A/N: Welcome to a new chapter! I hope you enjoy it.

To avoid confusion, the earpiece used in this chapter is the same one Clara Oswald used in the episode "Flatline" with Peter Capaldi.

Also, for those who had read my previous chapter in the past two weeks, I have updated the chapter since then, so go back and reread the previous chapter (specifically the ending) before reading this one. If you are new to the story, feel free to disregard this message, as you've already read the new edits on the previous chapter.

Also, there is a brief reference to the Bruce Willis movie "Die Hard."

Also, a friendly reminder that I have started writing a prequel story called "Arising: A Nova Sue Prequel." If you haven't already, go check that out and subscribe. To those who have read it and/or are already following it, please disregard this message as well.

As Always, thank you all who subscribed, commented, and left kudos. Please, don't hesitate to do these things, as it keeps me motivated to post more.

On with the new chapter :)

Chapter 37: Down the Hatch

"Damn!" I exclaim in a murmur when I realize that we are too late, as I see Dad having just sent everyone away. "Looks like I missed it!" Looking back, I shouldn't have made that brief detour to visit Mom in the library before coming back here, since I've clearly wasted precious time. Just my luck.

'It appears the meeting was much shorter than I had previously anticipated,' Idris says in a regretful tone. 'I apologize for that.'

I sigh. "It's okay. I'll ask Jenny what all I missed when I catch up to her later."

I peek around the corner again and see Dad circling the main control console alone, speaking to Jenny and giving her directions like he said he would. Her clear responses can be heard throughout the entire room, almost sounding like she hasn't left the room at all, commenting on the environment around her.

"Okay," I murmur to myself as well as the TARDIS, "so it looks like he sent them off already. Sounds like Jenny isn't too far from here, so I still have time to catch up. The question now is: how do I get past Dad? I doubt he's gonna leave this room anytime soon."

'I have a way,' the TARDIS assures me. 'There is absolutely no cause for alarm.'

Suspiciously right on cue, the sound of the Cloister Bell rings out from an adjacent hallway on the other side of the room.

I snort loudly at this. "You were saying?" Clearly, there is quite literally 'cause for alarm,' as that seems to be the only way to distract Dad from the console.

Which, thankfully, works because Dad's immediate response is, "Oh, what is it now? Hang on, Jenny, I have to check something," before he walks down the hallway where the alarm is blaring madly.

I can't help laughing at this. "Heh, heh! That was brilliant!"

'Now's your chance,' Idris urges me. 'In fact, this is your only chance. Go! Now!'

However, before I even begin to move from my spot at the top of the stairs, I hear a Scottish female voice call from behind, "Hello? Who are you? What's going on?"

I turn to see the redheaded female—my grandmother—speed-walking down the hallway toward me, and I immediately curse out loud. "Fudgeknuckle!"

"Nova?" she calls to me again, apparently recognizing me. "Is that you?"

'Quick! Go before she catches you and alerts your father!' Idris's voice rings out in my head again, and this time I manage to break free from my shock.

"Wait!" my grandmother calls out to me from further down the hallway I'd just left as I sprint to the exit of the TARDIS, opening the door to a lush forest that seems to stretch for miles in every direction. I manage to slip behind a large tree nearby just as my Scottish grandmother reaches the door that I'd left wide open—rather, what should be the door that I'd left wide open, as there doesn't seem to be anything at all. Rather, there is just a floating 'hole' in the wooded landscape that leads right into the TARDIS Control Room, but the exterior of the TARDIS is invisible.

"Nova, wait!" the redheaded Scot continues calling out into the forest. "Come back! You can't be out there!"

"Amy!" I hear Dad call from inside, the Cloister Bell toll having now gone quiet. "What're you doing? You trying to get us caught? Get back inside!"

"Sorry, Doctor," my grandmother replies to him. "I just thought I saw Nova run out."

"Nova?" he frowns at her as she steps back to let him peek outside. "That's ridiculous! She'd be incredibly stupid to be out here, especially after I'd specifically told her to stay put!" He then calls out into the forest. "Nova? You out here? I told you, it's too dangerous! Come out and get back inside the TARDIS now!" Of course, I don't say or do anything in response besides try (and fail) to slow my racing hearts. Dad pauses as if listening for any signs of me, but I stay still behind the tree, praying he won't check behind it.

"Doctor…" my grandmother hesitantly says after a minute. "Maybe I didn't see her. Maybe I'd just imagined seeing her."

"Yes, perhaps you did," Dad sighs as he steps back inside the safety of the TARDIS, though he sounds like he doubts her words (Of course he would). "That girl… She's too much like her mother."

"And that's bad, is it?" my grandmother says in a slightly offended tone as she steps back in after him and closes the door—rather, she closes the 'hole,' leaving nothing but an empty wooded landscape; though the place where the TARDIS is supposedly parked looks slightly shimmery and warped, but enough where you can almost forget it's there at all.

