[oncoming_storms] - If everything is under control, you are going too slow (Mario Andretti)
Happy belated birthday and Christmas to the wonderful brigadiertardis! She requested a story involving C'rizz, Oliver, and the TARDIS. This was...an interesting challenge. I hope the results are enjoyable! C'rizz is taken from early in Other Lives. Oliver is coming from the midst of the events he recounts in Attachments.
C’rizz sighed, watching idly as people passed by on the scanner. At first it had been very interesting, observing these people from Earth in 1851--looking at their clothing, listening to how they spoke, seeing how they reacted to the Great Exhibition, or at least specifically to the small bit that he had view of with the TARDIS currently parked in the midst of musical instruments. However, his interest faded rather quickly. He suspected the problem was mostly that he’d much rather be out there experiencing this himself. He did understand why a Eutermesan shouldn’t venture out into Victorian London, but that couldn’t stop him from feeling sour about it.
So he’d taken to reading instead, wondering just how long the Doctor and Charley were going to be out there enjoying themselves--or finding mortal danger, as the journey usually went.
Little did he suspect that he was the one about to find mortal danger. There was no prelude of any kind, no sort of warning. C’rizz was just sitting, reading a book, when he suddenly heard a very familiar noise. At the sound, he jumped up, looking around. No one was there--but the TARDIS’ central column was now moving.
C’rizz stared first at the apparatus, then at the incomprehensible controls. Had he pressed something? Moved a lever somewhere? The TARDIS couldn’t be taking off on its own!
Not sure what else he could do, C’rizz was about to start pressing buttons and hoping for the best. However, the TARDIS then gave a sudden violent lurch. He grabbed for the console, just managing to keep his balance. “What-!?” he started, but the ship abruptly lurched in the other direction, and it was all he could do not to fall over that way. C’rizz swiftly reached for the controls, knowing that he was as likely to make this worse as better. He pressed a button.
The TARDIS made an unnervingly familiar noise of denial in response. C’rizz scowled, frustrated, and grabbed a lever, but it wouldn’t budge.
The ship lurched again. At a complete loss for what to do now, C’rizz concentrated on keeping himself as upright as possible as the TARDIS was thrown violently from side-to-side by some unknown force for several minutes.
And then, as abruptly as it had begun, it all stopped.
C’rizz reached for the scanner switch. So much for a boring day...
***
Once the Doctor had left to deal with the monster, Oliver Day turned to the familiar inside of the TARDIS, his mind still numb with shock and fear. He half-stumbled to the console, sitting on the floor and leaning against it, breathing hard. He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to convince his heart to stop pounding. Not to mention trying to wrap his mind around everything that had just happened...
Well, if he’d needed proof that his memories of the Doctor were real, he certainly had it now. Even so, he still couldn’t quite believe it. For one, how could the monster have survived? How could it have still been there, waiting for him? And then there was the matter of how the Doctor, despite months of absence, could possibly have known to come back there at the very moment that Oliver needed him. And now here he was, back in the TARDIS. Really back in the TARDIS. He could feel the console humming against his back, as if trying to calm him herself. He tilted his head up, smiling at her central column. “Amazing as ever, aren’t you, TARDIS?” he murmured, still slightly breathless.
As if in reply, a familiar noise started to emanate from the column, and his eyes widened as he watched it begin to move.
“What? Wait, no! The Doctor-!” Oliver immediately pulled himself to his feet, looking at the controls as if he expected to somehow be able to stop what he knew was happening. “Doctor?” he called, uncertainly. Could he have come in without Oliver’s noticing?
But Oliver was most definitely alone in the console room, and he could clearly feel that the TARDIS was now in flight. He stared at the levers in front of him. Even if he could make the TARDIS stop, how could he bring her back? And how had this happened, anyway? He certainly hadn’t touched anything!
He swallowed hard. “TARDIS, what are you doing?” he asked uncertainly. “Are you doing this? I mean--whoa!”
The TARDIS jerked sharply, the ride quite abruptly growing very bumpy. Oliver lost his balance, falling over backwards. He tried to pull himself up, only to wind up clutching equipment as the ship rocked back and forth. “What’s...happening!?” he cried, although he knew there was little chance of receiving an answer.
But he did get an answer of a sort--the shaking stopped as the TARDIS landed...somewhere.
Oliver pulled himself to his feet, holding onto the console just in case. He reached for one of the few switches he did know, turning on the scanner. Looking outside, he could see that he was in a warehouse. But what was really shocking was what was in the warehouse with him--right across from him, in fact. Tall and blue and identical in every way.
“Another TARDIS!?”
***
The two TARDIS’ doors opened simultaneously, both of their inhabitants poking their heads out and giving dubious looks at each other. When they caught proper sight of each other, however, only C’rizz’s look remained dubious. Oliver’s shifted to excited surprise.
“You’re not the Doctor,” C’rizz said. “Who are you, and what is that?” He gestured at the other TARDIS.
“You’re an alien!” Oliver declared, almost in unison with him. “Do you travel with the Doctor, then? Is he here?”
C’rizz blinked at him. Oliver’s face lit up in a grin.
“You travel with the Doctor?” C’rizz asked.
Oliver nodded. “You, too.” It wasn’t a question.
“But how can that be?”
“Different times, I’m guessing.” Oliver made a face. “Actually, if that’s the case, I’m betting we shouldn’t ask each other too much. I’m Oliver, by the way. Oliver Day.”
“My name is C’rizz,” C’rizz replied. “And if you’re asking me if the Doctor is here, I take it he’s not with you?”
