The Feast of Fools

Chapter Three: Mockery

By Lumendea

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

AN: Posting early due to holiday travel. Happy Christmas and Happy Hanukkah if you celebrate either or both and a lovely weekend to you if you don't. Take care everyone and enjoy the holiday chapter.

AN 2: I finally went back to Child of Earth and Travels in Time to clean up the telepathy issue. I think I've finally gotten it close to where I originally envisioned it. Rose's telepathy is something that I intended to scare her a little due to her experiences so even when warned that she was developing telepathy, she always pushed the issue into the future. But I also forgot some of my own dialogue thanks to my horrible memory so things got a bit weird. Hopefully things will read better now for anyone working on rereads. Thank you for your patience as I dug out time to go through all of that.

…

Rose and Jack had to dig through the wardrobe more than usual to find clothing that would pass decently. Without the help of the TARDIS, it was difficult to navigate the massive wardrobe and even harder to narrow their selections down to the correct century. Still, the nature of the festival meant that it didn't have to be perfect, a fact that Rose was grateful for. The entire time that they were searching, Rose was nervously glancing around the room. So far, no signs of the clown in the TARDIS again. As much as she feared that she'd delivered them to Earth, it seemed possible that in disrupting their entry into the TARDIS, she might have at least stopped that.

Rose had found and changed quickly into a long blue kirtle dress over a white shirt. She slung a belt around her waist and made sure that her boots were mostly hidden. It was simple but pretty. The sort of thing that she didn't think would stand out much. As she braided back her hair to cover it, a grinning Jack appeared in a red clergy robe.

"I can't believe the TARDIS has one of these." Jack spun around for Rose, still beaming like a fool. "I look amazing in this, Rose!"

"Part of me feels that I should stop you," Rose confessed. "But…" She smiled and shook her head. "Well, just don't get yourself locked up."

"I won't. Feast of Fools, remember. Probably the only time I'll ever fully get away with this."

Rose just knew there was a story there, but they had other things to worry about. Shaking her head fondly at Jack, Rose led him out of the wardrobe room and down towards the console room. When they passed the Zero Room, Rose paused and opened the door enough to peek inside. The Doctor was still floating in the middle of the room and appeared sound asleep.

"He's gonna be fine," Jack promised her gently.

"I know," Rose said. "As long as we keep him safe." She closed the door and exhaled slowly.

"Are you sure that I can't convince you to take a nap?"

"Not happening. Not while I think there's something out there." Rose shook her head sternly. "I'll feel better once you have some scans. Just in case I am imagining things."

"I doubt you are," Jack assured her. "I believe you, and more than that, what just happened is the sort of event that can shake things loose. I didn't have the longest career at the Time Agency, but I still saw and heard of a lot of strange things." Jack reached over and planted a kiss on Rose's forehead. "If there is something loose out there, Rose, we'll find it and contain it. If we can, we'll stop it ourselves, and if not, we won't let it hurt anyone."

With that said, Jack strode ahead of Rose to the console room and headed for the doorway. He paused one more time to make an adjustment to his Vortex Manipulator before turning back to Rose as she joined him in the console room.

"I'll circle through the square for half an hour," he said. "Then I'll return, and we can review the scan. If I pick up something absolute, I'll return immediately. I have my mobile just in case."

"Thank you, Jack."

"See you in Hell." He winked at her and slipped out of the front door, his clergy robes billowing around him.

…..

Jack wasn't sure what to think as he closed the door of the TARDIS. On the one hand, his experience with tried and traumatized people told him that Rose might have been seeing things. He'd heard about some of her early, and he did mean early adventures, and there was something suspect about her meeting the Doctor when dealing with an alien clown and now seeing one as soon as he'd regenerated. But this was also Rose Tyler. She wasn't perfect or infallible, but she was damn close in Jack's eyes. After the things he'd seen and heard about her pulling off, he wasn't going to dismiss her fears.

He just wished that she'd take a nap. Even a kip on the jump seat would be better than nothing. If only it was reasonable for her to stay with the Doctor in the Zero Room. Given the Doctor's earlier nervous reaction to how Rose was taking his new face and body, it probably would have done them both good to wake up snuggled together. Pair of lovesick puppies, the both of them.

That almost made him smile as he stepped away from the TARDIS. There was a hint of ache in his chest at the thought of it. That damned bit of romantic, longing love for the both of them that he couldn't shake. But he knew something bigger than him when he saw it. And, well, this odd little family that they'd created on the TARDIS was good, and he wasn't going to risk it.

As subtly as he could, Jack adjusted his Vortex Manipulator and turned on the scanner before shifting into the crowd to mingle. The dancing had temporarily stopped with a fire eater performing to an awed crowd. Musicians were still playing on the stage behind the man who was dressed in a bright costume and playing up his feat for the crowd.

