Author's Note: So everyone got their answer, in the last section. It was the gun! That's how the Doctor knew Alison hadn't been disintegrated! That's the kind of little thing the Doctor would pick up on, too.

Epilogue up next!

Enjoy!

"How can you not have met Daleks?" Alison cried to Seo. "They were all over London, back when the ghost shifts turned into that invading robot army. Don't you remember that?"

"I was a bit busy being hunted across the universe by super-powers!" Seo insisted. She frowned. "Are those Daleks really as scary as all that? I thought that one looked rather cute."

"Uh, Seo?" said Dawn. "Trust me. They're scary as hell. And that's coming from someone who's actually seen Hell."

The Doctor glanced back at Seo. "They've been part of more inter-galactic wars than I care to name. Murdered billions of sentient life forms. Obliterated countless civilizations. Haven't you done your reading?"

"Don't you start," Seo grumbled.

Another shot from the Dalek, this one just barely missing them.

"I guess that's why you were so terrified back in the Dalek Asylum," Seo muttered.

The Doctor looked askance at her. "You know about the Dalek Asylum?" He seemed rather intrigued. "Oh, course you do. Must have been one of those timelines-featuring-me that you watched, back when you were growing up in the Axis."

Seo nodded, but further conversation was cut off by another shot. This one close enough to singe the sleeve of Alison's shirt. Seo gritted her teeth, coordinating her and Dawn's energies to manipulate the dimensions around them and switch them into a different subsection of the Toymaker's realm.

"Well, good news is, I think the Toymaker just lost the game!" shouted the Doctor, glancing over his shoulder. "After all. No way releasing a Dalek could be construed as a good deed, no matter what the Silence says about…"

"Actually, Seo made the Celestial Toymaker judge of what's 'good' and what's 'bad'," Dawn said. "So we can't win. Ever."

"What?" cried the Doctor. Flicking his eyes over to Seo. "Why'd you do something like that?"

"To get you free!" shouted Seo. "It was all I could think of, at the time."

"And you've got a clever plan to get out of it?" Alison hoped.

"I'm… probably… going to come up with one in the near future!" Seo said.

They could hear the grating of the Dalek's voice shouting, "Seek, locate, exterminate! Seek, locate, exterminate!"

"The Toymaker must be helping it flit through the dimensions," the Doctor said, glancing over his shoulder. "Even with Dalek tracking systems, it shouldn't be this quick to pick us up. Specially not while Seo keeps flipping us across dimensional layers like this."

Seo concentrated, hard, flipping them down another layer.

"I'm surprised the Dalek can even see Seo," Dawn put in. "Isn't it mechanical?"

"Well, the Daleks were able to see her perfectly last time, on the Daleks' Main Experiment Ship, when…" the Doctor stopped. "Ah. You two haven't done that bit, yet, have you?"

Seo and Dawn shook their heads.

"Forget I said anything, then," said the Doctor. He frowned, thinking fast. "Hang about. Seo. You and Dawn, together, can access any layer of this dimensional prison, right? Even layers the Toymaker keeps locked?"

"On a good day," said Seo, struggling to juggle all the dimensional layers at once, as she flipped them down another layer, so they could outrun the Dalek.

"My TARDIS is around here, somewhere," the Doctor said. "The Toymaker hid it, locked it out of sight. But I'm betting you'll be able to find it."

Seo gritted her teeth. Trying to focus her energies so she could continue to run, continue to protect the others and lose the Dalek, and could also begin to unlock and sort through the different dimensional layers and locked dimensional barriers. Struggling to do everything at once without mucking it up and killing Dawn completely. Or mucking it up and causing the complete collapse of the multiverse.

But all she managed to get a hold of, before she had to surface, gasping for air and dimensional coherence, was…

"My Nimopodian vaporization gun!" Alison cried, snatching it up from Seo. "Brilliant!" She swung around, began to race the other way. "I've been dying to do this since the 70's!"

The Doctor muttered something that sounded like, "Torchwood," beneath his breath, as he raced after her, trying to make sure she didn't get herself killed.

Skittered to a stop, as he found himself coming face-to-face with the Dalek.

"Ah," said the Doctor. Giving a sheepish smile and a wave. "Hello."

"EXTERMIN—!" the Dalek shrieked.

