Time Heist: Treasure Hunting
"Well," Angel murmured as they reached the bottom of the ladder to find themselves in the basement halls of the Bank, water pipes and other conduits lining the walls and paths, "It's not ventilation shafts, but it'll do," she teasingly nudged the Doctor, earning a brief smile from him.
"Well, so, what are we supposed to do now?" Saibra asked once they had all gathered, "What's the plan?"
"I don't know," the Doctor sighed, "The Architect set all this up, it should make sense. My personal plan is that a thing will probably happen quite soon."
Saibra just stared at him, "So that's it. That's your plan?"
"That's his 'thing,'" Tailor corrected, "It's much better than a plan."
"How is that better?"
"Because a 'thing' is like a plan but with more greatness."
"Is a thing going to happen?" Clara asked, though her question was directed more at Angel than anyone else.
"Probably," the Doctor answered, not having noticed as he was looking around.
Angel just smiled at her, "With the Doctor around, it's more an inevitability," she told her, "But with me around…" she moved over to where she was feeling a tug to go, and reached behind a crate, pulling out another silver case, "Hopefully it'd be a good thing."
"Brilliant," the Doctor beamed, hurrying over to Angel as she set the case down, "There we go!"
"Thing time!" Tailor cheered.
"How does he get the cases here?" Clara wondered as the Doctor began to examine the case.
"Well, he'd have to have broken in ahead of us," Tailor shrugged.
"How did he do that? And if he CAN do that, why does he need us?"
"Maybe he could only get to a certain point," Angel suggested absently, "Maybe we're meant to finish it."
"Either way, it's not our problem," the Doctor added.
"What IS our prob-prob-prob-prob..." Psi tried to ask, though his head began to jerk to the side with each stutter.
"You ok?" Clara asked, reaching out a hand to put on Psi's shoulder.
"Drive glitch," he waved it off, "It's fine."
"Guilt is our problem," the Doctor explained, "Guilt, in this bank, is fatal. The Teller can hear it. Ever since that first case was opened, we've been targets."
"So that's why we wiped our memories," Tailor rationalized, "The more we know, the more guilt we carry, the more the Teller can detect."
"Now," the Doctor lifted the case, turning it so the clips faced him, "Once I open this, I can't close it again."
"Would it be safer if only one of us learned it?" Psi asked.
The Doctor glanced at him, "I'm waiting for you to volunteer."
"Er, why me?"
"Because you didn't need that memory worm, did you? You're half-computer, you can perform a manual delete. You CAN clear your thoughts."
Psi sighed, "Ok," he moved the case to face him and opened it…only to frown at what he saw a moment later, "I don't know what it is. You may as well have a look," he turned it so that the rest of them could see what was inside. A row of small, identical devices that looked cylinder-like in appearance.
"Well, what are they?" Clara asked when the Doctor picked up one to examine.
"Not a clue," the Doctor spoke quickly, seeing Angel about to answer. She looked up at him with a small frown, 'Psi was right, it's safer if fewer of us know what it is.'
'It's a teleport,' Angel glanced at it, seeing that in his mind, 'I don't think it can make any of us feel more guilty to know we have that than the fact that we're breaking into a bank.'
'Maybe not,' he agreed, 'But I don't want to risk it. Human minds, even cybernetically enhanced, not as strong as Time Lord minds. We can protect our thoughts better.'
Angel let out a gentle breath, but nodded, seeing his point.
"Hmm, interesting," Saibra spoke, pulling them from their mental conversation.
"What is?" the Doctor glanced at her.
"You're lying."
"Er, why would he be lyi-lyi-lyi-lying?" Psi gasped, bending over, "Ugh! Sorry. Stress. Drains the batteries."
"Need a bit of a boost?" Angel asked, a hand on his shoulder.
"Could do with one yeah," he took a deep breath, "But I don't think we have time for it."
"Why not?" the Doctor asked, "There's no immediate threat."
Tailor winced as an alarm sounded just after he spoke, a computer blaring out, "Warning. Intruders detected!"
"You should really stop saying things like that, dad," Tailor patted him on the shoulder.
"Yeah, getting that," he sighed, the computer repeating itself, "Angel, anything you can do?"
