The Coriolis Explosion (Ten/SJ)

The Cyberman came within inches of touching The Doctor before the sound of the TARDIS door closing, hit the ears of The Doctor, snapping him out of his frozen state and pushed him to jump back. Bolting to the side of the TARDIS, The Doctor pressed his back up against it and turned his head slightly over to the wood, "Sarah!" he called, trying to project his voice through into the interior, "The port for the sonic is located just beside the main lever. It's in the same spot as the previous desktop backgrounds".

Looking back to the Cybermen, The Doctor quickly moved his head to the left just as a huge metal hand slammed into the blue wood of the TARDIS. Stumbling to find his balance, The Doctor quickly found himself on the floor, gazing up at the two Cybermen as they approached him. One stepped up from over his head, the other just beyond his feet. "Sarah!!!" He exclaimed, jetting his side from side to side with widened eyes as the Cybermen began to trap him. There was nowhere to run..there was nowhere to go...there was only one hope of escape and she stood inside of the TARDIS...her name as Sarah and this time it would be up to her..

She was pressing her thumbnail to her front teeth with quite a bit of force, her feet and eyes near to dancing 'round the console when she heard the Doctor calling from the outside.  At the first word, she reached over and flipped the switch for the monitor.  She was horrified to see the pickle he'd gotten himself into, but thrilled he knew what she needed.

He almost always seemed to know what she needed.

The controls were indeed different from the ones she was used to, but they were as similar as a car to a lorry and she saw the receptor almost immediately.  She thumbed the cover and slid home the sonic with teeth-gritting care.  It wouldn't do now to jam the thing.  It slid in like a knife through butter, drawing a private smile from her.  

There was an indicator light that came on, so simple and profound that she knew instantly what it was.  The upward growing green light made slow and steady progress.  Her mouth popped open with worry and her brain madly calculated the time it would take the green light to get to the top as though judging an oncoming train, then her eyes flickered up to the monitor and the Cybermen attacking the Doctor. No, of course they would not shoot him.  He was much to valuable a specimen for conversion.

And unarmed.

That is what always broke her heart.  Completely unarmed other than perhaps a yo-yo and some candy.  Horrified, her brain did the math, and it didn’t come out well for her friend.

Well, she wasn’t having that. She was armed. She had the TARDIS, and knowledge.  She smacked the lever for the door on her way by it as she came round the front at top speed, and ran for it.

She did not exit, and instead stood in that thrown open threshold.

“Hey!!! Hey! Cybermen!! OVER HERE! I’ve got a TARDIS for you! Come and Get it! All Yours! Time and space!”  She had quite a bit of volume on her when she wished.  Now all she had was words to save him, and math, she supposed as her mind’s eye continued to imagine how much longer it would take before the TARDIS had learned what it must from the Sonic Screwdriver.  

She was shouting and waving them in like she was guiding in airplanes.

“Free TARDIS! A Time Lord’s TARDIS!!”  

She backed up fast and two of the metal men stomped in, and she hoped there would be more.  Thank goodness there was room to run. This was a much better control room for dodging about in.  She hoped the TARDIS knew what to do with the information it was getting.  Sarah Jane Smith was busy.

"Sarah!!" The Doctor exclaimed, extending his hand out to her as if reaching to pull her out of danger as the Cybermen turned their attention to her. Come on Doctor..come on! Find something to use! Do something! All his previous incarnations roared to him, his conscious fighting itself to decide what his body should do.

Peering up to the light on top of the TARDIS, The Doctor was able to calculate how long it would take his infamous machine to process the data and do what he wanted it to do. One blink...then two...then one once more "Fifteen seconds" The Doctor mumbled, reaching desperately into his trench coat to try and find something. His hand shifted through the seemingly endless pocket room, weaving through the unneeded and useless items he felt. Fobwatch, bag of jelly babies, a ball of string, a mouse, a cane. The Doctor stopped as his hand rested on the cane, "So that's where my cane is!" he proclaimed happily before moving it aside and landing his grasp on a banana.

Flipping the banana out, The Doctor held it firmly on one side before squeezing it tightly. With one powerful squirting sound, the delicious fruit flew out from its peel and slid across the floor in front of the Cyberman. Like a baby deer on an ice covered lake, the Cyberman struggled to find his footing before finally toppling over. One Cyberman down..one more to go He thought to himself, tossing the banana peel he held in his hand ,without a further thought in his mind, at the second Cyberman's feet. Like it's predecessor, the Cyberman struggled to find its balance, but unlike the other, this one didn't fall.

Using the time given to him by the struggling Cyberman, The Doctor bolted over to Sarah and grabbed her by the hand before rushing to the back of the TARDIS. BOOM. The TARDIS sent out a green wave from the center of the console, waving throughout the entire space station. Every Cyberman shivered as the wave passed through them before falling dead to the ground. The man held his head in pain before, like the Cybermen around him, falling to the ground. The Doctor covered Sarah in a defensive hug, guarding her with his back and arms with closed eyes as the wave finished engulfing the entire station.

She hoped it was enough.

She hoped the small nudge she'd been able to give the situation had given the Doctor his chance to get free. There was little more she could do other than dash about not getting caught, and hope that if this plan didn't pan out that she could get the self destruct before they killed her.

She knew well enough how horrible it would be if the Cybermen acquired for themselves a TARDIS. She didn't think they'd be able to fly it any time soon, but in a decade? In a hundred years? Surely, eventually they'd figure it out if they survived the learning curve.

