Disclaimer: The characters of Doctor Who belong to BBC Wales and those of Stargate to MGM but the words are mine.
AU/SG1/DW: The last address of the Stargate opened on a depressing, dim world full with nothing but graves and tombstones where four SG teams already disappeared without a trace. SG1 embarks to locate them only to witness the opening of one tomb that holds the greatest of all secrets in the universe.
The Tomb of the Doctor
Chapter 5
Mitchell stopped to rest and gestured his team to do so too. The first among many strange things they noticed was that they did not get tired the same way they would have on any other planet. They had walked for more than half a day already and it was only now that they felt tired.
The one good thing was that they did not run into the faceless Victorians again. Mitchell doubted they would survive it. The first time was more than enough. They were so weak after it that they barely pulled themselves together. Still they had to move on and find the source of their predicament and possibly reverse its effects otherwise they would never leave this god forsaken world and neither will the other SGC teams.
"Alright, let's go." Mitchell said. He felt they had their rest after the fifteen minutes breather.
"What's the point?" Daniel said still sitting on a rock. "We walked what twelve hours and what have we found so far? Nothing."
"It is a big place, a planet, Jackson." Mitchell said. "You can't expect we will find everything just a few meters outside the gate."
"Funny," Daniel remarked. "Coming from you," He remembered the many times Mitchell complained about how far things are from the gate.
"Alright, what's the point in lingering here?" Mitchell countered using Daniel's strategy.
"He got you there." Vala observed.
"Yeah, I guess he did." Daniel said sighing deeply. "Alright, let's go – wherever."
"That's the spirit." Mitchell said and led the way.
They continued walking through the mounds of dirt, rock and graves. There were so many and at times the languages seemed familiar. Daniel would stop from time to time to check them then he would shake head and they would continue walking. Still, the place had its strange charm. There was calamity in the air and a sense of longing they could not explain. There was also the sense of anticipation.
"I can't go any further." Vala proclaimed and sat on the ground. She looked tired. They all did.
Mitchell found this disturbing. Every time they would stop and then continue they would cover a lesser distance and then stop to rest. What was it with this world? He wondered that probably for nth time today. He only knew they had to go on. Still he gave his team a fifteen minute break.
In the distance a light flared making them jump to their feet wondering what it is. They gathered their strength and headed to the light. It was farther than they thought but they covered the distance in two hours. What they found was strange.
It was a blue box six feet high with a light atop. At the door they saw a white sign explaining how to open the door and at its top – Police Box. They found this peculiar and outright strange. It was the first thing on this world they could actually read.
"Police Box," Mitchell said scratching his head. Of all things on this world this was definitely one of the things they did not expect to find. "Open the door,"
Daniel attempted to do so but the door did not bulge. "It's locked."
"Move aside," Vala said taking out a hairpin. She put in the lock and tried to work it out. A sudden pull and the hairpin melted burning her hand. "Ouch,"
The other odd thing that happened was another flare and a strange sound of humming. It appeared to come from the box that everyone found eerie.
"What is this thing?" Mitchell wondered.
"It is only wood." Vala observed. "Teal'c, blast it."
"Vala, we want to open it not blow it up." Mitchell observed.
"Alright, I will use the Zat." Vala said. She stepped back and took out the Zat gun. She aimed for the door and fired. To her surprise nothing happened so she fired again and again, and still nothing. "Well, this is odd."
"Yes, it is." Sam agreed. She ran her hand on the door and then the sides of the blue box and felt slight vibrations. It made her wonder what could is inside to make this noise. The box was not that big – two meters by two. Not much can get inside.
"Ah, guys," Daniel called. He stood on a mound pointing to the west.
"Wow," Mitchell exclaimed. "How did we miss that?"
He was right. It was difficult to miss it. It was a giant version of the box they stood next to.
"It is huge, Colonel Mitchell." Teal'c said.
"Yeah, it is." Mitchell nodded. "Carter, do you think this is the cause for our problem?"
"It is impossible even to speculate, Cam." Sam replied. "But it is our best bet. There is little else here."
"Well, let's find a way in then." Mitchell said.
SG1 left the smaller box and headed to the big one. It was once again farther than they thought. They arrived at the foot of the huge box and started looking for a way in. But the damn thing was huge.
