They all strode down a corridor, flanked by armed soldiers.
"All those times I've been on Earth," the Doctor began curiously, "I've never heard of you."
Yvonne shrugged, chuckling, but before she could answer, Cass did, sounding rather smug, "You wouldn't, seeing as you're considered the enemy. At least, according to the Torchwood Foundation Charter of 1879, where you're named as an enemy of the Crown."
Her eyes moved to the director, narrowing mockingly, as she continued, "I however, distinctly remember being honoured by Her Majesty. I was her favourite of the bunch...she even extended an invitation to live in the castle, or on your organisation's original grounds.."
"1879.." The Doctor hummed in remembrance, "that was called Torchwood, that house in Scotland."
Yvonne nodded, confidence faltering under all of knowledge Cassandra had. Knowledge she should not have had at all, "That's right. Where you encountered Queen Victoria and the werewolf."
Jackie snorted lightly, "I think he makes half of it up."
"Her Majesty created the Torchwood Institute with the express intention of keeping Britain great..." Yvonne began smugly, only to falter when Cass finished her sentence again, a mocking turn to her voice, "Oh, and of course, fighting the alien horde."
The Time Lord chuckled lightly, though his hold tightened around his tether's hand, "But if I'm the enemy, does that mean that I'm a prisoner?"
"Oh, yes," Yvonne grinned, "you both are."
They both rolled their eyes at the dramatics, watching as they rounded a corner and came to complete stop in front of a large, black door.
The woman stood before it, and said, "But we'll make you perfectly comfortable. And there is so much you can teach us. Starting with this."
Pressing her ID card against the lock, she pushed the doors open, gesturing for them to follow her inside the room, where a large bronze sphere was floating.
"Now, what do you make of that?"
Neither of them replied, both too busy staring at the sphere with matching expressions of horror. The Doctor was in disbelief, while Cass...she was flinching, memories assaulting her brain of the sphere, of what it was.
Of exactly who it was that created it.
"You must be the Doctor and Cassandra." An Indian man, clearly a scientist based on his white coat said, approaching them, "Rajesh Singh. It's an honour, sir, ma'am." He held out his hand, but neither of them noticed, both too busy gazing at the sphere.
Lowering it sheepishly, he stepped back as the Time Lord simply breathed, "yeah..."
"What is that thing?" Jackie murmured frightfully.
"We got no idea." Yvonne replied sternly.
"But what's wrong with it?"
Rajesh turned to her, brows furrowed, "What makes you think there's something wrong with it?"
"I dunno... just feels weird."
The Doctor darted forwards and up the steps leading up to the sphere, while Cass remained below, frozen at the memories, at the knowledge that had suddenly encroached on her brain.
"Well, the sphere has that effect on everyone." Yvonne informed them, watching the Time Lord curiously, "Makes you wanna run and hide. Like it's forbidden."
"We tried analysing it using every device imaginable." Rajesh added, brows furrowing in confusion as he watched the Doc pull out a pair of 3D glasses and slip them on, observing the sphere through them, "But, according to our instruments, the sphere doesn't exist. It weighs nothing. It doesn't age. No heat. No radiation. And, has no atomic mass."
"But, I can see it!" Jackie exclaimed.
"Fascinating, isn't it? It upsets people because it gives off... nothing. It is... absent."
"Well, Doctor?" Yvonne cut in.
He didn't answer, too busy observing the thing, so Cass did instead, voice somber as she explained, "It's a Void Ship..."
"I always thought it was just a theory, but..." the Doctor added, taking a seat on the final step of the ladder, tugging his tether into his lap.
Cass shook her head, "It's designed to travel and exist outside of time and space."
"Travelling through the Void." He finished.
"And what's 'the Void'?" Rajesh asked them curiously.
"The space between dimensions. There's all sorts of realities around us, different dimensions, billions of parallel universes all stacked up against each other." The Doctor began.
"The Void, it's the space in-between. Just howling, blinding emptiness. Nothing, no space, time or matter." She added.
"My people called it the Void."
"The Eternals called it the Howling."
"But some people call it Hell." He finished, turning to look at his tether curiously.
