Great Minds Think Alike

 “Where do you want to go?” The Doctor asked. Gwen thought for a moment.

 “Somewhere cool.” Gwen said. The Doctor smiled as he operated the TARDIS. In a minute they had landed. Gwen opened the door then quickly shut it.

 “I said cool not freezing!” She said, annoyed. The Doctor just handed her a fuzzy coat and walked out.

 “I present to you Pluto, year 3002!” He said spreading his arms wide.

 “You’re kidding.” She said. “We are on Pluto?” She smiled. Who didn’t love Pluto? It was a famous dog and an underdog planet. The two walked for a while. Pluto might be cold but the view was fantastic. Surprisingly there were trees, small silvery ones.

 “So what are we going to do?” Gwen asked when she had grown tired of walked.

 “I know a human outpost not to far from here,” The Doctor said. “Nice people, I was thinking of having tea with them.” Sounded alright to Gwen. They continued to walk. Soon a small round metal building come into view. The people inside must have had censors because as the Doctor and Gwen approached the door opened and a woman in an eskimo-style coat greeted them.

 “Hello, Doctor. You changed your face again.” The woman said. The Doctor smiled at her.

 “Hello, Illy.” The Doctor said. Illy stepped out of their way so they could enter. They all removed their coats and hung them on hooks.

 “We haven’t seen you in a while, Doctor,” Illy continued. “Who’s your friend?” Illy smiled at Gwen, who introduced herself. By this time the hostess and her guest had arrived at what seemed to be a parlor. An elderly but strong looking man sat smoking a pipe.

 “You know those things kill.” The Doctor scolded. He then smiled and the man stood so they could hug. The man did not seem startled by the Doctor’s change in face.

 “Don’t you dare patronize me, you old coot.” The man said with a burly laugh. The Doctor laughed too.

 “I wouldn’t think of it, Felix.” The Doctor said. Felix told Illy to put the kettle on. They all sat down. Gwen sank into a large leather chair.

 “I’m glad you’re here, Doctor.” Felix said, as Illy served tea. Gwen mouthed a thanks to her. “We have a bit of a problem.” The Doctor looked intrigued.

 “What kind of problem?” The Doctor inquired, one eyebrow up in a quizative way.

 “Well,” Felix paused trying to find the right words to explain. “Illy and I have been seeing robot rabbits.”

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"> “What?” The Doctor’s brow raised higher.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"> “And I’m little embarrassed to say that we have been strangely moody.” Felix continued. Gwen didn’t think the Doctor’s brow could go higher, but it certainly did.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"> “You’ve been seeing bunnies?” Gwen said. It seemed that Felix had not noticed Gwen when they arrive, for he looked rather startled when she spoke.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"> “Yes, Miss, robotic rabbits.” He said. Felix turned back to the Doctor. “Do you happen to know what they are?”

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"> “I have a hunch, but it isn’t pleasant.” The Doctor said. “They are called Bunnoids, well that is what one of my past companions called them. If they are here then their master can’t be far away, that would explain the moodiness. Oh, I really hope I am wrong.”

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"> “Who is their master?” Illy asked.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"> “And what’s so bad about them?” Gwen added. “Haven’t seemed to have caused any damage.”

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"> “Their called Lapinos.” The Doctor said. “And the last time I saw one, I had to wear a tutu.” The Doctor shivered at the thought, but Gwen and Illy giggled at the thought of the Doctor in a tutu.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"> “So is it time for another adventure?” Felix said excitedly. Gwen figured he had been on a few before.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"> “Oh, yes.” The Doctor said with a smile.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"> The group went out and waited for a bunnoid to show, when one finally did they followed it. It took what seemed like hours to Gwen before they arrived at a oval ship. The hatch to the door opened when they approached, and a voice called to them.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"> “Hello, friends.” It said. The voice was weak and sickly. Gwen realised that she was not actually hearing it with her ears, but that the voice was in her mind. It continued. “Please come in. I am in need of your kindly assistance.” The Doctor hesitated, but his urge to help overcame him. He went inside the ship, Gwen, Felix, and Illy followed faithfully behind.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"> Inside the ship, Gwen noted that it was very bland, all white and chrome. Illy gasped, Gwen turned her attention to where Illy was pointing. In the centre of the room was a large brain-like creature. Gwen was amazed by it’s size, but soon she realised that the creature didn’t seem well.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"> “I am Rolile.” It seemed to weeze. The Doctor approached it and gently laid a hand on it.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"> “What happened to you?” The Doctor asked, his forehead wrinkled with concern.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"> “My ship crashed here, I was severely bruised on impact.” Rolile said. “I have been trying to reach out for help, but the humans didn’t not come until now.”

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"> “What do you need?” Illy asked.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"> “Emotion.” It sighed. “I feed off of emotion, you were too far before for me to really grasp your feelings.” Gwen backed away. The Doctor took his hand off of the creature.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"> “You can’t force them to feel.” The Doctor warned.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"> “What?” It said, surprised. “No, no, I only ask that they share with me what they can. Like the angry girl, her feelings are strong, they are helping me.” Gwen realised it was talking about her. She didn’t like having it probing her emotions. Illy stepped forward.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"> “You can use me.” She said, she laid her hand on Rolile. It seemed to enjoy that. Felix stepped forward and mimicked Illy. He turned to the Doctor.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"> “Doctor, if it’s all right I would like Rolile to stay with us.” He said. Illy nodded in agreement. The Doctor thought about it for a while. Finally he spoke.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"> “Alright,” He said. “But don’t go changing things on Earth or Lapino.” They nodded in agreement.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"> “Thank you.” Rolile said. “I have missed having a home.” The Doctor went to the controls of the ship, it was pretty damaged but he was able to get it to hover. He drove it back to the outpost.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"> “Well, we are going to have to say goodbye.” The Doctor said. “Come along, Gwen.”

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"> Back inside the TARDIS, Gwen was thinking about the events of that day.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"> “Doctor, do you think that they will work out?” She said. “I don’t know.” The Doctor said. “But a Lapino-Human alliance would be fascinating. I think I will check in on them sometime. But the more important question is: Where to now?”