Work Text:
This place gave you the proper creeps; you almost clung to Clara as you walked past a vat with a skeleton in it. The three W's—that’s where the Tardis brought them to find Danny. Oh Danny, Clara had gone through lengths, You understood her grief, and you were grateful for The Doctor's grace because the events that happened just a few moments ago were startling, but you couldn't say you blamed her. She loved Danny. Well, it felt like she loved him anyway; she certainly cared for him deeply. She didn't deserve his untimely death; you wanted your friend to be happy; she deserved to be happy. This felt very private—it should have been private—between her and The Doctor; you just happened to be there. Well, that made you sound like you were a stray that showed up; you had been a companion for a while now, off and on, but you saw three of his faces now, the lanky brown-haired one, that said 'Allonsy'; he was the one you met in the beginning. The very next adventure you went on had been not great, but the more you tried to think about it, the less you could understand of it, like there was a large part torn from your memory, but he wouldn’t tell you what it was, and it was probably for the best. Then there was the bow-tie-wearing one; he was tired but pretended to be fine; he had anger; sometimes it scared you, but he was still The Doctor, your Doctor. During this time, you started to be an off-and-on companion. This new face was grouchy and started to reflect the years he carried with him, one that had the same burdens: lonely, scared to lose those who he cared about.
You were the last to step out of the tardis; the stonework was impressive, but the air was cold. You wrapped your jacket tighter around you as you followed after Clara and The Doctor. Things felt tense and odd, but you chose to use the 'seen not heard’ method right now. Clara was hurting, and people did things they normally wouldn’t when they were grieving, but her whole ‘throwing the keys into a volcano’ thing. Then again, the doctor did tell her he was exactly what she deserved; you wondered what that meant but chose not to question it right now; it wasn’t the right time.
As you walked, your eyes caught on each and every skeleton you passed. You were beginning to worry you would find his skeleton in a vat; what would that do to Clara? Clara could handle it, you were sure, but that didn't mean she should handle it. Grief was an odd thing. Your mind went back to the skeletons. How many were there? This was a horror show waiting to happen. Your shoes scuffed against the floor as you tried to be as close to Clara and the Doctor as you possibly could be, nearly running into the Doctor’s back when he stopped. A female voice spoke, and you assumed it was a recording. A bright logo with 3W was proudly shown.
“3W. Death is not an end. But we can help with that. Ever since 3W encountered the truth about the death experience, we have been working hard to find a better life for the deceased. At 3W, afterlife means aftercare.” The voice spoke in an oddly comforting tone.
Clara shifted “Okay. Bit strange?” She spoke, and you shrugged.
“Automated message maybe?” You voiced, your eyes on the skeleton behind you; you swore you saw it move, but that couldn't be right; it was just probably the water in the tank. You stared at it a few more moments than needed to make sure it was just your imagination.
“No, why have the scrolling and a voice? Is it difficult?” He asked like he knew something they didn’t. Both Clara and you looked at him, but Clara spoke first.
“Is what difficult?” She asked, and you nodded, seeing what he was going to say.
“Reading all those words back to front. Come on. We've come a long way.” He said to the logo projection. A woman walked out through the logo, which disappeared. She was taller than you, wearing a deep purple Victorian-style dress, very much like a governess would wear, and a hat with decorative red berries placed carefully on her head. Her eyes trailed over you in a sort of calculating look, like you were a surprise addition, but it smoothed over, and she looked over to the doctor, assessing him.
“Hello. I hope you're well. How may I assist you with your death?” The woman said she was looking between the three of you. You almost choked at the words and gave a nervous sort of giggle snort. A nervous tick—you couldn't recall how many times you ended up nervously laughing at the worst times. You couldn’t help it. When you felt threatened, you laughed that nervous laugh. You shifted and covered your mouth, looking down, trying to calm your nerves. This didn’t feel good. The woman's eyes flinted back to you; something that resembled a smirk tugged at her lips, as if she were remembering something and taking pleasure in your nervous tick.
“Well, there is, er, no immediate hurry. We're just, er. We're just–” The Doctor struggled to find the words; his mind was racing, trying to place this woman. Her eyes returned to looking at him. Oh, how fun this was and would be for her.
