The hallway outside of their exit was just the same as all the rest, white and boring. The Doctor didn't have time for it, immediately dismissing the blank walls and corridors leading away as his eyes fell on the giant round vault door that was at the other end.
The vault at the end of the bank, where the Architect was sending them to do their bidding. His end was closer than he had first thought, a thought which brought a grin to his face that had Clara jogging slightly to fall by his side.
"Right, vault. That's clear. What's not clear is what we do now." He told her the moment she came into his peripheral vision. Danielle – his sweet Danielle – had asked him to make sure that Clara made it home. He could do that; it was the least he could do before coming back and ensuring that the man under the hood suffered horrifically for what he'd brought upon her.
His mind was screaming out for him to open up and try and search for her, as if it expected her to be close enough to reply, but he kept himself tightly closed. He couldn't bare the idea that he'd call for her and she wouldn't reply.
"That's what you're focused on?" She demanded, anger seeping in with the pure devastation that was clawing at her chest. She just didn't understand it. One moment he looked like his whole universe had crumbled in front of him, next he was still trying to rob the bank, "You need to stop for a minute."
He did, pausing in his step to turn around her. Again she shrank back under the anger she could see burning in his eyes, even though she knew it wasn't directed at her, "And do what, exactly?" He demanded, "She's dead, you're alive. We need to prioritise if we're going to keep you that way."
"What, that's it?" She countered, "You're just worried about staying alive? Where's that Oncoming Storm I keep hearing about?" She jabbed her hand out to the side, pointing sharply, "I have memories of you blowing up an entire spaceship above Earth with a man inside because she was kidnapped. The man you used to be wouldn't let this lie."
He took another step towards her, towering over her, glaring openly, "Don't presume to know me, Clara Oswald, just because you've been inside my head." He warned her sharply, "I am not letting anything lie. The Architect will get what he truly deserves."
"Good." Clara snapped in reply, glad to see that his anger was directed in the right direction, "And how do we do that?"
"We don't do anything." He retorted, "We're getting to the end for this heist, then you're going home to your job and your boyfriend. I will be going back for the Architect."
Clara frowned, "What? How come I don't get to come?"
"Because that was what was asked of me." He replied and it took her a moment to understand his meaning. Her eyes stung as she felt herself starting to cry once again.
"Danni asked you to save me." She stated rather than asked.
"And I'm wasting enough time doing so. Pull yourself together, I don't have time for all of this." And with that he continued his path to the vault door, looking for the lock they were more than likely going to have to break to get into the vault and steal whatever was inside.
Psi stepped up to Clara, falling by the devastated woman's side, not really sure what to do, "He doesn't seem very upset about his daughter's death." He commented, more bewildered than anything.
Clara reached up, wiping her eyes, "Wife." She corrected, "She was his wife. And he is, he's just not trying to think about it." She wished she had that luxury. Already the hole her missing friend had made in her life was taking over her heart. She felt like she'd lost the most important person in her universe, and she guessed she kind of had. They were both her best friends, but her and Danni had always got on that little bit better.
And, just before she'd died, Danni had asked that the Doctor kept her safe. That's what he was doing in the midst of his anger, self-loathing and grief. All she could do was make it easier for him. She sniffed, "He's right, we need to finish the heist." She told Psi, "There's no point in any more of us dying."
"It's very obvious that you've been with him for a while." Psi commented at her quick change around in emotion. One moment she was sad, the next she was as focused as the man who'd headed into an opening in the wall.
"Why?" Clara asked him, confused.
"Because you're becoming just like him." He told her before following on, leaving Clara on her own. In truth it made the half-computer really angry, because if he had memories of his loved ones, he'd take time to experience every emotion that came along with it, even the devastating ones.
Clara watched him walk away, wondering if he was right, as the Doctor reappeared from the opening. He held another case in his hands, a grin on his face that didn't sit quite right, "Another gift from the Architect." He declared, "Shall we unwrap it?"
Psi shot Clara a look, as if the Doctor was just proving his point, whereas Clara knew he was just proving hers. The Doctor wasn't ignoring Danni's death; in fact it was rather contrary. Up until this point he'd been keen to keep the guilt they all held down to a minimum, with only those who needed to know having access to the knowledge that would get them through the heist in one piece. Now he was happy to show them all, and happy to see himself, which meant he just didn't care anymore. His hearts were broken, and unfortunately there wasn't anything anyone could do about it except follow along.
Saibra, who was doing her best to keep out of their petty arguments, ones that she knew were full of pain at losing their friend, quickly darted over to see what was inside.
"I still don't understand why he couldn't make this clearer." She pointed out, "All this guesswork can't be good for his plan."
"Unless it's all part of his plan." The Doctor countered, "Slow us down trying to work it out."
"You mean, like a delay tactic?" She asked, "Why would he want that? Surely he'll want his prize as quickly as possible."
He shot her a look, "Let's find out." He retorted. He quickly opened the case, revealing a small black device with a white card sat on the top. He placed the case down on top of some discarded boxes before picking up the card. On the back were a bunch of codes, but as nothing seemed to stand out to him straight away, he handed it to Clara for safe keeping. The black device, however, was obviously a hard drive which he immediately passed to Psi.
