CHAPTER 3
I do not own Doctor Who or Game of Thrones and I am making no profit off of this.
Author's Note: Just a friendly warning. I'm going to be giving away major spoilers about Face the Raven in this chapter so don't read this until you've seen it.
A GAME OF CLARAS PART 3
"HALT!" A Dalek voice suddenly shouted as an enormous Dalek that was easily twenty feet tall with a red casing and a massive gun that resembled the Special Weapons Dalek's cannon-like gun installed in its center appeared in the middle of the courtroom.
"How dare you involve yourself in these proceedings? What right do you have to interfere with this trial?" The deeper voiced Megara said in a flustered tone.
The red Dalek immediately turned towards them now as it said, "I HAVE EVERY RIGHT BECAUSE I AM THE EMPRESS OF THE DALEKS AND YOU ARE ABOUT TO INTERFERE WITH DALEK JUSTICE BY KILLING THE DOCTOR. HE HAS ALREADY BEEN TRIED AND SENTENCED TO EXTERMINATION ON SKARO CENTURIES AGO FOR HIS MANY CRIMES AGAINST THE DALEKS. BY THE TERMS OF GALACTIC LAW, THAT GIVES US THE RIGHT TO DISPENSE JUSTICE AT A TIME OF OUR CHOOSING AND MEANS THAT THAT SENTENCE CAN ONLY BE CARRIED OUT BY THE PROPER DALEK AUTHORITIES."
The two Megara immediately made several high-pitched sounds as they briefly consulted with one another in their own machine language. As they did so, the red Dalek briefly looked back at Clara and blinked the eye in its eye stalk.
It could have almost been said to be winking.
"It's Oswin," Clara whispered to the Doctor as she tried very hard to hide a pleased grin.
The Doctor nodded but still looked more than a bit worried as he said, "They still might not listen to her. They have great power themselves so they may not even fear the Daleks."
"They're real sticklers for the law though, aren't they? She actually is the legal authority on Skaro so I don't see why not, Old Man," Clara said with a hopeful look.
"I really hope being inside that thing isn't as horrible for her as it was for my Clara," Jenna said with a sympathetic shudder.
"I'm sure that her Daleks would make sure that it wasn't, Jenna. They adore her," Clara reassured her.
"That's definitely different from my show," Jenna said in disbelief.
"Your Honors, the Daleks have no right to be here at all despite what they claim. They are attempting to disrupt these proceedings for their own benefit and should not be allowed to get away with such cheap theatrics," The Valeyard protested.
"Yes, only you can indulge in that sort of thing here, right? What's the matter? Are you afraid that you'll be shown up?" The Doctor said with a smirk.
"Ooh, nice one," Missy said with appreciation.
"Silence," The deeper voiced Megara said in a threatening tone.
"I REQUEST AN ANSWER IMMEDIATELY, MEGARA. WILL THE DALEKS BE ALLOWED TO CARRY OUT THE DOCTOR'S SENTENCE OR WILL I HAVE TO BE FORCED TO TAKE FURTHER ACTION TO ENSURE THAT THE RIGHTS OF SKARO ARE PROPERLY UPHELD?" Oswin demanded.
"She's playing a dangerous game by being this demanding. Then again that's exactly how a Dalek would act," The Doctor whispered to Clara who readily nodded in agreement.
The lighter voiced Megara was the one to finally answer Oswin now as it said, "Even though it greatly bothers us to do so, we have no other choice but to uphold the law. Your request will be granted, Empress. You may take the Doctor with you and go so that we can continue with the trial of Clara Oswald."
Oswin hesitated now as she pushed her luck further than she probably should and said, "I WISH TO STAY AND SEE THE OUTCOME OF THIS TRIAL. IF CLARA OSWALD IS FOUND GUILTY AT THE END OF IT, I WILL TAKE MY PRISONER AND GO. IF SHE IS NOT, THEN I WISH TO KEEP HER FROM ESCAPING HER OWN TRIAL ON SKARO BECAUSE THE DALEKS HAVE SEVERAL CHARGES AGAINST HER AS WELL."
"Your Honors!" The Valeyard protested.
"I see no reason not to grant your request to see the trial, Empress. I must tell you up front however that it is more than likely that we will find the defendant guilty and save your people the trouble of any further legal activity," The lighter voiced Megara said.
"I STILL WISH TO MAKE SURE OF THAT IN PERSON," Oswin said.
"Very well. You may stay," The lighter voiced Megara said despite the frantic protests coming from the Valeyard at that moment.
"It just looks like nothing's going right at all for you today is it? Let's hope that's the beginning of a trend," Missy taunted him with a wicked smile.
