A young woman is led in by an older woman. She speaks to a man wearing a tattered Confederate Army uniform.
"Will it be me, Uncle?"
"Yes, it's going to be you. I only wish I could go in your place, Idris. Nah, I don't, because it's really going to hurt" an Ood with glowing green eyes appears behind Idris.
"It's starting. What will happen?"
"Oh. Er, Nephew will drain your mind and your soul from your body and leave your body empty" the older women says as Idris goes up onto a platform with a bit of alien tech dangling around the place. The Ood holds Idris' head.
"I'm scared."
"I expect so, dear. But soon you'll have a new soul. There'll be a Time Lord coming."
---
"And then we discovered it wasn't the Robot King, after all, it was the real one. Fortunately, I was able to re-attach the head" {Y/N} says.
"Do you believe any of this stuff?" Rory asks looking at Amy.
"I was there" Amy replies as lights start going off.
"Oh, it's the warning lights. I'm getting rid of those. They never stop" the Doctor says as he starts slapping the console.
"Stop slapping it" {Y/N} says, pressing a button.
"Hey. You're still thinking about it, aren't you?" Rory asks quietly.
"Oh, shush. We saw her die" Amy mutters.
"Yeah, two hundred years in the future."
"Yes, but it's still going to happen" there's a sudden knock on the TARDIS door, the Doctor and {Y/N} look at each other.
"What was that?" Amy asks.
"The door," the Doctor says as he and {Y/N} slowly start to advance towards it "it knocked."
"Right. We are in deep space" Rory says.
"Very, very deep" {Y/N} says the rhythmic knocking sounds once again "and somebody's knocking" the Doctor opens the doors. A small glowing box is outside.
"Oh, come here. Come here, you scrumptious little beauty" the box flies inside and ends up hitting the Doctor on the chest, {Y/N} bends down and picks it up while the Doctor lays on the floor looking up at her.
"A box?" Rory asks.
"{Y/N}, what is it?" Amy asks.
"I and the Doctor have got mail. Time Lord emergency messaging system. In an emergency, we'd wrap up thoughts in psychic containers and send them through time and space. Anyway, there's a living Time Lord still out there, and it's one of the good ones" {Y/N} says.
"You both said there weren't any other Time Lords left," Rory says.
"There are no Time Lords left anywhere in the universe. But the universe isn't where we're going. See that snake?" the Doctor says.
"It's the mark of the Corsair. Fantastic bloke. He had that snake as a tattoo in every regeneration. Didn't feel like himself unless he had the tattoo. Or herself, a couple of times. Ooo, she was a bad girl" {Y/N} chuckles, things start to go bang.
"Oh, what is happening?!" Rory asks.
"We're leaving the universe!" the Doctor shouts.
"How can you leave the universe?!" Amy asks.
"With enormous difficulty. Right now, I'm burning up TARDIS rooms to give us some welly. Goodbye, swimming pool. Goodbye, scullery. Sayonara, squash court seven" whoosh, thump, crash, then all is still and silent.
"Ok, ok. Where are we?" Amy asks.
"Outside the universe, where we've never, ever been" {Y/N} says, the lights go out in the TARDIS.
"Is that meant to be happening?" Rory asks.
"The power, it's draining. Everything's draining. But it can't. That's, that's impossible" the Doctor mutters.
"What is that?" Rory asks.
"It's as if the Matrix, the soul of the TARDIS, has just vanished. Where would it go?" {Y/N} asks, Idris gasps and sits up again. A little golden energy comes out of her mouth, to the accompaniment of the TARDIS sound.
*Time skip*
{Y/N} opens the door and walks out followed by the Doctor then Amy and Rory.
"So what kind of trouble's your friend in?" Amy asks.
"He was in a bind. A bit of a pickle. Sort of distressed" the Doctor says.
"Ah, you can't just say you don't know" Amy replies.
"But what is this place? The scrap yard at the end of the universe?" Rory asks.
"Not end of, outside of" {Y/N} says.
"How we can we be outside the universe? The universe is everything" Rory says.
"Imagine a great big soap bubble with one of those tiny little bubbles on the outside," the Doctor says.
"Ok" Rory replies.
"Well, it's nothing like that. Completely drained. Look at her" the Doctor says.
"Wait. So, we're in a tiny bubble universe, sticking to the side of the bigger bubble universe?" Amy asks.
