Hi everyone! I am yet again writing this really late at night, roughly 3 o'clock a.m. actually. I really need to stop putting off writing this until the night, I have school tomorrow. And the next day. Yet I'm going to write during the night again, huh? I do generally write better in the night though. That will be slightly frustrating later in life.
Anyways, welcome to Midnight everyone! Yep, I'm finally doing it after... about four-five chapters of putting it off. Haha, I do really like Midnight even if it is sad and slightly scary. I hope you enjoy my take on it, and all of the extra 'charm' I add in.
Phoenix groaned slightly as she slowly awoke, actually having a good night's rest for quite a while. She stared up at the ceiling, smiling peacefully, her mind not fully awake. The smile disappeared soon after, remembering what she had done the night before. And then, the drums woke up too. She groaned, holding her head in pain. She had forgotten about those for a few seconds there.
She closed her eyes again and buried herself under her covers again, whimpering as the drums got louder in her head, especially as she thought about what had happened the night before. The Doctor probably hated her now. She tried to kill herself, for god's sake. She couldn't go out now!
Phoenix poked her head out from under her covers, shivering as cold air blew across her face. Bloody hell, why did it have to be so cold in her room? She glanced over to her desk, where her laptop lay, and on top of the laptop was a clean white envelope with a red rim trimming. God, it looked like whoever sent it was bloody rich, or really liked her.
She glanced over to the wardrobe, deciding to get dressed before she looked at the fancy letter, which she was actually curious about. She had opened a different letter not long ago, and that was from a whovian! Could it be another one? Was she actually getting fan mail? She stuck her tongue out at the thought. Na, it wasn't possible.
Pulling open the wardrobe, Phoenix looked through her clothing outfits, trying to find something she could actually wear. She couldn't wear short sleeves, or dresses, deciding to hide her cuts as much as she could. She would just feel extremely guilty every time she would see the bandages.
Eventually, finding an outfit, she changed into it and looked in the mirror, smiling slightly as she did. She was wearing a red long sleeve shirt turtleneck sort of thing, a silk black vest, a black skirt, and red converse. She rather liked it, and luckily the turtleneck didn't look ugly. Actually, it was kind of hot.
She glanced over at the letter yet again, biting her lip lightly as she stared at it. To tell the truth, she was rather hesitant about opening it. What if it was something bad? Well, it was really fancy, which made that theory seem impossible, but it could just be to lure her in, a trap in fancy packaging…
She mentally slapped herself, trying to pull herself out of her stat of paranoia. She was over thinking it. It couldn't be that bad, right? She slowly walked over to the desk, grabbing the letter and pulling it toward her, absentmindedly stroking the ribbon lining. Silk. It was silk. What the hell? Why would someone send her a letter lined with silk? It was crazy!
Phoenix slowly opened the letter, being careful not to rip it. It must have cost a fortune to get a post with ribbon lining in general, much less silk! She pulled open the flap and stuck her hand in it to grab the letter, or whatever was inside it, but gasped as she realized the letter was, in fact, bigger on the inside! She laughed slightly. It was probably from the Doctor or something.
She dug her arm inside to find a bowtie, again, why did people keep sending her bowties? Did she actually wear bowties? Should she try it? …maybe. She also found six chocolate bars, which pulled a huge smile on her face. Ah, chocolate. Finally, she pulled out the letter, which was a crisp white folded paper. Phoenix stared at it nervously, not sure if she should open it. What if it was sent by the Doctor, meant for her future self? What if it had something… that was their personal business? The more she stared at the letter, the more she found herself not caring. So what if it was for future her, and possibly only her business? Technically, she was her!
Another thought poked its way into her mind. She had gotten a letter from a whovian, probably from back in her universe… could it happen again? Were they watching her every move? Maybe…. Her eyes widened as a worrying thought crossed her mind. Maybe she changed the TV show? Oh god, that would be horrible. Who would play her, anyways? The thought made her chuckle a little bit. Someone with amazing hair, of course. Probably a black haired Goth chick, seeing as that's what she was like. Ah well. She was getting off track.
Phoenix unfolded the letter, a slightly smile settling on her lips as she read it.
