A/N- Thanks to everyone leaving positive notes and comments c: That means a lot to me. All reviews and constructive criticism are welcome, because I know I can improve on my writing, I'm still learning after all!

Anyway, the past couple chapters have been fun to write, and this one was no different, so enjoy!

Sometimes, Rose thought about how much her life had changed in such a small amount of time. A few years ago, she would have still been living in the Powell Estate with her mum, waking up at seven-thirty, going to work, having lunch with Mickey, going back to work, then eating chips or beans on toast with her mum while watching Corrie or Eastenders . She'd hang out with Shareen and her other mates in the evenings and on the weekends, and she would have had a completely ordinary life.

Now a few years later, she'd seen so much, and met so many incredible people, but most incredible had been The Doctor. He'd shown her the stars, the past and the future. She'd both saved and killed him, and swore to give him forever. She'd fallen in love with the mad-man and his blue box, and she wouldn't have changed a thing, because The Doctor was worth the monsters, and he always had been.

The universe had torn them apart cruelly, and Rose had never given up hope that she would find a way back, find a way back to that mad-man she loved, and the life she longed to live again. She had it all within her grasp, and she was not going to lose it all again because of some terrifying aliens were searching for her in a dingy and derelict abandoned warehouse. Not only that, but Rose had a responsibility, and a purpose beyond returning to The Doctor. She had people to protect, people who needed her help. Meredith, who had already lost the woman she loved, and lived in the moment because looking back was too painful. Dean, who she knew tended to sing old 90's pop songs when he thought no-one was looking. Bobby, who was brilliant at relieving tension in the group, and fused them together when they were close to falling apart. Trent, who was quiet but always seemed to know what to do, and Martha, who was going to be a doctor, who had trusted Rose to make the right decision.

She wasn't going to let any of them down.

"Ssssshe was in here!" One of the voices, the male who had been chasing her was saying, and Rose shuddered, able to identify the raw fury running through his tone. Just hearing it made her feel as though she were being dunked into an ice cold lake.

"Othersss have been contacted. There issss no time left to waste. We must increassse the machine. Drain the human creatures of all life-force." The other voice replied, equally as coldly. Instantly Rose felt alarmed, and she gripped onto her guns a little tighter. Clealry, she was out of time and was going to have to think on her feet.

Standing up, Rose slammed the heel of her boot into the door, kicking it wide open, and stepped out, pointing a gun at each of the two alien creatures. They had changed back into biped form, and Rose kept her gaze steady upon each of them, refusing to let either out of her sight. They stood taller than any human she had ever met, and were long and thin in stature. They were completely naked, yet seemed to have no genitalia, and both were flat chested with no pectorals or breasts in sight. What Rose assumed was the female of the two had long black hair which hung around her face, making her papery skin seem whiter than her companion's. Her eyes were intelligent, but reptilian, observing her with amusement and barely veiled interest. The male was bald, but his eyes were the same, save for the way he looked at her. He looked feral, starving, almost. Both of them had elongated fingers which branched off into huge knife-like claws.

They were frightening to look at, but Rose no longer felt the primal need to run like she had before. They continued to watch her silently for a moment, just observing, and finally, the female smiled. Immediately, Rose felt that fear return at the sight of the alien's sharp teeth – that was the cause of her fear. Those teeth could rip through her skin in just a movement, and she would be entirely defenceless to stop it. Somehow, her brain seemed to know that, and it felt like it was screaming at her, every nerve in her body urging her to get as far away as possible.

"Right then, here's what's gonna happen." Rose began, relieved that her voice didn't betray her fear, remaining steady and unwavering. "You're gonna let 'em all go, and I'll let y'live."

"How ssssweet," The female cooed, cocking her head to the side as she watched Rose. "This human thinks she can threaten ussss."

"An' just who are you, then?" Rose asked sharply, and for the first time, the creature seemed surprised.

"How do you sssspeak our tongue?" She asked, and she bared her teeth at Rose, who had to physically restrain herself from shuddering. "Who are you?"

"I asked first," Rose retorted, but inwardly, she was wondering the same thing. It was clear that the creatures were talking in another language now, and she didn't have her translator with her. Were the walls of the universe weakening, causing her link to the TARDIS to flare up again? Or was it something else?

"We are the Mi'raani. I am Ssss'lithma, and thisss is my sssson, Daaran. " The female replied coolly, and Rose licked at her dry lips slightly, not liking the way Daaran seemed to be edging closer towards her.

