Lyssa grimaced as the glittering stream of the Time Vortex faded to reveal the hallways of Nine and Ten's TARDIS. Normally she loved seeing the TARDIS. Normally, however, she was not fresh from a shower with sopping wet hair soaking through a towel, or wearing slightly damp pajamas. And normally she didn't have a little ball of dread pooling in her stomach the moment she landed.
"I would jump on the day I decide to wash my hair," she muttered with a sigh, trying to distract herself. "At least I ended up on the TARDIS instead of some freezing wasteland." Not recognizing her surroundings, she picked a direction at random and headed down a hallway, gently pressing her towel against her curls in an effort to soak up the extra water before it made a mess on the floor.
Ten minutes later, she hadn't seen a single person or room that she recognized. Her feeling of dread hadn't grown any worse, but something was definitely off. Despite the ship being exactly the same as always, the very atmosphere felt tense, as if even the TARDIS were holding her breath in anticipation of... something.
She bit her lip, a cold chill running down her spine as she passed a door, a faint howling noise emanating from within. "Hey, old girl? Do you think you could do whatever it is you do and help me out here?" she murmured as she came to another turn, trailing a hand along the wall and glancing up at the ceiling. "I just... I think I need to be ready sooner rather than later, and as much as I love exploring, I'm a little lost."
The ship hummed, raising the temperature of the hallway a few degrees until she felt warm again, and she gave the ceiling a grateful smile. The lights to one of the hallways shut off, illuminating a single path for her, and she hurried down it with a whisper of thanks. After that, it was only a matter of a few minutes for her to find the familiar door leading to her room. She pushed it open and stopped short, eyes widening with surprise.
Her room had changed.
The wall by her bookcase and chair had previously been blank. Now, there was a large rectangular nook in the wall above her chair, with a ladder built into the wall leading up to it. It was lit with fairy lights strung inside, giving the area a soft glow. It was lined with cushions and pillows in various shades of purple, and delicate white curtains tied back with ribbons on either side finished off the look.
"Is that a reading nook?" she gasped, dropping her towel on the floor and clambering up into the hollow. "This is amazing," she breathed, patting the soft padding. "You're amazing!" she told the TARDIS, smiling when the ship hummed quietly. "I might never leave, this is so comfortable!"
And then a cold drop of water trickled down her neck from her hair and she shivered. "Okay. Once my hair is taken care of, then I might never leave." No longer distracted by her hidey-hole, the feelings of dread came back and she grimaced. "That too," she muttered reluctantly.
She heaved a sigh and climbed down from the little room, picking up her towel from the floor as she headed for her hair supplies. Her feelings of dread weren't exactly helped by the TARDIS once more bringing out a little machine that dried and set her curls- without any damaging heat - in a matter of seconds. Either the TARDIS was trying to comfort her, or the ship was feeling the same sense of urgency she did.
She managed a wan smile of thanks as she quickly pinned it up into a bun. Once that was dealt with, she picked out a simple blue tunic and jeans and tugged on a pair of boots. About to leave, she paused as a flash of blue caught her attention in the mirror, and couldn't help a smile when she saw her new charm, the little gem in the center perfectly matching her tunic. She clasped the little charm - she could already tell it was going to become a habit - and felt a little of the tension slip out of her shoulders.
Whatever was going on, at least she would have the Doctor on her side.
"All right. I suppose I should find the Doctor, see which one I'm with now," she decided. "And maybe I can ask him what happened to my room." Shutting off her light, she headed out into the hallway, grateful when she recognized the hallway as the one leading to the console room.
The room was empty when she got there, and she hummed curiously. Glancing over at the console, she asked, "I'm guessing the Doctor isn't here at all, then?"
A red light flashed from one of the bulbs and she nodded. "Red's usually negative, so I'm gonna take that as a no. Wonder where he's at." She chewed on her bottom lip thoughtfully. "And I can't just go after him. I have no idea if this planet is safe for humans or not. Not to mention I could get lost, and he might just leave without ever knowing I was even here." She sighed and flopped down on one of the seats, glancing aimlessly around the room. She paused, noticing something new on the floor by the wall, and leaned over to take a closer look.
