Chapter 9: Time and Space
Neverland
The TARDIS reappeared inside Pan's camp. The Doctor and Peter Pan stepped out to find that most of the place had been destroyed by Ursula's mermaids. However, they also saw that all the lost boys and pirates survived the attack. Clara, Ariel, and Hook stood closest to the TARDIS.
"What happened?" Ariel asked.
"Ursula won't be attacking us again." Pan said.
"Did you kill her?" Hook asked.
"I wish." Pan said. "Negotiating didn't work, but she had to retreat when the highest tide started to recede."
"Speaking of that." Ariel said. "I should be getting back to the water soon."
"I want to show you all something before Ariel leaves." Clara said.
Clara then reached inside of her pocket and pulled out a small, brown glass eyeball. This was the magical Eye that Ursula wanted. Pan thought he lost it, but apparently Clara was hiding it for herself all along.
"You stole from me." Pan said angrily.
"And how did you get it in the first place?" Clara asked sarcastically. "Oh that's right you stole it. It was yours. Now it's mine."
"I won't let you leave this island alive." Pan said, still with anger.
"You don't have a choice." Clara said.
"Clara." The Doctor said. "What are you doing?"
"Setting things right." Clara said. "We've all met today in the wrong order. I'm not supposed to meet you all until years from now in the future. It's my past, but it hasn't happened yet for you all. Ariel and Hook shouldn't have met me until the Jolly Roger invades Prince Eric's ship."
"Who's Prince Eric?" Ariel asked.
"Spoilers." Clara said. "Pan is literally going to unleash an evil army across the universe one day. Then I defeat him."
Pan lifted an eyebrow, intrigued by Clara's words.
"Clara." The Doctor said. "You've just told them the future. Do you have any idea what you've done?"
"No." Clara said. "But I know what I'm going to do."
Suddenly, the Eye of Death started to glow. Then, Clara held it up to her face and whispered into it. Then, everyone in the camp (except for the Doctor and Clara) was consumed by a brown aura and froze.
"What are you doing?" The Doctor asked.
"I'm making them forget this entire day." She replied. "If they remember meeting us it could wreck the future."
The Doctor smiled at his clever companion. He wasn't about to verbally congratulate her, but Clara could see in his eyes that he was proud of her. Suddenly, Ariel was consumed by magic smoke and disappeared.
"Where'd she go?" The Doctor asked.
"I sent her back to the beach." Clara replied. "Her legs will be gone soon. Now she can pull herself back into the water."
The Doctor and Clara then entered the TARDIS and shut the doors behind them. Soon, the TARDIS faded away from Neverland. As it did, the aura surrounding, Pan, Hook, the lost boys, and the pirates disappeared and they were unfrozen. They looked around at the wreckage around them and became very confused.
"What happened here?" Pan asked.
Underwater
Ursula stood on some sand at the bottom of the sea and watched her mermaid army return to her. She had failed in her mission, but she couldn't quite remember what that mission was. She knew she sent them out, but she couldn't remember what for. Clara had used the Eye of Death to make everyone forget about the events of the day. It's magic even reached Ursula and her mermaids.
Inside the TARDIS
The Doctor and Clara stood next to each other in front of the TARDIS console. Clara was holding the Eye of Death.
"It's like the Eye of Life from Arendelle." Clara said.
"Funny thing about the Eye of Life." The Doctor said. "It's not there anymore. My past selves have sort of ruined that."
"How?" Clara asked.
"First the Evil Queen stole the Eye of Life from Arendelle. Then she traded it to Maleficent. Then Robin Hood stole it and gave it to me way back when I was traveling with Rose. That Eye caused me some trouble with Red Riding Hood as the wolf. Then Regina stole it back when I was with Amy and Rory hundreds of years later." The Doctor said. "Regina still has it. I couldn't say anything when we first went to Arendelle because it would've messed up the timeline."
"Shouldn't we do something about the Evil Queen having such power?" Clara asked.
"No." The Doctor said. "The Eye found its way back to her. It's likely she's meant to have it. Apparently that's how the laws of magic work. I personally think the laws of magic are idiotic, but there's little I can do about it. The only thing we can do is keep the Eye of Death safe from her so she can never get it."
The Doctor then took the Eye of Death from Clara and walked down the hall.
"Where are you going?" Clara yelled after him.
"I'm keeping it in a safe place." The Doctor replied. "I'll be right back."
While Clara was alone in the console room, she thought of her boyfriend Danny Pink. After the Doctor hid the Eye of Death, he was going to take her back to London. She and Danny had plans for the evening. She hoped it would be a good time. Then, the Doctor came back holding a piece of paper in his hand and he looked concerned.
"What's that?" Clara asked.
"It's a note." The Doctor said. "It's an important note that I wrote hundreds of years ago."
"What does it say?" Clara asked.
"Well...it's written for us." He said. "It's starts with 'to the Doctor, once you are traveling with Clara Oswald'."
"How did you know we'd travel together all those years ago?" Clara asked.
"I don't know." The Doctor replied. "I don't even remember writing the note, but this is definitely me."
"What does it say?" Clara asked.
"It's says that we, you and me, have to go to the land of Oz and save Rumplestiltskin."
to be continued in "Once Upon a Time Machine 2-6: The Master of Magic". Thanks for reading I hope you've enjoyed!