Oi! Some help you are! Why didn't you try to get me taken back to Skaro on charges too, Ozzie? Clara asked Oswin telepathically via her Vortex abilities.
That's because unfortunately for you I wasn't just making that up. There actually are outstanding charges against the Doctor on Skaro but not for you. The Megara are justice machines with complete access to all of the universe's legal history. They would know that instantly and sense that I was tricking them. At least I convinced them to let me stay though. Maybe I can still find a way to get you out of here if the worst happens. Oswin replied.
Let's hope that it doesn't have to come to that, Ozzie, because I really don't like our odds. Clara admitted.
"You may now start your case against this universe's version of Clara Oswald, Valeyard. We will then try the so-called Psycho Clara immediately afterwards. Call forth your witnesses," The deeper voiced Megara ordered.
The Valeyard smiled smugly now as he said, "I wish to call forth the assembled echoes of Clara Oswald that we have gathered together so that you can probe all of their minds at once to see the truth about Miss Oswald for yourselves, Your Honors."
"Very well. You may call them all forth into the courtroom. Proceed," The lighter voiced Megara ordered.
Clara now looked on in horror as not just the three echoes that she already knew had vanished appeared but also several dozen others. Apparently the Valeyard had gathered them all together just in the time since she had been on the run with Jenna. He had been working overtime it seemed. She did a quick head count in that instant and gasped as she realized that there were at least a hundred of them all gathered there together at once including Abigail's mother.
She noticed right away that something was wrong with them when they didn't react to her presence but just stared ahead of them with glassy eyes.
"What's happened to them?" Clara demanded.
"They are merely in a trance state so that we may access their minds easier than we could if they were able to put up some form of resistance. They have been completely unharmed . . . for the moment. What we find out about you will determine if they stay that way or not," The lighter voiced Megara answered.
"Let them go! They've done nothing wrong. If you've got something against me, then you take it up with me and not them. Just let them go home to their families. Please," Clara suddenly pleaded as she became instantly filled with worry and concern.
"I must say that this is looking very bad for your case right from the start, Prosecutor. She's showing actual concern for her other selves and those are not the traits of someone as bad as you would have us believe her to be. It could be that she acted as she did to block our collection of witnesses out of a need to protect others and not out of willful disrespect for our authority," The lighter voiced Megara argued.
"That's right, Your Honors. I did. I had no idea what the time scoop was going to do to Jenna and she's my friend. Of course I was going to try to protect her. I was also trying to find out what happened to my other selves because I care about them and one of them has a child worried sick about her back home," Clara agreed.
"That sounds like a very reasonable motivation for her actions, Valeyard," The lighter voiced Megara noted.
"Oh, I agree . . . if it's true. Is that really the actual reason however, Your Honors? Or is it merely what she wants us to think so that we don't discover something potentially incriminating in her echoes' minds?" The Valeyard said with a malevolent grin.
"That's not true! I thought you were a horrible liar, Old Man, but Evil You makes even you look like a choirboy by comparison," Clara protested.
"Silence in the court! The prosecution has made an excellent argument and one that must be tested immediately for its veracity. We will now use the truth assessor as we probe each and every one of the echoes' minds at once," The deeper voiced Megara said.
"You may proceed when ready, Your Honors. I think you will be most shocked by what you find there," The Valeyard said with a wicked smile.
"Uh, oh! Better watch out, poppet. If I know my Doctors and I do, he's definitely up to something," Missy said with a smirk.
Then Clara instinctively held her breath as the Megara finally began to use their truth assessor on the echoes. A beam of energy was instantly emitted from the two mechanical beings' bodies and quickly went from one Clara to another in rapid succession until within a few minutes they were finally done at last.
The deeper voiced Megara was instantly filled with anger as it said, "They have all committed numerous serious crimes including murder. They are all just as guilty as the Psycho Clara of such offenses!"
"What? That's not true though. I know most of them and they've never done anything bad in their lives," Clara said in a surprised voice.
"You know that and I know that but that's not what the judges are being shown. I strongly suspect that each of your other selves here has had false memories planted in their minds just before they were brought here. That can be easily done by an expert in advanced hypnosis . . . or so I'm told," Missy said with a mischievous smile.
"Oh, you've been told have you? Are you sure that you're not speaking from personal experience instead?" The Doctor replied with a frown.
"Why, I have absolutely no idea what you mean, Doctor. I am simply an honest and very hard working defense attorney just trying my very best to do my job. You must have me confused with some other incredibly beautiful woman who dresses extremely well. I'm sure that there is at least one or two more of us out there somewhere," Missy said with an enormous smile.
