"Goodbye Ponds!" the Doctor calls out as he watches them walk up to their front door. He waves one final time and stepped back into his TARDIS. His latest adventure with the Ponds had involved saving the planet of Klaetheel from a horde of angry Daleks who had crashed. It had been a pretty close call, but in the end, they had managed to get rid of all the Daleks and blow up their ship. Now the Doctor was ready for another adventure. He flipped a couple levers, pushed some buttons, jiggled a knob, and took off. The lovely wurring sound filled his ears as he flew through all of time and space looking for something interesting. As he looked at the monitor, he spotted a little blip that was pulsating. It looked interesting so he flipped a couple more levers, jiggled another knob, said, "Geronimo," and flew off towards the blip.
As he got closer, the TARDIS started to shake and rattle. Suddenly, he crashed. He was thrown to the floor, but he quickly jumped up and looked at the screen. "Hmmm... we seem to have landed old girl. It seems to be a structure of some sort. Well...geronimo!" With that, he opened the doors of his TARDIS. He had landed inside a small room that had absolutely nothing in it. He stepped out and the room instantly transformed. The walls started to pulse and fluctuate with various colors. The Doctor whipped out his sonic screwdriver and looked around trying to find the source of the change. Suddenly, he heard a voice say, "You have arrived. There is a long journey ahead, but first, I have some questions for you."
Unable to find the owner of the voice, the Doctor replied, "Very well, ask away." The voice comes again, "A delinquent is hassling a girl on a busy street! What do you do? Help without hesitation, help even if scared, call the police, or do nothing out of fear?" The Doctor thinks for a moment and replies, "Well naturally I'd jump right in and help without hesitation." Suddenly, a screen popped up on the Doctor's right. It looked like a score keeper with the words Docile, Hardy, Lonely, Timid, Brave, Quirky, Calm, Impish, Relaxed, Jolly, Hasty, Naïve, and Sassy. There were two tally marks next to the word Brave. The Doctor studied the screen for a moment before the voice began to speak once more, "A foreign person has started up a conversation with you. To be honest, you don't have a clue what he's saying. How do you reply? Laugh, ask them to repeat what they just said, or excuse yourself politely." The Doctor thought for a moment. He tried to imagine the situation and eventually replied, "I would probably ask them to repeat themselves." As he finished talking, two tally marks appeared next to the word Hardy. "Well, it seems my personality is being evaluated to determine something, but just what is that something?" The Doctor muttered to himself as the voice returned. "A friend brought over something you'd forgotten. How do you thank them? Regularly, with a joke, or acting cool." The Doctor doesn't even pause to consider his reply, "A regular 'thank you' always works best for me." Once more, the screen changes. This time there are two tally marks next to Jolly.
"This makes no sense." The Doctor says, "How do my answers determine what goes on to the screen. Is there some kind of grading sheet that I'm being compared to?" The voice gives no answer. Instead, it continues with the questions. "A test is coming up. How do you study for it? Study hard, study at the last second, or ignore the test and play." The Doctor is getting rather annoyed but responds, "Why would I study for a test? I already know just about everything there is to know." Two tally marks appear once more on the screen. This time they are next to Impish. "Are there many things you would like to do?" the voice inquires? "Yes as a matter of fact." The Doctor responds. Two more tally marks appear. One next to Hardy and the other next to Impish. The Doctor is ready for this to be over. He attempts to get back into his TARDIS, but he is stopped by an invisible force. "Very well then, I shall play this little game." He settles down and gets ready to answer more questions.
"Are you often late for school or meetings?"
"Well... yes." One mark to Sassy, and two more to Relaxed. "Can you focus on something you like"
"Definitely yes." Two marks to Hardy, and one point to Docile. "Would you go into a haunted house?"
"Absolutely! I always love a good thrill." Three points to Brave. "Can you sincerely thank someone when you are grateful?"
"Yes." 1 point to Calm, and two points to Docile. "Do you dream of lounging around idly without much excitement?"
"NO!" two points to Impish. "Do you fall asleep without noticing?"
"Nope." Two points for Hardy. "Do you like groan inducing puns?"
"Can't say that I do no." Two points to Sassy. "Now hang on!" The Doctor burst out, "How was that reply sassy!?"
"Do you like pranks?"
"Not sure I like where this is going, but no." one point to Docile, and one point to Relaxed. "Do you like to imagine things for your own amusement?"
"Yes." Two points for Naïve. "Do others often call you childish?"
"Probably yes." Two points to Naïve, and one point to Jolly. "Do you feel lonesome when you are alone?" This made the Doctor stop. He had been about to say no, but then he paused. He thought of all the companions he had lost. All the people he couldn't save. He thought of Rory and Amy and Riversong. The he replied quietly, "Yes, yes I do feel lonely when I'm alone." One tally mark appeared next to Timid and another two popped up next to Lonely. The screen flashed once and then the walls went blank. The screen was the only difference in the room. It showed "Docile - IIII, Hardy - IIIIIII, Lonely - I, Timid - I, Brave - IIII, Quirky, Calm -I , Impish - IIIII, Relaxed - II, Jolly - II, Hasty, Naïve - IIII, and Sassy - III". The Doctor examines his "results" for a few moments and then hears the voice say, "This is the final question. Are you a boy or a girl?" The Doctor replies, "Well...I suppose right now I'm a boy." Then he mutters to himself, "In the future, however, I could be a girl." The voice says, "Thank you. Your journey will now begin. There will be many trials, but there will be many friends to aid and guide you." With that, the wall in front of the Doctor opens up to reveal a swirling mass that slightly resembles the time vortex. The floor starts to move towards the anomaly and the Doctor is pulled towards it. He only has a moment to think what have I gotten myself into this time before he is sucked through the vortex.