Part 02 - Chapter 18 - Tug of War
Verity got the coordinates from the Doctor, assuring him she would return momentarily. She did not count on the fact that someone else had other plans. In the darkness there is laughter that would make any sentient being’s blood run cold.
Even as she begins the dematerialization sequence she feels the warping of space around her. Desperate to shake whatever has latched onto her she tries to rematerialize but even as she does so she realizes she is no longer anywhere near Woman Wept.
Panic starts to swell as she realizes how far way she is; it will take her hours to get back to where they were and she knew the Theta and Rose didn’t have hours.
Theta would be able to endure the cold, he wouldn’t be a very happy Time Lord doing so but he would survive, Rose on the other hand would not and that was unacceptable. Theta was still far too fragile to be able to watch Rose die. If him letting the Dalek out at Van Statten’s complex had not told her that, his actions that evening would have; he needs Rose and she needs him. She has to find a way back in time to save them both. Warping through equations faster than she has ever done before in her life, she utilizes every scrap of computing power she possesses taking dangerous shortcuts she would normally never consider with anyone on board, skirting stellar explosions to eek out every bit of momentum and energy she can acquire to transfer herself back faster to the planet. Yet even as she strives to return she has a horrible sinking feeling that it won’t be enough.
*******************************************
In perfectly square, gray room there are four doors. Each door is unique; the first adorned with a precise grid of squares that is alternated black and white. The door on the opposite wall is also adorned in a black and white pattern but in contrast there is no discernible pattern it consists of random swirls some area's darker some lighter never staying still but always the door remains exactly half white and half black.
In that room are four beings older then the universes and they play dangerous games. Adorned in white is the Lady Order, Adorned in Black the Lord Chaos and to their sides stand Lady Time and Lord Death.
If an observer were to watch they would find it difficult to follow the games. One moment the playing board is that of chess but at the next glance, it my be Go and the glance after it might be draughts and at other times as it was now the table was covered in a starry expanse with small figures which were moved sometimes seemingly at random and sometimes with obvious purpose. The silence that pervaded the room was old and powerful but occasionally ever so occasionally words were spoken. This was one of those occasions.
In a sweet lilting harmony Lady Time speaks, “Lord Chaos you have moved inappropriately”. The man attired all in black quickly becomes furious, and if possible becoming even darker in his aspect.
“How dare you think to call that an illegal move? I was well within my rights to move that piece.”
The Lady Time has many times faced his anger and knows that even thought he blusters he must abide by the rules of the games, as they each must, and she, as co-arbiter of the games, has every right to challenge his move.
“Lord Death do you agree?” she asks levelly, without showing she has considered Lord Chaos’ words in any manner. For long moments he considers each of the previous moves, and provides her his agreement.
“She is correct, Lord Chaos, it is not your move.” Fuming Chaos goes to move the piece back to its previous position and Time stays his hand. “You know you cannot do that,” she corrects and much to his fury she reaches out and touches his playing piece ‘destruction’.
Chaos fumes, knowing he has been caught, and anger swells in his breast that Time has yet again influenced this piece. More times than he could count she has intervened in his plans for the Doctor, she has turned him to her own ends as surely as in Go pieces flipped from white to black and back again. So many times in fact that he has had to bring in a foil for his own piece. He silently congratulates himself again for having been able to save that piece from the destruction of Gallifrey he had wrought though the Doctor; that piece would again soon be of use and Time would pay for her interference then. For now it was hidden at the end of the universe. Too many times Time has interfered and the day would soon come when she would regret her influence on his piece that had caused so many of his plans to play out to Order’s favor.
Order stood quietly on her side of the board; her face giving nothing away as she smiles inside, Chaos has unwittingly assisted her plans. The game continues.
************************************************************
Rose is confused; one minute she had been sleeping quietly, the next the Doctor has shifted her to lay over his shoulder as he tries to scale the slope by which she had been deposited in this dark hole. Dark. Something is wrong; it hadn’t been dark earlier had it? Everything is so confused and her head and leg hurt terribly, all the more so for the Doctor’s rough handling. Why is he so upset? Didn’t he say the TARDIS would be returning soon? Oh wait, it was light out then. Had it been that long? Where is the TARDIS?
The Doctor’s hearts sink as he hears the thud, and feels the shift in pressure caused by the sudden descent of the boulder above. Lovely, now they had the option of suffocating to add to freezing to death. He should know better by now to ever ask what else could go wrong. After close to a millennium you would think he would know better then to tempt fate like that. Kicking himself mentally, he shifts Rose from his shoulder back into his arms as he feels her squirming uncomfortably in the firemen’s carry he had her in.
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“Doctor? What’s going on, when did it get so dark? Oh… My head hurts.” Just talking hurts and she doesn’t understand what it is that is causing all his distress. It is like a tangible thing surrounding him and it’s making her head throb.
