Journey Amongst the Stars

By Lumendea

Chapter Sixty-Five: Arisen: Gold

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.

…

Mickey had convinced Rose to take a walk to clear her head. She wondered if Jackie was planning something, but had grabbed a jacket from the TARDIS with a promise to Mickey that she would be warm enough. The crisp November air brought back memories of the cold planet, the time rip, and the Neverweres, but Rose kept it to herself. Bannerman Road hadn't changed in her absence. She wasn't sure how long it had been to her since she departed at this point, but it had been over a year and a half to her mother.

"So, how is Benton nowadays?" Rose asked. "Sharon and Shireen mentioned he was back at UNIT but didn't share the details."

"Well Lethbridge-Stewart and Benton are apparently brutal in the training programs," Mickey said dryly.

"I can't believe they got Benton to come back again," Rose chuckled. It was weak, but it was something. "He was so determined to stay retired when I saw him in York."

"Only for a few more months. We all know it was the Brigadier that convinced him. According to the rumor, he needed someone who didn't just gape at him because of the age reverting and would get work done."

"Fair enough. Benton is pretty good at just shaking his head and getting back to work." Rose kicked a pebble on the sidewalk into the street. "And you? You're doing alright in UNIT?"

"I love it," Mickey admitted. "Most days are calm. I've been working on expanding my qualifications," he added proudly. "And learning more science so I can understand more of what the science division is saying. I'm usually assigned to Malcolm. He's a good man. Plus I've been helping with redoing evacuation plans and updating protocols. Even when aliens aren't around, I stay busy."

He didn't bring up the possibility of Rose returning to work for UNIT, and Rose was grateful for that. Her mind was still stuck on the problem she faced. Somehow, she had to get the TARDIS moving despite the controls being locked. The Doctor knew about her sonic pen and would have made a point not to make it something she could easily undo. And she didn't want to harm the TARDIS.

"You're a million miles away," Mickey said softly. "Aren't you?"

"Yeah, sorry."

"It will be okay," Mickey promised. "I've seen you overcome too much to think otherwise, Rose."

"Maybe, I just…." Rose exhaled. "There's this pressure. This sense that this moment is important, but I can't put my finger on it. I'm not sure if it is a telepathy thing or my emotions or something else."

Rose looked over at Mickey. She wasn't sure what she expected to see, but he just nodded calmly. His years at UNIT had taken him far from the young boy she'd grown up with. Rose was proud of him. Smiling at Mickey, Rose felt better for a brief moment before they turned the corner, and her mum's house came back into view.

"We don't have to go back yet," Mickey said.

"No, we do," Rose said. "My mind is clearer now, and I've finally stopped crying. I need to take another look at the TARDIS controls. Maybe there is a return to the last location option that the Doctor didn't lockdown."

"Okay," Mickey agreed gently. "Whatever you say."

They headed towards the house, and Rose eyed Mickey in the corner of her eye. "Are you keeping an eye on me for UNIT?"

"Not officially," Mickey said. "Only Benton and Alistair know anything is wrong right now. They agreed to keep it under wraps until you made your decision on what to do."

Rose exhaled. Relief so strong that it made her knees weak, hit her. She wasn't ready to admit that this was a problem yet. And she didn't want a panic taking hold at the notion that the Doctor was gone. He wasn't dead yet. This wasn't over yet.

"Thanks," Rose said.

"Of course, babe." Mickey bumped her shoulder with his arm and gave her a smile. "You've got a lot of friends here. I'm sure Sarah Jane is praying she can help with something at this point."

Rose hadn't checked on Sarah Jane since the older woman left her house. For all Rose knew, all the Companions Club had been briefed on the situation. That was another conversation that Rose wasn't ready for. Thankfully as they came to Rose's house, no one came rushing out of Sarah Jane's place to demand answers. But Rose stopped in her tracks anyway.

Someone, likely Skye, had been playing with sidewalk chalk and scrawled the words Bad Wolf across the pavement. Rose blinked, rereading the slanting multicolored letters over and over again. Distantly, she heard Mickey calling her with worry in his voice, but the song was suddenly louder than before.

"Bad Wolf here and Bad Wolf there," Rose breathed. Shaking her head, she rushed towards the house, a new eagerness burning in her veins.

