I'm back with a new chapter!
I'm starting uni next week, so i might not be able to upload as consistently anymore (means chapters might not come every week but every other week). I'll try my best to make some space for writing in between classes but i am not the best with time management and a lot of my classes are kinda "just do it whenever, it's your responsibility" like geeez thanks
Like always, comments are appreciated! I'm curious to know your thoughts. Also, how do you feel about the length of the chapters so far? Are they too long? Would you like them longer maybe? Or are you happy with the length so far (it's about 6000 words per chapter, sometimes more or less)?
Question of the chapter: What place in the show would you like to visit if you could? I think it's really hard to choose because The Doctor has been almost everywhere but i think i'd choose the orient express in space...without the mummy of course.
Thank you all for reading!
Love, Maze
Agnes landed on her two feet, the force of the impact forcing her to her knees pretty quickly. Her breath came out ragged although she did her best to force herself to calm down. Hands pressed against her chest, still throbbing painfully, she was sitting on her knees, eyes shut and ears ringing. She did realise she should probably check her surroundings, see where she was and look for The Doctor, but she couldn't focus.
"Agnes? Agnes!"
Her name was called. Was that the Doctor? Or one of the companions? It was hard to make out through the ringing. But it didn't matter. It was someone that knew her and they sounded concerned, that was all she could concentrate on.
She reached out her hand, and somebody grabbed it. Cool skin against her own, feeling wrinkly long fingers close around hers and yes that must be The Doctor.
"Can you hear me?" A Scottish accent paired up with a deep voice, she felt disoriented enough to question if there was an adventure where Amy had turned into a man, but then it clicked and she realized that this could only be The Doctor.
The pain in her chest slowly faded and breathing got easier.
"Yeah…I'm fine. Sorry," she rasped out, having to clear her throat to continue talking.
She didn't know why she was apologizing. She just did.
The grip around her tightened.
"First time, right?" The Doctor asked and she nodded, slowly opening her eyes and blinking against the dim lights of the Tardis interior.
The world was a little blurry, but less so than last time and after a few seconds the effects seemed to lessen and she was able to make out the face of the 12th Doctor as he was kneeling in front of her.
Yes, very aggressive eyebrows indeed, all furrowed up as he frowned at her.
Agnes looked around, noticing how the Tardis' interior had changed, darker and silver than before, more modern. Her eyes fell on another woman standing a little bit behind the control panel behind the Doctor looking down at her with big worried eyes. Clara Oswald.
"Hi," she smiled and Clara returned it a little awkwardly, looking confused.
Then Agnes looked back at the Doctor.
"Hi."
He grinned, standing and helping her up with the hand he was still holding.
"Hello, Agnes."
She swayed a little on her feet but found her balance again quickly.
"Jumping is fucked up."
"Oi, language."
"Bloody…I was just ripped apart and put back together, let me swear!"
The Doctor gave her a smirk, shaking his head. But she was sure it was more out of affection than annoyance at this point.
Clara stepped up from behind him, coming to a halt next to Agnes. She was smaller by a few inches at least and Agnes realised that next to Amy Clara must look a midget. The next moment she scolded herself for the thought. The brunette wouldn't appreciate that comparison probably.
"You…Do you know me?"
Ah, Clara Oswald. Always so quick on her feet.
She shook her head slowly, saw something like disappointment in the brunette's eyes but gave her a smile.
"I mean I know of you, though. If that helps…have also not met this Doctor yet. So it's a first for everyone."
The Doctor hummed in agreement and smiled down at Agnes, it was gentle. She returned the smile before her glance went back to Clara getting stuck on her outfit….wait that was familiar.
"Oh," she breathed out, excited that her memory didn't disappoint her and she pointed at Clara's dress, "You're with Cas and her crew."
Clara followed her finger, staring down at her dress before looking up at the girl with amusement in her eyes, her lips quirked up in a teasing smile.
"You recognize the adventure by what I'm wearing?"
Agnes huffed, turning her head away.
"It's a pretty dress."
She didn't see how Clara's grin was replaced with a soft smile but turned when the brunette nudged her elbow.
"Glad you're here, travelling grows boring with just the old man," she tells her, nodding her head in the direction of The Doctor who gasps in mock offence.
Agnes smiled at her. Clara was such a sweetheart.
The brunette pat her shoulder once more before turning around and strutting towards the door, opening it with a swing as she looked back at Agnes, nodding her head to tell her to follow.
