Disclaimer: I only own my OC, Kylie.
Welcome to Gridlock! I'm excited for this one, since I'm adding a bit of a plot twist with Kylie, though it won't really make a difference until next chapter.
Enjoy!:)
The Doctor led me into the TARDIS' wardrobe after quickly checking me in the med bay. Bandages now covered my thigh and shoulder, though the wounds had already stopped bleeding and had already started the healing process.
Although my body was on the mend, my clothes had suffered. Little holes from my last adventure with the Timepiece still decorated my clothes, and now, huge splotches of blood covered my thigh and shoulder.
I was proud to say I was not in the least surprised when I discovered that the wardrobe was huge. I was in a TARDIS, after all. I had not expected anything else.
The Doctor left me alone to search for something to wear. I started searching through the racks, frowning when I noticed that everything was my size or, at least, suspiciously close to it.
The Doctor wasn't anything near my size, and I doubted it was mere coincidence. That only left the TARDIS. Perhaps, somehow, she was gifting me with clothes. It left me awed. I'd heard stories that the TARDIS' were grown, not made. That they were alive, somewhere in there. Before, the stories had been only that: stories. But now, standing in a real TARDIS, I touched the clothes almost reverently.
I decided on dark, skinny jeans, a nice white blouse, and a dark, fitted jacket. The clothes were comfortable for running, the blouse loose enough for warm weather and the jacket cozy enough if it was suddenly cold.
Happy, I wandered through the halls, trying to lose myself in them to see what I'd find.
We were in the TARDIS' console. My eyes ran over all the controls, the buttons, the levers. I was trying to distract myself from the inevitable. We were going back to Martha's time, and the Doctor was going to drop us off.
Martha sat on the pilot's chair, legs swinging back and forth. There was a frown on her face, though she tried to hide it. I leaned against the railings, watching as the Doctor fumbled with the controls.
The Doctor flicked one last lever, before finally interrupting the silence that had prevailed on the ship.
"Just one trip. That's what I said." He muttered. "One trip in the TARDIS, and then home." The he looked up, looking at us through his long eyelashes. "Although I suppose we could stretch the definition. Take one trip into the past, on trip into the future. How do you fancy that?"
Martha laughed in relief. "No complaints from me."
I wanted to agree. However, doubt still nagged me. I was just pushing back the inevitable. After this trip, I was going back to Earth, and I would have to start a new life just from scratch. Doable, of course, but no less terrifying.
However, it wasn't as if I could just give up another adventure with the Doctor. Even if my shoulder and my thigh still ached, these were adventures of a lifetime. The last Timelord. Martha didn't know the legend she shared the air with.
I realized the TARDIS had fallen silent once again. Martha and the Doctor stood, stock still, looking at me. They waited for my response.
I smiled, trying to push the nerves away. "Of course. Where to?"
The Doctor grinned. "How about…" He paused, eyes twinkling. "A different planet?"
Martha spoke up. "Can we go to yours?"
I winced, watching as the grin on the Doctor's face vanished. He turned away from Martha, fumbling with the controls.
"Ah," He waved it off. "There's plenty of other places."
"Come on, though." Martha pressed. "I mean, planet of the Time Lords. That's got to be worth a look. What's it like?"
The Doctor's eyes flickered around. They briefly landed on mine, before quickly darting away.
"Well, it's beautiful, yeah." He said.
"Is it like, you know, outer space cities, all spires and stuff?"
"I suppose it is."
"Great big temples and cathedrals!"
"Yeah."
"Lots of planets in the sky?" Martha kept asking, and my heart wrenched with every word.
The Doctor fiddled with something in the console. It was pure instinct, what I did. If I'd thought it out, I probably wouldn't have. However, my hand acted out of its own accord, and suddenly, it was placed over one of the Time Lord's cold hand, stopping his movements with a soft squeeze.
His eyes flickered once again to mine. This time, though, I was close enough to distinguish what churned inside. Sadness. Unimaginable and infinite sadness. So much, and so heartbreaking, it was impossible for a creature so young as me to fully comprehend it.
His eyes stayed glued to mine, almost like a lifeline.
"The sky's a burnt orange," He spoke and his stare never wavered, his eyes shining with something unrecognizable. "With the Citadel enclosed in a mighty glass dome, shining under the twin suns. Beyond that, the mountains go on forever. Slopes of deep red grass, capped with snow."
"Can we go there?"
The spell was broken. He turned around, his hand swiftly sliding away from mine as he walked around the console. Whatever had been in his eyes disappeared, and the cheerful Time Lord returned.
