After a long day in Bavaria, I managed to finish this! Interlude probably won't be up until tomorrow, but that's all right. I'm sure you don't mind having more suspense until "Civil War" starts, right? ;)

In all seriousness, it is quarter to eleven, and I need sleep, so here's this, and I'll get the interlude up when I can!

Here's "Flatline!"

***

"OK," the Doctor lifted the lever. "Same time you left, same place . . . ish."

"Ish?" Clara repeated as Jessie made a face at the scanner. "Don't give me an ish."

"These readings are very ishy," Jessie scratched the back of her head. "I don't even know – "

"Uh . . . Doctor?" Wanda stared towards the door.

"Uh huh?" he turned, only to do a double take.

The door was about a meter high, nowhere near as tall as it should have been. "What the hell?" Pietro stared.

***

The Doctor struggled to get out first, then bent down to help Jessie. She stumbled slightly on the gravel, the Doctor helping her straighten. "Well," he held a hand over his eyes to see, looking around as the others emerged. "Well, I wonder what caused this?"

"Well, I don't think we're bigger," Jessie pointed to the train tracks, comparing them to the smaller TARDIS.

"Bristol?" Clara asked in disbelief when she saw the sign. "Doctor, we're in Bristol!"

"And a hundred and twenty miles from where we should be," the Doctor nodded. "Impressive."

"I think we have different definitions of impressive, Doctor," Pietro frowned. "This would be what we call annoying."

"No, this is impressive," he waved around Bristol. "This is annoying," he pointed at the TARDIS. "The TARDIS never does this. This is huge!"

"Actually, slightly smaller than usual," Jessie tilted her head. "Though that is huge."

"Yes, I get it, you're excited," Clara sighed. "When can I go home?"

"Your house isn't going anywhere," the Doctor pointed out. "And neither is ours until we get this figured out. Could you not just let me enjoy this moment of not knowing something? I mean, it happens so rarely!" Jessie shook her head fondly as Clara sighed. "Look, I don't think this is dangerous, but I wouldn't like you to get squished accidentally. Anyway, I need you to help me find out what's caused this."

"Fine," Clara rolled her eyes. "I'll go take a look around."

"Let's go," Jessie gestured, walking off with her.

The Doctor squeezed back in through the TARDIS as the Maximoffs looked at each other. Finally, Wanda nodded and headed after the other girls, Pietro squeezing back in after the Doctor. "I'd've thought you'd go with Clara," the Doctor looked up at him.

"Thought you'd have gone with the Bad Wolf," Pietro countered. The Doctor conceded the point, nodding as he examined a circuit nearby. "So what did cause this?"

The TARDIS suddenly jolted, and an alarm went off as Pietro slammed into the console. "Now, that wasn't me, was it?" the Doctor blinked.

Pietro, however, was staring back at where the door was. "Doctor."

He turned again, and he blanched. "Oh, that can't be good."

***

"Look," Wanda pointed to masses of pictures and flowers by the steps leading to an underpass.

Jessie crouched down, looking at the pictures. "It's a shrine," she recognized, looking up and around. "Come on."

As they walked towards the underpass, a group of men by the top looked towards them. One of them, tagged number 55 on his uniform, shouted out, "Cheer up, loves! Might never happen!"

Jessie scowled in his direction, and number 22, an Indian man, punched the other man in the arm. "Have some respect! They're grieving!"

"Oh, sorry, loves," the man watched them. "I didn't mean nothing by it."

Jessie shook her head, speeding up her walk, the others going after her. "Idiots," she grumbled.

"Sorry about them," a young man ran up to them. "They're idiots."

"That's all right, don't worry," Clara waved it off. "I've heard worse."

The young man gestured to the murals of people on the underpass, their backs to them. "I've lost someone, too. My Aunt Karina. Deaf as a post. Didn't really know her that well, but she's still gone. Are yours in the mural?"

"Oh, no," Clara shook her head. "We haven't actually – "

"I'm sure they'll get round to it at some point," he continued. "I'm not really with that lot out there. I just have to do this community service thing. I just do graffiti. Not anything, you know, murder or – "

"What is this about?" Wanda turned to him. "What happened to all these people?"

He blinked. "You mean you don't know?"

***

"Hello?" Pietro's voice asked when Clara rang him.

"Hey, we think we've found something," Clara said as they walked back to where they had landed. "People are missing all over the estate. Do you think there's a connection?"

"Could be," the Doctor answered.

Wanda halted in her steps, blinking and looking around. "And where are you?"

"Exactly where we were."

"No, you're not," Clara frowned. "We're here, and we can't see – "

"Oh, my God!" Jessie suddenly burst out laughing.

"Yes," the Doctor said dryly. "My wife always has the best words."

"Oh, my God, that is so adorable!" Jessie laughed, bending down to peer at the six inches high TARDIS, Clara and Wanda staring in shock. "Are you both in there?"

"Yes, we are," Pietro responded.

"And no, it's not adorable," the Doctor added. "It's very, very serious."

"So is this more shrink ray stuff?" Clara asked. "Are you tiny in there?"

