It took some time, but here it is - Chapter Seven! Not a lot of action, but I promise better is coming. I originally wasn't going to finish it, but a anonymous review encouraged me to keep at it :) Thank you "Guest" for making my day with your kind words. Enjoy!
Previously:
His grumbling was cut off as he heard the faintest noise from behind the door, the sound of a soft click as he tried the handle. He flashed River an ecstatic grin, slowly pushing the door inwards, revealing the contents of the room.
…
It was nearly identical to the room the Doctor had been imprisoned in, which he found strangely infuriating. Couldn't they switch things up a bit? The only variation was the large, horseshoe shaped, metallic desk that curved itself around the room right against the walls. The space was fairly large, leaving a good sized circle of bare flooring in the centre of it. Well, almost bare.
In the centre of the room, leaning back on a small, metal chair, was the guard the Doctor had seen earlier. Just as lanky as he remembered him, his long limbs hanging awkwardly off the small chair as he dozed off, most definitely asleep. The Doctor smiled at his good fortune, turning his attention instead to the array of buttons, levers, switches, dials, and various other controls that flashed around him. Their bright colours called for his attention, their blinking screens begging to be read, random switches and levers jutting out from the surface, his fingers itching to reach out and discover their function.
Instead, the Doctor stood absolutely still and utterly silent at the very centre of the room, determined not to wake up the young guard. Pleasant as he might have been in comparison to the ape-like one, the Doctor was sure he wouldn't be too friendly towards him at the sight of River and his dead co-worker. So, the Doctor played it safe, turning himself around in circle upon circle, gazing at every control from the centre of the room where he stood. His darting eyes tried to find the controls for the shield, but barely any of the buttons were so clearly marked.
"What could possibly be the use of all these buttons?" the Doctor muttered quietly to himself, having a hard time imagining even a prison this size needing so many controls "They must have a button for everything! I wonder what one turns on the cheery background music, like in shops. This prison should have a shop out front." River rolled her eyes, still standing in the open doorway, observing the Doctor's bizarre methods. "Like the sonic screwdriver of control rooms or, better still, a TARDIS console. Not organized at all, just a jumbled mess of... stuff. Stuff and things that... do things. And stuff too, I suppose." The Doctor rambled under his breath, barely audible to even River, and the guard didn't stir.
"I was expecting you to just push random buttons to see what they do, like when you pilot the TARDIS." River said quietly from the doorway, earning herself a glare from the Doctor when he turned her way, coming around in another complete circle.
"I'll have you know I know exactly what every button on the TARDIS does, thank you very much!" he lied, raising his voice ever so slightly, though it still didn't rise enough to wake the sleeping guard "Plus, I can't just go around pressing buttons, I might push the wrong one and set off the alarms, call for help, or take down all the shields at once. Or I might just turn on the cheery music. We have to be careful about this River." She let out a quiet, breathy laugh as the Doctor continued his observation of the control room.
"Careful," she repeated under her breath, amused by his choice of words "So, what are you trying to accomplish, exactly?" asked River after a few more moments had passed in silence, save for the soft sound of the Doctor's shoes on the metal floor. The Doctor scowled slightly, but secretly wanting to explain his plan. What was the use of being clever if you couldn't show off about it?
"Well, I'm going to try and see if I can keep the shields down a bit longer," he replied, his intelligent eyes darting around the room in search of the correct button, lever, or switch "I really don't want all the guards rushing out at once, I don't like those odds at all." He completed another circle around the room, his eyebrows furrowing as he failed to find any sort of labeling on the controls. River took a step towards him, causing the Doctor to spin round in her direction at the sound of her heel against the metal floor.
"Shhh!" he urged, spitting a bit as he pressed his index finger hastily to his lips "I don't want to wake him up until I'm sure his buddies won't come sauntering in!" He said this in a low, angry whisper. River fought back a smile at his serious expression, and managed to due to the fact that he was scaring her a bit. His eyes, hundreds and hundreds of years older than his face, were sharp, focused, and hard. Hundreds had died here today, though they hadn't exactly been innocent, but it didn't matter to the Doctor. The clock was ticking, the Doctor felt the pressure, and he meant business.
"Isn't there an owner's manual anywhere?" River asked, her voice a harsh whisper "Instructions of some sort?" The look she received from the Doctor in return was comical, despite the circumstances. He raised one eyebrow, an expression of amused dubiety. A look that relayed a clear message: Are you serious?
"Who keeps the owner's manual?" he asked incredulously "I'm serious River, who has ever kept the owner's manual to anything? Everybody knows you're supposed to throw it out as soon as you're sure it's not going back to the store." Normally, River would've rolled her eyes, if not immediately retort with a clever (and mostly likely flirtatious) comeback. However, this time she stood absolutely still in the doorway, eyes widening.
