Happy new year everyone! New year, new chapter! Please don't forget to tell me what you think of it, because it seem that nobody really read this story and having feedback really help.
Like always a million thanks to my beta penandpaper83 who is an angel.
Chapter 8:
"What the hell is it doing?" Donna screamed as she was tossed around, almost colliding with the ground only to be saved at the last second by Rose, who was just barely hanging onto one of the pillars with one hand. Martha, who was on the other side of the TARDIS, was in no better situation. She was currently on the ground, waiting for an opportunity to stand and move in a safer place, but without much success as the TARDIS was shaking everywhere. The only still upright was the Doctor, who was bouncing all around the place.
"I can't seem to get control!" He said, with panic in his voice as he frantically hit and turned different levers and buttons on the console. Trying anything to make her fly right. But the TARDIS continued her frenetic course through the vortex. And at the surprise of the three other people, he suddenly lost his footing and yelped while disappearing out of view.
"Doctor!" Rose shouted while trying to make her way around to help him despite the turbulence. But before she made not even three steps, he was already standing and smiling with a jar in his hand.
"I don't know where we're going, but my old hand is very excited about it!" he said with great enthusiasm while still gripping the console. With a grin he showed the jar off, passing it in Donna's direction who looked at him like he was barmy. She even tried to take a step back but was stopped by another violent trust of the TARDIS. Making her fall right into the captain's chair. Rose, seeing her new friend being violently thrown about again, started to move in her direction. Before realizing with a start what was in the Doctor hand. "Whoa, hold on! Did you lose another hand?" she said stunned.
He scratched his ear, trying to put it down without dropping it. "No. It's the one that I lost during the Sycorax. You remember?" He was smiling and Rose couldn't do anything but smile too. How could she forget her first Christmas with this him?
Donna, who was clearly more than a little disgusted by the bubbling hand, decided to just not ask questions that she didn't want answers to. She just huffed and gripped the chair, closed her eyes and muttered under her breath. Meanwhile Martha, finally upright and clutching the column with determination, looked at Rose with interest. "Oh you knew about that thing?"
Rose shrugged while still trying to stay upright. "I was there. But I have to confess, it was a little weird." She chuckled, remembering the Doctor being his impressive self in a pajama.
"You don't say, sunshine," Donna snarked from her seat with her eyes still closed. She even started to look green around the edge.
The Doctor scowled, but the TARDIS suddenly tilted backward, making sparks rain everywhere. Rose lost her grip and fell head first toward the nearest pillar, but was caught at the last second by Martha who was crouching besides her. She heard Donna scream loudly behind her, and she could not really blame her. The Doctor was the only one who by some miracle was still standing, looking around like it was nothing. And as sudden at it started, everything stopped. For a few seconds there was only silence. Martha and Rose exchanged a look, not really sure about what happened. As they were starting to stand up, looking around to be sure that the TARDIS will not start to move again, the Doctor smiled maniacally at them and made a mad dash in direction of the door before disappearing outside.
"No wait, Doctor!" Rose called after him while trying to stand as quickly as possible while Martha was still dusting herself. But it was too late, the alien was now long gone. Probably already poking around and making a fool of himself. She turned towards the other women with a sigh. "Well I see that some things never change."
Martha smiled widely and with a cheeky wink to Rose, she followed the Doctor outside. She was soon followed by Donna, who rolled her eyes at the excitation showed by the young Doctor, leaving Rose completely alone in the TARDIS. She started to stroke the machine in passing, a fond smile on her face as she looked around. She had missed her so much. Almost as much as the Doctor. Because as much as she had loved the Doctor at the time, the TARDIS had been her home. And it had been hard to adjust without her and the gentle hum in her head. Especially at night. As she was starting to think about those difficult times, she received a warm response in return, making her smile bigger. "Don't worry girl, I'm okay now." She looked at the door still open and sighed. "You would think that after all this time they would learn..." And with determination, she finally decided to trail after them.
She got out of the TARDIS and started to walk in direction of the little group, catching the end of the discussion between the two other companions. "I thought you wanted to go home," Donna said to Martha who was smiling with excitement. She also realized that the Doctor was looking at the wall with interest. Poking it with his screwdriver like it contained the secret of the universe.