Oliver shook his head, smiling wryly. “You’re not going to believe this, but the TARDIS spontaneously took off without him. I think.”
C’rizz quirked an eyebrow. “The same thing happened to me. That’s strange.”
Oliver frowned thoughtfully. “Unless the TARDIS had something in mind...”
“You think this is the TARDIS’ doing?”
Oliver shrugged. “Got any other ideas?”
“Point taken.” C’rizz glanced at the warehouse around them, stepping outside of the TARDIS, but he turned back to the door behind him, looking at it dubiously without closing it. “You don’t happen to carry a TARDIS key, do you?”
“Uh...not at the moment,” Oliver admitted awkwardly. He had no idea what had happened to his key after the explosion that had separated him from the Doctor in the first place. Even so, he also stepped outside the TARDIS, debating whether he was better off leaving the door slightly ajar--with all the danger that opened up--or locking himself out on purpose and hoping things turned out for the better.
In the end, neither of them had a choice. The instant both were clear of the doors, they slammed themselves shut simultaneously.
C’rizz and Oliver both jumped.
Oliver made a face. “TARDIS, just what are you getting us into?”
“Probably the same sort of thing she always gets us into,” C’rizz replied dryly.
“Now, that’s no way to talk about the TARDIS!” Oliver protested, patting the box. Then he tried the door. “Nope, definitely locked. All right, then. Looks like it’s time to explore!”
C’rizz just looked at him.
“What?” Oliver asked.
“You’re very...cheerful about all this.”
Oliver grinned. “I’ve missed it! C’mon, let’s see where the TARDIS brought us!”
A companion of the Doctor who missed traveling? C’rizz filed that piece of information away thoughtfully and followed Oliver away from the wall where the two TARDISes had materialized across from each other.
The warehouse appeared to be one very huge room, although parts of it were obscured by shelving. It was hard to tell what exactly the purpose of the facilities were as the warehouse seemed to be storing a bit of everything. The part of the room in which they stood was littered with bikes and scooters--all broken. Beyond that, to the left, was a corner devoted to furniture--empty shelving, desks, chairs, benches. Most of it looked old and dilapidated, and much was also broken. Then there was the shelving that was there for storage. One area of it was covered with computers that must have been old judging by the dust gathered on them. Other areas held other types of machines and equipment--tools, lamps, CD players, typewriters, projectors. In the distance, they could see more shelving, including a section holding office supplies and another section that appeared to be devoted to books of a variety of shapes, kinds, and ages.
“Some sort of storage facility,” C’rizz commented. “Can you tell when this is?”
Oliver frowned. “Well, the computers and CD players and all look kinda like my era. Early 21st century, I mean. But there’s a lot of random old stuff in here, too. And I have no idea what that is.” He pointed at a machine sitting beside one of the shelving units. It had a thick base dotted with lights and a column sticking out of the center that looked rather like a green lava lamp with a large metal shade on top covered in controls and levers.
“Alien technology, maybe?” C’rizz suggested.
“Oh yeah, I’m betting on that.”
C’rizz frowned, and Oliver raised a questioning eyebrow at him. “What?”
“I’ve never heard your accent before.”
“Hah! And I’ve never met a giant posh lizard before. No offense, of course. A friend of the Doctor is a friend of mine, and I’ve got nothing against aliens in general. As long as you’re not, like, trying to destroy the Earth or kill the human race or something. Which I don’t for a minute think you are!” he added quickly. “Out of curiosity, what are you, anyway?”
“I’m a Eutermesan,” C’rizz said with a slight sigh. He was getting rather tired of this routine.
“Is it just me, or are you changing color as we go?”
“Yes. It’s a natural ability,” he replied quickly, trying to move beyond this topic.
Oliver, however, would not be deterred. In fact, his enthusiasm seemed to be growing. “That’s a pretty awesome ability! Could you blend into stuff if you wanted to?”
C’rizz glanced at him, surprised by his excitement. “Yes. But I think we should be focusing on the task at hand.”
“What, and miss this opportunity?” Oliver asked, grinning again. But he turned to survey the warehouse as they headed toward the shelving units. “All right. I vote we examine that alien machine first, and then we see what’s outside this room.”
“Are you any good with machines?” C’rizz asked, glad to have gotten at least an ounce of seriousness out of this young man. He really wished the Doctor were here instead.
“No, but pressing buttons usually leads to some sort of results.” Oliver glanced at C’rizz, then added. “That was a joke. Well, for the moment. Depends on what else we find.”
C’rizz decided it was best not to comment. Instead, he knelt down beside the alien device.
“Any idea what it might do?” Oliver asked.
C’rizz shook his head. “It has controls for something.” He gestured at all the buttons and levers on top of it.
“Hmmm...” Oliver frowned thoughtfully. “Something external, you mean? Like a big remote? That could definitely be the case. Wonder if we could find out what-”
“We probably can, by finding the people who own it or what other alien technology is around here,” C’rizz interrupted quickly before Oliver could get any ideas about buttons.
“Good thought. Now we just have to find the door...” Oliver started down one of the aisles. “Want to stick together or split up?”
Before C’rizz could answer, a loud hum began behind him. He turned, not as surprised as he might have been to note that the lights on the strange machine they had just left were now glowing and the goo inside it was beginning to swirl.
“That’s probably not good,” Oliver observed helpfully.
That was all he had time to say before the lights changed from white to green and the machine gave a disturbingly cheerful beep.
