CHAPTER 27
I do not own Doctor Who and I am making no profit off of this.
Thank you for all of your favorites, follows, story alerts, and reviews!
A NEW BOYFRIEND OR A BIG MISTAKE?
Oswin returned to Rose's school with Molly as she prepared to give her friend moral support on her first day of teaching there. She could tell that Molly was extremely nervous, and she knew that if she didn't come with her that Molly probably would have been a no show. That wouldn't have looked very good her first day on the job. She certainly didn't want to catch any flack from Rose about it either.
You didn't want to make universe shattering entities angry if you valued your continuing existence after all. Of course, she knew that Rose would never hurt her. She would certainly give her an earful though, and that was not an experience that she cared to live through.
Oswin gave Molly a thumbs-up as she stood in front of the class on her first day. Molly took a deep breath and focused all of her attention on Janine to help calm her nerves before she started. Janine smiled at her as she tried to encourage her as well.
Janine whispered to Ace, "If you try anything smart with her, I'll give you the slap of your life! I don't care if you are older and could incinerate me with a glance, I'll still do it."
"Don't worry about it. We're friends, remember? If you say she's off limits, then I'll respect that. You must like her a lot, Munchkin," Ace said in an amused voice.
"She's my friend. I just want her first day to go well," Janine said.
"She won't get any trouble from me. I can't vouch for anyone else though. Especially Alex. He always seems to find a way to get on my last nerve," Ace said.
"You're not fooling me. I know you like him," Janine said.
"You take that back! He's pond scum. I can't stand him," Ace said.
"Yeah, sure!" Janine said.
"Take it back, Munchkin!" Ace said in a threatening voice.
Ace went quiet though when Oswin loudly cleared her throat and glared at her. Ace continued to give Janine the evil eye though. How dare she say that she liked that annoying little creep! He wasn't even that good looking.
Finally with everyone settled down, Molly began as she said, "Hello. I'm Molly Hunter, and I'm here to teach English today. I know I won't be as entertaining as your other English teacher, Miss Idris, but I hope that you'll enjoy being in my class just as much as you seem to enjoy hers."
"At least I can actually understand you so far. That's a big improvement over Idris in my book," Ace said.
"Thanks. She is a little hard to follow, isn't she?" Molly asked as she began to calm down.
"A little hard to follow? Sometimes I need to make a flow chart and a detailed schematic just to try to make some sense out of her class, and I'm a certified genius," Amanda said with a sigh.
"Well, I hope that I'll be a welcome breath of fresh air then. I'm a much simpler type of gal. At least I'll try to be. If anyone has any problems understanding me, just let me know," Molly assured them.
"You're doing just fine. I actually understood every single word and exactly what you meant by them. That's a big plus over Idris. I'm lucky if I understand anything in her class, and I live with her," Mary said.
Oswin smiled as this was one of her main arguments in getting Rose to hire Molly. The kids needed an English teacher that actually made sense. She always wondered what possessed Rose to hire Idris in the first place. She expected it was just Rose displaying her own unique sense of humor.
Oswin smiled as Molly soon started to take to teaching like she was born to it, and the kids seemed to like her right away. She hoped that this would finally give her friend's life that sense of purpose to it that she seemed to need so badly.
"So why aren't you trying to drive this one up the wall like you do everyone else? Are you going soft?" Alex asked Ace.
"She's nervous, okay? I'm taking it easy on her because it's her first day," Ace defended herself.
"I think you like her. You're being nice to her because you like her. Admit it!" Alex said.
"I'm not nice! I'm never nice!" Ace protested.
"Stop with the tough girl act. You don't have to be tough all of the time, Ace," Alex insisted.
"I'm not acting. This is who I am. I am tough," Ace said.
"Ace, I hate for us to start off on the wrong foot, but you need to stop yelling in the middle of my class. If you want to talk to your boyfriend, you're going to have to do it after school," Molly said.
"Boyfriend?! He's not my boyfriend! Don't worry. I won't talk to him anymore. He irritates me enough just by breathing why should I talk to him and make things worse?" Ace said.
