A/N: new chappie! enjoy!

Chapter 32: Thirty-two Sequences

Maisie glanced at Elvis as he remained at the door, trying to open it, Clara sitting next to her.

"This Doctor…he's your what, exactly?" Maisie asked Clara in a hushed tone, and the brunette frowned before glancing at the Doctor then smiled.

"Well, this isn't the Doctor I know," Clara began. "There's two of them now. It's a bit complicated. But the Doctor I know isn't my anything, either."

"Oh, you mean you're just friends," Maisie nodded.

"Yeah, of course we're just friends," Clara chuckled, but her smile fell as she corrected herself. "Well, not even friends. Not anymore."

The Doctor kept his back turned to the girls, but listened intently. He wanted to know exactly what kind of man he was in this world to drive away a companion.

"Well, that clearly isn't true," Maisie observed.

"It's true, yeah," Clara argued, gently. "It is very true."

"You do seem to be here together," Maisie pointed out.

"Seriously," Clara sighed with a smile. "We're stuck in the carriage, probably all night, and all we can do is talk about some man."

"Some man," Maisie grinned, triumphantly.

"Not that kind of…" Clara trailed off before sighing and confessing, "Look, we knocked about together, we traveled, and now we're stopping. This is, uh…well I dunno. Goodbye to the good times."

"Were the good times all like this?" Maisie smiled, nervously as Clara chuckled.

"Yeah, now that you mention it," she smiled back.

"So where does he fit in?" Maisie asked about the Doctor, still fiddling with the panel. "And the other girl that was with you."

"Olivia," Clara nodded. "They just sort of dropped in by accident. We're gonna get them home after all this is over."

"Yes, and I can't wait to get back because nothing of mine works in this universe!" the Doctor snapped, stomping his foot in agitation before marching toward the girls to sit across from them. "That door is impossible! I've tried about thirty-two sequences on that thing and it still won't open!"

"Universe?" Maisie asked Clara, who only shook her head that it was a long story. "Right, so why don't you tell us what's made you decide to stop traveling with your Doctor then?"

"Yes, I could do with a story to clear my head," the Doctor chimed in, ruffling his hair before sitting back and crossing his legs in front of him.

Clara glanced between them before telling them about her trip with him to the moon and how he'd acted on that trip.

"Oh, he was wrong," Maisie instantly agreed.

"Yes, yes," Clara nodded. "Yes, he was."

"And high-handed and thoughtless and arrogant beyond belief!"

"Exactly!"

"And yet, you got on this train with him," the Doctor smirked, making Clara look to him in wide-eyed shock.

"You would agree with…yourself," she muttered.

"Dear Clara, I am not agreeing with him," he argued, gently. "If I'd done the same thing to Olivia she would have done exactly what you did, and be right to. But she wouldn't have come here with me and pretended nothing was wrong."

"I was saying goodbye," Clara defended. "You can't end it on a slammed door."

"Yes, you can," Maisie replied. "Anyone can do it. People do it all the time. Except, of course, when they can't. It would be so much simpler if you liked the right people. People you're supposed to like."

"Ah, but then, Miss Maisie Pitt, there would be no fairy tales," the Doctor smirked, making her smile and nod in agreement.

"What about Olivia?" Maisie asked him as Clara seemed to go into a world of thought of her own. "She seems nice, and from the way you describe her she seems fearless as well."

"That's what I love about her," he grinned, twirling his wedding ring on his finger as he continued, "She's clever, feisty…gorgeous and she keeps me in line, well enough. Infuriating sometimes…and I'm probably that someone she's not supposed to like, but she's stubborn, too."

"There's certainly no room for error on your relationship with her then, is there?" Maisie smiled. "Very, obviously more than friends."

"Husband and wife, actually," the Doctor smiled, then looked to his ring in thought. "I do hope she's alright."

Meanwhile...

Olivia watched on a computer screen in one of the cars as a surveillance video played Mrs. Pitt's death, Perkins and Professor Moorhouse watching with her, Scotty timing it on a stopwatch. The Doctor stopped the watch once the old woman on the screen stopped shouting and moving.

