Beauty and the Doctor

Riding in the TARDIS was very... Bumpy. Belle held on tight to any surface she could get her hands on while the Doctor ran around the tilting and turning console, pulling things, pressing buttons, and twirling knobs.

"Where are we going?" Belle yelled. The engines seemed to roar in her ears.

"Well, as much as I would love to give you the choice--" he ran into the small bench when the ship gave a particularly nasty lurch-- "I'm still following that distress signal to the Dagmar Cluster, so I guess it'll just be a surprise."

The girl smiled, bracing herself as she felt the TARDIS spinning. "Oh, I do like surprises!"

They continued to roll around-- running into the rails and controls until, finally, they stopped.

"Where are we?" Belle asked, stretching and rubbing every potential bruise on her body.

The Doctor stood at the console, looking at the screen. He pulled out a pair of glasses and put them on, squinting. "What?" He seemed to ask the TARDIS. "What?"

"What is it, Doctor?"

"No, no, this can't be right!"

Out of nowhere, a very strong force connected with the side of the ship, sending both Belle and the Doctor flying and landing on the metal flooring.

"What in the world was that?"

The Doctor stood and held out a hand to help the French girl up. His expression was grave, brows furrowed and jaw set. "I think I have an idea."

She followed him to the door of the TARDIS, heart beating wildly in her chest, but the Doctor didn't step outside. Instead, he opened a compartment and pulled out two strange orange suits.

"You'll want to put this on," he said, handing it to her.

"Wh- why? What is it?"

"Just a space suit," he answered as if she heard things like this every day. "It'll regulate oxygen and keep you safe from any harmful chemicals out there, and believe me, there are some."

With wide eyes, Belle quickly put the suit on. It basically hung off of her in every way, and the clear screen of the helmet was dirty.

"Doctor, is it safe out there?" There seemed to be an echo to her voice. It was very strange.

Turning, the newly dressed Doctor looked at her with large brown eyes. "No, Belle, it isn't. There's something out there. Something that shouldn't be."

She gasped, bringing a gloved hand as close to her mouth as she could.

"Now, promise me something. Promise you'll stay close to me once we walk through those doors. It's going to be hard to see, and it's going to be dangerous. Do not let go of me, Belle. Do you understand?"

She nodded, mouth hanging open. Could she really do this, though? Was this really what she had wanted all these years-- a highly dangerous adventure with an alien man?

Yes. Yes it was.

"I promise, Doctor."

He nodded, then took her hand and opened the door, revealing nothing but a brown fog.

"What is that?"

"Gas," he answered grimly. It was impossible to see even a few feet ahead of them. "Remember when I told you that there were planets in the Dagmar Cluster that were gaseous?"

"This is one of them," she breathed.

"No, it's not." Belle turned to him, confused, and he continued. "It's not supposed to be, at least. Something's wrong here. Now, come on."

They stepped out of the ship, doors closing behind them, and Belle couldn't help but feel a sense of finality. They were out in the unknown, unable to see, unable to breathe freely. It was a little too eerie for her liking, but her curiosity got the best of her.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the Doctor pull something out of a deep pocket of his suit. It was a strange sort of contraption. There was a small screen on it and a spinning disc. He must have sensed her wonder because he began to explain, "This is a Life Energy Monitor. It shows me--"

"Any living things we may come across, human or alien?"

He nodded, smiling a bit. "Oh, Belle, you are a smart one. So, right here--" he pointed to a place on the screen that showed two small dots-- "That's us."

"And, what is that?" She motioned to another, much larger dot that seemed to be moving closer to their own at a rather frightening pace.

"Ah, yes, that. That would be another creature on this planet from which we should run!" Grabbing her hand once again, the Doctor began sprinting, moving around the large blue box and tugging Belle with him as they moved through the fog.

"Doctor, what is it?" She yelled.

The Timelord kept glancing at the Life Energy Monitor, occasionally switching directions in order to avoid another dot.

"Doctor--"

Macra! This planet is infested with Macra, Belle!"

She kept running, more confused now than ever. She had no idea what a Macra was, but if the Doctor was scared of it, she figured that she should be, too.

"What's a Macra?" She called out.

"It's what ran into the TARDIS. Have you ever seen a crab, Belle?"

"Well, yes, I have!"

"Imagine that about a hundred times bigger!"

Ice settled in her churning stomach as she ran, eyes growing wide. They were running around this unfamiliar planet while giant crabs chased after them.

"Oh my word!"

"That pretty much sums it up, yes!"

Belle's feet seemed to carry her with no message sent from her brain. Her entire body was thrumming with adrenaline. She had never experience anything like this before.

"We've got to find the people of this planet! We've got to help them!"

They continued running, and Belle wondered if the Doctor's lungs burned as hers did. She could feel the ground begin to shake-- giant tremors, as if the entire planet was shaking.

"Don't look behind you!" The Doctor screamed.

Instead of listening, of course, she craned her neck, peeking at the gas in their wake to find a huge creature emerging from it.

It had several legs and humongous claw-like pincers. There was a hard, shell casing around it, and the way it moved-- it was like a spider.

