By some curious chance one morning or afternoon or evening (it was always difficult to tell in space, with no rise and fall of the sun to go by) the Doctor found himself sprawled upon the floor, ever curiously digging through a pile of books in the library. A very peculiar library at that, for in the very center sat a great big pool filled with shimmering water tinted a liquid silver. The Doctor wasn't interested in the silvery water at the moment however, no, no he was quite interested in finding one particular book. A book that had long since been waiting to be read. A book that now that he wished to read, could no longer be found. It seemed like all sorts of objects had been behaving this way as of late. Always out in the open when he didn't need them and stubbornly hidden when he did. This day was no different.
Except, that it was. So very, very different from any other day before. He just didn't know it yet.
The TARDIS, ever watchful and aware, knew of this day's importance and immediately set about preparing her Time Lord the only way she knew how. By only showing him the important things. (He really should have taken the hint when the history of Middle Earth jumped off its shelf and onto the back of his head, but alas, the man was not perfect.)
At first, he only winced, eyeing the book suspiciously before he remembered his manners and politely set the book back in its proper place on its proper shelf.
He would not learn of the importance of this day until the ship herself roughly threw him about the room, vibrating and shaking and squawking at him through beeps and flashes of light.
"What's the matter with you?"
Up went the Doctor, quickly regaining his balance (for Time Lords had quite good balance) and springing to action. With a well-balanced pace, he hurried down corridor after corridor until he came upon the main control room, with a pillar of machinery as tall as a great oak tree right in the middle of it.
Screens blinked and blipped at him, beckoning his attention here and there. His fingers were long and spidery, tapping against buttons and keys alike, the images on each screen dancing in response.
A fierce siren sounded, from somewhere in the western end of the ship. "What?" He was incredulous. Confused. What was happening?
And then the ship, not of her own free will, began tossing him about again, as if fighting against the slosh of thick waves. His old leather shoes gave him no traction, and if it weren't for his Time Lord strength he wouldn't have been able to keep a firm grip on the console.
And then he realized, all at once, with his grip still steady, what was going on, and had one thing to say: "Geronimo!"
The room was upside down for long moments. And he might have felt sick if he were a normal human. With his still steady grip, the Doctor pulled himself up, bracing his elbows on the metal railing to reach up further still, up until he could hit the big purple stabilizer button. With his head hanging from the strain he huffed a big breath, heaved himself up some more, and with a last burst of energy, managed to slap a hand down on that big purple button.
Slowly the ship turned and turned and turned until she was right side up again. She was still tilted, leaving the floor uneven, but for now he no longer had to worry about falling from the control room to the library. Slumping over the console and now properly tired, he turned himself around to lean back and survey the damage: the history of Middle Earth (along with a series of other small objects) had found their way into the control room, through all the chaotic dancing of unstable gravity fluctuations and all the twisting and turning the ship had been doing.
The Doctor picked his way through all the miniature debris, careful not to step on anything, until he got to the front door. The TARDIS would clean herself up if he stepped out for a moment, so step out he did, and was immediately greeted by the most alarming sight he had seen all morning (or afternoon or evening).
Plumes curled up into the sky from the husks of what used to be a city. A city that looked eerily familiar to one he had read in a book once. Ember and charcoal singed the leftover streets and fleeing citizens. Odd. I'm sure I've never been here before. And yet…I can't help but feel that I know exactly what's happening. As he pondered a group of children ran passed.
Hold on.
The Doctor stiffened and turned his head, squinting after him. He was sure those had been fully grown men but not as tall as a man should have been. With proud beards and muscle for working stone and rock. That's when he heard it.
The unmistakable roar that shook a man to his very core, the sound of an oncoming storm, a hurricane against the trees, which creaked and cracked in the dry heat of the day. He was taken aback, but didn't have much time for anything else—a blast of burning light burst before his eyes, demolishing the front gates of the stone fortress where he sat. Was that…?
It moved well for such an unimaginably large creature. Quick on its clawed hands and hind legs, tail like a whip as it cut the air when it swished back and forth, wings folded in a terrible arcing grace, the Doctor wasn't able to see its face, but it ducked its great head into the doorway of the fortress before he could make out its features. That was unmistakably a dragon.
I'd know that pompous gait anywhere—this is Erebor! He glanced once more at the skeleton of the once great city. The day it fell. Judging by the state of wreckage the siege has only begun…He closed his eyes and pictured the city as it was in the book, the words flowing easily with their familiar tale. Smaug, a most specially greedy, strong and wicked dragon. He was now through the front gates. Next he would go through all the halls and lanes and tunnels, alleys, cellars and mansions. Which means the king and his grandfather are still in here looking for a way out. The Doctor needed no more encouragement before he sprang into action.
It was difficult to navigate with all the smoke and fire bidding his eyes to tear, but the fortress (for the most part) was empty except for the corpses of all the dwarves (he now knew) that had fallen in battle to protect their king. Weaving in and out of halls and alleys and tunnels, he was careful to avoid an encounter with the fire worm. It wasn't too difficult, as Smaug didn't have a firm grasp on the idea of subtly as he moved about, swishing that great big tail and knocking over countless decorations as he carelessly went stomping around. For such fierce creature he certainly had a clumsiness about him. Or perhaps he deliberately insists on making a ruckus where ever he goes. Because it isn't enough to blow the city and the castle to bits is it? Bloody dragons.