The data transfer seemed to cause him pain, but the Doctor wasn't heavily concerned. He knew it was just down to large data transfer, and the moment it had finished Psi was back into the enclave where he'd found the case in the first place. The enclave held the complicated lock to the vault, lights flashing and a touch screen that Psi was already tapping on. Saibra stepped in after him, wondering if her so-called 'gift' might be needed to unlock something else, whereas the Doctor stayed on the outside, blocking the little doorway.
"Right, the system looks like it's time-delayed." He explained quickly to the older man, "There are twenty-four lock codes I need to break."
A growl caught all their attention, and Clara jogged up the Doctor's side, "Doctor? It's coming. We're trapped."
He couldn't allow that to happen. Clara needed to be safe, if only because Danni had asked. He had let her down to her cost today, but it wasn't going to happen again, "Psi, how long?"
"As long as it takes." Psi replied, meaning he had no idea. Right, so they needed to keep the creature away from him as he worked, whilst simultaneously not being turned to soup themselves. Clara's safety was paramount, but he couldn't risk getting caught before he'd managed to get his hands on the Architect.
He stepped back out into the hallway, trying and failing to locate the Teller, "It's locked on to one of our thought trails." He explained to the trio, "We have to split up, minimise the brain signals."
Psi stepped out as well, holding his hand out to the Doctor expectantly. He didn't need to say anything, the Doctor reached into his pocket and pulled out one of the shredders.
"No, no." Clara protested, "Danni wouldn't…"
"In case it finds me." Psi interrupted, "It's my choice."
"You don't use that, okay? Promise me." She demanded in return, unable to see someone else die today. Danni was gone, but she would always try to save everyone she could.
Psi didn't reply, sitting down to work and Clara couldn't wait for a response. With one last look at the half-computer, she ran.
~0~0~0~
The Doctor was pretty certain that the Teller had locked onto Clara's thought trail rather than his, Saibra's or Psi's, but being together would just project their guilt even more. Much like when they had been facing the half-faced man back when he had regenerated, it was better for both of them to be separated than together. He could only hope that Clara could keep the creature off her trail long enough for him to think up something to do, because at the moment he absolutely no idea how to stop when the creature began feasting on someone's mind.
"You know, you never used to get this out of breath whilst running." Danielle commented as he turned a corner, breathing heavily. She was leaning against the wall, arms crossed and in the same outfit he'd seen her in for three hundred years.
"I used to be younger." He snapped back, taking a moment to catch his breath and definitely not spend any time with the hallucination that had plagued him for that lonely period of time on Trenzalore, "I don't have time for you, go away."
"Don't have time for your wife, that's a new one." The hallucination replied, pushing up off the wall, "Then again, you have been a bit dismissive of me as of late. I can probably believe it."
"I was not dismissive." He argued back, "We were busy, we had things to do."
"And none of them were me." She counted, "Face it, you outgrew me."
"Stop putting words in my mouth." He warned, "Nobody listens, nobody ever listens. You were the only thing that matters, and I…"
"And you killed me." She finished for him, "Gave me the shredder and told me to be on my merry way."
"No, it wasn't like that!" He exclaimed before realising he was shouting and likely pulling attention to himself. He closed the gap between them, so close he could almost touch her, "I would have never killed you, I shouldn't have. I couldn't save you, I didn't have any other choice."
"Exactly." She replied, "Do you think that your sweet Danielle would have rather ended up like that man in a cell, a prize for someone to watch and lord over people as a warning? You know what her memories meant to her, Doctor, why are you acting like she suffered?"
"It's not her, it's me." He replied, "I can't do this without her! And she's gone, and it's all my fault!"
"No it wasn't." The fake Danni replied softly, "You know whose fault it was."
He nodded, because he did. The man hiding behind a screen, leaving little clues for them to follow. It was all the Architects fault, and he wouldn't stop until justice was served, "I need to survive so I can kill him." He replied lowly.
"And then what?" She countered but he'd had enough, storming forward as he tried to make sure his thought trail didn't catch up with him, "Do you think Danni would thank you for that?"
"Definitely not." He replied, "But then she always was the good one in this relationship."
"She wouldn't want you to seek revenge!" The hallucination continued, this time appearing in front of him.
"Well, she's dead, she doesn't get a say in what I do to make this right." He snarled, "He's going to burn for what he did. I'm going to travel throughout his timeline and I'm going to make sure he feels every moment I destroy."
"You mean, like the Great Intelligence did to you?"
"No." He replied, "Because I'm going to make sure it works. From the moment I get out of this hell hole until the moment I die, he's going to suffer right alongside me."
There was a roar, echoing through the hallways followed by a pained scream that could have only come from Clara. Both the hallucination and the Doctor turned from their argument, looking back the way they came, "Clara!" They shouted at the same time in a panic. The Doctor quickly rushed off down the many hallways, going back on himself and leaving the Danielle behind.
He couldn't fail at this as well. He needed to find Clara, to save her, because it was all Danielle wanted. His younger self had saved their friend, and for her last wish he could do it again.
"Come on! Come and find me!" He faltered in his step as Psi's voice cried out, calling to the Teller from somewhere close to the vault's door, "Every thief and villain in one big cocktail. I am so guilty! Every famous burglar in history is hiding in this bank right now in one body. Come and feast!" He started running again, his hearts pounding at the effort and the panic that he might be about to lose someone else. No one was as important as his wife, but she would want them all safe, and he had to try and honour that. However, he knew he was already too late. Psi was deliberately tempting the creature; it would find him long before any of them would.
