"What's this?"

Sitting on a stool, you pursed your lips as the Doctor shoved a helmet of sorts into your hands. After that recent trip to the intergalactic space shelter at the end of the Andromeda Galaxy (that's what you could pick up from the Doctor's rambles), you wanted a day in the TARDIS to relax. The Doctor agreed (reluctantly), and decided to clear out a room she hasn't been in a long time.

She looked away from the pile of metal boxes chucked away in the corner, "Oh! Just a thing."

"What thing?"

"Too complicated for you to understand," she said, one of her hands gesturing a 'shoo' motion. Without another word, she went back to sorting, which mostly involved throwing things out of the box and at you. At this rate, your dodging skills would far exceed a ninja's.

You pursued your lips, noting the little red button inside the helmet. It was silver, like a pot used to cook noodles, but the weird antennas on top made sure to distinguish it from the normal cooking tool. Seeing another piece of metal flying at your face, you placed the helmet on your head and caught it. As you did, your head hit something small and a little 'click' sound was heard, followed by a pinch in your skull that caused you to wince.

"You alright?" The Doctor asked without turning around.

"Yeah, fine," you replied, hands twisting the metal object in them. It looked like a figuring.

"What's this?"

Turning back to give it a glance, the Doctor explained, "Oh! It's a Dalek, nasty things, those are."

She went back to her sorting, but quickly turned back and wondered, "Why do I even have a figuring of a Dalek?"

"Merchandise?" You caught the Doctor's puzzled stare, "I mean, it does look like a shaker."

The Doctor got up and moved towards you, snatching the little object from you. She gave you the deadliest look she could manage.

"This," she said in a low voice, "has been the cause of the universe's end many, many times. No one in the right mind would make this into merchandise. No one."

"Then why is it here?"

She gave one quick look at it and tossed it aside. Her face scrunched up as it hit the metal boxes with a loud clang, "Maybe I wasn't in the right mind."

"You know what's right?" You said, hoping to take the Doctor's mind elsewhere. The Dalek clearly didn't bring about any good memories.

"What then?"

"Puppies."

She was lost for a second, then broke into a wide grin, "Oh! Like those back at the shelter yesterday?"

"Exactly like them," you said.

"Even the alien ones? The ones with three tails and one eye?"

"Yep."

She looked at you weird like you've lost your mind, "That fellow tried to bite my hand off!"

Right when you were about to laugh, the weird pinching feeling was back, this time a little more intense. You winced louder, but there was this whirring noise close to your ear that you hardly noticed the sound you made.

"Would you mind not wincing while I'm trying to sort the TARDIS?" The Doctor chided, "Haven't gotten the time these days..."

Her voice trailed off as her eyes wandered to the thing on your head.

"What's that thing on your head?"

You looked up but obviously you couldn't see it, "It's the thing you said I wouldn't understand."

The look of horror on her face explained everything. Well, most of it.

"Okay, what you need to do now," she started, "No wait, what I need to do now, no no no, what we both need to do, is close our eyes, really, really tight."

"What?"

"Hurry up then!" She raised her voice, doing just as she told herself to, "I don't need the both of us to lose our sight! It's going to be very inconvenient, especially for me!"

Blinking twice, you closed your eyes. Luckily you did, too. There was a bright flash of light, like a camera going off, that it felt like day behind your eyelids.

"Okay," you heard the Doctor again, in that voice where claims that there isn't anything to panic about but you should be, "On the count of three, open your eyes. Ready?"

You nodded, but only realising a second later that she couldn't see it.

"One, two, three..."

There it was.

"A puppy?" The Doctor's eyes were as large as saucers, but yours sparkled.

"It's the one with one eye and three tails!" You squealed. Apart from that, the alien puppy also had brown fur that stood up on ends when it was alerted. A lighter shade of brown was on the puppy too, in patches spread over its body. In the sight of you, it wagged its three tails faster than a hummingbird can flap its wings.

You bent down to pet it, the smoothness of its fur soothing your mind. With each stroke, its fur shined, rippling through the body in seconds.

"How did it get on the TARDIS?" You asked a terribly confused Doctor, who seemed to still be in shock. She hadn't moved a muscle.

"Don't ask me! You're the one that brought it in with that thing on your head!" She said at last, gesturing to the helmet.

"How did I-"

"It's a thing!" She interrupted, "A thing you can't understand because I can't!"

You raised a brow and smirked, lifting the helmet off your head. She looked away.

"Shut up."

The puppy rolled over, allowing you to scratch its belly. The Doctor bent down beside you.

"Are you going to name it?"

"Rickey," you answered easily.

"Why?"

"Pretty simple, but I may have gained inspiration from that box."

Pointing to a cardboard box sitting in another corner, the Doctor walked towards it gingerly and lifted its covers, as though there was a bomb in it. She stayed there for quite some time, sieving through its contents, and you thought you heard her mutter, "Good old Rickey," before she came back.

