T H I R T E E N
IN THE TARDIS, IN THE MIDDLE OF SPACE
Soft groaning fills the room up, opening up her eyes Lucie sits up and rubs her eyes. Noticing that there are pjs on the end of her bed, she gets up and changes into them. She throws her dirty clothes into the basket at the end of her bed.
Taking a deep breath, she opens up her bedroom door and exits. The TARDIS leads her to where the Doctor is, however she doesn't spot him not at first. "Oh hello, Lucie." She hears the Doctor says.
She looks down and sees that she is still with the Eleventh Doctor. "I'm still here with you." She walks down the steps. "What?" Lucie questions the Doctor as she notices him smiling.
"Its been ages since I last saw the younger version of you that's all." He laughs. "You're very quiet and I hate it whenever you're quiet." The man looks at her with concern.
Lucie looks at him with a smile. "I'm only quiet because I don't want to give away spoilers." She informs him quietly. "And I don't want to make you mad. I hate it whenever you're really mad." She sighs as she sits on the steps beside him.
Quietness settles down beside the two, Lucie looks down and plays with the sleeves of her top. The Doctor goes back to mucking about with the wiring. "Doctor, I've got a question." She quizzes looking at him.
"Just to warn you. I cannot answer any questions about your adventures in the future or about your future self." He says as he stops the wiring and giving her his full attention.
"What happened to me in the world that I came from? Do my parents think I'm dead?" She asks him.
The Doctor takes a moment to look over at Lucie, he smile softly at her. "Luce, all I can say is that everything back in your own universe and your parents are fine. They're just on pause." He explains.
"What do you mean on pause?" She raises an eyebrow at him. "Are you saying that if I was able to go back there life would continue like normal?" She asks as she stands up.
"Yes. But we don't know how to get you back. We've tried everything so far." He says as he stands in front of her. "I get that you want to go home but you can't. Not for a long time at least. But until that day you've got loads of adventures coming your way." He smiles at her.
She smiles back at him and watches as he steps closer. "I've got to ask though." Lucie starts. "Do I still get my beauty sleep whilst in the middle of hopping around the place?" She asks.
"Yes!" He says. "Speaking of which. Go to bed." He orders her.
"Fine." She grumbles.
"Night, Lucie." The Doctor says as he turns to go back to working on the TARDIS.
"Night, Doctor!" She calls out as she walks up the stairs.
Entering her bedroom on the ship, the girl lays down on her bed and and her eyes for what feels like a brief second, she opens them back up as she hears someone calling her name.
Above her is a woman with short blonde and another woman who is wearing glasses, the blonde haired woman smile down at her. "Ow, my head. I feel sick." Lucie groans as she slowly sits with the help of the blonde haired woman.
"You ok, Lucie." The blonde quizzes, as she examines the young girl quickly.
"Yeah, I'm fine." She trails off as soon as she notices who is standing in front of her. "Oh my god. Kate." She gasps.
"Hi." The woman smiles once again at the young woman. "Oh by the way, here's some clothes for you that was left by your older self." She says the other woman comes running over with the items.
"Wait, why would my older self leave- oh for crying out loud." Lucie groans as she looks down at what she's wearing. "Where can I get changed?" She quizzes the woman.
"There's a private bathroom over there." Kate points over towards a door down the corridor.
"Thanks." Lucie smiles as she rushes down the corridor.
Once she's change out of her pj's and into the clothes, she comes out of the bathroom with a smile on her face. She walks down the corridor trying to find a place to put her pj's. "Put them in here." A familiar accent fills her ears.
"Jesus Christ, do you mind?" The woman jumps at the sound of the Scottish man next to her, who is holding out a bag.
"I'm the Doctor, not Jesus." He replies as he watches her shove the pyjamas into the bag.
Rolling her eyes at the Doctor, she follows him towards Kate and the other woman who are stood in near a computer. She notices a video of Osgood, who looks like she is about to read a prepared statement.
"Shit!" Lucie mumbles as she notices the creatures behind Osgood.
"Language." The Doctor scowls at the young woman.
"Sorry, dad." She replies sarcastically, pulling a face when the time lord turns his back.
Looking back at the computer, she watches as Osgood nervously begins to speak. "UNIT troops will be destroyed wherever they are in the world. The enemies of our race will be destroyed wherever they are in the world. The war is about to begin. There will be truth or there will be consequences." Osgood reads from the sheet of paper.
As the message ends, The Doctor gets his phone out of his pocket and uses it. "Call me now." He demands down the phone. "You. A word now." He then says to Lucie.
"What? Why?" She quizzes. "I haven't done anything." She whines.
"Not yet, you haven't. But still a word." He says ushering her towards a corner of the room. "Now, can you remember anything of what happens here?" He quizzes her.
"Not really. My mind is still fuzzy." She confesses to the man.
"Ok, but remember don't stress out if you can't remember things." He smiles softly at her.
"Ok." She utters.
"You two, the car is here." Kate interrupts the pair of them.
Grinning, Lucie follows Kate, the Doctor and the other woman who is named Jac. Sitting in the back beside the Doctor, Lucie watches as they drive towards Clara's flat where they're going to pick her up.
Once they pick up Clara, the UNIT vehicle they are in arrives at the destination. Lucie, Clara and the Doctor all get out of the vehicle and meet Jac and Kate. "This is where the Zygon High Command had their secret base." Kate informs the trio.
"A junior school?" Clara quizzes as they go inside the building.
