Chapter 1: The Dauntingly Dark Doctor

The rain was shooting like sniper bullets down in tiny little shots, she dragged herself home... not that she wanted to, she had a long jacket ironically bright blue considering her mood; her mother had forced her to wear it. Slightly torn shoes, her care had gone not just for herself, but for all she could see; simple blonde long hair, nothing special. Nothing special... them words echoed in her ear every night before she slept, constantly thinking about life in her self percieved broken head.

Her name was Lauren, Lauren Wayke. She seemed like a typical teen, but she felt things not many did: a broken heart shattered one too many times with the pieces lost in the trail of her had reached home, to her it felt like another mission to just survive; she stood at the door not even knocking simply hoping someone would know she was there... luckily her mother caught a glance of her through the window.

No one in her house uttered a word, her mother had given up all hope, her father gone far far away only spoken about in whispers of her family and her possible fate, her friends too scared to say hello after she bared all her scars. Lauren stayed in her room with the window closed off to reality outside, never mind the noise it made. She began to cry... in silence though, never too loud, never loud enough for her mother to hear; She muttered words that choked out her mouth "He-help me." Then she heard a sound a whirl a little too loud.

(The Tardis) The Doctor whirled around like a child on Christmas day, "Right so that's Isaac sorted out... his face when he saw me throwing apples at him from the top of a tree... should really have turned of my invisibility." The Doctor let out a small smirk and a face of confusion, he flew around the console bashing buttons and deciding on a location. "I wander if..." He whispered to himself as he ran around the console and stared at a single part of the console, the part was just a bright blue button. "So the random setting... might as well just choose anywhere I never end up in the right place, anyways" The Doctor slammed his palm against the console while shouting uncontrollably "Geronimo ... I need to say that more often" He laughed to himself, but it soon ended as he heard the sound of a cry... he heard two little words he could never resist like a moth to a flame... or a Doctor to danger he heard; "He-Help me."

Lauren opened her blurry eyes, her vision slightly impaired by her bubbling tears. She stood and glared, not drying her eyes in simple, plain, shock; she saw a towering, mystical, blue box. She didn't hear it appear,as her head was full of too many voices... not many, if any positive. *Twang* she heard some loud bang, a metallic bang, she didn't inquire it or walk towards of what she can only decribe as ...it... that big...blue...baffling box!

"NO STOP...FIRE...cool haha" She heard somestrange naisley voice shout with fear...and curiosity, the most peculior of combination, yet the most beatiful. Lauren rubbed her eyes sorely, cleared them of the bubbling tears... and again...just glared towards the baffiling box. A quiet, whispered, frightened voice uttered from her loosend, lips; "He-hello?" She waited... her head tilting toward the box,then her left foot and finally her hand reached the handle, she thought then finally he knocked on the door; hearing a echoing *thud* *thud* *thud*. Silence then, "WOAH 'ALLO sorrry about this it's just... a well small fire to put it simply" suddenly a roar from the small fire as it blazes behind him alerts the strange man "back in a sec." He says in a normal tone, as if it was normal, then again what's normal anymore?

Lauren stayed frozen, she saw a tall, wobbly, whimsical, young man pop out a box; with a small fire blaze slightly behind him, in a gigantic silver toned room. Lauren doesn't move her confidence was as strong as her sense of reality at this moment, then he appears again. "Doctor by the way, I'm the Doctor and well welcome" He then instantly grabs her hand and whips her into his cold yet brightly coloured silver, with hints of blue at a closer look toned room. "Who-what-where am I?" she stutters nearly, but instead rushes all her words out at once to avoid this, the mystery man looked right back at her a grin on his face, waiting to sound "cool". He says lightly and smoothly as he'd wish to describe it, "Well my dear, this, this is the rest of the world... big isn't it? Wait! No! Not dear I mean, your name what is it?"

She smiled nearly, for the first time in a long time, "Lauren...Lauren Wayke"

Lauren quickly picked herself up from her bed, and in a jaw dropped fashion looked towards the doctor for some answer so what just occurred. "The Trickster he... he's old for one, he isn't from our universe the great Pantheon of Discord, he's from; and he's immortal!" the Doctor explained. Lauren quickly asked about the mirror, the Doctor tried to answer this too, "That, well that I can't fully explain. The Trickster tends to manipulate things universes and time and space and WE now have to find out what he wants with me! But most of all, why he's using you."

At that point the doctor jumped over the shattered glass pieces, and intensely ran downstairs; Lauren followed him seconds after. She walked into her living room noticing one thing the Doctor throwing beige coloured pillows, and searching through her family pictures lay calmly upon her roaring fireplace; and then he began to interrogate her. "So life, family, friends tell me now; how many friends?"

