InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "This is where I get off."

The Doctor (not_your_tardis) wrote in colligo_threads,
@ 2012-06-15 02:53:00

Entry tags:

jonathan crane, molly suresh, the doctor (10)

Who: The Doctor and Open
What: The Doctor may well take up an old mantle (and he's shouting a lot)
Where: Just outside the Library.
When: Late in the night, early in the morning, and until someone listens
Rating: PG-13 for some likely heavy threats of violence (at least at first
Notes:

There was something. The Doctor wasn't sure what, but something happened. The distant hum of the vinvocci glass trembling with the build up of radiation, the look of despair and pleading on the face of a haggard Wilfred Mott, his shouting cries for The Doctor to carry on, and the silence which he delivered in reply. He'd felt his hearts sink, knowing well what was about to happen, that he was once again about to walk into his own, willing, death...and then...he was waking up somewhere completely wrong.

The Doctor was up and on his feet in a whirl and a flash. He was in a library, that he understood, but how? How had eluded him and...

"Wilfred!" The Doctor shouted, his face still battle scarred. "Wilfred!" He shouted again, his tones now ripe with violent rage as balled fists banged against his hips. "WILFRED!" He bellowed a third time, just as he caught sight of the armored figures of...armor..moving toward him. Under normal circumstances he might have regarded them with some kind of awe, some kind of wonder, but today was not a normal day. Today, The Doctor, The Time Lord Victorious, The Oncoming Storm, the man of myth and legend, the hero of a thousand worlds, a man revered and feared across all of space and time, was very, very, angry.

"Listen to me.." The Doctor began, as the suits closed in on him. "Today is not a day to play games, not with me. Maybe you know who I am, and maybe you have no idea, so let me tell you.." His words were hissed through serrated teeth. "I'm The Doctor - and today is not a day you want to be on my bad side - so I'm going to tell you this once, just once - Take. Me. Back." When they continued to advance, without a word, he produced the Sonic Screwdriver from his pocket. "Last Warning." He shouted, his words growing louder with each passing syllable. "TAKE. ME. BACK. NOW!."

When the device appeared to have no effect and the two figures caught him by his outstretched arm, The Doctor howled. "NO!" He shouted, tugging in vain against the creatures which seemed to have no trouble, or the time to speak to him, as they carried him to the exit. "Listen - just - just - just listen!" He pleaded, trying to dig his toes against the ground in resistance.

When this proved to be in vain, and the suits had carried him beyond the doors. The Doctor shouted. "LISTEN TO ME! If you don't take me back right now a good man - my friend - may very well be dead - a man who saved the world, a man who deserves to be hailed a hero is going to die - and you know what will happen if that man dies? If that man dies, I will be very, very, angry." And still the armor carried on before dropping him, quite literally, on the steps of the library, leaving the PDA to tumble down unnoticed by him.

"NO!" The Doctor shouted, already seemingly aware of what was about to happen as he did his best to scramble to his feet. The Doctor did his best to right himself on his feet to give chase, but the doors had already shut by the time his balled fists reached them, banging on in a rage that seemed to no know bounds.

"TAKE ME BACK!" He bellowed again, and again, and again. It didn't matter that it was night. It didn't matter that he was in a city. It didn't even matter that he didn't have a TARDIS - well, if he thought about it, that mattered. All that mattered, at that moment was the only person, things, suit of armor, whatever, that had any answer was on the other side of a door that would not open. This understanding had lit the fires in him that now threatened to burn whole worlds with little more than a gaze from his eyes.

"NO!" He bellowed again, his fists banging against the door. "LISTEN TO ME! YOU CAN'T do this! You can't! Please!" Fists railed against doors again before the screwdriver was given a second test. When it ended in an angry growl, the device was thrown, obviously in vain, at the doors, leaving The Doctor only one option.

He'd shout at the damn heavens until someone showed up, until someone heard him. He'd run up and down every street, demanding to be heard, with the anger and rage of an entire universe on his shoulders. Why?

Today was the day he'd seen his people return. Today was the day he'd stared in the face of the monstrosity they had become. Today was the day that he learned that it was his people, in response to what he had done, that had broken the mind of his childhood friend. It was this day that he'd seen the whole of Earth, his favorite planet, broken and shattered and twisted into some kaleidoscope of all his nightmares. Today was the day he had been through the most impossible things and seen his hearts pushed to their limits. Today was the day where he'd lost everything and, just when he'd been about to have one, tiny, victory, he'd been taken away.

Today was the angriest day The Doctor had ever known, and the whole world was about to know it.

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humanmapquest
2012-06-16 03:01 am UTC (link)

That was it. As far as Molly was concerned, enough was enough. She had been manhandled, she had been screamed at, she had even been threatened in a very vague, yet she was sure also real, way. And she was fine with all of that. She might not like it, but she could handle it. But she was not going to stand there and let someone who had simply been trying to come to her aid get treated the same way. It wasn't going to happen. Not even a little.

