Chapter Six
42
Prussia lounged lazily in his favorite spot on the main floor of the TARDIS, munching happily on an apple he had found and gazing at the console. He and the Doctor had been on several adventures since the Dalek incident, and he had to say that the big blue box felt like a second home to him. He loved traveling through space and time, and it really took his mind off of what waited back in his own time. He hadn't thought about his fate for a long time, and the antics of his ancient new friend kept him entertained.
He glanced toward said Time Lord, who was currently digging his wallet out of his coat pocket. He flipped it open and gave it a quick look before tossing it to Prussia. Prussia caught it, just barely, and squinted at the psychic paper within. There was a note scrawled across it in panicked black ink.
"S.O.S, S.S. Pentallion. Torajji system. Vhat is zis?" Prussia looked up, confused.
"It's a distress signal. Someone out there needs our help." the Doctor replied, jogging to the main console.
"Zen let's go." Prussia stood immediately, stretching and popping his back with a satisfied groan.
The Doctor nodded and typed in the coordinates to the appropriate system, throwing a lever that sent the TARDIS hurtling toward its destination. Prussia clung to a rail and waited for the familiar sensation of the TARDIS landing. He had been there for so long that the churning and wobbling of the time machine hardly bothered him anymore. It was second nature to him now.
That familiar dull thump resounded as the machine landed, and the grinning nation relaxed his grip on the rail. The Doctor gave a curt nod before swinging the door open and striding out, Prussia hot on his heels. The two were met with curious stares from a small group of people on what appeared to be a run-down spaceship. The temperature was broiling, and both men immediately regretted wearing their usual attire of long pants and heavy coats.
"Sveet mozer of Gott, it's hotter zan me in here!" Prussia exclaimed, fanning himself with his hands and looking around.
"You got here just in time. We are closing this part of the ship because of the heat." a woman with somewhat frizzy red hair said, pulling them both behind her by the arms.
"Wait, let me just move my TARDIS." the Doctor turned toward the blue box he loved so much.
"No time. Come on!"
Both men were unceremoniously tugged into another area, and watched in horror as the door was password sealed. They watched as most of the other people ran about the ship, but the red-haired woman stayed with them. She sighed and looked at them with tired gray eyes, wiping sweat from her brow.
"Sorry about that. I assume you picked up our distress signal. My name is Kath McDonnall, and I'm the captain of this ship." she said quickly, looking extremely stressed.
"Yes, we got it. I'm the Doctor, this is Prussia. What seems to be the problem?" the Doctor asked just as quickly, eager to get his ship back.
"Well, our engine is dead and we are drifting toward a star." Captain McDonnall gestured to a small window, which both men peered cautiously out of.
Outside, they could easily see a massive red ball of hot gases bubbling away. The Doctor's eyes narrowed as he noticed a large scoop-like device on the front of the ship. He turned to shoot the captain a critical look.
"What kind of fuel is this ship using?" he asked.
The captain was silent: the only answer he needed.
"Using stars as fuel is illegal. The Shadow Proclamation outlawed Solar Scooping ages ago." he accused.
"We were going to change fuel types once we reached a base, but with our engine shot like this, we can't do anything." the woman replied defensively.
"How long until we collide with that star?"
The woman glanced out at it before grimly replying.
"About 42 minutes, Doctor."
The Doctor and Prussia both blinked in surprise. The aged Time Lord recovered quickly and clapped his hands together.
"Alright. Take us to the engine room." he said quickly, his voice strained.
"Captain!"
The group turned quickly to find two men dragging a third by under his arms, a woman right behind them. The captain's eyes went wide, and she hurried to them.
"What happened!?" she demanded angrily.
"Riley and I found Korwin using a wrench to smash up the engine controls. He passed out when we tried to stop him, and he's got an awful fever. We think he has some kind of virus." one of them said, recoiling from the woman's anger.
The captain furrowed her brow, then sighed.
