Watching the Doctor

by RedRobyn2

The Doctor is stranded in prison, dealing with the revelations of the Timeless Child and the memories of her time travelling, all alone. Until the Tardis decides enough is enough and gathers her and some of her more recent companions to help her deal with her past and make some amends by watching her adventures. Characters watch the show, set after Timeless Child/Pre-Resolution.

8. Ascension of the Cybermen

Hello everyone!

Thank you again for all your support, I love you all.

Here's the next chapter! Only one more before we get a bit more random and I start taking requests.

As usual please let me know what you think - I love reading your comments.

Thanks again for reading and hope you enjoy!

Robyn

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The Doctor wandered slowly towards the kitchen, feet dragging as she tried to decide who she needed to talk to first. She'd managed to clear the air with Martha, Mickey and Jack last break, and she didn't know if she could answer any questions her current companions had so that ruled them out. As much as she wanted to have a proper talk with her wife (and hug her wife, and kiss her wife and just hold her so that she couldn't leave her again) she knew she wouldn't be able to have a proper conversation that wouldn't end in an argument about the whole situation and she didn't think she was in the right emotional state to deal with that (she didn't think she was in the right emotional state to deal with anything honestly, but when was she ever).

That left Bill, Clara, Rose, Donna, and Amy and Rory. She knew she had to talk to them all at some point, they all deserved honest answers and discussion for so many different reasons but who did she need to talk to first? It was likely to be the last time she had a proper conversation before the secret came out and she needed to talk to someone who wouldn't keep asking questions she couldn't answer. As much as she was dragging the walk out, she knew she had already made her decision – there was someone who needed an apology arguably more than any of the others. She needed to talk to Donna.

She finally made her way into the kitchen where most of her family had gathered, pottering around and chatting away. Some were making tea and others eating food that must have been left in the cupboards by the Tardis. She was glad to see they were mixing amongst themselves; Clara, Bill and Yaz seemed to be having fun talking, Rory, Mickey and Nardole seemed to be comparing notes on keeping their sanity. She spotted Martha at a table having tea with Graham and Ryan. She was mildly afraid to see River and Jack in a corner scheming away and glancing at her every so often, and the Master had slunk away out of sight for now. Finally, she found Rose and Donna talking loudly about something or other at one of the tables.

Setting her sights on the pair she shuffled over, ignoring the glances everyone sent her as she made her way past them. The Doctor practically collapsed into an empty chair, startling Donna slightly who had been gesturing wildly with her hands to emphasise part of a story she was telling. Donna trailed off as both Rose and her looked at the Doctor, waiting for her to say something. The Doctor opened her mouth to try and get some words out but nothing came out. She closed her mouth, swallowed and tried again – slightly more successful the second time.

"Rose, I… Can I… Can I talk to Donna for a moment?" The Doctor asked, she felt a bit guilty – this was the second time she'd interrupted a conversation Rose had been having to talk to someone else. Rose glanced between the pair as if looking for something, her face softened as she seemed to find what she'd been looking for.

Rose nodded. "Sure, but don't think you're getting out of talking to me later Misses." The Doctor smiled; eyes earnest as she nodded her agreement. Rose offered a grin and wink to Donna before moving over to join Yaz, Bill and Clara. And with that she was left alone with Donna, near the back of the room with some semblance of privacy.

She kept her eyes on the table, unsure how to start what was undoubtedly going to be an emotionally charged conversation. She was put out of her misery by Donna starting. "So, Spaceman we need to talk."

"You're right Donna. I just… I just don't know how to start."

"I'd hope you'd start with an explanation and an apology."

"I… I am so sorry Donna, I… memories are important and I took that away from you. I just… I just couldn't let you die." The Doctor glanced up to meet Donna's gaze, trying to show how much she meant what she said. Donna's eyes were hard but softening as she continued talking. "You're brilliant, the most important woman in the universe. Beings sing songs about you and I took that from you because I am selfish. I was selfish and I couldn't lose you."

"I can't say that I'm unhappy about being alive – I love the life I have, my husband, my family. I'm just angry that you ignored my decision. That you ignored what I wanted, you ignored my begging. My time with you was amazing, some of the best days of my life. The things I saw, the people I met and you took that from me." Donna glared at her hands, pausing to take a breath and calm herself down. The Doctor's hand twitched towards Donna's clenched fists on the table but simply hugged them closer to her. Shrinking in on herself as she nodded along with Donna's argument, gulping.

