Chapter 1
"I give you...the amphibious future of planet Earth."
The Doctor pushed the TARDIS doors open with both hands, letting Clara lead the way outside. Her fingers brushed against the door for balance as her boots slushed into the ground below. A smile lifted her features.
The Doctor followed closely behind his companion, easing the doors closed as Clara let her hand drop back to her side. She deemer the planet was safe enough, then, if she was willing to let go of the time machine. Score one point for the Doctor.
The last place they had travelled to had not been so secure. The second they arrived, lava had spewed up from an open river, nearly burning a hole in Clara's shoe. The human dashed back into the TARDIS as quickly and assuredly as she had left it, and didn't even pause for explanation before punching the Doctor powerfully in the shoulder. While his mouth was still open in shock and pain, she stuck her hands in the Telepathic Circuits and got them out of the volcano, just a moment before the whole thing exploded. Even the TARDIS would've probably been damaged in an explosion like that.
It was for this reason that the Doctor was eager to take her somewhere with water. That had never earned him any punches or almost blown-up TARDISes. And besides, it looked just like Yoda's planet of Dagobah. How cool was that?
Clara slushed through the mud a bit further, leaving the Doctor trailing behind. He tried to make up the distance as quickly as possible, hopping through the mud, but his boot got stuck with the first jump he took. It was so embedded in the watery dirt that he had to call Clara back to him and hold onto her shoulder for support while he tugged his shoe out of the muck. She was laughing at him almost the entire time, and his embarrassment levels were climbing steadily. Just a typical day, then.
A seemingly endless lake stood before them, lying just beyond the large, swampy forest they had landed in. Trees and shadows hung ominously around them, guiding them towards the water with their bending branches. Clara shivered as she heard a noise in the distance and began walking a fraction closer to the Doctor. It was probably a future bird or something, but on these trips, one could never be sure. With their luck, it was probably a Dalek. Or a Cyberman. Or, to be more realistic, a Dalek-Cyberman Hybrid. Clara stepped just a little closer to her Timelord companion.
They reached the edge of the lake and gazed out into the distance. It was utterly beautiful. The shadowed forest around them faded out of existence. It was just them. Them and the endless blue water. Unpolluted. Pure. Perfect. Clara turned her face up to look at the Doctor. His face was a mere silhouette in the darkness of dusk, looking out at the still sea, and the tips of his curly hair were dancing in the breeze. The sunset behind him rose gradually from navy blue to light pink, fading into shades of purples and yellows in between. Clara felt time stop. These were the moments she travelled to see; the moments she lived for. Simple, beautiful images that kept her going, even when she was being chased by a Zygon or waking up at five in the morning to go to work.
The sound of guns clicking into place echoed through the still night from behind them and the moment met an abrupt end. Both human and Timelord spun around to meet the enemy face to face, raising their hands automatically as the dark figures of three tall bipeds came into focus. A voice hissed through the air.
"Who are you? Where do you come from?"
"We're, umm," Clara bit her lip and glanced at the Doctor anxiously. He continued for her.
"On holiday."
Clara nodded along to his ridiculous story, then added on, "Just checking out the sights. Might pop into the lake for a swim later."
The shadowed figure in the center of the three took a step forward, into the open beach area. His head looked to be somewhat covered by a helmet, but Clara definitely noticed some scales. On further inspection, they continued down to a ridged tail, like an Alligator. The creature readjusted his weapon and leaned it closer to the two time travelers.
"Are you from the Lobod tribe?"
Clara shook her head, eyes trained on the gun in front of her. "Ugh, no. Don't think so. We're from...out of town."
Suddenly, the Alligator-man put his hand up and lowered his weapon, as did the two figures behind him. "I thought not. The Lobods need no air from above as we do. They are creatures of the sea alone. Come, strangers. We shall take you to see our leader. He will be most fascinated by you."
The Doctor and Clara let their hands fall to their sides as the creatures walked off into the forest. Clara and the Doctor hung behind for a minute, watching their new acquaintances with curiosity. Clara leaned up to the Doctor and quietly whispered, "Did we just become friends with an Alligator-man?"
The Doctor didn't respond, compelling Clara to look up at him. His eyebrows were furrowed and he had a scowl on his face that Clara knew all too well. It meant he was already questioning them. Figuring them out. Finding out if they could be trusted.
The rough voice of the 'Alligator-man' called from the depths of the trees. "Strangers; it would be unwise of you to fall behind in these woods at the time of night."
Clara turned back to the path in front of her and followed the footprints the creatures had left until she caught up with them. The Doctor trailed behind her, doubt and curiosity still stirring in his brain.
It was ten minutes and many sloshy steps until they reached what looked like a city, with many small wooden cabins glowing with golden, misty light that contrasted harshly with the gray-green forest around the outside fence. There seemed to be only one main road with a few side streets in the whole town. A large building, taller than three of the cabins on top of each other and decorated with Greek columns, stood at the end of the main road. The Doctor and Clara followed the three Alligator-like creatures to the front of this building before the one who had talked to them earlier spoke to the again.
"Our leader is inside. He has been informed of your coming. You will not speak until spoken to, and, then, with the highest respect. Do you understand?"