"Oi! Stay where you are, Sonny Jim!" Rose threatened, glaring at him, and he snarled back at her, glancing to his mother for direction. "You wanna know who I am, yeah? Name's Rose Tyler, and I'm tellin' you, whatever you're doin', we can find a way to help you, but you need to let them go, and talk to me. I can't help you if you don't tell me why you're here."

"Then lower your weaponssss," S'lithma requested, and Rose laughed disbelievingly, shaking her head.

"Not a bloody chance! With the way you and your son were after me? Soon as I lower these weapons, you'll be all over me, so talk, and I'll listen, but I'm not disarming myself. What're you doin' to them? Why did you lure us here?"

"Dim, thisss one," Daaran sneered, though he didn't move from his position after Rose had threatened him, and she shot him a glare.

"I'll dim you in a minute if you don't shut up," She warned, and watched S'lithma with wary eyes as she moved towards the table where her friends were.

"We are absorbing their life energy. It isss how we… feed." The female Mi'raani replied, trailing a long claw across Martha's cheek, and Rose took a step forward, gritting her teeth. S'lithma smirked and drew herself up, holding her hands up in a mock defensive position. "We thrive on the life-force of lesser beingsss. Back home, the thrill was in the hunt, not in sssimply tying down our victims, but we have little choice now."

"What happened? Why aren't you back home? Why come to Earth if you're so limited?" Rose asked, confused, and clearly, she had hit a nerve. The female darted forward so quickly that Rose didn't have time to react, and one of the creature's long claws was suddenly pressed against her neck. She froze, grip tightening on her gun, though her arms wouldn't react or move.

"We were banished," S'lithma snarled, fury clear on her thin face. "We were made outcastsss by our own people! We came to Earth because the people here are weak, sssslow and filled with life. It isss easy to lure them here, assss they are sso dependant on technology, we can entice their curiosssity with signals and lure them here."

"Then you knock 'em out with the gas and tie 'em up like your own personal feeding farm, right?" Rose asked , finally getting her arm to work as she pressed the barrel of her gun against S'lithma's stomach, who drew back away from her.

"Correct. We do not have the time to initiate hunting, ssso we feed how we can." S'lithma cocked her head to the side curiously. "The machinesss pump the gas into your bodiesss, keeping you sssedated." She narrowed her eyes. "How did you even wake up?"

"I'd tell ya if I knew," Rose retorted, and let out a breath. "Look, isn't there anythin' else you can feed on? It can't just be the life-force of humans."

"Oh there isss a lot we can feed on, but humans have the most. We can draw much ssstrength from you."

"Well sorry, but I'm not letting that happen anymore." Rose nodded her head towards the machine. "Let 'em go. Now."

S'lithma was silent for a while, before she looked over at Daaran and nodded her head. He snarled, unhappy, and she simply frowned at him, which caused him to move reluctantly over to the control panels. He turned a dial slowly, and the circlets atop of the others heads were slowly lifted up and off of them. Their binds also released them, and Rose let out a sigh of relief, though she knew she wasn't out of danger just yet, she was glad her friends weren't connected to that life sucking machine any more.

Before she could speak again however, she was grabbed from behind, one long arm wrapping around her arms and stomach, the other gripping her neck. Her guns were forced from her hand, hitting the floor with a clatter, and she struggled uselessly in her captor's embrace, shuddering at the low, gleeful chuckle she heard the creature let out. How had she not known there were three? She was so certain there were only two! Stupid!

"My ssssons have missed the thrill of the hunt." S'lithma admitted, smiling indulgently and showing off her teeth once more. "You provided them with amusement asss you ran. Your friendsss, when they wake, will do the ssssame, providing my boysss with a hunt and a meal before we leave. You, however, we will take with usss. You are different… Your life-force is stronger, longer. If we take you, we can feed on you for yearsss!"

"No, sorry, you're makin' a mistake. I'm just a regular old human. Nothin' special about my life-force. Probably gonna live til I'm about ninety, If I'm lucky, with all this alien chasin' I do." Rose retorted, trying to ignore the claws gently rolling over the vulnerable skin of her throat.

"Oh, there isss no mistake," S'lithma replied, moving over towards her, before she slammed her foot down on one of the guns, breaking it in half, and causing Rose to flinch. "We can see the length of lives, how long a being hass in their life – well, how long they would have. Yours does not end."

