Rose!Doctor: Girl disappearing...
OOC: So I've got a verse going on in which the Doctor regenerated into a body identical to Rose, post-S4. It's complicated. But the Doctor drops by the Hub a lot to visit/stay with Jack. After a recent trip to London, she ran into the Master, and... things ensued. (Yes, sometimes I can be convinced to log over chat programs.)
Doctor: *so, went on a jaunt to London, and is coming back... a bit befuddled, actually. Frowning and obviously trying to figure something out in her head*
Jack: *In the Hub. Just kinda... sitting around, as the Rift is being quiet and behaving itself. And checking the CCTV of the Plass periodically. When you start HOPING things will act up just so you have something to do...*
Doctor: *leans against the doorjam of his office looking... well, much more Doctorish than she's looked since she regenerated, when she wasn't running for her life* Why am I here?
Jack: *Blinks* Did you really get in without the alarms going off? *That's not creepy at all, Doctor.* ...You're going to have to clarify the question. Are we speaking in a general, existential sense, or...?
Doctor: Yeah, not hard, you need a better system. But I've just... been HERE for so long. I don't stay any one place for too long, not since I was stuck on earth that once, thanks to the Council. But I've been here AGES, and I can't remember why.
Jack: *A little disconcerted* Must just be the pleasure of my company. How was your trip to London?
Doctor: *frowns deeper* Odd. Woke up from what must've been a nap on a grassy knoll, but I don't remember sitting down on it.
Jack: ........ *Gets to his feet slowly* When was the last time you forgot something?
Doctor: *grim* It's been so long I don't remember. I don't know if I ever HAVE, not like that. Something's going on here. There's... little things. Just holes, things that don't make sense.
Jack: Yeah, I got that... *Circles around the desk to meet her in the doorway, reaching out carefully to rest a hand on her shoulder* I'd ask what you don't remember, but that's kind of a pointless question in my experience.
Doctor: I can tell you an event I don't remember that I should - I don't remember regenerating. Not this time, not the last time. There's... a fuzzy sort of knowledge it HAPPENED, but I don't remember it at all. Or why.
Jack: *Stares at her* You were... You were with Rose. You regenerated when she died...?
Doctor: *frowns a little, obviously baffled* Who?
Jack: *Stares some more. In a really kind of horrified way* Rose Tyler. She was... *Okay, deep breaths* Do you remember when we met?
Doctor: *lightly* Oh, yeah, I... *then she thinks about it, and looks a little horrified* World War Two. I was... There was a Chula ship...
Jack: And a child... Rose was there. I met her dangling from a barrage balloon... *Searching her face for absolutely any sign of recognition*
Doctor: I remember the child. The nanogenes... It's all a bit of a blur, I... that's WRONG, I don't REMEMBER.
Jack: You were travelling with Rose. Before me... after me... On the Game Station! She absorbed the Time Vortex... she's the reason I can't die. You don't remember any of it?
Doctor: *kind of freaked* No. That's not... someone's been in my head, someone's CHANGED something in my mind.
Jack: Alright. Just... *Rests his other hand on her shoulder and looks in her eyes* We'll figure it out. We can... *Grimaces a little* We've got some equipment to dig up buried memories, but you've got to promise me your head won't explode.
Doctor: If I can't find them, they have to be extremely well-hidden. You REALLY think your little toy is going to help? *mostly just freaking out in general*
Jack: Works for alien sleeper agents. Just... calm down, I'm trying to help, okay? Torchwood doesn't exactly have a psychic on staff, unless we're counting you.
Doctor: *pinches the bridge of her nose* Right. I highly doubt my head will explode.
Jack: *Sighs* I'd really prefer you to be certain about this when we're talking about... Well, I mean, Ianto's going to be annoyed if he has to clean up your brain.
Doctor: Well it helps to know what you're USING.
Jack: *Steps around her and starts into the Hub proper* I'll let you take a look at it and then you tell me whether or not it's safe for Time Lord use.
