(I had a lot of fun writing this chapter, so PLEASE tell me what you think! I should post a lot in the next couple of weeks. Your reviews keep me writing! I hope you enjoy this installment!)
With her mouth wide open, Gabrielle stared blankly into the open door of the strange, blue ship.
"It's…" She gasped, not believing what she was seeing, "Bigger on the inside. How could that be?" She suddenly had the uncontrollable urge to walk around the small, square perimeter of the ship, but didn't for fear that the door to the blue box would suddenly close, shutting them out yet again.
The blonde sucked in a deep breath, and stepped through the door. She let up a chuckle of relief when nothing bad happened. For some reason, she was expecting some alien to jump out at her, or an alarm to sound. Yet, nothing did.
She looked to the God, who stood outside, with his muscled arms crossed over his chest in dismay. He was muttering something about 'witchcraft,' but for the sake of their mission he took a bold step forward.
Suddenly, Ares was frozen in the door way- his body was outlined by a gold and buzzing electric network of strings and fibers, which did not hurt him but held his limbs and torso firmly in place.
He looked around, obviously distressed. He tried to say something, but his words were caught in the bubble of energy that had formed around him. Gabrielle was just as shocked- she let out a squeak of a scream, and took a couple of steps toward the immobilized god of war. Before she could reach him, the TARDIS answered her distress.
A monotone and flat voice sounded from the speakers, filling the TARDIS with sound and halting the battling bard in her tracks.
"THIS MAN IS OF THE SUB SPECIES OLYMPIUS VIOLENTIAE, OF THE PLANET OLYMPIA." The voice boomed, and although Ares couldn't speak from his bubble, he could certainly hear it. He looked toward the speaker in shock, his face a mixture of confusion and pain- He had been betrayed by his own lineage. "ACCORDING TO SECTION 78563c OF THE PROCLAMATION OF TIME, NO ONE FROM THIS DESCENT MAY ENTER OR OPERATE TIME MANIPULATING DEVICES UNLESS UNDER DIRECT ORDER FROM A TIME LORD OF GALLIFRAE. HE MAY NOT COME IN. HE MAY NOT COME IN."
Gabrielle looked at Ares, and nodded. "Sorry Ares, I guess I have to do this alone, this time." She muttered, before tentatively trying to command whatever was causing that voice, "Let him go, and place him outside the ship without harming him. He will not enter or operate the device."
There was a slight pause, and the sound of a motor contemplating the outcomes. "Command received," The voice said in a softer, more official tone. There was a slight pause and Gabrielle waited nervously to hear the verdict- she feared that the voice of the ship would not obey her order, and instead would harm the Olympian. After many seconds, the energy engulfing Ares dissipated, and he was placed gently outside of the TARDIS. "Command complete," The machine said softly, before slamming the door in the muscular god's face.
"Now what…" Gabrielle looked around the room nervously. It was a strange room, filled with machinery and architecture the bard had never seen, even in wildest, most extravagant creative works. "I can't wait to write this all down…" She muttered to herself as she stared blankly at the knobs and dials on the dashboard. For a person who had never seen anything more advanced than indoor plumbing, she was notably overwhelmed. Finally, she found a small, red button labeled: "In Case of Emergency." Not seeing any more viable options, she pushed it. In that button's place, two more buttons popped up- a green one labeled "Home," and a second one labeled "Doctor."
Additionally, a light started flickering, and after a few seconds of ticking it projected the image of a man. He was wearing very odd clothing, and was thin and lanky. His facial features were pointed yet handsome, and his hair was a spiked but disheveled mess.
"You must be the doctor…" Gabrielle muttered, before soon figuring out that the image couldn't hear her. It was just an image, not a person- but it soon began to speak.
"Donna…" It began, and Gaby wrinkled her nose. Who was Donna? Did Gab accidentally push the wrong button? She was about to begin searching for another one when the projection continued, his voice low in a soft, secretive whisper. "You are here, in the TARDIS, without me. This can only mean one of two things." The figure took a deep breath and looked down at the ground as if what he was about to say next was incredibly painful. "I am dead, or I am missing. If the TARDIS knows where I am on this planet, you will see a "Doctor" button. Press this and the TARDIS will take you to me. If the TARDIS has found me and I am dead, you will see a "Home" button. Press this, and it will take you to earth, back to your family, in your time period." There was another pause, as if the next option was absolutely unfathomable, "If you see both buttons, it means that something has gone terribly wrong and the TARDIS can neither confirm nor deny that I am alive. If you press "Doctor," the ship will do an accelerated search of all life forms within the universe, until I am found- dead or alive. This could take minutes, or years, depending. If you see both buttons…" The man frowned, and looked away for a second, to some unknown source in the room he had been in when making this recording.
The pause lingered, and the man frowned. 'You're looking at Donna,' Gabrielle thought, and she marveled at the look in his eyes. It was a look a pure friendship, of a type of love so strong that he valued it even above his own life. The look was beautiful, and at the same time the feeling that accompanied it was more helpless and sad than anything else in the entire world. Gabrielle knew this because it was a look that she had whenever she looked at Xena- undying devotion, complete selflessness. That kind of feeling could make you feel like the tallest person in the world, or the smallest, and at this moment, whenever this had been recorded, Gab was sure that the Doctor probably felt like the smallest.
The man coughed, and finally after the many seconds of quiet thought, he resumed his sentence. "…If you see both buttons, I urge you- Unless you know where I am and it is ABSOLUTELY safe- please go home. Coming after me will be dangerous for you, and I will not be able to live if I know that something has happened to you because of me. You have a family to go back to, and people that will miss you. Please, Donna- I'm begging you, press 'Home.' And, Donna…" his eyes looked straight into the camera, straight through Gabrielle's soul. "Donna Noble, I am so sorry. But we had the best of times."
The man disappeared, although the light continued to click for a few seconds. Gabrielle stood in silence for a moment, thinking about Xena and what had befallen her. The Doctor had urged Donna not to come back for him, but Gab knew that he would've went back for Donna, and that Donna would've went back for him. In the end, it was worth it. Always. Even if Gabrielle got to see Xena one last time, it was worth it. The bard took a deep breath. "Doctor, I hope you are with Xena…" she muttered.
She pressed the button.