"Hello," the life-size hologram smiled at Miranda.
"You scared me!" she walk toward the hologram away from the centerpiece.
"So I've been hearing a hologram in my head. You're not even real."
"How do you mean I'm not real? Just because something is mainly see-through doesn't make it fake."
"Okay, that's freaky. Holograms don't usually respond," Miranda moved closer to it, examining it closely.
The Doctor smiled as she swiped her hand in front of his face.
She closed her eyes and breathed in deeply, trying to take everything in. She opened her eyes to see The Doctor's face right in front of hers.
"Boo," he smiled with his eyes shining with a child's innocence.
She quirked an eyebrow, then backed away a bit. "The world is about to end and you're sitting here playing like a child. Some savior you are," she rolled her eyes and folded her arms, looking at him pointedly.
"I'm not a savior, no, no I'm not," he looked down at his feet, his facial expression changing from playful to forlorn in a matter of seconds.
Miranda looked and felt her heart twist. For a hologram, she examined the floor carefully, he's not even real.
I'm real, I keep telling you, The Doctor's voice echoed in her head.
Her head shot up to see him half-smiling. "Now, to work! I need you to send this police box to me."
"But, you're right here."
"No, this is just a picture of me, a hologram."
"Well, you can move, so do it yourself."
"Listen, I'm burning up an entire planet to talk to you and I need you to work quickly!" he screamed.
She recoiled at his sudden outburst. Okay, so he's a bipolar hologram. "How do I do it?"
"First you'll need to turn around and face the center of the console."
"The saucer centerpiece? Wait, you mean, this toy can move?"
"Pull the silver lever down, then pull the long chain that hangs down..."
After about five minutes of running around, Miranda finally figured it out. The toy made a vworp sound as the large bubble-shaped blue objects moved up and down. She backed away from the centerpiece, nervous about the sound it was making.
"What's happening?"
"You're bringing Sexy back," the hologram smiled to himself.
"Is now really the time?" she looked over her shoulder, looking disgusted.
"You are sending my TARDIS back to me. So that I can save Earth, again," he laughed, as if this happened every day for him.
"How is it moving?"
"It's flying," he responded, as if she should have known this.
"But it's just a children's toy," she shook her head in disbelief.
"Vworp!" the console's noise got louder.
Miranda felt the ground shake and instinctively dropped down to the floor, holding on to it from the bottom, hoping she wouldn't pull out some major part of this flying children's toy.
"Come to me, Sexy! Ha-ha," the hologram laughed as if a family member was returning to him.
Miranda felt the floor moving as the vworp-ing continued, then looked over her shoulder to see that The Doctor was gone. Well, great. I'm alone in a flying children's toy.
She felt the floor beneath her slowly stop shaking as the toy seemed to stop moving. She let go of the wire she'd ben clinging to, wiping her sweaty palms on her nylon leggings, breathing again.
She stood up slowly and looked around the room. It hadn't changed during the flight, except for the disappearance of the hologram.
Well, I guess I just go out the way I came in, right? she thought, as if trying to reach out t the hologram.
She waited a moment, then sighed when no response came. Of course, he's a hologram. Why would he even be able to respond?
Come get me, his voice echoed in her head.
She blinked a few times, taking in that he must actually exist. She started toward the door, but was interrupted.
With a saw, though. Bring a saw.
And where am I supposed to find that?
In the garage. Go up the silver ramp to the right, then grab a saw, preferably electric.
How big is this thing?
I'll give you a tour later, saving the world might need to be a priority.
Try telling that to yourself, why don't you? she laughed.
She was greeted with an eerie silence, and she couldn't help but think of how pitiful he looked when she had told him he wasn't a savior.
She uncomfortably swallowed her thoughts and ran up the ramp into the garage. She scanned the shelves and looked over rows of fancy-looking screwdrivers (the man must have a fetish!) and other tools until she finally spotted a saw.
Not electric, but it'll do. She grabbed it and ran toward the door.
Just before she went out, though, she stopped. Why am I listening to a hologram and bringing a saw outside into a children's museum? She shook her head, truly questioning her own sanity.
Trust me, his voice echoed, I'm The Doctor. The voice seemed to echo about the toy's walls, and she wondered how big this box could be.
Shaking her head, she decided to follow her gut, and she ran out the door, hoping that if trouble arose, she would at least be able wield the saw as a weapon.