Over the years, she'd felt the TARDIS buck and spin and drop. She'd never felt a thump travel through the floor as one did now. She whipped around to see one of the Cybermen down, and the Doctor (blessedly whole), throwing a banana of all things at the tin man closest to her. She stood frozen as it suddenly started skittering as though on well oiled roller skates. The random, wild pinwheeling of it's arms seemed particularly dangerous, and she was shrinking away from it.

Then the Doctor was there at her side, pulling her away from the the thing without missing a step. They ran together toward the back wall. Then the world turned green. A green so green it seemed to drill into her mind. She did not so much as faint as become overwhelmed by a green so deep and thick she could taste it. Sarah Jane felt her knees go, and a sad sharp dread she was about to hit the floor. That was when her friend enveloped her. Down they crumpled together, him taking the worst of the impact. Her arms were wrapped around his arms, as if she could protect him even as he protected her.

All of that, she was was only half aware of as green drove through her mind.
Then it was gone. She clutched at his wrists, almost afraid to move. Everything had gone quiet so suddenly.

"Doctor??" She inquired, voice clipped and curious, hoping the worst was over.

The Doctor grunted, his body finally giving way as he slumped to the floor beside him and rolled over to his back. "Oh that doesn't feel good" He mumbled, wincing as small sparks of green electricity bounced across his body before hitting the floor beside him and evaporating, "You alright Sarah?" he asked, "Hope you didn't get zizzed up...slight miss hap with my nervous system...it'l just take me a moment to get it back in order...hold on".

Slowly, The Doctor rolled over and got to his knees, releasing a sigh of relief before standing up and cracking his back, "There we go! Just a bit of rest is all it took!" he exclaimed with new found energy. Turning to Sarah, The Doctor eyed her carefully, looking for any signs of her being harmed. Lastly, checking her eyes, his thumbs providing better sight into her retina before he was able to conclude she was alright, "You seem fine" he mumbled, "Although..i'd keep running and high oxygen intake activities to a minimum for the next twenty four hours..just to be safe".

Suddenly the sound of sirens roared throughout the ship as a Shadow Proclamation ship docked with the station and announced its presence, "Attention all passengers. You will be checked for cyber technologies, any and all cybermen will be destroyed" a Judoon voice proclaimed. The Doctor looked over to Sarah, gesturing to the TARDIS with his head, "I think that's our cue..what do you think?".

They rolled away from each other as limbs began to stir again, him on his back, her onto her belly.  She pressed up to her elbows and looked across at him there.  Her hair seemed to be the only victim for her part of it, crazy a-tumble.  She was fair certain that he'd shielded her from whatever that just was that the TARDIS had done.  If he was sizzling, she would have been toast.

"Doctor! You're--" She almost said 'glowing' but he was already looking at where it shimmered on his hand, so she didn't bother.  He'd only tease.  She wish he'd tease!  A couple of seconds went by with no answer. "Doctor?!"

"Oh that doesn't feel good"

"Do you need me to  . . ." She pressed up and got her shins under her. " . .put you out?" though the crackle of energy seemed to be already fading.  Though she was looking hard at him for an answer, there was no ignoring the two heavy piles of metal.  She wanted the Doctor up and functioning, just in case those things started getting restless.

"You alright Sarah?" he said first, of course, fine fellow that he was.

"Well, I'm late for my meeting at the Gazette, and everything went green, and now it's sort of redish."

The green cones in her eyes had fired long and hard enough, that the red cones were trying to make up for lost time.  She was climbing to her feet, blinking a little.  

"Hope you didn't get zizzed up.."

"Not Zizzled .  . .just rumpled . . . what about you? You're glowing!" she was brushing her hands off on her thighs.  She stepped away from him to get a good quick look around.  Everything was still, still and quiet except for steam that could still be heard outside the door.  She warily eyed the fallen Cybermen.

" --slight miss hap with my nervous system"

"Is a miss hap bigger than a bread box?"  

"It'll just take me a moment to get it back in order."

"That would be a first." She returned to him, looking down frowning and worried "Can you get up?"

"..hold on"

It worried her that he didn't leap up. When he rolled over, she bent and caught both of her hands under his armpit.  Hugging his arm she stood up with him giving a good press to the vertical. She well knew the routine as he had to give himself a bit of vigor to bring himself around.  Sometimes it was like hanging out with a windmill.  It made her grin at him quite fondly, not to mention the joy that he was back on his feet.  It was rare he went down, and it was as worrisome as when a horse lay down.  He was returning to his usual fettle with the same abruptness as a spirited horse as well, all but tossing his shiny mane.

"There we go! Just a bit of rest is all it took!" He said with almost patronizing verve.

"Your coat smells smokey." She informed him as he looked her over in equal judgement.  It was a sensation as calming as a shot of brandy, though she liked the taste of him better.  She let him check out her eyes without fuss, knowing it was the quickest way to get answers.  It had been a mighty bright green.

"I'm alright. Looks alright now to, but just thinking about that light gives me a headache."

"You seem fine" he mumbled, "Although..i'd keep running and high oxygen intake activities to a minimum for the next twenty four hours..just to be safe".


"Is that supposed to be funny?" She couldn't tell, and gave him a frozen smile for it, inwardly amused none the less.

