Hello again, readers! :)
Here's another update for everyone. I hope you all enjoy it. :)
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Chapter 14: Cold War
Wanda leaned against a wall in the corner while the Doctor and Zhukov stared to the monitor. They were watching the images of Skaldak chained up to the piping and Clara going into the torpedo room to talk with the Ice Warrior. Grisenko hovered close behind them as he observed what was happening. Wanda watched anxiously while the Doctor told Clara what to do and say to the Grand Marshal. Wanda made sure to keep her face clear of any anxiety, and that her pinching thumb was hidden behind her back. She really wished she could break the silly nervous habit.
She kept thinking over what the Doctor had said. Wondering exactly what was wrong with her mind that required someone to place up barriers within it. Something hidden within so dangerous that it frightened the Doctor enough to deem it deadly. Well, she would like to find whoever placed the barriers up and ask them to strengthen the darn things. They seemed too fragile if they kept on cracking. Then again, they were not real barriers, only a mental state of sorts. They were not a real physical force that kept her at bay. They could be easily removed. If she really wished to break them down, she always could.
But that was the thing; she did not want the barriers to go away. If whatever was inside her mind truly was dangerous, then she would rather have them there. If it meant protecting her family, then she would deal with not knowing the truth. Not only that, but she would rather stay oblivious for now. Learning of the truth only made her fearful. She suspected though, that she already did know most of the mystery. Like she had believed before, what made her so dangerous was the information she held within her mind of the Doctor and his timeline. The barriers might have been placed there to keep others from accessing such knowledge. To keep her from becoming a weapon against him and her family. And for that, she was grateful to whoever placed the barriers up.
Wanda glanced up to the ceiling when all the lights went off. Lovely. In a sinking submarine, with an Ice Warrior wanting to kill them, and nuclear warheads ready to be armed and fired, complete with darkness. All together that just screamed great fun. She sighed, twisting her thumb more and wishing Clara were back in here safe and not in the dark room with Skaldak. Wanda knew things should turn out fine, but then again, things had a habit of changing very quickly. She should have looked into a possibility before allowing Clara to venture off.
Wanda had gotten into the habit of looking into a possibility at least once every adventure. Only far in enough until she got the basics of what needed to be done or what changed. Simply until her head started to hurt, then she would pull back to reality and move forward. She made sure not to do it more than once. It would only weaken her if she did.
"Hey, it's okay, Clara," the Doctor calmed the slightly panicking girl over the audio feed. He stared at the monitor, carefully watching her and Skaldak. "Keep going."
Wanda saw how Clara reached in her pocket and pulled out the torch the Time Lady had given her. Wanda was glad she remembered that Clara would need it.
"You're a long way from home," they heard Clara speak over the monitor. The girl slowly approached the Ice Warrior as she spoke with the torch pointing straight at him.
"Five thousand years," the Doctor told her.
"And five thousand years adrift in time," Clara repeated what the Doctor told her, scooting in closer. "Please, let us help you. You are not our enemy."
"And yet I am in chains," retorted Skaldak with a hiss. Wanda had to admit, he had a good point there.
"Doctor, what do I say?" Clara asked quietly to her headset.
"Yes, Doctor," spoke up Skaldak in annoyance. "What should she say?" The Doctor shifted some, seeming to realize sending Clara in might have been pointless.
"I think he wants to speak to the organ grinder, not to the monkey," Grisenko spoke up, adding to the Doctor's thoughts.
"I heard that," Clara said to them.
"You are restrained until we can trust each other, Skaldak," the Doctor spoke directly to Skaldak through Clara's headset, making sure to speak louder so that the Ice Warrior may hear him. "You would do exactly the same in my position, and don't even think about using that sonic weapon. Not in the torpedo room."
"I was Fleet Commander of the Nix Tharsis," Skaldak responded, heavy with emotions. "My daughter stood by me. It was her first taste of action. We sang the songs of the Old Times. The Songs of the Red Snow. Five thousand years. Now my daughter will be dust. Only dust."
Wanda felt empathy for Skaldak, knowing how much it hurt to realize every loved one would be long gone. It was very similar to how she felt with losing her original family from her old universe. Even though it has two years now, she still missed them terribly. An ache in her hearts that would probably never fully go away.
"No, no, no. Listen, your people live on Skaldak," the Doctor spoke quickly, trying to keep the peace and ease Skaldak's mind some and hoping to have the Ice Warrior see reason. "Scattered all across the universe. And Mars will rise again, I promise you. Just let me help you."
"I require no help," responded Skaldak, growling some. "There will be no help."
"Doctor, we need to get Clara out of there," Wanda said quietly, getting the Doctor's attention. He nodded to her, looking back to the monitor at Clara. He saw how the girl kept creeping closer to the Ice Warrior.
"Careful, Clara," the Doctor breathed in a warning.
"I'm okay," Clara assured him, getting up right next to the armour of Skaldak.
"No, listen, Clara, don't get too close," the Doctor warned her again. Wanda did not wait for the rest, knowing that Clara would find the armour empty. The Time Lady only knew that she needed to get down there and fast. She shot up from the ground and rushed out of the Captain's cabin. She sloshed through the water quickly, heading straight towards the torpedo room.
She turned a corner and came up to the small, round door of the room. She yanked it open, allowing the hissing Skaldak to rush by, leaving both the room and his armour behind. Wanda helped Clara up and out of the room, brushing her off some as the girl shook in fright.
"You all right there, Clara?" Wanda asked her with a smile.