"I'm sorry, you didn't deserve it, any of it. It was my fault you were in that situation and I couldn't keep you safe. I couldn't tell your mother and grandfather that I had gotten you killed and I couldn't lose you. You were… You are one of my best friends in the universe." She smiled sadly at Donna, before dipping her eyes back to the table. "I understand it, the memory loss I mean. I lost my memories of Clara for a while and I recently found out I've lost a lot more memories than I even knew about." She let out a self-deprecating chuckle. "Memories are important and I took them from you but more importantly I went against your wishes. I cannot express how sorry I am for that but you have to understand I can't be sorry that I saved your life, but I am sorry for how I did it."

The silence lingered between the pair for several moments, neither saying anything. Then Donna let out a long, loud breath. "I understand that, I do. I'm still angry about my memories but I want to move forward. I forgive you Doctor and my time travelling with you was indescribably amazing. And Martian? You're my best friend too idiot." She smiled softly at the Doctor, it was the calmest she'd ever seen Donna and the Doctor chuckled, ignoring the warmth of a tear as it raced down her face. "Oh, you are an idiot, spaceman. Come here." Donna shuffled around the table and pulled the Doctor into her arms, squeezing her tightly in a hug. The pair laughed and cried as they held each other before Donna pulled back several minutes later.

"Honestly you really don't change." Donna shook her head in disbelief as the Doctor tried to subtly wipe away a few stray tears. "I do have to ask; will I keep my memories when we leave here?"

The Doctor scrunched her face up in thought for a moment. "I don't know but if you don't I swear I will find a way to give them back to you. I promise you that Donna." Donna smiled at her, before setting her shoulders and grabbing the Doctor by the arm to drag her back towards the rest of the group. Emotional conversation was done, Donna was back to being loud and brash and the Doctor wouldn't change her for the universe.

The Doctor followed in a sort of daze, accepting a cup of tea that was shoved into her hands by Graham and vaguely nodding along to any conversation she was dragged into until everyone started moving back towards the movie room. No one had really been in the mood to eat much, all too tense and nervously curious to find out what the Tardis wanted them to see. All too soon the break was over and it was time to face the music.

As everyone settled back in their seats, resuming their positions from before the break (meaning the Doctor was dragged back and trapped between Jack and River) she debated what they would be shown next – she knew there weren't many options but maybe she still had a bit of time? You can't blame her for being hopeful. That hope was quickly dashed when 'Ascension of the Cybermen' appeared on the screen. The Doctor took a deep breath and exchanged a glance with her current companions – there weren't many options for what that could mean.

"Right, there's been a bit of a time jump again." She explained to the room with paper-thin enthusiasm. "We went on a few more adventures which I guess aren't particularly relevant. I think we've skipped something important to the 'story' though." She glanced at the fam again, they nodded in agreement. "Easy to say we had to ignore Jack's warning and there was some trouble with Mary Shelley, Lord Byron and the rest of the group in 1816 and I think we may have helped inspire Frankenstein?" She took a deep breath and glanced at those she knew would be the most affected by what she had to say. "As the title says, there's going to be Cybermen, so I just wanted to give you a moment to prepare yourselves."

A few round the room looked a bit nervous at the mention of the Cybermen; Clara glowered at the screen and Bill shifted uncomfortably in her seat (she ignored the Master preening in the corner – she was spending a lot of her time ignoring him recently) but they both met her gaze when it hesitated on them. They were strong, all of her family were strong – they'd be okay, eventually. With no more comments, the video started to play.

[Space]

(The voice of the Lone Cyberman over scenes of a starship graveyard.)
ASHAD [OC]: The Cybermen were defeated. The victors of a billion battles, broken. An empire of might and terror, fallen. Their weaknesses exploited. Their armies outfought. Their conquests surrendered. Every empire has its time, and every empire falls. But that which is dead can live again... in the hands of a believer.
(The head of a Cyberman drifts towards us. Cue opening titles coming from within its eye socket.)

"Who's that?" Amy asked, curious more than anything.

The Doctor sighed, giving Jack an apologetic look. "The Lone Cyberman."

Mickey shook his head. "Why can't they just stay dead?" He muttered mostly to himself but others sighed. Nodding in understanding. To say that none of them were exactly fond of the Cybermen would be the least.

[Ireland]

(A man bicycles along a track, then suddenly stops and dismounts. There is a baby in a basket in his way. He takes it home to his wife.)

Both the Doctor and Master startle in their seats, turning to look at each other for a moment, neither able to understand what the other was thinking before the Doctor glared and glanced desperately away. The Master's eyes lingered on her. Jack and River had watched the exchange concerned; they both had the same train of thought – the Master was key to this secret and this seemingly completely unrelated story of Ireland was suspicious, therefore Ireland was very relevant to whatever secret had brought them here.

"That's a bit of whiplash. Going from space and the Cybermen to Ireland, I mean. What's going on there?" Bill asked clearly confused, the rest of the companions shifted, equally confused. Especially the fam who had been around for the actual trouble – they knew nothing about whatever was going on in Ireland.

