Clara firmly believed that this was probably going to be blamed on her. Here she was, floating untethered in deep space with no way to get back in the TARDIS (at least from her part) and she could already hear how this could've gone a thousand ways better.
"Doctor! Minerva!" she cried out. "Doctor!"
In the TARDIS, nothing was going well. Minerva and the Doctor were fighting around the console, against the alien creatures invading their home. Elias was clinging to one of the metal rails, laughing as the TARDIS jolted from one side to the other.
"Clara - we can hear you in case you've forgotten how earpods work!" Minerva promptly snapped when her patience dimmed to zero.
"She is in space, Minerva!" Liv popped in beside the blonde, frantic as much as Clara was. Minerva presumed the terrible fear in Liv's face was almost all of Clara's.
"And we are under attack from four and a bit battle fleets!" the Doctor shouted from across, although he was holding the TARDIS phone in his hand. "In case you think we're slacking!"
"Doctor, I think there's something in my space suit!" Clara's shaky voice cut into the argument. She felt something crawling up her backside and had to resist the urge to rip off her spacesuit.
"Yes, that's possible, actually. You were too long in the spider mines," the Doctor reminded calmly. "It's possibly a Love Sprite. Sucks your brain - AH!" he and Minerva were forced away from the console when it spewed out dangerous sparks.
"Will we go boom now!?" Elias was staring wide-eyed at the console but his arms were still clinging to the rails.
"No! Shush!" the Doctor pointed a finger at him. This was not the moment to panic!
"And hold on, young man!" Minerva motioned to Elias that he needed to hug the rail tighter. But honestly, she had a brief thought that the boy might let go just for the heck of it. If he did, then he was proving to definitely be the Doctor's son.
"It sucks your brain out through your mouth, hence the name," the Doctor finished explaining to Clara who was still trying to get their attention about the deadly alien on her back. "But don't worry, it's just hungry."
Liv appeared behind him to smack the back of his head. "That's not something you say!" she then helplessly turned to Minerva. "Minerva!"
"GIVE ME A MOMENT!" the blonde in question, exasperatedly, returned back to the console.
The Doctor groaned and went to tend to Clara. "Okay, describe the four most interesting stars you can see."
Clara tried focusing on what was before her, despite it all looking like bloody space to her. "There's a blue one, quite big. Two little yellowish ones just below."
"Color of whisky, smaller one blinking?"
"Yes!" Clara gasped. "It's on the back of my neck, I can feel it."
"Great!" the Doctor happily said. "I thought asphyxiation would kill you first. Can you see a nebula? Can you see a nebula in a sort of wing-shape? Bit green at the end?"
"Yes! Yes, I can!"
"Minerva?"
"Don't shout my name too, Martian!" Minerva pointed a threatening finger at the Doctor, eyes filling with fury.
"No, no, wouldn't dream of it," the Doctor made a face behind her back and moved himself to the dematerialization controls. "Elias, please hang on."
"OKay, Daddy!" Elias happily did as told just before the TARDIS materialized in the spot Clara was drifting in.
Clara was screaming the Doctor's name and barely recognized Minerva pulling off her space helmet.
"Ca-yah, stop scr - spider!" Elias let go of the rails as soon as he saw an alien-like spider landing on the floor beside Clara. It was a bit bigger than a typical Earth spider...and cool! "I'll do it! I'll do it!" he laughed joyfully and went after the spider himself, hopping and stomping on the floor.
"Elias!" Minerva shrieked but her son bounced around until he crushed the spider between his two feet.
"Look, Daddy, I did it!" Elias stepped back and gestured to the crushed creature. "And I wasn't scared."
"No you were not!" the Doctor exclaimed, exchanging high-fives with Elias. When he turned around he came face to face with his wife who could not be angrier. "Have I mentioned...you look lovely today?" Minerva tilted her head silently, as if contemplating what her words were going to be. "B-beautiful too...you've outdone yourself today, in fact," the Doctor rocked on his feet. Funny, this type of look felt worse than the usual look their enemies game him.
Clara awkwardly coughed as she stepped closer to the pair. "How are the Velosians? Did we save them?"
"Oh they took care of that while you were drifting in space," Liv said casually, fairly amused at the moment with the aliens. "They lured their attackers halfway across the universe and drained their weapons banks."
"Oh, that's good then, huh?" Clara waited for an answer from either Minerva and the Doctor but it never came.
"Ca-yah?" Elias had sat down on the floor and was in the middle of taking his shoes off.
"We can go wipe that gross spider alien off yours shoes outside…" Clara went to help Elias get up and took him by the hand for the doors.
"While Mommy and Daddy kill each other," Liv smirked before popping out.
"We're not...we're not actually...upset...right…?" the Doctor motioned between him and Minerva.
"I'm this close-" she put her index finger over her thumb, "-to beating you with a bat."
"So we're good then!" the Doctor beamed and encased her in a hug.
"Doctor, when our son is nearing deadly alien spiders we don't encourage him," Minerva playfully pushed him back.
"Did you see his stomping? My boy's got strength!"
"And your brains, which is not a good thing!"
"Of course not, he's got my physical attributes and your lovely mind," the Doctor neared her with a winning smile. "Perfect combination." Minerva playfully rolled her eyes while the Doctor wrapped his arms around her. "Imagine what our next child will be like? No-" he gasped, pointing at her, "-imagine what our grandchildren will be like?"
Minerva could not help but laugh at that. He sure switched subjects fast. "You're already thinking about grandchildren while our only four-year old son is busy crushing alien spiders?"
"Grandchildren, possibly more sons...definitely-" he shot her a serious look, "-that daughter. I am so waiting for that daughter." Minerva laughed again and decided she should get out of there before he started talking about great grandchildren. "Where are you going? I was being serious," the Doctor made a face and followed after her. "I want that daughter!" he pointed after her, not that she saw.
"Aha," Minerva was close to laughing for the third time. "Let's go check on our son and that human girl who's practically our daughter. She already acts like Elias too."
"I heard that," Clara said as soon as they had stepped out into a dark forest. "And I do not act like Elias."
"He acts like you too, it's complementary," Minerva motioned to the boy who was picking up branches off the ground. "Like a true sibling relationship."
Clara knew that was the best she was going to get from either of them so she just let it go. "Okay, well, Liv was saying about the Velosians but...I was wondering what's going to stop them re-arming and trying again?"
"Nothing," the Doctor shrugged, totally carefree of it. "But the Velosians will be ready for them this time." Clara gave them both a serious face, apparently not quite impressed. "It's the best we could do, Clara. We're not actually the police, that's just what it says on the box."
"And it says 'push'!" Elias rushed up to the TARDIS, pointing at the words. "See, I can read things too."
Clara sighed and put her hands on her hips. "Okay, you're always talking about what you can and can't do but you never tell me the rules. Is there an actual rule book?"