Rose's eyes widened slightly, and she slowly shook her head, her body becoming lax in her captor's grip as she realized the implications of such a claim.

"No, that… that can't be right. That's impossible." She whispered. "You're lyin', you've got to be!"

"What do I have to gain by lying to you?" S'lithma sneered, before she glanced over at the tables, where the group was beginning to stir. Martha was the first to sit up, rubbing her head and groaning, though she blinked a few times, trying to gain her bearings. Soon enough, her head seemed clear enough to catch sight of Rose in the grip of some kind of alien, and her eyes widened.

"Rose!" She gasped, and tried to get up, but her legs weren't responding. It felt like they were there, but they weren't following her orders. She shook her head, trying to ease the spinning, but Rose called out to her, trying to keep her calm.

"Martha! Don't try to move just yet, alright? You'll get feelin' back in your legs soon, just… just stay there, it's gonna be alright. The Doctor's on his way."

The Doctor was coming.

Relief spread through Martha like wildfire, but she couldn't just sit there. Whatever these aliens were, one of them had its claws wrapped around Rose's neck, like it was preparing to rip her head from her body. Even if The Doctor was coming, he might not make it in time.

S'lithma looked from Martha to Rose in genuine amusement, before she nodded at the son who had Rose in his grasp. "Inject her. The gassss was not enough to keep her sssedated last time."

Rose froze at that, and immediately, she began to struggle again, making sure to kick the other gun that hadn't been destroyed over towards Martha's table. "Oh no you bloody don't! You're not injectin' me with anythin'!"

The unnamed Mi'raani had little trouble with her, and Rose's eyes widened as she felt one of his long, intimidating claws pierce the skin of her neck. It forced itself into her body, and Rose found herself incapable of speech, a broken sound escaping her as her legs gave way beneath her, though she was held up, so she couldn't fall. She began to feel numb, and the world spun around her, sound seeming distant and far away.

She was sure that she could hear someone screaming her name, but she wasn't certain who, or where the sound was coming from. She was suddenly so tired, and all she wanted to do was sleep. She couldn't feel. She couldn't think. She felt completely detached from the waking world, and soon enough, she felt herself slipping into the darkness, allowing it to claim her completely.

Martha had met Rose Tyler only a few days ago, and didn't know her very well at all. However, there were a few things she did know. She had a little brother, and two parents who loved her. She was both smart and compassionate, she was a companion of The Doctor, and he was head over heels in love with her.

So, at the sight of the claw being plunged into Rose's neck, the first thing that crossed Martha's mind was fear. She didn't know what they were doing, or why, but the way Rose seemed to just grow limp in the aliens arms wasn't particularly a good sign. She just seemed to collapse in on herself, and for a moment, Martha was genuinely afraid that Rose Tyler was dead.

"ROSE!" The shout came from her left, and Martha turned to see one of the males of the group, Dean, she thought his name was, struggling to try and get up, anger blazing in his eyes. His legs, just like hers, didn't seem to be working, and he was clearly infuriated with that.

The others in the team seemed to be roused by Dean's anger, and began to stir, but Martha kept her gaze fixated on the alien who held Rose, and lifted up her limp body over its shoulders. It began to move out of the room, and Martha managed to force her legs over the table. They gave way almost as soon as she tried to stand, but her fingers scrabbled for the gun that Rose had kicked in her direction. It was no accident it had been nudged in her direction, because she saw how Rose's eyes locked onto hers, even amidst the chaos.

Gritting her teeth slightly, Martha forced her legs back up, turning to see another one of the aliens, bald, like the one who had taken Rose, advancing on her. She aimed the gun and fired, relieved that it had a stun option. She didn't think she was really capable of killing anything. The alien fell back, dazed, and hit a large circular machine that the tables seemed to connected to, before he hit the ground.

The only female of the group seemed to shriek in rage at the sight, and Martha took that as a sign to move. She began to run, stumbling due to the delay in her legs, but managed to push herself through the doors that Rose had disappeared through. She heard no sign of being followed, so she decided to count her blessings, and continued onwards, catching a glimpse of the alien up ahead. Lifting the gun, Martha fired, but her shot was dodged, and the creature turned to hiss at her furiously in a language she didn't understand before it turned and disappeared through a set of double doors.

