February 2, 2009
7:00 AM

Ella woke up to the sound of the Doctor’s endless monologues.
  Something wasn’t right.  Something couldn’t have been right.  She didn’t have any nightmares the evening before.
  Ella always had nightmares, each and every night.
  “Morning,” the Doctor said cheerfully, not seeing the dread on Ella’s face.  His eyes gleamed, happy to meet the day.  “Carpe Diem, as they say in Latin.”
  “Seize the day,” she recited, drowsy. “Have you figured out where we are yet?”
  She paused.  Something was even more off than she expected.
  “Back in London,” said the Doctor.  The look in Ella’s eye got his attention. “What?”
  “You-said-the same things yesterday,” she said, shocked.
  “No I didn’t,” he protested, his dialogue changing.
  “See, right there it was different, that’s ‘cos I said something different!”
  “I promise, Ella, I didn’t say the same thing yesterday.”  He turned to the TARDIS security camera and played back the footage of February 1, 2007. 
   “Morning.” The little Doctor spoke on the camera.
  “Wait! That says February 1, not February 2,” Ella announced.
  “Today is February 2,” he said.
  She blank faced.
  “I was right.”
  “About what?”
  “The—“she stopped, realizing that this was the Doctor of the past.  This Doctor wouldn’t believe a word she said.  Ella was a day ahead of him-sort of, kind of, not really, since she hadn’t lived that day yet.  It would be no use to explain it to him. 
  “Nothing,” she said quickly.
  “Are you feeling alright?” He asked, looking befuddled.
  “Yeah. So! Out to breakfast!” She grabbed his hand and pulled him out the TARDIS door.
8:30 AM
  Ella gulped down the last drop of orange juice.
  Whilst doing that, she spat some back into the cup; she didn’t want to do everything the same.
  She had to act exactly like it was yesterday, and figure out how to get back to the present day, and carry on a conversation.  Luckily, she remembered that she was zoned out during the Doctor’s ramblings.
  But if she listened, something important may have been in his ramblings all along. So, she did.
  “…You’d think that it wouldn’t matter,” he went on, “but it did.”
  “What mattered?”  She asked, taking interest. 
  “Nothing,” He sighed. “Nothing important, anyways.”
  “Oh, come on, Doctor! What is it?”
  His eyes cast a weary look, off into the distance. “I had the strangest dreams last night.”
  “Really! What of?” She leaned against the table.
  “There was one about you repeating the same day over and over again.”
  She winced, not wanting to point out the truth.  “What else?”
  “Something about a Time Beetle…”
  Ella snapped to attention. “Time Beetle!  What about them?”
  “I can’t quite remember.”
  “Remember now!”
  “Why’s it so important to you?” He raised an eyebrow.
  “Because…because it is.  What about them?” She demanded.
  “Fine.  I think it had said something-“
  Her mouth gaped open. “They talk?”
  “It was a dream, mind you.   Something about a week.  ‘A week, or she’ll be stuck here forever.’” He was puzzled by her lost expression.
  “Was it-“She continued to stare at him, surprised.  “Talking about me?”
  “Um…yes.  But it was a dream!  Nonsense, don’t you think?”
  This was obviously some cryptic message left by the Beetle.  Ella began muttering under her breath. “…That means…I have a week, as of now…to get back to the present.”
  “What’s that?” The Doctor asked, more concerned.
  “Spoilers,” she said, growing impatient. “Library! Now!”
9:00 AM
  Before heading off to the library, they stopped back at the TARDIS, same time as yesterday. (Or, today. Tomorrow?)
  “Ella, I know something’s wrong. What is it?” His concern was overwhelming.  Especially for the Koriz-Human girl, who was desperately searching his mind, in case there was something else she needed to know.
  “The only thing that’s wrong,” she mumbled, sorting through his thoughts, “is the fact that I’m living the same day over again with no explanation whatsoever.”
  “What?”
  “Nothing. Tell me all you know on Time Beetles, forget the library, they’d know just about as much as that guy who had the doctorate in ‘Earthonomics’ on the Titantic replica thing,” she hissed. 
  “Well,” he began, “They can definitely mess up one’s personal timeline.”
  “I already know that, tell me some…little-known-facts, something like that,” she said, frantic.  Still looking through thoughts, she started mouthing things from the Doctor’s dreams.  Why she was seeing his dreams, she had no clue.
  The Time Beetle, now the size of a large school bus, loomed over the Doctor, tiny compared to the insect.
  “It is the day,” the creature announced.  “It is the point in time that I shall use against her.”
  “It was traumatic enough,” he said.  “That was true panic back there, and she shouldn’t have to live through it every single day!”
  “Maybe not,” the Beetle bargained. “A week. I give her a week, or she’ll be stuck living that day forever, the rest of eternity!”
  The Doctor sighed. “If you’re messing with her life, why be on my back?”
  “For kicks,” it snarled.
  “Quit that,” he snarled back.
  “Because, using the one she cares about most, I can make her think you don’t believe her…nonsense about me.”
  The Doctor looked ticked off at the Beetle.  “You wouldn’t.”
  “I will, and I can,” it said.  “While I’m at it, maybe I should make you believe that this isn’t happening either—“
  “Noooo!”
  “Noooo!” Ella yelled.
  “Ella? Are you alright?” he stared at her, a long, hard stare.
  “Fine. Perfectly fine. Everything’s fine.” She gave a cheesy cover-up grin.
  “You really are acting funny.  Not ha-ha funny, strange funny, you feeling alright?” he asked.
  “Seven more days,” she told herself. “Seven more days.”
11:35 AM
  “You need to stop panicking.”
  She turned to the Doctor.  “What?”
  “You’re panicking again.” He said it like everyone could tell.
  They were out on the streets of London.  She supposed, if she got the worse part of her day over with, it might help.
  “You’re right, I’m wasting time.”
  “Not the answer I was expecting, but okay.” He nodded. “Why are you panicking, anyways?”
  She took in a breath. “No reason.”
  “That’s kind of useless, then, if there’s no reason,” he pointed out.
  “Well, there is a reason, but it’s complicated,” she blushed.
  “Care to tell me?” He tilted his head in the curious way he did, like an owl.
  “You wouldn’t understand.”
  “Yes I would.”
  “No, it wouldn’t make sense, even to you.”
  I just want this day to end, she thought, but it won’t.
  She sighed and thought of Time Beetles again.  Then, the familiar sense of panic ensued…as she saw it.
  On the Doctor’s back.
  Again.
  “You’re looking at me funny,” he said, “What is it?”
  They stopped in front of another café. “Ella? Now what?” She didn’t answer, lost in thought. “’Lo there. Anyone home?”
  “Time beetle.”
  “There’s no Time beetle, it’s just your imagination.”
  The world started making her dizzy. “Doctor, it’s on your back…”
  “Nothing’s on my back.  Come to reality, Ella. Come on.”
  Ella started backing up.  “How are you not seeing this? It’s on your back.”
  “Oh, boy,” the Doctor moaned. “Back to the TARDIS, come on.”
  “Ugh…” she was beginning to look faint. 
2:30 PM
  “Argh…” a cross between a yawn and a groan came out of her mouth.
  “Easy.  Can you see anything?” the Doctor looked her over.
  “Yes.  I think I’m going back to sleep…” her eyes began drooping closed again.
  “No, no, no, no, no, stay with me.”
  “What day is it again?”
  “February 2, 2009.”
  “I don’t want it to happen again…” And with that, the cycle started back up again.
4:00 PM
  Ella had to be dreaming.
  Yes, especially if there was a giant Time Beetle in front of her.
  “You failed,” it said. “You failed Sunday.”
  “If you mean the day I’m stuck in, why call it Sunday? It wasn’t Sunday, it was Monday,” she said.
  “No, Sunday’s the first day of the week.  That was your first day, your first chance. Sunday,” the Beetle explained.
  “Fine, Sunday.” She rolled her eyes.  “Then, how do I get back?”
