AN/ You know the drill: I don't own Doctor Who or the TARDIS, but the BBC does. This is in the TARDIS' POV and is a part of my TARDIS 100 series. Set during "The Impossible Planet" and "Satan Pit" and contains spoilers for those two episodes. I hope you like it! Thanks to Cameron for betaing.
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They took me for granted. They assumed I would always be there sitting quietly in a corner waiting for them to return. They never seriously considered that something bad could ever happen to me. They never thought I could be lost, that they would lose their primary method of escape. They never thought they would lose their home.
The Doctor was only mildly concerned at my difficulty landing. He was right, I was feeling sick. "Indigestion" was an accurate word for it. It was the gravity of the black hole working on this impossible planet that was making me feel this way. It pulled me in against my will. It hurt to resist, so I just gave in. The best I could do was try and give myself an easy landing. This was still very difficult to do and it made me quite sick.
They laughed at the idea that they didn't have to stay there. Little did they know that I wouldn't have been able to take off even if I tried. I had to sort myself out first, adjust my settings to be able to cope with this hostile environment.
They shouldn't have expected me to be able to translate the difficult, ancient language of the Beast. I bet if I were able to put enough effort into it, I would have been able to translate at least some of it, but it was too much to ask of me at that time.
I remember the earthquake very clearly. I remember the room I was in on the base collapsing around me. I remember falling and my hard, painful landing deep inside the planet. It had felt like I was falling forever.
Then there was the darkness, meaning both the absence of light and of thought. I couldn't contact my Doctor. His brain felt cut off from me. I couldn't hear his mental voice and that scared me a little. Despite this, the place I was in was not silent. I could hear the roars and growls of the Beast near by. It ignored me, probably sensing that I was not worth it's effort to try to communicate to. I knew that it was reaching out to the Doctor and the others though. I hoped they would be strong against its influence.
I found I was not frightened of the Beast. In fact, it motivated me to fight harder to repair myself. I had every faith that my Doctor would find me. I knew in my heart that although I was cut off from him, he was not dead. As long as the Doctor is still around, there will always be a chance. I knew he would find me, and when he did I had to be ready.
He found me just as the planet was beginning to collapse. I had just finished all my major repairs when he landed at my base. I dove into his mind.
"Doctor! My Doctor…I am here."
He looked up and saw me, grinning bright enough to light up the room.
In the end, it wasn't too much for me to pull the rocket to safety. I was unable to go back for the Ood, but at least they were respected in death.
The next time things become too much for me, I hope the Doctor will realise that and let me have a break. As I age, this may happen more often. If he does that for me, then it would be my pleasure to return the favour. We do have to look out for each other, after all.