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Fic: A Good Day (or: The War in the Medusa Cascade). Chapter 2
Moar fic! This chapter has been eating my head... Mostly because of Clara. ♥
Beginning here, and fic index for whole 'verse here.
Summary: "Why is it only ever the bad guys who have a proper plan?" The Master's son finally meets the Daleks. And he thought it a good day. (TSE/JE rewrite with Eleven and Clara and a host of extras.)
Setting: Future AU TSE/JE. (For the Doctor & Clara it's somewhere between Name of the Doctor and Day of the Doctor.)
Spoilers: Name of the Doctor.
Rating: PG-13.
Characters: The Seeker (the Master's son, OC), Eleventh Doctor, Clara, the Master, Jack, River, Roda (OC, belongs to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
the_redjay), Davros, others.
Beta: The wonderfulkathyh.
Feedback: Pretty please?
Chapter 2
Leaving the cup and saucer on the steps, Clara made her way back to the Doctor. She needed distraction. And the Doctor was getting fidgety and looked like he might make something happen.
She skirted past the projection of the stolen planets - even though they weren’t real, she was oddly reluctant to walk through them - and the Doctor brightened visibly when he spotted her. She didn’t know what he and the Shadow Lady had been talking about, but they both seemed fed up.
“Clara, are you OK?” the Doctor asked, and she aimed for a smile.
“Apart from my planet being missing, you mean? Sure. Why wouldn’t I be?”
She should say something. But the words of the prophecy seemed lodged somewhere in the middle of her chest, too heavy to speak. And what if it was false? She’d be casting doubt on a perfectly innocent man...
The Doctor didn’t look convinced, but - with a final, searching glance - accepted her words. Then, adjusting his bow tie, he took a deep breath:
“Very well. I think it’s time for the Boy Wonder to earn his keep - Seeker!”
The young Time Lord in question was hadn’t moved from his spot in the middle of the projection, although he was no longer looking around, having instead become completely motionless, looking like he was a million miles away.
When the Doctor strode through the see-through planets, he inadvertedly confirmed this, as the Seeker didn’t notice him until the Doctor appeared right in front of him, nearly making him jump.
“What?”
“You’re from the future.” The Doctor poked the Seeker in the chest. “Relatively speaking. Did anyone ever say anything that might be helpful? Some sort of covert message to help us find Earth?”
The Seeker blinked, then went completely quiet for a long moment, before his eyes narrowed and when he spoke he seemed to drag the words out from a long gone memory.
“The only thing that fits is... one day at Torchwood. We were talking about nightmares, and the atmosphere got... weird. Uncomfortable. The twins said - and I quote - ‘On the day the nightmares return, remember this: ‘So long and thanks for all the nectar’.’ I was never sure what they meant, but then with the twins you never can tell...”
There was a pause as the Doctor looked at the Seeker with evident puzzlement - and the Seeker looked back coolly, obviously waiting for the Doctor to deduce something clever - when Clara ventured to speak.
“That sounds like The Hitchhikers Guide - you know ‘So Long and Thanks for all the Fish’?”
“Except for bees instead of dolphins...” the Seeker added and the Doctor looked from one to the other, before slapping his forehead.
“Of course! The dolphins left and tried to warn humanity before Earth was destroyed. The bees must have done the same!”
Despite everything she had seen and done, Clara still felt like sometimes surely they were taking the mickey.
“Are you saying that bees are aliens?”
The Doctor laughed. “Don't be ridiculous. Not all of them. But if the migrant bees felt something coming, some sort of danger, they could have escaped.”
The Seeker matched the Doctor’s grin:
“The Tandocca Scale!”
The Doctor then lapsed into a long explanation of what the Tandocca Scale was - complete with many gestures and additional bits of information - all of which essentially boiled down to the fact that they had a trail of miniscule metaphorical bread crumbs to follow across the stars.
Excitement lit up the Doctor’s face, and for a moment all worry and fear vanished from Clara’s mind. They would find the Earth and save the day and everything would be fine.
The Doctor grasped her hand and together they raced back to the TARDIS, practically flying through the doors, and - after tapping commands into the console - there was suddenly a definite blip on the screen. At this point they were joined by the Seeker who had not bothered running, and didn’t join in their celebratory mood either, instead nodding towards the door with a strangely blank face.
“Doctor? Someone wants a word with you...”
Standing aside to let the Doctor pass the Seeker caught Clara’s eyes, and, as they both listened to the Shadow Lady speaking outside the door, she understood the look on the Seeker’s face.
“If you have found a path to the planets, then, according to the Strictures of the Shadow Proclamation, I will have to seize your transport and your technology.”
In the doorway, the Doctor went very very still.
“Oh, really? What for?”
“The planets were stolen with hostile intent. We are declaring war, Doctor, right across the universe, and you will lead us into battle. Do not dismiss me! There are legends and whispers, tales as old as time, part of the fabric of the world - stories of a Mighty Warrior, the man who fought at Demons Run, a true hero. I and my fellow Shadow Architects have the gift of seeing truth - both past and future. You cannot hide your true nature from me, Doctor.”
“Ah.”
He turned, shooting the Seeker a look, and the Seeker winked, hands silently moving across the console.
“So sorry, but I’m not the man you want.”
And with that he shut the door in the woman’s face, as the Seeker with a chuckle flipped a lever and made them dematerialise.
Torchwood, Earth
Back below ground in the Hub, they tried to work out where exactly Earth had been moved to - and why. It was clear that it was the Earth itself that had moved, but why would anyone do that? Not to mention how...
Of course they were Torchwood, there was rarely a dull day. But this was something else.
Only four of them had made it in before the Earth had been stolen - himself, the twins - and Roda. Roda was already on her third cup of coffee, which - considering how early it still was - was beginning to worry Jack. She was naturally restless, goodness knew what that amount of caffeine would do to her.
She was almost glued to her screen, muttering to herself in a language Jack didn’t recognise, the red feathers in her hair glinting as she moved, and providing a sharp contrast to the muted brown colours of her waistcoat and trouser ensemble. Her white shirt was clean, but looked creased - she’d obviously gotten dressed in a hurry.
“Jack!” she called, and he ran across to her.
It was obvious that there was some sort of space station sitting at the heart of the assembled planets, but... Jack leaned closer. The reading was now tracking two hundred objects with an Earth-bound trajectory, heading towards Earth in a regular pattern. This had to be the creatures who’d stolen the planet.
As the swarm-like formation of spaceships drew nearer, Roda suddenly took a sharp breath, as if in pain. Jack turned to her sharply, and saw her hands gripping the workstation so hard that her knuckles had turned white - the look on her face one that reminded him far too forcefully of the Year That Never Was and the brutality they both had suffered at the Master’s hands. Fear, fury, and unwillingness to yield... (It was more than a century in the past for both of them. Yet the memories - and the nightmares - still lingered.) Her teeth were bared, and he half expected her to reach for her gun out of pure instinct.
“I know those ships...” she whispered, but, before he could ask, the system picked up the message they were broadcasting, and he froze.
“Exterminate! Exterminate! Exterminate!”
He turned to look at the twins, who were tilting their heads, listening, before identical purple eyes fastened on him.
“That doesn’t-”
“-sound good. What do we-”
“-do now?”
(One day he might get used to it. Today was not that day. The Seeker had said to think of them as one person in two bodies... Something which was confirmed in the way they worked. Always perfectly in synch, never speaking to each other, but accomplishing extraordinary things as they essentially had four hands for working with.)
He swallowed, studying his youngest recruits with sinking heart.
“We need the Doctor. Earth defences - not even ours and UNIT’s combined - are no match for Daleks! Roda, help me patch the communications relay into the Subetheric Resonator? With the modifications to the modulator that we did last year we should be able to reach him...”
Roda didn’t answer, and when she finally looked at him it was with a look in her eyes he’d never seen before.
“The Doctor wasn’t the only one who fought in the Time War. Please stay here; be safe.”
Then, turning on her heel, she left the Hub, without acknowledging Jack when he called after her.
Maybe she wanted to shield her TARDIS? Maybe she had weapons? Maybe she had flashbacks that she needed to deal with? She had never talked about the War, and considering the things she had shared, the things he had witnessed, it spoke volumes. But then she was as secretive as the Doctor, if not more so.
He sighed. If she’d wanted him to come, she’d have said so. Whatever she was up to, she didn’t need - or want - his help.
“Right. Guess it’s just you and me, twins.”
He tried to sound upbeat, but dearly wished the rest of the team was there. And he couldn’t ask them to come in now... The planet would be crawling with Daleks, there was no point in creating more meaningless heroes.
“We have names you know,” they replied, voices deadpan and perfectly in sync, and he wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry.
TARDIS
“It's stopped.”
The Doctor stared at the screen, oddly crestfallen. Clara looked at the screen herself, but it didn’t help. It showed a multicoloured nebula - very beautiful, but without any obvious planets.
‘What do you mean? Is that good or bad? Where are we?’
The Doctor sighed, his demeanour helpless in a way that reminded her of their visit to Trenzalore, and a knot of dread settled in her stomach once more.
“The Medusa Cascade. I came here once. So very, very long ago now. It was the centre of a rift in time and space then, and I sealed it.” A ghost of a smile. “I was only ninety years old, barely more than a child.”
“But, where are the twenty seven planets?”
He shook his head.
“Nowhere. The Tandocca Trail stops dead. End of the line... But that’s not possible!”
