Wanderer of Time: Darkness Within

by Tinker16

The powers within have been steadily growing, buying time until the moment of remembrance. The moment swiftly approaches. Wanda's fears are coming to a head as she realizes what has been living inside her has only one purpose in the universe. And it holds no qualms in destroying any who gets in its way, even those who Wanda loves. (Part Three of the Wanderer of Time trilogy)

59. Ch 59: The Meeting of Clara Oswald

Hello, my readers!

Got back recently from vacation. Totally had a blast. I hope everyone's life has been just as joyful. :) I'm excited to get back into a new chapter. Especially because, after all these years, I finally have an awesome British English editing program for my computer. Finally! You have no idea how hard it was trying to edit with the American English programs with how this story is written haha. ;) Definitely going to have to go back and edit over all the past parts of the story. Something for all of you to look forward to after this part is done and over with.

So, enjoy the newest chapter everyone! Hope you all will like it. :)

XxXxXxXx

Chapter 59: The Meeting of Clara Oswald

It had been four weeks. A full four weeks of nothing. The Doctor was off somewhere in Cumbria of 1207. Some monks that the Doctor knew owed him a favour or such. Wanda did not know all the details. He barely even explained it to her when they had arrived there before leaving her behind. Before arriving in 1207, it had been another two weeks of just him wandering around from place to place. She had tried offering help, but he always seemed to wave her off, telling her to not worry about it and to just do what she wanted off somewhere in the TARDIS. In other words, leave him be. Leave him to do what he wanted in peace. And so, she did. Not even bothering to offer to tag along when they had arrived in Cumbria.

Instead, Wanda pulled out a sleeping bag, a book, and a thermos of water into the control room. There was where she stayed. Waiting by the console on top of her sleeping bag, dressed in nice modern 21st-century clothing at the ready. She stared at the TARDIS doors, waiting in anticipation for the phone to ring. She knew it would. She remembered all of this now. She even looked into the possibilities, something she had not done in a very long time now. She would be ready for anything now. Nothing was going to take Clara away from her and her Doctor again. Nothing. She would stake her life on it.

So, she waited. And waited. And . . . waited some more. Only a few times would she leave to quickly use the loo. Other than that, she never left the control room. Never looked away from the place where she knew the TARDIS's police telephone was. Even though she grew tired over the weeks of waiting. Even though she felt herself drifting off on occasion. She stayed right there, staring sleepily at the door. She just had to wait there. Wait for that ring. Cause it would happen eventually. The phone would ring, and ring, and ring, and— She sat up with a start, blinking sleep out of her eyes. She had dozed off. The phone . . . It was ringing! Finally! It was about bloody time!

Running to the door, Wanda practically flung the door open to step outside. The fact that there was no way of getting to the phone from the inside seemed strange. She would have to talk with the TARDIS about that later. For now, her sole focus was to get to Clara. So she opened the small 'pull to open' door on the TARDIS and answered the loud ringing phone.

"Hello!" Wanda said cheerfully.

"Ah, hello! I can't find the internet," she heard Clara say on the other end. The line crackled here and there with the girl's words.

"Can't find the internet? What did it do, run away on you?" Wanda joked lightly, grinning from ear-to-ear in her excitement on hearing from Clara again.

"I don't know. It's just gone. Can't find it anywhere. Where is it?" Clara replied, sounding annoyed by her situation.

Wanda decided to play along for a bit as she leaned against the closed doors of the TARDIS. "It's 1207 you know. A little hard for me to help you with the internet around these parts."

"I've got half past three. Am I phoning a different time zone?" Clara sounded surprised now, curious as to where she had called.

Wanda smirked, trying to hold back her snickering. "Yeah. You could say that."

"Will it show up on the bill?"

"Well . . . yeah. You might want to be prepared for it when it comes."

"Damn. Aleena promised me this number would be local. Though, now that I think about it, maybe she didn't."

Wanda straightened quickly, blinking upon hearing that name. A name past Clara had said as well. A name that Wanda had almost forgotten about over the many years. It had been a name that had followed her around since the beginning of meeting the Doctor. Just here and there would she hear of the name. Who was this Aleena? Why was her name always just there in passing?

"Aleena?" Wanda questioned carefully.

"Just a friend of mine," explained Clara. "She gave me the number saying to use it if I ever needed help with anything. Suppose she never did say if it was a helpline or not. You are a helpline, right?"

"Of course! Best helpline in the universe," Wanda said brightly, bouncing lightly on her feet. She would worry about the whole 'Aleena' thing later. Clara needed her now. That was all that mattered.

"Right, then. So, why isn't there internet? Shouldn't it just sort of be there?"

"No, no. You have to connect to the wi-fi." Wanda leaned back against the TARDIS in a relaxed slouch. "Click on the little button. Bottom corner of the laptop. Right corner. Looks like little wavy bars. If that makes sense. Not sure how to describe it, really. Maybe more like signal bars? I don't know. It's wi-fi. You know wi-fi, right?"

"Hang on," said Clara as she seemed to look for the button Wanda talked about. "Um . . . Wi-fi . . ."

"Actually, you don't really need wi-fi. A LAN line would be better. More of a direct connection. Faster, too. But you need an ethernet CAT 5 cable for that. Do you have one of those laying around?"

"Uuuuummmm . . ."

Wanda let out a breath, realizing she had completely lost Clara by that point. "Never mind. Just use the wi-fi."

By this point, she heard footsteps coming down the stairs of the underground stone cavern that TARDIS was parked within. A young monk came around the corner first, holding a lit torch in hand as he led the other two people behind him into the room. In came the Doctor second before being followed in by another older monk. Wanda waved a hand frantically at the Doctor and pointed at the phone in her hand in urgency. He walked over to her quickly, staring at her in both concern and confusion. She mouthed the word 'wi-fi.' This only baffled him more as he stood right next to her, pressing his ear into the receiver along with his wife so he could hear whoever was on the line.

"It's asking me for a password," they heard Clara say from the other end.

"Password?" the Doctor whispered, baffled in what they were doing and who they were talking to.

"Internet helpline," Wanda whispered back before pushing the phone closer to speak with Clara. "Yeah, I can't help you there, sweetie. You're going to have to ask someone in the house for the password." They heard mumbling as Clara seemed to be communicating with someone briefly.

"Hang on. Just a mo'," Clara muttered into the phone. "'Keep, Being, A, Clever, Boy, Running, With, Your, Wanderer, And, Remember, 1, 2, 3—."

"What did you say?!" the Doctor exclaimed in shock, yanking the phone away from Wanda as he now pressed the phone fully to his ear.

"Don't shout!" gasped Clara, taken back by the sudden yell. "Hang on. Where's the woman I was talking to? Did I get disconnected?"

"No, no, no. I'm just . . . district manager," the Doctor muttered quickly, coming up a lie for the girl on the other end. "But what did you say?"

"It's just a, um, a thing to remember the password," Clara answered, a frown clearly heard on her face the girl was obviously confused by the strange man on the phone asking such a thing. "Now you made me type it wrong. It's thrown me out again. What do I do? How do I get back in? Can you put me back on with that woman who was helping me? She had been very helpful before."

At that moment the Doctor grabbed Wanda by the arm and jerked her into the TARDIS. The door slammed shut behind them and the Time Lord raced up to the console, immediately tracing where the call was coming from. He felt Wanda anxiously standing beside him, bouncing on her feet in anticipation for their arrival. He knew how much it meant to her to get Clara back. It meant everything to the Wanderer at this point.

Both of them raced out of the TARDIS the moment the ship touched down on Earth. They had appeared outside any normal suburb in London of the 21st century. Right outside a rather nice house, in fact. Wanda knew this was the Maitland household where Clara nannied Artie and Angie. The Doctor and Wanda ran over to the house where the call had come from. Both of them eager to get to Clara. Each for their own reason. In their eagerness, the Doctor rapped rapidly on the glass front door, and Wanda spammed the doorbell so fast the ringing inside skipped a few times. They both felt their spirits rise when hearing Clara's voice coming from inside the house.

