LitaQuest

<center><h1>LitaQuest</h1></center> <center>[[Begin.|Quest1]]</center> <center><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/43854598">AO3 Page.</a></center> <center>[[Credits.|CREDITS]]</center> (set: $litaTime1 to 0)

So, part one of this mission? Wildly successful, you'd say! Getting the key off the Doctor had been way easier than you thought it would be. He and Carrie had been so distracted by the [[woman with the sword and the smirk|Julie1]] that he'd handed it over [[without a second thought|Idiot1]] when you'd asked. You reckon you've got maybe half an hour, an hour at most, before either of them start [[getting suspicious|Bathroom1]] and coming after you, so you'd better make this quick. You're standing in front of the TARDIS, and you've got the door key, and you're on the hunt for [[some juicy Doctor-flavored secrets|HidingSomething1]], so really, there's only one thing left to do: <center>[[Open that door.|Quest2]]</center>

She'd introduced herself as Julie, and for some reason the Doctor and Carrie had found that especially significant. They'd jumped at the chance to start drinking with her, and also Carrie had been straight-up crying over her. Like, a whole lot. It seemed like she was having some kind of Moment there, some kind of Extremely Bisexual Moment, so maybe it hadn't been all that surprising that the Doctor was okay with you dipping on them. Like, Julie's pretty (you will freely admit that!) and seems cool, all things considered (the sword is definitely a point in her favor), but... you think you might be missing some context there. [[Aaaanyway.|Quest1]]

The lock clicks open, smooth as a dream, and you step forwards into [[the light and gentle engine-noise|TARDISThoughts1]] of the TARDIS's console room. She hums at you, pointedly. [[You try to ignore it|TARDISHum1]], and take off your jacket, hooking it over the back of one of the jumpseats. You close the door behind you and nervously rub a hand against your sleeve. Even though you've been thinking about this for a while, and you know that the Doctor is way too trusting to have things like [[security cameras or alarm bells or guard dogs|Security1]], you're still nervous at the thought of snooping around where you shouldn't be. You shake it off, quickly. You live here now. You live with him. You have the right to know. All right. Time to look for answers. Where to start? <center>[[Mess with the console.|ConsoleCheck1]] [[Head into the corridors.|Quest3]] [[Or you could just leave.|LEAVETARDIS1]]</center>

Big idiot move there, Doctor. Throwing someone the keys to your spaceship within days of knowing them? He's practically begging to get his secrets and/or ship and/or money stolen. Not that you're going to start digging through the Doctor's wallet for spare change. Probably. [[Maybe if you get really desperate for cash.|Quest1]]

You'd told them you were just popping in to use the TARDIS bathroom. You weren't entirely lying (17th century Earth bathrooms are not where it's at.) but it's not the full story. They don't need to know that. You really hope this isn't going take too long. [[If it does... well, hopefully they just assume you're having bathroom trouble or something.|Quest1]]

The Doctor's just, way too nice. Far too eager to invite you onboard into his absurdly advanced time-and-spaceship. He's always helping people and saving people and believing in people, but men like him don't do things like that for no reason at all. You know from experience. And besides that. Even besides that, everyone else seems to think that Doctor is synonymous with coward. They can't all be wrong. Conclusion? Simple. [[He's hiding something.|Quest1]]

You're an engineer, not an IT guy, damn it! But also, you're pretty sure you have a good enough grasp on [[the TARDIS's internal systems|LivingSpace1]] that you can get a good fact or two out of whatever databases the Doctor has set up. You hurry up to the console, and start furtively tapping your way through a whole lot of [[pointless security checks|SecurityCheck1]] and into the Juicy Stuff, TM. At least, what you hope is the Juicy Stuff, TM. Every second you spend on this is another second that the TARDIS's buzzing grows more and more disapproving, but eventually you get past the last [['click all of the photos of Gunther to prove that you're a sentient intelligent being who knows my cat's name and which one my cat is'|Captcha1]], and... <center>[[You're in.|ConsoleCheck2]]</center>

Through the doors and into the rest of the TARDIS you go. The hallways seem to [[hum even louder at you in here|TARDISHum2]], and the lights flicker uncomfortably as you set off down the long bright hallway that leads to... uh, everywhere, probably. You haven't been in the TARDIS for all that long, and you definitely haven't had a chance to [[explore all of it|Infinite1]], but there's a couple of locations you're fairly confident you can get to from here, even with the ever-shifting corridors. So with that in mind, you're going to raise your head and straighten your back and set off walking in the direction of... <center>[[Your room.|Quest_LitaRoom]] [[The kitchen.|Quest_Kitchen]] [[The wardrobe.|Quest_Wardrobe]] [[...None of these places. Somewhere else.|Quest4]]</center>