"Come on," she called and Agnes excitedly followed her.
Until The Doctor grabbed her wrist, stopping her in her movement, that was. And that was just too familiar.
When the girl turned to look up at The Doctor's expression she saw the way his eyebrows were lowered in a stern expression.
"You're not serious are you?"
"It would be better if you stayed in the Tardis…"
"And wait for you like I'm some housewife? Hell no!"
She stared up at him in disbelief and The Doctor looked uncomfortable.
"It's dangerous, too dangerous, and you don't have the experience."
"And how am I supposed to get experience if you let me stay inside…like a dog! I'm your dog."
The Doctor looked displeased with the analogy, letting out a sigh.
"I forgot how unreasonable you were at that age."
Agnes scoffed, pulling her hand from his grip and glaring at him as she put her hands on her hips. She certainly wouldn't deal with that condescending tone.
"Excuse me? I am unreasonable? How the fuck-"
"Language!"
"No! How the fuck am I supposed to be stuck with you, across your timeline and then I am not even allowed to do something. What do you expect me to do? Stay inside for the rest of my life. Screw you."
"It's dangerous."
"No, it's not."
The Doctor laughed without humour, looking at her as if to say "Please, you must be able to at least recognise that."
"It's not dangerous because I know this adventure. There is exactly one thing I have to do to put myself in danger. I won't do it and I'm fine."
Moments like this Agnes was incredibly thankful for her constant rewatches of the show since this episode happened to be one of the ones she'd just watched a few days prior, so the contents of it were fresh on her mind. Or at least the main plot points…
The Doctor scrunched up his face, trying to figure out the meaning behind her words.
"If I promise not to do the thing, can I come then?"
"There is something you have to do to put you in danger? A target of the ghosts you mean?"
"Yeah."
"And you promise?"
"Yes!"
"Come on, Doctor. You know it's better with her with us," Clara butted in, still standing at the door, looking impatient at the timelord.
The Doctor seemed to think it over until he let out a sigh.
"Fine. But you do as your told!"
Agnes scoffed.
"So I am your dog."
Clara laughed at that but Agnes didn't wait for the Doctor's response, already rushing towards the door and Clara who waited for her until she pushed open the door.
They stepped outside, with the Doctor following behind them and Agnes looked around in fascination.
She's never been underwater before.
When she looked out of one of the round windows she could see the darkness of the water and under her feet, she could feel the metal of the floor.
"I thought you might be a little laid back in the beginning, but you've always loved to squabble
with the Doctor, didn't you?" Clara whispered lowly and Agnes turned to her.
"Didn't have to if he wouldn't always try to be so overprotective."
The brunette grinned, before holding out her hand in front of her and Agnes took it with a huge grin. Hand holding with Clara Oswald, how could she say no to that? They walked back through the corridors until they ended up back in the bridge. When they entered there were already four other people present, turned away from them. But as they heard steps they turned around just to stare at her in surprise.
"Uh…hello?" a man with glasses was the first one to speak, looking her up and down.
Agnes waved at him.
"Sup?"
The Doctor snorted in amusement, stepping to her side and grabbing her by the shoulders, again…what was with the proud parent thing he had going on when introducing her?
"You might have already heard of her, that's Agnes Moore. She's joining our little..what can we call it? Fun doesn't seem appropriate."
Agnes softly slapped his hand, looking up at him in irritation.
"Yeah, I wonder why…"
The Doctor returned her sarcastic quip with an annoyed cock of his head.
There was a sound of a chair scratching the floor and Agnes looked towards a young woman who was half standing up, hands holding her chair as she stared at her with big eyes. She recognised her as O'Donnell.
"Wait? You don't mean…The Agnes Moore?"
She sounded excited, clearly trying to hold back as she cleared her throat, looking between the other people on her side awkwardly, who didn't look as excited as her to have Agnes present.
"Hi, O'Donnell, right?" Agnes asked because if the woman so obviously knew her or at least of her she could return the sentiment.
Her face lit up at that. "You know my name?" She was beaming at her and Agnes felt her face heat up at the positive attention. "Uh, yeah?"
The woman standing to her right started moving her hands, performing several different motions, looking between Agnes and The Doctor. The movements were fluid.
The man next to her started translating what the woman, Cas, was signing.
"Can she be of help? That's all that matters in the situation we are in right now."
They all looked at Agnes expectantly, sharing the sentiment and the girl signed back a "Yes, mam" before saluting. Cas looked surprised but nodded.
