"You can leave all that stuff here, Clara," Star remarked as Clara came up the stairs from collecting her stuff, "We do have plenty of rooms."
"Oh, no. It's all right." Clara waved her off, "Danny's got a little bit territorial. The idea of me leaving so much as a toothbrush here. But, still, he's all right with us doing this which I admit is a little bit weird, cos you'd think if he had a problem with me leaving stuff in the TARDIS, he'd object to me travelling in the TARDIS. But he's not, so..."
"Sorry. Stopped listening a while ago." The Doctor admitted, "Okay. Er, same time you left, same place-ish."
"Ish? Don't give me an ish."
"These readings are very er, ishy." He frowned at them.

"This is also pretty ishy," Star murmured, looking at the doors…only for them to be smaller than usual.
Clara followed her gaze, "Er, Doctor?"
"Uh huh?" he walked around the console, joining them, following their gaze to the doors.

~.~

Star squeezed out first, the Doctor struggling behind her and Clara easily squeezed out and shut the door behind her.
"Well." The Doctor fumbled, very confused, at the now smaller TARDIS, "Well, I wonder what caused this? I don't think we're bigger, are we?" he scanned Clara.
"Bristol?" Clara shouted, seeing a sign in the distance, "Doctor, we're in Bristol!"
"And a 120 miles from where we should be. Impressive."
"No. Not impressive. Annoying."
"No. This is impressive." He pointed to the shrunken TARDIS, "This is annoying." He pointed at Clara, "The TARDIS never does this. This is huge!"

"Well, not literally huge." Star corrected, "The old girls slightly smaller than usual."

"Which is huge."
"Yes. I get it." Clara cut in, clearly irritated being in Bristol and not home, "You're excited. When can I go home?"
"Is your house going anywhere?" Star asked her.

"And neither is ours until I get this figured out." The Doctor commented, "Could you not just let me enjoy this moment of not knowing something? I mean, it happens so rarely. Look, I don't think this is dangerous, but I wouldn't like you to get squished accidentally. Anyway, I need you to help me find out what's caused this."
"Fine." Clara huffed, "I'll go take a look around." She walked off to the town as the Doctor and Star squeezed back into the TARDIS.

The Doctor quickly hurrying to examine a circuit on the console, when there was a jolt and the alarms blared.

"What did you do?" Star demanded, holding onto the console.
"That wasn't me." He held his hands up in defence.

They glanced at each other before looking towards the door, "oh, that cant be good," the Doctor murmured as Star groaned. The doors were even smaller now, too small for either of them to get out or Clara to get in, they were only about 6 inches high, and they could guess the exterior was only that tall

~.~

A few minutes later Clara called them, and Star answered, "Hey, I think I've found something. People are missing all over the estate. Do you think there's a connection?"
"Could be." Star nodded.
"And where are you?
She sighed, "we haven't moved."
"No, you're not. I'm here and I can't see. Oh…"

"Yeah…"

They heard Clara laugh as she spotted the TARDIS, "Oh, my God, that is so adorable. Are you in there?"
"Yes, we are."

"And, no, it's not adorable." The Doctor added, "It's very, very serious."
"So is this more shrink ray stuff?" Clara asked, "Are you tiny in there?"
"No. we're exactly the same size. It's merely the exterior dimensions that have changed." He opened the small door, peering out. "Stop laughing. This is serious."

"Yeah, well, I can't help it, can I, with you and your big old face. How are you going to get out?"
"Well, plainly we can't. Something nearby is leeching all the external dimensions."
"Aliens?"

"Most likely," Star called from the console.
"Sensors are down and we can't risk taking off with it in this state." The Doctor said, "Clara, I need you to pick up the TARDIS. Carefully. It should be possible. I've adjusted the relative gravity."
"You mean you've made it lighter." Clara picked the small TARDIS up.
"Clara, if the TARDIS landed with its true weight, it would fracture the surface of the Earth." Star explained to her.
"Yeah, maybe a story for another time. What now?"
"We've managed to get a rough fix on the source of the dimensional leeching." The Doctor told her, poking his fingers out, "It's roughly north west. That way."
Clara leaned away from his hands, "Please don't do that. That's just wrong."

The Doctor looked back at Star, "Star…"

"Got them," she cut him off, handing him the sonic and psychic paper.

"That's my girl," he smiled at her, turning back to peer at Clara, "Now, listen! You're going to need these." He handed her the sonic and paper.

"Oh, wow." Clara smiled, pocketing the sonic and paper, "This is an honour. Does this mean I'm you now?"
"No, it does not, so don't get any ideas." He said, a stern look in his eye as she placed the TARDIS in her bag, "And listen, stick this in your ear." He handed her a small earpiece.