Soon, the brunette herself opened the door, staring at them with a puzzled expression. The girl was taken back, staring at the two in front of her as though very confused. They were two of the strangest people she had seen. With the blonde woman whose hair reached past her shoulder blades, wearing somewhat normal clothing which consisted of a lacey, black tunic with bell sleeves, dark brown capris, and black mary jane shoes. And the dark-brown haired man wearing some sort of strange brown robe. Both of them had overly excited, mad smiles.

"Hello?" she said carefully.

"Clara!" Wanda exclaimed as she bounced on the balls of her feet.

"Clara Oswald?" the Doctor added, still seeming unsure if they had really found Clara again. It still seemed impossible to ever happen. A person who dies and is reborn again in another time? Even by the normal impossibilities he came across over the centuries, this one just took the whole cake.

"Hello," Clara repeated, still looking them up and down as a frown appeared on her face.

"Oswin!" he said excitedly, thinking maybe this might spark some sort of remembrance from her.

"Oswin?" Clara questioned.

"You know, Oswin Oswald," Wanda said, still bouncing on the spot as though she could not stay still. Then she stopped, and her silly grin dropped. "Oh, wait, that's not your name yet. Oops. I forgot."

"Do you remember us?!" burst out the Doctor, stepping towards the girl. His smile still as mad as before.

"No . . .," replied Clara, backing up a little from the doorway. "Should I? Who are you?"

"The Wanderer," said the Time Lord.

"The Doctor," Wanda added. Each of them said this at the same time and even pointed at the other for introductions. Clara blinked, looking between them.

"Doctor who? Wanderer who? What sort of names are those?" she asked them. She backed up warily as the Doctor stepped into the house. Wanda did as well, going around the Doctor to look around the home briefly.

"No, just the Doctor," said the Time Lord as he checked out his appearance in a mirror. As though to double check that he still looked the same when he had last met Clara. It made him wonder why Clara had been able to die and come back yet not remember him. Then again, memories could be erased or lost or locked away. Wanda was proof of that.

"You can just call me Wanda," Wanda replied, turning with her back to the stairs to face Clara. "Surprisingly everyone is more comfortable calling me by a nickname. I am, too, to be honest." The girl faced her, folding her arms as she stared with a thoughtful frown.

"Wait a moment. You're that woman from the helpline," said Clara as she pointed at Wanda in shock. "How did you get here so fast?"

"With our spaceship. You called our telephone," Wanda replied easily, giving a shrug.

Clara blinked for a second, not responding right away. Then she let out a huff and grabbed at Wanda, yanking her back to the open door. "Yeah. Okay. We're done here."

Wanda stumbled as Clara pushed her out of the house and slammed the door behind her. "Wait! Clara! We just want to talk!" She banged on the door for a bit, hoping to get the girl to come open the door again. But she received no answer as Clara seemed to have retreated into the house. Huffing, Wanda turned to ask the Doctor in what they should do next but was greeted with only the TARDIS nearby. With a frown she went back into the ship, finding the Doctor hurriedly changing clothes. "Doctor, she kicked me out."

"Yeah, I figured she'd end up doing that. I might have come off wrong with my outfit. Monks are not cool," he stated rapidly as he threw on a purple-brown frock coat. The same she remembered him wearing in his later years in this incarnation. He turned to her after buttoning up his dress shirt, stepping towards her carefully as though wary of what she would say or think of his new outfit. "So . . . what do you think?"

"I think . . . you're still missing something," Wanda said calmly, pointing at his neckline. Frowning, the Doctor felt at his neck and realized she was right. There was one thing he needed to complete his look. Turning back around, he dug through the compartment where he kept spare clothing and pulled out a decorative box. Inside was one of his favourite bow ties that he always kept locked away. In case he ever needed it for a special occasion. Just like today.

He turned and smiled at Wanda once he had placed it on, hoping for approval. She smiled lightly and nodded. That was all he needed. He ran right past her, in a hurry to get to Clara. Wanda glanced at his retreating figure, wishing for a moment that he would have grabbed for her hand. Again, she reminded herself that things would not be as they used to. He would not wish to hold her hand all the time as he once had. Letting out another sad sigh, she walked quickly out of the ship to catch up with her Theta.

She saw him at the door trying to speak with Clara through the house's intercom. By now, she knew what had happened. The Spoonhead, or a 'server' as that Miss Kizlet called them, would have already uploaded Clara into their system by now. Any other time, Wanda would have never allowed this to happen. But she remembered how it was necessary for that to happen to Clara. That way those people helping the Great Intelligence would implant skills into the girl, allowing her to be able to hack them back later. With Clara's skills, it would be a piece of cake (oh she liked this saying!) to get back at the Great Intelligence stealing victims' souls. No more would people of this world suffer. And Clara would be the key to stop it all.

So, with that thought, she did not wait for the Doctor to finish his ramblings with the intercom. He would have figured out Clara was in trouble eventually anyway. Might as well just speed the process along. Pulling out her sonic screwdriver, she did just that by quickly unlocking the door and pushing her way inside.

"What'd you go and do that for? I thought we were trying to be more subtle than that?" the Doctor said thoughtfully, following Wanda inside with a frown. It was not as though he had not thought about just forcing their way in. But to most humans that would have been impolite. He blinked in shock when he saw what was just beyond the doorway. Clara was lying on the floor, out cold. A strange little girl, in an old-fashioned pink dress, stood on the stairs with a face that caved inwards in sort of a spoon shape. All the while cries from a terrified and panicking Clara could be heard coming from the Spoonhead little girl.

"I don't know where I am! Where am I? Please tell me where I am. I don't know where I am!" Clara was heard saying repeatedly in panicked breathes from an image on the Spoonhead. The Doctor whipped out his sonic screwdriver, scanning the little girl Spoonhead. The image of the girl disappeared, replaced by a mechanical robotic form. It was a walking base station, made to hoover up people into wi-fi. Before he could do much else, Wanda came rushing down the stairs from the upper floor. With laptop in hand, she ran right up to him and thrust the computer into his hands.

"Save her," she breathed, eyes shining with fear for the girl she cared so much about. The Doctor did not have to be told twice as he immediately sat down on the floor next to Clara and began to work in reversing the process that was being done to Clara. Wanda sat on the other side of the girl, holding onto the so-to-be companion's hand tightly. "Just hold on Clara," she whispered. "Hold on. The Doctor is going to save you. I swear."

She listened to the Doctor muttering, fingers typing like mad on the keyboard. Soon, the Doctor gave a small indication of success before the Spoonhead on the stairs whirled. It sparked for a moment before beaming a light shot straight at Clara. Once the light had vanished, Clara gasped on the floor as air filled her lungs and her heart started up once again. Immediately the two travellers gathered around her, making certain she was okay. Once the Doctor deemed her fine, he started working on the laptop again, getting more information out of who had he fought against in saving Clara's life and making certain whoever tried to take the girl from them would know that she was protected. Always protected from now on. They would not be losing her again anytime soon.

Wanda, on the other hand, used this time to hold the girl close, rocking the companion, making certain that she was indeed perfectly okay and comfortable while whispering, "It's okay, sweetheart. You're safe now." Eventually, after the Doctor was finished with his work on the laptop and after taking the time to power off the Spoonhead safely, the Time Lord helped Wanda get the new companion back upstairs to the girl's room. They arranged her comfortably on the twin-sized bed, laying her on her side and pulling the covers up around her. She rested peacefully, looking as though she had merely been sleeping all along.

"How long before she wakes up?" Wanda asked aloud, still hovering just over the girl. Still anxious over the companion's safety, and whether or not they could still make a decent first impression with her.

