"Wake up, Clara. Wake up! Clara!"
Clara's eyes slowly fluttered opened, instantly feeling a blazing heat. Her vision cleared up to find her friend, Liv, on her knees right beside her. Upon seeing Clara waking up, Liv smiled and looked over her body. "She's up," she seemed to be informing.
"Excellent."
Clara sat up, releasing a breath and seeing Minerva calmly sitting over a rock with a wooden, pointy stick in her hand. "Minerva…?"
"Glad you're awake," Minerva smiled down. "You might want to get up from the ground. It's a bit dirty."
"What…?" Clara raised her hands off the desert-like ground and got up. "Woah!" she was startled to find Missy alive but...hanging upside down with her ankles tied by an ice rope.
"Don't be afraid, she won't be getting out anytime soon," Minerva's voice lowered once her eyes laid on Missy.
"Oh, we both know that's a lie," Missy rolled her eyes. She didn't look the least bothered nor the least scared about her situation.
"Um…" Clara looked between the two women, awfully confused. "Shouldn't we be ... I don't want to say...dead, but...yeah..."
"That's what I thought at first," Liv admitted. "Had to scour the area until I found you again."
"You can thank me for that," Missy once again called, this time smugly smiling. Clara didn't buy it. She glanced at Minerva for some explanation but Minerva nodded that it was indeed because of Missy that they survived. "Told you," Missy smirked.
"Okay…" Clara still didn't know how they were brought up to the point they were now, "...how?"
"I used our vortex manipulators' power to get us out of there instead of dying because of the Daleks," Missy explained. "Simple diversion trick."
"That's how she survived the Cybermen," Liv shared with Clara the bit they learned while the latter was out.
"Okay," Clara once again nodded her head. "So...so why is she tied up?" she jerked a thumb in Missy's direction.
Minerva glowered at Missy, yet dangerously calm. "We had a disagreement."
"Of?"
"Disclosure."
"Ah." Clara awkwardly crossed her arms. Part of her struggled to keep a straight face but it became difficult as Missy comically and slowly turned with the rope.
Minerva was outraged Missy hadn't bothered to share with her what she'd done to their manipulators and decided that while she didn't want to kill Missy...it didn't mean she couldn't have fun getting some revenge.
"It's been an hour, snowflake princess, when are we getting back to business?" Missy tiredly asked.
Minerva got up from the rock she was sitting on and turned to Clara, ignoring Missy's question. "We have quite the task ahead of us, Clara. The Doctor thinks we're dead-"
"But should you be able to do that mind-talking thingy?" Clara's eyes looked at Minerva's hands but found no wedding ring on Minerva's finger. Without it, Minerva could not use her telepathic abilities.
"I decided against it," Minerva patted her jacket to indicate her wedding ring was safely tucked inside. "If the Doctor thinks we're alive then he might do something stupid to try and get us back. If we're dead, then he has to focus on escaping and getting back to Elias thinking he's Elias' only parent left."
"Kinda harsh don't you think?" Clara questioned. Liv sighed beside her.
"Cold, actually," Missy remarked. "Even for you, snowflake princess."
Minerva spared her a brief glance. "Once could say it's my way to get back at him for his little 3-week party."
"Still harsh," both Clara and Liv said.
Minerva snapped her fingers and instantly made the ice rope tying Missy's ankle melt. Missy dropped onto the ground with a thump and glared at Minerva.
"Now then, the Doctor's trapped at the heart of the Dalek empire. Between us and him is everything the deadliest warrior race in the history of the universe can throw at us." Minerva took a couple steps towards the Dalek city ahead of them. "Now we, on the other hand, have next to nothing. Please, don't let that discourage you."
"What's that for?" Clara came up beside her, her finger pointing at the stick still in Minerva's hand.
"For you," Minerva surprised her by handing her the stick. "In case that one over there-" she made a nod towards Missy, "-tries anything funny and I'm not around."
"Okay," Clara slowly nodded.
However, before they could even begin to think of a proper idea, they saw the Daleks of the city rise from the ground, like there was some sort of emergency.
"What's happening?" Clara quickly asked the two women with her.
"I think…" Minerva clicked her tongue, "...my husband. He should quite upset with our 'demise'."
"Still not telling him, then?" Missy came by, slightly amused.
"Yeah, I mean, it might not be a good idea to keep him thinking that…" Liv hated to agree with Missy.
"The idea was to keep him focused but now…" Minerva debated internally while her eyes remained keen on the city, "...I think it might have the opposite effect."
Behind them, Missy had spotted something that caught her attention.
"You actually thought it would work?" Clara had herself a short laugh. "Now that's hilarious."
"Minerva, look," Liv pointed back to Missy who was now nearing an hole in the ground. Minerva turned around and started for the brunette.
"What is that?" Minerva nearly demanded from Missy once they'd neared.
"It's the sewers," Missy replied with a sly smile. "Take a look," she gestured.
Minerva eyed her for a moment but still came forwards. She put her hands on her knees and peered over.
"Daleks have sewers?" Clara tried to peer in as well.
"With one significant difference," Missy said suspiciously quiet.
"Being?"
"They're ever so slightly alive."
"They're what!?"
Missy scooted closer to Minerva, acting as if she were examining the hole as well. "How much of a drop would you say that is, snowflake princess? Can you see the bottom?"
"What do I look like?" Minerva muttered. "A flashlight?"
"Well maybe we could chuck a stone or something," Liv offered an idea.
"Oh yeah, good idea," Missy straightened up and gave one smirk down before she pushed Minerva into the hole.
"Minerva!" both Clara and Live shouted. But Minerva's screams echoed up to the top until there came a loud thud! In the end.
Missy tilted her head, a thinking face settled. "Hm, twenty feet," she decided.
