Return to the Planet of Hate (11/9/Emilie/Rose)

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The younger looking man (but supposedly the older Doctor) seemed a little miffed over the tension between the two girls. Jack guessed that he, at least, was not quite so blind to their affections. Even if his Doctor obviously was.

"It's not like that, as you know perfectly well," the Doctor huffed. "Rose is a fantastic young woman, and Emilie is a credit to your species in her own right. But..." he snorted in mocking laughter. "A catfight? Really? They're like... two percent of my age, Jack. And a different species. It ain't like that at all."

"Are you sure they know that?" Jack had asked, a damnable grin on his face as always before turning towards the other Doctor.

Jack could almost feel a bit sorry for him. But not sorry enough to agree to bowties being cool. Just because one person could pull it off did not make it a fashion trend that Jack would get behind.

He'd left the two of them to their own to intercede between the young women. Emilie, as expected, was more than willing to say hello. Even if Rose clearly did not approve.

To be expected, really. He would just make sure to not invite them both dancing at the same time and all would be well.

"Oi! Enough of that!" simultaneously with his older self's "Oi! Stopit Jack. No flirting with strangers in the middle of a time and space catastrophe."

The simultaneous response did not make Emilie bat an eyelash (and that was rather interesting, what else was she accustomed to the Doctor doing in tandem with himself?), but Jack was startled plenty.

Alright, the school teacher was definitely the Doctor.

Clearing his throat after Rose’s question, he winked to the two girls before announcing, “I’m up for a look ‘round. Of course, if you don’t need me...” his tone turned more mischievous than usual before finishing, “I’ll be in me bunk.”

Not precisely true – there was no way he was walking out on something as interesting as this seemed to be and on Skaro no less – but Jack couldn’t resist ribbing the Doctor a little.

[Deleted]

"And it's all been since you met Emilie? Wot the hell's goin' on?"

"To be fair, technically, you met her first," The Eleventh answered. He was getting rather bored of being so serious now. And, if he had an answer for his younger self, then he would have given it to him during their mental exchange. Reality was, The Doctor didn't think that it was Emilie's fault at all, no, she seemed to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

He could be entirely wrong, it could be entirely about her, but for now, The Doctor was giving Emilie the benefit of the doubt.

They were spinning their wheels here, in a tense state teetering on the edge of bickering amongst themselves. However, a shining light poked through, the impatience of one nineteen year old Rose Tyler.

"Alright, you lot -- are we going to stand around here all day?"

Oh, she was very good at drawing everyone back

"No, it's time to get a move on," The Eleventh answered. Skaro had a lot of unsolved mysteries lying around, namely, why it was back in the sky, why were there Thals alive again, and why were they worshiping him, er, them, no, him, as a god?

Obviously the mystery of meeting his previous selves wouldn't be solved today. The Doctor had resigned to the fact that he would have to wait until he met the last one for anything concrete.

“I’m up for a look ‘round. Of course, if you don’t need me...” his tone turned more mischievous than usual before finishing, “I’ll be in me bunk.”

The Doctor resisted the urge to laugh, it was best not to encourage Jack, especially when he was purposely trying to infuriate his younger self. He'd read in a book some hundred years ago that it was best to be kind to oneself. The temple ahead seemed to be promising, but there was also the question of the unconscious Priest laying at their side.

"So, we probably should bring him with us. Or at least get some of his friends to take care of him. I think enough Thals have been harmed because of my lack of action in the past."

[Deleted]

Right. She had best resist any spoilers. Rose was just getting testy with her.

Which was a shame. The TARDIS seemed fond of the flower girl. Even if that did make Emilie feel just a bit more jealous.

"And it's all been since you met Emilie? Wot the hell's goin' on?"

The younger Doctor’s question made her flinch, and Emilie was grateful to Jack for his unwitting distraction as she withdrew. She had crouched down next to the priest just as her Doctor was talking about ‘bringing him with us’. At first, Emilie had thought he had meant Jack, but as far as she knew Jack was not a Thal.

