Lyssa didn't have much time to worry as a swell of nausea arose. Curling her arms across her stomach and closing her eyes against the colors swirling in front of her, she leaned against the wall, hoping the cool metal would help ease the aching in her head. She heard what may have been footsteps approaching - although that may have just been the throbbing in her head - but couldn't be bothered to use the energy to open her eyes and check.
"Lyssa? When did - are you all right?" a male voice asked, one she didn't recognize.
She mumbled something that hopefully encompassed her situation and feelings in one go, but didn't look up.
"....Right." There was another pause. "I'm gonna assume that's a no, then. Doctor?" they raised their voice to call down the hallway. "Lyssa's here, and I think something's wrong."
There was a sound of several pairs of clattering footsteps before a Scottish voice spoke close to her ear. "Lyssa? What's wrong?"
She reluctantly forced open her eyes, wincing at the piercingly bright light before it mercifully dimmed. Crouched in front of her was the blurry image of the Doctor's Twelfth form, two more vague shapes behind him. "Doctor?" she asked in relief. "Am I in the TARDIS, then?"
"I'm here," he said softly. "We're in my TARDIS. What's wrong?"
She swallowed down another wave of nausea. "It hurts. And I feel so sick. Why does it hurt so much?" she whispered.
He frowned, running his eyes along her body, stopping when he saw her neck. "You're too early for it to be them, but your eyes..." he muttered, before inspiration seemed to strike. "Lyssa, where were you last, and how long had it been since you jumped?"
She tried to think past the throbbing in her head. "I don't... um... Eleven. After the Pandorica. We were there for a couple months. You said... after what happened, I might not be jumping for a while."
He sat back and sighed in relief, closing his eyes briefly. "Never mind, then. I know what this is. Just take deep breaths, Lyssa. You should be feeling better soon."
Right then she would have settled for able to sit up straight, but she obediently closed her eyes and concentrated on taking deep breaths. After several unpleasant minutes, the nausea began to fade, and while she was still dizzy, she no longer had a piercing headache when she opened her eyes.
She hesitantly shifted to sit up straight, grateful when her stomach didn't protest the motion. She turned her attention to the Doctor, and frowned when he still looked blurry, albeit more clear than before. The people behind him were still nothing more than vague blobs of color.
"Do you feel better now?" the Doctor asked, watching her closely.
She nodded slowly. "Yeah. Everything looks a little blurry, but I don't feel sick anymore." She paused. "How come it hurt so much? I've never gotten sick after jumping before, and it never hurt like that either."
Her only answer was a grimace as he got to his feet with a groan, holding out a hand to help her up. She took it gratefully, releasing him when she was upright once more, but overestimated her ability to balance and stumbled forward into the man behind the Doctor.
"Must we always meet this way?" he said jokingly. "You keep stumbling into my arms." She blinked up at him in confusion. From what she could make out, he was a tall man, with dark hair that curled around the brown top hat he wore, and a brown leather jacket over a maroon paisley shirt with a matching tie.
"Who are you?" she asked bluntly, before stopping. "Wait. That was rude. But who are you?" she asked again, frowning. He was still somewhat blurry, and the swirling design of his shirt was rather distracting. But she couldn't help but feel that he looked somewhat familiar.
"You... don't know who I am?" the man faltered, taken aback.
"Look at her," the woman beside him whispered. "She's still really new. She probably doesn't know who I am either." She stepped forward. "Have you met me yet? I'm Clara Oswald."
Lyssa turned to look at her, carefully stepping away from the taller man, noticing his sigh as she did so. The shorter woman had dark hair that fell gently to her shoulders, and was wearing a red flannel shirt underneath a green jacket, and had a bracelet covered in different colored jewels on her wrist.
She summoned a smile, holding out a hand in greeting. "No, I haven't met you before, but it's nice to meet you. I'm Lyssa, but you probably already knew that."
"It's all right," Clara assured her, shaking her hand. "I understand. And since you clearly haven't met him, I'll introduce him for you," she added, nudging the man standing next to her. "This here's the Ranger to most people, although I call him Hatter sometimes, on account of that hat he wears. We picked him up on some planet, and decided to keep him for now. Jury's still out on whether or not he'll stick around."
