Wolf Moon: Chapter Sixteen

[amberfocus]

Loophole

 

“What do you mean by loophole?” Rose asked curiously.  Her voice rang a little too loudly in the vaulted chamber, echoing off the ceiling and thudding against the marble floor.  A slight frown graced her face and her fingers tightened around the Doctor’s hand.

 

Ambigere looked at her in silence.  “What are you here for?” she tried again.  Apparently it was the right question because the woman answered her this time.

 

“I was sent here to represent your interests in this development of your life, Rose Tyler,” she said.

 

“My interests?”  Rose tried not to look as confused as she felt.

 

“Yes.”

 

“Which are?” Rose continued.  Again the woman did not reply, her glittering black eyes shifting between Rose and the Doctor.  Rose decided to try another tack.  “Who sent you here?” she asked.

 

“The Bad Wolf sent me here,” Ambigere replied.

 

“But I am the Bad Wolf,” Rose protested.

 

“I know who you are.”  A slight smile bent the corners of her lips upwards.

 

“So you’re saying I sent you here to myself, right now.  When did I do this?” Rose asked.

 

“When you could see all of time and space you sent me here.  When your life was being altered out of your control, without your consent to the meddling dispensation of Time Lord plans, with no other recourse you turned to me,” she told Rose.  “You sent me here to this time and to this place to allow yourself an alternative should you so choose it.”

 

“You mean I knew?”  Rose gasped.

 

“As the Bad Wolf you saw this outcome.  You saw all outcomes.  It is why I am here,” Ambigere said.

 

“But I don’t remember this.  I don’t remember any of this,” Rose protested.

 

“You remember so little of that time.  Plans made then were best forgotten.  Knowledge learned then best kept safe until a later moment.  Your decision, your choice.  It was hidden in the mists of time and space along with this planet, along with the creation of the pocket universes,” the woman explained.  “Along with the loophole.”

 

Remembering how she had phrased her first question and how it had been ignored, Rose chose her words carefully.  “You said you were the loophole.  What exactly is the loophole?”

 

“An alternative to mating to leave this universe.”  Her words fell to the ground, shattering like glass between the Doctor and Rose.  Involuntarily they both shuffled closer together.

 

“We wouldn’t have to…mate to get out?”  Rose said.

 

“That is correct.”

 

Confusion whirled in Rose’s mind as she wondered why she was suddenly upset with the idea of another way out.  It had been what she wanted and yet the appeal of it wasn’t as strong as she thought it ought to be.  Had she been excited by the idea of having to at some point have sex with the Doctor?

 

She had gone on and on about the fact that she’d had all choice taken away form her, but had she maybe been looking forward to the excuse of no other choice?  And if she was what did that say about her?  That she really did want to jump him before she got to know him?  She knew herself well enough to recognize that this was a real possibility.  More than a possibility actually.

 

“Then we should take it,” the Doctor said.

 

“What?”  Rose asked.  She turned to him, dropping his hand and wrapping her arms around herself.  She had no cause to be feeling rejected but suddenly she was.

 

“We should take it,” he repeated.  At the hurt look on her face he raised his hand and stroked some of her hair back.  “I want you, Rose.  But you’ve said you wanted time and this gives us time.”

 

“But…”

 

“You put this in place for a reason.  You wanted some control over your future.  And you need to have it.  What Romana and I did was with the best of intentions but no one ever considered you as more than a means to an end.  Not even me, and I should have done.  I mean, I was told that you would love me, the other me, only I didn’t think about any of it beyond that.  But you did. At the point of Bad Wolf, you knew and you made arrangements.  You wanted this.  We should take the loophole,” he told her with conviction.

 

“I don’t want you to pull away from me,” she said unable to keep the edge of sadness out of her voice.

 

He pulled her into his arms, hugging her gently.  “I’m not going to pull away from you.  Even with the pheromones more or less under control, there’s something about you that I want.  Something basic about what you are.  You make me feel alive, Rose.  I haven’t felt alive since before the Time War.  But you’ve woken me back up.”

