And so, the hero, the Time Lords and the teacher were all chained together, sat on the damp floor of the dark dungeon as the guard shut and bolted the door behind him. Across from them sat a skeleton of someone who had suffered a similar, if not grimmer fate then them. Excellent. Danni looked to her left, where Clara sat looking out at the door, then to her right where the Doctor sat.
In all fairness, this day could have gone a lot worse, but this wasn't exactly a highlight either. All because the Doctor just had to show off. Some things never did change.
"Splendid. Enchained." Robin cried after they'd sat in silence for a moment, jangling the chain on his wrist as if they'd not noticed.
"Yep." Clara replied, sounding resigned to their predicament.
"Trussed up like turkey-cocks." Robin continued to rage, "Thanks to your friend."
The Doctor obviously took offense at the accusation, shooting him a glare, "Shut it, Hoodie." He spat, "I saved your life."
"I had the situation well in hand." Robin replied with a shake of his head, to which all three of the other prisoners shot him a look. Even Clara and Danni, who didn't dislike the other man, knew that he'd not stood a chance against the robot knights. Even he seemed to waiver slightly at his declaration.
"Long-haired ninny versus robot killer knights?" The Doctor scoffed helpfully, "I know where I'd put my money."
"If you had not betrayed me, I would have been triumphant." Robin insisted.
"You would have been a little puff of smoke and ashes." The Doctor replied.
"Oh, ha!" Robin barked out a laugh, like he was completely certain he would have won against the killer, laser-shooting robots had the Doctor not been there.
"You'd have been floating around in tiny little laughing bits in people's goblets." The Doctor practically shouted, trying to get Robin to admit how useless he had been.
"Balderdash. Ha!" Robin laughed again and the Doctor turned to the two, completely unamused women.
"Oh, right, here we go. It's laughing time." He told them sardonically, with a roll of his eyes.
"Well, you amuse me, grey old man." Robin told him.
"Why do people keep saying that?" The Doctor raged, "You're not so young yourself, you know?"
Danni furrowed her brows in confusion as Robin laughed again, "Oh, my fellow, you really are delusional, aren't you? Ha!"
The Doctor turned to the door, "Guard!" He called out, "He's laughing again! You can't keep me locked up with a laughing person."
Danni turned to look at Clara as the two argued about Robin laughing, offering each other up for execution, "I'd normally feel annoyed at them bickering like an old married couple," she commented, "but it's really just pissing me off."
"Does he really think Robin looks as old as him?" Clara replied lowly in reply and Danni shrugged.
"I think he's just become very sarcastic." Danni offered, "Or maybe he genuinely can't see the difference…"
"You know, he was like this when we met his body in the pinstriped suit, the one who married Queen Elizabeth." Clara commented lightly, her mind going back to the red-headed Danni and the man she'd appeared with. It had been a strange experience, three Doctors and Danni she should have never met. But with Robin and the Doctor arguing all she could recall was the two Doctors arguing over the red-head, much like the Doctor and Robin were arguing over the guard now.
"What do you expect?" Danni offered in reply, "Impossible heroes, too stubborn for their own good, egos the size of the planet? They're practically the same man." She closed her eyes, wincing as they both started shouting for the guard over the top of each other, "I can't take much more of this…" She groaned quietly. They were like a pair of children, trying to get one up on each other, "Even if there was a guard out there, he's not coming in to break these two apart."
Clara nodded, also becoming increasingly annoyed at the two petty men. All she had wanted was a nice trip out with Danni, showing her something nice after the hard time she'd had with her husband, perhaps meet Robin Hood, but maybe not. She definitely didn't want to be stuck in a dungeon with Pinky and bloody Perky.
She was going to have to bring out her teacher voice.
"Oh, you two, shut up!" She shouted, tone low but with power behind it. Both the Doctor and Robin turned on their seats, looking at her in surprise as Danni tried to hide her smile. Heaven help the children that got on the wrong side of Miss Oswald, "Do either of you understand, in any way at all, that there isn't actually a guard out there?" She asked firmly.
The Doctor and Robin both turned to look at the door, looking through the metal bars to see if they could see anyone moving, which they couldn't, "Oh."
"I did, in fact." Robin just had to speak up, earning himself a glare from the teacher and the Doctor, whilst Danni just rolled her eyes.
"No you didn't." She retorted, "Neither of you did. You're both too busy bickering to actually pay attention!" She leant back against the wooden pole she was handcuffed to, "Clara, they're giving me a headache."
The Doctor glared at Robin Hood, "You're annoying my wife, now." He snarled angrily, about to make sure the fake hero knew exactly what he'd done.
