It was the winter festival on Candycane. Most of the streets were empty, apart from one girl.
Stumbling over
Bubblegum walked down Salt lane, on her way to meet her mother. She had a stripy scarf around her neck, a long pink cardigan, white fluffy boots, pink tights, and a white dress on. With her long, blue hair pulled back in a ponytail. She wandered absentmindedly down the street, with her hands in her pockets and he eyes on the bright blue sky. She rounded the corner on her way to the Stadium of Light, where the festival was being held. A gust of wind hit her from the east and blew her hair in all directions. She shuddered and pulled her cardigan tighter around her. She quickened her pace to get to the stadium earlier. Suddenly her path was blocked. The thing that stood in her way lunged at her, and she ran. She turned around and ran back the way she came, if this thing was going to kill her, she didn't want it near all the people that lived in her village. She checked over her shoulder, the thing was squawking and shrieking, as it got closer. Bubblegum pushed herself forwards, hoping to gain speed, but nothing happened. She realized that if she had her converse shoes on she would have beaten the thing easy. Bubblegum bolted passed a large blue box, but she didn't notice it, she was too busy running for her life. She looked over her shoulder again, still running. It was gaining on her. Before she knew it she had crashed into someone tall. "OW!" Yelled the tall man. They both fell to the ground, Bubblegum collapsing on top of him.
"Doctor!" She squealed. He beamed at her. "Hello," he said. "Running a marathon are we?"
"Not quite," said Bubblegum as she heaved herself of the Doctor. He got to his feet too, and held out his arms for a hug. "No time," squeaked Bubblegum, "got to run." She grabbed his hand just as the monster came into view. "Oh…" said the Doctor. He set off at a run with Bubblegum on his heals. "What do we do now?" She yelled as they zoomed. "Safest place is the TARDIS for us," he yelled back.
"Well," said Bubblegum smiling. "What are you waiting for? It was back there." She pointed out, and then flung herself past the Doctor, he looked stunned. They turned right down a back street ally, three times before they came out on the same street they'd just turned away from. They headed back down the street until they reached the TARDIS. Bubblegum flung herself at the doors, bouncing her nose off the wood. Locked. The Doctor quickly unlocked the door and they both pushed through into the console room. Bubblegum's nose was bleeding. "That was a little silly," said the Doctor as he disappeared behind the console. "How was I supposed to know you locked it?" Breathed Bubblegum as she let her head hang forwards. The Doctor came back around the console with, a plaster and some tishoo in his hands. He handed her the tishoo and said, "Let me look at it." He grabbed her chin and inspected her nose. "Well, you didn't break it," he concluded. She held the tishoo up to the blood. "So, what was that thing then, and why the hell was it chasing me?"
The Doctor was now watching the screen, he pointed at the monster, which was still outside. Bubblegum came to see, "That is a Candite, prays on pretty things," he turned to her. Bubblegum stared at the monster's hideous scaly body and it's sharp teeth for a long moment. "So what does it want with – Oh." She said as she realized what the Doctor had said. She stared at her feet and then, fell back onto the crash seats.
"What now?"
"Blimey, do you ever shut up?" said the Doctor as he sat next to her.
"Not often," she said with a grin.
"Now we have to leave." The Doctor jumped up and started flicking controls. "Oh no," said Bubblegum with a queasy expression.
"Oh yes!" He pulled the hand break down and the TARDIS was in flight. Bubblegum gripped the crash seats so hard she felt one of her nails snap. "Where are we going?"
"What's going on in town today?" Asked the Doctor while he concentrated on the controls. "Winter festival," explained Bubblegum. "You know, stalls and games and hot food and prizes. I was going that way too meet my mom. We were gonna watch an old movie in the theater. Popcorn, hot dogs, the whole works."
"Was in snowing when you left? I don't shut up either…Oh well. Was it?"
"Not that I know of. Why?"
"No reason. I love snow," he sniffed.
The Mother
The Doctor opened the door and walked outside, leaving Bubblegum sat there. She rolled her eyes and ran to catch him up. When she found him, he was stood at a stand, which was selling soup in cups. He thanked the stall keeper and handed Bubblegum a cup of thick green soup. She assumed it was pea. "What did you come here for, then Doctor? I'm gonna win a stuffed bear," Bubblegum said, sounding confident. "Are you really? Not if I win one first you're not." The Doctor said as he supped his soup. "Yeah? Well you got to catch me first." Bubblegum handed him her soup and ran down the cobbled road. The Doctor rolled his eyes, left the soup on a nearby stand and chased after her. He soared past her in no time. When Bubblegum rounded the corner, the Doctor was leaning against a crane machine, twisting a small bear in his hand. "Remind me to grow bigger feet." Gasped Bubblegum as she skidded to a halt. "Here you go," said the Doctor. He handed her the bear and said, "Think of it as an…early Christmas present."
She stared at him for a moment before she said, "Okay. Well …Thanks." Bubblegum inspected the bear for a second. It was turquoise with a pink bow around its left ear. She raised her eyebrow. "How did you know my favorite colour is turquoise?" Bubblegum insisted.
"I have my sources." He said. "And the guy who owns this machine said he knew you." The Doctor nodded towards the man, who was stood on the other side of the crane. Bubblegum laughed. They started down the middle of all the stalls and games. The Doctor noticed the theater with its doors wide-open and loud laughter coming from within. He nudged Bubblegum, who was negotiating with a stall owner over a necklace. She put down the necklace and glanced at the Doctor. "Come on then."