"We're time travelers, it should be a given that we have to tread softly," Minerva argued lightly. "It's okay to make ripples, but not tidal waves. And no, there isn't an actual rule book."
"You are a tidal wave," went both Clara and Liv.
"Don't say that!" the Doctor frowned, offended.
"Mommy! Daddy!" Elias gasped. Someone had picked the boy up and was threatening him with a sword. Liv immediately made herself invisible to anyone but their little group.
"Oh no!" the Doctor stormed forwards but was stopped when he heard the gasp of his wife, and Clara. He was forced to remain in the middle, where on one side Elias was being held, and on the other side was Minerva and Clara.
"Vikings," Minerva spat. "Well don't just stand there, Martian! Get Elias!"
The Doctor made a motion that was his intention but of course the sword threatening their son's neck was a big halter.
Men with torches surrounded them, but up came a ginger man with the biggest helmet horns over his head. "You're coming with us," the man, Nollarr, declared.
"Going? You're funny," Minerva tilted her head. "I'm about this close to icing all of you."
The Doctor pulled out his sonic sunglasses. "We're not going anywhere. On my face, right now, more advanced technology than your species will manage over the next nine million years."
"That's not going to end well if he keeps pausing for dramatic effect," Liv raised an eyebrow, just waiting for the downfall of this plan.
Nollarr snatched the sunglasses from the Doctor, startling the man, and broke them in two.
"Not the sonic sunglasses!" Elias started fighting against the man holding him. "Get him, Mommy!"
"N-n-n-n-n-no, don't do that!" the Doctor knew well that Minerva was not going to doubt in using her powers. "Ripples!" he said as a reminder. They couldn't be sure what tribe this was and how important they were to the timelines.
"Fine, but my son travels besides us," Minerva snapped. "Or else history can kindly-"
"-you might just want to give me the boy now," the Doctor said to Nolarr, dead serious because he would not guarantee safety from Minerva if the exchange didn't happen first.
~ 0 ~
A small village with low buildings and big, thatched roofs seemed to be the destination the group had been forced to travel to. As they neared the village, a large metal horn sounded alarms.
"Mommy, I'm tired," Elias complained yet again while being forced to walk among the viking group, chained by the hands like his parents and Clara. "Daddy, where's the plan?"
"Same thing I would like to know," Clara huffed beside Minerva.
"I offered plans…" Liv popped in walking backwards alongside the chief who decided to wear the Doctor's broken piece of sonic sunglasses over his eye like an eye patch. "My strongest one being Minerva going full-blown Elsa."
Minerva rolled her eyes. "Doctor said no."
"Ripples, Minerva," the Doctor said quietly. "Besides, I have a plan, you know."
"Daddy, you said that two days ago," Elias looked up at him with a pout on his face. "My feet hurt."
"You haven't been walking that much…"
"Don't tell our son not to feel tired when we're prisoners of vikings," Minerva snapped.
"Well, don't…" the Doctor trailed off when he caught sight of a petite brunette girl holding his piece of sonic sunglasses. There was something inside of him telling him to go the other way. It reminded him, actually, of Captain Jack.
That couldn't be good.
"You all right? Do you know her?" Clara followed his gaze to the girl but the vikings behind them pushed them along.
"Never seen her before in my life."
"So why the staring?" asked Liv.
"I don't know. Nothing, probably. Too much time travel, it happens."
Minerva was now giving him a suspicious look. "You know I don't like that one bit."
"I know."
"What happens?" Clara inquired.
"People talk about premonition as if it's something strange. It's not. It's just remembering in the wrong direction," the Doctor played it cool despite still feeling that queasy feeling.
"Daddy, the plan?" Elias whined in an attempt to get his attention.
"Oh don't worry, El, Daddy's got a plan!"
"Which is?" Clara dreaded to ask.
"We meet the boss man and we do the usual."
"Which is?"
"Replace him."
"How?"
"I believe that is a job for me," Minerva smirked. Her chains were beginning to show some signs of ice bits creeping over it.
"So we're going fully Elsa on them now?" Clara's eyes lowered to Minerva's chains then looked out to see how many people they would have to, theoretically, fight against. The answer was not a good one. "As powerful as you are, I don't think you can manage a whole flock of vikings with swords. Just a reminder, only you, the Doctor and Elias can regenerate."
"Why start a war when I can situate myself as their Goddess," Minerva's smirk just widened. "I've never played the role of a Goddess before."
"Well…" the Doctor gave a sway of his head, prompting Minerva to elbow him on the side.
"Shut up," she said immediately with a red face.
The vikings stopped in front of an elder who was waiting for them. Nollarr moved forwards to begin his sermon. "We have traveled far and fought…"
Minerva's chains did a little snap as the ice finally crushed them in two. She cleared her throat loudly and raised a hand in the air, effectively shooting a ray of blue which turned out to spew snow. "Do I have everyone's attention now?"
All the Vikings drew out their swords towards them.
"What kind of-" the Elder began but Minerva grabbed the Doctor's and Clara's chains to break them with her ice.
"You do not speak unless you are told to do so," she said in a highly authoritative tone that Elias recognized as her 'work voice'. He knew that meant it was time to behave for real. "I have chosen to walk among your land as a human just so that we could have a nice talk."
"Drive it home, darling," the Doctor said beside her before any of the Vikings actually followed through with their swords.
"I am your Goddess - Minerva," there was a look on her face that told Clara and Liv that Minerva had been dying to use that line somewhere. "Would you like to starve to death?" The silence pleased her. It meant she had their attention, but more importantly it meant they would be surviving for a bit longer. "No? Then: Put. The. swords. Down."
Unfortunately, her story was interrupted by a loud thunderclap in the sky, followed by a mighty horn. Everyone turned to see a great big face etched into the sky. The man wore a winged helmet and an eye piece.
"Oh, my people. I am Odin," the face roared with a loud voice. "And now your day of reward has finally dawned. Your mightiest warriors will feast with me tonight in the halls of Valhalla."
Beans shot down from the sky and brought alien soldiers under huge metal armor and with portable guns. The Doctor pulled Minerva and Elias behind him. Clara had the good sense to move back as well.
"Stay still. Stay very, very still," the Doctor ordered his group.
Liv appeared only to them but was carefully watching the Vikings meeting with the aliens. "I'm going to go on a guessing round and say that-" she pointed up to the sky, "-is not really Odin."
"Is this an invasion?" Clara asked. Wow, their luck was just going downhill today. At least it didn't involve alien spiders crawling up her back.
"No, this is a harvest," Minerva responded with a tight jaw. "It's a survival of the weakest. Ironic."
Clara shot both aliens a specific look. "A survival of the weakest?"
"They pick and choose the strongest, the fittest and leave the weak and young behind," the Doctor simplified.
Clara, horrified, turned to see a group of fighters teleported out of there. "We have to help them."
