Will and Nico we're currently getting drinks when they had seen the Master and Doctor leave. "I guess that's our cue." Will says softly. Nico nods and kisses his forehead. "I suppose it is." He chuckles before they walk towards the TARDIS. Will smiles. "Ready?" Nico nods. They Shadow travel into the TARDIS, almost landing on Joe. "Sorry!" Will squeaks.
"What in the name of sanity?!" Joe yelped. "Glad to see you two show up! Now, how does a train ride sound? A train in space?" the Doctor suggested, flipping a switch on the console. The doors closed, and the engines began to creak and groan, taking off. Joe, however, was unable to process all of this, and had passed out.
Will quickly took action, placing a glowing ball of sunlight over his chest, pressing it in gently. "that should wake him up." He throws a look at Nico who shrugs innocently. Nico looks at the doctor. "Doctor. How much did you drink?" He asks, raising a brow.
"Who cares?" he gave an enormous grin, skipping over the threshold of the room. "I certainly don't. This is a time of celebration, my friends!" the Doctor said. He cheerfully tapped in coordinates, ignoring Alison's facepalming.
It seemed as if Nico and Will joined her in the facepalming. "Should I knock him out?" Nico whispers to Alison.
"No, he does this a lot. I've learned to put up with it." Alison whispered in return. The Master was merely watching with an amused look on his face, Alison assumed that he wouldn't do anything to calm the Doctor down. "And we've landed! Now come on, come on!" he said, taking Alison's hand and dragging her out, along with Joe, who was still a little discombobulated. "Doctor? I'm in my wedding dress." Alison pointed out. "Fine. Go change. The wardrobe's moved though, I reset the internal configuration, so don't get lost!" he called back.
Alison found the wardrobe with ease, despite it being in a different place, and came out wearing a stewed cherry cocktail dress, as well as matching earrings. "Alright, flapper or slapper?" she asked. "Flapper, you look lovely. Come on now!" the Doctor said quickly.
Will and Nico glance at each other before walking after the doctor. When Alison returned Will coos. "You look incredible!" He gasps.
"Your train awaits, my lady." the Doctor said, leading her through a shabby looking baggage hold. "Wonderful." Alison said, looking towards Joe. "The baggage car. But thanks for lying. The real wonderful is through here." he said, leading her to a door. The train's bell rang out cheerfully. Music was coming from nearby. "There were many trains to take the name Orient Express," the Doctor began, opening the door to the main room, "but only one," he continued, swinging open the door, "in space!" the door swung open to reveal comfortable chairs with red velvet down the side of the carriage, a bar at one end, and armed men standing guard. The band was playing a slow jazz, with a woman standing off to the side, singing. "Completely faithful recreation of the original Orient Express. Except slightly bigger. And in space. Oh, and the rails are actually hyperspace ribbons. But in every other respect, identical. Painstaking attention to detail." the Doctor said. "Wow. This is amazing, thank you!" Alison said. An indicator mounted on the wall by the door changes from a monocle to a thumbs up with a ting! The onboard computer, who had the posh voice of a British gentleman, spoke. "Ladies and gentlemen. If you would be good enough to look from the windows on the right of the train, you'll be able to see the soaring majesty of the Magellan black hole." the computer announced cheerfully. Outside was a brilliant display of blacks and purples, amongst the white specks of the stars. "I went here once, when I was very young. Just barely 90. It was amazing, but terrifying as well." the Doctor reminisced. "Planets as far as the eye could see. All gone now, though, gobbled up by that beast."
Will and Nico talk excitedly as they enter the train. Nico was looking a little worried, but will was excited beyond compare.
"That's a lie!" a young blond shouted, overhearing the conversation. The music stopped playing, and the Doctor turned his head. "I'm sorry, what?" he asked, bemused. "That's a lie, what you said. Those planets were destroyed thousands of years ago, so you couldn't have been there." she retorted. The chief train guard walked over. He wore a navy blue uniform with two medals, lots of gold frogging and had a gun in a holster. "Miss Pitt, are you sure you wouldn't rather rest in your room?" he asked. "That man's a liar." the woman, Miss Pitt apparently, said. "Perhaps you'd allow Mister Carlyle here to escort you back." the chief said gently, he gestured to another uniformed guard. "It'll be all right, miss. Just come with me." Carlyle said, escorting her off. "Sorry about that. I suppose it's understandable in the circumstances. I don't believe we've been introduced. Captain Quell." he told them, offering a hand. Joe took it, still mildly baffled at the whole thing. "I'm Alison. This is the Doctor. And that's my husband, Joe, he's a doctor as well, in a different way though, medical, and those two are friends of mine, Will and Nico." she said. "Ah, another two." Quell nodded. "Sorry? Another what?" Alison asked. "Well, we've got doctors and professors coming out of our ears on this trip. So, what are you a doctor of? You, I mean, not this Joe sir, who the fine lady already introduced me to." Quell turned to the Doctor. "Now, there's a question that's never asked often enough. Let's say Unconventional Cricket. It's a rather enticing game, cricket is." the Doctor said drolly. "I'm beginning to think Miss Pitt was right about you." Quell replied, bemused. "What's wrong with her? Did something happen?" Alison asked. "You mean you really don't know?" Quell asked, slightly mortified.
