Seuls - Chapter 7
Title: Seuls
Author: mtemplar
Rating: Adult
Characters: The Doctor (Tenth), Rose Tyler
Disclaimer: I do not own 'Doctor Who' and am making no profit from this fanfiction.
Genre: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Graphic Sex, Graphic Violence, Romance
Spoilers: Set mid Series 2
Author's Notes: This story follows the events in To Have And Not To Hold (first chapter of that story is here) and Not Here (the first chapter of that short follow-up is here). It is loosely based on the Fourth Doctor serial 'Image of the Fendahl', and contains elements from the 1996 TV movie and the novel 'The Taking of Planet 5'. Huge hugs to principia_coh for the amazing icon and banner!
Betas: Many, many thanks to platypus, brit_columbia and garpu!
Summary: The Doctor and Rose have been mysteriously diverted to the ice planet Seuls, located within the constellation of Canthares. It soon becomes apparent that things are not at all as they should be, and the newly-formed bond between them will be tested as the trap of an ancient enemy is sprung.
Previous Chapters:
One Two Three Four Five Six
Crossposted to time_and_chips, dwfiction, Teaspoon and The Zero Room.
Chapter 7
After his hands were chained behind his back, the struggling Doctor was hauled to his feet by two of the men and dragged out of the room, the third man and woman following. Rose tiptoed after them, trying to keep her boots from crunching on the icy, rocky floor. The Doctor was apparently squirming too much and Rose winced as one of the men smacked him hard across the face. The Doctor fell to his knees, with the men continuing to drag him. They turned a corner and disappeared into a darkened corridor, and Rose hurried to follow.
Rose moved as silently as she could through the narrow twists and turns of the icy passageway, listening for the sound of the Doctor's trainers dragging on the ice. The silence around her was deafening, broken by the occasional rumbling crack of glacial ice. Numerous, elongated icicles adorned the ceiling above her, and as another crack sounded, she nervously increased her pace as much as her sprained ankle would allow, almost skidding right into the Doctor's abductors in her haste. She paused, watching as the Doctor's limp form was dragged into an expansive, central room.
Rose cautiously peered inside the chamber from the narrow entryway. Natural light flooded the room, and Rose was surprised to see that there was no ceiling - the chandelier that she had seen upon entering the ice palace was clearly visible high above. Occupying the center of the room was a large, raised block of packed snow and ice, carved in the shape of a vessel not unlike a wide, ornate longboat, with leaping flames carved out of solid snow where the stern would be. White pelts covered the flat surface where the stunned Doctor was unceremoniously dumped, the two men quickly unchaining his hands and reattaching the chains to hardware set into the rear portion of the carved ship while he lay stunned.
The Doctor's chains were shortened and his arms drawn up - almost as if the men were positioning him in a very particular spot, but Rose didn't have time to ponder this as she heard noises in the corridor behind her. She quickly ducked into the room, finding a hiding place within a carved nook in the icy wall by the door just as another woman entered the room.
"I say, I do like your dungeon," the Doctor said, his eyes narrowing as the woman approached. The men grabbed him by the legs and forced his ankles into built-in manacles, snapping them closed to effectively secure him to the icy surface. "Most pleasant. All this light? Nothing like most dungeons I've had the misfortune to be in. You could give design tips!" the Doctor said chattily, seemingly oblivious to the chains that bound him.
Rose's eyes widened as the woman turned - her skin was extremely pale, and her eyes flashed with an odd light. She was wearing a simple, white, shift-like garment without sleeves, but she didn't seem to notice the extreme cold. Next to her cold and perfect beauty, Rose suddenly felt like an old, cast-off shoe.
"This room will serve the purpose it was constructed for... Doctor," the woman said, her face wooden and expressionless.
The Doctor turned his head to her, straining at his bonds. "Do I know you?" he asked. "Haven't been myself, lately, but I'm sure I'd remember if we'd been introduced formally."
