I
The fly market
Somewhere in the universe
The Doctor comes out from one of the corridors, running his fingers through his fluffy brown hair. April sits cross-legged on the chair by the console. She seems to be studying the console as she passes an elastic band ball from one hand to the other. Terry sits underneath the console, working with the wires.
Rose eventually comes out from the corridor behind the Doctor. "Where are we going now, Doctor?" She asks, patting him on the arm before pulling her blonde hair out of her ponytail.
The Doctor sighs as he unfolds his arms. "Fancy going to another planet? Perhaps one where the distance is further than we've travelled before?"
Rose smiles at his response.
"How about the planet Zorlon? They seem to have a market around this time of year when the planet slowly moves away from their star." He starts walking forward to the console and Rose follows. He catches April's suspicious glance for a moment before he turns and roughly pulls down a leaver. The Tardis shudders, jolting them nearly off their feet before they start moving. However the Tardis groans as they travel through time and space, not the usual sound it makes, almost as if it is a huge effort for it to move. The Doctor sighs. The Tardis must be tired after the long trip over to Andrymia. However he does not mention the fact that he can fee some sort of weight pressing against his ship.
They eventually land and the Doctor mutters something under his breath about the way the Tardis sounded as they travelled. He strokes the console a little before moving to the doors. April clambers off the seat and Terry stands by her side.
The Doctor presses his ear against the door, trying to see if he can hear anything outside. Rose does the same, looking at the Doctor as they start whispering.
"Why did the Tardis make that noise?" Rose asks.
"What noise?" The Doctor replies as he cranes his neck trying to detect sound outside.
"You know, that groaning sound she just made the," Rose hesitates before trying to impersonate the sound but the Doctor just looks amused. "Don't laugh! She sounded tired."
"The poor girl probably is after that trek out of Andrymia. We'll give her a break as we explore the planet," The Doctor then lowers his voice. "Why don't you introduce the planet to April? Tell her about the creatures that live here, their rules and regulations, their culture and why this market is so important."
Rose snorts. "Why would April want to listen to me when we clearly don't get on well at all?"
The Doctor shuffles on the spot. "That's still a mystery to me. I don't get what it is with you girls."
"How do you think we feel? We don't always get you Time Lords!"
The Doctor and Rose laugh a little.
"Do you think April is going to cope seeing her first planet? I mean you've only taken her back in time around Earth and I got a spaceship on my first go!"
"A spaceship full of aliens," The Doctor nods. "She'll be fine. She handled the Slitheen well so I'm sure she will handle planet Zorlon. Besides there's nothing dangerous about Zorlon. It's a peaceful planet. The planet has been at peace for many centuries."
"Yeah but going by you, there's always something dangerous wherever you go."
The Doctor stares at Rose for a while before he turns to April and Terry, both of them looking a little impatient but also covering up the fact that they were trying to listen to what they had been whispering about.
"Just a brief guide," The Doctor starts and he digs his hands in his trouser pockets. "April we're about fifty-eight million years into your future and about three hundred thousand point six light years away from Earth. Zorlon is the name of the planet. It's hot, very hot actually, especially at this time of year but what you have to understand that these creatures have obtained this planet. It's not their original home town. It was about three hundred thousand years ago when they discovered Zorlon and started to convert their lifestyle from air to land. Yet they can be very stubborn and would only harm you if you pose a threat to them. Other than that they will be very welcoming and allow us to mooch around their planet."
April raises an eyebrow before returning back to her usual scowl that constantly remains on her face. "Who says that they won't pose a threat to us? How do you know they suddenly won't like having visitors?"
"They will know that we're only here to explore and not to harm," Rose chips in. "A friendly gesture is in order."
April remains silent as Terry starts to walk forward.
"Well I'd at least like to go now before they pack the market away for the day." Terry says.
The sound of visiting an alien market excites April as a smile spreads across her face. She suddenly starts rushing across the console room, speeding pass Terry.
"You guys have done this plenty of times before. This one is mine!" April says before hesitating when she reaches the doors. There is no guessing as to what is to be seen outside the doors. It is an alien planet miles and miles away from her home and she doesn't know what to expect. Will there be a sky like she had? Or will they just see the stars and planets in the sky? What will the ground be like and the texture of any other surfaces? Will they have wild plants growing? And what will the aliens look like and how will they communicate to them?
April slowly reaches for the metal door handle before pulling it open.
At first, she is met by a sudden brightness, almost blinded by the light. April manages to pull the door open wider to allow herself more space to step out. She attentively steps one foot out of the Tardis to land on a hard surface.
She looks at the ground which is made out of dark grey stone gravel. There are many cracks in the gravel and in the cracks form little tunnels of smooth flowing liquid. She takes another step out the Tardis and then a couple of steps forward, as her eyes adjust to the brightness, although she has to shield her eyes.
