Chances Are

Chances Are

Chapter One: What the Hell Have You Done?

And then she was gone.

Just like that. Like she’d never existed, like anything and everything that they’d been through together had never occurred, that his heart had never been given and never been broken.

Just like that, she was gone.

The Doctor felt the warm wetness of a single tear making it’s way down his cheek, his eyes wet and unseeing where there once stood a sobbing blonde girl standing on a Norwegian beach. He could already see in his mind how the sudden cut off of the projection’s transmission left her empty of all but grief. What probably hurt her the most was that she couldn’t even be comforted by hearing the words, the words that took him all of their journeys to say, and she couldn’t hear it. She couldn’t hear anything he had to say now.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, pain registered and shot through his hand and wrist; belatedly he realized he’d slammed his fist onto the control panel of the TARDIS. He’d pull out his supply of nanogenes later, but right now he couldn’t feel it, not really. In his mind he heard the gently whispers of the TARDIS, of promises of new companions and warmth again in his life. He dismissed it all.

Staggering away, he pressed his good hand against left wall from the entrance to the TARDIS, opening the sleeping quarters and galley for the ship. Rarely where they used, since Rose preferred to sample cuisine from the worlds they visited (although she became more reluctant after trying what could only be described as a slug tongue wrap on Raxacoricofallapatorius after giving the egg of Blaine to a very nice not-Slitheen family) and only she slept on a regular basis. Now though, he felt tired, more tired than going over two weeks without sleep as he was prone to do. All he wanted to do was forget.

He paused at Rose’s doorway. She didn’t have much to make it into something other than sleeping quarters on a trans-dimensional spaceship, but she tried. Flowers from the moon of Quondar, translucent prisms casting rainbows on the walls from The Third Empire of Litu’un, a stuffed galitorisphericaline from Id, all of it was a true reflection of her, of how she managed to see the best even in disease or war-stricken planets. While he truly tried to see the good in all things, it was times like now where he wondered where all the hope had gone in the universe.

Pushing himself away from the doorway, unable to bear looking into the emptiness that still exuded her warmth and love, he made his way into his own room, littered with star maps and books, and one of the flowers she picked from the moon of Quondar. They were remarkable because they never aged, never died, and they changed colors based on the mood of the nearest carbon based organism. His single flower had a greyish cast, where earlier that morning it was an almost blinding bright yellow, catching onto Rose’s excitement at seeing her mother again.

He knocked off all the books and papers and fell onto his cot, nondescript with simple beige blankets. Lying on his back, arm thrown over his eyes, he thought again about Rose and her mother. Jackie was overbearing, shrill, and generally not very bright, but the lengths she would go to to protect her daughter were astounding. Jackie was a perfect example of why he loved Earth and the human race so much; they were so multi-dimensional and even in the face of imminent death, destruction, and chaos, their faith and hope in something better, in making something better, never wavered.

Turning on his side, the Doctor closed his eyes, another lone tear squeezing past his eyelids and dropping from his cheek to the pillow, only one word drifting through his mind before his twenty-seven hour sleep cycle would begin.

Rose.

# # #

.:The TARDIS feels your pain, the Doctor:.
.:The TARDIS feels the heart of the Doctor, feels it breaking:.
.:The TARDIS will find you a new companion, the Doctor, one who will not leave you and cannot die:.
.:The only one who is your equal:.
.:The TARDIS will find her:>

# # #

Pzzzt. The hot red laser just barely missed the woman warrior’s ear by mere millimeters, making her flinch and duck back behind the large piece of a crashed spaceship wing. Sweat poured down dark caramel skin, frizzy black curls sticking to her face and neck as she continued firing with both hands. She hissed when a hot shot of laser grazed her bare upper arm, blood dripping out slowly, pooling and soaking into the soil. Grabbing her small pistol, she narrowed amber eyes and aimed at the Vervoid, sending it screaming into flames and crashing into the Sycorax warrior next to it. It too went up in flames, both falling on the ground and rolling as they burned to death. The other Vervoids and Sycoraxi avoided them, the Vervoid stabbing the natives of Parlou with their deadly thorns and the Sycorax running them through with swords and firing lasers. The small Parlixa, three feet tall, furry lizards that stood on two feet, cried out and fell as they were overwhelmed and slaughtered. The woman cursed, grabbing her communicator and stabbing the call button.

“Phim, what’s going on?”

“Lukas, the Vervoid and Sycorax are wiping us out! We just can’t beat them with the limited arsenal we have! We have to fall back, try to keep as many of the Parlixa alive as possible until negotiations with the Argolins come through.”

“We don’t have that much time, Phim! They’re taking over territories left and right!”

