Chapter One: Invaded

The TARDIS groaned as a sharp sound splintered through the control room. The Doctor looked up from the screen and frowned. His hands moved immediately to a lever and pulled it. The TARDIS shifted to the left and the Doctor held tight to the console.

"Oi, what's wrong with you?" the Doctor asked as he caressed her slowly. His brown eyes moved to the screen he'd just been looking at. A light was blinking on the screen, a distress call. He grinned.

"So that's what's got you distracted. Well come on then let's go check it out."

The TARDIS responded to his command as he pushed a few buttons around the whole of the console, his form moving quickly. He pulled another lever and held on as the TARDIS switched directions and headed off into the time vortex once more. He jumped around the console, pushing more buttons and levers as he traced the signal.

"No no no no," he said as the signal disappeared suddenly. The Doctor pushed a couple more buttons as he looked at the screen. He frowned once again. That wasn't supposed to happen.

Suddenly the TARDIS lurched and sparks began to fly from the console as a bolt of electricity flashed through the console. The Doctor was knocked back a few feet, his hands grabbing onto one of the poles to keep himself upright.

"No!" he shouted, but there was nothing he could do as the console seemed to implode plunging the whole of the inside into darkness. The TARDIS jerked from impact and the Doctor tumbled to the ground, his eyes wide with shock and horror as he quickly got to his feet. He quickly pulled his sonic screwdriver from his pocket, the blue light casting an unearthly glow around the darkened room.

"No no no…please," he muttered to himself as he ran to the console, waving the smoke from his face as he started pressing buttons. Nothing happened. The TARDIS was refusing to operate. A wave crashed down upon him as he pulled a panel from the console and started pointing the sonic screwdriver at wires and circuits.

After a few moments he pushed himself away from the console a tired look crossing his face. He patted the console of the TARDIS affectionately.

"You'll be right in a few days. It's all right old girl. I'll let you rest," the Doctor slipped the sonic screwdriver back in his pocket and sat down for a few moments. The TARDIS needed to repower herself before they could go anywhere. Whatever had struck her wiped her power coils almost bare. There wasn't even enough power to work the emergency lights. "Curious. I should take a look." A boyish grin crossed the Doctor's face as he jumped to his feet, grabbed his brown coat, and headed for the door. The darkness didn't even faze him as he opened the door to the TARDIS and crossed the threshold onto a world he didn't recognize.

The TARDIS had landed haphazardly in a field of wild flowers of all colours. Reds, blues, purples, greens, and yellows blended together to form a beautiful landscape of brilliant colour. It made him smile as he ran his hand over the nearest petals. What sort of world was this? Flowers as far as the eye could see. Birds chirping, insects buzzing, and no sound or smell of pollution. It was a paradise.

"It's beautiful," a familiar voice echoed through his mind.

The Doctor jerked his head around at the voice, but he was alone. His brown eyes darkened at the world around him. Memories forced their way to the front of his mind. They took over the beautiful world, threw him back in the past, his own past, one he tried to never travel.

"You know what? They keep trying to split us up, but they never, ever will."

"Never say 'never, ever'."

"Nah, we'll always be okay, you and me. Don't you reckon Doctor?"

"Something in the air. Something coming."

"What?"

"A storm's approaching."

The Doctor jerked himself out of his memories, forcing his mind to shut down. Something was trying to get inside. He put his hands to his head and forced whatever was there out. He gripped the side of the TARDIS as the mind of the entity roared in anger before disappearing. The Doctor gasped for air as tears stung his eyes. He fought hard against the memories of Rose Tyler, the woman he…lost. Her image burned in his mind for a moment before he pushed it back behind a locked door with all the other memories of the ones he had cared for. She took up more space than the others and a part of him hated how much he had grown accustomed to her presence. How much he missed her. Shaking himself he let a smile touch his lips.

"Hello," he sing-songed with a bit of amusement as he steadied himself. "It's rather rude to jump into my mind before offering me tea." His eyes focused on the flowers again and he looked around expecting to find the culprit to the nasty mental search, but he was alone. "Odd. Where did you go?"

The Doctor moved around the TARDIS, his eyes slowly falling on a long burning trail that led to a mid-bulk sized ship, human made by the look of it. Judging by the freshly burned tracks the Doctor reckoned this was the ship that had sent out the distress signal. If they were greeted to this planet in the same manner the Doctor was he could only imagine what their human minds had done at the onslaught. The thought jolted him into action and he was soon running through the fields, along the path that led to the wrecked ship.