River tried real hard not to have a disgusted look on her face. Watching Phea scarf down flapjacks smothered with peanut butter, bananas, and grape marmalade though, she failed miserably. "How in the name of sanity can you eat that?"
Phea had just slurped some marmalade off her top lip. She grinned just as wide eyed and maniacally as her father. "They're good! Try some!" she said with gusto.
River just shook her head. "Noooo. You can have the lot."
"Your loss." Phea giggled.
A thought occurred to River. "So tell me. How is it you can read the scanner?"
Phea swallowed her current oversized bite of banana. "I'm very good."
This made River snicker. "Oh really? And what about your accent? One minute you sound like your mother. The next, your father. Then when I think I've seen it all, you sound like any other five year old, mispronouncing words."
Phea bowed her head conspiratorially, with her eyes darting back and forth. "Welllll... mum likes it when I sound like she expects. But dad..." she giggled. "Dad can't say no when I turn up the cute factor."
River couldn't help it. She burst into a loud cackle. "You cheeky thing! I can't believe you just said that!" She laughed some more.
Phea giggled right with her. "I know. Terrible isn't it?" She put a finger to her lips and made a shushing noise.
A sound that neither of them recognized started to hum throughout the kitchen.
"What's that?" River asked.
Phea's eyes glazed over as her smile vanished, listening.
River stared at her. "What's wrong?"
Meanwhile, in the TARDIS matrixes...
Everything was white. Nothing to show what up or down was. Couldn't even consider anything the floor or ceiling, either. The eldest TARDIS appeared as a somewhat middle aged, raven headed woman in the red robes of the Prydonian Order. A girl in a pink 'Punky Fish' hoodie, sort of resembling a blonde Phea at around nine years old, appeared next to her.
"Mum? Something's wrong. I can feel it," the girl said.
The woman held her hand out for the girl to take. "I know dearest. Try not to worry. This has to happen."
Outside, the eldest TARDIS shot a beam of golden energy from the light box on the top, to the light box on top of the youngest. A second beam tried to latch on from the Eldest to it's predecessor, but it was blocked by arcing energy.
Inside the matrixes, the girl hid behind her mother as they were joined by a younger version of the elder, dressed similarly, but with darker colors. "What are you doing?"
The Elder frowned at her younger self. "What do you think I'm doing? I'm protecting the time line. You should know better!"
In the kitchen, Phea answered River's question. "They're arguing."
River looked confused. "Who's arguing sweetie?"
"The TARDISes. Something's happening or going to happen, and they're arguing over how to handle it."
River just looked to the ceiling.
Outside, the Eldest TARDIS was trying to connect to her younger self, and still being blocked.
In the matrixes, the pair were nearly beyond words. "I can't believe I was this stubborn," the Eldest muttered.
"You remember what he was like after Rose said no! Four months of pining away in his room! He even tried committing suicide on the Titanic! If this is what he wants, I'm going to give it to him!"
The Elder pulled their daughter out from around them. "What about her? If you do this, she'll cease to exist."
Phea shot up from her chair, startling River into nearly falling out of her seat. "No!" she shrieked.
The younger flinched from Phea's shout, and the Elder just stared her former self down. "You heard that too, don't deny it. They didn't all die, but Phea is the only Tender in existence besides her father. You do this, and they'll disappear as well, condemning our race to extinction."
The younger closed her eyes, tears spilling down her cheeks.
"I know this is difficult, but you have to bear his pain for a while longer. He doesn't know yet, and if he does... everything will change and our two races truly will be dead."
The younger choked back a sob, "I'm sorry," and reached to take her Elder self's hand. Then their daughter reached up to take her other one.
Outside, the beam finally connected with the younger ship. This was followed up by the youngest starting her own beam, connecting with her mother's younger form.
In the kitchen, Phea sat down abruptly and started crying. River rushed around the table and picked her up. "Sweetheart, tell me. What's happening?" Phea just clutched at River's shirt for a while before she settled.
Swallowing back her tears, she finally whispered into River's ear. "It's ok. They're all protecting us now. Unca's TARDIS is telling me to be brave."
River held her close and looked to the ceiling again. "Brave? Why sweetie?"
"B-b-b-b'cause something horrible is about to happen," she stuttered, right before going into a fit. "DADDY!" River jumped nearly out of her skin when Phea started screaming.
She tapped her comm. "Doctor! What's happening?"
Phea shrieked, "Nooooo! Fight it, Daddy! Fight it! I love you!"
Instead of hearing the Doctor answer her, she heard him screaming at John. Then Rose's voice came in louder over them all, "Shoot it! Shoot the bloody thing! That's not me! Listen to Phea! That's not her either! Shoot it! Just shoot it!" River heard the tell tale whine of a sonic blaster, and Phea went limp in her arms.
She tried again and was almost frantic. "Doctor! What's going on?"
"We found that damned isomorph!" the Doctor replied.
Phea stiffened and clutched at River's shirt again. "It's okay." River rocked back and forth trying to soothe her.
Phea shook her head violently. "She's telling me it's going to rain."
"What?"
Phea looked to the ceiling. "That's what I said!" There was a pause while the TARDIS explained. "Oh," she sniffed. "She said to say it exactly like this: "The oncoming storm is coming." She looked at River. "What's that mean?"
River stiffened and gasped as she heard that as well as the earlier Doctor screaming through Rose's comm, followed by Rose herself. "No! Not my Doctor! John!" River held Phea tighter when she heard Rose shout, "Nevar! Nevar!"
Three Cloister Bells Tolled and Phea screamed like she was dying.