aenariasbookshelf: (tired doctor)
aenariasbookshelf ([personal profile] aenariasbookshelf) wrote2008-05-02 10:48 pm
Entry tags:

Mysterious Ways (3 of ?)

Title: Mysterious Ways, part 3 of ?
Author: Aenaria/[livejournal.com profile] io_aenaria
Character/Pairing: Ten/Rose, Gemma (an OC), with appearances by Jack, Martha, Donna, and a bunch of other OCs
Rating: This part is PG, however rating is more than likely to go up by the end of it...
Summary: The Sonnetsverse reunion, which now has an actual summary! "She's been lost, found the key, unlocked the door to the universe, wandered about, took a detour, stopped, stopped some more, then started again. Now, finally, Rose Tyler is on her way home."
Disclaimer: In my dreams...
Author's Notes: Yes, I probably should have waited for [livejournal.com profile] galadriella1 to get back with the beta on this, however I am a dork who is far too excited to post the story. This bit is more of an interlude from the Doctor's point of view, but it really is just one more step on the path to reunion. As always, prior knowledge of the Sonnets stories and the previous parts of Mysterious Ways is a good idea especially as some things from previous stories pop up in this chapter, and all of them can be found here. Thanks, as always to Paige for her help and her patience with my insane ramblings over this epic of a fic. Enjoy! :)



Three:
"I’ve Been Down This Road Before,
Now I’m Coming Back for More..."

I Really Hope, The Cranberries


The box in Jack’s hands rattles ominously, making the Doctor look askance at it then take a quick step to the side. “Do I really want to know the details as to how you acquired that?” he asks, leading them down yet another staircase to the basement levels of the Alexandria Library.

“No, you don’t,” Jack says, holding the box a safe distance from his body. “I just want to get it out of my possession as soon as possible.”

The Doctor just shakes his head and takes them through the maze that is the basement levels of the Alexandria Library. He was certainly surprised to get the call from Jack saying that he needed to dispose of something highly sensitive that Torchwood had come across, and he couldn’t think of a better man or alien to do the job. With ‘flattery’ like that how could he say no? So with a roll of his eyes he tosses Jack into the TARDIS and takes them to the 50th century library to see an old friend of his who is an expert at moving things.

A few twists and turns down a dark corridor later they arrive at a door. It’s a rather unassuming door, a plank of anachronistic wood with iron hinges, a stark contrast to the white marble that is the upper floors of the library. The Doctor reaches out a fist and pounds on the door. “Edgar? I know you’re in there! Open up!”

The door is pulled open suddenly, making the Doctor take a quick step to keep his balance. The face peering out is an older one, full of wrinkles and character. It sports a pair of half-moon shaped glasses sliding down a button nose, and the man’s white hair is pulled back into a small ponytail. Edgar leans against the doorjamb and stares at the Doctor, eyebrows arching above the glasses. “Now correct me if I’m wrong,” Edgar says, “but I could have sworn you had a different face the last time you were here.”

“Regenerated. Again,” the Doctor explains, one hand moving to scratch the back of his neck nervously.

“Not sure I want to know how many times you’ve done that by now,” Edgar sighs, opening up the door wider. “Come on in.”

“You’ve moved up in the world,” the Doctor says, impressed with his surroundings. The large room is paneled in the same dark wood as the door, and sconces set pink flame flickering on the walls. The contents of the room are a jumble of parts and baubles from all over the universe, the ingredients of all good jiggery-pokery. However, one wall is dedicated solely to old scrolls and books, crumbling and crackling with age.

“I got a promotion. Perks of keeping my nose clean for an extended period of time,” Edgar sniffs, setting down at a large workbench covered in curls of silvery wire and a stack of teetering books in the corner of it. “So why am I all of a sudden graced with your presence?” he says, shifting the books so they don’t fall off. “Although you never give warning when you decide to visit anyway,” he mutters under his breath, making Jack tilt his head in agreement.

The Doctor waves in Jack’s general direction. “My friend here has something he needs to get rid of, and fast.” Jack thumps the box on the work bench. As soon as it hits the surface it rattles again, making Edgar lean forward to get a better look. He grabs a ruler and uses it to lift the lid of the box, eyebrows arching towards the ceiling once more when he finally sees what’s inside of. “Good lord, haven’t seen one of these things in ages. Is that alive?”

