Jenny Flint quietly followed as Vastra led them deeper into the underground. Strax brought up the rear, his heavy plasma rifle in both hands, while Vastra was armed with the silurian pistol they'd taken from the UNIT lock-up. Jenny just had her swords. They crept through the darkness, ready for a fight.
They'd been searching for hours, following the trail of the supposed silurian. It had been a young UNIT recruit that tipped them off this time, giving them their first real leas. Their security net had detected an attempted breach of the containment zone, but the breach had failed, forcing the culprit back into the zone and giving the Paternoster trio their first chance to give chase. Jenny was beginning to worry that they were too late, however. They'd been searching for over an hour, and had found nothing that even amounted to a clue. The underground was winding, dank, dark and difficult to follow, and though they'd started on the main tube pathways, they were now deep inside the disused tunnels and service lines that criss-crossed the already convoluted system. Jenny didn't want to give up on Vastra or their chase, but she was beginning to think that their best course of action was to return to the surface at their next best opportunity. She kept her worries to herself, and followed on after Vastra.
They kept on, silently, until a noise that could only have been someone moving drew their attention up ahead. "There," Vastra hissed. She bolted like a snake, and took off at an incredible speed, forcing Jenny to sprint to keep up, and leaving Strax behind them in their dust. A scream followed soon after, but as Vastra had rounded a bend in the tunnel, Jenny couldn't see what it had come from. She caught up a moment later, and saw what had happened.
A young woman, not much older than Jenny, lay on the wet ground at Vastra's feet. Vastra had the silurian weapon aimed at her, and the girl was whimpering pathetically. She looked terrible, like she was used to suffering, and Jenny felt bad for her at once. "Talk," Vastra spat.
"I know you can't fire that weapon," the girl said. Her accent wasn't English, but Jenny couldn't place it. "How did you get my master's firearm?"
"Your master?" Vastra asked. Her acidic tone was gone, and her curiosity took over. "A silurian is your master, is he?"
"He saved me," the girl said. "He protects me. I'm safe with him."
"I'm sure you think so," Vastra asked. "But he's killed already, and I believe he will kill again. I must know where he is. If you know, I ask you to tell me."
"You might put that gun away," the girl said. Jenny realized that, in the subterranean gloom, the girl couldn't see Vastra clearly. There was no need for the perception filter underground, but the girl took Vastra for human. Why shouldn't she? Vastra realized it too, and lowered the gun, kneeling beside the girl, close to her face. Jenny could hardly see her, but she saw the girl's eyes grow whiter as Vastra came into view. "Your master and I are not so different, it would seem," Vastra said. "Now will you tell me where he is?"
"No," the girl replied, her lower lip tight.
"Then we'll need to find somewhere else to continue talking. Strax!" The sontaran had just caught up to them, and was huffing terribly. He looked at Vastra with dutiful but pleading eyes. He knew what was coming. So did Jenny. "Carry this girl," Vastra said. "Don't let her get away. We're going back to number 13."
"Miss!" Jenny protested. "Is that wise?"
"I want answers," Vastra said. "And I'm not about to wait around down here. She knows something, and I'm going to find out what."
Vastra stalked off back down the tunnel. She never let go of her grip on the silurian pistol until they were back in the daylight. Something was very wrong.
They were back at 13 Paternoster Row quicker than Jenny expected. As soon as they were through the door, Vastra ripped off her perception filter and stalked up the stairs, tearing away the human clothes she wore as part of her disguise. Strax stood numbly in the foyer, holding the captured girl like a babe, and muttering to himself in a dialect Jenny didn't understand.
"Just put her down, Strax," Jenny said. "She's not going to run." Jenny was reasonably sure of this, but she fixed the girl with a threatening look, just to make herself clear. Strax lowered the girl onto the couch in the drawing room, and she lay there as if she'd been petrified. "Relax," Jenny said. "You're safe with us."
Jenny took off her coat and shoes, and shouted up to Vastra from the base of the stairs. "Miss! I'm going to call Osgood. She needs to know about this. Alright?"
