send me a made-up fic title and i’ll tell you what i would write to go with it : The trees sing with sadness (it's late and I'm beat but I am also curious!)
Time is irrelevant when crossing the Void. At least until you reach a reality, a tangible universe. Except some universes have their own physics, their own rules for time, space and existence.
It was in one such universe Rose landed. Not with so much of a stumble or crash but a gentle whispering step, barely stirring the quiet of the meadow she landed in. The coordinates were meant to match the London of this universe. Clearly, this Earth didn’t develop the same way. Or, the civilization destroyed itself early on.
Her TARDIS key remained cool, almost cold. Like Rose’s confidence of late. Nothing there screamed danger or promise or hope. Sun shined down barely warming her skin through her blue leather coat. Grass rustled and moved like a sea in waves of various shades of green Beyond, a forest, trees so tall it made this place feel alien. Yet she knew it was Earth. Except...
A subtle vibration lifted her hair. The wind stopped. But the trees, the leaves continued to whisper, alive, warning, offering, promising solutions, wishes and dreams. Rose knew it all to be false. How many times had she seen seemingly perfect alternatives of her Earth. All flawed.
She checked her her timer. Another thirty minutes. The trees creaked and hissed beckoning her forward. But Rose stood her ground. Any other time...maybe. She had a mission. Saving the mulitverse and only one person could help her achieve that and he wasn’t here.
And right about that time is when it all went pear shaped. A blonde woman in a long flowing coat with a bright smile strolled out of the woods. A hopin her step but something ancient and timeless refelcted in her eyes.
“Rose Tyler,” she spoke and the words wrapped around Rose warm and velvety, even spoken ten feet away. “You shouldn’t be here.”
“Neither should you.” Unwilling to name who she hoped this was, Rose stayed her guard.
“Yeah, funny that. But then neither of us plays by the rules. Never did. Never will. And they know that.”
“Who,” Rose asked, curiosity obliterating her caution. Her feet itched to carry her forward but she resisted.
“Welcome to the Dominion of the Grace, The Great Old Ones who created the Key to Time, keep the mulitverse from falling apart. That’s why you and I are here.”
“Rose shivered at the name. The Grace. A memory, seared into her mind, a once upon a time, a thread wrapping tightly around her, embedding until it became a part of her, a payment for a favor. Fuck. It came back with a migraine inducing clarity. Bad Wolf.”
“You’re remembering aren’t you? I’m sorry. I tried to protect you.”
“Tell me,” Rose demanded, bent over, focusing on breathing through painful memories. “I need to hear it.”
“You already know, my Rose.”
So close Rose could almost touch her, the cooling sensation of space and time flowed from the woman to her.
“But I need to know it’s not this place.”
The woman smiled, crinkles at he corners of her eyes conveyed welcome, safety and familiarity.
“All you need is a hand to hold. The Doctor and Rose Tyler, the Stuff of Legends.”
Tears burned Roses eyes as she moved one foot and then the other until her hand slipped into this new Doctor’s.
“Hello,” the Doctor spoke softly, same vocal intonation despite the feminine exterior.
“Doctor.” The one word that felt right in her mouth.
“Ready to save the mulit verse and put some ancients and their inner squabbles in their place?”
The stars were going out. And old universal god-like beings were mucking things up. Like Rose Tyler would say no to that.
Thanks for asking! Wouldn’t this be fun!