He stared back and they both went to grab their seats in the back of the theater. After the film has finished – an old black and white film about a coven of sixteen, witches- the Doctor waited with Bubblegum outside for her mother. "Now me and my mom are very close. No rude comments, you," she pointed out. He pointed to himself, "What me?" The Doctor shook his head and stuffed his hands in his pockets. Five minutes later a short lady with bright green hair grabbed Bubblegum by the arm and toed her away from the crowd, the Doctor followed but Bg's mother didn't seem to notice. "Bee! Where have you been missy? I waited for an hour out here in the freezing cold!" She said with an impatient tone. "Sorry mom," whispered Bubblegum. "But I met an old mate and we got-" she looked at the Doctor as if asking what to say. "- Tied up. We first met at…School…" Bubblegum told her mother, while eyeing the Doctor. "Hello," he said in a cheerful tone. "I'm the Doctor." Mrs. Vanilla shook his hand and looked at Bubblegum. "Bee, he's a bit old for school isn't he? Where did you really meet him?"
"Mom, stop acting suspicious. Come on, let me walk you home."
They both linked arms and followed the direction of the crowd. The Doctor tailed alongside Mrs. Vanilla. Just then there were screams coming from the people left in the theater. Everyone ran. Including the Doctor, towards the screams. "Mom, go find Auntie Sugar! Go home with her!" With that, Bubblegum left her mother standing there as she followed the Doctor.
Cockroach
As they pushed through the crowd, there came a loud scratching noise, from the huge stage that made up the front of the theater. They both looked up to see a giant Cockroach writhing around, scratching the floor with its many legs. Every one of the towns people, scattered, and Bubblegum and the Doctor were left there, stood in the center of one of the aisles. The Doctors expression was that of wonder.
"That is beautiful," he said with eyes wide.
"Oh yeah, it's a stunner that." Muttered Bubblegum, she nudged him. The Doctor took a step forwards, Bubblegum shadowing his movements. "Go home with your mum, I can handle this," said the Doctor, pushing her towards the door. "I'm sure you can, but there's a fat chance of me leaving. Now I know you want me out of danger, but I'd rather be trapped in here with you then sat at home wondering if you've squished the bug or if, its squished you."
They stared at each other for a long while, until the Doctor gave her a serious look and nodded. He turned to face the huge cockroach and walked a few more steps forwards toeing Bubblegum along behind. "What's your business here Mr. Roach?" Asked the Doctor.
"You're crazy. Do you think it will actually answer you back? Insane," mumbled Bubblegum.
"We have come to see how these life forms live," said the Cockroach in a deep raspy voice. Bubblegum gawped at it for a full five minutes, "So many questions," she whispered sarcastically, and sat down on the nearest bench. The Doctor chuckled at her and turned back to the big bug. "So what's your verdict?" He asked, all very cool with the situation, as he sat down next to Bubblegum and put his feet on the seat in front. "We do not like the way these strangers live. We have come to stop it."
All trace of happiness had left the Doctors expression and been replaced by seriousness and determination. "In what way?" He asked as he got up slowly, Bubblegum watched his reaction. The roach's beady eyes lingered on Bubblegum and then returned to the Doctor. "We will take the planet by reason," it said as it hissed. Bubblegum stood up and passed the Doctor, she was five feet away from the creepy crawly. "Be careful," murmured the Doctor, but she ignored him. "And what if we refuse, what then?" Bg all but yelled.
"Then we will take it by force."
"Then you will be stopped." Answered the Doctor, who was now stood at Bubblegum's side.
"Nothing can stop us," boomed the Cockroach, and it disappeared in the blink of an eye.
"Where did it go, Doctor?" demanded Bubblegum, pulling on his sleeve.
"I imagine it went to talk to your King."
"But, if it went to talk to King Plum, then it should be on the–" Bubblegum was cut short when her phone vibrated from her pocket. She pulled it out and read the message that said, Broadcast on channel ninety-two."It's on the box, come on."
No thank you
They ran through the empty streets, to the TARDIS. When they landed on Toffee Row, all the windows were shut and the curtains were drawn, there was no one to be seen. Bubblegum unlocked the door of number twelve. "Mom? You here?" She stood in the dark and listened to the silence. "She must have gone to my auntie's house. Come in," Bubblegum said with a distressed tone. The Doctor came through the door and she led him through to the living room. She flicked on the television and turned to channel ninety-two. The news came on with an annoying jingle, and a white haired woman ruffled her papers. "There was an uproar in the palace today, as a giant Cockroach appeared in the king's study and asked to take the planet into better things. The king answered, 'No, this planet will NOT be ruled by a bunch of scary looking bugs!' As a result of his answer the huge beast struck the king across the face and disappeared before the guard could shoot it. There is no word as of yet if the king has come around." Bubblegum stared at the white haired woman as she covered a report on the colour of the royal guards uniform. "Well at least he said no, that's something I suppose," Bubblegum said. She switched the television off and turned to stand in the Doctors line of sight. She put her hands on her hips and looked at the Doctor's feet on her mother's coffee table. She kicked them off and the Doctor noticed her waiting. She flung her hands out in front of her, "Doctor, we have to stop them." The Doctor sat forwards and scratched his head.
"I don't think the beastie boy is in charge," he said finally, looking up at her.
"You mean Mr. Cockroaches rule? Oh. Well, who is?" asked Bubblegum as she crossed her legs and sat on the floor.
"I don't know, but I'm gonna find out." He muttered as he chewed on his cheek. The Doctor dashed out of the door and down the street. Bubblegum followed, "Wait up!" Then the ground shook, all the glass in the windows shattered and everyone came out to see. Bubblegum heard her mother's voice getting closer and closer but she ignored the shrill cry of her name. There was a colossal ship, the size of four football pitches moving through the sky as slow as a snail. The silver monster flew past the palace on the east side of the city. Bubblegum's mother was suddenly pulling at her arm, with a boy that had bright yellow hair pulling at her other. "Get inside Bee, I'll protect you," said the boy.
