Chapter One: Gimme Shelter
It's been said by many that one is the loneliest number of all. No one knew that better than the Doctor. After he married River Song and left Amy and Rory, he'd been travelling across the universe, all alone in the TARDIS. He wanted them to forget about him; he didn't want to make their lives worse… it would be better for them to just forget him. He noticed, though, that without them, there wasn't much to do. Perhaps it was time for the Doctor to take a proper holiday?
Jumping to his feet and trying to take his mind off of his old friends, the Doctor adjusted his bowtie and began thinking up places to go on holiday. There were so many lovely places in the universe to visit, and given the Doctor's brashness, he'd visit them all before the next call for help.
Mid-pace, though, there was a knock on the door. The Doctor paused and gave the doors of the TARDIS a funny look. They were in deep space, and there was a knock on the door! The last time there was a knock on the door in deep space, he got mail… mail! How exciting! He put on a wide grin and jumped to the door.
Then he stopped again. He remembered what else had happened the last time he got mail… it served to remind him he was the last of the Time Lords.
Well, whatever. I'll just have to keep calm and carry on.
Once he opened the doors, there it was! A psychic box, a Time Lord psychic box! With an emergency message?
"Ahh, what have we here?" the Doctor asked, grabbing onto the box before it went wild as it did the last time. "A box! A Time Lord, with an emergency? Hah!"
To the Doctor, the impossible was always a possibility, as long as he was alive. Just the slight possibility that one Time Lord was out there… he decided to open the unmarked psychic box.
"The Dark Side of the Universe is still light," said the box, with the clear, distinct voice of a woman.
The Doctor's grin widened. If there was a Time Lord out there, it was a woman. She wasn't distressed…
"…then why did she use the psychic box?" the Doctor wondered out loud. "Well… perhaps this was the only safe way of contacting me… Geronimo! But this isn't possible... is there a way to respond?"
There were a couple of ways to respond to a psychic box… psychic paper was one way, and it was the Doctor's response of choice. In a whirl, he ran to where the typewriter was and pulled some paper from a drawer in that part of the console. The Doctor had to be careful in response, not knowing who exactly the woman was and if it was good that she was contacting him or not.
Then how dark, he wrote, is the Dark Side?
To get this message to its proper location, the Doctor had to be careful. Extremely careful. So he used his sonic screwdriver, tracking where the box came from, to bring the note to where it belonged. He stuffed the paper inside the box and sent it on its way, hopefully to return soon.
Who was this Time Lord, this woman, telling him that the Dark Side was "still light?" What did she mean? Was she being literal, or was she using symbolism? The message was rather a positive one… positivity! Another thought dawned on him. What if it was sarcastic?
Knock, knock!
The Doctor widened his eyes. That was fast, even for a master of Time and Space. This Time Lady was an extremely curious case.
He opened the box and took this new sheet of psychic paper out and read these words: Never as dark as you think. The dark is perceptional.
The Time Lady had to be alive. She replied to what I said!
"…exactly what I said!" the Doctor smiled, and put his pen to paper again.
Then would the Dark Side be light?
Once again, he sent the box out. This was impossible… but how sweetly impossible! This Time Lady couldn't have been one of the baddies… she was so positive! Maybe she was waiting on the Time Lord to come and find her… maybe she was lost and staying positive to keep hope alive… maybe she wanted to see if anyone was out there… so many possibilities with this new discovery…
Knock, knock!
The Doctor leapt out of his chair once again to retrieve the message.
The light always overcomes the dark. There's a rainbow after every storm.
"Geronimo!" he exclaimed excitedly. "She must be lovely! She must be beautiful! Oh, what a beautifully positive mind! What a beauty!"
Yes. But a storm always comes…
He wanted to see her reaction to negativity, because the baddies feed off negativity. He needed to know… and soon enough the box was again on its way.
She could've been tricking him, and he wanted to make sure that wasn't the case. He also wanted to find her, but how to do it!
"How would I word that," the Doctor wondered, "without breaking this oh so witty banter? I quite enjoy this actually… if this is the case, then I must find her! I must find this Time Lady, wherever she may be!"
Knock, knock!
Yet again the Doctor picked up the box and read the note.
That's why we have umbrellas and shelters. Come to Miranlon. Meet a new friend. Don't worry, you won't need an umbrella.
"Finally, a location!" the Doctor exclaimed, jumping to his feet and running to the console.
The Doctor didn't need to think of how to break the banter, for the Time Lady did it for him. And now he could meet her… or at least a new friend. Maybe this new friend could lead him to the Time Lady, for he needed to meet her. He didn't yet know her, but he was absolutely enthralled. Perhaps in love. He couldn't tell; he needed to see her. But from what he could tell, she was a beautiful personality, so positive! He needed positivity.
Look in the sky for clouds. I'll break through them eventually, and I'll be the storm. You'll need an umbrella.
That was the last note to go out, and the Doctor began to locate Miranlon. Miranlon was 2,000 light years from where Gallifrey was, and it was a beautiful planet. The Doctor had never actually been to Miranlon, for he'd only heard stories. It was small, extremely small, which is probably the reason he never stopped there. Nothing major ever happened there either. Either way, the Doctor was happy he was finally going.
Knock, knock!
There was one more box to open. The Doctor quickly ran to open it, as the TARDIS was leaving.
Your new friend prefers shelter. Umbrellas are too mainstream for this one.
The Doctor smiled, and was once again off and on his way to a new planet to meet a new friend. The Doctor liked meeting new friends; indeed friends were a positive.
When the TARDIS landed on Miranlon, it was late in the afternoon; the binary suns were low and the temperature was at exactly 20̊ Celsius. The skies were an unbelievable salmon, and the grass was of gold. The surrounding trees were vivid red maple trees, and there was a large palace that was straight ahead.
The Doctor smiled. Miranlon was lovely! He couldn't possibly imagine what was keeping him from this lovely place.
"Doctor!" the voice of a woman came from behind him.
Could that be my Time Lady? The Doctor wondered to himself as he turned around.
She was sitting in one of the maple trees, wearing dark black tights and ankle boots of the same colour. She had a dark blue cape and her hair was tied in a bun. Smiling, the woman hopped out of the tree and landed right in front of him.
"Who're you?" he asked her, hoping it indeed was his Time Lady.
"I'm your new friend, Doctor. But I'm afraid I don't have an umbrella," she smiled.
"No, but that's all right," the Doctor laughed. "You have shelter."