The sudden sirens made her startle, and she studied the Doctor's face for his reaction like one would a canary in a coal mine. Clearly, the cops had come, the right ones, by the look on her friend's face.  She approved of his tone quite a bit.

"We won the battle, now lets see if we can win the war." She went back with him. "You'll help me, won't you? Back on Earth? Or have you bent time too far already?" She set her mouth a little, realizing she had no call on him. "Please? "

She was formal enough, though her words came simple and easy.  She knew he would if he could.

The Doctor glanced over his shoulder at Sarah as they both entered the TARDIS, listening to her questions and her pleads, "What do you mean?" he asked her as he approached the control console, "There's nothing happening on Earth, if there was then i'd know about it". Looking over to the scanner, The Doctor pulled it over then yanked down the main lever, placing the TARDIS just outside of the space station.

"When you were popped into the station, it jumped you not only through space but also time" The Doctor said suddenly, looking up at the young Sarah, her very image reminding him of the young face that left his TARDIS with the promise that they would meet again. "The year is 2014 Sarah. Well...on Earth..here it's..4035, October the 1st to be exact" He added, peering over to the scanner, his eyes ready to look back to Sarah before something caught his eye, "Hold on.." he mumbled, leaning closer to the scanner.

Suddenly the TARDIS jerked forward and then to the side, The Doctor holding onto the edge of the console to make sure he did not fling around the control room like a rag doll. Then just as fast as the sudden movement happened, it stopped. The Doctor danced around the controls, trying to figure out what happened before his attention shifted to the doors then to Sarah. Without a single word, The Doctor rushed over the doors and yanked both of them open. His eyes widened as they sank onto the overlooking view of seemingly endless Cyberships moving in on the space station. Judoon ships roared out of hyperdrive and began to open fire on the Cyberships, who returned it just as quickly. "They were just plan on converting the space station...that was the first stop on a galaxy wide conversion...".

He had the audacity to argue with her.

"Don't be rediculous! This is you knowing about it . .finding out about it.  Right  . .now now! What? Did you think I flew on a magic carpet to get here? No.  Abducted by Aliens, and so were all the other people I saw in the pods, all getting their brains zapped right out of them!" She continued to put him straight while he got the TARDIS underway. "So if you're planning on just dropping me back off in 1978 and going your merry way-"  She clung, hard, the miff she was feeling bringing an extra tenacity to her grip as they were flung about. "Then you're just wasting your time.  Oh, you bet you'll be coming right back when it falls apart, so why not just go back . . .with  . .me . . .??"She trailed off as they landed, and he gave her a wild look.  A terrible look.  He bolted for the door, she a thundering half pace behind him.  She bumped into his side as he flung back the doors, then took a hard grip of his lapel, regarding space sideways in the crook of his arm.

It was a bit much to take head on.  A veritable sea of Cyberships  claimed most of the space around them. Everywhere she looked. They'd stood wary of a single Cybership before, and barely survived.  What now? What now?

"They were just plan on converting the space station...that was the first stop on a galaxy wide conversion..." The Doctor explained in horror.  So. This was it.  They might have to go back in there.  Perhaps she was trying to harden herself to fate as she let go of him and took a step closer to the edge.  Standing until the safety of the TARDIS was no longer in her vision.

"Do . .do we have to go back in there?" She snapped her worried gaze back to his. "We . .we can't let the Cybermen win! But . .is this the beginning? Or the end?"  If it ended in 4035, then when did it start? 1978?  Did he say he was from 2014?

Oh why hadn't she listened to K-9!

((My Sarah Jane!! Welcome back!!))

Sarah Jane, the glimmer of hope that was always there for his previous incarnations; always there to lend her shining smile and flashing brown eyes for comfort in times of need. And here she was again, standing beside him facing down countless Cyberships, asking questions that managed to spark a smirk on The Doctor's face as he turned to look at Sarah.

"Oh Sarah Jane" He mumbled, looking back out towards the Cyberships one last time before closing the double doors and placing his back on them as they closed shut. "Whoever said i was going to let them win" He continued, "Especially with you at my side Sarah, come on, all those things we faced. There's nothing we can't stop". Flashing a reassuring smile to Sarah, The Doctor bolted back up to the controls, "No! Now my plan just needs to be expanded a bit..i was just planning on using the data you got to send an emp pulse throughout the space station, knocking out their emotional inhibitors. But instead, we'l have to use it as a staging point...which means we have to go back in there" he told Sarah, looking over to her as he finished, "We need their machine. The one that brought you here. With that we can use the station as a beacon to send out the pulse throughout the Cyber-fleet.".

"Now only if i had that scarf...still got it somewhere but still..i could just wrap my scarf around the ships and fling them away" The Doctor joked, trying to relieve Sarah of her worries as he stood up straight, one hand on the main lever, the other reaching into his pocket for something. "So Sarah..i just have one question for you" He continued, pulling out a bag of jelly babies and extending them out to Sarah, "Allons-y?".

It was not lost on her.  How illogical it was that even though they were surrounded, and even though she'd never known anything to get past the TARDiS doors, it wasn't until the Doctor put his body between her and the other side of those doors that she could really think again.

He leaned there, slim and pale, her standing across from him, her hands on her hips, and worry tugging at her lower lip.  She saw it plain as day when he started to jolly her along, and while his words brought her thin comfort, she was immensely warmed that he would try; warmed that he needed her.  She could see it in the corners of his eyes.   Deep in his eyes, she could almost see ideas swirling.  Or Galaxies.  Was there much difference between worlds and a Time Lord's musings? Sometimes she thought not.  Sarah Jane was left standing there staring at the closed doors as her friend suddenly ran up the ramp to the controls.