“Oh Rose… ” He stops not knowing what to say, then screwing up his courage he says what is on his hearts, knowing their odds of survival have just plummeted to new lows. “Rose everything has gone wrong. I’m so sorry I never should have brought you here. Please believe me, I never wanted to hurt you, but…” He pushes himself to finish his thought knowing he may not be able to later, as later is a commodity that is rapidly running out. “I just couldn’t… I just couldn’t let you go. You showed me what it meant to smile again, to laugh… to live again. You have been the light I didn’t think I would ever be allowed to see again… And now my selfishness is going to kill you. Because I couldn’t let you go… let you stay, safe with your mum who loves you. I’m so very sorry Rose.” Tears are now flowing freely down his face as his grief at what he has done overwhelms him. “I’m so very, very, sorry”
Confused, but amazed at his words, she replies in the only way that makes sense. “Doctor I love you, I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. I don’t care if things go wrong, you always fix them; I trust you.”
Not being able to accept that she really understands what she is saying, even though his hearts so want to, he says, “Rose, you don’t understand, I can’t fix it this time. I don’t have any way to fix it. We are stuck in an ice cave, running out of air and soon the only air to be had will be so cold it would flash freeze the air and blood in your lungs! A human can’t survive on Woman Wept after the sun sets, it gets too cold and with the TARDIS gone there is no way to leave.” Finally he crumples to the floor, careful to protect as much of Rose from the cold as he can. He doesn’t know how much longer they have but he wants to give her every moment he can.
Rose whimpers at the intensity of the emotions he is broadcasting and tries to pull away.
As gently as he can he pulls her back to him.
She gasps, actually in pain as she comes in contact with the flesh of his neck, and tries more vigorously to escape the bombardment of emotions. “Please Doctor you’re hurting me…”
His arms immediately loosen as she pushes away from him. Her rejection wounds him to the core and then she does cry out, her arms moving to shield her head in the only way she knows how, regardless of how useless it is in these circumstances. “Pl…please Doctor it hurts, you hurt,” with a heart-rending sob she continues to try to crawl away from him. “Please… so loud… can’t… hurts!”
Suddenly, with a bolt of understanding, he realizes what may be happening and, closing his eyes, he locks his mind. Her sigh and the way her body goes limp into unconsciousness against him tell more clearly then any words exactly what was so distressing her. For so long he hasn’t bothered to shield his mind, because the only one could hear him was the one who’s presence in his mind was the only thing between him and complete insanity. He now understands that his lost friend must have been shielding Rose from his out of control emotions.
“Oh Rose, I’m sorry I had no idea, even in this I have failed you.” Gently he gathers her to his chest, ever so gently rocking her limp form. “Oh my poor Rose.” Again he is crying and this time he is beyond caring even as the tears begin to freeze on his face.
Chapter 19 - And Found
Moving Forward Index 1
Even as she begins the dematerialization sequence she feels the warping of space around her. Desperate to shake whatever has latched onto her she tries to rematerialize but even as she does so she realizes she is no longer anywhere near Woman Wept.
Panic starts to swell as she realizes how far way she is; it will take her hours to get back to where they were and she knew the Theta and Rose didn’t have hours.
Theta would be able to endure the cold, he wouldn’t be a very happy Time Lord doing so but he would survive, Rose on the other hand would not and that was unacceptable. Theta was still far too fragile to be able to watch Rose die. If him letting the Dalek out at Van Statten’s complex had not told her that, his actions that evening would have; he needs Rose and she needs him. She has to find a way back in time to save them both. Warping through equations faster than she has ever done before in her life, she utilizes every scrap of computing power she possesses taking dangerous shortcuts she would normally never consider with anyone on board, skirting stellar explosions to eek out every bit of momentum and energy she can acquire to transfer herself back faster to the planet. Yet even as she strives to return she has a horrible sinking feeling that it won’t be enough.
*******************************************
In perfectly square, gray room there are four doors. Each door is unique; the first adorned with a precise grid of squares that is alternated black and white. The door on the opposite wall is also adorned in a black and white pattern but in contrast there is no discernible pattern it consists of random swirls some area's darker some lighter never staying still but always the door remains exactly half white and half black.
In that room are four beings older then the universes and they play dangerous games. Adorned in white is the Lady Order, Adorned in Black the Lord Chaos and to their sides stand Lady Time and Lord Death.
If an observer were to watch they would find it difficult to follow the games. One moment the playing board is that of chess but at the next glance, it my be Go and the glance after it might be draughts and at other times as it was now the table was covered in a starry expanse with small figures which were moved sometimes seemingly at random and sometimes with obvious purpose. The silence that pervaded the room was old and powerful but occasionally ever so occasionally words were spoken. This was one of those occasions.
In a sweet lilting harmony Lady Time speaks, “Lord Chaos you have moved inappropriately”. The man attired all in black quickly becomes furious, and if possible becoming even darker in his aspect.
“How dare you think to call that an illegal move? I was well within my rights to move that piece.”
The Lady Time has many times faced his anger and knows that even thought he blusters he must abide by the rules of the games, as they each must, and she, as co-arbiter of the games, has every right to challenge his move.
“Lord Death do you agree?” she asks levelly, without showing she has considered Lord Chaos’ words in any manner. For long moments he considers each of the previous moves, and provides her his agreement.
