Chapter 28: Into Darkness
There was an ionic smell in the air and the place where Missy had once stood tingled with energy. Shot into the year 14 trillion, the Doctor had sent her to the same place and time he'd sent the Dalek carrier ship. He figured that the Daleks would not be too happy with Missy, who had not fulfilled her end of the bargain with them.
"Bye, Missy!" he waved at the thin air, sniggering to himself. He almost felt bad about it, but then remembered what she had done to Clara. His face darkened and he banished all thoughts of pity. She got what she deserved.
The Doctor pulled his arm out, then his head, and eventually worked his entire body out of the tiny Polaroid. Thank you, Angel powers. He could get used to this. He stood up, stretching his back and wings. It had been a little cramped in there. He took the Tardis controls and grinned devilishly.
He picked up the phone and dialed his own Tardis. Clara connected them and their screens became linked. They could see and hear each other.
"Clara, this has to be done with absolute precision. When it happens, I need you to let the Tardis take back over," he warned. "It could be a rough ride."
Clara nodded and planted her feet firmly to the floor. She was as ready as she'd ever be.
"Now!" the Doctor shouted. He threw back the lever on Missy's Tardis while Clara commanded their Tardis to do the same. The two ships spun away with their usual wheezing sound. Both had been set to materialize on a particular tiny patch of asteroid at the exact same time.
The Tardis wheezing suddenly began to wind down, labored. Stuttering noises came from the engines. Sparks flew from the consoles. The rotors almost ground to a halt. A great jolt shook the Old Girl, trying to throw Clara across the room. Clara nearly lost her balance but managed to keep her grip on the telepathic matrix. She replanted her feet and leaned in hard. "You've got this, Old Girl!" she encouraged.
Missy's Tardis, not nearly as well built, bucked violently, throwing the Doctor into the air. He vaulted across the room, barely managing to fan out his wings in time to stop from hitting the hard steel floor. He glided back down and ran back to the console, gripping it with all he had. He yanked the lever even harder, demanding it to land.
Missy's Tardis arced and screeched in protest. Its exterior faded in and out of existence. During those moments, the Doctor could see his Tardis doing the same. He could vaguely see Clara, her eyes squeezed shut with focus. The Tardises were perfectly overlayed over each other but hovering, fighting each other for land.
"Fight, Clara!" he cried. "Don't give up!"
Clara screamed and forced her Tardis to stop fluttering around and land. It obeyed and landed with its normal thudding sound, albeit rougher than usual. Missy's Tardis landed at the exact same time, throwing both Tardises apart from each other in a shower of sparks. Clara and the Doctor held on for dear life as their Tardises fought. He hadn't expected this to be so violent.
Suddenly, a shrill ringing sound pierced their ears. Unable to spare his hands to cover his ears, the Doctor just had to bear it. He grimaced, trying to tuck an ear into his shoulder to muffle the sound. Clara was deep in the mind meld and did not seem to be affected. She had the easier half, he grumbled.
The ringing grew in intensity and frequency until there was a great ripping sound. Both ships rumbled like the epicenter of an earthquake. Red and blue light blinded his eyes. Something smelled like it was burning. An alarm sounded, announcing that a small fire had started deep in the corridors of Missy's Tardis. The Doctor slammed an orange button, deleting the affected sections.
And then everything stopped.
Clara panted harshly, her death grip on the slimy telepathic matrix left her hands pale and sore. She kept her eyes shut tightly, afraid of what would greet her when she opened them. The Tardis nudged at her mind, stressed but trying to soothe its human. It caressed her mind, whispering comforts. She had done a good job.
Finally, Clara dared to open her eyes. The Tardis appeared disheveled, papers and bits scattered around, but largely no worse for the wear. She pulled the video screen towards herself and found it shattered with nothing to show but static and colorful pressure cracks. Steam billowed from below the floor with a hissing sound. Some stray wires dangled from the ceiling, fizzling. She wondered if the Doctor had made it through the ordeal unscathed too. Had their plan even worked?
Cautiously, Clara snapped her fingers. The doors flew open and she stepped outside. The Tardis life support shield encapsulated her, protecting her from the harshness of space. In front of her was what looked like a massive trench tearing the fabric of space apart. It rippled with a blue undercurrent as if it was underwater. Its bottom somehow seemed even blacker than the rest of space around them.