He angrily shook a handle, as if he could physically force the world to bend to his wishes.
The Seeker had watched in silence, but when he spoke there was more than a hint of exasperation to his voice:
“Doctor, sit down and make a list of all the impossible things to have happened in your life. That should take you the best part of a week. Or you could just accept that there’s something else going on, and focus on working out what to do now!”
The Doctor turned on him: “Seeker, there is nothing here! Why don’t you work it out for once!”
The Seeker held up his hands, his frustration now nearly overflowing.
“Because this is what you do! Everything looks hopeless and impossible and you re-scramble it and come up with a solution. You know I’m rubbish at this - if you want long term planning and meticulous attention to detail I come out top, but right now? Get that brain working. Heck, there used to be a rift, as you just said - maybe someone opened it again? Could it have been big enough for pulling planets through? Doctor - think!”
A beat, then his eyes narrowed.
“Or should I go ask Dad? He might have some ideas...”
The Doctor held up a warning finger, and the Seeker smiled triumphantly. Clara bit her lip and said nothing, trying to hide a smile.
Torchwood, Earth
They listened to the broadcast in sombre silence.
“This is the Commander General of the United Nations calling the Dalek Fleet. We surrender. Repeat, we surrender. Planet Earth surrenders.”
Jack tried not to shudder.
“Oh fantastic, they can slaughter us freely now. Twins, is the phone working yet?
They nodded.
“Yes. We won’t be able to keep it hidden for long, but we’ve re-routed the signal through so many carriers that the Daleks cannot to track it back to us. Also we’ve encoded it in such a way that the Daleks should not be able to decrypt it for the longest time. If ever.”
“Knew I employed you for a reason,” Jack grinned, but - looking at the screen and what they’d created - he blinked.
“What did you do?”
One of them leaned forwards, tapping a few buttons, and he saw the programme unfold and separate, the decryption unravelling until he suddenly realised what he was looking at... And then laughed out loud in pure delight.
“Whatever happens, you are officially Employees of the Month. That’s genius!”
They smiled back smugly, and for just a second everything was right with the world.
“Right! Let’s put the call through!”
TARDIS, Medusa Cascade
“Phone!”
The Doctor practically fell out the door in his haste to answer the call, shouting into the receiver.
“Hello? Anyone there? Jack? Roda?”
Pulling the - apparently endless - chord after him into the TARDIS, he ran up to the screen which flickered as the Seeker tapped buttons:
“It’s a signal! No actual connection yet, but we can follow the signal! Seeker - have you got it?”
“Yes, I’ve got a proper fix, although I’ll need to decrypt it first,” the Seeker said. “Doctor, put the receiver down unless you want to travel with the door open. And by the way - why haven’t you patched the phone back through the console?”
“Shut up,” the Doctor retorted, but the Seeker wasn’t paying attention. His eyes were fixed on the screen as he tapped buttons and made weird swirly symbols appear and disappear, before going ‘Ah-ha!’, triumphantly making the strange signs unravel - and then...
Eyes widening he brought a hand up to his mouth, speechless.
The Doctor tapped buttons on the other side, clearly impatient.
“Well come on then, insert the co-ordinates so we can go!”
The Seeker slowly lowered his hand, looking somewhere between deeply touched and (there really was no other word) amused.
“But the encryption. Look at it. Oh it must have been the twins. Never knew that kind of thing was passed down... Maybe it’s hereditary or innate? But genius, the Daleks would never get it. No wonder Jack gave them a job...”
“What do you mean?”
“Doctor, look!”
The Doctor duly looked, pulling the screen close, and within moments appeared rather disconcerted.
“They can’t... Surely...”
“You’re being cryptic again,” Clara complained. “What is it?”
“Music,” the Doctor replied, not meeting her eyes, at the same time as the Seeker said “Sex”.
“Huh?”
“It’s both,” the Seeker clarified. “Music as sex. Although usually transmitted telepathically.”
He ran his finger across the screen, following the pattern.
“Jamie’s Song... Never thought I’d see it again.”
For a moment he was lost to some memory or other, before snapping out of it.
“Sorry. Let’s go find Earth, shall we?”
And then it was business as usual as they all hung onto the console while parts of it seemed to be blowing up and bursting into flames.
“We're travelling through time!” the Doctor shouted, and Clara - despite the shower of sparks raining down over her - couldn’t help but shout back.
“You don’t say!”
The Doctor laughed, and - when the TARDIS finally stopped shaking a few moments later - explained, holding out his hand towards the screen where twenty seven planets were now visible.
“There they are. But! The entire Medusa Cascade has been put a second out of sync with the rest of the universe. Perfect hiding place. Tiny little pocket of time. But we found them!”
She smiled at him, happy and excited.
“So what do we do now?”
“Cardiff?” the Seeker asked, and the Doctor nodded.
“Cardiff. The call was, um, definitely Torchwood. We can pick up Jack and Roda, get an update, and take it from there.”
The TARDIS landed and the Doctor stepped out, Clara and the Seeker a little behind. The sky was dark, populated by planets and eerily alien, and Clara wrapped her arms around herself, unsettled.
“Where is everyone? It’s early morning, there should be people around,” the Doctor said, slowly turning to take in the emptiness of the large open space they had parked in.
Looking around, Clara recognised the tall mirrored fountain in the middle of the Plass, and behind them, looming out of the darkness, In These Stones, Horizons Sing inscribed on the front of the Wales Millennium Centre in letters so large Clara was almost worried they’d be crushed.
She remembered coming here once for a concert. The letters had been lit up, bright and inspirational, and she’d recently thought of maybe bringing her students here, or at least use the words to illustrate how five simple words could contain unexpected breath and depth, creating entirely new concepts...
She wasn’t feeling inspired now. Foreboding enveloped her again, the darkness and eerie quietness oppressive, and the planets in the sky looked as if they might all fall down on them.
Then a shout caught their attention.
“Doctor!”
A young woman ran out of the Millennium Centre towards them - she was about Clara’s size, with long dark hair, and dressed in a red top and black trousers. There were people in the Centre calling after her, but the Seeker took hold of Clara’s arm, staring at the other girl as she reached the Doctor, then looking from Clara to the newcomer, eyes widening.
“How the hell?”
Clara couldn’t speak. It was her. Like... looking in a mirror, except for a slightly different haircut and a Welsh accent. The other Clara was staring at the Doctor, wide-eyed, and clearly thrilled, not noticing anyone except him.
“Doctor! I can’t believe it. Is it really you?”
His hands stuttered, but eventually he found his voice.
“Clara?” he asked, before their attention was abruptly caught by a strangely metallic voice from the bay that instinctively made Clara freeze in fear.
“Ex-ter-mi-nate! Ex-ter-mi-nate! Ex-ter-mi-nate!”
The weird metal creature - or robot? - glided slowly towards them, with a lack of hurry that was somehow worse than the dreadful speed of the Cybermen. Pure terror was now cascading through Clara’s mind, half-forgotten nightmares paralysing her, and she knew this killing machine had no need of speed, it always caught its prey in the end (‘Where am I? Where am I? Where am I?’ she was lost and scared and alone...)
But the other Clara moved quickly and instinctively.
“No!”
Throwing herself in front of the Doctor she took the full blast; collapsing on the ground. The Doctor fell to his knees, and Clara watched, unable to move, as her mirror image looked at him with fading eyes.
“Run...” she whispered, and then she was gone.
It seemed as if time was frozen, none of them moving, when the dome of the metal monster suddenly exploded. They all jumped, and Clara looked through the wreckage to see something... almost impossible. As if she had landed in a comic book super hero movie, and had now come to the scene where the hero made his big entrance.
The man on the other side of the now smoking wreck was tall, handsome and square-jawed, dressed in a long military coat, and carrying a gun even larger than the one she had used to fight the Cybermen... Who could he be? Surely he couldn’t be real? Maybe they were just the spectators in someone else’s story? Was it all a dream? The world seemed to have gone strangely fuzzy around the edges.
(She could hear the other Clara’s friends screaming; saw the Doctor cradle her, her body limp like a rag doll’s; saw Handsome Hero Guy run to the Doctor’s side, still vigilantly scanning the surroundings, gun at the ready, whilst the Seeker pulled her back and into the TARDIS. Handsome Hero Guy was almost yelling at the Doctor to get back in the TARDIS also, he’d take care of it, he was the only one that was safe... Why, she wondered. Was he bullet proof? Or Superman with a better dress sense?)
The Seeker settled her on one of the seats, then - after a moment’s hesitation - ran down the stairs.
(River’s voice, distant... ‘The time winds will tear you into a million pieces. A million versions of you, living and dying all over time and space, like echoes.’)
She’d known. But she’d not thought she’d witness it...
“Run you clever boy. And remember me...” she whispered as the Seeker reappeared, a blanket in his hands. He shot her an inscrutable look as he unfolded the blanket (someone had cut a hole in the middle - how peculiar), before wrapping it around her:
“You’re in shock. This’ll help. If nothing else, then psychologically.”
A moment later the Doctor entered, and the Seeker quietly moved out of the way.
“Clara. My Clara, are you OK?”
She nodded, even though apparently she was shaking. Maybe the blanket was a good idea after all.
The Doctor was holding her face now, watching her intently, worried and concerned, and the strange red-eyed girl’s words skimmed across her mind...
(‘You are the Impossible Girl. Born to save the Doctor. But not even giving your life will help save him from the pain today will bring.’)