“Either that or it’s a zombie alien, take your pick. Do you think you’d have someone who could take it?” Jack asks, holding the box firmly with both hands.

“Edgar here can fence just about anything in the universe, and coming from me that’s saying something,” the Doctor says, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning against the far side of the workbench. “Speaking of which what have you been up to lately? Jack and I were here a couple of months ago only to find that you were out of town.”

The man snorts to himself and picks up what appears to be an old fashioned magnifying glass with a few bits and bobs of glass and crystal wires looped around the metal outside of it. “Was sent to do a job, by the Library no less,” he says, pushing a button on the handle of the glass and making it glow with a bright pale blue light. Using the ruler to prop up the lid of Jack’s box, he leans in closer with the glass at his eye. “Ended up on Earth, sometime around the start of the second millennium common era.”

“Not far off from my usual haunt,” Jack murmurs.

“From my understanding it’s an interesting time to be on Earth, that’s for sure,” Edgar agrees. “Long story short, I had to retrieve a couple of books that shouldn’t have been there. I spent a few months living as a real life monk,” he chuckles.

“You, a monk?” the Doctor says with a slight bit of incredulity, but then his face morphs into a more pensive look. “Actually, I can easily see that,” he comments, looking around at the cluttered workroom which really isn’t much more than a glorified bachelor pad.

Edgar shoots him quite the dirty look. “You’re the last one to talk. When were you last shagged rotten?” he asks, turning to look at him in expectation of an answer.

The Doctor can tell that Jack is also very interested in the answer to that question as well, going by the inquisitive look he is shooting his way. He just arches an eyebrow at the two of them, daring them to challenge his non-response. Besides, he knows exactly when he was last ‘shagged rotten’, and who with. It was none of their damn business.

Jack and Edgar trade a look and it’s obvious they’ve come to the conclusion that the Doctor isn’t going to offer up any information in regards to that question. Edgar shrugs as if to say ‘worth a shot’, and turns back to the box, hitting another button on the glass that makes the light flash on and off at a steady rate. “One of the books I had to bring back had a story in there that I could have sworn described you,” Edgar eventually says.

This makes the Doctor stand up a bit straighter. “Really? What did it say?”

Edgar shakes his head. “Can’t remember the details, but the book’s over there below the window if you’re interested. It’s the skinny black volume.” As the Doctor walks over to get it he can hear Edgar continuing in the background. “Used the story to scare the living crap out of a kid though back on Earth, so the trip wasn’t a total waste.”

“That’s a bit cruel, isn’t it?” Jack says.

“Possibly, but I don’t think it traumatized him too badly. It’s weird, I’m not even sure how that book got there, the damn thing seems older than time itself, or at least the Time Lord over there…”

The Doctor tunes them out as he picks the book out of the haphazard pile it’s currently in. It’s so nondescript it doesn’t even have a title, but the second page reveals a list of all the tales that are contained within. He scrolls through the titles, recognizing familiar legends, some cloudy memories from his own childhood oh so long ago, but there’s the name of one tale that leaps out at him with the force of a supernova – ‘The Bitter Pill’. He quickly flips to the page and begins to read.

Sure enough, he is intimately familiar with the tale, how the two strangers landed on the dead world that orbited a black hole and encountered the Beast in the Pit. He glides past his own actions and instead focuses on Rose, and how she destroyed the putrid soul of the Beast. A soft smile crosses his face.

I've seen fake gods and bad gods and demi gods and would-be gods…Out of all that, out of that whole pantheon if I believe in one thing, just one thing, I believe in her.

“Hey, Doctor?” Edgar calls out, pulling his attention back to the small crowd huddling around the box. “I’ve got another shipment of Zidraxian ink here. You want some more while I’ve got it in stock? I know you took some with you last time you were here.”

The Doctor snaps the book shut with one hand, gaze darting from Edgar to Jack and back again. “You know what, I think I’m going to take a wander through the library. It’s been a while, maybe they’ll have updated the collection a bit,” he says loftily and walks out of the room, discretely slipping the small book into a pocket in his coat.