No response. Jenny tried again, but still she heard nothing. She eyed the girl from the stairs, her little form huddled up on the sofa, hugging her knees and rocking manically. "Oh for goodness sake," Jenny said to herself. She went to the kitchen and pressed the button on the console that operated their out-of-time keys to the house. That would be enough to signal Osgood. She'd be by soon.
Jenny then returned to the drawing room. There was a certain sympathy she could feel for the girl as she watched her there, apparently oblivious to Jenny standing in the door. She herself had sat on that couch before, her mood not unlike the girl's. First, she had to stop calling her that. "What's your name, then?" Jenny asked.
"Valentine," the girl said. Jenny wasn't sure she believed that, but she let it go. "What were you doing down in the underground, Valentine?"
"Waiting for my master return. He'll be worried about me. He won't be happy you took me."
"Why?" Jenny asked. "Is he an angry man?"
"He's not a man," Valentine said. She shot Jenny a hateful look from beneath her matted fringe.
"I understand," Jenny said. "Is he like Vastra?"
"He is more than she will ever be. He is better than her," Valentine said. "He won't be happy. He'll come for me."
"Does that scare you?"
"No," Valentine said. "It should scare you."
"We don't scare easy in 'ere," Jenny said. "Do you like your master? Does he treat you well?"
"He saved me," the girl replied simply. She wasn't much younger than Jenny. The look of her; scraggly dark hair, face slightly gaunt, dark brows and scowling, untrustworthy eyes… It was like looking through a mirror in time. "You know," Jenny said, sitting on the opposite end of the couch, "the mistress of this 'ouse saved me, too. She protected me, and she didn't care what I was like, deep down. In fact, she liked it. She saved me in more ways than one. It takes more to save someone than just getting them out of danger. You have to make them feel, well, safe."
"I was safe," Valentine said. "With my master."
"Will you tell me who he is?" Jenny asked. "Will you tell me why he hurt those people?" Valentine's face was in her hands, and Jenny heard her sniffle gently.
"He didn't want to," she whimpered. "He shouldn't have to." It was then that Jenny noticed the tattoo on Valentine's arm, the mark on her wrist. "Valentine…" she said, "what's that on your arm?"
Valentine pulled both arms out of view, and glared at Jenny with red, puffy eyes. "You don't know," she said. "You don't understand."
"Jenny!"
Suddenly, Vastra appeared in the doorway, dressed again in one of her Victorian gowns. "Leave that poor thing alone," she said. Jenny hurried to her feet and scurried from the room, following Vastra. She seemed concerned, but as soon as they were out of sight, her mood shifted, and she became calculating once more. "Did she say anything?" Vastra asked.
"Not really," Jenny replied. "But she's scared. We need to help her."
"Oh, and we shall," Vastra said. "Did she mention the silurian?"
"She says he'll come for her. Do you think he'll be able to follow us?"
"I don't know," Vastra said, baring her teeth, and widening her slitted eyes. "Bur I hope he does…"
They looked back into the room, where Valentine was looking out the shuttered windows. Watching. Waiting…
Jenny shivered. Something was coming. She could feel it.
Osgood arrived about an hour later, and Jenny invited her in. She was surprised that they had so brazenly taken a captive without UNIT's consent, but she did not begrudge them that decision, as it meant more answers for them and for UNIT. "Our security net hasn't detected anything," Osgood said. "So wherever he is, he's contained."
"You'll never find him," Valentine muttered from the corner. "Unless he wants you to."
"Has she been like that this whole time..?" Osgood asked. Jenny and Vastra nodded in unison, after sharing a quick look of frustration first. "She hasn't told you anything? Wasn't she his prisoner?"
"It appears not," Vastra said, pacing up and down the kitchen. "She seems to believe he rescued her in some fashion, and won't speak out of loyalty to him. All we know is that the silurian is male, and that he may not have wanted to kill his victims. Though that hardly absolves him of any guilt."
"No, you're right," Osgood said. "I was excited. I thought she'd be a lead. But it sounds like another dead end."
"Trust me, we were excited too. But she did say one thing that has us optimistic," Jenny said.
