Planet of the Ood, part 1.
The TARDIS was rocking side to side, jolting every now and then as they flew through the Time Vortex. The Hatter was laughing her head off, unable or not wanting cover up her amusement as she held on tightly to the console, watching while the Doctor and Donna were practically thrown around the room as Donna squalled every time she lost what little grip she did have on the console before regaining it.
The Doctor couldn't help but smile at the Time Lady, finding it difficult not to join her despite being thrown into the jump seat and managing to climb back up to the console, flicking a switch. Everything quickly stilled as they materialized at their unknown destination and began straightening themselves, the Hatter forcing herself to stop her laughter.
"Set the controls to random!" the Doctor grinned at the girls, "Mystery tour. Outside those doors," he pointed toward the front doors, "Could be any planet, anywhere, any when in the whole wide…"
"Donna, is everything alright?" the Hatter cut in, looking slightly concerned as she noticed Donna's face, "You look a little pale".
"Terrified," Donna replied, smiling, "I mean, history's one thing, but an alien planet…"
"I could always take you home," the Doctor suggested, earning a sharp nudge in his side from the Hatter, "Ouch! What did I do now?"
"Honestly, Doctor," the blonde shook her head, giving him a look.
"Yeah, don't laugh at me," Donna pointed a warning finger at him.
"We know what it's like," the Doctor told her, smiling at her as he stuck his hands in his trouser pockets and began walking toward her, the Hatter nodded, smiling softly as she leant against the railings, "Everything you're feeling right now. The fear, the joy, the wonder…we get that!"
"Seriously?" she stared at them both, looking amazed, "After all this time?"
"Without a doubt," the Hatter laughed, "It' one of the reasons we keep traveling!"
"Oh!" Donna nodded, smiling, "Alright, then, you and me both! This is barmy!" she shook her head, turning and heading over to the doors as the Doctor grabbed the Hatter's coat and helped the Time Lady into it before pulling his own coat on, "I was born in Chiswick," Donna continued excitedly, "I've only ever done package holidays. Now I'm here. This is…I mean, it's…I dunno. It's all so…I don't even know what the word is!" she grasped the door handle and stepped out, only to stop short as she found herself standing on a snow covered planet, the wind howling and snow falling all around her, "Oh, I've got the word, 'freezing'".
The Hatter, having heard Donna, laughed as she followed after the ginger woman, and looked around with a look of childlike glee spreading it's self quickly across her face, "Oh, isn't this just brilliant?" she called over the wind, reaching up with one hand to her hat to make sure it didn't get blown off as her hair swirled around.
"Snow!" the Doctor exclaimed as he followed after the Time Lady, looking almost as gleeful as her, "Ah! Real snow! Proper snow at last! That's more like it. Lovely. What do you think?" he looked at the girls.
"It's beyond wonderful, sweetheart," the Hatter grinned, wrapping her arms around him in an excited hug, "I love snow! Just think of all the things we can do, snow ball fights…but this time I think we can leave the cricket bat in the TARDIS, building snowmen, snow angels, ice skating…" she trailed off, frowning slightly, "Actually, forget that last one. Last time I tried ice skating I ended up spending more time lying on the ice then sliding across it. Michael loved teasing me about it".
"Ah, snowball cricket," the Doctor grinned, remembering back to his Fifth self when he and the Hatter, and there companions went on an adventure together to a planet made completely out of snow and ice where they spent the entire day playing around in the snow, eventually all ending up soaking wet and freezing cold, but still laughing. That had defiantly been a memorable day.
"Donna, what do you think?" the Hatter asked, turning to the human woman.
"Bit cold," she replied, shivering as she rubbed her bare arms.
"Look at the view!" the Doctor gestured in front of them as they looked out onto the snow topped mountains, large icicles hanging off an almost stone bridge like structure that cross a vast ravine as snow continued falling all around them, but yet there wasn't a signal cloud in the clear blue sky.
"Yep," Donna nodded, still shivering, "A beautiful…cold…view".
"Millions of planets, millions of galaxies, and we're on this one," the Doctor grinned, taking no notice of Donna, "Molto Bene!" he and the Hatter said in unison, "Blissimo!"
"Brilliant!" the Hatter laughed, linking her arm through the Doctor's as they started moving away from the TARDIS.
