The Mystery Of The Place (Doctor Who)
The Mystery Of The Place
Prompt: Doctor Who, Ten & Donna Noble, Stonehenge
For: myfloralbonnet
"I always knew it!" Donna let her hand slide along the side of one of the large stones as she circled it, the smooth sensation going against her expectations; as if it had been coated in varnish. She'd been to Stonehenge once before, but it was very different this time around. For one, it was about four-thousand years younger.
"So what's this do then, eh?" She asked, gazing up as the stars began to poke their pointy noses through the clouds overhead. She pulled her coat tighter around her neck, keeping her head skyward. "Is it a homing beacon, or some sort of alien... doohicky?"
A sharp laugh rang from behind her, then quickly fell away as she turned to glare at the Doctor. "No," he said, thrusting his hands into his coat pockets. "Nothing like that."
"Then what?"
The Doctor strode toward the center of the ring of stones, and with a sigh leaned against one of the smaller, but still rather large, stones. "This."
Donna stared at the Doctor for a moment, then gazed around, an uneasy expectation beginning to well up within her. Time passed-- a sensation Donna had grown accostumed to loathe-- and after enough of it had gone she turned back to the Doctor with a huff.
"It's not doing anything!"
"Exactly!"
"I beg your pardon?" She said, testilly.
"This place, it does absolutely nothing! The only mystery of the place is the mystery of the place itself!" He hopped away from the stone he was leaning against and strode into the center of the circle. "There is nothing alien, nothing supernatural, about this place. It merely exists to exist."
"But, they always have programs on the tele about this place. Books! There's so many theories, how could it possibly be for nothing?" Donna stormed to the center of the ring, beside the Doctor, waving her arms around. "All of this can't be here for NOTHING!"
The Doctor smiled coyly. "Ah, but there's the mystery then, isn't it?"
Donna frowned as true a frown as she ever had before. "Oh, but I bet you're going to tell me you know the answer then, are you? To the mystery of all this nothing."
"Yup."
"Pray tell, knower of all, what IS the answer then?"
The Doctor let his gaze fall out toward the east, a seriousness suddenly cast across it in a way Donna had never seen on any other being; human, time lord, or otherwise.
"The answer, my dear Donna Noble," he said, "is simple." He looked back toward his companion. "Human nature."
"You're such a tease!" Donna cried in frustration.
"No, it's true! There was once a civilization, not too far from here, that convinced themselves that this place needed to be built. First it was one man, then he convinced another, and they convinced another, and so on. From that need, they found a means. From that means, this was created." He turned to appraise the scenery. "Human desire conquering all logic. Like the pyramids of Egypt."
"Or the stone heads of Easter Island." Donna chimed.
"Actually, that was aliens."
"Really?"
"Yup. The Roggeveen of Olora. They look just like that, too."
"Do they?"
"Great telekinetic ability, with those big brains."
The duo fell silent for a moment, the soft wind whipping through the hills, carrying the soft wet scent of a coming storm.
"So," Donna said abruptly, "What're we doing here than? Seeing as how we've solved the great mystery of Stonehenge already."
"There's a storm coming." The Doctor said with a childlike excitement.
"I can see that."
"In one hour and twelve minutes the storm will be beginning to pass, and at that moment the Sun will begin to rise."
"Well," Donna said, feeling ancy to avoid getting wet, "we best be off then, shouldn't we?"
"It'll be the most spectacular sunrise of the age. Chaotic, bright, and beautiful. And we're going to have front row seats, you and I." He turned to gauge her reaction, only to see her already halfway back to the TARDIS. "Where you going?" he shouted after her.
"You said we have over an hour!" She shouted over her shoulder.
"Yeah, but--"
"Let me know when the show begins! I was never one for previews." And with that, she shut the door to the big blue box.
With a shrug, the Doctor turned back toward the east with an excited grin. But when the first large drops of rain began to hit him on the face, and a huge lightening bolt ripped across the sky, he decided maybe he could skip some of the previews as well and swiftly made his way back.
