Doctor And Assistant, Chap. 17
Chapter 17: A Nightmare (Part Two)
/the Doctor\\
(Scarlet grabbed the Doctor's hand, a scream emerging from her mouth. They tumbled and glided in a completely dark room, but then darkness overtook his vision.)
/Derpy\\
(The screaming wouldn't stop. A thud was heard, but it kept going. "And, they've come," the dragon boomed, smiling as if he could see them. She couldn't get the scream to stop ringing, repeating over and over.
'S... S... Scarlet?!')
/the Doctor\\
("Newcomers..." a deep voice growled, "welcome."
The Doctor flung his eyes open. "Who are you?" Out of the corner of his eye he saw Scarlet on the floor as well, but the voice was too deep to be hers. "Come on, then! Out of the shadows!"
"What's the fun in that?" A pair of wings were heard flapping somewhere in front of him. "But, I suppose, if you'd like to see my friends and myself..."
The beating wings flew closer, wind gusts almost knocking the Doctor and Scarlet backwards. But, the thing was, the Doctor couldn't move. He couldn't even tilt his head! The only things NOT paralyzed were his eyes and his mouth.
Scarlet began coughing. The Doctor knew automatically it wasn't one of those coughs you'd get when you're sick – she was choking. And he knew she wasn't choking on air.
"Let her go! Stop that at this instant!" he ordered.
"Fine," the voice laughed after a pause. Scarlet stopped her choking, switching to taking frantic gulps of air. "But this is SO boring..." it continued.
"Oh, shut up! Tell us your name," the Doctor snarled. If anyone'd know where his Derpy was, this... voice, was definitely the one to go to.
Wait, 'his Derpy'?
First time he's ever thought of saying that.
The creature flew down into Scarlet and the Doctor's tiny spotlights of pale yellow lights. The Doctor began studying this creature, making an imaginary checklist in his head. 'Dark purple skin and eyes, 3 heads, 3 mouths, 6 eyes, Draconis Occidentalis... looks more like a mythological European dragon other than Chinese...'
"You're the creature Derpy was crying about!" the Doctor gasped out of hatred. "If I get my hands on you you'll wish you hadn't even been bloody born! Now give me my assistant!" His voice boomed around them, signaling to the Doctor there were 4 walls encasing them, complete with a floor and ceiling.
"Why, Ditzy Doo talked of me? That's bad... for HER."
"If you lay so much as a breath on her, I–" he began.
"-Keep talking and I will shoot," the dragon (who the Doctor estimated to be at least 3x bigger than himself and Scarlet combined) finished.
Scarlet's voice was dry, parched. "Tell us your name."
"You know, all you need to say was 'please'," he snickered. "The names Hydran (Author's Note: High-Drihh-Nn; he's another OC from one of my friends who again won't be named)."
"'Hydran', huh..." the Doctor muttered to himself.
"Now, I think I should go try to tell Ditzy she broke our... 'friendship'..." The words slurred from Hydran's mouth.
Blackness overtook his vision, but he felt someone's presence still in front of him. A scream rang out.
"It's YOUR nightmare, too, Doctor. I wonder what YOU are afraid of..." Hydran laughed darkly.)
/Scarlet\\
('Finally,' Scarlet thought to herself. 'I can move!'
Scarlet automatically stood up, staggering to the Doctor. "Now what?"
"What do you mean, 'now what'? We find my assistant," he said matter-of-factly. "She said after the scream, she walks in a dark hallway that leads to cells. But the thing is, we are just in a dark room."
"So we are basically screwed, is what you're saying," Scarlet mumbled, blinking to clear her vision.
The Doctor glared at her, standing up. "That's not at all what I'm saying." Scarlet crossed her arms. "Okay, maybe a bit, but it doesn't mean it is permanent."
She rolled her eyes. "And by 'not permanent' I'm thinking you mean 'I-don't-know-what-I'm-saying-so-let's-keep-the-Skyolozine's-hopes-up'."
He paused, cracking his back and fingers as he talked. "Not if we do this right."
"And what do you mean by 'this'?"
"Surviving the nightmare."
"And how do we do that?"
"We just will, I suppose."
The Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver and used it to illuminate the room. Scarlet nearly died from shushing her laughter.
"What?" he asked, trying to find the nearest wall.
"Did you ever realize that when you say something like 'hold my sonic screwdriver', your sonic screwdriver could be misinterpreted as your–" she began.
"–yes, yes, well... Well now I do," he admitted, trying not to laugh as well.
Another thought struck the Skyolozine and she pursed her lips to hide a smile. "I bet you said that to Derpy, Doc," she laughed.
The Doctor's face grew red out of embarrassment. "No!"
"'No' as in 'you haven't', or 'no' as in 'not yet'?" she questioned further.
"'No' as in 'I haven't'!"
