The Planet of Dead, Part 2.
The Doctor, the Hatter, and Christina raised their hands as the fly-like alien approached them, its weapon aimed at them, making funny clicking sound. The Doctor clicked and squeaked back.
"That's wait," he informed the two woman beside him, glancing at them, "I shout 'wait,' people usually wait".
The Hatter shook her head, seeming amused by his remark, "So you would like to think, sweetheart".
"You speak the language?" Christina asked, surprised.
"Every language," he replied, making more clicking noises, "That's begging for mercy".
"It was one of the only subjects he ever took seriously," the Time Lady informed the dark haired woman, "I never really understood the attraction myself…"
The alien clicked again and gestured, rather roughly, with his weapon at them, "That means 'move,'" Christina realised, eyeing the alien carefully.
"Ooh, you're learning!" the Doctor grinned.
The alien forced them onwards, its weapon pointed at their backs as it forced them to walk. The Doctor took the Hatter's hand, holding it tightly as they exchanged a quick look, really not surprised anymore to have a gun pointed at them. Nevertheless, it didn't make it any easier.
"These fly things…" Christina began after a moment, glancing back over her shoulder towards the alien, "They must be responsible. They brought us here," she suspected.
"No, no, no, no, no," the Time Lords shook their heads as they reached the top of a dune, looking out to find a very big wreckage of a ship with the appearance quite similar to that of a fly, cut completely in half, "Look at the ship," they nodded over towards the wreckage, "It's a wreck. They crashed, just like us".
…
They were ushered into the ship and it immediately became clear that not only the outside had suffered damage, but so had the inside with wires hanging from the ceiling as they made their way down a dimly lit corridor.
"Ugh, this place is freezing!" Christina exclaimed, rubbing her bare arms, and shriving, having removed her jacket earlier that day with the desert sun beating down heavily on them all. Though, it didn't have the same effect on the Time Lords as on the humans.
"That would be because the hull is made of photoafine steel," the Hatter informed her, glancing around the corridor, "Basically, it turns cold when it's hot. Quite clever, really".
The Doctor nodded in agreement, "Boiling desert outside, freezing ship inside," he glanced back at Christina, raising his eyebrows, "Since we met you, Christina, we've been through all the extremes".
"That's how I like things," Christina remarked, looking at him a tad too long, a slightly flirty tone entering her voice, "Extreme".
The Hatter raised her eyebrows, nudging the Doctor's side slightly, "Looks like you've got an admirer, sweetheart," she whispered to him, sounding amused rather than anything else.
"How come you find this amusing?" he asked quietly, casting her a small frown, almost looking disappointed, "If it was the other way around…"
"Time Lady," she replied, shrugging before she held her hand with her engagement ring on it towards him, wiggling her fingers, "And I do believe that this ring is on my finger, sweetheart".
The Doctor smiled as he glanced at the ring before casting his eyes around the corridor, "Oh, this is beautiful," he commented, seeming almost impressed, "Intact, it must have been magnificent. A proper streamlined deep spacer".
"I'll remember that as I'm slowly tortured," Christina remarked sarcastically from just ahead of them, rolling her eyes as they entered a slightly larger room that appeared to have once been the cockpit, but was now just as damaged as the rest of the ship, wires hanging everywhere and sand covering the floor, "At least I'm bleeding on the floor of a really well designed spaceship".
As they moved further into the room a second fly like alien approached them, also holding a weapon. Both alien's made clicking noises at each other, turning to face them together as one attached a rounded, glowing purple device to the front of its suit, and started clicking at each other once more.
"Oh, right, good," the Doctor nodded, smiling after a moment at them, and the Time Lady relaxed slightly, realising what the device must have been even though she couldn't understand a word they were saying, "Yes, hello," he glanced at Christina, who was looking confused about what was happening, "That's a telepathic translator. He can understand us".
The aliens clicked again.
"Still sounds like gibberish to me," Christina told them, shaking her head.
"That's what I said," he clarified, "He can understand us".
"It doesn't work the other way around, I'm afraid," the Hatter smiled slightly at her.
They focused back on the aliens, listening as more clicking sounded, "'You will suffer for your crimes'…etcetera," the Doctor translated for them, nodding slowly, "'You have committed an act of violence against the Tritovore race,'" he glanced at Christina, "Tritovore. They're called Tritovores," and focused back on translating, "'You came here in the two hundred to destroy us…'" he frowned, looking confused, "Sorry, what's the two hundred?"
"It's the bus," Christina informed him, "Number two hundred. They mean the bus".
"Oh!" the Doctor nodded, understanding as he turned back to them, "No, look, I think you're making the same mistake Christina did," he smiled at them, patting his chest, "I'm the Doctor, by the way, this is the Hatter," he gestured to her, "And this is Christina," he nodded over to her, still smiling, "The Honourable Lady Christina…at least I hope she's honourable," he flashed them a grin.
The Hatter coughed, nudging his side, "Mind the cheek, Doctor".
"Ah, right," he coughed, quickly getting back on topic, "We got pulled through that wormhole," he explained to them, micking something being pulled, "The two hundred doesn't look like that normally. It's broken, just the same as you".
The Tritovore's glanced at each other, clicking at each other for a moment before turning back to them, and lowering their weapons.
"What are they doing?" Christina asked, eyeing them carefully.
"They believe us," the Hatter told her calmly.
"What, as simple as that?"
"I've got a very honest face," the Doctor shrugged, making the Hatter laugh, quickly covering it up with a cough, "And the translator says I'm telling the truth," he added, nodding towards the device, and glanced at Christina, who raised her eyebrows at him, "Plus, the face!"
The Time Lady titled her head at him, actually appearing to be considering what he had said, "Well, I suppose that this face is a tad more honest looking then some of your other ones," she nodded thoughtfully.
He smiled at her, looking amused and a little smug as he turned back to the Tritovores, "Right, so, first things first," he hurried over to one of the control panels, the Time Lady right on his heels, "There's a very strange storm heading our way".
"Would it still be possible to send a probe?" the Hatter questioned before shaking her head, frowning as she examined the controls, "Oh, no, they've lost power, so that's out of the question".
"Hmm," the Doctor also examined the controls, exchanging a thoughtful look with the Time Lady, "The crash knocked the mainline crystallography out of synch".
"Yes, but perhaps we could just pop it back into place," the Time Lady raised her eyebrows at him, a small smile tugging on her face.
He flashed her a bright smile and grabbed one of the controls, holding it tightly, kicking the side of the control panel, and the machine flared back into life.
The Tritovores began clicking almost excitedly with each other, obviously very happy, "I thank you!" he flashed them a broad grin, looking quite proud of himself as they clicked back at him, "Yes, I am. Frequently, so is the Hatter," he shot her a smile before turning back to the controls, setting to work along with her, "Okay-doke, let's launch that probe".
