Space Station XVI

[nevermindtherunning]

The whirling of the TARDIS could be heard faintly as it appeared in a storage room, behind a few crates and slats of bulk items. When the landing was complete, the Doctor stood at his console, quietly lost in thought as he took in the moment of sharing this completely alone. Exploring and searching the universe was infinitely more fun with someone to share it with, but all that was done and over. Martha had left, Astrid perished in the Titanic, and the only other remaining Time Lord refused to regenerate in his arms.

The Doctor stood up straight, found his jacket hanging over a coral strut and threw it on as he spun and moved towards the door. Cracking it open, he peered out and checked his surroundings. "For someone to be so eager to send me a message, not much of a greeting." He muttered to himself, although, he honestly could've picked a better spot to park. Experience told him otherwise.

His eyes roamed his surroundings as he tucked his hands in his pockets and moved towards a door and out in the corridor, exploring his options and to see why he was beckoned here.

Comments

[standsonhigh]

Why was he here? Well, that was the question, wasn't it? One he didn't feel in the mood to dive into and tear apart right now. All he knew was that his head hurt, his eyes were burning and this place he was in couldn't of been more of a dump. Space stations this old were never quite as reliable nor as useful as they were in their haydays. And it was entirely deserted as well.

Which struck him not only as annoying but disconcerting. There was no one to talk to, not one to question and he really didn't quite know how he was ever going to get off this damn rust bucket.

He'd been tentatively peering out the window, trying to find out where exactly he was when he felt a strange pang. An odd sensation that made absolutely no sense.

Why, if he didn't know any better, he'd of thought another Time Lord was here. Raising an eyebrow, he looked over his shoulder, not seeing a sign of anyone still. And yet... he could still sense it. Someone had to be here. Venturing away from the window, he started off towards the source of the strange feel, trying to follow it the best he can.

[nevermindtherunning]

The corridor was empty, the only thing the Doctor could hear was the hum of air circulating and his footsteps echoing around him. He couldn't quite put a finger on it, but something, a far off distant feeling, resonated within him. A dull familiar feeling that he had felt so very recently for the first time in a long, long time.

He shook his head and moved quicker, finding a door that opened out into what appeared a futuristic city, "Complete with a synthetic sky." He muttered to himself, but a sky not belonging to Earth, at least.

Something told him to keep following that feeling, one he both hoped was true and one that was a false echo.

[standsonhigh]

The Master kept moving towards the sensation, curiosity overtaking any kind of reservation he might of had. He was personally hoping it was anyone, and he meant anyone, but the Doctor. Maybe not the Rani, he could probably do without her. But also it'd be nice to have a surprise. Someone who wasn't an ex-enemy or grand foe. That'd be a change.

Honing in on the familiar feeling, he pulled a nearby door open and -- well, his dreams of a new Time Lord were swiftly dashed by the sight of that ridiculous pin stripe suit and silly hedgehog hair. Oh goodie, same old. What was wrong with variety these days?

Though the synthetic sky was a nice touch.

"You know," the Master started, hands in his pockets and he took in the strange city that just happened to be in a room in a space station that appeared out of nowhere. "We really must stop meeting like this."

[nevermindtherunning]

The sound of a door opening alerted the Doctor to spin on heels just in time to catch the Master and his ridiculous quip. "H-How!?" His mouth was open and brows were deeply furrowed as he stood his ground.

"Impossible!" Currently, communication beyond one worded statements was just as impossible for him upon seeing the Master before him. Consciously, he licked his lips before speaking, "I don't understand. You died you refused to regenerate! You were in my arms; I saw your body burn."

Before he could speak anymore, the synthetic sky flashed orange, such as in a pulse-like manner from blue to orange and continuing. "An alarm system..." The Doctor looked up, watching.

[standsonhigh]

"I clearly isn't impossible as it's happened. Here I am, in the flesh, very alive," And that was all he was adding. Hell, it wasn't like he was going to explain. His mind was still too scrambled to full grasp just what had happened. And constant reminders of dying in his enemies arms just weren't what he needed while dealing with a crisis.

Fortunately, a distraction came and the Master looked up, quirking an eyebrow.

"An alarm?" He asked, turning to his head to the Doctor. This place made zero sense and it really wasn't getting any better by the minute. "Where are we? I don't even remember coming here."

[nevermindtherunning]

Mouth agap and brows still knitted, the Doctor remains staring at the ceiling, "I've been here before..." He's muttering to himself more than anything, trying to recall this.

"OH! On a planet, I've been here only planet side! They must've transported the city..." He runs a hand through his hair, as he tried to remember what had happened.

"Have you been here before?"