"Clara? For what it's worth, and it might not be worth much, when your whole life flashes in front of you, you see people you love and people missing you. Well, I see no one." Then, with a scream of pain that meant he had used the shredder as well, Psi was gone. The Doctor fell back into a steady run, meeting up with Clara but not Saibra as they reached the hallway with the vault at the end. They both sprinted to the door as a voice declared that the unlocking had failed.
Clara groaned as she tried to open the vault manually, while the Doctor just stared, his mind blank. All he had lost making it this far, to be denied at the end wasn't acceptable, but there was also nothing he could do about it. Danni was dead, Psi was dead, and they were probably next.
Clara turned around, her eyes round with tears, "Danni, Psi, they died for nothing." She commented, her voice thick as she looked at her friend for help. He just stared over her head, though, at the vault door.
No, she did not die for nothing. He turned and stormed into the alcove, sitting down on the chair that Psi had used. He pointed the sonic screwdriver at the ring of lights that represented the locks on the vault door, specifically the one that was still lit red while the rest were now green.
"Multiple locks." He explained to her, pulling the panel underneath apart when he got nothing useful from the readings, "Last one still in place." He stuck the screwdriver in the gap behind the panel, Clara watching him work from behind, "Atomic seal. Unbreakable, even for me."
He squeezed his eyes shut, his frustration filtering into his despair as he leant forward on his arms. What could he do? He couldn't break the locks, so he couldn't finish the heist, so he couldn't save Clara and he couldn't get to the Architect. He was so useless.
This was the point when Danielle would offer him some comfort. He could hear her voice, see that beautifully hopeful smile on her face; 'you put too much pressure on yourself. Not everything is down to you.'
Except, this time, it was. He was the only one saving them all, and he couldn't do anything else.
"Why send us here, then?" Saibra asked and he realised that she'd joined them, "What if it had been Psi who had died? He obviously knew that was a possibility, otherwise why leave the shredders?"
He opened his eyes, looking at the mutant human, "That's a very good point." He replied, surprise in his tone and she shot him a look.
"Thanks." She replied sarcastically.
"There must be some logic to it." He continued like she hadn't said anything. Clara shot him an incredulous look.
"Some logic?" She asked and he nodded.
"Come on, Architect. What else have you got?" He asked. And, as if to answer his question, a loud clap akin to thunder echoed from outside. There was a storm, and suddenly everything started making a lot more sense.
~0~0~0~
Danni felt completely in her element. She'd scanned the ship, finding out it was just a transport ship based on the amount of teleports the TARDIS seemed to think it held. She'd tried scanning the planet, but it turns out the solar flares were interfering with anything the TARDIS was trying to do, which would explain why she was sat up on the ship instead of the Doctor using her to just appear in the vault the Architect wanted them to break into. She couldn't really fly the TARDIS, but she knew that solar flares were a bugger to pilot through. Well, for the Doctor to pilot through anyway. She did have to wonder if River would be able to.
She was just on the cusp of getting impatient, slipping on the body section of the guard's uniform to leave on her own, when the monitor on the console suddenly switched on. She quickly rushed over, fastening the front of the jumpsuit, taking a look outside. As she hadn't expected the next person to jump into the TARDIS, she hadn't after all, she'd asked the TARDIS to let her know when they'd appeared.
She was a bit disappointed that it was Psi outside and not her husband, although she knew that it meant he hadn't gotten himself into too much trouble just yet. Still, that was her second guard, so she rushed to the door, opening it and grinning at the completely bewildered man who wasn't looking at the blue box, "Psi!" She called over happily.
He spun on the spot, gawping slightly at her, "What-What's going on?" He asked her.
"We're not dead." She explained, "We've just been transported. Come in!" She darted back inside and waited eagerly for the moment when he stepped in, looking around the magnificent inside of what appeared to be a teeny tiny box.
"Woah…" He breathed as he tried to take in the scale of the room that was hidden in such a tiny box.
"She's called the TARDIS." Danni explained, enjoying being the one to explain for once. It reminded her of the Clara in Victorian London, which didn't hurt quite as much as it used to, "She can travel anywhere in space and time, and she's mine and the Doctor's home." She skipped back over to him, "And you've been here before."
He shook his head, "No, I haven't. I would remember this." He insisted.
"Unless you manually deleted your memories." She reminded, "Both of our 'shredders' brought us here, where she happened to be parked. Chances are we started here as well."
"So… we're not dead?" He asked her, tearing his eyes away from the tall ceiling and the bookcases.
"Apparently not." She replied, "Which makes me wonder why the Doctor thought we were going to be. He should have known better," she shot Psi a grin that only someone completely smitten could pull off, "he's much smarter than that."
Psi didn't offer his opinion on her husband, who to him had seemed to be flitting between being devastated of her death and not really caring at all, "And where is 'here'?" He asked.
"Some transport ship." She offered, "I think it's used to deposit the customers into the bank, but I'm not sure. There's not been any activity since I arrived, but I think that's to do with the solar flares." She held her hand out to him, "Can I have your shredder, please?" She asked.
