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Fandom: Doctor Who (AU with Alternate young!Doctor-and yes, I have a lot of those apparently. It's fun playing with a Doctor who's only just now figuring out what he's capable of though)
Rating: PG
DISCLAIMER: I'm pretty sure I dreamed this at some point. (I'm still waiting for another awesome dream to come around.)
Note: I was staring at the next chapter I have available for Nebula Star, and I'm somewhat unhappy by what I have for it. I'll probably end up posting it eventually and going ANY FEEDBACK ANYONE PLEASE because the entire concept is highly important. (I don't feel I've gotten it right, though, which is kind of my problem for the rest of the Nebula Star stuff I have as far as I've gotten...I may even scrap a few chapters because as much as it works, it also just doesn't.)
Note #2: I'm glad the comic came out correctly. It originally came with the story (although I hand-wrote it and drew the comic by hand, so it wasn't all shiny and colorful). And the story's just not the same without it. (Augh, it doesn't work. Says the file's too large. I'll include a link to the next post which will have it so you can see it.)
Summary: The School is too constricting, so a few students make a break for it. This turns out to be more of an adventure than they anticipated.
The seven of them agreed-they would make a break for it the next day. Tina was quiet, as always, but she was also the most insistent. The Code was too strict-the School controlled every aspect of their lives and they needed to be free. Clyde liked Cynth, but according to the code he wasn’t allowed to date her. She was worried about the unfairness-the cruelty and favoritism shown. Colin and Norman wanted a change of scenery (or so they said). Rhonda, the calm, quiet one, felt that the School was keeping important knowledge from them. Nigel just wanted “to see what’s out there.”
It hadn’t gone well. They’d been spotted almost immediately and were now running for their lives down The Chasm. They were being chased by several Packs of Hounds-special students who had privileges and made sure everyone followed the Code. It was breaking one of the Laws of the Code to try to leave, so no one wanted to find out what would happen if they were caught.
Christina was panting, pumping her arms as fast as they would go…when something streaked past her, running faster than all of them combined. Sure that they were about to be captured, she gasped in horror-but a second glance told her that there was nothing to worry about. She’d never seen this boy before-the wild, spiky hair, the gangly arms and limbs, the somewhat bony profile…For that matter, she’d never seen such mesmerizing eyes before, the orbs as dazzling as twin jewels held in a pleasant frame. She sensed the potential for jollity behind them, but there was no merriment now, only a seriousness overwhelming in its intensity.
“Keep going! We’ll make it!” The voice, too, was captivating-but then, she had nothing else really to do while running, except worry about those behind…she shut off that path in an instant, instead contemplating the newcomer. He had a British accent-like some of theirs and yet not, quite. It was calming, steady, easy to listen to. Where he’d gotten the breath to speak, much less shout, she had no idea.
The main group exchanged glances, wanting to discuss the stranger in their midst but none with the energy to do so. Focusing on merely running was hard enough.
His eyes were continually darting around, watching for an escape route or their pursuers, she guessed. She was so intent on his arrival, she almost missed the splash as she stepped again.
The boy noticed; his eyes got really wide, and he swallowed, hard. He made an obvious effort to conceal his concern. It didn’t take long, and he did a fairly good job of it. “Look for a way up,” he commanded forcefully.
It was only in his attentive, searching eyes that the urgency was visible-urgency, not panic. The water was lapping around her ankles, almost tickling her feet. But she didn’t understand why it was such a problem-it was a stream bed, after all. Where else would you expect to find water but a river?
His eyes finally locked on something. Although she didn’t see anything, he pointed and yelled, “That way!”, fighting to keep his voice above the rising roar.
He started sprinting (how was it possible for him to go faster?) and grabbed Rhonda’s hand. Though they were all weary, somehow they all managed a burst of speed. There was just something so compelling about him-the force of his personality just…overwhelmed you and made you want to do what he thought was best. He seemed that trustworthy.
When they got close enough, Tina realized there was a small ramp-like structure leading up-a natural rock formation, it looked like. He’d let go of Rhonda’s hand and was ushering them up, urging them, “Quickly, quickly!”
The water hadn’t risen much. “Go on,” Christina told him.
