I stopped when I was right in front of the blue double doors, and let my hand rest on the handle. I looked up at the Doctor, and he gave me a reassuring smile, which I returned shortly, and turned my attention back to the door.
I guess this is it. I took one last breath, and pushed the doors open.
I let out a gasp.
I knew there was a chance that this would happen, but it was still so surprising that my breath got caught in my throat. I was at a loss for words.
I took my first step inside the box, and was greeted with the cold feeling of a metal floor under my bare foot. I took another step and the same cold feeling rushed up my other leg, sending a shiver along my spine. I kept walking until I was up the small ramp and only a few inches from the control panel.
I looked around, my eyes wide open, taking in every detail of the room around me. The orange-red walls with all of those weird circle thingies, the black cables hanging down from the ceilings, the glass platform I was standing on, and the messy yet amazing console in front of me.
"So, what do you think?" I heard the Doctor ask behind me, and I slowly turned to look at him, still taking in my surroundings. He was leaning with one hand on the wall beside the open door, a smile on his face. I turned my gaze back to the console as I answered, and when I did, I could see the Doctor mimicking my words out of the corner of my eye.
"It's… bigger on the inside."
I heard him laugh before he suddenly jumped up right next to me, taking me by surprise, and started walking around the console. When I had finally managed to process everything that was happening, even though it was way more unbelievable than I'd ever imagined, I walked over to the Doctor.
"This place is… amazing, Doctor." I whispered, and he turned to look at me.
"This, is the TARDIS." He said, and motioned over the room with his arms. "She's my time-traveling spaceship, and she's very sick."
His happy smiling expression changed drastically to a serious one, and I was so taken off-guard by this that I was forced to take a step back.
"It-she's, sick? How can a space-time machine be sick?" I asked, genuinely confused and surprised by this. There was no way that I knew of for the TARDIS to be sick, that was impossible. But when I think about it, maybe the fact that she's so far from her own universe, dimension, whatever, has affected her worse than I thought.
"She was forcefully pulled from the time vortex, and dragged into this world. Your world. I don't know how or why, but it has made her very sick." After he said that he slowly walked over to the other side of the control panel and pressed a few buttons.
Suddenly the ball-chain cylinder inside the glass tube in the middle of the panel started moving up and down, but not like it should. It was moving slower, almost like it was trying to pull itself up, and not at all in time with the sound it was making. The sound too was off, much slower and darker, and it cut off at times.
After what couldn't have been more than twenty seconds, the Doctor flipped a switch, and the sound disappeared.
He looked back up at me, a sad look on his face, and I could see the hurt in his eyes as well.
"Is… Is there any way to fix her?" I asked, and I could hear the worry in my own voice clearly.
"I hope so, but honestly, I don't know." I could hear the sadness in his voice when he spoke, and it almost forced tears to my eyes. To hear this usually happy and laughing man, so hopeless and broken, it wasn't right. I sucked in a shaky breath, and walked over to the Doctor, looking him straight in the face as I spoke.
"Tell me everything, Doctor. I don't care how unbelievable or weird it might sound, but if there is a chance that I can help you, I'll do whatever I can to do so." I said, confidence once again back in my voice. The Doctor looked chocked at my words, but cracked a small smile.
"Thank you, Felix. You have no idea how much that means to me." He said, and I gave him a warm smile in return.
"Don't mention it. Now, you said something about being pulled out of a, time vortex, was that it?" I said, and the Doctor briefly shook his head before walking over to the screen stuck to the glass cylinder, and pressing a few buttons on the console under it.
"Yes. The Time vortex is what gives the TARDIS the power and energy to travel through time, so without it, she would only be like any other bigger-on-the-inside spaceships." He said, and pressed a button on the side of the screen.
"Right." I said, nodding my head before walking over to him and looking at the screen.
On the display there was a picture of what I assumed to be the Time vortex. It was like a tube of light, shining in many different colors, and filled with tons of stars. Suddenly the Doctor put his finger on the screen by one of the openings of the vortex, and started speaking.
"So, to travel through the vortex, you have to go into one end, and travel along the walls to the other end. It's the only way to safely do it. But!" The Doctor turned to look at me again before continuing. "If whatever's inside the vortex is pulled out by force, not only does it affect the Time vortex itself, but it also damages the object that was ripped out, since it takes such an incredible power for the Time vortex to be tamed."
"But if it takes that much power to just stay inside the vortex, how could anything be strong enough to rip through it?" I asked, and the Doctor pressed a few more buttons before flipping a switch, and turning the screen towards me.
