Cold War, Part 2
The Doctor and the Hatter raced through the narrow, darkened hallways of the submarine, the Professor trailing along behind them with the captain, right on the Time Lady's heels as she followed behind the Doctor. Every creek of the ship made her wince, every little moan made her have to fight back the urge to whip her head around to check that it wasn't Skaldak, about to attack them from above, like something out of one of those horror movies that her old companions had forced her to sit through during movie night. It seemed like just the sort of thing that Skaldak would do, never mind the fact that they didn't exactly know what he even looked like, out of his armour.
"Clara?" the Doctor shouted up the hallway, forced to duck low to move through a rounded doorway ahead of them, "Clara!"
The Hatter had to remove her top hat to duck under the low doorway, her lovely hat still rather soggy and slightly water damaged now, though that was far from the most concerning thing right now. Once she had cleared the doorway her hat was back on her head, easily keeping up with the Doctor, though after all these centuries, it was hardly a rare experience. They managed to make it to a closed, rounded door of the torpedo room and the Doctor immediately went to open it, only for it to suddenly open from the inside, but rather then Clara, who the Hatter expected to see tumbling out of the door, a dark green blur came speeding out of the door, actually knocking them back into the wall along the side of the hallway as it barrelled past them and off down the hallway, so fast that even for the Time Lords rather good eyesight it was impossible to see any features.
"Blimey!" the Hatter gasped, blinking rapidly as her back pressed against the cold metal wall, narrowly avoiding elbowing the Doctor's side in her hast to flatten herself out of the way, "Who knew an Ice Warrior could move so fast out of their suit?"
The Doctor grimaced slightly, glancing at her before flickering his eyes up the hallway that Skaldak had disappeared down, "And just when you think you knew everything there is to know about them…" he sighed, shaking his head and turning to quickly move to the open doorway of the torpedo room, where they could see Clara sitting on the floor before the door, her back to them, seeming focusing on trying to just breath, "Clara!" he called urgently to her, though she made little motion to even turn her head, "Clara!"
He reached through the opening of the door and snaked his arms under her arms, forcibly tugging her backwards through the door, not releasing her as Clara continued to breathe heavily with wide, frightened eyes and pale cheeks, not even attempting to try and stand from his grasp. The Hatter immediately knelt on the floor beside her, reaching out to grasp her arm, searching her face worriedly.
"Clara, are you alright?" she asked her, giving her arm a little, gentle shake.
"I'm okay," Clara managed to gasp out, before suddenly laughing in disbelief and wiggling herself out of the Doctor's grasp, straightening to her full height as the Hatter blinked and also rose, eyeing her closely, "Ha, ha! I'm okay," she grinned at them, reaching out to playfully nudge the Hatter's side, while she still seemed to watch her as though worried she might crack, "I'm okay! Where did he go?" she quickly looked around the hallway, before turning back to them, still seeming a little breathless, "How did I do? Was I okay?"
"You did wonderfully," the Hatter assured her, giving her a warm smile, swinging her arm around her still damp shoulders, half-hugging her to her side. Clara really was quite tiny, the Hatter easily had several inches over her, even without the small heels she wore.
The Doctor, however, frowned very slightly, "This wasn't a test, Clara," he told her, turning to peer back into the torpedo room, eyeing the abandoned amour. For once, it actually hadn't been a test, though it bothered him slightly that Clara possibly thought that it was, had they made it so obvious that they had been testing her?
"I know, but…" she began, looking at his back.
"You were great, yeah," he cut across her, spinning back around to face her and the Hatter, giving her a small smile. He avoided looking at the Hatter, then, knowing that she was watching him with a faint frown.
Clara instantly seemed to relax, her eyes brightening hopefully, "Really?" she looked eagerly between them, almost like a child who was being praised for doing something.
"Of course," the Hatter said at once, giving Clara a proud look, hugging her a bit tighter to her side.
The Doctor struggled to hold back the worried look that threatened to cross his face, seeing the look on her face, not just a look of pride, but one of affection, too. She was growing very quickly attached of the girl, who still remained quite a large question mark about whether or not she was still trust worthy or not, but more than that, she also happened to look just like Os. Neither of them could afford to get to close to Clara, the Hatter even more so, because as much as she might insist that Clara wasn't her niece, it was another thing to tell your hearts that when someone you loved and lost suddenly came back to you, even if they were just a mirror copy of them. He would not let her hearts be broken, not for anything or over anyone.
"Doctor, Hatter…?" the Professor's voice called to them suddenly, drawing their attention over to him, finding him frowning with his headphones pressed against his ear, "The signal. It's stopped".
The Doctor went to him and took the headphones from him, pressing it against his own ear, listening intently for even the slightest hint of the signal, before he slowly straightened, turning around to look back to the Hatter. He met her eyes grimly.
"This isn't good," the Hatter said softly, staring at him as she dropped her arm from around Clara, "If Skaldak never received a message back from his people, then he must truly think that they're all gone, and why wouldn't he?" she shook her head, sighing heavily, "And now what little hope he might have had will be completely gone".
"Hope of what?" the captain questioned, watching them intently.
"Being rescued," the Doctor replied, "He thinks he's been abandoned," he looked back to the Hatter, who was nodding in agreement, her expression grave and saddened by the thought, "He's got nothing to lose".
"But what can he do, stuck down here like the rest of us? How bad can it be?"
The Hatter gave the captain an incredulous look, rather shocked that the man was actually asking that question right now when they were still alive, still capable of getting back to the surface, let alone what sort of ship they were currently in. How bad could it be? Seriously?
The Doctor agreed with her completely, turning to give the man a look of disbelief, "This sub's stuffed with nuclear missiles, Zhukov," he reminded him sharply, "It's fat with them. What do you think Skaldak's going to do when he finds that out? How bad can it be?" he repeated with a scoff, pointing at him, "How bad can it be? It couldn't be any worse".
It truly was almost like magic how much power just those words could weld on the Universe, the Hatter thought with grim amusement, because no sooner had the Doctor finished speaking, did the entire submarine suddenly jolt and shudder, metal groaning loudly as they were all sent stumbling into the walls, knocking from one to the other in the narrow corridor, the Hatter wincing as her shoulder hit the wall rather painfully. Above them, a hatch suddenly flew open and began spewing a rapid stream of water over their heads, Clara yelping in surprise. It was starting to feel rather like they were stuck inside a very wet, icy pinball machine, when the shuddering finally calmed and they were left panting and hearts hammering, soaked to the skin once more. The Hatter was really, really starting to hate her dress, grimacing in distaste as she pushed her soaked hat straight and tried plucking the clinging the fabric away from her flesh with little success. She was also positive she'd have a lovely bruise later on her shoulder, and no doubt seven more down the rest of her body.
"Doctor," she said with an annoyed tone lacing her words, narrowing her eyes at him as he winced, looking over his shoulder to her with a nervous expression.
"Er, yes, dear?" he shifted almost fearfully under her growing glare, his voice rising in pitch in his panic, "Love of my life, the heart of my Universe, my…"
"You're on thin ice, sweetheart," she cut across him, her expression colder then the bone chilling cold water they were currently standing in and still had raining down upon them, her hazel green eyes almost slits.
The Doctor gulped and instantly snapped his mouth shut. That glare would make a Dalek flee, he wasn't too proud to admit that he wasn't much better.
….
Wet clothing was so top of the list of the Hatter's pet peeves; it was just so uncomfortable, even for a Time Lord. She still couldn't say she felt overly cold, not as she imagined the humans surrounding them on the bridge of the submarine must be feeling right now, wearing thick, heavy and very wet uniforms, so she supposed she had that to think positively on. Plus, she wasn't wearing socks, wet socks were the worst, truly and completely the worst, closely followed by having a wet hat, but that might just be her. Still, it was still quite distracting to her as she stood beside the Doctor and Clara, just off to the side of where the captain stood before his gathered crew, all of them looking rather soggy and miserable. She didn't blame them; wet clothing aside, the situations was looking rather bleak, even in her eyes.
"Comrades," Zhukov began, addressing his men, "You know the situation. The reactor is drowned. We are totally reliant on battery power and our air is running out. Rescue is unlikely, but we still have a mission to fulfil. If the Doctor and the Hatter are right, then we are all that stands between this creature and the destruction of the world. Control of one missile is all he needs. We are expendable, comrades. Our world is not. I know I can rely on every one to do his duty without fail. That is all".
The Hatter's lips were pressed into a grim, hard line as she looked at the Doctor standing beside her, his head turning to look back at her with a matching grave look of his own. It truly was looking very bleak, for once she couldn't think of any clever plan to get them out of this mess, they didn't even have the TARDIS, something that they could usually always count on, even in the most dire of moments. They were just as vulnerable now as any of the humans on the ship, and just as clueless as how to keep everyone safe and alive, while preventing the world from being destroyed. Sometimes all the cleverness and smiles in the Universe just weren't enough to save the day, sometimes you also needed a lot of luck, but did they truly have any luck left? The Hatter truly did wonder.
