for magicalskeptic: A trip to the ocean

[rude_not_ginger]

"You wanted an ocean, have I got an ocean for you."

The Doctor darted around the console and scooped his jacket up from where it hung on one of the TARDIS pillars. He absolutely loved this bit. The first trip to an alien world with someone who didn't even believe in other worlds until now. Very little was more exciting.

"Now! We've got breathable atmosphere, low radiation, and a beautiful summer day. The waters of the Greeio Malgoon are purple in the summer, which is when they're the warmest and the safest. I'd have taken you to them in the winter when they're blue, but the water's acid content gets a bit high and ends up spewing out strange creatures with eyes that shoot lasers. Green lasers, they disintegrate you without much warning. Very technicolor world, the Greeo Malgoon."

He shrugged. "Still! In the summer, peak of tourist season, it's the most brilliant place for a visit."

Comments

[magicalskeptic.livejournal.com]

Morgana's look to the Doctor is diametrically opposite to the one of relief and concern, and lack of propriety he had earlier on the stairs.

This is all about him being a man and insisting she need to be kept safe. It's one thing Morgana has difficulty tolerating, "When you went first, you were nearly killed. Perhaps I will have better luck."

With that, she pulls away from him, and continues up the stairs.

[rude-not-ginger.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, but if I die, Morgana, I don't actually die. You'll be dead. Forever dead, and you're my responsibility..."

He can, and probably will, go at length about this, but he's still going to follow her. Hopefully to pull her out of the way should something terrible happen.

And something terrible always happens in situations like this.

[magicalskeptic.livejournal.com]

She looks at him when he speaks, but the responsibility comment is too much. "You are not my guardian." Ways in which Morgana does not want to think about the Doctor: as a guardian tops the list.

She gets to the top of the stairs, only to be confronted by a very angry king, wielding a very large sword. All he says is one word, witch.

That sound, unlike the earlier, unearthly scream, is Morgana. To anyone else in the room, there would be nothing there.

[rude-not-ginger.livejournal.com]

The Doctor doesn't see anything in front of her, but Morgana's scream propels him into action. He grabs her by the shoulders and pulls her back away from whatever's assaulting her.

Unfortunately, he misjudges his footing and feels himself losing his stepping. He glances down and sees that the steps are sliding up and inwards, creating a smooth ramp. Without any footing, he falls backwards, gripping onto Morgana in an effort to make himself a cushion for the fall.

[magicalskeptic.livejournal.com]

One second, Morgana is wishing, more than anything, she had a dagger, but the next, she finds herself in a heap, on the floor, on what was a staircase, moments earlier.

They've skidded to a halt about halfway down and it takes a moment for Morgana to realize two things. "That was not real. He is not here."

The second is that she's holding on to the lapels of the Doctor's jacket for dear life, with her head on his chest. She sits up and assesses him. "Are you all right?"

Despite her concern, now would not be a good time to remind her that she walked right into that.

[rude-not-ginger.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, think I might've banged my knee a bit, but nothing that'll keep me down," he says. He looks up the stairs, then back down them. Whatever was up there was frightening enough to cause Morgana to scream, and that's something he's never really heard from her, not without a nightmare attached to it.

"Regular funhouse we've got here. Monsters and phantoms and retracting stairs, oh my."

[magicalskeptic.livejournal.com]

"Phantoms, that is all." Morgana looks back up the stairs, and sees nothing. She feels foolish. "And phantoms are really nothing." She's convincing herself.

Now that the stairs have settled into a ramp, Morgana makes her way to her feet. It's steep, but she's never been unsure of foot, so holds her balance, holding out her hand to help the Doctor up.

"Whatever is up there, they do not want us there." That is, of course, assuming that there is a they.

[rude-not-ginger.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, if ever there was a reason to go forward, I think that's it," the Doctor replies. He hooks one foot into the side of the wall to brace himself and begins tugging himself up the ramp.

"We need to figure out what they're doing. What don't they want us to find."

And, as an afterthought, he turns back to Morgana.

"Are you sure you're okay with going forward? You can wait back at the TARDIS, if you want.

