CHAPTER 58
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DARK REFLECTION
"Why are you doing this? I don't understand. Please just let me go! Haven't you already killed enough of us?!" The terrified woman said as she found herself staring death straight in the face.
It had all happened so fast that it almost didn't seem real. Within the space of a single hour, her entire village had been completely destroyed while she and her people stood by helpless to do anything about it. The people, the animals, the plants, and the very land itself had been systemically destroyed by powerful blasts of energy that seemed to appear out of nowhere at first. At first she and her fellow tribesmen had thought that it was some kind of terrible natural disaster that they had never seen before. Then they realized the horrifying truth as they saw that it was a single woman who was systematically tearing apart their entire world as she incinerated them all one by one until she was the only one left.
If she suddenly woke up to find out that it had all been just a horrible nightmare, she wouldn't have been a bit surprised. Unfortunately for her, it was all too real.
The glowing woman who had caused all of this devastation gave her a grim smile that contained no trace of humor or benevolence of any kind in it whatsoever as she said, "You don't understand. I'm actually helping you. This way you don't have to stand by and watch as the universe slowly takes everything that matters away from you. This way you don't have to live with that pain for the rest of your life. It'll all be over for you. Don't you see? I'm giving you a wonderful gift: final peace of mind."
"You're insane. Completley insane," The woman said in disbelief.
"So I've been told. I prefer to think of it as finally being completely enlightened about the nature of the universe at last. I saved people for years and was a good person and what did I get for it? The one person that I loved the most was taken away forever and I couldn't do anything about it. Nothing. That's when it knew that it was all meaningless and that I needed to destroy everything once and for all. That way I can help everyone else by keeping them from having to suffer like I did. This way I make sure that everyone finally gets a happy ending. What's so mad about that?" The glowing woman said with absolute sincerity.
"Why is this happening?" The shaking woman before her cried out as she realized that she was dealing with someone who was completely detached from reality.
"That's what I asked when Danny died. I've already told you the answer that I found. Now let me help you come to that conclusion too. Don't worry. I'll make this quick. It won't hurt a bit. I promise," The glowing woman said.
"Please don't! Please!" The woman pleaded in tears.
"You will back away from the female or we will neutralize you," A voice that the glowing woman found very familiar and yet strangely different at the same time commanded in a harsh tone.
"Oh, well this is new. Are you trying out a new catchphrase these days along with a new voice, boys? I must say that it doesn't suit you. Who needs human sounding Daleks? I must say that you'll really be damaging your image if you stick with this," The glowing woman said with a smirk.
"We are not the Daleks from your world or even from this one. We have followed you here in order to put a stop to your attacks before you can endanger our own universe. Now in the name of the Mentor, you will identify yourself before we take you before her for your trial. Who are you?" The leader of this small group of the Mentor's monitors demanded.
"Little old me? Oh, no one important as it turns out. I was just a girl who once thought that she was special but quickly found out in one single horrifying moment that she wasn't," The glowing woman said with no concern whatsoever as she found herself face to face with several of the Monitor's Daleks who pointed their gun sticks at her.
"Identify yourself or you will be neutralized immediately," One of the Daleks said in a cold, calculating voice.
"Oh, well if you must know my name is Clara. Clara Oswald. Funny how that name doesn't seem to apply anymore now though since I tore open the Heart of the Doctor's TARDIS after I killed him. That's when Clara Oswald died you see and someone else was reborn in her place. So I suppose I really don't have a name anymore. Names aren't really important anymore when everyone that I meet dies soon anyway," The mad Clara said as her eyes suddenly glowed even brighter than the rest of her for a moment.
"Clara Oswald, you are charged with multiple counts of genocide and universal armaggedon. You will be made to answer for your crimes before the Mentor. Come with us peacefully or face instant destruction," One of the Mentor's Daleks said.
"So those are my only options are they? I don't like those choices, boys, so I think that I'll give myself a third one instead," The mad Clara said with a malevolent grin.
Then she glowed brighter than ever just before she completely incinerated every single one of the Daleks before her in an instant!
"Annoying little pests. I do wish that they would quit bothering me while I'm working. I'll kill them too eventually once I find their world which shouldn't take too much longer now that I've seen them up close. They don't have to be in quite such a hurry to die though until then I don't think," The mad Clara said to herself with a chuckle.
Then she turned to find the woman who she had been about to kill before suddenly missing.
"There's no use to run, you know? I will find you sooner or later. You might as well get it over with now and save yourself a lot of trouble. There is no escape, dear," The mad Clara said.