"Yeah, sure. Never better," Clara breathed quickly, giving a smile back. "I'm okay. But where did he go?" She pointed her torch down the direction of Skaldak's retreat, seeing the empty corridor. The Doctor, Zhukov, and Grisenko had yet to reach them.
"Oh, you know, somewhere to cause trouble and mayhem," Wanda replied easily.
"Oh, okay," Clara said, a slightly worried tone in her voice. She looked back to Wanda. "How did I do? Was I okay?"
Wanda grinned at her. "You were brilliant. Don't you think so, Doctor?" Wanda called out to the Time Lord who rushed with the other two men towards them. He panted some as he came up to them.
"What?" he questioned in confusion.
"Did Clara do brilliant in there?" Wanda asked him. He blinked in bewilderment.
"This wasn't a test," he said, looking into the torpedo room. He looked back to Clara, smiling at her. "But you were great." Clara beamed at the Time Lords, happy to have done well.
The signal coming from Grisenko's headphones suddenly stopped, making everyone freeze slightly in fear in knowing what that meant. It indicated that Skaldak had cut transmission to his distress call, having received no answer from his Martian brothers. Meaning Skaldak had given up hope of being rescued. This only made the Ice Warrior even more deadly than before since now he had nothing left to lose. The Doctor turned swiftly and marched back down the corridor, trying to think of a solution to their situation. The others followed on behind.
"But what can he do, stuck down here like the rest of us?" Zhukov pointed out, believing their situation still had hope. "How bad can it be?"
"This sub's stuffed with nuclear missiles, Zhukov," the Doctor said to the Captain, pointing out the obvious of how dire their situation truly was. "It's fat with them. What do you think Skaldak's going to do when he finds that out? How bad can it be? How bad can it be?" The Doctor paused briefly. "It couldn't be any worse."
The ship around them suddenly rocked violently, shaking greatly from falling rocks above. The group could hear the loud thundering of the boulders as they hit the ship. They all stumbled, trying to keep their footing as water gushed in on them from above. The water and ship settled after a moment, leaving them standing soaking wet and in silence. Wanda glared in annoyance at the Doctor.
"Great, you jinxed us," she said to him. She smacked him on the arm. The Doctor let out a puff of air.
"Yeah, spoke too soon," he muttered.
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Wanda watched as Zhukov's men gathered together and readied their guns. The Doctor and Zhukov came up with a plan for the crewmen to split up. Half searching for Skaldak while the other half stay and guard the bridge. Zhukov agreed and the search team moved out through the submarine. The Doctor wanted Wanda, Clara, and Grisenko to come along with him as he used his sonic screwdriver to help with the search. Wanda walked along with them for a moment, letting herself follow on behind. Slowly, she lingered farther and farther back until she was unnoticed by them.
She slipped away quietly, going towards a certain location on the ship where she knew she was needed. She turned down many different corridors until she came into a certain room with two soldiers, Onegin and Belevich, still alive and talking. They both held out their guns nervously while discussing the possibility of Skaldak really being a true Martian.
"Excuse me boys, but you're needed up at the bridge," Wanda said to them, smiling some in a cheerful demeanour.
"But Captain specifically ordered us—," Onegin began to speak.
"No arguments. The Captain changed his orders," Wanda spoke in a harder tone. "I suggest you go there. Now." She sent them a stern gaze, making them both glance at each other then abruptly leave. Both decided to not argue with the piercing gaze of the woman. She waited until they footsteps were long gone before speaking again. "I know you're in here, Skaldak."
"Clever female," she heard the Ice Warrior hiss within the room. "Are you going to shoot me as the others have?"
"No. That isn't how I do things," she spoke evenly. "I'd rather talk."
"Talking is useless during times of war," Skaldak retorted harshly. "Only action proves its worth."
"This isn't a war, Skaldak. Not unless you make it one." Wanda glanced around the ceiling searching for the Ice Warrior. "I really just want to talk."
"A soldier like you does not talk," he hissed right into her ear. Wanda remained still as she felt his long fingered hands wrap over her head. She evenly stared at the far wall, allowing herself to relax as he began to speak. "I smell the stench of death upon you. You know only how to kill as I."
Wanda swallowed heavily, not liking the sound of that. It sent a shiver down her spine in disgust to the very idea of being a killer. "Well, that's a smell that doesn't belong on me. I do not know how to kill. Only to help others and try to keep people alive. Not to end them."
"And yet you smell of nothing but death." His grip around her head tightened some.
"I can't tell you why you smell that. I don't even know myself. There's a huge part of me that's a mystery. Something I hope to discover on another occasion. At the current moment, however, I wish to help you."
"Help me?"
"Yes." She paused for a moment, thinking. "I know what it's like, losing your loved ones and being so far away from home. I lost my whole family to another universe."
Skaldak did not say anything for moment, twitching his fingers around her face slightly. "You . . . lost your family?"
"Yes. So long ago. It's been two years for me now."
He tightened his fingers in anger. "It's been far longer for me. Five thousand years is nothing to a mere few."
"And yet it still hurts all the same." She felt his grip loosen. "It doesn't matter how long apart you've been. It always hurts in the end, knowing you can never see them again." He let go of her head, shifting around some above her.
"How is it you wish to help me?"
"I only want to bring you some peace of mind. You're not really alone. Others of your kind are still alive and they heard you beacon. They're coming to get you now."
He hissed some. "You lie."
"I never lie. I can't really. Goes against my codes." She turned around, facing him. She only saw a portion of his face within the darkness above. The red eyes gleaming back at her menacingly. "I promise you they are coming. You may have lost your original family, but you can always make a new one. The same as I have. You don't have to be alone."
