Storm: Angel and Demon

Crimson Horror 2

Some days or weeks earlier

The Doctor and Clara infiltrated Sweetville, disguised as a married couple interested in joining the town Mrs. Gillyflower had built up. They passed Mrs. Gillyflower's recruitment test with flying colours although Clara still had one point of contention for the Doctor. Well, two points.

"Why're you talking like that?" Clara whispered to the Doctor as Mrs. Gillyflower took them on a tour of the town and the Doctor kept up a bad Yorkshireman accent. Bad, because although it was somewhat convincing it was extremely odd to Clara's ears.

"We're in Yorkshire, Clara, we should sound native." The Doctor answered. Clara gave up and moved on to the other thing that was bothering her.

"And why're we married?"

"Well, I can't have you wandering off on your own, Clara. We've got to stick together while we're here and the only way we can be sure to do that is if they think we're married." The Doctor whispered back, pretending to be very interested in the tour although he was far more interested in how silent the whole town seemed to be.

"But what're you going to do if Terry appears?" Clara whispered. The Doctor paused briefly.

"Didn't think of that. Well, I'm sure we'll figure something out." He shrugged before paying more attention as Mrs. Gillyflower started to wrap up the tour.

"Sweetville will provide you with everything you need. You won't have to worry about a thing ever again."

Clara tilted her head and, in her own accent, she piped up, "The name, Sweetville. Why not name it after yourself. After all, it's your creation."

"It is named in tribute to my partner." Mrs. Gillyflower answered and the Doctor cocked his head curiously.

"Your late partner?" He queried and Mrs. Gillyflower shook her head.

"No, my... silent partner."

The Doctor didn't miss the way Mrs. Gillyflower momentarily hesitated but the woman continued smoothly, "Mr. Sweet likes to keep himself to himself. Shall we move on?"

The Doctor and Clara exchanged glances but followed Mrs. Gillyflower as she stopped in front of one of the houses. The Doctor peered about.

"Who lives here?" He asked curiously and Mrs. Gillyflower waved her hand.

"Oh, names don't matter here. All you need to know is we only recruit the brightest and the best." She patted Clara as she spoke before she opened the front door.

Clara and the Doctor made to walk inside, but they stopped short at the sight before them. In the centre of the living room, sat at a tea table, were a man and a woman. That in itself might not have been too strange... except, they were under a giant bell jar. A pump to the side apparently fed the jar with air... but it was a wonder why they would need it at all as neither the man nor the woman moved at all. Instead, they remained as still as porcelain dolls, utterly frozen in mid-motion.

Before the Doctor and Clara could recover from their shock or fully process what was going on, they were surrounded by an army of people who looked as lifeless as the figures in the bell jar.

**************

Present

The Doctor shook his head as he finished recounting his story.

"I don't really recall what happened after that, next thing I remember is waking up just before we were all dropped into a vat of red goop, the venom I had found before. The process nearly killed me, but I survived; not the way I was supposed to though. I would have ended up in the canal with the others who didn't survive the process but Mrs. Gillyflower's blind daughter, Ada, noticed I was alive and saved me although she kept me locked up."