When I first saw what was on the screen I thought I was just looking at a picture of space, but it only took me second to realize that what was actually displayed was a creature, as black as night, with lights placed all over its body, shining like stars. There was also a dark purple, diamond-shaped gemstone embedded in the creature's chest, and though it was only a picture, I could see a dark aura pulsating from it.
But what took me off guard the most, was the creature's stone cold, soulless purple eyes.
"What, is that thing?" I asked in a slight whisper, before looking back up at the Doctor. He let out a heavy sigh and pulled the screen back towards himself.
"I don't have the slightest clue. I've never seen anything like it before. But whatever it is, it managed to rip a hole in the Time vortex and pull us through it. Whatever this creature is, it's more powerful than the TARDIS. And because of it, we were ripped from our own dimension." He said, and hung his head while resting his hands flat on the control panel.
A creature powerful enough to create a rift through dimensions, just what did the Doctor do to find something like that?
I stood silent and looked at the man in front of me, before looking down at the console and placing my hand on it. The moment it made contact I felt a warm, pulsating energy travel up my arm, sending a pleasuring shiver down my spine. I took a deep breath and felt the strange energy flow through my body, giving me a weird, yet satisfyingly warm feeling in my chest.
I opened my eyes after realizing I'd closed them, and removed my hand. The warmth disappeared, and I looked at the Doctor once more.
"Doctor, is there any way for you to go after that thing?" I asked, and he placed his head in his hands.
"No. I lost track of it when we arrived in your world, and even if I did find it, the TARDIS doesn't have enough energy to go after it." He answered before burying his face deeper in his palms.
I let out a sigh and took a step away from the console, but stopped when I suddenly heard the Doctor slam his hands down on the panel, surprising me enough to make me jump.
"Maybe she won't have to! If I recalibrate her power to a much smaller container, the energy could be strong enough to move a smaller object. That way she would still have enough power to function, maybe even restore the power she lost, and we'd be able to find a way back! Felix, you're a genius!" The Doctor said with a wide smile on his face, and without warning, he ran over and hugged me.
To say I was speechless at the sudden action would be an understatement.
"Ehm, I didn't really do anything." I said, feeling my cheeks heat up in embarrassment. The Doctor let go of me and placed his hands on my shoulders.
"Of course you did! You figured out how we'll find that thing and return to our own dimension!" He said and returned to the panel, and the instant he did so I started scratching my neck, laughing a little.
"I'm pretty sure that was all you." I said, resting my hand behind my head as he started to mixture with some stuff from the console, what it was though, I couldn't see.
"No, don't be silly! I only figured outhow to find it. You'll figure out how to get it back!" He said, looking up from whatever he was doing long enough to give me a smile.
Me, however. I didn't know what to answer.
"What exactly do you mean by that, Doctor?" I asked, and I was praying that he wouldn't answer how I thought he would.
He looked up at me again.
"You're gonna have to be the one who goes after it." He said, and I could feel my jaw hit the ground. Sometimes I really hate it when I'm right.
"Wait, what?! Doctor, you can't be serious! I can't go after that, THING! I'll get killed!" I exclaim, and the Doctor walked over to lay a hand on my arm.
"I'm very serious about this, Felix. I'll never be able to take enough power from the TARDIS to move both of us and keep her going, and I'll have to keep her remaining energy stable so she doesn't lose it. You're the only one I have that can do this. If you don't, that creature will keep on destroying dimensions. Do you understand?" He said, placing his other hand on my arm and looking me straight in the eye, where I could see how much he meant every word he said.
I just stood there, dumbfounded and unsure of how to response. I mean, how do you respond to something like that? The Doctor had just asked me, ME, a fifteen year old, to go after a creature that could tear through dimensions and was more powerful than the TARDIS! I was chocked to say the least, that he'd even think about sending a kid after something like that!
But at the same time, I understood completely why he did. Right now, he truly had no one else to help him. It was just him and the TARDIS, stranded in a dimension where they don't belong, and where whatever power they had is gone. I knew how much he didn't want to send me after that thing, but he really didn't have any other way to find it.
I was his only hope of returning home.
"I-I… I understand, Doctor. I'll do whatever I can to stop it." I said, and felt how a small teardrop rolled down my cheek. The Doctor lifted his hand and wiped the tear away with his thumb, pushing up my glasses in the process, before giving me a reassuring smile and pulling me into an embrace.