Elias peered around Clara's legs and saw the brunette girl from before, Ashildr, still holding the Doctor's bit of sonic sunglasses. "With that!" he pointed. That always solved problems. "I can use it with mine too!" Because, oh yes, he still carried the miniature sonic his Daddy had given him for his birthday.
Though he had no idea it was just a flashlight.
Clara beamed at the idea. "Oh I love the way you think, El!" she darted towards Ashildr.
"Clara, no!" the Doctor hissed but the woman was gone. Unfortunately, the creator of the idea wanted to 'help' as well.
"Elias!" Minerva nearly had a heart attack when Elias ran after Clara.
"Have you still got the eye-patch thing?" Clara was ready with Ashildr and was definitely not expecting Elias to follow. With widened, alarmed eyes she tried to get the boy to return before he got hurt. "El, no! Go back to your parents!"
"That's my Daddy's!" Elias pointed to the sonic sunglasses in Ashildr's hands, completely ignoring Clara's orders.
Clara groaned, and focused on Ashildr before they were caught. "Point it at my chains and think the word open. Say it with your mind."
Ashildr put on the bit of sunglasses and tried following Clara's instructions. Around them, more and more people were disappearing.
"Doctor! Elias!" Minerva frantically moved forwards but the Doctor grabbed her from behind, lifting her a bit.
"I will do it!" he set her behind him and made a move towards Clara and Elias.
"They've been caught!" Liv shrieked when the aliens turned their weapons on the two. Registering the highly advanced technology, the aliens zapped Ashildr, Clara and Elias out of there.
"NOOO!" went both the Doctor and Minerva.
Only Clara's and Elias' chains were left behind as witness that they were once there.
~0~
Elias rubbed his eyes when fluorescent lights turned on in the metal room he and Clara were now in. He scrunched his face at the funny smell in the room. Maybe more of these people needed to take baths.
"Welcome to Valhalla, my ladies," one of the young Vikings, who'd also been teleported, greeted the only two women and the young boy.
"Ca-yah…" Elias slowly inched closer to Clara's side. Her spacesuit seemed big enough to hide behind her.
"It's okay, it's okay," Clara patted the boy's head and saw Nollarr was forcing open a door across them with his axe. After the door opened, it was revealed there was a short passage way with fan-like devices set on the walls. At the end was another door.
"No, wait! Wait!" Clara exclaimed when Nollarr made way for the second door.
Nollarr turned sideways, wielding his axe. "There's nothing to fear, strange maiden."
"The fans are turning…" Elias was peeking around Clara's legs. Those fans did not seem like the fans his grandma Isadora had at home.
The 'fans' dispatched energy beams that trapped Nollarr and made him vanish, leaving behind only his helmet and axe. Behind the group, the walls began to churn as if there was some machinery working. It then began to move towards each other and, if it succeeded, would squish everyone in its way.
"Use your blades, try to jam it!" Clara instructed the Vikings before grabbing Ashildr and Elias. "You two, c'mon!"
They reached the second door and tried forcing it open between the three, but it didn't seem to be doing any good.
"Oh, Elias," Clara took a moment to catch her breath, "If there was ever a perfect time to show your powers for the first time it would be now!"
Elias pouted and looked at his two hands. He would love to have the powers his Mommy has! "Mommy and grandpa says I have to be big!"
"It was a joke," Clara managed to smile a bit, though a part of her wished Elias would once again excel and show signs of power development earlier like he'd done with many other things already.
The fans started working again and the three at the door turned to see the Vikings inside the passageway, like Nollarr had been just minutes ago.
"Elias...close your eyes…" Clara brought the boy behind him, scared out of her mind.
~0~
Liv was motionless and staring upwards at the sky. Her eyes squinted from the sun but she would not look away until Clara and Elias were returned.
"We should be heading back to the TARDIS," Minerva had her hands balled into fists. They were wasting time and God knew what was happening to her baby boy and Clara. They needed to go-
"It would take two days, Minerva," the Doctor reminded softly but she whirled in his direction.
"We can't just not do anything!" she shouted.
Soon as she did she regretted it because he was also hurting. They had no way of getting to Elias anytime soon and their telepathic connection with Elias had long ceased due to his age. She was just a desperate mother. But the Doctor was also a desperate father.
Minerva threw her arms around him and the two hugged tightly. The Doctor kissed her hair and truly raided his mind for a plausible plan to get to Elias. For the moment, they had to rely on Clara being clever and keeping herself and Elias alive.
~0~
"Ca-yah, wake up," Elias was sitting on his knees, shaking an unconscious Clara beside him. He looked around the new room with a frown, a bit afraid of the glowing green liquid inside some of the whirring machines. "C'mon, Ca-yah!" he groaned and pushed Clara harder. "Ca-yah!"
Clara stirred awake and immediately sat up. She quickly checked to make sure Elias was alright then got Ashildr to wake up.
"They all went away," Elias pointed at the helmets and weapons on the floor that once belonged to the male Vikings.
Clara was not about to correct him and tell him they were probably all dead. Instead, she just nodded her head.
"Why are we still alive?" Ashildr questioned.
"Because of this," Odin's presence startled both women, even more so when he raised the Doctor's but of sonic sunglasses.
Clara grabbed Elias' hand as the boy was about to point. Elias, however, pulled his hand from hers anyways and angrily pointed at Odin. "That's my Daddy's! Give it back!"
Clara quickly grabbed Elias and kept him back, almost covering his mouth before he got them into deeper trouble. "See that?" she told Odin. "I know you didn't mean to make him mad because you're scared but-"
Odin scoffed. "I have no reason to fear you."
"You should be!" Elias exclaimed. Inside, Clara was amused.
"Except you've already analysed that-" Clara nodded to the sonic "-and you know it's a technology from a civilization vastly more powerful than your own."
"My Daddy's home! They should scare you!" Elias added, his thin little eyebrows knitting together to create a deep glare.
"Yes, Elias, hush," Clara cleared her throat. "You will have also noticed that I'm wearing a spacesuit," she gestured to her overly bright orange suit. "And since he's already made it clear that bit belongs to his father, you can assume we're not from around here. You should also realize we have not come alone. You see, you haven't killed us because killing us would start a fight you didn't come here to have, and you're not sure you can win."
Elias, huffing because the man still hadn't given up the sonic bit, crossed his arms. An armored alien stepped forwards and handed Odin a vial with the same glowing green liquid from the machines.
"Ooo, hello. Time for your medication?" Clara asked, eyeing said vial oddly.
"Adrenaline. Testosterone extracted from the finest warriors," Odin gave a mock salute and drank the vial. "Ah! Nectar!"
Elias made a face, obviously confused, and tilted his head up at Clara. "What is that?"
Clara's eyebrows raised. "Something you won't worry about for hundreds of years…" though then she remembered Elias' speedy development, "...I think." She cleared her throat and addressed Odin. "Why play God?"
"What is a god but the cattle's name for farmer?" Odin countered with amusement. "What is heaven but the gilded door of the abattoir?"