"This is adorable," Scarlet laughed. "And you're throwing a tantrum just like a little girl would. Did someone take your candy or whatever?"
The Doctor stifled a laugh. "Well, Derpy isn't my 'candy', but I believe your statement is somewhat correct."
"Are you sure she isn't your candy? I saw you two kissing yesterday. Just saying," Scarlet smirked.
"...I'm sort of sure," he admitted in an ashamed/embarrassed tone. He met Scarlet's gaze, though, and his facade of sarcasm lifted and flew off. They nearly doubled over out of laughter.
"Nice to see happiness in your times of dying," Hydran growled.
The Doctor cleared his throat. "Where are we? Where are you?" the Doctor asked seriously. But Hydran only laughed. "You coward!"
"Says the one who's been running for most of his lives!" Hydran fired back.
"Doctor?!" Scarlet asked, running to a now-visible wall. "The walls are closing in! The walls are closing in!"
Hydran laughed once more. "Fear... What a world to live in."
Scarlet knew for a fact she hadn't been slipped any hallucinogens. The walls were closing in. There was no door.
"Scarlet!" the Doctor yelled, grabbing her hand and pulling her backwards towards him and away from the nearing wall. "No... Are you claustrophobic?"
Scarlet narrowed her eyes. "For an alien, you must have no intelligence!"
"Not the time to insult me!"
The 4 walls closed in faster, merely 2-3 feet away. Scarlet began hyperventilating and the Doctor frantically started scanning every inch of the wall.
"Scarlet, calm down! Calm down!"
"I can't!" she screamed. "Skyolozine-this is what our biggest fear is!"
"All of you?!"
"Yes!"
"Oh, this is bloody fantastic," he mumbled. But then he cheered triumphantly and metal clanged against the floor.
"What'd you do?" she asked.
"I'll explain later, just come on!" he yelled, grabbing her hand and pulling her into the opening just before all 4 walls met.)
/Derpy\\
('No... It can't be Scarlet,' Derpy told herself, continuing her walk. 'I mean, unless she fell asleep at the same exact time as me. That might not even work... How'd I even fall asleep anyway?'
"I made you doze off," the dragon admitted from the shadows. "I can induce sleep, you know."
"How did you hear me?" she asked, this time aloud.
"..." The dragon didn't answer.
Derpy continued down the path, but it soon began increasingly getting a smaller distance between her and the exit. She reached the door in under a minute's time. Before opening it, however, Derpy took a look behind her. She stepped inside.
The darkness smothered her vision but a little down the way she saw a speck of light. Running towards it, she realized it was a torch and carefully took it off of the wall and into her grasp. It wasn't hot at all, though – it was actually so cold it pricked her skin painfully. She pushed through it, though, and kept walking forwards.
"You're smart," the dragon muttered, "but not smart enough."
Derpy rolled her eyes. "As I am so frequently reminded of my intelligence, I know."
"You never go FORWARDS, you go BACKWARDS," he continued.
Derpy stopped walking, crossing her arms impatiently without the flames touching her. "You continue to traumatized and scare me every time I fall asleep. The least you can do is tell me your name."
"Hydran," it cackled.
"Well, 'Hydran', tell me why you're doing this."
"No."
"Why not?"
"You broke our deal."
"Um, what 'deal'?"
"You spoke of me in the reality dimension," Hydran snarled. "Get ready for a bit more action."
"Wait, 'the reality dimension'? And what do you mean by 'action'?!"
No answer.
"Hello?!"
Derpy groaned at the silence, continuing to walk with the torch held out in front of her. Something tapped her shoulder and she spun around, only to be met with darkness. But when she turned back around, the pale, stretched face of an actual Silence stared back at her. She jumped back in alarm, falling down and letting out a yelp.
The Doctor's voice flashed into her mind. "'They're like Angels, except if you look away you'll forget the encounter.'"
So Derpy gulped, watching it closely. "One thing after another. Hydran, can't I just enjoy a nice moment with the Doctor for once? Just one time?!" she yelled, trying not to blink in fear she'd forget.
"Depends."
"Oh, right, like I've not heard THAT before..." she mumbled. "You've obviously not loved someone like I do the Doctor, because you wouldn't have done that if you did."
"While that much is true, Ditzy, I'm still the King of Nightmares. And, guess what, you're in one of the many nightmares this show allows me to run."
"What 'show'?!" Derpy was screaming now out of anger, watching the lone Silence.
"Questions for the future, Miss Doo."
"Oh, so you'll be calling me 'Miss Doo' now?!"
Hydran laughed. "You're very quick to anger."
Derpy sighed expassratedly. She'd had enough! She pushed the Silence away and walked past it. 'Wait, what'd I walk past?' she asked herself mentally.
Hydran laughed one more time.
