Two weeks passed and it was time to go to Japan. Victoria thought it would never come! She tried occupying her time writing a story, but every time she did, she couldn't find a good ending. Most of her stories were thrown out because of this dilemma. Victoria also checked out a 'How to Speak Japanese' book just in case there was an emergency. At least that's what got time to fly. True to her word, Vendetta was in Wales for a Chess tournament, letting Victoria write in peace. And once again, she smiled and talked her way out of disciplinary action from the headmaster. Out of spite, she also entered the contest before she left. At least Vendetta wasn't going to Japan.
When it came time to pack, Mrs. Law took no chances and packed everything for Victoria. Her Star vs the Forces of Evil suitcase couldn't even close from the overflowing clothes.
"Um, mom, hear me out on this, but don't you think this is a bit excessive for a week?"
"Of course not! It has been freezing cold almost everywhere, and I don't want my little biscuit getting pneumonia before helping change the world of science as we know it."
"Mom, you packed all my school uniforms five layers ago. I seriously doubt that the school is going to call us while we're gone and tell me to come to class wearing my uniform in five minutes."
Mrs. Law shuffled through the mess and found the uniforms. She gave a nervous laugh to counter Victoria's skeptic stare. After much debate and compromises, they agreed to bring two extra outfits "just in case." As Mrs. Law did her packing, Victoria stopped by Charlotte's room on their way to the front door.
"Charlotte, are you done? Do you need any-"
Charlotte was on the ground, wrestling with her Avatar the Last Airbender suitcase. It was filled to the brim and threatened to spring open by a hair. She was giving it the choker-hold and struggled to keep the position. When that wasn't working, she maneuvered herself to sit on her knees on top of the briefcase and started hopping.
"Why. Won't. You. Close. You. Piece. Of-"
"Ahem!"
Charlotte paused, looking up at her big sister with a strained expression.
"Poop."
With that, Charlotte laughed and lost her grip, causing the contents of the case to be revealed and flung all over her room. Most of it seemed to be sports equipment.
"It's ok, I've done this with mom, we'll just blame it on a tornado that came by and try this again until it fits," Victoria explained, earning an unamused stare from her little sister.
The sisters cleaned up the mess and much to Charlotte's dismay, put away her equipment to be able to close the suitcase. Despite removing so much stuff, it still wouldn't close. They decided that the only way to close it was for both of them to sit on it. Charlotte placed her sister on one end while she took the other.
"Man, you sure make a good paperweight, sis," commented Charlotte.
"You know me, sister by day, handy paperweight by night," replied Victoria.
"Are you upset?"
Victoria looked at Charlotte, confused.
"Why would I be upset? I don't mind being called-"
"Not that. How you're going to be getting a paycheck the size of Big Ben by doing what you hate: nothing."
Victoria stared at her sister, her smile faltering. She was right, she's doing this to help out scientists, but if she does, she might not even have to lift a finger for the rest of her financial life. She'll be changing the future by doing nothing. She'll be given awards for doing nothing. She'll be nothing but a girl in a wheelchair that just smiles and waves in front of cameras while looking pretty and be the mascot for a machine. Victoria gripped her hands together and took a deep breath. She couldn't cry in front of her little sister, she had to be a role model.
"It'll be fine," she reassured her, "they do need assistance. Plus, this will not only help them, but a bunch of people like me as well that don't know how to differentiate their dreams from memories. If I can at least help one person, then I can at least know I did something."
"You know, they technically haven't met you, so if you wanted, I could take your place."
"Nice try, bur I think they already know what I look like. A paralyzed girl in a wheelchair running over people's feet is not hard to find. Plus, the doctor that picked me said I had a specific disorder that he was looking for. You should be happy that you're not deemed crazy like me! You're perfect!"
Charlotte and Victoria gave one more push and got the suitcase to close, thus completing their task. Mrs. Law opened Charlotte's door and gasped in terror.
"Victoria! Love, are you alright?! Did you fall?! Did you break anything?!"
She ran and scooped her into her arms and placed her on the bed, searching her body for any indication of an injury.
