Important note: I have two separate plot lines for this story that I really like. One follows cannon and the other goes AU. Across the Dark is going to follow the AU and I'm going to start writing the cannon and will eventually post it under an as yet undecided title. It will be obvious when we get to the point that the split will happen.
Disclaimer: You get the point.
Today is the day. The first jump for the dimension cannon. Pete Tyler has little to say against authorizing me to join her and gives me the go ahead straight away. Mickey seems to be a little more comfortable with the idea as well. I'm not surprised when Rose comes in wearing the blue leather jacket over a pinkish tee and jeans. And when she sees me wearing my bow tie necklace with my red hoodie she smiles.
"What is with you and that jacket?"
"What's with the Doctor and his pinstriped suit? Don't question me about it when he's out there, running across the universe in the same outfit over hundreds of years."
"He's going to wear a pinstripe suit for hundreds of years? How long do his bodies last?"
"You never asked him?"
She shakes her head.
"I'm not sure exactly how long really. But I know that one of his bodies lasted roughly 1100 years."
The look on her face is priceless. I'd laugh but the thought isn't happy for me. It just reminds me of when Eleven regenerated. It was almost like he was talking right to me during that. I'll always remember when the Doctor was me. Not the time to be thinking about that.
We head into the lab where the cannon is. I'm not surprised that it is the same room I ended up in over a year ago. It's the weakest point in the void. Rose's TARDIS key is hooked up so that we can land as close to him as possible. But we have to find the right universe first, and I doubt we'll get that on the first go.
A technician injects us with a tracker. It's an easier way to pull us back than a big yellow button. If something happens and we get hurt or even with a simple mental command, the tracker will sense our distress and pull us back. Also, it will automatically pull us back if we are gone for more than three days. The show never mentioned this technology so I had no idea about it until now. I rather think it's a clever idea, and it does explain how Rose seemed to travel without a big yellow button.
"Good luck."
"It's not about luck Jake."
"All the same."
I smile at this little exchange between Rose and Jake.
"You two watch yourselves." Rose sighs in exasperation at Mickey. And then Pete speaks.
"Be careful."
I grin at this and decide to respond. "Aren't we always?"
We both choose to ignore his snort of protest. I don't know why he's being like that. It's not like either of us has gotten into much trouble since I've been here. There have been zero alien invasions or contact period but that's because the whole universe is freaking out about the stars. So many have lost their homes and lives along with their suns. No aliens, no trouble. Until now though.
We don't know what's on the other side. Not even I do. We could immediately start finding the right places to look, but I doubt it will be that simple. And the first jump was never mentioned on the show. So I brace myself for the countdown. Ten. Pinstripes and hair. Nine. Leather and ears. Eight. Waistcoat and poetry. Seven. Question marks, need I think of anything else? Six. Multicolored coat and a bad attitude. Five. Cricket and asparagus. Or was it celery? Definitely celery. Four. The longest scarf ever. Three. Stuck on earth with a car named Bessie. Two. A wimp with a recorder and a badass Scottish friend. One. An old man with a dream. Just the beginning.
"Geronimo!" I can't help but shout it. Honestly. Too good to pass up. It's easier to do this than how I did it before. It doesn't burn like lightning. It's more tingly. Like when your foot is asleep and you can feel all the prickles. Except, now I feel it with my whole body. Even my brain feels like it's stinging slightly. And then it's over and my stomach feels like I've just been on an upside down roller coaster and I feel dizzy.
I hear a groan but I don't know if that's Rose or me. Probably both of us. I let myself fall to the ground so that I can get my equilibrium back. Then as soon as it has hit me, the sick feeling goes away and I'm perfectly fine. I slowly stand up and take in my surroundings. We're in a forest of some kind. The trees are enormous and the birds twittering away are both beautiful music and obnoxious car alarms. The wind blows through the branches and they sound like wind chimes. It's almost like the whole forest is singing.
"It's beautiful," I breathe. "Yeah, it is." Rose is standing next to me with the same awe struck look on her face. Another wind comes through and we both feel a bit chilled. The light is soft and seems to be darkening further.
"It's getting dark. We'd better find a place to stay warm."
"Agreed."
I hate the dark. For obvious reasons. I can handle it if I have to, but it still makes me feel cold and alone. The dark is my fear. That's really why we need to find a place for light. So we head in the direction that would be south as long as it's the same cycle in this world as ours. We assume that the sun sets in the west so we keep it on our right until we come to a place suitable enough to make a fire. Even with our jackets it's a bit chilly.
We make a small fire using the lighter in my pocket and we chew some gum that was in hers. We sit alternately staring at the flames and the sky.
"Do you think he's here?"
I look at my friend and tell her the truth.
