A/N: This is a semi-interactive crossfic. I'll just leave questions to sort of guide this where it may go. Please comment/review!
The Doctor rescues Aradia and Sollux from a solar flare on the Green Sun and takes them to Earth far in the future, where the Daleks are attacking openly for the first time. But something is changing history. Something only Aradia and Sollux can stop.
The Green Sun looms large in paradox space. Its light burns, shining past everything. Two children float in the light. One girl had gossamer wings that are spread, green light shining through the thin red material. The other simply floats. They are speaking, feeling calmer than they have in a long, long time.
Aradia and Sollux are the ones who float by the Green Sun, holding each other's hands to keep from floating away.
"Aradia?"
"Sollux?"
"Is it sort of…I don't know, but there's something…"
"I know what you mean," she says, gently pulling him closer to her, because he has started to drift away. "Let me see if there's something wrong."
Sollux watches her as she lets go of his hand and flutters around, searching for the source of their psychic discomfort.
"There's going to be a solar flare, a huge one, in a very short amount of relative time," Aradia says to Sollux, sounding afraid. "We can't avoid it."
"Uh…will we…uh…"
"Yes. Unless we find some genius way out of here, we are going to die very, very soon."
The Doctor spun around, flipping switches and setting the TARDIS to take him somewhere random. The TARDIS wailed and made its sound as it flew to somewhere even the Doctor had never been.
The TARDIS stopped. The Doctor stared at the door, excited to see what could possibly out there to surprise him. He was about to open the door when a frantic knocking came from outside.
"OPEN THE DAMN DOOR!" a girl shouted. The Doctor stepped back.
"OPEN THE FUCKING DOOR!" a boy screamed, sounding completely hysterical.
The Doctor reached for the lock. Just as he turned it, the girl gave the door a mighty push and tumbled inside with the boy. She slammed the door and stood, both her and the boy breathing hard and wide-eyed. "GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!" the girl shouted, her eyes wild and terrified.
The Doctor decided to listen to her and took the TARDIS away from the Green Sun and to Earth.
The girl was supporting the boy, who was limping badly and ridiculously tall. The girl, a bit shorter and not limping, said, "It's okay. We escaped."
"Is there somewhere I can lie down?" the boy asked, very pale. Pale, that is, for someone with gray skin. The Doctor was quite sure that he'd never seen this type of alien before. Or had he? They looked vaguely familiar. The red, orange, and yellow horns, the yellow-orange eyes, the gray skin, it all reminded him of something.
He shook his head. "Yeah. Up those stairs, down the hall, first door on the right."
The girl helped the boy to the room, then returned to the control room. "Aradia Megido, Maid of Time," she introduced herself, sticking out her hand. "And that's Sollux, Sollux Captor. Who're you?"
"I'm the Doctor."
"Nice to meet you, The Doctor," the girl, Aradia, said, shaking his hand.
"You didn't ask me Doctor who," the Doctor noted.
"We've had quite enough to do with 'Doctors'," Aradia sighed, sitting down and leaning against the railing.
"This is very unusual," the Doctor said.
"What do you mean?"
"It's not every day teenage girls in pyjamas knock on the door of my TARDIS," the Doctor said. "So what's your story?"
"It's a long story. I mean, it is a long, long story," the girl sighed.
"I'm all ears," the Doctor said.
The girl sighed again. "Well, I guess it started the day I sent Sollux the glyphs so he could make this game called Sgrub. It was a game that both destroyed our world and created another universe. And…well, we made the other universe, but this evil guy called Jack Noir stopped us from entering it. That was when I was still a robot with not a lot of proper feelings. I used my telekinesis to get us all to the Veil, a ring of asteroids around Skaia, which is a sentient planet. Then we all sat in a computer lab for a while. Then I, as a robot, blew up and got god tier on Derse. Then Noir destroyed Derse and Prospit, which are places where our dream selves live. Oh yeah, and a bunch of my robotic copies got blown up. Then I went to the Green Sun, after visiting a dream bubble and picking up Sollux. Then we met a bunch of our friends, humans and trolls. Oh, I'm explaining this terribly. But anyways, we all met up, the ones of us who are still alive at any rate, and then Sollux and I used our psychic powers to send the asteroid where our friends are hurtling through paradox space. We stayed behind at the sun. And we were about to die from a solar flare when you saved us."