So probably the priest then.

There was a religion that worshipped the Doctor. There was a thought, indeed.

“Jack, Doctor? One of you, give me a hand with the poor man then.”

Wouldn’t want to keep Rose Tyler waiting, now would we?

Mental snippery aside, they really did need to be getting on.

[The Ninth Doctor (Retired)]

"And it's all been since you met Emilie? Wot the hell's goin' on?"

"To be fair, technically, you met her first," his older self answered, a familiar edge in his voice.

"Oh," the Doctor said, lifting an eyebrow at himself. "It's like that, is it?" He threw up his hands, grinning. "Nah, nah, I know. Spoilers, right? An' you held back on that for a reason, I'm guessing." A pause, as he draped an arm around his older self's shoulder. "But we do get a little techy about someone talkin' like that about... well... friends. Don't we?"

Then he pulled his arm away, and turned on his heel to Emilie. "And I owe you an apology, Emilie. Didn't really think you were the cause - just, y'know, running me mouth." His face turned serious. "Really. I am sorry."

"Alright, you lot," Rose said - well, snapped really, "are we going to stand around here all day?"

Both Doctors reacted in unison.

"No, it's time to get a move on," said the older Doctor as the Doctor said, "'Course we are. If nothing else, I'm curious to find out why the Thals are worshipping me. And why there are Thals, here. And, for that matter, why Skaro is here."

And then Jack - bless his poor single heart - decided to break the tension. “I’m up for a look ‘round. Of course, if you don’t need me...” his tone turned more mischievous than usual before finishing, “I’ll be in me bunk."

"That was far more information than any of us really needed, Jack," the Doctor said, playing up his most severe tone of voice.

"So, we probably should bring him with us," commented the older Doctor. "Or at least get some of his friends to take care of him. I think enough Thals have been harmed because of my lack of action in the past."

“Jack, Doctor?" Emilie said at once, "One of you, give me a hand with the poor man then.”

"Nope," the Doctor said. "Let Jack shift him. It'll help him keep his hands out where they won't be getting into mischief - and don't go groping my priest! I don't want a repeat of Voraxis!"

He then gestured for Emilie and Rose to come closer. "Now, you two, nip on up to the temple. Tell them you're Barbara and Susan, and that the Lords Doctor have come. Pay attention to what happens, and be ready to tell us all about it later." A pause. "Try not to get into trouble. Follow my example, for a change."

He examined the two sets of skeptical expressions he was getting, grinned, and made shooing gestures. Then he looked at his older self. "Well? Shall we?"

(OOC: Voraxis? Shrug. Beats me. Something involving a priest and Jack, apparently. Feel free to invent little details at any time.)

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* * *

One dark eyebrow lifted at his suggestion, but that was it; she was used to the Doctor giving orders without explaining himself by now. And so far she’d been able to trust him, but…

“Wot kind of a name is Barbara, anyways…” She scowled, realising she wasn’t getting any explanation, and worse, was paired with Emilie, She-Who-Spoke-in-Riddles. Rolling her eyes, she beckoned for the girl to follow.

“Oi, keep up.”

Rose darted out the door of the TARDIS on immediate alert, trainers immediately dusty thanks to the ground. She looked both ways and breathed in deeply, trying to get a feel for the place. It didn’t smell like anything she’d ever experienced. A glance at the girl in the red coat confirmed they were partners for the purpose of this plot. But if she travelled with the Doctor like she said, she knew exactly how he was, namely how he couldn’t stay out of trouble to save his life.

“I suppose we should follow his example then, hmm?”

She glanced conspiratorially at the girl, wondering if she was on the same page.

* * *

[Deleted]

The Doctor may have chided him, but even Jack could tell that the man's hearts weren't in it. Especially not when it felt more like a 'thank you for providing a diversion'. Which, of course, brought the offer of quite another type of diverting the man to the tip of his tongue.

