"Tomorrow after work, we'll look through the TARDIS and go from there," Theodore sighs as he stood bear Lila's flat as she stood on the steps above.
Lila retorts, "Unless it takes us for an unexpected adventure, again."
Given her experience, Lila expected the damn thing to kidnap them yet again, the moment they step inside to investigate the insides and attempt to clean.
Theodore's already planning to redecorate the interior, that's literary what he said on the spot when Lila asked him the plan one adventure.
He doesn't know who redecorated the TARDIS, but he'll find them eventually, and have choice words with them, assuming of course they're not H.G. Wells, again.
It made Lila incredibly curious when he said that, she had to know the story behind it, and Theodore regaled a story where his father met the intrepid author. Let's just say "The War of the Worlds" wasn't just something the author came up and that there's some truths to the story.
Why else did people think it was all here, when in another world, it was!
"You're pulling my leg!" Lila refused to believe Theodore's story about the author encountering the aliens that'd later influence his work.
Theodore raised his hand at this accusation as he insisted that it's the honest-to-God truth.
Wells would've written something about his father, but he'd asked him not to, simply because if Wells wrote him into the story, nobody would take it seriously.
"Next thing you'll tell me's Tolkien was really an elf!" Lila covered her face at the thought that Theodore's father made friends with famous authors and helped inspired them.
Seven adventures later, Tolkien's not an elf or other, he apparently had the ability to see worlds that other humans couldn't. Perhaps what he'd seen helped inspired his creations. Written in a way that's palpable to readers of his time and now, because if he'd turned around and said the Hobbits weren't halflings but an alien race from a whole different planet, well, Lila didn't need to be a literary professional to say what'll happen.
It's a rare thing for humans to have and likely, Tolkien didn't understand it initially, presumably mistook it for his imagination, but there's no telling what he might've felt seeing the things he did. For all they knew, he understood quite well what he saw, and kept it quiet, knowing that his peers wouldn't understand.
"I'm sure it'll welcome some cleaning," Theodore tells Lila as he shoved his large hands into his pockets as he shifted in his spot while talking to her. "Poor thing must carry rubbish spanning the 1200s!"
While the TARDIS isn't on trusting terms with them yet, surely it'll let them stay back and clean it out, and for Theodore to redecorate the interior and do something about the exterior. The poor thing looked terrible compared to when his father used it last, depressed him that nobody thought to throw on a coat of paint or something to that effect!
Lila sighed as she asked, "Just let me find a piece of my sanity and a bucket before we get to cleaning centuries worth of dirt, alright?"
Smiling Theodore watched her walk inside the building and he began walking away, planning to return to his flat where he'll sort through things in his parents' room in the TARDIS.
The perks of having infinite rooms, no Doctor's likely to get the other's room, so nobody's able to accidentally wander into the former bedroom of Theodore's parents.
The TARDIS should point him the way and he doubted it'll trick him, besides that, he needed to recover anything his parents might've forgotten. A poor taste that'd be if he left a stone unturned.
While he walked in the brisk cold breeze passing by him, Theodore spotted a woman sitting at a park table with a man across from her, playing chess while he walked by.
"This is stupid," the man blinked his black eyes as he looked at his chess piece quizzically. "What idiot invented this?"
Looking at the pawn confusingly, the young man asked how the pawn can move one way, but the knight moves another way, considering they can't even move on their own without help.
The woman shrugged her shoulders as she replied while studying her queen in her hand with her black eyes, "Don't know. Some idiot with time on his hand?"
The two went back and forth in a banter about the rules of chess as Theodore walked down the concrete sidewalk.
His breath showed as he exhaled, the air chilling around him as it's getting colder outside.
When he gets home, first thing he's doing involves making himself a nice warm cup of peppermint tea. His mother drank it around this time of year and it brings memories of his youth whenever he drinks it.
Every time the cold air comes and the weather changes, he develops cravings for the peppermint tea and only for this time of year, no other time.
Once he satiated his craving, he'll go into the TARDIS and find his parent's room.
His father sure of taking everything out of it, but Theodore wanted to make sure and perhaps he hoped there's something forgotten of theirs in the room that'll give Theodore some comfort while he helmed the title.
