Child of Earth
By Lumendea
Chapter Fifty-Four: Return of Fenric: Time Storms
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.
….
"Ace!" Rose screamed, the sound being lost in the howling wind.
"She's not dead," the Doctor said. He grabbed her arm as she instinctively moved towards the window. "Fenric has immense power over his host's body. He can heal injuries and prevent them."
"Yeah?" Rose looked up at him fearfully. "What's the catch?"
"He's not even trying to conserve power now. Too much of this and he'll suppress Ace to death. Destroy her mind and all her memories."
Horror hit Rose first, but determination to stop it was right on its heels. She looked back to the window only to gasp as a green glow gathered in the clouds. There were flashes of purple lightning as whatever Fenric had done overtook even in the natural forces. Rose looked up at the Doctor, looking for information or reassurance, but he was glaring at the empty window.
"Doctor!"
Something in her tone made him look back at her. His eyebrows went up a bit and he seemed mildly confused. But he recovered quickly and gestured back to the TARDIS. "We need to stop the Time Storms and Fenric."
They rushed back into the TARDIS and he began adjusting the controls. He frowned darkly at the screen and pressed a series of buttons. The TARDIS shuddered and Rose gripped the edge of the console. They shook badly as the TARDIS moved and the Doctor's eyes bored into the console screen. Rose peeked over, but she didn't understand the strange readings. Then the TARDIS stopped shaking.
Turning around, Rose looked towards the door. In the small windows above the door, she could see flashes of green and purple. The Doctor marched past her and pulled open the doors. Rose followed him outside quickly only to be hit with the same icy sensations she'd felt in India.
"I need to get up there," the Doctor muttered.
Rose followed his gaze up and gasped softly. Massive twisting storms like tornados, but illuminated with green and purple were still spinning above them. The Doctor pulled out the sonic screwdriver and Rose did a double take. It was different than those she was familiar with. The end was blue again, but rather than the small diode it was a longer crystal shape that threw her off. It whirled for a moment and the Doctor's frown somehow deepened. A crash shook the ground and Rose looked to the side. One of the time storms had touched down and was ripping apart the trees.
"Rose I have to take the TARDIS up. I can't get stable readings down here," the Doctor said turning back to her.
Nodding, Rose shifted to head back into the TARDIS. The Doctor stepped in front of her and caught her shoulders. "No," the Doctor said sharply. "It's not safe for you."
"And being down here amongst Fenric's hordes is?"
A look of near panic overtook his face and Rose regretted her own words. "They'll be a spillover of radiation, even in the TARDIS," the Doctor explained. His voice was a little more controlled now, but there was worry in his eyes. "I have to get a lock on the Time Storms."
"Can you close them all yourself?"
"I don't have to," the Doctor replied. There was a slight smile tugging at his lips. He squeezed her hand but pulled it away. "Be careful Darling." There was clear hesitation on his face. "But I can't take you into the middle of Time Storms." He looked around and his eyes fixed on a distant spot. Rose frowned, he seemed to be arguing with himself. "It will be alright. Just don't wander… oh, what's the point?"
Rose still wanted to argue, the intellectual part of her was screaming that this was a bad idea, but something else was saying it was okay. Obeying the instinct, Rose nodded to the Doctor. Relief flashed in his eyes, he leaned forward and kissed her lips quickly before vanishing into the TARDIS. The blue box glowed a soft blue and Rose took a few steps back. Frowning at the spot the TARDIS had been, Rose tried to understand what was happening. The Doctor had brought her here from the flat but now dropped her near a bunch of Time Storms. Releasing a huff of irritation, Rose looked around and tried to take in what was happening at ground level.
Central Park after dark wasn't really all that scary with frequent lamps casting a soft glow across the trails. At least in theory, but the lights were beginning to flicker and Rose could see cracks forming in them. The air wiped around her, sending her hair into her face. With a huff of frustration tinged with fear, Rose reached up and tied her hair in a rough knot.
Winds were howling and the small tornados were touching down, ripping at the trees. Rose brought a hand up to protect her eyes only to gasp as more figures began to emerge from the storms. Some were humanoid while others were alarmingly different from her. One had numerous tentacles and floated in the air all while its eyes glowed a dull green. There were men dressed in old style armour, others in unfamiliar, but futuristic suits and creatures that were straight out of Lovecraftian literature.