They pulled leaves, hitting buttons, setting off the probe before bringing up a holographic screen display of a cloud of colours in space for them to see, "Ah, the Scorpion Nebula," the Hatter remarked, eyeing the display as she and the Doctor sat down beside Christina, who was smiling broadly at the image, "We're on the other side of the Universe to Earth, Christina".
"Just what you wanted," the Doctor glanced at her, slipping his glasses on, "So far away," they turned back to the image as it zoomed in on to a planet that looked similar to Earth, "The planet of San Helios".
Christina continued to smile in wonder, "And that's us?" she pointed at the image, "We're on another world".
The Time Lords looked at her, raising their eyebrows, "We have been for quite a while".
"I know, but seeing it like that…" she replied, shaking her head as they turned back to the image.
"It's good, isn't it?"
"Wonderful," she breathed.
The Tritovores began clicking, making them look over at them as the Doctor nodded, "The Tritovores were going to trade with San Helios," he translated for them, "Population of one hundred billion," the Hatter let out a low whistle as he lowered his head slightly towards Christina, "Plenty of waste matter for them to absorb".
"By waste matter…you mean…" Christina began, grimacing.
"They feed off what others leave behind from their…behind, if you see what I mean. It's perfectly natural. They are flies".
"Charming," she glanced over at the Tritovores, "Just remind me never to kiss them".
They turned back to the screen to see the image of a big, thriving, very modern looking city, filled with buildings and green trees from a bird eyes view. The Tritovores clicked and the Doctor nodded, glancing over at them.
"San Helios City," he translated for the girls as he focused back on the screen.
"It really is quite beautiful," the Hatter smiled slightly, titling her head at the image. She might have seen a similar sight many times before and would no doubt see it again, but that didn't make it any less pretty to look at.
"That's amazing," Christina also smiled at the screen, looking impressed, "But…" she glanced over at the Time Lords, watching their reaction closely, and or though they both seemed to like what they saw, neither of them appeared to be overly impressed or amazed, "…you've seen this sort of thing before, haven't you?"
"Thousands of times," the Time Lords admitted, nodding.
She eyed them closer, still smiling, "That Lordship and Damehood…" she began, "The Lord and Dame of where, exactly?"
"Of time," the Doctor replied, glancing at her before turning back to the screen, "We come from a race of people called Time Lords".
"And yes, they were as arrogant and boring as they sound," the Hatter added, shaking her head slightly, "Of course, there's always a few black sheep's in the pack…" she flashed the Doctor a grin and wink.
Christina's eyes winded, staring at them, "You're aliens?"
"Yeah," the Doctor nodded, "But you don't have to kiss us either".
"No offense intended, Christina, but if you could hold yourself back from kissing me I would be grateful," the Time Lady commented in a joking tone, smiling across to her, taking the Doctor's hand, "I'm afraid that I'm already spoken for".
"You both look human," she eyed them closely again.
"You look Time Lord," the Doctor looked at her before shrugging, turning back to the screen.
Christina shook herself, clearing her throat, "So if that's San Helios, all we need to do is find that city," she reasoned, looking back at the image of the city, "They can help us".
The Time Lords frowned, exchanging a look as the Doctor's eyes drifted over to the clicking Tritovores, "I don't think it's that simple," he remarked, listening closely to what the two other aliens said, just as the image on the screen was replaced by desert, "We're in the city right now," he realised.
"But it's sand!" Christina exclaimed, shaking her head, frowning, "That first image, the temples and things, what's that, then? Ancient history?"
The Tritovoes clicked again.
The Doctor looked back at the girls, his eyes widening, "The image was taken last year," he translated.
The Hatter closed her eyes, shaking her head, "Oh, all those poor people," she breathed sadly, reopening her eyes to look at the image, showing just the desert.
Christina's mouth fell open, "It became desert…in one year?" she gasped, shocked.
The Doctor reached down and grabbed a handful of sand from the floor, "We said there was something in the sand," he allowed the sand to slip through his fingers, watching it, "The city, the oceans, the mountains, the wildlife, and a hundred billion people turned to sand".
"Remember what Carmen said?" the Hatter sighed sadly, "All of those voices that she can hear, she can hear them dying".
"But I've got sand in my hair," Christina grimaced, grabbing at her hair, completely disgusted, "That's dead people. Oh, that's disgusting!" she started squirming around, "Ugh!"
"Something destroyed the whole of San Helios," the Time Lords frowned, exchanging worried looks, not paying attention to Christina as she continued grabbing at her hair.
"Yes, but in my hair!"
Suddenly, the mobile that they had grabbed started ringing, and the Doctor quickly fished it out of his pocket, putting it on speaker, "Malcolm, tell us the bad news," he answered.
"Oh, you are clever," Malcolm replied breathlessly, "It is bad news," both Time Lords exchanged quick looks, "It's the wormhole. It's getting bigger!" the Doctor rubbed his face and the Hatter groaned quietly, "We've gone way past one hundred Bernard's. I haven't invented a name for that!"
"How can it get bigger by itself?"
"Well, that's why I'm phoning. You and the Hatter will work it out, if I know your, sir, ma'am".
The Hatter smiled tiredly, "Malcolm, you're confidence in us is much appreciated".
"Doctor, Hatter, we estimate the circumference of your invisible wormhole is now…four miles, heading upwards," Erisa's voice cut over, "I've grounded all flights above London. We can't risk anyone else falling through".
"Ah, yes, thank you," the Time Lady nodded, not appearing to care that they couldn't see her action, to busy thinking over everything that they had learnt by now.
"Good work, both of you," the Doctor agreed, also thinking everything over.
"But I have to know," Erisa quickly continued, seeming to be worried that they were about to hang up, "Does that wormhole constitute a danger to this planet?"
Both Time Lords exchanged a look, knowing exactly what the answer to that question was and what the protocols for Unit were, but before either of them could reply, the phone beeped, singling an incoming call.
"Ooh, sorry," the Doctor blinked slightly, glancing at the screen, exchanging a slightly relieved look with the Time Lady, "Call waiting, got to go…" he clicked one of the buttons, switching over to the other call, "Yeah?"
"Doctor, its Nathan," the young man came over, sounding relieved that they answered, "We got those duckboard things down, but…"
"It's my fault," they could hear Angela crying on the other end, making both Time Lords even more concerned.
"No, it's not," Nathan quickly told her, "Don't say that".
"Nathan, what's happened?" the Hatter asked worriedly, "Is someone hurt?"
"We kept on turning the engine, but…we're out of petrol. Used it all up. Even if we can get those wheels out this bus…is never going to move," the Time Lady closed her eyes, fighting off the urge to pull at her hair as the Doctor stared off into the distance, "You promised you'd get us home. Doctor, Hatter?" he asked, sounding concerned when they didn't respond, "Are you still there?"