There were two sets of what looked almost a stand to hold wheels in place. She frowned, trying to remember an episode something like that might have been featured in, but came up blank. The door opened behind her, and she turned to see two people absolutely soaked to the bone come stumbling in, laughing so hard they were almost tripping over each other. They both looked absolutely delighted when they saw her.
"Lyssa!" the Tenth Doctor exclaimed, heading her way with arms open wide for a hug.
She scrambled away from him to the other side of the console, holding her hands up protectively. "Don't even think about it," she warned him with narrowed eyes. "You're all wet, and I've literally only just dried myself off. I have no desire to get wet again so soon. And that goes for you too, Tyler," she added, swinging around to face the blonde that had been trying to sneak up on her, backing up towards the stairs. "I mean it! You two look like drowned rats, and that's not the look I was going for today."
"Aw, you're no fun," Rose pouted, adopting a hangdog look. "Just because the Doctor upset the Shrieking Fishes of Lamodix and they may have tried to drown us is no reason to push us away."
"Yeah!" the Doctor objected, coming to join Rose, a mock pout of his own appearing. "Though, it didn't exactly work very well. They marched us into the drowning pool, but it was only waist deep. Not a very efficient method, I have to say, but maybe their only criminals before now have all been veeeery short people. Or, possibly, tall people who trip and can't swim. And maybe the cat people of Sharazidan."
He grimaced. "They react explosively to water, and I mean that literally." He paused, cheering up. "But! The drowning didn't work, we escaped, and now Rose may or may not be engaged to one of the nobles. Still not sure how that one works, considering they tried to execute us." He frowned.
Rose shrugged. "I thought he was sweet. Once, you know, you look past the drownin', and all that."
Lyssa took the opportunity to back up closer to the stairs. "Well, how about you go dry off, and then we can have a nice talk, yeah?" she suggested. "You can have..." She pretended to think. "Five minutes to get changed, or I'll leave without you. No idea where we'll go, but we'll go somewhere!"
"Oh, will you?" the Doctor challenged her, glancing down at her necklace before giving her a smirk. "You're too early," he told her. "You don't know how to fly her yet."
"No," she admitted. "Buuut you've just confirmed that I will know how to do that in the future," she grinned triumphantly. "Plus, I'm pretty sure that the TARDIS likes me, so she'll probably take me anywhere if I ask her nicely enough."
"Well, how about you ask her to take me to my mum," Rose interposed, wiping some of the water off of her face. "I've got some laundry that could use a washin', and it'd be good to see her again. I've got some trinkets I want to show her that I got from this market the Doctor took me to."
Lyssa frowned, something about the words sounding vaguely familiar, but the Doctor's look of dismay was too distracting, and she let them fall away in favor of laughing at him. "I'll see what I can do," she grinned. "But only if you dry off first. Who knows, maybe we'll land in the empire of people who are gravely insulted by water, and if you don't change we'll get locked up immediately."
Rose scoffed. "As if that's any different from what happens on a daily basis?"
"All right, all right, I'm going," the Doctor moaned, sulking towards the stairs. "I can tell when I'm not wanted." He stopped beside her and smirked suddenly. "But not without a hug from my favorite person first!" he declared, swooping her up in a hug and lifting her into the air as she shrieked for him to put her down. "Come on, Lyssa, a little water never hurt anyone," he grinned, putting her back down and gesturing for Rose to join the hug, which the blonde did with a gleeful laugh. "And the more the merrier!"
Lyssa wriggled free and darted to the other side of the console, turning to glare at the unrepentant duo. "Thanks a lot," she groused, lifting her newly damp tunic away from her skin to try and air it out faster. "I actually like this shirt."
"Ah, you'll be fine," the Doctor waved off her concerns, pulling out his sonic screwdriver and waving it at her, drying her shirt in seconds. "There you are, good as new!"
"And you couldn't do that to us?" Rose pointed out with a raised eyebrow.
The Doctor shook his head. "We're soaked through. Lyssa was only slightly damp. Sonic doesn't have strong enough output for that."
Rose nodded in acceptance. "Fair enough. I s'pose, since we have to change, we can just stop off at Mum's and drop off my laundry there."
Lyssa couldn't hide her giggles at the look on the Doctor's face when he realized he'd brought it on himself. "Well, like I said, the TARDIS likes me, so... who knows, maybe you'll come back and we'll already be there."
