Out of the Void
Summary
When the Doctor and Clara encounter a strange void in space that seems to have life of its own, what they find inside it will at first surprise the Doctor - until he learns the true nature of the strange alien race who enjoy studying other life forms by causing emotional distress.
The Doctor soon discovers his Tardis is not the only one to be drawn into the trap – the Tenth Doctors ship has also been drawn in. He then realises that he is faced with a dilemma – only one Tardis can leave safely, putting the other at risk of life threatening damage.
The two doctors must decide who should leave safety, and as the Tenth Doctor begs his other self to let him leave first - ensuring the safety of the time line - the Twelfth Doctor points out that his younger self is alone, whilst he has a passenger – Clara Oswald...
With his thoughts resting on Clara's welfare, the Doctor makes a suggestion that they work together to escape – making the risk of leaving unpredictable and twice as dangerous. And after refusing to change his mind because it is the only way to ensure Clara's safety, both Doctors join forces and succeed in breaking out of the void trap.
But while the Doctor succeeds in ensuring his own and Clara's safety, the Tenth Doctors Tardis is left battered and drifting in space with the Doctor unable to reach his other self through the communication system. When they board the other Tardis, they find the Tenth Doctor gravely injured – leaving the Doctor and Clara with no choice but to find him urgent medical assistance – or risk potentially disastrous alteration of the future time line.
But after receiving emergency treatment, it is clear the Tenth Doctor's life and chance of recovery hangs in the balance - meaning the future of the time line is still at risk. The Doctor then decides to fetch the one person who can help his other self in his time of need – but will it be enough to set the time line back on track, and how will Clara react when she realises the Doctor has never really stopped loving Rose Tyler?
AU. Pairings 12/Clara, 10/Rose
Rated M
Warnings : Heavy emotional themes, adult scenes and discussions, some bad language, some sexual and romantic content.
Disclaimer: I own nothing but my enjoyment of writing fan fiction!
Chapter 1
It had happened so fast.
One moment Clara had been standing beside the Doctor, as the Tardis slipped through space with ease as they talked about his past, and then, everything had changed...
"So when you say you love me, you mean you've felt this way before but not quite like this?"
The doctor had been looking down at the console, feeling partly shy and partly awkward about his recent confession, and he smiled as he glanced at her.
"I've lived many lifetimes as you know and in this one yes, Clara, I love you more than anyone who has gone before. Obviously, I've loved others when I had been in other lives..." he paused, blinking as he fixed his sky blue gaze on her, "Why do you have to ask such hard questions, Clara? You know I'm not the world's best at doing affection -"
"But you try."
As she said that, her eyes sparkled with warmth, and then playfulness crept into her voice, "You tried very hard last night – twice. It was nice, too. "
Her words brought back a rush of images that warmed his blood and threatened to give him a sharp and urgent erection as he thought about her kisses, the taste of her and the way she had shuddered and tugged on his hair as he had buried his face between her legs, and the feel of their bodies together...he had wanted it to never end. It was everything he wanted and needed, to feel complete in her arms - and if he didn't stop thinking like that, he would have her all over again, here and now on the floor of the console - but he wanted to fly his Tardis, just for a while, to enjoy the beauty of space before he once again enjoyed the bliss of being naked and wrapped tight in the arms of his Clara.
"You don't have to mention sex right now, do you?"
She smiled playfully.
"You look a bit hot. #If you're getting too hot, maybe you should take something off..."
The Doctors face had warmed up with a flush as he laughed softly.
"Stop it!"
"But you're great in bed. And too modest to say it out loud."
"I'm okay I suppose..."
"But it was good," she replied, and he knew she was still playing with him... Clara was playing with him for sure, enjoying the sight of him blushing, and he really didn't mind at all. She could toy with his mind, caress and play with his body - she could do anything she wanted to, because he loved her, and knowing she loved him too made all things possible - and it was wonderful, all of it was. He hadn't been this happy in years...
"I try my best," he replied with a hint of amusement in his voice as he adjusted some settings in the console, and all the time he was smiling.