[magicalskeptic.livejournal.com]

For that suggestion -- the girl go wait while the man goes to play hero, the Doctor gets a fairly dirty look. It's something akin to anything-you-can-do.

"Doctor, if you can forgive my earlier reaction," underneath the tone of confidence, is a warning not to ask, "I think it would be wiser if we do not separate."

Morgana has a perfectly logical reason for this, "In case assistance is needed."

Not that things ever go horrifically wrong around the Doctor, like almost dying not too long ago.

And because she's been wishing for it, "Next time, I will not take your advice and bring my dagger."

Wait, did she just imply the possibility of a next time?

[rude-not-ginger.livejournal.com]

The Doctor will, of course, give her a big, stupid grin.

"So you'd like there to be a next time, then?" he asks. And since he's not one to deny someone adventure, he doesn't mention the idea of her going back again.

At the top of the slope, he turns and reaches an arm out to help her up.

[magicalskeptic.livejournal.com]

If Morgana knew what a Freudian slip is, right now, she would detest Freud. His big, dopey grin is making her feel like she's walked right into something, but she's not entirely sure what that is. Then again, she is still unaccustomed to being that agreeable with the Doctor. Perhaps, she just does not know how.

"You still owe me a trip to the Western Sea." Clearly, that is what she meant but a trip to the Western Sea also means a return home, permanently.

She frowns for a moment before taking his proffered hand.

[rude-not-ginger.livejournal.com]

"Well, of course. But which west? That's the question."

He pulls her up easily, and then hops to his feet to look around. It's another long, dark corridor.

"Now, what's so bad up here they want to scare us off, eh?"

[magicalskeptic.livejournal.com]

She gives him a pointed look. "There is only one west," and in Morgana's reality, that is absolutely true.

The Doctor may sound nonchalant about what is up here, and really, that should give Morgana pause, but it does not. Instead, she's looking around to see if her phantom is still there. The corridor and the foyer are empty, to her relief.

"We selected the wrong building to seek shelter in from the sirens," now she's just being sarcastic.

[rude-not-ginger.livejournal.com]

"No, I think we selected the right one, that's why whoever's doing this is so insistent that we stay out," the Doctor replies. He takes a cautious step forward, then another.

A light goes on somewhere, illuminating the hallway in a dark, unpleasant red glow.

"Ominous," he says, though his voice is far more excited than it is afraid.

[magicalskeptic.livejournal.com]

The Doctor's few steps forward makes Morgana feel almost cowardly for holding back for a moment. That is not a fair assessment, as she is, clearly, far more cautious than he is, but that not mean bravery is an issue.

The red light, on the other hand is ominous, but Morgana lacks the excitement the Doctor feels. Although, there is the smallest tinge of curiousity.

She would also like to try something first before the pair of them might be lured into another trap, like the one in the lower portions of the building. Stepping forward, Morgana reaches to grab the Doctor's hand, as it is the easiest way to gain his attention, and, hopefully, keep him in place.

"Hello?" It's a question, but a forceful one. "If anyone is there, show yourself." That's her very best lady of the palace voice.

[rude-not-ginger.livejournal.com]

Her hand takes his, and he stops. He feels more confident, knowing she's right there, though he isn't as confident in her attempt to talk to whoever might be doing this.

The light, however, gets very slightly brighter towards the farthest door on at the end of the corridor.

"Maybe that's our response," he says, quietly. "Shall we?"

[magicalskeptic.livejournal.com]

Looking at the Doctor when he speaks, somewhere, in the wry part of Morgana's brain that rarely shuts off, is the thought that whatever is there, cannot be as frightening to look at as the pair of them, with the dark red sludge from below drying a deep burgundy.

"Perhaps it is, so we must," Morgana looks behind her and still sees nothing, and the only thing ahead of her is the light. The absolute nature of her speech is to convince herself, as much as anything else. "If this place should be teeming with people, we must find out where they have been taken."

Of course 'taken' is only an assumption, she hopes.

[rude-not-ginger.livejournal.com]

The Doctor isn't sure 'taken' is the right word, though he isn't about to admit that, to Morgana or himself.