The... Ranger, apparently, huffed. "Oh, sure, ignore all the clarifying details to what actually happened," he complained, not actually looking that upset. He turned to Lyssa. "She's just jealous that my hat is so fantastic," he told her in a confiding tone, giving his hat a toss before setting it cockily back on his head and giving her a friendly grin.
Lyssa bit back a smile as Clara made a very clear negative response to that. "So... the Ranger, huh?" she said, eyeing him curiously. She was pretty sure he'd never existed in canon, or at least not in any of the episodes she'd ever seen. Maybe this was like what Eleven had been talking about a few months earlier, when he'd said that things were different even without her changing things.
The Doctor and Clara both seemed to trust him, and she trusted them, so she relaxed, giving him a friendly smile. "Is your name like the Doctor's?" she asked curiously. "Or did your parents actually name you 'The Ranger'?"
"So... technically no," he hedged. "I have a real name, of course. But in my line of work of being awesome and helping people, sometimes people get offended. Just - just a tiny bit," he pinched his fingers close together. "But I didn't want it getting back to my family, so I took on a different name. And 'Ranger' was way cooler than 'The Hobo' like some people," he glared pointedly at the Doctor, "suggested."
The Doctor shrugged, unbothered. "If the name fits."
"Which it doesn't," the Ranger sulked. "These clothes look amazing, and you know it." He ran his hands down his jacket, smoothing out a few imaginary wrinkles. "Anyway, I can also go by Jamie -" his eyes caught on her necklace and he faltered. "Uh. But. Only to certain people. Like the Doctor."
"Is it like one of those nickname things from your friends?" she asked curiously.
"Ye-es?" the Ranger agreed slowly, not sounding entirely certain.
"Also because I have blackmail material on him and he knows it," the Doctor smirked. "Anyone else, because of spoilers. Well, and some of them have blackmail material on him too in the future. But mostly because of spoilers."
"That's fair," Lyssa nodded, swaying slightly at the motion and reaching a hand out to the wall to steady herself. "Ah, I don't mean to be rude, but is there somewhere I can sit down?" she asked sheepishly. "My balance apparently isn't quite back yet."
"Ah, yes. Didn't mean to leave you standing like a pudding brain," the Doctor said apologetically, taking her gently by the arm and leading her down the hallway. "I was actually just about to drop Clara and the Ranger off when you showed up," he mentioned as they entered the console room, showing her to a seat by the door. "You might want to buckle-up," he added offhandedly as he moved to the console. "Your sense of balance is still off."
Lyssa glanced down at the buckle in her lap, thinking of the usual chaos that occurred while traveling, and grimaced. Yeah, she was definitely going to need it. After struggling with the latch, she managed to buckle-up right as they set off, the others clinging to the console.
The Doctor's newest regeneration's driving skills had not improved with age.
He landed them with a flourish. "Here we are! Same time you left, same place." He glanced at the monitor. "Ish."
Clara stopped halfway to the door, looking back at him. "'Ish'?" She repeated with a frown. "Don't give me an ish!"
"These readings are very ishy," the Doctor defended himself, thrusting a finger at the screen in demonstration.
The Ranger... or Jamie, apparently, joined him. "He's right. They're a bit... off."
Not paying attention to either of them, Clara opened the door and paused before stepping out. "Er, Doctor?" she started, glancing back with an uncertain expression.
Lyssa frowned, seeing a flash of gold in the corner of her eye. When she turned, though, there was nothing there.
"What?" the Doctor asked, not looking up from the screen.
"I... think you should see this," she answered.
Now incredibly curious, Lyssa made her way over to the other girl with the two men. Things were still blurry, but she could definitely make out that the doorway was noticeably smaller than it should have been, causing the Doctor and the Ranger to have to crouch slightly.
"Well." The Doctor raised his eyebrows, peering outside. "Well, I wonder what caused this? I don't think we're bigger, are we?" he asked.
Clara ignored them both, pointing to a sign in the distance. "Bristol?" she said incredulously. "Doctor, we're in Bristol!"