C’rizz tackled Oliver to the ground as the room around them burst into explosions. He stayed on top of him, head down, in case anything fell from above. This was one of those situations where he was extremely glad he was exoskeletal. Humans, he’d long since realized, just had no chance against any sort of blunt force.
The Eutermesan waited a moment after everything seemed to have stopped before he got back up, surveying the damage.
Whatever those explosions had been meant for, it wasn’t to take out the warehouse itself--or didn’t seem to have been, at least. Entire sections of stored materials had been reduced to rubble, but the room itself, as well as many of its contents, had been left completely intact.
“Trying to hide something, maybe?” C’rizz muttered to himself. It was at this time that he realized Oliver hadn’t gotten up. Concerned, looked down at the man, about to kneel to help him up. “Oliver? Are you hurt?”
Oliver lifted his head then, and, for an instant, C’rizz caught a glimpse of abject terror in his eyes. But the young man shook his head, taking several deep breaths. “Nope. Fine, ‘cause of you. Thanks, by the way.” He gave C’rizz a smile, although it was only surface-deep. Something about the explosions had shaken him very badly.
C’rizz straightened, offering him a hand. “It looks like the building’s still safe.”
Oliver nodded numbly, allowing C’rizz to help him to his feet. At the Eutermesan’s questioning glance, he ran a hand through his hair. “Had a...bad experience...with an explosion. Recently. Be fine in a mo’.” He gave a reassuring smile. “So...do you remember what was in those sections?” He gestured at the burnt remains of shelving.
C’rizz gave him a look. “Earth equipment.”
“Ohh, yeah. Sorry, C’rizz, forgot for a minute there. Let’s see... Definitely had computers over there. And those are obviously TV remains. Looks like electronics are missing, mostly, but-”
Oliver cut off abruptly as the machine began to hum again. He and C’rizz exchanged a look, and they both rushed over to it, this time C’rizz making no complaints as Oliver began pressing buttons.
“It’s gotta be some sort of timer detonator,” the young man mumbled to himself, pressing controls randomly and wishing they had the Doctor here. He at least would have had a chance of understanding the machine!
The lights were growing steadily brighter, the goo inside growing more agitated, swirling faster. C’rizz stood beside him, ready to hold him down again the instant things began to explode. “What are you doing?”
“Absolutely nothing!” Oliver replied in frustration. He gave the bottom of the machine a kick, and the central column rocked as a result. Oliver stared.
At the same time, however, the lights at the base turned green, and there was another happy beep. C’rizz pushed him hurriedly to the ground, where they both braced themselves for more explosions.
To their surprise, the sound of explosions was distant this time--like the demolition of a next-door building. Slowly, they both got back up, looking around them uncertainly.
“So it’s detonating explosives in multiple facilities, then?” C’rizz asked.
Oliver had a strange look on his face. “Yeah, seems like it. I’ve...seen something like this once before, actually.”
C’rizz raised an eyebrow. “Really? What do you know about it?”
Oliver stuck out his foot, pushing the column so that it shifted on its base--revealing a logo. It looked like a green blob of slime with purple lettering reading simply “RSTN.”
“Riksuktonians,” the two said at the same time. Then they blinked at each other.
“I’m starting to understand why the TARDIS sent us here specifically,” Oliver commented.
“Two of the Doctor’s companions who have both met them.”
They left unspoken the question of why she couldn’t have just sent the Doctor. Instead, the two shared a look before Oliver knelt beside the base. C’rizz grabbed hold of the central column. “I’ll shift it, and you see if you can reach the button.”
“You know, you’d think they’d eventually figure out that building the same failsafe into every piece of their equipment is rather obvious.”
“Not if all the races they encounter get destroyed by it.”
Oliver glanced up at the Eutermesan. “I see your point.” He focused back on the column, continuing, “Then we better get on with stopping this thing before it blows up everything on the planet containing electrommphs...” The last of his words became muffled as he ducked his head down by the machine’s base, waiting for C’rizz to move the column.
The Eutermesan braced himself, groaning as he fought to shift the column past the point to which its wobbling had brought it before.
Oliver whistled. “You’re super strong, too! Give me a warning before you let it move back, okay? I’d rather not lose my hands.”
C’rizz was too busy straining to reply, although the grunt he gave acted suitably well as a request for haste.
Oliver shifted positions, trying to peer into the newly opened space. He grinned. “Big red button!” And he reached a hand in, pressing it firmly.
The machine gave a huge shudder, jerking the column from C’rizz’s grasp. Oliver yanked his hand back, just getting it out of the way before the central column returned to its original position.
The two took a moment to catch their breath, watching the machine react--C’rizz from above it and Oliver from the floor. The green goo, which had not yet stopped its swirling from its previous activation, was now slowing down.
After a moment of observing in silence, Oliver broke in with, “You think that did it?”
“I imagine we’ll find out in a minute.”
“Well, it’s definitely powering down,” Oliver observed as the green goo inside the column slowed its movement to a crawl.
C’rizz had his eyes focused elsewhere. “But we’ll really know for sure that we’ve foiled their plans when they arrive.”
Oliver’s stomach dropped at that, and he turned to where C’rizz was looking. He swore.
“Well, I can now say I’ve seen a Riksuktonian in person,” C’rizz commented, wondering if his current companion’s optimism was starting to rub off.
Oliver glanced up at him. “You didn’t last time? You weren’t missing much.”