"That was way too close," I sigh once everything seems to settle and I'm confident that no one is going to come back outside from inside the invisible police box.

'Luckily you made it outside in time,' Idris replies in my head. 'Now you must catch up to the others.'

"How do I get to the base from here?" I ask, looking around the forest that seemingly has no end in any direction; though, in one direction, there appears to be some sort of building in the far distance.

'The base is approximately five miles to your east,' Idris says, confirming that that building is, indeed, my intended destination. 'Sadly, as to how to proceed from there, I cannot help you physically; not without your father's guidance.'

I shrug. "That's okay. I'm sure I can figure it out. So long as I don't get caught and killed along the way."

'Good luck, Nova,' Idris says in a nervous tone. 'You are going to need it.'

With that, I proceed through the forest.

I reach the building an hour and a half later, though it is a much larger building than I had previously anticipated. From the outside, it looks like that of a typical prison, only a thousand times bigger than an average prison. This one looks like it could spread across half of an entire planet. Okay, maybe not that big, but, in any case, it's way too big for my comfort. And what's worse: there are several guards, dressed in grey military uniforms, surrounding the entire area.

"Good grief!" I exclaim to myself in amazement as I hide behind another tree. "This place is huge. How the heck am I gonna find my family in this place? It must be miles and miles and miles long." I squint around the base, weighing my options as to the best way to get inside unnoticed. "It doesn't look like there's a way in on this side. Surely, there must be one around here somewhere. And even if I find it, the next question will be: how do I get past the guards? If just one of them sees me, it could botch up the whole operation."

"You sure got that right, kitten," a deep male voice sniggers at me from behind.

Startled, I turn to see six Silence members, all clad in that ugly uniform and traitorous eye-patch, surrounding me and carrying large guns.

"Fudgeknuckle!" I curse again to myself, making me regret coming here, especially alone. Definitely not the smartest decision in the universe. Ugh, why didn't I listen to Dad in the first place?!

"Well, well, well," the Silence member that had spoken up first sniggers again. "Look who we have here, lads. Our 'guest of honor' has finally arrived! Madame Kovarian will be pleased."

Luckily, the perfect response comes to mind in that instant. "Too bad I'm still not up for that tea she promised me. Though I would be willing to share a few Knuckle Sandwiches with her. All are invited, of course." I then deepen my glare as I get into the typical fighting position, "Who wants a bite? Come and get one if you're hungry!" Sure, for some, it may not have sounded like the smartest response, but it sounded pretty good in my head, at least.

"Glad to," the first Silence member speaks again, this time with a smirk. "We are starving." At this, the other Silence members nod in agreement. "Get her, lads!" the leader commands, and they all immediately converge on me, raising their guns, and a fight ensues between us.

Luckily, none of them shoot me (thank God, because they obviously want me alive), but, unlike the other Silence members I fought in the alley in Modern Day London, these people seem way more advanced in their training and try to use their guns to subdue me rather than kill me. Mostly, they try to whack me with them, but I manage to dodge them pretty well, thanks to some practice with my evil self in Victorian London.

However, much like in the alley in Modern Day London, I lose much of my energy again, and it's very clear that I don't have near as much training as I had thought previously; apparently, that fight with my evil twin in Victorian London wasn't enough, not by a longshot. More than that, once I manage to take out a few Silence members, many more seem to take their place; in fact, some members seemingly managed to alert other members in the area, and those members rush in to take their place, making the numbers highly inequitable.

Thankfully, the tables turn for the better for me, as, strangely, another Silence member appears seemingly out of nowhere, and thankfully it's someone I know well.

"Jenny!" I exclaim in absolute relief.

"I've got your back, Nova!" she assures me as we continue the fight together, evening out the odds. Luckily, we manage to take out the remaining members within two minutes, despite it being a challenge even for both of us.

"Phew!" I exclaim, still feeling a little winded, as I hold my hand over my chest, feeling both hearts beating unnaturally fast. "Thanks, Jen. I owe you one."

"I heard the commotion and knew I'd heard your voice," she admits as she struggles to slow her own heart. "Lucky I found you when I did. Anytime later, and…" She then pauses, feeling disturbed at the very thought. "Well…I'm glad I found you."

"Me too," I nod. "I can imagine what would've happened if you didn't come in time, and let's just say I'm glad it didn't happen." I then frown at her traitorous attire. "Why are you dressed like that?" A split second later, I remember. "Oh, right! Dad had you dress up as a Silence member so you can blend in while going through the base."

Jenny nods. "Yes, and I was just hunting for the secret entrance when I heard the commotion. Your father heard you and sensed you were in trouble. He's not happy that you disobeyed him, by the way."