Will and Nico bow their heads when introduced. Will was still holding onto Nico's arm, seemingly excited. They weren't really phased by the girl, in fact, they had several cases back at camp like that.
"Well, her grandmother died recently. Nothing special, she was over one hundred years old, after all. Heart attack. But the strange thing about it was that she had complained of seeing a monster, just before her death. A mummy, to be precise." Quell said. "Well, good day to you all." he said, walking off with a wave. "Interesting. Well, let's find rooms, I'm sure there'll be some spares I can hack into." the Doctor said, walking down the hall, waving for them to follow.
Nico and Will listen to the story. "Sounds like something we deal with everyday." Will whispers to Nico who nods and smiles a little. They follow after the doctor, humming happily.
When they were in the hallway…
"There's a body and there's a mummy. I mean, can you not just get on a train? Did a wizard put a curse on you about mini-breaks?" Alison asked. "It might be nothing. Old ladies die all the time. It's practically their job description." the Doctor said. Joe have a little cough at the Doctor's insensitivity, but said nothing. "And the monster?" Alison replied. "Well, seen by no one except her, which suggests that it wasn't there. A dying brain, lack of oxygen, hallucinations. Anyway, people do just die sometimes. She was over a hundred years old." the Doctor pointed out. "Says the one thousand year old man." Alison argued. "Alison, you actually sound as if you want this to be a thing. Do you?" the Doctor asked. "I for one don't, in case anyone happens to be listening." Joe piped up. "It's fine, okay? Fine. If you really think it's nothing, it's nothing. Let's enjoy the train, and I'll just let it go." Alison sighed.
Will and Nico keep quiet as they walk, but Will was holding on to Nico's hand, not sure. His grip was harsh, but Nico didn't seem to mind it, since there was no point in trying to get Will to pay attention when he was thinking.
"Well, rooms. Alison, Joe, you." he said, zapping a door. Alison walked inside, flopping down onto the mattress of the oak four-poster and sighing. She was tired. "Will, Nico, your room." he sonic'ed another door. "I'll be in the one at the end of the hall if someone's dying. Otherwise, don't bother me." he snapped, walking through to the room he indicated. The Doctor then took off his jacket, tossing it on a nearby chair. "It's nothing. Nothing. Definitely sure. 99% sure." he muttered to himself, pacing the breadth of the room. "Really? 99%? That's quite high. Is that the figure you're sticking with?" he asked himself, sitting down and leaning back on a wooden chair. "OK, OK, 75. Well, that's jumped quite a bit. You've just lost 24%. Ugh, I need a drink. Or knitting. I can't focus at all. Listen, it's nothing!" he shouted, then regained composure. "Alright, alright. When I can't figure out the answer to a problem, what do I do? That's the thing, I normally know the answer. Mummy, now where have I seen that before… Why did you even chose this train? You've been invited here more than once, it… are you trying to show off?" he asked. The Doctor groaned, rubbing his temples, then drew long, thin fingers together and placed them against his chin. "It's probably nothing, so why are you so paranoid?" he asked himself. "Well, it's because… Because you know what this sounds like, don't you? No, do tell me. A mummy that only the victim can see. I was being rhetorical. I know exactly what this sounds like." he muttered to himself. Meanwhile, Alison had wandered out into the corridor. The blond from earlier was shuffling past quickly, heeled shoe in hand. Miss Pitt was wearing a pink silk nightdress, and had a distant expression on her face. "Miss Pitt, wasn't it? Are you all right? Do you need some help?" Alison asked. "My name's Maisie. I'm not mad." she squeaked. "Oh, OK. Er, I didn't say you were, but you've had a bad day. I think anybody could do with a little bit of help after a day like today." Alison said, following Maisie down the hall to the luggage van. "Computer, open the door." Maisie ordered. "Call me Gus. I'm afraid this door can only be opened by executive order." the computer said, indicator turning from a monocle to a thumbs down. "Are you OK?" Alison asked. Maisie let out a distressed sob. "They won't let me see her body. They should let me see her body, shouldn't they?" Maisie said, lip wobbling. "Er, yeah, I should think so. It's in there, is it? OK, I have a friend who's really good with locks. Do you want to come with me, see if we can find him?" she asked. There was a sound of electrical crackling, some sparks, as Maisie hit the panel with her shoe. "Oh!" she exclaimed. "Ooooor you could do that, because that works, too." Alison muttered, following Maisie. The door slid shut behind her, and locked.