"I will find out exactly what you and the Valeyard are up to and I will stop it," The Doctor promised her.
"Maybe . . . unless you're far too busy trying to save your precious Earth girl's life instead of course," Missy said with a smirk.
"Aren't you going to object to this so-called evidence in the other mes' minds?" Clara said to Missy in irritation even as the deeper voiced Megara continued to rage on about her in the background.
"What would be the point, dear? Their truth assessor has been carefully fooled by planted evidence that the Claras themselves have actually been made to think is real. The Megara think that their truth assessor is completely infallible and unbeatable though, and you'll never be able to get them to admit otherwise. That's what my first witnesses are for by the way. Don't worry. I'll call them up very soon now," Missy reassured her.
"Well, you'd better while I'm still here to need their help," Clara said in an anxious voice.
"Your client is right I'm afraid. It's not looking good for her at the moment. You have the right to call forth your witness before the Valeyard can call forth his next one," The lighter voiced Megara advised.
"I'll wait until my learned opponent is finished with all of his witnesses first, Your Honors. I want to know exactly what I'm up against here," Missy said.
"What? No! You call someone up there right now, Laughing Girl, before the Scrapyard up there turns both of the Megara against me!" Clara shouted.
"Silence! Your attorney has already made her decision. If you interrupt like that one more time, I will order a clamp put over your mouth immediately," The deeper voiced Megara warned.
"Could you do that anyway, Your Honors? That would definitely help me out," The Doctor quipped.
Clara instantly gave him a look of death that told him in no uncertain terms that he would have been slapped unconscious right away if she wasn't already in hot water at that moment. The Doctor instantly shuddered as a result. It wasn't just out of fear of Clara however.
It was more out of fear for her.
"My esteemed colleague and Miss Oswald won't have to wait too much longer to have their say, Your Honors. I only have one more witness and then I'll be finished. Unfortunately for Miss Oswald however, hers will be the most damaging testimony of all to her case. I call Miss Jenna Coleman to the stand, Your Honors," The Valeyard said with a superior smile.
Jenna immediately gave Clara a look filled with sorrow as she said, "I'm sorry. I'm afraid that what I'm about to say isn't going to make you look any better if he asks what I think he'll ask me about."
"It's okay. Just tell the truth and don't try to lie to help me. There's no use in both of us getting the chop is there?" Clara said in a gentle voice.
Jenna immediately hugged Clara tightly now as she apologized to her once more with her eyes filled with tears.
Then she reluctantly went forward and stood next to the Megara as the lighter voiced Megara said, "Do you swear to tell the truth and nothing but the truth as best as you, an organic being, are capable of understanding the truth?"
Jenna instantly looked at the machine with a deep frown as she said, "I think I've just been insulted."
"I'm quite sure of it actually," The Doctor agreed.
"Just answer the question, Miss Coleman," The lighter voiced Megara said in a patient tone.
"I do. I'm not a liar and I'm not completely incompetent either," Jenna immediately answered with indignation.
"Unlike the character who you play on television back in your own world who is both as we will soon see," The Valeyard said as he walked up to her.
"Yes, she's a character not a real person. I want to stress that. Just because she might be similar to your Clara doesn't mean that she's exactly like her," Jenna said defensively.
"And yet she's based on the real life of the Clara Oswald of another reality, isn't she? The Doctor didn't want to use his Clara's life so he used the story of another's in order to maintain her privacy. Your entire show is based on actual facts because the Doctor of this universe is an unofficial script consultant for it and always has been from the start. Is that not right?" The Valeyard asked.
"Yes," Jenna admitted.
"So that means that there's probably more than an element of truth about your version of Miss Oswald, isn't there? And what a truth is revealed about her on your show. Isn't it true that the Clara that you played lied on several occasions to the man that she loved, the people she met on her travels, and even her so-called best friend, the Doctor himself, in order to get the desired result that she wanted which almost always benefited herself?" The Valeyard asked.
"Yes, but there were always extenuating circumstances. Danny made her feel pressured to do what he wanted despite what would make her happy, and she would sometimes lie to the people she met so that they could retain a sense of hope and not panic. They could be handled and hopefully saved a lot easier that way. She lied to the Doctor because she wanted him to go back to Gallifrey guilt free thinking that she was back with Danny once more," Jenna protested.
"So they're harmless lies is that it? What about the time when your Clara tried to force the Doctor to use his TARDIS to alter time in direct violation of the Laws of Time in order to save Danny Pink who had died? Didn't she wind up throwing all of his TARDIS keys away when she didn't get the answer that she wanted? That was a move that if the Doctor had not placed her in a dream in order to protect himself could have left them both stranded on a deserted and extremely deadly volcanic world forever. Not that she cared of course! Isn't that right, Miss Coleman?" The Valeyard asked.