She reached out and touched the wood.  Did her death lay on the other side?

"Hand to hand, we could hardly slow them enough to get out of there.  What impact do you think you could have on that whole swarm of ships?"

Of course, he had an answer, and of course she didn't like it very much.  She shuddered to think of that strange and stinking processing room where the machine had done it's best to pith her along with the others. However, it was easy to see that it was a rather powerful machine, one that might be enough for the Doctor's plans.  She supposed he, of anyone, could turn that abomination into some sort of salvation for the Universe.  

She found herself trotting up the ramp toward him. There was work to do.  

As she watched him work, an ache shot through her for face she knew, for cello of his voice, for all that this new tenor was just as expressive.  She ached for the feel of his long, elegant hand wrapping around hers.  She missed reading his mood from the brim of his hat.  There was something to be said, though, for those wide open eyes that were hidden by neither curls nor dour.  

"Now only if i had that scarf...still got it somewhere but still..i could just wrap my scarf around the ships and fling them away" he speculated with wild eyes, so clearly inviting her to be in on the joke, she couldn't resist.  She felt freed as well that maybe he could still read her as easily as he always had.

"Is that what a Time Lord dream looks like?" She teased. "Giant scarves that save everyone? I also noticed that you've managed to dream yourself up a control column of very impressive size." Her voice dripped honey on sarcasm as she gave it a short but suggestive caress.

Her mouth twitched with one last worry, for their laugh hadn't been quite enough to settle her.

"I have one question for you-" She said rather seriously, lashes as dark lowered wings, wanting to half hide her eyes in the arches of them. "Has everything changed too much for  . .us?"

"So Sarah..i just have one question for you-" He said back, fishing something out of his pocket.  A familiar rustle of paper gave her chills, then a wave of pleased heat to her cheeks. "Allons-y?"

Her hand felt steady as she reached into the bag, and she felt a smile overcoming her. Orange; ever one of her favorites.  As she worked it's sweetness in her mouth, she recalled how often he tried to tame feral creatures with Jelly Babies.  Was he trying to tame her? That made her bust out laughing, because she knew it wasn't true, or at least it didn't matter.

"N'importe où!"

The Doctor grinned widely as Sarah replied in french, he never knew she knew french but then again, he never spoke it front of her until now. Yanking down the main lever, the TARDIS pulled back forcefully, causing The Doctor to grab hold of the edges of the control console just to keep himself from falling. Looking up at the time rotor, The Doctor's grin held firm, "Haha! Come on old girl!" he exclaimed happily, lifting his foot up on the controls and yanking down the helmet regulator to increase the speed.

Jelly babies nearly flew everywhere if it weren't for The Doctor death gripping the top of the paper bag, keeping them from escaping and scattering everywhere. With one final thrust forward, the TARDIS landed, nearly sending The Doctor head first into the time rotor in the center of the control console. Breathing heavily, The Doctor slowly stood back up straight, opened the back and popped in a blue jelly baby, "Alright then..." he sniffed, setting the bag down and turning towards the doors.

Once down the ramp, The Doctor faced the doors in a moment of hesitation, knowing what stood outside the doors, knowing the danger that came with it and the precious cargo he had standing behind him. "Allons-y" The Doctor mumbled before quickly opening the doors, making sure to position his body in the center of the door frame and do his best to protect Sarah if something happened. Before him stood a row of Cybermen, their arms extended ready to shoot the time lord dead on the spot. And behind them, the device used to bring Sarah into his time, the device The Doctor needed, the device the universe needed.

"The Doctor will surrender, The Doctor will be upgraded" The Cybermen ordered; The Doctor laughed as he stepped forward, placing his hands nonchalantly into his pockets, "The Doctor will not". "You have no choice" The man proclaimed, stepping forward with a menacing smirk, "You are surrounded Doctor. Your precious sonic screwdriver can do nothing. You're TARDIS can do..nothing. You can do nothing to stop us Doctor and if you can't...who will?". The Doctor nodded, "Good point, but! You're missing a key piece of information. I am not the only one trying to stop you" he replied, "Back behind me stands a person you shot into this time line using that machine...in doing so you linked her to that technology. It connected to her biological signature to bring her here, and unless i am wrong..which i usually am not..they're still connected. Which means she can use its controls. You see that's what your missing! All your armor and Cybernetic upgrades! And implants! You take out the one thing that makes everything tick...touch...a soul to power millions of thoughts and minds. The power of a human soul...the power it took to bring it here has the power to stop you".

The game was afoot. She saw it in his eyes. She saw him see her agree, then dive in. This is how it always was between them. Once they'd decided to go, they were going to run off the edge, hand in hand shouting about the view. The Doctor had already started the game, driving the TARDIS as though wrangling a dozen feisty horses. Sarah Jane held on for dear life, appreciating the padded railings. It was so good to watch him do what he did best (or perhaps worst) that for a little while she didn't care where they were going or why. It was enough to be here with him again, riding the TARDIS through the Vortex like kids on a suped up boogie board.