"I said, shut up." Clara interrupted sharply, cutting him off before he could rant, "The Doctor and Robin Hood locked up in a cellar. Is this seriously the best that you can do? You're determined to starve to death in here squabbling."
"Well, I'll tell you one thing." Robin murmured, looking the Doctor up and down, "I'd last a lot longer than this desiccated man-crone."
The Doctor snorted whilst Danni's head spun sharply around, "Oi." She snapped, "I've told you, that's my bloody husband you're talking about." The Doctor shot Robin a smug look, "And you," she continued, addressing her husband this time, "Stop provoking him! Being my husband does not give you the right to be a dick to everyone we meet."
"I'm not-"
"You are." Danni cut him off before he could protest further.
"He's the one who's trying to outlive me!" The Doctor raged, completely outraged by the fact his wife seemed to be on Robin's side and not his own. Shouldn't she be sticking up for him? Fighting his side whether he was wrong or not, "We both know that I have a certain genetic advantage." He yelled in surprise as his arm was suddenly tugged on, pulling him closer to Danni and to Clara, who was leaning almost horizontally to tug on the chain that was holding him to grab his attention.
"It is not a competition about who can die slower." She hissed.
"It would definitely be me, though, wouldn't it?" The Doctor retorted, because he wanted the recognition. He had to admit this wasn't exactly going to plan, he had hoped that they'd not be tied up, but that was just something to get around, he could fix that. He glanced at his wife – it always came down to handcuffs, didn't it?
"Yes, you're going to get to live whilst the rest of us die." Danni snapped, "Well done, can we please get on with actually getting out of here?"
"There was supposed to be a plan." Clara agreed, "Do either of you two have a plan?"
"Yeah, of course I have a plan." The Doctor exclaimed, brushing off her lack of faith as he turned back to his wife, "You're going to live just as long as me." He told her, to which she shook her head.
"Second body, remember?" She pointed out and he frowned slightly. She blinked, "You-Did you forget that?"
"No, of course not." He brushed off even though, just for a moment, he had forgotten that. The red head she had been flashed in his mind's eye, as beautiful as ever. How had he even forgotten that?
"I have a plan, we'll all be fine." He declared loudly. Clara didn't seem to believe him, looking at Robin.
"What about you?" She asked him. Robin, looking very sure of himself, nodded as he leant back against his own post.
"I too have a plan." He replied firmly. The Doctor scoffed slightly and Danni nudged him.
"What have I told you about being rude?" She snapped before leaning forward, looking past him and smiling at the other man, "What's your plan, sweetie?" She asked Robin kindly.
"Why does he get to go first?" The Doctor protested.
"Because, as clever as you are, he knows the area better." Danni reasoned, "It's his home, his battle, we're just caught up in it. He will, at least, know the layout of the land." She nodded to Robin, "Go on." She encouraged gently.
Robin, who had just said he'd had a plan so he wasn't outdone by the old man next to him, shifted on the spot slightly. He didn't actually have a plan, but he also hadn't thought that the Doctor would have let him speak up anyway, "I am…" He trailed off slightly as they all stared at him expectantly, "biding my time."
There was no noise for a moment. The Doctor was entirely unsurprised that this so called 'Robin Hood' had no plan. Danni, on the other hand, was rather disappointed that he'd lied about having a plan, knowing he'd just given her husband more ammo to be incredibly arrogant. Clara just stared for a moment before turning her head, leaning against her wooden pole.
"Thank you, Prince of Thieves." She replied sarcastically, "Last of the Time Lords?"
"Yes, I have a plan." The Doctor told her slowly, his lips pulled up into a smirk. This was his time to shine, when he could show off and get the girl. Well, he already had the girl, but if he impressed her perhaps that night they could do a little bit more than the pecks of kisses he'd been surviving off so far.
"Can you explain your plan without using the word sonic screwdriver?" Clara asked, putting a damper on his plans, because that was a very good point. His plan did rely heavily on his screwdriver, because it made getting out of handcuffs that much more easier, "Because you might have forgotten the Sheriff of Nottingham has taken your sonic screwdriver, just saying. It's always the screwdriver." Clara grumbled, "I don't understand why you don't both have one."
"I never go anywhere without the Doctor." Danni reasoned, turning to the Doctor, "We should look into one. Although I don't know where I'd keep it."
The sound of the door unbolting stopped the Doctor telling her to carry her own things, although that did normally involve more clothing, which he was very strictly against.
"See? There was a guard." Robin cried, triumphant, "There was guard listening the whole time, I knew it. Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!" A man entered, with rotten teeth and a smarmy look on his face. Danni instinctively shifted closer to her husband, but the Doctor didn't respond to it at all. For a moment she was surprised, because he would always comfort her if he ever thought she was scared, then painfully remembered that she was thinking of the wrong Doctor. She was thinking of Eleven, yet again. Twelve was different. She had to remember that.
