Wander of time: Darkness within (doctor who)

Chapter 33: The Wanderer's Mother

Where she arrived to next, it felt just as lonesome and desolate as she felt. The air was chilled, making her shiver even more than before. But at the same time, the air felt warm. It was odd. A mixture of cold and warmth that sent odd signals through her body. Then the smell was not pleasant at all. Her nose crinkled as she scented a strong odor of . . . sweaty armpits. That was very strange indeed. Never thought a world could smell of that. Of course, she used to think there could be no world that smelled of pancakes, but the Doctor had proved her wrong on that one, too.

The ground was gray. The whole world around her was gray. Filled to the brim with torn machines and junk of all kinds. Cars, washers, tellies, lamps, phone boxes, bathtubs, toilets, and anything else one could think to find broken and at a rotten state in a junkyard. Then, of course, she noticed the broken TARDIS parts. Her breath caught in her throat for a second before she breathed out slowly. Oh, right. It was this place now, was it? The pocket universe controlled by the House, a malevolent entity. A vile entity. Shaking her head, she felt her hearts sink of what was to come of this day for the Doctor. Amy and Rory too, if she remembered correctly. Then, of course, it would also be a bad day for Sexy. Though, also a good one in some ways. And then—no wait, she heard someone talking.

Wanda's ears perked up as she heard voices coming from around the small mound of junk she was hidden behind. Walking around the junk, she saw the TARDIS, her and Theta's ship, parked in a small valley of junk. Amy and Rory were around a tarp tent with strangely built hanging lamps while Eleven was inspecting a broken and rusted washing machine.

"But it smells like . . .," Wanda heard the Doctor trying to describe what the air smelled of.

"Armpits," Amy concluded for the Time Lord.

"Armpits," the Doctor agreed brightly, waving a hand with a flourish towards the companion's direction, happy to have such a good description for what odor was in the air.

"What about all this stuff?" Rory asked the Time Lord, fiddling with one of the makeshift hanging lamps that were made out of old hangers and dangled from the middle of the tent. "Where did this come from?"

"We're in a pocket universe, a bubble, hanging on the side of our universe. Things tend to get lost and end up in somewhere else. Where do you think all those missing left socks go?" Wanda spoke up, gaining the trio's attention. She slid down the small mound of junk, coming to stand in the same area as the rest of them. She made certain to plaster a smile on her face when facing them. There had been enough sadness from her already, and she did not want to be a downer or a drag on anyone else this day. Especially when knowing what was to come for them all.

"Wanda!" the bow tie loving Doctor exclaimed merrily as he bounced over to his Wanderer. He laughed as he hugged her, giving kisses on her cheeks. Wanda giggled, actually feeling her mood lift in the wake of Eleven's boyish nature. Oh, she had missed being with him. It had been quite a while. That, and she had really missed Amy and Rory as well. Speaking of which, she bounced over to the two companions after the Doctor had let her go, hugging them both tightly.

"Ponds! So good to see you again!" Wanda giggled, her mood most certainly lifting even more now. She stepped back, bouncing on her feet as she held onto each of Amy and Rory's hands. "We've must catch up after we're done here. Which, by the way," she turned, giving the Doctor a forlorn gaze, "sneak peek: the little boxes will only make you angry."

The Doctor blinked, suddenly uncertain in how swiftly Wanda's demeanour had changed from giddy to solemn. "What?"

"Nothing. Just something for later," Wanda replied, giving a shake of her head. She smiled once more, taking a step towards him as she only wished to hold onto his hand now and never let go. However, she wobbled on her feet before she could get close enough. She stumbled backward, falling right into the arms of Amy and Rory.