Rose stopped in the entryway as the bright colors of the painting hung there drew her attention. Her painting Lumen still hung there in pride of place so Jackie could show it off to anyone who visited. It had been a long time since she'd looked at it, but now she couldn't stop staring at it. The figure, once a stranger, was so familiar to her now. It was herself and the TARDIS. She'd noted that before, but today it settled on her shoulders like a heavy shawl, warm and comforting. The words Bad Wolf outside to remind her and an memory of a living painting saying those words rattling in her head.

"That light…" Rose eyed the glow surrounding herself in the painting. "It's from the TARDIS."

"So?" Jackie asked, coming to meet them from the parlor. "It's been there for years, Rose."

"I know that, but…." Rose looked at the painted Yale key and the clothing. She looked down at herself. "I'm wearing the exact same thing. The same shirt, same coat, same boots…." Jackie was a bit pale now, her eyes jumping between Rose and the painting as if she wasn't sure what to think. "That light has to be the Heart of the TARDIS!"

"The heart?" Mickey asked.

"Mickey, I need a truck," Rose said urgently. "The Doctor locked the controls, but maybe I can physically force the console to open. A truck won't be as good as the rift, of course, but if the TARDIS wants to help me, then it should work!"

"What are you on about?" Jackie demanded.

"I can get back!" Rose's eyes widened, and a smile stretched over her face. She moved towards the kitchen and the garden door. "I'm supposed to get back!"

"No!" Jackie shouted. She lunged forward and grabbed Rose, cupping her daughter's face. "You know that I've never liked this alien stuff. I've tried to accept it for your sake because you won't stop, but Rose, please, don't try anything risky. God knows that I've hated that man, but right now, I love him because he sent you home safe. He made you his priority, and I am so grateful for that. Please, please don't!"

"I have to," Rose said softly. "Mum, I have to. For my own sake, not just the Doctor's."

Rose almost told Jackie everything then, almost tried to explain to her mother about her complex timeline and how the Doctor dying now would destroy it, burn her past away.

"I can't give up now," Rose said.

…

Jack grit his teeth and barked the orders. The words were bitter on his tongue. Most of the defenders were civilians. Lynda was reading off movement reports. It was as safe as she could be, but he wished that she was on the planet below. Then again, if the Doctor managed the Delta Wave then it would be much the same. It would sweep around the entire planet. He couldn't think about that right now. Jack kept moving, kept giving orders, and kept trying to adapt as the Daleks moved in.

The Daleks shut off the defenses, and the bullets proved ineffective. Now it was a matter of throwing bodies in their way to slow them down. Guilt and ugly relief warred in Jack's gut. He hadn't planned it, but he would use it. He had to use it.

"They're flying up the ventilation shafts," Lynda reported. "No, wait a minute. Oh, my God. Why're they doing that? They're going down."

She sounded shocked. Jack knew he shouldn't be surprised. He'd heard the old stories of the Daleks. They washed across planets, killing everything on them and leaving empty rocks behind. More than once, he'd been a world in their path and had done what he could to save as many as possible, but the universe knew if you saw the Daleks ships to run because you'd never beat them.

No one had known why they had vanished. There had been so many theories and conspiracies. The Time War had been a legend, but he was traveling in a TARDIS with a Time Lord, two things of ancient myth that no one thought had any basis in fact. And despite the legend of the Time War, no one had connected the Daleks with it. They should have. Jack listened to the screams of the dying. He could give them that. Lynda was crying, and he hoped the Doctor wasn't listening even though Jack knew that he probably was.

…

Jackie looked small in her thick coat. Her dyed blonde hair was piled up in a bun, and redness around her eyes alerted Rose that her mum had been crying. Rose turned her attention back to the TARDIS controls. There was nothing she could do right now, but avoiding her mum seemed like a good start.

"Is there anything I can say to convince you to stop this?" Jackie asked softly.

"I can't give up," Rose answered. She was examining the console. "Mickey will be back soon with something heavy. Hopefully, it will be enough."

"Rose, please. Lock the door. Walk away. I'm begging you, sweetheart."

"Dad wouldn't give up." Rose finally looked at her mother. The woman was frowning deeply at her, and Rose regretted bringing Peter Tyler into this.

"Well, he's not here, is he? And even if he was, he'd say the same," Jackie said firmly.

"No, he wouldn't. He'd tell me to try anything and everything," Rose said. She smiled a little as memories of Peter Tyler ran through her mind. "He'd tell me that if this was what I believed in to give it everything I had."

"Well, we're never going to know," Jackie huffed. Old pain flared in her mum's eyes, but Jackie's determination was stronger.