"No, we're exactly the same size. It's merely the exterior dimensions that have changed." The door to the TARDIS opened, and the Doctor's normal sized face looked out, making Jessie laugh even more, Wanda still staring in surprise, Clara starting to laugh as well. "Stop laughing," the Time Lord complained, Pietro waving from where he was by the console. "This is serious!"

"Yeah, well, I can't help it, can I, with you and your big old face?" Clara giggled.

"How are you going to get out?" Wanda bent down.

"Well, plainly, we can't," the Doctor shook his head. "Something nearby is leeching all the external dimensions."

"Aliens?" Jessie asked.

"Possibly," he nodded, then rolled his eyes. "Oh, who am I kidding? Probably. Sensors are down, and I can't risk taking off with it in this state. Jess, I need you to pick up the TARDIS. Carefully. It should be possible. I've adjusted the relative gravity."

Jessie carefully picked up the TARDIS, cradling it in the palm of her hand. "You've made it lighter?" Clara asked.

"Clare, it's always lighter," the Doctor told her. "If the TARDIS were to land with its true weight, it would fracture the surface of the Earth."

"Wonderful," Wanda rolled her eyes. "What now?"

"I've managed to get a rough fix on the source of the dimensional leeching," the Doctor answered, and an image flashed in Jessie's head. "It's roughly north west."

"This way," Jessie rotated.

"Yes," the Doctor nodded, going back to the console, taking three objects from Pietro and hurrying back. "You have your psychic paper and your sonic screwdriver?"

"I do," Jessie nodded.

"Good, I imagine you'll need them. And stick these in your ears," his fingers went out of the doors, dropping the Bluetooth-like devices in her palm.

Jessie handed them out, putting hers in her ear. "Got it," she said, then winced when she felt a pain behind her eye. "Ow!"

"What just happened?" Clara moaned, her hand over her eye.

"I just hacked your optic nerves."

"What does that mean?"

"I see what you see."

Jessie put the TARDIS inside her jacket pocket, slowly rotating. "Anything?"

"Yes," Pietro answered. "And getting slightly dizzy."

"But nothing useful," the Doctor said.

"All right, let's find something useful," Jessie pulled out her screwdriver, leading the girls on.

"Incoming," Pietro said.

Jessie looked up to see the young man returning. "You never did tell me your names," he said.

"No time to fraternize," the Doctor warned. "Come on, get rid of him!"

"He told us what's going on," Wanda whispered under her breath.

Jessie swapped hands and extended hers to the man. "I'm the Bad Wolf," she introduced herself. "This is Clara Oswald, and Wanda Maximoff."

"I'm Rigsy," he answered. "What are you, exactly? You don't smell like police, but that's some pretty cool gear you got there. You like, spies or something?"

"Oh, he's a bright one," the Doctor said as Jessie examined her screwdriver. "Hang on to him."

"Make up your mind, will you?" Pietro said.

"Well, I can't exactly tell how bright he is, can I? I'm not out there to see him!"

"You can see him through their eyes!"

Jessie coughed into her arm, and two simultaneous calls of "Sorry" rang out. "And if we were," she tilted her head, looking at Rigsy, "would you be able to help us figure out what's going on round here?"

***

Rigsy opened the door to the flat he led them to, then nodded. "He was the last one to go missing," he said, breaking the police tape in front. "And when he disappeared, all the doors and windows were locked from the inside."

"Ooo, now you're talking," the Doctor said. "I love a good locked room mystery!"

"Yeah, doesn't everyone?" Clara muttered as Wanda leaned in closer to see the cracked sandy surface mural on the wall.

"What?" Rigsy blinked.

"Huh?" Clara blinked back.

"We've got two others listening in," Jessie said. "Doctor, Pietro, Rigsy. Rigsy, Pietro, the Doctor."

"Hello," Pietro called.

"Hello, barely sentient local," the Doctor chimed in. "How do you sleep at night? Missing people, tiny TARDIS, what's the link?"

"I think this is great that someone's finally looking into this," Rigsy said as Jessie scanned with the screwdriver. "The police weren't doing anything. They never do on this estate. People were thinking that no one was listening, that no one cared. So, yeah, I think it's great what you're doing."

"Ladies, look, I think that we can manage on our own from now on," the Doctor said.

"I think he could still be useful," Jessie whispered.

"He's a pudding brain! Worse than that, he's a fluorescent pudding brain!" Jessie turned to look in a mirror and gave it an admonishing look, making Pietro laugh. "Oh, fine," the Doctor grumbled. "Carry on."

"Thank you, my love," Jessie smirked before turning. "Rigsy, do you know where the other missing people lived?"

"He could still be in the room," Rigsy said.

"What?" Wanda frowned.

"Sorry, nothing," he shook his head. "I was just thinking out loud. It's like one of those locked room things you get in books. It's always something weird, like, he's still in the room or something. Do you want to go and check out another flat?"

"Do you know, I think that you were wrong about this lad," the Doctor said. "I think that he could be very useful. Vital local knowledge."