Cass sighed, before whispering through his mind, Not my knowledge. HERS. I think it's siphoning through the locket, because that ship...she knows a lot about it, and she really hates it.
We'll figure it out. He replied back softly, tightening his hold around her.
"But someone built the sphere. What for? Why go there?" Rajesh asked.
"To explore." She explained tiredly, guilt rising in her chest, guilt that didn't belong to HER, "To escape. You could sit inside that thing and eternity would pass you by. The Big Bang... end of the universe, start of the next, wouldn't even touch the sides. You'd exist outside the whole of creation. "
"You see, we were right." Yvonne turned to Rajesh, smiling smugly, "There is something inside it."
"Oh, yes..." The Doctor nodded, a frown on his face.
His tether was tense, filled with guilt and anticipation and a grim sort of resignation. As though she knew what would happen, what the sphere meant, and had accepted whatever sacrifice she would have to make.
And he didn't like it. He never wanted her in any kind of danger, never wanted her to sacrifice anything, for anyone. His Cassie was supposed to be happy, and safe and radiant in his arms, as they travelled the universe and found adventures.
But the locket...that damned, miraculous locket. She'd told him the knowledge about the ship, and the guilt she felt didn't originate from her, per-say, but rather, from her Time Lady essence, from who she'd been before rewriting her biology. And if her former self knew so much, he couldn't help but wonder...was it foresight, or intimate knowledge?
"So how do we get in there?" Rajesh asked, motioning towards the sphere.
"We don't!" The Doctor announced, standing up, wrapping his hand around his Cassie's, suddenly feeling the need to keep her glued to his side, fearful of what she had planned, "We send that thing back into Hell. How did it get here in the first place?"
"Well, that's how it all started." Yvonne explained, "The sphere came through into this world, and the ghosts followed in its wake."
Cass sighed, nodding at her tether knowingly, before looking back at the woman, "Show us."
—
Yvonne had led them into a large white room, showing the couple the white expanse of wall from which white light emitted during ghost shift.
"The sphere came through here. A hole in the world." She explained.
The Doctor slowly ran his hand over the spot she'd pointed to, Cass simply shaking her head slowly behind him, as she continued, "Not active at the moment. But when we fire particle engines at that exact spot, the breech opens up."
"How'd you find it? How did you know to build this tower right here, at this exact height, to find this hole?" The redhead questioned, looking at the older woman intently.
Yvonne balked slightly, still unused to how much information Cassandra actually had, before clearing her throat, trying valiantly to pull her in-control persona over herself again, "Well, we were getting warning signs for years. A radar black-spot. So we built this place. Torchwood Tower. The breech was six hundred foot above sea level. It was on the only way to reach it."
The Doctor slipped his 3D specs on, "You built a skyscraper just to reach a spatial disturbance? How much money have you got?"
"Enough," she smirked, before walking away, leaving the two to themselves.
Cass stepped up to his side, watching as he took the glasses off and turned to her, "What is it? You're quiet and contemplative and so...resigned, that it's worrying me."
"Nothing for now," she breathed quietly, before turning, raising her eyes to his own and asking, "Do you trust me?"
"With my life."
"Then trust me. I can't say anything, but I know what to do. Trust that I'll always come back to you, okay? No matter what."
"Cassie..." his hands rose to her cheeks, cupping them lightly, as his eyes narrowed, "What are you planning, love?"
She grabbed them, keeping them in place, but softly running her thumbs over his knuckles, changing the subject, "It's metal, the wall...It's made of supposedly impenetrable metal."
He sighed, understanding that she wouldn't answer any of his questions. He trusted her, implicitly, but he also knew that she would sacrifice herself in a heartbeat to save those she loved, him above all.
He trusted her with his life, it was just that he was the only one he trusted with hers.
"Hold on a minute..." Jackie breathed from her spot in front of Yvonne's windows, "we're in Canary Wharf! Must be! This building, it's Canary Wharf."
"Well, that is the public name for it." The director agreed, joining her, "But to those in the know, it's Torchwood."