Waiting until Jonathan had quit trying to calm the Doctor yet again, Molly finally spoke up. What she had to say, she was sure, was liable to infuriate the Doctor even more than he already was, or possibly break him entirely. However, she frankly didn't care anymore. He was being an ass toward her and, more importantly, toward someone else. She was through trying to be nice.

"The Master is here," she said first and foremost, only pausing to draw in a breath before tacking on, "So are several others that you've lost, along the way. And you're wrong, Doctor. It was you who was here before. The very same you. This you. There have been other regenerations of you as well. In fact, there's another regeneration of you in the city as we speak."

Her eyes were hardened, her tone equally so, as she met his gaze without even so much as blinking. "And before you call me a liar, I'd just like to say that I learned a great many things from your next regeneration, but lying wasn't one of them. I never really developed the feel for it. So believe me or not, but I'm telling the truth. And if you would stop acting like a spoiled child having a temper tantrum, you would be able to figure these things out for yourself."

Then she glanced at Jonathan, offering him a small smile. "And thank you, for stepping in," she said, genuinely. "I really do appreciate it."

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not_your_tardis
2012-06-16 03:58 am UTC (link)

There was a moment where the flash of anger was so white hot that it was all The Doctor could see. Jonathan's words had incited him to a point where listening was the absolute last thing on his mind. All he could think of was the possibility of lighting the city on fire, which of course he wouldn't do, or finding some other way to get the attention of this Asaph. Screaming certainly did not seem to helping, but that wasn't about to stop him and, no sooner had he finished, than when Molly spoke up.

What she said was enough to make his veins run like ice.

Slowly, his dark eyes panned over to her. His entire mantle was weathered with an impossible mix of anger and heartbreaking news. The Doctor stood, staring at her, stone silent, unblinking. It was the absolute worst thing she could have told him, and some of the best news he'd ever heard in the entirety of his life.

For whatever reason, The Doctor glanced between both of them, without so much as a word still to say. His hands shook, his eyes trembled. Somewhere, deep inside, something that had been wounded deeply today, was taking blow after blow, and whatever it was, seemed very, very, near to breaking.

It was something as deeply rooted to him as his people, as their culture, something as tightly wound to his soul as the TARDIS, as as all the history he'd ever seen, of all the futures he'd ever saved. It was something as vital to every species on the planet. The truth of the matter was, the man's indomitable hearts were nearing their breaking point and the pressure showed no signs of slowing down.

As his gaze panned back to Molly, to Johnathan, to the sky, the street, and the whole world around him, The Doctor did the only thing he could do.

He stood there, desperately struggling to come to grips with what he'd just been told and everything that had just happened.

It was one of the hardest things he'd ever done.

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andintheendfear
2012-06-16 05:32 am UTC (link)

Jonathan reached out, placing his hand on the Doctor's arm. "Let's get out of here," he said softly, looking up into the Doctor's eyes. "It'll do none of us good to just stand here having it out on the street and you could certainly use something to drink."

He curled his hand lightly around the Doctor's forearm. "Schrodinger's cat can wait until you get some rest," he looked over the many wounds and bruises on the man. "Let me look at those for you, you can't do battle while broken."

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not_your_tardis
2012-06-16 08:48 pm UTC (link)

The Doctor finally found a voice, pulling away as the man reached out to him.

"Time Lords are meant to be broken." He replied coldly, his dark eyes staring deep into the soul of this man, before shifting over to the other woman. Maybe he really had lived too long, maybe he'd seen too much, maybe there had been too much loss at his hands. The Doctor found himself thinking of the Time War, of Gallifrey, of the Daleks, and the legions of lives that had been lost both at his hands, and in his defense. He couldn't help but think, at that moment, that maybe his time had come and gone, that someone had stolen him away from the moment when it would all, finally, be over.

The Doctor looked between the two them, his eyes a wash of impossible emotions, a mixture of rage and despair. Behind them was a man who'd gone to war, time and again, a man who'd saved world, and a man who'd destroyed them; behind them was the weight of a thousand years of battle and a spirit that stood on the very real brink of fracture.

He stared at both of them, before silently moving to collect his Sonic Screwdriver and the small device that had spilled from his hand in the panic and struggle outside the library...and he just kept walking, pausing only to look back over his shoulder.

His dark eyes locked on both of them for a long moment before serrated words spilled out from behind trembling lips and teeth clenched into a fist.

"Tell them.." He spoke firmly, a great weight dragging his words down like a winters snow. "..a storm is coming."

He knew, if Molly did know others who knew him, that those words would carry the weight of galaxies.

