"SARAH! NO!" Space man ran to the altar, where Sarah Jane had just been. The wind picks up and everyone starts disappearing. "Mum! Dad!" Rani calls. "Hold on. Everyone, Hold on!" He instructs us, going and grabbing a table leg. I screw my eyes shut as the world glows white, then fades to black.
"Asha...come on Asha. That's it." I wake up to gentle taps to my face. A face I hadn't seen since I was 7 is hovering over me. "Space man?" I ask quietly. He smiled gently at me. "Haven't heard that one in a while." He tells me, helping me sit up. "What happened? Where's Sarah Jane? Are you her Doctor? Is the Trickster why you came back?" I ask quickly. He shushes me gently. "Asha, I will explain later, I promise. Oh, you've grown up." He gives me a quick hug before going over to Luke. He talks quietly to him, so I go and wake Rani and Clyde up. I'm surprised his red haired friend isn't with him. I don't remember her name, but she was really funny. It was her who kept calling him Space man. "Who are you?" Clyde demands when he notices the Doctor. "Hello, Clyde!" Space man moves over to shake his hand, helping him up. "And that will be Rani!" He exclaims, helping her up as well. "What? How'd you know my name?" Clyde asks him, Space man being knelt on the floor, as though he were listening for worms. "Wait a minute..." Rani's worked it out. "You must be...it's you, isn't it?" Rani asks, walking forwards. "That's me." He agrees, running down the aisle, forcing us all to turn around. "The Doctor!" She exclaims. Luke nods. "That's him." I didn't know he'd met the Doctor! "I hope you're as good as Sarah Jane says you are." Clyde tells him. "He is. I met him when I was a little girl. He's mad, but he's good." I tell them. They look at me, gobsmacked. "You've met him before?" Luke asked, bewildered. I nod. "I'll tell you when we know what's going on, and you tell me when you did, deal?" I stick my hand out. Luke shakes my hand. "Well, Asha has spoken, so yeah, I'm pretty amazing on a good day." He sends me a teasing wink. I roll my eyes at him. "Clyde, I've changed my mind. He's awful." I tell him jokingly. "Master! Query. Where is Mistress Sarah Jane?" The Doctor spreads his arms before kneeling. "K-9! Did you miss me? Did you miss me, eh?" he pats K-9's cheeks, as one would a child. "Repeat. Whereabouts of Sarah Jane? Where is she?" K-9 asks, sounding rather lost. I'm then distracted by the blinding white from the windows. I walk over to one, completely ignoring the others for a second. "Been left behind." I hear when I tune back in. "There's nothing out there." Rani says in shock. And she's right. For as far as I could see, it was just bright, white, nothingness.
"I said all along. I knew there was something wrong about all of this! And what exactly is going on?" Clyde demands, getting louder and louder as he speaks. "I'll explain later." The Doctor says. They all start speaking at once, and I would join in, except that I can't get my voice to work. And if I could, I'm not sure if I would also be asking questions, or if I would be asking them to stop so I can stop the impending panic attack. I start trying to breathe, but my airways have already closed up. I try pinching myself a bit, but that doesn't do anything. I went to fiddle with my ring, before remembering that I decided not to wear it today, as it didn't exactly go with my dress. My hands are trembling as I go and sit curled up against the wall. "Asha, come one. Here you go." I feel something being shoved into my hand. I felt the object and realised it was the ball I had given the Doctor when I was a child. I rolled it between my hands as he counted out the breathing. I calmed down after a few repetitions. "There we go. Now, we're going to go find the TARDIS, you remember Donna telling you about that?" He asks gently. I nodded eagerly. I hadn't been able to see it, nor did I remember much about it, but I do remember the feelings I had at the time. We all charge towards the lobby of the hotel, where he had left it.
