Chapter Text
The Doctor poked his head out of the TARDIS and sighed audibly.
“This is where the alert’s coming from,” he said, stepping out and looking around.
“And where is here, exactly?” Rose said, a second behind. She frowned and looked out at the alien planet around them, then back at where the TARDIS sat.
She was parked amid an ocean of asphalt, perfectly square inside a parking space that looked like it would fit a car on Earth. Right inside the yellow lines, a perfect parking job. On all sides, dotted about the place, were hundreds upon hundreds of ships of all shapes and sizes, with more slowly descending from the blue sky above onto the kilometers-wide parking lot.
“…It’s a car park,” Rose said, underwhelmed, “All of time and space, and you’ve brought us…to a car park.”
“What’s a car park- oh.” Jack said, stepping out a second behind, his face falling, “Doc, gonna second Rose’s assessment: this is a parking lot. What, and I mean this nicely, the fuck?”
“Don’t know,” the Doctor said, turning to look down the rows. In the distance, perhaps a few kilometers away, they could see rollercoasters and brightly-painted buildings that stretched on for mile after mile, past the shimmering heat waves that rose off the baking tarmac.
“Looks like an amusement park,” The Doctor said, quirking an eyebrow, “That’s a new one. Never got a mauve alert from one of these before…”
“So are we- supposed to walk?” Jack said, “I mean, not that I’m opposed-“
Rose glared at him, because she knew that Jack’s eyes were already fixed on the Doctor’s ass. This wasn’t his first time “bringing up the rear”.
“Don’t think so.” The Doctor gestured at a little tram that was buzzing up to them, no driver and no windows, just some seats.
“Hello there!” a recorded message played, the white cart stopping beside them; it was a little bus with a roof and no windows, several rows of seats for guests to sit in, “Please take a teleport token and affix it to your vehicle, and keep the connector stub for later! Thank you!”
A slot on the side of the cart spat out two things- an octagonal token with a strange symbol like a ship on it, and another one that was just a fob on a keyring. The Doctor grabbed the fob and stuffed it in his pocket, and with a shrug, stuck the octagon on the side of his TARDIS.
And winced. She sent him the mental equivalent of a slap upside the head, then went to go sulk.
She always did get a bit touchy about the paint job.
With that done, the little cart played one of those incredibly annoying jingles, and the three of them looked at each other.
“Please climb aboard!” it played after a pause, the typical message for dullards and simpletons.
The Doctor shrugged and hopped aboard, scooting over so Rose could sit next to them, and Jack taking the seat behind. He reached out and grabbed Rose’s hand, entwining their fingers together, and smiling at her.
They’d been working on bonding telepathically for weeks, and the hard work was starting to pay off. Rose had been nervous at first, but after he’d explained how important it was to him and how essential a step in a relationship it was for his people, she’d been a lot more eager to try it.
Building a telepathic bond was a slow process, a labour of love that took two to make work. No two bonds were ever the same, and theirs was shaping up to be a thing of beauty. Rose had woven in various stops and blocks that they could both put up if they needed it- an essential step when forging a bond, and he’d trusted her with that essential task.
Right now, he could feel the warmth of her love and curiosity trickling across, tickling at his mind. She wasn’t skilled enough to send words or thoughts- yet. The bond would strengthen, and she would get better.
Rose closed her eyes, then, and he could feel her determination spike up- and sharply wane, as she activated the block. It stopped up the flow, and even though they were touching, he still couldn’t feel her.
The Doctor swelled with pride as she eased off and reopened their connection.
Through the bond, he could feel a humming pulse of Rose’s discomfort. The air on this planet was warmer than she was used to; a sweltering heat that was cloying and overpowering.
If the telepathic sendings weren’t enough of a clue, the sweat rolling off her brow would have been enough for him. The Doctor shifted in the plastic seat uncomfortably- it was admittedly quite muggy and humid. Something was up with this planet’s atmosphere.
“S’too bloody hot here,” Rose muttered, wiping some sweat off her brow.
“Guests are reminded that profanity is strongly discouraged within the park boundaries!” the little tram chirped, and the Doctor scowled at it.
“How about fuck off?” he asked it with a fake grin, sonic screwdriver falling into his fingertips.
“Guests are reminded-BZZZZZZT”
And with a little buzz, the trip continued in blessed silence.
Jack sighed. “Hope the guide-bots aren’t as stuck up as this thing, or that sonic of yours is gonna get a workout…” he shifted in his seat, and something beside his arse crunched.
Jack lifted up the trifold pamphlet with a map of the park, unfolding it and taking a look.
He raised an eyebrow.
“What’s that, Jack?” Rose asked, “Huh, wow, wasn’t expecting to see a pamphlet in…what century are we in?”
