Danni opened the TARDIS door, a grin on her face as she looked around the dark, metal room. There were shelves lining the walls with old-fashioned suitcases on them, but she couldn't see the details as the only light came from the top of the magical blue box who had brought them there.
She stepped out, her heeled shoes clicking wonderfully on the floor. "Oh, this is wonderful," she whispered happily as the Doctor stepped out after her.
He watched her with a smile on his face. It really wasn't a wonderful sight, he'd landed them in the luggage hold on purpose, but it was always brilliant to watch her see past that and take in the entire location as a whole.
"Oh yes, wonderful," Clara commented as she stepped out after him. She sounded a lot less impressed that Danielle was, but that was nothing special. She was always rather reserved in her reaction, always sceptical until he proved that they were somewhere amazing.
He didn't actually mind it. It was a good way to practice showing off.
"It's the baggage car. But thanks for lying," he retorted. "The real wonderful is through here."
He motioned for Clara to go ahead before offering his arm to Danni. She grinned, taking it happily and they headed towards the door out of the car. They stepped into the joining hallway and he smirked down at his wife. "There were many trains to take the name Orient Express," he told them both. "But only one in space."
Clara opened the door for them all, revealing a lounge car on the other side. There were people stood around tall tables as waiters handed out drinks from the bar at the other end. A young woman sang a slow version of a song Danni recognised but couldn't place.
"What was that one you took me to with the Egyptian Queen, then?" she asked him. "Remember? After the Ponds got married?"
Clara turned to see him scowl slightly at the question. That definitely meant there was probably another Orient Express in space. "So it's not the only Orient Express? Or the only one in space?"
"It is," he replied. "I may have slightly been a bit less than truthful on that particular trip."
"Oh?" Danni asked. "And what, exactly, were you less than truthful about?"
"I didn't want to waste a perfectly good date on a honeymoon," he explained. "So I may have rung ahead and set up a little Egyptian Queen thing on another… it doesn't matter," he dismissed. "We're on the Orient Express now, aren't we?"
She continued to shoot him a look that told him that she wasn't impressed, but it broke away with an eyeroll and a kiss on his cheek. "Alright, I forgive you," she told him. "Go on, tell us about it."
He smirked. This was the part he liked. "Completely faithful recreation of the original Orient Express. Except slightly bigger. And in space. Oh, and the rails are actually hyperspace ribbons. But in every other respect, identical. Painstaking attention to detail."
A man pushed through between them, knocking Danni into Clara with very little care about his manners. The Doctor glared after him. "Most of the time." He caught Danni's bright, happy gaze then nodded forward. "Go on, then."
Her face broke out in a giant grin and she quickly left his side, heading down the aisle to the only available window at the other end of the carriage. She quickly positioned herself right up against it, hands on the windows as she marvelled at the space outside. It was her favourite thing to see, all the stars stretching out farther than she could even imagine. Even as old as she was, seeing the universe like that made her feel like she was 22 again, landing in the TARDIS for the first time and standing in the doorway.
The Doctor and Clara kept their spot by the doorway, the Doctor with his hands in his trouser pockets as they both watched her fondly. She really suited the dress she was wearing, a black flapper dress with tassels around the shirt, whereas Clara's had much bolder beading and Danni's was a little more reserved. Even the Doctor had made an effort to blend in with his black suit and string tie that looked suspiciously like a bowtie. He had found himself hating them less since Danielle had returned to the TARDIS. Actually, he had found himself hating his previous body less since she had returned.
Still didn't particularly like the man or his fashion choices, but he was hating them both less.
"Stop it," he told Clara and she frowned as she looked up at him, confused.
"Stop what?"
"The smile," he replied lowly but it only grew.
"Yeah, I'm smiling," she agreed, because she was. She was having a great time already and it had only just begun. It was such a lovely place to be brought to, of course she was happy.
"It's the sad smile," the Doctor corrected. "It's a smile but you're sad. It's confusing. It's like two emotions at once. It's like you're malfunctioning."
The smile faltered and the both turned back to watching Danni observe the space outside. "Sorry."
They fell into silence for a moment. "You haven't told her, have you?" he asked Clara.
"Told who what?" Clara replied.
"You haven't told Danielle that you're leaving," he clarified and she looked up at him in faint surprise. He shot her an almost pitying one in return. "You're not the first person to choose to leave the TARDIS, Clara. I know that look."
She was going to protest, she really was. But he just continued to look at her like he knew what she was thinking and she let out a little sigh. "Danny thinks it's for the best, and- and I agree," she explained. "When I found her note it hurt more than it should have, and that's not healthy."
"That's because you're in love with her," the Doctor muttered but she shot him a sideways look and he pressed his lips together.
"No, it's because you love her," Clara corrected. "I thought it had all disappeared, but it hasn't. I'm still as reckless as you, and I'm still feeling your pain over her. I need to get away from it." The Doctor nodded slowly, agreeing to what he considered her delusion. "If you noticed, do you think she did?"
"No," he replied softly, thinking back on all the people in Danni's life who she'd loved as much as Clara. "Danielle has only ever had people torn away from her. She won't know what it's like for someone to walk away."
Clara's heart broke a little bit more and they both continued to watch her happily look out at everything that was so much vaster that the little train they were in.
"I'm not telling her, Clara," he told his friend.
