CHAPTER 37

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DANNY WHO?

"Something's very wrong isn't it?" Mary asked Clara.

"What makes you say that? I'm sure Danny's around here somewhere. He can't have gone far. I mean he was just here five seconds ago," Clara said in a nonchalant tone as she struggled to control her feelings and maintain her best poker face so that Mary wouldn't be worried.

Unfortunately none of that meant anything to Mary who had known Clara or at least a version of her most of her life. She immediately saw right through her façade with a single look into Clara's eyes.

"Why are you lying to me? Do you think so little of my own bravery when faced with certain danger, Clara? I can assure you that I was never found wanting when I traveled with the Doctor by myself before," Mary said in a slightly hurt voice.

Clara sighed and briefly smiled at her reassuringly as she said, "You know better than that, Writer Girl. You're easily one of the bravest people that I know. You'd have to be to write a book like Frankenstein. That's exactly why I didn't want to tell you. I knew you'd want to come along and I didn't want to put you in any danger too. It's already bad enough that something's happened to Danny. I'm trying to keep you out of trouble, Mary."

"Who says that I want to be kept out of trouble especially when someone is obviously out to harm one of the few remaining people that I love in this world? Nothing on Earth could keep me from standing by your side in your time of need, Clara Oswald, not even your best attempts to deceive me," Mary said in a resolute voice.

"See? I knew that this is exactly how you'd react. That's why I lied. Well, I tried to anyway. Whatever happens to you from now on is completely your own fault. Just don't come running to me when you get yourself disintegrated," Clara said in a resigned tone.

Then she hugged Mary tightly and kissed her cheek as she said, "Thank you."

"You know that I would do anything for you, Clara. Without a single moment of hesitation," Mary said as she kissed Clara's cheek in return.

Jane Austen had been staring at them both intently all of this time but hadn't said anything. Now however she finally seized the initiative at last as she cleared her throat loudly.

"I take it that someone has abducted your . . . boyfriend? Did I guess that correctly? I believe I have judging by your reaction, yes. Your boyfriend has been kidnapped and you're about to attempt to rescue him despite there being some sort of terrible danger ahead. Is that assessment of the current situation the correct one?" Jane asked.

Clara smiled as she said, "Yes, you do and no, you can't come if that's what you have in mind. It's already bad enough that I'm putting Mary's life in danger. The Doctor's probably going to wind up using the Eyebrows of Doom on me as it is for possibly altering history by endangering one famous writer. I don't need to be adding another one into the mix too . . . even if she is a phenomenal kisser."

Mary immediately rolled her eyes at Clara's last remark while Jane looked at her in complete astonishment now as she said, "How do you know that I write romantic fiction? My stories have all been published anonymously so I am hardly famous. What manner of woman are you that speaks so enigmatically and yet so open and flippantly at the same time of such matters?"

Yeah, you're definitely a writer too alright. You and Mary both have the gift of gab in spades, Miss Romantic," Clara said with a chuckle.

"You say that I have a gift with language, Miss Oswald, and yet it seems to be nothing compared with your own. You yourself seem remarkably adept at neatly sidestepping the answers to all of my questions while offering precious little of substance if anything in what little that you do say," Jane said in an irritated tone.

"You might as well tell her the truth, Clara. She's not going to stop asking until you do," Mary advised.

"I doubt she's going to believe the truth though. Did you believe the Doctor when he first told you about how he traveled through time and space?" Clara asked.

"The Doctor? Did this Doctor have many faces but always bring the same wonderfully impossible blue box along with him?" Jane asked with a knowing smile.

"Maybe this won't be as hard as I thought after all, Pride and Prejudice. So apparently you know the Doctor too. Why am I not surprised that he was lying to me when he said that he hadn't met you before? I'm a friend of the Doctor's and I'm from the future. That's why I know about your books because one day everyone's going to know who you are. You're going to be famous around the world. I probably shouldn't be telling you all of this I know but I just can't help it. I've loved your books ever since I was a child and now I teach them to my English class. Okay. I'm just going to come out and admit it. I'm a huge fangirl of yours and I got to actually give you a proper snog. Talk about a dream come true," Clara admitted with a grin.