  “Like I’d tell you,” the Beetle said snidely. 
  “Six days left, then,” she stated.
  “May the odds be ever in your favor,” It grunted.
 

February 2, 2007
7:00 AM
Ella woke up that morning realizing a difference: a nightmare.
The Beetle nightmare, that is.
“Morning,” the Doctor said cheerfully, not seeing the dread on Ella’s face. His eyes gleamed, happy to meet the day. “Carpe Diem, as they say in Latin.”
“Seize the day,” she recited, drowsy. “Have you figured out where we are yet? Wait, let me guess, London.”
“Right. Did you read my mind to figure that out?”
“No, just knew.” She got out of bed. “Right, now you suggest we go out to breakfast…”
“Let’s go out for breakfast. Wait, how did you--?”
“No time to explain, just time to think, off we go!” She said, rushed, dragging the Doctor out the TARDIS door.
8:00 AM
Ella gulped down the last drop of orange juice, mind racing.
A plan! That’s what she needed, that’s what she’d figure out. But it was also what she didn’t have.
She decided to slip her thoughts casually into the conversation. “Doctor, say you needed a plan. Do you make it up on the spot, or do you think about it for a while?”
“I suppose most people think about it, plan it out, hence the word. Typically, however, I’m known for making ‘em up on the spot. Why d’you ask?” His words strung together as one long thought.
“No reason. Curious. They say curiosity killed the cat, but I don’t believe that saying, do you?” She kept him going. Ella knew the longer he talked, the more time she had.
“Well…” he started another whirlwind explanation. She zoned out.
The Time Beetle was at the heart of this. Maybe if she found some way to remove him from the Doctor, it’d end, and the world would be back to normal.
Well, her world, at least.
How would she do that in the first place? She couldn’t just pull it off. A gun, maybe, but she would never shoot a living thing, let alone something on a friend. She and the Doctor were strictly against guns.
A grappling hook, like in the movies. She chuckled to herself, imagining the scene: “Hold still, Doctor, I’m just going to shoot this Beetle…” “Someone call the police!” She found humor in the oddest ways. That would be foolish; were would she find the grappling hook? And, still, she would never shoot anything.
Her mind started giving her more answers: A crowbar! A superhero! A hand-made mechanism!
“Ella, I asked you a question.”
She snapped out of it. “Which would be?”
“Why are you staring off into space?”
9:30 AM
“So, Doctor, do you know anything else about Time Beetles?” Ella asked the Doctor as she walked into the TARDIS, much more calmly than yesterday. (Er, Sunday. Tomorrow?)
“You say that as if you’ve asked me before,” he replied.
If you only knew, she thought. “Maybe I have.”
“Well,” he began, “They can definitely mess up one’s personal timeline.”
“I already know that, tell me some…little-known-facts, something like that,” quickly realizing that they were repeating themselves again like on Monday. “I take that back!” She glanced up at the sky as if the Beetle could hear her, “I take it back!”
“You alright?” he stared at her, confused.
“Fine. Do you know how to remove one?”
“It’s complicated,” he said simply. (Ironic, right?)
“Give me the short version, then,” she said, growing impatient.
“You—“
She coughed. Believe it or not, she didn’t realize she was coughing until after it happened. She attempted to shrug, but another cough came out.
Stupid Beetle, she cursed the insect. This had to be his doing. “*Ack* Doctor!”
“Breathe,” he told her, and she did, the cough stopping. “Okay?”
She nodded, albeit weakly. “You were saying?”
“Time Beetles,” he continued. “Are—“
She coughed again, uncontrollably.
“Breathe. I’ll go get you some water,” and with that, he left the room, heading for the kitchen.
Gradually, it was becoming more and more of a hacking cough, like whooping cough. She struggled to keep breathing. The world was spinning again…
No! No, no, no, no, no! She screamed within her mind. I’m not giving in to you, you—idiotic creature!!
“Drink,” The Doctor said, handing her a cup of water after his mad dash to the kitchen.
She gulped it down, her throat howling with pain; then sudden relief. “It’s as if someone doesn’t want me to know.”
“Suspicious,” he said.
Ella turned her head back up to the ceiling of the TARDIS. “Yeah, someone.”
“You alright now?” she nodded.
11:50 AM
After some time at the library, Ella was ready for the day to end.
Even though she still had a lot on her plate; for one, she had to figure out this ‘Time Beetle’ business before her fainting spell happened again. While she was at it, possibly, she needed to find a way for the Doctor to realize what was happening.
Though she wouldn’t admit it, he was what she needed most at the moment.
This wasn’t the Doctor she knew. This was some sort of copy of him that the Time Beetle set in his place. It was pretty obvious. Since Sunday, (or whatever day the first day was) she could tell this was not him. He didn’t seem as smart, he carried on…much, much more, he wasn’t picking up on the whole ‘Time Beetle’ thing. She supposed that he wouldn’t be able to, if this carbon-paper copy was made by the idiotic insect. (That was her new name for it.)
This ‘Time Beetle’ had more control over her than she had thought previously. If it could manipulate her, well, duh. She began to get lost in her thoughts again, and told herself not to, she didn’t want to.
The Time Beetle. That’s what was making her have these panic attacks, she wasn’t scared of him at all - he was manipulating her.
“Time Beetle.”
“There’s no Time Beetle, it’s just your imagination.” The world started making her dizzy. “Doctor, it’s on your back…”
“Nothing’s on my back. Come to reality, Ella. Come on.”
Ella started backing up. “How are you not seeing this? It’s on your back.”
“Oh, boy,” the Doctor moaned. “Back to the TARDIS, come on.”
“Ugh…” she was beginning to look faint.
2:30 PM
“Argh…” a cross between a yawn and a groan came out of her mouth.
“Easy. Can you see anything?” the Doctor looked her over.
“Yes. I think I’m going back to sleep…” her eyes began drooping closed again.
“No, no, no, no, no, stay with me.”
“I can’t, and if you’re not the Doctor, my Doctor…”
His eyes shone for a second, as if remembering everything, but forgetting at the same time.
“Five more days…” she muttered.
The world went black as the cycle started up again.
4:00 PM
“You failed Monday,” said the Time Beetle, voice booming in Ella’s dream.
“I don’t care! Just - get off of him and let me have my normal life back!”
He laughed. “Hot-tempered, typical of the Kiroz, like their blood.”
“Okay. Tuesday is tomorrow, er, today…yesterday? Every day,” she said, trying to get her thoughts straight. “I need to find out more tomorrow, then put my plan in action.”
“You don’t even have one,” it snickered. “One of my dumber victims.”
“Who’re you calling dumb?! I bet you can’t spell ‘Raxacoricofallapatorius’!” She yelled.
It stopped to think. “R-A-X-A-C-O-R-I-…uh…-C-O-F-A-L-L-A-P-A-T-O-R-R---“
“Ha! You added and extra ‘R’!” She scoffed.
“You still failed,” it said.
“See if I care! I’m gonna fix everything, just you wait and see!”

February 2, 2009
7:00 AM
Ella woke up, her heart pounding.
That’s new, she thought. Now, let’s see if I’m still in the same day.

“Morning,” the Doctor said cheerfully, not seeing the dread on Ella’s face. His eyes gleamed, happy to meet the day. “Carpe Diem, as they say in Latin.”
“Seize the day,” she recited, drowsy. “Have you—never mind, we’re in London. I think, February 2, 2009, Groundhog Day…” He gave her a blank stare at this sudden burst of information. “…I was right, definitely, judging by the look on your face. ‘Kay then, down to business! Doctor, you have some ‘splaining to do.”
He kept staring at her. “What.”
“Nearly there. So, to bring the real Doctor back, all I have to do is keep talking,” she stated, her thoughts becoming spoken words. “Yes. And remind this-clone Doctor, whatever, who he is so the real Doctor will come back and help me out here.” She looked up, to the still-blank expression of the Doctor. “Of course, that made no sense whatsoever to you, and I didn’t expect it to, anyway, so. So!”
