"What the—Aranne, I thought you said the tickets were fifteen bucks!" Vivian hissed to her friend so as to not draw attention to themselves.
"That's what it said online," the other girl defended. "No, they were twelve! Twelve with ID. Why they are twenty, I do not know…"
The tickets the two girls were attempting to purchase were for the Experience Music Project/ Science Fiction Museum. Earlier in the week Vivian had spotted an advert stating that the museum had come in possession of some Doctor Who memorabilia, and not being able to let it go heckled Aranne until she agreed to tag along.
"Don't' you have enough for it though?" Aranne asked with knit brows.
"Yeah, but… I was gonna get stuff from the gift shop," Vivian replied sheepishly, scratching at her mop of red hair. "Some Tardis piggy bank or something."
"Why don't you just get one in Glasgow?" she taunted, and received a dark look.
"I won't get one in Glasgow, because one the show's based in London, England, not Glasgow, Scotland, and two it'd probably cost fifty quid or something," Vivian retorted matter-of-factly. Scowling at the price board she surrendered and started to dig through her shoulder bag – the one her mother made her bring – and retrieved a twenty-dollar bill from her wallet.
"I am sacrificing you, piggy bank," she muttered to the sign, and Aranne stifled a snort. "It'd best be worth it."
"Aw, cheer up, Viv," Aranne said sympathetically, holding back laughter. "Look, there's some nice and shiny guitars. Mmm, shiny…"
Five minutes later they had made it through the music portion of the museum, and right off the bat were display cases and info boards, all in relation to the Doctor. With a giddy spring in her step Vivian went and pressed her nose against the glass, Aranne shuffling along behind her and rolling her ice-green eyes.
"Oh, coolness, Four's scarf," said Vivian in awe, then moving to the next case danced upon her toes and suppressed a squeal.
"What now?" Aranne sighed.
"Sonic screwdriver sonic screwdriver sonic screwdriver!" she squeaked, beaming at her friend in sheer joy.
"Ugh, you're hopeless!" she exclaimed, a smidge too loudly, but looking around saw they were the only visitors. Giving a skulking sigh Aranne shuffled her feet along, looking at the ground until she was compelled to glance up. A towering blue box with unlit window panes below the words "POLICE BOX" was standing rather inconspicuously in an open alcove as a beam of rare Seattle sunlight shone around it, illuminating dust particles as they drifted past. Despite her feeling of indifference goose bumps prickled all across her skin, the utterly uninteresting box somehow snaring her fascination.
"Viv, what is that?" she asked with a wrinkled nose. "Looks like a phone booth."
Vivian, who was still drooling over the sonic screwdrivers, reluctantly turned around to see what her friend had to show her, and taking in the battered Tardis her blue eyes widened in awe.
"I-it's the Tardis," she whispered, slowly walking over to it and taking it in with wonder. "It really is the Tardis."
"Obviously it's not THE Tardis," Aranne scoffed, walking up behind her to take it in from a different angle.
"Obviously," retorted Vivian, not bothering to turn around. "And way to crush my good mood like that. But really, look at it. D'you get the feeling that it's kinda not there?"
"I thought that was just me," she blinked, and suddenly Vivian started digging through her bag again. "What now?"
"Satisfying my geekishness," she replied, and pulling out a pair of 3D glasses a grin spread across her face.
"What the hell, Viv?!" Aranne demanded, looking like she had just said goodbye to her friend's sanity.
"It was in an episode of the show," she explained in a rush, jamming them on her nose and smiling at her. "Anyone who's traveled through time -- or was it dimensions? I forget – would have void stuff floating all around them. I'm not sure if the same applies to objects, but seeing as it's the Tardis it might have something. And shut up! I'm having fun," she grinned, yet as she turned to investigate her smile shrunk as her eyes grew.
"What is it?" Aranne demanded after the silence stretched on and she watched Vivian hold out her hand to bat at what appeared to be nothing, then rushed to her and forced the glasses on her.
"Put them on, look at it," she said quickly, and obliging in confusion looked. At first it looked as if nothing were amiss, but then she saw something, movement, a more fluid matter than the dust that still floated through the air.
"And what is this void stuff, exactly?" she inquired, her voice shaking slightly as she handed back the glasses.
