CHAPTER 65
I do not own Doctor Who, the Avengers, or Big Finish and I am making no profit off of this.
Thank you for all of your favorites, follows, story alerts, and reviews!
AN ALL TOO BRIEF RETURN
"I still can't believe it's actually you. It couldn't be anyone else though. Your body language is exactly the same and Rose couldn't do a Blackpool accent that good to save her life," Oswin said as her mother held her close to her and softly stroked her hair.
Ellie laughed as she said, "Rose probably wouldn't be too happy about that last comment, sweetheart."
Oswin smiled as she said, "She'd know I was just teasing her. She's . . . Well, she's not you but sometimes she's like a mother to me and the other Claras and we all love her dearly. Don't tell her that though or she'll start getting a swelled head over it."
Ellie laughed and kissed Oswin's forehead as she said, "She won't hear a word of it from me. I promise."
Clara came closer to Ellie now with a hesitant, cautious look in her eyes as if she wasn't quite sure if she was real or not. That was when Ellie put an arm around her and drew her close to her as she kissed her cheek.
"It's alright, Clara. It really is me," Ellie said in a soft, reassuring voice as she held both Oswin and Clara to her tightly and felt them both suddenly wrap their arms around her so tightly that she couldn't even breathe.
She knew then that they were going to be completely devastated when she had to leave again shortly and felt an enormous sense of guilt over that. She had to talk to them though. She needed to do that.
She needed to tell each and every one of them something.
Then as she looked up, she could see the Matriarch standing to the side with a longing look in her eyes but a sense of shame written all over her face. She could instantly tell from a lifetime of reading her daughter's expressions that the Matriarch didn't feel worthy of talking to her and actually feared that Ellie might be ashamed of her or even hate her for her past actions.
Nothing could be further from the truth however.
"Clara, don't stand over there. Come here," Ellie said as she gestured to the Matriarch with a warm smile.
The Matriarch looked at her in complete surprise and continued to hesitate as if she were uncertain of what to do as Ellie said, "Please, Clara. I want to talk to you. I'm not angry. I promise."
The Matriarch nodded and slowly moved forward with a frightened expression. When she was within arm's reach, Ellie immediately pulled her towards her and hugged her tightly as she kissed the top of her head.
The Matriarch instantly dissolved into tears as she said, "You still love me?"
"Of course I do. I'll always love you, Clara. Each and every one of you," Ellie said as she continued to hold her close to her.
Oswin couldn't help but smile as the Matriarch began to both smile and cry at the same time. Her heart instantly went out to her 'sister' because she could see that she had been so afraid of Ellie rejecting her. That was when she finally knew for certain that the Matriarch really had changed from the bitter, angry person who she had used to be and had become exactly like her now.
As Ellie held the Matriarch and lightly stroked her back in soothing circles, she looked at Oswin and Clara and said, "I want both of you to look out for your sister and treat her as kindly as you can, alright? She really needs to know that someone loves her right now, and I'm not going to be here to show her that. Promise me that you'll do that. Both of you."
"Mum, don't you know what she did? She isn't exactly the poster child for love and kindness," Clara protested.
"I know everything, Clara. Thanks to Rose I've been watching all of you since I died and I'll continue to watch you. Those things that she did before was because she was a splinter of you born out of anger and sorrow. She wasn't really a complete person at all until she could rediscover who she truly was again after she helped save Cassiopeia. Now she's changed, Clara. She truly has and she wants to be more like the rest of you now. She needs someone to show her that she truly can be better than she was before. I want the two of you to do that for her because I don't ever want her to go back to being that sad, angry woman that she was before. I never wanted that for her," Ellie pleaded.
"I promise. I promise that I'll do my best to reach out to her, Mum," Oswin immediately said making the Matriarch immediately look at her in surprise and gratitude.
"I . . . I'll try," Clara said still obviously unconvinced of the Matriarch's change of heart.
"I'll look out for her too, Ellie. I don't want her to go back to who she was anymore than you do. I'd never want to see any of my Claras fall like that," Abby promised from where she stood a couple of feet away.
Ellie immediately smiled at her as she said in an emotional voice, "Thank you, Abby, and I mean that. Thank you for everything. I know how you've been watching over all of them, and I'll never be able to thank you enough for that."
