CHAPTER 2
I do not own Doctor Who, Lord of the Rings, or Game of Thrones and I am making no profit off of this.
A GAME OF CLARAS PART 2
"What are you doing? Are you trying to get us both killed?" Jenna said in a terrified voice as she and Clara suddenly appeared several hundred feet above an enormous snow covered mountainside.
"Oi! Lower the volume a bit, okay? Everything's fine. We're not going to fall. I'm not exactly an expert at this cosmic stuff yet but I'm not that bad. I was just a little off on where we ended up because I teleported without a clear destination in mind," Clara said with a frown.
"That really inspires me with confidence alright. I suppose I should be glad that we didn't wind up in the middle of the ocean somewhere," Jenna said in an annoyed voice.
Clara groaned but otherwise said nothing as she started to slowly lower them down to the ground. Jenna could tell that she was much more worried than angry though by the concerned way that she kept looking around her as if expecting that strange object to reappear once again at any moment now. Jenna instantly felt bad now for snapping at her like that because Clara had probably just saved her life for all that she knew.
Jenna immediately took a deep breath and said in an apologetic tone, "Sorry. I'm usually not like that. I know you were scared and not exactly thinking straight. So was I. What was that thing? Do you have any ideas?"
Clara smiled at her in gratitude as she said, "I'm not sure. I didn't recognize it at first but something about it seems familiar the more that I think about it. It's almost as if I've seen it somewhere before or at least one of me has anyway."
"You're talking about the echoes, right? You can actually remember what they did? On the show, my version of Clara doesn't seem to remember much about them at all," Jenna asked curiously as she smiled in relief when she finally felt her feet touch solid ground once again.
"I really envy her then because I remember almost everything. A little too much in fact and it almost drove me mad for a while. Don't even think about making any snarky remarks about what do I mean by almost," Clara said with a grin.
"I wouldn't dare. I'm still feeling more than a bit guilty for snapping at you the way I did earlier," Jenna said with a warm smile.
"You mean you're not going to mercilessly make fun of me like everyone else in my life seems to do? Imagine that. I'm actually around someone who's just as nice and sweet as I am for a change. I could definitely get used to this," Clara said with a chuckle.
"You forgot to mention how incredibly humble that you are," Jenna couldn't resist saying.
"I knew it was too good to be true," Clara said with a giggle.
The two of them instantly hugged as each of them found themselves liking the other one almost immediately. Clara couldn't help but feel as if she had just found a missing part of herself somehow and couldn't help but wonder if Jenna felt the same way.
"Where are we anyway and why am I not freezing to death? This whole mountain top is covered in solid ice but I feel like I'm still back at home. Do you have some kind of cosmic heating power or something?" Jenna asked with a mischievous smile.
"It's a force field actually. It's keeping us both safe from whatever might decide to show up next just in case we get attacked from behind. It's also keeping us both nice and warm which is good because I don't know about you, but I definitely forgot to put on my wool underwear this morning. As for where we are, we're somewhere on Mount Everest . . . I think," Clara said with an uncertain look on her face.
"Uh, I'm not trying to take your head off again or anything but you can get us off of here, right? I really don't fancy having to walk home from here even if I do have super cosmic heating," Jenna said in an anxious tone.
"Don't worry so much, yeah? I'm just trying to get my bearings before I make another jump. I don't want to wind up in the middle of the ocean any more than you do after all. By the way, you're definitely taking all of this a lot better than anyone else that I know would. I guarantee you that if Amy were here that she'd have already complained about a hundred times by now and made twice as many short jokes. So thanks for bearing with me so far, okay?" Clara said with a wry grin.
"Well, if you can't trust a girl who's wearing a copy of your face, then who can you trust, eh? Maybe it's also because I'm still a bit in shock right now because this still doesn't feel quite real to me yet. I keep expecting to find out any minute now that this is another one of Peter's practical jokes or something," Jenna admitted.
Clara gave her a sympathetic look as she said, "Sorry, that's definitely not going to happen I'm afraid. I can give you some good news though. We're definitely on Mount Everest and I'm just about to get us out of here. I also finally remember what the triangle thing was. It's called a time scoop and it's used to snatch people from their own time and place and bring them somewhere else. One of my echoes tried to save Doctor Number Three, or as I affectionately call him Fancy Pants, from being abducted by it once while he was driving along in his funny little yellow car but she was less than successful."
Jenna's eyes lit up as she said, "I remember filming that scene. That was mixed in with some footage from The Five Doctors wasn't it?"
"The what?" Clara asked in confusion.
"That's the story where the first five Doctors are all kidnapped and taken to Gallifrey by a mad Time Lord if I remember correctly. I watched it along with some other Classic Who stories once so that I'd know what was going on in my scenes. I always love it when I can excuse massive binge watching as research," Jenna said with a chuckle.
