Lost In Time: A Doctor Who Fanfiction

Chapter 3 - Picnic At Asgard

"It really, truly is bigger on the inside," she whispered, letting out an excited laugh.

The Doctor and River exchanged grins. "I love it when people say that," he remarked. "Tell you what, though, it's rather funny to hear you say it now and mean it. You're usually not quite so serious."

Lyssa shrugged, patting the door of the ship. "She deserves to hear how awesome she is every once in a while. Anyway," she turned back to them when her stomach growled and focused on the picnic basket in the Doctor's hand. "You brought food?"she asked hopefully.

He chuckled, lifting up the lid and peeking inside. "Yep. And it looks like the TARDIS knew you were coming," he told River. "She packed food and dishes for you, too."

"I always knew she liked me," River smirked.

"So, you said we were on Asgard?" Lyssa asked. "Is this like, the Norwegian myths, Asgard? Or some other planet that just has the same name?"

"Well, technically it's part of the Metronus system, which has no relation whatsoever to Earth mythology, but when the humans came here, the rings around the planet, which looked like rainbows, made them think of the rainbow bridge from Norse mythology. So they decided to call it Asgard," the Doctor explained.

"But the original colonists also wanted something to remind them of home, so they designed this part of the planet to look like Earth. That's why the sky looks blue, and the grass is green, and all that," he finished, indicating the grass. "But about a mile to the west, is where the real tourist section is. There, you have the markets, the vendors, the hotels, all the tourist attractions, etc."

"And is that where we're going?" Lyssa asked, looking up at him.

River smirked, setting out towards the east, where two red moons could be seen hanging in the sky. "Of course not. Everyone knows the best picnic spots are away from all the hustle and bustle of the city."

The Doctor chuckled, hanging the picnic basket in the crook of one arm and offering the other to Lyssa. "She is right about that. Even in the year four billion, you still get a lot of traffic jams. This is one of the last years where you can actually enjoy a day here in relative peace. Next year, the picnic grounds are taken down in order to make more room for the markets. And then the traffic gets even worse."

Accepting his arm, they started walking to the east. "So, what does the rest of the planet actually look like?" she asked curiously.

"Well, do you mean now, or the original planet?" the Doctor started. "Because the original looked much different, and wasn't even habitable for humans before they added in an atmosphere and all that jazz."

"What does it look like now?" Lyssa clarified.

"Two moons, an artificial sun, and gravity, and the area where we're going is based off the planet Levnot 5. It's supposed to have the best vacation spots in the entire galaxy," River called over her shoulder, not looking back at them. "And we should be approaching it in about five minutes. You see where the grass changes color?" she asked, pointing towards the horizon, where the ground seemed to take on a darker tint.

"I think so," Lyssa said, standing on her tiptoes to see better.

"That's where we'll be eating," she informed her. "And just a hint, run your fingers through the tree leaves when you get there."

"Okay?" Lyssa agreed, confused.

"Oh, you'll like it there," the Doctor said confidently. "It's a lovely place."

Sure enough, five minutes later the grass had slowly transition from green to a lovely shade of lavender. And if she listened closely, she could just make out a faint melody of quiet notes in the background. "Oh, that's pretty," Lyssa said, looking around for the source of the sound. "Where's it coming from? Is there a band or a radio nearby?"