"Can you hear me?" Star called, pulling a lever on the console.
"Yes." She replied. Star pressed a button, "Ow!" Clara winced, "What just happened?"
"Nanotech. I just hacked your optic nerve."
"What does that mean?"
"We see what you see on the monitor." She twisted a knob, getting a better picture.

~.~

Clara turned around, scanning with the sonic back in town, near the subway, she aimed it at a block of flats, then a mural of hand prints, foot prints and tire tracks, "Anything?" she called.

"Yes, I'm dizzy." The Doctor answered as they watched on the monitor, "But nothing useful."
A young black man walked over to Clara, "You never did tell me your name."
"We don't have time for you to flirt, get rid of him," Star hissed.
"I'm er," Clara paused a second before smirking, "I'm the Doctor."

"Don't you dare." The Doctor snarled.
"Doctor Oswald. But you can call me Clara."
"I'm Risby." The man smiled, "So er, what are you a doctor of?"

"Of lies." The Doctor hissed.
"Well, I'm usually quite vague about that." Clara flipped the sonic, "I think I just picked the title because it makes me sound important."

"Oh, Doctor Oswald, you are hilarious." Star laughed, "keep this up, please. I could do with some entertainment."

"Could we get back to work, do you think?" the Doctor asked.
"What are you exactly?" Risby asked Clara, "You don't look like police but that's some pretty cool gear you got there. You like a spy, or something?"

"Oh, he's a bright one, hang on to him." the Doctor grumbled.

Risby led Clara into a flat of one of the many people who had gone missing.

"He was the last one to go missing." Risby explained as he pulled the police tape off the door of the flat, "And when he disappeared all the doors and windows were locked from the inside."
"Ooh, now you're talking." The Doctor perked up at that, "I love a good locked room mystery."
Clara looked around the room, a bookcase of CD's to the side alone with an interesting mural on the wall, looking like cracked sand.

"Yeah, doesn't everyone?" Clara murmured.
"What?" Risby turned to her, unable to hear the Doctor or Star.
"Huh? Oh, sorry. I'm talking to somebody else. They're listening in. Doctor, Star, Risby. Risby, the Doctor and Star."

"Hello, barely sentient local." The Doctor greeted, despite knowing the man couldn't hear them.
"Another Doctor?" Risby raised an eyebrow.
"How do you sleep at night?" Star wondered.

"Missing people, tiny TARDIS, what's the link?" the Doctor shook his head.
"I think this is great that someone's finally looking into this." Risby remarked as Clara scanned around again, "The police weren't doing anything. They never do on this estate. People were thinking that no one was listening. That no one cared. So, yeah. I think it's great what you're doing."

"Clara, look, I think that we can manage on our own from now on."

"Yeah, well, I think he could still be useful." Clara argued.
"He's a pudding brain. Worse than that, he's a fluorescent pudding brain."
"Okay, fine. And all those other missing people, I suppose you know where they lived."

"He could still be in the room." Risby continued.
"Sorry, what?" Clara looked at him.
"Sorry, nothing. I was just thinking out loud."

"It's like one of those locked room things you get in books. It's always something weird, like; he's still in the room or something. Do you want to go and check out another flat?"
"I think that you were wrong about him." Star muttered, "I think that he could be useful. Vital local knowledge."
"Oh, really?" Clara scoffed.
"Yes. So don't scare him off."
"How would I scare him off?"

"I've got a list going."

"Oi!"

"I'm only joking, Clara!"

Well, she did have a list off all the reasons Clara could scare people off, but that was private and she used it to help remind her of all the ways not to annoy Clara. She had added 2 more pages since the moon incident.

"Maybe he's lost in the desert or something…" Risby mused.
"Okay, right…" Clara nodded slowly. "Are we missing something here? Missing man, locked room." She scanned the mural, "Shrink ray?"

"Sorry, did you say just say shrink ray?"
"What if he is still in this room like you said, only tiny? You know, like underneath the sofa or something."
"Clara, this is the scaring off that we were talking about." Star told her.

"Okay. So er, my lunch break's nearly up." Risby headed back to the door, "This has been er, interesting."

"See what I mean?"
"Clara, local knowledge is leaving. Do something!" the Doctor called.
"Risby!" Clara shouted, stopping him from leaving, "One sec. Doctor, open the doors."

"I didn't mean that!"

"Look, you want him to stay or not?"

"You really do throw your companions in at the deep end, don't you?

"Risby, come here. Meet the Doctor and Star."

The Doctor opened the doors as Clara set the TARDIS on the mantel as they stood by the console.

"So, what do you think?" Clara smiled, stepping to the side so Risby could see them, "Tiny man idea."

"Yes, it's a lovely thought." The Doctor cut in, "Which is why I set the sonic to scan for that as soon as we entered. Pleased to meet you." he nodded at the man.