"I don't expect you to," she quickly replied. "I-I will do it. I just have to find the right moment."
The Doctor didn't reply, instead he left her side to walk over to his wife, keeping his face neutral as his mind raced. Clara leaving of her own free will would break Danielle's heart. He would just have to stop that, and that was why they were on the Orient Express.
He wrapped his arms around her from behind and she tore her gaze from the universe to smile brightly up at him. "What do you think, my Pet?" he asked her and she nodded.
"Definitely worth the wait," she replied. "You really spoil me, you know?"
"I know," he purred, looking at their faint reflection in the window. "I'm such good husband, aren't I?"
She giggled. "The best," she promised.
~0~0~0~
"Ladies and gentlemen. If you would be good enough to look from the windows on the right of the train, you'll be able to see the soaring majesty of the Magellan black hole," a voice declared over the intercom. Danni pressed onto the table that they had located to, leaning closer to the window to see through. There was a swirl of beautiful gasses that surrounded the train and the blackhole in the distance.
"That's incredible," she said in awe, turning to Clara who was stood to her right. "It's really something else, isn't it?"
Clara nodded, smiling as she enjoyed Danni's unrestrained happiness at the view. "You're right, really something," she agreed, taking a look herself. She was really going to miss this. She wasn't going to see black holes on the way to her ordinary job on her ordinary planet, was she?
"Oh, I remember when this was all planets as far as the eye could see," the Doctor told them both, reminiscing happily. "All gone now. Gobbled up by that beast."
Danni smirked at Clara. "Way to pull the old man card again," she teased him.
"Hush, you," he replied. "There was this planet, Obsidian. The planet of perpetual darkness."
"Really?" Danni asked.
He nodded. "There was also a planet that was made completely of shrubs."
Clara watched them talk, partly listening to the information the Doctor was dumping on them, and partly reminiscing on all the other times he'd rambled on and she'd not been paying much attention. How much had she missed by worrying about other things? How much had she missed worrying that people would find out about her double life? She had a wonderful life, but it was so hard and she knew it was going to get harder each time she watched her two best friends get into the TARDIS and fly away without her. Now Danni wasn't living with her she was painfully aware of how much she missed her. The only thing that made it fade was Danny Pink. She had to put him first.
Then why did she have to keep convincing herself that it was the right thing to do?
"Thedion Four," the Doctor continued as the married couple looked out the window. Would they even miss her, though? They looked so happy together, and again she felt a twinge of pain at that as well. It was all too confusion. "Constant acid rain.
Danni's eyes lit up in recognition. "Didn't we go there once?"
He nodded. "We had a picnic," he reminded her and she grinned.
"With gasmasks, I remember that," she exclaimed. "That was with River, wasn't it?"
"That's a lie," a voice declared from behind them and all three turned to see a woman also dressed up in the style of the era the train was trying to invoke. She held an empty glass in her hand, and did seem to be a little drunk.
"I'm sorry?" Clara asked, confused.
"That's a lie, what you said" she repeated, looking at the two Time Lords. She seemed rather distressed and Danni frowned. "Thedion Four was destroyed thousands of years ago, so you couldn't have been there."
"Miss Pitt," another voice said as two men appeared from the door they had been stood by. Both were wearing uniform, but the man who had addressed her was wearing medals. Both of them had a gun at their hips and that made Danni even more uncomfortable at the way they were looking at the woman; with pity. "Are you sure you wouldn't rather rest in your room?"
Miss Pitt motioned to the Doctor and Danni. "Those people are liars."
The man with the medals smiled condescendingly at her. "Perhaps you'd allow Mister Carlyle here to escort you back."
The other man, who was obviously Mister Carlyle, stepped forward to take her by the arm. Danni shook her head. "No, that won't do," she declared, moving in front of the armed guard and looking at the other man. "She's obviously distressed and your armed buddy here isn't going to make her feel any better. I will take her to her room, and you can get those guns away from us."
She turned back to Miss Pitt, smiling at her brightly. "I'm Danni," she introduced as kindly as she could. "Would that be alright? If I took you back instead?"
Miss Pitt looked between the two then nodded. Danni held her hand out for the other woman and she was happy when she took it. She glanced at her husband. "I'll meet you back at our room."
He nodded and she slowly led Miss Pitt away from the guards and her the other people in the carriage who had been staring and out the door the guards had come through. "I'm sorry about that," Danni told her. "Me and my husband do like to make up stories sometimes. We didn't mean to cause you any distress."
Miss Pitt stared down at her as Danni led her forward before shaking her head. "Of- of course, I'm sorry," she replied. "I don't know why I thought you were lying. It's impossible that you were actually there."
Danni nodded. "Exactly," she agreed, lying completely. "What's your name?"
"Maisie," she replied. "I think they may think I'm a bit mad, now."
"Nah," Danni dismissed as entered the narrow hallway of the first sleeping carriage. "I doubt it. Would it be rude for me to ask what upset you so much about the lying?"
"My- My mum died," she replied with a stutter and Danni's hearts went out to her. "She wasn't really my mum, she was just my gran, but she died."
"I'm sorry to hear that," Danni replied before she paused slightly. She turned, looking at the woman with a thoughtful frown. "What about her dying made you upset about lying, though?" she asked. "Do you think someone is lying to you about it?"
