The Tyler Factor

By Lumendea

Chapter Sixty-Five: Coming Eclipse: Storm Warning

Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any of the spinoff material and I gain no income off of this story, just the satisfaction of playing with the characters.

…

Climbing out of the helicopter, Rose felt herself instantly gravitate towards the Doctor. He was moving fairly carefully though he was full of energy and looking up at the Akiyama building with a frown. The moment she was near him, the Doctor reached over and grabbed her hand earning them looks from the Japanese forces. She vaguely remembered hearing somewhere once that acts of affection were more private in Japan. This wasn't going to help the rumours.

Above them, the skyscraper rose high over the city with dark clouds looming over it. Bolts of lightning were striking it and other nearby skyscrapers. Civilians were looking towards them with curiosity even as they hurried around the barricades.

"I don't like this," Mickey muttered as he stepped up next to them eying the building with a frown. "Why hasn't he left?"

"Maybe he has," the Doctor pointed out in a light tone. "Could have a teleport up there and is already hidden away in some other bunker." He gestured towards the door giving Alistair a slightly impatient look. "And we won't find out down here."

"Wait for the scouts," Alistair chided giving the Doctor a serious look. "You're not just running there, you're working with us again right now."

The Doctor mumbled something under his breath and Rose barely held back a smile, patting his arm fondly. She ignored Mickey's chuckle on her other side and the look he was giving them. With the way this day was going she didn't care.

"Alright," Alistair announced suddenly as a group of UNIT soldiers reappeared in the front doors. Their black uniforms were a stark contrast to the white lobby behind them and the waved quickly. "Now we can go."

Strangely the large office building was all but abandoned. There were a few workers at desks who looked up at them in alarm, raising their hands and quickly following the orders of the soldiers. They all nodded and rushed to head down the stairs to the lobby. The place was quiet, still and there was a soft humming sound echoing down from the higher floors. Mickey refused to move away from her as they slowly made their way up the building. Thankfully UNIT was fairly confident that the lifts were safe because Rose was not walking up two hundred flights of stairs.

The double doors were shoved open by the soldiers ahead of them and those right behind them had their firearms at the ready. Pushing their way inside the men revealed a large office with one wall made completely of glass windows that looked out over Tokyo. The lights were turned down low, but the room was bright from something to the right. Behind a large wooden desk stood a man in a neat black suit that turned towards them as they entered.

Akiyama's eyes widened slightly at the sight of them before he schooled his features and Rose's eyes dropped instantly to the firearm in his hand. On the right side of the room, a large strange looking machine that was all white and smooth rounded corners were humming loudly. Outside a roll of thunder rattled the windows and made Akiyama close his eyes for a moment, but only a moment. He risked a glance towards the machine and the UNIT soldiers kept their guns trained on him.

The Doctor glanced at Akiyama but then headed right for the machine. Rose followed him, keeping her eyes on Akiyama who was turning to watch the Doctor. His eyes moved to her and Rose noted no surprise in his expression and frowned at him in return. The man's expression was stoic and his eyes were strangely glassy.

"Mrs Beckett," Akiyama greeted without any smugness or sense of irony. "Welcome to Japan. Have you ever visited us before Miss Tyler?"

"No I haven't had that privilege," Rose all but growled as she eyed the too calm Akiyama. "Sadly I don't get to travel much for pleasure." She took a step toward Akiyama, mindful of the gun in his hand. "What is it that you're doing Akiyama? Your bunker is taken. What were you thinking?" Rose demanded as the Doctor began inspecting the machine.

"A better world," Akiyama answered calmly, still gripping his firearm.

"What is that thing?" Rose asked, nodding towards the mysterious machine.

"Energy converter," the Doctor called over as he ran his fingers over it. "Massive one, but flawed. It's causing that nasty storm outside to gather energy from the atmosphere. This was probably rebuilt from a Tractiva ship, they use an energy converting system to gather fuel in space." He moved around it and fixed Akiyama with a stern look. "But the system is all wrong, you had to know that."

"What do you mean?" Rose pressed, shifting to look towards the Doctor.

"It's built to be destructive" the Doctor informed her never taking his eyes off of Akiyama. "This wasn't part of the original plan was it?" the Doctor demanded harshly taking a threatening step towards Akiyama.

"Doctor!" Rose shouted to draw his attention before she calmly continued. "Explain for the rest of us! What is that thing going to do?"

