Lost Companions Chapter 1

Across the universe, the stars glittered in unison, a perfect harmony of time and space, twinkling high above the planets. Alien galaxies and burning suns dappled the surreal scenery. Exotic planets of various color and shape orbited their own geometrical points, spinning in a near-perfect circle at thousands of miles per hour. The wind would have whispered coldly across the empty space, had there been any wind in space, and, if there was, the only thing there to enjoy it was a small box, colored TARDIS blue, which made sense, considering it was the TARDIS.
Inside the ship, things looked calm and normal, and the people within were familiar with their surroundings, except for the small problem that almost none of them were supposed to be there.
The Doctor leaned on his knees from where he sat, perched on the railing across from the TARDIS console. He narrowed his bright green eyes, examining the three young women squirming under his gaze. He kept them trapped under his eyes for at least another minute before sitting up.
"You three," he murmured. "Are not supposed to be here."
Rose Tyler raised an eyebrow as she sighed, obviously disappointed with the reception she'd received. "Yeah, I thought that bit was obvious."
She stole a glance in either direction at the two women sitting on the console on either side of her. Martha Jones and Donna Noble both looked stunned.
"You've changed," they observed in unison.
The Doctor looked briefly taken aback, but Rose beat him to the answer. "Yeah, he does that. You guys knew already."
Martha blinked. "But we never actually saw it."
"Well there was that bit with the hand..." Donna said quizzically.
"That doesn't count! His whole face is different now! It's all-"
"I think we're missing the main issue here," The Doctor said flatly, an eyebrow creeping up.
"No kidding," Rose said, not meeting his gaze.
In truth, Rose was stunned by the Doctor's change. She'd seen him do it before, and knew it meant he'd nearly become a different person – the only thing still in tact was the memories. She was nervous and afraid to glance at him, scared to see what might be in his eyes. She was terrified to know if he still cared about her or not. She hardly dared to wonder what he might be thinking.
The Doctor slapped his hand against the TARDIS railing twice, gaining everyone's attention. "In case you don't mind, I'd like to talk here. We have a problem. The three of you should not be here. Martha should be at Torchwood, Rose should be in an alternate universe, and if Donna's here, then she should be..." he gestured frantically. "Exploding right now!"
Donna's face fell. "Thanks for the vote of confidence."
"I aim to inspire," He leapt from the railing, landing in front of Donna, pulled out the sonic screwdriver and activated in her eye, all in one swift motion.
"Oi!" she protested, but the Doctor wasn't listening.
He studied the results of the sonic's scan quizzically. "Body temperature normal, average blood pressure, no sign of timey-wimey Doctor Donna explosions going on in your head..." As he put the screwdriver away, he leaned down and narrowed his eyes into hers. "What's the last thing you remember, Donna?"
She blinked. "In the TARDIS... before you, y'know, wiped my memory."
"Really? Nothing of the stuff afterward?"
"Well... I... It's hard to explain..."
He sighed. "I'm a Timelord, give me your best shot."
She stared at her hands in her lap, eyes narrowed. "I remember... living my life normally, and not knowing about you, but it's like a story, like someone told me about all that time, not like I actually lived it. Something like that."
He cocked his head to one side. "It makes no sense. Why aren't you dying right now?"
She shot him a withered look, but didn't put much effort into it. In truth, Donna felt tired and irritated, and the well-styled sweep of the Doctor's hair hovering above her face wasn't helping much. She could hardly begin to worry about how she'd gotten here. All her thoughts were focused on the fact that the Doctor she had known so well, the man she'd wanted to travel for the rest of her life with, was now a completely different person. It wasn't just his appearance – his personality was ever so slightly changed. He seemed more childish to her now... more easily excited. She didn't know how he could expect her to just... accept the change.
He leaned back, out of Donna's face and placed his hands against the railing behind him, shaking his head. He opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted as the TARDIS doors flew open.
