear her vision.

Moments passed and her head thankfully stopped spinning. She straightened up and looked around herself. A shiver ran down her spine when she realised that she was on one of the piers in Blackpool and that she was completely and utterly alone. The carousels, rolllercoaster, big wheel, and various rides were still working with their twinkly bright lights and cheerful music but there was not a soul in sight.

Rose remembered a nightmare she'd frequently had and this one was eerily like it. An amusement park where all the little games and rides were working but there was no one there except her. The more she tried to get out, the deeper she would get trapped in it.

But she hadn't had this nightmare in years, certainly not since she had met the Doctor. From what she could remember, she would go through the exit arch and find herself entering the fair again and again until she woke up screaming. However, she was not a child anymore, and there was the Doctor's entire existence at stake.

With a determined look upon her face, she started to walk through the fair, keeping an eye out for anything that looked as if it wouldn't belong there. All the while, the carousels moved, the lights blinked and the music played on. Rose reached the exit arch and realised that she hadn't encountered anything anomalous during her exploration. She was debating whether or not to attempt going through the arch when the lights around her dimmed, leaving only the rollercoaster brightly illuminated.

Rose had been to Blackpool only once but she had no idea if there was a rollercoaster of the sort that she was seeing anywhere near it. It was massive, with twinkling red, blue and golden lights, and was playing 'Blue Skies'. She knew it was very likely that she was walking straight into a trap but she was also out of options.

She walked towards the rollercoaster and saw that the ticket booth was bolted from the outside. To her great surprise, there was a man inside it, who had his head dropped into his hands. Rose would recognise that silhouette anywhere. Quickly, Rose slid the bolt from the door and opened it.

The man looked up at her in great surprise. "Rose!" he cried.

"Hello," she said, unwilling to call him the Doctor until she knew he was who he said he was.

He ran up to her and took both of her hands in his, and Rose was startled at their familiar coolness. "It worked! It actually worked!" he cried in delight.

"What did?" she asked him cautiously.

"The fob watch," he said like it was obvious. "Rassilon might have scoffed but I've proved it! A Time Lord consciousness can be contained in a fob watch. I can't wait to see his face when I've proven it."

Rose's heart sank when he mentioned Rassilon and talked about him in the present tense. She tried to muster up a smile but the Other was so animated that he barely noticed her reaction. "I remember what I said to you when I was John Smith," he said eagerly. "You seemed very shocked."

"I-I was, yeah," she said, her voice trembling a bit.

He finally stopped and peered at her. "Why do you look different?" he asked and then looked around at the booth. "I was not in here. I was...where was I?"

Rose brought his attention back to her by squeezing his hands. "The Guardians have trapped us," she said. "They've taken you out of your time and put...my friend, in your place," she said.

"Impossible," he declared. "Such a thing should be absolutely impossible. Yet," he slowed down and gazed at Rose. "Yet here you are. Just like my Arkytior, my Rose."

Rose unsuccessfully fought the blush at his gaze. "I'm not her," she said meekly. "Well, I don't think I am anyway."

"This friend of yours would not happen to be similar to me in appearance, would he?" he asked shrewdly. Rose gave a nod, and he lapsed into a thoughtful silence. "We have to get back to Gallifrey," he said, looking at her finally. "I have to get your friend out of there. On the way, you can explain to me how exactly you and he are identical to Arkytior and I."

"How are we gonna get to Gallifrey?" she asked, swallowing past the lump in her throat as she remembered the Crystal Guardian telling her the fate of the Other and Arkytior.

"My TARDIS," he said. "It was camouflaged as part of the house."

Rose was about to ask him how they were going to get there when the rollercoaster lights started to shut down. He looked up at it in alarm and grabbed her hand. "Run!" he commanded, pulling her behind him as they ran from the booth.

The fair outside was starting to go dark slowly and Rose realised that the darkness was actually starting to chase them. She increased her pace, keeping up with the Other as they reached the exit arch. Rose was about to warn him not to do it but when they ran into it, they came out onto the street. Just like the fair, it was completely empty and nothing like real Blackpool. A single, solitary house stood across from them and as the darkness gained on them, they broke out into a sprint towards it.

The Other pushed the door open and Rose recognised the house that she had woken up in that morning. She didn't pause to see it, being acutely aware of the darkness behind them. The Other fished his pockets for something but Rose reached around her neck and found the key on the chain.

He gazed at her in surprise as she ran to the locked closet and unlocked it. The TARDIS interior was something she had never seen. It was white, too clinical and bare, with a smaller console in the middle and not much else around it.

The Other entered behind her and in a way reminiscent of the Doctor, ran around the console, starting up the TARDIS to pilot them away. "I see," he murmured, as the TARDIS rotor started moving up and down.