"You don't have to. I know exactly how you feel, Ellie," Abby said as she smiled back at her.
Ellie now turned her attention back to the Claras as she said to Oswin, "I just want you to know that I'm so very proud of you and what you've done. I mean you truly have shown exactly how stubborn and hard headed that you really are, haven't you? You really have done the impossible and helped show a whole race how to love once more. I knew if anyone could that it would be you though."
Oswin began to smile from ear to ear as she said, "Well, you know me better than anyone, Mum. No one could ever tell me that I couldn't do something. Something like that just made me want to do it more."
"Yes, I remember. Believe me," Ellie said with a grimace that made all of the Claras and Abby start laughing at once.
"She hasn't changed a bit either since then. Trust me," Abby added with an evil grin.
Then Ellie seemed to notice John for the first time and instantly smiled at him as she said, "And I want to think you too for being so good to her. I couldn't ask for a better husband for her, and I know that you'll always do what's best for her."
"Yes, of course I will. I'll never let her down. I promise," John said as he looked at Oswin with eyes filled with love.
"I know you won't," Ellie said as she gave him a look of gratitude.
Then she looked to Clara next as she said, "And don't think that I don't know just how great of a hero that you are either. You've helped save countless worlds and civilizations and there are so many people that are far better off than they were before because of you, Clara. I'm so proud of you too, Clara. Never forget that."
Clara nodded while tears fell from her eyes in streams as she said, "I won't."
"I want you to be more careful, Clara. Alright? Promise me that you'll be more careful and try not to take too many risks in the future. I know it's tempting to think with your powers that you're invulnerable but you're not. I also know how you tend to sacrifice your own safety trying to watch out for The Doctor, Rose, and their children. I've seen how you feel about them. They've become your family now and Rose . . . She thinks of you as one of her own, Clara, and she's deeply worried about you for some reason. I think she knows something about your future that she won't tell me. So just be more careful. Please," Ellie pleaded.
"I will, Mum. I promise that I will. About Rose . . . I hope that you're not angry that I've started to treat her like, well, almost a mother. She's not you and she never will be but sometimes I really value having someone that I can go to and talk to things about that Dad might not understand. I know that sounds crazy since she actually looks like she's years younger than me but its true," Clara said.
"I know all about it, Clara, and I'm not angry. Believe me. I'm glad that you found someone like Rose and I want you to show her that more often. I want you to treat her like you would me and don't try to pull away from her in guilt whenever you feel like you're bonding with her. I don't mind you thinking of her as a second mother, Clara. I really, truly don't," Ellie reassured her.
Clara nodded as she said, "I still won't call her Mum though. That wouldn't feel right. You're my mother not her and you always will be."
"Glad to hear it, Clara, but that doesn't mean that you can't show Rose how you feel about her too. Remember that. That wouldn't be disrespecting me at all," Ellie insisted.
"Mum, Rose said that you couldn't stay long. Why?" Oswin said as she finally brought up the question that she knew all of them wanted to ask her.
"Rose explained it to me like this. She said that my human mind inside of a Time Lord brain would only be able to last for so long before it started to be overloaded with knowledge and burn out. She said that I could only stay in her body about fifteen or twenty minutes or I'd cause her mind to burn up as well and kill both of us at once. She's going to warn me when my time is almost up she said so that I have time to say good bye. I think we still have a little time left though," Ellie reassured her.
"And will we be able to see you again after this?" Oswin said in a hesitant voice as she struggled not to break down in front of her at that news.
"I'm sure I will just probably not too often. I have a feeling that Rose is risking her life doing this but doesn't want to tell me because she feels like she owes me something. She really doesn't though. If anything, I'm the one who owes her. She gave me a life that I never would have had without her help even if I didn't get to live as long as I would have liked and more importantly she gave me all of you. My Claras," Ellie said as she smiled at Oswin with undisguised joy.
"I wish that Little Clara was here so that you could hold her. I know that you'd love her," Oswin said as she began to cry once more.
"You forget, Clara. I already have held her back when your sister altered reality recently. Remember?" Ellie said with a grin.
"You mean you actually remember that?" Oswin asked in shock as the Matriarch winced beside her.
