Child of Earth

By Lumendea

Chapter Fifty: Champion of Time: The Rip

Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any of the spinoff material and I gain no income off of this story, just the satisfaction of playing with the characters.

…

Rose waited for a moment and the Doctor considered her. "We control the building of the Artron energy," was all he said.

The Doctor in his seventh body wasn't much of one to share his plans. He hummed thoughtfully at her and managed a small smile before hurrying over to a shelf. Trying not to glare at him, Rose pressed her lips together and leaned against the console. Patience, she reminded herself. A man that had fled Gallifrey and later been divorced by his first wife just learned that he was going to marry a human. It had to be a bit much for him. She'd been more than a little shocked herself when this whole messy timeline thing started.

The Doctor plucked an odd looking black box off the shelf that had a series of buttons on it. Rose recognised it after a moment as the same sort of device, maybe even the same device, that the Doctor had given Jack to gather Artron energy so he could bring the TARDIS to her wedding.

"That gathers Artron energy right?" Rose asked before she thought better of it.

Looking towards her, the Doctor nodded slowly. "Indeed," he agreed. "The fluxes of Artron energy help power a small temporal field generator. I have it set so that it usually ignores the TARDIS itself and use it to isolate problematic areas from time to time."

Rose relaxed, pleased at his attempt to share. He shifted a little and Rose recognised that he was uncomfortable, but trying. The Doctor seemed ready to say more and trying to sort it out in his head. Taking pity on him, Rose smiled and nodded a little.

"So you're going to use it to turn the rip into what… a bubble of time?"

The Doctor appeared a bit surprised again, but Rose could sort of envision it in her head. For a moment there was a slight pressure at the side of her head, but it passed quickly. Rose noted it, however. It was familiar from the recent use of the telepathic hub and honestly further back than that. If this had been a Doctor comfortable with her then she might have asked. Instead, Rose glanced at the door. The Doctor caught her look and nodded, gesturing towards the door. He all but scurried away from her, seeming to hesitate again and look towards the console with a hint of worry.

Rose held back a sigh. Even knowing his name he was still a little suspicious of her. Then again she supposed that the Black Guardian really could have found out his name at some point. She could be patient with him. They stepped outside the Doctor lead the way back towards the rip. It was just down another side alley and Rose looked around cautiously. There was no sign of the Silver Lord. There was no sign of anyone else.

"Doctor, would this rip repel humans on instinct?" Rose asked.

Frowning, the Doctor looked around. "Not automatically," he answered. "I see your point. This is Mumbai, one of the largest cities in India. Backstreet or not there should be more people." He glanced her away again thoughtfully and then down at the device in his hand. "You have knowledge of the Silver Lord, how clever is he?"

"I'd say he's very clever," Rose said. "And fairly patient."

"Hmmm," the Doctor hummed to himself. "Stay here for a moment. I'm going to deploy this, but we're going to monitor it remotely." He looked at her with a silent challenge in his eyes before he turned and headed for the door.

Rose grit her teeth, chaffing under the order but stayed put. This Doctor was trying her patience. She fidgeted uneasily, disliking him being out there on his own, but she supposed he was a Time Lord and should be safe enough. The TARDIS hummed and Rose smiled a little.

"I suppose he did trust me alone with you," Rose said. "That's something at least." She raised a hand and brushed it across the glowing column. "And to be fair to him this isn't an easy situation."

The screen changed and Rose's eyes dropped to it instantly. Frowning, she took in the slight changes to the speed of the ripples. They seemed to be slowing down, but only a little. Rose nibbled at her lip, wondering just what the Doctor was planning. She studied the ripples for a moment and thought about what he'd said. Maybe he was testing her; Ace had said he was bad at that. Her fingers tapped against the edge of the screen thoughtfully.

Okay, so he wanted to control the building on the Artron energy. Maybe the energy could be shaped into a sphere or something. No, the Silver Lord was part Chronovore so it needed to be more than that. Then again Artron energy was the radiation of the Time Vortex. It wasn't time itself so maybe he wouldn't just be able to eat his way through it.

Rose gasped softly as the air in front of them shimmered. The soft lights of the TARDIS suddenly dimmed even as light filled the console room. A man in a neat white suit with white hair appeared next to the console. While his image was fuzzy and flickered, Rose recognised him easily.