[Farmhouse]

(Naturally, he informs the Garda.)
SERGEANT: And you say you just found it in the lane?
PATRICK: I did.
SERGEANT: Like that?
PATRICK: Like that.
SERGEANT: No note?
(Shaken heads.)
MEG: We'll look after him. Until you find the parents.
PATRICK: That's right.

"Okay so we have an abandoned baby in Ireland and an army of Cybermen in space. They don't really mesh well." Martha mused; eyes scrunched up as if trying to connect puzzle pieces that don't match.

"Maybe the baby is the Lone Cyberman and we're seeing his past?" Bill offered an idea, only half joking.

That drew a slight laugh out of the Doctor, although it had a slight undercurrent of hysteria. "Sorry Bill, you need another theory."

The room turned to her, even the fam as they didn't know anything about Ireland, eager for answers. "You know who the baby is then?" Yaz asked the question the whole room was thinking.

The Master looked at her, curious to know what she would say, he raised an eyebrow at her. She shot a quick glare at him before turning to answer Yaz. "Yes, kind off. It's complicated. Honestly its best to just watch, answers are coming." She exhaled sharply, answers were coming alright, no matter how much she wished they weren't.

(Time passes. The red-headed boy has a birthday. A letter arrives.)
MEG: Well?
PATRICK: It's official. He's ours.
MEG: Oh! Oh, our beautiful baby boy. Aren't you, Brendan?
(Brendan is in his nice new school uniform. Riding on his father's shoulders.)
PATRICK: Woohoo! There you go. Let's go. Let's go.
MEG: Ready for your first day?
BRENDAN: Yeah.
(Helping Dad rake the hay.)
PATRICK: In you go. The muscles of you! Good lad. That's a good lad.
MEG: Oh!
(Getting checked out by the District Nurse.)
BRENDAN: (open wide) Aaah.
(In bed with a temperature.)
MEG: If it gets worse, I'll call the doctor.

"So, we're getting quick flashes of this kid's life, he must be relevant." Rose announced decidedly, they were all getting very frustrated with the lack of answers and this mix of stories was worrying them. The rest of the room agreed with her but couldn't think of why the kid was relevant.

[Planet surface]

(A ringed planet glows faint but large in the sky.)
DOCTOR: Half a mile out. The exact coordinates Shelley gave us are just down there.
GRAHAM: You want us to lug all this stuff down there?

"You still aren't capable of landing where you need to." Amy grinned, shaking her head fondly at the Doctor. The Doctor pouted in response drawing laughs from most of the room.

(To what looks like a village complete with church.)
YASMIN: What's wrong, Graham? Can't take the commando lifestyle?
RYAN: Hey! No commando jokes, please. I don't need that image in me head.

That drew some chuckles, glad to see the group still well, despite the trouble the room knew they were likely to get into soon. Ryan nodded his head in agreement with himself on screen. Yaz just grinned and nudged him, while Graham shook his head at their anticks.

YASMIN: Any ideas what we're walking into?
DOCTOR: This planet, this time period - we're in the very far future, immediate aftermath of the CyberWars. Cybermen have hunted down and wiped out the majority of the human race. Sorry. It was never a good time to break that news to you. If it's any consolation, it almost wiped out the Cybermen, too.

"Sorry to tell you but that's not much consolation, Spaceman." Donna drawled, rolling her eyes at the Doctor. The Doctor just grinned, shrugging a bit sheepish.

"It's far in the future, well after you lot. Humanity ultimately survives I promise." The Doctor continued trying to reassure the room, they just looked at her more incredulous.

"You're an idiot." Clara shook her head.

"Everyone knows that Clara." The Doctor grinned.

GRAHAM: Yeah, but almost isn't good enough, is it?
(Scans with the sonic screwdriver.)
DOCTOR: No. I'm getting a handful of human life signs down there.
RYAN: When you say a handful, how much are we talking?
DOCTOR: Seven.
RYAN: Seven humans left?
DOCTOR: If I had to guess, I'd say that's the last remaining human settlement this side of the universe right now.

The companions watched the screen worriedly. During their travels with the Doctor, they'd found a lot of trouble but it was never nice to be told your species was near extinction.

"Seven?!" Martha asked, looking at the Doctor like she hoped she would say she'd been lying.

"Yes, this side of the universe. There are others elsewhere. Probably." The Doctor tried to reassure the group, but their faces told her they weren't very reassured.

[Settlement]

FEEKAT: How are the repairs?
RAVIO: Piece of cake. Gravraft's completely fixed, completely fine, we're good to go.
FEEKAT: Really?
RAVIO: No. But you always look at me with those puppy dog eyes and say, please tell me it's good news.
FEEKAT: How long will it take?
RAVIO: A day, maybe more. I promise I'm doing everything I can.