"No. I don't. I don't recognise this place. He could be but...this universe feels off too. But that won't mean anything coming from me. What's it feel like to you?"
She sighs.
"Itchy. It feels itchy. This isn't my universe. I thought it could be yours. Then we could ask your Doctor to help find mine."
"Itchy is a good way to put it."
I don't contradict her. Even though my Doctor could do nothing, being a work of fiction, but she doesn't know that and never will. Sometimes I've come close to telling her. But then I think about how I would feel if someone told me they had watched my life, joy and pain, and called it entertainment. I'd hate the idea of it, and I would hate the person who told me. It's better this way. To let her believe what I've never said was false. That's something I've learned in this new life of mine. Sometimes saying nothing is far more effective than the most clever of lies.
As we sit here next to the fire I remember something important.
"You can't tell anyone your name here."
"Why not?"
"We might end up messing with something we shouldn't. We're going to go to a lot of worlds. It's not a good idea for them to know your name. Names have power."
"Then if anyone asks I'll just say my name is Miss Wolf."
"Only if they ask."
"What should we call you then?"
"Miss Ryder works fine."
She raises her eyebrow at me. I answer her silent question.
"Jane Ryder isn't my real name. You know that. It doesn't matter if anyone knows it. It has no power on me."
"You keep saying that. Names have power. What do you mean."
I look at the sky and I begin to tell an abbreviated version of when the Doctor met Shakespeare. I tell her about the creatures that use word science instead of numbers. I tell her how the right words can manipulate things. And that the power of a name is old magic. I don't tell her that the Doctor and Martha lived it with Shakespeare. I don't tell her that it was an adventure. I spout the facts like I read them in a text book. Who knows, maybe there is a text book that teaches these things.
We take turns sleeping and keeping watch. When the sun finally starts to come up again, we erase the last traces of our camp and begin walking again. We need to find water, because that's where the people will be. And water normals runs south. So we head west which was good because there was a river, heading straight south. And we follow it.
It's only a few hours since sunrise that we come across a small village. There aren't a whole lot of people but they are all bustling about with their work. Like everyone has a job to do and they do as efficiently as possible. The scene is like something out of medieval times. Everyone is dressed in Renaissance style clothing and there is an old fashioned water well in the middle of what is the town square I suppose though it is very small.
There are horses and sheep besides the people. I also notice a small stray dog searching for scraps in an alleyway. As conspicuous as we should appear to be, no one really pays us a second glance. It's actually a little odd so I mention it to Rose.
"Are seeing how they don't seem to even notice us?"
"Yeah. It doesn't make sense. Two women, dressed in odd men's clothing and they just keep passing us by."
She furrows her brow in thought and I purse my lips.
"Do they seem...scared? To you?"
She looks at me with a worried look and then we break into a bit of a mad grin.
In that moment it's almost as if we're with the Doctor, noticing there's a danger here and relishing that we might be able to do something. Except he's not here and I am. When did I start comparing myself more to the Doctor and less to Rose? There are parallels between me and Rose. The Doctor was a man I loved watching but never truly understood even if I thought I did. But now? Now I really do understand. I know what it's like to be alone and then saved by Rose Tyler. I start giggling because the thought is just so bizarre.
Rose of course mistakes the laughter for excitement and joins in.
"Come on. Let's go investigate."
With that she drags me toward what appears to be a pub and inn. But before we even can get through the door, someone is thrown into our path.
"Don't be stupid boy! You've been talking crazy in here for too long. Stop scaring my customers!"
A big burly man yells at the teenager in front of us.
Rose of course gets indignant. Always one for standing up for the defenseless she stands up straighter to give the man a piece of her mind.
"That's no way to talk to him. And telling crazy stories is no reason to throw him to the ground like that!"
"Stay out of this missy. It's none of your business and we don't like strangers here."
I can tell that if I don't step in, this isn't going to end well so I grab Rose's elbow. "
You'll have to excuse my friend sir. We've been traveling for many days with scarce anything to eat and little sleep. She's not in her right head."
The man just grunts his acceptance of my apology and goes back into his dark and dingy place of business.
"I didn't need you to interfere Jane."
"Yes you did. The last thing we need right now is to get put in the stockade."
"There's no stockade."
I raise my eyebrows and point behind me.
"Oh."
"But that's beside the point R-Miss."
She seems to remember the boy at the point and offers him a hand to help him up.
"Are you a'right?"
"Yes miss. Thank you."
I recognise the look on his face. Hero worship. I smirk to myself. Someone has a bit of a crush on the pretty blond woman.
"Wot's your name?"
I notice that her accent gets thicker when she's worried over someone or something.
"Peter miss. My name is Peter."