"You are traveling with a human female. I cannot sense her thoughts or locate her. Tell me how you have managed this," the woman said. Rose watched her carefully, wondering if she was also possessed. While her voice sounded dead and flat like the men's, her vocabulary sounded normal... and her eyes - definitely not normal. Was she the creature the Doctor had told her about? If so, why didn't he recognize her?
"Oh, I don't think I'll be telling you anything," the Doctor said, looking genuinely put out. "You're one of the colonists, aren't you? Or were, maybe? Your accent gives it away, you know - it's a bit flat and uninteresting. Not you, mind you - just your mode of speech. You'll have to make your tone go up just a bit at the end of sentences. Maybe get a little rhythm going? Otherwise I'm just going to nod off here if you keep up that droning."
The woman's face remained impassive. "You continue to resist. Maybe you believe if you keep talking, you will delay the inevitable? My master's eventual lock on your thoughts? A delay only, though. You will not be successful."
The Doctor was clenching his jaw now and Rose was starting to panic. "Oh, I don't know about that," he said, his voice labored. "I'd prefer to keep my thoughts to myself, thanks."
The woman moved over to a small, raised metallic pedestal close to where the Doctor lay bound. She pressed a combination of buttons, and Rose saw a familiar blue-green kaleidoscope of light emanating from the chandelier - but this time, it flashed directly over the Doctor's face. He gasped, then quickly bit his lip to stifle his cry, his face scrunched up in pain.
"You're not possessed," the Doctor said, his voice faint, "whoever you are. Whatever your master has promised you for your help, you have to believe me - it won't deliver. You're mad if you think you'll be able to control it!" His eyes slammed shut as the woman turned another dial, the light intensifying. The wound on his forehead began to ooze again, the blood dangerously close to getting into his eyes.
"It would seem that the closer you are to the power source, the stronger the effect on you. I imagine it is most painful," the woman said, her face darkening. "It is a modification of the colonists' crude technology, but it will be effective... in the end. Your barriers will go down and you will be one of us."
Rose watched as the Doctor convulsed in agony, her view momentarily blocked by the woman's slender body. Her mind raced as she tried to think of a way to help him, and suddenly, the room began to spin as the Doctor cried out....
She was back on Satellite Five... surrounded by equipment and Daleks. Daleks that were about to put an end to her life. Then, suddenly, the groaning noise of the TARDIS filled her ears, and she was enveloped by a warm glow. But when the doors opened, she found herself looking at... herself? Only this other Rose was aglow with a strange light, warm and golden. She felt waves of concern, almost panic - before she found herself kissing this strange creature that looked just like her. Liquid fire flooded into her, and she watched as the other Rose lost consciousness, and her body was lowered gently to the floor. She looked down in bewilderment - the other Rose was wearing very same clothes she remembered wearing on Satellite Five the day they had lost Jack... the day she had lost her first Doctor. Music filled her head and she felt as if she would burst from trying to contain it, but she couldn't help but listen. Where had she heard that song before? Her wandering thoughts ceased as she was again engulfed by flames. The pain became unbearable, and she cried out before slipping into blissful unconsciousness.
Rose opened her eyes, blinking against the sudden bright light. Her eyelids felt heavy, and she struggled to keep them open. She was slumped against the icy wall, still partially hidden within the carved nook detail of the corner. The previous events came flooding back to her and she quickly tucked her leadened limbs beneath her and scanned the room for the Doctor. He was still chained to the pelt-covered platform, his head lolled to one side, eyes shut and mouth slack. The other woman was at the metallic pedestal, a frown marring her otherwise icily perfect features. Was the Doctor alive? Rose's heart beat uncomfortably in her chest as she waited for some sign of life from him.
The woman looked up as the Doctor suddenly groaned softly, his eyelids fluttering as he shifted as much as his bonds would allow. "Not going to work," he rasped out.
"I think I see how you've been able to resist thus far," the woman said, eyeing the display on the pedestal. "You're transferring somehow to the human female." The woman raised her head, looking straight at the niche where Rose tried to hide. "You should not have caused her pain - her cries have given her away. Apprehend her, now," she said.
