darkbunnyrabbit (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
darkbunnyrabbit) wrote2008-07-06 09:34 am
darkbunnyrabbit) wrote2008-07-06 09:34 am
Entry tags:
One Times Infinity 6/? (DW Post-DD AU D/R fic)
Title: One Times Infinity
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: Anything up to Doomsday, There will occasionally be canon elements included from any aired episode of Torchwood of Doctor Who, however.
Pairings: Doc/Rose, Rose/Jack
Characters: 10, Rose
Warnings: Flippantly AU
Genre: Adventure, Romance
Beta:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
gwen_harkness
Summary: The walls between universes are more fragile than they seem. Once again it falls to the Doctor to save more than one universe...but can he fight what he wants the most? And who is this unseen enemy? A post-Doomsday reunion, of sorts.
Previous Chapters
Disclaimer: No. Just. No.
AN: Wow. I am so rusty at ficcing, and moreso at DW fic...but I couldn't resist picking this one back up. Mostly because of all the parallels I found between the finale and what I had planned for this. Naturally, I won't go into what parts were similar, but anyone who's seen it should be able to find a few of the similarities in the fic already.
So...forgive me for rubbish writing, but at least I'm writing, right?
---
One Times Infinity
Chapter 6: Nascency
"We had to keep going, though, too many people, too much, depended on us – on him." Her voice was distinctively cold as she picked up her story, eyes closed. "And continue he did, working out a way to stop it, to save everyone. I still remember his victory whoop. It was the last thing I heard before the console room was ripped in half and I was sent hurtling into nothingness."
She opened her eyes. "And then I woke up here."
He sighed softly, leaning against the console, staring blankly ahead at the information scrolling across the screen before him. Silence filled the room so completely that he half expected they couldn't have spoken even if they wanted to. Not that he could honestly blame Rose for choosing not to say a word.
She'd been through so much in such a short period of time. He couldn't help that blazing admiration that swelled in his chest at the thought of how well she was coping with all of it. Pure human tenacity, that was – different universe or not. Even if Rose hadn't, he needed the time to think. To figure out what was going on, how it related to this universe... and what to do with this Rose.
She was the one to break the stalemate in the end.
"It's coming, you know."
He glanced over his shoulder wordlessly.
"Whatever that was... it's moving. He – you – figured that much out in the time he had left. Whatever destroyed my universe wasn't aiming for it.
"There's nothing I can do." He turned back toward the console with a frown, twisting knobs and levers with vigour. "Universal walls are sealed now. Whatever surge of energy allowed you to come here is gone. Can't do anything about that. Not now." He shrugged. "Couldn't go anywhere even if I knew what it was."
He felt her moving closer more than heard it. "So... what? You're just gonna ignore it? Pretend it didn't happen?"
"There's nothing I can do!" He turned a cold glare up at her. "Your world is gone... your entire universe is gone, and there's nothing I can do about it. Universes die every single minute, every single second, every nanosecond! I'm just sorry it had to be yours – I really am."
"That's it then?" Her dark eyes hardened with anger and hurt. "You say that you’re sorry and I'm supposed to just...what? Travel with you now?"
"No." He frowned up at her. Never. He couldn't... wouldn't take that. She wasn't his Rose, and he wasn't her Doctor. It wasn't right. It would only cause more pain for everyone involved.
Her eyebrows arched in challenge. "You just gonna drop me off, then? Cos I swear to you, I'm not gonna give up. I'll find a way."
"There is no way." He disengaged from the vortex with a fierce yank on a lever that needed tightening, and walked resolutely to the door, shoving it open to reveal a decently furnished flat. He'd had plans for it once--lifetimes ago. "It's paid up the next...oh, five years. 1967. Good year, that."
For a few long moments, cold eyes regarded him with a betrayal he had seen only once before, before the woman named Rose shook her head. "You're nothing like him, you know. My Doctor would have never given up."
His grip on the wooden door tightened until his nails carved arcs into it. "Get out. Now."
Her mouth tightened into a thin line, and she walked out of the TARDIS without a word.
--
He was smiling like an idiot. He was smiling like a complete geek, taking in the sights of Torchwood tower, and she was trying desperately not to copy him. A high-ranking Torchwood executive did not escort a guest through highly classified sections of the building while grinning like a loon. She'd given him several significant looks, and even a few half-hearted jabs, but he'd just looked down at her innocently, shot off a quip, and gone back to the damn infectious grinning.
Still, they were making progress. They had three of the four bits and bobs that he'd need. She wasn't entirely certain what they did, and if it were anyone else, she'd have wondered how he'd known they'd had any of it at all. Most of it was salvaged alien tech they hadn't identified yet.