"Oh, nonononono, it was there! It was right there!" He exclaims, as we come up to an empty space. "Wait, wait, wait, wait." He throws his arms out in front of us, making us take a step back. The wheezing from earlier is back! Hang on, that's the sound of the TARDIS? Nice. The blue phone box fades in and out of existence, not quite solid. "That noise, I've heard it before." Rani realises. "That was me, trying to break through. Got knocked back by the Trickster." He explained. "Temporal schism is preventing TARDIS materialisation." K-9 tells us, the Doctor nodding, as if to tell him that he knows. "Wait a minute, that's the TARDIS? It's just a wooden box!" Clyde moans. I look at him oddly. "Clyde, that's what it is. It's a police box that's bigger on the inside." I remind him. The Doctor ignores us, staring at the TARDIS, "Come on, more power, come on! You can do it! More power! Come on!" He chants as it fades out completely. "Okay, got no TARDIS. He mutters as he sticks his hands into his suit pockets. It's a different suit to last time. It's just blue, instead of the brown pinstripes. "It can't materialise until time moves forward." He tells us. "What, so we're trapped here? Wherever here is?" Rani asks. "No, because what have I got? I've got K-9!" He exclaims. "Affirmative." The dog pipes up. "And I've got you four. And any friend of Sarah Jane Smith and Asha Niko Yamamoto is a friend of mine." He says proudly. "But, where is this? And how do you know Asha? What's happened to the rest of the world?" Clyde demands. "Our current location, no where, no when." I'm sorry, what? "Did you just say no when?" I asked. "Look at the clocks." The Doctor says, all of us moving towards the desk. There, we look at a clock, with the second hand looping back. "Time's stopped!" Luke exclaims. "You're joking!" Clyde checks his watch. My eyes are drawn to the TV, where a horse race is being shown. "It's not stopped. This second's repeating." I say, pointing out the screen. "It's 3:23:23!" Luke exclaims, reading the digital clock on the wall. "We're trapped inside this one second." The Doctor agrees with us. "And again, where is Sarah Jane?" Clyde repeats himself, asking the question we all have. "I think, she's right here." He says, staring at the ceiling.
"So, we've been kept behind in this second?" Rani is either thinking out loud or trying to get at something. I really hope she's getting at something. "Affirmative, Mistress Rani." K-9 responds. Luke and Clyde are still at the bottom of the stairs. Rani has taken to pacing, whilst the Doctor is lying on the floor. "But the rest of the world, Mum, and Dad, and everyone, they've moved on from here, moving forwards in time. Why has the Trickster trapped us here?" I'm not sure why she's asking, I thought it was fairly obvious. "Oh, come on Rani, you know the answer to that!" The Doctor said, sitting up on his knees as he pulls his glasses off. "He's using us to get to Sarah Jane." I speak up. Everyone turns to look at me. "What? It's obvious." My shoulders have tensed defensively at the stares. "Okay, but for those poor souls who aren't super geniuses..." Clyde pokes at me. "Everyone with half a brain cell knows how protective of us Sarah Jane can get. You all remember how she reacts when any one of us is being threatened?" I asked, receiving three nods, two of them looking slightly confused. "Well, the Trickster has been watching her for goodness knows how long, so obviously knows that there is nothing that Sarah Jane wouldn't do for us if we were in danger. Plus, the Doctor is one of the only people in the universe who would be able to save her. So, he's trapped us. We're essentially hostages to get her to comply." I shrug. "Got it in one, yet again!" The Doctor grins as he runs up the stairs, flinging his trench coat at Luke, who seems almost puzzled by what to do with it until he puts it down. I have to turn away from him before I start laughing. "Yeah, but we've met the Trickster before, but we've never exactly found out who he is?" Clyde asks/says. "The Trickster," The Doctor starts, taking on his 'Teacher' voice. "Is a creature from beyond the universe." He starts jogging down the stairs, still lecturing us. "Forever trying to break into our reality, trying to manifest himself. He's one of the Pantheon of Discord." He mentions casually. I mentally kick myself. Religion was the next on my list of lessons to beg Mr. Smith for before Sarah Jane deactivated him. "That's a good name for a band." Clyde says, distracted from the original topic. "Yeah, actually, not bad." The Doctor agrees, having had to stop and think about it for a second. "He's an eternal exile, who exists to wreak havoc." His face has darkened slightly again, his voice taking on an ominous tone. I feel my facial expression fall. Suddenly, it's like someone has switched his optimism back on. That does actually seem to be a fairly normal thing with him, though. "But we can fight him, the six of us. And we can win!" Suddenly, a blinking noise comes from his pocket. "Oh!" He exclaims, pulling a metallic cylinder out of his pocket. There's a blue light flashing at the top. "Oh! Ha, that's it, time trace." He explains as we all gather around him, looking like his little ducklings. I have to bite the inside of my cheek in order to stop myself from laughing at the image. "Just a hint of Sarah Jane, ooh, she's close." He mutters, walking closer to the corner of the front desk.
