A/N: Hi… Not dead…
Many, many apologies are due for how long it has been between updates. I am SO sorry about that, and won't waste your time with reasons/excuses. There are just one or two chapters to go now, depending on if I decide to divide the endings or not. Thank you so much for all your patience and continued support. I'm still quite amazed and honoured at the reception this story has gotten.
The amount of credit and thanks due to D Veleniet can't be summed up properly in an author's note. But she has been much more than just a beta in this process. DV, thank you so much, for all of your help and assurances with everything.
Health and Safety: Chapter 25 – Wild West and All the Rest
With a broad smile, the Doctor pulls me into a tight hug. An oddly comforting sensation tingles down my spine, and the Doctor lets out a soft grunt as my weight settles into him.
We're both lying on the console room floor…
No Latimer family.
No ice lady.
No snow.
This is real. I am Clara Oswald. And he is him, my Doctor.
He cautiously props himself up a bit, keeping a hand on my back so I don't slide off his chest. From the corner of my eye, I can see Ria cautiously creep into view. Émeric has a hand under her elbow, offering a gentle bit of support. They are talking, but too quietly for me to make out what they're saying. Off behind them, Jenny and Vastra are leaning on each other, but I can't see their butler anywhere.
"Are you both okay?" Ria asks us.
"We're fine, probably better than fine really… But what about you?" I ask quickly, remembering how she was when I left her.
She smiles briefly. "Well, much better than I was."
"How did everyone get back here?" I ask her. I haven't the slightest idea of what happened between when I fell unconscious and when she managed to get me up again. The plan had been to leave and get the Doctor, but everyone else was out cold before… so that plan couldn't have gone so well.
"I dragged them back in. Strax and Vastra only managed a few seconds outside before they started choking, and Jenny stayed with them. Guessing it has something to do with them not being human? Émeric and I managed to make it back to the cells to get the Doctor."
"They must have carried me here. I only remember getting as far as the front door of Walter and Daniel's office." He adds. Ria nods before continuing.
"Émeric was fine until we almost made it back to the TARDIS. So luckily, I didn't have to move anyone that far. I hope I did the right thing by bringing them in. It seemed like the safest thing to do." She explains.
The Doctor doesn't reply right away, instead looking at her with scrutiny, appraising her from head to toe.
"You're probably right. Silurians and Sontarans have different internal body temperatures than humans do, which probably did mean they suffered the effects quicker. But you, Victoria, you are very human. And you weren't affected by it." He muses.
"No, she definitely was. It was just a different effect." I supply quickly, looking between them.
"What happened?"
"I started to hurt, on the inside. It was like something was trying to suck me out of my own body. I don't think I looked so good when Clara woke up."
"Definitely not, no."
The Doctor reaches into his pocket and pulls out the new sonic screwdriver, pointing it delicately at Ria. Whether the gingerly movement is for her sake or the new device's, I'm not sure. She looks away as he scans up and down her, his face imperceptible, until he starts pointing at her and smacks his palm against his forehead.
"The gas! It targets a person's perception of reality! It affects your memories, traps you in them. Victoria, you've been incredibly resistant to psychic or telepathic suggestions. The paper, the TARDIS translation matrix… Something about you is innately resistant to things that affect your mind, but that gas wasn't just suggestion. It was a chemical attack - your resistance to it must have been causing you pain. Your body was stretched to its limit."
Ria's eyes find mine as she chuckles, a tad disbelievingly. "Well, I'd rather not have to have to try that again."
"I'd rather you didn't, either." I agree, and Émeric hums his own assent.
"Quite right, too." The Doctor concurs. "Now, it's high time for Solland, Kelvia, and the Etulians… to get the hell outta Dodge." The Doctor finishes with a dangerous smile and an American accent.
"You look like you have an idea..."
"Yes, well, between you three fantastic ladies, we now have everything we need to stop the Etulians and permanently derail their plans of using Artron Energy – all while still making sure that their planet doesn't die off."
"The three of us?" I question.
