CHAPTER 12

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THE RANI'S RETURN

As the TARDIS landed back at UNIT HQ, Clara gave Osgood one last hug and said, "I know it's only for a little while but I'm already missing you. Don't you just want to go for one last trip before we take you back? It really doesn't matter when you go back, you know? You could stay with us for days, months, or even years before we take you back. Kate would never know."

Osgood smiled at her as she said, "I have to go back sometime. I swear that if you come back in a few days I won't hesitate to go with you again though, Clara."

"I know. I've just gotten used to having you around is all. I think maybe I'll just ask Stick Man to take us ahead a few days so that I don't have to wait," Clara said.

Then she grimaced as she realized exactly what she had just said.

"That's right. You're starting to think just like the Doctor. You have no patience at all anymore just like him," Osgood said with a grin.

"I know. Mr. Grim's slowly contaminating me a little bit at a time it seems. Sometimes I don't know whether to hug him for that or slap him for it. Maybe I'll do both," Clara said with an evil smile.

"I have no doubt whatsoever about that. See you later, Clara. I promise," Osgood said with a warm smile as she quickly left the TARDIS before Clara could try to talk her out of it again.

Clara immediately turned to the Doctor and said, "First Lucy wanted to go back for a while to see her parents and tell them that she was still alive and now Osgood's leaving too. Part of me is absolutely terrified that neither one of them will come back once they get a taste of the real world for a while. I mean who in their right mind would want to come back to this kind of life if they didn't have to, right? Don't answer that if you value your life, Old Man."

The Doctor actually smiled at her for once but said nothing.

"Oh, my stars! What about that, Mr. Grim? You actually smiled and nothing happened. Your Eyebrows of Doom didn't go flying off or anything. You should try it more often," Clara said with a chuckle.

"I'll try but I won't make any promises. You certainly shouldn't expect it to happen much at any rate. Being all happy and filled with sunshine just isn't me at all in this incarnation. I do have to admit that having you here does tend to keep me from becoming completely unbearable though," The Doctor said.

Clara smiled at him and briefly hugged him in gratitude before she suddenly turned serious once more as she said, "This is how you felt every time that I asked you to come back on the next Wednesday, isn't it? You were so afraid that I'd say no the next time and you'd wind up alone, weren't you?"

The Doctor said nothing once again. He didn't have to because the answer was all over his face.

"I never would have, you know? I could never have told you good bye. That was never going to happen not even when I was so angry at you after what happened on the Moon. Let's face it, Old Man. You're stuck with me for life whether you like it or not," Clara said with a warm smile as she kissed the Doctor's cheek.

"I think you'll find that Osgood and Lucy think exactly the same way, Clara. Osgood is just as addicted to this sort of life as you are and as for Lucy . . . well, I think we both know why Lucy will always come back. Even I can see that and I'm generally clueless about those sorts of things in this incarnation," The Doctor reassured her.

"You're generally clueless period in any incarnation, Old Man," Clara teased him.

This reaction along with the slightly embarrassed look on her face told the Doctor everything that he needed to know or almost everything at any rate. There was still something that he didn't know the answer to for sure however even though he certainly suspected it.

"Is there another reason why you're so anxious for one of them in particular to come back, Clara?" The Doctor asked.

"I don't know what you mean. I already told you my reasons," Clara said with a completely innocent look on her face.

It was a little too innocent in the Doctor's opinion. It only strengthened his suspicions even more about something that he had suspected for quite some time now. He just hoped that Clara knew what she was doing because she could ultimately end up playing with fire if she didn't.

And the entire universe might pay the price for it.

"There you go again with the somber routine. I knew it wouldn't stay away for long," Clara said with a frown.

"Maybe my mood would improve if you told me who the Rani is now," The Doctor said.

Clara hesitated for a moment as if she was just about to tell him and then she slowly shook her head as she said, "No, I can't. I want to but I can't. I know you too well, Theta. I – I just want her to be happy or at least to have a decent chance to be anyway. You'd never allow her that if you knew because you'd always be worried that she'd return to who she was before. You'd always be watching her with suspicious eyes, and she'd never have any peace that way. She won't go back though. I made sure of that. You'll just have to trust me on that, Doctor. I know what I'm doing."

"I do trust you, Clara. Never doubt that. All of us make mistakes though. Even me," The Doctor said with a worried look.

Clara smiled as she said, "You must be worried if you can admit that, Stone Face. Everything's going to be alright though. I promise."