"The Bad Wolf was wrong?" Pietro asked incredulously.

"So try not to scare him off."

"Like she would! You would!"

"Boys!" Wanda hissed.

"Sorry," they said again.

"Maybe he's lost in the desert, or something," Rigsy looked at the mural.

"OK, right, are we missing something here?" Clara looked around. "Missing man, locked room. Shrink ray?"

"I'm sorry, did you just say shrink ray?" Rigsy blinked.

Clara paused. "What if he is still in this room like you said, only tiny? You know, like, underneath the sofa or something."

"Clara, this is the scaring off that we were talking about," the Doctor warned.

"OK," Rigsy said slowly. "So, er, my lunch break's nearly up. This . . . this has been, er . . . interesting."

"Local knowledge is leaving! Do something!"

"Rigsy!" Jessie called, and he paused, and she took out the TARDIS. "Doctor, open the doors."

"I didn't mean that!" the Doctor protested.

"Pietro, open the doors." The doors opened, and Jessie set the TARDIS on the bookshelf. "Rigsy, come here. Meet the Doctor and Pietro Maximoff."

Rigsy looked in and blinked, seeing the two wave from where they were by the TARDIS console. "So, what do you think?" Clara asked. "Tiny man idea."

"Yeah, I scanned for that as soon as we entered," Jessie held her screwdriver up.

"Nice to meet you," Pietro added to Rigsy.

"Also, if that had happened, he might have been squashed under a policeman's shoe by now," Jessie wrinkled her nose.

"It's bigger," Rigsy sputtered. "On the inside!"

"Do you know, I don't think that statement's ever been truer," the Doctor told Pietro thoughtfully.

"No kidding," Pietro snorted.

"What are you?" Rigsy frowned. "Like, aliens or something?"

"No," Wanda shook her head, pausing. "Well, the Doctor and the Bad Wolf, yes. Clara, sort of. Pietro and I, no."

Jessie winced when something sizzled, then an alarm went off in the TARDIS. "Did you hear that?"

"Yes," the Doctor nodded, moving around the console, Pietro following. "Whatever it was, it just drained a massive amount of energy from inside the TARDIS."

"What was it?" Clara frowned.

"I don't know, but that's the least of our problems," the Doctor walked back up. "Just get us out of there!"

Jessie sighed as he closed the door. "Right, then. I guess this is when we run."

"I mean, this is just embarrassing," the Doctor ranted as the four went back out onto the street. "I'm from the race that built the TARDIS. Dimensions are kind of our thing. So why can't I understand this? Ladies, we need more info."

Jessie nodded, turning to Rigsy. "Where else have people disappeared?"

***

"MI5?" the policewoman blinked when Jessie held up the psychic paper.

"Yes, this case has got our attention," Clara nodded.

"Well, you've come to the right place," the woman let them through the tape. "First reported disappearance, a Mr. Heath. It's not on the estate, but it's exactly the same MO as the rest."

"Clara, I think that your shrink ray theory was wrong," the Doctor said.

"My shrink ray theory?" Clara blinked, even as Jessie frowned at her screwdriver. "I thought you were already scanning for that!"

"It's like they vanished," the policewoman continued.

Jessie started slightly, feeling her pocket get weighed down. "Doctor, what the hell are you doing?"

"It just struck me," he answered. "Locked room mysteries. Classic solution number one: they're still in the room. Classic solution number two: they're in the walls."

Wanda frowned. "What do you mean, they're in the – "

Jessie stumbled, then stuck her hand in her pocket and pulled out a lump hammer. "Have we done as much as we could?" the policewoman said as Jessie gave the hammer a long look. "No. Do we have any suspects? No. Off the record, I think the top brass are hoping if they ignore this, it'll all just go away."

"Apparently, they're in the walls," Clara told Rigsy dryly.

Jessie handed the hammer to him, letting him hammer into the plaster work. The policewoman's phone rang, and she turned away to answer it. "PC Forrest. Yes, sir. MI5, sir."

"So, you and those blokes in the box, you do this sort of stuff a lot?" Rigsy asked as she left to take her call.

"Well, usually, they're out of the box," Jessie smirked. "But, yes."

"So how'd you get this gig?" Rigsy asked, surprised. "You study science or aliens or something?"

"No," Clara laughed. "Well, it's kind of a more of a right place, right time or wrong place, wrong time, depending on how the Doctor's behaving."

"I can hear you, you know!" the Doctor shouted, even as Pietro laughed.

A scream came from the front room, where the policewoman had been. The four of them ran in, only to frown when there was no one there. "PC Forrest?" Clara called as Wanda picked up her flashlight from the carpet. "Hello? Hello!"

"Doctor, she's gone," Wanda looked around.

"What am I missing?" the Doctor scowled as Jessie looked around the room. "The TARDIS should be able to detect anything in the known universe." He paused. "The known universe . . . this universe."

"Was that mural there before?" Pietro suddenly asked.

Jessie quickly turned back, frowning when she saw the symmetrical red lines on the wall. "No, it wasn't."

"That's not a mural," the Doctor inhaled sharply. "That is a nervous system scaled up and flattened."

