THE VICTORIOUS TIME LORD AND THE BATTLE OF 9 11

Chapter Twenty

"No, stop!" Ten said to Mirabella, "you'll burn her mind if you awaken the Bad Wolf."

"I know what I'm doing," Mirabella said calmly.

The Doctors leaned up and looked at Rose when she took her hand away. Her eyes were glowing with a golden light and there was a golden glow all over her body.

"No, stop this, please," the Older Doctor said desperately, "you're killing her!"

"Rose is safe, my Doctor," the Bad Wolf said in an otherworldly voice. "The energy from the TARDIS was what was killing her. I am a part of her and always have been."

"Show yourself, goddess," Mirabella said. "Come out of the human child and show us your true form."

Ten and the Older Doctor gasped when Rose threw her head back and her mouth dropped open. They held her arms while she shook violently for a moment. Then a golden stream of energy poured out of her mouth. The energy gathered into a ball of golden light above Rose. Once all the energy was out, Rose gasped and the glow faded and she returned to normal. Rose blinked in shock as the ball hovered over her head for a moment. Then it glided over to the other side of the table, floated down and began to change shape into a golden wolf.

"That was inside Rose?" Nine said. "How'd that get inside her?"

"It said it's been inside her from the beginning," Ten said to him while the Older Doctor held onto Rose's arm and rubbed her back. They all watched as the wolf then morphed into a humanoid form. The woman resembled Rose except her blonde hair went almost to her buttocks. The eyes had the same golden glow to them but the glow on her body faded and she resembled a more ethereal version of Rose as she stood in front of Mirabella.

"Why have you summoned me?" Bad Wolf said to her.

"Why are you inhabiting this human?" Mirabella said, pointing to Rose.

"I am her protector. I have been with her all her life. I am her guardian and I also guard the Doctor."

"She does?" Nine said to the other Doctors.

"Why are you putting my Doctor on trial?" Bad Wolf said.

"Because he's being accused of contravening the laws of time and space," Saphira said.

"Perhaps you should listen more closely to my Doctor and my Rose," Bad Wolf said. "They speak the truth when they said that one of your own has been doing the same thing."

Bad Wolf pointed to Lorlana and she leapt up from her seat.

"This being lies," Lorlana said.

"Funny how everyone seems to lie except you," Eleven said. "You seem to be the only being in the universe that's beyond reproach."

Lorlana flashed some more memories onto the mirror before she walked up beside Mirabella. The Doctors groaned when they watched Rose saving her father and the attack of the reapers. Mirabella watched with interest and then looked at the Bad Wolf.

"This child has also meddled with established events?" she said to the Bad Wolf.

"She didn't know what she was doing, it was an accident," Nine yelled as he got to his feet. "She saved her father without knowing what the consequences would be. She helped set things right so don't start accusing her of defying the laws of time and space."

"If you were there, why didn't you stop her from doing this?" Mirabella said to Bad Wolf as she pointed at the screen.

"I do not interfere unless absolutely necessary. Rose has free will and like all beings, she must make mistakes and learn from them. As my Doctor stated, the situation was resolved and the timeline restored."

"What about this then?" Lorlana said.

The images on the mirror shifted to the Bad Wolf destroying the Daleks on the Gamestation. Ten, the Older Doctor and Eleven shared a look and then looked at Nine who was watching the scene in silent shock.

"You seemed to interfere here," Lorlana said to the Bad Wolf. "And in the process allowed this child to commit genocide. Explain yourself?"

"You allowed Rose to commit genocide?" Nine said to Bad Wolf, horrified beyond belief. "And you claim to be her protector?"

"Rose was not in control," Bad Wolf said, gesturing to the mirror, "I merged with her, asserted my dominance over her and I did it. And unlike Rose, I cannot be held accountable for the laws of mortals. I erased Rose's memory before I went to sleep. She didn't know what she did from then on. She learned what happened from what the Doctor told her."

"I thought you didn't interfere," Lorlana said.

"I interfere when I deem it necessary. To be truthful, I woke up when the TARDIS energy entered Rose's body and I decided to save the Doctor because he must live in order to fight against the evil and darkness that exists in the universe."

"How did Rose get the energy inside her in the first place?" Nine said. "Rose, what did you do?"

The Older Doctor noticed Rose's hesitation at answering him and put his hand on her shoulder.

"You might as well tell him, Rose," he said to her. "It's admirable that you're trying to keep the information from him but everyone else is running their gobs and showing him the future so you might as well tell him what he wants to know."