"I know," Rose said. She shouldn't talk about it, but the words were coming without her thinking about it. "I know exactly what he would say because I met him. I met Dad."

"Don't be ridiculous."

"You're standing in a time machine, Mum," Rose pointed out. "How is the Doctor taking me back to meet my father ridiculous?"

"Don't say that," Jackie insisted. Her voice now carried a sorrowful note.

"Do you remember when Dad died?" Rose asked. Jackie's eyes widened. "Do you remember the blonde woman who held his hand while he died?" Jackie didn't answer. "That was me, Mum."

"Stop it!"

"That's who the Doctor is," Rose said with a tight voice. "That's how good he is."

"Stop it! Just stop it!" Jackie spun and launched herself at the door.

"I'm sorry," Rose said. "But I have to try. I'd like to think that if you would have had a chance to save Dad, that you would have."

Jackie didn't answer her. Rose hadn't expected her to. Groaning, she slumped into the pilot's chair and looked up at the central column. Guilt and satisfaction warred in Rose. She hadn't wanted to upset Jackie exactly, but she did want her mother to understanding. Maybe now, she would.

It was well over an hour later when honking outside made Rose leave the TARDIS. She blinked at the dying light of the setting sun, and nerves twisted in her gut. Time machine or not, what if she was too late? Mickey's SUV was parking in the street along the pavement rather than the UNIT vehicle she'd been expecting. Mickey climbed out of the SUV with Sharon and Shireen. Rose frowned as she eyed the vehicle.

"Mickey, this isn't going to be strong enough."

"Yeah, uh, there was a change of plans," Mickey said nervously. None the less, he was smiling a little as Sharon and Shireen watched with bright eyes.

"What?" Rose demanded. "Look, you're my mates, and all but this isn't the time-"

A massive yellow truck came around the corner. It almost shook the street, and Rose's eyes widened as it drove up in the front drive, knocking over a birdbath that her mum had installed and stopping in front of the gate into the garden. Then Rose's mum climbed out and slammed the door leaving Rose more confused.

"Right, you've only got this until six o'clock," Jackie said. She tossed a set of keys to Mickey, who caught them with a grin.

"I've got a UNIT rig on standby," Mickey promised Rose in a low voice. "But this was important to her."

"Mum?"

"I'm your mother," Jackie huffed. "If anyone is helping you with this mad scheme, it's me."

Mickey hid his smile, and Rose grinned at her mother. Her throat tightened, and vertigo hit her hard. Somehow, she stayed on her feet and nodded. There wasn't time for her to figure out what to say. The pressure was growing, and the song was getting louder, carrying more urgency with every passing second. Mickey moved forward and grabbed the heavy chain from the front of the truck, and pulled it towards the TARDIS. They were lucky, the angle was just wide enough to have a straight shot, and Rose rushed forward to help Mickey hook everything up.

"You were right about your dad, sweetheart. He was full of mad ideas, and it's exactly what he would've done," Jackie said. Her eyes were shining with tears and determination. "Now, get on with it before I change my mind."

This was going to work. She knew it. Rose felt bad when Mickey hooked the chain up to the console, but it didn't stop her. The TARDIS hummed in response, and Rose held her breath. This was it. Her heart was racing, and her heartbeat echoed in her ears.

"Ready, Beautiful?" Rose asked.

She felt the answer in her bones and briefly wondered if the TARDIS could have opened the section on her own before dismissing the thought. It didn't matter. If the TARDIS could, then she had her reasons. The hum was eager, welcoming and Rose had no doubts.

The truck started, and the chain tightened. There was shouting from Mickey, Sharon, Shireen, and her mum. She thought she heard Sarah Jane and Johnny, but stayed beside the console. Rose shouted for more power. The console shuddered. The metal squeaked as it started to move.

Light poured out of the console. Rose remembered it. Heat washed over her, and energy tingled across her bare skin. Instinct told her to move, to close her eyes and get away, but Rose stayed where she was. Distantly, she heard shouting, but she didn't turn away from the light. The song played, building around her and echoing in her ears. That sweet melody that called to her had always been calling to her. It seeped into Rose, sinking into her bones, muscles, and organs. Old aches faded away. She was strong.

She was everything all at once. Images, sounds, and smells washed through her. Old echoes from other lives replayed in the background, but it wasn't her focus. Daleks had returned. The universe trembled. Rose could feel it. The universe was holding it breath. It called to her, it pleaded for help, for protection. The Doctor was not enough.

