The White Summer

London, Earth

A new day rose on the city of London, the streets beginning to fill once more with people and cars as they journeyed to various destinations. The day began normal, the eighteenth of July beginning like all the rest had before it until something happened that captured everyone's attention. "It is snowing, i repeat it is snowing" A newswoman proclaimed on a nearby television sitting in a display case; people on the street stopping to gawk at the screen, "Experts are baffled! At 9:20 this morning the sky opened up to, not sun, but snow and a down pour at that. Within the hour a couple inches is expected, as the day goes on we will have more reports. Until then, stay safe and enjoy the summer snow".

Millions of miles away...

The Doctor laid back, relaxed, on the control room of his TARDIS; his converse propped up on the console as he looked through his brainy specs at his sonic screwdriver. Using small tools, The Doctor made slight adjustments to his trusty device; his eyebrows arched as he focused sternly at the task at hand. Suddenly the monitor on the control console shot to life with swirling gallifreyan symbols and flashing green lights, but still The Doctor worked on his screwdriver. Gradually the TARDIS began to emit various sounds to try and catch it's thief's attention to no avail.

The Doctor grunted, "Oi! Keep it down old girl i'm trying to work" he said with a slight frown, keeping his eyes fixed on his trusty device. A moment passed in silence before suddenly the main lever yanked down on its own, sending The Doctor crashing forward into the console. The TARDIS spun and bolted through the time vortex as it plotted its course and locked it in. "You could have just said something!" The Doctor exclaimed, frantically trying to regain his balance and control of his time machine as he tucked away his screwdriver.

His hands held firmly to the side of the control console, his eyes wide with growing excitement and intrigue as his TARDIS hurtled towards its destination. A moment later the TARDIS, surprisingly, landed softly and The Doctor bolted down the ramp and through the doors. Flipping on his trench coat, The Doctor gazed around, the streets covered in snow and the white flakes cascading from the clouds above. The Doctor stuck out his hand as he looked up at the sky, "It's snowing..." he mumbled, "In July?" he sniffed, "Yep! July eighteenth, twenty seventeen to be exact. But how? Why? What?! What!".

What Rhydian Martis had expected when he popped over to London for a quick visit (via Vortex Manipulator) was nice, mild summer weather (and he said 'mild', because really, how hot can London actually get?).

What he did not expect was all this snow.

Rhydian first noticed it when he felt a light but consistent patter of cold flakes fall on his head. He would have recognised it sooner but since he had spent most of his life living in the hot rural deserts of Australia, he hadn't had enough of a chance to. He did notice, however, all of the busy cars on the street next to him stop in wonder and confusion to get a better look at snow, of all things, falling down in the middle of summer.

Rhydian's immediate instinct told him to look up at the sky, and what he saw was... regular. Well, for a place being bombarded by snow and rain. Just dark clouds. But then again, the last time 'dark clouds' had appeared over London was exactly when Cybermen had been raised from the dead. Or when those carnivorous rose petals flocked London and devoured every living being- Oh, wait. That was something else entirely. Thank anyone above him that he was on a 'vacation' in Hawai'i that day. Also, luckily he had brought a coat.

His primary gut feeling told Rhydian that this was definitely some sort of out-worldly force, but he made a promise to himself long ago that he wouldn't go swanning off from his own country to God knows where and 'mingle' with other species and planets (so, in essentiality, don't get noticed too much. He was proud of himself that he had managed to do so for so long).

Swiftly slipping on his black denim jacket and flipping up the collar for good measure, Rhydian set off down the street before being stopped by a stranger who said something along the lines of "It's the end of the world!". He ignored it and started again, thinking it was just another looney that thought the last ten alien invasions were too much to handle. Of course, Rhydian's reaction towards the snow could only be described as disinterest, in his classical style of being able to conceal his emotions almost perfectly. That didn't necessarily mean he was concerned.

He had thought he had seen another 'looney' in a pinstriped suit and overly large trench coat staring up at the sky and shouting "Why?" and "What?!" The only reason Rhydian had noticed him was because of all the shouting (which was considerably difficult to do so, due to all the honking horns and even more shouting). Something drew Rhydian to him, something that felt like the right thing to do. That and the man looked ridiculous in his billowing coat and thick side-burns. He strode up to the man, who when given a closer look noticed that he was rather skinny, and had ridiculous hair.

"That's exactly the questions I want answered, mate." Rhydian responded with his usual Australian twang, not too mild but noticeable. And it was true. If he hadn't came here on holiday, then solving how this was happening would surely be the first thing he'd do. And Rhydian wasn't about to pin it down on freak weather anyday.

Perhaps Alice should have asked for a ride home from the library. First it had been unseasonably cold, then it had started to snow. In the middle of July, no less! The fabric of her skirt whipped around her knees as she walked, trying to pick up the pace. Of all the days she'd chosen to wear a skirt, it had been the day where snowflakes were razor-sharp cold against her bare shins and ankles. She shivered and pulled her thin sweater tight around her shoulders, resisting the immediate urge to cough.

The tiny teenager, not even scraping five feet tall and skinny as a twig, wove through the crowds with a bit of difficulty. While she was small and didn't take up much space, she also was harder to spot and could easily be bumped around.