"Oh, is that what they called it? Cydonia, that's my Time Lady echo by the way, was there for the bit on Gallifrey. She helped the four Doctors that actually got there to defeat Lord President Borusa from behind the scenes. Not that she'll ever get any credit for it of course," Clara said with a frown.
"You mean there actually is a Time Lady echo who looks just like me I mean you? Oh, I'd really like to meet her. What is she like? Is she anything like the Doctor? I mean is she . . . ?" Jenna asked in a hesitant tone.
"Completely mad? Of course not! Hey, not every Time Lord is like the Doctor. I always get the impression that even they consider him a bit odd actually. No, she's probably one of the most normal echoes that I have which is downright amazing since she was right in the middle of the worst parts of the Time War. If I can get us out of this, I'll definitely stop by and have the two of you meet each other sometime. You'll really like her I think. She's just like a sister to me and so is . . . Oh, my stars!" Clara suddenly shouted as she gazed off somewhere in the distance with a terrified look.
Jenna immediately followed her gaze and her blood instantly turned cold as soon as she saw what was hovering there off in the distance. It was the time scoop again. Whoever was behind it had finally found them once again.
"We have to go right now. Let's hope I can do this right this time because I'm definitely going for a much longer jump for this one," Clara said in a panic as she quickly grabbed Jenna's hand and teleported the two of them away from it once again.
Luckily both women reappeared with their feet firmly on solid ground this time around as Clara smiled and said, "Yes! I nailed it that time, Actor Girl. I told you I was getting better."
Jenna was just about to make a comment on her choice of a nickname for her when she suddenly gasped in shock as soon as she happened to catch a full glimpse of her surroundings. She instantly recognized exactly where she was as soon as she did so because there were standing in an open field that was filled with red grass for as far as the eye could see and the sky was bright orange and indescribably beautiful. Off in the distance she could see a magnificent domed city that was easily far grander than any place that she had ever seen before back on her own world.
"Gallifrey," Jenna said in a quiet almost reverential tone.
"Yeah, this place always does that to me too no matter how many times I see it. I thought I might as well come here since the Time Lords are usually the ones who go around using time scoops on people," Clara said.
Before Jenna could really get a chance to truly appreciate the incredible landscape around her however, the two women suddenly found themselves standing in a large meeting chamber filled with dozens of people. Jenna automatically assumed that this group must all be Time Lords since they were dressed in odd looking ceremonial robes. They all stared down at them with open curiosity as Clara mouthed the words 'High Council' to her.
"Actually we haven't used time scoops since the time of Rassilon, Lady Lungbarrow. That incident with Borusa notwithstanding of course," A Time Lady said in an almost offended tone.
"Well, someone definitely must have broken one of them out of mothballs then because we've had one chasing us for the last twenty minutes now, Chancellor Flavia. If you lot didn't send it then who did?" Clara asked.
"Lady Lungbarrow?" Jenna asked in confusion.
"Oh, The Doctor and Rose made me the head of their ancestral house on Gallifrey. It's a long story. It's definitely not as great as you'd think it would be though. For one thing, I have to deal with this lot and their annoying backstabbing politics way too much," Clara said dismissively.
"Why do you get to do all of the cool things?" Jenna asked with a pouting look despite this.
"Just lucky I guess," Clara said with a mad grin.
"That's enough frivolity, Lady Lungbarrow. Am I to understand that you're accusing someone on Gallifrey of illegally stealing and using a time scoop against you and your echo then?" Another Time Lady asked with concern.
"I'm not her echo," Jenna said in an indignant voice.
"Well, someone's certainly using one and since you lot invented them in the first place who else am I going to accuse, Inquisitor Darkel?" Clara said as she ignored Jenna.
"If this is true, then we have a serious security breach somewhere in the Capitol. I assure you that we had nothing whatsoever to do with its deployment against you and your echo and we will look into this matter as soon as possible," Darkel assured her.
"Hello! I just wanted to point out once again that I am not her echo. Is anyone listening?" Jenna said with a sigh.
Clara ignored her yet again as she said to Darkel, "I appreciate your help but I'm afraid that's not going to be enough to save us in time."
"What do you . . . ?" Darkel said and then gasped in shock as she finally saw what Clara had already seen seconds earlier.
"This is outrageous! A time scoop being deployed right in the middle of the High Council's meeting chamber!" Flavia said in disbelief.
"Now do you believe me? Sorry, I'd really like to stick around but I'd really rather not find out where that thing wants to take us if it's all the same to you. See you later. I hope," Clara said as she grabbed Jenna's hand and quickly teleported away with her once more.
As soon as the two women left, the time scoop did as well and many members of the High Council instantly let out an audible gasp of relief as it did so.