Martha was bouncing around, making Rose smile with amusement. That young woman was decidedly full of energy. She reminded her a little of Jake when they were off to whatever mission they had at the moment. "I know, but all the same, it's that feeling you get."
"Like you just got on a rollercoaster?" Rose offered as she joined them. She exchanged a found smile with Donna. At least she was not alone in her amusement.
As Martha opened her mouth to reply, a harsh male voice appeared out of nowhere, making all of them jump in surprise. "Don't move! Stay where you are! Drop your weapons." As they slowly turned around, they realized that three men armed with rifles had managed to catch them by surprise.
Rose didn't even think, she moved swiftly and placed herself in front of the group, diverting all the attention onto her person. It was all her fault, she scolded herself internally, how can she have not heard them coming? She was a colonel for god sake!
She briefly considered taking out her weapon, but the possibility of collateral damage was too high, and she could not endanger civilians like that. Before she could even begin to speak and find a better solution than fight for her life in a middle of a cavern, the Doctor jumped in front of her. Gesticulating to divert all the attention to himself. "We're unarmed. Look, no weapons. Never any weapons. We're safe."
Rose frowned, irate at the fact that the Doctor had taken the lead without even considering that maybe she knew what she was doing. Some things obviously never change.
But one the men had already caught sight of Rose, not paying attention to the thin and tall man in front of them, who was moving around wildly. He bumped his chief, who just spared a look in his direction to tell him that he was listening. Clearly he was not the only one not impressed by the clown. "This one looks like a soldier to me," he said with a nod in Rose's direction. Who, after hearing his correct assumption, frowned as that could either be a good or a bad thing.
The man in charge squinted while evaluating Rose with a trained eye. This of course made Rose turn her complete attention to this man, watching his every move in case she needed to cause a diversion. The Doctor, who clearly disliked the sudden attention to his companion, stood tall and rigid in an attempt to intimidate as many people as possible, hoping it struck unease. Even Martha and Donna stepped closer, not pleased by the turn of situation. "You're right. But I don't see any marks on them," he sneered. "One of those pacifists hmm?" He turned around and motioned towards the machines. "Let's not waste anymore time. Process them all. Her first."
As one of the men grabbed her arms, the Doctor moved to intervene; not realizing that Rose was more than capable of defending herself if needed. "Woah slow down, gentlemen! Can you explain first what is happening, because I think we have a misunderstanding here."
The only response he obtained was a rifle on his face and a sneer. "Move, boy before I start to shoot."
The Doctor looked offended. "Boy?! Excuse you? Where do you get off calling... " He then scoffed. "I'm probably older than your oldest living relative, and you call me a Boy?!"
"Oh my god," Rose muttered with an eyeroll, as she heard Donna snicker in the background. "Okay, everyone calm down before does or says something they'll regret." She turned to the Doctor who was starting to look more and more like the oncoming storm. "Look they have three rifles, a target to shoot and not a strong sense of compassion so let me handle this before you get us all killed ok?"
"But Rose..." He cringed, not really liking where this was going. She was not supposed to put herself out there like that. He could regenerate if things went south, so naturally it should be him that puts himself at risk. He couldn't risk losing her again when he was on the brink of any chance of reconciliation with her.
"I know what I'm doing." She said in her best 'Colonel Wolfe' voice. She turned to the man who still had his hands firmly on her arm. "Ok, let's go."
He nodded before leading her in the direction of the row of ancient machines that were against the wall of the tunnel. They didn't really have time to examine them when they arrived, as Rose let the Doctor looking at them when she had talked with Donna and Martha. She sighed as she heard a commotion behind her. She really hoped that the two girls were able to restrain him before he did something harsh. She was not fond of the idea to have to kill the three men just because the Doctor could not trust her more than five minutes. That's why she had to leave after that. They were not on the same page anymore. As they continued to move she heard Martha said something to the Doctor but she was too far to hear what.
The one in charge led her in the direction of one the machines that suddenly lit up. "Okay. Your hand into the machine. Now."
Rose looked at it suspiciously. "What is this supposed to do?" Like she would just put her hand into a weird machine without explanation. She was sure that the Doctor would have done just that, but that's probably why the man was on his tenth regeneration. She snorted silently to herself. Knowing him, he would have put his head inside just to see what was inside. But she needed more than a 'well do it', because she was not ready to do something rash right now. Not in front of the Doctor, his friends or this rather pushy group of soldiers.