Doctor: *nods and follows* This is... I don't understand how this HAPPENED.
Jack: What's the last thing you remember before waking up on your... grassy knoll?
Doctor: I was... walking through the park. That's it.
Jack: ...Wonderful. *Pulls the mind probe out of the corner they shoved it in after dealing with Beth* Your basic mind probe. Only used it twice before, but it worked... once. *We don't talk about the other time unless Ianto points it out.*
Doctor: And the other time someone's head exploded, I assume? *yes, with the old tone of disapproval* *pokes at it a bit* It looks like it's probably... Rathallan. Should be alright, I'll let you know if anything dangerous starts happening.
Jack: That species had very high blood pressure! There was no way we could have predicted that. *Pauses, frowning at her* You sure? *May not trust her to accurately report danger*
Doctor: *grim* Someone's buried my memories. I don't know who and I don't know why. I want them back.
Jack: Yeah. *Gets it. Doesn't mean he's not worried about her* Sit down, then. I'm going to need to control it from the computers, so... tell me right away if there's anything wrong. Understood?
Doctor: *nods* Rassilon, these probes are crude. This is going to hurt.
Jack: *Grimaces* I know. Sorry. *Gets it all set up - metal helmet, wrist restraints - and heads over to the computers. Pause* Ready?
Doctor: *deep breaths, and for a second, she really looks like a little girl again. Just a little blonde girl. And then it's over, and she's the Doctor again, even if she's still small and blonde* Ready.
Jack: *Switches it on, bracing himself like HE'S the one strapped in the chair, and starts digging down through her consciousness. The sooner this is over...*
Doctor: *and of course she can't help screaming, and somehow... so much more Rose. It's like it's Rose screaming, though she doesn't know it. down through layers and layers and layers and... the thing about Time Lords is that they have a psychic connection to the Time Vortex. Just a faint one, but you drill through enough down like this and you might get to it. It, over the memories she needs eyes fly open, blazing gold* Turn it off!
Jack: *Clenches his jaw so tight it hurts, watching her as he presses down, down, down... and the second she tells him to, he's switching it off and running back over to her, moving to undo the restraints and pull her out*
Doctor: *gasps for breath, because... well, that was stressful. And she's still got a gold glow in her eyes, though it's faded. This isn't control, this is enough power to overwhelm even a Time Lord. A link, not channeling. ...shut up, it's different, I fail at words* That's... Not good. Let's never do that again
Jack: You got it. *Holds her, lightly enough that she can pull away if she needs, but...* What happened? *A little freaked by the glowing? Oh yes*
Doctor: A, ah... I think it... it dug... *closes her eyes, trying to fight it down* there was a subconscious psychic connection to the Time Vortex. Below any form of conscious thoughts. Got down there, opened the link to the conscious.... I need... I need someplace. To go. Alone. Try to... close the conscious link.
Jack: My room good enough? Otherwise... well, we've got plenty of nice quiet tunnels.
Doctor: *nod* Yes. Please.
Jack: *Takes her by the arm and leads her back to his office. And is going to hover protectively until she's settled, just in case*
Doctor: *is going to go into... basically the equivalent of a healing trance, but for her mind. Try to close that up so she won't have any conscious connection hi, a couple of days passing!*
Jack: *Hovers like a hovery thing! Which mostly means just hanging around the Hub and annoying Ianto and Gwen, popping back to his office to keep an eye on her every now and then*
Doctor: *and, after shifting to actual SLEEP for a few hours, emerges with mussed hair and no glowing*
Jack: *At his desk. Surprise, surprise.* Doctor. *That's... not quite a greeting, not quite a question*
Doctor: *quietly, rather reserved I'm fine.* No damage done.
Jack: ...do you remember?
Doctor: *quietly* No. Not... precisely. *rubs the back of her neck* There was... an echo. An echo of a little human girl, USING the Time Vortex.
Jack: *Grimace* Yeah. She... looked into the heart of the TARDIS. When you sent her home from the Game Station.
