Casino TARDIS part three
Notes: Right. Warnings. This chapter is violent and upsetting, so I don't want any of you to have nightmares OK? No cheese for you guys tonight. In this chappie, we finally find out why Dilys was left by herself on the TARDIS. We also get to see little Dilly, Jack, Doctor numero 9 and Rose, plus our bad guy. So hold tight, shut up and follow me!
On a more simpering, I-love-everyone note, OH MY GOSH! Do you guys even KNOW how much you ROCK! The response I've had to this story has left me GOBSMACKED. I just checked my email account and I had seven reviews from this story just one day after posting a new chapter. This is a miracle for me. Most of my stories get about five reviews and that's it.
When I started writing Dr Who fics I was so nervous because of the response I got in the Pokemon section. But you guys are generous and incredible…so, at the risk of sounding like a complete lesbian slash stalker, I love you ALL.
Anyway.
Mutants rule: Thanks…it came to me in a dream…weird huh? The last dream I thought about turning into a story was one about a turtle…I'm glad I never followed that through, lol. Like I said, you don't fully find out everything for a few chapters. But in this one you find out what happened to them at least.
Becsy Lexi: Yes! That's it! We're evil! Eeeevil! Pure heartless evil! Seamless, eh? I must be better at writing than I thought…come on people, keep on inflating my ego, that's what I'm here for. You care…about my characters? (cries in joy) That's so wonderful! Yay in the utmost!
Immi-in-the-TARDIS: Aren't we all in the TARDIS…or wish we were…Here I am then, updating. Be happy! Hakuna matata…thanks, but it's not that brilliant…well, maybe a little brilliant…INFLATE MY EGO!
Shangri-la-gypsy: OH don't worry, you'll know…actually, she was wrong, it's NOT a room…it's just a door leading to somewhere else! Oooh, spoilers are fun, aren't they?
Cloudhaven94: Lol, me and my crazy Dalek voice…I once went around school doing it for a whole lunchtime, doing an impression of that famous Kit Kat advert. A Dalek goes up to a shopper and says 'GIVE US A CUDDLE', then the advert goes 'have a break, have a Kit Kat', then you see a whole line of Daleks mixed with hippies saying 'PEACE AND LOVE!'…man I had fun with that one. Anyway, me and my rambling, what was I going to say? Oh yeah…thanks for your reviews! ;) And yes yes, I'm very see through, they ARE her parents…but why did they leave? Why? Why? Why?
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"Dil, stop! Dilys!"
They were in the control room. The central pillar glowed gently, lighting the huge console. Davey gaped at his surroundings, wondering if he was quite sane. Dilys stopped herself and went to him. Her big brown eyes were, for some reason, full of excitement.
"What's wrong?" she asked genuinely. She didn't realise how afraid Davey was feeling because at that moment, all there was to her was the TARDIS.
"Well, if you'd just stop and tell me what's going on…" Davey said grumpily. "Where are we? Why are we here?" These seemed like good questions to start with. Davey suspected the answer wouldn't be '42'.
"This is the TARDIS," began Dilys, trying to be patient. It seemed so trivial… "That stands for Time And Relative Dimensions In Space. It's a time machine and a space ship rolled into one. It's my home, and it's alive, and it can talk to me."
"Can you fly it?" Davey asked. Dilys shook her head. "Then how did you get it?"
"It belonged to my parents, they were travellers," she continued. "Only they disappeared and I got left here. I think it was a mistake…anyway, I'm going to find out. Right now."
"Now?" Davey blinked. "Why do you need me?" Dilys grinned.
"I always need you," she said.
A silence fell for a moment. Davey's mind was literally buzzing. It was just so strange, so surreal, that Dilys could be involved with a machine that could…but it also explained some things to him, which was probably why he wasn't completely freaking out. Where Dilys lived. Why she never invited him round to play when they were younger. Why she seemed isolated, different to other people. Why sometimes she seemed to listen to something only she could hear.
Davey gave her a weak smile. "OK Dilly. Show me your spaceship."
He followed her meekly past the great console, winding down seemingly endless corridors as he listened to the calming sound that seemed to come from the walls themselves. It could almost be described as breathing.
They came to a closed door, much like any other they had passed. But the way Dilys reacted showed him that this was somewhere special. She reached out slowly to grasp the metal handle. Nervously, she pushed the door open. They both gasped in awe.
They were somehow stood beside an alter in a huge church, though Davey knew they hadn't left the…whatever she'd called it. He looked down past choir stalls to an aisle partially strewn with petals, all kinds of them. Davey would never admit it, but he knew quite a lot about flowers. Cherry and peach blossom. Roses. Even the Japanese nadeshiko flower, or 'pinks'…everything imaginable in beautiful, clashing colour.
It was a wedding scene, that much was certain. There as a bride, a groom, a best man and a young bridesmaid in a pale pink frock, about five or six. But the pews were empty, the vicar had left. No music sounded. Nobody moved. It was frozen in time.
It's a wedding in a dream, thought Dilys. Not real. Not now.
"So…" Davey broke the silence uneasily, swinging his arms and rocking on his heels. He looked very uncomfortable. "They're your parents?"