"Trolls! I knew I knew your species."
"The only Doctor I know is Doc Scratch, who's given us quite enough trouble already."
"You wouldn't know me. That's not how it works."
"Can I lie down somewhere too? I'm really tired. I don't feel so great."
"Sure. Up the stairs…"
"…first door on the right. You said." She smiled.
"Wait. You said Maid of Time."
"It's the title the game gave me. I have a lot of power over and understanding of time. That's also a long story."
"You can tell it tomorrow."
"Goodnight, Doctor."
"Goodnight, Aradia."
Aradia climbed the stairs heavily to the room where Sollux was fast asleep. She half smiled, seeing him sprawled on the bottom bunk. The room had bunk beds, which worked out well. Aradia climbed to the upper bunk and promptly fell asleep.
When she woke the next morning, Sollux was still fast asleep. She sat next to him and gently poked his shoulder. "Come on, Captor. Wake up."
He groaned and rolled over. "Eridan's here," she said.
"Kill him for me," Sollux muttered.
Aradia thought for a minute. "I will make you eat honey," she threatened.
"You wouldn't," he said, sounding horrified.
"I would."
"Fine." Sollux stood and plodded to the control room, Aradia jogging ahead.
"You look familiar," the Doctor commented to Aradia when she entered.
"What?" she asked.
"I feel like I've seen you before…" the Doctor said. "Oh, never mind."
"What on Alternia is going on?" Sollux asked, joining the other two.
"We are not on Alternia," the Doctor said. "Outside those doors is a whole new world. Want to guess?"
"Earth," they both said at once. They laughed. "I thought we'd agreed to stop that," Aradia said.
"You know I never agreed I would out loud, and it doesn't count if it's just thoughts," Sollux argued.
"How did you two know that?" the Doctor asked.
"We're psychics," Sollux said. "It gets weird sometimes."
"Especially for other people," Aradia said. "So I guess this is where the humans live."
"Yes…you know the humans too?" the Doctor said.
"We've talked to four of them," Aradia said. "Rose and Jade and Dave and John."
"Rose who?"
"Lalonde, why?"
"Just someone I used to know," the Doctor said.
"What year is it?" Sollux asked.
"413-sigma-pineapple. The Earth is about to defend itself without me for the first time. The Daleks are extremely vicious, but the humans are remarkably adept at defending themselves. It's quite the sight to see." He handed Aradia a pair of glasses.
"What are these?" she asked.
"Telescope," he said. "Look at that ship."
"You know, that ship looks familiar," Aradia said. "It's weird."
"That ship is not the right one," the Doctor said.
"What do you mean?" Aradia asked curiously.
"That ship," he pointed to a large ship in another part of the sky. "Is supposed to be there. It's a Dalek ship and they're the first to invade Earth when I don't help out. That ship," he pointed to the other ship, the one Aradia thought she recognized. "Is not."
Sollux took the glasses from Aradia. "Is that…" he began, but he stopped. Aradia took the glasses off his face and shoved them onto her own. Her mouth opened halfway and she covered it with one hand. "Yes," she answered. "Quick, get in the blue box! We have to get on that ship!"
"Why?" the Doctor asked.
"That's the ship of the Condesce."
They entered the TARDIS and the Doctor piloted them onto the ship whose existence was wrong in every way possible.
"So, where do we start?" Aradia asked.
"Well, I would guess with that," the Doctor said.
"What?"
"The gigantic computers displaying strategy charts," Sollux said flatly.
"Brilliant!" the Doctor exclaimed. "Look at all these brilliant ideas! And these computers! You are all so lucky! Look at this! This is so exciting!"
"Great," Sollux said, unimpressed by the computers he'd grown up with. "But look, this isn't that weird. I mean, they're just computers."
"Trolls! A new species I've never seen before! I know it for sure this time, someone peeked at my Christmas list."
"Christmas?" Sollux asked.
"It's like Twelfth Perigree for humans," Aradia explained.
"Your species is fascinating and we can study this close up!"
"Great," Sollux said.
Aradia smiled.
"These plans…look at them. They are very carefully calculated for a species that is not at all human. This would be an absolutely genius plan to defeat the Greckens, but for humans it is useless! How could that be? Trolls are far too intelligent to make such a mistake! And look at this, right here. These galactic coordinates point to a completely different place."
"So?" Sollux asked.