Rory sighed. "I'm going to go out on a limb here and say they don't have a few days."

Nardole nodded. "Seeing as the Doctor's here I doubt they have a few hours."

FEEKAT: I know you are, but those last signal bursts indicated that we don't...
(Echoing booms as two spaceships fly overhead. A young man runs over, possibly Feekat's son.)

"Turns out they don't even have a few minutes." Mickey shook his head. The danger was starting.

RAVIO: It's too soon.
ETHAN: You said there weren't any more. You said they wouldn't find us.
RAVIO: They always find us.
FEEKAT: I said I hoped there weren't any left.
ETHAN: You said it was too good to be true.
RAVIO: Yeah, well, sometimes I just want to be wrong.
DOCTOR: Question. Would you like some help?
(Ravio points a weapon at them.)

"Honestly Sweetie. What else were you expecting? You need to stop sneaking up on people." River reached out to grab the Doctor's hand, squeezing it in comfort, even as her tone showed her exasperation. The Doctor grinned but shrugged unrepentant, they all knew she wouldn't stop; she absolutely found some enjoyment out of it.

DOCTOR: You don't need to use that against us.
FEEKAT: Who are you? Where'd you come from?
DOCTOR: Doctor, Graham, Ryan and Yaz. Don't worry about where we're from, concentrate on how we can help.

"Yeah, I don't think they have time for that explanation." Bill said.

"That's if they would even believe it." Rose agreed, smiling at the other girl.

(Ravio lowers her weapon.)
DOCTOR: All right. Set this all up like I showed you.
(She scans the area.)
DOCTOR: Two cyber shuttles, just landing. Who's in charge?
FEEKAT: I... I guess I am, as much as anyone is.
DOCTOR: Fought Cybermen before?
FEEKAT: No. We've run from them.
DOCTOR: Escape craft?
RAVIO: Damaged in planetfall. I've been trying to fix it, but we've got no spare parts. I've botch-built a couple...
DOCTOR: Don't need your life story. Get everybody into the buildings and tell them, do not run. Please, do as I say. You can trust us.

"Seriously Doctor?" Jack shook his head. "You just showed up and you're already ordering poor confused humans around. They have no reason to trust you."

"Don't exactly have much time to actually explain who we are, besides they're desperate and they need the help." The Doctor said, small frown on her face as she focused on the screen.

(Graham has set up his gizmo, plugging in leads and turning on the power, making the array turn round.)
GRAHAM: Bish, bash, bosh.
ETHAN: What's that?
GRAHAM: This, cockle, is a neural inhibitor system.

"A what?" Bill asked, confusion obvious on her, and most of the companion's, faces. River and Jack nodded along, seemingly having an idea what the machine was.

ETHAN: A what?
GRAHAM: Yeah, I didn't have a clue either. As far as I understand it, your basic Cyberman is part-human, part-machine. Now, they have suppressed all emotion and sensations of pain, which means, if we can un-suppress those and they realise what's happening to their bodies, it sends them a bit mad, which is one way of stopping them. And that is what this gizmo is supposed to be doing.

Clara winced at the reminder of Danny, and the Doctor snapped her head round to her as she remembered what had happened in the graveyard. Clara took a deep breath and offered a small smile to reassure the Doctor she was okay. She hadn't forgotten Danny but it didn't hurt as much as it used too, her time with Me had helped. That whole day had been crazy and she'd gone over the edge in her grief – she'd betrayed the Doctor and he'd still helped her. She did shoot the Master a quick glare, he'd been responsible for most of that mess and clearly, he hadn't learnt since then.

ETHAN: And will it definitely work?
GRAHAM: Well, I hope so, son, cos we've come a long way. Now, do us a favour. Get yourself safe, there's a good lad.
(Yasmin's doo-dah is a globe with spikes.)
RAVIO: What is that thing?
YASMIN: Particle projector. The Doctor's customised it to project particles of gold into the air. Cybermen are allergic to gold, right?

"They are?" Rose asked, she'd never heard that before. The rest of the room had equally confused looks, that was new information to all of them.

RAVIO: I did hear that once. I'm going to go and get the Gravraft going.
(Ryan has been joined by another man.)
YEDLARMI: Forcefield, yeah? Hmm. Yeah, pretty rudimentary.
RYAN: Yeah, well, you got a better one?

"All this tech is new, usually we're just running into trouble with little to no preparation." Clara mused, shooting the Doctor curious looks.

"We had the warning so I thought we'd try and be prepared for once." The Doctor tried to explain, before frowning slightly, it really hadn't gone to plan in anyway.