Did that mean everything was coming true? Because she’d died, saving him. But if even dying couldn’t save him from what was coming... What could she do? What should she do? And what was going to happen?
“Why were there two of her?” the Seeker’s voice cut through. “Because that was not spatial genetic multiplicity. She knew you.”
The Doctor shook his head, glancing over his shoulder.
“It’s a long story. I’ll explain later. If we survive the Daleks of course.”
(Daleks. That’s what they were. The nightmarish almost-memories from her other lives apart, she mostly remembered what he’d told her. How he had ended the War, the last great Time War, between the Daleks and the Time Lords... And here they were again. His greatest enemies. The ones he’d defeated at such a terrible cost.)
But then the Seeker spoke again and she lost the thread in her mind. She seemed to be all jumbled, falling, lost (‘I don't know where I am. It's like I'm breaking into a million pieces and there's only one thing I remember. I have to save the Doctor.’). She needed to re-connect...
The Seeker was standing by the console, typing something into the keyboard and studying the screen as he spoke, obviously multitasking:
“Ah yes, Daleks. I’m guessing we’re waiting for Jack? Because we’re sitting ducks, here. So please tell me Doctor, because we already saw a woman die for you: What have you got? What’s your plan? Or, are you just going to do what you always do? Talk very fast, hope something good happens, take the credit? That's generally how it works, right?”
Looking up he fixed the Doctor with an angry glare.
“But what if it doesn’t? What if your luck runs out? Why is it only ever the bad guys who have a proper plan?”
The Doctor, still kneeling by her feet, was looking up at the Seeker as if he’d been slapped, silent and without moving. A moment, then the Seeker lowered his eyes, sighing deeply, and typed in another command.
“I know, I know, you are what you are, wouldn’t want you any other way. I just hate not being in control, especially when people are dying needlessly. Too many damn issues.” A beat. “And if you say you’re sorry I’ll punch you.”
What else he was going to say was lost as the TARDIS suddenly shook.
“Dammit! I told you - sitting ducks!”
The Doctor jumped up, scanning the controls.
“They’re moving us. But... I don’t understand. They shouldn’t know me!”
The Seeker stared.
“I’m sorry?”
“The Daleks. They don’t know me. Not anymore. She made them forget.”
The Seeker was trying to fight with the console, and getting nowhere.
“They’ve disabled the controls, and the shields are down! What do you mean forgotten you, you’re their number one enemy! And they’ve clearly not forgotten how to fight... Did Jack say anything about where Roda is? Her battle TARDIS would come in really handy right about now. And she who?”
The Doctor shook his head, scanning the screen.
“Clara. Another one. It’s... very complicated. Where are we going?”
“The centre - from what I’ve been able to ascertain so far, it’s called the Crucible...”
Their eyes met, and Clara felt her insides turn unhappily. There were unspoken things in their eyes, dangers that she wished she could hide from.
Then they landed, and from outside they heard a voice:
“Doctor, you will step forth or die.”
The Seeker glared daggers.
“Oh yes, they’ve no idea who you are, clearly.”
The Doctor didn’t reply.
“But if we go out, won’t they kill us also?” Clara asked, and the Doctor pulled a face.
“If they wanted to kill us, they’d have done it already. Besides - there’s nowhere to run. Better go out and face them, we’ve been through worse, right?”
She tried to smile bravely, but it felt like a lie. As the Doctor laid his hand on the handle, however, she stopped him, turning to the Seeker.
“What about your father?”
A pause, as the Seeker and the Doctor looked at each other.
“It’s... probably best to leave him where he is,” the Seeker said eventually.
A beat, then the Doctor expanded.
“He would probably try to make a deal with them.”
“The Daleks?”
“Oh yes. Wouldn’t be the first time. Or he’d run away. If they have indeed recreated the Crucible from the War...”
His voice trailed off, and he adjusted his bow tie.
“Well then,” he said. “Here goes. Let's find out what they want.”
Stepping out of the door they were faced with a huge space, Daleks moving through the air all around them. The Seeker whistled quietly, and the Doctor looked around him with a look in his eyes Clara couldn’t work out. Much like he’d looked at the not-Doctor, as if his very essence was recoiling. She wasn’t sure if thousands of Daleks were better or worse than just one, but she dearly wished she had a big gun.
In front of them a large red Dalek approached, before speaking to them - its voice deep and oddly resonant, and she realised that this must have been the creature speaking previously.
“In threes they come, as Dalek Caan foretold: The Doctor, the Impossible Girl and the Orphan.”
The Seeker frowned.
“I’m not an-”
He stopped abruptly, sudden shock on his face as he turned to catch the Doctor’s equally startled eyes, the two of them pivoting on the spot towards the TARDIS - only to see it vanish through a trap door, as the Dalek behind them spoke:
“The TARDIS is a weapon and it will be destroyed.”
Chapter 3
Beginning here, and fic index for whole 'verse here.
Summary: "Why is it only ever the bad guys who have a proper plan?" The Master's son finally meets the Daleks. And he thought it a good day. (TSE/JE rewrite with Eleven and Clara and a host of extras.)
Setting: Future AU TSE/JE. (For the Doctor & Clara it's somewhere between Name of the Doctor and Day of the Doctor.)
Spoilers: Name of the Doctor.
Rating: PG-13.
Characters: The Seeker (the Master's son, OC), Eleventh Doctor, Clara, the Master, Jack, River, Roda (OC, belongs to
the_redjay), Davros, others.Beta: The wonderful
kathyh.Feedback: Pretty please?
Chapter 2
Leaving the cup and saucer on the steps, Clara made her way back to the Doctor. She needed distraction. And the Doctor was getting fidgety and looked like he might make something happen.
She skirted past the projection of the stolen planets - even though they weren’t real, she was oddly reluctant to walk through them - and the Doctor brightened visibly when he spotted her. She didn’t know what he and the Shadow Lady had been talking about, but they both seemed fed up.
“Clara, are you OK?” the Doctor asked, and she aimed for a smile.
“Apart from my planet being missing, you mean? Sure. Why wouldn’t I be?”
She should say something. But the words of the prophecy seemed lodged somewhere in the middle of her chest, too heavy to speak. And what if it was false? She’d be casting doubt on a perfectly innocent man...
The Doctor didn’t look convinced, but - with a final, searching glance - accepted her words. Then, adjusting his bow tie, he took a deep breath:
“Very well. I think it’s time for the Boy Wonder to earn his keep - Seeker!”
The young Time Lord in question was hadn’t moved from his spot in the middle of the projection, although he was no longer looking around, having instead become completely motionless, looking like he was a million miles away.
When the Doctor strode through the see-through planets, he inadvertedly confirmed this, as the Seeker didn’t notice him until the Doctor appeared right in front of him, nearly making him jump.
“What?”
“You’re from the future.” The Doctor poked the Seeker in the chest. “Relatively speaking. Did anyone ever say anything that might be helpful? Some sort of covert message to help us find Earth?”
The Seeker blinked, then went completely quiet for a long moment, before his eyes narrowed and when he spoke he seemed to drag the words out from a long gone memory.
“The only thing that fits is... one day at Torchwood. We were talking about nightmares, and the atmosphere got... weird. Uncomfortable. The twins said - and I quote - ‘On the day the nightmares return, remember this: ‘So long and thanks for all the nectar’.’ I was never sure what they meant, but then with the twins you never can tell...”
There was a pause as the Doctor looked at the Seeker with evident puzzlement - and the Seeker looked back coolly, obviously waiting for the Doctor to deduce something clever - when Clara ventured to speak.
“That sounds like The Hitchhikers Guide - you know ‘So Long and Thanks for all the Fish’?”
“Except for bees instead of dolphins...” the Seeker added and the Doctor looked from one to the other, before slapping his forehead.
“Of course! The dolphins left and tried to warn humanity before Earth was destroyed. The bees must have done the same!”
Despite everything she had seen and done, Clara still felt like sometimes surely they were taking the mickey.
“Are you saying that bees are aliens?”
The Doctor laughed. “Don't be ridiculous. Not all of them. But if the migrant bees felt something coming, some sort of danger, they could have escaped.”
The Seeker matched the Doctor’s grin:
“The Tandocca Scale!”
The Doctor then lapsed into a long explanation of what the Tandocca Scale was - complete with many gestures and additional bits of information - all of which essentially boiled down to the fact that they had a trail of miniscule metaphorical bread crumbs to follow across the stars.
Excitement lit up the Doctor’s face, and for a moment all worry and fear vanished from Clara’s mind. They would find the Earth and save the day and everything would be fine.
The Doctor grasped her hand and together they raced back to the TARDIS, practically flying through the doors, and - after tapping commands into the console - there was suddenly a definite blip on the screen. At this point they were joined by the Seeker who had not bothered running, and didn’t join in their celebratory mood either, instead nodding towards the door with a strangely blank face.
“Doctor? Someone wants a word with you...”
Standing aside to let the Doctor pass the Seeker caught Clara’s eyes, and, as they both listened to the Shadow Lady speaking outside the door, she understood the look on the Seeker’s face.
“If you have found a path to the planets, then, according to the Strictures of the Shadow Proclamation, I will have to seize your transport and your technology.”
In the doorway, the Doctor went very very still.
“Oh, really? What for?”
“The planets were stolen with hostile intent. We are declaring war, Doctor, right across the universe, and you will lead us into battle. Do not dismiss me! There are legends and whispers, tales as old as time, part of the fabric of the world - stories of a Mighty Warrior, the man who fought at Demons Run, a true hero. I and my fellow Shadow Architects have the gift of seeing truth - both past and future. You cannot hide your true nature from me, Doctor.”