The Doctor narrowed his eyes at her. "And like I said, you don't know how to fly her yet. You're too young. So don't even think about touching the console, young lady!" he pointed a finger at her threateningly, the effect somewhat ruined by water dripping into his eyes and forcing him to blink rapidly to clear them out.
She gave him an innocent smile. "Of course not."
He frowned at her skeptically, but turned and followed a dripping Rose into the hallway. Lyssa waited for him to step out of sight before a devilish grin broke out across her face as she reached forward, one finger outstretched to touch the console.
"I said don't touch anything!" his voice came floating back, making her break down into a fit of giggles.
Once she was sure he was gone, she glanced up at the ceiling. "Okay, so I'm not going to touch anything, but could you show me how to find the date and location?" A panel on the console began to flash and she wandered over to it curiously to find a small screen. "Alborui Province, 05 June, 2007," she read aloud. "No idea where that's at, but still cool!" she grinned.
"Okay, let's try another one. Where do you enter the space-time coordinates to travel?" This time the ship led her to a small sphere set in the console covered in the same elaborate shapes and swirls that decorated the top of Eleven's rotor and a few other panels. "That must be Gallifreyan," she surmised. "No use trying to read that. Okay, what about readings for how safe it is to go outside?"
She spent the next fifteen minutes or so trying to figure out the different devices on the console by a trial and error series of questions, although most of it ended up being error. She ended up with the conclusion that at least a portion of the devices were either for show, or unnecessary to drive the TARDIS. But, considering that she was pretty sure that the Eleventh Doctor had had ketchup and mustard dispensers at one point, it seemed to be a recurring theme.
She was trying to figure out the function of the little metal ridges in the floor when the Doctor came in, hair dried and carefully fluffed into its usual gravity-defying state. "Hey, Doctor," she called, drawing his attention to where she was looking. "What're these for? I don't remember seeing them here before."
He stiffened when he saw what she was looking at, but just as quickly tried to play it off. He affected a casual air, striding over to the console and pretending to busy himself with the controls.
"Those? Nothing important," he said, though she didn't miss the way his jaw clenched as he flipped a tiny switch set near the center of the console. In a blink, they had disappeared, and the normal flooring was there. "Just something left over from a previous adventure."
She blinked. "So that's what that switch does," she muttered, looking down at the floor then back at him. It was very clearly not nothing, but if it was something that upset him that much, she wasn't sure she wanted to start what could be a very unpleasant conversation if - and that was a big if - he wanted to talk about it.
"Hey, guys. Sorry I'm late," Rose called as she ran into the room. She was looking much more put together in a blue sweater and black slacks, a red knapsack slung over her shoulder. "Almost forgot what I wanted to show my mum." Lyssa frowned, the outfit striking a chord in her memory. She couldn't quite remember what, but she knew it was bad, very bad, and then -
"It can help predict the weather, Barzelum, or somethin' like that. Got it from an asteroid market. Pretty cool, right?" Rose pulled a small gold bottle out of her pocket and showed it to Lyssa, tongue between her teeth as she grinned at them both.
Lyssa glanced at the bottle and froze as everything came together at once. The asteroid market Rose had mentioned, the plan to drop off laundry at her mum's, her weather-predicting trinket... Rose's outfit, stark against a white wall as she sobbed against it.
She knew where this was.
Doomsday.
She blinked, and the Doctor was suddenly standing in front of her. "Lyssa? What is it? What's wrong?"
She stared up at him, mind racing a million miles a minute and yet coming up with nothing. She swallowed hard, and opened her mouth to speak, but had to try twice before she could even get anything out.
"People are going to die." The Doctor straightened at her words, but didn't say anything, letting her talk. "I - it's going to be so bad; so, so bad, and I don't think I can stop it." She drew in a shuddering breath and looked up at him, tears filling her brown eyes. "I don't think I can do anything. I feel like there's this pit, just waiting to swallow me up, and it's going to be so bad, and you're going to hate me, but I don't think I can stop this."
She drew in a shuddery breath, trying to swallow down her rising panic and threatening tears. "I don't know what to do, and it's going to be awful, and it's going to be all my fault." Despite her best efforts a tear slipped over and down her cheek, and she ducked her head to avoid having to meet his gaze when she knew she was about to let him down so horribly.