"Oh, get off Chip. I can protect myself, take mom home."
"But babe-"
"No buts," she cut him off. "Just do it,"
Chip gave the Doctor an accusing look and dragged Mrs. Vanilla back to the house. "Where are they going," the Doctor whispered to himself, looking up at the ship.
Driving without a licence
Bubblegum was staring at the deep plum coloured sports car that belonged to Chip. She ran into the house. The Doctor didn't even notice she had gone until she was calling him name from inside the open topped car. "I didn't know you could drive," he said as he jumped over the doors. "I can't. I stole the keys from my boyfriend's pocket," she smirked. Bubblegum turned the key in the ignition and the car burst into life; they zoomed down the street and across the highway, towards the ship. "And is that your boyfriend, back there? Chip?" The Doctor popped his voice at the P.
"That's him. Don't get me wrong, I mean he's nice. But he can't half be annoying. All he goes on about is his football and his precious teammates. Ugh," said Bubblegum with a mocking tone. The Doctor hid his amusement by watching the scenery fly by. They didn't speak for a while; Bg switched on the radio and sang along, tapping her finger on the steering wheel at the same time. "Do you reckon Chip would miss you…if you…went away?" Sniffed the Doctor as he looked at the mileage.
"Most likely. Why?" She said as the song changed.
"Well," he mused. "I've got the TARDIS, and there are so many universes out there ready to be explored..." Bubblegum took her eyes off the road and stared at him with her mouth wide open. He smiled back at her and turned back to staring at the scenery. "Look out!" He yelled just then. Bubblegum's eyes shot to the road. There was a huge fallen tree blocking the way. She slammed no the breaks and the car skidded too a stop a few inches in front of the tree. "Oh. Dammit."
They both got out to search for a way around the tree. "I don't suppose you have the TARDIS within walking distance, Doctor?" Bubblegum huffed, staring at the now baking sun. She climbed on top of the tree and looked over the side, then went to stand in front of the Doctor, who was still stood on the road. " 'Frade not, time for you to go back then," said the Doctor.
"Are you kidding? A nice walk never hurt anyone, c'mon skinny." Bubblegum said, holding out her hand and wiggling her fingers in the Doctor's face. He grabbed her hand, climbed on the tree and jumped over the other side. "A little help, if I may?" Asked Bubblegum shyly. The Doctor scowled, grabbed her around the waist and helped her down. "Cheers," she said delightedly. "Anytime," said the Doctor brightly as he headed down the road that was covered in fallen leaves and twigs. Bubblegum cleared her throat loud enough for the Doctor to hear, "I've got a short cut," she stated, pointing to the left of her into the bright looking woods.
The Kiss
They walked for hours. Bubblegum dragged her feet a few yards behind the Doctor. She had gone through difficult math problems and sang the alphabet, which the Doctor had given her a funny look for, backwards to keep herself from collapsing from the sun and the heat, and all without the Doctor noticing. But she decided it was time to tell him. "Doctor, I feel faint," she sighed weakly. He ran up to her, grabbed her shoulders and looked her in the eye. "No, no. We're nearly there; I can hear the engines from the ship. Don't go fainting on me now, you're tough, Bubblegum. Come on!"
"Some pep talk. But one thing, about me Doctor, I don't mix well with the sun," she breathed. There were beads of cold sweat on the back of her neck, her breathing was heavy, her knees were shaking and her skin was pale white. Suddenly she was on the floor, and the Doctor was trying to help her up, but she resisted. She wanted to stay on the nice, soft, cold floor and rest. But then it started to rain, heavily. Bubblegum sat up, stiffly, threw her head back and laughed. "What's so funny?" Asked the Doctor, raising his eyebrows. Then she realised the Doctor was with her. She looked at him and said cheerfully, "I love rain."
The Doctor helped her up, though she was completely soaked from head to toe, she didn't care. She flung her hands around the Doctor's neck and kissed him. After a few seconds, they broke apart. "R…Right." Stuttered the Doctor. Bubblegum giggled and said, "Race ya," she winked at him and darted towards the noise of the engines. The Doctor sighed and chased after her. Bubblegum came out into a clearing and the Doctor after her, there was the ship, with a ramp leading to the ground. Men with silly hats on were pushing large steel boxes with air holes down the ramp and onto the grass. There were different noises coming from different boxes. Some growled, some moaned, some hissed and some banged against the sides in the hope of finding a way out, to escape. As the last, and largest box, was pushed down the ramp, the doors to what looked like a prison opened and, the men all shoved on their boxes, and dragged them through the doors.
Trainee
"What's in those boxes, do you reckon?" Bubblegum asked slowly. As she spoke, a hand full of people descended down then ramp. They seemed to be gathered around one important looking person. There were no way of telling who, or what; this person was, there were so many people clustered around him, or her. It was hard to tell if they were even from Candycane. They stepped off the ramp and it folded it's self up, into the bottom of the ship. These people seemed quite happy, making small talk and laughing and one another's jokes. The guard at the prison door gave them a quick bow, and opened the doors for them to pass through. Once they had gone, the guard peered around, sat down on his little chair, and pulled out a dog-eared magazine. " Now's our chance," said the Doctor, a slight smile pulling at his mouth, "Allons-y." The Doctor sprinted across the green clearing towards the guard, with Bubblegum on his heels. "Hello," enthused the Doctor. The guard jumped up quickly, looking alarmed at the very sight of the Doctor, " I'm sorry sir, I can't let you in. You and your Mrs will have to leave," he grunted.
"She's not my wife," said the Doctor rudely pointing at Bubblegum. He flicked out his psychic paper, " I'm chief scientist at…Maxi labs, and this is my trainee."