Never make promises that you can't keep, Miss Oswald.

Even as Clara did her best to reassure the Doctor, Osgood was quickly settling back into her life at UNIT once again as if she had never left it. It almost surprised her how easy it all seemed. At first she had been a bit worried about being able to adapt to the sudden change of pace, but it hadn't been any problem at all. She now knew for sure that she could do this after all.

She really could have both lives at once.

"Why the big smile, Osgood? I thought you'd be positively miserable to be back here again after going off to see the universe with the Doctor and Clara. Quite frankly I was a bit worried that you'd never return. Not that I would have been able to blame you. I would still miss you though," Kate admitted.

"Are you and Clara comparing notes or something? I just received a very similar speech from her less than an hour ago. She was worried about me not coming back too," Osgood said with a warm smile.

"Well, at least you know you're well-loved if nothing else, don't you?" Kate said with a small smile.

Then she suddenly became somber as she said in a concerned voice, "Are you really certain that you're going to be able to walk in both worlds, Osgood? Trying to balance two lives at once will take its toll on you sooner or later even if it doesn't seem like it right now. Every companion of the Doctor's that I've ever met has told me that."

Osgood nodded as she said, "Maybe you're right and maybe someday I'll decide to either give up one life or another. Right now though, I really want to have both as long as I can. My work here and what it does to protect the planet is important. What I do out there is important too though. Much more than even you realize, Kate."

She couldn't tell Kate the whole story no matter how much she wanted to. It wasn't just that she wanted to see the universe after all even though that was certainly a major part of it. It was because she wanted to make sure that Clara was going to be okay. She felt like it was her job as her friend to make sure that she never even came close to becoming the Master again.

Kate smiled as she said, "As long as you're happy, that's all that matters to me. I don't need to know any more than that. Now back to work with you or do you think that those tests of yours will do themselves? This isn't the TARDIS with its advanced computers, you know?"

"You've certainly got that right. It's definitely a lot more cramped in here than it is in there. With UNIT, everything is definitely smaller on the inside, isn't it?" Osgood said with a small smile.

"That's because we have to face a foe that even the Doctor can't save us from: budget cuts. I'll talk to you later, Osgood. I have some reports of alleged alien activity in Chiswick to look into right now. It's probably just a product of an overactive imagination, but it's my job to make certain of that," Kate said with a grin.

"What's it about? Can you talk about it?" Osgood asked curiously.

"Oh, someone gave us an anonymous call about a woman living in that area who is always chanting and carrying out weird rituals at all hours of the day and night according to them," Kate said.

"That doesn't sound like our sort of thing at all," Osgood noted.

"Normally it wouldn't be except for one other thing that the caller mentioned. They said that they could overhear this person saying something about Harry Saxon," Kate said.

Osgood's jaw immediately dropped as she said, "As in the Master's old secret identity?"

Kate nodded as she said, "That's why I'm looking into this one personally. If the Disciples of Saxon have somehow returned which is what this sounds like, then I definitely want to know about it."

"They're all dead though. Every one of them was found in the remains of that fire that burned down the prison where they were attacked Lucy Saxon," Osgood said in a voice filled with growing alarm.

What was going on here?

"Every one of them that we know of was identified, Osgood. I need to make sure that there weren't any more that we didn't know about out there somewhere however, and I also need to make certain that the Master isn't leading them. If he/she has returned to Earth, then I need to know about it as soon as possible," Kate said.

Osgood knew right then that she had to call Clara at once. If anyone would know what was going on, surely she would.

Then another horrible thought hit her that made her even more frantic. She suddenly remembered that the last time the Disciples of Saxon appeared they went after Lucy. Now Lucy was all alone and on her own after having gone off by herself to see her parents. What if the Saxon cult knew that she was still alive somehow?

She had to be found and warned as soon as possible.

Kate could tell just by the look on her face exactly what she wanted to do as she said, "You want to call the Doctor about this, don't you? I don't see what good that will do. He never answers his phone. That's why I never bothered to contact him about this. Try it if you like though. Who knows? Maybe he'll actually answer for you."

Then Kate quickly walked away and left Osgood alone as she frantically dialed the TARDIS' number on her phone over and over again. No one ever picked up on the other end though no matter how long she let it ring.

"Come on. Come on. Answer!" Osgood said in an extremely worried voice.

