Disclaimer: Let's keep it simple this time - I do not own the rights to Doctor Who.
Author's Note: Couple things. First of all, as the 10th Doctor would say, I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry for taking two weeks to post another chapter! If it makes you feel any better, this one is longer than the first two combined and sets up a couple of major plotlines, one of which is extremely obvious while the other is decidedly not.
The second thing is that this is the last time for quite a while that I'm going to ask for reviews. I really don't want to beg for them, so I'm just going to say again that they would be extremely helpful and encouraging, because currently I have no idea what anyone thinks of this story at all, but I do know that people are reading it. That's all! =)
Pronunciation Key: Jamikamar = self explanatory,Washxar = wash-car, RO-2 = ro-two.
4 – Trouble with a Removal Officer
Considering how anxious I was for the Doctor's return just by the time I got back to my apartment, it felt like forever before I saw him again. In a way, though, things were better for it. After two weeks had dragged by without seeing my unusual friend, I started to realize that I needed to have something in my life to come back to from the Doctor's crazy adventures, something to make my normal life mean something. My family was back in the United States, I had no other good friends, and, although I enjoyed my job, I didn't love working at the library. I knew I could always go and get involved in the community if I just wanted more friends, but that's not what I wanted. I realized that I wanted something meaningful, and that's when I met her.
It was not love at first sight, not by any means, it was a lot more like interest at first sight. When a woman with shoulder-length brown hair and big brown eyes walked into the library for the first time one Monday morning, I couldn't help but notice that she was good-looking. It wasn't just that, though – I also couldn't help but notice that she really just seemed nice. I was kind of nervous by the time she approached my desk to check out the books she had found, but as we talked idly while I worked, I relaxed and started to really enjoy talking with her.
The next Monday, when she came to the library again, I spotted her instantly, and she came to my desk to check out her books just like the last week. Every Monday after that when she stopped by, I would learn a little bit more about her, and she started recognizing me more and more. Seven weeks after I had seen the Doctor last, I knew that her name was Clara Oswin Oswald, that she was a school teacher, that she was intelligent, funny, kind, and, as embarrassing as this was to admit, that I had a huge crush on her.
Another week passed, a week during which I debated a lot about what to do when I saw Clara the next time. I was so very, very tempted to ask her out, but I was nervous about being rejected. I hardly knew her, after all. When Monday of the eight week finally arrived and I saw Clara walk in and start looking for her books for that week, my conflict of emotions only got worse.
"Hi, Nelson," she said cheerfully as she approached my desk and set down an armful of books.
"Hi, Clara," I replied, relaxing immediately. "How are you enjoying the books you got last week?"
"I've been reading them, but I haven't really had enough time to enjoy them, y'know?" Clara said.
"Sure," I replied. "Wow, does a book genre exist that you don't have in this pile?" I laughed, indicating her books.
"If there is, I'll have to go get some!" she joked.
I laughed again. "Would you mind if I asked why you've been getting so many books?" I asked.
"No, 'course not - I've been volunteering to work with deaf children, and I've run out of books to read to them," she replied, a sly smile creeping its way onto her features.
"Hey, I do that too!" I joked, eliciting a laugh that made my knees wobble slightly.
"To answer your question, I'm trying to find a book that I like – one that I really like," Clara said. "I have the strangest feeling that there's a book out there that I absolutely love, but I can't remember for the life of me what it is, and it's not at home. So, here I am, trying to find a book I can't remember!"
"A noble pursuit," I said genuinely. Clara smiled widely at me.
"Thank you," she said quietly.
"Well, all done," I said, not wanting Clara to leave but running out of ways to stall. As I stacked up the books and slid them across to her, I started to panic, knowing that this was my only chance until next week to ask her out.
"Thanks again. I'll see you next Monday," Clara said, waving slightly and turning to leave.