"Hi," said Bubblegum with a little, wave at the guard.
"Oh, I'm sorry," he apologized. He entered a code into a, digital entry system, and let them pass through.
"Ta!" Called Bubblegum as they walked down a, long silver grimy corridor, which surprisingly smelled like the inside of a pet home, Bubblegum wondered how the workers managed. "Phew," she pinched her nose and looked up at the Doctor, "Doesn't the smell bother you?" She said with a slightly nasal tone.
"Easy to ignore when you've had the smell of ten-million big bat people wafting up your nose," Explained the Doctor as, they came to yet another door. He waved his screwdriver at the door and they barged through into a room full the metal boxes from earlier, the smell was stronger here, it hit Bubblegum with such impact that she had to step back a few feet. The Doctor slid his glasses on and paced around the room, ignoring her. She tightened her grip on her nose, and went to look in the nearest boxes air hole, it also happened to be the biggest box, that was loaded off the ship last. "Err, Doctor," she pointed to the box with her free hand. He shot her a thoughtful glance, and came to see what was up. He peered into the hole and saw, looking up at him with those beady eyes, the cockroach. "Ahh," he sighed. The Doctor straightened up, rubbed the back of his neck, and chewed thoughtfully on the arm of his glasses. "You were right, weren't you? Dammit," said Bubblegum pursing her lips, quickly.
Out Smarted
He gazed down at her with questioning eyes.
"Well you see," Bubblegum began, "that day, that we met I mean. I told my friend all about you and how smart you were. And well, she say's I'm the smartest person she's met, that's probably where that stupid nick name came from," she added whispering to herself, "And we… kinda made a bet. She thinks I can out smart you,"
"Well, you're not gonna do it standing there are you, Look alive! What was your side of the bet?" The Doctor asked as he glanced back in the box.
"I said I wouldn't be able to do it." She didn't wait for his reaction; instead she hopped around the room, taking a quick look in each of the boxes, they all had some form of insect in them, and all abnormally large. "Doctor, what do Humans look like?" She asked.
"They look just like you and me."
"But, we're different species, Earth is in a different galaxy to this one. So how do we look alike?
"It's just the way it works. Why?" The Doctor asked playing catch up.
"Well, what if…" bubblegum deliberated. "What if, it's not one of us doing this? I mean there are plenty of people who have a reason to do this to the Planet, but why would someone from here take their own planet? They wouldn't. They'd go for somewhere richer then us, like earth," she pointed out. While the Doctor was staring into space, thinking about what she had said, bubblegum pulled out the bright pink sonic screwdriver, that the Doctor had given her a few weeks before, activated it and waved it around in the air space outside of every box.
"Oh my god!" She yelled, knocking the Doctor out of his temporary trance.
"These are ordinary bugs, plain old bugs. A little overgrown but still, bugs none the less." Bubblegum laughed a little at the Doctor's expression, blank.
"Blimey, I've done it. I've out smarted the Doctor!" She skipped up to him and waved a hand in his face.
Running for the door
He blinked a few times and cleared his throat.
"Right, we need to find out what's made them grow and why they did it, the humans I mean," he said mimicking Bubblegum's tone. He popped his glasses back on and sniffed the air.
"Don't you smell that? It's sort of…smells like…"
The Doctor spotted hundreds of heavy looking bags stacked up on the south wall.
"Smells like freshly cut grass and…ew…horse manure," said Bubblegum, pinching her nose again. The Doctor examined the bags for a moment, the sides of them read: Growth Food, for any species, also comes in cabbage flavour. The Doctor ripped open the top of the closest bag; Bubblegum kneeled down next to him to get a closer look. He poked a finger in the hole and then placed it gingerly on his tongue. "Ugh, remind me not to snogg you …again," mumbled Bubblegum to herself. The Doctor deliberated for a moment. He felt a slight tingling in his left index finger. He held it up, in front of his face; it began to swell, slowly. As his slender finger became as swollen as a sausage, Bubblegum's head tilted to the side watching in amazement, she blinked and tried to speak but the Doctor shushed her and told her to watch. Just as he spoke his finger started to shrink back to it's original shape. When it had gone back to its slender form, the Doctor wiggled all his fingers in sync and looked up at the frozen Bubblegum, who was still staring at his hand.
"Are you alright, Bubblegum?"
She un-froze at the sound of his voice, "Huh? Oh yeah, Doctor. That was just a bit weird, that's all," she shook her head as if trying to banish the memory, and smiled sweetly up at him. "Did that stuff swell your finger," she asked as she peered in the bag again, to her it just looked like compost that smelled bad. The Doctor nodded and stood up, quickly, holding his hand out for Bubblegum. She took it hand he helped her up.
"It doesn't last, then?"
The Doctor let go of her hand and plunged his into his pockets, "Depends on how much you've had, because I only had a little amount, it only effected my finger. But if I had the right amount," he trailed of and threw a glance at the metal boxes.
"Then it effects your whole body," Bubblegum finished.
"And, they would need a dose up every, ohh hour? Otherwise, in the middle of tea with the king, you shrink and get squashed by the butler making his rounds."
Bubblegum nodded along, understanding every word he said, "Smarty pants," said Bubblegum, beaming. Just then a small square panel slid open on wall. And then another, and another and several more, and in each hole a small tube produced from nowhere. "Erm, Doctor," muttered Bubblegum pointing at the little tubes, he spun on his heel and popped a puzzled face at holes in the wall. There then came a hissing noise and both of their heads shot to direction from where it was coming. It was the door sliding slowly shut; they glanced at each other and bolted for the door. Good thing it's slow Bubblegum thought. The Doctor got under the door first, meaning Bubblegum had to get on her hands and knee's and crawl. As the door crashed home, Bubblegum stood up panting.
