Klary landed in front of a sprawling building atop a hill. Neatly manicured lawns sparsely littered with trees. Nothing around her was familiar, but she figured- hoped- the Doctor had to be somewhere nearby. With a shrug, she walked into the building. As the door shut behind her, she found Yaz speaking to an older woman.
"Klary? What are you doing here?" Eyes widened at the other brunette. She glanced around before she shook her head. "Wait, never mind that for a second." Her attention back on the older woman. "What happened? Who sacked you?"
"I did." Two men approached the women. The older trailed behind the younger, the front man a gun in hand and aimed at the three women.
"Hands in the air. All of you!" The two women held up their hands while Klary crossed hers. Eyebrows raised as she glared at the men.
"As of right now, you're trespassing upon my property."
"Put the gun down, please, sir."
"My hotel, my rules. You were fired." His gaze moved to the older woman and he walked towards her. "Yet, instead of leaving, you bring someone else in."
"She's my daughter and she's giving me a lift home."
"Oh. How very moving." He turned to Klary. "And you?"
She shrugged as she examined her nails, voice relaxed as she replied. "Kinda showed up and walked in hoping to phone someone." Klary met his gaze. "Apparently not going to happen. But that's beside the point, Mr Big."
He furrowed his brows and went to reply but Yas dropped her hands and stepped forward. "Why'd you fire her?"
" I don't answer to you." He looked her up and down. "What are you, 15? You should be in school!" The women shared an exhasperated look. "Your mother isn't supposed to be here. I told the staff to take two days off."
"I came in to do extra preparation before we opened."
"Of course you'd fire a hard working employee. Unless, you wanted them away to hide something." Klary glared at the man with the gun. "And you, put the gun down. For fuck's sake. You aren't shooting anyone. Besides, you really wouldn't want to."
Big glared at Klary. "And why is that?"
"Whatever trouble you're currently in, it will get a hundred times worse the moment your lapdog pulls the trigger."
"Well, I really don't care. Because if I hadn't fired you then, I would've fired you ten minutes ago when I saw the rooms. Disgraceful."
"What rooms? I don't understand."
"I'm sure you don't understand." He mocked before he turned to Yaz. "Would you like to see how good your mother really isn't?" Klary glared at the man as they followed him through the hotel. She had gone to snap at the man but Yaz had squeezed her arm. The brunette gave a disgruntled huff but remained silent.
The five made it to one of the rooms a few minutes later. He walked into the room, the women right behind him. "Now, if you're so great, explain this." Inside the women's eyes widened. Klary took a step back, almost backed into the man's minion. The room was covered in webs. What would have been a nice room turned into a nightmare. Klary's mind instantly went to spiders. There was no way in hell it was cobwebs and she didn't give a damn if she let her fear get the better of her.
"I… I can't. That's not possible."
"You're fired. Again." His watch beeped as Klary opened her mouth. "Hmm, it's time for my scheduled bathroom break. Kevin, we'll go next door. And when I'm done, Kevin will escort you off the grounds. Forever."
"What a fucking dick," Klary snarled as the door closed behind the men.
"Scheduled bathroom breaks," Yaz breathed in disbelief.
"I checked this room yesterday. It wasn't like this." The three were silent as they looked around. In the silence, they heard a skittering noise. "Did you hear that?" The two walked towards the wall.
"Nope," Klary said. Head shaking as she remained by the door. "I want nothing to do with this. Where is-"
"Yeah." Yaz cut her off and put her ear to the wall. As she listened, her mother's phone rang. Her brows furrowed as she answered it.
"Hello? Yeah." She held it out to Yaz. "It's for you. It's a doctor."
Yaz grabbed the phone. "Hi, Doctor. You're never going to believe it." Something was said. "Yeah." She hung up and returned the phone to her mother before she motioned the two to follow her back downstairs.
In the reception, Yaz let the Doctor, Graham, Ryan and another woman into the hotel. The Doctor's eyes went straight to Klary. "Klary love!" She wrapped her arms around the brunette. "How long have you been here?"