If anyone could have listened in, they might have thought the pair were heading off to a party, not an entanglement of Cybermen. The only other thing in creation that could overhear them was the TARDIS itself that stopped to take note of the familiar flavor within. Sexy caught on just in time to hitch a bit to the y axis instead of the x, keeping The Girl from knocking out her teeth as three dimensions shuddered their way right through four, five, six or more. Depending on how you counted it. Sarah Jane wound up on her back giggling as the TARDIS thumped to a stop. SHe was back on her feet before the Doctor could reach her, and she was dashing with him to the door. There was a small move from his hand and she tucked in behind him, having had an eye out for any plan that might arise.

The Cybermen were quite terrifying as they threatened her friend, and she was glad of this moment's reprieve as the Doctor stood between her and them as though there were unpredictable dogs at the door.

Party? Battle? Something else? It could wind up to be just about anything. She realized as she listened to the doors open that the way they crashed a party or a battle were really much the same. She recognized the cue right away when he gave it. It was no cape he wore, but he flourished his charm and his coat just the same. She slipped out of the TARDIS in that brandish of his cloth and chit chat. Oh, so casual was he as he stood before being who wanted nothing more to rip him limb from limb and use the spare parts for the betterment of their race.

She took instantly to shadow, the Doctor the perfect distraction. As she listened to his words, she knew they were as much for her as for these hungry metal men. He was telling her what she needed to do, and she didn't want to do it.

That horrid row of banded clear coffins that looked as trapped as blood samples in a centrifuge. The smell in this room was most evocative of all. That sweet, stale, greasy smell that made her throat tighten and her breath short.

She wasn't at the controls, but she was within a wild leap of them as the Doctor's chastising began to wind down. She hoped he had some way of explaining to her what to do with them. The leavers were thick and heavy looking, with very little markings on them. She tired to let the Doctor get a glimpse of her pale face from the shadow of a machine that she was ducked beside, heart pounding.

He looked quite brash up there. Maybe it was the flash of her very straight white teeth that he'd see in the dark there.

The cyber-planner chuckled, smirking as he peered back to the surrounding Cybermen with an overwhelming expression of bewilderment and joy, "Oh right and some stupid girl from Earth..not even current time Earth is going to stop one of the biggest fleets in the Cyberman armada?!". Glancing over to Sarah, The Doctor noticed her smile and flashed her a slight smirk of his own before turning his attention back to the Cybermen. "Well...anybody can flip the second switch towards the center of the controls then yank down the three levers on the side and press the middle green and red buttons." The Doctor retorted, rubbing the back of his head before bursting out into a run that lead him to a merchant's counter, where he climbed up onto it and stood higher over the Cybermen who all turned to and looked up at him.

With all the attention shifted to him, The Doctor extended out his arms, "So go on then" he called out, "If your plan is so fail proof then shoot me and end it all now". The Cyber-planner stood completely baffled, cautiously looking at The Doctor as the other Cybermen extended out their arms towards the elevated Doctor. "If you don't think i have any more plans! If you think i have nothing left to fight you with then you go on then! Come on! Shoot me if you think that this is it!" The Doctor further antagonized the Cybermen, knowing that they would be the first to do something, no the planner who was furiously trying to figure out if The Doctor was bluffing or not, "So the question is, am i bluffing or not?".

One moment there was silence, then one single shot fired from a Cyberman, then a cry of agitation from the planner, "No!" he proclaimed.

She had slipped through, as ignored as a cat in the shadows of a warehouse, all the attention on the Doctor. He had them in the palm of his hand. He made it so easy. She had not let herself be distracted, however, and was pleased to be in place as he wound his story 'round to make her relevant. He'd even gone so far as to be complimentary. She was hoping it was because he was feeling guilty about something and hoped to make it up to her. Those were usually the best trips, where they actually spent local currency and splurged a bit.

So many times they'd foiled the greedy and the violent. The best was when you could do it with a bit of flare. When you could make a bit of magic and find your way into history. That . . . being remembered, was often what counted in the course of a civilization. To become part of folklore. She loved playing magician's assistant whenever they managed that extra bit of flare.

She was ready when her cue came. She was grinning when his eyes found her. Her hands were poised as he started to relay the task to her, bold as a primary school teacher. The trouble was, she wasn't looking at anything like that. The control panel was rugged and strange like massive squid suckers that seemed to glow from within. Amber. Blue, army green. The monitors looked familiar enough, but the controls all around might as well have grown there like some strange creature.

She gave a small shake of her head, eyes going wide, and started trying to do charades for him. Sarah Jane Smith had never been particularly good at charades, but she was hoping her desperate enthusiasm would make up for that.

The Doctor smirked as one Cyberman fell into his trap, releasing a shot from his arm. The Cyber Planner shouted in rage as he smacked down the Cyberman's arm then peered up at The Doctor. Taking a step back, The Doctor hopped from the merchants counter. The laser continued it's course straight and upwards. "Oh.." The Cyber Planner huffed as he realized the flaw in his plan. The Doctor had positioned himself in front of a fuel line in the ceiling of the space station; knowing the limit of Cybermen patience, all he had to do was push them just enough. One second the laser as roaring towards the pipe line, the next, causing it to rupture and explode.

As fast as his legs could take him, The Doctor rushed over to Sarah, weaving in and out of the confused Cybermen. Just as he reached the machine and Sarah, the laser hit the pipe and tore through the hull of the ship. Immediately the air began to get sucked up along with the Cybermen and the planner. "Grab hold!" The Doctor yelled to Sarah as he gripped tightly onto the device, "Tap the blue button three times, yank down the lever to your left then place your hand on the top dna scanner!"