"The trolls aren't piloting the ship!" the Doctor exclaimed. "It's the Daleks!"
"What the hell?" Sollux asked.
"The Daleks…are trying to distract Earth!" Aradia realized.
"Precisely! And, if the humans are distracted with the trolls, the Daleks are defeating Earth at the same time, and the trolls are fighting Daleks too, and in the midst of all this the trolls shouldn't be here at all…"
"Everything is going to go to shit," Sollux stated.
"Yes, exactly," the Doctor said. "Come on. Trolls!"
"Why?" Aradia asked.
"They have to get back to the right universe. Now, or history is going to go completely wrong."
And with that, he was off, leaving Sollux and Aradia to exchange looks and run after him.
They arrived in a room full of cabinets and drawers. The Doctor waited as Sollux stopped for breath and Aradia flexed her shoulder muscles in preparation for flying.
Footsteps.
Aradia ducked behind a cabinet. She grabbed Sollux's hand and pulled him down with her. "Try to stay out of sight," she hissed.
The Doctor joined them. "Sh, let's listen," he whispered.
"I don't think this is a good idea, Feferi," a girl in a burgundy dress said to a girl with long hair and a trident.
"But Aradia, we don't have a choice," the girl with the trident, Feferi, said hopelessly.
A boy walked in and put a hand on Feferi's shoulder. "It's okay, FF. I'll always be here for you," he said. Feferi sighed, gave his hand a quick squeeze, and walked up the stairs.
"You can't keep doing this to her," the other Aradia said to the boy. "He's going to die soon, Sollux, and you'll have to take his place. I'm your morail. She's your matesprit. You can't keep this up."
"I know," the other Sollux said. "How much longer?"
"I can feel it. Not long," she said. "Your time is running out."
The other Sollux nodded and followed the other Feferi up the stairs. The other Aradia sat down and sighed. Then she stood and left the room. Aradia stared after the girl. "Who…what…this doesn't make sense," she said, shaking her head.
"There's more than one human named Rose, so it follows that there's probably more than one troll named Aradia and Sollux," the Doctor pointed out.
"But we know a Feferi too, who was Sollux's matesprit, I mean, girlfriend," Aradia said. "What are the odds of that?"
"Pretty slim," the Doctor admitted. "But possible."
Another troll passed through the room, pausing briefly to flip a switch and grab an item. Aradia caught a glimpse of his face. "I'd swear that was Equius," Aradia said, spooked. "I mean, his face, but older."
"They're from the wrong universe," the Doctor said. "This is completely wrong. We have to stop them."
"Them is us," Sollux said. "We have to fight ourselves and all our friends."
"I bet our ancestors are going to be here," Aradia said.
"Ancestors are BS," Sollux said dismissively.
"Who do you think the 'he' piloting the ship was? Your ancestor. Feferi's is the Condesce. It's real. They're real."
"I still say it's total BS."
"Once we've met them, maybe you won't."
Sollux doubted it.
They kept running, headed for a place to rest and plan.
"Sollux. I heard something," Aradia said.
"Me too. Let's go take a look," Sollux said, turning left down the corridor. A strange sound, almost like a scream that was absolutely silent and deafeningly loud at the same time, echoed down the empty hallway. It chilled Aradia to the bone. Something was wrong—she could feel it in the air. Something was very, very wrong.
An ominous door stood at the end of the hallway. "Behind that door," the Doctor said, rapping on it, "Is a very, very powerful psychic field."
Sollux looked suddenly nervous. He knew that his psychic powers made him more susceptible than anyone else. He hung back as the Doctor pushed open the door.
A troll was grafted into the ship, his brain and body connected to the cold metal by grotesque semi-biotic branches all over his body. His eyes flickered different colors, staring unseeingly ahead. His mouth was open in a silent scream whose psychic wails echoed through the entire ship and peaked here. Sollux's knees bucked and he collapsed on the ground, clamping his hands over his ears in a desperate attempt to block out that horrible screaming. Aradia could hear it as well, the terrible screaming in her head that seemed to block out every other thought. She could see the Doctor covering his ears as well. He looked pained, holding his head in his hands and pacing back and forth. Aradia braced herself and walked over to Sollux.
"Sollux. Come on. Let's go," she whispered.
He slowly stood and followed them out the door.
"Aradia?"
"Yeah?"
"You know how I said the ancestors were BS?"
