The Doctor had just leaned back on the railings of the TARDIS to watch the flight of the Comet of the Black Dog, ironically supposed to cause good luck while named after something the people of Earth had chosen as a portent of death and destruction. Suddenly the TARDIS lurched to the side causing him to fall over only to pick himself up and run around the console.

'No! No, no, no!' He hit the console one final time before resigning himself to the fact that the TARDIS had decided that he needed to go somewhere. Finally the motion stopped and he stepped out of his ship to find what wonders awaited him.

The room he stepped into was huge, with fine cream drapery over many of the surfaces and an ornate throne in the far end of the room. The regal scene was marred however, by a body on the floor surrounded by blood. His hand reached out to a golden crown which seemed to have fallen from his head as he fell, but the sounds of cheers intermingled with sobs, drawing the Doctor out of his little bubble and back into the present. He looked up to the throne again to see a man draped over it, laughing and cheering along until he caught sight of the man and box at the end of the hall. He had dark blonde hair that fell over his eyes and came down to his shoulders.

'Oh, looks like we have a guest! Boys.' He nodded towards the Doctor and two huge men stepped out of the crowd to flank the Doctor. The man moved so he was sitting forward on the throne and watched at the Doctor was pulled forward. 'Now who are you little man?'

'I am not little!' The Doctor looked indignantly at the man on the throne. 'Who are you?'

'I asked first.' The blonde man replied.

'The Doctor.'

'Excuse me?' His hands clenched around the arm rests, speaking in a growl

'I'm the Doctor.'

'Interesting…Well, I am The Hunter.' he smiled, but it was a twisted smile of one who was slightly mad.

'The Hunter of what?'

'That's the question isn't it. Guards, why don't you take her to stay over with her little highness.' The guards moved to take his arms but he quickly dodged and walked forward.

'Just one more thing before I go to my possible death. Where are we?' The Hunter grinned, gesturing to the guards.

'My dear Doctor The Destroyer Of Worlds, you are in Adrise. Just in time for the start of a new age, the age of The Hunter!' With that the goons either side of the Doctor pushed him around and lead him out of the throne room and through the many halls of the castle. They kept going down and down until they finally made it to the dungeons where he was swiftly thrown into a dark cell which was thrown into complete darkness once the men left.

He looked around the room, not seeing anyone for a minute before something in the circle caught his eye. He slowly turned, keeping his eyes on the girl and refusing the part of his brain that said nothing was there. He watched her for a second before creeping forward slowly and quietly so as not to scare her. She has long blonde hair which cascaded down her face, obscuring her from his view. He crouched in front of her, noticing that this was the girl the Hunter had called 'her little highness'. 'Hello there. I'm the Doctor, what's your name?' She looked up at him with bloodshot eyes and he couldn't help but notice how she seemed to have this glow to her, a glow which brought out an inner beauty, a glow he hadn't seen since Gallifrey. As she saw the man her eyes narrowed and she wore an expression of pure anger.

'Your not! You're one of Jared's, with your mind tricks! Is it not enough for you that I am dieing tomorrow? What have I done to you, I didn't do anything!'

'hey, it's ok.' He tried to put a hand on her arm comforting her but she jerked away, snarling. He ignored it and leant forward, holding eye contact. 'I'll get you out of here, I promise.'

'That's what you always say.' She whispered, tears streaming down her face as she curled up, her knees brushing up against her chin. He looked down at the poor girl and brushed the hair away from her face, cupping her cheek gently as she turned to look up in wonder.

'M-mind tricks can't touch people… What are you?'

He smiled down at the young woman, 'I'm The Doctor, the last Time Lord of Gallifrey.' He took her hand carefully, kneeling in front of her and placing her hand on each side of his chest so as to feel his dual heartbeats. Her eyes widened in realisation and she went onto her knees, hugging him tightly.

'Oh Draconis, it is you. I didn't think the Blue Box would hear me…' He pulled back, looking at her.

'How did you get the TARDIS to come when you called? I'm linked with her and she barely listens to me.'

'Every child of the Draconis Dynasty has some measure of psychic ability, I just have a larger amount.' She shrugged, already looking better than the utterly crushed girl that had believe he was a figment of someone's mind.

'You're a Draconis. What's your name?'

'My used one is Odmience Luna Draconis.-' The Doctor cut in as he came to the realisation of who she was.

'Last princess of the lost planet Adrise.'

'What do you mean? It is very much here.' She looked confusedly at him and he shook his head, standing and finishing the conversation before pulling her to her feet. He turned to the bars of the cell and pulled out his sonic screwdriver, pointing it at the lock and breaking it within seconds. He turned back to her, grinning and holding out his hand.

