The End Is Where We Start From

by loulouflowerpower

11/OC-Time Lady. The Doctor and the Hatter have managed to escape Lake Silencio with their lives and reunited themselves with their infant daughter. But with Astra with them, will they be able to balance parenthood and their adventures? How will losing the Ponds affect them? And a new, impossible mystery is looming that is something quite personal for the Hatter to have to solve.

18. Chapter 18 Cold War, Part 1

Cold War, Part 1

"I'm really not so sure about this, Clara," the Hatter said slowly, eyeing her own reflection as she stood before a full length mirror within the TARDIS wardrobe, dressed head to toe in pink. Baby doll pink, to be precise. Clara had decided that the belted coat-dress would suit her quite nicely for their trip to Las Vegas, pairing the dress that the Time Lady would never have picked for herself with a matching pair of pink, shiny leather Mary-Jane's with a small heel, which she had insisted upon after seeing the rather high pair of heels Clara had first tried to push onto her. Clara had also attempted to get her to forgo a hat, but the Hatter had held firm on that one and instead happily placed a black top hat on top of her head, her hair curled into a bun at the base of her neck, while a pair of tassel bright yellow earrings swished with every move her head. It was quite a fun sensation.

Clara edged slightly into view of the mirror next to her, wearing a pretty silver dress that flowed out from the waist and a pair of small, matching heels, "I think you look great," she told her sincerely.

"I'm very….pink".

"You wear pink all the time," she paused, giving her a curious look, "Actually, I've never even seen you wear anything other than your skirt and top before. Same with the Doctor, he's always in the same clothing…"

The Hatter turned away from the mirror to give her an amused look, "We don't wear the same clothing all the time," she laughed faintly, as though it was an absurd idea.

"But you're both always dressed the same".

"Well…yes, it's the same outfit," she conceded, her amusement dimming slightly, "But it's hardly the same articles of clothing".

Clara stared at her for a long moment, while the Hatter simply smiled, thinking it made perfect sense to her that one would wear the same outfit every day, baring different coloured tights, but of course to Clara it made little sense at all and after a moment of realising that even attempting to explain that to the Hatter, who clearly couldn't see a thing wrong, decided that it would only be a waste of time. Instead, she shook her head; her hair pulled back into a neat ponytail swishing against the base of her neck, and peered into the mirror at her own reflection.

"Anyway…" she said, a little louder than needed, "I think you look good. Are you sure about that hat, though? Maybe a headband would…"

The Hatter narrowed her eyes on her and reached up to protectively touch her top hat, "Exactly what is wrong with it?" she demanded, her tone taking on a hint of defensiveness that made Clara blink and turnaround from the mirror, eyeing the Time Lady with a slightly startled expression.

"Um…nothing, nothing at all. It looks great, really great".

She sniffed haughtily, her glare softening, "Yes, it does," she agreed proudly, giving said hat an affectionate little pat, ignoring the slightly wide eyed look that Clara still wore. Clearly Clara had yet to learn just how precious her beloved hats were to the Time Lady. She suddenly broke into a wide, cheerful smile, any trace of haughtiness gone in a second, "Well, I think that'll do. We'd best get back to the console room, I hate leaving the Doctor alone in there for too long," she sighed gravely, giving Clara a look, "It's not that I don't trust his capabilities with the old girl, it's rather that he does tend to…meddle with things that ought not to be touched when left unsupervised".

Clara laughed, trailing along after the Time Lady as she began to head for the door, her small heels clicking on the floor, "He does kind of seem like the type to need supervision," she commented lightly.

The Hatter flashed her a grin, her eyes sparkling with amusement, "Oh, you have no idea, Clara," she said, leading the way off through the corridors of the time machine.

Clara quickly tried to keep up with the Hatter's longer legs, the Time Lady's dress swishing slightly with every step. They soon made their way back to the console room, Clara struggling to memories the different turns and hallways that they had taken. The Hatter was quite relieved to find the Doctor waiting for them with a small, bored pout on his face, his arms crossed over his chest as he walked slowly around the console. The Time Lady couldn't see any sign of meddling, he didn't have any grease anywhere on his clothing, nor was there anything on the console controls out of place, from a quick glance over them as she led the way over to the controls, but that didn't mean anything. Still, it did make her relax slightly.

"So, Las Vegas?" she called through the room, grinning excitedly as she came to stand before the control panel. The Doctor's head instantly snapped up at the sound of her voice and, she noted with some amusement, that he very nearly tripped over his own feet as he went to take another step, staring at her with wide, appreciative eyes. She laughed and did a little twirl, her dress flaring out slightly, before lifting an eyebrow at him and placing a hand on her hip, "The dress was Clara's idea, sweetheart. What do you think?"

"I think…" he slowly made his way closer to her, his eyes running over her figure, before he met her eyes and smiled softly, "…Beautiful. You look beautiful, dear".

The Hatter blushed very faintly, feeling instantly warmed by his words and the soft, gentle look in his eyes as he regarded her. It made her feel rather grateful that she had allowed Clara to dress her up like her own doll, since the Hatter had planned to just simply wear her usual clothing before Clara had got it into her head that they should both dress up a little. She cleared her throat and ignored the amused and slightly smug look on Clara's face from where she was standing grasping onto a nearby railing.

"Thank you, Doctor," she smiled embarrassedly. She clapped her hands in attempt to recover, turning her attention onto the controls, away from the look on the Doctor's face, "Well, we didn't go to all this trouble to stand around here, did we? Shall we be off?"

The Doctor nodded and actually had to blink himself out of whatever thoughts had been brewing inside his clever head, running a hand through his hair as he almost seemed to forcibly step back from her. He also ignored the small snigger that came from Clara's direction, joining the Hatter at the controls as they set off, the time machine shaking and jolting violently as the Time Lords began their usual dance around the controls, while Clara managed to remain upright and only a little unbalanced as she clung to the railing, her heels slipping slightly across the smooth metal flooring, providing little traction. Soon enough the shaking and the wheezing noise of the engines died down as they landed with a hard thump that very nearly managed to send Clara toppling over. The Doctor slipped a pair of wire rimmed sunglasses on and immediately rushed for the door, the Hatter right on his heels with an excited grin on her face as he grabbed the doorhandle and threw it open.

"Viva Las Vegas!" he cheered as he stepped into the open doorway…only to end up being suddenly knocked right outside the doors as a great shudder thrummed through the ground beneath them.

The Hatter, having been right behind him, gave a loud yelp of surprise as she found herself toppling right out the door along with him, right into a narrow, long room in pure chaos. Water was spewing from the ceiling in a thick, fast torrent, instantly gushing over her and soaking her to her skin. The water felt like ice, but she didn't have a chance to even shiver or attempt to right her top hat as it was knocked sideways on her head, instead she found herself stumbling through the steadily rising pool of water rising over the floor over to where the Doctor had managed to get his balance against a grey, metal control panel. She quickly joined him, eyes wide as the air was filled with shouts and orders being yelled over the gushing water and crashing noises echoing from above them. Clara soon fell against the control panel beside the Time Lady, completely soaked and gasping for breath from the cold and shock.

It wasn't a room at all, the Hatter realised as she pushed her soggy hat up from her forehead to look around, but rather the control room of a submarine, one from the early eighties, if she had to guess. And Russian, to boot. That made a nice change from constantly being in Britain. She blinked water from her eyes, wincing as the submarine gave another sharp shudder and jolt…Correction; they were currently standing in a crashing Russian submarine from the early eighties, 1983, to be exact. She would have laughed, had her lovely hat not gotten so very wet.

"Intruder on the bridge!" one of the crew called out.

"Who the hell are you?" an older man demanded, gripping onto a metal bar across the room from them, his eyes narrowed through the gushing water coming down from the ceiling. He was wearing a captain's uniform, looking no less authoritative even when drenched.

"Not Vegas, then!" Clara shouted over the noise, gripping the control panel behind her for dear life.

"No!" the Doctor called back, slipping his sunglasses off and shoving them back inside his breast pocket, his hair pushed back off his forehead. He broke into a grin, looking eagerly to the Hatter, "But this is much better!"

"Who needs a casino?" the Hatter laughed, blinking drops of water from her eyes, caring little for how her dress was now clinging to her and that her shoes were likely destroyed, "This is way better!"

"A sinking submarine?" Clara looked back to the Time Lady as though she'd lost her mind for finding any of this the slightest bit fun.

"Not just any submarine, Clara!" she flashed her a wide smile, her eyes lit up with delight, "A Soviet submarine, that's so cool!"

Clara blinked slowly, giving them a weird look as the Doctor started laughing, too, throwing the Hatter a look that could only be described as adoration. Blimey, these two were the type of couple that made you ill being around for too long, didn't they?

"Break out side arms!" the first crewmen ordered over the noise, glaring at the three of them, "Restrain them!"

"Four ten!" a young man shouted urgently from where he was sitting before one of the control panels, water dripping down his face as he looked up at a gauge, a pair of headphones with a microphone attached to it covering his head, "Four twenty! Turbine still not responding!"

The captain turned quickly towards him, alarmed, "They've got to!"

The Hatter frowned, some of her previous excitement dimming slightly…after all, there was no fun being in a crashing submarine if they died. Beside her, the Doctor fished his sonic screwdriver out of his pocket and flicked it, setting to work scanning.