Then she came across two men who seemed far more interested in the summer snow than anyone else... and who didn't seem to be end-of-the-world fanatics. One of them was even Australian, by the sound of his accent.

So, she inserted herself into the conversation.

"The only reason we could get this sort of weather would be if we had an out-of-season arctic blast from the north pole, but even then that probably wouldn't happen. The earth's tilt puts it right in direct sunlight, so we should be getting more rain than usual with some temperatures lower than average... if it is wind from the north, that is."

It was a bit hard to talk through chattering teeth, but she managed. The girl wasn't dressed for snow, and why should she be? It was the middle of July! Even so, she was dressed much more modestly than most girls would be in the July heat. She also sounded intelligent, despite being young and looking younger.

The Doctor looked down and over to the young man as he approached, and listened as he spoke. His mind couldn't help but fall back to the time when he was that young; he reminded The Doctor of his younger self, which brought a smirk to The Doctor's face. "I-" Before The Doctor could speak, a girl approached and commented on the weather as well, Who knew so many humans would think twice about weather... However, the statement the girl made peaked The Doctors interest as he glanced back up at the sky, and the steady falling snow flakes, "Yeah..some sort of blast for sure. Thing is though..the snow is all wrong" he finally commented.

Reaching out and letting a flake fall into his hand, The Doctor crushed it between his finger tips then held it up to his nose to smell. With a disgusted frown, The Doctor wiped the remaining snow off on his trench coat, "Stinks..plus the texture is a bit too thick for this climate..well...bit too thick for this planet. Hang on!". Jolting with new found excitement and energy, he reached into his pockets and quickly began pulling out various items including a banana, toy rat, a ball of yarn and a satsuma; all of which he handed off to the young man. "Here, hold this.." The Doctor mumbled, handing him the stuff without looking as he reached far down into his pocket before flipping out his timey wimey detector, "Aha! Gotcha! I knew you were in there".

Adjusting the settings by holding it up to his ear then holding it outward, The Doctor quickly scanned the area but sadly to no avail. His trusty device failed to ding, bringing a puzzled expression to The Doctor as he scratched the back of his head, "Well there's no spacial disturbance..that's good..but still, this is too weird to call off as nothing" he mumbled. Looking over to the two acquaintances, he had just acquired, The Doctor arched his eyebrow, "Any thoughts? Snow suddenly shows up, wham! City filled with snow, what do you think? You lot seem smart..i could just have the TARDIS to an orbital scan in the meantime to check for ships i guess..although i don't feel that's where it's coming from..".

Rhydian was about to open his ears to the man in the trench coat and hear what he had to say, before a teenage girl strolled up behind them both and commented on the weather. She said that the cold could be caused by an arctic blast from the North. That was a possibility, Rhydian guessed, but Very unlikely. The weather during this time of year for the North pole and the current position of Earth just wouldn't account for the meteorological discrepancies.

Rhydian did take the girl's theory into account, it was plausible enough and right now he had nothing to go on but that, until the man next to him spoke up, saying that the snow was all... wrong? How can snow be wrong? Well, Rhydian did consider 'alien invasion' as a possibility as well so anything goes. The man sniffed the snow and said it smelled. Rhydian furrowed his eyebrows and took a whiff of a passing snowflake. Nothing he could sense. He didn't know what the man was on about, and didn't have a chance when he rumbled through his pockets and pulled out various items and told Rhydian to hold them, which he didn't really have a choice. A banana, satsuma, toy rat?. Very interesting, Rhydian thought.

Not as interesting as the next gadget the slender bloke pulled from deep down in his large coat pocket. Rhydian thought that it could go on forever. The device was large, of various colours and had many different bits and bobs on it, including an antenna, some rotating gold pieces and a bountiful amount of flashing lights. It whirred and clanked like it was working, scanning for something. That was the first thing to strike Rhydian as alien.

The second thing was when the man reported to have found nothing unusual and mentioned something to do with an orbital scan, a 'TARDUS' or whatever, and 'ships'. He wasn't listening that much but picked up those words which encouraged him to dig through his more modest jacket pocket for his Multi-Spanner. After trying to juggle the items in his arms while taking the Spanner out, he used it to take a short assessment of the skies. Nothing too analytical, just a quick sweep.

"You're right... there doesn't really seem to be anything wrong. If you could make an orbital scan for ships that would be brilliant. This little thing can't do something of that magnitude." Rhydian uttered, pocketing his Spanner but still holding the items in his arms with care. "So, who do you work for? Torchwood? U.N.I.T? Time Agency? Don't tell me... Bunghole Defence Squad? They popped up at Coal Hill a few months ago." Rhydian deduced that the man was either alien or worked for one of the off-world analytical response teams.

"Or, better yet... what planet do you come from?" Rhydian asked the man with a cheeky smile.

The Doctor listened to the young man, his heightened intelligence becoming more obvious the longer the conversation drew out. With a growing smirk, The Doctor took back the items he had handed the lad just moments before ,while searching for his hand made device, and thought about his reply to the various questions he was presented with.