Countless Cybermen began to lift up off of the ground and fly through the gaping hole in the ship thanks to the explosion. Just like the Cybermen, The Doctor began to lift up, his arms extended out as he continued to hold onto the machine, "When you're done. Kick off of the ground! We only have one shot and you have to trust me! Kick off and aim for the hole!" he yelled over the sound of the rushing air.

How did he always know? Was this some trick of time where he ran forward and back through reality, making everything plum with his 20/20 hindsight? Did he dive into disaster with 3 or 4 backup plans already in place? Was he taking into account that she might fail, even as he'd touted her abilities to the Cybermen? Or, perhaps, it was that the Doctor was just very very quick.

She suspected it might be all of those ingredients with a dash of luck thrown in.

She gasped as they began to shoot. Casual as a stroll, the Doctor was stepping this way and that, that lightning fast mind of his combined with his Mastery of Venusian Aikido making it look easy. Still, it was stunning to see. Then he was running right for her, the whites of his eyes showing all the way around with his intensity. He was suddenly a dynamic shadow shape against a ball of fire.

"Grab hold!"

"Oh, @#$%!"

There was a bang that hurt her ears, and her hair went everywhere.

Most ships that did anything more than put-putter through space had strategic. Certainly around anything that would need manipulating. Gravity, in a ship, was not always a certain thing, and usually there was quite a bit of work to be getting done in a hurry if the gravity went out. This ship had impressively sized ones clearly designed to accommodate the hands of it's sizable crew members. Sarah Jane plunged an arm through one and took a good grip of her own lapel with that hand. Her clothing was rustling desperately against her like a sail with a crisp tack in a sudden gale.

"Doctor!" she shrieked, but that very instant realized that he was directly beside her, having found the angle for her head so that the desperate sucking wind pulled her hair out of her face rather than into it. They were equally captured by the rush of air out of the ship, his long brown coat streaming frenetic in the wind.

"Tap the blue button three times, yank down the lever to your left then place your hand on the top dna scanner!"
And from this new angle, she could see exactly what he meant. A will to live that rivaled some of the greatest wills in the Universe kept Sarah Jane's hand clamped hard in place on her shirt and her life as she dangled from her elbow and fought her way quickly through each simple but wildly necessary task. All the while Cybermen being swept into the void raged, screamed and moaned. She'd never forget it and in the years to come it would wake her in the night. It was a terrible background for the Doctor's next idea. Even as the Cybermen screamed and were swept away, he was telling her to join them.

" -When you're done. Kick off of the ground!"

"Kick off!" She tapped the blue button (now over her head) twice. "That's crazy!" She tapped it hard again.


"We only have one shot and you have to trust me! Kick off and aim for the hole!"

"Aim for the hole!" Her voice was absolutely lyrical with sarcasm and accusation as she yanked down the !@#$% lever. Did he even hear what he was saying? He'd gone mad. Still, she knew she would do it. The rising fear of it and the strain to reach for the only thing that looked like a scanner pad kept her lips drawn back from those even white teeth of hers. Her hand was gripping at her shirt so hard, it was going numb. Or was the oxygen that had been flying past her already getting thin?

Her palm slapped against her target, and she pressed it hard there with a little shriek of effort and triumph. It was a huge relief to get to hold on with both hands now, and she turned her head to look for him, peering through the radical dark locks of her hair.

He couldn't have been serious about letting go. She was looking to see what the actual plan was.

The Doctor watched Sarah as she did what he told her to then when she looked over to him, he locked eyes with his long time companion. Taking her hand, he held it tightly, "Don't let go no matter what" he yelled to her, trying to speak over the sound of the crashing surroundings. The air was fleeting faster and faster by each second, placing more pressure on The Doctor to execute the last portion of his plan.

With all the strength in his arms, The Doctor pulled his body closer to the machine and kicked out his leg to the clamp holding the machine to the metal floor. It budged. And that was just enough as the air pressure around the machine caused it to come loose. SNAP!. The clamps busted and the machine flew up towards the gaping hole in the hull of the ship. One moment the duo were hovering over the machine, their clamped on hands the only thing stopping them from flying into deep space; now they held on for dear life.

Then it stuck. The machine clogged the hole and everything fell straight to the ground. The Doctor grinned, looking up at the machine, "Hahahaha!!" he exclaimed, "Now, just gotta activate it" he grunted, flipping his leg up and kicking the lever. The machine grumbled and roared as it prepared itself. Then with a flash of light, a green wave was emitted from the machine. Echoing throughout the ship and through the foreseeable space around it. The Cyber-ships were wrapped around it, the very metal shaking before it blew up into smithereens. Cybermen across the space station shook as the pulse echoed through them before they plummeted to the ground. "We alright Sarah?" The Doctor asked Sarah, beginning to think of a way for them to get down.

He was the only one who could have gotten through to her in that moment. There in the storm the Doctor had created, in the middle of a Cyberman invasion force, caught between the dubious safety of the ship and outer space, he caught her hand He caught her eyes. He caught her soul like he always did. The look on his face told her she would be alright if she went along with the plan; that everything would be fine. Mostly.


At any rate, it would be easier to hold on than it would have been to let go, irregardless of the growing ache from her elbow. Would that she'd had the energy to be supportive in that moment, for she really was quite grateful. Instead, what popped out was exactly what she needed from him just then. After all, he'd just gotten done telling her what he needed her to do.

