Author's Note: Sorry this wasn't posted last night, but I had a major dose of writer's block, plus the 'f' key of my keyboard stopped working. O_o
I worked really hard on this chapter so anyone who wants to tell me what they think will be rewarded with cookies! :)
I'd also like to thank FreeXFallXPhoenix and Eveylon, for being there for me to bounce ideas off of. They're probably the reason you're getting this chapter tonight, as opposed to tomorrow.
Hope you like!
"These corridors are strangely empty." The Master over-exaggerated the whisper, looking left and right down the seemingly endless white corridor they stood on. A number of silver metal doors led off the corridor. The two men had tried the first few, but had reached the conclusion that they were all locked.
"You always did have a talent for stating the obvious." The Doctor frowned. "But you're right. There should be someone about."
"What signal did you pick up?" the Master asked, as they began to walk again.
"Distress signal."
The Master stopped. A few seconds later the Doctor realised the Master wasn't with him, and moved back a few steps. "What?"
"We're not walking into danger."
"Nah." The Doctor moved off again.
"It wasn't a question," the Master hissed, following cautiously. "It was a statement. We're not doing this."
"Where's your sense of adventure?"
The Master was just about to say where the Doctor could stick his 'sense of adventure', when a bone-crushing roar rang out through the hallways. The Master moved subtly closer to the Doctor.
"Ooh," said the Doctor, as they watched a rather large wolf round the corner. He looked at the Master and grinned, "Danger", before starting off down the corridor, away from the wolf, closely followed by the Master.
"There's nothing?" Jack asked.
"No." Tosh shook her head. "It's like he never even existed. I would love to talk to the person who did this. They must be a genius."
The feeling of irony in Jack's gut didn't make him feel any better. Neither did the fact that only Tosh was speaking to him, and that was only because he'd shown her the technological marvel of the century.
Owen had retreated to his medical area, Gwen to whatever side of the hub Jack wasn't on, and Ianto had vanished into thin air. Jack had known that the return would be bad; he had abandoned them after all, but he thought they might at least give him a chance to explain himself.
"Ooh."
Jack blinked, and watched as Tosh's head bent over her keyboard, rows and rows of numbers flashing across the screen. "What's that?"
"There is something about the Prime Minister." Jack was about to say ex-Prime Minister, but Tosh continued. "It's hidden under a layer of code. Someone's put a block in place. If I can crack it…"
Jack sighed and turned away. There was about as much chance of Tosh cracking a Time Lord's code as there was of he and Ianto having sex any time soon.
There was a beep from behind him, and what he knew would be the first of many "Hmms," from Toshiko.
The Master's POV:
I hurtle around another corner, watching yet more doors flash past me. They changed from silver to a dull grey about seventy feet back, but none of them look like they're going to open for us.
I'm finding it embarrassingly hard to keep up with the Doctor. He seems to be flying, the idiot.
I can hear the wolf behind us. Its claws clacking rhythmically on the floor seem to keep in time with the drums. Bang. Clack. Bang. Clack. Bang. Clack. Bang. Clack.
The Doctor is now quite a way ahead of me, and I see him drop his pace slightly. Damn it! I will not be embarrassed by him!
The walls begin to turn from plain white into clear plastic. Through them I can see what looks like laboratories, though of course they're more human-like labs than Time Lord. When will humans learn that having dangerous substances in open test tubes can never end well?
"Come on!"
I snap my attention back to the Doctor. He's running backwards, and is somehow still faster than me. "What?" I manage to pant out.
"If you were going any slower, you'd be going backwards!"
I growl. "You've done a lot more running than me." As we turn another corner, this time with the white un-see through walls again, a table comes into view. It's propped on its side, filling the width of the corridor, like a barricade. There's a second where I think that saying nothing would be extremely satisfying, just to see him fall flat on his back. The next moment that gleeful thought is dashed by another roar from the beast behind. There's no point in making him fall over, seeing as I would have to stop and help him up, or get fried when I get out of range.
"Table!"
He gives me a perplexed look. "I know." He turns and leaps over the table in one swift movement, utterly topping my attempted jump turned-ungainly-fall.
As we crouch behind the table, I see he's fiddling with his sonic screwdriver. Not wanting to put my faith in something that's probably been programmed by him, I slide across the floor towards one of the grey doors.
Reaching up to the handle, I tug half-heartedly on it, not expecting it to open. So when it does, I lose my balance completely and topple through. Twisting round, I pull my legs through the door, and am surprised when it swings closed behind me. My last sight is the Doctor's face, halfway through looking up from his work. His mouth is open in an 'oh' of surprise.
"Shit." I scramble up, banging on the door as there's no handle on this side. There doesn't seem to be a way to open it. I'm about to try anything from shouting at it to kicking it in when I feel something pressed into my back, and a low voice hissing at me.
"Stop," the voice says.