Rose shrank back, trying to get to her feet to run, but her legs were unresponsive, and she was suddenly grabbed by both arms. The two large men from before had somehow managed to sneak behind her and now she was caught in their iron grip. She saw the Doctor's eyes widen as she struggled in their grasp.
The Doctor began to twist on the raised platform, pulling fruitlessly at his chains. "Let her go," he growled threateningly.
The woman crossed over to Rose, running a single icy finger along Rose's chin. "Your companions are always trying to save you, aren't they, Doctor? And this one is no different." Rose felt the woman's strange eyes on her as the unnatural fear once again started to build in her chest. She shuddered, jerking away from the woman's touch.
"What would you do to save her?" the woman said, turning away from Rose.
The Doctor stilled, but said nothing, his eyes darting from the woman's face to Rose's.
"I will let her go unharmed if you submit to us."
Rose caught his eye and violently shook her head. The Doctor looked at her, stricken, his hearts in his eyes. He mouthed 'I'll save you' to Rose before swallowing hard and giving the woman a deadly stare.
"I don't think so," he growled. "Let her go!"
"Take her away," the woman ordered, and Rose was suddenly jerked forward by the two men. She tried digging the heels of her boots into the icy rock, but the men were too strong. She was jerked roughly forward, causing her to fall to her knees, scraping them on the rough surface. Rose cried out in pain, and she could hear chains clanking as the Doctor renewed his efforts to free himself.
"No, no, no, no!" he shouted as Rose was hauled up and dragged toward the entry. "You can't do this - she's no threat to you! Let her go, please!"
"She is not a threat - and she will be of great assistance to us," the woman said, moving to follow Rose and her captors. "She may indeed hold the key to your resistance. When you see her again, she will be one of us."
Rose's heart began to race in panic as they entered the corridor, the Doctor's shouted entreaties echoing behind her.
"You will come with us," the woman said to her, her eyes still aglow with a strange light. "It is time for you to meet our master."
Author: mtemplar
Rating: Adult
Characters: The Doctor (Tenth), Rose Tyler
Disclaimer: I do not own 'Doctor Who' and am making no profit from this fanfiction.
Genre: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Graphic Sex, Graphic Violence, Romance
Spoilers: Set mid Series 2
Author's Notes: This story follows the events in To Have And Not To Hold (first chapter of that story is here) and Not Here (the first chapter of that short follow-up is here). It is loosely based on the Fourth Doctor serial 'Image of the Fendahl', and contains elements from the 1996 TV movie and the novel 'The Taking of Planet 5'. Huge hugs to principia_coh for the amazing icon and banner!
Betas: Many, many thanks to platypus, brit_columbia and garpu!
Summary: The Doctor and Rose have been mysteriously diverted to the ice planet Seuls, located within the constellation of Canthares. It soon becomes apparent that things are not at all as they should be, and the newly-formed bond between them will be tested as the trap of an ancient enemy is sprung.
Previous Chapters:
One Two Three Four Five Six
Crossposted to time_and_chips, dwfiction, Teaspoon and The Zero Room.
Chapter 7
After his hands were chained behind his back, the struggling Doctor was hauled to his feet by two of the men and dragged out of the room, the third man and woman following. Rose tiptoed after them, trying to keep her boots from crunching on the icy, rocky floor. The Doctor was apparently squirming too much and Rose winced as one of the men smacked him hard across the face. The Doctor fell to his knees, with the men continuing to drag him. They turned a corner and disappeared into a darkened corridor, and Rose hurried to follow.
Rose moved as silently as she could through the narrow twists and turns of the icy passageway, listening for the sound of the Doctor's trainers dragging on the ice. The silence around her was deafening, broken by the occasional rumbling crack of glacial ice. Numerous, elongated icicles adorned the ceiling above her, and as another crack sounded, she nervously increased her pace as much as her sprained ankle would allow, almost skidding right into the Doctor's abductors in her haste. She paused, watching as the Doctor's limp form was dragged into an expansive, central room.