"She seems to expect the silurian will come for her," Vastra added. "Track her, somehow. From experience, I can think of a number of ways. It's possible that we are now in the midst of the silurian's trap." Osgood shivered. "Do you think he will come..?" she asked.
"I certainly hope so," Vastra said. "I have some questions for him. Many questions, and I expect they will not all have adequate answers."
"Sounds like a big undertaking. Should I be here? You know, for safety reasons?" Osgood fiddled with her inhaler, but decided against it.
"Well 'e 'asn't attacked yet," Jenny said. "We'd just like you to administer a tracer to Valentine. In case she does get away."
"Right. Good idea," Osgood said. "Anything else?"
"Not unless you'd like a cup of tea," Vastra said. Osgood shook her head, and pressed her glasses further up her nose. "Then we'll begin preparations at once. Jenny, meet me upstairs when you're done. And see Osgood out, would you?"
"Yes marm," Jenny said, and led Osgood into the drawing room.
Valentine hadn't moved since she'd been put down. Jenny had expected her to run when no one was looking, but evidently she really did expect her master to arrive and save her, or else she'd utterly resigned herself to her fate.
She put up little fuss when Osgood administered the tracer, a UNIT invention that would track a subject for up to a week. Unlike a wristlet or other confining cuff, UNIT used a simple paste, which dried clear, and could not be washed off, but was neither toxic nor harmful. Though Valentine did not resist, she had grown more feral, and just a look from her would send Osgood shivering away for a moment, only to resume the process a minute later, and a bit more cautiously. When they were done, Jenny saw Osgood to the door.
"Where did she come from, I wonder," Osgood said, careful to keep her voice down.
"Don't know," Jenny replied. "But it wasn't anyplace good."
"No," Osgood agreed. "Well, let us know what happens. First sign of trouble, we'll have agents here ASAP."
"Of course. Thank you for all your help, Osgood."
"Oh my pleasure, really. To be involved in all this… Everybody knows you travelled with the Doctor. What a thrill."
Osgood smiled and left, waving to Jenny at the bottom of the steps. Jenny closed the door and made sure it was locked, giving one last look to Valentine. She called Strax down, and ordered him to watch over her. Then, she made her way upstairs to Vastra's bedroom. It wouldn't do to keep the mistress waiting…
Vastra was already half-undressed by the time Jenny got to the room. Her green breasts were bare, and the slip she wore was slung so low on her thick waist it might not have been there at all. Jenny's heart skipped a beat, then began to race as it seemed to rise into her throat, her cheeks flushing. Surprisingly, however, she managed to keep her cool.
"Miss… Marm…" Jenny stammered, and struggled to catch her breath. "Love," she said at last, "don't you think we ought to…"
"I need to get my mind off of everything," Vastra said, taking Jenny in her arms. Her body was warm against Jenny's jumper. Almost too warm. Warm enough to want to tear all her own clothes off… "Everything but you," Vastra moaned into Jenny's ear. Her knees almost gave, but she held on.
"Miss… I understand. But the girl. The silurian. Can we..?"
"We can do whatever we like," Vastra said.
"Should we?" Jenny asked. Her heart was racing. She could hear the blood pulsing in her ears. Her face was flushed and hot. She hadn't been with Vastra in days…
"I don't care," Vastra said. She kissed Jenny suddenly. Her lips pressed against Jenny's, her teeth biting Jenny's lower lip, her long tongue snaking into Jenny's mouth. Jenny gasped. But her body was tense. Her lips weren't yielding like they were used to. Vastra sensed this, and kissed down Jenny's neck as her hands pulled her jumper up, and played at the small of her back. Jenny breathe in sharply, and the word caught in her throat.
Wait…
Jenny managed to call her arms back under her control, and pressed them against Vastra's. The silurian's biceps were tight and hard as she groped for Jenny's bottom, but Jenny managed to push just out of reach. A half-finished kiss died on Vastra's lips, and she gasped for a moment as she tried to reason out what was going on. When the heat died out of her, her nakedness seemed crude, and she covered up shyly. "I apologize," she said. "I was ahead of myself, and…" She could manage nothing more, and sat dejectedly on the bed.
