Tag: Tenth Doctor

Zepheera-Vision — Midnight 1/4

[This is an alternate ‘Midnight’. Due to the intensity, I wanted to give this one closure. Spoilers for the climax of the episode. Prepare for angst. You’ve been warned.]

Taking a big space truck full of strangers across a diamond planet called Midnight? What could possibly go wrong?

Everything.

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“Doctor!” Zepheera cried, climbing along the bottom of an uprooted seat to look him in the eye. But he couldn’t look back. He sat on the floor trembling, unseeing eyes more full of fear than Zepheera had ever seen in them before. 

If there was one thing you learn when you sit on a man’s shoulder, it’s how much that man moves. The Doctor was always moving–always–and now he was terrifyingly still. If he could have budged, like his eyes told her he desperately wanted to, he would have. She clutched at her hair in frustration. She wanted to help, needed to, but what could she do? She couldn’t move him on her own or save him from physical harm, she was four and a half inches tall! 

For once, she wished Donna were around. The loud, boisterous human would make quick work of slapping sense into the other six, who were still arguing about what they were going to do to the Doctor. All they had done the entire time was bicker and yell, giving the borrower the worst headache. And the seventh, that Sky woman…As though she could read her mind, she stared coldly down at Zepheera with the faintest of smirks.

Now the yelling was so loud it blocked out Zepheera’s thoughts. At the very least, a couple of the humans were sticking up for the Doctor, but they were quickly shut down. One more look into the Doctor’s eyes–utterly petrified, begging for help the only way he could–and Zepheera’d had enough of these humans.

“Would you all just SHUT UP!!” she shrieked.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Epilogue

Ao3 | Tumblr | Ask me questions! Send me prompts!

Zepheera-Vision Update

This week’s Zepheera-Vision has a bunch of things going on that are new to the format.

1. It’s the first ZV set in a previously existing episode of Doctor Who.

2. It’s also the first to imply that Zepheera is a companion at the same time as the one in that episode/series.

3. This is a feelsy story, broken up into four parts due to length. So rather than keep you all in suspension, this ZV will update every other day starting on Saturday.

Hope this clears up any confusion that would have arisen if I’d just done what I wanted without telling y’all. (Also, if anyone can guess the mystery episode and companion before today ends, perhaps you’ll earn a lil sneak peek uwu)

Asks and Prompts are open! | Submissions, too!

Zepheera-Vision — A Tight Fit

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“See anything yet, Zepheera?”

The borrower in question rolled her eyes as the felt a series of rumbles through the hardwood floor that seemed to indicate the Doctor was crouching down to check on her already. It had only been a few seconds since she’d been sent down into this small gap to investigate for clues. A glance over her shoulder gave her a narrow view of her Time Lord flattened on the ground with one eye shut tight and the opposite eyebrow raised high, as though it would give him a greater insight on Zepheera’s perspective. 

“Doctor, we’ve been over this, you can’t fit down here.”

“Yeah, but I can’t help being curious!” he declared defensively. “Last place anybody sees the big old mysterious being is disappearing through this tiny little gap, which should be impossible given its size!” 

Depending on how it had been done, such a change might have left behind some sort of residue that would assist the pair of time travelers in knowing what exactly they were up against. On the other hand, if the person or creature had simply made themselves smaller, then Zepheera could be at risk where she now stood.

Well, more like crouched. Even for her, standing at four and a half inches tall, it was a bit of a tight fit. In any case, the Doctor had to be ready to help her despite the fact that his hand wouldn’t be able to reach more than a few inches into such a small space.

Zepheera bit back a huff, placing her hands on her hips as she backed away from the Doctor. They’d been together for months doing this exact kind of thing on a near daily basis, and she’d thought the Doctor trusted her more than what he seemed to be demonstrating. But just as she was about to tell him exactly what she thought, she felt and heard her foot sink into some gelatinous mystery fluid with a sickening squelch. She jumped away from it with a cry of disgust, shaking as much of it off her foot as possible.

“Found something,” she muttered to the Doctor through a clenched jaw.