Clara brandished the stick Minerva made for her, meaning to be threatening. Without Minerva around, Clara knew Missy would have no problem disposing of her like an empty can.
Missy just laughed. "Oh, poppet. Do you really think you could?" Clara didn't say anything but held the stick against Missy. "You can't survive here on your own."
"I've got Minerva," Clara said on instinct. "I've got Liv."
"You mean the woman who can only disappear herself?" Missy shot a smug smile at Liv. "Oh yes, you'll survive easily."
"Just remember that if Minerva doesn't make out, the Doctor will have no problem disposing of you too," Clara turned for the hole, missing Missy's annoyed face from her words, and jumped into the hole with her stick tight in hand.
~ 0 ~
By the time Minerva came to, the others were with her. As she blinked, her mind slowly caught her up with how she'd gotten where she was.
"Minerva?" Clara gently shook the blonde's arm, thinking it was best to just let Minerva go through the process of waking up on her own. Behind them, Liv stared at Missy like a hawk as the brunette walk from one gooey wall to the next.
"Minerva?" Clara tried again.
Minerva sat upright like a bolt when she remembered. "MISSY!" she shouted furiously.
"Oh, you're up," Missy stopped her pacing and placed her hands on her hips, no hint of remorse for what she'd done.
"Min-" Clara tried but Minerva jumped to her feet with her hands billowing with ice smoke.
"Really?" Missy's lips stretched into an amused smirk, her eyes flickering from one of Minerva's hands to the other. Minerva threatened to shoot her deadly ice. Missy didn't look remotely afraid. Instead, she dropped her hands to her sides and straightened, seemingly positioning herself to take the blow. But of course, it never came.
Minerva slowly lowered her hands, the icy smoke fading away in seconds. "I'm not gonna give you the satisfaction of being right."
"How big of you," Missy mocked and snatched Clara's stick from her hand.
"Hey…" Clara turned Minerva's attention before the blonde regretted standing down. "Are you okay?"
Minerva gave a small nod and began to look around. "What kind of sewer is this?" she crinkled her nose the moment she registered the foul odor in the place.
"Bit of a mess, isn't it?" Missy looked around shortly. "But Daleks don't generate much in the way of waste."
"So what is it all, then?" Clara got the idea Missy knew much more about the place than Minerva did.
"Decaying Daleks."
Immediately, the same expression of disgust spread from Clara to Liv, and then Minerva.
"Daleks can't die. Genetically hard-wired to keep on living, whatever happens. Well," Missy passed them by and took Clara's stick without asking. "But they still age, poor loves. Over time, the body breaks down, rots, liquefies. Interestingly, the Dalek word for sewer is the same as their word for graveyard." She then stabbed the stick into a part of the wall, which turned out to be parts of decaying Daleks.
~ 0 ~
The Doctor had seen better days, but even being on his worst enemy's home planet would be nothing compared to what he'd do if Minerva was actually dead. He had placed himself in Davros' dalek-chair, armed himself with a weapon (which already was quite the foreign aspect for him) and wheeled himself like nothing into the Daleks' main room. "Ask me what I want," he held the gun-like device at the surrounding Daleks. They'd gone past the 'shooting him' part when they realized he was protected by Davros' chair.
"Irrelevant," one could say the Supreme Dalek snapped. "You will not prevail. You will not succeed."
"I've been at the heart of your empire for forty two minutes, and I own it, and I haven't even got out of my chair. Ask me what I want."
"What do you want?''
"My wife," the Doctor spat. " I want Minerva Souza, safe, alive, and returned to me immediately, along with Clara Oswald. You bring them back. You do that. You do that now. Unharmed. Unhurt. Alive."
"Your associates-"
"I saw what happened," the Doctor's voice boomed in the room, his hands gripping the weapon. "I was there. And I'm hoping, for all of our sakes, that it was a trick."
"It was not a deception."
The Doctor's hearts clenched, but he did not accept it. "Because if Minerva Souza and Clara Oswald are really dead, then you'd better be very, very careful how you tell me."
~ 0 ~
Down in the sewers, as the four women made their way further, the Doctor's voice started filling the area. He was broadcasting to the entire planet apparently.
"Listen to that," Missy hummed, stopping for a moment. "The Doctor without hope. Nobody is safe now."
"Who's going to tell me? Who's going to go first?" there was indeed a dangerous level in his words. "All the power Davros had is mine. Everything he had, I have. Who's going to tell me that Clara Oswald is really dead?"
"He'll burn everything. Us too," Missy gave a somewhat shaken look to Minerva.
Minerva closed her eyes, lightly sighing to herself. "Doctor, you idiot. You were supposed to get yourself out of there!"
"Still can't believe you bought that," both Clara and Liv shook their heads. Missy was just fascinated by them two.
Minerva reached inside her jacket and pulled out her wedding band. She slid it down her wedding ring and allowed her telepathic abilities to rise once more, lifting all barriers in her mind.
~ 0 ~
'Doctor, what in the hell do you think you're doing?'
It was almost like the Doctor recoiled from the weapon he held the moment he heard his wife's voice in his mind.
'I know you're not exposing yourself in such a ridiculous plan?'
'Minerva? Minerva? Is that really you?' the Doctor lowered the weapon for a moment, forgetting where he was and what he was doing.
'I'm sorry, is my angry voice not enough to convince you I am indeed alive and ready to smack you for what you're doing?'
Yup, that was his Clever Girl alright.
A big smile started making its way across the Doctor's face, so distracted that he didn't even see Colony Sarff's snakes come to his chair. He gasped when the snakes tightened around his body. That was the last thing he remembered, as well as hearing his wife calling for him.
~ 0 ~
"This is exactly why I didn't want to do it!" Minerva exclaimed, close to taking off her wedding ring off again. She felt the Doctor's mind go into some sort of nervous state, indicating the Daleks, and no doubt Davros, had gotten to him again.