Jessie swallowed. "In other words, we just found what's left of PC Forrest."

"Her nervous system?" Clara squeaked.

"Which means that probably wasn't a mural back in the other flat," Pietro said.

"No, that wasn't a desert at all," the Doctor agreed. "It's a microscopic blow-up of human skin."

"Oh, ew!" Jessie recoiled immediately, hand over her mouth.

"What?" Clara asked at the same time, Wanda by Jessie's side in an instant, her hand on her back. "Why?"

"Whatever they are, they are experimenting," the Doctor said. "They're testing. They are . . . they are dissecting, trying to understand us, trying to understand three dimensions."

Another sizzle interrupted them, then the door slammed shut. "The handle!" Wanda stared.

"Doctor, the handle," Clara focused. "They've flattened the handle."

"Fascinating," the Doctor mused.

"Doctor!" Pietro said sharply.

"Ladies, they're in the walls!" the Doctor yelled. "Keep away from them! If they touch you, you're finished!"

They spun around, watching the third dimension disappear around them. "What happens if they touch us?" Rigsy asked.

"I really don't want to find out," Clara shook her head, scaling the hanging seat in the middle of the room. Rigsy climbed up with her, Jessie and Wanda hovering in the air. Rigsy looked startled to see that, but he focused more on the dimension disappearing around them. "They can't jump, can they?"

Clara's cell phone rang, and startled, she answered it. "Hey!"

"We've got the usual bench," Rose said. "Did you get held up?"

"Just a little," Clara winced, looking down as the carpet wiggled. "Sorry, Rose. I think lunch is, er . . . a bust."

"Oh, come on, you're missing some classic park action!"

"The window!" Pietro called.

"Look!" Rigsy pointed, Clara watching everything wiggle. "They're climbing the walls!"

"Who was that?" Rose asked.

"Er," Clara looked around. "That's just a guy on community support, and I'm helping him find his auntie."

"Nice," the Doctor complimented. "Not technically lying."

"Sounds like a workout," Rose noted.

"Er, yeah," Clara looked around as Wanda snagged Rigsy with her magic, tugging him through the window with her, the glass smashing. "There was a thing."

" . . . the usual?" Rose guessed dryly.

"Yeah," Clara sighed. Even then she couldn't lie to Rose. At least she didn't mind she was going on these adventures. "The usual."

"Ah," Rose chuckled. "Go on, then. Save the world or the universe or whatever you're up to."

"Yeah, tell you later," Clara nodded, seeing Jessie gesture to her. "Bye!"

She quickly hung up, jumping to Jessie, and the two of them crashed onto the ground outside.

***

"This explains everything," the Doctor said as the four ran down the subway. "They're from a universe with only two dimensions!"

"That's a thing?" Pietro asked.

"Yes, that is a thing. It's long been theorized, of course, but no one could go there and prove its existence without a heck of a diet."

"Yes, I imagine a two-dimensional diet wouldn't work so well."

"It certainly wouldn't work for me, I know that."

Jessie flinched when she heard static. "You're breaking up a bit."

"Oh, blowing out that window's possibly affected the earpieces. Take them out and sonic them."

"Doing it," Jessie nodded, sonicking everyone's earpieces as Rigsy ran around the corner.

Wanda frowned, thinking she heard voices coming from the earpieces. "Are they saying something?"

"Jezebel!" the Doctor shouted telepathically. "The mural, it's the mural! Over there, look, the mural!" Jessie immediately stuck her earpiece back in, turning to the mural to see the people in it. "We've found the missing people! They're in the walls!"

Jessie swallowed, then ran over. "Rigsy!" she called, sticking her hands in her pockets and looking at the mural, the others running over. "Hey, Rigsy! Do you know who painted the mural? It's very realistic."

"I don't know," Rigsy shrugged. "A local artist. Probably a grieving relative."

"Did you ever meet them? Or did they just appear after people disappeared?"

Realization dawned on Rigsy's face, but an older man scoffed. "And who are you when you're at home, love?"

"Health and safety," Jessie held up her psychic paper. "This subway is unsafe. Everyone needs to leave, right now."

The man scowled. "This is blank. Try again, sweetheart."

"What?" Clara's jaw dropped as Jessie did a double take.

"How could he not see that?" Pietro asked, surprised.

"It takes quite a lack of imagination to beat psychic paper," the Doctor remarked.

"Stan, do your job," the man nodded to one of his coworkers.

He nodded put his brush to the mural, about to paint over it, when he was sucked in with a shout. "Stan!" Rigsy called.

One of the others backed up when the images turned to face them. "What is this? What are they?"

"They're wearing the dead like camouflage," the Doctor answered.

"Forget Stan, your friend's gone," Jessie waved them back.

"Get them out of there!"

"We need to move, now!" Jessie sprinted off, the others following, the paintings sliding from the walls to the tarmac to follow them.

"Did they follow us?" one of the others asked as Jessie led them into the train shed, Jessie sonicking the iron door shut before using it around the shed. "'Cos I didn't see them follow us. Are we safe?"