Dear Phoenix,
Hey Phoenix! All us whovians love you, you amazing woman you! Don't give up and all of that boring stuff I probably should put in this letter. All that's rather unnecessary though, don't you think? The whole point of a letter, especially this one, is to make the person happy, so adding all of those motivational things like 'You can do it!' are absolutely pointless, because they make people more depressed, which defeats the whole purpose of it in the first place. And I'm rambling now, on paper, which is kind of weird but I suppose I should be used to it…
I'm sending you another bowtie, because you left the other one back in the weird white room with the Master. Which reminds me, how did you get the drums? That's crazy! Just a kiss, too! Add that to the things I should never do in the whovian universe…
Oh, and I'm also sending in a couple chocolate bars, since you love it so much, which I don't understand, but hey, I don't judge.
Anyways, fight against the drums! Don't let them take control and all that…
Wait, that was motivational… I just contradicted my whole ramble up at the top of the letter… ah well, I don't really want to change it now. Good luck and all that!
From a big fan of yours, Lady Artimes Blaine.
So, Phoenix was right. It was another whovian. Not that it was a bad thing, just it was kind of weird, getting 'fan mail' and all that, when she wasn't actually even acting in the TV show or anything. She chuckled lightly. Wonder if people send the Doctor fan mail…
The drums hit hard again, making Phoenix drop the letter abruptly, and fall back onto the bed, moaning slightly in pain. But then, it stopped. The pain stopped, making her eyes dart open, wide. What the hell? It soon replaced itself with pure bliss. The drums were there of course, but they felt… amazing. Good. Right.
Phoenix bounded up, a smile stretching across her face. She instantly decided to go say hi to the Doctor… yeah, that was a good idea. Phoenix bounded to the doorway, pulling it open dramatically for some unknown reason. Maybe she was feeling dramatic at the time.
But anyways, when she stepped out, she realized she was in 9 or 10's Tardis, instead of 11's. She was almost glad for it, considering she wouldn't have to do any explaining or anything.
She skipped through the hallway to the console, a bright smile using up half her face. She felt absolutely fantastic, and nothing was going to ruin the mood.
When she arrived in the console room, no one was there, not surprisingly. There weren't many times where she had landed in the Tardis while they were there, which, considering the circumstances, was actually slightly odd. She was connected to his timeline after all.
Phoenix walked out of the Tardis doors, and into quiet a bright light, which she assumed was coming from some sort of sun. When her vision adjusted to the bright light, she looked around, her good mood dropping immediately. Well, what a buzzkill!
At that moment, she was standing right in the middle of the planet Midnight.
She glanced around nervously, trying to find someone she knew. Anyone, even if it wasn't the Doctor or Donna. Truthfully, she already wanted this adventure over. Over before it had begun.
Her eyes darted over to the Doctor, who was talking on the phone, presumably to Donna. Phoenix took a deep breath, before slowly walking over there. She wanted to delay it as much as possible. Maybe they could miss the shuttle!
Phoenix leaned on the wall next to the Doctor, staring at him as he finished up the phone call. The back of his hair was even hotter. It was crazier than the front, and it looked absolutely…
She mentally slapped herself, again. Stop it! That was so wrong…
She tapped the Doctor on the shoulder after he finished the phone call, making him jump slightly and turn around. He had a smile on his face, which actually looked rather creepy to tell the truth.
"Phoenix! Hi! Was wondering when you were going to jump around! I was just about to go on this shuttle to a sapphire waterfall, care to join me?" The Doctor exclaimed, happier than normal. Well, more than Phoenix ever thought it was. Maybe it was just her. Maybe it was the drums…
"Sure, but… what if something goes wrong? What if something happens? This world hasn't been explored before, what if there is something out there?" Phoenix said slowly, eyes darting side to side as the drumming in her head slowly grew louder, the bliss she had been feeling before completely gone, replaced with slightly pain. But, she would complain, as it wasn't as bad as it had been before.
"But it's a sapphire waterfall…" The Doctor whined, pouting like a child at her. He really did want to go see the amazing sapphire waterfall. It was supposed to be absolutely stunning, with an enormous jewel the size of a glacier! Who wouldn't want to go see it?
Phoenix sighed, before shrugging her shoulders and giving up. "Fine, fine, we'll go see the amazing waterfall you speak about." She said, a shadow of a grin showing on her face. The Doctor's face immediately lit up, grabbing her hand and pulling her toward the shuttle boarding.