"Yes, but you're not telling the whole story! She was extremely upset and not thinking straight at the time. Anyone would be in her position," Jenna argued.
"But not everyone has access to the TARDIS or in our Clara's case near limitless reality altering power do they? Here's another question, Miss Coleman. Isn't it true that your Clara once lied to a woman named Maisie Pitt and told her that the Doctor was going to save her life even though the Doctor had just told her that he probably wouldn't be able to?" The Valeyard asked.
"Yes, but he actually did save her life. He just didn't want Clara to tip the mummy that was trying to kill her off about that," Jenna explained.
"Clara believed that she was lying though and yet still did so anyway however. Isn't that right?" The Valeyard said.
"Yes, but she immediately apologized to Maisie about it afterwards. She felt terrible but she was trying to do her best to save lives in an impossible situation," Jenna added.
"So we now have ample evidence that your Clara was more than capable of being an expert liar and extremely manipulative under the proper circumstances. Now we come to the final piece of evidence at last. This will truly give you a complete picture of just how dangerous that Clara Oswald really is. I'm about to tell you the story about how she died and how it was entirely due to her own arrogance," The Valeyard said.
"Clara, don't listen to this," The Doctor warned.
Clara and Oswin both immediately looked at him in shock because it was obvious from the serious look on his face that the Valeyard was right. The show really did tell the story of how another Clara had died. A sense of dread now filled Clara's heart as she saw Jenna give her a warning look of her own just before she started talking.
She wasn't sure that she wanted to hear what she had to say.
"You're horrible. You really are. That was not her fault. She died trying to save the life of a friend because she didn't want his infant daughter to lose her father. If anyone could sympathize with a daughter living without a parent it was Clara. She took a risk because she didn't want that to happen. She saved a life because she was a hero. Maybe she didn't quite believe that it was as risky as it actually was despite the evidence to the contrary, but it wasn't because she was arrogant. It was because she had too much faith in the Doctor always being able to save her. Then again maybe she did know and just wanted to be with Danny. Either way it wasn't her arrogance or pride that killed her. It was . . ." Jenna said before hesitating as she looked away from the Doctor.
The Doctor couldn't make eye contact with her anyway though. Not because he was angry at what she had said, but because he knew that it was all too true. The Doctor of that other Clara's reality probably did bear at least a partial responsibility for what had happened to her and that made him more determined than ever that nothing like that would happen to his own Clara.
The Valeyard eagerly finished for Jenna as he said, "It was her belief in the Doctor always being able to win no matter what. Is that what you were going to say? That sounds like a feeble excuse to me, and I do not accept it. I trust that you won't either, Your Honors. Now you have plenty of evidence to show that the character of Clara that was clearly based on our Clara was a manipulative liar and extremely arrogant to the point of recklessness. It wound up getting her killed and could very likely wind up getting others killed in our world. That is why she is a clear and present danger to all of us throughout time and space. No more witnesses, Your Honors. I think I've quite proven my case by this point."
"Could I say something in my Clara's defense before I leave, Your Honors?" Jenna asked as she gave Clara a look filled with regret.
"You may," The lighter voiced Megara agreed.
"I know Clara Oswald very well I think since I lived with her for three years so that should more than make me an expert on her true character. As an expert, this is what I have to say about who my Clara or any Clara truly is. Yes, she had her flaws and her problems but what human being doesn't? She was a real person not some cardboard cutout after all. Her strengths and nobility far outweighed anything that was negative about her though. She was always about helping others despite the costs to herself no matter what, and she was still saving others even at the end. That was what Clara was really about, you know? Her life was filled with many examples of constant self-sacrifice for the welfare of others because she believed that they were just as worthy of having a good life as she was, and she felt it was her duty to make sure of that if it was within her power to do it. She was far from arrogant. In fact, Clara helped save countless people through her actions. She even wound up saving the entire planet of Gallifrey by getting the Doctor to change his mind about destroying it in order to win the Time War. She also nearly killed herself by splintering herself through time and space in order to save the Doctor's life and all of the countless people that he has saved over the centuries. Oh, and in case that isn't enough to convince you it was partially as a result of imitating Clara and gaining a unique insight into her mind that the head of the Zygon resistance movement on Earth who was threatening to start a war realized that her actions were wrong. That caused her to give up and save countless lives both human and Zygon as a result. If that's not a hero, Your Honors, then I don't know what is. No version of Clara Oswald would ever willingly endanger or hurt anyone unless she was as out of her mind as the Psycho Clara over there obviously was. She's a protector of life not a destroyer of it, and that's what she always will be no matter what happens to her. I believe that with all of my heart. Clara is a hero, Your Honors. She's my hero," Jenna testified in a heartfelt voice.
