In the absence of the wax figure, the trio's dumbfounded, as the Doctor said that it never happened before since he's been stuck inside the museum, and already the creeping feeling's coming back as they each suspect what type of adventure they've unknowingly embarked.
"I'm not asking the question," Lila refused to even vaguely ask the burning question they all had regarding the disappearance of the wax figure, as horror movies given her every known answer to her questions.
Equally disturbed, Theodore glimpsed where the wax figure was last, in his mind, he realized it could be anywhere in the museum, the way it's setup, it's a maze, and knowing them, it's bound to find them before they find it, and there aren't many things coming to mind that'd explain what they're dealing with.
Living wax?
A cretin that turns victims into wax?
A cretin that turns victims into wax figures?
Some sort of killer that disguises themselves as one of the figures to enact heinous crimes against trapped patrons in the museum like those schlocky horror movies he watched with Lila the one night?
No access to the TARDIS, unable to contact Al, and Theodore can't open a rift to circumvent this obvious trap they've unknowingly sprung, with a loose replica of his father somewhere in the museum, a horrifying thought, indeed!
Chewing on his inner lip as cogs turned in his head, Theodore went with the two as they searched for a way out of the museum while keeping watch for the wax figure stirring somewhere in the museum, lord only knows what it planned for them.
No chance for a cup of tea and a discussion, that much apparent.
Reaching into his pocket, Theodore brought out the only thing that came to mind when it comes to unusual circumstances.
The Sonic Screwdriver, of course.
Maybe he can't get to the TARDIS or open a rift, but the Sonic Screwdriver certainly proved useful, as he turned it on with a twist of the wrist, the blue light shimmering as Theodore read off what it's detecting.
Temporal disturbances, keeping both machines from interacting with them and each other, the signal's coming from somewhere inside the building indicating that there's a jammer, keeping the signals crossed.
Looking over, Theodore inquired to the Doctor if he had one himself, but the man said he'd forgotten it in the TARDIS, he didn't expect getting stuck in a wax museum of all places, but here he was.
Innocent mistake, is all.
"Yes, yes, I see, it boxed us in, and we're the only life forms here, it seems," Theodore concluded from his scan that they're the only living creatures in the museum, didn't explain the missing wax figure of his father, but it's something.
Lila concluded with, "So, living wax?"
Well, it wouldn't be the most unusual thing they've ever encountered in their stint as Doctor and companion and Theodore hesitated giving his answer, but the Doctor says that it wouldn't surprise him.
Raising her brow, Lila goes, "Why's that?"
Shrugging his brightly colored shoulders, the Doctor tells her that he had an encounter some adventures where he dealt with creatures using some sort of liquids to make fakes of people in an attempt to take over local governments.
Didn't work out too well, not with this thing called two suns, melted them all before the next parliament vote.
Weren't too fond of water, either, not after the sudden rainstorm swept all the melted fakes into the storm drains dotting around the city.
"But," the Doctor stopped as he glimpsed around, "I destroyed them. Nothing escaped, I was very thorough when I dealt with them. Repulsive things."
Besides that, they weren't using waxy substances in the creations of the fakes.
Trust him, he'd know, he watched them all melt away, the remnant of the liquids used weren't at all wax-like, akin to water, really, and he stowed away a sample aboard his TARDIS just in case something slipped through.
He may just be a former school teacher teaching rambunctious children, but the Doctor learnt enough on his journeys throughout the worlds and then some to keep samples.
His TARDIS would've warned him the moment he arrived had there been something amiss, but it didn't, thus leaving him to believe that they're not dealing with what he encountered those odd adventures ago.
"Then what?" Lila wondered as Theodore led her and the Doctor around the corner.
Dropped to the floor instantly as gunshots rang out, Theodore shielding her with his body, as the rapid fire of what sounded like a Tommy gun, despite the belief that it was a prop, they were wrong.
Bullets flew in the air, hitting whatever was behind the trio as they ducked on the ground, once the bullets stopped flying, Theodore opened his icy blue eyes, seeing nothing in the yonder, but as Lila struggled to move her head, she opened her chestnut eyes to see someone in the shadows moving away from them.
Getting up as Theodore helped her, Lila turned her head to the Doctor as he's standing with his emerald eyes wide, jolted by the sudden gunshots that finally stopped.
"Well, I believe we have an answer to that question," the Doctor coughed as he tugged on his coat, nervous, the thought never crossed his mind that someone would try to shoot them here.
Theodore's alerted when Lila pointed to blood oozing from his shoulder, a bullet got him, but the whole ordeal, he wasn't thinking about it, and the adrenaline alleviated the pain he would've felt.
"Don't worry, dear Watson, I'll be right as rain," Theodore assures Lila that he'll be fine in time, but Lila wasn't completely satisfied with his answer, the sight of the blood bothered her, still.
The Doctor undid the bow from around his neck, handing it off to Theodore as he used Lila's replacement multipurpose knife to carefully pull out the bullet from his shoulder, much to Lila's horror.
Figured he might as well retrieve it and see what they're up against, as he told Lila, his healing capabilities would've ensured that the bleeding stopped on its own and the bullet hole healed as if it wasn't there.