"Yes. No! But if it helps, yes" the Doctor says. This place is full of rift energy. She'll probably refuel just by being here."
"Now, this place. What do we think, eh? Gravity's almost Earth normal, air's breathable, but it smells like..." {Y/N} trails off.
"Armpits," Amy says.
"Armpits."
"What about all this stuff? Where did this come from?" Rory asks.
"Well, there's a rift. Now and then stuff gets sucked through it" {Y/N} says.
"Not a bubble, a plughole. The universe has a plughole and we've just fallen down it" the Doctor says.
"Thieves! Thieves! You're my thieves!" a young woman shouts pointing.
"She's dangerous. Guard yourselves" the older woman says as the young woman runs up to the Doctor and {Y/N}.
"Look at you both! Goodbye. No, not goodbye, what's the other one?" she kisses the Doctor and is pulled back by the two older people.
"Watch out. Careful. Keep back from her. Welcome, strangers. Lovely. Sorry about the mad person" the older man says.
"Why are we thieves? What have we stolen?" {Y/N} asks.
"Me. You're going to steal me. No, you have stolen me. You are stealing me. Oh, tenses are difficult, aren't they?"
"Oh. Oh, we are sorry, my dove. She's off her head. They call me Auntie."
"And I'm Uncle. I'm everybody's Uncle. Just keep back from this one. She bites!"
"Do I? Excellent" the young woman bites {Y/N}'s ear, everyone gasps.
"Ow! Ow!" {Y/N} shouts, putting her hand up to her ear, a small bit of blood on her fingertips.
"Biting's excellent. It's like kissing, only there's a winner" the Doctor, looks at {Y/N}'s ear.
"So sorry. She's doolally" Uncle says.
"No, I'm not doolally. I'm, I'm. It's on the tip of my tongue. I've just had a new idea about kissing. Come here, you" the young woman advances towards the Doctor who quickly hides behind {Y/N}.
"Idris, no!"
"Oh, but now you're both angry. No, you're not. You will be angry. The little boxes will make you both angry" Idris says.
"Sorry? The little what? Boxes?" {Y/N} asks.
"Oh, ho, no. Your chin is hilarious" Idris laughs taking {Y/N}'s chin in her hand she then looks to Rory "It means the smell of dust after rain."
"What does?" Rory asks.
"Petrichor."
"But I didn't ask," Rory says.
"Not yet. But you will."
"No, no, Idris. I think you should have a rest" Auntie says.
"Rest. Yes, yes. Good idea. I'll just see if there's an off switch" Idris collapses into {Y/N} who catches her.
"Is that it? She dead now. So sad" Uncle says.
"No, she's still breathing" Rory replies.
"Nephew, take Idris somewhere she cannot bite people" Nephew is the Ood.
"Oh, hello!" the Doctor says.
"Doctor, {Y/N}, what is that?" Amy asks.
"Oh, no, it's all right. It's an Ood. Oods are good" the Doctor says.
"Love an Ood. Hello, Ood. Can't you talk? Oh, I see. It's damaged. May I?" {Y/N} asks the Ood nods "It might just be on the wrong frequency."
"Nephew was broken when he came here. Why he was half dead. House repaired him. House repaired all of us."
"If you are receiving this message, please help me. Send a signal to the High Council of the Time Lords on Gallifrey. Tell them that I am still alive. I don't know where I am. I'm on some rock-like planet" behind the message is a lot of other voices trying to speak at the same time.
"What was that? Was that him?" Rory asks.
"No, no. It's picking up something else" the Doctor says.
"But that's, that's not possible. That's, that's. Who else is here? Tell me. Show us. Show us" {Y/N} says.
"Just what you see. Just the four of us, and the House. Nephew, will you take Idris somewhere safe where she can't hurt nobody?"
"The House? What's the House?" the Doctor asks.
"House is all around you, my sweets. You are standing on him. This is the House. This world. Would you like to meet him?"
"Meet him?" Rory asks.
"We'd love to" {Y/N} says.
"This way. Come, please. Come."
"What's wrong? What were those voices?" Amy asks the Doctor and {Y/N} are silent for a moment.
"Time Lords. It's not just the Corsair. Somewhere close by there are lots and lots of... Time Lords" the Doctor says, as they all follow Auntie and Uncle.
---
~Bread 🍞