Out in front of her is a large open space. The sky is painted an orange hue and behind what seems to be clouds are other planets that obviously orbits their star close to Zorlon. The planets look a little faded, just like the moon does in a cloudless sky in the early morning.
Flying in and out of the clouds are large black beasts which look like a cross between a dragon and a very large bird. The stone gravel spreads out in front of her, and over in the distance, tall cliff-like hills are visible. There are two main hills on either side of April's peripheral vision and joining the two hills together is an archway made out of the same stone gravel beneath her feet. The archway sits on top of each hill and crosses over the large lake on the ground in the middle. Behind the two large hills are many other hills but smaller. They curve round, obviously creating a pathway for the habitants to follow. Down by the lake are more of the dragon and birdlike creatures. Some are sleeping in the sunlight, some in the shade of the hills and some rolling in the lake. Some come down from the sky and some fly back up.
It is a view that April cannot comprehend into words.
Eventually the Doctor, Rose and Terry step out of the Tardis to enjoy the new view.
"Welcome to Zorlon, April Hollerford. The home of the Flies," The Doctor announces before gesturing to the creatures in the lake. "And the Wingerdettes. Part dragon, part red kite. They too and the Flies live off the liquid that runs through the cracks in the ground and to the lake. I believe there's a sea not far off."
April just nods to what the Doctor says but is too stunned to reply.
"I've been travelling with you for what, nearly five years now, Doctor, and planets like this never cease to amaze me." As Rose says this she can't help but notice that the corners of April's lips have curled up into a small smile, yet her gaze remains focused on the view ahead.
After several long moments of allowing the beautiful view to sink in, the four set out ahead. They enter the middle pathway of the two hills, passing underneath the archway. The Wingerdettes stop what they are doing and raise their heads one by one to look at their passing visitors. The way the Wingerdettes look at them reminds both April and Rose of how cows in fields would stop eating grass to look up at a passing humans.
Soon enough some Wingerdettes move out the way politely to give them room to pass through. Others, however, are more curious and decide to follow them for a little while. April can feel breath being blown on her hand and as she turns, she finds a Wingerdette right on her tail, sniffing her hand and her arm. The Wingerdette looks up at her with his large round olive coloured eyes before stopping and retreating back to the lake.
The four continue to move on, following the pathway created by the hills. They start to curve round a bend to the left so that the view of the lake and the Tardis is eventually hidden far behind the hills. After a fair few steps, the pathway then curves again but this time to the right and as they do they find the market.
At first quick glance, you'd think there are human beings holding the stalls and calling out to the other habitants, but then it comes to April's realisation as to why the Doctor had called them the Flies.
They are flies. Each and every one of them is a little taller than six foot but they all walk on two stick legs. They have two pairs of arms hanging down their sides and they have large heads with two large red eyes. However they are without their wings. They look like walking humans with the head of a fly.
They all start to wonder how each Fly can tell the other apart as they all look identical. All that is noticeable is the difference in sex as half the population is wearing beige coloured dresses and the other half wears beige coloured baggy tops and trousers. The Doctor mentions that it is the male species that wears the dresses.
It is mainly food that is sold at the market and only the Doctor is brave enough to try anything that sits on the dusty looking plates. April avoids it and Terry just sniffs at the food before instantly turning her nose up at it. The Doctor manages to persuade Rose to try a scoop of some gooey substance that tastes like cookie dough. Rose is surprised and excited by the taste and the Doctor orders a bag-full for two before passing the Fly some small stones.
The Doctor and Rose starts to walk around the market hand-in-hand. The Doctor enthusiastically tells her about the wonders of the market and its history. They hop from one stall to the next accepting free samples. One female Fly places a long turquoise beaded necklace around Rose's neck and then the Doctor is offered a bag of food from another stall. He wrinkles his nose in disgust not only at the sight of the food but mainly of the rotting smell. The Fly looks at the Doctor expectantly, obviously wanting him to taste the food. Rose nudges the Doctor and nods to the plate of food.
"It's only kind to say thank you and have a try." She mutters to him.
Without a word, the Doctor takes a small handful of the food and tastes it. He recoils instantly but swallows it nevertheless, giving the Fly a thumbs-up just to please him. He then declines the Fly's offer for a bag-full off it.
Terry on the other hand, walks around the market, analysing each and every Fly and looking at their products suspiciously. She then finds herself in a conversation with one of the Flies, talking about their history with Zorlon. She understands what the Fly is saying due to the Tardis translating their language to English, but Terry is also able to understand the buzzed Fly language without the English.
April finds herself being fascinated by the Flies and their stalls. She is mainly interested in all their craft work, admiring their gold and silver jewellery as well as their sewing products. They have created many different quilts with beautifully woven patterns. There is one stall that is selling hundreds of pairs of trousers and tops and dresses that they all are wearing.
April looks at the stall selling silver jewellery. There are many different boxes, one for each type of jewellery. One of the boxes is full of broaches and pendants.