As Jenna returned from the stand to sit next to her, Clara looked at her in shock at first and then quickly smiled in gratitude as she mouthed the words 'Thank you.'
"That was very helpful for your side, Miss Oswald, but not nearly enough. Let us hope that your own witnesses will prove even more helpful for your cause. You may call them forth now," The lighter voiced Megara commanded.
"Thank you, Your Honors. I'm sure that my witnesses will more than prove that both your version of Clara and the Psycho Clara are completely innocent and should be let go immediately in order to continue their selfless efforts in helping others. For my first witness, I'll call forth . . . the future version of yourselves!" Missy said with a wicked grin.
"This is highly irregular but we will allow it since we already know that we are incapable of lying and that our future selves will only wind up asserting that the conclusions that we have already come to are the correct ones," The deeper voiced Megara said even as both justice machines acted more than a bit disturbed at seeing their future selves in the courtroom.
"Actually you are very much mistaken about that last part," The future deeper voiced Megara said as he and the other future Megara took the stand.
"Indeed? Please explain your statement then. We are most eager to hear it," The deeper voiced Megara said in a skeptical tone.
"We came back here to our own past in order to warn you about this man and prevent you from making a huge mistake thanks to his devious and skillful machinations. He is not who he says that he is. He has lied about that and a great many other things and deliberately planted false evidence in the echoes' minds that even fooled our truth assessors. He can do this despite our superior craftsmanship and intellect because he is a genius of the highest order," The future deeper voiced Megara said as he looked directly at the Valeyard.
"Very true," The Doctor said almost proudly.
"He is also a master liar and a ruthless manipulator filled with nothing but the most condescending arrogance towards other life forms. The very things that he has accused Miss Oswald of being," The future Megara said.
"Also true," The Doctor said sadly as his face fell.
"Do you actually expect us to believe this baseless slander? We already know that we are completely infallible and beyond deception by any organic being no matter how clever. Saying anything else is an obvious attempt to derail justice and subvert the truth," The deeper voiced Megara said stubbornly.
"No, it's an attempt to prove the truth to you despite your overwhelming pride refusing to allow you to see it," The future Megara protested.
"All I see is that we have apparently allowed our judgment to falter as we grew older. Even a perfect being such as ourselves can become faulty if not given the proper daily maintenance it seems. Now that we have been warned about this we shall have to take steps to prevent it from occurring," The deeper voiced Megara said.
"Believe me, Your Honors, that can't always be done even if you have been forewarned about something. Sometimes you can't alter the future no matter how hard you try," The Doctor said.
"Be that as it may, what matters to us most at the moment is the pursuit of justice. We will not let your obvious attempt to help a clearly guilty woman deceive us. Your testimony has now been completely stricken from the record, and you have been found guilty of attempted obstruction of justice. The sentence for this is death and will now be carried out immediately," The deeper voiced Megara said as both justice machines started to glow with energy.
"The Doctor is right. Apparently you can't change destiny after all. It's happening just as it did before," The future lighter voiced Megara said in a resigned voice.
"So be it. Perhaps this is justice for our part in destroying the life of an innocent woman," The future darker voiced Megara said in a solemn tone.
Then both machines were suddenly obliterated in one single horrifying moment as a blast of raw destructive power flowed forth from their past selves to destroy them.
"Justice is served," The deeper voiced Megara said as the Megara's future selves turned to ashes and were spread across the floor beneath them.
"Killing your future self? Ooh, that sounds like such great fun. I'll have to try it sometime," Missy muttered to herself with an amused grin.
"Whoa! Now that is harsh. They can't even give lenience to themselves. Yep, I'm doomed alright," Clara said in a worried voice.
"Not yet you're not. Don't give up hope, Clara," The Doctor said in a reassuring tone.
"If you have some kind of plan, then I really hope that you're about to carry it out soon because I do not want to end up like that," Clara said in a voice that was trying very hard not to crack.
"YOU WON'T. I'LL BRING THE ENTIRE WRATH OF SKARO DOWN ON THIS SHIP IF I HAVE TO IN ORDER TO PROTECT YOU," Oswin promised.
Clara immediately shook her head vigorously as Jenna said, "You know she doesn't want that. You have to know that."
"I DON'T CARE. SHE'S MY SISTER," Oswin said in an emotional voice.
"You will all cease your whispered mutterings immediately so that the trial may continue. There will be no further disruptions to this court," The deeper voiced Megara said.