"The Sheriff himself commanded me to listen," The man lisped through his rotten teeth, "to find out which of you is the true ringleader." The Doctor turned to Robin, the pair starting to argue once again, but Danni turned to Clara, a tired look on her face.
"Try not to do anything stupid." Danni offered, "I don't want you to get hurt."
"Why would I get hurt?" Clara asked as the man approached the two women.
"Who's the boss?" Danni asked in return.
"I am," Clara automatically replied before her mouth fell into an 'o' shape, "Ah."
Danni nodded, "Ah indeed." The man unlocked the brunette's chains, pulling her to her feet, "Be careful, she's precious!" Danni snapped, Robin and the Doctor falling silent.
"I can look after myself, Danni-Girl." Clara replied as she was marched out, "You're the one stuck with them."
Danni closed her eyes, pained. Oh, she was right! She was the one stuck with the bickering couple!
"Take me with you!" She called but the door was slammed shut and bolted as Clara was taken to the Sheriff, "Great, now what?"
"We get free, of course." The Doctor retorted, "We just have to get these manacles off."
"And you have a plan for that, do you?" Danni asked in reply, "Because just a moment ago you had nothing."
"You used to have more faith in me." The Doctor pointed out.
"You used to hold my hand when I was scared." She bit out, leaning against her wooden pole, "People change."
The Doctor sulked, mimicking her pose against the pole behind him, even with crossed arms. Robin looked over at the pair, a thoughtful frown on his face. Both of them looked incredibly sad, like they missed each other even though they were strapped side by side. He didn't understand it; if he had Marian by his side once again he'd be the happiest man on the planet, so what was making the Doctor so sad?
~0~0~0~
Danni glanced at her husband again, who was distinctly not looking at her. She'd hurt him with that last jibe, hadn't she? And she hated the fact that his hurt made her happy. Not that he was hurt, she never wanted that, but that he actually was in a position in which it had hurt him. It meant that he still cared, and every little hint that maybe, just maybe, they might get back on track again. This limbo they'd found themselves in was not good for either of them.
She shifted slightly on the spot, trying to get comfortable for what was, probably a long wait for Clara to return. Perhaps she should have insisted that she go with the human. For all the good it might have done.
"Do you think Clara's okay?" She asked the silent room, "He won't, you know, try something, will he?"
"What exactly would he try?" The Doctor retorted, "Clara may be clever but the real brains is still chained up in his dungeon!" He shook his own chains to emphasis his point, "He doesn't have anything to get from her."
Danni stared for a moment before realising that he didn't actually get what she had meant, "No-No, sweetie, I meant…." She chewed her lip for a moment whilst she worked out what she wanted to say. She didn't want to say it out loud, but she was worried and she needed some reassurance that Clara was safe. So, she went with the best hint she could think of, "I meant, you know, like the-the Master."
The Doctor's head snapped around at the stutter in her voice. Even disconnected with her, he could feel the terror that name brought up in her. Five hundred years and she was still so scared of a man that couldn't get near her anymore. His blood boiled, but that wasn't helpful, so he took a deep breath, "No." He told her gently, "No, I don't think he will try anything with her."
Robin watched her relax, smiling for the first time since they'd been captured, "Good. That's-That's good." She replied lamely.
He hadn't been wasting their silence. As the Doctor had sulked and Danni had worried over her friend, he'd been thinking about how to get them out of their current predicament, "Do not worry, Danni." Robin told her, "For I have not been idle. I have a plan, and when we escape we shall save your friend from the clutches of the Sheriff."
The Doctor scoffed, "You have a plan?" He laughed, "A moment ago you were 'biding your time'."
"And I no longer need to." Robin insisted, "And it is very simple. You have to act as if you're dying."
The Doctor looked outraged, "I'm sorry?"
"Moan." Robin instructed, waving his hand at the Doctor as if to encourage him, "Beat your breast. Moan. Groan as though twenty devils possessed your guts."
"What for?" The Doctor asked suspiciously.
"So as to attract the attention of that gargoyle-faced guard." Robin explained in a low voice, keeping his eye on the door in case the guard in question appeared. The Doctor and Danni also took a glance at the door. That was a good idea, actually. Get the guard in and steal his keys. Danni guessed by head-butting him. That'd work.
"It's your plan. You moan." The Doctor replied. Danni rolled her eyes; he was only refusing because he had a problem with the man who thought himself to be Robin Hood.
"No, no." Robin said with a shake of his head, "No, it won't work."