"Mom, I'm fine, really! I was just helping Charlotte pack is all, right, Char?"
Mrs. Law turned to Charlotte, panic spreading on her face.
"You're suppose to help her, not use her as a dumbbell!"
"Actually, we agreed that I'm a paperweight and-"
"Not now, poppet, mummy's talking."
Victoria sighed in defeat and gave her sister an apologetic look as their mother berated Charlotte for being careless. Victoria was powerless to stop her mom. Once she started, nothing could prevent her from unleashing her lectures to the poor soul they're directed at. If anyone tried to get in her way, they would not only get a lecture, but the stare. Perhaps she developed it from her job after dealing with people who tried to demean her, or when she was dating Mr. Law and other girls tried to steal him away. Where or when she learned to stare doesn't matter, all Victoria knew is that it paralyzed her entire being and she couldn't fight that. Mrs. Law composed herself and put Victoria back in her wheelchair, leaving Charlotte alone to cry.
"...Why did it have to be you?"
By the time the packing was done, the taxi came to pick them up to the airport. The taxi had a special lift to assist Victoria and left her with enough headroom to move in.
"Did everyone go to the bathroom? Get everything they need to have fun? Brought snacks?" asked Mrs. Law.
"Yes, yes, and yes," said the sisters in unison.
"Alright, now lets-"
"WAIT!" cried Mr. Light, holding something in his hands, "I know that I can't come with you, but I want you to take this on your trip."
He handed them a greenish grey book with Japanese writing on the cover. The spine was brown with multiple tears that barely held the book together. Either it was heavily used, or it was old.
"This is a very special diary. My grandfather got in from a friend a long time ago. He said that it protects the person that writes in it and their memories. Write everything down for me and it'll be like I never left."
Mrs. Law and Charlotte ran to hug him while Victoria wheeled to his side to hug his waist. There was nothing but silence as the Law family embraced each other for what would be the last in a while.
"You're so cheesy, dear. We would have done it regardless if it was special or not," replied Mrs. Law.
"Yeah, you're like that one guy from Legend of Zelda: 'It's dangerous to go alone, take this.'"
"Dang it, sis, enough of the references!"
The moment was ruined when the taxi man started honking his horn.
"Come on, I don't have all bloody day!" complained the driver.
The family just stared at him with angry expressions till he rolled up his window.
"We'll miss you daddy!" cried Charlotte.
"Yeah, it won't be the same without you!" agreed Victoria.
"It's alright, girls, really. Now go and have fun! Make sure to eat some sushi for me. And text me when you land, ok?"
"Will do, dad," assured Victoria.
"I love you, darling," said their mother.
"I love you, too, dear," said their father.
They kissed and hopped into the taxi. It was a half-an-hour drive, so what's a better way to pass the time than play car games with your family? Absolutely nothing! The three females played a total of 20 different games for the duration of their ride.
"Is it a dog?" asked Charlotte.
"Nope!" said Victoria
"An octopus?" asked Mrs. Law.
"No."
"A chicken?"
"Nu-uh."
"You know, charades would be easier to play if, oh, I don't know, you weren't in the back and facing AWAY from us!"
"But this makes it more challenging! Also, I was a crazy inflatable balloon man."
"Dang it!"
"Girls, we're here!"
The Law's approached the London City Airport with awe. It was huge with two stories and windows that made it sparkle. Everyone got out of the taxi and unloaded their bags, finally entering the terminal. The taxi man looked out of his car and looked where they were going, a smile creeping on his lips.
Victoria's reserved wheelchair was approaching since hers needed to be put with the luggage and they were immediately ambushed by the paparazzi.
"Victoria, how does it feel to be selected for such an experiment?"
"Do you plan to live in Japan?"
"What's your favorite thing to do, daydream or sleep?"
"I, uh-"
"No comment. Let's move along girls."
Security came by shortly after words to escort the paparazzi out and help the laws on the plane.
"Victoria, are you alright?" asked her mother.
"I can't see an inch in front of me."