"Well.." He started, tucking in the last item, the satsuma, back into his trench coat pocket, "First off i don't work for anyone. I help out..travel around in time and space and help wherever i can. I did have a job with UNIT..some sort of scientific adviser i think, but that was back when The Brigadier was running things".

With a sniff, The Doctor turned on his heel and headed back towards his TARDIS, opening the door and leaving it open as he entered his time machine, "Never heard of the Bunghole Defense Squad though.." he commented. Taking off, and tossing his coat across the nearby coral support beam, The Doctor approached the control console before rushing back down the ramp and peering out of the doors to the young man and girl, "You coming in? Don't usually open my TARDIS to random people but i like you...just don't touch anything. I'm The Doctor by the way..you can tell me your names when you come in. Allons-y!".

With a quick jolt of energy, The Doctor bolted back up the ramp and around the control console and pulled over the scanner as he awaited the young man and girl to enter before taking off.

Rhydian weighed his options as they presented themselves. Go off with a strange man with wickedly wicked hair who has an extensive knowledge, as it seems, on extraterrestrial technology judging by his voice, and a girl he hadn't seen before in his life in an antique telephone box which looked barely large enough to accompany their masses, or decline the offer to do so and go about this 'threat' in his own time. He didn't know what to say, but after thinking about it for a few seconds, he could say one thing, though.

Opportunities like these certainly don't come about everyday.

"I'm Rhydian Martis," Rhydian sped into the blue box after the man, "and for your information the Bunghole Defence Squad came about when Coal Hill High found some unusually large time anomalies-" He stopped. Not many things made Rhydian stop talking while he was explaining things in a matter-of-factly way, but this certainly did.

It was bigger on the inside.

He opened his mouth, and closed it again. Then opened his mouth again, and closed it. He rushed back outside and took a look around the sides of the box to see whether it was a trick on his mind. Nope, it was the same dimensions as he saw it a few seconds ago. He slowly stepped back inside and walked up the runway to the central pillar with a console of some sort surrounding it at hip level.

After a few seconds of thinking and analysing, Rhydian finally spoke:

"If you have such a large ship, then how must have a smaller coat than that thing lying around in a wardrobe or something." He pointed to the Doctor's overly large tan trench coat.

The Doctor looked up at the young man from the control console, "Oi!" he exclaimed, "Don't make fun of my coat, Janis Joplin gave me that coat-". Suddenly the scanner on the console sprung to life with glowing and flashing lights as well as an accompanied ringing noise. The noise caught The Doctors attention, and diverted it away from Rhydian and his trench coat as he pulled the scanner closer to him and eyed the incoming data, "I've set the TARDIS to do frequent scans of Earths orbit but nothing unusual is coming up..." he commented. Standing up straight, from his previous bent over position, The Doctor released a sign as he began to ponder and weigh in on the options presented to him, "Well!" he proclaimed suddenly, "That leaves us with two options..either it's in Earths orbit and it's just too advanced for my TARDIS to pick it up, which is highly unlikely, or..it's here on Earth...underground probably? Big facility?".

Walking around the console as he spoke, The Doctor placed his hands nonchalantly into his pockets before leaning back against the console behind him and crossing his legs, "Something big..possibly tall? Although tall might draw more attention..especially if your sending teraforming signals into the atmosphere...no..maybe a dome of sorts. Tera forming machines are tricky to guess..some are small while others are huge. If this is a world wide case i'd say big but still..what's the motive?".

"Alright.." The Doctor sighed, reaching back over the console to pull the scanner over to him; turning to face the scanner he quickly put in a new scanning code then placed his hand on a nearby nob to adjust the scan, "Let's see....". His eyes danced over the screen as he searched for energy signatures nearby in hopes of finding a clue as to where the origin of this event was located, "This is taking up loads of power so, it should show up on the scan...come on..where are you?".

Rhydian ignored the comment about Janis Joplin and focused on the matter at hand, which was brought to his attention once more by the bleeping sounds of the TARDIS console and the scanner. He walked up next to the Doctor to get a good view of the scanner, but unfortunately all the writing being displayed was in some indecipherable language that, from what he could see, revolved around circular etchings and of the like. Oh, well. The guy was probably an alien. Nothing new, the 'human' body is a universal template for a lot of life forms across the universe.

He listened to the man ramble on, like he was in his own world of readings and scans and analysations, like he was blocking out every other sense just to get down to the bottom of something he set his mind to. Kind of like Rhydian himself, he thought. Rhydian too, started to delve into the possibilities about why something like this could happen at this place and time.

"If it's not from a spaceship and coming from the ground, it could well be underground - but where? There are just so many places to search, once you factor in depth, the device could be as far into the Earth as the core, but I doubt somebody could just place something in a planet's core without anybody noticing - Oh! Maybe a masked molecular transplant, or its relative time continuum could have been chronologically shifted to exist forward in perspective of ours until the right moment and phased back to our reality, or it could be disguised as just a regular old building, or maybe covered with a perception filter so passerbys don't notice, or-"

Rhydian stopped. He was getting ahead of himself by a long shot. And plus, the amount of energy this 'thing' would be producing - if it even existed in the first place - would be immense, and if not formulated the right way, possibly catastrophic.