'Come on, I'll protect you.' He smiled at the unsure expression on her face and continued, 'do you trust me?' She looked inside herself and realised, she did. She trusted this man who she had met only a few minutes ago with all her heart. She took his hand and he lead her out of the cell and into a dark passage, choosing one and running down it before realising he had no clue where he was going. Odmience obviously also realised as she pulled him to a stop, raising an eyebrow. 'Why are you heading to the kitchens?' He pursed his lips, nodding slowly before turning back to her.

'You should probably lead the way. We need to get to the throne room. The TARDIS is in there.' She nodded shortly and turned, leading him in the opposite direction. They ran through the corridors until they finally reached the familiar oak doors. The Doctor burst through with no preamble only to see a horrifying sight. Only those who had been cheering were there, with bones littering the floor and the Hunter gnawing on a bone. The crown of the dead king was perched on his head and the TARDIS was placed to his right, with a squadron of men guarding it. Odmience stepped forward in horror, only to hear the sound of something cracking under her foot as she nearly fell. She looked down in disgust to see a broken skull grinning up at her then the eyes of the whole hall on the two of them.

'This is not good.' The Doctor muttered, grabbing her hand and racing back through the hall. 'Which way out of the castle?' She was breathing hard and she quickly opened her mind to him, showing the way out visually. 'Ok.'

I don't- What happened to them? She spoke in her mind to him and was relieved when he replied.

Hydeites. They've been taken over by Hydeites.

What are Hydeites?

The scavengers of the universe. Lowest of the low. His internal voice sounded disgusted at the very thought.

So they ate the others?

Yep. They find planets which are to die soon then kill all life forms they can find before moving on. Soon enough they came out of a tunnel and into the jungle. She caught the Doctors eyes and he grinned.

'Bit overgrown isn't it?' His joked instantly made her begin to feel calmer and not about to pass out.

'You're enjoying this aren't you! If we weren't being chased by creatures that want to kill us…' She trailed off, allowing the threat to hang in the air. They kept running, throwing glances over their shoulder to see the pack going after them, with the Hunter at the front. They finally came out onto the plains and she decided to ask a question which had plagued her mind.

How do they travel from planet to planet? The Doctor's eyes widened and he skidded to a stop, turning.

'They have wings.' She turned to see the pack hovering on the edge of the plain, seemingly savouring the moment.

'Doctor, this is important. Are the people they were still in there? Can they be saved?' The Doctor gulped, speaking as if the words physically hurt him.

'No.'

'Then I have no choice.' Her voice had become hard and she turned to the Doctor. 'Look away.'

'Why?' He quickly turned as she let out a scream and a beam of light shot out, engulfing the Hydeites. The light lasted for a few seconds before receding, leaving nothing in its wake. The Hydeites were disintegrated into dust and the woman who had been the source of the light was now a White scaled creature with huge leathery wings unfurling from its body. He stepped back, shocked for once in his life.

'How did I not see it before!' He hit his head with his hand, pacing around the dragon. 'Draconis, the ancient word for dragon, and your first name is Odmience. Odmience means changeling doesn't it, but you just incinerated the Hydeites!' He stopped and spun on his heel to look in her eyes. 'You do understand me right?' She nodded and shocked him further when she spoke.

'This is a one time thing but I can't change back for a few minutes and we need to get back to the castle. Want to ride a shape shifter' The Doctor grinned and hopped onto her back, holding tight as she flapped the wings and took off into the purple skies. The journey was only short but by the end she knew she had recharged enough to change back. As soon as she did she began bombarding him with questions about why this planet would die.

She watched the strange man as he sat still, legs dangling over the edge of the cliff as he gazed at the green sunset. He had been there for most of the afternoon, just sitting and looking out over the world which was about to die. Finally as much time as she could allow for him passed and she knew she had to disturb him from whatever he was doing. She walked over and sat beside him, dangling her own legs over the cliff edge in a way she knew her mother would have scolded as dangerous and not appropriate behaviour.

'Hey.' He spoke quietly, still looking ahead at the dieing sun.

'Hey yourself.' She nudged his shoulder with her own and he glanced at her, allowing a small smile to grace his lips before he turned back to take in all of the world. Her eyes narrowed playfully, 'Do my eyes deceive me? Did I really just see my strange travelling man smile?' The small smile broke out into a grin and he stood up before offering his hand to her.

'You could to, you know.'

'I could what exactly?' She raised an eyebrow at him and he smirked, pulling her to her feet.

'You could come with me. Travel the whole of time and space. Be my companion.'

'No.'

'No?' He looked shocked, trying the grasp the situation.

'I will travel the whole of time and space with you, but I won't be your companion. We are equals. Both the last of our species, both homeless.' With that she drew him into a hug, placing a soft kiss on his lips before flouncing away to the TARDIS, leaving a speechless Doctor in her wake.