The terrified woman could actually hear her from where she was hiding nearby, and she just knew that she would find her at any moment now. If for no other reason than that she was certain that her heart was beating so fast that surely the madwoman could hear it from a mile away.
Suddenly she felt a hand close over her mouth and an arm circled her arms and waist tightly in an attempt to pin her in place. She desperately tried to escape until a woman's voice advised her in a low whisper, "I wouldn't run out there if I were you. She'd kill you as soon as she saw you."
The woman turned her head slightly to see that the woman holding her against her will was an exact double of the glowing woman who had attacked her. What was going on here?
The other Clara looked amused at the woman's shocked expression as she said, "Yes, I am her exact double but I'm not here to kill you. I'm here to save you surprisingly enough. This world's destruction is a fixed moment in time but your death isn't. I can still bring something good out of this as hard as that is to believe. I'm going to teleport you away from here to another world where you'll be safe. Well, you will be for a little while anyway. None of us will be safe for long if that Psycho Clara isn't stopped soon. That's someone else's problem though at the moment. Yours is just staying alive. Good bye and good luck."
As the other Clara started to send her away with a glowing hand, the woman said, "My name is Myra. What is yours? Are you Clara as well?"
The other Clara looked at her in surprise as she said, "Yeah, it used to be or you can call me . . . Oswin. Take your pick."
"The Empress of the Daleks? I should have known. Thank you, Oswin. Thank you so much," Myra said as she hugged her tightly.
Oswin smiled as she said, "You don't know how good it is to hear that. Maybe my actually being thanked and appreciated for once for what I do is the start of a new trend."
"I'll tell everyone that you helped me. I'll make sure that they all know just how kind that you really are," Myra insisted.
"Sounds nice. I'd keep that to yourself if I were you though. Those other Daleks that you just saw aren't as friendly as mine are, and if they heard you talking about what you just saw they might haul you away for questioning. That's probably not a good thing if you catch my meaning. Let's just keep this between us, okay?" Oswin warned.
"Of course. Whatever you wish. Thank you again, Empress!" Myra said as she hugged her once more.
"Good bye, Myra," Oswin said as she quickly sent her away with a glowing hand.
Oswin smiled as she could already see the timeline of the woman changing. She would live a long time now and eventually have a son who would one day save billions of lives by finding a cure for a deadly disease that would have wiped out entire worlds.
If the universe survived that long that is which was still very much in doubt at that moment.
"You again! You just keep interfering with my kills and I won't have that. At least I finally know who you are now anyway. So I'm the Empress of the Daleks in this universe, huh? Well all the Daleks on Skaro aren't going to keep me from killing you now that I've finally caught sight of you. Say good bye, Oswin Oswald," The mad Clara said as she suddenly came upon Oswin interrupting her thoughts.
"I don't think so. If you want me, you're going to have to come to Skaro and get me. Let's see how tough you are when you have to face the full might of the Dalek Empire, Psycho Me," Oswin challenged her just before she immediately vanished from sight.
The mad Clara practically growled at the spot where Oswin had last stood as she said, "I'll reduce Skaro to ashes!"
That's what I hoped you would say. The Matriarch thought to herself with a smile as she stood there while invisible and watched the mad Clara immediately teleport away.
Her impersonation of Oswin had been a complete success. Now she would send the mad Clara directly to the Daleks' very doorstep and hopefully they would both kill each other. If nothing else, it would at least keep the psycho Clara from discovering her and interfering with her own plans at any rate.
She had to admit to herself as she quickly left this now dead world behind that it had felt good to be seen in the role of a good guy again if only for a little while. Maybe someday someone would actually thank her, the real her, once they found out that she really wasn't as bad as she seemed.
Maybe.
At that very moment, more of the Mentor's Daleks arrived to find yet another dead world once more. They quickly reported this news along with the disappearance of yet another group of monitors somewhere in this area to the Mentor.
We must find her and make her answer for what she has done, my Daleks. She cannot continue to flaunt my authority or she will make a mockery of us. Others will lose confidence in our ability to defend our own universe from her if we cannot stop her from going any further here now that we've finally found her. We cannot have anyone questioning our resolve. We will impose our own sense of order on this universe if we have to in order to ensure that she is brought to justice. Now go forward and find her immediately. The Mentor said to them telepathically.
"We obey," The Mentor's Daleks said out loud.
"YOU OBEY WHAT? WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN INSTRUCTED TO DO?" Epsilon said as he and a small group of Oswin's Daleks arrived on the scene.
