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Cracked Fairy Tales, Chapter 1
Title: Cracked Fairy Tales (Chapter 1)
Fandom: Doctor Who
Characters: Rose, Nine, Ten, Jack, Romana, Donna, (Jack/Rose, Rose/Doctor, Jack/Rose/Doctor)
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 2,223
Disclaimer: Nothing in here belongs to me. Alas
Summary: Not every story is told in a straight line and sometimes one has to follow the bread crumbs in order to get back home.
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bounce who took a look at the start and to deathpixie , who beta read this on her vacation. :D This is a direct sequel to my story ‘Composed of Nows’ (linked to the last part because there are links to the first chapters from there) and the nugget of an idea in that story blossomed into this 10k+ story. Ow, my brain. :D And cross posted. And yes, all the chapters have been written and I will try to post them for the next few nights.Once upon a time, there were three little metal pigs that lived in a village. They were rather rude three little pigs, at that, always exterminating their neighbors and blowing up their houses. Their neighbors had gotten along just fine for a while - they'd built their houses on top of stairs and the three little pigs were quite stumped at the idea of stairs.
And then one day the pigs grew wings and their neighbors were, to be blunt, rather fucked.
The three little pigs moved into one of the tallest buildings they could find so they could enjoy their new wings and they settled in for a spell. They threatened to exterminate the birds that flew by, the trees, even the clouds - they weren't the brightest pigs on the block, after all - and eventually the people that had survived got a little fed up.
And then the Big Bad Wolf arrived on the scene and the three little pigs were, to be blunt, rather fucked.
Before
It was dark and probably cold but President Romanadvoratrelundar was beyond the point of caring. With the last remaining ounce of her strength, she slammed the great door closed behind her and latched it, giving herself a moment’s respite. She slid down the barred door until she reached the ground with a thump, legs covered in blood and unknown matter splayed out in front of her. The sound of battle had died away minutes ago but the noise was still ringing sharply in her ears. Romana shook her head in an attempt to clear it but it wasn't working. Echoes upon echoes crashed around her and not all of them were sound.
The echoes of time were cold and sharp, cutting more sharply than any knife.
"Doctor," she whispered into the darkness, eyes closing slowly, "please do as I have commanded or we will take the very stars with us."
Time Lord arrogance had been their downfall; their ivory tower, a prison.
As President, Romana had understood that sacrifices had to be made in order to stop the Daleks from destroying not only the Time Lords, but the entire universe. Difficult decisions had to be acted upon and she had taken it upon herself to be the one to make them. He had resisted at first, stating that there had to be another way. But there hadn't been and they all had known it.
It was the only time the Doctor had ever really listened to orders and it would probably be the last time. Perhaps in the end he had listened to her because of their shared history; perhaps because it was the only path. Whatever the case, it was soon to be over.
Golden, warm light filtered under her eyelids and she wondered if this was it. She wondered if it was going to hurt or if the pain was forever in the past for her and the rest of her people.
When nothing happened, Romana cracked open one eye and glared at the figure standing in front of her. "What are you waiting for?" she demanded. "I haven't got all day. If you haven't come to kill me, then I've a war to win."
The figure was too bright to see into properly but she thought she made out the head as it made a negative gesture. A moment, a heart beat later, and then the light started to dim, drawing back slowly and the person in front of her became clear. Romana started when she realized it wasn't the Doctor. She had been expecting ... Romana had never seen this woman before in her life but it was obvious that she wasn't ... normal.
"Time vortex. Who ever you were, you've absorbed the time vortex," she whispered, staring. There was a growing, steady pain in the back of her mind but she ignored it. "What are you?"
"I am known by many names," the girl whispered as the time vortex pulsed to its own beat inside her. "Some will call me Valiant Child, others have called me Bad Wolf."