"You, Victoria and the TARDIS." He finishes with a grin, spiriting the beautiful white key off of the floor and setting it back into my hand, curling my fingers over it. "I told you that was no ordinary key, Clara. That is made out of living metal. That is a part of the TARDIS herself, so much bigger on the inside. She's going to help us. Now all we need to do is board the Etulian ship."
"And how do we do that?" Ria questions, looking at him warily.
Can't say I blame her.
"Oh, Victoria, as Clara might be able to attest to, I am very good with teleports..."
He turns to face the console, pulling up one of the monitors, tugging a few of the gadgets on the console this way and that.
"Or…Oswin. Oswin would be better able to confirm that." I correct hesitantly as he works.
"My mistake, Clara. Yes, Oswin would." He beams an approving smile my way, and I don't miss the relief underneath it.
Jenny and Vastra haul themselves up and join us near the console, while Strax appears from one of the corridors.
"Atmosphere is cleared, we're safe to leave. Ladies first!" He offers us, pointing with both arms towards the door. We all file out, the Doctor and I bringing up the rear. He doesn't seem too keen on letting me stray too far away from him again.
When we crack open the stable door just enough to peek out, Jenny quickly slams it shut again.
"There's Etulians all over the street." She warns.
"Okay, well…it would have been too easy otherwise. Time for a plan then..." The Doctor muses, clapping his hands together and bowing over himself slightly.
"You lot, get the hell off my street!" Walt's voice roars from outside.
"Sounds like someone is awake…" Émeric mumbles. His voice is a little raspy, maybe from the gas? I suppose that explains why he has been so silent till now.
Ria nods in agreement, half amused, as Etulian voices start shouting in answer. More cries can be heard, several of which sound familiar.
"There is your plan, Doctor." Ria tells him, walking over to the stall where her small mare is standing.
The Doctor opens his mouth to reply, but Strax beats him to it.
"Girl, what is occurring outside of those feeble doors is not a proper tactical advance, it is a mess!" Strax shouts, clearly agitated by the spontaneity of the resistance we can hear forming outside.
The Doctor's face gets even more alarmed when the sound of shattering glass cracks through the air.
"No, no, no - we're talking about getting past a crack team of Etulian ops; they are like the KGB, MI6, the CIA, the BBC – wait, no… that last one isn't a secret service– anyways… This is a sleepy little town, Ria-"
"It's been a bit of a busy few days, so I'll remind you…" She starts, directing Émeric to grab a bridle from a hook behind her. "First evening here, you watched a tiny portion of the town destroy a saloon over a few spilled drinks." Émeric shakes his head at that fact, handing her the bridle. "We're now talking the entire town, with the addition of a couple dozen enforcement officers, two sword-wielding Victorian ladies, a very rugged potato man, and a second set of Joint Marshals." She grins at us when she uses our fake titles. "So… I really think you're underestimating our capacities right now." She finishes.
Some of her confidence seems to be infectious. I can feel my mouth tugging into a grin all on its own. She returns the smile before swinging up onto her horse bareback.
"While I cannot condone the strategy, I do agree that the fighting spirit is with these primitives." Strax mutters reluctantly.
"It's happening whether we join in or not." I tell the Doctor softly, pulling an arm down from where it had crossed tightly over his chest and linking it with mine.
Before he can argue any further, the ladies of Paternoster Row have the stable doors open, and are flying out into the brawl, with their butler close at hand behind them. Ria is right on their heels, sending her horse shooting forward with a gentle squeeze of her calves.
"Geronimo…" The Doctor grimaces, holding my arm a little tighter as we follow them all, our pace more cautious. He uses his body to shield mine as we leave the relative safety of the stable and scan the situation, trying to determine the safest route back to the office.
Based on the first look around, this isn't going to be easy…
Daniel has nested himself behind a stack of boxes for cover, the barrel of his rifle poking through and taking out Etulians with the bright stunning blasts. Walter is wrestling with a rather fat Etulian in the middle of the street, anger plain on his face as he rolls them over to gain the upper hand. In front of the Saloon, the angry woman from before is leveling a double barreled shotgun from behind her broom wielding husband, the quaking bartender.