The Hatter took a deep breath, forcing herself to remain calm, "Nathan, we'll sort this out, okay?" she tried assuring him, even though she had no idea how they were going to manage it now, "Just…just try and stay calm. We'll find a way, we will," she took the phone from the Doctor and ended the call, already feeling guilty as she slipped the device away.
Suddenly, an alarm began going off, making them all look up as the Tritovores hurried over to the controls, clicking widely.
"It's the probe," the Doctor translated to them, "It's reached the storm".
Christina frowned at one of the Tritovores continued to click, glancing at the Doctor, "And what's he saying?"
"It's not a storm," he replied grimly, meeting the Hatter's eyes.
They turned back to the holographic image, now showing the probe flying through what they had assumed had been storm clouds, but what they could now make out to be billions of metal-like stingray creatures flying through the air in one massive swarm.
"It's a swarm!" Christina's eyes widened as she and the Time Lords stood, staring at the image, "Millions of them".
"Billions," the Hatter corrected, shaking her head, just as one of the creatures flew straight up to the probe, its mouth opened wide to show big, sharp teeth, and the picture disappeared, "Oh, I knew that would happen," she sighed, wincing slightly, "We've lost the probe".
"I think it got eaten," the Doctor groaned, sounding frustrated as he held out his arms, "Everything on this planet gets eaten".
"How far away is that swarm?" Christina asked, pointing back to the darkened screen.
"A hundred miles," he answered thoughtfully, "But at that speed, it's be here in twenty minutes," one of the Tritovores clicked, drawing there attention back to them, "No, no, no, they're not just coming for us. They want the wormhole," he explained to them.
"They're heading for the Earth!" Christina gasped, horrified.
The Hatter gave her a sympathetic look, patting her shoulder, "Can you show us an analysis?" she asked the Tritorvore's, and they brought up a 3D replica of one of the creatures for them to see, "Ooh, fascinating," she remarked, eyeing the replica closely.
"Incredible," the Doctor nodded, staring at the creature thoughtfully, "They swarm out of the wormhole, strip the planet bare, then move on to the next world. Start the life cycle all over again".
Christina glanced at them, "So, they make the wormholes?"
"I believe so," the Time Lady inclined her head towards her, shrugging, "And it's not as if there's anything else that really could".
"But how?" she frowned, "They don't exactly look like technicians," she glanced back at the replica, "And if the wormhole belongs to them, why are they a hundred miles away?"
"Because they need to be?" the Doctor suggested, sounding unsure himself before he shook his head, "No, that's bonkers…" he sighed.
"No, perhaps not," the Hatter cut in, looking thoughtful as she glanced back at the replica, "What if billions of these creatures flying around in one massive formation, all around the plant," she motioned with her hand something spinning, starting to grow more excited as she talked, "Faster and faster, until they finally manage to generate a rupture in space".
"Oh, of course!" the Doctor jumped, his eyes wide as he nodded, a grin spreading across his face, "The speed of them, and the numbers, and the size; all of that rips the wormhole into existence!"
"And the wormholes getting bigger…" Christina joined in.
"Because the swarm are getting closer," the Hatter nodded quickly.
"But how do they get through? Because that wormhole's a killer. We've seen it".
"No, no, no, look," the Doctor shook his head, pointing at the replica, "See the exoskeleton".
She moved closer, taking note of the shiny, plate like armour covering the creature's entire body, "Metal?"
"They're very bones are made of metal," the Hatter explained to her, talking fast due to her growing excitement, "They must eat the metal and then extrude it back into the exoskeleton".
"Exactly," the Doctor agreed, going on, "So their velocity makes the wormhole, then their body makes it safe," he and the Time Lady exchanged a look, "Perfect design".
"Those things are going to turn the entire Earth into a desert!" Christina breathed, turning to look at the Doctor to see him grinning widely as the Hatter smiled a little less brightly, "So why exactly are you smiling?"
He looked back at her, slipping off his glasses, and putting them back inside his pocket, "Worse it gets, the more I love it," he replied happily.
"Me too," she broke into a matching grin.
The Doctor looked at the Hatter, raising his eyebrows, "You seem quiet, Hatter?"
"Oh, well, I would say that I'm loving it, but I'm currently standing on the possible remains of someone right now, so aside from that, I'm having a great time," she shrugged, gesturing down to the sandy covered ground that they were all standing on.
He winced and rubbed the back of his neck, "Ah, yes, right," he gave her an apologetic look, "Sorry".
Christina cleared his throat, shifting slightly as they both focused on her, "The thing is, Doctor, Hatter, you're missing the obvious," she told them, raising her eyebrows at them, "We came thought the wormhole, yes? But our Tritovore friends didn't," she nodded over to the two other aliens, "They came here to trade with San Helios. Therefore, the question is, why did they crash?"
"Ah!" the Doctor exclaimed, both he and the Time Lady looking impressed, "Good question," he nodded to her, "What a good team," before turning to the Tritovores, "Like she said, why did you crash?"
The Tritovore's led them off down a corridor and into another, larger room that had a big hole right in the middle of the ground.
"Ooh, yes!" he grinned, spotting the hole and running over to look over the edge, the Time Lady and Christina right behind him, "Gravity well. Look, goes all the way down to the engine," he glanced across to one of the Tritovores, "So what happened?" he asked, listening as it clicked back at him, "He says the drive system stalled," he translated, "Ten miles up, they fell out of the sky".
The Hatter frowned, "And what caused that, exactly?" she questioned.
They simply shrugged in reply.
"Which means 'no idea,'" Christina sighed, looking back to the Doctor.
"Yeah," the Doctor confirmed.
"Hang on," the Hatter looked back down the hole, looking thoughtful, narrowing her eyes slightly to try and see better, "Is that a crystal nucleus down there?" she knelt down on the edge, "And, or though it's a little hard to tell, it appears to have survived the crash".
"Oh, yes!" the Doctor grinned, moving away from the hole, his eyes widening as he meet the Hatter's own bright eyes, "That's better than diesel!"
Christina frowned at them, "What, you can use the crystal to move the bus?" she asked.
"It's certainly a big possibility," the Time Lady nodded to her, growing excited again.
The Doctor cast a look around the room, "The spaceship's a write-off, but the two hundred's small enough".
"How does a crystal drive a bus?"
"In a super clever outer-spacey way," he replied, shrugging as he and the Hatter hurried over to a control panel and began fiddling with it, "Just trust me".
"Basically, that's his way of saying that he has no idea," the Hatter informed her, rolling her eyes slightly, but she shot him a fond look.
