And so it was that Jack found his feet once again pounding down the grey corridors of the Dalek Spaceship.

Him, the Doctor and a tiny robot dog. And a Dalek.

But he'd seen stranger days.

Despite sharp pains in his chest and calf muscles, Jack refused to stop. For, behind him he could hear distant but quickly-closing metallic cries of "Exterminate!"

Jack knew that if a Dalek uttered that word, there was only one smart option: Run.

"I'll bet you didn't miss this, huh?" The Doctor yelled as he ran ahead of the pack without any signs of fatigue.

Jack laughed breathlessly. "Are you kidding? Me, you... and corridors! Just like old times!"

The Doctor threw a glance to his old friend, a beaming smile parting on his face.

As he did so he missed seeing the end of the corridors, and turned his head back round too late to avoid colliding headfirst with a metal door in his path.

The Doctor fell on to his back over-dramaticly, legs kicking like a headless chicken.

"Oops! Sorry! I'll open the door now!", came the voice of the girl the Doctor had named Clara Oswald through an interface on the wall.

True to her word, the gate slid away, moments too late to save the Doctor's aching nose.

The Time Lord stood up slowly, straightened his bow tie, and stepped through the open door. Jack, K9 and the White Dalek followed suit.

Jack watched as a chair in the centre of their new surroundings was flung around to reveal a beautiful young woman with brown hair and hazel-wood eyes.

The woman's lips curled in a smile as she saw the Doctor.

She leapt out of the chair, and flung herself at him, throwing her arms around him tightly.

The Doctor uncertainly raised his arms to hold her back. They slid to the back of her head, and gently caressed her hair.

They broke apart after a noticeably long period of indulgence, and the woman gave the Doctor a light punch on the arm.

"Don't you do that to me again, Doctor!" she cried, her eyebrows curved with concern.

"I promise", the Doctor replied softly.

"Are you lying?"

"Of course", he added hastily.

"I hate you!"

The Doctor laughed warmly. The woman had noticed Jack standing in the background, and gave him a friendly smile.

"Hello there. Judging from your perfect good looks, I presume you're the one known as Clara Oswald?" he asked the woman, flashing his white teeth in one of his trademark disarming smiles. She nodded, and blushed at his compliments.

At seeing this, the Doctor felt a pang of jealousy in his gut. A feeling he was not used to. It made him feel nauseous and angry simultaneously.

"That's enough, Captain" he decided, giving Jack a dirty look. "We have a very pressing situation on our hands. This isn't the time for flirting!"

'Didn't seem to occur to him when he was doing it' Jack thought to himself. But he respected the Doctor, and noted that he should avoid flirting with Clara Oswald in the future should he want to remain friendly with the Doctor.

All of a sudden Clara noticed the Dalek that also occupied their space. The elephant in the room.

She started to panic, scrambling backwards, but the Doctor grabbed her hand and caught her eyes.

"It's okay," he said in a comforting tone. "It's with us" he added, notably sounding very uncomfortable at saying so.

The Dalek remained unreadable within its metal armour. It began to move towards the control panel where Clara had been sat.

"The human hacked into the ship's telepathic mainframe? Explain?!" it screeched, its eyestalk revolving to identify Clara.

The Doctor moved in front of Clara protectively.

"Don't you dare say 'human' like its a disease! You are nothing compared with them! You will never comprehend the full... majesty of what they can do. Humans can outwit the Daleks any day, at any contest!"

The Dalek stared back at the Doctor emotionlessly. If it understood any of what he had said, its blank expression didn't express so.

"Very well," it spoke eventually. "I cannot use the terminal because it will log me as a rogue element, and lock us out. We use symbiotic lock procedures to seal the lower decks. She must unlock the Prison Wards from here whilst you simultaneously bypass the terminal on that floor."

The Doctor looked deeply worried at the prospect of leaving Clara alone on a Dalek ship for another second.

"No. No! I won't lose her again, you hear me!"