"You're not a farmer," Clara snapped. "You're a thief, caught in the act."
"I don't understand," Ashildr shook her head. "What did he drink?"
"Hush," Clara ordered and kept talking to Odin. "Go, now. Go and find Vikings on other planets. The universe is full of testosterone. Trust me, it's unbearable. We won't follow you, see? We don't need to fight."
"But Ca-yah, he can't take my Daddy's sonic sunglasses," Elias frowned.
"War is our way," Odin said in a purposely louder voice to assume authority.
"Ask yourself, is this a war you really want?" Clara hoped to God her talking skills would be enough to get them out of there alive.
Unfortunately, Ashildr wasn't quite thinking the same.
"Yes!" she pushed Clara aside, and in the process Elias. "You'll pay for what you have done here today. I am a Viking! Ashildr, daughter of Einarr. You have mocked our gods. Killed our warriors. And we will crush you on the field of battle!"
Clara was horrified. Her words had basically been undone.
"That's better!" Odin roared with laughter.
"We were about to leave!" Clara argued with Ashildr.
"You almost had me talking," Odin gestured to Clara. "Talk is for cowards."
"No, no, no, listen to me!" Clara tried her best to mend what Ashildr did. Even Elias attempted to help.
"Talking is always good! My Mommy and Daddy say so!"
Of course his and Clara's words were thrown to the side. Odin was staring directly at Ashildr. "I accept your challenge!"
Ashildr remained fueled on anger and despair. "We will crush you!"
"Shall we say this time tomorrow? Ten of my warriors versus the best of your village."
"You will beg for mercy!"
Odin laughed. "I will send you back. You can inform your people of their impending destruction."
"Why are you doing this?" Clara interjected.
"Why else? The joy of war! Can't you see it on my face?"
"War is bad," Elias pointed. Once more, his words were ignored.
~0~
Clara, Elias and Ashildr were promptly teleported back to the village.
"Mommy!" Elias immediately jumped to his feet. "Daddy!"
Hearing his voice, Minerva and the Doctor whirled around. Their hearts nearly leapt from their chests.
"Clara!" Liv shouted upon seeing the brunette.
Ashildr's father had also came forwards. "My child!"
Elias came running towards his parents, as did they, and they met halfway in a hug. Liv and Ashildr's father did the same.
"No! Wait!" Clara tried to pry Liv's arms off her.
"Are you okay!?" Minerva cupped Elias' face despite the boy's huffs. "Did they hurt you!?"
"I'm okay," Elias looked between both his parents. "Ca-yah took care of me. But the other Vikings went away."
The Doctor exchanged a look with Minerva, both knowing that the 'went away' part was certainly something else. "Did they now?" the Doctor put Elias back on his feet.
"Mhm. I don't know where they went, but I think Ca-yah knows…" Elas leaned closer to his parents and then whispered, "But she doesn't want to tell me."
"Good," Minerva sighed and planted a big kiss on Elias' ginger hair.
"Clara?" the Doctor glanced at the brunette still hugging Liv. "You're okay, right?"
"Yes, but-"
"I looked them up in my two thousand year diary-" the Doctor pulled out the scrappy book from his inside pocket, not even seeing that Clara was trying to tell him something important. "They are called the Mire-"
"Listen-"
"-they are one of the deadliest warrior races in the entire galaxy-"
"-okay-"
"-but they're practical. They get what they want and go. You persuaded them to go, didn't you? We knew that you would-"
"Stop!" suddenly called Liv. She threw a look at Clara, knowing full well that that had been Clara's inside thoughts. Sometimes, despite all the control they had over each other's thoughts...things still got out through the wrong person.
Clara awkwardly cleared her throat, getting ready to reveal what really happened on the ship. "The deadliest warrior race in the galaxy?"
"Well, one of the," Minerva distractedly corrected. She was fixing Elias' hair while still discreetly checking for any injuries.
"Oh, that's just great," Clara slapped a hand to her forehead.
"Ow," Liv frowned and raised a hand to her own forehead where she felt a ghost of the pain from the slap. "I felt that."
"Sorry," Clara took in a deep breath and just came out with it. "Yes, the village just declared war on them."
~ 0 ~
In the meeting room, Clara stood at the front of the Viking villagers explaining how on Earth they had gotten into war with the Mire. She moved back and forth explaining, a thing much easier to do now that she had left her spacesuit behind. The thing was actually kind of heavy for her petite form.
"And they're coming here tomorrow, ten of them-" she faced the villagers again, "-to kill everybody in the village."
Ashildr's father, Einarr, looked at his daughter questionably. "Ashildr, is this true?"
Ashildr nodded meekly. "It's my fault." She was now truly looking back at her actions and felt terrible. Clara had talked the man down from hurting anyone else and there she went...making things oh-so horrible.
"Not every misfortune that befalls this village is down to you," Einarr reassured then looked at the Doctor. "She thinks she brings us bad luck."
"What bad luck? You haven't had any bad luck," the Doctor said dismissively. "You're fine."
A stocky man stepped forwards to rebut that statement. "We are about to be attacked by-"
"-oh for goodness sake just leave then," Minerva was the one to cut him off. "Nothing is tethering you to this spot. Believe me, the Mire will have better things to do than look for Vikings in the woods."
Her words might as well have been blasphemy. "We cannot leave this village!" Einarr exclaimed, everyone behind him nodding in agreement.
"Yes, you can. Just pick a direction," Minerva waved them towards the door. "Honestly, does war just have to be some instinct in all of you? Take a breather."
"We will fight!" went another man.
The Doctor rubbed his face, clearly feeling the same frustration as his wife. "Really? Well, I don't know if you remember, but they actually took away all your fighters. So, what are you? Farmers, fishermen web designers?"
"Daddy, there's no internet," Elias pointed out. He sat on a stack of hay, swinging his legs back and forth.
"Yes, you're right," the Doctor pointed. "So definitely not that last one," he finished with the others.
Einarr tossed over a skin holding various weapons, intending on proving the Doctor wrong. "We are Vikings!"
"That's just a name," Minerva spoke over all of them without making an effort. "Without your fighters I'd like to see how many of you here have actually wielded a sword in battle? Raise your hands now - up, up!" she motioned.
Elias quickly stuck his hand up in the air.
"Your games with Elizabeth don't count, Elias. Mommy's not talking about imaginary games," Minerva called, making the boy slowly lower his hand.
All in all, only Minerva, the Doctor and (surprisingly) Clara had raised their hands.
The Doctor spoke to the Vikings in a direly serious tone. "The Mire are coming for each and every one of you. So what you going to do? Raise crops at them?"
"If necessary," went one man who had not caught up on sarcasm.
"We're not cowards," Einarr stepped forwards.
"No one said you were," Minerva clarified softly. "Sometimes it's not about proving who's braver, it's about doing what's right for your people."
