Functional Art

((Closed to Ninny and Robin))

Robin raced into the console room as fast as she could, trying her best to navigate through the twisting halls of the TARDIS. Once, just once she was going to beat the Doctor! Every time she actually slept in here, he was always the first one up. She was starting to think he never slept at all. She knew, of course, he didn't need as much sleep as she did, but this was bloody ridiculous. Rounding the last corner, she flung herself into the console room.

Rolling her eyes, she crossed her arms and sighed, attempting to catch her breath as she made it to the jump seat. 'You know, I'm starting to think you just don't ever sleep. Ever. Or eat. Seriously, even Time Lords have to do something like that, right?' Raising an eyebrow at the Doctor, she realized she could only hold the 'serious' look for so long and stuck her tongue out at him, glancing over at the controls. 'Where to then? I've been wanting to go to Queheitia for a while. Not the best name they could have chosen - a bit complicated - but Sonya never got around to taking me like she said she would... hm.' She trailed off, looking back up at him afterwards. 'They're the ones with that big art... thing, right?' Oh yes, so very specific.

Rolling her eyes, Robin rose from the seat with a huff, hurrying back towards her room. 'Human things.' Whenever he said things like that she always felt so... small. Eh. Still, though, it wouldn't hurt to actually take care of herself. His little statistic, though, that was still going through her head, trying to process. Two to three hours?! A week?! She needed more sleep than that on a daily basis! Well technically she did, didn't mean she always actually stayed asleep that long... Nearing the bathroom, she let out an annoyed sigh and pushed the door open, moving inside sluggishly and shutting it before getting ready for the day.

((minor timeskipping >.>))

Robin dashed back into her room, nearly forgetting the jacket she'd left on the bed. She'd never been to Quieheitia before, no telling if she'd need it or not. Nicking it off the sheets, she tugged it on and left the room, already nearly running for the console room once more.

Robin hadn't even had the chance to voice her opinion before the Doctor pulled down the lever and sent them wooshing through space. Yelping, she rushed towards the nearest coral support and clung onto it like her life depended on it - which it very well might have. 'Cosmic storm?!' Well at least that explained why his piloting seemed even worse than usual. Still, that didn't excuse the fact that she was nearly thrown at the other side of the room from the poor machine's jerking - and she actually felt bad. It was her suggestion that had forced the old girl to go through this in the first place.

Once the shaking and lurching had settled to a stop, she looked over at the Doctor incredulously. 'I swear, the things you put the poor thing through, it's madness,' She sighed, patting the coral she had been clinging to in apology as if it would understand. Maybe it would, maybe it wouldn't, she never really could tell. All she really knew was that she was fond of Time Lords. Dashing to the doors, she pushed them open to reveal what all that chaos had really been for.

Outside stood a large, white marble-like building, looking rather similar to the ones that were in... what, Greek history? But with a huge difference - this 'marble' was shining with tiny stones of several different warm colors, reflecting a different shade or hue with each turn of the head. It looked as if the structure was on fire! Not to mention the fact that the light grey sky was sprinkled with stars, the massive red sun standing as the lone centerpiece. If only she could have known what the ground looked like under all the dark black pavement... It was simply breathtaking, and she literally could not find words to react to it.

Robin glanced up at the Doctor as he explained the planet they had just landed on, but barely any of it actually processed. This place was simply gorgeous! Taking his hand, she giggled and unofficially chose the flaming building to enter, hurrying across the road - empty except maybe the occasional carriage-ish vehicle carted by a giant lizard with fur - and into the palace. Wow, when he said luxury, he meant luxury. It seemed as if no expense was spared - jeweled chandeliers that seemed to create a melody as they swung slowly from the ceiling, flooring composed of a bright rock she couldn't even place the color of, even the walls seemed to be lined with some sort of perfume or scent. It was a bit too pretty, really, and she was sure they'd break something by the end of the day, but at least she could say she saw it before it blew up.

'Where to, then? What about these paintings now?' She grinned up at the Doctor, unable to contain her excitement. Some native was bound to comment on it, but she'd pay no mind to the snobs she was sure they must be.

Robin giggled, dragging the Doctor behind her now as she hurried to get into the hut. 'Come on then, not just gonna stand there, are you?' She knew she was going to break something if she acted like this - how could she not, with their luck and all? But it wasn't everyday you saw something this cool, even with this life, so she ignored that little squeaking conscious in her head and charged in, only managing to calm her pace once the looks of the merchant and the customers had gotten annoying. 'These people are nearly human, aren't they? Interesting..'