"Yeah."
"I change my mind."
Sollux looked deeply shaken and very scared. "I met mine once," Aradia said. "She came to my hive and told me about the glyphs. She told me the stories of our ancestors. I didn't care enough to tell anyone and later I thought she was probably some crazy lady. We could only communicate psychically. I dunno why I never told any of you guys. But it's all pretty awful."
"What do you mean?" Sollux asked.
"It's a series of horrible stories, really, mostly about the Signless or the Sufferer, whatever you want to call him. And the Summoner. Maybe I should've told someone. Would've made Nepeta happy."
"Why?"
"Not the time! We're a bit busy, in case you haven't noticed. I'll tell you when we have a break."
"Like that will every happen!"
"Just come on!"
"We need to find a place to rest," the Doctor said. "I've got a plan."
"You've got a plan," Sollux stated, a little surprised.
"Yes," the Doctor said with a wide grin. "Sorry, I forgot to mention it."
Aradia smiled and shook her head. "Well, come on then."
Sollux tapped a few codes onto a keypad and a door opened. "Tell us, then."
"They're from the wrong universe," the Doctor said once they'd entered the room and closed the door. "All of them. Can't you see?"
"How did they get here?"
"They've got a void ship."
"What?"
"Here," the Doctor handed her Sollux's glasses. Aradia put them on. "What's all that stuff?"
"It's void stuff!" the Doctor said. "From traveling through the void. They must've had a void bubble to travel from one universe to another. It's a void bubble! For void travel! Isn't that cool?!"
"Okay, I'm lost," Sollux said.
"Hm…imagine three universes. A, B, and C," the Doctor said. "Those trolls, attacking Earth, are from A. You guys are from universe B. This universe is universe C. Think A for alternate, B for beta, and C for correct. As in, we have to correct this. Because that void bubble shouldn't exist. Isn't that exciting?"
"I wish Equius was here," Aradia said. "Never thought I'd say that again."
Sollux looked intensely uncomfortable. Aradia kicked herself mentally. That was so moronic on her part. "Remind me, did anyone else make god tier?"
"Just you and Vriska," Sollux answered. "And the humans."
"Okay. That's great. Now, what's the plan?" Aradia asked, trying to change the subject.
"Well…" the Doctor began. "Aradia, you have to go to the bridge. Sollux and I will go to the computers…"
Aradia crept along the hallways, ready to fight her way to the bridge. She was good at hiding, excellent at time travel, but this whole somehow-get-to-the-bridge just wasn't her style. Her nerves were starting to get the better of her as she turned another corner. And then suddenly, someone horribly familiar was there.
Aradia emerged from her hiding spot to face Aradia.
She immediately decided to call this girl Alternate Aradia.
Aradia pulled out her whip. Alternate (A for short) Aradia also drew her weapon and attacked Aradia. She had no way to dodge, no way to defend herself. So she didn't.
She disappeared and popped in the same place ten or fifteen seconds later.
"How did you do that?" A Aradia shouted.
"Don't you remember your god tier?" Aradia shouted back.
"What do you mean?" A Aradia asked.
"Your god tier! Sgrub! Maid of Time! Rose, Dave, Jade, John! The green sun! Skaia, Prospit, Derse! Ringing any bells?" Aradia listed, desperate to find out if her alternate self knew anything.
"No! Who are you?" A Aradia yelled.
"I'M YOU!" Aradia screamed, upset in a way she hadn't been in too long a time. "I'M YOU BEFORE IT ALL WENT WRONG! How old are you, anyways? 10? 11? You're more than halfway through your life! And you've wasted it all!" Aradia and A Aradia were still fighting, throwing blows and blocking and dodging as they shouted.
"I'VE DONE NOTHING WRONG!" A Aradia yelled. "I have done what I should and I'm perfectly fine!"
"WHO EVER TOLD YOU WHAT YOU SHOULD DO IS THE RIGHT THING TO DO? DID YOU EVER EVEN DIE?" Aradia asked, still desperate to find something that was the same.
"NO! I AM ALIVE AND I WILL NOT LET SOME KID IN PAJAMAS TELL ME THAT I'VE FUCKED UP MY LIFE!"
"BUT YOU DID! YOU COULD HAVE DONE SO MUCH AND YOU DIDN'T! WHAT ABOUT THE GLYPHS?"