Angel nodded and looked at Psi, "I know you don't know us well, but can you trust me for a moment or two?"
"I don't really have a choice do I," he muttered, but nodded.
Angel took a breath and turned his head to the side so his cybernetic enhancements were visible. She lifted a hand to them, her eyes beginning to glow softly with the power of the Vortex, a spark or two beginning to form on her fingertips as she lifted a hand towards the components. A gentle tap and Psi was gasping and jerking away.
"What the hell was that?!" he panted, looking at her with wide eyes.
"A boost," she smiled.
"One hell of a boost," he muttered, rubbing the side of his head, "I feel like I could go for years without recharging."
"Best not try that though," Angel warned, patting him on the shoulder as she passed, "Now, come on, we need to keep moving."
"Yes, off we go," the Doctor agreed, starting to lead the way with Angel, Saibra and Tailor behind them, with Clara and Psi bringing up the back.
"Can you really delete your memories?" Clara asked Psi.
"Yeah, it's not as fun as it sounds."
"I've got a few I wish I could lose."
"And I've lost a few I wish I hadn't."
The Doctor looked down when he felt Angel take his hand, knowing his thoughts were in danger of drifting to a very dark time in his own past where he had forgotten her. Of all the memories he'd given up or been forced to lose, there was not a single memory of his Mate or daughter he would ever be willing to part with, not for anything. Take anything else from him, but not them.
"No," Psi continued, "I was...I was interrogated in prison. And I guess I panicked. I didn't want to be a risk to the people close to me, so..."
"You deleted your friends?" Tailor asked, glancing back at the man.
"My friends, anyone whoever helped me, my family."
"Your family?" Clara sounded horrified at that.
"Of course, my family."
"How could you do that?"
"Well, I don't know," he sighed, "I suppose I must have loved them."
"Take it from me, Psi," the Doctor called back, "The ones you love, the ones you'll come to love one day, don't ever forget them. They won't thank you for that, I imagine they'll be quite furious and hurt by it, even under good intentions. Just cos you can't remember them doesn't mean other people don't have a way of identifying them. And then what? They could be in danger, and you could walk right past them and not even realize you have. Don't ever delete them again."
"What would you know?" Psi asked, defensive, not having even thought about how he could have endangered the ones he loved till the Doctor pointed it out, that the interrogators may have already known who he was and how to find his family, they could have gone after them already and he'd have no way to check in on them, because he couldn't remember them.
The Doctor paused and looked over at him, "I have forgotten," he told the man, "I didn't choose to, it was forced on me. And the damage it caused, the hurt and pain and suffering? I'm going to live with that the rest of my considerably long life. Just because Angel has forgiven me, doesn't mean I will ever forgive myself."
He turned and continued down the hall, too ashamed to face the others even as he heard Angel in his mind and felt her in his hearts reassuring him.
Angel sighed when all eyes turned to her, "It wasn't his fault," she offered, not sure what to say, "But he did forget me, who I was to him. And things happened, terrible things," she reached out to Tailor who went to her mother and hugged her tightly, standing beside her, knowing those terrible things also involved her kidnapping as a baby, "He remembered, eventually, but not soon enough for the damage not to have been done. Our memories, Psi, the ones we love, they are worth far too much to ever forget."
"Yeah," Psi agreed, "I get it."
Angel nodded and then jerked her head towards where the Doctor had gone to follow after him.
~8~
"So," the Doctor began, a few minutes after everyone had caught up with him, "Is no one going to ask?"
"Ask what?" Clara glanced at him.
"Why I lied?"
"Rule 1," Tailor shrugged, as though that were all the answer she needed, "The Doctor always lies. If anyone wants the truth, they need to ask mum," she glanced at Psi and Saibra, "Rule 2, mum never lies."
Saibra looked over at the Doctor, "Those things, you know what they are."
"Exit strategy, of sorts," he answered.
"Angel?" Clara turned to her.
She nodded, "It's true."
And it technically was. She didn't like this, knowing what the devices were, but she could see into the Doctor's mind for why he wasn't being more forthcoming. He didn't want to specifically tell them that it was a teleporter, because if they had a way to escape, the others might get careless and not watch their guilt.