"Are we really hiding from killer graffiti?" another asked. "This is insane!"

"I agree," the Doctor said. "We'll have to think of a better name for them than that."

"Killer graffiti?" Pietro hummed. "Yeah, that's no good."

"And Stan was one of them," the other one continued. "Flattened, dead, but coming after us."

"Ladies, this is a vital stage," the Doctor said. "This little group is currently confused and disoriented, but pretty soon, a leader is going to emerge. You need to make sure that leader, or those leaders, are you."

"George," Jessie tapped the man on the shoulder. "George, isn't it? Can you watch that are?" he pointed. "If you hear anything, anything moves, you shout, OK?"

"He will do no such thing until I get some answers," the older man growled. "Who are you? That's what I want to know. Impersonating a government official, trespassing on council property – "

Jessie rolled her eyes and held out her arms, hovering in the air. Wanda's eyes glowed red, and Clara smirked, flicking her knife down her sleeve. "We're the one chance you've got of staying alive," Jessie tilted her head. "That's who we are. Have you got a problem with that?"

"Badass," Pietro complimented.

"Well done," the Doctor agreed. "Wish I had seen that."

"Me, too."

Jessie landed back on the ground. "Rigsy, how well do you know this area?" she asked. "Do you know where that door leads?"

"It's the old Brunswick line," he answered. "But it's not safe."

"Well, there's safe, and there's safe," one of the other men said.

"Yeah, I know it," Rigsy sighed. "I used to go down there all the time."

"Yeah, I'll bet you did," the older man scoffed. "Painting your filth."

"Yeah, well, you might be glad he did," Jessie headslapped him. "Those things come in here, that is our only way out."

"I just hope we can keep them all alive," Clara whispered.

"Ah, welcome to my world," the Doctor said dryly. "Right, here's something that might help you. Do you remember the graffiti from the estate? Footprints, tire treads?"

"Vaguely."

"Well, I don't think it was graffiti. I think that is how those creatures saw us. The impressions we make in two dimensional space. That was them reaching out, attempting to talk. At which point they moved into flattening and dissection, trying to understand, trying to emulate. But here's the big question: do they know they're hurting us?"

"What, like this is one big misunderstanding?" Wanda asked in disbelief.

"That's a very good question. Why don't we ask them?"

***

"We need to find a way to communicate," the Doctor said as Wanda levitated Jessie into the air so she could work on the tannoy speakers.

"Why can't the TARDIS just translate?" Clara asked.

"Because their idea of language is just as bizarre as their idea of space. Even the TARDIS is confused."

"This is a bad idea," the older man grumbled. "What makes this colleague of yours think those monsters even want to talk?"

"I know a race made of sentient gas who throw fireballs as a friendly wave. I know another race with sixty-four stomach who talk to each other by disemboweling."

Jessie gagged into her arm. "He's got a hunch," Clara said dryly.

"My point being that in a universe as immense and bizarre as this one, you cannot be too quick to judge. Perhaps these creatures don't even understand that we need three dimensions to live in. They may not even know that they're hurting us."

"Do you really believe that?" Pietro asked.

"No, I really hope that. It would make a nice change, wouldn't it? OK, let's start with pi. Even in a flat world, they would have circles. I don't mean edible pi, I mean circular pi. Which I realize would also mean edible pi, but anyway." Jessie's sonic flickered, then sounds came out of the speakers. "They're responding. The TARDIS is translating now." A moment later, he said in confusion, "It's a number. Fifty-five."

"Fifty-five?" Clara echoed. "What does that mean?"

"Tenth Fibonacci number, atomic number of caesium . . . "

"I know what it means," Rigsy said. "We all have numbers on our jackets, have to sign them out. That was the number on Stan's jacket, the man they flattened in the subway."

"They're gloating," the older man glowered.

"We don't know that," Jessie shook her head. "For all we know, that could be an apology."

"Really?" one of the men asked. "That's nice of them."

"An apology?" the older man repeated. "Are you seriously – "

"Wait," Jessie held up a hand as more sounds came out.

"Two two," the Doctor said. "Twenty-two."

"Who's number twenty-two?" Jessie asked.

"That's George," Rigsy answered.

"Looks like your number's up, George," the older man smirked. "Now they're threatening."

"Maybe," Clara shook her head. "Or maybe they're showing us they can read."

"Oh, grow up! They're picking targets."

"Of course you'd see it that way," Rigsy snorted.

"What do you mean by that?" he narrowed his eyes.

"George?" Wanda frowned, seeing the man standing still.

"Everyone's out to get you, aren't they?" Rigsy asked.

"In this case, they kind of are," the older man nodded.

"Wanda, be careful," Pietro warned.

Everyone turned to see Wanda step to the side of George, then she jumped back as he dissolved into the floor. "The tunnel!" she yelled, Jessie sprinting. "Doctor, they got George!"

"I know! We did see!"

"What now?"

"Give me a minute, I'm working on it!"

Jessie got everyone into the tunnel before closing the steel door, looking at the door. "Another flat handle," she said. "They were here, but not now. Does anyone else feel like they're cornering us?"

