Thank you all who read the last chapter! As you can kinda tell in this chapter, neither Chloe or I like River. Kinda controversial, I know, but there are three companions in the NuWho series that I just can't stand. Amy, River, and Astrid. I know, Astrid wasn't technically a companion, but still. It's just something about those three that rub me wrong. Like, Amy, who had been dating Rory for years, and engaged to him for two, left without a word and proceeded to kiss the Doctor without hesitation on her wedding night. Nevermind the fact that it took Rory dying (multiple times) for her to realize she loves him. And then River. Dear God, how do I even start on her? I get her story, and, like, fair, if I were in her place, I'd probably do the same, but the biggest thing about her that I don't like is the Lake Silencio thing. Killing the entire universe (hell, the entire multiverse) just for one being's life? And then forcing said being to marry her before she let everything go back to normal? Fuck that.
Anyways, sorry for the rant! I hope you enjoy this chapter, and, uh, yeah, you'll see some of that rant again, sorry.
Trigger warning for this story arc: Mentions and acts of Kidnapping/Slavery; tl;dr's will be available at the end of each chapter.
Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any affiliated books
The Doctor had a hold of her good hand as she stumbled in the dark behind him, unsure of how long they'd been walking through the hallways of the ship before they came to a stop.
"Door should be just to the left," he said, and she felt something go over her head and heard a click before the area lit up. It was the headlight from Krop Tor. "There, so you can see."
"My human eyes thank you," she quipped, getting a smile as they went into the room- "Sweet Jesus, how is it worse?" She stared at the mess in front of her. Why had it been so neat when Clara was looking at the cradle-
The cradle.
Her eyes flitted around before stopping on the piece of wood with the star and moon mobile barely visible. It was in the back and covered, which would explain why it looked cleaner during 11's reign. "Something interesting?"
"No, sorry, thought I saw something else," she murmured, tearing her eyes away, not wanting to bring attention to it. "What does this node look like?"
"A circular green ball attached to a metal tube. No bigger than your fist," he answered, and she nodded, moving over into a corner.
"So there are three of these inhibitors?" she asked from where she was sitting cross-legged on the floor, a box tilted in her lap so she could look in it. "And even though only one is broken, the TARDIS can't fly?"
"Think of it like a bike," he said. "Two wheels and a handle. There's a main node and two secondaries. Luckily, it was just a secondary that dissolved."
Something in her head clicked. "Dissolved? Like, there was nothing inside it?"
"There was liquid," he replied. "I assumed it ate itself."
"Oh god," she groaned, putting her hand to her face. "Doctor, I don't think it ate itself. I think the liquid you saw was water. Or, more specifically, melted snow."
"Why would you think that?"
"It's the reason why Clara is in echoes," she admitted, and she saw him look up from his own box. "There's… an enemy who comes back, two regenerations after this one. The Great Intelligence. He… found a body, and found a way into your timestream. And… he's destroying it. Or was. Clara, she jumped in after him, the brave impossible girl."
"She splintered herself to undo the changes," he assumed, and she nodded. "And you think this was one of the events?"
"It has to be," she replied. "Her echo is here, and if I were the big bad of the season, the first thing I would do is get rid of the two beings who could stop me."
"But why you?" he asked, and she grimaced.
"I stay with you for hundreds of years, and I have knowledge for hundreds of years after that. I know every plan the Great Intelligence is making, and I know what actions he'll to do make them possible. But that information is also my downfall. Put me in a place I don't know, cut me off from the one being who could help me know,"
"And you're just a regular human," he finished quietly. "But why this point in my time stream? Why not earlier or later?"
"This has to be an important bit," she noted. "You weren't planning on, like, marrying me or anything, were you? Cause I know that does happen with your companions a few times, but we just never knew when."
The Doctor was silent for a moment. She didn't see the shocked, if not bemused, and nervous expression on his face before it was quickly hidden with a grin. "Course not," he said. "Maybe the TARDIS was always meant to break down here."
"If the old girl knew she was going to break down, she'd try to do it somewhere more companion safe," Chloe snorted.
Her eyes were aching by the time the Doctor called it. They had gone from room to room, and during the last two, she actually started to feel tired and wasn't that such an odd feeling.
