And here's part two!

Warning; some swearing is in this one.

Chapter Nineteen: Death In Heaven

"Look at them!" Missy said. "My boys."

The Doctor kept Ember behind him as he looked around. "Cybermen in broad daylight? You think people won't notice?"

People did notice, but they didn't run or panic. Instead, they took out their phones and began to take pictures or record videos. There was already quite a crowd.

Missy unpinned her hat from her hair and put it upside down at the feet of one of the Cybers. "Photos with the big metal men, one pound!" She grinned as several people threw coins into the hat. One teenage boy took a selfie with himself and his girlfriend. "Oh, honey!"

The Doctor looked at Ember as she moved to his side, though he badly wanted to keep her behind him. "Hints?"

"It only takes one spark to light a fire," Ember replied. "And old faces are about to appear. The darkest hour is coming, and the sky will burn. But not by me."

Missy moved to their side, holding out her little device for them to see screenshots of Cybers in several locations. "New York. Paris. Rome. Marrakesh. Brisbane. Glasgow. Everywhere. Anywhere. Me and my boys. We're going viral!"

"Would you like me to take a picture?" A woman asked. The three Time Lords turned to look at her, seeing the flower print shirt, dark blue jacket and red bow tie. Ember recognised her as one of the Osgood twins. "Sorry, selfies are never as good, are they? And you're having a lovely moment. Hang on!"

She snatched the device out of Missy's hand, much to the latter's confusion. "No, just-"

"Nice bow tie." The Doctor said as he grabbed Missy's arm to stop her.

The woman smiled as she held up the device like she was going to take a picture. "Bow ties are cool. Big smiles, and... now!"

Suddenly, the crowd of people who were ogling the Cybers dropped the act. Guns were pulled from bags, purses and even a pushchair with a fake baby in it. Armed soldiers came out from buildings on both sides.

Then, once they were secure, there was a parting in the crowd as a familiar blonde woman approached, flanked by two more soldiers, and she was holding something behind her back. It was none other than Katherine Lethbridge Stewart.

"Afternoon." She called. "You've picked a lovely day for it. My, don't you look shiny." She passed the Doctor. "Haircut?"

"Bit of a trim." The Doctor said offhandedly.

"Might want to do your roots. The woman."

"Yes, ma'am." Two soldiers took Missy by the arms and pulled her back.

Kate turned to the Cybers. "Kate Stewart. Divorcee, mother of two, keen gardener, outstanding bridge player. Also Chief Scientific Officer, Unified Intelligence Taskforce, who currently have you surrounded."

The Cyber at the front of the ranks spoke. "Human weaponry is not effective against Cyber technology."

"Sorry, you left this behind on one of your previous attempts." Kate dropped what she'd had behind her back: a battered Cyberman head that came from the Mondas era. She then gestured, prompting a soldier to gently push the Doctor and Ember forward. "So now that I have your attention, welcome to the only planet in the universe where we get to say this: They're on the payroll."

"Am I?" The Doctor asked, puzzled

"Well, technically. You had it changed to add all of your earnings into Ember's payroll after the incident with the former Prime Minister."

That made Ember tilt her head. She didn't even know she had a payroll, never mind the Doctor's request to add his to hers. "Um, which Prime Minister?"

"I'll play it safe and say spoilers for now."

"...How much?" The Doctor asked.

Kate shushed him before addressing the Cybers again. "Any questions?"

The Cybers moved as one, pressing a fist on the blue disc in the middle of their chests. Little engines started up on the bottoms of their feet, kicking up dust in the wind.

"Back, back!" One of the soldiers yelled. "Everyone, back!"

But they needn't have worried. The Cybers didn't attack: instead they shot up into the sky and out of sight in several directions. The dome of the St Paul's Cathedral opened like the segments of an orange.

"Oh, my God!" Osgood gaped. "Is it supposed to do that? Is that new?"

"A sun roof on Saint Paul's?" The Doctor said. "Yes, I'd say that was new."

Kate ignored the sarcasm. "There's going to be mass panic. Everyone in London can see that."

Several obejects came out of the open dome: more Cybermen, each one flying off.

Ember shook her head. "People around the world have those Cybers, and they're not all employed by UNIT."

"Everyone in London just clapped and went whee." The Doctor added. "Hush, I'm trying to count."

Osgood was already doing that. "Eighty seven, I think. OCD."

"Ninety one." Missy spoke up. "Queen of evil."

Kate looked at her. "How could Saint Paul's be full of ninety one Cybermen and nobody noticed?"

"Dimensional engineering." The Doctor replied. "One space folded inside another. Bigger on the inside. Easy if you're a Time Lord."

"Mostly deploying south, a smaller number east." Osgood said.

"Yep, but one straight up."

"So ninety one isn't a coincidence?"

"Of course it isn't." The Doctor took Missy's device from Osgood.

Kate turned to the woman. "Osgood? Ninety one. Explain."

"Ninety one areas of significant population density in the British Isles."

"That's one Cyberman for every city and major town." The Doctor lowered the device enough for Ember to see the screen too, showing a map of the UK with blips showing Cybers in several places. "It's happening everywhere, all over the world, right now."

Missy made a sound. "Sweet planet, this. I think I might keep it."

