The Girl of Time (Doctor Who Fan-fiction)

Chapter 53

"Uh," I exasperate, "I don't know how to turn it off. Button, there's a button. Wait, never mind. Hey, hey you. Shut it down, please."

"Who are you talking to?" Peridot asks.

"The TARDIS. She's sentient...in a manner of speaking. She likes me, though, and sometimes she'll actually listen." But the ringing continues. "Look, I get it, he's dead. It's very sad, but you need to turn it off or I'm going to lose my mind." The alarm rings out for a few more seconds, and finally shuts off.

"Ugh, thank you," I sigh.

"So...is this it? It's done, he's dead," Peridot says, like she's trying to work it out in her head.

"Yeah. I guess so. Uh...sorry? Well," I realize, "no, actually. It's not over. Because the king dying is only the beginning of the potential fall of the Phidifision Empire. Although..." I stop, and stare at the wall, thinking.

"What?" Peridot asks, "what are you talking about?"

"Uh, yeah. Look, I'm really sorry about this, but I think we have to play some real life choose your own adventure. Or rather...you do."

"Hey, stop," she commands, "you're spouting words at a mile a minute, but none of it is making any sense to me. You need to slow down."

"Okay, look," I say, "I hate this. Like, seriously, I really don't want to put this on you. But...I think it's your decision on how we handle this now. You can either let your sister carry on her ways, see how she turns out. She could be good, but she did commit fratricide, so that would need to be considered. Or...we stop her. We lock her up or send her away. Somewhere where she has no chance of hurting other people."

"If I leave her...she will kill me. She'll kill all of us."

"See? Make a pros and cons list, " I say. "But I can't help. And I know you think I'm being a jerk. I am. The Doctor really ticked me off that one time he...anyway. This isn't my planet, this isn't my home. I hadn't actually been here before today. You, however, were born here. This is your home. Between the two of us, you should have the final say."

"No...I...I shouldn't get a say either. This is my sister we're talking about."

"Hey, look. Two minutes you were all 'oh yeah, I have no emotional connections to these people. Let them die, I don't care.' And now you're emotional. That's not how this works."

"I suppose, it's just difficult. I feel like if I don't do something with my sister, she'll cause the deaths of more people."

"Remember, you're not killing her. You're stopping her. There's a big, big difference," I answer. "However, whatever choice you make is going to affect your entire civilization's future. But you need to tell me if I have to call my friends and tell them to come back, or if I should leave them to stop her, however they see fit."

"I wish she...I just wish she'd change," Peridot whispers. "But she didn't, so...I don't know."

"Peridot," I say, firmly,"what do you want me to do?"

"Um...I...I can't leave her. She needs to be stopped."

"Okay," I say, "then my friends will handle it. We do nothing."

"But those people, these people at risk are still my people, I need to help."

"Oh my gosh, you are the most difficult person to babysit ever," I groan, "look, I don't want anything to do with your sister anymore. I like the brainy thinky part of the job, not the running around chasing after the bad guy. Thankfully, the Doctor likes doing all the above. I'm too tired to leave, so I am stuck with you. But you're lucky I'm here, or you'd probably still be downstairs in your dungeon. However, that means you have to listen to me. And I say, you're not moving."