Stars and time seemed to cascade over the edges like waterfalls, lost to the bottomless abyss. The split extended as far in front and behind her as she could see. She smiled. They had done it.
But where was the Doctor? She turned around and saw Missy's Tardis perched in the same spot as hers. The two were overlaid on top of each other, blurred like the blue and red in a 3D movie without glasses. Clara reached out, touching the Tardises. Their images rippled like a pond.
She focused on which one she wanted to enter, and Missy's Tardis came to the forefront. She pushed on the door lightly and it opened with no resistance. A plume of gray smoke rushed out. She coughed and waved it away from her face. It was oddly quiet inside.
She stepped inside. It was dark except for the rhythmic flashing of emergency lights. During one of the flashes, she spotted the Doctor crumpled to the floor.
"Doctor!" she cried, running up to him. She dove to the sooty floor, scooped him up, and cradled his head in her arms. She smoothed his silvery hair back, noticing a small gash on his scalp. The bleeding had already stopped, leaving a crusty scab. She checked him over for other injuries. Thankfully, there seemed to be none.
She coughed out the acrid smoke from her lungs and lifted him up by the armpits. She pulled with all her might, dragging him out of Missy's Tardis. God, he was heavier than he looked. Her arms burned. The veins in her neck bulged with exertion, highlighted by shiny sweat in the creases. She grunted, yanking him over the threshold and out until he was set as gently as possible onto the asteroid's rough surface.
His Tardis warbled and her life support bubble shifted to envelope him. The Old Girl increased the oxygen concentration, giving him all the support she could. Clara held his head in her lap, monitoring his respirations. His breathing was a little raspy from the smoke but otherwise strong. His double pulse also felt strong and Clara finally felt confident that he had just knocked himself out.
Confirming her suspicions, the Doctor's eyebrows furrowed. He took in a deep breath and groaned, reaching up to touch the gash on his scalp. "No, no, don't touch it." Clara chided, softly patting his hand away from the wound. "Doesn't look too bad."
He squeezed his eyelids shut tighter, hissing through his teeth. "Ugh, it sure smarts though," he moaned. "Missy's Tardis was unwilling to do as it was told and threw me around a bit." He peeked his eyes open and looked up, meeting the worried gaze of Clara Oswald. His Clara.
A warm smile crept across his face. What a lovely sight to wake up to."Why, hello there, pretty lady," he flirted, imitating Elvis Presley. She rolled her eyes and giggled, letting out a breath she didn't know she was holding. He was going to be just fine.
She propped his head up off of her lap and gripped him under the arms, helping him up. He got his legs under him and rose to his feet, feeling a little wobbly. He finally stood up straight, resting a hand on Clara's shoulder for support. He looked around, taking note of their surroundings.
He saw the trench and gasped. It hummed and shimmered like a windless lake. Blue currents flowed in swirls like whirlpools. The black canyon seemed to stretch on forever, deeper than a black hole. It was so beautiful and terrifying at the same time. The rift between universes.
He noticed the superimposed Tardises, still fighting each other for the forefront. He reached out a hand, resting it gently on the frames. Their images wobbled at his touch. They were simultaneously here and not here. One existed in one universe, the other existed in another, and right here, where they were standing, was the small overlap where both universes superimposed over each other. "Oh, that is cool," he mused aloud, awed.
"So what now?" Clara asked.
The Doctor turned to her, taking her by the hand. He squeezed reassuringly, as much for himself as for her. "We venture into darkness."
He led her to their Tardis and stepped inside. The Old Girl chirped happily to see him okay. He took hold of the console. The screen that was shattered before had already mended itself. He set it so he could see outside, watching for any hazards. He carefully pulled the main handle to take off and separate his Tardis from Missy's. The Tardis gladly accepted this command, eager to be away from Missy's hostile Tardis.
With its usual wheeze, the rotors fired up. The central column pumped up and down. Orange lights chased the rotors around the console. With a final heave, the Tardis lifted off and spun into the great rift.
The Doctor gently sunk his fingers into the telepathic matrix. He blocked out everything else, thinking only of the vision he'd had while in his coma. He thought of the false Constellation of Kasterborous, the mismatched stars and its lonely galaxy. Past the Medusa Cascade, past the dying red giant stars, and finally, to a small orange dot in the distance.
"Take us to Gallifrey."