Clara's Younger Brother
The Silence Of London
Just by looking at their names you wouldn't realise that Clara Oswald and Sebastian Smythe were actually brother and sister. If you asked her Clara liked to say that her full name was Clara Oswin Oswald. But she forgot to mention that Oswald was actually just the first part of her double-barreled last name. Her full name was actually Clara Oswin Oswald-Smythe and her brother was actually called Sebastian Campbell Oswald-Smythe. But like his sister Sebastian never used the full version of his name, in fact he also tended to ignore the fact that he had a middle accents didn't match either. Sebastian had an accent that was most definitely from America whereas Clara had an English accent.
Clara was born in England and had lived there until she was five. When she was five her parents decided to move to America. Young Clara liked it in America but preferred England and promised herself that as soon as she was old enough she was going to return to England. When Clara was seven her Sebastian was born. Their parents weren't neglectful or abusive to them but they weren't the best parents to them either. They would regularly miss school events or be missing and didn't spend a lot of time doing things with Clara and Sebastian. Because of this Clara made another promise to herself and said she would always be in Sebastian's life to protect him and act as the responsible parent figure she never had but always wanted.
Sebastian and Clara were very close with each other. Clara didn't just keep her promise to look out for him she excelled it. Whenever Sebastian was in need of someone to talk to, or someone to hug or someone to see him perform Clara was always that person. She would walk with him to and from wherever he wanted to go, keep an eye out for him so she had his back and protect as best she could. Clara would lie her way out of class and turn down friends just to make sure Sebastian wasn't alone or didn't miss out. Clara would take Sebastian out to places and do things with him such as taking him shopping at the mall or going to Disneyland. They weren't just brother and sister Sebastian and Clara were friends. Sebastian trusted, and loved, Clara to the extend that Clara was the first person Sebastian came out to when he was ten. Clara trusted, and loved, Sebastian to the extend that she broke her promise of returning to England. Clara had decided that she was going to go to college back in England when she was 18 but with her younger brother coming out to her she decided to wait to leave America until she was 19 and Sebastian was 12. So that he was old enough to look out for himself. Sebastian gave Clara very strict instructions to Skype everyday or if she couldn't Skype then at least send a brief text.
When Sebastian moved to Dalton they still stayed in touch. Sebastian told Clara all about the Warblers and his crush on Blaine. Clara wasn't aware of just how good Sebastian's sing abilities were but once he sent her the video of him singing I Want You Back she very quickly changed her mind. Clara was the only person Sebastian had ever told the truth to about what had happened with Blaine and the slushie and the feud between New Directions and the Warblers because he knew she was the only person he could tell who wouldn't cut him off but would be sympathetic. He told her how he'd lost his captaincy and been replaced by Hunter but how that wasn't too bad as he was still captain of the Lacrosse Team and still got solos at competitions.
Everyday Sebastian and Clara would Skype or have a text conversation. Then one day Clara got ripped out of Sebastian's life. Despite the fact Clara had moved back to England to go to college she kept in touch with Sebastian everyday. But one day Sebastian was waiting for their usual Skype call and she never came on. Sebastian waited an hour but she still hadn't come online yet. He knew that it wasn't just a dodgy internet connection as Dalton had excellent internet but no matter how many times he tried calling her Sebastian couldn't get any response from Clara. This was very unlike Clara as she was never more than 1 meter away from her phone, computer or tablet. No matter how many times Sebastian tried contacting her he couldn't get any response. The following night the same thing happened. That week Sebastian kept trying to contact her but just couldn't get anything from her Clara just seemed to have vanished. He rang his parents to see if they knew anything. Maybe it was just something simple like she'd changed her email address and forgot to let Sebastian know or maybe she was on holiday in some obscure place where there was no Wi-Fi or signal.