It sounded asinine to those in their inner circle that his father willingly gave up the chance of a lifetime and became a simple construction worker, but his father knew in his two hearts that he couldn't keep it going forever.
The constant adventures, being away from his family, understandably, it drove his father to abscond from his duties as the Doctor.
Sure, his father mentioned more than once that he did have that feeling once a while for an adventure, but he knew that he made the right choice, and he didn't miss a day with his family.
However, he encouraged Theodore and his siblings to follow their hearts, he did for most of his life, and while he's led astray most of the time, he never missed a beat.
Caught up in his thoughts, Theodore nearly bumped into an older man.
Profusely, Theodore apologized and the older man looked at him funny with his black eyes peering into Theodore's icy blue eyes.
"I'm terribly sorry," Theodore apologizes to him.
The older man replied with, "Oh no, it's my fault."
His mustache moved in the passing breezing past them.
Theodore's about to move around him when he heard someone behind him say, "Yum, yum, with a bottle of rum!"
Turning around quickly, Theodore sees the man from the park standing behind him, staring into his icy blue eyes with his black eyes.
Theodore recoiled as he asked what this' about and the man in front of him replied, "Just a little hungry's all."
Trying to keep things civil, Theodore gave restaurant recommendations, but it didn't satiate the odd men.
The older man replied, "We tried them, yes, but their food's all the same to us."
The other man added, "Slight difference, but the same nevertheless."
Looking between the men, Theodore asked if they wanted money, if that's what this' about, but the men responded that they can't eat money. The older man tried, but it tasted bitter and smelled of old sweat and drugs.
"I told you not to eat them," the other man spat at this. "You don't know where they put them."
Feeling cornered, Theodore demanded answers and he heard a third voice say, "Didn't you hear my brother the first time, yum, yum!"
Looking up, Theodore sees the woman from the park adjacent from him as she narrowed her black eyes on him.
Feeling their eyes on him, Theodore felt the urge to run, and he did just that.
Running for his life, Theodore fled from the three people, he didn't know where he's going, but anywhere that wasn't there.
He didn't look behind, just kept running. With his genes, he can keep up, and hopefully, those people tire out.
Passing people, Theodore came to a stop, and sees he's close to his flat. If all fails, he can hide out in the TARDIS and trick the people with it.
"Hold the handles, send them astray!" Theodore remembered what his father taught him.
Rushing towards the corner, Theodore's about to turn it when he sees the woman standing right there.
"Ain't our first rodeo, bud," she gruffly told him as he recoiled away from her.
Theodore demanded, "Who're you?!"
He heard the man behind him, "Just your typical hodgepodge."
The older man nearby said as he came towards them, "Oh yes, we're quite unique."
They corralled Theodore until he bolted and kept running while they chased after him.
He must've run around the downtown area for an hour and yet, they're always nearby.
Thankfully, there's some tears about, and Theodore used them to get away from the trio of weirdos.
Unfortunately, they're weak and Theodore couldn't influence them much, but he's able to get across the city in time.
For a while, he thought he gotten them off his trail and he's able to catch his breath, he managed to do that.
Right there, the older man's staring at him and Theodore ended up on the run once again.
He realized that they see the tears, too!
After gaining ground, Theodore managed to finally stopped and did something he never did before.
Contact Lila.
With telepathy.
He worked with her as coworkers and they ventured in the TARDIS, enough time for him to grasp her mind that he's confidant that he can't harm her.
"Lee! Leeeeee!" Theodore called out to her in his mind. "I need your help!"
Lila in her own fashion replied, "You're not one of the voices!"
Theodore didn't have any time to humble her joke, he begged for her help, and she immediately went, "Again?!"
Yes, Theodore's chased again, and this time, he didn't do anything to incite it.
"No time, need help, help!" Theodore summed.
Lila asked what he needed her to do and he asked her to get the TARDIS.
"I am not going anywhere near that thing, alone!" Lila balked at the request.
Groaning, Theodore prodded her with, "Lee, it won't do anything to you. For god's sake, I'm the Doctor, at most it'll bring you to me!"
He begged until Lila finally relented.
With that, it's a matter of waiting for her to bring the TARDIS to him and while that's happening, Theodore sees the woman in the distance.
"Oh, boy!" Theodore exhaled.