"Fangirl?" Jane asked with a furrowed brow as she ignored Clara's continual mentioning of their accidental kiss.

She couldn't help but notice that Mary seemed to groan in embarrassment every time that Clara brought this up just as she was doing now before quickly putting on an amused smile.

"It means that she enjoys your works immensely almost to the point of mindless fanaticism," Mary explained.

"What do you mean almost?" Clara joked.

Jane laughed as she said, "Then that explains your reaction when I told you my name earlier. I thought it seemed as though you recognized me, but I couldn't quite understand how. I will be more than honored to help out my greatest fangirl in any way that I can."

"I appreciate that, Miss Romantic, I really do but I can't let you do that. You've still got more books to write and I won't be responsible for getting them erased from history," Clara protested.

"You're embarking on a great quest to save the man that you love from imminent danger though, Clara. If you know my books as well as you say, then you must know exactly how much I value true love. Why would I not be willing to ensure that you can rescue your own love?" Jane protested.

"I just don't like putting people in danger, Jane. It's bad enough that I've gotten my friend involved in this. Just forget about it, okay? I'm sure everything will be just fine. Mr. Pink will turn up eventually," Clara said dismissively as she started to walk away from her.

"Good luck then, Clara. I'll be here if you need me. Please don't hesitate to call," Jane said with a sad look.

"Oh, I'll definitely see you later. Don't think that I won't be coming back after a kiss like that," Clara joked as she took Mary's hand and started to walk away as fast as she could.

As soon as they were out of Jane's line of sight, Clara began to glow once more as she searched once again for any trace of Danny. This time she strained her powers to their absolute limits as she fought back an undeniable urge to start panicking at any moment now.

"Your constant flirting with Miss Austen was a way to take your mind off of Danny if only for a moment wasn't it? You're far more worried about him than you've been letting on, Clara," Mary realized as she put a sympathetic hand on her friend's shoulder.

"Yes. You're right, okay? I admit it, Mary. I think that the Brethren must have gotten him while I was busy joking around with Jane. They're probably going to use him as a hostage so that they can get Rose to surrender herself to them. She'd do it too if I let her. That's why I have to find Danny by myself somehow without telling her that he's gone. That's why I couldn't ask you to come, Mary, because this is going to be even more dangerous than usual with no Doctor and Rose to back us up," Clara admitted as she struggled not to cry.

"That seems to be all the more reason for you not to do this alone then, Clara," Mary said in a determined voice.

"You're the one who deserves the name Impossible Girl I think. You just won't give up no matter how hard I try to talk you out of this will you?" Clara said as she hugged Mary in gratitude.

"There's still no trace of him no matter how hard you look for him is there?" Mary asked.

"No. I don't sense him anywhere. It's as if he's completely vanished from all of time and space. Either that or . . . I don't even want to think about what the alternative might be," Clara said as her mood quickly turned somber once more.

"He's not dead, Clara. You said it yourself that they want him as a hostage. That means that he'll still be alive," Mary reassured her.

"I could be wrong though. What if they wanted to kill him instead in order to send Rose a message? It could be their way of forcing her to come to them before they kill anyone else," Clara said in an extremely anxious voice.

"You don't know that though. Those are only your worst fears at play in your mind and have no basis whatsoever in actual fact as far as we know," Mary reassured her as she wrapped her arms around her and softly rubbed her back in an attempt to calm her down.

"Yeah, you're right of course, Mary. You've got to be," Clara said with an uncertain smile as she rested her head on Mary's shoulder while her friend continued to hold her.

That was when they both heard someone loudly clearing their throat nearby. At first they thought that it must be Jane Austen yet again, but that idea was quickly proven to be wrong when they heard a man's voice begin to speak.