"Of course I do. Being a part of the Vortex helped me to retain those memories when reality was changed back again. I'll always treasure getting to see my granddaughter," Ellie reassured her even as she gave the Matriarch a comforting smile.
"What is that like? Being part of the Vortex I mean. Are you okay there? Are you lonely?" Clara asked with concern.
"I'm alright, Clara," Ellie said just a bit too quickly.
"That's not an answer," Clara protested.
"I have Rose to talk to whenever I want so I'm not completely alone, and I'm always watching over all of you so I'm definitely not bored," Ellie said with a brief smile.
"Don't even try to spin this as something positive, Mum. I know that being there can't be fun for you, and I'm so sorry for that. I wish that I could help you somehow," Oswin said in a sad voice.
"Rose feels the same way. It's part of why she feels so guilty, Clara. I know that she would help me if she could though," Ellie said.
"I don't understand. Why can't she just give you a new body somehow? Surely she could clone one or something," Oswin said in a frustrated voice.
"It's not quite that simple," Ellie said as she looked away from her.
"She's already tried that hasn't she?" Oswin realized.
"Yes, several times and each time I eventually burn out and completely destroy whatever body, even mechanical ones, that she tries to give me. She said that it has something to do with my mind becoming one with the Vortex. It's a part of me now and that means that I carry some of its energy to whatever body I inhabit. It seems that I can only inhabit her body safely because she's so attuned to the Vortex, but then there's that whole burning out her mind problem to deal with so that's not going to work for long either unfortunately. That's something that she didn't even realize would be a problem when she put my mind there, and she's been kicking herself over it ever since especially lately," Ellie replied with a frown.
"I'll find a way to help you somehow, Mum. I'll devote all of the resources of the Daleks to it. I mean they fought a bloody Time War with one of the most powerful races in the universe and came extremely close to winning it. I think they can come up with something," Oswin said in a firm tone.
"DON'T WORRY. THE DALEKS WILL MORE THAN PROVE THEIR SUPERIORITY IN DEALING WITH THIS TASK. WE WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN, EMPRESS," Daphne said from where she still lay in Oswin's hand.
"I know you won't, Daph," Oswin said as she gave her a reassuring pat on what she hoped could be considered her head.
"WAS THAT A SIGN OF AFFECTION, EMPRESS?" Daphne asked in confusion.
"Yes, Daph. I really hope that didn't make you feel uncomfortable. I mean that . . . that was kind of like your head, right?" Oswin asked in an uncertain voice.
"NOT QUITE BUT I'M NOT OFFENDED, EMPRESS. I SENSED YOUR INTENTIONS WERE ONLY KIND ONES," Daphne said.
"Yeah, definitely," Oswin said even as she resisted the urge to ask what Daphne meant by that.
She really wasn't sure that she wanted to know.
Ellie however couldn't resist saying something and immediately laughed as she said, "I think you just smacked her bum, Clara. It's okay though. She knows it was a mistake."
"I have really got to learn some basic Dalek anatomy sometime," Oswin said with a sigh.
"I'd think you would already know it since you used to be one yourself," Clara said in disbelief.
"It's not like I was born one, Clara. Besides I spent most of that time wanting to focus on anything but the fact that I was a Dalek so forgive me if I didn't have much of an interest in taking an anatomy course," Oswin said in an irritated voice.
Then she remembered that Daphne was there and quickly added, "Not that there's anything wrong with being a Dalek if you're happy with that."
"I'M NOT OFFENDED, EMPRESS. I'M PROUD OF WHAT I AM . . . NOW," Daphne said as her single eye gave Oswin a meaningful look.
"Good. You should be," Oswin said meaning it wholeheartedly.
Ellie couldn't help but say, "Now you know exactly how I feel."
Oswin immediately gave her a tight hug with her free arm then as she said in a voice filled with sorrow, "I don't want you to go."
"I'll be back soon enough, Clara. Rose will give me another chance to see you when she's feeling up to it. I think doing this is taking a lot out of her mentally even if she won't say it," Ellie reassured her even as she struggled to suppress her own emotions about having to leave her behind again soon.
"That's not good enough. I want you back. I need you back again," Clara pleaded.