"Don't know. Never had to re-upload someone from the internet back into their bodies before," the Doctor mumbled, frowning as he gazed around the room. It was small. And . . . very familiar in style. It was almost exactly like that of Wanda's room back in her pocket world. Something else Alpha must have taken from the cracks in the universe and placed into her world. He glanced at the window, seeing the orange glow in the blinds. The sun was starting to set now. It had been hours since they gotten her back. "Could be all night. Best I make us comfortable outside."

"You go ahead. I'll . . . stay here," Wanda said quietly, shifting on the spot uneasily. She felt embarrassed and nervous about what he thought of her acting in such a way. Would Clara like the Doctor when she woke up? Would she like Wanda herself? She hoped so.

The Doctor noticed his wife's anxious demeanour, smiling kindly at her. She must be worried in what Clara will think of her when the girl woke up. He wanted to assure his Wanderer that there was nothing to worry over. Clara would love Wanda instantly. With an idea sparking in his mind, he quickly went down the stairs. Wanda glanced over her shoulder to see him retreating. Getting a sudden idea, she hurriedly went down the stairs as well to get a few things. While the Doctor went outside and got flowers, Wanda was in the kitchen getting a pitcher of water and a glass. Glancing at an open cupboard, she saw a package of custard creams. So, she swiftly snatched the package and went back upstairs. Almost just behind her was the Doctor, who went into the kitchen to get a vase for the flowers and also saw a package in the cupboard, this time of Jammie Dodgers. So, he brought his gifts up to Clara's room.

The two travellers did not notice each other at first as they set up their offerings for Clara. Wanda poured the water and set the pitcher beside Clara's bed on a small table, allowing for the girl to have a drink when she woke. The Doctor arranged the flowers just so besides the pitcher, making it so there was a comfortable atmosphere when she woke. At the same time, they ripped into the packages they gotten from the cupboard and dumped the biscuits onto a plate that the Doctor had also brought up. Each one in sync grabbed one of their favourite biscuits and took a bite, making sounds of delight while munching on the biscuits. Wanda and the Doctor suddenly blinked, staring at each other in surprise. Neither one had realized the other had been there. In embarrassment, they placed back their half-eaten biscuits back on the plate. Wanda then laughed lightly while the Doctor chuckled, giving each other a smile.

"Think she'll like all of this?" Wanda asked, looking back at Clara anxiously.

"Of course! Who wouldn't?" the Doctor said confidently, walking around to inspect more of the room. He picked up a large, thin book that looked as though it had been years of fond reading. It was worn in a few places here and there and had pieces of paper sticking out of a few parts of the book. It was called 101 Places to See. Interesting title. He flipped through it, reading the chapters quickly and seeing many special memories to Clara placed throughout the book. One page held an interesting leaf, that—once he licked it—he noted it was very old. Older than the girl, who was twenty-four years old according to the marking of ages in the book.

He set the book down hurriedly after that and left the room after a brief glance was given to Wanda. He wanted to ask her to come along with him, but when seeing how she pinched her thumb and hover around Clara's bed . . . he decided it was best to let her stay with the girl. He did not want to push her to be around him if she did not want to. Plus, it probably would be nice for Clara to wake up with to a gentle Wanderer there for comfort.

Wanda did not know what to do with herself as she waited for Clara to wake up. She paced for a bit. Just thinking of what to do for when the girl woke up. What to say, do, etc. But then she felt stupid in thinking about all of this. It was like she was First Wanda all over again. Unsure of herself in how to behave around others. It was ridiculous. But the worrying was still there. It had been years since she had been around a companion, after all. It had been the longest time since she been away from any of the Doctor's companions. It had also been a very long time since she had seen Clara in particular. She had forgotten, really, in what their relationship had sort of been like before. In fact, now that she really thought about it, out of all the companions, Clara had been the one who she spent the least amount of time with. And that was saying something.

Wanda ended up grabbing a chair from Clara's desk and sat beside the girl's bed, watching her sleep and still contemplating over this and that. Nothing really important. Just thinking over what adventures would come for them. Though, as her mind wandered, it also reminded her of the main reason she knew the girl was needed. For the Doctor, of course. He needed the companion. Not Wanda. He needed that person in his life to show him the awed delight of the universe. If she could get Clara and him together as friends . . . then maybe things could be settled enough where . . . he might not care if Wanda herself was not around anymore.

When it became well into the night, and after she heard the Doctor working on things throughout the house, Clara finally began to stir in bed. Wanda straightened, feeling even more nervous now as the girl's brown eyes slowly met hers. Clara closed her eyes briefly again and then opened them once more. As if to do a double take that the strange blonde woman was indeed there.

"Hello, again!" Wanda said merrily, smiling kindly at the girl. "Did you sleep well?" Before Clara a chance to answer as she sat up and rubbed her head, Wanda quickly grabbed the plate of biscuits. "Biscuit? We—we weren't sure which ones you'd like. So we got you some that we like." Clara opened her mouth but Wanda continued. "Sorry, we took a bite out of two. Hope you don't mind. Though, now that I think about it that was rather rude. And we also took them from your kitchen. Also rude. Ah. Don't worry, we'll buy replacements. Also! Don't worry about your headache, should go away soon. At least, that's what I assume. The Doctor didn't say how much being sucked into the wi-fi would have affected you. I should probably go ask him. Or you could ask him. If you wanted to. Or you could just sleep some more and . . . Oh, sorry, I'm rambling again, aren't I? Too fast. I speak way too fast." Wanda smiled crookedly in embarrassment while Clara blinked rapidly at her, trying to process all that she said.

"I got sucked into the internet?" the girl finally asked slowly, frowning at her.

"Yeah. Sort of," Wanda mumbled, shifting on her feet. "You won't remember it. But! Good news! The ones that sucked you into the internet, they implanted computer skills into your mind! So . . . you know . . . that's a thing." Wanda cleared her throat, feeling even more awkward now.

"And that's good news because . . .?" Clara asked slowly.

"Because . . . now they'll come after you to get that back . . . which will then lead us to stopping them," Wanda said, much more confidently now. She grinned. "So, no worries! We won't let them take you again."

Clara frowned, seeming to ponder all of this over. It was strange for this woman and man to suddenly come to the house and try to meet her. Then out of nowhere her almost dying by being sucked into the internet. "So, did you two come here to see me because you knew the wi-fi was going to attack me?"

"No, we came because you called us, remember? But good thing we did, or else you'd be trapped in the internet forever."

Smiling lightly, Clara felt glad that these two seemingly random strangers (emphasis on strange) came to her. Even if they were bizarre . . . and a bit off-putting . . . it was nice knowing that they felt like coming to help out a fellow stranger. "Well, guess I can thank you both for that."

Wanda smiled when seeing Clara becoming more at ease with her. Even relaxing and smiling the same way she knew the girl would in the future. "No thanks necessary. We are always glad to help and keep you safe. We're always there for whatever you need."

"Is that a promise?" Clara teased lightly. Her teasing smile immediately fell when seeing the blonde woman suddenly deflate. Emerald eyes lost their shining spark and her demeanour changed to that of forlorn.

Wanda swallowed heavily, turning away from the girl. "I'll let you get ready in your own time. If you want to join us, we'll be outside. We'd both love your company if you did. It'd make the Doctor really happy, especially." With that said, Wanda swiftly turned and walked down the stairs, going away in a cowardly retreat.

Her hearts pounded away anxiously as she felt turmoil within. Half of her wanted to quickly go back into the TARDIS and let the Doctor and Clara enjoy their adventure together without her. Mostly because she felt it again, the feeling of losing control. But she knew she could not keep doing this. Though she had gotten very, very lucky in not being pulled away to another point in time yet. Mostly because now Alpha was not constantly trying to jump away and back to their pocket world. Sooner or later, though, the powers would start building and she would have to let her body jump away. If she did not then the consequences would be catastrophic. And when she was pulled away again, she had to be prepared to face whatever else was thrown at her. It would not do anyone good to keep wallowing in her own self-pity. She had to keep up in being how she was before. To make certain to keep her Theta, companions, and others safe. As well as to make certain past Doctors did not suspect anything to be wrong for their future. Even if it pained her to plaster a smile on her face. She would do anything for her Theta.

