CHAPTER 6
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THE GREAT INTELLIGENCE STRIKES
The Doctor landed the TARDIS at the address that Zoe had given him for her parents, and Zoe stood there at the TARDIS doors in hesitation. She seemed absolutely terrified to leave.
The Doctor smiled at her as he said, "You don't have to go you know. You can stay with me as long as you want."
"What if they don't accept me? What if they tell me to leave?" Zoe asked.
"I'll stay here until you give me the signal to go," the Doctor reassured her.
"As comforting as I know that is to her, that's not what she wants to hear, Doctor. They're going to love you, Zoe. Don't worry about it. Just go out there and talk to them, and everything will be fine," Polly said confidently.
"Do you really think so?" Zoe asked nervously.
"Yes, I do. They're your parents. Of course, they'll love you," Polly said.
Zoe seemed to visibly relax at that as she said, "Thanks, Polly. I'm glad that I got to meet you. You're just as sweet as Jamie always told me that you were."
"Thank you," Polly said as she embraced her.
Jamie then walked up to Zoe and embraced her next as he said, "Good bye, Zoe. I'm glad that you're finally getting to go home. Do you think that your parents will let me come by and visit you sometimes?"
"Of course they will. If they even want me that is," Zoe said.
"They'll want you, Zoe. I'm sure of it. You're a great girl. Anyone would be glad to have you as a daughter," Jamie said as he hugged her.
The Doctor embraced her last as he said, "Good bye, Zoe. I almost don't want to let you go. I already lost you once."
"Come and visit me then," Zoe said.
"I'll do my best to," the Doctor said.
This time he meant it. Oswin had made him realize just how much that he should come and see her again. He knew that Rose would want him to as well and that he'd hear about it from her if he didn't.
Zoe took a deep breath and looked back at them all one last time before finally walking out the door. The Doctor watched on the monitor as she slowly walked up to the front door of her parents' home and knocked on it.
He was overjoyed as he saw the door open, and a woman who looked like Zoe greeted her with a warm smile. The two of them talked for a moment, and then they embraced before Zoe went inside and shut the door behind her.
The Doctor really hoped for her sake that that was the last that he would see of Zoe until he came back to visit. He was going to wait for at least thirty minutes before he left though just to make sure.
"What was all of that about with Zoe?" Victoria asked Jamie.
"What do you mean?" Jamie asked.
"I just noticed that you seemed very upset to see her go. Were you and she . . ."
"No, we're just friends. She's like a sister to me," Jamie said firmly.
"Good," Victoria said in a low voice.
"What?" Jamie asked.
"That's good. That the two of you are such good friends I mean," Victoria said nervously.
"Oh, aye. We weren't as close as you and I are though," Jamie said.
Then he looked almost scared as he said, "We are still close, aren't we? I mean you said that you were actually in your 60s so I just wondered if you still felt the same way about me."
"I'll always be close to you, Jamie McCrimmon. I feel exactly the same about you now that I did over forty years ago. That hasn't changed," Victoria said.
"Good because I would hate to think that we weren't friends anymore," Jamie said with a huge smile.
"You'll always be special to me," Victoria said with a huge smile of her own.
"Why don't they just admit how they feel about each other already?" Polly whispered to Clara in disbelief.
The Great Intelligence in Clara's body just shrugged and said nothing. He knew nothing about human love or any love for that matter. Such emotions were beyond him.
All he cared about was his revenge on the Doctor. He was determined to destroy the Doctor this time no matter what he had to do in order to accomplish it.
"Are you alright? You're not acting like yourself lately," Polly asked in concern.
"I'm fine. I guess I just feel a little down lately. That's all," Clara said.
"You really do have feelings for Jamie, don't you? It's killing you to see him with Victoria, isn't it?" Polly asked.
The Intelligence decided to go with this in order to avert any further suspicion as he had Clara say, "Yes, I suppose I do. I didn't realize that I had feelings for him until Victoria came along. Now that I've lost him I finally know what I've lost I suppose. It's probably for the best though. He obviously cares a great deal about her. He's happy so I'm happy for him. I'll get over it, Polly. Don't worry."
Polly smiled as she said, "Good. I'm glad that you're okay. If you ever do need to talk though, I'm always here."
"Polly, I . . ." Clara started to say without the Intelligence's permission.
"What?" Polly asked.