But Jack resisted. He was, after all, capable of it, if he so wished.

and don't go groping my priest! I don't want a repeat of Voraxis!

"That wasn't a priest, that was a field man! He told me so himself."


Slightly miffed for a brief moment, it wasn't as if he put his attentions where they were unwanted after all!, Jack lifted the priest easily.


"Tally ho, then."

[Deleted]

The younger Doctor had taken control of the situation, that was fine by the older, silent observation until the last possible second followed by a burst of chatting that would set everything into motion. The Doctor knew that meeting his Ninth meant they were nearing the end of this strange journey.

His First, Forth Seventh, Eighth and Tenth remained. How much longer would this go on? And what was wait for him, them, at the end of the road? That was something The Doctor did not look forward to finding out.

"Well? Shall we?"

He blinked, looking back to himself, "Ah, yes. At your side. We shall, Doctor." He always enjoyed these lovely conversations with himself, as the older version, he got to pass down the sagely advice, "So, where are you now Doctor? You're with Jack, so I'd imagine you've been to Cardiff again?"

[Deleted]

"Oh," the Doctor said, lifting an eyebrow at himself. "It's like that, is it?" He threw up his hands, grinning. "Nah, nah, I know. Spoilers, right? An' you held back on that for a reason, I'm guessing." A pause, as he draped an arm around his older self's shoulder. "But we do get a little techy about someone talkin' like that about... well... friends. Don't we?"

It was like what?

Sometimes, Emilie wished she could keep up with whatever short hand communication the Doctor appeared to have with himself. It left her feeling really rather confused when she could feel certain cues but had no idea what it was he was trying to say.


Then he pulled his arm away, and turned on his heel to Emilie. "And I owe you an apology, Emilie. Didn't really think you were the cause - just, y'know, running me mouth." His face turned serious. "Really. I am sorry."

"I could forgive you everything, Doctor," Emilie smiled slightly to the Northern Doctor. She had fallen for him first, no matter how close she was with the Eleventh, Nine would always be special to her.

Even if he never saw that.


In short order, Jack was assigned to carrying the faint of heart priest, and she had been shunted off with Rose.

It was a shame, really. Emilie would probably have liked her a lot more if it weren't for the simple fact that Rose had been the one to take her place. The lingering jealousy was incredibly human of her and she tried not to let it get to her.

Especially since Emilie could tell that the TARDIS trusted her.


“Wot kind of a name is Barbara, anyways…”

"That's the name of one of the Doctor's first companions," Emilie answered helpfully. "Barbara Wright and Ian Chesterton. They're professors at Cambridge now, and married. But they'd followed Susan, that's the Doctor's granddaughter, to the TARDIS. And you know how it is. One thing led to another."


“I suppose we should follow his example then, hmm?”

That earned a laugh.

"If we're following his example, there is no need to go looking for trouble. It will find us."

[The Ninth Doctor (Retired)]

He blinked, looking back to himself, "Ah, yes. At your side. We shall, Doctor." He always enjoyed these lovely conversations with himself, as the older version, he got to pass down the sagely advice, "So, where are you now Doctor? You're with Jack, so I'd imagine you've been to Cardiff again?"

"Couple o' times, really," the Doctor answered himself. "Most recently in London, during the Blitz. The kids with the gas masks - I'm sure yeh remember them, right?" He stretched his face out. "'Are you me mummy'? Brrr. Gonna be hearing that in me sleep for a while."

He mimed out a dramatic shiver, then shrugged. "Course, it's not like we sleep much, is it?"

He watched Emilie and Rose scarper, and waited for Jack to drag the priest off. Then he sighed. "Skaro."

There was a world of pain and horror in the word.

"It can't be here," he insisted, whirling on his older self. "Can't be. What we did... if Skaro's here, it was for nothing!"