So, with this in mind, she went outside and quickly sat on the ground by the TARDIS with her back leaning against the doors. The Doctor, who was busy typing away on Clara's laptop and working on the Spoonhead which he had placed on a folding table, looked up when hearing her sit down. He frowned in concern, seeing how dull her eyes had become. Though she kept her face mostly blank, he could tell something was bothering her. Before he could voice his concerns, she cleared her throat.

"Clara's awake. She should be down soon," she said quietly.

"Oh? Is she feeling all right?" he asked gently, turning to face his wife.

"Yeah," Wanda mumbled before pulling up her legs and burying her face in her folded arms on her knees. Her sadness becoming too much for her to let the Doctor see how quickly she had become affected by just a simple phrase from Clara. She mentally scolded herself. Had she not just thought to make certain to keep a smile on her face for her Theta? Ugh. Damn her emotions.

They heard Clara coming out of the house a few minutes later, holding a chair in the crook of her arm and two cups of tea in each hand. The Doctor stood up, smiling when Clara offered him a cup. She then turned to offer one to Wanda, too. But when seeing the blonde sort of sitting there huddled, Clara slowly sat the cup beside her on the ground, staring at Wanda in concern. She did not mean to make the woman upset. She did not know why, really. What made the blonde suddenly so sad? Wanda sat up with a start when realizing Clara was right there next to her with a cup of steaming tea.

"Oh! Sorry! Thank you, Clara," Wanda said, smiling as though nothing were wrong as she graciously took the offered cup. "Good cuppa always eases the troubled mind. Brilliant in you thinking of that."

"Yes, thank you," agreed the Doctor, giving a nice smack after a long sip. Both he and Wanda beamed happily at the companion as she sat down on her folding chair. Clara stared at them lightly, finding the way they acted around her so strange. As though they knew her quite well, or rather that they hoped to make a very, very good impression with her. Either way, it was kind of funny in how they acted.

"So, what did I miss while I was out?" Clara asked curiously, crossing a leg over the other as she stared at them.

"Oh! Quite a lot, actually, uh . . . ," the Doctor said quickly, pulling out a notepad from his inside pocket of cashmere coat. "Angie called. She's going to stay over at Nina's. Apparently that's all completely fine and you shouldn't worry like you always do, for god's sake get off her back." He added the last bit as quoted from Angie when she had called earlier that afternoon. "Also, your dad phoned. Mainly about the government, he seems very cross with them." The Doctor flipped rapidly through his notepad. "I've got several pages on that. I said I'd look into it. I fixed that rattling noise in the washing machine, indexed the kitchen cupboards, optimised photosynthesis in the main flower bed, and assembled a quadricycle."

Clara blinked, taken back in just how much and fast the man rattled on. He was just as speedy in words at the blonde woman. Huh. They must be related or something. Or . . . were they married? Hard to tell, really. She did not know them well enough to judge in what they were to each other. Though, she could judge them quick enough to know they were kind and decent people. Only people like that would go out of their way to help a stranger out.

"Assembled a what?" she questioned, confused as she realized the last thing he mentioned did not make sense at all.

"I found a disassembled quadricycle in the garage," the Doctor explained with ease.

"I don't think you did," Clara corrected, staring at him with even more confusion. The Doctor's face lit up.

"I invented the quadricycle!" he said quietly to himself, taken back but yet shockingly joyful at what he had done.

"That you did," Wanda said when hearing him say this, smirking playfully at her husband. She giggled lightly when seeing him beaming away even more. She always could not help feeling joyful when seeing how happy he was. Even about the little things.

"So, are either of you gonna explain what really happened to me," questioned Clara. She started at them sceptically, raising a brow. "Wanda here says I was sucked into the internet. Is that true?"

"Yes," the Doctor said, sitting down as he grew more serious now. "There's something in the wi-fi."

"Okay," replied Clara, taking his word for it. For now, at least.

"This whole world is swimming in wi-fi," the Doctor went on. "We're living in wi-fi soup. Suppose something got inside it. Suppose there was something living in the wi-fi, harvesting human minds, extracting them. Imagine that. Human souls trapped like flies in the World Wide Web. Stuck forever. Crying out for help."

Clara blinked for a moment, not sure if she should really be taking him or the blonde woman seriously. "Isn't that basically Twitter?" she joked lightly.

"Yes, but that's an adventure for another day," Wanda mumbled as she stared up at the sky in thought. She glanced over at the Doctor, seeing his expression as he stared at Clara. "Yes, dear, she has been rewritten. I already explained to her about the computer skills they implanted in her."

"A living, sentient computer . . . hacking another, editing them," the Doctor breathed under his breath, realizing the possibilities to this.

"I still don't believe that," Clara disputed, shaking her head at them.

"Oh? Tell me, Clara, what cable do you need for a LAN line again?" Wanda asked casually.

"CAT 5," Clara answered immediately. She blinked, shocked by how quickly she had answered that. "I . . . I must have just remembered you saying that earlier."

"What's DSL stand for?" Wanda countered.

"Digital Subscriber Line," Clara stated right off the bat. She blinked again. "Oh. Oh!"

"See? There you go. Computer genius you are."

"Oi!" the Doctor pouted at her. Wanda smirked playfully.

"Not as genius as you are, of course," she laughed lightly, winking at him. He smiled smugly and adjusted his bow tie cheekily. His smiled dropped quickly as he quite suddenly began looking around.

"If you brought something extra back, though," he mumbled quietly, gazing around the neighbourhood edgily. "I very much doubt you're going to be allowed to keep it."

"Right. Time for action," agreed Wanda as she jumped up to her feet. Already she saw the lights popping on in different houses' windows. People being forced to turn them on by the mysterious organization run by the Great Intelligence. She grabbed Clara's hand and started to pull her to the TARDIS. "Into the box."

"What?" scoffed Clara, halting in place.

"Look, just get inside," said the Doctor as he hurriedly turned back to the two females, in a rush as he saw the strange man under the corner of the streetlamp down the way. Clearly someone working for whoever was after Clara now because no one just stood there staring blankly at others without blinking.

"All three of us?" Clara questioned, still not budging.

"Trust us," urged the Doctor as he pulled chairs out of the way to make certain they had a clean escape. "You'll understand once we're in there."

"I bet I will!" Clara once more scoffed, pulling back from Wanda as the blonde consistently tugged on her hand.

"Agh! We don't have time for this!" Wanda said in frustration, grabbing Clara's hand once more. The lights in the city were starting to go out in the corner of her eye. Time was running out. "Just get in the spaceship!"

"You expect me to believe that's a spaceship?" Clara responded sarcastically.

"Yes! Because, frankly, being sucked into wi-fi is a whole lot crazier of an idea than spaceships shaped like a Public Police Call Boxes! Now get in the bloody ship, young lady!" Wanda scolded, yanking Clara to the TARDIS door. With a snap of her fingers, the doors burst open and she practically dragged the girl inside the ship.

"Excuse me?! 'Young lady'?!" Clara's mouth dropped though, halting her in the retort she was about to make. Her eyes widened dramatically as she took in the sudden large interior of the TARDIS. "But . . . But . . . But . . . But it's . . ."

"Yes, it's a spaceship!" the Doctor yelled as he began to jump around the control room, working on the controls of the ship. "Yes, it's bigger on the inside! No, we don't have time to talk about it!" Wanda came over, helping him with the controls.

"Doctor, did you see the city?" she asked quickly.

"Yes. And the lights in the neighbourhood. And the walking base station. And the aeroplane that was heading right for us," he answered rapidly.

"Good. Then you know what we have to do next?" Wanda responded.

"Oh, yes. And I'm not looking forward to it," he replied as they had their ship land in the aeroplane. "Right, come on!"

"We're going to go back out there?" Clara blurted out in alarm as she followed the two out of the ship. She was blown away again when seeing where they were. Inside of an aeroplane. The same one she assumed the two had been talking about. "How did we get here?!"