"You sent me back to my time with the TARDIS so I'd be safe and the Daleks couldn't get the TARDIS and use it," Rose said. "We were 200,000 years in future but I wasn't content to just sit there and do nothing. You taught me to fight and do whatever it takes to fight evil and I wasn't willing to let you sit there and be killed. I remembered what happened to Margaret when she looked into the heart of the TARDIS and I thought I could open it and use the TARDIS to get back to you. I couldn't open it so mum rang a friend and got a tow truck and we were able to pry open the console but when it happened I was standing there and the energy flowed into me and…that's the last I remember until I woke up with you on the TARDIS. You took the energy out of me and put it back in the TARDIS but it killed you. You regenerated into him because of me," Rose said, pointing to Ten.

"You endangered yourself to save me?" Nine said angrily.

"Yes, because I love you," Rose said. "I wasn't going to let you die. I shouldn't have opened the heart of the TARDIS but I was desperate to get back to you and that seemed like the only option. I'm sorry."

"And you allowed this?" Nine said to Bad Wolf.

"Yes. Because I just told you that you are important to the universe and I used her body to save your life. Do not get angry at her, this was another fixed event and it was your time to go."

"What about Jack, was that you as well?" Eleven asked her.

"Jack? Jack's a part of this?"

"Um…" Rose said. "Jack was there with you, helping you out but I don't remember what happened to him. You left him behind though when we left."

Nine looked at Ten.

"Do you know what happened?" he said to him.

"Jack was killed by the Daleks but the Bad Wolf resurrected him. But she couldn't control it and instead of just bringing him back, she made him immortal. He can be killed but he can't stay dead."

Nine was horrified. He looked to the Bad Wolf for an explanation.

"That wasn't me. Rose managed to assert herself at that point. She saw through me what happened to Jack and resurrected him out of love for him. She then lost control and wouldn't let go of the power. You took it out of her before she did anything further. However, I managed to protect her from dying but I couldn't save you. The energy killed you."

"Jack's immortal?" Rose said to Ten. "I made him immortal?"

"Not intentionally," Ten said. "You did it out of love, like she said. You had good intentions, you just couldn't control the enormous power you'd been given. I left him behind because he's an oddity now and I'm uncomfortable being around him because he shouldn't exist as an immortal being. But I don't blame you and I'm willing to bet Jack doesn't either."

"He doesn't," the Older Doctor said, "he found me later after working for Torchwood and traveled to the year 100 trillion with me and Martha, a future companion. I told him what happened and he's not angry. In fact, he knew about this day and was upset because after Rose went to the other universe, they listed her as dead since they couldn't find her. Jack thought she was dead until I told him what happened to her so he's not angry, no."

Nine was now listening to all this silently, horrified but also fascinated by what he was hearing. Rose was in shock over what happened to Jack and realizing that she was responsible for it. Now she realized why the Eternals were so concerned over convicting the Doctor of messing with the timelines.

"I'm sorry," she said to Mirabella. "I was only trying to help the Doctor when I committed genocide and I was trying to save my father when I brought the reapers to Earth."

"You didn't commit genocide, Rose," the Older Doctor said.

Everyone looked at him.

"The Daleks survived, there are four of them roaming around Torchwood right now not to mention millions imprisoned in the Genesis Ark. It isn't genocide when some of the species survived," he said. "And I keep on fighting them after that."

"And I get to have a go at them during World War 2," Eleven said. "So I agree, Rose didn't commit genocide."

"Attempted genocide then," Lorlana said.

The Older Doctor arose and came around the table. Lorlana stepped back when he came up to her, his brown eyes boring into her.

"You're just bound and determined to kill us, aren't you?" he said to her. "Has it ever occurred to you, Eternals, just why she's pushing for our execution? Perhaps we should look at her memories next."

"No, this isn't about me, you're on trial here. I think we've seen enough and I move for execution," Lorlana said.

She backed away when both the Older Doctor and Bad Wolf came near her.

"Sit down," Saphira said to the Older Doctor.

"No, I'm tired of this mockery of justice. She's doing this to get rid of us, that's why she won't let us see her memories. She's the real criminal here, not us. Bad Wolf, show them her memories."

"As you wish, my Doctor," Bad Wolf said.

Lorlana tried to run but the Bad Wolf trapped her in a ball of energy. Lorlana let out a frustrated yell when the Bad Wolf scanned her mind and put it on the mirror for everyone to see. The Eternals watched in silent shock when they saw her possess the Older Doctor and took him out of his time stream to kidnap the other Doctors.

