A/N: Three notes. 1. You would not believe how hard it was for me to find a stopping point in this episode. I eventually just had to make one for my own because if you look at the transcript you can see that through most of the thing their dialogue is just clumped together. It's incredibly frustrating to try and write through.
2. I started writing the Doctor's other adventures between episodes. I will not always write all of them, since often times it would take pages for me to summarise all that he does in the time between two episodes, but I will write as many as I can.
3. I've just recently started watching Merlin over the course of editing this story and posting it here and I gotta say it's really funny how many people I recognize from Doctor Who in the show. Jethro, of course, being Merlin, but I just watched an episode with Jenny aka Georgia Moffett that had me dying. I have a couple ideas for original characters for the show so if any of you like the show and want to read something of mine from it, just let me know.
"Come on, Donna!" Ariel exclaimed with a laugh. "It'll be fun!"
"I said, no," Donna insisted.
The Doctor and Ariel were standing by a public telephone trying to convince Donna to leave the spa for a bit and go on a trip across the planet Midnight.
They had been travelling nonstop for a month after the Library. But, of course, they had run into trouble every time.
They visited Shadow Cay on 2009 Earth, which was really a disguised Sycorax spaceship and discovered the Sycorax had been animating zombies or human abstracts.
The Doctor managed to prevent the Mandragora Helix from spreading influence through the internet, and then sent it out into space, confused and with memories missing.
On a visit to the Myolthen galaxy, they lost the TARDIS when it was swept away by a waterfall. Caught up in the raging waterfall themselves, they were saved by Jeb, a fisherman from Zentos 3. He, along with a group of intelligent bears, helped them to relocate the TARDIS.
When the Doctor took the women to the ancient Acropolis of Xentha in Galaxy 12, they encountered the Titanoleum Army and foiled their plot to convert holidaymakers into Teglatrons.
Eventually, the Doctor decided to take them to a leisure planet called Midnight. He had insisted no wrong could occur there to Ariel and Donna's amusement. However, as he guided them through the planet, Donna became infatuated with the Leisure Palace. Ariel had stayed with her for a while as well, but soon the Doctor drew her attention elsewhere with the promise of a tour to a sapphire waterfall. Ever since then, they had been trying to convince Donna to join them.
The bus was leaving soon and she was still adamant about remaining in the Leisure Palace.
"Sapphire waterfall," the Doctor said. "It's a waterfall made of sapphires. This enormous jewel, the size of a glacier reaches the Cliffs of Oblivion, and then shatters into sapphires at the edge. They fall a hundred thousand feet into a crystal ravine," the Doctor explained with a wild grin. He was more than just a bit excited about seeing it.
"You go on your little date with Ariel. I'm fine here," Donna insisted.
"Oh, come on, Donna," Ariel sighed. "You know it'll be even more fun if you're there."
"Oh, I'm sure the pair of you you will have plenty of fun on your own," Donna chuckled.
"Four hours, that's all it takes," the Doctor insisted with a sigh.
"No, that's four hours there and four hours back. That's like a school trip. I'd rather go sunbathing," Donna shrugged.
"You be careful," the Doctor warned. "That's Xtonic sunlight."
"Oh, I'm safe," Donna sighed. "It says in the brochure this glass is fifteen feet thick."
"Alright, I give up," the Doctor sighed. "We'll be back for dinner. We'll try that anti-gravity restaurant. With bibs," he smiled.
"It's a date," Donna nodded.
"See you later," the Doctor said.
"Bye, Donna!" Ariel called.
"And both of you be careful, alright?" Donna said.
"Nah," the Doctor smirked.
"When are we ever careful?" Ariel wondered.
"Which is exactly what I'm concerned about," Donna mumbled.
"Taking a big space truck with a bunch of strangers across a diamond planet called Midnight? What could possibly go wrong?" the Doctor wondered. He hung the phone up and turned to Ariel.
"Oh, did you have to say that? That's like saying 'how could this get any worse', or 'I'm sure we'll be fine'," Ariel moaned.
"I'm sure we'll be fine," the Doctor nodded.
"Shut up!" Ariel exclaimed with a giggle, lightly hitting him on the chest as they walked onto the Crusader bus.
"How could this get any worse than the Titanoleum Army?" the Doctor asked with a playful smirk on his lips.
"I hate you," Ariel groaned, grinning up at him.
"No, you don't," the Doctor smiled.
They headed on board the shuttle and took their seats beside each other. Ariel insisted on the window seat despite knowing she wouldn't be able to see anything until they got there.
The brochure had been extremely descriptive on what was allowed and what wasn't allowed.
As they sat down, the hostess was rambling off complimentary items she was giving a blond woman seated across the aisle from them.
"Complimentary juice pack and complimentary peanuts," she finished just as the couple looked over.
"Just the headphones, please," the blonde woman requested.
"There you go," the hostess said, handing her a pair of headphones.
The hostess walked over to the couple and flashed a kind smile before turning to her cart and dumping stuff on them.
"That's the headphones for channels one to thirty six. Modem link for 3D vidgames. Complimentary earplugs. Complimentary slippers. Complimentary juice pack and complimentary peanuts," she listed. "I must warn you some products may contain nuts," she said.
"Oh, I wonder what that'll be?" Ariel asked sarcastically.
"That'll be the peanuts," the Doctor chuckled.
The hostess turned to Ariel and smiled politely. Ariel could see she was about to dump all that stuff on her and her eyes widened.
"Er, if it's alright by you I'll just have the peanuts, juice pack and the headphones," Ariel requested.
The woman nodded and handed Ariel the three items.
"Enjoy your trip," the hostess smiled.
"Oh, I can't wait," the Doctor nodded, beaming at her. "Allons-y!"
"I'm sorry?" The hostess frowned.
The Doctor's face fell and he glanced back at Ariel. She just giggled and nodded him on.
"Oh, that's French," the Doctor said. "For let's go."
"Fascinating," the hostess hummed, seeming completely uninterested as she moved her cart.
