Bigger on the Outside

The gentle hum of the TARDIS slowly rumbled through the seat, Clara's head rolled back nearly pulling her to the floor with it. She kicked her foot out, barking in surprise as she steadied herself.

Clara rose from the seat and bounced on her toes. Across the control room, she saw a shock of red from within the coat of the crumpled form of The Doctor. “You know, I know we don’t always have to have an adventure but we should probably go somewhere specific.” She stomped across the floor and lightly kicked his foot. “I know time isn’t a massive concern for you but I do have a class to get back to. Pick a destination.”

The lanky form grumbled something in a thick Scottish brogue. “You could theoretically regenerate as any sort of person why are so enamoured with the Scots?”

With a waved hand, he scrambled to his feet. Scratching his scalp, he stretched his spine, his wild eyebrows fluttered as he scrubbed his eyes with a single knuckle. “Victoria Tunnel.”

“Tourist.” She said, pursing her lips nodding her head backwards. “So, you alright? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you… well, this you… so sleepy.” She let out a soft yawn smelling the acrid electrical hiss from the Chameleon circuit, arcing away somewhere deep inside the panel.

The Doctor bent over the time controls, tilting his head backwards to read the monitor flickering and distorting as they shifted across the fourth dimension. “To be honest, I’m not quite sure.” He said, letting out a yawn of his own. “The past few days I’ve felt exhausted.”

She folded her arms, approaching him with a raised eyebrow and a frown. “When was the last time you actually slept, in a bed?”

He paused, and looked off into space. “Um, probably my second to last regeneration…”

Clara’s eyebrow shifted higher, her hands slipped down to her hips. “Nope. Not going to travel with you in a millennia old ship when you’re tired for the first time in about as long.”

Reaching out, she punched a random button and yanked an emergency lever the last Doctor had shown her. “Now, off to bed with you.”

The TARDIS shuddered and groaned as it slowly phased back into reality. “Clara, I don’t even have a bedroom.”

“There’s about a hundred unused one’s by my count. Pick one.” She snapped, gently pushing him through a side door and down a long corridor. The pair only walked a short distance when the Tardis opened a door to a small spartan room. “Right, in you go.”

With a gentle nudge, the man stumbled into the room. Before her could complain, she held up a finger. “No buts!” She shook the digit in space, glaring at the ancient being before her. “I’m a governess and if I have to, I’ll… I’ll do something.”

He stretched his arms above his head, groaning as he arched his spine. “I thought you were a teacher?”

“That’s new… I just started last month… year. I dunno, time’s getting wobbly.” She said as she shifted to return to the control room, quickly pausing and poking her head back in the room before the door had closed. “Shoes off.” she said, pursing her lips and pointing from The Doctor to the bed. “I could do with a nap myself.”

Nodding, The Doctor walked to his new bed and folded over onto the mattress. Clara pursed her lips as she noted he’d passed out before his head reached the pillow. With a sigh, she closed the door and returned to the control room.

Walking through the powering down machine, she saw sunlight streaming through the familiar blue doors. As she approached the TARDIS entryway she could see a curious environment, an enormous space that reminded her of a stucco walled flat. A lofted portion obscured the ceiling which looked to be as high as her schools gymnasium.

Clara looked over her shoulder, watching as the coils and terminals blinked off one by one. The she heard heavy mechanical clicks as the deeper portions of the TARDIS began it's emergency lock down. Pursing her lips, she slipped her key off of the hook and slipped the lanyard about her neck.

Her hand brushed along the faux wooden panels. “Bored anyway, might as well have a look.” She whispered, looking over her shoulder before gently pushing the doors open. The Atmosphere hissed as a curtain of thicker air rushed inside, she shivered as the fresh air washed away the acidic pressurized atmosphere.

Stretching her limbs, she stepped across the threshold. She pursed her lips, shifting them to the right side of her face. The ground was springy and fibrous, the curious angles and protrusions of the terrain seemed so familiar.

As she ran her hand along a long black wall she felt her forehead crinkle. “Ugh, more giants?” She said to herself. “We need to fix the scalar circuit.”

There was a scraping noise, the brunette looked over her shoulder to the roof of the TARDIS. A blur of teal and red rushed towards her, and instinctively, she curled into a ball. A loud bang hit the ground, seemingly completely surrounding her.

Opening her eyes, Clara spied a series of broad red bars penning her in just meters from salvation. She stood up, and found her head bumping into a strange red ceiling. She stooped, turning her head to have a look. Her brown hair slipped off of her shoulder, dangling in a loose curtain. For some reason, a few errant strands were lifting towards her prison’s structure.

She fell to her knees as a loud thump compressed the ceiling. Practically crawling, she found herself Looking at the carpet edge, and a broad soft shadow. Squeezing her face through a small red square, she craned her neck to peer around the space.

The black leather wall was a couch, and seated upon it was a large teal clad figure. “Being used as an ottoman wasn’t what I had in mind for the day.” Clara whispered, folding her hands around her prison bars. “...Plastic?”

A deep, somewhat soft chuckle vibrated through the bars in her hands. “Oooh, I didn’t expect to see you again dear.” Clara froze, the lowered portion of the ceiling shifted, and the teacher watched as an enormous blue heeled shoe shifted the figure seated on the large couch. “Nor did I expect you to be quite so…small.”

Crawling along the floor, she found herself looking at the underside of a pair of massive legs. They shifted, opening a slight gap that the teacher could look into. Looking back at her was a familiar stranger. “Who are you?”

“Oh come now, with all your experience you can’t recognize a regenerated friend?”

The teacher shifted in place, looking into the titans eyes. They were calculating, shifting between warm and cold so quickly she wasn’t quite sure what was going on inside the beings head. She felt her eyebrows twitch as she whispered. “Think girl, who…” Her blood ran cold, and she leapt backwards in her prison. “Missy!”

The giantess giggled, tapping the roof with a toe causing the entire thing to distort and bend. “Clever girl. Glad to see you haven’t lost a step in all this time.”

“And what are you up to this time?” Clara asked.

The ceiling undulated, Clara could see the couch distort as Missy shifted in her seat again. “Oh come now, you dropped in on me. I should be asking you. Tell me, has The Doctor broken his beloved TARDIS again? Is that why you’re such a doll today?”

The teacher sat in silence, gingerly pulling on one of the bars of her prison. “I don’t think I’ll be able to squeeze through this…” She whispered to herself. Suddenly, the ceiling pressed down further.

Instinctively Clara raised her hands, pressing her palms into the flexible red plastic. “It’s rude to ignore your host little Clara.” Missy sang, Clara could hear the smirk on the giant woman's face.

“I must say, I find your predicament very interesting. I wonder, what would happen if I poked my head in that cute little box? Do you think the Doctor would be as adorable as you? Last time I saw him diminished he looked like a raisin.”

The teacher folded her legs beneath her, and turned herself away from the titaness. 'Should have brought a Screwdriver.' She mused silently, feeling the plastic shift above her hands.