She could see in his eyes that he felt like arguing, but instead he obeyed, obviously thinking that expressing his disagreement would take too long. His giving in worried her more than anything else so far-and yet what did he know that they didn’t?
Some were already at the top. All were hurrying, and yet trying to be careful, careful…
Tina felt the water lapping at her heels, and gasped in fear. It was impossible-it couldn’t have risen that much…
And the small noise she’d made became a shriek, as the now-slippery mud ramp made her fall and she started to tumble towards the angry mass of raging water rising to meet her…
She felt a smooth hand grasp her own, fingers curling around her hand as if by doing so they could keep her safe from the dangers of life. Her hysterical face turned upwards to look into the strange boy’s eyes. They were alarmed, but, again, he was hiding it well-and she saw something else, a confidence in his own abilities, perhaps.
“Come on…” his voice was barely strained…but the tension was there, like ripples on the surface of the water.
She gasped in fear, felling the tears start to run down her cheeks, imagining them dropping into the writhing water rushing up to meet her.
“I’ve got you.” And the look on his face was like nothing she had ever seen before. He wouldn’t let her go; he would save her, time and time again. His eyes spoke more loudly and clearly to her than anything ever had before. The rest of her life before now had been nothing but a dream, a shadow of what was to come-herself merely a shade of the Tina now. He was the only real thing in her life.
And he believed in her. How could she ever let him down?
All fear left her. She began trying to haul herself up, and the open smile of wild enthusiasm merely gave her more strength.
“Atta girl,” he murmured, pulling her up with an easy, wiry strength belied by his thin stature.
‘It was only my flailing that kept him from doing that right away,’ she thought. ‘He was afraid of me getting hurt.’
She didn’t know whether to be disappointed in herself, embarrassed, or touched.
He didn’t let go of her hand until the very top, pulling her behind him. His steps were light, graceful yet discerning. He was running, but somehow he didn’t lose his balance…and she didn’t either, though she felt the only thing still keeping her on her feet was the warm hand in hers.
When they got to the top, they turned. His face got wet with the spray of water. For a moment, he lost himself inside the chaos of the running water. What did he see in it, she wondered, as the current drove the wet, dangerous flood against the ground at their feet? For a minute, she saw another side to him-lonely, forbidding, unapproachable…harsh and icy. Why now?
Because, she realized, the water couldn’t have come up, not just like that. It wasn’t natural, shouldn’t have happened. At least, not without a monsoon or something. Her lessons in Science told her that much.
“Come on…I’ve got transport this…” His voice trailed off, puzzled. Students of about their age were approaching. A shiver of fear ran up Tina’s spine, and she tugged on the boy’s arm, hoping that he could come up with some miraculous save for them again. He shook his head slightly, frowning.
Then Clyde and Norman moved away from them. “It’s over, you know. You should give up now and save yourselves the trouble.”
The fierce glare in the newcomer’s eyes almost scared them-but they felt in control of the situation.
The Pack Leader began to speak to him, ignoring the rest. “I can tell you’re new here. Now, helping others escape is a very serious thing. But if you turn them in now, and help us out, it won’t be counted against you. There are always second chances, and I can tell you’re a smart fellow.”
His head was tilted slightly to the side. Surely he wasn’t listening?
Encouraged, the boy went on. “As a stranger, you can’t be blamed for making a mistake like that. Just come with me now, and I’ll take care of everything. We can’t let these go on without an education. That would just lead to anarchy.”
“You know, you might be right,” the boy answered, considering.
Tina tried to move as far away from him as she could. He was nothing but a dirty traitor-she hadn’t been getting to know him after all.
“Just help us with them,” the Pack Leader nodded at the main group, “…and you’ll be well on your way to a brighter future.”
“It sounds reasonable,” he answered with his pretty British accent, harsh and cruel now to her ears.
It was then that Clyde and Norman got tired of listening and pushed Cynth. She fell with a scream of terror, grabbing at Nigel, and he fell too, yelling in horror. The new boy pushed past the Pack, all pretense gone-so it *might* have been just a charade, she thought, still hurt.