Now that she had gotten her legs moving, it was getting easier to move them, and Martha felt herself speeding up as she chased the alien down the dark corridors. The others were Torchwood trained, and she was certain they could protect themselves, but Rose was unconscious, and Martha couldn't just let these aliens take her away from her family, from The Doctor. She didn't think he could handle losing her again, and Martha wasn't going to let that happen. She finally stopped in a large empty room, at a set of large doors which had previously been chained. The chain had been completely sliced in half, and Martha had a faint inkling that this was where they had entered, though she couldn't entirely remember.

Shaking her head, Martha pushed open the doors, and into the cool air of the night. For a moment , she was relieved, until she saw the alien dropping Rose's prone form into the back of a silver van. She ran forward, shooting at him again, and this time, she provoked a larger reaction.

The creature avoided the stunning blast, but turned to look at her, letting out a furious shriek, before he began to shift, and mutate, his skin seeming to bubble and grow, right in front of her eyes. He fell down onto his hands, and Martha could hear the sound of his bones breaking and reforming into this new shape. She couldn't do anything but stare in horror as it continued to grow, retaining its humanesque face as it grinned at her through razor sharp teeth.

"Oh My God," Martha breathed, taking a few steps backwards, her hands beginning to shake, though she tried to control it.

"MARTHA!"

Martha didn't hesitate to turn and start running, heading towards the voice she had grown to love hearing over the past few months, trying to ignore the sound of the creature taking chase behind her.

The Doctor was sprinting towards her, and the moment he reached her, he caught her in a hug, which ended abruptly as he dragged her against the wall of the warehouse, covering her body with his own as the sound of gunfire assaulted their ears. Martha closed her eyes tightly, gripping the lapels of The Doctor's coat, holding her breath instinctively.

As the shooting died down, The Doctor pulled back, and Martha allowed herself to relax slightly, letting her breath out and looking up at the Time Lord with a relieved grin forming on her face.

"Took your time," She noted, raising her eyebrows, and The Doctor offered a grin in return, gripping her shoulders as though trying to make sure she was steady.

"Did I? Sorry. You okay?"

"Never better," Martha said dismissively, before her eyes widened. "Rose's team are inside. There's two more, but I stunned one." She said this mostly to Mickey, who had come over to join them quickly, before returning her gaze to The Doctor. "Rose is in that van, one of them did something to her."

The Doctor didn't need to be told twice, and he was running for the van almost immediately. Martha took off running after him, whereas Mickey turned to explain the situation to the other members of Torchwood who had come along as back-up.

Carefully, The Doctor pulled Rose out of the back of van and into his arms, noticing with alarm that she felt colder, and her skin was paler than it should be. He knelt down, examining her carefully, and spotted what appeared to be a puncture would in her neck. He glanced up at Martha who had joined him, and she hastened to explain what she knew.

"The one you just saw had another form. It was human-ish, kind of. It stood on two legs, and stuff, but it had these like… claws. It stuck one of them in her neck and she just…collapsed. "I couldn't understand what any of them were saying, but Rose started fighting them, and saying that she wasn't going to let them inject her. "

"Inject?" The Doctor repeated, reaching into one of his bigger-on-the-inside pockets and pulling out his stethoscope. He slipped the earbuds into his ears, and placed the diaphragm against Rose's chest, listening to her heartbeat. "Slower than it should be. It's like her body is close to shutting down, but it's hanging on by a thread."

Martha noted that his voice was calm, but his eyes were wild as he stared down at Rose's face, his thumb brushing over her cold cheek. Ignoring the pang in her chest, Martha shifted, and looked at The Doctor seriously.

"Doctor, who are they? The aliens?"

The Doctor looked up at her again, and he shook his head, looking completely at a loss, and that caused Martha's stomach to sink.

"I don't know, I don't even know if they exist in our universe. I've never seen them before."

"Then go and talk to them." Martha insisted, gesturing to Torchwood, who were beginning to advance on the warehouse. "If they just go and kill them all, then you won't be able to find a way to help her. I'll look after her, I promise, but this is what you need to do, Doctor. And you know it."

The Doctor glanced from the warehouse to Rose a few times, before slowly, reluctantly, he shifted her over to Martha's embrace, and nodded his head.

"I'll be right back," he promised, and somehow, Martha knew he was talking to Rose, and not her.