Clara felt her insides ripple at the genuine concern the Doctor was displaying for her. She was irritated that he was being overly-protective of her, but a part of her was also deeply touched.

She spoke up. "Doctor, it's okay. I can handle myself for a little longer. You know me! I'm the boss!"

She put her hand on the Doctor's shoulder. He smiled at her, and she returned it instantly.

He sighed loudly, and a wave of reluctance creased his brow. But he wasn't arguing any more.

"Okay. But I'll be back for you in a few minutes, I promise."

The Dalek piped up again, keen to try and earn the Doctor's trust.

"I will guard her here, Doctor."

These words didn't exactly relieve the Doctor. He had made an alliance with the Dalek, but he was no nearer trusting it than ever before.

He stepped over to it, and lowered his head so he was looking right into its blue eye.

"Alright. But know this: If any harm comes to her, I will rip you apart myself. Piece... by piece."

He watched the Dalek for any indication of betrayal in its eye. Finding none, he stood up straight, and turned away.

"K9. You stay as well. If our new Dalek pal gets any ideas, you know what to do."

The robot dog nodded its head, making a creaky metallic sound.

"Affirmative!"

"Captain, you're with me!" the Doctor continued, patting his companion on the head in a non-patronising way.

The pair headed for the open door. Jack stepped through briskly, but the Doctor hovered momentarily, throwing a last look of longing worry at Clara, who smiled reassuringly.

"Don't worry about me! Go and kick some butt!" she yelled mischievously.

The Doctor gave her the thumbs up, tipped his invisible hat, and swept out.

(-:TFOTS:-)

Clara watched them go on her monitor and sighed quietly. She loved adventures, and the danger that they often posed, but it was no fun with a sense of mortal coil hanging over the proceedings.

She risked a look at the White Dalek assigned to protect her. It had its back turned, but she could see many scratches and scorch marks on its tattered shell.

A thought occurred to her that she tried to ignore, fruitlessly. She voiced it.

"Did they torture you? The other Daleks?"

Silence. The Dalek offered her nothing, perhaps out of contempt for her species, but Clara found it much more likely that it was honouring the Doctor's wishes to leave her alone.

"Ignore what the Doctor said," she called quietly. "I trust you, I know that you wouldn't hurt me!"

At least she HOPED it wouldn't. She was obviously bluffing, but she believed herself to be a good judge of character. Skaldak, Merry, the Doctor. Even the TARDIS, the grumpy old cow.

"He's way too protective of me. I don't need you to ignore me in order to guard me. I just wanted to know. I want to understand".

Her last words sounded pitifully pleading; not as she had intended, rather how she had began to feel mid-sentence when she suddenly called to mind her studies of Vietnam in her university years.

She had gotten the best marks because she could empathise with everyone who fought, regardless of race, belief or language.

The Dalek remained turned, but its headlamps glowed a faded white as it finally offered a reply.

"Yes", it spoke emotionless as ever, but perhaps with a little conflict mixing in.

Clara looked at the Dalek, and could not see a creature built from hatred or bitterness. If what she saw was a Dalek, she was sure that it was as far from being a murderous space Nazi as it could get.

In fact, despite the Doctor's warnings about the Daleks she found herself on her feet and walking towards the Dalek.

She felt its pain through its armour, and every cell in her body was telling her to comfort it. She couldn't help it. It was an injured person, and she would always try and help them. It was who she was.

She jumped out of her skin when K9 suddenly spoke out from the corner of the room. She had forgotten he was there.

"Mistress Clara, step back!"

Clara turned her head to the robot dog, and held out a hand to it.

"Its okay K9. Sit."

K9 did not show any sign of feeling patronised, its focus on protecting Clara.

"The Dalek is dangerous. Step away now!"

Clara ignored K9's warnings. How could they apply to the sorry beast that stood before her?

She was right behind the Dalek now. Hesitantly but determinedly she reached out her hand and placed it on the Daleks head.

