So glad you're liking this story, I'm loving writing it :D Everything starts to fall into place soon;;) Here's chapter eight anyway, hope you enjoy it!
"Doctor!" Clara screamed, the word scraping past her throat with the effort it took for her voice to not fail into an indescipherable rasp, the terror wrapping around her vocal cords with an iron grasp. What was this machine? She was not going to be converted into a walking metal machine. Her breath came in short, sharp gasps as she struggled not to panic. She hammered on the door, out of breath with the exertion from pushing against it and willing it to open.
She gave the sonorous metal a hard kick before letting out a frustrated groan. She leaned her head against the cool, shiny surface, scrunching up her face in an attempt to keep the tears at bay.
"Doctor," She whispered, thinking of the man she wanted and needed more than anyone. The most amazing, wonderful man she knew, the man she would do anything for. This Doctor, this second incarnation of him was different to her than any other. He was her Doctor, and she needed him right now. She cursed inwardly at the turn of events. She had rushed out here to help him, put herself in this position to help him, and now she was the damsel in distress.
"Let me out!" She yelled, hammering on the metal again with her fists, unknowing as to whether the Ice Warriors couldn't hear her or if they were just choosing to ignore her. Once she got out of this, she'd show those damn lizards what she thought of them. She gritted her teeth as her temper flared, mixed with her fear of what was to come. "Open this door!"
She screamed in shock mingled with horror as she was suddenly flung back against the wall behind her with force.
"No," She rasped, panic overtaking her as she realised she was unable to move, fastened to the wall as if by some powerful magnetic force. An unsettling whirring sound began to emit from the machine. She let out another cry. "Doctor!"
"What have you done with my companion?"
Clara felt hope ignite in her heart at the faint sound of the Doctor's voice from outside the machine. This time, he wasn't putting on the anger that seeped through into his tone.
"Clara?" The Doctor yelled, concern lacing his tone. "Where is she!"
"We do not know what you mean," Clara heard the hiss of an Ice Warrior replying to the angry Time Lord. "We are doing our job."
"If there's one thing you shouldn't do, it's make me angry," The Doctor's tone had turned threatening. "Clara? Are you here?"
"Doctor," Clara tried, her voice coming out as a faint, rasping whisper. Smoke was beginning to curl in small whisps in the corners of the box-like machine and the air was becoming thick. "Doctor!" She tried again, adamantly making her voice stronger this time.
"Clara!"
She heard a knock from the other side of the metal door that was trapping her inside. A faint buzz from his sonic screwdriver could be heard. She could almost swear she heard him curse in annoyance, and would have laughed had she been in better circumstances.
"Don't worry, Clara, I'll get you out of there," The Doctor's voice became fainter as he walked further away from her.
"You'd want to hurry up, Doctor!" She called, struggling to make her voice be heard. Without warning, shiny, spiked utensils protruded from the upper half of the machine, approaching her at a slow, menacing pace. Clara screamed, struggling to remove herself from the wall but to no avail.
"Turn off the machine!"
Clara heard a scuffle from the room outside as the Doctor struggled against the Ice Warriors. Clara looked up above her. The sharp objects were coming closer to her, causing her to squirm. She closed her eyes as traitor tears began to fall, wishing for safety and her Doctor.
"Alright," The Doctor sounded slightly out of breath. "If you won't cooperate..."
A shrill, high pitched noise filled the air, causing Clara to want to cover her ears, though she couldn't move her arms. She squeezed her eyes shut as if futiley wishing it would shut out the sound.
The noise ceased after a few seconds and the strong metal door swung open with a hiss. Clara felt the invisible restraints gluing her to the wall release her as she caught sight of the Doctor rushing away from the controls that the Ice Warriors had been occupying earlier. He raced over to her and caught her in his arms just as she stumbled over the threshold of the machine, relieved to be out.
She let out a strangled sob as he enveloped her in his arms, holding her close to him.
"Shhh, Clara, it's ok," He hushed her, resting his head on hers affectionately. "You're safe now."
"I-," Clara coughed, choking on the sudden pure air that was entering her lungs, a huge contrast to the thick fog she had been breathing in moments earlier. "I didn't enjoy that much, Doctor."
The Doctor chuckled lightly as he stroked her hair comfortingly. "No, I don't expect you did."