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andintheendfear
2012-06-16 09:00 pm UTC (link)

Jonathan cursed, following the doctor, though keeping out of range of the weapon he was carrying. "You can't just wander around alone, not in your state!" he called. "Please..." his voice grew softer, almost pleading. "Let me help you...I don't know you, but I can't stand to see you this hurt,"

And Jonathan didn't mean the physical wounds.

"You don't even have to talk to me..but you need someone before you lose control."

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not_your_tardis
2012-06-16 09:38 pm UTC (link)

The Doctor paused, one last time, as Jonathan called out to him. He stopped, but did not turn around, not at first, and when he did, his features were like that of a carved statue. He was unblinking, unyielding, and his lips formed a line that could have cut diamonds. He stared back at them, and spoke.

"I'm only going to say this once, so I want you to listen carefully. You have no idea who I am, what I could do, what I have done. You haven't even the imagination to dream about the day I have had - so I'm going to give you a warning. You get one. Only one. Don't waste it - and I want you to stop, and consider very, very, carefully that I'm going out of my way to do this and today, of all the days I have ever had, that takes more than you know."

The Doctor stared at the man, letting the silence between them fall before his warning, a single word, a word he'd told to countless foes on countless occasions, a word that could stop the swarms of Vashta Nerada in their tracks.

"Run."

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andintheendfear
2012-06-16 09:50 pm UTC (link)

Jonathan stared at him, no fear, no terror...no...anything. While the doctor was carved out of hot stone, Jonathan was empty ice, easily shattered but with no prize hidden under it's exterior.

The only problem...was that he was already broken.

"No," he said, staring at the doctor without blinking. He was not some little boy to be told to go run off and play, not when he had such a delectable little treat before him. To help or to destroy...

"Now, Doctor, you can either accept my help or not, but I will not walk away from this, so you might as well kill me now as that is the only way you're getting rid of me." he said, sniffing, looking down his nose at the doctor in the manner of those who thought they were higher then the other. "Because you certainly don't scare me."

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humanmapquest
2012-06-16 11:10 pm UTC (link)

Molly remained silent throughout the entire interaction between the two. She saw no reason to speak, had nothing to really say. It was what it was. The Doctor was angry, bordering on fully broken, and no one was going to get him past that. Especially not people he didn't know and had no reason to believe or trust one bit. So she simply stood there, expression carefully neutral - except for her eyes. They shone with worry, pain, and most of all helplessness. She hated feeling useless and yet, that's precisely how she felt now.

Except. A thought occurred to her. A way she could help, even if it meant putting herself at risk. In all honesty, that fact barely registered before she was shutting her eyes and reaching out with her ability, searching for the Doctor that she knew. The one who had been in the city for so very long now, the one who had taught her how to fly his TARDIS, the one she considered one of her very best friends. And she found him, too, as she always did.

The only problem was, he was apparently travelling in his TARDIS. And as brilliant as Molly was, as quickly as she caught on to most of what the Doctor had to teach her, as amazing as her clairvoyance could be, she simply was not built to view anyone, or anything, as it travelled about the way the TARDIS did.

With a small, stifled gasp of pain, , Molly continued to search. Not for the Doctor, any longer, which eased the pounding in her head and her body's threats of passing out, but instead she searched for the others who would know this version of him. It took a few scant seconds, possibly half a minute at the most. Then she opened her eyes, ignored the blood that was slowly starting to drip from her nose, and addressed the Doctor who was walking away with a slightly shaky voice.

"There isn't anyone who will know you at the park, or near the warehouses." She paused as she felt her legs wobble a bit, and reached out for the nearest parking meter to steady herself. Voice still trembling slightly, clearly weakened, she added, "I wouldn't go near the lake and the shopping district, as well as the apartments." She swallowed down the bile that was churning in her stomach. "If you want to avoid seeing anyone else who would recognize you, I mean." With that, she closed her eyes and leaned heavily against the parking meter for a moment, trying to collect herself and wondering if maybe she was going to have to contact her Doctor after all, if only to ask for a ride home.

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andintheendfear
2012-06-16 11:15 pm UTC (link)

Jonathan reacted instantly, going to Molly's side and gently supporting her, allowing her to lean on him instead of the meter. "Don't push yourself," he said softly, rubbing her arm lightly in support.

He glanced up at the Doctor, eyes still empty, though deep down, there was a rage building. How dare this man push aside their help and concern, to wallow in his own pity and stupidity.

"Do you need help getting home, Molly?" Yes, he remembered her from the network, the help she had given him, even if he hadn't mentioned it before, too focused on the other man.

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not_your_tardis
2012-06-17 12:04 am UTC (link)

There was a moment where he debated doing something, anything. Whatever she'd just done had clearly taxed her. He debated, for a serious moment moving to her side to help her, before he just turned to move away. The other man seemed to have taken care of her. He paused for a moment though, looking at Molly just long enough to speak a pair of words, before stepping into an alley.