"This thing is sucking up juice and is set to release it. When it does… Tokyo is gone."

"Oh god," Alistair growled, pulling out his phone and bringing it to his ear. "What can we do Doctor? Can you shut it down?"

"Course I can," the Doctor answered quickly with a manic smile.

"Do tell me if that answer changes," Alistair answered drily before glancing at Akiyama one more time before slipping out of the room.

Akiyama said nothing, he merely stared at the Doctor with a sort of clinic detachment that made Rose very uncomfortable. It didn't seem to bother the Doctor as he pulled out the sonic screwdriver.

"How did they not find that?" Rose asked in a low voice as she frowned.

"My pockets are bigger on the inside," the Doctor chuckled. "If someone doesn't know better they feel empty."

"Oh… that's helpful I guess," Rose muttered and it explained how that thing hadn't been taken away and destroyed before now.

She stayed by the Doctor, holding back a shudder as another roll of thunder shook the windows. Akiyama looked braced for something and turned away from them. Moving closer to the Doctor Rose listened to the strange machine hum threateningly. Her teeth felt like they were going to rattle out of her skull.

"Please tell me you know what you're doing," Rose breathed as the Doctor ripped open the side panel of the machine.

Inside it was all softly glowing tubes and strange looking circuitry that was completely alien to Rose. Outside the thunder rolled loudly and shook the building.

"Hold this," the Doctor ordered, shoving a thick cord made up of dozens of tiny fibre optic lines into her hand. "Use your sonic pen, dispersing setting, here," he snapped quickly.

Rose pulled out her own sonic device quickly and adjusted the setting as the Doctor pried off a series of plates that covered a shimmering and spinning motor of some sort. Rose could feel her teeth vibrating at being so close to it and the Doctor reached out to grab her arm. Then he gently pushed her behind him. The effect was lessened and she realised that she was breathing a little better.

"Doctor!" Mickey called as another bolt of lightning shot past the windows in synch with a roll of thunder.

The Doctor grumbled under his breath and Rose caught sight of him pulling out a group of cables over his slouched shoulder. The motor flashed and began to slow. Then the Doctor used the sonic on one of the odd looking circuits. There was a high pitched whine, but then the machine sputtered and the small motor went dark. She heard the Doctor sigh in relief though he straightened up instantly and beamed at the room.

"Got it!"

Akiyama nodded to the Doctor, no expression on his face and before anyone could stop him, he raised the firearm to his head and pulled the trigger. The shot echoed in the large room and Rose yelped as blood spattered across the walls and desk. For a moment no one moved, but then Mickey gestured for her to stay by the Doctor and moved forward with his gun trained on the slumped over body. Rose grimaced at the sight and the Doctor tugged her back. As the soldiers came marching forward the Doctor took her hand and led her out of the room.

"I hate it when they do that," the Doctor grumbled as they lingered outside the room.

"But that machine… this was a suicide no matter what."

"Yeah," the Doctor agreed with a nod. "Suppose so, but it's a waste."

"Yes, it is," Rose agreed with a nod, sitting on the desk and trying to smile at him. She looked around, "Well want to try and find the General?"

The Doctor smiled and offered her his hand again.

….

Above their heads, the storm was still raging. Proof Rose supposed that life wasn't like a movie. When the machine was stopped the effects of it didn't simply go away. Lighting bursts were illuminating the dark clouds every few moments and she just hoped that it would run itself out without any real damage. General Oshiro was watching the storm with a stern gaze as if he could scold it into vanishing.

"We've run a record of Akiyama's calls," Oshiro informed them as he looked down at the report. "He called his identified partners an hour ago, but nothing since." Oshiro paused and handed the report to Alistair who took it and scanned it quickly.

"Blast," Alistair groaned. "We lost them. All them slipped our surveillance shortly after Akiyama's calls. Checks on them all indicate that assets have been liquefied and personal items are gone."

"They're dropping out of sight then," the Doctor confirmed with a thoughtful nod. "I suppose what happened here proved to them that they were being watched."

"So that's it?" Rose demanded, her frustration seeping out as she resisted the urge to kick at the ground.

"There's nothing more we can do at the present," Alistair intoned still looking completely calm though Rose thought she detected a hint of shared irritation. "We've flagged all the Eclipse members you saw so if they resurface we'll know."