"Clara, don't. You've let losing me deeply affect you for far too long now and cause you to become far too obsessed with completely controlling everything around you in order to prevent something from happening again to anyone else that you love. I don't want you to feel that way, okay? I'm alright and I want you to be happy. Stop worrying so much about losing things and just allow yourself to enjoy your life . . . preferably with that Danny Pink that you like so much. He seems like a good man," Ellie said.
Then she turned to Oswin and said, "And the same thing applies to you. Stop worrying about saving me and just enjoy your time with your family. You've more than earned that with all that you've gone through lately with that horrible Mentor person."
Then she turned to the Matriarch next as she said, "And you need to start using a real name instead of going by the Matriarch all of the time. I want you to start acting like a regular person and not some cheesy over the top comic book villain."
"Yeah, save that sort of thing for Koschei," Oswin joked.
"I don't think I'll use Clara because both Oswin and Clara are calling themselves that now and adding one more Clara to that mix is bound to be more than a bit confusing. Besides I want to be unique. Don't worry, Mum. I'll think of something and it'll be just as amazing as I am," The Matriarch reassured her with a mischievous smile.
"Why not use Ego Girl or maybe Captain Amazing if you want to sound really pompous?" Clara quipped.
Ellie immediately cleared her throat loudly as a cue for Clara to stop which made her instantly give her a guilty look as she said, "Sorry, Mum."
"I think you've really been hanging around The Doctor much too long now, Clara. You're even worse than I am about getting yourself into trouble these days," Oswin said with a chuckle.
"And that's really saying something since she's the leader of the Daleks, Clara," John pointed out with an evil smile.
"Watch it, Harkness, or you'll find out exactly how much trouble that I can really be," Clara threatened.
"Oi! No threatening my husband, Clara. Only I'm allowed to slap the life out of him whenever he's acting like a huge prick," Oswin said with a wicked smile.
"I bet being immortal really comes in handy when having to deal with her then," The Matriarch said to John with a wink.
"Zip it, Ego Girl, or I'm going to find out real quick whether you're immortal or not," Oswin teased her.
All three Claras now turned their heads in unison at that moment as they heard a sound that they once thought that they never would again. Ellie was completely laughing her head off and couldn't stop. She was now visibly struggling to stay standing up because she was so bent over in laughter.
She truly hadn't enjoyed herself this much in a long time and it felt so good to be back with Clara once more. She never laughed half as hard as she did with her around.
Then her laughter instantly died in her throat and a look of immense sadness quickly filled her eyes instead.
"No, not now!" Oswin shouted in anger as she realized what that look meant.
"I'm sorry, Clara. I only have less than a minute left now. I'm so sorry," Ellie said as she struggled not to cry in front of the others.
"I will bring you back for good somehow, Mum. No matter what it takes," Oswin said as she quickly failed in her attempt not to cry.
"I love you. All of you. Always remember that," Ellie said as she began to violently sob now despite herself.
All three Claras now completely lost control of themselves and joined her in openly weeping as they held onto her tightly as if by doing so they could prevent her from leaving once more.
As she could feel herself being pulled back to the Vortex, Ellie quickly turned to look at Abby with a pleading look as she said, "Don't let them get too upset, Abby. Help them through this if you can."
"I will. I'll always be there for them," Abby said as she automatically made a decision in her mind at that moment that she had been putting off until now.
"I love you," Ellie said one last time to the three Claras in a mournful tone and then in a single instant she was gone once more.
In her place stood a visibly weakened Rose who looked like she had been through the wringer and then taken on the entire planet of Sontar for good measure. She quickly started to fall forward and was immediately caught by Oswin who looked at her with immense gratitude since it was obvious that she had suffered greatly in order to give them some more time with Ellie.
"Thank you, Rose," Oswin said as she hugged her.
Rose smiled briefly as she said in a hoarse voice, "I just wish I could have done it for longer, yeah?"
"Hey, don't even think about it. You look like you were already pushing it as it was, Bad Wolf Girl. Just rest and try to relax some," Clara said in a worried voice.
Rose smiled at her in amusement as she said, "Yes, Boss."
Just as Rose had hoped she would, Oswin immediately pretended to glare at her as she said, "Actually I think you'll find that I'm the boss around here, Rose, especially after I just majorly curb stomped the Mentor. I prefer to be called Empress if you want to get technical about it but Boss will do just fine."