Suddenly she was grabbed from behind and a handkerchief that reeked of chloroform was immediately put directly in front of her face. She didn't even have time to call out for help before its effects hit her and instantly knocked her out cold.

That was when she finally got through with her call at last just one moment too late as Clara's voice said over her phone, "Hey, Osgood! Sorry no one answered sooner. I was washing my hair and Mr. Stick was too busy off repairing the TARDIS somewhere to answer the phone just like usual. Honestly. I don't even know why he has this thing at all if he doesn't answer it. Osgood? Are you there? Is something wrong?"

"Oh, yes. There's definitely something wrong alright," A voice that sounded horrifying familiar to Clara suddenly said into the phone.

"Carmen Trefusis," Clara said out loud before she could stop herself.

The woman on the other end immediately sounded alarmed as she said, "How do you know who I am? Who are you? This isn't the Doctor. I know that much."

Carmen Trefusis was the sister of Miss Trefusis, who was one of the main members of her old Disciples of Saxon cult. Miss Trefusis was among the members of the Cult who had sacrificed themselves to bring her back to life once. Evidently Carmen still held a grudge about that.

"No, I'm not but I'm the next best thing because I'm his best friend, Clara Oswald. I'm Osgood's friend too and you'd better not have hurt her in any way. If you have, you'll wish that it was the Doctor who came after you. Do you understand me? There won't be anything in this universe that will protect you from me," Clara said in a cold voice.

"So far she's fine and will remain so as long as you cooperate and give me what I want. I'm certain that the Doctor has it after all since UNIT no longer does," Carmen said.

"What is it that you want? If I can get it for you, I will. Just don't hurt Osgood. She has nothing to do with anything. How did you even get in there anyway? UNIT HQ is supposed to be heavily guarded," Clara said.

"It helps if you work for them then doesn't it? I've worked undercover at UNIT for years now while trying to find the Master. I've used them to find every piece of information that I can about him so that I could gain my revenge on him for what he did to my sister. He completely corrupted her and twisted her into his puppet and then he utterly destroyed her. He won't be allowed to get away with that. I'll find him and bring him to me no matter where he is and then he'll never escape what's coming to him. All I need is his ring. Give me the ring so that I can summon him back to Earth. The rituals from the Books of Saxon designed to contact him apparently won't work without it," Carmen said.

"What makes you think that he would come anyway even if I did have access to this ring?" Clara asked as a sudden dread seized her hearts.

She couldn't give Carmen the ring. Not with the Rani's memories and Time Lord essence still locked inside of it. If she didn't though, then she would definitely kill Osgood. She was certain of it.

"Oh, I know that he will because I have something that he wants or rather someone. I take it you've heard of the supposedly late Lucy Saxon, the Prime Minister's wife? It looks like we were all wrong about the late part luckily for me. Yes, The Master will come if he knows that I have her if only just to kill her himself for almost killing him," Carmen said in a sinister tone.

"If you touch her, I will . . . !" Clara started to shout.

"You'll do what, girl? You'll do nothing. That's what. I know the Doctor has the ring. Find it wherever it is and bring it to me at this address. If you don't, I'll kill your good friend Osgood here. Understand?" Carmen said just before she started to give Clara an address in Chiswick to travel to with the ring.

"I want it here within thirty minutes or you'll never see her again," Carmen said.

Then she instantly hung up and Clara became filled with fear and anger as she stood there in a numb state. What was she going to do? She couldn't give Carmen the ring. It was simply too dangerous to be allowed to be in anyone else's hands but hers.

Then she suddenly heard the Doctor behind her entering coordinates into the console and turned around in surprise as she said, "You heard everything didn't you?"

"I heard enough to know that we need to get to that address as soon as possible. We won't give her the real ring though. We'll give her this one instead," The Doctor said as he pulled an almost identical looking ring from his pocket.

"That's your old Academy ring though with your name on it instead of mine. The writing on it is slightly different because of that. What if Carmen notices the difference?" Clara asked in a worried tone.

"I very much doubt that she will, Clara. Besides that it's not as if she's going to get much of a chance to look at it anyway. Not if I can help it. We'll have both of them back very soon now safe and sound," The Doctor promised.

"I hope so," Clara said with a face filled with guilt.

"It doesn't do anyone any good to blame yourself for this, Clara," The Doctor said as he realized this.

"Why shouldn't I blame myself? She's only doing this because her sister died because of me. I'm trying so hard to change, Doctor. I'm really trying to be a better person and I'm still endangering people anyway. No matter what I do someone always winds up getting hurt because of me!" Clara said in a furious voice.