Feeling a stare at her Agnes looked to her left and it was The Doctor who was looking at her in surprise, mouth half open. She couldn't hold back the smirk. Ha, something that he didn't know about her. How wonderful.
Still, she forced her grin into an innocent smile, looking up at The Doctor. "What? I know the basics! Other than you, who deleted it for flags…Flags!"
"You never told me," he remarked then.
"Well maybe because you just said I never did!"
A small smile formed on his lips.
"Clever since the very start."
Agnes smiled back.
"Let's get started then!"
–
It took a little bit of convincing until The Doctor let Agnes go with Clara and Bennett to gather provisions at the mess hall. She thought it was ridiculous. She promised, after all. And although he didn't seem to trust her ability to protect herself, which was just unfair in her opinion, at least he should have a little bit of trust in Clara. She had to promise, again, to not do anything stupid, and he had glanced at Clara with his intimidating furrowed eyebrows look until he finally let them leave.
Agnes was a little frustrated at that point.
"He treats me like a child," she growls as she was kneeling down beside a cupboard, fishing out plates and bowls.
Clara snorted, glancing at her while looking for possible food resources at the counter.
"He's a little bit-" she paused, thinking her words over, "protective, you're right. It's because he cares though, it's sweet."
Agnes didn't think it was sweet. She thought it was annoying.
Fishing out a pack of snacks and throwing it on the pile they've already collected on the table, she turns towards Bennet.
"What about you? You're not working for UNIT right? I don't exactly remember."
The man looked a little confused about her question, maybe even that she addressed him in the first place, but Agnes was curious. She didn't remember all too well who the crew of the underwater mining facility had worked for or maybe she just hadn't been paying attention, but she remembered UNIT being mentioned a few times throughout the episode, and that she was familiar with.
O'Donnell's voice rang through the room as she requested for Pritchard to give them a signal of life.
"No-" Bennet waved his hand, looking a little shy, "I'd love to work for Unit, Earth's first line of defence, and all. I'm probably not suited, though. Not much of a fighter. Moore of a bleeder."
Agnes hummed in thought. Yeah, she did remember Bennet being more hesitant, wanting to leave the base at first thought but then having his curiosity get the best of him.
"Unit doesn't just need fighters, as far as I know. It needs clever people, too. People who help figure out problems. Resourceful people, I think you'd be good at that."
Now, as she was sorting through the already collected provisions she could feel Bennett's eyes on her. He probably didn't expect someone that he barely knew to say something like that about him.
"Pritchard!" Clara called out and Agnes quickly turned to look behind her.
There he was standing, a man in a suit, turned with his back to them. A shiver ran down her spine.
"Where have you been? Everyone's been looking for you."
Clara turned back to what she was doing, before taking a second glance back only now realising the clothes he was wearing. Agnes had stopped, though, packs of salty foods in her hand while her eyes were trained on the ghost in the room.
"What's with the wet suit?" the brunette asked and now Bennett seemed to notice it as well.
"Yeah, where have you been?"
Agnes thought it was weird, looking at someone who was clearly dead and a ghost on top of that but there were no visible signs for it. Maybe it was because it hadn't stabilized, yet, she thought. They were supposed to be see-through after all.
Agnes heard Bennett inform O'Donnell that Pritchard was with them and the woman only laughed lightheartedly and gave him a quick answer, calling the man a moron.
"Clara."
She didn't know but she thought her voice was different because Clara's mood changed immediately. She put down a plate she'd been holding, stepping towards her, eyes following hers.
"What is it, Nes? Is he alright?"
Bennett joined them, glancing between Agnes and Clara and the ghost of Pritchard with caution.
A thud from outside the glass window caused them all to flinch and turn towards the sound. There it was, his dead body floating in the water.
Agnes had never seen a dead body before. Not in person.
Bennett started panicking, alerting the bridge, but while he told them that a man was overboard he didn't seem to realize who it was. He turned to run back towards O'Donnell but Clara grabbed his arm, stopping him.
"Bennett! Wait! It's Pritchard!"
That's when the dead body turned enough to reveal the face of the person, while the ghost also decided it was time to face them and reveal its black eye sockets.
Disgusting.
Clara grabbed for her hand, eyes staring wide at the ghost and Agnes squeezed it if only to ensure that she was alright.