As spring break was just a few weeks away Sebastian decided that he was going to go to England and find out what had happened to his sister for himself. The journey to London was relatively stress free. When Sebastian arrived the first place he went was Clara's house. He asked her best friends if Angie and Nina. Apparently someone called The Doctor had answered the phone when they'd rung on the day before Sebastian hadn't been able to contact her on Skype. But beyond that Sebastian couldn't find anything out Clara seemed to have just disappeared off the face of the earth. Whatever had happened to his sister Sebastian reluctantly had to admit that he wouldn't be seeing her again any time soon and that broke his heart even more than seeing Blaine lying on the floor after the slushie had. Someone very important had been removed from his life and they weren't coming back and they couldn't ever be replaced.
The Tardis was quietly drifting in the Time Vortex. The Doctor was sitting in his chair in the console room updating his diary when Clara walked in from the wardrobe. The Doctor looked up from his diary and saw clearly that something was worrying his companion. "What's wrong Clara?" asked the Doctor.
"Nothings wrong Doctor." said Clara quickly.
"Clara Oswin Oswald you maybe many things but you're terrible at lying about your feelings." said the Doctor reaching out his hand to take Clara's hand in order to comfort her.
"Ok something is bothering me but it's not important." said Clara reluctantly. Sometimes she hated how right the Doctor could be.
"I'm sure what ever it is it is important. Come on tell me Clara." said the Doctor. Trying to get Clara to open up properly to him.
"Fine Doctor it's my brother, Sebastian, I miss him. We were inseparable and I never got a chance to see him to say bye." said Clara. She then waited a moment to add "Could you take me to see him just to say bye?"
"Of course I can! What's his name?" said the Doctor with a smile. Had she really thought that he wouldn't?
"Sebastian Campbell Smythe."
"Smythe? Not Oswald?" asked the Doctor curiously.
"My full name is actually Clara Oswin Oswald-Smythe." explained Clara "Our parents decided to double barrel out last names but we changed them. I went with Oswald from our Dads side and Sebastian went with Smythe from our Mum's side."
"Well Sebastian Campbell Oswald-Smythe here we come!" said the Doctor as he pulled a lever on the console. The Time Rotor started to rise and fall as the Tardis took the Doctor and Clara back to 21st Century Earth and to Sebastian.
Spring break was nearly over and Sebastian was due to be flying back to Ohio the following day. He hadn't been able to find Clara. He'd tried asking everyone and going everywhere he could possibly think might lead him to Clara's location but no luck. Sebastian was forced to admit that he'd lost his sister. He returned to her house where he was staying once again having gone out to get a coffee. As he walked down the street to her house Sebastian unexpectedly could hear a low metallic scrapping siren. He turned around to see what was making the noise. A large blue wooden box had just materialised in front of where Sebastian were was standing. The sign at the top of the box said POLICE PUBLIC CALL BOX. Out of the Police Box walked a young man with wild untamable hair wearing a bow tie with a grey waist coat and a white shirt, skinny grey trousers and a long purple frock coat.
The man spoke to what seemed to be someone inside the box. "I told you I could find him!"
"Erm...Who are you?" asked Sebastian. Whilst he was still unsure of what to make of the stranger Sebastian couldn't help thinking that the man was quite good-looking.
"Well Sebastian Smythe. I'm the Doctor. I'm a Timelord from the planet Galifrey and I'm a friend of your sisters." As the Doctor said that he stepped aside to reveal his sister, Clara, walking out of the Police Box.
"Hello again Seb!" said Clara. She had a big smile on her face as she pulled her younger brother into a big hug.
"So you've been off travelling through time and space in a blue box that's bigger on the inside called the Tardis. Clara that's amazing!" said Sebastian. They were sat in a roof top café that over looked the London cityscape. Sebastian and Clara had talked for the past hour or so about everything that had happened. To say Sebastian was amazed at the things Clara had seen and done would to be an understatement.
"It really is brilliant Seb. I'm seeing and doing things that I could never have even dreamed of." said Clara as she took another sip of her drink.
"But why couldn't you have told me where you were going? I've been really worried about you." said Sebastian. His smile fell a bit thinking about how he'd thought he'd lost Clara for good.