"Well, someone woke up on the wrong side of the bet this morning," Ariel mumbled.
"Don't tell me you're planning using those headphones," the Doctor moaned. "I thought this trip would be fun," he pouted.
"You're such a little kid," Ariel giggled, shaking her head. "It's four hours, Doctor. I see you all day every day. I'm sure you can handle me plugging in the headphones for an hour or so and taking a nap."
"It's not like I wanted to," the Doctor muttered.
Ariel sighed. "Well, if you're gonna look at me like that then I'll put them away," she insisted, smiling softly at the Doctor.
"No, no," the Doctor said. "If you wanna take a nap, far be it from me to stop you."
Ariel just chuckled and shook her head. "No, I couldn't leave you all alone here for an hour. I'll take a nap when we get back home."
The Doctor nodded and grinned at her, making her giggle.
"You are such an idiot," Ariel smiled, kissing him quickly.
Just behind them, an older man and his young petite Indian assistant took their seats.
"Headphones for channels one to thirty six," the hostess began, holding out the headphones the second the pair sat down.
"Oh no, thank you," the man shook his head. "Not for us."
"Earplugs, please," the young assistant requested.
"There you go," the hostess said, handing them each a pair of earplugs.
The Doctor beamed at Ariel and nodded his head to the pair behind them, silently asking if they should make new friends right off the bat.
Ariel chuckled and nodded. "Go on, then," she smiled.
"They call it the Sapphire Waterfall, but it's no such thing. Sapphire's an aluminium oxide, but the glacier is just compound silica with iron pigmentation," the man behind them said excitedly.
"Oh, and he sounds like he'd like you," Ariel remarked.
The Doctor grinned and sat up to face the people behind them, Ariel did the same shortly after.
"Hobbes. Professor Winfold Hobbes," the man introduced, holding out a hand to each of them.
"I'm the Doctor and this is Ariel," the Doctor introduced happily. "Hello," he waved.
"Hi," Ariel smiled.
"It's my fourteenth time," Professor Hobbes grinned.
"Oh," the Doctor said with wide eyes. "It's our first."
"He pulled me out of the Leisure Palace just so we could go together," Ariel laughed and Professor Hobbes chuckled.
The young Indian woman by his side stood up and shook their hands. "And I'm Dee Dee," she smiled. "Dee Dee Blasco."
"Don't bother them!" Professor Hobbes snapped and Ariel's eyes widened. "Where's my water bottle?"
"Alright then," Ariel sighed and reclined back into her seat.
"Oh, never mind it," the Doctor said, still grinning with excitement as their journey to come. He pushed the arm chairs up and moved to sit right beside Ariel, wrapping an arm around her. "Now, did I ever tell you about the time I saved Winston Churchill from RATS?" the Doctor asked and Ariel gazed up at him with wide eyes filled with wonder as she shook her head.
That's what she loved about the Doctor. He always managed to tell her stories that filled her with such wonder and joy. He entertained her and astounded her all at once.
Eventually, the hostess walked up to the front of their bus and put an end to the Doctor's story.
"Ladies and gentlemen, and variations thereupon, welcome on board the Crusader Fifty," she smiled proudly. "If you would fasten your seatbelts, we'll be leaving any moment. Doors," she said and all the doors closed. The Doctor looked as excited as a little kid. Ariel just giggled. Every second with him was joyous. "Shields down," the hostess said and the shields around the windows went down. "I'm afraid the view is shielded until we reach the Waterfall Palace. Also, a reminder. Midnight has no air, so please don't touch the exterior door seals. Fire exit at the rear, and should we need to use it, you first. Now I will hand you over to Driver Joe."
A screen to the hostess's left side flicked on and demonstrated a map with the bus as the center of it in orange.
The Doctor pulled on his brown glasses to look at it and Ariel narrowed her eyes at it. "I think I'm growing blind," she joked.
The Doctor chuckled and handed her the glasses. She put them on and watched the map for a moment before nodding and handing them back to the Doctor.
The couple shared a lot considering they had been dating for around three months.
"Driver Joe at the wheel," Joe announced. "There's been a diamondfall at the Winter Witch Canyon, so we'll be taking a slight detour, as you'll see on the map. The journey covers five hundred kliks to the Multifaceted Coast. Duration is estimated at four hours. Thank you for travelling with us, and as they used to say in the olden days, wagons roll."
The shuttle shook a bit as the hostess turned the screen off.
"Blimey, turbulence on a bus," Ariel mumbled and the Doctor laughed.
"For your entertainment, we have the Music Channel playing retrovids of Earth classics," the hostess announced and in front of each row of seats, a small screen went down and a pop video of a woman singing turned on.
"Who is that?" Ariel whispered.
"In your future," the Doctor shrugged. "Though I wouldn't exactly call her a classic," the Doctor winced.
"Also, the latest artistic installation from Ludovico Klein," the hostess added, pressing a button and allowing a holographic painting to shine into their eyes.
"Oh, well, if I wasn't blind before," Ariel mumbled.
The Doctor chuckled and nodded, beginning to feel a bit overwhelmed by the concurrent entertainment.
"Plus, for the youngsters, a rare treat. The Animation Archives," the hostess smiled.
She pressed a button and some black and white Betty Boop cartoons projected onto the wall she was standing in front of.
"Where are there youngsters on board?" Ariel wondered, peering behind her seat to see anybody around the age to actually watch cartoons all the time.
"Four hours of fun time. Enjoy," the hostess smiled before walking to the back of the bus.
"This is more like four hours of headaches," Ariel frowned and the Doctor nodded.
"Let's see if there's not something we can do about that," the Doctor hummed and Ariel grinned as he pulled out his sonic screwdriver.
The blonde woman across the aisle smiled softly as she watched the Doctor shut down all the entertainment simultaneously.
"Well, that's a mercy," Professor Hobbes sighed.
