Chapter 8

Author's Note: Again this story seems to have taken a turn I wasn't expecting - I really wanna hear your thoughts!

"Doctor!" The group nearly leapt up the stairs and scrambled toward the buzz that had begun to get significantly louder. Owen rounded the corner and stopped dead in his tracks; the light nearly blinded him and he shielded his eyes, scanning the room for River.
River stood a little ways from him, her eyes transfixed on the huge machinery before them. It had a central column that reached to the ceiling that was encased in a sharp edged console. Thick cords ran across the floor, connecting all over the console. Light permeated the air through a gold smoke that swirled around them; it shifted itself as the Doctor and Rose walked in, backing away from them. Rose held up a hand and the gold shied away, darkening the air around her as if it was repulsed by her touch. Her eyes caught on the machine and she felt the horror of it. It felt perverse and wrong and she unconcously stepped closer to the Doctor, seeking his hand.
"It looks like the TARDIS." she stated simply, suddenly very afraid. She looked up at him, her eyes wide. The Doctor didn't respond, sharing her horror and fear. He looked stiffly around the room, not moving anymore than he had to..
"What is it?" Gwen asked, she walked around the machine, examining the cords. She held one up for them. "They're not connected to anything."
"Then where does it get its power?" Owen pulled a vial out of his bag scooping the swirling mist and getting a sample of the gold.
"From the aliens." The Doctor replied grimly. "It's feeding off of the Vortex residue and zeta radiation of the aliens." He walked slowly towards it, watching as the air bent and moved around him.

"What is it?" Jack repeated, looking at Rose. He could feel her worry, as if it had somehow managed to permeate the air around them. He shuddered involuntarily, remembering the year that never was. "It isn't the Master is it?" The Doctor shook his head, turning around to face them.
"I think someone tried to build a TARDIS, but why?" he whirled back around and took a step back.
"So this what's drawing them in." Owen stated. River shook her head walking back over to him.
"It doesn't have that much power, someone must be feeding it." She swirled her hand in the air. "They obviously want it alive."
"It's a machine, it can't be alive." Gwen walked back up to Jack.

"TARDIS' are very much alive." The Doctor said, his voice becoming tight. "On my planet they were grown, not built. Years ago there was an illegal trade for young ones. Investors thought that if they could start growth on other planets, they'd make a fortune on the harvest." he smiled back at Rose, who was sending him her support. She didn't even have to express it, he felt it, as if he had originated the thought himself. He narrowed his eyes as the air around her shifted again. The air kept its distance from her, fluctuating with her movements, Jack looked the same, the smoke finding the same repulsion from him. He held up a hand to his face, watching the gold quickly back away from him as he moved. The rest of the group was nearly ensconced in the air, the gold swirling in their hair and clothes.
"There's something wrong about this, it doesn't feel right." River stated, watching him. Rose nodded, shoving her hands in her pockets and tensing her shoulders.
"It is wrong. It's a hybrid or an experiment. It's been altered and mutated, it doesn't have its original functions. It's been left to do nothing but extract energy to live." The Doctor said bitterly. He strode towards the door, grabbing Rose's hand and rushing out.
"We need to find who did this."