The Doctor swiftly drew her into a hug. "Hey, hey, Lyssa, it's all right. You're gonna be all right, I could never hate you." Looking over her head as she buried it in his chest, he made eye contact with Rose, who had been watching with increasing worry, and jerked his head towards the hallway. She nodded in understanding.
"You know what, I think I left something in my room. 'M just gonna go grab it real quick," the blonde said slowly, backing up before jogging out of the room.
Once she was gone, the Doctor gently pushed Lyssa away from him, keeping a gentle grip on her shoulders. Leaning down slightly so he could look her in the eyes, he asked her quietly, "What's wrong? Did something we say trigger one of your memories?"
She nodded, swallowing down a sob. "Yeah. And it's going to be horrible," she breathed. "So many people are going to die, all excused because someone was doing their duty," she whispered, trying and failing to keep the bitterness from her voice. "You'll win, but not without losing."
She could see his jaw clench, but he kept his voice calm. "Lyssa, out of ten, how bad is this?"
She swallowed. "Eleven. And I want to change it, but I feel like I won't be able to." She sniffed again. "And you're gonna hate me, because I knew it was going to happen, and I just let it!"
"Hey! You don't know that," he rebuked her gently, lifting her chin and forcing her to look at him. "And I know you're still young, but there is nothing you could do that would make me hate you. Ever. And how do you know that you can't change anything? Have you tried to look, and see what would happen if you changed it? I know that you've done it at least once by this point." She shook her head shamefully. "Then how do you know that you can't change whatever it is if you haven't tried?"
She glanced at him, biting her lip. He was obviously worried about the upcoming danger, but she could see his worry for her as well, his refusal to give in and determination to try, his belief that she could do it. Encouraged by his support, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes, trying to remember what she'd done on the crashing ship with Martha. Knowing where it all went wrong, she focused on the moment where Rose lost her grip and tried to think through the possible outcomes.
Like before, the scenarios started out seeming as realistic as if they were happening before her. Unlike before, however, things began to change. No longer was she a silent observer, watching from a distance. She could see herself standing on the floor of the final battle, wind tugging at her tunic, pulling loose curls into her face.
In front of her, on either side of the room, the Doctor and Rose hung onto their clamps with all their might as the Daleks and Cybermen were pulled into the Void. Though the electricity somehow still worked, everything seemed touched by darkness, as if she were looking through a dark lens. The Doctor, face worn and devastated, shouted desperate pleas to Rose to hold on as she tried and failed to strengthen her grip, slowly slipping away.
Then, almost appearing out of nowhere, she could see herself running towards them, tugging Rose back onto the clamp and smiling in satisfaction when the blonde's grip became secure again. For a moment, everything seemed perfect.
Then one last Dalek appeared, firing wildly as it was pulled through. A stray shot hit her other self and killed her instantly, the force of the blow sending her limp body back into the void as the Doctor and Rose watched in horror. In an instant she was gone, beyond all hope of return, and leaving her heartbroken friends behind.
Time sped up. The Doctor and Rose left Earth, refusing to stay for even a moment on the planet that had caused them both so much pain. Rose grew bitter and reckless at the loss of her mother and friend, frequently getting injured though she rarely cared. The Doctor closed himself off, becoming less kind, and more willing to use whatever option would solve the problem first, instead of the most peaceful solution.
But it didn't end there. Because they never returned to Earth, they never stopped the Racnoss or saved Donna; the fully erect shields on the TARDIS preventing her from appearing. Earth was destroyed when the Racnoss ship left the center of the planet, leaving Rose the last of her kind. And when the stars began to go out, a weak, dying Mickey appeared, warning that their universe was dying. Pete's universe, and all its inhabitants, including Rose's family, were already gone.
They began to be vigilantes, meting out their own form of justice on those whom they deemed deserved it. Whispers and rumors began to be spread about them. They were no longer called heroes, but murderers; the Time Lord and the girl who could summon a golden power. For Rose had changed physically as well. Golden swirls now followed her, burning her up inside, and destroying whatever she bid it to.
They became wanted across galaxies for their crimes as they sought to go back and change Time, attempting to rewrite it no matter the cost to others. But each attempt failed, and with each attempt they grew a little darker as Lyssa watched in horror.