"But at least he knows you're alive," Liv reminded her. "And that is the Doctor we need right now."
"Yes," Clara agreed completely. She stopped when she saw a door at the end of their corridor. "Is that a lift?"
Missy looked in the same direction and nodded. "Yes, but never mind the lift. See that thing on the wall?" she pointed to a blue, metal circle over a rock on the wall.
"What about it?"
"Take a look."
But before Clara moved to do so, Minerva grabbed her arm to stop her. With one look, Minerva indicated she would be doing it instead.
"Closer," Missy instructed.
Although cautious, Minerva looked closer into the circle. "What am I even looking for?"
"Nothing," Missy shrugged and instantly received a glare from Minerva. "I'm giving it a good look at you."
Because then they heard a Dalek raging 'intruder alert' over them.
"Missy!" Clara grew tired of getting panic attacks because the woman simply loved to mess with Minerva.
"Why the hell did you do that?" Liv demanded as Minerva backed them Clara up from the lift doors.
"Ever ring a doorbell and run away before you died?"
If Liv could have, she would have slapped Missy then. Without thinking it, Clara reached over and smacked Missy on the arm. Liv smirked afterwards. The fact they could both feel each other's feelings and, when extreme, could even act on behalf of the other without thinking...wasn't such a bad thing sometimes.
"Alright Snowflake princess-" Missy clapped her hands together, "-do what you do best: stall."
"What am I supposed to do!?" Minerva turned on her.
"We need to trap and kill a Dalek. You're the bait, I'm the hook." She took a cameo brooch from her blouse's neck and held it up. "Dark star alloy. Goes through armour plating like a knife through people."
"Dare I ask where you even got that?"
"Minerva!" Clara shook Minerva's arm and pointed to opening lift doors.
"Got it in the olden days on Gallifrey. The Doctor gave it to me when my daughter-"
Minerva's eyes widened. "Daughter!?" she repeated incredulously. "I don't even know whether to believe tha-"
"Keep it talking," instructed Missy when the doors finally opened to reveal a Dalek inside. "We need to draw it out of the lift."
"You can't kill a Dalek with a brooch!" Clara didn't know much about Daleks but she definitely knew that.
Missy, on the other hand, disagreed. "Yes, you can!" she grabbed Clara's arm to bring her with her to a hiding spot.
"Minerva!" Clara looked after the blonde, preferring to stay where she was instead.
Minerva shook a hand for her to leave. "You go. If I die, kill her without hesitation."
The Dalek came trundling through the corridor for Minerva. "Humanoid detected. Remain still." Minerva's breath hitched as it came closer to her. "Do not move. Scan in progress. Moontsay unauthorised in restricted area. Sterilisation proceeding."
Minerva raised a hand for it, intending on fighting if she had to.
"Hey, you!" called Missy, jumping out from her hiding spot. "Guess what? I just put a hole in you." She pricked one of its globes and instantly drew out steam. "And another and another. And another!"
"What are you doing?" Liv frowned as more and more holes were puncture into the Daleks' case like it was nothing.
"Murdering a Dalek. I'm a Time Lady, it's our golf." Missy then shot a smirk to Minerva. "A Moontsay's golf is to die at their lasers, innit?"
Minerva's jaw tightened.
"What's that mean?" Clara glanced back in a mixture of confusion and curiosity. It didn't seem like Missy was poking fun this time, if not more like she was reminding Minerva of something.
"Damage levels insignificant," the Dalek reported.
"Oh, really?" Missy mocked. "I think you're forgetting you're surrounded by a bunch of very old, very angry Daleks." Because just then, the Daleks on the wall screeched. "You just got yourself a puncture in a bad neighborhood," Missy took on an American accent, angering Minerva behind. "Meet the locals? All blind and squelchy and out of their tiny minds, but they can still smell! Nobody hates like a Dalek. Here they come!" the decaying Daleks were swooshing their way to the Dalek's casing. "I think they want to steal your motor."
"Emergency! Emergency! My vision is impaired!" the one Dalek had brown liquid seep through its casing then out of its grill. "Exterminate! Exterminate!"
Minerva, Clara and Liv were utterly disgusted by the sight. Missy was quite at home.
"Oh, here comes the older generation!" Missy laughed as tentacles sprouted from the walls but did back up in the process."These young folks today are so tetchy!"
"Emergency! Emergency!"
It then exploded.
~0~
When the Doctor awoke, he was back in Dabros' chamber, the latter also reinstated in his life support chair.
"I hope you are grateful," Davros' raspy voice drew the Doctor's attention up ahead. "It wasn't easy to procure. And very nearly unique, of course. You should feel privileged. The only other chair on Skaro." The Doctor quickly looked down to realize he was sitting a regular, metal, foldable chair. "Don't get up."
But the Doctor bolted. "You neither."
"The chamber is sealed, and I believe you are not carrying your sonic device," Davros pointed after the Doctor had made way for the doors.
The Doctor turned around, not too upset of his circumstances. "I gave it up. Bad memories."
"I am dying, Doctor."
"You keep saying that, you keep not dying. Can you give it some welly? Come on!"
"And it is time for us to conclude our business together."
The Doctor stopped in front of Davros, flat toned as he responded, "We have no business."
"We have nothing but...look again at the cables, Doctor," Davros instructed. The Doctor turned sideways to glance at the raised, circular platform with wires hanging from the ceiling ams connecting to the platform. "Understand what they are. What they can do. Just step a little closer."
The Doctor stared at the wires, slowly coming to it. "They don't have much respect for you, do they? Your kids. Have you seen the state of this place? I mean, this is exactly where you dump a smelly old uncle slash family pet slash genius scientist who couldn't even invent legs." He bent down in front of the wires, taking some into his hands. "Seriously, how do your boys take it when everybody else has got two eyes?"