"What was that all about?" She gasped.
"Like I said," explained the Doctor, "Dosing up."
Bubblegum clutched her throat as, she gasped for air. When she had caught her breath, she spun slowly around to get her bearings, while the Doctor pressed his ear to the door and listened to the bugs scuttling around inside. They were back in the corridor that the guard had let them through earlier. Bubblegum didn't notice then, the huge lift doors that were a few meters from where she stood. She went over to the lift and inspected the panel beside it, which had a printer the shape of a hand. She side glanced the Doctor, who was still listening through the door.
"Hey Doctor," she called, but he didn't look up.
"Doc-tor," she called again. Boy, She thought, talk about 'the cleverones never listen'. "Oi, geek boy!"
And with that he stood up and turned of his heel, "What boy? Where?" His eyes scanned the room looking for this boy she had mentioned.
"I'm looking at him. Never mind, just come here."
He stalked over to her to her and gave a confused look. She gestured towards the hand printer and placed her hand on it. The door squeaked open and they stepped inside the red and sky blue walls of the lift. The Doctor waved his sonic at the buttons and the lift moved down at a very slow pace.
"Why is everything so slow around here?" Said Bubblegum, chewing on one of her turquoise thumbnail.
"Bubblegum?" asked the Doctor wearily.
"Yeah?"
"Have you though about my question?"
"What question?"
"The question I asked you, in the car," sighed the Doctor.
"Oh, that question. Yes I have," muttered Bubblegum looking down at her feet.
"And?"
"And I think that-" before Bubblegum could finish her sentence the lift shuddered to a halt and the door slid open, and stood there was none other then Chip.
Chip
"Hello," he said, confidently. Bubblegum had already decided she was going with the Doctor and felt a little guilty about leaving him; but that wasn't going to stop her. She thought maybe if Chip could see how brilliant the Doctor was he wouldn't miss her so much.
"Oh," said the Doctor, "Hurry up Chip M'boy. In, in. We don't have all day."
Bubblegum may have thought that, it didn't mean she wanted him to come. She sighed. The Doctor shot her a questioning look as Chip stepped in. She rolled her eyes and tried to act normal.
"What are you doing here, then?" She asked as an old thought crept into her memory. About a week before her and Chip, were sat in the cinema trying to watch a horror movie, but of course, Chip had played a football game the day before, and was still going on about the fact that if one of his team mates had passed him the ball they would have won. So naturally, she never really knew what the film was about. That night Bubblegum had been trying to tell him that she didn't think they were working, a polite way of saying: You're boring and you talk too much, but she couldn't get a word in edge ways. The lift stopped again and they all shuffled out.
"I came to find you, your mom's gone a' wall," said Chip, quickly covering his head, as if waiting for some sort of anvil to land on him. Bubblegum stopped dead in her tracks and turned around to look up at Chip.
"You what?" She said through her teeth, "Why didn't you follow her then, she could be anywhere!"
"I thought you ought to know!"
Bubblegum pulled out her phone from her cardy pocket and wiggled it in his face.
"What do you call this then? Hmm? A toaster!" She stuffed it back and stormed up the huge staircase that lay in front of them, the walls were covered with different pictures of landscapes and gardens, and one odd one of a mug that has a print of a landscape on it. The Doctor and Chip both stared after her and followed behind at a slower pace.
"Been together long, then?" asked the Doctor a tad bemused.
Chip put his hand flat out and twisted his wrist as if, working something out. "About a month, give or take," said Chip with a scratch of his nose.
"Nice is she? Strong, silent type?" Said the Doctor doing the same.
Chip let out a huge laugh that rocked his whole body.
"Strong, yes. Silent, definitely not, haha." He chortled.
"Loud then. She good at anything?"
"Mate you really don't know her very well. She's clever, funny, pretty, she packs a hell of a punch, and she looks good in a pair of glasses. She gets these weird visions sometimes too, I keep saying she ought to go to the doctor's but all she says is she's clever enough to know they're harmless," whispered Chip. "But," he carried on, spotting Bubblegum at the top of the staircase on the phone, "If you've done something to upset her, its best to let her simmer," he said as he caught her fierce, hard expression.
"OK, bye mom," she said down the mouthpiece. She hung up and put her phone back in its pocket. Bubblegum eyed the Doctor and Chip, she almost ran down the steps and stood slap bang in front of him.
"If you had though to call her you'd have known that she went back to the festival. So don't tell me you literally thought she'd gone, mom said you took her car and chased after us. I know u was checking up on me. I can't be bothered to argue," she said as Chip opened his mouth. "Go home, and get out of my bubble!" She yelled glaring at him. Chip sighed and hung his head, like a child that had just been caught in the cookie jar before dinner. He turned around and sloped off back down the stairs. Bubblegum sunk onto the top step and ran her hands through her ponytail.
"Are you okay?" The Doctor asked, biting his lip.
"Yeah, don't mind my problems, got bigger fish to fry," she got up shaking her head.
Ahead were some very, very big green double doors. The Doctor pushed one, and Bubblegum pushed the other. The door's lead into a circular room, with a very large green chandelier that matched the doors, the room was empty apart form a large silver ball and a note attached to it. As they got closer the note was east to read. It said: Doctor & Guest.
He picked up the ball and called for Bubblegum.
"What's that then?" She questioned, folding her arms behind her back.
"You're a smart girl, work it out," said the Doctor with a sniff.
Bubblegum rubbed her chin with her thumb and index finger, "Hmm…and Orb? A…Static converter, oh hold on they look completely different. Transmat?"
The Doctor nodded stiffly. "Hold on tight, we're going for a ride."