"You better get to it!" She shouted through her hair, sounding cross. With a tilt of her head, her face was suddenly revealed again, her expression caught between fate and faith.

She let go of his hand, knowing that isn't what he'd meant. He'd just held her hand to make sure she was listening. She hooked that second hand through the handle, winding both arms with it and hugging tight. When she saw what he was doing, she added her push to his. Their success and their sudden upward shooting toward the black hole of certain death ripped a shriek out of her. Thank goodness such spectacle added panicked strength to her grip. It would have taken a Cyberman dangling from her ankle to pull her loose those hurtling seconds.

Instead of shooting out into space, the screeched to a sudden halt. Her cheek bounced off the metal, but that was the worst of her problems. Somehow, he'd done it again. She shot a look over to where she hoped he still dangled, thrilled beyond belief to see him dangling there; to hear his triumphant laughter.

Madman. She herself was sporting quite a smile, though it was spiced with grimace. She was not particularly good at hang time.

"Now, just gotta activate it"

"The lift?" She suggested with hopeful sarcasm.

It was not the lift. It was an explosion of some sort, though it did not seem to touch her as it reverberated out as a blinding bit of green light like a smoke ring. She could feel the backlash though, of distant explosion. Of the thunder of falling bodies. She hoped not to join them.

"We alright, Sarah?"

"Well, I'm fine, but you're completely mad!" She clung with two arms and now a knee to that single handhold. Well, perhaps she was mad, the other sort of mad. That little ride had been terrifying.

But they had survived it. She found herself breaking into laughter.

"Mad!" She guffawed. Then she groaned, but not without humor. Her dangling was most comfortable.

"Oi! Doctor! This was easier when this way was 'down'! I wish this was 'down' and that was 'up' again." she said with worried whist.

The Doctor grinned at Sarah's replies, oh how he loved her little sayings and false insults towards him. It reminded him of the earlier days of his travels and life. Even though they were in danger, he wished this moment would never end, facing down an army of Cybermen with Sarah and that huge mad grin of his. Then Sarah's voice echoed over to him, her Oi![i] calling out to him and snapping him out of his gaze.

Peering over his side, The Doctor locked sight on the lift, [i]Only have one shot at this he thought as he slowly unhooked his left hand from the bar and began to reach into his inside pocket. Feeling himself slip, The Doctor quickly placed his hand back onto the bar to regain his balance. Now, with his weaker right hand, he reached down and grabbed hold of his sonic screwdriver. Extending it out towards the lift, he activated his trusty device and the lift rose up to the top floor.

Despite being at the top floor, the top of the lift was still a few feet from where The Doctor and Sarah currently dangled. Maneuvering around the bar, The Doctor positioned his body to face the lift roof. Swinging back and forth, The Doctor waited until he got enough momentum to be able to leap out enough to grab the edge of the roof. With a thud, The Doctor's body slammed up against the side of the lift and with one loud grunt, he pulled himself up onto the top of the lift roof. Turning back towards Sarah, The Doctor extended out both of his hands, "Come on Ms. Smith!" he called out to her, "Move your way to that last pipe there and swing! I'll catch you...i promise!".

It had gone so quiet after such a terrible barrage of sound and wind. She could actually hear his flesh squeak on metal as his grip slipped. The room cried back like cold iron as she shrieked. He caught himself and she was left panting where she clung hanging, hair dangling, from the 'ceiling'.

"Be careful!" She insisted, however unrealistically.

What he did next was astonishing. He aimed the sonic screwdriver like it was some sort of weapon. There was nothing anywhere near him, but suddenly the lift that was dozens of meters below them began to rise. Sink. Well, it depends on how you looked at it. Sarah Jane's perspective was strange indeed, arching her head back (down?) to watch it grow as the lift gained on them. What in heaven's name had he done to his sonic screwdriver? Souped it up like some Jalopy?

"Wha-? Lands! Doctor!"

Each thing he did seemed even less likely than the bit before it, but it was surprising how quickly he managed to land on his feet. The next part of his plan was even less likely than all that had come before it.

He wanted her to jump. Not just jump, but swing then jump on to that platform that looked all to small from here. Well, it was closer to her than it had been to him, but . . . . .

She looked down (up?) in an effort to convince herself that she could do it, and the floor seemed to fall away into dizzying distance. Vertigo. She shrieked and curled tight against the control panel, clinging there with all the advantage she had from her simian ancestory. An instant later she shot a look at him, hair flying, jaw stubborn and teeth bared.

"I can't! I can't do it I'll fall!!"

The Doctor kept his hand extended out towards Sarah, watching her with wide eyes and a bead of sweat rolling down the side of his face. "Sarah you have to jump! Jump or fall..either way i will catch you!" He called out to her, standing on the edge of the roof of the lift. Thinking back to when Sarah was stuck in the conduit, or so she thought for the time being, The Doctor began to devise a plan around how he was able to get her out before. "Sarah" He started again, "Remember that time you crawled and got stuck in that conduit? And i egged you on until you got out? You did that all by yourself, you didn't need my help Sarah..you never did".

"I've seen what you can be..what you're going to be Sarah" The Doctor continued, this time thinking back to when he met the future version of Sarah, the older and yet still brilliant Sarah he knew and loved, "And it doesn't end here. It never ends here....not with me here Sarah...i will always catch you...fall or jump....just trust me". Arching his eyebrow, The Doctor extended out his hand further as if to nudge her into burst out into a leap of faith.

