*Outside the tomb*
Vastra and Strax wake up at the base of the TARDIS monument.
"This base is surrounded! Lay down your weapons and your deaths will be merciful!" Strax shouts.
"Jenny. Jenny!" Vastra runs to Jenny's body.
"This planet is now property of the Sontaran Empire. Surrender your women and intellectuals" Strax says.
"Strax, please! She's dead" Vastra says, he scans Jenny.
"No heartbeat. Complete cardio-collapse, shock induced."
"Get her back for me. Get her back for me now or I will cut you into pieces."
"Unhand me, ridiculous reptile" he uses his medi-scanner to transmit an electric pulse, and Jenny coughs "there we go. Just a standard electro-cardio restart. She'll be fine."
"Are you all right, my love? Can you hear me?"
"The heart is a relatively simple thing," Strax says.
"I have not found it to be so" Vastra replies, the Whisper Men approach them, with their leader.
"I see you have repaired your pet. No matter. I was only attracting your attention. I presume I have it."
"Doctor Simeon. This is not possible" Vastra says.
"And yet here we are, meeting again, so very far from home."
"But he died. You told me" Jenny says.
"Simeon died, but the creature that possessed him lived on. I take it I am now talking to the Great Intelligence?"
"Welcome to the final resting place of the cruel tyrants. Of the slaughterer of the ten billion, and the vessel of the final darkness. Welcome to the tomb of the Doctor and the Seer."
*Catacombs*
"Where are we?" Clara asks.
"Catacombs" I say.
"I hate catacombs. So how come I met your dead wife?" Clara asks looking at me.
"Oh well, you know how it is when you lose someone close to you. I sort of made a back-up" I say.
"I died saving them. In return, she saved me to a database in the biggest library in the universe. Left me like a book on a shelf. Didn't even say goodbye. she doesn't like endings."
"Clara, come on! Run, run!" the Doctor shouts, the Whisper men are behind them.
*Outside the tomb*
"It was a minor skirmish, by the Doctor and the Seer's blood-soaked standards. Not exactly the Time War, but enough to finish them. In the end, it was too much for the old couple."
"Blood-soaked?" Jenny asks.
"The Doctor and the Seer have been many things, but never blood-soaked" Vastra says.
"Tell that to the leader of the Sycorax, or Solomon the trader, or the Cybermen, or the Daleks. The Doctor and the Seer live their life in darker hues, day upon day, and they will have other names before the end. The Storms, the Beasts, the Valeyards."
"Even if any of this were true, which I take the liberty of doubting, how did you come by this information?" Vastra asks.
"I am information."
"You were a mind without a body last time we met," Jenny says.
"And you were supposed to stay that way" Vastra adds.
"Alas, I did" Simeon pulls at his face, to reveal that he is an empty shell. His clothes tumble to the ground, then a Whisper Man steps forward and becomes him again "as you can see."
*Tomb basement*
The Doctor bursts through a steel door, followed by me.
"Come on, quickly, we're in" I say, a Whisper Man grab Clara's arm.
"Doctor! Seer!"
"Clara!" the Doctor pulls her out of its grasp and slams the door "yowzah" they head up some metal stairs.
"Still a bit of a climb. I think I remember the way. Clara? Clara" I say, Clara stumbles a bit, I grab her before she falls "hey, it's ok. You're fine. The dimensioning forces this deep in the TARDIS they can make you a bit giddy."
"I know, I know. How do I know? How do I know that?"
"Clara, it's ok. You're fine" the Doctor says.
"Have we, have we done this before? We have. We have done this before. Climbing through a wrecked TARDIS. You said things, things I'm not supposed to remember" Clara says.
"We can't do this now. The TARDIS is a ruin. The telepathic circuits are awakening memories you shouldn't even have" I say.
"Why do we keep meeting you?"
"Clara," the Doctor says.
"The Dalek Asylum. There was a girl in a shipwreck and she died saving our lives. And she was you."
"Clara?" I ask.
"In Victorian London, there was a governess, who was really a barmaid, and she died. And she was you."
"Clara? Clara, what's wrong?" I ask.
"What do you two mean, you keep meeting me? You said I died. How could I die?"