"They have to be prepared for this," Rose countered, gritting her teeth. "They probably have false names, accounts and technology stashed somewhere."

"Probably," the Doctor agreed, leaning against the TARDIS and shrugging. "But they know you're on to them so that might deter their activities."

"Or make them worse than ever," Alistair added with a grimace. "The desperate and cornered make dangerous opponents."

Rose was suddenly aware that the Doctor's eyes were on her. He was worried and that made her feel horribly happy. Alistair sighed softly, glancing between them and looking like he wanted to make some remark. Instead, he just shook his head and stepped forward and shake the Doctor's hand. Rose gave the old friends a moment as their voices lowered.

"Tyler," Alistair called to her as he moved away from the Doctor and towards the door. "I need a word with Oshiro. We'll have to take a car to base," he muttered gesturing to the sky. "They'll be no flying in this."

…

Japan's UNIT base was smaller than Rose had been expecting. Just beyond Tokyo, it was surrounded by a small training park with fences to keep out the curious. It had a sterile smell that Rose didn't care for, but she followed the Doctor and the colonel leading them to the TARDIS without any comment. Mickey was trailing behind her, looking uneasy in the unfamiliar base without his uniform.

"The TARDIS," the colonel said quickly as he paused in front of a door. "In here."

The Doctor opened the door quickly and they stepped into a small cold loading bay. In front of them, the TARDIS was waiting in the centre of the room in front of the closed bay doors. Some tension in his shoulders drained away and Rose smiled softly. UNIT or not, this wasn't his usual UNIT branch holding onto his ship.

"Hello beautiful," Rose greeted warmly as she joined the Doctor next to the TARDIS and patted the blue box affectionately.

"Don't tell me you're flattering the TARDIS Rose," Mickey teased as he moved to join them. Hesitantly he reached out to touch the TARDIS with a sheepish look towards the Doctor. "I don't think anyone but the Doctor will ever be her favourite."

"Can't hurt to get on her good side," Rose countered.

"Doctor," Mickey said pleasantly, extending his hand. "It was a pleasure to finally meet you."

"You as well," the Doctor replied calmly, shaking Mickey's hand before his eyes moved to Rose.

"Don't worry," Mickey laughed. "I'll keep as close an eye on her as she'll let me."

The Doctor chuckled at that and nodded to Mickey in approval which just made Rose want to roll her eyes. Mickey then made a show of smiling at Rose and leaving the room himself leaving Rose alone with the Doctor and the TARDIS.

"Do you need a hand in the medical bay?" Rose asked, stepping a bit closer to him.

"No, I can handle the dermal regenerator on my own," the Doctor reassured her. "I'll be fine."

"Okay… if you're sure," Rose weakly answered, suddenly more than a little uncomfortable.

"Thanks for coming after me," the Doctor said quickly.

"Of course," Rose told him firmly with a soft smile. "Always."

There was a moment of silence stretching between them. It wasn't uncomfortable, but there was a charge in the air that almost made Rose shiver. The Doctor broke eye contact first, shifting uncomfortably and turning to unlock the TARDIS door.

"Rose…" he trailed off only to clear his throat and turn back towards her. "This lot isn't done," he reminded her. "They'll be back."

"I figured that," Rose agreed softly. "We'll be watching."

"And if you need help… just call."

"I will, I promise," Rose assured him, stepping forward to hug him carefully.

She was mindful of his injuries and smiled when he hugged her back. Rose breathed in the smell of his leather jacket, silently reminding herself that she was almost done. Only one more year of school and then she could leave without regrets. They held onto each other longer than reasonable before the Doctor released her. Before he could move too far away, Rose leaned up and kissed his cheek quickly, giving him a warm friendly smile. He opened the door of the TARDIS with a quick turn of his key.

"Stay out of trouble," the Doctor told her with a knowing smile.

"I make no promises," Rose replied with a blinding smile of her own.

The Doctor laughed and shut the door of the TARDIS. Rose stayed in place as the TARDIS began to dematerialize. Her hair flew wildly around her face in the wind and she brought her hand up to wave goodbye. Then the TARDIS was gone and it was time to resume her usual day to day life. Sighing softly, Rose pushed some loose strands of her blonde hair from her face and turned to walk over to Alistair. A sense of dread and disappointment was churning in her but at the outcome of the day. It was a draw at best and she had no doubt that this fight wasn't over.