A/N: new chappie! so sorry this took so long! life has been crazy, as I'm sure it has been for everyone. enjoy!
Chapter 39: Thirty-nine Clones
"Failed," the automated voice announced. "Vault unlocking, failed."
Olivia and the Doctor ran up to the vault door. Olivia slammed her hands on the vault door, tears in her eyes.
"It's not opening!" she sobbed, trying to open it herself by shoving the huge lever, but it didn't budge. She continued slamming her fists on the metal, then began kicking it as the Doctor stood behind her, watching her struggle. She finally slumped forward against the door before shoving off the wall and turning to lean back on it, tears streaming down her cheeks. Their eyes met as she shuddered, "Dax and…and Eona. They died for nothing."
The Doctor's expression fell, along with his hearts as Olivia buried her face in her hands to continue sobbing. He stepped toward her, pulling her into his arms to hold her close, comforting her as much as he could while she cried, mourning their losses, and he was grateful she didn't shove him away. Anger suddenly swelled in him, making his grip tighten on her as he clenched his jaw.
"No," he growled, glaring at the station where Dax had been working before gently releasing Olivia and marching toward it. He pulled out his sonic screwdriver to aim it at the last spot on the diagram on the wall that was lit up red. "One of the locks is still in place."
Olivia finally lowered her hands to look to him as he moved to a panel, pulled it from the wall and used his screwdriver inside. She watched him for a moment before hurrying toward him to stare over his shoulder at the tiny inner room of wiring where he had his sonic.
"Bloody hell!" the Doctor growled again, making her frown at him in wonder as he shut off his sonic. "It's an atomic seal. It's unbreakable, even for me. That bloody Architect would know that, which means he wouldn't have brought us all the way here for nothing. So there must be some logic. There must be a way in."
He stood from the panel and turned to face Olivia as she continued to watch him, and thunder suddenly rolled above them. Realization suddenly hit the Doctor as he turned back to the station in time to see all the lights flicker on and off as if there were interference.
"The storm," he breathed in realization as the lights flashed and a small alarm sounded. He whirled around toward Olivia who frowned at him in confusion before he grabbed her hand and dragged her back in front of the vault door. "The storm is tripping the system!"
"But…how would he know when the storm would hit?" Olivia still frowned in wonder as the Doctor glanced up and down the hallway at the flickering overhead lights in thought.
"Stupid," he scoffed, making her continue to stare at him in confusion but he only looked to the vault door as he continued, "I'm so bloody stupid. Liv, how can you stand me being so stupid?"
"What are you talking about?" she snapped, wanting an answer as he finally met her gaze again.
"The Architect is in the future," he explained, his eyes aglow in more interest than he could probably express. "He sent us at the exact time of the storm because that's when this bank is most vulnerable. This was never just a bank heist, Liv. This is a time travel heist."
Just as he finished his explanation, the sound of the vault unlocking sounded, catching their attention as the door swung open.
"Well, it would seem that the bank is now open," the Doctor grinned, turning to Olivia and holding an arm out for her to take, lifting the other to entreat, "Shall we?"
She glanced to his arm, wiping the tears from her cheeks before she nodded, her expression stoic. As she wrapped her arm around his, his expression fell. He knew she was still upset, and he knew nothing would cheer her up…yet. He led her forward, helping her over the lip of the rounded door as they both stepped into a huge room filled with columns of small boxes.
"Now I know why we're not using the TARDIS," he reported as they stared around the room. "Navigation would've been impossible with this solar disruption. Just our luck, the one time the bank is vulnerable is the one time we can't just land here."
"Oh!" she suddenly chirped, releasing his arm as he looked down at her in wonder. She reached into her jeans pocket, pulling out the card she'd found in the case and showing it to him, explaining, "This was in the case, too. What is it?"
The Doctor took the card form her to examine it, reading the three lines that were on it.
TECH 251
ORG 339
PV
"These must be the boxes we're looking for," he explained before looking up and around the room. "Tech is for technology, no doubt. Tech 251. Let's find it."