"I cannot trust your words when I know they are nothing but lies."
Wanda crossed her arms, staring evenly at him. "Tell you what. If the promise doesn't come true by the end of the day, you can kill me right on the spot. No questions. No complaints. I'll walk right up and you can shoot me down. Deal?"
The Ice Warrior stared at her, judging her carefully. "You are willing to let yourself die for something as simple as a mere promise?"
She smiled at him, looking merry. "Yep."
He stared at her for a moment longer, studying her. "Tell me, what is your name?"
"I'm the Wanderer."
"Well then, Wanderer, even though you say you are not a soldier, you easily face death like one. And only a true soldier does not fear their own end." He disappeared into the dark, shifting away to move amongst the piping to another location. He left with one last statement lingering behind. "I hold you to your promise."
Wanda stood there for a moment, letting herself think carefully over Skaldak's words. Wondering what he meant by 'soldier,' and why she felt as though he were right. She really did feel like a soldier at times. Maybe it was the situations she had grown used to with the Doctor. River always did say being with the Doctor turned one into something like a soldier.
"Wanda! Wanda, where are you?!"
She turned her head back towards the door, hearing the Doctor shout out in a panic.
"I'm in here!" she called out. He, Clara, and Grisenko rushed into the room where she stood. The Doctor went forward, grabbing onto her arms.
"Don't do that," he said sternly. "Running off like that. I swear, I have a heart attack every time."
"Don't you mean 'hearts' attack," Wanda chuckled some. He rolled his eyes.
"It's a figure of speech," he replied, shaking his head in an affectionate sort of way. "Why did you run off anyway?"
"I was saving Onegin and Belevich. They were going to be killed by Skaldak," Wanda explained to them. The others tensed some at her words. Looking horrified by what could have happened.
"You rushed off to save them?" Grisenko asked her.
"Yes. Wouldn't you?" Wanda replied back. "They were good men who didn't deserve to die. I'm glad I was able to rescue them. Then, of course, I had to deal with Skaldak and—."
"What?" the Doctor spoke in a hard tone, staring with harsh eyes. "You faced Skaldak alone? What were you thinking?! He could have killed you!"
"I wanted to talk with him," she responded, furrowing her brows at him. "I had it covered. I was fine." She saw Clara and Grisenko sort of scoot out of the room; leaving the two Time Lords to have some privacy. Apparently, both humans realized things were going to become heated between the two of them.
"You couldn't have known that," the Doctor argued angrily. "You could have died. You don't see your timeline, remember? You don't know what lies ahead for you as you can for the rest of us."
"Well, that's up to only a certain point. At least until you are no longer involved with their lives." Wanda frowned some at him, raising a brow. "Unless you mean something else?"
He let go of her arms, waving his hands around in frustration. "That isn't the point." He pointed sternly at her. "The point is, you need to stop being so brash. Think before you act and rush off into danger. That's how you got your First self killed, you didn't think things through."
Wanda crossed her arms angrily. "I was thinking. I thought, 'let's save someone and not be a coward for once.'"
The Doctor gritted his teeth and stared harshly at her in frustration. "Jumping into danger like that doesn't make you brave. It makes you an idiot."
"Takes one to know one." They both glared at each other. Both just as frustrated with the other. Wanda shifted and sighed. "Look, Doctor, I'm sorry, but I'm tired to just waiting around and watching the innocent die around us. I can't take it just standing around. If it costs me my life in saving someone, then, in the end, it's worth it to me. I'll try to think things through more often down the road if it bothers you that much. But just know that I really don't care that I die if it means protecting you, our companions, and any others around us."
He deflated some, staring dejectedly at her. "But I care. I care if you die. I can't . . . I'm not . . ." He scooted closer to her, leaning his head on her shoulder and wrapping his arms loosely around her. "I'm not strong enough without you here. You're the only one who's constant in my life. If you're gone . . . I don't know if I can move on."
Wanda sighed heavily, wrapping her arms around him and holding him in a comforting hug. "I'm not going to be around forever you know. One day I'm going to be gone. And when that day comes, you're going to have to continue forward. Just as you do all the other times."
"No. No, without you, there is no going forward. There's nothing left to continue on. You're different for all the others. Can't you see that?"
She frowned, shaking her head. "Well, then how would you feel if I said the same thing about you? If you left me, and I said I would just let myself waste away if you weren't here? Hmm?"
He did not say anything for a second, grumbling some into her shoulder. "That's not fair. That's different."
"How's that any different? Either way, one of us is going to leave someday and the other has to continue on. Neither one of us can let ourselves waste away over something like that." She pulled back, patting his shoulder. "We'll discuss this later. For now, we need to get a move on. Skaldak isn't going to wait around much longer. He's going to plan a strike."
The Doctor sighed, staring at her closely. "Fine. But I still make no promises. I mean it, Wanda. I don't plan on moving on without you."
"And I don't plan on not jumping in to save lives." She smiled and patted his shoulder once more. "Guess we're both stubborn."
The Doctor turned and had then walked out of the room with Wanda trailing after him. Clara gave them both this relieved look, seeming pleased that the two of them had settled their disagreement. They then all followed after the Doctor as he tracked down a signal within the ship with his sonic. Eventually, they finally reached the signal's location.
"Right, Wanda, Clara, Grisenko: You lot stay here. Don't go anywhere," the Doctor ordered them, going up the stairs towards the turbine room. Wanda huffed, starting to follow after him.
"You can't go off on your own. What is something happens?" she disputed. The Doctor turned around, pointing sternly at her.