"Yup, she's fine," announced Charlotte.
"So, I'm just going to address the elephant in the room: how did the media know about this if the pod's weren't announced yet?"
Charlotte and Victoria thought as Mrs. Law looked the other way. Seeing her mother's reaction, Charlotte prodded.
"Mum, don't tell me..."
"Well, technically I didn't tell the press. I was talking to my boss and a couple of coworkers about our children. Mildred said her daughter got first place at a spelling bee competition, John said his son won the piano tournament, and Tim said his daughter got accepted into Harvard, so I let it slip that you were testing the pod. You should have seen their faces! They were so impressed and wanted to know more. I just wanted them to know how amazing you are."
"But mom, if you needed bragging material, why didn't you tell them about how I've won several basketball games this season?"
"Sorry, Charlotte, but it was the first thing that came into my mind. I'll tell them when we get back, ok?"
Charlotte clenched her fist and took a deep breath.
"...Fine," she said begrudgingly.
"The 10:00 a.m. flight to Japan has just landed. Passengers, please make your way to gate 8," announced the front desk.
"Let's go girls; Japan isn't going to get here anytime soon."
They got on the plane and took their seats. Now was the hard part; sitting in a plane for 12 hours with two ten year old kids who won't stop kicking the seat in front of them.
"Ma'am, would you kindly tell your boys to stop banging their feet behind us?"
"Nah, they're just playing. They have so much energy that they need to move around. Oh, but you wouldn't know that, would you, dear?"
Victoria turned bright red and faced forward, fuming in silence. After five minutes of relentless kicking, both of their chairs broke, forcing them to stare at the ceiling and crushing the boys' legs. A flight attendant came and examined the damage.
"This won't do. I'm afraid that both of you are going to have to move to first class," said the flight attendant.
"Sweet!" rejoiced the girls in unison.
"As for the seats," the attendant eyed the mother, "someone's going to have to pay for these seats. We take checks and credit, no cash."
"Burn," whispered Charlotte
Hours passed and the girls were tired and fell asleep. Victoria woke up in complete darkness with no trace that she was on the plane.
"Hello? Is anyone there?"
"Target found, surround her!" said an anonymous voice.
Before she knew it, gray blobs started coming from the darkness and trapped Victoria in place.
"Somebody help me!"
"Leave her alone!" cried another anonymous voice.
A man covered in shadows jumped in front of Victoria and pulled out what looked like a wand with a blue glow that stunned the gray blobs.
"Follow me! Run!" cried the man
She wheeled herself as fast as she could and followed the stranger.
'How can he run so fast?! Is he an Olympian?!'
They were running aimlessly until they spotted a blue police box a few feet away.
"Get in!"
She was wondering how they would fit into the tiny box until she was actually inside that made her eyes bulge.
"It's bigger on the inside!"
"I know, everyone says that!"
Victoria turned toward the man to get a better look at him, the tube in the center of the room emitting the most light.
"Who are you exactly, and what were those things?"
The man turned around to face Victoria. He was tall, had short brown hair, a trench coat, and Converse shoes.
"I'm the Doctor."
"Doctor, Doctor who?"
At that moment Victoria woke up and found that she was on the plane again.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we will be descending into Tokyo, Japan in just a few minutes. Please fasten your seat-belts as we begin to descend. We know there are hundreds of choices of travel that you could have made, but we thank you for choosing British Airways."
"Wow, falling asleep in first class is amazing! How did you sleep?"
"Ok. Quick question though. Have we ever met anyone that..."
"What?"
"Never-mind, it must have been part of my dream."
"Alright, if you're sure! Hey, do you think they'll let me take a bottle of champagne and caviar with me as compensation?"
"No."
"But-"
"They'll let us take all that with a free meal voucher when we go home as a bribe not to sue!"
The two laughed at their little joke, but Victoria couldn't get her dream out of her head.
'Who was that? Where have I seen that box before? These are the questions that haunt me.'
A/N: Finally, the Doctor shows up in this story, about time! I just hope I'm representing the show well. I hope you like it. R&R please.