The Time Lady sprawled on the floor frowned. The girl was young, human if she wasn't mistaken and she rarely was, and something was just not right. Before she could figure out just what it was, Romana's mind imploded into a thousand different stars. Drums provided the rhythm to the ringing of the cloister bells as TARDIS' around the universe winked out of existence. Daleks rusted solid before exploding in showers of dust as Time Lords and Ladies were gobbled up by time itself.
An entire planet sighed as it collapsed in on itself, sucking the very life out of the space around it.
The last of the Time Lords knelt in his ancient TARDIS and screamed as his body channeled the Time Vortex...
And then all.
Time.
Just.
Stopped.
Romana sobbed as the drums faded from her mind and she stared as the Valiant Child knelt before her. "Why am I not dead?" she whispered. "Are you here to save me?"
"No. My Doctor is destined to be the last of his kind." She tilted her head and for a moment, Romana witnessed the humanity behind the power. And it made her heart break for this child, for this poor lonely child. "I have stopped time for but a moment. I have a question to ask of you."
That garnered a weak chuckle. "What would you ask me, O Valiant Child?"
"He will suffer greatly. As the last, his vengeance could be all of our undoing. He must be tempered, reworked, and if he is to come out of the fires battered though whole, he will need help. Will you help him?"
Romana stared up in the burning eyes. "What else did they call you, child?" she whispered. "Once upon a time, what name did you go by?"
There was hesitation. "Some called me ... Rose."
"Rose. It suits you more than the others." She reached up and placed her hands on either side of Rose's face. "I have doomed him to become the murderer of our entire race. His friends, his enemies, even his granddaughter. In the end, I have sentenced him to an eternity of loneliness that no man, Time Lord or human, should ever endure. Child, if there is a way I can ease this burden for him, simply show me the way."
Rose's hands echoed Romana's as she placed them on the Time Lady's head. "Then open your mind to me, President Romanadvoratrelundar."
"What will happen?"
Golden eyes crinkled slightly. "We shall burn together."
Time turned back on. The Valiant Child and Romana disappeared; the Doctor's TARDIS crash landed and the man in question finally stopped screaming as his body gave out and his new one started to piece itself back together.
~~
"You know I love you, right?" Rose blurted out.
Through the rusted bars of her prison cell, she could make out Jack Harkness' form in a room that was the twin of her own. He paused in his attempt to jimmy open the lock and stared at her. She flushed even as he put down the tools and scooted over to where their cells were joined.
It really wasn't the time or the place to start spouting emotional babble but she felt the pressing desire to explain. To apologize.
Twenty five years they had been together - a mile stone for most people but when they looked at each other, it was like time had never passed at all. Jack sometimes put some silver color in his hair, just for show, and it was obvious that Rose colored her hair anyway so no one really thought to ask. Twenty five years and it was like they'd just started.
Neither of them had complained.
But the mad visions of an alien, just a few hours ago when they'd been captured in some ancient ruins in Russia, had forced the issue through. Rose was still in love with the Doctor and they were still waiting for the accidental-on-purpose finding of their previous version.
She loved Jack, too, and it was so hard to explain. But for the first time, she realized she could understand where the Doctor had been coming from with Reniette.
Jack reached through the bars and cupped her cheek. "Love isn't exactly a straight line, sweetheart," he said, giving her that half-smile that never failed to make her insides melt slightly. "You love me. I love you. You love the Doctor and, well, I'm not going to say I wouldn't mind a go with that."
For a moment her brain well and truly just stopped.
A gentle tug had her pressing her forehead against the bars so he could press a kiss to her mouth. "We're an us, Rose, and we always will be. Doesn't matter what came before, what happens now, or what will come later." He kissed her again, harder this time, and grinned against her mouth. "I'm not saying I'm going to just give you up - you're a bit addictive, you know, and the Doctor's going to have to learn how to share. We'll always have forever. Just keep that in the mind when the darkness comes..."
Always.
As they kissed, traces of gold veins thrummed slightly across her eyelids.
~~
Eventually
"This is the second time I've been here."
