a/n: Wowza. The finale was amazing. Also sad. Obviously, this story is set in an AU where the events of season 8 do not happen. I hope you enjoy this next chapter! Hopefully I'll be able to update in two weeks again (on US thanksgiving or the weekend after it), but I'm not sure because I haven't finished writing chapter 22 yet and I'm really busy. Hopefully I will get to work on it over thanksgiving break! Anyways, I hope you like this chapter, and don't forget to review! :)
The Master stood inside the door of the Snogbox, holding both hands over Clara's eyes so she couldn't see what was going on.
"So now, just, uhm, reach forward and open the door," he instructed, nearly bouncing with excitement.
"I really don't see what the secrecy is all about. I know we're in the console room by the door," Clara responded.
The Master sighed and dropped his hands in disappointment. "Seriously? I thought I'd walked you around enough that you wouldn't know!"
She giggled. "This room has a specific sound, silly. Now open the door, I want to see where you've landed us."
He smiled once again. "Well, we aren't exactly landed, we're sort of…" he trailed, opening the door to reveal the sight before them, "suspended in space."
Clara gasped, overcome with awe. They were floating on the edge of the brilliantly green, yellow, and purple Medusa Cascade, set against the background of the stars, three of which were in the middle of extraordinary supernovas.
He watched her eagerly. "You like it?"
"I love it!" she exclaimed, bouncing a little.
He bit his lip, holding back the three words that sparked to the tip of his tongue when she spoke.
"What?" Clara asked, smiling at him gently.
"Nothing," he replied, although his grin gave away that it wasn't.
She waggled her eyebrows and responded flirtatiously, "Hmmm, not quite sure about that."
He winked at her. "I'll tell you later. Don't worry, sweet cheeks."
Clara looked at him incredulously. "You really are terrible at choosing pet names, aren't you, Kos?"
"Sugar, maybe? I've heard humans calling each other that."
"Nope, pick again," she said with a smirk.
"How about Chickadee?"
"No thank you!"
"Babylicious?"
She busted out laughing. "What the hell is that?"
He shrugged, not quite understanding her amusement. "I thought it was sort of dumb, but it was on the list I found on the internet the other night."
"You- you looked up pet names on the internet?" she asked him through her guffaws.
"Maybe," he uttered sheepishly. "After the brown hair incident, I decided I should figure out something better."
"Mkay, Koschei," she said, shaking her head before returning her gaze to the Cascade, a wide grin still lighting her face.
The Snogbox was gradually shifting, so the view changed as they watched. An intriguing line caught her eye, opening up into a large crack. "What's that then?" she asked, finally finished with her giggling, "It looks rather familiar."
The Master, who had been caught up in watching Clara's face and trying to recover from his embarrassment, glanced at it and back at her… and then he took a double take, staring in horror. "Shit," he muttered, his face dropping as the Snogbox suddenly jolted, being pulled towards it. "They've been following us. I thought it was nothing…" He took a deep breath and slammed the doors closed, causing Clara to jump, and ran to the console, urgently flicking switches and pulling levers.
"What do mean? Who's been following us?" she shouted, running after him, but standing a couple meters away so he could work.
"The bloody flipping Time Lords!" he exclaimed, "Now shut up until I can get us out of here!" The Snogbox jolted again, and Clara swallowed stiffly. She wasn't fond of being told to shut up but, considering the gravity of the situation, she did just that, desperately wishing she could do something to help.
After a third, fourth, and fifth jolt, the last of which nearly knocked the two of them to the ground, the lights above the console started flowing up and down, revealing that they were moving. The Master relaxed for a moment, but the next second, everything shut down and the time machine went dark.
"I take it that's not supposed to happen," Clara commented, interrupting the chilling silence.
"Obviously," he snapped, his voice strained.
She gulped and moved beside him, studying his face carefully. "Please tell me what's going on, Koschei," she murmured, looking into his wide eyes.
He gulped. "I think they got us," he whispered, "We most likely fell into the crack. Onto Gallifrey."
"But why did the power go out? And why isn't anybody pounding on the door?"
He shrugged. "Not sure. Could be that the volatile energy of the crack drained it, and that we landed somewhere they weren't expecting." His voice cracked and he shut his eyes, a shudder running through his body.
Clara bit her lip and pulled him into a hug. "We're going to be okay," she murmured.
At that comment, he pushed her away almost violently, a wild look in his eyes. "No. No we aren't, Clara. They sent me on a mission, and I was a bloody idiot to assume they'd leave me unchecked. If I'm lucky, I'll be forced to regenerate. If I'm not lucky, they'll kill me. And you… well, usually they'd wipe your memory and send you home, but considering they could barely get me out of the pocket universe, I'm not sure what will happen."
"Right then," she said carefully, her heart beating quickly. "So maybe this is the end, and if it is, you should know-"
She was interrupted by a gentle knock on the door. The Master made a face. "Why's it so soft?" he questioned before frowning, "They should be more urgent, more 'I'm going to smash open the door with a battering ram.' And they could too, since the powers all gone out."
The knock repeated, this time a little louder. He scowled again, wishing he could check the monitor.
"Maybe it's someone nice and we should just open the door?" Clara suggested in a small voice.
He rolled his eyes. "Doubt it," he said bitterly as he walked swiftly to the door. His hand hovered over the knob, and he glanced back at Clara, his eyes wet. She ran over to him and grabbed his face, pulling him into a deep kiss.
"For luck," she told him, smiling softly after they pulled apart at the sound of the third knock. He smiled back at her uneasily, wishing they could just turn the Snogbox back on and run away together.
And then the Master swung open the door, nearly having a heart attack when he saw who it was.