"Why?"
"Oh, because you're clearly more advanced in years and you have a sickly aspect to you." Robin told him, to which the Doctor took offense. As he should, just because he was older didn't give Robin permission to insult her husband. However, Danni could see this going on for a while and they needed to get out.
So she doubled over, letting out a scream as if she was in incredible pain. Immediately the Doctor turned to her, eyes wide in panic, "Danielle, what is it?" He asked her quickly.
"I-I think something is wrong with the b-" She said a touch too loudly before letting out another cry of pain.
The Doctor shook his head, "No, no you're not pregnant." He reminded her, "You can't be, what are you-"
"What is this din?" The guard called through the bars and Danni looked up, giving her husband a quick look, nodding towards him.
"No business of yours, cur." He quickly improvised, leaning in closer to Danni, "Do not worry, my sweet, the Sheriff will not allow this."
"What ails her?" The guard asked and the Doctor glared at the door, as if the guard could see.
"We do not need your assistance." He told the guard as Danni let out another groan.
"Please, please, I need help." She begged. The door was unlocked and the three tried not to look smug as he walked in.
"What ails her?" He demanded, addressing then men and not the woman who was obviously in a lot of pain.
"None of your business." The Doctor snapped in reply.
"Just breathe, sweet Danielle." Robin added, much to the Doctor's annoyance. The door opened and the he stormed in, keys jangling loudly.
"I said, what ails 'er?" He demanded, although to his credit he did have a look of mild panic on his face. Danni looked up at him, staring for a moment before bursting into fake tears, sobbing loudly. She let out a string on gibberish before motioning to Robin, then burying her head in her hands.
All three men were deeply confused, so the guard turned his attention to the man who'd obviously done something, "Why is she making that terrible racket?" He demanded.
"She is with child." Robin quickly lied, "It goes to her senses, do you blame her, placing this old crone between her and her husband?"
"Now hang on a-" The Doctor started to protest, but Danni let out a loud wail, cutting him off.
"Well then, make her be quiet." The guard commanded of Robin, who shook his head.
"No, no, I cannot." He told her, "I am in chains, you shall have to do it, or she shall scream down the whole of Nottingham." He motioned the guard over with a nod of his head, "Come here, I shall tell you the secret to her silence." When it looked like the guard was going to protest, "If she knows you know, it will not work. And do you want anyone to hear such a torturous scream come from such a bedazzling lady?"
The guard glanced at Danni again, then walked over. He didn't want to get into trouble with the Sheriff, who had been adamant that none of them were to be harmed before he had a chance to talk to the prisoners. No one wanted to get in trouble with the Sheriff or his knights.
He bent down close to Robin, who proceeded to head-butt him, knocking him out with one hard smash to the forehead. He felt to the ground, his keys falling out of his hand and landing by the two men's feet. Immediately the Doctor turned to Robin, eyes blazing in a way that actually startled the accidental hero.
"Let's make one thing quite clear, 'Robin Hood'." He spat out, the anger thick in his voice, "She is my wife, not yours and you do not get to claim otherwise."
"He would not have believed me if I had not claimed as such." Robin hissed in reply.
"I do not care." The Doctor snapped, much to Danni's delight despite the situation, "Do you understand?"
Robin let out an exasperated sigh, "Yes, I understand." He humoured, "Keys?"
"I'll get them." The Doctor replied, lying low against the poll to stretch out close enough.
"No, I shall get them." Robin replied, doing much of the same.
"You're going to kick them out of reach." Danni pointed out in a flat tone. She knew that it didn't matter what she said, because they'd already started bickering once again. While it did make her feel rather loved having the Doctor insist that no one but him even play her husband, she knew that this bout of pettiness was purely from that, and it was entirely unnecessary. And, just as she suspected, the pair knocked the keys down a drain that sat in the middle of the room. They all fell still as the clanging echoed in the stone room before, finally, there was a splash.
Danni let out a heavy, annoyed sigh, "Now what, my dearest husbands, are we supposed to do now?"
Neither of them seemed to know, actually looking at each other in surprise and she shook her head, "Oh, be glad Clara didn't see that." She told them, "She'd be pissed."
~0~0~0~
Thankfully while they were all handcuffed around separate poles, the chains holding them together had only been attached to one, large stone block, which Robin gallantly offered to carry for them. Well, Danni had offered knowing she wouldn't be able to carry it for long and the Doctor had outright told the man currently without his merry men to carry it for her.
Once he and the Doctor had realised the keys were out of the question, they'd actually managed to work together for a few minutes to dislodge the large stone from the ground. So, with a quick glance out of the door to make sure there was no more guards waiting, the trio were out and escaping.