"We do not run," the man continued to argue like she hadn't said anything. "A death in battle is a death with honor."
"Aye!" the rest of his people agreed unanimously. However, from a distance, they all heard the sound of a baby crying.
The Doctor stiffened as he got wisp of words. "Do babies die with honor?" the question made everyone in the room pause.
Elias hopped off his seat and ran towards his parents. "She's scared," he was also picking up on the baby's cries. It appeared that he had inherited the Doctor's (and thus Time Lords') ability to understand nearly all languages, an ability Moontsays had not been able to develop. While Elias was still mighty young to understand completely, he was able to do a bit at the moment.
The Doctor took Elias' hand bent down to be on his level. "Turn your face towards me, Mother, for you're, you're beautiful…" he began to translate the cries.
"She wants to sing to her Mommy…" Elias' eyebrow raised questionably. "She is scared, but…" his face scrunched up, clearly at a loss.
"I am afraid, but I will sing," the Doctor finished for them, giving a small smile afterwards. "Proud of you, El."
Elias beamed and looked at his mother for her reaction. While the Doctor straightened up to address the Vikings - who had briefly gotten "they speak baby" from Clara and Liv as an explanation - Elias went to Minerva. She kissed his head and agreed that she was proud.
"Babies think that laughter is singing. Did you know that?" the Doctor didn't bother waiting for a response from anyone. "I applaud your courage, but I deplore your stupidity. And I will mourn your deaths, which will be terrifying, painful, and without honor." He turned back to Minerva and held his hand out for her.
"Stay," Ashildr called to them. "You could help us. I know you could."
"We have offered a solution but it seems you do not want to adhere to it," Minerva shook her head.
With Elias between her and the Doctor, the three aliens walked out of the meeting house.
~0~
When Clara caught up with the three aliens, she was sure the Doctor had to be in the middle of his rambling that would inevitably lead him to save the village. It's how he worked. She was sure that was it. He just needed to talk and things would get back on track.
"The earth is safe, humanity is not in danger," the Doctor paced back and forth. Minerva was sitting on a rock, occasionally glancing over to Elias. He was making circles on the dirt ground with a stick. "It's just one village."
"Just one village?" Clara played along, or so she thought.
"Suppose I saved it by some miracle. No Tardis, no sonic. Just one village defeats the Mire," the Doctor paused, Clara nodded showing she was understanding. "What then?" He rubbed his forehead and started pacing again.
Minerva bobbed her head, looking incredibly bored although she was actually waiting for him to quit being so dramatic and just do what he wanted to do since the beginning. "Word gets around. Earth becomes a target of strategic value, and the Mire come back. And God knows what else. Ripples into tidal waves until everybody dies."
"So you're not doing it because you don't want to…" Liv moved around the two aliens, "...you're doing because of the rules?"
"Did you expect anything else?" Minerva responded with her own question.
"I have seen you both tear the rules down when necessary," Liv pointed fingers at them. "This--"
"-is a delicate time period," the Doctor finished for her.
Clara couldn't believe her ears. She wished that - just for once - they would finally lay out these so given rules. Perhaps there was a book somewhere in the TARDIS library that would explain it all?
Elias stopped drawing with his stick when the same baby's wails filled the air. He scrunched his face trying to understand by this time he just couldn't. Dropping his stick, he moved for his father. "Daddy, what's the baby saying now?"
The Doctor hesitated to answer, but seeing the three women's stares on him made him so. "She's afraid. You know that babies can sense danger, remember?"
Elias nodded his head, vaguely recalling that little lesson. "But what's she saying?"
With a sigh, the Doctor bent down to Elias' level and translated for him. "Mother, I hear thunder. Mother, I hear shouting. You are my world, but I hear other worlds now…"
It was a sight to see Elias so focused on the words that were beyond his intelligence. Because no matter how ahead he was in his development, Elias was still just a four year old in the end.
"...beyond the unfolding of your smile, is there other kindness? I'm afraid. Will they be kind? The sky is crying now. Fire in the water-" the Doctor stopped questionably, repeating, "Fire in the water?" to see how that made sense in the baby's words.
A smile spread across both Liv's and Clara's faces because the baby's cries had suddenly stopped.
"Rules-schmules," Liv mumbled and met fists with Clara.
The Doctor straightened up, his glances flickering between Elias and Minerva. He knew it was a dangerous mission to stay behind and alter a time period, but…
"So when do we start the training?" Minerva raised an eyebrow. She could practically feel the Doctor's indecision up until he finished talking with Elias. She should have known he wouldn't be able to resist helping people in need, no matter what the repercussions.
~ 0 ~
Later, the Doctor had gathered all the suitable men of the village (and the only ones left) to begin their training...or at least hopefully. But, an hour later, it came as no surprise to the group of travelers that the assembled men were no good with swords.
"Mommy, why can't I help put the fire away?" Elias stood in-between his parents, all three staring at the disaster striking the village which involved a decent-sized fire.
"You? With fire? Don't make me laugh, Elias," Minerva gave a sarcastic shake of her head.
"This really could have gone better," the Doctor released a tired sigh.
Minerva then subjected him with a narrowed-eyed look. "Did you really?"
The Doctor turned to face her, already presuming to know what she was going to say. "You think I did wrong…?"
"Personally, I think you're just wasting time," she quipped, hand over her chest. "Had it been my idea, I would have frozen all those aliens 3 days ago."
"Like Elsa!" Elias cheered at the thought.
"You know we can't do that," the Doctor reminded sharply.
"I know the reasons but honestly, looking at all this, I think we should have. At least now maybe with my powers we can stop them for real."
"Minerva, we can't do that-"
"Yes, I know, because of the ripples," Minerva rolled her eyes. She was beginning to understand Clara's irritation with them. Ripples this, ripples that, but never any clear clarification on what it meant exactly. "But do you know what? This afternoon I met a woman with a baby - that crying baby - and they were both so scared. I imagined myself there, with Elias when he was a baby, and all those times we were in danger. You and I fought like hell to make sure nothing happened to him. I can't let that happen to another mother and child if I can help."
The Doctor rubbed his face wearily. "I understand, I do, but there are rules that...you just don't understand."
Minerva laughed shortly, and bitterly. "What? Because I'm not you? I'm not one of your people?" the Doctor tilted his head, his face bearing unamusement. "You should count that as a blessing or else there'd be two of you."
"You know that's not what I meant…"
"But it's true. I understand to some extent of all your crazy rules, but this one-" she pointed to the village, "-is one that I'm going to have to fight against. Clara was right. We can't let them die. I won't. And I don't think you will either." With a smile, she walked off.
"Daddy, I'm confused, is Mommy mad or not?" Elias looked up at the Doctor. "She was smiling but she was using her mad voice. Is she mad?"
"No, Mummy is trying to make a point," the Doctor sighed.