The hostess tried desperately to turn the entertainment systems back on, and when she failed, she took a deep breath and marched up to the front of the bus again. "I do apologise, ladies and gentlemen, and variations thereupon. We seem to had a failure of the Entertainment System," the hostess muttered, clearly irritated whereas Ariel felt a swell of relief and beamed at the Doctor.
"Oh," the Doctor smiled.
"But what do we do?" A woman a couple seats behind them wondered.
"We've got four hours of this? Four hours of just sitting here?" The man by her side frowned.
Ariel rolled her eyes. The grown adults were starting to sound like her when she was a kid and got grounded.
"Tell you what," the Doctor smirked, taking a deep breath and sitting up to see the rest of the shuttle. "We'll have to talk to each other instead," he grinned while the rest of the cabin looked extremely annoyed at the very concept. He smiled down at Ariel and she just laughed.
Ninety-eight kliks later, the idea had caught on throughout the shuttle and while the Doctor listened to a story from Biff and Val Cane, the couple who complained at the lack of entertainment, Ariel sat by their son Jethro. It was easier to talk to someone who was more her age rather than listen to a story from a couple who looked like her parents.
"He tells this story at every party," Jethro moaned. "I've heard it at least a dozen times in the past year."
"Oh, my, God, my Mum used to do that with her new boyfriends, like, not even kidding, she once told this woman while we were buying food that she was using her boyfriend's money," Ariel sighed. "It drove me mad."
Jethro chuckled. "My parents are like that picture perfect family that you hate even hearing about. I didn't even want to be around them on this trip and they started bloody screaming my name to come sit with them."
"My Mum used to do that too!" Ariel exclaimed with a laugh. "I used to sit with my mates and she'd be like 'Ariel, Ariel! Come sit with your dear old mum!' Sometimes, I just wanted to scream at her in front of everyone."
"Oh, I know that feeling too well," Jethro mumbled.
"And I said, where's the pool? And he said," Biff laughed, continuing his story and Jethro slid back in his seat with a loud groan.
"The pool is abstract," Biff and Val said in unison and Jethro mouthed it with a roll of his eyes.
Jethro looked up at Ariel and narrowed his eyes. "Are you and him? The Doctor? Are you and him together?"
"Yeah," Ariel sighed. "But I dunno, I have to tell him something soon that he's not gonna love hearing."
"Why do you have to tell him soon?" Jethro wondered with a frown.
"I can feel it. It's like when you know you're gonna get in trouble for something but there's nothing you can do," Ariel sighed. "It's just this feeling in my gut."
"What have you gotta tell him?" Jethro asked. "Did you cheat on him with another bloke?" He guessed with a grin. "Or was it with a woman?" He asked, even more interested.
Ariel laughed. "No!" She exclaimed. "Nothing like that," she shook her head. "It's just," she sighed. "I lied to him. A couple times and this oracle told me I have to tell him the truth."
"Oh, I was just beginning to like you," Jethro moaned. "Now, you're telling me you believe in that bullshit?"
"I didn't at first," Ariel insisted with a nod. "Then, I found out the oracles were possessed by the Pyrovile and gained the actual ability to see in the future," she said casually and Jethro's face fell.
"You and the Doctor," Jethro frowned. "You're not from around this planet are you?"
"Not even close," Ariel shook her head.
One hundred and fifty kliks later, the Doctor continued to make his rounds, getting to know everyone while Ariel continued to talk to Jethro. She was growing to like the man that she discovered was the same age as her. Jethro was a human, like her and was on holiday on the planet Midnight. His parents had insisted on the trip to the Sapphire Waterfall and seeing as he had never been on the planet before and didn't know much about it, he didn't trust himself alone on it.
Ariel headed back to the galley to get herself some tea and while she was there, the Doctor stood with Dee Dee, talking about how she got to be Professor Hobbes's assistant while drinking out of a thermos jug.
Ariel walked up to the Doctor and gave him a quick kiss. Normally, she would cling to the Doctor's side constantly and be wary of letting go, but seeing as they were just on a bus talking to people she didn't have the normal anxiety she had when leaving him.
It felt like whenever they were on the Tardis and she would be unsure of where the Doctor was, but be okay talking to Donna. Although, she would admit it was rare that she went an hour without at least talking to him unless she was sleeping.
She frowned. She should really work on that. She loved having the Doctor by her side, but it felt like ever since they started dating they had become two halves of a person. She wasn't sure if that was good or bad.
"Anyway, like I was saying," Ariel sighed as she took a seat beside Jethro. "I thought I was doing pretty good in the class and the teacher stands up in front of everyone and says, 'well, some of you are clearly striving to do better than your last exams but others, like you Ariel, are still giving me that poor quality'."
"He didn't!" Jethro exclaimed with wide eyes.
"I know!" Ariel laughed. "And I thought I was quite good at maths," she shrugged.
"Y'know, it's always the things you think you're doing great at that you wind up failing," Jethro sighed.
"If only I had known that three years ago," Ariel smiled.
Jethro narrowed his eyes at the Doctor, who was holding up his cup and smiling at Dee Dee.
"Do you trust him? That Doctor?" Jethro asked.
"With my life," Ariel said, without hesitation. "Why?"
"I dunno," Jethro shrugged. "He seems odd."
"I'm odd," Ariel smirked. "What makes me different from him?" She wondered.
"You're another kind of different," Jethro nodded, watching her with fascinated eyes.
"I didn't know there were levels to that thing," Ariel chuckled as she sipped her tea.
Two hundred and nine kliks later, Ariel left Jethro's side and walked up to the Doctor as he was talking to the blonde woman called Sky.
"No, no, I'm with-," the Doctor shook his head and grinned when he spotted Ariel. "Her actually," he smiled. "Hello."
"Hi," Ariel beamed at him. "Have I interrupted something?"
"Oh, no, I was just talking to Sky here. She asked if I was alone," the Doctor said.
"No, we're travelling with Donna, too," Ariel nodded.
"Right," the Doctor said, nodding along with her. "But she didn't come along," he sighed.
"She wanted to stay in the Leisure Palace," Ariel shrugged.