Now, he's standing on one of the sofas. No solid reason that he's given any of us. Just suddenly jumped onto the sofa. He's holding the sonic screwdriver to his ear and seems to be listening to it. We're all just staring at him as he does this. Rani jolts, all of a sudden. "What was that?" She demands as she looks around frantically. "Felt like someone just walked over my grave." She told us. The Doctor stopped and stared at her when she said this. He then jumps off the sofa, holding the frantically beeping screwdriver in front of his as he stands in front of Rani. "Oh, oh, oh, she's here! She's here! Sarah!" He shouts. "Sarah Jane. She doesn't like being called Sarah." Rani tells him quickly. He shoots her a puzzled and concerned look. "She does by me." He mutters. Well, we now know why she hates being called that. "K-9!" He suddenly shouts. "Scanning, Master." The dog responds. "DOCTOR!" We hear Sarah Jane shout. I could've sworn it came from the door. "Mum!" Luke cries out. Clyde's head has snapped in that direction. All of us have. "That was her!" Again with being captain obvious. "K-9, isolate the time trace!" The Doctor instructs, kneeling to K-9's level. "Affirmative, Master." K-9 hurries to comply. Knowing our collective luck, this won't work. I'm staring intently at the door. "K-9!" The Doctor is tapping K-9's head. "Temporal schism divided in two, Master." The dog tells us. The Doctor looks like someone slapped him in the face. "Yes, of course. We're trapped here in 3:23:23 and Sarah Jane's trapped too, just in a different second." I blinked. That's his realisation? I thought that would have been everyone else's first conclusion, not just mine. Obviously she would also be trapped in a different second. From what I understand, the Trickster needs explicit agreement from his victims. While they may not fully understand why they are agreeing to, one thing I've noticed in the stories I've been told about him, they all knew there was some form of deal. It only makes sense for him to have to get Sarah Jane to make some form of deal with him, because obviously Peter has made a deal, Sarah Jane now has to agree to the side of the deal that has been made with her in mind. Right? Am I the only one to think of that? Also, did I completely miss the Doctor explain this to Clyde and the others? Apparently...yes.
"Doctor!" We hear the call coming from upstairs. "Ooh, ooh, she's upstairs!" The Doctor says, standing up slowly, his eyes fixed on the ceiling. "Come on! Luke, Asha, K-9, you watch for the TARDIS, you see it coming back, shout the place down!" He instructs, pointing his finger at us. "Orders accepted, Master." K-9 agrees with the time-lord. "You two, with me! Spit-spot!" He shouts, Rani, Clyde and the Doctor all running up the stairs. I let out a sigh and flop down onto a sofa. I look over at Luke. He also sits down, a bit slower than me. "So..." He trails off awkwardly. I try not to sigh. "Are you okay? You had a panic attack earlier." I'm thrown off for a second. I was expecting questions about the Doctor. "Honestly forgot about that. Yeah, no, I'm fine." I promise, feeling myself go red at his concern. "Okay. Can I just ask..." He trails off again. "How do I know the Doctor?" I finish for him. He shrugs awkwardly. I roll my eyes. "You are allowed to ask, I'm not going to get annoyed." I promise him. "Okay. Asha, how do you know the Doctor?" He asks, tilting his head like a puppy. I bite my cheek to stop myself from laughing at that visual. "I don't remember much about it. I must have been about...7 when he came. As far as I remember, there was a scientist gone mad near where I lived. He had accidently created killer robots that wanted to kill us all. I, being an overly curious child, wanted to find out more about the flashing lights. I ran into him and his friend, the loud red-haired woman." "Donna." Luke interrupts. My confusion must have shown, because he quickly carried on talking. "I kind of met them when the Daleks moved the earth a few years ago." He shrugs. Okay, definitely asking for that story later. "Yeah, that sounds about right. Anyways, it turns out that there was a deactivation button, which I was able to get to while Donna and him were arguing about how to get to the button. I think it knocked me out for a bit, but I do remember them getting cross with me for just running off, but they were also really happy that I had saved everyone." I shrugged self-consciously. I really don't remember much. "Then, what was the thing he gave you earlier?" Luke asked, looking where I was still gripping my ball. "Oh! I had forgotten about this!" I exclaimed, opening my hand. The little blue bouncy ball was laying innocently in my palm. "Just before he left, I gave him my favourite ball. I actually believed at the time that if you rolled it between your hands, nothing could scare you. And I knew he had a scary life, so I knew he probably needed it more than me. Anyways, what did you mean when you said you've 'kind of met him'?" He brightens up. "Oh, basically, you remember when the Earth was moved across space?" He asked. I nodded. "Well, Mum and I were part of this secret group who were responsible for calling the Doctor. We used Mr. Smith, the Rift-which is located in Cardiff-and the subwave network-which we were using as a sort of face-time thing. And then the Doctor was automatically added to the chat, and Donna was introduced." He explained. I was about to ask him another question when I heard the wheezing coming from the hall. "It's back!" I shout, leaping up from the sofa. I heard Luke and K-9 run after me as I burst into the place where the wedding ceremony was meant to happen.