"We must find out who has gained control of a time scoop at once and for what purpose, Inquisitor? We cannot allow this sort of behavior to go unpunished especially against the head of one of Gallifrey's oldest Houses," Flavia said in a furious voice.
"There is no need to investigate this matter any further, Chancellor. We have deployed the time scoop for our own purposes," The deeper voiced member of the Megara said as the two machines suddenly appeared in the Council's meeting chamber.
"And by right have you done such a thing? That device is the property of the Time Lords and was long ago deemed to be unfit for any future use," Darkel said in an indignant tone.
"We have been using it to acquire witnesses for our trial against a rogue version of Clara Oswald from another reality and now we wish to use it against your version of her as well so that she can answer for obstruction of justice charges among several potential others," The deeper voiced Megara explained.
"Clara Oswald is an official member of Gallifreyan society despite her human origins and as such is subject to our law not yours. If she has truly done something wrong which I seriously doubt, then the High Council will appoint an Inquisitor to bring her to trial . . . if we think her to be truly guilty of course," Flavia argued.
"I submit that we, having the superior version of justice since we are non-humanoids and incapable of making the mistakes that your lesser organic minds make, try her first and then submit our findings to you. If she is indeed guilty, then there will be no arguing with our conclusions. Then you will be the ones to decide what her final punishment should be, but we would of course recommend that you immediately erase her and each and every one of her echoes from throughout time and space since we could possibly rule her as a potential threat to all of reality," The deeper voiced Megara said.
Flavia hesitated for a moment and then said, "You may proceed with your trial but we reserve the right to disagree with your findings."
"We are certain that you will not because they will of course be every bit as infallible as we ourselves are, and you would be wise not to argue with one of our official rulings as others have previously. It tends to lead to a very unfavorable outcome," The deeper voiced Megara said in a threatening tone just before the two machines suddenly vanished.
"Are we really going to let ourselves be pushed around like this and leave her fate in the hands of those murderous creatures?" Darkel protested.
"No, because I don't like this any more than you do, Inquisitor. I just wanted them to assume that we would stay out of things so that we wouldn't have any further trouble from them. I want you to do everything in your power to find out exactly what's going on here however and if there really is any truth to their claims against Clara. I'm not about to let her have her good name tarnished like this much less have her be executed. The Lady President would have our heads for it, and I for one would not like to have to answer to an enraged Jenny Tyler over this, would you?" Flavia said.
Every single member of the High Council shuddered at that thought since Jenny was basically Clara's sister and extremely close to her. They didn't even want to think about what Jenny's father or even worse her mother (who thought of Clara as being just like one of her own children) might do to them either.
They definitely didn't wish to live through a repeat performance of what happened to Telos at her hands.
Even as the High Council shivered in fear over the potential wrath of the Bad Wolf, Clara and Jenna suddenly found themselves on yet another alien landscape. This time they were in the middle of a ruined, almost desert like landscape with yet another domed city looming in the background.
Jenna instantly recognized this new location as soon as she arrived there and immediately began to quiver in fear as she said, "We have to get out of here. Do you know where you just brought us?"
"It's okay, Jenna. Yes, it's Skaro but in my universe the Daleks really aren't that bad anymore. I promise," Clara explained in a reassuring voice.
Jenna immediately looked at her as if she were mad as she said in a terrified voice, "You're a Dalek puppet aren't you? Any minute now you're going to have an eyestalk pop out of your forehead."
"Relax, okay? Different universe, different rules, Actor Girl. My version of Skaro is definitely a whole lot friendlier than your show's is. Trust me," Clara said.
"Who are you? What business do you have here on Skaro? Speak quickly or you will be made to answer to us," A reptilian sounding voice threatened from somewhere behind them.
"Trust me she says. I know exactly who that is, Clara, and he/they are definitely not friendly," Jenna said in a worried voice.
"It depends on who's in charge actually and I happen to be very close to his boss," Clara said with a grin as she suddenly turned around to face the object of Jenna's fear.
"And hello to you too, Snake Boy! Somehow I don't think your boss would like it very much if you killed her favorite person in the entire universe, do you?" Clara said with a smug grin as she showed herself to the infamous Colony Sarff, former servant of the now imprisoned Davros.
"Oh, my apologies! I didn't recognize you from behind," Colony Sarff said in a manner that told Clara that he really wasn't sorry at all.
Then Clara instantly smiled and Jenna gasped as a voice that was equally familiar to both of them said, "Excuse me? You're my favorite person? You might make my top ten. Might. Maybe. Still I probably would feel bad about it if something happened to you plus Rose would probably blow up my planet since she seems to be doing that sort of thing now so . . . Colony Sarff, I think it would be best if you left these two alone, don't you? Or do you want to be the one to explain to Rose why she shouldn't blow up Skaro while she's busy disintegrating you?"