Rhydian needed to think outside of the box.

"Instead of scanning for energy intake, what about energy exertion and power outages around the world in the past week? If this thing is drawing from a power source, chances are it will have its own renewable battery, or other method of power that doesn't rely on the Earth, so it wouldn't draw suspicion. And the amount of energy it takes to change the weather when a planet's climate is against you needs tonnes of energy. Tonnes. That's what I'd do, at least." Rhydian shrugged.

The Doctor smirked at Rhydian's comments, easily connecting the similarities between himself and the young man who stood just feet from him. Although the young man seemed early in age, his intelligence was far greater than that of an ordinary humans, much to The Doctor's delight as he listened to the last few sentences of Rhydian's deduction. "Well some teraforming devices consume different types of energy..i once met a bloke who tried configuring one that used dark energy. Thankfully i stopped him before he destroyed entire systems...if i could figure out which energy intake it has i can deduct what threat level it is, then again the weather change could always be a side effect from something else" The Doctor replied before turning his head back to Rhydian and signalling with his head for the young man to join him on the console, "Tell you what, would you like a crash course in energy detection with the TARDIS?".

Standing up, and pulling the scanner with him, The Doctor began to set everything up for Rhydian to use, "It was meant for more than one person to fly it so it'll make things a whole lot easier..just don't touch anything you're not supposed to..otherwise we could end up at the end of the universe". "So!" The Doctor started, "By flipping that switch there, you'll turn on the Gyroscopic stabilizer, it will help stabilize the incoming energy frequencies so you can lock onto certain ones. The scanner will tell you which frequencies are abnormal, she will translate the gallifreyan for you so you can read it. To lock onto a certain frequency or spike press that blue button" he illustrated, pointing out the various controls in question as he spoke. Stopping, The Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver and illustrated Rhydian on how to use it after adjusting it's setting for him, "Press and hold this button then hold it down into that slot there then crank that lever next to you. This will lock onto when exactly the energy spike or abnormal exertion occurred, i'll handle the rest".

The Doctor handed Rhydian his trusty device then turned his attention to the controls, "I'm going to put the TARDIS in orbit of the Earth, it will help with the scan and give me a chance to get a better view of things" he explained. With a snap of his fingers the doors of the TARDIS shut closed and with a yank of the main lever, the time machine roared to life. With three load groans, the TARDIS disappeared from that street corner on Earth, the light on top of the exterior flashing, the control console inside glowing and pulsating with each groan of the engines.

"Your ship's nifty..." Rhydian said out of curiosity, still taking in the view of the TARDIS interior, viewing the coral-like constructs that seemed to be the concrete pillars that held the structure up. For all he knew this 'TARDIS' could be infinite, this room just being the starting point, or the control room.

His eyes lit up when he was offered the chance the use this machine, such a marvel in technology, something that surpassed even his own Multi-Spanner. Something new for a change. Rhydian listened contently as the strange, strange Doctor buzzed around the circular console, showing him how all the gizmos and gadgets that were seemingly stuck on with play-glue worked, and what they did.

After the Doctor finished his speech, Rhydian got to work, flicking the switch which made the Gyroscopic Stabilizer buzz to life and snapping his head up to the console which translated the language to English from...

Gallifreyan?

He heard that word before.

Did he hear that right?

"Hang on, hang on hang on, back up there, Doctor..." Rhydian narrowed his eyes at the skinny man, suspicious already, "Did you say Gallifreyan? Are you from Gallifrey?"

"You're a Time Lord." Rhydian said with awe, his attention completely diverted from the scanner to the Doctor, a living breathing Time Lord from an era now past.

"I thought the Time Lords were supposed to be gone, after that... war. I don't exactly know all the details, but I do know the organisation my father worked for were supposed to fill in the gaps that your folk left behind, to manage time, like the caretakers that clean up all the mess spilled with intervening species. That's how I got my Multi-Spanner, it lets me travel through not only space but time too. But that makes you very impossible."

Rhydian grinned from ear to ear.

"I like impossible things."

The Doctor glanced slightly up at Rhydian as he spoke but placed his full attention on the young man as he began to speak about the Time Lords. "How do you-" However, The Doctors question was answered before he could even speak; he returned the grin, "Brilliant! Ha! You're a Time Agent!..well..sort of. I love Time Agents..well..one of them, only one that's been able to find me aside from you.". The Doctor hopped over to Rhydian with new found excitement and joy, flipping on his brainy specs to get a good look at the young man and his appearance, "I bet you've even got a spanner on you right now? Want me to take a look at it? I love tinkering! No, wait, hold on..we've got a world to save first!" he suddenly jolted, diverting his attention back to the matter at hand.

The TARDIS roared and groaned, a alert appearing on the scanner with flashing red lights as the TARDIS finally locked onto a signal and raced towards it. "The TARDIS found something!" The Doctor proclaimed, holding onto the sides of the console as the turbulence increased and the distance til arrival shortened. A breath taking thud marked the landing of the TARDIS; The Doctor pulling the scanner closer to him to view the incoming data, "Look at that.." he started, his eyes glued to the screen, "If this is correct...we've only got a little time to save this planet".