Derpy neared the end of the hallway, shutting her eyes tightly as her hand glided through the air towards the doorknob. She eventually reached it, opening the door and walking through. A cold wind blew into her face and she couldn't believe what she was seeing.
"I'm at the cells," she said breathlessly.
"Good luck. You know the rules," said a voice from behind her. She spun around to see who it was coming from but the door slammed in her face.)
/Lilly\\
Lilly concentrated, her eyes shut extremely tight. 'Keep focusing, keep, argh, focusing!' she yelled at herself through the unbearable pain centered at her head.
"Calm down," Rachel said soothingly. Her voice shook, though, almost like she was crying or trying not to. "You're going to hurt yourself!"
"You and I both know I've done worse," Lilly exhaled.
"I wasn't able to stop you those times! You wouldn't let me! But I can stop this, I can talk you out of it, I can possess you!"
"Rachel, stop, please! You're making it worse!"
A chill ran down her spine but Lilly wouldn't allow herself to open her eyes and see it's source. If she opened her eyes, she'd see something interesting and think of it. She'd think of it and get distracted. She'd get distracted and the wormhole'd close. The wormhole'd close... everyone inside would die-
'Stop!' her brain warned her. 'No distractions!'
Lilly breathed out shakily, like she was meditating after getting into a brawl. "Calm down... Just calm down... Do your job..." she muttered to herself.
/the Doctor\\
(With a clang the 4 walls met. The Doctor, along with Scarlet, sat in the air vent trying to catch their breath.
"What a rush when you're a step from death," he said with a proud smile.
"Why are you smiling? We almost DIED!" Scarlet said exasperatedly.
"'Almost' is the key word, as in 'we were almost crushed to death in a dream world that makes no sense but guess what, we ARE, STILL, ALIVE!" he yelled happily. He then slumped against a wall of the vent too, adjacent to Scarlet.
"Derpy better be thankful for this," Scarlet laughed nervously.
"Okay. So, you ARE claustrophobic, right?"
"Yes," Scarlet said glumly.
"I thought you said Skyolozine aren't afraid of anything?"
"Turns out I lied," she pouted.
"What else are you scared of?" he blurted out.
"Why?"
"I have a theory on this dream world," he admitted.
"Then say it."
"I need more factual text evidence. So, what are you and the rest of your race scared of?"
Scarlet watched him seriously before frowning. "There aren't any of us left."
"Welcome to my life," the Doctor said.
"I... I can't be alone in the dark. That's my only other fear," she whispered.
"Aha!" the Doctor cheered after a pause. "I got it!"
"Theory time?"
"Theory time," he repeated. "When we first got here, we were thrown into a dark room. Yes, sure, you weren't alone because of me, but it's the thought that counts. Now, claustrophobia set in."
"What're you hinting at?"
"Hydran!" the Doctor yelled. "We know your game now!"
"And cue the dramatic-moment music," Scarlet snickered under her breath, trying to ignore the panic still rising in her system over the closeness of the vent walls.
"Yes?" Hydran laughed. "Try me."
"You are basically the 'Dream King', right?" the Doctor asked.
Hydran, still invisible, guffawed: "duh."
"You are the complete overlord of us once we enter your dream-world. You can do anything, absolutely anything you'd like to us! But there is one thing you can't do, so you let our thoughts run wild."
"Your evidence?"
"Scarlet doesn't like the dark, and we are put in the dark. She doesn't like claustrophobic rooms because she is claustrophobic, and the walls begin closing in. You can't find our deepest fears! You can't access them! You don't know them! So you give us the opportunity to change this dimension and let FEAR overtake us!" the Doctor rambled.
Hydran clapped. "Congratulations, Time Lord. But do you hear that?"
Everyone stayed silent, hearing a short scream before it stopped. "No..." the Doctor said breathlessly, automatically recognizing the voice.
"Go find your precious little Ditzy Doo – before I do.")
/Derpy\\
(Derpy walked to the first cell, remembering what Hydran'd said in her first nightmare: "If you find the right cell, there will be a key. With this key you can unlock the door behind it and never have another nightmare. But here's the catch: out of 6,000 or more cells, only 1 has that key. And if you open one wrong door, that's one more nightmare AND scare." Her trembling hands reached the handle-
-"Sure about that?" Hydran laughed.
"I've learned to ignore you."
"Oh, really? Then I guess you don't want to know a secret about your little Doctor."
She sighed angrily. "Just say it!"
"He's here."
Derpy froze. "He's here?! How?!"
"..."
"I knew it," she grumbled. She then gathered enough courage and opened the door.
Inside, only a chair was present. Derpy blinked as if it'd make something appear or happen, but thankfully nothing happened.
She turned to leave, a slight pang of guilt stabbing her heart for not checking out the scene. But then she heard creaking. A soft, delicate voice exactly like Dinky's: "Mommy?"