"Yes," replied Dilys. "Yes, I suppose they are." She was very quiet. Davey glanced at her. Her face was white.
The tension was unbearable. Davey reverted to playing the part he always did when he was uncomfortable: class clown. "What? You thought they'd be taller?" No response. He hadn't expected one really. He took her hand, feeling how cold it was. Dilys had always had cold hands. "Come on. Let's go closer."
Their feet made no sounds as they moved towards the couple, although they should have clattered on the stone floor. Davey gently lead her to her frozen parents. She stared at them, and they gazed at each other silently.
"You know their names?" asked Davey.
"Sometimes…" Her voice was hoarse. She cleared her throat and tried again. "Sometimes the TARDIS says 'rose'. And 'doctor'. But no…I don't know for certain. Just that…" She pointed at the best man. "He was a captain."
"It doesn't matter about their names," Davey reassured her. He searched for something else to say. "Nice rags though."
"Yeah," agreed Dilys, taking in her mother's exquisitely detailed dress and the dignified suits.
"And I guess this is little Dilly," said Davey, strolling over to the child. "Yup. Cowpat eyes and sticky out ears, that's my Dil."
"Meanie," pouted Dilys, feeling much more at ease thanks to Davey's banter. Davey acknowledged this at once and felt pleased with his efforts, beginning to relax himself. He walked back to Dilys and her frozen parents, studying them.
"OK," he began. "Let's analyse the situation and decide…who does little Dilly look most like!" He grinned triumphantly as Dilys allowed herself to laugh.
"Shut up, you nutter," she said.
"Let's see," he said, peering at them. "We seem to have Daddy's ears…unfortunate…"
"Davey!" said Dilys, half shocked, half irritated. Her ears did not stick out.
"But a bit of a combination nose I think," continued Davey. Dilys sighed in mock despair as he got into his stride.
"Aaaah, the cowpat eyes are from Mummy! And that big, pouty, noisy mouth of yours." He studied the groom carefully. "But pale and dark haired like Daddy…hmm, this is a dilemma…is Dilys more like possible Rose or doctor something?" He thought for a moment. "We have a result!" he announced.
"Let's hear it then," said Dilys, rolling her eyes.
"You're definitely—"
But Dilys didn't hear who she was most like because she just noticed that the holographic people were moving. And blinking. She covered Davey's mouth with her hand as they spoke, their voices sounding distant and echoing though they were less than two feet away.
"OK, it's over. We need to go!" said the groom in a distinctly Northern voice. Dilys frowned. This was no way to talk if you'd just been married. Davey glanced at her, obviously thinking the same thing.
"Happiest day of their lives?" he said, raising an eyebrow. Dilys shrugged.
"There's no hurry," insisted the bride. She at least looked as glowing as brides usually did.
"Sorry Rose, but the Doctor's right," said the American captain. "Remember Flint? The one who got away?"
"What about him?" asked Rose.
"We've seen him," aid the Doctor. "He's still in London."
"Do you think he'd come here?" Rose looked worried, glancing at her daughter, who was sucking her thumb in the oblivious way that only five year olds can.
"I think he wants revenge," said the captain. "We shut down a pretty successful business that his family depended on."
"Yeah, an illegal, alien drug dealing business, as well as all sorts of artefacts he shouldn't have had," said the Doctor sarcastically. The little girl starting tugging on Rose's dress.
"Mummy, will you play with me now?" she asked in a tiny voice.
"Mummy's busy darling," said Rose, in a motherly tone. "Why don't you take Uncle Jack back to the TARDIS and get him to give you a biscuit, OK?" The girl nodded, sticking her thumb back in her mouth.
"Come on, little tyke," said Jack, scooping her up and giving her a cuddle. He exited through a side door, the girl chattering happily to him as they went.
"We need to go somewhere safe," insisted the Doctor.
"Italy," said Rose immediately. "Great shops in Italy. I mean wine. I mean…culture and art, obviously." She smiled. "I want a pizza with my best husband, best man and best little girl."
"Only you would want to go to Italy to order pizza," said the Doctor fondly, playing with her hair.
"You don't really think Flint would have the nerve to show up here, d'you?"
"Let's not hang around to find out," said the Doctor, taking her hand.
A minute earlier, and they'd have escaped.
Suddenly the door at the far end of the aisle crashed open, revealing what appeared to be a tramp. He was unshaven, considerably dirty, and his clothes were torn. But not many tramps carry guns.
"You two…" he gasped hoarsely, taking ragged breaths. "You ruined everything. You drove my father to take his life." His eyes were full of madness as he held the gun on them.
The moments that past next were almost unbearable. The couple stood silently, transfixed by fear.
"Come on," Dilys urged them under her breath. "Run away. Run away. You can still make it…"
The couple clutched each other's hands as Dilys watched it complete terror. They weren't running. They were trapped. No way out.
No way out.
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And because I'm a nasty troll-like person (although minus horns and troll-like smell…and no, I don't live under a bridge), I'm going to leave it there. So har-dee har har and I'll see you next time.