"Says Donna, born in Chiswick," the Doctor smiled, looking around at the landscape as he pulled the Hatter closer to his side, "You've had a life of work and sleep, telly and rent, takeaway dinners, birthdays and Christmases, and two weeks holiday a year and then you end up here! Donna Noble, citizen of the Earth, standing on a different planet. How about that, Donna?" he and the Hatter turned back around, only to find that Donna had disappeared, "Donna?" he called.
"Well, this must be a record even for us," the Hatter sighed, her head titled as she frowned at the spot where Donna had been standing.
Before the Doctor could reply, Donna emerged from the time machine, wearing a very thick and warm looking, fur-lined hooded coat, "Sorry," she called to them, "You were saying?"
"Better?" both Time Lords raised their eyebrows, laughing.
"Lovely, thanks," she nodded, smiling at them as she walked after them.
"Comfy?" the Doctor asked.
"Yep".
"Can you even hear a thing snuggled up in that?" the Hatter questioned, trying not to laugh as she eyed the thick fabric on the hood.
Donna leaned forward, pretending not to hear, "Pardon?"
The Doctor and the Hatter exchanged looks, trying not to laugh as the Doctor shook his head, turning back to Donna with a grin on his face, "Right," he grinned, "I was saying, citizen of the Earth…"
Suddenly, a large rocket flew over the top of them, thankfully cutting off the rest of the Doctor's speech.
"A rocket!" Donna gasped, staring up at it, "Blimey, a real, proper rocket," she smacked the Doctor and the Hatter's arms before pointing back up at it, "You've got a box…he's got a Ferrari. Come on, let's see where it's going".
She hurried passed the Time Lords, leaving them to exchange surprised and even slightly offended looks as they glanced back towards the TARDIS.
"Ferrari?" the Doctor muttered, shaking his head as he glanced at the Hatter, "She doesn't know what she's talking about".
"But don't worry about that, sweetheart," the Hatter gave him a smile, "We'll soon see to it that Donna learns the error of her ways, and in the meantime, just think about how if you wanted to then you could build a rockets that's ten…no, fifty times better than that one with using the architectural reconfiguration system in the TARDIS".
The Doctor looked at her for a moment before a large grin fixed itself to his face and he grabbed her hand, following after Donna. They continued walking, Donna staring around in amazement at the planet when the Hatter suddenly stopped in her tracks, her eyes closed.
"Hatter?" the Doctor frowned, looking at her in concern as he noticed her no longer walking at his side, "Is everything…"
"Listen," she quickly silenced him, her eyes remaining closed as an almost painful look fell across her face, "Just…clear your mind, Doctor, and focus…"
The Doctor gave her another concerned look before doing as he was told, a moment later a soft, ethereal like music filled his mind, "Hold on…" he murmured, listening closely to the sound as Donna caught up with them after she had been lagging behind, still grinning excitedly, "Can you hear that?" he asked the red head, forcing himself not to roll his eyes when he noticed her hood still up, "Donna, take your hood down".
Donna blinked and lowered her hood, "What?" she asked them, noticing the looks on their faces.
"Can you hear it?" the Hatter breathed, her eyes snapping open as she began turning around in a small circle, "That sound…it's like a song, a melody…"
Donna stared at her, having no idea what was going on, let alone what she was supposed to be hearing.
"Over there!" the Doctor shouted a moment later, pointing to something off into the distance before he and the Hatter dashed over to it. Donna sighed and ran after them, coming to a sudden stop when she caught sight of a figure half buried in the snow, only it was unlike something she had ever seen before. A large, pale head with tentacles around its mouth, a white orb like device connected with a long wire that seemed to disappear up into the mess of tentacles, sickly pale alien skin, and dressed in a strange grey suit.
"What is it?" She gasped as she watched the Time Lords kneel beside the creature.
"An Ood," the Doctor told her, searching his pockets and quickly his stethoscope out as the Hatter took the Oods hand, trying to offer him some comfort as she watched the Doctor, "He's called an Ood".
"But it's face…" Donna trailed off, staring at it.
"Donna, not now," the Doctor scolded her, trying to focus on the task at hand, trying to work out where the Oods heart was…hopefully the Hatter some idea because he really had no clue right now, "It's a 'he,' not an 'it.' Give me a hand".
"Sorry," Donna shook herself, kneeling down.
"I don't know where the heart is," he sighed, moving the stethoscope around as he listened for any trace of a heartbeat, "I don't know if he's got a heart. Hatter?" he glanced at her.