Colony Sarff visibly shook with fear now as he said, "As you wish, Empress."
Then he quickly left as Jenna said in a tone of complete and absolute disbelief, "Empress? Wait a minute. I know that outfit. I wore it on my first story. You're Oswin Oswald. Oh, I do not believe this! Oswin Oswald is the Empress of the Daleks? This is just too much! Why isn't she a Dalek though? Your universe is even weirder than the show."
"You like it though don't you, Actor Girl?" Clara said with a grin.
"Well, of course. That goes without saying. It's so weird that it's actually kind of cool. Oh, and Actor Girl is definitely not a good nickname. Why not Action Girl instead or better yet, Your Majesty?" Jenna said with a smirk.
"Yeah, I don't think so, Actor Girl," Clara said with a wicked smile as Oswin rolled her eyes at her and laughed.
"Actor Girl? Is this who I think it is?" Oswin asked as she looked at Jenna in surprise and gave her a scrutinizing gaze.
"Yep. It's her alright and for your information Rose is not going to blow up Skaro. She almost had a nervous breakdown after destroying Telos. You know better than that, Ozzie," Clara said with a frown.
"Yeah, I do know better but the other inhabitants of Skaro who don't know exactly how much of a goody two shoes that she really is definitely don't. They're all scared stiff of her. That's why you got that wonderful reception when you arrived. Most of the people here are still afraid that Skaro is next on Rose's hit list despite the fact that she brought Telos back again. Sorry about Sarff by the way. He's one of Davros' special little problem children that I inherited when I took over the planet. He has a tendency to go off the rails if I don't carefully watch him all of the time. Epsilon, he's one of my boys, says that I should exterminate him, but I don't do that sort of thing as a rule in case you haven't noticed that by now, Jenna," Oswin said with a reassuring smile.
Jenna nodded as she said, "Yeah, I was pretty sure as soon as I saw you that I was safe, but it's always nice to get that confirmed. So when you mean one of your boys you're talking about - ?"
"AFFIRMATIVE. I AM A DALEK AND THE EMPRESS' SECOND IN COMMAND. I AM EPSILON," Epsilon said as he suddenly joined them.
Jenna visibly backed away from him as she said, "He's real. I mean I knew it was all real but this . . . this is a bit too real. He's not just some prop with someone inside of it. He's actually . . . real."
"Hey, don't worry, okay? He won't hurt you. He's about as dangerous as a puppy. I promise," Clara said with a grin.
Epsilon instantly seemed to be extremely offended by that as he said in what Clara was sure was an almost pouting tone, "THERE'S NO NEED TO BE INSULTING, CLARA OSWALD. I AM ONLY HARMLESS TO THE ALLIES OF MY EMPRESS. TO HER ENEMIES, I AM COMPLETELY WITHOUT MERCY."
Oswin quickly cleared her throat at that comment which made the Dalek quickly add, "I DON'T EXTERMINATE THEM EVEN THEN UNLESS IT'S ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY HOWEVER."
"Nice save, Eppy," Oswin said as she affectionately patted the top of his metal casing.
"Oh, this is just beyond weird right now," Jenna said as she stared at the two of them in utter disbelief.
"Yeah, I often think the same thing about her myself. She's just like my extremely kooky twin sister. You'll never believe this but I'm actually the sanest one of the bunch," Clara joked.
"You're right. I don't believe it," Jenna teased her.
Oswin laughed as she said, "Good for you for not falling for her little ego trip. So what brings the two of you here? I have a feeling that it's not to check out the local scenery."
"EMPRESS, PLANETARY SENSORS INDICATE THE APPROACH OF AN ONCOMING TIME SCOOP OF GALLIFREYAN ORIGIN," Epsilon suddenly warned.
"Yeah, I was just about to get to that in a minute, Ozzie. That thing really wants Jenna for some reason and I'm not too sure that it's a good idea to let it anywhere near her. This was the one place where I was sure that she might be safe. Sorry to bring trouble to your door like this, but I didn't know what else to do," Clara said in an apologetic tone.
Oswin smiled and immediately hugged her as she said, "Hey, it's no problem. After all I've got to look out for my even kookier twin, don't I? I'm not about to let that thing get anywhere near either one of you. Eppy, activate the transduction barrier and set it to maximum. Create multiple time corridors around the entire planet and see if we can trap it inside one of them. Try firing the Time Destructor at it too while you're at it and see if it has any effect. If all else fails, I want you to hit it with everything that you've got. I want maximum extermination."
Epsilon actually sounded happy as he said, "IT WILL BE DONE, EMPRESS."
As he raced off to oversee all of this personally, Clara said, "Maximum extermination? Really?"
"Yeah, I know it sounds a bit silly but the boys always love it whenever I say stuff like that. It gets them all excited just like little kids at Christmas. The only thing that would make them even happier I bet is if I told them that they could exterminate the Doctor. Not that I ever would of course," Oswin said with a mischievous grin.