It took them nearly an hour just to reach one of the corners. Turning they saw the blue wall continue for roughly the same distance as the one they just walked.
"I think it is time we separated." Sam said. "The first to find an entrance calls."
Mitchell was not fond of this idea but had to admit their options were not many. "Alright, Vala, Teal'c and you, take this side. Jackson and I will take the other. We meet at the middle of the backside."
Mitchell and Daniel sprinted the way back. They had some catching up to do.
"Damn this thing is big." Mitchell said as they reached their goal panting. "What is this thing – a monument? What do you think, Jackson?"
"It is possible." Daniel replied catching his breath.
"You don't think it belongs to those things we met earlier?"
"Let's hope not." Daniel said and shivered at the thought but they hardly had the choice. They needed find the source of the dimensional cracking so they could return home. He pressed his hand to the wall. It had the same strange humming and vibrations as its smaller version, which he found creepy.
"I think I see a crack." Mitchell exclaimed suddenly. They headed for what he saw and it turned out Mitchell was not wrong. It was a crack. "Carter, Teal'c, Vala, come in. I found a way in." Only static replied though. He looked at Daniel.
"They are fine." Daniel replied to the unasked look of concern.
Mitchell pondered what to do. "Alright, let's go get them."
They walked the rest of the way and made the turn. They proceeded to the agreed place but their teammates were not there.
"Maybe they haven't arrived yet." Daniel suggested.
"Doubtful, they should have beaten us here." Mitchell shook head. "Carter, Teal'c, Vala, come in." He called on the radio and still no answer. They looked at each other again. This time the look of concern was present on both their faces. "I will go look for them..."
"No, we go together." Daniel said.
Teal'c, Vala and Sam continued walking after Daniel and Mitchell left. They walked at a slower pace so to give them enough time to catch up. Sam kept close the wall stopping from time to time to knock on the surface. The first time she did she felt the wood under her hand vibrate. It was an odd sensation as the vibration on the smaller box was same. She kept hoping to find a secret door or passage but the wall was solid wood and there were no secret apertures so far.
Vala kept her eye for apertures on the hill they walked on that just the same as the rest of the planet though the one difference was that there were no graves here. Another thing was here senses. They were on absolute alert for some reason. She suspected it was the proximity to this object whatever it was. Still monuments and objects have never affected her this way before.
Teal'c walked in silence behind them his eyes scanning the surroundings with trained calamity. The experience so far on this world was something new for him and unexpected. Jaffa warriors seldom felt such fear that he experienced not long ago. Teal'c thought that having fought with the ORI, the Replicators and the Goa'uld prepared him for anything the universe could throw at him but now he knew this was not true. The universe still had plenty of surprises.
The three stopped to rest. As they came together the earth beneath their feet opened and they fell. The fall was not much and they hit the ground. The first odd thing they registered was that the ground was not dirt but polished marble. Standing up their jaws fell. They stood in an arched room with high ceiling. The room had many floors and if they did not know better they would have sworn they were in a library.
They stood on the top floor. Looking up they registered the other odd thing. The fall was actually bigger than they felt. It was an odd contradiction.
"It is a library." Sam noted.
"Huge one too!" Vala observed.
"This is not good." Teal'c said.
"Hugh?"
"Contact with Daniel Jackson and Colonel Mitchell..."
"No problem, Teal'c." Sam said and touched her radio. "Daniel, Cam, come in." Only static replied though. She tried again and understood Teal'c was right. They were out of contact. Something in here interfered with their radios.
"They will find the hole and follow us." Vala reasoned.
"Let's hope they do." Sam said.
"So we wait for them?"
"Yes,"
Mitchell and Daniel reached half the wall once they turned yet another corner and still no sign of their teammates.
"Did we miss something?" Mitchell wondered. "We made the round of this thing."
"I don't know. It is possible." Daniel replied.
"So where are they?" Mitchell exclaimed frustrated. "We should have bumped into them already."
"Perhaps they fell somewhere." Daniel suggested.
"Alright, let's retrace our steps." Mitchell said.
They turned back and this time walked at a slower pace studying carefully the wall and the ground. They kept also looking back just in case.
