Welcome to Gaia! ::

There was a crash as a large spotted beast burst through the undergrowth. It roared and riding on top of it was the Doctor. He gave Ally a smirk.

"Ally, you look... different. I like it," he grinned impishly, his clothes a strange black and white ensemble. His hair had changed as well and there was a spiffy hat on his head.

"Hop on," he grinned.

"Theta, I warn you not to get any ideas," the Bandersnatch/Cheshire growled.

"Oh don't be such a wet blanket, Yurik. I said I'd help didn't I?"

"Your funeral. And if you see Terrant, in one piece that is, tell him is an infuriating git."

"I'm sure he loves you too. Well come on Allyce! Time to save the Hatter!" he grinned and offered her a hand.

"Yeah, should have warned you, there are nanobots in the atmosphere," he smirked, "this place is a resort... well used to be a resort. The bots reweave the fibers in your clothes to enhance the wonderland experience. And I like this wig!"

"Well aren't you the happy couples," Yurik said as he rolled his eyes and burst through the undergrowth. Straight ahead there was nothing but cold ash and strewn bones. "These trees were blackened sixty years ago, nothing else has grown since then. Whenever a spot is blighted, it remains uninhabitable."

"How is he managing that?"

"Aren't you supposed to be figuring that out Theta?"

"You're the professor Yurik, you tell me."

"WAS the professor, not that it did you any good. The blasts carry a residual radiation that kills all plant life. It's poisonous to you and me if we stay too long out here. Note the decoration around you, these carcasses are from those who strayed out of the green spots."

The Doctor was thoughtful as they crossed the cracked earth.

"Ally, where did you leave your Leviathan?"

"Good, radioactive wastelands are no place for a child," he said as the crested a hill.

"Neither is a transdimentional telephone box," Yurik retorted snidely. "Keep your heads low, we're in the Trumps' eyes from here on out."

As if on cue there was a steely clank to one side and something that looked like a cross between a wolf and a locomotive stared at them with red glowing eyes. Yurik roared at it and the creature darted back.

"The Stalkers are out... we're not far from the Central Hub," Yurik muttered, "Girl, tell me. What species are you?"

"Oh you'd be surprised," Yurik replied icily.

"Ally please stop being rude to the very large creature with several rows of teeth we're riding," the Doctor said with a sigh, though he did smirk a bit.

"No Theta, I don't blame her. If I were Grimixian I wouldn't want to admit it either," the cat rumbled smugly.

"Yes well... wait... how do you know that?"

"Like I said Theta," the cat glowered as they reached the edge of a cliff, "You'd be very surprised at what is and isn't my business."

There in the horizon rose a large steely structure with Grimixian lettering. The spires crackled with contained lightning and looked dark and imposing against the blood red sky.

"I believe, miss Ally, THAT little number is your people's doing," Yurik sated venomously, "Which brings us up to speed. This is as far as I go. If you'd like to face the Shredders down there, you do so on your own."

"Oh yes completely impossible, whatEVER was I thinking," the cat glowered at Ally anger seeping into his eyes, "Your people have been exploiting mine for almost two hundred years, sixty years ago they took what little friends I had left. So give me a reason I shouldn't just throw you off this cliff, Grimixian, and you better make it a good one."

The Doctor hopped off and stood between Yurik and Ally.

"You are many things old cat, but you're not a murderer," he said pining him with a stern look, "Yurik, we're here to help. You must believe that."

"I believe you're a fool Doctor, and so was Terrant for thinking he could win this fight. You'll end up turned into a Shredder or worse."

"They modify their prisoners?"

"That's one way of calling it, another is that they turn you into part of their machinery. Sweet Ally here will be installing you as the generator's new bioware computer. Fused into the metal walls of that sick place."

"Grimixians were wiped out by the Daleks, there were none left," the Doctor insisted.

"Well in my opinion the Daleks weren't through enough!" Yurik snapped.

"She really is thick isn't she?" the cat purred as he faded and reappeared lying down in midair. "How long do your people live? The same Trump King and Queen have been ruling for over 150 years. They have no subjects or members of court other than the shredders...."

The Doctor placed a hand on Ally's shoulder.

"Whatever they are, these people, they're not completely Grimixian.... not anymore," the Doctor sighed and looked to the building. "I'm coming with you. This isn't just your responsibility."

"There are times, where people cannot be saved," the Doctor stated grimly, "Everything dies, and everything withers in the end. If they have lived too long, perhaps it's time to amend that."

He took Ally's hand in his.

"I am not as innocent, as you might think."

"How touching," Yurik said in a voice dripping with sarcasm, "you've still failed to take into account how you're going to get past the Shredders, much less get into the Hub."