"Let's not apply human logic," the Doctor advised. "We're dealing with creatures from another dimension."

"That's three exits all blocked by those creatures," the younger said.

"Rigsy, where's the next exit?" Clara asked

"The only other one I can think of is where the old line joins the new, but it's a fair walk," Rigsy answered. "Getting through that door would be quicker."

"But we can't, can we?" the older man raised an eyebrow.

"I'm just saying!"

"I might be able to help with that door," the Doctor said. "Give me five minutes."

***

Rigsy gestured to one of the paintings as they walked down the tunnel. "It's one of mine. Do you like it?"

"Yeah, not bad," Clara admired his work: something exploding out in a circle.

"How's it coming, Doctor?" Jessie asked.

"I think I've figured out a way to restore three dimensions. At least on a small scale, say, door handles."

"Like what, a de-flattener?" Pietro asked.

The Doctor snorted. "We're not calling it a de-flattener." Jessie looked down and reached into her pocket, pulling out the device. "This should be able to restore dimensions. You see what I've called it?"

Jessie narrowed her eyes. "Two D Is . . . Twodis?" She burst out laughing. "That's what you called it?"

"Oh, why'd I even bother?" the Doctor grumbled. "Well, give it a go, then."

Jessie aimed it at the handle, then winced when a small bang came from the device, the handle still two-dimensional. "OK, long way round it is," she said, slipping it back into her pocket.

A faint alarm rang in the earpiece, then the Doctor came back on. "I don't know how, but they're doing it again! They're leeching the TARDIS!"

"How?" Jessie checked her pocket. "The doors are closed!"

"They've changed frequency. This time, it's different."

"Listen, the Doctor thinks we might be in trouble," Jessie turned. "He thinks they might be close."

"Where, exactly?" the older man looked around.

"I don't know," she shook her head. "He's not sure. He's getting readings all around."

"Oh, that's just great," he rolled his eyes, Wanda squinting when she saw a shadow flickering in the light down the tunnel. "Sounds important, but that means absolutely nothing. Can you tell your friend – "

Wanda was knocked down by a giant hand rushing down the tunnel, which grabbed the younger man, lifting him into the air and taking him back, screaming in the process. "Of course," the Doctor sighed. "The next stage. 3D."

"Run!" Rigsy shouted as lumps rose from the floor, starting to form human figures.

"Doctor, a working Twodis would be nice instead of pulling everyone through at once!" Jessie called.

Weight landed in her pocket, and she pulled the Twodis back out. "I've boosted the output," he told her.

"And it will work this time?"

"Absolutely." Jessie held it to the handle, watching with a grin as it became three-dimensional. Rigsy opened it, and the five of them ran through, locking it behind them. "Use it again," the Doctor advised. "It can reverse the process."

"There's a ladder at the end of this," Rigsy pointed to the end of the tunnel, Jessie using the Twodis to flatten the handle again. "If we get down into the tunnel, we can make it into daylight."

"If it's flat, we're safe now, aren't we?" the older man asked.

"They can't get through, can they?" Rigsy asked hopefully.

Jessie jumped back when the handle reanimated. "Run!"

"And I suppose if they can turn 3D, they can restore something to 3D?" Pietro asked dryly.

"Precisely," the Doctor said. Jessie led the way down the tunnel, the others right behind her, only to stop when creatures trying to figure out 3D shapes blocked their way. "Do you want the good news or the bad news, love?"

"We're in the bad news!" Clara shouted. "We're living in the bad news!"

"The good news is I've come up with a theoretical way to send them back to their own dimension."

"Then do it!" Jessie shouted.

"And that's the bad news. The TARDIS doesn't have enough dimensional energy to pull it off."

"Then what do we do about that?" Wanda asked as Jessie pulled out the TARDIS so they could see them.

"Apparently, these things can pump it out as fast as they can steal it."

"Maybe if we ask them really nicely, they'll fill you up again," Clara rolled her eyes.

"Oi!" Jessie struggled when the older man wrestled for the TARDIS.

"Give me that machine! Hand it over!" he shouted.

Rigsy leapt to pull him away, but in the process, Jessie lost her grip on the TARDIS. Wanda swerved to try and grab it with her magic, but it fell down a ventilation shaft before she could. "Pietro!"

"Doctor!" Clara called.

"Kasterborous?" Jessie tried.

"Hello," he answered.

A moment later, the comms kicked back in. "Doctor?" Clara repeated. "We dropped you down a hole. Where are you?"

"I don't know," the Doctor answered. "My shields have gone. Structural integrity is failing. Another blow like that, and we've had it."

"We're on the train lines," Pietro reported, then paused. " . . . and there's a train coming. Of course there is. Doctor! Train's coming!"

"Short-term rematerialization?" the Doctor started thinking through stuff. "Not enough power. Teleport . . . not enough power. Reroute the heart of the TARDIS through . . . not enough power, not enough power!"

"Can't you move the TARDIS?" Wanda asked.

"Wanda, nothing is working in here," Pietro said.