"Don't make me hurt you, Ozzie," Clara said as she gave her the evil eye.
"Oh, yeah? Somehow I don't think so. I have an army of Daleks, Clara. What have you got?" Oswin challenged her.
"I have a Rose," Clara said as she winked at Rose.
"Yeah, okay. I'll probably have to give you that one then," Oswin said with a smile.
Then both of them immediately began to fill with sadness once more as their smiles faded as quickly as they had come. The two of them hugged one another tightly while they clung to one another for strength as the full feeling of everything that they had lost finally hit them all at once.
A moment later they both put an arm around the Matriarch as well and pulled her towards them after they heard a choked sob involuntarily escape her lips.
That was when Abby took charge as she took Daphne from Oswin's hands and silently motioned for John and Rose to follow her as she tried to give the Claras some privacy. She knew that they would need a few moments alone due to past experience with a grieving Clara in the past.
Abby soon came across Epsilon who had just been coming to report his forces' complete and final victory over the Mentor's army to Oswin. She quickly stopped him though with a single outstretched hand.
"She's busy right now, Epsilon. You can tell her later," Abby said in an authoritative tone.
"I ACTUALLY HAVE A QUESTION THAT I NEED TO ASK HER THOUGH, ABIGAIL. WE'RE NOT SURE WHAT TO DO WITH THE MENTOR'S EMPIRE NOW THAT WE HAVE FINISHED CONQUERING IT. I KNOW WHAT WE WOULD HAVE DONE BEFORE THE EMPRESS: EXTERMINATE EVERYONE IN CHARGE AND REPLACE THEM WITH LOYAL DALEKS WHO WOULD RULE THIS PLACE IN THE NAME OF SKARO. THAT IS NOT THE EMPRESS' WAY HOWEVER," Epsilon said.
"I think I can safely speak for Clara when I say that you should stay out of things and let the people of this place rule themselves. You might need to help them rebuild a few things first though because I'm sure that their worlds are going to be completely devastated if the Mentor's Daleks did as good a job at tearing things down as your lot once did," Abby said.
"THAT IS WHAT I THOUGHT THAT THE EMPRESS WOULD SAY TOO BUT I WANTED TO MAKE CERTAIN OF IT. SOMETIMES IT'S HARD FOR ME TO PREDICT HER ACTIONS SUCCESSFULLY," Epsilon said.
"You and me both, Epsilon, and I've known her since she was born," Abby said with a giggle.
"MIGHT I RECOMMEND THAT THE SURVIVING MEMBERS OF THE MENTOR'S DALEKS BE FORCED TO HELP REBUILD WHAT THEY DESTROYED, EPSILON? IT MIGHT TEACH THEM TO BE MORE CAREFUL OF WHAT HARM THEY DO IN THE FUTURE," Daphne said.
"THAT IS A MOST LOGICAL COURSE OF ACTION, DAPHNE, AND ONE WORTHY OF THE EMPRESS HERSELF. I WILL IMPLEMENT THAT IDEA IMMEDIATELY. YOU ARE LEARNING TO THINK FOR YOURSELF MOST EFFICIENTLY," Epsilon said.
"YOU HONOR ME BY YOUR WORDS, EPSILON," Daphne said with what might have almost been described as a nervous giggle.
"I'LL BRING YOU A NEW CASING SHORTLY, DAPHNE, AND THEN . . ." Epsilon hesitated.
"YES?" Daphne asked.
"I WONDERED IF YOU MIGHT WISH TO OVERSEE THE RECONSTRUCTION OF THIS WORLD WITH ME FOR A FEW HOURS. I THOUGHT THAT YOU MIGHT APPRECIATE JOINING ME FOR SUCH AN EXPERIENCE," Epsilon said in an almost nervous tone.
"I WOULD BE GLAD TO, EPSILON," Daphne said eagerly.
"I WILL BE BACK SHORTLY THEN," Epsilon said as he left.
John now looked at Rose and Abby with a shocked look as he asked, "Did we just hear Epsilon asking her out on a Dalek version of a date?"
"Stranger things have happened," Rose said laughing.
