There it was. The adrenaline. Who will win – earth or apocalypse? He could hear his hearts pumping, destruction all around him and the enraged pull to a wall that was more then just a wall. It was the point on this godforsaken planet that could change the future of mankind. And he was praying to any god that may or may not be out there that this plain wall with this not so ordinary hole in reality was able to swallow all the bad around them.
Daleks, Cyberman both were sucked into this surreal hole right under their feed. Rose and him trying to resist, but he was fortunate to be able to hold onto magna clamps. Not the nicest way to resist the void, but a chance no less.
Heartbeat. Blood rushing through.
„Systems offline. Systems offline"
Oh, no.
Rose, pulling herself over.
Heartbeat. Blood rushing through.
„Systems online. Systems online."
No, no, the flow is too strong! Rose!
No time for another beat. She is loosing grip!
All he could see was her falling.
And before he was able to think he was letting go, too.
Blinding light. The Doctor blinked and tried to adjust to the brightness around him. Weird. He was always thinking the void, the nothingness would feel...less sensual. Before he was able to see anything surrounding him clearly he could feel that he was laying upon a surface. His fingers told him that it must be some kind of… sand? He was picking up a little bit and ripping it through his fingers. He could smell it, a test by his tongue also revealed that he could taste it. It tasted like sand, a bit of iron was present. The Doctor sat up and looked on the small crystals in his hand. Small, round, red sand. This was not the void. Where was he? And more important… how did he arrived here? He took a look around and was now able to see, that he was lying on a ground, on something like a planet. He was pretty sure that it was an artifical one although quite well executed. He got up and made a view jumps to test gravitation. Yeah, definitely artificial. Although now higher above ground he was not able to see something else except flat surface covered in red. Who would built an artificial planet and make it flat? From the curvature radius he could tell that it was not a very big planet indeed. Maybe it was just a test planet?
The Doctor took a look at the sky above him, no clouds but no sun either. The blinding light that greeted him was coming from up there but it didn't seem to come from a special spot. It was... everywhere. Interesting. So light was important to the species that created this place. Although they didn't need a lot of structure on their surface. He took another look around and reached out. Which direction,… which direction… he decided and startet walking into the dry, red neverland.
Somewhen in a land unknown to the universes sat three children in magical red sand. A soft breeze ran through their hair, brown short hair, and left fine sand particles on its path. Those little kids, never touched by any harm, never illuminated by a real ray of sun, sat around a big hole feeling completly safe while dangling strings on sticks into the intense heat of the inner planet's life.
„Hey, this is my rod!" said the smallest of the three.
„But you already have another one! You will not need it!" answered another kid with long brown hair. He stared irritated at the small girl with big brown eyes.
„It was a lot of work, I wanted to pick it by myself!" She pouted, unsure if to stay angry or to start crying. „Don't cry, little sue. I will make you another one later, okay? Don't have to go to school tonight anyway."
He concentrated again on the wood stick in his hands. Sue wobbled her lip a few times but then decided to let it go. She was young and therefor not the best in creating sticks for fishing, at least not as good as Tide.
„I don't want to fish anymore. I will go for a walk!" the other boy, Hush, said. He then let his stick fall into the heat, watched shortly the small flame when it touched the gravity net and left the other two. The hole was a nice playing area but somehow this day was different. Hush got the feeling that there would happen something special. It made his skin tingle. Since he was born all he could remember was a quiet life without any special occurences. All he knew was safety and conformity. But today, oooh, today would change it. He just knew it. And so he walked further away from the houses and the hole into the red desert.
He put one step after another, watched his own feet during the movement and intensified the feeling. His shoes were made of flax which let his feet prickle with every step. He heard the sizzling noise of skin on flax and flax on sand. The steady rhythm was accompanied by the sound of the soft wind and his breathing. If he was very quiet he could also hear the blood rushing through his ears. It was a well known song, this combination of different sounds, and put him into a calm mood. He closed his eyes for a while to embrace the music and the tactile sensation.
„hey, there!"
What? Hush opened his eyes. Nearly 50 meters from his standing point was a tall man walking in his direction. A tall man in a pinstriped suit. His heart started to beat a lot faster and he was not able to stop it. There was a man he had never seen his whole life! Hush stood still, not able to move or to talk.