"Sunbathing," the Doctor frowned. "She never struck me as the type to miss out just to stay sunbathing."
Ariel sighed. "I suppose she wanted a break after the nonstop and seeing as that break came in the form of sunbathing," she shrugged.
"Right," the Doctor hummed. "I should really drop the pair of you back home."
"Oi, not me," Ariel frowned. "I'm having a hell of a time," she smirked.
Sky just frowned at the couple. "Do you ever not talk like two halves of the same person?"
"No," the couple said together, grinning childishly at her.
"Well, what about you?" the Doctor asked. "You travelling with anybody?"
"No, it's just me," Sky sighed.
"I've done plenty of that. Travelling on my own. I love it. Do what you want, go anywhere. Though after a while it can begin to grow old," the Doctor nodded. "You start to miss someone by your side."
"I'm still getting used to it," Sky shrugged. "I've found myself single rather recently, not by choice."
"What happened?" the Doctor frowned.
"Yeah, why did it end?" Ariel asked.
"Oh, the usual," Sky sighed. "She needed her own space, as they say. A different galaxy, in fact. I reckon that's enough space, don't you?" She prompted with a raised eyebrow.
"Yeah, blimey," Ariel muttered.
"Yeah," the Doctor nodded. "The last person I was with, she sort of went to a different universe."
Sky raised her eyebrows but nodded with a soft sigh. She understood the pain of someone travelling so far just to be away.
Ariel placed her chin on the top of the Doctor's head, grinning down at him as he chuckled.
Sky frowned at them. It seemed upon a single glance that the Doctor had easily moved on past the woman who disappeared, but it had taken him ages and years of travelling alone and with Martha Jones before he was finally willing to accept someone new to repair the damage Rose Tyler being ripped from him had caused.
Sky took a deep breath and frowned down at the food in her lap that the bus had provided. "Oh, what's this?" She sighed. "Chicken or beef?"
"I think it's both," the Doctor said, narrowing his eyes at the piece of meat as he inspected it on his fork.
Ariel leant forward and ate the small piece of meat whole. Sky and the Doctor stared up at her with wide eyes and she just shrugged.
"It's not bad," Ariel said. "A bit dry, but if I'm honest I've had worse. Try and taste my Mum's cooking when she wants to throw a party but realizes she has to mother. It's enough to call poison control," she nodded.
"Oh, that's a bit dramatic," the Doctor sighed as he ate the food on his tray.
"You wanna try her food and tell me that again?" Ariel prompted with a raised eyebrow.
The Doctor nodded. "Fair point."
Ariel smiled and walked around to his side. "Now, can you scoot over or give me some of your food? I'm famished," she sighed.
The Doctor nodded and scooted over so she had room on his seat. He got some of the strange meat on his fork and fed it to her as she giggled and leant her head on his shoulder.
She loved the man by her side more than she could even process. It was hard to form a way to express the way she felt about the Doctor which made her more terrified than anything about how he might react to her secrets.
She knew she continued traveling with him in the future thanks to River, but she wasn't looking forward to his immediate reaction to the news.
It would break both his hearts and hers.
Two hundred and fifty one kliks later, everyone on the bus was watching Professor Hobbes project an illustration of his research on Midnight. Everyone was interested in what he had to show them.
Ariel watched sitting by Jethro's side with the Doctor's glasses on while the Doctor sat at the very front to see.
"So, this is Midnight, do you see, bombarded by the sun. Xtonic rays, raw galvanic radiation. Dee Dee, next slide," Professor Hobbes instructed and Dee Dee nodded and clicked forward to a new slide. "It's my pet project. Actually, I'm the first person to research this. Because, you see, the history is fascinating. Because there is no history. There's no life in this entire system. There couldn't be. Before the Leisure Palace Company moved in, no one had come here in all eternity. No living thing," Professor Hobbes said with wide eyes.
"But how do you know?" Jethro wondered. "I mean, if no one can go outside," he shrugged.
"Oh, his imagination," Val sighed. "Here we go," she mumbled.
"No, seriously," Ariel snapped, frowning at the woman. "That makes sense."
"He's got a point," the Doctor nodded and Val looked like the Doctor and Ariel had just taken the mickey out of her just because they defended her son.
"Exactly," Professor Hobbes smiled as though they were just bringing more proof to his research. "We look upon this world through glass, safe inside our metal box. Even the Leisure Palace was lowered down from orbit. And here we are now, crossing Midnight, but never touching it."
Just then, there was a loud crunch and grind making the Professor's words seem far more ominous than they intended.
"We've stopped," Val frowned. "Have we stopped?"
"Are we there?" Biff asked.
"We can't be," Dee Dee shook her head. "It's too soon."
Ariel inhaled sharply and walked up to the front where the Doctor was seated. She leant forward and placed his glasses on him.
"They don't stop," Professor Hobbes frowned. "Crusader vehicles never stop."
"Looks like we won't get to have a nice little trip to the waterfalls," Ariel sighed.
"Looks like it, yeah," the Doctor sighed.
"If you could just return to your seats," the hostess requested. "It's just a small delay," she assured them.
The hostess walked to the back to use the intercom phone and ask the driver what was going on.
"Maybe just a pit stop," Biff shrugged.
"There's no pit to stop in," Professor Hobbes shook his head. "I've been on this expedition fourteen times. They never stop."
"Well, evidently we have stopped, so there's no point in denying it," Sky snapped.
"We've broken down," Jethro laughed and within moments Ariel found herself giggling and nodding to him. His laughter was contagious to her.
"Thanks, Jethro," Val muttered bitterly.
"In the middle of nowhere," Jethro laughed with wide eyes acting terrified.
Ariel walked back to his side, giggling as she did so. "It's like a horror film where they start picking us off one by one," she muttered to him. She loved joining in and joking with him, but she didn't want to scare everyone else like he was doing. She just wanted to have a quick laugh.
"Oh, yeah," Jethro chuckled.
