Chapter TWO: Living on a Cloud
Outside The Great Intelligence Institute, Strax was watching Walter Simeon through electric binoculars. Nearby, was the Doctor and Belle. And sitting on the steps of the rocking carriage that Clara was locked in - she was screaming, trying to be let out - the Professor was doing something with his magic to the snow, to preoccupy himself, since he wasn't allowed to touch the carriage. Anyway, as Strax was watching Simeon, he noted, "They've taken samples from snowmen all over London. What do you suppose they're doing in there?"
"This snow is new. Possibly alien. When you find something brand new in the world, something you've never seen before, what's the next thing you look for?" The Doctor asked.
"A grenade," Strax said excitedly.
"A profit. That's Victorian values for you," the Doctor corrected Strax,
"I suggest a full frontal assault with automated laser monkeys, scalpel mines and acid."
"Is he always like this?" Belle asked.
"Pretty much," the Doctor said to Belle, then said to Strax, "Why would you suggest that?"
"Couldn't we at least investigate?" Strax asked.
"It's none of our business."
"Sir, permission to express my opposition to your current apathy?"
"Permission granted."
"Sir, I am opposed to your current apathy."
"Let me out!" Clara's voice rang out again, hoping to be heard.
"Thank you, Strax," the Doctor said, ignoring Clara. "And if ever I'm in need of advice from a psychotic potato dwarf, you'll certainly be the first to know."
"But if the snow is new and alien, shouldn't we be making some attempt to destroy it? Be reasonable," Strax said.
"Let me out!" Clara yelled again.
"It is not our problem. Over a thousand years of saving the universe, Strax, you know the one thing I learned? The universe doesn't care," the Doctor said.
"In this cab. Oi, Doctor! Let me out! Are you listening to me?!" Clara yelled again.
"Now, we have a problem of our own to worry about," the Doctor said, heading over to the carriage.
"Clara, right?" Belle asked.
"Yes," the Doctor said, who looked over at what the Professor was doing. "What are you making?"
The Professor picked up the frozen love heart he made from the snow and put it into his pocket. "Nothing," he said, in a rush.
"Let me out!" Clara said, as the Doctor opened the carriage door. "Oi!"
"Don't worry. No one's going to hurt you," the Doctor said, sitting opposite her in the carriage."
"What is that thing?" Clara asked of Strax.
"Silence, boy!" Strax ordered.
"That is Strax," the Professor said.
"Yeah. And as you can see, he's easily confused," the Doctor said.
"Silence, girl. Sorry, lad," Strax said.
"Sontaran. Clone warrior race. Factory produced, whole legions at a time. Two genders is a bit further than he can count," the Doctor said.
"Sir, do not discuss my reproductive cycle in front of enemy girls. It's embarrassing," Strax said in a hushed voice.
"Typical middle child of six million."
"Who are you?" Clara asked the Doctor.
"It doesn't matter because you're about to forget that you and I ever met," the Doctor said to Clara, then to Strax, he said, "We'll need the worm."
"Sir," Strax said.
"What worm?" the Professor said in an alarmed state. "What are you gonna do to Clara?"
"Don't worry, it won't hurt, but one touch on her bare skin and She'll lose the last hour of her memory," the Doctor said. "She'll still know you." Just as the Doctor finished explaining, Strax returned, empty handed, which made the Doctor ask, "Where is it?"
"Where's what, sir?" Strax asked back.
"I sent you to get the memory worm."
"Did you? When? Who's he? What are we doing here? Look, it's been snowing!" Strax said, in an amused tone.
"You didn't use the gauntlets, did you?"
"Why would I need the gauntlets? Do you want me to get the memory worm?"
"You," the Doctor said to Strax, in a tone meaning he was fed up with him.
A few minutes later, Strax was under the carriage, trying to catch the escaped memory worm, with the Doctor standing close to the carriage and the Professor, Belle and Clara all off to the side.
"Well, can you see it?" The Doctor asked.
"I think I can hear it," Strax said.
Clara let out a giggle, which made the Doctor turn around. "Oi, don't try to run away. Stay where you are," he said to her.
"Why would I run? I know what's going to happen next and it's funny," Clara said.
"It is funny, isn't it?" the Professor asked, putting an arm around Clara's waist, which made her look at him. But she didn't mind.
"What's funny?" The Doctor asked.
"Well, your little pal, for a start. He's an ugly little fella, isn't he?" Clara said.
"Maybe. He gave his life for a friend of mine once."
"Then how come he's alive?"
"Another friend of mine brought him back. I'm not sure all his brains made the return trip!"
"I don't think so either," Belle said, going over to the other side of the Doctor.
"I can see it," Strax said of the memory worm.
"Ooo! Can you reach it? Have you got it?" The Doctor asked, getting all excited.
Strax reached towards it, then was silent after a while, retracting his arm back. "Got what, sir?"
Belle pulled up the gauntlets and held them up for everyone to see. "These are the gauntlets that he's supposed to wear, right?" She asked, with the Doctor looking at her, kinda horrified.
"Sir, emergency! I think I've been run over by a cab," Strax said, which left the Professor and Clara in a fit of giggles.
A few moments later, the Doctor was using the gauntlets to get hold of the memory worm, which was large and white in colour. "There you go. One touch and you lose about an hour of your memory. Let it bite you and you could lose decades," the Doctor said, explaining the memory worm to the Professor, Clara and Belle, as he put it into the crystal-clear jar. He then looked at them, and noticed Clara was still with them. "And you're still not trying to run."
"I don't understand how the snowman built itself," Clara said, then linked her left arm around the Professor's right arm. "But why would I run when I have a brave, strong man by my side."
