Identity and Change (Doctor Who)

Identity and Change is the sixth episode of the first series of Doctor Who produced by The 56Studios. It concludes the story of Identity Thief.

Story
Gallifrey, a very long time ago.

“Come on, Master,” the Doctor chuckled. “You really think that you can steal a TARDIS from the repair yards?”

“Of course I can!” he replied boldly with a smile on his face. “It’s not like they’re well-guarded or anything! It will be easy!”

“I’d like to see you try.”

“That’s what I’ll do for graduation,” he said. “They’ll never see it coming!”

They continued walking down the corridor. The two teenagers watched as other students bustled past them, either heading to classes or heading to their dorms. They were all loaded with bags that were filled with books, scrolls, and other materials.

As they walked, they spotted a girl sitting on a bench against the wall, furiously scribbling on a pad. Her hand moved so fast that it appeared to be a blur, a new page appearing on the screen every few seconds.

They watched her for a moment before the Master walked up to her.

“What are you doing?”

She finished her sentence before replying. “Studying,” she looked at them. “Shouldn’t you being doing the same?”

“We’ve got a free period,” the Doctor explained.

“Then you should use it study,” the girl returned to scribbling. “The exams are coming up.”

“I’m not too worried,” the Master smirked.

“Well, for those of us who actually care about not getting stuck in the Drylands, we’re going to study hard to achieve as much as we can.”

Silence hung between them before the Doctor spoke again.

“What’s your name?”

“Ushas. But everyone calls me the Rani,” she said without looking up.

The two glanced at each other. “Why do they call you that?” the Master asked.

“I don’t know,” the Rani replied. “Why do they call you the Doctor and the Master?”

“How do you know our names?” the Doctor scratched his head.

She looked up at them again. “I’m a genius. I figure these things out.”

Her tablet went dark, becoming nothing more than a bordered piece of glass. Sliding it back into her bag, she stood up, hoisted it over her shoulder, and turned to them.

“Now, I’m going to go somewhere to finish studying so that you two don’t bother me anymore.”

And with that, she turned and walked down the corridor, leaving the two teenagers to look after her.

“How-,” the Doctor stuttered in surprise. “How are you both here?”

“Well,” Missy said. “After I was taken back to Gallifrey along with Rassilon, I escaped before he tried to have me killed again. I escaped to the Drylands, but I was in bad shape. I knew I needed help. So I made my way back into the city and had a doctor fix my… condition. I think I found a TARDIS and escaped on the Last Day of the Time War.”

“I nearly died during the Time War,” the Rani began. “I was forced to regenerate after he – I mean she – abandoned me, leaving me to the Daleks. I managed to escape, and never went back.”

“Your regeneration was long overdue, to be honest,” she added.

The Time Lady’s eyes flashed. “You deliberately left me to die.” Missy shrugged.

Clara was beyond bewildered. “Okay,” she said, her voice cracking. “What in the actual hell is going on?!”

The Doctor turned to her. “They are Time Lords, and old enemies of mine. We grew up together on Gallifrey. Since then we’ve run into each other over the years.”

“Please,” Missy smiled. “I prefer the term ‘frenemy’.”

“So why are they here? Why did they do all of this? Why did they kill all of these people?” Clara asked, her voice still breaking.

“I actually did this,” the Rani stepped forward. “I did not know that Missy was going to be here, but her showing up is an added bonus to my bounty.”

Anger flashed in Clara’s eyes. “You killed Emily for a bounty? She was only sixteen years old! What is wrong with you?”

She advanced on the Time Lady when the Doctor grabbed her arm. Around them, the soldiers raised their weapons.

“Attack me if you like,” the Rani chuckled. “But you’ll find that you will certainly not survive the attempt.”

“So what do you want, Rani? Luring me here, using your clever boys to impersonate party guests, and killing everyone aboard, as well as rigging the ship to blow,” the Doctor said. “All for what?”

“For you,” she said.

“What do you want me with? Revenge?”

“I have a much higher purpose for you, Doctor,” the Rani. “But you’re just going to have to wait and see what it is.”

She looked to the armed men that surrounded them. “Take them to my TARDIS. Once we’re away from here, we’ll blow the ship.”

The soldiers nodded in unison and several stepped forward towards the three. Quickly, the Doctor began to speak again, trying to stall for as long as he could.

