Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS
A/N: I will be skipping "Hide", "The Crimson Horror", and "Nightmare in Silver" They will take place in this universe but they happened before this chapter and Teddy & Annabelle were not involved. I think those episodes work better without Teddy & Annabelle.
Annabelle and I decided that we wanted to visit with my adopted family for a little bit. Clara was a little surprised to find out that I had human parents. But after I explained to her about how I became the daughter of Amy and Bob Duncan, she understood perfectly. So, The Doctor dropped me and Annabelle off and they headed out for a few of adventures on their own.
A week later, they returned and we headed out on our next adventure. We ended up in the distant future and we deiced to just fly through space for awhile. Annabelle and I were at the controls while Clara walked around the console, the Doctor was close behind her, "You said…" said The Doctor.
"I know what I said," said Clara, "I was the one who said it."
"You said it was looking at you funny."
"I was tired. Overwrought. I didn't mean it. It's an appliance. It does a job."
"It's a pretty cool appliance," said The Doctor as he tapped on the console, "We're not talking cheese grater here!"
"You're not getting me to talk to your ship. That's properly bonkers."
The Doctor stroked the console, "It's OK, it's OK."
"You're like one of those guys who can't go out with a girl unless his mother approves."
"Clara," I said, "It's important to us that you get along with the TARDIS. I know, we could leave you two alone together,"
Clara looked at me, "Now you're creeping me out."
"I know," said Annabelle, "We could teach her to fly the TARDIS."
The Doctor snapped his fingers and pointed at my daughter, "That is a good idea. I knew there was a reason we kept you around." he turned to Clara, "I'll make it easy - shut it down to basic mode for you." The Doctor started to flip switches on the console.
"Basic! 'Cos I'm a human?" she asked.
"No," I said, "Because it's your first time. It might not look like it but there is a lot to know about flying the TARDIS…"
A short time later and after a bit of instruction from Annabelle and me, Clara was flying the TARDIS. I could tell from the big smile on her face she was enjoying it. She flipped a switch and the Console Room went dark, "What have I done?" she asked.
Then the lights started to flash red around the console room, "Er... OK." said The Doctor. Then, us Time Lords moved over to another section of the console and looked at the screen that displayed our location. As we looked at it, the screen cracked.
Clara walked over, "Doctor? Teddy? Annabelle?"
Us three Time Lords started flicking switches trying to return the TARDIS to normal flight, "All the electrical impulses are jammed," said The Doctor, "We can't get the shields back up." he grunted as he pushed on a lever, "She's completely vulnerable."
"I swear I just touched it."
The Doctor pushed the lever but then the console erupted in sparks and the TARDIS lurched, throwing us all backward. Us Time Lords went back to the console, "It wasn't your fault," I said, "We're flying right into a magnetic hobble-field. Clara, stay close to us!"
I turned and saw Clara holding onto the side console, "Please tell me there's a button you can press to fix this," she said
"Oh, yes. Big friendly button," said The Doctor.
"You're lying."
"Yep."
"To stop me freaking out?"
"Is it working?"
"Not so much."
Us Time Lords worked feverously on trying to save the TARDIS. There was another explosion and we were all thrown away from the console and I was knocked out.
"Mom… Mom… Mom… Are you OK?" I heard Annabelle call out telepathically as I woke up.
"Yeah," I said as I sat up. I looked around and saw that The Doctor, Annabelle and I were outside of the TARDIS in the holding bay of some kind of ship. We were laying next to a pile of wires and other junk. The TARDIS was laying on its side on top of the pile.
Just then we heard a voice say, "We did nothing. If anyone asks, that ship was already busted. You got that?"
The Doctor stood up and waived, "Come on…" he said telepathically
We stood up and saw three black men talking their backs to us. The voice from before whispered, "And you, make sure you keep your oily-mouth shut."
The Doctor walked up to them and whispered, "It's rude to whisper." Then in his normal tone of voice said, "Hi. I'm the Doctor, these are my nieces Teddy and Annabelle." He shook the hand of the tallest man, "And you are...?" he looked at his name tag, "Van Baalen and…" then he shook the hand of the man who appeared to be in charge, "Van Baalen. Van Baalen and Van Baalen. That's going to get confusing later."
"We found you drifting," said the man in charge.
"Your ship was junked-up pretty bad," said the tall man.
"What broke our ship was a magno-grab," said Annabelle.