"Probably scared away from the things happening here," he says, though his voice allows that he doesn't properly believe it. "Wouldn't you, if a big pile of steam that's not from your world suddenly appears in the middle of the city, along with basements full of monsters and sliding staircases? Well, unless you're a Londoner, I suppose. They never learn."

[magicalskeptic.livejournal.com]

Raising her eyebrows, she sighs, hoping he is right. Fleeing from whatever is happening might mean no one is hurt. On the other hand, "Why would you flee your home, with no attempt to defend it?" They may have seen steam, a monster, and a plume of smoke, but nothing that screams damage, at least nothing severe enough to abandon the city.

Well, they certainly are not going to learn anything staying put. "Come, we are putting off the inevitable." With that, Morgana takes a step forward, releasing the Doctor's hand.

[rude-not-ginger.livejournal.com]

"You and I have seen the impossible, Morgana. We're not afraid of it. The people here are peaceful, they've probably never seen anything like this."

A pause.

"Well, apart from undead creatures with green lasers coming out of their eyes during the winter, you know, I don't know. We'll need to find out."

And with that, he stays immediately behind her as she steps ahead.

[magicalskeptic.livejournal.com]

While she does not look at him, she cannot help but comment. "If undead creatures that can kill the residents for one entire season, are not enough to make them leave, why they now?"

Morgana has an odd notion about the corridor; it is like the inside of the Doctor's head, and although this door is indicating entry, any of the others might provide something equally interesting.

But she's also learned that what is interesting does not always mean relevant, so she looks only to the one door, and opens it.

Instantly, there is a flash, like a powerful bolt of lightning, and that causes her to cover her eyes.

[rude-not-ginger.livejournal.com]

"Well, maybe not, but they usually seek refuge on---"

The light hits him right in the eyes, but he manages to leap forward and slam shut the door. Bright spots obscure his vision a moment.

"Some sort of a trap, I think," he says. "Are you all right? Did you look into it?"

[magicalskeptic.livejournal.com]

Blinking her eyes, Morgana is both frustrated, and, temporarily, almost blinded by the bright spots. The flash was so bright, when her vision begins to clear, it looks like only half of the Doctor is there. "Directly into it, unfortunately." She blinks again.

"We keep going where we we are shown, like livestock being rounded up for slaughter." She pauses, hoping that her comment is only an over-dramatic simile. "They wanted us separated on the street. They wanted us to take shelter inside. They wanted us at this door. I do not want to do what they want anymore."

She squeezes her eyes tightly shut again, hoping to get rid of most of the blotches. Looking back at the Doctor, he is now 3/4 clear, which is enough for her to pick any door and try it -- which she does. She selects the one directly opposite to the trap, and opens.

[rude-not-ginger.livejournal.com]

"No, Morgana, don't---!"

He reaches out to try to stop her, but the door is already open by the time he gets there.

To his surprise, inside the door is a child's bedroom. Dolls line the table and a frilly lace bedspread covers the tiny bed. The walls are a light pink and are adorned with pretty pastel paintings of horses and dolls.

The entire room is coated in about an inch of snow. Despite the low ceiling, a steady stream of light snow continues to fall. The room is unbearably quiet.

Cautiously, the Doctor takes a step in, his trainers crunching in the snow.

[magicalskeptic.livejournal.com]

Morgana is always going to pick a door the Doctor does not want her to. For a moment, she almost says that he said there were four or five more days until winter, but that would be ridiculous because it is snowing inside.

Morgana walks in right behind him, the snow immediately melting on her light summer shoes, making her feet wet and cold, and leaving small traces of the colour from the brackish liquid in her wake. She runs her finger across the top of a dresser, disturbing the snow as one would dust.

There is a distinct temperature difference in this room than in the corridor.

And Morgana says something that is becoming more and more common on this adventure. "Doctor, this snow is not purple either."

The room looks undisturbed, but it is a child's room nonetheless, so Morgana feels obligated to look for one. The first thing she does (with about 90% of her vision back) is crouch down and check under the bed.