"One Cyberman per city. What could they hope to accomplish?" Kate asked.

"One Cybermite can override a human brain," Ember said. "What do you think one whole Cyberman is capable of?"

Osgiid gasped as the Cyber that had gone straight up has somehow exploded. "Doctor!"

"Has it exploded?" Kate asked.

"More than that." Missy said, like she was talking to a bunch of idiots. "Cybermen don't just blow themselves up for no good reason, dear. They're not human."

The Doctor turned to face her. "If it's not exploding, what's it doing?"

"Pollinating. Falling like rain into the cracks of the Earth. The dead are coming home, Doctor. All shiny and new. In twenty four hours the human race as you know it will cease to exist."

"What are you doing? Explain. Tell me now."

He was too late to stop a soldier that pressed a different sort of gun to Missy's neck and fire. It didn't kill her; there was no bullet but a dart. "Oh! That was nice. Must do it again..."

"No!" The Doctor said as Missy fell back, unconscious, into the arms of the soldiers behind her. "No, no, no, no, I need to talk to her! I need her awake!"

The soldier shot him next, and he stumbled as he removed the dart. Two other soldiers slowed his fall, lowering him to the ground. "Argh! No. No, no! Stupid. Stupid! No, no! Argh!"

Osgood went to his side. Ember looked around at the soldiers, expecting one of them to shoot her next, but to her surprise, none of them were even pointing a gun at her.

"We want the Doctor's cooperation. We'd guarantee his refusal if we were to shoot you in any way," Kate said in expjaintion as she dialled her phone and put it to her ear to talk to whoever answered. "The first protocol is implemented. We're good to go."

"You just have to let it take you." Osgood said to the Doctor. He didn't reply, but he grabbed her by the lapel and pulled her close enough to whisper something to her before he passed out.

Kate had seen the move as she put the phone away. "What did he say?"

"He said guard the graveyards." Osgood said at the same time as Ember, the former turning to look as the latter added "And everywhere where there are dead bodies."

A short time later, Ember was standing under a massive jet aircraft. Kate and the rest of UNIT had escorted her, the Tardis and the unconscious Doctor to a hanger where they were about to be loaded on the jet plane.

The Doctor himself was on a box trolley with his hands cuffed behind his back. One of the soldiers used a different dart on him now, making him wake up and look around, spotting Kate and Osgood with Ember not far away. "Ember! Did they shoot you?"

"No," Ember replied. "They said it would have been a bad idea."

"Kate? What's with the handcuffs?"

Kate approached as the soldier uncuffed the Doctor. "I'm sorry. In the event of an alien incursion on this scale, protocols are in place. Your co-operation is to be ensured and your unreliability assumed. You have a history."

"You don't have a future without me. Do you think your father would've done this?"

"We both know he absolutely would." Kate saw him look behind her, to see Missy being taken to the plane on a box trolley herself. "Who is she?"

The Doctor wasn't in the mood for explanations as he moved to follow the ladies to the side of the plane. "Long story. Where's Clara?"

"Clara Oswald, your assistant?"

"Friend." Ember corrected. "Not assistant."

"She was with me in Saint Paul's." The Doctor added.

"The team's still on site but they've been unable to gain access to the building."

"I want her found and brought here. I need her with me."

"Then give the order." Kate said as they walked up the ramp that led to the door of the plane. "As soon as you're on board Boat One your word is law. Quite literally."

Ember took his hand. "She's safe. She's smart, and she won't be alone. Another old face will be coming to help her."

The Doctor squeezed her hand to let her know he'd heard as he looked around. "You got the Tardis out, though?"

"Yes, and Saint Paul's locked down." Kate replied.

The small group - consisted of the Doctor, Ember, Kate, Osgood - got onto the plane and went straight to the main cabin, which had been revamped into a conference room complete with a long table, monitors on the walls and even a metal tea dispenser to the side. On the far wall was a framed portrait of a man in uniform, with flowers in a vase on the cabinet below it.

"Where are we going?" The Doctor asked. "Cloudbase?"

"You mean the Valiant?" Kate said.

"Cloudbase was Thunderbirds." Osgood added.

"Too conspicuous. We need your location concealed, not advertised. From now on you're a moving target.

The Doctor moved to look at the portrait. "Ah, I see you're bringing Daddy along, too. That's very sweet."

An army officer, an Indian man in his early forties, stood in front of him and saluted. "Sir!"

"Oh, don't do that. You look like you're self-concussing, which would explain all of military history, now I think about it."

The man glanced over the Doctor soldier at Ember, catching her mouthing an apology to him, and then looked at the Doctor again. "Colonel Ahmed, sir. Privileged to meet you."

"Love your outfit, Colonel Ahmed. Are you in the Scouts? Are you a Man Scout? I didn't know they had those." The Doctor walked away from the perplexed man, going to the sideboard to get a drink.

Ember moved to him. "Sorry. I think the filter broke when he regenerated. Has a habit of not turning his mouth off."

The man nodded, and then saluted her. "Ma'am."

"Oh, you don't have to do that."

Osgood made to pass them when Ahmed spoke to her. "It was Captain Scarlet."

"Sorry?"

"Not Thunderbirds."

"Oh God, so it was!"