"None." she said.

"Incorrect one, that's me. Family how many?" He replied

"My mum is here and my dad's gone, no brother or sisters just me."

"Right okay so one friend me who wasn't expected for dinner, at least I don't think so, two one mother and you; so only two people for dinner correct?" The Doctor asked enticingly. Lauren replied "yeah" not understanding quite why he asked, until he pointed towards the dinner table. "So my lovely Lauren why are their three dinner plates?" She didn't quite understand either, it was so simple but it seemed so jagged and wrong, it felt like she'd felt her hand through the broken mirror once again.

Lauren then noticed a car out the driveway, again so simple but so wrong. "Mum" she shouted and her mum walked up and screamed as Lauren would like to describe it ignorantly loud. "Hello I'm the Doctor don't worry, here to help...or are you here not too?" the Doctor said questioning Laurens mothers existence, blaring his sonic screwdriver at her. "Oh you're the Doctor, we normally see Dr Elvine, on Wednesdays, and well frankly it's a little late but I'm Lucy, Laurens mother." At this point Lauren had ran into the kitchen she didn't scream, she didn't cry whether with pain or love, she didn't even squeak; but what she did see though was astonishingly beautiful. Her father! "D-dad."

Her father looked normal; he was 6ft tall and dressed in a suit with black curved hair. The doctor had just asked why Lauren would need a Doctor but before she could answer, he heard her. He ran into the kitchen too, asking in a mad fashion his bow tie flapping around, "wait you're the dad, but-Lauren with me NOW!" He shouted this in a demanding fashion, grabbing her; and eventually dragging her back to her room. Lauren still in shock her jaw literally still dropped, he heard her mother and father shouting, so he sonically locked her door.

Lauren cheekily said "Wow 'cause you don't look like a fancy kidnapper do you?"

The Doctor not in the mood for jokes, yet enlightened that he saw something now change in her she seemed; a little bit happy. The Doctor then put his hand towards her mirror and yet unlike when she did nothing happened, but most of all he didn't see his own reflection. Lauren noticed this and just as she was about to ask, he parents and managed to break open the door, the hinges flying off in a enraged style; you could feel in the air alone the tension. Her mother and father shouting, nearly attacking the Doctor, but all the Doctor and Lauren could see was within the recently shattered mirror, which mysteriously behind it carried another mirror; where Laurens hand came out of the mirror breaking all sense of reality in one single touch. Was that neither the doctor nor her newly found father was within the reflection, and as the Doctor pointed out to her "not even the Tardis"; as he knew they were thinking the same thing. Lauren now chose to ask with her new found small and light but new found happiness, "why's my mirror doing that." The Doctor couldn't quite grasp it either, so he furiously screamed in a commanding tone, "SHUT UP EVERYONE I AM THINKING!" And they did, shut up.

The Doctor then swiftly pulled everyone together to stand in front of the mirror; everyone analysed and tried to deduce the reflection, all noticing the obvious of in the reflection the lack of Doctor, Tardis and father but now also lack of Lauren. Everyone tried to notice the most microscopic of differences; it became ore like a game of spot the difference. Finally the Doctor uttered some words; to break the silence. "It's not a reflection, I thought it was some special two layered mirror-that would be awesome."

Lauren replied "Well, what is it? I mean my hands touched through it!" Her mother and father just stood gawping towards this mad man, especially as he replied. "The Trickster, he creates an alternate timeline where you can make the decision to which timeline is better and which you prefer... that's the gateway to the next timeline he has to put it somewhere." At this point Laurens father had began to get violent threatening the Doctor, the mother trying to calm everyone down. Where Lauren she chose to take a leap, a leap of faith which she hadn't take in a long time, and this faith wasn't built from her family or love but from a mad-man with a bouncy bow tie.

So it began she jumped forward and climbed her way through the once mirror now gateway to another timeline. She felt waves and oceans of emotions she hasn't felt in time too old to compare to, excitement, fear, courage but most of all a droplet of joy. The Doctor followed soon after, telling the parents to just wait as he climbed through the gateway. The Doctor felt excitement, fear, courage but most of all a droplet of guilt-guilt at the idea innocent lovely Lauren was being used as a pawn because of him. Laurens parents hurried downstairs for reasons unknown, but a new piece of the jigsaw was about to be discovered, but whether it fits is another question.

Lauren quickly picked herself up from her bed, and in a jaw dropped fashion looked towards the doctor for some answer so what just occurred. "The Trickster he… he's old for one, he isn't from our universe the great Pantheon of Discord, he's from; and he's immortal!" the Doctor explained. Lauren quickly asked about the mirror, the Doctor tried to answer this too, "That, well that I can't fully explain. The Trickster tends to manipulate things universes and time and space and WE now have to find out what he wants with me! But most of all, why he's using you."