"Sixty-six seconds," he announced. "Fits the myth."

"The lights flickered," Olivia noticed. "That happened in the kitchen, too. Before the cook saw it."

"In all of the accounts conventional weapons have no effect on the Foretold," Moorhouse explained. "It's immortal. Unstoppable. Unkillable."

"Can we get a new expert?" Perkins asked the Doctor, making Olivia giggle as Moorhouse nearly glared at him.

"I agree," she smirked. "This one is so…glass half empty."

Perkins laughed with Olivia as Moorhouse waved them both off and she looked to the Doctor who only turned to some of the paperwork on the tables around them. Her smile fell when he didn't look at her, laugh or even smile as Perkins patted her shoulder and turned to his own paperwork, Moorhouse looking over something on another computer. She looked to the Doctor as he sat in a chair, still not looking at her, even as she leaned back on the table next to him to look down at him.

"At least Perkins thinks I'm funny," she muttered, smiling when he gave her a quick glance, but he still didn't say a word. "Are you gonna give me the silent treatment the entire time? Because you're gonna have to talk to me at some point. And I know you. You can't go very long without talking."

He still said nothing, seeming like he was ignoring her, but she knew he wasn't. She waited a moment longer before standing and plopping herself on his knee to look over what he was reading, making him stare at her with huge eyes.

"Finally, I get a reaction out of you," she muttered, keeping her eyes on the paperwork. "Now, what are you looking at?"

"What are you doing?" he questioned, still staring at her.

"Trying to read," she replied. "Oh, you're looking at the passenger manifest."

"No, I mean, what are you doing sitting on my knee? You're a married woman."

"Married to you, I might remind you."

"Not in this universe."

"Well, then what am I?" Olivia asked, looking at him over her shoulder, their gazes meeting and he seemed to coil back, slightly. "You still haven't answered my question. You look at me…like I'm the Ghost of Christmas Past, and I can see the pain in your eyes. You called me Liv. What aren't you telling me?"

The Doctor stared at her as she waited for his explanation, but instead, he gripped her waist and stood her up to stand himself and look over more of the papers on the table. She waited for his answer, but when a few moments went by and he still didn't answer her, she sighed and turned her attention to the paperwork as well, not knowing what she was looking for, but guessing she'd know it when she found it.

"I'll tell you when this is over," the Doctor finally reported, making Olivia look up at him in wide-eyed surprise, but he kept his gaze on the work. "Before you leave. Don't ask me again."

He looked up at her, waiting for a response and she nodded, "Ok."

"Good," he nodded, looking back to his work. "You should get some sleep. The three of us can deal with this."

"You're sure?" she wondered. "I don't mind."

"Get some sleep," he said again, not looking at her, but she still nodded.

Olivia bit her lip before stepping toward him and whispering, "Does this mean you forgive me for what I said earlier?"

He frowned at her in confusion, replying, "I thought we'd been through that. You're forgiven. Go. To. Sleep."

He looked away from her again, but she couldn't help but smile before she chose a seat to sleep in. She could've sworn she hadn't been asleep long before she was being shaken awake.

"Olivia! Wake up!" the Doctor ordered, making her start awake and stare at him in wide-eyed confusion. He grabbed her hand and yanked her out of the chair, some kind of communicator in his other hand as he raced out the door, dragging her behind him and he spoke into the com. "Clara, where are you?"

They made their way to the storage car where the TARDIS sat, and Scotty stepped up to the door at the other end of the car.

"Clara, is that you?" he called, knocking on the door.

"Yes, yes," Clara replied. "Hello. Can you hear us?"

"I'll go find Theta," Olivia reported.

"I'm already here, Liv," Elvis called from the other side of the door, making the pair look to the door in wide-eyed shock.

"How are you not out yet?!" Olivia questioned in disbelief.

"Don't start now!" Elvis called as Scotty moved to the panel to try opening the door, but it sparked at him as he quickly removed the shoe that Maisie had used on it.

"Computer, can you open the door please?!" Scotty snapped.

"Call me Gus. I'm afraid this door can only be opened by executive order."