She plonked her hand on top of his and the next second they were gone.
When they re-appeared, they landed flat on their feet in a huge room; there was a huge mahogany desk with an executive looking chair behind it. Again this room was covered in paintings and artwork, this time they were all of random bits of chocolate toffee and sugary treats. BG found it very irksome that someone was taking the mickey like this. She glanced around the room, when she saw a small robot that looked rather like a dustbin. It advanced towards them so quietly even the Doctor didn't see. She tapped him on the arm and ran at it. She jumped and landed straight on top of it with a clang. It's legs wriggled around for a moment, until it sank to its knee's, fail. Bubblegum crossed her legs and rested her chin on her hands.
"Niiiice," sang the Doctor.
"Thank you," she grinned.
"You're quite the acrobat aren't you Miss Vanilla?"
The Doctor's head shot in the other direction to the door. There stood, a woman…who had two heads?
Two heads are better then one.
She was perfectly skinny, with a wispy deep green dress, her blonde hair pushed back in a headband, and both her heads identical. They were very pretty, tall and happy looking. Bubblegum gasped at the double heads but the Doctor didn't seem to notice the difference.
"I take it you wanted us here, then?"
"Quite so, Doctor," said the right head in a very posh voice.
"What are your…names?" Asked BG, not quite sure what to say.
"I'm Constance," said the right head.
"And I'm Madeline," said the left.
"I'm the Doctor and this," he gestured to Bubblegum, still sat on the robot, "is Bubblegum."
"Call me BG," she said cautiously.
"Oh, we know who you are. The two cleverest on the planet," stated Constance.
"Where?" BG said looking around her, completely unaware.
"She means us two," the Doctor said rolling his eyes. Bubblegum's mouth fell open as she pointed to herself.
"Quite so, Miss Vanilla," answered Madeline. BG looked quite pleased with herself, she jumped off the, none moving, robot and went to stand beside the Doctor.
"So what's with the bugs then, what?" The Doctor was looking at her like she had just taken the last banana.
"Stop stealing my lines!"
"Oh, sorry."
"So what's with the bugs then?" Repeated the Doctor.
"They are just soldiers, Doctor," said Constance, fixing Bubblegum with a cold smile.
"They will be disposed of soon," finished Madeline.
"What for? They're just bugs. They live in your garden, eat your cabbage and fly around, what good would it do to kill them, just let them go. Hmm?!" Exclaimed the Doctor, through his teeth. He was getting rather sick of death, they might be just bugs, but it's still life.
"As you say Doctor," started Madeline.
"They are just bugs," finished Constance, aiming that same cold smile at him. The two-headed woman walked over to the desk and sat down behind it. Their hands linked together on the tabletop.
"So, what are you doing in here?" said Bubblegum seriously, ignoring the Doctor's glare.
"When we were small children on earth, our parents were very proud of us," said Madeline.
"But the children in our boarding school were not," Constance carried on.
"One child called Jamie Lewis, in particular, hated us."
"He was a constant bully."
Bubblegum sat on the floor and outstretched her legs. Looks like we're in for a sob story. She didn't much like sob stories. Having been one herself.
"One day we got to the top of the steps in school and Jamie was coming the other way."
"He pushed us down the sixty steps, breaking one of our legs and both of our arms."
"After we got out of the hospital our parents wouldn't let us out of their sight," concluded Constance.
They got up, walked to the front of the desk and picked up a photo frame. In the photo were Constance and Madeline; behind them were a dark haired man with blue eyes and a simple smile, and a woman with blonde hair and a worried look on her face.
"When we got are own place in London, we didn't do much," said Madeline as they put the photo back on the desk. She turned to her sister.
"We watched a lot of television programmes on the solar system and the planet," as Constance finished her sentence; the Doctor sat on the floor next to Bubblegum and rested his head on his fist.
"One day," the two women started together, they looked at each other and Constance carried on.
"One day we saw an add for a space expedition. It took some persuasion, but eventually they agreed to let us on. They said we were going to explore new worlds. She passed a glance at her sister and Madeline gave a sigh and continued.
"About four hours after we got on the ship, it crashed here. We were the only ones left. We escaped the wreckage and found a place to hide."
"Hold on," Bubblegum cut it. "Hate to break up a lovely story and all that, but wasn't there a crash like that about…six years ago? Was that you guys? The government was in an uproar over that. They said there were no survivors," she stated, here eyes darting from the Doctor's intrigued expression to the twins' quick nods.
"So you've been on Candycane for six years, why didn't you tell someone?" Said the Doctor raising both his eyebrows.
"Doctor," they both said in sync.
"Don't you think that if we walked out of here people would either call the police or shout for help? These people don't exactly like difference," they both said as if practiced.
"So how come you're hidden in here, you know 'us people'-" Bubblegum said, using quotey fingers, "- Might not like difference, but there are people that can look after you, y'know. Hey," she hit the Doctor on the arm, "we even have a UNIT. Just one mind," she finished.
Madeline carried on as if Bubblegum hadn't spoken, "We captured a select few who didn't care to much about our appearance. They worship us, they do everything for us, even-"
Then the Doctor put his hand up to stop them.
"Even steal growth food and grow these bugs."
"Indeed," replied Constance. "Even this,"
They clicked their fingers and from a hidden door in the wall appeared two muscular men.
Wishing for a Homecoming.
The heaviest of the men locked Bubblegum in an iron grip, probably knowing she would struggle more then the Doctor, which was also being held. While the Doctor wriggled a little, BG struggled and kicked as hard as she could, with all of her might.
"All we want to do it go home, Doctor. You can understand that, we have the ship in storage," said Constance flexing her neck.
"But we need a planets worth of energy. We can't create it so we have to steal it," explained Madeline, adjusting her headband.