"Thank you."

With that, The Doctor walked. Where? Only he knew. Maybe he'd go somewhere nobody knew him, maybe he'd go somewhere everyone did. Maybe he'd just go somewhere quiet and try and think it out. Still, whatever she'd done, it appeared, at least for now, to have calmed whatever storm might have been brewing inside him.

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humanmapquest
2012-06-17 03:31 am UTC (link)

Grateful for the assistance, even if she was having a hard time showing it at the moment, Molly leaned against Jonathan and tried to stave off the nausea that was threatening to consume her. Eyes shut, she heard the Doctor's words but didn't respond. Instead she finally opened her eyes and glanced up at the man who had come to her aid.

"Don't go after him," she said softly, not sure if the Doctor could hear her and not particularly caring at the moment. Let him leave, let him rage and threaten and scream at anyone and everyone who dared to cross his path. Eventually he would come to his senses and realize it wasn't going to do any good. And, when that day came, she would be there for him again. For now, though, she was content to let him storm off and do whatever he needed to do. It wasn't as though any of them could stop him, anyway.

Of course, she was fairly sure Jonathan didn't realize that it was pointless, and a simple suggestion by her probably wasn't going to cut it. So after a moment she tacked on, "He's very, very old, and very, very tired. And, right now, he's also very, very angry and likely a bit broken, besides." With a shuddering sigh, she pulled a tissue from her pocket and dabbed at the blood seeping from her nose, watching the Time Lord walk away.

"Sometimes, even those have mastered time need a moment to themselves."

With another sigh, she turned away from the retreating form of the Doctor and glanced up at Jonathan once more. "And if it isn't any trouble, I could use a bit of help. Seeing the TARDIS in motion always takes it out of me a bit." She realized, belatedly, that the last bit of what she said probably didn't make any sense to someone who didn't know the Doctor, but she also couldn't be bothered to explain if she wasn't asked.

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andintheendfear
2012-06-17 04:59 am UTC (link)

"How can I just let him go? It's my job...my calling to help people," Jonathan said, but he didn't follow the doctor, instead, better shifted his arm around her, allowing her to lean on him all she needed.

"Where to?" he asked, gently brushing her hair away from her face, using he motion to check her tempeture, before tilting her head so he could examine her nose, using his own handkerchief to clean the blood. "You need to get looked at,"

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humanmapquest
2012-06-17 05:17 am UTC (link)

Molly was silent and patient as he examined her, waiting until he'd seemed to finish before responding. She didn't enjoy interrupting people if she could help it. Especially not those who seemed to want to help her. When he was done talking, though, she wasted no time in responding, despite the fact that her words were laced with a weariness that seemed to reach clear down to her bones.

"Some people are just beyond helping, as terrible as that is to say," she said first and foremost. "He'll come around, eventually. He just has to sort through over a thousand years of what he's always known before he can accept what's happening." If there was one thing Molly was absolutely sure about, it was the fact that the Doctor would, eventually calm down and start to listen to reason. She wasn't sure how it would happen, or even when, but she knew it would definitely occur. Just, as much as she hated to admit it, not because of anything she said or did.

Eyes fluttering open, her mind wondering when she'd even closed them, she added, "Up the street three blocks, then take a left. I stay at the apartments near the university." It wasn't too far of a walk, really, if you took the direct route. She typically didn't during her midnight strolls, as that defeated the entire purpose of strolling in the first place. But fortunately, there was a faster way to get there than the route she'd used to arrive here in the first place.

Another pause, as she forced herself to stand upright - although she kept a grip on him in case her legs threatened to give out again - and Molly gave Jonathan a faint, and somewhat weak, smile. "I'm fine," she assured him. Pausing, knowing that was a lie if ever there was one, she corrected, "I will be fine, at any rate. It's just my ability reminding me that I'm mortal despite my tendency to forget that sometimes." Drawing in a breath, she insisted, "Really. Thank you, for the concern, but there isn't a thing a doctor can tell me that I don't already know. Mostly, I just need to rest and heal."

Never mind that any doctor with the proper tools would point out that her brain was becoming damaged each and every time something like this happened. That was neither here nor there. She still wasn't going to stop looking for the Doctor, when necessary, despite the risks it might cause her. So, in her mind, having someone point out the dangers it entailed really was moot. It was just easier, for all involved, if she went home and slept until she felt better.

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andintheendfear
2012-06-17 05:21 am UTC (link)

Jonathan stared at her for a moment, frowning before sighing and shifting, easily lifting her up onto his back. "Try to hold on," he said. He could have carried her easier in a 'bridal' style, but it seemed a bit forward.

He started towards her apartment, trying to keep a fast pace so he could get her into bed before she collapsed.

"Tell me about him," he said, partially interested in the man, but more to keep an 'eye' on her consciousness as he couldn't physically do it with her connected to him.

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