'Til Death Do Us Part

Chapter 5

Rose's POV

The goblet smashed to the ground and shattered from the impact, sending little pieces of it to mix with the red rocks. I took a shuddering breath in as the poison inched its way through my body, spreading through my veins. I collapsed onto the ground into a small heap, cutting up my white skirt and top even further. My body screamed in pain, but it didn't feel like my system was going to stop working. The Doctor had drunk it and it certainly was poisonous enough that it forced him to regenerate. Of course it would kill me, but... 

I heard a gasp from what seemed very far away, but some part of me insisted that it was only the new Doctor that was here. I was getting dizzy, but I held in a scream even though my body felt like it was on fire. Somehow, though, my vision was perfect, although everything was tinged a bit gold as if my eyes were giving off regeneration energy. 

"I am the Bad Wolf," a voice said harshly and quite firm from somewhere. The voice was familiar. I was just about to look around to see who had said that when I realized that /I/ had said that. 

"Bad Wolf," the new Doctor's scratchy voice repeated, but I wasn't quite listening. It wasn't possible. The Doctor had absorbed all of the Time Vortex out of me before he regenerated. I didn't remember much from when the Vortex overtook me, but I remember enough to know that there should be no residual energy left. If there would've been, I should've died years ago. 

My thoughts fizzled, though, and my mind went blank. I got to my feet and stood only a few feet in front of the Doctor as if operated by a machine. My eyes scanned his apparel and I knew for sure now that he was the Doctor that fought in the Time War. 

"Who are you?" he asked me. "I don't quite know who I am anymore, but you claim that you're the Bad Wolf. What's that?" 

"You're the Doctor," I said shortly, but still not in my normal voice. "You could've saved her. You're not the Doctor anymore." 

"No, I'm not," the man who once called himself the Doctor agreed. 

My vision suddenly lost its gold blur and I was back to myself again. I looked at him with pitiful eyes. It didn't really matter what was wrong with me - that didn't matter to me right now. What did was why the Doctor turned into a killer.  

"Get in the TARDIS," I instructed, and he started to ask how I knew what he was, but I stopped him and spoke in a more harsh tone. "Go." 

I was about to lead him to my TARDIS, but instead, he walked off to a pile of space junk. Kicking aside the random pieces of metal, he made a path to his own TARDIS and opened the door with a key that differed from the current Doctor's. It puzzled me why he was obeying me. 

"How did you survive the poison?" the Doctor - because I simply couldn't think of another name for him - asked me just as I was scoping out the interior of the TARDIS. It was more white than blue. It then clicked why he was going along with me: he wanted to know my powers. 

"I'm not sure," I shrugged honestly, but quickly built up the walls around me again. I couldn't be weak in front of the Doctor. "But...we've got to go somewhere. Gallifrey. Right now. You know we do." 

"How do you know-" the Doctor started, but he came to a stop right as my vision got the gold glow again. 

"The Time War is not patient," the voice that was but all at the same time wasn't snapped. "People are dying, and you're standing here wondering what's happening with me. No more." 

And so the TARDIS set in motion, but my thoughts remained blank and I couldn't remember anything of my past life. All I could see when I closed my eyes were the words "Bad Wolf" and "No more." 

Not even the face of a skinny man in a suit could be conjured.