"Wait!" I blurted out. "Would- would you . . . " I stumbled over myself. Seeing her turn back and smile patiently, I took a deep breath, looked her in the eye, and was just about to ask her out when a red haired woman walked over to my desk and unceremoniously dropped a book on it. Startled and more than slightly annoyed, I stared at the newcomer for a moment.
"Well?" she prompted. "Are you going to get your little scanny thing and let me take my book or sit there staring at me all day?"
"Oh, right," I said, starting to do my job. "Sorry."
After I had given the woman her book back, I was fully expecting her to leave the building, but instead she walked back into the right wing of the library. Just as I was going to forget about her, I heard the woman mutter grumpily to herself: "where's the Doctor gotten off to this time?"
Knowing full well that if the Doctor was here I wouldn't have another quiet moment to speak with Clara, I took a another deep breath and turned back to her just as I saw the alien himself stroll out of the library's left wing and spot me.
"Nelson!" the Doctor cried joyfully, jogging over and clapping me on the shoulder. "Just who I was looking for! Well, no, not really. I'm actually looking for someone else, but I'm happy to see you too," he grinned.
"Yeah, I think I know who you're talking about, she just walked off that way. You could probably catch up to her if you go right now," I said, trying to shoo him away. Just as he walked into the library's right wing, the woman came strolling up to me from the left wing, an annoyed expression on her face.
"If you're looking for the Doctor, he just went the same way you did a moment ago, so you could probably backtrack and catch him," I told her, trying to get a moment alone with the now very bemused Clara.
"Thanks," she said, making an about-face and walking into the left wing again. No sooner had she rounded the corner than the Doctor came back from right wing looking moderately confused.
"Couldn't find her," he said to me, shrugging.
"Yes, I just sent her back the other way looking for you," I told the Doctor, exasperated. "Maybe you should go out to the TARDIS and come back in an hour, when I'm done working," I suggested.
Shrugging again, the Doctor turned and left the building. About that same time, the woman came back to my desk, looking thoroughly frustrated.
"I just sent him out to the TARDIS," I told her, gesturing outside. Nodding, she left as well and I sagged against my desk. "Phew," I said to Clara, wiping my brow in an exaggerated fashion. "That was confusing."
"I'll say," Clara replied. "What's a TARDIS?"
"It's gone, that's what it is!" the woman said angrily before I could reply. I hadn't even noticed her coming back.
Sighing, I turned to face her. "What do you mean it's gone?"
"I mean," she snapped. "That it has vanished."
"I'll see you next Monday," I said apologetically to Clara before eying the redheaded woman warily. I wasn't sure how much I liked her.
"Okay," Clara smiled at me, leaving. I watched her walk away until the woman snapped her fingers in my face, drawing my attention.
"Where did the TARDIS go?" she demanded.
I sighed heavily. "I told the Doctor that he should go out to the TARDIS and then come back in an hour. I meant for him to meet you there, but I guess he immediately left for," I glanced at my watch, "fifty-three minutes from now."
"I'm supposed to wait around here for fifty-three minutes?"
"It's a library," I snapped, losing my patience. "Read your book and be quiet."
Huffing, the woman left and I smiled apologetically at the line of people who were waiting on me.
"So sorry," I said.
.
After I had finished my shift fifty-three minutes later, the woman and I walked out to where she claimed the TARDIS was, but we couldn't find it. After standing around in the sun another for half of an hour, the TARDIS finally materialized and the Doctor stepped out, grinning.
"Hello," he said cheerfully. "That was a fast hour."
"Hour and a half, and not for some of us!" the woman groused, hitting the Doctor on the arm with her book.
I grinned, amused as the Doctor rubbed his arm. "Did you need something, then?" I asked.
"We were just getting my book," the woman replied before the Doctor had a chance to say anything.
"We're about to head off somewhere, though, wanna come along?" the Doctor asked me.
"You're inviting the librarian to come with us?" the woman asked incredulously.
"I've met the Doctor before, you know!" I replied, starting to get seriously annoyed by this woman.
"Well obviously, if you know about the TARDIS!" she countered.