"Where do we even start?" Olivia breathed as he pulled her further in by the hand, still holding the card as he looked to the plaques on the columns. "This place is huge, and that's an understatement."
"Things seem to be labeled clearly here," he reported, still looking around and walking, making Olivia practically jog to keep up with his long-legged stride.
They continued on for another moment in silence before his pace suddenly quickened and she looked up to a plaque on the column they were approaching that read TECH. They stopped to examine the boxes and when he found box 251 he opened it to find another small box inside. He instantly pulled it out and moved to open it.
"Wait!" Olivia urged, making him stop and look up at her in wonder. "What if it's a bomb or something?"
"Liv, he wouldn't bring us here just to blow us up, would he?" he retorted.
"I dunno, would he?" she shot back.
"Oh, stop," he groaned, turning back to the box and opening it, finding a strange cylindrical device with something inside the clear cylinder. His face lit up as he pulled it out, explaining, "Ooh! A neophyte circuit! I've only ever seen one!"
"What's it for?" Olivia asked as the Doctor lifted the cylinder and pressed a button to light up the circuit inside, making it glow a light blue.
"This can reboot any system and replace any lost data," he explained.
"That would've been for Dax," she reported, solemnly as he pocketed the device. "He had to delete his family and friends from his memory."
"Perfect reward for him then," the Doctor nodded, then looked to the card, wondering, "So what did Eona come for? Organic 339. Andiamo!"
He dragged her along the columns again, quickly finding the section and box they were looking for. This time Olivia opened it to find a small box with a medical vial inside, a molecular formula on the label.
"That's a gene suppressant," the Doctor explained. "She did say her looks weren't exactly accepted in the Gamma Forests."
"I told her she was still gorgeous," Olivia murmured, sadly as she remembered her friend. Tears came to her eyes as she turned back to him, asking, "What's the last thing on the list?"
"PV," he read, then thought aloud, "Private vault…meaning what? Karabraxo's own fortune?"
"Theta," Olivia called, weakly, making him look to her with a frown on wonder at her tone. She met his gaze, tears still brimming in her eyes as she swallowed, then murmured, "I wish you hadn't answered that damn phone."
He felt both his hearts clench in guilt and sorrow at her sadness, lifting a hand to cup her cheek and brush a tear that had escaped away with his thumb.
"So do I, Liv," he murmured in return. "I'm sorry, my love."
She threw her arms around him, letting him wrap his own arms around her, both pulling each other close. He knew they should've been trying to find the last thing on the list, but also knowing she needed this moment to take everything in, and he wasn't about to deny her now.
"Doctor!" she suddenly gasped in terror, making him frown down at her but she only stared behind him, her grip on him tightening. He gently pushed her off of him to whirl around…and come face to face with the Teller.
"Ah," he blurted, grabbing Olivia's arm to pull her behind him, protectively. "So you've caught up with us, big fella. Hello!"
A handful of people with guns in armor and helmets came out from around a column and up behind the Teller.
"Oh! And you've brought friends!" the Doctor grinned as Olivia gripped his arm. "I'm glad you're all here, actually. I'd love to have a chat with your Leading Lady, if you wouldn't mind. I presume you'll be taking us to her, yes? Lead on!"
The armored security split into two groups, some of them behind the Doctor and Olivia, some between the Teller and the couple, and one in front of the Teller, leading the group out of the vault. Olivia remained latched onto the Doctor's arm as they were led out, taking this opportunity to run her thumb over her wedding band to find their telepathic link to speak to him.
You're being awfully calm for a man that will most likely end up with soup for brains! You know she'll set the Teller on us!
If that were the case, the Teller would have just done it, he argued, reaching his free hand over to pat her hands clutching his sleeve reassuringly. I have a feeling about this, Liv. Trust me?
I always trust you, she assured him. I just hope we don't have to use those shredders.