"There's the crystal!" he cheered as they brought up a grainy, black and white picture on a tiny screen showing the bottom of the well, "It's fallen to the bottom of the well," he looked up at the Tritovores, "Have you got access shafts?" he listened for a moment to the clicking reply, "All frozen?" he turned back to the controls, exchanging a look with the Time Lady, "Well, maybe we can open them. Ah!" he cried joyfully, catching sight of a set of comms, grabbing them, "Internal comms," he passed one to Christina and a second to the Hatter, slipping the third into his ear, "Put that on. You stay here," he pointed at Christina as he and the Hatter began running out of the room.
"Try and keep an eye on the shaft," the Time Lady called to her over her shoulder, "Tell us if anything starts to happen, okay?"
The Time Lords and Tritovores raced out of the room, back up through the corridor, and into the control room once more.
"If we can use that sunlight to start the automatic maintenance," the Doctor called over the comm. as they ran over to the controls, setting to work, "Christina? If you see a panel opening in that shaft, let us know".
"Nothing yet," Christina replied.
The Hatter grabbed a plug and locked it into a second plug, causing it to spark slightly, "What about now?" she asked.
"Afraid not".
The Doctor grabbed another cable, "Any sign of moment?"
"Nope".
The Hatter frowned, kneeling down and grabbing two wires, trying to connect them together, "What about now?"
"Nothing".
"Are you sure that you're actually looking?" the Time Lady questioned, her eyes narrowing slightly, noticing something on her tone being a little…off.
The Doctor tried plugging a cable into one of the slots on the controls, "Any result?" he called.
"Not a dickie bird," Christina responded, "So let me get this right. You need that crystal? Then consider it done".
"Why, what do you mean?" the Doctor asked, frowning slightly as he blew into one of the plug sockets, "Christina?" he tried, but she didn't answer as the Hatter straightened as they both realised what she meant, "Christina!"
They raced out of the room, down the corridor, and into the gravity well room, only to find Christina standing on the very edge of the hole, hooked up to what appeared to be harness.
"The aristocracy survives for a reason," she remarked, glancing towards them, smiling, "We're ready for anything".
She held out her arms wide and allowed herself to fall forward into the hole as the Time Lords ran to the edge, just missing her.
"No!" the Doctor shouted, quickly grabbing his sonic and pointing it at the winch that Christina had set up, "Come on, come on, come on, come on," he muttered before finally, abruptly stopping the winch, bringing Christina to a stop, "That's better!"
"I decide when I stop, thank you!" Christina called back up to them, sounding smug despite the fact that she was simply hanging there.
"And while you where busy deciding that, you were about to hit the security grid," the Hatter replied, a touch of scolding in her tone, "Look down".
"Excellent," she remarked, seeming to be taken aback, and a little worried, "So what do I do?"
"Try the big, red button," the Doctor told her.
She looked across from her to the wall to find a big, red button sitting there. She reached out and pressed it, and the security grid disappeared, "Well done," she smiled.
"Now come back up," he tried, "I can do that".
"And I can't?" the Hatter shot him a look, nudging his side a little harder than usual, making him wince.
"Oh, don't you wish," Christina scoffed at him.
The Doctor sighed, realising that there was no point in trying to argue with her. He had spent too much time trying to argue with a stubborn woman throughout most of his life already to know better, "Slowly!" he called to her, resigned.
"Yes, sir!" she mocked, carefully twisting herself so that she was going down the shaft head first.
"Quite the mystery, aren't you?" he remarked over the comm., "Lady Christina de Souza, carrying a winch in her bag," he cast a teasing look at the Hatter, "I don't think even the Hatter has a winch in her pockets".
The Time Lady winked at him, "Well, it was either the winch or my jelly babies," she shrugged, giving him a smile, "The choice was simple, really, but I suppose that this does give me a few ideas…"
The Doctor groaned, rubbing a hand over his face, "Oh, great".
"No stranger then you, spaceman," Christina commented.
"We had this friend, once," the Doctor looked off into the distance, thinking about Donna as the Hatter took his hand, giving him a small, comforting smile, "She called me spaceman".
"And was she right? Do you zoom about the place in a rocket?"
"A little blue box, actually," the Hatter corrected, smiling affectionately, just thinking about that old girl, "And not just space, but time, too".
"Oh, the places we've been," the Doctor began, the memories flashing through his mind, "World War One, creation of the Universe, End of the Universe, the war between China and Japan," the Hatter nudged his side, drawing his attention, and nodding to Christina's backpack were she had opened it to reveal a golden chalice sitting there, "And the Court of King Athelstan in 924 AD," he finished, reaching inside the bag and lifted the chalice up, "But I don't remember you being there. Hatter?"
"Nope," the Hatter shook her head.
"So what are you doing with this?" he wondered aloud as if he didn't already know.
"Excuse me," Christina replied, not seeming upset that they had caught her, "A gentlemen never goes through a lady's possessions".
"Good thing I'm not a gentlemen, then," the Hatter cheekily remarked.
One of the Tritovore clicked, drawing the Doctor's attention, who nodded, "It's the Cup of Athelstan," he explained to him, "Given to the first King of Britain as a coronation gift from Hywel, King of the Welsh. But it's been held in the International Gallery for two hundred years, which makes you, Lady Christina, a thief," he twisted the cup in his hands.
"I like to think I liberated it".
"Don't tell me this is all about money?" the Hatter raised her eyebrows, almost sounding amused.
"Daddy lost everything," she informed them, "Invested his fortune in the Icelandic banks".
"No, no, no, no, no," the Doctor shook his head, laughing slightly as he looked back down at the cup in his hands, "If you're short of cash, you rob a bank. Stealing this?" he raised his eyebrows, "That's a lifestyle".
"I take it you disapprove?"
"Absolutely. Except…" he paused, sniffing slightly as the Hatter gave him a pointed look, "That little blue box…I stole it from our own people".
"Good boy," Christina smiled, seeming to approve, when there was a suddenly loud screeching sound that echoed up through the ship before the Hatter could even mention her own theft of her TARDIS from her own family, "What the blazes was that?" she called, sounding alarmed.
The Hatter and the Doctor exchanged concerned looks, "We never found out why this ship crashed, did we?" the Time Lady reminded them, looking over the edge of the hole, "I think that it's time to come back up, Christina, and quickly".
"Too late," she replied, "I can see it".
"Careful," the Doctor warned her as he slipped the cup back inside the backpack, "Slowly," he looked over to the Tritovore, "Have you got an open-vent system?" he listened as the other alien clicked back, sighing, "Thought so".
"What does that mean?"
"Think of it as when birds fly into the engines of an aircraft," the Hatter told her.
Christina suddenly gasped, "One of the creatures!"
Both Time Lords exchanged looks, "It got trapped in the vents, cause the crash," he reasoned grimly, "Christina, get out!"