He was happy to give it to her, after all up until a few moments ago, he had thought it was going to be his death sentence, "You're a lot politer than your husband."
"Yeah, well, he has always been a bit rude." She commented, leaving out the fact that it seemed to have increased during this latest body. She headed back to the console, plugging it into the top in a hole she'd found after first landing, "Now, we don't have much time. I've managed to work out how to reprogram the devices," She shot him another smile, this time incredibly proud of herself. She'd found the slot on the console, and after a little bit of playing around had actually managed to work out what to do with them. She wasn't normally that quick, or that technically capable, so it was turning out to be a good day for her, "so hopefully this will work." She motioned over to the other guard outfit, "Slip that on, quick as you can."
He did what she said, walking over and grabbing the armour, "Why do we need these?" He asked, "I thought we couldn't get back down, you said so yourself that there's been no activity."
"Yes, but we've still managed to back up here." She pointed out, taking out his shredder before popping hers back into the slot, "You know what it's like, health and safety and all that nonsense. Plus, I've been monitoring the solar flares. The TARDIS is much too complicated to be able to fly through them, but a straight teleport should be fine." She grimaced slightly, "Hopefully, anyway."
Psi fastened himself in before grabbing the two helmets, walking over to her side and placing hers on the console top, "But we're out now, why should we go back in?" She shot him a look.
"Because they're not out yet." She replied simply, "Plus, at the end of this heist is something that you gave up your memories for. Don't you want to know what it is?" She picked up his shredder, holding it out to him temptingly.
It was moments like these that Psi really hated his own curiosity. It was what got him into hacking, and into prison, and what lost him his loved ones and his friends. Still, though, how could he resist?
"Are they going to drop us off in vaults?" He asked and she shook her head.
"No, with the Teller and the staff still looking, any unauthorised break-ins are going to lead them straight to us." She explained, "We're going to go to where you were when you used the shredder. The Doctor shouldn't have gone too far. We're going to catch them."
"What, and hand them over?" He asked, incredulously and she nodded.
"Think about it. We're dead, so our guilt doesn't exist anymore. And if the Doctor, Clara and Saibra are caught, their guilt at trying to not get caught is wiped away. We'll be quieter than ever. We get them caught, then we save them." She grabbed her helmet, "Well, in theory, anyway."
"And once they're caught, how do we get them out again?" He asked and she shrugged.
"Oh, that's a plan for later." She dismissed, "Hopefully we will get left alone with them at some point, but that's the problem with an impromptu bank heist. You have to improvise."
"You know; you should have been the leader from the start." Psi told her, "You're just as clever as he is, and not such a prick."
Danni laughed, "Oh, I have nothing on the Doctor." She told him modestly, before smirking, "But, I do have my moments." She popped the helmet on, "Ready?"
He grinned, doing the same, "Ready."
~0~0~0~
Saibra was absolutely stunned when the Doctor passed her the glass bottle, unable to believe what she was holding in her hands. She had hoped, just for a moment, that whatever had been waiting for her would help her control her condition, but a gene suppressant was more than she could have ever dreamed of.
Clara still held onto the syringe that had been Psi's reward; something called a neophyte circuit that would have been able to restore his memories. They were both the perfect rewards for the people helping them rob the bank. The Doctor couldn't help but feel the bitterness rise up inside of him at the thought that, perhaps, Danielle had been right all along. That at the end had been their ticket to a family of their own, and that to get it she'd had to die. She'd never get her reward, and he didn't want it if it wasn't with her.
"I can be normal?" Saibra asked, looking up at the Doctor hopefully.
"No one should be normal." He retorted, "But this will supress your genes, make you stop taking the face of whoever you touch." She undid the lid, "But not yet."
"Why not?" She demanded, being so close to who she wanted to be.
"Because we still have to get out." Clara commented, glancing at the Doctor to see if she was right.
She was, "You don't want to get your new life only to lose it a few minutes later because your mind has been melted."
Saibra hated that he was right, but she pocketed the bottle, "So, now what?" She asked, "We're in the vault, what else do we have to do?"
"That's not the question." The Doctor told her firmly, "The big question is; What did we come for?"
Clara showed him the piece of card that had been sat in the case along with the information to break the vault's lock. The first two lines indicated where both Psi and Saibra's rewards have been.
"'PV'." She read off.
"Private Vault." The Doctor said, expanding on the hint, "Karabraxos's own fortune?" But that wouldn't draw them here, would it? What use for gold and baubles did he and his wife have? It had to be something more, something actually worth something.
He started pacing, just like he always did, only to walk around the large rack of smaller deposit box and into the path of the Teller. He backed up slightly, surprised, as two guards appeared, flanking the creature, guns at the ready.
~0~0~0~
Clara stood on one side of him, Saibra on the other. Ms Delphox was sat behind the desk, and the guards were stood behind the trio. None of this meant anything to the Doctor, though. Even the Teller, the creature that had been the reason that Danielle had taken her own life, held absolutely no interest to him at all. He didn't blame the Teller, Danielle had been right; whatever the creature was, it wasn't there by choice. No one was there of their own free will if they were chained.
No, his focus was on how to get out, and how to get to the Architect. This was all his fault. Tempting them with something that would get them there, only to give them little vials of death that they would have to use. He was the reason Danielle was dead, that Psi had unfortunately followed in the same way.