"No, no fighting!" the Doctor shouted over us. "I know you two can get along, but only if you agree to stop arguing. Donna, this is Nelson. I've met him-" he shot a quick glance at me, "numerous other times, and he's gone travelling with me before. Nelson, this is Donna, my companion."
"Hello, then," Donna said, sticking her hand out for me to shake.
"Hello, Donna, pleased to meet you," I replied, accepting her offer and shaking hands. "Would you mind if I went along for a quick trip?" I asked her.
"Nah," she said, suddenly much friendlier. "Might be kind of fun, actually."
"Brilliant, then!" the Doctor exclaimed, grinning and leading the way into the TARDIS. He opened the door, allowing Donna inside but holding me back a moment. "What happened when you last met me?" he asked.
"We were investigating the disappearing cars and met Prince Pjhalinad the third's supervisor," I said.
"Me too," the Doctor nodded, following me inside the TARDIS.
As soon as I stepped inside, I remembered just how amazing the Doctor's spaceship really was. Being bigger on the inside was certainly impressive, especially once you knew about the innumerable corridors and the many, many rooms it contained, but the welcoming feel, cool temperature, and gentle hum of the TARDIS made it feel like home.
"It's good to see you again," I said fondly, patting the console and feeling a slight vibration in return.
"Would you feel that, she likes you!" the Doctor said, noticing the vibration.
I smiled. "Doctor, as much as I like the TARDIS, she can't like or dislike people. She's a machine."
"She is not! Okay, well, she is, but the TARDIS is also alive," the Doctor replied.
"No way," I said, but, seeing the Doctor's sincere expression, I did a double take. "Really?"
"Yup," he said. "And she's willing to take us anywhere – where do you want to go? We could visit Raxacoricofallapatorius and see how the Slitheens I've turned into eggs are doing, investigate the disappearance of a grand master of a game similar to chess after winning a tournament against a Jamikamar gang, or explore the depths of the Washxar forest!"
"None," Donna replied immediately.
"What's wrong with all of those?"
"They're boring. We can visit a nursery, look for someone dumb enough to beat the alien mafia at chess, or go camping – no thanks!" she said.
"I'd like to see some sort of futuristic technology, maybe something in robotics," I mused aloud.
"Oh! We could go to the year 3002 and see the first robotic bouncers!" the Doctor realized happily.
"Bouncers? Robotic bouncers?" I repeated.
"Sure, why not? Well, singular, bouncer, there's only one original. Well, there were two, but before the first one got to do anything someone poured alcohol on it and short-circuited the systems. The second one was fixed to be waterproof and had a small software patch, but, just for good measure, it was moved from the nightclub it worked at to a gym instead," the Doctor explained.
"Well, I'm game," I said.
"Yeah, okay," Donna agreed.
"Perfect, molto bene, allons-y!" the Doctor grinned as he made his way around the console, inputting the coordinates and throwing the dematerialization lever. Around the time that the TARDIS normally settled down with a slight jolt, instead there was a burst of flame at the console and the TARDIS jerked strongly to the left, rocking back and forth drastically.
"What's happening?" I shouted as I was thrown against the railing.
"I don't know! Something is interfering with the TARDIS' materialization matrix circuits - we're crashing!" the Doctor yelled back, hanging onto the console and working frantically at the controls.
"Well, do something!" Donna yelled, clutching the console for dear life.
"I'm trying, but something is repelling us!" Moving quickly, the Doctor spun a few dials and hit a metal plate with his rubber mallet, causing the TARDIS to jerk one last time and then be still.
"Nice flying," I commented sarcastically, picking myself up off the ground.
"Thanks," the Doctor said genuinely, letting out a deep breath.
"Where are we?" Donna asked.
"Well, we're exactly where we want to be, the only problem is that the TARDIS is fried," the Doctor said, fiddling with the controls and completely ignoring the fact that the console was smoking, almost as if it were completely normal. Was it?