"Stay," he said firmly. He turned back around, continuing to climb the stairs. "Clara, make sure she stays!" The Doctor disappeared around the corner up above, leaving the three down below. Wanda felt Clara tug at her jacket, pulling her back down to stand next to the companion.
"You heard the man," Clara said, linking an arm with the Time Lady's. "You're staying put." Wanda scoffed, giving the girl a stern gaze.
"Oh, yeah?" she sassed. Wanda caught the girl by surprise, spinning her around and pushing her towards Grisenko. The Professor caught Clara in shock as Wanda hurriedly raced up the stairs.
"Wanda! The Doctor said to stay here!" Clara yelled at the retreating woman.
"Yes, I know. And any other day I would do as he says," Wanda replied over her shoulder. "But . . . there's something wrong, and I have to protect him." She hurriedly pulled herself up the stairs and quickly made her way to the turbine room. She knew she had to get to the Doctor. She felt it the moment he had walked up the stairs. The ping warning started going off within her head, telling her that the Doctor was in danger. She needed to be there to save him.
She hopped up the steps two at a time, finally reaching the landing above of where the turbine room was located. She went to take a step forward when she paused and froze. Something felt wrong. Something was . . . different than what it was supposed to be. She was not sure what exactly, but she felt it in the air. The room almost felt colder than normal, and the dark space around her casted threatening shadows that glared at her. Something was here that was not supposed to be. Creeping forward slowly, she made her way to the door of the turbine room. The dripping and leaking water echoed around her like a whispering warning as she gradually pushed open the small door.
She stumbled in and came to a halt when she found the Doctor. He was laying on the floor, face first and out cold. A small trickle of blood was coming from the back of his head where she could see someone had hit him severely.
"Theta," Wanda breathed in horror to the sight.
Immediately, she crouched down next to him and rolled him over gently. Checking his pulse first, she felt his hearts still beating normally. She let out a breath of relief, glad to see he was at least not dead. Pulling out a small medkit from one of her pockets, she hurriedly pulled out a healing gel and lifted him up to rub some onto his wound. She watched carefully as the gel healed up the injury, making it seal up from a gash to a small cut, the blood stopping completely. Letting out another sigh, feeling greatly relieved that the Doctor was all right, Wanda hugged him tightly to her chest. Wishing there was more she could do for him.
She heard footsteps coming from the opposite side of the room. Thinking and acting quickly, she pulled the Doctor over behind a beam and out of sight for safe keeping as she ready herself to face whoever had hurt him in the first place. She watched carefully as the other small hatch door across the room opened. Lieutenant Stepashin stepped into the room, holding a pistol in hand as he gazed harshly around.
"All right, then, now that I've taken care of the preparations, it's time I've put an end to you, Doctor," grounded out the Lieutenant. He stopped short when he saw the Doctor was no longer lying on the cold, wet floor. He narrowed his eyes, gazing around darkly as he looked for the missing Time Lord. Wanda stepped around quickly, wanting to keep the man's attention on her and to leave the Doctor be.
"You know, you could have just lived a normal military career," Wanda sassed out, making the man jump slightly in surprise to the sight of her. She crossed her arms, glaring at him. "But no you just had to get itchy to start a war. Life just wasn't exciting enough for you." Stepashin glowered at her, raising his pistol to point it at her chest.
"Better war than this insufferable 'peace,'" he gritted out.
"And what's so bad about peace? I like peace. Everything is nice and quiet and—," Wanda retorted.
"And completely distasteful," Stepashin bit out. "How can a true soldier of the Motherland call themselves 'warriors' when all they do is sit on their rear ends, waiting for the other to strike when the best strategy is to strike first? I'm tired of waiting around. I'm tired of twiddling my thumbs, holding myself back from the call of war when it is within my grasp."
"Is this really what it's all about? Boredom and wanting to impress your country? If you really want something that will entertain you and be patriotic for your country, why don't you join the Olympic team or something?" Wanda questioned harshly, keeping her gaze even on him. "Besides, a true good soldier isn't one who starts a war. They are the ones who end them. And the great ones are who make certain the war never starts to begin with."
Stepashin scoffed slightly. "Only a weakling believes that." He stepped forward, staring menacingly at her as he readied himself to shot her. "I've come too far now. I'm not letting you, the Doctor, or anyone else get in my way."
Wanda rolled her eyes, shaking her head slightly. "Even if you shoot both me and the Doctor here now, there's still Zhukov and his men who will gladly stop you as well. Do you really think you can get past them with all their guns? And not only that, but you need Zhukov's other key to be able to activate the warheads. Unless you have a computer hacker, you're out of luck in achieving your goal of another World War."
Stepashin paused right before firing his weapon at her. He stared at her for a moment, realizing she was right. There was no possible way he could succeed completely in his plans, unless . . . "Well, then, I'll just have to have some liability to help me along."
Wanda let out a small noise in surprise as the Lieutenant abruptly grabbed her arm and yanked her towards him. He gripped both of her arms abrasively behind her back as he kept his pistol aimed at her temple. Wanda let out a small groan as he began to push her forward. "Oh, you have got to be kidding me."
"Shut up," he growled out as he pushed her forward. The whole situation gave her déjà vu of the time the Gunslinger had gotten her. She glanced briefly over to the still unconscious Doctor as Stepashin pulled her out of the door with him. She hoped the Doctor was all right. She worried over his safety being all alone like that.