"Doctor, come with me to the infirmary. I hope that title is more than a fancy piece of paper." she grumbled, motioning for the men to follow her.
The Doctor quickly snatched a walkie-talkie from one of them and tossed it to Prussia.
"Go with the engineers and scope out the damage. Let me know what's up, got it?" he asked.
"Please. Mein bruder is Germany. I zink I know a little about engineering. I'll take a look." Prussia nodded and followed the woman who had come with the sick man back to the engine room.
The woman led Prussia into a relatively large area of the ship, and he gave a groan as he saw what had become of the engine controls. Korwin had done a good deal of damage in his sickness-induced madness, and a closer look assured the country that nothing could be done from inside. He gulped and turned to face the woman, his red eyes full of concern.
"Is zere some sort of svitch on ze outside of ze ship? Somezing to set ze controls from here to, say, ze main control room?" he asked, knowing full well what the answer was.
"Yeah, but you'd be a madman to even attempt to get out there." the woman replied.
Prussia sighed and lifted his walkie-talkie to his face, mashing the button.
In the infirmary, the Doctor and Captain McDonnall loomed over Korwin's unconscious form, a couple of nurses running tests on machines a few feet away. Captain McDonnall gingerly placed a hand on his forehead, pulling away quickly.
"They were right. That's a nasty fever." she said with a prominent frown.
The Doctor watched her for a moment, then sighed.
"How do you know him outside of work?" he asked, sensing her worry.
"He's my husband. I can't believe he would smash up the engine controls like that. We could all die because of this." she pinched her nose in frustration.
The Doctor watched her before a buzzing at his side distracted him. He snatched the walkie-talkie from his coat pocket and answered urgently.
"Is it salvageable?" he asked.
"Nein. It's been torn to shreds. Ze controls have to be svitched to ze main control panel in ze Captain's room." Prussia's voice buzzed back at him.
"Okay. How do we do that?"
"Vell...zat's ze issue. Ze svitch is on ze outside of ze ship."
The Doctor paused.
"Wh...what? That's stupid."
"Ja, I know."
The Doctor sighed and rolled his eyes.
"Fine. I'll go take care of the switch. You show me where it is," the Time Lord turned to the captain, "You go to the control room and wait for us up there. We'll let you know when it's ready."
Captain McDonnell nodded.
"Fine. Nurse, look after Korwin and make sure he's okay." She instructed sternly before leaving.
The Doctor rushed out of the room, running toward the engine room where Prussia waited for him. Just as the edge of his brown coat slipped through the door, the sick man on the medical bench started to move. The nurse called after them, but they were already out of earshot, so she approached the man as he slowly sat up.
"Korwin, you should lay down. You've got an awful fever." She said gently.
Korwin slowly opened his eyes and stared at her, and his eyes elicited a scream from her. They glowed a fiery red, like two hot coals shoved painfully into eye sockets. Heat radiated dangerously from him, and he stood haltingly as the terrified nurse backed up against the wall.
"BURN WITH ME!" Korwin growled in a deep voice not his own
The nurse screamed as a flash of red light consumed her, turning her to an outline of black ash within seconds. Korwin turned away and started lumbering toward the door.
"BURN WITH ME!"
Prussia tapped his foot impatiently as he waited, bullets of sweat rolling down his face. He groaned at the heat and mopped at his forehead with a small cloth one of the engineers had given him. This was absolute Hell. They were quite literally stuck on a piece of shit ship floating closer and closer to an angry red sun. Death loomed ever closer, much to his chagrin. Death sounded like it sucked, and he was too awesome for something so...restricting. Plus, what would Germany think? Hungary? Austria? France and Spain? Russia? Everyone?
A relieved grin crossed his face when the Doctor appeared, wearing a bright orange spacesuit.
"Kese! Zat looks gut on you. A nice color." He joked nervously.
"Now isn't the time for bad jokes. Where is the switch?" The Doctor asked quickly.
Prussia pointed to a lever just outside the escape hatch.