"I haven't got a clue, sorry," the Hatter shook her head regretfully, "I've meet the Ood in the past but that was only in passing, and then with all that Beast business but I never exactly had the time to examine one," she sighed and looked at Donna, "Try talking to him. Keep him going until we can find…the heart, I guess".
"It's alright," Donna said as calmly as she could, placing a soothing hand over the Ood's hand, "We've got you".
The Hatter gave him a comforting smile, "I'm the Hatter," she told him in a soothing voice as Donna stared at her with an odd look on her face, "What's your name?"
"Designated Ood Delta 50," the Ood replied, his orb lighting up as he spoke before dimming.
Donna shook herself from whatever she was thinking and gently, almost as if she was afraid that she would cause the Ood more pain picked his orb device up to her mouth, "My name's Donna," she introduced herself.
"It's alright, Donna," the Hatter told her quietly, "You don't need to do that. He can hear and understand us but he simply can't communicate verbally".
"Sorry," she apologised, looking slightly embarrassed as she placed the orb back down, "Oh, God…this is the Doctor," she nodded at the Doctor, "And so is the Hatter. Just what you need…a doctor. Couldn't be better, eh?"
"You've been shot!" the Doctor suddenly gasped, looking shocked as he stared at the Oods chest were they now noticed was covered in bullet holes. The Hatter's eyes widened as she did a double take, amazed that she hadn't noticed before as she meet the Doctor's eyes and exchanged worried looks.
"The circle…" the Ood tried talking, but it was clear that it was very painful.
"No, don't talk," Donna said in a soothing voice, placing her hand on his arm.
"The circle must be broken".
"The circle?" the Doctor questioned, frowning as the Ood's eyes began to flicker shut, "What do you mean? Delta 50, what circle? Delta 50? What circle?"
Suddenly, Delta 50s eyes snapped open, burning bright red like blood, and growled. The Doctor grabbed the Hatter's and Donna's arms, pulling them back as they watched the still growling Ood sit up, appearing to be about to try an attack them when it suddenly collapsed back into the snow, dead.
"He's gone," Donna breathed, shrugging the Doctor's grasp off her and walking over to him.
"Careful," the Doctor warned, still tense as he pulled the Hatter closer to him as the Time Lady sighed sadly as she looked back at Delta 50, wishing that they could have done more as her thoughts swirled with different ideas of what the red eyes could have meant.
Donna kneeled back down beside the Ood, placing a hand on his chest, "There you are, sweetheart," she said sadly, stroking his head, "We were too late," she glanced up at the Time Lords, "What do we do, do we bury him?"
"The snow will take care of that," the Doctor replied, gravely.
"Who was he?" she asked, "What's an Ood?"
"They're the 42nd century version of servants for humans," the Hatter explained with a sad look on her face as she looked back at Delta 50, "The Ood are mildly telepathic, I assume it's how they communicated with each other before people came along and did whatever they did to turn them into the perfect slave," she glanced at the Doctor and Donna, "That song from before…it was his mind calling out. Awful, really".
"I couldn't hear anything," Donna shook her head, standing, "He sang as he was dying".
"His eyes turned red," the Doctor frowned, looking thoughtful as he exchanged looks with the Hatter.
"Yes, that was very strange," the Time Lady agreed, nodding slowly as she titled her head to the side.
"What's that mean?" Donna asked, looking in-between them.
"Trouble," the Doctor answered.
"Doesn't it always?" the Hatter raised her eyebrows, looking slightly amused, "After all, Doctor, you are a magnet for trouble".
"If I'm a magnet for trouble then what does that make you?" he asked, trying not to smile but failing.
She gave him her most serious look, "Trouble, of course, sweetheart".
The Doctor stared at her before laughing, "Well, that explains a lot, then," he grinned, linking his arm through hers as he avoided her elbow, "Come on," he turned and started heading off in the direction that they had been going in the first place, explaining to Donna as they walked, "The Ood are harmless and completely benign…"
"They weren't so friendly the last time we meet," the Hatter remarked, recalling that little adventure that had ended with her being chloroformed, "Now that was a pleasant day, certainly an unforgettable adventure. Doctor, I know I've said this before but you sure do know how to show a girl a good time".
The Doctor shook his head at her, "Anyway, the last time we meet the Ood, there was this force…" he continued explaining to Donna, who was giving them both looks, "Like a stronger mind…powerful enough to take over".
"What sort of force?" Donna asked them.