Belle let out a shriek and somehow managed to pick up her pace, and the man beside her shook his head. "Why do they always turn to look?"

The shaking got worse, causing both the Doctor and Belle to stumble this way and that. The girl was sure that the ground would split right under their feet. No matter how fast they ran, the Macra remained close behind, thundering forward with its massive legs.

"Hey!" Belle screamed again when a hand clamped down on her arm. "This way!"

She could just barely make out the figure. It was human shaped, at least, but had on a suit similar to hers and the Doctor's.

Turning to the man beside her, the Doctor nodded, yelling, "Yes, go, follow him!" And the three continued through the gas, able to feel the creature rumbling behind them.



Belle breathed in deeply when they entered the underground community. She had taken her helmet off, making it much easier to see, hear, and basically appreciate all of her senses a little more.

"What is this place?"

"It is our home." The person who had grabbed onto her turned and took off his mask. Belle had to fight to stay composed. He looked human save for the fact that his skin was made up of pale scales. "I am Orin, and I am one of the Slagras people. You must be the Doctor." He took off his glove and held out a scaled, webbed hand for the Timelord to shake.

The Doctor watched the snake-like figure in front of him with wide, bright eyes. He had that childlike grin on his face, and when he shook Orin's hand, it was with more enthusiasm than Belle had ever seen.

"Oh, the Slagras! I thought you were extinct! How did you clever little people survive the Grande Hawkens invasion?"

"We didn't," Orin said grimly. "Not many of us, at least. I am one of just two-hundred-and-forty-seven, and I'm afraid our numbers are dwindling with the new invasion."

Belle watched the two converse, taking the time to also look around at her surroundings. It was just one, huge room seemingly dug right out of the ground. They had walked through a small, tunnel entrance to get to it, and Belle was simply amazed at what she saw. Small dwellings like snake holes lined the walls-- hundreds of them, definitely more than just two-hundred-and-forty-seven.

"Is this your companion?" Orin asked.

"Oh, yes, sorry, this is Belle. I picked her up from Earth just a little while ago," he chuckled. "Now, tell me, when did the Macra get here?"

Orin began walking along a narrow path, motioning for the two travelers to follow. "Not long ago, maybe a few weeks. They did not come first however."

"What came first?" Belle asked.

"The darkness. One day we all woke up to a darkened sky, as if our sun was entirely blocked by something. After just a few days, our atmosphere began to, well, disappear."

"And once the gas set in, so did the Macra."

Orin nodded, leading them to one of the many holes. The Doctor and Belle ducked in to find a small home. Another Slagras was sitting at a table.

"This is my mate, Hiran."

"Pleasure to meet you, Hiran. I'm the Doctor, and this is Belle."

The female, covered in darker scales, stood and rushed to the Timelord, throwing her sparkling arms around him. "Thank goodness you've come, Doctor! Thank goodness!"

"I was just explaining to him how this all began. Here, have a seat, Doctor. Would you like some blended mouse?" He held up a cup. Belle's stomach rolled.

"Oh, no thanks. Now, you say the sky just went black?"

"Yes, then the gas."

"Right, because the sun was oxidizing everything, keeping your planet full of it. What of the other life-- plants, other species?"

"Dead for the most part. We send some of our kind out every once in a while to hunt, and we find small animals, but no plant life has been recovered."

"Right, now, tell me, are other planets in this cluster infested with Macra?"

"Yes, Borogen and Keliorphin."

"Borogen and Keliorphin?" Orin nodded, and the Doctor continued to repeat the names, rolling them over his tongue. "Borogen and Keliorphin. Borogen and Keliorphin. Borogen and-- Ah!"

"What is it?"

The Doctor stood. "Belle, come with me. Orin, Harin, we'll be right back." He flashed a charming grin, then grabbed his companion's hand and ducked back out of the hole.

"Doctor, what have you thought of? What is it?"

"The Macra live off gas, Belle. It's how they breathe, and it's what they eat. The filthier, the better. Once they find a gaseous planet, any other life forms are done for. Except for one. There is one race that can co-exist with the Macra, and that's the Crusetians."

"The what?"

They were at the entry tunnel again, zipping up their suits and securing their helmets.

"The Crusetians-- Crustacean-like people who live much like the Macra only on a smaller scale. They have human-like shapes, but they're covered in the same shell, have the same pincers, but they've got bigger, more evolved brains-- worse brains."

The brown fog was not welcome, and the two began running as soon as they stepped foot in it. The Doctor pulled out his Life Energy Monitor again and immediately pulled Belle in a new direction.

"What do you mean worse brains?"

"The Crusetians are a power-hungry race. They have a track record of taking over planets that don't belong to them."

"How?"

He turned, and Belle could just barely see a grin light up his face. "Macra."

"Oh!" She could see it! It all clicked in her head. "Because once Macra settle on a planet, everything else is done for!"

This was so much more fun than going to the bookstore or avoiding Gaston.

"Yes, exactly! The Crusetians use Macra like pawns. They clear the planet out, then Crusetians take the planet for their own."

"That's awful!"

"It is. Good thing I'm not gonna let them get away with it!"