Maisie nodded. "They won't let me see the body," she replied. "That's weird, isn't it? They should let me see the body."
Danni nodded. "You would think so," she agreed. That was very odd. Unless it was a gruesome death, seeing the body shouldn't have been an issue. She tucked that away in the back of her mind for later, though. "You know what you should do?"
"What?" Maisie asked as Danni started walking them both down the hallway.
"You should sleep on it," Danni replied. "You're feeling a bit numb right now, I should suspect?" Maisie's little nod confirmed this. "Have a sleep. Let yourself relax and then all those feelings will come and you'll have a lot more ammo to go tell them bastards to let them see your mum. Being passionate always helps."
Maisie nodded. "You know, you're right," she agreed. "That's an excellent idea."
Danni smiled up at her. "And I bet you can be quite angry when you want to be," she guessed. "Wait until you can unleash that. You'll get anything you want, then."
"Yes, yes, that's an excellent idea," the slightly tipsy woman repeated. "My-My room is just at the end."
"Let's get you some rest, then," Danni encouraged. Hopefully she would pass out and everything would be sorted by the time she woke up again. "They won't know what hit them."
They stopped outside the door, but Maisie turned to her before opening it. "You were making up stories," she said. "Why?"
Danni smiled softly. "Because I'm sad," she replied. "And when I'm sad I like to remem- I like to make up stories that make me happy."
"Why are you sad?" Maisie asked. "Did your mum die too?"
Danni shook her head, glancing up the hallway and back the way they came where she knew the Doctor and Clara were probing for information on Miss Pitt right now. "No," she said. "This is the last time I'm ever going to see my best friend and I don't want to be sad about it."
"That is sad," Maisie agreed. "I'm sorry to hear that."
Danni nodded. "Me too," she whispered before smiling up at the woman again. "Get some rest, sweetie."
Maisie opened the door. "Thank you," she said to Danni sincerely. "You're very kind."
Danni shrugged. "I don't like to see people sad," she offered. "Get some rest."
~0~0~0~
Danni had to knock on a couple of cabin doors before the Doctor opened theirs and pulled her inside. She stumbled slightly as he shut the door, turning to her.
"You first," he instructed and she couldn't help but grin slightly.
"Miss Pitt is actually a lovely woman called Maisie whose gran died on the train," she told him and he nodded. "She wasn't really accusing us of anything, she's just shaken up."
The Doctor nodded. "Ah, but did you know that before she did, Miss Pitt's grandmother started to claim that she saw a mummy?"
Danni frowned. "A mummy?" she repeated and he nodded.
"A mummy that only the woman dying could see," he continued pointed out to her and she looked incredibly impressed.
"I like it," she told him and he grinned at her. "They won't let her see the body."
"What?"
"The powers that be on this train won't let Maisie see the body," she clarified. "Surely if she was just seeing a mummy there would be nothing to hide."
"But they are hiding something," the Doctor agreed. "But this is just supposed to be a nice outing."
"When is anything straight and clean cut with us?" Danni retorted. She stepped closer, her smirk growing. "An invisible mummy. On the Orient Express," she tempted.
He closed the gap between them, reaching out to take her hand in his. He wrapped the other around her waist and suddenly they were dancing in the middle of the room. "No, my Pet," he said.
"Oh?" she replied, keeping her eyes on him as they slowly turned on the spot.
"It's an invisible mummy on the Orient Express," he leant closer. "In space."
"Oh, you do know how to show off, don't you?" Danni purred as he dipped her backwards, holding her there just for a moment before pulling her back up into a standing position. "Always have to be the smartest one in the room."
"Wrong again," he told her. He couldn't recall ever dancing with her on a train in space. Why hadn't he done this sooner? "I'm the smartest one on the train."
She chuckled lowly. "That's definitely very true," she agreed. "So what do we do now?"
"Well, I suggest we finish dancing. And then," his arm tightened around her, pulling her up even closer. "After we've finished dancing, we should go investigate."
He spun her out, then back, then he wrapped his arms around her. She giggled as he quickly nudged her backwards towards the bed built into the wall. "Theta, wait!"
~0~0~0~
The Doctor slipped on his jacket as he slipped out into the hallway, looking up and down to see if anyone was coming before running his hand through his hair. It was a habit that he'd lost in this regeneration, but something he needed to do on occasion to make sure he was presentable.
Danni stepped out after him, straightening her dress out with her free hand while she held her shoes in the other. Her hair was similarly messy, but she rather suited it and so he didn't point it out.
"Should we get Clara?" she whispered, hoping not to disturb anyone around them who may have gone for an early night. "She'll want to see this."
He glanced at the door to Clara's cabin. On one hand, yes, Clara would love to come investigating with them, and he would like to have her there. He did rather like her company, and sometimes she did see things that neither of the seasoned time travellers did. However, he also had to wonder if maybe she was better off staying behind. If he could keep her from whatever this was, even keeping her from knowing, then perhaps he could show her that she did enjoy their tamer trips and she wasn't becoming as 'reckless', as she'd put it, as him. Then she'd stay and not hurt his wife, and himself.
He shook his head. "Nah," he dismissed. "She'll just get in the way."
He headed towards the door as Danni hopped on one foot to put a shoe on. She also took a long look at Clara's door, her hearts aching at how their little time left together was running out with her being apart from her best friend. Still, if the Doctor didn't think that she would want to be disturbed, then she had to agree.