"Boyfriend?" Alex asked in confusion and then smiled for a minute at the idea.
Ace glared at him as she silently told him not to even think about it. Boyfriend? Really?! He wasn't even her type!
Oswin laughed at the two of them. She knew that Molly was going to have her hands full with those two. She usually did. They always fought so much in her class that she had wondered if they were dating as well. It seemed that wasn't the case though. Not yet anyway.
Happily Molly's first day went well, and Oswin took her home to Marissa's TARDIS. Molly was still smiling even after she returned, and Oswin knew that she was feeling good about herself.
"How did it go?" Marissa asked as soon as they returned.
"It was great! The kids seem to like me, and I like all of them. They're so funny, and they're all so nice. I was afraid that they would hate me, but they actually seem to like me. I was actually having fun today, Mari. Can you imagine that? I was having fun teaching English! I think I'm becoming a nerd. Who would have thought that?" Molly said with a giggle.
"As a good friend of mine might say 'Nerds are cool!' I'm glad to hear that everything went well. It's good to see you happy, Molly. Wait a minute. Don't you have Ace in your class?" Marissa asked.
"Yes, she does," Oswin said with a huge smile.
"Ace didn't bother her?" Marissa asked with surprise.
"Nope. Ace likes her," Oswin said.
"It's a sign! Not that I really believe in signs of course. If I did though, that would be a major one. Ace doesn't like any of the teachers. She even gives River grief, and River's her friend. If Ace is being nice to you, then that shows just how good you are," Marissa said happily.
"Thanks. I think that I'm going to enjoy this job. I love all of those kids. Especially Ace. She's a sweetheart," Molly said.
"Don't ever let her hear you say that, Molly. She'll probably make your desk explode!" Oswin warned.
Molly laughed and Oswin said, "I'm being serious. She'll get mad. I mean really mad. She might even blow up the classroom."
"Alright, alright! I won't call her a sweetheart. She seems very nice to me though. I'm glad too. I was so afraid that everyone was going to hate me. If you and Janine hadn't been there, I would have probably freaked out," Molly admitted.
"Now you know there's no reason to. You did great today. I'm happy for you, Sis!" Oswin said as she hugged her.
Molly looked at her in surprise as she said, "So you're finally calling me that now? I've only been calling you that forever."
"I know so it's about time that I returned the favor. So how do you feel about a trip to Skaro? I know that it's been a long day, but I'd really like for you to come with me. Today's the day that I have to decide with to do with Davros, and I'd really like to not be alone when I make this decision," Oswin said.
"It's okay. I'll go. What are you going to do with him?" Molly asked.
"I'm not completely decided yet, but I know what I'm thinking of doing," Oswin admitted.
"I hope you're quick on your feet then. The Daleks are going to expect an answer. Even if they do all love you, I'm not sure that you want to keep them waiting for much longer. It's probably not a good idea," Molly said.
"Do you want me to go with you?" Marissa asked.
"Yeah, if you would. I'm not sure that they're going to like the decision that I'm probably going to make," Oswin said.
"Alright, we'll all go together then. It'll just be the three of us alone against a planet full of potentially angry Daleks. We can take them easily! No problem!" Marissa joked.
"Maybe we should go back and ask Ace to come along with us," Molly said with grin.
"We don't want to cause a planet wide panic, Molly. They'd probably all flee in terror if they heard she was around. She's become a legend spoken of in whispers among them," Oswin said.
"Seriously?" Molly asked.
"Yeah. She did kill a Dalek with a baseball bat once," Oswin said.
"That sweet kid?" Molly asked in surprise.
"You're really going to have your eyes opened about her big time someday. I just hope that I'm not there to see it. I prefer to have my hair intact instead of in flames thank you very much," Oswin said.
Marissa landed the TARDIS in the middle of the newly rebuilt Capitol of Skaro, and the three women walked out of it to see thousands upon thousands of Daleks surrounding them for a far as the eye could see. All of them turned their eye stalks to look at Oswin at once, and then they lowered them in reverence as she walked towards them.