"White Guardian," she said. She was only mildly surprised at his appearance.

Staying next to the console controls, Rose glanced towards the door, but the Doctor had yet to return. The White Guardians' image flickered as if he was some sort of hologram. Rose frowned. This was familiar from one of Tegan's stories and she didn't like the similarity. The figure opened his mouth, but no words came out.

"I can't hear you," Rose said. She was sure to move her lips clearly in case he couldn't hear her either. "Please repeat."

The TARDIS door opened and Rose looked towards the Doctor quickly, almost nervously. This wasn't her fault. The Doctor's eyes widened slightly as he strode forward towards the controls.

"White Guardian," the Doctor greeted. His voice was pleasant enough, but Rose picked up on the underlying steel in his tone. The projection flickered, its mouth moving and the Doctor grumbled. "Not this again."

"Doctor, Miss Tyler," the White Guardian said. The voice cleared even as the projection all but faded. "Silver Lord attempting explosion of the Time Vortex."

"We guessed as much," the Doctor replied.

"Yes but he-" the image suddenly cut off.

The Doctor spun to the controls and began adjusting them. The lights dimmed and he looked towards where the White Guardian had been with worry. Rose stepped back to stay out of the way. The TARDIS lights flickered again and the Doctor looked around with a hint of impatience. This time a black figure draped in shadows appeared and the TARDIS seemed quieter and darker than before. The Doctor straightened up, resting his hand on a lever as he glared at the figure. Rose glanced between the Doctor and the figure nervously before stepping forward.

"Black Guardian, is there more of a message?" Rose questioned. "We're trying to reverse the Silver Lord's energy drain."

"The Silver Lord is trying to pull Earth into the Time Vortex," the Black Guardian's voice rang around them.

"The whole planet," the Doctor repeated doubtfully. "A city fine, but the whole planet-"

"The whole planet," the Black Guardian interrupted. He gave the Doctor a distasteful look. On instinct, Rose stepped protectively towards the Doctor and gave the Black Guardian a warning look. "He's attempting to collapse the Web of Time through Earth. He must be stopped."

"You like destruction," the Doctor said.

The Black Guardian's eyes narrowed and Rose felt a chill up her spine. Worry churned in her chest and she took another protective step towards the Doctor. The Black Guardian's eyes jumped over to her and something like resignation overtook his features for a moment.

"I would kill you if I could Doctor, but you are protected now," the Black Guardian growled. "I am still a Guardian. The universe must survive." Then the Black Guardian opened his mouth and tried to speak once more, but no sound came forth. Rose looked towards the Doctor in alarm and he adjusted a few controls, but then the image faded out. The lights of the TARDIS grew brighter and Rose glanced around hopefully, but they were alone.

Rose looked over at the Doctor. This wouldn't help anything and she frowned. What had the Guardians so worried? Sure a rip in time sounded and felt like bad news, but it seemed that there was more to it than that. The Doctor looked equally uneasy and tapped the handle of his umbrella to his chin for a moment.

"There is more here than I know," the Doctor muttered. His eyes moved over to Rose. "You seem at ease with the Guardians." He paused for a moment. "You've met them before."

"It's-"

"Complicated?" the Doctor muttered giving Rose a look. "If you know me as well as it seems then you must know my history with the Black Guardian."

"Yeah Key to Time, he sent an agent after you and Romana. You stopped him and he threatened revenge. A regeneration later he tried to get Turlough to kill you and there was that whole Enlightenment thing," Rose rambled off before sighing. "Not your most interesting adventures to be honest, but not bad," she teased him with a smile. "But thing is that even the Black Guardian is still a Guardian. While he may want the universe in chaos and evil to be supreme he does need there to be a universe. The impression I get is that something is happening or is going to happen that puts that in question. And they need me, I'm important to keeping the universe going." Rose shrugged and looked away from the Doctor, not quite able to meet the curious blue eyes she knew were fixed on her. "It's in my future and I try not to theorise about it, but I'm human and I can't help but ask why."

"Do you trust the Black Guardian?" the Doctor questioned.