"The TARDIS couldn't boil an egg at the moment," the Doctor agreed. "Listen, do what you can to get those people out of there. The three of you are stronger than you know."

"No, move the TARDIS," Clara said. "Like Addams Family!"

A moment later, they heard Pietro whoop and the Doctor singing the Addams family tune –

And then static hit the comms immediately. "Doctor?" Clara called. "Pietro?"

"Kasterborous?" Jessie called again.

This time, she didn't get any response.

***

"They'd be here if they were coming," Rigsy said as he and the older man climbed down the ladder to the tracks. "Where are they?"

"There's no other way down, right?" the man asked, Rigsy looking around. "Hey! I'm talking to you!"

"There is," Rigsy pointed as the girls climbed down. "An old service elevator near the mouth of the tunnel."

"We should go," Clara looked around.

"Oh, no," the older man groaned, seeing jerky shadows moving down at one end, then froze when a horn blew behind them. "And there's another train coming."

Jessie quickly aimed her sonic at the signal, turning it red instead of green. The train approaching hastily put on the brakes, screeching to a stop. "There's that," she smiled.

"Jezebel?" the Doctor said, making her turn her head away to hear. "I don't think the comms are working, but I know you can hear me. The TARDIS is now in siege mode. No way in, no way out. I managed to turn it on just before the train hit . . . but there's not enough power left now to turn it off."

Jessie swallowed. "We'll get you out, Kasterborous. I promise."

"I know you will, love."

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

Jessie swallowed and turned back to the girls. "They're safe for now," she whispered. "But we've got to give them power."

"What's going on?" the train driver asked as he climbed out. "Why the red light?"

"MI5," she automatically held up the psychic paper. "We've got a . . . er . . . "

"Blockage, in the tunnel," the older man answered.

"Can we ram the blockage?" Clara asked. "The train's empty, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it's out of service, but you'd need someone to hold the dead man's handle," the driver nodded, Wanda running down the side of the train after Rigsy. "Is this official? Because I've always wanted to ram something."

"Can we rig it to drive without that?" Clara wondered. "Send it in with no driver?"

The train suddenly started to move, Wanda and Rigsy jumping off, Wanda pushing outwards with her hands, whirlwinds of red propelling the train forward. "Yes," Jessie laughed as the train barreled down the track to become a mural on the side of the tunnel. "I guess we can!"

More figures started rising from the floor, and Jessie turned to run back. On the way, she nearly tripped over something on the tracks, Wanda lunging to pull her back up. "Are you all right?" she asked.

Jessie nodded, then bent down to see what she had tripped over, and she gasped. "Oh, my God!"

"Is that the TARDIS?" Clara's jaw dropped as Jessie picked up a small box with Gallifreyan symbols on it.

"Siege mode," Jessie whispered.

***

"They wear your skin?" the train driver, Bill, asked in disbelief as Jessie paced the office, thinking.

"Yes," Clara nodded.

"I never thought I'd say this," the older man, Fenton, said dryly. "but I think I preferred them when they were flat."

"This is insane!" the driver shook his head. "What do you mean, flat?"

"OK," Jessie turned around. "The last thing the Doctor said was that the TARDIS needed energy. He said if it gets energy, he can beat them."

She snapped her fingers, pulling up an advertising poster, rolling it out onto the table, blank side up. She found a spray paint can, shaking it to see if it was still full. "Leave her," Fenton scowled. "She's lost it."

"I highly doubt that," Wanda said dryly.

"Are you OK?" Rigsy asked.

"Yeah," Clara nodded. "Are you?"

"I think I will be," Rigsy nodded, looking at Jessie. "What's this?"

"Your graffiti is amazing," Jessie said, holding out the spray can. "So I've got a commission for you."

"I'm flattered, but I don't think this is exactly the time," Rigsy began.

"Well, fine," she shrugged. "If you don't think you're up to it."

Rigsy frowned, then took the can. "What do you need, exactly?"

***

"You're going to get us killed!" Fenton hissed as they waited in the service tunnel. "This plan's insane!"

"No one's keeping you here," Jessie threw over her shoulder. "You're perfectly free to walk back if you'd like. Or, if you want to stay, shut up!"

Fenton clicked his mouth shut, and Bill pointed. "They're coming!"

Jessie closed her eyes, hearing energy being aimed at the wall and the door. "It's not working," Fenton growled. "You've killed us all!"

"This is going to save us?" Bill asked. "Pumping energy into the wall?"

"Who said it was the wall?" Jessie grinned. "Through the wall." She offered Rigsy a fist bump, who smiled and returned it. "Rule number one: use your enemy's power against them. How can they restore three dimensions to a door that never existed?"

***

Pietro's gaze shot to the console when it abruptly lit up. "Doctor!" he scrambled to his feet.

"They did it!" the Doctor laughed, running to the controls, Pietro whooping in glee as the Doctor started working with controls. "I knew it! Those, there!" he pointed, Pietro running to help.

***

"It worked!" Clara cheered as the TARDIS flew off the ledge it had been on, flying through the air as it returned back to normal. "They changed the TARDIS!"