"Taking a big space truck with a bunch of strangers across a diamond planet called Midnight? What could possibly go wrong?" Phoenix mumbled, letting the Doctor drag her to their impending doom. It was going to be a very long day, wasn't it?
Phoenix sat in her seat next to the Doctor, tapping the beat of a Timelord heart on the armrest of the chair. 1-2-3-4. 1-2-3-4. 1-2-3-4. 1-2-3-4. She was blocking everything out, well, the drums were at least. They were so loud, pounding against her skull with all the power of thousands of missiles. It was extremely painful, but she held it in, not wanting to alert the Doctor too much. She already had the… cuts, she didn't need him worrying more if he even found out about one of them.
Phoenix stared forward at the wall, thinking deeply. It was rather surprising she could think at all, with the drums in her head and everything. How had she gotten them anyways? It was worrying. Did she get them from the Master, or did the kiss reveal something that had been hidden for a long time? She almost hoped it was the first one, considering that meant it was possible to be removed. Well, there would at least be a chance.
What if he couldn't remove them though? That would be horrific. She would have the drums forever… Unknown to her, she let out a tiny whimper, making the Doctor look at her with worry. She seemed off, in a way, but he didn't know why. She was spacing out too much, with a lost look in her eye. What happened to the Phoenix he knew?
The Hostess then began talking, which Phoenix listen to none of her speech, but the entertainment systems snapped her out of her daze and made her put her hands on her ears, the sound amplified more than it should be because of the drums.
The Doctor glanced over to her, noticing her stat of distress. He looked at the entertainment system, before secretly using the sonic screwdriver on it to turn it all off.
Slowly removing her hands from her ears, Phoenix smiled softly at the Doctor. Sentimental old git… But she was glad. The sounds had really hurt her ears, and she had enough of that with the drumming.
"Well, that's a mercy." Hobbes muttered, as annoyed with the entertainment as Phoenix was.
"I do apologize, ladies and gentlemen, and variations thereupon. We seem to have a failure of the Entertainment System." The Hostess said, sending an apologetic look at everyone in the shuttle. She wasn't sure what was wrong with the system, but truthfully, she didn't want to fix it.
"But what do we do?" Val questioned, frowning slightly at the hostess.
"We've got four hours of this? Four hours of just sitting here?" Biff asked, him and Val seeming to be the only ones actually too effected by the loss of the entertainment. It was annoying as hell, how they thought it was actually entertainment was an idiot in Phoenix's view.
"Tell you what. We'll have to talk to each other instead." The Doctor said with an enormous grin, turning around in his seat to face the other passengers.
Phoenix internally groaned. She really didn't feel like talking to anyone at the moment, the drumming becoming louder and louder as her panic rose to different heights. She really didn't like Midnight. Really, really, really didn't like Midnight. It was one of her fears, losing the Doctor or the companions. And midnight was one of the times he had come really close to death. Along with episodes like Fear her, The Satan Pit, The Fires of Pompeii, Forest of the Dead, The Big Bang, Journey to the Centre of the Tardis, etcetera. The last one worried her the most, though. She was scared to do it. She really didn't like the idea of the Tardis blowing up. She really just hoped she wouldn't have to do it anytime soon…
Phoenix had fallen asleep at some point or another, because when she woke up was to Professor Hobbes, also known as Professor Oblivious, showing a projection lesson of something related to Midnight, if she remembered correctly. She sighed softly. She had hated everything except reading and writing in school, so it wasn't exactly her ideal thing to spend time. But the Doctor seemed to be very interested, so she wouldn't complain in front of him.
A crunching and rattling sound came from outside, making Phoenix jump slightly. Ah, yes, the drums gave her more sensitive hearing. That was just brilliant.
"We've stopped. Have we stopped?" Val questioned, eyes wide as she looked around the shuttle.
"Are we there?" Biff asked, looking similar to his wife.
Phoenix rolled her eyes. What would you think, idiot? The drive was supposed to be about four hours! Do you think it's been four hours? She sighed, plopping back down on her seat. Humans were absolutely infuriating, she really didn't want to deal with them at the moment. Yes, she was human, but she was different. She traveled through space, she knew things. So did the humans, yet they always put on the oblivious mask on. It was maddening, especially when dealing with them! She'd rather be at some other planet, like Raxicoricofallipatorius or something.