"Hi." Star waved.
"And you didn't think to tell me?" Clara asked, rolling her eyes, she should have expected that.
"Well, of course he might have been squashed under a policeman's shoe by now." The Doctor defended.
"It's bigger. On the inside." Risby breathed.
"That statement has never been truer." Star laughed.
"What are you? Like, aliens, or something?"
"No." Clara replied, "Well, they are." She nodded to the Time Lords…when an alarm went off inside the TARDIS, "Doctor? Star, did you hear that?"

"Yes. Whatever it was, it just drained a massive amount of energy from inside the TARDIS." The Doctor remarked.

"What was it?"

"I don't know, but that's the least of our problems."

"Just get us out of here." Star instructed, slamming the doors shut.
"Okay. Go. Risby, this is where we run. Stick with me." Clara picked up the TARDIS and they ran out of the flat.

"I mean this is just embarrassing." The Doctor murmured, pacing around the console, "we're from the race that built the TARDIS. Dimensions are kind of our thing. So why can't we understand this?"

"Clara, we need more info." Star told her as the woman and Risby ran into the street. "Where else have people disappeared?" if they could find that out, it would help them find out what's taking them and what's happening to the TARDIS…because, she didn't know either. And for neither of them to have a clue, that really was something.

~.~

Clara and Risby had found a policewoman, and had managed to persuade her to help them find out about the other missing people, the woman, PC Forest, led them to another flat.

"MI5?" the woman frowned at the physic paper.
"Yes, this case has got our attention." Clara nodded.
"Well, you've come to the right place, ma'am. First reported disappearance, a Mr Heath. It's not on the estate, but it's exactly the same MO as the rest"
"Clara, I think that your shrink ray theory was wrong." The Doctor called.
"My shrink ray theory?" Clara repeated quietly, "I thought you were already scanning for that."
"It's like they vanished." Forest continued.
"Doctor? What are you doing?" Clara asked.
"It just struck me." The Doctor stated, "Locked room mysteries. Classic solution number one, they're still in the room. Classic solution number two, they're in the walls." As he spoke, Star ran down the stairs and quickly ran over to the doors, holding a hammer, grinning madly.
"What do you mean, they're in the…" Clara trailed as she pulled the hammer from her bag, sighing knowing it had been Stars idea to use the hammer.
"Have we done as much as we could?" Forest was speaking still, no idea to the conversation between Clara and the Time lords, "No. Do we have any suspects? No. Off the record, I think the top brass are hoping if they ignore this it'll all just go away." She turned and frowned at Clara seeing the woman holding the hammer.
"Apparently they're in the walls." She supplied, handing Risby the hammer. The man slamming it into the walls as Forest answered her phone as it rang.
"PC Forrest." She answered, "Yes, sir. MI5, sir." She left the room to speak in private.
"So, you and those people in a box." Risby made conversation, "You do this sort of stuff a lot?"
"Oh, well, they're usually out of the box." Clara said, "But, yep."

"So how'd you get this gig? You study science, or aliens, or something?"
"No." Clara laughed, "Well, it's kind of a more of a right place, right time or wrong place, wrong time depending on how they're behaving."
"We can still hear you," Star reminded her.

Clara opened her mouth to reply when they heard PC Forest scream from the other room. Clara and Risby took of running, only for her to not be there.
"PC Forrest?" Clara called, frowning, "Hello? Hello?" PC Forests' torch was on the carpet in front of the mural on the wall behind the sofa. "She's gone."

Star closed her eyes, another person dead because of them.
"What am I missing?" the Doctor murmured, "The TARDIS should be able to detect anything in the known universe. The known universe. This universe."
"Wait!" Star shouted, seeing Clara looking around the room, "That mural. That is a nervous system scaled up and flattened. I think we've found PC Forrest or what's left of her."
"Her nervous system." Clara stared at the red squiggling mural on the wall.
The Doctor brought up the sand-like mural from the other flat on the scanner, "The mural in the flat. That wasn't a desert at all. It's a microscopic blow up of human skin."
"What? Why?"
"Whatever they are, they are experimenting. They're testing. They are, they are dissecting. Trying to understand us. Trying to understand three dimensions."
There was a sizzle and a hiss from the flat and the door handle flattened.
"Ow." Risby winced as he tried to grab it, "The handle."
"Doctor. The handle, they've flattened the handle."

"Fascinating. Clara, they're in the walls!"

"Keep away from them." Star warned, "If they touch you, you're finished."
The sofa was flattened.
"What happens if they touch us?" Risby asked as the chair was flattened.
"I really don't want to find out." Clara breathed, following Risby onto a hanging chair in the middle of the room.
"They can't jump, can they?"
Clara phone ran and she answered, "hey you." she greeted.