"That is not a conversation you should even remember," the Doctor says.
"What do you mean I died?"
"The girl who died they tried to save. She'll die again inside their grave."
"Run. Run!" I shout.
*Outside the tomb*
"The doors require a key. The key is a word. And the word is the Doctor and the Seer's."
"Here we are, late to our own funeral. Glad you could make it. Jenny" I say.
"Open the door, Doctor, Seer. Speak, and open your tomb."
"No" the Doctor replies.
"Because you know what's in there?
"We will not open those doors" I say.
"The key is two words lost to time. A secret hidden in the deepest shadow and known to you both alone. The answers to a question."
"We will not open our tomb," the Doctor says.
"Seer, Doctor, what are your names? The Doctor and the Seer's friends. Stop their hearts" the Whisper Men hiss.
"Madam, boys, combat formation. They are unarmed" Strax says.
"So are we!" Jenny replies.
"Do not divulge our military secrets."
"Stop this. Leave them alone" I say.
"Your names. Answer me."
"Seer? Doctor?" Clara asks, Strax picks up a stick and hits a Whisper Man with it. It cuts through its body.
"Do you want me to do that again?" then the hole closes up.
"Doctor and Seer who?" the Whisper Man reaches into Strax's chest, and closes its hand around his heart.
"Please, stop it," the Doctor says.
"Doctor and Seer who?"
"Unhand me, sir. Argh."
"Leave him alone. Let him be" I say.
"Don't worry, ma'am. I think I've got him rattled" one attacks Clara, too.
"Seer! Doctor!"
"Doctor and Seer who?
"Please!" I shout, the tomb door opens. Strax is released.
"The TARDIS can still hear me. Lucky thing, since them two indoors is being so useless."
"Why did you open the door, ma'am? I had them on the run."
"We didn't do it. We didn't say our name" the Doctor says.
"No, but I did."
"Is everyone all right? Is everyone ok? Clara? Clara? Clara, are you ok?" I ask.
"That was not nice."
"I know. I'm sorry."
"Now then, Doctor Simeon, or Mister G Intelligence, whatever I call you, do you know what's in there?" the Doctor asks.
"For me, peace at last. For you two, pain everlasting. Won't you invite us in?" the Doctor forces the doors further open.
*Tomb*
Inside the tomb is the console room, except instead of a time rotor and console, there is a bright tangle of shining white energy tendrils, swirling and writhing in a column. The Cloister Bell tolls in the background. There is ivy growing over the railing and other fittings.
"What's that?" Clara asks.
"What were you expecting, a body? Bodies are boring. We've had loads of them. Nah, that's not what our tomb is for" I say.
"But what is the light?" Vastra asks.
"It's beautiful," Jenny says.
"Should I destroy it?"
"Shut up, Strax."
"Seer, Doctor, explain. What is that?" Clara asks.
"The tracks of our tears," the Doctor says.
"Less poetry, Doctor. Just tell them" Simeon says.
"Time travel is damage. It's like a tear in the fabric of reality. That is the scar tissue of our journey through the universe. Our path through time and space from Gallifrey to Trenzalore" I say, I zap it with my sonic screwdriver.
"Have you ever thought what it's like to be wanderers in the fourth dimension?"
"Do we have the right?"
"Daleks, Cybermen, they're still in the nursery compared to us."
"There are corners of the universe that have bred the most dangerous things."
"You were fantastic. Absolutely fantastic."
"He's the Doctor, I'm the Seer. We're from Gallifrey in the constellation of Kasterborous."
"Hello, Stonehenge!"
"Our own personal time tunnel. All the days..." I whisper.
"It was the daisiest daisy we'd ever seen."
"Even the ones that we, er, even the ones that... we... haven't lived yet" I collapse, the Doctor collapses down next to me.
"Doctor. Seer!" Clara shouts.
"No, no. Which is why we shouldn't be here. The paradoxes. It's very bad" the Doctor says, Simeon steps forward.
"No. No. No. What are you doing? Somebody stop him!" I say.
"The Doctor and the Seer's life is an open wound. And an open wound can be entered."
"No, it would destroy you," the Doctor says.