It won't be so bad if we do, he replied, making her look to him in astonishment, but when he didn't elaborate, she looked ahead again, guessing he would explain later.
Ms. Delphox's Office...
"Intruders are most welcome," Delphox smirked, standing from her desk where the gene suppressant and neophyte circuit now sat. She walked around her desk toward the screens in the stark office, explaining, "They remind us that the bank is impregnable. It's good for morale to have a few of you scattered about the place, preferably on view."
When she passed between Olivia and the Teller, Olivia sneered at her, but Delphox only gestured to the screens where their prisoners with concaved skulls were "on view" as she put it. She turned back to the couple and smiled, "Are you ready for your close-up?"
"This isn't Sunset Boulevard and you're no Mr. Demille, so, no thanks," Olivia shot back, making the Doctor chuckle as Delphox's smile fell to a glare.
"If you're thinking of ways to escape, the Teller will know before you've even made a move," Delphox warned, strutting forward to stand in front of them again. "You'll never be bothered by all that thinking again."
"Useful species, that," the Doctor noted, looking the Teller over.
"Last of its kind," Delphox replied, smirking, "And we've signed an exclusive deal."
"Must be a bit noisy inside its head," he guessed, his gaze moving to her. "Can get painful listening to all that chatter. All those secrets. Must drive the poor thing mad. How can you force it to obey?"
"Oh, everything has a price tag, I think you'll find," Delphox replied, vaguely. Thunder crashed above them, making the lights flicker and everyone in the room jumped only slightly. "The storm's getting worse. Customers are leaving. Director Karabraxos will be concerned. Our jobs will be on the line."
"You're scared," Olivia noted with a curious frown.
"I'm terrified," Delphox admitted through a chuckle. "I have the disadvantage of knowing Karabraxos personally."
"If you don't like your boss then why do you stay?" the Doctor wondered.
"My face fits," Delphox replied as if it explained everything, when it was a vague explanation, at best. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I must take the Teller to its hibernation." She looked to the armored security behind the couple, ordering, "You two, dispose of our guests."
With that, Delphox left with the Teller and the two security guards, one with his helmet off, showing a bald, bearded man, and one with its helmet still on, pushed the Doctor and Olivia against one of the walls.
"Doctor…?" Olivia called, hoping he was thinking up some kind of plan as her back hit the wall.
"Look, lads, you really don't want to do this," the Doctor began, his own back hitting the wall and he gripped Olivia's hand. "We've had a bit of a bad day, can't remember most of it, but what we do remember is a bit of a downer."
"You're wrong," the man without the helmet told the Doctor, surprisingly gently, making the couple frown in confusion. He began undoing the handcuffs they had been put in before entering Delphox's office, chuckling, "It's not that bad a day. And you're being very slow."
"You're undoing my handcuffs?" the Doctor stated the obvious, still frowning as he glanced between him and his hands. Realization suddenly seemed to hit him as he murmured, "Eona?"
"In the flesh," Eona replied as she transformed back into herself.
"What…the…hell?" Olivia breathed, staring at her in disbelief.
"Looked like death," the helmeted guard in front of her shrugged, drawing her attention to him. He removed the helmet to reveal a familiar face that smiled and continued, "Actually a teleport."
"Oh, my god!" Olivia grinned, throwing her arms around Dax to hug him close.
"You little minx!" the Doctor grinned, throwing his arms around Eona to scoop her up and twirl her once before setting her down.
"Good, eh?" Dax grinned, hugging Olivia back before she stepped back to hug Eona tightly as well. "You think we're dead so the Teller thinks we're dead. We played that thing at its own mind games."
"Brilliant!" Olivia cheered, high-fiving Dax as the Doctor glanced around at the group with a grin of his own. "But wait…if those were teleporters, where did you get teleported to?"
"There's an escape ship in orbit," Dax reported through a smirk. "These things take you right there. There's a big blue box there, too. Eona said that's yours?"
"Oh, thank god," Olivia sighed in relief, taking the Doctor's hand and hugging the arm it was attached to.