“Not much” wasn’t a bad description, really, for the diminutive alien blobs now sliding across the floor towards them. They appeared to be some sort of blue slime creatures, with no appendages and green eyes that glowed through the muck. They were only about as high as Oliver’s knees and didn’t quite reach C’rizz’s. Still, each one appeared to be holding a knife-like object in some sort of inner hand, the weapons protruding in a very threatening manner from their slimy foreheads. On top of that, there were eleven of them.
“You don’t happen to know a trick for defeating the Riksuktonians, do you?” Oliver asked.
“Just electronics,” C’rizz replied. “Which they’ve already blown up.”
“Then we’re running!” Oliver grabbed C’rizz by the arm as he took off. Behind them, the blobs were advancing, leaving a trail of ooze as they came.
The Eutermesan quickly pulled away from the human, running on ahead. “The TARDIS!”
Oliver’s eyes widened in understanding, and he grinned. “Perfect!” He decided to omit the “if we can get in.” The TARDIS had gotten them into this; she’d be willing to get them out. Right? Of course!
Unfortunately, the blobs of goo could “run” faster than a human could.
“They’re gaining on me!” Oliver cried in alarm even as they neared the two blue boxes. “TARDIS! TARDIS, let us in! TARDISes! TARDISI? Open, please!”
C’rizz got to them as Oliver was yelling, and the Eutermesan set a hand on the TARDIS in which he had arrived. The door flew open, and momentum caused him to half-fall inside.
At which point Oliver abruptly skidded to a stop, turning on the aliens. “All right, Riksuktonians, I AM A DISTRACTION! Get me!” And he made a quick right, running away from the TARDISes.
Only half the aliens followed him. Oliver stopped again, grabbing a broken bicycle and sending it wheeling wildly toward the crowd of them, swiftly followed by a second one. He then moved up an aisle, sending three desk chairs their way, although one fell over only a foot or so in front of him due to missing wheels. “C’rizz!” he yelled. “Little help soon!?”
***
The Eutermesan was currently discovering that the only time the TARDIS was devoid of random things was exactly when you needed some. He had already gone through the console room, but the books and tea set he’d found would do nothing against these creatures.
Venturing further into the TARDIS, however, he soon found the perfect weapon.
***
Oliver was backed up against a wall, six aliens with knives about to reach him. Five others weren’t far away, moving in the opposite direction, and they were only just short of entering the TARDIS. Well, he thought, there you had it. The Doctor had saved his life--again--only for him to put it right back in danger. And without even a chance to talk to the Doctor first... At least he’d gotten to visit with the TARDIS, anyway.
Speaking of...what was that sound coming from the TARDIS?
Oliver jerked himself from his reverie, focusing on a distant noise that was definitely coming from the same direction as the two blue boxes. It started like a repeating beat, growing slowly louder...resolving itself into a tune? It reminded him of a TV theme song of some kind.
The Riksuktonians had no such innocuous impressions. The blobs immediately began to squirm in pain, three of them dropping their knives within seconds.
Oliver’s eyes widened, and he broke out in a grin. “Louder, C’rizz!” he called.
The Eutermesan gave no response, but the music most definitely grew louder, pouring out some sort of very sci-fi tune.
Something very sci-fi that was shaking their blobby alien enemies to pieces.
C’rizz stuck his head out of the TARDIS to see what was happening.
“You’ve just saved the Earth!” Oliver called across to him.
C’rizz smiled.
***
The two travelers stood across from each other in the doorways of their respective TARDISes. The floor nearby was littered with broken furniture and puddles of blue, as well as the burned-out evidence of explosions and the remains of a very smashed, very alien piece of technology. At the moment, however, both companions were thinking only of going home.
“The minute we step in, she’s going to shut the doors and take us back,” Oliver commented.
C’rizz nodded in agreement. Then, thoughtfully, “Do you think the Doctor knows about this?”
The other man considered that. “Probably. But if he doesn’t, it’ll make quite the story!”
The Eutermesan didn’t share in his grin, instead looking pensive. “Like you said before, we don’t know what times we’re from. Wouldn’t that be a bit dangerous to share?”
Oliver opened his mouth as though to protest, but he seemed to think better of it. “Yeah. Yeah, you’re right. Guess this’ll just be our adventure, then.” He grinned.
“And the TARDIS’,” C’rizz added, looking up at the blue box with a fondness he did not usually show her.
“Oh yeah.” Oliver patted the doorframe of his TARDIS. “Thanks for the adventure!” he said to her. And,” he added, focusing back on C’rizz, “Good to meet you, friend Eutermesan!”
“You too, Oliver.”
The young man made to respond, but the TARDISes must have decided that was enough as the two were shunted inside by her abruptly closing doors.
In both TARDISes, the central column began to move, sending the travelers back to their rightful places in space and time.
***
The Doctor opened the TARDIS’ doors to find Oliver standing at the console, watching the central column thoughtfully. The man broke out in his usual manic grin. “So...ready to go on some new adventures?” he asked.
Oliver turned to him with a bright smile that was a far cry from the shock and fear in which the Doctor had left him. “Am I ever!” he declared.
***
“C’rizz, can you hear me? No one’s looking. Open the door! Can you hear me?”
C’rizz jumped at the sound of Charley’s voice, shaken from his thoughts. “I can hear you! I can hear you! Don’t be so impatient,” he replied as he worked the controls. He watched the doors open up on the musical instruments section of the Great Exhibition.
A breathless Charley came racing inside. “I didn’t want anyone to see me getting into the TARDIS,” she confided. Then, having taken a good look at him, she quirked an eyebrow. “Have you been asleep?”
“No!” C’rizz protested immediately. “I’ve been...reading.”