“What?”
“This isn’t you, Doctor,” she rambled on. “Obviously. The real Doctor doesn’t ramble on as much as I can sometimes, he realizes something’s wrong within a millisecond, he doesn’t work with the Time Beetle…”
He gave a final “What?!” before taking another breath, eyes glowing green for a moment. Then, turning fiery, the green staying, voice growing deeper, more cryptic, frightening. “You found that out rather quickly, clever girl,” the voice of the beetle-in-Doctor boomed, echoing through the TARDIS.
“Knew it was you all along,” she said, unfazed. Then, she scowled. “Now, get out of him.” Her eyebrows formed an angry arch, her fury visible.
“Not until you get out of this day,” he said menacingly.
“Just let me see him!” Ella’s hands balled into fists, her grip tight.
“Why? It’d be unfair, would it not?” Somehow, he manipulated the Doctor into doing a wicked grin.
“You still can’t spell ‘Raxacoricofallapatorius’,” she said snidely.
“Yes I can! R-A-X-A-C-O-R-I-…uh…-C-O-F-A-L-L-A-P-A-T-O-R-R---“
“You added an extra ‘R’. Again.” She snickered. “Wow, messing up all of time and space and can’t spell ‘Raxacoricofallapatorius’. Ha!”
The Beetle-in-Doctor grimaced. “Let’s see if you can spell it then, Ms. Know-it-all!”
“R-A-X-A-C-O-R-I-C-O-F-A-L-L-A-P-A-T-O-R-I-U-S. Oh, and I don’t know about ‘Ms. Know-it-all’, but I happen to be more intelligent than the average human AND Time-Beetle.” She smirked.
“ARGH!” It yelled. “Fine, you can have him back.”
“Really?”
“Psych! Maybe at the end of all this, but until then…PSYCH!” It cackled, and went on for a while, until Ella slapped the Beetle-in-Doctor upside the head.
“Ow!”
“Sorry, Doc, you were…having a moment there. You alright? Sorry…” Words ran through her mind, along the lines of ‘oh my gosh I just slapped the Doctor’ ‘how crazy can I get’, etc. New words popped up, now along the lines of ‘but he’s not the Doctor’.
“I’m fine, I’m fine,” he mumbled. “You can stop apologizing.”
She face palmed. “A man called the Doctor, who isn’t the Doctor, but a Time Beetle. A man called the Doctor, a ship called Titantic, a blimp called Hindenburg, an island called Pompeii…” she paused so she could think of more disasters waiting to happen. “…a Koriz-Human named Ella.” Then, she sighed.
“Come on, you, time for breakfast. Out the door,” She grabbed the Doctor and pulled him out the TARDIS door, tired and annoyed.
8:00 AM
Ella gulped down the last drop of orange juice, a headache coming on.
“You’re awfully quiet,” The Doctor noted.
“Yep.” That was all she said. “I’m about done with this ‘Time Beetle’ nonsense.”
He had no idea what she was talking about. “What ‘Time Beetle nonsense’?”
“Why am I even talking to you about it? You wouldn’t know, being taken over by the thing. Why am I talking about this out loud, for that matter?” She set her head down on the table, folding her arms over it.
“I dunno, you need someone to talk to?”
“See, the real Doctor would never say something that…dumb. He’d just walk over here and try to console me, or do something nice. Something or other!” She lifted her head up, meeting his eyes. “Well, I know you aren’t him. Do something like him, anything!”
This was hopeless. Desperateness at its best. If you were in Ella’s shoes, however, what would you do? What would you expect?
Teary eyed, she got up from the table. “Okay. O-kay.” She took in a breath. “O-o-o-kay. I don’t care if you come or not, but, it might be appreciated, and any information you could give me on Time—“ she stopped, knowing that this was more hopeless than before. “—no, don’t tell me about anything. I’ll have to figure it out myself. I don’t mind—fine, I do mind, just…back to the TARDIS. I need a moment.”
8:30 AM
Somewhere within the darkness…
The Doctor sighed. He wasn’t sure how much longer he could keep this up.
He didn’t really know where he was. Within his mind, possibly. Somehow, he could see what this imposter was doing, like a camera switching point of view. He knew how depressed Ella was, and wanted to tell her everything, that he did understand, but had no control.
After the past three days, (er, same day) he was tired, too. Tired of watching, tired of everything. He wanted to help.
But he couldn’t.
9:45 AM
“Alright. Research.”
Her eyes darted around the TARDIS’ library. This would be much more useful, thankfully. All kinds of information was here.
Ella started snooping about the ‘T’ section, and stopped once she found the word ‘Time’. “Time travel, Time-Lords, Time paradoxes…” she saw one book shelved incorrectly and reshelved it. The TARDIS manual. “We should really keep track of this one.”
Nothing on Time Beetles.
“Crap,” she muttered under her breath. Then, she grabbed a few of the books on Time-travel and stuck with that. When she found the index, she searched again for ‘Time Beetle’. Luckily, it was there, page 1,112.
“How long is this thing?” she wondered aloud. It took her a moment, but she found the right page...it was torn out.
“Dang it!” She threw the book to the ground and flopped over on the small velvet couch in the reading corner. “Of course you have to do everything, Mr. Time Beetle, to make this harder!”
“What are you doing in—“The Doctor-Beetle-whatever walked into the library. Ella gave him a quick shove out the door.
“Don’t even think about it, idiotic insect!” If he stole one of the Doctor’s books, if and when the Time-Lord returned, she’d be dead meat. Especially if it was a book from the future; future information in the wrong hands? That wouldn’t end well.
“Did you just call me an insect?” he asked, coming back into the room.
“ ‘Cos you are, now get out!”
“I’m—I’m not—“
“Shut up, stop talking, cease and desist, there’s a good boy!” She said rapid-fire, truly irritated if she brought up Son of Mine in the short conversation.
Shocked, he backed up and left the library.
“Where’re you going now?” she asked. “Oh. Um…” uncertain if to apologize or to keep screaming her lungs out, she left the library to find him.
He wasn’t in the TARDIS.
At this realization, Ella blank faced, face palmed, and wondered if this was all some cruel joke by a very busy fanfiction writer.
(Of course it isn’t. It’s a way for the author to entertain herself….nothing! I said nothing!)
11:30 AM
In a mad dash, Ella was running through the streets of London.
“Doctor! Doctor, where are you?”
She yelled and screamed for him. Where could he be? This would definitely change things; if he wasn’t there when her fainting spell occurred…oh, boy.
She could end up in a hospital…with people asking who her parents were…and not exactly having an answer. If someone found the TARDIS…
Ella grabbed her head, throbbing with the possibilities. “No! Not now…please not now! GO BACK TO WHERE YOU CAME FROM, STUPID BEETLE!!!!!” She collapsed in a small heap on the sidewalk.
She was panicking. A man knelt down in the street, confused. She began getting concerned stares from passersby, weird looks from dogs. “Are you alright?” The man asked.
“Heck if I know,” she muttered. “L-Leave me alone…stupid Time Beetle. Wish it didn’t exist. Ow…”
The man shushed her, obviously trying to figure things out. “Where are your parents? Hold on, I’ll call an ambulance…”
The pain thrummed along in her head. “No, you don’t have to do that…it’s nothing, sir…Time Beetle.”
“What? What’s that you say?”
“Time Beetle, on my friend’s back, earlier.”
“Hello? Is this 911? Yes, there’s a girl that’s having some sort of mental breakdown…”
The world began making her dizzy. A small crowd began forming around her.
“Ugh…” she was beginning to look faint.
2:30 PM
“Argh…” a cross between a yawn and a groan came out of her mouth.
“Easy. Can you see anything?” a doctor looked her over.
“Yes. I think I’m going back to sleep…” her eyes began drooping closed again.
“No, no, no, no, no, stay with us.”
