Chapter Six
Chabi was a small planet located in the Eden system of the Orion constellation and had a small moon and a single yellow sun. The planet originally didn't have a name until Adam and Alan found it a century ago and Adam's daughter, River, named it after an old friend of the family. The sky was a crystal blue color and lush forests, mountains and glades dotted the landscape. Two large oceans separated the two large landmasses and there were two ice caps on the northern and southern poles. On the eastern landmass were a large race of beings called the chabis, which stood over ten feet tall. Covered in thick fur of brown, black, tan, white or gray fur, they were a gentle race but were also very strong and lived in villages in the tall trees. They had bear like features with large black or brown eyes and talked in low growls and grunts. On the western landmass was a race of tiny beings called chibis. Like the chibis owned by Adam's daughter, River, they were a race of intelligent human dolls that lived in either large cities or small villages.
During an expedition of the planet, River found a crashed spaceship and a skeleton and the skeleton was that of the Doctor's universe's version of her old friend, Chabi. According to the black box they were able to retrieve from the ship, he had crashed on the planet and made the chibis to keep him company. He taught them how to make shelters and feed themselves and supervised their population, aiding them when they needed to reproduce. When he died, the chibis population continued to grow, thanks to him teaching them how to use the machines he used to make them, and they considered him a god. But, along with a god, there was an evil that kept to the shadows. None of the chibis knew where this eveil came from but they did have a name for it. The Shadow Hands!
"Campbell, what did Mommy say about being careful?" River looked at her youngest son, Campbell, who was seven years old, and he snorted, brushing the long bangs out of his eyes. Her other two sons, David and Brendan, who were eleven and eight years old, were on the other side of the planet helping their father, Gavin, with the rebuilding of one of the chabis villages after a fire. Gavin McDonald was a former lawyer from Scotland and his ancestor was a man that River thought of as an uncle. He was surprised when he met Adam and Theta because they looked exactly like his ancestor.
"Come on, Mum, they're ok," said Campbell while nine of the chibis climbed up the bookcase with a piece of rope while one of them stood near Campbell's feet. The reason why she was worried was the ten chibis were hers and they represented Theta's ten lives. They were used to rough play, having survived the games her brother, James, thought up and considered Campbell one of their dearest friends.
"Well, just make sure they don't get hurt." Nodding, Campbell and the chibi of Theta's first life watched the others climbing up to the top shelf and looked down at them.
"Oh, my giddy aunt, this is high up, isn't it?!" said the chibi of Theta's second life, using a small handkerchief to wipe its face.
"You call this high up? Don't you remember the time Tony and Jamie took us up onto the roof?" said the chibi of Theta's seventh life and smiled.
"Yep, that was fun…until Jackie came and made us get down," said the chibi of Theta and sighed, leaning against a book. Suddenly a bright light filled the room as Campbell turned around and his eyes went wide. Three figures wearing leather boots, pants, jackets and black helmets stood in front of him when one of them pointed a stun laser at him and fired. Campbell screamed as fell to the floor and headed for the bookcase. The chibi of Theta's first life looked up at them when one reached down and picked it up then looked at the others, who knew they had nowhere to hid or run, swallowed hard and gloved hands moved toward them.
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Waking with a grunt, the Doctor opened one eye to see Namid sleeping next to him and her right hand was on his neck. She gave a little sniff as she snuggled closer and he slid his arm around her. He watched her sleep when she yawned and opened her eyes.
"Good morning, Rainbow," whispered the Doctor and she frowned.
"You got stinky breath," whispered Namid as he smiled and kissed her forehead.
"Did you have a bad dream?" Whenever she had a nightmare, she would crawl in bed with him and Rain and she nodded. Sending love into her mind, he rubbed her back when he sniffed and looked toward the door. "What is that smell?"
"Uncle Jamie's making haggis for breakfast."
"Ah, well, Sleepy Poo, Daddy has to go to the loo. Do you? Hey, I'm a poet and didn't even know it!"
"You're silly, Daddy."
"Yep!" said the Doctor, popping the "p" then moved the duvet back and got out of bed, heading for the bathroom.
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Waking with a start, Adam nearly fell out of bed when the duvet wrapped around his foot and he yanked the duvet off, tossing it against the bed. Running into the hallway, he saw John, Theta, Alan, the Doctor and Namid in the hallway and walked toward them.
"Did you feel that?!" asked Adam and they nodded. He could feel Marion and River's panic as he closed his eyes and told them to calm down. The sound of running came up the stairs as the toddlers and Jamie, who had turned the stove off, came closer and the Doctor hushed them.
'Alright, Sunshine, tell me again what happened,' thought Adam after River calmed down and sighed.
'I'm not exactly sure. I was in the office when I heard Campbell screaming and went to see what happened. He had been playing with the chibis that looked like Uncle Theta but when I went into the living room, he was unconscious on the floor and the chibis were gone,' thought River.
'Is he alright?' thought the Doctor.
