Chapter Three

The door slid back and the Doctor was ushered inside. He looked around at the festive decorations covering every inch of space in the room.

"Wow, whoever captured us must really love Christmas." He muttered.

He turned to DONNER, who was holding his sonic screwdriver, and PRANCER, who was standing beside him, but they were already walking out the door. He tried to follow them, but the door slid back and locked before he could get out. Cursing, he slammed his hand on the door and turned back around. He put his hands in his pockets and waited for the villain to show up. Minutes passed and the Doctor sighed angrily.

"Well," he yelled. "If you're gonna show yourself, do it! I'm in no mood for playing games! I wanna know what you want with me and what you've done with Rose and I wanna know now!"

As if in response to his demand, another door across from him slid open.

"Ah! Now we're getting somewhere." He said walking towards it.

He walked in the room and paused as he looked around. He didn't see the villain, but he did see a bunch of silver statues on either side of a long walkway. The Doctor hesitated expecting them to come to life and attack him. When they didn't, he slowly walked down the walkway to the door on the far end. As he walked, he looked from left to right. The statues were mostly humans although there were a few aliens mixed in with them. They were all arranged in various winter tableaus.

The Doctor slowed his pace and stared at them with fascination. He paused at one scene that showed several humans having a snowball fight and stepped over a red, velvet rope marking off the boundary of the tableau. He walked over to a statue of a laughing, human child and bent over to examine it.

He marveled at how lifelike the statue was. He could even see the dimples in his cheeks. He reached up and flicked the child's silver cheek with his fingers expecting it to come to life, but it remained motionless. Leaning back up, he walked around to the other participants in the snowball fight examining each one in turn. All of them were lifelike down to the smallest detail. The Doctor had to admire the sculptor's skill.

He stepped back over the rope and walked across the pathway to the display on the other side.

This one depicted a family sitting by a Christmas tree opening presents. The Doctor frowned. For some odd reason, there was a Slitheen sitting with the family. The Doctor stepped over the rope and walked over to it. It was sitting on a couch by the tree passing a present to a little human girl.

"Interesting," the Doctor muttered. "Completely wrong, but interesting all the same."

He flicked his fingers against the Slitheen's cheek and stepped back to admire it. It also had been rendered in painstaking detail right down to the scar on its forehead. The Doctor would have sworn it was alive if it wasn't made of silver. He lingered a moment more and then went back over the rope. He continued walking down the path looking at the rest of the tableaus. There were carolers, a family eating Christmas dinner, Father Christmas setting presents by the tree. The Doctor paused at that one when he realized "Santa" was an Ice Warrior.

"Not my first choice for St. Nick, but can't argue that whoever did this has quite an imagination." He muttered.

He looked at the tableau on the other side. It looked like it was a scene from the Nutcracker except the "Nutcracker" was a Yeti in a soldier outfit.

"Okay, this is beyond bizarre now." The Doctor said.

He sighed.

"Right, much as I'd like to linger here and admire Salvador Dali's view of Christmas, I need to hurry up and find Rose."

Ignoring the rest of the tableaus, he marched straight towards the door. As he neared it, he half expected it to stay shut, but to his surprise it slid open with a gentle swish. Warily, the Doctor slowly entered, but all he saw were more winter scenes. Sighing, he ignored them all and walked to the door at the other end. It slid open and the Doctor paused when he noticed he was in a workshop.

He looked around and saw a silver statue lying on a table. He walked over to it and looked down. Unlike the other statues with their happy, smiling faces, this one had a look of pure horror on her face. Puzzled, the Doctor reached out and touched her cheek. It was warm to the touch. The Doctor felt the rest of the head and it too was warm. Intrigued, he examined the statue. Everywhere he touched on its body was warm.

"Did they just get done casting this one?" he wondered.

He looked around for the mold, but there was none. He stared around in confusion and then his eyes rested on something near the back of the room. He walked over to it. It looked like a metal frame, almost like a large, black gate, that had silver splotches all over it. It was hanging horizontally on an axis between two metal poles. The Doctor put his hand on the edge of the frame and it went down. He gave it a gentle push and watched as the frame spun around and around. He stopped it and noticed that there were manacles on the side that had been facing up. Two manacles near the top of the frame and two near the bottom.

"What is this thing?" he muttered.

He looked above the frame and noticed a long hose hanging there. He pulled it down and looked at the nozzle. It had a black button on it. He pushed the button and gasped when hot, molten silver sprayed out narrowly missing his trainers. He let go of the hose and it slid back up. He looked at the puddle of silver on the floor, then at the manacles on the frame and finally at the silver statue lying on the table. Bile rose in his throat as his mind began to connect the pieces of the puzzle. Now he realized why the statues were so lifelike.

"Rose." He murmured as panic gripped his hearts.

He spun on his heel and ran for the door on the other side. It slid open and he stopped. The room was filled with people who were all imprisoned in gigantic, clear orbs that reminded him of the ball ornaments you hung on Christmas trees. Humans and aliens of every age and gender were encased inside staring at him with wide, terrified eyes. The Doctor walked among them staring at them with a mixture of pity and revulsion as the captives pounded on the orbs and begged him for help.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." He said to one little girl who was crying and asking him to take her back to her mommy and daddy.

He neared the end of the room and his hearts stopped. There, kneeling in an orb beside the door was Rose. The Doctor ran to her and knelt down in front of the plastic prison as Rose crawled over and put her hands against the side.

"Doctor, are you okay?" she asked.

The Doctor nodded and placed his hands over hers.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

Rose nodded.

"They brought me in here and sealed me in this ball thing. Oh Doctor, these people. They're going to---"

"I know, I saw it." The Doctor said.

"Can you free us?"

The Doctor shook his head.

"Not right now. They took my screwdriver." He said. "I have to figure another way to get you out."

"No! You can't stay here. He'll be back any minute and he'll capture you if he sees you. Oh Doctor, you have to get away from here before it's too late."

"No, not without you. I won't leave you and these people here and let you be turned into statues. There must be a way to get you out."

He ran his hands over the orb trying to find a seam. He cursed when he couldn't find any. He looked at Rose.

"How did you get in here?" he asked.

"They brought me in here and the ball was lying on the floor in two pieces. They put me in this half and then two of the robots put the other piece on. The pieces then kinda fused together into a ball."

"Bollocks, then I have to figure out a way to unfuse them." He said running his hands over the surface.

"No! You have to go, Doctor! He wants you. He told me so. He wants to turn you into a statue. You have to go. Please leave me. I'm not worth it."

"No, Rose, you are more than worth the risk." He said. "Anyway, I don't think it matters. I was captured and brought on board so I have a feeling I was supposed to find you. Which means our captor should be showing himself very soon."

The Doctor and Rose looked over when the door beside them slid open and a man stepped inside.

"Right on cue." The Doctor said.