Zepheera-Vision — Her Business

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“But what is she?” asked one of the scientists to the Doctor in an aside.

The Time Lord looked up from the sample he was examining through a microscope at the woman in a white coat addressing him, glancing at the shelf on the other side of the room where his four-inch-tall companion stood scrutinizing racks of test tubes. They knew one of them was wrong, and she volunteered to find out which out of the 75 tubes it was since her eyes wouldn’t tire as easily as any of the human scientists’ would looking at the miniscule labels.

Turning back to the scientist, he gave a sniff and replied, “I rather think that’s her business to share, not mine. Although,” he added as he focused back on the microscope, “to be fair, if you asked she probably wouldn’t tell you.”

“And why’s that?” the scientist hissed, sounding affronted.

“Cause you’re human!” exclaimed the Doctor, not bothering to look up from the microscope this time. “Would you trust somebody who looks as big as you do to her right off?”

Her gaze wandered over to the impossibly tiny woman still searching tirelessly through the test tubes, and she heaved a resigned sigh. She supposed she wouldn’t. Rather than admit that, however, she pressed on. “But she trusts you, and you’re taller than I am!”

“Well, you’ve got me there.” The Doctor straightened to his full height–a full head taller than the female scientist–adjusting his crisp royal blue suit. “Little over sixteen times her height, I’m surely terrifying. In’t that right, Zepheera?”

His tiny companion’s head snapped up at the mention of her name, only to find the Doctor crossing the room right toward the shelf she was standing on. After all this time, it still blew her mind how fast someone so large could move. 

“I’m just as scary as any mean ol’ human, eh?” he smirked, pulling a teasingly startling ‘rawr’ face close to the eye-level shelf as he passed the borrower and moved on to fetch whatever he was after. 

Zepheera flinched at the sudden lack of space, but shot an exasperated look through the back of her friend’s head. She went about her business, muttering about what a giant ten-year-old her Time Lord was as she worked.

Zepheera-Vision — Backseat Driver

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“Must you drive with your feet?” complained Zepheera as she clung to a hopefully useless doodad on the console, eyeing the red Chuck Taylor that had landed a little too close for comfort. “Not to be rude or anything, I just can’t help but feel slightly at risk here!”

“Oh, always the backseat drivers…” the Doctor muttered through clenched teeth. But he peered through the loops of cable at Zepheera, careful to know where she was at all times in order to avoid…incidents, he thought with a glance at his shoe. “For your information, it takes six pilots to fly this ship properly, and considering I failed my test, I think I manage quite well, thanks very–!”

He was cut off when a rumble of turbulence shook the TARDIS. With the extra leverage of his propped-up foot, the Doctor managed to keep his balance. Zepheera was not quite so lucky, as the tremor was much greater to her. Her feet were thrown out from under her and she slipped over the edge of the raised section of the console that she had thought for sure would be safer. As her grip tightened on her handhold to prevent her from being thrown off the console altogether, she reconsidered her chain of logic.

“Zepheera?” called the Doctor after losing sight of his four-inch-tall companion. He hurried around to the panel where he’d last seen her, letting out a relieved breath when she appeared unhurt. Even so, while his left hand turned a crank and several dials, his right scooped up Zepheera and lifted her to his shoulder. “How ‘bout we try this?” It was still early days for the pair of them, and neither had ever lived so closely with someone of such a dramatic size difference before.

But they were learning. Zepheera didn’t have time to be cross about being picked up without warning because the Doctor was already on the move. She clung to his collar as the Time Lord dashed about, and through trial and error she found a stable position in shoving her legs under his lapel and anchoring her feet against his neck. 

Once she felt secure, Zepheera actually thought this wasn’t so bad. Sure, riding on a giant’s shoulder was nerve-wracking, not to mention he moved at a borderline dizzying rate. But at least up here, she wouldn’t have to worry about any flying converse.