"Nah. Where's the fun for me? I don't want to go home. Instead," He turned a dial, and the TARDIS started shaking. I held to the console as the TARDIS moved. "This is much better. Year five billion and fifty-three, planet New Earth." We landed, and the Doctor quickly shrugged on his coat. "Second hope of mankind. Fifty thousand light years from your old world, and we're slap bang in the middle of New New York. Although, technically it's the fifteenth New York from the original," He said, as he slowly opened the door and Martha and I followed him. "So it's New New New New New New New New New New New New New New York. One of the most dazzling cities ever built."
We stepped off into a narrow alleyway, immediately assaulted by rain.
"Oh, that's nice. Time Lord version of dazzling." Martha grumbled.
I grinned as the drops rolled down my face.
"Nah, bit of rain never hurt anyone. Come on, let's get under cover!"
We hurried down the streets, Martha and the Doctor furiously searching for shelter.
"What are you so happy about?" Martha asked me, prompting the Doctor to glance at me.
I couldn't contain my smile. "Oh, I don't know. I love the rain. And New New York. This was the first place I time traveled to, you know?"
We ducked into a new alleyway, Martha and the Doctor's shoulders hunched to protect themselves from the rain. I didn't really care. I had always been one of those people who loved taking walks in the rain just for the sake of it.
"Really?" Martha asked. "Well, it looks like the same old Earth to me, on a Wednesday afternoon."
The Doctor shook his head. "Hold on, hold on. Let's have a look."
He approached an old, rusty, monitor, and took his sonic screwdriver. It buzzed as he turned it on, examining the monitor and trying to make it work.
The image on the screen flickered to life. A woman appeared, her smile big enough to swallow the whole screen hole.
"And the driving should be clear and easy, with fifteen extra lanes open for the New New Jersey expressway." She said.
Another image appeared, and I recognized the city I had once visited. Complete with the huge buildings and the flying cars.
"Oh, that's more like it. That's the view we had last time." The Doctor said, before glancing around. "This must be the lower levels, down in the base of the tower. Some sort of under-city."
"You've brought us to the slums?" Martha asked, an eyebrow raised.
"Much more interesting." He pointed at the screen. "It's all cocktails and glitter up there. This is the real city."
Martha shook her head, a small smile on her face. "You'd enjoy anything."
"That's me," The Doctor grinned at us, looking quite adorable with his wet hair plastered to his face. "Ah, the rain's stopping. Better and better. Though perhaps not for Kylie."
I shook my head. "There'll always be a next time for rain."
The Doctor nodded, eyes far away. "I suppose so."
"When you say last time," Martha asked. "Was that you and Rose?"
The Doctor nodded. "Er, yeah. Yeah, it was, yeah."
Martha was frowning. Jealousy was written clearly on her face, and yet, the Doctor seemed to fail to see it. "You're taking us to the same planets that you took her?"
The Doctor nodded, shrugging. "What's wrong with that?"
"Nothing," she replied, sarcastically. "Just ever heard the word rebound?"
Martha stalked off, and the Doctor exchanged a glance with me. I lifted my shoulders, not knowing how to respond.
In a flash, a green stall in front of us opened, bathing us in light. A man in dirty clothing leaned out.
"Oh! You should have said. How long have you been there? Happy." He slapped the counter, before ducking and searching for something. "You want Happy." He tried handing us a packet Martha refused.
The stalls around us followed, suddenly opening one by one and vendors leaning out, grinning at us.
"Customers. Customers! We've got customers!" One said.
"We're in business. Mother, open up the Mellow, and the Read!"
"Happy, Happy, lovely happy Happy!"
"Anger. Buy some Anger!"
"A bit of the Truth?"
"Get some Mellow. Makes you feel all bendy and soft all day long."
"Don't go to them." The first vendor told us. "They'll rip you off. Do you want some Happy?"
"No, thanks," The Doctor said dryly.
"Are they selling drugs?" Martha asked.
"I think they're selling moods," I told them, frowning at the vendors who wouldn't shut up.
"Same thing, isn't it?"
A woman in dark rags entered the small area; her shoulders hunched and face dirty.
"Over here sweetheart!" The vendors started yelling. "That's it, come on, I'll get you first!"
"Oi! Oi, you! Over here! Over here! Buy some Happy!"
The woman finally approached a vendor.
"Come over here, yeah. And what can I get you, my love?"
"I want to buy Forget." The woman said.
"I've got Forget, my darling. What strength? How much to you want forgetting?"
"It's my mother and father," The woman explained. "They went on the motorway."
"Oh, that's a swine. Try this. Forget Forty-three. That's two credits."
"Sorry," The Doctor interrupted the woman, who had just exchanged her money for a small patch of Forget Forty-three. "But hold on a minute. What happened to your parents?"
"They drove off," she replied.
"Yeah, but they might drive back."
"Everyone goes to the motorway in the end." She explained, like it was the simplest thing in the world, and we stood, uncomprehending. "I've lost them."