"Okay. I need you to hold on to this rope and pull me in when I tell you. I'm going to go out there and switch it. Okay?"
"I guess. Just be careful. It's gonna be really hot out there."
The Doctor nodded and handed the end of a black cord tied around his waist to him.
"I know. Well, allons-y~!" The Doctor mashed the button to the mid-point between the inside and the escape hatch.
Prussia watched with concerned eyes as the doors clamped closed and the Doctor mashed the button inside. The outer doors parted slowly, and the Doctor slowly made his way outside. He almost immediately began screaming in sheer agony, and Prussia yelped in panic. He grabbed the walkie-talkie hurriedly as the screams intensified.
"Doctor? Vhat ze Hell is going on out zere?" He yelled in panic.
"There's something wrong with this star! Hold on! I've almost switched it!" The Doctor managed back between groans of pain.
"Hurry up! You sound like death on a stick out zere!"
Another tense minute of agonized screaming passed before the Doctor stumbled back into the middle area and slumped to the ground. Prussia yelped and opened the other door, pulling the man inside before closing it. The injured Time Lord curled up on the floor, shuddering in pain and grunting. Prussia ran to his side and tried to help him up, eyes going wide; his skin felt like fire.
"You're burning up!" He exclaimed, "Just like zat ozer guy vas!"
"Get me to the infirmary, then go tell the Captain to move the ship." The Doctor hissed.
Prussia nodded and carefully scooped the Doctor up in his arms, carrying him quickly to the infirmary. He paused at the entrance when he noticed two things; Korwin was gone, and there was a person-pattern of ash on the wall. He put two and two together to get four.
"Ohhh...shiza. Doctor, zis is really bad." Prussia laid him down on a bed under a large machine.
"Turn this thing on, it'll cool me off and should counter the virus. Ten seconds. Got it?" The Doctor gasped.
"Ja!"
Prussia shoved the Doctor's bed fully under the machine and searched for a power button. He finally found something that looked right and hit it. The Doctor immediately started screaming again, writing and trying to get out.
"I'm sorry! Be still! Almost done!" Prussia yelped frantically.
"Prussia, I'm scared." The Doctor's voice sounded off.
"It's okay, it'll be done soon!"
"I'm not scared for me!"
Prussia immediately switched off the machine, but the Doctor's screaming did not subside. He panicked and rolled the bed back out.
"Doctor? Vhat is it?"
"Go! Go get the captain to move the ship! I'm fine!" The Doctor waved him away insistently, and he fled the room just in time to miss his friend's chocolate colored eyes turning vibrant red.
Prussia ran through the ship, peeking into the rooms on his way to find the captain's room. He was startled to find more ash patterns and melted equipment. Something very bad was going on, and he had to find out what is was. He finally found the captain's room, but it was empty.
"Hn. Vell, how difficult could zis zing be to fly? I can move it meinself." He mused, scanning over the buttons on a large control panel. There were a multitude of different colored buttons. He couldn't even begin to imagine what they were all for. Perhaps he couldn't fly this thing after all.
"Look out!"
Prussia turned just in time to see a man wearing a melding mask lumbering toward him. The lens glowed bright red, and he growled as he stumbled toward him. Captain McDonnell was running toward them from several yards away.
"BURN WITH ME!" The man demanded.
"Vhat!?" Prussia gasped, realizing that this must be what had vaporized the other people on the ship.
"BURN WITH ME! BURN WITH ME!"
Captain McDonnell finally reached them and grabbed Korwin's shoulder, turning him toward her.
"Stop this! It's my fault you're like this! Please! It's my fault!" She cried desperately.
"IT'S YOUR FAULT?" The thing inside of him asked.
"Yes, yes! I ordered the scooping! I'm sorry!"
The thing paused, then took a step toward her.
"IT'S YOUR FAULT! IT'S YOUR FAULT! BURN WITH ME!"
Captain McDonnell turned and started running, shouting at Prussia over her shoulder as the thing pursued her.
