Zildafontahexazist
By SheDreamsOfWorlds
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Chapter 1
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"You're gonna love Zildafontahexazist," the Doctor said excitedly as he opened the TARDIS door and stepped out onto a wide blue plain under a shimmering orange sky. "They've managed to forge treaties with just about every nation in five galaxies. It's quite a feat and all very boring, but it means that just about every trade caravan in those five galaxies makes its way through the Hexazist Market. They say if you can't find it on Zildafontahexazist…" The Doctor spun suddenly bringing Martha up short and fixed her with a daffy grin. "…it doesn't exist!"
"Really!" Martha said, "Well, let's go then!"
The Doctor grabbed her hand and towed her over a rise to reveal a huge city in the distance, laid out in a hexagon with a single large building centered at the hub. The rest of the city appeared to be filled with tents and canopies, each segment a different color. Fountains of every color dotted the market.
"Wow, that's brilliant!" Martha said breathlessly. "It's so huge! And you say that's just the market?"
"Oh yes," the Doctor said. "And it's all quite organized. You see, each color denotes a separate district. Yellow for hardware, Green for food and medicine, and Blue for clothing, jewelry, and the like. Then there's Purple for entertainment, the Red District of course, and Orange for transportation. Of course there's a certain amount of crossover. For instance, if you were looking to buy groceries, you'd head for the Green, but there're also restaurants and food stands in the Purple. You'll find bargains toward the outskirts, and things get more posh toward the center, you see?"
"But wait, Doctor, what's in the Red District? You skipped right over it," Martha accused.
The Doctor raised one eyebrow.
Martha shook her head, not understanding. "Well?"
The Doctor raised his other eyebrow as well and fixed her with a look.
Martha flushed. "Oh."
"Some things are universal," the Doctor stated. "You want to stay clear of there. Not safe."
"Of course, you parked us right near it," Martha said. "Just can't stay away from trouble can you?"
"Well if I'd parked it on the other side, you'd have missed out on the view! Don't worry, we'll take the long way around," the Doctor said. "See, we'll just cut through the Orange District, give you a chance to see how everyone else gets around. Not everyone can have a TARDIS," he said smugly.
Martha snorted.
"Then it's on to the Yellow. I've got to pick up a few parts for the ol' girl, and then we are free to browse the rest!"
"Sounds great," Martha said.
As they approached the Hexazist Market, the quiet hum of the crowds grew to a loud chatter. Martha could see now that the Orange District was not colored so much by its tents, but by its array of rockets and hovering crafts, most of which were orange.
"Wow, people must really like orange rockets. It's not nearly so popular for motors at home," Martha commented.
"It's the Zildian Diva, you see. She got so popular, they renamed the planet Zildafontahexazist in her honor. Used to just be called Zist until hexagons got so bloody popular. Then it was Hexazist 'till they discovered fountains and became Fontahexazist, you see? They tend to get quite carried away. They've got fountains for everything and I don't just mean liquids; gem fountains, coin fountains, even got one for spare engine parts. Quite noisy as you can imagine. Personally I liked the sound of Zist. Zist. It's zesty."
"What's that got to do with the rockets?" Martha asked.
"What color do you think her ship is?" the Doctor asked.
"Orange, hmm?" Martha answered.
"Oh, yes…along with her hair and her eyes. She started a whole trend. Everywhere you look you'll see people with their hair dyed to the point of disintegration. Look at that bloke there!" The Doctor nodded toward an overweight man with thinning orange hair who was examining some sort of gadget.
"Oh my God, I can see his scalp!" Martha laughed. "You're telling me, even thousands of years in the future, millions of miles from Earth, they still haven't managed to make hair dye that doesn't fry your hair?"
"U-ni-versal," the Doctor said in a sing-song voice. He spun to the right suddenly. "Ah, here we are!" As they talked, they had passed into the Yellow district. He bounded over to a stall filled with small bits of oddly shaped stone. Martha waited patiently as he sniffed them and tested them with his teeth. "These will do quite nicely."
After buying the parts, they spent a nice morning browsing the shops and taking in shows. The sun was high in the sky when Martha's stomach finally rumbled.
"You hungry yet, Doctor?" Martha asked.
"Well sure, I suppose." He looked around before spotting the sign for Henda's Hexcafe. The Doctor grabbed Martha's hand and pulled her toward a small building with purple awnings. "This is just the place. You're gonna love it! The last time I was here, in about fifty years, they had this spicy chocolate pastry…I do hope they've invented it already. We might be too soon." He looked doubtful for a moment. "Ah, never mind. We'll manage!"
"Chocolate pastries? Some things really are universal," Martha laughed. They stepped inside the cool building to see what would have looked like any other café on Earth, if the tables and chairs were carved from orange and lime spotted stone, and covered not just the floor but the walls and ceiling as well. People chattered happily in their seats above Martha's head, giving her a wave of vertigo.
"Steady on," the Doctor said, taking a hold of her elbow. "Helps if you just focus on the ground."
"How do they…?" Martha asked, gesturing toward the people walking across the walls.