Davros didn't bother with his sarcasm. "You know what it is, of course."
The Doctor let go of the wires. "Oh, yes. It's a hyperspace relay, with some kind of a genetic component."
"I am connected to the life force of every Dalek on this planet. It is what has kept me alive. As their hearts beat, so does mine."
"Ooo. Nice. Vampiring off your own creations, just to eke out your days," the Doctor's words were full of sarcasm. "I'm surprised the Daleks allow it."
"Oh, they have no choice. My Daleks are afflicted with a genetic defect."
"What defect?"
"Respect. Mercy for their father."
The Doctor stood there, dumbfounded for a moment.
"Design flaws I was unable to eliminate," Davros paused once the Doctor cast another look at the wires. "And now he sees it. Now he understands. The cables, Doctor. Touch them. Imagine, to hold in your hand the heartbeat of every Dalek on Skaro. They send me life. Is it beyond the wit of a Time Lord to send them death? A little work and it could be done."
Frankly, a bit curious, the Doctor asked, "Er, why would you be telling me this?"
"Genocide in a moment. Such slaughter, not in self-defence. Not as a simple act of war. Genocide as a choice. Are you ready, Doctor? So many backs with a single knife." The Doctor backed away from the hyperspace relay but was startled to feel Davros' hand guide his own back to the cables again. "Are you ready to be a god?" without Davros' hand, the Doctor reached for the cables on his own but at the last moment faltered. It was not the same knowing what they could do in his hands. "Why do you hesitate? No one would know. Your wife is dead. Is this the conscience of the Doctor, or his shame? The shame that brought you here."
The Doctor backed away and turned. "There's no such thing as the Doctor. I'm just a bloke in a box, telling stories. And I didn't come here because I'm ashamed. A bit of shame never hurt anyone. I came because you're sick and you asked. And because sometimes, on a good day, if I try very hard, I'm not some old Time Lord who ran away. I'm the Doctor."
"Compassion then," Davros concluded.
"Always."
"It grows strong and fierce in you, like a cancer," Davros stated, meaning it like an insult.
"I hope so. Trying to make it clear to a little one," there was a tint a smile in the Doctor's face.
"It will kill you in the end."
"I wouldn't die of anything else."
"You may rely on it."
~0~
When it was safe, the four women in the sewer gathered around the dead Dalek. Missy popped open the lid and reached inside to scoop the remains of the mutant Dalek inside. Then, with expectant eyes, she looked at Clara. "Get in."
Clara blinked and immediately glanced at Minerva beside her, flabbergasted.
"You are finally out of your mind," Minerva stated.
"Have you not understood what we're doing?" Missy groaned. "We need to get back inside the building without instantly being killed. Put that one-" she pointed a finger at Clara, "-inside this," she directed her finger at the dalek case.
"She's not getting inside anything," snapped Minerva.
"I'd have to die twice before that happens," Liv stepped in front of Clara.
"She's the most disposable out of us three," Missy believed she was making a logical argument.
"What!?" Clara, more fearful of the idea of being put inside, turned to Minerva.
Minerva could see the terrible fear in Clara's eyes. "That's not happening," she put her hands on Clara's shoulders.
Missy rolled her eyes and moved a hand inside the Dalek casing to get its front panels open completely. A high tech, chair-like thing was inside. "Well, someone's got to. It's the only way we can get to the Doctor...don't you understand?"
Minerva raised her hands from Clara's shoulders and took a moment to think. Missy was right. Feigning as captured with someone inside the Dalek case was their best chance at seeing the Doctor And surviving. But putting Clara inside the Dalek was out of the question.
She released a breath, hands on either side of her face as she came to a conclusion. "Okay," she nodded, dropping her hands, "I'll do it."
Clara was now staring with wide eyes. "What!? Minerva-"
"I'll get in that...thing…" Minerva's heart raced at the mere idea of getting inside the case of the species that murdered her parents and a good portion of her people.
Missy smirked. "Excellent. Get in."
"Minerva, you can't do this!" Clara reached for her arm to stop her.
"We don't have the luxury of thinking of another plan," Minerva's shaking hand reached to touch the case and instantly felt her fear mount times three.
"Minerva…" Liv could almost not watch as the blonde got into the dalek case.
Minerva shuddered a breath, eyes closed for a moment. If they had been opened, she would've seen Missy's widened smirk. It was almost...as if she planned for it.
"What are you doing?" Liv's sharp voice cut into Missy's work.
Missy was sticking electrodes into Minerva's face. "These are hooking you up telepathically to the case."
"So it's basic telepathic control," Minerva understood then how she would begin to move the case. I think I want to move and I'll move."
"Ah, so you're not entirely stupid," Missy remarked, feigning surprise. There was a snap and Minerva yelped.
Clara flinched and both she and Liv moved closer to the casing to see if their friend was okay.
"Just penetrating your skull," Missy explained ever so sweetly. There's loads of nano-tech repairing any damage as the feed goes in."
Minerva felt more than uneasy with the idea of dalek technology getting inside her head. "What about when it comes out?"
Missy's lips twitched. "No idea." Minerva's eyes widened. "Nobody knows. Now shall we try to move a bit?"
Minerva got over her fear for a minute to sourly respond. "Sure thing. Step in front of me."
"Oh," Missy laughed. "Fascinating, but I've got a better idea." She touched a control again and made the Dalek casing begin to close.
Minerva controlled her breathing the best she could as everything sealed up in front of her.
"Missy, stop!" Clara nearly lunged to stop the closing but Missy held her back. "No, no, no, no! Minerva! Minerva!"
When everything was closed, Minerva pursed her lips together and screwed her eyes shut. She felt like an utter child with stinging tears behind her lids.
"Minerva, are you okay?" she heard Liv ask.
Forcing herself to recompose herself, Minerva opened her reddened eyes. "Y-yes," she answered.