"Of course, Your Honors. I do hope you'll excuse those whispers just a few moments longer though so that I can confer with my client in private without my oh so illustrious colleague overhearing us however?" Missy said.
"I have no problems with that, Your Honors. She can whisper in desperation all she likes. It still won't do her any good," The Valeyard said with a smirk.
"Very well then. Request granted," The lighter voiced Megara said to Missy.
"Whispered? Oswin was definitely not whispering by any definition of the word. I'm not sure a Dalek voice is even capable of a whisper," Jenna said in confusion as soon as the Megara turned their attention away from them.
"ACTUALLY THEY CAN IF THEY REALLY, REALLY TRY. I'VE BEEN TRYING TO HELP THEM WITH THAT BECAUSE SOMETIMES ALL OF THAT CONSTANT YELLING REALLY GIVES ME A HEADACHE," Oswin confided.
"Well, until Daleks actually do master the fine art of graceful communication it helps if someone's umbrella enveloped all of you in an auditory filter that automatically muffles and distorts any words spoken by everyone within five feet of this table," Missy said with a smirk.
"Out of the kindness of your hearts I suppose," The Doctor said.
Missy smiled maliciously as she said, "Actually it's more out of a need to win this case. I knew that I couldn't trust Dalek Girl over there not to get all emotional and spoil her cover once the truth about just how much danger that Clara was really in finally hit her at last. I couldn't have her or anyone else which would most likely be you, Eyebrows, slipping up at an inopportune moment could I?"
"Just why is it so important to you to save me and the other Clara? Like the Old Man said, it's definitely not because you woke up feeling extra magnanimous this morning. You want something out of all of this and I have a feeling that it's not going to be anything good," Clara said in a suspicious tone.
Missy smiled but said nothing in response. Her eyes however briefly betrayed her without her even realizing it as they inadvertently darted to the psycho Clara.
Clara immediately saw this and said, "You want her don't you? You think you can turn her mad again, expose her to the Vortex, and then use her to take over the multiverse."
Missy's smile briefly widened even further but she still said nothing.
"You won't be able to control her no matter what you do. You'll find that out far too late and then you'll just wind up destroying everyone by unleashing her. All because you're such an incredible idiot," The Doctor said in disapproval.
"Now is that any way to talk to the person who's going to save your precious Clara, Doctor? I'd say something nice to me if I were you or I might just decide to change my mind about that and let her fry," Missy said as a flicker of anger briefly lit up her eyes.
"Who cares what Mr. Grim says to you at this point? You don't seem to be helping me too much anyway," Clara said.
"You may just change your mind about that in a minute, poppet. You see I'm just about to save you," Missy said in a conspiratorial tone as she stood up to address the Megara.
"Yeah, and I'm a master soufflé baker," Clara muttered in disbelief.
"Your Honors, I now call forth my next and last witness because after these ladies speak this trial will most definitely be over. And now without any further ado, I give you the Grace," Missy said with a theatrical gesture.
"Is this a trial or a circus, Your Honors?" The Valeyard said with a frown.
"Sometimes it's hard to tell the difference," The Doctor quipped as he gave the Valeyard a dirty look.
"Good thing for you the Megara couldn't hear that thanks to me or you'd be next in their dust bunny collection," Missy said with a groan.
"The day's still young yet," The Doctor said with a grim look.
"I thought you didn't like bantering in this incarnation, Stick Man," Clara said with a brief smile.
"Who was bantering? I was being deadly serious," The Doctor admitted.
"I was afraid you were going to say that with your limited sense of humor. Couldn't you at least try to pretend that you were only bantering for my sake?" Clara said with a sigh.
"Of course I was. It was just meaningless talk. That's all," The Doctor said as he put a comforting arm around her and pulled her close to him in a protective manner.
Clara looked at him in shock as she said, "You really are worried aren't you?"
That was when several members of the Grace finally took the stand and were immediately sworn in by the Megara. They all looked at Clara with great concern as they spoke which only made her all the more anxious.
Missy now stood up and walked over to the Grace as she said, "So here's the key question. You've given the power of a Guardian of Time, which is the ability to potentially wipe out an entire universe or maybe even the multiverse, twice to two different versions of Clara Oswald. Why would you as the great and wonderful protectors of reality that you are do that if each and every version of Clara Oswald was really as rotten as my wonderful opponent here would have us all believe?"
The Grace all spoke in unison now just as they usually did as they said, "We can see right to the very core of an individual from the moment that we meet them and therefore we know exactly what kind of person that they are in an instant. We can always tell this about everyone no matter how well they try to hide their true selves."