When Stepashin and she arrived into the corridor, both Clara, Grisenko, Zhukov, and another crew member jumped in shock to the sight of Wanda being held captive, and Stepashin being the captor. Apparently, no one saw this one coming. Even Wanda did not see this coming. Which is odd, since she should have. Then again, she had been having a difficult time looking into the possibilities earlier. And she did not take the opportunity after her head had stopped throbbing to glance into a possibility for this adventure.
"Wanda!" Clara cried out in alarm when seeing the pistol pointed at the Time Lady's head. The companion went to rush forward, but Grisenko held the girl back.
"Stepashin? What is the meaning of this?" Zhukov asked, looking outraged by his Lieutenant acting in such a way.
"Doing what I should have done a long time ago," Stepashin bit out. Zhukov and his other soldier hurriedly aim both of their weapons at the mad Lieutenant.
"Stand down, Stepashin!" barked Zhukov in his order. Stepashin responded by pushing the pistol severely into Wanda's temple. She winced, grimacing at the cold metal that was harshly biting at her head. Her expression must have appeared more of a flinch of fear to the others, for they immediately stiffened in alarm to the Lieutenant's brash gesture.
"No. I think you'll stand down. Or else you'll have the blood of this woman on your hands," Stepashin said coolly.
"Please, don't hurt her!" Clara pleaded, trying to step forward again, but still Grisenko held her back. Zhukov hesitated for a moment longer before finally lowering his gun.
"Stand down," he ordered the other soldier next to him. Both placed their weapons on the floor, standing stiffly there while glaring at the rogue Lieutenant. "What do you want, Stepashin? What could you possibly wish to do while we're stuck here seven hundred metres under below the surface?"
"Finally put an end to this detestable time of peace," Stepashin grounded out. "I've had the warheads primed for weeks now for launching. All we had to do is run the drill and everything would have gone as plan. But now that we're stuck down here, I might as well accomplish my goal before we all die."
"You'll ruin our country by causing war," Zhukov breathed, glaring in rage.
"I'll be doing the Motherland a great honour. Giving everyone a chance for glorious battle. Now, then," Stepashin pressed the pistol tightly against Wanda's head, "enough talk. Give me your key, Captain."
"Don't do it!" Wanda shouted, wiggling in the Lieutenant's grasp, trying to break free.
"No! Save her, please," Clara pleaded to the Captain. Zhukov stood there stiffly for a moment before finally conceding. He pulled out the other key for the warhead launch, walking over to hand it to Stepashin. The Lieutenant grabbed the key swiftly with the same hand which held the gun. Snatching the item so fast that neither Wanda nor Zhukov could have possibly done something to stop the man. Stepashin then pushed the pistol back into place next to the Time Lady's head just as quickly.
"Now, all of you step out of my way," he ordered the group. All did as he said, letting there be plenty of room for both him and Wanda to walk down the corridor.
"You're a traitor, Stepashin," Zhukov grounded out as they walked by.
"No, Captain. You and the rest of the crew here are the real traitors," Stepashin retorted. He roughly steered Wanda down to the bridge, ready to complete his plans. She stumbled some, trying to walk carefully from the awkward position Stepashin held her in.
Surprisingly, they ran into no one else as they reached the bridge. Perhaps the men who had been guarding the area retreated earlier, or possibly had even gotten word from Zhukov somehow to stand down and let Stepashin pass. Wanda did not know which was more likely. All she did know was that she needed to think of a plan and think of it fast. If she could somehow get out of his grasp and get ahold of her sonic, she might be able to disarm the systems. This way he would not be able to launch the missiles. But then she might set off the warheads in the first place. That would kill everyone here. Could she . . . could she do that? Kill everyone here? All of the innocent soldiers and other workers? Clara? The Doctor? She shivered at the thought. No . . . she could never do something such as that. She would just have to think of something else.
Stepashin pushed her inside the control room, slamming the hatch door behind them. He roughly pushed her away from him and locked the door. Then turned quickly, aiming the pistol at her.
"Now, then. Be a good woman by keeping your mouth shut and staying out of my way," he ordered her snidely.
"Chauvinist, degenerate, slimeball," Wanda gritted out angrily. Stepashin ignored her, going over to the controls to begin his work, keeping his back to Wanda as she stood by the door. She was surprised really that he did not think to tie her up or something. It might have been likely that he never excepted a woman to actually stand up to him or try to stop him. His mistake in thinking as such.
As he was fiddling with getting the certain coordinates up and running, ready to place both keys into place and push the ignition for launch, Wanda crept up behind him. She leaped before he knew what happened. Throwing him to the floor and grabbing the one key, she jerked it out of his hand and ducked behind a control station as he turned to shot at her. The bullet bounced off a beam, making a loud clang within the room. Wanda rolled over as he shot again, winding up in a deep puddle of water. She sloshed through it as she tried to make a break for the door. But she was caught as Stepashin grabbed a fist full of her hair and yanked her up off the ground.
"Ahh! Let go of me!" she shouted, trying to get out of his grasp. "Stepashin, listen to me, you can't do this! Please! It will ruin everything for the future! Plesase!"
"Useless woman," he growled, aiming the pistol at her back. They both froze when they heard shouting and banging coming from outside of the door. Making a frustrated growl, Stepahin jerked her back over to the controls, jamming both keys hurriedly into their places and readied the launch. The door behind them slammed open with the loud angry buzzing of a sonic.
"Stepahin! Let her go, NOW!" came the raging roar of the Doctor. Stepashin turned around, dragging Wanda with him to face the group who had appeared. It was the Doctor, Clara, Grisenko, and Zhukov with his other men standing in front of the doorway. The soldiers held up their weapons, pointing them at Stepashin and Wanda. The Lieutenant countered by pushing his pistol back into Wanda's temple. She rolled her eyes slightly. Great, back to this again.