Really, now. What are you thinking? Looking through the TARDIS behind the Doctor's back? It's his ship, and he must have travelled with so many other people before you and Carrie. If it were you, you wouldn't just leave any secrets lying around. What do you think you're expecting to find - a bunch of skeletons piled up neatly in the closet? This is stupid. If he has killed anyone, you're pretty sure he's smart enough to hide the bodies somewhere where you won't be able to just stumble into them. Maybe you should just leave. <center>[[No. You're seeing this through. Check the console.|ConsoleCheck1]] [[Definitely seeing this through. Head into the corridors.|Quest3]] [[You're right. You can't do this. Just leave.|LEAVETARDIS2]]</center>

For all the time you'd spent trapped on the IS, unable to escape, you think you really should hate this place by now. But the truth is, you kind of really love it. Sentient ships are so hard to come by, and you find it hard to disagree with the Doctor on this count at least - his TARDIS is an astoundingly beautiful machine. She feels like home, as much as you sometimes wish she wouldn't. [[It's dangerous to start thinking that way.|Quest2]]

"Okay, listen. I haven't even done anything yet." Can a mechanical hum be accusing? You think it might be entirely possible! This is doing wonders for the small amount of guilt that you might just be possibly feeling in the midst of this situation. "...I'm not going to steal anything, or break anything, or - or mess with your systems. I promise. All I want to do is figure out what his deal is." [[The TARDIS doesn't sound entirely convinced, but at least the hum dies down...|Quest2]]

The Doctor hates guns, and cringes every time Carrie produces that baseball bat of hers from seemingly nowhere. Even if everything else about him is an act, you're pretty sure he's not faking that. [[Maybe 'coward' is right.|Quest2]]

All right. Fine. You're going. No more snooping for Lita Fane. You take the opportunity to actually go and use the bathroom, as you'd said you would, and throw your jacket back on before heading out into the dim evening of the French countryside. It's not like you've actually found anything of use, but it doesn't stop the distinct feeling of guilt from prickling up and down your spine as you tuck a roll of toilet paper into your pocket (be prepared!) and set off down the hill. You're so caught up in that guilt that it takes you a minute to realize that the creepy group of women in dark masking robes have made their way over to you. [[Oh no.|EscapeEnding2]]

It's so very easy to find your own room. The TARDIS seems to encourage it - and truth be told, you kind of want to take a few minutes to chill in here before you keep on looking. It's small and cosy in here - reminiscient of your room on the IS, certainly, but a bit more home-y than you remember. No longer [[quite so cold|Temp1]] and with [[many shelves, waiting to be filled.|homey1]] There's a box on the unused desk that had been here when you'd chosen this room as your own. You hadn't put the box there. It's got your name on it with the Doctor's familiar curly tiny handwriting. [[You figure you should probably open it.|box1]] <center>[[Keep looking elsewhere.|Quest3]] [[You should stop this.|LEAVETARDIS4]]</center>

The kitchen, which is possibly the worst-organized location in this entire [[poorly-organized spaceship|layout1]]. You grab an energy bar while you're here, hoping to clear your head a bit. You're a touch tipsy from the small amount of French alcohol you had tried, and you'd like a clear head if possible. [[The food in here is always so strange.|eating1]] <center>[[Keep looking elsewhere.|Quest3]] [[You should stop this.|LEAVETARDIS4]]</center>

You haven't spent any more than the bare minimum exploring the wardrobe, but even you can admit that it's got a pretty excellent variety of clothes to choose from. Carrie seems to delight in choosing the brightest colors, but you've always been more inclined to cool basic colors. Easier to blend in that way. You wonder how many of these clothes were originally the Doctors. It can't possibly be all of them. He probably stole a lot of them, didn't he? <center>[[Keep looking.|Quest3]] [[You should stop this.|LEAVETARDIS4]]</center>

Yeah, you're not going to find anything new in the places you've been already. Time to break some new frontiers. You want to find... <center>[[The Doctor's room.|Quest_DoctorRoom1]] [[Carrie's room.|Quest_CarrieRoom1]] [[Wherever the engine room is.|Quest_Eye1]]</center>

You're pretty sure the Doctor mentioned at some point that the TARDIS is functionally infinite. [[Yeah, you believe it.|Quest3]]