“Browsing.” Clara quickly said, and you nodded in agreement.
“Yeah, yeah, browsing.” The Doctor said, watching the woman with unease. The look made you uneasy too; if The Doctor was nervous, you knew you needed to be too. You shifted and watched the woman carefully; something felt off. Then again, the bones lurking in the tanks probably weren’t helping.
“Please, take all the time you need. At 3W, you always have the rest of your life.” She chimed, looking between the three of you.
“Oh, good. That's good to know, isn't it?” He cast a look to You and Clara, who also exchanged looks. "This whole thing felt bad, but you just couldn’t place it; you weren’t scared of death or the afterlife, but something about this made every red flag in your mind go off.
“Yeah. Great.” Clara murmured, and you stayed silent. This energy felt familiar, like you had felt it before, but the more you tried to grasp at straws to figure it out, the further away it felt, something was definitely wrong.
“Exactly what is 3W?” The Doctor asked, asking the necessary question.
“Apologies. Clearly, you have not received the official 3W greetings package.” The woman said in a tsk.
“Well, you know, it's just an unexpected." The woman cut him off, lunging at him, her hands wrapped into the lapels of his jacket. She walked it back against the wall with her body, staying pressed against him. Her lips pressed against his, her tongue pressed into his mouth. The Doctor’s features flashed in shock and maybe perhaps a bit of fear. She pulled back, kissing the tip of his nose three times. She stepped back, giving him space.
“Welcome to the 3W Institute.” She grinned.
“Clara, is it over now?” The Doctor asked, his tone breathless as his hands stayed sprawled against the wall behind him, trying to mentally work through the event that just happened. You watched and lifted your hand to your mouth, partly in shock, partly trying not to laugh about his expression, though it was very clear he was uncomfortable, and that shouldn’t be funny. But there was something about this usually stoic man being thrown off, though you were sure you would feel the same if someone randomly kissed you.
“I think it's over, yeah.” Clara nodded, watching the woman intently. The woman looked at her, her blue eyes scanning over her, as if thinking of something.
“You also have not received the official welcome package.” She took a step towards her, and Clara quickly put her hands up and stepped back, shaking her head. “Oh, I'm good, thanks. No worries."
Then the woman turned to you and stalked closer; that was the right word for it because it felt like a panther stalking its prey. “You haven't received it either.” She gave a slight pout, and you quickly shook your head and backed up a bit, but she followed, her hands on your arms, her eyes locked on you; she got you against the wall, pressing against you as she looked at your lips leaning in before the doctor cleared his throat. The woman's face flashed with annoyance for a brief, blink and you miss it, moment. She slowly turned her face to face him, not moving from you.
“Who are you?” He asked firmly. She smiled a little ‘she knew something he didn't’ smile.
“I am Missy.” She said simply, finally stepping away from you. You exhaled your breath, one you hadn’t even realized you were holding.
“Missy?” Clara asked. Your eyes were still locked on the woman, and your heart was thumping rapidly against your chest.
“Mobile Intelligent Systems Interface. I am a multi-function, interactive welcome-droid. Helping you to help me to help you.” She playfully looked between the three of you. A welcome droid? No, she certainly felt real, and then again, you had met some very realistic robots in your time with The Doctor.
“You're very– er– realistic.” The Doctor said. Did he catch on to that too?
“Tongues?” Clara asked, masking a bit of a smirk.
“Shut up.” The Doctor muttered and shook his head, still uncomfortable about Missy’s actions.
“I am fully programmed with social interaction norms appropriate to a range of visitors. Please indicate if you'd like me to adjust my intimacy setting.” Missy said, looking at him as he finally stepped away from the wall, before her eyes trailed back to you, looking you over in a way that felt not very robotic.
“Oh, yes, please. Please do that. Do that now right now.” He said quickly, You also took a sort of sidestep back closer to Clara and The Doctor. “I need to speak to whoever's in charge here.” He said, clearly back on his game, trying to get to the bottom of this.
Missy scoffed and slighted her accent, putting her hands on her hips. “I am in charge.”
“Well, who's in charge of you?” He asked quickly.
“I'm in charge of me!” She said, looking at him, saying it like it was apparent and he was being silly.