"Oh, forget it!" Scotty waved the thing off in exasperation before pulling out his Sonic and handing the com over to Olivia. "Talk to her."

"Clara, it's Olivia," she reported, watching Scotty use the Sonic on the door, but the screwdriver blipped and failed. "The Sonic's not working."

"Elvis' Sonic didn't work either," Clara replied. "Why isn't it working?"

"Some sort of suppression field, I would guess," Scotty replied.

"Suppression field! Of course!" Elvis echoed in exasperation at himself.

"And it has to be a guess because the stupid Sonic Screwdriver's not working," Scotty added before yanking the com back from Olivia to ask, "Clara, what are you even doing in there?"

"Well, I was looking for you, Mr. Nothing-to-Worry-About," Clara retorted.

"Theta! You were supposed to keep her out of it!" Olivia snapped through the door at Elvis.

"What was I supposed to do?! I followed her here, didn't I?!" he retorted, making Olivia roll her eyes and hold her face in her palm in exasperation.

"Well…was I supposed to waken you up?" Scotty asked Clara. "Drag you out of bed because I had a hunch? I thought you didn't wanna do this anymore."

"Look, look, can we not do this right now?" she requested. "We may not be alone in here. There's a sarcophagus."

"Is it in there?" Scotty breathed.

"The Sonic wouldn't work on that, either," Elvis reported, but the three in the room jumped when activation sounds came from the sarcophagus and the door on it slowly swung open. "Unless…that's a delayed reaction."

"We're about to find out if we're really alone now," Clara told Scotty, and the lights flickered as he began trying to fix the panel while Olivia yanked the com from him.

"Clara, stay back. We're trying to get in to get you," she ordered, before lowering the com to whisper to Scotty, "We are gonna get the door open, right?"

"Well, you breathing down my neck isn't gonna get it open any faster, is it?" Scotty shot back, making Olivia stick her tongue out at him.

"Olivia, it's ok," Clara sighed in relief making Olivia frown in wonder as she lifted the com to her ear again. "It's full of…bubble wrap."

"But…the lights," Olivia began.

"Doctor, Mrs. Felton," Quell called, suddenly behind them and they both whirled around to see him with some of his guards. "Move away from the door."

"But our friends are inside," Scotty reported.

"Then they're in trouble, too," Quell replied. "I spoke to head office. There are no mystery shoppers. You're not even on the passenger list."

"Clara, we'll call you back," Olivia sighed as the guards handcuffed Scotty, and she quickly hung up the com to put it in his pocket.

"Olivia?!" Elvis called from the other side of the door, pounding on it with a fist as he called, "Olivia, what's happening?!"

"I'm gonna have to mark you down for this," Scotty tutted as he was pulled toward the door, Olivia being cuffed as well and pulled after him.

"Olivia?!" Elvis called, still pounding on the door. "Olivia!"

"You are not mystery shoppers," Quell retorted as they were marched out of the car. "For all I know you're both behind the killings."

"Oh, come on, Captain," Scotty shot back as they were walked through the train toward the lounge car. "How many people have to die before you stop looking the other way?"

Quell and his men led the Doctor and Olivia into the lounge car to find one of his guards panicking and screaming as he shot at something that wasn't there.

"What do you think you're doing, man?!" Quell snapped as he marched toward the guard as he backed into a chair, begging for his life. "Get up man! That's an order!"

The guard whimpered, trying to escape the invisible menace before he finally froze and fell limp in the chair. A doctor stepped up to check his pulse then looked to Quell to shake his head. The man was dead.

'It turns out it's three," Quell said, turning to the Doctor to order that he and Olivia were to be uncuffed as they frowned at him in wonder before he explained, "The amount of people that have to die before I stop looking the other way."

"Thank you," Olivia nodded to him as she was uncuffed.

"Same as the others," Perkins observed, coming up between her and the Doctor who nodded to him as they all watched the guard be carried away.

Olivia watched the Doctor look around the car at everyone, and she knew the look in his eyes. He'd just realized something.