All around them the crew began to prepare for the worst, most of them did well to hide the fear that had to be bubbling up inside them, while others were less able to keep their emotions from slipping across their youthful faces. It struck her then just how young most of the crew really were, how many of them were even over the age of twenty five? Barely a handful, she imagined. She swallowed hard at the thought, reminded painfully of how young many of those sent to the front line during the Time War had been, most had barely even left school when they had been sent off to fight, she had protested against it to the War Council and Romana, tried to urge them to increase the age limit, rather than lower it, sadly it had been of little use. An entire generation scarred by the bloodshed of the front line, she supposed that was one bitter sweet thing about the war ending as it did. No one else had to suffer for centuries after, just she and the Doctor.
The Doctor took her hand suddenly and she barely held back a flinch, her eyes snapping back to his, finding the same storm of emotions that she felt reflected in the depths of his eyes. She imagined he was likely thinking similar thoughts to her, how could he not? He had actually been there. He didn't say anything, though he didn't need to, and she was grateful that neither of them truly needed to speak, instead he squeezed her hand and gently tugged her over towards a nearby control panel. They couldn't allow themselves to get too caught up in old memories, not if they wished to live though this, no, right now they needed to focus, otherwise they might as well just let the world be destroyed.
"Even if a missile did get launched," Clara began as she came to join them by the controls, frowning slightly as she lent sideways against the wall next to the controls, watching them as they began fiddling with the controls, "That wouldn't be it…would it?"
The Doctor lifted an eyebrow, glancing back to her, "'It?'" he questioned, before turning back to the controls.
"End of the world," she clarified, eyeing them closely, "Game over. I mean, what if they fired one by accident. What would happen then?"
"Everything and anything," the Hatter replied quietly, spinning around on the swivel chair she had sat down on before the controls, looking directly at Clara, "The Earth is standing on the edge of a tipping point right now, in this very second, in fact, and a storm is brewing, threatening that fragile balance," she sighed heavily, her eyes wondering around the rest of the bridge, "One tiny gust of air and it would all come falling down, it wouldn't even take much, but everything you have ever known would change, Clara. The history of your world would be utterly altered".
"Yeah, but the world didn't end in 1983, did it? Or I wouldn't be here".
She smiled gravely, turning her gaze back onto her, "Like I said, anything and everything could happen today," she said, softer than before, "The history you remember can change with one wrong move or word. It is possible that the very fate of your own species will be forever changed. History is in flux right now, all possibilities are on the table…and we're standing in the middle of it," she suddenly smiled widely, her eyes growing warmer and her entire body seemed to almost relax, becoming more like the cheerful Hatter Clara was growing used to seeing, "But we'll do our best to stop that from happening, so don't fret".
Clara stared back at her with a slightly bewildered expression, not that the Hatter, nor the Doctor seemed to notice, the Time Lady turning back to the controls. They continued working at them for a few minutes, before the Doctor sighed slightly and pushed his own swivel chair back from the controls, frowning as he spun it around. While they had been busy the rest of the crew had been quite active, gathering up as many guns as they could find, it would seem, the Hatter couldn't help the disproving look from crossing her own features as she watched each young officer come and go from the room, each carrying a large rifle or pistol. The very air of the submarine seemed to have shifted, too, tenser now, but with a calmness that felt painfully fragile.
It was not an energy that the Hatter enjoyed.
The Doctor rose from his seat and crossed the room to where the captain was standing, readying his own pistol with an air of determination. He looked well and truly ready to use it, yet another thing that didn't exactly comfort the Hatter as she moved to follow with a wary look around the room. Blimey, she really didn't like guns, but even more then that she hated being in a small, enclosed space with so many guns. It was rather ironic, considering her history of building weapons, but for once the irony of this situation held little amusement to her.
"How many of us are left?" the Doctor asked Zhukov, seeming to be far less concerned by the guns then the Hatter was currently feeling, though she knew he didn't approve.
"Twelve," the captain replied, lowering his weapon safely to his side. The Time Lady sighed, "And we can't find Stepashin".
The Hatter grimaced at that, assuming that he was referring to his rather unpleasant second-in-command, who she hadn't failed to notice didn't seem to be among the rest of the gathered crew. That wasn't a good sign, not good at all; she caught the Doctor's eye. Judging by the look in his darkened eyes, he agreed. She sighed heavily, turning back to Zhukov.
"I'm sorry," she said bracingly, and the human made gave a short nod, seemingly having already come to the same realisation that he was likely already dead. She resisted the urge to reach out and pat his arm in sympathy, instead she cast her eyes back around the rest of the crew, preparing themselves and their weapons, "Okay, let's start off by searching the ship," she continued with slightly more authority, "We'll need to split up into smaller groups, threes and fours ideally, no one searches alone, while we keep a group here on the bridge as guards…"
"That's it?" Zhukov frowned at her, his eyes flickering over to the Doctor, "That's the plan?"
"Well, it's either that or we stay here and wait for him to kill us all," the Doctor said with a small shrug, looking back to him.
He blinked slightly, considering his words briefly, "Okay," he nodded, and walked off to the other side of the room to start giving his men the orders, splitting them up into groups.
Clara edged closer to the Time Lords, looking at them curiously, "Is it true you've never seen one outside of its shell suit?" she questioned, eyeing them, "Neither of you have?"
The Hatter actually chocked on air at that, while the Doctor's head snapped around to stare at her with wide eyes, "'Shell suit?'" he repeated, looking quite shocked and almost appalled. Clara simply shrugged, "Clara," he went on with a disapproving frown as the Hatter shook her head, "For an Ice Warrior to leave its armour is the greatest dishonour. Skaldak is desperate. He is deadly and we have got to find him".
"Will this help?" the Professor spoke up suddenly, making them spin around to find him standing just a few steps away from them, holding up the Doctor's sonic screwdriver.
Instantly the Doctor's entire face lit up in pure delight, while the Hatter smiled fondly, watching as he immediately dashed across to the older man, "Ah!" he cheered, grabbing the sonic, holding it almost as dearly as he had held Astra as a new born. It was rather amusing to witness in the Hatter's eyes, though she could relate with her lovely hats, "You saved it!"
"No, no, it was on the floor with this," he also held up the Barbie doll that had been taken along with the sonic, looking shockingly dry and actually quite unscathed, the blonde hair wasn't even knotted.
"Oh!" the Doctor plucked it out of his hand, actually kissing the doll. The Hatter laughed, though she was also rather relieved to see the doll safely returned, "You just saved me from a very feisty two year old, Professor. I could kiss you!" he grinned at the human man, lowering the doll safely into his pocket with great care.
He almost looked resigned to the idea of being snogged by the Doctor, "If you insist".
The Hatter burst out laughing, while the Doctor paused and blinked slowly at the Professor, clearly rather thrown by how to react to that remark, "Oh, you're brilliant, Professor!" she giggled, draping an arm over the Doctor's shoulders as he remained rather frozen in place, winking at the human man, "You're on my list of human best friends, anyone who can make this one…" she nodded her head pointedly to the Doctor, "…speechless is deserving of that, at the very least".
"Hatter!" the Doctor finally seemed to come back to himself, throwing her a slightly offended look.
She gave him a cheeky smile, "At least I pick my friend based on humour, rather than skimpy clothing, sweetheart," she said teasingly.
"Skimpy clothing?" he spluttered in disbelief, actually gaping at her now.
"Peri was a sweet, lovely girl, Doctor, but even you have to admit that she was never what you could call shy about her figure, not that I blame her. She had excellent legs. Then there was Leela, even on Gallifrey she caused a scandal with her leather gear, which was positively hilarious. I've never seen my father closer to blushing before in my life then when I introduced those two, I could have kissed her…if I didn't think she might stab me for it. Oh, and we can't possibly forget Jo's mini dresses, dear me those hemlines were barely legal…"
"It was the 70's!"
She smirked, "I didn't see Sarah Jane getting around in mini dresses," she pointed out, forgoing reminding him that she had also preferred to wear wide legged trousers back then, too. Not that she cared in the slightest what any of his previous companions had worn, same with her own, she did, however, find it fun to watch the Doctor squirm wherever possible.
"I…you…" he cleared his throat, shifting uncomfortable under her amused gaze, while Clara and the Professor stood by, watching with slightly baffled but amused expressions, clearly not understanding what they were talking about, but still finding it funny. He reached up to adjust his bowtie, almost physically pulling himself back together, "We have an Ice Warrior to find, dear, so…let's go and do that…" he finished rather lamely.
The Hatter barely held back a laugh and held up her hands in surrender, though it was slightly ruined by her playful wink in his direction. Still, she had her little moment of amusement; it was back to saving the planet and history. Again. She was just happy to get a giggle in before getting back to business.
….
Corridors, more accurately wet corridors were quickly becoming something the Hatter was used to as she and the Doctor made their way through the depths of the submarine, trying and failing to avoid the water still dripping in rapid currents from over head, puddling on the metal floor. Not that it wasn't something she was used to, going down darkened hallways were practically a speciality of hers after all these centuries, it was the water that was annoying her more than anything else. What she wouldn't do for a dry dress right now…preferably one that didn't cling quite as much as this one was currently, she was starting to deeply regret allowing Clara to dress her up like her own doll now. The Doctor was just slightly ahead of her, concentrating on using the sonic to scan ahead of them, while Clara and the Professor trailed along a few steps behind the Time Lady. The journey was largely done in silence for the first few corridors that they went down, the Hatter listening closely for any hiss or growl possibly coming from the shadows, shining a torch beam of light into every dark space and corner…but not once did her light reveal anything more interesting then a map of the submarine on the wall. Over all, it was rather uneventful, save for the water that kept dripping from the brim of her hat.