"Not at all. It will kill me. It will destroy you two. I can rewrite both your every living moments. I can turn every one of your victories into defeats. Poison every friendship. Deliver pain to your every breath."
"It will burn you up. Once you go through, you can't come back. You will be scattered along our timelines like confetti" I say.
"It matters not, Seer. You and the Doctor thwarted me at every turn. Now you will give me peace, as I take my revenge on every second of your lives. Goodbye, Seer. Goodbye, Doctor" Simeon backs into the time stream, and the Whisper Men vanish. There is a big flash. The Doctor and I writher in agony.
"What's wrong with them? What's happening?" Clara asks.
"They're being rewritten. Simeon is attacking their entire timeline. They're dying all at once. The Dalek Asylum. Androzani..." Vastra says.
"What did you say? Did you say the Dalek Asylum?" Clara asks.
"Now their dying in London, with us."
"It is done" a sudden scream emits from my lips as the time stream turns red.
'Oh, dear Goddess" Vastra says.
"What's wrong?" Jenny asks.
"A universe without the Doctor and the Seer. There will be consequences. Jenny, with me."
"The Dalek Asylum. You said it was me that saved you both. How? Victorian London. How, how could I have been in Victorian London?"
"No. Please, stop. Our lives, our whole lives are burning" the Doctor says.
*Outside the tomb*
"What are you scanning for?" Jenny asks.
"Local star systems" Vastra replies.
"Why?" Strax asks.
"Because they're disappearing."
"Disappearing how?" Jenny asks.
"The Doctor and the Seer's timeline have been corrupted. Their every victory reversed. Think how many lives those two saved. How many worlds. They saved your life when we met. Jenny?" Jenny has vanished.
"Please, Jenny, no! Oh God, oh please, no" Vastra says.
"Reptile scum" Strax attacks Vastra "you are an affront to Sontaran purity. Prepare to perish!"
"We're friends. Strax, your past is changing, but I swear, we are comrades!"
"Die, reptile" she raises her weapon, but Strax disappears.
"Strax! Strax!"
*Tomb*
"I have to go in there," Clara says.
"Please, please, no" I whisper.
"But this is what I've already done. You've already seen me do it. I'm the Impossible Girl, and this is why."
"Whatever you're thinking of doing, don't."
"If I step in there, what happens?" Clara asks.
"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."
"But the echoes could save the Doctor and the Seer, right?"
"But they won't be you. The real you will die. They'll just be copies."
"But they'll be real enough to save them. It's like my mum said. The soufflé isn't the soufflé, the soufflé is the recipe. It's the only way to save them, isn't it?" River's image nods.
"The stars are going out. And Jenny and Strax are dead. There must be something we can do" Vastra says.
"Well, how about that? I'm soufflé girl after all" Clara says.
"No. Please" the Doctor says.
"If this works, get out of here as fast as you can. And spare me a thought now and then" Clara says.
"No, Clara" I say.
"In fact, you know what? Run. Run, you clever boy and girl, and remember me."
"No. Clara!" The two of us shout, Clara steps into the time stream. It turns white again.
"I don't know where I am."
"Clara!"
"I just know I'm running. Sometimes it's like I've lived a thousand lives in a thousand places. I'm born, I live, I die. And always, there's the Doctor and the Seer. Always I'm running to save them again and again and again. And they hardly ever hear me. But I've always been there."
*Gallifrey - TARDIS repair shop*
"Doctor? Seer?" Clara asks the two turn.
"Yes, what is it? What do you want?"
"Right from the very beginning."
"Sorry, but you're about to make a very big mistake. Don't steal that one, steal this one. The navigation system's knackered, but you'll have much more fun" Clara says.
"Right from the day, they started running."
"Run, you clever boy and girl."
*Tomb*
"And remember me."
---
"It was an unprovoked and violent attack, but that's no excuse," Strax says.
"We're all restored. That's all that matters now" Vastra replies.
"We are not all restored" I say.
"You two can't go in there. It's your own time streams, for God's sakes."
"We have to get her back" I say.
"Of course, but not like this."
"But how?" Jenny asks.
"Is she still alive? It killed Doctor Simeon" Vastra says.
"Clara's got one advantage over the Great Intelligence," the Doctor says.