"Stand down, Captain!" the Doctor ordered angrily, not wanting to provoke Stepashin any further. Nor have any more guns pointed at Wanda than there was already. Zhukov and his men reluctantly lowered their weapons, but kept a good hold on them, just in case. The Doctor turned his attention back onto Stepashin, giving the man a dark glare. He raised his sonic, aiming it threateningly. "Let. Her. Go. Now."
"As soon as I've finished ending the Cold War, you can have your wife back," Stepashin retorted coldly. Wanda stiffened greatly at the mentioning of 'wife.' What . . . what was that supposed to mean?
"She isn't my wife," the Doctor said quietly, having a regretful expression flash across his face before going back to furious once again. Wanda felt a breath of relief go through her at the Doctor's words. But at the same time, she felt this strange twinge of hurt.
"Whatever she is, I know you have a certain soft spot for her. So, stay out of my way," Stepashin disputed. He scooted back with Wanda being dragged along, going to push the launch ignition. The Doctor flicked his sonic open, aggressively stepping forward with the screwdriver's tip turning an angry red and making a high pitched noise.
"I will blow this sub up before you can even reach that button, Stepashin," the Doctor snarled in raged. "Blow us all to oblivion."
"You would end your life? Just to stop me?" Stepashin scoffed, pausing from pushing the ignition.
"In a heartbeat if it means protecting this planet," the Doctor replied evenly. Wanda smiled proudly at the Doctor while Stepashin glared.
The man then smirked, moving his hand back over with the pistol, aiming at Wanda's temple once more. "Blow up the ship all you like. I'll make sure you witness her death first before we all die."
The Doctor stiffened greatly, looking horrified. "No . . . no, don't you dare. I've already lost so much. If you take her from me—."
"Then I suggest you stand down, Doctor." Stepashin's grip tightened roughly on Wanda's hair as the Doctor shook slightly, looking greatly unnerved. Wanda winced, wishing she could somehow get out of Stepashin's grasp. She felt so idiotic and weak by simply being a pawn for this man to use. Why could she not think of something to stop all of this? Was she truly that useless?
His wrist moved slightly into her view. Glancing at his weak point, Wanda acted quickly without giving another thought. She lunged forward just enough to sink her teeth severely into his wrist. The man screamed in rage and pain. On instinct, his hand let go of the pistol, dropping it to the ground. He yanked back on her hair, trying to get her to let go. Wanda hurriedly pulled back, hoping to jump away from him. She felt him throw her to the ground, causing her to bang severely into the metal beam. She heard the others start to shout and a commotion of sorts stirred up greatly within the bridge.
Wanda looked up in shock to see the Doctor and Stepashin struggling over the controls. The Time Lord was keeping the man at bay from hitting the launch button. They both fell into a puddle of cold sea water, thrashing about as the Lieutenant was determined to launch the warheads. Suddenly, Wanda saw how the man had managed to find his pistol again. He threw the Doctor away from him and aimed it at the Time Lord.
Everyone shouted in alarm as Wanda felt the ping warning echo through her mind. She lunged forward, throwing herself in front of the Doctor. It felt like a repeat of her First self jumping in front of Jenny and Ten. Trying to save them from a terrible fate. It was happening all over again. And once more, Wanda was glad to be the one to save the Doctor. However, unlike with Cobb, Stepashin never had the chance to fire.
Wanda, the Doctor, and everyone else in the room looked on in horror as long green hands with sharp claws suddenly shot out from above and grabbed ahold of Stepashin's head. The Lieutenant screamed as he was pulled up into the grating above and killed violently by Skaldak. Wanda shook in terror to the sight. The Doctor hurriedly grabbed her and turned her away from the scene, holding her close to his chest as the man was killed. The body dropped to the ground and they heard fast scrabbling above, telling them that Skaldak had left the room very quickly. The Doctor and Wanda both panted slightly as they felt a wave of lingering fright slowly fade away. Both very tense and still shaken by what almost had occurred, and by the terrible death that had transpired right in front of them.
"Are you all right?" the Doctor asked Wanda quietly, cupping her face to stare at her in concern.
"I was about to ask you the same thing," she replied, rubbing gently at the back of his head. "How's your head?"
"Fine," he chuckled quietly, giving her reassuring smile. Clara suddenly slammed into them, hugging them both tightly. She then smartly smacked them both behind the head, making the Time Lords wince.
"Ow! Now, don't you start doing that," the Doctor scolded the girl quickly.
"I will if you two keep scaring me like that," Clara retorted, giving them both another tight hug. Wanda patted her girl's back gently, trying to reassure her.
"Sorry we scared you," she whispered. Clara pulled back smiling some.
"I'm just glad you're okay. Good thing Skaldak saved you," she stated.
"But . . . why did he save you and stop Stepashin?" Grisenko spoke up, gaining their attention. Everyone stiffened greatly when they heard the loud clunking footsteps coming towards them. Looking to the doorway, they saw the Ice Warrior had returned into his armoured suit. Standing there in the doorway, he stared threateningly down at the crouched trio. The Doctor slowed stood up. Wanda and Clara followed in suit, staring cautiously at the Ice Warrior.
"You saved Wanda and the rest of the world. Thank you," the Doctor said to Skaldak respectfully. Though, he gave the Ice Warrior as suspicious gaze. "I hope you don't mind me asking 'why?' though."