Just as he rounded a corner he nearly knocked over the kings Thrain II and Thror themselves! The dwarves were only briefly stunned however, easily plowing through and carrying him along with them as they went. And so like a leaf caught in a river current, he was propelled backward by the two royal dwarves. Who didn't offer much conversation other than to hurry him along and scold his intelligence.
"Wait, wait, wait." The Doctor dug in his heels and skidded them all three to a firm stop.
The two kings eyed each other warily, before eyeing the castle around them before then finally settling on the Doctor. "We musnt linger here young man."
The Doctor bristled at the term young man, but adjusted his bow tie and calmly said instead, "I have a way out of here that's much faster than either of you can find."
Two sets of bushy brows rose in surprise. No one knew the fortress better than they! Thrain turned to his father, whispering "Surely this man is mad! We must go, now!"
Thror said nothing, as if only just now looking at the strange man before them. "You wouldn't happen to be…a man called the Healer would you?"
"The Healer? Well, I may have been called that once or twice. I have many names, you see," He gave a little grin, quite proud that his reputation had made it this far.
Thror immediately slapped a hand on his son's shoulder. "Never you fear! This man is here to save us!" Both Thrain and the Doctor looked surprised, simultaneously asking "he is?" and "I am?" in disbelief.
Another roar sounded from somewhere deep in the castle, though this time hearty and amused. Laughter, perhaps? "We must go! Hurry now, which way is this exit you spoke of, Healer?"
"Right, this way!" And the Doctor led them on, back through the alleys and tunnels and halls until at last they came upon his blue box. Both dwarves instantly gave snorts and grunts of confusion.
"What is this, man? What have you brought us to?"
"This, my good dwarf, is the way out." The strange man gave a grand sweeping gesture toward the mysterious box.
"It hardly appears big enough to fit neither you nor I, let alone all three of us!"
"Oh hush now," He pulled the door open, once again gesturing the dwarves to go inside. "In you go! There's definitely more than enough room!"
Thrain planted his feet firmly on the ground with a defiant scoff. "Now listen here, sir! You must be mad if you think that two dwarves and a man could fit in that slim box! We cannot waste any more time! End your games and show us the way out!"
The Doctor grinned wider than he ever had before. "Trust me." He said easily, as soothing and warm as a good pint of ale. "Because I'm the Doctor, and I'm here to save the day."
Nervously, the two dwarves hesitantly peered inside the bizarre blue box, only to be kicked on the backside and rudely pushed in.
The Doctor caught the swish of Smaug's tail in the corner of his eye, and turned just in time to see the dragon stick his snout in the hall and inhale. Now curious, it ducked its head in further and growled at the sight of the Doctor grinning when he had no right, halfway in the TARDIS and hanging out just enough to shout gleefully, "Not today you great big clumsy oaf! These dwarves are mine!" He slammed the door behind him, just as Smaug opened his terrifyingly large jaws, teeth like swords, and tongue hot with flames. The ship was hardly bothered by the sudden wave of flames gushing around it.
"It'll take more than that to hurt this old girl," He chuckled, frantically punching in coordinates while watching the monitor to his left out of the corner of his eye. Smaug looked positively puzzled and then angered, unable to push his giant frame down the hall any further. The dragon furiously snorted, inhaled deeply, and gave another big exhale of flames. But still, the strange blue box remained.
The two dwarves were speechless, staring up in awe, confusion, and just a bit of horror, turning round and round. "But…this is…its." Thrain could only murmur, Thror was absolutely silent.
"I know, I know," the Doctor waved a dismissive hand over his shoulder. "It's much bigger on the inside. I told you so. Why does no one ever believe me when I say these things?" Outside, Smaug huffed and stubbornly continued blowing gusts of flames at the ship until his throat crackled with miserable hatred. Why would this wooden thing not burn?
"Oh I'm very, very sorry, dear Smaug, but you won't be burning this ship any time soon. It would take a lot more than you could ever give to bring this ship down. She's a tough old girl and she won't be destroyed by the likes of you."
The dwarves stilled stunned, took no notice of the Doctor's mocking words toward the dragon.
"You two might want to hang on! It's going to be an awfully bumpy ride!" He gripped the handle of the accelerator with purpose. "Here it goes…" He slammed down the lever with enthusiasm.
The TARDIS responded immediately, groaning and bidding Smaug an arrogant farewell. The ship faded in and out and in and out until finally it had disappeared from Smaug's view. The control room was slapped with a pull of gravity. The air suddenly heavy, the room shook and moved.
Thror and Thrain hardly knew what to do with themselves, toppling over almost instantly. One of them, the Doctor wasn't really paying attention, began to panic, "What's happening? Why does the earth shake and move?"
"Relax! That's supposed to happen!"
The other dwarf spoke then, "What sorcery is this?"
The Doctor considered explaining that sorcery had nothing to do with his TARDIS, but wisely chose not to bother because it would only be lost on deaf ears.
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