"Doctor, don't get me wrong, the universe's largest ball pit was cool…" I say, pressing my hands against the familiar doors.
"Wasn't it? We should've stayed longer, I didn't get to try the diving board." He says, and I smirk.
He definitely brings out the inner child, that's for sure…
"But… This isn't going to be another Playground Planet, is it?" I say, and he shakes his head, nodding to the doors.
I flash him a real smile then, swinging the doors open and stepping out into sunlight, bringing my hand up to shield my eyes…
It's a beach.
A beach of white sand with water stretching out to the horizon as far as I can see. Hot, muggy wind lifts my hair up to tickle my face gently.
Smells like Earth. Looks like Earth…
"A vacation, already? Two days, and you're ready for a break?" I say, and he comes out to stand next to me, giving me a smug sort of look.
"Notice anything strange about this ocean, just the tiniest bit off?" He says, and I take another look at the water, trying its best to lap at my feet.
Wait…
No, it's not. It's just… still. Not moving an inch.
"There aren't any waves."
"There aren't any waves!" He repeats louder, "No waves, that's odd, isn't it? There's wind, which is what causes your typical ocean waves back on your lovely little Blue Planet, so why aren't there waves?"
So this isn't Earth…
My gaze rises to the cloudless blue sky, and I count three moons, each at different phases in the cycle.
Definitely not Earth.
"What about those? The gravitational pull could have something to do with it." I say, and he follows my gaze, then beams proudly at me, green eyes dancing.
"It could, and it does! See, ocean waves are no different from any other type of wave, in the most basic of thinking. They have a wavelength, and they have a frequency, just as light waves and sound waves do." He says, moving his hand in an up and down, curved motion, like the waves should be doing, "But say, another wave, with the same frequency and wavelength is produced, opposite direction…"
He makes his other hand into a wave, colliding with the first, and both of them flat-line.
"They cancel out." I say, and he grins, nodding and causing his hair to fall into his face.
"The waves made by the gravitational pull, this planet's version of tides, if you want to name them specifically, cancel out the waves made by the wind! Only for an hour or so once every hundred years or so, when everything lines up just right in this exact spot on the planet." He says.
"And we're here just at the right time to see it." I say with an awe-struck smile, looking out over the strangely glass-like water, "Well, where's all the people?"
"How do you mean?"
"Is this planet not inhabited or something? I mean, if it's such a rare occurrence, there should be a crowd of people, shouldn't there? That's how it would be on Earth, at least…"
The Doctor looks thoughtful for a moment, then spins around in a circle, squinting, as if the people might just be hiding in the sand.
"You're right, the people, where are the people? This is a Level two planet, so communication about this event worldwide is improbable, but the nearby seasonal settlements should at least be mildly interested…"
"Or at least the children, I mean… Something rare as this, human kids would be skipping class to see it." I mutter, and the Doctor glances at me, concern creasing his forehead.
"No class, no school, they're not at that point yet. Survival is the name of the game, hunters and gatherers, simple tools, that sort of stuff. Which makes me even more worried, an event like this should be something of a spiritual type thing for them." He says.
We stare at one another for a moment, nothing but the breeze to fill the silence.
"So what would keep them from seeing the power of the gods, or message from the heavens, or whatever they think it is?" I say, and he turns on his heel, marching across the sand, back towards the T.A.R.D.I.S.
I scramble to follow him.
"Oh, a number of things, maybe they're on holiday, maybe they just forgot, or maybe, I don't know… widespread death and disease." He says, turning abruptly, and staring me dead in the eyes, barely an inch away.
My hearts clench at the thought.
I don't know who lives here, or what they look like, or if they're friendly.
But I really don't want that, not today, not ever…
"Don't say that." I say softly, and he nods slowly.
"You're right, let's just go with holiday for now." He says, and then he's off again, marching past the T.A.R.D.I.S, towards the dense line of trees in the distance, past the sand.
"Who are they, though?" I say once I've caught up again.
"This planet is Uruk Nam, home to a few different species, all in line to become dominant at this point. Could be one of three of the more advanced ones, all pseudo-humanoids, the Kai-ba, the Tai-ba, or the Lai-ba. All from a common ancestor eons ago, now in competition for the throne, so to speak," He says, raising his arms to gesture to the forest around us, a dome of green, and then behind us, to the glass ocean, "Who will win all of this? Who will be allowed to evolve to be the best?"
He grins as he pauses to take in the world around us, a child-like wonder on his face, enthrallment sweeping out of his mind and into mine. The echoes of his awareness seep into my own.
It's all so beautiful, so intricate. So very delicate, yet incredibly resilient.
He gives me a sideways glance, as if he hadn't been aware that he had made the connection between our thoughts…
Or did I do that?
I withdraw, slowly building up my walls, trying to seem polite about it, but the smile fades from his eyes, and he continues the march into the forest.
"Alright but why did you say disease, I mean that's a pretty specific guess…" I say, and he slows his pace for just a moment, before shaking his head and speeding on, whacking a vine away from his face.