Clara clutched herself closer to him, breathing him in, unwilling to let go. Of course, she knew she had to. The danger hadn't passed yet. The Doctor pulled back to look at her, brushing his thumb across her cheek gently to wipe away the few tears that had spilled over.
"You're safe now, Clara. My Clara," The Doctor pressed his lips to her forehead, causing Clara's heart to leap and her stomach to explode with butterflies. She couldn't be falling for him, could she? No, no no no... She pushed the thougths to the back of her mind, knowing that now was not the time. The Doctor released her only to take her hand in his instead, a feeling that Clara enjoyed immensely.
She cast her curious gaze to the two Ice Warriors currently lying unconcious on the ground and gave the Doctor a questioning look.
"They wouldn't let me near the controls," The Doctor shrugged. "I didn't see any other option. Sonic and a high frequency setting on a mahcine like this don't make for a very pleasant sound when put together, especially not to reptilian humanoids. But remember, Clara," He looked at her in a mockingly stern way, raising a finger at her warningly as if worried he'd set a bad example. "Violence is not the answer. Come on, let's go before they wake up."
Clara grinned, her fear from earlier ebbing away in the Doctor's presence as they left the room hastily and started down the corridor.
"Doctor," She gasped suddenly as she remembered a vital point, looking up at him as they went. "Cybermen! They're converting them into Cybermen!"
"I know," The Doctor muttered gravely. "That's why we have to get out of here now."
"Wait!" Clara tugged on his hand, pulling him back slightly as they passed the door with the captive humans. She knew he had said it was too late for them but she stilled hoped there was at least a slim chance of salvation for them. She had witnessed first hand what they would be going through and no one deserved that. She shuddered at the fresh memory. She looked at the Doctor pleadingly, fighting tears once again. "Please, Doctor... Isn't there anything we can do?"
"I'm sorry, Clara," The Doctor's expression was kind and apologetic. He kissed her forehead again softly and pulled back to look into her eyes. "I'm so sorry but it's too late for them. There's nothing we can do."
This time when he began to pull her along, Clara obliged, accepting that there was nothing that could be done as she wiped away a few stray tears with her free hand.
"Those poor people," She murmured quietly.
"I know," The Doctor caressed the back of her hand gently with his thumb almost absentmindedly as they walked at a brisk pace back the way they had come.
All eyes were on them as they entered the control room full of Ice Warriors, who were fixing them with beady glares.
"Traitors!" One Ice Warrior raged. "Give us back what is ours!"
Clara grasped the Doctor's hand tighter as it approached, puzzled. What had they taken? She looked to the Doctor, who was wearing a slightly sheepish expression and shifting from foot to foot guiltily. He started to back away slowly inch by inch, pulling Clara with him.
"Sorry, did you mean this?" He held up what appeared to be a small fragment of metal. Clara gazed at it, guessing that it must have once been part of a circular structure but was now missing it's other half. "I thought I might keep it, it's rather pretty don't you think, Clara?"
"Enough!" The vicious reptiles' tongue flicked in irritation as it stalked closer.
"What, don't you think it's pretty?"
"Cease your talking and return what is rightfully ours!"
The Doctor and Clara continued edging backwards gradually. Clara wondered how they were going to get out of this one, she didn't have a vase on her at the moment.
She jumped slightly as she felt the Doctor's hand slip inside her pocket, giving him a questioning glance but he wasn't looking at her, continuing to stare directly ahead. She reached inside her pocket carefully, feeling around and closing her fingers around the small object that had been put there. She sneeked a glance at it, catching a glimpse of the shining metal. The Tardis key.
But what was she supposed to do with it? She looked to the Doctor desperately for some sort of clue but he had left her side and was practically dancing around the room, keeping the small metal object out of reach of the Ice Warrior that was coming ever closer and becoming more and more aggitated.
"Oh, silly me!" He cried in fake annoyance as his sonic screwdriver slipped out of his pocket. A seemingly clumsy but actually well timed kick of his shoe sent the screwdriver whizzing over to where Clara was standing. She grinned, picking it up immediately.
"You will be terminated," Came an angry hiss at the time Lord's actions.
"Oh, I don't think it's me you have to worry about," The Doctor stated cheerfully as the Ice Warrior and himself circled each other ominously. Clara held the sonic device to the Tardis key and pressed the button, causing a buzz to emit from the screwdriver. She grinned as the key began to glow bright gold. The Doctor beamed knowingly. "It's the women you have to worry about."
