Work Text:
The lights eventually dimmed once the pair had burned enough Vortex Energy. It had seemed like days. The Warrior bounded up to the control platform, a smaller plinth with the console on it. He looked into the monitor. Beneath a pulsing alert saying ‘Universal Co-ordinates Unknown’ was the space around them. It was largely the same, but unfamiliar.
“Where are we?” The Warrior asked, flicking back to the communications screen. The Master looked over his console, trying to pull up a map.
“That’s what I’m trying to find out.” The Master answered, striking a control. The Master’s video feed of the Warrior was pushed to the right, the space replaced by a map of their universe. A grey square swept around the map, trying to find a match of the nearby stars. After it had bounced about a few times, it simply returned ‘Location: Unknown’ “It says unknown. But that can’t be right.”
“In a sense, it does.” The Warrior muttered.
“Mind explaining?” The Master asked.
“We’re in a whole new universe…” The Warrior hypothesised.
“Finally. I’m free from their inane demands.” The Master sighed.
Meanwhile, a polished silver saucer spun galaxies away, blissfully unaware of their new arrivals. A round black based Kadel slid down the corridors, it’s polished silver octagonal casing gleaming under the lights, the brassy bumps lighting up. Where it’s shoulders should have been, two black eyeballs sat on shiny silver stalks, it’s gun up above. It turned and slid into the control chamber.
“King. There have been no changes in our rule.” It chanted in its electronic voice.
“Excellent. Continue scanning.” The Kadel King commanded. He was similar to the others, but had no shoulders or gun. Instead, he had an orb filled with yellow liquid, and his casing was held aloft by four panels which sloped down, polished silver stands connecting him to the grey floor, rich with skid marks.
The Warrior stood at his console, and looked the monitor, thinking to himself. He plugged another wire into the console. Then he realized something. He grabbed a jar from an open roundel and rushed to the doors. He scooped what seemed to be nothing, and put it under the microscope on another panel. He looked into it, finding something very interesting.
“What’re you looking at?” The Master asked, now bored of this new universe.
“The cosmic matter. Clearly, it must be close to our own, since our TARDISes are still drawing power. Assuming the hole sucked some cosmic matter from our universe,” The Warrior began.
“We can track it back. But why would you want to go back? You know what they’ve done to us.” The Master stated. The Warrior looked at a photo he had on the lower segment of the monitor. It was of him and Mia having fun.
“I have friends to get home to.” The Warrior rightfully claimed.
“I may well stay here.” The Master admitted. “I mean, it’s not like I’ve got anyone to stick around with.”
“Tell you what, we get out of here, I’ll-” The Warrior began before an electronic voice pierced through their speakers.
“Attention. You have been detected by the Kadel Kingdom. Do not move while you are searched.” The voice chanted.
“Kadel?” The Warrior asked.
Within minutes, the pair of TARDISes had been pulled into the saucer’s landing bay. Smaller saucers sat around them, a space for a Kadel to sit in arched from the top and bottom like a bubble.
“I don’t like this.” The Master muttered as the pair were approached by four Kadels. Two for each of them.
“Just go with it. Maybe they can help us.” The Warrior muttered. “Uh, take us to your king?” The Warrior asked.
“We are taking you there now. You will move ahead of us.” One of the Kadels chanted. The others joined in, repeating it a few times. The quartet got behind the two Time Lords and shuffled them ahead, all of their eyes on their backs.
In the control chamber, the Warrior and the Master walked in and stood in the doorway. They were in the middle of taking everything in when they were shunted forwards.
“Who are you both?” The Kadel King asked.
“I am the Warrior. Pleasure to meet you.” The Warrior introduced, bowing. At the lowest point, he glared at the Master to do the same.
“I am the Master. And you will-” The Master began, his now cat-like eyes glowing. An elbow from the Warrior got the Master’s eyes to revert back. “You will be pleased to know that we are harmless.” He improvised, very much lying.
“I have no records of you subjects. What is your planet called?” The Kadel King enquired.
“Gallifrey.” The pair answered.
“You are lying. There is no such planet in my kingdom.”
“Well maybe you just haven’t conquered it yet.” The Master offered. The head of the Kadel King, sealed in the dome, twisted in disbelief.
“My kingdom encompasses all.” He stated. The pair froze, then came up with a plan silently. The Master was able to silently slip his laser screwdriver out while the King was distracted by a monitor’s alert. The Master quietly aimed at one of the four who was holding him and the Warrior, and fired.
The golden beam seared towards the guard, striking it in the eye. The Master and the Warrior ran as the Kadel chanted
“Subjects are escaping! Subjects are escaping!”
“Execute them!” The King commanded.
“Execute! Execute!” The Kadels chanted repeatedly. The Warrior and the Master bolted to their TARDISes, the Warrior slaving the Master’s.
“Oh, come on!” The Master yelled.
“Our navigation won’t work properly. Can’t get separated!” The Warrior explained, mashing buttons to set a course away from the Kadels. Once he had finished inputting the navigation, it flashed ‘DANGER: Course Uncharted’ The Warrior slammed down the accept button and threw up a grey lever. The pipes in his Time Rotor began to rise and fall. The Master’s did the same, and with its waling, their TARDISes phased into the Vortex.
As the pair shook their way through the pink swirls of the Vortex, they devised a way to get home.
“So, what’s this plan of yours?” The Master asked, knowing the Warrior had one.
“If I can rig up a detector using spare cosmic matter from our universe, we can track the hole.” The Warrior answered.
“What’s the catch?” The Master asked. There was always a catch.
“We’ll need to close the hole behind us.” As the pair were thinking, the Kadel King barked orders to his servants, telling them to follow the escaped subjects. But something nibbled at his mind. There was no such planet as Gallifrey. Then he realised something. Either the planet was hidden, or it was in another universe. And if people from another universe could enter this universe… Well, doors open from both sides. And he got dreadfully bored from time to time. The head in the liquid grinned, realising that soon, he would have another revolution to plan.