"This is much more like old times." Danni commented in a whisper, letting Robin out before her so he was in the middle, "Less blowing stuff up, more sneaking around scheming."
"You've not exactly done much scheming today." The Doctor pointed out.
"That's because you've been too busy bickering for me to get a word in edgeways." She replied, "You would think you two were the married couple at this rate." As they walked she gathered up both hers and Robin's dangling chains so they wouldn't knock into him as they walked, something he did notice.
"Thank you, dear Danielle." He said graciously, using the name the Doctor had called her. She shot him a smile with a faint glow to her cheeks.
"What are fake wives for?" She replied.
"You're not married." The Doctor snapped, hoping to stop this teasing before it could set in place between them, "We need to find a blacksmith's forge."
"So as to remove our chains?" Robin asked with a slight groan from the weight of the large stone.
"No. So I can knock up an ornamental plant stand." Robin looked actually confused by his plans, "Of course it's so we can get rid of our chains. I don't want to be manacled to you all night." He ranted as Robin started laughing, finally understanding his words as a joke, "Oh, no. Please, don't do that."
Robin continued to laugh, "Ornamental plant stand."
"It's not even that funny."
"Your husband truly is amusing." Robin told Danni, who couldn't help but giggle along as the Doctor became more irate.
"He really is." She agreed. The Doctor watched her laugh, walking with Robin, standing close and laughing happily. He wanted to tell them both to shut up, to ask her why she never laughed with him anymore. But, instead, he just stomped through the hallways, complaining about just how much Robin laughed.
~0~0~0~
It didn't take too long to find a forge to get them all free, and the Doctor was wasting no time waiting around to find out what was really happening in the castle. He lead them up some stairs, keeping Danni between them both so he knew where she was at all times. Thankfully her dress wasn't particularly form fitting, otherwise he wouldn't have let that imposter calling himself Robin Hood anywhere near seeing his wife from such an angle. That was his angle. They'd both also been so possessive of each other, regenerating was never going to change that in him.
It didn't take very long for them to come across the metal door with the porthole window in it, hidden in plain sight like it was any other door in the castle. The Doctor lead them over silently to it, opening the door and revealing the large metal room.
"At last." The Doctor crowed as they stepped in, "Something real. No more fairy tales." Danni looked over the room in amazement. It was quite minimalistic, with a couple of terminals in the middle in front of a glowing dome. There was a line of lights in the ceiling leading to the middle and a few on the walls, but that was about it. On the other side of the room were two more exits, probably leading to other parts of the castle.
"What is this place?" Robin asked, completely bewildered by the new sight.
"A spaceship?" Danni asked the Doctor more than answering Robin's question. The Doctor nodded.
"More twenty ninth century than twelfth." The Doctor explained, taking a quick glance behind him. She was looking around with that look of amazement on her face he'd always adored. Like it was the first spaceship she'd even seen, despite living in the best one in the universe. He would never tire of it.
He skipped over to one of the two terminals, like he hadn't been appreciating his wife at all, "Data banks, data banks, data banks. Where was this ship headed?" He asked it as Robin stepped slowly towards him, taking in the new technology. Danni smiled softly at him as she placed a hand on his arm.
"Are you okay, sweetie?" She asked gently and he looked down at her, eyes wide in wonder, "It's a bit overwhelming, isn't it?"
He just nodded as the Doctor watched the screen flicker with information, answering his question. Danni was better at the taking care of people thing, and even though the man had foolishly tried to claim her as his own, he had little time for any theatrics he may unleash on them.
He frowned at the image of a planet that appeared, "The Promised Land again." He murmured as Robin and Danni joined him.
"Wasn't that where the half faced man was heading?" Danni recalled.
"Yes, but a bit more sophisticated." The Doctor commented as it flicked through more information, bringing up blueprints for the castle, "It disguised itself as a twelfth century castle. It merges into the culture, tries to keep a low profile, so no one notices. That explains the robot knights." Danni nodded as he walked over to the dome, a quick glance over it telling him all he needed to know, "But the engines. The engines are damaged. They're leaking radiation into the local atmosphere, creating a temporary climate of staggering benevolence."
"I beg pardon?" Robin asked and the Doctor turned to the pair.
"I told you. It's too sunny. It's too green." He slowly made his way back over to the pair, "And there is even an evil sheriff to oppress the locals. This explains everything, even you."
"It does?" Robin asked, feeling like he was being insulted and preparing himself as such. Danni, on the other hand, could see where the Doctor's mind had immediately headed, joining the dots. She could see the smugness in his eyes, the way he stood, like he was towering over Robin despite only being a couple of inches taller.
