Delphine and The Doctor II

Chapter 3

"Hey, are we really going to risk it? That thing is spewing poison. We should blow it back into space." Bram asked as The Doctor thought. He was trying to telepathically contact Delphine and was failing badly. "Get your gear," Gregor said as he grabbed some things. The Doctor sighed in annoyance at the men, their constant bickering wasn't helping him concentrate. "Hey, I don't take orders from my kid brother," Bram said, pushing Gregor. "Left here? Wasn't the swimming pool here?" The Doctor sighed. He had managed to get into Delphine's head but the messages he was trying to tell her weren't going through. "Don't try and form sentences, all right? Stick to what you do best." Gregor had said and The Doctor had had enough. "Tell me, since when does an android need a blast suit and a respirator?" He asked, changing the subject. "Flesh coating, same as us. He'd burn up." Bram said. "No fear, no hate, no pain," Tricky said as The Doctor unlocks the Tardis, slipping the key back into his inner pocket. "Salvage of a lifetime?" Gregor asked. "I feel pretty confident I can deliver on that. Here we go." The Doctor confirmed

"Delphie..." Delphine turned around again and quickened her limping pace. She had been hearing voices, calling for her, ever since the Cloister bell had begun to ring louder. "You're telepathic, stop and listen" Delphine stopped and leaned against a wall, not able to stand with her bad leg. "Doctor?" She asked, looking back and forth. "Listen, we've lost power and are in shutdown mode," The Doctor said. "I'm coming to you, stay where you are, I see Clara too but I'm gonna get you first, seeing as you're injured" Delphine nodded, sliding down to the floor. "Don't move, Delphie. I'll scare these people a bit and then come to get you, let them explore a bit, yeah?" He asked as Delphine nodded. "Okay," She thought, trying to send the message. She sighed when she didn't get a response, wincing as she touched her calf again. "Just a few more minutes," She said as she noticed claw marks on the wall.

After walking around for a few minutes, Clara finds an old-fashioned room with a stone arched door. She was about to open it when she finds a huge lock on the ground next to the door, looking as if it was torn off. She shivers and enters the room spotting some cool things. To the left is the Doctor's cradle. As she continues walking she takes down a model of the Tardis from a shelf, admiring the handiwork. She was about to pick up an umbrella when she heard someone or something else drop something. She gasped, hiding from the fear that there was something or someone else in the same room as her. After a while, she got up and looked around, almost certain she had just imagined the thing. As she picks up a black umbrella, her eye falls on a figure in black as it starts to move toward her. She gasps and begins to run, almost crashing into the door. She pushes it open and runs, not looking which way she was going. As long as it wasn't near the thing.

"I don't get it. I thought she was lying on her side?" Gregor asked as The Doctor led the men in. "The Tardis is special. She has her own gravity. I'd explain if I had some charts and a board pen." The Doctor said, looking around. "It's, it's, it's bigger..." Bram began. "On the inside. Do you know, I get that a lot." The Doctor said, trying to contact Delphine again. "Whoa. Awesome." Tricky said, looking around. "Vents on!" The Doctor yelled as the vents opened and the fumes from the console room began to lessen. "Safe to breathe." The Doctor said after a while, pulling off his respirator. The rest of the people all remove the respirators as The Doctor scans the console with the sonic screwdriver. "Okay, now, the last thing I remember, both girls were right there. Come on, Delphine, talk to me." He said, smacking his head on the console. "How big is this baby?" Bram asked. The Tardis let out a loud beep as if it was offended and The Doctor slowly ran his hand over the console, trying to soothe her. "Picture the biggest ship you've ever seen. Are you picturing it?" The Doctor asked as he continued to try to talk to Delphine again. Bram shook his head. "Good. Now forget it, because this ship is infinite." The Doctor said, scanning for life forces, finding Delphine in the same spot she was the first time he had tried to locate her. The only difference was a slower and weaker heartbeat. "It could take you hours to find the girl," Gregor said, annoyed. "Days. Plus this whole place is toxic. She could be dead by the time I reach her. So, here's the mission. We're going to find her in one hour." The Doctor said as he began to search for Clara in the video surveillance.

"We?" Gregor asked. "You're my guys for this." The Doctor said. "That wasn't the deal," Gregor said, looking at Bram and Tricky. "'Tis now." The Doctor said simply, jumping around the console, trying every button and lever possible. "What makes you think we'll help?" Bram asked suddenly, eyes glossy like he was going to cry. He gasps as a countdown clock starts on the screen. "I just activated the Tardis self-destruct system. One hour until this ship blows." He said simply, smiling at his guests. Bram runs for the door, which slams in his face. "Don't try to leave. The Tardis is in lockdown. I'll open those doors when Clara and Delphine are found and safe. "You crazy lunatic!" Gregor shouted, running to the door and trying to open it. "My ship, my rules." The Doctor said, crossing his arms. "You'll kill us all. And the girl!" Bram said, fear evident in his voice. "Actually, one might survive, she's a ... special case" The Doctor said, referring to Delphine. "But the other one is going to die if you don't help me." When The Doctor didn't get a response, he laughed out. "Don't get into a spaceship with a madman. Didn't anyone ever teach you that? Okay, a little gentle persuasion. Say thirty minutes!" The Doctor said as the countdown jumps to 29:59:10. "They'll die even quicker now!" Bram said as he flung himself against the door one last time. "We all perform better under pressure. Anybody want to go for fifteen minutes?" He asked as the men shook their heads. "It's your own time you're wasting. Salvage of a lifetime. You meant the ship. I meant Clara and Delphine." The Doctor said, finally contacting Delphine again.

"Delphie, health status" Delphine sat up quickly, surprised at the voice. "Almost dead, I've bled out and my regeneration energy isn't working," She said. She heard The Doctor winced as he thought for a while. "Also, there are other things on the Tardis, black shadowy figures..." She began but the connection severed. She flinched at the sudden pain of the connection breaking. Something that wasn't supposed to happen. She slid deeper into the wall, trying to back up as much as she could so the darkness would cover her up. "Doctor?" She asked, trying to connect with him again, but it was useless. "Help me, Tardis," She said, finally giving up on The Doctor, it could be a while till he found her. "I'm gonna die, any last words?" She said aloud to herself as she got up. Just then a door swung open. Delphine limped over. "Sickbay?" She said, looking inside. "Thank you Tardis," Delphine said, limping in and locking the door, tired of the movement. While she wanted to fix herself up, she had lost all her energy and ended up collapsing on one of the beds.

Gregor hangs back from The Doctor, Tricky and Bram as he pulls out his scanner. "Report. What's on board this thing?" He asked, looking around. "Dynomorphic generators, conceptual geometer, beam synthesizer, orthogonal engine filters." The computer drones on and on about technology types and machines as Gregor gets an idea. "Guys, guys, look, I think we should split up. It's our best chance of finding the girl. You know it is." Gregor said, running to the group. Bram, noticing Gregor's face nods. The Doctor, suspecting something fishy sighs. "Fine. Don't touch a thing. The Tardis will get huffy if you mess with her." He said, pulling out his sonic, noticing Delphine's heartbeat was much slower now. "Keep in radio contact, all right?" Gregor asks as The Doctor nods and runs down the hallway. Tricky nods and goes off to The Doctor.

"Get back to the console. Strip it apart." Gregor said as soon as The Doctor was earshot. "Okay," Bram said, slowly pulling out the laser he brought. "Let's do this," He said as he pulled out a piece of wall.