I groaned as the blackness before my eyes slowly shifted to blurry colours and foggy shapes I could barely make out. I could just faintly hear my friends' frantic voices, but it was just muffled echoes in my head. All that I could fully comprehend was that my head hurt and the TARDIS was shaking like it was being bombarded from outside.

Oh, right. We were in the middle of an all out war between Daleks and Goombaleks, with Dry Bowser showing up just to make it even harder for us.

I moaned in pain as what felt like an ice pack was brought onto my head, and some of the weight in my brain flared down. Opening my eyes a bit more, I realised I didn't have my glasses on, so that was clearly why I was struggling to see. In my view, I could make out the vague shapes of Manolo, Maria and Ralph.

"Kid?" I heard the wrecker ask, his voice banging around my head like a hushed echo. "Kid, c'mon. You've survived so much worse. A little bump on the head is nothing."

"He could have a concussion, Ralph", I heard Maria hiss.

"Guys", Manolo said sharply. "Relax. He's waking up, but we don't need him screaming at us to shut up."

Blinking slowly, I made a move to sit up. I could feel Manolo's hand on my back, but I slipped when the TARDIS shook again. Ralph caught me, and I looked up at him with clouded eyes.

"Ralph…" I choked out. "What… What happened?"

"Well", Ralph explained, "We got hit, you slammed your head when it made you slip, and as you were out we've been dealing with… well, hell."

"You've been out for an hour", Maria added in worry. "We tried to get you out of the main room, but Dry Bowser won't let up. It took us half that time to get you here."

Looking around groggily, taking in the sight of the library. A few lights were off, but I didn't question it.

I continued to sit up, more of my senses coming back to me, and soon I was mostly back. "Okay, what's the situation like now?"

Manolo sighed. "Bad. Jenny and the others are still outside, but Bubbles came in and warned us more ships showed up. Dry Bowser isn't letting up, The Doctor can't do anything with all of this happening, and everyone else is frantic because they can't do anything."

I gulped. "Where's Gladius?"

"He went to help Jenny and the others", Maria explained. "It was getting really bad out there."

Another violent shake of the TARDIS. All four of us looked up at the ceiling, and my eye twitched. This was going too far. I was officially at my breaking point.

Shocking the others, I shot up into a standing position. "Alright, that's it! Dry Bowser has broke my patience!" I stormed over to the door, the others close behind. "I know exactly what we need to do, and it'll pop that ego of his so hard his head will shatter!"

I stormed into the main room, much to the surprise of the others, and scaled the stairs till I was with both frantic scientists. They looked at me for the briefest of moments, then returned to messing with the console.

"Maria, Manolo and Ralph updated me on what happened", I said in a cold tone, making the two men freeze and face me. "And honestly-" Another shackle made me pause "-I'm fed up with it."

"So what's the plan then?" Zomboss said desperately.

I gave him a look, looked at Who, then back to the zombie. "The TARDIS will need some officially licensed Z-Tech upgrades."

"WHAT?!" The Doctor roared. "Absolutely not! The TARDIS isn't something you can simply tamper with! I refuse to let him do anything!" He pointed at Zomboss aggressively.

"Doc, it's the only way. Because we need to fight back, and I know exactly how."

The Doctor opened his mouth to continue arguing, but calmed up when Blossom came crashing inside with Bubbles and Buttercup.

"We are getting our butts kicked out there!" The pink super girl yelled, beaten and bruised. Her sisters looked no better. "We need something now! Jenny and Galacta are running out of steam!"

Everyone silently looked at Doctor Who, Amy and Rory in particular in pleading, and he finally relented. With a sigh, he gave Zomboss a stiff nod, and the zombie nodded back.

"I won't do anything crazy, Doctor", he reassured. "I'll just do what I need." He looked at me. "What do we need?"

I gained a smirk, and I saw Majima perk up at the sight of it. "Time for Infinity Time, Zomboss."

