Merville Manor. A mansion shrouded in mist. Right now, this perished and abandoned building housed the largest, most dangerous power on Earth. The thing is… No one knew. Whenever a person sneaked into the house, they disappeared. Not Emma, though. She found a guardian to keep her safe as they unravelled the mystery that hid in the core of the mansion, deep down in its basements.
"I'm not sure I'm following y-" Emma whispered, but she was cut off by a giant beastly roar, coming from behind the door. The Doctor clenched his fists as he looked around the room. The hunting trophies seemed to be staring at them, eyes following the Doctor as he began pacing around the sitting room.
"Alright, so we can't access the TARDIS and the anomalies have stopped appearing at regular intervals. Almost feels like these 'ghosts' are doing whatever they want."
"Can't we find out what causes the anomalies without using the TARDIS?" Emma asked. The Doctor turned her way and brought his hand to his chin, plucking at it. He was thinking out loud now.
"Perhaps we can… But the only option we have right now is to dive into the deep dark beneath the mansion."
"Fine! So let's do that!" She turned around and began walking. The Doctor followed, right behind her.
"But, Emma, the anomalies… They're going to become more intense, more dangerous, the further we go down!"
"So you're saying we should wait 'til Winnie the Pooh back there heads back into hibernation?"
"No, no. I'm saying we should keep our eyes peeled. Any object could cause death when flung hard enough at our heads. We should regard Merville Manor as hostile."
The Doctor and Emma had made their way through the mansion, back to the main hall, where Emma had entered what felt like a whole new world less than a mere hour ago. The Doctor, still wearing half of his armour, twirled from one piece of furniture to the next, pushing them against the walls or holding them tight, just in case an anomaly decided to occur. It was a funny sight, Emma had to admit. It somehow reminded her of her father, who once came over to her new college dorm room to set up three hundred pounds worth of IKEA furniture. When the wood glue was in place, he'd sit there and hold her cabinets and chairs, just like the Doctor was doing just now.
Occasionally, a roar was heard coming from upstairs. Emma didn't mind the reoccurring confirmation that two floors separated the bear rug and them, but the Doctor looked up at the ceiling every single time, his face sporting a concerned look. His safe room was up there, of course. He seemed to really care about what happened to his TARDIS.
"What does it stand for?"
"Hm?" the Doctor responded, not sure what she was referring to.
"TARDIS. Your safe room upstairs. Or did you just think of a random word to label the safest chamber in this hellhole of a house?" Emma mused, eyes trailing over the paintings on the dark wooden wall behind the Doctor.
"It's just a random word. That's all." The Doctor chuckled softly as he let go of a cabinet and stepped up to the next piece of furniture. Every smile that left his lips felt like a thousand secrets and riddles only he understood. The man was as much of a mystery as this house.
"How far 'til the paintings start to attack us, Doctor?" That sentence came out more cynical than she had meant for it to sound. The Doctor, luckily, didn't pick up on any of it and just responded with a nod in one of two directions.
"Through here, down the stairs, through the kitchen, another flight of stairs and the library." There was a notable shiver in his voice when he mentioned the kitchen. Emma grimaced. The kitchen didn't felt like a place you'd want to be when all objects (including knives, forks and skewers) can be flung at you at any time.
"Even though some of the anomalies occur during intervals, others seem to wait until the activity peak. Interesting," the knight mused, his hand touching over one of the paintings. It was true. They hadn't seen any books flying around or candles poking them. The house finally seemed like an actual abandoned mansion. Silence filled the halls they walked.
"Y'know, Emma… You've been acting like this is a usual Saturday activity to you."
"So have you," Emma retorted curtly.
"But to me, this is actually quite… normal, I suppose." The Doctor had trouble translating his thoughts into words.
"Normal? What do you even do on an average daily basis?"
"I travel."
"You… travel?"
"Yeah. I go places."
"What places?"
"I don't know– just places."
"Enlightening, Lancelot," Emma murmured, averting her eyes from him to act out an eye roll. The Doctor sent her a quick smile. They had now moved on to the first staircase, which would lead them to the kitchen.
"Right, okay, Emma. This is where we run straight through the kitchen, to the other side, through the door and down the stairs. 'Cause we don't want to get stuck there."
"We don't," Emma confirmed, nodding understandingly.
"We really don't. I've seen those skewers coming at me with high velocity, so trust me. Just run. No looking back."
"Don't worry. I understand." They had reached the closed kitchen door. Five or six pieces of sharp metal were piercing through the wood; the aftermath of the Doctor's one visit to the kitchen, Emma guessed. She snorted.
"Oi! Eyes on the prize, Emma." The Doctor reached for the knob. Emma nodded.
The door swung open without a problem. The Doctor and Emma bolted into the kitchen. The space was a lot larger and cleaner than she had imagined. Right across the room, in the far left, was the other door, standing open.
"That's the one!" the Doctor shouted and pointed at it.
They ran past sinks, jumped over countertops and climbed past stoves. No anomalies seemed to take place. Maybe it'd all work out, Emma couldn't help but think as she pushed past a waste hatch in the wall. She felt really naïve for a second, but they were actually closing in on the door real fast. Her foot suddenly was stuck in one of the pans, scattered on the floor. She fell over, but quickly pulled herself back up. The pan was still around her foot, not even budging in the slightest. The Doctor shot her a look over his shoulder.
"We'll take it off once we're on the other side!" he yelled. Emma nodded and took off again, this time no tip-tap sound from her feet, but a tip-CLUNK, tap- CLONK. She caught herself laughing out loud. This was crazy, right? What did this night turn into?
"Come on, Emma! You're almost here!" the Doctor shouted, his voice echoing through the kitchen. He had reached the kitchen door, and was now waiting in front of the next stairway. Emma ran as fast as she could. The Doctor grabbed something out of his pocket— the sonic laser thing! He scanned the area, it seemed. The low, soothing buzz of the sonic grew louder as she advanced towards the door. A few more feet left! The sonic screwdriver suddenly wailed some sort of alarm, which screeched through the kitchen. The Doctor jumped up slightly and looked at her with wide, fearing eyes.
"Emma, quick! Now!"
Right before she reached the door, it moved, slamming shut with a loud bang. Emma felt her heart skip a beat as she pushed her hands forward as to not clash against the closed door. She turned the knob, to no avail. It was locked down. Emma slowly turned around, gazing upon the kitchen as a whole. All the way across the room, the other door slammed shut. Everywhere, drawers opened. Pots and pans defied gravity by slowly hovering upwards, and cutlery and large butcher knives left their drawer homes. In front of her, the entire kitchen was alive. Anomalies as far as she could see, and every heavy object, every sharp tip was pointing right at her. Behind her, the muffled sound of the Doctor slamming against the door and yelling was of no comfort. The anomalies slowly flew forward, closing in on her, and yet all she could think of was her father in her dorm room, shooting her an excited look when he constructed every piece of furniture. She remembered what he said when she sat down on her new couch, grinning widely.
'Welcome home, sweetie. All done. You're finished.' That's what her dad said. And that's what she was about to be. Finished.