Our Story

Chapter 12: Now What?

"At the risk of sounding repetitive—now what?" the Archivist asked as she and the Doctor walked, hand in hand, back towards the control room of his TARDIS.

"Libby should be just about done with getting charged up and ready to go. Let's go take a look and see if your girl is ready."

Archie frowned and spoke just as they entered the control room. "So, I suppose this means if we're going to take both TARDISes on our adventures, we'll have to fly separate?"

Just then, the cloister bell rang and they both looked to the console to see a book sitting atop it, open to a page.

The Doctor's eyebrow raised and the both of them approached to look. A smirk slowly appeared on his face. "I believe the Old Girl has answered your question."

"TARDIS docking?"

"Mm hmm, looks like it."

"All the instructions are right here...you've never read the instructions to know this?"

"I, um, I tend to wing it most of the time."

Archie rolled her eyes. "I should have guessed."

"Are we going to argue about my TARDIS mechanics knowledge or go check on Libby?" the Doctor asked with a raised eyebrow and a smirk on his face.

"As much as I'm enjoying this, I do need to check on Libby. I need to see if the memory transcripter is online so I can complete the history up to this point. I might need you to go back over a few details so that I can be sure I'm getting it right."

"You have the memory transcripter on Libby?"

The Archivist grinned. "Oh, just wait...I have so much to show you, Doctor."

He grinned back. "Well then...Allonsy!" he exclaimed as he grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the door of the TARDIS, just as quickly as they were out the doors of the police box they were running into the doors of Libby, who was still camouflaged as the garden shed behind Christine's New York home.

"Wow, look at her!" the Doctor exclaimed as he spun in a circle in the middle of the Library's control room. "I really do feel like I'm inside the libraries of Gallifrey! The dome ceiling, the bookshelves...so many books!"

Archie grinned. "You haven't seen anything yet, Doc..." She held out her hand. "Come with me!" He wasn't used to being on this side of the adventure—but he liked it. He took her hand and she led him quickly a short distance down the halls of the ship to a large double door. "Are you ready?" He nodded excitedly and she opened the double doors. It led onto a platform and he gasped as they stepped out onto it.

There before him as far as the eye could see were bookshelves, rows and rows, aisle upon aisle, multiple floors with walkways going along the shelves, ladders to reach higher shelves... Libby was indeed the Library. "Archie, it's..." he whispered.

"It's everything. The entire library of Gallifrey. Every single book that was housed in every library on the planet. They were all placed onto Libby for safe-keeping during the War and when they could wait no longer they sent me away with her."

"It's beautiful..."

It pleased the Archivist to know the Doctor was appreciative of her ship and it's contents. She felt a deep sense of pride in her duty as the Archivist of Ages.

That's it—isn't it?" he said, pointing towards the center of the enormous room to a circular platform that stood tall with arches over top.

"That is the Memory Transcripter. The tool of my trade. Would you—would you like to see?"