"But they can't have gone far. You could find them."
The woman didn't hesitate. She placed the patch on her neck, and we watched, amazed, as her weary expression wore off. Her eyes suddenly lit up.
"I'm sorry, what were you saying?" She asked, and her voice was lighter than before.
"Your parents," The Doctor tried reminding her. "Your mother and father. They're on the motorway."
"Are they? That's nice. I'm sorry. I won't keep you." And then, she left, her steps now worry-free.
I frowned after her. "I would never do that." I muttered.
"What?" Martha asked.
"Choose to forget. She's a coward."
"But wouldn't it be nice?" She said. "Your worries disappear. Every bad thing that's ever happened."
I glanced at the Doctor, who wasn't paying attention to us. He probably would also never choose to forget. As bad as some memories were, they became part of us.
I shook my head. "No. As much as it would hurt, I'd rather remember. The things we go through make us who we are what now. Make us stronger, in a way, as cheesy as that sounds. You learn from your experiences."
Silence resurfaced between us as we watched the vendors bicker over their goods.
Martha shook her head as she watched, disappointed. "So that's the human race five billion years in the future. Off their heads on chemicals."
I frowned. "It wasn't like this the last time I-"
Martha's scream interrupted me.
A man held her from behind, holding her as she struggled. Another woman joined him, holding a gun in her hand, pointed straight at my chest. The vendor's drew their stalls closed, leaving us alone.
"I'm sorry, I'm really, really sorry." The man said. "We just need three, that's all."
"No, let her go!" The Doctor growled. "I'm warning you, let her go! Whatever you want, I can help. The three of us can help. But first you've got to let her go."
"I'm sorry," The woman mimicked the man, walking backwards. Her voice sounded suspiciously close to a sob. "I'm really sorry. Sorry."
The Doctor and I followed them, slowly, wary of the gun. It was all happening so fast, I had no idea what to do, how to help. They dragged Martha through a green door, slamming it shut before we could reach them and slamming the lock home.
The Doctor struggled with the door, finally reaching for his sonic screwdriver before he ultimately managed it open.
"Kylie! Come on!" He growled, and I followed him through the alleys and passages, running.
We jumped over trash and cardboards, finally reaching an opening. However, all we saw was one of those flying cars, black, swiftly taking into the air and leaving.
"Martha!" he cried, but it was already too late.
The Doctor stalked back towards the vendors. His back was straight and tense, and his face completely stony. His eyes were the worst, however. They crackled with anger, a lightning storm lighting within.
He hammered on one of the closed hatches, before pouncing on the vendor and demanding information.
I wandered off, approaching another vendor and knocking.
"Hello! Want some mellow Mellow?" The woman inside asked after opening the hatch. She swayed in her seat, her eyes droopy as she watched me.
I frowned. "No, thanks. Do you know where those people could have taken my friend?"
She waved it off. "To the motorway, of course. How about some Happy?"
I glared. "No."
"Hmm, I'd offer you some Anger but it seems that between you and your bloke over there you have enough."
I rolled my eyes. "Not my bloke."
Her eyes widened, and a grin inched up her face. "Oh! I see how it is. You're too afraid to tell him what you really feel."
I furrowed my brow. "What? No. That's not it."
"I have just the thing for that!" She ignored me. Her arm suddenly flashed in a move so fast I would have never expected it from the drowsy woman. I felt the slap on my neck, and I stared at her, wide eyed and stunned, before finally reacting and throwing the patch away.
"What did you do?" I growled.
"Attraction fifty-two. Enough for you to show him how you really feel."
"Take it away." I ordered.
She shrugged. "Can't. How do you feel?"
The words slipped from my tongue before I could stop them. "Like I want to punch you in the face right now."
The hatch slipped close with a bang, closing the woman inside.
I hurried over to the Doctor, wondering why my throat had suddenly started to tingle. I scrubbed away my neck, trying to take whatever the patch had left off.
"The motorway," The Doctor was saying. "How do I get there?"
"Straight down the alley, keep going to the end. You canna miss it." The vendor paused, a smile lighting up her face. "Tell you what. How about some happy Happy? Then you'll be smiling!"
"Word of advice, all of you," He said, as he took my hand. His face was stony, and his voice steely. "Cash up, close down and pack your bags."
"Why's that, then?" The vendor asked.
"Because as soon as I've found her, alive and well, and I will find her alive and well, then I'm coming back, and this street is closing tonight!"
With that, he turned on his heel, his hand dragging me behind, worried and throat tingling.
His voice still rang in my ears. And as improbable as his words were, as impossible as his claim sounded, I couldn't find it in myself to doubt him for a second.
Well, Kylie is officially drugged with Attraction 52! *evil laugh* this is gonna be fun :D