"Dunno, really," she replied rather sheepishly, as if ashamed that she didn't know. "I think it's just kind of like dirt picked up from traveling, like a car that hasn't seen soapy water in a while."
"Well if that's the case then it's filthy," Aranne said in disgust, and Vivian looked hurt.
"He's been traveling for about nine hundred years, and I bet void stuff doesn't come off as easily as mud," she defended. "Although technically it's been a bit longer, seeing as he stole it…"
"Oh, so this Doctor's a thief, then," she laughed incredulously. "Perfect…"
"He had a good reason!" She paused. "I don't know what it might have been, but I'm sure it was decent enough." Gingerly she placed a hand against the worn blue-painted wood, then without warning pressed herself against it, giving the Tardis the best hug she could muster. "I wonder if they know that it's the real thing," she murmured, and reluctantly pulling herself away walked over to the nearest display board and started to read.
"Probably not," she replied, and following suit scanned the other boards nearby.
"Nothing," Vivian finished in confused wonder, and as she glanced at the Tardis again her eyes grew to the size of saucers. "That door was NOT open ten seconds ago."
"Was not me, honest," defended Aranne, and in investigation went and peered through the door, only to leap backwards in surprise.
"What is it?" Vivian demanded.
"It's bigger on the inside!" she hissed, dashing back and forth to confirm. In three great strides Vivian came to the door, hands bracing against the sides and with one foot inside. "Whoa, whoa, where do you think you're going?"
"Inside, duh."
"I don't think so! I'm not bailing you out."
"I'm not gonna touch anything! I just want to look."
"Have you heard that curiosity killed the cat?"
"Yeah, and that satisfaction brought it back! You aren't stopping me," and with that stepped all the way inside.
Immediately Vivian could tell that this was the real Tardis. Not just the fact that the center console was partially lit and softly humming, or that the inside was maybe thirty times bigger than the outside. The feeling she got, the muted buzz in the air that felt like a shadow of electricity. Somehow she knew it was the blends of air from other lands, from every time the Doctor opened the door to a fresh gust of unfamiliar wind that never got the chance to back out. Her skin prickling at the sensation she walked the rest of the way up the ramp, and coming to the center console jammed her hands into her pockets to keep from accidentally touching something she knew she shouldn't. Without turning to watch she could hear Aranne rush inside before slowing to a full stop, undoubtedly gawking at the sights around her, then pattered up beside Vivian.
"So this is the Tardis?" Aranne asked quietly.
"This is the Tardis," she sighed. Placing the glasses back on her nose she looked about, walking towards the edges of the room with Aranne following behind. As Vivian scrutinized the walls two voices sounded from outside in the museum, and glancing at Aranne with building fear dashed to the door, but seeing two men striding towards nothing but the Tardis were forced to hide.
"And you thought disabling my vortex manipulator was a good idea," said one of the men in a sarcastic, slightly cocky tone edged with laughter.
"It was a good idea!" scoffed the other man, and detecting his accent Vivian immediately knew who had stepped aboard the Tardis. "No way was I going to chase you all across the reaches of time and space just to keep you from flirting with someone from every decade," the Doctor stated flatly.
"Aw, so considerate," replied Jack. "But see, aren't you glad I had it, and you coincidentally were wandering around Cardiff and got picked up through our scans? Who knows what mayhem you could have started if you were left wandering all over. Speaking of which, how exactly did you lose the Tardis?"
"I just lost it!" retorted the Doctor, and Vivian could hear them halt at the door. "Now that's weird."
"Was it locked when you left it?" asked Jack in concerned confusion.
"Yeah, it was. Doesn't look like anyone barged their way in." For a moment he paused, then sighed "If it was anything bad then the Tardis'd have gotten it locked up in something. Quick check—" he dashed to the console and flicked some switches, "—nope, nothing. Alrighty, then. Home we go?"
"Home we go," Jack repeated, and Aranne and Vivian exchanged glances, the former with fear and the latter with disbelief.
"Oh, bugger!"
The speed with which the Doctor and Jack whirled about surely must have been a trait of time masters, Vivian thought. Both had expressions of sheer confusion, but the Doctor looked purely bewildered, gaping in the attempt to form words.
Vivian, still wearing her 3D glasses and air of incredulity, caught what he was trying to ask and her hand immediately shot up, pointed an accusatory finger at Aranne and said "She did it."