YEDLARMI: We ain't got nothin'. Oi! Fuskle. Here. He's my little brother. He don't say much, not any more. It's a forcefield, mate. And people. It's got to be good news. Will you tell him what it does?
RYAN: It's for any Cyberman that comes near.
YEDLARMI: See? We're gonna be all right. Yedlarmi. (shake hands) And Fuskle. Well, give him your hand, then. If you're not going to speak, at least give him your hand.

"He's looking after his brother at least." Mickey acknowledged, gaining a few nods in agreement. The room was worried about what would happen to these humans they were meeting, trouble was coming.

(The Doctor does another scan.)
FEEKAT: What are you doing?
DOCTOR: Trying to see where they're coming from. But they're sending a jamming signal, trying to confuse us as to what they are and how many. What weapons have you got, Feekat?
FEEKAT: Two guns. One's broken.
DOCTOR: So basically nothing.

"It's not like you'd use the guns anyway Doctor." Amy berated. Sometimes the Doctor could be a tad (very) insensitive.

FEEKAT: We're not soldiers. I was a teacher. Ravio was a nurse. We've got a childminder, a driver, a builder. We're just ordinary humans, refugees, and we've all lost everything... and everyone. All to the Cybermen. And nobody cares.
DOCTOR: I care. Me and my friends, we care. Please, get inside the building. We'll fight whatever's coming.
(Boom.) DOCTOR: Activation time, fam! Get close. I don't know how many they are or which direction they're coming from.

"So, you have seven scared humans, a broken ship and some tech that might not even work against the Cybermen. The situation doesn't look great." Martha clarified, looking resigned to the bad odds.

"Don't forget the Tardis is half a mile away so they can't escape that way." Mickey added.

"Oh great. Thanks for the reminder." Mickey squeezed his wife's hand in comfort as she looked more stressed about the trouble the people on screen were obviously in.

BESCOT: Quick!
(The gold projector powers up. There's a whoosh.)
RYAN: Hey, do you hear that sound?
(Fuskle is panicking and wants to run.)
YEDLARMI: Stay. Seriously, mate. I know you're scared. We're all scared.
(A bunch of flying Cyber-heads appear.)
DOCTOR: Cyberdrones.
(They target the Doctor's gizmos.)
DOCTOR: Fam, get down! They're targeting the defences!
(And very accurately, too. Yasmin's is the last to go, then they fly inside the church through a window.)

"Well, that's just brilliant." Donna said, sarcasm soaking her voice. The little defences they had were completely destroyed already and the drones were firing down upon them.

YEDLARMI: Fuskle!
(Fuskle runs, Yedlarmi chases after him.)
DOCTOR: No! Get down! I said, don't run!
(Fuskle is heading for another building with the other survivors.)
BESCOT: Come on, you can make it!
DOCTOR: Ah! Fuskle, don't run! No!
(Bescot runs too, and another woman.)
DOCTOR: Get back here! You can't outrun them!
(The runners all get killed as Yedlarmi is held back.)

The room looked down, giving the group a moment of silence. The companions couldn't get it out of their head that that was almost half the group of surviving humans dead in one go. And the fact that one of the last humans had just watched his brother killed.

YEDLARMI: Fuskle!
FEEKAT:Stay in here.
(The nine Cyberdrones fly off and the survivors come out.)
DOCTOR: Please. Run. Get to your ship.
FEEKAT: I am sick of running.
YEDLARMI: I want to fight 'em.
DOCTOR: It won't be a fight, it'll be a massacre. The drones are just the advance guard. I'll buy you some time. Go. Now!

"And how exactly are you going to do that Doctor?" Jack asked accusingly, arms crossed and worry clear on his face. He could tell they were very close to the truth about this secret and he really wasn't liking how much trouble they were all in. The only reassurance was the fact they were all here in the room safe.

FEEKAT: Come on. Let's go. You and Ravio get the Gravraft started. Ethan and I will grab the supplies.
GRAHAM: The systems didn't stop 'em, Doc.
DOCTOR: I know.
YASMIN: They destroyed everything we brought with us.
DOCTOR: I know.
RYAN: We haven't got anything else to defend ourselves or them.
DOCTOR: I know! Listen to me. Do not argue. Go with the humans. Help them. Get them out of here. You won't make it back to the Tardis alive. Make sure you're with them.

The trio turned to stare the Doctor down, they hadn't liked the decisions then and they didn't like it now knowing the consequences. The rest of the room was also staring the Doctor down.

"Do you really expect them to just leave you behind? I don't think any of us would do it, we're your family." Rose asked the Doctor, an edge of desperation to her voice.

The Doctor shifted uncomfortable in her seat. "I put you in so much trouble and I need to keep you as safe as I can." She argued, determined to get her point across.