'Yes, whoever it was used a stunner,'
'Did he get a look at who did this?' asked Theta.
'Yes, he said they were covered in leather clothing and wore black helmets.'
'Did you contact Gavin?' thought Adam.
'Yes.'
'Did you check the house security tapes yet to see how they got into the house?' thought John.
'Not yet.'
'Do you think this might be the ones that have been grabbing the other chibis?' thought Alan.
'If they are, why would they want my chibis?'
'Because they're one of a kind, Sunshine,' thought Theta and she sighed.
'I knew I should have never brought them here. They were safer on New Gallifrey.'
'Safe, maybe, but they weren't happy,' thought the Doctor and she knew he was right. When she brought her chibis, as well as those belonging to Elizabeth, Angel, Dorothy and Victoria, to Chabi, they all were shocked that they didn't have to hid or have to be careful about getting stepped on and were very happy.
'Daddy, please, you have to find them!'
'Don't worry, Kiddo, we'll find them.' They felt her mind leaving as Adam assured Marion that everything was going to be fine and her mind moved away. Adam looked at the others when David walked to him and tugged on Adam's pajamas bottoms.
"Daddy, does this mean we're not going to the toy store?" asked David and Adam blinked.
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Galaxy was the largest toy store in Kasterbourous City with six floors and a wide variety of toys, games, puzzles and video games and players. The bikes, scooters, hover board, skate boards, hover skates, roller skates, riding toys and electronic vehicles were on the top floor and there was an area where the children could test out whatever they wanted before buying it.
The video game section was on the next floor and all the games and systems were shown on video screen until someone purchased something then the game or system was brought up from the back by security hover robots. Gaming cards and card decks and children cds and dvds were also located in the video game section and were also kept in the back until purchased.
The boys section was on the next floor with a large selection of sports items and equipment. The girls section was on the next floor and had a care center for all sorts of dolls and a "day care center" where a little "mommy" could leave their "baby" or "babies" while they shopped and were given beepers which were returned after they were done shopping. There had been a few "babies' that had been forgotten but the beepers had the home phone number of the "mommy", who was called within minutes so they could come get the "baby". The toddlers and infant toys were on the next floor and the first floor was where the stuffed animals, games and puzzles and educational toys were.
The doors hissed open while Disney music filled the air and they held onto the toddlers' hands. Namid's cane clicked on tile floor while they walked along and the toddlers looked around. The Doctor had told them that they could have only one toy for being so good but knew that one toy wasn't going to be enough and waited for the "I want that!" to start. He looked over at Adam, who was trying to look happy, but he knew that his mind was somewhere else and sighed, sending love and concern into his mind. They walked toward the lift when the sounds of bells rang over the speakers and they stopped.
"ATTENTIONS BOYS AND GIRLS, WE HAVE A SPECIAL TREAT FOR YOU IN THE BOYS SECTION. COME AND SEE THE NEWEST IN ACTION FIGURES!" said the voice over the speaker as they looked at each other and the boys smiled.
"Can we, Daddy?" asked Chaska while the Doctor looked down and nodded.
"Sure," said the Doctor as he pushed the button and the doors opened. Walking side, he pushed the button as the doors closed and he wondered what this new toy was.
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A large crowd was standing around the small stage as a young man with a round face and brown hair and eyes stood near a table and the Doctor led the others to the front of the crowd. On the table was a covered box and the young man smiled, placing his hand on the cover.
"Hear ye, hear ye, I am proud to present the latest thing in action figures!" said the young man as he removed the cover and the chibis blinked, looking around.
"Daddy, that's…!" said David as Adam nodded and David, Cameron, Donald, Chaska and Christopher ran to the table while the young man looked at them.
"Hold on, Little Mates, I don't think…Hey! Get off of there!" David, Cameron, Donald, Chaska and Christopher climbed onto the table as they looked at the box when Cameron found the latch and the boys opened the box, reaching inside the box. "Put those down!"
"Catch!" shouted Donald as he tossed the chibis of Theta's second and seventh life at Jamie and they went flying through the air.
"Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" shouted the chibis of Theta's second and seventh life and Jamie caught them.
"Daddy!" shouted Christopher as he picked up then tossed the chibis of Theta's ninth and eighth life at Alan and the chibis laughed. Alan caught them as he smiled down at them and the chibi of Theta's ninth life gave him a big grin.
"Here, Daddy, catch!" shouted Chaska as he tossed the chibis of Theta's sixth and fourth life and the chibi of Theta's sixth life waved its arms and legs in the air.
"Shaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa-daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" shouted the chibi of Theta's fourth life as the Doctor caught them and looked at the chibi of Theta's fourth life.
"You know, not everyone is going to know what that means," teased the Doctor as the chibi of Theta's fourth life gave him a toothy smile and arched the hat back on its head.Cameron had gotten off the table as he ran to Theta and handed him the chibis of his first and third life and blinked.
"Why didn't you throw them?" asked Theta.
"Because they're too old," said Cameron and the chibis looked at him.