Creeping out towards the sunlight, a figure stood in the shadows, eyes trained on the little shop the pair had just entered. They'd be perfect for the plan - a Time Lord over 900 years old and a simple, breakable little human girl. He couldn't just stroll right in and nab them, however. That was illegal, and would have blown the cover off their project. For now, he'd just have to watch and formulate a plan. It was his job to find some new test subjects, after all - if you could call it that.

Robin watched with amusement as the painting painted itself on as the Doctor's fingers brushed over it. Now that was cool. She would have tried it herself if not for her fear of what would show up. Torchwood wouldn't, at least, she hated them and would in no way want that back. New Earth, though, her home. That would make sense, and she guessed as long as he assumed it was regular old Earth, she could get away with it? Nah, best not, the clerk wasn't exactly glad about them touching the merchandise. A thought occurred to her as she remembered something similar to this from some myth she heard in school once. 'A bit like that one mirror from that story about the girl and the beast, yeah? Just this one doesn't move and isn't, well, a mirror... And you can't really control it...' She trailed off, seeing the flaw in her comparison. Oh well.

The man sighed heavily, realizing they probably wouldn't get into any sort of optimum position any time soon. There was always the direct approach, though. Pushing himself off the wall, he strut into the golden hut, his bright pink, heavy-looking goggles looking as if they defied gravity as they bounced on his nose. Reaching the pair of travelers, he threw on his best grin and fished a pen out of one of his pockets along with a small pad of paper. 'Hello, having a good time today are we? Would you mind taking a survey of your time so far?' Remembering there were two of them and that the one 'pen' wouldn't exactly work fast enough, he snatched a second out of his other pocket, distinctly glad he remembered the spare.

The man scowled, hand rushing up to hit a button on his goggles and turn the x-ray feature off so he could follow them properly. It was always harder following quick moving targets when all you could see were their internal organs and bone structure. Shoving the prop notepad into his coat pocket, he hurried after them, one pen in each hand, both clicked open and ready to write. Except the tips just happened to be a tad too narrow to be pens, and the ink was definitely not actually ink, not when it was that liquidy.

Robin raised an eyebrow as the Doctor began to rush her out, following along behind warily. 'What was that for? He was just asking us simple questions, yeah? I honestly doubt he was going to be doing anything too- agh!' She yelped, face scrunching up as the man jabbed one of the pens into her neck, the other into the Doctor's. Clicking the pen once more, the stranger injected the drug into their systems, not too worried about the girl's reaction, but more concerned if the dosage would work on the Time Lord. Robin collapsed to the ground, unconscious in seconds, while a small crew of what looked to be medics rushed to the scene with two stretchers; one pair lifting the small teen and taking her away, the other not sure what to do until the Time Lord was out. 'Just relax, I'm not here to hurt you, alright?' The pink goggled man tried to keep the Doctor from fighting it, idly snatching a badge from his pocket to flash any of the concerned passers-by.

With a content sigh, the pink goggled man stepped back and let the medics take them away, a smirk resting on his lips. But what project could they use them for? The human, she could be used for quite a lot, considering how similar they were with the enemy, but the Time Lord? Not weapons testing - neither of them could do that, they weren't soldiers. Or at least the human wasn't, that he could tell for sure. Pushing a button on the side of his goggles, he stepped back into a shadow and spoke quietly to the image that appeared on the lenses. 'Kiarki, have you got them?' 'Yes, m'lady. But what in Jovcri's name are we using them for? They can't test what we need them to and we already know the drug'll work on the human so that's a waste.' The woman in front of him rolled her eyes and scowled. 'Just send 'em in with the turrets! You know those need testing!' 'But m'lady-' 'They don't need to be soldiers, they just need to be able to move. Now get going!' With an angry huff, the image left Kiarki's goggles and left him there with his new orders.

---

The medics set Robin and the Doctor down in a small area, walls on all sides in a bright blue color and a building much like the one they had just been at towards the back. The orders from their headsets had told them to send them into the reality room, so that's what they did. Moving out of the room, the door slammed shut behind them, leaving the two alone in the rather small arena. Outside, a scientist pushed a few controls until the walls were creating a city-like scene, and with their technology, looked as if they had simply been placed outside the museum.

((I'd assume the Time Lord would wake up first >.>))

Robin stirred slightly, groaning as she blinked her eyes open to adjust to the light. What just happened? Pushing herself up slowly, she rubbed her eyes to clear the rest of the bleary drug. Ugh, that was just terrible. It took a moment to process, but she realized they were out in front of the museum again. What was that for? Getting to her feet, she also realized they were in the middle of the road. Well wasn't that brilliant. She almost began to panic but it seemed no one was out driving anyway. Either way, she wasn't liking this situation one bit. It didn't take long after turning to find the TARDIS to see that it wasn't there anymore. 'Doctor..?'