She must have fallen into quite deep thought, because next thing she knew the Doctor had grabbed her hand and pulled her over to the driver's area door thing that she wasn't sure what it was called. She sighed slightly as the Doctor pushed his way past the hostess out of his way, well, she says pushed, she means talked out of the way, and walked inside the door, along with Phoenix being dragged behind.
"Sorry. If you could return to your seat, sir." Joe the driver said, gesturing to the door. Phoenix rolled her eyes. If they had just barged into the area, did you really think they were going to just leave? Human stupidity was unbeatable…
"Company insurance. Let's see if we can get an early assessment. So, what's the problem, Driver Joe?" The Doctor questioned, looking at all of the buttons and levers and electronic thing-a-ma-bobs on the console area. Ah, technology. The one thing that could distract the Doctor no matter what was happening. That, and Rose. Phoenix frowned slightly, a twinge of jealous poking its way into her mind. She quickly batted it away, disgusted by her own thought. The Doctor and Rose were perfect together, why would she be jealous? She didn't ponder on it for long though, as the mechanic and driver basically pushed them out of the room.
Phoenix frowned deeply. She didn't get to see the outside world. She seemed to be spacing out too much, it wasn't healthy.
The Doctor and Phoenix both went back to their seats, Phoenix absentmindedly grabbing the Doctor's hand for comfort. Not that she would ever admit it, but he was rather comforting. And soft. Soft and comforting.
"Excuse me, Doctor, but they're micropetrol engines, aren't they?" Phoenix heard Dee Dee ask, making her frown slightly. Again, why couldn't humans just let it go? It was pretty obvious Sky was scared out of her wits, so pondering on stuff would only make it worse! But then again, human curiosity was the one thing that let them progress over the years.
"Now, don't bother the man." Hobbes said, batting Dee Dee away from the Doctor. Phoenix rolled her eyes again. She really didn't like Hobbes, he was an idiot and extremely rude, even more so than the Doctor, and that's really something.
"My father was a mechanic. Micropetrol doesn't stabilize. What does stabilize mean?" Dee Dee continued, ignoring the looks she was getting from Professor Hobbes.
"Well. Bit of flim-flam. Don't worry, they're sorting it out." The Doctor said, gesturing with his hands to make some point. Phoenix almost face palmed. Great way to calm them, just brilliant.
"So it's not the engines?" Hobbes questioned, nervousness flicking through his eyes even if his face appeared rather calmer.
"It's just a little pause, that's all." The Doctor insisted, trying to get off of the topic. He could see the nervousness in both of their eyes too, and he didn't think it was a good idea to keep pursuing the topic.
"How much air have we got?" Hobbes suddenly asked, eyes going a bit longer at his conclusion. Phoenix held back laughter as she watched the people around her freak out. Ah, the humans… Silly when only teased or worried, but murderous if in danger or provoked. And that's what worried her.
"Professor, its fine." The Doctor said, trying to calm the man before things became intensified.
"What did he say?" Val questioned, looking up at the Doctor. Ah, an eavesdropping bitch. That's nice.
"Nothing." The Doctor insisted, panic flashing through his eyes. The humans were about to freak out, which was never a good thing for him or Phoenix.
"Are we running out of air?" Val asked, eyes growing wider as the Doctor refused to give her a straight answer.
Phoenix covered her hands over her ears as the voices began overlapping for her, giving her a headache that reminded her of her first jump. Horribly painful.
"I was just speculating."
"Is that right, miss? Are we running out of air?"
"Is that what the Captain said?"
"If you could all just remain calm."
"How much air have we got?"
"Mum, just stop it."
"I assure you, everything is under control."
"Well, doesn't look like it to me."
"Well, he said it."
"It's fine. The air is on a circular filter."
"He started it."
Phoenix had had enough of the talking. Seriously, couldn't they shut up for a measly five minutes? She stood up quickly, anger and frustration flashing through her eyes, making the Doctor's widen in panic. Phoenix mad was never a good thing.
"Everyone shut up! Just shut up! I know it's frustrating when you don't know things, but if you would just shut up for a second you could have heard that the air is on circular filter, we could be breathing for years in this place! And secondly, the engines are fine, so stop worrying about it and enjoy the ride. For all you know, it could be your last." Phoenix exclaimed, sitting down immediately after, curling into a fetal position.