“Before we go, answer me one more thing: what are these things? How did they transform into people?”

The Rani smiled. “These are Replicators. They can replicate the physical attributes of any being, such as appearance, voice, and very basic personality traits. The only thing they can’t do is skim memories. They’re more or less manageable Zygons.”

“Where’d you acquire so many?” he asked.

“A source,” she replied. “Now. Enough stalling. I have a deadline to keep.”

Again, the Replicators resumed their advance. Watching them close in, Missy reached into her pocket and produced her device. The Doctor, Clara, and the Rani saw her do it.

“No-!” the Rani yelled, reaching for something in her pocket.

Ignoring her, Missy pressed the screen on the silver device. The pad glowed before there was a familiar, yet alien, wheezing that surrounded them. The Rani produced what appeared to be a handle from her jacket pocket and pointed it at them when their vision was obscured by a room materializing around them.

As it stabilized, the Doctor and Clara looked around in awe as they found themselves in a large room not dissimilar to the TARDIS console room.

“What-?” the Doctor gasped before Missy rushed past him towards the console.

“Out of my way!” she said. “We have to go!”

Pressing several buttons and turning several knobs, she reached for a lever and threw it down. At once the ship shuddered before the central column began to rise and fall. There was a groaning that filled their ears as the lights in the console room flickered.

As they began to drift into the vortex, Missy looked at them and smiled. “Welcome aboard, frenemies.”

Outside, the Rani watched the large metal cylinder begin to disappear. Eyes wide, she reached into her pocket and produced a circular black device. Squeezing it, it began to flash with a red light. Moving quickly forward, she slammed it against the hull of the ship as it vanished. It magnetized there before the ship was gone, and it with it.

She watched where it had been before an intense pain shot through her arm. Grabbing it, she watched as her hand shimmered in and out of focus, as if it wasn’t completely solid. Holding it tightly, she closed her eyes and concentrated. After several moments, the shimmering stopped.

Taking a deep breath, she looked at it for a moment before turning to her Replicators.

“Back to the TARDIS,” she ordered, walking forward towards the large doors. “We’ve got some unfinished business to attend to.”

The large number of soldiers followed her out into the large dark room. They walked across it to the other side, where they reached a pillar that appeared slightly out of place. Producing a key, she inserted it into a previously invisible lock and twisted. A door appeared and she entered, accompanied by her entourage.

Stepping into the console room, she crossed to the console and began to operate it. Several metal rings immediately shot up from the center and hovered there, coiling into a metal ball. An orange light appeared as she pulled a lever and they began to dematerialize.

“Don’t think you’re getting away from me that easily, Doctor,” she leaned on the console.

Gallifrey, a very long time ago.

“Master!” Ushas yelled as they chased the boy through the field. “Come back here!”

He ignored them, running faster. The Doctor and Ushas followed in his wake, trying to catch up. She continued to yell after the boy, demanding that he stopped.

“Stop!” she yelled. “Stop and give it back!”

“I don’t think so!” he replied. “It’s mine now.”

The sun blazed on them as the trio continued to run through the valley. The crimson grass glistened in the light. They panted as they ran, their lungs burning. But they continued, because they were determined to not stop.

Eventually, they came towards a chasm. The Master, seeing this, skidded to a halt. Behind him, the Doctor and Ushas stopped also. The Master chuckled.

“I guess I miscalculated where we were.”

Ushas stepped forward. “Give back what you stole, Master.”

He looked up as if he was considering it. He looked back, a smile on his face. “No, I don’t think I will.”

“Please, Master,” the Doctor said. “Just give back what you took. You don’t have to keep doing this. Please.”

“Funny how you take her side,” he said to his fellow Time Lord. “I guess that you always did have a soft spot for her.”

“If you do not return it,” Ushas snarled. “You will pay dearly!”

He laughed. “Is that a threat?”

She smiled. “Yes.”

Reaching behind her back, she pulled out a silver handle. Pointing it towards the Master, it suddenly transformed into a pistol. Energy crackled in the barrel. Both of the Time Lords’ eyes widened when they saw it.

“Ushas-,” the Doctor began.

The Time Lady cut across him, pointing her weapon directly at the Master. “Hand it over. Now.”

“You’re insane!” his face contorted with anger.

“Aren’t we all?”