"Thank you." He whispered, and I could clearly hear the sorrow in his voice. I let out an awkward laugh and stepped away from him, before putting on a smile of my own.
"W-Well, I guess if I'm going, I better start packing. Who knows how long I'll be gone for." I said, and the Doctor nodded before clapping his hands together.
"Right, that might be a good idea. Though walking around with a suitcase would look absolutely ridiculous. Just hang on a second." He said before he ran down the ramp and under the platform I was standing on.
Through the glass I could see him opening a small hatch in the floor, and jumping down into it. I sat down on my knees and looked down at him, and saw how he pretty much threw out the things he didn't want or wasn't looking for. Among the stuff he tossed out were several books, clothes, small machines and many other things, and after what felt like minutes he stopped scattering things around and held up a piece of dark brown fabric.
"Ah hah! I knew it would still be here! And Amy said I never keep track of things." He said and jumped out of the floor before walking back up on the platform and handing me what he was holding.
It turned out to be some sort of shoulder bag made out of a strong, almost leather-ish fabric. The bag itself couldn't have been bigger than a laptop, I couldn't think of the exact measures, and the strap was attached to the sides with circular metal pieces. Engraved on those pieces and the front of the bag, were circle patterns that crossed themselves on many different way, and it didn't take me long to recognize it as Gallifreyan writing.
However, slowly but surely, the circles started blurring together and formed letters instead. I was so chocked I almost dropped the bag, but I quickly calmed myself down and rubbed my eyes, blinking a few times, thinking I might have imagined it.
But the text was still there.
"Doctor? This is a really nice bag and all, but what do these symbols mean?" I asked as I pushed myself up again. He looked at me for a moment before I showed him the metal pieces, and then he just laughed.
"Oh right, that. Those just some old scribbles, it doesn't really mean anything. Now, you better go and start packing. I hope to get this over with as fast as possible." He said and rubbed his hands together, almost like he was nervous over something. I looked back down at the writing, still confused over what it said or how to even pronounce it, but decided to just roll with it. The Doctor didn't seem like he wanted to talk about it, so I think it's best not to push him.
I finally slung the bag over my head and onto my right shoulder, testing it out and seeing how it fit. It was surprisingly comfortable, although it was a bit heavy, but it didn't bother me. I walked over to the double doors and turned back to the Doctor, and he gave me a smile before I exited.
So, seeing as I'll most likely be gone for a while, I guess I'll need a few things of everything. I walked into my room, and seeing my closet, I realized that I'd forgotten to close it this morning, and that almost a third of my clothes were lying spread out on the floor. Oops.
Anyways, I don't have a reason to care about that. I walked over to the scattered clothes and started picking up a bunch of different shirts, both long and short sleeved, a few flannels, some sweaters, a jacket, different length pants, a hoodie, a pair of PJs and a black wool scarf. I put all of the clothes on my bed, folding them neatly before taking off the bag from my shoulder and putting a shirt inside.
A smile crept onto my face as I did so. The bag was bigger on the inside.
"Why am I not surprised." I said to myself with a chuckle, before feeling around inside it.
On either side by the edge there were two big pockets, and under them were rows upon rows of more pockets, some smaller than others. I decided to try and organize everything when I put them inside, like having my jacket and scarf in the top left corner to make it easier to grab, to make sure I knew where everything was when I needed it. After I was done with that I put in some underwear and socks, though I made sure all of the socks looked different and mismatching. I just like it that way.
And while doing so I also decided putting on some socks right now would be a good idea, seeing as I'm pretty sure my feet will turn to ice if I don't do so soon. The pair I put on ended up being a red and purple striped on my left foot, and a blue with pink stars on my right one.
I took a step back, with my feet no longer exposed to my cold floor, which was an amazing feeling, and looked around my room, thinking about what else I should bring. First thing that popped into mind:
"Toothbrush! I'm not going anywhere without you!" I said and rushed to the bathroom, grabbing my beloved blue toothbrush and a new tube of toothpaste, and a small brush as well, before returning to my room and putting them in the right top corner next to my jacket.
After I had to replace a tooth two months because the other one died, I've been pretty much obsessed with having a good mouth hygiene, because I never want to do anything like that again.
I looked around the room again and saw the sketchpad on my desk, and I didn't even think twice before putting it and a few pencils in the bag, together with some sharpies and a bunch of sticky notes. I then spotted something out of the corner of my eye, lying under a pile of loose drawings at the end the desk.
