Sheeesh, I'm spoiling you all with updates :p

Chapter Eleven

Mindless Stroll

Ashley's eyes shot open and she gasped. She took in the air too quickly and she coughed and spluttered. She pushed herself up onto all fours and coughed until she thought she was going to explode. She retched, and then spat. Her stomach ached. Bleary eyed, she looked up.

What had happened? Where the hell was she?

Memories came back at her quick and fast; the Doctor, the TARDIS, the empty planet, plugging in…

A jolt of pain ran through her head and her arms buckled, causing her to hit the ground again. She groaned and kept her eyes tightly shut until the feeling passed, and then she unsteadily got to her feet. For some reason, her vision was blurred. She rubbed her eyes with both hands, the way one would mimic a crying baby, and blinked repeatedly. Colours reached her first. Oranges, reds… She blinked another few times.

God, the forest is on fire… she thought in bewilderment. Then she realised she could feel no heat. She looked up at the deep orange sky in awe, her breath caught in her chest. In was magnificent. Like nothing she had ever seen.

Only the Doctor could come up with something so beautiful.

Ashley slowly approached one of the burning trees and held her hand up to it. Still no heat. Hesitantly, she reached out and plucked one of the blazing leaves. Only it wasn't blazing. She examined it, seeing her own distorted reflection in the leaf. She half laughed in amazement. Letting go of the leaf and allowing the breeze to pick it up, she turned and took in her surroundings.

Then she saw something that nearly made her drop to her knees. She had to steady herself on the trunk of the tree.

It was a city. An amazing city of tall, smooth, beautiful buildings. They reflected the orange sky, giving them a golden hue that was breathtaking. The whole city was surrounded by a dome that glistened in the sun.

It was magnificent.

For a split moment, Ashley could see herself staying here. She had never seen anywhere so beautiful, but when she blinked slowly, trying to register what she was seeing, she saw Mitchell's face. She gritted her teeth with determination.

'It's fake.' She mumbled. 'None of it is real.'

As she started walking towards the looming city, she wondered that if it was her own game she was plugged into whether or not she would want to leave either.

There didn't seem to be anyone around, which unsettled Ashley immensely. She walked the stunning streets writhing her hands in front of her. This was a pretty big place to be in someone's subconscious. She hadn't thought that it would be so hard to find him. She didn't know what she had thought actually… she hadn't thought about it.

I could just shout for him.

She could, but she wasn't sure she wanted to.

A large tower loomed ahead, with huge, elaborately decorated doors. It looked bigger and better than any of the surrounding buildings, and Ashley guessed that if it were her fantasy she would pick the biggest and best place to go. So she headed towards it, still writhing her hands anxiously.

The doors opened with just a touch of her fingers and they opened so suddenly that she yelped and hopped back about two meters. She stood, half bent and peered into the open doorway.

'Um… hello?' she called. 'Doctor?'

No answer. Slowly, she moved inside. Like everywhere else in this crazy fairytale place, it was deserted.

'It would make sense for him to imagine a place with no people.' She muttered, heading down the corridor. Her boots were noisier on the hard floor than what she would have liked, but she wasn't about to sit and take them off. She was wearing her shin high Doc Martins beneath her jeans (her favourites ones), and they would take forever to get back on again. And if something horrible hopped out of the shadows to chase her, she didn't want to be caught off guard.

She paused halfway up the corridor and cocked her ear. She could hear voices. Not just a few… more like dozens. Actually, it sounded like a whole audience of people. Ashley shuddered. She wasn't big with crowds. Even imaginary crowds.

Despite that, she pressed on, following the chattering. It was getting louder, so she was pretty convinced she was heading the right way. After what seemed like an eternity of walking, she came to another elaborately decorated door. The voices were definitely coming from the other side.

Ashley paused. She could push the doors open and make her presence known immediately, or she could go in quietly and just see how the Doctor was reacting to all of this. If he was happy, she would have to think carefully about what she was going to say to him. Otherwise, she would just tell him to unplug.

Easy enough, right?

But then she cursed herself and ran her fingers through her hair. Sure, she was going to be able to move around completely unnoticed with this stupid bright red hair. Not for the first time, she cursed herself for getting drunk enough to dye it such a colour in the first place. She tapped her foot, wondering what to do.

She would go in quietly, and just hope she wasn't noticed. It was the only think she could do. So she reached out and pushed the door open gently. Peering around it, she felt her jaw drop.

There must have been hundreds of people in the room, all wandering around and talking like some huge formal party. They were all smiling and laughing. All dressed in extravagant outfits. God, she would stick out like a sore thumb in this place. Instead of heading right on in, she decided to see if she could spot the Doctor. He would be in here if he were anywhere.

'Balls…' she mumbled. She couldn't see him anywhere. She was going to have to go in.

She slipped through the door, closing it gently behind her. She waited for someone to say something, but no one did. No one even looked at her. Her confidence slightly boosted by the apparent ignorance of the surrounding people, she began walking through them. Not one of them spoke to her – no one even looked at her. The less they looked, the more confident she became.

Finally she caught a glimpse of pinstripe through the crowds. She pushed the man aside who got in her way and squeezed between two others who were chatting happily. She caught a glimpse of brown hair and breathed a sigh of relief.

Now she just had to get a chance to talk to him.

'Who are you?'

Ashley stopped as the girl stepped out, narrowing her eyes. She was blonde and pretty, roughly about Ashley's age. Absurdly, she sounded like she was from London.

'Who the hell are you?' Ashley scowled, bemused and shaken by the sudden interruption.

'You don't belong here.' The blonde said bitterly. 'You weren't in the original plans.'

Ashley raised her eyebrows. 'I couldn't give a monkey's arse about the plans, pet.' She tried to move around her. The girl stepped in front.

'You don't belong here.' She repeated.

Ashley scowled, getting angry. 'Move it.' She snapped, pushing the girl aside roughly. She stormed through the crowds, now fully aware of the dying chatter and the eyes that were turning on her. She moved quicker.

'Doctor!' she yelled. 'Hey!'

The Doctor glanced up, still smiling from whatever the man beside him had said. His eyes fell on Ashley, and his smile slowly dropped. He blinked stupidly.

'You've got to unplug!' she yelled to him, feeling hands trying to grab her from all sides. She batted them away wildly. 'You've got to! Mitchell says the longer you stay the harder it will be for you to get back to normal!' Two rough hands grabbed her around the waist. More grabbed her arms. 'You've got to unplug now, Doctor! Please!'

The Doctor blinked, looking completely shocked and did nothing but watch as the crowds dragged Ashley kicking and screaming out of the double doors. He couldn't move.

Rose stepped up beside him, rubbing her arm from where Ashley had shoved her. 'Don't worry.' She said, touching his arm. 'It's just a glitch.' When he looked to her, she beamed broadly and held up a glass that had apparently come from nowhere. 'Banana daiquiri?'

I'm just curious, at the begining of the next episode would people like a Story So Far type of thing because... well... I dunno people might just want to be reminded of things they may have forgot lol :p It would just be a little summary... nothing spectacular. Well... maybe a nice sequined waistcoat ;)

Anywhoooo... Thank you for like the gazillionth time to everyone reading my stories :D I'm running out of rock things... so... You're all like those giant candyrocks, all in your own special little wrappers :D (remind me to take my medication today lol)