A bolt of energy then erupted from her gun. It flew through the air and instantly struck the Master. He cried out in agony as the energy arched from his chest. The Time Lord swung around and fell to his knees, just mere inches from the edge of the cliff.

The Doctor watched in horror as Ushas trained her weapon him for another blow.

“No!” he yelled.

Just as she was about to fire, the Master got to his feet and turned around. His hands were glowing with a golden light. Looking up at them, his head began to glow also.

“You…” he said. “You’ve killed me…”

Lowering her weapon, Ushas watched with wide eyes. The Doctor did the same.

Rage filled the Master’s eyes. “You’re going to regret this,” he shook as the glowing became brighter. “One day, you will regret this.”

Outstretching his arms, energy began to radiate from his as he began to regenerate for the first time…

The ship shook slightly as it transited through the time vortex. The Doctor watched the time rotor rise and fall before turning to the Time Lady.

“Why were you at that party?” he asked.

“For you,” Missy replied. “I thought that was obvious?”

“But why, specifically?” the Doctor took a step closer. “Did you want to take some kind of revenge on me?”

“Oh no,” she twisted a knob. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”

“You have. Hundreds of times,” he said.

She considered this for a moment. “You’ve got me there.”

“But I came because I wanted to make sure you were alright,” she continued as she moved to another panel of the control console.

“Since when have you ever had my best interests at heart?” the Doctor asked.

“I know we’ve had our differences in the past – and still do – but after you spared my life at the end of time, I realized that we shouldn’t be enemies, but allies,” she grinned.

His eyes were wide. “Are you serious?”

“I wouldn’t have saved you if I wasn’t.”

“So what?” he said. “You’re good now?”

“Good?” she looked affronted. “Of course I’m not good! Just because I’m ready to be allies with you does not mean that I’ve turned good.”

The Doctor sighed. “Just when I had hope.”

The two children of Gallifrey looked at each other for a moment before the Doctor broke their gaze and looked to Clara, who was leaning on the railing that bordered the main deck.

“I’m going to go check on Clara,” he said before walking away.

The woman glanced at the Doctor as he came up beside her.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“No.”

He paused for a moment. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“Not really.”

“Good. Because I don’t want to either.”

Silence hung between them for a moment, the only sound being the groaning and hum of Missy’s TARDIS. Clara then sighed and began to speak.

“Why did she have to do it?”

“Do what?” the Doctor asked.

“Kill them?” she looked at him. “Why did they have to die? Why did Emily have to die? She was only sixteen. If she had been born in my time, she could’ve even been one of my students. Why did she have to die?”

“You feel regret?”

“I tried to save her, but they were too quick.”

“That’s not your fault, Clara,” he said. “The Rani only programmed the Replicators to spare you. The girl would’ve died either way.”

Her eyes narrowed. “We really need to work on your counseling skills.”

“But I’m right,” he replied.

“Counseling isn’t about being right,” Clara said. “It’s being there for someone.”

The two stood looking at each other. They were interrupted as an ear-piercing beeping filled the air. Accompanying the noise was a red flashing light. Turning, they saw Missy rushing around the console. Running over, they joined the Time Lady at the controls.

“What’s going on?” the Doctor came to a panel.

“I don’t know!” Missy responded. “I’ve never seen anything like this!”

The ship then lurched violently, knocking them off-balance. They stumbled away from the console before grabbing onto it for support. Another lurched sent then the other way, but they managed to keep their grip.

Readings on the screens were going haywire, flashing faster than they could be read.

“These readings,” the Doctor inspected one of them. “They’re impossible!”

“Well, they’re happening,” Missy said. “So obviously they are possible!”

He scowled at her when sparks suddenly erupted from the console. They all took a step back as they flew through the air. The ship lurched again, causing them to crash to the floor. A split second later, the room began to spin, the inertia pinning them to the ground. They tried to get up, but found it impossible.

The ship continued to hurtle through the vortex, their destination completely unknown. Sparks continued to rain down on them as they flew from the console.

“We have to get to the controls!” Missy said, trying to crawl across the floor.

“Physics has the edge on us!” the Doctor replied. “We cannot fight it!”

The spinning abruptly stopped, but the room titled vertically, sending them sliding along the deck. The Doctor fell over the edge and down to the lower deck, while Clara and Missy grabbed onto the supports for the railing. Another lurch sent the console room spinning the other way, sending them sliding the opposite direction.