"Thirty minutes, maybe. Where's our girl?"
"We drove here."
"Fuck." The Doctor raised an eyebrow. "I really don't want this to be what I think it is. I want to go home."
The Doctor's eyes saddened. "What do you think it is?"
"Spiders."
"I'm sorry, love."
"Fuuuuuck!"She dropped her head onto the Doctor's shoulders. She stayed there for a bit to gather herself. A small smile on her lips as the Doctor rubbed her back. "Ugh. Okay. I can do this. Say hi to Yaz and her mum."
The Doctor pressed a kiss on Klary's forehead before she did as told. After that hello, she went up to hug the older woman. "Hi, Yaz's mum."
"Najia," the woman corrected before she turned to her daughter. "Yaz, they can't be here."
"Najia, you made a very awesome human. Tell me what's going on." Before the woman could answer, there was a scream followed by gunshots.
"Was that gunshots?" Ryan asked.
"Come on," the Doctor grabbed Klary's hand and took off. The others close behind.
As they rushed down the corridor, the dick from earlier raced out of a room. The room he and his lackey had gone to. Eyes wide and breath heavy. Pure terror written on his face.
"You're joking!"
"No way."
"Oh, no."
Klary furrowed her brows at the man's apparent significance but said nothing as the Doctor pulled out the psychic paper. "Crisis investigators." She shoved it in his face and rapidly removed it. "You just ran really quickly out of a room looking really scared. Tell me exactly what's going on, omitting no detail, no matter how strange."
"A giant spider just smashed through my bathtub and took out my bodyguard Kevin."
"Right. Very succinct summary. Well done. You just wait here with my... people. A spider smashed through a bath. Right."
The Doctor glanced at Klary but the young woman instantly stepped back. A quick apology when she bumped into Ryan. Instead, she pushed Yaz forward. The woman shot her an exasperated glare before she followed the Doctor into the bedroom.
"Hey," Ryan greeted with a nod towards the man.
"Hey."
"You're that bloke."
"Yeah," the man acknowledged before they all fell silent. Klary was still confused but she really didn't care for the man and figured it would all come out eventually. Awaiting the Doctor and Yaz's return, she properly greeted the two men and learned the woman's-Jade. Introductions and hellos made, the six remained in silence. Not a sound made as there was no way to know if they would be attacked. A resounding sigh left Klary when both rushed out of the room, door slammed close and Yasmin's eyes wide. The man rushed up to the women. "Did you see it? Did you find him? Where's Kevin?"
"We need to move out of this area, quick. It's too dark, too deserted. Spiders love that. We need to go somewhere bright and busy."
"No, no, no. No, we need to get as far away from that thing as possible."
"I'm with him," Ryan quickly agreed.
"That's probably the most sensible thing you've said this entire time," Klary snarked. Her eyes rolled at the Doctor's exasperated eye roll. It was snark or panic in her mind and she was very much doing her best to not lose her shit.
Najia stepped forward. "I know the way out."
"Everyone, follow Yaz's mum."
"It's Najia." With that, the group took off, the Doctor's hand back in Klary's as she pulled her along.
"Oh, that's bad," Ryan said as they reached the bottom of the escalator.
Down in the hotel reception, the group found webs across the entrance. A shudder ran down Klary's spine at the sheer size of it. She couldn't help but feel as if she were living her worst nightmare. Out of everything, spiders were in her top two. Positions that switched depending on the situation. Her grip on the Doctor's hand tightened as she pulled away. The Doctor gave her a comforting squeeze and gently removed her hand.
"We just came in that way. How have they done so many webs so fast?"
"Never mind that. Let's just get through 'em."
The Doctor ignored all the talking and scanned the webs. Klary stood towards the back. Her eyes flitted throughout the room.
"No, this can't be happening," the man said. "This is a protest. One of those eco-protests, huh? This isn't spiders. Spiders can't do that."
"These spiders can. Those aren't normal cobwebs. They know we're here and they're trying to seal us in."
"They're trying to make the whole hotel their web."
"And we're the flies. We're not leaving."