"I GAVE UP! THEY WERE NOTHING IMPORTANT!"
"THEY WERE THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS IN THE UNIVERSE!" Aradia countered, snapping her whip at the other girl.
A Aradia abandoned conversation and threw something at Aradia, which the later dodged. Aradia ran form the room and hoped that A Aradia would pursue her so Sollux and the Doctor could do something. But she was distressed. Alternate her had never died, never been a robot, never played Sgrub, never been brought back to life, never done half the things she had. But it went both ways. Aradia had never fought in the war, invaded a planet, watched as more of her friends were culled. She supposed that it was likely that some of her friends had died, but it seemed impossible. Unlikely, anyways.
Sollux and the Doctor burst into the main computer room. "What do we do?" Sollux asked.
"Hack it," the Doctor said. "We might be able to get it with two of us."
"I thought you said they were unhackable."
"That was the Daleks. The trolls, we might have a shot."
"Have you ever tried?"
"Well…no, but I'm sure that between the two of us, we can come up with something."
"Keep dreaming."
Sollux started to type frantically on the keyboard in an attempt to hack the Condesce's computer system. "Oh shit…and then that…no, that…FUCK."
The Doctor started to mess around with the computer with some odd buzzing device. "What is that?" Sollux asked, still focused on the computer.
"Sonic screwdriver."
"What's the point of that?"
"Oy! Don't diss the sonic!"
"Chill the fuck out. I'm just wondering."
"It does…sonic-y stuff."
"Okay." Sollux returned to his typing. "GOG DAMMIT!" he shouted suddenly.
"Need help?" the Doctor asked.
"No. I'm fine," Sollux said irritably. A few seconds later, he shouted, "FUCK THIS SHIT!"
The Doctor came over with his sonic screwdriver thing and opened the program in two seconds.
Sollux looked through the files, cracked his knuckles, and kept on working.
Aradia heard two familiar, blueblood voices. Vriska and Terezi. She ducked into the room and stood perfectly still behind a pillar.
"What is up with you?" Vriska asked of Terezi. "Thinking about him again?"
"Yeah, so what if I am? It's okay to be sad about someone you liked who was culled!"
"Yeah, so? You know who else was culled? Tav—"
Terezi cut Vriska off. "He got culled because of something you did to him! Karkat was culled because of his blood! He's been dead for four sweeps!"
"You made him depressed when you said you wanted to go out with someone else! I swear, you think more about him than Nepeta, and she was his matesprit."
"She just covers it up better," Terezi argued. "Everybody misses the both of them."
"Look, just suck it up and get back to the debate. We need to resolve this before you-know-who comes and kills us all, and I mean that literally."
"Shut the fuck up and leave me alone," Terezi said, crossing her arms.
"Fine," Vriska said, tossing her hair over her shoulder and leaving in a huff. Terezi stayed just long enough to sigh before standing up and walking out.
Aradia was shaken. She supposed she should've seen it coming, but it still shocked her that her friends could be culled. She'd had a friend, a teal blood, called Mizune Justele, a long time ago, who was culled when they were just four. She shook herself and stood from her crouched position behind the door. Get to the bridge. Meet Sollux. Get these trolls back to the proper universe. Just keep going.
She came to a door that for some reason seemed important to her. Aradia put her ear to the door. No one in here, she thought. She gently pushed the door open to see ten trolls arguing about something. Shit, soundproof room, she thought. The ten stared at her and she stared back uncomfortably.
Terezi stood and walked over to her. Time to lie for my life, Aradia thought.
"What's your name?"
"Mizune. Mizune Justele. Teal blood," Aradia recited, as if from memory.
"Why are you here?"
"I'm looking for my friend. He got hurt in battle a long time ago and it's coming back to haunt him."
"You seemed pretty unsure when you walked in here."
"I…uh…you know how it is, when someone you love is dying," Aradia said. "It's hard." Bingo, she thought. "Or they're going to be gone, you know? And you get all flustered and stuff…"
Aradia saw a look of deep sadness flicker into Terezi's eyes. But Terezi remained completely in control. "What is his name?" she asked.
Aradia blurted the first name that came to mind. "Karkat Vantas," she said. A moment passed. Terezi stared in shock and anger. Aradia clamped her hands over her mouth. "Shit," she said. The next second, all ten were coming at her, weapons raised. She involuntarily took off and flew to the rafters. Something, a cane, was hurled at her. Aradia caught it. She glanced down and saw Terezi, an almost wild look in her eyes, trying to take back the cane. Nine of the ten were attacking her, having realized that she was an intruder. But she was a troll! What did they think was going on?