 

She sighed, leaning into his chest and knowing that choosing this alternative did not mean the end of this burgeoning relationship.  “But if you don’t want to wait,” he added with a grin in his voice, “I’ll take you right here on the floor.  Just give the word.”

 

Rose laughed and then pushed back from him just a little bit.  “I’m really not kidding,” he said with a sparkle in his eyes.

 

“I didn’t think you were,” she said with a wink.

 

“Right here, right now, there’s a likely spot over there in that alcove.  Just one word from you, Rose, and I am more than happy to oblige.  In fact, I don’t even need a word.  A nod would be just fine.  How about a nod, Rose?  Or even a nudge?  A nudge would do just fine, too.”  His grin was wicked and his eyes full of sensuality.

 

“Stop tempting me,” Rose told him as she unconsciously wet her lips.

 

“Never,” he said in a voice that was almost a growl.

 

Ambigere cleared her throat and they broke apart.  “What exactly is involved in this loophole?” Rose asked.

 

“Salvation.”

 

“What?” Rose questioned.

 

“Salvation?” repeated the Doctor.  “What’s that meant to mean?  Salvation for what?”

 

“The fate of the universe.”

 

Rose’s eyes widened.  “Wait,” she said.  “Is this more than a loophole to get out of here without shagging?”

 

“Of course.  You saw all of time and space.  Would you not use your loophole to save what needed saving beyond yourself?” Ambigere replied.

 

“Well, yeah,” Rose admitted.  “I would if I saw something that needed saving and I thought the Doctor and I could do it.  But I don’t understand what you mean by the fate of the universe.”

 

“I know you do not.  But you will.”

 

“Has anyone ever told you that you’re enigmatic?” asked the Doctor.

 

“I was designed to be,” she said and gave him a slight smile.

 

“All right then,” said Rose.  “Let’s have the rules to this game.”

 

“It’s simple.  It’s a quest.  You will retrieve an item from a planet and return it to me here.  Once here that object will give you the clue to your next task,” she told them.

 

“Next task?”

 

“There will be seven.  But the retrieval of the first and the return of it to my possession will trigger your release…from this universe.”  Rose turned to look at Ambigere sharply and noticed amusement in her expression for the first time.  “Just as mating with the Doctor would trigger your release in a different way.”

 

Rose groaned and the Doctor smirked.  She shook her head.  “So we retrieve these objects one by one and we bring them back to you and we do what with them?” asked Rose.

 

“They will be returned to their proper locations throughout time and space and that will allow damage done in the Time War to be mended,” said Ambigere.

 

“These tasks are designed in such a way that the two of you must work together to solve them.  You will have to rely and depend upon each other, your strengths and weaknesses complimenting or being supported by the other person.”  The woman pressed her hands together.

 

“You must keep this in mind at all times, Doctor.”  Ambigere gave him a hard look.  “You have been used to doing things by yourself for far too long and you must learn to allow Rose in to the decision-making process as well as into the implementation process.  It will be in your nature to charge ahead with your own opinions and your own belief that you are without question right in your assumptions.  You must fight this.”

 

She turned her eyes back to Rose.  “It is your job to question him.  And you must learn to trust that this man is who he is and not the one you once knew.  The basic building blocks are the same but this one has his own unique challenges.  However, he is…suited to you.”  Her voice was grudging.  “Matched more evenly than any other.”

 

“More than my Doctor?” Rose asked softly.

 

“Rose, he is your Doctor.”  The words fell gently.  “He just isn’t your Doctor yet.”

 

“I think we should accept the quest, Rose,” the Doctor said.  “If it’s what you want, I’m more than willing.”

 

“I think we owe it to the universe,” said Rose.  “Even if we…you know, before we finish the first task, I think this quest is something we have to do.  It’s kind of like it’s our job.”