"Well, you all earned your rewards," the Doctor grinned, reaching into his inside jacket pocket for the vial and the circuit. "One gene suppressant for Eona, one memory giver for Dax."
They both stared at the things in his hand in disbelief before they each took their items.
"Job done. Paid in full," the Doctor nodded. "Clever old Architect."
"Very clever," Eona murmured, looking at the vial.
"Still hate him," the Doctor blurted.
"Me too," she agreed, making Olivia giggle as she glanced between the two.
"How did you get paid?" Dax wondered, glancing between the couple.
"We don't know yet," Olivia shrugged. "Something in the private vault?"
"Here's where my specialty comes in," Dax smirked, drawing everyone's attention to him. "Get me outta this armor and we'll get you sorted."
Under the bank...
"What's this?" the Doctor asked as he climbed down the ladder Dax had led him to, Dax following after him.
"Supply line," Dax explained as he jumped down, Eona following, Olivia the last one climbing down. "It's the only option down to the private vault. There's another one for water, for basic life support."
"Life support for a private vault?" Olivia echoed in confusion.
"Seems like someone likes to hang out with their wealth," the Doctor guessed as the group turned to follow Dax through the maze and into a vent that led into a room where classical music was blaring through.
The Doctor pushed the door of the vent open and the group shuffled into a room filled with priceless items. Olivia stared at the objects in disbelief. Tut's golden sarcophagus, statues, art pieces, things made of gold and other precious metals. It was like a small museum. The group made their way through the room, and the Doctor caught their eye to nod toward a desk and chair, the chair facing away from them.
"Director Karabraxos," the Doctor called, making Olivia shoot a wide-eyed stare of disbelief at him. Apparently, stealth was not in the strategy today. "Hello! Excuse us, but we're here to rob you. You can put your hands above your head if ya like, or—Blimey!"
The chair turned as he was speaking to reveal Karabraxos…with a familiar face.
"Or?" Karabraxos asked, sardonically with her hands above her head, then lowered them as she smirked, "You didn't bring any weapons? That's a bit of an oversight."
"What…the…hell?" Olivia breathed as Karabraxos pressed a button on her desk. "Why does she look like Dragon Lady upstairs?"
"Security, Karabraxos here," she spoke into the screen as the Doctor slowly approached her, staring at her intently.
"You're Karabraxos?" he frowned.
"One moment," Karabraxos cut in as Delphox appeared on her screen.
"Director Karabraxos," Delphox greeted, then asked, "Is there a problem?"
"Intruders in the private vault," Karabraxos reported just as something seemed to catch the Doctor's attention. "Send me the Teller. I want to find out how they got in and then I want to wipe their memories."
"Doctor?" Olivia called, frowning at him as he made his way to the locked door across the room.
"She's a clone," the Doctor reported, turning toward the group but staying at the door with a huge door lock.
"It's the only way to control my own security. I have one in every facility," Karabraxos explained, then turned back to the screen, "Get on it right away."
"Yes, of course," Delphox replied.
"And then, hand in your credentials," Karabraxos added. "You're fired, with immediate effect."
Delphox gasped before replying, "But please, I've been in your service—"
"Ever since the last one let me down and I was forced to kill it," Karabraxos cut in, mercilessly. "I can't quite believe you're putting me through this again."
The group stared at her in astonishment as she hung up on Delphox and the Doctor stepped up next to Olivia again.
"My clone," she presented, and then continued, "And yet, she doesn't even protest. Pale imitation, really. I should sue."
"Wait, you're killing her?" Olivia frowned in wonder. "But…you just said—"
"Fired?" Karabraxos interrupted, then explained through a smile, "I put all of the used clones into the incinerator. Can't have too many of moi scattered around. I've been through about…thirty-nine clones, now."
"So…you don't get along with your own clone?" Dax frowned in confusion.
"Of course not," the Doctor scoffed. "She hates her clones. Honestly, you could put a therapist's child through med school."