He arrived too late to save them, and could only watch as they fell down what looked like a darkened, vast abyss toward the receding waters. His jaw tightened, and it was anything he could do to keep the anger inside.
When he turned towards the Pack, even Tina flinched on the look on his face-thunder was less frightening. It looked hard and cold and uncompromising. “Oh, big mistake,” he snarled, quiet but full of danger. “‘Cause you’ve made me your enemy and you really didn’t want to do that.”
For the first time in their life, the Pack felt fear, though they covered it with sneers of unconcern. One brought a weapon to bear-but Tina almost didn’t care, because he was wonderful, and he was beautiful now, standing tall against the sky, defiant, almost imposing, majestic…regal, even.
With a smile like that of a snake about to strike, he lifted a tool, suddenly in his hand, pointing it to the sky. There was a chirrup from the device…and almost an answering, trumpeting cry. An unearthly wind began to blow.
The Pack brought weapons to bear, but the strange boy didn’t seem all that concerned. A tall blue box appeared in front of them just as they shot. Energy defused to either side. “Inside,” he stated calmly. No one felt like arguing with him. They all piled in, even though there was clearly no room for them all.
And they gasped. The room was larger on the inside. A strange, glowing column of crystal in the exact middle of the room seemed to be waiting, and enormous mechanical sounds echoed around the room, like they were in the guts of some vast…the words would not come, not the way she wanted them to…leviathan of a ship. The others gasped, goggling at their surroundings, but Tina had eyes only for the strange boy striding right up to the column, back lit by the alien blue glow.
“Did you miss me?” he whispered, stroking the controls surrounding the crystal.
He stared into the center for a while, and that feeling from earlier, that vast, alien loneliness, surged and threatened to engulf her.
Finally, he twirled around the center bank of instruments until he faced the doors-and the still amazed visitors to his marvelous machine.
“I’m sorry. I was hoping just to stall them. I figured that direct confrontation, even if I called my TARDIS, was too risky. And two of you ended up paying for that assumption.”
“Don’t blame yourself-you couldn’t be responsible for the Pack,” Tina reassured him quickly.
In return, he gave her a nice, quirky smile.
“They’ve died. Now what’re you going to do about it?” Colin asked belligerently.
Christina would have admonished him for his lack of respect-but a smile broke out on the boy’s face like a ray of sunshine.
“Save them, of course.”
Only Rhonda found it in her to half-heartedly try to explain that by this point, the two had hit bottom and were most certainly dead as he danced about the controls, a veritable mayhem of activity. He was barely listening, which caused her to trail off in her explanation.
He muttered to himself, “Just after you looked, Doctor…” and appeared to be performing very intense and complicated calculations in his head. Coordinates, maybe?
He rested a hand on a lever. “Now, most of you are just gonna want to hang on to something. The room’s gonna tilt. But I need somebody to help. Who’s it gonna be?”
“Me,” Christina volunteered.
His wide, delighted eyes turned toward her. She was sure he was laughing inside, but he was keeping himself contained. “I’m awfully sorry. I didn’t get your name.”
“Tina,” she answered happily, staring into his eyes. They were beautiful, and drawing her in…
“Tina. Tina!” Somehow he’d crossed the room, and was now standing in front of her, snapping his fingers in front of her face. “You all right?” he queried uncertainly.
“Yeah.” How could she not be all right?
“There are strong dimensional currents in the TARDIS. Probably caught you unawares,” he explained in sympathy.
“Probably it,” she agreed.
“I’m the Doctor,” he introduced himself. “Now, I want you to come over here and pull this lever,” he wandered over to the appropriate panel and patted the lever in question, “…and hold down this one until after they’re inside. You got that?”
She nodded. She was born ready.
“Lovely.” He flashed another smile and began moving to the doors. Christina moved into position and braced herself, holding onto the console. “Ready?” she asked, wanting to make sure. She wasn’t completely sure what they were doing, but she had an idea that they only had one chance at this.
He grinned, a daring, enthusiastic look in his eyes, and gave her a thumbs up. “Absolutely.”
She pulled the lever, and suddenly the room was on its side, the door at the top. She could hear gasps at the startling tilt, and the sound of someone sliding a little down the slippery, steep slope. The noise stopped, so she guessed that whoever it was had grabbed on to something.