Rose's hand settled gently on Pete's shoulder as she held back fresh sobs of her own. On the other side of her father's wheelchair, Tony gripped their father's hand tightly within his own as they watched them lower Jackie's casket into the ground. "Oh mum," she whispered, feeling Jack's arm settle across her shoulders.
Pete glanced up at her with a tired smile. "It'll be me next and no tears for me, Rose."
She couldn't promise him that. Not when she knew that the next time, she and Jack were going to be mistaken for Tony's children, again.
And when they finally laid Tony to rest, she had no idea who she was going to be mistaken for then.
~~
They watched the stars a lot in those last days. It was better than watching the Earth turn into a place that she barely recognized but that Jack was starting to see bits that reminded him of home.
"He was always rubbish at the timing," she reminded them both one day as they laid flowers down on Mickey and Jake's graves. They'd been approached by the city a few year ago to see if they were interested in selling the land, turning into...whatever they had wanted to turn it into. The representative had nearly gone away with a black eye and his briefcase set on fire. Things like lawyers never changed.
Jack kissed her temple and snuggled her close. "I love you."
~~
Before
The first thing he noticed when he woke up was the silence. The utter, complete and horrifying silence that echoed painfully inside the walls of his head as he screamed out for the others. The Doctor refused to open his eyes. If he opened his eyes then he couldn't deny that it wasn't all some horrible dream.
Maybe the Master was up to his old tricks.
"He'll fight for us."
"He'll undermine us!"
"As much as the Master hates you, Doctor, he hates the Daleks even more."
Maybe the Counsel had gotten tired of him, again, and had taken drastic measures.
"...sorry, Doctor, I'm so sorry. But this has gone beyond drastic measures."
"Romana, do - do you even know what you're asking of me?"
"Yes, I do. As your President -"
"I've never paid much heed to the whims of that station before."
"Please. Please. Do you wish to see me beg this of you? I have no shame when it comes to winning this war for good. You are our only hope and if I could do it in your place, than I would."
"Oh, Romana."
Maybe he was still on the fields of Arcadia, on the front lines in a never-ending battle.
Arcadia burned white-hot and he could still feel the ash burning on his skin and tasted death in his mouth.
Maybe...
There were no more maybes, not anymore.
The Doctor opened his eyes and found himself the last of his kind, on the floor of a TARDIS that was the last of her kind, in clothes meant for a much shorter man.
'Oh, Romana' indeed.
***
Eventually
She woke up with Jack's face, worried and confused, hovering over hers. The sheets were tangled tightly around her legs and she was soaked in sweat. "J-Jack?" Rose murmured, reaching up to splay her fingers on his chest. "Nightmare?" She couldn't remember anything. The last thing she remembered was falling into bed after they'd spent a few hours christening the new kitchen table (and floor and counters; she flushed in memory, a hazy sense of delight floating through her) and then waking up.
"You tell me, sweetheart," he replied, smoothing her hair out of her face. "I woke up to find you thrashing around and..." Jack shook his head, looking more confused than ever.
"And what?"
His head dipped down, lips brushing over her ear. "You weren't screaming, Rose. You were singing."
~~
Always
"Wake, O Valiant Child. It is Time."
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*eagerly awaits the next installment*
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I really don't have a lot of idea what's going on here yet - though it made a bit more sense once I re-read the final chapter of CoN (which I still love). Jack and Rose, together and in love, and still in love with the Doctor... aww :) Not growing old together, too - while it's lovely in one way, you've done a great job of showing how it's painful in others.
(By the way, Rose's half-brother is Tony, not Toby).
So I'm assuming the Doctor - whichever Doctor it's going to be - is on his way to find them? YAY!
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I always thought that would be the hardest thing about not aging - watching others you know die and the world change around you. At least they still have each other, but...XD
Hopefully you'll continue to enjoy it - there are four more parts set to go up so things will start to clear up. Mmm, there'll be some good Doctor in the next bit, that's for sure!
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