The TARDIS door slammed shut. The controls began to adjust themselves. The light spun around Rose. The TARDIS was with her, but already it was easing back, allowing the call of the universe to sing loudest. Rose never moved. They launched into the Vortex. Time shuddered before relaxing in relief. Five bright and strong presences scattered across space and time waited.

…..

The others were dying. The Doctor kept working, but he heard the screams across the communication system. Even Lynda, tucked away by Jack in an effort to protect her, hadn't been safe from the Daleks. They were coming towards him and spreading across Earth. How many were dying down below? Lynda had been reporting on that too before her death. How many more would die before the end of today? Lynda's scream was still echoing over the com.

"Last man standing!" Jack shouted. "For God's sake, Doctor, finish that thing and kill them!"

"Finish that thing and kill mankind," the Emperor onscreen gloated.

"Doctor, you've got twenty seconds maximum!" Jack yelled.

The Doctor could hear them. Jack and the Daleks. He heard the cry of exterminate, but his hands kept working.

"I kid of figured that," Jack snarked. There was a thump, and the Doctor swallowed. Not much point to keep the coms on, but he didn't stop working.

"It's ready!"

Daleks entered the room all around him. The Doctor glared and rested his hands on the lever that would activate the Delta Wave. Bile burned his throat.

"You really want to think about this, because if I activate the signal, every living creature dies," the Doctor reminded the Emperor.

"I am immortal."

"Do you want to put that to the test?" the Doctor pressed.

"I want to see you become like me. Hail the Doctor, the Great Exterminator," the Emperor answered.

"I'll do it!" The Doctor bent his body over the control lever.

"Then prove yourself, Doctor," the Emperor baited. "What are you, coward or killer?"

The Doctor's hands trembled. He started to push down his weight, but he stopped. His body wouldn't do it. For an instant, he was back with the Moment. For an instant, he was holding two wires that would destroy the Daleks before they even began with Sarah Jane urging him to destroy them. For an instant, he was back in that capsule in Pompeii. His hands slipped off the lever, and he stepped back.

"Coward. Any day."

"Mankind will be harvested because of your weakness," the Emperor said.

"And what about me?" the Doctor asked. "Am I becoming one of your angels?"

"You are the heathen. You will be exterminated.

"Maybe it's time."

The Doctor closed his eyes and exhaled. He didn't brace himself. Funny that when he'd finally stopped wanting to die, that was when the universe finally made it so. At least Rose was safe. She'd look after Earth in her own time. That was something.

Then he heard it. The familiar wheezing groan of the TARDIS. His eyes snapped open. It couldn't be real-

"Alert! Tardis materialising!" a Dalek shouted.

The shout made him believe it. He spun around. Sure enough, his beautiful blue TARDIS was landing exactly where she'd last taken off from.

"You will not escape!" The Emperor yelled.

The Doctor was blinded by a golden light as the TARDIS doors swung open. Immediately, his eyes shut he backed away. His senses burned, and his hearts beat rapidly as primal fear for a Time Lord took hold. Then his mind caught up with what he'd seen. The Doctor fell to his knees. He looked up and could only stare as Rose stepped out of the TARDIS. The golden light danced around her, bathing her in power and pure time.

"What've you done?"

"The TARDIS showed me the universe," Rose answered. Her voice echoed, and she smiled softly at him, her eyes blazing gold.

"You looked into the Time Vortex. Rose, no one's meant to see that."

"This is the Abomination!" the Emperor shouted.

"Exterminate!" the Daleks shouted.

Rose lazily waved a hand, and the energy beams vanished. Then her golden eyes rose to the sign high above them.

"I am the Bad Wolf. I create myself. I take the words; I scatter them in time and space." Rose waved her hand once again, and the letters all flashed gold and vanished. "A message to lead myself here."

"Rose, you've got to stop this. You've got to stop this now," the Doctor begged. "You've got the entire Vortex running through your head. You're going to burn."

"No," Rose answered. She laughed softly, and the gold of her eyes dimmed slightly as she met his worried gaze. Golden light swirled back into the TARDIS, but the glow around Rose did not fade. "I'm not. I am who and what I am supposed to be. And I want you safe, my Doctor. Protected from the false god. Protected from that which would burn this universe to ashes."

"You cannot hurt me. I am immortal," the Emperor declared.