[standsonhigh]

The Master simply gave the Doctor a look. One he might of given a small annoying child trying to put it's sticky hands on his nice new coat. "No. If I had, don't you think I would of said? Something along the lines of 'gee, doesn't this look familiar'?" the Master pointed out with a roll of his eyes, shifting further along to try and work this mess out. He didn't know what was happening or why he was here but he definitely had a headache.

Caused, once more, by his best enemy. It was shocking how he was more capable of hurting his head than the drums.

"Doctor, please stop chirping away and explain," the Master complained, not needing the whole show and dance he gave his companions. A plain answer would work. "That rather ugly sounding alarm isn't getting any nicer."

[nevermindtherunning]

"Think, think, think, think!" The Doctor muttered furiously looking around.

"Eradicated." His hands fell to his sides and he looked over to the Master as the lightbulb turned on inside. "The people possessed a clairvoyance only know in their race. They were hunted like animals and eradicated..."

The Doctor looks distant, as if still searching his mind, "They must've tried to save themselves by coming to this station..."

[standsonhigh]

"Genocide? Haven't heard that one before," the Master muttered as he looked argue with vague dislike and disgust. Not in empathy, just at the fact that they were stuck here. There didn't seem to be anyone here either so why would they create somewhere to live and survive... just to disappear. Little weird. Unless they either left for a reason or they're hiding.

Neither really made him happy, he just wanted to leave. Surely they had a fire exit somewhere? Or maybe a window to climb out of.

"Doctor, with all due respect, how about we stop trying to deduce where we are and simply go?" The Master suggested, knowing the Doctor would never go for it. Oh now, he wanted to be a big hero, work out the mystery and save the day. Boring. "I mean, really, think about it. This place is deserted, clearly we aren't meant to be here. Do the right thing for once, yes?"

[nevermindtherunning]

"Right, the right thing..." The Doctor wasn't really listening to him as his eyes looked around their surroundings and he took off walking down the area they were in, curious as to why they were possibly placed here.

The answer was most likely they were tricked or lead here for some bigger plan or experiment. He hated that; hated how something must've locked onto the TARDIS and pulled him here. Better yet... "How did you get here?" The Doctor spun on his heels for the briefest of moments, studying his old enemy.

[standsonhigh]

Ah, the famous tune out and ignore. The Doctor was so busy with his own self important nonsense that he never did listen. With a sigh, the Master followed slowly behind him, eyes raking the scenery for some sort of emergency exit. There had to be one. He really didn't want a super fun adventure time with this idiot. Saving good and innocent people from the meanness of evil aliens didn't seem like his kind of thing, just saying.

Raising an eyebrow at the question, the Master remained as guarded as he had before, not wanting to really give anything away. It could be a trap and he wanted to at least pretend what he was doing. Never mind that he didn't come here, didn't know how he was alive and had merely awoken here. Talk about jarring. "None of your business. And it shouldn't matter anyway, I'm leaving. You can stay if you want but I'm gone first chance I get. And I won't even stop to say goodbye."

[nevermindtherunning]

"Listen... Listen. Something isn't right, don't you see? And I'm not talking about these warning signals that are going off. Have you seen anyone else? Anyone?"

The Doctor ruffled his hair in slight frustration, but quickly jerked his head towards the left side when he could hear humming of something mechanical following by vibrations in the floor. Upon closer inspection, the building was being absorbed back in the ground, sinking underneath. A moment later, other buildings were following.

"We need to move."

[standsonhigh]

"Well no but people have a tendency to avoid us," Two strange men appearing then bursting into an argument? Yeah, no, not really something that invited people over to come and have a chat. Especially a timid and targeted race. Still, the Doctor did have a point. It was deserted here and, on some level, creepy as hell. Which was slight embarrassing to admit but hey, he didn't have to say it aloud so no big issue here.

Hurrying along beside the Doctor, he gave the man a slight glare, not willing to admit that he was right on any level. No, they were simply pooling their resources till he could find an exit. Nothing more.

"Move where, genius? Do you happen to magically know the safe points?"

[nevermindtherunning]

"That's what we're about to find out." The Doctor actually waggled his eyebrows for the briefest of moments before dashing down the 'street'. Street is a loose term, but was the most appropriate given it was indeed a street. Lucky for them, traffic wasn't an issue.

"C'mon!" He throws open a door to one of the buildings, curious to know if it'll be absorbed into the ground as well, and what was beneath? Just a holding area or something else entirely? The next question would be WHY were they being absorbed? Typically it was a defensive move... but from what?

"This is exciting..." The Doctor looked around their setting briefly before leaning against the door, watching closely outside.