"We agreed to come, Doc. You made sure we knew how dangerous it would be before we left, we made our decision and you need to respect that." Graham announced decidedly, then offered a small smile. "Besides your our only ride home." The Doctor was still frowning but nodded at the trio, worry clear in her eyes as she turned back to the screen.

RYAN: What about you?
DOCTOR: I'll hold them off.
GRAHAM: How are you going to do that?
DOCTOR: This isn't a discussion.

"So, you have no idea and you're just being recklessly stupid then." River glared, worried about her wife, frustrated with all the secrets and angry with the universe as a whole.

"River -." The Doctor tried to start, cautiously.

"No. Don't. You can't expect us to just leave you in danger while we run. We chose to come with you but you can't just order us around or make us abandon you in danger." River argued, frustration and nerve clear in her colder-than-normal tone.

"I put you in these dangerous situations, I'm responsible for you." The Doctor argued back. She took a deep breath to calm herself before continuing, her voice breaking slightly. "I can't lose you; I can't lose anyone else."

That seemed to take the wind out of her sails and River's expression visibly softened. "I know sweetie, but we don't want to lose you either." The Doctor swallowed at that but nodded her concession for the moment, she wasn't giving up on the argument she just didn't ant to continue it now.

YASMIN: We're not just gonna leave you.
DOCTOR: Yes, you are. You have to, all of you. No questions. Get out. I've been so reckless with you.
YASMIN: What are you talking about?
DOCTOR: You're human. If they capture you, they'll convert you. I'll find you. Get safe now!

Bill flinched visibly on her beanbag, drawing looks from most of the room. The majority of companions looked at her confused for several seconds before remembering what she'd mentioned earlier about being converted into a Cyberman.

The trio of current companions shared a look, that whole interaction had a whole new layer of meaning now that they knew about Bill. Her loss was still too fresh in the Doctor's mind, no wonder she'd been so terrified about them getting hurt. At the time they'd been so taken a back by the Doctor's shift in attitude and angry with her decision that they hadn't noticed how terrified the alien was but it was all too clear watching it now; she was terrified about losing them.

"Doctor-." Yaz started, unsure what to actually say but knowing she had to say something but she was interrupted before she could decide.

"No." Bill had squared her shoulders and was glaring the Doctor down. "What happened to me wasn't your fault. No don't interrupt just listen for once." The Doctor who had opened her mouth to argue, closed it again and nodded slowly, watching the young girl carefully. "What happened to me was horrible but I am okay, I am safe and happy with Heather now. But you don't get to use what happened to me to be mean to your friends. You don't get to use what happened to me to scare them off, or use it as an excuse to throw yourself into danger alone. Yes, it should make you more careful and yes it should mean you give them a fair warning. But ultimately? Ultimately, it's their choice and you don't get to make it for them. Understand?" Bill maintained eye contact with the Doctor awaiting a response.

"Bill, I-."

"Understand?"

"Yes." The Doctor sighed, squeezing her eyes tightly shut for a moment before meeting Bill's eyes again. "I'm sorry. Are you going to be okay?"

"I'm okay you stupid old man, I promise." Bill offered a small smile and that was all the Doctor needed to know she'd be alright, nodding and offering her own small smile. Then she glanced up to her current trio of companions who'd been watching the conversation with conflicting emotions.

"I'm sorry you three, I just wanted you to be safe." The Doctor offered the group.

"We know but we're a family Doctor. We chose to be there and we want you to stay safe as well. It's a two-way street. But thank you for the apology." Yaz spoke for the group. The matter was settled for the moment and the video was allowed to continue.

(Stomping approaching. The Lone Cyberman, Ashad, appears.)
DOCTOR: Yeah, me again. Here to stop you for good this time. It's just you and me.
(Two more Cybermen approach.)
CYBERGUARD: Strategic defences destroyed. Life signs identified.
DOCTOR: Or not.

"It never is." Rory sighed; the rest of the room nodded in commiseration. None of them were liking the danger the group was all in.

Bill was focused on something else though. "He's not fully converted." She muttered shocked. The Doctor glanced at her, realising where her train of thought was going.

"I'm sorry Bill, I know what he looks like but he is fully converted, there's no hope for him." The Doctor tried to explain, she didn't know how to tell her the rest – that'd he'd chosen this, they'd just have to watch.

CYBERGUARD: All humans will be deleted.
DOCTOR: Rethink. Keep the others safe. Act as bait. See ya!
(She runs.)

"I'm not sure if I should be glad or not to see your plans haven't evolved since we saw you last." Amy debated; it drew some chuckles out of the group but the atmosphere was still tense.