Minisode: From Nothing

BTaS Canon: Yes

Timeline: Within the first two weeks of Zepheera’s acceptance aboard the TARDIS

Insp. by this post

Part 2 of 2

Zepheera
eagerly hurried onto his hand and climbed up his arm to his shoulder, holding
on to the collar of his button-up as he carefully stood. He returned to the
screen, clicking it on. A brief flash of what he had been looking at earlier
appeared before he switched away from it. It lasted less than a second and
looked a lot like a woman with fiery red hair. Zepheera knew better than to
pry, and focused her attention on what the Doctor was doing and saying.

”Have
you heard of the Hubble Space Telescope?“ he asked, pulling up an image of
the machine.

Zepheera
sat down a little ways away from the Doctor’s neck so he could see her more
easily if he wanted to, tilting her head slightly at the picture. "A
little,” she replied.

“Well,
put simply, it does exactly what the title says: orbits the Earth, capturing
light from across the universe. Launched in nineteen-ninety, ten years ago for
you, and in two thousand three, it’ll point itself someplace a bit
peculiar.”

With
the push of a button, the screen changed to an image of the night sky, big old
full moon and all. “Right about…" the Doctor muttered, working the
controls until a minuscule square appeared to the left of the moon. “Ah, there
we are. That tiny area in the sky. What do you see?“

Zepheera
squinted. The square was probably the size of her hand, give or take, but from
this distance it seemed even smaller. "Nothing,” she answered as soon
as she was sure.

“Nothing.
Totally blank to the naked eye. Not even a star. And yet, Hubble kept on
looking. Looking and looking for four months, seeing all it could see until…“

Click.

Zepheera’s
vision filled with a gorgeous assortment of colorful dots, all different sizes
and colors and shapes. Her breath caught and her eyes widened. The Doctor
paused to let the image sink in before he continued emphatically.

"Each
and every one of these dots is a galaxy.” He
gesticulated widely at the screen. “Each galaxy can potentially hold up to
a trillion stars. And each star could potentially
have its own system of planets, any of which could potentially hold life.”
Another pause for emphasis. “There are over ten thousand galaxies pictured
here. And all from what looked like a tiny speck of absolutely nothing to Earth.

"And
that, Zepheera,” he said, turning his head to look at her, “is how
big the universe is.”

The
look on the borrower’s face was nothing short of amazed. Her hand covered her
mouth and her eyes shone with tears, which she blinked away when she felt his
eyes on her. Such a revelation would have made almost anyone else, borrower or
not, feel insignificant and tiny. But in Zepheera, it inspired hope and the
confidence that anything and anyone, no matter how small or seemingly
unimportant, could hold all the potential in the universe. She felt lighter
somehow with this new knowledge.

“Ten
thousand, you said?” she finally piped up, wiping a stray tear away with
the heel of her hand.

The
Doctor smiled warmly at her. “And more.”

She
lifted her chin to meet his gaze. “Can we see them?”

Smile
widening, he brought a hand up for her to climb on. Once she was settled on his
palm, he held her in front of the monitor. “Where would you like to go
first?”

Nearly
overwhelmed by the choice, Zepheera considered carefully. They all looked so
unique and unbelievably intriguing. But she came to a decision, motioning for
the Doctor to lift her higher until she could reach the middle of the screen.

“There,” she announced, pressing her finger on one of the closer
galaxies, a round bright orange one.

“Brilliant
choice,” he agreed, ruffling her short hair with his thumb. She batted the
digit away half-heartedly, fatigue seeming to have finally caught up with her.
“We’ll go first thing in the morning. You should get some rest.”

Zepheera
nodded heavily, and the Doctor began to carry her out of the console room. She
insisted that she could make it back to her room on her own, so he stopped a
few steps into the corridor and lowered her to the floor

“Good
night, Zepheera.”

“Night,”
she replied over her shoulder as she started off. “And,” she began,
turning around suddenly. The Doctor was about to stand and leave her to it when
her voice made him freeze. “Thank you.” She smiled genuinely, albeit
sleepily, and the Doctor returned the gesture.

Without another
word, the two went their separate ways, both eagerly awaiting the morning.

