Lost In Time: A Doctor Who Fanfiction

Chapter 31 - The Curse of the Black Spot, Part 1

Lyssa was bored. 

Very bored.

She didn't know how long she'd been floating through the Time Vortex, but it felt like absolute ages. Definitely far too long to be left alone with her thoughts. And... a bit long to be alone at all. It'd been a while - over a month, at least - since she'd been without the Doctor for more than a short period. The last time had been... before Canary Wharf.

She grimaced, trying to distract herself with the surroundings, only to find her thoughts flitting back to another topic she didn't really want to think about - the Doctor's parting words. She really hoped he had just been making a bad analogy. She also really hoped she didn't ever have to deal with anything like that again.

Once had been bad enough.

And she was twenty now, mercifully past the developmental milestone. Actually, was she still twenty? She wasn't quite sure how long she'd been in this universe, but she didn't think she'd passed her birthday yet. She suppressed a sigh and stared down at her hands, dimly visible under the twisting light. Hopefully she'd end up on the TARDIS again. She missed the Doctor already, and he'd been quite clear about her need to rest.

It was a shame she couldn't sleep while in the Time Vortex. It would have been a good way to pass the time, depending on how long it took her to land, but it seemed like everything froze while she was there. She didn't really even feel that sick anymore. 

And then the lighting shifted and she ended up sitting in a heap on the floor of the Eleventh Doctor's TARDIS, if the glass floor of the console room above her head was any indication. It was almost like when she'd first arrived in this universe, with the pillar forming the bottom of the console at her back, and voices echoing down at her from above as the ship tossed and and groaned, as if protesting their actions. 

"Hold down the red button, Amy! No, not that red button, the other red button!" she heard the Doctor order. 

"You pointed to that one!" A familiar Scottish voice protested angrily. 

"I meant don't touch that one! We're tracking onto a distress call, not trying to reverse the feedback loop!"

"Oh, if only someone could have warned me clearly beforehand!" Amy huffed. 

"I thought it was obvious! Look at Rory, he's pressing the lever I told him to, and he's not even asking questions! Follow his example!"

She raised an eyebrow as she tried to stand up to join them. A distress call? The little boy scared of the monsters in the elevator, maybe? Or perhaps even some version of River's call for help in the alternate timeline where she refused to kill the Doctor at Lake Silencio. It couldn't have been Amy and Rory's honeymoon fiasco, given their presence aboard. 

Well, there was one way to find out. She just needed her legs to start cooperating. And... maybe the ship to stop tilting to the left every time she tried to stand up. Honestly, it was like the TARDIS was trying to keep her down, or something - though it wasn't like she'd be getting any comfortable rest down on the floor. 

Eventually she managed to get a grip on the wall and force herself upwards, staggering towards the stairs. It was slow going, with the near constant jostling - the ship did not sound happy about their destination - but she clung to the railing and kept going.

"So, are you guys actually piloting the ship or just pressing buttons and hoping for the best?" she called upwards, rolling her eyes after a particularly violent jolt sent her into the wall. She heard a muffled intake of breath before the ship landed with one last thump. Then a mop of brown hair appeared over the side of the floor as the Doctor beamed down at her.