"And a hundred and twenty miles from where we should be. Impressive," the Ranger said with a smirk.
Lyssa turned to him in surprise. That phrase sounded familiar. He saw her looking and shot her a wink.
"No, this is annoying," Clara said flatly, unamused.
"Are you kidding?" he countered. "I've outgrown the TARDIS! That's... both cool and concerning," he decided.
"No, this is annoying," the Doctor agreed with Clara. "The TARDIS never does this. This is huge! Well, not literally huge. Slightly smaller than usual, actually," he amended. "Which is huge!"
"Yes. I get it. You're excited. When can the Ranger and I leave?" Clara asked impatiently.
"Your house isn't going anywhere," the Doctor pointed out. "And neither is mine until I get this figured out. Could you not just let me enjoy this moment of not knowing something?" he grumbled. "I mean, it happens so rarely. Look, I don't think this is dangerous, but I wouldn't like you to get squished accidentally. Anyway, I need you to help me find out what's caused this," the Doctor explained. "Lyssa's not up to an adventure just yet, but we need eyes on the outside."
"Well, you're in luck!" the Ranger declared. "I happen to have two eyes at your service! Clara and I can go take a look. C'mon, Clara," he pleaded with the unamused woman. "It'll still be a date! Just... a surprise. To both of us!"
Clara sighed. "Fine," she conceded. "We'll see if anything's off outside. But you're going to make this up to me later," she warned him.
"Whoo!" he cheered, throwing his arms in the air. "We're going on an adventure!"
"I feel like I'm going to regret this," Clara muttered as they left, shutting the door behind them.
Lyssa stared after them for a moment, then turned and slowly made her way over to the console, gripping onto the edges when her legs threatened to give way. "So... what's actually going on with me?" she asked. "You clearly know."
The Doctor sighed, flipping levers and inputting data. "Do you remember what I told you last time? That you wouldn't be jumping for a while because of the whole deal with the," he waved his hands in the air. "Universe resetting and all that?" She nodded, looking to the side of him curiously when she saw a golden form flitting past him, twirling before disappearing in a shower of gold sparkles.
"The reason you jump is to save your life, like I told you then," he started. "What I didn't tell you, was that your body has the Time Vortex continually running through it, filling up with that energy."
She frowned. "But... I already knew that the Time Vortex ran through me. That's what makes me jump... right?"
He hesitated, then shook his head. "Not necessarily. The energy of the Time Vortex was never meant to be contained in a physical form. That's why Bad Wolf was such a dangerous event, one that never should have happened, and killed me when I tried to take it in. Now, when you were struck by the time storm, it changed your body enough that you were able to carry it without burning up immediately. Like a reservoir, of sorts. But it's still deadly, even for you. So, in order to keep you alive, you jump across time, using up the energy that's been building up inside of you. So when you don't jump for an extended period of time..."
"The energy builds up to fatal levels," she finished, a pit of dread forming in her stomach. "That's why I feel so sick? Because I didn't jump for several months?" Her eyes widened, seeing a golden man step out of the hallway behind the Doctor, carrying a limp form in his arms, his head down. Grief was evident in his expression, before they, too, disappeared in a shower of gold.
He sighed, drawing his attention back to her. "Not just that. It's been almost a thousand years for me since the Pandorica. Which means you had to use up enough energy to cross that time span. But it's even more than that. You had to use up all the energy that had been accumulated while you were with 'Chinny,'" he mocked his old self, gesturing to his chin. "And to do that, you jumped over a thousand years. But that still wasn't enough. That's why you can't see us normally - your vision is split, between the present, and events both future and past."
She stepped back. "H-how did you know I was seeing... whatever they are?" she demanded, eyes wide with shock. "And how do you know what they are?"
One of the thick gray lines on his face lifted so she could only assume he raised his eyebrow at her, but she could hear the sarcasm in his brogue when he spoke. "I have known you for centuries, you know. I've had plenty of time to figure you out. Well, mostly. But I can always tell when you're seeing things that aren't happening in this timeline. You know why?"