“Well, who repairs you? Who, who maintains you?” He said he was getting tired of this game.
“I am programmed for self-repair. I am maintained by my heart.” She said her hand was slipping down to grab his, lifting it to her chest and pressing his palm against it. “Is everything in order?” She locked eyes with him. You shifted; this felt too oddly intimate. Like this was someone who knew the doctor—the way the woman acted, the look the Doctor gave as his hand was on her chest.
“Who maintains your heart?” He breathed out. His eyes locked with hers.
“My heart is maintained by the Doctor.” She said it almost sweetly. This was getting too odd, and too quickly, the body language of both Missy and The Doctor worried you.
“Doctor who?” He asked, his voice tinged in something akin to nerves, which made you feel quite nervous again.
There was a moment of silence before the woman yelled “Doctor Chang!” before she walked away from The Doctor, disappearing around the corner.
“Who's there?” A man appeared quickly from a room, moving to walk over to them. “Hello?” he asked.
“Hello.” Clara greeted, and you gave a weak sort of wave. You tried to push the feeling of danger down as you looked at the unassuming man. He was a stark difference from the welcome droid.
“Hello.” The Doctor muttered again; he seemed to be in a deep thought, his hand still in the air where Missy had been.
“You can probably take your hand down now, Doctor,” Clara said, and the Doctor slowly lowered his hand.
“So. Hey. Condolences.” The presumed Doctor Chang said, looking at the three of you. You blinked, but it was a nice sentiment, you thought anyway.
“Condolences?” Clara asked, looking at the man in confusion.
“It's a mausoleum. It's our hello. Is there a particular dead person you want to talk to?” He asked, trying to move the conversation along.
“Yes. Yes, there is.” Clara said quickly. Doctor Chang motioned, and then you all started to follow him, though you hung back. This felt like it should be a private moment for Clara; Danny is, er well, Danny was important to her. You knew if you were speaking to a dead loved one, you would want privacy. So as The Doctor and Clara vanished into the room, you decided to take a quick look around; if it was really a mausoleum, there wasn’t any reason for concern, right? You walked along the quiet hall; the soft sound of the bubbling water from the tanks provided very little ambiance to calm your nerves. Things still felt off, but you couldn’t put your finger on it.
The skeletons felt like they were staring at you, but that couldn’t be right; it was just your nerves; at least that’s what you told yourself as you walked looking at the nameplates of the skeletons. It was wild to you that people would do this—to become glorified aquarium decorations. You imagined all the people who paid to spend the rest of their eternity in these vats; of course, this was no different from people being cremated or buried; it was just another method of burial, right? There were all sorts of new wave burial methods; you didn’t know about hanging out in a chair in water for the rest of time, though. You wondered how they kept the stability of the bones; if they cleaned the water, what was in the water to preserve the bones?
You were so deep in thought you didn’t even hear the click of her heels, but you felt the air shift; it was colder, and suddenly there was a presence beside you. You turned and jumped nearly out of your skin. It was Missy. Her eyes scanned over you like a cat that had caught a mouse, and that didn’t feel great.
“Have you turned your settings down?” You asked, eyeing her, trying to calm your rapidly beating heart. There was no way you should be this jumpy; you had to get it together. You faced way worse than a building full of spooky water skeletons and an off-putting welcome droid.
“What?” She paused looking at you before it seemed she realized something. “Oh right…yes…sure…” she shook her head a bit, chuckling a little bit to herself like there was a joke you missed.
“Not going to try and French me?” You asked, eyeing her. You shifted a bit, putting your hands in your jacket pockets as you watched her. Taking in her features, you wondered who she was modeled after; being a droid, with her high cheekbones, her pale skin, and those mesmerizing blue eyes, a lot of care went into making her.
“Oh, maybe… I haven’t decided if I want to give you a second chance after you so rudely denied me.” She waved you off. “Wonderful, aren’t they?" She tapped the glass with her nails, transfixed by the skeleton for a moment before she looked at you, tilting her head.
“You don’t act like a droid... I mean, then again, I wouldn’t know... but you felt too...human." You decided; she scoffed and let out an annoyed snort.