Klary let out a groan. "Fucking lovely. Just what I always wanted to be. A fucking fly. You know, I-"
"Not now, love. We have to find out why they're here and stop them getting any further. We need to find a safe haven. Yaz's mum?"
"Kitchen?"
"Lead on," the Time Lord said as she once again took off running.
The Doctor flicked the light switch on the moment the Doctor entered the kitchen. The group moved to the back end and gathered their breaths. Klary's heart pounded as she leaned against the counter. "Ah, good. This'll do. Okay, thinking. Need to be quick, spiders are moving fast. Why is this hotel the epicentre of spider activity?"
"Wait!" Big yelled from the other side. Everyone turned to face him. "Nobody talk until you tell me what you're all doing here!" It was silent as he breathed heavily. "Spiders. Plural?"
"Very plural." The Doctor leaned over the counter. "Sorry, I don't know who you are."
"That makes two of us," Klary muttered as she caught her breath.
"Oh, really?" He scoffed. "Because you must be the only people on the planet that don't."
"Are you Ed Sheeran?"The Doctor turned to the group. "Is he Ed Sheeran? Everyone talks about Ed Sheeran 'round about now, don't they?" Klary snickered, ignoring the glare shot her way.
"I am not Ed Sheeran. I am Jack Robertson and this is my hotel. Just one hotel in an incredibly successful chain of hotels, which is just one small part of my business portfolio as featured in Fortune Global 500. Does that ring a bell?"
"Should I look impressed right now?" She glanced at Klary. "Is that impressive?" The brunette shrugged. There were tons of lists and it didn't particularly mean anything to her that he was on one or that he had a chain of successful hotels. Besides, she herself didn't find anything he said to be impressive considering how he treated people.
"He's running for President in 2020," Graham assisted.
Klary scrunched up her face. "Ed Sheeran?"
"No!" Was Graham's exasperated rebuttal. Klary couldn't help the laugh that left her. "Him. Robertson." He turned to the man. "Aren't you?"
"I haven't declared my intentions yet. But, look, we're talking about spiders."
"See? Typical politician. Avoiding the question."
"I am not a politician. I'm a businessman and I know how to run things."
"I've heard you're only running 'cos you've hated Trump for decades," Jade added.
"Really? That's why? Honestly, kind of pathetic. Bit sad. Also, just because you know how to run a business, doesn't mean you know how to run a country," Klary said. "Though in the grand scheme of things, over the years, America has been treated more like a business. Hold on, Trump?!"
"Please don't mention that name." Robertson sharply inhaled. "Look, I was just attacked by a spider the size of a bathtub, and it's all her fault."
"Oi! Don't blame Najia!"
The woman shot the coily-haired brunette a thankful look before she addressed Robertson. "I told you. I know nothing about this."
"Mum, don't even talk to him. He fired you."
The Doctor glanced between Robertson and Najia. "What? He didn't. You didn't. You can't be President if you fire Yaz's mum."
"Najia."
"I hate spiders. Phobia-hate."
"Oh, man, me too. And there's loads knocking about right now."
"I will not have them in my hotel."
"I mean, you're running for President, it could be espionage, you know, targeted directly..."
"At you by Russians."
"That's possible. There's a lot of people that would like to see me dead."
"Funny, that." Klary nodded in agreement with Najia.
"See?"
"They don't need giant spiders. They'd just pop a tiny poisonous one on your pillow."
Ryan and Robertson cringed. "You've really got to stop saying stuff like that."
"Really, Jade." The woman glanced at her. "While I totally agree with that method, gross. I have way to active of an imagination for all that."
Yaz faced the Doctor and Klary. "So, what do we do?"
"Why are you asking them?"
"'Cos they're in charge, bro."
"Says who?"
"Says us!" the three companions snarked.
"How do you all know each other?" Najia questioned. Klary went to reply but Yaz got the words out first.
"Mum, can you shut up a second?" Klary's eyes darted between the two as a squeak left her. She waited for the threat of bodily harm but when she heard nothing, her eyes widened. Klarye knew for sure if it had been her mother, she'd have been slapped into the next millenia if not six feet under. With a quick glance to Najia, she returned her attention to the Doctor, waiting for a plan.
