CHARLOTTE ::: DW¹

iii. first day part three

"Where's the Earth?" Asked Donna.

"All around us... in the dust," He told her.

"Puts the wedding in perspective," Donna mumbled, looking to the large area of dust and rocks. "Lance was right. We're just tiny."

"No, but that's what you do. The human race makes sense out of chaos. Marking it out with weddings and Christmas and calendars. This whole process is beautiful, but only if it's being observed."

Donna continued to look at the empty space that would become her earth. "So I came out of all this?"

"This and that," Charlotte responded. "It's amazing."

A large rock drifts past the TARDIS. Nodding to it, Donna remarks, "I think that the Isle of Wight." At that, they all laughed a little.

"Soon, gravity will take hold," Charlotte began, recalling something she learned years ago. "One big rock, much heavier than the others, starts to pull other rocks to it. All the dust, gas, and elements will be pulled in. Everything forming together until you get-"

"The Earth." Donna finished. "How'd you know that?"

Charlotte thought a second, trying to remember herself. "Oh, my fiancee majored in astrophysics during university. Used to have me quiz him."

"But the question is, what was the first rock?" The Doctor inquired, interrupting her.

A Racnoss ship, a seven-pointed star, flys through of one of the gas clouds on the right toward the rocks and gas. "Look," Donna pointed.

"The Racnoss," the Doctor wasn't surprised as he looked to the ship.

Charlotte's breathing hitches. "The first rock isn't even a rock at all."

He ran back to the console, pressing one of the buttons repeatedly as he said to them, "Hold on, the Racnoss are hiding from the war. What's it doing?" The process was speeding up as the ship began to be swarmed by the rocks.

"Exactly what you said," Donna answered for him.

He ran back to the door to see, looking over Charlotte's shoulder. "Oh, they didn't just bury something at the center of the Earth. They became the center of the Earth."

There was a loud bang that shook the TARDIS- nearly causing the three to fall. Charlotte immediately closed the doors as she shouted, "What was that?"

"Trouble," responded the Doctor. He ran back to the console, promptly trying to stop whatever was happening to the TARDIS.

Donna and Charlotte held on tightly as the TARDIS began shuddering and tipping around- struggling to even keep their balance. "What the hell's it doing?" Donna yelled at him.

"Remember that little trick of mine, particles pulling particles. Well, it works in reverse," He revealed, much to Donna's horror. "They're pulling us back!" Although he strove to control the TARDIS, he was helpless as the pull from them was too strong.

"Well, can't you stop it? Hasn't it got a handbrake? Can't you reverse or warp or beam or something?"

Even Charlotte, who knew well he couldn't do anything, shouted over the noise, "There has to be some sort of control, right?"

"Backseat driver," He muttered to himself. "Oh! Wait a minute," He pulled a device that looked similar to a surfboard with a button out from under the console. "The extrapolator! It can't stop us, but it should give us a good bump!" He lifted the device on top of the console. As soon as the TARDIS materialized again, he shouted, "Now!" Then pushed the big blue button that was on it, causing the ship to dematerialize once again.