She suddenly yelped and quickly withdrew her hand as an orange mark of her hand was imprinted on the Daleks head.

"Genetic material extrapolated, initiate cellular reconstruction!"

The Daleks body turned a full 360, its top half turning left and its bottom half meeting it after turning right.

Clara stepped back in horror, as the Dalek was coated in a blue magnetic aura, and was shocked to see all of the damaged parts of its armour heal themselves in mere seconds.

K9 fired a shot at the Dalek but it pinged off its blue shield.

Within the blue vortex the White Dalek was being reborn.

Clara felt like a complete idiot. What had she done? Had she sealed her own fate?

Finally the blue energy shield was dissipated, and where it once was stood the Dalek, no longer a rusted relic, but a fully-repaired soldier.

"Weapons systems restored. Targeting matrix online. Visual receptors at 100% efficiency."

Clara curled herself into a ball at the back of the room. She put her hands up to her eyes, and hid her face in mortal terror.

She thought of all the things that made her stronger: her parents, her friends. And the Doctor.

And she waited for the lethal shot.

(-:TFOTS:-)

The Doctor and Jack descended a long vertical ladder that lead into the bowels of the ship.

Jack went first, ever the headstrong Time Agent of old, and was pleased to have a good view of the Doctor's bottom from above as he shimmied down the ladder.

They reached the bottom, and a dim light flashed on. Their new surroundings were not the pristinely-kept if soulless corridors of above, but a messy, foul-smelling and half-lit cesspit of tangled cables and disorganisation.

"The Prison of the Daleks" Jack said solemnly. "My home for five months."

The Doctor didn't know how to respond, but felt incredibly guilty all-of-a-sudden.

"I'm sorry."

Jack looked at his friend, and shrugged hid shoulders.

"What for?"

The Doctor met his eyes. "For not coming sooner."

Jack laughed bitterly. "I'm lucky you even came at all! Most people don't have a dimension-travelling two-hearted friend to bail them out of jail."

The pair walked down the dark and musty-smelling passageway. The Doctor's shoes squished as he trod on a gooey pink mess on the floor.

He pulled a face and wiped his shoe fiercely on the wall, until there was red all over it.

Sticking his tongue out to indicate his disgust, the Doctor looked back at Jack, who looked equally revolted.

"Doctor..." Jack started. "Is that...?"

"Quite possibly"

"A brain?" he concluded, gagging at the thought.

"Quite possible, yes."

The Doctor crouched down and protruded his sonic screwdriver at the pinkish mess.

Upon collecting data, he nodded slowly and looked incredibly guilty.

"I'm sorry," he said in a soft and solemn voice. "I'm so, so, sorry."

"It's human. Male. About thirty years of age" he continued.

Jack's immortal heart skipped a beat. It couldn't be... could it? Not...

"Recently diseased judging by advanced state of decomposition." The Doctor was really getting into the forensic mood, as he took out a Sherlock-like magnifying glass and peered at the mess.

Jack felt bile rising in his mouth. "Doctor... Please... Tell me it doesn't belong to Alonso Frame?"

The Time Lord glanced up. "No, I shouldn't think so. Midshipman Frame was highly intelligent. This brain... is not."

How he could tell completely bypassed Jack. But nonetheless he was slightly relieved.

"Its... barbaric," the Doctor spat as he stood up. "And we're going to put a stop to it... Tonight!"

(-:TFOTS:-)

A million thoughts ran through Clara Oswald's head in the time she spent cowering in that corner. A million things she had always meant to do, but now might never get the chance to.

Grow a plant successfully. Get that job in I.T her dad had been trying to arrange.

Tell the Doctor how she felt.

How she'd always felt, ever since she'd met him.

She cursed the cruelty of life and prepared for the moment in which hers would end.

Seconds passed. And nothing. She opened one eye and peered out from behind her hands.

The Dalek was just sitting there. It was making no intention to attack her.