“Ah.”
He turned, shooting the Seeker a look, and the Seeker winked, hands silently moving across the console.
“So sorry, but I’m not the man you want.”
And with that he shut the door in the woman’s face, as the Seeker with a chuckle flipped a lever and made them dematerialise.
Torchwood, Earth
Back below ground in the Hub, they tried to work out where exactly Earth had been moved to - and why. It was clear that it was the Earth itself that had moved, but why would anyone do that? Not to mention how...
Of course they were Torchwood, there was rarely a dull day. But this was something else.
Only four of them had made it in before the Earth had been stolen - himself, the twins - and Roda. Roda was already on her third cup of coffee, which - considering how early it still was - was beginning to worry Jack. She was naturally restless, goodness knew what that amount of caffeine would do to her.
She was almost glued to her screen, muttering to herself in a language Jack didn’t recognise, the red feathers in her hair glinting as she moved, and providing a sharp contrast to the muted brown colours of her waistcoat and trouser ensemble. Her white shirt was clean, but looked creased - she’d obviously gotten dressed in a hurry.
“Jack!” she called, and he ran across to her.
It was obvious that there was some sort of space station sitting at the heart of the assembled planets, but... Jack leaned closer. The reading was now tracking two hundred objects with an Earth-bound trajectory, heading towards Earth in a regular pattern. This had to be the creatures who’d stolen the planet.
As the swarm-like formation of spaceships drew nearer, Roda suddenly took a sharp breath, as if in pain. Jack turned to her sharply, and saw her hands gripping the workstation so hard that her knuckles had turned white - the look on her face one that reminded him far too forcefully of the Year That Never Was and the brutality they both had suffered at the Master’s hands. Fear, fury, and unwillingness to yield... (It was more than a century in the past for both of them. Yet the memories - and the nightmares - still lingered.) Her teeth were bared, and he half expected her to reach for her gun out of pure instinct.
“I know those ships...” she whispered, but, before he could ask, the system picked up the message they were broadcasting, and he froze.
“Exterminate! Exterminate! Exterminate!”
He turned to look at the twins, who were tilting their heads, listening, before identical purple eyes fastened on him.
“That doesn’t-”
“-sound good. What do we-”
“-do now?”
(One day he might get used to it. Today was not that day. The Seeker had said to think of them as one person in two bodies... Something which was confirmed in the way they worked. Always perfectly in synch, never speaking to each other, but accomplishing extraordinary things as they essentially had four hands for working with.)
He swallowed, studying his youngest recruits with sinking heart.
“We need the Doctor. Earth defences - not even ours and UNIT’s combined - are no match for Daleks! Roda, help me patch the communications relay into the Subetheric Resonator? With the modifications to the modulator that we did last year we should be able to reach him...”
Roda didn’t answer, and when she finally looked at him it was with a look in her eyes he’d never seen before.
“The Doctor wasn’t the only one who fought in the Time War. Please stay here; be safe.”
Then, turning on her heel, she left the Hub, without acknowledging Jack when he called after her.
Maybe she wanted to shield her TARDIS? Maybe she had weapons? Maybe she had flashbacks that she needed to deal with? She had never talked about the War, and considering the things she had shared, the things he had witnessed, it spoke volumes. But then she was as secretive as the Doctor, if not more so.
He sighed. If she’d wanted him to come, she’d have said so. Whatever she was up to, she didn’t need - or want - his help.
“Right. Guess it’s just you and me, twins.”
He tried to sound upbeat, but dearly wished the rest of the team was there. And he couldn’t ask them to come in now... The planet would be crawling with Daleks, there was no point in creating more meaningless heroes.
“We have names you know,” they replied, voices deadpan and perfectly in sync, and he wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry.
TARDIS
“It's stopped.”
The Doctor stared at the screen, oddly crestfallen. Clara looked at the screen herself, but it didn’t help. It showed a multicoloured nebula - very beautiful, but without any obvious planets.
‘What do you mean? Is that good or bad? Where are we?’
The Doctor sighed, his demeanour helpless in a way that reminded her of their visit to Trenzalore, and a knot of dread settled in her stomach once more.
“The Medusa Cascade. I came here once. So very, very long ago now. It was the centre of a rift in time and space then, and I sealed it.” A ghost of a smile. “I was only ninety years old, barely more than a child.”
“But, where are the twenty seven planets?”
He shook his head.
“Nowhere. The Tandocca Trail stops dead. End of the line... But that’s not possible!”
He angrily shook a handle, as if he could physically force the world to bend to his wishes.
The Seeker had watched in silence, but when he spoke there was more than a hint of exasperation to his voice:
“Doctor, sit down and make a list of all the impossible things to have happened in your life. That should take you the best part of a week. Or you could just accept that there’s something else going on, and focus on working out what to do now!”
The Doctor turned on him: “Seeker, there is nothing here! Why don’t you work it out for once!”
The Seeker held up his hands, his frustration now nearly overflowing.
“Because this is what you do! Everything looks hopeless and impossible and you re-scramble it and come up with a solution. You know I’m rubbish at this - if you want long term planning and meticulous attention to detail I come out top, but right now? Get that brain working. Heck, there used to be a rift, as you just said - maybe someone opened it again? Could it have been big enough for pulling planets through? Doctor - think!”
A beat, then his eyes narrowed.
“Or should I go ask Dad? He might have some ideas...”
The Doctor held up a warning finger, and the Seeker smiled triumphantly. Clara bit her lip and said nothing, trying to hide a smile.
Torchwood, Earth
They listened to the broadcast in sombre silence.
“This is the Commander General of the United Nations calling the Dalek Fleet. We surrender. Repeat, we surrender. Planet Earth surrenders.”
Jack tried not to shudder.
“Oh fantastic, they can slaughter us freely now. Twins, is the phone working yet?
They nodded.
“Yes. We won’t be able to keep it hidden for long, but we’ve re-routed the signal through so many carriers that the Daleks cannot to track it back to us. Also we’ve encoded it in such a way that the Daleks should not be able to decrypt it for the longest time. If ever.”
“Knew I employed you for a reason,” Jack grinned, but - looking at the screen and what they’d created - he blinked.
“What did you do?”
One of them leaned forwards, tapping a few buttons, and he saw the programme unfold and separate, the decryption unravelling until he suddenly realised what he was looking at... And then laughed out loud in pure delight.
“Whatever happens, you are officially Employees of the Month. That’s genius!”
They smiled back smugly, and for just a second everything was right with the world.
“Right! Let’s put the call through!”
TARDIS, Medusa Cascade
“Phone!”
The Doctor practically fell out the door in his haste to answer the call, shouting into the receiver.
“Hello? Anyone there? Jack? Roda?”
Pulling the - apparently endless - chord after him into the TARDIS, he ran up to the screen which flickered as the Seeker tapped buttons:
“It’s a signal! No actual connection yet, but we can follow the signal! Seeker - have you got it?”
“Yes, I’ve got a proper fix, although I’ll need to decrypt it first,” the Seeker said. “Doctor, put the receiver down unless you want to travel with the door open. And by the way - why haven’t you patched the phone back through the console?”
“Shut up,” the Doctor retorted, but the Seeker wasn’t paying attention. His eyes were fixed on the screen as he tapped buttons and made weird swirly symbols appear and disappear, before going ‘Ah-ha!’, triumphantly making the strange signs unravel - and then...
Eyes widening he brought a hand up to his mouth, speechless.
The Doctor tapped buttons on the other side, clearly impatient.
“Well come on then, insert the co-ordinates so we can go!”
The Seeker slowly lowered his hand, looking somewhere between deeply touched and (there really was no other word) amused.
“But the encryption. Look at it. Oh it must have been the twins. Never knew that kind of thing was passed down... Maybe it’s hereditary or innate? But genius, the Daleks would never get it. No wonder Jack gave them a job...”
“What do you mean?”
“Doctor, look!”
The Doctor duly looked, pulling the screen close, and within moments appeared rather disconcerted.
“They can’t... Surely...”
“You’re being cryptic again,” Clara complained. “What is it?”
“Music,” the Doctor replied, not meeting her eyes, at the same time as the Seeker said “Sex”.
“Huh?”
“It’s both,” the Seeker clarified. “Music as sex. Although usually transmitted telepathically.”
He ran his finger across the screen, following the pattern.
“Jamie’s Song... Never thought I’d see it again.”
For a moment he was lost to some memory or other, before snapping out of it.
“Sorry. Let’s go find Earth, shall we?”
And then it was business as usual as they all hung onto the console while parts of it seemed to be blowing up and bursting into flames.
“We're travelling through time!” the Doctor shouted, and Clara - despite the shower of sparks raining down over her - couldn’t help but shout back.
“You don’t say!”
The Doctor laughed, and - when the TARDIS finally stopped shaking a few moments later - explained, holding out his hand towards the screen where twenty seven planets were now visible.
“There they are. But! The entire Medusa Cascade has been put a second out of sync with the rest of the universe. Perfect hiding place. Tiny little pocket of time. But we found them!”
She smiled at him, happy and excited.
“So what do we do now?”
“Cardiff?” the Seeker asked, and the Doctor nodded.
“Cardiff. The call was, um, definitely Torchwood. We can pick up Jack and Roda, get an update, and take it from there.”