"What's happening?" Luke cries as we come to a stop next to the Doctor. It looks like the door and only the door has materialised, with blue electricity crackling in the surrounding air. "Look!" The Doctor shouts, putting his arms around Rani and me. "That's pure artron energy! TARDIS power! Equal and opposite to the Trickster's power, that's how we can fight him!" He lets go of Rani and drags me to the door. He unlocks the door, and I slip under his arm, just as a powerful wind seems to knock everyone back. I run further into the TARDIS in order to make sure I don't get pushed out.
When I look up, my breath catches in my throat. It's...beautiful. It almost looks like the columns are made of coral, growing toward the roof. The console looks like a mess of buttons and levers, with a large glass cylinder in the center. The cylinder emits a bright bluish green light. I jump when the door slams. I turn. It's just me and the Doctor it seems. "Asha!" He cries, giving me a quick hug. "What happened? Where are the others?" I question. "I wasn't able to get them on before she dematerialised. She can't hold it for long. Come on! Time to get Sarah Jane!" He shouts, bounding up to the console. I walk up slowly. I make sure to stay out of his way as he charges around the console, mumbling and muttering to himself. I'm still holding my ball. "How long have you been holding onto this?" I ask slowly. I'm almost afraid to know the answer. "What thing?" He's avoiding my question. "The ball. It still looks like it did just over 7 years ago." I tell him. "Oh, well...I met you about three months ago. So three months." Has it really only been three months? "And what happened to Donna?" I ask, looking around. I feel as though she should have jumped out by now. "She...she left." He mutters. I furrow my eyebrows when he says this. What? But...she loved travelling with him! "Why?" I ask simply. He looks away from me. "Doctor. Why did she leave?" I push. He carries on. "Look, I won't push. But is she okay?" I ask, hesitantly. "Yeah. I made sure of it." He promised me. Suddenly, the screen he had light up. "Is that? No, Clyde!" He shouts, picking up his pace. I peer over his shoulder and scream. It's Clyde! He's holding the Trickster's hand! And there's that artron energy thing shooting out of his hand! His face is scrunched up in pain. "We need to hurry." I tell him. "I know, Asha. Yes!" He cries, jumping up and leaping towards the door. "I've got a lock on her! Come one!" He shouts as he pulls the door open. I quickly dash after him.
"Sarah!" He shouts as he opens the door. "Doctor?" I hear her! I stick my head around his back. "Sarah Jane!" I call. Her eyes widened in shock. "Asha?" "Gotta be quick. TARDIS can't stabalise. Clyde's fighting the trickster. Oh, your kids are brilliant!" He exclaims, arm around me, both keeping me steady and his way of expressing pride. "Doctor, what can I do? If I say no, we're trapped here forever, if I say yes, I condemn the world to the Trickster! Either way, I lose. There's no way out!" She sounds close to tears. I really want to just give her a hug, but I don't think the Doctor or Sarah Jane would be happy if I step out of the TARDIS. "It all rests with you, Sarah. Your greatest challenge." I scrunch my face up as I try to think. What's something all the deals had in common with each other? First was her best friend, the the graske and her parents, now Peter, apparently. I know that her friend and the graske were on the verge...of...death. No. It can't be! No! "How he can be defeated." The Doctor says, calmly giving Peter a significant look. I also look up at him, where his face is just one of complete bewilderment. "Oh, no. no" Sarah Jane breaths, having put the clues together as she looks at her fiance. She's pleading...I've never seen her like this. I feel the Doctor's hand on my shoulder tighten. He must have read something in my body language which indicated that I want to give Sarah Jane a hug. But I shouldn't leave the TARDIS. I'm so tempted to just rip myself away and leap towards her. I snap out of it when I hear a pained scream. "Clyde!" I shout. I ignore the Doctor's calls for me to stay. I need to get to Clyde. He collapses just as I get to him. I managed to wedge myself under his head before he hit it on anything. "Clyde! Come on, wake up. Clyde, Wake. Up! Clyde!" I'm screaming. I am vaguely aware of Sarah Jane and Peter talking, but all I can focus on is my unconscious best friend. "Clyde, you idiot. Wake up. Please." I'm still begging.