Doctor: *closes her eyes and sighs* I don't remember. Whatever happened... if they're even still in my mind, they're BELOW that. Beyond that. And I can't get to them. I don't know if anything CAN.
Jack: ...do you remember what took it out?
Doctor: Not for certain. *pauses* I think it was the Master. I think... I think I SAW him. I don't remember anything else about him, but... he's a strong enough psychic to have done it.
Jack: *Bristles. Very visibly* He's DEAD.
Doctor: *tightly* I KNOW
Jack: But he's in London. Now.
Doctor: *snaps, shouting* I don't KNOW!
Jack: Sorry. *Just... Rubs at his forehead* We can go find him. Torchwood. Shouldn't be hard - only other Time Lord in existence...
Doctor: And do what? Threaten him until he fixes it? I don't know if he even CAN fix it, I don't know if it was him or if I'm making this all up!
Jack: Well, considering the alternative is leaving him to run loose in London... That didn't exactly work well the last time.
Doctor: *shaky breath* Right. Sorry, I just... I can't go. I can't.
Jack: You don't have to. We'll go.
Doctor: I'm sorry. *growls and bangs her fist against something... probably a file cabinet*
Jack: Don't be. *Pause* ...Don't hurt yourself.
Doctor: I feel utterly USELESS right now.
Jack: You're not. Honestly, I feel better if you're nowhere near him. Stay here. We'll need someone here if the Rift explodes anyway.
Doctor: *nods shortly* Yeah. sighs Hate stayin' in one place.
Jack: Best if you stay here. Sorry. *Doesn't really sound that sorry*
Doctor: *snorts* Liar. pauses, glancing around the hub I'll keep an eye on it, no worries. Won't take any side trips or nothing.
Jack: *Eyebrow raise*
Doctor: WHAT?
Jack: Seriously, if you're going to go...
Doctor: I'm not! Jack, I'm not. I want to... I promise, I'm not going. Not yet.
Jack: ...Okay. Then we'll... Well, you'll be here. We'll be in touch. *Eyes her for a moment longer and then... well. Master out there. Things to do. So he strides out of his office to find the others*
Doctor: *is going to just... try to remember Rose, then*
Doctor: *so, went on a jaunt to London, and is coming back... a bit befuddled, actually. Frowning and obviously trying to figure something out in her head*
Jack: *In the Hub. Just kinda... sitting around, as the Rift is being quiet and behaving itself. And checking the CCTV of the Plass periodically. When you start HOPING things will act up just so you have something to do...*
Doctor: *leans against the doorjam of his office looking... well, much more Doctorish than she's looked since she regenerated, when she wasn't running for her life* Why am I here?
Jack: *Blinks* Did you really get in without the alarms going off? *That's not creepy at all, Doctor.* ...You're going to have to clarify the question. Are we speaking in a general, existential sense, or...?
Doctor: Yeah, not hard, you need a better system. But I've just... been HERE for so long. I don't stay any one place for too long, not since I was stuck on earth that once, thanks to the Council. But I've been here AGES, and I can't remember why.
Jack: *A little disconcerted* Must just be the pleasure of my company. How was your trip to London?
Doctor: *frowns deeper* Odd. Woke up from what must've been a nap on a grassy knoll, but I don't remember sitting down on it.
Jack: ........ *Gets to his feet slowly* When was the last time you forgot something?
Doctor: *grim* It's been so long I don't remember. I don't know if I ever HAVE, not like that. Something's going on here. There's... little things. Just holes, things that don't make sense.
Jack: Yeah, I got that... *Circles around the desk to meet her in the doorway, reaching out carefully to rest a hand on her shoulder* I'd ask what you don't remember, but that's kind of a pointless question in my experience.
Doctor: I can tell you an event I don't remember that I should - I don't remember regenerating. Not this time, not the last time. There's... a fuzzy sort of knowledge it HAPPENED, but I don't remember it at all. Or why.
Jack: *Stares at her* You were... You were with Rose. You regenerated when she died...?