Clara rose to her feet cautiously, and yelled at it in a not-so-brave-sounding voice.

"What are you waiting for?"

The White Dalek raised its eyestalk and peered right at her. When it finally spoke, its voice was now much more warrior-like, yet retaining the new energy it had previously given off.

"The touch of a time traveller has regenerated me. I can now fight as a Dalek should. Thank you, Clara Oswald."

Clara didn't know it, but this was the first time a Dalek had ever expressed gratitude since their genesis.

"So... you're not going to kill me then?" she asked, careful to avoid sounding like a taunt.

"No. I have nothing to gain for my objective by killing you. I have made an alliance. I intend on keeping to it."

Clara breathed deeply and lay her head back against the wall. She felt elated that her life was set to continue, but also a subtle-but-nagging sense of guilt for being so quick to accuse the Dalek.

It was a stupid feeling. But she couldn't shake it. She wondered what the Doctor would think of her. Disgusted? Horrified? Betrayed?

She didn't get long to think about it because all-of-a-sudden K9 burst into life again.

"Incoming Daleks detected! Suggest I take them on directly!"

The White Dalek looked at the tin dog.

"We will take them together," it said, before turning to look at Clara. "You will stay here."

Clara wasn't planning to argue. She watched her protectors go, and awaited her fate, heart once again firmly in mouth.

(-:TFOTS:-)

The Doctor and Jack had reached the main level of the prison. It looked like the old English 'hospital' Bedlam, that the Doctor had visited in his tenth incarnation.

But a re-imagining of it, for the luminous Tungsten pylons that ran from the roof to the base were like nothing ever seen on Earth.

Completely alien. Completely insane. Dalek design all over.

As the duo wandered pass the cells, they noticed that most of them were empty. The first one that wasn't contained the woman that the Daleks had threatened to execute for information.

Jack was clearly very close to her, as he flung himself at the metal bars, clinging onto them tightly, and shouted.

"Celia! Celia, it's me! I've got help! We are getting OUT of here!"

There was a muffled response from within the cell. Jack looked concerned.

"Celia? What's wrong?"

The Doctor stepped hastily over to the cell, and stood next to Jack.

"Hello Celia!" the Doctor exclaimed. "Listen, I'm a Doctor. THE Doctor, actually, now you mention it. I need you to tell me what's wrong."

There was a strange gurgling sound. It sounded pained, but Jack could definitely make it out as Celia.

"Doctor, what's wrong with her?" Jack asked.

The Time Lord looked grim as he poked his sonic screwdriver through the bars and took a reading.

"She was fine, just hours ago! I spoke to her!"

The Doctor looked up, a great sadness in his old eyes.

"I'm sorry, Jack. But this woman has not been fine for a long, long time."

Jack felt acid in his gut. He couldn't properly process what he was hearing.

"You said the Daleks had been torturing you for information, once a day. Well, every time they've taken you, they've also experimented on Celia."

"No. Not possible," Jack said, flinching as his whole world collapsed around him.

"I am so, so sorry. But they have. This woman is in the final stages of Cerebral Mitosis. She won't last the night."

Jack fell to his knees. A hot tear rolled down his cheeks, the start of a downpour.

"I promised her," he whispered. "I promised her that she would get out, I-"

His voice was wrenched off as great tears of sorrow, frustration and bitterness flooded from his eyes. There were no words to say. He had spent months with only this woman for company. Now he was offered the chance to leave, and she could never have it.

The Doctor placed a hand on Jack's shoulder.

"We can still save her memory, Jack. Whatever did this to her is still down here somewhere. Cerebral Mitosis is caused by the use of unclean metal appendages."

Jack looked up at the Doctor through his tears.

"Then lets get that son of a-"

(-:TFOTS:-)

The White Dalek and K9 hovered into the corridor, and locked the door behind them.

The pair took positions on either side of the door, like beefeaters outside Buckingham Palace.

A few moments of eerie silence followed before two Daleks came into view at the other end of the corridor.