Snatching his sonic screwdriver from the console, The Doctor strode down the ramp and through the doors, "We got to find t-...okay.." he began to speak before being taken back from their new location. "We're...we're in the Royal Albert Hall...".

Rhydian got a little bit of a fright when the TARDIS started to roar and groan so suddenly and fiercely, and felt a truly chilling feeling when it finally landed with a definite 'thud'. He then rushed around the circular console and took a look at what the Doctor was mentioning to him on the scanner.

"Depends on what you mean by 'little time'."

Chuckling at how impossible the situation was (and his joyful outlook on impossible things), Rhydian followed the Doctor en suite out of the TARDIS, and got equally perplexed and a little bit impressed when he took his first step out and was greeted with a blast of warm pinkish-orange light that he recognised only as-

"The Royal Albert Hall, yeah, it is..." Rhydian spoke his thoughts as he looked around him in awe. He didn't know which was better: The Royal Albert Hall or the bigger-on-the-inside TARDIS, "I've been here before, I went to see the Tennis with my mum the first time I went to England. I do like me a quick game." Rhydian smiled. But a disturbing realisation dawned on him the moment he finished his scentence.

"If we're here, then..." He stopped, a look of concern growing on Rhydian's face, "Then that means whatever's wrecking the weather is hidden here... Gotta give whoever did it props, though. Best place to hide a weather-disrupting machine? In plain sight. If it even is a machine."

A looming darkness hovered over the Royal Albert hall, the wind beginning to howl and clouds closing in on the location from above. The Doctor arched his eyebrow as his eyes danced around the seats and surrounding walls until suddenly they locked onto a shadow. It bolted across the seats and took refuge underneath the shadow of the second floor; The Doctor turned his full and undivided attention to it. Moments passed with nothing happening, The Doctor beginning to think he must have imagined what he just saw until slowly two glowing red eyes emerged from the dark shadow.

Long arms outstretched from it's sides, sharp elongated fingers protruded from the arms as it lunged forward and braced itself on a nearby seat, it's blood red eyes set on The Doctor and Rhydian. The Doctor took a step back, his eyes now widened and his right arm extended back towards Rhydian to cover him, "When i say run go straight to the TARDIS..don't look back, got it?" he hissed. Snapping his fingers, the doors of the TARDIS creaked open, beckoning them to come back to the safety of its embrace. "I've seen this before..." The Doctor mumbled as the shadow creature slowly crept forward, lurching over seats as it descended towards them, "Rhydian...RUN!!!".

The Doctor turned on his heel and bolted back to his TARDIS, pushing Rhydian forward with his right hand gently to make sure he too was running. The creature pounced and pursued its prey, the TARDIS only feet away but so was the monster, "Come on, come on.." The Doctor clenched his teeth as the sound of the monsters foot steps grew closer and closer.

"Then again, it could be a-..." Rhydian trailed off, letting the sentence hang mid-air without finish as he noticed the shadow being cast across the capacious hall seemingly coming from no light source in particular. Rhydian could hear the whirling winds coming from outside and felt noticably cooler thanks to a draft. An uneasy feeling settled upon him courtesy of the unsettling atmosphere.

Rhydian's eyes slowly drifted across the seats until they rested not so comfortably on an out-of-place patch of darkness which didn't seem to be there the last time he checked. Slightly squinting at it in a perplexed manner, Rhydian's eyes turned from suspicious to fearful (and a hint of exitement) when a pair of rich red eyes stared right back at his, and the Doctor's to the left of him. He watched in horror and a weird tingling feeling of adrenline-fueled exhilaration as the creature, now pitch-black and devoid of light apart from the eyes, extended its tendril-like arms and fingers and progressively advanced towards the both of them.

Rhydian listened to the Doctor's instructions about going back to the TARDIS on his cue, while still not taking his eyes off the monstrous spawn of evil in front of him, not even for blinking as he crept back slightly. He heard the Doctor mention something about seeing this before but was focusing more on the sound of the TARDIS doors creeping open, waiting for the Doctor's sign to make a break for it. Rhydian could feel the tension building in the room, however large it was: the monster in front of them waiting to strike and the two waiting to run for their very lives to the only form of safety available to them. Rhydian just hoped the TARDIS had some sort of shields, which he suspected they did. With the rising tension intensifying the situation, Rhydian felt the weird sensation of elation, almost eagerness for the hideous black shadow nearing towards him and the Doctor to make its move, even though it could result on him getting mauled, or tortured, or eaten. That elation was the thing he strived to find during his adventures throughout the universe.

And he loved it.

When he heard the signal (Which was a pretty loud 'RUN!!!'), Rhydian shot off with the Doctor just inches ahead of him, his black denim jacket spiralling behind him as his feet took him toward the TARDIS as fast as they could. However, Rhydian had a so-and-so feeling of that it wouldn't be enough, and in a desperate attempt and knee-jerk reaction, he jumped for one of the railings that lined the ramp that lead up to the console in the middle of the TARDIS control room. He felt grateful for his life that he made it when his fingers gripped onto the metal pole.