GRAHAM: Go, go, go!
(Ashad spots them.)
CYBERGUARD: Three targets acquired. Delete.
(Ryan gets cut off from Graham and Yasmin.)
RYAN: Keep going!

The rest of the companions turned worriedly towards the trio as if checking they were actually there and safe. The current companions shared a glance, happy to see the others cared but nervous about what they were going to see on screen. Graham and Yaz nudged Ryan, who was stuck between the two, as if to remind themselves he was safe – they'd all been scared when they had ended up separated.

(They run down a corridor.)
CYBERGUARD: Surrender, humans.
(And out to where the Gravraft is parked.)
YASMIN: Get out of here! There are Cybermen behind us!
RAVIO: We're not ready. I haven't got Feekat and Ethan.
GRAHAM: Listen to Yaz and get inside.
YASMIN: Graham, where's Ryan?
(The two Cyberguards are shooting at them.)
RAVIO: Get inside the Gravraft!
GRAHAM: No, no, we've got to find our friends.
(The Cyberdrones approach.)
RAVIO: Get inside if you want to stay alive!
GRAHAM: Ryan!
RAVIO: Get inside!

"Glad to see your worried Grandad." Ryan joked, nudging Graham.

"Course I am, Ryan. I'm just glad you found the Doctor again." Graham said, ignoring the joking tone of Ryan's initial comment. He'd been too worried at the time to really appreciate it.

[Gravraft]

RAVIO: Go! Expedite takeoff now!
BESCOT: What are you doing? We can't take this lot.
YEDLARMI: Fuskle's dead because their stuff didn't work.

"Hey! It's not their fault the tech didn't work. At least they tried something." Martha protested, arguing with the people on screen.

"Martha, love. They can't hear you." Mickey squeezed his wife's hand in comfort. Martha just shot him a look that made him raise his hands in mock surrender.

BESCOT: Yedlarmi, I'm sorry.
RAVIO: Their weapons are going to destroy the outer shell. We need to go now!
BESCOT: Not without the others.
YEDLARMI: The others are dead. We all know it's true. If they haven't got here by now, that thing must've got 'em.
GRAHAM: Look, we've only come in here for shelter, and our friends are still out there.
RAVIO: Sit down!
GRAHAM: Our friends are still outside!
YASMIN: Look, you need to let us out!
RAVIO: It's too late.

"Just great, you've been separated with no way of contacting each other and half of you are still in danger. Just brilliant." Donna announced shaking her head. That was just typical wasn't it?

[Settlement]

(The Gravraft takes off under fire. The Doctor watches it wobble away. Ryan takes cover.)
DOCTOR: Shh! What are you still doing here? I told you to get out.
RYAN: We got separated. Hey, what's that?

"At least the two of you are together." Clara said, trying to find the silver lining in the massive dark cloud of trouble they were in.

DOCTOR: Final fallback option to get us out alive.
(She sonicks what looks like a cylindrical hand grenade. Ashad is prowling a building.)
ETHAN: What's it doing?
FEEKAT: Shh!
ASHAD: I know you're here. Surrender.
FEEKAT: Hey. Stay here. Ethan, no!
(Ethan comes out of hiding.)
ETHAN: I'm here. It's just me. No one else. I surrender. You can take me.

"Very brave." Jack shook his head, concern for the group causing his brow to crinkle. "Brave but stupid. He'll be able to tell he's lying." He glanced at the Doctor as if hoping to hear that he was wrong but the Doctor refused to meet his eyes, focussing on the screen.

ASHAD: You show courage. But you're a liar.
(Ashad shoots at Feekat's hiding place and he tumbles out.)

The room looked down again, another person dead with someone else in danger. Things weren't looking great.

ASHAD: So few of you now. Should I let you live? You could tell the tale, speak of their deaths, of my power, to every other species. Spread my message. Tell them, be afraid. All humanity have been erased. All life will fall, and the Cybermen will rise again.
DOCTOR: Not if I have anything to do with it. Run!
(She throws her grenade at Ashad's feet.)
DOCTOR: Go!
(Running.)

The room let out a collective breath, glad to see the Doctor save Ethan. The group was still in some danger but they hadn't had to watch more people killed on screen and they were out of immediate danger for the second. Yaz and Graham were watching the screen eager to know what had happened when they hadn't been there – they'd shared stories but it was something else to see it.

RYAN: Doctor, we've got to find Yaz and Graham.
ETHAN: I saw them get on the Gravraft. They're gone.
RYAN: What?
DOCTOR: Concentrate, Ryan. We have to get out of here. We can't make it to the Tardis. No escape ship, a relentless Cyberman and very limited options. Well, one option. How fast are you feeling? Come on.

"And as usual it's time to run." Amy grinned. "If there's one good thing about adventures across time and space with you Doctor, it's the fitness routine."

