Happy-Fun Splorey Times

[fluffinasuit.livejournal.com]

The Doctor, true to form and quite negating his earlier plans to keep a low profile, had decided to explore the city on his own. Also true to form, he was gawking like a natural born tourist fresh off the farm.

Well, if guys fresh off the farm kept up running commentary under their breaths about every single culture they recognized. And if they recognized quite a few, had an apparent habit of internal monologue, and occasionally ran over to point a buzzing little blue stick at seemingly random objects.

He was completely fascinated.

He was also bound and determined to get to the bottom of all this mess and get his TARDIS back. Now.

Ooh, look at that!

Comments

[leather-bastard.livejournal.com]

He taps the lighted portion on the side of his head, and it... unscrews.

Revealing a gore-covered framework with a red glowing rod inside, virtually steaming as it emerges.

"...Coolant rod!" he hisses.

[fluffinasuit.livejournal.com]

The Doctor made a face. "Ah, yes. So I see." Carefully, he turned his beloved little tool to the correct setting.

"Not allergic to sonics, are you? No? This might resonate a bit." The Doctor thumbed the screwdriver on, pointing it at the framework and the rod inside. Soon, it should cool to appropriate levels. At least, he was pretty sure he got the right setting.

[leather-bastard.livejournal.com]

Slowly, the red rod stops steaming, and its color fades to a pale blue.

With a touch on the controls at the end, the frame screws back inward, taking the blue rod directly towards his brain.

He sighs contentedly for a moment.

"Aah. Thank you, Doctor. I'm glad to see that you can reset my coolant rods. Still, it would be prudent to make finding replacements a priority."

[el-escarabajo.livejournal.com]

O_<

"Ewwwwwww."

It just blurted out. He couldn't help it.

[leather-bastard.livejournal.com]

"We do what we must... to survive," Scorpius replies simply.

[fluffinasuit.livejournal.com]

"Yes, I suppose we do," the Doctor agreed quietly. He stood, slipping his screwdriver into its pocket.

[cityship]

It's voice was far off. Faint. And fading.

Only the Doctor heard it, because he was the only one being spoken, too.

You know where to find me.

As if it had all been a game, them running for their lives.

If you ever desire the truth, your freedom, and your ship...you know where to find me.

And then silence again.

[el-escarabajo.livejournal.com]

"So what exactly did we learn here?" Jaime asked, as he unsuited. "Because I'm thinking we learned things, but my brain's still stuck on screaming incoherently in gibbering terror."

[fluffinasuit.livejournal.com]

"We learned," the Doctor paused to look back the way they'd just come, frowning, "we learned to be careful. And always travel with a buddy.

He turned back to Jaime, already starting to shake it off. He'd think about it later. "You know, hold hands when crossing the street. That sort of thing."

[el-escarabajo.livejournal.com]

"Buddy system. Right."

[leather-bastard.livejournal.com]

"It makes it easier to escape, after all, when your enemies are already tearing your 'buddy' apart."

He looks over at Jaime and the Doctor with a smirk.

"I'm kidding, of course. We also learned that our captors have also trapped another being of vast power and likely evil nature within a limited area. Which of course returns us to the question... why us?"

[fluffinasuit.livejournal.com]

"You're not a bit obsessed, are you? What, does the grab-bag bunch of toy soldiers randomly grabbed from here, there and everywhere to Fight the Good Fight, or Possibly the Bad One theory not suit? I rather thought it did."

[leather-bastard.livejournal.com]

"There remain some holes in that hypothesis, Doctor. With this level of power... why would they require us? For what purpose? They certainly have easier methods of creating more reliable warriors."

[el-escarabajo.livejournal.com]

"Because they couldn't control it. They can barely contain it. That alien guy in the message--he was stupid. Arrogant. He'd--they'd thought they could control something huge and horrible, and they made a mistake. He'd wanted to pass a message along to his wife, and they all screamed and were afraid."

Looking back at where they'd come from, he said, "They're not different from any of us--they just have better technology, but not technology that's so good that it means they could win whatever war they were fighting. That's just it--we all thought we were grabbed by something massively powerful--so much bigger than us--but we haven't. It looks like they're just really good at using other people and things to do what they want."

He started pacing, "Like in the sarcophagus. The alien referred to it as 'he' and when it looked at the angels, they froze, and I could've sworn I heard yelling..."

Oh, that was horrible. Horrible. "There was something alive in there. Smart, bad people learn to use and manipulate other people to fight their fights for them. That's who we've been taken by. We haven't been taken by scary, faceless gods that can dictate our fates--because a real evil godly-powered thing could kick their butts--and did--and is half out its cage. The ones who took us--they're just partly scavengers, grabbing up useful things and people where they can."

[leather-bastard.livejournal.com]

"An excellent hypothesis, Jaime. One which addresses certain logical fallacies. Now... how do we test it?"

[fluffinasuit.livejournal.com]

"Oh, well, we could, I dunno..."

Pause.

"No, actually, I don't know. Short of hacking into the system, or going into the fabled Restricted Zones to have a look around."

He scratched his neck, the very picture of the Doctor trying to be innocent. "But who would want to do that? Not us, obviously."

[el-escarabajo.livejournal.com]

The slightest grin twitched at Jaime's lips.

"It'd be a bad, bad idea for us to poke around in the restricted zones. Bad idea. Which is why we're not doing it."

[leather-bastard.livejournal.com]

"With them listening to our every word, it would be best for us to simply give in to their demands," Scorpius agrees with a faint bemused smile.