Salamander Theory: Chapter 9 - Choices
The Doctor sat calmly, his legs crossed at his ankles as he leaned back. Clotho's hand waving had brought forth furniture. To make things comfortable, she explained. Because kidnappers did that all the time, Rose thought watching Clotho move languidly around the room. His eyes did not leave Clotho's face. Rose followed his example, waiting for the next move. Clotho raised a single eyebrow in response and nodded decisively. Gliding to the wall opposite of Rose, she waved her hand across the smooth surface.
Rose watched silently as a panel emerged, growing slowly from the wall. Several more strokes and the wall above the panel opened to reveal the rolling mists of the countryside. Thin branches peeked out of the gray like long fingers reaching towards the sky. The moors... Clotho hadn't taken them out of Dartmoor. But just how long they had been unconscious?
Clotho tilted her head towards the Doctor, her dark eyes sly. Her fingers moved even more swiftly across panel. "You aren't going to ask, Doctor?"
"Obviously, you are savoring the grand reveal," he drawled. "Who am I to ruin your dramatics? So go on. Let us poor mortals in on your wondrous plans."
"Poor mortals, indeed. You're ever the charmer, Doctor. Of all of the planets in the universe, just why are you so fixated on this small, blue planet? Our people grew tired of humans and their games eons ago. When last we met, you were with that child. Hm, what was her name? So unruly. So rude. Ah well, that matters little." Rose thought that the Doctor's eyes flashed with something dark, but he held his tongue. She glided close to him. With a tip of her index finger, she traced his eyebrows. "This new form of yours is so much more fascinating than the last time we met. Of all of the Time Lords, you were always a favorite of our people. Oh so dashing. Such a shame that you often leave behind such destruction. I'm sure Ms. Tyler knows all too well about that with her Doctor." When he simply stared at her, Clotho pouted and turned to Rose. "Tell me, Rose. Do you think it's strange?"
"Which part exactly? The whole convoluted trickery bit to secure bait for some intergalactic monster, your pathetic attempts at flirting or that I'm talking to a fairy? I'd have to say 'yes' to all three, really."
"Seelie. Fairy are totally different creatures all together, child. So self-centered." Rose did not know if she referred to the fairy race or to Rose. Since the Doctor's technique of silence and staring obviously worked, Rose held herself still and waited until Clotho fell silent.
"By 'strange,' I mean your fate. One in trillions upon trillions. A fluke. Of all of the Doctor's companions over the years, and some have been extraordinary, you are something...other. What is it about you that draws him to you? No, not the Doctor. Lejard. The power within you is magnificent. He is always hungry. Always desires more." Though he didn't move, Rose sensed his struggle to not react. He. "The Doctor knows him, of course. The Time Lords know all and see all. But now they are gone. Well, just about." Clotho shook her head sadly.
Turning to Rose, Clotho explained, "There is power in the mind. It is a power your people have not yet grasped to the fullest. Not in this space and time. But others have. And some planets had fallen victim to him. Lejard... He is a planet-eater. So greedy. There was a time when the Time Lords imprisoned him." With a languid hand, she brought up a hologram. Rose felt the dark chill touch her spine. She could feel the pull of the darkness. "But the great guardians are gone. Only one sentinel left, but so focused on his own injuries and pain, he has no time to deal with him. So other planets must fill in the power vacuum or the universe will suffer."
The Doctor sighed. "You can't just keep us here, Clotho," the Doctor said quietly. "And what you did. The trap you laid out. That was unconscionable. Rose Tyler was hidden in plain sight. And her special talents were quite dormant until you stepped in. Your meddling unlocked something within her."
"Still so selfish, Doctor? Oh, you are one to talk, Doctor. Your curiosity leads you into so many messes. How long do you think she would have remained unchanged? It is meant to be. We have just... made sure that circumstances benefit the universe in the end." Her dark eyes glittered with rage. Hard and dark. Bottomless. She continued her voice harsh, "Really Doctor, if we could sense her presence, feel her pull from Sol-Three, Lejard would as well. Eventually. And he would not have been as gentle or giving as we are. But darling Rose is such a clever girl. She used the surge from the Lenux Protocol Center to reach beyond the Void. Out to the one being she could never forget. Brilliant! How human."
"You could have tried asking for help," he shot back. "Instead, you put lives in danger."
"Danger? Was anyone hurt? No humans were. My plans were sound."
Their voices faded as Rose stared at the image. Lejard. Like something from nightmares, the eyes burned her, even once-removed as a hologram. She could barely hear them bickering in the background. The Time Vortex had opened something within her--something that had been waiting. A twin to the dark that she could sense in those eyes. You are the key. His voice resonated within her. Rose gasped, pulling back from the vision.
"Whatever you think, Doctor, there are things that must be done. For the sake of the universe, Rose Tyler, you must help trap Lejard."
"Will you destroy him?" Rose asked. "Is he the last of his kind?"
