They were singing. Again.
"We're going down to cowtown The cow's a friend to Sean Very far away, in the deep ocean Thats where I'll run, I'll run I'll run at light of dawn We're gonna see the cow beneath the ocean"
| "Hmmmmm." | "Needs work." | |
| "I'll say." | "But I already did." | |
| "That's true." |
Arden had already searched his clothes for something to stop up his ears, but he had no tissue, no MAC statements, nothing that he could wad up into sound-insulating material. A search of his pockets revealed only a couple of dimes for the pinball machine in 'Kata's room and a tiny ball of lint. He tried using his Incredible Timelord Mind Powers to block the invasion of these banal lyrics. It just made him tired and cranky.
Ah well, at least the might-be giant's inane songs distracted him from the grumbling in his stomach and the creeping fear of imminent sleep. This would be a bad place to have to regenerate.
Sudden flash of insight.
"Hey, Johns," said Arden. "Could you guys keep it quiet so I can get some rest?"
| "COOL!" | "He's going to sleep!" | |
| "SHHHHH!!!" | "Ok ok, alre....oh oh." | |
| "What?" | "Let's get outta here!" |
They/it slipped back into the nothing that they came from. Arden sat up on the hardened-nothing chair he had fashioned for himself. What was going on? There was a shimmer of light and shadow off to Arden's left, and Brian appeared. He looked around, spotted Arden and approached. Arden jumped to his feet and ran toward Brian.
"Boy am I glad to see you!" Arden said, thinking for the first time in history.
"Good," said Brian. "Have you reconsidered my proposition?"
"Yes. I'll do it. I'll get you a TARDIS."
Brian looked sadly at Arden.
"You are lying," he said. "Perhaps you need more time alone." And he vanished again.
| "Is it safe?" |
A head popped up.
"Yup. He's gone."
The might-be giants slipped back into view.
| "Hoo boy, he sure had YOU pegged." | "'You are lying.'" | |
| "I wish I had a mirror so you could see your face." | "We could make one." | |
| "But it'd be invisible." | "True." | |
| "So it wouldn't show much." | "We could show him what his face would look like if HE was invisible." |
"SHUT UP!" Arden paced furiously. He desperately wanted something to throw, but there wasn't anything. And even if there was, it would go nowhere. He brushed up on his ancient languages practicing inventive curses. Death, however, he did not wish on the unclean, motherless, scaly, canker-tongued, bowelless, two-nosed, stillborn son of a demented fruitbat. Death was too good for him, as Arden had cause to know. Arden's unerring Timelord sense of direction had been spinning around for what he took to be hours now, causing him a terrific headache.
"A little touchy are we?"