"Long story," he said, trying to shrug it off.
"Long walk".
"It was the devil," the Hatter told her, shrugging, "Well, that's what he called himself but you never know. I'm personally still waiting for a little bit more proof then what old Beastie had to say".
"You know, if you're gonna take the Mickey I'll just put my hood back up," Donna shot them looks, making the Hatter smile.
"Must be something different this time, though," the Doctor continued, looking thoughtful, "Something closer to home…" he trailed off as he spotted something off into the distance, "Ah ha!" he shouted, smiling, "Civilization".
Donna and the Hatter followed his line of sight to see some sort of base or business building off into the distance, a building that they presumed to be the place where all the Ood were.
"Well, then," the Hatter looked at the Doctor and Donna, smiling, "Let's go say hi, shall we?"
….
"Ladies and gentlemen," the tro heard a female voice say as they neared a group of people all dressed in warm clothing as they stood outside the complex doors, listening as the owner of the voice talked, "Welcome to the Ood-Sphere and isn't it bracing? Here are your information packs with the vouchers, 3D tickets, and a map of the complex," an Ood standing slightly off to the side began handing them out, "My name's Solana, Head of Marketing. I'm sure we've all spoken on the vid-phone. Now if you'd like to follow me…"
"Sorry, sorry!" the Doctor called as he, the Hatter, and Donna quickly ran up to the young woman, stopping her before she could go any further, "We're late! Don't mind us! Hello," he gave her a friendly wave as the Hatter did the same, "The guards let us through".
"And you would be…" Solana asked slowly, eyeing them.
"The Doctor, Donna Noble, and the Hatter," the Doctor told her, holding up his psychic paper, just as he done before with the guards.
"Representing the Noble Corporation, PLC Limited, Intergalactic," Donna added, discreetly reading what it said on the paper as the Doctor purposely turned it so she could see it while they grinned at each other.
"We've been waiting for this for some time now," the Hatter said, putting on an almost critical expression to make their story more believable, "We had almost given up…"
"Must have fallen off my list," Solana hastily said, her eyes widening slightly at the thought that she might lose their businesses, "My apologies, it won't happen again. Now then, Dr, Noble, Mrs Noble, Miss Hatter, if you'd like to come with me…"
"Oh, no, no, no," the Doctor quickly cut in, looking frantic, "We're not married," he gestured to himself and Donna.
"We're so not married," Donna agreed, shaking her head.
"Never," the Doctor looked at the Hatter to see her struggling to stop herself from laughing out loud as she spotted the Doctor looking at her and drew a love heart with her fingers in the air around Donna and him before quickly covering her mouth, almost shaking with laughter.
"Never ever," Donna finished, shooting a glare at the Hatter as she noticed her silent laughter.
"Of course," Solana nodded, not noticing anything that was happening with the Time Lady, "Here is your information pack. Vouchers inside," she handed the Doctor one of the packs, "Now, if you'd like to come with me, the executive suites are nice and warm…"
Suddenly an alarm began blearing somewhere, making them all stop and look around.
"Ooh, what's that?" the Doctor asked, exchanging a look with the Hatter, "Sounds like an alarm".
"Hmm, very alarm like," the Hatter muttered more to the Doctor and herself then to the woman.
"It's just a siren for the end of the work shift," Solana told them, trying to keep her voice normal but the Time Lords could tell she was lying, "Now then, this way!" she called to the others, "Quick as you can!"
The Doctor and the Hatter glanced at each other, not fooled for a second as they turned and walked inside with Donna, the other men and woman following after them as they talked with each other, not taking any notice of the alarms still blearing.
….
Solana led them into a large room where she heading straight to the front were there was a presenting podium with brightly coloured panels on the wall behind her with an Ood painted on them, and began addressing the room about the qualities of the Ood. The Doctor and the Hatter exchanged looks as they eyed three Ood that stood on pedestals in the middle of the room while they watched from the back of the room.
"As you can see, the Ood are happy to serve and we keep them in facilities of the highest standards," Solana continued from the front, "Here at Double-O, that's Ood Operations, we like to think of the Ood as our trusted friends. We keep the Ood healthy, safe, and educated. We don't just breed the Ood, we make them better. Because at heart, what is an Ood…but an extension of us? If your Ood is happy…then you'll be too".
The Ood buyers around the room applauded as the Time Lords raised their eyebrows, glancing at Donna as she mockingly applauded, shrugging when she notice them looking at her.