Then the Doctor held up the remote for the magno-grab, it was a small device that looked a small sliver Nerf football "I found this remote in your pocket. Eh? What are the chances? Outlawed in most galaxies. This little beastie can disable whole vessels unless you have shield oscillators," then The Doctor slapped his forehead, "which we turned off so that Clara could fly…" then he threw the remote back and forth in his hands. "Damn it! Clara! Where is she?"
I looked around and sure enough Clara wasn't with us, "Have any of you seen a girl, her height," I said as I pointed at Annabelle, "Kind of on the feisty side…"
"She's still on board!" said The Doctor, as he started to run to the TARDIS.
But the youngest of the three held him back, "No, wait, your pod is leaking fuel. If she's still in there, she's dead."
I looked at saw some open lockers, "Respirators." I said as I headed for the lockers The Doctor and Annabelle and I gave each of them one.
"We can open the doors for a split second, reach in and grab her." said the man in charge.
"Trust me, we can't," I said as I took a respirator, "Now, please, help us get her out."
"I'm telling you, she fried…" said the young man.
"Shut it, tin-mouth!" said the man in charge. Then, he looked at us, "What sort of fee are we talking?"
Us Time Lords reached the TARDIS, we looked at each other had a quick talk telepathically and then The Doctor said, "If you help us get her out, you get the machine, all the scrap, eh?"
"It's not worth the risk. Four feet of metal? Nah," said the tall man.
"What if I can guarantee you the best haul you've ever had?" I said.
"Bram, open the bay doors." said the man
The men started to walk away, "No, please, stop!" said Annabelle, "Listen. Right behind those doors is the salvage of a lifetime."
We watched as the three men started putting on their gear. Bram, the tall man, looked at the Gregor, the man in charge, and said, "Hey, are we really going to risk it? That thing is spewing poison. We should blow it back into space."
"Get your gear," said Gregor.
"Hey! I don't take orders from my kid brother," said Bram.
"Don't try and form sentences, all right? Stick to what you do best." Gregor tapped Bram on the cheek before he walked away.
Bram walked past us and then we watched the young looking android, Tricky, get his gear on. "Since when does an android need a blast suit and a respirator?" I asked.
"Flesh coating, same as us," Bram answered for him, "He'd burn up."
"No fear, no hate, no pain," said Tricky, as he put a respirator over his nose and mouth, then followed after Bram.
"He's not an android, is he, Mom?" asked Annabelle, telepathically.
"No… He's not. Androids have never had flesh coating." I replied, telepathically.
Us Time Lords put our own respirators and walked over to the TARDIS. The Doctor got ready to unlock the door and Gregor asked, "'Salvage of a lifetime?'"
"I feel pretty confident we can deliver on that," said The Doctor, "There we go." The Doctor kicked the door opened and smoke billowed out.
When the smoke dissipated we went inside. The gravity was still on so when we walked inside everything was right side up. There were several small fires and the room was still dark with the emergency lighting on, "I don't get it," said Gregor, "I thought she was lying on her side."
"The TARDIS is special," said The Doctor, "She has her own gravity. I'd explain if I had some charts and a board pen." We headed to the console to start the extractor fans and the fire suppressant system.
"It's... it's bigger…" Tricky started to say.
"On the inside," I finished, "we get that a lot."
"Whoa. Awesome!" said Bram.
"Well put," said Annabelle, "Whoa and awesome." she flicked a switch and the extractor fans and fire suppressant system turned on, "Safe to breathe."
We all took off our respirators and The Doctor started to figure where Clara was, "OK. Now. The last thing I remember, you were right here." He moved to the spot were Clara was standing before we crashed and started to scan with his sonic, "Come on, Clara, talk to me."
"How big is this baby?" asked Bram.
"Picture the biggest ship you've ever seen. Are you picturing it?" I asked.
"Yeah."
"Good. Now forget it. This ship is infinite."
"It could take you hours to find the girl." said Gregor.
"Days!" said Annabelle, "Plus the whole place is toxic. She could be dead by the time we reach her."
"So. Here's the mission," said The Doctor, "We're going to find her in one hour."
"We?" asked Gregor
"You're my guys for this."
"That wasn't the deal."
"'Tis now."
"What makes you think we'll help?"
I flipped a couple of levers and a countdown popped up on the screen. "I just activated the TARDIS self-destruct system. One hour until this ship blows."
Bram ran for the door but it slammed shut before he could get there, "Don't try to leave," said The Doctor, "The TARDIS is in lockdown. I'll open those doors when Clara's by my side."