A dazed Etulian staggers towards us, only to fall flat on her face as Icabod Irving's flask knocks her squarely in the head. He offers us a wink as he stumbles over to pick the flask up, before staggering away again.
Detective Inspector Amal has her Enforcement Officers in some kind of formation, using large, clear shields and batons to push Etulians to the sides. As we tuck ourselves behind a water trough, Strax's battle cries are suddenly cut off. The Doctor and I both peek over the edge to see what happened, and see that the small Sontaran has been upended by an Etulian, who reaches for something on his belt…before a massive figure piles into him, knocking him flat. The huge man stands up, revealing himself to be Vladimir. He gives Strax a look before offering him a hand up, and the two offer each other a curt nod before dashing back into the fray.
A few feet away, Émeric is pulling a wounded Enforcement Officer to safety. Being so absorbed in his task, he doesn't notice the Etulian bearing down on him, brandishing a shovel of all things.
"Émeric!" I shout out to him, at the same time as the Doctor decides to move us from one hiding spot to the next. Émeric looks up, unarmed and helpless in the face of his adversary. But just as the Etulian raises the shovel, his arms are snapped together by a thick rope, which pulls taut, forcing him to to drop the shovel as he's dragged off his feet. Émeric beams up at Ria, who offers him a coy smile and slightly disapproving look, before messily tying the Etulian to a hitching post. She notices us and clatters over, offering me a hand.
"Want a lift?" She offers. I look to the Doctor, who nods and helps me up. She lets me wrap my arms around her before wheeling about, jumping up into a quick pace and covering the small remaining distance to the office in a few strides.
"Ria, how are we-"
I can't stifle my slight scream, eyes going from wide open to tightly shut. I don't see it happen, but I can feel us push off powerfully from the ground, and sail through the large front window, which must have shattered earlier in the commotion. We hang in the air for a fraction of a second, before landing quite smoothly and sliding to a stop.
"Show off." The Doctor teases, stepping through the door a few seconds later.
"You can let go now, Clara." Ria tells me gently. I hadn't realized I still had such a death grip on her. The Doctor helps me slide down, and keeps a hold of my hand.
He leads the way back into the jail cell, setting a frantic pace that leaves me straggling behind our joined hands. No way am I letting go, though…because that is the trick – my new trick…
Hold hands, and don't let go.
In the back room, the Doctor sweeps his new screwdriver in a wide arc, flourishing it possibly more than usual -perhaps he's trying to break it in? His movements stop sharply when he finds whatever reading it was he had been searching for. Without moving his arm he quirks his head, encouraging us to come closer to him.
"Hold on tight." He instructs, lifting his elbow slightly so I can tuck myself into him, and offering his free hand to Ria.
As the sonic buzzes, the cells around us vanish in a haze and are replaced by a stately room with walls of brushed brass. Controls are arrayed on dashboards around us, and a few, very startled Etulians spin to gawk at us.
After staring at us for a few seconds longer, one Etulian lunges for a device on the control panel, but the Doctor renders the machine useless with his sonic even before he can reach it. Unfortunately, there isn't much he can do for the more low-tech solution of simply shouting for help. The Doctor doesn't look overly bothered by this though, and leads us towards the largest control panel as the Etulians scramble out of the room.
The Doctor turns his back to the door, eyes flying over the controls arranged before him.
"Stay close." He warns us both.
His back is still turned when the door whooshes open a few moments later.
Solland marches through the archway determinedly at the head of a column, with Kelvia and her posse from the warehouse flanking him protectively. I expected them to look furious, or at least upset.
But I don't notice whether the rest of them are at all perturbed by our presence here because my attention is immediately locked on Solland. He doesn't seem distraught at all. He looks almost… gleeful.
"Well, this saves me a trip back down to Earth level." He tells us sweetly, coming to a halt midway across the room. His eyes lock onto me again, fixating tensely even as the rest of his body stands easily.
"You won't be returning to Earth ever again - not freely least." The Doctor promises him.
Solland sneers at the challenge, peeling his gaze away from me to shoot the Doctor a depreciating scowl.