She wasn't sure she wanted to know the answer at this point - who knew what it would be - but asked anyway. "Why?"
Gold flashed off to the side, and almost involuntarily, her gaze flickered over to a man and a woman, standing off to the side. More clear than anything else she'd seen recently, they both seemed unhappy about something. They glanced up in the distance, and then the woman rippled and exploded into a burst of gold. Lyssa sucked in a startled breath as the man fell to his knees in grief before he, too, faded away.
She turned back to the Doctor and flinched, finding he'd approached her while she was distracted, and was now only a short distance away. His face was too blurry to make out clearly, but she could feel his concern in the way he gently raised a hand to touch her arm.
"Because of your eyes," he told her softly.
She frowned. "What's wrong with my eyes? Aside from the fact that I'm apparently seeing two different time streams at once."
He shook his head. "Not two different time streams. Lyssa... you're seeing all of time at once right now. You can't jump right now. It's too soon. So your body's releasing the extra energy in the form of visions of the future and past only you can see. And I know that you're seeing it, because your eyes are golden right now."
"What?" she said incredulously, staring up at him and bringing her hands to her face as if she could feel the change in color. "What's wrong with my eyes?" she cried.
"Fairy-girl," he said calmly, gently taking her hands and bringing them down away from her face. "It's all right," he reassured her. "It's happened before when there's too much energy. Once your levels are back to normal, your eyes will go back to the original color. It's not permanent, and it's not dangerous. It's actually a good sign, because it means your body's working to stabilize, rather than being too weak to handle it."
"But..." she started before trailing off weakly, unsure what she was even going to say.
"You'll be fine, I promise," he assured her, giving her hands a gentle squeeze. She couldn't help but stare at him in surprise. The Twelve she remembered had been very closed off, physically, except for maybe with Clara in later episodes. But he was acting like his past selves, although that may have been because she wasn't feeling well at the moment. Maybe he'd close off once she no longer needed his help, although she couldn't say she was looking forward to it after so long with Eleven, who had been so free with his affectionate touches.
"Will it... hurt like this again?" she asked nervously to distract herself. "When I jump again, or if I jump this far across your timeline?"
He shrugged. "It shouldn't. You've burned off the worst of it by jumping here, and now that you've experienced jumping across a greater span of time, your body has begun to grow used to it. It will still be unpleasant, but there won't be as much energy to wear off." An alarm suddenly started blaring, making them both jump. "That wasn't me, was it?" the Doctor asked, before looking around. "Ah. Well, that can't be good," he muttered, staring at a screen.
"If the door is any indication, it's definitely not," Lyssa pointed out grimly, glancing at the door... which had now shrunk so small as to be unusable.
The console beeped, and then Clara's voice filled the TARDIS. "Hey, I think I've found something. People are missing all over the estate. Do you think there's a connection?"
"Could be," the Doctor hedged, frowning at the screen and typing in a series of commands, looking even less happy with the results. Lyssa moved over next to him, but the screen was too blurry to read - and she doubted she'd have been able to understand them even if she had.
"And... where are you?" Clara asked.
"Exactly where I was," the Doctor said flatly.
"You're not. I'm here and I can't see - oh." Clara cut herself off.
"Yes, oh," the Doctor repeated grumpily.
She started laughing. "Oh, my gosh. That is so adorable. Are you both in there?"
"Yes, we are. And no, it's not adorable. This is very, very serious," the Doctor said grumpily.
"So is this more shrink ray stuff? Are you tiny in there?" Clara asked.
"No. We're exactly the same size. It's merely the exterior dimensions that have changed," he explained, opening the door, which was by now much smaller, and peering out, only his face able to be seen. "Stop laughing, this is serious," he complained.
Lyssa snorted. "Yeah, Clara, time to face facts," she teased.
"Yeah, well, I can't help it, can I, with you and your big old face. How are you going to get out?" Clara asked, stopping her laughter with difficulty. The Ranger seemed to have no such inhibitions, and his rolling laughter could plainly be heard, bringing a smile to Lyssa's face.
