Chapter Four
A/N: Thanks to my great reviewer, Guest.
It was still practically unbelievable to Sybil that the wonders that her childhood memory had brought to her life. In the mere few hours he had been returned to her, the madman who had changed her view of what was possible and what was not, the latter now very limited after his teachings.
The Doctor, after running for several minutes, halted outside the door of a large blue wooden box, large enough to hold only two grown men at any one time, albeit in uncomfortably close proximity. Nevertheless, the raggedy-clothed man slipped inside the box with ease and Sybil, being the inquisitive young woman she was, followed suit, stepping straight into the unknown.
The first thing that she noticed was the light. It was very bright, almost so blindingly so that Sybil instinctively raised her right hand to shield her eyes. When she decided to brave the light and pulled her hand away, she was met with a dazzling red glow so bright that she almost reverted back to her original position, but did not, deciding that the slight squint she had had to adopt was worth the sight that was coming into focus.
In the centre of the glow was some sort of machine, though it was unlike any machine that Sybil had ever seen before. It was coughing, spluttering and making a racket, almost as if it were actually alive. To the little surprise of the Doctor, Sybil gasped.
"It's good, isn't it?" the madman smiled.
"It's astounding!" Sybil exclaimed in response.
"I know!" the Doctor answered, his enthusiasm equaling that of the young woman stood in the doorway.
No longer at all fearful of the machine, Sybil took a small step forward towards it. She paused after that first step, as if to ascertain the results, before taking several more, her pace quickening with each. She stopped barely a moment later, when the top of her shin collided with the edge of the alien console. She then began to circle it, running her hand over the many different buttons and levers, trying to take it all in.
"I've never seen anything like this in my life. Wherever did you get it?"
"I got it… a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away." the Doctor replied, raising his eyebrows slightly as he remembered the origins of the words he had spoken. "It's been a long time since I coined that phrase."
Slightly confused as to what he was actually talking about, Sybil returned to moving around the console, every so often pausing at a particular part and bending down to examine the device more closely.
"It must have cost you thousands of pounds." Sybil mused, admiring the technology. She had seen the engine of a car once before, while crouching in the garages during a game of hide and seek with Patrick, but nothing this extravagant, technical and, to tell the truth, rather beautiful.
"Actually, it didn't cost me anything." the raggedy man replied, omitting the fact that he had stolen the machine many years ago, just because he'd wanted to get away and no one was watching.
"Well, even so… it's just beautiful."
"Yeah. That I'll agree on." the Doctor told her, nodding his head in agreement.
"So… when you said that, that it was time for me to fly… what exactly did you mean?" Sybil asked, stumbling over her words, most uncharacteristically for such a strong worded young woman.
"Well… this box, this engine, is… a time machine. It can fly to anywhere in time and space. It can fly back to the creation of Earth and forwards to the end of time and still have you home for tea." the madman stopped when he saw that Sybil was standing by his side, gaping and switching her gaze rapidly between him and the machine. "Are you frightened?"
"No." the youngest Crawley responded swiftly, though she did not look quite convinced with the words, even as she spoke. "Why? Should I be?"
"Well… it's a dangerous life, you know. It isn't all sightseeing and gazing at sunsets, there are things out there more powerful than you can imagine. They aren't all friendly and polite."
"Neither are all the people in this world. It doesn't make much of a difference to me." Sybil told the madman, boldly taking a step forward and tilting her head to the side, a daring smirk lighting up her features.
"That's a point of view that the average person wouldn't normally consider accurate." the Doctor replied to Sybil, his tone both pleased and challenging in equal measures.
"And what gives you the impression that I am the average person?" the youngest Crawley shot back, raising her eyebrows at the joyful grin that surfaced on the man's lips.
"I don't expect you to be." he answered.
"Well, then we're agreed. I have no fear of the outside world, and you seem to be lonely. So… why not teach me how to fly?"
The man needed no more convincing and began to run around the marvellous machine, tapping buttons and levers to get them to where they needed to go. Sybil was suddenly a little fearful, not knowing how the machine would fly, as she realised that this truly was real.
"Where are we going?" she asked, crying out a little in surprise as the floor began to shake and the 'box' shifted violently from side to side.
"You'll find out soon!" came the cryptic reply from the smirking madman, who was still wildly attacking the controls in an obvious attempt to steady the console.
After a few long minutes, the shaking ceased and the room was stilled once more. Her fear now replaced with anticipation, Sybil shared a glance with the Doctor, both of them smiling widely. The Doctor then reached out his hand, which Sybil took gratefully, laughing a little at a familiar routine being used in such an unfamiliar situation.
"Come along, my lady. Time to see where we have flown to."
A/N: Thanks for reading and please review!