"Weird," Daniel mumbled as he had suddenly stopped. "Cam,"
"What?" And he came to him.
"This was not here when we passed the first time." Daniel said pointing at the hole in the ground.
"Could we have missed it?"
"It is large and difficult to miss and..." Daniel said and then trailed off. His eyes fell on the ground. "Look,"
"Yes, Daniel," Mitchell exclaimed happily. "They were here."
"And fell down,"
"How far down is it?"
"It is impossible to tell."
Mitchell exhaled deeply. "So do we jump or find another way in?"
"Well, they fell here. All for one and one for all,"
"Very funny," Mitchell said but cracked a smile. "Alright, we jump. After you..."
"Oh, no, after you,"
"How about we jump together?" Mitchell sought a compromise.
"Alright,"
They stood next to each other and jumped. The fall was not much and they soon hit the ground that surprisingly was not dirt and grit. It felt softer and as it turned out it was cushions.
"What?" Mitchell exclaimed looking around. It was very odd. They were in a room full of cushions and pillows of all sizes and forms.
Daniel also had hard time with the view. Where were they? And who leaves cushions and pillows lying around? He did notice though the pillows were not dusty or anything. And this begged the question: who takes care of this place.
Vala already displayed all signs of boredom as Sam noticed while Teal'c studied the place with great curiosity. Much time passed since they fell and still no sign of Cam and Daniel. She began to feel concern. Nah, she shook head. It was possible they shared their predicament too thus waiting for them was pointless.
"I think it best we move on." Sam said.
"No, we wait for them."
"And if they fell just like us then what?"
"Colonel Carter is right, Vala Mal Doran." Teal'c aided her.
"Alright,"
They left the balcony and moved between the shelves that were filled with books of all sizes and strange forms they had ever seen. Most books were so dusty that their original colour was undistinguishable.
There were also other things on the shelves. Sam stopped before some bottles with strange markings on them. She stopped because the bottles were filled with bubbles that continuously revolved and she found this very strange.
She removed the cork on one of them. Suddenly the room filled with voices – thousands of them. Sam was so startled that she dropped the bottle she held. Oddly enough it did not break when it fell on the floor. Instead the contents spilled out and the voices multiplied. It was not possible to understand them as the language was completely unknown.
Sam found the cork and put it back. Most of the voices trailed away while the rest faded shortly, which she found odd but also understood it were the source of the voices. She wondered what this thing was exactly. It was odd one can stick voices in a bubble.
"What was that?" Vala asked.
"I have no idea." Sam replied.
They continued on their way down a level. There the shelves were as high as the floor ceiling and stuffed to the brink. There were no bottles as Sam noticed. She wondered how much noise they made and hoped no one heard it.
Daniel and Mitchell left the pillows' room. They found themselves in a metallic corridor that was an odd contrast to the room they just left. The next door they found they peered in and stood baffled. On the other side of the door's window they saw a tennis court. They looked at each other again.
Frowning they turned to the other side and peered through the opposite door's window then exchanged more baffled looks. There was a large dressing room and a wardrobe with literary hundreds of costumes, pants, trousers, shirts, shorts, ties, bow ties, shoes, trainers, suspenders and tons of other clothes.
"What is this place?" Mitchell wondered again and it won't be the last time.
They moved on to the next door.
"That's impossible." Daniel exclaimed. He was right to say so though. They looked at a parking lot with vintage cars.
"Oh, no, that is impossible, Jackson." Mitchell exclaimed too as he gestured him to join him at the opposite door. There stood the Coliseum in its absolute beauty and magnificence.
Daniel had to blink several times, open and close his eyes. It was beyond impossible. "It is an illusion."
"I would like to see it." Mitchell said and opened the door.
They reached the walls of the Coliseum and touched them.
"It is strangely..."
"I know." Mitchell agreed. It was way too perfect to be an illusion as it felt like a stone and worse when he hit it small stones fell down. "I think it is the real deal. It is a stone."
"Let's see if stays such when we leave." Daniel suggested.
"Alright,"
They left the Coliseum room but the stones in Mitchell's hand stayed stones. "They are very real."
Daniel blinked again. "This place is odd."
"Try impossible, Doctor Jackson." A voice interrupted them. They turned around and faced the source...
To be continued...
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