Spending more time in school than she cared for, Lila and the other two remained dumbfounded on the Rubik Obelisk, as they nicknamed it, of course that's never sticking, but for the most part, it's what they settled on.
Unlike the Rubik cubes that all children played with at some point in their lives, this one didn't have moving parts, but had some grooves along the sides that it made them think it could.
David couldn't find answers why his Sonic Screwdriver wouldn't worked with it, he ended up concluding that whatever the Rubik Obelisk's comprised, it's interfering with it.
It's intriguing for him, because outside wood (don't ask him why) he didn't run into these kinds of issues before, if he could break off a piece of the Rubik Obelisk, he could have the TARDIS do an in-depth scan, see what turned up.
That's impossible, not only because of what happened after, even with his enhanced strength, David only broke the hammers and chisels, but didn't do any damage to the black cube in front of him.
"Are we sure this is even worth the effort?" Lila questioned the validity of this, this looked more like one of those modern art pieces without the interestingly terrible backstories.
Sweat dripping from his face as he exerted his strength trying to break a piece off, David went, "Bloody well be, if I keep this up, every hardware store's going to either love me or hate me."
If he kept using the tools, lord knows what the hardware stores would say!
Looking towards him as she pulled loose chestnut strings of hair behind her ears, Lila asks David, "Why don't you bring the TARDIS here and load it inside that way, at least we know you can cart it right through."
Makes life easier and Lila doubted the school's going to accuse David of attempted theft when they reached out for an answer, anyway.
Sighing, David then revealed something else, the TARDIS won't come near it.
Trust him when he said that he expended every avenue he can come up with before reaching to the conclusion he needed outside help.
Raising her brow at this, Lila goes, "It won't come near it, why?"
Shrugging his wide shoulders, David responded that he doesn't know, but the TARDIS simply won't come a foot near the TARDIS, and he tried everything under the sun, even going through the huge book he found, again.
For whatever reason, it won't come near it, and he doesn't know why.
"Weird," Lila blinked as she's surprised that the TARDIS wouldn't come closer for David to load the Rubik Obelisk inside, more, David attempted to try to bring the Rubik Obelisk to the TARDIS, but the door wouldn't open.
Whatever this thing was, the TARDIS wanted nothing to do with it.
"What's it say on the monitors?" Lila asked David what the monitors above the console said and he replied that on the screens, it just showed him a lengthy line of the same word.
ERROR.
Just that, ad nauseam, had to reset everything to get the word off the screen.
"Trust me, he's been having a one-sided argument with it before he came to find you!" Catherine scoffed as she brought up that David got into an argument with the TARDIS over it, which only resulted in David devolving into some sort of name calling contest with the TARDIS, only the TARDIS didn't say anything back.
Crossing his arms as he defended himself, David says, "Where does it say that I cannot have a healthy argument with my TARDIS?"
He heard Catherine, "Sub-section four of the Elven Protocol."
Raising his bushy brow at this, David balked as he stared at his companion with a knowing look on her face as she revealed that she's been reading the big book, too.
She defended herself by saying that she needed something to keep her busy when they weren't adventuring and David's with Jenny, so she took to reading the book that David's keen on forgetting where he places it.
In fact, if not for her, he wouldn't known where it was when he needed it the last time.
Pointing his finger at her, David says, "I read it, it also says having a healthy argument with the TARDIS's a good thing!"
Snorting at this while rolling her eyes, Catherine retorted, "In what reality was that a healthy argument?"
"In mine," David replied with a smirk as he turned back to the Rubik Obelisk.
"Now what?" Lila asked, crossing her arms as she watched him with what he was doing.
Placing his hands upon his hips, David's eyes bore into the Rubik Obelisk and he sighed as he muttered, "Well, I didn't expect any other outcome than what it is."
"I know you did," Lila mused.
"He's always been a hopeless idealist," Catherine offered and David shot her a warning look.
"And we're going to have to break it," David added.
Catherine, with a cheeky grin at David, replies, "Don't you have more faith than that, David?"
No TARDIS or Sonic Screwdriver, the three broke off trying to find something in the laboratory they could use on the Rubik Obelisk, but to no surprise, it ended in failure, as they're left without any answers, and nothing to show they done anything other than making fools of themselves.
David wouldn't give up, stubborn, which Catherine says is common with him, one adventure he nearly bashed his head through a wall while they were stuck in some sort of trap.
"Honestly, I don't think Theodore would've made a difference, Davey," Lila sighed as she looked at the Rubik Obelisk, once more eluding them in their quest for answers, despite everything they've tried, and what they broke.