She remembered Terezi and Vriska's conversation earlier. This meeting between them was a secret. They didn't want who she presumed was the Condesce to find them. They must think she was a spy for the Condesce.
The lights suddenly turned off. The Doctor's plan to cut the power must be working. Aradia had an idea. "You know I can still smell you, bitch!" Terezi shouted.
"Why are you so upset about Karkat anyways? He wasn't even your matesprit," Aradia taunted. She knew that if Terezi got mad enough, Terezi would make a mistake. She was right.
Terezi spun around or something and dropped something with a loud sound. It distracted all of them just long enough for Aradia to fly out of the room.
She just had to go to the bridge.
How on Alternia had she gotten in so much trouble?
"Doctor," Sollux said. "What are you doing?"
"If we can persuade the computers to shut down the ship, the automatics will take over, specifically the automatic navigation systems and the backup nuclear hyperspace drives, sending the trolls back to their universe and the planet they are planning to attack," the Doctor answered.
"If you say so."
Sollux kept working. "Aaaand…got it."
"Great!" the Doctor exclaimed. "Go to the bridge with Aradia and I'll meet you there."
"Okay. Whatever."
He just had to get to the bridge.
Aradia reached the door and stared. She hadn't thought about this. How could she get through the keypad door? She stared for a very long time. She was about to give up and try to find the Doctor when an out-of-breath Sollux ran around the corner and punched something into the keypad, smiling almost imperceptibly at Aradia for such a brief second that she wasn't sure if she'd actually caught it or not.
And now the Condesce was staring at them with a look that could almost kill and a 2X3dent that could.
What had the Doctor said? Talk, keep her talking. Make up something to make her talk.
"We could beat you any day," Sollux goaded. "Me and Aradia, we could beat you even if you had an entire army with you."
"As if you could ever defeat me! You're just a couple of lowblood kids with no real power in this world!"
"Just a lowblood? What about a lowblood who has control over all of time?" Aradia said.
Sollux stood. "A lowblood who can see the future?"
Aradia took his hand. "Lowbloods who can move things with our minds? You're terrified of us, aren't you? You're absolutely terrified of us. You know that every single one of us is more powerful than you. Every single lowblood could control you. And you know that someday, we will rise up and take back control of our lives. Because we are strong, we are important, and we are united. That's why you keep them down. You know that your downfall is inevitable. And even if you put down every single rebellion, your time is running out. The clock is ticking until Feferi takes your place.
"That's what you're really scared of. Losing your power. And you realize that the lower we are, the more freedom of though we have. The lower we are, the less you can control us. You're scared of us because we're just six. You have no control over us, and we have so much power over you. Because that's what your worst fear is: losing your power. You know that if you had no power, you would have nothing but centuries of emptiness in front of you.
"We have our own thoughts. You can't control us or anyone else. Lowbloods, highbloods, and everyone in between—we all own our own minds and thoughts. No matter what you do, we own our minds, and that is the most precious and most powerful and most amazing thing anyone can ever own."
"You're dreading it," Sollux continued. "You're dreading the day he dies and you have to replace him…with me. That's alternate me you're going to use to pilot this ship. And you're scared because he's only 10 or 11, maybe even younger. He still has so much control of his own mind. You can't make him do what you want him to, and he will bite back. I know because I am him. And I know that no matter what or who was threatening me, I would fight back.
"I may be a clumsy introvert who can't do anything but program some shitty viruses, and I may not be a great fighter or have ever gotten god tier, but I will fight with everything I have. And, Your Imperious Condescension, I have a lot on my side."
"And I may be a dead girl who was a robot and a frog and a million other things so that I don't even know who I am anymore, but I have my mind and my life. We played a game that saved our race and destroyed our old world. We have done so much. We may be just a couple of lowbloods, but we are lowbloods who beat the odds and won. And maybe it's just my new life talking, but I bet that we can win again," Aradia finished.
The Condesce drew her weapon. Aradia stood her ground, not even bothering to draw her whip. She saw Sollux brace himself for a psychic battle. The time to fight was now. The Doctor's part would come in any minute, when he came in to do his talking.
