Chapter Text
Rose Tyler rushed into the room. Despite her hectic movements, she never felt more rejuvenated. It was a familiar sensation—her heart pounding, her blood racing, her legs moving, her eyes alert. The first time she felt this way was when she was nineteen years old, the day she met the Doctor.
The room she entered was white with many monitors up and running. People in lab coats and pocket protectors were yelling across the room, trying to relay or gather more data. Some were rolling their chairs from their desks to another. Along the walls were armed forces with guns strapped to their sides, their bodies as tense as everyone else’s. In the front of the room was a familiar balding man. His back to her as he stared at the large screen in front of him. He groaned and rubbed the top of his balding head. The orange color of the hair he had left was now a solid white.
Rose dodged past the tech geeks, as her brother once called them, and went straight for the man up front. He turned to her and sighed. “Rose, what are you doing here?” he asked. His eyes had turned to grey in his age and the wrinkles around his eyes and lips were more prominent then she had ever seen them before. He had dark age spots near his forehead and his freckles had lightened against the pale skin of his nose and cheeks.
“Is it true?”
The man sighed and turned back to the screen. “Shannon told you, didn’t she?”
Rose narrowed her eyes. “At least she talks to me! You’ve been avoiding me the pass few days. Is this why? What do you know? Tell me!”
He nodded. “The walls seem to be thin once again. But,” he quickly interrupted before she could sigh in relief, “But, we don’t think it’s thin there, in the other world. As far as we know, the veil between worlds is damaged only on our end. All attempts to make it to that world has been in vain. I didn’t tell you, Rose, because I didn’t want to give your hopes up.”
She still felt that little leap inside of her at the idea of returning. “You should have told me anyway. I’m the only one here that has the expertise in this. If the veil is damaged, then there is only one man that could help us and he isn’t in this world.”
He shook his head at her. “Ever since John died, Rose, you’ve been waiting for this. Where you see hope, the rest of us see a disaster waiting to happen. I am not putting you in charge or anywhere near this project, not until I know for sure you wouldn’t just break the veil even more just to get to your Doctor.”
John Tyler had died only two years after they all returned to this world, Pete’s World. He wasn’t used to being a human. He never got used to it. Forgetting for a split second he had a human biology, and not his Time Lord superior biology, he had stepped into a radioactive room that was about to explode. The radiation wasn’t enough to kill him, had he been a Time Lord, it was enough to do serious harm to a human. And, although he saved thousands of lives and was deemed a hero, he eventually died by radiation poisoning and Rose lost her fiancé.
She gasped. “How could you say that? I wouldn’t endanger anyone or anything.”
Before he could say anything, a youngish, lean scientist with wild hair and thick glasses rushed up to them. “Director Tyler, there’s been a breach!”
Director Tyler snapped his head up. “A breach?” he questioned.
“Yes, sir. One of our probes made it through the veil and we are getting feedback.”
“Pull it up on screen.” He turned back to Rose. “Leave,” he ordered.
“I’m not going anywhere,” came the firm reply.
“Rose!”
“Tony!” she snapped back. “I’m your older sister, not your granddaughter. Don’t order me around like our mum.”
He stared at her before shaking his head. “You look young enough to be Shannon. Fine.” He turned back to the screen without another word, as if trying to forget she was there.
When they had been younger, Rose was very close with Tony. It wasn’t until he became a grandpa that their relationship started to really disintegrate. She couldn’t blame him. It must be hard, growing old and seeing his older sister stay the same.
She turned back to the screen. Pictures were lined up side-by-side with the same images. It was a dark cloud covered sky. The clouds looked strange, as if they were layered on top of one another, blocking their sight of the sky. They were thick, very thick.
“No zeppelins,” Rose noted. She had to bite her lip to keep from smiling. “Let’s dig out the dimension cannons. I’m willing to go.”