"Better question," the Doctor continued, "How did you know I was lying, Saibra? You're not psychic or Angel."
The woman shrugged, "I've had a lot of faces, I find them easy to read."
"That's quite a gift," Angel offered.
"Gift?!" Saibra scoffed, sounding as though it was anything but.
"Got us in here," the Doctor agreed.
"Mutant gene. No one can touch me. If they do, I transform," she stopped walking, "Touch me, Doctor, and you'll be looking at yourself. I am alone!"
"Why?" Tailor asked gently, genuinely not understanding.
Saibra looked at her sadly, "Could you trust someone who looked back at you out of your own eyes?"
"Yes."
Saibra scoffed, "Then you're one of the few. Not many can."
"Angel?" the Doctor cut in somewhat, his attention focused on his Mate as she was staring at the corner, her face having gone white, her eyes wide, "What's the matter?" he moved over to her side.
"It doesn't kill them," Angel breathed, reaching out to grip his hand as he touched her arm, "They're not dead."
The Doctor frowned, about to ask what she meant, when he heard it, a muffled groan sounding around the corner. He glanced back at the others, sending Clara a meaningful look that had her moving closer to Tailor as they began to head for the corner. They moved around it and stopped short, seeing a section of the wall had three, small barred windows in them. They could see as they stepped closer, that the windows led to cells.
In the first one was the man that had been cornered in the bank earlier. He was sitting there, chained and shackled, his head still caved in, moaning in pain.
"Oh, my God," Clara gasped as she caught sight of it.
"Why is he still alive?" Tailor shook her head, horrified, no one should be able to survive an attack like that.
"I don't know," the Doctor's jaw clenched, he could only guess that it was some sort of sick punishment to force the body to remain alive.
"I'm gonna be sick," Angel muttered, her hand coming to her mouth as she dashed down the hall and around another corner, the Doctor, Tailor, and Clara rushing after her as they heard her literally being sick.
The Doctor skid to his knees beside her, reaching out to comfort her as she had fallen to all fours as she was sick on the floor. Tailor moved to her mother's other side, holding her hair back while Clara rubbed her back.
"Sorry…" Angel trembled just slightly as she finished, using just a bit of the Vortex to disintegrate the sick. She could have tried to teleport them wherever they were going, but they didn't know where that was, and using more of the Vortex on the systems of the bank could trigger more security, but this little bit to erase the evidence of them being there shouldn't trigger…
Of course, an alarm would go off just then.
"Sorry," Angel repeated as the Doctor helped her to stand again.
"You alright?" Clara asked, more concerned with Angel's well-being than the fact that alarms were sounding and guards were sure to be there soon.
"I'll be fine," Angel reassured them, looking from her to her Mate and daughter, "Really. I just…I wasn't expecting that."
"You didn't see it coming?" Tailor teased, trying to ease the tension that had formed, trying to convince herself that her mother really was fine. She had felt a bit ill to see the aftermath of whatever that creature had done earlier.
Angel gave a weak laugh at that, "Some psychic I am," she joked back.
"Some thief I am," the Doctor murmured, tugging Angel closer to hug her, "Can't even rob a bank properly," he mumbled near her ear.
"Give it time," she reassured him, hugging him back, "Tailor is going to learn from the very best."
He gave her a smile in return for that one, knowing neither of them would really want their daughter to rob a bank after this nightmare, "And she'll have her sensations to warn her," he continued the small joke.
"She alright?" Saibra's voice cut into the moment, drawing their attention over to where Saibra and Psi had followed them.
"I'm fine," Angel reassured again, smiling a bit stronger this time, "It's not easy to be around others in so much pain," was all she offered.
Much like Saibra could look like others, there were times SHE could almost feel what others felt. Being in that hall, with the prisoners still there, it was like there was just too much pain to ignore.
"But we should go," Angel swallowed hard, grimacing a bit at the taste and laughing when the Doctor began to pat down his pockets and pulled out a bottle of mouth wash. She'd stopped questioning why he had things in his pockets by now, "Someone was watching us back there."
