The TARDIS had returned him to Stormcage Containment Facility, where he had left River sleeping just minutes ago. Obviously, a lot more time had passed since his last visit (or maybe he had even gone back in time), for the whole hallway was filled with black smoke. The metal passageways lined with cells were choked with some sort of fumes, causing the Doctor to press the sleeve of his jacket over his mouth with a cough.
Without a moment's hesitation, he ran into the hall. He snapped his fingers as he did, closing the TARDIS' doors quickly behind him. His eyes watered uncontrollably, and he coughed into the fabric of his jacket, but nevertheless he continued on.
"River!" he yelled, pulling his arm away for just a moment to shout her name, not even knowing if was even the right time for her to be imprisoned here "River, where are you?" He ran, his twiggy limbs jerking ungracefully as he did, running in that sideways, uncoordinated way of his. "River!" he choked out once more, before covering his mouth again.
He passed by a dozen cells, each and every one looking nearly identical. All that he knew was that they weren't River's, and passed them after a single glance. He didn't pause to check for survivors, to look for anyone else. He worried about one person and one person only, and felt a surge of guilt every time he ran by a cell, not checking to see if anyone was in there. He tried to remind himself that everyone in here were criminals anyway, but it didn't help one bit. Every single life mattered, but he could only think of one. Wasn't River herself a criminal, too? A murderer, even? She had killed him twice, in fact. Did she really matter more than every other life here?
No, not really. To him, though? Definitely.
Which is why he continued to sprint clumsily through the halls, tears streaming down his face as the smoke irritated his eyes. He could see just enough to study every cell he passed, searching desperately for River, who may not have even be there. He could feel sweat forming on the back of his neck, as the hot, black smoke swirled around him. He coughed once more, a dry, empty cough that didn't do much good to clear the smog from his lungs. He stopped dead in the hallway as he rounded yet another corner, his shoes sliding and squeaking on the metal floor.
There it was. River's cell.
He knew it well, for how many times had he come here? Come to whisk her away on another adventure, let her escape from an unjust sentence that was sort of (but not entirely) his fault? He knew it from its messy state, as he saw all of River's clothes piled everywhere in misshapen heaps. Clothes from all different time periods, for she never did know where he'd be taking her next. The Doctor also caught a glimpse of the stick figure of herself she had drawn on the wall, which she had convinced a guard was actually her with the help of her hallucinogenic lipstick to create the perfect escape. If he hadn't been suffocating, the Doctor would've smiled at the sight of it.
There was also another big indication that the cell was River's, the confirming clue - the fact that she was standing at the bars. She clutched the metal bars with all her strength. Her face, half-covered by cloth to suppress the smoke, was pressed against the rails. She stared at the Doctor with pleading eyes, a look of relief on her face as tears fell down it. Whether the tears were from the joy of seeing him, or from the sting of the smoke the Doctor didn't bother to ask, but he knew it was probably the latter.
"River!" cried the Doctor, panting heavily as he approached the area where she stood, confined to her cell, gripping the bars "River, what have you done?" She shook her head immediately.
"It wasn't me, love." She managed to choke out, peeling back her mask of cloth for a moment "I don't know what's going on, all the guards have gone!"
The Doctor wasted no time, pulling his sonic screwdriver swiftly out of his jacket pocket. He pointed it at the cell door, which quickly clicked and swung open. With no time for any cheerful catch-up or lighthearted flirting, the Doctor grabbed River's hand roughly, leading her back to the TARDIS as fast as they could manage.
"Where are we going?" River gasped, easily keeping up with Doctor even in her ridiculous high heels, which made an annoying clicking sound against the steel floor of the prison "What's going on?" For once, the confidence was gone from River's voice, replaced by an odd confusion, a tiny bit of fear even, as she choked on the thick, dark gas.
"We are not going anywhere," replied the Doctor with a wheeze from his smoke-filled lungs "I'm taking you back to the TARDIS, where you will stay until I get this sorted out." River immediately ripped her hand from his grasp, stopping dead.