"Ah!" he cried, staring at the device, using his free hand to push his hair back out of his face again, "Sideways momentum!" he looked over to the captain, who giving him a completely blank look, "You've still got sideways momentum!"

"What?"

"What he's trying to say is…" the Hatter cut in, shaking her head slightly as the man merely stared at them as though they were speaking nonsense, "This ship has propellers that are designed to work independently from the main turbines. Now, trying to stop the ship from sinking isn't possible, but you might just be able to use the propellers to send the submarine laterally," she almost groaned aloud as the captain still seemed confused, "Oh, just do it, otherwise we're all dead!"

"Get these people off the bridge now!" the first crewman commanded the other men, who all began to move towards the Time Lords and Clara. Two of the men grabbed onto the Doctor and, slightly more hesitantly, the Hatter, who rolled her eyes and didn't both to try struggling against them, pulling them away from the control panel.

"Blimey," she sighed, throwing the youthful looking crewmember grasping her upper arm an exasperated look, letting him pull her over towards a metal pillar in the middle of the room, "You try and help people…"

"Just listen to them, for God's sake!" Clara yelled at the crew angrily, water flowing down her face, almost blinding her as she remained behind, gripping the control panel behind her.

The Doctor, unlike the Hatter, was struggling slightly against the crew, though he refused to lower the still scanning sonic, "Geographical anomaly to starboard!" he called to the captain, reaching out with his other hand to grasp the pillar, trying to stop the crew from dragging him out of the room, "Probably an underwater ridge!"

The captain turned to level him with a confused expression, balancing himself against the other side of the pillar, "How do know this?" he demanded, raising his voice to be heard.

"We're clever!" the Hatter shouted, whipping her head around to try and squint through the stream of water still gushing down from the roof, attempting to meet the captains eyes firmly, "Does it matter how we know if it saves all our lives, which it will, but only if you act quickly. Do it, now!"

"Six hundred metres!" the young crewmember monitoring the submarines decent announced loudly, sounding more alarmed than ever, "Sir, six ten…!"

"If you don't act now, this entire ship is going to implode!" she cried, not taking her eyes off the captain, her eyes wide and she hoped, filled with as much panic and urgency as she could possibly could convey. Her mind was filled with thoughts of Astra, her baby girl; safe and blissfully unaware that her parents had been away for more than ten minutes, but that would very swiftly change if this submarine exploded.

The captain looked away from her, turning his gaze onto his crew, "Lateral thrust to starboard, all propellers!" he commanded his men.

"Sir?" the young crewmember questioned loudly.

"Now!"

"You're going to let this madman and woman give the orders?" the first crewmen said incredulously to the captain, staring at the older man in disbelief. The Hatter shot the man an affronted look.

The captain didn't even spare him a glance, "Lateral thrust!"

"Aye, sir!" the younger crewmember nodded, twisting a dial on the controls, doing a rather impressive job of ignoring the water flowing down his head and face, "Six sixty…six eighty…!"

The entire sub began to rumble loudly, a loud metallic screech of metal scrapping against rocks echoing through the walls around them, while lights flashed and flickered. The Hatter reached out and hooked her arm around the pillar to keep herself upright and Clara remained firmly in place with her back to one of the control panels, grasping it as she whipped her head around rapidly. The Doctor managed to finally free himself of the crew that had been holding him, flicking his sonic screwdriver as he scanned…just before the submarine came to a very sharp, clanging stop against what felt like a narrow, rocky ledge outside, causing the crew to cry out in surprise and everyone to be jolted on their feet, everyone bracing themselves against whatever they could. The noise of the sub settling itself, rocking slightly, thundered through the air for several long minutes, while an alarm began blaring through the room. But thankfully it all settled down and the Hatter found herself grinning at the Doctor, who had joined her by the pillar, exchanging wide, relieved smiles as they both turned around, leaning their backs back against the pillar. The Doctor even slipped his sunglasses back on.

"Now that was exciting," the Time Lady laughed, playfully nudging the Doctor's side. She possibly would have been even more thrilled if her hat wasn't currently soaking and her dress not clinging a little too well to her frame. She reached up and straightened said hat, causing a torrent of water to come flowing off the brim, only to be filled up again upon being settled more securely on her head.

The Doctor peered at her from over his glasses, green eyes lit up with pleasure, "Your parents were right, dear," he remarked, sounding highly amused and pleased, "I really have been a bad influence on you".

"Or perhaps I was on you," she shot back, lifting her chin proudly, still managing to look quite dignified, despite her soaked face and hair, which had slipped slightly from its once neat bun.

"Descent arrested at…seven hundred metres," the young crewmember called throughout the room, looking up at the gauge on his control panel, while the submarine groaned as it settled into the rocky ledge.

The captain turned towards the Time Lords, eyeing them carefully, "It seems we owe you our lives," he said to them, frowning slightly as he regarded them, "Whoever you are".

"I'll hold you to that," the Doctor told him, smiling slightly, "Might come in handy".

"Search them," the first crewmember, who the Hatter assumed must be the second-in-command, judging by the authority he seemed to weld, ordered with a nod towards the Time Lords and Clara. There was a brief moment of silence, however, all the men hesitating and giving the Hatter and Clara wary looks, making the man roll his eyes, "Yes, I know. They're women. Now search them!"

They finally acted at that, the Hatter suddenly found herself being grabbed from behind by one of the crew and not overly gently pushed back up against the pillar, the Doctor and Clara receiving similar treatment. She frowned slightly, her shoulders brushing against her companions, turning her attention onto the young, grim faced Russian man who almost immediately began patting her down.

"Oi!" she wiggled slightly back against the pillar, eyeing the man closely, though his searching was thankfully quite quick and effective. His hands didn't linger or stray anymore then needed, which was perhaps a good thing for his health. She wasn't above kicking his shin should he attempt anything funny; let alone what the Doctor would do if he thought his wife's honour was being defied.

"Ooh!" the Doctor squirmed slightly beside her, one of the crew busy searching him, too. He was, however, giving the man currently running his hands down the Hatter's sides a very sharp look, not taking his eyes off him for a second.

"Are we going to be okay?" Clara asked from the right of the Time Lady, looking around at all the crew with a slightly nervous look.

"Oh, yes," the Doctor replied at once, his voice slightly softer than normal, scowling at the man still touching his Hatter. Not that he was possessive or anything over the Hatter…oh, who was he kidding? He got jealous over what a fuss she made over her hats, of course he wasn't going to be happy with another man touching her. If she could hear his thoughts right now she'd probably slap him.

"Is that a lie?"

"Possibly".

"It is rather hard to say, Clara," the Hatter said quietly, glancing out of the corner of her eye to the girl, trying to ignore the man currently patting his way down her body. It was a rather uncomfortable sensation to have someone who isn't your husband touching your body, even if the touches were far from romantic or inappropriate, she'd had others who had taken far more advantage of a situation like this one before, the Master for one had once gotten a little to touchy when he had searched her in the past. She kicked him in the shin for that one. He'd actually had tears in his eyes, which made it worth it, "This time period is very, very dangerous, full of tension and possibility," she sighed grimly, "The East and West of the world are currently standing on the brink of nuclear oblivion and anything might spark the next pointless, devastating war…Excuse me," her tone suddenly grew slightly annoyed, fixing the man searching her a stern look, just as his fingers reached her hemline, "Have you quite finished? I'm a married woman, I'll have you know".

The man cleared his throat and straightened from his crouch, stepping away from the Time Lady with a slightly apprehensive glance at the Doctor…who was glaring at him.

"Yes, Clara," the Doctor kept his gaze narrowed on the man, until he completely backed away from them, his tone quite cold, "Lots of itchy fingers on the button…"

"Hopefully not yours, sweetheart," the Hatter murmured, eyeing the side of his face with a slightly wary expression, seeing the look he was giving the poor Russian man who was just doing his job.

"Isn't it always like that?" Clara questioned with a glance towards the side of the Time Lady's face, since she couldn't quite see the Doctor from the position she was currently in.

"Sort of," the Doctor said with a mildly distracted frown on his features, watching with some annoyance as the man searching him pulled a ball of twine from his pocket, passing it on to another crewmember with a confused look past between them. You never knew when a ball of twine might save the Universe…or be handy getting one out of a maze or just be useful when cooking chicken, "But there are flash points and this is one," he continued, "Hair, shoulder pads, nukes..." he touched each body part as he listed them off, "It's the 80's. Everything's bigger…" he lifted his chin slightly and looked directly at the officer standing before him, who had just removed Astra's Barbie from the depths of his pocket, not to mention a toffee apple and, lastly, the sonic screwdriver, which the man lifted up and eyed with a puzzled look, "I would like a receipt, please, and the doll back without harm," he went to grab for the sonic, only the man was faster, pulling it out of his range.

The captain stepped forward and took the sonic screwdriver as his crewmember handed it off to him, "What is this?" he asked, holding the sonic up between his fingers, giving the Doctor a sharp, narrowed eyed stare.

The Doctor shifted slightly and the Hatter tried to turn her head to get a better look at his expression, but all she could truly see was his jaw moving as though he was struggling to come up with a believable lie that wouldn't cause any of the humans surrounding them to continue to be interested in the sonic. No words escaped him, however, because just as he went to speak, the submarine suddenly lurched and a loud shriek of metal against rock echoed through the room. Clara gave a loud cry, stumbling forward, while the Hatter barley managed to save herself by grabbing the pillar behind her.

