"Well now Doctor. Isn't this a surprise?" The commander smiled at the Doctor, as he sat in the very same interrogation chair as before.
"What have you done with Rose?" The Doctor demanded, his anger barely contained.
"She's fine, don't worry about it." The commander sat back in his chair, the obvious glee of catching the one person to ever escape from him, showing in his eyes.
"If you hurt her-"
"I would never dream of doing something like that." The commander reassured him.
The Doctor relaxed, allowing himself to calm his anger.
"Unless it was necessary." The commander added, with a hint of evil glinting in his eyes.
The Doctor glared at him, and all calming thoughts evaporated.
"Well, now that we do have a bargaining tool-"The commander started.
"Excuse me?" The Doctor raised an eyebrow.
The commander could barely hide his enjoyment.
"You see, my superiors are extremely curious to know how you got in here. They are willing to do anything to find out. This includes your friend here."
The Doctor's anger began to rise.
"You dare touch her, and I'll-"
"You'll what Doctor? Bust out and free the pretty maiden? I don't think so. You talk, she remains unharmed. You don't talk, and I guess we'll have to persuade you." His grin made the Doctor even more infuriated.
"OK Doctor, let's start with the basics. How did you get inside this facility?"
OO
Rose slowly opened her eyes. She was lying flat on her back. Lifting her head and looking around, she appeared to be in a room painted entirely white. It was empty except for a chair in the corner. Lifting herself off the ground, she groaned when she noticed the hole in her jeans.
"These were new." She grumbled.
Spotting the door, she quickly walked over and attempted to open it. It wouldn't budge. Frowning, she tapped on the window in the door.
"Oi! Someone gonna let me out anytime soon?" She yelled.
To her surprise, a gruff voice answered.
"You aren't going anywhere any time soon."
Rose banged o the window this time.
"Why?" She shouted.
"You're a prisoner in the U.K.E.S."
"U.K.E.S?"
"United Kingdom Experimental Station."
"Huh? What year is it?"
"7000. I'm not allowed to answer any more of your questions, so shut up."
Rose was taken aback at the man's rudeness.
Wait, 7000. Where have I heard that year before?
"Uh, oh." Gulped Rose.
OO
"So, in your big blue box, you decided to come to the year 7000, but you could not control where it lands." The commander scoffed.
"That's right." Nodded the Doctor.
The commander laughed.
"You really expect me to believe that?"
"It's the truth."
The commander sighed.
"Unless you can give me a valid explanation, I will have no choice but-"
"Why can't you accept my explanations? Just because you've never heard of anything like it doesn't mean it's not real!" The Doctor's anger flared as he stood up, facing the commander. The man seemed to buckle for a few seconds under the Doctor's piercing gaze, but quickly recovered.
"If you do not tell me how you got in here, then your friend will pay the consequences." He remarked coldly.
The Doctor couldn't believe the amount of ignorance the commander was full of.
"You will wait here, and while you do, try and think of something a little better than the big blue box theory." He smirked.
The Doctor was fuming.
OO
Rose sat cross-legged in a corner staring at the door. She had her arms crossed and a sour expression on her face.
"Typical. Just typical. My first trip back, and already I'm a prisoner." She grumbled.
The door suddenly swung open and two soldiers walked in. Rose jumped to her feet, ready for anything. She knew self defence, and was not afraid to use it. That was one of the many benefits of being an agent for Torchwood; they trained her well in protecting herself. One of the soldiers went to grab her arm, but she quickly darted away from his hands, kicking him in the back while she was at it. The other guard hesitated for a second, and went for her other arm. She swung round and gave him a hard punch in the nose. He fell to the ground gasping in pain. She took off without a minute to waste, racing out the door. The guards outside had heard the commotion though. When Rose made for the door, the guards on the other side blocked her passage. One grabbed her arm, succeeding in making a hold on her. Despite Rose's best efforts, she couldn't escape. Still, it did take four guards to tackle her into submission.
OO
Rose was marched down the corridor and into the room where the Doctor was. He shot out of his seat when he saw her.
"Rose!" He called out.
"I'm OK Doctor." She replied.
"Not for long."
The Doctor and Rose both turned their attention to the commander, who stood smiling in the doorway. They both gave him dark looks. He ignored them, and clapped his hands together.
"Let's start shall we?"
He sat in the chair behind his desk and instructed the guard to place Rose in the chair in the corner. He looked up to notice one of the guards was sporting a lot of blood coming down his face.
"What happened to you?" He asked, shocked.
The guard grunted and pointed at Rose. She gave a mischievous wink. The Doctor suppressed a grin.
"Seems the pretty maiden has more up her sleeve than you took her for." The Doctor taunted. The commander scowled, and got of his seat.
He walked over to face the Doctor, and motioned for a solider nearby to come closer. The commander whispered into the soldier's ear, he nodded and marched out of the room. The Doctor frowned in confusion. What are they up to?
The commander then returned to his desk, and began to fill in paperwork. Rose and the Doctor exchanged confused glances.
"What's going on?" Asked Rose.
The commander didn't show any signs that he heard her. Several minutes passed before anyone moved or talked again. The soldier that had been sent out of the room previously walked back in again. The commander looked up from his work, smiled and got out of his seat. The commander followed the soldier out the door.
"Hey! Where are you going?" Called the Doctor after him.
"Somewhere to get much needed information."
OO
It felt like hours that the Doctor and Rose were made to sit facing each other, waiting for the commander to return. Occasionally, the exchanged worried glances, but most of the time, the Doctor remained absorbed in his plans to make an escape.
When the commander did return, he paid no attention to either Rose or the Doctor, and went straight to his desk. He held a folder in his hands, and was reading constantly.
"So…You gonna tell us why we have been sitting here for so long?" Asked Rose.