Clara and the Doctor nodded curtly to the creature, then turns to one another and raised their eyebrows, hiding their smiles from the guards outside the building as the doors were opened in front of them. The light bursting out of the entrance was blinding at first, but they stepped inside anyway. The floor in here was made of marble, a welcome change from the mud Clara and the the Doctor had grown accustom to. In the far side of the room, a throne sat backwards on a platform above the ground, and as they approached it, Clara felt her boots slowly getting the shiny floor more and more filthy. Her shoes were absolutely covered in grime. Something told her she was going to have to go shopping after this adventure was through.
The tall doors slammed shut, making both Timelord and human jump and turn to the wall behind them. They were stuck here now. Up to the leader's bidding.
When they turned back to the throne, they were shocked to see it spun the right way round, facing them, and even more surprised to see the figure sitting in it. It was a gator-man, like the guards had been, only this one was wearing a robe and crown. A golden staff was held in his hand, touching the platform below him at an almost perfect 90° angle. When he spoke, he sounded just as high-class and dignified as a fairytale King. Clara held back a smile as she thought how ridiculous this all was.
"You strangers come to us at a most opportune time. It seems fate has deemed you worthy of greeting me tonight, or my guards would not have found you. I seek the opinion of two outsiders in this matter, for I wish not to express my doubts to my people."
Clara cleared her voice and adopted her most regal tone. "What is the situation with which you feel conflicted?"
The Doctor gave her a curious look, which she answered with a smirk. The king stood, then, and motioned for them to follow him. They traced two tracks of mud into a small room off of the throne room. Both the walls and floor in here were a dark gray tile and maps and papers were pasted all over. It was all very militaristic. A metal desk stood in the center, with two neat piles of paper sitting on top. The king sat in the only chair, behind the desk, and folded his hands together.
"I am General Salam, the leader of the Frodile people. Our race is currently in the midst of the greatest rise in population we have ever known. We have expanded our empire as far as the swamp lands allow, and our resources are dwindling. The only place we have left to inhabit are the seas, but there we face a great dilemma. The Lobods, a peaceful people, depend on the sea for life. This is the conflict that has given me great worry for many a month."
The Doctor's eyes had been glued to the map above the the general's head the entire time, brain turning every detail over in rapid succession. "And how do you propose to end this conflict?"
Salam shifted in his seat, only slightly. "It has been decided that we must remove the Lobods from the sea. It is our only way to survive and expand."
The Doctor turned sharply to the general. Clara could see the fury in his eyes rising. "What?"
"The Lobod tribes have grown to fit the entire lakebed. There is no room for us there or on land. Drastic measures must be taken; for my people to survive."
The Doctor leaned over the desk, folding his hands, a placid look on his face. Too placid. Clara felt the anger inside of him getting ready to burst. "Do I have this correct? You want to destroy an entire species; a peaceful people; just so that your empire can grow? Just to have control over more people?"
The general's features went rigid. "My people are dying. Every day there is less food to eat; water to drink. All of the land creatures are being eaten by my people too quickly. Soon there will be nothing but the sea, and that is Lobod territory."
"Can't you...work something out? Share?"
"Sharing will last only until one of my citizens makes a mistake and kills one of the Lobods. Then we will have war."
Clara took a step closer to the desk. "Hold on; you said they were peaceful. They can't start a war if they don't have an army."
Salam glanced to his left and leaned in close to her and the Doctor. "I've heard rumors that they've built a secret army. An entire militia. They're peaceful for now...but what happens when we start making them angry?"
The Doctor took a deep breath and bent his head down. "Rumors. Are you actually going to end a species because of what may or may not happen if you let them live?
Salam's hand formed a fist on the desktop. "I see that your opinion differs from mine greatly. Therefore; I shall give you 3 hours to change my mind. You may speak with the Lobod leader, Wels Alowana, and work out a better solution. Perhaps you can also ease my mind about these rumors."
Clara raised an eyebrow at the general. "What happens in three hours?"
"In three hours, we drain the Lobod buildings of oxygen."
Clara had to just about hold the Doctor back from jumping across the desk and tackling Salam. "What you're suggesting is genocide!"
The general stood with his palms pressed into the desk. "It is the only way I know how to save my people and the rest of the creatures that inhabit this planet."
Clara pulled the Doctor by the shoulders out of the room and into the muddy town outside. His nostrils flared as he breathed, boots gliding across the ground as he swiftly made for the lake. This time, they got there in less than five minutes. Clara was exhausted.
At the dock was a Frodile, carrying two identical objects in his hands, holding them out to the Doctor and Clara as they approached. "You must wear these if you are going underwater."
Clara picked up the device with one hand and looked at it curiously in the moonlight. It was almost impossible to tell what it was until she looked at the Doctor, who had wrapped it around his mouth and nose. "It's an oxygen mask."
Clara threw hers on quickly, slightly embarrassed, and gave the Doctor a thumbs up. Without another word, they made their way onto the cement dock, which slowly started lowering, until they found themselves facing a long, metal hallway filled to the brim with water. Clara turned to the Doctor, but he had already taken a step off the elevator into the hallway. She had to jog to catch up with him, and even when she did, his pace was much too fast for her short legs. Clara had never seen him this furious. This set on winning.
The Doctor was gone. The Oncoming Storm was here.