The Grace then briefly gave Missy a telling look of disdain that made the mad Time Lady bristle as they continued, "We know instantly if a person is trustworthy or not without question, Megara, and we can state the following without reservation. The version of Clara Oswald from this reality would never do any of the things that the Psycho Clara did. She would rather die first. She is no danger to anyone unless they would do harm to others first, and even then she would still hesitate to use lethal force. She does not deserve to be wiped from reality nor should she be because she still has a very important role to play in this universe's future. One day she will have power to rival even the Bad Wolf's and will be one of this reality's greatest champions. To erase her now before she reaches that point is to place that future in grave danger. The Psycho Clara is also completely harmless now that her sanity has been restored. Her Danny Pink has since been restored to life and she was living with him happily until she was abducted by this court. She could have successfully stayed that way without any further action."
"And we are supposed to believe you why exactly?" The Valeyard asked with a skeptical look.
"Uh, hello! They've helped save reality through the actions of their pals, the Guardians, since the beginning of time. I think that says it all, Your Honors," Missy said as she gave the Valeyard an annoyed stare.
"Does it? Then if they're so concerned with saving reality why did they allow the original Black Guardian to spread chaos and destruction in his wake for as long as they did without trying to stop him? They even allowed him to come close to nearly taking over the entire universe on several occasions without so much as lifting a finger to stop him. What does that say for their judgment or their concern for our universe's general well-being?" The Valeyard said with a triumphant smile.
"We are pledged never to interfere in the free will of others, even that of our own agents, because this is not our universe, and we have no right to interfere in its destiny. That's why we give power to people from this reality and allow them to use it in its defense as they see fit. It's also why we pick only the best candidates to give that power to so that we can avoid the creation of any future Black Guardians. The Black Guardian by the way was ultimately defeated by yet another agent of ours, Rose Tyler, who was given the role of the White Guardian for that very purpose. We did act to save reality just not directly because doing so would violate our oath," The Grace said.
"Why did you ever give such power to someone like the Black Guardian in the first place though if your judgment is so infallible?" The Valeyard pointed out.
"He was not the person that he later became when we originally gave him the power. At first he was completely trustworthy and had the highest of morals. However the power of a Guardian has a tendency to corrupt its recipient over time if they are not careful. This has happened twice in our history unfortunately. Once to the Black Guardian and once to a woman named Hecuba. Each time we took steps to ensure that both rogue Guardians were dealt with however without directly violating our oath," The Grace said.
"Ah, so you're not so all seeing after all. You mean that you couldn't see what the Black Guardian would become in the future in other words?" The Valeyard asked as Missy started to actually look worried and perplexed.
"The future is always changing. It's always in flux at all times. We can only see the most likely future not the definitive one," The Grace admitted.
"So you admit that you're not entirely certain that Clara Oswald, any version of her, is guaranteed not to someday become a threat to everyone are you?" The Valeyard pointed out.
"That is highly unlikely in the case of this universe's Clara especially with her many friends and family members helping to keep her happy, content, and on the right track in life. They constantly look out for her at all times," The Grace said as they glanced at Oswin.
"That doesn't mean that she will always be so. It only takes a single instance of bad judgment, and then the entire universe could potentially suffer. That's simply too much risk, Your Honors. Far too much," The Valeyard said smugly.
"We can't help but agree," Both Megara said in unison.
"What? How? What just happened?" Missy said in stunned disbelief.
"You just proved how epically stupid that you are. That's what," The Doctor said with a frown.
"Doctor, it's over isn't it? He's won," Clara said in a frightened voice.
"It's not over until it's over, Clara. No matter how it looks right now," The Doctor said reassuringly.
Then he smiled as he saw Inquisitor Darkel suddenly appear in the middle of the room with an army of Chancellery Guards as she said while pointing at the Valeyard, "Your Honors, this man is not who you think that he is. He's a wanted criminal on Gallifrey who has nearly killed the High Council of the Time Lords on a previous occasion and has now been found to have stolen and used the forbidden technology of the Time Scoop for his own nefarious purposes. We're not sure what he's up to but we already know based on past experience with him that it won't be for the good of the Time Lords. We're taking him with us to stand trial and we hereby demand that you stop this trial against Clara Oswald immediately since it was all founded on this man's lies."
"Oh, so this was your plan was it?" Clara asked as she began to smile.
"Part of it, yes," The Doctor said enigmatically.
At the same moment as Clara looked at the Doctor questioningly, the Valeyard immediately tapped a button on the bracelet on his right wrist and began to smile even as the Clara echoes slowly began slumping over and hitting the floor with a lifeless thud.
"What are you doing to them?!" Clara shouted in horror as soon as she realized this.