And, as stealthily as he could, he used his foot to nudge a boombox out of sight behind the console. This was, for once, an adventure that he wouldn’t be sharing.
C'rizz (and Oliver)
4253 words
C’rizz sighed, watching idly as people passed by on the scanner. At first it had been very interesting, observing these people from Earth in 1851--looking at their clothing, listening to how they spoke, seeing how they reacted to the Great Exhibition, or at least specifically to the small bit that he had view of with the TARDIS currently parked in the midst of musical instruments. However, his interest faded rather quickly. He suspected the problem was mostly that he’d much rather be out there experiencing this himself. He did understand why a Eutermesan shouldn’t venture out into Victorian London, but that couldn’t stop him from feeling sour about it.
So he’d taken to reading instead, wondering just how long the Doctor and Charley were going to be out there enjoying themselves--or finding mortal danger, as the journey usually went.
Little did he suspect that he was the one about to find mortal danger. There was no prelude of any kind, no sort of warning. C’rizz was just sitting, reading a book, when he suddenly heard a very familiar noise. At the sound, he jumped up, looking around. No one was there--but the TARDIS’ central column was now moving.
C’rizz stared first at the apparatus, then at the incomprehensible controls. Had he pressed something? Moved a lever somewhere? The TARDIS couldn’t be taking off on its own!
Not sure what else he could do, C’rizz was about to start pressing buttons and hoping for the best. However, the TARDIS then gave a sudden violent lurch. He grabbed for the console, just managing to keep his balance. “What-!?” he started, but the ship abruptly lurched in the other direction, and it was all he could do not to fall over that way. C’rizz swiftly reached for the controls, knowing that he was as likely to make this worse as better. He pressed a button.
The TARDIS made an unnervingly familiar noise of denial in response. C’rizz scowled, frustrated, and grabbed a lever, but it wouldn’t budge.
The ship lurched again. At a complete loss for what to do now, C’rizz concentrated on keeping himself as upright as possible as the TARDIS was thrown violently from side-to-side by some unknown force for several minutes.
And then, as abruptly as it had begun, it all stopped.
C’rizz reached for the scanner switch. So much for a boring day...
***
Once the Doctor had left to deal with the monster, Oliver Day turned to the familiar inside of the TARDIS, his mind still numb with shock and fear. He half-stumbled to the console, sitting on the floor and leaning against it, breathing hard. He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to convince his heart to stop pounding. Not to mention trying to wrap his mind around everything that had just happened...
Well, if he’d needed proof that his memories of the Doctor were real, he certainly had it now. Even so, he still couldn’t quite believe it. For one, how could the monster have survived? How could it have still been there, waiting for him? And then there was the matter of how the Doctor, despite months of absence, could possibly have known to come back there at the very moment that Oliver needed him. And now here he was, back in the TARDIS. Really back in the TARDIS. He could feel the console humming against his back, as if trying to calm him herself. He tilted his head up, smiling at her central column. “Amazing as ever, aren’t you, TARDIS?” he murmured, still slightly breathless.
As if in reply, a familiar noise started to emanate from the column, and his eyes widened as he watched it begin to move.
“What? Wait, no! The Doctor-!” Oliver immediately pulled himself to his feet, looking at the controls as if he expected to somehow be able to stop what he knew was happening. “Doctor?” he called, uncertainly. Could he have come in without Oliver’s noticing?
But Oliver was most definitely alone in the console room, and he could clearly feel that the TARDIS was now in flight. He stared at the levers in front of him. Even if he could make the TARDIS stop, how could he bring her back? And how had this happened, anyway? He certainly hadn’t touched anything!
He swallowed hard. “TARDIS, what are you doing?” he asked uncertainly. “Are you doing this? I mean--whoa!”
The TARDIS jerked sharply, the ride quite abruptly growing very bumpy. Oliver lost his balance, falling over backwards. He tried to pull himself up, only to wind up clutching equipment as the ship rocked back and forth. “What’s...happening!?” he cried, although he knew there was little chance of receiving an answer.
But he did get an answer of a sort--the shaking stopped as the TARDIS landed...somewhere.
Oliver pulled himself to his feet, holding onto the console just in case. He reached for one of the few switches he did know, turning on the scanner. Looking outside, he could see that he was in a warehouse. But what was really shocking was what was in the warehouse with him--right across from him, in fact. Tall and blue and identical in every way.
“Another TARDIS!?”
***
The two TARDIS’ doors opened simultaneously, both of their inhabitants poking their heads out and giving dubious looks at each other. When they caught proper sight of each other, however, only C’rizz’s look remained dubious. Oliver’s shifted to excited surprise.
“You’re not the Doctor,” C’rizz said. “Who are you, and what is that?” He gestured at the other TARDIS.
“You’re an alien!” Oliver declared, almost in unison with him. “Do you travel with the Doctor, then? Is he here?”
C’rizz blinked at him. Oliver’s face lit up in a grin.
“You travel with the Doctor?” C’rizz asked.
Oliver nodded. “You, too.” It wasn’t a question.
“But how can that be?”
“Different times, I’m guessing.” Oliver made a face. “Actually, if that’s the case, I’m betting we shouldn’t ask each other too much. I’m Oliver, by the way. Oliver Day.”
“My name is C’rizz,” C’rizz replied. “And if you’re asking me if the Doctor is here, I take it he’s not with you?”
Oliver shook his head, smiling wryly. “You’re not going to believe this, but the TARDIS spontaneously took off without him. I think.”