"Okay...that's a bit weird," Clara had to remark on the Dalek voice that now served as Minerva's voice.
"All right. Shh. Say your name," Missy commanded, on the verge of being entertained.
"Why?" Minerva demanded to know.
"Just just say. Just say it!"
"Minerva."
But outside, it came out as "Dalek."
"Say it again," Missy blared a teethy smile. Beside her, Clara and Liv were staring in concern.
"Minerva Souza."
But once more, it came out as "Dalek. Dalek."
"One more time!"
Minerva grew frustrated with her words not coming out the way she was saying. "I'm Minerva Souza! Minerva!"
But it still came out wrong.
"Minerva! Kaeya!" Minerva practically shouted inside but it did no good.
Outside, all anyone heard was, "I am a Dalek! I am a Dalek! I am a Dalek! I am a Dalek!"
"Missy, stop it!" Clara ordered when the woman began to laugh.
Inside, Minerva reached her level. The Dalek case fired.
"Woah!" Missy jumped to the side, Clara doing so in the opposite direction. "Just don't get emotional. Emotion fires the gun. I know that's a complex task for a Moontsay, alright?"
"Fine," Minerva spat. "But mess with me again and I will shoot you."
But Missy wasn't quite finished. "Say I love you."
"MISSY!"
Missy laughed and turned away, hand on her forehead. Clara looked between her and the Dalek.
"Let me guess, it would come out different like...Dalek?" she crossed her arms. "Or-"
"Daleks have no concept of those words," Minerva/the Dalek confirmed.
"Clever clogs," Missy sobered up slowly. "Fair warning, snowflake princess, Daleks channel emotion through a gun. That's why they keep yelling exterminate. It's how they reload. So, let's go and kill them. Come on."
With no choice, they went on with the plan.
~0~
"There is a question, Doctor. One I have longed to ask," Davros admitted.
The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Yeah, well, if you're going to put your hand on my knee, it isn't going to go well." He was growing tired of his farce of a conversation and was itching to get out and find his wife.
"Why did you leave Gallifrey?"
The question stopped the Doctor for a moment, but he reclaimed his casualness in a minute. "Well, because I did."
"You stole the Tardis, and ran and ran. Why?"
"It's a boring place, Gallifrey. I was going out of my mind. The only person I wanted wasn't there so I thought: what's the point."
"Yet you long to return."
"Ah, well, I'm inconsistent."
"But it is always the same lie."
"What lie?"
"You weren't bored. No one runs the way you have run for so small a reason."
The Doctor stiffened. "I do."
"No, you don't. Colony Sarff confiscated these items on your arrival." Davros wheeled his chair to a small table where a black box was. Inside was the Doctor's confession dial and sunglasses. "A Time Lord confession dial, I believe? Your confession. Tell me. Send me to my grave with this precious knowledge. What is the Doctor's confession?"
"Don't you dare!" the Doctor dashed to retrieve his confession dial before Davros could even touch it.
"Is it possible I have touched a nerve?"
The Doctor put the confession dial inside his coat's pocket. "Some things matter to me, Davros. Not many, but a few. And you don't put your fingers anywhere near them." He then reached inside the box to take his sunglasses as well. "And they'd better not be scratched. These are my best ones." He put on the sunglasses and purposely looked around.
"Still you play the fool," Davros would have sighed if he could.
"Well, by now that should make you nervous," the Doctor warned.
~0~
It was not an easy job but Missy's plan had successfully gotten them back into the Daleks' main control room. Missy wasted no time getting herself back at home.
"Oh, hello! Look at you all, with your nice, shiny domes. Oh, I am loving this!" she put a hand on the side of her face, feigning she was telling the biggest secret of her life. "You're my secret favorite. Don't tell the others," she said for the Supreme Dalek.
Clara nervously fidgeted behind. She hated this plan. She was sure Missy was just going to look for the perfect chance to double cross them or at least get them in harm's way.
"You are an enemy of the Daleks," Dalek Supreme announced.
"Yes, well, anyone who's not a Dalek is an enemy of the Daleks, so that was an easy guess," Missy casually replied back.
"You will be exterminated."
"Please, please do, because I have been on my feet all day," Missy gestured to her feet. "But you could also start with the human over here."
There it is, Clara inwardly sighed when Missy pointed at her.
"But before you get all exterminate-y, two things. One, I want to see Davros," Missy counted on her fingers. "Two, I have a lovely little gift for you all, if you take me to him right now."
"We do not negotiate."
"Queen of the Monsoon herself," Missy smirked. Minerva gasped from inside the Dalek case. She was very close to shooting.
"What are you doing!?" Liv hissed, appearing in front of Missy.
Missy paid no attention to the ghost in front of her. "Kaeya Louivier herself - or Minerva Souza - take your pick. Along with her little pet…"
"Missy," Clara gritted her teeth together.
"...Clara Oswald."
~0~
Because of his 'compassion' the Doctor succumbed into giving Davros one final wish before he died. Although he was getting worried he no longer heard Minerva in his mind. In fact, it was like something was blocking it, interrupting actually. Being with Missy didn't comfort.
Davros had moved himself in front of the window that overlooked the city. "It is beautiful, my world, is it not?"
"How did you get it back?" the Doctor made conversation while 'repairing' the cable wires on the hyperspace relay.
"The Daleks remade it. Like you, they have a strong concept of home."
"No, like you. Everything you are, they are."
"Like both of us, perhaps," Davros amended. "How far we have come to go home again."
"I'm trying to pep this up, but you've been going a long time. Every Dalek on Skaro isn't enough any more," the Doctor plugged the wires into Davros' chair.
"It is so good of you to help me."
"I'm not helping you. I'm helping a little boy I abandoned on a battlefield. I think I owe him a sunrise." The Doctor moved over just as the sun began to rise. "Come on, chin up. Any minute now "
"I have always admired you, Doctor," Davros admitted, apparently. "I wish, just once, we had been on the same side."