"Theta, wait," she hissed, stopping to put the other shoe on as he exited the hallway. "I haven't…" she stopped, putting her other shoe on quickly. "Wait, I haven't got my shoes on!"
She caught up to him at the entrance to the other carriage. They walked through a couple more before they started to reach the carriages that weren't quite as in keeping with the theme as the rest of the train. The walls were just the wood that made them up, no paint and no decoration. The floor was much of the same. They were just carcasses of carriages used to house the maintenance equipment. The Doctor paused, glancing in one of the open doorways. He looked back at her, nodded silently to say this was where he wanted to check first, and he quickly stepped inside.
Danni took a bit longer to look around as he headed straight for a large chair-like device wrapped in plastic wrapping. There were tools everywhere, it was obviously somebody's workstation. He crouched down and she joined him as he pulled some of the wrapping away from the base of the chair.
She frowned at the screen. "Powering up?" she whispered. "To do what?"
He pulled out his screwdriver, scanning it. "It's not what it does I care about," he whispered in return. "It's what it did before." That didn't really help her much, but she didn't say anything, instead looking around to see if anyone was coming down the hallway.
"Beautiful bit of kit, isn't it, sir?" They both jumped up, Danni holding her hand to her chest as her hearts raced in surprise. Instead of in the hallway, the man had approached them from behind some of the many shelves that the room housed. He was dressed more like she would have expected train staff to dress, in a pair of overalls and a flat cap. It was the piece of metal he was casually holding in front of him that worried her. It was like a weapon.
"The Excelsior Life Extender. It's like driving around in a portable hospital," he continued as he stepped out of the shadows.
"Yes, well, it didn't do Mrs Pitt much good, did it?" the Doctor retorted and the man chuckled lightly as Danni glanced back the chair. It was where the woman had died?
"Got me there, sir. Certainly got me there," the man agreed. "Maybe it malfunctioned."
The Doctor looked down at his wife before slowly walking towards the man. Danni kept close behind him, trying to spot anyone else that could step out at them without warning.
"Oh, I don't think so," the Doctor disagreed. "The records show that the machine did everything it could to keep her alive."
"Yeah. And almost drained the battery doing it."
The Doctor stopped his slow walk. Danni didn't and walked into his back, but he didn't seem to notice. "What do you know?"
The man took another step out of the shadows towards them. "Well, I know that when I find a man and a woman fiddling with a chair that someone died in, it's best to play my cards close to my chest."
"Really?" the Doctor purred. "Well, I know that when I find a man loitering near a chair that someone died in, I do just the same."
The man took another step towards them, but smiled this time, holding his hand out. "Perkins. Chief Engineer."
The Doctor took it, shaking it. "Doctor." His face broke out into a grin. "Nosey Parker." He let go of Perkins' hand and nudged Danni forward. "Danielle Fielding. My wife."
Danni also shook the man's hand. "Just Danni," she corrected. The Doctor was really the only person who called her Danielle unless they were teasing her, and she liked to keep it that was.
"Pleased to meet you, Doctor, Danni," he said to them both. Then the smile dropped off his face. "Course, there's a rumour that someone or something else might be responsible."
"Something else?" Danni repeated. "You mean the mummy?"
"I wouldn't like to say," Perkins replied. "All superstition, I assure you."
"Oh, of course," the Doctor agreed. "But speaking of superstition…"
"Well, it's seems rather odd that a man who specialises in alien mythology, specifically about mummies, is on a train with a woman who died while seeing a mummy."
The Doctor's grin reappeared. "Yes, that is rather odd," he agreed. "The Foretold."
Perkins shrugged. "I can't say I know, sir," he replied as the Doctor grabbed Danni's hand, pulling her out of the room. She tried to wave back at the man but the Doctor was just too quick.
"The Foretold?" Danni repeated. "What's that?"
"A myth, a legend," the Doctor explained. "I know just the man we need to talk to."
~0~0~0~
Danni really hated it when the Doctor didn't explain. He would get an idea and run with it, expecting everyone else to keep up. Half the time it was alright because her experience meant that she could get it pretty quickly. Sometimes, though, it just meant she had to follow and hope that he would eventually give the information up freely.
He took them both back down to the lounge carriage, striding straight down the aisle as his eyes searched for this mysterious man. He found him, reading a book in a low back chair, and slowed to a stop to point at him.
"What's the most interesting thing about the Foretold?" he asked and the man looked up, understandably startled.
"Or 'hello', as we used to say," Danni said, shooting her husband a look before sitting in the small leather chair opposite him. "I am sorry, he seems to have lost that in recent years."
The man looked between the two. "I'm terribly sorry, I don't believe we've met."
"We haven't," Danni agreed. "I'm Danni Fielding, this is the Doctor. He's going to ask you some very bizarre questions, it's easier for everyone if you just try and answer them the best you can." She gave him a smile at the end. "That sounded a lot more threatening than I meant it, sorry."
The Doctor nodded to his wife in thanks, then proceeded to ignore the man's bewilderment because she'd given him permission. "The Foretold. Mythical mummy. Legend has it that if you see it, you're a dead man."