The man pushed her with annoyance. "Like I said, everyone gets processed." He showed her his hand which had multiple marks. Proving that the process was not likely to be fatal. "And we don't have all day, so hurry up! We've still got to process your friends."
There was still a slight reluctance on Rose's part (despite acting all tough moments ago) as she pushed her own arm into the machine. For a few seconds nothing happened except for a faint buzz. She started to think that perhaps the machine in question was probably broken, when she felt a brief but intense pain, making her yelp more in surprise than distress. As she grimaced at the soreness on the back of her hand, she heard a commotion behind her, guessing it was probably the Doctor making a show. But she was too focused on the machine to react.
"Is the machine taking a sample?" she asked the group who looked at her with a blank stare. Ok, not scientific. Noted. She started to turn to share her observation with the Doctor when she felt her arm being released from whatever was holding her arm in place, making her almost miss a step. Before she had time to move more than a few meters, Martha was beside her, soon followed by the Doctor.
"Are you alright? Any pain anywhere?" Martha asked while evaluating her arm and hand, while the Doctor was doing the same with the rest of her body.
Rose shook her head in reply. "I'm okay." She yanked her arm away when the Doctor batted Martha's hand away from the arm to wave the sonic screwdriver over the skin. "Seriously, it's nothing. I think they just took a sample."
"What for?" Donna asked as she came around to look at Rose's hand.
Rose turned to the Doctor, curious to know what was his opinion on the subject when she realized that he was not looking at her. He was looking past her with a curious stare on his face. She turned around following his line of sight and was surprised to see that the pair of glass and metal doors besides the machine, which she presumed was a part of the engine, was starting to open. A mist of smoke rolled out beside the bright light from inside. Without even thinking Rose latched onto Martha and Donna, hoping that the Doctor had also followed, and retreated until they were besides a block of rock. "What do you think this is?" she asked them as the Doctor joined them, his attention still focused on the fog and lights.
"I really hope it's not a remake of Alien!" Donna offered half jokingly, which in turn made Martha snort with laughter.
The Doctor glowered, his concentration finally shifting to his companion. "Donna that's offensive! And...!" But was cut short by Rose seizing his arm, turning him with a shocked face. "Oh god look, something is coming out!"
Just as Rose finished her sentence, a human shape was starting to take form, becoming more visible as the mist was starting to fade away. She realized that this was most probably a man. A tall one even, almost as tall as the Doctor.
When the doors opened and the newly formed man finally stepped out of the device, she was so shocked that she had the sudden and strange impression to see an older Tony in soldier fatigue. She blinked a few times as the young blond man was handed a rifle and orders.
"Who is this guy?" asked Donna with curiosity, passing her head above Rose's shoulder, who was still trying to wrap her head unto her vision.
"He came from Rose," the Doctor answered with an evident tone of shock. He moved closer to Rose, his hand on her shoulder in a reassuring gesture. He wasn't sure what sort of reaction Rose would have, but if he could show support, then all the better for him.
"Come again?" said Martha with surprise, looking between the blond man and her new friend. Searching a sign of resemblance.
Rose's eyebrows raised as high as they could possibly go at that. Did he read his mind to have a joke on her? "What? How he can come from me?"
The Doctor looked away, visibly uncomfortable. He started to take out his specs and scratching his neck in a vain tentative to gain time. But without result, as all the women were looking at him. "Technically that's your son Rose."
"How on earth is that even possible?" her tone was deep with shock. "I mean I remember basic biology. I only carry X chromosomes!" She turned to Martha. "How the hell could this happen?"
Martha looked at her helplessly, just as confused as Rose was. Rose looked at the man, the one supposed to be her child, who was checking his weapons with thoroughness. She could see some resemblance. He had the same blond hair that she did when she was young, and she was pretty sure that she had seen that same determined look on Tony enough times to recognize it from a mile away. But those similarities did not have to mean that this being was her son. The universe was big enough that some people were bound to look alike. The Doctor was mistaken. That had to be it, and she almost laughed aloud at the absurdity.