"You a bunch of crazy lunatics!" said Bram
"Our ship, our rules!
"You'll kill us all. And the girl." said Gregor.
"She's going to die if you don't help us," said The Doctor, "Don't get into a spaceship with a madman and his equally as mad nieces." the men ran to the door and tried to force it open, "Didn't anyone ever teach you that?"
"I guess you guys need a little more persuasion. Say 30 minutes," said Annabelle. She pressed a button on the console and the countdown switched to 30 minutes.
"She'll die even quicker now!" said Bram.
"We all perform better under pressure," said Annabelle, "Anybody want to go for 15 minutes?" her finger just hovered over the button.
"Whoa!" said Bram and Gregor.
"It's your own time you're wasting. Salvage of a lifetime. You meant the ship. I meant Clara."
We walked through the corridors of the TARDIS with The Doctor leading the way, scanning for Clara with his sonic screwdriver. Gregor was bringing up the rear and I heard him say into the scanner he was holding, "Report. What's on board this thing?"
"Dynomorphic generators," said the scanner, "conceptual geometer, beam synthesiser, orthogonal engine filters."
Gregor caught up to the rest of us, "Guys, guys, look. I think we should split up. It's our best chance of finding the girl. You know it is."
The Doctor, Annabelle and I looked at each other. I nodded. The Doctor checked his watch, "Don't touch a thing. The TARDIS will get huffy if you mess."
Gregor looked at Tricky, "Keep in radio contact, all right?"
Tricky and The Doctor went in one direction and Annabelle and I went in another. We searched for while and then caught back up with The Doctor and Tricky. "Find anything?" The Doctor asked.
I shook my head. Just then I got a beeping sound from my sonic. I took it out of my pocket and checked the readings, "Gregor is in the ARS room!"
We ran down the corridors until we got to the ARS room. Inside there was a large tree like structure with large glowing crystals hanging off of it, Gregor was inside holding a laser cutter, "No! Stop!" I shouted as we ran inside, "Please! Don't touch it. Please. She won't let you touch it. I can feel a TARDIS tantrum coming on." I gently touched one of the crystals.
Gregor lowered the laser "What the hell is this place?" he asked.
"Architectural Reconfiguration System," said The Doctor, "It reconstructs particles according to your needs."
"A machine that makes machines?"
"Yes. Basically."
Gregor picked up the laser again, "What are you doing?" asked Tricky.
"Don't!" said Annabelle, "If you try to walk out of here with that circuit, the TARDIS will try to stop you! We can't waist anymore time. We have to find Clara!"
Gregor ignored my daughter and yanked the crystal free. The others on the tree went dark for a moment before they flickered back on. Then there as a high-piched whine I covered my ears to block out the sound. I saw Gregor put the crystal into his pack and started to head for the door but the door wasn't there anymore, "What the...?" asked Tricky as he walked over to the door, "Where's the door gone?"
"Ever see a spaceship get ugly?" asked The Doctor.
"This isn't happening," said Tricky, as he tried to find a way out.
"She won't let you leave with that crystal," I said, "That is like a TARDIS egg and like any mother she'll protect her eggs."
"Torch it." said Gregor as he threw a device to Tricky. Tricky caught it but didn't do anything, "I said torch it!" said Gregor.
"Can't you feel it, Gregor?" asked Tricky, "The ship's in torment, like it's a living thing. You can't hurt it."
Gregor grabbed the device from Tricky and walked toward the wall. He was about to turn it on when the door appeared and opened. Gregor smiled, "What's the matter, TARDIS? Scared to fight me?" Gregor then confidently walked out of the room with Tricky close behind. Us three Time Lords looked at each other and followed them out.
The Doctor continued to lead us through the corridors deep in the TARDIS. We walked through an intersection we passed through a few moments before, "It's the same," said Tricky, "It's just the same."
"It's diverting us," I said, "It's creating a maze around us." I looked right at Gregor, "We'll never reach Clara in time."
Gregor just glared at me and went down the right corridor, "Hey! Hey!" called the Doctor as we followed, only to end up in the same intersection.
"It's just the same, again." said Tricky.
"No point in building walls," said The Doctor, "You'll just know how to smash them down. It's found other ways of controlling you. Smart bunch, Time Lords."
"Horrible dress sense," I said, "Even worst taste in hats." Then I walked up to Gregor, "If you want to get out of here, let that circuit go. The TARDIS is making a maze around us."