"Does that include the people?" Asked the Doctor not even bothering to struggle now.
"Indeed, Doctor. Indeed it does," replied Madeline.
Bubblegum had stopped struggling by this point, she looked at the Doctor with a worried face, and he returned that gesture.
"Look there's no need to destroy the whole planet, the Doctor has a ship. Maybe…maybe he can take you home," said Bubblegum in a small voice.
"Oh my dear Bubblegum, the Doctor is a handsome enough gentleman but," as this point Madeline giggled a little, "he is hardly our type."
BG growled at this comment, how could he not be their type? He's everyone's type, isn't he? The huge phone on the desk rang with a noise that to be honest, hurt Bubblegum's ears.
Constance picked up the receiver and asked, "Hello?" She listened for a few moments, she mhmed and briskly put the phone down.
"It seems, sister," she turned to Madeline, "we have a problem with the ship."
"Oh, could I help? I'm good with mechanics," said Bubblegum, she had a plan. And she damn well knew the Doctor knew what is. Both the woman glared at her. Constance tilted her head to the side and began a fierce whispered discussion with her sister.
"Whisperers tell lies," interrupted the Doctor, the guard shook him a little to shut him up. The hushed women ignored him, as most people do, he thought. When they had finished, they slowly made their way over to Bubblegum.
"You will fix our ship, but we're warning you, any foolery and you will be destroyed," said Madeline, waving at Bubblegum's guard. He pulled her up to face the Doctor; they were almost nose on nose.
"Say goodbye Doctor, you may not see your friend again."
"Oh, I think I will," he said.
(Bubblegum heard his whisper, "You know what to do," she was confident no one else did.)
She nodded once, and the guard still holding her in the iron grip, shoved her out of the door, and down a very tight corridor.
Fixing what shouldn't be fixed.
"Door open," said the entry system as it let them into the workshop.
"WOW!" Gasped BG as she saw the huge monster of a ship, which was mounted on plinths. The guard released her and pointed in her face.
"Any mucking around. And you're done for, Missy," he said firmly.
"Yes sir!" She stomped her foot and saluted, which she found quite amusing.
Bubblegum dug out her glasses and pushed them up her nose. Underneath the ship, was a vast collection of blinking lights and wires spewing out everywhere.
"Now I don't want to sound like the Doctor but, this must be gorgeous when it's running. I mean, look at this, it's amazing," she said to herself, as she climbed a ladder and messed with the wires. She got out, once again, the trusty sonic.
"Hold on," said the guard, bounding up to her.
"What, a harmless screwdriver and you think I'm doing something wrong?"
He took the sonic off her and gave it the once over.
"Seems fine to me," he said, handing it back to her.
That's because you don't know how to use it, BG thought.
She played with more wires. Her eyes, scanned the surface of the ships underside, she found the wire she was looking for, which was split in half. She fixed it with ease and pretended to fix another problem (all apart of her plan). The guard's earpiece buzzed and he answered it.
"Yes Miss's," he nodded to himself, and hung up. "Everything's fixed according to their screen, time to go."
With that he grabbed Bubblegum and heaved her through the door.
"So soon? I didn't get a proper look," she said with a sad voice, pursing her lips.
Flexibility.
When they got back, the Doctor was tied to a chair and Constance and Madeline were in deep discussion, in front of what looked like a floating television screen. The Doctor's guard fetched in another chair and pulled out some think rope. Bubblegum's guard plonked her down on the chair and tied her up, tightly BG noticed, and put her next to the Doctor. The guards went to stand at the door, on the other side of the room.
"What are those two muttering about?" She whispered while nodding towards Constance and Madeline.
"Well, they were just on about going to Longleat, I think," the Doctor whispered back.
Bubblegum looked confused for the first time since she had met the Doctor. "What's Longleat?"
"It's this safari…nature…wildlife park…thing…. Anyway, did you get it done?"
"Yep, easy peasy lemon squeesy. And don't worry it won't harm, anyone. Got missile proof walls that room has, you'll probably only just hear it," she beamed.
"Right, now all we have to do it get out of these chairs," mumbled the Doctor, twisting his wrists. Bubblegum checked no one was looking, before she reached over and snapped the rope tying the Doctor, with the sonic screwdriver. He stared at her for a moment.
"How did you do that?"
"Doctor, they always underestimate how much flexibility a woman's wrist has," she whispered sarcastically, folding her hands behind her back again.
"No time to pretend," she heard the Doctor say. He stood up and looked at the guards, who looked miffed as to how he got out of their expert knots.
"Now then ladies, if I'm not mistaken, that ship is six years of work and in, oh about-" he turned to Bubblegum, who consulted her wrist watch.
"One minute," she concluded. The Doctor carried on.
"It's all going to be destroyed and you will have to stay on this god forsaken planet," he said with a sarcastic edge.
"What are you babbling about, Doctor?" Asked Madeline, waving the guards off when the stepped forwards, hoping to assist.
"Well," the Doctor continued, "Bubblegum here, like she said, is quite the mechanic. And if she's done what she said she would, you're here for a long while."
The two women stared at him in confusion as he grabbed BG's hand and headed for the door. But to their misfortune, the guards were still there. They stepped in front of the Doctor and Bubblegum, brandishing guns.
"Now boys," BG said softly, "You can either move, or suffer brain damage. Which is it gonna be?"
The guards didn't move.
"Right then," Bubblegum took three steps back, ran forwards and lifted her knee in the one place where a man didn't want to be kneed.
She grabbed the Doctor and made a run for it, straight past the guard, who was now on his knees.
"Where was that transmat?" She gasped.
"Don't need it, short range transmat can be reversed by the sonic."