Clara and Missy managed to grab onto the foot of the console, holding on as they were pulled towards the edge of the deck. Below them, the Doctor rolled across the floor of the lower section, unable to stop himself.

Missy was trying to climb up on the console to regain control of the ship when it shook violently, as if it had struck something. They crashed to the ground as the room stabilized. The lights then went out, being replaced by a dim red glow.

Slowly, they pushed themselves up.

“What was that?” Clara was the first to speak.

“I don’t know,” Missy tried to operate the controls. “But the ship’s dead.”

The Doctor climbed the stairs to the main deck. “You were hijacked,” he said with a slight limp.

She put her hands on her hips. “’Hijacked’?”

He came up to her, looking down because of their height difference. “Someone took remote control of your ship. I bet you can take a guess as to who.”

“The Rani,” her eyes widened.

“Precisely. And wherever we are is most undoubtedly a trap.”

The two Time Lords glared at each other for a moment. Clara stepped forward.

“So. What do we do?”

They turned to look at her. The Doctor smiled faintly.

“I like the way you think,” he said.

Stepping away from Missy, he began to circle the console. He held his hands together and rested them against his chin.

“The Rani brought us here for a specific purpose,” the Doctor began. “That purpose is most likely to capture me and Clara. Wherever we are, it is probably ideal for her plot. For all we know, she could’ve brought us into her own TARDIS.”

He stopped and turned towards them. “But she also could not have.”

“So what?” Missy leaned with one hand on the console. “That doesn’t help us figure out where we are.”

“There’s only one way to find out where we are,” he smiled.

Without another word, he made his way across the console room and to the large doorway. They opened as he approached.

“Doctor, wait-,” Clara said, but he was already stepping across the threshold.

Quickly, the two women followed the Doctor out into the unknown.

It was dark outside. Cold. Steam trailed from their mouths as they breathed. The rubble crunched under their feet as they stepped across it.

Clara held herself against the cold, shivering. “Where are we?”

Around them stood smashed and torched buildings. They were old buildings, looking to be Twentieth Century in construction. Shrapnel – bricks, metal and glass – literally the ground.

Pulling out his Sonic Screwdriver, the Doctor scanned the area before holding it up to see the readings.

“France, 1942,” he said.

“Why are we here?” Clara asked, stepping towards the Doctor.

He looked at her in thought for a moment before looking towards Missy’s TARDIS. Striding forward, he ran his hand along it. He then stopped on the side, looking at something. Raising the Sonic Screwdriver to it, he activated it. Nothing happened for a second before a circular object flickered into view. It then detached itself from the side of the ship and fell to the ground.

“What is that?” Missy asked, watching the Doctor pick up the device.

He examined it. “It’s a Dalek Hijacking Device from the Time War,” he pronounced.

Missy’s eyes widened before her face contorted with rage. She shook as she clenched her fists.

“That bitc-,” the Time Lady said before Clara cut across her.

“What is a Dalek Hijacking Device?”

“The Daleks used them during the early days of the Time War to take control of TARDISes and send them into stars or black holes as a way to discourage the use of time travel amongst the Time Lords to change the war,” the Doctor explained.

“They were supposed to be destroyed,” Missy replied.

“Then how does the Rani have one?” Clara asked.

He shrugged. “Probably nicked it.”

A powerful gust of wind then surged through the ruins. It was cold, chilling them to the bone. Clara was the only one who showed it, however, shaking as it hit her.

“Why is it so cold here?” she complained.

The Doctor took a deep breath. “It’s December.”

“Great.”

Silence hung between the three of them again.

“What we do now?” Clara spoke up.

“It’ll be about an hour until my TARDIS recharges,” Missy said. “We should just stay put until that happens.”

“The Rani brought us here for a reason,” the Doctor replied. “We should try and figure out what’s so special about this place.”

“But she also wants to capture us,” Clara stepped towards him.

“Of course she wants to capture us,” he looked at her. “But I want to know why she brought us here, specifically.”

“We should stay with the TARDIS,” the Time Lady stepped towards him. “We cannot afford to indulge curiosity.”

Clara nodded. “I agree. We should just stay here until we can leave.”

He looked at her for a moment when a bolt of energy came from nowhere and struck the ground between them. Earth and shrapnel shot up in all directions. They were momentarily stunned by the attack, but quickly regained their composure as more and more blasts came down on them. Dirt filled the air, blocking their view.