One of them the White Dalek knew too well. Javiak. The Supreme Dalek.

The other was a Special Weapons Dalek, a fierce-some tank of a Dalek used only for dire situations.

The odds were stacked against them, but at least now The White Dalek had the use of its weapons.

"So... the heretic has come to die!" Javiak said maliciously.

"You shall not pass, Javiak!" the White Dalek called.

Normally the Daleks did not banter before battle. But Dalek vs Dalek was a different matter. Despite being a heretical prophet, the White Dalek was still far more respected than any flesh enemy of the Daleks.

"With the Skasis Paradigm the Daleks could own the universe. Progress is evolution."

The White Dalek countered: "Progress is reevaluation. The Daleks will not survive without co-operation. We must become something new."

Javiak looked physically revolted, despite his true face being concealed deep within his armour.

"Enough! Your plague has spread for long enough. Exterminate!"

Javiak fired the first shot, which hit the White Dalek's shielding, lowering its efficiency to 50%

The White Dalek and K9 fired shots back. Javiak stumbled back as his shields were claimed.

"Protect me! Protect me!" he shrilled at the Special Weapons Dalek.

The SWD turned towards its enemies and fired a huge blast at K9. The robot dog deflected the shot with an energy shield, and fired back.

The Special Weapons Dalek had no visible weak-point, for it had no eyestalk. K9's shots hit it in the frontal metal plating, but had little effect.

"My armour is not impaired!" the SWD cried in a deep robotic voice.

"This unit suggests we combine our fire on the SWD's head dome!" K9 cried. The White Dalek nodded.

"Exterminate!" the SWD yelled, before letting loose with another huge wave.

The shot caught the White Dalek, tearing through his shielding and battering his new armour.

Through the intense searing pain, the White Dalek called out: "Now!", and fired at the SWD. K9 followed suit.

The first shot knocked the SWD back, the second pierced straight through its head, taking it clean off. The SWD fell still.

Javiak, realising the situation was quickly falling out of his control, began to turn and flee. But the White Dalek was having none of it.

"Javiak. You tortured me! Your end is now!"

Javiak was unable to get away in time to escape a direct blast to his exposed back plating. The armour groaned and exploded inwards, spraying sparks all over the floor and sending the Supreme Dalek off spinning.

"Assistance required!" Javiak cried as he hit the back wall.

The White Dalek calmly moved towards him until they were inches apart. Javiak looked up pleadingly at the Dalek.

"Mercy! If you spare me, I will reinstate you in the Dalek Parliament!"

The White Dalek just stared at the pathetic pleas of his race's finest. The cowardice of Javiak summed up his despising of the Daleks in general.

"Sorry, I thought mercy made us weak? One word Javiak. You know what it is," the White Dalek stated as it steadied its aim. "Exterminate."

A white light burst from the ray, sending white shockwaves up Javiak's armour as it hit. The Supreme Dalek yelled for a few seconds, and then was silent. Forever.

(-:TFOTS:-)

The sonic screwdriver whizzed as the Doctor pointed it at a large steel door.

"The terminal is through this door", the Doctor informed Jack. "Ready when you are."

Jack grit his teeth in the best smile he could muster in the situation and nodded.

The Doctor raised his foot and kicked the door hard. It swung open.

"Who needs sonic screwdrivers then, huh?" Jack joked half-heartedly as they walked into a strange kind of laboratory.

Racks of test tubes sat on filthy and cobwebbed surfaces. Jack gagged at an oesophagus that was lying on the table.

"This looks like the lab of Jack the Ripper" Jack remarked as his upper lip curled.

"Something's had a lot of time on its hands" the Doctor deciphered.

As they stood looking about themselves they heard a male voice scream in the next room. An insane robotic cackling followed.

The Doctor nodded to Jack and they hurried towards the sound. Pushing open the door, they were met with the sight of what appeared to be a sort of torture chamber, complete with Saw-like dim lighting.