"So…" Clara began after a while, having just ducked through a low, rounded doorway and into the next hallway, the Professor right on her heels. Behind them, the Doctor closed the door, while the Hatter continued on just ahead of the humans, scanning with her torch light as she went, "Why have you got a cattle prod on a submarine?" she lifted an eyebrow and glanced sideways at the man.
"Ooh, good question, Clara," the Hatter said, spinning around so that she was walking backwards, shining her light onto Clara…blinding her with the bright light. She winced and hastily lowered the torch, "Sorry!" she smiled apologetically, watching poor Clara blink rapidly and grimacing, "I got a little over excited, I'd wondered the same thing…"
"Polar bears," the Professor answered, seemingly quite unconcerned by the Time Lady, while the Doctor didn't bother hiding his amused smile from behind the pair, moving to slip past them and back up by the Hatter, though he was facing the correct way, scanning ahead of them once more with the sonic.
Clara seemed to recover from her blinding, nodding, "Ah, right".
"We run across them when we're drilling. Can be quite nasty, you know".
She paused in the hallway, while the Hatter move to take a closer look at another map of the submarine that was stuck to the wall just ahead of them, examining it a bit more closely in an attempt to find where their elusive Ice Warrior might have hidden himself…not that she expected it to be very helpful. No map was going to help them in this matter, rather searching manually, each and every dark shadow might conceal Skaldak, every corner was a possible hiding spot, every groan might be him, and in a submarine that was constantly creaking and barely functioning, with limited power, it felt rather like looking for a needle in a haystack. It didn't help that they still had no clue what said needle looked like, either, though she imagined that they would once they saw him. Hopefully before he murdered them all, that is.
"I'd swap one for an Ice Warrior any day," Clara commented to the Professor, pulling a slight face, "Cuddlier".
"Courage, my dear," he smiled encouragingly at her, and for a moment the Hatter almost felt as though she was transported back in time, her own lips morphing into a gentle, fond smile as she remained looking at the map without seeing it now, her mind drifting back to the Fifth Doctor, even the First Doctor, her hearts aching with nostalgia for how simple those times had been back then…
Of course, that was also the moment that the Doctor went and fiddled with something he shouldn't, setting off a rather loud beeping alarm, which instantly pulled the Hatter from her memories and made her groan, closing her eyes briefly. It might have been simpler times back then, but she didn't have Astra back then, nor did she have the Doctor like she does now, and as much as she might look back on those days with great fondness, they weren't what she longed for now. No, now she simply longed to have her daughter safely back with her and the Doctor, travelling the Universe and having mad, fun adventures. That thought made her smile again and open eyes, shaking her head fondly as she moved up ahead of the hallway to where the Doctor was looking mildly panicked before a control panel that was still beeping, trying desperately to shut it down with the sonic.
"Oh, sweetheart," she laughed softly as she came to stand by his side, kissing his cheek…he paused, blinking in confusion and surprise, turning slightly to stare at her. He probably expected her to get cross with him or something. She shook her head at him, "What am I going to do with you? I honestly can't let you out my sight…you're almost as bad as Astra!"
"…I always sing a song," the Professor was saying from behind them, seemingly ignoring the alarm.
"Well, she had to get something from me," the Doctor smiled faintly, relaxing slightly as he realised that she wasn't about to lecture him about meddling with things.
"I'm pretty sure she got a lot more of you in her then just that, now let's turn this thing off before it gets us killed, shall we?" she turned back to the control panel with a far more cheerful expression then one ought to have when possibly in danger of being found by a homicidal alien, but she couldn't bring herself to be overly annoyed right now as she set to work trying to get the blasted thing to turn off.
"What?" Clara's voice sounded over the alarm, sounding quite confused, but amused.
"To keep my spirits up," the Professor explained, smiling.
"Yeah, that would work…if this was Pinocchio".
The Hatter went to turn back towards the humans, fully intending on giving Clara her best disproving look at how dismissive she was being, only for another, even louder alarm to start blaring. She groaned and glanced at the Doctor, who looked rather close to flapping his arms around in his growing panic, his eyes very wide as he caught her eye. She sighed loudly.
"Seriously?" she muttered, rubbing her wet forehead in exasperation. More alarms? How many alarms did this place need? She shook her head and turned her attention back on to trying to shut down the noise, which was actually rather grating.
"Do you know Hungry Like The Wolf?"
"What?" Clara had to almost shout, frowning over at the Time Lords…the Doctor had now officially progressed to flapping his arms about and just grabbing at random things on the control panel on the wall, while the Hatter was looking increasingly frustrated by her own inability to shut off the alarm, eyes narrowed on the gauges as she twisted and turned several of them. She looked close to kicking something.
"Duran Duran!" the Professor told her, forced to raise his voice to be heard over the alarms, "One of my favourites. Come on!" he tried urging her, giving her a wide, encouraging smile.
"I'm not signing a song!"
Suddenly, the Hatter managed to pull the panel open, quite by accident since she hadn't quite realised it was a hatch before, revealing a rounded hole that was built into the wall, large enough for one to fit their head through…even the Doctor's massive head ought to fit. She blinked slightly and glanced sideways at the Doctor, before shrugging and gesturing for him to go to the hatch. He was the one with the sonic, not to mention he had longer arms then hers, so he'd likely be able to reach better than her, it had nothing to do with her being wary of sticking her head through a random hatch in a darkened submarine with an Ice Warrior possibly moving around like the Basilisk in Harry Potter. Nothing at all like that. The Doctor gave her a knowing look and playfully flicked her arm, though he made little complaint as he moved to stick his head through the hatch and began to sonic whatever controls and wires he found hidden inside it. Almost at once the alarms cut off and the Hatter almost sagged in relief. That was when a low groan sounded through the air. Instantly they all froze and looked up at the dripping, curved ceiling above their heads, the Hatter's entire body tensing. Slowly, the Doctor slipped back out of the hatch and straightened himself beside her, peering upwards too.
"What was that?" Clara asked nervously as the noise faded, turning to eye the Time Lords.
"Pressure," the Doctor sad at once, exchanging an unsettled look with the Hatter, "Just pressure".
"Yes, I'm sure that was all it was," the Hatter nodded slowly, struggling to conceal just how rattled that sound had made her, frowning as she glanced upwards again. But she also didn't want to panic anyone, lying seemed better then admitting the truth of what she and the Doctor thought that noise truly belonged to, "Just pressure…it makes perfect sense. We're seven hundred meters down in the ocean, that'll make anything creak and groan".
"Don't worry about it," the Professor added quickly, when Clara still looked rather concerned. He seemed to have realised the truth, too, though the Hatter was grateful that he also understood that it was best not to cause undue panic to Clara, "Think of something else…" his expression relaxed slightly and he broke into a small smile, "Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da…" he began singing softly, rocking from side to side, finally pulling Clara's attention back onto him with raised eyebrows, "I am hungry like the wolf…"
Clara tried to give him a firm look, "I'm not singing".
"Oh, come on, Clara," the Hatter smiled widely at her, her eyes lit up with amusement as Clara glanced back over to her and the Doctor with an annoyed look, "Signing's great, love a good sing along me".
"Yeah, well, I don't," she gave her a small glare, though there was no real anger behind it, before turning back to the Professor, "I'm not singing, not happening…"
"Don't you know it?" the Professor lifted an eyebrow, still smiling encouragingly at her, but with a slight teasing glimmer to his eyes now.
"Course I know it. We do it at karaoke, the odd hen night".
"'Karaoke?'" he repeated with a confused frown, eyeing her in utter puzzlement. The Hatter grimaced slightly, perhaps not yet…, "'Hen night?' You speak excellent Russian, my dear, but sometimes I don't understand a word you're talking about".
The Hatter cleared her throat loudly, giving the Doctor a quick look, "Okay, we really ought to be moving on…" she reached out and took his head, setting them off again down the corridor, forcing Clara and the Professor to follow and thankfully also forcing them to drop the subject, before the old Professor started getting a little curious about exactly where Clara had picked up these interesting phrases.
Off they went down the hallways once more, the Time Lords leading the way onwards, hand-in-hand as they went, but they had barely stepped into the next length of corridor before the sound of a terrible scream and snarl echoed from out of the distance, filled with terror and pain and anger. It was enough to make the Hatter's blood run cold, hearing that cry. No one should make a sound like that. The Time Lords didn't wait to hear if more screams or growls would follow, taking off at once in the direction of the noise with Clara and the Professor on their heels, feet slipping on the wet metal and their pace slowed slightly by the fact that they were forced to duck low in order to fit through the doors. They rounded a corner of one of the many hallways of the ship and skidded, very nearly stumbling into the wall before they righted themselves, dashing up the hallway to where a large metal door, painted bright red, was left wide open.
