.you must be mad, or else you wouldn't have come here

::blushes shyly::

This is what happens when I'm encouraged to share more of the strangeness in my head.

& plus, I couldn't get Ten to stop.talking.at.all.

Ish very possible I have a Time Lord sort of muse living in my head.

& of course, I ♥ Ten/Reinette, as we all know! & they wanted a turn this time.

(comments are shiny if you take anything!)

& also, the darling ninkasa is partially responsible for the last tale, since I asked her if she thought the TARDIS
could go underwater & she said if it could float out in space, then it could probably go underwater. ::hugs her::

♥

♥

♥

Olivia Ong - Fly Me to the Moon

'Where shall we go?' he asks you, his familiar expression of unadulterated glee crossing his face.

You think for a moment. Then you say, 'Show me something beautiful, something beyond the stars. Something that you could look at for hours & never once be bored of it.'

His eyes light up as you stop speaking & he says, 'I know just the place.'

You watch him turn dials, press various buttons, move small globes about. The familiar shaking & grinding of the engines fill the air, stopping just as suddenly as they came.

He smiles at you & motions for you to open the door. Nervously, yet bravely, you push the door open to find yourself faced with the sight of Earth. The sight of Earth & her moon, the light silvery & chilled, streaking your face with silver.

You step carefully to the very edge of the TARDIS, utterly speechless at everything you're seeing. Stars on all four sides, above & below. There couldn't be a way to count them all.

The air is cold against your throat, but you can't bring yourself to move back to the warmth of the TARDIS & of the Doctor.

He comes up behind you, taking your hand & guiding your first finger to a point past the moon, slightly larger than the stars surrounding it.

'That's Mercury. Your astronomers have only just begun to chart your solar system & here you are, seeing it firsthand.'

You're still speechless, taking all of it in, as he begins to tell you a story.

'Was a time when the earth had two moons. Two moons, can you believe that? O, beautiful moons too, one with a core of crystal, the other one with a core of stone. Just beautiful!'

'What happened to the crystal one?' you ask.

"O, you know how it is - well, I suppose you wouldn't actually . . . you know, big cosmic explosions here, a few supernovas there, then before you know it, no more crystal moon! Shame, really.' he says, pushing his free hand through his hair.

You take a deep breath, realising you've been holding it in since he'd begun the story. You can see your breath at the edge of the TARDIS, a cool mist that vanishes instantly.

'How are we still breathing?' you ask, your wits starting to return to you.

'The TARDIS protects us, gives us air where there is none. Wonderful, isn't it?' He smiles even wider & pats the wall of the ship fondly.

Then his manner changes from soft & quiet, to exuberant & energetic. He pulls you from the door, leaving it open. He pulls you gently against his chest, his arms strong & warm around you. Before you know it, he's leading you in a dance, using the rhythms & sounds of the TARDIS as your music. You forget that it isn't, after a time, as he moves you around. You forget everything for a time, everything that isn't the movement of the dance, the sounds of the TARDIS, the coolness of the stars just beyond your reach.

He's taken you beyond your wildest imaginings, but at the same time, filled you with a sense of peace. Crisp, sparkling, pure peace.


Coldplay - Speed of Sound

'Just one trip, then I'll have to put you back.'

He says this as he dashes about, flipping switches, pulling levers & pressing buttons. Rose merely grins at you, offering no further explanation.

You feel the shaking under your feet first, the vibrations of the engines softened by the fabric of your skirts & you begin to wonder how safe this contraption is.

But you needn't worry. It's over in a matter of minutes & you know the Doctor too well to think that he'd ever purposefully put you in harm's way.

He reaches for you & his coat, pushing open the door & letting you look out first.

The light & the sound are what you see first. Or rather, see & hear first. Everything around you pulses with life, positively throbs with it. You look at the strange writing everywhere - on the walls, on the sidewalks, on the buildings.

Tokyo, Japan, 2007.

How can such a place exist, you wonder? So many bodies on so many narrow streets, so many things to assault & allay the senses.

You feel afraid as the three of you begin to walk, your skirts brushing past people who stop to look & occasionally, to feel at the material. Several girls dressed as you were when you were young look at you with wonder in their eyes, but are silent as they scurry past in impossibly tall shoes & dresses black as the ink you use for your letters.

He protects you though. You hold tight to him, scared at the idea of losing him here & of being lost in this hub of people. How would you ever find him again? How would you ever return home? What would become of court if you never returned?