"There are cameras everywhere," Clara agreed, starting to tense up at the reminder, it was as though, now that she knew Angel was ok, she was only just starting to really hear the alarms blaring 'Intruders on the service level. Intruders on the service level.'
"Right," the Doctor nodded, starting to lead the way down the hall, though he kept his arm around Angel's shoulder as he could still feel a minor tremor in her from the sick.
"However this goes," Psi spoke up as he and Saibra followed the group, "Whatever happens...don't let me end up like that."
"No one is going to end up like that," Angel promised, "Never again."
"I'd believe her if I were you," the Doctor called over his shoulder, hurrying them down the halls and around a corner, only stopping when they reached another duct, "Now, this says, 'Place to hide,'" he looked at Angel as he crouched down to use the sonic on the cover, "What do you think?"
"I don't quite think hiding there is good, but the guards are too close to make it somewhere safer," she answered.
The Doctor nodded, understanding there was something on the other side that was concerning her, but she felt they weren't in any true danger if they went in, so he continued. He moved into the duct first, crawling into a room on the other side where there appeared to be a class with a mist on the panes. He moved closer, trying to see what was inside…and stilled when he saw the Teller.
"Where are we?" Saibra asked as they all made it back into the room.
The Doctor jerked back when the Teller hissed, sensing him.
"Everyone must remain calm," Angel warned them, "It will be alright, just keep still…"
"It's cocooned," the Doctor agreed, backing away from the Teller's case, "Forced hibernation. Its power is probably dormant," but just as he spoke, there was a noise from outside the room that startled Clara, causing her to nearly try to run, only for the Teller to turn its sights on her.
But Angel pushed her out of the way, getting caught in the Teller's hold instead.
"Angel!" the Doctor shouted, his hearts pounding with the need to protect his Mate, to help her. Tailor had to hurry in front of him and hold him back, both trusting her mother and knowing how her father could be when one of his girls was in danger.
"It may still be asleep," Tailor reminded him, "Don't wake it, dad."
"She's right," Angel told him, keeping as calm as he could even while the Teller was locked on her, "He's asleep, he'll wake for guilt."
"To be fair," Clara moved cautiously closer to the Doctor, following Angel's hand movement as she tried to shoo the rest of them away, "I think she has a hell of a lot less guilt than you, Doctor."
"Just...keep your mind blank," the Doctor called to her, his mind racing, trying to find a way to free her, to get her away from the Teller. All he could think about was putting the beast back to sleep, "Block everything, all of you," he looked around, the more brain activity there was, the more it would stir the Teller, "Once it locks onto your thoughts, it won't let go."
Angel closed her eyes and cleared her mind, allowing herself to think about the stars drifting in space, something calm and peaceful to her. She could hear the Teller growl, though it faded off into a low grumble.
"It's working," the Doctor spoke, "Keep blocking your thoughts, Angel, that's it."
The Doctor cautiously stepped forward, past Tailor and towards Angel. He gestured for Tailor and Clara to get further back, towards another duct on the other end of the room Psi was already working on getting opened. He moved closer and closer, till he could reach out a hand towards Angel and took hers in his. He began to tug her back, slowly but surely guiding her towards the duct. He gestured the others to get in the duct, Psi getting in first to lead the way, Clara ushering Tailor in before following. The Doctor, with one final tug, got Angel ducked low, the two of them hurrying for the duct.
When Saibra, who had been just behind them, screamed, falling to the floor, caught by the Teller, her own guilt too much to be ignored or brushed aside.
"Saibra!" Psi shouted.
"She's still in there," Clara gasped, "How do we get her out?"
"It's already scanning her brain," the Doctor warned, the Teller working faster now that it knew something was wrong.
"Then what?!"
"Soup!"
"We need to help her!" Tailor cried.
Angel quickly tossed Saibra one of the cylindrical devices they had grabbed out of the last case. There was nowhere in the bank she could teleport them that likely wasn't already swarming with guards. And she just had a feeling the teleport devices would be their best chance.
"Saibra," the Doctor called to her.
"What should I do?" the woman winced, "How can I get away? I don't want to become of those things we saw, sitting in a cage!"