"Not unless you really do want Rose to pay you an extra special visit," Clara quipped.
"I still don't understand exactly why this thing is after me. What did I do? I've never even been to this universe before," Jenna wondered out loud.
Clara looked guilty now as she said, "I don't think that it's anything that you did at all. This is all about me for some reason. I've had three of my echoes disappear mysteriously without a trace lately and now I know exactly what stole them. What I don't know is who's behind it all and why. All I know for sure is it has to stop right now before it goes any further, and then I'm going to get the ones that they stole back no matter what I have to do. I have to. I . . ."
Clara started to tear up now and quickly looked away as Oswin and Jenna both looked at her with concern. Jenna wanted to comfort her but wasn't sure if she should or not since they still didn't know each other that well yet. Oswin however had no such qualms and immediately wrapped her arms around her and let her cry on her shoulder.
"Care to talk about it?" Oswin asked in a compassionate voice.
"One of the echoes has a little girl. She was left behind without a mother or anyplace else to go, Ozzie, and it's all because of me somehow. I promised her that I'd get her back but I don't know if I can or not. What do I tell her if her mum is . . . is . . . ?" Clara asked in an emotional voice.
"We'll worry about that if and when we find out that it's true or not. Until then, we're going to assume that it isn't and that we're going to get her back somehow eventually. Do you hear me? If anyone can get her back, you can because we both know that you're too stubborn to ever give up when someone needs you," Oswin said in a gentle voice.
Clara smiled and said in a grateful voice, "Thank you. I just needed to hear someone else say that I think."
Jenna smiled at both of them as she found herself already liking Oswin now and starting to consider them both to be her friends. She could see a lot of herself in each of them even if neither of them could truly be said to be her. It was almost as if a part of her, the very best part, had been brought to life before her eyes somehow in the form of these actual flesh and blood beings that were somehow impossibly based on her own television characters.
"No wonder they call you the Impossible Girl," Jenna said to herself in a low voice.
"What?" Clara asked.
"Nothing. So if you don't know what's going on or where to go to find out any answers about it, how do we ever stop that time scoop thing from chasing us? If you're anything like the Clara that I played, I'm sure you'll come up with some kind of answer. She was always doing that somehow," Jenna said.
"Oh, so now you have faith in me, do you? When we first met you were so sure that I was going to get us both killed. I'm so glad to see that you've finally learned to appreciate me now," Clara teased her.
"So does that mean that you actually do have a plan then besides spending the rest of our lives here at this beautiful vacation spot?" Jenna said.
"Oi! No cracks about my home. I'm slowly improving things here I'll have you know. You should have seen the place a few months ago after Evil Me finished declaring war on it. Believe it or not the way it looks now really is a huge improvement from the way that it was before," Oswin reassured her.
"Way to go to make me feel guilty, Ozzie. I mean I know I deserve every last bit of it but this time I actually did come here to help. I really have turned over a new leaf these days I promise. No pun intended," A voice suddenly said behind them.
"Another echo?" Jenna said in a surprised voice.
The Matriarch grimaced as she said, "Echo? Oh, no no no! I'm the real deal in every way plus my powers are far, far cooler than hers."
"This is the Matriarch. Until recently she was like my version of Miss Hyde but nowadays she's supposedly on my side. I'm still not too sure about that though to be honest. I've seen far too many evil mes lately to accept that quite so quickly. Oh, and she is most definitely not a part of my plan in case you were wondering," Clara said to Jenna as she rolled her eyes at the Matriarch.
"Then it's a good thing for you that I came here when I did because I know exactly what your plan is, Clara. Who would know that better than me after all? Believe me when I say that it's definitely not a good idea. You need to stay free if you're ever going to have a chance of fixing all of this. Oh, and you are most definitely not to blame for any of this so stop feeling sorry for yourself," The Matriarch said with a stern look.
Jenna smiled as she said, "She seems alright to me. She's like an even sassier version of you."
"Like I said, better in every way," The Matriarch said with a proud smile.
"Okay, if you really are on my side now, then I need you to tell me exactly what you know about all of this. I can definitely tell that you know something just from the look on your face," Clara demanded.
"Oh, I know a lot of things including the fact that coming here is not going to save you, Clara," The Matriarch said as she pointed to a spot off in the distance with a grim look on her face.
"Oh, my stars!" Clara said in disbelief as she saw that somehow impossibly the time scoop had gotten through to her once again.
"That's impossible. Nothing could have gotten through Skaro's defenses that quickly," Oswin said in a horrified voice.
"It could have if it was made by someone who knew those defenses inside out from having been here so many times before," The Matriarch said with a cryptic smile.