"Well, obviously I can't. Something nearby is leeching all the external dimensions," the Doctor explained with a grumble, pulling back and allowing Lyssa to make out the blurry faces of the Ranger and Clara looking in. She waved, and heard Clara snicker as she returned the gesture.
The Ranger, however, no longer seemed as light-hearted after the Doctor's explanation, and peered at them with concern. "Are you both all right in there?" he asked, leaning forward. "Is it hurting you?"
Lyssa shook her head. "We haven't felt anything," she called over the Doctor's shoulder. "So far, we're doing fine."
"So... is it aliens?" Clara asked after a minute.
"Possibly. Oh, who am I kidding?" he said in exasperation. "Probably. Sensors are down and I can't risk taking off with it in this state. Clara, I need you to pick up the TARDIS. Carefully. It should be possible. I've adjusted the relative gravity. I'd have Jamie do it, but he's got coordination issues, and I'd rather not be dropped, thank you very much."
"Are you saying you made it lighter?" Clara asked over the Ranger's vehement denials and protests about his natural grace.
"Clara, it's always lighter," the Doctor said, as if it should have been obvious. "If the TARDIS were to land with its true weight, it would fracture the surface of the Earth."
"Definitely not something we need to be dealing with on top of this. So what now?" she asked.
"I've managed to get a rough fix on the source of the dimensional leeching. It's northwest. That way," he gestured, sticking his hand out of the TARDIS door and pointing.
"Please don't do that. That's just wrong," Clara complained.
"Yeah, that is just a little bit... creepy," the Ranger agreed. "Disembodied hand. Like the Thing from the Adams family."
Lyssa frowned. This all seemed incredibly familiar to her. One of the episodes, perhaps? It had to be, she just needed to remember which one. Movement on the other side of the console caught her attention. A little girl, washed in gold, stood there, playing happily with some hidden object.
Then inhumanly long fingers reached out, gripping her by the shoulders and dragging her back as her face filled with terror. Her silent screams faded along with her as she was pulled into the shadows, and Lyssa, watching with wide eyes, stretched a hand uselessly out after her.
"Lyssa?" The Doctor's voice snapped her out of it. She turned back to look at him and found him watching her with concern. "Are you all right?" he asked quietly. "Is it the visions? Are they getting worse?"
She frowned. "I don't..." Her eyes flickered off to the side, following a trail of gold sparkles. As much as she wanted to stay focused on the present, and figure out what was going on, when the gold appeared, it was almost as if everything else faded from her focus, leaving only the gold for her to concentrate on. So even when the visions seemed unhappy, like the one now, where there was only an empty cradle and a hunched figure silently rocking it, she couldn't help but follow it until it faded.
A hand on her shoulder brought her back to the present once again. His face was closer now, and looking very worried. "- doing that. Lyssa, can you hear me? You need to stay with me, all right? It's important. Lyssa, do you understand what I'm saying?"
She blinked away the gold and found his face was less blurry. "I can hear you," she said distractedly. "How come that keeps happening?"
He frowned. "It does seem to be more extreme this time. Perhaps because of the how long it's been since you jumped. Or whatever is happening to the TARDIS, you two do have a connection. Just... stay with me, all right? I can't run any tests right now with how the TARDIS is being affected. There's something else going on, and until I know what, please stay by me. The more you stay in the present, the better."
She nodded worriedly. "No disagreement from me! Although... it went away when you touched me. Is it the same reason our hands get warm? Because we both have some form of Time in our bodies?"
He shrugged, not meeting her eyes. "Hard to say. Best to stay close, just in case." He gave her one last look before walking over to the screen and looking it over, examining whatever Clara's glasses were showing.
Lyssa paused. She didn't remember the Doctor giving them to her, so... how did she know Clara had them? She shook her head. It had to be bits of the episode slipping through, she just wished she could remember the whole thing, instead of just snippets. It wasn't like she had her journal on hand for help either, she'd left it on her bed... one thousand years ago.
"This is my partner, the Ranger, and I'm the Doctor," Clara's voice came over the intercom, clearly having the time of her life.
The muffled snort had to be the Ranger - an action Lyssa was inclined to repeat. This was hilarious. The Doctor, however, did not seem as impressed as he straightened, scowl swiftly appearing.
