AN: I was playing around with a random pairing generator for Doctor Who when I got the following prompt: Seventh Doctor, Face of Boe, wisdom. This fic was spawned from that prompt.
Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any of the characters. They are the property of BBC.
-Never Stop Running-
He couldn't help but think about Ace; she had just left him, something about needing to fight in a war, and he was once again by himself.
Having traveled far off into the future to just enjoy himself, he took a deep breath as he walked the station that he was on. It was a formal party on some planet that he had saved, where various species mingled, and he could have sworn that he recognized a few of the guests. Maybe it was just his mind playing tricks on him?
He mingled, though; who knew, he might find someone here worth bringing along with him. Someone that he could possibly use in the TARDIS like how Ace had been very useful. He would miss her intelligence, but he would not miss being called the Professor. He was the Doctor, for Rassilon's sake!
Most of the people just gave him odd looks, but he wasn't sure why; his outfit was perfectly normal and natural, wasn't it? It was theirs that wasn't. Besides, even if his umbrella was the one getting the most stares, he was not going to get rid of it.
All too soon, he found himself standing near a large tank with a giant head inside of it.
"Hello, traveler."
The telepathic voice probed its way into his mind, but the Doctor could easily pinpoint who it was coming from. He turned towards the giant head in the tank, raising his eyebrows.
"What gave it away?" he said.
"I've lived a very long time, and you have the eyes of a man that has seen much and traveled far," the head said.
The Doctor smiled, intrigued by him. Finally, someone with a good head on their arms. Or was it shoulders? Well, a good head, at the least. Mutely wondering whether the other had ever had shoulders or arms, he nodded.
"You're right," said the Doctor. "Oh, if you've seen what I have... Who might you be?"
"I have gone by many names," the head said. "But I currently am called the Face of Boe."
Now the Doctor was truly interested. He had heard of the Face of Boe, of course. Who could have not? An ancient being, who had the reputation of having lived for hundreds of thousands of millions of years, and was the oldest living creature in the Isop galaxy.
"The Face of Boe? Wonderful to meet you. I'm the Doctor," he responded.
The Face of Boe was silent for a moment. "Just 'the Doctor'?"
"Yes yes, just the Doctor. I assume you've heard of me then?" The Doctor smiled a bit. Sure, it was a bit full of himself, but he did like knowing that occasionally, somebody knew who he was.
"Yes, I have, Doctor. You're a man that I can never forget, no matter how long I live."
Something about that statement made the Doctor think. Usually, the people that knew of him were either other Time Lords, species that thought of him in an unpleasant manner, and companions. The Face of Boe wasn't a Time Lord, and wasn't a companion that he had met before. He wasn't sure that he could actually travel around with a giant head in a jar, so he probably wasn't a future companion either. A species that thought of him in an unpleasant manner? Maybe. The being's presence did feel a bit wrong, though it was dampened by the sheer number of Time Lords in the universe.
"How do you know of me?" he asked the other, cautiously.
"Don't worry, Doctor. I mean you no harm, and you do not exist in any records," the Face of Boe said. "You have a different face. I'm not sure which one this is."
He knew that he was a Time Lord. That was different. That comment about him not being in any records was interesting, but he supposed he would find out about that another time.
"Seventh body," he said finally. "I don't like spoilers, but which ones have you met?"
"Oh, I have lost count," the Face of Boe said. "But I first met you in your ninth body, with leather and big ears, and I still remember your tenth body, long coat and skinny. This is the first time I've seen you."
The Doctor studied the other for a bit. "I would like to ask you something." It was more of a statement than a question.
"Feel free, Doctor."
"You've met my future selves. Without spoiling anything, can you tell me anything that I should know?" he asked. "You're an ancient being, surely you must have some wisdom that I could use in the future."
Again, the Face of Boe regarded him silently. The Doctor glanced around him to make sure that nobody else was listening, and turned back to the giant head in the jar.
"Run, Doctor. Run as fast you can, and never stop running. Even when it looks like you will be forced to stop, even when you believe you must stop, you must find a way to keep running. Run, Doctor. Run."
Those words sent a chill down the Doctor's spine. He desperately wanted to ask the Face of Boe what he meant by those words, but he knew that knowing about his own future was not a good thing.
"From Gallifrey?" the Doctor mumbled to himself. "I know the Time Lords are none too happy with me, but I haven't done anything to anger them recently."
There was a slightly exhale from the Face of Boe, as if he had heard, but the other didn't comment on hearing about the Time Lords. Instead, the giant head studied the Doctor once more.
"I do have one more piece of advice for you, Doctor."
"I'm all audits!" That phrase sounded wrong to him, but he couldn't think of the correct one.
"Trust her. She means well."
"Trust who?" The Doctor frowned, tilting his head at that. Who was the Face of Boe talking about? "Do you mean Ace? A future companion?"
"No Doctor. You have already met her, a long time ago. Trust her, Doctor. She never leads you astray."
His eyebrows furrowed, the Doctor reluctantly realized that he had been talking with the Face of Boe for quite awhile now, and that he still had a few more stops to make. The other was talking in riddles. Never stop running and trust some woman, indeed. They would probably make more sense in a few bodies or two.
"I must be going now. It was wonderful meeting you, Face of Boe," he said, taking a step back.
"It was nice seeing you again, Doctor," the Face of Boe said, merely watching as the Time Lord spun on his heel, with his question marked umbrella and all, and went away through the crowd.
The meeting had unnerved the Doctor a bit, but even he could tell that there was much wisdom in the large being that he had just met. He was one of the smartest non-Time Lords he had ever met.
Too bad that a head in a jar couldn't exactly travel with him.
-Never Stop Running End-
AN: I know exactly what the Face of Boe was referring to with his two pieces of advice. Do you? -smile-