"My confidence is growing every minute." The Doctor called, having heard them. He also heard when Kate spoke on the intercom about the President being on board, though he didn't show it as he opened the small fridge that was the cupboard where he was getting his hot drink. "Mind you, me and Sylvia Anderson, you've never seen a foxtrot like it. Hang on a second. The President? We don't want Americans bobbing around the place. They'll only start praying."

"Not the President of America, sir." Ahmed said as Ember moved to sit at the table. "The President of Earth."

"There isn't one." The Doctor said as he sat at the end of the table, his cup of tea and a bowl of sugar cubes in front of him. He put a can of cola he'd taken from the fridge in front of Ember, who nodded her head in thanks as she popped the tab.

"There is now."

"The incursion protocols have been agreed internationally." Kate explained, not commenting as the Doctor proceeded to add several sugar cubes to his tea; Ember stopped counting at five. "In the event of full-scale invasion, an Earth President is inducted immediately, with complete authority over every nation state. There was only one practical candidate."

"That's your answer for everything, isn't it?" The Doctor said. "Vote for an idiot."

"If you say so, Mister President." Kate's reply made pause halfway to bringing the saucer of spilt tea to his lips. "So long as you're on this plane, you're the Commander in Chief of every army on Earth. Every world leader is currently awaiting your instructions. You are the Chief Executive Officer of the human race. Any questions?"

"This is your captain speaking. Please prepare for take-off."

Ember waited until they'd taken off and were in the air before she finished her cola and stood. "I think we need to talk to Missy. I've got some questions for her."

The Doctor and Ember followed Osgood into the cargo hold, which had been converted into a laboratory of sorts. Missy was still handcuffed to the box trolley while the Tardis and two soldiers were next to and behind her.

Osgood moved to her workbench, where she began to examine the device she'd taken from Missy. Ember moved to set on some secured cases while the Doctor approached Missy, who at that moment opened her eyes and looked at him.

"Why are you still alive?" The Doctor asked her.

Missy smiled. "You saved me."

"I saved Gallifrey."

"Yes, Gallifrey too, I suppose. There's always collateral damage with you and me. It's our Paris."

"Gallifrey's lost in another dimension."

"Yes and no."

The Doctor tilted his head. "Meaning?"

"Yes, it's in another dimension. No, it's not lost."

"You know where it is?"

"Yep! You know the best part about knowing?" Missy lowered her voice. "Not telling you."

There was a ping before Ahmed's voice came from the tannoy. "Mister President, sir, we're ready for you up here."

"Remember all those years when all you wanted to do was to rule the world?" The Doctor asked Missy before addressing the tannoy. "On my way."

"Thank you, Mister President."

"Piece of cake."

The Doctor moved to where Osgood was working, the girl having changed her jacket for a lab coat, to talk to her. Ember watched for a moment, and then she turned her attention to Missy.

"I have a question for you," she said, making sure the woman was listening. "When I saw that Nethersphere, I felt sick. I could feel the pain, and the grief and the anger from all the people inside it..."

"From the people?" Missy suddenly said. She looked generally puzzled by that, though the look changed to one that might have been sympathy. "Oh, my dear... that wasn't from the people. That was your pain, and grief and anger. No one else."

Ember blinked. "Mine? Why would I feel that from looking at the sphere?"

Missy tilted her head. "Do you even know what you are yet? Besides Time Lord, of course."

"That's not important."

"Oh, it is very important, love, but I digress. I'll give you a hint: that pain and grief and anger that came when you saw the Nethersphere... it wasn't a coincidence. It's not the first time you've seen something like that: From the legends I heard about you, you really didn't like it. And that was before you became what you are."

Ember looked at her, wondering if she was lying, but the Doctor called her over as he made to leave the hold. The brunette got up to follow, pausing at Osgood's work station, and lowered her voice so only she could hear her. "Be careful. Just because she's restrained doesn't mean she's safe to be around. Get out if there's trouble."

Osgood nodded, showing that she'd heard, as the Doctor came back to take Ember by the hand and pull her with him.

"Doctor, what did she mean when she said that wasn't the first time I've seen that sphere?" The brunette asked.

"You're part Time Lord," The Doctor said. "You've probably seen the one they had on Gallifrey. They show that in school trips at the Academy, so almost everyone on the planet would have seen it sooner or later."

Ember frowned. He sounded like he was lying. But why?

They reached the main cabin without any further discussion, where several people in officer uniforms or neat suits were gathered at the table. The Doctor and Ember took their seats as Kate began the session, turning on one of the screens to show a news report.

"Localised rain in the cemeteries has resulted in what can only be described as disturbances to the soil." A male reporter said. "Extraordinary eyewitness accounts are claiming that silver creatures are climbing from the graves."

"These scenes are being repeated everywhere." Kate said. "Every cemetery, every mortuary, every funeral home, every hospital, the dead are returning to life as Cybermen."

"The public are being advised to stay away from all cemeteries..."

Kate pointed to another screen, which was showing an x-Ray of the ground underneath one of the graveyards. There were several oval shapes, like seeds or cocoons, and about half of them had an outline of a Cyberman in it. The other half of them looked empty, though some of those looked torn and ripped like something had come out of it. "We've done heat scans of some of the cemeteries and, in each case only a handful of Cybermen have so far emerged. But every individual burial site is active."

