Title: A Light in the Dark
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: gen
Fandom: Doctor Who
Rating: PG-13
Table: Buffet 2, fc_smorgasbord
Prompt: 37, Black Out
Disclaimer: This is entirely a product of my own imagination, and I make no profit from it. I do not own the Tenth Doctor. Please do not sue.

***

The Doctor opened his eyes slowly, blinking as he found himself staring up at the ceiling of a strange place. How had he gotten here? His mind didn't seem to want to put everything into place properly; it would probably take a few moments for him to become reoriented.

Ah, yes. He'd been trying to skulk around, searching for the Master -- and he'd apparently been hit on the head from behind. He hadn't seen his assailant, but they'd been good at wielding whatever it was that they'd knocked out with.

He sat up gingerly, raising a hand to examine the lump on the back of his head. It was still sore, but if there had been any bleeding, that had already stopped. That was one good thing about his Time Lord physiology, he told himself wryly -- he was something like a Timex watch. He could certainly take a licking and keep on ticking.

How long had he been out? There was really no way of telling, as he hadn't been keeping a watch on the time at all. It was something he rarely did -- after all, he was a Time Lord. The passing of time in minutes and hours was inconsequential to him.

Apparently, he hadn't done a very good job of being sneaky, considering that he'd been caught. The Doctor frowned as another idea struck him, something that seemed very strange in light of what his meetings with the Master were usually like.

He hadn't been tied up while he was unconscious, or put in some kind of prison. No, he'd simply been knocked out and left here, presumably for the Master to make a decision on what to do with him at some later time.

The Doctor frowned, running a hand through his hair as he rose to his feet. That didn't make sense; the Master wouldn't want him running around free.

No, the other man would want him contained in some way. He certainly wasn't going to be given his freedom; that must have been a mistake on the part of whoever was working for him and had rendered the Doctor unconscious.

They probably didn't know just what a thorn he'd always been in the Master's side, he thought wryly, looking around him to get his bearings. Yes, he was in the same room he'd been in when he'd been so unexpectedly hit from behind; they hadn't moved him.

The Doctor wasn't sure if that was a good thing, or a bad one. It could be entirely possible that these people had left him here for the Master to decide what to do with, that they'd felt it would be the easiest thing to do. If that was so, then his enemy had certainly gotten lax with the quality of henchmen he had working for him over the centuries.

Then again, maybe the Master's hirelings were .... well, simply stupid. They probably didn't realize just what a threat the Doctor could pose to whatever plans the other man might be making; and if that was the case, they'd know soon enough.

The corners of his mouth lifted in a wry smile; the Master certainly wouldn't waste any time in letting them know that they'd made a grave mistake by not securing the Doctor in some prison from which he'd have a hard time escaping.

He definitely wouldn't want to be in their place when the Master discovered that, he thought, turning towards the door to exit the room.

As he did so, his surroundings went dark around him, the world going from brightly lighted to pitch blackness in less than second. Startled, the Doctor looked from side to side, his eyes wide, his arms flung to either side of him.

What in the universe could have happened? Had that blow to the head caused something worse than a mere blackout and unconsciousness for whatever length of time he'd been out? Was he now blinded by some insidious plan that the Master had concocted?

Taking a deep breath, the Time Lord forced himself to stand still, blinking into the black void that the world had become. After a few moments, he realized that he could see dim outlines in the room around him; there was a thin line of dim light under each of the two windows on either side of the room, and another under the door.

The Doctor took a few steps forward, thanking any deity that he could think of that this only seemed to be another kind of blackout -- though he didn't know if it was better or worse than the physical blackout he had suffered earlier.

He was still cautious as he moved to the door, trying to keep his senses focused outward. He might not be able to see what was on the other side of that door, but he could hear -- and if it sounded like there might be people out there waiting for him, he was safer to stay where he was.

Pressing his ear against the door, the Doctor tried his best to turn his senses to the other side of the portal, straining to hear if there was even the slightest whisper out there. Unless whoever might be there was very still, he should hear something .....

But there was nothing. Not a breath of sound, nothing whatsoever to make him think that there could be anyone waiting for the door to open and see him walking out. No indication at all that he could possibly be ambushed and dragged away against his will.

Still, he shouldn't think that the Master didn't have some sort of plan for him -- which made it all the more imperative to get out of here and to the safety of the Tardis as quickly as possible.

Of course, if the Master had managed to somehow get into his ship first .... The Doctor shuddered at the thought, remembering what had happened the last time that had happened. His ship turned into a paradox machine was something he didn't want to see again.

He was sure that he could make his way to the Tardis, if he hadn't gotten turned around too badly. He might have to do a bit of reconnaissance to find his way to the ship, but that shouldn't be too hard to do. There had only seemed to be a limited amount of places to go.

And having a blackout like this could help him, the Doctor told himself, straightening up and taking another deep breath. His eyes were becoming used to the darkness, just in case he had to duck into another building to hide from anyone. And as night had obviously fallen outside, there were only the stars to light the way.

Besides, if he needed a light in the dark, there was always his trusty sonic screwdriver, the Doctor thought, a slight smile crossing his features as he felt in his pocket for it. Always there when it was needed, thank goodness, and it certainly came in handy.

It was now or never; if he was going to make his way out of here, this was the time. The Doctor groped for a moment in the darkness before his hand found the doorknob, turning it and pushing open the door to step out into the night and whatever might await him there.

***