Tara and Felix rounded the corner, tearing away from the the gunshots behind them as fast as their feet could carry them. Only a few seconds later, the Daleks followed them, shrieking, "EX-TER-MI-NATE! EX-TER-MI-NATE!" The two ducked their heads, trying to avoid the shots from behind them.

"Hurry up!" Beckett cried out, flattening herself against the wall to keep out of the Dalek's shots, Castle right beside her.

The sheriff and donor reached the four discs on the ground, hurrying past the discs and staying close against the wall. The Daleks were only a few paces behind now; one shot whizzed past dangerously close to Felix's shoulder. Both metal creatures continued to pursue them, passing through the area between the four discs. As soon as they both passed the first two discs, all four discs lit up with a yellow glow. Electric bolts of light zapped between the discs, coming to form a dome shape around the Daleks. They cried out in surprise and fury, shooting wildly at the electric field holding them in, but with no effect.

Beckett and the others slowly came to stand before the Daleks. Tara and Felix were staring wide-eyed at them, as though shocked the net was actually holding them. The sheriff let out a little surprised laugh, her surprise quickly becoming relieved triumph. "Damn, looks like the big, bad Daleks can't get out of a little net!" She let out a whoop of laughter, slinging an arm over Felix's shoulder as they both beheld the Daleks.

Castle and Felix were slowly starting to pick up on Tara's joy, but Beckett was more reserved. This wasn't over until the Daleks were either dead or off the planet. She approached the Daleks, expression completely cool. "You won't be getting out of there anytime soon," she informed the creatures evenly, "so you may as well listen to what we have to say." The detective was in full professional mode now. Lives hung in the balance, the lives of the Daleks, and the inhabitants of this planet, and whether there would be more death or not all hung on the conversation that was to come. Beckett knew that the responsibility of making sure that everyone got out of this alive was now hers. She wasn't about to screw this up.

Somehow, the cold, glowing eyestalks of the Daleks managed to glare black hatred at her. "DA-LEKS DO NOT NE-GO-TI-ATE!" one of them declared in a furious screech.

"You don't have a whole lot of choice," Beckett replied coolly. "Now, let's examine the situation. Your three buddies are dead, you don't have a working ship, no back-up, and you're trapped in a net with no way of getting out, completely at the mercy of the humans and aliens you took hostage. I think you'll find that your only chance at survivng at this point is to talk to us."

The Dalek that had spoke earlier began to tremble, shrieking, "WE WILL NOT NE-GO-TI-A-"

"EN-OUGH!" the other Dalek snapped, cutting off its companion. Of the two Daleks, this seemed to be the more sane. It swiveled its eyestalk to glare at Beckett. "WHAT DO YOU WANT?" it demanded.

"You, off of this planet," Beckett told them. "See, we have this ship, like you wanted, but you're going to be bound when we get it. You're going to be taken, like prisoners, to some desert rock where you won't be able to hurt anyone ever again."

That cold blue glow stared out at her. "WHAT IS THE AL-TER-NA-TIVE SCEN-A-RI-O?"

"You can die," she replied bluntly. "The only way this ends is with you no longer being a threat. Whether that end leaves you alive or not is up to you." She raised her gun a hair to prove her point. It wasn't a bluff – if the Daleks didn't agree to leave these people in peace, she would shoot them where they stood.

The Dalek glared evenly at her. "I PROPOSE A THIRD OP-TION," it declared.

Beckett didn't so much as blink. "What's that?" she asked coolly.

"YOU ALL DIE."

"Beckett, look out!" Felix called out.

While Beckett had been speaking with the first Dalek, the second Dalek had been eyeing the discs. The moment the first Dalek finished speaking, the second fired a single shot at one of the discs. A shower of sparks flew from the thing as it was torn apart by the blast, and the net began to fizzle out of existence. Before the Dalek could turn its gun on them, however, Beckett already had her gun lifted and had fired a shot off at the Dalek. The shell was blasted apart, killing the Dalek instantly. Beckett tried to turn her gun on the second Dalek, it fired at the gun, burning a hole right through the center of it. She dropped the now-useless gun in shock.

"Run!" she ordered. She and the others bolted down the hallway, narrowly missing a shot fired in their direction.

SCENEBREAK

The Doctor was starting to get antsy. It had been several minutes since Beckett's last call. He'd tried to call her back, but she wasn't answering. The Time Lord was beginning to worry that her negotiations with the Daleks had gone awry. Which likely meant that she and the others were fleeing two very angry very dangerous Daleks, and he was currently useless to them in the station. He'd resorted to pacing about the station while Violet Dowess and her husband watched from the sofa.