The ship landed on the ground, pushing out a forcefield that flung the 3D creatures back. "I tried to talk," the Doctor's voice came out over the tannoy system. "I want you to remember that. I tried to reach out. I tried to understand you, but I think that you understand us perfectly, and I think you just don't care. And I don't know whether you are here to invade, infiltrate, or just replace us. I don't suppose it really matters now. You are monsters. That is the role you seem determined to play, so it seems we must play ours." Jessie, Clara, and Wanda ran around the TARDIS as the Doctor and Pietro stepped out, the Doctor's eyes flickering red slightly, Jessie stopping on her right, as she was meant to be, their three companions behind them. "The ones that stop the monsters," he continued, taking his wife's hand, the two of them each taking out their sonics. "We're sending you back to your own dimension. Who knows? Some of you may even survive the trip. And if you do, remember this. You are not welcome here! This plane is protected! I am the Doctor. My blood bonded is the Bad Wolf. And we name you the Boneless!"

They lifted their sonics in unison, zapping the forcefield, sending pulses of energy out to the Boneless, making them disintegrate.

***

"Here," Clara gave Rigsy her phone to make a call, Pietro chuckling as Bill kissed the ground when the TARDIS landed.

Rigsy smiled thankfully, walking away to make a call. "Hi, Mum. It's me."

"You all right?" Clara patted Bill on the back.

"I'm alive, and I've been inside that," Bill pointed at the TARDIS. "I think I'm up on the deal. Come here." Clara smiled, giving him a hug, and Bill tipped his head to Jessie and Wanda. "Thank you." He walked past Fenton, nodding as he tied his boots. "You look chipper."

"Do people still say chipper?" Clara wondered.

"Apparently," the Doctor nodded, walking over and taking Jessie's face in his hands. "Are you OK?"

"I'm fine," she nodded, kissing him. "Are you?"

"No damage," he nodded.

"And we're alive," Clara smiled.

"And a lot of people died," Pietro sighed. And it had sucked, being locked in the TARDIS, unable to get out, unable to help.

"It's like a forest fire, though, isn't it?" Fenton asked. "The objective is to save the great trees, not the brushwood. Am I right?"

That got him five nasty looks. "It wasn't a fire, those weren't trees, those were people," the Doctor reminded him.

"They were Community Payback scumbags. I wouldn't lose any sleep."

"I bet you wouldn't," the Doctor rolled his eyes.

"It's good to be alive, though. Thank you. Seriously, thank you."

"A lot of people died, and maybe the wrong people survived," Jessie watched him leave.

"Yeah, but we saved the world, right?" Clara grinned.

"We did," the Doctor nodded. "You three did."

"And it felt nice," Wanda smiled at the girls. "The three of us, just girls. That was nice."

"Did you two enjoy your quality time together?" Jessie teased with a grin.

"Shut up," both the Doctor and Pietro said at the same time before blinking at each other in surprise.

The three girls laughed as Rigsy returned. "Ah, the return of the fluorescent pudding brain," the Doctor grinned.

"You do realize he can hear you now?" Clara snickered.

"I know," the Doctor nodded. "Your last painting was so good, it saved the world. I can't wait to see what you do next."

"It's not going to be easy," Rigsy chuckled. "Thanks."

Jessie gave him a hug. "Call if you ever need anything,"

Rigsy nodded, hugging the other girls before leaving. Clara's phone rang again, and she took a look at it before looking up guiltily. "Go," Pietro gave her a small push. "It's Rose, isn't it?"

Clara nodded and turned, answering. "Hi," she said.

"So?" Rose asked expectantly. "Did you save the world? Or the universe? Which one was it this time?"

"Might have been both, actually," Clara admitted. "There were these creatures that were originally just two-dimensional, stealing people. Then they turned three-dimensional."

"But you're OK?"

"Yeah, the Doctor and the Bad Wolf zapped them back to wherever they came from."

"Good," Rose told her. "Tell you what, coffee's on me."

"What?" Clara blinked.

"Well, if you saved the world, I've got to say thank you, don't I?" Rose teased. "Come on by. Someone's got to say thank you."

Clara smiled. "Have I ever told you how awesome you are?"

"Mmm, not today."

"You're awesome," Clara laughed, heading for the TARDIS.

"I know I am," Rose said smugly.

"Cheers," Clara giggled, hanging up. "Come on," she tapped Jessie and Wanda on the shoulders. "Rose is paying for drinks."

"She is?" Jessie asked in surprise, even as they boarded the TARDIS.

"Yep, she is," Clara grinned. "We saved the world, she's saying thank you, and we were good."

"You were exceptional," the Doctor nodded, closing the door. "But sometimes, goodness has nothing to do with it."

***

Because it was about time the Doctor and Pietro had their time together, and the girls got to save the world together. How was this for "Flatline?" Wasn't the best, but I was confused the entire episode. "In the Forest of the Night" will be much better.

But that won't be for a while . . . because next interlude, it's back to the Avengers complex . . .

And everyone knows what's coming after that. }:) Stay tuned!