"Sir, we outnumber them, we out muscle them, we outgun them. Just let me take the girl and be done with it!" Kelvia demands.
"Captain K-" Solland is cut off when Kelvia shoves her way past him towards us. Though the other Etulians seem confused for a moment, uncertain whether to follow her, most decide to stay put. It is only Jocaal who races quickly after Kelvia.
I'd forgotten that he had Ria's stolen gun tucked into his belt, but clearly the Doctor hasn't: with a flick from his sonic, the gun misfires, hitting Jocaal in the leg. His next step is a lurch before he crumples completely to the ground, the gun slipping out of his belt and sliding across the floor towards us.
Kelvia shouts angrily, but continues her charge. Before the Doctor or I can react, Ria jumps between Kelvia and us, sidestepping Kelvia's attempt to grab her and punching her squarely in the jaw, then elbowing her in the gut. The force of the blow sends the Etulian Captain staggering back as her hand flies to cradle her face. The orderly file of Etulians falls apart in response, some of them rushing forward to help Kelvia, others moving to form a protective ring around a now furious Solland.
"Stop your flying about! Focus on the girl! She is all that matters now!" He cries, trying to swat a concerned guard out of his way.
"Little different when you don't have a thug grab me from behind isn't it?" Ria growls at Kelvia.
Oh… this might be a bad idea… Breaking away from the Doctor, I make my own dash, hand closing around Ria's gun and scooping it off the floor, holding it out shakily at the closet Etulians while retreating back to a distraught looking Doctor.
Though the sight of me with a gun gives them pause, my shaking hands don't appear to convince the Etulians I actually know what I'm doing. Luckily, Ria notices, too, and she steps closer, using one hand to stop the shaking and the other to take the gun from me gently. I notice she uses her second arm to support her wrist, trying to steady the trembling in her own hands. They look more convinced with her in possession of the weapon, as she holds them all back at gun point.
"You've seen how well that works." I tell them simply.
I quite suddenly become aware that the Doctor's attention has shifted to me now. There is a quiet intensity to those big eyes, as he guides my hand to the pocket where the white key is stowed, and then towards a small slot in the console.
"It won't fit." I caution him.
"Trust me." He hushes, pressing a quick kiss to my hairline, seeming to totally disregard the bristling aliens around us.
And that's all I need.
As the shimmering metal makes contact with the slot, it sparks faintly and starts to change shape, molding itself so it slips perfectly into the opening.
"What are you doing?" Solland cries, shoving a large female Etulian out of his way and striding forward, only stopping sharply when Ria swings the gun towards him.
"I'm not doing anything. But there is a certain lady that is rather unhappy about what you've put us through. I was worried she might take it out on me. Two bumpy rides through the Canadian prairies, scrambling of her circuits, primitive Artron seekers all over… Not a great way to make friends." The Doctor explains.
"And who might that be?" Solland tries to demand, his confident demeanour slipping.
"My TARDIS, whose matrix now has access to all of the databases and associated networks on this ship, which is, of course, connected to the Etulian homeland motherboard."
Solland's hand comes up, not pointing or fisting at us, but almost imploring, open fingers quivering…
"Don't tamper with that."
"I'm not tampering with anything. As I said, this isn't me. I would be tempted to be far less gentle with you than she is being right now. She's being kind. What's the saying? Killing with kindness? Not that she is killing anyone, just a certain idea."
"Sir, what is happening?" One of the Etulians asks desperately. Solland says nothing. His predatory stare settles on me again, though this time, there's a hint of desperation to it, as if his prey is getting away and he can't stop it.
"At this moment, the TARDIS is performing a master delete on any and all information regarding Artron Energy and associated technology. You've kindly saturated the air with a gas that alters memory perception-"
"That substance doesn't affect us." Solland hastily throws out.
"No, but she is just using it as a catalyst to move through. The old girl is much more powerful than any chemical concoction you could ever cook up. So, you try to develop this technology again, you try to remember Clara again, and you'll find yourself in quite a bit of difficulty. You, Solland, will never come after Clara Oswald again."
"No! Stop him! You're going to kill us! That is no kindness, we need her!" Solland roars.
