Ch 76
As Vastra and River talked, the Doctor made another round of breakfast for the twins. Vastra seemed to have endless questions since this was the first time she was hearing about Missy's reappearance—Nardole had been the only other person to know what was going on until now.
River answered all of Vastra's questions as best she could. "I can't believe I agreed to it either." She muttered.
"I wish you had told me," Vastra sighed. "I know this is a very personal matter, but I feel I could've helped."
"It's okay. We made it this far. Now, all we have to do is bring her back and it'll be done with."
"I knew you seemed more stressed than normal, but if I had known this was the reason, I wouldn't have dismissed it as anxiety about your newest child. If there is something I can do, please don't hesitate to ask."
"Of course. Thank you."
"You must let me make dinner for your family soon. You'll tell the Doctor?"
"Yes, I will. I'll call you later and we can set something up."
Vastra agreed to this, bidding her goodbye. River hung up going to find her husband.
He was sitting with the girls at the kitchen table with the eldest children. Freya turned to her mother when she came in. "Dad said you're going to Yago?"
"Yes, we have some errands to run."
"How long will that take? I want to go somewhere today and we haven't got to use the TARDIS in ages."
"Not too long. An hour at most." River assured.
"And then can we go out?" She asked hopefully.
"Sure. If you want to."
Freya turned to her father who nodded and agreed. He'd feel safe letting the kids back in the TARDIS with Missy gone.
"Should we go?" River asked.
"Yes." He rose, glancing at his daughters. "Look after your siblings for a bit, yeah? We'll be back soon.
The Doctor took a breath, approaching River. "Well, let's get this over with," he whispered.
They went upstairs and retrieved the vortex manipulator, heading to the TARDIS.
Once again, the ship seemed shut down and cold as the TARDIS was used to only turning on the power in rooms with occupants.
River frowned, nudging her husband to lead the way. He glanced at her, stepping towards the hall. They didn't have to wander, finding Missy's room quickly.
River knocked on the door.
"What is it...?" Missy's voice was dull, the door remaining shut.
"Open the door." She crossed her arms.
"Why? I'm fairly certain that's not going to end well for me."
"Open the door," River repeated, sterner this time.
The door opened on cue, the TARDIS helping out. Missy scowled at the door. "Fat load of good you are, stupid ship."
"We're taking you back." River stepped into the room.
Missy looked at her nails. "Back to Tailyyun? They had delightful spa service."
"Back to the Executioner's planet."
"Well, well. I was right about opening that door—no shock for anyone there."
River rolled her eyes, turning to go back to the console room. The Doctor made Missy follow as well, the latter falling silent.
River didn't waste any time punching in the coordinates.
"Not even going to offer me a last meal?" Missy lowered herself into the jump seat. "How rude."
"Unfortunately I'm not feeling too generous after what you tried to pull." River muttered.
"I was trying to help." She insisted. "It's not my fault you're ungrateful."
"How is what you were trying to do helpful?!" River shouted.
"My my, someone's moody today." Missy ruffled her shoulders. "You're so touchy about that little... thing you're growing it seemed you'd be happier with it born rather than it leaching off you for another however long. I was only speeding things up, it wouldn't have hurt anyone."
River's jaw tightened, not answering Missy's ridiculous remarks and piloting them to their destination.
The Doctor moved to open the doors when they landed. "Look, Missy, what you did crossed a very personal line. River and I aren't going to wait around for you to understand why—you aren't our responsibility or our priority. We've given you more than enough chances to learn but since you haven't: welcome back to where you-" He swung the doors open, his eyes instantly widening. "...started."
"Doctor? Is something wrong?" River frowned, waking up beside him. It took no time at all for her expression to match his. She ran back to check the coordinates she put in. The screen read the coordinates of the Executioners' planet, though the screen was glitching.
"What's the matter?" Missy said with poorly hidden amusement.
"What did you do?" River hissed.
"For once, I haven't clue. Ooh, that's something new, isn't it."
"You're lying." River snapped at her, "Tell me what you did!"
"Oh, what's that outside?" She stood, glancing in the direction of the door.
"That isn't funny, Missy." The Doctor hissed.
"Speak for yourself, I'm having fun." She grinned.
He scowled. "Care to share where the hell we are, then?"
"I don't know where we are." She smirked, "You tell me."
"A bloody spaceship." He growled, stepping out into the new environment. "An empty bloody space—a mostly empty bloody spaceship." He corrected, spotting a bewildered blue humanoid.
"Who are you?" The blue man shouted, heading towards them.
Missy peered out over the Doctor's shoulder. "Glad you asked. I'm Doctor Who and these are my disposables."
"Excuse me?" River glared at her.
"Was that too forward? What does Eyebrows here call you, a companion? Pet? Snack?"
"We're not going to play your games." River snapped at her, "We're leaving."
Just then, an alarm started blaring and with it, the TARDIS started to dematerialize.
River jumped, "What's going on?"
"The HADS is kicking in—something's wrong with the environment, she's panicking," the Doctor said quickly, running for the ship and trying to key open the door before it could disappear. River was on his heels, hearts pounding.