[standsonhigh]

"Exciting? What universe do you live in? This isn't adventure, this is a hostage situation. Whatever took us here is playing with us. Stop giving them the satisfaction, would you?" he had no intention of doing anything exciting. If there was something out there waiting to get them then he was more than happy to wait for them to show their ugly face. Then maybe he could convince them to let him leave before he found a way to liquefy their insides.

He looked around what was meant to be the building they'd just entered but... it was entirely empty. Like storage but not quite, there was even less inside than one might find in a storage bay. It was a strange contrast to the fake town outside. There wasn't even more than one floor to it. All he could do was stare ahead with a frown on his face.

This place was so well created on the outside but so sparse on the inside. Why would they be so lazy with their interiors?

"You'd think they could of at least tried to make it look more than stark and empty."

[nevermindtherunning]

"It's a trap." The Doctor spoke with no infliction in his voice. "To try and lure others in and then keep them...." He spun on his heels, looking at the Master, "I wonder how many planets, colonies, societies they've fooled."

The bigger question? Who were 'they'? The space station was just floating alone by it's lonesome self right now, no particular orbit or destination, but for long long would that be?

Glancing outside, the Doctor sees it just as a plain facility, nothing special... "Want to go?" There was potential they could become hurt, given there was nothing definite underneath them. For all he knew, it was a leap to their death.

[standsonhigh]

"Who cares? We're here, lets focus on us. And getting out," he didn't want to theorise how many societies were trapped or who had died here, he just wanted to leave and maybe go their own way? Any chance the Doctor would be nice enough to calmly part ways with him? Or was that merely wishful thinking. Because he could do without the epic lecture of goodness he always got.

He was only missing out on it now because there were bigger issues. Namely what was happening around them.

"We may as well, do you see anything else we can do?" the Master pointed out. Though he did simply stand back and gesture for the Doctor to take the lead. If anything is going to kill them, it better kill the Doctor first.

[nevermindtherunning]

The Doctor nods, opening the door, "We need to have a look-see!" There was a door stop he managed and he looked out below them.

His guess was correct - there really wasn't any thing around them but a small door could be seen perhaps ten feet below them. With a mad glint to his eyes, he looked back to the Master? "ALLONS-Y!" And with a grab of his hand, he jumped, tugging the Master with him.

The landing wasn't graceful in the least, with the Doctor landing with a mix of his left shoulder and foot, sliding, rolling, and then a mad scramble for the door. There was some strange force field like nature to this compartment of the space station that he didn't bother figuring out. Just all he knew, he wanted in that door. "C'mon!" He shouted to the Master.

[standsonhigh]

It all happened so fast, his brain could hardly keep up. One moment he was surveying the drop with a vague feeling of annoyance and disinterest, the next the Doctor was yelling something and off they went. Or off the Doctor went, dragging the Master with him before he could even realise and pull away. The fall ended up not being as bad as he assumed it would be in the moment of horrible panic he experienced during the plummet. But he was pretty sure his arm was going to hurt for a good part of the day now.

Just as he started to mental catch up, the Doctor was off and he was forced to scramble after, dazed and confused. "What were you thinking, you idiot?!"

They could of died. Anything could of been down here. Oh he was going to really get the Doctor back for this one, he was going to destroy him. But, well, until the destroying? He'd just follow. Just so he didn't get lost or left behind. Hence the running.

"I really hate you!"

[nevermindtherunning]

"You always say that!" The Doctor spoke between clenched teeth as he sonic-ed the door unlock and struggled to pull upwards with it's weight. Finally, with a loud bang! he had it open.

Looking down, they were clearly coming in from the ceiling, giving them another 10-12 foot drop into a dimly lit hallway. "C'mon!" He spoke with annoyance looking up for the Master. "We might find something interesting!"

He could tell the Master was lollygagging, or worse, knew what was waiting for them.

[standsonhigh]

"And yet you never seem to listen. Always your problem, you never listen," the Master called out as he hurried after the Doctor, not able to do much else but rush after him. And, as he wasn't overly used to running and his shoes definitely weren't made for it, he did struggle to keep up. Sue him, he was a slow move when compared to a certain manic Doctor.

"Oh great, we might. That makes it worth running into danger.

He picked up speed, falling into step with the Doctor as they rushed ahead into the unknown. The Master wished he knew what was happening, he really did. He wished he was leading the Doctor into a trap he'd never escape and he could laugh cruel over it. But no, he was as in the dark as the Doctor. And boy did he loath it.

[nevermindtherunning]

The florescent lights flickered in the hallway, giving way to a very eerie setting as the Doctor strolled onwards like there wasn't a care in the world. Finally, he spun on his heels, nearly pinning the Master against the wall.