The sight that greeted them beyond the door instantly brought the Time lords to a sharp stop, their eyes widening and the Hatter's hand flying up to cover her mouth in horror. Blood stained the floor and walls, splattered across metal in bright, wet streaks, while a pool of blood was seeping across the floor. But that was the worst of it; the two crewmembers that had been attacked had been so badly torn apart, it was near impossible to tell exactly who they were, left lying strewn across the floor in a mess of twisted limbs and blood. The Hatter swallowed thickly at the sight and glanced at the Doctor, finding him already looking back to her, his own horror written across his paled features. Oh, they had seen this sort of thing before, witnessed perhaps even more horrifying scenes then even this one before, but it never made it any easier, no less shocking or terrible.
"Good God," the Professor breathed as he and Clara caught up to them, staring at the sight. The Hatter glanced back over her shoulder to them, Clara was staring at the scene with a expression of pure shock on her face, as though she couldn't quite comprehend what she was seeing, "Torn apart…" the older man continued in almost a whisper, looking around, "It's a monster, a savage".
"No, Professor," the Doctor said with a shake of his head, reluctantly letting go of the Hatter's hand to crouch by the very edge of the growing puddle of blood, his eyes roaming over the mutilated bodies, trying to put aside his own horror and focusing on the facts, "Not savage. Forensic. Well, he's…" he paused, searching for the right word, "…dismantled them. Skaldak's learning. Learning all about you. Your strengths, your weaknesses," he reached into his pocket and pulled out the sonic screwdriver, looking at it briefly before jumping up, "Come on!"
The Hatter was more than eager to escape from the smell of iron and the horrific scene before them, following closely on his heels as he turned and took off running out the door, Clara and the Professor hurrying after them, slightly slower than them. The Time Lady felt an immediate sense of relief to be away from that room, but more than anything else she was relieved that Astra wasn't with them. To think that there innocent little girl might have witnessed something like that made her hearts break and her blood turn ice cold. She shook herself from her thoughts and continued keeping pace with the Doctor, who was busy dashing along corridor after corridor, the sonic held out before him, beeping loudly as it scanned the ship ahead of them. Suddenly, he stopped and the Hatter barely managed to not run directly into his back, watching him closely as he spun around to look at her with a determined expression.
"Dear…"
"I swear, Doctor," she cut across him sharply, eyes narrowed on him, "If you dare to utter a single word about me staying here, then I will be very cross with you," the Doctor grimaced and quickly closed his mouth, "We stick together, sweetheart".
"Yes, dear," he nodded quickly, giving her a slightly strained, almost nervous smile, which relaxed into a proper smile when she rolled her eyes fondly and reached for his hand. He flickered his eyes towards Clara, just as she finally caught up to them, panting slightly, "You, stay here," he pointed at her, turning on his heel to head towards a ladder that was just off to the side of the corridor they stood in.
"Okay," Clara replied easily, looking perfectly happy with that idea. The Hatter blinked and threw her a puzzled look over her shoulder, finding it almost impossible to think that a companion wouldn't start insisting that they come along with them. It was just…weird.
The Doctor seemed to agree, so used to companions trying to argue that he didn't seem to actually notice what she had said, "Stay here," he repeated even more firmly then before, placing his foot on the first rung of the ladder, "Don't argue".
"I'm not".
"Yeah, you're really not, are you?" the Hatter eyed Clara curiously, truly looking very confused by this odd behaviour, in her eyes, while the Doctor had actually frozen and seemed to be processing what had just happened, too. She nodded slowly, still looking at Clara, almost suspiciously, "Well, that's…excellent. You just…stay here and we'll be right back".
"I said I'd stay here, didn't I?" she frowned at the Time Lady, starting to look quite confused herself.
The Hatter gave her a smile and a quick thumbs up, though she was still highly confused by exactly what had just happened and not completely sure if she really believed Clara. Still, she didn't linger behind to see if Clara really was being honest or not, quickly following the Doctor up the ladder. She soon reached the top of the ladder, where the Doctor offered her his hand and helped her up onto the upper level, entwining their fingers as they set off at a quick pace down the corridor. It was drying on this level, not as many puddles on the ground, but water was still dripping down in places.
"A companion that doesn't insist on following…" the Hatter commented as they moved swiftly, shaking her head in disbelief. Her hair was almost completely loose now, and still quite wet against the back of her neck, "I didn't think it was possible".
"It seems like that's a common occurrence with Clara," the Doctor said with a faint frown, glancing at her.
"I don't think it's a bad sign, Doctor".
"Anything is possibly a bad sign with her, Hatter. She seems like a sweet girl, I'll give her that, but we don't know enough yet to say with any certainty".
The Hatter didn't like the darkened look that crossed his face when they spoke about this matter, the mistrust that filled his eyes and stripped the warmth that she loved so much from them. She knew that his concern stemmed from the need to protect her and Astra from any possible threat that Clara might pose, but it still worried her when she saw him look like that, because that wasn't the Doctor she was used to seeing very often. She didn't like what this mystery was doing to him, making him so mistrustful and brooding towards Clare, who thus far seemed perfectly innocent and clueless as to anything odd that might be surrounding her. She understood it, of course, she agreed that they ought to be careful around the girl, but she hated feeling as though they were being two-faced towards Clara. She just wanted this whole thing to be solved and put to rest so that they could all relax, so that her daughter could come home and the Doctor could just rest and be freely himself again. This brooding version of this regeneration didn't suit him, in her eyes.
She kept all of that to herself, however, the Doctor knew well enough of her concerns and dislike of the situation, but it wasn't going to be fixed now. No, right now they needed to focus on tracking down Skaldak, so she kept her lips pressed together in a tight line of disapproval and they settled into a comfortable silence as they continued heading down the corridor. They soon came to a circular door, which the Doctor easily opened and ducked through, the Hatter slipping her hat off and ducking through after him into yet another corridor. They set off at a run, only to come to a skidding stop after only a few paces, catching sight of a pair of legs sticking out from an alcove.
"Blimey…" the Hatter breathed, grimacing as she took in the sight of yet another horribly mutilated body, left leaning against the wall, blood completely covering the walls of the small alcove and forming a puddle beneath the body. So much blood…you could almost taste it in the air with each breathe, she felt slightly ill from it, let alone from the sight.
"Are you okay, Hatter?" the Doctor was watching her worriedly, his eyes soft and gentle, squeezing her hand.
"I'm really sick of seeing dead bodies today, Doctor".
"Let's hope it'll be the last," he said grimly, and she nodded firmly, sighing sadly as she looked down at the body, which was completely unrecognisable.
"The poor man…"
He let go of her hand and knelt down by the man's feet, his gun was lying on the floor, having been dropped at some point, while a small leather wallet was lying on the ground next to the weapon. He picked it up and rose, opening it for them to both see the blood stained picture of a young, smiling fair haired woman and an ID cared.
"Oh, Stepashin," he shook his head, glancing at the Hatter, who took the wallet from him with a saddened expression, "I didn't realise he was married…"
"No," the Time Lady said softly, feeling her hearts going out to the woman in the photograph, not yet knowing of her husband's death, "Nor did I, sweetheart".
Suddenly, the sound of running feet on the metal above them came, their heads immediately snapping upwards. The Hatter hastily slipped the wallet into her pocket to give to the captain later, her eyes narrowed up at the ceiling, while the Doctor slipped his sonic screwdriver out of his pocket and aimed it upwards, activating it. A low hiss sounded as the sonic began beeping, directing them back down the corridor that they had come down, moving swiftly as they stared upwards, catching sight of a dark blur running over a piece of grating above their heads, before it disappeared.
"Oh…oh…oh!" the Doctor gasped, his head snapping around to the Hatter, his eyes wide. The Hatter looked back to him, just as alarmed, "Fast. He's fast".
"He's going down!" the Hatter realised with a startled cry, listening closely to the direction that the footsteps had rapidly dashed off to.
Another loud growl sounded, hissing lowly as they took off back the way they had come, the Doctor grabbing the Hatter's hand as they went, footsteps thundering along against the metal flooring. It took them barely two minutes to run all the way back to where they had left Clara and the Professor, the sonic guiding them as it tracked Skaldak, but it seemed much longer, especially when the sound of a gun going off echoed up the hallway towards them. By the time they did finally get back down to Clara and the Professor's level and caught up with them, it was just in time to see a pair of very large, green hands with long, thick claws come down from the ceiling and grab either side of the Professor's head, holding him in place.
"No, please, don't hurt him!" Clara pleaded as they run up to them, "Please!"
"You attacked me!" Skaldak hissed in a deep growl, still hidden from view, save for a pair of glowing red eyes in the shadows. The Professor groaned in pain, his face screwed up as he was forced to try and stand on tip-toe, "Martian law decrease that the people of this planet are forfeit. I now have all the information I require. It will take only one missile to begin the process. To end this Cold War".
"Please, Grand Marshal!" the Hatter called up towards the Ice Warrior, her eyes worriedly flickering to the Professor's pained features, his head firmly held between those two, pale green hands, "Please, there truly is no need for this, we can discuss this calmly and without any need for more violence, if only you would let go…"
"My distress call has not been answered," he cut across her, speaking as though she had never said a word, "It will never be answered. My people are dead. They are dust. There is nothing left for me except my revenge!"
A loud, high pitched beeping sounded from off in the distance, echoing through the hallways. The Hatter looked sharply to the Doctor, who looked back to her with an alarmed expression. It was Skaldak's armour, he'd activated it, he was done skulking around the shadows. He was ready to finish this.