"Clara!" the Time Lords called, the Time Lady reaching out to try and grab her arm, her other arm hooked around the pillar, keeping her balanced.

"Doctor!" Clara cried, her fingers just brushing against the Hatter's as she was sent stumbling away from them, "Hatter!"

"Clara!" she tried lunging for her again, but Clara was well out of either her or the Doctor's reach.

The air was suddenly filled by the wheezing noise of the TARDIS engines, pulling the Time Lords away from Clara, their eyes widening in horror at the sight of the time machine fading in and out of existence, leaving without them.

"No!" the Doctor shouted, immediately whirling around to face the time machine, "No, no, no, no, no, no! No, not now!"

"You meddled with the settings, didn't you?" the Hatter groaned, turning around to fix him with an angry glare, one that actually made him lean back slightly from her and cringe.

"I…er, might have..."

The Time Lady barely held back the urge to throw her arms in the air in exasperation, instead settling for smacking her hand against his sodden shoulder. She paid his wince little mind, far from shocked as she watched the TARDIS disappear completely before them, leaving them very much stranded at the bottom on the ocean in a Russian submarine. She turned around to try and reassure Clara, who no doubt would be quite distressed upon seeing their only escape route leave them…only to find Clara being supported by one of the crew, seemingly unconscious as the man held her limp body just above the water, which she had seemingly fallen into and been knocked unconscious. Seriously, could matters get worse? You would have thought that by now, the Hatter would have learnt never, ever to even utter those words, even in her own mind.

…

The Doctor was still arguing with the captain, though it felt more like they were simply going around and around in circles then actually getting the point across. The Hatter, in fact, had grown so frustrated with the humans insistence on treating them as though they were somehow in the wrong and had caused the submarine to lose control, that she had ended up actually taking a step back, leaving it up to the Doctor to continue trying to speak to the men. She was starting to get a little concerned that she might just snap and say something a little harsh in her own annoyance, something that couldn't possibly help to settle matters or tensions, in any case. Plus, she suspected that the fact that she happened to be a female might not be being helpful to get the message across that they were completely innocent, at least to the second-in-command, who seemed far less opened minded then the captain, in any case. The Hatter really wasn't in the mood to be dealing with 80's misogyny today; she didn't quite trust herself not to kick someone…

And so that was how she came to find herself sitting on the floor beside Clara, who was still unconscious, leaning up against the wall of the dimly lit room they had been shoved into by the captain and the second. The crew were kind enough to provide Clara one of their grey, uninformed jackets, however, covering most of the girl's soaking, silvery dress and providing her with some warmth and modesty, The Time Lady politely declining when offered one for herself. She wasn't a fan of military uniforms of any kind; she really had no desire to wear anything connected to a military or army.

The room itself was terribly boring, she thought with a bored glance around, most of the excitement of finding herself on a submarine had sadly faded by now, but at least this room didn't have a foots worth of water lapping at their legs, and the Hatter's dress and hair had slowly began drying. There were benefits to being a Time Lord, though, one being that even though she ought to be quite chilled right now, the Hatter still found herself to be only mildly cool.

"Captain, we didn't attack your ship!" the Doctor was saying, his voice raised slightly and full of his own frustration at the humans refusal to seemingly just listen to them. The Hatter looked over towards him and the two human men, sighing sympathetically, feeling as though this could very well go on for another ten minutes, at this rate, "Now we need to get the pumps working to get her afloat…"

"Yeah, we'll last till the rescue ship comes!" the captain replied, his voice just as loud and laced with tension.

"If it comes," he added, rather unhelpfully, in the Hatter's eyes. She groaned and shook her head, causing the Doctor to glance back over his shoulder to her, giving her a slightly apologetic smile, before turning back to face the rather cross looking captain.

"Oh, the sinking is just a coincidence, is it? Who are you?"

Just then, Clara shifted slightly and the Hatter immediately focused on her, smiling brightly as she watched the girl slowly open her eyes, blinking dazedly as she focused on the Time Lady.

"You're starting to make a bit of a habit of this," the Hatter whispered to her, thinking back to their last adventure with Clara, which had resulted in her knocking her head then, too. It wasn't a very great record; in fact all encounters with this version of her had resulted in her losing consciousness, somehow. She offered her a hand, which the girl took with a still slightly confused, dazed expression on her face, and together they both rose from the floor, Clara taking the chance to look around

Suddenly, a metal clang sounded and they both spun around, only to find that the captain had the Doctor by his blazer lapels and had just shoved him back against the wall, just up ahead of them, the Doctor grimacing still from the impact as the captain leaned close to him, glaring at him with a dangerous glint in his eyes. The Hatter instantly took three steps forward, her eyes moving rapidly between both men, alarmed by how much the situation had escalated. It was moments like these that she felt the weight of centuries of refusing to learn physical forms of defence, oh, she knew a few bits and pieces, most of it was more for showing off, like how to weld a sword or hit a target with a gun or bow, but actually physically going up against someone? Well, that was something she was sorely lacking in. Most of the time she felt quite proud of that, but when her husband was placed in possible danger like this? She couldn't help wishing she was just a little bit physically stronger.

"Captain…" she began, her voice steady and oddly calm, despite the concern she felt. She went to approach even closer, when the second-in-command stepped into her path, fixing her with a sharp, warning look, one that instantly made a ripple of anger wash over her, glaring right back at him. It would be a small miracle if she managed to get through this adventure without kicking someone, at this rate.

"Alright, Captain, alright," the Doctor sighed heavily, holding up his hands in surrender. He shot the Time Lady a quick look, shaking his head very slightly and lifting his mouth in a small, reassuring smile, one that made the Time Lady relax very slightly. He turned his gaze back onto the captain, his expression growing grim, "You know what? Just this once, no dissembling, no psychic paper, no pretending to be an Earth Ambassador…"

"To be fair that one was a case of mistaken identity," the Hatter murmured, shrugging. Blimey, it had been an age since they had last taken a trip to Peladon, they really ought to go again, something interesting was always sure to happen when they were visiting the royal palace there. Hopefully the TARDIS wouldn't end up falling off a cliff or any miners dying mysteriously upon their next visit, like the last two times.

"Doctor, me," the Doctor continued, seemingly not hearing the Time Lady…but of course his excellent hearing easily caught it, managing to gesture to himself. He then shot the Hatter a fond smile, "That lovely lady in pink is the Hatter, and that's Clara…" he nodded over to Clara, who was frowning slightly, lightly touching the side of her head, "We're time travellers. Clara, you okay?"

"Think so," Clara replied, nodding slowly. The Hatter gave her a reassuring smile and pattered her shoulder, having made quite sure of that while Clara had been out cold.

"Time travellers?" the captain repeated, scoffing.

The Time Lady shrugged lightly, "How else do you explain our sudden appearance in your submarine?" she lifted an eyebrow at him as his head snapped around to fix her with a steely look, "We arrived out of thin air, stepping out of a blue box. I'd love to hear your logical explanation to that one, when your own eyes witnessed it".

"I didn't!" an older man called from the back of the room, sounding slightly annoyed to be left out, wearing a pair of large headphones around his neck. The Hatter looked back over her shoulder to him, curious to find him not wearing a uniform, though the captain had referred to him as 'Professor' before, during the chaos that had followed Clara's knock to the head.

"Your problem, mate, not mine!" the Doctor called back without taking his eyes off the captain.

"We were sinking…" Clara cut in, frowning deeply, turning towards the Time Lady with a look caught between confusion and worry.

"Ah, yes," the Hatter nodded, her expression softening slightly as she looked back to the girl, "Rather unfortunate that…"

"What happened?"

"We sank," the Doctor answered simply, not sparing her a glance.

"No, what happened to the TARDIS, I mean?"

The Hatter raised her eyebrows and turned towards the Doctor, fixing him with a mock curious look…the Doctor carefully avoiding looking at either of them, feeling warmth creeping up his neck, under his collar, "Yes, Doctor," she said pointedly, her tone laced with sweetness, "Do tell us exactly what happened to the TARDIS".

"Er…" the Doctor winced slightly, "Never mind that…" he cleared his throat awkwardly as the Hatter scoffed, instead focusing on the captain, "Captain, breath's precious down here. Let's not waste it, eh?"

"You're right," the captain nodded in agreement, though he was still gripping the Doctor's lapels quite firmly, "Maybe I can save a little oxygen by having you three shot!"

"There's no need to act quite so rashly," the Hatter said quickly, carefully concealing any trace of alarm she might have felt, eyeing the captain warily, "Everyone's just a little stressed right now, and I'm quite certain that these wet clothing aren't helping at all…Blimey, who wouldn't be a little cranky wearing wet socks, huh?" she tried to laugh, though it sounded a little strained, not at all liking the dangerous look on the captain's face right now.

Sadly, her attempt at a bit of humour fell flat.

"What does it matter how we arrived?" Clara shook her head, edging slightly closer, "The important thing is to get…" she trailed off slightly, just as a low hiss rumbled through the air, "…out".

