taxonomites | twelve | location: streets of taxon |

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twelve | location: streets of taxon |

The Doctor has to start working eventually. And while nobody hates the idea of working quite like the Doctor hates working, he hates the idea of being back in prison even more than that.

So, behold the Doctor, carrying things from a replication unit to the square where he's working on his next project. At present, the things he's creating are three-foot pieces of metal. He's spitting out a few at a time, and then moving them to a large pile where he has more already stacked up.

There's also a series of papers he's had made up sitting not far off from the stacks of sheet metal. They read: MISSING: ONE SONIC SCREWDRIVER. HONESTLY, NOW, STEALING ISN'T RIGHT AT ALL, IS IT?

Oh, he's also got a plate of pink-frosted cupcakes. A Time Lord's gotta eat, y'all.

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"Well, I could always wish up some more if we needed them," the Doctor says, tossing another piece of sheet metal onto the pile. "But, please, go right ahead. They've got the little edible ball bearings on them. Love the edible ball bearings."

With a grin Glitch picked up one of the cupcakes. "Thank you, that's-" Then he properly recognized the Doctor, and for a brief moment his expression went blank. After a moment, however, the smile returned a bit ruefully. "-that's very kind of you. H-hello Doctor, I didn't know you were..."

Handwave to indicate look ma no prison cell goes here, which he really should have noticed since he'd just spent some time at Petra's. Then again he'd been preoccupied with suddenly-evil-princess things.

"Just the other day," the Doctor says, focusing again on the metal he has to move about. he's going to have to create another stack at this rate. Knowing himself, he's more likely to knock it all down before he gets to work.

"Does it bother you?"

He took a bite of the pastry and tilted his head to consider this. Like he'd told Buffy and DG he really wanted the whole thing to be behind him, and holding a grudge wasn't going to aid him in that. Also edible ball bearings were fascinating.

"Not really," he replied eventually. "I'm not good at dwelling on things, after all, they're just gonna go poof anyway." To demonstrate: " What are you up to?"

Because, really, large amounts of plate metal were more interesting than his hinky synapses.

"Couple of things," the Doctor says, tossing another few pieces of metal into the pile. "Working on this project as per my present employment, meanwhile, working on this---"

He reaches under the pile of 'wanted: sonic screwdriver' posters and pulls out a diagram. Synthetic brain material and how to make it work.

"I did promise."

Glitch stuffed the rest of the cupcake in his mouth and accepted the diagram, eyes going wide as he studied it. He swallowed, blinked, and looked up at the time lord with an expression of incredulity.

"You..." he began, then shook his head. "This is- wow, I don't-" And then he was grinning properly again. "Thank you, I I don't know what else to say."

"Well, we'll see if it works," the Doctor says. "I'll see what I can pull together in my off-time. I've got to work on this while I'm---" he clears his throat uncomfortably, "---on parole. But I don't sleep most nights, should be a good thing to work on to keep me occupied."

"It's already more than anyone else has been able to do for me," Glitch pointed out. He imagined how it would be, to be just a bit more normal, to be able to trust his own mind. What would DG think... "And and it's okay, I've got time. I still need to talk to some friends, make sure it's the right thing to do."

"Being in your right mind's always the right thing to do. And, besides, you can always have someone looking over my shoulder while I work. Just so long as you'll be back to yourself again." He sniffs, and throws another sheet of metal onto the pile.

"Mind if I give your head a quick scan with the old screwdriver?"

"Well...that is true, I suppose." Which of course raised the question of exactly who he'd be if he was back to being himself. Just about everyone had said he'd been different, but still himself, and the letter he'd written (to himself) had assured much the same. Still it was...a surreal concept, to say the least.

The query got a look of mild apprehension. "Scanning with a screwdriver? How's that work?"

"Like this."

The Doctor steps over to Glitch and holds up the screwdriver, flipping it on. He gives the cupcake a scan, and little lights show up on the side, explaining, to the Doctor at least, that this is, in fact, a cupcake. "Won't take a mo'. I just need you to stand still."

Well, that looked simple enough.

"All right," Glitch said and straightened his posture to that of the consummate courtier. He the Doctor a single marionette-ish nod to indicate he was ready.

The Doctor looked over the zipper on Glitch's head, sniffed, and then waved the sonic over it. After a few minutes, he pulled it back and gave it a read.

"There really is only half a brain in there," he said, shocked. "That's---well, unexpected."

Glitch observed the procedure with curiosity. He wasn't precisely sure how the screwdriver worked (or what it was or...oh there were a zillion of other questions he wanted to ask) worked but he suspected he wanted one for himself. It lit up and made noise, what more did he need to know?

All right, knowing that it was able to verify the contents of his noggin in a polite and non-invasive way was nice. "Well, I did say as much," he remarked with a small smile. "Involuntary non-therapeutic hemispherectomy."

"They just took it from you," the Doctor says, sounding particularly disgusted with the very idea. The one thing that people have when they have nothing is their own mind, and whoever it is that took Glitch's denied him even that.

"Who was it?"

Back in the O.Z. any revulsion that came with knowledge of Glitch's condition was directed at him, personally. He still wasn't used to people in Taxon getting angry at the people who'd done it to him.

"A Witch," he replied. "She wanted a machine I'd invented, but I wouldn't give her the plans, so..." He gestured to his head and smiled ruefully. "She cut out the middleman. Literally."

"Is she here?" the Doctor asks. "Here, in Taxon?"

Part of him dearly hopes she is, but the rest of him thinks it would be better if she weren't. Someone that ruthless is incredibly dangerous.

"You just missed her. Last week our, ah, hosts turned my friend DG into her." Which was the uncomplicated version. "But they changed her back quickly, so that's...better."

For some value of better. Now they were even more determined to escape Taxon and free the O.Z.

"She's who we're up against when we get home."

"Turning your friend into your enemy," the Doctor says, sounding disgusted again, but this time at their captors. "Sounds like a fairly sick sense of humor on the part of the people who brought us here."

He tosses another sheet of metal onto the pile. "Where's home for you, then?"

"That was our conclusion, too," Glitch sighed and shook his head. Sick, cruel, twisted, and pulling this just when they'd started to be happy was...moreso.

Ah, handy slight change of topic. "The O.Z., o-or the Outer Zone. Near as we can work out it's the next dimension over from Kansas."

Hey, it's a working theory.

"I'm not going to lie to you, Glitch," the Doctor said, looking at him very seriously. "That's a very odd place to live. The next dimension over from Kansas."

Glitch shrugged. "No odder than a city in an underground bubble." With a chuckle he glanced up to the false sky and its poor lonely sun. Of all the things he missed about the O.Z., its binary stars was...one of them. He blinked, looked to the Doctor, then the pile of metal. "Did you need help with that?"

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twelve | location: streets of taxon |

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