C’rizz quirked an eyebrow. “The same thing happened to me. That’s strange.”
Oliver frowned thoughtfully. “Unless the TARDIS had something in mind...”
“You think this is the TARDIS’ doing?”
Oliver shrugged. “Got any other ideas?”
“Point taken.” C’rizz glanced at the warehouse around them, stepping outside of the TARDIS, but he turned back to the door behind him, looking at it dubiously without closing it. “You don’t happen to carry a TARDIS key, do you?”
“Uh...not at the moment,” Oliver admitted awkwardly. He had no idea what had happened to his key after the explosion that had separated him from the Doctor in the first place. Even so, he also stepped outside the TARDIS, debating whether he was better off leaving the door slightly ajar--with all the danger that opened up--or locking himself out on purpose and hoping things turned out for the better.
In the end, neither of them had a choice. The instant both were clear of the doors, they slammed themselves shut simultaneously.
C’rizz and Oliver both jumped.
Oliver made a face. “TARDIS, just what are you getting us into?”
“Probably the same sort of thing she always gets us into,” C’rizz replied dryly.
“Now, that’s no way to talk about the TARDIS!” Oliver protested, patting the box. Then he tried the door. “Nope, definitely locked. All right, then. Looks like it’s time to explore!”
C’rizz just looked at him.
“What?” Oliver asked.
“You’re very...cheerful about all this.”
Oliver grinned. “I’ve missed it! C’mon, let’s see where the TARDIS brought us!”
A companion of the Doctor who missed traveling? C’rizz filed that piece of information away thoughtfully and followed Oliver away from the wall where the two TARDISes had materialized across from each other.
The warehouse appeared to be one very huge room, although parts of it were obscured by shelving. It was hard to tell what exactly the purpose of the facilities were as the warehouse seemed to be storing a bit of everything. The part of the room in which they stood was littered with bikes and scooters--all broken. Beyond that, to the left, was a corner devoted to furniture--empty shelving, desks, chairs, benches. Most of it looked old and dilapidated, and much was also broken. Then there was the shelving that was there for storage. One area of it was covered with computers that must have been old judging by the dust gathered on them. Other areas held other types of machines and equipment--tools, lamps, CD players, typewriters, projectors. In the distance, they could see more shelving, including a section holding office supplies and another section that appeared to be devoted to books of a variety of shapes, kinds, and ages.
“Some sort of storage facility,” C’rizz commented. “Can you tell when this is?”
Oliver frowned. “Well, the computers and CD players and all look kinda like my era. Early 21st century, I mean. But there’s a lot of random old stuff in here, too. And I have no idea what that is.” He pointed at a machine sitting beside one of the shelving units. It had a thick base dotted with lights and a column sticking out of the center that looked rather like a green lava lamp with a large metal shade on top covered in controls and levers.
“Alien technology, maybe?” C’rizz suggested.
“Oh yeah, I’m betting on that.”
C’rizz frowned, and Oliver raised a questioning eyebrow at him. “What?”
“I’ve never heard your accent before.”
“Hah! And I’ve never met a giant posh lizard before. No offense, of course. A friend of the Doctor is a friend of mine, and I’ve got nothing against aliens in general. As long as you’re not, like, trying to destroy the Earth or kill the human race or something. Which I don’t for a minute think you are!” he added quickly. “Out of curiosity, what are you, anyway?”
“I’m a Eutermesan,” C’rizz said with a slight sigh. He was getting rather tired of this routine.
“Is it just me, or are you changing color as we go?”
“Yes. It’s a natural ability,” he replied quickly, trying to move beyond this topic.
Oliver, however, would not be deterred. In fact, his enthusiasm seemed to be growing. “That’s a pretty awesome ability! Could you blend into stuff if you wanted to?”
C’rizz glanced at him, surprised by his excitement. “Yes. But I think we should be focusing on the task at hand.”
“What, and miss this opportunity?” Oliver asked, grinning again. But he turned to survey the warehouse as they headed toward the shelving units. “All right. I vote we examine that alien machine first, and then we see what’s outside this room.”
“Are you any good with machines?” C’rizz asked, glad to have gotten at least an ounce of seriousness out of this young man. He really wished the Doctor were here instead.
“No, but pressing buttons usually leads to some sort of results.” Oliver glanced at C’rizz, then added. “That was a joke. Well, for the moment. Depends on what else we find.”
C’rizz decided it was best not to comment. Instead, he knelt down beside the alien device.
“Any idea what it might do?” Oliver asked.
C’rizz shook his head. “It has controls for something.” He gestured at all the buttons and levers on top of it.
“Hmmm...” Oliver frowned thoughtfully. “Something external, you mean? Like a big remote? That could definitely be the case. Wonder if we could find out what-”
“We probably can, by finding the people who own it or what other alien technology is around here,” C’rizz interrupted quickly before Oliver could get any ideas about buttons.
“Good thought. Now we just have to find the door...” Oliver started down one of the aisles. “Want to stick together or split up?”
Before C’rizz could answer, a loud hum began behind him. He turned, not as surprised as he might have been to note that the lights on the strange machine they had just left were now glowing and the goo inside it was beginning to swirl.
“That’s probably not good,” Oliver observed helpfully.
That was all he had time to say before the lights changed from white to green and the machine gave a disturbingly cheerful beep.
C’rizz tackled Oliver to the ground as the room around them burst into explosions. He stayed on top of him, head down, in case anything fell from above. This was one of those situations where he was extremely glad he was exoskeletal. Humans, he’d long since realized, just had no chance against any sort of blunt force.