"Right, we need two things. Plans of the hotel and a captive spider."
Everyone's gaze moved to Robertson. His eyes widened comically when he noticed. "I'm not getting near the spider."
"But it's your hotel," Klary mocked. A snicker leaving her until the Doctor pinched her side. "Rude." She pouted for a moment before she asked, "So, who's getting the spider?"
There was some discussion as to who would do it but eventually, Graham got fed up and pulled himself and Ryan into it. The younger male complained the entire time but ultimately left after grabbing a big enough pot to place the arachnid in. While they were in the corridor working on grabbing a spider, the others, sans Jade, moved to an office.
Once in the office, Najia pulled out and handed the Doctor a stack of folders with the help of Robertson. She placed them on the desk and began to flip through the top one. "Now, hotel plans. Let's see."
"That can't be accurate," Robertson said from beside her. "It doesn't even have my panic room marked on it."
Klary tilted her head in confusion. "Why would you want a panic room on the plans? Then anyone would know about it." Everyone's bewildered gazes moved to her. "What?" When Yaz raised a brow, Klary sighed. "Okay. Not the time. Carry on, then."
"Any issues with spiders before today, Najia? Here or at home?"
"My home?"
"One of your neighbours had a spider problem. The link between both places is you."
"I knew it. And I'm going to litigate you until your last breath, Nah-dia."
"It's Najia. And I've done nothing ."
"Are you sure?"
"She hasn't," Klary snapped at the man. She was damn near ready to whack him. His constant accusations getting on her very last and frayed nerves.
"Sorry, but who are you? How'd you know my daughter? Why have I never met you before?"
"Oh, not now."
She turned to her seated daughter. The Doctor and Klary shared a glance before the former continued to rifle through the paperwork. "Yes, now. It's not a difficult question."
"It is a bit of a long answer."
"Well, I've got time."
"But I haven't. Not right now."
"What she means is, save our asses first and ask questions later. I'm sure Yaz and I can explain everything when we're safe."
"Seriously, Klary!"
"What? It wouldn't be the first time we have to explain something to our friends' mothers. There was one time-"
"Are you too seeing each other?" Najia interrupted.
Both Yasmin and the Doctor denied it. Klary shrugged, a teasing smirk on her lips. The younger woman's eyes flitted between the former and Klary. "We're friends!" Yaz scoffed. I owe them my life, quite a few times over."
"What's that even supposed to mean?"
"Please can we not have this conversation now? And not in front of him."
"Oh, I'm enjoying this." Klary rolled her eyes at his words.
"How long did it take you to build this hotel?"
"Five years. We have fifteen of these hotels throughout the world now. Repurposing former industrial sites into luxury leisure venues."
"Repurposing? What was this site before?"
"I don't have… clarity on that."
"I do." Klary grinned at the woman's smirk. "Coal mines. This was mining land."
The five quickly left the office and made their way down to the basement. Najia led them, the building blueprints in hand. "We've passed the entrance to the back of the spa. We should be here now."
"You're not going down there. It's too dangerous."
"I eat danger for breakfast." Klary let out a laugh and teasingly tapped the Doctor's stomach. Yaz glanced at the brunette and rolled her eyes. The blonde huffed out a breath as she grabbed Klary's hand. "I don't, I prefer cereal. Or croissants. Or those little fried Portuguese... Never mind, it's not important." Klary chuckled. Eyes locked with the Doctor's, she didn't realise they'd stopped until she ran into Ryan's back.
"Ha! See?" Robertson rushed ahead of them and pointed to the signs on the double doors. "Look at this. Keep out. Danger of death. You are not authorised to go in here!."
"Dude, I've all the authorisation I ever need." She pulled out her sonic. "I call people dude now."
"I damn well hope not," Klary muttered.
"Doctor, I need to speak to you," Jade said as she rushed up to them.
"We need to do it as we walk. There's something behind this door people want to keep locked away."