The woman, Ms Delphox, talked but it didn't matter. None of it matters. She was going to turn them into the braindead zombies that were used to scare the customers into compliance, and nothing was going to stop her. So what, it wasn't important. People always dithered over the little things, he had more to think about.
"Useful species." The Doctor commented, cutting her off in her victory speech.
"Last of its kind," Ms Delphox explained, "and we've signed an exclusive deal."
"Must be noisy inside its head." He continued, "Painful to listen to so much chatter, so many secrets. Must drive it wild. How can you force it to obey?" The Teller looked up as it listened to his words, like it was agreeing and the Doctor felt a twinge of remorse; if Danielle had still been here, they would have rescued the poor creature. As it was, the Doctor didn't have the time.
"Oh, everything has a price tag, I think you'll find." There was a flash of light from the window to the side, filling the room with a crash of thunder. Delphox looked out for a moment, a concerned look flashing briefly on her face, "The storm's getting worse. The customers are leaving. Director Karabraxos will be concerned. Our jobs will be on the line."
"You're scared." The Doctor commented and she let out a little laugh.
"Oh, I'm terrified. I have the disadvantage of knowing Karabraxos personally." She explained.
"If you don't like your boss, why stay?"
Delphox paused for a moment, obviously trying to find the correct words, "My face fits." She settled on, "Now if you'll excuse me, I must take the Teller to its hibernation. You two, dispose of our guests." And with barely a motion to the Teller, Delphox left the trio to the mercy of the two guards. The two heavily armoured people stepped in front of them, guns at the ready.
"Don't do this." He warned in a snarl, teeth bared, ready to attack, "I'm having a very bad day, and I do not want to be pushed around."
"Oh, it's not that bad, sweetie." The guard in front of him declared in a voice that stopped his hearts. They reached dropped their gun, reaching up for their helmet and removed it. Danni grinned back at him and all he could do was stare.
"Danni!" Clara exclaimed in pure elation.
Danni nodded, "Take more than that to keep me down!" She retorted and Clara laughed, torn between asking a million questions and just hugging her friend and never letting go.
"It looked like death." The other started, taking off their helmet to reveal Psi, "It was actually a teleporter."
"They took us to a ship in orbit," Danni explained at full speed, "the TARDIS is up there waiting for us. Removing us from the Teller's vicinity breaks the mental lock. I programmed the teleports and we came back to save you."
"You think we're dead, so the Teller thinks we're dead, and we play the creature at his own mind games." Psi added.
"It was my idea." Danni bragged, looking at her husband for approval, but he hadn't moved.
"No." He declared and she frowned, "No, no, shut up, all of you!" None of them had been speaking, and yet they all felt like they had done what he said, falling silent. He took a step towards his wife, taking in every single detail he could. The shine in her eyes, her blonde hair, the slight crinkling of her skin when she smiled. He couldn't actually believe she was in front of him, but he also knew that it couldn't be anyone but her. She hadn't died, he hadn't killed her. And she looked at him like he held all of her attention, when truly all he could see was her.
"I love you." The words quickly tumbled out of his mouth and her eyebrows shot up in surprise, "I love you." He knew that if he continued to talk, they would be the only words that fell from his lips. He hadn't said it to her before, but he didn't want her to ever not know how he felt.
And the smile, full of happiness and surprise, that spread on her face echoed the one he would see when he was younger and more floppy-haired. With a bowtie on and a terrible tweed outfit, whenever he'd said those words, he'd get the smile and he never thought he'd see it directed at him again. But there it was. He hadn't realised how much he had missed it.
Danni shot a quick look at Clara, who also looked rather stunned at the Time Lord, who up until that moment had been rather reserved in his behaviour. Danni smiled at the Doctor, "I love you too, sweetie." She replied honestly. She didn't know what she had expected - happiness, maybe – at the reappearance, but he looked like his life had been put back together after being destroyed. Just like she would feel, how she had felt, when he had died not too long ago.
He reached out, hand on the back of her neck to pull her closer and into a kiss, in front of everyone but he didn't care. He didn't know why he had before, but never again. People were not going to make him feel embarrassed when all he had ever wanted was his Danielle. He broke the kiss, resting his forehead on hers, eyes closed as they both panted lightly.
She felt him nudging against her mind, begging entrance and she happily let him in. The relief she felt from him, the unadulterated happiness and guilt and love that poured in from his mind threatened to overwhelm her and she tried to soothe him in reply.
"I'm so sorry, sweetie." She whispered out loud, "I'm so happy to see you, but we don't have much time."
The Doctor didn't particularly care. Even his anger at the Architect, which was now shifting from him killing his wife to making him believe that she was dead, faded into insignificance. He just wanted to hold her, to kiss her, to taste her. To feel her in his head, and show her just what she meant to him.
But she was already pulling away, and once again he couldn't deny her good hearts anything. She kept him on the right side of that faint line, and if that was what she wanted, he'd follow her until the end.
"Take off the uniform." Was his compromise, because he wanted to hold her hand, and give her a proper hug, and how was he supposed to do that with so much metal between them.
Clara snorted at his choice of words, while both Saibra and Psi looked decidedly uncomfortable. Danni didn't seem to see the double meaning, though, pulling a face that said that he really should know better.
