"No, no, no, no, no!" The Doctor franticly panicked as he flipped, pulled and pushed various switches, levers and buttons upon the panels of the TARDIS' console as fast as he could. "C'mon, Old Girl! Don't fail me now!"
The ship responded with a strained groaning of the engines and the ominous ringing of the cloister bells as the lighting of the interior turned a blood-red.
The sensors had picked up a rift growing at alarming rates in the Medusa Cascade, so he'd decided to investigate to see if he could seal it before it became a serious problem — as well as what could have caused it and why.
But it seemed that, if fate existed, it had other ideas.
For some bizarre reason, he'd not managed to arrive before the rift had already grown exponentially — so much so that it had already become dangerous to the TARDIS itself.
And given his considerable physical age at this point, he was having a hard time keeping up with her demands — though he was reluctant to admit it openly.
So he projected himself onto her.
"I know, girl, I know! But we've got to try!" He almost tripped over his own feet as he rushed to the monitor. "If we don't close it now—"
His breath hitched in his chest as he saw the readings.
This wasn't just a rift — it was a tunnel.
There was something else — someone else — on the other side.
And they were sending out a call for help.
Could it be a trap? Definitely. Which was why he had to spring it before someone else did — no telling what could happen otherwise.
"Right then, Old Girl," he muttered, "Let's see what our new friends want."
He closed down the gravitic anomaliser, fired up the helmic regulator, and finally, released the hand brake.
Then all hell broke loose.