"Ladies and gentlemen, and variations thereupon," the hostess sighed, walking back through the shuttle. Ariel ran back to her seat beside the Doctor as she did so. "We're just experiencing a short delay. The driver needs to stabilise the engine feeds. It's perfectly routine, so if you could just stay in your seats," she requested.
The Doctor raised an eyebrow at Ariel and smirked at her. A silent message. It was time for them to figure out what was going for themselves.
Ariel grinned and nodded. She was ready.
The Doctor grabbed her hand and they stood up and walked to the driver's door.
"No, I'm sorry, sir, ma'am," the hostess said, trying to stand in their way.
The Doctor sighed and held up his psychic paper. "There you go. Engine experts. Two licks," he insisted as he opened the door.
"I'm sorry, sir, ma'am," the hostess sighed. "If you could just sit down. You're not supposed to be in there."
Ariel closed the door and waved, grinning at the hostess as the door shut on her.
"Sorry, if you two could return to your seats," the man who sounded a lot like Driver Joe said.
"Company insurance," the Doctor said, flashing the psychic paper. "Let's see if we can get an early assessment. So, what's the problem, Driver Joe?" He asked.
"Yeah, why have we stopped so suddenly?" Ariel wondered.
"We're stabilising the engine feeds. Won't take long," Joe shrugged.
"Er, no, because that's the engine feed, that line there, and it's fine. And it's a micropetrol engine, so stabilising doesn't really make sense, does it?" the Doctor prompted.
"He does this a lot," Ariel nodded at the two men's wide eyes.
"Sorry," the Doctor grinned sheepishly. "I'm the Doctor, I'm very clever. So, what's wrong?"
"And no need to lie again, we're not gonna run out screaming it to that lot," Ariel promised.
"We just stopped," the man to Joe's side sighed. "Look, all systems fine, everything's working, but we're not moving."
The Doctor pulled out his sonic and scanned the systems. Ariel raised an eyebrow at him and he checked the readings before nodding to her, making her frown.
"Yeah, you're right," the Doctor mumbled. "No faults. And who are you?" He asked the other man.
"Claude," the man nodded. "I'm the mechanic. Trainee."
"Hell of a day to be a trainee," Ariel mumbled and the Doctor nodded firmly in agreement.
"Still," the Doctor sighed. "Nice to meet you, Claude."
"I'm Ariel," Ariel smiled at the man.
"Nice to meet you," Claude nodded.
"I've sent a distress signal," Joe said. "They should dispatch a rescue truck, top speed."
"How long until they get here?" the Doctor asked.
"About an hour," Joe shrugged.
"Blimey, all that time waiting," Ariel hummed.
"Well, since we're waiting, shall we take a look outside?" the Doctor smirked. "Just lift the screens a bit?" He grinned at Ariel who nodded furiously.
Joe stared at the couple like they were mad.
"It's a hundred percent Xtonic out there," Joe breathed. "We'd be vaporized."
"Nah," the Doctor sighed. "Those windows are Finitoglass. They'd give you a couple of minutes. Go on, live a little," he smiled.
"Come on, Driver Joe," Ariel grinned. "Let's take a peek outside."
Joe took a deep breath. "Well," he muttered. He raised the front screen and Ariel and the Doctor shared a grin.
The planet outside looked like pure jewels. It looked like less of a planet and more of a collection of diamonds encompassing them. It was gorgeous.
"Wow," Joe breathed.
"That's incredible," Ariel muttered.
"Oh, that is beautiful," the Doctor hummed, beaming at the sight.
"Look at all those diamonds," Claude murmured. "Poisoned by the sun. No-one can ever touch them."
"Joe, you said we took a detour?" The Doctor prompted.
"Just about forty kliks to the west," Joe nodded.
"Is this a recognized path?" the Doctor asked.
"No, it's a new one," Joe shook his head. "The computer worked it out on automatic."
"Nobody has ever been here before," Ariel breathed, staring up at the diamonds with wide eyes.
"So we're the first," the Doctor smiled. "This piece of ground. No one's ever been here before. Not in the whole of recorded history."
Claude's eyes widened as he watched something just outside their bus start to move. "Did you just?" He frowned and shook his head. There couldn't have been anything. "No, sorry, it's nothing," he sighed.
"No, wait, what was it?" Ariel asked, sharing a frown with the Doctor.
"What did you see?" the Doctor wondered and Claude tried to point it out to the pair of them.
"Just there," Claude muttered. "That ridge. Like, like a shadow. Just, just for a second."
"What sort of shadow?" the Doctor asked.
"Like a moving figure?" Ariel guessed.
All of a sudden, there was a loud cautionary beeping from the computer.
"Xtonic rising," Joe announced. "Shields down."
The shields began to lower and Claude's eyes widened as he saw the shadow once again.
"Look, look!" Claude exclaimed, trying to bring the Doctor and Ariel's attention to it. "There it is, there it is. Look, there."
"Where?" the Doctor frowned. "What was it?" He asked as the shields closed and whatever had been moving was invisible to them.
"Like just something shifting," Claude mumbled. "Something sort of dark, like it was running."
"Running?" Ariel echoed.
"Running which way?" the Doctor wondered.
Claude looked up at the couple with wide eyes. "Running toward us," he breathed.
"Right, Doctor, Ariel, back to your seats," Joe sighed, opening the door for them and practically shoving them out without even standing. "And, er, not a word. Rescue's on its way. If you could close the door. Thank you," he nodded and just like that, they were back in the shuttle.
Within seconds, Sky walked up to them and started questioning them about what was happening.
"What did they say? Did they tell you? What is it? What's wrong?" Sky asked.
"Oh," the Doctor sighed with wide eyes. "Just stabilizing," he shrugged. "Happens all the time."
"Nothing to worry about," Ariel nodded.
"I don't need this," Sky snapped. "I'm on a schedule. This is completely unnecessary."
"Back to your seats, thank you," the hostess said before heading into the cockpit.