"There is something left for you, Skaldak," the Doctor tried desperately, looking earnestly up at those glowing red eyes, "Mercy".
"Mercy?" he repeated, as though the word was completely alien to him, which it likely was.
"Yes, mercy!" the Hatter urged hurriedly, struggling to resist the urge to take a step forward, her gaze constantly moving between the Professor's grimacing face and those glowing eyes in the shadows above them, "There's no shame in mercy, Grand Marshall…"
She might have been able to talk him around, or perhaps it was a completely pointless effort on all of their parts to try and convince Skaldak to take the merciful rout, sadly they would never know, because at that very moment Captain Zhukov and two of his men, all fully armed and ready, marched into the corridor behind them. The Hatter could have put her head in her hands and screamed in sheer frustration at the sight.
"You must wear that armour for a reason, my friend," the captain said as he marched up towards them, his pistol firmly aimed up towards the shadow that Skaldak was hidden in, "Let's see, shall we?"
"No, Captain, wait!" the Doctor immediately pushed his gun down, stepping between him and Skaldak.
Zhukov turned his glare on the Doctor, "I will do whatever it takes to defend my world, Doctor!"
"Yes, great, fine, good," he said hurriedly, glancing hastily back up towards Skaldak, "But we're getting somewhere here. We are negotiating. 'Jaw-jaw, not war-war'".
"Churchill?" the Professor gasped out, his voice strained by pain.
The Doctor pointed at him, "Churchill".
"Very well," the captain finally said, eyes narrowed up towards Skaldak, "We'll negotiate…from a position of strength!" he suddenly aimed his gun back up at the alien, his expression hard.
"Seriously?" the Hatter groaned, throwing the captain an annoyed look, "Why do people think that guns ever help in negotiations? Just…why?"
Skaldak, however, seemed to almost find the notion amusing, "Excellent tactical thinking," he remarked, a smile almost lacing his words, "Congratulations, Captain".
"Thank you".
"Unfortunately, your position is not, perhaps, as strong as you might hope," he hissed lowly, just before a loud rumble sounded through the air, coming from out of the distance.
"What do you mean?" the Doctor asked warily, glancing at the Hatter, before trying to peer into the shadows of the corridor behind the Professor. The sound of metal rattling reached them, along with the thundering of heavy footsteps, growing louder as it seemed to near them.
It could only be one thing, however, the Hatter utterly unsurprised to see the empty armour of Skaldak's suit suddenly marching into the corridor from out of the darkness, moving towards them from behind the Professor, having managed to break free of the chains that had once bound it. The armour came a stop just a few steps behind the Professor and they watched as the helmet of the suit opened, falling backwards.
"He's summoned his armour," the Hatter breathed, her hearts racing suddenly with a hint of fear. It had been one thing for Skaldak to willingly leave his armour behind, but this? This was a very clear signal that he was ready to stop toying with them and end this, that no one was going to stop him, protected by his armour. They had officially run out of time, "Things just turned up to eleven…" she bit her lip nervously, a gesture more suited to her First body, then this one.
"How did it do that?" Clara's eyes widened, shocked.
"Sonic tech, Clara," the Doctor replied without taking his eyes off the amour, edging himself so that he was standing protectively in front of Clara and the Hatter, "The song of the Ice Warrior!"
A dark shape suddenly slithered down from out of the shadows of the roof above them, the Professor almost collapsing onto his knees as he was released from Skaldak's grasp. Two of the crewmembers that had followed their captain rushed forward to start firing at the amour, but by the time that the suit's helmet was locking back into place, Skaldak was safely concealed inside it and turning to walk away from them, bullets simply bouncing off him.
"No!" the Doctor shouted, grabbing one of the crewmembers and pushing him back, forcing him to stop firing. The moment that they stopped shooting, the Hatter ducked forward and knelt before the aged Professor, gently checking his neck where bruises were already starting to bloom across his flesh.
"My world is dead but now there will be a second red planet," Skaldak called as he marched away from them, growling with vengeance, "Red with the blood of humanity!"
"Please, don't do this!" the Hatter tried desperately, leaping onto her feet, reassured that the Professor would make a full recovery, be it with some bruising and maybe a bit of a sore neck. She moved to run after Skaldak, "Please, please, Skaldak, it doesn't have to be like this!"
"Skaldak!" the Doctor pleaded, right on the Time Lady's heels, "Skaldak, wait!"
Skaldak made little indication that he even heard them as he disappeared off down the corridor, the Time Lords running after him, while the humans followed. It was really quite shocking just how fast Skaldak was, even in his heavy suit, managing to somehow completely disappear, almost as though he had vanished into thin air. But it was hardly surprising; he likely knew every inch of the ship by now, but the sound of gun fire helped…the fact that they also came across more dead crew as they ran through the hallways of the ship also helped in a morbid way to keep track of where Skaldak was going.
They soon tracked him to the control room, running inside the wet space to find Skaldak standing before the control panel with one arm raised towards the controls, wires coming out of his fingertips of his amour, connecting him to the controls. An alarm was blaring loudly, warning that the torpedoes were being readied to be fired. The Doctor and the Hatter almost tripped over themselves to get into the room, the Hatter very nearly tripping on the raised bottom of the doorway in her own hast, though she barely noticed, eyes wide and hearts thundering in her ears.
"No!" the Doctor cried, lunging towards him, raising his hands before him, "Skaldak, wait! Wait, wait…!"
"He's arming the warheads!" the captain told them loudly, lifting his gun and aiming it directly at Skaldak, even though they all knew their weapons were useless against his armour. The lights of the room suddenly grew red, bathing them in the hue.
The Hatter stepped closer to Skaldak, reaching behind her to push the gun down without so much as glancing at it, "Please, I beg of you, Skaldak, don't do this," she urged him, her voice soft, but calm, calmer then she truly felt as she stared at the back of his helmet covered head, her hearts almost leaping out of her chest, "There are billions of innocent lives that will be cut down if you do this, lives that haven't even started yet, lives full of so much possibility…and all of that will be destroyed in the second that you activate those warheads," she licked her lips, feeling almost dizzy, "I know you are in pain, believe me, I do, and I am truly heartbroken for you. The loss of a child is unbearable, it eats a void into your very heart and soul that can never be filled, never healed, but don't let that grief swallow up not only yourself, but the billions of innocents that also live on this world. So, please, please, I implore you as a mother who has suffered the same pain that you have, who has stood on the edge of doing what you are about to do, don't do this!"
Skaldak retracted the wires from the control panel and turned around to face her with a furious growl, "You know nothing!" he snarled, and the Doctor tried to edged himself in front of the Time Lady, but she held out her arm, blocking his attempt without taking her steady gaze from the Ice Warrior, "This planet is forfeit under Martian Law".
"I know more then you think, Grand Marshal," she said coolly, lifting her chin higher and narrowing her eyes on him, "Just as I know that what you about to do isn't truly an act of a grieving father, it is the act of a murder, Skaldak, because that is what you will become the second you send off those missiles…" she could almost feel the Doctor preparing to fling himself in front of her as Skaldak growled lowly, but she refused to back down, her voice as cold as ice, "Not a warrior, not a commander, not even the brave, honourable Ice Warrior that your people and enemies told stories off, but the destroyer of Earth! That is who you will be known as forever more, Skaldak, that will be your legacy, is that truly how you wish for your story to end? Is it?" she shouted as Skaldak spun around and reached out towards the button that would release the missiles, desperation finally slipping into her tone.
"Alright, alright, Skaldak!" the Doctor stepped forward, his voice rising, "You leave me no choice. I'm a Time Lord, Skaldak! I know a thing or two about sonic technology myself!" he lifted the sonic screwdriver up to be directly trained on Skaldak, who turned around to face them.
"A threat?" he sneered behind his helmet, "You threaten me, Doctor?"
"He wasn't just speaking for himself," the Hatter told him coldly, her steady gaze fixed on Skaldak, her expression hard. She reached out and took the Doctor's free hand in her own, her eyes not wavering, "You want to see this world burn?" she scoffed, her voice taking on a dangerous edge, "Too bad, that's not happening. We'd sooner destroy this sub then let you press that button and take us all down with it, if need be".
"You would sacrifice yourselves?"
"In a heartbeat," the Doctor replied instantly, flicking his sonic and activating it, the tip glowing red, rather than its normal green.
"What are our lives worth compared to the billions on this world?" the Hatter said simply, feeling oddly peaceful with the idea that this could be her very last moments. After centuries of life, dying to protect others would make it all worth it and yes, she would never get to see her daughter grow up or witness all of those milestones that Astra had still yet to reach, but at least Astra would have the closest thing she had to a home alive and well. Astra might never have Gallifrey, but she would always have Earth, they could give her that, at least.
"Mutually assured destruction," Skaldak hissed, whirling back around to reach for the button again, his large, armour covered finger hovering over it.
"Look into my eyes, Skaldak," the Doctor urged him, trying to buy time, just to try and see if they could still get through to him, "Look into my eyes and tell me you're capable of doing this. Huh?" he squeezed the Hatter's hand, not allowing his own fear show, "Can you do that? Dare you do that? Look into my eyes Skaldak. Come on! Face to face".