"It's a ship! We told you!" the Doctor yelled as the three of them struggled to get to the cockpit. It was very difficult as the plane rocked around. They kept bumping and tripping down the aisle, passing by all the people in the seats who were seemingly out cold.

"Is this a plane? An actual plane? Are they all dead?" Clara asked rapidly as she kept being pulled forward by Wanda who seemed to refuse to let go of the girl's hand.

"Asleep. Switched off by the wi-fi," the Doctor said after making a loud grunt of picking himself back up when almost falling back to the floor. "Never mind them!"

"We have to stop this plane! It's being used as a missile to try to kill us!" Wanda sort of explained quickly to Clara before they reached the cabin where the pilots would be. Once the Doctor had sonicked the door open, they all stumbled inside of the cabin. The two pilots were just as out as the rest of the people on the plane. Which led for only the three of them left to try and stop everyone from dying.

"What is going on? Is this real?" Clara said aloud, asking this mostly to herself, still in a state of disbelief and panic. "Please tell me what is happening!"

"I'm the Doctor. She's the Wanderer. We're aliens from outer space. I'm over a thousand years old, she's six hundred-five, we've got two hearts, and I can't fly a plane! Can you?"

"No," Clara all but squeaked out.

"Nope," Wanda added, her voice just as squeaky.

"Oh, fine. Well, let's do it together," responded the Doctor sarcastically, sounding anxious for what he was about to do. The ground was getting far too close for comfort. Best act now. He grabbed both steering wheels of the plane and yanked them back as far as he could go.

They all screamed as the plane raced closer and closer to Clara's neighbourhood. Wanda wrapped her arms around his neck from behind and Clara held onto the Wanderer's waist for dear life as the Time Lord pulled up the nose of the plane at the last possible second. The Doctor began to laugh, giving a cheer in having succeeded in saving the day. Oh, how he had missed this. The thrill of it all and the way his hearts pumped from adrenaline. How could he have ever thought to give this up? When feeling Wanda's arms holding him even closer still, he was reminded why he had put them into retirement. To help her recover and to heal properly. But, as he glanced over his shoulder, he saw the spark in her eyes had returned. She felt the rush just the same as he did. She had missed it just as much. How could he ever have thought retirement would have helped them both?

"Would a victory roll be too showy-offy?" he asked his wife lightly in humour.

"Ha! For you? Never," Wanda laughed, giving him a peck on the cheek. She quickly let go when she realized what she had done, looking away in shame for letting her feelings get the better of her. She had to keep reminding herself that the Doctor was not ready for that kind of affection yet.

"What the hell is going on?" barked the pilot as he woke up with a start.

"Time to go," Wanda whispered into Clara's ear as she pulled the girl back. They let the Doctor talk with the pilot and fix the wi-fi so something like that would not happen again. All the while the two of them walked swiftly back down the aisle, past the people who were blinking and waking up sleepily, and back into the TARDIS. Clara sort of walked away from Wanda the moment they were by the console, sitting down in the captain's chair. The Wanderer felt like laughing. The expression on the new companion's face looked as though the girl wanted a good strong drink.

"All right! Now that we've got that settled, let's be off!" called the Doctor as he came bouncing back into the TARDIS, shutting the doors behind him and swiftly sending them off into the Vortex.

"Okay. Are either one of you going to explain to me what the hell is going on?" Clara demanded loudly, staring at them in pure disbelief.

"Breakfast," the Doctor responded smoothly, yanking down a level as he parked the TARDIS.

"Why breakfast?" Wanda asked curiously.

"Because I know you haven't eaten in a while," the Doctor said sternly, giving her a firm gaze. It was one of the things he had struggled with her during their time in retirement. She hardly ate any more. Or slept properly. It was a strange sense of déjà vu, really, of his time during his Ninth incarnation. Only their roles were reversed this time around. Wanda looked away in guilt, knowing she had been caught again. She did try to take better care of herself. But she just . . . did not feel the energy or desire to sometimes.

"What? I ain't waiting till breakfast!" exclaimed Clara, snapping the two aliens' attention back to the girl.

"Did we forget to mention that our spaceship is a time machine? 'Cause she's also a time machine," Wanda said merrily while she and the Doctor walked over to the doors.

"So you never have to wait for breakfast," added the Doctor brightly as they both stepped out of the TARDIS. There was a crowd of people standing around the ship, clapping and cheering with the morning light shining down around them. Clearly, they had arrived in a normal part of the city where street performers were the norm. They could even see a man painted up to look like a statue next to their ship. Of course the crowd would assume their sudden arrival would be a magic trick.

"Thank you! Thank you!" exclaimed the Doctor with a flourish, waving his arms around in a grand way. "Yes, magic blue box. All donations gratefully accepted. Roll up! Roll up! Give us your dosh."

"We'll be here all week!" Wanda said in cheer, grinning at the crowd as she saw the Doctor pull out a fez from seemingly nowhere and begin to collect money from the crowd. She could not help but giggle for a moment. He ended up shoving the fez into her hands to keep collecting as he rushed back into the TARDIS to go to the garage.

Wanda kept a smile on her face while she collected money from the crowd. But she felt her happiness slipping as she stood there surrounded by people. Something else she knew could never be the same again. Unlike in the past where she almost always felt happy, now . . . it was hard to hold onto even one emotion. Almost always she felt . . . numb. Empty. She hated it. Why could she not go back to her normal self?

This did not go unnoticed by Clara. The brunette held a thoughtful frown as she observed the woman, watching how she held herself and stood there amongst the crowd of people collecting money. It was like she kept trying to not let anyone know that she was actually sad. The smile said it all. It was almost strained, with it not ever reaching her eyes. Clara knew by watching Wanda and the Doctor interact that they were very close. Or, at least, used to be. It was hard telling. They acted as though they wanted to be close, but something was holding them back. It was as though each time they were about to do something they had been comfortable doing in the past they would suddenly remind themselves not to. It was weird. What had happened to make them both act in such a way? Should she bring it up, or wait a little longer to get to know them better? She did not want to overstep her place.

"So . . . So, this is tomorrow, then?" Clara decided to ask, opting to keep things light with just questions for now. "Tomorrow's come early."

"Time machine, remember?" Wanda replied as casually as possible while she still gathered money from the crowd of people that mingled about. "We can go to any tomorrow you want and yet still pop back to where we came from five minutes ago. Possibilities are endless. It's all wibbly wobbly. But don't worry, you'll get used to it."

"And who says that I will?" Clara responded, crossing her arms and staring at Wanda with a raised brow. She was mildly amused when seeing Wanda winking cheekily at her. "Is that why you two seem to know me? Have we met in the future?"

"Sort of. Again, wibbly wobbly, timey wimey," Wanda said with a shrug. She sidestepped around that question, not wishing to give away any spoilers. "You'll find that out when you meet my other selves."

"Oh? What other selves? What do you mean?" Clara scooted closer to Wanda as the crowd finally began to drift away. As always, human attention spans would only last so long before they went off to find something new to gawk at.

Wanda held the fez tight in her grasp as she turned to face Clara. "You see, the thing is, I don't really travel in time in order like everyone else. Even the Doctor, and that's saying something. I'm forced to travel through the Doctor's timeline at random. Here and there, not ever in order. So, I have past selves that you might run into later on. And they look much, much different than what you see now."

"What, like you look younger?"

"No. More like I have a completely different face and body. It's a part of the Doctor and my . . ." Wanda trailed off, about to say their species. But she was not the same species as him. So . . . "It's just a thing we both do. We change faces when things get too rough on our current bodies. Think of it as reincarnation. It's sort of similar to that human concept."

Clara blinked as she watched Wanda turn and gather a bit more money from a few people who came up to her. The girl opened and closed her mouth for a moment before shaking her head. "All right. Suppose I'll buy that."