The Doctor and Ariel took their seats and Ariel rested her head on his shoulder, sighing as they awaited the rescue truck.
Dee Dee gently tapped the Doctor's shoulder as she leant around the seat and the couple both sat up and frowned at the woman.
"Excuse me, Doctor, but they're micropetrol engines, aren't they?" Dee Dee prompted.
"Now, don't bother them again!" Professor Hobbes snapped.
"My father was a mechanic," Dee Dee insisted. Ariel and the Doctor shared a wary look. "Micropetrol doesn't stabilise. What does stabilise mean?" Dee Dee asked.
"Well," the Doctor sighed. "Bit of flim-flam. Don't worry," he shook his head. "They're working it out," he assured her and Dee Dee nodded.
While she was reassured, the rest of the bus had grown less so at the Doctor's confirmation that they weren't stabilizing.
"So, it's not the engines?" Professor Hobbes prompted.
"They'll sort it out, they told us they were," Ariel nodded.
"It's just a little pause, that's all," the Doctor shrugged.
"How much air have we got?" Professor Hobbes wondered.
"Professor, it's fine," the Doctor assured him.
"There's nothing to worry about," Ariel nodded.
"What did he say?" Val asked, frowning at the four of them from across the aisle as she listened in.
"Oh, blimey," Ariel sighed.
"Nothing," the Doctor shook his head, trying to end the anxiety where it had started.
"Are we running out of air?!" Val exclaimed.
Ariel fell back in a seat with a roll of her eyes. This had escalated far quicker than anyone would've wanted.
The hostess reentered the compartment and even Professor Hobbes seemed to regret what he said.
"I was just speculating," Professor Hobbes shrugged.
"Is that right, miss? Are we running out of air?" Biff asked desperately.
"Is that what the Captain said?" Val prompted.
Instead of joining into his parent's hysterical mania, Jethro did the sensible thing and went to the front of the bus to ask the person who had talked to the driver directly what was going on.
Ariel leant forward and whispered it in Jethro's ear, knowing his parents would grab just a bit of what she said and turn it into the end times.
She told him that they had shut down without a reason and a rescue truck was an hour away. She also hesitated, but decided he could handle the news of something being alive out there.
Jethro pulled away with wide eyes and nodded.
"If you could all just remain calm," the hostess requested.
"How much air have we got?" Val gasped.
"Mum, just stop it," Jethro snapped.
"I assure you, everything is under control," the hostess nodded.
"Well, doesn't look like it to me," Biff scoffed and Ariel groaned, trying to plug her ears against the chaos.
"Well, he said it," Val said, pointing at Professor Hobbes.
They were like schoolchildren. He started it, no she started it!
"It's fine," Dee Dee assured them. "The air is on a circular filter," she said, but over the chaos, nobody heard her.
Ariel leant forward with a frown and turned to Dee Dee as chaos erupted around them. "What did you say?" Ariel asked Dee Dee.
Dee Dee seemed wary of the madness surrounding her and turned to Ariel sheepishly. "I just, the air is on a circular filter so we can stay breathing for ages," she shrugged.
Ariel smiled. "Finally, someone talking some sense," she breathed and the Doctor chuckled.
Ariel stood up and everywhere around her people were talking or arguing with each other.
She took a deep breath. "Everyone! Shut it!" Ariel snapped.
The Doctor beamed at her and stood up by her side. He loved the confidence she had gained over the months they had known each other. "Thank you," the Doctor nodded to the bus. "Now, if you'd care to listen to our good friend Dee Dee," he said, gesturing to Dee Dee who stood up nervously.
"Oh. Er, it's just that, well, the air's on a circular filter, so we could stay breathing for ten years," Dee Dee said nervously.
Everyone seemed to slump back in relief as they understood.
"There you go," the Doctor sighed. "And we've spoken to the Captain," he said, nodding to himself and Ariel. "We can guarantee you everything's fine."
Almost as if to contradict his words, there was a loud thumping on the side of the shuttle. Everyone jumped back in shock.
"What was that?" Val breathed.
"It must be the metal," Professor Hobbes nodded. "We're cooling down. It's just settling," he assured them, though Ariel wasn't certain if he was trying to reassure them or himself.
"Rocks," Dee Dee shrugged. "It could be rocks falling."
"What I want to know is, how long do we have to sit here?" Biff moaned.
There was another thumping, moving along the side of the shuttle to where Jethro was seated. He skidded backwards and stared at the wall with wide eyes.
Ariel held her breath almost awaiting what could possibly be behind that wall.
"What is that?" Sky breathed.
"There's someone out there," Val muttered.
The Doctor and Ariel shared a look, both knowing it was the shadow Claude had seen in the cockpit.
"Now, don't be ridiculous," Professor Hobbes scoffed.
"Like I said, it could be rocks," Dee Dee nodded, shrugging slightly at the idea.
"We're out in the open," the hostess sighed. "Nothing could fall against the sides."
Just as she said that, the sound moved closer to the the back door and knocked once again to prove her point.
"Knock, knock," the Doctor hummed, stepping closer with a frown.
"Who's there?" Jethro smirked.
"What could that be?" Ariel breathed.
"It's nothing!" Professor Hobbes snapped. "There's nothing out there!"
There were two more knocks.
"Is there something out there? Well? Anyone?" Sky prompted, eyes wide in terror as she looked through the group that seemed just as confused as she was. "What the hell is making that noise?!"
"I'm sorry, but the light out there is Xtonic," Professor Hobbes sighed. "That means it would destroy any living thing in a split second. It is impossible for someone to be outside."
Once again, two more knocks strongly contradicted his point.
"What the hell is that then?!" Sky shrieked.
The Doctor pulled out his stethoscope and held it up for Ariel to see. She nodded and ran to the wall to listen it.
"You really should get back to your seats," the hostess nodded.
The couple ignored her and listened in for any sounds other than the loud thumping.
"Hello?" the Doctor breathed.
The creature outside thumped out a hello in return and moved quickly to the emergency exit.