There were booths further back with all sorts of foodstuffs and drinks for sale. Jack sniffed at the air. It smelled like medieval Europe with a heavy layer of alcohol over the top of it. Nothing was standing out to him as out of place or wrong. He'd seen more than a few holiday festivals like this one before. A woman passed by him and cast her eyes up and down his body and the clergy robes with a sly smirk. Oh, he really wished that he could just have some fun. Maybe once they figured out whatever was going on, he could spend some time enjoying a few days of foolish behaviour to give Rose and the Doctor some time alone.

The Doctor was very pretty this time around. Jack smiled despite the situation. The last him would have grumbled, but Jack thought he might secretly be pleased. He and Rose would look closer in age now, even though Jack knew Rose had never cared. She hadn't told him too much about her past dealings with the Doctor, but her eyes always lit up regardless of what said body had looked like. Poor thing had it bad. Course, those Jack had met were drool-worthy.

Jack passed a group of sullen-looking officials who were glaring at the festivities. Judging from their guards and ornaments, they were actual nobles and clergy. Still, the guards were no match for Jack Harkness, and he lifted a small pouch of gold from one of them for good measure. That in hand, Jack headed for the nearest food stall and grinned as a man dressed in tight clothing put on an acrobatics show. Very bendy that one.

He is taking his first bite out of some kind of tart with jam that has been fried when he hears a soft beep from his Vortex Manipulator. Glancing around, Jack slinks into the shadows of one of the buildings and casually looks down at the small screen. The readout doesn't make sense. Something here is absolutely drenched in Vortex energy, but the system can't lock on it. Rose's words about it not completely being there echo in his mind.

Shoving the rest of his treat into his mouth, Jack scans the nearby crowd for anything that looks out of place. A couple of people are drawing back from someone in a costume. Their expressions are uneasy, and an odd feeling rolls down Jack's spine as he steps closer. Then he sees it. A humanoid figure with a clown-like face, though a sense of decay around it and wearing tattered clothing that echoed a costume. It turned to look at him, large eyes glinting with glee and its smile widening impossibly far across its face.

Raising an eyebrow, Jack shifted back away from the crowd and towards one of the small alleys off the square. The creature followed him, staring at Jack and never blinking as they held eye contact. At first, Jack was calm, but as the thing came closer, an odd sense of dread began to creep over him. Predator. The word rang in Jack's head. It didn't matter that the thing looked like an attempt at a creepy clown and should have made him snort or laugh. He recognized it as a predator. Then it was right in front of him. Jack jumped. He'd only blinked.

"So, what are you then?" Jack asked as casually as he could manage.

Its smile widened. It brought up its hands. Jack took another step back, but the tinge moved too fast for him to slip away. The instant that the hands grabbed him, Jack knew that he'd made a mistake. Bile surged up his throat, and his jaw tightened with the distinct sensation that he was about to be sick. His limbs trembled, and there was a horrible sense of something being ripped out of him. It stung, burned, and froze all at once like the Time Vortex.

Then he saw gold light in the corner of his eyes. The clown's smile was wide, but it had opened its mouth. The golden light was flowing into its jaw, which was dropping further and further open, beyond what a human could manage.

It was too familiar. Jack remembered this. Karn. It had been like this on Karn when his life had been drained. Terror and worry for Rose and the Doctor surged through Jack. He ripped his body away. The hands lost their grip but were already reaching for him as Jack stumbled back.

The golden glow in the corner of his eye was fading back out of view. That might have been a good thing or a bad thing, Jack wasn't sure. There was no time to worry about that. The clown- creature- whatever it was, had already stepped towards him.

Jack whirled around and did the only thing he could do. He ran. His vision was blurry, and Jack didn't fully trust his senses. Pushing his shaking legs harder, Jack turned corner after corner in allies, trying to get away or maybe lead the thing away from the TARDIS. Behind him were the fading sounds of the festival.

His limbs felt wrong. Too heavy and sore, like he'd just run a marathon. Or had a different kind of marathon. But he hadn't. His arms were much the same, and his fingers were numb. As he put distance between himself and the clown, some of the feeling was coming back, but that horrible sense of dread lingered.

As his vision cleared and strength slowly returned to his limbs, Jack began to course correct. He kept running, twisting through the medieval streets and back towards the TARDIS. When he returned to the square, Jack cast his eyes around nervously. He didn't see the clown, at least not that one. There were others dressed in similar bright grab nearby, but he wasn't sure. The TARDIS was in view across the square, hidden in the shadows, and Jack slowly headed for it. He was aware of his Vortex Manipulator around his wrist and risked a glance down at it.