Nico and Will walked into their room, and Will hesitated. "I dunno, Nico. Something feels off… I don't want to be a downer but I feel like something that girl said… And then the whole explaination with the woman… Something has to be off…" He whispers, looking at Nico. Nico nods. "I can practically smell death in this train. I don't like it one bit." Will settles down in the bed, shedding his tuxedo jacket and tie, before resting on the bed. Nico joins him, wrapping his arms around the son of Apollo. "I'm sure we will figure things out." He mutters.
When the Doctor woke, it was to pounding on his door and a terrible hangover. "Yes? What is it?" he snapped. "Doctor, it's Alison. She's gone-and there's been another death!" Joe shouted, rattling the lock. This roused the Doctor fully from his tired state, and he nearly tore the door of it's hinges with his quickness. "What? Another? When? Where? How? Who?" he barked, causing Joe to cower in the corner. "Oh, don't just stand there, we need to find Alison, and I need to know about the murder." the Doctor told him, pulling on his jacket. "How d'you know it's a murder?" Joe asked. "Call it intuition." the Doctor answered.
Will and Nico were already up, Will and Nico talking, since they both understood each other when it came to death, Will because he was a Doctor and Nico because he was the son of the underworld.
"Wakey wakey, we've got a mystery." the Doctor said, rapping his knuckles on their door irritably. "And in case the so called Prince Of Darkness might have noticed, someone else has been killed." he snapped.
Nico answered the door before Doctor could finish bothering them. "We were already up, thank you. We needed to go somewhere private to talk." He says, rolling his eyes. "I am very aware someone has died thank you very little. Where's Alison." Will walked up beside him. "Sorry. He's a little cranky in the mornings."
"She's gone, thanks for asking." the Doctor retorted. "Now help me!"
Nico and Will nod, Will mutters Greek to Nico and the son of Hades nods.
"Come on now, I don't have all day! She could be hurt, trapped, or worse!" the Doctor barked, stomping off. "Before you ask, I did actually ask around the train. For three hours. Three long, painful hours." Joe said. So many doors slammed in his face. Meanwhile, the Doctor had gone off to the Engineer's carriage to investigate. Computer screens above a workbench, blueprints on a draughting table, and several racks of tools. The Doctor found a glowing blue and silver piece of equipment bubbling to itself, and apparently powering up according to the display. He removed the plastic wrapping and scanned it with the sonic screwdriver. The Chief Engineer startled him, walking in from behind. "Beautiful piece of kit, isn't it, sir? The Excelsior Life Extender. It's like driving around in a portable hospital." he announced in a thick Cockney accent. "Yes, well, it didn't do Mrs. Pitt much good, did it? The woman who died." the Doctor pointed out. "Got me there, sir. Certainly got me there. Maybe it malfunctioned." the engineer mused. "Oh, I don't think so. The records show that the machine did everything it could to keep her alive." the Doctor pointed out, gesturing to the screens. "Yeah. And almost drained the battery doing it." he told the Doctor. "What do you know? Tell me, there's been a second murder, and my friend has gone missing!" the Doctor snapped. "Well, I know that when I find a man fiddling with a chair that someone died in, it's best to play my cards close to my chest." the engineer told him. "Really? Is that so, sir?" the Doctor drawled. "Well, I know that when I find a man loitering near a chair that someone died in, I do just the same." the Doctor said, other man nodding. "Perkins. Chief Engineer." "The Doctor. Nosey Parker." the Doctor introduced himself in turn. Perkins chuckled and extended an hand. "Pleased to meet you, Doctor." Perkins said. They shook hands. "O' course, there's a rumour that someone or something else might be responsible." Perkins added, just as Joe walked inside. "I see you're making friends. Any idea where Alison could be?" Joe said quickly. "No such luck. Perkins, this is local knowledge. Local knowledge, Perkins." the Doctor huffed. "I-it's Joe, sir. Pleased to meet you." Joe said, cautiously due to the Doctor's foul mood, which he was quickly learning was his normal mood when sober. "And you." Perkins replied, shaking Joe's hand.
While that Nico looks around, Will looking for clues. "Two deaths…" Will mutters. "We need to find Alison next. What if she's the next victim… I can't bear to think…" Will looked on the verge of tears. Nico walks to him and takes him into his arms. "It's okay. We'll find here. We just need to look harder." Nico says gently. Will nods slowly, sniffing softly. He was so scared.