The TARDIS landed and the Doctor stepped out, Clara and the Seeker a little behind. The sky was dark, populated by planets and eerily alien, and Clara wrapped her arms around herself, unsettled.
“Where is everyone? It’s early morning, there should be people around,” the Doctor said, slowly turning to take in the emptiness of the large open space they had parked in.
Looking around, Clara recognised the tall mirrored fountain in the middle of the Plass, and behind them, looming out of the darkness, In These Stones, Horizons Sing inscribed on the front of the Wales Millennium Centre in letters so large Clara was almost worried they’d be crushed.
She remembered coming here once for a concert. The letters had been lit up, bright and inspirational, and she’d recently thought of maybe bringing her students here, or at least use the words to illustrate how five simple words could contain unexpected breath and depth, creating entirely new concepts...
She wasn’t feeling inspired now. Foreboding enveloped her again, the darkness and eerie quietness oppressive, and the planets in the sky looked as if they might all fall down on them.
Then a shout caught their attention.
“Doctor!”
A young woman ran out of the Millennium Centre towards them - she was about Clara’s size, with long dark hair, and dressed in a red top and black trousers. There were people in the Centre calling after her, but the Seeker took hold of Clara’s arm, staring at the other girl as she reached the Doctor, then looking from Clara to the newcomer, eyes widening.
“How the hell?”
Clara couldn’t speak. It was her. Like... looking in a mirror, except for a slightly different haircut and a Welsh accent. The other Clara was staring at the Doctor, wide-eyed, and clearly thrilled, not noticing anyone except him.
“Doctor! I can’t believe it. Is it really you?”
His hands stuttered, but eventually he found his voice.
“Clara?” he asked, before their attention was abruptly caught by a strangely metallic voice from the bay that instinctively made Clara freeze in fear.
“Ex-ter-mi-nate! Ex-ter-mi-nate! Ex-ter-mi-nate!”
The weird metal creature - or robot? - glided slowly towards them, with a lack of hurry that was somehow worse than the dreadful speed of the Cybermen. Pure terror was now cascading through Clara’s mind, half-forgotten nightmares paralysing her, and she knew this killing machine had no need of speed, it always caught its prey in the end (‘Where am I? Where am I? Where am I?’ she was lost and scared and alone...)
But the other Clara moved quickly and instinctively.
“No!”
Throwing herself in front of the Doctor she took the full blast; collapsing on the ground. The Doctor fell to his knees, and Clara watched, unable to move, as her mirror image looked at him with fading eyes.
“Run...” she whispered, and then she was gone.
It seemed as if time was frozen, none of them moving, when the dome of the metal monster suddenly exploded. They all jumped, and Clara looked through the wreckage to see something... almost impossible. As if she had landed in a comic book super hero movie, and had now come to the scene where the hero made his big entrance.
The man on the other side of the now smoking wreck was tall, handsome and square-jawed, dressed in a long military coat, and carrying a gun even larger than the one she had used to fight the Cybermen... Who could he be? Surely he couldn’t be real? Maybe they were just the spectators in someone else’s story? Was it all a dream? The world seemed to have gone strangely fuzzy around the edges.
(She could hear the other Clara’s friends screaming; saw the Doctor cradle her, her body limp like a rag doll’s; saw Handsome Hero Guy run to the Doctor’s side, still vigilantly scanning the surroundings, gun at the ready, whilst the Seeker pulled her back and into the TARDIS. Handsome Hero Guy was almost yelling at the Doctor to get back in the TARDIS also, he’d take care of it, he was the only one that was safe... Why, she wondered. Was he bullet proof? Or Superman with a better dress sense?)
The Seeker settled her on one of the seats, then - after a moment’s hesitation - ran down the stairs.
(River’s voice, distant... ‘The time winds will tear you into a million pieces. A million versions of you, living and dying all over time and space, like echoes.’)
She’d known. But she’d not thought she’d witness it...
“Run you clever boy. And remember me...” she whispered as the Seeker reappeared, a blanket in his hands. He shot her an inscrutable look as he unfolded the blanket (someone had cut a hole in the middle - how peculiar), before wrapping it around her:
“You’re in shock. This’ll help. If nothing else, then psychologically.”
A moment later the Doctor entered, and the Seeker quietly moved out of the way.
“Clara. My Clara, are you OK?”
She nodded, even though apparently she was shaking. Maybe the blanket was a good idea after all.
The Doctor was holding her face now, watching her intently, worried and concerned, and the strange red-eyed girl’s words skimmed across her mind...
(‘You are the Impossible Girl. Born to save the Doctor. But not even giving your life will help save him from the pain today will bring.’)
Did that mean everything was coming true? Because she’d died, saving him. But if even dying couldn’t save him from what was coming... What could she do? What should she do? And what was going to happen?
“Why were there two of her?” the Seeker’s voice cut through. “Because that was not spatial genetic multiplicity. She knew you.”
The Doctor shook his head, glancing over his shoulder.
“It’s a long story. I’ll explain later. If we survive the Daleks of course.”
(Daleks. That’s what they were. The nightmarish almost-memories from her other lives apart, she mostly remembered what he’d told her. How he had ended the War, the last great Time War, between the Daleks and the Time Lords... And here they were again. His greatest enemies. The ones he’d defeated at such a terrible cost.)
But then the Seeker spoke again and she lost the thread in her mind. She seemed to be all jumbled, falling, lost (‘I don't know where I am. It's like I'm breaking into a million pieces and there's only one thing I remember. I have to save the Doctor.’). She needed to re-connect...
The Seeker was standing by the console, typing something into the keyboard and studying the screen as he spoke, obviously multitasking:
“Ah yes, Daleks. I’m guessing we’re waiting for Jack? Because we’re sitting ducks, here. So please tell me Doctor, because we already saw a woman die for you: What have you got? What’s your plan? Or, are you just going to do what you always do? Talk very fast, hope something good happens, take the credit? That's generally how it works, right?”
Looking up he fixed the Doctor with an angry glare.
“But what if it doesn’t? What if your luck runs out? Why is it only ever the bad guys who have a proper plan?”
The Doctor, still kneeling by her feet, was looking up at the Seeker as if he’d been slapped, silent and without moving. A moment, then the Seeker lowered his eyes, sighing deeply, and typed in another command.
“I know, I know, you are what you are, wouldn’t want you any other way. I just hate not being in control, especially when people are dying needlessly. Too many damn issues.” A beat. “And if you say you’re sorry I’ll punch you.”
What else he was going to say was lost as the TARDIS suddenly shook.
“Dammit! I told you - sitting ducks!”
The Doctor jumped up, scanning the controls.
“They’re moving us. But... I don’t understand. They shouldn’t know me!”
The Seeker stared.
“I’m sorry?”
“The Daleks. They don’t know me. Not anymore. She made them forget.”
The Seeker was trying to fight with the console, and getting nowhere.
“They’ve disabled the controls, and the shields are down! What do you mean forgotten you, you’re their number one enemy! And they’ve clearly not forgotten how to fight... Did Jack say anything about where Roda is? Her battle TARDIS would come in really handy right about now. And she who?”
The Doctor shook his head, scanning the screen.
“Clara. Another one. It’s... very complicated. Where are we going?”
“The centre - from what I’ve been able to ascertain so far, it’s called the Crucible...”
Their eyes met, and Clara felt her insides turn unhappily. There were unspoken things in their eyes, dangers that she wished she could hide from.
Then they landed, and from outside they heard a voice:
“Doctor, you will step forth or die.”
The Seeker glared daggers.
“Oh yes, they’ve no idea who you are, clearly.”
The Doctor didn’t reply.
“But if we go out, won’t they kill us also?” Clara asked, and the Doctor pulled a face.
“If they wanted to kill us, they’d have done it already. Besides - there’s nowhere to run. Better go out and face them, we’ve been through worse, right?”
She tried to smile bravely, but it felt like a lie. As the Doctor laid his hand on the handle, however, she stopped him, turning to the Seeker.
“What about your father?”
A pause, as the Seeker and the Doctor looked at each other.
“It’s... probably best to leave him where he is,” the Seeker said eventually.
A beat, then the Doctor expanded.
“He would probably try to make a deal with them.”
“The Daleks?”
“Oh yes. Wouldn’t be the first time. Or he’d run away. If they have indeed recreated the Crucible from the War...”
His voice trailed off, and he adjusted his bow tie.
“Well then,” he said. “Here goes. Let's find out what they want.”
Stepping out of the door they were faced with a huge space, Daleks moving through the air all around them. The Seeker whistled quietly, and the Doctor looked around him with a look in his eyes Clara couldn’t work out. Much like he’d looked at the not-Doctor, as if his very essence was recoiling. She wasn’t sure if thousands of Daleks were better or worse than just one, but she dearly wished she had a big gun.
In front of them a large red Dalek approached, before speaking to them - its voice deep and oddly resonant, and she realised that this must have been the creature speaking previously.
“In threes they come, as Dalek Caan foretold: The Doctor, the Impossible Girl and the Orphan.”
The Seeker frowned.
“I’m not an-”
He stopped abruptly, sudden shock on his face as he turned to catch the Doctor’s equally startled eyes, the two of them pivoting on the spot towards the TARDIS - only to see it vanish through a trap door, as the Dalek behind them spoke:
“The TARDIS is a weapon and it will be destroyed.”
Chapter 3
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This was good. I keep loling at some of the interaction between the Doctor and the Seeker, yay and Torchwood! And the Claras...