"I've got our bench." They heard Danny on the other side of the line, "Did you get held up?"

"Just a little. Sorry, Danny. I think lunch is er, a bust."
"Oh, hon, you're missing some classic park action."

"Clara, the window!" Star shouted as whatever it was made the carpet wobble as it approached Clara and Risby.
"Look!" Risby cried as the mantel wobbled as did the walls, "Look! They're climbing the walls."
"Who was that?" Danny asked after a slight hesitation.
"Er, that's just a guy on community support and I'm helping him find his auntie." Clara bit her lip.

"Not technically lying." Star shrugged, "not bad."

"Sounds kind of…" Danny paused thinking of the word, "active."

Clara began to swing the chair, trying to help them get out the window, "Er, yeah, there was a thing, er a thing."

"Where are you and are you in trouble?"

"No, no, no, I'm fine!" she soniced the window and the chain broke from the ceiling, sending the chair crashing outside.
"Clara?" Danny called, panicked as he heard her scream as they crashed, "Clara?"

"Danny?" Clara called, safe outside on the front garden.
"What's happening?"
"Oh, not much, just some nonsense. Long story."
"What story?"
"Tell you later. Love you!" she hung up.

"This explains everything." The Doctor remarked, "They're from a universe with only two dimensions. And, yes, that is a thing. It's long been theorised, of course, but no one could go there and prove its existence without a heck of a diet."
"And what long story are you going to tell Danny?" Star asked, "Or haven't you made it up yet?"
"Sorry, what?" Clara asked, trying to play innocent, "What was that?"

"Excellent lying, Doctor Oswald."
"Yeah? Well, thought it was pretty weak myself."

"She meant to us." The Doctor said, "You told us that Danny was okay with you being back on board the TARDIS."

"Well, he is."

"Yeah, because he doesn't know anything about it." Star remarked. "Are you ashamed of us, is that why you didn't tell him? Because that hurts to know you are ashamed of us."

"Star…" Clara began.
"Congratulations." The Doctor mocked, "Lying is a vital survival skill."
"Well, there you go."

"And a terrible habit." Star added. She only lied because she'd learnt to from the Doctor. With it just the two of them for so long, she pick things up from him, especially lying.

"Ah, you're breaking up a bit." Clara winced, getting static in her ear.
"Yeah, of course I am."
"No, really, you are. I can't hear you."

"What?" she blinked, having assumed Clara was just saying that to get out of the conversation, "Oh, right, blowing out that window's possibly affected the earpiece. Take it out and sonic it."

"Doing it." the view went to the ground as she took the piece out of her ear, flashing the sonic on it.
"Hey!" Risby cried, "They can't do that. Hey! What you doing?"
"Our job." Another man answered, "You're on report, by the way. Late back from lunch."
"Does it even still count as lying if you're doing for someone's own good?" Clara wondered, putting the earpiece back in her ear, "Well, like, technically their own good."
"It's a memorial!" Risby defended.

"Council didn't approve it, it's graffiti." The older man countered, "Stan." Risby grabbed the other man, Stan's, paint brush.
"What is that?" Star frowned at the mural.

"Look, Clara." The Doctor called, seeing what Star had realised, "Talk to me, talk to me!"
"What are you doing?" Risby continued.

Star hurried to the doors, sticking her hand out, poking Clara on the arm, getting her attention, "it's the mural, Clara! The missing people are in the walls!"
"What do I do?" Cara asked quietly.

"Get everyone out, act as normal as possible."

"They're very realistic." Clara remarked to the others, "Who painted them?"
"I don't know." Risby shook his head, "A local artist. Probably a grieving relative."
"Did you ever meet them? Or did they just appear after people disappeared?"
"And who are you when you're at home, love?" the older man demanded.
Clara held out the physic paper, "Health and safety. This subway is unsafe. Everyone needs to leave right now."
"This is blank. Try again, sweetheart."
"What?" Clara blinked, the paper always worked, or at least it did with the Doctor and Star. Did she do it wrong?

"He's either very clever or very dull," Star murmured, "I'm going to say dull."

"Stan. Do your job." The older man turned to the other man.
"Clara, stop him." the Doctor instructed, but was too late, the man's brush touched the painting and he was sucked into the wall with a cry.
"Stan!" Risby yelled.
And then the paintings slowing turned to face them all.

"What is this?" another man asked, "What are they?"
"They're wearing the dead like camouflage." The Doctor stared at the screen intently, watching closely.
"Forget Stan. Your friend's gone." Clara told the group.
"Clara, get them out of there!"
"We need to move. Now."
They ran off as the paintings slid off the wall, sliding across the tarmac on the ground.

~.~

They stopped running as the reached a train shed, Clara quickly scanning the door with the sonic.