Something seemed to click in his brain as his expression turned to a look that Olivia knew well. He had just figured out the answer to a question he wasn't even thinking of in that moment.
"Oh…" he breathed, his eyes wide, a hand coming up to his hair to grip it, followed by the other. "Oh! Oh, I'm so stupid! So stupid! Bloody idiot!"
"And what is this display?" Karabraxos questioned, waving a hand at the Doctor. "Now, as amusing as you are—"
"Eona!" he shouted, making the others jump, but he only ran toward her, lowering his hands from his hair to point to her. "You said something earlier about your own eyes. What was it?"
"I…I said, 'How can you trust someone if they look back at you out of your own eyes?'" she replied, confused by the display but guessing she should let it play out, recalling that Olivia had explained his eccentricities.
"Yes! That's the ticket!" the Doctor grinned, snapping his fingers and beginning to pace around the room, starting by heading toward Olivia. "Now, I know one thing about the Architect. What is it? It's something I've known from the start. Just one thing!"
"What is it?" Olivia asked as he sailed around her and back toward Karabraxos to stand next to her desk and turn to Olivia.
"I hate him!" he explained, marching toward her again and counting on his fingers by pressing one finger to the other fingers he counted down. "Overbearing, manipulative, likes to think that he's very clever and I hate him!"
"Yeah, we got that bit," Olivia retorted.
"Isn't it obvious, Liv?!" he urged, grabbing her hand and twirling her before pulling her in and dipping her back, grinning down at her, "I hate the bloody Architect!"
"What in the name of sanity is going on in this room now?" Karabraxos demanded as she stood from her chair, the Doctor pulling Olivia back onto her feet.
"Oh, that's rich!" the Doctor scoffed, strolling back toward the desk. "Sanity judgement from the self-burner. Mind if I borrow a piece of paper from you?"
"And what are you doing now?" Karabraxos questioned as he grabbed a piece of paper from her desk and a quill then leaned over to start scribbling onto it.
"Giving you my number," he retorted, standing tall again and waving the paper slightly to dry the ink. He folded the paper over and scribbled something else over the top. "Thought you might like to give me a call sometime. I thought we were getting along swimmingly! Was I wrong?"
He set the paper down in front of her and just as she read the words 'I'm a time traveler' on the paper, thunder crashed above their heads. The lights flickered and the room shook only slightly.
"My, my, that was a big one," the Doctor smirked, turning to stroll back toward Olivia, the quill still in his hand. "Looks as though this bank is about to close permanently. I'd get going if I were you. Don't worry about us lot. We'll just be here…burning."
"Sorry, what?" Olivia blurted just as an alarm began to blare and Karabraxos began packing her purse full of things she could fit in it. "What's she doing?"
"You know, I'll bet it's hard to know what to take with you, 'ey?" the Doctor wondered. "Greatest treasures in the universe and all you've got is one little old suitcase."
Thunder crashed again and the room shook, making Olivia stumble before she rushed closer to the Doctor to grab his arm, getting his attention.
"Plan. Now. Spill it," she demanded.
"We can use the shredders to get back to the ship," Eona suggested. "I mean the teleporters."
"Did you notice?" he asked her, seemingly calm and seeming to ignore Olivia as Eona frowned at him in wonder. "No? Thought not. There were six of those in the case."
"Six?" Eona frowned as Dax nodded in recollection and Karabraxos, having collected her things, made her way toward a lift on the other side of her desk. "Why would there be six?"
"Do give me a call sometime!" the Doctor called to Karabraxos before she entered the lift, and she turned to stare at him curiously.
"You'll be dead," she shot back.
"And you'll be old," he retorted through a smirk. "Old and full of regret for the things you can't change."
They watched as Karabraxos sauntered into the lift, presumably to her escape route. The doors closed leaving the group in the office on their own.
"Are you remembering?" Olivia asked, frowning up at him.