For the Doctor, so focused on being so very ostentatious and clever, topped with a full helping of sarcasm, had let his voice rise above a murmur. With his last sentence, the sound of his voice rang audibly in the metal room, producing the faintest echo as it reflected off the cold walls. The smile on his face faltered as he heard a low grumble from behind him, followed shortly after by a tired sigh. The Doctor turned slowly around to face the guard, who was slowly but surely straightening up in his metal chair, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, yet to catch a glimpse of the Doctor and his wife.
Knowing he himself had no time to get away quietly without alerting the awakening guard with the sound of his hurried footsteps, the Doctor twisted around to face River, gesturing for her to leave. Still hovering in the doorway, she shook her head curtly, with a finality that prevented the Doctor from arguing. Well, that and the fact that the guard was now fully awake, standing nearly erect, though his eyes hadn't yet opened.
The Doctor cringed involuntarily as the guard slowly opened his eyes, which widened well beyond their normal size as he took in the sight in front of him. His gaze fell first upon the Doctor, causing the guard's eyebrows to pull together over his eyes in a look of utter confusion. He held out a hand, slowly raising a finger to point at him, opening his mouth to speak. Before he could even voice the tired and bewildered question of "Didn't we already deal with you?", the guard caught a glimpse of River standing confidentially in the doorway. With a look of shock and surprise, he fumbling hands immediately went to his gun belt, pulling out a stun gun identical to the guard before him. His long, trembling fingers hesitated on the trigger, though, as he stared, obviously frightened, at River.
He was training to be a Doctor, remembered the Doctor, recalling the conversation he'd overheard earlier. The first time he'd seen the young guard, he'd instantly thought of Rory, and the comparison was still quite accurate. The Doctor even smiled at the sight of him, which earned him a look of rage and frustration from River, for she still had a Taser aimed at her chest. The Doctor carefully put his hands up, shuffling calmly to the side to stand between the guard and River.
"Sir, if you could please step aside!" the guard ordered without any real authority, his voice faltering slightly "The woman behind you, I know her to be a convicted murderer, sir!" The guard, who appeared to be barely older than twenty, appeared even more frightened than River and the Doctor, the gun in his hand trembling the tiniest bit. "She was convicted for your murder for God's sake!" the young guard almost shouted, stopped only by the weakness in his voice.
"I'm no more a murderer than she is!" the Doctor answered, a small twitch in the corner of his eye as he actually thought about how many people he'd killed, genocides he'd committed, their faces flashing briefly behind his eyes. The statement was still true, though. He and River's hands' were equally soaked in the blood of others no more innocent than themselves. "Now, please, calm down! Lower the gun so we can talk. That's it, just talk, please!" The Doctor said this in a low, convincing tone.
The guard lowered his weapon after a few long moments of silence. The Doctor's pleading had helped, but the surrender was mostly due to the fact that River's carefully manicured nails were twitching with anticipation, reaching for one of the guns that rested at her hip. The guard slipped the weapon back into his holster, pulling up his hands in a submissive gesture.
"Please, sir," the guard begged, defenseless as he glanced nervously at River "I'm just trying to protect you, protect everyone—she's a murderer. Sir, you have to understand I can't let her just walk free." The Doctor, though flattered at first, was started to find being referred to as 'sir' mildly annoying, though still not as bad as a salute, at least. The Doctor gave the man a cold smile. Bitter, emotionless, and chilling in the fact that it felt like someone had slipped ice water into the guard's veins. He now started to shrink back from the man he'd thought nothing more than a child moments before.
"Murderer, you say?" the Doctor whispered and, though his tone was polite, his expression was anything but. His face was hard, though a false, almost wicked smile could be found upon it. The guard tried not to cower, despite the Doctor being shorter and smaller than he. "Do you know who the real murderer here is, hmm?" The Doctor stood in silence, leaving the question hanging in the air, despite it being obviously rhetorical. "No?" he continued after a moment, then shrugged quickly before turning to River behind him. "What about you, Sweetie?" River gave a barely-there smile at his use of her nickname for him, before her expression became as cold as his.
"How about the guards, who killed everyone downstairs?" she played along with her husband, giving the young guard a glare. "Probably without even batting an eyelid. Hundreds of people, gone from the world with the press of a button." The Doctor turned to the guard for his reaction.
"We didn't have a choice!" the guard almost screamed, though the sound was like that of a frightened, cornered animal. The Doctor, for a fleeting moment, actually thought he might cry. He composed himself, shaking his head slowly. "I didn't have a choice!" he repeated pathetically, his voice a low whimper.
"We always have a choice." The Doctor murmured, barely audible, a grim smile on his lips. "Always."