He didn't feel that grateful when he felt a strong tug on the back of his jean legs.

The Doctor, initially, zoomed past Rhydian upon entering the TARDIS; his eyes set on the control console and securing their safety rather than the safety of his new found friend. However, the situation dawned on The Doctor as he turned the corner and rounded the control console, his eyes wide with terror, "Rhydian!!" he proclaimed. The young man had found himself in a precarious position, dangling in between death and safety as he clung onto the railing and the shadow clung onto his leg. The Doctor knew it was only a matter of time before Rhydian was pulled back into the clutches of the shadow, his legs moving as quick as they could as he rushed over to Rhydian and grabbed hold of his arm.

The hunt has begun....none shall stop us...who dares enter the grounds?!?!

The Doctor gritted his teeth as he held onto Rhydian with all his might, "If these are your hunting grounds than that means that there's a Pranavore nearby" he replied back to the shadow, "Help us! You help us and i'll give you one good positive emotion to feed on!". The Doctor looked up to the top of the Royal Albert Hall, the silence permeating the room as The Doctor called out, "Show yourself and i'll help you! Rhydian! Think a happy thought..i know it'll be hard right now but just think of one, your best one. If you want to live, think of a happy thought!". The shadow roared with anger as it tightened its grip on Rhydian's leg and extended it's other arm onto the other leg.

Closing his eyes, The Doctor exhaled slowly and transported himself away from the situation, his mind flowing back in time in search of happiness. The Doctor found himself underneath the orange skies of his home, Gallifrey; the smile of Susan staring back at him as she held out her hand to him,  Come on Doctor..one last trip, please!. The Doctor smiled as a tear trickled down his face and suddenly a flash of light appeared on the previously empty space of the hall. The light filling the entirety of the hall as it fed off of The Doctor and Rhydian's thoughts and emotions; from the light flowed a transparent white form, it's long tail trailing behind it as it flew over to the shadow and the TARDIS.

Four long arms stemmed from the white form, along with a horned head and the silhouette of a slim body as it reached for the shadow. The long arms grabbed hold of the shadow and yanked it back, aiding in the release of Rhydian's legs then disappearing as quickly as it came. The shadow flung back, crashing hard on the ground beneath it leaving The Doctor on his back as well as Rhydian fell forward into the TARDIS just before the doors creaked shut behind him. "It's not a weapon or weather machine...it's a call for help" The Doctor realized, a light bulb flashing inside his mind, "It's a call for help!! And we're going to answer it!".

Rhydian would have reached into his jacket pocket for his Multi-Spanner, but unfortunately he was holding on to the TARDIS railing for dear life with both hands. The devilish creature had vastly superior strength; he could feel his grip on the bars deteriorating quickly. He felt relieved when he felt the Doctor's hand firmly grasp his arm and let go for a fraction of a second to take his hand, which he luckily did not mess up. Rhydian's facial expression was one of true anguish: it felt like his entire body was being ripped apart, and not just because he literally was.

Rhydian heard the void-like creature's deep but shrill cry which made mentally and physically hurt his hearing, making him wince. Whatever this monster was, it was something much more developed than it looked. He finally looked up when he heard the Doctor give him an instruction: think your happiest thought.

"What good would that do?!" Rhydian cried, feeling like every single cell in his body was being forcibly torn apart like pulling apart a plastic bag.

And then he remembered: as soon as he stepped foot from the TARDIS into the Royal Albert Hall, a distinct low humming yet discreet enough not to be noted was present. It may not have been noted, but it was there. And that could only mean one thing to Rhydian: A low-level telepathic field. This... thing, could assimilate thoughts at the very least, and probably at the very most 'feed' on them, or turn the psychic energy it was susceptible to into an energy source. He quickly pieced the puzzle together and his brain went to the thought he treasured the most.

"Rhydian. This may be hard to believe, but I am your father."

A young Rhydian Martis was having a severe mental breakdown. He fell to his knees as tears flowed down his cheeks unrelentlessly, yes he was smiling a near-wicked smile. One would assume he was insane. Maybe he was: he just took his first teleportation (which was pretty rough to say the least) utilising raw time-vortex energy five thousand years into the future only to meet their deceased father. Traumatizing, yes. But for Rhydian? Insanity-inducing? No.

"Oh, bugger." Rhydian's father James muttered as he slapped his hand on his left knee, sitting up from the futuristic-looking chair and looking to Rhydian, helping him up gently, "The teleport was rough, I assume? Sorry about that, that Vortex Manipulator always had issues. The quality of the Time Wind-Regulators aren't up to scratch. This must be so much for you, so many things you can't even imagine."

Rhydian finally stopped crying, his hormone-ravaged body settling down and looked up at the window to the right of him. He saw citadels of blue and purple over a purple-ish orange sky, the ground below him lined with lights, buildings reaching up towards the sky, never-ending. He stared upon the majesty of the cities above and below him.

"Welcome to the fifty-first century."