"Last only because he destroyed his own people. Cannibalized their minds and absorbed all within him," Clotho said quietly. "It's an ugly truth. His hunger is a bottomless pit. And you... you would be a feast for him. To take your power, your mind would almost satisfy him."
"But that's not the plan, is it Clotho?" Rose had not noticed the Doctor move. The image held her fixated. "You know I would stop you."
"To offer him such power? He would just seek more and more. Till the universe was torn asunder. Till all universes were." Her words broke the spell. Rose turned to meet her gaze; her dark eyes met Rose's. Your Doctor's universe as well, they said. Would you let him destroy it all?
"I'll help you stop him. So what exactly is the plan?" Rose asked.
"Well, let's say it involves a bit of bait and switch."
The Doctor stared grimly at Clotho. "You best explain your plan, then."
Ianto Jones stood silently in the doorway of the conference room watching the Doctor. The table was a mess of papers and laptops and the Doctor was mumbling to himself. The last few hours, he had taken over that part of the Hub. The way he worked reminded Ianto a bit of a tornado, jumping from subject to subject, absorbing all of the implications. "Excuse me, but I've brought you some tea. Did you need anything, sir?"
The Doctor looked up from the papers in his hands. "Thank you. Ianto, right?" He accepted the mug of tea with a tired smile.
"Yes, sir. I wanted to... Jack didn't mention it earlier, but I realized that I have seen you in action, myself."
"Have you been with Torchwood long? Perhaps UNIT?"
"Actually, I was at Canary Warf, sir. I didn't realize it before but you... That day, you saved so many people."
The Doctor glanced down at the young man's fists. They were clenched tightly, his flesh white with the pressure. "I couldn't save everyone. We--all of us lost... so much."
"I just wanted... Yvonne was so arrogant. And in the end, we all paid for that. Lisa--my girlfriend... She worked there, too. She-she was converted."
"I'm sorry," he said quietly.
"No, it was our own faults. Torchwood London was always pushing harder, reaching higher for all things alien, but that last year everything worsened. Harold Saxon always pushing Yvonne and the others for results."
"I figured out that Harold Saxon had his fingers in a lot of pots. It's not all Torchwood's fault." As much as the thought pained him, he had to let go of several old hurts. The Doctor closed his eyes and drank his tea. "And not all Harriet Jones' fault, either," he mumbled to himself. The Master had left a mess in his wake that rippled through time. Now the Golden Age would never pass. The Master had thrown the rules of time and space out the door and now the Doctor was trying his best to heal things.
"I didn't want to bother you. Actually, I'm not sure why I said all of that. I normally don't..."
"It's fine Mr. Jones. I understand. Nothing like tea and conversation."
Ianto almost jumped as he felt the air stir behind him. The door opened. "Ianto, Toshiko is heading out to investigate a surge. Go with her." Jack said softly. Jack waited until he left before he turned to the Doctor, his eyes focused on the mug in his hands. "It is not your fault, Doctor."
"I figured out the bits about the Master and his hold on the government during the lost year, Jack. I had a lot of time to think. And I knew you probably worked it out, too." The Doctor's eyes were bleak as he looked up at his friend. "The madness in him. He changed the Earth's timeline so much that I'm not sure what's to follow anymore. How much did I play into his hands?" How much of losing Rose was the Master's fault?
"Will bringing Rose back help? Will it restore the balance?" Jack sat next to his dear friend and contemplated chaos spread across the conference table.
"I don't know. Truthfully, I could just be doing something selfish. I could be making things worse." He stared into the tea as if answers could be found there.
"I don't know about you, Doctor, but I think that sometimes that's what you need to do to make things right."
"What she wants to do may not make things right, Rose," the Doctor said flatly. "You don't have to just go along with her plan."
The TARDIS purred as it sprang to follow the Doctor's commands. Leaving the cold confines of the Seelie ship for the warmth of the TARDIS comforted Rose. Clotho's ship reminded her of the Ghost Room. Stark and empty.
"Of course I don't, but she isn't lying. At least, not about all of it." Clotho landed them as close to the TARDIS as possible. The reassuring hum of the TARDIS felt soothing as always, though now Rose imagined she could tell that it was slightly different from her TARDIS. The color in the main control room was a deep blue now. "This...planet eater. He has to be stopped. He came to me. It was a dream or something. He said that I was the key... Now that Clotho's trap has bait, he's heading here, towards Earth. And I'm not about to run and leave the planet open, let alone my family."
"The Seelie are forcing him out of the open by unleashing the power within you. The Seelie Royal family has always been a pushy lot."
"Well, apparently they get things done. What Clotho said about a power vacuum? Without the Time Lords, the universe needs pushy people to stop things before they get too messy."
He stared grimly down at the controls, setting course for the Tyler compound. "Yes, but preemptive strikes have a way of turning on the striker. Even the Time Lords made mistakes, Rose. One such mistake helped to escalate the Time War. And we all have choices to make. I just don't want it to be the wrong one."