"Active?" Ahmed, who was sitting opposite Ember, repeated.

"Hatching." The Doctor corrected.

Kate nodded. "More are coming. Potentially millions."

"So the rain caused all that in just a few hours?" Ahmed asked.

"It wasn't rain, Man Scout." The Doctor said as he stood up to pace. "It was pollen. Cyber-pollen. Every tiny particle of a Cyberman contains the plans to make another Cyberman. All it has to do is to make a contact with compatible living organic matter and bang! Full conversion. But if they have learned how to convert the dead..." he stopped at one of the screens that showed a feed of the cargo hold. "That's what she was doing. That's what 3W was for. She creates an all-new paranoia among the super-rich about dying. She exploits the wealth and the mortal remains of selected idiots so she can create a whole new race of Cybermen. Cybermen who can recruit corpses. Throw away your guns, Man Scout, it's all over. How can you win a war against an enemy that can weaponise the dead?"

Ahmed didn't bother protesting the nickname he'd gotten, probably knowing that there wasn't a point. "They're not attacking, apart from isolated incidents. They're just wandering about."

"Does a baby lion kill the moment it's born?" Ember asked. "No. It needs to learn."

"They're newborns. Give them time." The Doctor added before he addressed Kate. "Why were you there this morning? Why were you already attacking?"

"Been investigating 3W for a while, then we got a tip-off." Kate replied.

"From a woman with a Scottish accent." Ahmed added.

Ember rubbed her eye with her hand. "What's that old saying? 'If a tree falls and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?'"

The Doctor caught her meaning. "Can't play to the gallery unless there's a gallery... and here we are." He looked up at the camera feed to find Missy sticking her tongue out. "Dead bodies don't have minds, of course, but she's been upgrading dying minds to a hard drive for a long time. So she upgrades the hardware, and then she updates the software."

"What do you mean, a long time?" Kate asked, catching that small detail. "How long?"

"Well, she must have a Tardis somewhere, so as long as she likes. The past, the future-"

"How long, Doctor?"

"How long has the human race had a concept of an afterlife? Turns out the afterlife is real, and it's emptying. Every graveyard on planet Earth is about to burst its banks."

Suddenly, the whole plane lurched, swinging from side to side. Everyone held on to whatever they could.

"Mister President, you need to get back in your seat." Kate said.

The Doctor had at some point moved to where the portrait and flowers were, taking one of the lilies. "I don't like being the president. People keep saluting. I'm never going to salute back."

"Do you know, that was always my dad's big ambition, to get you to salute him just once."

"He should've asked."

Kate looked away for a moment, but she looked back, she found the Doctor had put the flower back and was now looking out of the window of the plane. "Doctor, what are you looking at?"

"The clouds. Still there. So what else have they got?"

Suddenly, a metal hand appeared, followed by a familiar silver head: a Cyberman was outside.

"Oh, dear Lord!" Kate gasped, jumping back.

"There's a Cyberman out there on the fuselage. But on the plus side, it's not turbulence."

Ember felt dread hit her as she suddenly remembered something, and looked up at the monitor observing the cargo hold. The Tardis was still there, but the soldiers, Osgood and Missy were nowhere to be seen. "Shit! Doctor!"

The Doctor followed her gaze to the monitor. "She's out. Who let her out?"

"What's it doing?" Ahmed said, looking out of the window. "Where did it go? What can one Cyberman do to a plane?"

"I dunno, maybe throw itself in the engine? Get to the cockpit and shoot the pilot?!" Ember snapped at him as she stood up. "Take a wild guess, dipstick!"

She didn't wait for a reply, instead going after the Doctor as he left the cabin. It took slightly longer to get to the cargo hold thanks to the rocking, but they soon got there, the Doctor sliding down the ladder while Ember just climbed. By the time she reached the bottom, the Doctor was knelt by a small pile of dust on the floor. Ember moved to his side and froze when she saw what was in his hand; the broken glasses that belonged to Osgood.

Missy, who'd been hiding behind the Tardis, stepped out with a grin.

"Oh, she was really scared. It's classic." She said. "Have you got any more friends I can play with?"

Ember let out a sound that resembled a growl. "Why don't you try playing with me?"

Missy pouted, but then giggled as the plane rocked again. "Oh, oooh. Ask me."

"Shut up!" The Doctor snapped.

"Ask me! Come on, you know you want to. You want to know what my plan is. You'll be surprised. I've got a gift for you. You know, I've been up and down your timeline, meeting all those silly people who died to keep you alive. And you know what I worked out? What you really need."

"For what?"

"To know that you're just like me!" Missy cheered. Suddenly, the phone on the outside if the Tardis began to ring. "Oh, and now it begins. Doctor, I do believe you're on call. Miss Oswald expects. Who else but the girl who's got your number? Whoops!"

The Doctor looked at her in shock. "It was you!"

Missy put on a cockney accent. "Computer helpline, love. That's the one. Best helpline in the universe."

"You put us together!"

"I kept you together."

"Why?"