“Why bother, it’s just going to be February 2, 2009 tomorrow.”
“Huh?”
She sighed as the cycle started up for what felt like the millionth time.
4:00 PM
“You failed Tuesday,” said the Time Beetle.
“I get the point,” Ella moaned. “What doesn’t make sense…will I end up in the hospital tomorrow morning? And it’ll be Wednesday tomorrow?”
“Uh…no.” he answered the first question
“Good! You know what, I have something to say to you.”
“Really?”
“You…are the weakest link. Goodbye!”
She put on her goofiest grin, and decided that she could do this.

February 2, 2009
7:00 AM
Ella woke up. She was ready.
“Morning,” the Doctor said cheerfully. Ella didn’t dread it, for she knew what to do now. “Carpe Diem, as they say in Latin.”
“Seize the day,” she recited drowsily. “Okay! We’re in London, off to breakfast!”
“Why the rush?” he asked, confused.
“Why not?” she grinned.
“You’re happier than usual,” he noticed.
“Come on, Doc. It’s a great big beautiful universe out there, and it’s all ours to adventure in. Every star in every galaxy, every moon and nebula, every planet and every creature that ever lived. Let’s go exploring!”
“After breakfast.”
She nodded. “After breakfast!”
She took his hand and pulled him out the door.
8:30 AM
Ella gulped down the last drop of orange juice.
It was simple, she had realized. All she had to do was find a way for to get the Beetle off of him. Simple as that. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy.
Who was she kidding?! The stress that overwhelmed her was at its highest peak. How do you destroy a Time Beetle? She had done research, there seemed to be no possible way.
“So…Ella? Hullo?” The Doctor-Beetle gave her a concerned stare.
“Yes?” she snapped to attention.
“Is there a reason you’re staring off into the distance?”
“No. No reason.” She began talking under her breath, “Besides the fact that the Time Beetle’s still there…”
“What?”
“Nothing!” She blushed. Maybe she should relax for a moment; just take a breather. Yeah, she thought. Only for a half-hour.
“Is there anything fun that you want to do today?” he asked, changing the topic. Of course, it wasn’t in the quick, mid-conversation way he usually used. But what was Ella to expect; this was a Time-Beetle-inhabited-Doctor, not her Doctor.
In his words, he’d consider a creature that was already inhabited by another being ‘dead’ inside. Well, that is, if the new creature had full control over the body. If it didn’t, two souls would be trying to coexist together, but that was very rare. If there was a way for the second being to get out of the host body, then there was a way for its main inhabitant to survive, a bit of a chance.
Ella hoped it would be the last thing; a way for the second being to escape from the host body, so the Doctor could resume control. She wanted to snap him out of it, like a sort of hypnotic trance. It was all too much like the movies. If her life didn’t seem so…artificial, to put it in big fancy words, she would learn to expect this sort of thing, and she was starting to, but…not really.
She wanted to figure out how to return him to himself, first off, but she knew that wouldn’t happen any time soon. It’d be wonderful, but it wouldn’t happen soon. She couldn’t make it happen soon.
What should’ve been first on her list was getting rid of the Time Beetle. Then, the Doctor would return, everything would be normal…
“When is anything normal?” she asked aloud. “Nothing’s normal in our lives.”
The Doctor-Beetle’s eyes gleamed for a moment, as if he understood. As if he heard. “I know,” he said, voice somber, and she could catch a hint of his Doctor-ness pulling through.
Then, it stopped, the Beetle winning the short battle of hope within him and Ella.
She sighed. “I’m tired.”
“Why?” he asked, interested.
“I’ve done a lot these past few days…” to cover up the words, she added, “Fought Krillitane, Cybermen, Daleks. Werewolves. Saw an alien planet. I’d like to see more when this is all over.”
“When what’s all over?”
The words assured Ella that he really was a brainwashed Time-Beetle carbon copy of the Time-Lord she knew and loved. (In a father-daughter way, of course.)
“You’ll see.” She got up from the table. “You’ll see, Doctor, once you’re back.”
9:58 AM
Ella decided to abandon the method of finding out things through books and questions and cut straight to the chase: plain good ‘ol-fashioned mind reading.
She sat down on her cot in the TARDIS and called for the Doctor.
“Yeah?” he said as he entered the main console room.
“Sit down,” she said, not wanting to alarm the Beetle-infested fellow.
“Why?” The befuddled look she was getting used to was coming back.
“Sit down,” she repeated, and closed her eyes. She was in his mind within a millisecond.
At first she tried finding the real Doctor, but knew that even though she missed him, that would take up all of her time. She had to find the last time the Doctor had met this Time Beetle.
Chapter 5 ½: The mind of the Doctor (Or, where he was during all this)
10:00 AM
We interrupt your regularly scheduled fanfiction to bring you a report on the who, what, where, when, how, and why of the Doctor during this pivotal moment:
The Doctor grasped his head in pain.
She should’ve known. Ella should’ve known that this would happen, but she didn’t know it was, and truly, it wasn’t her fault.
If he was locked up in his own mind, truly, that can’t be her fault.
He knew that she was trying to get into his head, find something out. She didn’t know he was hurting him.
The Beetle cackled maniacally. “Your own friend against you,” he snarled.
“She’s not against me,” the Doctor said, trying to keep his head up, through the pain. “She isn’t.”
“Why wouldn’t she be? You’ve betrayed her, leaving her alone by herself in this great big world,” it said.
The thought made him shudder. “She can handle herself fine.”
“Still, she attacks you.”
“Do you think she knows?” He said sarcastically. “It’s pretty obvious she doesn’t—oi, what makes you think you can add to the prodding of my skull?”
Indeed, that was what the beetle was doing, psychically. “…’Cause I’m an all-powerful being who’s allowed to commit to doing such torture?”

“Ow,” he said, which I believe was the first time the Doctor had ever said that word, “I’ve never said that and I hope I don’t say it again. She’ll figure it out, just wait and see.”
“I seriously doubt that,” the Beetle snarked.
“You doubt everything,” said the Doctor, rolling his eyes.
10:02 AM
Now, back to your regularly scheduled fanfiction.
Ella opened her eyes and wobbled back a moment. The searing pain was starting to get to her.
She vowed not to go into his mind until this was over.
She sensed great pain, great terror, which wasn’t unusual. And, maybe she knew how to figure this out.
Time Beetles could be destroyed if something changes. But what?
There wasn’t much that she could change. Well, there was a lot, but Ella didn’t know what.
The Doctor-Beetle was truly knocked out. She didn’t think that entering it’s mind would do that much, but apparently it did. So, she got up from her bed and lay him down, hoping he would wake up soon.
There was a lot that she had already changed. Not going to the library, for one. Going to the TARDIS after breakfast. Maybe if she didn’t go out into the street, she wouldn’t have the panic attack.
Maybe. But what if that wasn’t why it happened?
The Doctor-beetle woke up. “What just happened?”
“I went into your mind, that’s all,” she said matter-of-factly.
“Okay, then.”
She sighed. The Doctor-Beetle just went on with…his life. She’d call it that, but in terms of hope, she believed that the Beetle part would be dead when she was done with him.
12:00
Ella paced along a street in London, outside a small café.
“If I were to change one thing, one single thing, what should it be? I’ve skipped the library to no effect. I sped up breakfast; you can’t skip that, most important meal of the day. What needs to be sped up or skipped altogether?”
Her musings confused the Doctor-Beetle, still a bit dazed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Of course you don’t,” she agreed, still talking to herself. Time-Beetle or not, he wasn’t the Doctor.
“What’s that supposed to mean?!”
“The real Doctor wouldn’t find that offensive, he’d laugh. What am I going to do with you?” She slammed her arms down on the table and looked him in the eye.
“…You say that like you’re the adult and I’m the kid.”
“Cause that’s the situation I’m in!” She yelled at the sky.
She felt herself get dizzy. “Nope! Not today, Time-Beetle, it’s not happening! I changed something!”