"Don't you dare," he warned darkly.
"Doctor Oswald. But you can call me Clara," she continued confidently, complacently ignoring the Doctor's protests.
"I'm Rigsy. So, er... What are you a doctor of, exactly?" A man's voice asked.
"Of lies," the Doctor growled, stalking around the console. Unable to help herself, Lyssa lifted a hand to her mouth to muffle her laughter. He leaned over to presumably glare at her, but she just shrugged in response, her laughter bubbling out over her hand.
"Well, I'm usually quite vague about that," Clara confided in him. "I think I just picked the title because it made me sound important."
"I've been with the Doctor most of my life, and I can confirm that that is absolutely true," the Ranger confirmed, audibly struggling to control his laughter
"Why, Doctor Oswald, you and your sidekick are hilarious," the Doctor grumbled. "Could we get back to work, do you think?"
"What are you exactly? You don't smell like police but that's some pretty cool gear you got there. Are you like a spy, or something?" Rigsy asked.
"Oh, he's a bright one. Hang on to him," the Doctor complimented.
Lyssa raised an eyebrow. "You're a lot nicer to him than you were to Mickey when you met him."
"Ricky was an idiot when we met," the Doctor returned. "He deserved exactly what he got."
"He was the last one to go missing. And when he disappeared all the doors and windows were locked from the inside," Rigsy explained, evidently showing something to Clara.
The Doctor turned back to the monitor, eyes lighting up. "Ooh, now you're talking. I love a good locked room mystery," he said happily.
"Yeah, doesn't everyone?" Clara muttered.
"Ehh, he does more than most," the Ranger pointed out. "Remember Calcutta?"
There was some muted talking before Clara spoke up again. "Sorry. I'm talking to some of my helpers. They're there to make me look clever and occasionally save my life when I get too pompous. They're listening in. Doctor, Rigsy, Rigsy, the Doctor. Lyssa's in there too, but I don't think she'll be interacting much with this one."
"Hello, barely sentient local," the Doctor called loudly.
He was back to scowling at Clara's less than flattering imitation as he typed at the console with a bit more force than usual.
Lyssa rolled her eyes. "Annnd we're back to the regularly scheduled insults. Good to hear." She saw something flicker in the corner of her eye, but forced herself to ignore it, walking closer to the Doctor and brushing shoulders with him. The flickering didn't stop entirely, but she felt some of her tension ease just at his near presence. He turned to her in concern, but she waved him off. "I'm all right," she assured him.
He frowned, but nodded, quickly getting sucked back into a rapid-fire exchange between him, Clara, and the Ranger debating Rigsy's usefulness and general intelligence - with the Doctor expressing heavy doubt. And then Rigsy pointed out that the missing man could still be in the room, drawing the Doctor up short and causing him to declare that Rigsy was very useful, and shame on Clara for doubting him.
That sparked a whole new debate, ending with Rigsy declaring they were all mad and turning to leave. Apparently not wanting to lose him, he growled something under his breath before stalking over to the doors and throwing them open, revealing to Rigsy that the seemingly tiny TARDIS was, in fact, bigger on the inside.
"Rigsy, come here. Meet the Doctor and Lyssa, our... special operatives... agents," Clara trailed off before turning to the Doctor, ignoring the man gaping beside her. "So, what do you think? Tiny man idea?"
"Yes, it's a lovely thought," the Doctor agreed condescendingly. "Which is why I'm sure the Ranger set the sonic to scan for that as soon as we entered. Pleased to meet you," he called out to Rigsy. "Always nice to meet someone smarter than they look. Lyssa would say hello too, but she's not feeling the best right now."
"I am so sorry for him," Lyssa apologized to Rigsy, though she doubted the man had even registered the insult with the way he was standing frozen. "He was dropped on his head as a child. Lost all his manners and half his common sense. I'm Lyssa, and I promise he can be kind." She eyed him warningly and he shrugged.
"To you, yes, of course. To locals of questionable intelligence..." He shrugged again. "Also, have you considered with the tiny man idea, he might have been squashed underneath a policeman's shoe by now," the Doctor pointed out, clearly unrepentant and enjoying the shock on Rigsy's face if the smug aura practically radiating from him was anything to go by.