“Run!” Clara heard the Doctor yell through the debris.

She tried looking for him, but was forced to flee as the energy came closer and closer to where she was standing. Clara ran through the ruined streets, the projectiles following in her wake. After a few blocks, she took a hard right into an alleyway.

Backing against the wall, she breathed heavily as the blasts continued down the street before stopping moments later. Then everything went quiet. Standing still, she listened. Her body trembled as she did. Her eyes were wide and alert.

Yet, there was nothing.

After several minutes of waiting, Clara took a hesitant step towards the entrance to the alleyway when she heard something move in the distance. She immediately tensed, holding her breath. Another sound echoed down the street, followed by more. The woman inhaled sharply as she realized what they were.

They were footsteps.

Gathering her courage, she inched towards the street. Peering out, she saw six of the Replicators coming her direction. They had rifles in their hands and appeared to be searching for something. She realized that they were looking for her.

Retreating back into the alleyway, she pressed her back against the wall. She put her hand to her forehead and thought. They were going to be upon her any second. Looking around, she saw a small opening in the wall of one of the buildings. Acting quickly, she rushed towards it and ducked through the gap.

It was dirty and dark; dust and shrapnel covered the floor. Crouching uncomfortably, she became completely still and listened. She heard the footsteps of the Replicators right outside the alleyway, and her breathing became very shallow.

Sweat forming on her brow, she held her hands, closed her eyes, and lowered her head.

“Help me, Doctor,” she whispered.

Outside the alleyway, one of the Replicators stopped.

The Doctor and Missy continued running. Energy blasts followed them. No matter how many turns they made, however, the attacks continued to come. Both of the Time Lords were beginning to lose their momentum, though. Both were tired, and their bodies ached from the fleeing.

The two turned down another street, their adversaries just around the corner.

“In here!” Missy said, running towards a large building.

He watched her as she ran to the doors before following in her wake. The large doors were stuck when she first tried pushing on them. The Doctor came up beside her, both desperately trying to push the doors open. They could hear the Replicators approaching quickly. Desperately, the Doctor took a step backwards before rushing at the door with his shoulder.

There was a loud noise as he smashed through the doorway. Dust flew into the air as he fell to the ground beyond the threshold. Moving fast, Missy crossed into the building and slammed the doors shut.

Inside, neither of them moved. The Doctor stayed on the ground, while Missy stood with her back against the door. They were both listening, and were both waiting.

Outside, the Replicators entered the street, searching for the two Time Lords. They crept down the road, their guns armed and ready to fire.

Each footstep sent a chill through the Time Lords’ bodies. They were incredibly still, and incredibly tense.

They held their breathes as the convoy stopped outside the building. It was so quiet that they could hear the gentle hum of their guns from outside. The Doctor and Missy simply stared at each other, both doing everything in their power to stay absolutely still.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, they heard the Replicators start walking again, the sound of their footsteps disappeared down the street. It wasn’t until several minutes after they had gone, however, that the Doctor and Missy moved.

“That was close,” Missy said, peeling herself from the door.

The Doctor got up from the ground and dusted himself off. “Too close.”

Missy took a step forward and looked around the room. The Doctor looked also. It was a large hall, which they assumed had been the village’s assembly building. What appeared to be a crescent desk lay destroyed at the end of the room.

“Interesting place,” she observed.

“Quite,” he replied.

“How long should we stay here?” she asked.

He ran a hand through his hair. “We can’t wait long. Clara’s still out there and I need to find her.”

“Clara’s pretty special to you, isn’t she?” Missy took a step towards him.

“She’s my friend.”

“Yeah,” she nodded. “But you really care about.”

“I care about everyone who travels with me,” the Doctor replied. “You’d know that if you hadn’t devoted your whole life to evil.”

“Are you really looking to have an argument now?”

“Why not?” he shot back. “We might be dead in a few minutes.”

A female voice filled the room. “You would be correct.”

Turning, they saw the Rani walking towards them weapon in hand. The two moved to grab their devices from their pockets, but the Time Lady raised her weapon to them.

“Don’t even try it,” she said. “You’re not slipping through my grasp so easily this time.”

“I’m not going with you, Rani,” the Doctor replied.

“You have no choice,” she scowled. “I have a deadline to keep.”