"It's not moving. I think it's injured".
"No, it's probably been in hibernation because of how cold it is in this ship," the Hatter shook her head, growing more and more worried the longer that Christina was down there, "But now you are down there, so your body heat will be rising the temperature".
"I tend to have that effect," Christina remarked, "Almost there," her voice sounding strained.
"Not just the crystal," the Doctor urgently informed her, "We need the whole bed, the plate thing".
A moment past before…, "I've got it!" she shouted.
The Doctor quickly pointed the sonic up at the hoist, trying to pull Christina up, "Come on, come on, come on!" he muttered as the Hatter hurried over to the control panel, and started fiddling with the controls, "Come on, come on, come on, come on!" he glanced over the side of the hole, "It's going to eat its way up!".
The Hatter glanced at the small screen on the control panel and was suddenly struck with an idea, "Hit the red button!" she shouted over the comm. to Christina, who managed to hit the button as she flew past, catching the stingray like creature, and zapping it, "Well done!" she grinned.
"Ooh, clever!" the Doctor laughed, looking as if he wanted to hug the Time Lady, but before he could, Christina arrived at the top of the shaft holding the clamp and crystal, "That's it, that's it, that's it," he carefully took her by the arms and helped her to stand on solid ground, still attached to the harness, "I've got you, I've got you," the Tritovore clicked excitedly, making him laugh, "Isn't she just?"
He took the clamp and crystal as the Hatter hurried over to them, helping Christina out of the harness, "Brilliantly down, Christina," the Time Lady smiled broadly at her.
Once Christina was out of the harness, they raced out of the room, down the corridor, and back into the control room to find the second Tritovore working at the controls.
"Commander?" the Doctor called as they entered the room, "Mission complete. Now, we've got to get back to the two hundred, all of us," he listened as the Tritovore's clicked something back at him, seeming to be arguing, "Oh, don't be daft," he shook his head at them, "A captain can leave his ship…if there's a bus standing by".
The Hatter coughed, "Yes, it's a new rule that they came up with recently," she nodded quickly, biting her bottom lip.
There was a low rumble that echoed throughout the ship, causing them to all look nervously up and around.
"What the hell was that?" Christina demanded fearfully, looking to the Time Lords, "Is this place safe?" her eyes widened, "It's the creature. It's not dead!"
Another roar filled the air.
The Doctor and the Hatter exchanged looks, glancing at the Tritorovres, who were clicking frantically, "Maybe you didn't just hit one of them," he said slowly, glancing around the room, "If you hit a swarm…"
"Do you mean if there's more on board?" Christina gasped.
"Well, this ship…it's built almost like a metal sleeve," the Hatter cast her eyes around at the walls and ceiling, "They could move easily enough through this entire ship, all around us in the walls".
Something banged above their heads, causing sand to fall as the Time Lords and Christina ducked out of the way, "And those things wake up hungry," the Doctor winced, looking urgently to the Tritorovres, "Commander, you've got to come with us right now!"
"Please, if you stay here you'll die," the Hatter tried desperately.
"Come back to Earth," Christina held out her hands towards them, "We'll find you a home!"
"And that's the words of a Lady and Dame," the Doctor nodded, backing away towards the door, taking the Time Lady's hand, "Come on!"
One of the Tritovores hurried after them as they started to run towards the door, before pausing, turning back to see that his shipmate was across the room, doing something at the control panel, when one of the creatures suddenly dropped through the ceiling, knocking the Tritovore to the ground, and swopped down on him, eating him in one mouthful. The last Tritovore raised its weapon, marching towards the creature.
"No, don't!" the Time Lords shouted, but it was too late, and they could only watch as the creature swopped down on the second Tritovore, eating him whole, too, "There's nothing we can do!" they quickly started ushering Christina down the corridor, "Run!"
They ran back through the ship as fast as they could, thankfully not meeting another creature as they reached the entrance of the ship, and raced outside, running as fast as they could back through the desert towards the bus, just ahead of the rest of the swarm.
As they were making their way over a dune, stumbling slightly as their legs sunk into the sand, the mobile phone started ringing. The Hatter quickly reached inside her pocket and retrieved it, almost dropping it as answered, "Er…Doctor, Hatter…" Melcolm began.
"Sorry, a little busy right now!" the Time Lady called a little louder then she intended, but they were being chased by a swarm of metal eating creatures, after all, and ended the call, slipping the phone back inside her pocket.
They continued running until they finally reached the bus, Christina panting for breath, but nonetheless smiling widely, appearing to be having the time of her life.
Nathan and Barclay stepped out to meet them, frowning.
"At last!" Nathan shouted over to them, "Where've you been?"
"Get inside!" the Doctor told them, "Get them sitting down!" both young men hurried back inside the bus as the Time Lords and Christina paused in the doorway of the bus, "Now, then, let's have a look," he carefully juggled the clamp and crystal, holding the crystal up.
"So what does the crystal do?" Christina asked him, eyeing the yellow gem.
"Oh, nothing," he replied, shaking his head as he tossed the crystal back over his shoulder, "Don't need the crystal".
"I risked my life for that!" she exclaimed, outraged as she pointed over towards were the crystal had landed in the sand.
"Not quite," the Hatter smiled at her, seeming to be amused by her outrage, "You risked your life for the clamps".
She grabbed two of the clamps from the Doctor and they hurried around the side of the bus, setting to work attaching them to each wheel on either side of the bus, before running inside the bus once they were finished.
"But what are the clamps for?" Christina questioned, frowning at them, "Do they turn the wheels".
"Yeah, something like that," the Doctor jumped in the driver's seat and began, with the Hatter's help, attaching the last clamp onto the driver's wheel, "We just need to fix this," he glanced over his shoulder to Christina, who stood back, watching them work, "Have you got a hammer in that bag?"
"Funnily enough…" she put her backpack down, reaching inside for a moment, before pulling out a hammer, and passing it to him.
The Hatter started pattering down her pockets, "Ooh, I had better call Malcolm back," she remarked, pulling the phone out, and hitting the redial button, making sure to put the phone on speaker, "Hello, Malcolm, it's us," she called once he picked up.
"I'm ready!" he shouted back.
The Time Lords blinked at each other, "Ready for what?"
"I don't know," he replied, "You tell me!"
The Doctor shook his head as the Hatter coughed, seeming to struggling not to laugh at the man's enthusiasm, "We're going to try to get back," he started telling him, "But listen, there might be something following us. You need to close the wormhole".
"Would that be a compressed burst of feedback on a counter-oscillation, perchance?"
Both Time Lord broke into matching broad grins, "Oh, Malcolm, you're brilliant!"
"Coming from you two, sir, ma'am, that means the world," Malcolm responded, sounding close to tears of joy.