Finally, he gave a growl of frustration, pausing his pacing and absently straightening his bowtie. "It's been too long. I'm going to go see if they're alright." He turned to the donors on the sofa. "If Beckett calls back, tell her I'm heading to the museum." If she and the others had drawn the Daleks' attention, that likely meant the TARDIS was unguarded. He could use it to extract Beckett and Castle from whatever danger they'd likely gotten themselves into. After that, he wasn't sure. The Daleks still had to be dealt with, but he had no idea how.

He started to head for the door. To his surprise, Violet rose to her feet, coming to stand beside him. "I'd like to come with you," she said primly, gaze sharp with determination. "My husband is safe, but that detective woman and the sheriff and her friends are still in danger, aren't they? You might need help over there."

The Time Lord hesitated. On on the one hand, he didn't really want to drag someone new into his battle with the Daleks if he didn't have to, and Violet Dowess didn't really seem like the type to do well in a fight. On the other, he could use all the help he could get to save his friends, especially when there were Daleks involved. Finally, he gave a stiff nod. "Alright." He pushed past the door, Violet right beside him.

They had a long way to get to the museum.

SCENEBREAK

Castle supposed he should've seen it coming. Just trapping the Daleks like that, it would've been too easy. They just had to get out of the net, they just had to destroy Beckett's very handy very large gun, they just had to start chasing them through the bloody museum. Really, he should've been more genre savvy than that. At least there was only one left.

They'd managed to slip down a side passage for now, out of the Dalek's sight. All four of them were flat against the wall, Castle peering around the corner to keep an eye out for the Dalek. "Any sign of it," Tara asked in a hushed whisper.

Without taking his eyes off the hallway, Castle replied, "Not yet. Can't be far behind us though."

"So what's the plan?" Felix asked, his yellow gaze darting anxiously from them to the hallway.

Beckett seemed to be the most calm and collected of them all, which didn't surprise Castle in the least. Her voice was totally cool and professional as she said, "We've got no net, no gun, and one very pissed off, desperate Dalek. It knows it doesn't have any hostages or backup anymore and that it's not getting its ship. My guess is, it's in a mood to lash out at anyone he finds. We need to stop it, however we can."

"Good plan," Castle quipped. "Um. How exactly do we stop it?"

His girlfriend glanced further down the hallway behind them. "We need to try to find our way back to the Miskreeial exhibit. There were weapons there we could use."

"No way we'll get there without the Dalek spotting us long enough to find something," Tara whispered. "We need to distract it."

Castle glanced briefly at Beckett. "We should split up," he told her. "Felix and I could distract it, while you and Tara find something we could use to kill it." It made more sense for Beckett and Tara to go weapon-hunting; they were more knowledgable in that area.

She gave a short nod. "Good plan."

The writer noticed the Dalek coming down the hallway, slowly gliding towards them and glancing around, as though searching for them. "We've got company," Castle warned the others.

"You go, we'll find the weapons," Beckett returned.

Castle and Beckett shared a brief glance, an unspoken exchange of good luck,, before Castle and Felix raced into plain view of the Dalek, hurrying down another side hall as the creature shot at them.

SCENEBREAK

The Doctor and Violet's walk to the museum passed without incident. Streetlamps and houses around them were still the main source of light, but the sky was beginning to get brighter. Sunrise wasn't far off. They had to hurry.

As the approached the front of the museum, the Doctor kept a wary eye out for Daleks, but he didn't see either of them about. His TARDIS was there though, unguarded and completely unharmed. He couldn't help but smile as they walked up to her, reaching out a hand to pat the blue door. "Hello, old girl."

Violet gave him an odd glance. "Are you speaking to the box?" she asked with a dubious arch of her eyebrow.

He ignored her as he drew his key out of his pocket, swiftly unlocking the door and pushing it open. The TARDIS gave a warm hum as he and Violet walked inside, as if in greeting. Violet was gaping around the console room, but the Doctor didn't have time to explain relative dimensions to her. He strode over to the console, firing up the monitor and pulling a few levers and flipping dials.

"What exactly are you doing?" Violet had managed to regain her voice it seemed, and fairly quickly as well. The Time Lord was impressed. "And what is this place?" She followed him to the console, glancing over his shoulder.