The zombie's eyes widened, then he smirked. Quick as a flash, he got to work in installing his own tech into the main console. I watched with a sharp eye, occasionally seeing The Doctor wince whenever a drill or hammer sounded off. But that didn't matter. All that mattered was putting Dry Bowser in his place.

After a few more moments, Zomboss was finished. There was now a unique part of the console, with the signature colours, pilot's controller, and custom seat.

Before anyone could compliment the work, and with my mind working on auto pilot, I took a seat in the chair and pressed some buttons. Like I somehow knew exactly what to do, the three screens repositioned so they were in front of me.

I grinned evilly as I grabbed hold of the controls, and the TARDIS shook. On the two side screens, I could see diagnosis data that told me the new cannons were ready. I pressed another button, and two futuristic guns that resembled Z-Mech arm cannons emerged from the sides, charged with glowing purple energy. I pressed another button, and the top of the TARDIS' outer shell opened to reveal a misleading launcher loaded with high-calibre ZPGs.

I cracked my knuckles as the middle screen flashed to life with the view in front of the blue box, the other two screens showing more around me a moment after.

Looking over my shoulder, I grinned at the sight of all my friends gawking at the sight before them. "I had a lot of practice", I said simply with a shrug.

Facing the screens again, I glared at the view. We were sandwiched between both sides, the shields barely holding on. Jenny, Galacta and Gladius looked exhausted. The red TARDIS was right just a ways in front.

I snarled, and pressed both buttons on both prongs of the controller.

And the TARDIS unleashed hell.

Both side cannons blasted out a stream of purple energy bullets, attacking both sides relentlessly. Ships that were closest were ripped apart in seconds, while ones further back suffered damage from stray bullets and shrapnel. I pressed a button on the side of one of the prongs, and that set off the ZPGs. They soared through space, swerving around my still space bound (and horribly confused) friends. They all went full send to Dry Bowser's TARDIS, and after taking out a few blood red Bullet Bills, several collided with the red box.

Both warring sides were now backing off as the teenage robot, greatest warrior and living sword all fled inside the police box. With them in, I pressed another button on the console. From the floor just before the door, another cannon emerged, its large barrel forcing itself outside to mirror the red cannon from our enemy. Two smaller Gatling guns were tucked underneath, spinning to life.

Once both sides backed off, I aimed all weapons at Dry Bowser solely… and unleashed everything I had on him.

Both side cannons, the endless supply of ZPGs, the new centre cannon (firing large purple balls of energy akin to Super Brainz's Super Ultra Ball), and the two gatling guns unloaded relentlessly into the hostile red box.

Purple smoke and magenta lightning exploded as the bombardment hit the red wood, and I increased fire power as I moved the Time Lord craft forward.

From how the red TARDIS darted out of my crosshairs, I knew Dry was actually feeling the hurt. But I didn't let up, simply aiming and locking on again.

"C'mon Glasses!" Vanellope cheered.

"Teach that shithead what happens!" Majima encouraged.

"Rip that ship to splinters!" Izzy roared joyously.

"EHEHEHEHEHE!!! DESTROY HIM, CALEB!" Flowey snarled in glee.

I did as I was told, and increased firepower even more. Warnings started to sound off as the weapons screamed to be given a break. So I did the one thing anyone would have done…

I pulled back…

Let the weapons all charge up…

And once I felt enough energy was built up…

I unloaded one last blast right at the red box.

With a massive explosion so violent and massive (so much so it actually sounded off in space), I watched as the red TARDIS was catapulted away at light speed. But it was badly damaged, that was obvious. Before it got too far away, it warped away, some stray shreds of red wood left behind as it vanished.

I kept my breath held until I pressed a button on the console, finally letting the weapons get a much needed break. I let out a sigh…

And was immediately scooped up into a group hug.

"Kid, that was amazing!" Ralph cheered.

"That's how you get a jerk like him to back off!" Jenny added.

"Maybe now he'll know not to mess with us", Steve affirmed.

I nodded, but then gained a determined look. "Thanks guys, but we know this isn't the end. Dry Bowser's off trying to recover somewhere, so we need to track him down and finish this."