"That's not going to happen this time. We won't let it," The Doctor reassured her.

Clara nodded as she struggled to hold back her tears. She would never be able to live with herself if something happened to either one of them.

Moments later the TARDIS materialized at Carmen's house, and Clara instantly raced outside holding the Doctor's ring. Carmen was there to meet her within moments and quietly took her inside while the Doctor snuck around to the back entrance and used his sonic screwdriver to quietly break inside.

While the Doctor started to search for Osgood and Lucy, Clara gave Carmen the fake ring and quietly waited in breathless anticipation while she scrutinized it. She could only hope that this worked or she wasn't sure what she would do next.

"This isn't the Master's ring. I remember exactly what it looked like and this isn't it. Where is the real ring? Give it to me now or I'll kill your friend," Carmen said with a furious look.

Clara instantly sighed as she said, "Well, it was worth a try. Fine. I'll give you the real ring if you give me both Osgood and Lucy. It'll be an even trade. How about it?"

"I'll give you Osgood but not Lucy Saxon. She's the bait I need to lure the Master into my trap," Carmen said stubbornly.

"Bring them both out here or you won't get anything from me," Clara said as she hoped beyond hope that she was stalling just long enough for the Doctor to rescue Osgood and Lucy and not making a huge mistake instead.

Carmen smiled with an evil grin as she said, "I see now that I'm going to have to show you exactly who you're up against. Maybe then you'll finally understand that I mean business."

She suddenly snapped her fingers and a man wearing a ski mask brought a tied up Lucy and Osgood into the room. Clara's hearts both stopped as she saw that they both had explosives strapped to their waists.

"I expect that you understand fully now, don't you, Miss Oswald? Give me the ring or I'll blow us all up," Carmen said in a determined voice.

Doctor, where in the world are you? Clara thought to herself frantically as she slowly began to pull the real ring out of her pocket.

"Stop stalling and give it to me. Now!" Carmen shouted in an agitated tone.

"Carmen, just stop all of this and I'll give you the Master right now. No one else has to be hurt," Clara pleaded.

"You know where he is?" Carmen asked with a fanatical gleam in her eyes.

"Yes, and I'll tell you if you let them go," Clara said as her other hand slowly moved towards her laser screwdriver.

It was risky to use it around explosives but she really had no other choice now. She didn't dare give Carmen the ring. If she used it in the Rituals of Saxon with the Rani's DNA in it, it might reawaken the Rani's old memories especially since she was so very near to it now.

In order to spare the Rani from having that happen to her, she had to take a huge risk and reveal herself.

"Tell me right now or I definitely will kill them along with the rest of us," Carmen said as she pulled a detonator out of her pocket.

"And they say that I'm insane just because I danced around a lot while I was in office," Clara said with a sigh.

"What?" Carmen said in surprise.

Clara smiled as she said in a smug tone, "Oh, did you finally guess at last? It certainly took you long enough. That's right. I'm the one that you've been looking for all along. You've finally gotten me here at last and you didn't even have to do any of those silly rituals in order to accomplish it. Didn't it occur to your backwards little human brain even once to question how I knew what your name was? The answer would have been obvious to anyone. Well, to anyone but a stupid ape like you apparently."

She inwardly cringed the entire time that she acted like the Master once again, but it was the only way to convince her of who she truly was.

It worked apparently as Carmen said in a voice filled with raw, seething hatred, "You! At last I can finally rid the universe of you forever!"

Then she pulled a gun out of another pocket and aimed it straight at Clara's chest as she said, "I'm going to shoot you in both of your hearts before you can even make a move against me. Trust me. I really am that good a shot. I've been training myself in secret for this day for a very long time now."

Clara was just about to test just how good that she really was as she suddenly plunged her hand into her pocket and grabbed her laser screwdriver. Before she could get it back out of it in time though, Osgood suddenly broke free of her bonds and rushed towards Carmen before anyone realized what was happening.

"Clara!" Lucy screamed in fear as she too suddenly burst her bonds and rushed towards Clara.

Lucy immediately knocked Clara to the ground even while Osgood wrestled with Carmen for control of the gun in the background. Within seconds, Osgood had completely knocked Carmen out and taken the weapon from her.

"You go, Inhaler Girl!" Clara shouted proudly as she quickly got back on her feet once again while helping Lucy to get back up.