“Sixty-third,” the Doctor muttered, “What’s it say?”
Jack scanned over it.
“We’re at the Noazarc Zoological Society Species Refuge and Theme Park. Apparently.” He said, glancing up.
“…Species refuge?” the Doctor groaned, “Oh, not another zoo…I can’t stand them...”
“Well, what if they’re close to extinction?” Rose countered, “Isn’t it safer to keep them in a zoo where you can breed them, maybe bring them back?”
“Everything has its time, and everything dies.” The Doctor said quietly, huffing out a sigh, “What else?”
“It’s also got a small theme park. Nothing much to see…and they don’t even have a log ride. That’s unacceptable…in any century.” Jack said, wiping some sweat off his brow, “Especially in a place that’s this fucking hot. Where the hell ARE we?”
“Space-Florida.” Rose quipped miserably.
The little cart trundled on a bit farther, and the Doctor looked at the map Jack had spread out. The amusement park was crassly called Yesterdayland, with rides themed around various famous extinct species. The Thylacine Coaster was a particularly classy touch, as was the Dodo Dropper.
His eyes drifted away from the small amusement park, tacked on to the side of the main thoroughfare like an afterthought to make the company more money. He sighed at the twee drawing of the hundreds of acres of land covered in connected buildings- that was the Zoo part. NOAZARC ENDLING SANCTUARY it said in block capitals, prompting the Doctor to shiver a little. Endlings? Oh boy.
“We’ll start with the zoo,” he said, rubbing his face and doing his best to not show emotion on his face, “Because nothing ever happens at theme parks. The bloody Cybermen aren’t going to invade a theme park or something, that would be daft…”
“The who?” Rose asked, folding her arms.
The Doctor waved her off. “Nothing. Doesn’t matter. We’re almost there, look.”
The little tram pulled up to the gates, where there stood a crush of people in a mile-long line, waiting to purchase their overpriced tickets.
The Doctor just shrugged, pulled a few unlimited credit sticks he’d pinched at the last spaceport they’d visited, and lead his two companions towards the nearly-empty express lane.
The man standing there had bright orange scales and was panting under his heavy black uniform, but at the sight of the Doctor’s winning smile and psychic paper he was practically tripping over himself to direct them.
“Imperial Consul Theta Sigma and associates!” he chirped, “Please, right this way, straight to the express booth. Thank you very much for gracing us with your presence. Have a wonderful day!”
The Doctor scowled at the paper. Hold on, now, Theta Sigma? Well, maybe it was a good idea to give a fake name for a bit, but-
“Theta Sigma?” Rose echoed, a grin on her face, “Somethin’ you’re not tellin’ us, Doctor?”
“Long story,” he said gruffly. One that involved the Corsair and enough rum-and-ginger to knock out a triceratops.
The other mates in his frat hadn’t helped at all.
The Doctor managed to hustle them to the gates, buying them three all-access passes with all the trimmings- it included, he noted dimly, backstage access to visit “preferred exhibits” which, what did that even mean?
“Thank you so much!” the smiling Trydarian said with a few cheerful clucks, “Here’s your map of the grounds. Will you be wanting a tour of the exhibits, sir? The next one starts in half an hour.”
The Doctor nodded. “Yeah. We’ll take a tour.”
“Excellent. Tours are through the gates, and they meet by the front entrance to the exhibits- if you hurry, you should make it. Thanks for coming to the Noazarc Species Refuge and Theme Park! Have a wonderful day!”
The Doctor stared at her and shrugged, handing Jack and Rose their lanyards and staring at his. Memories of the Siltheen flitted into his head, and he instead decided to tuck it into his trouser pocket.
Rose, he noted, had done the same thing, and she sidled up behind him with a big smile, taking his hand.
The Doctor sighed happily. Alright, so he was at a giant zoo (which he hated) and something here had sent out a code mauve, but…
His pink-and-yellow human was smiling at him he was holding her hand, so really, the day could be worse.
Even if he could feel Jack’s eyes digging into his asscheeks.
The walk was long. Very, very long.
They passed by the entrance to the amusement-park part of the grounds, screaming children and laughing families and people having a good time overlaid on the sounds of clacking carnival rides and thundering rollercoasters.
Rose clung to the Doctor’s side, and Jack had migrated to her other side.
“S’too hot,” Rose panted as they walked, the zoo buildings still looming in the distance on the red brick road. Jack just nodded in agreement, slugging from the canteen he kept with him on hot planets and trying not to complain, but the heat was starting to get to him too.
The Doctor looked around for something he could use to cool his companion off, and his eyes fell on a stand selling ice cream by the side of the main path. It had a cool mist showering from the awning, and hundreds of flavours flashing on the holo-board. Perfect. He fished a credit stick out of his pocket and handed it to Rose, gesturing at the stand.