For a second - just a second - he looked like a tired old man, dressed for a costume party. Then he pulled himself toghether. "Right," he said. "Enough of that. "Right before you arrived, our 'priest' said..." He concentrated for a moment, reviewing the man's exact words. "He said 'our world lives because - in the Time Before Time - you defeated the Destroyers and gave Skaro as a home to the Thals forever'."

The younger Doctor bit his lip, thinking hard. "The Destroyers are clearly the Daleks. But, the 'Time Before Time'...?" He beat the pads of his hands against his temples. "I got nothing."

(OOC: Sorry about the long wait. For some reason, I thought Rose was up before me...)

[Rose Tyler (Retired)]

"Now, you two, nip on up to the temple. Tell them you're Barbara and Susan, and that the Lords Doctor have come. Pay attention to what happens, and be ready to tell us all about it later." A pause. "Try not to get into trouble. Follow my example, for a change."

With that advice, Rose took off, leaving the safety and comfort of the TARDIS, and she assumed Emilie had followed after her - Rose had, after all, warned her to keep up.

“I suppose we should follow his example then, hmm?” She glanced conspiratorially at the other girl, wondering if she was on the same page.

That earned a laugh. "If we're following his example, there is no need to go looking for trouble. It will find us."

Rose smirked. "Yeah, I suppose that's quite true," she said in agreement.

"So... Excited yet, Barbara?" Rose asked, having decided that maybe 'Barbara' wasn't actually such a bad name, after all, as the two girls made their way toward the Thals' temple. 'Susan' wasn't so bad, either, but... Rose wasn't quite sure how she felt about playing the part of the Doctor's granddaughter.

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((Pass. I assume Jack is headed to the temple, but a bit slower than Emilie and Rose as he's playing nurse and not in what he thinks of as the fun way to our shocked priest.))

[Deleted]

"'Are you me mummy'? Brrr. Gonna be hearing that in me sleep for a while."

The elder version of The Doctor's expression turned to one of remembrance, then he sighed, "Well, there's old memories I didn't need to dig back up. Brilliant, now I'm going to be having nightmares too." He was mostly joking, he'd encountered things twice as horrible at this point.

"Course, it's not like we sleep much, is it?"

"Fair point, but an hour long nightmare is still a nightmare." He looked to his younger self, oh the nightmares he'd had when he was him. He thought a moment before saying.

"You'll be alright Doctor. One day. As much as we beat ourselves up. We did the right thing."

The conversation turned back to Skaro.

"It can't be here," he insisted, whirling on his older self. "Can't be. What we did... if Skaro's here, it was for nothing!"

Crossing his hands behind his back, The Doctor sort of had to agree, in terms of the Daleks, it was for nothing, they were back and as strong as they'd been on the first day of the Time War, "They had to be stopped. What the Time Lords wanted to do, nearly did. Being alone, was the price we paid for saving reality."

He'd let him find out how wrong that statement was the long route.

Right," he said. "Enough of that. "Right before you arrived, our 'priest' said..." He concentrated for a moment, reviewing the man's exact words. "He said 'our world lives because - in the Time Before Time - you defeated the Destroyers and gave Skaro as a home to the Thals forever'."

"Oh! I love a riddle, let's see here. The obvious is these Destroyers."

The younger Doctor bit his lip, thinking hard. "The Destroyers are clearly the Daleks. But, the 'Time Before Time'...?" He beat the pads of his hands against his temples. "I got nothing."

The Eleventh started getting into facts, just stating what they both knew out loud, "Let's start with the fact that you and I both know that the Thals did not win against the Daleks in the end. Of course, the history of the Daleks changed almost entirely between the first time we came to Skaro, with Ian, Barbara and Susan, and then the time we came with Harry and Sarah Jane. So the question is, if we know that inevitably, the Thals died out, how are they here now?"