"I . . . I need to tell you something. I'm . . . poss . . . posses . . ." Clara said as she struggled to tell Polly that she was being possessed by the Intelligence.
Incredible! The Intelligence had underestimated this female. Her will was strong. Much stronger than he thought. He had to admit that he had a grudging respect for her that she was actually able to fight him this much. Most humans found themselves completely at his mercy. This Clara Oswald was special indeed to still be fighting back this long after being under his control.
Despite his respect for her though, he still couldn't let her tell Polly the truth. He quickly clamped down on Clara and firmly regained control over her.
"What is it, Clara? What are you trying to tell me?" Polly asked in concern.
"It's nothing, Polly. I just wanted to tell you that I'm possessed by the Christmas spirit. It's getting closer and closer you know. I was hesitant to tell you about it though because it is still just a little early. Some people hate people who talk about Christmas before Thanksgiving," the Intelligence made Clara say.
"I don't mind. I love Christmas. You talk about it all that you want," Polly said as she let the matter drop.
Nice save. You can't keep me contained forever though. Clara thought to The Intelligence as he smiled to himself.
Your will is remarkable. I grant you that. I'm sure that in the long run, you would prove to be the victor over me. In the short term though, it is I who will claim victory. I only need your body for a short while in order to gain my revenge after all. The Intelligence replied to her.
What's that supposed to mean? Clara asked.
You'll see, Clara Oswald. You'll see. The Intelligence responded, and Clara heard his laughter echo through her mind.
"Cydonia, I don't know what to do," Clara said to her Time Lady echo living in Gallifrey's distant past through their link to one another.
She had been keeping Cydonia aware of the entire situation since it had happened. If it wasn't for her, she would have probably already gone mad. She was so glad to have her to talk to.
"It's okay, Clara. I'll stay with you the whole time. I'm sure that Theta will beat this thing somehow. He always comes through. He's a little slow on the uptake sometimes, but he always gets to the right conclusion and figures everything out eventually. Just hold onto that thought, Clara. Theta will stop him," Cydonia said.
"This is the same Theta who didn't know that Rose was the Bad Wolf until just recently that you're talking about, right? I feel so relieved," Clara said in anguish.
"I believe in Theta and deep down so do you," Cydonia said.
"Yeah, I do. I just hope that this time I'm not wrong. I really don't fancy spending eternity as the Intelligence's slave," Clara said with a sigh.
"I wish that I could help. I feel so useless being stuck here in the past and not being able to do anything," Cydonia said.
"You can help. I want you to remember that I'm in trouble and come and help me," Clara said.
"What? What are you talking about? Do you mean that I'm still around in your time? You never told me that before," Cydonia said in complete surprise.
"I'm not supposed to tell you anything about your own future so I didn't. I have to this time though. Make yourself forget it for now if you have to, but please remember that I'm in trouble and come and get me when the time is right. Please," Clara said in despair.
"I will, Clara. I promise. Don't worry. I won't rest until you're safe," Cydonia said in a calming voice.
Clara sighed in relief. Surely Cydonia would come soon and save her now. She had to believe that. It was the only thing that could keep her going.
The Doctor was completely unaware of this conversation going on right under his nose. He was aware that Clara wasn't acting right however. She hadn't been ever since she had returned from the Daleks.
He was worried that maybe he had upset her by calling her and Oswin out on their masquerade. He would have to talk to her about it soon and make sure that everything between them was alright. He couldn't stand the thought of Clara being angry at him.
Right now though, he was more worried about Zoe. He wondered if her parents were treating her well. He started to go in and see for himself when he saw her coming out of the house in tears on the monitor.
His hearts sank. He had been afraid of this. Something about that woman's body language who had greeted Zoe at the door was all wrong. She had showed all the signs of someone who was faking an emotion rather than actually feeling it. He was hoping that he had been wrong about that though.
The Doctor opened the door for Zoe before she could even make it back to the TARDIS, and she came back inside crying. The Doctor embraced her as she wept uncontrollably on his shoulder.
"Did they say something to you? I'll give them a piece of my mind if they did," Polly said furiously.
"They weren't there. That woman at the door was a cousin of mine. She acted friendly enough, but I could tell that she really didn't want me there so I just left. I'm sorry, Doctor. I can't stay there," Zoe said.