The key dropped to the floor as the lock around it dematerialized completely without any of the Timelords abord.
"Please tell me you have the vortex manipulator on you." River whispered.
The Doctor quickly patted his pockets, his face only paling. He's sworn he put it in his pocket earlier. River turned on Missy, eyes blazing.
Missy, was looking up at the ceiling, not looking at the devastated couple. River followed her gaze, looking up. "I suppose we know why your box skipped bail," Missy murmured, then turned to River with bright eyes. "This would be perfect for my test."
"Absolutely not!" River shouted.
"Will one of you please tell me what the hell is going on and how you got here?" The humanoid demanded.
"We're not explaining anything until you tell us where we are." River turned on him, her anger all but being dumped on the stranger.
"MND. Colony Ship: 74988RX2." He said begrudgingly. "Are any of you humans?"
"A colony ship." The Doctor muttered, eyes on the ceiling. He didn't seem to have heard the question. "Transversing away from a black hole."
"Are any of you human?!" The blue man was getting more frantic now.
The Doctor finally looked at him, stealing a glance towards River. "Why is that important?"
"Because! It's for your own safety." He stated urgently.
The Doctor moved closer to River protectively, not liking the panic that was rising in the other man's voice. "None of us are... fully human."
"They can detect human life forms—any trace. Which one of you is human? Is it you?" He turned to Missy.
"Oh, don't be a bitch." She rolled her eyes. "It's that one over there," she pointed to River, "The mutt."
River's eyes grew wide, "Missy!"
"He's frightened and he's got a gun in his belt. I wouldn't want him to do something stupid and get all cross and point it at me—you're already trying to get me executed. Is this the emotion you humans call spanking?"
The blue man turned on River and the Doctor, already going for his belt where the said gun was holstered.
The Doctor put his hands up. "Woah, hey, look at me. Please listen, this isn't necessary."
"They're going to come if we don't get rid of the human."
"Who's going to come?" He was completely in front of River now.
"Th-Things. I don't know where they came from, but she has to go."
It was at this point that the Doctor noticed the elevator shafts and the dial above them indicated that something was coming up to this floor very quickly. "Believe us, we'd love to leave as soon as possible, preferably alive and in one piece."
The man noticed it too, "They're coming. I'm sorry, but she's the reason they're coming." He pulled his blaster out.
"Put it down." The Doctor's voice was growing more serious. "That is my pregnant wife you're pointing that gun at, put it down now."
The elevator was drawing closer to their level, slowing in pace but still approaching. The man wasn't backing down.
"Please, I need you to trust me. You don't know it yet, but in a short time, you'll trust me with your life." The Doctor said, slower this time. "She's not Doctor Who," he gestured to Missy, "I am. And I will save you from whatever is coming if you please put down the gun."
As soon as he finished speaking, the lifts arrived. The doors opened to reveal four creatures that looked something like humanoid hospital patients. Their faces were completely obscured with white cloths and they leaned on IV poles. Two of them had what appeared to be oxygen tanks and they all wore wrinkled white gowns. Immediately, they surged forwards.
River jumped back, there was nowhere to run.
"Give it here!" Missy grabbed the gun from the blue man's hand and shot two massive holes in the chest of one of the creatures. It fell back, though the rest pressed forward unaffected and highly focused on River.
One of them grabbed River's arm, pulling her with blind force towards the lift. River shouted and tried hitting it, looking for a weak spot. The thing didn't seem to notice her struggling, pulling her along easily like she was as light as a bag.
"Missy!" The Doctor shouted.
"On it!" She started firing directly at the creature holding River.
River managed to get as far away as she could once the creature was down. Missy didn't stop shooting until the only ones standing were not covered in strange hospital clothes. "So, did I pass?"
"No! You did not pass! We're still stuck here! And even if you got us off this ship, it's your fault we ended up here in the first place." River went off on her, out of breath and frankly, shell-shocked.
"So I'd come out even." Missy pointed out. "Look, the only way we're getting out of here is by working together and stopping whatever made HADS go off. I take it that it's the black hole looming over our shoulder." She cocked a brow. "Look at that, we're going to end up saving the ship anyways."
River tightened her jaw, hands clenched into fists, shaking with anger.
"Tell you what, I promise not to kill anyone except those monster things and you agree to let me help, alright?" She didn't wait for an answer. "Right, so biiiiiig ship-typical of a colony ship, traversing away from a black hole with one captain." She turned to the blue man, then glanced at the console screens and nearly grinned. "Not one captain. All those screens have been angled to a single viewpoint. It's not the original formation—So!" she clapped her hands together. "What happened to the others?"
"Those creatures arrived and they began taking all the humans away. They didn't want me." The blue man spoke up.
"And you're not human," Missy added. "Is this the part where I ask his name? Why not— name?"
River looked hesitant to her husband as Missy interacted with the man. "I don't trust her."
"She's doing everything I would..." the Doctor said, though his tone matched hers. Maybe Missy really did want to be tested and had been sick of waiting, though he badly wished that she'd found a different way to express that. "Look Riv, we need to focus on making sure you're safe first. You're a big target right now and if there's more of those things, I don't think it'll end well. We need to build a bio-dampener."