If the Hatter hadn't already been on high alert, she surely was now, her eyes widening with shock and faint confusion, catching sight of a large, shadowed figure standing at the far end of the room. It was difficult to see clearly through the gloom of the room, but she could still easily make out the dark green armour, so very familiar to her, even after all these centuries, the figure moving towards them from out of the shadows, face shrouded by its thick helmet. She felt as though she had just missed a step going up stairs, her lips parting, how long had it been? Centuries, certainly, but to think that they should cross paths again in a submarine at the bottom of the Earth's ocean seemed so very strange. The Doctor, of course, was totally oblivious.

"Exactly!" he was saying brightly, gesturing towards Clara, smiling at the captain…who was now quite distracted by the creature hissing lowly as it neared them, "Number one priority, not suffocating," he lightly slapped his open palm against the captain's chest, "Eh? Ah," his smile only widened as the man finally released him, stepping away from him, staring transfixed at the creature as it came up from behind the Doctor. The Hatter would have laughed, had she not been almost gaping at the creature herself, "Oh, thank you. Finally seeing sense. Now, what sort of state is the sub in?"

"Sweetheart," the Hatter said in a surprisingly calm voice, her eyes wide, gazing at the creature now standing directly behind the Doctor. He blinked and turned towards her, still seeming not to have noticed the fact that everyone was looking at something behind him.

"Yes, dear?"

"I don't wish to alarm you, but…there's an Ice Warrior standing right behind you".

A loud hiss sounded, only proving her point further. The Doctor stared at her for a long moment, confusion crossing his features briefly, before he slowly turned around…coming face to face with the Ice Warrior that was indeed standing right behind him, easily a few inches taller than himself and covered head to foot in dark green amour that had almost a scale like texture running across the thick material. Only the creature's mouth and chin was discernible, very reptile like. He visibly swallowed.

"Ah," he smiled slightly awkwardly, almost grimacing, his voice taking on a nervous edge as he backed back a few steps. The Ice Warrior matched each step with one of his own, "It never rains but it pours," he breathed weakly.

"More like hails," the Hatter remarked grimly, moving to stand beside him, reaching out to take his hand. He squeezed it, gazing back up at the Ice Warrior, "I'm guessing we're not the only unofficial guests you've had on here?" she glanced at the captain, who could only seem to stare at the Ice Warrior in disbelief.

"We were drilling for oil in the ice," the older man informed them from the back of the group, "I thought I'd found a mammoth".

"It's not a mammoth," the Doctor said in a slightly squeaky voice, staring back at the creature with wide eyes.

"No".

"What is it, then?" Clara questioned, stepping up next to the Time Lady, eyeing the Ice Warrior warily.

"Clara, allow me to introduce you to an Ice Warrior," the Hatter told her, not taking her eyes off the creature before them for a moment, trepidation filling her. Her tone was oddly light, however, not at all matching her grim expression, "A resident of Mars. It's been a long while, hasn't it?" she glanced sideways to the Doctor.

"Oh, a long, long while," the Doctor agreed, gazing back at the creature, frowning, "We go way back, Clara," his voice grew slightly darker, "Way back".

"A Martian?" the captain repeated incredulously, not looking away from the creature, "You can't be serious".

"Well, I do try not to be," the Hatter remarked lightly, flashing him a bright smile, "But sometimes it just slips out".

"Hatter," Clara shot her a quick, disproving look, while the Doctor laughed faintly.

"Please, Clara…" she lowered her voice slightly, turning her smile onto the girl, "Do try to calm yourself, I'm only joking…" she paused as the Doctor turned to give her a pointed look, clearly not believing her. She sighed, rolling her eyes good naturally, "Okay, so maybe I'm not really joking, but I am trying to ease the tension a tad. Everyone is so tense and frightened right now…"

"They're tense and frightened?" she scoffed, giving her a small glare, "I'm tense and frightened!"

The Time Lady turned back towards her with a small, concerned frown and went to open her mouth to apologise for her flippancy, realising that she had perhaps been a little insensitive to Clara right now. She was used to Amy and Rory, who would have probably exchanged a look between them and rolled their eyes at her response, but Clara was still so new to all this and completely different from Amy or Rory. However, she didn't have a chance to try and say something to ease her fears, when the clicking of a pistol being cocked sounded and a dark haired crewmember rushed forward, aiming his pistol directly at the Ice Warrior, who immediately lifted its own arm up at them, the gun attached to the arm whirring as it was prepared to be fired.

"No!" the Doctor shouted, pushing himself between the solider and the Ice Warrior with his hands out between them. It eased his mind slightly to think that he had also ensured that the Hatter or Clara weren't in the firing zone, "No, no, no, no! Please, please! Wait, just…" he looked urgently between the humans and the Ice Warrior, while the Hatter watched on worriedly, "There is no need for this. Just hear me out," he turned towards the creature, holding his hands up before him in a gesture that he hoped seemed placating, "You're confused, disorientated. Of course you are! You've been lying dormant in the ice for…for…for how long, Professor?" he clicked his fingers impatiently over his shoulder towards the older man, not taking his eyes off the Ice Warrior.

"Er, by my reckoning…" the Professor quickly considered it, "…five thousand years".

"Five thousand years?" the Hatter blinked, startled as she turned to give the Ice Warrior an even more concerned look, "Blimey, that's a very, very long time, even by our standards…" she absently gestured between herself and the Doctor, "No wonder you woke up so cranky, anyone would be if they'd over slept that much. But…" she edged herself beside the Doctor again, giving the Ice Warrior a calming look, "Please don't be alarmed, no one wishes to cause you any harm, we just wish to all get along, okay?"

The Doctor noticed that the solider with the gun still had it aimed at the creature and quickly pushed it down with a sharp scowl at the young man, "Please, just…" he turned back towards the Ice Warrior, giving it a hopeful look, "Why don't you tell us your name?"

"Sounds like an excellent place to start to me," the Time Lady added with a bright smile at the Ice Warrior, desperately hoping that it concealed the worry still thrumming inside of her, though she managed to keep her tone cheerful, "How about I start? I'm the Hatter…"

"What are you talking about?" the captain snapped suddenly, instantly making her cringe and close her eyes in exasperation, "It has a name?"

"Why wouldn't he have a name?" she opened her eyes to level him with a frown, while the Doctor released an annoyed puff of air through his lips, giving the captain a sharp look, "This being standing before you is a soldier, Captain, not unlike you are, with a rank and a position of authority that is deserving of our respect, just as you are, so kindly do so".

It was almost laughable that she was actually telling someone to show respect based upon someone being a solider or having any position of authority, she could only imagine how much the Doctor would have laughed at that one, had the situation not been so serious, but funnily enough she was actually capable of being respectful towards those with power or in a military uniform. She might not approve of the military or any form of fighting that resulted in possible deaths, but she did admire those willing to put their own lives at risk for the sake of others. And as for those in positions of authority, she just believed that there were few in a position of authority deserving of her respect when they so rarely ever proved meaningful in making a change for the betterment of others. She had even clashed with Romana at times during her time as Madam President of Gallifrey, and she without a doubt both admired and respected the young Time Lady.

"This is madness," the captain scoffed, shaking his head firmly as he shot the Ice Warrior a wary look, "This is a monster!"

"Skaldak," the Ice Warrior suddenly spoke, his voice low and guttural.

The Hatter instantly tensed, inhaling sharply as she caught the Doctor's eye beside her, his eyes almost as wide as hers. Surely they had misheard…surely it couldn't be so, what would be the chances of that? Of course, with their luck, it would have to be Skaldak. The Doctor slowly turned back towards the Ice Warrior, eyeing him closely.

"What did you say?" he asked, his voice softer than normal.

"I am Grand Marshal Skaldak".

"Blimey…" the Hatter breathed weakly, almost feeling the colour drain from her cheeks. This wasn't good, this was so, so very bad it was ridiculous. Having an Ice Warrior on board with them had been worrying enough, but to have this Ice Warrior, out of all of them, one of the most infamous warriors of them all, was just downright dreadful. Mix that in with trigger twitchy humans and it was going to be a very long day indeed.

The Doctor seemed to agree completely, closing his eyes and reaching out to take the Hatter's hand again, squeezing it, though who he was exactly trying to comfort right now, not even he was sure, "Oh, no…" he murmured, opening his eyes, just as Skaldak growled lowly…

Just then, Skaldak suddenly seemed to jolt slightly and ripples of electricity began thrumming through his armour, causing his entire body to shake. The Doctor and the Hatter, along with the rest of the crew and Clara, moved back hastily, watching in confusion and alarm as Skaldak growled furiously and in pain, whirling around. The second-in-command had snuck away at some point and was standing at the end of the corridor, using a cattle prod against the alien.

"You idiot!" the Doctor shouted at the man, while the Hatter could only watch on in horror, feeling slightly ill. Skaldak gave another roar, before collapsing face first onto the floor, splashing water. Silence followed for a brief moment as everyone turned their gaze onto the second-in-command, staring at him as he slowly lowered the cattle prod, "You idiot…" he said more quietly, almost gaping at the man's sheer stupidity, swallowing as he looked down at the fallen Warrior at their feet, "Grand Marshal Skaldak…"

"You couldn't just let us handle it, could you?" the Hatter shook her head, staring down at Skaldak with a grim, almost angry expression, before lifting her glare up onto the second-in-command, "Humans, you are such wonderful beings, so full of potential and possibility, but you do have the terrible ability to act so frustrating sometimes".