"Don't you lot think it's a little odd that there's two of my life in this room," the Older Doctor said, pointing to Ten. "Didn't you think to question why I'm here and so is he? It's because she pulled me out of my time stream, isn't that forbidden as well? Especially since she made me go back along my timeline and start messing things up, another forbidden thing, I might add."

"This cannot be," Mirabella said while she watched Lorlana open the sphere and let the Daleks out. "There must be some mistake."

"There is, she's tampering with my memories," Lorlana said, pointing to Bad Wolf.

"But that Doctor is right," a young male Eternal said, pointing to the Older Doctor, "he is proof that these images are true. He was pulled out of his time stream; why else would he be here."

"At last!" the Older Doctor said, "someone who gets it! Thank you!"

Saphira got up and walked over to Lorlana who was still trapped in the energy ball. She paused when the image of Rose being tortured in the tube came on. She watched the Doctors desperately trying to free her before she looked at the trapped Eternal.

"You tortured this human without provocation, explain yourself and the actions we have seen here," Saphira said, pointing to the mirror.

The Older Doctor whistled as he strolled back to his seat. When he passed by Rose, he leaned down and put his chin on her shoulder.

"I believe payback is cooooming noooooow," he said in a singsong voice.

Rose giggled when he ruffled her hair before sitting back down.

"Well…" Saphira said when Lorlana didn't answer. "Explain why you are doing what you accuse others of doing?"

"Because I have that right," Lorlana said.

"Funny, I thought the same way and I'm on trial for it," the Older Doctor said.

"Yes but you see," Eleven said, leaning into him. "She's an Eternal while we're nothing but peon, rubbish Time Lords."

"Ah, is that how it works?" the Older Doctor said.

"That's how it works, my friend," Eleven said while Rose giggled.

"Brilliant, cuppa?" the Older Doctor said.

"Love one; shall we blow this pop stand, as they say?"

"I'm with you. Can I take Pigfarts with me?"

"Take Pigfarts to Hell and back for all I care, let's go get a cuppa," Eleven said.

"Come, Pigfarts, I'm thirsty and I need you to hold the cup while I sip," the Older Doctor said to her.

"Ahem, Pigfarts isn't going anywhere, she belongs with me," Ten said, leaning up and looking at him.

"Really? Arm wrestle you for her," the Older Doctor said.

Rose laughed and Nine shook his head when Ten thought that over.

"Nah, not in the mood," Ten said, sitting back down. "I wanna hear what Lorlana has to say."

"Yeah, me too, I wanna hear her lame excuse for why we're here," the Older Doctor said.

"Fine. I'll see you after I've had a cuppa," Eleven said, getting up. "Come, Pigfart!"

Rose was about to tell them to stop calling her Pigfart when she jerked her head around the moment she heard Lorlana scream. Saphira was shooting electricity from her hand at Lorlana's body.

"Hmm," the Older Doctor said, leaning into Rose, "payback has commenced, me thinks. That'll learn her not to mess with Eternals, huh?"

"Yup," Rose said.

The Older Doctor glanced at her and leaned into her ear.

"A-eeee handful of electricity makes the torture go down," he sang to her. "The torture go down-own, torture go down, a handful of electricity makes the torture go down in a most distressing waay-eeee."

Rose bit her lip and the Older Doctor kissed her cheek before leaning back up.

"Mercy, Saphira, please! I didn't do it!" Lorlana yelled.

"I believe you did. I don't think this Bad Wolf would have any reason to lie. I asked you to explain the memories and the fact that there are two of the Doctor's tenth life present, yet you gave us only silence. I believe you are silent because you are guilty and I intend to see that you are punished, along with any who may be helping you. Bad Wolf, put her in the prison," she said, pointing to the tube.

"As you wish," Bad Wolf said before guiding the ball over to the metal base.

Once she was in position, she dropped the energy ball and turned the tube back on from where she was standing. Saphira nodded and turned to the accused.

"Even though all of you have bent the rules of time and space at some point, I will take into consideration the fact that you are saving and protecting the universe. I vote that they go free. Are there any objections?"

The Doctors grinned when no one except Lorlana objected. Saphira yelled at her to be silent before turning to the accused.

"I hereby exonerate you of your crimes. You are all free to go," she said.

The Doctors let out a whoop and high fived each other while Rose breathed out a sigh of relief and relaxed.

"Brothers and Sisters," Saphira said, turning to the Eternals at the table. "We must now fix what our fellow Eternal has damaged and restore the timelines to normal."

"Wait, please," Eleven said, walking around the table towards her, "I wish to make a request."

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