The Doctor's Companion
He's had many faces, many names. Legends, myths, a few facts and more fictions attempt to define him across Time and the Universes. Every planet, every species speaks in whispers about him. Some use his name to instill fear, others hate but more speak his name in hope and love. For that is what he brought them, hope in their dark times; love when there was none.
The legends and myths speak also of his Companions, those who came with him. The people who ran at his side, never flinching, brave in their fear. The Darker legends say they are his weakness; the Lighter myths call them his strength. Their faces were as varied as his, some only seen once or twice, others far more often. Their names are forgotten, their faces only smudges in recordings-hidden by him. A kindness he gave each upon their Journeys' end; to protect their happiness and, through all Times, their lives.
All races know him. All whisper his stories. The last living son of Gallifrey; the last Time Lord. But none in the Universes whisper of the man who looked into the Heart of Time when he was a boy and learned of the terrible truth he was to be. None of the races know what happened, what he saw, what he learned; none know why he chose the name he did. None were there as he stood all of time and space pouring into his soul. A scared little boy with a horrible terrible destiny. Only eight years old, taken into the dark and left to face the Void. Frightened and alone, he stood and stared into its heart.
All of Gallifrey heard the screams of that frightened boy child, echoing through the night; heard them and ignored them, for such was their way. Never to be involved, always to watch and let Time have its way. The Elders shook their heads, closed their hearts and windows; parents held their children close, sheltering them from the screams of fear, madness and despair, knowing they must one day face the same. Then the screams stopped.
Imagine if you can, whomever you are, from whatever world you come, the hearts of the Elders of Gallifrey when they came to collect the ruin of that boy child in the morning, the sadness in the knowledge of another lost to madness. Imagine their confusion when the child turned to them, a smile on his face, eyes bright and shining. Let your mind imagine the whispers, the looks between them. And then, if you can, feel their horror as the child spoke the words that would echo through Time and change EVERYTHING.
You, child of the future, not yet born when this happened; you owe your life, your universe to those words. Words spoken in a voice of a young boy yet brimming with innocence and holding all the truth that could ever be. Words that would spawn both fear and faith, inspire people, re-write histories to come.
"Hello, I'm The Doctor."
Those words echoed through the mountains that morning and beyond. Four words that forever changed the universe and Time itself. A fixed point in time was created, marking the change. Indelible, unalterable. And forever hidden from view; even from The Doctor himself; that mad, wonderful child of change. The moment when the screaming stopped; the moment when he chose his name.
When this story began, it said he was alone on that mountain, that small boy, left alone in the dark. But the story is wrong. He was not alone, not always. His screams for help were answered, his fears soothed, his loneliness taken away and all the bad things made better. The little boy, crying and scared, staring into the heart of time was no longer alone. He looked into all Time and space and found... me.
My little boy is gone now. His journey has ended. He traveled far, through Time and Space and all the universes. He had many friends, for a lonely little boy. He touched many lives; changing them all for the better. He loved many, lost many. But he was never alone. When he needed them, I found companions for him; people who could be trusted to watch over him in his dark times, could be trusted to save him from himself. To make him better, when I could not. Companions of flesh and bone, with arms to hold him, fingers to wipe his tears, hands to lift him up when he fell. And hearts to love him. To laugh and cry and sing and dance with him.
He may have been lonely but he was never alone. I was always with him. On every journey, every adventure, I was there. The only one to see the boy in the men, the soul behind the faces. The only one to know the secret of his name, his TRUE name. Only I ever loved him truly, never left him, and he never left me.
He was The Doctor. And I loved him. He found me in a dark place, rescued me even as I rescued him. We found each other that terrible night so long ago, on a mountain top far away. He was The Doctor and where ever he went, I went as well.
You know who I am. You only have to listen to the stories. "His name was The Doctor and when he came he brought... Hope."