“Not yet, Rose. Don’t go jumping the gun. For all we know this could be a different world entirely.” He turned his head and looked her straight in the eye. “It might not even be your universe.” He turned back to the pictures. “I’ve never seen cloud coverage like that before. Have you?”
She stepped forward to study it and began mentally going over each planet she ever visited. Rose shook her head and leaned back. “No,” she admitted. “But I’ve done this before. I’ll just do the same thing I did last time and keep jumping until I find him.”
“No, Rose,” her brother said before turning to talk to one of the scientists.
She felt her stomach drop and her head lift high as a lightbulb went on in her brain. He’d never let her go. For some reason, she felt certain that her brother wouldn’t let her anywhere near the dimension cannons. Didn’t he see that she didn’t belong there? She never did. Besides, she watched so many people die from old age already, and she didn’t want to stick around to watch her younger brother go the same way.
Since her brother was distracted, Rose left the room. She paused and leaned back against the wall by the door. Her mind was racing with possibilities and hope. She had to go. If Tony wasn’t going to let her, then she would just have to do it without permission.
She should have been the director of Torchwood, but no one was comfortable with a woman who didn’t age in control of an alien government agency. They were afraid she would stay and not leave. She would get power hungry. She never minded before. She didn’t like the idea of being the director, stuck behind a desk, sending others out, and hearing the reports of all those who died. She preferred to be out there, in the action. So, it didn’t bother her that Tony became director, until now. If she was director, there would be no one to tell her no. She wouldn’t have to go behind her brother’s back. Because there was no way she wouldn’t take advantage of this opportunity. She was getting back to her Doctor, even if she had to break in and steal the dimension cannon. She was going.
Rose stood in her office, eyeing the yellow button of the dimension cannon. It was easy to steal for someone who knew more about the building and security than anyone else alive. She was the one who put the dimension cannons away after returning to this world.
She had just finished writing goodbye letters to her brother and his family. She even included a last will and testament since she couldn’t take anything with her. Tony’s granddaughter, Shannon, would get most of her worldly possessions. Shannon and Rose got along swimmingly, despite the huge age difference.
Rose sighed and stood up, taking the dimension cannon carefully in her hand. She placed it around her neck and held the button between her two thumbs. This was it. “Please work. Please, please, please ,” she begged before closing her eyes and pushing her thumb down.
There was a silent pop as she disappeared and another one as she reappeared someplace else entirely.
She could tell she was outside by the breeze brushing through her hair and the sound of leaves rustling somewhere close by. Confused, for she should have reappeared in the same spot she disappeared from, she opened her eyes and gasped. This was not Earth. The ground around her was rust-color and empty, but in the distance, from what she could see in the blueish, orange sky, was trees that looked like they sparkled. It was dry, very dry, and warm. She saw no sign of civilization, so she headed for the nearest shelter, which were the trees. The closer she got to the trees, the more she noticed something off about them. The leaves weren’t green. They were silver. The little bit of grass around it wasn’t green either. It was red. They kind of blended in with the rusty color of the sand around it. She heard something about trees with silver leaves and red grass before. Many, many years ago. She just couldn’t remember what it was.
She turned and sighed in relief. She was on top of a hill and in the distance she could see civilization. An advanced-looking city. Spires reached for the sky, flying ships flew around. Some distance behind the city, Rose could see the peaks of mountains. It was a beautiful sight. It would take a few hours to get there, but Rose was used to tough situations. She started to slide carefully down the hill to start her walk through the desert.
Rose tugged on the hem of her hoodie, realizing just how much she stood out with the people of the city. Oddly, however, most just gave her a cursory glance. There was no one wondering about the strange girl wearing strange clothing. Where she was wearing a gray hoodie over a pink T-shirt and dark jeans, everyone else was wearing robes in red, brown, and orange shades.
The air around her was tense and everyone looked weary. She was walking around what looked to be some shopping center. Stores on either side of the street, the doors open to allow people in and out. Strange flying vehicles flew above her and would land on the side of the streets. Air cars. She’d seen a version of them used on New Earth.