Jack yelled "Doctor!" as he saw Midshipman Alonso Frame chained to a raised platform.

As they approached Frame he glanced up at his rescuers and muttered "Jack? Get out of here! Before it comes back! Go-"

"Speak of the devil, and he shall appear!" whispered a robotic, unbalanced voice from behind them.

The Doctor jumped back just in time to avoid being scythed by a sickle-like appendage as it swiped towards him.

Its owner was of course, a Dalek. Or what was left of one. The Doctor had seen insane Daleks in the Asylum, but what stood before him now took the Jammy Dodger.

A rusted silver Dalek with its front blown open, revealing the tentacled controller inside. A makeshift arm had been grafted onto its side, and at its end was the blood-pelted, rusty scythe which had almost disembowelled him moments earlier.

"What the hell is this thing?" Jack asked as he backed away.

The Doctor, ever the tall-dark-stranger, did not back away. He brandished his sonic screwdriver like a knife, trying to ward away the abomination.

"So, there was a Dalek even more insane than the Prophet, then? Every Dalek on this ship was present in the court hearing, except you, and the White Dalek. The one thing you have in common? You're both considered too insane to be in their company."

He began to pace a little, lost in his thoughts, despite the urgency of the situation.

"An insane Dalek is the worst kind. So they make the best jailers, right? Except you've been experimenting on your charges, cutting them open, seeing how they work."

He looked at the thing that once resembled his worst enemies.

"You're sick in the head. You should be destroyed. Mentally balanced individuals don't leave brains lying around on the floor!"

The insane Dalek laughed. Its laughter was horrible, like a robot hyena/clown.

"The cutting. Yes! The squealing, the blood! Wonderful, yes! Hehehehe!"

Jack exploded at the creature. "You did it, didn't you? You experimented on Celia! You sentenced her to death!"

The Dalek cackled again. "The female didn't like us. It wriggled, and it fought! But we still cut her, didn't we? Hehaha!"

Jack had heard enough of the insane ramblings. He picked up a trailing cable from the laboratory floor, and, running at the Dalek, jabbed it straight into its metal casing.

The effect was instantaneous. The casing conducted the charge, in turn zapping the squid-like creature inside.

It screamed for a few seconds, then its eye closed and there was nothing.

"Her name was Celia Bowles. And that, was for her." Jack said coldly.

He dropped the cable, and felt his inner rage subside. The Doctor nodded his approval, but even he looked a little shocked by the ferocity of Jack's actions.

"Come on," Jack said quietly. "Lets find that terminal, and get the hell out of here."

(-:TFOTS:-)

Clara was momentarily surprised that when K9 and the White Dalek returned. She had thought for sure they would have been killed. Then she noticed the fresh battle scars on the Dalek's armour, and felt a pang of guilt.

"Your hurt!" she cried. The White Dalek looked at her as if to say 'Well done Captain Obvious'. Instead, it remained as unreadable as ever as it spoke.

"Yes. The damage is not permanent. I will repair it later."

K9 wheeled himself to his mistresses feet, and she scratched the dog behind his radio-dish ears.

"Daleks are eliminated. Threat is repelled, Mistress Cla-ra."

"Good boy, K9" Clara offered, wondering if she sounded patronising. She still needed time to adjust to the robot.

K9 looked pleased, and his tail antannae wagged enthusiastically.

Suddenly there was a crackle of static, and the Doctor's voice burst from the speaker.

"Clara! Come in, Clara!"

Clara broke out in an infectious smile. She practically skipped to the interface, and grabbed the mic.

"I read you loud and clear, Chin" she replied with all of her trademark tease.

"I'm hacking the interface now! On three! One, two, three!"

Clara tapped her screen at the exact moment the Doctor did. She heard a distant metal clank, followed by the Doctor's cheerful tones.

"The prison is open! We'll be up to you in a few minutes!"

"You'd better be!" Clara cheered. The mic crackled and was quiet.