"Oh, sure, it's a party. Everybody can come." Everyone knew he was being facetious but barely cared. Klary gave him a mock salute and stormed past him.
"Thanks. Doctor, I've seen these spiders before."
Yaz managed to get the tunnel lights working. "Thank you, Yaz," Klary cheered as she threw an arm around her shoulder in a one-armed hug.
"No, not nice work. None of you are allowed down here."
"Fuck off."
"Are all your hotels built on repurposed sites?"
"Well, that's the business. I mean, every city in the world, big or small, has an area that they want repurposed. Maybe it's not too pretty, maybe it's never been used, maybe it's an industry that's died. We go in and we help them figure it out. We get a good deal, but we give them world-class facilities. It's a win for everybody!"
"A network of mining tunnels could explain how the bigger spiders are moving. The question is, does that make your hotel their target or their base?"
"What is that smell?" Najia asked. Klary nodded in agreement, nose scrunched in disgust as the group followed the Doctor a few more feet in. Before them, the tunnel opened into a cavern covered in spiderwebs. Not far were two human sized objects hanging from the cavern's roof.
"What are they?"
"Oh, my god!"
"You guys. Stay back. Keep an eye out for me." Though the others definitely kept an eye out, Klary's gaze remained on the Doctor. Watching as she approached one of the cocoons and ripped it open.
"Oh my god," Robertson breathed as he approached the Doctor.
"Do you know who this is?"
"Her name is Frankie. Look what they did to her!"
"Why are they in cocoons?"
"I think they're being stored as food." Klary shuddered at the Doctor's words.
Jade shook her head. "Spiders don't eat people."
"I said they're being stored. They haven't eaten them. They're outsized and confused. All their behavioural patterns have been disrupted. How did they get like this?"
"It doesn't make sense. This is not what spiders do."
The Doctor went to the other cocoon and opened it. From the corner of her eye, Klary saw the other three walk off towards another opening. "I presume this is Kevin."
"Yeah."
"Doctor?" The couple rushed over to the trio, Robertson remaining by Kevin as they did so.
"You don't need to go any deeper!"
"What is it?"
"Look." Robertson ignored, the women went down that tunnel. The smell only stronger with each step. Klary had to fight to keep herself from gagging. "Have you seen what's down here?" They came to a stop to see every inch of space covered in trash.
"It's landfill."
"Is that what the smell is? It goes on for miles."
The cavern was illuminated by shaft lights. The Doctor pulled out her sonic and scanned. "And down."
"Your hotel's built on landfill?"
"I have a lot of companies, okay? JLR does corporate waste disposal. They're very efficient, very highly rated internationally."
"You fill up disused mines with landfill waste and build a luxury hotel on top?"
"Smart business planning. Perfect vertical integration."
"All your hotels built this way?"
"Not quite perfect, I'm afraid," the Doctor looked back at him. Not quite efficient. A blocked-in site pumping out methane and sulphides and trichloroethylene. Never mind the specialist material that hasn't been properly preserved. A soup of toxic waste, incredibly badly managed. I mean, there's no outlet for it. It's just building and marinating and becoming more and more toxic. It's a botched job!"
"I didn't know."
"Yes, you did," Najia said. "That's what she was telling you when I saw you. That woman, Frankie."Robertson scoffed but Najia continued on. "She was telling you this site is unsafe."
"Okay, all right. You're right. That's why I came here. Apparently JLR was a little overzealous in cutting corners and worried about keeping the bottom line instead of doing the right thing. But I just sign the contracts, okay? I expect other people to do their jobs. This is not on me."
Klary crossed her arms, a snare on her lips. "Do you even care?"
"Look, I'm going to pay you all off. You'll never have to work again." The Doctor and Klary rolled their eyes.
"I like working. Do you know the worst thing? Bits of this is leaking out above here. It's in my kitchen. My husband's right, it's a conspiracy. Do you have any idea how annoying it is when my husband's right?" At that Klary laughed. She found herself liking Najia more and more as time wore on.
"Look, I've never even been down here. It doesn't even add up."
