RULE OF THE VALEYARD
A/N: This is an AU Dark!Doctor fanfic featuring the Twelfth Doctor. Chapter One "Blimey," Rose said, shaking her head after her latest dimensional jump. "Wish they coulda made the trip a bit smoother. I really miss the TARDIS now." This was number twenty of her attempts to reach her Doctor to enlist his help in stopping the stars from going out. She thought it would get easier in time but the strain of crossing the void, even if it was degrading rapidly, gave her a massive headache that lasted for a few hours. Luckily, she now carried a bottle of aspirin along with a few other things in a bum bag that was hidden under her jumper and purple leather jacket. While she pulled up her clothes and reached for her aspirin and a tiny bottled water, she took a look around and noticed that she was in London. That didn't mean anything though, she'd been to several Londons since she started this journey and so far, no sign of the Doctor. The Doctor did tell her once that he thought the Time Lords existed in only one universe, although he did admit that was just a theory since there were countless parallel universes and not even the Time Lords had visited all of them. She tried to ignore the word "countless" and instead focus on the theory that there was only one Doctor that existed in time and space. That way when she did find him, and she was certain she would, she would know that he was the correct one. She swallowed two aspirin and chased them down with a swig of water before putting everything back in the pouch, zipping it and pulling her clothes down over it. She was about a half mile from Trafalgar Square so she was certain she knew where everything was…or hoped she did. What she did notice was that everyone seemed to be dressed in black and had somber looks on their faces as she walked off. She looked around her and tried to find some bit of color in someone's outfit but there was none. She wondered if perhaps the Queen or president or whoever ruled the country had died and everyone was in mourning. She tried to stop someone to ask them what was going on but the person saw her purple jacket and maroon jumper and he quickly ran from her before she could ask anything. In fact, she noticed that others were stopping and staring at her in shock before hurrying away from her. "What?" she said to someone who stopped and stared at her. "What's going on here?" "Are you insane?" the young man said. "You want his secret police to come and arrest you?" "Who's secret police?" Rose said, not liking the sound of that. "The Valeyard," the man said before hurrying away. "The Valeyard, okay. Is that the title of the politician here or the bloke's name?" She walked on, now ignoring the kerfuffle she was causing and the whispered murmurs about how she was going to get herself arrested, walking around like that where the secret police could see her. So far, she hadn't seen anyone that looked like a policeman but that didn't mean there could be plainclothes one spying on her. Suddenly, she felt very exposed but she wanted to make sure there was no Doctor here that could help her before leaving. Not to mention, her sense of morality and justice demanded that she help if possible since everyone around her looked beaten and dejected. Then when she entered the plaza around Trafalgar Square, she stopped short when she noticed the lion statues around Nelson's Column had been replaced by a thirty foot bronze statue of some man dressed in long robes and a skullcap. The man looked to be in his late fifties and his face was lined and severe looking. The stature in front of her was glaring out at London and he had his right arm out, pointing at something in the distance. More disturing was on the base of the statue was carved OBEY THE VALEYARD. She looked up at the column and noticed for the first time that Nelson was also gone, replaced by the same stern looking man, although this statue had crossed arms over its chest but even from her vantage point, she could see the angry, malevolent glare. "Okay, I'm guessing he's a dictator, ruler, god then," Rose said to herself. As she stared up at the statue, she felt someone's eyes on her and she looked to her right and noticed a young woman was standing by the base of the statue, studying her. She was dressed in a black skirt, black leather jacket, black nylon hose and black tennis shoes. She had brown hair that came down past her shoulders and a young, fresh face. She looked very youthful but as she walked over, Rose could see scarring all over her face and her hands and a haunted look in her eyes. The woman stopped a few feet away and looked around before speaking to her. "Very brave to be wearing colors out in the open…or very stupid," the woman said. "I'm a traveler, I haven't been to London for several years so I had no idea that there was a dress code now," Rose said. The woman frowned. "And where did you travel from, under the Earth? The dress code is everywhere, not just London." "What?" Rose said. "Everyone, everywhere has to wear black?" "Yes. Because he does," Clara said, pointing up to the statue. "He is trying to sap people's morales and wearing nothing but black is part of it." "That Vale-yard bloke?" Rose said. "He's responsible for all this?" "It's pronounced Valley-yard and yes, he's the ruler of Earth, among other worlds." "Other worlds? So they have space travel here?" Rose said. "To the moon but nothing farther than that," the woman said with a shrug. "So…how is he able to conquer other worlds then?" Rose said. "He has this…time machine called…" "A TARDIS?" The woman was shocked into silence for a second before nodding. "You know about the TARDIS?" she said. "I was under the impression that he kept the knowledge of the TARDIS away from the general public so no one would try to take it from him." "I'm from another universe where someone called the Doctor has a TARDIS." "Really? I traveled with the Valeyard when he was known as the Doctor. Clara Oswald," she said, extending her hand. "Rose Tyler," Rose said, shaking it. "Never heard of ya." "I've heard your name before," Clara said. "When the Valeyard was in his eleventh life, he mentioned you a couple of times in passing." Rose's heart began to race. So there were other Doctors in other universes but why would the Doctor take over the Earth here? She remembered the Doctor explaining that every decision we make creates a parallel reality. Did her Doctor's decision to be on the side of good create an evil parallel Doctor then. Suddenly, she wasn't so sure she wanted to meet this version of the Doctor. "Look, you shouldn't be out in public like this," Clara said, looking around. "The Valeyard has spies everywhere and you're gonna end up in prison or worse." "But why is the Doctor doing all this? Why is he evil?" "Look, follow me and I'll explain everything. Just get out of sight and I'll find you some black clothing to wear, yeah?" Rose nodded. Clara looked around before beckoning to Rose to follow her and they quickly left Trafalgar Square.
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