"Doctor, Hatter, what sort of something?" Erisa cut in, sounding concerned, "That wormhole is now measuring ten miles and growing. I need to know the exact nature of the threat".
"Oh…ah…nice chat, really should do it again soon," the Hatter cleared his throat, talking quickly so that the other woman wouldn't have time to interrupt, "Okay, bye!" and quickly ended the call, casting the Doctor a look, "Next time, it's your turn to hang up, sweetheart".
"Let's hope there isn't a next time today," the Doctor smiled at her, turning back to the clamp on the wheel, and began checking it over before giving the wheel a shake, causing it to spark, "Oh, it's not compatible," he sighed heavily as the Time Lady groaned, having known that it was a possibility, but that didn't make it any less disappointing, "Bus, spaceship, spaceship, bus," he muttered, trying to think, "We need to weld the two systems together".
Christina frowned, "And how do you do that?" she asked.
"We need something non-corrosive, something malleable, something ductile, something…"
The Hatter gasped and turned to the dark haired woman, her eyes bright with realisation, "Gold," she said to her, "We need something gold, Christina".
She took a small step away from them, looking in-between them as she smiled slowly, "Oh, no you don't," she shook her head.
"Christina, what is it worth now?" the Doctor and the Hatter questioned her, raising their eyebrows.
"Hey, hey," Barclay approached them, holding out a big, gold watched towards them, "Use this".
The Doctor glanced at it, "Is it gold?"
"It is gold," he nodded.
The Hatter smiled at him, patting his arm consolingly, "And it's lovely that you think that".
"Christina," the Doctor turned to her woman, giving her a look.
Barclay, seeming disappointed, frowned at his watched and walked back to his seat as Christina, glanced at her backpack, and back over her shoulder to the other passages. With a pained look, she seemed to debate with herself for a moment before sighing, reaching inside the bag, pulling out the cup, and holding it out towards them.
"It's over a thousand years old, worth eighteen million years," she reminded them as the Doctor reached for it, but she kept a tight hold on the cup, "Promise me you'll be careful".
He took the cup gently as the Hatter inwardly winced, "I promise," he promised her, carefully turning the cup upside down, placing it on the dashboard, and quickly banging the hammer all over the cup, causing nasty dents.
"I hate you," Christina shook her head at him, her voice sounding slightly weak.
The Hatter pattered her arm, grimacing as she took in the dents, "I'm sure you'll be able to find something else to…how did you put it? Oh, right, 'liberate,'" she commented to her.
The Doctor grinned broadly, seeming to almost be proud of himself as he finished his work with the hammer, and connected the now partly destroyed cup to the clamp, "Okay!" he clapped his hands together, looking quite pleased, "This is your driver speaker," he looked up at the reversion mirror, looking back to the passengers, "Hold on tight!"
"But…but what for?" Barclay asked from his seat, "What's he doing?"
"Do as they say," Christina told them all, looking back at them before turning to the Time Lords, "What are you doing?" she asked, lowering her voice slightly.
The Doctor started the engine, reviving it, "Come on, that's it!" he grinned at again, the Hatter almost laughing in relief as the bus slowly started humming, "You can do it, you beauty," he pattered the ceiling above his head, "One last trip!"
The bus began shaking, smoke drifting up from the wheels outside as all the passages cried out in shock and fright, and only the Time Lords and Christina, grinned as the bus rose into the air.
"Ah, you are so kidding me!" Barclay exclaimed, glancing outside the glassless window.
"We're flying!" Nathan gasped, "It's flying!"
"He's flying the bus!" Lou cheered, sounding amazed.
"It's a miracle!" Angela breathed.
"Anti-gravity clamps," the Hatter informed Christina, laughing.
"Didn't we say?" the Doctor raised his eyebrows, grinning away as he and Time Lady high fived, before he refocused his attention back on the wheel, "Round we go!" he called, spinning the wheel, turning the entire bus around in a sharp motion, almost sending the passages flying out of their seats as the Time Lady and Christina held on tightly to the wall behind the driver's seat.
"Couldn't have done that a bit smoother, Doctor?" she asked loudly, quickly using her left hand to grab her hand before it went toppling off.
"Back seat driving," he muttered, shaking his head, but he sounded amused.
"Well, if I had known you were as bad at driving an Earth bus as you were at driving the TARDIS, then perhaps I would have jumped in the driver's seat," she replied cheekily.
"Oi! I'm not that bad!"
"I suppose. It is a plus side that you haven't crashed…yet".
"Doctor, Hatter!" Carmen called suddenly, sounding alarmed, "They're coming!"
The Doctor slid the driver's side window open, looking into the mirror to see that the swarm had caught up with them, and was right behind them.
Christina gasped, "Do you think this thing will survive the journey back?"
"Only one way to find out!" the Doctor remarked, turning back to the front, breaking into a smile as he meet the Hatter's eyes, "Next stop…"
"Planet Earth!"
The passages all started screaming again as they entered the wormhole, the shaking increasing as the hot glow of the desert disappeared, cloaking them in darkness, when suddenly…a blinding flash of white light blasted all around them, and they found themselves out the other side of the wormhole, back in London. The Hatter laughed and looked down to see numerous Unit soldier's all staring up at them, giving them a cheery wave as they continued flying up into the night sky.
"Enjoying yourself, Hatter?" the Doctor asked, shotting her a grin in the mirror, "I told you I wasn't that bad," he added smugly.
The Time Lady shook her head fondly at him, "Everyone has their moments, sweetheart," she replied jokingly.
"It's London!" Barclay shouted, looking out over the city from his window.
"We're back home!" Angela gasped, almost sounding tearful with joy.
"They did it!" Nathan cried, grinning broadly, "They did it!"
The Hatter's smile dimmed slightly, "It's not over yet, though," she sighed, meeting the Doctor's eyes in the mirror.
As if on cue, the soldiers below began firing on a couple of the creature who had managed to slip through the still open wormhole, causing the passenger's to cry out and try to duck for cover.
"Phone," the Doctor quickly held out his hand to the Time Lady, who fished it out of her pocket, handing it to him. He hit redial, "Malcolm! Close that wormhole!"
"Yes, sir!" Malcolm called back, sounding quite excited, "My pleasure, sir," and ended the call.
The Doctor's eyes widened, staring down at the phone, before glancing at the amused Time Lady and Christina, "He hung up on me!" he exclaimed before redialling, "Malcolm?"
"Not now, I'm busy!" he shouted and ended the call.
"He's hung up again!" the Doctor stared at the phone in disbelief.
"Oh, let me," the Hatter rolled her eyes at him, only just stopping herself from laughing as she grabbed the phone, redialling, "Malcolm, don't you dare hang up on me, because you need to listen!" she told him sternly.
"It's not working!" he groaned.