"It does for me. JLR Disposal. JLR takes the waste from our lab. Our aborted experiments and our spider carcasses."
"And they're all in there. Your spider carcasses in his toxic waste!"
"Not my fault. I didn't know anything about spider carcasses."
"Oh take responsibility for once if your pathetic life," Klary grumbled. "Whether you like it or not, this is your problem. Feigning ignorance does absolutely nothing to help you when Najia- who I very much like- just said you were told about this. Now, you might not have known about the spiders and the botched experiments, but you definitely knew this was a landfill."
"Course you didn't," Jade agreed. "You don't know anything. You just avoid taking any responsibility. I'm running through our work, stuff we shut down. Spiders bio-engineered for stronger cobwebs, prolonged life."
"Because spiders can keep growing as long as they live," the Doctor continued.
"What if our waste included something that we thought was dead, but was still just alive?"
"And with enough food in all that waste to survive, and enough toxicity to mutate and keep on growing."
The six left the cavern and made their way back to the kitchen. As they rushed in, Graham and Ryan did also, the men running as their lives depended on it.
"We've found out what's going on-"
"Massive spider in the ballroom!"
"How massive?"
"The size of a large van," Graham said as the pair tried to gather their breath.
"Oh, that is massive!"
"It must be the mother. And the rest are the babies. Some stayed here, some went out into the city, their pheromones disrupting the spider eco-system, causing other spiders to behave abnormally."
"Thanks, Jade."
"Of course. Najia, you were never the link."
"Duh," Klary bit her lip at the Doctor's glare. "Sorry."
"Your colleague, Anna, what if she had the same pheromones on her? Accidentally calling out to a spider that had gone out hunting from this hotel? All these spiders answering the same call, because in the end, every living thing has the same instinct. To come back home."
"That's very touching. But there's a plague in my hotel and it needs to be fixed."
"Show me your panic room."
Robertson grimaced but led them to the room nonetheless. Everyone silently followed him, though Klary did take the time to apologise to the Doctor for all the jabs. The Time Lord just kissed the top of her head and pulled her along. At the door, Robertson went up to the scanner and placed his thumb down and scanned his retina. Once it was accepted, the man rotated the single wheel handle.
"Looks like a bank vault," Graham said in disbelief.
"My lockdown palace." He motioned everyone inside. "I have one in every hotel, just in case it's needed." He shrugged. "Not finished yet, but still." With everyone inside, Yaz pulled the door shut.
"What's in the boxes?"
"Food, water. Entertainment system. A book. I could survive in here for six months if I needed to. And I've got a huge stash of weapons, enough for all of us. Enough for two guns apiece."
"Oh, mate, they're not going to like that."
"No, I'm not. You're not shooting those creatures."
"Told you."
"They're mutants."
"Caused by you."
"Your carcasses, lady. Not mine."
"Whatever happened, there are living, breathing organisms out there and we treat them with dignity. So here's what we're going to do…"
"Shoot them!"
Klary rolled her eyes and would have hit the man if not for Yaz's grip on her and Ryan and Graham standing in front of her. "Shut the fuck up about shooting them."
"We're not going to shoot them!"
"What's wrong with you people? What is wrong with this country? Why don't you do what normal people do? Get a gun, shoot things, like a civilised person!"
"Civilised people," Klary barked. "I'm sorry I wasn't aware civilised people shoot things. And honestly, with the amount of mass shootings in the US alone- including school shootings- maybe you should really shut up." Her foot tapped against the floor and her gaze never wavered from him. She ignored the worried look from the Doctor and the tightening of Yaz's grip.
"Because I've got a much better idea." She turned away from Robertson. "Spiders are roaming this hotel searching for food. We're going to lure them in here with the promise of food then deal with the spider mother in the ballroom. Oh, that sounds like the best novel Edith Wharton never wrote."
"Once they're in here, what happens?"
"We shut them in and isolate them," Jade answered.
"You're going to let spiders use my panic room?"
"They deserve a humane, natural death."
"Shooting's quicker."