Cass, Lunn and The Doctor ran in, then, joining them. They had arrived a lot quicker than she'd expected. The Doctor looked at Agnes first before Clara nodded towards the ghost, shifting his and the other people's attention to the dead Pritchard.
"He's a ghost. He's another ghost."
The ghost seemed to take offence to that, as he turned to pick up a chair, raising it in the air and stepping towards them. Agnes didn't know whether to laugh or not because…that was a chair…was he planning to kill them with a chair? They were in the mess hall. There were knives in the drawer of the counter.
And it was a plastic chair, too…
The Doctor stepped in front of Cass and Lunn, slowly stepping backwards and Clara grabbed Agnes wrist to pull her back, too. She went with her, finding it a little ridiculous still because they were being threatened by a chair.
The Doctor glanced back at her and there was something in his eyes, a look she hadn't seen on his face before but she knew she didn't like it at all.
The lights flickered on and the ghost of Pritchard dissolved into thin air, the chair dropped to the floor. The thud it caused wasn't even that impressive…
—
Watching the CCTV footage of how Pritchard met his fate was weird for Agnes. She'd seen it before, of course. In the episode. Not just once either, considering she'd watched most of the Doctor Who episodes at least two or three times.
But this was different.
This time it was real.
And she didn't know how to feel about that.
She hadn't met the man so she didn't feel sad about his death or…anything really. She felt a little bit sorry for his friends or colleagues or… she wasn't sure if he's actually been really close to any of them, to be honest.
She didn't feel a lot of anything when watching the airlock being flooded with water, leading to the death of the man. She just…it felt weird.
Glancing back at The Doctor she saw he had faced away from the screen, standing halfway turned from the rest of them. He didn't seem particularly sad, but he still seemed sorry and guilty. The same guilt every Doctor carried in them, she guessed.
"They're working out how to use the base against us. Altering the time setting so they can go about uninhibited, opening the airlock. They're learning."
He glanced at Agnes and she furrowed her brows, giving him a questioning look. He ignored it.
"And now there's three of them," Clara added.
The room fell into silence as everyone processed what they've just seen. Bennett was the first one to speak. "Cass, what do we do?"
The woman didn't waste too much thought on it, glancing around at her crew before she started signing.
"We abandon the base. Topside can send down a whole team of marines or ghostbusters or whatever," Lunn translated.
The Doctor wasn't happy with that suggestion, trying to interrupt the woman but she had none of that, getting into his face, her hands moving more aggressively now.
"I can't force you to leave, so you can stay and do the whole cabin in the woods thing and get killed or drowned if you want. But my first priority is to protect my crew."
Yeah, Agnes kinda liked Cass. There weren't a lot of people who could silence The Doctor like that. He took a step back from her, signalling defeat and when Cass turned towards O'Donnell he stepped around her to get to Agnes and Clara's side of the room.
Clara turned towards him as soon as he was in hearing range and whispered. "But we're coming back, right?"
The Doctor glanced at Agnes once more, coming to a halt between her and Clara, then turned to give Clara a nod.
"Yes, we're coming back."
She smiled relieved, nudging Agnes, who responded with a snort. The woman really was an adrenaline junkie.
"O'Donnell, contact Topside. Tell them we're abandoning the base on my orders," Lunn translated for Cass and O'Donnell grabbed receiver the of a field telephone, dialling the number.
"Topside, Topside, this is Lance Corporal Alice O'Donnell from drum control. Over."
A moment of silence before the distorted voice of a man sounded through the phone.
"Drum control, this is Topside. We have received your message. Submarine is on its way. Over."
Oh, right, Agnes remembered that. That was quite scary when it happened in the episode.
O'Donnell looked at Cass in confusion and Agnes saw The Doctor and Clara exchange looks (leaving her out, how rude).
"Repeat, Topside. Over," O'Donnell requested.
"We've received your request for a rescue hub. It's two minutes away. Over."
The Doctor stepped towards O'Donnell, watching the situation unfold ready to step in as soon as he saw it fit.
O'Donnell exchanged looks with her crew. Especially Cass was the one looking the most confused and sceptical about the situation, eyebrows deeply furrowed as she looked between Lunn and O'Donnell.
"Topside, who did you speak to and when was this request made? Over."
"Drum Control, it was in morse code and arrived maybe half an hour ago. Said it was urgent, comms were down, two crew members critically ill, full paramedic team requested. Over."
O'Donnell opened her mouth to respond when The Doctor ripped the handset out of her hand. Rude.