"We need to send that signal," the Doctor quickly informed him, "We've got billions of those things about to fly through!"
"Well, what do I do?"
"You need to loop it back through the integrator," the Hatter instructed him, "And make sure to keep it ramping up".
"But…by how much?"
The Time Lords exchanged a look, "Five hundred Bernard's!" they both called, "Do it now!"
A moment past, "Yes!" he suddenly shouted joyfully as the wormhole rippled before collapsing in on itself, finally dying, trapping the rest of the creatures on the other side of the Universe.
The solider continued to fire at the last two creatures as Nathan cried, looking over his shoulder, "Doctor, Hatter, it's coming for us!"
The Time Lords looked back to see that the last creature was heading towards them, "Oh, no you don't!" he muttered, turning the bus sharply, causing the passages to scream again as they were almost sent flying before he righted them, smacking the back of the bus straight into the creature, sending it flying back towards the solders, finally managing to get a hit, killing it.
A moment past and the sound of gun fire below ended.
"Did I say I hated you?" Christina breathed, staring at the Doctor, a smile across her face, "I was lying".
She moved in to kiss him, eyes closed, only to stop short when she felt the Doctor turn his head away, her lips coming to land on his cheek. She frowned, confused, and opened her eyes to find him giving her an odd look.
The Hatter coughed, clearing her throat, "Ah…didn't we mention?" she held up her hand with her ring, wiggling her fingers, "We're kind of engaged…"
"Oh," Christina blinked and took a step back, "I'm sorry," she shifted a little awkwardly, "I suppose that I should have known, what with calling him 'sweetheart,' and everything else…"
The Hatter gave her a smile caught between understanding and sympathy, "Oh, I wouldn't worry yourself to much," she told her lightly, shrugging, "You wouldn't be the first woman to have been taken in by his…"
"Good looks," the Doctor cut in, looking smug as he ruffled his hair, "Charm, intelligence…"
"…massive ego," the Time Lady finished, not even looking at him, but she could already tell that he was pouting, "Anyway," she continued pointedly to Christina, "It was a harmless mistake. Oh, and that nickname came about centuries ago, back when we were children he used to be so sweet to me, and so I called him sweetheart, and the names stuck," she explained before sighing playfully, shaking her head, "I wonder what happened to him".
"Hey, I'm sweet!" he argued, a cheeky grin that made the Time Lady suddenly feel nervous spreading across his face, "I'll prove it!" and he jumped up from the seat, grabbed the Hatter, and kissed her. All the passages started applauding as they slowly pulled apart, both looking slightly dazed as the Doctor coughed and tried clearing his throat for a moment, "Ah…see?" he managed to get out, his voice sounding slightly higher than normal.
"Oh…ah…" the Time Lady, in a similar state, her voice higher than normal, making her Scottish accent even more prominent, "Uh…well, I do believe that we have people to return home, Doctor," she quickly seemed to regain composure and took a step back from him, giving him a stern look when he didn't move, "Now".
"Right," he nodded and returned to his seat, giving himself a sharp shack as he looked up at the reversion mirror, "Do not stand forward of this point," he called to the rest of the bus, "Ladies and gentlemen, you have reached your final destination. Welcome home, the mighty two hundred".
He lowered the bus down to the ground with a sharp bump as they landed and opened the doors with his sonic as all the soldiers stared at them, slowly braking into an applause. The passages laughed, delighted to be back home as they stood, collecting their belongings, and stepping outside.
"Welcome back," one of the soldiers moved forward and began waving the passages out and off to the side, "If you could step away from the bus, just to be safe," he instructed them all, "As fast as you can, thank you. It's standard procedure. We need to screen you and then you'll all be taken to debriefing".
The Doctor flashed his psychic paper at the solider, taking the Hatter's hand as they stepped out, "We don't count," he told the man as they walked passed him.
"No, but Doctor, Hatter?" Christina called, trying to follow after them, only to be stopped by the solider.
"With me, thank you," he grabbed her arm and began leading her away.
The Time Lords made their way a short distance away and over to were a woman stood, wearing a very official uniform stood, seeming please to meet them, and just over her shoulder, a shot man in a lab coat, glasses, and a scarf coming running over to them, looking delighted.
"Doctor, Hatter!" the man shouted joyfully.
"You must be Malcolm," both Time Lords grinned broadly at him as they reached them.
"Oh!" he exclaimed and swept the Doctor into a tight hug, much to his surprise and the Time Lady's amusement, "Oh, I love you!" he told him, causing the Hatter laugh before he let him go, throwing his arms around the blonde, causing her to blink, almost stumbling backwards in surprise, "Oh, and I love you!" he drew back, looking up into both their faces, seeing as he was shorter then them both, smiling broadly, "I love you".
The Hatter smiled and pulled him into another hug, seeing how happy he seemed to be over the first one, "It's a real honour to finally put a face to the voice, Malcolm," she sincerely informed him, pulling back, "Truly".
Erisa cleared her throat, "To your station, Doctor Tyler," she told the man sternly.
Malcolm turned to her, appearing to be about to argue with her before he nodded, "Yes, ma'am," he walked away before pausing, turning back to them, and pointing at both Time Lords, "I love you!"
They grinned back at him and pointed in return, causing him to break into another wide smile, before hurrying away.
"Doctor, Hatter," Erisa smiled slightly at them, giving them a salute, making them both sigh, and look away, "I salute you both whether you like it or not," she told them, lowering her arm back to her side, turning serious, "Now, I take it we're safe from those things?"
The Hatter sighed slightly, "I wish that we could say that," she shook her head, glancing back over towards were the wormhole had been, "But those creatures will start again, try to generate another doorway".
"It's not their fault," the Doctor added, shrugging slightly, "It's their natural life cycle, but we'll see if we can…nudge the wormholes on to uninhabited planets," they stepped closer to the woman, "Closer to home, Captain," he pointed over to were the passages had been put into a line, looking at Nathan and Barclay, "Those two lads. Very good in a crisis".
"Nathan needs a job," the Time Lady nodded, glancing over to them, smiling slightly, "And Barclay is quite good with engines".
"You could do a lot worse," he continued, wincing slightly at the look the blonde sent him, quickly going on, "Privates Nathan and Barclay, Unit's finest".
Erisa looked over to the two men, seeming to consider them for a moment, "I'll see what I can do," she nodded after a moment and glanced over to something behind them, smiling slowly, "And I've got something for you," she pointed.
They turned to look and found a solider pulling the tarp off something in front of a lorry, revealing it to be the TARDIS. They both started laughing, delighted to see the old girl as they walked towards it.
"Better than a bus, any day!" the Doctor cheered as they quickly reached the time machine, the Time Lady giving the doors an affectionate pat, "Hello!"
"Found in the gardens of Buckingham Palace," Erisa informed them.
