Arcadia's Family (Book THREE)

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Arcadia:

"What's wrong?" I asked the TARDIS, both dad and I worried as she forced a landing. "You're not happy. Why aren't you happy? Tell us."

"Come on! we're on a roll!" Clara complained, her and ma both stood in the TARDIS doors. "Monsters, things blowing up. Oh, hey, can we go back to that place where the people with the long necks have been celebrating New Year for two centuries? I left my sunglasses there."

Yeah, that wasn't all you lost. "And most of your dignity."

"Why have you brought us here?"

Ma pulled them both out, closing the doors and hugged her arms around herself, pushing up her glasses. They were a new addition, but I didn't like them, made her look a lot older. "Here being?"

Da wrapped an arm around her, not a hug, he didn't do hugs, but he loved being close to her. "Underwater, so you're here with me. Some sort of a base. The technology's twenty second century. Maybe military, maybe scientific."

"Is there a crew?" Clara asked.

Well, yeah. "Must be, somewhere, if there's oxygen." 

We started to walk through the corridor, and our companion, my Aunt Clara, was complaining still. "I want another adventure. Come on, you're all feel the same. You're itching to save a planet, I know it." It was like having two da's.

There was a big mural of a dragon threatening men in a sail boat in the mess hall, their clothes, like ST:TNG, but there was stuff thrown everywhere. It looked like SJ's room, or the entirety of hers and Sherlock's flat. She was there again, she'd gone back right away. "Da, ma, look at this."

"Well. Looks like you got your wish." They replied, looking at Clara. Ma was wearing very sensible shoes, and they looked more like a pair of SJ's, though she had bigger feet. I was the small one, taking after ma. Weird. 

I twanged a knife in the wall. "Food fight? Could be us, I remember the kitchen."

Ma smiled a little, wrapping an arm around my shoulder. "I think there was more to it than that, Brilliant Dove. Whatever it was, it happened pretty recently." She put her finger into a cup. "Seven or eight hours ago. No bodies, though. I can't sense anything, we need Sarah Jane, really."

"And they took provisions." Clara called, looking at the kitchen. "Okay, so something or someone forced the crew to abandon the base. Maybe they went for a swim in the creepy flooded village outside." The window was murky, like there was a lot of water there. "Oh, yeah. You see, this is more like it." She then wanted a high five from me. What? "Oh, come on. Don't leave me hanging, Cadia."

Ma and  da had already started walking out the room, and we scurried after, into another identical corridor. "Look. Told you. Crew." They pointed to some people squatting with their backs to us. "Hello, sailors!"

The figures stood, turning with their lips moving. "Right, I did not expect that. Hands up who expected that." I muttered, backing away as they followed us. "Wait, wait. I don't think they're going to hurt us. I think that they're just curious."

Where an alien stood nose to nose with da, a man looking down at Clara. "Are you sure?" She asked hesitantly.

"Well, I mean, define sure." I replied. "Look at you lovely chaps. What's happened to you, then?"

They turned away, still muttering to themselves. "Come on."

"What are they?" Ma asked da, rubbing her eyes. 

"I haven't a clue. Isn't that exciting?" He realised she was in pain. "Are you alright, that headache hasn't left yet."

"I'm fine, it's just getting used to Missy being out there, we're key's remember."