The Doctor and Ariel jumped up and the Doctor pushed Ariel behind him as the creature neared the emergency exit.
"It's moving," Jethro announced with wide eyes.
"It's going for the door," Ariel mumbled.
The emergency exit rattled as the creature tried to open it.
"It's trying the door!" Val exclaimed.
"There is no it," Professor Hobbes snapped. "There's nothing out there. Can't be," he insisted.
There was another quick rattle of the door before the creature seemed to jump onto the roof and try the entrance.
"That's the entrance," Val breathed. "Can it get in?"
"No," Dee Dee shook her head. "That door's on two hundred weight hydraulics," she assured them.
"Stop it, don't encourage them," Professor Hobbes snapped.
"Well, what do you think it is?" Dee Dee mumbled.
"Could something break through that?" Ariel frowned, speaking softly to the Doctor. They always spoke about the danger that might happen away from those who might hear to keep people from growing worried. It was the best way for them to stay prepared but not scare others.
"I dunno," the Doctor hummed. "But if it does, we've got a rescue truck coming."
"In an hour," Ariel nodded. "You and I both know what could happen in an hour," she sighed.
"If that thing comes in here, you know we have to-," the Doctor began.
"It takes us before them," Ariel nodded. "I know."
That had been a lesson she learnt all too well with the Doctor. If it came against two people who's only ties were each other and innocent people who didn't sign up for the dangers the universe posed, they were always going to be first to go.
"Biff, don't," Val said, reaching her hand out to her husband as he walked up to the entrance and placed a tentative hand on it.
"Mister Cane, better not," the Doctor advised.
"Sir, I wouldn't want to be standing there if that thing breaks through," Ariel winced.
"Nah," Biff sighed. "It's cast iron, that door," he said, knocking three times to exemplify its sturdiness.
Only the creature on the other side knocked three times in return.
"Three times," Val breathed. "Did you hear that? It did it three times!" She exclaimed.
Jethro looked at Ariel with wide eyes. "It answered," he mumbled.
"So, it's an intelligent lifeform that can respond," Ariel muttered. "But what could survive out there?" She wondered.
"Maybe, something evolved on its own," the Doctor breathed. "This planet was left untouched for ages, maybe, something grew during that time."
"It did it three times!" Val shrieked.
"Alright, alright, alright," the Doctor sighed. "Everyone calm down."
"No, but it answered," Sky insisted. "It answered. Don't tell me that thing's not alive. It answered him."
"I really must insist you get back to your seats!" The hostess cried.
"No, don't just stand there telling us the rules!" Sky yelled. "You're the hostess. You're supposed to do something!"
"Doctor, don't," Ariel sighed.
"It's alright," the Doctor nodded as he pressed his ear against the door and pounded on it four times.
There was a pause as he backed away and Ariel grabbed his hand and squeezed three times. The Doctor squeezed back and right after he did so, the creature answered with four knocks.
"What is it? What the hell's making that noise?" Sky gasped. "She said she'd get me. Stop it. Make it stop. Somebody make it stop. Don't just stand there looking at me. It's not my fault. He started it with his stories."
The whole bus stared at her with horrified eyes. Sure, everyone was scared but there was nobody more scared than her. She was backing away from the group, staring at the door in terror.
The hostess ran to the back of the bus and got on the intercom while everyone tried to stop Sky from panicking so much.
"Calm down!" Dee Dee exclaimed.
"I understand you're afraid, but we'll work this out. We'll survive," Ariel nodded. "You don't have to be so scared."
"He made it worse!" Sky screamed, pointing at Biff.
"You're not helping," Val sighed.
"Why didn't you leave it alone? Stop staring at me. Just tell me what the hell it is," Sky insisted.
"Calm down!" Dee Dee repeated.
The thumping started again, but it occurred on the roof, seeming to walk straight towards Sky as she backed away from the group.
"It's coming for me," Sky gasped. "Oh, it's coming for me. It's coming for me. It's coming for me. It's coming for me."
The Doctor and Ariel watched the thumping move towards Sky with wide eyes as she backed up against the driver's door and started screaming. The Doctor and Ariel dove towards her.
"Run!" Ariel yelled.
"Get out of there!" the Doctor bellowed.
Before they could reach Sky, there was a loud crash as the walling of the bus caved in. The bus rocked back and forth like it was being swung by some invisible force as it tossed everyone around the shuttle, falling into each other and though the seats.
Sparks flew and the lights of the bus flickered before eventually going on.
When the rocking finally stopped, Ariel's head was on Jethro's chest and she sat up with a groan as she clutched her temple.
"You alright?" Jethro asked and Ariel nodded. He helped her to stand up and she immediately started looking for the Doctor.
"Doctor!" Ariel cried.
"Ariel?" the Doctor breathed. He climbed over a bunch of seats and hugged her tightly. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah," Ariel nodded, breathing roughly as she glanced around. "What about you?"
"Arms, legs, neck, head, nose. I'm fine," the Doctor nodded and she grinned, kissing him quickly and turning to the others. "Everyone else? How are we?" The Doctor asked.
"What the hell was that?" Ariel wondered.
"Earthquake," Professor Hobbes sighed. "Must be."
"But that's impossible," Dee Dee frowned and shook her head. "The ground is fixed. It's solid."
"We've got torches," the hostess announced. "Everyone take a torch. They're in the back of the seats."
The Doctor nodded and grabbed Ariel's hand, guiding her to one of the seats so they could each pick up a torch.
"Oh, Jethro," Val sighed, walking over to her son and attempting to give him a hug before he shrugged her away. "Sweetheart, come here."
"Never mind me," Jethro shrugged, shining his torch on the very front of the bus. "What about her?"
Ariel and the Doctor spun around to see Sky, surrounded by collapsed and torn up chairs, clutching her head.
They shared a frown and approached the blonde slowly and cautiously, unaware of why she may be cowering surrounded by torn up seats.
"What's happened to the seats?" Val asked with a small frown.
"Who did that?" Biff wondered.
