Doctor Who: Series A [COMPLETE]

Episode Five: Rainfall

"I don't know why I didn't think of this before."

"Think of what?" Jade asked, excitedly.

The Doctor's mood had been somewhat withdrawn and dark since their trip to Luna University, and so it was a relief to hear enthusiasm in his voice again.

The Time Lord danced about the console, twiddling dials and flicking switches, before pulling down the lever that hurtled them through the time vortex to each of their destinations.

"Lethe!" he declared, throwing his hands into the air in jubilation.

"Sorry?" Jade asked, perplexed.

"What's Lethe?"

The Doctor threw Callum a look, and the earthling quickly rephrased his question.

"Sorry, where is Lethe? And what's so special about it?"

"Every planet is special, Callum - you just have to dig a little deeper sometimes to find out why. Not in Lethe's case."

"It's special then? Special, special?" Jade asked again.

"It rains constantly on Lethe. All the time, round the clock. But it's not ordinary rain."

The Doctor pulled open the TARDIS doors, beckoning his companions to see for themselves. The ground was almost like purple diamond, and the skies seemed only to have a faint whisp of cloud, in stark contrast to the vast amount of rain falling from above.

"Look, over there in the distance: they're hills made of diamond. But it's a special kind of diamond that filters the water into...well, healing water. It's used in hospitals all around the galaxy at this point in the future."

"And what future is that?" Callum hesitated to ask. They hadn't had good luck with the future so far.

"The year is 12,513AD and medicine has moved on, thanks to Lethe. With some water from here - even a bottle will do - we'll be able to synthesise a cure."

The Doctor returned his companion's glances as they leaned their heads out of the TARDIS.

"OK, well I will synthesise a cure. Come on you two!"

***
It didn't make sense to drench themselves in the rainfall that didn't hold the potential for a cure, and so Jade, Callum, and the Doctor found themselves decked out in hooded ponchos made of waterproof material - probably alien, the humans had reasoned among themselves, though the Doctor was all too pleased to tell them he got them free from an Earth theme park in the 1990s.

The ponchos didn't do much to keep the travellers dry, apart from delaying the inevitable, and so they found themselves soaking nonetheless, abandoning any notion of avoiding the water seeping into the cracked diamond floor.

In the distance, a squat building with a glistening tower climbing rockface appeared, and the Doctor seemed pleased with himself.

"Doctor! Why couldn't we have materialised inside the building. You know, away from the rain?" Jade yelled over the thunderous crash of constant rainfall.

"Part of the fun. Besides, I wasn't quite sure where it was - and if there's trouble, I want the TARDIS out of nefarious hands."

Callum paused, nervous.

"Are we expecting trouble?"

The Doctor turned to his companion, mischievous smile appearing again, and said "you should always expect trouble."

Once they finally arrived at the door of the building, its purpose became clear: it was a wellness centre, boasting full use of the Lethe Springs.