“…he was lost to the Nightmare Child…”
“…war gone on so long…”
“…safe here in Arcadia…”
“…the sky trenches will hold…”
As Rose walked through the street, she heard snippets of conversations, but very little of it made sense. The only thing she concluded by listening in was that there was some terrible war going on and people were scared but believed they were safe here in a city called Arcadia, or was that the planet's name? The war was taking place mostly in space, so this was some advanced civilization, despite their archaic-looking clothes.
Rose stepped inside some white, café-looking place, hoping to be able to sit down. She slid inside a booth by the window and pulled out her old phone. If she was in the right universe, she should be able to call the Tardis.
She twisted her phone nervously in her hand as she glanced around the café. There were only a few people there, all wearing some cloak-like outfit. From what she saw, it looked like she was in the wealthy part of the city. Everything was cleaned and so…so structured. Not like the slums of a city would be.
“…right above us,” someone in the booth beside her was saying to his colleague. His tone was low and serious. “It’s gotten too close to home. I’m thinking of taking my family to the Capitol.”
“The Capitol! Arcadia is the most protected city on the planet. They will not get through the sky trenches,” the man’s colleague assured.
“The fighting is taking place right above us. I don’t feel safe.”
Rose turned her attention back to her phone and flipped it up. She found the Tardis number, but hesitated again. This was the moment where she would find out if this was the right world, her world. If war found this city, she was going to need the Doctor’s help, but if this wasn’t the right world…She didn’t know what she would do.
She hit the button and put it to her ear. She bit her lip as she played with her hoop earring nervously. Her heart was pounding in her chest.
To her utmost relief, the phone began to ring.
She let out a sound between a sob and a laugh as she waited for the Doctor to pick up. She slapped her free hand to her mouth in an effort to keep sound from escaping. She didn’t want to grab anyone’s attention and more than she needed to.
The phone continued to ring.
What if he wasn’t in the Tardis? What if he was in the middle of some adventure with a new companion and missed her call?
She heard a click and quickly sat up with a grin, but before she could say a single word someone began yelling at her.
“Romania! Enough!” The voice sounded gruff and rough. Old. “I’m already here! There is no need to pester me!”
Rose could hear the sound of the Tardis whooshing on the other end of the phone. So, she had the right number. Did the Doctor regenerate? Who was Romania, his new companion?
“Doc…”
“If this is not important, Romania, I can’t talk right now!”
A bang and crash sound.
“No! No, no, no! They’re getting through the barrier! Evacuate Arcadia!”
There was a click telling Rose he hung up.
Arcadia? That was where she…A loud alarm system started blaring throughout the city, followed by screams.
Rose stuffed the phone into her pocket as she turned to look out the window. The sky had darkened. People were screaming and running.
Her eyes widened as she saw thousands of Daleks flying around. There were several big Dalek ships hovering overhead, darkening the sky. The other people in the café with her were already scrambling to get to safety. Rose, however, was frozen at the sight of so many Daleks. How? John took care of them. Didn’t he?
She quickly stood up when what she was seeing finally registered. The Daleks were bombing the town. People running for cover, screaming. The sky was dark from the ships and the smoke. And Rose was just sitting there? No, that wouldn’t do. Rose reached into her pocket to take her phone back out when a shot was fired just outside the café. The force of the blast sent her flying off her feet and into the opposite wall. Her head hit it and she yelled in pain as her vision faded. She was out by the time she landed on the ground.
Screams, smoke, heat, and pain.
Rose groaned as her eyes fluttered open. She went to move her arm, but was forced to stop. “AH!” she yelled as she finally registered her pain. Her head hurt. Her back hurt. Her arm was throbbing. And there was something poking at her shoulder blades.
She glanced slowly around to take in everything. The window was shattered. Outside was dark and red. She could see heavy dark smoke rising up from nearby buildings. She could hear Pew sounds from some sort of weapons, but worst of all she heard the familiar “EX-TER-MIN-ATE” getting repeated over and over again by several Daleks.