"What do you need to fix her?" I asked, thinking of all of the exotic and hard to find ship parts there must be in the galaxy, not to mention for a ship like the TARDIS, which I assumed is pretty rare. I began dreading the undoubtedly immense task lying before us that was repairing the destroyed, broken down, ruined-
"Just a box of fuses," the Doctor replied casually.
I snapped out of my thoughts. "Really?" I asked, surprised.
"So go grab some from storage room seventy-one, or wherever you keep them, and then let's go visit the robot!" Donna said, anxious to explore.
"Actually we can leave right now, I'm all out of fuses, but I'm sure we can pick some up at the gym."
"Honestly, I'm surprised that they're still using fuses in 3002 and whenever the TARDIS is from. Haven't they, I dunno, advanced?" I asked.
"Oh, they have. Fuses are only ever used in spaceships by this time, where they can't siphon off extra electricity particularly cheap. On any sort of planet, though, they aren't necessary," the Doctor explained.
"But then why would a gym have fuses if they're only used on spaceships?" Donna questioned.
"Because this is no ordinary gym. It's not a ship, but it is an entire moon – the surface is only for parking, the actual gym lies beneath the ground. It is the number one hub of exercise in the future, and millions of people travel here every year from all over the galaxy just to run the obstacles courses with different levels of gravity. There's Earth gravity, low gravity, even zero and anti-gravity obstacle courses," the Doctor explained, leading the way to the TARDIS doors. "Now, it's very busy here, so stay close together and don't get lost," he warned sternly before throwing the doors open with a grin and being greeted by the smiling faces of absolutely nobody.
"Wow, it's so busy here," Donna said sarcastically, stepping out into the completely empty spaceport. "Quick! Throw me a lifeline!" she begged in mock desperation.
Snorting, I followed Donna out and viewed my surroundings. There wasn't a single person in sight, and the dramatic view of my first spaceport was shockingly underwhelming - without any ships, it bore a strong resemblance to an average parking lot. To top that off, just short walk away there was an average looking gym entrance, nothing unusual about it at all. As boring as I was finding the moon, however, I began to fully appreciate the TARDIS' travelling capabilities with one look at the sky - I was well and truly not in the solar system. I couldn't see any stars, thanks to the well-lit spaceport, but there were two planets in the sky and a single sun that was just setting.
"So how does that work?" I asked the Doctor, indicating the sky. "Two planets orbiting each other and only one satellite? Won't the moon's orbit be unstable?"
"No, actually," the Doctor said, hands in his pockets and admiring the view with me. "Everything is aligned just perfectly here so that this moon, Voon, will take a path in between the planets and loop around in a figure eight pattern. It works very well, actually, each planet's occupants get one month of unusually high tides and one month of unusually low tides, and what better place to build the ultimate gym than the ultimate moon?"
"The ultimate gym on the ultimate moon with nobody here?" Donna questioned. "Something must have gone wrong and everyone was evacuated."
"Nah, it's probably just a bad time of the day," the Doctor replied, dismissing Donna's question. "Now, shall we go and see the robot bouncer?" he asked, rocking back and forth on his feet excitedly.
"Absolutely," I replied, excited to see my first future robot. "You know, though, that it's probably going to end up bouncing us."
"No, we'll behave and be good boys and girls, won't we?" the Doctor said cheerfully as we started walking to the gym entrance.
"Aw, you mean we're not going to be kicked out by the robot bouncer?" Donna pretended to sulk.
"I just want to know who decided to name a moon Voon," I commented as we arrived at the doors and the Doctor tried unsuccessfully to open them.
"Locked," he murmured. Taking a quick look around to be sure that there really was no one in sight, the Doctor took out his sonic screwdriver and unlocked the door, the three of us walking inside and down a flight of stairs.
"It's pretty dark in here," I said once we had reached the bottom, looking around. We were in a circular room with a receptionist's desk right in front of us, the lights were all off, and there were three hallways, one to the left, one to the right, and one straight ahead.
"There must be a light switch around here somewhere," Donna said, feeling around in the dark until she found one and turned it on. "There, that's better."