"Terms of the settlement, Operation Double, were these. Twenty million Zygons, the entire hatchery, were allowed to be born and to stay on Earth. They were permitted to permanently take up the form of the nearest available human beings." Kate explains to them.
"In this case, a large percentage of the population of the UK." Jac adds.
Lucie begins walks closer towards the Doctor, Kate begins to walk ahead of the group. "You left us with an impossible situation, Doctor." She tells him.
"Yes, I know. It's called peace. What about the two little girl commanders? Weren't they helping you?" He quizzes the woman.
"They've been almost impossible to deal with since Osgood left. Secretive, uncommunicative." She tells him. "We've known there's something going on. Some radicalisation, some revolution in the younger brood. They said they had it under control." She adds.
They go through a hole in the brick wall to an area festooned with red cords or cables. A giant sized polyp stands proud. "The Zygon command centre." Lucie and the Doctor day in unison. "Sorry." Lucie utters as the attention turns to her.
"That's the control polyp for all Zygons on Earth." The Doctor then says taking the attention off of the young woman.
"It's horrible." Jac grimaces.
"Could you? Would you mind? Thank you." He says as Clara takes his torch.
He splashes liquid from the pool in the centre of the polyp onto its fronds, then caresses some horns. "If this has been compromised, the Zygons are wide open. They'll be starting to panic. Starting to worry." The Doctor rambles.
"Doctor, do you want to be alone with that thing?" Clara quizzes.
"It's a command computer. You operate it by titivating the fronds." He tells her.
"Are you enjoying that?" Lucie sniggers.
"I snogged a Zygon once. Old habits." The Doctor says causing Lucie to make a face of disgust.
Just then the screens some how manage to come to life. "Still got the old magic." The Doctor says.
"So, Osgood's been kidnapped, right?" Clara quizzes. "I thought Osgood was dead."
"There've always been two of her, ever since the ceasefire. We never knew which one was real." Kate tells the woman.
"Both of them." Lucie and the Doctor say in unison once again.
"Okay, which one was Zygon." Kate quizzes the pair, but Lucie shrugs not knowing the answer.
"Both of them. They would have maintained a live link. They were both Zygon and human at the same time. They not only administered the peace, they were the peace." The Doctor explains to Kate and Clara.
"When the other Osgood died, the survivor went pretty much mad with grief. Then she just disappeared. Went undercover in the States. Now, of course, the rebels have her." Jac tells the Doctor, Clara and Lucie.
"Ah ha! Okay. Zygons hatched and dispersed all over, but something's gone wrong. Mexico border, North Asia, West Africa, Australia. Panic. Paranoia." The Doctor lists. "What would happen if they knew who we were?"
"We've received another video." Jac says as the tablet she's holding makes beeping noise.
"That's the Zygon High Command. It's Jemima and Claudette." Kate says.
"We have been betrayed. We were sold. Our rights were violated. We demand the right to be ourselves. Normalise. Normalise!" A Zygon off screen demands.
Jemima and Claudette transform into Zygons, then are zapped to dust by electricity from two other Zygon hands. "We are now the Zygon High Command. All traitors will die. Truth or consequences." A Zygon says as it comes into view.
"So, we have a Zygon revolution on our hands. We need to open negotiations." The Doctor sighs.
"I'm not negotiating with them. As far as they're concerned, everyone's a traitor." Kate glares at the man.
"If you're not going to negotiate, what are you going to do?" Clara quizzes.
"They're holed up in this settlement in Turmezistan. It's where they've taken Osgood. I'm going to order Colonel Walsh to bomb it." Kate tells them.
"Isn't there a solution that doesn't involve bombing everyone?" The Doctor asks.
"The treaty's been comprehensively violated, Doctor." Kate tries to explain.
"This is a splinter group. The rest of the Zygons, the vast majority, they want to live in peace." He tells the woman. "You start bombing them, you'll radicalise the lot. That's exactly what the splinter group wants."
"Truth or consequences. What exactly does that mean?" Jac asks.
"It's just the usual kind of nonsense these idiots call themselves." Kate shrugs the questions off.
"It's in New Mexico." Clara explains.
"What?" Kate quizzes.
"t's a town in New Mexico." Lucie says when she notices Clara hesitating.
"Truth or Consequences. Er, they renamed it after a TV show, for a bet or something." Clara then speaks up. "It's a Trivial Pursuit question. I used to memorise Trivial Pursuit questions so I could win." She mumbles.
"That's the last place we received signal from Osgood's phone, isn't it? New Mexico." Kate realises.
"Okay. Kate Stewart, no bombs for you. Go to Truth Or Consequences. See what you can find out. The Doctor will go to Turmezistan. Negotiate peace, rescue Osgood, and prevent this war, cos that's what he does." The doctor tells Kate. "Clara, Jac, you stay here. This is your country. Protect it from the scary monsters. And also from the Zygons." He orders Clara and Jac.
"Fine." Clara agrees.
"Oh, and do you still have the presidential aircraft?" The Doctor quizzes Kate.
"I thought you didn't like being President of the World." Clara points out.
"No, but I like poncing about in a big plane." He tells her.
Lucie looks around to see if anyone remembers that she's in the room as well. "Do i even exist in this room?" She mumbles. "Hello, what about me?" She asks the Doctor.
"You're coming with me." He smirks in her direction. "As punishment for your bad language earlier." He adds.
"You're such a dick sometimes." Lucie mutters causing Clara to let out a snigger.
"What was that?" He asks her as he spins around.
"Nothing." She replies with innocent smile. "Dick." She whispers once again.
enjoy this chapter x