They turned as people began to clap more as the Doctor came out of the blue box with a motorcycle. He revved up the engine and pressed a button on the side. Suddenly a sidecar folded out from the bike, ready for use. He beamed at the two, holding up two spare helmets and googles for each of them to wear with him already wearing his own. Clara watched as the Doctor waved at the crowd, rambling on about something of a camel or another. She noticed how disappointed he appeared to be when Wanda hopped into the sidecar. Apparently, he had wanted her to sit behind him instead. The sidecar must have been intended for Clara herself. Interesting in how quickly he plastered on a grin again. Wanda must not be the only one pretending to be happy. Again, Clara could only wonder why that is, and what exactly it all meant for them. Especially now that she had been thrown into the mix of things.

XxXxXxXx

"So if we can travel anywhere in time and space, why did we travel to the morning? What's the point in that?"

Clara, the Doctor, and Wanda were currently sitting peacefully at a rooftop café around a round table, closest to the edge of the roof by the railing. Clara was busy finishing up her milkshake that she had just had, having already finished her small plate of cakes earlier. She had rambled on with many questions while they ate. Or, rather, while she ate. Wanda kept just picking at her food, which was a small dish of eggs and toast, and the Doctor was too busy typing away on the laptop he borrowed from Clara's room. She noticed with a bit of amusement how the Doctor, without looking up from the computer, would grab a spoon full of egg and hold it right up to Wanda's mouth. If the blonde did not take the bite, he would pause and give her a stern look before the woman would give in and eat what he offered her. The Doctor would then look very pleased with himself before going back to typing.

It was cute in how they acted. Just like a couple. Must be together then as more than friends. Clara could not help but smile lightly, finding the way they were amusing and sweet. Wish she could see them when they actually acted more comfortable around each other. Maybe once she figured out what was wrong, that could change?

"Whoever's after us has spent the whole night looking for us," the Doctor explained as he typed away on the computer. His brow furrowed as he stared at the screen in full concentration. He glanced up briefly at Clara. "Are you tired?"

"Yes," said Clara.

"Well, then imagine how they feel. They came the long way around," said the Doctor, going right back to typing. "They've got to be close. Definitely London, going by the signal distribution, I can hack the lowest level of their operating system but I can't establish a physical location, their security's too good."

Clara stared at the two, raising a brow in curiosity as she still felt there were many things she needed clarifying. "Are you both aliens?"

"Obviously," Wanda said as she stirred the contents on her plate around. There was not much left on the plate. At least she ate most of it. "What clued you in, the spaceship or the sonic screwdrivers?" She flipped up the Doctor's sonic that had been resting on the table, smirking at Clara as she made the screwdriver buzz.

"Okay with that?" the Doctor added as he snatched back his sonic and placed it in his pocket again, looking at Wanda as she stuck her tongue out a little at him before staring back down at her plate.

"Fine, yeah," Clara responded with ease, not at all too worried about it. She always sort of believed in aliens anyway. So . . . why not? She knew a couple of aliens. Cool. Not a very day thing, but she could deal with it as she went. She pondered over this as she realized she felt shock running through her system though. "Think I'm fine," she mumbled as she took another sip of her drink. "So, what happens if you do find them? What happens then?"

"I don't know," grumbled the Doctor as he jabbed one key repeatedly for a moment before giving up and slumping back in his chair. "Unlike Wanda, I can't tell the future. I just work there. Speaking of which . . . care to give us a sneak peek?" He looked at Wanda carefully, yet hopefully. He had not bothered to ask her for future advice over a long time now. Would she still be willing to share some advice as she had been in the past?

"Unlike . . . Wanda?" Clara spoke up slowly, moving her gaze to Wanda. "You can see the future? Is that a normal thing for aliens?"

"Some species, yes. But my insight is different from most," Wanda explained easily. "I grew up for over ninety years in a pocket universe where I watched the Doctor's timeline on a television show which was actually created because of future insight I had into this universe." She smiled lightly as Clara blinked quite a bit. The Doctor could not help but chuckle.

"You could have eased her into all of that, you know," he whispered to his wife.

"Oh, but why just beat around the bush about it? Better to just get it all out in the front and not keep secrets. Secrets just hurt people by not preparing them for what's going to happen," Wanda said, shrugging a bit before grabbing a piece of toast and taking a bite. She missed the expression on the Doctor's face. The guilt that seemed to pass over him for a moment before he looked back at the computer and started to type once more.

"So . . . the Doctor's life was a television show? From another universe? Where you lived?" Clara said slowly, trying to wrap the whole thing around her head. Soon she smirked, staring at Wanda with a sly expression. "Was I on the telly, too? Was other me famous?" Wanda laughed and then responded with a wink.

"You were to me," she beamed. Both females grinned at each other before looking at the Doctor once again.

"What's the plan, then?" questioned Clara. They watched as the Doctor shifted in his seat and glanced up sheepishly. "You don't have a plan?"

"Oh, you know what I always say about plans," the Doctor said quickly as he typed rapidly away on the keyboard.

"That in best case scenarios: run and don't look back?" Wanda joked in a mumble as she smirked. "Or was it make it all up as you go along and just hope for the best? 'Cause I've always liked that plan." The Doctor pointed at her sternly, narrowing his eyes playfully in pretend annoyance.

"Hush you. My plans are great!" he said, wagging his finger at her while Wanda giggled.

"So what is the plan?" Clara wondered aloud, her raised brow arching higher.

Again, the Doctor looked sheepish as he said, "At the moment . . . I don't have one."

"People always have plans," scoffed Clara as she stared at him sceptically. Genius mind like his and he did not have a plan? What kind of alien was he?

"And yet he never does. Amazing how that works," teased Wanda again. She snorted as the Doctor again pointed a finger at her as if to say 'watch it!' but smiled when seeing the humour in his face. She was glad they were getting along better than earlier. Maybe things were better between them when what she had originally assumed. As long as they had Clara around, that is. Could they feel normal around each other on their own? Or would they always have to have a companion around to even remotely feel comfortable around each other for now on?

"All right, hand it over," Wanda stated as she grabbed the laptop from the Doctor.

"Oi!" he exclaimed, yanking it back, "hang on. I need that." Wanda took it back.

"No, you don't," she said, then turned and shoved it at Clara. "But she does. Clara has those computer skills implanted in her by then, remember? Who better to find them?" Clara smirked as she opened the laptop and began to type away.

"She's right you know. You hacked the lower operating system, yeah?" Clara rambled as she began her work. "I'll have their physical location in under five minutes. Pop off and get us a coffee." The Doctor felt ready to argue over this, but when seeing Wanda's pointed look, he realized this was her sneak peek that he had asked for. Clara was the key. With an exaggerated sigh, he stood up and went back into the small restaurant, leaving the two at the table. The two remaining sat in silence. Wanda listened to Clara's typing while staring off at nothing in particular. Soon Clara began to glance at her every few moments.

"So, what's the story between you two anyway?" she finally decided to ask.

"What do you mean?" Wanda responded curiously, frowning in interest.

"Two aliens travelling together through time and space. Seems like there's an interesting story there," said Clara. She shrugged a bit while continuing her work on the computer.

"Guess you could say that," Wanda mumbled quietly. Her fingers fiddled lightly with her silverware, absently moving bits of crumbs around on her plate. "We've been travelling together for a century now ever since I ended up in wandering about his timeline."

Clara glanced briefly at her. "Is that where you get your name, then? 'The Wanderer'? Suits you, I should think, with a story like that."

Wanda frowned as she thought this over. She never really thought of it like that. Not since finding out what she was, at least. But now that Clara said that . . . "Yeah . . . Guess it does fit well. Good name for a species that can't stay in one place too long."

"Species?" Clara looked up from her typing in surprise. "I thought that was your name?"