Rose cautiously peered inside the chamber from the narrow entryway. Natural light flooded the room, and Rose was surprised to see that there was no ceiling - the chandelier that she had seen upon entering the ice palace was clearly visible high above. Occupying the center of the room was a large, raised block of packed snow and ice, carved in the shape of a vessel not unlike a wide, ornate longboat, with leaping flames carved out of solid snow where the stern would be. White pelts covered the flat surface where the stunned Doctor was unceremoniously dumped, the two men quickly unchaining his hands and reattaching the chains to hardware set into the rear portion of the carved ship while he lay stunned.
The Doctor's chains were shortened and his arms drawn up - almost as if the men were positioning him in a very particular spot, but Rose didn't have time to ponder this as she heard noises in the corridor behind her. She quickly ducked into the room, finding a hiding place within a carved nook in the icy wall by the door just as another woman entered the room.
"I say, I do like your dungeon," the Doctor said, his eyes narrowing as the woman approached. The men grabbed him by the legs and forced his ankles into built-in manacles, snapping them closed to effectively secure him to the icy surface. "Most pleasant. All this light? Nothing like most dungeons I've had the misfortune to be in. You could give design tips!" the Doctor said chattily, seemingly oblivious to the chains that bound him.
Rose's eyes widened as the woman turned - her skin was extremely pale, and her eyes flashed with an odd light. She was wearing a simple, white, shift-like garment without sleeves, but she didn't seem to notice the extreme cold. Next to her cold and perfect beauty, Rose suddenly felt like an old, cast-off shoe.
"This room will serve the purpose it was constructed for... Doctor," the woman said, her face wooden and expressionless.
The Doctor turned his head to her, straining at his bonds. "Do I know you?" he asked. "Haven't been myself, lately, but I'm sure I'd remember if we'd been introduced formally."
"You are traveling with a human female. I cannot sense her thoughts or locate her. Tell me how you have managed this," the woman said. Rose watched her carefully, wondering if she was also possessed. While her voice sounded dead and flat like the men's, her vocabulary sounded normal... and her eyes - definitely not normal. Was she the creature the Doctor had told her about? If so, why didn't he recognize her?
"Oh, I don't think I'll be telling you anything," the Doctor said, looking genuinely put out. "You're one of the colonists, aren't you? Or were, maybe? Your accent gives it away, you know - it's a bit flat and uninteresting. Not you, mind you - just your mode of speech. You'll have to make your tone go up just a bit at the end of sentences. Maybe get a little rhythm going? Otherwise I'm just going to nod off here if you keep up that droning."
The woman's face remained impassive. "You continue to resist. Maybe you believe if you keep talking, you will delay the inevitable? My master's eventual lock on your thoughts? A delay only, though. You will not be successful."
The Doctor was clenching his jaw now and Rose was starting to panic. "Oh, I don't know about that," he said, his voice labored. "I'd prefer to keep my thoughts to myself, thanks."
The woman moved over to a small, raised metallic pedestal close to where the Doctor lay bound. She pressed a combination of buttons, and Rose saw a familiar blue-green kaleidoscope of light emanating from the chandelier - but this time, it flashed directly over the Doctor's face. He gasped, then quickly bit his lip to stifle his cry, his face scrunched up in pain.
"You're not possessed," the Doctor said, his voice faint, "whoever you are. Whatever your master has promised you for your help, you have to believe me - it won't deliver. You're mad if you think you'll be able to control it!" His eyes slammed shut as the woman turned another dial, the light intensifying. The wound on his forehead began to ooze again, the blood dangerously close to getting into his eyes.
"It would seem that the closer you are to the power source, the stronger the effect on you. I imagine it is most painful," the woman said, her face darkening. "It is a modification of the colonists' crude technology, but it will be effective... in the end. Your barriers will go down and you will be one of us."