She moved her other arm slowly as she glanced down at herself. She was lying in rumble and her arm was bleeding. She carefully sat up. Her heart was racing on adrenaline. Wherever Daleks were, the Doctor wasn’t far. At least, she hoped. She ignored her injured arm as she rushed towards the door, pausing at the door frame to take a cautious look around the street.
She coughed and her eyes began to sting from the smoke.
“YOU WILL BE EX-TER-MIN-ATE!”
The sound was coming from up the street and it was quickly followed by several young screams. Realizing that children were in trouble, Rose abandoned her first reaction to run the other way. She had no weapon that could penetrate the Daleks armor, just her Torchwood issued blaster handgun. It was smaller than the energy blaster Rose used before, but still packed a hell of a punch. However, not enough of a punch to kill a Dalek, a race that didn’t exist in Pete’s World. It would have to do, though. It used some sort of laser instead of an energy blast.
Rose raced towards the sounds pausing at the end of the street and peer around the corner.
There were two Dalek’s gathering a handful of scared children in the middle of the street. The youngest child must only be six or seven, while the oldest looked to be around ten or eleven. They were crying and huddling together. The oldest was covering the face of the youngest to block her from the sight that was sure to come. The two Dalek raised their eyestalk to the children.
Without thinking, Rose raced out. “Oi, Daleks! You ‘member me?”
The Dalek’s slowly turned. “WHO ARE YOU?” one asked in that same electronic-like voice.
“The abomination,” Rose said as casually as she could when faced with two Daleks. “The Bad Wolf. I killed your Emperor.”
One of the Daleks rolled forward. “THIS IS TIME LORD TRICK-ER-Y! OUR EMP-ER-OR STILL LI-VES!”
Rose blinked. “What? No, he’s not. You’re a little behind on the times, mate. I killed him. I exterminated him.” She waited for the other Dalek to roll forward yelling, “EX-TER-MIN-ATE!” before pulling out her handgun and firing directly at one of the eyestalk. That Dalek wheeled back and shook its eyestalk. “BLIND! I AM BL-IND!”
She didn’t have much time to dodge behind the building just as the other Dalek began firing. “EX-TER-MIN-ATE! EX-TER-MIN-ATE!” they both yelled. She peered around the building to fire back at them.
The blinded Dalek dropped his useless eyestalk to the ground. An opening appeared in his armor and a new one came out. Rose stared, for she never saw that before and didn’t realize Daleks had a replacement hidden away inside their armor.
“EX-TER-MIN-ATE!”
She quickly ducked back behind the building.
The children screamed again, reminding Rose of their vulnerability. “EX-TER-MIN-ATE THE CHILD-REN!”
Rose glanced around the building to see the Daleks turn their attention back to the children. She raised her gun, aimed, and fired. With the Daleks facing away from her, she couldn’t shot their eyestalk, but she was able to get their attention away from the children. That was what mattered to her.
They turned back to her.
Before anything else could be done, a ship flew past, shooting at the Daleks as it went. Rose flung herself at the side of the building and covered her head. She could hear the children screaming past the sound of gunfire and rumble. Using the wall, she made her way to the direction of the screams, trying to locate the children. There was so much dust in the air, it made it hard to see, but she located one child and took her hand. “C’mon!” she yelled at the little girl. “We must go!”
“Usuna! Usuna!” the girl yelled as she glanced behind them. The girl glanced at Rose and started speaking in some musical language she didn’t understand. Her teary, light green eyes were so wide with fear. Her dark blond hair was half hidden beneath a red, wool-like hat. In the same material as her hat, she wore a long robe or dress, also red and brown. Her shoes were little black flats. She continue to talk as Rose led her to the wall of the building.
Rose knelt down before her. “What are you saying? I don’t understand.”
The girl pointed to the street. “Usuna! Usuna!”