"Ladies and gentlemen, can I have a moment of your time, please?" he called, drawing everyone's attention to him as they gathered around, and he was pacing in thought before he made his announcement. "There's a monster on this train that can only be seen by those who are about to die. If you do see it, you will have exactly sixty-six seconds in which to live.

"But that isn't even the strangest thing. Do you know what it is?" he chuckled, pacing through the car then pointing around the group. "You. The passengers. Experts in alien biology, mythology, physics— If I was putting together a team to analyze this thing, I'd pick you. Someone of immense power and influence has orchestrated this whole trip. Someone, who I have no doubt, is listening to us, right now."

Olivia looked to Perkins when she felt a shift in the train, and he glanced to her knowingly.

"So are you going to step out from behind the curtain and give us our orders?" the Doctor asked, excitedly.

"Is it just me, or have the engines stopped?" Olivia whispered to Perkins and he nodded in return.

The lights flickered as the doors locked them in and the décor changed to a sterile room filled with all kinds of equipment such as computers, scanners and cameras in several corners.

"And the façade drops away, because what use are a bunch of scientists without a lab?" the Doctor grinned, triumphantly.

Olivia gasped when several people disappeared from the car, making the others left look around in confusion and terror.

"Teleporter?" Perkins guessed.

"They looked more like hard-light holograms," Olivia piped up.

"They were never really here," the Doctor confirmed, walking by her to examine the door. "Fake passengers to make up the numbers.

"That was my best guard," Quell complained about someone that had disappeared.

"Good morning everyone," Gus called from the PA. "Around the room you will find a variety of scientific equipment. Your goal is to ascertain the Foretold's true nature. Probe for weaknesses with a view to capture, after which we will reverse engineer its abilities. Isn't this exciting?"

"Oh, absolutely thrilling," Olivia sneered.

"You said 'capture', implying that you can't control this thing, and yet, somehow you got it on board," the Doctor noted. "How?"

"There is an artifact – an ancient scroll. I've highlighted it for your convenience." A light turned to shine on a scroll hanging on a wall. "For reasons currently unknown, the Foretold appears in the vicinity of this artifact."

"And kills at regular intervals," the Doctor added.

"Then maybe we should just throw this thing out of the airlock," Quell decided, marching toward the artifact to do just that, making the Doctor and Olivia rush after him. They tried to stop him, but they were too late as he was struck by the forcefield surrounding it. He stumbled back as the Doctor and Olivia caught him, helping him back to his feet from being stunned.

"Looks like they thought of that," Perkins replied.

"What if we say no?" Moorhouse questioned. "Down tools? Refuse to work?"

"That would be your choice, of course, but it would be very upsetting were you all to die at the hands of the Foretold."

"So get cracking before you die," Olivia sighed.

"But even if they agree to this, how are they supposed to study a creature they can't even see? We don't even know what the species is," the Doctor reasoned, but the lights flickered, and he tossed Olivia the stopwatch he was using, ordering, "Start the clock!"

"Approximately 1.8 meters 2," Moorhouse instantly began, turning everyone's attention to him. "Actually, seeing it in the flesh isn't nearly as rewarding as I thought it might be."

"Oh dear, aw geez," the Doctor began before questioning, "But what can you see? Details."

"Ah, yes, of course," Moorhouse sputtered, fumbling to put on his glasses as Olivia watched him backing away from the Foretold…trying to escape something that only he could see. "Well, it just looks like a man in bandages."

"What kind of bandages? Old? New?"

"Old."

"Old… Ragged?"

"Ragged. Falling off in places. I don't know what you want me to tell you!"

"Listen to me! You can see this thing, we can't. Tell us what you can see. Even the smallest detail could help us save the next one."

Moorhouse pulled his glasses off as he and Olivia both stared at the Doctor in wide-eyed shock, even as the professor still backed away.

"The next one?" Moorhouse echoed. "You mean…you can't save me?"

"Well, that is implied, isn't it?" the Doctor replied as Olivia watched on in horror for a moment before looking back to the stopwatch in her hand, remembering her duty. "Yes. This is probably the end for you. But make it count! Details, please!"