“She is correct, Lord Chaos, it is not your move.” Fuming Chaos goes to move the piece back to its previous position and Time stays his hand. “You know you cannot do that,” she corrects and much to his fury she reaches out and touches his playing piece ‘destruction’.
Chaos fumes, knowing he has been caught, and anger swells in his breast that Time has yet again influenced this piece. More times than he could count she has intervened in his plans for the Doctor, she has turned him to her own ends as surely as in Go pieces flipped from white to black and back again. So many times in fact that he has had to bring in a foil for his own piece. He silently congratulates himself again for having been able to save that piece from the destruction of Gallifrey he had wrought though the Doctor; that piece would again soon be of use and Time would pay for her interference then. For now it was hidden at the end of the universe. Too many times Time has interfered and the day would soon come when she would regret her influence on his piece that had caused so many of his plans to play out to Order’s favor.
Order stood quietly on her side of the board; her face giving nothing away as she smiles inside, Chaos has unwittingly assisted her plans. The game continues.
************************************************************
Rose is confused; one minute she had been sleeping quietly, the next the Doctor has shifted her to lay over his shoulder as he tries to scale the slope by which she had been deposited in this dark hole. Dark. Something is wrong; it hadn’t been dark earlier had it? Everything is so confused and her head and leg hurt terribly, all the more so for the Doctor’s rough handling. Why is he so upset? Didn’t he say the TARDIS would be returning soon? Oh wait, it was light out then. Had it been that long? Where is the TARDIS?
The Doctor’s hearts sink as he hears the thud, and feels the shift in pressure caused by the sudden descent of the boulder above. Lovely, now they had the option of suffocating to add to freezing to death. He should know better by now to ever ask what else could go wrong. After close to a millennium you would think he would know better then to tempt fate like that. Kicking himself mentally, he shifts Rose from his shoulder back into his arms as he feels her squirming uncomfortably in the firemen’s carry he had her in.
------------
“Doctor? What’s going on, when did it get so dark? Oh… My head hurts.” Just talking hurts and she doesn’t understand what it is that is causing all his distress. It is like a tangible thing surrounding him and it’s making her head throb.
“Oh Rose… ” He stops not knowing what to say, then screwing up his courage he says what is on his hearts, knowing their odds of survival have just plummeted to new lows. “Rose everything has gone wrong. I’m so sorry I never should have brought you here. Please believe me, I never wanted to hurt you, but…” He pushes himself to finish his thought knowing he may not be able to later, as later is a commodity that is rapidly running out. “I just couldn’t… I just couldn’t let you go. You showed me what it meant to smile again, to laugh… to live again. You have been the light I didn’t think I would ever be allowed to see again… And now my selfishness is going to kill you. Because I couldn’t let you go… let you stay, safe with your mum who loves you. I’m so very sorry Rose.” Tears are now flowing freely down his face as his grief at what he has done overwhelms him. “I’m so very, very, sorry”
Confused, but amazed at his words, she replies in the only way that makes sense. “Doctor I love you, I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. I don’t care if things go wrong, you always fix them; I trust you.”
Not being able to accept that she really understands what she is saying, even though his hearts so want to, he says, “Rose, you don’t understand, I can’t fix it this time. I don’t have any way to fix it. We are stuck in an ice cave, running out of air and soon the only air to be had will be so cold it would flash freeze the air and blood in your lungs! A human can’t survive on Woman Wept after the sun sets, it gets too cold and with the TARDIS gone there is no way to leave.” Finally he crumples to the floor, careful to protect as much of Rose from the cold as he can. He doesn’t know how much longer they have but he wants to give her every moment he can.
Rose whimpers at the intensity of the emotions he is broadcasting and tries to pull away.
As gently as he can he pulls her back to him.
She gasps, actually in pain as she comes in contact with the flesh of his neck, and tries more vigorously to escape the bombardment of emotions. “Please Doctor you’re hurting me…”
His arms immediately loosen as she pushes away from him. Her rejection wounds him to the core and then she does cry out, her arms moving to shield her head in the only way she knows how, regardless of how useless it is in these circumstances. “Pl…please Doctor it hurts, you hurt,” with a heart-rending sob she continues to try to crawl away from him. “Please… so loud… can’t… hurts!”
Suddenly, with a bolt of understanding, he realizes what may be happening and, closing his eyes, he locks his mind. Her sigh and the way her body goes limp into unconsciousness against him tell more clearly then any words exactly what was so distressing her. For so long he hasn’t bothered to shield his mind, because the only one could hear him was the one who’s presence in his mind was the only thing between him and complete insanity. He now understands that his lost friend must have been shielding Rose from his out of control emotions.
“Oh Rose, I’m sorry I had no idea, even in this I have failed you.” Gently he gathers her to his chest, ever so gently rocking her limp form. “Oh my poor Rose.” Again he is crying and this time he is beyond caring even as the tears begin to freeze on his face.
Chapter 19 - And Found
Moving Forward Index 1