As the Doctor leaves, Jack trades a look with Edgar. “Now maybe it’s just me, but did you get the impression that we were just blown off big time?”

Edgar nods, tapping the ruler lightly against the table. “He did that last time he was here too. However, when an old as dirt Time Lord like that brings a young blonde cutie into this place, he should realize he’s going to get questions.”

* * *

It isn’t until the Doctor ends up perched on the top step of a stairway high in the upper echelons of the library does he realize that he’s stopped on the very same stairway where he and Rose had sat all those years ago, with those misguided books about Time Lords right on the platform above his head. ‘Figures,’ he thinks, dashing a hand back through his hair. He’s not going to let himself dwell on it, just going to take a few minutes to reorder his brain and then get moving with things. Jack has to be back in Cardiff as fast as possible – from what the Doctor understands Jack’s team is still in a bit of a state and he doesn’t want to leave them alone for too long if he doesn’t have to.

‘How times have changed,’ the Doctor muses thoughtfully with a small quirk of his lips. ‘We are all new, every one of us.’ A fleeting thought goes through his head, wondering about how Rose has been doing lost on the other side, and not for the first time he hopes she’s doing well, leading a fantastic life. With a deep breath he clears his mind, then leans back on his hands and stares out at the gleaming white arches and stairways of the Library, preferring not to think at all. A rare occurrence for him, true, but sometimes if he tries really hard it can happen.

Eventually Jack comes trotting up the stairway directly towards him, and it’s not at all hard for the Doctor to see the concerned look in his eyes. Really, he’s fine though. It’s taken a while to get to this point, but he’s not going to break. Not anymore. He misses her like nothing he’s ever known before, and would love to make the impossible possible and see her again, even if just for a second, but he’s not going to give up and lay down and die. Life keeps moving and changing, and so must he. A hard truth learned by experience, but isn’t that why never stops and keeps traveling, so that he can keep seeing new things and always learn more? “Everything all right, Jack?” the Doctor calls out, not moving from his perch on the step.

“Yeah, it’s fine. Edgar’s contacting one of his buyers to see if they’ll take my little toy off our hands,” Jack says, stopping a few steps below where the Doctor’s perched. “Everything all right with you?” he tosses back.

“Yep,” the Doctor muses, staring out past Jack and at the other platforms. “I’m doing rather well, I think.”

Jack shoves his hands in the pocket of the coat, looking almost like a guilty little boy for the briefest of moments. “Edgar mentioned that the last time you were here you were with a blonde…” he trails off, no doubt to let the Doctor’s mind fill in the rest of the blanks.

“Yeah, I took Rose here once. Years ago now, really,” he says, glancing behind him at the rows of books on this specific platform. No regrets taking her here, that’s for sure, especially with what came out of this. Unknowingly that soft smile crosses his face again, making Jack wonder what exactly the Time Lord’s thinking. “Libraries weren’t really her thing,” he continues.

Without much warning, the stairway begins to rattle beneath them, making Jack grab onto the banister and the Doctor leap to his feet. “What was that?” the Doctor asks, looking over the railing and seeing the confusion and panic from the people rushing around the platforms below them.

“No idea, but whatever it was can’t be good.” From somewhere off in the distance they hear a creaking, followed by something that sounds like the sharp tinkle of breaking glass. Jack looks over at the Doctor, eyebrow arched. “You can’t go anywhere without attracting trouble, can you?”

“This has absolutely nothing to do with me,” the Doctor frowns. “Suppose it can’t hurt to take a look while we’re here though. Don’t want another Alexandria Library to burn to the ground, do we?” The two men trade a look, nod at each other, and then run down the stairway towards the building commotion, leaving the platform full of books behind them.


More to come soon, I promise. :)

[identity profile] earlgreytea68.livejournal.com 2008-05-03 04:34 am (UTC)(link)
Yay for an update! I love this entire series so much!

"He misses her like nothing he’s ever known before, and would love to make the impossible possible and see her again, even if just for a second, but he’s not going to give up and lay down and die."

Oh, poor Doctor. He desperately needs a cuddle. I volunteer.