"It's both. But don't tell past mes that. They don't know that yet. They think they're a Time Lord like the Doctor." Wanda grabbed her drink from the table to take a sip. Leaning back in her seat, a heavy sigh left her. "So I've been travelling with the Doctor for a long time. We've gone through loss, heartbreak, love, marriage . . . And now we're here with you. Not much else than that." Her sentence trailed off in a mumble as she sank in her seat a little more. Another thing she realized that changed for her since her remembrance. She used to be more open than this with her loved ones. Now she felt uncomfortable even thinking about it all.

"Ha! I was right! You two are married." Clara smirked playfully with Wanda, hoping to joke around and raise the woman's spirits. "So that means that blue box of yours is more than a spaceship. It's a snog box."

"Snog box?" Wanda laughed, forgetting that Clara had once called the TARDIS that. Now that she thought about it though . . . "Guess you could call it that. But don't let the Doctor or the TARDIS hear you say that."

"Just as long as you two don't try to bring me into any 'snogging,' then we're good." Clara grinned as she watched Wanda burst out in genuine laughter. Both looking flustered and amused by her comments. Either way, it was good to see a true smile on the strange blonde's face. When seeing that her hack had worked, it was quick work for Clara as she took pictures of all the people from the other computer systems and began to trace them on social networks. Then, finally, she had the name of where they worked. Wow.

"I did it. I really did it!" Clara declared in victory, smiling as she felt very proud of herself. "The Shard. They're in the Shard. Floor sixty-five." She blinked. "Oh, my god. They work in the Shard?"

"Wouldn't be the first time that happened," Wanda stated, but then beamed at the girl. Pride went through her in how amazing the companion was. "You're brilliant, Clara. Just absolutely brilliant! Just wait until the Doctor hears about this. He'll be very proud." The brunette's smile grew even brighter, pleased to hear that. Now all that was left would be to get the Doctor, get UNIT to the Shard, and everything would be fine from now on. A very smooth adventure this had been. Wanda was surprised nothing worse happened. She could have sworn . . .

"Doctor, I did it!" said Clara quickly when she saw the Time Lord walk briskly over to them. She beamed away in glee. "They're at the Shard."

"They're at the Shard," muttered the Doctor after he stopped just before them.

"What's the plan now?" asked Clara curiously. "You have a plan, right?"

"Have a plan," repeated the Doctor mutely, blinking dully at her.

Before Clara could realize what was happening, she jumped in alarm when the table was practically knocked over in how abruptly Wanda stood from her chair. A plate fell to the ground in a smash and silverware clanged against the floor. The chair behind the Wanderer fell back with a loud smack as the blonde glared at the Doctor with such fury that it sent a shiver down Clara's spine. Then, next thing she knew, Wanda was yelling and attacking the Doctor.

"Don't you dare touch my daughter!" she shouted as she jumped at the Doctor. The two of them fell to the floor in a heap. Clara stood up with a gasp. Daughter? What did Wanda mean by that?

"Wanda?! What are you doing?!" she exclaimed in dismay as the two rolled on the ground. The brief flash of the silver disk on the back of the Doctor's head made her realize right away exactly why Wanda had attacked the man. It was another base station. Wanda growled at the Spoonhead as she had him pinned to the ground. She was about to reach for her sonic and deactivate it when she found herself suddenly on her back and trapped by the robot impersonating her husband. It had its knees pinning her arms aggressively to the ground while it tilted the back of its head towards Clara. Before she could shout, move, or make any sort of way to stop it, the blue light shot at Clara. The girl's eyes rolled up and she clasped to the ground.

"NO!" Wanda threw the Spoonhead off of her in rage. She crawled over to Clara, lifting the girl's lifeless body into her arms. Wanda's breaths left her so rapidly she could hardly catch herself to be steady. Her mind was on the fritz as both her and Alpha mixed together. She in panic, and Alpha in fierce fury. While Alpha wanted to lose control and kill, Wanda kept herself together long enough to reach out for help. The bond between her and the Doctor exploded as she shot it out towards him. Theta! Wanda screamed out to him as she held Clara's limp body.

Inside the café, there came a crash as cups of coffee fell to the floor, smashing to pieces instantly. The Doctor stumbled into the counter as pain pierced his mind. He groaned, gripping his head from the sudden burst inside his mind. His hearts pounded away as he felt the connection to his Wanderer finally establish after so long. A shiver of sheer satisfaction and desire passed through him, even though he felt her panic and pain. He had been holding off from the bond for this very reason. He had been wanting to wait until they had a chance back to their normal relationship, and, well, be alone. Because if he connected with her again . . . he would not be able to hold himself back from . . .

He pushed away from the counter, running outside to the rooftop. With regret, he tore away from their bond, separating them to human status once more as he felt it necessary to keep himself focused on helping her with what had panicked her so. It became instantly clear what had her so emotionally distraught. All he had to see was the base station of himself, Clara on the ground limp in Wanda's arms, and his Wanderer crying to know what had occurred.

"Don't let her die again! Please!" pleaded Wanda as tears ran down her face. Once again, one of her eyes glowed as it seemed she and Alpha had combined in a strange mix. He hurriedly reached her, kissing her forehead to assure he would fix this. He would fix everything. He then grabbed the Spoonhead disguised as him and Clara's laptop before getting to work.

Wanda sat there with Clara, rocking the girl in her arms. Burying her face into the girl's hair as she kept softly assuring the companion that everything would be all right in the end. The Doctor would save her. And save her he did. The Doctor worked his magic from the laptop, reprogramming the Spoonhead, sending it off to the Shard on his motorcycle, and making Miss Kizlet letting all the people they had go. Including Clara. Before long, Clara gasped quietly, coming back to life. Wanda sighed in relief, holding the girl even closer still, feeling overjoyed in the companion being all right. But she was soon yanked away from Clara and her happiness over the companion being safe.

"No, wait! We can't leave her! Doctor, we can't leave Ember!" she yelled as the Doctor swiftly yanked her out of the café and into the lift of the tall building. The moment the doors shut and the lift began to descend, the Doctor turned to her in a strict fashion.

"Wanda. Look at me," his voice came out gruff as he held her face firmly, trying to force her to meet his gaze. But her eyes were looking wildly around, unable to focus on anything as her body trembled. "Wanda, Alpha, listen to me!" He shook her, snapping her focus onto him. He stayed firm even when Wanda stared at him in alarm. "She isn't Ember. Ember, she . . ." He closed his eyes briefly as if in pain. "She's gone. We've lost our daughter. We can't bring her back. We can't go replacing her, either. This isn't like your world. You can't just make people replacements for those you've lost."

Wanda blinked, trying to keep herself in control once again. The statement of his shocked her, made her stomach churn. What . . . What had she been saying? What has gotten into her? Had she lost her mind? "I know that. I-I-I wasn't trying to do that. I was just . . ." She did not know what she had been trying to do. Not any more. Everything just felt . . . lost to her. Even her own mind.

The Doctor's eyes softened as he gently stroked her face tenderly. "I know you weren't. But Alpha was. You just didn't realize she was doing it again." He saw how taken back Wanda was by this realization. Her mouth dropped even as she stared in horror at what had been happening. His gaze turned stern once more as he saw the white flash of annoyance from Alpha. "As for you, Alpha, stop it. Clara is a person of her own. Don't make her into something she's not." No answer from Alpha. But he could tell the entity was sulking back in Wanda's mind in defeat. Letting out a long sigh, he caressed her face once more. "I know you've both feel lost. I know it's been hard for you both living together inside of one mind. I couldn't even imagine how jumbled everything must be in that head of yours. But you can't keep doing this to yourselves. I can't keep watching you both tear each other apart. I just can't stand it anymore. I can't stand either of you—"

What?! Alpha shouted in Wanda's mind. You can't stand us? Fine! I see how it is!

Alpha, don't—But before Wanda could stop her, she felt Alpha active their wandering abilities immediately and shot them away to another time before anyone could even blink.

The Doctor stood there numbly for a minute, hands hanging in the air where Wanda had just been. Slowly he lowered his hands, staring blankly at the silver wall of the lift. Fury built up within him, making him shake on the spot in his anger. He let out a furious yell as he slammed his fist into the metal wall of the lift, making it dent.

