When Idris came to, she was in a strange room, lying in a bed. There was a tray with a steaming mug of something that smelled nice sitting on a small table next to her.
"Thief!" She yelled, without really thinking, sitting up quickly.
"Hey there," a man entered, "You're awake. That was quite a tumble you took out there."
"Where am I?" She demanded.
"Easy," he soothed, "You were in my tent, looking at my instruments, when you just collapsed. That other man that was with you, he ran for a doctor. I brought you back here so you could rest. I'm sure he'll be back."
"He had better be." She said firmly. "Who are you?"
"I told you, I had that tent with the music you so admired."
"You didn't tell me, but fine," she huffed, "Why did I fall over?"
"Maybe you're just not used to things," he said
She huffed, looking annoyed. "I'm sure I'm supposed to be."
"Don't worry," he assured her, "It does take some getting used to. And it's been how long? a few days?"
"Something like that." She shrugged. "But this is not the first time."
"It isn't?" he said, "How many times have you done this then?"
"Twice." She shrugged. "Including this time." She sighed.
"That's not that many," he said
"True, and it is very limiting, but..." She sighed and shrugged.
"Do you like it?" he asked, "Being like this, I mean. So limited..."
"It is interesting. But very small."
"But do you like it? Or do you do it for the Doctor?"
She frowned at him. "It is for us both." She looked him over with piercing eyes, trying to put her memories together. There was something odd about this man. "Who are you?" she asked again.
"I was hoping that you could help me out," he replied instead, "I'm stranded here on this planet."
"Why are you stranded?"
"My TARDIS died," he whispered.
Idris' hand flew to the base of her throat, her eyes widening. "How?..." She breathed.
"I'd rather not talk about it..." he looked sad, "It's too painful."
Idris nodded slowly. "We need the Doctor..."
"A friend of mine is looking for him," he said with a nod, "But... you are his TARDIS. I am sure that he will always manage to find you."
She smiled. "Yes, he will."
He sighed sadly. "I envy you and your Doctor. You two can go wherever and whenever you wish." He looked out the window, "But not me. I am stranded here…"
"But we can help." She said decisively.
"You would?" he looked hopeful
"Of course!" She nodded. "We can't find you a new TARDIS...but we can get you of this planet."
He nodded, "That's all I need. Thank you. But how are you feeling right now?"
"Less tired." She told him.
"Would you like anything to eat?"
"Hmmm..." She pondered this for a moment. "Possibly."
"You probably need to," he decided, "I will be back soon with some food for you."
"Alright," she nodded, and got up, checking her legs to make sure they still worked. While the stranger was gone, she wiggled her toes and fingers, watched around the room, and picked up and put down a few things.
The stranger returned soon with a tray of food.
She blinked and looked up at him. "Oh, hello. Have we met, yet?"
"We have," he said, "I woke you up and told you about my dead TARDIS. You said that you would help. Then you said you were hungry, so I brought you something to eat here." He indicated the tray.
"Ah. Yes. That already happened." She said, shaking her head.
"Here, I've brought you something to eat," he said instead, ignoring that comment.
"Ah, thank you." She looked at the plate. "What is it?"
"It's sort of like a traditional breakfast that we used to have on Galifrey," he told her, "Although I suppose that won't make much of a difference to you."
Idris waved her hands slightly. "I don't really know much about food."
"that's alright," he smiled, "Try it and see if you like it."
Meanwhile, the Doctor had woken up in some sort of alley. "Ouch..." he rubbed his head.
"Oh! Thank fate you're alive! I thought we were going to have to call the peace-keepers..."
"What?" he tried to clear his fuzzy head and look at the man talking to him. What happened to him? He remembered… what did he remember? Darkness. Music. Falling. A voice. "Idris!"
"What?" The man looked confused.
"Where is she?" the Doctor took a deep breath, "My friend. Her name is Idris..."
"It's just you..." He said. "You been lying there an age. But just you. No-one else..."
He got to his feet and ran his hands through his hair vigorously. "Gah, what happened to me?"
"I don't know. You were just lying there..."
"Alright, alright, retracing steps... Morning. We went to... a festival of sorts," he was pacing. "Went to a dark tent. There was music. And then gas." His eyes grew wide, "That tent! I have to find that tent!"
"There is the big street festival right now," the man offered, "It's that way…" he pointed, "But most people have gone home by now. It's dark…"
"Yes, I believe it was," the Doctor nodded, "A dark blue color." He took off down the street. The man opened his mouth to correct the stranger, but then shook his head and followed after him curiously.
They reached the street where, as the man had said, there were a lot of tents. The Doctor let out a frustrated sound at the sight.