Summoning her sword, Rose began to count them. She was outnumbered and at a loss of what to do. The Doctor hadn't really explained enough for her to know if these were willing allies of Fenric or just pawns under some sort of control. Rose shifted on her feet into a defensive stance, still unsure what the Doctor was doing. She trusted him, but something in his eyes, something that made him look torn between leaving her here and taking her with him. Rose wasn't sure she trusted his story about the Time Storms or she was tempted to believe that they'd hurt normal humans, but not her. Still, she knew that something was supposed to happen. She could feel it from the way he'd looked at her. He had some inkling of what was going to happen.
A branch almost hit her and Rose's eyes surveyed the area with worry. She firmly told herself to focus and stop worrying about the Doctor. The summoned beings were spreading out and Rose had no idea how long it would be before UNIT responded. A familiar grinding noise filled the air and something began to materialise a few feet ahead of her. Rose raced for it, only stopped when she noticed that the tall large item looked more like some sort of space car, but then it flickered and took on the blue box shape.
Something hit her arm and made Rose flinch as the wind picked up even more. Overhead the green clouds were spitting down bolts of purple and bright green lightning. In the distance, she thought she could see Ace or rather Fenric standing amongst it all. She looked over her shoulder, there was no sign of the Doctor still.
The door of the mystery TARDIS opened and on instinct Rose moved towards it. Her mind was racing, wondering if this was Alistair's TARDIS since it took the police box shape. She dashed inside only to stop in her tracks. It was definitely the wrong TARDIS. Unlike her Doctor's this one had dark metal walls full of rondels and a more compact central console. There was a figure behind the central column and Rose waited as the doors closed behind her with a soft humming sound.
Then they came around the column and Rose relaxed. It was Athena, a little older with a few lines around her eyes, but familiar blue eyes. She was dressed in jeans, a jumper and a blue long coat with her long blonde hair up in a messy bun. She was beaming at Rose, but there was also worry in her eyes. At first, she made a move towards Rose but aborted the movement as the controls flashed.
"Hello Mum," she greeted. Her TARDIS beeped and she grimaced. "Right, sorry time storms in Central Park." Athena pressed a few buttons and her face twisted with irritation. "Lots of them." The TARDIS beeped once again and Athena shifted in front of the console. "Come on Dad!"
"What's going on?" Rose asked she hated having to ask that.
"Dad's up in the Time Storms, sending information on their resonance to us."
"Us?"
Athena looked up at her, a spark of amusement in her blue eyes. She smiled again and nodded. "Yeah Mum, I'm not the only one here."
Rose wanted to ask. She wanted to know if she meant Astra or Alistair. Then again the Doctor was in his twelfth body… maybe there were even more now. Her lips wouldn't move and Rose forced herself to take a breath. This was already spiralling out of control. First another incarnation of the Doctor, a possessed Ace and now another meeting with future children. At this rate travelling in the TARDIS might be safer, calmer and make more sense.
Movement in the corner of her eye made Rose turn sharply as another woman strode into the room. Rose's eyes jumped over the new woman in the room. She looked like she was in her twenties with long hair hanging over her shoulders that looked halfway between brown and ginger. Her green eyes were very familiar, but Rose couldn't place them. Dressed in jeans, a black t-shirt with a purple leather coat and boots she looked ready for anything. Rose's first thought was 'companion', but the young woman beamed at her and glanced over at Athena.
"If I'd have known your Mum was coming for a visit I'd have had Jack put his pants on," the woman said.
"Mel," Athena said in a warning tone. "He'd better be getting his pants on as it is."
"You're Mel?" Rose asked before she thought better of it. She'd heard the name before, thanks to Astra and apparently Mel was… "Uh… are you a companion?" she asked. Rose hoped that if this was before the relationship started they hadn't noticed her reaction.
"Not exactly, I'm Athena's girlfriend," Mel replied. She winked at Rose and then all but skipped over next to Athena. Her smile dropped away as she looked at the screen. "That's a lot of time storms. Look at the readings, I've never heard of anything that bad."
"No," Athena agreed. "Not even in the history books."
"Do you know where the Doctor is?" Rose asked. She kept lingering by the doorway, suddenly very unsure of herself. "He went into the storms."
"Dad will be fine," Athena assured her. The Time Lady gave her a soft smile. "But I can't get a lock on his location. These storms interfere with the instruments of a TARDIS, but he has the strongest and oldest TARDIS. If any ship can stay safe in the storms it is the TARDIS."