"Yes, I know what it is. You see, I happen to be…"
"Emil Moorhouse," the Doctor interrupted, once again surprising the man. "Professor of alien mythology." He held his hand out and the men shook hands. Danni had no idea who the man was and, once again, really wished the Doctor would just tell her this sort of information before they started whatever plan he had. "Pleased to meet you. So, the most interesting thing about the Foretold. Go."
"Er," Moorhouse looked between the two as he thought before closing his book. "Well, it would have to be the time limit given before it kills you. I can't think of another myth where it's so specific. How does it go? Er, The number of evil twice over. They that bear the Foretold's stare have sixty-six seconds to live."
The Doctor shook his head. "No, no, no. Nice try. Very atmospheric. But that's not it. Try again."
"A cynical man might say that you were trying to pump me for information," Moorhouse commented and Danni nodded.
"We are," she replied bluntly. "In a nice way, obviously. I mean, what harm could a myth do really?"
She didn't sound convinced, and the man didn't seem particularly eased by her words either. She used to be better at this, she was sure of it. What was she doing wrong?
"The myth of the Foretold first appeared over five thousand years ago," the Doctor told them both as he reached into his pocket. He pulled out the cigarette case he kept there for special occasions. "In some stories, there is a riddle or secret word that is supposed to make it stop. Some characters try to bargain with it, offer riches, confess sins. All to no avail."
The Doctor flipped the case open, offering the professor a jelly baby. The man took on, slightly amused as he looked over the strange treat. He then offered one to Danielle. He kept the green ones in there just for her, and just as he suspected she took one and popped it in her mouth. She even managed to chew it thoughtfully as her brain processed the information he'd given her.
"Well, you certainly know a little mythology," the professor commented.
"We both do," he agreed. "Because, from time to time, it turns out to be true."
"But that's the great appeal, isn't it?" Moorhouse countered. "Earth legends are such dry, dusty affairs, and always fiction. But up here, in the stars, anything's possible. That's why I chose this field, to be honest. Hoping one day I might meet a real monster."
"You might be closer to that than you think," Danni replied as he popped his own jelly baby into his mouth.
"You still haven't answered my riddle," the Doctor pointed out. "What's the most interesting thing about the Foretold?"
"Is it the word?" Danni asked him. "Are you trying to figure out the command?"
He shook his head. "No," he replied. "We will have to eventually, I suspect, but not yet. There's something else. What is it?"
"Well, you can't run from it, that's for sure," Moorhouse told him. He was obviously enjoying talking about his area of expertise. "There are accounts of people trying, but it never works. No matter how far you run, it's always right there behind you."
"Nope. Even colder," the Doctor said as the carriage phone began ringing. It was a quiet noise but one Danni heard and she turned in the chair, seeing the barman turn to answer it. After only a second he didn't look happy, in fact he looked positively alarmed as he turned to the barmaid.
"All right, I give up, you tell me," Moorhouse declared, slightly exasperated. Danni reached out, grabbing her husband's hand and giving it a tug.
"Doctor," she said lowly.
"Mrs Pitt, the old woman who died," the Doctor answered Moorhouse.
"She died of old age. Nothing supernatural," the professor pointed out.
"No. That's my answer," the Doctor corrected as more people seemed to gather around the bar. Danni tugged on his hand again.
"Her death?" Moorhouse asked, incredulous.
"Doctor, something's happened," Danni tried a little louder to get his attention. He finally paid her some attention, looking over at the bar and seeing it himself.
The Doctor turned back to the professor. "No. The fact that you were here to witness it. Excuse us, Professor."
He helped Danni out of her chair and they walked over to the bar, where the staff where all in a bit of a panic, which wasn't helping the passengers keep calm either. The Doctor let go of her hand to let her push through the small crowd that was gathering – she was smaller than him, after all, which made it either to move between people – and she quickly made her way to the bar.
"Excuse me," she called to the woman behind it. "What's happened?"
The barmaid tried to smile back. "Nothing, miss," she replied. "Everything is under control."
Danni shook her head. "Someone's died," she countered. "I'm guessing a member of staff otherwise you wouldn't be keeping it to yourself. Who was it?"
The woman's smile faltered at being caught out so quickly. "Miss, it is all under control."
Danni nodded. "I am sure it is," she agreed before tilting her head to the side. "The passengers are confused, and news like this tends to travel fast. If it was one of the waiters then they'd be all in a bother about it happening in one of their carriages. So it's behind the scenes staff. You've been informed over the phone instead of in person, which means the death affects your job directly. So, not engineers… Ah, it's in the kitchens." She grinned at the stunned woman. "Thanks, sweetie!"
She made her way back to her husband. "There was a death in the kitchens," Danni told him. "I'm thinking one of the cooks."
He took her hand and began leading her towards the back of the carriage and away from the other passengers. He'd been watching her, barely able to hear her over the commotion, but she'd barely took any time at all. "You barely let her speak," the Doctor said lowly. "How did you get it out of her?"
Danni shrugged as he opened the door for her. "She didn't try and calm me down as if I'd witnessed it," she offered. "If the passengers had seen it, that's what I would have done even if I wasn't sure who had seen it or not." She frowned, looking up at him. "Why? Did I do it wrong?"
"Wrong? No," he replied as the door shut behind them. "Sexy? Yes."
She shook her head, but shot him a smirk. "One thing at a time, Theta," she told him firmly. "Where to now?"
He wasn't best pleased, but she was right. "I think it's time we had a chat with our captain, don't you?"