"Because she is mine to kill," Skaldak growled out. He raised his arm, charging his weapon and aiming it right at Wanda. The soldiers around the room quickly raised their guns in response. The Doctor and Clara stiffened greatly, both hurriedly stepping in front of the raven-haired woman. The Time Lady sighed in exasperation.
"Seriously? How many times are there going to be guns pointed around today?" she muttered under her breath. She pulled both the Doctor and Clara back, stepping in front so she was in full view of Skaldak. She ignored their protests as she faced the Ice Warrior directly. "Skaldak, I told you they are coming."
"My distress call has not been answered. It will never be answered," the Grand Marshall disputed bitterly. "My people are dead. They are dust. You have lied to me. Given me false hope."
"I told you, I cannot lie," Wanda replied calmly as he aimed his weapon angrily at her. "You're people are alive and they are coming. In fact, they should be arriving . . . right about . . . now."
The whole submarine shook violently upon Wanda's last words. They all stumbled back as the ship rocked around them.
"What's happening?" Clara asked in alarm. They felt the submarine begin to rise, lifting off the ridge and up towards the surface.
"My people live. They have come for me!" said Skaldak happily. Wanda grinned at him.
"Told you," she said to him. They stumbled when the submarine broke through the ice roughly, hitting the surface at last. The Doctor looked back to Skaldak.
"We've surfaced. Your people have saved us," the Doctor spoke to him.
"Saved me, not you," Skaldak retorted gruffly.
"Just go, Skaldak, please," the Doctor said evenly to him, ignoring the retort. "Please, go in peace." Skaldak disappeared in front of them, his people having teleported him away into their ship.
Everyone sort of let out a breath of relief as they felt the threat over them and the rest of the world was finally over. Wanda glanced down to the floor sadly, seeing Stepashin's body lying limply in the water. She crouched down, moving it so the gone man now lay on his back and gently closed his eyes. She patted the man's shoulder standing back up and sending the Lieutenant a silent farewell. Even if he had been about to destroy the world . . . it was still a horrible way for him to go. She just wished she could have thought of another way to perhaps change the man's mind or even stopped him somehow.
She glanced over to see the Doctor staring coldly down at the dead man, looking not even remotely forgiving. Perhaps Stepashin had pushed the Doctor too far for the Time Lord to be as regretful or merciful as Wanda felt. He glanced up to her, losing his cold gaze to stare somewhat warmly at her. Wanda gave him and Clara a small smile, trying to look past the death and move onto a bright future with her friends.
"Come on, you lot," Wanda said brightly to everyone once. "Time to wave farewell to Skaldak."
They all went towards opening hatch of the submarine. Zhukov went through first while the rest followed. They stood out on the deck, watching the vast Martian ship overhead. It was very large and round with brightly lit lights underneath. It hovered above them peacefully. No threatening nature present. It was really quite beautiful in Wanda's opinion.
"The TARDIS! Where's the TARDIS?" Clara asked the Doctor quickly. "You never explained."
"Oh, well, don't worry about that," the Doctor waved away her worry, looking uncomfortable and embarrassed suddenly. Clara frowned at him.
"Stop saying that," she scolded. Wanda chuckled, bumping Clara lightly in the side.
"He never stops saying that, so you better get used to it now," she told the girl. Clara rolled her eyes and shook her head.
"Great. Well, where is it?" she asked again.
"Yeah. Well, I wasn't to know, was I?" he replied in embarrassment. He looked away shiftily, not wanting to look either Clara or Wanda in the eye from how idiotic he felt. Wanda laughed even more.
"You were fixing something that didn't need fixing again, didn't you?" she asked him. He cleared his throat loudly.
"Maybe. And who was the one who started me on that habit anyway?" he countered. Wanda shrugged, grinning away innocently.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," she said lightly, laughing more at the pout the Doctor sent her. Wanda glanced over to Clara. "He reset the HADS."
"The what?" Clara questioned in confusion.
"The HADS. The Hostile Action Displacement System," the Doctor explained, still looking highly embarrassed. "If the TARDIS comes under attack, gunfire, time winds, the sea, it . . . relocates."
"Oh, Doctor," Clara sighed, exasperated by the Doctor's mix up.
"Haven't used it in donkey's years. It seemed like a good idea at the time," he mumbled, clasping his hands together and rubbing them around. Not believing of his mess up. "Well, never mind. It's bound to turn up somewhere." His sonic began to pulse loudly. He smiled and pulled it out. "Ooh! Ha! See? Right on cue. Brilliant."
"Brilliant," Clara agreed. Wanda snickered as she saw the Doctor's face drop in disbelief as he stared at the sonic.
"The TARDIS is at the pole," he announced, sounding stunned and surprise. Clara grinned brightly.
"Not far, then," she said cheerfully.
"Wrong pole," Wanda told the girl, making her smile drop some.
"It's the south pole," the Doctor stated, letting the sonic drop as he blinked in bafflement and feeling even more embarrassed by his mistake. He placed the sonic away, glancing over to Zhukov. "Could we have a lift?"
The Captain laughed loudly. The others followed in suit as they walked back down into the submarine, leaving only Wanda and the Doctor behind. Wanda continued to laugh while the Doctor rolled his eyes.
"Hush you," he grumbled. He smiled some though, finding her laughter enjoyable. Even if it was at him for his embarrassment. Both Time Lords looked up to the still hovering ship. They saluted it with right fist to left shoulder as it flew off. They released their salute, remaining silent for a moment.
"I'm sorry," the Doctor said quietly, gaining Wanda's attention. "I didn't mean to let you get hurt today."