At that point the doctor jumped over the shattered glass pieces, and intensely ran downstairs; Lauren followed him seconds after. She walked into her living room noticing one thing the Doctor throwing beige coloured pillows, and searching through her family pictures lay calmly upon her roaring fireplace; and then he began to interrogate her. "So life, family, friends tell me now; how many friends?"

"None." she said.

"Incorrect one, that's me. Family how many?" He replied

"My mum is here and my dad's gone, no brother or sisters just me."

"Right okay so one friend me who wasn't expected for dinner, at least I don't think so, two one mother and you; so only two people for dinner correct?" The Doctor asked enticingly. Lauren replied "yeah" not understanding quite why he asked, until he pointed towards the dinner table. "So my lovely Lauren why are their three dinner plates?" She didn't quite understand either, it was so simple but it seemed so jagged and wrong, it felt like she'd felt her hand through the broken mirror once again.

Lauren then noticed a car out the driveway, again so simple but so wrong. "Mum" she shouted and her mum walked up and screamed as Lauren would like to describe it ignorantly loud. "Hello I'm the Doctor don't worry, here to help…or are you here not too?" the Doctor said questioning Laurens mothers existence, blaring his sonic screwdriver at her. "Oh you're the Doctor, we normally see Dr Elvine, on Wednesdays, and well frankly it's a little late but I'm Lucy, Laurens mother." At this point Lauren had ran into the kitchen she didn't scream, she didn't cry whether with pain or love, she didn't even squeak; but what she did see though was astonishingly beautiful. Her father! "D-dad."

Her father looked normal; he was 6ft tall and dressed in a suit with black curved hair. The doctor had just asked why Lauren would need a Doctor but before she could answer, he heard her. He ran into the kitchen too, asking in a mad fashion his bow tie flapping around, "wait you're the dad, but-Lauren with me NOW!" He shouted this in a demanding fashion, grabbing her; and eventually dragging her back to her room. Lauren still in shock her jaw literally still dropped, he heard her mother and father shouting, so he sonically locked her door.

Lauren cheekily said "Wow 'cause you don't look like a fancy kidnapper do you?"

The Doctor not in the mood for jokes, yet enlightened that he saw something now change in her she seemed; a little bit happy. The Doctor then put his hand towards her mirror and yet unlike when she did nothing happened, but most of all he didn't see his own reflection. Lauren noticed this and just as she was about to ask, he parents and managed to break open the door, the hinges flying off in a enraged style; you could feel in the air alone the tension. Her mother and father shouting, nearly attacking the Doctor, but all the Doctor and Lauren could see was within the recently shattered mirror, which mysteriously behind it carried another mirror; where Laurens hand came out of the mirror breaking all sense of reality in one single touch. Was that neither the doctor nor her newly found father was within the reflection, and as the Doctor pointed out to her "not even the Tardis"; as he knew they were thinking the same thing. Lauren now chose to ask with her new found small and light but new found happiness, "why's my mirror doing that." The Doctor couldn't quite grasp it either, so he furiously screamed in a commanding tone, "SHUT UP EVERYONE I AM THINKING!" And they did, shut up.

The Doctor then swiftly pulled everyone together to stand in front of the mirror; everyone analysed and tried to deduce the reflection, all noticing the obvious of in the reflection the lack of Doctor, Tardis and father but now also lack of Lauren. Everyone tried to notice the most microscopic of differences; it became ore like a game of spot the difference. Finally the Doctor uttered some words; to break the silence. "It's not a reflection, I thought it was some special two layered mirror-that would be awesome."

Lauren replied "Well, what is it? I mean my hands touched through it!" Her mother and father just stood gawping towards this mad man, especially as he replied. "The trickster, he creates an alternate timeline where you can make the decision to which timeline is better and which you prefer… that's the gateway to the next timeline he has to put it somewhere." At this point Laurens father had began to get violent threatening the Doctor, the mother trying to calm everyone down. Where Lauren she chose to take a leap, a leap of faith which she hadn't take in a long time, and this faith wasn't built from her family or love but from a mad-man with a bouncy bow time.

So it began she jumped forward and climbed her way through the once mirror now gateway to another timeline. She felt waves and oceans of emotions she hasn't felt in time too old to compare to, excitement, fear, courage but most of all a droplet of joy. The Doctor followed soon after, telling the parents to just wait as he climbed through the gateway. The Doctor felt excitement, fear, courage but most of all guilt-guilt at the idea innocent lovely Lauren was being used as a pawn because of him. Laurens parents hurried downstairs for reasons unknown, but a new piece of the jigsaw was about to be discovered, but whether it fits is another question.

End of chapter 1