Author's note: chapter updated 26/08/14

Episode Two: Hostage Situation

Chapter Five

"Hello Doctor," said the main Judoon. "We had hoped you would try and rescue your companion."

The Doctor looked to Bella on his right, who shrugged.

"Don't look at me," Bella said, her hands raised. "They came out with it. I tried telling them all I knew about you was that you were tall, pretty skinny and had really good hair!"

Jack sniggered as the Doctor smiled slightly.

"It didn't go down that well, actually." she added, flinching slightly.

"So why is it that you want me so bad?" The Doctor said, trying not to think about what Bella had just said, because that meant that the Judoon had hurt her to get information on him. "This hasn't got anything to do with not fighting for the Shadow Proclamation when the Daleks stole all the planets does it? 'Cause I don't fight in wars. But hang on –"he said looking around at all the Judoon and taking in their appearances. "This isn't the right kind of ship for normal police Judoon or the right uniforms – If you could call those uniforms. And that distress signal wasn't very Shadow Proclamation-ish, was it?"

"Doctor," Bella whispered. "Please don't antagonize them, they want you dead!"

The Doctor looked round to her. "What?"

Bella opened her mouth to answer him, but the Judoon cut her off.

"That distress signal did not come from us, although we appreciate the confusion." He said. "And we do not work for the Shadow Proclamation."

The Doctor looked to the Dalek beside Bella, and he suddenly understood. "Did you share a cell with your friend?" He asked Bella in a whisper. She looked up to him and nodded.

"Did you ever stand up for him or try to protect him?"

Confused, she nodded. "Why?"

"Enough whispering!" the Judoon ordered. "It is time, Doctor, for you to be dealt with as our master wishes!" He lifted his gun and fired a blue coloured laser toward the Doctor, but Jack ran in front of him taking the shot. Jack gave a cry and fell to the floor motionless.

Bella cried out and knelt down, feeling for a pulse on his neck, but there wasn't one. She shook him, trying to get him to wake up again, unaware that she herself was shaking in shock and confusion.

"You killed him!" she said hysterically looking up and glaring at the Judoon.

The Doctor reached out and placed his hand under her left arm and pulled her up gently before taking her hand and pulling her back to him. "He'll be alright," he whispered in her ear. She looked up to him with an incredulous look on her face.

"Trust me," he added softly.

Suddenly Jack gave a loud and pain-filled gasp and sat up breathing heavily as Bella's mouth fell open.

"Oh my God," Bella exclaimed disbelievingly.

All the Judoon growled angrily and raised their weapons.

"Judoon at the ready –"

A red laser beam suddenly shot the commanding Judoon coming from the Dalek and all hell seemed to break loose, the Judoon all aiming at the Dalek.

"Come on!" The Doctor yelled letting go of Bella's hand and leaping forwards to Jack as the Dalek began shouting "EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE!"

Bella grabbed hold of Jack's right arm; helping the Doctor half carry Jack to the now unguarded door beside Bella's cell and into the corridor with the window overlooking earth which Bella could barely take her eyes off.

"How come he's allowed to shoot things?" Jack grumbled weakly between the Doctor and Bella.

"Because he isn't my responsibility and he's a Dalek!" The Doctor answered him. "Bella why did they want me dead?" he asked her.

"I don't know, they never told me anything." Bella said hurriedly, trying to remember everything that she had seen and heard, tearing her eyes from the window. "They just said you interfered with something... Uh, something about the person they worked for wanted you out of the way for interfering with something."

"Did they say who they were working for?"

"No, I don't think they did, at least, not in English." She said. "The Dalek said that the Judoon were renegade?"

"They are," The Doctor said. "They normally work for the Shadow Proclamation –"

"Which is…?"

"Sort of the outer space police force, but these ones seem to be privately hired or bred or both." He told her as they turned right down another corridor. "Almost there,"

He steered them into the fifth room along and as soon as they reached the blue police box, Bella let go of Jack and turned round to see that the Dalek was still shooting their captors as he entered the room backwards.

The Doctor opened the TARDIS doors for Jack then turned to get Bella who had moved to where the Dalek was blocking the door, still shooting at the Judoon and droids.