The Doctor looked at her with a frown, confused as hell. That was it? Usually she did something much worse when she was angry.
All other thoughts were lost though, as a thumping sound echoed through the shuttle, making everyone's eyes widen except for Phoenix's. She knew what was going to happen, why would she act like she didn't? She uncurled from her position and smiled evilly, standing yet again.
She rapped her knuckles on the side of the shuttle, in the beat of four exactly like what was in her head. 1-2-3-4. 1-2-3-4.
Everyone turned to stare at her, most of them scared by the evil look in her eyes. They didn't know what it was, but they immediately didn't trust her, even if she was with a rather nicer man. She seemed to have some alluring evil deep down inside of her, and none of them trusted it to stay down there.
1-2-3-4. 1-2-3-4. The creature knocked on the side of the shuttle, making mostly everyone gasp at the repeat of the girl's knocking.
They all listened as it moved around the shuttle, moving slowly toward the door, making everyone's eyes reveal more and more panic as it got closer and closer.
"It's moving." Jethro said quietly, stating the obvious.
The emergency exit door rattles, making everyone except the Doctor and Phoenix jump slightly.
"It's trying the door." Val said, backing slightly away from the door in panic.
"There is no it. There's nothing out there. Can't be." Hobbes said, shaking his head, refusing to believe it. Phoenix was almost tempted to go over there and slap him, to wake him up, to make him see what was right in front of him.
The creature tries the emergency exit, then four thumps on the roof, and four more on the entrance door. Phoenix rolled her eyes. Could it just get inside the shuttle already so she could get the adventure over?
"That's the entrance. Can it get in?" Val asked, panic seeping into her voice heavily.
"Yeah, because about 3 inches of metal is going to stop a knocking creature outside." Phoenix said, voice think with sarcasm as she rolled her eyes and leaned against the wall.
Thump-Thump-Thump-Thump.
"I really must insist you get back to your seats." The Hostess said, trying to put on a brave face. It wasn't really working however.
"No, don't just stand there telling us the rules. You're the hostess. You're supposed to do something." Sky exclaimed, her eyes the widest and panic most evident in her voice.
Thump-Thump-Thump-Thump.
"What is it? What the hell's making that noise? She said she'd get me. Stop it. Make it stop. Somebody make it stop. Don't just stand there looking at me. It's not my fault. He started it with his stories." Sky said, pointing at the Doctor with wide eyes. Ah, the human default. Blaming others. It always works.
The hostess scurries over the intercom, deciding to contact the driver somehow. Phoenix frowned.
"They're dead." Phoenix said suddenly, making everyone turn toward her abruptly.
"What do you mean?" The hostess said, eyes flashing with nervousness as she looked at the girl. Phoenix rolled her eyes at that.
"The driver and the mechanic. They're dead. Or will be dead. Tenses are difficult…" Phoenix said, frowning as she pushed herself away from the wall and sat down again.
A sob erupted from Val's throat as everyone stared at her, even the Doctor, sitting so casually with her arms and legs crossed as all the stuff happened around them. Of course, it wasn't something they had seen every day, even the Doctor. He was suspicious though. She was acting weird, and he didn't know why. That was always a dangerous situation to be in.
Thump-Thump-Thump-Thump.
Any thoughts about Phoenix were immediately forgotten as Sky started to scream out, scared out of her wits. All the others were looking at her like she was insane.
"It's coming for me. Oh, it's coming for me. It's coming for me. It's coming for me. It's coming for me." Sky exclaimed, making Phoenix stand up and walk toward the back of the shuttle. There was no way she was going to be over there while the ship exploded. She would be ripped to shreds!
Sky backed up to the door, and screamed as the Doctor yelled at her to get out of the area, wanting her to stay safe.
The shuttle shook suddenly, and then, the lights disappeared, leaving them in darkness.
Ooh yay, end of chapter with a cliffhanger, even if you all know how it ends... damn it. It was interesting to write this chapter, having Phoenix slightly, no, a lot more cocky and sarcastic than usual. You'll notice that there's quite a bit of eye-rolling and frowning. Well, the drums will do that to you. Sucking that little bit of evil you have to the front of your mind and projecting it, blocking anything cheerful you might have. Well, most of the time.
Anyways, I hope you enjoyed and all of that! See you in the next chapter!