"He won't make it easy", Hilda said with equal determination. "But we'll be ready for whatever he throws at us."

Everyone else nodded, and they all broke off the hug. I looked over the group, and while The Doctor clearly looked uncomfortable at what happened, everyone was sharing the same determined yet angry looks.

"Okay", I clapped my hands together, "Let's take a bit of a breather. It might take a while to find the Dry again, so all of us should get some rest."

"I think some of us need that more than others…" Merida said quietly with pursed lips. The Powerpuffs girls were collapsed in Amy and Rory's arms, and Galacta's wings were dropping a lot lower than usual. The fatigue had finally caught up to Jenny, and she was swaying so much I was worried she was going to fall.

Gladius was already in his scabbard and sleeping, the cover strapped over me already. I took a deep breath as everyone broke off to get some rest and to prepare, and I wandered off to the kitchen. All of the chaos, on top of my hour of unconsciousness, made me a bit snackish.

When I entered, I was surprised by being the only person there. But a part of me understood that everyone, over what must've been a few days, would prioritise sleep after all the madness.

Shrugging the thought away, I shuffled over to the pantry and opened it, quickly taking an apple and biting into it.

"I thought The Doctor hated apples…" Gladius mumbled over my shoulder.

I shrugged and closed the pantry. "I guess they're here just in case. The TARDIS is alive… in a way. So she's just looking out for her long time friend."

"Hmph… I didn't think that was a thing…"

I giggled. "A lot of people tend to be surprised when they hear that."

Gladius was silent for a moment. "Are you happy with everyone, Caleb?"

I was shocked by the sudden question, and I frowned. "Is this because I was so hesitant to answer the question of who's my favourite?"

He nodded.

"Well… I am very happy", I whispered, "I love everyone, it was just hard picking a favourite. They've… helped me all equally. From what happened… back at my old home, even with everything happening here, I feel… complete. Like this is where I needed to be."

Gladius placed a wing on my shoulder but said nothing, so I continued. "I couldn't pick anyone as my favourite because it's not right. It's not right to pick favourites from the people you consider… family."

The sword leaned forward a bit so his jewel could nuzzle the crook of my neck. "I get it, Caleb… I'm sorry you were put on the spot like that…"

"I love everyone… because they're the closest to an actual family I've had in years…"

"Is that true, Caleb?" A cracked whisper sounded off behind me.

Turning around, I faced a teary eyed Maria, with a sad Manolo behind her.

I nodded and looked at the ground, suddenly unable to meet them in the eye. "Yeah, I m-mean it. No, I w-won't say why…"

I didn't get to say anything else, as Maria rushed over and crushed me into a hug. My eyes widened for a moment, before I reciprocated the embrace, silently weeping onto the wooden woman's shoulder as the cracks long left on my heart healed ever so slightly more.

I wasn't ready for them to know. Not now. Right now, we had more pressing matters to be dealt with…

~X~

A few hours, we were all recharged and ready to face Dry Bowser once and for all. But there was still one problem: We knew he'd be able to overwhelm us. So we needed some form of back up.

"Does anyone have any ideas?" I asked, leaning against the main console. Everyone else looked horribly lost as they stood around elsewhere.

"I'm drawing a blank", Steve said flatly.

Ruby and Iris shared a look, and Gloom cleared her throat. We all faced her, and she sighed. "I just thought, with everything, I think we should get some help. Maybe send out a call for help?" She shrugged with an unsure grin.

The Doctor looked uncomfortable. "I don't know, Ruby. A lot of those that have the force to help us win… only would do it for themselves. And considering who I am, they'd never help us."

"Unless we tell them it's for themselves", Iris elaborated. "If they think it's to only get them further ahead, especially if the threat of complete annihilation is dangled over them."

That made Who pause, then shrug. "Good point. Everyone in this whole universe has an ego that could conquer a galaxy."

Majima snorted. "That's reassuring."