"Just an inference, logical deduction. Primitive races get sick, it's what they do, all germy and clueless, you know? Germ-bags! Bags of germs, that's what you lot came from, so it's only to be expected…" He says.
Fair enough…
"But we can help… If it is sickness, we're allowed to help them, it's not a fixed point, or something? Because I thought the plan was to try and avoid those pesky fixed points, never really turns out well for us." I say and he nods, waving a hand up dismissively.
"Yes, of course, I learned my lesson, I wouldn't have brought… Do you smell smoke, a sort of smokey smoke burning smell?" He says, lifting his chin and sniffing loudly a few times.
I breathe in through my nose, and sure enough, there it is. The scent of wood burning, and something else I can't quite put my finger on.
"Yeah, definitely, but where is it coming from?" I say, and he paces around in a circle, sniffing with his nose in the air like some kind bloodhound on two legs. He whips out the sonic, and it buzzes as he whirls around. The prongs at the top flare out, he stares at it for a few moments, and then points in several directions before choosing just one.
"This way. Quickly, where there's smoke… There's trouble." He says, and we jog through the underbrush, dodging the thick trunks of the trees, the hanging moss, the vines.
"Well, I think we can rule out holiday." I huff, jumping over a particularly gigantic tree root, and as soon as my feet hit the ground, a disconcerting sound echoes through the jungle before us. We stop dead in our tracks…
For many, many people, it was the last thing they ever heard in life.
For many, many people, it will be the last thing they hear in life.
"Where is the Time Lord? Explain or you will be exterminated!"
My stomach twists into a sickened knot.
"Yeah, I think we can. But let's go say hello anyway…" The Doctor says, his voice low and full of the hatred I know that voice induces in him.
A chill runs over me, and it's then, from the look in his new eyes, from the silken death in his voice, that I know this Doctor will have fewer qualms about ridding the universe of anyone who gets in his way. Permanently.
I've got my eye on you, buddy. We don't kill, we don't use weapons, that's not how we do it…
Even Daleks are alive, we always try our best to avoid killing them.
Doesn't always work, but we try…
The smoke gets thicker as we get closer to a clearing, with what seems to be little… huts, made of dried grasses and branches, stuck together with mud.
"Exterminate!"
The Doctor's hands drag me down, and into a bush of thick, waxy green leaves, a finger to his lips.
A laser blast rings through the forest, and I hear it hit its mark, a few muffled screams and whimpers.
We peer through the leaves to see that in the center of the ring of little mud huts, there sits a small ship, a trail of burning earth behind it. It's obviously made for travel through deep space, from the shape and size of the thrusters.
Fire has charred the ground from when it landed, rather unexpectedly, by the looks of it. It's definitely not Dalek in origin, yet…
I can see the Dalek now, a single Dalek, hovering in front of a huddled group of green and brown rough skinned humanoids, as if they're made of tree bark. Their gigantic eyes are even wider with terror, and they hold up their large, four fingered hands in surrender.
"Kai-ba, then." The Doctor mutters, "What are you doing here though, Dalek?"
"Same plan as always for a lone Dalek?" I hiss, and the Doctor raises a brow, giving me a questioning look, "Oh don't tell me… Okay, just follow my lead."
"You will reveal the location of the Time Lord!" The Dalek shouts, priming its laser, and I grab the Doctor's shoulders, shoving him out into the clearing.
He lets out an undignified yelp as he stumbles a little, hopping on one leg to regain his balance, then straightens under the gaze of all the Kai-Ba.
And the Dalek.
I begin to creep around the clearing, through the underbrush, trying to keep quiet.
I need a better view of the circuitry…
"You are the Doctor." The Dalek says, and I actually detect a hint of surprise at that, which is odd for two reasons.
First, Daleks don't really have emotions besides rage and hatred.
Two, this Dalek is looking for a Time Lord. Who else would he expect?…
"Hi, yes, I am the Doctor, hello! I heard you asking about me, decided to drop in, see what all the fuss was about." The Doctor says, stalling just as I knew he would.
"The Predator of the Daleks. You will tell me where the Time Lord is." The Dalek says, landing on the ground gently, and making its way towards the Doctor, completely focused on him.
Perfect.
I ease my way out of the brush, creeping up on the Dalek, silent on the soft ground.
"Not sure what you're on about, you stupid hunk of metal, I'm right here in front of you... and I don't know anything about a 'Predator', so you can go ahead and shut up about that, save us all the time and energy." The Doctor says, and the Dalek regards him for a moment, its eye-stalk focusing in and out.
"You are the Predator of the Daleks." It says, and the Doctor's eyes widen, his finger jabbing into his own chest.
"Me? I'm the Predator? Oh, come on, you've got to be kidding me, that's a bunch of rubbish!" He shouts, and I finally get close enough to see the circuitry I need, just between the trunk and the dome of the Dalek. A tiny exposure that the Doctor and I only discovered by accident, on our last encounter with a Dalek. I felt it while desperately trying to find a weakness, not having very much energy to spend...
The Dalekanium encased wiring that carries the electrical flow to both the weapons systems, as well as the vocal projection, which is really useful because it disables them, and manages to shut them up all at once.