40 Meters.
„Hey, my friend! Excuse me!"
30 Meters.
„It seems I am a little bit lost and was hoping you could tell me where I am?"
Oh my good, is he talking to me? Hush gulped and opened his mouth but there was no sound.
The tall man began to jog. Hush had to raise his head to keep looking into the stranger's eyes.
„Hey, I'm sorry if I scared you, little boy. Do you understand me?" The pinstripe man kneeled down in front of him and sended him a reassuring smile. Hush could just nod his head.
„Oh great! Wonderful! So you can understand me, that's brilliant. Can you tell me where I am?" Hush shook his head to diffuse the fear and surprise but the other man misinterpreted it. „oh, I'm sorry, are you also lost? You don't have to be scared, we will find out! And then bring you home. You'll be surprised, one second you're here the other second safe in the arms of your beloved!" The tall man snipped his fingers and grinned wide. Hush began to like this man. He also smiled.
„Great, I am the doctor by the way. And who are you?"
„My current name is Hush."
„Hello Hush, pleasure to meet you!" The boy was surprised he was able to speak again. And he didn't want to stop in case it was the last time he was able to.
„I called Hush and I live on this planet with my family since I can think and I can show you where the houses are if you want and my family and also the hole but I cannot tell you where why you are lost, we never have guests, I never ever saw a stranger like you and now my Mama will be angry because I told you that please be nice -"
„Stop, stop, slow down, Hush, yeah? So I get it you live here?"
Hush nodded.
„And you live together with grown-ups?"
He nodded again.
„Okay. Great. And you can bring me to the grown-ups?"
Hush smiled. Yes! He nodded again.
„Brilliant. Hush, it would be an honour if you could introduce me to your family!" The tall stranger reached out his left hand and wiggled his fingers. For a moment Hush just stared at the funny fingers. Then he grabbed the hand and began to walk back to the houses.
The silent hush and the tall pinstripe man.
Rosa was fiddling with a small black box in her hands and tried to add some new wires into the small gadget. Now and then little sparks were seen and angry snuffling were heard. She sat at the main place in a sand-free area. Around her was a particle membrane analog field to keep her safe of the red sand. This work was already annoying enough, she would not need any more disturbance. She licked one digit and put it inside the opening of the black box. This time there was no spark but the box started to light up.
„Yey! It's working!" She began to close the lid and shake the machine slowly. The light increased and the box started to fly.
„perfect! Now, hush, little baby. Fly back where you belong!" She gave it a whiff and watched it fly into the sky, back into the planetary athmosphere cupola. „I hope I'm not seeing you soon..."
The slender woman kept her view a little longer at the spot, where her little friend was last seen. In a view seconds it would be back again at the right place and integrated itself back into the planetary systems. Perfect timing because they would need another round of rain. The ground was already sandy and dry and their plants would not hold on any longer. Water was an important ressource and her responsibility. She put her hands into her pony tail and released the long blond hair. Time for a little bit of running.
She was starting a fast round into the south of the village when she felt it. It was like dropping a stone into water and watching the surface rippling. He was scared. She could feel it so deep in her bones like it would've been her scared to death. What was happening? Oh my little boy!
She started to turn into the direction she could feel her son was when the Constructor stopped her.
„Rosa, dear! Please wait! We have a problem!" She slowed down and turned to the small, strong, middle-aged man. „What happened?"
„You did some reparations on the meterological unit today, didn't you?" he asked nervous. Rosa just nodded.
„Did you recognized some energy fluctuations? Did you insert an additional unit? Or anything able to consume a big amount of energy in a short time frame?" Slowly Rosa shook her head.
„I… I just repaired one of the cloud creators and sent it back… but… this should not create any fluctuation… Con, what happened?"
The man in front of her mumbled some calculations and seemed visibly shaken that something like a fluctiation was possible at all.
„I don't understand, it's just not possible. Oh, Rosa!" He raised his head and looked her straight in the eyes. „Rosa, we have an anomaly on this planet, something that needs a lot of energy and is taking it directly from our core!" - „What?" Rosa was shocked. And another peak stroke her. Hushin. She had to find him. „Con, I will come to the instruction base as fast as I can but I have to find my boy first. Something is very very wrong!" - „Sure, Rosa. I will bring all together. Please hurry! I don't know how we can compensate the lost energy yet!" She nodded, then turned again and ran to her son.