XxXxXxXx

Wanda stumbled as she arrived in a blinding flash inside of the bathroom of her room. She caught herself before falling into the sink. Her reflection gazed back at her, allowing her to see her puffy eyes from crying and worn state she was in. If any looked at her, they would know immediately something was wrong. The turmoil within written clearly all over her face. She hurriedly turned on the sink and splash water onto her face. Breathes left her in pants as she gripped the edge of the sink, trying to get a hold of herself. Meanwhile, Alpha within still banged around angrily.

Doesn't care at all about us. Can't even let us find a new daughter. Does he even—

Alpha, would you just SHUT UP! Wanda felt Alpha quickly grow silent, stunned by this outburst. Wanda stood there, feeling her anger building. I can't believe you. You don't ever give the Doctor a chance. You jump to conclusions and let your anger get to you at a drop of a pin. Then, worst of all, you tried turning Clara into a replacement daughter?!

I didn't realize I was doing it, okay? Alpha retorted crossly. Sorry for trying to make you happy! You even agreed with me on it! You said she looked like the daughter from your dreams!

Yeah, but I didn't mean for us to make her into a daughter figure for us! Wanda's hands tightened around the edge of the sink in frustration.

Again, I was trying to make you happy. Don't you want to be happy? That Time Lord of yours never—

"Shut! Up!" Wanda screamed as she suddenly slammed her fists into the sink. The porcelain cracked and broke. But this went unnoticed by Wanda as her anger overflowed. "I'm sick of putting up with you! You're always throwing a fit. You're always berating my husband. I know you don't like him, but I love him. I love him, Alpha. So, please, for the love of the universe, just stop it!"

Alpha was dead silent for a full minute. Then, the anger built up. Fine. Fine. See if I ever try to help you feel happy ever again.

With that said, it grew quiet in Wanda's mind. She let out a heavy sigh, looking down at the sink in regret. Looks as though she was not the only one with a temper problem. Not that her temper had ever been not gotten her in trouble before. But Alpha's was just . . . too much for her to handle sometimes. The pounding headache she had was much of a sign of that. Her whole body ached in pain, in fact. So, the only thing she could think to do was to try and get some rest. Perhaps in the morning she and Alpha could have a better discussion over all of this. But for now . . . Wanda just wanted to forget it all.

With this in mind, Wanda walked back into her room slowly. She pulled off her clothes and placed on her nightgown. She did not even bother trying to figure out where she was in time or which Doctor she might be with. All she cared about was to go asleep and forget about all of it. She just wanted to forget. The TARDIS seemed to sense this as she dimmed the lights to a gentle glow, making a loving hum while doing so.

"Sorry about the sink, Sexy," Wanda mumbled as she got underneath the covers. "I'll fix it in the morning." The TARDIS only responded by singing a peaceful song, sending Wanda into a restless, yet deep sleep.

XxXxXxXx

Well . . . what do you all think about the new chapter? I hope good. Though it could be bad. Or horrible. I feel terrible for so many sad moments lately for our Wanderer. :( Please leave a review in what you think about the recent chapter. Any thoughts in where you think the story might be heading?

Reviewers:

alexa-chan me: I'm sorry. Seems I'm going to be just as horrible to you with this chapter, too. :( I hope your cold is better now though! And that there's not much sniffling with this chapter haha. Hope to see you again soon!

lautaro94: Well, I don't know much about the Great Intelligence from the classic series. Or of anything else really. I just went with what we know about the Great Intelligence from the new series. My bad. But I hope that maybe you enjoyed the new chapter a little better. :)

normandy1701: Ah, the many, many puzzle pieces of the story. Slowly coming together for us all to see. ;) I'm glad your excited. I'm excited, too. Can't wait to see what you all think of the chapters to come. The Doctor and Wanda can be so thick sometimes. Ah, well, they'll get there. Eventually. I promise. ;) Can't wait to see you again in the future!

TheBlueRiver: Mine, too. :(

Arkytior's Song: Agreed. Definitely not fair. I feel you there. :( If only they took time to talk. *sigh* Don't you worry, Clara will get them on the right track soon enough. It just might take a couple more chapters. Sorry about that. Hope you can forgive me. Until next time!

LovableAmethyst129: So sorry for the sadness. But I'm at least happy to hear that you're enjoying it either way. :) Hope that you'll continue to read through the rest to come!

bored411: Very close indeed. Let's hope the next time things might just get better for the two of them. Don't you worry, though. Clara will definitely kick their butts into gear. ;) Though it would be awesome to jump through the screen to be with them all haha. Until next time!

mjahappy: I hope that you'll continue to love where the story is going. Because it's going to be one crazy ride let me tell you. ;)

Momochan77: I need more as well haha ;) They are actually going to get longer as we get towards the end. I just couldn't stop writing for many of them. Aww, thank you! I'm just so happy that you're enjoying them. :) See you next time! Take care!

swimmjacket: It is hard watching someone you care for go through such sadness like this. But as long as Wanda has people who understand and care for her, I know she can pull through this. Just as all of us can. :) No worries, older Eleven will get some sense to this all very soon. I promise. Oh, but there is no such thing as a silly theory. As fans, it's always fun to share thoughts and theories on our favorite stories and adventures. I know I've been plenty wrong on many of my theories, but it's just always so fun to see where stories I love lead to. :) But I understand if you do not wish to share your thoughts. Aww, thank you! I think the story turned out so well is because I took a few years developing what I wanted to do with it before even starting to write it. And a few more years editing before posting. I just took time with it. Trust me, it's only good because of how long I worked with it first. And I know that it can still be better. I can still be better as a writer. And I'm certain there are many stories out there that are much better than this one. :) Hope to see from you soon!

N7SpaceHamster: I'm just very happy to see you again! :) I'm doing great. I hope you are doing even better! Don't worry, it will work out. For the most part, anyway. Glad you liked that. Wanda truly does see Clara as sort of a daughter figure. Which isn't a bad thing, necessarily, but it was growing into something unhealthy as we saw in this chapter. Oh, the ever-mysterious Aleena. Just something else to look forward to figuring out. ;) The both of them can be really thick at times lol. You're quite right. Things will never be completely the same. Though things will get better, there are just some things for the Doctor and Wanda that can never go back to the way they had been before. Which is not all bad. But not all good, either. :( Ooh, I am so ecstatic for the Thirteenth Doctor! You have no idea how much I screamed when they finally said they were making Thirteen a female Doctor XD! I am a little nervous, though. I fear that the new production team and showrunner might not make the next season all that good, which will reflect poorly on the Thirteenth Doctor. I really hope not, but you never know. As for Wanda and the future Doctors, she would love the Doctor no matter which face he or she may have. :) Hope your days have been amazing! Can't wait to see what you think of the new chapter! Take care!

BeCent: Sometimes a person can be pushed too far. Wanda is getting pushed too far a lot recently. :( Aww, thank you. You're an amazing reader! And I bet you can write ten times better than I ever could. :) There have been some glitches lately with the site. Hopefully it's all fixed now. Until next time!

lexicaruso: Yay! Glad you liked it. :) It's nice seeing when things come together like that. Don't worry, less suffering will come for everyone in the future. For the most part anyway. I'm very happy to hear that you'll be sticking through until the end! I can't wait to see what you think of it all. :)

FREYA ASTRID NOVA: I'm very glad to hear that the re-read was just as good as the first time through. :) It just brings me such joy to hear how happy the story makes you. To bring other's happiness is all I really want in life. Wonderful theories. Just a matter of time before you get all the answers you're looking for. ;) They are really thick at times. But no worries, they'll get there one day. I know I can't wait to see what you think of the rest to come. Until next time!

Whovianeverlark17: I wish we could. They really need to be locked up and just talk things through. Here's to hoping for happier future chapters.

Thanks to everyone so much for reviewing!

~Tinker~