“And what deadline would that be?” the Time Lord asked. “Is someone making you do this? I can help.”

Her expression darkened. “You can only help me by handing yourself over.”

“We’re at an impasse, then, old friend,” he furrowed his brow.

The Rani’s gun began to glow with energy. She narrowed her eyes.

“A shame.”

Gallifrey, a long time ago.

Fires burned across the city. Tall, dark plumes of smoke filled the sky. Gunfire echoed through the dark night. Cries for help and cries of death followed shortly after.

Through the carnage, two figures ran. One was a man, and the other was a woman. They stayed close together as they ran, guns in hand, and were continually looking over their shoulders.

After a while they came to a crossroads.

“Where do we go?” the Rani asked.

“I don’t know,” the Master replied, looking both ways.

“Come on!” she urged. “We don’t have much time! The Daleks could come at any moment!”

He looked at her angrily. “I don’t see you offering suggestions!”

She was about to step towards him when they both heard something approaching them from the right. Readying their weapons, they turned to see a familiar figure coming towards them.

“What are you two doing here?” the War Doctor looked at them in surprise.

“Getting the hell out of here,” the Rani responded.

“You’d better,” the aging man rasped. “This whole city’s about to go up in flames!”

“How do you know?” the Master asked.

The Doctor’s expression became dark. “Because I’m gong to do it.”

“You can’t!” the woman objected.

“I must,” he returned. “For the sake of Gallifrey; this city must fall.”

The three looked at each other for a moment. They stopped when they heard something else approaching.

“EXTERMINATE!” echoed in their ears.

“Go!” the Doctor yelled, readying his weapon. “I’ll hold the Daleks off!”

The three exchanged another glance before the man turned and ran towards the Daleks. They watched as he disappeared into the smoke. Gunfire rang out moments later.

“We should run,” the Master said.

“Agreed.”

The two Time Lords took off again, running through the abandoned streets of the city. Their feet struck the ground and their hearts beat in their chests. Constantly looking over their shoulders, sweat glistened on their foreheads.

After a while, the Master’s eyes lit up.

“We’re almost there!”

Directly ahead of them stood his TARDIS, disguised as a downed Dalek gunfighter craft.

“Are you sure?” she asked.

“Positive!”

“It’s just that the last time-,” the Rani began to say before she was interrupted by a voice screaming through the night.

“EXTERMINATE!”

A blue beam of light cut through the darkness and hit the Time Lady. She stopped where she was, her body contorting. She screamed as her skin became blue and clear, revealing her skeleton. A second later, the light disappeared. Swaying and standing still for a moment, she collapsed to the ground, smoke trailing from her body.

The Master skidded to a halt and saw her laying there. He looked up and saw six Daleks approaching from another street.

He smirked.

“Sorry, but it’s about time you regenerated, my dear. I said you’d regret it.”

Shouldering his gun, he turned and ran away. Behind him, the Daleks approached the Rani as she lay on the ground.

“THE TIME LORD IS DISABLED!” one said, looking at her.

On the ground, she managed to open her eyes enough to see her hands begin to glitter with golden light.

“THE FEMALE BEGINS TO REGENERATE!” another yelled.

One slid forward. “MAXIMUM EXTERMINATION!”

Together, the six Daleks pointed their weapons at her.

Now.

The Replicator made its way down the alleyway. She could hear the hum of its weapon as it drew closer. Sweat dripped from her brow, silently hitting the dirty ground. Her breathing was shallow and quiet. Her heart pounded in her chest.

Broken glass crunched under the robot’s feet as it stopped just outside her hiding place. Clara held her breath as it looked around. It stood still for a moment before it turned its body towards her. She gasped when it suddenly bent over and reached its hand towards her.

Moving quickly, she rolled out into the alleyway under the Replicator. Shooting up, Clara was forced back down as the robot swung at her head. Stumbling backwards, she saw the droid raise its hand to her before a pistol materialized from it. Energy pulsated in the barrel before launching forward. She ducked as it flew over her head and hit the ground.

“Stand still,” the Replicator said, unleashing another blast, which Clara dodged. “This will not hurt.”

“I doubt that!” she yelled as the wall exploded next to her.