That hum really is getting more and more accusatory! You do not appreciate being judged by a time machine. You're having a tough time. You're going through things! Sometimes the best therapy is breaking into your friend, question mark?'s home and searching through all of their things for the answers you deserve! [[It's fine. You're fine!|Quest3]]

Living in the TARDIS for a lengthy but indeterminate period of time while the internal systems are glitching out wildly will give a person a pretty good basic grasp on that sort of thing. [[You're not perfect at it, but...|ConsoleCheck1]]

'What's Carrie Vu's middle name?' (Trick question, she doesn't have one, she told you, like, last week.) 'What's the Doctor's favorite color?' (All of them, he doesn't want to pick just one.) 'Favorite book?' (A Wrinkle In Time, he likes to complain about the inaccurate science and gush about the prose.) 'Name of the street he grew up on?' (You have to think about this for a second or two, before guessing - correctly - that he can't remember and it's another trick question.) This is all stuff that anyone who knew the Doctor for five minutes would be able to know. [[It's just bad security. You're almost disappointed.|ConsoleCheck1]]

This one takes a little longer than the others, because the photos of Gunther are cute enough to be a legitimate infohazard. She's just really, really cute. [[Maybe these were the real security measures all along.|ConsoleCheck1]]

Oh boy. There's a lot of data in here. But thankfully, there's several main folders, grouped together - almost obligingly, like the TARDIS had decided to compile it all for you, despite her clear unhappiness with the situation. Four folders catch your eye. The first seems to be a whole lot of video clips, news articles, and various bits-and-bobs taken from many, many different times and places. The second folder has a lot of images of people - most of whom you don't recognize at all, but Carrie's face is clearly visible among them. Another one has more people - most of them rocking the most horrifying fashion sense you've ever seen, and the Doctor's face is smiling at you out of the multitudes. Finally, there is what seems to be a compilation of TARDIS-related system files. Where to start? <center>[[The news-clip folder.|Data_Adventures]] [[The image of Carrie.|Data_Companions]] [[The image of the Doctor.|Data_Doctors]] [[The system files.|Data_TARDIS]] [[You've spent too long here. Close the files.|LEAVE_Data]]</center>

You open the folder and are instantly confronted with hundreds - no, thousands - no, let's just call it what it is, a truly absurd amount of first- and second- and third-hand accounts of encounters with the Doctor. Spanning all of time and space, of course. Why does he even have all of this saved? Scrolling quickly through all of it, a few things jump out at you. Several accounts of visits to Earth, including [[a Dalek invasion]]. A near-apocalypse [[in your home galaxy, of all places]]. And a very long adventure involving something called [[a 'confession dial']]... <center>[[Keep on looking.|ConsoleCheck2]]</center> (set: $litaTime1 to it + 1)

The Doctor has had a lot of friends, over the years, you realize - this folder contains each and every one of them. Photos, notes, scraps of information about them from before and after the Doctor met them. You don't have nearly enough time to go through all of them, but for some reason, a few of them catch your eye. There's [[Carrie.|Carrie_x]] There's [[a man with a cheerful grin, messy hair, and a spark of green in his eyes.|Travis_x]] There's [[a young woman with a short bob of dark hair, marked 'deceased'.|Peri_x]] And there's [[another young woman in black-and-white, simply marked 'granddaughter'.|Susan_x]] <center>[[Keep on looking.|ConsoleCheck2]]</center> (set: $litaTime1 to it + 1)

It takes you a few minutes longer than it should to realize that... all of these extremely different people you're looking at are the Doctor, somehow. Maybe you should've expected it - the Doctor's mentioned, Carrie's mentioned it; even some of the people you've bumped into that knew the Doctor, before - they alluded to it to. But this is what's really making it click. You don't have nearly enough time to go through all of these Doctors, but for some reason, a few of them catch your eye. There's the [[Doctor you know,|Dan!Doc_x]], a [[woman with curly hair and a scarf|Riley!Doc_x]], a [[man with equally curly hair and the worst coat you've ever seen|Doc6_x]], and an [[older man with a dusty overcoat and a horribly haunted look in his eyes|war!doc_x]]. <center>[[Keep on looking.|ConsoleCheck2]]</center> (set: $litaTime1 to it + 1)

Parsing through the many technical specs the TARDIS has to offer leaves you none the wiser to how the hell this place is supposed to function. It's a technical wonder, but you think you're going to stick to the gears-and-wires side of things. Much more easy to visualize. Also, no interesting secrets - although you're not sure what you were expecting to learn. <center>[[Keep on looking.|ConsoleCheck2]]</center> (set: $litaTime1 to it + 1)

{(if: $litaTime1 > 10)[ (go-to: "FightTheTARDIS") ] (else:)[ (go-to: "LeaveDataReal")] } IF/THEN CHECK: if Lita's examined more than two of the folders, then this is where she gets into a TARDIS fight. If she's backing off before then, she can go examine the rest of the TARDIS.