"Where are they now then? The Doctor will take you there," Polly said.
The Doctor smiled for a moment at how Polly had volunteered him like that. She was right of course, but he still would have liked to have been asked first.
"They're not anywhere. They died years ago in an accident. It happened not too long after I was taken from them, and my cousin inherited their house. I'm sorry, Doctor. I made you come here for nothing," Zoe said in tears.
"I'm sorry that you lost them, Zoe. I wish that you could have gotten to see them again. Like I said before though, you're always welcome here," the Doctor said.
"Thank you. I guess I really don't have anywhere else to go especially with the Wheel having been destroyed. Not that I don't want to be here. I love traveling with you and Jamie. I always did," Zoe said.
"Good because you'll be doing plenty of it from now. Welcome back, Zoe," the Doctor said happily as he tried his best to cheer her up.
Even as Zoe smiled at him, the Intelligence knew that this was the moment to act. He would use this emotional moment to his full advantage.
"Doctor, why don't you take Zoe somewhere to cheer her up?" The Intelligence had Clara say.
"That's a good idea, Clara. In fact, it's better than that. It's a very cool idea. I like it. What do you think, Zoe? Where would you like to go?" the Doctor asked.
"I know the perfect place for her. Let me put the coordinates in. I won't even tell you where it is so you'll all be surprised," Clara said as she went over to the console.
"Alright, go ahead. I'm always up for a good surprise," the Doctor said as he moved aside for her.
"Oh, you'll really love this one," Clara said with a sinister smile.
She dematerialized the TARDIS and then suddenly sneered at the Doctor as she said, "We're going on a trip together you and I. A trip beyond this world and into another."
"Doctor, what's wrong with Clara?" Jamie asked in alarm.
"That's not Clara or at least she's not in control anyway, Jamie. She's been possessed by the Great Intelligence," the Doctor said.
"Oh, no! She was trying to warn me earlier, and I was so dim that I didn't understand her," Polly said in frustration.
"It's okay, Polly. I already knew," the Doctor said.
"You knew and you still let me at the controls of the TARDIS? How stupid are you, Doctor?" the Intelligence asked as he openly spoke to him in his own voice through Clara now.
"Oh, I've been accused of being a little thick sometimes, GI, but not this time. The TARDIS was only ever going to take you to one place no matter what coordinates that you put in. If you don't believe me, just look outside when we land," the Doctor said smugly.
The Intelligence snarled in rage as he asked, "How did you know, Time Lord?"
"Let's just say that a little birdie told me. Someone who I've known for a very long time," the Doctor said with a grin.
"I've been reading your thoughts though. You didn't know," the Intelligence protested.
"Oh, I'm very good at hiding my real thoughts behind all kinds of useless information and idle ramblings when I know that my mind is being listened to," the Doctor said.
"That's for sure. I bet you babble even worse in your thoughts than you do out loud," Clara suddenly said in her own voice.
"Shut up," the Intelligence said in the next minute.
"Make me," Clara said sticking her tongue out.
"Clara, are you alright?" the Doctor asked in concern.
"For the moment I am. I really hope that you have a plan this time and aren't just making this up as you go along as usual," Clara said.
"Oh, Clara. You know me so well. Of course there's no plan," the Doctor said happily.
"That was what I was afraid that you were going to say," Clara said with a sigh.
The Intelligence regained control of Clara as he said, "Ever the fool, aren't you, Doctor? You have no plan, no weapons, and absolutely no idea what you're doing."
"That's when he's at his best though. The Doctor never knows what he's doing," Clara said as she momentarily took over her body once again.
"This is getting confusing. I never know who she is anymore. She keeps switching from moment to moment," Jamie said in bewilderment.
As the TARDIS finally landed, the Intelligence looked toward the door eagerly as he asked, "So where have you taken us, Time Lord?"
"To a little reception committee that I had planned for you," the Doctor said in a dark voice.
The TARDIS doors opened to show that they were on Gallifrey and outside was Cydonia who was glaring at the Intelligence. Cydonia was filled with rage as she said, "You have one chance to get out of my sister's brain or I'm coming in after you. Believe me when I say that that won't be pleasant."
"I don't need a plan. I've got Cydonia," the Doctor said with a wicked smile.
Next: It's the battle for Clara's mind between the Great Intelligence and Cydonia. Things are about to get nasty.