“Usuna? Is that the name of one of the other kids? We have to wait for the dust to settle.”
The girl huddled next to her, and Rose bent over slightly to cover her little body from sight, as much as she could. She made little whimpering sounds.
Once the dust had settled, however, there were no other children in sight. They had all scattered. The girl in her arms let out a scared sob. Rose rubbed her hands up and down her arm to provide comfort while she wondered what to do. They couldn’t stay here, but Rose didn’t know this planet at all. Didn’t even know its name.
But she still had her phone.
With one arm still around the girl, Rose dug into her pocket. She sighed in relief when she felt her phone. She was afraid she lost it in the chaos. She pulled it out and called the Tardis again. The phone rang and rang, but no one picked up this time. That could mean the Doctor was on the planet now. Maybe even in this very city somewhere.
Rose put the phone back into her pocket and pulled the girl away from her. She knelt down to the girl’s level and placed the palm of her hand against her own chest. “Rose,” she said as she pointed to her chest again. “Rose.”
The girl snuffled and wiped her eyes against her sleeve. “R-Rose.” She pointed to her.
Rose smiled and nodded. “That’s right. I’m Rose. And you are?” The girl blinked at her. Rose placed a hand on her chest again. “Rose.” She pointed at the girl.
“Malikacurlpousciss.”
Rose eyes widen at the long name. “Malika?” she asked, hoping the girl would take the shorter version of her name. The girl sniffed again and nodded.
Rose kept her smile on her face in hopes of keeping the girl calm as she nodded. “Rose.” She pointed to herself. “Malika.” She pointed to the girl.
The girl’s face was dirty, but Rose was sure hers wasn’t much better. The girl, Malika, was very young, maybe around six. She still had a bit of baby fat around her cheeks. She was the cutest thing. Rose hadn’t been this close to a child since her brother’s grandchildren were young.
Rose took Malika’s hand and held it up to the girl's face. “Stay with me, okay? Hold on to my hand and don’t let go. Understand?” Rose tightened her grip slightly, hoping the girl would understand what she was trying to say.
The girl nodded and said something in her musical language. She tightened her grip as well and Rose hoped that meant she understood.
“I have a friend somewhere that can help us. So, stay with me,” she repeated before standing up. “We’ll have to find him. And he would be…” she started glancing around. “…close to the main action, I’m sure.”
Behind them, in the direction Rose came from, there seemed to be more fighting. The huge Dalek ship was hovering just over that part of the city. If the Doctor was anywhere, that was where he’d be.
“C’mon, Malika,” she said before rushing forward. She made sure they stayed close to the buildings and any cover.
Rose was right. It was heavy with soldiers wearing crimson armor with helmets and ivory capes and Daleks. Malika huddled closer to her as they crept around burning rumble and metal from dead Daleks. There were several corpses as well, and Rose tried her best to shield the small child from those sights, but there were too many of them.
They were hiding behind a fallen structure by a ruined building when Rose finally got her first confirmation that the Doctor was nearby. A soldier ducked behind the same structure just as a Dalek fired. He glanced over at them and spoke in that same musical language. Malika, too afraid, only pushed further into Rose's arms, hiding her face in her chest.
“Can you understand me?” Rose yelled at him.
The soldier peeked over the side of the structure quickly before turning back to her. He nodded. “What are you doing here?” he demanded in perfect English. “You need to head out of the city!” He eyed her. “What are you? Human? How’d you get here? This is no place…”
“The Doctor,” Rose interrupted, knowing time was limited. “I’m looking for a man called the Doctor. He flies something that looks like a blue police box.”
“I know who you speak of, woman!” He peered around the structure again and fired his weapon. “Did he foolishly bring you here? He’s something of a renegade, but this is going too far to bring a human here of all places.”
Rose held Malika tighter to her and ducked her head as a blast was sent past their heads. It hit the building and dust and rumble fell upon them. Rose shook her head and wiped her eyes to get the dust away from them. “He didn’t!” she said as if they weren’t interrupted. “But I need to find him. Is he here?”