At the same moment, a half surviving Cyber Unit crawled across the metal floor in front of the lift, its arms out stretched up towards The Doctor as if calling out to him. It had enough power to shoot him, easily, but it didn't, instead it just rested there, waiting for the Time Lord to shift his attention onto it. Waiting for those brown eyes to meet it's grey gaze.

She did not fall. She did not jump.  The best way to describe her dismount was- 'Incoming'.  You bet she remembered the time in the vent.  That instant, she'd wanted a better angle to reprimand him from, and craned away this way and that to get the hair out of her face and to use one hand to make gestures.

What she said wasn't important.  Perhaps it was Rant #32.  It was his words that mattered. That caught her; that held her.  The funny thing was, that what he said comforted her enough that the iron grip she had finally sagged loose.

That would be the part where she'd sort of swung by one knee, got her other foot on the wrong side on the back swing, then found herself suddenly falling loose with a shriek.  Mid-air, she groped frantically for him.  Some of her arc in his direction may have come from sheer will, though she had managed to push off with her second foot when she'd realized she was going over.

Going down.

Going upside down.

"Dooooctoor!"

The Doctor's eyes grew wide as he saw Sarah flail herself off of the machine handle and in somewhat of an effort, propel off with a second effort. Was it enough? It has to be. Period. Leaning out as far as he could without falling himself, The Doctor inched his fingers out until he could feel something of hers. But it wasn't her hand, instead it was her heel, his mind finally clicking that she was currently dangling upside down from an elevator. Surely if she fell she would plummet to her death, with The Doctor of course since letting go wasn't an option, but falling certainly was if he couldn't muster enough strength to pull her up.

Closing his eyes and gritting his teeth, The Doctor began to slowly pull Sarah up by one leg, "The one time being skinny is a bad thing!" he mumbled. Lowering her down, The Doctor got down onto his stomach then reached and grabbed her second leg so he now held both. "Sarah! I need you to try and grab hold of something. Or pull your self up so i can grab your hands. I can't pull you up this way." The Doctor yelled down to her, gritting his teeth even more, "Nice pants by the way, at least we're both fashionable right now" he tried to joke, "Just....just do a sit up and reach for my hands. I will let go of your feet and grab your hands then i can pull you up. Come on Sarah, almost there!".

It was, perhaps, the origin of the alarm. The sound that came out of her with each breath as she dangled from her foot upside down over a chasm of metal and disaster. Her foot was in a grip of flesh, not metal. Somehow, he had caught her, though she'd thought she'd missed the hijacked elevator most spectacularly. Sarah Jane wasn't screaming, but she couldn't stop making the sounds she was making even knowing her friend had her.

And that he would not drop her. Or he'd find them some way of surviving this unsurvivable fall, for if she was going over, no doubt so was he.

"Oh! Doctor!" She finally managed in English. His words began to make sense as well, his plan, simple, terrible, and perfect. The fix she was in was so bad it made his plan sound great. With a 'hummmf!' of effort, she managed to pike up toward him, with some speed. If there had been any air in her lungs at that point, she would have screamed some more. However, only her eyes could scream as she wrapped her hands around her own insteps.

She swore, silently at the maneuver. She'd never expected those dance lessons to pay off.

"Fire . . . . Sale!!" She grunted, voice strained, teeth gritted, air not much more than a whisper.

"Nice . . .Catch!"

Nice pants indeed.

The Doctor chuckled with a grunt, "Yeah, i try" he mumbled, "Ok. Now on three, one...two...three" he instructed. On three, he quickly let go of her feet and snagged her hands. Her legs now dangling towards the floor instead of her head, a much better sight, for The Doctor and especially her. "Much better wouldn't you agree? Now come on" The Doctor smiled, grunting as he slowly pulled her up, scooting up to his knees then falling back onto his back as he gave one last thrust. His hands shifting from her hands, to her wrist, then to her waist as she progressed upwards until finally flopping onto safety.

Which also just so happened to be his body, the one time he needed a breath, he couldn't because he had fallen back and had Sarah on top of him. Grinning, The Doctor began to laugh, "I suppose i should have asked you if you were afraid of heights before all of that huh?" he joked.

Suddenly the sound of the cranking arm of the half destroyed Cyberman made its way to The Doctor's ears and grabbed his attention. "Did you hear that?" He asked Sarah, peering around, "Sounded like a Cyberman..can't be..come on, let's take a look". Wiggling out from under Sarah, The Doctor crawled to the edge of the elevator roof and hoped down, landing on his feet and dusting his suit off as he looked around until finally spotting it. Squatting down in front of it, The Doctor eyed the machine carefully, "Why haven't you shot at me yet? Hmm?" he asked it, "Life support systems failing. Power level failing" the Cyberman stuttered, "The wave...". The Doctor paused, processing what the Cyberman had just said, "What'd you just say?", "The wave is coming...you must p..p...pre-".

Without another word, the Cybermen slumped to the ground dead, leaving The Doctor in a deep thought, nearly forgetting all about Sarah on top of the elevator. His eyebrows narrowing in a focused brain storm, permanently locking in this two words into his brain as he sniffed, got up and turned to the elevator, "What are you sun bathing up there? Come on, i want to get out of here already...bad luck staying here".