She nodded and they hurried through the carriages to the back where the kitchens would be. "You know, she called me Miss," Danni commented. "Why do people keep doing that? It's really annoying. I'm not young, and I'm married. Maybe I should start wearing a sign?"
~0~0~0~
"I think we need to talk."
The captain, Quell, turned from his office door to see that Doctor stood there, his wife by his side. He looked over them both with a look of slight annoyance. He was about done for the day and he really didn't need the interfering questions of an old man and his curious wife. He just wanted to sit down, have a drink, and then head to bed. Was that too much to ask?
"This matter does not concern the passengers," he replied firmly before turning back to follow the two guards who were also clocking off for the evening.
"We're not passengers," the Doctor replied, walking straight towards him. "We're your worst nightmare." From behind his back he pulled out a leather wallet, displaying it for the captain to see.
Quell took it off him, reading the ID in the top slot. "A mystery shopper," he said in exasperation before furrowing his brow. "And his manager."
Danni's eyes widened in delight. "Yes, yes exactly," she declared happily, taking the psychic paper off him. He was right. The Doctor was a mystery shopper, and she was declared underneath as his management. "See? Says it right here."
She handed it to the Doctor for him to see. He practically snatched it out of her hand, hiding the glower he wanted to give at the fact that, once again, he was the child and she was the babysitter. It had been the same with Kazran back with the sky full of fish. Had he really never grown up?
"Really?" he asked the captain. "That's your worst…"
"Why would a mystery shopper be accompanied by a manager?" Quell asked, suspicious.
"Quality control," Danni replied quickly. "I'm here to make sure that he doesn't expect outlandish things, or accept bribes or anything untoward like that. Once one of our mystery shoppers listed that he didn't approve of a hotel because there wasn't a pool in his room. Can you imagine? It was only a motel."
The Doctor nodded. "I do have some complaints," he told the captain. "I could do with an extra pillow and I'm very disappointed with your breakfast bar and," his voice dropped low and serious, "all of the dying."
Danni nodded in agreement. "See? That is a genuine complaint," she replied firmly. "Perhaps your office would be a good place to discuss this?"
The man sighed heavily, then nodded. He opened the door he had been so close to entering without disruption and stepped inside, not offering the pair the courtesy of being let in first. He headed to one of his cabinets and pulled out his best brandy, because he needed it. Then he remembered that he had company and grabbed two more glasses, placing them on his desk.
"This is not exactly within your job description," he pointed out. He offered the pair a drink. The Doctor didn't even acknowledge him, but Danni shook her head with a smile.
"Come on, Captain. Where would we all be if we all followed our job descriptions, hmm?" the Doctor countered as he looked around the room. Certificate of Bravery, medals on his clothes. Solider. "Good question, glad you asked. In your case, you'd be doing something instead of climbing inside a bottle."
The man seemed more surprised than outraged at the accusations. On some level he knew the Doctor was right. Interesting.
"I have followed the procedure for accidental death to the letter."
"Yes, I'm sure you have. And I'm sure you do just enough of your job to avoid complaints."
"You don't know anything about me."
"Wounded in battle, honourable discharge. And this is just a guess, but I think you've had the fight knocked out of you. You expected this to be a cushy desk job where you could put your head down until retirement. Well, I'm sorry. As of today, that dream is over."
"There is no evidence of any attack or other parties…"
"Not yet," Danni agreed pointedly. "Until, one time, there will be. Someone will die and there will be evidence of foul play and people will look to you and say 'why didn't you do something sooner?'. You may not know what it is, you may never find out until it's too late, but surely you want people to think that you tried?"
The man didn't meet her eye and the Doctor rolled his. "Why are we even talking to you?" he spat, annoyed and little disgusted by the captain's lack of urgency or motivation. He grabbed Danni's hand and pulled her out of the office.
She jumped slightly at the sight of Perkins waiting at the door, rolls of paper in his arms. She held her hand to her hearts as he held the rolls out to the two people.
"Er, passenger manifest, plan of the train and a list of stops for the past six months," he told them both. The Doctor let go of Danielle's hand to take them off the chief engineer.
"Quick work, Perkins," he said, looking at the man suspiciously. "Maybe too quick."
The man looked rather perturbed. "Yes, sir. I'm obviously the mummy," he reasoned before smiling in realisation. "Or perhaps I was already looking into this."
The Doctor tried not to smile, forcing himself to look slightly annoyed. Danni, on the other hand, snorted in laughter. She stepped forward, practically forcing the man to link arms with her. "I like you," she told him. "You can stay."
"Thank you very much, Ma'am," Perkins replied. "Just the validation I was looking for."
The Doctor shook his head, walking down the hallway with the knowledge that they would both follow him.
"You know," Danni said behind him. "You remind me of my husband." The Doctor smirked to himself.
"I thought you said you liked me?" Perkins retorted and he scowled as Danni started laughing again.
~0~0~0~
Danni quickly dipped into the lounge room just in time to see Professor Moorhouse head out of the other door. She tried to be as polite as she could while moving past the remaining passengers in the carriage, but she didn't really pay them much mind.
"Professor Moorhouse!" she called after him. "Professor Moorhouse!"
The man stopped and turned to wait for her. She smiled at him. "Is everything alright, Mrs Fielding?"