"So am I, then?"
He looked at her again, his Clara, with her pretty but strong beauty seeming to shine from her even brighter since had first taken her to his bed and his twin hearts. Then he saw the questioning look in her eyes, and his smile faded as swiftly as the sparkle left his gaze.
"Are you what?"
The question had been pointless – he already knew what this was about...
"The love of your life? Doctor?" Clara frowned, and suddenly she looked worried.
"What did I say that was so wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Like what?"
"Like you don't want to answer the question?"
She sounded hurt. If they hadn't come so far and he didn't know her so well, he would have accused her of being a control freak who was demanding to know way too much. But he didn't say that, because they had come so far and because he didn't think of her like that now, instead he saw her as strong and fearless and unrelenting and beautiful with it, because he now saw her though the eyes of a lover.
"I told you, in this life you're the one for me, okay? Don't start digging Clara. My history is very long and its going to be a very deep and time consuming dig and no one wants to turn up old bones, do they?
She fell silent for a moment.
"So there was someone once -
"Does it matter?"
She shook her head
"Forget I said it. Let's just get on with us, shall we?"
He had looked down at the console, studying some odd readings the Tardis had picked up.
"Good idea. And by the way, her name was Rose. And it was too long ago to matter now."
She looked at him in surprise.
"And you and Rose, you had something as strong as we do?"
"Its not what I thought was," he murmured, looking to the Tardis screen as stars shone brightly.
Clara stepped closer.
"Sorry," she said quietly.
"Not me and Rose," he replied, "What the Tardis is picking up about something out there in space... I thought it was black hole but it's not reading like that. More like something else with a shield around it."
And Clara looked at the screen to see a dark mass where no stars shone, it was pitch black, yawning wider by the second...
"Is it safe?"
"The Tardis shields can protect us, I think...I didn't know until I got this close...wait..." he paused to study the readings from the Tardis console. Then he looked to Clara as surprise registered in his eyes.
"There's something inside it! "
"Its alive?"
"If it is, I've never come across anything like this before...Oh no.."
The doctor began to frantically work the controls and for a moment Clara's gaze was fixed on his slender, black suited form as he darted about the console.
"What's wrong?"
He didn't even look up as he tried to avert disaster.
"Look at the screen. It's pulling us in!"
Clara gave a gasp as she took in the sight of the looming darkness as it rushed towards them, widening and deepening rapidly.
"It's going to swallow us!" she yelled as the Tardis engines began to groan as the ship tried and failed to break free of the grip of the alien mass, and then the ship shuddered and they both grabbed at the console as the ship lurched left and light, fighting against the pull of the power that surrounded it,
The Doctor was pulling on a lever so hard his knuckles and turned as pale as his face as he tried in vain to pull back.
"The shields are compromised, this thing is squeezing at the space-time controls!" there was a look of panic in the Doctors eyes as he looked to Clara across the console as the ship lurched and the engines groaned again, "I don't know what this is! I don't know how to break free!"
And then the ship shuddered, and the engines fell silent as the Tardis landed.
That was how fast it had happened – one moment she had been talking of love and his past and the next, they were here – landed, but not on solid ground. They both looked out in dismay at the sight of nothing but blackness as the Tardis hung frozen in the void in space...
For a moment, Clara stood there in silence as she looked out at nothing but darkness, and then she looked to the Doctor, who had a bewildered look in his eyes.
"It just manipulated my ship!" he said, and then he looked at the controls, tried again for a read out, "I'm detecting life - I cant get anything else because its blocking me...how can it do that? But this isn't some black hole with a life of its own – there's technology behind it. Which means it's smart to create an area of space to manipulate and claim as its own. "
He breathed a relieved sigh.
"This means there's a chance I can reason with them – it – whatever it is..."