"I was awaiting the results." Replied the commander.
"Results for what?" Asked the Doctor.
"The test."
"What test?"
"To discover."
"What?"
"Your true purpose."
"What on earth can you hope to gain from a test to find out our true purpose?"
"Your species."
The Doctor went deadly silent. His cold gaze swept over the commander, but he did not flinch. Rose began to tremble. She didn't know what they would do to the Doctor, him being a Timelord after all.
"What did you find?"
"Your friend here is regular human. That means she came from this planet, or one of the colonies at least."
"So, we're on Earth then?"
The commander looked at the Doctor like he just asked him the most obvious question in the world.
"Of course! Where do you think we are? The moon?" He laughed.
"What about me then? What did your test show about me?" The Doctor narrowed his eyes and stared at the commander. The man avoided his gaze, and went back to reading his report.
"You. You are…" The commander didn't finish his sentence. His eyes widened as he read the report. He looked up at the Doctor in shock.
The Doctor narrowed his eyes and gave the commander a cold stare. The man just continued to look at him in shock. The commander raised a finger and pointed at the Doctor.
"You shouldn't exist. You don't exist!" He whispered through clenched teeth.
The Doctor rolled his eyes.
"Well, here I am!"
"But…" The commander stuttered.
"Well, I've just about had enough of this." The Doctor clapped his hands together and stood up.
The commander looked at the Doctor like he had just seen a ghost. His dazed and confused expression followed the Doctor as he got out of his seat and walked over to Rose, who had stood up and was waiting for him to join her.
"What's up with him?" Whispered Rose, motioning towards the commander, who still remained speechless and unmoving.
"Culture shock. Let's go before he regains his senses." Replied the Doctor.
He grabbed her hand and walked out the door, taking a backwards glance to see if the commander would do anything.
The commander watched as they made for the door, the guards standing on either side made no attempt to stop them. They were just as confused as the commander.
Just as suddenly as he had taken leave of his senses, the commander suddenly regained them. He shook his head in surprise and looked at to see the Doctor and Rose walk out of the door.
"Hey! Arrest them! Don't let them escape!" He shouted at the guards.
As they fumbled into action, Rose and the Doctor started to sprint down the hall towards the reality chamber.
"So much for getting out of here easy!" Called Rose as they sprinted down the hall.
The Doctor grumbled and ran faster. But they were no match for the specially trained guards, who began closing in on them. The Doctor noticed a small metal ventilation shaft coming up on the left.
"Quick!" He called out to Rose.
"In here!"
The Doctor quickly pulled out the sonic screwdriver from his pocket and opened the shaft. Rose darted though, but a rough hand on the Doctor stopped him. The guard caught his leg and pulled him backwards, preventing him from getting through.
"Doctor!" Screamed Rose.
The Doctor, realising that he would not make it, threw the sonic screwdriver into the shaft, and pushed the door shut, preventing them from getting to Rose. She caught the screwdriver just in time before the shaft closed. Looking through a crack in the door of the shaft, she met eyes with the Doctor for a fleeting second, before he was dragged back in the opposite direction. She watched in terrified eyes as the Doctor was marched away.
OO
Rose scrambled up the shaft to a small intersection. Which way? She thought desperately. Picking a random tunnel, she proceeded down to the next place where she could peer through a crack.
Looking down, she realised she was looking into a garden. That's weird. She thought. That looks a lot like…
Rose's eyes widened as she saw the TARDIS standing in the middle of the garden. Making a mental note, she kept moving along the shaft. Over the course of an hour or so, she spied into several labs, the prison cell where she had been kept previously, but still had failed to find where the Doctor was.
Crawling along a particular section of the shaft, she swore under her breath when it turned out to be blocked.
Damn. Have to find another way…Wait a second…
Rose fished the sonic screwdriver from her pocket and studied it. She had seen the Doctor use it countless times, but she never really learnt how to use it herself. Cursing for her lack of knowledge, she was about put it back in her pocket, when she stopped. Pulling it back in front of her eyes, she had a closer look at the many settings it had on it.
Deciding to give it a go, she picked a random setting and placed it next to a bolt that held the metal block in place. To her surprise, the bolt fell out of its hole.
"What the…" Rose put the screwdriver next to another bolt, and again, it fell out.
"Wow. That's weird." Soon Rose had managed to take out every single bolt from the block. It fell over, revealing another shaft passage. Smiling, Rose put the screwdriver back into her pocket and continued along.
OO
"So…Found my friend yet? Coz, I'd really like to know…"
"ENOUGH!" The commander shouted. The Doctor fell silent.
The commander tried to keep a calm face.
"How come you exist?" He asked.
The Doctor sighed.
"Why do we all? That's the big question isn't it? What's the meaning…"
"STOP! Stop this at once! How come you exist? Where is the rest of your species, Timelord?" The way the commander emphasized the last word made the Doctor scowl.
"They're dead." He muttered.
"What was that?" The commander raised his voice.
"They're dead! Get it? I'm the last, and I'm not the sort you want as your enemy! So BACK OFF!" The Doctor jumped up from his seat and roared. The commander fell backwards into his seat in surprise at the Doctor's sudden outburst.
The commander stood up, straightened his uniform, and looked at the Doctor.
"Fine." He snapped. The Doctor narrowed his eyes.
"Take him to his cell!"
Two guards marched the Doctor back down the corridor to his cell. Taking one last icy look at the guards, he stepped into his cell. Sighing, he sat down in a corner.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Frowning, the Doctor looked around.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
What's that noise? He wondered.
BANG
The Doctor jumped up in surprise and the ventilation shaft above him broke. And to his further surprise, a smiling Rose Tyler fell out. She dusted herself off and stood up to look at the Doctor. All he could do was gape.
"Well Doctor, you've got some serious anger issues!"