[Deleted]

"So... Excited yet, Barbara?" Rose asked, having decided that maybe 'Barbara' wasn't actually such a bad name, after all, as the two girls made their way toward the Thals' temple. 'Susan' wasn't so bad, either, but... Rose wasn't quite sure how she felt about playing the part of the Doctor's granddaughter.

"I'm not sure," Emilie answered dryly. "Barbara, Ian, and Susan were the Doctor's first companions. And having met the first two and knowing that they're married, I'm left with the peculiar feeling that my 'husband' is more interested in a priest than in me."

She was joking, but at least she didn't want to growl at the flower child.

As they reached the temple, Emilie knocked at the door, then waited just half a step in front of Rose. Almost as if she were trying to protect her.

If Emilie was going to play the role of a teacher, she was going to play it to the utmost.

[Rose Tyler (Retired)]

::Time Lord teenager. Right.:: Rose silently reminded herself, trying to get a little bit more in character while Emilie gave a knock on the temple door, and they waited. It was, after all, important that the Thals believe she was Susan.

Rose hoped that when it came time to speak, that she wouldn't sound like an idiot. Also, she hoped that they'd be received warmly by these people.

Still waiting, Rose stood slightly behind 'Barbara', anxiously watching for someone to come and open the door.

Now was as good a time as any to start using their other names, and so 'Susan' reached out to 'Barbara' and tapped her gently on the arm. "D'ya 'fink this is gonna work, Barbara?" Though their names could be exchanged for new without much trouble, Rose wasn't really able to get rid of her accent.

[The Ninth Doctor (Retired)]

He watched Emilie and Rose scarper, and waited for Jack to drag the priest off. Then he sighed. "Skaro."

There was a world of pain and horror in the word.

"It can't be here," he insisted, whirling on his older self. "Can't be. What we did... if Skaro's here, it was for nothing!"

"They had to be stopped," his older self reminded him.

"I know," he said, dispiritedly.

"What the Time Lords wanted to do, nearly did."

"I know," he repeated.

"Being alone, was the price we paid for saving reality."

He turned his head, looking in the direction Rose and Emilie had gone. For a second - just a second - he looked like a tired old man, dressed for a costume party.

"I know," he whispered, voice hollow.

Then he pulled himself toghether. "Right," he said. "Enough of that. "Right before you arrived, our 'priest' said..." He concentrated for a moment, reviewing the man's exact words. "He said 'our world lives because - in the Time Before Time - you defeated the Destroyers and gave Skaro as a home to the Thals forever'."

"Oh! I love a riddle, let's see here. The obvious is these Destroyers."

"Yeah." The younger Doctor bit his lip, thinking hard. "The Destroyers are clearly the Daleks. But, the 'Time Before Time'...?" He beat the pads of his hands against his temples. "I got nothing."

The Eleventh started getting into facts, just stating what they both knew out loud, "Let's start with the fact that you and I both know that the Thals did not win against the Daleks in the end. Of course, the history of the Daleks changed almost entirely between the first time we came to Skaro, with Ian, Barbara and Susan, and then the time we came with Harry and Sarah Jane. So the question is, if we know that inevitably, the Thals died out, how are they here now?"

The Doctor wracked his brain, considering. "It could... nah, bollocks. Rubbish idea, that. Maybe they... no..."

In memory, he was looking down at a lattice of validium and primal forces, containing a snowflake of rippling light and 196,333 angles.

"This is it" he heard himself ask.

"Yep." A single word, from a flat, three-dimensional voice.

"How does it work?"

"I wonder..." said the Doctor, slowly. "The Moment. It... the Meddler said it would..." Time Lords didn't forget, but he didn't want to remember. "It would tear the entire History of the War out of the Spiral Politic. Seal it away."

The implications were staggering. "I think," he said, carefully, "I think we changed Skaro. Maybe the Daleks never existed, same way we never existed? And, maybe, it's just a few sensitives among the Thals that remember there used to be Daleks?"

Then he snorted, a dismissive sound. "Needs proof, or we'll end up crazier than the Meddler."