However the thing that intrigues April the most out all of the silver jewellery in front of her, is one of the broaches. The broach is in the shape of a hexagonal plate and along the edges is a carved weaving pattern, almost looking like the cracks in the gravel. In the middle of the hexagonal plate is a carved Wingerdette. Its long neck bends down to the bottom of the hexagon, its eyes fixing on its red kite looking tail, almost as if it is chasing it. However as April catches the broach in the sunlight, the Wingerdette's carving suddenly looks like it is about to take flight. April shines the broach in and out of the light and it constantly changes from its chasing tail position to its taking flight position.
The Fly encourages her to buy it and she does so, giving the Fly three stones that she suddenly finds in her jean pocket. As she walks away, she clasps the broach in her hand before pinning it to her hoodie.
The day wears on and the planets in the sky shift to different positions, just like the stars do back on Earth. The orange hue from the sky turns into a purple hue as night falls. The Flies pack away the market and the Doctor says, as the four of them join together again to watch the calm sea surrounded by mountains, that the Flies will open the market for another two more days before the end of their season.
The air around them turns colder and when they find themselves starting to shiver in the cold as their sun is out of sight, they move on. They head through the open space where the market was held earlier that day, before retreating back through the hills till they reach the lake again.
It is eerily quiet as the Wingerdettes hibernate for the night. However April notices that Terry suddenly becomes very rigid as she walks. Her arms are tense at her sides, her eyes wide and her jaw clenched. Something is bothering her but for some reason she doesn't speak out about it which is rare. She keeps her focus ahead as they pass the lake.
Silence fills the cold air and the Doctor and Rose seem completely oblivious to the fact that something isn't quite right as they chatter away about the wonders of Zorlon.
April follows Terry's gaze and then too freezes on the spot in horror.
The space where they parked the Tardis is empty. The Tardis is no longer where they had left it. Terry stands by April.
"You've noticed it too." Terry states flatly, keeping her eyes fixed ahead as the Doctor and Rose pass them. Eventually the Doctor turns to look back.
"Something the matter?" He asks as his walking pace slows down to a final stop.
The crease lines in April's forehead from her scowl increases from the look of fear and confusion. Someone or something has stolen the Tardis and hidden it. April's fear is that the Flies might turn out to be enemies of them and have taken away the Tardis. Her other thought is that the Wingerdettes have somehow taken it.
"The Tardis is not here any more." April eventually replies, her voice sounding calmer than she truly feels.
The Doctor raises an eyebrow in misunderstanding but then his face drops when he notices the look of fear in both April's and Terry's faces. He spins around to see that in fact the Tardis is not where he parked it. The Doctor shouts something to himself before he runs to the spot where it had been, taking out his sonic screwdriver and scanning the area. He is frantic with his movements, turning on the spot as his long brown coat wavers behind him. He then slowly lowers the sonic screwdriver as the others join him.
"What's happened?" Rose asks, almost sounding breathless. "What did you find?"
"The Tardis has been taken away from us." The Doctor says solemnly.
"By the Flies?" April suggests but the Doctor and Terry both shake their heads.
"It's been transported off this planet and I can't seem to track it down!" The Doctor pulls out the Tardis key from his coat pocket. It is frozen cold whereas it usually would be fairly warm if the Tardis is near. The Doctor grips onto his hair and paces up and down as he lets out an angry groan of frustration.
They are trapped on a planet; a planet where the temperature drops immensely as the night wears on and they have no way of escape. The Tardis has been transported away from the planet, away from its owner. The Doctor is not able to track it down. He feels lost and hopeless.
That is when they hear a loud bang.
A heavy gust of wind starts to blow as the ground beneath their feet start to crack and fall away. The four struggle to see as the wind blows heavily in their eyes. Their surroundings materialise into another setting. The gravel crumbles away, the hills peel into nothing in the gust and the planets fade away.
Soon enough the wind slows down as the last fragments of Zorlon disappears.
They are met with a large room with black marble flooring and bright orange metallic walls. The room is quiet except for a low beeping noise that rings in their ears and fills the empty space.
"Well," April breathes as the wind comes to a sudden halt. "It looks like that whatever took the Tardis has also transported us."
Rose's breath becomes quick and short as she turns to the Doctor. "Doctor, please give me a good enough reason as to why we're back on this spaceship!" Her voice wobbles with fright. "I thought I turned it into dust after looking into the heart of the Tardis!"
"It looks like they've built it back up again," The Doctor mutters as he slowly reaches for April's arm. "April, get behind me now." He orders.
"Why? Where are we?" She asks, sensing that they are not alone in the room.
"Just do as I say!" The Doctor then looks straight ahead, almost as if he is staring at something that is standing right in front of him. "Show yourself!" He bellows.
There is a sudden bright light as thousands of gold Daleks appear around them.