I watched as the Doctor meandered over to the desk and started messing with the computer there before voicing a concern I had.
"Doctor, couldn't the gym just be closed right now?"
"I s'pose."
"Then wouldn't they have the bouncer, you know, escort us from the premises?"
"Nah," the Doctor dismissed my idea casually. "If the gym really is closed, they'd have shut down all of the robot personnel too. But . . ." he trailed off as he started reading something on the computer screen. "That's not why everyone is gone."
"What is it?" Donna asked, looking over his shoulder. "Uh-oh."
"What?" I asked.
"There's a notice here made yesterday that the gym has been locked down until the Shadow Proclamation can arrive and fix whatever's going on," the Doctor said. "It doesn't say what it is - we should really-"
"GET OUT!" a gruff male voice bellowed angrily.
Startled, the Doctor jumped and spun around, looking warily down the hallway across from the stairs.
"GET OUT NOW OR I WILL THROW YOU FROM THE PREMISES!" the voice shouted, getting closer.
"Told you," I said.
"Let me guess," Donna said. "The bouncer?"
"Yup," the Doctor replied, popping the p.
"Brilliant," she replied.
"C'mon let's get out of here," the Doctor said, hurrying us over to the doors as a featureless humanoid robot armoured with white plating walked around a bend in the hallway and started marching towards us at a rapid pace.
"IF I HAVE TO TELL YOU TO LEAVE AGAIN, I WILL SMASH YOUR FACE LIKE A WATERMELON!" it yelled.
"That's violent," I muttered. "Doctor can you hurry it up a little?" I prompted as he tried to open the doors with his sonic again only to find them stuck.
"I'm trying to, but when I broke in during a lockdown the security system must have deadlocked the doors shut!" he cried, finally giving up and turning back to face the bouncer.
"YOU'RE STILL HERE? LEAVE RIGHT NOW!"
"No, listen, the doors are sealed, we can't get out!" the Doctor tried reasoning with the very angry robot as it got progressively closer.
"YOU HAVE ONE LAST CHANCE!"
"No stop, listen to us, we're locked in!" he shouted.
"THAT'S IT – IT'S GO TIME!"
"Wait, no, stop!" the Doctor yelled.
"Quit reasoning with the robot and get over here!" Donna shouted. Startled, I realized that she had left our side and was standing in the hallway to our right. If we ran now, we might be able to get there before the bouncer got to us. Wasting no time, the Doctor and I did as Donna ordered and started sprinting down the hallway.
"RUNNING? NOT ONCE I BREAK YOUR LEGS!" I heard the robot bouncer scream as it started running after us.
"Keep going!" the Doctor yelled, but I wasn't in very good shape and I knew that I couldn't run for long.
"We can't outrun this thing, it's faster than we are!" Donna shouted. When I glanced over my shoulder, I saw that she was right – the robot was rapidly gaining on us.
"Into the office, then!" the Doctor responded, yanking open a door with a "Staff Only" sign on it and ushering us in. Once we were all inside, the Doctor slammed the door shut and locked it with his sonic screwdriver. A moment later I heard an almighty crash and the door dented inwards in the silhouette of the robot.
"YOU CAN'T ESCAPE FROM ME! I WILL FIND YOU, AND THEN YOU'RE IN BIG, BIG TROUBLE!" it shouted.
"Can it get in?" I asked as I heard the robot hitting the door over and over as hard as it could.
"I don't think so," the Doctor replied. "Even so, we shouldn't stay here for long."
"Doctor," Donna said. "Look at this." When I turned around, I saw that she had found numerous diagrams of the robot bouncer and a computer labeled "Software Engineer Makenzie."
"Donna, you are brilliant!" the Doctor exclaimed, taking a quick look at the diagrams before dismissing them and turning to the computer. I glanced at the diagrams myself, but they were rather straightforward and didn't give a lot of useful information. When I looked back up I saw that the Doctor had already bypassed the password on the computer with his screwdriver and was browsing through some computer code.