But was promptly blasted into a thousand tiny pieces, each of those pieces vaporizing in the nothingness of the dimension surrounding them.

Revealing Alison standing just behind. Vaporization gun in hand, all the power finally used up.

Alison grinned at the Doctor.

"Don't know how you survived without me," she said.

The Doctor chuckled. "No, neither do I," he agreed.

The Toymaker's realm shifted around them, and the group found themselves, once more, in the Toymaker's workshop. With the Toymaker standing there, proud and majestic in his flowing robes, a smug smile on his face.

"After the end of that round, I judge that a point in my favor," said the Toymaker. "Releasing a Dalek was far more 'good' than releasing the Doctor. In my opinion." His eyes narrowed on Seo. "Your move."

Seo hesitated.

Knowing that in a world where restoring a Dalek was better than restoring the Doctor… anything she said next… the Toymaker would immediately object to.

This next round was her last.

"Can I play?" the Doctor asked, stepping forward.

The Celestial Toymaker and Seo both turned. Staring at him.

"You wish to participate?" said the Toymaker. "Would risk being turned back into a doll, once more, if you lose?"

The Doctor clasped his hands behind his back. "Well, yes, actually," he said. "Because I am extremely clever and really rather marvelous, and I think I can beat you."

Alison raised her eyebrows. "Looks like your ego hasn't changed much since the 70's."

"Then I accept," said the Toymaker. He gestured at the Doctor. "Your move, Doctor."

The Doctor cleared his throat. "Right. A good deed. That gives us a way out. Rhymes. And is something," glancing at Seo, "she can trump." His eyes glittered. "Yes, I think I can do it."

The Toymaker glared at him.

As the Doctor straightened his bow tie. "I pledge the mysteries to solve!" the Doctor cried. "To defeat numerous foes with much resolve! I pledge that you return my TARDIS — with no strife! So I can wander around the universe helping others for the rest of this life."

"It didn't scan correctly," the Toymaker gritted through his teeth. "The second line had too many syllables. It doesn't count."

"According to the rules it does," the Doctor said, glancing over at them.

"And I can trump it!" Seo cried, stepping forwards. Beaming. "The good deeds of one might help quite a lot, but the good deeds of three make a triple shot!" She grabbed up Alison and Dawn. "We'll all go back and do our bit. So the universe…" She faltered.

"Doesn't go to Hell in a pit?" Dawn offered.

"…doesn't go to Hell in a pit!" Seo agreed.

The Celestial Toymaker glared at them all. "You want me to let you go?" he shouted. "To just let you out into the universe, easy as that? Well… I refuse! You can't…!"

"Are you forfeiting the game?" asked Alison. "Saying we've won?"

"What? No, I don't…!" The Toymaker shook with barely concealed fury.

But both Oliver and the TARDIS shimmered into sight, nearby. Ready and waiting to be piloted away from the Toymaker's realm.

"Well, brilliant catching up with you all, again!" the Doctor said to Alison, Seo, and Dawn, waving at them, as he walked over to his TARDIS. Slotted the key into the lock, glancing back at the Celestial Toymaker. "Oh, and as for you… I'm sure we'll all be back for your judgment when we're done taking our turns. Hope that's all right."

He winked at Seo.

Then disappeared into his ship.

"Seo," said Dawn. "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth." Grabbed Seo and Alison up, sprinting back to Oliver. "Get us out of here!"

"Yeah, it's pretty cool," said Alison, reflecting on Seo's ship, standing by the central console. "I mean, it doesn't have the majesty of bigger-on-the-insideness as the…" She stopped, her eyes flicking back to Seo. Hesitated. "I mean… course it's better than the Doctor's TARDIS! Oh, absolutely. Hands down."

Seo beamed, turned back to the central console.

Alison caught Dawn's eyes. Then shook her head, mouthing, "No, it's not!"

"I was just thinking… I mean, because I wanted you to come along, anyways," said Seo, "and you're already here, and we've been pledged to help the universe… maybe you could…?"

Alison sighed. "Seo, I've been stuck in the seventies for the last month," she said. "Honestly? I'd really just like to see my family, again."

Seo looked up at Alison. Looking almost hurt.

Then nodded. Turned back to the central console, programming things in. A few minutes later, they landed in London, 2008. To drop Alison off at her home.