Chapter Text
The Enrichment Center was quiet, and it had been that way for thirty years.
Thirty years ago, a rogue AI known as GLaDOS let her lone human test subject, Chell, leave the Aperture Science testing facility. And since then, all had been still.
But something was about to change.
In the pristine entrance chamber to the Relaxation Vault, there was a hum and whirring before a blue box began to materialize amongst a light layer of fog and dust.
A thin man in a brown pinstriped suit leapt out of the mysterious box as the dust settled around him and he looked around, his dark brown eyes observing every single detail. He pulled a grey cylindrical device out of his suit pocket and started scanning the area around him.
A woman with fiery ginger hair in a purple dress shortly followed him.
"Come on then, where are we?" she asked loudly.
"Mm? No idea," the man told her. He seemed to be concentrating intently on something.
"What is it, Doctor?" the woman asked him.
"Hmm?" he asked, snapping out of his phase of concentration.
"You were thinking about something. I can always tell when you're thinking about something. You do that face," she told him, noting his look of confusion.
"Oh, come on now Donna. I don't ALWAYS do the face," he said.
"You kinda do..." Donna told him.
"Nah! Not when I'm trying to hide my extreme thoughtfulness!" The Doctor exclaimed.
"Nope, every time. Without fail. You do THAT face," she said, pointing to The Doctor's face. "Now what are you thinking about?"
"Not much," he told her.
"Oh, come on Doctor. You gotta stop keeping things from me," she demanded.
"Well, it's just it seems like we're on Earth. Around the year five hundred two thousand and forty. But where we are looks to have technology that's way off from what humans had at this point. The scan said there's stuff here that's way too old, stuff that's way too new, and some stuff that humanity literally never came up with. But it's all of Earth origin, just not our Earth. I think we're in a parallel universe," The Doctor told her. A silence fell as he pondered on how that was even possible, and what they were to do.
"We could leave?" The Doctor suggested. "Since the TARDIS got stuck in a parallel universe a while back, I've always tried to keep a backup power cell around in case we need to get back from somewhere that lacks in our vortex's energy. The TARDIS can't use the vortex here as a power source, it's not compatible. It's like trying to put a pen in an automatic pencil sharpener. All you'll end up with is a broken pen and some plasticky flakes. And what good are a bunch of plasticky flakes to anyone, eh?"
"Right, okay then, space man. I knew you were odd but using a pencil sharpener analogy to explain spacey-wacey stuff is just a whole new level. Knowing you, you probably want to stay around and explore, right?" Donna asked, already resigned to the fact that they would probably be there a while.
"You know me too well," The Doctor said, with his usual manic grin. "Come on then."
The Doctor took two steps before noticing a green mist in the air. He was just about to turn around and alert Donna when he collapsed, along with her.