The Wish Machine Chapter 3
When stepping out of the TARDIS their first thought was that they had ended up in 19th Century London, had it not been for the fact that this planet, wherever they were, was the home of not only humans, but all manners of creatures from all the corners of the universe.
The TARDIS had landed in the middle of what looked like the main street, creatures from all the corners of the universe were milling about in all directions. Most of them wore 19th-century style clothing combined with cybernetic trinkets, like goggles around their necks or a steam-driven prosthetic leg.
Puzzled, the Doctor scanned the air with his sonic screwdriver; they were indeed on the same coordinates as the room with the ominous cube in it. He swirled around and dug his nails into Olivia's shoulder.
"That machine, did you use it?" he asked sharply, his dark eyes bearing into hers. She lifted her head defiantly, "So what if I did?"
"That machine is a weapon. It restructures the universe to fit the person who uses it. You may have brought about the end of the world."
"I only asked to get Donna back, because I know she wouldn't want to be left on Earth without memories."
The Doctor glared at her "We don't know what the machine have changed yet but your actions might have put Donna in danger," he growled, and walked down the street, Olivia trailing behind him, head hung dejectedly.
They found a small inn not very far from where the TARDIS had landed. It was a small homely inn run by a Silurian man, and like seemingly everything in this world it was a mix of steam-technology and 19-th century interior.
While the Doctor stayed in the lounge to find out what was going on Olivia went up to the room they had rented. She now lay sprawled on her bed, fiddling with an object she always carried in her back pocket, next to her laser screwdriver. It was a silver pocket-watch engraved with pictured of stars and planets. She sighed, twiddling the chain of her watch. She had only wanted to help, to bring things back to the way they were before, when everything was good, but apparently the universe wouldn't allow the Doctor to be happy. She sat up and looked through a stack of celebrity magazines lying on the coffee table. She felt her heart skip a beat when she recognized the red-haired woman on the cover of one of them.
The Doctor looked sadly down into his drink. He really hadn't meant to shout at Olivia like that, she was a good kid and didn't deserve to be treated like that. She had only tried to help after all. But since he had left Donna he had had trouble controlling the Oncoming Storm, and he knew that Donna had been right that day when they first met: He needed someone there with him. He knew that he needed her. A glance at the strange steam-powered telly suddenly had all the blood drain from his face at the sight of the red-haired woman dressed in a long purple gown and hanged with golden jewels. He quickly halted the Silurian barkeep and asked about the woman. The barkeep gave him an incredulous look, "Why that's Donna Noble, the President of Earth. Saved the universe when all them planets lined up in the sky," the Silurian said "She is getting married to the emperor of the Racnoss. There's a soirée tonight at the President's mansion where their union will be announced to the public. It's on everyone's lips, this town's just mad for gossip." The lizard-man sighed, and shook his head.
Just then Olivia bolted down the stairs, eyes wide and with a rumpled magazine in hand. When she had caught her breath, all she said was: "Doctor, I think I have found her."
Getting into the President's mansion was fairly easy, when you have a psychic paper and a charming smile. They had just flashed the psychic paper and had been let in as special guests of President Noble.
The Doctor eyed the ballroom-guests silently. The news of the "Racnoss-emperor" had put him on edge. This was exactly why the pocket-universe-machine was dangerous. It unraveled the fabric of time to fit the commands it had been given, making little changes in the process. Like reviving people who should be dead, for example. People like Lance Bennet, Donna's would- be husband who had poisoned her and had intended to use her to aid the Empress of the Racnoss in reviving her people. Considering that, the title "Racnoss-emperor" gave him the shivers.
Somewhere among the guests Donna Noble was feeling slightly annoyed, thank you. What else would you expect when someone wants you to marry some bloke you never met. At least I hope he's handsome, Donna thought. She had these recurring dreams about a lanky dark-haired man in a pinstripe-suit, and unbelievable fantastic amazing adventures. She could never see his face, and she always woke up feeling like she had forgotten something. To be honest, she forgot a lot of things, everyone kept talking about the planets that had been visible in the sky and kept claiming that she had saved the world yet she remembered neither. Mum was right, I'm absolutely hopeless, she sighed.
The sound of the guests' chatter increasing startled her out of her thoughts. The crowd had parted to make place for a man in a white suit; he was flanked by two half-human half arachnoid guards. Donna shuddered involuntarily, both because of the half-spiders and because something about the man was vaguely familiar.
Lance Bennet smirked when he laid eyes on her. "Donna Noble, we finally meet again."
His tone sparked her anger; she tossed her hair back and replied with her usual sass:
"Sorry Sunshine, I don't know you. Don't boss me around."