"Look, the sun's coming up. We're on the same side now," the Doctor motioned to the window.
"I regret...I cannot open my eyes," Davros cried as his eyes failed to open.
The Doctor looked at the open window then back to his hand. "Okay, don't ever tell anyone that I did this." His hand glowed golden with regenerative energy. "A little bit of regeneration energy. Probably cost me an arm or a leg somewhere down the line. Or I'll just be really little." The Doctor pushed himself up and went back to the hyperspace relay, taking the cables into his hands. "Should be enough, just to-" but Colony Sarff's snakes had grasped his hands and kept him latched on.
"Hold him firm, Colony Sarff. He is precious to us now," Davros have up the game once it was secure.
Regeneration energy was then forcibly extracted from the Doctor who cried out in agony. He was forced to drop on his knees as the energy left his body. "What are you doing!?"
"Regeneration energy. The ancient magic of the Time Lords. I thought I would have to tear you apart to take it from you but, as always, your compassion is your downfall," and as Davros' spoke his voice strengthened. "You have opened your veins of your own free will, and all Daleks shall drink the blood of Gallifrey. They shall rise stronger than ever."
~0~
Minerva was getting ready to follow through with her threats and finally shoot...when all the Daleks stopped still.
"Missy!" Clara cried as she watched all Daleks turn to her.
Liv appeared beside Missy with the deadliest glare possible. "You rotten piece-"
"I'm sorry. Was I, er, was I boring you?" Missy disappointingly stopped the mini-dance she was in the middle of constructing. But then all of the daleks started to billow with regeneration energy.
"What's...happening?" Clara turned from one side to the next seeing all daleks.
"No. No, no, no, no, Doctor. What have you done?" Missy seemed actually upset. "I have to find the Doctor!" and she ran off.
"Missy!" Clara called after the brunette. "Get Minerva out! Get her out!" she whipped her head back to the Dalek in which Minerva was properly sealed inside of.
~0~
"There was a prophecy, Doctor, on your own world…" Davros watched as the Doctor writhed in pain, the cables still ongoing sucking the energy out from him.
"Please you must, you must stop this. You must stop this!"
"It spoke of a hybrid creature. Two great warrior races forced together to create a warrior greater than either. Is that what you ran from, Doctor? Your part in the coming of the hybrid? Half Dalek, half Time Lord?"
The Doctor couldn't bother with his words under the excruciating pain he was in. "Stop!"
Missy burst into the room with a stolen gun and began shooting everything in her way, including Colony Sarff. The Doctor collapsed on the floor, unconscious. Wasting no time, Missy moved to wake him up. She slapped him.
"Morning!"
"Where's Minerva?" the Doctor had raised his head expecting to find his wife there. "And Clara!?"
"Oh, hello to you, too," Missy feigned offence.
"I know she's alive, where is she!?" the Doctor pushed himself up.
"I'm fine, thanks for asking," Missy huffed.
"Oh, you are not fine," Davros' drew them both to him. "Thanks to you, Doctor, my creations shall grow to yet greater supremacy, and my own life is prolonged. This is the final defeat of the Time Lords. Have you nothing to say, Doctor?"
"Three," the Doctor straightened and pulled out his confession dial.
"Do you understand what has happened? Hear my children sing."
"Two."
Missy leaned forwards to catch sight of the Doctor. "Oh, I know that face."
Davros paid no attention. "All praise Davros, creator and saviour of the Daleks."
"One." Just as the Doctor said that word, the entire city shook.
"What is that? What's happening?" Davros demanded.
"I knew exactly what you were doing, and I let you do it," the Doctor revealed. "You transmitted regeneration energy into every Dalek on this planet. Every single one."
"What have you done?"
"One word," the Doctor said but shook his head, correcting himself. "Er, no, two words, actually. First word: moron." Missy snickered. "Second word, sewers," the Doctor pointed down.
"No. This cannot be correct. How can this be?" Davros understood the concept as the floor underneath them crackled.
"Generations of Daleks just woke up very cross, and they are coming up the pipes. Or to put it another way, bye!" and the Doctor ran.
Outside, the city was falling apart as the Daleks from the sewer crawled their way up to the land. Even the walls in the building were suffering the same as live Daleks. The Doctor ran down a corridor, passing a corridor on his left.
"Doctor!" Clara shouted right after his figure zoomed past.
He retracted like a bolt and saw her running down the corridor he'd missed...but with a Dalek behind her. "Clara! Get away!"
Although she was out of breath, Clara tried explaining. "No, Doctor, you gotta listen-"
But the Doctor grasped her arm and yanked her behind him and pointed at the Dalek. "This city is about to be sucked into the ground. Your own sewer is about to consume you. There's no way you can win, there is nothing you can do, so just tell me, where is Minerva Souza?"
"Doctor, listen!" Clara shook his arm so that he would desist. But then she saw Missy coming towards them and grew even more furious. "You left us!" she accused and pushed the brunette backwards then snatched the gun Missy used to save the Doctor. "Minerva should have shot you the moment she could!"
Missy was unaffected.
"I am a Dalek. I am a Dalek!" went the Dalek that so happened to hold a very terrified Minerva inside.
Outside the Doctor was doing no better. He was raging beyond belief. "WHERE IS MY WIFE!?" and he directed that question for the Dalek and Missy.
"It killed her," Missy said so suddenly that Clara had to take a moment to process. Clara could not actually believe the woman was going with that now. "That one right there," she pointed at the Dalek.
Minerva suddenly knew what it was like being on the receiving end of the Doctor's wrath. "I am here. I'm here!" her voice shook. "
"Doctor, stop!" Liv finally appeared. "She did it!" she pointed at Missy who rolled her eyes, giving up on her last game now that the blondie was sure to give it up.