"Bram? Bram? Can you hear me?" called Tricky into his radio, "Bram, the ship is alive. Get out of there. Bram, don't touch anything." After a few moments Tricky tried again, "Bram? You've got to get out of there fast." Then there was a scream from the other end of the radio then it went to static, "Channel's dead. We've got to help him." He looked up at Gregor, "Gregor, do something. Do something!""
"It's too late. He's gone! Let's just worry about the salvage!" said Gregor
Tricky shoved Gregor, "You care more about the circuit than you do about him!"
Annabelle walked up to them and pulled them apart, she looked right at Gregor, "Your concern for your brother is really touching. The android is more upset about it than you are. Now will you two stop fighting and listen! There is something else down there."
The three of us started scanning with our sonics, "We've got to get out of here!" said Tricky, "Gregor, give it back. Give it back to her." he reached for the pack that Gregor had on his back with the circuit inside.
"What are you doing?" shouted Gregor as he pushed Tricky against the wall, "You're always on the side of the machines!"
"Guys!" I shouted, "There are multiple life forms on board the TARDIS with us." we all back up until we were standing next to Gregor and Tricky, "I am getting a massive signal."
"Where are they?" asked Tricky.
"Oh, you're not going to like the answer," said The Doctor, "About two steps away. One step."
We turned around and screamed when we saw the creature. It looked like two charred humanoids fused together at the shoulder and the side, with red eyes. It growled at it reached for us.
"Gregor, look out!" I said as I pulled him back, "Careful! Gregor!" Then, Gregor ran away, "No! We have to stay together!" He looked at Tricky and said, "Come on. Tricky, run!" Then we ran down another corridor.
A short time later we ended up in the console room, "Back where we started." said Tricky.
"No. It's an echo," I said, as we ran up to the console, "The console room is the safest place on the ship." we walked around the console, "It can replicate itself any number of times. It's trying to protect us."
"Because I tried to give back the circuit?" asked Tricky.
I smiled, "Exactly."
Us Time Lords started to see if we could find Clara, by using the internal scanners. The Doctor knocked a piece off the console and as it fell to the floor it disappeared, "Where did... where did that go?" asked Trick.
The Doctor looked up and looked around, "There's more than one echo room." Just then The Doctor pointed at something, "Hey, look, look!" I looked and saw what looked like a Clara shaped shadow move around the console. "The TARDIS has got Clara safe. That was her. That was her there." He kissed his fingers and pressed them against the glass surrounding the time rotor, "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"
"Why can't we see her?" asked Tricky.
"It's like a light switch," I said, "Switching on and off extremely fast speeds. We're only together for a brief second."
"Shh!" said The Doctor. He walked slowly around the console, "I can hear her." Just then
I heard Clara scream, "She's let it in," I said, "She's let it in!" Us Time Lords started to feverishly press buttons to find Clara and get her out of the ghost Console Room.
"If we can just isolate her position," said Ananbelle, "we can nudge the alternation, then reach in and grab her."
"Console room, echo imprint of the original," said a computer voice. We all turned around and saw Gregor holding his scanner.
"You're coming with me." Gregor walked up to us and said, "I need you lot to get me out of here."
The Doctor pointed his sonic at this scanner, "Scanning for female human." it said. Gregor walked around with the scanner, "Scanning for female human." the scanner anounced., "Unidentified human."
The Doctor took the scanner from Gregor, "It doesn't know Lancashire." he said.
"What?" asked Tricky.
"It doesn't know sass. Yes! It's found Clara! It's found her. She is right there." The pointed his sonic at the spot where the door was suppose to be and an image of Clara, pressed against the wall, screaming, appeared. The Doctor put the sonic in the same hand he had the scanner in, grabbed her hand and pulled Clara into our console room.
Clara screamed as he pulled her into a hug, she pulled away and spun around, gasping and panting, "It's all right. Clara, I'm so, so sorry. Please, please forgive me…" Clara punched him hard in the shoulder and took a step back, "Ow!" he said as he rubbed his shoulder, "OK, so we're not doing hugging, I get that now."
"What do you keep in here?!" Clara shouted at him, "Why have you got zombie creatures? Good guys do not have zombie creatures. Rule one." She hit him on the shoulder again, "Basic storytelling."
"Not in front of the guests."
Clara looked over at Tricky and Gregor. Tricky gave her a little wave then Clara asked, "Who are they?"
"Friends," said The Doctor, "Well, people who aren't trying to kill us, so I don't need punching again!"
Clara glared at him and walked off to lean against the railing. Gregor walked up to us and said, "All right, all right - a deal's a deal. You got the girl back. Now cancel the self-destruct."