~0~
Later that night, the Vikings held a feast in order to prepare for their battle the next morning. Elias, wanting to help, forced Clara to come out and help him pick up some flowers to 'make the table prettier'. Even though Clara knew Vikings could care less whether or not their table was pretty, she still agreed. As Elias was handing Clara another sunflower, they heard Minerva's sharpened voice call out to them.
"About to scold," Liv appeared just to say.
Minerva emerged from the dark forest with her hands on her hips. "And just what do you think you're doing young man?" her eyes flickered to Clara next. "Not-so-young woman?"
"Hey!" Clara frowned. 29 wasn't old...right?
Elias didn't seem to buy his mother's scolding voice and rushed over with the sunflower still in his hand. "Look, Mommy, I'm going to make the table prettier. Do you think the Vikings will like it?"
Minerva smiled at the boy. "Of course. But you shouldn't be out here at night."
"It's okay, Ca-yah came too," Elias said like that was the solution to the danger problem. It never occurred to him she was just a human with no actual powers.
"It's dangerous for both of you," Minerva corrected her previous statement. "Honestly, sometimes I feel like I'm raising two children instead of one."
Clara raised her hands, as did Liv. "It's not my fault you haven't gone for that girl yet," Clara defended herself. Minerva rolled her eyes.
"What were you doing out there anyways?" Liv thought to ask, only now registering that Minerva had come from the forest all on her own.
"Uh...tactic searching…" Minerva gave a weary glance at the forest, indicating it had not gone so well. "I thought maybe we could do something with the ground, but...no."
At the sound of crackling thunder, Elias dropped his sunflower and ran behind his mother's legs to hide. Clara and Liv looked up at the dark sky with questionable looks.
"Weird sounding thunder…" Clara remarked.
"Scary," Elias inputted from his 'hiding spot'.
"It's not thunder," Minerva mused, also staring up at the sky. "I believe it's the weapon forges of the Mire. And they're making sure we hear them."
Clara now seriously looked at Minerva. "Okay, tell me the Doctor finally told you his real plan. Because enough is enough, honestly."
"Mommy's mad with Daddy," Elias informed Clara.
"I am not mad," Minerva corrected him.
"That would explain his extra grumpy mood," Liv remarked.
"I'm not mad!"
"But you used your mad voice…" Elias reminded.
"Because I was upset-"
"So then you were mad," Clara tried figuring it out as they went.
"No!"
"Well then why did you use your mad voice?" asked Liv.
"Because I was disagreeing with his tactics!" Minerva stopped herself before she ended up shouting. "I just...we had a disagreement over the rules. It happens sometimes."
"You saw how annoying it can get?" Clara was struggling to hide the smirk she so wanted to give.
"I understand them," Minerva argued. "I just happened to disagree with it this time. He didn't. Somewhere along there I said it was because we weren't of the same species."
"Cultural differences?" Liv raised an eyebrow. "Took you long enough to have one of those."
"What?" Minerva blinked.
"You're a Moontsay, and while you technically evolved from the same people, he's a Time Lord. Sooner or later there was bound to be a difference of opinions."
"In this case, the rules," Clara finally, openly smirked.
Minerva sighed but no longer contradicted them. "Yes, fine."
"So what are your peoples' rules against time?" Clara curiously asked.
"There aren't any," Minerva shrugged, causing both Clara and Liv to stare blankly. "There's no rules because we don't view time the same as Time Lords did. The only reason I view it as something different is because I've known the Doctor my entire life."
"Daddy influenced you," Elias giggled, slowly coming out of his fear some now that the thunder was dying out.
"For a lack of a better word," Minerva sighed. "There's a reason why Time Lords looked down on my people. They held themselves up to a higher standard. Moontsays didn't care about time travelling nor timelines or time itself. They did. Sometimes, I'm bound to be like Moontsays."
"They're your people, of course you are," Liv shrugged. "And if you believe in something different then you shouldn't be afraid."
"I'm not. And the Doctor had never been one to deny my opinion either. We just sort of spring it on each other, that's all."
"So what happens now?" Clara waited expectantly, hoping that because Minerva was, technically, of a different society that she would see the Doctor's plan wasn't going to do anyone any good.
It appeared Minerva was thinking something along the same lines. "Well, it's time to pull out my Moontsay vibes." With a smirk, she handed Elias to Clara and turned to leave.
"No, I want to go too!" Elias pulled Clara with him after his mother.
"I'm curious to see how that works out," Liv admitted and walked after them as well.
On their way, however, Minerva became a bit distracted when she heard callings from Ashidlr. At first she thought the girl was in some sort of trouble so she turned for Ashildr's home instead. It turned out Ashildr was merely fighting with a model of Odin plonked on a wooden stave.
"I want to play too!" Elias' squeal startled Ashildr into dropping the sword in her hand. The girl turned around to the audience while Elias ran straight for the model she'd created.
Minerva was smiling quite proudly as if the girl was her own child displaying some precious abilities. "See, this is my thing with your human societies. You all prop up your men while your real fighters are hiding behind the curtains."
"How long have you been there?" Ashildr thought to pick up the sword Elias was already intending on grabbing from the ground.
"Not the point," Minerva waved the girl off and walked up to the model. She tilted her head at it, examining its details. "You make puppets? My husband loves puppets."
"They're scary," Elias admitted and went back to Clara to hide behind her.
Clara chuckled. "That's because you watch R.L Stine's weird puppet episode even when we told you not to."
"That was a ventriloquist first of all," Liv said beside her. "And you left it on the channel," she threw Clara an accusing look.
"Do you make puppets all the time?" Minerva asked Ashildr, eyeing several of the tools used to make the puppets still lying around.
Ashildr couldn't tell if Minerva was looking down on her creations of if she was actually interested in the puppet. It looked like Minerva always wore an indescribable face and it irked Ashildr. "I...make puppets sometimes...when I'm…"
"Frightened," Minerva finished with a light hum. "Yes, I know the bit."
"When the raiding parties go out, I make up stories about their battles…" Ashildr found herself admitting.
"Because if you make up the right story, then you think it will keep them safe and they'll all come home," Minerva concluded on her own and smiled at the girl. "That's okay. You're not the first person to ever have done that. When I was young, and my husband - who was not my husband at the time - used to go on all these dangerous trips while I was stuck in my home...I used to imagine the best stories hoping that they would come true and that he would be safe enough to come back to me."
Ashildr's thick eyebrows furrowed together at the woman. This was far too much confidence between them to be real. "Why are you here?"
"Because my husband didn't let me use my powers to get us out," Minerva said like it should have been obvious.
"That's not what she meant," Clara whispered.
"Well, it's what I meant," Minerva shrugged and started to leave.
Ashildr couldn't let Minerva go like that until she had proper answers concerning tomorrow's fate. "Are you going to help us?" Minerva stopped and turned sideways. "Because...because at the rate, we will all be cut down like corn. By this time tomorrow, every single one of us will be dead."
""You could go somewhere…?"