"Ah, okay. So what-" but Bubblegum couldn't finish her sentence.
Seeing things.
Suddenly her vision went dark, she clutched at the Doctor, she could hear him calling her name, but she couldn't bring herself to open her eyes.
Then she saw something. Getting clearer and clearer. Fuzzy at first but she saw it perfectly now. Two hands. Holding each other. One of them had turquoise nails, and the other… she knew exactly whom the other belonged to. Both hands had wedding bands on their ring fingers. She could also see the ground these two people were walking on. Deep red grass. This was one of her nicer visions. No, her nicest. Though she couldn't see any faces, just hands, she knew this was her future and that she would be leaving home soon. The vision slowly faded and the dark returned. Then she found she could open here eyes. She did so, and saw everything again. Her own feet, the silver walls, the Doctor's handsome, worried face, the pink carpet. She blinked a few times and concentrated. She grasped at the Doctor's arms, and she got a hold of herself again.
"Bubblegum? Are you okay? Was that a vision?"
So many questions the Doctor had.
"Never mind. Tell you later," she said slowly, "Right now, I think we should leave."
"Okay," murmured the Doctor, as he fished out the sonic, and activated it. Within seconds they were back in the black room. Obviously they were still in the same building, because an explosion rattled through it, shaking everything. BG and the Doctor exchanged looks, as they made their way, quickly, to the huge staircase where, Bubblegum had shouted at Chip. The Doctor took the stairs two at a time, while BG, rolling her eyes, climbed on the banister that wound it's way down the stairs, she slid down it with ease and soared past the Doctor. She waited at the bottom, leaning on a pillar.
"What took you so long?" She laughed as he grabbed her hand and made a run for the lift. The Doctor messed with the buttons and got frustrated when the life didn't move. Bubblegum near enough shoved him out of the way and calmly pressed the up button, and the lift ascended. They hopped out of the lift and ran down the long corridor. The guard shouted, "OI," as they whooshed out of the door and into the damp woods. They both skidded to a stop about ten meters into the woods and laughed.
"That's the most fun I've had since the last time you were here," giggled BG.
"I'll tell Chip you said that," said the Doctor as he spotted an untied shoelace. He bent down to tie it up.
"Tell him, I don't care. About time he got some bad news," she told the Doctor.
"Meaning?"
"You'll see, c'mon skinny."
"Hold on. I'm not skinny. I'm…toned," the Doctor argued, scratching at his sideburns.
Bubblegum burst out laughing and set off down the path they walked before. When they emerged at the fallen tree and the static car, they were chatting casually about where they're going first. Bubblegum felt rather athletic, and preformed a summersault off of the tree; she landed on her feet and raised her arms to mark her landing. The Doctor scowling, climbed over the tree and said in her ear, "Show off."
Long stories.
It was a long walk back into town, but it was worthwhile. The Doctor had learned lots about Bubblegum, he learned that a year before she had punched her farther because he was hurting her mother. He also learned just how bad her farther was. She had showed him a long scar that stretched from the tip of her little finger to the top of her wrist. She had explained that she came home from school twenty minutes late because the bus driver was having an argument with the head teacher. Her farther had taken the carving knife to her hand because of this. The Doctor knew the relief he had felt after kicking him out and punching him. She also told him about her most recent vision, though she wouldn't tell him whom the other hand belonged to. They arrived in Toffee Row where, BG's mother, who hugged them both then questioned the Doctors shocked expression, greeted them. Bubblegum had told her he wasn't used to hugging strangers.
"Mom, I'm going travelling for a while. You'll be alright won't you?" Said Bubblegum over the tea and biscuits her mother had made for the three of them.
"Oh love, don't worry about me, you deserve some fun," Mrs Vanilla answered with a soft smile.
BG kissed her mother on the cheek. "Cheers Mom, and don't worry. I'll call you every day." She tapped the Doctor on the head as she went past, near enough running up the stairs.
The End comes as the Beginning"One more," Bubblegum shouted in the direction of the TARDIS' open door. She grabbed the last bag from inside the house and slung it over her shoulder. She almost walked into Chip, who was standing right behind her.
"Going somewhere Bee?"
"Yeah. And can you stop calling me that? All I said was some bee's are aliens and all of a sudden my names Bee," she said waving her hand.
"Sure. Back for tea?" He wondered, glancing at her bag.
"Erm, no. Bye Chip." She set off towards the TARDIS
"What's that supposed to mean? Are you breaking up with me?"
"By Jove I think he's got it!" BG called, with a little jump.
"Why?"
"Hmm," she said, stopping and pinching her chin. "Lets see, you followed me to check up on me, last week you punched one of my mates cos he's a guy, and you aren't the least bit interested in what I say," she finished looking furious. The Doctor was now leaning on the TARDIS door, watching.
"I have lots of interest in you," said Chip.
"Okay then, what's the square root of pi?"
"Now you know, you're cleverer then me, BG."
"We have the same classes!" She yelled at the top of her voice. "You just don't listen to the teachers. You're more interested in stupid FOOTBALL!"
At that point Chip grabbed her by the elbow.
"Did he put you up to this?" He nodded towards the Doctor. She looked over at him and he smiled.
"No, I make my own decisions. No one can change who I am," she pulled herself free of Chips grasp and stormed past the Doctor into the TARDIS, now littered with her bags. The Doctor gave Chip an apologetic smile and closed the door behind him.
"You know something, Doctor? That felt good!"
He looked at her and leaned on the console. A few minutes passed, and the Doctor decided to change the subject.
"Is it me or…do we make a great team?" he grinned.
She smiled back at him and unsuspectingly gave him a huge hug.
"Thanks for having me, Doctor."
And so their adventures began.
Hannah fisher.
For Dannii Flavell.