I moved the drawings aside and found a notebook, about the size of an A4-paper, with a hard, dark blue cover. I turned the book to the front and saw that it was painted to look like a galaxy, in different shades of blue, purple, pink and white, with the word Imagination written in a sleek white text. Although, I didn't recognize the handwriting, and when I thought about it, I don't think I've ever seen this book before.
I opened it up and flipped through a few pages, only to find that they were all blank, without as much as lines to cover them.
In the end, after staring at this mysterious notebook for a good minute or so, I decided to just shove it into the bag and let that be it. I slung the bag back onto my shoulder and exited the room, taking one last look at it before closing the door. I shifted my gaze to the locked door next to my own, and took a hesitant step towards it, taking in a shaky breath as I reached for the handle.
"Felix?"
I jumped and shrieked at the sudden sound of the Doctor's voice, and almost slipped once I landed back on the floor, only barely managing to reclaim my balance in time. Damn you socks!
"Are you okay up there?" He asked from down the stairs, and I almost gasped for air before I answered.
"Yeah, I'm fine! I'll be down in a sec!" I said and steadied my stance, before readjusting the bag almost falling off my shoulder. I looked back up at the door, before taking a deep breath, turning away and walking towards the stairs.
No matter how much I want to go in there, now is not the time.
When I arrived at the bottom of the stairs I saw the Doctor in the hallway, looking at the wall between the guest room and the kitchen. I wish I could say that I didn't know what he was looking at, but that'd be a lie. I knew perfectly well what it was. I slowly made my way over to him, and turned to look at the wall with him.
Hanging on the white walls in front of us was a painting, one meter in with and a half meter in height, of a burning red and golden sunset, with a city and mountains in the background, and the silhouette of a man in the foreground. The painting was in a glass frame, and in its reflection, I could see the Doctor's awed faced.
"It's a pretty painting, isn't it?" I said, nervousness clear in my voice.
"It's a beautiful painting, magnificent. Who's the artist?" He asked, never letting his eyes leave the piece of art in front of him. I feel my cheeks heating up again and I started to scratch my neck.
"Hehe. Th-That would be… me." I said, and I could see his slightly surprised expression reflected in the glass, before he turned and looked at me.
"You painted this?" He asked, and amazed look on his face, and I nodded my head slightly.
I hate it when people praise me for my art. They always say I'm a talented artist, mostly thanks to my mom always bragging about how I've been able to draw since I could hold a pen. But even if it's true to a small extent, I don't think I'm as talented as people say. It's all just thanks to training, but nobody seems to understand that, therefor they give me more praise than i actually want, and therefor I'm very self-conscious about my art.
"Y-Yeah. I-It's called Burning Sunset, I painted it last summer. I kinda like it, b-but I wouldn't exactly call it "magnificent". It's not THAT good, or amazing. It could still use a little work." I said, and looked back at the painting. I guess the Doctor noticed how shy I was about my art, because he put a hand on my shoulder and made me look at him.
"Felix, there is no need to be ashamed over your art. I can see the amount of love, and heart that you put into this painting, and how much you enjoyed making it. I can see it in every brush stroke that is in this artwork, every detail and every thought. And that is why this painting IS amazing." He said, leaving me speechless.
No one had ever said anything like that to me, not even my parents. Everyone just told me how beautiful the drawings looked once they was done, and never once understood how much time and joy I put into making them. But the Doctor saw that from the very beginning, and thought that was the reason it was beautiful.
I let out a chuckle and rubbed my eye a bit, feeling how tears were threatening to fall.
"G-Geez, Doctor. You're gonna make me cry." I said and laughed a little, before giving him a smile, which he returned shortly.
"But, thank you. You're the first to say that."
"Don't mention it. Now then, do you have everything you want to bring?" He said, and I nodded, before stopping half way and realizing that I still hadn't packed shoes. I walked past the Doctor and over to the end of the hallway, where all of the shoes and coats were, and grabbed my still slightly wet converse before shoving them in the bag.
I grabbed my dark brown combat boots and slipped them on, my pant-legs getting puffed up in the process, and when that was done I reached up for my white coat. But before I could grab it however, I caught a glimpse of something moving outside the door through the small window next to it.
I took a step closer to the window and looked out, and what I saw was almost too much for me to comprehend. I opened the door and took a step outside, looking around at the trees and bushes around my street, and gasped when they suddenly grew new leafs and fruits and berries popped up on them. The leaves were all red, yellow and orange, like they were in the fall, even though it was the middle of February, and before I even had time to question what was going on, the trees changed again. All of the leafs turned an emerald green, and the fruits dropped only to be replaced by small flowers.
