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Hey, everybody. I'm writing my first story. It's a Doctor Who/Cheshire (those who know Synnastyr might know who/what I'm talking about, if not ask him) crossover story. I'm usually into poetry, but something got me started in writing this story. So far it's both fun and a bit hard. I'd like some input (please keep it creative....any truly negative comments will be deleted.)

I will be sending this out in chapters to make it easy.

So, here goes:

OUT OF TIME, OUT OF SPACE By Carl Blessing/Murphy Slaugh (Doctor Who belongs to BBC, Murphy Slaugh and Rusty BlackMist Clydesdale belongs to respective selves; Ryt Sannys, Chessis, and Cheshire terms belong to Synnastyr)

CHAPTER 1 THROUGH THE (BLACK) RABBIT HOLE

'"Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?" "That depends a good deal on where you want to get to," said the Cat. "I don't much care where - " said Alice. "Then it doesn't matter which way you go," said the Cat. "- so long as I get somewhere," Alice added as an explanation. "Oh, you're sure to do that," said the Cat, "if you only walk long enough."'

I chuckle as my traveling companion, Rusty reads Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Caroll. We're both sitting in chairs facing the open door in my TARDIS, which is orbiting Cardoni, a huge yellow G type star, the sun of the Cardonix system.

Rusty, a 5'11", 200-pound Clydesdale, dressed in a Dallas Cowboys football jersey, blue jeans and tennis shoes, asks with a Texas twang, "Where does Lewis get references to all of his creatures?"

Sipping at some tea while dressed in my usual brown suit, fez, bow tie and black shoes, I scratch one of my brown fuzzy Gallifreyan/European pine marten ears and reply in a slightly British accent, "I'm not sure. But unbelievable as it may be, almost all of them, unbeknownst to him, really do exist. You've got "Slithy Toves" which are found on Magalora II, Borogroves from Zenix, Mome Raths from Vanderbaal and Bandersnatchi from Alpha Stigorbia. But, Cheshire cats? Well, I've been practically everywhere and every time. Never seen them. And if I haven't seen them, believe me, they don't exist!"

"Really, Murphy?" Rusty looks over at me and snorts loudly, raising one eyebrow. "Sometimes you are the limit. You think that you have seen EVERYTHING that can exist in ALL of time and space, huh? Not even as a 400-hundred-plus-year-old time traveler could you see everything. They could still be out there," he sweeps one handhoof across the expanse of space, "somewhere, undiscovered."

"If I haven't seen them, then I would have heard about them from the future. I'll say it again, Rusty, Cheshire cats DO NOT EXIST!"

Rusty rolls his eyes and snorts again. "You'll never convince me, friend."

As we continue our discussion, the light from the sun seems to dim ever so slightly. Rusty, having better eyesight than me and glancing out at that moment, sees the change, tilts his head and looks with some alarm. Busy being deep in my thoughts, however, I don't notice anything.

"You sure this star is stable?" he asks.

"Of course I'm sure. Do you think I'd have us orbit a star that wasn't?"

"I seem to remember you telling me of the Cardonix system. Something you read about it in the future."

"Well that was a long time ago. I can't remember everything. I have a log somewhere I can look at."

I get up and go out of the control rooms, coming back with an immense brown tome with the seal of Rassilon embedded on the cover and an ornate bronze latch securing the ages old book. I blow the dust off, set it on a stand nearby, unlatch the front and, turning the pages gently, start searching for the entry for the Cardonix System.

"Let's see. Caladan, Camboriga (now there was a fun planet, just don't ask for lettuce there), Calax, Calufrax... Ah, here we are Cardonix System." I put on my reading glasses and read aloud the entry. "'The Cardonix System was one of the major civilizations of the Sivornian Galaxy until it was destroyed when the sun inexplicably became..." I pause, my eyes growing wide. Then I swallow and look towards Rusty, suddenly very frightened, and continue in a hoarse voice. "...became a black hole on the 17th Day of Malsitom, 2735. Um...Rusty, could you look over at the scanner and read me the date and time where we are."