For a moment, you think that the Doctor must have followed you, by the sudden wave of dread that rushes over you as you step back from the console. But it's not - you're still the only one in the room. It's just that the TARDIS really doesn't sound happy about the, uh, 'explorative research' you were attempting. "Hey! Whoa! I wasn't going to look any more. I'm done here. I just wanted to know." You sound defensive, even to your own ears. And it's not even entirely truthful, because you know that you were absolutely going to go and try to find the Doctor's room or graveyard or whatever next. The TARDIS seems to know that, by the amount of noise she's making. You think that you might be about to have a Serious Problem on your hands. [[This feels like a conflict. All right.|TardisFight1]]

You have been thoroughly disappointed by this experience! But maybe you shouldn't have expected the Doctor to just leave all of his dirty secrets in an easily-accessible database where anyone can just walk in and look for it. You can give him that much credit, at least. So what now, Lita? <center>[[Head into the corridors.|Quest3]] [[Feed the cats.|FeedCats1]] [[You could leave now.|LEAVETARDIS3]]</center>

The cats' food and water bowls are tragically depleted. They haven't started yelling sadly about how hungry they are just yet, but you already know from experience it's just a matter of time. You've never done this before, but you've seen the Doctor and Carrie feed them before. It's not that hard to refill the bowls, and it's also a nice thing to do. Maybe the Doctor will thank you when he notices. Wait. No. Why would you care about that? <center>[[Okay, now head into the corridors.|Quest3]] [[Wait for the cats to show up.|WaitForCats1]] [[Maybe you should leave now.|LEAVETARDIS3]]</center>

According to this - this incident isn't the first time the Doctor has fought the Daleks. According to this, it probably won't be the last. He doesn't like the Daleks, but then again, who does? He'd taken care of them with ruthless efficiency that had scared local bystanders possibly even more than the Daleks themselves had - but how do you deal with Daleks, if not with ruthless efficiency? You can appreciate someone who deals with the Daleks like that. You really can. Maybe he's not so bad. [[But hating Daleks is kind of the bare minimum, isn't it?|Data_Adventures]]

You hadn't even known he was there - apparently nobody did. He'd been very quiet about it, hadn't taken credit at all - some sort of swarm of ever-devouring insects, set to rip the Sunken Boundaries to atomic components. You were alive, when it happened. You could have died. You're sure he must remember the incident, but he hasn't mentioned it, not even once. [[You silently close that file. You're not sure what to make of it.|Data_Adventures]]

... They'd trapped him in a torture chamber for billions of years. He hadn't confessed and he hadn't broken. He'd punched his way out instead, and seemed to consider it the only reasonable retailiation to the situation. His people sound horrified and confused in the report you find, and you're more than a little horrified and confused yourself. [[Why would he ever do that to himself?|Data_Adventures]]

'CARRIE VU. BORN: February 1993. DIES: not yet.' This entry's split between a lot of blurry happy selfies featuring Carrie and the Doctor (as well as some other people you don't recognize), and a pretty detailed medical record of her, noting all the foods she's allergic to, and all the foods that, despite being allergic to, she'll try to eat anyway. There's also a running list of all the times the Doctor has asked her to please stop choosing violence - and another, only slightly shorter, list, of all of the hypocritical times he's given in and asked her to use the baseball bat because it's the only option left at their disposal. [[Carrie is a woman of many lists.|Data_Companions]]

'PERPUGILLIAM CHRYSANTHEMUM BROWN. BORN: MAY 1966. DIED: ???.' Okay, first things first, what a name. Second things second, whatever happened to this lady... it wasn't great, you don't think. There's a lot of contradictory information. You think she's dead. Dead or on another planet. Or possibly both at once? Hard to tell. There's something about a mind transplant, some pretty gruesome photos and articles, some court transcripts... You came here for answers, but you suddenly don't feel comfortable about reading this at all. These aren't dirty, juicy secrets. They're just sad ones. One thing's clear: Perpugilliam Brown didn't leave the Doctor for a happy reason. [[You can't work out what's worse: her name or whatever happened to her.|Data_Companions]]