Then as if things weren't crazy enough at the moment, the man with the ski mask suddenly ripped it off to reveal that he had been the Doctor in disguise all along.

"I knocked out the guard and freed them both. Then I deactivated the explosives with the sonic. I knew that we had to keep up the act though or she was sure to use that gun on someone," The Doctor said in a proud voice.

"How did you know that she had a gun though?" Clara asked.

"They always have a gun on them somewhere, Clara. It's practically a cardinal rule among kidnappers," The Doctor said as if it should have been obvious.

"At least it's finally over with now. I bet Kate's going crazy wondering what's happened to me," Osgood said with a sigh of relief.

That was when they all heard laughter coming from Lucy. With a sudden sickening realization, Clara realized in that moment that she was no longer holding her ring.

Lucy had it.

"No," Clara said in a frightened voice.

"Oh, yes," Lucy said in a voice that wasn't really hers anymore as she put the ring on her finger and started to glow with energy as it instantly transformed her back into a Time Lady.

"What's going on?" Osgood said even though deep down she already knew.

It all made sense to her now after all. Who else would have been close enough for Clara to always keep a watch on them after all but someone who she was constantly traveling with?

No wonder she hadn't want Lucy to go anywhere by herself. Lucy was the Rani!

"Ushas, you don't have to do this anymore. You can still change. The essence of who Lucy Saxon was doesn't have to die here today," The Doctor said as he slowly started to place himself between Osgood and Lucy.

Lucy never said a word in response. She began to smile instead even as she suddenly rushed past the Doctor and headed straight towards Osgood. Osgood let out a small screech of terror now as she realized that the Rani was about to finish what she had started back when they first met.

She was going to kill her.

Then she let out a very different type of scream instead as soon as the Rani finally reached her. It was one of absolute surprise as the smiling Time Lady wrapped her arms around her and gave her a massive hug before twirling her around with joy.

"Lucy?" Osgood asked in a hopeful tone.

"What do you think?" Lucy Saxon said with a huge grin.

"You idiot! You scared the life out of me!" Osgood shouted as she punched her in the arm.

"Sorry. I was just so happy. I'm still me. This me. I'm me!" Lucy screamed as she spun her around again.

"Okay, we get the idea. Now put Inhaler Girl down before Mr. Grim gets the wrong idea and unleashes his Eyebrows of Doom on you," Clara said as she started to both laugh and cry at the same time.

"I do not have Eyebrows of Doom," The Doctor protested even as he too looked as if he was fighting the urge to cry.

"Yeah, right. Sure you don't. Those things could wipe out an entire planet," Clara teased him.

"Or at least a couple of continents," Lucy joked as she too started to cry even while she continued to smile.

She immediately let Osgood go and hugged Clara instead as she said in a voice filled with emotion, "Thank you. Thank you! I realized what you were doing right in the split second before you changed me back on Traken. I really didn't know if it would work or not but I'm so glad that it did. I've been happier traveling with you as Lucy these last few months than I have been in my entire life. I wasn't about to let that go. As far as I'm concerned, the Rani is dead, Clara, and she's staying that way."

"That's definitely the best thing that I've heard in a long time. I – I was so worried for a minute there," Clara admitted in an upset voice.

"Sorry. I didn't realize that none of you knew yet. I was just so happy to still be me. I'm so sorry," Lucy said apologetically as she kissed Clara's cheek.

Osgood meanwhile was smiling from ear to ear as she said, "So now I'm traveling with three Time Lords. This is better than my wildest dreams."

"My sentiments exactly," The Doctor said as he broke one of his own rules for once and gave Lucy a hug.

"My evil plan's working at last, Inhaler Girl. I'm slowly wearing him down. You'll see. Sooner or later, he will be a hugger again one day," Clara said with a mischievous smile.

"Don't count on it," The Doctor said even as he continued to hug Lucy tightly.

"It's good to see you again too, old friend," Lucy said with a warm smile as she returned his hug.

The Doctor couldn't help but break another of this version's rules and actually smile wholeheartedly for once. And why not break a few rules just this once after all?

He finally had both of his oldest friends back again at last. What more could he possibly ask for?

Next: How about the return of Gallifrey? Of course that one may just be one wish too many. Are the Time Lords really about to return at last? Or are our newly reunited Time Lord Trio and their favorite companion being led down a primrose path instead?

Plus we'll find out what happens to Carmen. She does know that Clara is the Master now after all. Will anything come of that?