Prompt: Doctor Who, Ten & Donna Noble, Stonehenge
For: myfloralbonnet
"I always knew it!" Donna let her hand slide along the side of one of the large stones as she circled it, the smooth sensation going against her expectations; as if it had been coated in varnish. She'd been to Stonehenge once before, but it was very different this time around. For one, it was about four-thousand years younger.
"So what's this do then, eh?" She asked, gazing up as the stars began to poke their pointy noses through the clouds overhead. She pulled her coat tighter around her neck, keeping her head skyward. "Is it a homing beacon, or some sort of alien... doohicky?"
A sharp laugh rang from behind her, then quickly fell away as she turned to glare at the Doctor. "No," he said, thrusting his hands into his coat pockets. "Nothing like that."
"Then what?"
The Doctor strode toward the center of the ring of stones, and with a sigh leaned against one of the smaller, but still rather large, stones. "This."
Donna stared at the Doctor for a moment, then gazed around, an uneasy expectation beginning to well up within her. Time passed-- a sensation Donna had grown accostumed to loathe-- and after enough of it had gone she turned back to the Doctor with a huff.
"It's not doing anything!"
"Exactly!"
"I beg your pardon?" She said, testilly.
"This place, it does absolutely nothing! The only mystery of the place is the mystery of the place itself!" He hopped away from the stone he was leaning against and strode into the center of the circle. "There is nothing alien, nothing supernatural, about this place. It merely exists to exist."
"But, they always have programs on the tele about this place. Books! There's so many theories, how could it possibly be for nothing?" Donna stormed to the center of the ring, beside the Doctor, waving her arms around. "All of this can't be here for NOTHING!"
The Doctor smiled coyly. "Ah, but there's the mystery then, isn't it?"
Donna frowned as true a frown as she ever had before. "Oh, but I bet you're going to tell me you know the answer then, are you? To the mystery of all this nothing."
"Yup."
"Pray tell, knower of all, what IS the answer then?"
The Doctor let his gaze fall out toward the east, a seriousness suddenly cast across it in a way Donna had never seen on any other being; human, time lord, or otherwise.
"The answer, my dear Donna Noble," he said, "is simple." He looked back toward his companion. "Human nature."
"You're such a tease!" Donna cried in frustration.
"No, it's true! There was once a civilization, not too far from here, that convinced themselves that this place needed to be built. First it was one man, then he convinced another, and they convinced another, and so on. From that need, they found a means. From that means, this was created." He turned to appraise the scenery. "Human desire conquering all logic. Like the pyramids of Egypt."
"Or the stone heads of Easter Island." Donna chimed.
"Actually, that was aliens."
"Really?"
"Yup. The Roggeveen of Olora. They look just like that, too."
"Do they?"
"Great telekinetic ability, with those big brains."
The duo fell silent for a moment, the soft wind whipping through the hills, carrying the soft wet scent of a coming storm.
"So," Donna said abruptly, "What're we doing here than? Seeing as how we've solved the great mystery of Stonehenge already."
"There's a storm coming." The Doctor said with a childlike excitement.
"I can see that."
"In one hour and twelve minutes the storm will be beginning to pass, and at that moment the Sun will begin to rise."
"Well," Donna said, feeling ancy to avoid getting wet, "we best be off then, shouldn't we?"
"It'll be the most spectacular sunrise of the age. Chaotic, bright, and beautiful. And we're going to have front row seats, you and I." He turned to gauge her reaction, only to see her already halfway back to the TARDIS. "Where you going?" he shouted after her.
"You said we have over an hour!" She shouted over her shoulder.
"Yeah, but--"
"Let me know when the show begins! I was never one for previews." And with that, she shut the door to the big blue box.
With a shrug, the Doctor turned back toward the east with an excited grin. But when the first large drops of rain began to hit him on the face, and a huge lightening bolt ripped across the sky, he decided maybe he could skip some of the previews as well and swiftly made his way back.