"Did they follow us?" a man panted, looking back, "Cos I didn't see them follow us. Are we safe?"

"Are we really hiding from killer graffiti?" another scoffed, "This is insane."
"I agree." The Doctor nodded, "We'll have to think of a better name for them than that."

"And Stan was one of them. Flattened, dead, but coming after us."
"Clara, this is a vital stage." Star stated, "This little group is currently confused and disorientated but pretty soon a leader is going to emerge. Make sure you're the leader."
"I'm on it." she nodded, leaning the group inside the shed, "George. George, isn't it? Can you watch that area? If you hear anything, anything moves, you shout, okay?"
"He will do no such thing until I get some answers. Who are you?" the older man demanded, "That's what I want to know. Impersonating a government official. Trespassing on council property."
"Seriously?"
"Seriously."
"Fine, I'll tell you who I am." She walked over to him, a slight threat in her words as she spoke, "I am the one chance you've got of staying alive. That's who I am."

"Nicely done," Star clapped. That is exactly what she would have said, though she would have gotten her dagger out to show how serious she was.
"Risby," Clara turned to the man, "how well do you know this area? Do you know where that door leads?" she nodded to the door of to the side.
"It's the old Brunswick line." He nodded, "But it's not safe."
"Well, there's safe and there's safe." A man, Al, reasoned.
"Yeah, I know it. I used to go down there all the time."
"Yeah, I'll bet you did." The older man scoffed, "Painting your filth."

"If I was there, he'd be dead by now," Star muttered, that man was very irritating.
"Yeah, well, you might be glad he did." Clara turned to the man, "Those things come in here, that is our only way out. I just hope I can keep them all alive." She added to the Time Lords.

"Ah, welcome to my world. So what's next, Doctor Clara?" the Doctor asked Clara.

"Lie to them."
"What?"
"Lie to them. Give them hope. Tell them they're all going to be fine. Isn't that what you would do?"

"In a manner of speaking." The Doctor stuttered, "It's true that people with hope tend to run faster, whereas people who think they're doomed…"

"Dawdle. End up dead."

"So that's what I sound like." He murmured, it seemed they were both wearing of on Clara. The Doctor was making her lie more while Star was making her threaten people.

"Who's she talking to?" the older man asked Al.

"He says it's MI5." Al replied.

"Right, here's something that might help you." the Doctor remarked, "Do you remember the graffiti from the estate? Footprints, tyre treads?"

"Vaguely." Clara nodded, recalling what she saw earlier.
"Well, I don't think it was graffiti. I think that that is how those creatures saw us. The impressions we make in two dimensional space. That was them reaching out, attempting to talk. At which point they moved into flattening and dissection. Trying to understand. Trying to emulate. But here's the big question. Do they know they're hurting us?"
"So what? You think this is all one big misunderstanding?"
"That is a possibility," Star agreed, as unlikely as she thought of it, how likely was it that creatures would kill be a misunderstanding? "Why don't we ask them?" they wouldn't know unless they asked.

George walked off to keep watch as Risby helped Clara sonic the speakers.
"We need to find a way to communicate." The Doctor said.
"Why can't the TARDIS just translate?" Clara asked, the TARDIS could translate anything other than Gallifreyan and Judoon, so they told her.

"Because their idea of language is just as bizarre as their idea of space. Even the TARDIS is confused."
"This is a bad idea." The older man grumbled, "What makes these colleagues of yours think those monsters even want to talk?"

"I know a race made of sentient gas who throw fireballs as a friendly wave." The Doctor commented as he rummaged through a box, "I know another race with 64 stomachs who talk to each other by disembowelling."

"It's a possibility they don't mean any harm," Star simplified.
"They've got a hunch." Clara supplied.
"My point being that in a universe as immense and bizarre as this one, you cannot be too quick to judge." The Doctor continued, "Perhaps these creatures don't even understand that we need 3 dimensions to live in. They may not even know that they're hurting us."

"Do you really believe that?" Clara asked.
"No." he sighed, "I really hope that. It would make a nice change, wouldn't it? Okay. Let's start with pi. Even in a flat world they would have circles. I don't mean edible pie, I mean circular pi. Which I realise would also mean edible pie but anyway." He typed away on the console when they heard a noise from the speakers. "They're responding. The TARDIS is translating now."

"It's a number." Star told them, "…55."
"55?" Clara frowned, "What does that mean?"

"10th Fibonacci number." The Doctor suggested, "Atomic number of caesium."

"I know what it means. We all have numbers on our jackets." Risby explained, "Have to sign them out. That was the number on Stan's jacket, the man they flattened in the subway."

"They're gloating." The older man realised.

"We don't know that." The Doctor shook his head.

"But it is more than likely." Star added.

"Star!"

"Well it is the truth!" she defended. Honestly, he complains when she lies, and he complains when she tells the truth, she just can't win with him.