"Cos she's perfect, innit? The control freak and the man who should never be controlled. You'd go to hell if she asked. And she would. The phone's ringing, Doctor. Can you hear that? Now that is the sound of your chain being yanked. Heel, Doctor!" Missy didn't bother to stop him as he went to the Tardis, and even ignored Ember as the brunette moved to stand between the Time Lords. She began inspecting her nails. "Help me, Doctor. Help me. Help me, Doctor."

The Doctor managed to reach the Tardis and picked up the phone. "Clara?"

Ember tuned out the conversation, focusing on Missy. "You're killing people for no reason other than because you can. Give me a good reason why I shouldn't just barbecue you right now!"

"Well, I dunno if it's a good reason," Missy replied with a shrug. "But would your precious Doctor approve if you did that? Would you really execute me? You taught me something, a long time ago. You saw that I was about to kill someone, and you said 'death can be just as much a release as a punishment'. You didn't care that they were intending to do something horrible: you didn't want a man's blood on my hands because of you. Now, are you really going to go back on those words?"

"... fuck you." Ember finally said. Somehow, she knew the woman wasn't lying.

"Bit of a bad time, honey. But I'll take a rain check."

Ember was about to retort, when the Doctor's raised voice made her pause. "Clara? Clara, no!"

He lowered the phone, only to let go of it in favour of grabbing one of the cargo straps that were hanging as the plane tilted again. He then reached out and grabbed Ember's outstretched arm to pull her to him and hang on to her.

There was a clatter, and then Kate came down the ladder. "Doctor! The Cybermen are in! The plane's going down!"

"Oh, great. It's the daughter one!" Missy said. "Do you like her? I like her." She pressed a button on her bracelet, which then opened the cargo hatch on the side of the plane.

Kate tried to hold on to the cargo strap she'd grabbed, but since she was right next to hatch, the sudden tug pulled her out of the plane with a scream.

"Why did you do that?" The Doctor yelled over the noise. "You didn't have to do that!"

"Oh, don't be so selfish. I'm going to miss her, too!" Missy yelled back. "In fact, you know what? Just for that, I'm leaving." She raised her arm to talk into her bracelet. "Boys, blow up this plane and, I don't know, Belgium, yeah? Kill some Belgians. Might as well. They're not even French. Byeeee!"

With that, she teleported away in a flash of blue light. The Doctor held the cargo strap with one hand while his other arm kept Ember close as they were flung about.

"Doctor!" Ember yelled to be heard over the rush of air. She pointed to the Tardis just before it was pulled out of the cargo hatch, revealing that it hadn't been strapped down. "Kate will be fine! But we need to jump, now!"

Though he thought that was a crazy idea, the Doctor didn't question it. "I'm gonna let go in three! Two! One!"

He let go, and the pair of them were pulled out of the plane, freefalling through the clouds. Then the Doctor helped adjust them so that they were in a more controlled fall, reaching into his jacket pocket for the Tardis key.

Ember closed her eyes and thought hard. "If you can hear me, Sexy, please help!"

The last of the clouds passed, revealing the city lights below, and then the Tardis came in from the side to get under and towards them. The Doctor, keeping Ember's body tight against his as he reached out with the key and unlocked the door.

Ember barely remembered the next few seconds, which consisted of falling and then floating and then landing on the floor of the Tardis. Well, not quite; the Doctor had moved at the last moment so that he landed on his back and Ember landed on his chest, luckily not hitting anything vital.

Not giving herself a moment to think on their position - mainly because she knew she'd start blushing - Ember jumped to her feet and helped the Doctor up. "We need to move. Clara will be almost done with Danny."

The Doctor quickly followed her to the console, where they worked together to track the signal from Clara's phone. He did, however, have a question. "You said Kate would be fine. How?"

"Old faces. Well, maybe not one you'll recognise right away. You'll see."

When the Tardis landed, the Doctor was first to the door, Ember following him out into s graveyard. There were several Cybers scattered around, but none of them attempted to attack. The Doctor ignored them in favour of getting to Clara, who was standing very close to a Cyber. As the Time Lords got closer, they saw that the faceplate of the Cyber was off, revealing a human face that they recognised; Danny Pink.

"Clara, don't!" The Doctor called as they reached the pair.

Clara turned and walked up to them. "Help me."

"If you do what you're trying to do, if you succeed, he will snap you."

"No."

"Then he will step over your broken body and break another and another and another. He will never stop."

"I will not harm her." Danny said firmly.

The Doctor walked around Danny, taking in the metal body before he faced the human part. "P E. P E. P E..."

"Sir."

"I had a friend once. We ran together when I was little. And I thought we were the same. But when we grew up, we weren't. Now, she's trying to tear the world apart, and I can't run fast enough to hold it together. The difference is this." He put a hand against the disc on the metal chest. "Pain is a gift. Without the capacity for pain, we can't feel the hurt we inflict."

Danny probably would have scoffed if he could. "Are you telling me seriously, for real, that you can?"

"Of course I can."

"Then shame on you, Doctor."

"Yes. Oh, yes."

Ember looked up as the dark clouds above gave a loud rumble overhead.

"Danny," The Doctor said, "Danny, I need you to tell me. What are the clouds going to do? What is the plan?"

"How would I know?" Danny asked.

"You're part of a hive mind now. Presumably that's how you found Clara. Just look."

"I can't see much."

"Look harder."