"If you weren't here, I'd be terrified right now," Molly said to Oswin.
"Everything's fine," Oswin said calmly.
It wasn't though. Not for Molly. This just brought back bad memories of the day that her life was turned upside down by the Daleks forever when they destroyed her home town and killed her parents. She knew that these Daleks meant her no harm, but it still didn't make the bad feelings that she had for all Daleks in general go away.
"I'm sorry. I didn't realize that it was going to affect you like this, Molly. Do you want to go back to the TARDIS?" Oswin asked as she noticed that Molly was shaking.
"No, I'm fine," Molly said with a reassuring smile.
She wondered if she'd ever be fine though around this many Daleks at once. She was okay around Dalek Epsilon or Dalek Omega, but this was different. This was almost overwhelming.
"Molly if you don't stop looking so pale, I'm sending you back whether you like it or not," Oswin said in a worried voice.
"I'll be fine," Molly said with a weak smile.
"She's developed a phobia about them," Marissa whispered.
Oswin nodded. It made her feel about two feet tall that she was responsible for turning what should have been a confidence building day into yet another setback for Molly. She was beginning to wonder if Molly wasn't better off without her.
The three of them finally wound up in a judgment chamber where Davros sat along with Mira. They were both surrounded by half a dozen Daleks who all had their eyes trained on their Creator at all moments with their gun sticks aimed and ready if he should try anything.
Dalek Epsilon flew up to Oswin and landed in front of her as he said, "HAVE YOU MADE YOUR DECISION YET?"
"Yes, but you're not going to like it," Oswin said.
"YOU'RE NOT LETTING HIM GO, ARE YOU?" Epsilon asked.
"No. I'm going to make him my permanent 'guest' with his life support tied into a device on my belt. If he tries to move too far away from me, the controls in my belt can turn his life support off in an instant. The device also has a dead man's switch so that his life support will switch off if he kills me," Oswin said.
"THIS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE. HE IS NOT TO BE TRUSTED ESPECIALLY NOT ALONE WITH THE EMPRESS!" Dalek Epsilon said.
"She won't be alone. I'll be with both of them," Mira said.
"THE SISTER OF THE CREATOR IS NOT TO BE TRUSTED EITHER," Dalek Epsilon said.
"I've never done anything to any of you," Mira said.
"YOU WOULD DO ANYTHING TO KEEP HIM ALIVE, IS THAT NOT TRUE?" Dalek Epsilon asked.
"I wouldn't hurt Oswin if that's what you're worried about," Mira said.
"I DO NOT TRUST YOU. IF YOU ARE GOING TO BE ALONE WITH HER AT ALL TIMES THEN I WILL ASSIGN HER A PERMANENT ESCORT FOR HER PROTECTION," Dalek Epsilon said.
"Wait a minute! I don't want an escort," Oswin protested.
"DALEKS GAMMA AND OMICRON, REPORT! YOU ARE ASSIGNED AS PERMANENT ESCORT TO THE EMPRESS AT ALL TIMES NOW. IF THE CREATOR TRIES TO ATTACK HER OR ESCAPE, YOU WILL TERMINATE HIM WITH EXTREME PREJUDICE," Epsilon commanded.
"I OBEY!" Daleks Gamma and Omicron both said in unison.
"I'm supposed to be the Empress not you," Oswin protested.
"I HAVE RESERVED EMERGENCY POWERS TO MYSELF AS SECOND COMMAND THAT I AM NOW INVOKING FOR YOUR PROTECTION, EMPRESS. THAT GIVES ME THE RIGHT TO OVERRULE YOU," Epsilon said.
"You're worse than my dad," Oswin pouted as Molly and Marissa started laughing.
"Whose side are you two traitors on anyway?" Oswin asked with a frown.
Oswin couldn't help but smile though because for the moment Molly seemed to have overcome this new phobia to Daleks that she had developed. She hoped that it would go away just as quickly as it came.
"Let's go then. It seems that I'm going to have four permanent guests on my TARDIS from now on. I'm sure I won't mind three of them," Marissa said.