“Well then you choose, goddamnit! Either retreat and save who we can or-” suddenly her brain sped up, thoughts, ideas, and everything in between racing, formulating faster than any galactic calculator. “Lukas, call everyone back to Sector 92, I have an idea, but I have to do it alone.”

“Sector 92, that’s ten miles!”

“Then I’ll create a distraction and you send all the transports to pick them up at Battalion 12-A, I’ll get everything else together.”

“What exactly are you planning, Phim?”

The woman smirked, eyes glittering and seeing farther than just the chaos and destruction in front of her. “I’m going to get the allies to see their differences... and hate them.”

# # #

.:The TARDIS has found her!:.
.:The TARDIS will reset the coordinates:.
.:The TARDIS will save the Doctor... from himself:.

# # #

“Shit, shit, shit,” the woman muttered, throwing trunks around, digging deeper and deeper for what she needed to end this war. Finally she came across them, shouting in triumph, a long dusty green golf bag. Shoving two laser pistols in her thigh holsters and a larger single-user laser cannon over her shoulder, she ran out of what appeared to be a tree trunk. Watching the four large transports evacuating the area, she slung her leg over an old 1963 Harley Davidson and turned northwest back to where the fighting had been. The Vervoid and Sycorax had technology that could detect some of the most sophisticated machines and gadgets out there, which is why she rode the motorcycle instead of taking her hovercraft, and which was extremely crucial in fulfilling her plan.

The Vervoid and Sycorax were still investigating a large piece of nuclear technology that the woman had set up five miles west of the Parlixa, close enough that they would run to disarm it and allow the natives and the Collective to evacuate the battle zone. It wasn’t a weapon, just a nuclear coffee maker from a different time. But they didn’t know that. Made damn good coffee though.

About three miles in, she stopped and after scanning the area for any signs of life, pulled a long rod from the golf bag. It looked like a long white dowel, very simple and plain. She pulled out what looked like a silver pen and scanned a purple light over the rod before kneeling and driving it into the soil. This continued for three more rods, each scanned and set in a 3 mile parameter. She raised her pen up and set it on full power, before pressing the button and creating a signal that you had to be living in a cave not to trace.

And they came.

When the Vervoid and Sycorax ships entered the circle, she clicked the pen in three short bursts and the rod began to glow, a dull pulsing that very gradually got stronger until it reached a blinding white light that she had to shield her eyes from. She knew that three miles away on the border of this parameter, the other three rods were glowing as brightly as this one. Putting on a pair of sunglasses, she watched as the thin three foot long rod began pulsing again and growing. The light stretched and curled, solidifying until the pulsing paused for a moment before shining even brighter than before, a roaring rushing in her ears as white strands of tangible energy shot in all directions, creating a barrier and dome that nothing could enter and, most especially, nothing could leave.

She smirked. She’d just signed her own death certificate. Well, it was one hell of a ride, and she couldn’t have asked for a better one. Mounting her bike again, she revved the engine and made her way to where she knew the Sycorax and Vervoid ships and camp were held.

On the way, her communicator beeped, signaling Lukas was calling. She hesitated to answer; Lukas had developed feelings for her through their rebellion, and while she appreciated how he felt about her, she knew it could never be. Lukas firmly believed she was like him, from a humanoid planet in the H-34 Planet Collective that had heeded the pleas of the peace-loving Parli people. If he knew what she really was, he would either hate her or have his feelings become twisted with a lust for power. Lukas genuinely cared about others, was a good strong leader who didn’t hesitate to do what was necessary to save the billions of this planet. She would have to appeal to that part of him to allow him to let her go.

“Phim, what the hell happened?! There was an insanely bright light coming from where you are, what’s going on?”

She sighed. “Lukas, I created a dome that’s trapped most of the Vervoid and Sycorax, all that should be left for you are a few patrol groups, nothing you can’t handle.”

“Wait, how did you... But that’s fantastic! Your plan’s to have them kill each other off in the closed environment, right?” She didn’t reply. “Phim, what is it?”

She sighed. “Lukas, I had to activate the dome from the inside.”

Silence. “Phim, no! No fucking way, that’s not an option! Abandon this solo mission and return to base, we’ll think of something else.”

“And risk having more cities burned, countless Parlixa slaughtered, raped? I want to be the last casualty in this ridiculous war, no more holding bloody children and watching them take their last breath. One death to save billions, Lukas. There is no other way.”

“Phim, no, get back-”

“Good-bye, Lukas. The dome will come down in a week, enough time for the poison gas to eradicated itself, all you’ll have to do is clean up the bodies.” With that, she tossed her communicator over her shoulder, trying not to hear Lukas’s anguished cries as she sped away.