"There's nowhere for me except here," Ashildr responded with a determinant aura. Minerva smiled. "This is my place. The sky, the hills, the sea, the people. Is there nowhere like that for you?"
"My home," Minerva agreed. "My birth home...this...world…" she made a gesture to the place.
"Then why are you not helping us?"
"Because I'm following what my husband thinks is best," Minerva sighed and turned back, sighing. She rubbed her arms along her thighs and began to think. "And, now that I'm thinking better, I don't quite agree with. He's not cruel...he just has this annoying habit of going by the rules of a rule book."
"Burn it," Clara coughed in-between her words then flashed a nice smile at Minerva.
The blonde rolled her eyes and dramatically waved her hands. "Alright, fine. Let me come up with a better plan."
"Mommy…" Elias had leaned away from Clara, his little eyes gazing at the open door. "The baby is crying again. She's scared."
Minerva followed her son's attention and did conclude that the cries of the baby were a bit closer than it had been all day. "Who's child is that?"
"Must be Lofty's," Ashildr replied, shrugging. "He's probably taking her to the boathouse because she won't settle."
"And what's in the boathouse besides water?" Clara curiously wondered.
"The fish."
"She says the the water has fire in it," Elias scrunched his face as he strained to make out the words the baby was saying.
"Yeah, I think you'll have to keep training, El," Liv chuckled but Minerva was beginning to decipher the meaning behind those words.
"Somebody find my husband…" Minerva started to leave again.
"Why?" Ashildr came rushing first behind her.
"Because I think I have a good plan," Minerva strode out wearing a smirk.
~ 0 ~
Electric eels had never come in so handy than the next day. The entire village worked all night to create the perfect trap for their enemies. So when Odin and his ten warriors teleported down to the village and found nothing but a grand party in the village's meeting house, they were heavily confused.
The Doctor was among the villagers and when he spotted the new visitors he pulled Minerva up to him as a dance. "This better work," he warned but she smirked in response.
"Are you doubting me?"
"No, ma'am," the Doctor was not about to have another disagreement with her.
He would rather face the Mire.
"Hey, hello, hi!" he left Minerva to go greet the Mire. "I'm the Doctor. It's lovely to meet you face to...er convincing hologram. You could always go zzz and get rid of it, no? No, on second thoughts, don't. That, that, that suits you."
"It is time to fight," Odin declared but no one moved.
"Fighting is bad," Elias spoke up. Clara was holding onto his hand lest he go and run off to face them. "Parties are fun!"
"Let me put it another way. You fight or you die," Odin reiterated in a dark tone.
This time it was Minerva who responded and she was not happy. "Talk like that to my son, or in front of him, again and I'm going to freeze every part of your body even if I have to climb the sky to get to your ship."
The Doctor put an arm in front of her to prevent her from getting closer to Odin. "We're unarmed. There isn't a single weapon in this room. Which I'm sure your systems are telling you. You wouldn't open fire on unarmed civilians, would you?"
"It wouldn't be the first time."
Suddenly, a horseshoe clanged against one of Odin's warrior's armor. The entire of the Mire raised their gazes to find a mesh of wires strapped to cartwheels of candle holders on the roof space.
"Chuckles, now!" the Doctor ordered.
As planned, the electric eels in the village, masked by their water supply, spurged their electricity from the boathouse to the Mire.
"Everyone run!" Minerva shouted while the Mire were in distress. She specifically turned to Clara and motioned her to get Elias out of there.
"That's four down, six left," the Doctor counted the remaining Mire.
"Go!" Odin ordered his warriors.
"Einarr, switch!" Minerva turned to Ashildr's father.
The man hit another of the barrels in the room and this time energized another set of wires. Like a magnet, it pulled the Mire's weapons up to the roof. Even their helmets were yanked off their heads.
"Now turn it off!" Minerva shouted again. The magnet was switched off and let everything crash on the ground. The Doctor grabbed a helmet while Minerva a sword. "I would run," Minerva smirked.
The remaining Mire did go after the villagers but the two aliens hurried to move the last bit of their plan into action.
"Ashildr! Are you ready?" Minerva called to the girl sitting in a wooden chair while the Doctor worked fast on the helmet he'd grabbed from the Mire.
"I'm scared," Ashildr admitted.
"You were born for this. Show them a story they'll never forget," the Doctor carefully put the Mire's helmet on her. Ashildr did as told and thought of the best story she could.
The doors of the meeting house crashed in and let out a strong gust of wind that caught all the Mire's attention. From their view, they were seeing a classic long-necked Wyrm coming at them.
"What is this beast? It's impossible!" But Odin backtracked every single second he had on.
"Withdraw. Withdraw!" cried his warriors.
"Stand and fight!" Odin tried keeping everyone in check but their weapons turned out to be ineffective against the 'Wyrm'.
One by one, the warriors retreated and teleported back to their ship until only Odin was left. The eyepiece on Odin began to falter and reveal the true form of the creature, which turned out to be one of Ashildr's puppets of a Dragon, the same one Minerva had discovered the previous night. Somewhere else, the horn that was used to create the terrible howls of the creature was finally stopped.
Minerva and the Doctor walked out of the meeting hall, Minerva's hands billowing in icy smoke. The rest of the villagers surrounded Odin with their swords aimed properly at him.
"Ready to see the last trick of the night?" Minerva raised her hands, unable to stop smirking.
"What trickery is this?" demanded Odin.
"Ha! Says the man with a fake face," the Doctor scoffed. "But you see, that's the trouble with viewing reality through technology. It's all too easy to feed in a new reality." The Doctor took out Clara's cell phone and waved it around. "A story to save a town, and a puppet from a nightmare. You see, you've just seen the world through the eyes of a storyteller. The mighty armies of the Mire. Brutal, sadistic, undefeated. Even I believed the stories. But after today, no one will again. An army like yours, it lives or dies on its reputation, its story. And today, you were sent packing by a handful of farmers and fisherman. Not to mention the whole wetting your pants and running away from a puppet debacle."
"Oh, imagine if someone recorded that," Minerva pouted sarcastically. "Oh wait-" she gasped, "-I think we did."
The Doctor held the phone for Odin to see the spectacle they did indeed record. "Now, you see, we could just keep this as a funny little film and play it every year at the Christmas party, or I could upload it to the galactic hub and get a second opinion. So the question you need to ask yourself is this. Just how important is your reputation to you? Here's a little sneak preview, piped straight into your helmets, free of charge."
"If you don't leave right now, we'll put it out there for all to see and no one will fear you again," Minerva shrugged.
"This humiliation will not go unpunished. We will meet again," Odin swore.
"Yeah, yeah, feel free to drop by the Monsoon. I'm sure my military chief would love to show you their new tactics," Minerva evilly smiled.
The Doctor teleported him away before that could go on. "Oh, I hacked your teleporter. Sorry."