She nodded. "Yes, well," her smile fell, "not really, no. I suppose you heard about the other death?"
"Quite tragic," he replied and Danni agreed entirely.
"My husband has something he thinks you should see," she explained. "It's in the back of the train, he would really appreciate it if you joined us."
Moorhouse frowned. "I'm sorry, it is late, I was just heading…"
"He said he needed an expert and you were the man for the job," Danni interrupted. "I'm inclined to agree. It's rare you see someone who actually knows what they're talking about."
"Well," Moorhouse started, feeling slightly inflated at the compliment before shaking his head. "I couldn't possibly…"
"It's about the Foretold."
That caught his attention. He looked her up and down, trying to work out if she was telling the truth or just trying to tempt him. "Why did he send you and not come himself?"
"Oh, that's easy," Danni replied dismissively. "It's because I'm the kind one." Her brows furrowed. "Actually, his exact words were 'You're polite. Go be polite at him' but I knew what he meant." Her smile brightened again. "Shall we?"
The Doctor had already set up the video of Mrs Pitt's death when Danni brought him his expert. He glanced back at his wife.
"Being polite worked, then?" he asked her. She shot him a look that he missed as he turned back to the screen.
"It'd probably work on me too, you know?" she replied. "For example; 'Thank you, Danni, for fetching my expert when I am more than capable myself of doing so' would be a polite thing to say."
He reached out, pulled her close and placed a kiss on her hair. "Thank you," he replied instead, which she accepted happily with a smile on her face. "Now be quiet, we need to time this."
He reached into his inside pocket, rummaged around for a moment before pulling out a stopwatch.
"Time what?" Moorhouse asked as he took off his jacket and placed it onto one of the chairs around them.
"From the moment the old woman saw the mummy to the moment she died," the Doctor replied as if it was obvious. He held the stopwatch ready, with his thumb over the button, then nodded to Perkins who pressed play.
Nothing really happened for a little while. The camera was over Maisie and her gran, but the rest of the carriage was visible as well. Just people eating, and chatting lowly, and generally just enjoying their evening.
It became very obvious when Mrs Pitt spotted the mummy and the Doctor immediately started the stopwatch. She didn't believe it was anything at all, at first. She just demanded that someone remove the mummy from the carriage, but she became more and more agitated as no one seemed to be listening. No one could see the mummy.
The old woman begged, and groaned, and then died and the Doctor pressed the button again to stop the stopwatch.
"Sixty-six seconds. It fits the myth," he remarked. "Did you see the lights flicker?"
Danni nodded. "Something was interfering with them."
"The lights went in the kitchen as well just before the chef saw it," Perkins told them all. None of them were surprised.
"In all of the accounts, conventional weapons have no effect on the Foretold. It's immortal, unstoppable, unkillable," Moorhouse told them all firmly, so they understood what they were suggesting. If it really was the Foretold – and evidence pointed at it even if his rational brain told him it shouldn't exist, not really – then they were in a lot more trouble than it just killing an old woman and a chef. They were all in a lot more danger than that.
Perkins turned to the Doctor. "Can we get a new expert?" he asked. Moorhouse looked a little sheepish.
~0~0~0~
The Doctor continued to look through the passenger manifest, hoping something, anything would jump out at him. Moorhouse had fallen asleep in his chair long ago, and Perkins had followed shortly afterwards. It was a tedious task, after all, looking through so many papers. Especially when you weren't sure what you were looking for. The next victim? Someone who would have something to gain from people dying? Someone who might be controlling an ancient mummy?
He glanced at his wife, who had also curled up on a chair and fallen asleep with paper still in hand. He felt slightly smug at wearing her out so well, but he didn't dwell on it for long. Who knew when the next death was? He needed to work out what was going on, and fast.
He needed his resident nosy-parker-in-crime.
He had intended to leave Clara out of this whole mess. Should she feel that they could really do safe trips then maybe she wouldn't be so inclined to leave. But safety was something none of them had anymore and he needed her help.
He took a communication device off the wall and unplugged the spiral wire that held it in place. With a quick zap of his sonic screwdriver it started ring.
"Doctor?"
"Wake up, sleepy-head," he replied, missing her happy tone. "Time for breakfast. Knowing this train, it'll taste amazing. Can't even get that right, huh? Bad food on trains is traditional."
He could hear her saying something, but he didn't have time for nonsense about her needing her beauty sleep, or whatever she would be complaining about. "Listen, there's been another mummy murder. So our last hurrah just became a bit more interesting."
"I'm trapped!"
He straightened, alarmed, especially when he realised that she hadn't been complaining about being in her pyjamas, she had been trying to tell him something was wrong. "What?" he exclaimed. "Where are you?"
He turned to see Danni looking at him, confused, both at him being on the phone and being awoken. "Clara's trapped," he told her and she jumped out of the chair.
"What? Where?!" she cried but he just grabbed her hand and dragged her out.
"We're- We're in the luggage car. There's a door across from where you parked the TARDIS but we're locked in," she explained.
Luckily they weren't too far from the carriage, and Danni rushed over to the metal door to hammer on it. "Clara, can you hear me?" she called through.
"Clara!" the Doctor also cried as he checked out the lock next to the door. "Is that you?"
"Yes. Yes. Hello. Can you hear us?" she said down the phone and through the door at the same time. Danni smiled, banging on the door again.
