On the Run ♦ 004. Turn for the Worse ♦ with captoftardis

[noblexcompanion]

Donna had been in the library relaxing with a good book, a mug of tea and a box of chocolates from her secret 'me-time' stash. It had all been going so nicely too. At least, it had been going nicely until the TARDIS jerked, sending the mug crashing to the floor, the chocolates following, and Donna barely managing to stay on the sofa

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[captoftardis]

He had thought they were safe, lingering at the edge of a time rift distorted by a black hole. In all honesty it wasn't the best of locations, but he knew the TARDIS was capable of withstanding the gravitational pull in small doses and any other ship would be foolish enough to come by.

Or so he thought.

"Down here!" His suit jacket was fried around the edges and his hair was sticking up a little more than usual as large cables were strung around his neck.

"I'm trying to reroute the power! Something's got a hold of us..!" Without a moment to spare, he ran off trying to avoid tripping over anything.

[noblexcompanion]

Another jerk sent Donna crashing into the console. Downside to the coral? It's not very soft for being thrown into. She tried to steady herself. "Kind of figured that one out for myself, Spaceman."

A spark shot up by her hand, causing her to squeal in surprise. "Right, so, brilliant plan? I mean you have a brilliant plan right? Can't we just... I dunno, slam the brakes on or sommat? No?"

Another explosion, another squeak.

[captoftardis]

"Sorry 'bout that one! That was me! No, if we slam the breaks, we'll really be in trouble... Well, maybe not, but I don't want to test that hypothesis."

Another spark and the TARDIS jolted in the opposite direction.

Sounds came from below as he hot wired connections and lights went out for 2 seconds before coming back on. "DONNA! PUT US IN REVERSE!" He held his breath as the TARDIS groaned and one could feel it resisting.

"C'mon...! C'moooooon!" But then his stomach lurched as they were flipped sideways and he scrambled to his feet. "Give me a tic!" More wires were disconnected and rerouted, sparks flew, and finally "I think I got it!"

[noblexcompanion]

This was going to end badly. Donna just knew it. Still, she followed his instructions, not that they seemed to be making much progress. Of course, that was probably just her insignificant human brain not being able to see the bigger picture and not the fact that things were going very, very wrong...

There was more squealing and squeaking from a certain panicked ginger as more sparks flew. And more panicking as the console not only sparked, but actually started flaming.

"Don't want to worry you or anything... but... WE'RE ON FIRE!"

[captoftardis]

"Don't do this to meeee!" The Doctor untangled himself from the wires to scramble through the grate to help Donna. He ran and grabbed the extinguisher and put out the fire, just in time for the TARDIS to lurch the opposite direction.

Toppling over onto Donna (luckily he managed to not conk her out with the extinguisher), another low groan sounded and the Doctor's eyes went wide.

"Oh, this is bad... Very bad!" And just as he sat up on his knees, the gravity cut off, causing them to rise in the air.

[noblexcompanion]

At least if he'd knocked her out she would be calm, and quiet? Every cloud has a silver lining, Doctor. She was about to have a few choice words with him for using her as a landing spot - seemed to be a common occurrence for them, landing on each other in awkward ways. Of course, any words were quickly wiped away by the fact they were no longer on the ground.

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me..." Could this day get any worse? Oh yes. A lot worse. "Do something! Get us down. Tell your stupid ship to stop messing about!!"

There was a niggling worry at the back of Donna's mind. If the gravity had cut off... how long would it be until the oxygen cut off?

[captoftardis]

"I'm trying!" He was doing his best to swim over to the control console and managed to grab the wheel until he heard some wires snapping, and more groaning of the ship.

"No, no, no no!" Glancing upwards, he started to see light seeping around the edges of the control paneling of the walls and his hearts just sunk in his chest cavity.

Glancing backwards to Donna, his eyes were sullen yet filled with panic. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry... I tried."

[ooc: these last few tags were scored with this in mind and "Come Over" which can be heard here. I'm such a nerd... And sorry for the angst that is guaranteed to follow.]

[noblexcompanion]

Those were not the words of reassurance she had been hoping to hear. Nor was that a look that filled her with confidence. It broke her heart. "No, no, no, don't you dare give up... Don't... You're the Doctor, you can fix anything."

He always fixed things. No matter how hopeless it seemed or how frightening it was. He always made things better. It wasn't supposed to be like this. They'd only just found each other again - well, he kidnapped her, but same thing...

[captoftardis]

Renewed by her confidence, he pulled out his sonic and attempted to pry open the control console. "I won't let them take her!" It was incredibly difficult to work with zero gravity as his fingers slipped often.

Around him, the paneling was separating even more, and more light was shining in. The Doctor's guess was the source was from the ship that was determined to dismantle the TARDIS as the lights seemed like search lights. He didn't have enough time to attempt to make a guess as to whose ship it was exactly.

Space was silent, but a low bass-like rumble sounded and everything just seemed to stop. The Doctor lost his grip as a vacuum formed and pulled them out of the TARDIS.

He couldn't even hear himself scream Donna's name.

[noblexcompanion]

After that, things were a bit of a blur for Donna. Well~ less of a blur really and more of a big blank page. She didn't know if she was alive or dead, truth be told. All she knew is that it was dark, she was no longer inside her beloved TARDIS and she was very, very scared.

Her cheeks were still damp with her tears. Her head was swimming. She felt like she'd been hit by a number 9 bus.

"Doctor?" Her voice sounded so meek and timid, hardly like herself at all. She tried again. "Doctor?!"