"It's never going to stop, is it? Do I have to keep running for the rest of my life?" Jenna asked in a weary voice.
"No. No, you don't," Clara said in a determined voice as she began to glow with power.
"Clara, don't do this. It's a huge mistake," The Matriarch insisted.
"Don't do what? What are you planning? Could someone possibly let me in on what's going on please?" Jenna asked in confusion.
"I hate to say it but listen to her, Clara. She's actually right for once. Just stay right where you are and let the Daleks handle this," Oswin advised.
"Okay, I'll give them their shot," Clara said but something about her manner told Jenna that she didn't have too much confidence in that idea.
"EXTERMINATE!" Thousands of Daleks cried out at once as a massive army of them filled Skaro's sky blotting out its sun while they all fired in unison on the incoming time scoop.
Enough power to destroy entire worlds was focused on the rapidly traveling triangle but none of it so much as left a scratch on it. The time scoop still continued on as if the Daleks hadn't even been there.
"Well, so much for that idea then, yeah? Looks like I'll have to try mine out after all now, doesn't it?" Clara said obstinately as the time scoop continued to rapidly close the gap between them.
"I knew you'd say that. That's why I brought him here," The Matriarch said as she snapped her fingers.
"Clara?" The voice of Danny Pink suddenly said from somewhere in the distance.
"Danny?" Clara said in surprise as she saw Danny come running towards her with a concerned look.
"Now let's see if he can actually talk some sense into you for once," The Matriarch said to Clara with a frown.
"Danny, what's going on? Where's Abigail?" Clara said as she looked at the Matriarch suspiciously.
The Matriarch sighed as she said, "Oh, she's just fine. This is Abigail that we're talking about after all. Give me a break."
Clara gave her a surprised look but said nothing. Something about the way that she had said that and the sudden look of regret on her face immediately afterwards as if she had somehow said more than she should made Clara instantly wonder exactly who Abigail could potentially become to her.
"I'm not exactly sure what is going on. First she sends Abigail on to the future without me and then she took me to some weird place with a bunch of strange beings in it that all acted like they worshiped her and just dumped me there until a minute ago. She claims to want to help you though," Danny said as he looked at the Matriarch suspiciously.
"Why does no one ever believe me? I mean besides the obvious of course. Can't a former bad girl get a second chance too just like everyone else?" The Matriarch asked with a groan even as she continued to glance at the oncoming time scoop with growing trepidation.
"I think she really is worried about you," Jenna said to Clara.
"Yeah, I think she is too and that makes me even more worried somehow about whatever's going on here," Clara admitted.
"The Matriarch said something before about someone wanting to erase you and your echoes from time," Danny said.
"Why though? What could I have possibly done to deserve this level of hatred?" Clara said in disbelief as the time scoop now came within twenty feet of her and continued to speed forwards without stopping.
A holographic projection was now emitted from the time scoop that showed two spherical shaped glowing beings. One of the beings immediately began to glow brighter than the other one as it began speaking to her in a deep voice.
"It's not what you have done but what you could do. Clara Oswald, you are now hereby summoned to appear before the Galactic Court of the Megara so that we can judge for ourselves whether you are a clear and present danger to the universe or not. If you do not come with us willingly this time, both you and this entire world will be subject to immediate destruction," The Megara threatened.
"Oh, I'd really like to see you try. You might be surprised as to who winds up destroying who, Robot Boy," Oswin said in an angry voice.
"No, there's no need for that. I don't want to bring any trouble to anyone else, and I'm really getting tired of running anyway. If I go . . ." Clara started to say.
"Clara, don't. This is exactly what I came here to prevent you from doing in the first place. Don't you see? It's a trap, Clara. He knows you. He knows that you'll do this to protect the others. Once you go there, you might not be coming back again. Even I'm not sure what will happen because none of this ever happened before in my timeline. He's deliberately changing history just by being here in the first place. Danny, talk her out of this. Please," The Matriarch pleaded.
"Wait a minute. Was this your plan to find out what's going on, Clara? You're going to surrender to them?" Jenna asked as she looked at her as though she were completely mad.
"Do any of you have any better ideas? The Doctor always said that the only way to find out what's going on is to let yourself be trapped," Clara said.
"Yes, and that's exactly what the real mastermind behind all of this is counting on you to do, Clara. Don't you get it yet or do I have to spell it all out for you? The Valeyard is back and he's manipulating all of this just so that he can get rid of you," The Matriarch warned.
"Oh, now I get it. I see exactly why you're so frantic now. You're not worried about me at all. You're worried about yourself," Clara accused.
"Yes, of course I am but I'm worried about you too, you moron. I really have changed. Why can't anyone just believe that for once and please listen to me?" The Matriarch pleaded.
"I think she really is telling the truth, Clara. Even if she isn't, I agree that it's not a good idea to just willingly go along with these things. Who knows what they'll do to you?" Danny said.