"I'm sorry Seb. I would have but after the thing with the Spoonheads and the Wi-Fi I left kind of suddenly." said Clara. She placed her hand on top of Sebastian's and gave it an affectionate squeeze. "But I have thought about you. Why else did you think I got the Doctor to find you?"
The moment seemed to stretch out as Clara and Sebastian ignored the world around them. It was broken when the Doctor came into the café in a hurry with a flurry of coat tails. "Listen Oswald and Smythe I'm sorry to interrupt this moment but we need to go fast. I've just found out something very not good."
Clara and Sebastian grabbed their coats and followed the Doctor downstairs. On the way down Clara said to Sebastian "Welcome to my world!"
They had gone back to the Tardis at the Doctors insistence as apparently it wasn't safe to discuss what the Doctor had found in public. The Doctor and Clara walked into the Police Box first followed by Sebastian a moment later. Clara had said that it was bigger on the inside but Sebastian hadn't been expecting it to be that much bigger. "What else is there in here? Is there a swimming pool?"
"What is it with your family and coming up with new reactions to seeing the Tardis for the first time? What's wrong with just saying it's bigger on the inside?" said the Doctor more to himself than anyone else. Sebastian and Clara both looked at each other and smiled. "Anyway we had to come back in here because we don't want the Silence to find out that we know some of them are at large in London."
"Are you going to ask what the Silence are or am I?" Sebastian asked Clara. He could tell Clara didn't have any idea what the Silence were either.
"You can ask Seb. You're newer to all of this than I am." said Clara. She knew her brother wanted to ask but was just being polite by asking her.
"Ok. Doctor what are the Silence?" Sebastian asked the Doctor.
"A race of memory-proof aliens that have lived on Earth for centuries. They can control people using post hypnotic suggestion. You will have seen them at least once have you ever walked into a room and then forgotten why? Well you probably saw one of the Silence in that room." explained the Doctor. "Oh and they don't like me very much. Or at even at all. In fact I even think that the Daleks like me more than the Silence."
"I'm guessing memory-proof means you can't remember them." said Clara.
"That is correct." confirmed the Doctor.
"Then how can you know that some of them are lose in London?' said Clara asking the obvious question.
"Simple." said the Doctor as he rolled back his sleeve to show three small lines drawn with a pen on his arm. "Every time you see one you draw a tally mark. That way you can know when you've seen them and how many."
Sebastian checked his arm again as he continued to run down the more or less empty street. Another couple of marks had been drawn on to his skin. That meant they must be following him and that was good. That meant that his part in the Doctors plan must be working. Sebastian had volunteered to lure the Silence away as he was a good runner. Sebastian hoped it was working just as well for Clara. He neared the end of the street where he was supposed to be meeting Clara. Sebastian wondered if she was going to be able to get there in time.
Clara was waiting round the corner holding the Q.L.A device waiting for Sebastian to arrive hopefully followed by the Silence. The Doctor's plan involved Sebastian luring the Silence into following him to a place where Clara was waiting with the Q.L.A device ready to place them off harmlessly into the Time Vortex. Clara knew he got a lot of practise running as the captain of the Dalton Lacrosse team but she couldn't help but be a bit worried. She could hear someone running towards her Sebastian came into view. Clara looked at her arm. Ten marks on her skin ten of them were following her brother. She got ready to pull the trigger.
"Now Clara!" said Sebastian as he ran to stand next to Clara. She aimed the Q.L.A at the Silence and pulled the trigger. Nothing happened.
"You do know that when I said now I meant use it now." said Sebastian starting to feel slightly worried but not so worried he couldn't be sarcastic.
"I'm trying but it's not working!" said Clara. She tried to pull the trigger of the Q.L.A again and still nothing happened.