'Oh, good. You're up,' A voice boomed from above, startling the girl. 'Ooh, sorry. Just running a few tests, making sure everything is working before we start, it'll only take a minute, alright?' Eyes wide, Robin turned back to the Doctor, now beginning to panic. 'There's a voice. From the sky. Explanation?' Getting away. That was her only thought. Running. But usually when you were held captive by voices from the sky, running would do no good. Walking casually away might have if there were more people. It didn't matter - she was already trying to make it down the road when she ran into an invisible wall, arms coming up just in time before she hit her face. '... Well then...'

Robin rolled her eyes. The simple thought of him doing all that math? She'd probably actually become bored to death. Luckily, the 'voice' had a better idea. 'You're a funny man, Time Lord. Your whole race is a bit odd, with the ceremonial naming and all those strict, strict rules. That, and your Lord President was a nutjob.' A sound of tsking was heard before the voice resumed, Robin already moving away from the Doctor, knowing he was bound to lash out at that one. 'Anywho, we've got work to do. Just move over to the X's marked on the road and we can get started.' 

Glancing at the Doctor, Robin reluctantly began to move towards the center of the room where two white X's had painted themselves on the dark pavement. It was a good thing that invisible voice wasn't actually here or they'd be dead by now. At least seriously injured - it was one thing to insult humans, but another to insult Time Lords. In fact, she was considering backing into the corner in case he decided to start doing things.

((this RP was moving too quickly so I threw that in there >.>))

Robin raised an eyebrow at the Doctor, honestly expecting him to react a bit more than that, but definitely glad he didn't. At least he was starting to learn self control. Rolling her eyes, she barely held back a giggle as she took her place on the other X, just noticing it to be exactly lined up with one of the columns of the museum, the Doctor's with the other. 'Alright, well, first off, just going to introduce this,' The voice started, ignoring the Doctor's reactions. 'This is military testing - finding out what weapons work and which ones don't. Just some simple motion sensor tests for the turrets today, right? Simple. All you have to do is move like I tell you to - a bit like Umri Says.' Did he mean Simon Says? Well this would be a piece of cake then...

'Just hold still alright? Do. Not. Move.' Robin frowned a bit at his tone, which sounded suddenly serious. Before she had the chance to even look at the Doctor, the two columns pushed outwards and raised a bit taller, revealing a dome covering over what was either meant to be a camera or a cannon. Well that was unnerving. 'First test - hold your breath and don't blink. Just setting a baseline for movement, that's all. On my mark, right? And... go!" A clink was heard as the turrets came to life and began scanning the room. Robin's eyes popped open as she inhaled, trying her hardest not to blink and wait for this portion to finish. She did not want to find out if that was a camera or not - not like this.

'And 3... 2... 1. You can breathe now.' Robin gasped for breath as soon as it was over, swearing to herself she was about to pass out from lack of oxygen. She immediately looked over to the Doctor, worry obvious in her face. What the hell were they even planning on doing in here? What if one fired? What if it bloody shot them?! 'Good, good. Next, almost the same thing, no moving, but you can breathe and blink this time. Actually, you have to. But you'd end up doing it anyway. Ready?' So far, it didn't seem like he wanted an answer, but Robin supplied one anyway. 'You're bloody insane, you are.' He ignored her, getting the turrets ready for another scan. 'Just remember, no moving your eyes. No moving anything. Only breathing and blinking. Ready? ... Go.' The turrets clicked on again, beginning to scan the room for any sort of movement it could register. Robin was tempted to gulp, afraid that they even had to test this bit. The second they were done, the Doctor was going to have to aim for trouble if they wanted to avoid any, since it seemed it only cropped up when they didn't want any.

'And... done. There, not so hard is it?' The voice replied cheerfully, Robin nearly cringing at his tone. This entire situation was just... odd. Something was going to happen, she just knew it. 'Nearly done, just going to test small movements now. Just wiggle your fingers, that's it. Right? Yes? Okay... go!' Robin let out a shaky breath, scolding herself for being so scared of all this. It was nothing, right? She stared into the camera/cannon/thing nervously, slowly beginning to move her fingers. Not only did this feel ridiculous, she couldn't shake the feeling that something terrible was about to happen. Then the turrets did something they hadn't done before - they started to make a loud beeping noise. Quickly looking at the Doctor, her eyes were open wide. What the bloody hell was going on?! For once, the two turrets did different actions from each other. The one on the Doctor's side shot out a puff of air, not being loaded with any sort of ammo.

The other one fired, and lucky for Robin, hadn't been aimed correctly yet and only managed to throw the spinning blade disk into her shoulder, earning a rather loud cry of pain from the child.

The turrets immediately shut down, the voice heard shouting loudly before cutting the speaker off: 'No! It wasn't supposed to be loaded! Which one of you bloody-'