Forget Me Not(Doctor Who Fanfiction)

Part 3: Lullaby, Take Me Away

Part 3: Lullaby, Take Me Away

~5 months later~

Then finally you thought about him that one night when the sound of thunder echoed and there was a downpour. You felt like a child all over again amidst the flashes of lightning streaming against your wall. And, surprisingly, that's when the Doctor came back. He was standing outside in the pouring rain just staring straight ahead with a forlorn look on his face.

You crept down the stairs as if it were Christmas morning and you were looking to sneak a peek at the presents. But this time it felt different. For the longest time, you just stood waiting at the door resting your head against it until you worked up the courage to open the door and run out in the rain to the Doctor.

Wearing nothing but a nightgown and furry slippers, you trudged across the gap until you found the Doctor standing there looking down at you with a sad smile on his face.

"I'm sorry," you whisper, frowning.

"Ava, it's okay," he wraps his arms around you as you rest your head against his shoulder softly.

"I-I didn't mean to yell at you, I-I just can't believe she's gone."

The Doctor stands brooding there for a moment as if he knows something he's not telling you.

"Did I ever take you to the Ruby Marshes?"

"No, all you took me was into the Tardis, it was a great adventure though until I ruined it."

"Let's go then, Allons-y!"

"Right now?"

"There's no better time than the present as they say. Do they still say that? Can't remember. You'll love the marshes, there are 16 lakes known for their poisonous crystalline colors. They're beautiful to look at, but dangerous to touch, or, in fact, breathe. We'll need some gas masks, but that shouldn't be a problem. So, you..want to come?" He smiled with that dangerous twinkle in his eye, his hand outstretched towards you eager for another adventure, probably the last one you would have in a good long while.

"I'd love to," you answer without a moment's notice excited for the thought of an adventure with the Doctor.

You grab his hand and he pulls you into the Tardis before snapping his opposite hand's fingers as the doors close.

And once again you are with the Doctor, but it all seems to fit together like the pieces of a puzzle. You're not arguing, you're not afraid, everything is new and bright and shimmering, and the danger hasn't kicked in yet.

The Doctor jumps around the Tardis flicking switches and levers with a gleam in his eye. It almost is set down to a dance as he tiptoes and rolls around the console smiling the whole while.

You laugh unable to contain your overwhelming excitement. Sliding from side to side, you glance at the railing as the Tardis shakes back and forth.

A new world, possibly millions of miles away, the possibilities are endless and extraordinary, they are too vast to even comprehend.

"We've moved," you whisper, excited, but nervous to break the silence made after the Tardis landed.

Slowly, you walk to the Tardis door and look back to the Doctor for permission. He doesn't say anything, but just nods smiling the entire time.

The door creaks open as waves of light wash over you, great opal, and a myriad of blue topaz, emerald green along with soft lilac purple and the richest color of ruby ever seen to the human eye.

You're at a loss for words, your mouth gapes open at the multitude of colors seen in the forest and emitting from the sky.

"It's so...beautiful. Thank you Doctor. I don't know what to say, I-wait, how are we breathing?"

The Doctor walks next to you and stops at the side of the Tardis door as he leans against it.

"The Tardis is protecting us, it's filtering the oxygen, as long as we're near the Tardis, we should be fine. But here, take this." He hands you a black gas mask which you place over your head.

The Doctor sighs with a small smile.

"This brings back good memories. I came here in my youth, at the tender age of ninety. On vacation, of course, from Gallifrey."

"Ninety? How old are you exactly? Never mind, don't answer, I don't think I want to know. Well, the genes are surprisingly young. On second thought, how old are you really?" You raise your eyes curiously.

"903 exactly." He says, sharing a small smile with you.

"That is..just wow..unreal, I meant to say. Alien, right? Who knew?"

"Do you mind?" He raised his eyes slightly looking at you curiously.

"No, of course not. I just expected you'd be green or have tentacles or something. We humans are far off, aren't we?" You laugh nervously unsure of his reaction.

But he just smiles back, and takes your hand gently in his just like when you were a child. Reminded of these memories, you can't help to look down at your hand held in his before looking back up at him.

"Now, where were we? The Ruby Marshes, let's see if we can make the last tour." The Doctor looks at his watch before scrunching his nose slightly.

You knew that look before, it was half frustration and half delight. Something was wrong. Only this time you had no clue what it was.

"What is it?"

"Oh, time just stopped, two words that should never go in the same sentence. Let's go explore, shall we?" He grins as he takes in the environment more seriously before walking alongside you amidst the high definition forest.

The colors stun your eyes as you look up at the sky where blues collide with purple and greens to create an expansive mirage.

"Doctor, how do you get used to something so beautiful? Doctor, I-" But just when you turn to face the Doctor, he is no longer there.

Anxiously, you run your hands through the mid air where he was standing, but nothing happens. He is gone, and you are gone too, or rather you have transported somewhere else.

You kneel down to the floor and spot an endless stretch of sand as far as the eye can see. The sun is a blistering red ball high up in the sky and bares down at you harshly. Raising your arm to your forehead, you look off in the distance, but are met with absolutely nothing. There is the occasional growing pale white bush and then mounds and hills of pale sand.

"Where am I?" You spin around in circles, but the sheer emptiness still surrounds you.

You decide to walk off to find the Doctor and head north to leave the sun at your back.

The more you walk, the less energy you have. You feel tired to the bone with the sun sapping out your energy. Soon enough, you find a single brown rock and decide to sit on it for a while, but only then you find that you lack motivation to continue walking in the bare wasteland.

Slowly, your eyes flutter closed as you bake in the roasting heat. Within a minute, you pass out sprawled against the single rock.

The sound of muffled footsteps draws near in your last waking moments. Sand sifts through the air, but is abruptly silenced by the collective slam of metal feet upon the earth.

The same sound repeats, it's almost like a growing whisper as a crowd of people move closer, or like the sound of a receding and rising tide in the ocean. All at once, it consumes the beach and leaves behind a decay that cannot be seen, but is certainly felt at the core.

When your tide arose, all you heard was a numb, robotic voice repeating a single command over and over again.

"She will be upgraded!"

And as the spindles of time wind up on the clock face, so did you. You paused, unsure of consciousness, and then passed out completely.
*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*

Hello readers,

Sorry for the long wait! I've been super busy with college, but felt extremely guilty for making you all wait so long! This isn't the end yet, but we're nearing it! If you liked this chapter, go ahead and click that like button, or leave a comment! :)