"What's that?" I asked, looking over his shoulder.
"This," he replied. "Is the source code for the software that runs the bouncer. Well, RO-2, that's its name. Well, its designation."
"What are you looking for?" I asked, trying to ignore the bangs as our pursuer attempted to get in.
"Mostly why it's so mad at us," the Doctor said.
"But also . . . " I prompted.
"Also if it will kill us."
"You don't think it would?" Donna asked in disbelief.
"Sure sounds like it," the Doctor replied, obviously referring to the obscenities and very descriptive ways we were going to be destroyed being screamed at us through the door.
"That thing does have quite a mouth on it," I commented, amused but also kind of scared.
Relative silence settled as the Doctor continued his search through RO-2's source code, and my concern grew for the door's integrity. After a few more minutes, the Doctor suddenly pushed back from the computer and ran his hands through his hair.
"Gah! There's nothing here that's useful!" he exclaimed angrily. Sitting back, he looked at Donna and I with a resigned look on his face.
"There's got to be something," Donna insisted.
"Not in the source code," the Doctor replied.
I paused for a moment, considering a possibility.
"Doctor," I said.
"Hmm?"
"Was the source code from before or after the small software patch they made?"
The Doctor opened his mouth to reply, but then, thinking better of it, closed it again. Raising his eyebrows, he turned back to the computer and opened up the patch code. Grinning, the Doctor shot me a proud look.
"The source code was from before the software patch – Nelson, you're a genius!" he praised, turning back to the computer and started scrolling through the code. "Oh yes!" he exclaimed. "Mistake number one – forgetting to reset a value!"
"And for those of us who aren't programmers?" Donna prompted.
"Think of it like this," the Doctor began to explain, facing Donna and I again. "You have an empty glass, and when someone causes trouble, you add some water to the glass. At this time, RO-2 steps in and tries to get rid of the troublemaker. If they resist, a little bit more water is added, and RO-2 gets just a little bit more forceful. The longer they resist, the more water is added, until finally they're thrown out and the water is dumped out of the glass. Then, when the next person causes trouble, it starts all over again. Only, the water isn't dumped out in this patch they made. They somehow deleted it – just one little line of code left out, but after someone causes trouble, RO-2 doesn't calm down, and it starts going after everyone, because once its target is gone it finds a new one."
"How violent will it get?" I asked.
"There aren't any scripted reactions, it's programmed to react according to how full the 'glass of water' gets, which doesn't have a limit, so theoretically it will get as violent as it has to to get everyone out."
"So say it starts throwing people out, or even killing them," Donna said. "Why didn't they just shut it down?"
"RO-2 is specifically designed to be resilient against pretty much everything they would have on-hand, so the only means they would have had to shut it down would be located right here, in this room, but maybe they couldn't get in here in time," the Doctor said, and then started to grin. "Brilliant, I can shut it down just by using the computer right here."
"NOT IF I KILL YOU FIRST!" RO-2 screamed, finally knocking down the surprisingly robust door and charging inside the room.
"Out, now!" the Doctor yelled, shoving us to the other door in the room, running after us and down the first corridor we saw.
"I MAY NOT HAVE CAUGHT YOU YET, BUT AS SOON AS I DO I'LL BE KICKING YOUR FACE IN!"
"Get a grip," I muttered as we ran. I wasn't sure if anyone had at one point in time written what RO-2 was now saying, but if they did, they had altogether too much fun doing it.
"Quick, in here!" the Doctor yelled, dashing inside the only door in sight. I followed him in and was surprised to find myself inside a kitchen, Donna right behind me. There wasn't another exit, and I was horrified when I turned to lock the door and found that there was no lock. Instead, I did the only thing I could do – I got in front of the door and braced myself against it. Realizing what the situation was, the Doctor and Donna braced themselves against the door as well.
"GET OUT!" RO-2 screamed, ramming into the door and throwing us all to the ground. As quickly as they could, the Doctor and Donna barred the door again.