"You just couldn't properly die, could you?"
"She had this crazy idea of putting Clara inside a Dalek-"
"What!?" the Doctor turned on Missy.
"But Minerva didn't let her!" Liv finished. "So where do you think Minerva is now?"
The Doctor's eyes lowered to the Dalek that stood so still and...nonthreatening. His hearts clanged under his chest. "Open your casing. Just think the word "open". It'll work."
Inside, Minerva forced herself to focus on last time and thought of nothing but getting out of the damn casing. It worked. The front panels shifted to open, revealing her frightened self inside. The Doctor lowered down to her level, meeting her tear-filled eyes.
"Get me out, please," Minerva begged.
There came a serious, dark tint into the Doctor's eyes as they flickered to Missy. "Run," he gave the grave warning only once. Then, gently, he reached for Minerva's face to disconnect the electrodes off her skin.
"Never forget what she is, Doctor," Missy said, stepping back. "Because underneath all that pretense of a time traveler, she is always going to be part of the species our people despised. The Moontsays despised us back; just think to what extent will her people go to get rid of Gallifrey now that they have unlocked their regeneration cycle? If you think about it? They're hybrids too. Bit of Time Lord in them, bit of...Snowflake in them…" her hard eyes settled on Minerva.
"I said run!" the Doctor's booming voice startled her but she still walked off in a calm manner.
"It wasn't me who ran, Doctor. That was always you," she parted with those words.
"Can you do it?" Clara leaned with her hands on her knees as the Doctor pulled the electrodes from Minerva's head. "Missy said no one knew if…"
"Just...a second…" the Doctor peeled the last of the electrodes and immediately had Minerva lunging into his arms. She shook with tears and buried her head in the crook of his neck. "It's okay, it's okay," the Doctor cautiously stood them up on their feet. "We need to leave, darling. C'mon," he kissed her hair and took her hand, still waiting for her to give an okay nod before actually leaving.
Minerva cleared her face off with her free hand and ushered them to get a move on. They ran through the quakes and the pieces of ceiling falling. They made it back to the main room where the remaining Daleks were losing it.
"Where was the Tardis?" the Doctor asked, stopping for a bit."
"O-over there," Minerva pointed ahead.
"It was over there, somewhere, wasn't it?"
"What is happening? Explain! Explain!" Dalek Supreme ordered from the dais, in out of control.
"Dalek Supreme, your sewers are revolting!" the Doctor brought Minerva and Clara to the spot where the TARDIS had been.
"You will assist, or you will be exterminated!"
"Oh, well, go on, then. Exterminate away!" the Doctor awaited anxiously.
Clara whipped her head in his direction. "Doctor!"
The Daleks fired away but the bolts were reflected by an invisible barrier.
"Oops, sorry. Tardis force field is still here. We get in, you don't," the Doctor smirked.
"The Tardis has been destroyed."
"Ah, don't be silly, of course it hasn't. It just redistributed itself for a moment. Hostile Action Dispersal System. I'll give it a quick blast from my sonic, and the real time envelope will reassemble right here."
"Where the hell is your sonic?" Minerva pulled on his hand.
"I'm over screwdrivers, darling," the Doctor let go of her hand to pull out his sunglasses. "They spoil the line of your jacket. These days, I'm all about wearable technology."
Minerva's eyebrow rose in disbelief. "You're serious?" The Doctor put on his new sonic sunglasses and smirked.
"What is happening?" Dalek Supreme inquired.
"Oh, same old, same old," the Doctor flicked something from his sonic sunglasses, presumably to activate it. "Just the Doctor and Minerva in the Tardis...and the family."
Clara didn't know whether to laugh or smack him for that. "Get us out!" she settled for instead.
Obediently, the Doctor brought the TARDIS around them, keeping them safe and sound once and for all.
~0~
Back where Minerva, Clara and Missy started stood the TARDIS and the trio watching the last bits of Skaro fall.
"So then...that's that?" Clara turned away from the city, for the TARDIS. "I don't want to stay another minute here."
"Ditto," Liv followed behind.
Minerva hummed in agreement and turned for the TARDIS as well. "I don't ever want to see that confession dial again." She stopped in front of the threshold and faced the Doctor. "Ever."
"You don't want to know what was in it?" the Doctor blinked.
"No, I know everything about you already," Minerva rested her hands on his chest. "And what I don't is okay. We're complicated people, aren't we?"
The Doctor nodded. "Yes. We are."
"What I don't understand is why you wouldn't come to me after...what happened." He hung his head in shame. "It couldn't have been easy, I imagine," Minerva gently raised his view again. "But I could have helped."
"Yeah," he whispered. "But I couldn't. I couldn't face you, I couldn't...face Elias. I-I still can't."
"So what do you think you need to do?" Minerva asked, a small knowing smile struggling not to be visible on her face. The Doctor knew but he couldn't bring himself to say it out loud for fear of her reaction. When Minerva got the jist she acted. She gave him a short kids on the lips and patted him on the chest. "You should go. Elias is having his party and I don't think he's going to accept a second postponement."
"Wh-what?" the Doctor didn't understand at first.
"The Doctor never leaves a child in need. No matter who it is."
"Thank you," the Doctor started to smile. Minerva nodded and was soon under a set of small kisses.
~0~
Hours later, Minerva - dressed in a royal silver gown - overlooked various four year olds running about in the palace's garden (which was really just an iced ground with snow covered and iced trees). She heard a flash behind her and turned to see her eldest child, River Song with Clara.
"I got it!" Clara exclaimed happily and waved a blue present in her hand. "Elias is going to love it!"
"My little brother turned out to be just as picky as the Doctor so I wouldn't hold my breath," River warned while de-activating her vortex manipulator for the time being. Elias also proved to be just as curious as their mother and tended to play with the manipulator if he got the chance.