He nodded. “He landed his Tardis not far from here. That way.” He pointed down an alleyway on their left. “But it’s not safe!”
“And where is it safe?”
The soldier paused and glanced at her. He, apparently, had no answer. His eyes flickered down to Malika and his face softened. He nodded at Rose. “Good luck. I’ll cover you.”
He stood up and began firing at the Daleks. Rose, knowing the odds of him making it were slim, made sure his sacrifice was worth it. She didn’t waste time picking Malika up to her feet and rushing with their heads down towards the alleyway. Malika began crying again, but she stayed with her.
It took another few minutes to catch sight of that beautiful blue box. It was standing so mystically in the ruins of a building. It was on the other side of the street, though, and the street held no barriers for protection if they needed it.
Rose knelt down beside Malika and held up their hands again. She tightened it. “We’re gonna run and we can’t stop runnin’, Malika. Hold on to my hand and don’t let go.” She pointed to the Tardis. “That is where we are going. Hold on.”
Malika tightened her grip and nodded her head.
Rose smiled at her. “Good.” She stood up and glanced around the corner to observe the street. It seemed empty. She saw no sign of any Daleks and she could only hear them in the distance. This was their chance.
Rose nodded to Malika in warning before running. “Don’t stop!”
They made it safely across without incident. Rose quickly climbed over the ruined wall and helped Malika over as well. They stumbled over the rumble before finally making it to the Tardis. Standing at the door, Rose could feel grateful tears in her eyes. Oh, she missed her so much.
She reached for the chain around her neck and pulled out the key she never let out of her sight. Malika watched her with curious eyes as Rose inserted the key and unlocked the door.
Malika spoke in a rush and her eyes were wide, but Rose still couldn’t understand her. Why? The Tardis was supposed to translate any language. Why wasn’t Rose understanding Malika?
They entered the Tardis and the room lit up with fond greetings. A rush of warm affection entered Rose’s mind. She smiled and closed the door. She finally felt safe now that she was there. Well, safer at least.
“Oh, look at you, beautiful!”
The interior was different. White, stark, empty, but warm, welcoming, maternal. There were strange round things all over the walls. In the middle of the room was the console. It looked a little smaller than the one she was familiar with, but it was still her Tardis, the Doctor’s Tardis. It felt right.
“I didn’t realize you could change.” Rose walked up to the console, with Malika still holding to her hand, and patted it fondly. “Doctor!” she called out, not really expecting a reply. She wasn’t surprised when none came.
She glanced down at Malika. “C’mon, Malika. Let’s get you cleaned up and in a bed. I’m sure you could use the rest. I know I can.” She glanced down at her arm. Dry blood coated a wound on her upper arm. “And I sure can use the clean up as well. The Doctor wouldn’t mind.”
Malika planted her feet on the ground and shook her head when Rose tried to guide her down a corridor. She spoke, but Rose still didn’t understand her.
“Tardis, girl, why can’t I understand her?” Rose asked, looking up at the Tardis. “Is something wrong?”
The Tardis hummed and the girl relaxed. She looked at the console before slowly moving her feet towards Rose. She still looked hesitant, but she reached up for Rose’s hand and allowed herself to be led down the corridor.
None of that answered Rose’s question, if anything it added to her question. Did Malika understand the Tardis? How? Was she a telepath like the Doctor?
They found a room quickly enough, equipped with a bathroom and clothes. It was a small, childish room. The walls had a moving scenery, an ocean. Smoothing and calming. It was a small room with a bed that was smaller than a full size, but a little larger than a twin. Rose wanted to leave Malika the room, but the girl latched on to her and Rose decided to stay. No doubt the girl would have nightmares. It took some time to wash and change before they settled on the bed.
After they both settled under the covers, it wasn’t long before they fell asleep to the gentle hum of the Tardis.