She slowed as she neared the camp, please to see the head Sycorax and the General Vervioid arguing with each other, gesturing and pointing madly at the dome. She hid at the edge of the forest, crouched down and waiting for, as it was so eloquently put on Earth, the “shit to hit the fan.” She didn’t have to wait long, as the General Vervoid stabbed the Head Sycorax through the middle with an elongated thorn, watching as he immediately was consumed into dust by the poison. The Sycorax soldiers roared in rage, and it began, allies turning on each other.

She smiled, pulling out her laser cannon. It could take out a few at a time, about three to five depending on how close they were clustered together, and had enough for about ten rounds. There were over four hundred thousand of them, but in such chaos no one would notice extra firepower. And she wasn’t shooting for defensive reasons; she knew she would die, and there could be no regrets. Not now, not ever.

At least she believed so, until she heard the most horrifying sound ring out right behind her. The shrill sound swelled, and when she very slowly turned, her worst nightmare was confirmed as a blue police box slowly pulsed itself into existence.

# # #

BOOM. The Doctor fell out of bed with a thump as the TARDIS shook from the force of a heavy blow. He shot up and ran to the control room, viewing the screen and extremely surprised to see a woman screaming at him from it. Something about her seemed vaguely familiar, but he couldn’t really place it.

“What have you done, you idiot?! You’re in a war zone, they’re going to notice you and stop fighting, get the fuck out of here!” Her riotous curls pulled back into a messy bun escaped as she emphasized her point by gesturing wildly to the insanity behind her. He focused the viewing screen to what was going on in the background; a great web-like dome of indestructible energy, and legions of Vervoid and Sycorax slaughtering each other.

In a flash he ran out the swinging doors and grabbed the woman, who screamed all sorts of obscenities at him while he dragged her into the TARDIS.

“What is going on here, what planet am I on?” he demanded, trying to get her to look him in the eye. For some reason she was actively not looking him in the eye, as if she were terrified that he would read something there.

“Parlou, during the Devastating Sycorax-Vervoid War of 3289,” she answered quickly, then ran back outside with him following closely, shooting off more rounds on the cannon, watching the aliens fall to the ground. The Doctor tried to grab her and get her back into the TARDIS but failed before a Sycorax noticed them and shot at them, hitting her in her lower left stomach which was left exposed for ease of getting around instead of the bulky armor Lukas tried to make her wear. She gasped, and before she could so much as crumple to the ground, the Doctor grabbed her and sprinted back to the TARDIS, running faster when he noticed the dome filling up with the thick, toxic poisonous gas the Vervoid were notorious for. Laying her gently on the floor, he placed his hands on the control panel and demanded that the TARDIS take them somewhere safe and in a period of peace.

As the TARDIS began to pulse shrilly, the Doctor got on his knees to inspect the woman. Her abdomen was bleeding profusely, and for a moment he remembered again the frailty of human existence and their mortality.

The woman moaned and made to stand up, but he held her down. She opened her eyes and glared at him, swatting his hand away. “I have to get up, it’s the only way.”

Completely confused, he gingerly helped her up. “What’s the only way? What are talking about, you need help!”

The woman clutched her side and stood straight, gesturing for him to move back. She avoided his gaze before quietly replying, “No, I don’t.” Then she threw out her hands and threw back her head before hot golden light encompassed her.

The Doctor couldn’t breathe, couldn’t look away as the woman before him... the woman, was regenerating?! But there was no way she could be, there were no other Time Lords, none. He’d searched for a hundred years all over time and space, in case any were stranded on planets unknown. He could feel them, feel the emptiness and space and searched in vain for a century. But he’d finally admitted defeat, admitted that there were no others. And now he was watching a Time Lady regenerate? This just wasn’t possible!

The light died, and where there was a dark, slightly muscled, lean woman with thick, curly hair now stood a curvier, slightly taller woman with waist-length blood red hair in looser curls, and when she raised her eyes, he noticed that her eyes had changed from the warm amber to a deep green, rimmed in a deep turquoise to make her look more other-worldly and ethereal. Her almond-shaped eyes were wider now, her lips less full, her eyebrows arched higher, the thinner angles of her face fuller now. What didn’t change, though, was the anger and pain in her eyes, exactly the same as it was before.

She stepped towards him and staggered, crumpling to the floor in post-regeneration sickness. Her eyes unfocused briefly as he knelt next to her, before looking up at him, eyes haunted.

“What have you done, Doctor?” she whispered before passing out, her body limp as he gently pulled her into his arms.

A/N: I like this chapter better now that I'm following some rules and not just telling them to "fuck off" lol. Just so you know, Phim's first form in the beginning of this chapter is African, average height, light brown eyes. I liked the drastic change better than the subtle changes.