A very pompous voice as it turned out.

"Lady Lungbarrow, I'm here for a matter of the utmost importance so you'll forgive me if I have to interrupt whatever it was that you and your friend were doing just now," The undeniable voice of Commander Maxil said with obvious disdain for her dripping from his every word.

"Oh, joy. It's my favorite Time Lord," Clara muttered to herself as she pulled away from Mary and turned to see Maxil and a small army of Chancellery Guards standing nearby watching her.

"So what is it that you want exactly besides the opportunity to gift me with your ever so wonderful presence, Maxey? Did you come to ask me out on a date?" Clara said with a fake smile as she pretended to be happy so as not to let the others know that anything was wrong.

"I came here for nothing of the sort I assure you, Madam," Maxil said with obvious distaste in his voice.

"Tell me, Maxey, if you ever actually smiled would the Web of Time explode or something? Come on. You can let me in on your secret. I'm great at keeping secrets," Clara said with a smirk.

"This is not the time for your usual frivolity, Lady Lungbarrow. You are needed on Gallifrey immediately. This is a matter of the greatest importance and cannot be delayed any longer," Maxil said impatiently.

"Perhaps if you actually explained to me what you're talking about first it would help," Clara insisted.

Maxil audibly sighed now as he said, "By unanimous vote of the High Council of the Time Lords, you have just been appointed Lady President of Gallifrey. I have come here to bring you back with me so that you can tell the Council in person whether you accept this honor or not. If you do, then you will immediately undergo an official coronation ceremony directly afterwards."

"What? Are you sure you've got the right person?" Clara said in stunned disbelief as her eyes bulged out in surprise.

"Unfortunately I do, Lady Lungbarrow. You have just been appointed to be President in the wake of the sudden resignation of Lady President Jennifer Tyler when a member of her administration was found to be working with the Brethren to infiltrate the Matrix," Maxil explained.

"Oh, I don't think so, Soldier Boy. This has to be some kind of misunderstanding or maybe they were being mind controlled or something. There's no way that I'll believe anything else," Clara protested.

"Be that as it may the results are still the same, President Elect Oswald. You are to come with me immediately to speak to the Council," Maxil said with a wince as he visibly cringed at Clara's new title.

"Oh, that really burns you up doesn't it, Maxey. I may just take the job for the joy of making you call me your boss," Clara said with an evil smile which immediately made Maxil cringe even more.

Her smile quickly faded however and was replaced with a look of concern as she said, "I can't speak to the Council just yet though. I have something much more important to do first. You said that one of Jenny's people was working with the Brethren, right? I have to talk to them whoever they are. I have to find the Brethren now before it's too late to save . . ."

Then Clara suddenly stopped in mid-sentence with a blank expression on her face.

"Before it's too late to save who, Madam President Elect?" Maxil asked with genuine curiosity.

"What are you talking about, Soldier Boy? There's no one that needs saving as far as I know," Clara said as she gave him a sudden confused look.

Mary looked confused as well as she said to Clara, "What are you talking about? Tell them what's happened, Clara. Maybe they can help save . . ."

Then she too suddenly stopped in mid-sentence with a blank look on her face as Maxil gave her a questioning glance and said, "Save whom? What is this all about?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Sir. I haven't even been speaking to you. Do you know what he means, Clara?" Mary asked as she started to look as confused as Clara did at that moment.

"Not in the slightest, Mary, but then again I usually don't have a clue what's going on in Soldier Boy's warped little psyche. So are you ready to go see Gallifrey for the first time? I'm sure you're really going to love it there. Don't let Maxey put you off of it. Not all of the Time Lords are as big of a prick as he is after all. Only most of them," Clara joked as she put her arm around Mary.

Maxil's face immediately turned red with a barely restrained anger that he visibly kept in check as he said, "So are you coming along with us now or not, President Elect Oswald? The human female will have to be sent back to her own time and place of course until later."

