Hellooo! (From the other siiiiiide)

Sorry, I just love that song! :)

Anyway, here's the next chapter!

The BBC owns Doctor Who.


Last time:

"What that man was saying, do you think there are any Anthro-Mechs left?"

Ashildr looked at the scorched remains of Earth, lost in thought. "I sure hope not.


"Attention, Citizens of New London!" A voice echoed across the city square. "Her Majesty Queen Victoria IV is pleased to announce the revival of the Cosmos program. We need many volunteers for the initial testing phase. Although it's a dangerous job, pay will be high and a free trip to the colonies on Mars and the Jovian Moons will be included. You may sign up to volunteer at the local courthouse. Once you sign up, you may proceed to Her Majesty's castle. "

There were murmurs of approval from throughout the area as a few clusters of citizens made their way towards the nearby courthouse to sign up.

"Mummy?" A little girl asked, following her mother towards the courthouse. "Where are we going?"

"Mummy and Daddy have always wanted to go to Mars, and now's our chance!"

"But… But what about me?"

"You'll stay with Auntie Elizah and your sister until we return."

"I want to go to Mars too!"

"I'm sorry sweetie, but you have to be a grown up to go."

The girl began crying. "Don't leave me, Mummy!"

The mother hugged her child. "Don't cry, Felicia. We won't be gone long."

"Promise?"

"I promise." She kissed her daughter's forehead. "I love you, my Felicia. Run along now, go tell Annabeth and Auntie Elizah the news."


Clara and Ashildr walked towards their Tardis after hearing the announcement. "They're just getting around to sending people to space now?" Clara asked. "It's the 28th century, you'd think humanity would've reached the cosmos by now."

"Right?" Ashildr replied. "If not for the Anthro-Mech program and the resulting war, we'd probably be orbiting the Centauri system by now."

The two looked around taking in the sight of the strange city, and then it occurred to them that they stuck out like a sore thumb. Clara still wore her blue waitress dress and Ashildr her leather jacket.

"I wonder if our Tardis has a wardrobe?" Clara asked.

"I was reading the manual earlier. There's a wardrobe, I just don't know where…"

"Guess we'll have to find it. If this Tardis is anything like the Doctor's, she'll move around the rooms, usually to our benefit… Unless she wants to mess with us, then she might constantly move the rooms."

"Sounds like fun…"

It may have been minutes or hours, neither of the pair knew, but eventually they found an endless wardrobe filled with more garments than anyone would ever need.

Before long, the pair emerged from their Tardis, now dressed in elegant Victorian dresses. Before either of them could comment on the other's appearance, a little girl, not even six years old, walked past them, tears streaming down her face.

Clara and Ashildr exchanged a glance, both knowing what had to be done.

"Excuse me…"

The girl turned around in surprise. "Who are you?"

"Clara Oswald."

"Nice to meet you, Clara Oswald. I'm Felicia Agnes Hensworth." She turned to Ashildr. "And who are you?"

"I'm…" Ashildr knew she couldn't call herself Me, and she only used her given name with people she knew and trusted. "Clara's friend."

"Don't you have a name?"

"I haven't got time for a name. Now tell me, sweetie, why are you crying?"

"My mummy and daddy are leaving on a space trip."

"Have you got any siblings to stay with? I'm sure your parents wouldn't just abandon you like that."

"I've got my sister Annabeth and my Auntie Elizah."

"Let's go find them, shall we?"

"And that's what happened…" Felicia said, telling what was left of her family the story.

"That's not okay!" A teenage girl stood up, a few tears in her eyes. "They can't just leave like that!"

"Calm down, Annabeth." An older women, presumably Aunt Elizah commanded. "It is impolite to throw a scene when we have company. Terribly sorry, Miss Oswald and Miss… Excuse me, I never got your name…"

Ashildr paused, frantically trying to come up with a name. "I'm…Lenora. Uhh, Baldwin. Lenora Baldwin. That's my name. "

"Right, Miss Baldwin. I assume that means you're not married…"

Clara and Ashildr looked at each other in shock, both blushing profusely. "Us? Married?" Clara whispered, laughing to herself.