"Doctor, stop it." She snapped.
"Well, what does every oppressed peasant workforce need?" He asked them both, stalking around Robin, "The illusion of hope."
"Doctor, I said stop it." Danni reiterated. Okay, so Robin wasn't real. Her hearts hurt at that, but there was no need to be so cruel about it.
"Some silly story to get them through the day, lull them into docility, and keep them working. Ship's data banks." He turned to the screen once again and images began to flash across it, each a depiction of Robin Hood from throughout the ages, "Full of every myth and legend you could hope for, including Robin Hood." Robin stared, stepping slightly closer as his life seemed to be documented on the strange item in front of him.
"Isn't it time you came clean with me? You're not real and you know it." The Doctor finished firmly as Robin looked at him, completely lost at the information he was suddenly being confronted with.
"That's enough, Doctor." Danni snapped, stepping forward and in between the two, forcing him to pay attention to her, "Can't you see he obviously doesn't know any of this? Maybe, just maybe, he doesn't know that he isn't Robin Hood?"
"Of course he knows!" The Doctor scoffed in reply, "I'm sorry you fell for his charade like the rest of the little pudding brains running around here, but he's a robot and nothing more."
Danni shot him a look, trying to ignore the way he threw her parentage at her, "So what?" She snapped, "He can be both!"
"Don't be so stupid Danielle!" He exclaimed, "He's as much a part of what is happening around here as the Sheriff and his metal knights!"
Whilst Danni reeled back at his words, Robin turned to him, eyes blazing angrily, "You dare to accuse me of collusion with that villain, the Sheriff?"
"I dare." The Doctor retorted.
"You-" Robin stuttered, his anger turning his face red as he jabbed his finger at the Doctor, "false-tongued knave. I should have skewered you when I had the chance."
"I would like to see you try." The Doctor challenged just before the door blew off its hinges in a cloud of smoke, sparks filling the air, "Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah." He stepped closer to the door as the Sheriff stormed in, flanked by metal knights, his grip tightly on Clara's arm.
"Surrender, outlaw." The Sheriff demanded.
"Clara, are you okay?" Danni asked.
"I'm fine." Clara promised, shooting her a reassuring smile to help relax the concerned look on her face.
"Kill him. Kill Robin Hood." The Sheriff shouted and the knights advanced on Robin, and in turn Danni who hadn't moved from his side.
"You can drop all that stuff now, Sheriff." The Doctor told him, grinning in pride.
"Doctor?" Clara called in warning. She'd found out a lot about the Sheriff in her small time with him, including that he was power hungry and just a little bit on the furious side. Not to mention that he'd decided that she would be his consort, something she would be damned if it would happen. Either way, the Doctor antagonising him wasn't going to get them anything but dead.
"He is not what you think he is." The Doctor declared, making sure Robin heard every word, "This is all play-acting."
"We can't just let them kill him!" Clara snapped, storming past the Doctor and towards Robin and Danni, who had both backed up towards one of the arches out of the room.
"You're not fooling anyone, Sheriff." The Doctor continued as if she hadn't said anything. If the pair of them wanted to believe in a robot man, fine. He'd save them all and then Danni would come rushing back into his arms. Isn't that what heroes did?
Before Clara could reach Danni and Robin, one of the knights turned to fire at them. Robin barely registered it in time, but Danni had been keeping an eye on them all. She knew that when the Doctor gloated his attention waned somewhat, so she tackled Robin, sending him to the floor as the shot hit the wall, sending pieces of rock everywhere.
"Danni!" Clara cried in horror, suddenly terrified that her friend had been hurt. Her cry caught the Doctor's attention and he spun around to see them both scramble off their feet. Robin quickly looked around, taking stock of the situation, planning out his next move when his eyes met the Doctor. The other man looked ready to murder Robin where he stood, his lips pulled into a snarl at the very idea that his wife could be in any trouble because of him. In fact, it was purely because of the blonde that he was safe.
And that was his goal, after all. Staying alive to fight, to win, to be the man Marian thought he could be and to find her once more. So he wrapped one arm around Danni's waist, catching her arm so she wouldn't be able to struggle free.
"What the hell are you doing?" Clara demanded, rushing forward, grabbing her skirt and pulling it off the ground to give herself more freedom, looking almost as furious at the man next to her. Robin backed up, his grip strong.
"Robin, don't do this." Danni begged in his arms but his eyes never left the Doctor's. It was like he was challenging Robin to go through with his plan, trying to warn him of the consequences.
"To survive, I will do anything." He told them both as he pushed off backwards, falling out of the a window and into the cold water below.