(-:TFOTS:-)

The return journey was fraught with much more danger. Assisting the limping Midshipman and with Jack carrying Celia in his arms, the threat of Dalek attack loomed ever closer.

As the team reached the door to Clara's hidey-hole, the Doctor noticed two dead Daleks outside in the corridor. He couldn't say he felt remarkably bothered. Or that he was sorry there had been no other way.

Because he wasn't.

Rapping his knuckle gently on the door led to its brisk opening. As they stumbled inside, Clara leapt up to greet them.

What she saw was a broken Time Agent, a limping man in a uniform and a dirt-covered Doctor.

So, not quite the stuff of movies.

The Doctor pressed his hand on the door and it closed behind them. He approached Clara, giving her an unenthusiastic thumbs-up.

She noticed his defeatist face, and was very concerned. "Doctor, what happened?"

Her Time Lord looked straight at her, sadness in his usually glowing eyes. "They're all dead. The Daleks killed them."

Clara put a comforting hand on his shoulder, but he shook it off.

"It was my fault. I wasn't quick enough. I let these monsters get away with it."

He turned away from her, ashamed to look at her, truly believing he had let her down. She didn't think that at all, but he was determined to prove his worth, not just for her, but himself.

"The Daleks will be on this position in a few minutes. A timed Delta Wave would wipe out every Dalek life form on this ship. Then we leave."

Clara searched his eyes for any sign of facade. There was none.

"But, Doctor. Every Dalek. That would kill him too!" she said urgently, gesturing to the White Dalek.

The Doctor avoided looking at her. "So be it," he said in a disconcertingly calm voice that didn't fit with what he was about to do.

"But... he saved my life! He doesn't deserve death!" she protested.

"They call me the Oncoming Storm for a reason, you know," he began. "Translated roughly, it means the Destroyer of the Daleks."

Clara felt like there was no ground beneath her feet. She was seeing a side to her Doctor she really disliked. She saw an unstoppable fire in his eyes.

She saw his soul. And there was no room for the Daleks.

"If I let them go again, who knows what they'll do!" The Doctor continued. "I have a duty to avenge the fallen."

Clara could see she wasn't getting through. "Please! This isn't what we do, Doctor! It doesn't have to be this way!"

She tugged at his sleeve, and at last he looked at her. It broke both his hearts to see the distress in her beautiful face. Naivety, sure, but a representative of all that was good in the world. A calming rain to put out his fire. A warm current to melt the ice in his soul.

And the breath of kindness and forgiveness which had brought him back to life. And, against all impossibilities, was teaching him to love again.

So, it was despite every impulse in the Doctor's head telling him to kill, that the love of Clara Oswin Oswald caused him to stop.

He looked with great affection at his companion. "So, then," he said, smiling once again. "We run?"

Clara returned his smile, their faces so close now their noses almost touched. "You bet!"

And, so with that, they did.

(-:TFOTS:-)

A clean escape it was not. As the TARDIS team ran through the identical grey corridor, they were met by many a Dalek. But a quick flash of a certain sonic device powered them down in a blink, and they continued.

As they entered the Court of the Daleks, the Doctor narrowly rolled under a death ray's shot. Clara thought it reminded her of a Jason Statham film, the dashing hero running from the explosions with no fear at all. She made a mental note to show the Doctor 'The Expendables' when she got the chance.

Reaching the parked TARDIS in the cargo hold, the Doctor stopped, and stood up straight, a smug smile on his face. With a quick snap of his fingers, his blue box opened without a touch.

It was clearly meant to impress Clara. But she just raised her eyebrows, and offered a mocking grin.

"Showoff" she muttered.

"Every time!" the Doctor remarked. He beckoned each of his friends inside. He counted them as they passed. Clara. Jack. K9. Frame. Celia.

He stopped as he noticed the White Dalek was making no attempt to enter.

"Come on!" he cried to it.

The Dalek looked at him, its eyestalk unblinking. "You would never trust a Dalek. You owe me nothing. Leave me."