"So, you find the breech, probe it, the sphere comes through." The Doctor began, as he and his tether walked to them, "Six hundred feet above London, bam. It leaves a hole in the fabric of reality. And that hole, you think, 'oh, shall we leave it alone? Shall we back off? Shall we play it safe?' Nah, you think 'let's make it bigger!'"
"It's a massive source of energy. If we can harness that power, we need never depend on the Middle East again. Britain will become truly independent. Look, you can see for yourself. Next Ghost Shift's in two minutes."
As Yvonne turned to head back to the main area, she stopped, tensing at the authority in Cass' voice, "Cancel it."
"I don't think so." She murmured back, a twinge of hesitancy in her voice.
Cass chuckled darkly, "You don't know what you're doing, what powers you're fucking with, so I'm giving you a gift. Cancel it."
"We're warning you," the Doctor added.
At that, the director's hesitant stance vanished, and she turned to him, scoffing, "Oh, exactly as the legends would have it. The Doctor, lording it over us. Assuming alien authority over the rights of Man."
The redhead shook her head at their idiocy, before pulling her sonic from her pocket, and heading towards a pane of glass, "Let me show you then, since clearly you need the kiddy-version of information."
"Sphere comes through." She began, pointing the sonic at the glass, watching as it splintered, the cracks extending slowly outwards.
"Problem is, that when it did, it made a hole, cracked the world around it. The entire surface of this dimension, splintered. And that splinter, that crack, that's how the ghosts got through. And continue to do so, with your bright-eyed, bushy-tailed encouragement. Walking from their world, across the Void, and into yours. But too many ghosts, and..." slowly, her finger rose, pushing against the spiderweb she'd created, not flinching at all as it dropped to the ground, showering glittering shards around her.
Yvonne swallowed heavily, before shrugging in feigned nonchalance and stubbornness, "Well, in that case we'll have to be more careful." Turning back to her staff, she yelled, "Positions! Ghost Shift in one minute."
The Doctor followed behind, nearly pleading, "Ms Hartman, we are asking you, please, don't do it."
"We have done this a thousand times."
"Then stop at a thousand!" He yelled furiously.
"We are in control of the ghosts. The levers can open the breech, but equally they can close it."
They stared at each other intently, a battle of wills, until he relented, backing away, "Okay."
Going back into the office, he grabbed a chair with one hand, wrapping the other around his angry tether's and tugging them back.
"I'm sorry?" Yvonne questioned, confused.
"Never mind! As you were." He hummed lightly.
"What, is that it?"
He sat down, tugging Cass onto his lap, before shrugging, "No! Fair enough. Said my bit. Don't mind me. Any chance of a cup of tea? Or coffee for Cassie?"
"Ghost Shift in twenty seconds." One of the staff members called out.
"Mm!" He smiled, nuzzling into his tether, "Can't wait to see it!"
The director's eyes narrowed in suspicion, "You can't stop us, Doctor."
"No, absolutely not!" He grinned, looking back at Jackie, "Pull up a chair, Rose! Come and watch the fireworks."
The mother slowly nodded, coming to stand beside Cass, tension leaking a little from her shoulders when the redhead grabbed her hand, squeezing reassuringly.
"Ghost Shift in ten seconds. Nine... eight..." the staffer began counting down. Yvonne uneasily stared at the Doctor, who simply raised his eyebrows, daring her to go through with it. "Seven... six... five... four... three... two..."
And finally, she breaks.
"Stop the shift. I said stop."
He sighed in relief, "Thank you."
"I suppose it makes sense to get as much intelligence as possible. But the program will recommence, as soon as you've explained everything."
Cass nodded slowly, "We'll be happy to be of any help. Clearly, y'all need as much as you can get."
Yvonne swallowed, before gesturing towards the glass, calling out, "And someone clear up this glass." turning back to the couple, she finished, "They did warn me, Doctor. They said both of you like to make a mess."
And with that, she walked back into her office, leaving the Doc to grin in triumph, while in his lap, Cass began a silent countdown, knowing she'd need to leave him soon.
—
When she noticed the Doctor talking with Yvonne, too distracted with what was occurring to realise she'd slipped away, Cass headed towards the door, only stopping when Jackie grabbed her arm, asking, "Where're you going?"