"Is it just me or do you have the strangest feeling that there's more going on around her then it appears?" the Hatter asked the other two quietly, "I mean, first Delta 50 being shot, those odd red eyes, and now that alarm going off with the excuse of it being a signal to change shifts? I don't think so".
"Or maybe that's just because were you two go something always happens," Donna shook her head.
"That to," the Time Lady titled her head, smiling slightly, "Still…"
"I'd now like to point out a new innovation from Ood Operations," Solana said as she stepped off the podium and walked over to the three Ood standing on the pedestals, "We've introduced a variety package with the Ood translator ball. You can now have the standard setting…" she stopped in front of the first Ood, "How are you today, Ood?"
"I'm perfectly well, thank you," the Ood replied with its generic voice, its orb lighting up as it spoke.
"Or perhaps after a stressful day, a little something for the gentleman?" she moved to stand in front of the second Ood, "How are you, Ood?"
"All the better for seeing you," the Ood said in a sultry, female voice.
The Hatter felt her temper flair as she grabbed the Doctor's hand and held it tightly, "As if forcing them to become slaves wasn't bad enough they have to go and change the way they speak for their own amusement," she whispered angrily so only the Doctor and Donna could hear her.
"I know," the Doctor nodded, not looking pleased by what he was witnessing either as he ran his thumb across her knuckles.
"And the comedy classic option," Solana continued, stopping at the last Ood, "Ood, you dropped something".
"D'oh!" the final Ood said, impersonating Homer Simpson, causing the audience to laugh.
The Hatter muttered something under her breath, to quite for anyone to hear but from the angry look on her face it wasn't anything friendly.
"All that for only five additional credits," Solana smiled, turning back to the buyers, "The details are in your brochures. Now, there's plenty more food and drink, so don't hole back".
The woman left the room as the buys began chatting to each other again. Making sure that no one was watching, the Doctor pulled out his glasses and slipped them on as he headed over to the control panel off to the side of the room, the Hatter right behind him. He flashed her a wink, making her smile fondly at him as he turned back to the controls and hit one of the buttons, typing in the coordinates.
"Ah, got it," he smiled as he brought up a projection of the locale galaxy onto the large screen just as Donna came up to them after getting a drink.
"The Ood-Sphere," the Hatter commented as she looked at the screen, "Nice part of the galaxy".
"I've been to this solar system before, years ago," the Doctor said as he looked at the screen, recalling going there in his first body, "Ages. Close to the planet of Sense-Sphere. Let's widen it out…" he typed something into the controls, making the image expand to show three galaxies and a sun. As they watched, a couple of dots appeared around the each galaxy with a dot in the middle before three lines appeared and connected them all in the middle, the Ood-Sphere.
"It's 4126," the Hatter said, not really needing to read off the projection in the first place, "The Second Great and Bountiful Human Empire".
"41-26?" Donna gasped at them, her eyes wide, "It's 41-26? I'm in 41-26?"
"It's good, isn't it?" the Doctor grinned at her, taking the Hatter's hand.
"What's the Earth like now?" she asked.
"Oh, you know what you humans are like," the Hatter smiled slightly, nudging her side, "Giving into all those biological urges," Donna blinked at her in surprise, "The Earth is chocker-block full, but look at that," she gestured to the projection, "The Human Empire stretchers right across three galaxies. You might even have a couple of Great, Great, Great, Great, Great…well, you get the idea, Grandchildren out there".
Donna stared at her for a moment, taking in everything she just said, "It's weird," she finally said, sounding slightly breathless as she shook her head, "I mean, it's brilliant, but…back home, the papers and the telly, they keep saying we haven't got long to live…global warming, flooding, all the bees disappearing".
"Yeah," the Doctor nodded, exchanging a look with the Hatter who was frowning as she thought about what Donna had said about the Bees, there was defiantly something going on about that, "That thing about the bees is odd".
"But look at us, we're everywhere," Donna stared at the screen in amazement, "Is that a good or bad, though? I mean, are we like explorers or more like a virus?"
"Sometimes I wonder," the Doctor remarked quietly.
"What are the red dots?"
"Ood distribution centers," the Hatter answered.
"Across three galaxies?" Donna frowned at them, "Don't the Ood get a say in this?" she walked passed them and heading over to the Ood, "Um…sorry, but…" she tapped the Ood on the shoulder, "Hello. Tell me, are you all like this?"