No you didn’t, she thought, which was true.
You know what happens next.
2:30 PM
She didn’t wake up.
Ella was too tired to do that, so she slept.
The Time-Beetle popped up in her dreams again.
“You failed—“
“I KNOW, I FAILED WEDNESDAY,” she groaned, irritated.
“Tell you what,” he began bargaining, “Let’s make a deal, you and I.”
“I don’t bargain with the Devil.” She stood her ground.
“I’m not the Devil!” He objected. “I was going to give you your friend back, but it looks like I won’t.”
“Oh my gosh. You’re kidding me.”
“Yeah, now I am.”
“I’m getting him back! I’ll get him back tomorrow, just you wait!”

7:00 AM
February 2, 2009
Ella woke up, jumping out of bed.
“Morning,” said the Doctor cheerfully, not seeing the dread on her face. “Carpe—“
“Morning, Beetle-Doctor. We have a lot to do today,” she said, staring into his eyes.
“What?”
“We have a lot to do today. For one thing, bringing you back. I think I know how to do that now.” She fumbled in her pocket, looking for something. Then, she proceeded to pull out a photograph.
“Remember her?”
At first, he simply stared at her, then at the picture. Then, you could see something go off in his expression. Finally, she believed, that Time-Beetle was gone.
He had shown her a picture of Rose Tyler, a past and truly loved companion.
“Do I remember her? Of course I do, that’s like saying I don’t like bananas! That’s Rose, Ella. Why would I forget Rose? Where’d you find that picture, anyway?” He turned to her after speaking rapid-fire.
“You’re back,” she said, stunned.
“I’m back,” he grinned.
She hugged him, muttering, nearly not believing it. “He’s back. He’s back, he’s back, he’s back, he’s back…” She listened close for the double-beat of his hearts, to make sure this was all real. “…You’re really back, right here. Right now. I suppose the Time-Beetle didn’t treat you nicely, how’d you get out? Just from a memory?”
“I dunno. I guess he was bored of me.”
“Please don’t go again. Ever. You know how I hate being alone.”
“I won’t,” he said softly, hugging her back. “Miss me?”
“You don’t know how much,” she whispered.
She wouldn’t let go of him, wanting the moment to last forever. He slowly broke out of the hug, telling her it was okay now.
“Alright. From what I understand we’re in a temporary Time-Loop which is unstable, as it is actually allowing changes to be made without main events being seriously altered. Could threaten the Earth’s existence if it keeps going on. You’ve been in this Loop for how long?” He asked, using tons of technobabble.
“Five days, including today, which is the fifth. I call it Thursday.” She looked up at him while he paced around the TARDIS console.
“Two days left,” he said, his face becoming serious. He gave her a good, long stare.
“You’re the only one who can stop this.”
“That’s what I’ve been trying to do!” She exclaimed, annoyed. “I’m just not there yet. Anyways, Doc, it’s on your back. Shouldn’t it be your problem? Why is he making me—“
He held up his hand, silencing her. “It’s on my back but it wants you. So it used me to get to you. It’s trying to mess with your life, but…” he paused, his expression blank. “…there’s no way for it to do that. You’ve resisted it. I’m sorry. So sorry.”
Innocence crept into her face. “I don’t understand.”
“It wants to change your life. Erase you from existence.”
He stopped, wondering if he worded it too harshly, and to let the idea sink into her brain.
“So…it wants to kill me?”
He nodded, grim, yet pitying.
“Why?” her voice trembled. She felt the answer coming, knew it all too well, but she pushed it away within the depths of her mind.
“Because…you’re you.”
He wanted to put it politely and simply, so she wouldn’t have a nervous breakdown. That didn’t stop her from having one.
“’Cos I’m part human, part Koriz. The only one. Am I not supposed to exist in the first place?”
“No! No, you’re supposed to exist. You’re special, Ella. That’s all. Powers they want but can never receive.” His eyes became gentle, trying to soothe the girl.
“They’ll run tests on me…” her voice trembled again. “Like the Daleks, and the Cybermen…”
“Hey. They won’t do that. ‘They’ isn’t even a ‘they’, but a ‘what’,” he reassured. “Now. I can help you, but you’re going to be stuck in the same day for the rest of your life if you can’t figure this out before sundown on Saturday.”
“What do you mean, ‘you’? You won’t remember, you’ll be the Doctor-Beetle again?”
“Exactly—wait, that’s what you called me?”
“Yeah, why?”
“Sounds awfully familiar…no. It doesn’t. Never mind.”
She opened the door. “Alright. Now we go out to breakfast.”
Walking with her, something hit the back of Ella’s mind. She stopped in place.
“What? What is it?” he asked.
“Doctor, you know how I had that fainting spell on…whatever the original day was?”
“Yeah, why?” He briefly gave her a blank stare before realizing. “Oh. Every day, huh?”
“Yes, at the same time, noon. We have a shorter deadline, ‘cos I didn’t get up ‘til seven in the morning. So, actually, our deadline is Saturday at noon.”
He face palmed. “You’re kidding me.”
“Yes, but maybe that’s part of all this. We have to stop the events leading up to…it.” She tried not to think about it too hard, making her believe it was happening when it wasn’t.
“Good thinking.” He motioned to the little corner of London they had landed in. “We’re still going for breakfast, though, right? I haven’t had anything to eat since…uh, whenever I ended up as…Beetle-Doctor, is that what you called me?”
She laughed. “Yes. We’re still getting food, silly, most important meal of the day!”
8:30 AM
Ella gulped down the last drop of orange juice, smiling.
She was much happier today. It felt as if she could do anything now that he was back.
He was back. And it was wonderful. Technobabble, his grin, the knowing telekinesis. Everything!
She leaned back in her chair, listening to his thoughts on the Time-Beetle. Just the sound of his voice un-beetled made her feel better.
For today, she knew for a fact, she would figure everything out and the day would be saved, once again, by Ella…
(Okay, I have to admit, that last bit sounds like a cheesy Powerpuff Girls ripoff.)
“Ella. Ella,” he waved his hand in front of her face. “Did you hear what I said?”
“Every word,” she said, snapping out of her ‘yay I’m nearly there’ trance.
“Repeat it back to me.”
“Um…” She then realized that she wasn’t paying attention. “Sorry. Insert coin to restart.”
He sighed. “Alright, I’ll do the repeating. I was talking about how you were going to do this. Do you have any idea how?”
“Oh. No clue, I’m making it up as I go along.”
The Doctor grinned. “That’s a good girl!”
“We’re supposed to be coming up with things on the spot? Huh.”
He looked at her inquisitively. “What, you weren’t already?”
“Yes and no. I get a good idea, follow through on it, goes wrong. End up in a sticky situation, immediate planning and panic…starts back up again.” Her explanation was simple enough, or so she thought.
“Fair enough. Will you be ready once we go back to the TARDIS?”
“Yeah. By then.”
He drifted back into the previous conversation of which Ella wasn’t listening to. There was a reason; there was always a reason. Voices in her head, clear but not always true, baffled her. The images they brought with them caused pain and confusion. Today, there was something new.
A more prophetic voice. She had to figure out who or what it was, as it was plaguing her mind, sending cryptic messages she couldn’t understand.
“Is something wrong?” The Doctor focused his dark eyes on her.
She snapped out of it. “Nothing. I’m fine, I’m alright.”
10:00 AM
“What have I changed already? Lots of things, but none of them seemed to do much, none of them were important.”
Ella began her rousing explanation strongly, trying to speak clear enough that he would understand, but fast enough that he wouldn’t interrupt.
“What was the most important thing that happened today? Er, that day. You know. I was having headaches around this time, that’s what. Believe it or not, that’s a great deal important, ‘cos the pain grew through the rest of the day until it happened! I need to stop it now, while it’s just beginning.”
“But what are they from? These headaches,” the Doctor queried.