The Eutermesan waited a moment after everything seemed to have stopped before he got back up, surveying the damage.
Whatever those explosions had been meant for, it wasn’t to take out the warehouse itself--or didn’t seem to have been, at least. Entire sections of stored materials had been reduced to rubble, but the room itself, as well as many of its contents, had been left completely intact.
“Trying to hide something, maybe?” C’rizz muttered to himself. It was at this time that he realized Oliver hadn’t gotten up. Concerned, looked down at the man, about to kneel to help him up. “Oliver? Are you hurt?”
Oliver lifted his head then, and, for an instant, C’rizz caught a glimpse of abject terror in his eyes. But the young man shook his head, taking several deep breaths. “Nope. Fine, ‘cause of you. Thanks, by the way.” He gave C’rizz a smile, although it was only surface-deep. Something about the explosions had shaken him very badly.
C’rizz straightened, offering him a hand. “It looks like the building’s still safe.”
Oliver nodded numbly, allowing C’rizz to help him to his feet. At the Eutermesan’s questioning glance, he ran a hand through his hair. “Had a...bad experience...with an explosion. Recently. Be fine in a mo’.” He gave a reassuring smile. “So...do you remember what was in those sections?” He gestured at the burnt remains of shelving.
C’rizz gave him a look. “Earth equipment.”
“Ohh, yeah. Sorry, C’rizz, forgot for a minute there. Let’s see... Definitely had computers over there. And those are obviously TV remains. Looks like electronics are missing, mostly, but-”
Oliver cut off abruptly as the machine began to hum again. He and C’rizz exchanged a look, and they both rushed over to it, this time C’rizz making no complaints as Oliver began pressing buttons.
“It’s gotta be some sort of timer detonator,” the young man mumbled to himself, pressing controls randomly and wishing they had the Doctor here. He at least would have had a chance of understanding the machine!
The lights were growing steadily brighter, the goo inside growing more agitated, swirling faster. C’rizz stood beside him, ready to hold him down again the instant things began to explode. “What are you doing?”
“Absolutely nothing!” Oliver replied in frustration. He gave the bottom of the machine a kick, and the central column rocked as a result. Oliver stared.
At the same time, however, the lights at the base turned green, and there was another happy beep. C’rizz pushed him hurriedly to the ground, where they both braced themselves for more explosions.
To their surprise, the sound of explosions was distant this time--like the demolition of a next-door building. Slowly, they both got back up, looking around them uncertainly.
“So it’s detonating explosives in multiple facilities, then?” C’rizz asked.
Oliver had a strange look on his face. “Yeah, seems like it. I’ve...seen something like this once before, actually.”
C’rizz raised an eyebrow. “Really? What do you know about it?”
Oliver stuck out his foot, pushing the column so that it shifted on its base--revealing a logo. It looked like a green blob of slime with purple lettering reading simply “RSTN.”
“Riksuktonians,” the two said at the same time. Then they blinked at each other.
“I’m starting to understand why the TARDIS sent us here specifically,” Oliver commented.
“Two of the Doctor’s companions who have both met them.”
They left unspoken the question of why she couldn’t have just sent the Doctor. Instead, the two shared a look before Oliver knelt beside the base. C’rizz grabbed hold of the central column. “I’ll shift it, and you see if you can reach the button.”
“You know, you’d think they’d eventually figure out that building the same failsafe into every piece of their equipment is rather obvious.”
“Not if all the races they encounter get destroyed by it.”
Oliver glanced up at the Eutermesan. “I see your point.” He focused back on the column, continuing, “Then we better get on with stopping this thing before it blows up everything on the planet containing electrommphs...” The last of his words became muffled as he ducked his head down by the machine’s base, waiting for C’rizz to move the column.
The Eutermesan braced himself, groaning as he fought to shift the column past the point to which its wobbling had brought it before.
Oliver whistled. “You’re super strong, too! Give me a warning before you let it move back, okay? I’d rather not lose my hands.”
C’rizz was too busy straining to reply, although the grunt he gave acted suitably well as a request for haste.
Oliver shifted positions, trying to peer into the newly opened space. He grinned. “Big red button!” And he reached a hand in, pressing it firmly.
The machine gave a huge shudder, jerking the column from C’rizz’s grasp. Oliver yanked his hand back, just getting it out of the way before the central column returned to its original position.
The two took a moment to catch their breath, watching the machine react--C’rizz from above it and Oliver from the floor. The green goo, which had not yet stopped its swirling from its previous activation, was now slowing down.
After a moment of observing in silence, Oliver broke in with, “You think that did it?”
“I imagine we’ll find out in a minute.”
“Well, it’s definitely powering down,” Oliver observed as the green goo inside the column slowed its movement to a crawl.
C’rizz had his eyes focused elsewhere. “But we’ll really know for sure that we’ve foiled their plans when they arrive.”
Oliver’s stomach dropped at that, and he turned to where C’rizz was looking. He swore.
“Well, I can now say I’ve seen a Riksuktonian in person,” C’rizz commented, wondering if his current companion’s optimism was starting to rub off.
Oliver glanced up at him. “You didn’t last time? You weren’t missing much.”
“Not much” wasn’t a bad description, really, for the diminutive alien blobs now sliding across the floor towards them. They appeared to be some sort of blue slime creatures, with no appendages and green eyes that glowed through the muck. They were only about as high as Oliver’s knees and didn’t quite reach C’rizz’s. Still, each one appeared to be holding a knife-like object in some sort of inner hand, the weapons protruding in a very threatening manner from their slimy foreheads. On top of that, there were eleven of them.