She watched The Doctor walk briskly over towards the soldiers, and let out a breath, before she carefully set Rose on the ground, and stood up, peering into the van. It was filled with all kinds of technology, but luckily, there were a small clump of blankets. Even aliens got cold sometimes, she supposed, as she tugged one of the blankets out, and crouched down over Rose again, wrapping it around her cold body in an attempt to preserve what heat she had left in her body.

"C'mon Rose," She mumbled, staring down at the unconscious girl. "Wake up."

What was her name?

Golden tendrils of light danced around her body, circling her, wrapping her in a comforting embrace that left her mind hazy and content. She felt weightless, almost as though she didn't exist, and she relished in the feeling, fingers that were not-quite-there reaching out to tangle within the threads.

Who was she?

Did it matter?

Closing her eyes, she listened to the music the threads were singing, allowing the ancient words to wrap around her, as though they were just as tangible as the threads themselves. They held her, almost like a mother would do her child, and she felt another wave of peace wash over her body.

Rose

BadwolfRoseValiantchildRose

Rose was her name.

You are my heart, and you need my help

Slowly, Rose felt her feet touch the ground, and she rubbed her head, confused and disorientated. Had she been doing something? She felt like she had been doing something important, that there were people who needed her. She glanced around her, unable to see anything but the golden threads, which danced and wove around her and away from her, in so many patterns she was unable to keep track.

"Where am I? What… what was I doing? I was doing something important…" Rose murmured, her fingers slowly ghosting over her temple as she tried to recall. She was growing distracted by the threads, her eyes following their movement as they seemed to group together, creating a shape. The shape the threads were making seemed to be human in size and figure, and Rose's eyes widened as it began to glow brighter, and brighter, causing her to squeeze her eyes shut instinctively.

Open your eyes.

"I'd rather not be blind, thanks," Rose muttered, wanting to rebel against the voice, but it was too calming, too reassuring to simply ignore altogether. Reluctantly, Rose's eyes opened, and she came face to face with – herself.

Rose stared at her doppelganger, reaching out hesitantly and touching her shoulder. Her fingers didn't meet glass, it met the warm cloth-covered shoulder of her counterpart, and Rose drew in a breath, pulling her hand back as quickly as she was able.

"Okay, that's weird.."

It felt as though she were looking into her past, and Rose knew without any prompting that if that were the case, she was looking at herself during their second visit to Satellite Five, the day she absorbed the Time Vortex and destroyed the Daleks. It was all there. Red jacket, white shirt, black pants and boots. Her hair was longer, and blonder, because Rose remembered that she had dyed it earlier, growing sick of her roots showing, and there was a ring upon her right ring finger.

"Okay, I just touched you, and that's a paradox waiting to happen, yeah? Not supposed to touch your past self, since we saw how well that happened last time. So - so you can't be me. You just can't be."

I am, yet I am not.

Rose furrowed her eyebrows, confused. The words had come from her doppelganger, but her lips had not moved. The voice sounded disjointed and ethereal, like it was being projected into her mind, and Rose was immediately unsure on how she felt about that possibility.

"Okay, that was needlessly cryptic, for starters, and second of all, who are you? Why are you using my face?" After a moment of careful consideration, she added: "And where am I?"

I represent your connection to the TARDIS. I am your bond, I am you. I am her. I use this face for it is the way you looked when the bond was struck, oh so long ago. You looked into the TARDIS-

"And th' TARDIS looked into me…" Rose finished, her voice a soft murmur. She couldn't remember much of Bad Wolf, or Satellite Five after she had opened up the heart of the TARDIS. She could remember a lot of gold, and the faint echo of pain. "I don't understand, though. How can – how can you be our bond? What do you want?"

You are unconscious, and your life is in danger. Your body is changing, and you need to understand why. The universes are weakening once more. The TARDIS is able to sense you once more, and she knows you need help.

Rose felt herself freeze, the memory washing over her like the tide upon the sand. She recalled being in the Mi'raani's grasp, the dull pain in the side of her neck, and how everything seeming to sink away. She could also recall the mother Mi'raani speaking of her life length – of the fact that it never ended.

"What's happening to me?" She asked quietly, rubbing her arms. "I'm… This bond between me and th' TARDIS, is it changing me? What did S'lithma mean when she said my life force never ended? How is that possible?"

I'm afraid that is a long story.

"Yeah? Well I'm not exactly goin' anywhere," Rose retorted, and could have sworn she saw the corners of her counterpart's lips curl up into the smallest of smiles.

Very well, I will tell you all that I can.