He turned back towards them at that, "Well, Doctor…" his helmet hissed as the locks disengaged and it slipped back off his head, revealing his large, reptilian face, covered in green scales and glowing, lidless red-orange eyes, glaring back at them, "Which of us shall blink first?"
"Why did you hesitate?" Clara asked suddenly, stepping up next to the Hatter. She looked intimidated as Skaldak turned his gaze onto her, but her voice was steady, "Back there, in the dark. You were going to kill this man, remember?" she pointed back over to the Professor, who stood by the door, growing more confidant as the Hatter glanced at her out of the corner of her eye, "I begged you not to, and you listened. Why show compassion then, Skaldak, and not now?" she edged slightly closer, Skaldak remaining silent, "The Hatter's right. Billions will die. Mothers, sons, fathers…daughters. Remember that last battle, Skaldak? Your daughter. You sang the songs…"
"Of the Red Snows," Skaldak said softly, lowering his head.
The entire ship jolted sharply, everyone reached out to grab whatever they could to steady themselves, the Time Lords almost hugging each other just so that they wouldn't be separated. Only Skaldak remained in one place.
"What's happening?" Clara cried, grabbing the edge of one of the control panels to try and just stay upright, while the entire ship shook.
"My people live!" Skaldak stared up at the ceiling, joy filling his voice as a faint whirring sound filled the air, "They have come for me!"
"We're rising," the captain realised, staring at one of the gauges. He looked over to the Time Lords, smiling broadly, "We're rising!"
The Hatter sighed in relief and closed her eyes, her arms wrapped around the Doctor's middle, "Good news, at last," she breathed into his neck, feeling his arms tighten around her, too, his face burying into her hair. She didn't even care that he caused her hat to tip sideways on her head; far to overjoyed that something promising was happening at last.
"Six hundred meters…" the Professor called throughout the room, "Five fifty…"
The Doctor and the Hatter pulled apart slightly, and a moment later the submarine gave one last jolt before seemingly levelling out again, calming. They could feel the change in air, the shift from being at the very depths of the ocean, even though the inside of the submarine remained under the same pressure. They could almost taste freedom.
"We've surfaced," the Doctor announced to the room, before the Professor even had a chance to say it, his eyes lit up with delight as he looked back across to Skaldak, "Your people have saved us".
"Saved me, not you," Skaldak corrected, looking over to them.
The Hatter tensed at that, eyes narrowing at the clear threat, "There's no need for any more violence, Skaldak," she said firmly, "You can go now, back to your people…that is a luxury that some of us could only dream of. So please, go in peace and be happy".
His lizard-like eyes lingered on her for a long moment, before he tilted his head up towards the ceiling and a red shimmer beamed down over him, teleporting him away. But the Doctor and the Hatter didn't relax, exchanging an apprehensive look.
"We did it!" Clara cheered, looking eagerly to the Time Lords, her eyes wide with delight and relief, "We did it!"
"Don't celebrate quite yet, Clara," the Time Lady warned her grimly, letting go of the Doctor to move closer to the controls, sweeping her eyes over the still red, glowing lights lit up across the panel, "It's still armed. The missiles are locked and loaded to go, and…" she sighed, closing her eyes and lowering her head, "We can't know for certain that they won't set them off for even trying to disarm them…"
"A single pulse from that ship…" the Doctor came to stand beside her, placing his left hand on her back, staring at the controls with a worried frown. Behind them, the human's smiles had dropped, watching fearfully. He swallowed, hard, and looked at the Hatter as she lifted her head to meet his eyes, "I'll destroy us if I have to," he breathed, leaning forward until his forehead was resting against hers, squeezing his eyes shut, "I will destroy us if I have to".
"Not just you, sweetheart," she whispered, wrapping her hands around his hand grasping the sonic screwdriver, so that they were both holding it. He opened his eyes without moving away from her, their breathe mingling and their noses brushing, lips barely a centimetre apart, hazel green staring directly into equally as ancient green eyes, "If we're going to destroy this ship, we do it together, Doctor, just as we should have used the Moment together all those centuries ago. I will not make the same mistake".
He would have kissed her, but he didn't, "It won't come to that," he said with little conviction, letting his eyes flutter closed again, almost nuzzling his forehead against hers, "Show mercy, Skaldak. Come on. Show mercy…"
"Da-da-da-dah…" a soft voice sang through the air, and the Hatter flickered her eyes open, turning her head just enough to see Clara's wide eyes staring back at her, "I'm lost and I'm found, and I'm hungry like the wolf…"
Suddenly, an alarm went off and everyone flinched, the Time Lords heads snapped over to the control panel, just in time to see the lights across the control panel turned green and the locks reengage. The lights of the room went from dark red to perfectly normal again and almost everyone seemed to sigh in relief, the Doctor and the Hatter looked at each other and laughed, throwing their arms around each other, mainly to stop themselves from sagging from the sheer relief they both felt. Mostly.
"Now we're safe," the Doctor breathed, burying his head into the Hatter's neck, clutching her to him as though it was the last time they'd see each other for a century. It almost seemed to fade into the background the rest of the room, just them stuck in their own little world.
"That wasn't fun, Doctor," the Time Lady said weakly, pulling back slightly from him, truly quite rattled by what had just happened. Oh, it didn't scare her that she had almost died, no, what got to her was how close they had come to losing, it seemed as though they came close to losing everything today, closer then they had in a very long time, in fact. All she could think about was Astra, how desperate she was to hold her little girl, to hear her giggle and see her toothy grin. She could barely breathe for the weight of that longing.
"I know," he nodded, looking rather shaken himself. He gently grasped her face between his hands and pressed a tender kiss to her forehead, his thumbs lightly running over her cheeks as his lips lingered, before he was kissing her eyes, then her cheeks, her chin, before finally kissing her lips, each kiss feather light and almost painfully gentle, "I know…" he whispered between kisses, "I know…Rassilon, I love you".
"I love you too, my sweetheart," she pulled leant forward to press a deeper kiss to him, wrapping her arms around his neck, hugging him. She couldn't help laughing faintly into his ear, some of the weight of being so close to losing it all lifting, but then again, the Doctor tended to make everything feel lighter and brighter when he was around, let alone when he embraced her like he just had, showering her with kisses, "Did you just kiss my eyes?" she giggled, pulling back enough to look at him.
He didn't even pretend to be embarrassed, giving her a wide smile, "You have beautiful eyes, dear".
She shook her head fondly, smiling softly as she reached up to cup his cheek, "So do you, Doctor".
Someone cleared their throat and the Time Lords almost jumped, startled at the reminder that they were far from alone and far from the privacy of the TARDIS. They reluctantly let go of each other, turning to find Clara standing before them, giving them a small smile. She didn't say anything, merely looked at them…before she was suddenly throwing her arms around them, first the Hatter, who blinked and automatically returned the gesture with a slightly startled expression, before Clara released her to throw herself at the Doctor, hugging him just as tightly. His mouth actually slipped open very slightly, looking positively stunned. The hug lasted barely ten seconds, before she was pulling back and straightening herself to regard them both.
"Saved the world, then?" she lifted an eyebrow at them.
"Yeah," the Doctor nodded, glancing at the Hatter with a small smile.
She grinned broadly back at them, her eyes lighting up as she lightly nudged the Hatter's arm, "That's what we do," she commented proudly.
"We certainly do," the Hatter laughed, throwing an arm over her shoulders.
….
The Doctor and the Hatter joined the humans up on the top of the submarine, looking out across the snow covered North Pole, having come to find themselves popping up from out of the water in a chunk of ice. Flecks of snow fluttered through the air, catching in their hair and on their clothing as they looked up towards the massive Martian ship hovering in the sky above their heads, circular in shape and silver, covered in greenish-blue lights. The Time Lords lent against the top of the ship, admiring the technology of the ship, though it was rather primitive in their eyes.
"The TARDIS!" Clara suddenly cried, turning to look over to the Time Lords as they stood beside her, frowning at them, "Where's the TARDIS? You never explained".
"Yes, Doctor," the Hatter looked pointedly to him, while the Doctor shifted slightly awkwardly. She narrowed her eyes, mock curious, "Do explain, I'm so looking forward to hearing all about it".
"Oh, well…" he cleared his throat, avoiding meeting either of their gazes, looking intently up at the ship above them, "Don't worry about that…"
"Stop saying that," Clara huffed, while the Hatter scoffed loudly and rolled her eyes, "Where is it?"
"Yeah, well, I wasn't to know, was I?"
"Know what?"
"You're a meddlesome fool sometimes, Doctor," the Hatter sighed, though she said it with a great deal of fondness in her tone, eyeing the side of his face with an almost indulgent expression, "Perhaps the Rani and the Master were right all along, and to think I spent so much of our school years defending you to them…"
"I was only tinkering!" he exclaimed, though the blush creeping up the back of his neck and across his cheeks didn't exactly help his case, "Breaking her in, dear. I'm allowed!"
"You've had the old girl for centuries, how much broken in can you get her?"
Clara sighed heavily and looked directly at the Time Lady, "What did he do, Hatter?" she asked, seeming to decide that trying to get the Doctor to talk wasn't working.