"I agree." She was trying to hide her concern, "We've been so careful. I don't want this to be a repeat of what happened on..." Her voice caught, "On Gallifrey."
He swallowed and nodded. As Missy acquired the ship diagnostics from Jorj, the Doctor gathered parts for a makeshift bio-dampener from bits of the ship he deemed unnecessary. River helped him gather the parts, assembling it with him.
They kept eyes on Missy, glancing at her often to make sure she wasn't causing more trouble than she had. They caught bits of words as they worked, things like: "Two days? Really?"; "That's roughly human flirting, isn't it?"; and "You look sick, have you gone a darker blue?"
River kept shooting glances at the elevator, hands trembling as she tried to work alongside her husband in a quick and calm manner.
"Oi, lovebirds," Missy called. "I found the rest of the crew."
"We're in the middle of something." River snapped.
"You're going to want to see this." She insisted, turning one of the console screens to face them. It showed a map of the ship and all life forms that registered. On the top were the four of them on a dark grey backdrop. The bottom of the ships was a nearly solid glow of readings. "There were about 40 people on this ship according to Greg over here. A skeleton crew. And they're all dead."
River's eyes widened at the number of lifeforms, "And something invaded the ship?"
"No. That mess you see down there, they're all descendants of the original crew. Gary said that it's been only two days since the monsters first appeared and took everyone. Conclusion?" She looked at River expectantly.
"The black hole is tampering with time. Time passes faster down there, and slower up here." River murmured, putting the two together.
"Gold star for the halfbreed. If you'd been taken down there, you'd have a ten-year-old with you the next time we saw you. What did you build?"
"Biodampers." River murmured, "It should hide my biosignature so they won't come looking for us again."
"Does it work?" She challenged.
"It should." She murmured, slipping the finished machine on. The makeshift device was much bigger than the subtle bio-dampeners they had in the TARDIS. The thing covered River's whole chest like some sort of sci-fi armor chest plate.
The Doctor scanned her with his sonic. "Yes, it works."
"Good. That's a relief." River gave him a weak smile.
"Well, shall we head down there?" Missy asked cheerily.
River raised her eyebrow, "No! It's not safe. In case you haven't gotten it through your to thick skull, I'm pregnant and trying not to put my child in unnecessary danger."
"I wasn't asking, dear, I was telling. The TARDIS won't come to this level of the ship, we're too close to the black hole. Our best chances of getting out of here are to go to the belly of the beast. And as long as that device keeps working, those things won't go after you again."
River scowled, looking at the Doctor. He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Unfortunately, she's right. Even if one of us can get to the TARDIS, we can't bring it back here to get the others. We've all got to go."
"Fine. But this better not take long." She muttered
"Should we bring Jeremy?" Missy gestured to Jorj.
"I don't think he'll be very useful." River shook her head, "I can only handle one untrustworthy person at the moment."
"You're just going to leave me here? With those things on my ship?" Jorj panicked.
"You'll be fine." River snapped at him, highly irritated. Jorj shut his mouth, somehow not having it in him to challenge the angry mother who he had been pointing a gun at just before. "Let's go." She stormed towards the lifts.
The Doctor pulled his phone out as they got in the lift. "I want to call Vastra. I'm worried about the kids."
"No!" River practically hit the phone out of his hands, "What if they track your call?"
He nearly dropped it, fumbling to put it back in his pocket. "Sorry, sorry. Wasn't thinking."
The lift doors closed and they started moving. River clenched her fists, squeezing her eyes shut in pain. The stress was starting to get to her. Missy leaned against the wall as the Doctor stepped closer to his wife. "Riv?"
"It's okay." She tried to whisper.
"What's wrong?"
"Stress reaction… I think." She breathed.
"Baby gets fussy every time Mummy's a bit upset?" Missy teased. "Isn't that helpful."
"Shut up, Missy." River growled.
"Then pull yourself together because no matter how small your human-y brian maybe, we're still going to need every part of it focused."
"Missy, knock it off." The Doctor stepped between them, blocking out their views of each other. "River, I know ignoring her isn't the easiest thing, but I promise we'll get the TARDIS back as quickly as possible."
"How can you expect me to ignore her when she won't stop making ridiculous remarks." She scowled.
"I'm not asking you to ignore her, but she's right about all of us needing to focus."
"I'm sorry that my pregnancy is such an inconvenience to you." River snapped at him.
"That's not what I—River you know I'd do anything to keep you and Felix safe."
"Felix? Is that what you're calling it?" Missy scoffed. "Don't get too attached."
He turned to Missy. "You understand that working together entails not irritating the people you're working with?"
"I am aware, but it's so fun!"
The lift jolted to a sudden stop, the doors opening to reveal that they were inside a hospital. The room in front of them looked sterile and dark, medical equipment lying on all the counters by the wall.
"River, not one person, not one living thing on this ship with worth you or our baby." He whispered, scanning the strange looking operating theater. "That's why both of you need to cooperate."
River took his hand, hesitantly stepping out into the room with him.