Us three Time Lords looked at each other then back at Gregor with a smile, "You know what," said Annabelle, "We won't be needing you for our pub quiz team."
"What?" asked Gregor.
"There is no self-destruct!" I said with a laguhe, "But we had you going though. All we did was press some buttons. You guys fell for the old button pushing trick."
"And the face," said The Doctor, "You've got to do the face." he got all dramatic and said, "'Save her or we all die.'" Then in a normal tone of voice he said, "I thought I rushed it a bit, but…"
"So you're telling us we're safe?" said Trick.
"Kind of," I said, "We just have worry about the monsters and the TARDIS reinventing the architecture every five minutes."
"Guys, don't worry, the countdown's a fake," said Annabelle, "Look, just give me just a second. I'll turn it off." She flicked a switch, "I only made it look as though the engine was actually exploding." Just then an alarm went off, "Ah."
The Doctor and I looked at the screen and it read 'Engine Overload' "That's not good," said The Doctor, "OK, don't panic, or maybe panic." Us three Time Lords looked at each other.
"Something you want to share with the rest of us?" said Clara.
"It appears the engine is damaged," I said, "We're in trouble, Clara. Real trouble. It needs fixing or we're all dead."
Us Time Lords ran to the lower level of the console room, "So now would be a good time to use that big friendly button, right?" asked Clara, as she, Tricky and Gregor ran after us.
"Yeah, sorry, I should have had one built in," said The Doctor, as he used the sonic on one of the panels.
"Where are we going?" asked Tricky, as the panel fell open.
"Detour." said The Doctor as he knelt down in front of the panel, "The center of the TARDIS."
The Doctor led us down a corridor with his sonic trying to find where the TARDIS was hiding the Eye of Harmony. Just then something ran in front of us, "Shush! Something's in here." said Clara.
"Those... things. They've followed us," said Tricky.
"Doctor, what are they? What aren't you telling me?"
"Trust me. Some things you don't want to know," said my uncle.
Then something passed behind us, "They're on the move again!" said Gregor.
"Run! Move, move!" said Annabelle. We started to run and us Time Lords got separated from Clara, Tricky and Gregor.
After a few moments we heard Clara's voice say, "Oh, thank God. Doctor, what's going on?" There was a pause, "Say something."
We turned a corner and saw Clara looking at The Doctor. Clara went to take a step toward 'The Doctor'
"Clara, stop," I said, as we stepped forward, "Don't touch it. There's a rupture in time somewhere onboard the ship. A small tear in the fabric of the space-time continuum. It must have happened when the TARDIS was pulled in by the salvage vessel. The TARDIS is leaking."
We stared walking in the direction we just came from and Clara asked, "Leaking what?"
"The past," said The Doctor, "You and us. Everything we've done, everything we've said. Recent history. It's not real, it's a memory."
Just then a creature appeared in front of us, "What about this?" whispered Clara.
"If you're giving me the option, I'd say, "This one's real."" The Doctor pushed Clara down the hall the way we just came and we started running.
"She's catching up to us!" I shouted.
Clara stopped, "She?"
"Clara, don't ask me anymore." I said. I pushed Clara around a corner. The four of us pressed ourselves against the wall behind a girder as the creature stopped. Just then we heard Clara's voice, "You're like one of those guys who can't go out with a girl unless his mother approves."
Then we heard my voice say, "Clara, It's important to us that you get along with the TARDIS"
The creature then went to followed our past selves. We stepped out from our hiding place. Then, we heard a groaning sound. I looked up at the ceiling, "What's that noise?" asked Clara.
"We're right under the primary fuel cells," I said.
"So? So? So what?"
"So the fuel has leaked out. So the rods will be exposed. And that means they'll start to cool…"
"And start to warp." said Clara.
"And start to warp. Maybe even…"
"No. You don't say it. Don't you dare say it."
"Maybe even break apart."
At that second a large rod shot down at an angle directly infront of us. We slowly started to back away, "Run?" asked Clara.
"I'm liking how you're thinking," said The Doctor.
"Great idea," I said.
"I'm all for it," said Annabelle.
"Yeah."
Then we turned and started running down the hall ducking and dodging rods, as we ran.
Just then there we heard a groan of pain. Then, Tricky's voice, "Cut it off. Just cut my arm off."
"No!" said Gregor.
"It's the quickest way to release me. No fear, no hate, no pain. I can get a new one. Disposable parts, just do it. It won't hurt me."