"Progenation," replied the Doctor, putting his glasses on his face, missing the distress emanating from Rose, who had begun to breathe with difficulty. "Reproduction from a single organism. Means one parent is biological mother and father. You take a sample of diploid cells, split them into haploids, then recombine them in a different arrangement and grow. Very quickly, apparently." He was in full mode Doctor, talking like it was a normal thing, like growing an adult son from an hand was something you saw every day. "And you know, Rose, the fact that you only have X chromosome is not really a problem. Everything is just a question of hormones, balance and all funny things like that. He would clearly not be the first man with two X chromosomes." He beamed in her direction, but his smile quickly dropped when he saw her alarmed face. "Rose I..." But she didn't let him finish, she turned and walked away in the opposite direction. Her head was spinning from this whole series of events.
"You primed to take orders? Ready to fight?" Asked one the man to her son, as she passed them. Now that she had done her duty, they were no longer interesting to the group for the time being.
The 'son' of Rose nodded. "Instant mental download of all strategic and military protocols, Sir. Generation five thousand soldier primed and in peak physical health. Yep, I'm ready." And he smiled in her direction. Throwing a wink for good measure. A smile that she knew intimately as she had saw him enough time in the mirror or on his little brother face. The Tyler smile.
"Oh god, he has my smile." Rose's face was pale, and she honestly wasn't expecting that; so no one could really blame her when she took a few steps back and bumped right into Donna.
"Are you okay?" the Doctor asked as he stood nearby, ready to help where asked.
"That's a stupid question, Spaceman." Donna sneered with a roll of her eyes. "Does she look alright to you?"
As Rose was starting to feel claustrophobic under that much scrutiny, she frowned as there was a sudden realization on her part. Something was not right. And she was certain that she just heard sounds that were not there a moment ago. A somewhat mechanical sound. She turned her head, only seeing Martha who was examining the machine from where the man came from.
"Something is coming!" her son called out, followed by the gruff voice of their leader, "It's the Hath! Everyone open fire!"
And just like that both sides opened fired on each other, noise reverberating from left to right. No one could exactly pinpoint exactly where the shooting was coming from thanks to the acoustics of the chamber. Rose crouched immediately, her training taking over. Without even thinking about it, she grabbed Donna and the Doctor, pushing them beside her. Trying her best to shield them with her body. She took out her weapon but realized that she had absolutely no idea who was the enemy in this situation, and she was not going to take a life without a really good reason.
"Everybody move! Take cover now!" she screamed, effortlessly reverting to her colonel persona. She urged everyone to move, pulling the Doctor back down as he started to stand up to probably intervene. She was rewarded by a wounded look, making her only roll her eyes. That man had clearly no sense of self preservation.
They eventually abandoned their hiding spot, running a few meters before she shoved the Doctor in direction of a pile of rocks that seemed safe enough. Just before jumping to safety he threw her a concerned look, a look that screamed 'we are going to talk about this'.
But she didn't have time to discuss her comportment. Right now she didn't have time to argue about what she became. She just wanted to save their live before they all went their separate ways. She saw him take out his sonic screwdriver before she lost sight of him as she pushed Donna under a makeshift barricade. The redhead started to argue but Rose was moving again, her weapon firmly in hand. She had realized that one of them was missing; as Martha was nowhere in sight and she needed to find her immediately.
She turned around widely, trying to see past the battle when she finally spotted Martha who had taken shelter beside a fallen rock deep in the Hath territory. As a bullet hissed past Rose's head, she became well aware that Martha was way too close to the combat zone. Multiple Hath, or what she heard identified as Hath, were a close distance from Martha and she already saw at least three bullets hit the rocks surrounding Martha.
"I'm coming!" Rose called out while shooting in multiple directions, trying to scare off the aliens from her friends. "Martha, I'm coming!" Martha had finally realized the mess she was in, and she looked at Rose with wide eyes while trying to move without getting hit by a stray bullet. In an act of desperation, she darted to one of the rocks closer to Rose's position, but she was stopped in her tracks by one of the Hath. It had presumed that she was one of the enemies and thus engaged in combat.
Rose started to run, determined to not lose anybody today, and especially not Martha. She had to take cover a few times, as Hath and what she presumed to be human were fighting left and right. Sounds were reverberating all around her, making difficult for her to advance. But, before she could reach her she fell tremors under her, making her lose her balance. Loud klaxons were starting to blare from all sides. She and Martha looked to each other, realizing with panic that she will never able to reach her before what's happening will hit its crescendo. Suddenly loud explosions rocked the area. Giving her just enough time
to jump into a corner before the roof fell.