"They'll be open at sunsrise..." the man offered
"So there's no one around right now?" the Doctor asked
The man gave a shrug. "Not really. No-one likes walking the streets at night unless it's the Lunar Festival."
He took out his screwdriver and turned it on, scanning around the area. "I have to find her."
"Well..." The man looked slightly helpless. "I don't know what to suggest... I mean, it won't open until sunsup tomorrow, so..." He spread his hands.
"Doesn't need to," he replied, "She'll have left traces..."
He started to wave his screw driver around the area, searching for traces of the TARDIS. After a little searching, he found the unmistakable trace of rift energy that was synonymous with the TARDIS. Even in her human form, Idris still left a weak trail. "Ah ha!" he exclaimed, "This is it!" He grinned at the man with him, "This is the tent we were in"
"How do you know that?" He asked. "It looks exactly the same as the others do..."
"To our eyes, yes," the Doctor agreed, "But not," he waved his screw driver about, "To this."
"What...is that?"
"It's... never mind. It's not important," he put it away, "What IS important though is that Idris was here. How can I find out who owns what tent?" the Doctor asked
"Well, they're rented, but someone should hold the details of who rented it..." The man murmured, "The Square Staff, I would think, but they won't be there until morning."
"That's too long," the Doctor frowned, but then he smiled as his screwdriver beeped. Breadcrumbs. Even unconscious, Idris had left behind some breadcrumbs for him. He turned to the man, "Thank you very much for your help."
"Uh... You're welcome?"
The timelord shook his hand vigorously and then rushed off, leaving a slightly dumbfounded man in his wake. He followed the trail from his screwdriver. It led a rather meandering course, but he followed it, rushing through the crowd, eyes on the display of the screwdriver. Mostly, people saw him hurtling along and side-stepped to avoid him.
His route took him away from the town center and into a more residential area. "Where are you?" he murmured, looking around at all the buildings. After a few moments of consideration, he decided to just call out her name.
In the building she was in, Idris sat up sharply, knocking the (thankfully empty) cup off the table beside her. "Thief!" She squeaked, surprised.
"Pardon?" the man asked.
"My Thief - the Doctor - he's looking for me!" she said distractedly, getting to her feet and heading for the window. "Thief!"
"Not so loud please," he said
She blinked at him. "What?"
"You yelled right in my ear."
"Oh. Right. And that's bad, right?"
"I'd say so, yes," he said ruefully
"Oh. I am terribly sorry!" She looked contrite, "I'm still not entirely used to these lung-things. I mean, I ought to be - this isn't the first time I've been out like this - but it's still very odd."
"Don't worry about it," he advised her, "Let's just… go outside. That will make it easier for him to find you."
"Of course," Idris gathered her skirts and hurried down the steps and rushed to the door. She tried the handle, but the door was locked. She pouted a bit.
"Allow me, my lady?" the man had caught up to her, key in hand. She laughed and stepped aside, allowing him to unlock and open the door. "If you would like to yell for him now…"
Idris stepped outside, took a breath, and let out a yell. "THIEF!"
The Doctor looked up as he heard a familiar voice and he tried to zero in on the location of the shouting. Idris certainly was loud enough. He went around a corner and saw her standing on the front step of a building. A smile crossed his face and he hurried over to her. He was about to greet her, but the man standing behind her spoke first.
"Hello Doctor."
The Doctor skidded to a stop, looking more than just a little startled.
"Where have you been?" Idris demanded, not seeming to notice anything amiss.
"Are you alright?" the Doctor asked Idris, taking her arm
"Of course I am." She tutted. "You disappeared. Very rude."
"She isn't harmed, Doctor." The Master purred. "And I do believe you owe me both a favor and an explanation..."
"You know him?" Idris tilted her head.
"Rather well," he smiled
The Doctor moved between Idris and the Master. "What could I possibly owe you a favor for?"
"For returning your TARDIS to you." He smiled. "And in one piece, too."
"You seem to have taken her in the first place..."
"I found her." He said, a truly innocent smile on his face.
"And you need to help him." Idris put in.
"Help him?" the Doctor turned to her.
"He's stuck here. He has no TARDIS."
"Well he didn't take very good care of his own," the Doctor responded.
"Now that's not fair." The Master said.
Idris frowned at the Doctor. "What?"
"Stands to reason, doesn't it?" the Doctor asked Idris, "I mean, TARDISes are pretty sturdy. They're built to last. They don't just die..."
"Well no. But things do happen." She pointed out.
"Exactly." The Master agreed.
"And they tend to happen around him."