"Tricky, you don't understand."
"I'm an android. Cut me!"
We found them and we saw Gregor with the laser cutter in his hand. Tricky was impaled in the shoulder, by one of the rods, "You made it through." said Clara before she realized what was going on.
"What's the matter with you? Why won't you cut me?" asked Tricky.
I looked right at Gregor, "Tell him."
"Tell me what?" asked Tricky.
"You can't, can you? You're a coward. You won't save him, but you're scared to tell him why."
"What's she going on about?"
Annabelle looked at Tricky, "Robots don't need blast suits. They don't need respirators. They don't get frightened of monsters in the dark."
"What are they talking about?"
The Doctor did a scan of Tricky with his sonic, "Two bionic eyes and a synthetic voice box." He put a hand on Tricky's uninjured shoulder and said, "But you, my friend, are human. Flesh and blood."
Tricky stared at Gregor, looking hurt and lost, "It was a joke." said Gregor.
"Wha...?" said Tricky.
"It was just a stupid joke. We did it to relieve the boredom."
"Well, it was very funny," I said, "They lied to you and changed your identity. Just to provide some in-flight entertainment!"
"I'm sorry. You're human, Tricky." Gregor said to Tricky.
"Cut the metal," said The Doctor, "Cut the metal!" He clapped his hands. "Go!"
Gregor picked up the laser cutter and started cutting the rod.
A short time later, we reached the door that led to the Eye of Harmony. Tricky had his arm bandaged up and brought up the rear. The Doctor looked through the window in the door, "Where are we?"
"Power source," said The Doctor, "Right, you lot, wait here. Teddy, Annabelle and I will check to see if it's safe. We can only survive for a minute or two in there."
"Um...what happens if we stay longer?" asked Clara.
"Our cells will liquefy and our skin will start to burn."
"I always feel so good after we've spoken."
"Marvellous. Keep this door shut," said The Doctor as he opened the door.
"That will not be a problem." said Clara.
Us three Time Lords went inside and the door closed behind us. We ran across the catwalk to the door on the other side. The Doctor used his sonic to unlock the door. We pulled it open and looked around. Then, we ran back across the cat walk to the door where the others were waiting.
When we opened the door we saw Tricky lunge at Gregor. "You did this to me, just to be captain of a heap of junk."
"Stop!" shouted Clara
Us three Time Lords pulled Tricky and Gregor apart, "Tricky, listen to me," I said, "Ask yourself why he couldn't cut you up. He has just one tiny scrap of decency left in him. You just helped him find that, OK?" I turned and looked at Gregor, "Now you. Don't ever forget this."
The Doctor opened the door and we all walked in, "OK, move, move, move."
When we were about halfway across the catwalk the others stopped and looked at the Eye of Harmony. "That's the Eye of Harmony," I said, "It's an exploding star in the act of becoming a black hole."
"Time Lord engineering," said The Doctor, "you rip the star from its orbit, suspend it in a permanent state of decay. This way. Quickly."
We followed The Doctor to the far door. When we got there he opened the door and there was a creature there waiting for us. Gregor helped him close it then we ran back to the other side of the catwalk. Gregor opened the door and there was another creature there. He slammed it shut and said, "There's no way out. We're trapped."
We ran to the other door and Clara ran up to us, "You're going to tell me now! If we're going to die in here, tell me what they are." She grabbed The Doctors arm.
"I can't," he said.
"Tell me! What's the use in secrets now?"
"Clara…" I said, "secrets protect us. Secrets keep us safe."
"We're not safe!" shouted Clara.
Just then we heard Gregor's scanner, "Sensor detects animal DNA, human core element. Calculating data. Calculating data."
"No!" shouted Annabelle, as she ran over to Gregor, "Turn it off!"
Just then the scanner finished it's calculations, "Lancashire. Sass. Identifiable substance. Clara."
Gregor and Tricky ran to the other door while I turned and looked at Clara, "That's me." said Clara.
"I'm so sorry," said The Doctor.
Clara looked through the window at the creature, "It's me. I burn in here."
"It isn't just the past leaking out through the time rift," I said, "It's the future."
"Listen," said The Doctor as he held Clara's face, "We brought you here to keep you safe, but it happened again. You died again."
"What do you mean, again?" asked Clara.