The small screen had row after row of strange readings. No results on what that thing was or what it had been doing. Jack knew he shouldn't be surprised that the Time Agency tech didn't know, but he wasn't comforted by it. When he reached the TARDIS, Jack carefully checked around him to make sure that there were no signs of the clown before he pulled out his key and let himself back into the time capsule, body trembling with relief.

…..

Rose opened the door of the Zero Room again. She really hoped that she wasn't delaying things by checking so often, but the Doctor never stirred, so Rose took that as a sign the disruption wasn't too bad. He was breathing but was still too pale. His freckles were obvious, even from the door. The Doctor took too small and was swallowed up by the old jumper and leather coat.

Finding a set of pyjamas that would fit the Doctor distracted Rose for a little while. The wardrobe wasn't truly a mess, but it wasn't exactly orderly. Her fingers moved over the different styles and fabrics as her mind wandered. She was trying to remember anything the Doctor might have said in the past that could be important. On some level, Rose knew that she was overreaching. A clever woman with expanded memory capacity, she might be, but she didn't remember conversations word for word. With each step, Rose breathed slowly and carefully built up her telepathic shields. They were flimsy, but she had something by the time she found a set of pyjamas and a dressing gown.

She stepped into the Zero Room slowly and carefully, watching the Doctor for any signs of mental distress. Her shields held and Rose sighed in relief. After closing the door behind her, Rose checked the round room carefully. No sign of anything unusual except for the Time Lord floating in the centre of the room. Rose's lips actually quirked into a smile at that, but she shook herself and got to work. She told herself that this was going to make the Doctor more comfortable, but Rose knew that she was doing it for herself too. If she couldn't put this Doctor into his proper clothing, she could at least take him out of the improper clothing.

He only stirred once when Rose touched his cheek. A soft sigh made Rose's eyes tear up as too many emotions bubbled up in her all at once. She drew her hand back before their minds could try to connect. Hurting him when he was so vulnerable wasn't an option. Strangely enough, the whole floating in the Zero Room thing made it easy to change the Doctor in the pyjamas. She wasn't sure what to do with the dressing gown so she laid it out on the floor for him to find.

Bundling up the old clothing in the leather jacket, Rose fled the Zero Room and pushed the door tightly shut. He was safe. She repeated that to herself as the familiar scent of his past form filled her nose from the jacket. Tears stung Rose's eyes again and she hugged the bundle close.

What was she supposed to do with the Doctor's old clothing? Did it go into the wardrobe room, or was there more to it? Especially the jacket. He changed the jumpers and jeans from time to time, but the leather jacket was important. Special. Singular. She took the clothing back to their room and tucked everything into the wardrobe. When the TARDIS was back to normal, the old girl would know what to do. Rose's fingers brushed over the familiar leather of the jacket, trying and failing to process her emotions.

Hypothetically this hadn't been so difficult. She'd known about regeneration for many, many years and knew that she'd always love the Doctor regardless. It was a bit of a problem honestly sometimes how easily Rose fell for him in every body. Yet… yet, it was hard to say goodbye, especially under the circumstances of him dying to save her.

"He's gonna die from wearing bodies out from now on if I have any say," Rose said out loud. The words were a bit comforting, and she meant them. She thought that she heard the TARDIS hum weakly in response. Reaching over to the wall, Rose brushed it gently. "I know, you're out of sorts without him too. But we'll get him back on his feet soon."

The words did bolster Rose a little. Standing a little straighter, she headed back out into the corridor and back to the console room. Rose moved to check the viewscreen, hoping that the TARDIS had managed to refresh a report, but the same words warning of a collusion were still in place. She stroked the console gently.

"I'm sorry that I wasn't able to make better use of your warning," Rose said out loud. "Beware Rassilon. You tried to warn us. Must be hard to see everything from this viewpoint only and then try to explain while dying." Rose sighed. "But… he's gone now. So is the Master. He sacrificed himself to save the Doctor. I'm both surprised and not surprised at all. Best enemy." Rose shook her head. "Such a mess. And the Monk…" It was sinking in for Rose that the Doctor was the Last of the Time Lords once again. "I wonder if any of them escaped…" Rose hadn't been in a position to be trying to pay attention to the Time Lock. Rassilon and some others had pushed their way out. Was it possible that others had? "At least… the Time War is over. Really over."

She never wanted it to haunt the Doctor again. In time, they'd have Athena, Astra, Alistair, and Alice. The As that were so named because their names were a literal circular paradox. A chuckle escaped Rose. He wouldn't be alone then. She remembered the desperate look of joy that would cover this Doctor's face when he met Astra and understood who she was. But that also made Rose think of the desperation she'd seen on his face when she was younger. Because of a video.

"Can you manage to record something for me?" Rose asked. Her fingers began to move over the controls.

But before Rose could start, the door of the TARDIS flew open, and Jack came rushing in, his face pale and his eyes wide and worried.