A/n –In my mind, this is set before the Doctor actually put a time lock on the Daleks, therefore each of these people were converted during the Time War.
Warnings: mild slash and spoilers for Asylum of the Daleks.
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Daleks were human once. Until their humanity was ripped from them, forcing them to become cold, heartless metal machines. And most Daleks took this without hesitation; but others tried to fight it, tried to keep their humanity. That's how they ended up on Asylum of the Daleks. They weren't normal. They were human until the very end.
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Hanna was six when her spaceship was taken over. She hid in a supply closet with her mother as metal machines, that screeched "Exterminate" every few moments, killed most of the passengers. Beyond the door, she could hear the screams of agony of the others. Tears leaked out of her eyes as her mother held her close.
She let out a screech of fear as the door flew open. There was nothing that was going to save them now, because, in front of them, two Daleks appeared.
"She is compatible," the one said, looking with its one eye at Hanna. Hanna's eyes widen in terror. She couldn't be converted, she was too young. "A full conversion is necessary."
Her mother held her even more tightly, protecting her from the invaders sight. "You will not have my daughter." Before her mother could do anything else, a beam of white-blue light struck her in the chest.
Hanna felt her mother's arms go slack around her. "Mama," she cried out, shaking her limp body. She was too focused on her mother to realize the Dalek's advancement. Alone in the closet, Hanna had no choice but to allow the Daleks to convert her.
As the conversion progressed, Hanna hummed the melody that she loved to dance to. And she pictured herself spinning in a circle, her vibrant red hair twisting around her face. There was nothing in the universe that could compare to the feeling of ballet.
"It is complete."
Hanna couldn't face a world of hatred, so she withdrew herself into her own mind, where she could dance to memorized beats. She, barely, held on to her humanity. Her love of ballet saved her mind and soul.
So, along with her very dead mother, Hanna was sent to the Asylum of the Daleks, because not even the Daleks could control her.
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Amorette had wanted to see the stars since she was very young. Looking to the sky, she would tell her father that she would see them and their shining beauty. At sixteen, she met a man that would forever change her life. He was married with children, but that didn't stop her from falling deeply in love with him. To her, he was her shining star, like the stars that she so longed to see.
She was eighteen when he swept her off her feet, taking her to view the universe from a ship. He was still legally married and she was so young and maybe a bit naïve, but she couldn't be happier. Together, they travelled the stars and the galaxies, without a care. But her happiness soon faded as he left her on some planet in the Omega Centauri galaxy to return home to his wife and children.
She started over in that galaxy where one sun rose in the east and another appeared over the north horizon. She made this golden planet her new home since she had abandoned her home planet so very long ago. But her first love was forever on her mind even though she had married another young man, giving him two children.
It was dark when the Daleks invaded the planet, looking for new humans to convert. She held her children close as the Daleks continuously screeched "Exterminate". They wouldn't kill her or her children if it was the last thing Amorette did. But her children's cry alerted the Daleks of their presence.
"They are compatible," one of the three said, its computer generated voice spoke slowly. Amorette hugged her children even closer as the three Daleks advanced on them "They must be converted."
She knew it was a hopeless cause to fight the Daleks. All it would get her was a quicker death. So she turned her chin defiantly. And if they were going to convert her, they were going to have a hell of a fight to get her away from the corner she and her children were sitting in.
As she stood in the conversion chamber, she let tears of fear roll down her face. She didn't want to become a monster. Since she had long ago learned how Daleks converted humans, she thought of the things she truly loved – her children and the man that showed her those shining stars so long ago.
They couldn't take her love for them away from her, because she loved them too deeply; they were a part of her soul now. Her mind dreamed a world of happiness and love, where her children played in the orange grass of her home planet and the man loved her with all his heart.
And the Daleks did try to fix her, to make her believe solely in beautiful hatred. But her love was too strong. Stuck inside her own mind, Amorette was sent off to the Asylum of the Daleks. That was where she dreamed of dance parties and being with her loves.
/
Myles loved entertaining. It was his one true passion in the universe. Even at a young age, Myles was always had a talent for making others, humans and aliens alike, laugh. And throughout his life, that ability never truly left him.
He was seventeen when he left his home planet in favor of exploring the stars, to show the other beings his talent. Leaving no note, Myles got a career onboard Starship America, entertaining the travelling guest.