The Doctor ran a hand over his face and hair. He looked at his hand then he looked at Tricky and Gregor as they stood side-by-side at the far door, "Hang on. As long as we interrupt the timeline, this can't happen." He ran to the far door and pushed the brothers apart, "Don't touch each other, otherwise the future will reassert itself." The Doctor pushed the two of them to the center of the catwalk as the creatures pushed through the door.
One of them grabbed Gregor's pack and I shouted, "Gregor! Gregor, let go of the circuit."
"Just let it go!" shouted Tricky.
"Gregor!" shouted The Doctor and Annabelle.
"Gregor!" shouted Tricky.
Gregor slipped out of his pack and joined the us. Tricky took a swing at the creature and knocked it over the rail. We all ran to the open door and the double creature appeared in the doorway. We ran to the closed door and the creature punched a hand through the window. We grouped up in the middle of the catwalk and looked around not knowing what to do. Just then Tricky went after the double creature with a crowbar. He knocked it to the floor and kicked it over the railing but the creature grabbed his leg and pulled him over the edge. But Tricky was able to grab onto the ledge. We all ran for the open door then we heard Gregor say, "Tricky!"
We turned and saw Gregor pulling Tricky up, "Don't touch him, or time will reassert itself," said Tricky.
Gregor got Tricky back on onto the catwalk but a few seconds later they became together and turned into the double creature. They started to come after us, but we ran to the opened door and closed it behind us. The Doctor used his sonic to lock the door, then he said, "The engine room. The heart of the TARDIS."
The Doctor took Clara by the hand and led us through another door. The next thing we knew we looked like we were outside standing near the edge of a cliff, with a raging river hundreds of feet below us, "We're outside." said Clara.
"No, we're still in the TARDIS," said Annabelle.
"There's no way across."
I looked around, "There doesn't appear to be."
"So what do we do?" asked Clara, "Time for a plan. Do you have a plan?"
"Well, no," said The Doctor, "No plan, sorry."
"If you don't have a plan, we're dead!"
"Yes, we are. So just tell us."
"Tell you what?"
"Well, there's no point now, we're about to die, so just tell us who you are."
"You know who I am."
"No, we don't," I said, I knew where The Doctor was heading. We still had no idea how or why we had met two different versions of Clara before meeting this version, I walked up to Clara, "We look at you every single day, and we don't understand a thing about you. Why do we keep meeting?"
Clara looked very confused, "Teddy, you invited me - you said…"
The Doctor interrupted, as he walked up to Clara, "Before that. we met you in the Dalek Asylum. There was a girl in a shipwreck, and she died saving our lives. And she was you.
"She really wasn't."
"In Victorian London," said Annabelle, as she walked up to Clara, "There was a governess who was a barmaid, and we fought the Great Intelligence together, she died, and it was our fault - and she was you."
"You're scaring me." said Clara.
"What are you, eh? Are you a trick, a trap?" asked The Doctor.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Clara started to back away from us and almost fell off the ledge.
The Doctor grabbed her and pulled her into a hug. She hugged him back and gasped, "All right. All right." He broke the hug and said, "You really don't, do you?"
"I think I'm more scared of you three right now than anything else on that TARDIS."
"You're just Clara, aren't you?" The Doctor laughed as he touched her face and pinched her cheeks. I could tell by Clara's reactions to what was going on that Clara truly had no idea what we were talking about. Then, The Doctor, Annabelle and I gave Clara a group hug.
"OK. I don't know what the hell this is about, but the hug is really nice," said Clara.
We ended the hug and The Doctor said, "We're not going to die here. This isn't real! It's a snarl." The Doctor picked up a rock and threw it over the edge.
"What?
"What does a wounded animal do?" I said, "It tries to scare everyone away. "
"We're close to the engine," said Annabelle, "The TARDIS is snarling at us, trying to scare us away."
"We need to jump," said The Doctor.
"You're insane," said Clara.
"We'll cross a portal to the engine," said The Doctor as we backed up to the door, so we could get a running start.
"How can you be so sure?" asked Clara
"Well, I can't."
"OK, well, that's watertight."
The Doctor waged his finger at her, "Hey, now, Clara, I've piloted this ship for over 900 years. Trust me this one time, please." she raised an eyebrow at him, "OK. OK. As well as all the other times. Ready?" The Doctor took Clara's right hand I took her left hand and Annabelle took my left, "Geronimo!"
We ran to the edge of the cliff and jumped. We landed in a white room with pieces of machinery suspended in mid air all around us. We walked through it and The Doctor said, "The heart of the TARDIS. The engine - it's already exploded. It must have been the collision with the salvage ship."
"We're not dead."