"Actually… yes," Rose replied slowly. "I mean he drives me crazy and I don't like him exactly, but… well yeah, I trust him. Sort of an instinct I suppose. I don't exactly like the White Guardian either, to be honest, but I trust him all the same. Then again I suppose I'm good, but more than a little chaotic so there's a bit of both in who I am." Rose shook her head and looked over at him with a soft smile. "It feels so wrong talking to you about this Doctor. The you in my personal future knows how all this plays out and the you in my present doesn't know the whole story about my interactions with you in the future."

"You are quite a puzzle Rose Tyler," the Doctor said slowly. "But I suppose I will trust your judgement on the Guardians for the time being."

"Still not convinced this isn't a trap?" Rose questioned with a small smirk tugging at her lips.

"A trap such as you would have required much more imagination than I believe the Black Guardian possesses." There was a hint of humour in his eyes that warmed Rose instantly.

"I'll choose to take that as a compliment," Rose chuckled warmly. She gestured to the door. "Come on Doctor, world to save and Web of Time to protect."

The Doctor gave her a warmer smile then and Rose couldn't help but grin in return as her heart did that annoying little jump it liked to do when he was around. She almost blushed as he moved past her and opened the door. Really she was a little too weak around him. As they stepped outside the Doctor seemed conflicted for a moment, but then offered her his arm. Rose's smile widened and she accepted it eagerly, letting the Doctor start guiding here back towards the distortion.

It didn't take long to get close enough for Rose to feel the effects. Rose shuddered as the icy sensation hit her once again. The Doctor glanced her way and even offered her a slight reassuring smile. He still seemed very confused and uneasy, but Rose appreciated the show of concern. After all, she reminded herself, his Ninth form had run from her not that long ago. The whole wall was now shimmering and Rose was catching glimpses of ripples of bright red, gold and blue across the surface. It was familiar and she blinked in surprise as the Doctor dropped her arm and moved closer. The device was on the ground just in front of the distortion with flashing red lights.

Soft whispers echoed through Rose's head and a tune began to fill her ears. It was haunting and she knew that she'd heard it before. Before her, the vortex pulsed and Rose's eyes widened as the strange energy washed over her skin. The chill faded away to the back of her consciousness. A warm hand grabbed hers and someone called her name. The voice had a familiar ring to it, but the accent and pitch were different. Then the hand shook her gently, but enough to make her blink.

The pressure in her head made Rose squeeze her eyes shut. Shaking her head, she looked towards the voice as they called her again. It was the Doctor, looking at her with worried blue eyes. Rose tried to force a smile, but another chill rushed over her and something tickled at the edge of her consciousness. Before she could think better of it, Rose looked over at the rip. Something was moving inside it, making the ripples of colour shift and twist in a way that made her stomach drop.

The creatures fell out of the rip. They were different shapes and sizes, but all were completely black with strange shimmers rolling across the dark surface of their skin. It was like staring into a swirl of darkness with small stars dying as the void overcame them. Next to her, the Doctor made a sound of alarm. One of the creatures turned to look at him sharply, strange eyes glittering in the low light.

"Neverweres," the Doctor whispered.

The horror in his voice told Rose everything she needed to know. Shifting her right hand, Rose summoned her sword forth and raised it in front of her. Then the creatures lashed forward. Moving forward, Rose brought the blade up to block the attack. The strange skin brightened, illuminating an alien face with high cheekbones and dark green skin. Rose twisted the blade as the creature fought back and released a high pitched scream, slicing into the dark shadowed flesh. Four vacant eyes stared at her before it vanished in a burst of light. Another lunged at her and Rose's eyes widened as more and more fell from the rip.

The icy sensation hit her in the chest making her heart tighten and all the hairs on her arm stand on end. Wrongness flooded through her and Rose feared she'd be ill. However, her body kept moving and brought the sword up to block attack after attack. As the blade moved too close to the creatures the strange blackness around them melted away, but there was no reason in their eyes; only sparks of madness.

"Back to the TARDIS!" the Doctor's voice shouted.

He grabbed her arm and pulled her back. Rose's hand shifted to keep the sword firmly between the Doctor, her, and the creatures as more of them fell into her world. Then the Doctor grabbed her left hand and pulled her further away. They broke into a run, rushing for the TARDIS.