And then the screen was taken over, the void vanished as an image appeared on it, and they both looked in surprise to see a woman in a white flowing gown, her eyes were lilac and strange flowers adorned her dark flowing hair, the ends of it seemed to float as if in water as she looked at them thoughtfully and then began to speak:
"I am Empress, representing the Lesser Magdeine Vine – we are seeking to learn about other cultures, to research an ideal location for settlement."
"How did you manage to grab a chunk of space and turn it into a trap?" the Doctor asked sharply, all interest in this unknown species was gone now he had the measure of their intent – to choose a planet to conquer and rule...
"What are you?" she asked.
"Rapidly losing patience with you!" the Doctor snapped.
"What are you?" she repeated with no change in her tone.
"I think we'd better answer before she drives us mad with the broken record technique," Clara said, and she looked to Empress.
"I am Clara, and I'm human."
"And I'm the Doctor, a Timelord from planet called Gallifrey – good luck finding it, because I gave up long ago!" he said sharply.
She looked to Clara.
"Don't say it," the Doctor murmured, and Clara forced a smile.
"I'm from Gallifrey too... I don't know where it is either. We really can't find it."
And the Tardis shuddered, they stumbled together, Clara thankful for the Doctors arm around her to steady her.
"Keep her talking,"he said in a low voice as he gave her a hug, "That was her people losing grip on the internal systems. We cant break out yet but I'm working on it – I have part of the console back now. They're not quite as clever as I thought."
And then he let go of her and stepped back, leaning against the console as his hand slid quickly and discreetly along a control panel. Then Clara was talking, and he set to work.
"What about you?" she asked the woman on the screen, "Is your planet dying? Is that why you want to relocate?"
"Our planet is already dead," Empress replied, "We need to find a new planet. One where we can establish a new home, where the inhabitants will be easy to control. I sense you are hiding something. You refuse to name your planet of origin. It differs from his... You are not afraid, why is that? I have the power to crush your ship."
"I'm not hiding anything," Clara replied, remembering his warning not to mention Earth, "And I'm not afraid because I believe in the Doctor."
Empress looked hard at her, and in that moment Clara shivered as her coldness seemed to reach through the screen.
"Your human species and his Timelord species are fascinating,"she remarked, "So much emotion. So much weakness. I shall find your planet one day, Clara. I know you are hiding its name from me...and Doctor, I sense you are telling the truth."
He looked up from the console and glared at her.
"Here's some more honesty: Let us go or I'll be forced to get rough with your space manipulation device. I just hope your ship hiding behind it doesn't get crushed on the way back to your dead planet!"
Her expression remained blank and it only added to his anger as she spoke again.
"We intend to allow your release, once the test is complete. Your machine travels through time. We detected signals passed through the time stream indicting another of your kind was also able to be drawn in. I shall now leave you to decide who shall win the game."
The Doctor stared at her as the words sunk in
"Another of my kind? I don't think you understand what you're tampering with if you think you can find another Timelord!"
"You and another are trapped in the void," she stated, "Only one ship will be able to leave without disaster. You must choose."
The Doctor had paled with shock as he thought about the other of his kind, and considered all she had said.
"You expect me to choose who survives this?" he said in a hushed voice.
Empress looked at him blankly.
"It is a recommended method of deciding the survival instinct within a race. Makes the choice for whom to conquer much simpler. I shall be watching, Doctor."
And then she was gone, and now through the screen, all they saw was starless dark – and now, there was something else out there too...
"It can't be..." the Doctor said as he took in the sight of another Tardis, fixed in the void and unmistakably the version of the blue box he recalled from his Tenth life.
"Another Tardis?"Clara was saying to him, "Another version of you got dragged into this? That's got to be a good thing right? I mean, two Doctors can easily handle this, can't they? "
As he turned his head and looked at her, his expression was grave as a troubled look clouded his eyes and he weighed up all the possibilities of the time line becoming disastrously affected if his other self didn't make it out alive.
"Doctor," Clara said again, "Please tell me another Tardis being here is a good thing."
And he wanted to agree with all of both of his hearts, but loved her too much to lie and give her false hope.
"No Clara it's not," he said honestly, "This is bad, it's very bad..."