Rusty runs over to the lighted control column, and whips the scanner, essentially a TV screen on a swivel, around. In a very dry voice, he says "It shows 17th Day of Malistom. Year: 2735." The last part comes at a whisper.

"Then we are in big trouble. HOLD ON!"

I quickly rush over to the controls and push the lever for the door, just in time to see the sun start collapsing. It's a sight I will never forget...then, the door closes, and I frantically push a few buttons and twist a dial as the whole place goes crazy and rocks, sparks flying as controls burn out. Rusty holds on to the center column as the TARDIS is suddenly sucked into the newly formed black hole.

"Well, I've got good news and bad news. Which do you want first?"

"Does it matter at this point? Just give either to me!"

"Well, good news is that this is the first time this has happened, so you'll be the first horse from earth to experience it. Bad news is that I don't know whether we'll survive this or not."

"And this is supposed to be reassuring?"

"No," I reply, "it's just matters of fact."

"Thanks."

The TARDIS groans and shakes, circuits flare and lights flash before I slam a lever down, trying to break free of the black hole's gravitational pull. Rusty suddenly notices a button on the console. "Hey, what is this red Emergency escape button?"

"NO! That button will send us who knows where and when?"

"But that's better than being dead, right?"

"Well, no...yes...I suppose."

"Then what's the harm?"

"Oh, very well then. Push it!"

Rusty slams a hoof into the button, the inside of the TARDIS starts getting brighter and brighter, groaning more and more. Suddenly, everything slams down and goes black for a while. We both hit the ground and pass out.

Sometime later, in the silence and darkness, I groan and slowly put a paw to my head and sit up.

"For lack of a better word...'Ouch'." I get up and hold my head in my paws for a bit. Then I call out, "Rusty? Are you OK?"

I crawl about and stretch my paws out to feel for him. I brush a paw against his head, and lightly slap his face. "Hey, Rusty. Wake up." He blinks and groans, then gets up and shakes his head.

"What happened? Are we still alive? Where are we and what year is it?"

"I'm not exactly sure. Power is still out, but I think I can get it back again. As to where and when, well, we've obviously landed on some planet but not sure when. Let me take a look and see."

I make my way to the column and flip a few switches and lights come back on. I swing the display around and look at the space-time coordinates, and I stare wide-eyed at the results.

"What? WHAT?"

Rusty asks, "What is it? What does it show?"

"It just shows we're in the Void and showing time as Not Available. Void? Time not available? We can't be in the Void. That's impossible. We have to be somewhere and some time. The display must be on the fritz." I bang on it, but outside of a flicker, it still shows the same.

I turn on the viewscreen and look to see if I can see anything "out there"...wherever and whenever there is.

It shows the TARDIS is at the edge of a huge garden covered by a huge plastic dome that further connects to a tunnel that leads to another dome protecting a huge metropolis. Zooming in on the city, we see lots of creatures that tended toward humanoid felines. There were many different colors of fur, with different colored rings on their ears, tails, (and when showing outside their clothes) arms and legs. While shapes and sizes tended to vary, all of them seem to be very fit and agile. Every once in a while, one of the creatures would vanish, and others seem to reappear out of thin air.

Rusty and I both watch the scene for a while before he turns to me. "I don't know about this, Murphy. They don't look very friendly."

"Oh, don't be silly. Besides, we don't have a choice now, do we? We can't stay here forever. We have to get back to our own time and space. Come on and don't worry. And I get on very well with other species."

I check the readings. "Hmmm...oxygen and carbon dioxide levels seem to be normal (though what constitutes "normal" in the Void I couldn't say). And gravity appears to be just slightly higher than Earth's. But overall, a suitable planet."

Feeling more confidently than I should be, I straighten my bow tie, adjust my fez, clap my hands together and push a lever that opens the door. "Let's go. Allons-y!