Clara immediately glared at him as she said, "She's going too or I won't be going period, Maxil."

"Her presence is neither required nor indeed wanted for what is still to come. This ceremony is for potential Presidents and their immediate family only. Those are the rules," Maxil said stubbornly.

"What about the President's girlfriend and possible future fiancé? How about her? Or are they not allowed either in your precious little ceremony?" Clara said in anger.

Maxil immediately looked at Mary in surprise as Mary herself smiled and said to Clara, "Was that a proposal?"

"Not yet but it's a promise that one day I will give you one," Clara said as she smiled at her.

"I'll be eagerly looking forward to it," Mary said as she embraced Clara.

"I was given to understand that you were with a man named Mr. Red or Orange or something like that. Perhaps it was Danny Blue? Wasn't that correct?" Maxil asked in confusion.

"Danny who?" Clara asked in confusion.

"I've never heard of him. You must be mistaken. Clara and I have been together for several months now," Mary concurred.

"It's my mistake then. My apologies. Now are both of you ready to go?" Maxil asked with growing impatience.

"Why not? Let's go, Mary. Just think about it. One day you could wind up being the First Lady of Gallifrey or whatever they call the President's spouses there," Clara said with a grin as she began to walk towards Maxil while holding Mary's hand.

Seconds later Clara and Mary quickly vanished along with the Time Lords as they returned to Gallifrey. Even as they did so, a smiling man watched them go with a low chuckle of amusement from where he had stayed hidden behind a nearby bush.

"Hello? Is someone there?" Jane Austen called out as she heard him laugh.

Before the man could even begin to move out of sight, Jane immediately caught up to him and looked at him in surprise as she said, "Oh, Mr. Pink! I'm so glad to see that you're alright. Clara was worried sick looking for you just now. Did she find you?"

Danny Pink gave her a sinister smile that slightly unnerved her as he said, "Not yet but she will I promise. One day she'll know exactly what happened to me. Until then, why don't you just forget all about it? In fact, forget all about me period."

A blank look came over Jane's face now for a moment and then she looked at Danny oddly as she said, "Do I know you, Sir? Do you have some official business with me or my family perhaps?"

Danny now put on a completely innocent expression as he said, "No, I'm so sorry to have bothered you. I came here by mistake looking for a friend of mine. You know these houses all look alike to me so I came to the wrong one. Don't worry. I'll leave just as quickly as I came."

"That's quite alright. Think nothing of it," Jane reassured him as she started back towards her home.

Even as she did so, it bothered her that she had absolutely no memory of having seen the man she had just met arrive in her front yard. All that she remembered was meeting the Doctor's friends Clara and Mary. After that, it was all a complete blank to her.

Even as Jane admonished herself to stop staying up so late writing her novels due to lack of sleep affecting her memory, Danny Pink silently laughed to himself while slowly walking away.

He knew that erasing the memory of Danny Pink from the minds of Clara, Mary, and Jane was only going to give him a brief temporary respite from having anyone question what had happened to him but hopefully that would be all of the time that he needed. After all he only needed to keep anyone from realizing that Danny was missing just long enough to set his ultimate plan against the Time Lords into motion.

Soon now, very soon, Erebus would abandon his temporary host's body and firmly establish himself in the body that he truly wanted: Rose Tyler's. And on that day, he would finally be able to unleash his true power at last and then the very Web of Time itself would fall before him!

Soon all of reality, the entirety of the space-time continuum, would belong to the Brethren.

Next: It's the final battle against Erebus and the Brethren as Rose shows the universe what she's really capable of at last. Will even Rose's ultimate power be enough to save all of reality from falling to the Brethren however or is this the Doctor and Rose's (not to mention the universe's) last stand?

Oh, and in case you're wondering Clara's coronation ceremony is coming up very soon now in an upcoming Guardian Who story so be on the lookout for it. I think everyone's really going to love Lady President Oswald. Well, everyone but the Time Lords of course.