"It could be an apology, for all we know?" Clara tried to reason with the others.
"Really? That's nice of them." Al remarked, clearly not believing her.
"An apology?" the older man sneered, "Are you seriously…" he was cut off by more of the weird noise from the speakers.
"Shush, shush, shush." Clara silenced him, "Listen. Wait."
"2 2. 22." The Doctor translated.
"22."
"That's George." Risby breathed.
"Looks like your number's up, George." The old man turned to George as he stood down the row away from the group, "Now they're threatening."
"Maybe. Or maybe they're showing us they can read." Clara tried to defend.
"Oh, grow up. They're picking targets."
"Of course you'd see it that way." Risby glared at him, defending Clara.
"What do you mean by that?"
"George?" Clara eyed the man as he stood still, too still.
"Everyone's out to get you, aren't they?" Risby continued arguing with the older man.
"In this case, they kind of are." He agreed.

"Clara, be careful." The Doctor warned, watching as the woman approached George, seeing him as a 2 dimensional creature, as he dissolved into the floor and wall.

"The tunnel!" Clara shouted as they all turned and ran down the tunnel. "Doctor, they've got George."
"We did see." Star reminded her, watching as the Doctor ran down the stairs.
"What now?"
"Give me a minute." The Doctor answered, sitting below the console at a desk, working on a device. "I'm working on it."
Star continued watching on the monitor as the group stood at a steel door.

"Another flat handle." Clara moaned, "They were here. Not now. They've stopped chasing us, I think. It feels like they're cornering us."

"You can't apply human logic." Star commented, "You're dealing with creatures from another dimension."

"That's three exits all blocked by those creatures." Al pointed out.
"Risby, where's the next exit?" Clara turned to him, he seemed to know the tunnel the best out of them all.
"The only other one I can think of is where the old line joins the new, but it's a fair walk. Getting through that door would be quicker."
"But we can't, can we?" the older man cut in.
"I'm just saying."
"Clara, I might be able to help with that door." The Doctor called. "Give me five minutes."
"What are you doing?" Star frowned.

"You'll see."

The humans walked further down the tunnel, stopping when they found some graffiti on the wall.

"It's one of mine." Risby smiled, proud, "Do you like it?" he asked Clara.
"Yeah, not bad." She nodded, "So this thing you're working on?" she spoke to the Doctor.
"I think I've figured out a way to restore three dimensions. At least on a small scale, say door handles."
"So, what's that, then? A de-flattener?

"We're not calling it a de-flattener." He handed her the finished device, similar to an old calculator with a ball on the top. "This should be able to restore dimensions."

"Should?" Star leaned on the console, eyebrow raised.

"It will work!" he turned to her before turning back to Clara, "You see what I've called it?"
"2 D is." Clara read, "2 Dee Iz?"

"No. 2dis. It's called the 2dis," he sighed, turning to Star, "Why'd I even bother?"

"Give it a go." Star urged, "I want to see if it works."

Clara aimed it at the flattened door handle, a green ray of light pulsed out to the handle, when it smoked and blew.

"Long way round it is." Clara groaned, putting the 2dis in her bag, Star taking it and eying it.

"Clara, I don't know how, but they're doing it again." the Doctor called, as the TARDIS jolted, "They're leeching the TARDIS!"
"How? Your doors are closed."
"They've changed frequency. This time it's different."
"Listen!" Clara hissed. "The Doctor and Star think we might be in trouble. They think they might be close."
"Where, exactly?" the older man asked, not believe her, not believing that they could know if they were close or not.
"I don't know. They're not sure. They're getting readings all around."
"Oh, that's just great. Sounds important but means absolutely nothing. Can you tell your friend…" he was cut of by Al's screaming as a hand lifted him in the air, pulling him back down the tunnel.
"Of course." The Doctor murmured, "The next stage. 3D."

Lumps appeared on the floor of the tunnel, slowly rising to become the images of the missing people.

"Run!" Risby yelled.
"Doctor? The door. The handle's flattened." Clara reminded them.
Star handed her the 2dis again, "I've boosted the output."
"And it will work this time?"

"I fixed it, this time."

That was all Clara needed, she aimed the 2dis at the handle, the green pulse aimed at the door, the handle becoming 3D again; they ran through, Risby locking it again.

"Clara, stop. Use it again. It can reverse the process."
"There's a ladder at the end of this." Risby informed them, "If we get down into the tunnel, we can make it into daylight."
"Hang on! Hang on" Clara aimed the 2dis at the door, the handle flattening again.
"If it's flat, we're safe now, aren't we?" the older man reasoned.
"They can't get through, can they?" Risby asked.
"Wait." Clara stayed where she was, watching the door, only for the handle to become 3D again.