"...Considering you have your own surnames still." She noticed the two girls growing increasingly uncomfortable. "Sorry about that."

"It's fine." Ashildr said.

"It most certainly is not fine! It was incredibly rude of me to make such an assumption. I guess you two remind me of me and my wife, Julia. Oh, how I miss her… before she passed, she would always tell me about how someday we'd get on a spaceship and take a trip to Mars. Never did get to go, she left us before we had a chance to do anything"

Ashildr and Felicia half-listened to the old woman's story, while Clara talked to Annabeth. "I bet you want to find your parents, right?"

"More than anything."

Clara whispered her plan. It was going to be difficult to execute, but there would be a slim chance that they could save Annabeth and Felicia's parents.

Annabeth stood up. "Aunt Elizah, if I may be excused."

"What for?"

"I'm going to the shop to start work early."

"Alright, dear. Don't forget to stop at the market on your way home."

"I won't." Annabeth grabbed her hoverboard and zipped out the door. "Bye!"

Several minutes later, when Elizah reached a stopping point in her story, she stood up and offered her guests tea. "We'd love to stay," Clara spoke for both of them. "But we have some errands to run. It was nice meeting you!"

"Very well. Farewell, Miss Oswald and Miss Baldwin!" Elizah said

"Bye!" Felicia added.

As soon as they left the small house, Ashildr spoke up. "Why did we leave?"

"I've got a plan."

"Ooh, do tell."

"Here's how it's going to work…"


"Annabeth!" Ashildr called, getting the attention of the girl at the end of the street.

"Hello Lenora!" Ashildr had almost forgotten about her fake name. "Hello Clara!"

"Ready for this?" Clara asked.

"Yes." Annabeth confirmed. "One question, how exactly are we going to get into Her Majesty's castle?"

Clara fumbled in her pocket and pulled out a slip of paper. "Psychic paper."

"How did you manage to get that?"

"Let's just say… It's surprisingly easy to pickpocket a Time Lord."

"Right then, let's go."

Approaching the guards, Clara showed them the psychic paper. "Royal Crown polishers, ordered here by the Queen Herself."

The guard inspected the paper. "Strange… She never mentioned anything about a crown polishing, but it clearly says that you three are certified and authorized. You may enter."

"Thank you, sir."

The trio creeped around the castle until they found themselves on a balcony overlooking the throne room. Queen Victoria IV was addressing a large group of people.

"Greetings, people of New London. I would like to thank all of you who volunteered to participate in the Cosmos program. Before we send you to your space pods, you must first pass a physical exam as well as pass through a metal detector."

"Your Highness, if I may ask a question?" A man asked.

"Yes?"

"Why must we pass through a metal detector?"

"Well…" The Queen paused for a moment, and it seemed as if she was carefully choosing the right answer to the man's question. "If you have, say, a metal implant in your teeth or perhaps a prosthetic arm containing metal, you cannot partake in this program. Anything metal may interfere with the ship's signal."

"That sounds suspicious…" Ashildr whispered, taking note of the minor detail.

A sudden beeping directed everyone's attention to the balcony. Annabeth's communicator watch was beeping, signaling a call.

"Intruders!" Queen Victoria shouted.

"Your Majesty, it's just the crown polishers…" A guard attempted to calm down his ruler.

"You know that the crown is only polished on weekends! Now get those intruders!"

Clara, Ashildr, and Annabeth ran as if their lives depended on it.

When they reached safety, Clara burst into laughter. "That was amazing! Oh, I missed running!"

Ashildr spoke up. "Back to the point, we've gained some valuable information here."

"Such as?" Annabeth asked.

"You heard how Queen Victoria had to pause and think about the answer to that question. Her answer was obvious, and it shouldn't have taken that long to think about."

"What do you mean?"

"I think what Ashi- I mean, Lenora is trying to say is that Queen Victoria's got a secret, and it's up to us to find out what it is."


I so desperately wanted to call this storyline Victoria's Secret. But I thought better of it .

It'd be wonderful to show some holiday spirit and let me know what you thought!