So happy I got started on this just as you posted chapter 2.
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I am so, so happy to finally be able to share them! (Have been working on this for a while...)
This was good.
Squee! ♥
I keep loling at some of the interaction between the Doctor and the Seeker, yay and Torchwood! And the Claras...
So much of it just writes itself. Just throw the characters into a situation and watch them go... *g*
So happy I got started on this just as you posted chapter 2.
All I can say is thank you for reading! And I'm thrilled that you're enjoying it!
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I liked how faraway the Seeker seemed, so lost in thought until the Doctor walked straight into his face—and the twins' hint to him seemed so puzzling, and yet Clara got the reference right away :D Humans save the day! (I died at her just staring at them, all like "Don't tell me bees are aliens." Donna had a similar moment in the original, didn't she? I forget the details—anyway, that was priceless.) Besides, it was nice to see how the Seeker relied on the Doctor to figure out what that meant—first hint of what you empathize later, he knows his strengths, and the Doctor's, and the latter is better at quick, spur-of-the-moment thinking. Teamwork. Loved the moment in which Clara was just seized by optimism and the Doctor's enthusiasm, and thought they would save the day and all be fine—the rush of the adventure, the running… (Though the Seeker wasn't the running-in-excitement type, differences again ;)) The Shadow Lady's words about the Doctor being a mighty warrior were very nicely done, a very intense moment—and then he and the Seeker just took off on her. XD His answering "Ah." to her speech was a priceless contrast as well ;)
I also really enjoyed your portrayal of the Torchwood team, and discovering the twins and Roda… The descriptions of her and her reactions were great—such intensity again when she recognized the Dalek fleet, she seemed just possessed with emotions and adrenaline, it was very powerful. And it reminded Jack of the Year That Never Was, quite fitting too… I died at the twins speaking as one with two voices, and Jack commenting that he would never get used to it—and that allowed you to slip in a nice bit of description/characterization for the twins, neat. There was something quite ominous in Roda’s rushing out for unknown reasons, reminding that the Doctor wasn’t the only one who’d fought in the Time War—and Jack was left in uncertainty, but there was nothing he could do… Loved his trying to keep sounding energetic and optimistic, even though he was pretty worried, his wishing there were more of them, yet knowing it wasn’t a good idea to call for reinforcements, and wanting to laugh and cry at the same time at their retort. Jack feels ♥
Loved the way you depicted the Doctor's frustration when he found himself unable to find the 27 planets, and Clara being reminded of Trenzalore and quite chilled by the memory and the parallel. And here came the Seeker moment I mentioned earlier, with his pushing the Doctor to figure things out, stressing that it was his thing, whereas his own skills lay elsewhere, and he had to rack his brains and figure things out somehow—he was a bit sharp with him, but the Doctor probably needed that… LOL to the provoking him with the Master ;)
Torchwood part again: love Jack's snarky comment about the Daleks having license for slaughter now, and his delight at the twins' trick! Little moments of brightness ftw, just like Clara earlier with the running ♥ I chortled at the Seeker commenting about the phone still not being patched through the console—and LOL… Music as sex. No wonder Jack loved it! It's rather beautiful and intriguing a notion ;) Jamie's Song, I found that intriguing, an in-verse reference? And you make a few references to songs/singing, is there some symbolism behind that? ;)
And then it was business as usual as they all hung onto the console while parts of it seemed to be blowing up and bursting into flames.
XD I love it. And the Doctor yelling that they were traveling through time and Clara being all like "Oh, really?". They're epic.
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Clara, Clara, Clara! And to think I almost didn't use her. Can't imagine the story without her now. And I have far fewer characters at the moment than the original episodes, so I scrapped the whole many-ways conversation they had between all the Companions - however, I still wanted to introduce the Torchwood people and also keep track of what they were doing.
Loved your portrayal of Clara at the beginning, edgy and uneasy after hearing that prophecy—as showed with all the little hints—but putting on a brave face as always.
That's our Clara!
Her uncertainty was nicely showed, as she debated whether to tell the Doctor, but considered that she might just be throwing seeds of doubt for no reason—and the Doctor could tell there was something a little off, but didn't push…
He's quite gentle with her, generally, and probably thought it was something private.
I liked how faraway the Seeker seemed, so lost in thought until the Doctor walked straight into his face—and the twins' hint to him seemed so puzzling, and yet Clara got the reference right away :D Humans save the day!
The Time Lords were probably overthinking it. *g*
(I died at her just staring at them, all like "Don't tell me bees are aliens." Donna had a similar moment in the original, didn't she? I forget the details—anyway, that was priceless.)
Yes, I totally stole it. :)
Besides, it was nice to see how the Seeker relied on the Doctor to figure out what that meant—first hint of what you empathize later, he knows his strengths, and the Doctor's, and the latter is better at quick, spur-of-the-moment thinking. Teamwork.
Indeed. It's not that the Seeker can't do it (he's extremely intelligent), but it doesn't come to him naturally.
Loved the moment in which Clara was just seized by optimism and the Doctor's enthusiasm, and thought they would save the day and all be fine—the rush of the adventure, the running… (Though the Seeker wasn't the running-in-excitement type, differences again ;))
He doesn't like running, no, and he hates being pressed for time. (This all ties back to another story.)
The Shadow Lady's words about the Doctor being a mighty warrior were very nicely done, a very intense moment—and then he and the Seeker just took off on her. XD His answering "Ah." to her speech was a priceless contrast as well ;)
I loved expanding on her original speech, especially building on the ability to sense the future.
I also really enjoyed your portrayal of the Torchwood team, and discovering the twins and Roda… The descriptions of her and her reactions were great—such intensity again when she recognized the Dalek fleet, she seemed just possessed with emotions and adrenaline, it was very powerful. And it reminded Jack of the Year That Never Was, quite fitting too…
Also slipping in the knowledge that both Jack and Roda suffered a lot under the Master's rule. There are a LOT of tensions between these people.
I died at the twins speaking as one with two voices, and Jack commenting that he would never get used to it—and that allowed you to slip in a nice bit of description/characterization for the twins, neat.
I really should give them names...
There was something quite ominous in Roda’s rushing out for unknown reasons, reminding that the Doctor wasn’t the only one who’d fought in the Time War—and Jack was left in uncertainty, but there was nothing he could do…
Oh Roda. You'll see where that leads soon enough.
Loved his trying to keep sounding energetic and optimistic, even though he was pretty worried, his wishing there were more of them, yet knowing it wasn’t a good idea to call for reinforcements, and wanting to laugh and cry at the same time at their retort. Jack feels ♥
Jack is my darling. ♥
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Ohhh, indeed! She’s taken such a great place in the story now…
And I have far fewer characters at the moment than the original episodes, so I scrapped the whole many-ways conversation they had between all the Companions - however, I still wanted to introduce the Torchwood people and also keep track of what they were doing.
*nods* Came across neat! I was surprised to realize, at the end of the chapter, that we had already well started into Journey’s End, but then I realized that we didn’t have all the shenanigans with Rose and Martha, indeed—plus bits of Sarah Jane and Harriet… Saves a lot of time.
The Time Lords were probably overthinking it. *g*
Missing what’s staring them in the face aka struggling to sonic an open door ;)
It's not that the Seeker can't do it (he's extremely intelligent), but it doesn't come to him naturally.
And he’s lucid about that—good team and task management ;)
I loved expanding on her original speech, especially building on the ability to sense the future.
The effect was really great!
Also slipping in the knowledge that both Jack and Roda suffered a lot under the Master's rule. There are a LOT of tensions between these people.
That should be fascinating to see! :D
I really should give them names...
I… had not even realized. XDDD
Oh Roda. You'll see where that leads soon enough.
Looking forward to it! :)
Jack is my darling. ♥
All the love for him! ♥ ♥ ♥
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Writing is a magical thing. I don't want to think how it'd have been without her.
*nods* Came across neat! I was surprised to realize, at the end of the chapter, that we had already well started into Journey’s End, but then I realized that we didn’t have all the shenanigans with Rose and Martha, indeed—plus bits of Sarah Jane and Harriet… Saves a lot of time.
It does. Also I've saved up Davros for later. :) (Am glad it works.)
Missing what’s staring them in the face aka struggling to sonic an open door ;)
Heee! Yes that's it exactly. Hadn't even connected it to that scene. :)
And he’s lucid about that—good team and task management ;)
He's very organised, even in his thinking.
The effect was really great!
*beams*
That should be fascinating to see! :D
If you're curious, I can give you a link or two to those stories? Fairly short and stand-alone-y. Or did you mean in my story?
I… had not even realized. XDDD
Good.
Looking forward to it! :)
I love Roda. She's... Very much her own, and in stark contrast to everyone else.
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This!
Also I've saved up Davros for later. :)
Ohhhh, yes! :D And we have yet to see River. I'm totally not sitting there squirming and pining to see River. Nope. No way.
He's very organised, even in his thinking.
Quite efficient ;)
If you're curious, I can give you a link or two to those stories? Fairly short and stand-alone-y. Or did you mean in my story?
I meant in general, and because I'd like to have time to check the whole thing out, but… yeah. XD
I love Roda. She's... Very much her own, and in stark contrast to everyone else.
Sounds like a great character to write—and to read about, of course ;)
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LOL. She'll turn up, no worries! (She was part of this story, even before I knew who she was. No way I'd leave her out now!)