[identity profile] io-aenaria.livejournal.com 2008-05-03 04:53 pm (UTC)(link)
Hehe, glad you like it! :)

Yes, yes he does need a cuddle, doesn't he? You can keep him warm until Rose gets there, how does that sound? *g*

On a totally unrelated note, your Vortex story came up in a post-dinner conversation with friends of mine last night. There was definite squee-age over little Brem. :D

[identity profile] earlgreytea68.livejournal.com 2008-05-04 03:30 am (UTC)(link)
"You can keep him warm until Rose gets there, how does that sound?"

It sounds perfect!

"There was definite squee-age over little Brem."

Aw! Yay for Brem squee-age! (I sometimes engage in it myself. ;-)) I'm glad you're enjoying him!

[identity profile] javabreeze.livejournal.com 2008-05-03 05:24 am (UTC)(link)
I was just think about this fic the other day! I'm so glad you updated it. :D

Wonderful chapter and Edgar surprised me asking the Doctor who the last person he shagged rotten. lol

[identity profile] io-aenaria.livejournal.com 2008-05-03 04:55 pm (UTC)(link)
I'm glad I can keep feeding you with this then. :D I've got a couple more parts lined up that are waiting to be beta'd, and I'm working on part six as we speak as well (I've no idea how many parts this thing is going to end up being, but I know where it's going...that's something, right?).

Edgar's a...real piece of work, that's for sure. I bet he asked the question though that has been on a lot of people's minds in this world...*g*

Thanks for reading!
ext_139217: (Default)

[identity profile] midasu.livejournal.com 2008-05-03 09:25 am (UTC)(link)
I love your original characters (and I don't usually like OCs) Gemma is lovely and Edgar is a riot. Love it. The chapter was lovely and brillant as usual. Your writing is simply wonderful.

[identity profile] io-aenaria.livejournal.com 2008-05-03 04:59 pm (UTC)(link)
And as always, you flatter me far too much. :) Edgar was fun to write - he wasn't like that in the first story where he popped up, but all of a sudden this came out and it was sort of like "this is how he's supposed to be, and the monk bit's all an act, isn't it?" Thanks very much for reading and for your lovely comments. :)

[identity profile] liber-noctuae.livejournal.com 2008-05-03 11:08 am (UTC)(link)
yay and update! I've been loving this series so far. The Doctor getting grilled by a librarian about his sex life...hee! can't wait for more!

[identity profile] io-aenaria.livejournal.com 2008-05-03 05:00 pm (UTC)(link)
I get the feeling not many people would be brave enough to grill the Doctor about his sex life, so more power to him! I'm glad you're liking what I've got so far, and I hope you like what's coming as well. Thanks for reading and for your comments!

[identity profile] rjrog77.livejournal.com 2008-05-03 11:31 am (UTC)(link)

Wonderfully evocative – you can see the past events in your mind's eye – and more than a little angsty.

I love it.

*pets the Doctor*

[identity profile] io-aenaria.livejournal.com 2008-05-03 05:02 pm (UTC)(link)
*pets the Doctor as well* I know, the poor guy's just really going through it heading back to all these familiar places...

Glad you love it. :)

(It'll get better for him soon though, I promise that...)

[identity profile] bananasandroses.livejournal.com 2008-05-05 01:57 pm (UTC)(link)

(It'll get better for him soon though, I promise that...)

Oh, I do hope so. I love him, and he’s had such a hard time of it lately and it hurts to see him like that.

[identity profile] io-aenaria.livejournal.com 2008-05-05 09:53 pm (UTC)(link)
It does hurt, so much. While I love the third season, it's so painful to watch because of what he's going through, and all it makes me want to do is tackle him and forcefully give him a hug. He inspires that, doesn't he?

But even in the midst of all there's always that small sense of hope...if you'll notice, he put the book inside his jacket and never gave it back. And maybe he was just distracted enough that he didn't read his story carefully, because if he had, he would have noticed that there are a few interesting words in there that just may herald someone returning...

[identity profile] bananasandroses.livejournal.com 2008-05-05 10:08 pm (UTC)(link)

It does hurt, so much. While I love the third season, it's so painful to watch because of what he's going through, and all it makes me want to do is tackle him and forcefully give him a hug. He inspires that, doesn't he?

Yes, yes he does. He could do with many, many hugs in Season Three (I don’t watch that very often, for all I have the box-set. I prefer to be an ostrich – sticking my head in the sand – and live vicariously through Season Two.