He looked back briefly at her, sparing her a reassuring smile as he explained, "This is my ship. She's very powerful and impressive, and right now, she's our best bet at finding my friends." Right now, he had no idea where to start looking for the Daleks or for Beckett and the others. They could be anywhere in the museum. The best way to find them was to try to find some kind of life sign or signal on the TARDIS, and track it down. If he managed to track down a Dalek rather than a friend, he'd deal with that later. Right now, he had to do something to help.

"Come on, old girl," he said quietly, twisting a dial as he focused on the monitor, "Help me find them."

SCENEBREAK

After Castle and Felix ran off, Beckett and Tara hung around by the hallway. They hid there, watching the Dalek chase after their friends, until they were all out of sight. Then, they headed off for the exhibit.

"I thought I saw a plasma blaster," Tara mentioned as they strode briskly down the hallway. The Silurian was in the lead, as she knew the way better. "That might be able to pierce the Dalek's shell."

Beckett replied, "Well, whatever we use, we better make sure it's powerful. I doubt we're gonna get more than one shot at this thing." She didn't want to think about what would happen if they didn't hit it on the first try.

SCENEBREAK

Castle and Felix were fleeing the Dalek down a long, narrow hall. The creature was several paces behind them, but there was little room to dodge its shots. The writer's legs were screaming in protest, but he forced himself to keep going.

One shot flew past Castle's hip, uncomfortably close. He heard Felix cry out in pain, and something hit the ground. Castle slowed, looking back over his shoulder. Felix had crumpled to the ground, alive, but in clear pain. "My leg!" he hissed, his pupils narrowed into thin slits of pain.

Castle didn't hesitate. He doubled back, forcing Felix to his feet and letting the alien lean his weight against him. The Dalek was uncomfortably close now, but Castle managed to half push half lead Felix quickly enough around the nearest corner to avoid another shot.

They'd found themselves in a wide exhibit area, with a lot of displays of different kinds scattered throughout the room. The Dalek hadn't rounded the corner yet; there was just enough time to hide. He practically dragged Felix behind a wide metal display. There was a small area under the display, blocked from view on one side, just large enough for Castle and Felix to squeeze under. The alien flinched as they squeezed inside, but he was doing remarkably well at not calling out in pain.

Both of them froze at the sound of a familiar whirring outside. The Dalek was in the room now. They heard it moving around, dangerously close. Castle's breath caught; he could hear his heart pounding and his chest tighten with terror. Felix's leg was pretty badly injured; if the Dalek found them, there would be no way to run.

There was a brief silence. Castle couldn't see the Dalek; he had no idea how close it was or if it knew they were there. The silence seemed to stretch on for ages, the only sound Castle's own terrified heart. Finally, the whirring resumed, only more muffled now, as if from a distance. Castle heard the Dalek move away from them, going farther and farther from the exhibit hall, until he could no longer hear it.

Felix let out a shaky laugh. "It's gone," he breathed, eyes lit with relief and pain. But Castle didn't join him in his joy. He thought he had a good idea of the direction the Dalek had gone, and that was back they way they'd come. Which was the way to get to Beckett.

He pulled out his phone, typing out a quick message to Beckett. "Dalek heading your way. Be careful." They had done all they could to distract the Dalek. He could only hope he'd bought her enough time.

SCENEBREAK

Beckett and Tara had just reached the exhibit when the detective's phone buzzed. She pulled it out, bringing up the new message. What she saw made her pause for a moment.

"Everything alright?" Tara asked uncertainly, trying to read the detective's expression.

She gave a stiff nod. "The Dalek's on its way," she explained, stuffing her phone back in her pocket. "We need to hurry." Beckett's gaze darted around the exhibit, at the various artifacts behind thick glass. "Let's find that weapon."

SCENEBREAK

"There!" Violet declared, pointing out a blip on the monitor. She was still watching over the Doctor's shoulder. "Is that what you were looking for?"

The Doctor immediately locked onto the signal. It faded almost immediately, but he'd targeted it, and now the TARDIS was locked onto the location. "It's an electronic signal," he explained briefly to Violet. "Looks like a text between phones."

"Is it your friends?"

He grinned, excitement and relief coursing through him. "It must be." Without warning, he rushed around to the other end of the console with a sudden burst of energy. Violet watched, totally baffled as he threw levers, pushed buttons, and flipped dials to start the TARDIS's flight sequence. The ship began to shake and shudder as they were thrown into the Time Vortex. He saw Violet stumble forward, catching herself on the console. They were on their way.

SCENEBREAK

Castle and Felix were still huddled in relative silence. The silver-haired alien's breathing was ragged and heavy, teeth clenched tight in pain. His leg didn't seem to be broken, but it was in excrutiating pain. He wasn't saying a whole lot at this point. Castle could tell it was getting worse the longer they waited around.