I meant in general, and because I'd like to have time to check the whole thing out, but… yeah. XD
Well, in case you get curious Guiless Child is the place to go. Written by
Sounds like a great character to write—and to read about, of course ;)
Mmm, there's a whole 'verse about her. *g*
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I know, just eager ;)
And okay, thanks for the link and explanation. :)
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And I guess those stories could be seen as the equivalent of minisodes? Yes, that's a nice way of looking at it.
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and Roda… The descriptions of her and her reactions were great—such intensity again when she recognized the Dalek fleet, she seemed just possessed with emotions and adrenaline, it was very powerful
I've yet to write that story but long story short, Roda fought on the front lines in the Time War, and... essentially? Survivor's guilt.
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In the original, Ten just shuts down completely, and Donna doesn't know what to do. (Don't give up now, please...) But Eleven of course reacts very differently.
And here came the Seeker moment I mentioned earlier, with his pushing the Doctor to figure things out, stressing that it was his thing, whereas his own skills lay elsewhere, and he had to rack his brains and figure things out somehow—he was a bit sharp with him, but the Doctor probably needed that… LOL to the provoking him with the Master ;)
The Seeker doesn't have a lot of patience with the Doctor going all emotional. The planets must be SOMEWHERE, so we need to work out where, not shout about it being impossible...
Torchwood part again: love Jack's snarky comment about the Daleks having license for slaughter now, and his delight at the twins' trick! Little moments of brightness ftw, just like Clara earlier with the running ♥
Everything gets a little heavy, so 'lightness' (even dark humour) helps.
I chortled at the Seeker commenting about the phone still not being patched through the console
Since this is a running joke, I couldn't help myself...
and LOL… Music as sex. No wonder Jack loved it! It's rather beautiful and intriguing a notion ;) Jamie's Song, I found that intriguing, an in-verse reference? And you make a few references to songs/singing, is there some symbolism behind that? ;)
First of all - no, no deliberate symbolism, I think there's just a lot of music in the show. Although music is important I suppose, and will be further on. Call it accidental, but continuous, imagery. And secondly - yes, Jamie's Song is quite a loaded reference, and one that means a lot to the Seeker. <3
XD I love it. And the Doctor yelling that they were traveling through time and Clara being all like "Oh, really?". They're epic.
The 'We're travelling through time' line is straight from the show, and when I looked at it I couldn't not subvert it...
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Yes, different Doctor, different reactions… The transposition is very nice!
The Seeker doesn't have a lot of patience with the Doctor going all emotional.
Yes, that showed! ;) He’s much more on the rational side…
Since this is a running joke, I couldn't help myself...
Running jokes ftw ;)
Call it accidental, but continuous, imagery.
Works for me! :)
The 'We're travelling through time' line is straight from the show, and when I looked at it I couldn't not subvert it...
Haha, no wonder! I didn’t remember that one ;)
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Stuff like that makes it very rewarding to write. I've never liked 'fix it' fics, but re-writing is something very different. And the story is very strong, yet flexible.
Yes, that showed! ;) He’s much more on the rational side…
He had to be. Both his father figures would get over-emotional/argue at anything.
Haha, no wonder! I didn’t remember that one ;)
Also a bonus when working with stuff that's not new...
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This so much.
He had to be. Both his father figures would get over-emotional/argue at anything.
Makes perfect sense… ^_^
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A blanket with a hole in it. Other in-verse reference? XD I really enjoyed the way you showed the Doctor's concern for Clara, the way he handled her was very moving ♥ And beyond the shock, there was the memory of the prophecy that became even more urgent as part of it was indeed coming true… But all of those thoughts and concerns were so jumbled in her head, you really showed how lost she was feeling, poor thing ♥ As for the Seeker, he was a bit harsh with the Doctor once more—lashes out when he's frustrated, that one does, and he certainly couldn't stand to feel helpless and not in control at all. Not to mention all the business regarding Clara that was just complete gibberish to him—so many unanswered questions. The look he shared with the Doctor when he evoked the Crucible was quite heavy, especially from Clara's POV as she sensed so many unspoken things between them that she couldn't quite be aware of…
Clara putting on a brave face, again. ♥ And the Master was the one who remained in the TARDIS! For quite a good reason, indeed =P Loved the moment in which they called the Seeker the Orphan, and he started to correct them, then suddenly understood—and Clara noticing the disgust in the Doctor's eyes as he stared at the Daleks and comparing it to how he had first regarded the War Doctor too… You're certainly ending on a striking note, besides :D I'm pretty curious to see how you'll handle all the rest, lovely job so far! :)
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I've been listening to the fifth movement on repeat for days. Gorgeous stuff. And it just seemed to fit, especially with Clara being an English teacher. Words would be important to her.
And then, as if to answer her bad feeling, one of her echoes came racing up to them… and promptly died, thus replacing Ten’s extra regeneration.
Indeed. It's sort of awful, but there's an endless supply of disposable Claras to play with in fic...
Fitting, and so shocking to her, not to mention the Seeker who was dead confused with all the Clara-and-echoes related info… Your description of the echo and her small but notable differences to Clara, her reaction to the Doctor, Clara's knowledge of the Daleks, echo of the echoes and so eerie and paralyzing—it was all wonderfully portrayed.
I think I subconsciously thought of her reactions in Cold War, and how she seemed to withdraw from the present almost completely when in shock.
Clara's reaction to Jack was a bit hilarious in the middle of that surreal, chaotic scene—Handsome Hero Guy, apparently bullet-proof, ROFL—but mostly you really showed how everything seemed unreal and like a blur to her, in shock indeed… She registered everything that was happening as though from a distance, detached as the others ran and shouted. Awww, Clara. *hugs Clara* Loved her remembering River's words, but realizing there was a world of difference between knowing it and witnessing it…
Jack's entrance is funny, but fits in with her detachment - maybe it's a dream, maybe it's someone else's story, maybe it isn't real... It brings home on whole new level how dangerous it all is.
A blanket with a hole in it. Other in-verse reference? XD
"Here we go. My boys. My poncho boys. If we're going to die, let's die looking like a Peruvian folk band." (No idea how Eleven's arc actually fits into my 'verse, but that's not a problem at the moment. *g*)
I really enjoyed the way you showed the Doctor's concern for Clara, the way he handled her was very moving ♥
She's his Impossible Girl, and he's just been reminded (in the most brutal way possible) what she means to him.
And beyond the shock, there was the memory of the prophecy that became even more urgent as part of it was indeed coming true… But all of those thoughts and concerns were so jumbled in her head, you really showed how lost she was feeling, poor thing ♥
Poor Clara indeed. Although personally, the playing with prophecies is a wonderful thing!
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It’s beautiful! ♥
And it just seemed to fit, especially with Clara being an English teacher. Words would be important to her.
It’s perfect!
It's sort of awful, but there's an endless supply of disposable Claras to play with in fic...
Yes, that’s kind of awful, but very true! =P
I think I subconsciously thought of her reactions in Cold War, and how she seemed to withdraw from the present almost completely when in shock.
Oh, yes… Loved the characterization in that episode.
Jack's entrance is funny, but fits in with her detachment - maybe it's a dream, maybe it's someone else's story, maybe it isn't real...
*nods* Yeah, it’s like she’s seeing it all from some great distance…
"Here we go. My boys. My poncho boys. If we're going to die, let's die looking like a Peruvian folk band."
Got to love ponchos ;) *thumbs up*
(No idea how Eleven's arc actually fits into my 'verse, but that's not a problem at the moment. *g*)
I wondered that too, but yeah, not relevant to that story in particular ;)
She's his Impossible Girl, and he's just been reminded (in the most brutal way possible) what she means to him.
♥
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And exceedingly handy! (Poor Clara.)
Oh, yes… Loved the characterization in that episode./*nods* Yeah, it’s like she’s seeing it all from some great distance…
She just withdraws completely, and that's very interesting to play with.
I wondered that too, but yeah, not relevant to that story in particular ;)
Mostly, then Eleven's run has probably taken place more-or-less as we saw, Ten just lived a lot longer (whilst bringing the Seeker up).
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Indeed ^_^
Mostly, then Eleven's run has probably taken place more-or-less as we saw, Ten just lived a lot longer (whilst bringing the Seeker up).
*nods* And now I'm wondering about Donna, haha… =P
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Figured they'd just never meet, and she'd go off & be brilliant on her own. But I might do something... *waves hands* (Could always have Lee - from The Library - manage to catch her in time, and she'd go off to be happily married with all her memories intact. Yes, I like that.)
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There are key differences between the previous instance and this one. The first one was him deliberately pushing the Doctor, in order to get the Doctor to engage his mind. This comes from very personal issues - if you go back sometime and read about his youth, you'll see where he's coming from. But the incident has brought back a host of unpleasant memories, and from that he defaults to his general frustration with Everything Being Badly Organised. (Not just the Doctor, the whole universe. This is one reason he keeps to himself.)
Not to mention all the business regarding Clara that was just complete gibberish to him—so many unanswered questions.
Oh, just wait!
The look he shared with the Doctor when he evoked the Crucible was quite heavy, especially from Clara's POV as she sensed so many unspoken things between them that she couldn't quite be aware of…
Uh-huh. (It's lovely to just hint at things ominously.)
Clara putting on a brave face, again. ♥
Bless her little cotton socks! ♥
And the Master was the one who remained in the TARDIS! For quite a good reason, indeed =P
It's a fantastically rewarding episode to rewrite, I have to say. The template of events works a treat!