Doctor: *frowns a little, obviously baffled* Who?
Jack: *Stares some more. In a really kind of horrified way* Rose Tyler. She was... *Okay, deep breaths* Do you remember when we met?
Doctor: *lightly* Oh, yeah, I... *then she thinks about it, and looks a little horrified* World War Two. I was... There was a Chula ship...
Jack: And a child... Rose was there. I met her dangling from a barrage balloon... *Searching her face for absolutely any sign of recognition*
Doctor: I remember the child. The nanogenes... It's all a bit of a blur, I... that's WRONG, I don't REMEMBER.
Jack: You were travelling with Rose. Before me... after me... On the Game Station! She absorbed the Time Vortex... she's the reason I can't die. You don't remember any of it?
Doctor: *kind of freaked* No. That's not... someone's been in my head, someone's CHANGED something in my mind.
Jack: Alright. Just... *Rests his other hand on her shoulder and looks in her eyes* We'll figure it out. We can... *Grimaces a little* We've got some equipment to dig up buried memories, but you've got to promise me your head won't explode.
Doctor: If I can't find them, they have to be extremely well-hidden. You REALLY think your little toy is going to help? *mostly just freaking out in general*
Jack: Works for alien sleeper agents. Just... calm down, I'm trying to help, okay? Torchwood doesn't exactly have a psychic on staff, unless we're counting you.
Doctor: *pinches the bridge of her nose* Right. I highly doubt my head will explode.
Jack: *Sighs* I'd really prefer you to be certain about this when we're talking about... Well, I mean, Ianto's going to be annoyed if he has to clean up your brain.
Doctor: Well it helps to know what you're USING.
Jack: *Steps around her and starts into the Hub proper* I'll let you take a look at it and then you tell me whether or not it's safe for Time Lord use.
Doctor: *nods and follows* This is... I don't understand how this HAPPENED.
Jack: What's the last thing you remember before waking up on your... grassy knoll?
Doctor: I was... walking through the park. That's it.
Jack: ...Wonderful. *Pulls the mind probe out of the corner they shoved it in after dealing with Beth* Your basic mind probe. Only used it twice before, but it worked... once. *We don't talk about the other time unless Ianto points it out.*
Doctor: And the other time someone's head exploded, I assume? *yes, with the old tone of disapproval* *pokes at it a bit* It looks like it's probably... Rathallan. Should be alright, I'll let you know if anything dangerous starts happening.
Jack: That species had very high blood pressure! There was no way we could have predicted that. *Pauses, frowning at her* You sure? *May not trust her to accurately report danger*
Doctor: *grim* Someone's buried my memories. I don't know who and I don't know why. I want them back.
Jack: Yeah. *Gets it. Doesn't mean he's not worried about her* Sit down, then. I'm going to need to control it from the computers, so... tell me right away if there's anything wrong. Understood?
Doctor: *nods* Rassilon, these probes are crude. This is going to hurt.
Jack: *Grimaces* I know. Sorry. *Gets it all set up - metal helmet, wrist restraints - and heads over to the computers. Pause* Ready?
Doctor: *deep breaths, and for a second, she really looks like a little girl again. Just a little blonde girl. And then it's over, and she's the Doctor again, even if she's still small and blonde* Ready.
Jack: *Switches it on, bracing himself like HE'S the one strapped in the chair, and starts digging down through her consciousness. The sooner this is over...*
Doctor: *and of course she can't help screaming, and somehow... so much more Rose. It's like it's Rose screaming, though she doesn't know it. down through layers and layers and layers and... the thing about Time Lords is that they have a psychic connection to the Time Vortex. Just a faint one, but you drill through enough down like this and you might get to it. It, over the memories she needs eyes fly open, blazing gold* Turn it off!