"Too old?!" gasped the chibi of Theta's third life and crossed its arms over its chest.
"Calm down, dear friend, I do believe the boy is teasing, hmmmmmm!" said the chibi of Theta's first life and smiled at Cameron.
"Daddy!" shouted David as he tossed the chibis of Theta and Theta's fifth life at Adam and the chibi of Theta's fifth life held onto its hat.
"Wooooooooooooooooooooooooo-whooooooooooooooooooooo!" shouted the chibi of Theta as Theta caught them and they laughed.
"That was fun!" said the chibi of Theta's fifth life and the boys got off the table. The other shoppers looked at them as the Doctor smiled and placed the chibis in his pocket, the others did the same.
"Run!" shouted the Doctor as he picked up Namid and they headed for the stairs. The security alarms rang out as the Doctor opened the fire exit door and they ran down the stairs. The door burst open as they ran by the other shoppers and headed for the door only to stop after seeing the security robots and guards standing by the front door. Sighing, they placed their hands up and the chibis ducked down, hiding inside their pockets.
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The toddlers sat on the chairs while the Doctor, John, Theta, Adam, Alan and Jamie stood in front of the desk and the owner of Galaxy sat on the chair behind the large metal desk. He was a tall man with a thin face, white hair and gray eyes. He had a thin build and was wearing a white suit, shirt and shoes and a tiny black tie. Standing, he walked to the Doctor as they locked eyes and the man sniffed. The guards had searched them but couldn't find the chibis and the man arched one of his eyebrows, trying to intimidate the Doctor.
"Hmmmm…mind telling me why you let your children steal MY merchandise!"
"Your merchandise?! Those are living beings!" shouted Adam.
"They're dolls," said the man as he looked at Adam and Adam growled.
"If you don't mind me asking, where did you get them?" asked the Doctor.
"That is none of your business!" Cameron got off the chair when he walked to the desk and looked at the computer. He reached up as he started typing on the keyboard when the man turned and looked at him. "What is he doing?!" The man stormed over to Cameron when Cameron hit the enter key and the screen went blank. "What did you do, you brat!?"
"Oi, leave him alone!" shouted Theta when he walked over and picked Cameron up. The screen beeped when they looked at the screen and Theta looked at the Doctor. "You got to see this!"
The Doctor walked to the desk when he placed his glasses on and looked at the screen. On the screen was an inventory list and a shipping register and he noticed that most of the inventory were chibis. He glared at the man as he placed his glasses away and the man backed up.
"How did you get into that? Those are encrypted files!" said the Man and Theta smiled, hitching Cameron up on his hip.
"Cameron, were you hacking again?" asked Theta as Cameron shrugged and the man growled.
"I should have you arrested!"
"Oh, really, and how are you going to explain where those "dolls" came from? They are a protected life form!" shouted Adam.
"Protected by who?" asked the man then locked eyes with the Doctor.
"Us!" growled the Doctor when the screen beeped then went blank.
"What just happened?!" demanded the man as Theta looked at Cameron and blinked.
"Did you just send those files to Auntie?" asked Theta and Cameron nodded.
"Who are you talking about?"
"The Architect!"
"You sent the files to the Shadow Proclamation?"
"Yep, so, if you don't want to deal with the Judoon, I suggest you surrender to us," said Alan as he walked over to Cameron and ruffled his hair.
"Just who are you?" whispered the man as the Doctor's eyes went tight and he locked eyes with him.
"I'm the Doctor," said the Doctor and the man swallowed hard.
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River sat on the couch with Campbell as she stroked his hair and he held her around her waist. Suddenly they heard a familiar grinding and moaning sounds as they got off the couch and ran outside. The watched the dust blowing around in circles when the TARDIS materialized and she smiled. The doors opened as Adam walked out and she ran down the stairs, wrapping her arms around him.
"Did you find them?" asked River when ten tiny faces popped up from his pockets and she laughed. The chibis waved at her as they went inside the house and the door closed behind them.
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"I still can't believe that Galaxy was a front for a smuggling ring," said River as they sat on the couch and the chibis sat between them.
"According to the information, they had been doing it for years. They believe that since no one had claimed this planet, they had a life time supply of living dolls," said Adam then sipped on the tea and placed the cup on the coffee table.
"But how did they get into the house, Paw-Paw?" asked Campbell, who was sitting on the chair. Gavin, David and Brendan were sitting on the other couch and he looked at Campbell.
"They used a manipulator, which allowed them to come and go without anyone seeing them."
"It's a shame they had to shut the store down," said Gavin.
"Not just that one but the entire Galaxy chain. It turns out that all the stores are front for the ring."
"I still think we should take my chibis back to New Gallifrey," sighed River and Adam held her hand.
"Sunshine, they're going to be alright. The Doctor upgraded the security system for the houseand we set up satellite scanners. Besides, this is their home. And if you don't believe me, look down!"
The chibis were either sleeping with their heads together or against River and Adam's legs and River smiled, sending love into their minds.