Thirteenth X Clara - Alternative

Chapter 15: Lock and Key

The Doctor woke up in a haze, her head throbbing like a drum being played in a rock concert. You'd think that over the past 14 regenerations she'd be accustomed to this pain, but nope. It still hurt like hell every time. Her eyes immediately acclimatized to its surroundings. She wasn't in her bedroom for sure, the one in the Palace or the Tardis. But she was on a bed, so whoever was in charge of her here made sure she had that, at least.

The walls were painted seaweed green, dark and desolate. Whoever was in charge of decorating wasn't the biggest fan of bright colours, it seems. She ran her hand over the wall and it felt strange. Nothing like she had felt on Earth, at any time. A lick on the wall confirmed it for her. It was not of Earth origin. So she probably wasn't on Earth, or maybe she was. She concentrated and listened and felt the wall. There was a consistent tremor, but not big enough to be an earthquake and a small humming sound. She had to be on a ship. Now that she knew that all was left was to find out exactly what room on the ship she was currently in.

Her quest was short-lived as she turned away from the wall and saw the metallic bars of a cell. She was in prison again. At least now she knew where she was. She could make a plan to get out. She reached into her pockets to find... nothing. No sonic, nothing at all. She hated empty pockets. What was the point of installing pockets into her dress if they were empty? But she could spot it on what seemed to be some kind of desk.

It was painted the same colour as the walls and it was scaly and looked rough to the touch. She could make out a person sitting by the desk who looked quite human. Her dark hair cascaded down her shoulders as she seemed to inspect her nails. The Doctor unfortunately couldn't make out her face. If she could get her attention and get her to give her the sonic, she could get out.

"Excuse me, but would you be so kind as to hand me that device on that... desk you are sitting at? It is of urgent importance to me."

"Well... if I did that, you'd just escape and I don't think I really want that." the woman said with a touch of tease and arrogance to her voice.

She turned around in her chair and faced the Doctor head on, leaving the Timelord quite perplexed.

"It's...it's you...."

"Yes, it is indeed me. The woman who was decent enough to compliment you, and thanks for the compliment back."

She flashed the Doctor a smile with a sharp row of teeth before it changed back into normal human ones.

"An Echor, I should have known." The Doctor said, mentally kicking herself for not suspecting her soon enough.

"Yeah, you should have known. It was ever so easy to capture you as well. You didn't even notice the person behind you. Oh, dearest Clara took your guard down, didn't she? I bet you wish you had gotten that kiss now."

Upon hearing Clara's name, the Doctor got off the bed and rushed towards the bars, shaking it as she reached them. "Where is she?! What have you done with her?!"

"What are you gonna do about it?! Huh?!" she taunted again.

"If you've harmed one hair on her head, I swear you will not live to tell the tale. You'll find that it's a very small universe when I'm angry with you."

"Oh, she gets you excited, doesn't she? How sweet. Well, if everything goes according to plan, she should be joining you in that cell soon. Felt that you would like a chance to cuddle her corpse one last time. Alara is just getting cleaned up and should be here with her in a few." Clary said with a smirk and a small laugh as she watched the colour drain from the Doctor's face.

She couldn't be dead. Not here, not now. Not before she told her the truth. It couldn't happen to her again. The pain seemed to rise in her before a thought hit the outskirts of her mind. Something important, something she really needed to remember. The headache didn't help, but it was coming closer. She had just about got it when a familiar voice broke her thought pattern.