Minisode: From Nothing

BTaS Canon: Yes
Timeline: Within the first two weeks of Zepheera’s acceptance aboard the TARDIS

Part 1 of 2

Every
person in the universe, once in a while, has a sleepless night when every nook
and cranny of their mind is haunted by a single thought. An inexplicable
philosophy conjured up from nothing, a question ceaselessly asked. For them,
this thought fills their senses and thwarts any attempt at sleep. Tonight was
one of those nights for Zepheera.

She
didn’t know what had woken her, but once she found herself awake she was
restless. She tossed and turned, and the thought
refused to quiet down. It was a question that she’d never given much consideration, but was difficult to ignore now that she was with the Doctor.

Finally,
she could take it no longer.

Shivering
slightly, Zepheera padded her way down the long corridors of the TARDIS. She
hadn’t bothered to change out of her pajamas, a thin, dark robe over a
long-sleeved lavender shirt and baggy red plaid trousers. Something was on her
mind and she was sure she’d never sleep until her thought was appeased.

She
stuck by the walls by force of habit—it was an easy way for her and the Doctor
to navigate the halls separately without worrying about…unpleasantness. Even
so, she was confident the Doctor always watched where he stepped when she wasn’t
with him. She flinched slightly when she was close enough to the wall. A
strange feeling overcame her and a chilling mechanical groan echoed through the
colossal halls. It was as if the TARDIS itself was anxious. Perhaps this
feeling had stolen the borrower’s sleep.

By
and by, she rounded the corner to the darkened console room where she found the
Doctor standing in front of the screen. It was hidden by the console from where
Zepheera stood, and she could plainly see the Doctor illuminated by it. He
might have angled himself this way so he’d be able to see if Zepheera came in,
she supposed. But whatever was on that screen had his attention in thrall;
she’d never seen his eyes so…mournful, and
with such longing.

After
a short moment of watching him curiously, Zepheera caught his attention by
clearing her throat. He blinked, reality hitting him hard, and immediately
found his tiny companion in the entrance. He frowned in concern.

“Zepheera,”
said the Doctor gently, flipping the screen off and stepping away from the
console. Pocketing his hands, he took a few shuffling steps toward her and
dropped to his knees. “I thought you were asleep. Something wrong?“

Zepheera
awkwardly shifted her feet. "Oh, no, nothing like that, I was just—I
couldn’t sleep and I was thinking…This is probably gonna sound
stupid…” She trailed off, lowering her gaze to her hands as she
intertwined her fingers.

By
then, the Doctor was lying flat on the floor, head and shoulders propped up
slightly by his elbows. He hated looming over her. It made him feel
ridiculously intimidating, and it wasn’t very conducive for conversation either.
“What is it?”

She
took a steadying breath. “I was wondering…just how big the universe
is.”

It
was a simple question, but it felt silly to ask. She felt like a human child
asking their parent if there was indeed such a thing as Father Christmas.

“Oh…bigger
than you can imagine,“ he answered with a kind grin.

A
relieved smile parted her features. She should have known the Doctor wouldn’t
judge her, especially since the average borrower’s world was much smaller than
Zepheera’s had been even before she met
the Time Lord.

"Can
you show me?” She met his eyes once again as she asked, her own brimming
with curiosity.

The
Doctor considered this, biting the corner of his lip as he thought. Suddenly
his eyes lit up and refocused on her.

“C’mere,“
he said, reaching a hand towards her.

woah I’m invested in this story now, what’s goin on with them cats?

In reference to this post

Honestly, it didn’t start off as anything that dramatic or angsty. There were a bunch of GIFs of David Tennant/the Tenth Doctor with cats, and a little streak of cute Zepheera-Visions came to mind. But that last part turned out much longer than I thought it would be when I started writing it, and I had no idea it would dive so deeply into Zepheera’s attitude toward the felines. It just happened, and looking back I don’t know where else this could have possibly gone.

As for the cats themselves, I assume they’re some alien race of psychic or telepathic cats who lure the Doctor into this bizarre state, and for whatever reason don’t affect Zepheera the same way. As of right now, this is the last appearance they’ll make, but who knows? Maybe in the future I will be motivated (or prompted) to write more about these felonious felines!

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