“You two go get some ice cream an’ cool off. Don’t want to have to drag you back to the TARDIS ‘cause you got heatstroke.”
Rose just nodded, dragging Jack towards the stand, and leaving the Doctor in the middle of the wide brick path with his hands in his pockets. He wasn’t hungry, and his superior biology was keeping him nice and cool- Rose was no doubt expecting the Oncoming Lecture about precisely that. Before he could mentally draft said lecture, though, he needed something to lean against with his arms folded. Obviously.
Rose walked back to him a second later, looking a little forlorn.
“I want to try the ‘lavender London fog’ flavour, but they won’t let me without ID. Does it have alcohol in it, or…?”
The Doctor snorted and dug out his psychic paper, handing it over to Rose.
“Nah. Just the TARDIS being a bit loose with her translation. They ask for ID because one of the ingredients in that is intoxicating to a couple of species in this quadrant. Here, go get yourself some, it’s just a tasty treat for humans.” He said with a smile, shooing her off with a little flick of his hand.
As Rose bounced back to get herself a unique flavour, the Doctor turned his attention back to his surroundings.
The path had a row of black streetlights down the middle of it with a fork at the top so the lights hung down on both sides; the Doctor selected a nearby pole for his leaning, folding his arms expectantly and looking around.
Nearby to the Doctor was a large steel cabinet rooted into the ground and painted cheery colours to try and make it blend in with the rest of the park. Something for managing the lights or some other bit of circuitry in the park’s grid, no doubt. And as he leaned on his post in what he thought was a cool and intimidating manner, two men in plain grey jumpsuits walked up and started fussing with the contents of the cabinet, immediately catching the Doctor’s attention.
“Fuckin’ Terry,” one of the men muttered, “He’s been on the fritz for weeks now. I checked this box fucking yesterday and it’s FINE. He’s messin’ with our schedules on purpose, I’m tellin’ ya Tom.”
The Doctor did his level best to look like he wasn’t eavesdropping while also straining his ample ears to hear as much disgruntled employee gossip as he possibly could.
“Don’t let the boss catch you sayin’ that,” Tom said calmly, “You start beaking off about how darlin’ Terry is anythin’ less than perfect, you’ll be out on your ass with a pink slip that same day.”
“Yeah, well,” the first guy replied, sitting back and plugging in a diagnostic computer, “He’s doing weird shit, an’ I’m starting to get worried. I can’t believe they let him control every part of the park. That was a bad idea six months ago and it’s a bad idea now. Someone’s gonna get hurt.”
“Yeah. I put in my resignation yesterday. I’m gonna put in a word with my union tomorrow. Maybe Hedgewick’s needs a mechanic. Anything’s better than working for this…lot.” Tom muttered.
“Did you really see...in the basement…?”
“Did I fucking ever. The lights broke and I had to go into the enclosure to fix them. She was lookin’ at me the whole time, I swear. I hope they get fucking shut down. It’s a sin, is what it is.” Tom sighed, “Nothin’ we can do, though. They got the money, we’re just peons.”
“I feel that.” The first guy replied.
Rose and Jack ambled back towards the Doctor, and Tom finally noticed that they had an audience.
The Doctor locked eyes with Tom, blue eyes meeting blue; Tom was an older human male with a silver moustache that joined with his beard, wearing a faded cap for a sports team with his uniform. They stared at each other for a moment, before the maintenance men swiftly packed up their tools and sodded off.
The Doctor sighed. Damn.
Both of his companion’s shirts were damp from the misters, and they were both licking at ice cream cones. Rose was holding a cone in each hand, and she offered one to the Doctor. It was piled high with two scoops of banana-flavoured goodness. He took it without complaint, and licked around the base, sopping up the melted ice cream before it could hit the ground.
“Thought you might like one yourself,” Rose said with a smile, “Superior biology or not, everyone likes ice cream!”
The Doctor just nodded, offering Rose his free hand and jerking his head towards the zoo entrance.
“C’mon, you two. Let’s get going.”
[HOLONET_TRANSMISSION_START]
[ENTERING MEETING…]
[WELCOME, DIRECTOR SENUMIEL]
“-Will be nice to have this meeting in person. Better for security purposes.”
“I agree. Anyway, back to the reason I called you all... We need to discuss what we do with our latest acquisition. It’ll cost 40000 credits in maintenance over the course of the Terran year…and it’s refusing to offer any options for ROI. Increase the pressure, perhaps?”
“Legally, no. We’ll discuss further options in person when we meet soon.”
“I hope so.”
[THE HOST HAS ENDED THE MEETING.]
[LEAVING ROOM…]