The soft whoosh of the Tardis materialising grew louder and Clara turned around to face the machine behind her. The Doctor backed away more quickly this time, reaching Clara's side and turning around the open the door. He gave an over exaggerated gesture of "Ladies first" as Clara smirked and gave a small bow and strolled into the Tardis with an accomplished beam.
"No!" A strangled hiss from the band of reptilian creatures hit them as they ran towards them.
"Finders keepers," The Doctor grinned, jumping into the Tardis and slamming the doors behind them.
"Great timing for the Tardis to get it's power back," Clara grinned.
She tossed the Doctor's sonic screwdriver to him as he passed on his way to the console which he caught, giving her a nod and pocketing it. He began tapping coordinates into the console as Clara gave the Tardis an affectionate pat.
"Thanks for helping me out for once," She cooed at the ship which gave a low rumble in response, one that wasn't as haughty as usual. Clara laughed. "That's good enough for me."
She turned her face up to meet the Doctor's and winked, grabbing a lever. "This one, eh?"
"Go for it, Clara Oswald," The Doctor grinned happily as Clara pulled the lever and they set off through time and space.
"Where are we going?" Clara yelled over the whoosh of the engines. She gave a small "oomph" sound as the Tardis landed with a slight bump.
The Doctor bounced over the the doors, flinging them open with a smile. The beam slid off his face as he looked around. "No, this isn't right," He murmured, running back to the console and tapping in new coordinates quickly.
Clara raised an eyebrow. The journey was smooth and lasted a mere few seconds. The Doctor beamed at her, swinging his arms out from his sides excitedly. "Well, I think this is about right."
"Where are we now then?" Clara cocked her head to one side as she bounded over to the Doctor and linked her arm with his.
"Exactly the same place as before," The Doctor smiled knowingly, striding over to the doors. He paused, looking at her expectantly.
Clara frowned, puzzlement taking over for a brief moment. It suddenly dawned on her what he was implying.
"Oh, I see," She grinned, poking his side lightly and laughing as he squirmed. She hadn't realised Time Lord's had tickles. "When are we?"
The Doctor smiled a dazzling smile that took Clara's breath away as he opened the doors to reveal the new planet outside. "Now you're asking the right questions."
They stepped outside the Tardis arm in arm, gazing around at there surroundings. Clara gaped at the view in front of her. Her feet brushed over the hard, uneven ground, littered with a fine layer of deep red soil which brushed over her feet lightly with each step she took. There were no signs of life around except for the trees, trees that, on further inspection weren't even trees. She released the Doctor's arm and bounded over to feel the branches experimentally. They were made of metal, small shards of ductile metal woven intricately together, casting an eery silver shadow on the ground beneath. She looked around in awe.
"Mars, approximately six hundred billion years in the future," The Doctor grinned, clasping his hands together in front of him as he looked at the sky. "Around five hundred years previous to the year on Abydos, where we had that run in with the ever so friendly natives."
"What are we doing here?" Clara asked, her voice barely above a whisper as she ducked around a nearby tree to the source of a peculiar noise she had just picked up on. She gasped in surprise. Water. "Hey look, Doctor! Water on mars!"
"Ah yes, the Streams of the Red Planet," The Doctor came to her side, placing his hand on her lower back as they gazed at the trickling water. It was beautiful, Clara noted, like a minature waterfall. The most amazing thing about it was the soft shades of lilac, pink and red of the water droplets.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" The Doctor murmured, echoing her thoughts.
Clara nodded mutely, crouching down beside th small stream, the two companions momentarily forgetting about why they were actually there. Clara gasped. "Doctor, listen!"
The Doctor crouched down next to her as Clara tilted her head to the side, straining to hear the beautiful lilting music that seemed to be coming from the water itself.
"The water connects with the thought waves of the being nearest it to produce music," The Doctor explained with a smile. "The music produced is completely unique as it is formed by your own individual thoughts. Wonderful, isn't it?"
"It's so beautiful," Clara mused, listening intently to the music. It was sad and haunting, but at the same time, filled with hope and love. It was the most beautiful thing Clara had ever heard.
"I suppose," The Doctor scoffed lightly. "Nothing beats a tune on the recorder though."
