Weeeell, I'm updating earlier than I thought! It's only been... 'looks at watch'... about three hours. Long enough for me to type the chapter, edit, and eat dinner. Nice.

This chapter is relatively short. Just a little prologue-type of chapter, really. Max and the Flock aren't referenced in this one - that's to come a bit later (I have to have a fair bit of both story perspectives - this is listed under both Max Ride and Doctor Who). This takes place just before the beginning of chapter 20, page 79 of the fourth book; the one with the Uber-Director. The setting is his secret base in the salt domes, if you don't remember. :)

!!Quick note: the TARDIS is a Police Box that's actually a spaceship about a thousand times bigger on the inside; the Doctor is an alien that looks and acts human; Rose is a human, about twenty, peroxide blonde. The Doctor, a Time Lord/Gallifreyen, is about six foot two, lanky, thin, and has a mess of brown hair. If you can't envision it, he's played by the same guy that played Barty Crouch Junior in the 4th Harry Potter movie and was Casanova in, well, Casanova. Look it up if you care. XD. Rose is Billie Piper - British actress, so you probably won't know her. :D

Disclaimer: Oh, sure. I'm James Patterson AND the BBC. Right. Do you really think I own anything? Pfft. Oh, and the lyrics are property of David Bowie, not me. Again.

Thus begins chapter one! Finally...


Chapter One…

Didn't know what time it was, the lights were low oh how

I leaned back on my radio, oh oh

Some cat was layin down some rock 'n roll lotta soul, he said

Then the loud sound seemed to fade away

Came back like a slow voice on a wave of phase, ha haze

That weren't no d.j., that was hazy cosmic jive…

" There's a staaaar maaan, waaaiting in the sky; he would like to come and meet us, but he's afraid he'd blow our minds…" The Doctor bellowed out the next few lines, completely out of tune as he bounded around his consol. Rose joined in, collapsing into hysteric giggles as she was thrown around the control room. "There's a staaar maaan waaaiting in the sky, he told us not to blow it, 'cause he knows it's all worthwhile!"

There was crash from somewhere on board the TARDIS as the great ship hurtled to a stop. With a jerk, the Doctor and his companion were thrown off their feet, landing flat on the grated floors. The music stopped, cutting off in the middle of David Bowie's strange lyrics. The Doctor and Rose, still laughing hysterically, helped each other up off the floor and staggered to the door.

"So…" Rose calmed herself enough to speak, clutching her abdomen, sore from laughing so hard. "Where are we?" The Doctor grinned wider than before, looking like an exuberant child.

"No idea!" He replied cheerfully. "Let's go see!"

The Time Lord snatched up his long overcoat, pulling it on over his brown, pin-striped suit. Rose followed as he bounced out the door of the TARDIS, closing the door as she exited. The blue Police Box had become so familiar to her over the year she'd spent with the Doctor; who knew an inter-dimensional, time-travelling spaceship would end up being like a home to her?

Stowing away her musings, Rose Tyler turned and bounded over to where the Doctor now stood, observing the Wherever and Whenever they had landed. She took in the scene, curiosity overriding her hysteric giggles.

They were standing in the middle of a huge domed room. The floors were smooth and crystalline; expensive and polished until glossy. From the ceiling snaked large tubes that twisted and wrapped around each other as they stretched along the walls, looking like metal vines. Up ahead, a small cluster of strange-looking machines rolled around. They scooted around in seemingly aimless directions, humming mechanically.

"Well." The Doctor stuffed his hands into his pockets. "This is interesting."

"What are those things?" Rose pointed at the odd little devices, eyebrows furrowed. The Doctor didn't answer immediately, still scrutinising them with interest.

"Seems to me they're… air scrubbers," he concluded. "Self contained. They trap carbon dioxide and release oxygen. Like an air purifier."

Rose wrinkled her nose. "They look like Daleks."

"I was trying really hard not to make that connection." He sighed. "'Bout had enough of those bloody things."

There was a pause as the two travellers watched the scrubbers glide down the side of the room.

"So." The Doctor clapped his hands together, springing to life again. "Up for some exploring, Miss Tyler?"

The only response he got was a grin as Rose started forward, tugging him by the hand. The strode off down the hall, curiosity drawing them ahead like a magnet.

"Where d'you think we are?" Rose asked, swinging the arm that held the Doctor's hand. He grinned.

"Not sure. Though it must be some place without air. Or bad air, at least."

"Hence the scrubbers."

"Exactly." They turned a corner. "But why would the air be dirty?" It was more of a statement than a question, meant to encourage suggestions.

"Moon base?" She suggested.

"Perhaps. But that kind of technology isn't alien. Well, that's to say it's not human. Any other race with such a desire for neatness," he gestured unnecessarily to the sparkling floor, "would never use such simple technology to clean air. Especially if they knew what they were doing." He stopped suddenly, kneeling down to observe the floor.

"And this is tile," he added, grinning as he ran a finger across its surface. "Earth substance. Smells like lemon, too."

Rose deflated noticeably at this prospect. "So we're on Earth?"

"Weeeell, not necessarily. An Earth colony, at least. Human. Not too far ahead of your own time." He stood and brushed off his pants, although Rose didn't see a speck on them. "Early moon colonisation, perhaps."

But just then another air-scrubber scooted by; the Doctor lunged out and held it in place before it could go anywhere further. He had it disabled with his screwdriver before it could even register its capture. The Doctor pried off the top of the machine, revealing a complicated compilation of circuits and data chips. Rose leaned over it, wondering for not the first time how he could make heads or tails of the technology without even thinking.

"Ohhh, this is nothing!" He grinned and prodded the machine parts. "Completely twenty-first century! I'd be surprised if this model came out any later than 2008 – Earth material if I've ever seen it." Rose huffed a sigh as he swiftly replaced the top and reactivated the scrubber. It sputtered for a moment, then scooted off as if nothing had happened. The Doctor watched it roll away, looking amused.

"Earth, then." Rose rolled her eyes. Earth was so boring… why couldn't the TARDIS have dropped them somewhere more exciting? Like Blasphortronius or Xenon 3 or whatever? Rose wondered where exactly on Earth they were.

"Yep. And since we know that global warming doesn't actually destroy the world like you humans thought it would, I doubt that the air outside is contaminated. Which means…" he trailed off, staring up at the ceiling for a moment. Rose wondered where his mind had gone. He jumped to life again a few seconds later, having reached a conclusion somewhere in that big brain of his.

"We're underground!"Rose blinked at this sudden conclusion, momentarily confused. He continued, "The scrubbers supply air because the building, base, whatever this is, is underground." Suddenly he started forward again, striding purposely down the hall.

"Allons-y, Rose, we've got exploring to do!"


Yes, it took me a very long time to write that. Kinda sad. The other chapters will be longer and more Max Ride based after this; like I said, introduction of sorts.

Hope you understood most of that. I based the descriptions of the base on what the book said, so you can't blame me there. It'll all become a lot clearer as it goes on. But hey, this is just the beginning. I hope SOMEONE out there is interested in my idea. At least it's... original. Different. Sort of. I dunno. Whatever.

Review? I at least want to know if anyone's reading this at all. Keep the flames at a minimum, please. I'm just starting out.