"Oh, no you don't." she insisted, as he froze just ahead of her, his shoes squeaking noisily as he did "I'm perfectly capable of helping you with this, and I'm not about to sit in the TARDIS while you run around and get yourself killed! Did you really think you'd be able to keep me out of it?" The Doctor sighed, but it quickly turned into a cough.
"River, why do you have to be so difficult!" he groaned, the smoke still stinging his eyes as he nearly tore his hair out in frustration "It's bad enough getting myself killed, why do insist on following suit?" They really didn't have any time to argue, but they stood there anyway, River refusing to comply.
"Because then you might actually be careful, with my life on the line as well." She replied simply, causing the Doctor to let out another sigh, for he knew it was true. Unable to disagree, and knowing he had little time to argue anyway, he took off running once again with River following close behind.
"We still need to go back to the TARDIS anyway," he explained, forcing another cloud of smoke out of his lungs "See what we're dealing with." River nodded, though the Doctor was unable to see it as the fumes thickened around them. River blindly reached out her hand, the Doctor gripping it firmly as they found one another in the blackness. They could barely see a foot in front of them now, as the hallway was clogged with the dark fog.
They nearly ran into the TARDIS, running frantically and as aimlessly as they were through the facility. Relieved, and so light-headed that they could pass out any minute, the two of them stumbled into the TARDIS, closing its doors hastily behind them.
They practically collapsed onto the TARDIS floor, leaning their backs up against the doors, gasping for air as they tried to rid their bodies of the foul smog. They both grinned, unable to stop themselves, happy to be breathing clean air again. Their hands were still nearly fused together, but neither one of them made an attempt to untangle their fingers.
"Nice to see you again, sexy." The Doctor breathed in relief, closing his eyes in exhaustion as he slumped against the TARDIS doors.
"You too, Sweetie." River replied, echoing his movement, falling beside him weakly. The Doctor bit back the urge to inform her that he had been talking to the TARDIS, but he decided that it really wasn't the time. The Doctor promptly stood upright, turning to help River up before running towards the console, all his youthful energy returning to him. A thousand year old child once again.
He shrugged off his jacket, throwing it haphazardly and carelessly over a random railing. He tugged the monitor, activating a myriad of buttons and switches, staring at the screen with a weird determination. His forehead wrinkled, and he frowned slightly as he tried to think of where to start.
"TARDIS, identify substance for me, would you?" he asked impatiently, causing the monitor to flash with data and images, "Tell me what that smoke outside is." His jaw set as he read the screen, one of his eyebrow flying up. "It's some sort of synthetic, airborne poison." He said, soundly slightly surprised, seeming to be in some sort of shock.
"Poison?" River asked, equally astounded, confused even "Are we going to be alright, Doctor? Have we inhaled too much of it?" The Doctor shook his head, but in response to which of her questions was unclear.
"Time-Lords have a resistance to it, it seems," he explained, studying the words that flew by on his monitor. "It's fabricated to affect all known types of life forms, I think, and Time-Lords are sort of extinct…" he clarified, turning away from the screen to look at River "And you seem to have enough Time-Lord DNA in you to have that trait, so congratulations on being alive. Also, thank the fact that your parents had a little too much fun on the bunk beds in the TARDIS during their honeymoon." River smiled slightly, also a bit uncomfortable after that last comment, before the worried look returned to her face.
"That doesn't answer why it was even there, though," she pressed, coming up beside him to look at the screen, though the mix of words of different languages and symbols meaning who-knows-what were moving too fast for her to decipher. Enough Time-Lord in her to be resistant to poison, but not enough to read the TARDIS' monitor that quickly. Go figure.
"Didn't you say all the guards had gone?" The Doctor asked suddenly, after staring at the flashing words for a few moments longer, the worried wrinkles on his forehead deepening as he struggled to understand, looking so out of place on his young face. River nodded slowly, trying to catch up on his train of thought. "Where did they go, when did they leave?"