Once he dug out the bullet, tying off the wound with the bow, they studied it.
"Metal," Theodore deduced the bullet being as such, not the wax like he thought it be.
Most peculiar and studying the bloodied bullet, the Doctor noted that it couldn't have come a wax Tommy gun, either.
Lowering the bloodied bullet as he looked towards the Doctor, he says, "Those guns we destroyed from the displays were fake plastic, correct?"
Thinking back to their attempts at finding answers, the Doctor replied, "Yes, they were, and obviously weren't loaded. What do you make of it?"
As he dropped the bullet, having studied it enough, wiped the blood of the pliers that pushed out from the side of Lila's multipurpose knife, Theodore handed it back to her, as she wearily looked at his shoulder, the tied bow soaping up the blood as the wound bled while beginning to heal.
"I'll be fine," Theodore gently touched the tip of Lila's nose as he reassured her of his nature, he felt the wound healing as they speak, though he can't deny it hurt like hell digging out the bullet, but they had to know what they were up against.
It's a given with his healing capabilities, but a gunshot wasn't the end of the world, so long as it didn't impact his brain, of course, but that said, he'll live, he'll be sore for a spell, but he'll be fine.
Cautious, the trio went after the armed gunman, following the casings dropped on the ground, the smell of gun powder that trailed, they scoured, mindful of the displays, as they searched.
The scope of the museum proved difficult, however, that they had to come up with a new plan, Theodore hesitated at the thought, but the Doctor pointed out that if all three splintered and took points, they could in theory corner the gunman.
It's a difficult prospect, but without any other way of catching the gunman, unable to open a rift and surprise him, Theodore's forced to agree with the Doctor's plot, but not without giving Lila instructions.
Lila agrees to them, but not without warning Theodore with her own, "Be careful next time."
A small smile appears on Theodore's face before they separate as they try to corner the gunman.
Dangerous, yes, but they had no other options at hand, and setting fire while trapped in a wax museum wasn't beneficial for anyone, thankfully it seems as though their gunman's got some lemons, he wasn't trying to burn the place down with them trapped, either.
Somehow, he got in, when they catch him, he's going to tell them, either by coercion or force, whichever comes to mind, given the situation.
On her own in the museum, Lila slowly walked, her chestnut eyes gazed at every wax figure she passed, mindful of any that seemed out of place, cautious, weary, while Theodore couldn't reach out to Al, he's still able to reach her, so that's something.
Following along the path with displays for Greek philosophers, Lila sees the different wax figures, some with names she couldn't hope to pronounce to save her life, some she remembers from reading.
None of them packed heat, that much apparent, and no one crouching behind them with the Tommy gun, either.
Slowly, Lila walked, as she did, she noticed the lights above finally went dark, plunging the museum into darkness, finally, leaving them no chance to spot the gunman, at his mercy.
"Crap," Lila muttered under her breath as she walked, knife in one hand, as Theodore instructed her, making sure she knew if he or the Doctor found her, they were to tell her a word.
'Lithium'
Easy enough to remember and nobody knew the significance except Theodore, so it'd be a one out of a million someone managed to say the safe word.
With that, Lila walked, she's unable to use the flashlight she brought along with her because of the gunman, so she's forced to walk in the darkness, careful about stabbing Theodore or the Doctor.
The displays weren't helping, they're all filled with wax figures, and some clumped together that it makes it difficult to see clearly.
Lila felt a presence behind her and heard, "Lithium."
Sighing, Lila turned around facing someone in the darkness, calling out to them, "Got a light?"
She sees the figure reach into their pocket, bringing out a match, striking it, and sees the floating ember enter a pipe, coming out of it, there's familiar tobacco, and it wasn't harsh like typical tobacco, causing Lila to let out, "Since when do you smoke?"
She sees the figure lean forward, "It's a nasty habit I picked up, I know, but I confess the opportunity presented itself."
It's the Doctor, he found himself a pipe from one of the displays, and opted to light it, figuring he had nothing better to do.
"Bad habit, friend. Why come this way?" Lila asked him why he didn't go the path he set on and he said it was a dead end, so he came back through where he came, found this path, took it, found Lila.
Along the way he found the pipe.
The stress of the gunman gotten to him, so he hoped the hit of tobacco would help ease his nerves, following Lila as she continued the path up.
They're reaching the end where it opened up, so far, they haven't found the gunman or Theodore, and they're cautious as they moved, despite it evident they weren't going to find the gunman first with the Doctor smoking his pipe.
Not as much as Herman went through, but the Doctor says he smokes lightly.
Towards the end, now, Lila and the Doctor walked, and stopped when they felt phantom eyes watching them in the darkness.
Theodore hadn't spoken up, so they chose to believe that it was the gunman, and the Doctor prepared to throw the burning ashes in the gunman's face as needed, if he could see clearly.
Blinking, Lila held her knife outright, prepared to stab it, mindful of the Doctor, and as they're trying to avoid becoming Swiss'd by bullets, yet there hadn't been movement.
Lila felt a hand on her shoulder, believing it to be the Doctor, she called to him, but to her shock, he was in front of her.