The Condesce threw her weapon and Sollux deflected it. Aradia caught the 2X3dent with her mind and tossed it around over her enemy's head. "Psychics. You've always wanted them and you never could."
"I could kill you all with just a whisper!"
"And risk killing off half your army? You wouldn't!" Sollux shouted.
That was when the lights shut up and the Doctor entered the room.
"The Condesce, I presume," he began. "The ruler of all trolls. I've been told that your lot are rather vicious. Or so you think. You control them all with a creature called Gl'bgolyb that could kill all the trolls if her voice was raised. Quite a clever strategy, I'll give you that. You could control every single troll. But think about it. If all those lowbloods died, who would fight for you? It's clever and all, until enough of them realize their freedom. Now, you could let them all go now and survive yourself."
"Or what?" she challenged sarcastically.
"Or we'll have to stop you," the Doctor said.
"Yeah right," she scoffed.
"I mean it," the Doctor said. "Come on then."
"Execute them," she said.
"Any second now," Sollux murmured to Aradia. "Any second."
Something shook the entire ship. "Come on!" the Doctor shouted. "We've got to get to the TARDIS!"
"What is happening?" the Condesce shouted.
"Back through the void, back to your universe!" the Doctor shouted as they ran from the room and to the TARDIS.
"AA!" Sollux shouted, out of breath. She grabbed his arms and flew him along to the TARDIS.
"We're going to the Dalek ship now!" the Doctor shouted.
"Why the hell would you do that?" Sollux asked.
"Hold on!"
The TARDIS landed heavily on the Dalek ship, right in the middle of the Dalek "high council."
"Did you really think you could get away with this?" the Doctor asked the Dalek leader. "Did you really think this would never be discovered? You created a void bubble, brought an entire new race of aliens to Earth, and you could have destroyed the Earth. This contradicts the first clause of the Shadow Proclamation, not to mention several laws of time! Now, I order you to send the trolls back to their own universe and never try this again!"
"Or what?" the Dalek asked, and its harsh, metallic voice grated on Aradia's ear. Sollux winced. The Doctor didn't flinch.
"I will use your weapons to blow us all up."
"Killing you and your new companions."
"Yes, if I have to!"
The Dalek stared at the Doctor and the Doctor stared at the Dalek.
"You could not kill us, Doctor. You know this. You have always known this."
"I don't care. You cannot do this."
"Yet you will allow us to attack your precious Earth."
For the first time, the Doctor showed something like sadness. "You know there are fixed points in time as well as I do."
"And this is one of them?"
The Doctor didn't answer.
"Then you cannot interfere!" the Dalek shouted.
"Maybe I can't. But I can defend the laws of time, and I order you to send the trolls back to their own universe and time and relinquish control over them!"
No answer.
"You can attack Earth. You will no matter what I say. But unless you send the trolls back, I'll have to stop you."
The Dalek was the first to flinch that time. "We will comply. The Doctor has sacrificed his favorite species for the sake of laws he does not even follow!"
The Doctor ignored them as he pulled Aradia and Sollux back onto the TARDIS and took off.
They landed on Earth to watch what they came for in the first place.
"No one will ever know," Aradia said.
"Does that ever bother you, Doctor?" Sollux asked. "That no one ever knows?"
"No," the Doctor answered. "As long as history is correct and everyone is safe, what difference does it make who knows who did what?"
"It matters to me," Aradia said. "Time and time again, you miss out on the credit, don't you. I'm sure you get thanked, sometimes, but you miss it a lot, don't you."
"I don't know what you mean."
"You know perfectly well what I mean."
"I don't."
"You can keep pretending you don't know what I mean, but you do. You'll have to answer someday."
"What did they say about Earth being your favorite planet?" Aradia questioned
"Humans! They're incredible."
"So…you could've let the trolls stay and then you would've been allowed to interfere to save the humans. Why didn't you?" Aradia asked.
The Doctor hesitated. "The laws of time are too precarious. If I let that happen, all of time could deteriorate. That would cause every species to die."
Aradia nodded. "I understand."
There was a long silence as they watched the Daleks and the humans fight.
"Come on," the Doctor said. "Let's go on an adventure!"
"Let's go," Aradia agreed. "Allons-y!"
A/N: Should the Doctor, Aradia, and Sollux land on a planet of empty people or a planet of metal people next?