"Don't you want to know why were were brought here? There has to be a reason." He spoke hurriedly, as if they had limited time and were bugged. "I believe this station is being a decoy, and I want to find out why."

He watches the shorter Time Lord closely, "How long have you been here? Have you seen anyone?"

[standsonhigh]

Woah, personal space was clearly not an issue then. The Master did't take to being closed in on like this and felt the need to re-establish himself as the more dominant of the pair, wanting to lead and not follow. Hence why he took a step closer to close in the gap, looking up at the Doctor with a sneer on his face.

"I told you, I just woke up here. I haven't seen anyone but you. And, honestly, I wish I hadn't seen you in the first place. You're just leading me on a wild goose chase instead of finding us a way out!"

And, before the Master could say any more, there was a terrible and really strange noise that ripped through the hallway, echoing out. It sounded like a scream but not quite. Like when metal dragged against metal. Only worse. He couldn't make out what it was but it was only there for a moment and then it stopped as soon as it had started.

The lights flickered once more and the Master looked up at the Doctor, baffled. "... What was that?"

[nevermindtherunning]

The Doctor had to secretly admit to enjoying watching the Master try to reassert his dominance and power to him in moments like this, but refrained from making a comment when that horrid noise occurred.

"I have no idea." His head nearly snapped off as he quickly turned in the direction it occurred, brows furrowed and mouth slightly ajar. "It sounded almost mechanical in nature..." It was only a guess as he took a step back from the Master and began slowly walking in that direction until there was a fork in the hallway.

"Left or right?" He found it suspicious that no one had come to greet them yet. "Have you noticed any cameras?" He hadn't, but wondered how advanced the technology was here.

[standsonhigh]

The Master looked both left and right, pulled a face of annoyance, then gestured right. It was on the Doctor's side so he'd have to go first and besides, it was probably the safer option, he was sure the noise came from the left... right? It had to of. Maybe. He didn't even remember, he just knew he wanted to leave.

"I haven't seen any cameras or anything. If I had, I would of mentioned them. What with them seeming important and all."

He really wished the Doctor wouldn't ask him dumb questions like that, it was just embarrassing. "Look, just go right and we'll see what happens. There has to be an exit somewhere. Or at least something more than tunnels. And if there's a monster or a giant robot banshee, I'm sure you can handle in."

He, on the other hand, will be happily running away.

[nevermindtherunning]

The Doctor nods and presses onwards down the right corridor when the lights shut off, leaving them completely in the dark.

Fishing through his pockets, the Doctor manages to find a torch, but stands completely still for a second, before tilting his head back. "I don't suppose that's you touching my leg?"

It started at his ankle, then his calf, rising higher and higher. Quickly, he flashes the light on his leg to find a snake slithering upwards. "Where did you come from!?"

[standsonhigh]

"Why would I touch your leg?" Was clearly a very important question? Seriously, did he look like the sort of person who just used the dark as an excuse to take a grope? Cause if he did, he seriously needed to change his look. He was going for suave, not predator with touching issues.

Turning his head, he looked at the thing going up the Doctor's leg, recoiling with disgust. And, as he stepped back, he felt something had under his heel and yelped, turning his head to see another snake hissing and slithering away.

Oh joy of joys, snakes everywhere. Just what they needed to add to a darken hallway with no way out. "Doctor, there's more! Just keep moving!" He wasn't about to hang about and get bitten, thanks. Reaching out, he grasped onto the Doctor's arm and held on, giving him a look. "Shut up, you're my only source of light. Just keep on going."

[nevermindtherunning]

The Doctor stumbles forward, nearly losing his balance and then hoping on one leg to try and rid himself of his newly found reptile friend from his leg.

They made it further down the hall, when that metal-like sound made it's noise again, causing the Doctor to stop. "That was definitely mechanical in nature." He flashed his torch down the corridor they came from and saw in the distance the entrance was now blocked off.

"Alright, we definitely need to move now." Because being trapped with snakes definitely wasn't an idea of a good time.

He dashes forward with the Master with him until they found the end of the corridor with two doors on each side. "I'll open this one, you that one."

[standsonhigh]

"Mechanical? Oh, brilliant, of course. I never would of guessed," the Master mocked, unable to help himself. Why did some people have to be so bloody dense? How was that at all a revelation? He'd already put two and two together after the first horrendous noise produced by this place.

As they came to a halt, the Master eyed his door then the Doctors, as if he could work out which one was the better one. In the end, he nodded in determination, not that he really wanted to be brave right now.

"Don't shut the door behind you."

If they kept them open, they couldn't get locked in... right? With a sigh, he shoved the door open and hurried inside, coming to a halt when he realised there was no light source in this room. Okay, brilliant, now what? "Does your room have a light?"