Danny looked past him at Clara. "Clara, watch this. This is who the Doctor is. Watch the blood-soaked old general in action." He then addressed the Doctor again. "I can't see properly, sir, because this needs activating. If you want to know what's coming, you have to switch it on. And didn't all of those beautiful speeches just disappear in the face of a tactical advantage? Sir."

The Doctor sighed, about to speak when Ember suddenly moved between the two. Her eyes were slightly wet with surpressed tears, but there was also anger flickering in those silver pools.

"You listen to me right now, Danny Pink. Or should I call you Rupert?" She said. The man-turned-Cyber's eyes widened a fraction. "I know what happened while you were in service. You made a mistake and an innocent life paid for it. You had a go at Clara when she mentioned your past, snapped at her because she'd made assumptions. You've had to live with people looking at you like you were something else because of your chosen path. You hated the fact that people saw the soldier and not the man. But even through all of that, you would gladly rectify that one mistake if you could, wouldn't you?"

Danny looked at her in surprise. There was no way that this woman could have known those things: he'd barely told Clara anything about his past, and he knew that she wouldn't have gossiped about it even if he had. "... how did you know that?"

"Because if I turn around, I'd find the exact same thing in the Doctor." Ember blinked, two tears falling. "Look around. All those machines used to be someone, but they've had that taken away from them. You've held on to your humanity and emotion, and no one has the right to take that from you. The only one who has that right is you. Because you are Danny - no, Rupert Pink. Not the soldier, not the killer. But a man."

There was a long pause, and then Danny surprised the Doctor and Clara by stepping back, his face pained.

"It hurts..." he whispered. "I... I can't live like this..."

Ember nodded. "Then we can end that pain. But please, Danny. We need your help. Not the soldier, not the Cyber. Just you. This sky is going to burn, but we can save it if we can make the first spark."

Danny nodded, straightening up. "Then do it."

Clara stepped forward. "Give me the screwdriver."

"No..." The Doctor said. He didn't want this on her head.

"Just do it, Doctor. Do as you are told."

"Typical officer." Danny said, though it didn't hold the usual bite. "Got to keep those hands clean."

Clara took the Sonic as the Doctor took a few steps away. "Just point and think, yeah?"

"Yes." The Doctor replied quietly.

"Okay." Clara turned to Danny. "I wasn't very good at it, but I did love you."

"I love you too."

"I'm never going to say that again."

"Me neither."

Ember suddenly stepped forward again. "One more thing, Danny. It's not much, but... when this is over, you're going to be faced with one more choice: one that you've been begging for. Choose carefully, and mean it."

Clara waited until the brunette stepped back before she turned to Danny again. "Ready?"

"Yeah."

"...I feel like I'm killing you."

"I'm already dead. You're here this time at least."

Clara sniffed, fighting back tears. "Goodbye, Danny."

"Goodbye, Clara."

She activated the Sonic, aiming it at the centre of the metal chestplate. Danny's face went blank and he straightened up, and then Clara turned off the Sonic and ran forward to hug him.

The Doctor panicked, running forward. "Clara, no! Step away! He's activating! Clara, step away now! Don't!" He was about to pull her away when Ember held out an arm to stop him. "Ember, what-"

"Danny, you have a clear link to the hive mind now," she said. "Tell us what the clouds are going to do."

"The rain will fall again." Danny said, no emotion in his voice. "All humanity will die."

"And rise again as Cybermen." The Doctor said.

"Correct."

"How do we stop it?"

"We cannot be stopped."

There was a buzz, and the trio turned in time to see Missy appear in a teleport, floating to the ground with an umbrella in a very Mary Poppins fashion. "Oh, that was brilliant! Oh, I love the telly here, but did you see that? Oh, Clara, you poor thing. You must feel like death. Let me pop away the pain."

The Doctor saw her raise her device and ran up to her, snatching it out of her hand and throwing it away. He didn't see Clara pick it up. "Don't you dare! Don't you think about it!"

"Oh, sorry, hon, I'm just getting a bit carried away. It's your friends, they're so more-ish. Hmm? Oh, stop looking all cross-pants. I'm here to give you a gift. Could you at least try and be excited?"

"...What gift?"

Missy grinned, lifting her wrist to speak into the bracelet. "Cyberdears! Look at Mummy!" The Cybers that were scattered around the graveyard turned to face her. "Look at Mummy! Raise your arms. Lower your arms. Raise your right. Lower your right. Turn on the spot. There are exits at the front and rear of the aircraft. Please follow the lights up the aisle."

Ember had been watching the Danny-Cyber while Missy was messing around, fighting hard to keep the smirk off her face when he didn't move at all.

"You see, Doctor?" Missy said, missing the important detail. "The power to slaughter whole worlds at a time, then make them do a safety briefing. Everyone who ever lived, man, woman and child, is now at my command. An indestructible army to rage across the universe. The more they kill, the more they recruit. Happy birthday." She grinned again at seeing the Doctor's look of disbelief. "Oh! You didn't know, did you? It's lucky one of us remembers these things. Happy birthday... Mister President."

She put her bracelet on the Doctor's wrist and stepped back to curtsy before him. All the Cybers turned at once, one of the closer ones speaking. "Doctor."