"Th-Thirty seconds," Olivia shuddered before Perkins took the watch from her to keep the time instead, gripping her shoulder reassuringly before rushing toward the Doctor to stand next to him.

"Uh…flesh: Some falling off, leathery…" Moorhouse began, continually describing what he could see.

"Keep talking!" the Doctor urged. "Don't waste this chance!"

"Doctor, do something!" Olivia cried, desperately before slapping her hands over her mouth, tears in her eyes.

"I want to bargain for my life!" Moorhouse announced.

"What are you doing?!" the Doctor snapped.

"It says that if you find the right word, if you make the right offer then it lets you go!"

"This is not a myth! This is real! Forget your superstitions! Tell us what you can see!"

"This is my life! My death! I'm going to fight for it how I want!"

"Ten seconds!" Perkins announced.

Moorhouse began listing everything he had to offer before resorting to begging for his life. He was backed into the door on the other end of the car as he begged before he suddenly seized and sank to the floor, dead.

"Zero," Perkins sighed, stopping the watch as a doctor ran toward Moorhouse.

Olivia jumped with a half-sob half-gasp when there was a loud ding before Gus said, "We apologize for any distress you may have just experienced. Grief counseling is available on request. On the bright side, I'm sure you've all collected a lot of data! Well done everyone!"

She looked to the screens around her as Perkins stepped up next to her.

"It's recording every death," he reported as Olivia remained quiet, looking over the data.

"Of course it is," the Doctor nodded, stepping up behind her to look over her shoulder. "That's why we're all here. To study our own demise. So let's get to work! Chop, chop!"

The Doctor lifted a few lab coats scattered around to hand them out, and started pacing in thought. He passed by Olivia a few times before he finally stopped and looked at her as she stared at the screen she'd been studying the entire time.

"You're quiet," he noticed. "It's not good when you're quiet. What's the matter with you?"

"I've had three men die right in front of me from this thing, and you're asking what's wrong with me?" she growled lowly, turning on him to meet his frown with her glare. "And you didn't even try to help the professor."

"He had sixty-six seconds to live, what was I supposed to do?! I can't work with sixty-six seconds when I can't see what I'm fighting!"

"That's not the point."

"Oh, and what, pray tell, is the point?"

"The point is that you acted like his death was nothing. You're acting like his sacrifice meant nothing."

"We don't have time for sentiment, Olivia. Need I remind you, we're on the clock?" The Doctor gripped Olivia's left wrist and held her hand up between them, making her glare burn even hotter at him. "If you'd like to whine about what a heartless man I am, why don't you use your little trinket to talk to your husband about it? And while you're at it, tell him to look for any paperwork he can find in that car about any other experiments like this that were done on the Foretold."

Olivia yanked her hand away from his grip, gritting her teeth as they kept each other's burning glares and she stepped closer to murmur, "I knew a man, a long time ago, that would have, at the very least, apologized for not being able to save him. Who would have said enough is enough, and no one else will die today. Who would have been outraged at all of this!"

The Doctor stepped even closer to loom over her, their glares never wavering from the other before he replied, "I am outraged. But I don't have time to think about whether or not anyone's feelings are hurt by what I say. I have to save as many people as I can. As I said, I can't work with sixty-six seconds if I can't see what I'm fighting."

She glared at him for another moment before turning to march toward a chair at one of the tables. She sat herself down, and a chill suddenly ran through her, making her hug herself as she shivered, getting ready to speak with her Doctor. She was about to rub her thumb over her ring when she felt something warm cover her shoulders, making her look up in wonder to see who was behind her. She saw the Doctor stepping away to speak with Perkins…but he wasn't wearing his jacket.

Olivia couldn't help but smile as she pulled the jacket a little tighter around her, then turned to contacting her Doctor. She rubbed her ring, finding contact with him instantly.

"Liv! Are you alright?!" his voice echoed through her mind.

"I'm fine, Theta," she replied. "We've found out what's going on and the three of you need to do something since you're stuck in there."

"Won't be stuck for long. I think I can get this door open now."

"Well, do this for me first. You're looking up files in there on experiments on the Foretold."

A/N: reviews?