"Topside, this is The Doctor, Unit security visa seven one zero Apple zero zero. You may be familiar with my work." Agnes snorted at that. "Call back the sub."
"Doctor, why would-"
"Call it back, we have a hazardous and undefined contagion on board. This base is now under quarantine."
He put the handset down, disconnecting before the man on the other end had any chance to ask any more questions.
"What did you do that for?" Bennett looked at him with a mix of confusion and irritation. A natural response The Doctor was probably used to receiving. The other people in the room shared the sentiment.
Cas opened her mouth, raising her hands as she stepped towards The Doctor, Agnes knew she was about to sign at him in a very aggressive way again. The Doctor dodged her with no effort and started talking without even glancing at her.
Agnes frowned. Reminded her a little of how he'd kinda dodged her after the mess hall incident. Very interesting.
"Well, none of us sent the message, did we? So that means that the ghosts sent it, which means they want that crew down here."
"Why would they do that?" Lunn translated for Cass.
"Well, I don't know, but I'm pretty certain it's not so they can all form a boy band." Was the Doctor witty comeback.
Agnes saw Clara watch him with a slightly annoyed look and she grinned at her. Swiftly nudging her in the arm she raised her eyebrows at her as the brunette turned around and Clara, who seemed to understand the subtle question gave her a soft shake of her head, lips quirked up into a smile.
"…Why? What's different at night?"
Oh, right. Mysteries to solve.
"It's mainly atmospheric. The lights are dim, the noise from the engines is muffled," O'Donnell listed off but The Doctor shook his head. "No. Something, something else."
Cass suggested it was the diagnostic sweep, systems like life support and the locks but The Doctor didn't seem all too happy with that answer either. Agnes knew it has nothing to do with either of those things but what exactly the answer it had been she didn't remember. Something about radio signals, she thinks, but she isn't sure about it…or what it would have to do with the system.
The Doctor glanced in her direction as if he was contemplating asking her about it and Agnes perked up a little, hoping that maybe she was just being paranoid and The Doctor wasn't acting weirdly towards her. But then he shook his head as if to scold himself and turned around, walking a few steps towards the other end of the room, whispering to himself.
Agnes glared at the back of his head, a little pissed off now.
Not that she would have known, but last time she had gotten something right The Doctor had looked ecstatic, hugged her and gave her a cheek kiss, while this Doctor…this Doctor didn't even want to seek out her opinion.
What was up with him?
Clara seemed to get a little annoyed with the man, too, although Agnes doubted it had to do with her and more with the fact he was starting to sink into his thoughts and not coming up with ideas quickly enough.
"Doctor, what do we do?"
The Doctor turned around at that.
"O'Donnell." He started walking towards the woman who straightened her back at being addressed by him. "Excellent work, returning the base to day mode."
O'Donnell flushed a sheepish smile on her features.
"Shut up. It was nothing …You really think so?"
"Now put it back into night mode."
"What!"
He went on to explain how they knew nothing (Agnes wanted to protest that she knew a lot, thank you very much) and that they needed to capture the ghosts to find out more about them and what they're after.
Which sounded easier than it would actually be. The plan was thoroughly thought out. Considering The Doctor came up with it, she wasn't surprised. He explained it quickly, gave everyone their roles and positions, pointing towards Clara, Lunn and Bennett as the chosen ones for the corridor stage.
Agnes stood off a little to the side, frowning as she watched The Doctor go into detail about everything…not including her at all. And she was getting tired of that.
"Oi."
Everyone turned towards her looking moderately surprised that Agnes had spoken up.
"Agnes?" The Doctor asked with a calm voice but the way he looked at her like he was preparing for her to act like an insolent child…could he stop that?
"What's my role?"
He cocked his head.
"I don't understand."
Clara looked between them, mouth pressed into a thin line.
"Clara, Bennett and Lunn are the bait..sorry…O'Donnell is the computer person, Cass is staying here for control, just like you…and me? I'm supposed to help, too."
Cass seemed to notice only now that yes Agnes didn't have a role, eyes widening before she turned towards The Doctor and started signing.
"Good question. She's not a part of the plan. Why?" Lunn translated, eyes darting towards Agnes quickly.
The Doctor looked annoyed.
"She's part of the plan, she's staying here with me and warns me before something happens."
It sounded like the simplest explanation. Agnes just raised her brows.