I look up when I hear a pained cry. It's the Trickster! He's...gone? I look up again. Peter is looking up. "So. Here I go.!" He says to Sarah Jane, who is...knelt by me, right, got it. Peter's eyes are fixed on her. "I wish I'd always known you." He says to Sarah Jane, the love her holds for her clear in both his eyes and his voice. I want to cry, so much. It's not fair! He's a good person! Sarah Jane is a good person! She's done so much for the universe, why can't it just do this one kind thing for her? SHE DESERVES BETTER! I curl over the limp form of Clyde. I'm trying to block out both what Sarah Jane and Peter are saying, giving them some form of privacy as they say their goodbyes, and my swirling thoughts. My hands move to try and locate the pulse on Clyde's neck. It's strong, so he should be fine. He's just unconscious due to the transfer of power. He's not dead. I repeat this to myself as I hear Sarah Jane break down slightly next to me. I lean against her arm. The door bursts open, with Luke, Rani, K-9, and the Doctor running through. "Mum! Asha!" "Luke!" She's crying. I am too. Luke presses his forehead to Sarah Jane when he kneels down in front of us. "Doctor! Oh, Doctor!" She sobs. The Doctor has run behind us, gathering her into his arms as he explains that we're now going home. Clyde has started moving again, just as the room begins shaking again. I hear the registrar saying those words again.
"If any person can show just cause or impediment why they may not be joined together, let them speak now, or forever hold their peace." I'm back in my chair. I'm sat just as I had been before the Doctor burst in. When did I get here? How? "Where's the Doctor gone?" Luke whispered. "That all really happened, didn't it?" Rani asked. Clyde looks at his hand. I feel something clenched in mine. "I still have my ball?" I mutter, the offending item still lying there. I slip it into the pocket I am now grateful I insisted on having. "Yeah." Clyde agreed. I'm guessing his hand is tingling. "Affirmative." K-9 chimes in. Luke stands up and walks over to his trembling mother. He whispers quietly to her before she turns to face us. There are tears welling up in her eyes. "I'm sorry, everybody." Her voice is much steadier than I was expecting. I hate this. "But I'm afraid the wedding is canceled." Her voice cracked on the last few words. She marches down the aisle, her bouquet of flowers dropping from her hand. After she walks out of the room, chaos breaks out. I hear mutters go round the room, everyone wants to know where Peter went. Luke is still frozen at the alter. I walk up to him and place my hand on his shoulder. "Come one. Let's get out of here." I gently steered him out of the room. Rani and Clyde have stood up and followed us out. K-9 rolls out behind us, quieter than I was aware he could go.
"How are we meant to get home with K-9? Clyde, how did you get here in the first place?" I ask once I realise our dilemma. "Oh, Mum dropped me off before heading off to her friend's wedding. She knew K-9 was Sarah Jane and Luke's so didn't question why I was bringing him to her wedding." Clyde tells me. "Right, well, we can't ask Gita or Haresh, neither of them know about K-9." I say. I then pause. "K-9...you can teleport yourself, can't you?" I ask, face palming when he confirms that yes, he can get himself home. "You do that, then. Sarah Jane is going to want some space after all this, so if we stick to the original plan of going with Rani's parents, then we ought to be fine getting back and leaving Sarah Jane with enough time for her to be comforted by us." I say, getting nods from everyone. K-9 the disappears. "Rani! Asha! Luke! Clyde!" Gita calls as she and Haresh hurry over to us. "We're heading off now. Are you all ready?" She asks, sounding much happier than we were. I had to remember that no one else knew that a man had just died. "Yeah. I think we are." I say, the four of us following them to the car.