"Positive Gravity Field Manipulation," the Doctor answered as he pulled her through the crowd. "Don't worry, I'll get us seats on the ground floor. Eating sideways is not for beginners."
"Oh my God, what if one of them pukes?" Martha asked, gesturing upward. "Is it gonna land on our heads?"
The Doctor laughed. "No, no, it lands at their own feet like normal."
"Normal," Martha laughed.
"C'mon then, allons-y!" They took a seat and ordered from the glowing menu screen in the center of the table. In only a few minutes a robotic cart delivered their lunch.
"Oh, this is splendid!" the Doctor said with glee as he chewed his first bite of pastry.
Martha eyed her salad a bit more cautiously. "D'you reckon it's safe? Shouldn't you like, scan it or something?"
"What ever for?" the Doctor asked.
"Y'know, for compatibility!" Martha pointed out. "Don't want to find myself sick with some alien bug."
"Look around. There's plenty of human types here. I'm sure it's fine," the Doctor said.
"There's plenty of humans in Mexico; doesn't mean I can drink the water," Martha pointed out.
"Are you hungry or not?" the Doctor asked.
"Point taken," Martha conceded and took her first bite. "Well, it tastes good!"
"See? But you should really try this!" The Doctor waved his pastry in her direction, narrowly missing her with a glob of filling.
"Oi! Watch it, you!" Martha laughed and reached for the menu panel. "I'll get one to go."
"Mm, order me another as well. We really should have a supply of these on board the TARDIS!" The doctor was lost in a dreamy haze of spicy chocolate filling. Their pastries arrived packed in a wicker canister just as the Doctor was licking the last of the filling from his fingers with relish. They were just standing to don their coats when a shudder rolled through the Doctor's body, leaving him leaning heavily on the table.
"Are you all right, Doctor?" Martha asked with concern.
The Doctor blinked heavily. "Something's wrong. We have to get back to the TARDIS." He grabbed her arm and began towing her through the crowd.
"Wait, Doctor! This is the wrong way!" Martha tugged ineffectually at her arm. "This way leads through the Red District!"
"Never mind that! We have to hurry!" The Doctor increased his grip and all but dragged Martha through the crowd.
Martha had no choice but to hurry in his wake. She had the sinking feeling that if she lost her footing, he'd literally drag her along. The Doctor was shaking quite badly now. He looked back at her briefly and she realized with a sinking heart that his pupils were dilated. She'd spent enough time in an emergency room during her training to recognize the signs. The good Doctor had been drugged.
Martha tried again to free herself from his grip, for in this state he was a danger even to her, but it was too late. They'd passed into the Red District. The sun suddenly seemed a bit colder and the tents a bit less kind. Though the crowds were thick, there was not a woman in sight. They were all hidden away, working in the tents, Martha assumed.
She stopped struggling, not wanting to draw attention to herself, but the Doctor was doing enough of that on his own, the way he was shoving his way through the crowds. That earned them quite a few glares which quickly turned to leers as they caught sight of Martha. She pressed herself closer to the Doctor. He may have not been the safest companion in his current state, but it was better the devil you know, as they say.
"Hey, how much?"
"Didn't know they came in colors…"
"Where'd you find that one?"
"Good looking, though…"
"Never seen one like that before…"
Martha flushed and ducked her head down as she tried to block out the comments. The grasping hands were a bit more difficult to block out. Martha whacked a few with the pastry canister she still had clutched in her hand. Then she found herself being dragged backward by bold hands, even as the Doctor continued to pull her forward. Martha lost her footing and went down.
"Doctor!" Martha cried. "Doctor, help!"
It took a moment for her voice to reach him through his drug-fogged brain, but then the Doctor spun with his sonic screwdriver in hand. It emitted a sound she'd never heard from it before; a sound that seemed to pierce directly into her brain. The crowd around them fell to the ground clutching their heads. Martha felt as if her ears were bleeding. She was still reeling when the Doctor grabbed her around the waist and tucked her under one arm as if she were an unruly child.
A moment later, he broke through the crowd, out of the Hexazist Market, and onto the grassy blue plains. He was halfway to the TARDIS when Martha recovered enough to renew her struggles. She managed to twist around in his hold enough to whack him in the face with the canister, startling him into letting her go.
The Doctor glanced at her briefly, and Martha saw that his pupils were now blown wide open. Whatever bit of reason he'd had in him was gone now. Then the Doctor turned away and headed for the TARDIS. Martha sat in the wispy blue grass for a moment, torn with indecision as he disappeared inside.
It would be dangerous to follow him in his current condition. People under the influence of drugs were dangerous to those around them. They were often unable to distinguish friend from foe, and the Doctor had faced many deadly enemies in his long years. On the other hand, Martha was a doctor as well as his friend, and the thought of him alone with some unknown toxin in him was terrifying. What if he needed help and she wasn't there?
The distinctive sound of the TARDIS powering up made her decision for her. She definitely didn't want to be left behind! Martha raced across the plain and dove through the door just before it dematerialized.