"I don't know where they went," replied River, trying to work through the situation in her head "About ten minutes before I noticed the gas, they were called somewhere. Seemed urgent, all the guards suddenly just took off. I was actually going to take advantage and I was starting to plan another escape when the fog rolled in." The Doctor stroked his chin, puzzled.
"A criminal trying to escape? A victim of a crime seeking revenge? An accidental gas leak?" The Doctor mumbled different scenarios under his breath, speaking more to himself than anything else, covering his face with his hands.
"If only it could be as simple as a gas leak for once," grumbled River tiredly, earning her a smile and a chuckle from the Doctor, though they both lacked any sort of humour. "Wait, you said that the gas was designed to affect all life forms, so does that mean…"
"That they're dead?" Interrupted the Doctor, finishing the question for her, to which River nodded sadly "Most likely, the poison seems to be pretty deadly from what I've read." River frowned, pained by the thought.
"Even the guards?" she asked quietly, though she had never showed concern for the men she so regularly deceived until now. The Doctor nodded, his focus drawn back to the screen once more.
"Unless they retreated to somewhere safe and sealed-off, yes." He replied, with what seemed to be no concern at all for all the life that had potentially been lost, though River could see that twinge of sadness in his eyes he tried to repress so he could think clearly. After a few minutes of silent pondering, during which he ran his fingers through his hair with a frustrated look on his face, he spoke again. "We should really go out and investigate."
The Doctor took off running down some random hallway, returning quickly before River could even think about following him, holding up a pair of clear plastic masks triumphantly. River studied what appeared to be a pair of gas masks, though pretty low tech compared to what she had become used to in this time.
"Though we are resistant to the poison, we aren't completely immune," he explained, throwing one of the masks to River, who caught it easily "It ought to start effecting us sooner or later if we stay out too long. Better to be safe than sorry." He gave her a reassuring wink as his placed the clear mask over his face, securing it behind his head. They both headed for the door. "Allons-y, as one of my previous personalities used to say."
"Oh, I ran into to him once," River commented, smiling teasingly "Crazy bloke that one was, but at least he didn't wear a bow tie." The Doctor gave her a joking glare, pretending to be offended. He was about to explain to her that bow ties were cool, when he stopped short, a bewildered expression appearing on his face as it dawned on him.
"That's impossible!" he nearly shouted, completely perplexed "The only time you met him was in the library, and you, you…" He didn't know how to finish that sentence, but River soon cut him off anyway, a grin on her face.
"Spoilers." Was all she said, giving him a wink before pulling open the TARDIS doors, stepping out into the smoke.
It instantly clouded their vision, fogging up their masks almost immediately. At least they could breathe, which was the main thing. Breathing is good, breathing meant living. They found each other's hands in the smog, gripping the other tightly as they took off blindly down the hallway.
They miraculously didn't run into any walls, for the Doctor could see just enough not to make that mistake. River was running completely visionless though, only able to feel her feet hitting the ground rhythmically as she ran, and the Doctor's slim fingers crushing her own with surprising strength. They sprinting down passageway after passageway, passing cell after cell, the Doctor seeing no signs of any survivors.
"Any sign of an end?" complained River, as her right ankle wobbled a bit as her high heels hit the ground at an odd angle as she groped in the dark, nearly causing her to topple over. The Doctor shook his head, but replied aloud when he realized she wouldn't be able to see it through the dark cloud enveloping them both.
"No, not at all," he answered, starting to breathe heavily "I guess that's a good thing, for the guards, I mean. Very hard for prisoners to find their way out, I don't know how you manage it every time." River rolled her eyes and continued to race as fast as she could, pushing herself farther forward with every stride.
They continued on for a good five minutes longer, their legs growing heavier and sorer with every step, yet they continued to push themselves forward. The Doctor kept going in the hope to save precious lives, curious to find the answer. River followed him mostly because his grip on her hand was inescapable, and partly because she couldn't bear to keep herself out of the action.
Suddenly, the Doctor came to a sudden halt, River following his lead soon after as she stood beside him, catching her breath. The silhouette of the TARDIS loomed in front of them, masked in smoke, but obviously there. They glared at it in silence, in utter confusion.