"What else did you expect me to do?" She retorted, "Now, what do we have to do?"
~0~0~0~
They followed the pipes taking basic life support to the private vault which, in itself, baffled the Doctor. Whatever was in the mystical place that they'd obviously been heading towards held his and Danielle's reward, but what could it be? The idea that someone was hanging around with their items suggested things; jewels and gold and antiques, none of which held any interest to either of them. Maybe it would surprise him, after all Saibra had her gene suppressant so manipulation wasn't out of the question. But with his wife back by his side his mind was clear of the overwhelming grief once again, and he couldn't help but suddenly feel rather dubious over the idea that it was their answer to completing their family.
They, of course, followed the air vent down instead of trying the front door. The lock into the deposit boxes had been more than a nightmare to break into, and the private vault was bound to have more security than that. No, why travel through the front door when you can go in through the sides?
The Doctor stepped out first, hand behind his back to keep Danni from following straight away. He wanted to check that it was safe, although the Mozart that was filtering through from inside the vault wasn't exactly screaming that a hostile environment waited of them.
Danni quickly followed when he would allow her, a silly grin on his face that brought happiness to both of his hearts, then Clara, Saibra and Psi silently joined them. The place was full of ornate statues and furniture, a desk in the middle with a fabric-backed chair, where the owner of the treasures was sat, back to them. The Doctor glanced down at Danielle, who was looking around the room with wonder on her face, like she couldn't quite believe what the vault held. Well, she had always treated each adventure like it was the first, he was glad he could keep it that way.
He gently nudged her over to the desk, Clara on her other side. The teacher didn't want to leave her friend's side in case something else horrid happens. The Doctor grabbed Danielle's hand tightly; perhaps they were all a bit jumpy.
"Director Karabraxos?" The Doctor addressed in an authoritative tone, "Excuse us, but we've come to rob you. So if you want to put your hands above your head, or…" He trailed off as the chair slowly turned around to reveal Ms Delphox, or at least someone who looked just like her, with her hands up above her head. While Ms Delphox had been dressed smartly for work, this woman was in fine clothing, obviously as rich as the things in her vault suggested.
She waited for a moment for him to finish his sentence, but they were all completely dumbstruck at the sight of her, "Or?" She asked, lowering her hands when she realised her assailants were unarmed, "You didn't bring any weapons. That's a bit of an oversight." She leant over, placing one perfectly manicured finger on her intercom, "Security, Karabraxos here."
The Doctor, who couldn't quite believe his eyes, let go of his wife to take a closer look at the woman, walking around to her side. He watched the screen on the intercom light up, showing Ms Delphox at her desk, looking vaguely confused as to why her boss was contacting her.
"You're Karabraxos?" He asked but the director held her finger up, shushing him.
"One moment." She told him.
"Director Karabraxos, is there a problem?" Ms Delphox asked in a voice that was obviously reserved for her boss and doppelganger.
"Intruders in the private vault. Send me the Teller." Karabraxos demanded, "I want to find out how they got in, and then I want to wipe their memories." The doctor walked over to the lock on the door to check the mechanism, seeing that it was DNA activated. Only she, herself, should be able to open the door, but then security couldn't enter unless she let them. She needed some help, and someone this wealthy wouldn't trust anyone.
"She's a clone." The Doctor declared as he turned back around. Karabraxos nodded.
"It's the only way to control my own security. I have a clone in every facility." She explained like she was so proud of her idea. She then turned back to the intercom, "Get on it right away."
The clone smiled, happy to do her job, "Yes, of course."
"And then hand in your credentials. You're fired, with immediate effect." Karabraxos added.
That seemed a bit harsh, but then again she had let five bank robbers through the entire building to the private vault, "But please, I've been in your service…" She quickly began to defend herself, but Karabraxos obviously didn't care.
"Ever since the last one let me down and I was forced to kill it." Danni's eyebrows shot up in horrified surprise. She looked to her husband for confirmation of what she'd just heard, but he looked just as horrified as she was, "I can't quite believe that you're putting me through this again." She ended the transmission, turning to the people who had interrupted her day, "My clone. And yet she doesn't even protest. Pale imitation, really." She smiled, a funny thought coming to her head that she obviously had to share, "Ha! I should sue."
She waited for a reply, a laugh from everyone else, but all she could were a bunch of baffled looks from the group, "You're killing her? You just said…" Clara started.
"Fired?" Karabraxos finished as she saw where the poor young girl had become confused, "I put all of the used clones into the incinerator. Can't have too many of moi scattered around." She held her hands aloft, indicating to herself like she was absolutely fantastic.
"That's horrible!" Danni exclaimed, "How can you just kill someone like that?!"
"I can't very well keep her alive, can I?" Karabraxos pointed out, "She's inferior stock. If I didn't replace them when they weren't wrong, how can I ensure it doesn't happen again?"
"Sorry, you don't get on with your own clone?" Psi asked, amazed.
"She hates her own clones." The Doctor answered, his face contorted as thoughts flew through his head. He felt like everything had been cleaned up, like his thoughts were no longer dark and heavy, but streamlined as they rushed through his head. Without the worry and the sorry of Danielle's demise, he was started to join the dots, "She burns her own clones." He turned to look at her again, at his wife to see if she would jog anything else, "Frankly, you're a career break for the right therapist." He shot at Karabraxos, who looked vaguely insulted. He didn't care, he was always rude because he didn't have time to waste on terrible people, but he was glad to see Danielle holding back a giggle. She must really not like the director of the bank if she wasn't corrected him.