The redhead smiled gently, "Getting your daughter of out trouble."
"She'll be safe? Right Cass?"
Cass swallowed, nodding slowly, "I promise you, on my life, nothing will harm her." And knowing what she was about to do, she couldn't help but add, "Thank you, for showing me what a mother is supposed to be like, for caring for me when I had no one."
And with that, she turned on her heels and left, not waiting another second for her words to sink through, for Jackie to realise she'd been saying goodbye, in a way.
She didn't have anymore time to waste.
Hurrying through the halls, she noticed an empty corridor and headed there.
She'd need privacy for this bit.
—
"Yvonne," Rajesh yelled into his comm, frantic "for God's sake, the sphere is active! The readings are going wild! It's got weight, it's got mass, an electromagnetic field, it exists!"
Behind him, the doors slammed shut with an ominous bang, and he added, "The door's sealed. Automatic quarantine, we can't get out!"
Mickey, who'd been disguised as a scientist named Samuel, drew Rose into his arms, whispering soothingly, as they both looked up at the vibrating sphere, "It's all right, babe. We beat them before, we can beat them again. That's why I'm here. The fight goes on."
"The fight against what?" She whispered.
"What do you think?"
They stumbled as two violent crashes emitted from the sphere, shaking the chamber.
"We had them beaten, but then they escaped. The Cybermen just vanished." He explained quickly, as another crash resounded, "They found a way through to this world, but, so did we."
"The Doctor said that was impossible."
Mickey rolled his eyes, "Yeah well, it wouldn't be the first time your pilot was wrong. Cass slipped some calculations in my pocket before she left, it was our starting point."
"What's inside that sphere?"
"Not what you think," a familiar voice intoned behind them, tense with anticipation.
Both Mickey and Rose turned around, mouths dropping open at the sight of Cass, the boy quickly pulling her into a tight hug, "How did you get here?"
"The doors. I managed to sneak in right before they slammed shut," she informed him, pulling away and smiling lightly, "I told you I'd see you again, Mickey the Hero."
He grinned proudly, watching as she quickly turned and pulled the blonde into her arms, rubbing her back soothingly.
But after a second, his smile dimmed. Something was different.
It was Cass, yes. His Pilot, his best friend. But there was something different about her, as though she suddenly seemed to hold the weight of the entire world on her shoulders.
She seemed...older, somehow.
Rose pressed a small kiss to her cheek, as the ground shook again, and they turned back to the sphere, Mickey bringing them back to the topic at hand, "No one knows what's inside it. Cyber Leader, Cyber King, Emperor of the Cybermen... whatever it is... He's dead meat."
The ginger woman shook her head slowly, murmuring low enough that none of them caught it, "I wish it was that easy."
The entire chamber shook, accompanied by booms from the sphere.
"Can anyone hear me? Come on, I need help down here!" Rajesh yelled into his comm again, not noticing Cassandra's presence in the room, "I need..." he suddenly stopped, mouth hanging open as the room quit shaking, and a smooth crack appeared on the sphere.
"Here we go." Mick grinned, removing his lab coat and pulling of his ear piece.
Beside him, Cass moved her head from side to side, allowing the joints in her neck to crack, as her tether's panicked voice floated in her head, Cassie?! Where the hell are you? Are you okay?!
I'm okay, Theta. She answered, knowing he wouldn't notice how much clearer her voice sounded in his panic, how much louder, trust me.
In front of them, light began spilling out, and she quickly reached for both of her companion's shirts, tugging them swiftly behind her, quieting Mickey before he could speak, "It's not Cybermen. That technology, it's too advanced for Cybermen."
"What is it, then?" Rose whispered anxiously.
The top part of a familiar looking alien emerged from the sphere...right as Cass whispered, fury and hatred in her voice, "Daleks."
Four of them slowly descended, rolling around, and Rose gasped, "Oh, my god!"
Cass kept her eyes on them, never letting any leave her sight.
She couldn't. The companions were her family, her responsibility, and this...she had to keep them safe.
"Location: Earth." One of the Daleks said, "Life forms detected. Exterminate!"
"Exterminate! Exterminate! EXTERMINATE!"