But even in the midst of all there's always that small sense of hope...if you'll notice, he put the book inside his jacket and never gave it back. And maybe he was just distracted enough that he didn't read his story carefully, because if he had, he would have noticed that there are a few interesting words in there that just may herald someone returning...

The “I believe in her” bit?

[identity profile] slvrcrystalc.livejournal.com 2008-05-03 01:59 pm (UTC)(link)
Sonnetverse update! Finally, the reunion is near! I squee at you. =D

[identity profile] io-aenaria.livejournal.com 2008-05-03 05:03 pm (UTC)(link)
You squee at me? Fantastic! :D Hehehe....

But yes, the reunion is coming...it's still a healthy amount away (haven't even written that bit out yet *gulp*) but it is coming, I promise. Thanks for reading!

[identity profile] nyaaaaaauuuuuuu.livejournal.com 2008-05-03 06:59 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh, you teasey-tease-tease. ;)

And...Jack! Yey! I love that Jack's getting involved...and wondering and hoping that he'll be around later on, as things...er...certain people...get closer and closer. :)

I also quite like Edgar. Little bit of sass he's got in him, eh? Ooh, and 'the book' - I love how all these little pieces of stories weave in and around and together.

[identity profile] io-aenaria.livejournal.com 2008-05-03 08:47 pm (UTC)(link)
I am not a tease. *attempts to look dignified and falls over flat on her face, something which is not a rare occurance*

As for Jack...I don't want to burst your bubble but he won't be around in the story all that much. I figure it's safer to warn you of that now than to let you get your hopes up. There's a plottish reason for that though, which is all author's prerogative...all right, I am a tease, aren't I?

Edgar's a true piece of work who I didn't see coming from the original monk he was, that's for sure. I sat down to write and all of a sudden he's asking the Doctor when the last time he was shagged rotten. *shrug* It happens. ;)

And you have nailed it perfectly - all of the little pieces and elements are spinning around and moving closer and closer until the ultimate collision. *grins* And it's going to be fuuuuuuun.

Thanks for reading as always! :)

[identity profile] smandypants.livejournal.com 2008-05-06 03:52 am (UTC)(link)
Gah!!! How did I miss this on Friday?

I'm so, so psyched to see an update for this fic. It's such a wonderful story, and I love the insight we get in this chapter. I adore anything with Jack in it, but finding out where the Doctor got the ink just kind of hit me between the eyes.

Rose really needs to find him soon, because I want to see those two happy again. And I want him to meet Gemma. And maybe give Rose a few more tattoos, and get some new ones himself. (I'm not being too demanding, am I? I swear, it's done out of love. XD)

[identity profile] io-aenaria.livejournal.com 2008-05-26 02:50 pm (UTC)(link)
Just a wee bit demanding, LOL. I don't want to give anything away, but I think you'll be happy with how it all turns out. Slowly all the threads are coming together. *g* As always, I'm very glad to hear you liked this, and keep an eye out for part four which I'm posting literally in a matter of minutes (how I spent my holiday weekend: writing fanfic. Doesn't matter that I have an apartment to clean or a new job to find... *g*). Thanks for reading!

[identity profile] odakota-rose.livejournal.com 2008-05-06 07:49 pm (UTC)(link)
I really like the symmetry in going back to where it started there in the library, and I definitely agree, the Doctor needs a hug.
Edgar and Jack ganging up on him was pretty darn funny, too.

[identity profile] io-aenaria.livejournal.com 2008-05-26 02:50 pm (UTC)(link)
The Edgar and Jack thing surprised me a bit, but it turned out quite fun. :) Thanks very much for reading, I'm glad you liked it!

[identity profile] clarice-cat.livejournal.com 2008-05-07 07:23 am (UTC)(link)
Aww, I especially loved that fic with Nine and Rose in the library, happy memories. :) And Emo!Doctor is the best kind.

Am unashamedly desperate for more. *g*

[identity profile] io-aenaria.livejournal.com 2008-05-26 02:53 pm (UTC)(link)
Well more is coming today, I promise. :)

Emo!Doctor? I didn't think he was that emotional here, LOL, but maybe that's just my skewed perceptions.

Thanks for reading!