"It's not you, love. I promise," Jenny said. She wanted to sit next to Vastra, but she couldn't. It didn't feel right, not yet. She wanted to cover herself up, too. Vastra's affections were aggressive. Jenny loved that about her. But today, as they rarely had before, they did not manage to rouse anything in Jenny. "I just can't," she said. "I'm too… on edge, miss. Aren't you?"
"Mm," Vastra grunted. Her eyes were fixed on the floor.
"Talk to me, love," Jenny said. "Tell me what's wrong."
Vastra sighed. Something heavy weighed her down, and Jenny sat beside her at the foot of the bed, hoping to share the load. "Vastra?" Jenny said, trailing a finger from the silurian's temple to her chin.
"All of this has changed… everything," Vastra said. "The whole way I look at the world. This future. This case. The blasted Doctor. I was at peace with being the last of my kind I would ever see. Maybe the last one alive. But now this? And that girl…" Vastra looked at Jenny, and her eyes were misty with the coming tears. "If she doesn't just remind me of you, in our first days."
Jenny nearly burst into tears then and there. "Oh miss," she said. "I thought that too. But look 'ow far we've come."
"How much farther can we go?" Vastra sighed. "Carrying on like this. Pretending. This future isn't real, not to us. We don't belong here. We don't belong anywhere."
"We have each other," Jenny said. She lifted Vastra's strong arm and put it around her shoulder. Vastra embraced her, encircling her in her protective arms. "I belong here," Jenny said.
Vastra let out a heavy sigh, and together they fell back onto the sheets. Jenny giggled, and Vastra's tears all but disappeared in a smile. "When this is all over," Vastra said, "when we've got this… thing we're chasing caught, we're coming back here, and we're not leaving for a week."
"What will we do?" Jenny asked with a wink.
"I have an idea or two," Vastra said. She kissed Jenny, and this time her lips parted willingly. "Thank you," Vastra said. "I'm not fixed. But I'm better."
"Yes you are, love. We will make it thro-"
A crash echoed from below, and both women sat upright in bed. Strax bellowed a battle cry, and Valentine screamed like a child. "Clothes!" Jenny gasped, and Vastra leapt up and began to dress hurriedly. Jenny grabbed the swords Vastra kept on her mantle, and rushed out the door, certain her love would be following soon behind her. It was time to face the rogue silurian at last. He was finally out of time!
Jenny Flint vaulted the last three steps, and had her sword drawn by the time her bare feet hit the floor. Strax was on his back and struggling to rise, like a turtle upended on its shell. His gun lay out of arm's reach, smoking from recent use. "Strax!" Jenny cried. She hefted him to his feet, and slipped into her shoes. "What happened?" It was clear the girl was gone.
"A coward!" Strax bellowed. "Came at me without my seeing. Shattered the window as a diversion. Only a coward attacks without his adversary's knowledge. A sontaran would never - !"
"Strax, which way did they go?" Jenny shouted, wringing his little form in her arms.
Vastra was with them before Strax could point. She was dressed for battle, but her perception filter was nowhere to be found. Vastra sensed Jenny's worry at once. "There's no time," Vastra hissed. "Which way?"
"East, madame," Strax said, and picked up his gun. He fired the expended clip out the bottom, and reloaded it with one from his belt. "With haste!"
"Then let's go catch a killer," Vastra snarled. She had her own swords, two sheathed, a third drawn. "And give this London something to talk about!"
They rushed out the door, all three of them in line, and took off after the silurian. Vastra could smell him, sense him even, and it boiled her blood to be so close. She sprinted like a raptor, like a beast on a hunt, and Jenny tried just to keep her in view. "This way!" she would snarl, and curve around a corner like a bird in flight. Strax was lost, but he would catch up. As Jenny rounded another tight bend, she saw Vastra, to her surprise, standing still. Legs wide, sword drawn, her back tight and hard and tense.
"They went into the sewers," Vastra said. "Underground."
"Do we follow?"