"It's bigger. On the inside," Rigsy said, still staring.
"Do you know, I don't think that statement has ever been truer," the Doctor mused.
"What are you? Aliens, or something?" Rigsy demanded.
"Well, he is. And the thing we're looking for most likely is," Clara said, avoiding the question.
The world flashed gold before slowly fading to dull shades once more. An alarm began to blare behind her, but Lyssa didn't move, eyes fixed on the dancing woman in front of her. The figure held a hand out to her as she twirled past, beckoning some unseen partner to join her. Lyssa stepped forward slowly, feeling drawn to her, and the woman smiled, retreating away.
Lyssa stepped forward again, unable to tear her eyes away from the retreating figure, and then a hand fell on her shoulder. She gasped, jolting upright as the figure faded away and feeling as though a bucket of ice water had just been thrown on her.
"Lyssa," the Doctor said, turning her around gently and watching her carefully. "Don't follow the light."
She laughed, sounding closer to hysteria than she would have liked. "Sorry."
He shook his head. "Don't be. I think that whatever is draining the TARDIS is affecting you too. Or, maybe the TARDIS just isn't able to protect you as well as she normally would be able to." He frowned. "Whatever's happening, it isn't good. These aliens... I think they're from another dimension. Some place where there is no three-dimensional life, and they're trying to learn how to live in ours. They've already tried to kill the Ranger, Clara, and the others. It seems to be able to travel through the walls and absorb us, or whatever else it likes," he told her grimly.
His description struck a chord, and she gasped as memories flooded her brain, breaking through the dull haze that had been clouding her thoughts since she'd landed. "Oh. I remember," she breathed, eyes wide. "The paintings on the wall," she muttered dazedly, recalling what had happened to the poor victims of the monsters.
"Paintings? What?" the Doctor asked, before halting, eyes widening. "No, wait. The mural!" He darted over to the scanner, keeping his hand on Lyssa and dragging her with him. "Clara, Jamie, the mural! It's the mural! Over there, look, the mural!" He thrust his finger at the screen as if they could see it from outside. "We've found the missing people, they're in the walls!"
"What do I do?" Clara asked nervously, spinning around and taking in the murals - spanning all the walls, Lyssa realized. They were surrounded.
"Act normal, but get everyone out," the Doctor instructed. "And be careful."
"They're very realistic. Who painted them?" Clara asked casually, continuously spinning in a slow circle to keep the murals in sight.
"I don't know. A local artist. Probably a grieving relative," Rigsy said, sounding confused.
"Did you ever meet them? Or did they just appear after people disappeared?" Clara asked, her voice serious.
"And who are you when you're at home, love?" an old man sneered.
Lyssa wrinkled her nose at the voice. She couldn't remember his name, but his tone boded nothing good.
"Health and safety. This subway is unsafe. Everyone needs to leave right now," Clara ordered firmly, pulling out the psychic paper.
"This is blank. Try again, sweetheart," the old man said condescendingly.
"What?" Clara demanded incredulously, flipping it over to look at it and revealing what appeared to be an official badge for an agent.
"Interesting. It takes quite a lack of imagination to beat psychic paper," the Doctor implied, raising his eyebrows.
Lyssa groaned. "Trust me, he's got a very thorough lack of it and everything else that makes life enjoyable. He's a grouchy old guy who does nothing but cause problems," she muttered with a glare at the screen.
"Is this one you know, then?" the Doctor asked, glancing at her before returning his attention to the screen.
She nodded, straining to think. "Mostly. I think something's about to go wrong, though."
The start of a terrified scream punctuated her words before cutting off abruptly, and the monitor spun as Clara turned, looking for the source of the cry. A previously blank space on the wall now held the mural of a man.
"Stan!" Rigsy shouted in shock as the murals turned to face them.
"What is this? What are they?" Another man's voice demanded.
"They're wearing the dead like camouflage," the Doctor realized grimly.
"Like that creepy cockroach guy from Men in Black," the Ranger muttered.