Court. The memories of balls & banquets & dances flash through your mind & you wonder what has become of it here in this world. What could possibly have become of Versailles a world like this? You hold tighter to the Doctor as these thoughts run through through your mind.

Several hours later, you find yourselves in one of the tallest buildings in Tokyo, a fact which the Doctor is quick to point out, having lost Rose somewhere along the way.

You press your hand to the cool planes of glass, feeling slightly dizzy as you look down at the city below. You feel the Doctor's hands on your waist, his head resting on your shoulder. Surprisingly, he is quiet.

You listen to the hum of the city, the sounds of street revelers below you. The Doctor remains silent, though he occasionally points to shining flashes of light in the distance.

'Man-made stars,' you say softly. 'I'd not thought it possible.'

'The ingenuity of these people can amaze even the most jaded traveller.' he whispers in your ear. 'How much they can fit onto one world, one island, one square foot! You could spend a lifetime travelling here, just to sample a bit of everything they have to offer.'

'Don't you ever want to join them, even for a time, Doctor?' you ask, hoping he doesn't hear the slight hesitation in your voice.

He turns you around to face him & smiles. 'What, and miss out on everything else the galaxy has to offer? How would I live with myself?'

You can't help but smile as he does, as you look up at the sky full of twinkling stars. The sky is a mirror of sorts, you think to yourself. A mirror reflecting the true beauty of this artificial splendor. Is that what they try to imitate, you wonder. Imitate what you can never really touch, or understand?

You're broken from your reverie by the Doctor's arms slipping around you. You feel the chill in the air after he does, & you burrow into him, pressing your face against the silky smoothness of his tie, the worn, soft feel of his jacket.

'Is this real?' You ask before you can stop yourself. You're almost tempted to convince yourself that you're dreaming somehow. This place, this world, this man . . . it could only be a dream before breakfast, before your bath, before you arise to a warm spring day. The folly of your youth resurrected by sleep.

'We are as real as we choose to be, Reinette.' he whispers into your hair before he kisses you.

In his arms, in this tower, on this island, you realise both that he is right & that somehow, being here with him in this strange land feels like coming home all over again.


Tori Amos - Liquid Diamonds

'Shh.' he whispers, one long finger pressed against his lips. You look around silently, not sure if you should request an explanation or stay quiet. Rose is quiet too, looking around the TARDIS nervously, her eyes darting from here to there & back to the Doctor again.

He remains mute, but with a familiar smile playing across his face. Finally, after a several seconds or so, he says, 'You hear that?'

'Hear what?' Rose asks curiously. You can't help but feel a knot of worry forming inside your stomach.

'Just listen.' he says.

You hear nothing. For a second, you wonder if it's something only he can hear.

Silence passes by. Then you think you hear something outside of the TARDIS; a swish, a gurgle, a splash.

You finally ask, the knot becoming larger & larger with every second of silence.

His smile becomes impossibly bigger & he pushes open the doors, an eerie blue light flooding the inside of the TARDIS.

You can't believe your eyes. Even Rose, the experienced traveller, comes closer to see if what you're both seeing is really there.

'Are we . . . Doctor, is this really real?' you ask, stunned.

The two of you stand there, bathed in the blue light of the sea, light shows of ripples & waves reflecting upon your faces as you watch the water move in utter silence.

'We're underwater.' you hear Rose say, somewhere to your left. 'The TARDIS can go underwater.'

'Isn't it lovely?' you hear him say, his footsteps echoing all around you. 'And of course she can go underwater Rose, don't be daft! She can go anywhere!'

You feel like the air's been pushed out of your lungs, all of it. You hold your breath for what feels like minutes as you reach out to touch the shimmering blue wall in front of you. Your hand slides easily through the water, dampening your skin, splashing against the sleeve of your dress. You can smell the salt, taste it on your lips. You tangle your fingers in the water for a bit longer, before pulling them away, back to the dryness.

'Beautiful.' the Doctor whispers again, almost reverently. 'Like standing in a fluid, mutable liquid prism, isn't it? Ah, the alchemy of life, water. Entrancing, vital, deadly, more beautiful the deeper you go.'

You dip your hand in it again, the mixture of water & light painting your hand a ghostly blue-white tone.

It surprises you how warm the water is. It feels almost like a kiss of a courtier to the back of your hand.

You smile as you spy the Doctor's own hand moving through the water, closer to you, his fingers fanning out like the long sea anemones attached to the coral scattered around the TARDIS. He catches your hand in his own, holding it fast, the water flowing warm & gentle over your locked fingers.

You look at him, his face painted in the unnatural tones of seawater & of sunlight.

He is smiling.