"We've been going 'round in circles!" exclaimed River, still gulping for air after sprinting so far, apparently having just run the perimeter of the entire building.
"Actually, in a circle, singular." replied the Doctor, looking around him for a way out, though barely anything could be seen in the haze of fumes "We only went around once." River sighed, not in the mood for his cleverness, except if it could get them out of there.
"We went completely around!" shouted the Doctor, not seeing any way out, getting frustrated with himself "The walls are either lined with jail cells or just a smooth steel surface. No doors, none! How do you get out, River? Of all people, you should know! Where are the guards, where do all the non-prisoners stay?" His yelling had caught her off guard, but she answered with a confident air to her voice, like she always did.
"Well, I never really did go out the right way," replied River, she herself scanning the foggy air surrounding them for an escape "I either left by TARDIS, or I made myself a door." she gave an evil smirk at that, but the Doctor didn't ask for her to elaborate "Or used a window in one of the other cells - they never gave me one - but they lead outside, though not to any other parts of the building, I don't think the other floors have windows." The Doctor groaned, covering his gas mask in his hands, then letting them fall to his sides. He flung his head back, facing the ceiling.
"How on earth are we supposed to-" he cut himself short as his gaze wandered up to the ceiling, a huge grin appearing on his face. "There we go." River followed his line of sight, and saw a square panel almost directly above their heads. Even through the smoke, she could read the red lettering printed upon the door. EXIT.
"So," the Doctor started, turning to his wife with a smile on his face "Who's going up first?" River crossed her arms over her chest, glancing up to examine the height.
"No offence, but I doubt you could lift me up there with those skinny little arms of yours." she laughed, the Doctor giving her a hard look at her remark, though his ego didn't seem to be too badly damaged "But, even if I can you up there, how am I going to follow?" The Doctor's expression turned into a grin once more.
"Oh, we'll figure it out as we go along, I'm clever that way" he assured her, rubbing his hands together as he prepared for what would come next "Now, hoist me up!" River paused for a moment, probably just absorbing what a terrible plan it was, lifting her husband up through a hole in the ceiling in the hopes he would find a way for her to follow him. She nevertheless held out both her hands clutched together, the Doctor sending yet another reassuring wink her way as he stepped on her upward-facing palms.
It was sadly so very easy for River to raise him to the ceiling, with him weighing barely anything and all. His fingertips pressed against the metal panel, and with a slight push he displaced it upwards, shoving it aside. He grabbed the ledge with ease, managing to pull himself up with the help of River who still supported his feet.
"Can you see anything up there? Any survivors?" called River as the Doctor disappeared from view in the chamber above. At least it didn't have any smoke in it, as far as she could tell from her view from the floor below. She heard his quick, light footsteps on the metal floor above. His face appeared over the open panel once again, crouching by the hole.
"This room seems to be protected from the smoke somehow," The Doctor thought aloud, though looking intensely at River as he did so. He had taken his mask off, revealing the mess it had made of his hair. He tried frantically, and without much success, to smooth it out, but it was a lost cause "Smoke rises, but for some reason hasn't found its way up yet…" He straightened up, pacing thoughtfully around the perimeter of the hole as he examined the panel, going over every explanation in his head.
"Some sort of force field, maybe? Something that didn't stop me from entering but managed to-" he broke off, turning to face something in the room that River was unable to see. She watched as a look of confusion passed over his face, followed by a genuine look of fear.
Though it wasn't fear for himself.
"River," he muttered just loud enough for her to hear, angling his head to look down to the floor below "River, whatever you do, don't make a noise, don't be seen by anyone, and for your own sake don't come after me." She started to protest, but the Doctor instantly put a finger to his lips, reminded her not to be heard. She fell silent, seeing the severe expression he wore. Whatever was going on, whatever he saw… their lives were at stake.
With a nudge of his shoe, the Doctor slid the panel back into place. It sealed him into the room above with a click, leaving River alone below, standing in the smoke.