“I think it was the Time Beetle himself—yes. He has some sort of manipulative quality on time, and things in time, and if he’s trying to kill me then I must be important to time in some way, I’ve done something against time, to resist it! That deed I do not know of, must be in my future, but still! He’s manipulating me, Doctor, causing the headaches and eventually my…” She stopped, something catching her eye.
“Eventually your?” The Doctor tried to get her to continue.
“It’s not there anymore.”
“What?”
“The Time Beetle, it’s not on your back,” she said, astounded. “So either it’s manipulating me somewhere else, or it’s not the source of all this—“
“It’s not? Seriously?” he asked, not believing it.
“Yeah. Yes, it’s gone. Something’s up, if it’s gone, since—“
He shushed her, attempting to interrupt.
“What?” She looked panicked. “What is it?”
“It’s not gone completely. It’s moved.”
“Use your words, Doctor,” she frowned.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” He walked up to her, face stern. “It’s on your back.”
Her eyes wide, she stumbled back, trying to turn around and get the thing off.
“You can’t see it, remember? Don’t try to get it off, it won’t move.”
Ella decided not to listen to the Doctor. This was probably some messed up dream. Yes, a piece of twisted fate trying to shove crap into her mind.
“Ella. Look at me,” he said, though the girl ignored her. “Come on. Look at me.”
Scared, she turned to him and stayed silent.
“I know you’re scared. That’s alright, I’m fine with that. But it’s really up to you now, no kidding around this time. The fate of the Earth going into an unstable Time Loop rests in your hands.”
She trembled for a moment, finding this far from comforting.
“Do the thing,” he sighed, referring to her unearthly ability to feel other’s emotions.
In particular, he was letting her borrow some of his calmness, what she often did when worried. She took it in with a breath, leaving a bit more panicked Doctor.
“Sorry,” She gave him a quick hug and backed up. “This is all my fault.”
“Nonsense. If it’s anyone’s fault it’s mine, for bringing you here. It’s basic Time-Lord knowledge not to go anyplace on Groundhog Day, I should’ve obeyed that knowledge.”
She returned his calmness back to him. “I really shouldn’t do that. No, really.”
“Yes, you should, if you’re that panicked—“He took in a breath, his calmness returning. “Okay. O-kay. What was I saying?”
“Nothing important. Something ‘bout ancient Time-Lord knowledge, but that isn’t important. Right?”
“Very important! You still have a world to change! We need to get rid of the things leading up to…it, which would be…” his voice trailed off, realizing. “…Now.”
“Argh!” She began cursing under her breath. “We have to get rid of this whole conversation tomorrow. Today! Tomorrow! There needs to be a difference!”
“There will be a difference, soon!”
“How am I gonna do that?!”
“I don’t know!”
She flopped down on the fold-away bed. “My head hurts, we need to calm down…”
He sat down with her, sighing. “Again, my fault. Sorry.”
“No, it’s—no one’s fault. Let’s leave it at that.” She gave a quick gasp.
“It’s alright. I’ve got you.”
She didn’t want to come to this, but she had to. She cried.
Because she had kept it all bottled up for too long, and that was before he came back. No one to talk to, no one to turn to.
“Shush. Shh, I’m right here. I know,” he consoled her. She had grabbed her legs and pulled them in tight, so she could sob with her head down into nothingness. A curled-up little ball.
“I don’t know.”
“’You don’t know’ what?”
“I don’t know how to do this. I can’t do this,” Ella cried.
“You can,” he reassured her.
“What if—“
“No, if there’s one thing I hate, it’s ‘what if’. Only if it’s a sensible question; I can tell that wasn’t. No ‘what ifs’. I’ll be here the whole time. You have me.”
“I do?”
“Of course.” He brushed her hair out of her face. “Come on, get up.”
“I’m not sure. Even if—“
“I said no ‘what ifs’!”
“Even though I will-is that better?-do this, it’ll be terrible, and I’ll be hurt in the end. Right?” She asked, eyes still watering.
He simply gave her a gentle stare, meaning ‘anything could happen. I’m the Doctor, not a magician.’
“Okay. O-kay,” she got up from the bed. “I can do this.”
“That’s the spirit. Come on,” he prompted, walking out the TARDIS doors.
11:45 AM
Ella paced in front of the café.
“You’ve been at this for an hour,” the Doctor noticed. “Shouldn’t you give it a rest?”
“It hasn’t been that long. ‘Sides, I’m in deep thought, shush.” She grabbed her head, looking like the Doctor when he was in deep thought, mussing up her hair. “Think think think think think!”
“Sit,” he prodded.
“If there’s a possibility…no, no, no! That would never work. I have to stay out of the TARDIS tomorrow. Then it won’t happen, if I go out into London. Yes! I’m brilliant!”
“Are you listening? Ella?”
“Fixed point in time indeed! That slight change in a fixed point in time would make the day quit repeating, you know, being a time loop…”
“Ella!”
“Yeah, Doc?” She turned to the Time Lord.
“You really should talk about this in the morning,” he said, grabbing her and forcing her to sit.
“Fine,” she moaned. “I only have two days, Doctor! I can’t waste any more time!”
“You haven’t wasted any time. You’ve wound yourself up, that’s what.” She sat straight up at the words, the Doctor making her flop back in the chair. “Relax! There’s no use in freaking out.”
“I am not!” She stamped her foot. “I’m calm! I’m collected—hey, d’you think that he’d give me more time? I mean, I seriously doubt it, the creature wants to erase me from time, but if he did-“
He sighed. “See? Right there.”
“-And if he gave me more time, though, the loop would go on forever-“
“Now you’re panicking.” Calmly, he took her hand, giving it a quick squeeze to get the girl’s attention. “Don’t think about it. You already know what’s going to happen soon, and this’ll make it worse.”
“I’ll faint. By that point, I’ll see the stupid beetle again-“she gasped out the words.
He squeezed her hand again and got up from the chair to face her. “Ella. Look at me. Breathe.”
She did, slowly, staring at the Doctor. “Sorry. I’m just so…”
“Worried, I know. I can tell. Are you alright?”
He let go of her hand.
“Dizzy…”
Great, he thought, just great. “Ella? Are you alright?”
“Time beetle.”
“There’s no Time beetle, it’s just your imagination.”
The world was spinning, making her dizzy. “Doctor, it’s on your back…”
“Nothing’s on my back. Come to reality, Ella. Come on.”
Ella started backing up, now out of her chair. “How are you not seeing this? It’s on your back.”
“Oh, boy,” the Doctor moaned. “Back to the TARDIS, come on.”
“Ugh…” she was beginning to look faint.
2:30 PM
“Argh…” a cross between a yawn and a groan came out of her mouth.
“Easy. Can you see anything?” the Doctor looked her over.
“Yes. I think I’m going back to sleep…” her eyes began drooping closed again.
“No, no, no, no, no, stay with me.”
“Two more days,” she moaned.
And, as sad as it was, the cycle started up again.
3:00 PM
“Let me guess; I failed Thursday.”
The Time Beetle nodded. Her dreams were getting worse. When would the idiotic creature leave?
“You have two more days. I will resume control over the Doctor for the rest of eternity in addition to the same day being repeated.”
“I can do this, I will do this. I know what I’m doing, Time Beetle. You’ll be proven wrong, I can do this.” She stared the creature down. “Agh…” Ella promptly clutched her head, a throbbing pain pulsing inside. “I-I’ll still do this…”

She woke up, head throbbing.
The Doctor, being his cheerful self, was going to continue the same words as yesterday…until he saw the pain she was in.
“What happened?” He frantically scanned her with the Sonic.
“I—don’t know. Time Beetle—I think I’m hurt, my head-gah.” She couldn’t get the words out right. She gave him a quick pitying expression, hoping he’d get the point.
“Easy. Easy, don’t get up. Your head? What’s wrong with your head?”
“It hurts.”