 

“Then you accept?”

 

“We accept,” they said in unison.

 

“Very well.”  Ambigere pulled a heavy envelope out of her sleeve.  The parchment was heavy and slightly yellowed with age.  The wax upon it was a brilliant red color and deeply embedded in it was a seal.

 

“I’ve seen that before,” said Rose as she took the envelope from Ambigere’s hands, “or something very much like it in the TARDIS.  Well, in the other TARDIS.  It might be in yours as well, I don’t know.  And somewhere else, too, that I can’t remember.  It is strangely familiar.  And it feels old.  So very old.”

 

The Doctor took it from her fingers and tilted it to look at the seal.  “It is old,” he said.  “It’s older than the Seal of Rassilon itself.”  The Doctor ran his fingers over the impression in the wax.

 

“What is it?” Rose asked.  “What’s the symbol mean?”

 

“It’s two symbols really, both of them in old Gallifreyan.  This one means time,” said the Doctor.  His finger hovered above the one to the right.

 

“And this one?” asked Rose, her finger brushing against his as she pointed to the other side.

 

“That one means reality.”

 

“And what’s that ribbony thing running through them?”  Rose asked.

 

“I don’t know,” the Doctor admitted.  “I’ve never seen it before.  It’s not part of my written language, not even the most archaic forms.  So it’s either older than the written word on Gallifrey or it’s not Gallifreyan at all.”

 

Rose looked up at Ambigere.  “What’s it mean?” she asked.

 

Ambigere shrugged.  “That’s for you to learn on your own.  It wouldn’t be much of a quest if I gave you all of the answers right from the beginning, would it?”

 

“Sure would make things easier,” Rose grumbled.

 

“If you want easy,” and Ambigere’s voice went unyielding, “mate with the Doctor and forget about the fate of the universe.”

 

“Well, I would,” said Rose taking up the challenge, her voice hardening, “only that’s not how I do things.”

 

“That’s not how we do things,” the Doctor said.  His hand reached out for Rose’s, finding it halfway stretched towards his.  Shoulder to shoulder they faced off with the woman.

 

Ambigere nodded.  “As it should be.  I will leave you now.  Two miles west of the city there is a bridge across the canyon.  It will make your progress back to your ship much easier.  Do not open the envelope until I’ve left.  Farewell, Rose Tyler, Doctor.  And good luck.”

 

“Wait,” said Rose and Ambigere froze.  “Are my interests the only ones you’re protecting?”

 

“No.”  The woman fell to the floor, in the same motion resuming the form of the huge black wolf, and raced out of the temple.  They watched her go in silence.

 

“Still think she’s a guardian and protector?” the Doctor asked finally.

 

“Not sure,” Rose said, “but I believe her.”

 

“Me, too.”  He looked down at the envelope and then handed it to Rose.  “Shall we open it?” he asked.

 

Rose nodded and then slid her finger under the flap, breaking the seal.  As the envelope opened a puff of Vortex energy radiated outwards and upwards, expanding far enough to enshroud them momentarily before thinning and slowly dissipating to nothing.  Rose paused and bit her lip, locking eyes with the Doctor and seeking encouragement.  He nodded at her, placing a hand on her shoulder.

 

With trembling fingers she pulled the piece of parchment from the envelope and slowly unfolded it.  She had half expected the words to be written in the Doctor’s language, and although the border of the paper was filled with those kinds of symbols, the language detailing the quest was in Latin.  She recognized it as such before it shimmered and appeared to be written in English.

 

As Rose read over the details of the first task she felt suddenly unnerved.  She looked up at the Doctor and then handed him the paper to read.  When his eyes met hers again she saw trepidation that matched her own.

 

“I don’t know,” said Rose in a frightened voice.  “Maybe we should just shag after all.”

 

“Yeah,” agreed the Doctor swallowing hard.  “Maybe we should.”

Ch. 17:  http://amberfocus.livejournal.com/11805.html