He glanced back at her, shaking his head, "Oh, she doesn't mind".
She smiled again, seeming amused as she stepped closer to them, "Now, I've got three dead stingrays to clear up," she raised her eyebrows, "I don't suppose you fancy helping with the paperwork?"
"Not a chance".
"Sorry, Captain," the Hatter shot her a smile, "My Unit paper work days are long since over. Besides, this one always tried to distract me," she nudged the Doctor's side, who grinned.
Eria laughed and held out her hand, "Till we meet again, Doctor, Hatter".
"I hope so," the Doctor replied, smiling as he shook her hand, and let it go.
"It was lovely to meet you," the Time Lady shook her hand, "And do tell Malcolm that we hope to see him again, too".
Erisa nodded to them and turned, walking away as the Time Lords focused their attention back on the TARDIS, just as Christina suddenly ran up to them, pulling their attention to her.
"Little blue box, just like you said," she smiled widely at them, looking excited, "Right then. Off we go," she gave the Doctor an almost flirty look, causing the Time Lady to raise her eyebrows at her, wondering if she actually remembered what they had told her earlier. Not that she was jealous, she just would rather not have to deal with another Rose situation, "Come on, Doctor, Hatter, show me the stars!'
"No," the Doctor shook his head, causing the Hatter to blink slightly in surprise, having expected that he would agree, but she supposed that thinking about it, she could understand.
Christina's face fell, clearly not expecting that answer, "What?"
"I said no".
"But I saved your lives. And you saved mine".
"So?" he shrugged.
"We're surrounded by police," she tried to argue, casting a look around, "I'll go to prison!"
"Yeah".
"Doctor…" the Hatter began to say, glancing at him, but she was cut off by Christina.
"But you were right! It's not about the money. I only steal things for the adventure, and today, with you two…I want more days like this. I want every day to be like this!" she waited, looking in-between both Time Lords, but they simply looked back at her, not saying a word. Slowly, she sighed, "Why not?"
The Time Lady sighed sadly, taking the Doctor's hand, "Because…we've had people who have travelled with us before," she explained to her, knowing how painful the subject was for the Doctor, "And we have lost them, for different reasons…"
"Never again," the Doctor finished firmly.
"Lady Christina de Souza," a man in a trench coat suddenly approached them, two uniformed police officer following close behind him, "Oh, I have waited a long time to say this," he smiled, seeming to take great pleasure in what he was doing as one of the uniformed policemen began handcuffing her hands behind her back, "I am arresting you on suspicion of theft. You do not have to say anything, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. Dennison, take her away," he ordered one of the officers.
The Time Lords exchanged a look as they watched Christina be led away by the police, both feeling slightly guilty.
"Doctor, Hatter?" Carmen called over to them, drawing their attention to her and Lou, both standing a short distance away from them, "You take care now".
"You too," the Doctor grinned at them, slipping one hand into his pocket, his other still holding the Time Lady's hand as they stepped closer to the couple, "Chops and gravy, lovely!"
"I hope you both have a good night," the Hatter added, smiling brightly at them.
"No, but you be careful, Doctor," Carmen shook her head, her eyes fixed on the Doctor as there smiles died, "Because your song is ending, sir".
Both Time Lords frowned, exchanging looks, "What do you mean?" he asked.
"It is returning," she replied, looking off into the distance, "It is returning through the dark. And then, Doctor…oh, but then…he will knock four times".
With one last look, Carmen and Lou walked away as the Time Lords stared, shocked, at the place that they had standing in, trying to understand exactly what it was that was going on.
"Doctor…did she just…?" the Hatter broke off, swallowing hard as she glanced at him, looking very worried.
"Let's just…talk about it later," the Doctor said quietly, but he clutched her hand a little tighter.
They both exchanged a quick, understanding look, and edged around the side of the TARDIS, taking a peek around the side of the time machine to see Christina being led over to a police car. The Doctor sent the Hatter a wink, reaching inside his pocket, pulling out his sonic, and pointing it at Christina's cuffs, unlocking them.
"Ooh, nice move," the Time Lady remarked, shooting the Doctor a approving smile before refocusing her attention back on what was happening.
Cristina glanced over to them, her eyes widening slightly as she realised what had happened before a smile spread across her face, and she slipped inside the car. As soon as the door was closed, she quickly crossed the back seat of the car, and out the other side, setting off in a run back towards the bus.
"Oi!" one of the police, Dennison called, leaping out of the driver's seat as he spotted the escaping prisoner.
"No, no!" the detective shouted, realising what was happening as he started racing after him, "Stop that woman!" but no one seemed to listen, far too busy actually watching Christina escape then to help capture her as she raced past the Time Lords, and they slowly began following her, "Stop her! Don't just stand there, stop her!" Christina reached the bus, raced inside, and into the driver's seat, closing the doors as the detective could only stand outside them, shouting at her, "Open the doors. I'll add resisting arrest!"
"Ah, it might be an idea to step back, gentlemen," the Hatter warned, standing a couple of feet away with the Doctor, both trying very hard not to laugh, "This bus is quite…special".
The man turned on them, angrily pointing a finger at them, "I'm charging you both, too," he informed them, obviously very frustrated, "Aiding and abetting!"
"Yes…" the Doctor nodded, "We'll just…" he pointed back over towards the TARDIS, "…step inside this police box and arrest ourselves".
The Hatter laughed, "It wouldn't be the first time that we've been arrest, now, would it?" she grinned at him, making him laugh also as they began walking back over to the TARDIS, ignoring the confused look on the detectives face.
"Out, now!" the detective ordered Christina, who simply gave him a mocking wave, starting the bus, leaving him to simply stand there, watching helplessly as smoke washed over him from the wheels, and it slowly began to rise, "No! Come back!" he shouted.
The rest of the passengers cheered and laughed, clapping their hands in delight as Angela called, "Go on!"
The Time Lords looked up as they reached the TARDIS to see Christina drive the bus over towards them, opening the doors as she looked down at them, "We could've been so good together!" she loudly told them, smiling broadly.
"Christina, we were!" the Time Lords laughed, watching as she closed the doors of the bus, and flew off into the night, leaving all the passages behind, clapping and cheering even louder than before.
The Time Lords grinned at each and pulled the TARDIS door open, slipping inside, feeling quite proud of themselves, too.
Ooh, 'The Waters of Mars' is next, can't say that it's my favourite episode, but it does help a little that we have Sarah Jane's wedding after that, so that's going to be brilliant to have her. Tell me what you thought, please review :)
Guest reviews:
The Artist: Aww, I'm so glad that you're enjoying the story so far, and I can't wait for that either, or though it is a rather bittersweet thing, since saying goodbye Ten is going to be quite a hard thing to do. Best wishes right back at you, and thank you for the review :)