"I appreciate the subtle slam against my person, Rani," Davros said.
"And I appreciate the subtle message that you're trying to send me, but the difference between us is that I'm trying to change while you're not," Marissa said.
"Correction. You have changed. You're nothing like you were, Marissa," Oswin said.
"You only think that you know the truth, Oswin. I know differently though. The Rani is still alive and well inside of me. I've just learned to keep her under control. I only let you see Marissa. If I showed you the Rani, then you wouldn't like what you would see," Marissa said as she looked away from her in shame.
"You're just like a sister to me now, Ushas. I would always stand by your side no matter what," Oswin said.
"Thank you," Marissa said with a warm smile as the two of them embraced.
Nearby a pair of eyes that didn't belong to a Dalek watched this display of emotion with extreme jealousy and anger. The owner of the eyes automatically vowed that Oswin would not survive much longer. She would see to that.
No one would take her place by her sister's side.
As Oswin, Marissa, and the others left in the TARDIS, they received a sudden unexpected visitor in the form of a man who appeared in the Console Room out of nowhere and fell over unconscious right at Oswin's feet. The two Daleks with her automatically trained their gun stalks on him in alarm.
"PROTECT THE EMPRESS!" the two Daleks shouted.
"Wait! He's wearing a Vortex Manipulator. Maybe he came here by mistake," Oswin said.
The man woke up and stared at Oswin with a huge smile on his face. Then he saw the two Daleks, and his smile quickly left. He slowly got up as he said, "I'm not a threat. I'm friendly. I love Daleks. I promise! They're cute!"
"YOU WILL STAND AWAY FROM THE EMPRESS!" the two Daleks ordered.
"Oh, is that what you're worried about? I'd never lay a finger on someone as gorgeous as she is. Not unless she asked me to," the man said with that huge smile having returned to his face now as he stared at Oswin.
"Who are you?" Oswin asked.
"John Harkness at your service, lovely lady!" John said.
"As in Captain Jack Harkness' son?" Oswin asked in shock.
"Not yet but I will be," John admitted.
"Another future kid. I'm not even that surprised to see them anymore. Wait. So you're Penny's son too then, right?" Oswin asked.
"You know that I can't tell you that. As a friend of mine says 'Spoilers!' " John said.
"What are you doing here?" Oswin asked.
"Believe it or not, I came here by mistake. I was trying to go back home, but somehow I was knocked off course by some kind of temporal storm. It was sheer luck that I wound up here. It seems that I was very lucky as a matter of fact. There are a lot of beautiful ladies here," John said as he looked at Marissa, Molly, and Mira with an ever widening grin on his face.
"It's times like this that I wish my chair's weapons were still activated," Davros said as he cringed at the way John was looking at his sister.
"PERHAPS WE COULD ACTIVATE HIS CHAIR JUST FOR A MOMENT," Dalek Gamma said to Dalek Omicron.
"There will be no exterminations," Oswin said firmly.
"I'm glad that we've gotten that straightened out. So tell me. Are you seeing anyone?" John said as he returned his attention to Oswin.
"Unfortunately, no. I'm still not interested though," Oswin said.
"Why not? I'm single and you're single. You're gorgeous, and I know that I am. Why don't we give it a shot?" John asked.
"You are so Jack's son that's for sure," Oswin said as she laughed at him.
John smiled. He knew that he was breaking through her defenses. It wouldn't be much longer now.
"Look at that smug smile. You're so sure that you have me already, don't you?" Oswin said with a grin.
"Well, don't I?" John asked.
"Not yet but your chances are looking better and better by the moment," Oswin said.
"I FEEL STRONGLY REVOLTED BY THIS DISPLAY OF HUMAN COURTSHIP," Dalek Gamma said.
"AGREED. URGE TO KILL RISING!" Dalek Omicron said.
"I feel sickened by this constant flirting," Davros said.
"I think it's sweet," Mira said.
"I don't. He barely even looked at me. I love Oswin like family, but I'm much prettier than she is," Molly said.
