A Second Chance (A Doctor Who fanfiction)

Entering the Maze

The Doctor and Ruby Sunday were having the time of their lives. They were travelling through time and space in the TARDIS with no particular destination in mind. While they were travelling, the Doctor had decided to give his brand new jukebox a try.

"Ooh, I love this song! Turn it up!" Ruby yelled over the music, which was already pretty loud. She was dancing around the console room while an excited Doctor flipped switches and pressed buttons on the TARDIS console.

After what felt like a very short trip, they reached their destination. The Doctor had set the controls to random, so neither one of them knew what to expect as they walked outside.

Ruby took a deep breath as she stepped out of the TARDIS. The feeling of standing on a new planet for the first time would never get old. She took a moment to appreciate her surroundings. The planet that they had arrived on seemed to be a desert planet with nothing but sand as far as the eye could see. It was warm but not unbearably so, and Ruby looked up in amazement at the twin suns that lit up the sky.

"Let's go this way," the Doctor said, pointing in what appeared to be a random direction.

"Okay," Ruby shrugged. She didn't know where they were going, but she trusted that the Doctor had some idea of where things were.

As they made their trek through the desert, a tall hill appeared on the horizon. At its peak was what appeared to be a city surrounded by a brick wall. Inside the wall was an elegant looking building that towered over the rest of the city. Despite the structure's gorgeous architecture, Ruby got the feeling that it was more of a fortress than anything else. The Doctor and Ruby began to make their way uphill. It was quite steep, so they had to watch their steps very carefully.

"It's funny—," the Doctor said as they approached the city.

"What is?" Ruby cut him off. She was panting heavily now from the climb, but the Doctor seemed to not be bothered by the exertion. He seemed to have just as much energy as he always did. His body was probably used to intense physical activity due to all the running, Ruby supposed. She had never run so much in her life as she did when she was with the Doctor.

The Doctor finished his thought, "I've been to this planet many times and I've never seen that building before."

"Well the TARDIS is a time machine. Maybe it's from the planet's future. Or its past! Oh that would be so cool!" Ruby said excitedly.

"No, that can't be right. The architecture is all wrong. That material shouldn't even exist in this quantity in this part of the galaxy," the Doctor replied. He seemed lost in thought and Ruby could tell that something wasn't quite right.

After a long pause, Ruby spoke, snapping the Doctor out of his concentration. "I'm sure it's fine! Come on!" Despite the Doctor's misgivings, she wanted to explore this strange city. If nothing else, it would be an adventure.

Finally, they made their way to the outer wall of the city. A large stone door opened, revealing an entryway that led inside. It was brightly lit and Ruby could just make out some of the buildings beyond. It seemed safe enough, but she looked to the Doctor for confirmation.

"After you," the Doctor said, gesturing for her to continue forward. Ruby nervously walked through the doorway. When nothing happened, she turned back and motioned for the Doctor to follow.

As he stepped through the doorway after her, he said softly, "this feels familiar." Ruby noticed a hint of worry in his voice.

"Well if it's familiar, it can't be all bad, right? Maybe it's some friends?" Ruby replied hopefully. She knew the Doctor didn't believe that, and honestly, she didn't either, but it wouldn't do well to worry before they had figured out what was going on.

"I don't like this. Stay close," the Doctor warned.

"Believe me, I'm not going anywhere," Ruby replied. She knew that whenever there was danger, the safest place was always by the Doctor's side.

The Doctor and Ruby continued making their way down twisted corridors and passageways, looking for anything that might give them a clue as to what was going on. The city's layout seemed to lack any sense of reason. It was like being lost in a maze but the walls kept folding back in on themselves. It seemed like no matter which way they turned, they always ended up back where they began.

Finally, they entered what seemed like a large courtyard. Ruby noticed a beautiful tapestry hanging on one of the walls. She stepped closer to examine it. It had an incredible design, like nothing she had ever seen before.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" an old woman had entered the courtyard. The first thing that Ruby noticed about her was her kind, warm eyes.

"It is, yeah," Ruby replied, turning back to gaze at the tapestry.

"Legend has it that the pictures on the tapestry will change when something important happens," the old woman said gently.

This piqued Ruby's interest even more. "Have you ever seen the picture change?" she asked. The woman didn't respond, but Ruby was certain that there was a glimmer in her eyes.

Suddenly, an old man appeared at the entrance to the courtyard, "ah, there you are. I heard that we had visitors." His voice was soft, but there was definitely some power behind it.

"Who's in charge here?" the Doctor said. He was noticeably louder than the others, almost as if he was ready to assume control of the situation.

"Oh, that would be me," the old man replied. There was something off about him, but what it was, Ruby couldn't tell.

The Doctor looked unimpressed. "And who exactly are you?" he asked.

"Oh, you know who I am," the old man replied menacingly. At that moment, he ripped off his disguise to reveal a horrible, evil-looking face with dark hair and a goatee to match.

"The Master!" The Doctor gasped.

Author's Note:

Finally introducing the fifteenth Doctor and Ruby Sunday! This chapter is a bit of a departure, but it will connect to the rest of the story. Writing this has been so much fun, but it's taking longer than expected. I absolutely still plan to finish, though, so don't worry about that. Thank you all so much for reading and all the kind comments! I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

-musicismyhappyplace