"Danni!" Clara screeched, rushing over to the window at the same time the Doctor called after his wife. They both hung out, watching the water ripple below as they waited for her to resurface.
Clara climbed up into the window when they didn't immediately come up, ready to dive in after them, but the Doctor pulled her back down, "Don't be stupid." He snapped, "You'll just hurt yourself."
Clara looked at him in disbelief, "Since when do you care so little about her that you're not diving in after her?" She snapped back, "If you won't look after Danni, then I will."
"It is not your job to look after my wife." The Doctor snarled in reply, spotting Robin emerge from the water, cradling Danni in his arms, carrying her like a bride, "Right now we're the ones in the spaceship with the killer robots and their mad Sheriff friend. Priorities."
"Priorities!" Clara exclaimed in reply but the Doctor turned away from her, "She was always your number one priority, what happened to change that?"
"Who said she wasn't?" He retorted before addressing the Sheriff, "Stop pretending. You and your fancy robots. I get it. I understand."
Clara's hands clenched by her side as she joined him, calming down enough to know that jumping in after them was reckless as best. The anger at his nonchalance bubbled away though, causing her eyes to narrow at the Sheriff, but not because of the plans the Doctor was quickly deducing. She could have told him, but she didn't want to. If he was going to dismiss her Danni-Girl, she would just have to pay more attention from now on.
Of course, then she was chopped on the head by a metal knight, so her attention on anything waned somewhat at that point.
~0~0~0~
Danni's clothes were damp. It was unpleasant and she really did not appreciate it. They were more soaked on the back, clinging to her while her front was quite warm. She opened her eyes; the last moments she remembered were her falling backwards being held by Robin, who was now looking over her with a stoic face. The fire illuminated his face as the stars shone overhead. He looked incredibly serious and Danni suddenly had the feeling that she was somewhere she really shouldn't be.
"Robin?" She asked questioningly.
"The time for games is over." He replied firmly, standing up and looking over her, "You will tell me everything this Doctor knows about Robin Hood and his Merry Men." He commanded. Danni pushed up into a sitting position, eyebrows furrowed.
"What's happening?" She asked him, "Why do you think I'm the bad guy?"
"And then," He continued like she hadn't spoken at all, "you will tell me exactly who this Doctor is and what are his plans."
Her eyes narrowed at that, "Oh I will, will I?" She retorted, "Let me tell you one thing, Robin Hood; if you want anything from me you do not start by asking threatening questions about my husband."
"Your husband has done nothing but threaten me since the moment you appeared in our forest." Robin reminded her.
"Yes, but that's because he's an idiot." Danni replied, swinging her legs off the little cot that they'd made to lie her on, "He's incredibly clever, but do not mistake that for him not being an idiot."
"You are stalling." Robin pointed out angrily, "We do not have time for silly little games. Tell me what the Doctor knows."
Danni sighed, "I'm stalling because you're not going to like it." She told him honestly, "Because I can only tell you what I know, and I know it's going to hurt." She paused for a moment, letting the words sink in. This was why she had never wanted to tell the Doctor why she had known him before she had first arrived. He'd questioned her a few times, but nothing had really ever come from it. Who would want to know that their lives were fantasied and turned into entertainment? That they weren't even considered real in the first place?
She shot him a look, "I'm not telling you all." She declared, "I'll tell Robin, who can decide if you all should know the rest."
"We are a team." Robin said, denying her request, "You will tell us all."
Danni shook her head, "You might reconsider that once you know." She told him, "Please, I'm not the bad guy, I don't want anyone to be hurt by this."
Robin looked her over. She had been nicer to him than her husband had been, standing up for him and checking he was alright when confronted with the monstrosity of what the castle actually was. She was kind, and her heart heavy as his own. She looked at him pleadingly, eyes shining in the firelight and he nodded.
"This way." He commanded and she stood up, following him towards the back of the alcove that made up their den. She sat down on a fallen tree while he stood over her, "You will be quick, and you will not lie." He warned her and she nodded, crossing her finger over her chest twice.
She took a deep breath, using the time to gather her thoughts. What was the best way to start this story? How did you go telling someone that their life was a story?
"When I was little, I was told the story of Robin Hood." She started, "About the outlaw that robbed the rich to give to the poor, who looked after his own when the people in power were the most cruel. He was brave, and clever, and even when he was caught he found a way to be free." Robin's face didn't change, but his lips flickered for a moment at her description of himself, "He loved a maid, had friends who stood by his side, and was absolutely fantastic. But he was also completely fictitious. The story of Robin Hood was just that. A story. A legend that was chopped and changed throughout the ages, but one thing was always certain – that he never existed. None of them did. Robin, Maid Marian and his merry men were all completely made up."