"Which is?" Vastra asks.
"Us" I say.
"Seer, please listen to me. At least hear me."
"Now, if we don't come back, and we might not" I say.
"Seer!"
"Go to the TARDIS. The fast return protocols should be on. She'll take you home, then shut herself down" I say.
"There has to be another way. Use the TARDIS, use something. Save her, yes, but for God's sake be sensible" River's image goes to hit me, and I catch her arm in my hand "how are you even doing that? I'm not really here."
"You are always here to me. And I always listen, and I can always see you" I smile.
"Then why didn't you speak to me?"
"Because I thought it would hurt too much."
"I believe I could have coped."
"No, I thought it would hurt me. And I was right" I kiss River "since nobody else in this room can see you, God knows how that looked. There is a time to live and a time to sleep. You are an echo, River. Like Clara. Like all of us, in the end. Mine and the Doctor's fault, I know, but you should've faded by now."
"It's hard to leave when you haven't said goodbye."
"Then tell me, because I don't know. How do I say it?"
"There's only one way I'd accept. If you ever loved me, say it like you're going to come back."
"Well, then. See you around, Professor River Song" I say.
"Till the next time, Seer."
"Don't wait up."
"Oh, there's one more thing."
"Isn't there always?"
"I was mentally linked with Clara. If she's really dead, then how can I still be here?"
"Ok, how?"
"Spoilers. Goodbye, sweetie" Melody Pond, daughter of the TARDIS, vanishes. The Doctor takes my hand and steps into our time stream.
"I don't know where I am. I don't know where I'm going or where I've been. I was born to save the Doctor and the Seer, but the Doctor and the Seer are safe now. I'm the Impossible Girl, and my story is done."
*Time stream*
Clara lands on the ground with a thud. It looks like the graveyard at Trenzalore.
"Doctor? Seer?" Clara calls. "Seer! Doctor! Please, please, I don't know where I am."
"Clara. You can hear me. I know you can" I say.
"I can't see you two."
"We're everywhere. You're inside our time stream. Everything around you is us" the Doctor says as the first Doctor and Seer walks past.
"I can see you" more figures run past "all your different faces, they're here."
"Those are our ghosts. Our past. Every good day, every bad day" I say, Clara is knocked to the ground.
"What's wrong? What's happening?"
"We're inside our own time stream. It's collapsing in on itself" the Doctor explains.
"Well, get out then."
"Not until we've got you" I reply.
"I don't even know who I am."
"You're our Impossible Girl, Clara. We're sending you something. Not from our past, from yours. Look up. Look" the Doctor says, a dead leaf comes floating down.
"This is you, Clara. Everything you were or will be. Take it. You blew into the world on this leaf. Hold tight. It will take you home" I say, Clara takes the leaf and stumbles forward.
"Clara! Clara! Come on. Come on, to us, now!" the Doctor calls.
"You can do it. We know you can" I say.
"How?"
"Because it's impossible. And you're our Impossible Girl. How many times have you saved us, Clara? Just this once, just for the hell of it, let us save you. You have to trust us, Clara. We're real. Just one more step" the Doctor says as Clara stumbles into my arms.
"Clara, our Clara" I whisper hugging her close to me, the Doctor and I look forward to where a man is standing with his back to us, a girl stands next to him.
"Who are they?" Clara asks.
"Never mind. Let's go back" the Doctor says.
"But who are they?"
"That's us. There's only us here, that's the point. Now let's get back" I say.
"But I never saw that one. I saw all of you. Eleven faces, all of them you two. You're the eleventh Doctor and you're the eleventh Seer."
"We said that was us. We never said he was the Doctor and the Seer" the Doctor says.
"I don't understand."
"Look, our names, our real names, that's not the point. The names we chose are the Doctor and the Seer. The name you choose, it's like, it's like a promise you make. They're the ones who broke the promise" I say, Clara faints "Clara? Clara? Clara!" I pick up Clara in my arms.
"They are our secret," the Doctor says.
"What we did, we did without choice."
"We know" I reply.
"In the name of peace and sanity."
"But not in the name of the Doctor and the Seer." the Doctor says, he turns and I follow carrying Clara away.