The Cyberman began to fear them, combining with other forces they normally would have assimilated in an effort to wipe out the growing threat, only for their forces to be wiped out themselves as the Doctor - now the Time Lord Victorious, and Rose - now almost unrecognizable as a creature of darkness - sauntered back to the TARDIS. Once capable of bringing hope to all who saw or heard it, now those who saw the peeling paint, the faded lettering, began to run and pray for mercy that would never come.
A name began to be whispered across the worlds, about who they were - what they were. A name that made even the Daleks afraid. A prophecy that the Time Lords themselves had feared.
A name that they took with pride.
Lyssa, hearing voices whispering the name that promised death in the wind that whipped around her, strained to hear. There was a dark chuckle, before the wind changed direction, seeming to pierce her to her very bone with its chill as it carried the name to her ears.
"Hybrid."
The culmination of two warrior races that would stand over the ruins of Gallifrey and unravel the Webs of Time, breaking a billion hearts to heal its own.
The few remaining races in the universe gathered their armies for a final battle, eventually succeeding in killing the Time Lord Victorious. What was left of Rose decimated their forces and a hundred galaxies in her rage before finally succumbing to the fires raging within her and burning away to nothing; leaving fires raging across galaxies; and planets, once lush and filled with life, now dead and empty.
Lyssa stared out at the empty blackness surrounding her with tears in her eyes, trying and failing to return to the Doctor. "Why am I still here?" she whispered, a tear trickling down her cheek. "Why did all that happen just because I died? I'm not that important; that should never have happened!" She shook her head. "This is just some horrible trick! They would never do that, not for anyone, let alone me!"
"You underestimate your importance, Child of Time."
The melodic voice didn't have a source, seeming to come from everywhere around her and promising comfort and safety. She looked around wildly, eyes straining to see but finding only the same empty blackness.
"You are here because you are meant to be. What happened, did so because of who you are," the voice told her.
She drew back, blinking back a fresh surge of tears. "Then how do I stop it?" she pleaded. "What am I, that I could be responsible for that much death and destruction?"
As if in answer, a golden light appeared in the distance, slowly growing closer until she could see it was the familiar gold of the Time Vortex. Grateful for anything breaking up the dark, she watched with wide as it stopped a few feet away from her, swirling upwards in a slow spiral before dissipating to reveal an ethereal being beneath.
Once the gold dust had fallen away, she could see a tall, elegant woman, clad in a sleeveless golden ball gown, with chestnut brown curls tumbling down past her waist, and blue eyes that seemed filled with the stars of the universe. A golden crown adorned her head, and from her back came streams of golden light that took on the appearance of flowing wings.
She gave Lyssa a sweet, gentle smile. "You are my child," she told her in a voice that was as soothing as a lullaby. "A daughter of Time."
"I - what?" Lyssa frowned, thoroughly confused.
The woman gave a tinkling laugh. "I suppose I should explain myself better. I am charged with protecting time. It is my duty. And you, dear one, are a daughter of time. You were chosen to bear this burden and so have become my child. I cannot always communicate with you as I would like to, however. Unless you are connected to the time stream, which binds us both, I cannot speak. You know me better as a blue box, perhaps." Her eyes twinkled with merriment.
"You - you're the TARDIS?" Lyssa said incredulously. When the woman nodded with a gentle laugh, she shook her head. "But, but, I've seen what you look like when you have a physical form," she sputtered. "And you -"
"Were confined to the body of a poor human girl," the woman - TARDIS? - reminded her. "I was trapped, and forced into a vessel that was never meant to hold that much power. This," she gestured down at herself, "is my true form when I wish to take it, and I am not needed in battle."
"Battle?" Lyssa repeatedly nervously, memories of what she'd seen still all too fresh in her memory.
The woman frowned. "Yes. I did not wish to add to your burden so soon, but given what you have just witnessed, I knew you would need aid. There is a creature of darkness that wishes to undo the fabric of Time itself and rewrite it according to his wishes. What you beheld was a possible future, one that he wished to create. One that may still occur, if things go wrong." She sighed.
"Long ago, before your Doctor was ever born, a threat to Time itself as it should be began to appear, threatening to change it for the worst; far worse than you could ever imagine. Subtle and hidden, his attacks were rarely physical, and tended to affect the time line, changing the outcomes of various events. My sisters and I were able to quell it, for a time, but not destroy it completely. We knew he would return someday, and begin to corrupt it before we could defeat him again, so we took part of the time stream that was as of yet still pure and hid it until we could find the proper guardian.