"Shut up," Klary growled.
"So, how are you going to lure them?"
"Spiders gravitate to their food by vibration. Any ideas?"
"Easy. Raze. Am I right?" He glanced at Yaz for confirmation but the woman looked nothing but confused.
"I don't know what you're saying."
"Yaz, you're so uncool right now." Ryan linked his phone to the entertainment system. A moment later, Know Me From by Stormzy boomed out. Klary took some satisfaction from Robertson's discomfort. Ryan bounced along before he faced them. Klary bobbed along with him, enjoying the beat. "Sheffield's sickest grime station!"
Klary stayed hidden behind the Doctor as she and Jade watched the spiders head to the panic room from a closed off area in the kitchen. With them locked in, everyone reconvened in the pool area. Doctor sent Ryan, Najia, and Yaz to grab a bunch of essential oils from the spa while Graham and Jade went to grab industrial size sprayers. Klary and the Doctor rushed off to wait for everyone outside the ballroom.
With everyone together, the Doctor put the sprayer on her back and walked in first. Klary made sure to stay at the back of the line though she could feel the nervous energy finally catching up to her. Her body vibrated with each step and her hands shook. She planned on calling a no adventure day afterwards. One the Doctor would definitely be a part of. "Ooo! Very big spider."
"Not helping," the brunette muttered.
"What have we got?"
"Peppermint and tea tree oil diluted with water. Spider repellent. I'm hoping this'll help us herd it out."
"You want us to herd out a giant spider? They're attacking people."
"Stop a second." Jade walked up to the Doctor. "Can you see that?"
All eyes turned to the mother spider struggling to climb the wall. A shudder rolled down Klary's spine as her eyes connected with it. Her fear remained but she still watched. Noticed along with the others that each attempt the spider made had her sliding back down. "It's grown too big."
"She's suffocating. She's got too big to breathe efficiently. Even moving around in here, it's using up what little oxygen she can absorb. She won't survive for long. She's more scared of us than we are of her."
"I'm so sorry this has happened to you."
"So what do we do, just leave her?" Before the Doctor could reply, Robertson entered, gun in hand.
"No. Absolutely not!"
"My hotel, my rules. I am the future President of the United States. How's this for fire and fury?"
"No, don't!" He ignored her and pulled the trigger. As the bullet hit, the spider fell onto her back, very nearly hitting the Doctor. Klary, in disbelief more than anything, approached the man and drop kicked him. On the floor, she stepped on his arm and kicked the gun away. Eyes murderous as she glared at the man. Behind her, Yaz and Ryan were telling her the Doctor was okay. Her gaze left the man and a sigh left her when she saw the Doctor on her feet. "She wasn't a real threat. She was dying anyway."
He pushed Klary off of him, the woman being caught by Ryan as the man stood. "Ah, well, then it's a mercy killing."
"I don't see any mercy in you."
"I don't need your approval, Doctor. This is what the world needs right now. This is what's going to get me into the White House," Robertson snapped before he stormed out of the ballroom.
"God help us all."
"No worries, Graham. He's never going to see that White House from the inside. At least not how he wants to," Klary promised.
With the spider dead and all the others dying, the group sans Robertson returned to where they should be. As Klary sat on the ledge by the Tardis, there was a flash of light and a familiar blonde woman stood before her. Blonde hair in a ponytail, blue jeans and a black top covered by a green military jacket. A bag in hand. Klary stared in shock when she realised exactly who was in front of her.
"Hey, mum."
"Mum?" Eyes widened. She was a mother? "What?"
"Is this your first time meeting me?" She paused and thought about something. "You did say that. Oops. You all right?"
"I suppose."
"Right. Spiders. I brought you some things. Courtesy of your best friend." She pulled out a bottle filled with clear liquid. "Hyper-vodka so be careful. Also," she pulled out a mobile. A smartphone from what she could see. "Said you'd need it. There's a few numbers already programmed."
"Thank you. Um, does-"
"Dad knows. Trust me, you badger him about it all the time."
"It's currently mom."
"Really! Is she inside?"