"I've tossed one of the devices to you," Angel told her, "It's just by your knee, the exit strategy."
Saibra struggled, but was able to grab the device up, clutching it tightly, "Exit strategy," she repeated, "That means what I think it means, right?"
"Atomic shredder," the Doctor called out the first thing he could think of. If the others thought she was gone, then even if the Teller got to them, they wouldn't be able to reveal one of their accomplices was still alive.
He gripped Angel's hand tightly for the lie.
"Painless?" Saibra gasped.
"And instant."
Saibra bit her lip as the Teller increased the scan, "When you meet the Architect, promise me something. Kill him."
"I hate him, but I can't make that promise."
"Nor would I let him," Angel added.
"A good man..." Saibra tried to laugh, "I left it late to meet one of those," before she steeled herself and activated the device, disappearing, causing the Teller to roar.
"We need to go," Angel turned to try and push the others on, "Fast. He's confused right now, but it won't last if he locks onto another one of us. Go!"
The others hurried on, Psi breaking the duct cover at the other end and getting out, the others scrambling after him.
"Is that…" Tailor began, pointing at a large vault-like door at the end of the corridor.
"Vault," the Doctor confirmed.
"So what do we do now?"
"Are you alright, my love?" Angel asked when the Doctor started pacing, his eyebrows even more angry than normal.
"No," he answered honestly, "I'm an amnesiac robbing a bank, my Mate's mind was nearly turned to soup, and I'm teaching my daughter poor life choices, why would I be ok?"
"Honestly, robbing bank isn't the worst thing you've taught me, dad," Tailor shrugged off that last one.
"And I'm fine, Doctor," Angel reassured him, "No one else will be turned to soup today."
"What about Saibra?" Clara frowned, "She's…"
"Gone," the Doctor cut in, not technically lying, he was trying not to lie to Clara as much as he did the other humans, "We're not. And if we want to stay that way, we need to prioritize."
Psi scoffed, "Is THAT why you call yourself the Doctor, the professional detachment?"
The Doctor looked over at Psi, at the venom in his voice, "Put my Mate, daughter, or sister in danger and see how detached I am," he warned the man, "When we're done here, by all means, you go and find yourself a shoulder to cry on. You'll probably need that. Till then, what you need is me!"
Clara sighed as the Doctor stormed off to the vault to examine it, though she couldn't lie and say she wasn't a bit pleased that she ranked highly enough with him to warrant no detachment. Still, he'd been unduly harsh to Psi, "Underneath it all, he isn't really like that."
"It's very obvious that you've been with him for a while," Psi remarked.
"Why?" she frowned.
"Because you are really good at the excuses."
"And it's very clear you've deleted your empathy," Tailor defended her father, "You aren't even going to try and see this from his perspective."
"What, that he'll fight more to protect you lot before he even worries about other people? Yeah, that's crystal clear."
"He's lost everything he has, except us," Angel told Psi, "He's nearly lost us more times than he'd care to ever admit. He lives in fear that he's not strong enough or clever enough to keep us safe and when the Teller nearly got me, it all came rushing back even worse than before. He wants this over with, and the sooner the better. That won't happen if we don't all work together and work fast."
"Whatever," Psi muttered, heading past them and over to the Doctor when the man picked up another silver case.
"Another gift from the Architect," the Doctor spoke as they joined him, "Shall we unwrap it?"
~8~
Delphox would only watch as two guards pulled a grate off a duct, the same one that the intruders had escaped through.
"The unbreakable bank," she muttered, shaking her head and focusing on the guards, "We must locate them. And Director Karabraxos must not know. When people get fired here...it's messy. Release the Teller into the tunnels."
One of the guards nodded and began to tap a code into the lock of the Teller's cell.
~8~
Psi was crouched down before the open case, plugging in a chip to the side of it and wincing when it began to download into his mind. A moment later he turned and rushed over to a small security room near the vault with a large computer in it. The Time Lords moved to follow as Clara looked at a small card that had been in the case, 'TECH 251, ORG 339, PV' the only things written on it.
"Right, the system looks like it's time-delayed," Psi told them as he began to fiddle with the computer, "There are 24 lock codes I need to break."