It took a few minutes til she left the houses behind her. She met the Builder's kids on the way but they just knew that Hushin was on a walk into the desert. Urgently she's got the kids running back unsure what was happening. The scared feeling in her body didn't help at all. She ran faster just to stop suddenly, raising a cloud of red dust. „What?"
She focused on the two figures approaching her.
„Oh, Con. I think I found your anomaly."
Heartbeats. Fast and strong.
Pumping blood. Such a deafening sound.
„Mami!" The voice of her son brought her back into reality. Or something like that.
She saw Hushin running to her leaving the tall, brown man behind.
„Oh, Hush, I'm so glad you are okay!" She put him in her arms and hugged him tight. Then her view fall again on the stranger, now standing directly in front of her. Slowly she stood up and mustered the other man. Really tall he was indeed. Taller than her and thin wearing a brown pinstriped suit, brown hair, brown eyes. Brown stranger, she nicknamed him. His hair shimmered reddish because of the fine sand that the breeze constantly blew into the air.
„Hi" Beamed the guy. „This wonderful young man was so kind and brought me to you. It seemes I'm a little lost here and...oh, oookay?" Before he could say any more, Rosa stepped forward and smelled him. No machine, he smelled of flesh and heard his hearts beating. „Who are you? And what are you doing here?" She asked demanding. This was serious.
„Ohm, I have to admit that I have no clue how I've got here. You see one secound I fought against Daleks and Cyberman, falling into the void and the next secound I found myself on your really impressing planet. How did you create it by the way? Wonderful work! Oh, and I am the Doctor by the way. Nice to meet you." He smiled at her and held his hand to her. What?
„Doctor? You are the Doctor? I don't understand..." She stared at him disbelievingly. So many stories she heard of the Doctor. Never she would have believed to meet him. Not even dare to believe.
„Do we know each other?" He asked. „I mean you seem familiar…"
„How is it possible that you are here?" she whispered.
„Oh that is a good question! Depends on where is „here"?"
She stepped closer again and focused on his eyes. There should be an answer.
„You are on the artificial Planet." She tilted her head and came closer. He could feel her breath on his skin now.
„Oh, impressive planet and such a boring name. You must be time lords." He said chuckingly. Rosa
retracted shocked. What?
„Sorry, just a joke. Nothing against the name of your little creation. I'm still impressed." The doctor tried to reassure her. But that just made Rosa angry.
„If you really are the Doctor than I am a little bit dissapointed about that." She took her wrist up under his nose. „Smell."
He was a little bit irritated but did as she told. He smelled a familiar scent but couldn't place it instantly.
Then his eyes went wide.
„Oh!"
„Yes, Doctor."
„Oh! Oh, but that is impossible!" He know was shaken by pure joy, curiousity and disbelieving. „You are..."
„Yes, Doctor." Rosa began to chuckle. Hushin, still standing next to his mom, kept looking between the tall man and his mother not understanding anything at all. At least he felt save now.
„You are Time Lords!"
The three of them walked slowly to the village. Rosa began to introduce the Doctor to their life their. Hushin listened interested. A lot of the things, his mother told, were new to him. Hush knew that this was not a real planet – often enough he saw the older ones repair stuff of their home like creating the right amount of light, letting it rain now and adjusting the gravitation. But he was too young to already hear why they lived here.
„So how long are you living here?" The Doctor asked.
„A long time now. When we started the planet the children were not born. My oldest daughter was one of the first children, she now reached adulthood. Maybe that gives you an impression."
„Yeah." The Doctor still didn't know what to make all out of this. He was falling into the void, wasn't he? And now he was here, embraced by a telepathic field which he didn't recognized first. Rosas touch brought him right in the middle and it just felt like coming home. They were his people after all. But there was something different. It felt… safe? Secure but not in a way that some kind of police is keeping the danger away or the strong control that kept everything in track. It was more like being a human child in the arms of a loving mother. Funny that he was thinking of humans now. But yeah. It was like Time Lord and some humanity added. This fit his experience. Every Time Lord could always need a little humanity.