Loved the moment in which they called the Seeker the Orphan, and he started to correct them, then suddenly understood
Mmmmm. The epithets are a very Moffat Who thing to play with, and I absolutely couldn't help myself!
and Clara noticing the disgust in the Doctor's eyes as he stared at the Daleks and comparing it to how he had first regarded the War Doctor too… You're certainly ending on a striking note, besides :D
Thank you! And oh, the Doctor and Daleks... He's in quite a different place than Ten, it has to be said.
I'm pretty curious to see how you'll handle all the rest, lovely job so far! :)
♥ ♥ ♥ Thank you for your lovely comments, you are a writers dream, honestly!
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The first one was him deliberately pushing the Doctor, in order to get the Doctor to engage his mind. This comes from very personal issues - if you go back sometime and read about his youth, you'll see where he's coming from. But the incident has brought back a host of unpleasant memories, and from that he defaults to his general frustration with Everything Being Badly Organised. (Not just the Doctor, the whole universe. This is one reason he keeps to himself.)
That sounds fascinating, love a good backstory/past wounds still itching and influencing a character’s reactions…
(It's lovely to just hint at things ominously.)
*chuckles*
It's a fantastically rewarding episode to rewrite, I have to say. The template of events works a treat!
And same to read! ;)
The epithets are a very Moffat Who thing to play with
Quite ;)
Thank you for your lovely comments, you are a writers dream, honestly!
Hehe, thank you! I provide all the detail/insight I feel the work deserves… ;)
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Yes, I did a double-take. *g*
That sounds fascinating, love a good backstory/past wounds still itching and influencing a character’s reactions…
It's a bit like the show itself - the writers will throw in references to past events, and depending on how well you know the background it'll have different levels of significance. Someone coming to the Seeker with new eyes will notice what sets him off, but not why. Those who've been following along will remember all kinds of stuff from the past... I think this is one reason I enjoy this 'verse so much. I've got so much to play with. (And ramble about. /o\)
And same to read! ;)
♥
Hehe, thank you! I provide all the detail/insight I feel the work deserves… ;)
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
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I copy and paste your comments back at you now, saves me work! Problem? ;P
It's a bit like the show itself - the writers will throw in references to past events, and depending on how well you know the background it'll have different levels of significance.
Love it. ^_^
I think this is one reason I enjoy this 'verse so much. I've got so much to play with. (And ramble about. /o\)
Yay complexity—and rambling. Rambling is always approved of! ;)
♥♥♥♥♥ ALL THE HEARTS YES.
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Not at all! ;)
Yay complexity—and rambling. Rambling is always approved of! ;)
I even have a dedicated icon.
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Perhaps not PERFECTLY.
“You’re from the future.” The Doctor poked the Seeker in the chest. “Relatively speaking.
I like how you've got an OC that on occasion lives chronologically. It makes for a nice bit of wibbly wobbly which with the right writer is oodles of fun.
Oodles. Great word.
We were talking about nightmares, and the atmosphere got... weird.
I'd love to both see more of this, and more of the Twins. You're gonna have to help me when I go to write my regeneration fic.
“That sounds like The Hitchhikers Guide - you know ‘So Long and Thanks for all the Fish’?”
We're sad that things should come to this
We tried to warn you but oh noooooooooo...!
“Are you saying that bees are aliens?”
I FORGOT THIS PART!! Also did I ever tell you that the scientists studying the IRL bee disappearance are from my uni?
a trail of miniscule metaphorical bread crumbs
Perfect way of putting it.
He turned, shooting the Seeker a look, and the Seeker winked, hands silently moving across the console.
"See, boys?" Roda smirked. "You are capable of teamwork without trying to out-peacock each other."
Roda was already on her third cup of coffee, which - considering how early it still was - was beginning to worry Jack.
*giggles* oh no now I've made myself sad thinking of Roda time travelling to get coffee beans for Ianto.
Only four of them had made it in before the Earth had been stolen
I can imagine Roda slept there.
She was almost glued to her screen, muttering to herself in a language Jack didn’t recognise
Come now surely someone has taught him some of the rude words?
Roda suddenly took a sharp breath, as if in pain
OC pain! *thumbs up* Good!
“That doesn’t-”
“-sound good. What do we-”
“-do now?”
I both love and hate them.
“We have names you know,” they replied, voices deadpan and perfectly in sync
star poet babies <3<3<3
“Doctor, sit down and make a list of all the impossible things to have happened in your life. That should take you the best part of a week. Or you could just accept that there’s something else going on, and focus on working out what to do now!”
Like I said, peacocking.
“Whatever happens, you are officially Employees of the Month. That’s genius!”
EEE!
why haven’t you patched the phone back through the console?”
Holy continuity, Batman!
“Music,” the Doctor replied, not meeting her eyes, at the same time as the Seeker said “Sex”.
“Huh?”
Oh great, now a little part of me wants Clara/Star Poet shipping....!!!
“You don’t say!”
*snerk*
Clara couldn’t speak. It was her. Like... looking in a mirror, except for a slightly different haircut and a Welsh accent. The other Clara was staring at the Doctor, wide-eyed, and clearly thrilled, not noticing anyone except him.
oooooooooooooooh I wasn't expecting this. *can't wait to see more* where in the episode canon are you placing this one?
Handsome Hero Guy
please say Jack flirts, please say Jack flirts,
please say Roda flirts, please say Jack flirts, please say Jack flirts....he shot her an inscrutable look as he unfolded the blanket (someone had cut a hole in the middle - how peculiar)
Peruvian folk band? Also she's in shock - look, she has a blanket!
So please tell me Doctor, because we already saw a woman die for you: What have you got?
For some reason he sounds like his Dad.
Did Jack say anything about where Roda is? Her battle TARDIS would come in really handy right about now.
The Seeker pays attention, good!
Also I wonder if the Seeker knows about Wick. Of all the people, he's probably the one who worked out something but I dunno if she'd have told him.The Seeker glared daggers.
“Oh yes, they’ve no idea who you are, clearly.”
Hee hee.
“I’m not an-”
*GASP!*
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Heh. But she doesn't know him. And she was warned not to trust the Doctor, and it turned out that she was the one to save him...
I like how you've got an OC that on occasion lives chronologically. It makes for a nice bit of wibbly wobbly which with the right writer is oodles of fun.
It also underlines the differences. :) And oodles is a great, great word!
I'd love to both see more of this, and more of the Twins. You're gonna have to help me when I go to write my regeneration fic.
I've just about got a handle on them now. Hope to use them more.
We're sad that things should come to this
We tried to warn you but oh noooooooooo...!
Uh-huh.
I FORGOT THIS PART!!
:D
Also did I ever tell you that the scientists studying the IRL bee disappearance are from my uni?
No, I don't think so. Cool.
Perfect way of putting it.
I didn't want to repeat all the exposition.
"See, boys?" Roda smirked. "You are capable of teamwork without trying to out-peacock each other."
Oh totally. They're just awkward.
*giggles* oh no now I've made myself sad thinking of Roda time travelling to get coffee beans for Ianto.
Oh noes. I shall think of happier things, like the fact that Ianto DOESN'T DIE!
I can imagine Roda slept there.
Yes, I guess so too.
Come now surely someone has taught him some of the rude words?
Yes, probably. But if Gallifreyan is long and convoluted (a la this) then it could be tricky to understand.
OC pain! *thumbs up* Good!
Poor Roda. But I'm glad I got it right.
I both love and hate them.
Heh.
star poet babies <3<3<3
Indeed. I don't know their names...
Holy continuity, Batman!
That, and the fact that the Seeker would find it IMPOSSIBLY annoying.
Oh great, now a little part of me wants Clara/Star Poet shipping....!!!
Mmmmmm. I don't think she'd go for it. Too much of a control freak to let them into her mind.
*snerk*
It is very satisfying to address the stupid lines!
oooooooooooooooh I wasn't expecting this. *can't wait to see more* where in the episode canon are you placing this one?
Yay! It wasn't something I was planning originally, but oh, it fitted perfectly. And I'm setting this [for Clara & the Dr] between NotD and DotD.
please say Jack flirts, please say Jack flirts, please say Roda flirts, please say Jack flirts, please say Jack flirts....
Now who do you take me for? When does Jack not flirt?
Peruvian folk band? Also she's in shock - look, she has a blanket!
ALL THE REFERENCES! :)
For some reason he sounds like his Dad.
The reason is, he's his father's son... (And the Doctor frustrates him endlessly.)
The Seeker pays attention, good!
The Seeker always pays attention! (Re. Wick, then he's probably made a guess.)
Hee hee.
More snark is always good. >:)
*GASP!*
\o/
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ETA: Oh. Gotcha. Swearwords - and Jack. Am just slow.
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I am so sorry I hadn't caught up until now, but this...it is like the icing on a perfect cake and you don't want to touch it because then it will be gone, but how can one resist?!
Beautiful.
Very much looking forward to the next chapter!!
*SQUISHES*
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♥ ♥ ♥
I am so sorry I hadn't caught up until now, but this...it is like the icing on a perfect cake and you don't want to touch it because then it will be gone, but how can one resist?!
Awww, that's a compliment and a half! And please don't worry, I'm useless at keeping up with anything myself. Plus I know you're busy. (I've no idea how you do everything you do...)
Beautiful.
Thank you. :)
Very much looking forward to the next chapter!!
I'm working on it, very slowly. (It will end on a cliffhanger I've had planned since 2008. I am a master of delayed gratification, clearly. *g*)
*squish*