'SUSAN.' No further data on her birth or death, apparently that sort of thing on the Doctor's home planet is, uh, complicated. Fair enough. Lots of photos of her, and apparently she... lives on Earth now? Strange, because the Doctor's never mentioned her. Maybe not so strange, because the Doctor hasn't mentioned any of these people, but still - you'd think he'd bring up his own granddaughter. And even though it's his granddaughter, there's no photos of him with her. There's an old man with hair so grey it's white, there's many other people, and Susan is smiling in each and every one of them, but... you can't see the Doctor anywhere. Not this Doctor, anyway. Has he never visited her recently? And if she is dead, what happened to her? [[Wait, if he has a granddaughter, does that mean he has KIDS? Is the Doctor a DAD? WHAT?|Data_Companions]]

'TRAVIS PARKER KILLIAN. BORN: August 1975. DIES: (DATA EXPUNGED)' This is a very detailed entry, and you gradually realize that might be due to the fact that 'Travis Parker Killian', whoever he was, wrote a lot of it himself. There's notes about the TARDIS library organization system, a lot of things about the interaction between neurochemistry and technology, and a whole slew of book and movie reviews for things that you've never even heard of. Photos of him and Carrie hanging out seem to indicate that they know each other, as well as some other woman with curly hair and glasses - but you can't ever remember either her or the Doctor mentioning him. There's a note at the end of his entry that appears to be directly from him. He's begging anyone who comes after him to please please keep the TARDIS databases sanitized and properly filtered, since apparently 'they' (whoever 'they' are) have only just managed to get it all under control and Travis probably isn't coming back to the TARDIS for a while. (Apparently the Doctor doesn't input new entries properly, and this is terrible. You don't know enough to comment, but knowing the Doctor... it seems likely.) [[Seems like a nice guy.|Data_Companions]]

Well, apparently the Doctor you know is less than a month old. Which is extremely surprising - but at the same time, not that surprising at all, given how he acts. It's not a lot that you don't already know. He hasn't been anywhere you don't know about, doesn't have any friends apart from you and Carrie. There's a few pictures in here you didn't even know had been taken (kind of creepy, if you're honest), but apart from that... [[No new information. Now, why is that disappointing?|Data_Doctors]]

You instantly like the look of this one. She's got a discerning look in her eyes that makes you feel like she wouldn't put up with any bullshit anyone offered her. Like she'd cut straight to the root of a problem rather than waste time offering platitudes about it. Plus, her boots are neat. The data here is corrupted. There's something about a 'Doctorate Program', something about someone called 'the Master'... and a bunch of photos of her with a lot of people you don't recognize. You try reading further into it, but it all becomes a jumbled mess and you end up closing the file in frustration. Why can't you find anything you're looking for today? [[Carrie was in the photos, too. Did Carrie travel with her? She must have.|Data_Doctors]]

Wow, that coat is even worse now that you're looking at it up-close. You're not one to judge for fashion choices, but also, there's been a terrible accident at the rainbow factory and NOBODY has bothered to clean it up. There's a lot of process here. This Doctor, whoever he was, apparently got put on trial for 'breaking the Primary Law', whatever that was. You're not sure and the file doesn't elaborate, but wow that sounds bad. Something about talking penguins, something about chocolate cake, a lot of paradoxes... [[This man might be even more absurd than your Doctor. And that's saying something.|Data_Doctors]]

It's an awfully short entry for such an angry and sorrowful-looking man. It's the look you see in your Doctor's eyes sometimes, but - more raw. More immediate. Not a lot of pictures of him and his friends. Doesn't look like he had many friends. There's not a lot of pictures of him at all. He'd fought in the Second Great Time War, the entry says. You've never heard of that - or any other Time War, come to think of it. But the implication is pretty clear - the Doctor was a soldier, once. [[You've never especially trusted soldiers.|Data_Doctors]]

The situation: you appear to have exceeded your alotted Snooping Quota for the day. The TARDIS doors - internal AND external - have just made an ominous ker-chunk noise, and you have a feeling that the Doctor's gifted TARDIS key isn't going to work on them anymore. You have no idea what the TARDIS is going to do to you, but you're not just going to stand around and take it. If she's looking for a fight, you're sure as hell going to fight back. Even if you're not sure how you're supposed to beat a sentient all-powerful time machine. Whatever, you'll work it out. What are you going to do? <center>[[Talk.|TardisFight_1_Talk]] [[Move.|TardisFight_1_Move]] [[Do.|TardisFight_1_Do]] [[Fight.|TardisFight_1_Fight]]</center>