The Doctor couldn't deny he wanted to, but "I owe you Clara's life. We made an alliance. And I intend to keep it."

He could scarcely believe what he was saying, but he knew he was doing the right thing.

The White Dalek paused for a few seconds as if judging him, then went through the doors. The Doctor followed it, closing the doors.

He ran to the central pillar of the now-packed control room, and began pulling levers. "Right. I'd better drop you off. Spaceport do?"

Jack approached the Doctor. "Actually, if you don't mind, there's somewhere else."

The Doctor nodded in complete understanding. Jack flashed him a grateful yet saddened smile.

Then they were off.

(-:TFOTS:-)

The Crystal Waterfalls of Balixia III were just as beautiful as Jack had expected.

A pure silver stream of water rolling down a glistening glass rock face, as the sun shone through it, reflected at every angle. Amethyst fish-like creatures popped out of the water at regular intervals. A smell of green grass perpetuating the very air.

Celia opened her eyes wearily, and saw the most beautiful sight she would ever see. She lolled her head to look at Jack, who was crouching over where she was laid on her back.

"Jack? Is... is this real?" she whispered. The Time Agent nodded, fighting back tears.

"I hope its everything you ever dreamed of" Jack said, his hand on her head, stroking her hair from her face.

"That and more... its... beautiful"

A small bird-like creature began to hum gently in the background. The sound was tranquil, and thoroughly pleasant.

"It is... isn't it" Jack said softly. But for all his appreciation of the environment, he wasn't actually referring to it.

Celia craned her head to look up at Jack. The Time Agent looked deeply troubled. "Don't try and move, Celia" he whispered. "Everything.. is going to be fine..." His voice broke as he uttered the final word.

As the sun began to set on the crystalline landscape, Celia Bowles, smiling frailly all-the-while, closed her eyes for the last time. Jack completely lost his self-control and he began to weep profusely, cradling her lifeless head in his arms. He stayed like that for an unnacountable amount of time.

In the distance, The Doctor and Clara stood watching, hand in hand. The Doctor felt Clara's grip tighten, and he squeezed her hand reassuringly. Clara knew that the life of the Doctor didn't always end well, but death was never too small an impact to deal with.

She lay her head on the Doctor's shoulders. He didn't mind at all, in fact he really enjoyed the feeling of her closeness.

"Who was she?" asked when there were no words left to say.

The Doctor kept staring into the glare of the orange sun, and answered softly. "She was Celia Bowles. And she was brilliant."

TO BE CONTINUED...

Next Chapter: Two of a Kind (Whouffle shippers, your patience will be rewarded... (end cryptic summary))

Thanks for reading all! Recently this story passed the 50 milestone for followers, and I just wanted to express my gratitude. You're all the best readers an author could ask for!

Three important matters to address now...

1. The Poll- Thanks to all who voted. Sleep well knowing that your votes will shape the course of this story. Everyone who had at least two votes will be appearing in some fashion (yes, even...). The main companions however will be Vastra, Jenny and Strax; River Song; The Reformed Dalek; Jack Harkness; and Wilf. Like I said, no need to panic because everyone with at least two votes WILL appear at some point. So that's that.

2. The Rating - Due to ever-evolving nature of this story I am making the conscious decision to change its rating to T. This shouldn't really affect the story, as I imagine most Whouffle shippers fit the bill. But there will be some shocking content along the line, as well as in this chapter. So be aware. (Plus this means the Doctor and Clara can be a bit more... you know...)

3. Pen Name- From the next chapter onwards, my pen name shall no longer by SlyvsClockwerk. I feel that my name must change with the winds, and the new name will be ASouffleToServeTwo. Apologies to any inconveniences caused.

So, thats all for now. As usual, its been a pleasure. If you liked/disliked this chapter or any, please Review, as it helps me to improve and evolve.

For the last time, this has been a SlyVsClockwerk story.

Bye bye!