"Which one of us is it making music for right now?" Clara asked curiously, leaning against the Doctor's side absentmindedly, smiling slightly at his words.
"Both of us, I should expect," The Doctor shrugged lightly. "There's no other natives on this planet, we're the only two right now. It's singing for us."
Clara felt a tear roll down her cheek in awe. The music was so beautiful, she was amazed.
"So this is our song," She smiled with a small laugh. She said it lightly but the thought of it being there song was extremely special to Clara.
"Yes, I suppose it is," The Doctor stood up with a small chuckle. Clara remained sitting beside the small stream, transfixed by the trickling water.
"Thank you," She whispered, hoping to convey as much emotion into the hushed whisper as the music was. The music made her think of love. Love and her Doctor. She smiled, standing up from the stream reluctantly.
"Stop talking to the water."
Clara laughed at the distant jibe from the Time Lord.
"As if you don't talk to your wooden box," She smirked.
She glanced around for the Time Lord, ducking her head under a branch of a nearby tree to find him crouched down, ear to the ground as he scanned the red soil with his sonic screwdriver.
"What are you doing?" She asked, bounding over to him with a giggle. "You never did tell me why we're here."
"Ah yes," The Doctor scratched the back of his head thoughtfully. "Remember when I told you about the Ice Warriors originating from Mars?"
Clara nodded in response with a slight frown as the Doctor began swiping away some of the red dust on the ground.
"Well, I thought they might have left something here. Something they were going to retrieve later when their army of Cybermen was complete," He tugged at something on the ground, giving a small pleased exclamation as it came loose from the soil. He sat back on his haunches, holding up the dull grey metal disk to her to inspect. Recognition hit Clara. It looked to be the second half of the metal fragment he had stolen from the Ice Warriors.
"We're here because of this. The Ice Warriors needed it for their Cyberman army to be complete, to obey them in battle, I expect. But they needed to wait to retrieve the missing piece, it wasn't completely formed."
The Doctor straightened up and brushed the dust off his clothing. Clara joined him, moving closer to get a better look at the metal fragment.
"I stole one of them, this is the other," The Doctor smiled proudly. "Put them together and it would give the Cybermen maximum power for battle. The Ice Warriors had one piece but had to wait for the second, it had to be retrieved in it's home planet's dying moments."
Clara nodded in understanding as the Doctor continued. "I expect the Sontarans weren't telling us something. They didn't just use all that Time lord energy they had for themselves. They gave a small portion of it to the Ice Warriors..."
"To travel back in time and take this metal thing at the right moment," Clara breathed, finishing his sentence for him as she realised what he meant.
"Precisely," The Doctor grinned, walking back in the direction of the Tardis and placing the metal object down on the ground gently. "At the right time, we'll dispose of it. I don't think the Sontarans are going to be very pleased with the Ice Warriors. Or us for the matter, but let's not-"
"Doctor," Clara whispered, unintentionally cutting him off, catching sight of the sky and looking at it properly for the first time. "You said the metal disk had to be retrieved in the planets dying moments."
"Yes, I did," The Doctor moved to stand beside her, his arm brushing against hers gently. "This planet is dying, Clara. It doesn't have long left. There's no one here but us."
Clara gaped at the sky in amazement. Spirals of glittering stars dotted the skyline close by, rings of glowing dust surrounding the planet. She could see other planets, of deep ochres and purples that appeared almost close enough to touch. The sky itself was a mixture of colours, ranging from a light orange hue at the horizon to dark, navy blue up above them.
"It's the most beautiful sky I've ever seen," She whispered breathlessly. "But it's only Mars, it's in our Galaxy! How..."
"The planets and stars all appear closer because the planet has expanded, but it's closing in on itself at the same time," The Doctor explained quietly. "It does make a rather nice scene."
Clara turned towards the Doctor, a smile glittering on her face. She reached up to cup his face with her hand, his eyes softening at her touch. She let her hand drift over his cheek lightly, her eyes saying all he needed to know. Her hand dropped to her side as she lost herself in the Doctor's eyes, more beautiful than any sky she had ever laid eyes on.
"Clara, my beautiful Clara," The Doctor murmured softly, his voice lilting as he said her name, making it sound more beautiful than the music made by the lilac waters of Mars. His hand trailed down her arm slowly, causing a shiver of pleasure to run down Clara's spine. He stopped at her hand, closing his fingers around hers gently and leaving them intertwined loosely.