"They've been ripped up," Val breathed.
The Doctor and Ariel knelt down beside Sky and he placed a tentative hand on her shoulder, but she never turned around. "It's alright, it's alright, it's alright. It's over," the Doctor assured her. "We're still alive. Look, the wall's still intact. Do you see?" He said, shining a torch onto the wall by her side. The wall was dented inwards, but still in tact.
"Doctor, who tore up the seats?" Ariel whispered into his ear, shining her torch onto the seats.
The Doctor simply shrugged in response. He turned to Sky with wide eyes. "We're safe," he nodded to her.
"Driver Joe, can you hear me?" The hostess said into the comms. "I'm not getting any response. The intercom must be down," she said as she walked to the front of the ship.
She opened the driver's door and was immediately blinded by the Xtonic sun rays beaming into the shuttle.
Ariel winced back, squeezing her eyes shut as the Doctor wrapped his arms around her and practically shielded her from the light with his body.
The hostess ran up to the door and closed it as alarms began sounding at the presence of the toxic light.
The Doctor took a deep breath and pulled away from Ariel, cupping her cheek and brushing a few brown hairs out of her eyes.
"Are you alright?" the Doctor asked, his tone low and gentle as he spoke to her.
While her breathing was shallow, she closed her eyes and nodded.
"What happened?" Val gasped. "What was that?"
"Is it the driver? Have we lost the driver?" Biff asked.
"The cabin's gone," the hostess breathed.
"Don't be ridiculous," Professor Hobbes snapped. "It can't be gone. How can it be gone?"
"Well, well, you saw it," Dee Dee reasoned with a shrug.
"There was nothing there, like it was ripped away," the hostess sighed.
The Doctor ignored all of them and cupped Ariel's cheek, raising an eyebrow at her and silently ensuring she was okay to go on.
Ariel nodded and he smiled before pulling her towards a small black panel on the wall. Ariel shined her torch on him while he pulled out his sonic and tried to get it open.
"What are you doing?" Biff frowned, shining his torch on the couple.
"Ah, that's better," the Doctor smiled. "Little bit more light. Thank you. Molto bene," he grinned.
"Fantastico," Ariel nodded.
"Do you know what you're doing?" Val asked.
"Course he does," Ariel shrugged. "He's a genius," she smiled.
The Doctor's grinned, never looking up at Ariel as he worked.
"The cabin's gone. You'd better leave that wall alone," Biff advised.
"It's alright, it's not going to open the door again, so you don't have to worry," Ariel assured them and everyone nodded except Professor Hobbes, still in denial.
"The cabin can't be gone," Professor Hobbes mumbled.
"It's safe," the Doctor nodded, ignoring Professor Hobbes. "Any rupture would automatically seal itself," he told them.
The Doctor removed the panel and they all stared at it with wide eyes, shining their torches down on the cut wires.
"But something sliced it off," the Doctor breathed. "You're right, the cabin's gone," he nodded, his shock never fading as he stared down at the cut panel in his hands.
"But if it gets seperated?" The hostess prompted, silently praying that the driver and mechanic were still alive somewhere.
The Doctor looked at her with mournful eyes. He could tell she was close to the driver and mechanic. After so many bus rides they were probably close friends. "It loses integrity. I'm sorry, they've been reduced to dust. The driver and the mechanic."
"They're gone," Ariel nodded, staring at her with sad eyes.
"But they sent a distress signal. Help is on its way," the Doctor informed them with a hopeful nod. "They saved our lives. We are going to get out of here, I promise. We're still alive, and they are going to find us," he assured them.
"Ariel," Jethro breathed. "Look at her," he said, nodding to Sky.
The Doctor and Ariel both turned to Sky with a frowned as they saw her still sitting in the same position with her hands desperately clutching her head.
"Right. Yes. Sorry," the Doctor nodded. "Have we got a medical kit?" He asked the hostess.
"Why won't she turn around?" Jethro wondered.
Ariel would never admit it aloud, but she was beginning to grow freaked out around Sky. Everyone else had gotten up and moved around, but she barely moved a finger. It was offsetting.
"What's her name?" Professor Hobbes asked the hostess.
"Silvestry. Mrs Sky Silvestry," the hostess nodded.
The Doctor knelt down to Sky once again and Ariel remained standing, keeping herself behind him as she watched Sky with wary eyes.
"Sky? Can you hear me?" the Doctor prompted. "Are you alright? Can you move, Sky? Just look at me," he requested.
"That noise from outside. It's stopped," Jethro remarked, looking around at the roof where the sound had been.
"Well, thank God for that," Val sighed.
"But what if it's not outside anymore? What if it's inside?" Jethro proposed.
"I know what you're thinking," Ariel nodded. "And I'd hate to say it makes sense," she mumbled.
His mother however, was less quick on the uptake.
"Inside?" Val gasped. "Where?"
Jethro and Ariel shared a nod before he turned his torch on Sky. "It was heading for her," he remembered.
"Sky? It's alright, Sky," the Doctor assured her. "I just want you to turn around, face me."
Sky did exactly that, slowly and then whipping her head towards the rest of the bus, tracking each of them in turn, eyeing Ariel for a moment before peering at the Doctor and mimicking his every movement.
"Sky?" the Doctor prompted.
"Sky," she repeated.
"Are you alright?" the Doctor asked.
"Are you alright?"
"Are you hurt?" the Doctor implored.
"Are you hurt?"
"It's alright, you can tell us," Ariel nodded.
"It's alright, you can tell us."
"But you don't have to talk if you don't want," the Doctor shook his head.
"But you don't have to talk if you don't want."
"We're trying to help," the Doctor frowned.
"We're trying to help."
"She's repeating every word we say," Ariel breathed. "I don't think that's Sky anymore."
I am definitely not planning on including Sky repeating everything so I'm probably gonna write a brief thing about her repeating everything and, spoilers if you have never seen this episode, I'm also gonna write a brief thing when she starts speaking in unison with everybody.