"Yes, yes we can!" she called. "We'll get you out!"
The Doctor frowned at the high heeled shoe out of the lock, moving away from the shower of sparks that it caused. He pulled out his screwdriver and tried that, but nothing happened. "Computer, can you open the door, please?" he asked as politely as he could.
"Call me Gus," the computer replied in a slimy voice. "I'm afraid this door can only be opened by executive order."
"Oh, forget it," he retorted, waving his hand at the lock. He pointed the screwdriver at the door, setting it off to scan. However, it only gave a couple of splutters before stopping completely. He tried again a couple of times, but nothing happened.
"Oh, now the stupid sonic…" he started but Danni nudged him out of the way.
"Here, let me…" she started as she reached into the top of her dress, rummaging around, much to his bewilderment. A second later she pulled out her own sonic and pointed it at the door, trying the same thing.
"Where were you keeping that?" he asked. She looked behind her, up at him with a smirk.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" she replied cheekily.
"B-But I never saw you put that in there," he complained and she shrugged as her own sonic screwdriver spluttered as well.
"That's because you don't pay attention when I'm getting dressed," she reminded him. "You always call it a waste of time."
"It is a waste of time," he pointed out. "Such better things to do…"
"Can you not do this while I'm trapped and on the phone?" Clara called to him, annoyed.
"Yes, sorry," he said while trying to sound as if he actually meant it.
Danni smacked her own sonic against her hand but nothing worked. She put it back into her dress. "It's no good. The sonics don't like something."
"Suppression field, I would guess," the Doctor said. "And it has to be a guess because, as I say, the stupid sonic screwdrivers aren't working." He moved to the lock to look at it again. "What are you even doing in there?"
"Well, I was looking for you Mister Nothing to Worry About."
"What, was I supposed to waken you up? Drag you out of bed because I had a hunch? I though…" he glanced down at his wife. He knew she still had no idea about Clara's planned departure from the TARDIS and this was definitely not the time to break it to her. "I thought you wanted to sleep. You were tired, remember?"
"Look, look, please, can we just not do this now?" Clara asked. "I think we might not be alone in here." Her voice dropped low. "There's a sarcophagus."
"Is it in there?" he asked and Danni turned to him, once again panicking about the safety of their companion.
"I think we might just be about to find out. Turns out the sonic is working. Just not on the door we need."
The lights flickered, the sound of power dropping echoed in the carriage. "Clara, it's coming," the Doctor warned her. Danni took the phone out of his hand as he began to work frantically on the lock.
"Clara, Clara, can you hear me?" Danni asked.
"Danni, it's opening," Clara said, assuming that she knew exactly what was happening.
"Can you see it?" she asked. "Can you see the mummy?"
"No, no, I can't- Can you see it?" she asked someone else. Danni recognised the voice as the Maisie woman and Clara being in the room made a little bit more sense. "No, neither of us can see it. Can you?"
"No, we're okay," she promised. "You have to let me know…"
"It's okay," Clara replied with a sigh of relief. "It's, er, it's full of bubble wrap?"
Danni frowned. "Bubble wrap?" she repeated in confusion. The Doctor looked at her, waiting for an explanation. "No mummy inside? No- No nothing?"
"But the lights?" the Doctor commented and Danni's eyes widened.
"It must be going after someone else," she whispered in horror.
"Doctor, Mrs Fielding, move away from the door."
The both turned to see the captain stood in the doorway looking livid. He had two guards with him, both pointing a gun at the pair.
"Our friend's inside," the Doctor said, pointing at the door.
"Then they're in trouble, too," he replied, walking up to the pair. "I spoke to Head Office. There is no mystery shopper or mystery shopper manager. You're not even on the passenger list."
Ah, being caught out. It was bound to happen eventually. "Clara, sweetie, we won't be long," she told her friend. "Stay safe."
Quell motioned to his guards. "Come on."
Both quickly walked over and handcuffed the pair before they marched them out of the carriage.
"Seriously?" Danni asked, looking up at her husband. "Two people who were nowhere near either victim? Is he really suggesting that?"
"He is," the Doctor replied. "How many people have to die before you stop looking the other way?"
The sound of gunshot echoed down the hallway and the group looked up towards the exit. Quell nudged the Doctor towards it, Danni quick behind him. "What is going on?" he demanded.
"I don't know," Danni retorted. "Why not ask more people who aren't there?" The Doctor snorted but didn't say a word.
They stepped into a lounge cart to see one of the guards scrambling backwards on the floor, shooting at thin air, sobbing in what was absolute terror. "Get back! Stay back!"
The rest of the carriage was on the floor. Danni looked up at the Doctor, who was watching the man with intrigue. Well, that answered her question. The man could see the mummy.
"What do you think you're doing, man?" Quell demanded, striding forward as if he really did have some authority over the situation. The guard wasn't listening, of course. He just chucked his gun away when he'd run out of bullets and scrambled up into a chair as he tried to back away.
"Please, please! Stop! No!" he screamed and Danni turned away, knowing there wasn't anything they could do for him now. They didn't even know what the mummy really was. They just knew it killed people and it was horrible.
"Get up, man. That's an order!" Quell demanded. The guard held his hands up between him and his unseen assailant, whimpering and shaking his head. Then he froze, then fell limp. He was dead. He was victim number three.