If David couldn't use his Sonic Screwdriver and TARDIS, it wouldn't mattered if Theodore tried with his, it would've resulted in the same thing.
Frowning, David sighed as he sat down at one of the chairs, spinning himself with his red and white vanes on the metal bars towards the feet.
"Don't you think we've been at this long enough?" Catherine pointed at the time, they've been at this riddle for over three hours, and haven't gotten anywhere with it.
Not wanting to call it quits, stubborn as he is and the fact he made a promise, David acknowledged they've been at this for a long time, and all this work they've done built themselves up an appetite.
"There's no daiquiris," Catherine made light of David's drinking habits, especially since they've been on Mars multiple times just so David could have his favourite banana daiquiri.
Defending himself, David insisted that he treats himself after every successful adventure, pointing out that Catherine wasn't innocent, she'd drunk plenty of Winter Princesses.
Raising her finger, Lila asks, "Winter Princesses?"
Explaining the drink as he got up from his chair and moved around, his vanes squeaking against the floor, David described the drink as follows.
Winter Princess.
½ Mercury Orchid's White Peach Special
1g of Nebulas Cane Sugar, ground fine
2 shots of Saturn's Finest White Crown
1 shot of Calypso rum
And the list goes on.
"She was trying to get B'eemix to give her the secret formula," David commented how Catherine practically begged B'eemix the Bartender for the recipe, but he wouldn't say a word.
Nose scrunched up, Catherine bit back with, "You practically bribed him with everything under the sun for the banana daiquiri!"
David wasn't innocent in this, either, trying his hand bribing B'eemix for the secret formula for his banana daiquiri, which the bartender absolutely refused, despite David trying to bribe him with every monetary valued object he could reasonably give.
"Almost a good thing you weren't addicted to the banana daiquiri, you'd try bribing him with the TARDIS!" Catherine scoffed as the three left the laboratory on their way to one place they're easily familiar with.
The cafeteria.
In disbelief, Lila looked up at David as she asked, "How good were those banana daiquiris you were trying to bribe the man with Renoir paintings?"
Head bobbing, David's deep in thought, before he defended his exorbitant consumption of banana daiquiris, "They're good!"
So good, Catherine found David comatose under the bar half-cradling the largest glass that B'eemix had while snoring away.
If not for his genetics, David's liver would've divorced him and took the kidneys!
"Oh, I don't think he needs to worry about his liver," Catherine informed Lila as they smelled the food wafting from the lunch line, "I had B'eemix give him the "house special" or whatever you call them."
Aghast that Catherine convinced B'eemix to only give him non-alcoholic banana daiquiris, David stares at her, before she jabbed her finger into his chest, emphasizing her words as she jabs him, "You have any idea how much those drinks cost?"
To summarize, all the drinks David consumed since he discovered B'eemix's bar on Mars, if not for the fact he's the Doctor and has access to fortunes beyond notion to pay the tab every time he goes up there, on top of goodwill that came out of being the Doctor, he would be roughly a thousand years old before he worked off the debt by cleaning the bar every night.
That's with the alcohol!
Filed into one line, reaching for their trays, the three shuffled sideways through the lunch line, which went from one end of the cafeteria to the other end, filled with food that catered to the thirty students present, and unlike all the slop Lila's familiar with during her time in school, the food here not only looked edible, it smelled edible, too.
Perks of being a prestigious school, gets to have the best food all-around, not a greasy square pizza in sight!
All three filled up their trays with food, David filled his to the point that he had to vice grip his tray because it'd gotten heavy from everything loaded onto it during their trek down the lunch line.
Their lunch secured, the three found a table where they sat around, consuming their respected lunch, while hearing pattering of the students coming to the cafeteria for their own lunches.
Students of various ages, wandered into the cafeteria, drawn to the food instantly, heading into the line with their trays, grabbing what's served today, and they're chattering among themselves while the three watched them from afar.
The sight of the students brought back memories for both Lila and David during their respected times in school, how Lila witnessed food fights and how David won money by using his budding telepathy.
For Catherine, she remembered the troubles she got into while tutoring under Lady Tudor.
"They spend their entire lives here?" Lila asked David as she dipped her fry in the ketchup, David nodding as he bit into a bit of fried fish, as he chewed, he tells Lila that students often become staff members to the academy.
It's rare for students to outright leave.
Different reasons why, but otherwise, students remained in the school long after achieving their academic aspirations.
"Seems dreadful!" Catherine found it.
Since forcing her way into being David's companion, Catherine experienced things she'd never have the chance had she stayed in Scotland and become queen.
The mere thought of never leaving the school to travel the world baffled her.
David reminded her, as he picked up a spoonful of peas, "Not everyone has your personality, Cat."