Several of the Etulians rush forward as sparks shoot through the air from the TARDIS key, snaking in all directions. Ria takes careful aim at the closest Etulians, firing measured shots. Two fall to the floor and the rest stagger as the sparking intensifies. Solland's hands fly to his head, clutching at his gracefully angular features.
"You cannot do this!" He screams, dropping onto his knees.
"I wasn't done talking!" The Doctor shouts.
The showering of sparks intensifies, getting brighter, making it painful to look at. When I try to protect my eyes, the Doctor pulls me into him, letting me hide my face in his chest.
"What about… what about their home, Doctor? What about the kindness part?" I ask. I don't want Solland and the others to get away with everything they've done here. But… that doesn't mean that I want the all of the Etulians to suffer, either.
"Solland, you believe in the power of memories, don't you?" The Doctor asks sardonically.
I can't hear any more of a reply than a whimper.
"Memories are very powerful. Your legend, the one about the box orbiting your dying sun? It isn't just a story, Solland. She did. We did. The last moments of that sun gave off enough power to let me send a message through to a parallel universe. Can you imagine how long it might be able to power more conventional energy needs?"
Solland gives no response, continuing to curl in on himself on the floor.
"I don't know myself. Thousands of years I would guess. The TARDIS is channeling that power – her memory of that power – into your artificial sun through the network connection she's gained to the homeland motherboard. Your people will have ample time to make their choice. Continue to hold onto Etual, or to move on and find a new home. That choice is theirs to make." He finishes quietly, nestling his face into my hair.
We stay close like that as everyone in the room falls silent. I don't really want to check to see if the light is gone. Soon all I can hear is one person's ragged breathing. "Err, it's safe to look now, if you, you know…want to." Ria tells us.
The Doctor leans back from me just enough so that I can poke my head out. All of the Etulians are lying about on the floor. Most seem to be in a very disturbed dream. Ria is sitting in a heap, appearing to be taking stock of her limbs. There is a bleeding knick on her cheek I didn't notice before and she looks absolutely exhausted. Actually, she looks about the way that I'm feeling.
"What do we do with them now, though?" She asks warily, looking at the unconscious forms around her.
As if on cue, the arched doorway whooshes open again and a wash of soldiers in red berets sweep into the room. Ria leaps up in alarm, and I glance at the Doctor. He doesn't seem the least bit perturbed.
"Ahh, yes, just in time to clean up now that the good people of Bordure- and probably the bad ones too- have done all the work." He grins, sauntering towards the woman who appears to be in charge. The whole group stands to a salute as he approaches, as does the woman.
"Sir, Colonel Alsoomse of UNIT, at your service. Apologies for the slowness of our response, this location was rather… remote."
"Thank you Colonel, here you will find the culprits for that rather nasty business in Estevan a few days back, among other things… " The Doctor tells the Colonel.
"This is certainly going to put a damper on Earth-Etual relations." Colonel Alsoomse says gloomily.
"Breakaway group, the rest shouldn't be blamed at all. In fact, it might be an excellent idea to make the judicial process for them a joint Earth-Etual prosecution. Work together, let the exchange go through as normal next week, reach out. I think you can help each other. Everyone wins."
Some of the soldiers look skeptical, but Colonel Alsoomse appears to be taking the Doctor's suggestion seriously. Shouts from outside the doorway call all of our attention away, and draws an exasperated sigh from Ria.
"Please just let us split up! We'll find them faster that way and-"
"Shut up Frenchie, you're job's already on the line! Running off into the prairies like that? Don't give me reason to tip the scales in your dismissal's favour. Remember - Amal still takes my opinion highly."
"Now, Walter that really isn't called for. We've all had a rather nasty day, can we just-"
"Who asked for your opinion, Mister Troves? Talking about dereliction of duty, letting some alien aristocrat get the jump on you -"
"Says the man who passed out in a cushy chair in Hikaru's office-"
"Will you two please give it a-"
"Quiet, Émeric, let Walter and I handle this."
Ria tosses us a two fingered salute as she slinks wearily through to the doorway. "If you'll excuse me, duty calls."