"I do not understand, miss," the Ood replied politely.
"Why do you say, 'miss?' Do I look single?"
"Oh dear," the Hatter sighed quietly, glancing at the Doctor with a flicker of amusement in her eyes, "We take Donna all the way to the 42nd century and she ends up getting offended by something an Ood said. An Ood of all things. We should have stuck to Earth".
"Back to the point," the Doctor gently nudged them, giving them pointed looks despite secretly agreeing with the Hatter.
"Yeah," Donna shook herself, looking back at the Ood, "What I mean is, are there any free Ood? Are there any Ood running wild somewhere like wildebeest?"
"All Ood are born to serve," the Ood replied simply, "Otherwise we would die".
"You can't have started off like that," Donna frowned, thinking back to what the Hatter said earlier about the Ood communicating with each other telepathically, "Before humans…" the Oods head did a funny jerk to the side, making the Doctor and the Hatter exchanged looks as they frowned, "What were you like?"
"The circle…" the Ood began saying just like Delta 50 had before he died.
"Hang on, circle?" the Hatter asked, stepping closer, "What circle? What do you mean?"
"The circ…the circle…is…"
"Ladies and gentlemen," Solana suddenly called from the front of the room, "All Ood to hospitality stations, please".
All the Ood, including the one they were talking to turned and left the room as the Doctor took his glasses off, slipping them back inside his pocket, and pulling a map of the complex that they had got earlier from his pocket.
"I've had enough schmoozing," he said to the girls, "Do you fancy going off the beaten track?"
"A Rough Guide to the Ood-Sphere?" Donna grinned at him, shrugging slightly, "Works for me".
"I would say that you read my mind, but I have my mental shields up," the Hatter laughed, making the Doctor laugh along with her.
"Yeah," he grinned, linking his arm through the Time Lady's before they turned and left the room without anyone noticing there exit.
…
The Doctor, the Hatter, and Donna wondered around the complex grounds, looking all around before they came to a stop at a locked, mesh gate. The Doctor pulled his sonic out and flashed it at the gate, unlocking it.
"Ood Shift 8 commencing," a voice came over the speaker system as the tro stepped through the gate, "I repeat, Ood Shift 8 commencing".
They continued walking through the grounds, finding themselves in a part that was obviously wasn't for the victors eyes as they climbed a set of metal steps that led them up to a higher viewing point where they looked down to see an open area where there where groups of Ood being marched across the open space by guards. As they watched, one of the Ood fell to its knees, causing one of the guards to stalk over to him.
"Get up," the guard ordered loudly, "I said, get up!" he shouted, cracking a whip he was holding at the Ood, the sound echoing all around them in the icy air.
"Servants?" Donna gasped as she and the Hatter looked horrified, "They're slaves".
"Get up!" the guard continued, whipping the Ood once more as he only just managed to climb back onto his feet, "March!"
"Last time we met the Ood, I never thought, never asked…" the Doctor shook his head, trailing off in thought.
"Neither of us did," the Hatter breathed, looking sick, "I can't believe I didn't…I mean, they were right in front of me and I never even thought to ask," she look at Donna and the Doctor, looking horrified by herself, "What type of person does that make me?"
"That doesn't make you a bad person, Hatter," the Doctor told her firmly, grabbing her shoulders and forcing her to look at him, "We both made the mistake once, we're not going to do that again".
"Why didn't you find out last time?" Donna asked, looking in-between them. That didn't sound like something either Time Lord would do, let alone the Hatter who always seem to be the one asking questions like that despite what else might be going on around them.
"We were busy," the Doctor sighed, shrugging slightly as he pulled the Hatter into a hug, looking over her should to Donna, "So busy we couldn't save them…well, the Hatter wasn't exactly in any state to be saving anyone at the time. I had to let the Ood die. I reckon I owe them one".
"We both do," the Hatter said firmly as she stepped back from the Doctor, but she kept a tight hold of his hand.
"That looks like the boss," Donna whispered a moment later, nodding over to where a bolding man dressed in an expensive looking suit was walking across the space, along with another man dressed in a white lab coat, two armed guards, and an Ood.
"Let's keep out of his way," the Doctor said, eyeing the man as he pulled the Hatter away, tugging on Donna's arm to get her to follow, "Come on".