"We must. He thinks he's beaten me," Vastra chuckled to herself. "That underground is older than some of these streets. If I'm at home anywhere, it's there. Fitting, really. Where's Strax?"
"He's coming."
"Well leave a note or something. I'm going down." Vastra sheathed her sword, and leapt gracefully down through the manhole, deep into London's winding underground passages. Jenny followed, more carefully, and caught Strax's eye as he rounded the bend, followed by a chorus of unseen screams. Jenny leapt down, and the world went dark.
Vastra was not far ahead. Jenny could just make her out in the dim light. "Quietly," Vastra hissed. "They've stopped running."
"He's close?" Jenny asked.
"I can taste him on the air," Vastra said. She drew her sword slowly, and it slipped from its scabbard like a lace through a corset's eye. Vastra held it at the ready, curved towards her body, a defensive stance, but a quick slash away from death. Jenny came close behind Vastra. She pressed her body to her's, and felt the mutual heat they shared. Jenny bit her lip, and they leaned their heads together for a kiss.
It filled Jenny. It expanded inside her, and she felt herself grow larger, stronger, fuller. They were more, together.
"Let's get 'im," she said. Vastra smiled triumphantly.
Then Strax fell in through the manhole. "I am unhurt!" he cried. Something skittered ahead of them, and Jenny and Vastra turned. "With me," Vastra said, and they moved forward quickly and silently.
It didn't take them long to find the silurian. He'd stopped, and with a flare lit behind him, casting him in a silhouetted shadow, he'd waited. He was unarmed, and Valentine was behind him. Jenny recognized where they were at once. The scene of the first murder.
"So you've found me," the silurian said. His voice was guttural, and he struggled with the language, but he spoke it truly, without any help from translation technology. "What will you now do?"
"We are here to ensure you answer for your crimes in this time and against this world," Vastra said. She brandished her sword threateningly. The silurian took a step back, but it was soon obvious he was not afraid of the sword. Something else had caused him to stagger…
"A lost sister," he said. "Can it be true? Another of my kind."
"All that we have in common is we are strangers in a strange time," Vastra said. "I do not care that we share blood. My people are gone."
"You should care," the silurian said. "You should."
"I care about the law," Vastra said. "Or at least my own word."
"Who are you?" Jenny shouted. The silurian began to pace, his shadow dancing, skewed, on the curved wall beside him.
"I am a creature out of time," he said. "This much you seem to know. But I am not here because I chose to be. I am here because I had no other choice."
"Speak quickly," Vastra said, "before I lose my patience for this story."
"I am charged with crimes of an empire I do not recognize," he said. "I am a convict, on the run."
"This is supposed to make us want to 'elp you?" Jenny asked. "Sounds loony to me, marm."
"What empire?" Vastra asked.
"A shadow empire," he said. "A secret cabal. They control more than you know. Even this world falls under their domain, even if they choose to ignore it."
"And what was your crime?" Vastra asked.
"Existence," he said. Vastra and Jenny shared a quizzical look as Strax caught up to them. "Existence?"
"Your people, our people…" he said. "They yet live. But they will not for long. My mistake was fleeing to a world that would not aid me. But now I have found the help I need."
"Those people," Jenny cried. "You killed those people!"
"They were chasin' us!" Valentine cried. "My master kept me safe. They wanted to take us back there. I won't go!"
The silurian turned to comfort her. Jenny turned to Vastra.
"An escaped convict, miss? I can't believe that."
"It is a tall tale," Vastra agreed. "And yet…"
"What?"
"I have heard of such a place. That does not mean it is true. But…"
"It exists," Strax said. "It is forbidden for any sontaran to venture near it. That region of space is barred from all transport."
"Why?"
"Because…" Strax said "no one who goes there ever returns."
"Except him," Vastra said.
"I speak the truth," the silurian said. "And I would ask you, at least… Let me go. If you would not help me, do me at least that kindness."
"And what help would you ask of us?" Vastra said. "If I am to help, I must know what you require."
"You are considering it?" he asked.
"I am intrigued," Vastra said.
"Miss?"
"Tell me what you need," Vastra said.
"Come with me," he replied, "and I'll show you."