"She wrapped her hands around the force. Froze it."
"So... so it's safe?"
"It's just a temporary fix," I said, "Eventually, this whole place will erupt."
"There's no way we can save her now," said The Doctor, "She's just always been there for us and taken care of us. And now it's our turn but I don't know what to do. It... it just…"
Clara walked up to The Doctor and took his hand in hers. Then, The Doctor to her hand and looked at it. He smiled, "Oh, Clara. Oh. You are beautiful."
"What is it?" I asked. He showed me her hand it said 'Big Friendly Button' backwards on her palm.
The Doctor cupped Clara's face, "Beautiful fragile human skin." He kissed her palm, "Like parchment. Thank you," He took out his sonic, "The rift in time. All the memories leaking out. I need to find the moment we crashed. I need to find... the music." I started to hear music, as The Doctor took Clara by the hand and ran from the room.
We ran into the console room while The Doctor used his sonic to find the time riff. He led us under the console and on the wall was a crack in time, "The time rift. Recent past. Possible future." said The Doctor.
"What are you going to do?" asked Clara.
He took out the remote for the magno-grab and used the sonic to write on it, "Rewrite today, I hope. I've thrown this through the rift before. I need to make sure this time. Going to take it in there myself. There might be a certain amount of yelling."
"It's going to hurt?"
"Things that end your life often do that," then he headed for the rift.
"Wait! All those things you said. How we've met before. How I died…"
"Clara, don't worry," I said, "You'll forget. Time mends us. It can mend anything."
"I don't want to forget. Not all of it. The library. I saw it. You and The Doctor were mentioned in a book."
"We're mentioned in a lot of books," said The Doctor, as he started to walk back to the riff.
"You call yourself Doctor," said Clara. She looked at me, "You call yourself Teddy. Why do you do that? You both have names. I've seen them. In one corner of that tiny…"
The Doctor ran up to Clara and pressed a finger to her lips, "If I rewrite today, you won't remember. You won't go looking for our names."
"You'll still have secrets."
"Better that way." The Doctor then took a deep breath and stepped into the riff. Screaming in agony before he disappeared.
The Doctor pushed the lever but then the console erupted in sparks and the TARDIS lurched, throwing us all backward. Us Time Lords went back to the console, "It wasn't your fault," I said, "We're flying right into a magnetic hobble-field. Clara, stay close to us!"
I turned and saw Clara holding onto the side console, "Please tell me there's a button you can press to fix this," she said
"Oh, yes. Big friendly button," said The Doctor.
"You're lying."
"Yep."
"To stop me freaking out?"
"Is it working?"
"Not so much."
There was a shutter and us Time Lords were knocked against a rail. Just then I heard the Doctor's voice coming from the lower level of the console room, "Doctor. Teddy. Annabelle." I turned and saw my uncle sticking out of a crack in the wall. I turned to my left and saw my uncle sanding next to me, I turned back to the other Doctor and he said, "I'm from your future. We haven't got long. It's a reset dial." The other Doctor faded away and he threw something into the air.
It landed on the floor around the console and rolled across. Clara picked it up and it looked liked it burned her hand, "No! No!" shouted the Doctor. Clara let go of it and with a diving catch, he caught it before it hit the floor. As he stood up he laughed, "Big friendly button." he continued to laugh as he pressed the button, then everything went white…
The moment The Doctor hit the button everything that happened when we were captured by the salvage ship never happened. Us Time Lords retained the information do to our relationship with time but Clara didn't. A short while later, Clara walked into the console room drying her hair after showering and changing her clothes. The Doctor was giving the console a little wipe down. "I feel exhausted. I feel…"
"We've had two days crammed into the space of one?" asked The Doctor.
"Why would you say that?" asked Clara.
"Who knows why he says what he says, Ignore him," I said, "Do you feel safe with us?"
"Of course." said Clara.
"Give me a number out of ten," said The Doctor, "Ten being whoo-hoo, one being aarrrggh!"
"You're being weird."
"What else is new," said Annabelle, "But we knew know if you feel safe with us…"Annabelle stepped up to her friend, "We need to know... you're not afraid."
"Of?" asked Clara.
"The future," said The Doctor, "Running away with a spaceman and his nieces in a box. Anything could happen to you."
"That's what I'm counting on. Push the button," then Clara headed down the steps and out of the console room. The three of us looked at each other and smiled. The Doctor tossed the cloth he was using onto the console, with a hook shot. Then, he pulls a lever and we headed out on our next adventure…