„Why did you built this place anyway?" the Doctor asked trying to let it sound casually. Rosa tripped over but picked up courage fast. „Maybe this is a topic we should discuss later." Her eyes flipped to her son and back to the Doctor. He understood. No subject for kids' ears.
They reached the hole and the Doctor watched interested how little puffs of air came out it.
„What's this?" he asked.
„That's the controlling hole. It's starting the clouding now. Usually it's silent." Rosa explained.
„Why are there sticks?" The Doctor walked to the hole and studied it while keeping his hands in his pockets.
„Oh, these are the kids'. They like to fish."
„They do what?" he asked surprised. As far as he could tell there were no fish. Instead there was heat, a lot of heat. Hushin, who still hung at the hand of his mother, chuckled. His mother answered.
„They fish. Not like real fishing but this hole runs right into the planet's core. Therefore there are also a lot of machines working. We have cleaning units that pump up parts that are not used anymore. And if the kids are lucky they can fish some of those parts. We let them play with it."
The Doctor seemed impressed. That really sounded like fun.
„I once found a tickling machine!" Hushin told proudly.
„Oh, that sounds great. What does it do?"
„It tickles!" Hushin laughed. The Doctor joined in.
„Ah, yeah, idiot me. Of course it does. Maybe I can come with you one time? I could always use parts and when such a lucky little boy will show me how to do it properly we will find something great. I'm pretty sure about it." The boy smiled widely. A sad pang rippled through the Doctor. He always needed parts. Parts for his TARDIS. Oh his poor ship. Still in this godforsaken torchwood. But before he would ask for a ride home he wanted to discover more of this mysterious group of Time Lords. And how he's got here.
They left the hole be and walked to the village. Because of the flat surface he could already see it although it was still a longer way. Hushin seemed a little tired and his mother took him at her back. He watched her features straighten too get the boy up and the easy movement of her arms. Her limps must have studied this kind of movement a lot of times.
Rosa told him that they were a group of 200, 1/3 were still children. Half of it consisted of the original Time Lords that created and inhabited this place. Everyone had his or her expertise. She didn't know everyones' for though the expertise came by growing up. She was responsible for the water. He had to asked what this meant because this place seemed really dry. Rosa had to laugh at this and explained that they had to be careful with this resource especially if it's dry. Usually the ground would not be so desert-like but one of the clouding units got broken repeatedly and delayed the rain.
There was also a man named Constructor. He was the main responsible person for keeping the energy household intact. She told him about the big amount of energy they lost a view minutes ago and that it seemed to be his fault. The Doctor assured her to help in any way he was able to. At least he had 900 years expertise in solving problems.
When they finally reached the village it appeared empty. „where is everyone?" The Doctor asked.
„The elder are in the instruction base. Therefor the children are in the study hall. I will bring Hushin their and we can go to the others. Please just wait here for me, yeah?"
He nodded and used the time to study the houses. They fit perfectly into the reddish surface of this planet. As he walked closer he could see that they were grown out of this planet. Every house was flat and weatherproof as far as he could tell. Strong walls and windows that could be easily closed down.
„So, let's go." Rosa was running to him and for a minute he thought to see someone else. Long, blond hair flowing in the wind, pink cheeks, slim running figure. Oh Rose. He would find her.
He jogged together with the tall woman to a glass dome. Oh that looks very time lord-ish, he thought. Inside the dome stood a high building and he wondered why he didn't recognised it earlier. The height should have made it easily to detect.
Rosa took his hand and again he had to think of Rose. The similarity of their names made it worse. „Why are you called Rosa?" He asked before he could think about it.
„What? This is not the time Doctor! Hurry!" She ordered. The Doctor shook it off for now and followed her into the building. They ran across corridors and different stairs until they reached a hughe room filled with people. When the Doctor and Rosa entered the others turned around.
They all seemed more than just surprised to see this strange man.
„Rosa! Rosa, I hope Hushin is fine." A smaller but none the less strong man shouted while running to the two. „Rosa!" He stopped. „Rosa, who is this?"
„Con, let me introduce the Doctor. I think he's the reason for your energy deficit!"