We all head straight over to number 13. We walk into the attic to see Mr. Smith, Sarah Jane, and K-9. My heart shatters when I see her. She struggles to keep a smile on for more than a second when she sees us. Luke steps forward first. "Mum, are you alright?" He asks hesitantly. He knows the answer will be something of the lines of I'm fine, but it's the easiest question for any of us to ask in this situation. "I'm going to be fine. I've got you, haven't I?" She asks, looking around at all of us. I smile at her. "Good luck getting rid of us." I joke gently, going in for a hug. She huffs a small laugh, accepting the hug. She looks over my shoulder at Luke when he says, "I can't believe the Doctor ran off like that." I shake my head. "Sudden disappearing acts. Yeah, that's him all over." Sarah Jane says, pulling back from the hug. I let her go, knowing that there are some times you can only take so many hugs before they feel stifling. "Sarah Jane, escalation of temporal flux!" Mr. Smith suddenly says. K-9 pipes up a second later. "Temporal flux escalating!" I whiz round as the wheezing groaning noise of the TARDIS gets louder and the blue box gets more and more solid. "Doctor!" Sarah Jane exclaims softly. The door opens and out emerges the Doctor. "What do you take me for, Sarah? Just thought I'd go the quick way. Ooh, I like it in here!" He's distracted again. "Can we have a look?" Rani asks, hopefully. I quickly pull my puppy eyes. I know I've already been in there, but I want to actually be able to take it in! "What, in the TARDIS?" Why do I get the feeling he has either been really offended, or he's just messing with us. "My TARDIS?" Everyone shrinks, but that just confirms that he was messing with us. "Course you can, yeah." He nods his head, moving aside to let us in. I dash past, grinning over my shoulder as the others follow me. "Oh, wow! It really is, isn't it? It's bigger on the inside!" Clyde exclaims. I laughed. "It's beautiful!" Rani cries, fixating on the coral columns. Luke was looking at the wires around the edge, when he looks up at me. "Transcendental dimensions!" He tells me, sounding very excited. I grin back at him, knowing exactly what's going through his head. I'm leaning against the railings as the others all come to gawk at the console. "Hey, what does this do?" Clyde asks, pointing at a random button. "Hey, don't touch." Sarah Jane gently reprimands him, his finger quickly retracting.
We all move closer when Sarah Jane and the Doctor's conversation seems to be ending. The two of them seem to look over us with a certain amount of pride. "The future." Luke must have picked up the end of the conversation, as he stood the closest. "How about we could go for a ride?" He tries for innocent. "Or back! To the dinosaurs, yeah?" Clyde chimes in. "To another planet?" Rani begs. "Come on, Space man, you promised you'd take me for a ride when I was older!" I wheedled. He's just about to crack when Sarah Jane speaks up. "No way! For one thing, most of you were grounded by the Judoon." His face is hilarious when she says that! "And your parents would never forgive me. Go on!" She gestures to the door. I move to follow them out, but stop when I reach him. I pull my little ball out of my pocket. "Well, I still think you need this more than me." I hold it out to him. I can almost feel Sarah Jane's confusion as the Doctor takes it back gently before placing it back in his pocket. "Also, I haven't been grounded, so I'm still holding you to that promise." I walk out before he can respond. We are waiting another minute before Sarah Jane also walks out. She stands between Luke and Rani as the TARDIS dematerialises. Clyde looks over at her. "You were right. He is amazing." He tells her. "And so are we." She agrees, giving us all fond looks. We spend another few hours with her until we need to go home.
"How was the wedding?" Mum asks when I walk in. I freeze. "It...he disappeared during the ceremony." I went with the vague excuse Sarah Jane had told me to use for my mum. Mum and William weren't able to go, due to previous commitments they couldn't get out of. "He what?" William asked, coming out of the living room with Mum. "Disappeared." I repeated. "Look, it's been a long day, and I really need to sleep. Can I explain everything tomorrow?" I ask. The exhaustion must be clear on my face, as they let me go without even a token protest. I go to sleep dreaming of blue phone boxes and white roses.
AN: here's another 5,473 words. As usual, I don't own the Sarah Jane Adventures.