"I'm sorry, all right? I didn't mean to make you upset - I didn't mean to make the Doctor upset, I - " You take a very deep breath. " - I think the only person I was trying to upset was myself." [[The TARDIS is abruptly silent. Waiting.|TARDISTalkEnd1]]

You're pretty sure they're not going to be unlocked, but you make a mad dash for the doors anyway. And you're right - you rattle and slam on them, they don't move an inch - but the desperate dive saves you anyway. Seconds later, a hole in the ground opens up right where you'd been standing - a trip downwards straight into darkness. "Hey," you say, horrified. <center>[[Talk.|TardisFight_2_Talk]] [[Move.|TardisFight_2_Move]] [[Do.|TardisFight_2_Do]] [[Fight.|TardisFight_2_Fight]]</center>

Back to the console you go! You are STILL an engineer, and STILL not the IT guy, but you've seen the Doctor open the doors remotely from here, so there's got to be a convinient button or something you can push, or some part of the console you can whack. And it's the console that saves you when, seconds later, a hole opens up in the floor only just behind you. You seize onto the edge to prevent yourself from toppling down into pitch blackness. Understandably, you are not happy about this situation. "What?! What is this?" <center>[[Talk.|TardisFight_2_Talk]] [[Move.|TardisFight_2_Move]] [[Do.|TardisFight_2_Do]] [[Fight.|TardisFight_2_Fight]]</center>

You kind of wish you had Carrie's baseball bat right now. You fumble in a pocket and flick your multitool to the most pointy setting you've got. You don't want to stab the TARDIS! (Mainly because you don't know what will happen! Oh god!) But you will! If provoked! As it turns out, whatever you're planning to do, you aren't nearly quick enough - the TARDIS has acted before you could. The floor buckles beneath you, and the multitool drops from your grip into a genuine proper abyss. (What???) You make a desperate dive for the part of the floor that hasn't turned into a straight shot down to hell or wherever, but you're not quite coordinated enough to manage it. [[You fall.|DoctorEnding1]]

Gunther must be off doing something inscrutable and cat-like, but after a few minutes of waiting in one of the jump seat chairs, Mr Meezers wanders in, making his way to the food bowls. He seems pleased with your decision to feed him. That's his only reference for you as a living entity: a person who occasionally dispenses head-pats and food. It's kind of nice to know exactly what the TARDIS cats want from you. You kind of get why the Doctor and Carrie keep them around now. You inch over to him when he's done eating. He's very soft, and accepts a few gentle, cautious pats. (There really aren't cats where you come from, you're still getting used to this.) Okay. You can't just sit around here all day. <center>[[Seriously, now's the time to head into the corridors.|Quest3]] [[You really don't want to do this. You're getting out of here.|LEAVETARDIS3]]</center>

The Game of Rassilon is an actual-play Doctor Who podcast, and this is a fanwork! I'm not associated with them. This was written for Yuletide 2022 by TheBigCat, for lurking_latinist. Happy Yuletide!! [[MENU]]

... You find yourself in what is unmistakably a cell. It's not, like, a terrible cell - it's comfortable enough, there's facilities and even a bed with pillows - but it's definitely a Locked Location That Is Meant To Contain A Sentient Being That Has Done Wrongdoing. You've seen your fair share of those, even before the Doctor. You done messed up, Lita, you think to yourself. This is exactly what you didn't want to happen. [[You sit on the bed, sigh, and settle down to wait.|DoctorEnding2]]

"THIS IS NOT COOL!" you shriek, pressing yourself fiercely away from the hole in the ground. "I thought you were cool! I thought we had something going on, here! I repaired your systems for all that time, isn't that worth something?" The hole is spreading now, rippling through the ground of the console room, gently skirting around the cats' food and water bowls (extremely considerate, you're sure the cats will appreciate it). "I just wanted to know," you tell the TARDIS, fingers braced fiercely against the wall as if that's going to save you. "Why is that so wrong? I just need to know if I can trust him." There's nowhere to run and nowhere to hang onto. [[You fall.|DoctorEnding1]]

Parkour is not your strong suit! You're going to die! But it's basically your only option at this point, since trying to make a straight dash across the room isn't possible, what with the huge hole in the floor and all. The hole is spreading now, rippling through the ground of the console room, gently skirting around the cats' food and water bowls (extremely considerate, you're sure the cats will appreciate it). You gear up all your strength, and throw yourself at the nearest patch of solid ground, hoping that you'll have enough space to manouvre yourself to the internal doors. You probably shouldn't have put all of your eggs in the 'I will perform amazing feats of acrobatic skill' basket, though. You really aren't that good. You trip. You curse. [[You fall.|DoctorEnding1]]