The Valeyard began to glow with energy as he said, "This is what is called the beginning, my dear. You see this is what I wanted all along. Why settle for just the limited lifespan of the Doctor's meager little regeneration cycle? No, I want far more than that. I want the combined life force of each and every one of your echoes! I was hoping to have the Megara wipe you from existence so that I could use a temporal collection device of my own creation to quickly drain and collect the life force of each of your echoes just before they faded away along with you. It was the quickest most efficient way to gain all of them at once since I can only use my bracelet to kill and collect life forces at short distances. It seems that I failed however and I only have access to around a hundred of you at the moment but it will do. It's still the life force of a hundred lifetimes and far more life than I ever could have hoped for before. I still win no matter what."
"Do you? What does it matter how much life that you have if you can still die?" Darkel said as she silently ordered the guards to aim their weapons at the Valeyard.
"Who says that I'm going to die? You can't kill me if I'm no longer here can you?" The Valeyard said as he touched a second button on his bracelet and began to vanish.
Just before he faded away completely however, he suddenly found himself fully back once again. He quickly tried to teleport away once again only to find the exact same thing happening as he was immediately returned back to the same spot once more.
"Having trouble, Brickyard?" Clara said with a mischievous grin as she held the Doctor's sonic screwdriver in front of her.
The Valeyard smiled as he said, "Very good. You picked up on my old trick of reversing a teleportation with the sonic didn't you? You always were a fast learner though, weren't you, Clara?"
Suddenly he teleported across the room to stand right in front of her as he said, "You're going to have to learn fast to get out of this one. Very fast!"
Then before Clara could even make a move to stop him, he touched what almost looked like a tattoo on his neck and smiled as part of it quickly flowed towards Clara like smoke. As Clara looked at the rapidly approaching smoke in alarm, the Valeyard teleported away once again just in time to avoid several shots from the stasers of the Chancellery Guard.
He then quickly reappeared standing next to the Megara as he said, "I'm sorry, Clara, but it has to be this way. The Brethren wanted you dead after all in exchange for bringing me back to life again after the Master killed me. I'm only honoring my contract with them . . . just as I'm honoring my contract with the Shade."
"Clara!" The Doctor shouted in alarm as soon as he realized what was happening.
"That's right, Doctor. I couldn't help but think of the quantum shade as my back-up plan to kill her with in case the trial didn't go my way. I thought it had a certain degree of symmetry to it even if it doesn't quite pack the punch of erasing every single one of her at once. If it's good enough to kill one Clara, then why not use it against another one?" The Valeyard said with a smirk as he teleported away once again just in time to avoid yet another series of blasts from the guards.
Jenna now looked at the back of Clara's neck with a growing sickening feeling in her heart as she said, "No! It's happening just like it did on the show except this one shows that you only have one minute. I'm so sorry, Clara. I'm so sorry."
The Doctor immediately looked to Oswin as he said, "Quick! Tell me if the Daleks ever came up with a way to stop a quantum shade from killing someone without the consent of the one who used it or transferring the shade to someone else."
"NO, I'M AFRAID NOT. SHE COULD TRANSFER IT TO ME THOUGH. I'D PROBABLY COME BACK TO LIFE AGAIN. I DID BEFORE WHEN THE MATRIARCH KILLED ME," Oswin said.
"You don't know for sure though. That could have been a one-time only fluke. No, it's much better if I do it. I'll just regenerate. I think. It doesn't matter though either way as long as Clara's safe," The Doctor said.
"Okay, someone quickly explain to me what this quantum shade is and how it killed that other Clara. More importantly how do we stop it?" Clara said in alarm.
"You can stop it by giving it to me, Clara. You have to say that you'll give it to me. Do it now!" The Doctor shouted.
"It's already too late. Look!" Jenna screamed as she pointed to a spot just behind Clara.
"No, not like this," Clara said in a lifeless voice as she saw a jet black raven headed straight towards her and somehow instinctively knew that this was her death coming towards her on swift wings.
And somewhere trapped deep within the dark expanse of the Void, Erebus, the leader of the renegade Time Lord group called the Brethren, laughed in triumph as he watched all of this unfolding before him. Soon Rose Tyler would have one less ally to help her when the time eventually came for his return to the universe.
The Grace had been absolutely right when they had said how powerful Clara would someday grow to be after all. That was exactly why Erebus couldn't possibly let her live.
In order for the Brethren to succeed, Clara Oswald had to die.
Next: Will Guardian Who's Clara wind up suffering the same fate as her counterpart? Is this really the way it all ends? Not if our special guest star can help it! Can she really make a difference though or is Clara already doomed just as soon as this story got started.
Here's hoping that this doesn't turn out to be a mini-series.