Meaning that was the only true thought she could make out, and something was deadly wrong. Ella had no idea what this creature had done, except that it hurt. Oh, it hurt. Like a wasp’s sting upon a burning log that was icy at the same time. It was the kind of pain that was so immense, so terrible, that it was nearly impossible to describe. (Even the description the author of this wrote was unsatisfactory.) She needed something, anything that could provide comfort.
Luckily, she had a Doctor.
“I-“she closed her eyes, realizing he was in her mind again. His hands were on her head, gentle and comforting yet struggling to figure out the situation.
And the pain seemed to vanish.
He hadn’t the need to go into her mind; just one touch and the pain was gone.
She sat up in bed, the Doctor taking his hands off. “That’s so much better. I don’t even know what happened that made it hurt like that. Thank you.”
“Imaginary pain,” he explained. “The Beetle can manipulate minds, he manipulated yours so you would think you’re in pain. But you weren’t. I brought you back to reality.”
“Oh.” She still looked a tad dizzy. “That-really? He can do that?”
He nodded, looking stern, yet fear seeped back into his eyes. “Are you alright?”
“I’m fine, thanks. We’re in the TARDIS, aren’t we? Still February 2?”
He grimaced. “Yep.”
Carefully, she made her way out of bed. “So we go to breakfast, we don’t come back here. Straight to…I dunno. The library? I need time to think.”
“Sure. I like libraries…though I’ve been careful since I was trapped in one before. Vashta Narada-“
“The creatures of the dark. Flesh-eating piranhas.” Her mind knew the answer even though she had never heard of the creatures; being part Kiroz had its perks.
Shivering, she walked out the TARDIS door. “Alright. That’s all I need to change.”
He studied her for a moment, seeing the tenseness in her expression, the fear in her eyes. “Let me guess, you saw the Time-Beetle again.”
“For the millionth time. Thing is, it’s been making me feel…” She stopped, not knowing the words.
“Making you feel?” He probed, trying to get an answer.
“I don’t know. Like…before you get a cold, when you’re all stuffed up and have a bit of sore throat, but you tell yourself to ignore it.”
“Not getting sick, are you?”
She shook her head. “No…but I feel weird.”
The Doctor made a quick vow to watch her carefully for the rest of the day.
8:30 AM
Quietly, Ella gulped down the last drop of orange juice.
She was nervous, much more than the day before. Her intuition told her it was more than just going to the library, she had to do something else…but what? It was bugging her, as she was feeling like a cold was coming on, but different and worse at the same time.
The talk of the heart of the TARDIS swelled in her mind, but was quickly pushed away.
“You don’t look so good,” the Doctor pointed out. Somewhat, it was truth; she was a bit pale, wasn’t eating much, staring at the wall. She sighed, folding her arms over her head to shield herself from view, then moving her head up so she could rest it upon her arms.
“Meh,” was her answer to that.
“’Meh’? What’s that mean?”
She waved her hand, flat, to illustrate the thought.
“Anything else hurt? Can you tell me how you feel?” Of course, the Doctor would always want more detail then ‘meh’.
“I already told you, meh,” she said again, voice irritated and muffled from lying in her arms.
He sighed, too. “You’re a puzzle inside of a mystery inside of an enigma, Ella.”
“Igneous,” she corrected, her knowledge of future things like MLP:FIM swirling around her mind. She preferred Rainbow Dash’s version of the phrase.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
9:30 AM
She moaned as she walked into the library.
“Honest, we should go back to the TARDIS. I swear you’re sick.” The Doctor stopped by the door in front of her, not wanting to bring her in.
“I need to change something. If this isn’t it, I don’t know what is.”
“This is too small to be it.” He scanned her with the Sonic, impatient. “I was right, it’s the Time-Beetle’s doing. He’s spreading illness. But how?”
“I don’t think he can, ‘cos this is definitely not imaginary.” She coughed loudly, startling a librarian shelving books.
He took her hand, sighing for the second time. “Nope. No it isn’t, off we go, allons-y.”
“But-“She didn’t really know what she was doing by this point.
“No buts. We’re going back to the TARDIS.” He tried to keep her walking, but there she stood, stubborn as a mule. “Ella, you know better than to act like that--!”
Aggravated, the Doctor turned around. To his surprise, Ella had gone wall-eyed, muttering indecipherable words, even though the TARDIS had a translation filter. Her eyes focused for a split-second, turning red with tiny green pupils. “The Time-Beetle shall rise!”
“Dang, not again!” He recognized the state she was in, having been in it before a few times, and seeing it in others, the possessed state. Although, it was clear what possessed the girl; the Time-Beetle, having used that booming voice that was nearly equal to the Royal Canterl—you get the point, I’ve used too many MLP references already. The only difference from his possession and hers was…that they were in public this time. And that she was hovering.
Ella’s eyes still glowed, but panic was settling in, showing she still had some control. Yet the voice continued. “Doctor! You shall surrender to my ultimate power!”
He chuckled a bit, thinking the Beetle was sounding hammier than a Dalek. “Ultimate? Surrender? Where have I heard those words before…oh, you’ve worked with Daleks, haven’t you?”
“They are inferior. This Koriz-whatever will make a much better host body. Kneel before your emperor!”
“Are you sure you’re not a Dalek in disguise? Also, you’re a girl now, wouldn’t the word be empress?” He guessed the more he insulted it, the sooner it would leave.
Ella was gaining more control, blushing at being called a guy. She tried drowning the Beetle out: “Okay, Mr. Know-it-all who can’t spell ‘Raxicoricofallapatorius’, I’ve had enough of you! I’ll fix this, and-w-wait-“Her eyes stopped glowing; she fell from the spot where she was hovering mid-air. Luckily, the Doctor caught her. She felt weak, younger than she was, queasy. As if all of the pains in the world were upon her. Her vision blurred, no longer seeing.
“Ella. Ella, can you hear me?”
Her eyes drooped close, unconscious but not dead.
Faint.
9:30 AM
“Alright, I’m ready for you to wake up now.”
“Well…when you’re ready. ‘Cos you’re not dead. You’re still breathing. Please don’t be dead.”
“Are you alright? I think you are. You have to be. Pretty sure you are.”
He gently swirled a piece of hair of off her head, a brief moan coming out of her mouth.
“Oh, oh. I’m sorry, so sorry. Shush, it’s okay.”
She shivered; he pulled the blanket up over her chest.
“I’m right here. I—this must be terrifying for you.”
“I mean, I’ve been through stuff like this all the time. But you—no. You haven’t, this is still sort of new. Scary.”
Gently, he tried to search into her mind, but thought he shouldn’t. Especially since this was so traumatic, he didn’t expect the girl to wake up for a while.
“I suppose I could tell you a story.”
He looked down at the girl longingly. He loved her like a father would a daughter. He had a daughter once, but it was different than this. Much more frantic.
“That’s what I’ll do. A Time-Lord story, one that’s been passed down for generations. Let’s see, let’s see…”
“Oh, here’s a good one. There once was a brave warrior of Gallifrey.” He had heard this story multiple times as a child. “That’s where I was born, Gallifrey, the planet of the Time-Lords. Beautiful planet. Burnt orange sky, with all the leaves on the trees silver. And whenever the sun came up, it’d look like the whole forest was on fire! Anyways.”
“This warrior had a hard life…I don’t like the idea of people fighting people, I know you don’t. Let’s ignore that fact, that’s how the story goes. He grew up with his mother and father. His father declared one day that he was a ‘man’ now. He would have to become a proper Time-Lord, which meant he would have to look into the untampered schism, the whole of time and space itself.”
“Everyone has a different reaction upon looking into it. Some are inspired. Some run away. Others go mad. (I ran away, if you must know.) So, our warrior was inspired. Sadly, he was inspired to fight. He fought for ‘ol Gallifrey.”
“Then…you know what, this is a story. That means I can change it if I want, so I will. The warrior decided to go on a quest to see what lye beyond Gallifrey. Do you know what he found? A vespiform! (Yes, that’s a much better version of the story.) A vespiform is a giant alien wasp that can change its shape. The warrior befriended this creature and rode him into battle one day.”
