Doctor Who Future (Series Four)

Menace Up the Mountain : Episode One

Over a wonderful and vast landscape, the sun shone down on a large mountain. The wind blew violently over the horizon, but not over the mountain.

Like usual something was happening on the mountain, something that would destroy the human race.

* * *

"Max!" The Doctor called from the console room. "Max! We've landed!"

"I know, I know," Max ran in, looking disheveled and tired. "I thought you said Time Lords don't need sleep."

"You're only part Time Lord," the Doctor crossed his arms. "You still need sleep."

"I know but-" Max broke off. "I'm weak, I've been weak since Stacy left. The Master has seen it as an opportunity to try and get control again and when I sleep, I can hear him."

"You need some more psycic sessions, put up more mental prison bars," the Doctor nodded to himself. "But first lets see where we've landed."

"No," Max groaned. "We go out there, and we get into trouble. I want this sorted first. Better safe than being trapped inside a sub conscience."

"This might be what you need Max," the Doctor patted him on the back before he ran around the console to the doors. "A nice adventure to keep your mind off Stacy's absence."

Max sighed. "Fine, but if I change it's your fault."

"Okay," the Doctor turned to the door. "Where are we?"

He opened it and discovered the door couldn't open the whole way. Squeezing his way out, the Doctor looked around.

"Where are we?" Max asked.

"Looks like some sort of cave," the Doctor finally was through. "But I can see a light source, probably sun light."

"Earth then," Max then shivered. "There's a really cold draft.

The Doctor climbed up onto a nearby small ledge and looked out at the wonderfull landscape below. "Oh yeah, definitely Earth."

"It's freezing!" Max exclaimed. "I'm going to get my coat!"

The Doctor saw a pathway leading up to his left. "Sorry but no chance, I'm seeing what's up there." He moved up the left path and dissapeared from sight.

* * *

In the Tardis Wardrobe, Max was looking for a thick, wool coat. He browsed through the cupboards and floors and then stumbled across Stacy's section.

He smiled faintly and then felt pain in his head.

"Fool," the Master gave a sinister laugh inside Max's mind. "Emotions are weak, I should've cut off this side of myself sooner."

"No," Max closed his eyes and spoke firmly. "Emotions make you stronger."

The pain then went away and Max let out a sigh of relief. He then found a brown, wool coat and left the wardrobe room.

When he got to the Tardis doors he squeezed through and started talking. "Y'know Doctor, I just had another spell and..." he noticed the Doctor's absence. "You aren't here, damn. Doctor!"

* * *

The Doctor reached the higher surface of the mountain and manoeuvred around the many rocks around.

Something instantly bothered him.

He could hear the howling wind in his ears but he couldn't feel it. He pulled out his sonic and scanned around him.

The scan triggered a reaction above him and an extremely large purple dome revealed itself around the mountain.

"That isn't human," the Doctor shook his head as something moved out the corner of his eye. "And neither is that."

The Doctor screamed as something knocked him unconscious and he fell a short distance down the mountain.

* * *

Max, who had heard the scream, ran frantically up the path to the Doctors aid.

Once he was at the top, he looked around and saw the Doctor's sonic, abandoned on the floor.

"Who would've thought?" Max rolled his eyes. "Trouble."

He picked up the sonic and recalled how to scan for Time Lord life signals.

He couldn't find one.

"No, no, no, no, no, no," Max started to panic. The sonic detected traces of Time Lord life over the edge of the mountain but not a life signal. He looked over the edge reluctantly and saw a pool of blood down below him. "Doctor! Doctor!"

* * *

Two figures in the shadows observed Max on a large, red, organic screen.

"There is another humanoid figure on the surface of the mountain," one of the figures whispered to the other.

"Send patrols to collect and imprison them," the other figure whispered back fiercely. "And find out how they got through the field, and why."

"Yes Leader," the figure left the room.

"Now then," the Leader turned to observe the chained up figure of the Doctor. "Let's see what I can get out of you."

* * *

Max gasped for air as he continued to run across the mountain. "Doctor!"

"Y'know," Max's mind was on fire as the Master spoke to him. "I kind of hoped I could finish him off for good but, at least he's dead."

"For somebody that's know him for several millennia, you really dont know him that well," Max spoke through gritted teeth. "He doesn't die, he lives on to fight scum like you."

The pain then stopped.

"Yeah!" Max yelled. "That shut you up didnt it."

He then heard something behind him. Without looking back he sprinted away and once he was sure he was safe, he hid behind a rock.

"Okay, what's going on?" he asked himself.

* * *

"The humanoid knows something is wrong," the Leader observed on the organic scanner.

"Yeah," the Doctor spoke from behind him. "He's quite paranoid at the moment."

"Turn off the life encryption field so that he can detect his friend here," the Leader turned to face the Doctor. "We can use him as bait."

* * *

The sonic beeped from Max's left hand. "Yes!" He exclaimed I knew he wasnt dead.

Max cautiously followed the signal for around 5 minutes before he reached an oddly shaped rock. The sonic lead him to the bottom of the rock where a dark tunnel could be seen.

"Of course," he sighed. "A creepy tunnel."

* * *

"Leader," a voice whispered through an organic speaker panel. "We've found something you need to see."

"Put me through a visual link," the Leader ordered before footage of the Tardis came on screen. "Hang on! I recognise that box. Of course."

Max peeped his head out from a hole in the corner of the room and saw the Doctor. "Doctor, come on."

The Doctor drew Max's attention to his chains. "Its a trap, run!"

"Grab him," the Leader ordered as a red hand with suckers grabbed Max by the shirt and lifted him out of the hole.

"Zygons!" Max exclaimed. "What are they doing here?"

"No," the Zygon leader walked over and stared at them both. "What are you doing here? Doctor!"