"What?" asked Rose.

"It was a void pocket," said the Other, looking up from the readings. "The Guardians basically use it as a place to store the remnants of the rest of the universe. That was where they trapped us." Rose nodded, but was surprised to see him giving her an expectant look. "Well?"

"What?" she asked him warily.

"The key," he said. "How do you have the key to my TARDIS?"

Rose stared at him in surprise as it finally caught up to her that she had unlocked the Other's TARDIS with the key to the Doctor's TARDIS. She then remembered the Doctor telling her that he had stolen his TARDIS from the museum because she was an old ship and the only one that was unlocked. Now she had to wonder if there was something else that had made him choose her.

"Your friend doesn't just look like me, does he?" questioned the Other, and Rose was reminded sharply that he was one of the founders of the Time Lord society, hence brilliant.

"He's a Time Lord," she said quietly.

He nodded as if he had known that. "And you?"

"I am human," she answered truthfully.

He nodded again, but he looked very sad. "Then I suppose that what we dreaded really did happen. The Eternals found us."

It was Rose's turn to nod. "The Crystal Guardian told me that they intended to rewrite time so that the Eternals would find you and h-her together and kill you both instead of…"

"Instead of casting her out into the vortex," he said, his face hardening when he thought of his beloved being killed. "And the Time Lord? How would he...oh."

Rose stared at him, as realisation spread across his face at the prospect of his own fate. "I'm sorry," she said, not knowing what else it was that she could say.

He smiled such a heartbroken smile that Rose had to physically clench her fists to prevent herself from throwing her arms around him. "Just as well," he murmured. "There would be little purpose to go on without you."

Oh, screw it, she thought as she ran to him and wrapped her arms around him. He held her tightly, and didn't let go until the TARDIS landed.

On Gallifrey, the Doctor and Arkytior were staring in great astonishment at the cabinet that had appeared in the room. They had got dressed a while ago, having not done much except kissing.

"No time for explanations. We have to hurry," said the Other as he rushed out of the TARDIS. "You, leave," he told the Doctor, who was staring at him with wide eyes.

"Rassilon," murmured the Doctor in shock.

The Other rolled his eyes. "No, actually, I am…"

"Doctor!"

The Doctor's gaze snapped towards the TARDIS and he rushed up to Rose and hugged her. "Rose, Rose, Rose," he chuckled, twirling her around.

"Hope this is real because I can't take any more illusions," she mumbled into his neck. "What are you wearing?" she asked, looking down at the red and orange robes.

He blushed a little. "Only things I could find. I, er, didn't exactly wake up with clothes."

Rose raised her eyebrows and looked behind him. The Other's fingers were touched to Arkytior's temple and both of them had their eyes were closed. To Rose, it somehow looked more intimate than if they had been shagging. She looked at the Doctor, who was blushing darker now and looking anywhere but at them.

"How do you two look alike?" Rose asked the Doctor in a whisper. "Out of all your regenerations."

"Because he met you," the Other answered, opening his eyes but still looking at Arkytior who had tears in her eyes.

The Doctor didn't answer but he knew that everything in his regeneration had been in anticipation of meeting Rose, whether he had been aware of it or not until now. His TARDIS had even landed in Rose Alley in San Francisco where he had died in his seventh life. A mere day later he had met Rose in his new body.

Arkytior finally tore her gaze away from the Other and looked at the Doctor and Rose. "You must go now," she said.

"Can't we do anything?" asked Rose, feeling helpless knowing that those two were going to die soon.

Arkytior chuckled at her kindly. "Did you not just prevent all that?" she asked gently.

Rose went pink. "Right," she mumbled.

"It is alright," said Arkytior softly. "Seeing the two of you now, well, we do know that our love does not end with our lives today."

The Doctor and Rose looked at each other before shaking their heads quickly. "Oh no," said Rose, at once. "We're not…"

"Rose and I are friends," said the Doctor, though he sounded much less convincing than Rose.

The Other and Arkytior stared at them like they were both mad. "Right," said the Other finally, exchanging a look with Arkytior. "I suppose our time is up. I would like to say goodbye to my wife before I head to the Citadel."

"Of course," said the Doctor. "Come on, Rose."

"How are we going to leave?" asked Rose.

"The TARDIS," he said, nodding towards the cabinet that they had arrived in.

"But," said Rose, confused.

"I know it's her," he said, tapping the side of his head. He turned back to the Other and gave a slight nod. His eyes softened as he looked at Arkytior, who smiled a little.