"I'm sorry I keep getting captured or hurt in the first place. Seems I have a knack of bad luck with that," Wanda replied kindly, hoping to let the Doctor know how guilty she felt in always being a nuisance. "I just hope it doesn't start becoming a habit for me."
"Well . . . you always do have a way of falling into trouble . . . or life threatening situations," the Doctor replied somewhat fondly. Though, held a sad expression when saying so. "Anyway, as long as you don't risk your life anymore from this point for me, everything will be fine." Wanda stared at him for a moment, seeing the hopeful expression on his face. Almost as if wishing greatly for something not to come for him.
"You're a hypocrite, you know that?" Wanda told him. The Doctor blinked in puzzlement, looking over to her.
"What?" he asked.
"You were so willing to end your life to save others. You always have been," she said. "Why is it so different if I'm willing to do the same?"
"Because . . . because . . . well, just because," he responded, looking away from her. He leaned over the side, staring off to the icy sea. He sighed heavily. "It should be me there willing to die. Not you."
"Why's that?" She leaned against the side with him, staring intently at him. "Is it because you feel so old that you think you should die?"
"Partly, yes." He paused for a moment. "And partly because what I said before is true. I really don't see a way forward without you."
"Yeah, well, neither do I." She stared at him, meeting his gaze. "If you leave me, I don't think I can move forward, either."
He did not speak for a while, continuing to stare at her sadly. "I know. Unlike me, you don't have a choice to continue on if I die."
She wondered briefly what he meant by that, but she ignored it. She would question it another time. For now, she needed to have him see reason. "Don't grow angry with me for something that you're so willing to do as well."
He sighed heavily. "All right, but don't expect me not to be somewhat upset. And don't expect younger mes not to be as well. I become rather cross on one or two occasions."
"And I'll just ignore it and move on like normal." She smiled at him, watching how he rolled his eyes slightly.
"Fine. I'll try not to throw myself into danger for now on if you promise the same?" He glanced over hopefully to her.
"I make no such promises." She patted his arm, walking away as he pouted at her. She looked back to him, smiling. "We both know that ending our lives to save others is always worth it in the end. Don't act like it's not." With that said, she went back down into the submarine.
He sighed heavily turning away to look back out to the ice. "Right." He clasped his hands tightly together, staring miserably down. But why though? If it meant saving the universe, why did it mean that he had to lose his Wanderer in the process?
XxXxXxXx
So, was it good? I hope everyone enjoyed the changes I did. :) Let me know what you think about it within a review. Reviews are always greatly welcomed with love. :)
Reviewers:
LilyHiddleston96: Sweet, so glad you liked it. :) I hope you enjoyed this new chapter as well. :D
little101: Well, sort of connected to the Master, but not really. It's more of what the Master does to Wanda within part three that makes it so she remembers who she is. Wanda is very much older than she thinks she is, but it won't be revealed until part three on how old she truly is. :)
grapejuice101: Agreed. Very intense. But spoilers for now on what the Doctor is hiding from her. ;)
Lady Artimes Blaine: Ah, so many questions and so little answers. Sorry about that, and for the long wait. But don't worry, all of those questions and more will be answered within the final part of the trilogy. Promise. :) Glad you enjoyed the chapter. :D
ELLI 1773: Glad you enjoyed it. :) I hope this gave you some more of the suspense you were looking for. ;)
Jaxrond: I know, right? No wonder she's always so confused about her feelings for him. Especially with what she has to put up with Nine sometimes. lol Anyway, I'm so happy that you enjoyed it. :) Hope you liked the new chapter as well.
bored411: Yeah, I hate them, too. But it would just ruin the story if everything was given away right at the beginning. It's more fun with the story or show builds up the suspense. ;) Yay! I'm so glad you enjoyed the chapter. :D Hope you enjoyed the new one as well. :) The barriers cracking are basically are what is going to happen to her when she finally remembers. The barriers are basically the only things between her, her memories, and the thing that lives within her. Not going to be pretty once the barriers come falling down.
ElysiumPhoenix: Glad you enjoyed the more curious moments. ;) Hope you enjoyed the new chapter as well with the changes done. :)
Time-Lady1013: Yeah, I think it's driving us all a little insane. Then again, we're all mad here. lol ;) Hope you don't mind the wait until the truth is finally revealed. I'm so happy you enjoyed the last chapter. I hope the same enjoyment was found within this one as well. :)
Snowy702: I'm happy that I gave you a nice surprise. :) I'm trying to update as often as possible. Hope I can manage more updates in the future. You're welcome for the fix. lol And most definitely more sneak peeks to come. ;)
ImagineInspire: Yay! I'm glad you liked it! :D And the last once as well. :) Hope you enjoyed the new chapter.
Kira Tsumi: Yay! I'm so happy that you're enjoying it! :D I hope you will find enjoyment throughout the rest of the story. :)
MinecraftLover00: Glad you like the mystery. ;) Yes, that sort of freaks me out, too. But is it truly a inner Dalek? ;)
Squidtastik: Yeah, pretty crazy with that moment. I especially feel bad for Wanda for what's waiting around the corner for her. Glad you enjoyed the chapter. :)
otakuchamasherlockluvr: Sorry for a adventure that you didn't like all that much. I hope you at least liked the changes done with it. :) Oh, and I'll most certainly will try not to disappear on you guys. lol ;)
Thank you everyone for such awesome reviews and support! Hugs for everyone! :D Yes, even you too Twelve! lol Anyway, see you all in the next chapter! Have an amazing day!
~Tinker~