"Dump the second load of fuel! The first is fine, but we took the second from that star! Dump it!"
"Vait! How...?" Prussia turned back toward the control panel, biting his lip. He grabbed his walkie-talkie and buzzed it.
"Doctor, I need to dump some of ze fuel? How do I do it?" He asked, hoping he would get a helpful answer.
"BURN WITH ME!" The Doctor's distorted voice answered, and Prussia dropped the device in shock.
"BURN WITH ME, PRUSSIA!"
"Nein...not you, too!" Prussia yelped and turned to the control panel, looking for anything that might help him.
He stared hard at the buttons, tense and trying to focus. The ship was bound to crash in a few minutes, and now the Doctor was somehow possessed by a very angry star. It must have been exposure. Prussia scanned the buttons carefully, knowing that his sick friend was scouring the ship for him, probably determined to kill him. Great.
"BURN WITH ME!" the voice buzzed, sounding closer.
Prussia panicked and began key-smashing, hoping one of them would dump the fuel. Luckily, he hit the right one just as a familiar Time Lord stumbled into the room. The Doctor glared at him with bright red eyes, and the heat that rolled off of him made Prussia sweat from a few feet away. He yelped as the sick man stumbled toward him, paying little attention to the bright orange fuel floating toward the angry star.
"BURN WITH MEEEEEEEEEEE!" the Doctor howled.
"Nein, I'd razer not!" Prussia ran, trying to keep as much space as possible between the two of them.
The Doctor took another few steps toward him, then paused. He stood for a moment, then collapsed to the ground. Prussia ran to his side, crouching to see what had caused the sudden stop. He grinned when he found that The Doctor's skin had returned to its normal temperature. Whatever had been making him chase him had dissipated, giving the nation a sense of relief; until he remembered that they were still hurtling toward a burning star.
"Oof! Shiza!" He yelped, leaving The Doctor lying on the floor and running to the control panel and looking it over quickly.
"Vell, here goes nozing! Allons-y~!"
Prussia leaned heavily against the side of the TARDIS, mopping his sweaty brow with a rag. The ship was now a good distance from the living star, and had lost half of the crew and its captain in the process of escape. The Doctor was talking sternly to the new acting captain, who looked more than a little guilty. Prussia sighed and looked out the nearby window as the red star shrank farther and farther away. He sincerely hoped that this would be the last he would see of it.
A shudder traveled down the nation's spine. Burn with me. Those very words sent fear and guilt burning through him. He had just gotten out of the Second World War. Many innocent people had died in flames, and it was his government's fault. Those words...how sickeningly ironic. He sighed and drank from a glass of an orange liquid he mistakenly thought was some sort of drink. He spat once he realized it was fuel. The man sighed again and tossed the glass aside, walking into the TARDIS and sitting down on the floor. The Doctor joined him after a few minutes.
"You alright down there, Prussia?" the Time Lord asked, starting the TARDIS up.
"I guess. I vas just...zinking. About ze var. Zat sun zing said burn vith me. It just...makes one zink." Prussia mumbled.
The Doctor frowned.
"You shouldn't dwell on it. I killed my entire race, and most of the Daleks. I know what that pain feels like. It wasn't your fault, you didn't know." He warned.
"I guess. Vhere are ve going next?" Prussia pushed the troubling thoughts away for later.
"I think we need a break. How about Midnight? The planet's made of diamonds! I've always wanted to go, it should be an easygoing little trip. And we can see Sapphire Falls! Literally a waterfall of sapphire!" The Doctor grinned excitedly.
Prussia smiled and nodded.
"Sure. Vhat's ze vorst zat could happen?"
Sorry I was gone for...several months. School, new job, and some serious health issues have kept me busy. I should be back to putting up a chapter every couple of weeks or so, depending on how busy I get or how much my health declines. Hopefully it won't at all. Anyway, hope you liked this chapter and will enjoy Midnight! Allons-y~!
~Silver