(Author's Note: For those of you who aren't okay with ponies looking like they've been beaten, skip until the next author's note. It isn't that bad. I'm just very precautionary about my stories.)
Derpy turned around and saw her daughter covered in scars. Her entire coat was now a muddy brown. The area around her eyes were damp with something red. Blood trickled down her bottom lip. Dinky, still an Earth Pony, smiled evilly. "Hi, Mommy! Welcome home!"
(Author's Note: Read on, for those who stopped!)
Dinky hopped off of the chair and approached Derpy who'd began walking backwards.
"Mommy? Why are you leaving? Why did you leave me?!" Dinky was screaming now.
"Dinky, calm down, please!" Derpy said, walking until she slammed against the door. Still watching a version of her daughter, Derpy began stammering random sounds in an attempt to distract her for an extra second.
"Mommy, come play!" Dinky giggled.
"Dinky, stop it!" Derpy cried out. The a door finally gave in and Derpy ran out and slammed it shut. Dinky sobbed on the other side and Derpy did her best to stop her maternal instincts from kicking in and comforting her. "That's not MY Dinky," she whispered to herself, still backing away.
"Or is she?" Hydran cackled.
Derpy fell onto her knees and broke down crying. "It's the same every night!" she sobbed, "you'll play me against the ones I love! How dare you, Hydran, how dare you?!"
She was pulled into a warm hug.)
/Lilly\\
Lilly began watching from Derpy's point of view and what she saw hugging Derpy was certainly NOT the Doctor.
(Derpy looked up, expecting to see her boyfriend, but in reality saw Hydran.
She let out a scream. "Get off of me!"
Hydran chuckled, his tail's (Author's Note: Like a legitimate tail, not that — get your minds out of the gutter!) grip tightening. Derpy tried to wiggle and squirm free but eventually realized Hydran was way larger than her.
"I'm serious!"
Derpy couldn't breathe. She could feel her ribs slowly breaking from the pressure. A wave of nausea hit her. Her vision faded in and out.)
/the Doctor\\
(He grabbed Scarlet's hand and shut his eyes.
"What're you doing?!" Scarlet asked, trying to pull away.
"Think of Derpy right now! Imagine her! Make yourself afraid of her!" he ordered.
"Wha-"
"-Do it!"
The Doctor saw Derpy in his mind. She'd be as beautiful as she was before she fell asleep. She'd be wearing the same grey dress she did at the dance because that's what she fell asleep wearing. She'd be scared, most likely frowning or paled. Her adorable golden eyes would be either (a) swimming in tears or (b) wide in shock. 'Derpy... Derpy... Derpy...' he murmured to himself in his head.
The wall to his left disappeared and the Doctor ran through it with Scarlet. His legs pulled his body forward and soon it was like he was flying.
Derpy was being squeezed by Hydran's tail. The Doctor charged.
"Get the hell off of my assistant or so help me Rassilon you won't even remember your bloody name!" he barked.
Hydran turned to face him, laughing as he disappeared. Derpy fell to the ground.
The Doctor let go of Scarlet's hand and rushed to his assistant.)
/Scarlet\\
(Scarlet watches from afar as the Doctor knelt in front of Derpy and lifted two fingers to her neck so he could check her pulse. Meanwhile, she gulped back a random wave of guilt.
"Think she'll be okay?" Scarlet asked quietly as she started to approach the couple.
The Doctor stayed silent.
"Doctor?" Scarlet asked, now running.
"Scarlet, stop," he whispered loud enough for her to hear, his voice cracking.
But Scarlet couldn't. She ran until she fell down, her legs giving out.
"Too late," Hydran cackled. "Remember what they say about falling in a dream and landing before you wake?"
The Doctor held Derpy to him and began sobbing. Scarlet knew what Hydran was hinting at.
"Scarlet, Derpy is dead," the Doctor whispered, "Derpy is dead..."
(Author's Note)
Well, on a lighter note, happy Thanksgiving!
But seriously.
Some of you are probably like "G.P. WHY U DO DIS", and for those who are, I'm sorry. I was like that too, to be completely honest, haha!
Time to finish Chap. 18 and watch the Eagles game. Also! I want it brought to your attentions that I do have musical inspiration.
In Chap. 17 (this current chapter) when the Doctor says: "'What a rush when you're a step from death'", that IS a play on a lyric from Blink-182's song "After Midnight". The idea for this chapter series (16-18 (19 if I want to, I guess)) is from Halestorm's song "Mz. Hyde". So, yes. And if you didn't know, from Chap. 15, yes, "Smother Me" IS a real song. I only listen to rock and heavier, so that was the only slow-dance song I could think of.
Tell me what you like or think I can fix by leaving a review or PM! I'll try to get to you.
Thank you,
GothicPegasister