"2DIS!" Star laughed, "I just got it!"

"At least someone laughed." The Doctor muttered as they watched the humans run off down the tunnel.

"That's terrible."
"They have a new ability." The Doctor muttered, "Of course they have. Now they're 3D, they can restore dimensions."
"Clara, do you want the good news or the bad news?" Star called to her.
"We're in the bad news!" she yelled as the group ran, "I'm living the bad news!
"The good news is I've come up with a theoretical way to send them back to their own dimension." The Doctor remarked.

"Do it! Now!"
"And that's the bad news." Star sighed, "The TARDIS doesn't have enough dimensional energy to pull it off."
"Great. What do you want me to do about it?"

"Apparently these things can pump it out as fast as they can steal it."

"Maybe if I ask them really nicely, they'll fill you up again. Hey!" the older man pulled the TARDIS out of Clara bag.
"Give me that machine!" he shouted, trying to get the 2dis "Hand it over!"
The men fought for the 2dis, when the TARDIS jolted, the monitor going to static before going black as the room jolted and the alarms blared, the power gone completely, the lights dimming.
"Doctor?" Clara called moments later though the static, "Star, I dropped you down a hole. Where are you?"
"Don't know." The Doctor replied, "The shields have gone. Structural integrity is failing. Another blow like that and we've had it."
Star peered out of the doors, "We're on the train lines." There was light and a horn from the distance, "And there's a train coming." She groaned, "Of course there is."

"Short-term re-materialisation?" the Doctor tried to think of ways to get out, "Not enough power. Teleport? Not enough power. Re-route the heart of the TARDIS through, not enough power! Not enough power!"
"Can't you move the TARDIS?" Clara asked, "Star can't you teleport yourself out?"

"I cant teleport in and out of the TARDIS!" she snapped, she had said that time and time again, if she had to repeat herself once more…
"Clara, there is no power." The Doctor informed her, "The TARDIS couldn't boil an egg at the moment. Listen, do what you can to get those people out of there. You're stronger than you know."
"I wonder what they're like with ladders?" they could hear Risby wonder.
"No, I mean you move the TARDIS," Clara continued, "Like Addams Family."

"Like the hand thing?" Star frowned, following her idea. "That could work."

The Doctor ran to the doors, sticking his hand out, turning the TARDIS upright, dragging them along the tracks to the side, out of the way of the train.

"Clara you are brilliant!" Star laughed.
"Ha!" the Doctor cheered, closing the doors, hugging Star and spinning her around, making her giggle.

Only for the vibration of the train to knock the TARDIS over, in the way of the train. They didn't have enough time to retry.

"damn…" the Doctor could only mutter as he dove under the console, forcing Star with him, the girl pulling a lever as they went, the lever to put the TARDIS in siege mode, it would protect them from the train.

~.~

Star jumped up moments later, running around the console, pulling lever and pressing buttons, nothing working. "No power!" she shouted, "cant turn siege mode back off." They had nothing, couldn't see or hear Clara now, they just had to hope she would be able to stop the creatures now.

She gave a frustrated scream, running under the console, to find something, running back up, carrying a handful of blankets, "this was all I could find," they would help keep them warmer for longer.

"It's better than nothing," the Doctor one around himself, leaving her with the rest, more than him, rubbing his arms on her, giving her some of his warmth.

The only air and heat in the room was all they had left…and it wasn't much.

The Doctor turned up his coat collar, rubbing his hands together as the heating dropped, "I don't know if you can still hear me out there," the Doctor called, whether Clara could hear or not, it didn't matter, it just helped to speak, just in case she could still hear them, "but the TARDIS is now in siege mode. No way in, no way out. Star managed to turn it on just before the train hit. But there's not enough power left now to turn it off."

"so we wait for Clara," Star lifted her chin up, "now help me find something that works!"

The Doctor raised an eyebrow as she ordered him around but didn't say anything as he joined her at the other side of the console. Just trying any and all levers and buttons, something had to still be working.

"Yes!" Star cheered, managing to get the scanner back on…only to frown seeing Clara and the humans, in a small abandoned office, an extra man with them now. "What are you doing?"

The woman grabbed a spray can, shaking it, pulling out a large sheet of paper, laying on the table, grinning.

"No, don't do that!" she hit the monitor as the screen when to static.

"Star, calm down," the Doctor put an arm around her, calming her down.

"No, no, no, no, no! I will not calm down! I put the TARDIS is siege mode, and now were running out of air and…"

"Take a deep breath and calm down. Breathe."

She looked at him as he inhaled and exhaled deeply, gesturing her to do the same.