"But who exactly do we ask?" Flowey asked. "We know the Daleks are a big no-no."

"Not true", I said. "Pretty much all the major species banded together when it came to locking up The Doc in the Pandorica, only for that to lead to the universe's destruction. But this is something similar, so we have that."

Amy and Rory shared a look, almost as if the events of then finally entered their memories. Their faces shifted in fear and uncertainty, but when they faced us all again their expressions were determined. With that, a new plan was set: Try and assemble an army of all the universe's main species into a massive army, and give Dry Bowser one hell of a final fight.

"So, who's first?" Marco asked.

"One race I know that'll help us." Who flipped a lever on the main console, and we were off. Majima took it upon himself to group together everyone who had even a shred of fighting spirit and take them elsewhere to prepare. Vanellope, Hilda, Twig, Alfur, Ruby and Iris all ran off too, wanting to get that little bit of freedom before the big battle.

That left me, Gladius, Maple, Zomboss, Flowey, Amy, Rory and The Doctor in the centre room. It was fairly quiet as we all waited to arrive at our destination. It was honestly kind of comforting. I didn't really want to run my mind into the dirt thinking of some sort of conversation to keep morale high, but it seemed everyone was just doing fine.

And it stayed that way all the way till our destination. When we landed, The Doctor told us all to wait as he and Zomboss walked out to do the talking. I mumbled complaints as both scientists left, earning a quiet chuckle from the married couple.

"Oh, you shush", Gladius said kindly as he ruffled my hair. "Zomboss and Who can handle this. They're good at talking."

I snorted and crossed my arms. "Not Zomboss. I love him, but he can have a habit of letting his ego do the talking for him. He's calmed down a lot since being with us, yeah, but it's still there."

"That's reassuring", Flowey said flatly as he glanced at the door. He then turned to the rest of us with a manic grin. "10 bucks he'll come back filled with holes and cursing under his breath."

"Flowey!" Amy and I shouted in exacerbation. Gladius sighed and Rory snorted, trying to contain the laughter that was bubbling within.

I sighed through my nose and pursed my lips, although internally I was smiling.

Despite being a lunatic, Flowey always had some way to cheer me up.

~X~

The Doctor and Zomboss came sauntering in, proud they were able to convince the third race in our quest to finally defeat Dry Bowser. The Judoon were easy to convince, as Dry Bowser's actions had made him #1 on their most wanted list for reality warping, timeline merging and galactic conquest. The Cybermen, while a bit stubborn, all collectively agreed the unupgradable skeleton dragon that ravaged their home world with his army must be deleted.

Our most recent stop, the Sontarans, I thought would be the most difficult to convince next to the Daleks. But Dry Bowser's forces had just swept through and obliterated a good chunk of their fleet when we arrived, so convincing the now revenge-fueled war-loving race was easy.

Right now, we were on our way to be brutally murdered byhopefully convince the Daleks to join in the final battle against the skeletal dragon.

"Well this'll be fun", Zomboss said in faux excitement. "A race of racist genociders… sure, they'll be easy to convince."

The Doctor sighed. "Just let me do the talking. I can handle… whoever is in charge."

"They have multiple leaders?" Alfur asked.

The Doctor shrugged. "It's always hard to tell. Despite what you might think, the Daleks are very fragmented. Some would follow the Dalek Emperor, some would follow Dravos, some would follow the most elite of the squad like Dalek Sec, etc, etc."

"Well that's not good", Jenny said, her eyes widening. "I thought they all followed that 'Prime Minister' we met a while back."

Who simply shrugged. "It's… complicated."

"Bad complicated or good complicated?" Dave asked hopefully, though his smile was strained.

"Nothing is ever good when the Daleks are involved."

The Minion's eyes bulged, and he shared a look with an equally distraught Barranco. I cleared my throat and swallowed, trying to release the tension that was slowly building in my body. It didn't work.

Gladius, who was hovering close to my side, decided I needed some comfort. So he used his telekinesis to lift up my Wasabi Whip and place the plant on my shoulder. That did work, and I subconsciously leaned my head against Maple.