That was it. He understood. Well, understood wasn't the right word, but he was getting there, "Shut up. Everybody, just, just shut up." He shouted.
"And what is this display now, as amusing as you are?" Karabraxos asked.
"Shut up. Just shut up, shut up, shut up, shutetty up up up." He demanded, more than annoyed with the woman now, "What, what did you say?" He snapped his fingers as he walked over to Saibra, before pointing at her, "What did you say?"
"Saibra, sweetie." Danni corrected with a warning in her tone. A warning at his rudeness, which just proved his idea all along.
"Saibra, what did you say about your own eyes?" He asked but she just stared, uncertain of whether speaking might upset him further, "De-shut up. Say it again."
"How can you trust someone if they look back at you out of your own eyes?" She replied slowly and the Doctor clapped once, indicating that she'd said exactly what he wanted her to.
He quickly rushed back over to his wife, "I know one thing about the Architect." He told her, reaching out and taking hold of her upper arms, "What is it that I know about the Architect? I know one thing. Something that I've known from the very start." She wasn't looking bewildered and slightly uncomfortable like everyone else. No, she never did. She just waited patiently as he rambled his way through his thoughts. All throughout this, she'd questioned the Architect's motives, but never expressed dislike for what he was doing to them. She'd not asked for revenge at her apparent death, she'd just worried about him and Clara. No, she'd seen him as the answer to the one thing that she thought wrong with herself. Just like he saw her.
"What do you know?" Danni asked him and he grinned.
"I hate him." He replied and her face fell in recognition at his words. He turned to look at Clara, "He's overbearing, he's manipulative, he likes to think that he's very clever and then still gets my wife killed anyway! I hate him! Clara, don't you see?" He turned back to Danni, picking her up and spinning her around in his arms, "I hate the Architect!"
"What in the name of sanity is going on in this room now?" Karabraxos asked, suddenly finding the whole situation incredibly dull.
"You think it's you, don't you?" Danielle asked when he put her down, "The only person you hate in the universe above everyone else." She stated it as a fact, but her voice was full of sadness that he had worked it out that way.
He leant in close, his breath tickling her ear, "He keeps killing my wife, I'm never going to like him." He told her lowly before jumping away, turning around and rushing over to the desk, leaving Danni behind in his whirlwind of actions.
"Do you mind if I borrow a little bit of paper?" He asked Karabraxos before taking one anyway, grabbing a quill – who wrote with a quill in this day and age? – and rushed over to one of the large items.
"And what are you doing now?" Karabraxos asked in exasperation as he scribbled quickly on the scrap of paper.
"I'm giving you our telephone number." He explained before rushing back to her. He folded the paper in half.
"Why?" She asked, which was a question both Danni and Clara would have liked the answer to as well.
"Well, I thought you might like to call me someday." He scribbled on the front, telling her they were time travellers, before handing it back. She looked confused, but took it anyway, intrigued at this development.
The room rattled, the solar flares increasing and it became very apparent that their time was up. Even Karabraxos looked rather concerned at the ceiling, "Oh, that was a big one, wasn't it? I think that your bank is about to close for good, Karabraxos. If I was you, I'd get going. Don't mind us, we'll just stay here and burn."
She quickly packed up the small amount of gold and jewellery she could fit into her small case, placing the TARDIS's phone number on the top, like she was seriously considering keeping it. With one last word in from the Doctor, planting the suggestion to call him when she looked back on her life and found regret. Then she went out the doors and away from her bank for the final time.
Danni tugged on his arm and he immediately took hold of her hand, threading his fingers through hers, "Aren't we going to get off the planet as well?" She asked, hoping for a clue to what was running through his mind. They were connected now, but that didn't mean she could see his thought processes. But all he did was shake his head.
Clara recognised his behaviour as well, "Are you remembering?" She asked.
"No, not a thing." He replied, "But I'm understanding." He pulled Danni's hand up, placing a kiss on the back, "Go to Clara, my Pet." He commanded, "Look after her, it's what you do best." Danni shot him a suspicious look – why would Clara need looking after – but she walked over to her friend's side.
"What are you understanding?" Clara asked and the Doctor shrugged, backing up towards the door so he could keep an eye on Danielle. He was sure this was going to work, a good 87% sure, which was rather high for him. He still had the teleports, after all. He probably should have given them all one, but he'd come back for them anyway. But, if this did backfire, then he wanted to make sure he had a clear image of her in his head so he could keep hold of it until the last possible moment.
"I'm not sure yet." He explained, "I need my memory back. And I think there's only one way to do that."
"Which would be?"
His eyes locked with Danni's, "Soup." Was his one-word answer and she shook her head.
"No, no what are you doing?" She asked frantically, panicking as the door pinged behind them, opening up to reveal the Teller. The Doctor turned around slowly.
"Hello, big man. Peckish?" He asked and the Teller grabbed his mind, scanning him quickly, looking for his guilt.