Amy Pond shoved the three suitcases she had further into the crook of her arm and exclaimed, "Right, that's all, me and Rory just had to grab some-" she stopped as she looked up and saw the scene in front of her.
There was a stiff moment of silence.
Amy was, at this point, well-prepared for unpredictable moments such as these, so she dumped the suitcases into the unwilling arms of Rory behind her, and strode forward with a false swagger. "Right, who's this lot then?"
Several different emotions flickered across the Doctor's face before he settled on "vague irritation." "They're just some old friends of mine who seem to have-"
"Ah, are these the ones you talk about every now and then?" She crossed the few feet left to stand before the three companions. She chose at random Martha and studied her curiously. "Are you Martha? You look like a Martha."
Martha, who had found it best to avoid talking up until this point, blinked several times before saying, "Er, yeah, who're you?"
Amy saluted dramatically and held out a hand to be shaken. "Amy Pond, at your service, and my lovely husband Ro- Rorywhyareyoustilloutside?!"
Rory had expertly positioned himself so that he could see everything going on without being seen himself. He now realized the error of his ways, because, as sure as he was in love with Amy, he had been shoved into the spotlight for all to see. He poked his head through the TARDIS door, balancing the suitcases in his hands behind him. "Er- hello!"
Amy, still holding Martha's hand, clasped it in both hands and murmured, "He's a good guy, means well, a bit shy though..." She moved quickly across the room and to Rory's side, looping her arm in his and pulling him inside. Rory then proceeded to succeed in the rather impressive feat of not dropping any of the suitcases, tripping, or doing something else stupid – unfortunately, no one except him noticed.
The Doctor huffed and sat up. "Amy, Rory, this is Rose, Martha and Donna. The three of you, meet the two of them." He then sat back again, pressing a hand to his temple.
"Hello!" Rose said, giving a small, awkward wave.
Amy grinned. "Hiya! What are you guys doing here?"
The three of them exchanged glances. "We have no idea," Martha murmured.
Rory looked over Amy's shoulder. "Doctor? Care to elaborate?"
The Doctor walked slowly over to the five of them. "Well the two of you were outside getting clothing and... whatever else it is you got, I was inside the TARDIS as it began violently shaking and rocking and whatever other descriptive words people use for 'violent turbulence.' As I struggled to get things under control, I slid across the floor and hit my head on the railing, blacking out. When I came to, those three were passed out on my floor."
Amy glanced between the Doctor and the companions. "So... how did you get here?"
Donna shrugged. "No idea. Last thing I remember was making coffee at my mum's house. Then I ended up here with all my memories."
"Interesting," the Doctor said. "What about the two of you?" He gestured at Rose and Martha.
"I was in the alternate universe with the human Doctor. We were at Torchwood." Rose said slowly.
"I was at Torchwood too – but this universe." Martha supplied.
The Doctor turned and began pacing around the TARDIS console, turning back every time he ran into the five of them. "So basically, some unknown power has brought the three of you here, probably ripping a few holes in space in the process, and somehow managing to keep Donna from exploding while they're at it. Not to mention, they broke into the TARDIS, which shouldn't even be possible, and – as far as we know – they've done nothing else yet."
"More or less, yeah," Rose muttered.
"What were you two doing?" Martha asked Amy.
"Hmm? Oh, the TARDIS is parked outside my house right now. We were just doing some laundry and repacking." Amy explained with a wave of her hand.
"Apparently we missed a lot," Rory grumbled.
"Here's our next question," the Doctor prattled on. "If someone went to all the effort of getting you three here, then they must have set up some obstacles to keep us from just returning you home, right?"
The five of them exchanged wary glances. "Makes sense, yeah..." Rose said slowly.
"Now you all should know by now I don't like taking orders from others. I want to know what this mysterious force has set up against us. We don't really have the option of trying to take Rose home – alternate universe and all – and I don't want to try Donna, in case it ends up making her explode..."
He trailed off, and everyone involuntarily looked at Martha.
She looked around, and then at everyone else, and then groaned, hanging her head.
"Oh god..."