"Don't pay any attention to them, Daphne. I think it was sweet . . . in a very weird sort of way," Abby said with a grin.
"YES, I SUPPOSE IT WAS, WASN'T IT?" Daphne agreed in an almost jubilant tone.
That was when Oswin and the other two Claras finally joined the others at last and Oswin said, "Why don't you go back home now, Gran? I'm sure that Dad is already worrying himself sick over you. Did you even tell him where you were going?"
"No, I didn't exactly give her any time," The Matriarch admitted.
"I suppose you're right. I really need to talk to him about something else anyway," Abby said as she handed Daphne back to Oswin.
"You'll be back at home in just a mo', Gran. I just have to return you to your normal age again first," The Matriarch said as her hands began to glow with energy.
"No, I'd much rather stay as I am," Abby said surprising everyone.
"What? I thought you didn't want to be immortal though?" Oswin asked.
"I didn't at first but now I realize that all of my Claras are immortal too as far as I can tell and that they will always need someone to talk to about their lives. With Ellie gone, that basically just leaves me, Dave, and Rose. Dave isn't always the most understanding of people especially when it comes to matters involving time and space and no offense, Rose, but you haven't known Clara anywhere near as long as I have. I know you love her but I know her better than anyone else possibly could except for her mother and father. That means that I need to stick around and keep my promise to Ellie to look after her girls for her," Abby said in a determined voice.
"Gran, are you sure about this?" Oswin asked in an uncertain tone.
"Yes, I'm very sure. Don't worry, Clara. I'm fine with this. I really am," Abby said with a confident smile.
"That's up to you then. I can always return you to normal though if you ever change your mind later on, Gran. All you have to do is ask," The Matriarch said.
"Thank you, Clara. I appreciate that," Abby said.
"I think I want to be called Louise actually and maybe Lulu for short," The Matriarch said with a grin.
"Lulu?" Oswin said with a smirk.
"What? It's a perfectly good nickname," The Matriarch protested.
"Yeah, I think I'd rethink that one if I were you. That's up to you though. I do like the name Louise however. That's a good one. You should probably just stick with that," Clara said with approval.
"Somehow I thought you might like that," Rose said with an amused smile.
"Well, I'm ready now. I hope," Abby said in a voice filled with dread as she prepared herself for what still awaited her back home.
Now she had to try to explain to Dave about what had just happened to her and why she was going to stay that way. She had a feeling that it wasn't going to be easy to say the least.
"Right. See you later then, Gran," The Matriarch said with a knowing and extremely sympathetic smile as she snapped her fingers.
An instant later, Abby reappeared right in front of an extremely shocked Dave who almost dropped little Clara in surprise as a result. His eyes immediately bulged right out of his head as he quickly recognized Abby from the way that she had looked when he was a child even as his mind kept telling him that it couldn't possibly be her.
"Oh, thanks a lot, Lulu," Abby said with a groan.
"Mother?" Dave finally said in a numb voice.
"Hello, Dave. We have to talk," Abby said as she tried to give him her most reassuring smile.
"I – I really think that you should take the baby now," Dave said as a strange look came over his face.
Abby knew that look all too well so she quickly grabbed a very concerned looking Little Clara and said to her in a gentle voice, "It's okay, sweetie. It's me, Gran."
Then she realized that the baby wasn't looking at her but at Dave instead as he began to sway back and forth in front of them.
"Dave, it's going to be alright. I'm still exactly the same on the inside so things really haven't changed that much to be honest. Just calm down and we'll talk about this," Abby said quickly because she knew exactly what he was about to do next.
"I . . . I . . ." Dave said in a lifeless voice.
And then his eyes suddenly rolled back in his head and he instantly hit the floor with a resounding thud.
Abby sighed as she checked his pulse to make sure that he was alright and said to Little Clara, "Yep, that went about as well as I expected alright."
Little Clara only laughed in response.
Next: Abby has a detailed talk with Dave about her newly regained youth (if he can stay conscious long enough of course) even as she tries to figure out exactly how she plans to adjust to her new life. Oswin meanwhile goes all out to try to find a way to help her mother to escape the Vortex. Will even the combined brainpower of both Davros and Marissa be enough to help her this time though?