"Bella," he yelled over the noise of the blasts and explosions, running to her. "Come on, both of you – get into the TARDIS!"

Bella turned and started moving towards the police box but the Dalek didn't move and the Doctor knew in his mind that he wouldn't. It was a stupid pride thing that the Dalek had; never retreat and never surrender.

"Doctor…" It said as it continued to shoot its laser beam.

"Just come on," the Doctor said hurriedly.

"Doctor…" it repeated, still shooting anything that moved.

"I'll look after her," he said quietly and somewhat reluctantly to the Dalek before running back to Bella who had stopped. "Come on," He said as he grabbed her.

"But what about –"

"He's saving our lives!"

Bella stopped. "What?" She turned and saw the Dalek shooting the remaining Judoon and droids, taking as many hits as he was dealing out, his protective shield fading more and more with each hit. "No…!"

The Doctor grabbed her and practically dragged her to the TARDIS, pushing the doors open with his own body, still holding onto Bella, who was putting up a pretty good fight to try and break free from his strong grip. They both fell into the TARDIS, falling to the floor painfully the Doctor not daring to let Bella go. He jumped up just as there was a large explosion and shut the doors. Bella jumped up too and rushed forward, the Doctor grabbing hold of her again.

"You can't just leave him out there!" she said desperately, still fighting with the Doctor to make him let her go.

"He chose to stay –"

"You don't care if he dies!" she accused furiously. "You don't trust him like I do!"

"Bella," the Doctor said quietly, still holding onto her tightly. "I trusted him the moment I worked out that it had been him sending me the distress signal so I could come and rescue you. And I certainly care if he dies…"

She stopped struggling with him and just let him hold her as they listened as the battle continuing raging outside, finding comfort in the warmth of his arms.

After what seemed like forever, all the sounds outside the TARDIS stopped. No explosions, no "exterminates", no nothing.

The Doctor let Bella go and she quickly wrenched open the doors to find the scene of a massacre. The doorway was blocked off just ahead of them and there were the bodies of the Judoon and the droids all over the place. She suddenly saw a piece of red under a solid sheet of metal and ran to it, jumping over debris, the Doctor and Jack looking on solemnly.

The Doctor watched as she moved a large piece of metal and found the Dalek on its side, its eyepiece resting on the ground.

"Are you alright?" Bella asked the Dalek, kneeling beside it.

"I have been exterminated," It answered weakly and the Doctor and Jack exchanged a glance.

"No, no, you're alright," Bella said smiling weakly. "Here, let's get you upright…"

The Doctor moved to her and helped Bella lift the Dalek so it stood upright.

"See…"

"I am dying…"

"No… The Doctor's here, he can use his lasery-wandy-thing to put your circuits back together – you'll be right in no time…"

"Bella," the Doctor said quietly. "The circuits aren't the problem… He isn't a robot."

"Course he is, look at him, he looks just like Artoo-Detoo – all metal…"

"A Dalek is a living creature, Bella."

The Dalek gave a great shudder and then the chest opened revealing a little skin coloured, octopus-looking thing. Bella gasped and took a few steps backward, where Jack put his hand on her shoulder.

"This is what a Dalek truly is and this is what is dying, Bella." The Doctor explained.

"But you can't die," she said, her voice shaking slightly with emotion. "I said we would escape together…"

"You are safe with the Doctor now, Bella," It told her. "Farewell,"

She stared at the Dalek momentarily, not wanting to leave the Dalek now after all that they had been through. Jack gently turned her around and led her to the TARDIS, Bella looking once more over her shoulder before she disappeared from view.

"Why did you help her?" The Doctor asked curiously.

"She showed me great kindness that I didn't believe existed in the universe. I wanted to thank her for that."

The Doctor stared at the Dalek before him for a moment, not expecting an answer like the one he'd been given. "I was going to ask you to come with me."

"The two greatest enemies of all of time and space in one small TARDIS?" the small, gooey creature smiled.

"The very last of their kinds," The Doctor added.

"I am sorry, Doctor, of what you had to do to stop the war.

"Yeah," the Doctor agreed. "So am I." he added, deciding to stay with the Dalek until he went.