They hurried back down stairs and down into the open area, casting looks around to make sure no one was around to see them before they set off again and began walking around the maze of different warehouses, the Doctor and the Hatter pausing so they could check the map when a loud whistle sounded behind them, making both Time Lords duck and turn to see Donna staring at them with an amused expression on her face.
"Where did you learn to whistle?" the Doctor asked her while the Hatter rubbed her ears as they walked over to her, only just noticing her standing in front of a door.
"West Ham, every Saturday," she smiled, shrugging.
"I suppose it would come in handy then," the Hatter commented before fixing Donna with a stern look, "But next time, Donna, you find something important, please don't whistle. Time Lords have sensitive hearing".
"Right," she nodded, "Sorry".
The Doctor pulled his sonic out his pocket and flashed it at the door, sliding it open. They stepped inside to find themselves standing in a large space filled with shipping containers all waiting to be packed up and sent out by the use of a large metal claw that was moving around the room, lifting up containers and shifting them.
"Ood Export," the Doctor said, eyeing the room, "You see?" he pointed at the claw, "Lifts up the containers, takes 'em to the rocket ships. Ready to be flown out all over the three galaxies".
"What, you mean…these containers are full of…"
"What do you think?" the Doctor sighed as the Hatter looked grim. The Time Lords walked over to one of the containers and opened it, revealing a group of Ood all standing inside in something of a formation.
"Oh, it sticks," Donna quickly covered her nose, feeling like she was about to gag as the horrible smell of…well, Ood hit her, "How many of 'em do you think there are in each one?"
"It's hard to say," the Hatter sighed, looking at the Ood sadly, "There could be over a hundred, possibly more. This should all be illegal, none of this should be happening right now, and yet, here it is. Right in front of us…" she looked at the Doctor and Donna, "Doesn't it just disgust you to see a group of innocent creatures such as the Ood treated as appalling as this?"
"A great, big empire, built on slavery," Donna shook her head in disgust, agreeing with the Hatter.
"It's no different from your time," the Doctor said to her.
"Doctor, is this really the time?" the Hatter groaned, knowing perfectly well how Donna was going to react to this, even though she did have to admit that the Doctor did have a point. Regardless of the time paired, slaves and servants seem to be a common factor with humans, why they felt they needed them she didn't fully understand, but then again, Time Lords had a similar system.
"Oi, I haven't got slaves!" the ginger woman argued, shooting him a look. What on Earth was he going on about? Did she look like someone who had slaves?
"Who do you think made your clothes?" the Doctor raised his eyebrows at her as the Hatter sighed heavily, rubbing her forehead. Honestly, sometimes she wondered whether or not the Doctor even realised how close he got to being slapped, and going by the look on Donna's face, he defiantly entering the danger zone.
"Is that why you two travel round with humans at your side?" Donna demanded, glaring at them both, "It's not so you can show them the wonders of the Universe, it's so you can take cheap shots".
"Sorry," the Doctor and the Hatter apologised in unison, the Time Lady shifting uncomfortably.
"Well, don't," she told them before adding quietly, "Spaceman, lady-time," the Doctor and the Hatter exchanged smiles behind Donna's back as she turned back to the Ood, "I don't understand," she frowned, "The door was open…why didn't you just run away?"
"For what reason?" one of the Ood asked.
"For your freedom," the Hatter answered, "All you had to do was open the door and run away from here".
"I do not understand the concept".
"What is it with the Persil ball?" Donna asked, nodding to their communicating devices, "I mean, they're not born with it, are you? Why do they have to be plugged in?"
"Ood, tell me, does 'the circle' mean anything to you?" the Doctor questioned.
"The circle must be broken," all the Ood said in unison, making Donna and the Hatter exchanged looks.
"Whoa, that is creepy," the red head muttered to the Time Lady.
"Yeah, looks like I'll be having Ood nightmares tonight," the Hatter nodded, eyeing the Ood.
"But what is it?" the Doctor tried again, "What is the circle?"
"The circle must be broken," they repeated once more.
"But…why?" the Hatter frowned, shaking her head, looking confused.
"So that we can sing".
Suddenly a loud alarm began blearing through the warehouse, making them look up.
"Looks like that's our cue to run," the Hatter commented, looking at the Doctor and Donna, a small smile spreading across her face, "Come on!"
I'm actually surprised by how much I enjoyed writing this chapter seeing as this isn't one of my favourite episodes, or though, I do love the Ood. Well, I hope you guys liked it, tell me what you thought, please review :)