Chapter 54
Nate took them to the basement to see a Time Lord named Lee. Lilly talked enthusiastically to him, but Nate pulled Pride aside almost immediately.
"ALRIGHT, WHAT WERE YOU AND THE DOCTOR TALKING ABOUT?"
Pride considered lying or refusing to answer, but ultimately decided it wasn't worth it. "She wants me to watch for anything suspicious. She doesn't trust this planet."
"AND YOU AGREE?"
Pride shrugged. "I haven't given it much thought. I'll do what she says, and help out if she's right."
"WHAT? NO QUESTIONING AT ALL?"
"Why would I question the Doctor's instructions?" (He did often question her views, but that wasn't the same thing.) "She knows what she's doing. She's never lost."
"BUT YOU WANT TO HELP, DON'T YOU? QUESTIONING CAN DO THAT. MAKES PEOPLE THINK. I ALWAYS GIVE NORA MY OPINION."
Pride just felt . . . tired. What was it with people telling him to question his authority figures? (True, he had eventually doubted Father after the Promised Day, and the Doctor was easier to disagree with, but still.)
"I don't see why you should care," he finally said. "It has nothing to do with you personally. I dislike and distrust a lot of people. I hate Lilly."
He jerked his head back towards her.
"SHE SEEMS . . . ALRIGHT. SHE JUST STILL HAS SOME GROWING UP TO DO."
Pride looked off in her direction, a good deal of contempt rising up. "She's had plenty of time to do that. She's just not going to."
Before they could say anything more, Lee peered out. "Um, Nate, are you going to take them out soon? It's just I have work to do, and I'm not sure it's safe for her to be touching my stuff." Lee pointed back at Lilly.
So Nate took them and led them outside through the courtyard. Now that they were outside, Pride could see the columns lining the courtyard, and the teleport tubes in between each column, allowing people to be brought here. Of course it was quiet now, the tubes empty and dark. The rest of the courtyard let the sun in, grass growing in most places, with a tree or two in the corners.
Nate led them to the very end of the courtyard, at the border with the trees beyond.
"WE GO INTO THE FOREST SOMETIMES," he explained, waving a limb at it. "IT'S NICE. YOU HAVE TO BE CAREFUL THOUGH. WE HAVE SOME VASHTA NERADA IN THERE. TOTALLY NATURAL. BUT YOU DON'T WANT TO RUN INTO THEM."
"What are they?" Lilly asked.
"LIVING SHADOWS THAT EAT YOUR FLESH."
Pride froze, making a face. Then his lips began quirking up. "Hah." That one laugh turned into a lot. He grabbed his stomach and tried to get enough air.
"Pride?"
"WHAT IS IT?"
Pride managed to respond, though not helpfully. "If I ever worry about shadows, then you know I'm not really Pride," he wheezed out.
If he laughed any harder, he was going to cry.
After that, Pride had to convince the other two he wasn't crazy. Then they headed back into town. Nate showed them the hospital, which they luckily didn't need because it was looking busy. He took them to a café, and somehow even a simple place like that had technology far beyond what Pride and Lilly used. They passed a few other stores in the area. Then Nate led them to the giant anti-gravity building.
"The what?" Pride asked.
"ACTUALLY, ALL THE BUILDINGS IN THIS SECTION LACK GRAVITY," Nate specified, leading them into a door on the third floor. There was a small platform to stand on, but after that the floor disappeared. "LOOK UP."
Above them were large, round, transparent creatures, easily the size of some rooms in Amestris. They came in blue, pink, and purple from what Pride could see.
"SPACE JELLIES," Nate said. "THEY MOVE THROUGH SPACE LIKE IT'S THE OCEAN. SO WHEN THEY CAME HERE, THEY COULDN'T HAVE GRAVITY. GO AHEAD AND TEST IT. STEP OFF."
Pride looked down. This building was mostly vast open space, though there were some arches along the first floor for some reason. Still, from this far, it would hurt to land on one of those or the floor. Pride turned back to Nate, eyes half lidded, a look of skepticism on his face.
Nate lifted both dalek weapons in a shrug. "I'D ROLL OFF AND PROVE IT, BUT SINCE DALEKS CAN FLY. . ."
Since daleks could fly it wouldn't prove anything.
"Woah."
Both of them turned. Lilly had stepped off the platform. She was now floating away. She used her arms to steady herself, then spun to face them, eyes shinning, smile on her face.
"Come on guys," she urged. "It really works."
Nate rolled off the ledge and began to spin vertically with a 'woo'. Well then. Pride sighed softly and stepped off.
The sensation wasn't what he expected. Pride had been in space before, and like then, waving his limbs around confirmed there was no friction. It was wonderful. But if this was exactly like space, they shouldn't be able to control their movements at all right? He kicked his feet like he was trying to go up from underwater, and launched forward. He spread his limbs to slow himself as he came closer to the jellies' stingers than most would like. Then he turned around and looked down on the world below.
Pride spun around so he was upside down, hair falling into his face. He let his limbs go out in strange angles, but it didn't feel uncomfortable, and drifted slowly around the room.
Nate's eyestalk swiveled towards him. "GREAT ISN'T IT?" he asked pointedly.
Pride shrugged and moved back into a normal position, pushing himself lower. "You'll excuse me if I don't just jump off a ledge on a stranger's say so."
Nate shook his head, by swinging his eyestalk back and forth. "YOU'RE HOPLESS."
"I could be far worse."
Nate was quiet for a moment. "I DON'T DOUBT IT. YOU HAVE BEEN MOST OF THE DAY." Pride was pretty sure Nate had just been making a joke. Poking fun at him. Well that was a first. He didn't really get time to think it over. "WELL, WHENVER YOU TWO ARE READY, WE SHOULD PROBABLY CHECK ON THE DOCTOR."