Suddenly, a familiar vworpp, vworpp started to echo around them. Castle turned around in surprise to see the TARDIS materializing a few paces away. Felix stiffened beside him. "What the hell is that thing?" he hissed, yellow eyes widening in fear.

Castle let out a laugh of relief. He clapped a hand on Felix's shoulder as he told him, "That, my friend, is the cavalry."

The moment the TARDIS was fully materialized, the door burst open, and the Doctor rushed out, face lighting up with relief when he saw them. "Castle!" He knelt beside them, his gaze darting quickly over the clearly-injured Felix. "What happened? Where's Beckett?" Another woman followed him out of the TARDIS. She looked vaguely familiar, but Castle didn't have time to try and place it.

"She's in the Miskreeial exhibit, she and Tara," Castle explained urgently. "There's only one left, but it's after them. We have to help them"

The Doctor glanced briefly between him and Felix. "We will, Castle," he promised. "But it looks like Felix needs help first. We need to get him into the TARDIS."

The woman crouched beside them, eyes sharp with determination. "Well then, let's get moving, before that monster comes back." She lifted Felix's arm, looping it around her shoulders and pulling him up to his feet. The Doctor supported him on his other side, leaving Castle to follow behind as they helped him limp into the TARDIS.

SCENEBREAK

"Couldn't they have built this stuff to be a little more fragile?"

They'd found a couple of promising weapons behind one of the glass cases. Unfortunately, it seemed Beckett had been lucky earlier when the Dalek had blasted the glass open for her. No matter what Beckett and Tara threw at it, no matter how many times they hurled their shoulders, their elbows against it, the glass wouldn't even so much as budge.

"EX-TER-MI-NATE!"

Beckett stiffened. That cry hadn't come from that far away. "We need to speed this up." They rammed into the glass together with their shoulders. The glass shuddered at the impact, but still nothing.

The detective had just enough time to hear the Dalek's whirring get closer and see the eyestalk start to come around the corner to shove Tara down. "Get down!" She and Tara ducked down in time to avoid a shot right above their head. The glass shattered above them; Beckett took a quick glance up to see if any of the weapons were near enough to grab, but this time the Dalek's shot had damaged them too.

She scrambled away from the broken glass, fighting to get to her feet and get away from the Dalek as quickly as possible. Tara was doing the same, bolting in the opposite direction. As Beckett ducked behind a display, the Dalek whirled on Tara, firing more shots at her. "EX-TER-MI-NATE! EX-TER-MI-NATE!" Tara managed to hide herself behind a pedestal with a glass case on top, but it wasn't large enough to hide all of herself, and the Dalek was still coming at her. "EX-TER-MI-NATE!" Several of its shots hit other displays.

Beckett's gaze darted around the room, desperate to find something, anything to fight the Dalek with. She saw Tara hiding desperately behind the display, saw the Dalek, a broken glass exhibit and busted weapons, some damaged displays sparking – wait, sparking?

A quick look confirmed it. The display was powered by some kind of electricity. The Dalek shooting it had exposed some of the wiring, and now the thing was sparking like mad. The beginnings of a plan started to come to Beckett's mind. She wasn't sure it would work, but she had to try something.

Before it could shoot Tara, Beckett rushed out from behind her display and ran straight at the thing, shoving it with all her might. Tara took a quick look at Beckett, then the disply, and caught on. She joined in, helping Beckett shove the Dalek back, towards the display. The creature fell back, gliding back wildly, right into the display.

As soon as it hit the display, blue jolts of electricity began to run through the Dalek. It began to scream, shrill and sharp and loud. Beckett and Tara backed up, watching as the thing convulsed and screamed.

Eventually, the screams faded. The Dalek's lights and eyestalk went dim, and its apprendages drooped. Electricity still ran through its metal form, but it wasn't moving anymore. Beckett could tell – it was dead.

She and Tara turned to look at each other in shock. That was the last of the Daleks, dead. They'd done it.


Urgh, still not totally thrilled with how this chapter turned out. Ah well, the story's almost done.

Anyway, here's the newest chapter for you. All the Daleks are dead, world is saved, yada yada. There's just gonna be one more chapter to wrap things up, then an epilogue. I just hope I can finish that in a timely fashion.

Also, I may have previously mentioned that I've started watching Buffy. I just gotta say - it's really weird to write this chapter when the show I'm watching also has a character named Tara, very different from the one I'm writing.