Angel glanced over her shoulder, sensing something a moment before a faint growl sounded, "My love, the Teller's been released."
"We're trapped," Clara realized.
"Psi, how long?" the Doctor asked.
"As long as it takes," Psi told them as Angel opened her mouth to answer.
"It's locked on to one of our thought trails," the Doctor looked down the corridor, "We have to split up, minimize the brain signals."
"What happened to your professional detachment, Doctor?" Psi muttered.
"We stay together, it'll find my girls," the Doctor reminded him, "Apart, there's less chance."
He didn't have to add that he was almost certain the Teller would come for HIM, he had plenty in his life to feel guilty of, more so than any of them there combined. He was fine with that, he would rather the Teller come after him than his sister, daughter, or Mate. And he knew he could handle it too, being a Time Lord, he could better protect his mind from intrusion.
Psi nodded, holding out his hand and the Doctor placed one of the cylindrical device in it.
"No," Clara gasped, "No!"
"In case it finds me," Psi pocketed it, "It's my choice."
"You don't use that," Clara demanded, "Ok? Promise me."
Psi just gave her a smile, "Time to run."
"Come on, Aunt Clara," Tailor reached out to touch her arm.
"The farther away we are," Angel reminded her, "The more the Teller will have to get through to get to Psi."
"We need to go, now," the Doctor looked at them, before turning to lead the way into the corridors, leaving Psi to sit in front of the computer and work to unlock the vault. The Doctor led them to a corridor junction, lit with blue light, "Separate!" he called to them and they ran in opposite directions, Tailor and the Doctor heading down one while Angel and Clara moved down the opposite side. Once they reached another junction, they split up even more.
~8~
Psi looked up as the computer began to speak, "Vault box opening. Vault box opening. 24, 23, 22, 21, 20, 19, 18, 17..."
The lights of the countdown began to turn from red to green, moving clockwise, and Psi quickly stepped out of the security room, rushing down the hall to help.
~8~
Clara ran down a hall, the lights having turned red around her, and stopped near the corner, panting. She gasped, rolling to the side when she heard the Teller's telltale growl getting closer. She closed her eyes and tried to do exactly as the Doctor had instructed Angel, to clear her mind.
She could hear the Teller pause, and tried to keep it clear, keep it blank.
But when she heard the Teller starting to move again, getting closer to her, she took a breath and moved to make a run for it, only to get caught in its lock and cry out in pain.
~8~
Clara's cry echoed down the halls, the Time Lords and Psi all hearing it and rushing to try and help. Psi hesitated, looking around for something to help, before he moved over to a wall, plugging into a panel fixed into it.
~8~
Clara gasped, struggling to try and get away as the Teller scanned her mind…when suddenly she heard Psi over the speakers.
"Come on!" Psi was shouting, "Come and find me. Every thief and villain in one big cocktail. I am so guilty!" Clara shook her head, sinking to her knees as the Teller released her and moved to go after Psi instead, "Every famous burglar in history is hiding in this bank right now in one body! Go and feast!" she pushed herself up and used the wall to make her way after the Teller, "Clara! For what it's worth, and it might not be worth much, when your whole life flashes in front of you, you see people you love...and people missing you...well, I see no one."
Clara reached the corner of the corridor that led to where she could hear Psi just in time to see the Teller had reached Psi, but the man wasn't afraid, merely activating the cylindrical device and disappearing with a scream just as the Teller tried to scan him.
"Aunt Clara," Tailor reached her, pushing the woman back around the corner as the Teller began to turn, "Come on, we need to go, now!"
Clara didn't struggle as she let the girl pull her along, back down the twisting corridors until she ran into her parents, leading them right to them.
"This way," Angel took over, guiding them right back to the Vault hallway, as the lights began to turn green.
"Three, two, one..." the vault counted down, but the last light turned red, "Failed. Vault unlocking. Failed."
Clara bolted past them, running to the vault and pounding her fists on the still-closed door, "It's not opening!" she grunted, turning around to face the Time Lords, "Psi, he died for nothing."