I reach out to it, feeling around for the prick of pain in my brain.
Good thing I had been saving up to murder myself! This will be easy.
I feel the vibrating little atoms of the Dalekanium wire, the bonds that connect them so tightly, and then I dissolve them. Just enough to sever the connection.
It takes a chunk out of the energy I have stored up, a little less than half.
Dalekanium is some tough stuff…
The head of the Dalek swivels around, its eye-stalk focusing on me. I give it a little smile and wave, before walking past it to the Doctor.
"Brilliant, that's absolutely brilliant! Why didn't I think of that?"
"You were too busy thinking of the many ways to slaughter it, I think," I say, and from the way his smile falters, I know I'm right.
It's then that we realize we have an audience.
The tree-colored people, the Kai-Ba, all still huddled, not knowing whether they should fear us as well. Their long, thin tails are twitching about anxiously.
The Doctor straightens his bowtie, and approaches them slowly, his head bowed slightly.
"So sorry about all that, maybe we can help rebuild the huts," he says, gesturing to the several huts that had been blasted apart by the laser of the Dalek, "But for now, is anyone hurt?"
They just stare at him.
"He's a doctor… In a manner of speaking. He can help you if you let him." I say, keeping my voice soft and calm.
They glance at one another warily, a silent exchange, before they part and a few of them carry a small, fragile looking thing forward.
My throat clenches tightly, almost painfully, my eyes stinging a little as I watch the limp little body being laid on the ground.
It's a child.
The Doctor lets out a regretful breath before crouching, taking out the sonic, and waving it over him.
I notice that his leg is blackened, probably where the laser clipped him. The blast will have travelled through his body, through all of his nerve endings, from that very spot, scorching it all as it goes.
He's already dead.
The Doctor puts the sonic back into his jacket, and covers his mouth, as if wishing he could wipe the frown from it.
"I'm so sorry, but… I can't do anything." The Doctor says, and I swipe at the tears that escape my eyes when one of them lets out a soft little wail, kneeling by the little one.
The Doctor stands up, watching them as they pick the child back up, to take him to one of the huts that are still standing.
I tear my gaze away from the heartbreaking procession when I feel rage and bloodlust well up in the Doctor's mind, seeing that he's marching towards the Dalek.
"Doctor?" I say, starting after him, but he's already gotten the sonic out, and a few sparks have already flown from the Dalek's mechanical shell, causing its eye-stalk to swivel back and forth in panic.
"You were looking for me, trying to kill me, but instead you murdered an innocent child, do you understand? A child, gone in under a millisecond, snuffed out for absolutely no reason. So… Unless you can defend your actions in the next five seconds, I'm going to exploit that break in your circuits, and I'm going to blow you to pieces." He says, his free hand gripping the eye-stalk with white knuckles, forcing it to look him in the eye.
"Doctor, what's done is done, more killing won't make you feel better, you know that." I say softly, but he pays me no mind.
"What's the matter, cat got your tongue, Dalek?" He spits venomously, pointing the sonic at the its dome, and it waves its useless weapons system up and down, in a pitiful attempt at keeping him away.
It can't speak even if he really was giving it a chance… I shut down its vocal systems.
"Doct-"
I duck my head as the sonic buzzes and a flash of electricity causes the Dalek to short-circuit, the smell of electrocuted flesh rising from it.
The Doctor steps back from the lifeless thing, waving the smoke away from his blank face, completely emotionless. He glances at me, and for just a split second, I see a sort of contrite shame in his eyes, but it's gone in another instant.
"How about we see what's on that ship?" He says, walking past me without another word, and I stare at the dead Dalek for a moment, before turning to follow him.
My God, he didn't even hesitate… He toyed with it. Gave it the tiniest hope that it may live another day before he killed it…
The Doctor walks around the crashed ship, knocks on the outside of it, puts his ear to it. Then he sonics the length of it.
"Was shot down by that Dalek, laser damage to the left rotary engine." He says, and after using the sonic on it once more, a sheet of metal lowers with a hiss, revealing a ramp leading to the inside.
We glance at one another, and I hold his gaze as I brush past him, strengthening our connection just enough to let him feel my disappointment in full force.
Then I focus on the task at hand, staying alert to whatever could be on this ship… It doesn't look familiar to me in any way, which means that anything could be aboard...
"Let's see who's home…"
A/N
Hey guys 3
SO, gimme some feedback, I don't even know how I'm doing, I'm just stumbling forward into the unknown, hoping what I'm doing is remotely good.
You people, the ones whose Doctor is Eleven, how am I doing with writing him so far? I mean, he's an alternate universe Eleven, sure, but he's still Eleven, right?
He's so fun to write, omg.
So, I hope your lives are all awesome today, and just a reminder that I starve and wither without reviews, they are my muse's source of life.
My muse is also sort of fat, and needs more than is necessary for normal day-to-day functioning... Also I created a Tumblr, follow if you want, my username is wibblywobblywhogirl on tumblr too!
Lots of love,
-A.