"Can I have a go?" She asked, "Maybe it won't bite me with you around."

Nodding, you let her, but the change was drastic.

The moment your hand left the puppy and was replaced with the Doctor's, the puppy scowled and barked once. The Doctor withdrew her hand as the both of you watched its eye change from blue to red.

"Uh oh."

The red colour intensified, and soon you were pulled back by the Doctor as a single laser shot out from it.

"Bad Rickey!"

The two of you ran for the boxes and hid behind them. Rickey continued to shoot lasers from his single eye, burning the shiny metals.

"What happened to Rickey?"

"Mutated, I presume!" The Doctor yelled through the crashing of the metal boxes.

"How can it mutate that fast?" You yelled back, yelping as another shot was fired.

"You created it!" The Doctor grabbed your hand and guided you to hide behind another set of boxes.

"How?"

"Through that thing!" She said, and peeked over the top of the boxes, "If only I could just get a scan of Rickey-oh!"

Narrowly dodging another laser, the Doctor came back down, shaking her wrist. The laser had missed her but hit her sleeve, turning it into burnt cloth. You blew the tiny fire on it as though it was a candle.

"Deadly lasers, but happy birthday," she said out of the blue, reaching into her pocket for her sonic. Activating it, she took the risk and popped her head out once more, scanning the little bugger.

Rickey barked ferociously, in a strange four-bark pattern, as if tempting them to come out. The Doctor did, but shouted just one thing before she went back into hiding, "Mind keeping your mouth shut? I'm trying to read!"

"What's it say?"

The Doctor's eyes darted left and right, "Oh dear."

"Do you want to good news or the bad news?"

Before you could answer, she already launched into a ramble.

"The good news is that I now know what that thing does. The bad news is that thing turned Rickey into a killing machine."

"What?!"

"That thing," she explained, using her hands to gesture the shape of a helmet, "Uses your imagination and creates what you think. You were thinking of those pups back at the shelter yesterday, especially the one eyed, three tailed one because I mentioned it."

"Then why is it firing lasers?"

"You were thinking of a Dalek too."

As if on instinct, your eyes fell on the Dalek figuring that you were holding on to earlier, just a few footsteps away.

"The only way to stop it is to turn the thing off," she said, "Doesn't have a name, so I'm calling it the thing."

"Just lasers, right?"

"Not really, if you take a look at Rickey, it's got plungers for paws."

Instantly, you got up and looked, only catching a quick glimpse of it before the Doctor pulled you down.

"It also likes to say exterminate, and that's why it's barking in that pattern."

"What's so dangerous about Daleks?" You asked, a slight quiver in your voice.

"Very, very dangerous. Especially when you're with me," she said, putting her sonic away.

"Because everyone wants to kill you?"

"Yup. Especially them," she said casually, "So! Any ideas on how to stop it?"

Your eyes went back to the figuring, and an idea found its way into your mind. You crawled over and grabbed it, waving it at the Doctor, "How about a game of fetch?"

The Doctor stared at you with wide eyes, seeming to digest the idea in your mind. She smiled widely and pointed at the Dalek toy.

"Brilliant! Better you than me, I'll turn it off, I think Rickey really hates me!"

As soon as she finished her sentence, you got up from behind the boxes and shouted, gaining Rickey's attention, "Hey boy!"

Rickey's head turned sharply, but it still growled, even at the sight of you.

"Wanna play fetch?" You asked, letting out a small whimper.

Its eyes flickered blue for a split second. Behind it, the Doctor was sneaking her way to the helmet you left on the stool, but her being her, she accidentally kicked a wrench laying on the ground. It let out a small sound, and Rickey turned its head slowly. The Doctor gestures for you to go on.

"Look Rickey!" Your hand started to shake but you covered it up by waving the Dalek, "Look here! Nice little Dalek toy!"

Its gaze was fixed on the toy, giving the Doctor the chance to step closer to the helmet. You intended to keep your eyes on Rickey, but you noticed the Doctor mouth the word 'throw'.

The smile on your face was hard to keep on, but you tried your best. Just as you were about to throw, Rickey came charging towards you, teeth bared and eyes definitely red. You backed up.

"Doctor!"

You couldn't hear any reply, but maybe the fact that a Dalek-fied dog was coming for you was the only thing you could focus on. Tripping, you fell, landing hard on your bottom. Rickey was just a few feet away. Three feet, two feet, one feet...

You held the Dalek toy in front of your face and shut your eyes, awaiting your impending doom.

But it never came.

You opened your eyes to see Rickey dissolving into nothing. Across the room, the Doctor wore the widest grin, with the helmet in her hands. You returned the smile and got up. The Doctor threw the helmet aside and gave you a high-five.

"So, continuing the cleaning?" You asked, but the hint of fear in your tone said so otherwise.

The Doctor shook her head, "Nah, I think it's best to leave what's in the room alone. Come on now! I've got loads to show you elsewhere!"

She took your hand, giving the room one last longing look, and guided you out.