Clara edged closer to the Time Lords again, her eyes flickering between them, "You…know him," she stated with surprise, peering down at the still alien.

"Sovereign of the Tharisian caste," the Doctor said in response, looking down at Skaldak, too, his face grave, "Vanquisher of the Phobos Heresy. The greatest hero the proud Martian race has ever produced".

The captain seemed far from concerned, however, "So what do we do now?" he questioned.

"The only thing we can do, if we wish even a chance at surviving," the Hatter sighed heavily, staring down at Skaldak, "Lock him up with every chain you have, Captain".

…

And so that was exactly what they did, though it took a great deal of effort to even move the unconscious Skaldak, his heavy armour and sheer dead weight taking at least five of the crew just to carry the alien from the corridor to the torpedo room, deemed to be the most secure room in the entire submarine, chaining up Skaldak with several very thick, heavy lengths of chain around his middle and upper body to a metal bar. The Time Lords oversaw it all, before making their way back through the submarine and back to the communication room, where they joined the captain, the second-in-command, and the Professor, Clara right on their heels. The captain was sitting in one of the chairs as they arrived, clearly expecting some sort of explanation as to exactly what was happening on board his submarine, while his second stood tall and proud beside his chair, hands clasped behind his back and the professor sat off to the side of the room, sitting in a second chair against the wall, seeming almost bored.

"Okay, then," Clara said after a long moment of silence, hugging her middle as she stood on the Hatter's right, looking quite chilled, "What's an Ice Warrior? And why do you two look so worried?" she frowned slightly, looking between the Time Lords, catching the concerned look they exchanged at even the mere mention of the 'Ice Warriors'.

"The Ice Warriors have a different creed, Clara," the Doctor explained to the girl, sighing, "A different code. By his own standards, Skeldak is a hero".

"He's a legend amongst his people," the Hatter nodded, glancing at the captain and the second-in-command, listening to them from across the room, "Infamous, in fact, one legend told speaks of his own enemies honouring Skeldak so much, that they would literally carve his very name into their own flesh before dying," she grimaced in distaste, "A little melodramatic for my taste, but I've never claimed to understand soldiers…"

Clara looked slightly nauseated by the thought of it, "Oh, yeah, very nice," she commented, her voice higher in pitch than normal, glancing at the Time Lords with wide eyes, "He sounds lovely".

"An Ice Warrior?" the captain cut in, narrowing his eyes on them, "Explain".

"There isn't time," the Doctor replied at once, shaking his head.

"Try me".

He levelled him with a very, very serious look, "Martian reptile known as the Ice Warrior," he began, speaking quite quickly, "When Mars turned cold they had to adapt".

"Hence the armour," the Hatter added, causing the men to turn their gazes onto her, "It's more than protection in battle, the Ice Warriors are bio-mechaniods, basically a cyborg," she shrugged lightly, caring little for the slightly baffled looks she was getting from the two human men, "They created it in order to survive the freezing cold of their home, but it has a rather big flaw…"

"Sudden increase in temperature and the armour goes haywire," he finished, nodding.

"Like with the cattle prod thing," Clara said in realisation.

"Like the cattle prod thing," he agreed with a gesture towards her, frowning faintly as he glanced at the Hatter, "Bit of a design flaw. To be honest, I've always wondered why they never sorted it…Oh, look…" his frown only deepened, almost growing annoyed as he turned back towards the slightly confused looking captain, "You've got us telling you about them and I said there wasn't time".

Worry crossed Clara's face, "Is he that dangerous?" she asked, eyeing them slightly nervously.

The Doctor and the Hatter looked at each other gravely, neither of them looking the slightest bit happy, nor excited, for once. The Time Lady's mouth, usually lifted in a near constant smile, was pressed firmly together and her shoulders held tightly with tension, while beside her the Doctor wore a heavy frown, causing a small wrinkle between his eyes to appear. They were really, truly worried right now.

"This one is," he told them after a long pause, turning back to the others.

The humans all exchanged a quick look, save for the second-in-command, who clearly didn't believe a word of what they had said, and the Professor, who actually lifted his headphones up over his ears…but even from the middle of the room, the Hatter could faintly hear a shrill beeping coming from over the faint sound of the music blaring through the headphones. A message, reaching out to the Ice Warriors, but sadly the Hatter, no matter how hard she tried to concentrate on the beeps, could make little sense of it. It had been centuries since she had anything to do with the Ice Warriors, she was a little rusty. Hopefully the Doctor would have better luck, shooting the man discreet, thoughtful look, too.

"Why are we listening to this nonsense, Captain?" the second-in-command looked at the grey haired man beside him, putting his back to them. He was obviously trying to shut the Time Lords and Clara out of the conversation, speaking as though they weren't even there, "These people are clearly enemy agents".

Clara blinked and glanced quickly at the Time lords, before turning back to the two Russian men, "Huh?" she said blankly.

"Spies, Captain," he insisted without so much as casting them a look over his shoulder.

The Hatter barely seemed to even notice, eyeing the Professor thoughtfully, her gaze lingering on the still beeping set of headphones, trying to decipher the code. She somehow doubted that Skaldak was asking his fellow Ice Warriors for a packet of chips and a leaf blower right now…

"Pretty bad spies, mate," Clara scoffed, "I don't even speak Russian!"

The Doctor hastily tried to silence her, grimacing as he lifted his hand up and shook his head sharply…quickly stilling as the second and the captain instantly focused on them once more, frowning deeply. The Hatter pulled her eyes off the headphones, wincing slightly as she glanced between the two Russian men. Sometimes she really did think that they ought to give new companions a pamphlet about travelling with them, a nice guidebook to how to adventure throughout time and space with them that avoided situations like this one.

"What?" the second eyed her carefully, utterly confused.

"I don't…" she began, speaking very clearly, only to pause and edge slightly closer to the Time Lady, "Am I speaking Russian?" she questioned quietly, frowning, "How come I'm speaking Russian?"

"Clara, it's not really the time…" the Hatter sighed, keeping her voice low with a slightly wary look towards the Russians watching them still. The Doctor even gave them a tense smile, "I'll explain later…"

"Are they speaking Russian?"

She very nearly groaned aloud, knowing she wasn't going to let this go any time soon, "It's the TARDIS," she whispered, "It's something could a translation matrix, dead useful for when you're travelling the Universe, encountering other races and different languages. It can translate pretty much anything, safe for ancient Gallifreyan and yes, it also allows you to speak other languages without noticing," she smiled very faintly, giving her a playful nudge, "So in answer, we're all currently speaking Russian".

The second seemed to grow bored of their whispering, turning his back on them and turning back to the captain, "In my opinion, Comrade Captain," he said, once again seemingly trying to block them out of the conversation, "This creature is a Western weapon".

"A weapon?" the captain repeated, lifting an eyebrow. He, at least, seemed rather doubtful of the whole spy theory.

"Survival suit," he nodded, while the Hatter glanced back over towards the headphones, just as the Professor slipped them off his head with a small frown, "What is the alternative?" he scoffed, "The little green men from Mars?"

"Correction," the Professor cut in, "It's a big green man from Mars".

The captain laughed, while the Doctor and the Hatter exchanged an amused look. At least someone else on this ship had a sense of humour, the Hatter found herself liking the elderly Professor all the more.

"I don't appreciate your levity, Professor," the second fixed him with a dark glare.

"Why does that not surprise me?" the Professor remarked with little offense, turning his gaze onto the captain, "Maybe they're telling the truth".

"The truth?" he sneered, throwing the older man another sharp look, before moving to stand next to the captain's chair once more, settling his hostile gaze on the Time Lords and Clara.

"Yes, a revolutionary concept, I know".

The Hatter laughed and pointed at the Professor, grinning, "Oh, I like you," she said brightly, making the older man smile, "You and I are going to get along fantastically".

The second-in-command didn't even try to hide his annoyed eye roll, "It's essential that we inform Moscow of what we have found," he turned back to face the captain, sounding quite impatient now.

"The radio's out of action, in case you hadn't noticed, Stepashin," the captain reminded him lightly, seeming to be growing rather tired of listening to his second.

"They have our position. They will find us. When they do…"

"Yes?"

"Well, the Cold War won't stay cold forever, Captain".

The Hatter felt alarm wash over her and she straightened, eyeing the second's back warily. She would never understand why anyone would actually wish for a war, but she had sadly encountered more than enough people who had clearly thought that it was a great idea. She supposed that many of those people felt that way because, in their minds, there was no possible way that they wouldn't win, that all the death and pain that would follow would make up for the end result. But that was so terribly short sighted, no one who had ever lived through a war would wish for one. No one could possibly understand what it was like.

"For God's sake, Stepashin," the captain sighed in exasperation, "You're like a stuck record. We have other priorities right now," Stepashin turned around to face the Time Lords and Clara, fixing his sights on the Doctor, seeming to feel that attempting to intimidate the only male of their little group would have any effect. Naturally, all it did was amuse the Hatter and make the Doctor lift an eyebrow at the other man, but the second still seemed quite set on staring down the Doctor, "I want you back to repairs immediately," he continued, his tone growing more commanding as Stepashin glanced back towards him, "We need to keep this ship alive. Dismissed".

"Sir…?" Stepashin began, seeming quite surprised.