The Doctor moved over to the computer in the security room, scanning it with the sonic, "Multiple locks. Last one still in place," he reached out to the front panel and pried it off, flashing the sonic on the inner workings, "Atomic seal. Unbreakable. Even for me. The Architect would know that. He wouldn't bring us all this way for nothing."
"And get two people killed," Clara muttered.
"Exactly. There must be some logic."
"Some logic?" Clara scoffed.
"Come on, Architect!" the Doctor huffed, "What else have you got?"
They looked up when thunder rumbled above them.
Angel smiled, "An oncoming storm," she looked at the Doctor, "That's what else he's got."
~8~
Delphox sat at her desk of her office, staring down at her intercom, dreading what might come next, but knowing she needed to check in or she would truly be fired in the worst way, "Report," she called into the intercom, "Please. What was the disturbance?"
"Solar storm," one of the guards reported, "Getting worse. Interfering with our systems."
~8~
Above the bank, flares of sunlight moved in waves across the sky, causing thunder to rumble that reached the bank itself.
~8~
The Doctor looked up at the sound of a storm above them, of the thunder and the flickering lights as they stood outside the vault computer room. Now it was making sense, "A storm...the storm's tripping the system," he moved further into the corridor, "That's what he's got, a storm!"
"How would he know WHEN a storm would hit?" Clara asked, "He's not psychic is he?"
The Doctor blinked and looked over at Clara, then to Angel and Tailor, before he started laughing, "Of course! Stupid, stupid Doctor. Of course, of course!"
"Of course, what?" Tailor frowned, "Dad, are you alright?"
"Whoever planned all this, they're in the future," the Doctor stated, "This isn't just a bank heist...it's a time-travel heist. We've been sent back in time to the exact moment of the storm, to be in exactly the right place when it hits, because that's the only time the bank is vulnerable!"
"Which is exactly now," Angel remarked, staring at the vault door a moment before the bolts began to release.
"Vault unlocked," the computer stated and the door began to open.
"The bank is now open!" the Doctor grinned.
"Vault unlocked."
A/N: This is a little later than normal, sorry :( Giving a bit of warning that the stories this week may be posted later than I normally post in a day due to some things coming up with my family, not bad things, just time consuming, but it may affect the update times a bit :)
As for this chapter, I feel like it's a bit harder for the Doctor to really remember Clara as his 'sister' than it was for the last him, but I feel like in dangerous situation like this, that protective instinct comes up a little more :) Poor Angel though, I don't think she 'saw' the aftermath of the Teller's attack and it was pretty gruesome a thing to have to see :(
And just a tiny note, for anyone reading who may be in the sort of NY area and might be planning to go to the Renaissance Faire, I'll probably be walking around there on the 1st of September with my 'Keep calm and put the kettle on' t-shirt so if you see me, feel free to say hi! ;D
Some notes on reviews...
It was more a reference because, to me, I do think it was the same planet as in Utopia and Angel would be concerned to be there due to timelines and how the result of their last trip there basically killed her twice, it was a fear she expressed to the Doctor :) I do tend to put in references though, mostly because I hate how the show sometimes ignores them or doesn't want to bring up past adventures/companions/situations. In this series, Angel is very much about keeping the past and her family in the present and in her thoughts. She doesn't let the Doctor just forget, but to remember without pain :) To her, it isn't right to just pretend people never existed, to never speak of them, it diminishes how much they meant and their own importance, so she does tend to remember and remark about past things. Tailor as well because some of them end up being bedtime stories to her in her own past and she sort of likes seeing the parallels :)
It was definitely a diversion from the episode, I felt like the episode did sort of make the Doctor seem a bit foolish to not think his own hate would come about :/ That was another issue I had with PC's run, not PC himself as he can only do so much with the story he's given, but more Moffat's run since he took over. I feel like a lot of my growing disinterest in DW stemmed from the plots just getting more and more convoluted and not making sense. So I really try to find some way to work an episode, especially ones I had trouble following, to make them a bit easier to work with :) I'm glad you've enjoyed the story so far. I'm not sure how my older work will hold up, I feel like I've improved with each new series/OC so I hope they're still enjoyable ;)
I always love facts like that, I read up a little on Hartnell for other series when I tried to capture his Doctor, and he seemed like a genuinely good human being :)