"We'll have to wait," he said. "This was the last room to search. This was definitely the box it was in."
"So, spare is missing, a secondary got destroyed, and we have, what, four months until we can get a part?" she listed, lifting a finger as she went. "What are we going to do?"
"Well, we've been in here for a few days now," he answered, standing up and offering her a hand, which she took. "Which leaves us less than two weeks now."
"Two weeks until what?" She asked, standing up.
"Until they'll try to take you again." his tone was dark and worrying. "And this time, Marloon and I won't be able to stop it."
"Ok, so, what? Do you have a plan, or are we making it up as we go?" She looked up, subconsciously adjusting her arm that was in the sling… and this time, she didn't miss the look on his face.
"There's a plan, but it's the very last thing either of us would want to do."
For some reason, she didn't believe him.
"So, I'm me, but I'm a smaller part of someone else?"
Chloe nodded at Marloon's words. "You have your own personality, your own experiences, and ideals, but for the most bit, yes."
"Wicked. And, the other echoes you've met, how're they?"
She swallowed, looking down at the cup of coffee in front of her. "They… they usually disperse, once their mission is complete."
"Disper-," Marloon cut herself off. "But my mission was to make sure you stay with the Doctor."
"I'm not so sure. I think this point was always going to happen," she admitted. "I think it's something coming up that needs your help. The Great Intelligence, he strikes turning points. Why would he strike here, if it wasn't a turning point?"
"Ok, so, what could it be then?" She asked, making Chloe shrug.
"I mean, I'm not River, so marrying me to keep the timeline wouldn't ever be a thing that'll happen," she didn't miss how the woman froze but figured it was just the idea of the Doctor, who seemed relationship-phobic, marrying anyone. "Maybe it's the part, the inhibitor? It was filled with water when the Doctor looked at it apparently."
"Perhaps," she murmured. "Will you promise me something, Chloe?"
"Of course Marloon," she answered.
"Will… will you make sure he remembers me? I've heard that if the Doctor and the Songbird promise to remember someone's name, it'll be echoed throughout the stars for eternity." Her heart broke for the woman, and she reached over, squeezing her hand.
"I promise," she swore. "You will never be forgotten. Now while I'm here."
She wasn't allowed to go outside, but that was fine. She had had enough of the locals for a lifetime, and the Doctor seemed to share her sentiment, though she couldn't stop her curiosity as he, once again, ran the sonic over her for the 20th time that day.
"What aren't you telling me, Doctor?" She finally said as he went to turn away. "What secret are you and Marloon trying to hide from me?"
"Since when are you so confrontational?" he shot back, but turned towards her.
She took a deep breath and stood up as tall as she could get without standing on her tiptoes. "Since I needed to be. You said we had less than two weeks before the locals could get me a week ago, so that plan? You need to tell me it now, as well as anything else about this planet you've decided to keep from me."
She locked eyes with the Doctor, and it almost immediately felt like she was drowning in that sea of blue. Emotions ran deep, she knew that much, but she didn't expect how deep as he finally looked away, a pained look on his face.
"Taragrea IV was the target of the Time War," he finally said, and her heart twisted. "It's part of the reason why the planet got partially destroyed. It was the only system that didn't get Time-Locked. It's why so many TARDIS parts can be found here as well."
"Doctor, I'm-"
"You're right. I am keeping secrets from you. The plan Marloon and I found it's something that I wouldn't do until absolutely necessary. You'd know why as soon as I said one word of it." She frowned, but stepped forward, freezing as he looked away more.
"Doctor, you're worrying me," she tried again.
"The only way to get someone away from the slavery ring here is through the rites of Handfasting." If she were human, she would've most definitely felt her stomach hit the floor. As it were, she paled violently.
"No," she shook her head. "I won't force you to agree to that." He looked at her, brows pinched. "I saw it happen once, and I swore it wouldn't happen with me around as soon as I came here. I will not be the reason- Tell me there's an alternative." she all but begged.
"You… you'd not go through with the handfasting because you're worried of something that happens in the future?" he asked, and she hesitantly nodded.