"Then why-" Rose started to ask, but someone came into the TARDIS console room.
Turning, Rose wasn't sure how to react when Jack stepped forward. He was dressed in his classic button down shirt, suspenders and long coat combination. She thought his hair might be a bit longer than the last time she'd seen him, but otherwise, he looked unchanged. Jack grinned at her, but Rose caught the shadow in his eyes. None the less, he crossed the room and swept her up into a hug.
"Hello, Rosie!"
"Hi Jack," Rose managed. "Good to see you."
"Overwhelmed?" Jack asked warmly as he set her back down. He glanced towards the two women who were leaning over the controls. "Well, I see you've met my gorgeous girls."
"I'm not your gorgeous girl," Mel huffed. She flipped her long hair and gave him a smirk. "If anything you're our boy." Mel wrapped an arm around Athena's waist.
"Oh I'll take that position anytime," Jack returned with a rather filthy grin that just made Mel smile wider.
"None of that in front of my Mum," Athena ordered. She gave them both warnings looks only to get smouldering eyes in return. A soft blush took over Athena's cheeks and she did a poor job of hiding her pleased smile. "Honestly, you two."
"Rose knows not all relationships are just two," Jack said, sounding a little defensive.
"Yeah, I know that," Rose said quickly. "But she's my daughter Jack. And there are time storms outside and Ace is in trouble so let's focus on that yeah!"
"Okay I'm getting some readings from Dad," Athena said. "Mel we're going to need the-"
"On it!" Mel jumped back from the console and rushed down the corridor. "BRB!"
Rose blinked and stared after the strange girl. There was still something oddly familiar about her that Rose just couldn't place. It felt like she should know her, but this wasn't the time. Walking across the console room, she joined Athena in looking at the scanner. The screen showed several large spinning circles with small numbers around the edges. It didn't mean anything to Rose, but she was guessing it wasn't good.
Then the TARDIS shuddered. Rose's eyes jumped towards the door as Jack groaned. He moved towards the door and pulled some sort of blaster from a shoulder holster beneath his coat. "If you want to cancel out those storms then we have to get out there," Jack snapped.
"One second… message from Alice," Athena said. Rose's eyes widened slightly at the unfamiliar name, but she said nothing. "She and Aurora are on the south side of the park."
"Anything from Alistair?" Jack asked.
"West side, but we're on our own here."
Mel returned before Rose could give into the temptation to ask about Alice and Aurora. She was carrying a large duffle bag sized grey box with handles. It shimmered slightly, made of some sort of metal, with odd little buttons across the top. Setting them beside the console, Mel knelt down and turned a knob and pressed buttons while Athena read off a long string of numbers.
"Done!" Mel said a moment later. She swung up the device and grunted a bit. "Blimey, this is heavy." Turning towards Jack, she fluttered her eyelashes. "Help a girl out sweetie?"
A laugh escaped Jack and he strode over, giving her a wink. Mel's eyes lingered on Jack as he turned and carried the large grey box to the door. Athena smiled in amusement and shook her head leaving Rose completely unsure of how she was supposed to react. Then Athena pressed another button on the console and headed over to the door.
"I'm coming with you," Rose said.
"Dad didn't take you-"
"My daughter and one of my best friends aren't going out there without me."
"You know you won't win," Jack said. He pulled open the doors and they stepped out one after another in the storm. "We need to get this deployed!" Jack shouted over the wind. "Come on!"
They forced themselves out into the wind. Rose could hear the rumble of thunder overhead, but she also thought she heard the grinding of another TARDIS and the sounds of animals. Athena grabbed her hand and tugged gently. In the corner of her eye, Rose saw more of the figures lurching towards them. They ran across the uneven lawn as nearby tree began to crack under the stress of the storms. Rose's mind wondered how Ace had even survived. Then again Fenric's storm hadn't been meant to destroy, just move. These storms were different.
Athena suddenly told them to stop. Jack set down the device and Athena began to make adjustments to it. The tornado seemed right next to them, but it was pushing outward rather than pulling in. Rose shuddered and eyed the advancing aliens. They were picking up speed now. The machine began to hum. Eying the device, Rose watched the small lights on the top shifted in colour. She wanted to ask what was happening, but a strange flash of light in the corner of her eye instantly distracted Rose.