"Clara Oswald," He murmured again, his hand drifting over one side of her face lightly as Clara's heart rate sped up, all the feelings she held for this Doctor that she had tried so hard to deny coming to the surface and extinguishing any coherent thoughts. She wasn't able to deny them anymore. The Doctor's hand rested lightly on her neck and Clara found her hands creeping up to rest shyly on his chest.
The Doctor ducked his head slightly with a faint smile, looking almost unsure. Clara was frozen to the spot, her undeniable feelings keeping her rooted to where she was standing. Her breath caught in her throat as the Doctor moved in closer slowly, their faces almost touching.
"Oh, Clara," He whispered with a faint smile, his lips brushing hers slightly. "I wasn't meant to feel this way."
His lips pressed against hers, and Clara felt complete bliss. One hand roamed up behind his neck to tangle in his hair, the other curling around his jacket lapels as she put into the kiss everything she felt for him, everything she couldn't put into words. The kiss was slow and sincere, and Clara had never felt so happy, so complete. The Doctor's hand remained at her jaw, his free hand wrapped around her waist and pulling her closer to him.
This Doctor, her Doctor, made her feel like no one had ever made her feel before. Their lips moved in perfect sync, and she couldn't imagine life being anymore perfect than this. All that mattered was the Doctor and her, together.
Clara felt the Doctor smile against her lips, a slight upwards curve of his mouth. The kiss ended all too soon, the Doctor pulling back to look at her, adoration in his eyes that Clara was sure was mirrored in her own.
She caressed his cheek gently, smiling when he let out a contented sigh. She said the only thing she could in that moment, the only thing that would show how much he meant to her. He was everything to her.
"Doctor," She smiled sincerely. "My Doctor."
The Doctor pressed his lips against her forehead softly, causing Clara to smile in contentment.
"Oh!" Clara exclaimed as she remembered something vital. She reached her hand into her pocket and withdrew the Tardis key that she had forgotten to give back to the Doctor. She held it out to him, expecting him to take it from her, surprised when he shook his head with a smile and closed her fingers around the key gently, holding her hand in his own.
"It's yours," He smiled, giving a light chuckle when Clara's eyes widened in shock.
"But.. I can't.. Doctor, it's your Tardis key!" She protested, staring down at her hand enveloped in his.
"And now it's yours," He insisted, giving her hand a light squeeze and releasing her. "It will answer to you now, I have another for myself of course. But this one is yours, Clara Oswald."
Clara beamed, a radiant smile that lit up her eyes and caused the Doctor to smile himself. Before she even realised what she was doing, she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him, clutching the key tightly in her hand lest she dropped it.
She pulled back, laughing at the slightly shocked look on the unsuspecting Time Lord's face and kissed his nose affectionately, causing him to blink in surprise adorably.
"Thank you," She smiled, wrapping her arms around him and burying her face in his chest. He held her close to him, laying his head on hers for a moment.
"We should go, this planet doesn't have long left," The Doctor sighed, seemingly reluctant to let her go. Clara nodded solemnly, her eyes lighting up suddenly as she had an idea.
"Wait there!" She grinned, rushing past the Doctor and into the Tardis.
"Come on, come on," She muttered impatiently, glancing around for something, anything that would do the trick. She grinned as she lay eyes on it. A plastic bottle.
"Thank you," She patted the Tardis console affectionately. This earlier version seemed to like her slightly better than the future one, and she had to say the ship was growing on her too.
She ran back out to a bemused looking Doctor, bottle in hand. She threw him a grin as she ran to the river, crouching down beside the trickling water and scooping up a small amount into the bottle. She sealed the now full bottle with a smile, standing up to meet the Doctor.
"Let's let some of this planet live on, eh?" She grinned as the Doctor smiled and put his arm around her, walking back to the ship and leaving the beautiful burning red planet behind.
Wowwww that took a while to write :o Whaddaya think? Cute or no? =)) Idk I like this pairing, all the Doctor's deserve to get a bit of love :)
I hope it makes sense, I made up the stuff myself, like the water on Mars and all that so hopefully that stuff is easy enough to understand, but unfortunately I don't own any of the characters or Doctor Who.
Hope you liked it, review to let me know what you think!