Rose was unsure how to react but she waved uncertainly at the two of them before following the Doctor into the TARDIS. A surprised gasp escaped her when she saw that the console room was their own and not the bare, white one from before. The Doctor just smiled mysteriously at her gasp as he started to pilot them away.

The grinding noise of the TARDIS sounded heavier and sluggish as the rotor began to move but the Doctor did not look too worried as he calmly pressed the buttons and flipped levers. Rose felt like she was going to collapse any moment because she'd had her mind pulled in so many directions that she wasn't even sure which way to turn anymore.

"Of course, the question remains," spoke up the Doctor, still staring at the console. "How did they make me swap places with the Other?"

"I dunno," said Rose. "I woke up on Earth, well, I thought it was Earth anyway. I think they made him think that he was experimenting with a fob watch or something."

The Doctor's eyes widened as he looked at her. "It was one of his key discoveries. They must have simply made him relive it, but where were you if not on Earth?"

Rose opened her mouth to answer when the TARDIS rotor came to a halt and the lights dimmed. The Doctor's jaw clenched as he walked over to Rose and clutched her hand tightly. Rose could feel her own anger building as they waited for the Guardians to reveal themselves.

The Crystal Guardian materialised first, and then to their greatest surprise, he was followed by the Red, Gold and Azure Guardians. Rose felt her mouth drop open in shock, but before she could say anything, the White and the Black Guardian arrived in the console room.

"I see," said the Doctor, in the same tone that Rose remembered had come from the Other. "There was no war, was there?"

"No, there was not, Doctor," said the White Guardian calmly.

"There would have been easier ways to kill me, you know," said the Doctor coldly.

"Killing you, Doctor," the Black Guardian said nastily. "That was never the plan. Your people have an infernal habit of returning from the dead. Not to mention that you have had your uses over the years."

"Then why?" the Doctor asked in a calm voice that betrayed the storm brewing beneath it. "Why go to all this trouble? What could possibly be so important that all the Guardians had to band together? What was it all for?"

"It had nothing to do with you, Doctor," said the Gold Guardian before her eyes moved slowly to Rose. "It did, however, have everything to do with her."

"Me?" questioned Rose, shocked. "What are you talking about?"

"By all means, Miss Tyler, you should not exist. The Eternals should have killed Arkytior. She was too volatile, too blinded by her love for the Time Lord to do what was expected of her," said the Azure Guardian stiffly.

"What was expected of her?" asked Rose, feeling dread settle in the area of her stomach.

"She was a manifestation of Time, and it was her duty to obey it," said the Red Guardian calmly.

"Which was what, precisely?" asked the Doctor.

"She was sent by Fenric to kill the Time Lord. And the fool fell in love with him," snarled the Crystal Guardian.

"We would have left Miss Tyler alone, but then you met her and we saw history starting to repeat itself," said the White Guardian sadly. "We could not allow it to happen."

"Fenric may not be around anymore but the Guardians still are," said the Azure Guardian. "We had to stop it."

"But you failed," said the Doctor cautiously, rather aware that the Guardians did not look as if their plan had failed.

"Oh no we have not," the Black Guardian said as if the Doctor was missing a big joke. "Look at her, Doctor."

The Doctor's jaw clenched. "She's fine," he said, assuring both himself and Rose.

The Black Guardian's nasty grin widened. "Is she really, Doctor?" the Guardian asked. "Look carefully."

Rose genuinely thought that it was impossible but her feeling of dread grew even more than it already had. "Doctor?" she asked.

The Doctor's eyes roamed over her before he went pale with fear. "No," he whispered, his hand leaving Rose's.

"Doctor? Doctor, what is it?" Rose asked, feeling terrified at the way he was looking at her and the way he had moved away from her.

The Black Guardian laughed loudly and the sinister laugh echoed around them as he vanished.

"We are sorry, Miss Tyler," said the White Guardian as he too vanished. The rest of the Guardians followed him, their expressions ranging from regret to indifference.

The Doctor stared at Rose with pain, fear and regret etched onto his face. "Oh Rose," he said. "I am sorry. I am so, so sorry."

A/N Wow, that was a long chapter. And I just know how much you guys love cliffhangers!

There is still one more chapter to go in this adventure. So, what did you think?

The part about the TARDIS landing in Rose Alley is actually canon and was pointed out by MagnaEsquire. Thanks for that!

So, the Guardians basically manipulated them into assembling the Key and then used it to try and rewrite time which was essentially a cover-up for a way to get rid of Rose. Sounds like the Guardians, considering that they cannot directly interfere, only influence events.

Any questions you have, I'll be happy to answer. The final part will be up soon and will deal with what happens to Rose. Any guess as to the people that will be appearing in the next chapter?

See you soon!

~ Phoenix