They only had one more destination. This one was less a bit of the engine than the body of the automobile, or so she'd gathered from his hasty explanations. It was also the only one they couldn't carry around, given that it was nearly the size of a room. And really, unless they were shrinking it somehow, she was a bit sceptical about how they planned on getting anywhere else after the initial jump.
She managed to make it to the final room with only a few uncontrolled lip twitches that she staunchly determined were little more than muscle spasms. A quick wave of a security card and a few words saw them ushered into the room, inhabited by a lone scientist.
The slim woman turned in surprise at their entrance, absently smoothing her white lab coat. "Miss Tyler! I wasn't told I'd be having help today."
"Nah, that's because it was spur of the moment!" The Doctor spoke before Rose could quite get any words out, offering his hand toward the woman. "More fun that way."
"Ah...if you say so, Mr...?"
"Smith." Rose smiled quickly, covering her brief hesitation at the name with a step forward. "Doctor John Smith. John, this is our head scientist of this project, Adeola Jones."
The woman flushed slightly. "If by 'head' you mean ‘only’..." She gave a slight, wry smile, turning toward the large metallic structure that dominated the room. "I think calling it a 'project' might be a bit of a stretch. I still have to figure out whether it does anything before it can be classified a 'project'."
"Oh... no, no, no, this is brilliant!" He squinted his eyes, burying his hands in his pockets and taking a few steps closer toward the dormant machine. For a few heartbeats, Rose was certain he'd withdraw his favourite pair of glasses to inspect the machine. She wasn't entirely sure whether she was relieved when he did nothing but run his hand over his chin in consideration.
"Excuse me?" Adeola frowned, studying the Doctor a few moments, before glancing at the machine again. "Are you telling me you know what this does?"
"Oh yeah..." The Doctor glanced over toward Rose, and she could have sworn it was him looking back at her, instead of another who had been telling her about another Rose's exploits only hours ago. "Rose, would you bring those other pieces here?"
"So you can do it?" Rose figured it was a pointless question, considering his cheer, but it was still hard to believe that it was possible. After her Doctor had been so adamant, so final. Could it really be this simple to go all this time?
His grin was almost blinding as she handed the assorted equipment over to him. "Just watch me."
Ch End
---
AN: After all this time...finally another chapter! Much, much different than I originally intended. Just for fun: Original Chapter Artwork
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: Anything up to Doomsday, There will occasionally be canon elements included from any aired episode of Torchwood of Doctor Who, however.
Pairings: Doc/Rose, Rose/Jack
Characters: 10, Rose
Warnings: Flippantly AU
Genre: Adventure, Romance
Beta:
gwen_harknessSummary: The walls between universes are more fragile than they seem. Once again it falls to the Doctor to save more than one universe...but can he fight what he wants the most? And who is this unseen enemy? A post-Doomsday reunion, of sorts.
Disclaimer: No. Just. No.
AN: Wow. I am so rusty at ficcing, and moreso at DW fic...but I couldn't resist picking this one back up. Mostly because of all the parallels I found between the finale and what I had planned for this. Naturally, I won't go into what parts were similar, but anyone who's seen it should be able to find a few of the similarities in the fic already.
So...forgive me for rubbish writing, but at least I'm writing, right?
One Times Infinity
Chapter 6: Nascency
"We had to keep going, though, too many people, too much, depended on us – on him." Her voice was distinctively cold as she picked up her story, eyes closed. "And continue he did, working out a way to stop it, to save everyone. I still remember his victory whoop. It was the last thing I heard before the console room was ripped in half and I was sent hurtling into nothingness."
She opened her eyes. "And then I woke up here."
He sighed softly, leaning against the console, staring blankly ahead at the information scrolling across the screen before him. Silence filled the room so completely that he half expected they couldn't have spoken even if they wanted to. Not that he could honestly blame Rose for choosing not to say a word.
She'd been through so much in such a short period of time. He couldn't help that blazing admiration that swelled in his chest at the thought of how well she was coping with all of it. Pure human tenacity, that was – different universe or not. Even if Rose hadn't, he needed the time to think. To figure out what was going on, how it related to this universe... and what to do with this Rose.
She was the one to break the stalemate in the end.
"It's coming, you know."
He glanced over his shoulder wordlessly.
"Whatever that was... it's moving. He – you – figured that much out in the time he had left. Whatever destroyed my universe wasn't aiming for it.