"That's right. Listen to Danny, Clara, because he's absolutely right. I know exactly what the Valeyard has planned. He wants to erase every single one of us from throughout time and space so that no one ever went into the Doctor's timestream to save him. He wants the Doctor to die so that he can steal all of his lives, Clara. Now am I finally getting through to you?" The Matriarch said in a furious voice.
"What's she saying actually makes sense to me, Clara, and that's more than a bit scary now that I think about it. It actually doesn't sound too weird or strange in the slightest bit to me anymore," Jenna admitted with a frown.
"This is a preposterous accusation. Our court prosecutor has no real power here in this situation at all. He has merely brought certain things to our attention for us to investigate, but we, the Megara, have the ultimate say over whatever finally happens," The lighter voiced Megara said in an offended voice.
"Sure. That's what he wants you to think. He's playing you like a violin the entire time though while he completely manipulates this entire situation to his own advantage. Just like your so-called defense attorney in this case wants you to think that she's an actual lawyer from the distant future instead of a howling mad loon with an agenda all her own. I mean do you actually check anyone's credentials that you work with at all, Megara? Honestly!" The Matriarch said with a sigh.
"You will desist in making these baseless slanders against the Valeyard's character or you will be immediately judged with contempt of court and summarily executed on the spot," The deeper voice Megara warned.
"No, wait! She's definitely annoying but I don't want her to die. I've lost more than enough versions of me lately as it is. If I go with you, do you promise to spare everyone else here and leave them alone? That's including Jenna too by the way. You have to promise to send her back home without bothering her any more or I'll continue to run with her for as long as I can. I promise that you won't be catching up to me anytime soon either so if you want to finally get this over with once and for all without a whole lot of trouble you'd better take me up on my offer while it's still on the table, boys," Clara said.
"Clara, don't do this. I have a bad feeling about it. Something about this doesn't sound right to me. I think that the Matriarch might actually be telling the truth," Danny said.
"Listen to him. You know he would never lie to you, Clara. He loves you and only wants the best for you. You know that," The Matriarch said in an anxious voice.
"We accept your offer of surrender, Clara Oswald," The Megara said as the time scoop finally drew within arm's reach of Clara now.
"Good. Then we have a deal then. So go ahead and send Jenna back and I'll answer any questions that you want," Clara said with a smile.
That was when a massive beam of energy suddenly came forth from the time scoop and instantly paralyzed Clara on the spot so that she was completely unable to move or even attempt to escape. The Matriarch and Oswin both immediately tried to attack the device in order to free her, but they had no more luck than the Daleks had had against it.
The Valeyard knew them and exactly how to counter all of their powers all too well after all.
The deeper voiced Megara almost sounded smug now as it said, "No, you misunderstand. This is no deal. You have no bargaining position here and never have. You will be made to stand trial for Obstruction of Justice and possible future charges and the witness, Jenna, will be made to answer all of our questions about you. Then and only then will she be allowed to go home while you may be facing possible temporal erasure from throughout the whole of the Web of Time. This time there is no escape for you from the power of the Megara, Clara Oswald."
"No!" Jenna screamed as the time scoop finally swallowed both her and Clara and captured them at last.
As it sped off to take them to the Cygnus somewhere in hyperspace, Clara immediately fell into complete despair as she wondered if the Matriarch had been right after all. That feeling only became worse when she saw who was waiting for her there.
"Hello, dear," Missy said with a mad grin as she waved at her.
"Oh, no! Not her too. Now we really are done for," Jenna said with a sigh.
"You! You're not even from this universe. What are you doing here?" Clara said with wide eyes.
Missy immediately put her finger to her lips as she said in a low voice, "Shush! No need to spoil my cover. I'm pretending to be a defense attorney in order to help you and the other Claras. For once I'm the good guy here. I'm actually trying to save all of your lives."
"Uh huh. Right and I'm the Queen of England. What other outright lies do you want me to believe while you're at it, Laughing Girl?" Clara said with a smirk.
"I really don't care what you believe, girl. All that should matter to you is that the Valeyard wants to wipe you out and is after you with a passion. He's not going to quit until he does too. Like it or not, I'm the only chance that you've got to avoid that," Missy said.
"Like I said, we're done for," Jenna said with a groan.
"And what do you get out of it?" Clara asked suspiciously as she quietly began to agree with Jenna.
"Oh, I'll have my reward. Don't you worry about that," Missy said with an evil smile as her eyes darted towards yet another Clara who Clara could now see was imprisoned across the room from her.
"I'm so sorry about this, Clara. I never wanted to drag you and the others into all of this. I've already caused you enough trouble," The former psycho Clara said in a mournful voice.
"You're not one of my echoes. Who are you?" Clara asked even as she thought to herself that there was something very familiar about this particular version of her.