"No," Rose answered. She stared at the viewscreen. "You are so very small. I see all of this universe, and you must not continue. You will no longer rob life of its due chance." Around the room, the Daleks began to disintegrate, leaving bright golden dust swirling in the air. It gathered around Rose, encircling her as if she was the center of a galaxy. "The Time War ends."

"I will not die. I cannot die!" the Emperor shouted.

But it too turned to dust on the viewscreen before the signal was cut by the ships all being destroyed. Rose smiled softly and closed her eyes, raising her chin. The golden dust around her glittered and then rushed away, spinning out of the room.

"Rose, you've done it. Now stop. Just let go."

"A moment, my Doctor," Rose answered. "When this is done."

"Rose, please, just stop. Whatever you are doing, just stop!"

"Doctor?" a soft scared voice called. It was Lynda. "I'm- I'm on floor 100. What's going on? Oh god, everyone is getting up-" Lynda started crying, and there was a rush of voices. "It's same thing on Earth. The buildings are destroyed, but the people-" Her com went out in static as Lynda started sobbing in relief.

"Doctor?" Jack's voice shouted. "Doctor?"

Rose smiled, and the Doctor's breath caught. Lynda's words about the people sank in. How? How had Rose had so much control? How was she- Then the glow faded away. It didn't retreat into the TARDIS. It just… faded. Rose swayed on her feet, and the Doctor jumped up. The Doctor caught Rose as she stumbled forward. He braced himself for the worst, and his body trembled with fear.

But Rose groaned and then shook her head as if only dazed. She was breathing, and the glow in her eyes had faded. Keeping hold of her, the Doctor's mind raced. She's taken in the Time Vortex and yet… some of it had gone back to the TARDIS, but Rose had kept glowing.

"I'm okay," Rose said. She shook her head and adjusted her feet. "I'm okay." She looked up at him and smiled at the sight of him. Then her hands gripped the collar of his coat, and Rose was suddenly bursting with rage and energy. "Never do that again." Angry and fierce brown eyes stared at him. It might have been his imagination, but he would have sworn that there were more flecks of gold in her eyes than before. "That was your freebie, Doctor. I will forgive you this one time for tricking me and only- only because it was the Daleks."

A soft laugh escaped the Doctor. He couldn't- this was- He breathed out slowly, trying to calm his rapidly beating hearts. Rose's eyes were bright as her anger faded, and relief took its place. Smiling, the Doctor cupped the side of her face and leaned forward. His other hand brushed over her neck. Her pulse was strong. Somehow, she was still here. Somehow, she was alive.

"Rose, may I kiss you?"

Her beaming smile drove away the last of his despair at the events of the day. "You may," she answered with a tongue touched smile. "I love you, you daft Time Lord."

"I love you too." The words were shockingly easy to say as a weight lifted off of his chest.

Then the Doctor kissed Rose, pulling her close to him and finally allowing old hurts to heal. He vaguely heard Jack cheer in the background, but decided that dealing with his other companion and the questions of what had just happened could wait. Jack's laughter grew, and as the soft kiss ended, Jack grabbed them both in a bear hug. Rose slumped against the Doctor, still smiling widely, and the Doctor grinned in response, holding her close and listening to Jack's happy ramblings of relief that they were all somehow alive.

Sometime later, when they heard people making their way to the control room, the three residents of the TARDIS piled into the ship. The Doctor noted that the console showed no signs of damage, and Jack kept hugging Rose and laughing in shock and glee. The Doctor used the communication systems to send one last message to Lynda, wishing her well in helping rebuild the Earth as something better before releasing the controls and sending them hurtling into the Vortex. Rose hugged him from the side, and the Doctor kissed her softly with a smile.

… Announcement…..

Well that wraps up another season of Guardians of the Universe and a big one at that. We finally made it to the Game Station and Bad Wolf after many years. Thank you so much for staying with me this long on this massive journey and all your supportive reviews and comments.

As usual I'm going to take some time off from writing the main series so I can catch my breath. I will resume regular updates on 14 November 2020 and starting off the bat with the Christmas Special tentatively titled Christmas on the Other Side. I'll be doing Glimpses and Bits in Between here and there during the hiatus so I won't completely vanish.

I have big plans for the next season including: a New Earth rewrite, a Doctor's Wife rewrite, an original episode with the Sisterhood of Karn, the return of the Meddling Monk and much more! And yes, you will get a definitive answer about the Rose question and a full explanation as to what is going on with her.