They, just like the Mentor's Daleks, had been hunting the mysterious destroyer of worlds for some time now, and they had both tracked her down here to this world at almost the same time apparently. This was the first time that Epsilon had actually seen the Mentor's Daleks in all of that time, and he already distrusted them right from the start thanks to their secretive behavior.
That opinion of them was only worsened by what they said to him next.
"You were told to stay out of our way. We are handling the pursuit and capture of the criminal. If you persist in interfering, you will be neutralized swiftly and without mercy. This is your one and only warning," The head of the Mentor Daleks' scouting party said.
"NO ONE GIVES US ORDERS BUT THE EMPRESS HERSELF. WE WERE TOLD BY HER TO FIND OUT WHO IS BEHIND THESE ATTACKS, AND ONLY SHE CAN TELL US TO STOP. IF YOU PERSIST IN GETTING IN OUR WAY, YOU WILL BE EXTERMINATED," Epsilon threatened.
"You give us no other option then. By the decree of the Mentor, we now impose martial law on this universe. It will be run by us according to the powers given to us in this situation by the Mentor herself until we can find the one behind this rampage. Under this new set of laws, we now charge you with interfering in our investigation. The sentence is death. Neutralize them!" The leader of the Mentor's Daleks ordered.
"EXTERMINATE THEM!" Epsilon ordered as both sets of Daleks opened fire on one another immediately.
"EXTERMINATE BOTH OF THEM!" Another Dalek voice cried out.
Both groups of Daleks now saw to their surprise that yet another group of Daleks had arrived and was now opening fire on all of them at once.
"Who are they? Identify them," The leader of the Mentor's Daleks demanded of Epsilon as they were forced to fight side by side against their common enemy.
"THEY ARE THE RENEGADE DALEKS CREATED BY THE EMPRESS' ENEMY, THE MATRIARCH. THEY SERVE NO ONE BUT THEMSELVES NOW HOWEVER. THEY SEEK TO DESTROY ALL THAT THEY CONSIDER TO BE NON-DALEK INCLUDING THOSE OF US WHO SERVE THE EMPRESS," Epsilon reluctantly explained.
"Under the circumstances, your sentence is hereby suspended in exchange for your help against the common enemy," The Mentor Daleks' leader said.
"YOU ARE MOST GRACIOUS," Epsilon said sarcastically.
"IT MATTERS LITTLE WHETHER YOU FIGHT US TOGETHER OR SEPARATELY. YOU WILL STILL BE EXTERMINATED EITHER WAY, AND THEN WE WILL FIND THE BEING WHO CAUSED THIS AND FORCE THEM TO SERVE THE TRUE DALEKS. WE WILL USE THEIR POWER TO RETURN US TO OUR FORMER GLORY AND REESTABLISH OURSELVES AS THE SUPREME BEINGS OF THIS UNIVERSE," The leader of the Matriarch created Daleks proclaimed.
"YOU ARE VERY MUCH MISTAKEN. IT IS YOU WHO WILL BE EXTERMINATED HERE TODAY, AND THE ONE TRUE GROUP OF DALEKS WILL GLADLY SEND YOU TO YOUR DESTRUCTION," Epsilon challenged them.
"I'm going to pretend that I didn't hear that, Eppy. I have to say that I'm a bit disappointed though. I thought that I taught you better than that," Oswin, the real one this time, said as she suddenly teleported right into the middle of this carnage.
"THEY WISH TO DESTROY US ALL AND RECRUIT THE MYSTERIOUS KILLER TO THEIR CAUSE. THESE ARE DESPERATE TIMES." Epsilon said in a voice in which Oswin could clearly detect a note of shame.
"I know but there's another better way for us to act now, and I want us to always follow it unless we have no other choice. Okay?" Oswin said in a firm tone.
"I OBEY," Epsilon said.
Oswin almost smiled despite the terrible situation that she had found herself in because Epsilon sounded upset. He didn't want her to be ashamed of him she realized.
She wasn't of course. She just didn't want him to return to the old ways of doing things again because she was afraid of losing him. She would make sure that he understood that later.
If there was a later that is she thought to herself with growing trepidation since the renegade Daleks seemed to be gaining more and more followers by the moment now.
Suddenly the renegade Daleks were all turned to atoms right in front of her. It happened so quickly that they didn't even have time to scream.
Oswin immediately turned to Epsilon in confusion as she asked, "Did we do that?"
"NO, IT WASN'T ANY DALEKS UNDER MY COMMAND. IT MUST HAVE BEEN THEIR FORCES," Epsilon said as his eye stalk swiveled suspiciously towards the Mentor's Daleks.