"There's nothing I can do." He turned back toward the console with a frown, twisting knobs and levers with vigour. "Universal walls are sealed now. Whatever surge of energy allowed you to come here is gone. Can't do anything about that. Not now." He shrugged. "Couldn't go anywhere even if I knew what it was."
He felt her moving closer more than heard it. "So... what? You're just gonna ignore it? Pretend it didn't happen?"
"There's nothing I can do!" He turned a cold glare up at her. "Your world is gone... your entire universe is gone, and there's nothing I can do about it. Universes die every single minute, every single second, every nanosecond! I'm just sorry it had to be yours – I really am."
"That's it then?" Her dark eyes hardened with anger and hurt. "You say that you’re sorry and I'm supposed to just...what? Travel with you now?"
"No." He frowned up at her. Never. He couldn't... wouldn't take that. She wasn't his Rose, and he wasn't her Doctor. It wasn't right. It would only cause more pain for everyone involved.
Her eyebrows arched in challenge. "You just gonna drop me off, then? Cos I swear to you, I'm not gonna give up. I'll find a way."
"There is no way." He disengaged from the vortex with a fierce yank on a lever that needed tightening, and walked resolutely to the door, shoving it open to reveal a decently furnished flat. He'd had plans for it once--lifetimes ago. "It's paid up the next...oh, five years. 1967. Good year, that."
For a few long moments, cold eyes regarded him with a betrayal he had seen only once before, before the woman named Rose shook her head. "You're nothing like him, you know. My Doctor would have never given up."
His grip on the wooden door tightened until his nails carved arcs into it. "Get out. Now."
Her mouth tightened into a thin line, and she walked out of the TARDIS without a word.
--
He was smiling like an idiot. He was smiling like a complete geek, taking in the sights of Torchwood tower, and she was trying desperately not to copy him. A high-ranking Torchwood executive did not escort a guest through highly classified sections of the building while grinning like a loon. She'd given him several significant looks, and even a few half-hearted jabs, but he'd just looked down at her innocently, shot off a quip, and gone back to the damn infectious grinning.
Still, they were making progress. They had three of the four bits and bobs that he'd need. She wasn't entirely certain what they did, and if it were anyone else, she'd have wondered how he'd known they'd had any of it at all. Most of it was salvaged alien tech they hadn't identified yet.
They only had one more destination. This one was less a bit of the engine than the body of the automobile, or so she'd gathered from his hasty explanations. It was also the only one they couldn't carry around, given that it was nearly the size of a room. And really, unless they were shrinking it somehow, she was a bit sceptical about how they planned on getting anywhere else after the initial jump.
She managed to make it to the final room with only a few uncontrolled lip twitches that she staunchly determined were little more than muscle spasms. A quick wave of a security card and a few words saw them ushered into the room, inhabited by a lone scientist.
The slim woman turned in surprise at their entrance, absently smoothing her white lab coat. "Miss Tyler! I wasn't told I'd be having help today."
"Nah, that's because it was spur of the moment!" The Doctor spoke before Rose could quite get any words out, offering his hand toward the woman. "More fun that way."
"Ah...if you say so, Mr...?"
"Smith." Rose smiled quickly, covering her brief hesitation at the name with a step forward. "Doctor John Smith. John, this is our head scientist of this project, Adeola Jones."
The woman flushed slightly. "If by 'head' you mean ‘only’..." She gave a slight, wry smile, turning toward the large metallic structure that dominated the room. "I think calling it a 'project' might be a bit of a stretch. I still have to figure out whether it does anything before it can be classified a 'project'."
"Oh... no, no, no, this is brilliant!" He squinted his eyes, burying his hands in his pockets and taking a few steps closer toward the dormant machine. For a few heartbeats, Rose was certain he'd withdraw his favourite pair of glasses to inspect the machine. She wasn't entirely sure whether she was relieved when he did nothing but run his hand over his chin in consideration.
"Excuse me?" Adeola frowned, studying the Doctor a few moments, before glancing at the machine again. "Are you telling me you know what this does?"
"Oh yeah..." The Doctor glanced over toward Rose, and she could have sworn it was him looking back at her, instead of another who had been telling her about another Rose's exploits only hours ago. "Rose, would you bring those other pieces here?"
"So you can do it?" Rose figured it was a pointless question, considering his cheer, but it was still hard to believe that it was possible. After her Doctor had been so adamant, so final. Could it really be this simple to go all this time?
His grin was almost blinding as she handed the assorted equipment over to him. "Just watch me."
---
AN: After all this time...finally another chapter! Much, much different than I originally intended. Just for fun: Original Chapter Artwork