"Understanding," he replied, detaching from her grasp and turning to her to gently take her shoulders. "Liv, I need you to be calm and trust me, yes?"
"What are you gonna do?" she questioned, recognizing the look in his eyes.
"I need my memory back, and there's only one way for me to get it," he replied.
"I can do that for you," she nodded, thinking he was asking for her help, but when she lifted her hands to his face he gently took her wrists in his hands, shaking his head.
"You're not strong enough," he stated, then looked to Eona, beckoning her closer with a nod of his head. As she approached he turned back to Olivia. "You're gonna hate me for this, but it's the only way."
"Theta, what are you—?"
He cut off her question with a kiss just as the lift doors opened again to reveal the Teller and he pulled back to gently push her toward Eona.
"Right," he sighed, sharply before turning to the Teller and straightening out his waistcoat and strolling around the desk toward him. "Got my good luck kiss, so I am ready for you, big boy."
The Teller's eyes came up and instantly began reading the Doctor, making him shout out in pain and fall to his knees.
"Doctor!" Olivia shouted, moving to scramble over the desk but Eona grabbed her arm, Dax rushing forward to try helping the Doctor.
"All of you stay back!" he strained, closing his eyes against the pain. "This is the only way!"
"It's going to kill you!" Olivia sobbed, tears instantly springing to her eyes as she tried to fight against Eona, but just when she thought she was free, Dax was by her side, helping the other restrain her.
"See all these memories?" he groaned to the Teller. "Big scarf. Bow tie. Trainers. What do you think of the new look? Like the shoes? Very Elvis, right? Last few days are a bit hazy, though. Can you see that? Mind…telling me how it all went? Show me…please."
In his mind's eye, memories began playing over, like a montage from a movie. He saw himself answering his phone, hearing Karabraxos over the line, but her voice raw and ravaged by age. She requested him to change something from her past. He must have agreed, because the next thing he saw was himself ushering Olivia into the TARDIS. The next image was landing in the Gamma Forests, finding Eona and bringing her aboard. Next Dax appeared to be agreeing to something the Doctor had told him. Then, he saw himself speaking to the man Eona had disguised herself as to get into the bank.
His suspicion about the identity of the Architect was then confirmed when he saw himself planting the cases among the bank of Karabraxos where they had found them. He saw himself creating a recording with his voice altered. Finally he saw the group sitting around the table they had woken up around, the worms sitting in front of them.
"Doctor!" Olivia shouted as he fell to all fours when the Teller released him. She raced toward him, knelt next to him and tried pushing him to his feet to escape as the Teller began shuffling toward them. When he didn't move and only held his head she shot to her feet and stood in front of him, shouting, "Leave him alone!"
"He's not after me, Liv," the Doctor groaned, lifting a hand to take hers, making her whirl on him and frown in confusion…as the Teller shuffled around them. "He knows what we're here for now. He's getting what he wants."
"What do you mean?" she wondered, but all eyes were drawn to the Teller as he stopped in front of the door with the huge combination lock that the Doctor had been looking at earlier. The lock began to shift and open, making the three frown in wonder as Olivia knelt next to the Doctor again, asking, "What's it doing?"
"It's opening the door," the Doctor grinned.
"It knows the combination?" Eona asked, shuffling toward the Doctor as well as Dax also made his way there.
"It was telepathically linked with Karabraxos," the Doctor explained, finally standing, using Olivia as a crutch by wrapping an arm around her neck. "She knew the combination, so he knows the combination."
The door swung open to reveal another creature like the Teller in a similar straightjacket like uniform.
"That woman said he was the last of his kind," Dax recalled, incredulously.
"Not quite," the Doctor smirked. "Six teleporters means six individuals to teleport."
The room shook as the lights flickered, thunder rolling above them.
"Speaking of teleports," Olivia spoke up. "We should get the hell outta here."
"Ah, yes," the Doctor nodded, pulling two teleporters out for himself and Olivia. "Andiamo!"
A/N: reviews?