Rose watched as the Doctor convulsed in agony, her view momentarily blocked by the woman's slender body. Her mind raced as she tried to think of a way to help him, and suddenly, the room began to spin as the Doctor cried out....
She was back on Satellite Five... surrounded by equipment and Daleks. Daleks that were about to put an end to her life. Then, suddenly, the groaning noise of the TARDIS filled her ears, and she was enveloped by a warm glow. But when the doors opened, she found herself looking at... herself? Only this other Rose was aglow with a strange light, warm and golden. She felt waves of concern, almost panic - before she found herself kissing this strange creature that looked just like her. Liquid fire flooded into her, and she watched as the other Rose lost consciousness, and her body was lowered gently to the floor. She looked down in bewilderment - the other Rose was wearing very same clothes she remembered wearing on Satellite Five the day they had lost Jack... the day she had lost her first Doctor. Music filled her head and she felt as if she would burst from trying to contain it, but she couldn't help but listen. Where had she heard that song before? Her wandering thoughts ceased as she was again engulfed by flames. The pain became unbearable, and she cried out before slipping into blissful unconsciousness.
Rose opened her eyes, blinking against the sudden bright light. Her eyelids felt heavy, and she struggled to keep them open. She was slumped against the icy wall, still partially hidden within the carved nook detail of the corner. The previous events came flooding back to her and she quickly tucked her leadened limbs beneath her and scanned the room for the Doctor. He was still chained to the pelt-covered platform, his head lolled to one side, eyes shut and mouth slack. The other woman was at the metallic pedestal, a frown marring her otherwise icily perfect features. Was the Doctor alive? Rose's heart beat uncomfortably in her chest as she waited for some sign of life from him.
The woman looked up as the Doctor suddenly groaned softly, his eyelids fluttering as he shifted as much as his bonds would allow. "Not going to work," he rasped out.
"I think I see how you've been able to resist thus far," the woman said, eyeing the display on the pedestal. "You're transferring somehow to the human female." The woman raised her head, looking straight at the niche where Rose tried to hide. "You should not have caused her pain - her cries have given her away. Apprehend her, now," she said.
Rose shrank back, trying to get to her feet to run, but her legs were unresponsive, and she was suddenly grabbed by both arms. The two large men from before had somehow managed to sneak behind her and now she was caught in their iron grip. She saw the Doctor's eyes widen as she struggled in their grasp.
The Doctor began to twist on the raised platform, pulling fruitlessly at his chains. "Let her go," he growled threateningly.
The woman crossed over to Rose, running a single icy finger along Rose's chin. "Your companions are always trying to save you, aren't they, Doctor? And this one is no different." Rose felt the woman's strange eyes on her as the unnatural fear once again started to build in her chest. She shuddered, jerking away from the woman's touch.
"What would you do to save her?" the woman said, turning away from Rose.
The Doctor stilled, but said nothing, his eyes darting from the woman's face to Rose's.
"I will let her go unharmed if you submit to us."
Rose caught his eye and violently shook her head. The Doctor looked at her, stricken, his hearts in his eyes. He mouthed 'I'll save you' to Rose before swallowing hard and giving the woman a deadly stare.
"I don't think so," he growled. "Let her go!"
"Take her away," the woman ordered, and Rose was suddenly jerked forward by the two men. She tried digging the heels of her boots into the icy rock, but the men were too strong. She was jerked roughly forward, causing her to fall to her knees, scraping them on the rough surface. Rose cried out in pain, and she could hear chains clanking as the Doctor renewed his efforts to free himself.
"No, no, no, no!" he shouted as Rose was hauled up and dragged toward the entry. "You can't do this - she's no threat to you! Let her go, please!"
"She is not a threat - and she will be of great assistance to us," the woman said, moving to follow Rose and her captors. "She may indeed hold the key to your resistance. When you see her again, she will be one of us."
Rose's heart began to race in panic as they entered the corridor, the Doctor's shouted entreaties echoing behind her.
"You will come with us," the woman said to her, her eyes still aglow with a strange light. "It is time for you to meet our master."