#Unspecified Doctot

[doctorwhoexpandeduniverseprompts]

Doctor Who Minific / Prompt : Never Alone, Old Girl.

A Companion goes for a midnight stroll through the TARDIS corridors to try and tire themselves out after their memories of latest adventure with the Doctor wake them up with a nightmare, too wired to go back to sleep from all the adrenaline in their system.

They start wandering the corridors.... take a wrong turn on the way to the kitchen... And promptly get lost.

As they wander deeper and deeper into the unused corridors of the TARDIS, each new hallway turns the lights on automatically for them, but are otherwise dark.

Until they finally keep walking and discover a corridor with the lights on.

And voices ahead.

-------------------------

Curious and cautious in equal terms, the Companion creeps around the corner, wondering if some people wandered in and got lost in the TARDIS, if the Doctor has other friends with him that he forgot to mention, or, more worryingly, if an enemy has snuck aboard the TARDIS and is planning a strike from the inside.

The companion comes around the corner and discovers.... Another library.

And it is full of strangers.

Old men in dinner jackets and cravats and bowties and giant scarves are playing what looks to be a 20-level, multiplayer game of 4D chess from Star Trek at the central table.

Around them, older men and women are reading or talking or playing games with a collection of younger people, all of them in a diverse range of hair styles and clothing fashions-- from old fashioned to glamorous to downright bizarre.

One man is wearing what could have been a believable clown costume and cat pins, while another appears to be a walking Progress Pride flag great coat, with different nonbinary flags marking each sleeve and pant leg.

There's dozens and dozens of people in the room, all laughing and joking and interacting, and even as the companion watches more people filter in and out, wandering down other lit corridors as a casual pace, or running in bathing suits, shrieking in laughter as they charge into a room that is scented with sea salt even from far away, ignoring one of the women that shout after them "No running around the pool! You don't want to end up like me, do you?"

"Romana, come now. They can come to no harm, you know that." Another figure with purple sunglasses says, wearing a bright yellow rain jacket that crinkles as -- Xe, the companion notes from their pronoun pin-- lays a hand on Romana's shoulder.

Romana sniffed and crossed her arms. "It's the principal of the matter."

The Companion's jaw is slack, staring at all these people just lounging around and playing as though they own the place.

Who are these people and what on earth are they doing here?

"Well hello there, my young companion, I see you have found my friends." An old-fashioned, enunciated man's voice says from beside the Companion and they whirl around-- to see a figure made of blue light standing beside them.

"Who are you!?" The Companion demands, jerking back, wondering if they need to run from this strange being.

The figure laughs, "Don't you recognize me? Come now, think about it for just a moment..."

The Companion stares at the blue figure and then glances at the room full of people, some of which has turned their gaze in them, smiling in their direction or giving little waves when their eyes make contact.

They... All did seem familiar. In a strange way. As though they were people they had onced loved, and simply forgotten.

There's a presence in their mind, a slight hum that they never really paid attention to, but it was only ever present when in ...

"You're the TARDIS." Companion realizes.

"I am Indeed." The TARDIS agrees, reaching out a hand to shake, which the Companion excepts with a small tingle of static shock. "And do you know who those people are in that room?" The TARDIS asks leadingly, pointing into the room.

The Companion looks at the people again. All the men, women, children, and in between, the ones most oddly dressed all seeming familiar in a strange way.

"They're the Doctor." The Companion realizes. "And their compaions. From the past."

"And Future." The TARDIS says, a smile evident in her voice. "Time, you will find it, is rather transcendental for us TARDISes."

"But why are they here? How?" Compaion wonders. The TARDIS gently shoos them into the room full of Doctors and Companions, and quite a number of them all rush over to greet them, introducing themselves.

"I always program a senti hologram of my current self into the TARDIS databanks in case something ever goes very very wrong." A man with close cropped hair and big ears explained, "That way they can explain what's happening to whatever friends I have with me at the time and the TARDIS will fly herself to their home and time, and can act as a medium between my friends and the TARDIS, since she can't usually communicate directly "

"But...." Companion turns to look at the blue TARDIS figure. "she's talking right now."

"That is because we are much closer to the power left behind by the anti-time Casket of Zagreus."

A beautiful man with long curly hair jogged over, fidgeting with slight abashment with his velvet frock coat as he explained, "Time and Anti-Time meeting like that doesn't just explode once, it is always exploding, and always was. And never did and never was. It's a paradox of the highest order, and it's an incredible source of eternal power, even if the range is rather short." He smiled apologetically.

"Yes, the TARDIS is able to use that power source to manifest the most complete imprints of us that she has, but it's only here, in the deepest depths of the TARDIS that we can form, it doesn't extend far enough for us to go to the main or auxiliary console rooms." A young woman with blonde hair said, standing next to the frock-coated Doctor and grabbing his hand with a smile.

"But..." Companion says slowly, trying not to be tactless, "Don't you... Ever get bored? Stuck in here all day?"

Everyone in earshot laughs.

"My dear child, how could we ever be something as mundane as 'bored'? The power from the Casket is infinite. We have entire universe here for us to explore, all of our loved ones that have ever visited the TARDIS are here, and we have eternity with our loved ones, knowing they will always be safe and here with us." The oldest man there said, where he was seated still at the chess table, "And best of all, no more creaky, old knees." He laughed. "I can give Ian a run for his money now."

"Yes Grandfather, we know. You beat him in a footrace just yesterday, remember?" A young girl with short black hair and black eyes reminded him, giggling at his smug expression, which fell slightly as the girl continued "And Barbara beat both of you!"

Companion looked around at all of the smiling, laughing people, the oddest-dressed amongst them having an odd familiarity to them, as through they were dear old friends, forgotten, just waiting to meet again and make new memories.

"Will I end up here one day?" Companion wondered.

There was a streak of silver and blue light, and Companion watched as a young person in a high-tech wheelchair zoomed through the room led by a robotic dog, and chasing behind them, cheering and laughing, was a large group of young people, all whopping and hollaring--

And amongst the crowd was a voice both familar and alien, uncanny, and Companion got a brief glimpse of their own face amongst the crowd, a little older, a little more confident, and grinning so broadly in joy that Companion's own face hurt in sympathy.

"You always have been." The TARDIS said, an her voice was full of warmth and affection.

#doctor who #dw #writing prompts #Fanfiction #Oneshot #Original Companion #unnamed narrator #Unspecified Doctot #Future Doctor #long post #Zagreus