There's one last chance. You dig the TARDIS key out from the inside of your pocket, and - trying not to panic too hard - shove it into the inside lock. To your surprise, it turns easily, and the door creaks open, just in time. The hole is spreading now, rippling through the ground of the console room, gently skirting around the cats' food and water bowls (extremely considerate, you're sure the cats will appreciate it). Just as it's about to get to you, you push the door open, shove yourself out, and slam it behind you. [[The outside air is calm and fresh.|EscapeEnding1]]

You can't exactly fight a big hole in the ground, so you inch your way to the external door and try to fight that instead. A tactical elbow slammed against the glass windows gets you... absolutely nothing, apart from a bruised elbow. Of course the window glass is unbreakable. The hole is spreading now, rippling through the ground of the console room, gently skirting around the cats' food and water bowls (extremely considerate, you're sure the cats will appreciate it). There's nowhere to run and nowhere to hang onto. [[You fall.|DoctorEnding1]]

"I won't - I won't look around anymore." You're staring at the ground. You feel like a kid that's been caught with her hand in the electrochemical components jar, and it's the worst feeling in the word. "I probably should have asked him directly to start with, it's just... hard, you know?" A second passes, and then an affirmative hum. "I'm so messed up," you say quietly. "Everything about me is, and I don't deserve this, any of this. I'll try better, though. I'll..." You take a breath. "I'll talk to him." The TARDIS door creaks open. [[You figure this means you're good to go.|ENDPROPER]]

For a minute, you just sit down on the grassy hill, and pant, and panic. You really hope the TARDIS isn't going to tell the Doctor about this, but there's no way you're that lucky. And there's no way that you're just going to disappear off into 16th-century France and try to live the rest of your life in whatever passes for civilization around here - the Doctor would try to track you down, and there's no doubt in your mind that he would eventually find you. Oh, you've messed up. You've messed this one up so bad. You're so caught up in these miserable thoughts that it takes you a minute to realize that the creepy group of women in dark masking robes have made their way over to you. [[Oh no.|EscapeEnding2]]

Looking for the Doctor's room is harder than you thought it'd be. The hallways seem to be actively rearranging themselves against you. The hallways twist back on themselves, and you keep finding yourself in the ballpit room. You are getting very, very sick of the ballpit room. It feels like you've been in there for hours when you finally come across an unobtrusive, unlabelled door, and you know you've found your mark. You're not sure why the TARDIS gave in and let you find it - because there's no other way you could have got here. [[Maybe you're just that stubborn.|RoomEnding1]]

Surprisingly, it's just as easy to find Carrie's room as it is to find yours. You've never actually been here before, but it's not like it can be anyone else's - [[cat bed in the corner|MMbed1]], empty hook for a baseball bat hanging over the bed, bright colors and cheerful posters threatening happiness and violence both all over the walls. You're immediately uncomfortable being here. You're looking for the Doctor's secrets, not Carrie's. With Carrie, what you see is basically what you get. You think she might be physically incapable of faking something for longer than ten minutes. <center>[[Keep looking elsewhere.|Quest3]] [[You really, really should stop this.|LEAVETARDIS4]]</center>

You don't find the engine room. You just find some huge room with a massive glowing sphere right at the centre of it all that makes your skin prickle and your eyes burn. Part of you wants to stay and examine it, because you know deep within yourself that this is absolutely some sort of mechanical function, but another part of you wants to run screaming a million miles in the opposite direction. Ah, the duality of man. <center>[[Keep looking, but not at the glowing sphere. Leave.|Quest3]] [[You NEED to stop this.|LEAVETARDIS4]]</center>

The temperature on the IS had always been just a few degrees too chilly for your liking. The Doctor says it's probably because the TARDIS hadn't had the spare power for anything but default temperature settings. [[Time Lords run cold, apparently.|Quest_LitaRoom]]

They're very hopeful-looking empty shelves. You haven't bothered to try to fill any of them yet. You're not sure you'll be sticking around that long. [[Best not to get hopeful.|Quest_LitaRoom]]

If the layout were halfway sensible, you wouldn't be this annoyed. If the hallways would stop shifting around you, you'd be even less annoyed. [[You're pretty sure the Doctor's never even CONSIDERED mapping the TARDIS.|Quest_Kitchen]]

Whenever the Doctor or Carrie cook, it's always food you've never heard of, ingredients you don't know the names of. It's not that it's bad, it's just weird. You miss your mum's soup. You're not sure if your mum misses you, or even thinks about you, but... [[Hey, sometimes that's just how these things go. ANYWAY.|Quest_Kitchen]]