They looked up and saw the Silence were getting closer. The one at the front stepped forward and raised its elongated hand towards Sebastian and Clara. Despite the fact it didn't seem to have any obvious mouth in a rasping echoing voice it said "Silence will fall..." Immediately after the Silence said that Clara tried the trigger of the Q.L.A once more. This time it worked. The beam from the Q.L.A hit the Silence and they started to collapse in on themselves as if they were being swallowed from the inside until all that was left was a small amount of ash.
"Talk about cutting it fine." said Sebastian brushing the ash from the Silence of his coat.
"That wasn't." replied Clara not looking at Sebastian but looking at someone behind him.
"Well it looked pretty fine to me from where I was standing." said Sebastian he turned to see that Clara was looking at someone else. Sebastian turned to follow his sisters gaze to see who she was looking at. The Doctor was standing behind them putting his Sonic Screwdriver back into his coat pocket.
"No I mean it wasn't me it was him." said Clara gesturing to the Doctor.
"I realised that the Q.L.A would need a power boast in order to be completely effective against the Silence. So I provided that with a bit of help from the Sonic Screwdriver. However I didn't realise it would have that much of a dramatic effect on them." said the Doctor with a smile as he pulled Clara and Sebastian into a hug.
The Doctor had suggested that a quick return to the Tardis would be a good idea and Clara and Sebastian agreed. They stood outside the Tardis, the Doctor and Clara ready to leave. "Thank you Doctor." said Sebastian shaking the Timelords hand.
"What for?" said the Doctor. Gratefully accepting his thanks but unsure what it was for.
"For this whole adventure. It's been brilliant." said Sebastian. Despite his smile there seemed to be an undeniable sadness behind his words.
"It was my pleasure Sebastian." said the Doctor.
"And Doctor look after my sister she is very important to me." said Sebastian protectively. He knew it would hurt not being able to speak to her again. But at least this time he knew where she would be and that she'd be protected.
"Of course I will." said the Doctor.
Clara stepped forward, looked directly into her brothers eyes and said "Sebastian why are you talking like it's good-bye?"
"Because it is. You're going off with him to have adventures in time and space." said Sebastian somewhat confused.
"Who said you're not going to be coming with us." said Clara with a smile on her face.
"Are you serious?" asked Sebastian unsure if he'd heard her correctly.
"Yes of course I am!" said Clara as if it was the most obvious thing ever. "So all of time and space, everything that has ever happened or ever will. Where should we start?"
"Will the Doctor be ok with me coming with you? I mean does he know I'm gay?" asked Sebastian nervously.
"Of course I'm ok with you joining us! Why wouldn't I be? And as for you being gay what differences does it make to me. In the scheme of the universe why does it matter whether you're gay, straight, bi, purple, orange or dinosaur so long as you're happy I don't care." said the Doctor. He walked into the Tardis thinking he was being followed by his two companions. But Clara and Sebastian still remained stood outside. "Aren't you two going to follow me?"
"Well seeing as we're had my house it would be a shame for me not to take my stuff with me. And I'm sure Sebastian will want to take his stuff with him." said Clara playfully pleading and using her best puppy dog eyes on the Doctor.
"Definitely." said Sebastian nodding in agreement.
The Doctor tried not to given in to Clara and Sebastian for all of ten seconds. "Fine but you've only got a half an hour."
An hour later after Clara and Sebastian had packed everything they could possibly think they'd need the Doctor walked into the Tardis this time followed by his companions ready to go off on adventures. The new Tardis team the Doctor, Clara Oswin Oswald and Sebastian Campbell Smythe. The power of three had been restored to the Tardis and they were going to be unstoppable and magnificent.
I've had this story waiting to be uploaded for a while and now Clara is here so is this story! Don't think about it too much with regards to the Twice Dead arc it's just meant to be a fun adventure to enjoy on the side.
I'd love to see Grant Gustin and Jenna Louise Coleman together in something one day I reckon they'd have great chemistry together and there is a bit of a resemblance between them.
For now this is just a One-shot but if I get enough interest I'd be more than happy to make it into a regular multi-chapter story.