"Forget Stan. Your friend's gone," Clara ordered, her voice firm.
"Ranger, Clara, get out of there!" the Doctor commanded.
"We need to move. Now."
Lyssa grabbed the railing as the TARDIS began to shake slightly as Clara took off at a run. "I thought it would be more stable than this," she called to the Doctor, who had one hand on her and the other on the railing.
"We're being carried by a running organism who's not wearing any stabilizers. The TARDIS can reduce most of the effects of the shaking, but we'll still feel some. Her shields have been affected by the power loss," the Doctor explained as they came to a halt, the group outside the TARDIS having taken refuge in what looked like a train shed.
"Did they follow us? 'Cause I didn't see them follow us. Are we safe?" A new voice asked, sounding panicked.
"Are we really hiding from killer graffiti? This is insane," another man complained.
"I agree. We'll have to think of a better name for them than that." The Doctor paused. "Clara, this is a vital stage. This little group is currently confused and disorientated. But pretty soon a leader is going to emerge. You need to make sure that that leader is either you or Jamie."
"I'm on it," Clara agreed. "George. George, isn't it? Can you watch that area? If you hear anything, anything moves, you shout, okay?
"He will do no such thing until I get some answers. Who are you? That's what I want to know. Impersonating a government official. Trespassing on council property!" the old man from before interrupted.
Lyssa groaned. She remembered him completely, and wished she hadn't. The only bright side was the thoroughly exasperated expression on the Ranger's face.
"Seriously, Mr. Fenton?" Clara deadpanned, clearly exasperated.
"Seriously," Fenton retorted.
"Fine, I'll tell you who I am. I am the one chance you've got of staying alive. That's who I am."
"Well done!" the Doctor complimented her.
But Fenton wasn't done. "But why you? Why not the Ranger fellow?" he demanded, gesturing to the taller man, who Lyssa could see instantly straighten and scowl. "He's older, and he looks a heap more capable than someone like you," he added, sneering the last word.
Lyssa jerked upright, ready to throw open the door and yell at the man, however little good it might do considering her current size, but the Doctor held her back. "He's not worth it, Lyssa. And besides. I think Jamie has it under control," he added with a smile in his voice.
And he did. Without making a single threatening gesture, the very scowl he sent at Fenton made him step back a pace, although he made an effort to keep his face set in its stubborn look. "Doctor Oswald is in charge of this operation because this is what she's good at. When we come across situations where I'd be better suited to lead, then I take charge. We're a team, so we work together. Right now, she has the best chance of saving us, so I'm going to listen to her. And if you have a problem with that, then you can go take your chances with those creatures on your own. Are we clear?" He maintained his steady glare until Fenton nodded, then instantly relaxed. "Right. Good. Back to you, Clara."
"Rigsy, how well do you know this area?" Clara asked, not even dignifying Fenton with a glance. "Do you know where that door leads?"
"It's the old Brunswick line. But it's not safe," Rigsy answered, glancing at the door.
"Well, there's safe and there's safe," one of the men from before said, emphasizing the last word.
"Yeah, I know it. I used to go down there all the time," Rigsy nodded.
"Yeah, I'll bet you did. Painting your filth," Fenton spat, clearly not in a good mood.
"The only thing filthy here is your attitude, so if you could clean it up already, we'd all appreciate it," Lyssa muttered.
"Yeah, well, you might be glad he did," Clara informed him, not even dignifying him with a glare. "Those things come in here, that is our only way out." She paused and then said quietly so only the Doctor and Lyssa could hear, "I just hope I can keep them all alive."
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A/N: This is my first time writing the Twelfth Doctor, so... hopefully he's not too out of character!
And I picture the Ranger looking like Andrew Lee-Potts when he played Hatter in the 2009 movie 'Alice.' (Complete with hat). And fyi, just because he has a similar name to the Doctor's doesn't mean he's a time lord - I just needed a good name to hide his own for special purposes that may or may not be revealed later on. Because the Ranger has secrets of his own. ;)
Thank you all for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!! :)
General Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who, but Lyssa is all mine!
Edited September 2022