I tried to open my mouth and say something, but before I had the chance to, something else caught my attention. I looked up at the sky and saw something dark, what it was I couldn't tell, that looked like a small orb. However, it grew larger at a rapid paste, and before I had the time to react, the dark orb crashed into the ground right in front of my feet, the impact creating a shockwave so powerful that it sent me flying back inside the house.
The back of my head made contact with the floor, sending a wave of pain through my skull, and causing me to let out a scream. It was barely that I heard the Doctor run over to me before I felt his hands grabbing my arms, pulling me up in a sitting position, and cupping my face in his hands. Through a foggy vision I saw the Doctor looking at me, a worried and scared expression on his face.
"…Felix? Felix, are you okay? Can you hear me?" I heard him ask through the ringing in my ears, and I sucked in a deep breath before I nodded. Suddenly he wrapped his arms around me, holding me close to him with my head on his chest, before he threw himself onto the floor, taking me down with him. I heard another explosion-like sound, and saw dust around us, making me guess that something else had crashed outside the somehow still open door.
I heard the Doctor say something, although I couldn't hear what, and I was suddenly half carried half pulled up, only barely managing to grab my glasses after a few attempts, before he pretty much dragged me with him into the TARDIS, slamming the doors after him.
It took me a few seconds to find my balance again, and when I did I put my glasses back on, tried to get rid of the annoying ringing in my head, and placed a hand where I'd hit my head, trying to ease the pulsating pain.
"Wh-What was that?" I asked, and lifted my head to see the Doctor blocking the doors and shoving the coat hanger between the handles, before pushing himself up against the blocked doors, looking back to me.
"The creature sent something through the Time vortex, and whatever it is, is making this world go haywire. This dimension is starting to collapse." He said, and was suddenly thrown forwards by the doors trying to get open.
He walked over to me and grabbed my hand, before pulling me to the opposite side of the console. There, he took something out of his pocket and put it in my hand, and I looked down at it. It reminded me of a watch, put instead of a clock, there was a small screen about twice the size of my thumb. I turned it around and found two small buttons on the right side of the screen, and another Gallifreyan symbol on the backside.
The Doctor must've seen the confusion on my face, since he started to hurriedly explain it to me.
"It's a communicator, to make sure we can stay in contact when you're in the other dimensions. I also want you to take this." He said, reaching inside his jacket and pulling out his Sonic screwdriver, before giving it to me. Of course I didn't tell him that I knew what the screwdriver was, but I still couldn't help but wonder why he'd give it to me.
Suddenly the TARDIS started to shake violently, almost causing both of us to fall over, but we held onto each other to keep balance. Without another word I shoved the screwdriver into one of the top pockets, before putting the communicator on my left wrist and looking back up at the Doctor.
He was holding out something else towards me, and once the shakes tuned down enough for me to see what it was, he had already put it in my hands.
"This, is a warp star. It's filled with energy from the TARDIS, and it will help you jump through dimensions. Do not at any cost lose it!" He said, and I didn't question it as I held it closer to me.
The room started shaking again, and the Doctor went over to the panel and started flipping switches and pressing buttons, and soon there was a bright flash of light that stung in my eyes. I turned to the source of the light and saw a horizontal, glowing white crack, pulling all the air towards it and tugging at my clothes.
A sudden thought occurred to me, and I gasped.
I couldn't do this. What was I thinking? I can't go and try to fight a monster this strong! I'll be dead in a second! This is a suicide mission! I don't want to do this anymore. I can't do it. I'm… I'm…
"Doctor, I'm scared." I whisper, and I see him turn around, giving me his full attention. I look up at him, and I can feel the tears streaming down my cheeks. With no hesitation he steps over to me and pull me into a reassuring embrace, and start rubbing my back.
"It's okay, it's going to be fine. You're going to be fine. I know you can do this, Felix." He says, and pulls away to kiss my forehead, before giving me a reassuring smile.
And that was the last thing I could remember happening before everything happened in a matter of seconds. The TARDIS was shaken so violently that I was pulled away from the Doctor's comforting hug. I saw him get flung back onto the floor, before I tripped on something and fell towards the crack. I managed to look at the Doctor one last time, before feeling the warp star slip out of my grasp, hearing him screaming my name, and seeing the crack close around me.