Rhydian smiled gently, something he hadn't done in a long time, when he thought that magnificent thought, an event that would set off a chain reaction to lead to the person he was now, the time-saving space-saving kid without an aim but to continue a family line once lost. He snapped out of that sappy thought when he saw a sudden flash of blinding white light come from behind him. Craning his neck to look around, Rhydian saw the majestic white, bright entity practically fly down to the shadow-like creature, yanking it from Rhydian's legs and dropping it on the floor behind him.

Rhydian fell to the floor on his stomach, but knew time was of the essence and shook it off, scrambling to his feet as he heard the TARDIS doors close behind him. "What the hell was that? Is the city in danger?" Were his first two questions he asked the smartest person in the vicinity, the Doctor, who mentioned that the weather was a cry for help.

"What do you mean, a cry for help? How could that-" Rhydian pointed at the sky (which was just TARDIS ceiling but he was conveying his point), "-A cry for help?"

Outside, away from the chaos inside the Royal Albert Hall, the citizens of Britain had slowly accepted the unexpected snow fall and welcomed in the joys of its arrival. Children played in the once busy streets, snow balls were thrown at one another with adults included; their busy days turned into moments of fun and laughter. Inside of the Royal Albert Hall, however was a completely different story....

The Doctor rushed around the control console, his eyes wide with intent and purpose behind his steps and movements as he prepared his time machine. Without looking up, he answered Rhydian, "That white light you saw is called a Pranavore, it must not have enough energy left to fully appear. It dwells in the psychosphere and feeds off of good emotions and thoughts and in return gives its hosts good vibes, they usually stick to intelligent life forms and travel in packs but this one is alone...probably got separated somehow.".

Yanking down the main lever, The Doctor moved the TARDIS from inside the hall to the top of the roof; spinning in place until it received it's next command. The Doctor walked over to Rhydian to make sure he was alright then proceeded to explain, "The Pranavore must have used all its energy to form that snow. And what does snow make people? Happy! Happiness it feeds off of and draws other Pranavores to feed...maybe even draws the attention of people like us who could help it. It won't be long before that Cerebravore catches it and kills it..so one last hope it gives everything it has in hopes of reconnecting with its group or find someone who could help, otherwise it dies anyways. But!! Instead of waiting for that group, we're going to amp up that signal just a little bit more!".

The Doctor turned on his heel, bolting back to the console and pulling over the screen, "Now that i know it's a Pranavore we can tap into the psychosphere and use the power of the TARDIS to enhance the signal...basically..calling in back up.". Focusing on the controls, he adjusted the main frame to form a connection with the psychosphere, "We're in!" The Doctor proclaimed, "Now to amp up that signal! Allons-y!" the main lever fell down under the weight of The Doctors pull, the engines roared to life and the light atop the TARDIS shined. The screen flickered for a moment, first revealing the outside then suddenly revealing five large Pranavores flying towards them, The Doctor grinned widely as he looked at the screen, "Rhydian look at that! Ha! A glimpse into the pschosphere...back up has arrived".

"Okay, okay, okay... Let's get the facts straightened out. The Pranavores are entities that feed off positive energy and in return leaves all their "victims" all happy and dandy, and the Cerebravores are what we saw just now? The thing that tried to rip me from safety into the endless abyss of darkness and despair and whatnot? And that's the thing that could get set loose into one of the biggest cities on Earth?"

As the Doctor explained to Rhydian how the snow was not a form of invasion or racial cleansing and rather a cry for help on the Pranavore's part, his eyes widened and he smacked his forehead with the broad of his palm, "Oh, yes! A cry for help! How could I not have seen that before?! It seems fairly obvious now. So, the Pranavore is trapped here on Earth with its direct opposite that wants to kill it so what does it do? It uses all of its energy to gather attention! Brilliant! Well done, Pranavore!"

Rhydian followed the Doctor up to the console, sprinting not a foot behind him, and looking at the readings on the screen in front of him, bent over. "So we boost the broadcasting psychosphere signal and presto! We're there!" Rhydian watched as the Doctor's slender nimble fingers danced along keys and switches and flippd one final lever, which marked the beginning of saving a trapped life-form on the brink of destruction. Rhydian watched in awe as the console screen showed the five other Pranavores come out of the Psychosphere, heading towards the TARDIS in a blinding spectacle of glorious, heavenly white light.

"They're like angels..." Rhydian said, gaping. He quickly shut his mouth, however, not wanting to seem undermining.

The Doctor glanced around the room, rubbing the back of his head as he searched for a helmet he once made to view the Pranavores, "I had made a device to see them...must have put it somewhere, not sure" he sighed. Looking back to the screen, The Doctor placed his hand on the main lever and slowly pulled it down, "Amazing creatures, hidden so perfectly i didn't even notice them until a little while ago. I wonder what's out there that i haven't found yet...funny thing about being a traveler, that's the thing that keeps me going..the unknown".

The TARDIS slowly dematerialized from the top of the Royal Albert Hall and began to form on the street corner, where it previously had been, in downtown. A familiar hum of the TARDIS engines quickly began to permeate the control room, as things began to settle down. The scanner flipped off of the Pranavores as they dealt with the lone Cerebravore inside of the hall, and returned to the normal Gallifreyan markings. The Doctor glanced over to Rhydian, smirking at the young lad as he pondered his remarkable intellect and skill set, "You know what.." he finally said, breaking the silence, "I don't usually do this but...i think i may have something for you".