The captain rose onto his feet and stepped closer to his second, his expression growing sharp, "Dismissed, Stepashin," he repeated firmly, his tone leaving little room for argument.

Stepashin still lingered for a moment longer, his frustration almost felt in the air, before he turned and moved for the door, carelessly bumping his shoulder against Clara's as he stormed out. The Hatter frowned deeply, watching the man go with a dark, narrowed eyed glare, until the man's polished heel of his shoes had disappeared around the corner of the doorway. Yeah, she really wasn't liking this guy.

The Doctor stepped closer to the captain, smiling grimly at him with little humour, "All we needed to do was let Skaldak go and he'd have forgotten us," he told him, shaking his head, "But you attacked him. You declared war. 'Harm one of us and you harm us all'. That's the ancient Martian code".

"And now he's got a message out," the Hatter went on, crossing her arms across her chest, regarding the captain with cool eyes, "Do you hear that odd beeping?" she nodded across to the headphones that the Professor had placed on the control panel beside his chair, the beeping easily heard now, without the music, "That's a distress call to Skaldak's people, his fellow Warriors, and you better believe that they will not forgive and forget a single thing that has happened on this submarine today," she sighed heavily, glancing back over towards the source of the beeping, "They will kill us all, if we are lucky".

"Unless you two talk to it?" the captain lifted an eyebrow, looking between them.

The Doctor straightened and stepped back beside the Hatter, taking her hand in his, "We're the only ones who can," he replied definitely. They both knew the Ice Warriors relatively well, they had experience dealing with them, their culture and their race, they had a pretty decent understanding of what makes them tick as a species. It also helped that they had a certain reputation amongst their species; just their names alone ought to give them some chance of being listened to, even if Skaldak doesn't respect them as warriors.

"No," he said at once, narrowing his eyes and focusing on the Doctor, "Out of the question. We're not losing you, nor would I allow a woman to place herself in that position…"

"Ah, yeah," the Hatter grimaced, frowning at the captain, while the Doctor actually winced. She lifted her left hand up in the air, "Sorry, Cap, I don't do well with people allowing me to do things, especially when those people are men," she gave him a sarcastic smile, one that was just a little too sharp to be called pleasant.

"To be fair, dear," the Doctor added, glancing at her with a slightly cautious glimmer in his eyes, "You've never been good at asking for permission to do things, either".

"That's true, sweetheart. It only makes me want to do it all the more, honestly".

"Be that as it may, madam," the captain cut in with a stern frown, eyeing her slightly, "This is my submarine. I'll do it".

The Doctor and the Hatter exchanged a quick look, before turning back to him, "What?"

"You can talk to it through me".

"Skaldak won't talk to you," the Doctor shook his head, running his eyes down the captain's uniform pointedly, "You're an enemy soldier".

"And how would he know that?"

The Hatter tried very hard not to sigh, "You mean aside from the obvious?" she said with a gesture to the man's clothing, which screamed enemy solider, let alone his appearance, which said everything else it needed to say to make it impossible for Skaldak to speak openly with the captain.

"A soldier knows another soldier," the Doctor added, staring at the captain with a hard expression. He knew soldier's fairly well after all these centuries, even more so then the Hatter, he would say, considering his time spent amongst them in the Time War, "He'll smell it on you. Smell it on you a mile off".

The captain raised his eyebrows, "And he wouldn't smell it on you, Doctor?"

The Doctor frowned deeply, looking quite caught off guard, but he also didn't try to refute it. He couldn't, because he was completely right. And the Doctor hated that.

"Fine," the Hatter said loudly, smiling pleasantly and discreetly squeezing the Doctor's hand, trying to offer him her silent support. It wasn't exactly a subject either of them liked to dwell on it, not out of shame, of course not, she wasn't ashamed of the Doctor's past as a fighter or a soldier, but it did break her hearts to think of the man he was forced to become, "I'll go on my own and have a little chat with Skaldak," she continued, her tone light, "But as good as your intentions might be, Cap, I'm afraid that we can't possibly allow you or any of your men to speak to him".

"You're hardly any better than him," the captain gestured towards the Doctor, eyeing the Hatter closely.

She blinked at that, actually quite taken aback, "I'm not a solider!" she exclaimed.

"But you're a commander, aren't you?"

She went to try and argue against that, feeling quite startled, but she found herself unable to actually get the words to leave her lips, her mouth hanging open in what she imagined must be a very unattractive look. She never had been a soldier, but a commander? Technically…yeah, she had been, she had given the orders out behind the scenes, in fact she had played a rather large part in that throughout pretty much her entire life, not just during the Time War, but throughout her travels and adventures. She just had never really thought of it in that sort of context before, it was truly quite a shocking thing for her to realise that perhaps she had been similar to that of a general, just without the actual fighting part. Clara suddenly cleared her throat, jolting the Hatter from her thoughts. She had been so wrapped up in them, in fact, that she hadn't even realised that the Doctor had wound his arm around her waist and was eyeing her with a slightly worried expression.

"Well…" Clara began as everyone turned to look at her, "There really is only one choice, isn't there?" she smiled slightly, "I don't smell of anything…to my knowledge".

The Hatter felt a burst of pride, smiling broadly at the young girl who had so bravely offered to go and talk to an alien that had only shown hostility thus far, but a small voice at the back of her mind reminded her that she couldn't allow herself to be swept up by her own emotions. Clara was not her niece, and Clara was so very young. Bravery was so often mixed with stupidity, and they would be fools to let Clara place herself in such a dangerous position.

"Clara," she frowned, her smile dimming, regarding her worriedly.

The Doctor, who had also been smiling proudly at Clara, nodded quickly in agreement and looked almost as concerned as the Time Lady, "No!" he said sharply, shaking his head as he looked at Clara, "No! No way. You're not going in there alone, Clara," he shook his head firmly, while Clara lifted her eyebrows, "Absolutely not. No, no. Never!"

There was a short pause…

"Bloody hell," the Hatter groaned, closing her eyes tightly, almost looking pained, "We don't have any other choice, do we?"

No one really needed to concur with her, they all knew the truth.

…

The Hatter was on edge, in fact she was almost buzzing with nervous energy as the Doctor tried to silently calm her, his arm wound around her waist and his fingers lightly rubbing circles against the top of her hip, but he was hardly better then she was right now. It seemed that even he was starting to grow quite protective over Clara, even though he continued to insist that they needed to be careful around her until they understood more. But right now they were both looking far from at ease, watching Clara on the small, black and white monitor screen as she stepped through into the torpedo room, a pair of large earphones on her head. Skaldak was still chained up to the metal bar on the far side of the room from the door. The captain sat before the microphone, glancing back over to the Time Lords, who edged closer, just as Clara looked up at the camera from her head, giving them a brave, but nervous smile.

"With your permission?" the Doctor glanced at the captain, gesturing to the microphone.

"Be my guest," the captain nodded, and rose from the stool, moving out of the way.

The Doctor gave the Hatter a small smile and flourished his arm dramatically towards the stool, making her smile and roll her eyes fondly, but she did move to sit down before the screen. He remained by her side, pulling his arm from around her waist and placing his hand on top of her shoulder, instead, intently looking at the screen.

"Right, Clara," the Hatter leant closer to the microphone, trying to make her voice bright and cheerful, not wishing to reveal just how worried she was for the girl, "All set?"

"Yeah," Clara called back, turning her back to the camera, looking at Skaldak.

"Okay," the Doctor moved closer to the microphone, his chin almost resting on the Hatter's shoulder, "Repeat after me…Grand Marshal Skaldak…" he paused, waiting as Clara hastily repeated his words.

"Don't forget the salute," the Hatter added, watching the screen closely, "Just like we practiced, okay?"

Clara's nod was just visible on the screen and she quickly moved to hold her lit torch between her knees, hastily clenching her right fist and tapping it against her left shoulder, across her body, before retrieving her torch. They could actually hear Skaldak's hiss over the speakers.

"Okay?"

"That's excellent, Clara," the Hatter smiled broadly, nodding, "Well done, now comes the hard part".

"Now, like we rehearsed," the Doctor went on, once again first for her to repeat, "Sovereign of the Tharsisian caste…" he paused, making sure that Clara had got it, "…by the moons, I honour thee…"

Clara nervously repeated his words, managing to say it all without tripping up once, though it had taken them several goes before she had stopped getting tongued tied.

"That's great, Clara," the Hatter praised her, smiling happily, "Now, take a few steps closer, okay? Remember to stand tall and proud, that's a good girl…" she watched intently as Clara slowly edged closer to Skaldak, "Loud, steady voice now…Grand Marshal, we offer you our deepest and humblest apologises for the treatment your have endured today…" she paused, letting Clara finish speaking, before adding with a sigh, "It is with grave regret that we must speak in this manner, it is unbefitting of your rank and…"

Clara had barely finished speaking, when the power suddenly went out across the ship, even Clara's torch went out and she gave a small, frightened squeak. Thankfully, the security system still seemed to be working, emergency power seemingly taking over.

"Oh!" she gasped shakily, "Oh, great".

"Clara, stay calm," the Hatter hastily told her, keeping her voice low and steady, watching her anxiously on the screen, "You're not alone, everything is just fine. You're doing so, so well and we're very proud of you, just keep going".