As the TARDIS settled after landing, The Doctor and Zomboss bid us all farewell as they exited the TARDIS… only to rush back in as the screams of the Daleks blared out a simultaneous "EXTERMINATE!"

We all stared at them silently, both scientists sweating up a storm. There was banging on the door, incomprehensible Dalek screaming coming from the otherside.

"Okay, Plan B", Zomboss said nervously. "This time, we go out there with the shield up."

I hit a button on the console, and Zomboss shot me a thankful thumbs up. There was a whooshing sound, and both scientists stepped out again.

"Well, hopefully we don't lose our pilots", Barrnaco said. Merida kicked the back of his head lightly, making him glare back at her while rubbing the sore spot. 'What, I'm serious! None of us know how to have this thing time travel, and if Dry Bowser catches off, we are toast!"

"Except you're forgetting that Dry is merging timelines too", Merida spat. "Even I get what that means, and I'm from the 1700's! We can just fly this thing around to another planet or something, no time travel needed."

"Merry's got a point!" Izzy shouted, leaning over the now disgruntled Dun Broch Princess. "Caleb can be our pilot if anything happens to the two eggheads, so we should be good."

"I'd rather not have all that pressure on me, thank you very much", I said in a squeaky voice. "Plus, considering what we're in the middle of, I'd like our two genius' be with us in case something bad happens."

"Caleb's right", Blossom affirmed. "Let's just try and focus on the elephant in the room."

Everyone nodded in confirmation, and for the next little bit it was quiet as we waited for both doctors to get back. After a bit, and with my curiosity peaked, I turned on one of the screens and watched as an outside view of the TARDIS was shown off. I observed as The Doctor calmly talked to the Daleks (couldn't see who was in charge of them) as Zomboss backed up his claims.

"The Daleks are going to agree", Flowey whispered as he joined me, "But then they're going to shut down the force field and rush them."

"Oh, they definitely are", I whispered in agreement. "Daleks will always try to exterminate those inferior. And if they can take out The Doc and then Dry Bowser on their own, they'll be able to do whatever they want."

"Such a chilling thought…" Gladius whispered in horror. I returned my full attention to the screen, and watched as Flwoey's prediction came true 100%. The Daleks agreed, shut down the shield, and aimed at both scientists. They both rushed back inside, and slammed the door closed as the Daleks opened fire.

"Can we go now?" Zomboss asked Who in a panicked tone.

Who nodded and rushed over to the console, hitting some buttons and facing a screen. "Dry Bowser is out there somewhere. It'll take a bit to find him, but once I do I'll broadcast the signal to everyone and we'll move in."

I leaned over and looked at the screen. "If he has a TARDIS based on this one, why not just search for this ship's signal?"

The Doctor opened his mouth, then closed it. "Not a bad idea, actually."

I beamed as The Doctor did just that, and we all waited as the scan processed through. When it finished and everyone grouped together to look at the screen…

And Who stumbled back in horror.

We all gave him a very concerned look.

"Doctor, what's wrong?" Amy asked.

"Why… How is he there?!" The man roared back.

We all looked back at the screen, and it all finally clicked for me.

Dry Bowser was on Gallifrey.

The Doctor's home planet.

The one place Doctor Who feared to go back to.

This was going to be an intense final battle.

~X~

Okay, so I lied. This chapter was also a bit shorter. But c'mon, I wrote a chapter that was over 23k words long, I deserve some easy chapters! But regardless, this was a fun chapter to write. The small character moments were sweet, and the beginning was super fun. An armed TARDIS is a funny image, so I had to do it.

Now, the next chapter is the end of the arc, and hoo-boy, I have some ideas. I will try to make it a long one, but I can't promise anything. I write how much and which way I want to. But still be sure to tell your friends about this story! (I kid, do what you want)

Up next: The final battle on the red sands of Gallifrey is at hand. With an army behind them, Caleb and Co. finally make their last push to stop Dry Bowser.

~Caleb~