“He then realized that he didn’t like all of this fighting nonsense. In the midst of battle, he yelled for everyone to stop, because it was useless. Then…hmm. What should happen there…oh. Yes! The vespiform came out and startled everyone, so they stopped fighting. …It’s okay, though, the vespiform’s okay. They all lived happily ever after, and that’s how Equestria was made!”
The girl let out another sigh, looking worse.
“It’s alright. I’m right here. You can wake up now.”
She shivered again, looking frightened.
“Aww. Must be having a nightmare. Easy, Ella, it’s not real.”
“Doctor…” she said, voice quiet, eyes half-open.
“I’m right here.”
“I’m so scared…”
“It’s not real, sweetheart.”
“I know…but it hurts.” She turned in the fold-away bed, still shivering, muttering.
He grabbed her hand, trying to calm her down. “You can wake up.”
She yawned, going back to sleep, more relieved.
The Doctor smiled.
10:00 AM
He hummed softly, jotting down which medicine he had given the girl before he forgot.
‘Superheroes’ by the Script, though it was music from the future, played quietly in the radio. Loud enough that he could hear it, but quiet enough that she didn’t.
His adoptive daughter/friend had caught a bad cold which could’ve been developing into the flu. Sure, she had to save the world, but he believed it’d be much easier to do so if she was well. He couldn’t stand to watch a person suffer.
She shifted under the covers again, tired and restless.
The Doctor got up and paced about the TARDIS. She really was truly ill, and it seemed serious. A lot of times, he would be dangerously ill or something like that before he regenerated. Ella? Regenerate? Nah, she was Kiroz-human, not Time-Lord. The only way something like that could happen was if she looked into the heart of the TARDIS, but she was smart enough not to. Although…yes, maybe it could reverse the effects of this Groundhog Day thing…but at a price.
Last time that happened, it was with the Doctor’s good friend Donna…and she had…he stopped thinking about what he had done, sorrow, regret, and pain mixing together in his mind. A lot could happen if Ella looked into the heart of the TARDIS. She could get hurt, or worse or…
He discarded the last idea, reminding him of the Doctor-Donna again.
Ella pulled the blanket closer to her, then kicking it off, then reaching for it again.
He chuckled to himself, walking over to her bed, and pulled her blanket half-way up. She sighed, feeling better.
It was nearly noon. At noon, she would go into a coma and time would continue and set itself back. He supposed that she had already gone through the coma for today, the Beetle’s way of revenge after saving the Doctor.
Revenge was a nasty thing. It devoured the soul, chipping away at the mind and heart until hatred settled in. He regretted having wanted revenge. Once. Twice, maybe. But he had learned his lesson.
He felt her forehead, careful not to enter her mind, but to check her temperature. The gesture was subtle. 110° F, typical of her, since that was the temperature most Kiroz were supposed to have, so no fever. At least, it had broken.
The Doctor took his hand off, afraid of entering her mind again; that would disturb the healing process, which would still take a while.
She winced a bit. Then, she realized it was simply the Doctor’s hand, tension left her face. Anyone who touched her that wasn’t the Doctor, their touch burned her skin. Natural for Kirozes, again, most had solely survived being cold-blooded creatures before adopting a certain temperature to keep themselves. Most were boiling hot, so if anyone touched them…since the skin of any being is much cooler than her own, it would burn her, with them only being slightly scarred. Her scars would last and heal up very quickly; the other persons’ wouldn’t.
Ella, being part human, would never be as hot or hostile as her alien genetics would be. Besides, not being a…natural born Kiroz, but of other reasons, it would make sense. (But that’s a different story you’ll have to read later.)
She opened her eyes.
“’Allo, there,” the Doctor chimed softly.
“Where am I?” Her voice was drowsy, but dizzy, concerned.
“It doesn’t matter right now. You’re with me, that’s important. It’s still…Friday. Of the same day.”
“I could tell that, there’s a calendar behind you.”
“Oh.”
She yawned again. “I still don’t feel that good, can I go back to sleep?”
“Just one moment,” he ran to fetch some medicine, coming back with a bottle and tipping it down her throat before she could say anything. “Medicine. Drink up.”
“*ACK*,” she coughed.
Like most people who have been parents, he began muttering ‘please don’t spit it back up’ under his breath.
She gulped it quickly, and sighed, relieved it was over with. Looking drowsier than she had before, she fell back asleep.
He smiled and pulled her covers back up. “Good night.”

7:00
Running.

She’d always be running.

Running from fear, from time, Time-Beetles, illness, anything else that frightened her along the way.
Ella was as scared as a child could be; in her mind, the Time-Beetle was just about to proclaim her death…and then the Cybermen came in, like they did, saying ‘the race for her is on’, and they started chasing her too. Then, there were Daleks…yeah, that was expected, having met both species before. They stated that Cybermen and Time-Beetle were ‘inferior to the DAH-LEKS. EX-TER-MIN-ATE!!!!’
She backed into a corner, shivering. This can’t be happening, she told herself, but it is.
Then his voice cut through the darkness, “It’s just a nightmare, Ella. Wake up. You’re alright?”
Her mind whirred. Everything dissolved into darkness…
….and then she woke up.
“Good morning. How do you feel?” The Doctor peered down at her with his dark eyes, not seeing the fear on her face; then recognizing it. “I’m sorry. So sorry.”
She rubbed her head with her hand. “I had nightmares the whole night. ‘Cept when you woke me up, but I couldn’t really tell if that was real or not. I think I can fix everything-ARGH.” She groaned, clutching her head. “Another headache. OW.”
“I know, I know,” he said, not sure what else he could do to help.
“Okay. O-kay,” She gasped the words. “Help.”
“I don’t know what to do.”
“Nor do I…” Her eyes grew wide, realizing something. “…Or maybe I do! Come on, know-it-all brain. Help me out here!”
He stared at her, puzzled.
“I know what to do! I’M GENIUS!!!” She bolted out of bed, bracing herself for what was yet to come. Grabbing the Sonic Screwdriver, she unlatched the small door under the TARDIS console. A brilliant beam of light spilled out.
Now the DOCTOR’S eyes grew wide, knowing what she was trying to do.
“It’ll reverse the time-line. Why didn’t I do this in the first place?!” She cried giddily, but not staring into it yet.
“NO.” He said sternly.
That was it, a big, strong no.
It wouldn’t happen again. He had promised himself that—
“Doctor. It’s the only thing that I can do. Nothing else reverses my time-line. All the things in this day were too subtle to have a large impact.”
Eyes still wide, they met hers. “But—you know what will happen.”
She sighed. “It’s been a trap all along. He wants me to look into it…’cos he thinks I’ll die.”
He nodded, grimacing, looking so very worried. “Please don’t. There’s got to be another way.”
“Doctor,” she said again, pulling him into a hug, then whispering, “That’s the thing: I’m part alien.”
Upon realizing this, knowing that there had been successful crossbreeds like this before, he hugged her back. Tight.
“You’re too young. I don’t want you to go.”
“I’m not going. I’ll still be Ella…” she let go of the Doctor, dropping the Sonic at his feet. Slowly, she turned to look at the mass of glowing yellow energy leaking from the TARDIS.
“I’m not going at all.”
There was a small explosion as the TARDIS was shaken back from the mass of yellow energy enveloping the child. Clearly, she screamed.
At that very moment…
At that very moment in time, an extraordinary thing happened.
All the clocks in the world turned forward again. People started waking up realizing it was February third, 2009, going on with their lives.
Because for them, nothing had happened.
Because for the rest of the world, nothing happened.
But for the Doctor, everything but the kitchen sink had happened.
And only he and a young girl had seen it all.
Will Ella live? Will the first successful crossbreed of Koriz and Time-Lord survive?! Find out in the sequel…
The World is so Much Madder
Coming soon!