"Just repeat after me…" the Doctor reminded her again, worried that she might start panicking and then they could really get into a mess, "You're a long way from home…" Clara quickly sat the now useless torch on the floor by her feet and pulled a more modern, smaller torch from her pocket, edging closer to Skaldak as she repeated his words, "…Five thousand years adrift," he continued, Clara unsteadily parroting, "Please, let us help you. You are not our enemy…"

Clara's voice grew slightly in confidence, but she had only just finished repeating the words when Skaldak gave a low rasp.

"And yet, I am in chains".

The Hatter winced and glanced at the Doctor's face, finding him wearing a similar look of guilt and concern. Skaldak had an excellent point there, they were they were treating him was far from welcoming, but did they really have much of a choice? This was a legendary warrior, they couldn't take that lightly.

"Doctor, Hatter…" Clara hissed over the speaker, "What do I say?"

"Yes, Doctor and Hatter," Skaldak growled pointedly, "What should she say?"

"I think he wants to speak to the organ grinder, not the monkey," the Professor remarked from behind the Time Lords.

"I heard that!" Clara called back, sounding mildly offended.

The Time Lady leaned back from the microphone and covered it with her open palm, just to be safe, cringing slightly, "To be fair, we really ought to have expected this," she murmured to the Doctor.

The Doctor sighed, "Trying to trick a legendary warrior?" he whispered, shaking his head, "Maybe not one of our best ideas, yeah," he agreed, leaning closer to the microphone again, which she uncovered, "Clara, its okay. If he wants to talk to us, let him," Clara pulled the headphones from off her head and held them out towards Skaldak, "You are restrained until we can trust each other, Skaldak," he spoke loudly, directly to the alien this time, his tone growing hard and almost dangerous, "My wife is on this ship, so you better believe that I'm going to do whatever it takes to minimise any threat to her, and everyone else on this ship," he purposely ignored the slightly annoyed look the Hatter was giving the side of his face right now, looking intently at the screen, "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 hissed through the microphone, "My daughter stood by me…" the Hatter sat up slightly straighter, while the Doctor's gaze snapped over to meet hers. Not only was Skaldak a deadly warrior, but a father, one who was a very long, long way from his loved one, five thousand years and an entire galaxies away, in fact. If they had thought him dangerous before, this only turned it up to eleven, "….It was her first taste of action. We sang the songs of Old Times. The Songs of the Red Snow. Five thousand years…" his voice grew almost raw with fury and grief, a sound that the Hatter recognised well, "Now my daughter will be…dust! Only dust!"

The Hatter could have almost cried for Skaldak, her eyes burning with the threat of tears and a lump forming in her throat, her hands twisted in the skirt of her dress. There was nothing, absolutely nothing more deadly in this Universe then a grief stricken parent, she knew that so painfully well, she could almost feel those old emotions from those early days of losing her own children welling up inside her again. Skaldak truly believed his daughter lost, a grief like that could burn an entire galaxy. Or just one world.

"Skaldak, please believe me when I say this," the Hatter almost pleaded over the speaker system, her voice almost shaking with emotion, "There is no words, no gesture, no…anything that could possibly console you right now, trust me when I say that I know, but you're not alone," she closed her eyes, for once not wishing to see the Doctor watching her, she feared that even his touch right now would end up making her completely break down, old memories swimming through her mind and almost chocking her. She took a deep breath, still keeping her eyes firmly shut, "The Ice Warriors live on, your people are scattered across the Universe, your home can and will rise again, I promise on my life, Skaldak," she opened her eyes at last, staring intently at the darkened camera footage, "And believe me, in this moment I understand how little that may compare to your pain, but we can help you find them…"

"I require no help! There will be no help!"

The Hatter sighed and ducked her head, unsurprised by his response, though disappointed. She remembered the Doctor trying to offer her help in those early days, too, when she had exhausted herself to the point that even tears seemed impossible. She had refused him then, convinced that there was no possible hope left to her in the Universe, but she had been wrong. She had found hope again, it might have taken her going against every moral and ethical principle she held and regenerating, but she had found it again. And the Doctor never gave up on her, nor did he listen to her refusal, which had been so annoying at first, but now she felt so grateful for. Sadly, Skaldak didn't have his own Doctor.

"Careful, Clara," the Doctor said warningly, and the Time Lady frowned and lifted her head, alarm washing over her as she realised that Clara had edged closer to Skaldak, actually standing just a foot away from the alien.

"I'm okay," Clara replied softly, seemingly eyeing Skaldak closely.

"Clara, step back, now," the Hatter told her sharply, her eyes widening, "You have no idea what he's capable of doing".

"I'm okay," she insisted a bit more firmly, edging even closer, "Something's wrong…"

"What?" the Time Lords asked in unison, watching intently.

"Something's…" she stepped right up to Skaldak and lifted her hand up, touching the helmet, which fell backwards to reveal that the suit was completely empty. She gasped and almost ran backwards, her back hitting the wall, "It's not there," she gasped over the speaker, while the Time Lords immediately looked at each other, shocked, "It's gone!"

They watched as the front of the armour opened, even against the metal links of the chains binding it to the metal bar. Skaldak was nowhere to be seen, the suit completely empty.

"Gone?" the Doctor called urgently, shaking his head, as though he could barely comprehend it, "Gone? Gone? What do you mean, gone?"

"It's got out!"

"It it time I learned the measure of my enemies," Skaldak's voice growled through the speakers, and Clara quickly turned to face the end of the room that she had entered through, backing back, "And what this vessel is capable of".

"We're not your enemies, Skaldak!" the Hatter called desperately, her eyes roaming over the screen, trying to catch a glimpse of where he was hiding, "Please, don't do this!"

"Harm one of us and you harm us all! By the Moons, this I swear!"

"Clara, get out of there!" the Doctor shouted frantically over the microphone, while Clara tried searching the room with her torch, "Get out!"

The Hatter leapt off the stool, nothing but getting to Clara and making sure that she was safe running through her mind, her hearts pounding almost sickeningly in her chest, but she and the Doctor had barely moved towards the door when the captain suddenly pulled his pistol on them, aiming it directly at the Hatter's forehead with his finger lightly resting on the trigger, his expression hard.

"There isn't time for this, Captain!" the Hatter snapped angrily, glaring past the gun to the man, far more concerned for Clara then herself right now, "Put that thing away, we all know you're not going to fire it! You're wasting time!"

He didn't lower it in the slightest, though his expression did flicker very slightly with surprise, taken aback by her lack of concern. The Doctor, however, was eyeing the gun with dark, barely concealed anger.

"If you think threatening my wife is any way a good idea, Captain," he said in a very calm, quiet tone, "Then you're going to have a lot bigger issues to deal with on this ship then Skaldak. Lower. Your. Gun".

He did lower it then, eyeing the Doctor carefully as he did so, though his expression remained unchanged.

"Look…" the Hatter sighed, shaking her head as the Doctor continued to glare at the other man, waves of anger still rolling off him, "Everyone's a little on edge right now, let's all just…calm down," she gave the Doctor a pointed look at that, only slightly satisfied by the Doctor giving a sharp nod of his head, "We need to focus on getting Clara," she went on firmly, her eyes flickering between the captain and the Doctor, still with a hint of concern, "Skaldak is unpredictable right now, he's not even behaving like an Ice Warrior typically would. He's taken his armour off, for Rassilon's sake; I've never even seen an Ice Warrior out of their armour before".

"Won't it be more vulnerable out of its shell?" the Professor asked curiously, eyeing the Time Lords.

"No," the Doctor exchanged a grave look with the Hatter, "It will be more dangerous".

He grabbed the Hatter's hand at that and they took off running for the door, not waiting to let to the captain try to stop them again as they took off down the hallway.

Again, this chapter is a little later then I would have liked, but at least I got it up sooner than I have been lately. I think I'll call that progress. Looks like this episode is bringing up a lot of old memories for the Hatter, of course it naturally always would. Skaldak's current situation isn't so different from how the Hatter felt during her own grief for her children, and the Doctor can likewise sympathise for Skaldak, I would imagine.

I'm curious, who else watched Dracula 2020? I watched all three episodes in one evening and I just loved Dracula, he was portrayed so well, in my eyes, plus there was another main character that I thought was just so brilliant, even if she did fall into the trap of Moffat's writing of women. I would highly recommend the show, if you haven't watched it, but do keep in mind that the last episode was a little disappointing. The first two, however, were wonderful and I enjoyed them, it's just that the last episode was a bit…meh. I'm going to hold off on talking about Doctor who right now, but see my response to guest reviews if you're interested.

The Hatter's outfit for this chapter will be on my Tumblr and Pinterest. I hope you liked the chapter, let me know what you thought. Please review :)

Guest Reviews:

Mari: Honestly, no I haven't thought about doing an AU like that, mainly because I don't feel like the Hatter would have gone Time Lord Victorious during the Waters in Mars episode. For the Doctor I think it made sense for him at that point, but not for the Hatter. Perhaps in another episode. It is an interesting idea, though :)

Guest (1): I could so see the Hatter allowing the Time Lords to capture her, rather than the both her and the Doctor to try and save him from having been exiled to Earth. That's exactly the sort of thing she would do, which is why I don't feel like she would blame him or be upset with him for being exiled and forced to regenerate. As for how it would change their friendship, I think the Doctor would have felt horribly guilty and would have urged her to just run away with him, never mind the Time Lords and what they would do to both of them if caught. The Hatter wouldn't have agreed and would have remained on Earth, bored, but she probably would have found ways to amuse herself without the Doctor. In the end, I feel like it would have brought them closer, I think the Doctor would have seen it as a sign that perhaps there was possibly deeper feelings there and that, I think, might have made him push her a little more to see if there was. Maybe.