"Okay, we really need a plan," the Doctor said. "Nelson, what is there in here that we can use?"
"Nothing!" I exclaimed, searching the room frantically as the Doctor and Donna were thrown to the floor again. "There's just a bunch of water and canned foods!"
"Well we need a plan!" Donna yelled, bracing herself against the door again. "Just say whatever pops into your head!"
Instantly, my mind went blank. I couldn't think of anything, and I had to make a conscious effort to search for any sort of escape route or method to fight back, no matter how silly, how outrageous, how useless it was, but I couldn't think of a single thing. Suddenly, though, I felt as though I'd reached a genius conclusion, I just couldn't put into words what my subconscious had figured out. I delved deep, searching for what it was, and, not thinking about what I was saying, shouted it out loud in the joy of remembrance.
"Golfing!" I exclaimed, throwing my arms out.
The Doctor's jaw dropped.
"Golfing!" he shrieked. "Golfing? Golfing . . . Hey, golfing, golfing! Nelson, that's absolutely brilliant!"
"What are you on about?" Donna yelled as the two of them were thrown to the floor yet again.
"Quick, get back!" the Doctor exclaimed, hauling Donna to her feet and herding us to the back of the room, grabbing a bottle of water and an empty can on the way.
"What are you gonna do, give the robot a little demonstration of your 'imagine a glass of water' lecture?" Donna asked skeptically.
"Do you think that would work?" the Doctor asked, ignored the look Donna gave him.
I shook my head, watching as the Doctor started pouring water into the can. "So, what exactly was it that you figured out?" I asked.
"Well, I can't take all the credit," the Doctor replied, seeming satisfied and tossing the water bottle away, now holding a very full can of water. "You've been very helpful." He looked over at me and grinned.
"He suggests golf, you go and fill up a can with water, and now we're waiting for an angry robot to come in here and kill us," Donna summarized in an exasperated tone. "Remind me again where the plan is in all of that."
Before the Doctor could explain anything, RO-2 burst through the door and charged at us, full speed.
"HERE COMES THE PAIN TRAIN, BABY, WOO WOO!" it screamed.
I shuddered, imagining all of the horrific ways this furious robot might kill us, but, just before RO-2 slammed into us, the Doctor hurled the can of water right into its face and it stumbled.
"Doctor, it's water-proof!" I exclaimed.
"Not entirely, it's stunned, but only momentarily. Run!" he yelled, shoving us past the groggy robot and leading the way down the corridor. "We need to make a little detour first!" he said.
"A detour first? I don't even know where we're going after that!" I yelled, starting to pant heavily from the day's exertions.
"YOU CAN RUN, BUT YOU CAN'T HIDE!" I heard RO-2 shout from behind us, and I glanced back.
"Hey!" I shouted at it when it made a rude gesture at me.
"Stop arguing with the bloody robot and keep running!" Donna yelled as I glared at RO-2.
"In here!" the Doctor shouted, dashing through a door into a miniature golf course, snatching a golf club and running out the door on the other side.
"You're seriously going to use a golf club for whatever your plan is?" I yelled.
"Yep, and when I stop running, keep going!" the Doctor shouted back.
After what felt like an eternity of running, the Doctor burst through a door at the end of a hallway and, somehow, jumped six or seven feet, landing lightly and turning back to the door. When I followed him out, everything felt . . . Different.
The massive room we were in must have been the obstacle courses the Doctor had been talking about, for there was a series of platforms suspended in the air to climb, but the most impressive part of the room was that it had extremely low gravity, as opposed to the Earth gravity everywhere else. I tried to keep running, but I ended up taking a series of bounds until I had reached the far wall, stopping beside a small glass box containing a bunch of switches and levers.
"Nelson, Donna, are you near a glass box?" the Doctor yelled over to us, still facing the door and holding the golf club like a baseball bat.
"Yeah!" I yelled back.
"You need to lower the gravity to zero and open the roof, the controls should be clearly labeled!" he shouted.