No surprise there.

"Yeah, I don't care about that," I say, rolling my eyes. "He can ground me when I get back." I then frown. "Wait! Dad heard me? How?" I look around, thinking he may have somehow followed me; though why, I don't know, since it wouldn't be smart of him to do that. Then again, it wasn't a smart thing for me either, now that I think about it. "He's not here! Unless it was through our psychic link…"

"That too," Jenny nods again before explaining. "He actually heard you through this thing he gave to me to stick in my ear—a 'Neuro-Communicator,' he called it. It allows him to see and hear everything I am seeing and hearing. He heard you through the audio on his end at the same time I heard you, and he urged me to investigate, hence how I came to your rescue."

"Again, thanks for the help," I say, smiling at her. I then turn to her fully, deepening my voice, and this time I speak directly through her to Dad. "Dad, if you can truly hear us, here is my message to you: I don't care if you're angry that I left. As I said a gazillion times, it's my duty to come here; I've known this from the very beginning. So now I'm here, and I'm not turning back, not when I've come this far. I'm saving my family, including Mom, even if it kills me, and I don't care if it does. Nothing and no one is gonna stop me from saving my own family, including you. In fact, I am doing this for you. You remember when Kovarian tried forcing you to choose who to sacrifice for the greater good between me and Mom? I've taken the burden off of your shoulders—you're welcome—and I've chosen myself in Mom's place as well as yours; rather, I'm gonna make her think I am. She has no right to choose our fate; it's our own decision, and I've chosen this to be mine, because, frankly, this is the only way I can prove myself to you. That being said, I'm doing this, whether you like it or not. I'm going to show you once and for all that I'm perfectly capable of making my own decisions and choosing my own path, and this is how I am going to do it. Don't believe me? Ask the TARDIS."

I expect Dad do have a lot to say in response; in fact, he totally does, as, from the shocked look on Jenny's face, he is absolutely pissed. "Blimey…" Jenny murmurs, wide-eyed.

"Great," I sigh, rolling my eyes again and crossing my arms. "What's he have to say about it?" No doubt, the typical clichés: 'I am very disappointed in you!' 'I should ground you for a month!' Oh, I could go on.

"Listen for yourself," Jenny says, nervously biting her lower lip as she takes out something from her right ear and hands it to me. It appears to be a small, round earpiece of sorts that's about the same size as a contact lens. "Stick it in your ear. It'll attach itself once it's in."

I nervously insert the device into my ear and await my father's angry words, which begin screaming in my ear immediately, making him sound like he's standing right next to me.

"Nova, this is insane! More than that, it's stupid! You should never have left the TARDIS! I specifically told you to stay in the TARDIS, but instead you disobeyed me! That was an extremely foolish thing to do! You don't realize how much danger you've just put yourself into! Now the Silence know you're there, and sooner or later they'll know the others are there as well! You've put everyone in terrible danger, especially yourself! I can't even begin to tell you how upset I am about this, and if your mother was here, she'd be just as upset, maybe even more so!"

"Yeah, well she's not!" I snap back. "That's the problem, and I intend to fix it! That's the main reason why I'm coming here! Kovarian threatened to kill Mom if I didn't turn myself in, and you and I both know how she really dies. If I can't save her from her fate at the Library, I can at least save her from this, and that's what I'm going to do! I won't let Kovarian and the Silence get away with anything else! They've tortured us long enough! This ends now! They all need to die!" Nothing and no one is going to prevent me from accomplishing that goal.

"Nova, do you even hear yourself?" Dad replies, totally appalled. "You're talking like you're planning to get revenge; more than that, to commit mass genocide! I will not allow it, and I will certainly not allow you to do it—my own daughter!"

"As if you've never done it before!" I snap once more before I immediately take out the earpiece and throw it back to Jenny. "I'm done!" I tell her. "I don't want to hear any more of what he has to say! He'll never understand!" No matter what I do or say now, he doesn't care anymore.

"Nova…" she tries gently, but I don't want to hear it.

"I don't want to talk about it anymore," I say, shaking my head. "Let's just carry on with what we came here to do. The sooner we get this done, the better."

"Very well," she sighs as she replaces the earpiece back in her own ear.

"Where's that secret entrance you told me about?" I ask, anxious to move on.

"It's…around here somewhere," she says uncertainly before pausing as if listening to Dad's directions. After a few seconds, she points deeper into the forest, away from the base. "Your father says it's this way. He says there's a secret maintenance tunnel that leads right under the base. We'll follow Madame Vastra and Strax through the same entrance."

I nod as I begin walking in that direction. "Good. Let's go."

Jenny stops me, pulling me back. "Wait! You can't go in dressed like that. You need a disguise like mine."

"Right," I nod, apparently missing the painfully obvious.