Jack: *Clenches his jaw so tight it hurts, watching her as he presses down, down, down... and the second she tells him to, he's switching it off and running back over to her, moving to undo the restraints and pull her out*
Doctor: *gasps for breath, because... well, that was stressful. And she's still got a gold glow in her eyes, though it's faded. This isn't control, this is enough power to overwhelm even a Time Lord. A link, not channeling. ...shut up, it's different, I fail at words* That's... Not good. Let's never do that again
Jack: You got it. *Holds her, lightly enough that she can pull away if she needs, but...* What happened? *A little freaked by the glowing? Oh yes*
Doctor: A, ah... I think it... it dug... *closes her eyes, trying to fight it down* there was a subconscious psychic connection to the Time Vortex. Below any form of conscious thoughts. Got down there, opened the link to the conscious.... I need... I need someplace. To go. Alone. Try to... close the conscious link.
Jack: My room good enough? Otherwise... well, we've got plenty of nice quiet tunnels.
Doctor: *nod* Yes. Please.
Jack: *Takes her by the arm and leads her back to his office. And is going to hover protectively until she's settled, just in case*
Doctor: *is going to go into... basically the equivalent of a healing trance, but for her mind. Try to close that up so she won't have any conscious connection hi, a couple of days passing!*
Jack: *Hovers like a hovery thing! Which mostly means just hanging around the Hub and annoying Ianto and Gwen, popping back to his office to keep an eye on her every now and then*
Doctor: *and, after shifting to actual SLEEP for a few hours, emerges with mussed hair and no glowing*
Jack: *At his desk. Surprise, surprise.* Doctor. *That's... not quite a greeting, not quite a question*
Doctor: *quietly, rather reserved I'm fine.* No damage done.
Jack: ...do you remember?
Doctor: *quietly* No. Not... precisely. *rubs the back of her neck* There was... an echo. An echo of a little human girl, USING the Time Vortex.
Jack: *Grimace* Yeah. She... looked into the heart of the TARDIS. When you sent her home from the Game Station.
Doctor: *closes her eyes and sighs* I don't remember. Whatever happened... if they're even still in my mind, they're BELOW that. Beyond that. And I can't get to them. I don't know if anything CAN.
Jack: ...do you remember what took it out?
Doctor: Not for certain. *pauses* I think it was the Master. I think... I think I SAW him. I don't remember anything else about him, but... he's a strong enough psychic to have done it.
Jack: *Bristles. Very visibly* He's DEAD.
Doctor: *tightly* I KNOW
Jack: But he's in London. Now.
Doctor: *snaps, shouting* I don't KNOW!
Jack: Sorry. *Just... Rubs at his forehead* We can go find him. Torchwood. Shouldn't be hard - only other Time Lord in existence...
Doctor: And do what? Threaten him until he fixes it? I don't know if he even CAN fix it, I don't know if it was him or if I'm making this all up!
Jack: Well, considering the alternative is leaving him to run loose in London... That didn't exactly work well the last time.
Doctor: *shaky breath* Right. Sorry, I just... I can't go. I can't.
Jack: You don't have to. We'll go.
Doctor: I'm sorry. *growls and bangs her fist against something... probably a file cabinet*
Jack: Don't be. *Pause* ...Don't hurt yourself.
Doctor: I feel utterly USELESS right now.
Jack: You're not. Honestly, I feel better if you're nowhere near him. Stay here. We'll need someone here if the Rift explodes anyway.
Doctor: *nods shortly* Yeah. sighs Hate stayin' in one place.
Jack: Best if you stay here. Sorry. *Doesn't really sound that sorry*
Doctor: *snorts* Liar. pauses, glancing around the hub I'll keep an eye on it, no worries. Won't take any side trips or nothing.
Jack: *Eyebrow raise*
Doctor: WHAT?
Jack: Seriously, if you're going to go...
Doctor: I'm not! Jack, I'm not. I want to... I promise, I'm not going. Not yet.
Jack: ...Okay. Then we'll... Well, you'll be here. We'll be in touch. *Eyes her for a moment longer and then... well. Master out there. Things to do. So he strides out of his office to find the others*
Doctor: *is going to just... try to remember Rose, then*