"I'm calm," she defended, "Im calm."

at least he didn't say 'conceal, don't feel'

~.~

"Life support failing." The Doctor breathed as he stood on the upper lever, moving around the room to keep warm. "I don't know if you'll ever hear this, Clara. We don't even know if you're still alive out there. But you were good! The best of the best. And you made a mighty fine Doctor."

"Dad," Star looked at him.

"yeah?"

"shut up, and anything you have to say…wait and tell Clara herself."

He sucked in a breath at that. She was so optimistic that she still had hope that Clara would get them out of this. But it was impossible, they had no power left inside. But Clara was the impossible girl.

Suddenly the TARDIS jolted and shook, the power slowly restoring. The Doctor ran down to the console, both Time Lords quickly typing away as the power was restored and the exterior grew back to normal size.

Clever Clara.

Star pulled a lever and they landed, turning the shield back on, pushing the creatures away.

"We tried to talk." The Doctor called on the monitor, speaking to the creatures and humans outside, "I want you to remember that. We tried to reach out, we tried to understand you, but I think that you understand us perfectly. And I think you just don't care. And I don't know whether you are here to invade, infiltrate or just replace us. I don't suppose it really matters now. You are monsters. That is the role you seem determined to play. So it seems I must play mine."

They stepped out of the TARDIS, "we're the ones who stop you," Star grinned, "We're sending you back to your own dimension. If you're lucky some of you may survive the trip. And, if you do, remember this. You are not welcome here. This plane is protected. I am the Doctor and Star is my daughter." He turned, catching the sonic as Clara threw it at him as she and the humans stood to the side. "And I name you The Boneless." He threw his arm out, activating the sonic and sending the Boneless back to the universe, not caring if any survived or not. No one harmed his family. EVER.

~.~

The TARDIS materialised at the waste land from earlier. The Doctor, Star, Clara, the train driver, the older man and Risby stepped out.
"Hi, Mum. It's me." Risby greeted on his phone.
"You all right?" Clara chuckled as the train driver dropped to his knees, kissing the ground.
"I'm alive, and I've been inside that." He nodded to the TARDIS, "I think I'm up on the deal. Come here." He pulled her into a hug as Risby walked off to speak to his mum, the older man busy retying his laces. "Thank you." he turned to the older man, "You look chipper." He walked off.
"Do people still say chipper?" Clara wondered.
"Apparently." The Doctor answered, "Are you okay?"
"I'm alive."

"Good," Star smiled at her.
"And a lot of people died." The Doctor added.
"It's like a forest fire, though, isn't it?" the older man countered, "The objective is to save the great trees, not the brushwood. Am I right?"
"It wasn't a fire, those weren't trees, those were people."
"They were Community Payback scumbags, I wouldn't lose any sleep."
"I bet you wouldn't." the Doctor murmured. Even he lost sleep from people he didn't know, but he had taken their lifes and was guilty of their deaths.

'Permission?' Star asked, reaching into her boot.

'Not granted.' The Doctor shook his head, holding both her hands,

She pouted but straightened, settling for a glare instead.
"It's good to be alive though. Thank you. Seriously, thank you." he turned and walked off.
"Maybe the wrong people survived." Star glared after the man. If the Doctor wasn't holding both her hands she would throw her dagger after him.
"Yeah, but we saved the world, right?" Clara nudged her.
"Well…I'd say more you did."
She beamed, "I was the Doctor today. And, apparently, I was quite good at it." she grinned at that, he had admitted she was a good Doctor.
"You heard that, did you?" he muttered.
"Yeah, but the power was going off so I suppose you were delirious. You didn't know what you were saying."
"That'd be it," Star nodded with a laugh.
Risby finished his call and walked back over to the trio.

"Ah! The return of the fluorescent pudding brain." The Doctor remarked.

"You do realise he can hear you now?" Clara asked.
"I know. Your last painting was so good it saved the world. I can't wait to see what you do next."
Risby chuckled at that, "It's not going to be easy. I've got a hair band to live up to. Thanks." Clara pulled him into a hug before he left as well, giving a small wave of goodbye.
"Admit it. I did well." Clara looked down as her phone rang.
"Is that Danny?" Star asked.
"Just say it." Clara declined the call, "I know you want to."
"I think you were a pretty good Doctor, Clara." Star smiled.

"Thank you, Star." she gave the Doctor a look, making him know she was only thanking Star.

The Doctor just rolled his eyes and entered the TARDIS.

Clara made to follow but stopped see Star frowned into the distance, "what's wrong?"

"Do you ever feel like your being watched?" she asked quietly, as though someone was listening.

"No…well, today, because you were watching me." She chuckled lightly.

"Ah, what's makes you think im not always watching you." Star laughed.

"Star, don't ever change."

"Promise," she crossed her hearts, skipping into the TARDIS, Clara following, casting a small glance at where Star had been staring at.

Nothing was there.

She shook her head, Star was completely random.