The shaking seemed to last forever, reminding her that time in Australia, when she had been surprised by an Earthquake in the middle of her mission. And then it ended swiftly, the ground stopped shaking with only a few rocks and dust still falling. Rose carefully stood in case there were aftershocks and looked around to assess the situation.
"Rose! Oh my god Rose! Are you okay?" She could hear someone calling her, but it sounded as if it were from a distance with the slight ringing in her ears. She was checking herself over as the Doctor appeared besides her, giving her his own examination at a frantic pace. Touching everywhere that she'd let him while reassuring himself that she was still alive and in one piece.
She started to smile, looking to reassure him. But then she noticed the cave in where Martha was just standing. Her eyes widened with worry. "Martha!" She looked around, but not seeing Martha anywhere. "She was there! She's on the other side of the tunnel!" She started to try and dig into the wall of stone, when she was stopped by Donna who grasped her wrist.
"Listen Wonder Woman, all you are doing is injuring yourself. Especially since we don't know how steady those rocks are," Donna tried to reason with Rose. "You look like a snowman."
Rose took a second glance at herself, effectively covered in dust and dirt, and realized there was nothing to be done for the time being. She turned to the Doctor, who had turned to face the four men with the most furious look that he could muster. "You've sealed off the tunnel and almost killed Rose! Why did you do that?" he said in a dangerous voice, the oncoming storm starting to come around.
The man who came from Rose took two steps forward and stared defiantly at him. "They were trying to kill us. I did what I had to do."
"Our friend is on the other side!" said Donna as she marched angrily right onto the face of the blonde man. "You didn't have to right to do that!"
He smiled at Donna. "At least you've still got your friends. The Hath lost more than us, so that's a victory I think."
Donna looked more furious by the second, pointing her finger unto his shoulder. "Her name is Martha. She's not lost; we are going to get her back. Have you got that, GI Joe?" She turned to them. "Right?"
The Doctor nodded; a somber air on his face. "We are going to find her." He was helping Rose dust herself off. "We are not leaving without her."
"You're going nowhere," the one in charge called out. "You're not making any sense. You don't have marks." He cocked his head in direction of a still morose Rose. "That one has a gun, but no sense of real fight, and you two are obvious pacifists." he spat the word as if it were the most disgusting thing in the English language. "I'm taking you to General Cobb. Now move."
Rose was in his face almost immediately, her self-control lost into the face of her failing. "It's your fault! You understand? It's your fault!" she said angrily, her gun pointed directly under his chin. "I had time to save her!" She would have had the time if she had a few more seconds. All she had needed was a few more seconds! She didn't realize that the three other men had pointed their riffle at her almost straight away. Then all she could see was the fact that that man has authorized an act of murder. He was the one in charge and he didn't think twice about civilian life. If Martha was dead it was all his fault.
A murderous glint started to appear in her eyes, as a feral smile was growing on her face. Making the man pale significantly under her gaze. But before she could do something she'd regret, and get them all killed, she was stopped by a wide eyed Doctor. Who slipped between her and the men, effectively de escalating the situation before it was definitely out of control.
"Rose, it's not the time," he offered in a hushed voice. Looking warily at all the weapons drawn, including her own. "I'm sure Martha is still alive, and we are going to get her back, I swear. I will not leave her here. But we need to go with them and find out everything that we can before our next move."
"Also find a map," Donna added, who was clearly as uncomfortable around that situation as the Doctor.
The Doctor nodded with a smile, relieved that at least one of them was thinking rationally. "Like Donna said." Before looking at her again with a soft look in his eyes. "So Rose?"
Rose sighed and holstered her weapon again. Her fury becoming more and more under control. She looked at the men who were still on their guard. "Okay, we will follow you..." In the corner of her eyes she saw the Doctor sag with relief and felt a little bit of shame. She shouldn't have lost her cool like that. She was an officer, not a rookie. It should not have happened… But the Doctor like every time he appeared in her life had changed everything.
Without another words they started to walk into one of the dark tunnel. Rose was wondering if this day could go any worse.