“Human? Don’t be a bitch.” She shook her head, offended. “As if I were, you humans are too messy, too emotional, too weak.” She waved you off again. Your eyes narrowed, but you shrugged. Droids shouldn’t have that strong of an opinion, right? Or was that insensitive? Droids were AI, and AI could learn to feel right? You certainly didn’t want to anger the woman by thinking things like that. However, her reaction felt too ‘human’ like too. She must have some impressive AI, but something about that thought felt weird.
“So Skeletons, in fish tanks, one hell of a way to spend eternity, don’t you think?” You said, looking back at the tanks, as you felt her walk around your back to your other side, sizing you up. You felt a familiar tug at you, like some of her mannerisms were familiar but you couldn’t place them, or you didn’t want to place them.
“Oh, it's worse." She shrugged, letting her fingers trace across your shoulder with a devilish grin, as she watched your pulse quicken the vein in your neck, giving the steadily increasing beats away.
“Don’t you mean it could be worse?” You asked, looking at her. The way she said that, that it wasn’t just an eternity, that it was something worse, your expression twisted to that of uncertainty.
“Is that not what I said?” She gave you a grin that made your stomach tighten. “But don’t worry, poppet.” She gave a mock reassuring nod, patting your arm lightly. “It’s not your fate, and that should be a comfort.” You didn’t like what she was saying; something was wrong with this welcome droid; that definitely didn’t feel like a droid.
“What do you mean, Missy?” You asked, turning to face her more.
“Put two and two together, dear. I know he picks them pretty, but one of you is bound to be smart.” She muttered.
You made a face and shook your head, looking at her, trying to figure out what she meant. It was clear to you she absolutely wasn't what she said she was. Missy studied you and then looked so offended. “He didn't!!” She scoffed. “I worked so hard on you for a year! A year of twisting and manipulating.” She rolled her eyes. “Of course he would go and ruin it; he usually doesn't mess with memories. Oh my dear, did I ruin you that badly? How cute.” She mused and tilted her head. She withdrew her lipstick out with a flourish and lazily applied it to her lips, in a show watching you intently. She popped her lips and hummed, putting the lipstick away.
“What are you talking about?” You took a step back, but she caught your wrist, pulling you back towards her. Gripping your wrist, she pulled hard; your chest collided with hers, and she grinned. “Oh, poppet. I am going to have a blast with you; I get to chip away at you all over again. His fault really for keeping you, but maybe this time he will learn. Doubtful, he really never does, does he?” She sighed and leaned closer to you. “Do you want to know a secret?” She mock whispered like it was a conspiracy.
You shifted and tried to get a read on her; she wrapped her arm around your waist, keeping you pinned to her. “All these silly little skeletons are really cybermen, and soon all the graveyards are going to open, and an army will walk.” She grinned and nodded. “And the human race will be nothing more than a footnote." She mused a bit. “He will see that we aren’t so different... and he will be delighted that I didn’t kill you...” She mused watching your expressions change. "Oh, don’t try to think about it too much, love; it's not worth it. All you need to know is that you and I will have a great time together, better than last time, I promise.” She nodded. “Oh! Can you keep another secret, just a silly little girl secret between us girls?” She grinned, grabbed your jaw, and tilted your face up. She bore a large, sharp grin and nodded, waiting for your response. “Oh! Don't give me the silent treatment now, Bunny.” She mock tsked and let her hand slide to hold the back of your neck.
“Yeah, sure. " You muttered quickly, trying to think of an exit plan. You had to get back to the doctor.
“The doctor isn't going to save you this time." She nodded again and suddenly crashed her lips against yours. There was the taste of an unknown chemical, rose and tea. As she held you in the kiss, something felt wrong. You tried to push away, but her hands were tight around you, you felt your body get heavy, and you were drowsy, trying to fight whatever chemical she introduced to your system. She pulled back, frowning at you. “What a tough little bird you are,” she mused. “Oh well, a kidnapping is a kidnapping.” She grinned and wrapped her arm around your waist, moving to pull you with her but grumbling about how you were dead weight before moving to lift you over her shoulder, heading further into the mausoleum away from the doctor, away from Clara, away from safety. Your last thought before you succumbed to the sleeping toxin was, ‘Who the fuck is this woman?’