"So I am your dog, your guard dog!" She was a little angry. Okay, no, she was very much angry. He didn't involve her in the plan, and now he was just making shit up.
The Doctor narrowed his eyes at her, before motioning her to follow him outside, telling Clara to make sure everyone understood what they had to do. Agnes followed him begrudgingly, stepping out the door before The Doctor closed it behind her.
"What's the issue?" he sounded annoyed and Agnes frowned.
"What's the issue? You're being mean! Weird and mean."
"I don't understand. What am I doing?"
"Excluding me, looking at me weirdly, acting like you have to hold my hand?" She counted on her fingers before throwing up her arms in frustration, not seeing how he could even ask her that.
The Doctor looked down at her, then let out a sigh.
"How come you're "apparently" not a target of the ghosts ?" he asked, which threw her back completely.
Why was he suddenly asking about…Wait! Apparently?
She gaped at him, unable to keep the hurt expression from her face.
"You don't believe me!"
He rolled his eyes at that and Agnes felt a sting in her chest. He didn't. He thought she was lying about it. He didn't even trust her word? But she had promised!
"I just want to understand. Why would anybody on board be affected but you?" The Doctor asked like it was a fair assumption like she didn't have any right to be mad. But she was. Mad and confused. His last incarnation hadn't mistrusted her promises. Why did this one?
"You're clever. Figure it out," she bit back.
"Agnes."
She shook her head, crossing her arms in front of her chest. Her eyes were hot and she felt something wet prick at the corner of them, but she swallowed thickly, fighting the urge.
"You said no spoilers so I won't tell you and if you think I'm lying then there is nothing I can do about it." She threw her hand out, pointing towards the door, knowing well the people behind it could probably follow parts of their conversation. "Maybe I'll just sit in a corner and do absolutely nothing. Since you don't even trust me enough, to tell the truth."
Yes, she was being bitter but she felt stupid for how much it hurt her that The Doctor, someone she admired and trusted with her life…didn't return the sentiment.
"You're being unreasonable."
"No, Doctor. You're being a hypocrite." She pointed at his chest, glaring up at him and damning the few centimetres he had on her. "You want me to trust you, but trust goes both ways."
She turned, ripped open the door and stomped inside, not really caring whether or not the people inside thought of her as dramatic or annoying. She was having a moment and she'd experience it.
And when she had told The Doctor that she'd sit in the corner and not intervene at all for the big plan he had come up with to capture the ghosts, then she'd meant it. Well, not exactly the corner. She decided to pull a chair up next to O'Donnell and plop down in it to watch over the display with her. Not to help...just to keep an eye out. But since The Doctor was on the other end of the room, watching over the map hanging on the wall, at least she's brought some distance between the two of them.
She watched the display in anticipation, The Doctor's directions towards Clara and Lunn like background noise. O'Donnell was quickly typing commands, taking care of closing the doors when The Doctor told her to. When Agnes glanced behind her she saw Cass standing right behind them, watching the screen with a frown, biting her lip. She was probably worried about Lunn...not knowing that out of the three of them he had the least to worry about.
Everything seemed to go well, just like The Doctor has planned until…
"They've separated," O'Donnell vocalised what they all saw happening on the screen.
"What?" The Doctor echoed, stepping up behind them.
"Moran and the mole guy are going after Clara."
Yes, she felt the glance the Timelord was sending her, but she chose to ignore him, biting her lip. Everything would turn out fine, either way. Clara would be okay...this time.
The Doctor turned back to rush across the room towards the map, looking for ways out for Clara while O'Donnell took it upon herself to warn the brunette of the immediate danger she was in. Good things Clara was already used to complications that came along with The Doctor's plans. She took it in stride, following the man's instructions as he ordered her to run towards a flood door at the end of the corridor she was in, telling O'Donnell to close it in time for the ghosts not to see where she's disappeared to. Agnes heart beat wildly in her chest, a triumphant smile sneaking its way onto her face as she saw that Clara was safe. Not that she was worried of course.
Now only Lunn was left.
One of the ghosts was following close behind him and as O'Donnell closed the door he was supposed to hide behind it had caught up enough to catch a glimpse of him before it closed. They followed the moment on the screen with bated breaths, all in silence before Lunn spoke up. "It saw me. Oh god."
Agnes stood up, chair scratching the floor as she did, squeezing past The Doctor and towards Cass, who stared at the screen with big eyes that were slowly filling with tears.
"It saw me. It's coming through. It's coming through the door."