"Theta!" Danni screamed, and Clara realised why the Doctor had sent her over. Not for Danni to look after her, but for Clara to stop her interfering. When she moved forward, obviously running to her husband's side, Clara reached out and grabbed her, using all her strength to keep her close.
"No, no." He exclaimed with a groan of pain. He fell to his knees, "Let it take me. Let it read me. It's the only way."
"You know what's going to happen!" Danni replied, falling to a stop as she watched helplessly, "Why are you doing this?"
"Because we need to know why." He replied before turning his attention to the Teller, who feasted on his memories. The Teller munched through, reading his memories, tasting the loss he felt for his wife and the Doctor felt the creature stop, hovering over the grief and making the Doctor relive it too, "No, no, keep moving." He begged, tears gathering in his eyes that definitely weren't soup, "Don't show me that, please, show me why we're here."
And he did. All of a sudden memories flooded his head. Of the plans for a date he'd instantly decided to take Danielle on, and the phone call off an old woman that had made them stop. Of his planning to place everything they needed into the bank, and him convincing Danielle to wipe her memory. How she'd cried, begged him to find another way, but she was never going to say no and now he knew why.
Danni watched as the Teller suddenly let her husband go, backing away as if to show it wasn't going to hurt him anymore. The Doctor scrambled off the floor, eyes wide in realisation and hope that this wasn't all for nothing. He could tell the Teller had seen what the memories meant, but if the creature was too afraid, then he'd never let them go.
"Did you see why we came?" The Doctor asked, "Why we're here? We had to delete our own memories, otherwise you'd have known, and then she'd have known, because you were mentally linked. But she's gone now." He waved his arms in the air, "They've all gone. They have no power over you now. You can do exactly what you want to do now. Exactly what you've always wanted to do." The Teller slowly advanced on him, towards a lock on the wall, "You can see I'm not lying, because you saw I felt it too. That loss, the grief of losing the other half of yourself." Danni looked over at him, feeling incredibly touched but also very confused at his words, "I'm here to help, we're both here to help." The lock began turning on its own, the last lock to the last vault in the bank, as the Teller unlocked it with its mind alone.
"It knows the combination." Psi said in realisation.
"Of course it does. It was linked to Karabraxos." The Doctor pointed out.
"What exactly are we doing here?" Clara hissed, "That thing killed people."
"As I have done, and will do again." The Doctor retorted as the door started opening towards them, "And so might you do, to protect everything you loved." The door opened fully to reveal another creature, exactly the same at the Teller, but chained to the wall and on the floor. The creature wailed and the Teller replied.
"Oh my god!" Danni exclaimed, all thoughts of the Doctor's idiocy hiding away for a later date as she rushed over to the other creature. She crouched down in front of the other creature, "It's okay, you're okay." She quickly reassured them, inspecting the chain for a way to help them break free.
The Doctor watched with absolute pride as his Danielle, his beautiful-hearted, good Danielle, pushed passed the loss of memories and the fear of death to immediately help a creature in need, "Not the last of its species. The last two."
Psi rushed over to Danni's side, helping her release the creature as the Doctor did a quick check to make sure that the trapped Teller was fine. A quick mental look over and the Doctor shot a nod to the Teller.
"It's okay, it's okay. It's all right." He promised and the Teller let out a roar of undeniable elation.
"Exit strategy." Saibra breathed, "We've got seven shredders."
"Exactly." The Doctor replied, "This wasn't a bank heist. It never was. It was rescue mission for a whole species. Flesh and blood, the last currency."
Danni jumped out of the way when she realised she wasn't really helping get the creature free. She hopped over to Clara's side with the biggest smile on her face, "Isn't he fantastic?" She told their friend, who rolled her eyes.
"Oh, you're going to become soppy again, aren't you?" She groaned, pretending to be put out when really she was happy that they both had seemed to overcome something. She, personally, could have done without thinking Danni was dead, and the twinge of jealousy she felt was particularly bizarre.
Danni opened her mouth to reply but Clara shook her head, "Just remember the rule. I don't want to walk in on you snogging or…" she waved her hand, a grimace on her face, "or anything else, for that matter."
"Clara!" Danni exclaimed, going pink as Saibra chuckled from the other side of the teacher.
"Does that happen often?" She asked Clara.
"No, no, it doesn't!" Danni quickly promised but Clara shook her head.
"All the time." She replied, "It's a wonder they get anything else done."
The Doctor walked over, wrapping his arms around her and Danni realised they'd freed the other creature, "Oh, I doubt we will." He purred in her ear as the ground shook again and the lights flickered, "Time to go home, my Pet." She wasn't sure how he could put so much want into two little words, but suddenly she was so very happy and very nervous that it was time to leave.
~0~0~0~
They found the Teller and their mate a perfect home. It was grassy, with lots of trees and water and mountains and it reminded her of Siluria, where Tricey was hopefully still running around. She stood with the Doctor as they watched the pair walk off into their new, solitary lives together.
"So much mental traffic in the universe. Solitude is the only peace." The Doctor commented and Danni nodded, before turning her head and shooting him a cheeky smile.
"Better with two." She replied and he couldn't agree more. She turned back to watch the pair but he watched her.
"Was it worth it?" He asked her, meaning the loss of memories and she nodded.
"Totally." She answered without hesitation, "They needed help and to be together. Two lone creatures, against the universe." She smiled softly, "How could I resist?"