"Shush," Clara promptly said and walked towards Minerva. "So, where is he, then?"
"I assume he's the only kid trying to climb up the gated fence," River pointed past them.
"What!?" Minerva whirled around to find her son currently trying to climb up a wall that led to the streets. "ELIAS!"
"I got him," River laughed and hurried to get her baby brother.
"So, where's the Doctor?" Clara looked around for the Time Lord, for a moment thinking he would be in the middle of showing off for the kids.
"Um…" Minerva was just about to explain when they heard the TARDIS materializing from a distance. "There you go."
Clara smiled and then saw Elias coming towards them.
"Mommy! Mommy!" Elias had a bright red face from his exertion. "Did you see me!? I was climbing and-and-"
"You shouldn't be climbing anything, El," Minerva crossed her arms.
"But someone said I couldn't do it-" Elias tried to explain but of course Minerva didn't care who had dared him to.
"You could hurt yourself, honey," she bent down in front of him. "And then Mommy would be very sad."
"I'm sorry, Mommy," Elias pouted for the briefest of seconds until he spotted Clara holding her present. "My present!?" he excitedly rushed up to her. "Is that for me, Ca-yah?"
"Yes it is," Clara proudly said, about to hand it over to him when the Doctor finally showed up.
"There you are," Minerva greeted him with a chaste kiss. "On time too."
Elias met his father's face with a small, irritated frown. "Daddy missed my birthday," he accused.
The Doctor knew he should definitely get scolded by his son. "I am very sorry, Elias. Daddy got caught up in bad things…" he moved up to the boy and bent down in front of Elias.
"I was sad," Elias informed, putting one hand on his arm. "I thought you didn't want to come."
The Doctor smiled at his innocence. "Daddy would never do that to you. And I promise that I will never miss anymore of your birthdays. Not one."
"Okay, I trust you," Elias declared. He only surprised Clara behind the parents because he was so young and still smart enough to understand the concept of 'trust'. It reminded her that he truly was something else and not just some regular four year old.
The Doctor took his son into a tight hug, relishing to be back where the boy was and with Minerva. "Elias, I have a present for you," the Doctor announced, making the boy gasp excitedly all over again.
"What?" Clara was the only one disappointed. Liv laughed beside her. "But I thought we were going to open my present first."
"Take turns Ca-yah," Elias held a hand for her to keep quiet.
Clara huffed.
"What's my present, Daddy!? What is it!? What is it!?" Elias hopped up and down as the Doctor reached inside his coat, even Minerva was fairly interested to see what the Doctor had whipped out in such a short time.
Eventually, the Doctor took out a small little gray box in the shape of a rectangle. "Now Daddy no longer uses his sonic screwdriver, but he thought someone in the family should."
Minerva's eyes widened, not in alarm but in HORRO horror. "You didn't…"
Elias ripped off the lid of the box and gasped deeply at the sight of a small silver sonic screwdriver tucked inside. "My own sonic!"
"Doctor!" Minerva exclaimed, mouth open in disbelief.
The Doctor laughed as Elias waved the sonic above his head, making its tip flash green much like his old one used to. "You like it?"
Elias nodded his head. "Yes! Thank you!" he kissed the Doctor's cheek and hugged him tight then ran off to go show his friends his new present.
"I cannot believe you just did that," Liv was close to laughing.
"Me neither," Minerva crossed her arms, completely against the idea. "He's four!"
"Oh calm down, Clever Girl," the Doctor came up to her, smirking. "It only has one function and it's to light up. It's a flashlight at best."
"You promise?" Minerva raised a suspicious eyebrow. She wouldn't put it behind him to add a secret feature that only he and Elias would know about.
"I promise," the Doctor raised a hand.
"Could have given him that after my present," Clara disappointedly walked off with her present in hand, missing the laughs of her friends behind.
Before they could follow, Minerva grabbed onto the Doctor's arm, forcing him to turn to her. "I've just got one more question, Martian."
"I owe you so much, so...go ahead!"
A sly smile wormed its way across Minerva's lips. "When did you start actually being good at the guitar?" the Doctor started to think while Minerva went on to remind them, "Last time you played, it wasn't anything like that."
"To be fair last time I played I was an idiot with floppy hair," the Doctor countered.
Minerva laughed and grabbed him by the lapels. "C'mon, tell me! Did you figure it out while playing it for some pretty medieval woman out there?"
"Hardly," the Doctor playfully rolled his eyes. "It just...happened."
"Hmmm..." Minerva looked away for a moment. "While you were away...resigning to die...on your own...without me nor your son."
"I'm sorry," the Doctor knew this would be the beginning of a long term apology. "I thought it was better this way, and...less shameful. But-" he placed a finger on her lips so that she wouldn't interrupt, "-I can make sure to apologize profusely about it in many ways."
Minerva raised her head, thinking about it. "Well, you can start by..." she met his gaze with a giddy smile, "...playing me a song later."
"Darling for you I'd play a thousand songs if you asked," the Doctor promised and muffled her laugh with a kiss...or two...
Author's Note: So that begins the whole hybrid arc! It was such an interesting one honestly, so I hope it comes out good for this story! :)
For the Review:
Okay, let me just start off by reminding you that in this story, during the war, the Master murdered Minerva in cold blood. For that reason, there cannot be a friendship between the Master & the Doctor like the show has portrayed. It's just not possible, I'm sorry. At best, there will be witty remarks and sarcasm like shown so far. And second of all, I sort of view the confession dial as being originally intended for the Master but now with everything the Doctor changed it so that it would land in Minerva's hands instead. Clearly, Missy wasn't in the know of that change since she's been gone for such a long time. So that's why she was mad when she met with Minerva and saw Minerva had the confession dial. So sorry but that's just the way this story was constructed!