That was when the Valeyard entered the room at last as he said, "She is the version of you from another reality that has been dubbed the Psycho Clara after her willful and wanton destruction of entire realities. This was originally her trial but now I'm about to get the Megara to place you on trial as well since you're just as dangerous as she is."
"Hardly! I've never done anything even close to being as bad as what she's done. This really is a joke if you're trying to put me anywhere in the same league as her," Clara said as she looked at the former psycho Clara in open disgust.
"Ah, but I'm about to prove otherwise starting with the testimony of your new friend there," The Valeyard said as he pointed to Jenna.
"I don't even really know her though. How could I testify to anything about her?" Jenna protested.
"I disagree. You probably know her far better than anyone so what better witness as to her basic completely corrupt nature. You're about to tell the Megara all about what the Clara of your television show was capable of doing including how she once tried to force the Doctor to alter time in order to save her version of Danny and how she constantly lied to everyone in order to get what she wanted. Oh, yes, by the time I'm finished with you I'm afraid that I'll paint a very bleak picture of Clara Oswald indeed. They'll have no choice but to erase her from existence by that point," The Valeyard said with an evil smile.
"That has nothing to do with this Clara though. None of those things ever happened to her because her Danny's still alive," Jenna protested.
"No, but it shows exactly what she could be capable of given the right tragic circumstances in her life. That sense of doubt about her is all that I need to plant in the Megara's minds in order to win this case. It's almost over with now, Clara. I hope that you've made your final peace with yourself," The Valeyard boasted.
As Clara's face instantly fell, Missy said to the Valeyard with a smug grin, "Oh, I wouldn't be so quick to declare victory just yet if I were you. You don't know what witnesses that I have to call forth yet after all, do you?"
"It hardly matters does it? Clara is still finished no matter who you call," The Valeyard said confidently.
Suddenly the entire area glowed with light for a brief moment and then a group of beautiful glowing women who all reminded Clara of the elf Galadriel from the Lord of the Rings movies appeared before them. Clara instantly recognized them from Rose and Jenny's descriptions of them.
"We are the Grace and we guard the Web of Time itself from all who would dare to interfere with its intricate weave and skein," One of the women said as they all stared at the Valeyard in open disdain.
As the Valeyard's face instantly fell, Missy smirked and said, "That's right. I've brought the Grace themselves, the bosses of the Guardians of Time and the all-around ultimate good guys of the universe, to testify for my client. And that's not all either."
The room was filled with a brilliant glow once more and suddenly standing next to the Grace was the Megara themselves!
"What?" The Valeyard said in complete surprise.
"Oh, did I forget to mention that I was calling forth the future version of the very judges of this case? It must have slipped my mind. I wonder what interesting things that they'll have to say to their present day counterparts, hmm? Makes you wonder doesn't it? Beat that for a group of witnesses!" Missy said with a malevolent laugh.
"I'm so confused right now. I honestly don't know who to root for anymore," Clara admitted with a perplexed look.
"Brave heart, Clara. You didn't think that I was really about to abandon my best friend to the mercy of these bunch of pudding brains, did you? Luckily for you the Matriarch managed to track me down and actually convince me that she wasn't lying for once. Well, mostly it was P.E. that convinced me actually. The whole story that he was telling me about you, the disappearing echoes, and the time scoop was far too complex for someone like him to have just made it all up by himself. He's nowhere near that imaginative," The voice of the Doctor suddenly said from behind her.
Clara now turned around with a relieved smile and immediately hugged him tightly even as both Missy and the Valeyard suddenly turned pale at once. Jenna meanwhile couldn't help but start smiling herself because at least she was seeing another familiar face besides her own here for once even if he wasn't the man that she knew back in her own world.
"Doctor!" The Megara both said with raw undisguised hatred as they finally entered the courtroom at last.
"Yes, hello. I've come to help out my friend, Clara, here and to make sure that her so-called defense attorney doesn't wind up getting away with whatever she's really here to do. I really hope that we've put that little misunderstanding between us back when I was Teeth and Curls far behind us by the way," The Doctor said.
"Doctor, you have escaped our justice for far too long now. Prepare for immediate execution," The Megara immediately said.
"I guess not," The Doctor said with a frown.
Clara couldn't help but smile though because despite how serious things looked right now for the first time since this mess had started, she finally had a sense of hope at last. She was absolutely certain that the Doctor would be able to help her sort all of this madness out because they were basically unstoppable together.
That is if he didn't wind up getting himself killed first of course.
Next: The trial of Clara Oswald finally begins at last as the Valeyard and Missy both try to persuade the Megara of their individual cases. And if the Doctor can survive long enough, he and Clara will both have to figure out together exactly what both of their old foes are really up to here because not even the Matriarch has it all figured out just yet.