She grasped her wrist, softly, making the woman towards her, eyes teary and angry.
"He's safe!" Her voice was steady as she looked at her, her right hand raised to sign the words. Cass didn't look convinced, eyes going between the screen and her as she tried to tug her wrist away. Agnes let go but didn't break her stare, repeating the sentence once more. "He's safe!"
The brunette shook her head, pulling her mouth into a snarl.
"I promise! I know the future. He's okay. I promise."
She felt The Doctor's eyes on her, but she didn't care what he thought. Maybe she'd broken all of his rules but she didn't care. The sinking dread when you realized you possibly just lost a loved one...all the words left unspoken swirling through your head, the guilt and the regret...Cass didn't deserve a split second of that feeling.
The woman still didn't look completely convinced, but her eyes softened and then gave a curt nod, signalling she'd believe her...for now. Then her eyes returned back to the screen.
"Can you hear me? Lunn, Lunn? Lunn, Lunn! What's happening? Lunn? Lunn? Can you hear me?"
Silence. They saw the ghost leaving the room. Then…
"I'm okay."
She breathed out. Fuck, yes.
O'Donnell grabbed Cass by the shoulders, telling her that Lunn was fine. She let out a sigh of relief, nodding towards her and then when looking to Agnes, she nodded once more, raising her hand to sign "Thank you." She smiled in return.
But it wasn't over yet. Bennett was left. Agnes didn't remember that, but she supposed it made sense. The ghosts still had to get into the cage, after all.
But the Doctor had thought of everything like he always did. And with the help of Bennett and a hologram Clara it didn't take a lot longer until the ghosts, all three of them were caught in the trap and the Doctor was rushing towards their location. She heard quick steps and the door open and close before Agnes had a chance to turn around, that's how quickly he'd vanished.
O'Donnell shook her head in amusement and Agnes couldn't agree more.
The Doctor arrived at the cage, his voice coming through the coms as greeted the ghosts around the same time as Clara, Lunn and Bennett opened the door to the bridge, stumbling inside. Lunn and Bennett were respectably greeted by Cass and O'Connell, the former receiving a hug while the latter received a hit to the arm.
"I'm fine by the way in case any of you were worried," Clara chimed from behind, awkwardly raising her hand and Agnes grinned at her.
"I'm glad you're okay," she told her and Clara lightened up. "Thanks!"
"Cass, are you seeing this?"
Agnes turned to look back at the screen seeing the wonky recording of The Doctor's glasses on one of the screens. The three ghosts were seen standing in the middle of the cage, but the image blurred every few seconds because of The Doctor's movements.
"She says she can't see them properly," Lunn translated for Cass, "The glass is too thick and they're too far away."
And the Doctor couldn't keep still. Forgot to add that, Cass.
"Open the door."
"What?" O'Donnell asked and Clara, alarmed by his words, came rushing towards the console, stopping next to Agnes.
"Doctor, you can't go in there, they will kill you!"
"They don't have any weapons or access to any of the controls. They can't hurt me, so open the door."
O'Donnell gave Clara a questioning look and the brunette hesitated, turning to look at Agnes. Her eyes were searching the girl's face, waiting for her opinion and Agnes nodded softly, signalling her he'd be okay.
O'Donnell unlocked the door and the Doctor stepped inside. Everyone watched the screen with bated breath as one of the ghosts stepped forward, lips moving, as he reached into the Doctor's body.
"Cold, isn't it?" The Doctor sounded unimpressed and Clara let out a sigh of relief, reaching out to squeeze Agnes' shoulder. "Take away your weapons and you're not so scary, are you? Is that better, Cass?"
Cass looked intently at the faces of the three ghosts, whose lips movements were now a lot clearer and started signing what she noticed.
"She says they're saying the same thing, the same phrase, over and over. They're saying the dark. The score. No, the sword. The for sale? No, the forsaken. The temple."
"What?"
"Yes, she's sure. The dark, the sword, the forsaken, the temple," Lunn repeated, "Just that. Over and over."
Now that the words were brought back to her memory, watching the lip movements of the three ghosts, it almost seemed too obvious. The dark, the sword, the forsaken, the temple. Repeated over and over.
The Doctor repeated the words, mumbling them, sounding thoughtful. "What does that mean? What are you telling me, big man?" He paused for a second. "Bennett! I need maps. I think I just worked out what our friend here is telling us."
They all exchanged glances.