The Hatter fixed her eyes on the side of the Doctor's face, while he remained oddly silent, "The lovable idiot only went and reset the HADS," she replied.
"The what?"
"The HADS, Clara," she repeated, more clearly this time, looking rather amused the longer the Doctor acted as though he couldn't hear them, nor feel her eyes on his face, blushing bright red, "It stands for the Hostile Action Displacement System. Basically, if the old girl senses anything nasty going on, gunfire, a violent sea, time winds…hell, even an umbrella can set if off, or a spoon…"
"A spoon can be deadly, Hatter," the Doctor cut in, seemingly finally being unable to stop himself from finally speaking. The Hatter smirked at him, having known he'd pipe up the second she made a mention of a spoon. He cleared his throat, glancing at Clara, who was eyeing him with an expectant expression, "Anyway, it relocates to safety".
"Oh, Doctor," Clara shook her head, grimacing slightly.
"Haven't used it in donkey's years," he continued, glancing at the Hatter with a small shrug, "It seemed like a good idea at the time, dear, honestly".
"No one used the HADS, Doctor," the Time Lady said with a pointed look, "They were the most annoying security feature, I don't think I ever even used it on my TARDIS".
"Yeah, well…lesson learned," he muttered, before brightening slightly, giving her a small smile and playfully nudging her side, "Well, never mind, it's bound to turn up somewhere!" he had barely finished speaking when his sonic began whirring in his pocket, "Ooh!" his smile grew and he quickly fished the sonic out of his pocket, throwing the girls a look, "Ha, see? Right on cue," he held it up before him, checking the results, "Brilliant".
"Brilliant," Clara said happily, watching him.
The Hatter, however, still looked rather dubious, "Well, Doctor?" she eyed him closely.
"The TARDIS is at the pole".
"Not far, then," Clara smiled cheerfully, moving to head back down into the submarine, out of the snow and wind.
"The South Pole".
"And the penny drops," the Hatter laughed, leaning into the Doctor, who threw her a fond, if slightly embarrassed look, and wrapped his arm around her.
Clara stopped mid-step, looking back over to them, "Ah…" her cheerful expression froze slightly.
The Doctor looked hopefully across to the captain, "Could we have a lift?"
The captain looked at him and burst out laughing, Clara joining in; even the Professor looked quite amused. The Doctor and the Hatter smiled faintly, exchanging a disappointed look as the humans headed off down into the submarine, leaving the Time Lords behind. The Doctor mockingly laughed, before breaking off with a puff of annoyed air spewing from his lips.
"Well, there goes that idea," he sighed, looking at the Hatter.
"Oh, I'm sure we'll figure it out," she said reassuringly, far from concerned as she snuggled closer to his side, enjoying the warmth coming off him, though being close to him was also a rather big bonus. She leant her head against his shoulder, slipping her hat off first, of course, "It'll be fun, sweetheart".
"Yeah…" he broke into a grin, turning his head to drop a kiss on top of her hair, closing his eyes as he allowed himself to linger there, "Yeah, it will be. Fun, I like that idea".
And with that thought in mind, the Time Lords remained standing together; arms wrapped tightly around each other, and watched as the Ice Warriors ship finally flew away, the Doctor giving them their traditional salute, while the Hatter wiggled her fingers up towards them in a wave. And the Earth was safe again…for now.
….
The Hatter stood with her back to the Time Rotor, leaning back against the console, frowning as she stared off into the distance without really seeing anything. She was pleased to be back in her usual clothing, her lovely and thankfully dry two tone hat back on her head, as it ought to be. Clara had been more than happy to be dropped off home, not that the Time Lady blamed her; it had taken them a little while to get back to the TARDIS.
"Okay, dear!" the Doctor called as he came running up from where he had been working beneath the console, grinning proudly with a pair of heavily tinted goggles swinging from around his neck, his sleeves rolled up and his coat disregarded in favour for his waistcoat. He came up to stand beside her, all bright eyed, "I've fixed the HADS issue, we won't be making that mistake again, and I promise I didn't go meddling with anything else…"
"Doctor," she cut across him, frowning distractedly.
Instantly, he stopped and looked at her, his entire expression morphing into a look of worry as he edged closer to her, "Hatter, what's wrong?" he asked at once, reaching out to take her hand, "You're not mad with me, are you? Because I swear, I didn't do anything…well, I'm pretty sure I didn't do anything, I'm eighty percent sure I didn't do anything…maybe seventy five percent…"
"Doctor!" the Hatter actually had to raise her voice to make him fall silent, giving him a small frown, "You didn't do anything wrong, I'm far from cross with you, so do relax".
"Okay…" he said slowly, running his thumb over the top of her pale knuckles. It still gave him a thrill to see her engagement and wedding rings sitting on her finger, shinning as the stones caught the light, "What's wrong? You've got that frowny, distracted face and I don't like it".
She met his eyes firmly, "I need to see her, Doctor," she told him, knowing he'd know what she was speaking of at once. He did, his expression instantly softened and he immediately moved to pull her into his arms, which she allowed with a grateful sigh, "I know we said we wouldn't until everything with Clara was sorted out, but I need to see her," she pressed her face into his neck, lightly kissing the skin there, making him shiver.
He pulled back, be it a little reluctantly, unwinding his arms from around her to touch her face, gently pushing a lock of dark brown hair back behind her ear, "Hatter," he smiled softly, "There is nothing in the Universe I want more. I mean, just because we agreed not to have her travel with us for the moment, doesn't mean we can't go see her, does it?" his smile broadened and a cheeky light flickered in his eyes.
The Hatter grinned back at him, laughing in delight as she pulled him in for a deep kiss. There was nothing more that she could ask for then that, they would figure out all the details surrounding Clara later, but for the moment they had a two year old Time Tot to spoil with love and attention.
I just had to try including some loving Doctor/Hatter in this chapter; I feel like we've been lacking it a little bit these last few chapters and I just loved writing it. I did originally plan to have Astra make an appearance at the end of this chapter, but you get the idea well enough here and I liked this better. But Astra will make more appearances in the future; we just have to wait for the Time Lords to work out that Clara is completely clueless before that happens.
So…there is so, so much to talk about relating to the latest season of Doctor Who, I have seriously had so many moments were my brain felt like it was imploding. Just…wow, but more about that below. Also, I've got back into Classic Who, so expect me to try and add more Classic Who references, I've been swept up by my love of Four and Sarah Jane's era. It's been over a year since I watched any Classic Who, so I'm hoping it will get me motivated into writing Classic again.
Also, guys, we've hit the two hundred review mark! I feel like I kind of should give you guys a treat for that, what do you guys think? Any ideas? Or should I just do something. Next chapter, the Hatter is a fan of a certain YouTube channel, someone's a bit camera shy, and the Hatter is the insensitive one, for once? Tell me what you thought, please review :)
Guest Reviews:
Guest 15: I personally am I very big fan of the idea of bringing Gallifrey back, I was so, so thrilled when they did it back in the 50th and while I get that there was those who didn't like it, I loved it…however, I will admit that I was disappointed by the lack of any real impact Gallifrey being back had on the series. They could have done so much more with it and with the Time Lords, and I will always think it was a mistake not to use it more. I do hope that there are other Time Lords out there who did survive, I'm a big fan of the idea of bringing the Rani back and I'd love to see Romana pop up at some point, too. I can certainly see why Gallifrey being gone could create new stories, but I fear that isn't the direction they'll take it, depending on how the final of this season ends.
Guest 5: I actually love the War Doctor, it made so much sense to me. I never could imagine the Eighth Doctor as being a fighter or the one to end the Time War; he always seemed more of a romantic at heart. The reason I said I didn't like the idea of a secret regeneration is mainly because we've seen it before, and not very long ago, either. Doctor Who isn't a soap opera, you can't pull the same stunt like that, especially such a massive thing as a secret regeneration, and make people believe it twice and within only a decade or so. Plus, it kind of takes away something from what a massive deal it was that the Doctor had a regeneration he never spoke off, to me, anyway. Let's just say I'd be very disappointed if it does turn out to be history repeating itself.
Sam Fraser (1): I'd have to watch it first, I'm afraid I haven't gotten around to it. I've been busy with school and trying to get back into writing more regularly, and back into watching Classic Who. But I haven't forgotten, I promise.
Sam Fraser (2): Ooh, how interesting, I'll have to check it out, when I get the chance. Thank you for the recommendation :)
Sam Fraser (3): Nope, I haven't seen The Forgotten Doctor fan film yet…I really, really need to start watching these videos, evident by the last few reviews, don't I? :)
Sam Fraser (4): Oh, I've watched a great deal of Classic Who, not as much of One's era or Two's, either, that I would like since I find it hard to watch black and white film. Oh, I think there is no way to disagree with the Time Lords not being good people, I'm sure that for a long time they probably were wonderful and deserving of respect, but time and power and arrogance will always corrupt in the end, and what good, pure ideals they might have once had were well and truly tarnished by the time we see the Doctor's travels. The way that they behaved during the Doctor's trial during his Sixth body was proof of that, as you yourself pointed out, and I don't disagree with any of your points, I think. I do, however, see where Eleven was coming from with his desire to have Gallifrey back, his joy and delight at his home being restored, I think that anyone would feel like that, even if our people had been terrible and had grown to be something we felt disgusted by, everyone wants to belong somewhere.