"Okay!" I replied, and Donna and I both turned to the box. "Ugh, it needs I key!"
"Right, stand back," Donna said. Taking off one of her shoes, she used it to hit the glass hard, breaking it.
"That works," I said, stepping forward as we scanned the controls. We found the ones requested, somehow changing the room to zero gravity and opening the roof, leaving nothing in between us and the emptiness of space.
Just then, RO-2 burst through the door and charged at the Doctor, screaming: "YOU'RE GOING DOWN!" Right before the Doctor was bowled over, he swung the golf club up into the robot's chin as hard as he could . . . And propelled RO-2 up into the air, with no gravity to stop it, out into space.
"NO! NOOOO!" it shouted, flailing its arms and legs in a futile attempt to grab one of the platforms, but it was too far away. As soon as it had risen high enough, I closed the roof again, trapping the maniacal robotic bouncer outside.
"Haha!" the Doctor shouted triumphantly, pushing off against the ground and drifting over to Donna and I. "Oh, I've wanted to do that for ages!"
"Who hasn't?" I joked tiredly, unsuccessfully trying to lean against the wall and looking forward to a good night's sleep.
"Come on, let's get those fuses," Donna said, trying valiantly to walk normally out of the room.
I shrugged at the Doctor. "Personally, I'm gonna embrace zero gravity." Shoving off hard against the wall, I grinned as I zoomed across the room.
.
After we had gathered armfuls of fuses, gravity back to normal, marched back to the TARDIS, and gotten her all patched up and ready to go, Donna mentioned that it was probably time she went and visited her granddad again. When we had travelled back to Earth, she promised she would be back soon, apparently not wanting to be spotted by her mum, and then left. As we waited, the Doctor wandered around the console, idly readjusting the controls, and I watched, trying to figure out which control did what. Suddenly, he stopped and leaned against the console, facing me.
"Nelson," he began, looking moderately uncomfortable. "I've already asked you if you wanted to travel with me once. I don't want to keep asking," he said quickly. "But I do want you to know that when, or if! If you do ever want to come with me, you can, you know. Say so."
I smiled, nodding. "Okay, I will. Thanks, Doctor."
Grinning, he continued fiddling with the controls until Donna returned about twenty minutes later.
"I'm back," she said. "Where next?"
"For me, home," I said. "And preferably on the same day that I left and in the evening."
"London, England, Earth, the Solar System," the Doctor ticked off on his fingers, grinning at Donna before transporting us across town and just six hours after I had left earlier that day. Once the TARDIS had settled, the three of us walked outside and admired our surroundings. We were at a street corner, car headlights lighting the night and engines filling the air with a gentle humming – not as impressive of a sight as Voon's sky was, but somehow very peaceful.
"I hope you live nearby," the Doctor commented. "I'm not really sure what your address is."
I laughed. "You could say that I live pretty close by, yeah – my, uh, flat is right over there," I said, pointing just across the street.
"Oh. Perfect, then." He grinned. I nodded, grinning back.
"Doctor, Donna," I said, shaking their hands in turn.
"Been called that before," the Doctor whispered conspiratorially to Donna, who laughed. I didn't get what he meant, but I laughed anyways at the possibilities.
"Anyways, feel free to stop by anytime, except during work hours and especially not on Mondays," I encouraged.
"Who was the woman earlier?" Donna asked, smiling.
"Clara," I replied, blushing slightly.
"Okay, I'll make sure that the Doctor doesn't stop by on Mondays, then," she said.
"What? Why?" the Doctor asked obliviously, looking back and forth from Donna and I.
"Just get inside, allons-y and all that," Donna said, shoving the Doctor inside the TARDIS and ignoring his protests. "Good luck," she added to me with a wink before stepping inside herself and closing the door.
I grinned, watching the TARDIS dematerialize before heading home. As I ate dinner that night, I realized something surprising. Usually my thoughts were focused solely on the adventure I'd just had after leaving the Doctor, but tonight I was thinking about something, or rather, someone else.
Clara.