Marissa rolled her eyes at Molly's jealousy as she tried not to laugh. She was so glad that John wasn't interested in her for two reasons. One, she only loved one man; and Two, said man would probably rip John's still beating heart out of his chest if he caught him looking at her like he had before in his presence. It was best for everyone that John was interested in Oswin instead.
Still she was appreciative that he had looked. At least she knew that she still had it. Not bad for someone a thousand years old she thought to herself with a smile.
"YOU WILL NOT FLIRT WITH THE EMPRESS. YOU ARE NOT PURE," Dalek Gamma said.
"Wait a minute! This really is like my father. Now you're trying to tell me who to date? Uh uh! It's not going to happen. I'll date who I bloody well please!" Oswin shouted.
"So we're dating?" John said with a smug grin.
"No. I'm not talking about you. I'm talking about dating in general. As it happens though, they're right. I'm not interested. Why don't you just put some new coordinates in your Manipulator and leave?" Oswin said.
"Alright, if you insist. I think that you're missing out on what could have been the adventure of a lifetime though," John said as he punched in new coordinates into his Manipulator.
"Does that line actually work with anyone?" Oswin asked.
"Yeah, plenty of people! It seems that you're a tough nut to crack though," John said indignantly.
"If she doesn't want you, I'm available," Molly said with an eager grin.
"You're very cute, but I think it's best that I just go. The Great and Mighty Empress might have her subjects shoot me if I stick around here much longer. I know where I'm not wanted," John said.
"I say you shoot him anyway," Davros said.
"URGE TO KILL INCREASING!" Dalek Omicron said.
"See what I mean?" John said with a shrug of his shoulders.
He finished putting in some new coordinates in the Manipulator and said, "Good bye, Ladies. Maybe I'll see you around sometime. Except you, Empress. I don't ever want to see you again. You're too much trouble with your Dalek bodyguards around."
John then hit the final button and nothing happened!
"What? Why isn't it working? What's going on?" John asked in frustration.
He put in the coordinates yet again, and he still went nowhere. He started to swear up a storm, and Mira blushed at the words he was using. She had never heard such things in her life.
"Maybe I could help. Let me look at it," Marissa said.
"Anything to get him to shut up," Oswin said with a groan.
"Don't worry, lady. I'm getting out of here just as soon as your sister fixes it," John said.
"You think I'm her sister?" Marissa asked flattered.
"You act like sisters. Am I wrong?" John asked as he pretended not to know who Marissa was.
He knew who everyone in the room was of course. He was from the future after all. He couldn't let them know that he knew them though. Besides he liked being able to flirt with Koschei's future wife and get away with it. It was just the kind of living dangerously that he loved to do.
"I can't fix it for some reason. The temporal storm that you went through must have fused it. This may take a while to properly repair. You really were very lucky to get here in one piece," Marissa said.
John shuddered as he realized just how close that he had come to being lost in the Vortex forever. It took a lot of the cockiness out of him for a moment. Only for a moment though. Nothing could keep him down for long.
"Great! So we have to suffer through his being here until you can fix it then?" Oswin asked with a sigh.
"I'm not complaining," Molly said.
Then everything quickly went downhill as the TARDIS shook violently. In the next minute, a woman with long dark hair appeared out of nowhere and shouted, "You will not steal my sister away from me, witch!"
Oswin fell to the ground in pain as her mind was assaulted by an intense mental attack that left her screaming. The Daleks tried to defend her only to find themselves suffering from the same mental attack as well along with everyone else in the TARDIS.
Everyone but one that is.
"Kali, stop this! Let them go!" Marissa ordered.
"You're my sister, Ushas. Not hers! Mine! I won't let her take you away from me. I will kill her for what she's done!" Kali said in a violent rage.
"Kali, please! Stop!" Marissa said in tears.
"There will be no mercy. Good bye, Oswin Oswald! You weren't supposed to be here in this universe anyway. This is where destiny finally catches up to you and fixes its mistake!" Kali shouted in anger.
Next: It's Kali vs. Oswin. Need I say more?