"Yep. Are you able to see her this far?"
"I mean, yes. But, I'm here for you. Besides, I'm on a time limit. Your current companions are heading this way."
"I should probably go in then."
"Yeah. Call us whenever. You'll see me pretty soon anyways." The blonde pulled her into a hug. "Be careful on the next one, yeah? Would rather not have you die before you get to see me born."
"I'll do my best."
"Love you, mum." With that she stepped back and teleported away. Bewildered, she smiled to herself, pocketed the phone and walked into the Tardis. The Doctor gave her an intrigued glance, eyes going to the bottle in hand before she shook her head and continued to fiddle with the console. It wasn't long after Klary placed the bottle to the side that there was a knock on the door.
"Come in." At Klary's words, the door opened and the three companions walked in.
"Proper goodbye this time."
"Wait, what?" She looked at the three. "You guys were leaving?"
Ryan shook his head as he smiled at her. "About that…"
"Do we have to? You see, Doc, the thing about grief is it needs time and... I don't want to sit around my house waiting for it to go away, 'cos that house is full of Grace and it makes it so much harder. But, er… being with you and seeing all these things out there… it really helps."
"What about you?" She stepped forward, her question targeted at Ryan.
"Do you really think I want to go back to working in that warehouse? No way."
"Yaz, you wanted to come home."
"I know. I love my family, but they also drive me completely insane. I want more. More of the universe. More time with you. You're like the best people I've ever met."
"You're pretty awesome."
"You're all right, I suppose."
"Don't tell lies, Graham," Klary teased. "You know you looove us."
"I can't guarantee that you're going to be safe."
"We know."
"Do you? Really? Cos when I pull that lever, I'm never quite sure what's going to happen."
"That's okay."
"You're not going to come back the same people that left here."
"But that's all right. I think that's good."
"Be sure. All of you. Be sure." There were three acknowledgements. Klary couldn't keep the smile off. A smile that grew bigger with the Doctor's. "Look at you! My fam. No, still doesn't quite work. Team Tardis?"
"Meh. We'll take that."
"We'll figure it out," the brunette laughed.
"Welcome aboard. Properly. Oh." She rushed to the lever. "Do you want to do it together?" Klary was the first to put her hand atop the Doctors. All hands on, they pulled the dematerialisation lever.
"I love this bit."
Thanks for reading. Just a heads up, the next chapter might take a bit longer. I've been dealing with health issues and they usually keep me down for weeks. But as I am able to post this today, I won't be a chapter or two ahead anymore, but I am trying to finish up the next chapter today. I know I kinda have a two week schedule but I'm just not sure how I'll be feeling. I will still try to get chapters out every 2-2.5 weeks. With that said, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. It was so difficult for me to write as I have a touch of arachnophobia. So sorry if this isn't my best. No pre-adventure Klary but I hope you liked who I threw in at the end. See you in the next chapter.
savethemadscientist: Ooh. I would love to know your guess tbh. And it's okay you didn't realise Klary was of a darker complexion. I wasn't super overt about it as I could have been. I honestly never black women as OCs and it's always bugged me as a black woman who loves fanfiction. As to why the Doctor ignored Klary, it definitely will be touched on in about 4-5 chapters. Let's just say his panic turned to anger and everything he wants to say he can't because of where she is in their timeline. It will come eventually. Still, no matter how upset he is, Klary is always a priority to him.
Ahh, the Carrionite's words about Klary took me a while to come up with. It's a nice touch of what's going on with the Doctor. Something that will last a bit while with Martha. And yeah, Klary had a horrible time in hospital. The extent will be revealed soon. I have some original chapters coming that will include parts of her past and some side adventures that are strictly between the Doctor and Klary. Yes! Day of the Doctor is going to be a fun one to write. I have some plans for that. But I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well. Next is the one I've been telling you would finally come.
Ezras Writing: Thanks so much. I'm glad you were able to read the last few chapters and that you're still enjoying it. The answer to your curiosity is coming up in the next chapter and the Doctor's anger some point in the next 4-5 chapters. See you soon!