Time passes. [[Footsteps approach.|DoctorEnding3]]

... In the chaos of getting kidnapped by bat nuns and meeting Julie's girlfriend and burning an abbey down, you almost manage to forget everything. And the Doctor doesn't say a word, which must mean the TARDIS never told him, right? So everything's fine. You don't need to think about it, and he doesn't need to talk to you about it, and no apologies are necessary, and you are just fine with that. Really. You are. <centre>[[End.|MENU]]</centre>

The Doctor looks a little upset (fair enough), a little windswept (running probably was involved, knowing him), and a little worried (and that, you don't understand). He says, "Oh, Lita. I'm sorry about that. The TARDIS can be a bit overprotective sometimes. She didn't hurt you, did she?" You say, "No," because you think it's what he wants to hear, but also what's his angle supposed to be here, anyway? Has the TARDIS not told him, or something? Why wouldn't she have told him? He says, "Good, good," and seems distracted. "We sorted out the bat-nun problem, incidentally. No need to worry about that, and Julie seems happy enough." [[You want to ask about the bat-nuns but you're pretty sure the context is going to be insane and intricate, so you decide against it.|DoctorEnding4]]

You say, "I'm sorry," and mean it, but at the same time, the Doctor says something else. He says, "I didn't want to force you to have this conversation, you know," and you don't know what to say to that, and he continues like that's not a problem. "I know you don't trust me. And that's all right, Lita, that really is, I never would expect you to; heaven knows you don't have any reason to." And you feel like the very worst person in the world. "It's all right that you wanted to know," he says, and he looks very sad, very terribly sad, "but I wish you had just asked me upfront. I would have told you anything you wanted to know. I really would have." [[And now you feel even worse, even though you're not sure if he's lying or not.|DoctorEnding5]]

Carefully, you rip the tape from the top of the box, and peer inside. And within... It's a lot of things you don't recognize or understand. Some books, some boxes marked 'Sunken Boundaries', some jackets and a few bundles of colorful socks. For a second, you don't understand why the Doctor would put a box of any of this in your room, and then you do. It's some sort of bribe. He's just trying to get something out of you by providing you with... a lot of things, to replace all of the things you lost. [[You don't know what that something is yet, but that's the only explanation.|Quest_LitaRoom]]

Mr Meezers is nowhere to be found, but the sheer amount of fur is a pretty good indication that he's been here recently. [[She loves that cat.|Quest_CarrieRoom1]]

The Doctor's room is surprisingly normal, for... a room that is the Doctor's. For a second, you just stand in the doorway and take it in. The bed, the scraps of mechanical projects in a pile on the floor that you're kind of itching to play with, the half-open closet full of identical suits and jackets and ties. ...The diary on the desk. [[It's so very tempting.|RoomEnding2]]

When Carrie asks you later what took so long, you just cite bathroom trouble, and she shrugs and changes the topic. The Doctor doesn't say anything. You hope he never finds out. You're pretty sure that if you'd stayed in that room a second longer, you would have read the diary, and there's a part of you that knows you never could have come back from that. <centre>[[End.|MENU]]</centre>

... In the chaos of getting kidnapped by bat nuns and meeting Julie's girlfriend and burning an abbey down, you almost manage to forget the whole situation. But returning to the TARDIS brings it back to the front of your mind, and after a moment of steeling yourself, you take a deep breath. You hate the very thought of this upcoming conversation, but it needs to be done. "Doctor," you say, turning to him. "We should probably talk." <centre>[[End.|MENU]]</centre>

"I really am sorry about the 'throwing you down into a containment cell' thing," he adds, when it becomes apparent that you're not going to say anything. "We've had a talk about it. She's very sorry. She's not going to do it again." "I'm - me too," you mutter, and then, louder: "Yeah. Um. Yeah - sorry. I... saying sorry feels like, just, the least authentic thing I could say, but Doctor, I really am sorry - I just..." And you trails off. And he smiles, and it's still sad, and he says, "Lita, I know." And he turns, and pauses. "I'll be in the library, if you need me. I think Carrie should be in her room. Come talk when you think you have it all sorted in your head, all right? I really would love to talk." [[And he's gone.|REALPROPERENDINGYES]]

Slowly, you get up. Slowly, you leave. You're still fitting the words together in your head, but you figure... By the time you make it to the library, you'll probably have at least some version of a proper apology together. <centre>[[End.|MENU]]</centre>