"I wasn't finished," Minerva sarcastically said, and threw him a look.
When the Mire finally left the skies, the village felt it right to celebrate. They returned to the meeting hall where Ashildr was, still sitting on her chair with the big Mire helmet over her head.
"You did it, Ashildr. You did it. You saved us all!" her father rushed to her first but the girl made no movement. "Ashildr?"
When she didn't move again, everyone went dead quiet. Minerva pushed her way through the crowd along with the Doctor. "Get the helmet off," she ordered them.
Ashildr was unconscious - at least they hoped she was - and was laid on the ground for further examination.
"Ashildr?" her father continued calling for her but she never responded.
Minerva checked for the pulse that was most certainly not there. "No pulse…" she ran her hands through her hair.
"Minerva…" the Doctor grabbed her and pulled her back.
Minerva felt like all the blaming, accusatory glanced were settling on her. Air became short. She got out of there as fast as she could. When the Doctor caught up with her, she was pacing back and forth.
"I helped use that girl up like a battery!" she exclaimed. "I didn't - I didn't think that would happen. I was so...I was so busy making sure we weren't concerning with the rules."
"Minerva…"
"I know I should be focusing on the fact that the village safe but I can't," Minerva stopped and faced him. "I don't hold myself to the Godly status of the Time Lords and I can't see people as collateral damage to save a bigger population."
"I am not like that," the Doctor momentarily frowned at the insinuation.
"You were raised to be like that, but you couldn't," Minerva smiled lightly. "And I am so happy for that. But I think sometimes you forget...and sometimes I think I forget. Sometimes we just have to break the rules. I can't let that girl just die. It's not fair. We keep losing people like that..."
The Doctor acknowledged her words but for the moment couldn't respond. Minerva raised her head, standing tall, and waited for him to give her an answer of where he stood. He had found a reflection of himself in a barrel of water and thought back to the first moment he had seen his new face.
"Who frowned me this face? Why this one? Why did I choose this face?" he repeated his questions. Minerva furrowed her eyebrows, unsure of what he was going on about now. "I think I know why I chose it." The Doctor turned around and faced his wife. "It's like I'm trying to tell myself something."
"Well, if you could tell me that would be great," Minerva said slowly.
"There was someone, a long time ago...who made me realize that...I can save someone…"
"What are you…?" Minerva wasn't sure what was running through his head at the moment. It was all a blur of memories with a bright orange scenery. It took her a long moment to recognize their long ago companion, Donna Noble.
'Just someone. Not the whole town. Just save someone.' Donna begged so long ago when they had to leave Pompeii during its eruption.
"Come with me," the 10th Doctor reached out to old Caecilus, intending on saving the man and his entire family.
"I know where I got this face, and I know what it's for. To remind me. To hold me to the mark. I'm the Doctor, and I save people," the Doctor held a hand out for Minerva. "With my gorgeous wife of course."
"Sweet talking will not get you anywhere right now," Minerva laid her hand in his and yelped when he pulled her right up to him.
"Let's hope saving people does," the Doctor gave her a short kiss on the lips.
In the meeting hall, everyone was witness to the two aliens working with the helmet left behind by the Mire. Clara, Elias and Liv were on the front lines in the audience but no one was allowed to help.
"What are they doing?" Einarr whispered to Clara.
"Saving her, I think," Clara honestly said.
"Don't lie, Ca-yah, they are," Elias cut in, very sure of his parents.
Soon enough, the Doctor and Minerva appeared with a small SIM-like chip card.
"What is that?" Liv eyed the devices.
"It's from the Mire helmet. Battlefield medical kit," the Doctor explained. "I've reprogrammed it for human beings." He and Minerva walked to Ashildr's body. He carefully placed the device over her forehead and everyone watched in wonder as the device was literally absorbed into her.
"It's gone!" Elias gasped and ran forwards. "Can I have one?"
"Absolutely not," Minerva pulled the young boy back.
"Technically, he wouldn't need one because of his regener-" the Doctor received a hard whack on the stomach. He coughed and then said, "No, you can't have one."
"What's it doing to her?" Einarr asked seriously.
"It's repairing her," Minerva dissuaded his worries. "It will never stop repairing her, if it works." She leaned forwards to Ashildr. "Come on, Ashildr. Come on. The story's not over yet."
"Daughter, listen to me. This town has lost so much. If we lose you too there'll be nothing left," Einarr stroked Ashildr's hair, hoping she would open her eyes any second now.
Ashildr briefly opened her eyes but fell again.
"She'll be conscious in a day, up and about in three," the Doctor promised. "No swimming for a week. Now, we're going to need a longboat and some of your best rowers. We're two days' sail from the Tardis."
"Wait, no. She'll want to see you when she wakes," Einrarr tried stopping them.
"Believe me, she will see us often enough when she understands," Minerva said, thoughtfully as she glanced at Ashildr.
"Understands what?"
"Second dose," Minerva placed the second card in Einarr's hand.
"Will she need to take this?"
"No, no, no, it's not for her."
"Then who's it for?"
"Whoever she wants," Minerva smiled softly.
~0~
While the travelers finally headed back to the TARDIS, Clara noticed how quiet the Doctor was. Even Minerva was a little stern-looking.
"Okay, it's official. Silence is even worse in a Scottish accent," Clara nudged the Doctor. "Are you going to tell me what you're brooding about?"
"The rules," Minerva drawled on. "It's inevitable for him. He's worried about the ripples."
"What?" Liv appeared beside Minerva while they walked.
"It won't stop, the repair kit we put inside Ashildr, not ever," the Doctor finally spoke up. "It'll just keep fixing her."
"Well, good," Clara shrugged, not quite seeing the problem.
"Forever?" Elias, who walked between his parents holding hands, looked up.
It was then that Clara began to understand what the aliens had been trying to say. "Do you mean...do you mean she might not die?"
"Possibly," Minerva replied. "She may now be functionally immortal."
"If the repair kit never stops working, then why did you give her two?"
"Immortality isn't living forever. That's not what it feels like. Immortality is everybody else dying," the Doctor coldly said. He knew exactly what he was talking about, then. "She might meet someone she can't bear to lose. That happens, I believe." He spared Minerva a glance and kissed her cheek. Two regenerations ago had him loving a human version of Minerva and the mere thought of losing her to death...
He didn't even want to remember that feeling. Ever.
"Living forever?" Liv paused at the doorway of the TARDIS, an indescribable expression on her face. She may or may not know a thing or two about that one. Or, at least, she knew before she was tethered to Clara. "Would that mean she's not technically human anymore?"
"Like a hybrid," Minerva hummed, once again thoughtful. Liv swore she a flash of concern in Minerva's eyes for a second, but the blonde alien turned away fast.
Author's Note: Honestly this episode was kind of weird to me given 12's radical changes between helping and not helping. I did what I could by tailoring it to the story. Sometimes I just end up laughing because the writing is so off for this show at times xD