"We looked through all the universes until we found one who was able to take our gift and bear our burden," she told Lyssa. "You were that girl, a noble warrior who cared for others and refused to give in to her own darkness. Your kindness and inner strength meant you were the one to help protect the time stream as it should be." She smiled reassuringly. "You will likely not have to fight for a great while, dear one. Our foe is still weak, and you have much to learn."
"Is there anything I should be doing in between?" Lyssa asked weakly, too overwhelmed to do anything but go along with what the woman was saying. "Any specific training, or don't change certain things, or anything like that?" she added, hoping for a solid answer.
The woman shook her head, waving her hand at the darkness outside them. "You will know what to do when the time comes. The time in you fights to protect you, and will go far to keep you safe. What you just saw should not have been a possible future, even if you had changed things the way you believed. However, because of our common enemy, that is now the only possible future if you save the human Rose Tyler in such a way. Rose Tyler must fall now, or she will fall later, and the Doctor and the universe with her."
"But... why?" Lyssa protested. "Surely we're not that important."
"But you are," the woman replied simply. "Though you do not yet know the full truth, you are incredibly important to the survival of not just my Thief and your friend, but the universe. Though our foe has not yet regained his full strength, the corruption of the time stream has already begun, though it has not yet changed much. If you fall before your time, time itself will be lost, for there will be nothing with which to heal the wounds that will be left."
The woman frowned suddenly, cupping Lyssa's chin in her hand. "But I'm explaining this incompletely, I fear, and we do not have time for an extended conversation. Already your soulmate calls for you, searching you. You have been gone a long time, and he cannot see me, not yet." She smiled again at the bewildered girl.
"Do not worry about what cannot be changed. You may be unable to save your friend and mate from brief pain, but if all goes well, they will yet have the happy endings that are in store for them. Rose Tyler will not die, and you will see her again, and she you. For now, I will dull the memories of this conversation until you are ready for them. You will need all your strength and focus to get through this day. Just remember, my child. Though I cannot always be with you physically, you are loved. Trust in the Doctor. He loves you, and will look out for you."
Only smiling at Lyssa's sputtered replies to her last comment, she leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss to her forehead, warmth spiraling away from the spot. "Peace, child. You will remember what you need to, when you need to, and you will know what to do when the time comes. Trust yourself." She paused. "And tell the Doctor this when you see him," she added, whispering a few words into her ear, before pulling away, and starting to return to her spiral form.
"Wait! What should I call you?" Lyssa called, holding out a hand to stop her as something began to tug her away.
A tinkling laugh reached her ears. "I believe you humans would call it irony. My sisters call me Tirdis. It means, 'she who watches.'" Then everything blurred, and she was gone.
Lyssa's eyes flew open with a gasp, revealing the wonderfully bright lights of the TARDIS. She swayed, temporarily unused to feeling solid ground beneath her feet, and felt a firm grip wrap around her arms, keeping her upright.
"Lyssa!" the Doctor exclaimed in relief when he saw her looking up at him. "Are you back with me now?"
She nodded dazedly, one hand coming up to clutch at his arm for balance. "I think so. There was... something I had to do first," she frowned, trying to remember. All that came to mind was a gentle voice and a whispered phrase. "I don't remember most of it, which... I think was deliberate. But there's something I have to tell you. A message, I think."
He frowned, both in concern and in recognition. "Must have been her again," he muttered. "What did she say? It had to be important if she reached out to you."
Lyssa nodded. "It was. I can remember that much. I don't know what it means, though. She said to tell you, 'The Oracle can see, but cannot change. Beware the Siren's lament.'"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A/N: Daleks and Cybermen and Hybrids, oh my!
Also, I had a link up to the image I used as inspiration for Tirdis, but it doesn't seem to be working. So if you want to see it, go to Google and search 'golden fairy' and go to images; it's three rows down and the fifth picture to the right.
Special thank to everyone who's voted and followed, and shout-out to everyone who's commented!
Thank you all for reading, and I hope you enjoyed! :)
General Disclaimer: I may have resolved to buy more copies of Doctor Who this new year, but I'm no closer to owning the actual series... *sigh*
Edited October 2022