"It wasn't our forces either. We hadn't even had a chance to pronounce sentence on them yet," The leader of the Mentor's monitors said in a confused voice.
Oswin felt an ominous sense of foreboding as she said, "I really don't like this, boys, because if it wasn't your group and it wasn't mine that did this then that leads me to only one conclusion."
"Finally! You thought you could confuse me by telling me that you were going to Skaro when you really only pretended to leave so that you could set me on a false trail. Well, it didn't work, Oswin. I sensed the other Daleks coming here and decided to come back and find out if you were with them. I'm so glad that I did. Now there's nowhere left to run anymore. I'm going to wipe both groups of you out at once just like I did your friends there. Then I'll return to my previous schedule of tearing this universe apart one world at a time that I was on before I was so rudely interrupted by you. It's time that you learned the price for getting in my way and saving the people I came here to kill, Dalek Girl," The mad Clara said as she suddenly appeared out of nowhere with a furious look on her face.
"Yeah, that's exactly what I was afraid had happened. Listen, I don't know what you're talking about, Psycho Me. I've never even met you before . . . except in the mirror," Oswin said as she realized to her horror that the killer was another evil version of herself like the Matriarch.
"EMPRESS, SHE'S . . ." Epsilon started to say in a shocked voice.
"Yeah, I know. It's another evil me . . . again. I swear that I'm starting to wonder whether I'm really as nice and sweet as I think that I am or not the more I run into crazy mes," Oswin said in a sad voice as she contemplated the fact that a version of her could do such horrible things.
"SHE'S NOTHING LIKE YOU, CLARA," Epsilon reassured her.
Oswin smiled at him gratefully as she said, "Listen, Eppy. About before I just wanted you to know that I'm not angry at you, alright?"
"Oh, isn't that sweet? You want to make up with your little blobby buddy here before you die, do you? Sure. Go ahead, Ozzie. I always like to offer the condemned a final request after all," The mad Clara said with a chuckle.
"Epsilon, call in reinforcements. Immediately," Oswin whispered in a low voice.
Even as Epsilon tried to contact Skaro though, he had no way of knowing that they were having problems of their own at that moment.
Angela, who was the acting Empress while Oswin was away, was taken completely by surprise when an almost angelic-looking being encased in a golden glowing throne and covered with implants that shined like jewels appeared before her. The being immediately entered her mind and tried to subjugate it as she fought her for control.
The Daleks with Angela immediately began to attack the intruder in an attempt to protect her. The golden being immediately knocked all of the Daleks in the Throne Room out cold with a massive psychic attack however. That left Angela all alone with her and completely at her mercy unless she could summon help from outside somehow.
"Who are you? How dare you attack Skaro like this?" Angela protested as she continued to fight back against the golden being's attempt to take over her mind.
"I am the Mentor and I have just declared your world to be under my rule until I find and neutralize the threat posed by the enemy. She is apparently another version of your Empress from another reality according to reports coming in at this very moment from my Daleks, and she is about to completely annihilate your leader," The Mentor said.
"What? We have to stop her!" Angela said with concern.
"I will, my dear. Only I will do it my way. I will lead your Daleks and mine together in a coordinated effort to capture and neutralize the murderer. You will assist me in this whether you like it or not. It is much more efficient to combine both of our resources together to achieve our common goal after all," The Mentor said as she continued to try to dominate Angela's mind.
"I can't let Clara . . . die," Angela protested even as she felt herself beginning to weaken.
"I'm afraid that that is inevitable now. Hers is an acceptable loss in the pursuit of the greater safety and well-being of the multiverse of course. We mustn't waste any further time that could be spent saving this reality with misplaced and misspent emotion over her however. You'll be the new Empress when I leave so you can take the time to mourn her properly then," The Mentor said in a voice that held no emotion whatsoever.
A tear silently rolled down Angela's cheek as she felt her mind completely succumb to the Mentor's at last and she found herself saying, "I . . . will obey."
"Excellent," The Mentor said with just a trace of pleasure seeping into her otherwise emotionless voice.
Skaro was hers now and soon the killer would answer to her as well. Her universal order would be maintained after all as soon as she showed to anyone in her own world who might doubt her exactly what happened to anyone who dared to threaten her rule.
Next: Will the Mentor really get away with taking over Skaro quite that easily? Will Oswin and Epsilon fall to Psycho Clara? Oh, and I wouldn't count the Daleks that the Matriarch created out just yet which is something that the mad version of Clara will find out the hard way. Next time it's the psychotic Clara versus three Dalek armies at once. I wonder if they'll have a chance.