The Starship America landed in Spiridon. For the night, he was allowed to explore the planet with the other passengers. In the shadows, two Daleks had been sitting perfectly still, waiting for a human to pass by. Myles had passes the shadow, alone as he had lost sight of the group.
As he was standing in the conversion chamber, Myles continuously chanted to himself, chanted about the process of performing. "Act. Smile. Bow. Repeat." Slipping inside his own mind, he pretended that he was welcoming humans and aliens to his show. He let a smile cross his face as the conversion finished.
Instead of allowing the Daleks to completely change him, his imagination saved his mind and allowed him to pretend that he was doing what he loved – entertaining the universe. "Act. Smile. Bow. Repeat," the voice in his head whispered repeatedly. And Myles did just that for the rest of eternity in the Asylum, with nothing prohibiting it.
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Kade was nineteen when his heart was broken by his first boyfriend. He may have been young, but he knew it was love; because every time he looked at Nemesus, his heart skipped a beat and he had butterflies in his stomach. Their relationship had lasted longer than many thought, because Kade was completely devoted to Nemesus.
But the masses were right; Nemesus was just a player that liked the look of Kade on his arm. It had crushed Kade to find Nemesus in a corner with a person that clearly wasn't him. Nemesus had noticed his presence just a second too late, and by the time that he attempted to chase after him, Kade had already disappeared.
Before anyone could stop him, Kade boarded the first ship off of his planet. Leaving was the easier decision, because then he wouldn't have to hear everyone tell him they were right all along. For a while, he planet hopped, trying desperately to forget about Nemesus. But it never actually worked. If anything, it just made Kade's heart hurt.
He had brought himself a ship with the money he had been saving. It wasn't the best or the fastest, but it would get him from point A to point B and that's all that really mattered. Though, Kade was absolutely terrible with navigation, and ended up in a completely different galaxy than the one he was trying to get back to.
And he had flown too close to a planet, causing him to crash land on its surface. As he was getting out of his burning ship, two figures flanked him. He froze in fear. He had landed on a planet inhabited by Daleks.
"We must convert him," one said slowly. And that was when Kade allowed panic to consume him.
Kade let tears of agony fall down his face as the Daleks converted him. "Nemesus," he muttered every few seconds. "I still love you. I will always love you."
His love and devotion to Nemesus saved his soul, but it cost Kade. He spent forever watching Nemesus be with others, jealousy written all over his face. But Kade would take that over being a Dalek. Because he should hate Nemesus, but he couldn't; and if he couldn't do that, he couldn't believe in hatred at all.
/
Mira and Ronan were in love once, but not with each other, never with each other. But they had found companionship in one another after their loves were murdered in a Civil War that broke out on their home planet. They both understood the hole in their hearts that were left by their loves. Perhaps, that was what made them such a lovely couple – broken, but trying to heal one another.
The Daleks just appeared out of the blue one day, killing most and converting others. Mira and Ronan tried to flee, to escape on Ronan's ship, but the Daleks caught them because the ship was disabled. Before the Daleks could advance on them, Ronan put his arm protectively around Mira. But it did nothing for them; it didn't protect them.
They were compatible. Being forced into the conversion chambers, Ronan and Mira tried to hold onto their humanity. They both tried to remember what it was like to be in love, completely and fully in love.
Mira thought about her childhood sweetheart that had rushed off to war the moment he was of age. She remembered what it was like to be in his arms, not Ronan's. It was just enough to save her, to protect her mind. Forever more, Mira would be condemned to remember both men: the one she loved with all her heart and the one that helped piece her back together.
Ronan focused on his love of a married man. He knew that his love would never be able to love him the way Ronan loved him. But just seeing the smile cross that man's face was worth the pain of never actually having him. And maybe, just a small piece of him, did love Mira for the healing she did to his heart.
His love allowed Ronan to hide in his mind, remembering how it was to actually be happy for him. And if he did nothing else for the rest of his life, Ronan would be happy with his memory of love. The Daleks couldn't take that from him, or from Mira. Together they were sent to the Asylum because they were different.
/
Each and every one of the Daleks on the Asylum was different. They didn't believe in beautiful hatred. They believed in love and pain and everything that wasn't a Dalek. It saved their souls and their minds dreamed a world of peace and happiness because the truth was too painful.
They were human until the very end.