Missy was practically bouncing on her feet. "Tiny bit pleased? Oh, go on, crack a smile. I want to see if your eyebrows drop off."

"All of this..." The Doctor finally spoke. "All of it, just to give me an army?"

"Well, I don't need one, do I? Armies are for people who think they're right. And nobody thinks they're righter than you. Give a good man firepower, and he'll never run out of people to kill."

"I don't want an army!"

"Well, that's the trouble! Yes, you do! You've always wanted one! All those people suffering in the Dalek camps? Now you can save them. All those bad guys winning all the wars? Go and get the good guys back!"

"Nobody can have that power."

"That's where you're slightly off the mark. Ember has that kind of power," that made the brunette blink in puzzlement. "But why should she be alone? You will have that kind of power, because you don't have a choice. There's only way you can stop these clouds from opening up and killing all your little pets down here. Conquer the universe, Mister President. Show a bad girl how it's done."

The Doctor yanked the bracelet off his wrist. "Why are you doing this?"

"I need you to know we're not so different. I need my friend back. Every battle, every war, every invasion. From now on, you decide the outcome. What's the matter, Mister President? Don't you trust yourself?"

The Doctor looked around, at the Cybers that were now under his command, at Clara, and then at Ember. She met his gaze evenly as she spoke. "What's the difference between good and bad?"

It only took a moment for it to become clear to the Doctor. He turned to Missy, though he didn't lean down to kiss her like he'd done in the show. "Thank you. Thank you so much. I really didn't know. I wasn't sure. You lose sight sometimes. Thank you!" He moved a few steps away. "I am not a good man! I am not a bad man. I am not a hero. And I'm definitely not a president. And no, I'm not an officer. Do you know what I am? I am an idiot, with a box and a screwdriver. Just passing through, helping out, learning. I don't need an army. I never have, because I've got them!" He pointed at Clara and Danny. "Always them! Because love, it's not an emotion. Love is a promise!"

Ember let the smirk appear on her face as Danny put his arm around Clara.

"And he will never hurt her." The Doctor added. "P E, catch!" He threw the bracelet, which Danny caught, and then he looked at Missy again. "You didn't notice, did you? While you were doing all your silly orders, while you where showing off, the one soldier not obeying."

Missy looked puzzled and slightly worried. "No, that's wrong. That's impossible..."

"The rain will not fall." Danny said, letting go of Clara and approaching Missy as he put the bracelet on.

"Oh? Why won't it?"

"The clouds will burn."

"And who'll burn them?"

"I will burn them."

"How?"

"I will burn."

Missy rolled her eyes. "One burning Cyberman is hardly going to save the planet."

"Correct." Danny turned away to face the Cybers and spoke into the bracelet. "Attention!" Every Cyber in view turned and straightened. "This is not a good day. This is Earth's darkest hour. And look at you miserable lot. We are the Fallen. But today, we shall rise. The army of the dead will save the land of the living. This is not the order of a general, nor the whim of a lunatic."

"Excuse me?" Missy cried, indignant.

"This is a promise. The promise of a soldier!" Danny looked at Clara. "You will sleep safe tonight."

He pressed his fist to his chest, the others following, and then they all shot into the sky. Once they'd dissappeated into the clouds, there was an explosion, and in a matter of seconds the while sky was covered in fire. Less than a minute later, the fires dispersed, and the skies turned clear.

"Well..." Clara said. "The clouds have all gone."

"Yes, burned up. Totally burnt. Burnt to nothing." The Doctor said before Ember elbowed his side, making him realise what he'd said. "Sorry."

"Ten zero eleven, zero zero by zero two."

The Doctor looked at Missy in shock. "What did you say?!"

"The current coordinates of Gallifrey. It's returned to it's original location. Didn't you ever think to look?"

"You are lying!"

"We can, we can go together, just you and me. Just like the old days." Missy looked at Ember. "And you can get some answers. Maybe even get them back for what they did to you."

The brunette paused. Get who back? What who did to her?

"You'd be clapped in irons." The Doctor pointed out, bringing her out of her thoughts.

"If you like."

"Doctor, I'm assuming you'll remember those coordinates?" Clara suddenly asked. She didn't wait for his answer, instead turning to face them and revealing the device that she'd picked up after the Doctor took it from Missy.

The Doctor saw it and paled. "No. No, don't you dare. I won't let you."

"Old friend, is she?" Clara said. "If you have ever let this creature live, everything that happened today, is on you. All of it, on you. And you're not going to let her live again."

To the surprise of everyone else, Ember suddenly moved to stand between Clara and Missy. "If you're gonna start blaming him for other people's actions, then I have so much more blood on my hands than him."

Clara bit her lip. "Ember, move."

"No."

"Do as you're told."

"Don't assume you can order me around!" The brunette snapped, making everyone jump not just from the tone of her voice, but also because the ground seemed to tremble in warning. "You think that killing her will make you feel better? That it will avenge all the people who've died? Because I'll tell you now, it won't. There is no good reason to kill anyone, no excuses. And it only takes doing it once, and then it gets easier the next time, and then the next, but you lose a bit more of yourself each time. I won't stand aside and let you start down that path, Clara!"

The Doctor stepped closer. "Clara, all I'm doing is not letting you kill her. I never said I was letting her live."

Clara looked at him. "Really?"