"But we are here." He said firmly, "We stand before you, how can you say we are not real?"
"Well, there's two ways." She replied, "One; that this history books just got it wrong," she smiled at him, "My personal favourite. Or…"
"Or what?" He snapped when she didn't continue.
"Or that you are not real." She explained as gently as she could, "That your thoughts, your feelings, your memories were all created as those metal knights were created. That you weren't born, or raised, that one day you just existed. All of you. Not just you, but your men, the woman you love, are all fake."
"But I feel real." Robin insisted, "I am not, nor have I ever been, working with that devil of a Sheriff."
"I know." Danni quickly reassured, "And I think that's enough. Either way, you believe you are Robin Hood, and normally that's all the Doctor needs."
"Then why has he been so insistent that I am one of the Sheriff's awful creatures?"
Danni shrugged, smiling softly to herself, "Clara would tell me it's because he's jealous of you." She told him, "That because I like you, he just doesn't."
Robin watched her turn sad once again, "But you do not think the same?" He asked and she shook her head, "Why not? When posing as your husband he was ready to tear my head from my shoulders."
"Because I think it's habit." Danni declared bluntly, "I think, sometimes, he forgets that he doesn't love me anymore and acts like he does."
"So what is your reason for him to hate me so much?" Robin asked her, "If not because of love?"
"Because of what you mean." She replied, "If you were not born here, if you were man-made, then someone made you for a reason. And, unfortunately, that is never going to be for anything good. People who give false hope are never the good guys." She nodded towards the merry men, who were all stood in a group, eyes focused on them as if she was going to pounce at any moment, "Do you want to tell them that they might not even exist? Do you think that they'd even understand? Because you're a smart man, Robin, and I doubt you do."
Robin felt like his head would burst from the information. He sat down as if the weight of it was crushing him down. So many thoughts and feelings rushed around his head, he didn't even know where to start. All that he knew was that if he even tried to explain it to his men, there'd be a riot, a loss of morale that was wasn't sure he could pull them out of. His men, his friends, were his only concern and he had to protect them at all costs in the way he had failed the woman he adored above everything else.
He turned his head to look at the woman next to him, who was looking at him with such apologetic kindness. She'd not wanted to tell him any of this, but she had because he'd asked, and now he could see why. He felt himself disappearing into nothingness at the very idea that he wasn't real, that everything that made him the person he was now being just a fairy tale. He needed a moment, so he turned his full attention to Danni.
"Why do you not believe the Doctor loves you?" He asked, "It is clear as day to anyone with eyes that you're all he's concerned about?"
Danni looked up at the sky, where the stars shone brightly. She had always loved looking at the stars, on more than one occasion the Doctor had taken her to some beautiful skies just to show them off to her, "Because he died." She told Robin, startling him somewhat, "And when he came back it wasn't the same. I knew he wasn't going to change, that some of him wouldn't be what it had once been, but that's not what I mean." She turned to Robin, tears shining in her eyes, "When- Before he died he told me that if I was ever scared, he'd hold my hand. I don't have much to my name, but I never wanted money or things. I just wanted him, and he knows that. He knows that all I want is for him to hold my hand, to be scared together. But he won't now. He won't hold my hand, we're not in it together anymore and that's how I know."
Robin watched her look down at her own lap, "We're aliens." She declared, "Me and the Doctor. We're from a different planet. Clara is human, and I admittedly have some in me too, but we're aliens. That blue box you tried to steal is our ship. He doesn't have any plans to take over Nottingham, he doesn't want to hurt anyone. He's trying to save the day. And that's about it, really. That's all I have to tell you."
Robin sat in silence for what seemed like an age, trying to get to grips with the fact that he might or might not be real. He felt real, he felt his past keenly every day, his heart ache hurt more than anything he could have ever imagined. Marian may have been dead, or worst and everything he imagined and more tore at him like hellhounds on a damned soul. Every day without Marian was a day wasted, in his eyes, so he had to make them count. How could any of that be fake?
"I am Robin Hood." He declared and Danni looked up at him, smiling at the determination in his eyes, "Doctors and metal men be damned." He stood up and turned to his men, "My band of merry men!" He called and they all cheered at his happiness, "Our friend the Doctor is in danger, and his wife and I shall save him. However, should things go awry, I will need you to save the folk around the castle, get them as far away from it as is possible, what say you?!"
They all cheered again and Robin turned to Danni, hand outstretched, "Come with me, fair maid," he enticed without the need to, "We will save your husband and prove, once and for all, that I am the man I claim to be."
Danni reached up and took it happily, Robin helping her off her seat, "I don't doubt it for a second." She told him, "I always knew you were the real deal."