Moving away from the device, Rose scanned the aliens. There were roughly humanoid, but their bodies were a deep dark shade of green and they had strange tentacles coiling out of their heads and necks. They didn't seem to be armed, but Jack moved a few feet away from her and pulled out his blaster.
The alien's arm glowed and Rose brought up her sword. There was a wave of purplish energy that blasted through the air. Deflecting the first blast with her sword, Rose accidently sent it reflecting at one of the other aliens. It screamed and fell to the ground. A series of rapid blasts from Jack put two more of the aliens down. Rose grimaced at the shots but said nothing. Jack shouted something to Athena and Mel. Behind her, Rose could hear them arguing and the soft beeping of the machine.
Ducking, Rose avoided another blast, but as she moved to evade the attack from the second creature, she saw purple in the corner of her eye. Rose felt herself shoved to the right. A scream ripped through the wind, filling Rose's ears and then she heard someone collapse in front of her. Dropping down, Rose blinked to clear her eyes and gasped as she found Mel prone on the ground. Mel was gasping for air and part of her leather jacket had been melted. Below it, Mel's skin was smoking. Rose's eyes widened, but the girl was still breathing.
Looking toward Jack, Rose found him still firing at the aliens. Panic and grief roared through Rose's chest as she stumbled back to Mel. Rose dropped down next to Mel and carefully reached out to her. Mel groaned in pain and raised her green eyes up to Rose. Grimacing in sympathy, Rose brushed a strand of the girl's hair out of her face. Athena shouted something and there was a sudden whine from the machine that made the hairs on Rose's arms stand up.
"Mel?" Rose helplessly brushed some of the woman's hair from her face. "Oh god, I'm so-"
"Don't," Mel groaned. "It's okay. Couldn't let them hurt you." Mel raised a shaking hand and looked at it. Rose followed her gaze and gasped. A soft golden glow was beginning to surround Mel's hand. "Look at that," Mel chuckled. "It was enough to trigger a regeneration." She looked back to Rose, her eyes slightly fearful. "I haven't done this before."
A million questions ran through Rose's mind, the dominant one being just who this girl was. She wasn't their daughter, that much was clear thanks to her relationship with Athena, but how could she regenerate? Her shock must have been on her face because Mel laughed a little. Around them, the sound of the storm was lessening and the world darkened as the lightning flashes stopped.
"Never introduced myself properly did I?" She shifted a little and began to stand up as the golden glow spread further across her skin. "I'm Melody Rose Pond." Mel gave her a wide smile and stepped back a bit. Rose felt her mouth drop open a bit. "You know my Mum and Dad a bit already. Well, let's just say that they're going to be very interesting."
Then Rose heard Athena's voice shout something behind her. Seconds later, Athena and Jack came rushing over, Jack still shooting at something beyond Mel with his laser blaster. Three of the storms were still raging and Rose knew they needed to keep going, but she was frozen in place.
"Mel?" Athena called, her voice thin and scared.
"It's okay babe," Mel said. She lifted her hands, letting the gold energy cascade around her. "Can't hold off anymore, though."
"You're regenerating," Athena said sadly.
"Probably won't be like you, babe. I'll have to change," Mel replied. She forced a smile for Athena and Jack. "Hope you'll like the new look."
"I love you," Athena said. Rose looked over to find Jack holding Athena closely while he watched Mel with a torn expression. Athena was gripping his arm tightly and looked ready to break down in tear.
"None of that my loves," Mel said, her tone softer now. "Think of the fun we'll have learning my new body." She gave them a flirty wink and then the gold energy consumed her.
Rose covered her eyes to block the glow, but it faded in seconds. Gold energy rushed out around him and her eyes widened as it crashed into the three remaining aliens, sending them flying. Then the reddish haired girl with Rory's eyes was gone. A slightly shorter young woman with mocha skin, tightly curled black hair and large brown eyes was standing in her place. The new Mel started to move but stumbled. Jack sprang forward and swung her into his arms, resting her against his chest while she groaned. Athena nodded to him and stepped closer to Rose.
"Get her to the Zero Room, I'll stay with Rose. We've got to stop this!"
"Athena." Rose reached and overtook Athena's hand. A sniff escaped the Time Lady and she gripped Rose's hand tightly. "You can go-"
"No, we need to stop Fenric and we can't risk you getting hurt." Athena turned and marched back to the device as Jack rushed back towards their TARDIS. She picked up the machine and gave Rose a forced smile. "Come on Mummy, there's still a world to save."