We glance down at the unconscious Silence members littered at our feet, and we pick a young woman who looks to be close to my height, build, and (luckily) appearance. We agree to bring her into the forest and steal her uniform for me, much like Jenny did to another Silence member before she found me. We manage to carry the woman into a part of the forest with a lot of overgrowth, and we begin awkwardly stripping her of her uniform (excluding her underwear, of course). Once the uniform is off, I quickly change into it while Jenny looks out for other Silence members.

"Right, I'm decent," I say once I'm fully changed into the uniform, complete with a matching hat that is similar to a baseball cap, except the lip doesn't cover my face as much as a typical baseball cap would. "How do I look?" I ask as I pull my hair back in a tight bun at the nape of my neck.

"Like you fit right in," Jenny says in a joking manner.

"I'm not exactly sure how I feel about that," I say in a somewhat doubtful tone. Ever since I learned about them, I never liked the idea of joining the Silence, especially after I'd fought a corrupt version of myself during our previous adventure. She did hint that I might turn into that in the near future, and I seriously hope I don't become that by the end of this trip.

I then say, inspecting the uniform further, "If you ask me, I'm not very fond of the color, the size is a bit baggy in some areas, and my boots are a size too small. But if this is all that's available, I'll just have to deal with it." I then hold out the eye-patch (an 'iDrive' is the proper term for it, according to my parents) in disgust, much like anyone would after touching something gross. "I'm definitely not sure about this."

"Luckily everyone is required to wear it," she assures me, "so that should give you at least some cover with that over your eye. If they do see your face, make sure they see you on the side with the iDrive."

"Right," I nod in understanding. I then sigh after placing the iDrive over my right eye, "Well, I'm ready when you are."

"This way," Jenny says as she continues down the path through the forest around the side of the base, and I follow close behind.

As we walk, I suddenly notice something on the uniform I'd stolen. Specifically the name written on it. I groan, saying, "Also, I've just noticed that I've literally picked the worst uniform in the universe. The name written on here is 'N. Strong.' Legit!"

Seriously, my luck couldn't get any worse!

"Ooh, yeah," Jenny says with a concerned frown, also noticing the name written on my shirt—something I can't believe we didn't notice before. "Now that you mention it, that may be a problem. Unfortunately, we can't do anything about it now. We'll just have to hope that nobody is clever enough to connect the dots."

Honestly, knowing the Silence, they probably would. Yup, I definitely should've stayed in the TARDIS. Ugh, why does every decision I make always turn out to be the worst one?

"For real," I snort in agreement.

A few minutes later, we come across a small maintenance hatch half-buried under some tall overgrowth that is slightly open. "This is it," Jenny says as she kneels down to open the hatch further.

"Looks like someone came through here already," I point out. "Maybe Vastra and Strax…hopefully."

"Hopefully," Jenny agrees. That's when I suddenly start laughing. "What?" she asks me.

I continue chuckling. "I was just thinking, we're about to infiltrate an enemy base 'Die Hard' style. Bruce Willis would be proud if he saw us now."

Jenny frowns at this. "Bruce Willis? Who is that, and why would he want us to 'die hard?' Is he a murderer?"

I frown in disbelief. "What? No! He's an actor. 'Die Hard' is a movie he's in. His character, who is a police detective, snuck into an office building through the ventilation system to stop criminals that had interrupted the office's Christmas party. Surely, you've heard of that movie. It's, like, one of the best movies to watch at Christmas time. And who doesn't love Bruce Willis, who's a freakin' badass!"

"'Movie?'" she asks, still evidently confused.

That's when I realize. I groan. "Oh, that's right. I forgot you're not from my time. You come from a time when television doesn't yet exist. Sorry, my bad. 'Spoilers,' I guess." Most times—in fact, it's just about every time—I naturally assume everyone is from my time, but, as Dad had previously taught me, as a time-traveler, I find that that's not entirely the case, as I'm bound to meet people (such as the Paternoster Gang) who are from an entirely different time and sometimes even from an entirely different planet.

Jenny shakes her head, ignoring the confusion. "We should stay focused. We shouldn't dawdle here, or we'll be spotted. We must help Madame Vastra and the others."

I nod. "Right. I'll go first."

"No, let me go first," Jenny insists. "We don't know what might be waiting for us at the bottom."

"Good point. Be careful," I tell her as she begins descending deep into the shaft. "Down the hatch," I murmur to myself as I begin following her closely behind, closing the literal hatch above us, plunging us in darkness.

A/N: TO BE CONTINUED!

Another friendly reminder to go check out my new story "Arising: A Nova Sue Prequel" if you haven't already, and also check back every few days, as I have a habit of rewriting things.

Again, thank you all who subscribed, commented, and left kudos. Please, don't hesitate to do these things, as it keeps me motivated to post more :)