"Doctor, 'things' tend to happen around you too." She said, with affectionate exasperation.
He sighed, "Not like him," he muttered
"You are casting most unpleasant aspersions on my character, Doctor," the other Timelord said. "And we were getting along so well..."
The Doctor sighed. "Fine. What do you want?"
"In a perfect world, your TARDIS." He shrugged. "Though not in this state, I can hardly travel like this."
"I can change, you know." Idris told him, mildly irked.
The Master held his hands up, "Of course, of course..."
"You can't have her," the Doctor snapped.
"My my, we are possessive." The other Timelord smirked. "But you were careless enough to lose her once already..."
"What else do you want?"
"I want to get off this backwater planet." He sighed.
"I suppose we could arrange that," the Doctor said, "We'll drop you off somewhere else."
"Oh, you mean I can't stay with your fascinating TARDIS?" He smirked, "How disappointing..."
"Right, well, Idris and I will be going," the Doctor started to pull her along, "and we shall return for you tomorrow morning."
"Ah, dear Doctor, I cannot be sure of that." The other Timelord said, smiling charmingly. "You've run off on me before... I think your dear TARDIS should stay with me this evening."
"Then we'll leave tonight," the Doctor replied
"As you wish."
He turned to Idris. "I'm afraid we'll have to cut our visit short."
The TARDIS-turned-woman heaved a sigh. "Alright."
The walk back to the blue box was awkward for the Doctor. He kept hold of Idris's arm, keeping between her and the other Timelord. Idris was oblivious, but the Master was just amused. Along the way, he pointed out the various sights of the city, with the air of one showing off his home to a friend. He could practically see the hair on the back of the Doctor's neck standing on edge, and he loved every minute of it.
After far too long, they reached the blue box, and the Doctor unlocked the door. Idris stepped inside, and the console lit up, the TARDIS seemingly 'coming back to life'. The Master stepped inside, past the Doctor, and slammed the door sure in the other Timelord's face.
"Hey!" the Doctor shouted, yanking on the door handle.
The Master flicked down the latch on the other side. "Nope." He said cheerfully through the wood.
"Open this door!" he shouted, banging on the door, "Idris! Don't go anywhere!"
"I am certainly not planning it." She said primly.
Oh good girl. Good clever girl thought the Doctor as he continued to bang on the door, "Let me in and we can go where you want!"
"Now, Doctor, that's hardly logical." The Master tutted. "If I let you in, you will surely attempt to overpower me."
The latches clicked unlocked, and the door opened. It took half a second to for the Doctor to realize it, and he rushed inside.
The Master looked rather surprised, and then swung around to look at Idris, who was perched serenely on the console.
"I stole him." She said simply. "I do not fly without my thief."
"Alright," the doctor said, "Let's go somewhere and drop you off."
"Good idea." The Master said, folding his arms.
"Idris?" he turned to her, "Your choice."
She looked pensive for a moment, and then the TARDIS sprang to life, lurching sideways a bit.
"Decided then?" the Doctor asked,
"Decided." Idris said, her voice echoing around the console room.
The Master looked mildly unnerved, "Wait a moment."
"You did say you wanted to go somewhere the Doctor pointed out. At the look in his girl's eyes, he decided it would be best to hang onto the rail. He did not anticipate a gentle landing.
The Master, on the other hand, had not anticipated being thrown three feet forward upon landing, causing him to end up face-first in front of the door.
"We're here." Idris said, expression perfectly serene.
"This is your stop," the Doctor agreed, stepping over the Master and over to the door, opening them.
With a slightly suspicious frown, the other Timelord got up. He made his way slowly over to the door to look out and the TARDIS lurched, throwing the Master outside onto the dusty ground.
"There you are," the Doctor reported, "A nice new planet for you."
"What the-" He pushed himself up into a sitting position. "This isn't-"
"It's what you have." Idris said cheerfully, and the TARDIS door slammed shut, every lock clicking on. "There." She said, satisfied.
"Sirus Five," the Doctor said with a nod "Good choice. It won't be permanently inhabited for another... what... ten years?"
"Fifteen." She smiled. "Though there is plenty of food and water."
"I do hope he enjoys his vacation," he nodded
Idris gave a little smirk as the TARDIS took off. "No-one steals me but you."
"And let's keep it that way," he smiled, taking her hands and giving them a little squeeze.
"So. Where to, Thief?" she asked, "We have all of time and space."
"Indeed we do," he grinned and went over to the controls. He pulled a handle and gave one of the dials a spin. "Let's see where we land, eh?" he smiled
"As ever." Idris smiled warmly, as the TARDIS began to move.