"A… woman, a daughter of two future companions, she creates a paradox on purpose, but the type of paradox she creates doesn't summon the Reapers, it just makes time loop the same four seconds over and over again. The only way of undoing it was by touching her, but… she held herself as a hostage."
"And the ransom?" he asked. "Assuming there was one."
"You… had to marry her. By Rites of Handfasting. And not just the vows either. You had to tell her your name." she answered. "And it was the only way, and you were just… miserable, through it all. No one else could see it, because they all thought 'new face, new doctor, new limits', but you're still the same being, no matter what. And I don't want that, the forcing of Handfasting to happen. Not with her, and definitely not with me."
There was a thick silence in the air before he finally said something. "I'm not sure if I'd ever travel with people who would push their kids to be such brats," she let out a very weak laugh.
"Trust me, they had every intention of raising her right. The universe just never gave them that chance." swallowing, she stepped back. "So is there an alternative?"
"Yes, but-"
"Great. We can go do that now," she said, but he caught her arm as she tried to move past him.
"Chloe, if you try to use the second Rite, you will die," her breath caught as she jerked her gaze up. "It's a combat scenario, and you can choose someone in your place, but it can't be the one who pardoned you."
"So it would either be me or…" she trailed off, looking towards Marloon's closed door. "She'll win, but die doing so," she whispered. "I… I can't-" She could feel tears coming on as the Doctor tugged her into a hug, mindful of her arm. "Why? Why is it always me?"
In the end, she had no choice but to agree to the ceremony.
Which led to probably the weirdest scene she had ever seen in her life.
12 and Clara were at the park she had snuck out to, and she could vaguely see 9 and Marloon running towards her. "Please hide me," she all but begged, making Clara snort, but the Doctor offered the invisible watch, which she immediately put on and activated.
"Chloe?" 9 yelled as soon as she vanished, and he skidded to a stop just before he could run into her. "What did you give her?"
"His invisible watch thingy," Clara answered. "Can't say I blame her either. This place sucks,"
"Hush, Clara," 12 said, making 9's eyes go wide as Marloon caught up with the ground.
"Was that Chloe?" she panted, not yet seeing the visible human woman.
"Yes," 9 and 12 answered at the same time. "She was feeling overwhelmed," 12 continued. "All cooped up in that shack, wonder she didn't run sooner."
"I would've gone spare in a day. Anyways, I'm Clara-"
Marloon's head jerked up, and the two stared at one another in shock. "Oh," Marloon finally whispered. "I was always curious. Do you- are you-?" 12 made a noise and walked away, 9 following him. Chloe hesitated but stayed with the other two women.
"I'm about a year and a half past that point," Clara said. "The Doctor actually said we had to come here. Normally, I would've argued that I needed some sleep, but we had just fought against this sandman alien and Chloe started-" she cut herself off, looking around.
Oh, Clara, I'm so sorry, she thought, putting her hand to her mouth and walking backwards, towards the Doctors. I'm sorry I can't save you…
Turning around, she couldn't see the Doctors, but she could hear 12, mid-rant. "-but this? This is the one good thing that we will always want to happen. So go over and play house, because the stars, and the planets, and Chloe will thank you for it. She's lost so much, and she'll never let it show until it's too late, so don't let it be. Show her you care."
"You're rambling," she said, turning the device off and walking around the corner. "I thought you didn't like to do that,"
"I don't like bantering," he corrected, though it was done way more playfully than she remembered. "You left them unattended?"
"They're fine," she scowled. "Clara started to talk about me so I had to leave."
"The one spoiler you can't hear," he nodded. "Right, I'll leave you two to it. Don't do anything I wouldn't do,"
Chloe snorted at that while 9 just kept looking between bewildered and slightly… jealous? "Fat chance," she muttered, getting a flick on the nose as he passed her.
TL;DR - Chloe and the Doctor search for the inhibitor, and Chloe learns some things about the TARDIS! In return, the Doctor finds out why Chloe is against using the Rite, though it's 100% not for the reason he thinks. Marloon gets some explanations, 12 and Clara crash the party, and as far as Chloe knows, she thinks she's making the worst mistake of her life.
If you see something wrong, have a question, or just want to let me know what you think, please, leave a comment!