Running forward, she lunged at her attacker, which she thought was her only chance to find a way out. Grabbing onto its gun, she struggled as it tried to fire at her. Blasts went off in all directions as the two tussled for the pistol. One came so close to the woman, in fact, that it singed her dress. She let out a scream as she was swung around by the robot, still desperately holding onto its weapon.

They continued to struggle for a moment before the Replicator, with its immense strength, shoved her away. Clara stumbled backwards, almost falling over.

Finding her footing, Clara looked up and saw the Replicator was standing there, watching her closely. She looked at it with confusion before she realized that she felt something cold in her hand. Looking down, she saw that she had its weapon in her hand.

The Replicator took a step towards her and raised its hand. In the blink of an eye, Clara raised her gun, took aim, and fired. A blast of blue energy shot forth and struck her assailant. It came to an immediate stop mid-stride. There it stood for a few moments before it took a step back and fell to the ground.

To her surprise, it shattered on impact, millions of minuscule black cubes spreading across the dirty floor. She stood there in shock, lowering her gun and watching the pile of cubes.

Something moved outside the alleyway in the street. Turning around, she saw three more Replicators approaching her. They raised their guns towards her. Acting purely on instinct, Clara trained her own gun on them and opened fire. She struck all three of them in rapid succession. Like the first, they stood still for a moment before falling to the ground and shattering.

Lowering her gun, she took several deep breaths. Her heart was still pounding in her chest, and she knew that more Replicators were still patrolling the city. She also knew that she had find the Doctor.

Making sure her gun was loaded, she ran forward, out of the alleyway, and off to find the Doctor.

“Please, Rani,” the Doctor pleaded. “Don’t do this. Please.”

“You’ve left me no choice,” she replied.

“Of course you have a choice,” Missy said. “Don’t be stupid.”

The Rani looked at her fellow Time Lady. “Why are you defending him? You’ve always hated each other.”

“I had an epiphany.”

“Seems like you’ve gotten soft,” she retorted.

Missy shrugged. “Maybe.”

“It doesn’t have to be this way,” the Doctor took a cautious step towards her. “It doesn’t. I can help you.”

“I told you that you’ll help me by surrendering yourself,” she held her weapon firmly aimed at the Time Lord.

“Don’t be stupid!” he growled. “You know that I won’t give myself up willingly!”

“Why can’t you just stun him?” Missy asked.

The Rani glared at her. “It doesn’t do that.”

“It only kills,” the Doctor looked down. “You haven’t changed at all.”

She nodded. “I know.”

Reaching into her jacket pocket, she pulled out a small device. Holding it to her mouth, she pressed a button on its side and spoke into it.

“Execute Clara Oswald,” she said, staring at the Doctor.

The Doctor barred his teeth. “No!”

“Surrender yourself and she will be spared,” the Rani replied.

He stood there for several moments before stepped towards her. “Alright. I surrender.”

Missy’s eyes widened in surprise. “What? What are you doing?”

“Clara is in danger,” he said. “This is the only way to save her.”

“Don’t be ridiculous! She isn’t important enough to give yourself up like this! No one is! No one is that important-!”

“She’s important to me,” he snapped, turning and bearing down on her. “She is more important to me than anything. I know you can’t comprehend that, either because you don’t have the capacity or have been corroded by hatred for so long. She is important to me, and I have to protect her!”

“For all that you know, she could already be dead!” Missy shot back.

He was about to say something when the door suddenly burst open. They all turned towards it and saw Clara stepping across the threshold, gun in hand. She pointed it at the Rani as she absorbed the scene.

“Clara!” the Doctor exclaimed.

“What?” the Rani said in shock. “How?”

“You shouldn’t make your gun universally accessible,” Clara smiled smugly. “Anyone could use them.”

“How did you manage to get one of them?” Missy asked.

“Had to wrestle a Replicator for my life,” she replied. “I won.”

The Time Lady turned to the Doctor. “Okay. Now I see why you like her.”

Raising her gun, the Rani turned her aim to the woman. “Where are my Replicators? How did you get past them?”

“I shot them,” Clara said. “I thought that was obvious?”

An intense rage was obviously boiling inside the Rani. Her body shook as she continued to aim at the woman.

“Everything I have worked for… taken down by a child? This cannot be!” the Time Lady roared.

“Life’s disappointing that way, isn’t it?” Clara said defiantly.