To me, the Doctor will always have a home in the Earth and a family in his companions, but he'll never be one of them and I think that's something that he recognises and it weighs on him when he lost Gallifrey. I mean, we didn't see his Classic era selves treating his companions like family, because he still had the Time Lords and Gallifrey. He's a Time Lord, at the end of the day, that's something that not even his closest friends could ever truly understand, and at the end of the day…do we not crave understanding? Don't we crave acceptance? I think the Doctor's been searching for that his entire life and he's managed to find it to a certain degree with humanity, but to me I feel like it will never be enough until he also finds it in his own people. So I think that no matter how horrible the Time Lords became, how far they fell from what they once were, the Doctor will always seek for a home in Gallifrey and the Time Lords. It's a part of him, it's where he was born and raised, miserable as it might have been. I also think he's likely romanticized Gallifrey and the Time Lords to a certain degree in his mind, after four hundred years of grieving for them and holding himself accountable for their destruction, why wouldn't he try to remember them in an idealised light? I think I would, too.
Guest (1): I loved seeing Jack's return, I was quite surprised with it, though disappointed that we didn't see him interacting with the Doctor. Still, who doesn't love Jack? I can't wait to see how the Doctor reacts to him and his flirting. And as for Ruth…my mind was totally blown with the whole reveal, though I had suspected that she was a Time Lord, I just thought she was the Rani. But yeah…completely blown away, I had to take a long walk after that episode to try and think.
Guest (2): I think it's a very promising theory and it would make sense, given that we have no idea how much time past between Two regenerating and Three stumbling out into that field. I think it's definitely a possibility, very much so, indeed.
Sam Fraser (5): You're not the only one getting a headache over the whole Ruth storyline, I don't think I'll be able to fully relax until we know for certain what the deal is with her and what it means for the show. Stay strong, you're not the only one freaking out over it, trust me.
Guest (3): I like the idea of Ruth being from another Universe, so I quite like the first theory, but I also kind of feel like it's a little complicated. I kind of feel like the truth will be more simple…or as simple as Doctor Who ever is. As for the second theory, I don't see how she could be before Hartnel, not one bit, while the third theory feels a lot more likely to me, I feel like it would make sense, even if I hope it isn't the case and I still like the idea of an alternative Doctor, but out of all the theories I like her being between Two and Three best.
Sam Fraser (6): I've never made it any secret that I enjoyed the 50th episode, however, as much as I enjoyed it and continue to still really like it, I do agree with you that having the Doctor save Gallifrey and then spending centuries thinking he destroyed his own planet and people does cheapen all the grief we saw him endure throughout those early seasons. It was such a massive part of his character and story, only for it to turn out to not have really happened just takes away any pity one might have felt for him because, guess what? Gallifrey and the Time Lords are still alive and just hidden away! So don't feel bad for the Doctor, it'll be all good in the end. I love that quote by the way, I think it really does sum up what the Time Lords had become before the Time War very well.
Sam Fraser (7): Who knows, at this point? I think Jodie will stay on for another season, at least, I don't feel like she'll be stepping down any time soon, but as for the whole Ruth Doctor thing…I still really, really hope that she's from another universe, but I'm not nearly as hopeful as I was at the start. I'm just hoping that whatever Ruth's Doctor is, it won't destroy everything we know about the history of the show and will fit into the show, not completely be shoe horned into it.
Sam Fraser (8): Ah, plot holes annoy me so much and the ones surrounding the Eleventh Doctor and his ability to still have regeneration energy, but yet technically be in his last body, really do irritate me. The whole regeneration on the beach, I kind understand that because it wasn't actually the Doctor doing that, it was just a ploy, however healing River…well, I can only assume that perhaps he had enough regeneration energy left in his cells to still be able to heal himself and others, but not fully regenerate, thus allowing him to heal River but not fully regenerate himself, which I imagine would take a massive amount of energy, rather than the small amount used to heal River's hand. The other threats at regenerating or being prepared to do so…I find it less easy to explain away and that's really annoying me right now. Perhaps I'll need to think up something once we get to 'Nightmare in Silver,' even just to make myself feel better.
Guest (4): Ooh…confusion, would be an excellent word to describe how she'll likely feel towards Ruth, that and complete bafflement, apprehension, and perhaps even a bit of mistrust and fear thrown into the mix. After all, if Ruth really is the Doctor and the Hatter doesn't remember her, what does that mean for the Hatter? What does that mean for the Doctor, more importantly, in her mind? Regardless of her own feelings, the Doctor will be her first concern and helping her cope with the stress that Ruth's reveal will bring will be her number one priority, her own emotions towards Ruth will come second, possibly even third, to the Doctor's feelings.
Guest (5): It's a bit far into the future, but…I suppose it will all depend upon what happens in the coming episode if we'll get a Ruth style Hatter.
Guest (6): It wouldn't change the Hatter's thoughts on the Doctor, he's literally killed people with his bare hands and it didn't change how she viewed him, made her incredibly cross and disgusted in his actions, yes, but it didn't make her change her mind on him, and nor would learning about Ruth. If anything I should imagine it will make her feel all the more protective over her, though I also think it will likely make the Doctor feel as if he was a fraud and that the Hatter had married a stranger…naturally, the Hatter will not put up with that sort of nonsense. As for how it will impact the Hatter knowing that there's more to the Time Lords then she perhaps knows…I suppose we'll have to wait and see just what that truth is, first.
Guest (7): I think that if Thirteen was to find the Hatter in season 12, she likely would try to keep her in the dark about saving Gallifrey, only for the sake of not upsetting her with giving her a brief moment of hope, only to have to dash it again by telling her that Gallifrey was destroyed again. The Hatter would eventually learn the truth, of course, and be naturally rather upset, but I think she would also understand. As for the Timeless Child and the whole mystery surrounding the Time Lords past, I think the Hatter would know all about it and be involved in trying to figure it out, as much, if not more so, then the Doctor, who I feel like she's been kind of avoiding trying to figure out the truth due to perhaps being afraid or worried.
Guest (8): I positively love this idea, it would work perfectly to get me out of the whole Gifted One thing, which I really do hate and so deeply regret ever putting into the story, and would allow me to get rid of it without actually changing anything. Plus, it would give the Hatter a chance at having some fantastic character development and basically go through a huge emotional and identity crises, which would be so interesting to toy with. But we'll have to wait and see, sadly, just what might happen in the future. But this is brilliant, I honestly wish I could reach out and hug you, and I'm not a hugger :)
Guest (9): Honestly, I always kind of figured that it was more than one person that the whole Timeless Child thing applied to; why else would the Master be involved? I always kind of figured it must have something to do with him, too, so I'm not surprised with the title in the least.
Guest (10): Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if Yaz ends up leaving or if something happens to her, I almost feel like they've been setting it up all season for one of the companions to die or leave, and after what we saw in the last episode on the Cyberman ship, I feel even more concerned for Yaz. I also kind of feel worried about Graham, I feel like that thing about his cancer returning was a bit worrying to me. I'm quite positive something will happen to someone and I'm very nervous about it, because as much as I've moaned about to many companions, I do love the three of them and very much enjoy watching them.
Guest (11): I have no idea, none at all. I think it possibly has something to do with the Time Lords as a whole, it would only make sense, since he apparently destroyed Gallifrey over whatever it was, but I can't for the life of me think what it might be.
Guest (12): I could see the Hatter laughing and thinking it was just such a bad joke that this strange woman was claiming to be the Doctor, but then I think it would very quickly turn into confusion and possibly anger, before settling into reluctant acceptance but total bafflement still. Basically…it would be a wild, emotional ride for the Hatter.
Guest (13): I think the Hatter would have gone off on her own, had the Doctor not forgiven her over the Time War, I think she would have found her own TARDIS and went off to travel the stars, accidently running into the Doctor from time to time, or working with him, like when the Master came into play, which would always be rather awkward. But she'd have her own adventures and gain new companions and just…live her own life away from him, as per his wish, and she'd do so with as much dignity and respect for him as possible…be it with broken hearts.
Guest (14): I actually quite enjoyed 'Can You Hear Me?' and I liked the idea of the baddie, those fingers were creepy. But I do kind of feel like they hyped up how powerful these so called Gods were, only for them to be defeated fairly easily. But it was an enjoyable episode.
Guest (15): Well, I know now that we'll be seeing Rassilon, so I suppose that's technically a founder, but I do hope we see the Other and Omega. It would be so interesting to see those three on the same screen at the same time, for the first time.
Guest (16): Joy, pure and complete joy and delight at getting the Hatter back, with no doubt no small amount of wonder. I think that Thirteen would have moved past any feelings of anger her Twelfth self might have felt towards the Hatter, had that happened, and I think Thirteen would just be happy that she was alive and well, and back in her life. As for romance…it's possible.
Guest (17): I'd love, love to write more 'What if?' stories, I honestly had so much fun writing those other ones and I would so do it again, very happily. I'd love to do a what if of if Missy found the Hatter and how that would play out, I feel like it would be very funny, Missy would so try to trick her into drinking bleach or something, just for giggles. There are so many possible ideas in my head, I'd love to let them free one day, and I'm delighted that you liked the ones that have been :)