Tina didn’t dare look. All her energy was being spent holding on to the lever. It was the most important task of her life, and she was determined to complete it successfully.
She didn’t see what the Doctor saw. He was partially in, partially out of the TARDIS, holding himself up and pulling himself out with all his strength. He had to be in position when the others arrived. He would not fail.
The TARDIS and all the people inside were rushing at the ground and, when they hit-if they hit-they would all be killed, or at least badly injured. He could feel the others’ uncertainty about him and this plan that he hadn’t even fully explained. At least Tina wasn’t scared-she seemed exhilarated, and determined to make a good accounting of herself. She was a treasure, he decided. Feeling the wind tear past his face was rather exciting.
The others were falling faster than the TARDIS was. His ship had more wind resistance, and they hadn’t had time to build up a really good speed yet. He’d have to thank her later.
He could see the looks on their faces. They’d managed to hold hands-good. That would make his job easier. He found himself grinning with the daring of it all. He was truly free again.
And if he didn’t concentrate, they’d be dead. Again.
He leaned out as far as he dared. There was no time for fear-not even a slight fear of heights. That’s why he liked adventure-there was no time for fear or doubt, just time for…
…Grabbing hands. Suddenly, all nerves, all muscles, went tight with the strain. He gritted his teeth and did his best to pull them up. The pressure lessened as they reached out on their own, frantically trying to find a handhold and doing their best to help, knowing that they were running out of time. The Time Lord was running out of time, he thought idly.
Once they were inside, they almost lost their transferred grips to the shock of the interior. “Now!” he shouted with all his might and let go.
Suddenly, he, too, was falling. Tina released the lever, and the TARDIS responded, groaning loudly and spinning out of the canyon and into the Vortex, gently setting them down as it twisted back to the ‘right side up’. It happened so fast that the Doctor barely registered the slamming of the doors after the fact in the Vortex. His ears were ringing, and he felt dazed. Literally, despite his ship’s efforts, the wind had been knocked out of him. He felt the urgent footsteps shaking the floor under him. He wished whoever it was wouldn’t keep disturbing him. He was very comfortable, although there was a curious pressure in his chest. It was annoying. He wished it would go away.
Suddenly, he was rolled onto his back and understood. It was breath-his lungs were signaling to him that he needed oxygen. He started chugging deep breaths of air, grateful for the assistance, and closed his eyes because he was so out of it he wasn’t seeing anything anyway.
He barely felt the tap on his shoulder. “Doctor, you okay?” Tina’s concerned voice sounded far away.
He nodded energetically, just focusing on breathing. After a minute, he opened his eyes. The girl’s worried face swam into view. He managed another ear-to-ear wild grin, which didn’t ease her expression. “That…” he emphasized, “…was brilliant. I mean, totally mad; we all could have died, but still brilliant!”
He breathed out, a long, happy sigh, then swung himself to his feet in one long, graceful motion. “My name’s the Doctor, no, I’m not human, yes, this is my ship, it’s called the TARDIS, yes, it’s bigger on the inside-that’d called dimensionally transcendental, by the way, Tina, brilliant job, it went beautifully, and yes, you’re welcome for the rescue, yes, I was planning on getting all of you out of here, but it didn’t quite turn out like I’d planned, not that it ever does, oh, and you’ll be here a few days, so you might as well get comfortable, explore, and we might as well get to know each other and each other’s names. One more thing,” he finally paused for breath, as they all stared at him in amazement, “…the TARDIS can take you anywhere you want to go. Good girl.” He patted her, thanking her for her performance today. “Past, present, future, space, dimension, it’s all the same to me ‘n ‘er, so don’t be shy. Any golden ticket destinations, anywhere or when you want to go or be dropped off, and I’ll set the coordinates. Well,” he added as an afterthought, “…nowhere too dangerous. A warning-the cosmos is a dangerous place, though if you travel with me, I’ll do my best to keep you safe, and in one piece, as you saw.”
“Definitely not Skaro,” he muttered to himself as he turned back to the TARDIS console.
Comic This Way