Turning on his heel, The Doctor left the side of the control console and dashed around the surrounding steel grating, "I think it's here somewhere.." he mumbled as he knelt down and lifted a portion of the grating up. Reaching in, The Doctor felt around before pulling out a tool box and quickly scouring through it, "I know i put it in here....Aha! Gotcha!!". Grabbing a sonic screwdriver, The Doctor stood up and looked over to Rhydian, "Now i'm sorry but i couldn't let you leave here with that make shift sonic, if you're going to have one you should have a good one. Although this isn't a fully functioning screwdriver..it could use a little work from a skilled hand".

Crossing his legs, The Doctor smirked, "Now there's only two people i can think of that can actually do that...and one of them is sort of busy. Hang on, let me think about it.....okay, yep i thought about it, here you go". Tossing the screwdriver over to Rhydian, The Doctor turned his attention back to the console as he walked around it, activating various knobs and buttons before looking over a Rhydian from across the console, "But no messing around! It's linked to the TARDIS so i'll know if you do! Plus it'll draw some unwanted attention..it's not exactly usual Earth technology".

Rhydian rested against the railings that lined the TARDIS console and the main platform that held everything up, surrounded by the coral-like stalagmite structures that seemingly held the roof together. Rhydian hadn't exactly had the time to view the TARDIS in all of it's rustic beauty yet, so he took some time to do so, adrenaline still flowing through his systems keeping him wide awake. He looked across the hexagonal lights that lined the cavernous domed room the Doctor was in, and looking downward to his left and right he could see corridors that lead probably to even more expanses. The oscillating blue time rotor in the middle of the console moved up and down in an almost hypnotic motion. He had no idea what half the stuff plastered on the console bases could be, but that was all part of the fun.

Rhydian's head perked up when the Doctor mentioned having something to give him. He didn't know how to respond, as he had never really received gifts that often growing up in his rural Australian country town, so he stayed silent with curious eyes following the Doctor's dash to the gratings that were supporting his feet on the ground of the TARDIS. He looked inquisitively as the Doctor rummaged his hands through what looked like a box filled with various tool-like objects, some of which he recognised, some of which looked like they belonged on the underside of a kitchen sink. Finally, the Doctor rose out of his crouch and showed Rhydian a silver rod-like object and immediately knew what it was:

A sonic screwdriver.

A knee-jerk reaction made Rhydian's hand extend out and catch the Sonic which the Doctor threw at him, examining it with surprise. He deduced it was very aesthetically pleasing, a solid silver column with a bright red ring on top of it and a bullet-like object going through the middle. When he pulled the collar of it down, it made a low buzzing noise which he could toy with using the psychic link. Point and think, Rhydian thought. He could make out some scratches and scuffs on the edges and the bottom and that was it, since the Doctor mentioned it having been a little tattered.

"Oh, wow, you really didn't have too..." Rhydian didn't know how to respond, but he decided it would be rude not to take it, "Woah, thanks! I can see you've definitely worn it in, but nothing I can't fix! Probably. If I can just take a look at the primary emitter cluster, as long as that's not damaged it will be fine!" Rhydian smiled widely as he pocketed his new sonic in his inner jacket pocket, and whipped his head back to re-adjust his hair. He looked towards the door, and nodded.

"Well, I should get going then. Probably need to get back to hoppin' around the universe once more." Rhydian chuckled lightly and headed down the ramp toward the door and opened it, one foot stepping outside, "This was an absolute honour meeting you. A living, breathing Time Lord! Not to, you know, view you as a museum piece or anything like that. This was fun, really fun. Got to save a life, what more could you ask for?"

Rhydian stepped out fully, but didn't close the door yet.

"Who knows? Maybe our paths will cross again?" He smiled, shutting the door lightly. If one were to open that door again, instead of seeing a boy walking away with his hands in his pockets, they would just see the hustling bustling streets of a now snowless London.

The Doctor returned the smile, leaning on the control console as he watched the door shut and the young man disappear from sight. "Rhydian Martis.." The Doctor said with a sigh as he sauntered over to the scanner and main lever, "Hope we do meet again..". Looking up at the time rotor, The Doctors smile grew slightly, "What do you have for me next old girl?" he asked his time machine as he yanked down the main lever.

The TARDIS engines groaned and churned as it began to dematerialize from the corner and enter back into the time vortex, the light atop shinning and blinking three times before the blue box was completely gone. It spun and twirled and zoomed off to it's next adventure, The Doctor's mind beginning to trail off to his possible next adventure, the scanner showing coordinates for the next location, "Maybe surfing? Don't think i've ever surfed before..you know..hang ten? I could use some Ghlata Flo Kor right about now, at least no craziness for a little bit".

20 minutes later...
A distress call:Mayday, mayday! This is the ISS Destiny, we're under heavy attack from a Strabotune Battleship, please, can anyone help us!

The Doctors adventures continued in: Prisoners of War