"If that's the only thing that will stop you, yes."

There was a pause, and then Clara handed him the device.

Missy sighed. "Seriously. Oh, Doctor. To save her soul? But who, my dear, will save yours? Say something nice." He didn't speak. "Please?"

"You win."

"...I know."

Ember moved again, getting in the way once more. "I won't let you do it, either. She will pay the price for her actions. But it won't be at your hand."

The Doctor looked puzzled. "What do you mean?"

The brunette simply closed her eyes and held up three fingers, counting them off. When the last went down, a bolt of blue energy came from nowhere and hit Missy, vapourising her on the spot. "One more old face."

Clara and the Doctor looked in the direction the shot had come from, to find one Cyber several feet away, lowering its weapon. It then turned its head and pointed with its other arm, making them look that way... to see someone lying on the grass.

"Doctor!" Clara said, running. The Doctor and Ember followed, reaching the person: an unconscious woman with blonde hair that they knew.

"Kate," The Doctor said, checkingnfor a pulse out of reflex. "She's breathing! She's alive! She can't be here."

"She is."

"She fell out of a plane. The Cyberman must have caught her."

"Doctor, she's talking about her dad."

The Doctor looked up at Ember, following her gaze to the Cyber that was standing there. Then it clicked. "Of course. The Earth's darkest hour and mine. Where else would you be?" He straightened and then saluted the Cyber, which acknowledged it with a nod before it used its jetboots to shoot into the sky, presumably to detonate at a safe distance. "Thank you."

"What the hell?!"

She looked around, her confusion fading at her surroundings. It was a clean, white room, with a few control panels and screens. She was standing in the centre of the room, in an indent in the floor that would fit a humungous sphere.

Looking around again, she saw people. None of them looked familiar, and most of them wore white clothes while there were two that wore armour that was blood red, making them stand out.

"Where am I?" She asked.

One of the armoured men stepped forward. "It's alright, Ma'am. You're safe."

Her head throbbed, her vision flashing for a moment as a different scene came to mind. Fire was everywhere... but then she was back in the white room. "What was that? I..."

"Memory flashes are a side effect," the armoured man said. "It'll pass."

"A side effect of what?" She heard a noise above her and looked up, her eyes widening at the sight of a massive, metal sphere above her head. "Is that...?"

"It is."

"But if that's... then that fire... did I really...?"

"I'm afraid you did, ma'am. But that's not important right now. We're running out of time."

That made her look at the armoured man. "Out of time? For what?"

"She's coming. And she's angry. From our research, only you can calm her."

"Calm who?"

There was no answer.

Ember sat up in her bed, breathing hard. Another dream... But what did it mean?

"Getting really sick of all these clues and no answers," she muttered, pulling back the covers and getting to her feet. She'd not long been asleep, if the clock on her nightstand was correct, but she knew she wouldn't be able to get back to sleep anyway.

After quickly changing into some dark blue jeans and a red top with her denim jacket, Ember pulled on a pair of red converse and left her room, going down the corridor. The Tardis made the walk shorter, allowing her to turn the first corner and reaching the doorway that led to the console room.

She paused at the doorway, keeping out of sight as she saw the Doctor standing at the doors that led outside, one of them open and allowing him to look out at something. An instinct told her not to announce her presence yet.

The Doctor let out a sigh and closed the door, turning to walk up to the console. He paused for a moment, as though thinking... and then he raised a fist and slammed it down on the console. Another hit made sparks fly.

"Doctor!" Ember cried out without thinking, running forward. He didn't seem to hear her at first, hitting the console again until she reached his side and grabbed his raised fist before he could bring it down. "Doctor, stop!"

He stilled, his head lowered so she couldn't meet his gaze. "... it's not there..."

Ember tilted her head, cautiously letting go of his arm. "What's not where?"

"... Gallifrey..."

Oh. Now Ember understood. "You think Missy lied to you?"

"Well, she just have!" The Doctor straightened. His expression broke her hearts, so pained as it was. "We're right at the coordinates that she gave me, and it's not there!"

"You came to that conclusion because you can't see it?" Ember asked. "Doctor... what did she tell us on the plane?"

"That Gallifrey was..." he suddenly paused. "Not lost... but in another dimension..."

Ember nodded. "And then she gave you the location in space. I don't think she lied, Doctor. I think she just gave you slivers of the truth."

There was a long pause as the Doctor seemed to take it all in. Then he turned to the console and examined the damage he'd done to it. There was no major damage, though he'd probably have to replace a few of the buttons later.

Ember was about to speak when she felt that burning sensation in her chest, indicating that she was about to jump. "Uh-oh. Looks like I'm off..."

The Doctor gave her a smile before she left, but she didn't kiss how strained it was.

And there we have it! I've had to go over this one a few times before I was happy enough with it to post, though I feel like I've missed something somewhere.

I hope I portrayed Missy's behaviour with Ember the way I'm hoping. There is a reason that she's done that, by the way. Maybe something in her past, perhaps? You'll sadly have to wait and see.

Next Time: Ember squares up to those with powers thought impossible. Can her own counter them? And she's in for more riddles and frustration. And if that isn't enough, a moment she's been 'somewhat' dreading has come. Can she face it? Stay tuned!