In a blind fury, the Rani fired her weapon. A bolt of orange energy shot from the dishes of her gun and flew at the woman. Clara immediately dove to the ground, the bolt hitting the door behind her and exploding. Missy retrieved her device from her pocket and fired blasts of fatal energy from it. The Rani dodged them and fired back, forcing Missy to jump out of the way.

The Doctor produced the Sonic Screwdriver and moved to point it at the Rani when she aimed her weapon at them. They stood there, neither one acting first.

“Please, Rani,” the Doctor said. “End this.”

“I can’t,” she said through gritted teeth. “I can’t.”

“Why not?” he asked. “Who’s making you do this?”

“If you would just surrender, it wouldn’t have to be this way.”

“Who’s making you do this?” he repeated.

“I…” she seemed to struggle to find her voice. After a moment, she regained her composure. “Surrender. Final warning.”

“Rani please!” he said fiercely. “This has to end! Too many people have died!”

“Not enough,” she replied. The disks of her weapon lit up again as she readied to fire.

A blast of blue light suddenly came from the ground and grazed the Rani’s arm. It became limp, dropping her weapon. Both Time Lords looked to see Clara kneeling on the ground, gun in hand. The two women watched each other for a moment before she fired about blast. The Rani managed to dodge it before Clara fired another, and another, and another.

Running backwards, the Rani dodged her numerous attacks before reaching for her limp arm. She found a bracelet that had been hidden by her sleeve and pressed it.

Looking at the Doctor one more time, she disappeared with a loud crack, before everything went quiet.

Clara watched the spot where the Rani had been before getting up and rushing to the Doctor. She embraced him, and he awkwardly hugged her back.

To the side, Missy got up off the dirty ground and watched them.

“I thought that I was going to die out there,” Clara said to the Doctor. “I really thought I would.”

“So did I,” he replied.

“Are you okay?” she asked him, releasing him from her embrace.

“Never better. You?”

“Fine, now that I’m not a split second from death.”

He watched her for a moment before he spoke again.

“We should probably get going.”

“Good, because I’m freezing and I hate this place,” Clara smiled.

He reflected it faintly before turning to where Missy had been.

“Missy, do you mind-?”

But she was gone. The Time Lady had disappeared from where she had been moments prior.

“Where’d she go?” Clara asked, looking around.

“I don’t know, but she was our ticket out of here,” the Doctor replied.

“You mean she abandoned us here?”

“Wouldn’t be the first time.”

She took a step towards him. “What do we do?”

“I-,” he began to say when he was interrupted by a faint wheezing coming from outside. The two exchanged glances before rushing for the door.

Coming out into the cold and into the dim light, the two stopped outside the front doors. In the street in front of them was the TARDIS, glowing brightly in the darkness. It hummed as they stepped towards it.

Clara was bewildered. “How did it get here?”

The Doctor, running his hand across the wooden door, sighed.

“Missy.”

Her TARDIS groaned as it transited through the time vortex. The console hummed as she leaned on it.

She had failed. The Doctor had foiled her plans yet again. How many times was she going to lose to him? How many times was he going to outsmart her?

Sighing, the Rani held her head. Quietly, she longed for the days when they were simply children competing for attention on Gallifrey. Back when they were merely academic rivals, not mortal enemies. She longed for the days when she, the Doctor, and Missy got along and tried to push the limits of what the Time Lords deemed possible.

Those were the days.

The Rani moved to place her hands back on the console when her right hand began to shimmer again. She quickly held her arm as her hand flickered in and out of focus. Pain ran through her body as she closed her eyes and concentrated.

A second later, the pain got worse, forcing her to her knees. She cried as her hand went further and further out of sight, spreading to the rest of her body.

Closing her eyes, she called on all her strength. She focused when the pain suddenly disappeared.

Opening her eyes, she saw that her hand had stabilized.

Getting up, the Rani leaned on the console, and with one last look at her hand, turned her attention to the coiling ball of glowing metal at the center of her control console. She did this as she continued further into the time vortex.

Characters

 * Twelfth Doctor
 * Clara Oswald
 * Missy
 * The Rani
 * Replicators
 * First Doctor
 * War Doctor
 * First Master
 * "Yana" Master
 * First Rani
 * The Daleks

Trivia

 * This story features cameos by the First Doctor and the War Doctor, the first Master and the "Yana" Master, and the original Rani.
 * The story also features a cameo appearance by the Daleks, before their official debut in Space.