Guest (2): I don't think she really thinks about it too deeply, she'd probably say that she feels like the threats have become more bold and dangerous in the past few centuries since the end of the Time War, and that they have more at risk now, but I don't think she really views it as being so different as the past. The companions being 'special,' however, I do think she finds that to be different. But again, I don't think she really thinks about it too deeply, it's just her life.

Guest (3): I really like series seven; I admit that I do prefer the first half, more than the second half. I loved the Ponds so much and I still miss them, I almost felt like I was losing a Doctor saying goodbye to them. Having said that, I do like Clara, I do feel like she could have been written a little better, but I'm enjoying writing her and I'm having fun playing with this series, like all the others. I'm just dreading having to say goodbye to Eleven, to be honest. I feel like I'll probably cry.

Guest (4): I really enjoyed Spyfall, both parts, but I'll mainly focus on the first part for this reply. The twist at the end actually had me gasp aloud and shout at the screen, thankfully I was alone at the time, otherwise that would have been very embarrassing. I did scare my cats, though…I am a little concerned, however, that they've started this season off with such a big bang it will be hard to top it at the end of the season, which is kind of what you expect will happen, but previously we didn't see that happen in the last season. It also started with a big bang and ended rather flatly, so I remain a little nervous.

Sam Fraser (1): I'm pretty sure I answered this on my Tumblr, so I'll let that stand as my response :)

Guest (5): Ah, yes, I remember reading about that when I first watched 'The Brain of Morbius' episode, I'm so happy they didn't end up carrying that plot line through the series, personally I'm not a fan of the idea that the Doctor had past regenerations we've never seen or heard of. As for the whole story line that the Doctor was previously a past, ancient Time Lord known as the Other, I'm a bit more open to that idea, I've even made reference to the Other being a relation to the Doctor in this series, so I'm a little more opened to that idea, but it's never really been completely confirmed, has it? They tried back in the 80's, but never quite fully confirmed it, nor has that seemingly been carried into modern Who, so who knows?

Guest (6): I enjoyed both parts of Spyfall, like I said above, I loved all the references to past Who, I thought that was a nice touch. I did kind of feel like the episodes were made longer then needed, but I still enjoyed it. But I remain apprehensive.

Guest (7): I honestly have no idea what to make of the whole Timeless Child plot; I'm a little worried about it, to be honest. I just hope that it's not focused on the Doctor's past, the Master would be fine, but I like that the Doctor's past is such a mystery. But at this point I think it's too soon in the season to tell.

Guest (8): I kind of got more Russel T. Davis vibes watching the episode, I'll admit. I didn't even realise how much I missed that style of writing.

Guest (9): The big twist actually made me have to go for a walk, which I usually do after watching an episode that's really shocked me. I thought that the return of the Master was shocking enough, then the end of the second part just blew my mind. I'm so glad I was alone both times watching those episodes because I just couldn't keep my emotions to myself, I even found myself wondering around the house going 'What?' to myself, trying to process it all.

The Hatter will be….shocked, so very, very shocked by both twists, along with horrified and heartbroken at the last twist. It's going to hit them both very, very hard. Insert evil laughter here…

I've got a notion of an idea, let's just say that, if I go down that path.

Guest (10): I kind of feel like the Hatter wouldn't be very shocked by the Master randomly revealing himself like he did if the Doctor found her just before Spyfall, I imagine. She'd probably just think it was typical, classic Master style, which we haven't really seen much of these past years. As for Gallifrey, imagine what a blow that would be, being told by the Doctor that she managed to save Gallifrey, only to then find out that Gallifrey is completely destroyed, and by the Master, no less. But I also feel like it wouldn't hit her as much as it has the Doctor, after all, the Hatter would still be coming to terms with the idea that Gallifrey was safe in that situation.

Guest (11): I think that Chibnal is a talented writer…but I'm just not sure if he has the right spark for Doctor Who, I remain somewhat reserved about him. I really think he could do so much with the show, but…thus far I remain unimpressed. I've liked the way that he has written this female version of the Doctor, she's portrayed just the way I hoped she would be (For the most part), and I really do enjoy this version of the Doctor, I think it helps also that I feel like she reminds me so much of the Hatter.

The things that I dislike is, and I feel like I say this every time a question like this is asked, that I feel like the TARDIS is just overcrowded. I love all the companions, I really do, but I just feel like one or two of them are always left useless in an adventure.

What I think could be improved upon are the story lines, I want a story line that follows through a season (Looking at you, season 11), and less plot holes or just plots that seem to lead to nowhere. Also, I want a final that actually amazes me like the first two episodes did, just give me that and I'll be pretty happy.

What I would like to see is more character development, more classic references, more interesting storylines and past monsters or really well done, properly scary original aliens. And…I want the Doctor Who spark back, most of all, because I feel like we're just missing something and I can't put my finger on what, but something just isn't quite…right.

Guest (12): I actually have several series that I've yet to announce planned, though at this point only one of these series is one hundred percent going forward and will be posted, probably after I've finished my Sherlock series, up to how many seasons we've got, anyway. It currently has the first story typed up and half of the next story typed up, too, with another seven or so stories planned in that series, which is based on a book, rather than a TV show or movie. Another project is based on a movie Universe that spans many, many movies and currently has six chapters typed, but I'm unsure of if anyone would actually be interested in reading it. I also have another four chapters written up for a TV series with an OC who is a vampire, which has allowed me to basically create my own vampires and history, which I've found to be so much fun and has allowed me to toy with darker themes then I have before. But again, these are stories that I'm still unsure about if they'll see the light of day. I feel like I want to write and develop them a little bit more before being certain. That's not to say that I'm against speaking of them, if people are interested, of course, so if anyone would like to know more feel free to ask. It might even help me make up my mind :)

Guest (13): Well, we haven't even seen much of the Hatter from the Time War, have we? But yes, we will see a darker side from her, most of it likely surrounding protecting Astra. We've already seen that the Hatter is willing to allow someone to die after they threatened Astra, no doubt we'll see more of that to come.

Guest (14): I have so much planned with Classic Who, so, so much, it's just all in my head. I literally have two entire stories written in my head featuring two Classic Who episodes and the Hatter, I just haven't written them up, but they are planned out. I find Classic Who hard to write, for some reason, I think it's because the scenes tend to be so long and heavy in dialogue, or perhaps it's just because I'm constantly having to fact check throughout my past stories to make sure I'm actually keeping any references I make accurate to where the Doctor and the Hatter are in their timeline. It's easy to just write Modern Who, because all the references are pretty much in a straight line in my head, I might only occasionally have to fact check something, if I'm unsure, but Classic Who is a little more complex. But I do plan to write more Classic Who, I do have one Classic Who chapter fully written up and pretty much ready to post, I just would prefer to finish the other chapters of the story before that.

Guest (15): I'm not happy with what they've done with Gallifrey, I feel like they brought back Gallifrey and made such a big deal over it, rightly so, only to now destroy it? It makes no sense to me, I feel like we had so much possible stories that could have been set on Gallifrey, we could have seen more of the Time Lords, and now seemingly that won't be the case. That is, if Gallifrey is actually destroyed, which I remain unconvinced about at this point.

Guest (16): I feel like Rassilon is a bit like the Master, we'll never get rid of him, not really, but I don't think we'll see him in this season. Perhaps next season, but I feel like this season is a bit soon.

Sam Fraser (2): Well said, well said, indeed. I am in total agreement with you, and I wish I could honestly even attempt to match your lengthy review with a response that I think you justly deserve, but I fear I would fall short given that you have said everything and more then what I could possibly say. To me, Doctor who has always seemed far more progressive for its time when looking back on early Classic Who, one of the reasons it is probably the only show from the era that have been able to stomach watching without getting upset over sexist remarks or treatment towards female characters, and to see the First Doctor portrayed in such a manner as to make it seem as though that was who he had been was a gross injustice to his character and remains, to this day, something that continues to greatly upset me as a fan of Classic Who and as a woman.

Guest (17): I hadn't actually thought about Clara at all, to me Clara is off somewhere in the Universe with Me, enjoying her…life? Un-life? Exactly how does one describe her current life status, anyway? But I imagine she would be pretty horrified to learn about what had happened to Gallifrey, if she ever did.

Guest (18): To me, I think that you can impart political statements into a show and still leave a mark on your audience; however, I also think there's a fine line between doing it and shoving it at the audience in a manner that completely pulls you from the story. I think that had they simply left the episode the way they had before the last few minutes in the TARDIS, it would have been fine, as an audience we got the picture that we need to change the world before something like that happens in reality, and that it isn't too late to change, but to then press it even more was just a little too much, I'll agree. I very greatly admire Greta Thunberg, I think that she is an amazing young woman and that she speaks on behalf of every young person, but you can't quite use the same approach that she has in a show like Doctor Who. Once you start getting to heavy on politics, people start losing interest, no matter how important or how much you might agree with the statement.