"Clara who?"
"Doctor who?"
"Oh, dangerous question."
"What's wrong with dangerous?" Clara asked, just as a snowman appeared out of nowhere, which she noticed at first.
"The snow emits a low level telepathic field..." the Doctor started to explain.
"My snowman..." Clara said, of the snowman, getting the Professor's attention to it first.
"...It seems to reflect people's thoughts and memories and because it's unusual, somehow it carries a previous shape and..." the Doctor continued but was cut off by the Professor.
"Dad. Another snowman has just appeared..." the Professor said.
"Ah! Interesting. Well, were you thinking about it?" The Doctor asked Clara.
"Yes," Clara said, as more appeared around them, encircling them from all around.
"Well, stop. Clara, stop thinking about the snowmen!" The Doctor ordered, just as the nearest snowman breathed snowflakes at them.
"Allow me..." the Professor said, making a fireball appear in his right hand, flames crackling as he did, and threw it at the closest snowman. As the fireball made contact with the snowman, it melted it. The Professor made another fireball and threw it at another snowman, which melted that one too. But as each snowman disappeared more took its place.
"Get down! All of you!" The Doctor ordered, as all of them all huddled togethr. "Now, Clara, listen to me. The snow's feeding off your thoughts."
"I don't understand," Clara said.
"You're caught in their telepathic field. They're mirroring you. The more you think about the snowmen, the more they appear. Imagine them melting. Picture it. Picture them melted!" The Doctor ordered, as Clara thought about all the snowmen being melted. As soon as she did, all the snowmen melted and the group of four got splashed with icy water. "Well, very good. Very, very good. Ha!" The Doctor exclaimed.
"So, Professor...how did you do those fireballs?" Clara asked.
"Oh, that," the Professor said. "I can do magic. Are you ok with that?"
"Yeah. At least, I think I'm fine. So, Doctor, is that gonna happen again...?"
"Well, if it does, you know what to do about it," the Doctor said.
"Unless I forget," Clara said, which made the Doctor put Clara in the carriage.
"Don't come looking for me. Forget about me. You understand?" The Doctor asked, as the Professor climbed in to the carriage too. "What are you doing, son?"
"Well, I'm gonna keep my promise. Make sure Clara arrives home safely," the Professor said.
"What about the snow? Shouldn't we be warning people?" Clara asked.
"Not my problem. Merry Christmas," the Doctor said to Clara, closing the door of the carriage and tapping the window, then said to Strax, who was in the driver's seat, "Take her back where we found her."
"Sir," Strax said, as he started to drive on, but the Professor and Clara weren't in the carriage as it took off. They had snuck off in attempt to find out where the Doctor actually lived. It was a mutual agreement. As they saw the Doctor and Belle head off, the Professor and Clara followed, but they stayed in the shadows, careful not to be seen. They followed them to the park (to which the Doctor started to whistle non-chalently to the tune of Silent Night, making sure the coast was clear), where they head behind a tree; Clara peering from one side, and the Professor peering from the other. They watched the Doctor jump up and grabbed the ladder, which he pulled down, and started to climb, with Belle following him. Once both were up, the ladder rose up and disappeared too.
The Professor and Clara waited for a couple of seconds before creeping out to the spot where both the Doctor and Belle were. Clara decided to jump for the ladder too, but she fell down. The Professor helped her up and jumped for the ladder himself; his attempt being successful. Once the ladder was down, he offered Clara to climb up first. "After you," he said.
"After you," Clara said back. "I'm wearing a dress. Eye's front, soldier."
The Professor started to climb up. "My eyes always face the front."
"Mine don't," Clara said cheekily, which made the Professor chuckle.
At the top of the ladder, the Professor helped Clara up on the platform. Once she was up, she looked down and waved at the passers-by, but they never saw her. "Invisible..." she noted. "Is this more magic?" She asked the Professor.
He shook her head. "No. I'd say this is a perception filter. It's not really invisible. It just makes people black it out.
"Oh," Clara said, sounding disappointed.
"But this is made from magic..." the Professor said, taking out his enchanted love heart that he made earlier. "For you. It's made from the snow. I melted it, then shaped it into a heart, then refroze it, before enchanting it so it can never break or melt. It symbolises my love for you, Clara, as it will never end too."
Clara took the love heart with a smile. "Awww..." she said, embracing the Professor in a hug. "This is the most sweetest, most romantic thing anyone has ever done for me..."
After they hugged, they climbed the staircase, hand in hand. They climbed the spiral staircase til they got to a cloud, where the TARDIS was. The Professor stepped out on to the cloud first then spun around, helping Clara on to the cloud, who stepped on it, holding the Professor's hands, tentatively. Once she was on. She crept up to the TARDIS and knocked on the door, with the Professor right behind her. Once she heard someone coming, she grabbed the Professor's hand and took him to the side of the TARDIS, where both where hidden.
The Doctor opened the doors of the TARDIS, and saw no one there. "Hello...?" He asked. He walked around the side, just after Clara and the Professor go around the back. "Hello...?" He asked again. "Hello...?" But there was no answer.
The three circled the TARDIS then the Professor and Clara headed to the staircase. Before CLara descended the staircase, she pulled the Professor to her and gave him a light peck before descending the staircase, but not before she dropped her shawl. The Professor bent down and picked it up, staring down the staircase.
The Doctor saw the Professor and went over to him. "Was it you that knocked on the TARDIS doors?" He asked.
The Professor stood up and spun around. "No. I just got here," he lied.
The Doctor noticed the shawl. "What's that? Where'd you get it?"
"Clara gave it to me, as a thank you gift."
"Oh, well, come on into the TARDIS. I have something to show you..."