“You don’t happen to know a trick for defeating the Riksuktonians, do you?” Oliver asked.
“Just electronics,” C’rizz replied. “Which they’ve already blown up.”
“Then we’re running!” Oliver grabbed C’rizz by the arm as he took off. Behind them, the blobs were advancing, leaving a trail of ooze as they came.
The Eutermesan quickly pulled away from the human, running on ahead. “The TARDIS!”
Oliver’s eyes widened in understanding, and he grinned. “Perfect!” He decided to omit the “if we can get in.” The TARDIS had gotten them into this; she’d be willing to get them out. Right? Of course!
Unfortunately, the blobs of goo could “run” faster than a human could.
“They’re gaining on me!” Oliver cried in alarm even as they neared the two blue boxes. “TARDIS! TARDIS, let us in! TARDISes! TARDISI? Open, please!”
C’rizz got to them as Oliver was yelling, and the Eutermesan set a hand on the TARDIS in which he had arrived. The door flew open, and momentum caused him to half-fall inside.
At which point Oliver abruptly skidded to a stop, turning on the aliens. “All right, Riksuktonians, I AM A DISTRACTION! Get me!” And he made a quick right, running away from the TARDISes.
Only half the aliens followed him. Oliver stopped again, grabbing a broken bicycle and sending it wheeling wildly toward the crowd of them, swiftly followed by a second one. He then moved up an aisle, sending three desk chairs their way, although one fell over only a foot or so in front of him due to missing wheels. “C’rizz!” he yelled. “Little help soon!?”
***
The Eutermesan was currently discovering that the only time the TARDIS was devoid of random things was exactly when you needed some. He had already gone through the console room, but the books and tea set he’d found would do nothing against these creatures.
Venturing further into the TARDIS, however, he soon found the perfect weapon.
***
Oliver was backed up against a wall, six aliens with knives about to reach him. Five others weren’t far away, moving in the opposite direction, and they were only just short of entering the TARDIS. Well, he thought, there you had it. The Doctor had saved his life--again--only for him to put it right back in danger. And without even a chance to talk to the Doctor first... At least he’d gotten to visit with the TARDIS, anyway.
Speaking of...what was that sound coming from the TARDIS?
Oliver jerked himself from his reverie, focusing on a distant noise that was definitely coming from the same direction as the two blue boxes. It started like a repeating beat, growing slowly louder...resolving itself into a tune? It reminded him of a TV theme song of some kind.
The Riksuktonians had no such innocuous impressions. The blobs immediately began to squirm in pain, three of them dropping their knives within seconds.
Oliver’s eyes widened, and he broke out in a grin. “Louder, C’rizz!” he called.
The Eutermesan gave no response, but the music most definitely grew louder, pouring out some sort of very sci-fi tune.
Something very sci-fi that was shaking their blobby alien enemies to pieces.
C’rizz stuck his head out of the TARDIS to see what was happening.
“You’ve just saved the Earth!” Oliver called across to him.
C’rizz smiled.
***
The two travelers stood across from each other in the doorways of their respective TARDISes. The floor nearby was littered with broken furniture and puddles of blue, as well as the burned-out evidence of explosions and the remains of a very smashed, very alien piece of technology. At the moment, however, both companions were thinking only of going home.
“The minute we step in, she’s going to shut the doors and take us back,” Oliver commented.
C’rizz nodded in agreement. Then, thoughtfully, “Do you think the Doctor knows about this?”
The other man considered that. “Probably. But if he doesn’t, it’ll make quite the story!”
The Eutermesan didn’t share in his grin, instead looking pensive. “Like you said before, we don’t know what times we’re from. Wouldn’t that be a bit dangerous to share?”
Oliver opened his mouth as though to protest, but he seemed to think better of it. “Yeah. Yeah, you’re right. Guess this’ll just be our adventure, then.” He grinned.
“And the TARDIS’,” C’rizz added, looking up at the blue box with a fondness he did not usually show her.
“Oh yeah.” Oliver patted the doorframe of his TARDIS. “Thanks for the adventure!” he said to her. And,” he added, focusing back on C’rizz, “Good to meet you, friend Eutermesan!”
“You too, Oliver.”
The young man made to respond, but the TARDISes must have decided that was enough as the two were shunted inside by her abruptly closing doors.
In both TARDISes, the central column began to move, sending the travelers back to their rightful places in space and time.
***
The Doctor opened the TARDIS’ doors to find Oliver standing at the console, watching the central column thoughtfully. The man broke out in his usual manic grin. “So...ready to go on some new adventures?” he asked.
Oliver turned to him with a bright smile that was a far cry from the shock and fear in which the Doctor had left him. “Am I ever!” he declared.
***
“C’rizz, can you hear me? No one’s looking. Open the door! Can you hear me?”
C’rizz jumped at the sound of Charley’s voice, shaken from his thoughts. “I can hear you! I can hear you! Don’t be so impatient,” he replied as he worked the controls. He watched the doors open up on the musical instruments section of the Great Exhibition.
A breathless Charley came racing inside. “I didn’t want anyone to see me getting into the TARDIS,” she confided. Then, having taken a good look at him, she quirked an eyebrow. “Have you been asleep?”
“No!” C’rizz protested immediately. “I’ve been...reading.”
And, as stealthily as he could, he used his foot to nudge a boombox out of sight behind the console. This was, for once, an adventure that he wouldn’t be sharing.
C'rizz (and Oliver)
4253 words