"One good thing?! Not seeing time and space? The running. Typical." The Doctor complained, while the rest fo the companions laughed.

[Planet surface]

RYAN: Are we going to steal their ship?
DOCTOR: Yes, we are!

"Ooh, I like that plan Doctor." Jack grinned, nudging the Doctor slightly trying to get a response.

She rolled her eyes but grinned back, only a little bit shakily. "I figured I'd take a leaf out of your book for once."

River laughed. "Please, I think you've been stealing ships since before any of us were born."

The Doctor made a face of mock offense. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

River and Jack shared a glance, mischief clear on their faces before answering in sync. "The Tardis."

The Doctor grinned a bit more sheepishly at that and the rest of the room chuckled at the interaction, glad to see the group smiling.

[Cyberfighter]

DOCTOR: Hot-wiring a Cyberfighter. Oh, it's warp. Of course. Which makes it trickier, unless you're me, which I am, which is good, cos I used to hot-wire warp drives for fun on a weekend as a teenager. Not that we had weekends. Or teenagers. Basically, I used to do this a lot and people got mad. But now it's going to save our lives, so who was right all along and is now the real winner?

The room chuckled at how excited the Doctor was messing with the Cybership and not uncurious about the mention of her childhood that was so rare.

The Master raised his eyebrow at the Doctor from where he'd been sitting quietly in the corner, carefully watching the video waiting for what he knew was coming, eager to see the Doctor's companions' reactions to the truth. Her mention of childhood memories brought him out of his own thoughts and back to the present. "Everyone was always mad at you anyway; you were always finding trouble."

The Doctor met his eyes for the first time in a while, for once having a non-literal mental conversation. "You say that like you weren't next to me helping me find or make trouble." She argued, stuck somewhere between reminiscing and defensive – they both knew what was coming and neither were quite sure they were ready.

ETHAN: There's a faster way. Here. Let me.
RYAN: Hey, do you need help with that, kid?
ETHAN: Who are you calling kid?
(Engines come on.)
DOCTOR: This is going to make him cross. Here we go. Hold on. Hate these controls.

"Like you actually care about making him cross. You're probably hoping for it." Rose said, the Doctor just shrugged grinning slightly.

[Planet surface]

CYBERGUARD: Cyber shuttle theft in progress, leader. Human life signs aboard.
(The Cyberfighter flies off.)

[Farmhouse]

(Meg goes to smooth down a bit of grown-up Brendan's hair.)
BRENDAN: Mum!
MEG: Sorry. Very smart.
PATRICK: Ready then, son?

"And we're back to Ireland." Bill sighed, the room was a bit on edge with worry over the group being split up and in danger with the Cybermen and now they were back seeing Ireland with no idea why it was relevant.

[Garda]

SERGEANT: It's a good form. You've done a good job on this. Very neat handwriting. And why do you want to be a guard, Brendan?
PATRICK: He wants to serve.

That caused the Doctor to flinch. She still wasn't quite sure how the memories lined up, so many were still missing (more were missing than she had probably), but she knew at one point she had worked for the mysterious 'Division' and she still had no idea what they did.

SERGEANT: Best leave the lad speak for himself, eh, Pat?
PATRICK: Right.
BRENDAN: I want to make a difference.
SERGEANT: I was with him the day he found you. Look at you now.

"Is it just me or have they not really aged much. Brendan's the only one that seems to be older." Clara pointed out; eyes wide as she watched the screen.

"Maybe its just because Brendan was a kid, makes the ageing more obvious?" Martha offered an explanation with a shrug; she hadn't really noticed it.

"No, I think Clara's right. Okay so something weird is going on in Ireland too. Great." Amy agreed.

[Gravraft]

GRAHAM: Yaz, where are we? What are we doing here? I think we're stuck with this lot. How are we going to get back to the Doc and Ryan?
YASMIN: Don't worry, we'll find them.
GRAHAM: Well, and how are we going to do that?
YASMIN: Me and you, together? No one else stands a chance.

"Good on you two. Stay strong and together." The Doctor nodded at the pair who grinned back, she wasn't trying to be condescending and they knew it.

YEDLARMI: Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. You're pushing it too hard.
RAVIO: Don't tell me how to work this thing.
YEDLARMI: Who's the one who salvaged this thing in the first place?
RAVIO: Yeah, and who patched it up?
YEDLARMI: You'll wreck it if you push it past half power. Seriously.
RAVIO: Look how low the life support has got. We won't get there with anything less than 90 percent.
YEDLARMI: We won't make it at all if you push it past 90.

"So, they seem to have a destination in mind which is good but it'd be nice not to crash for once." Martha said, looking to Yaz and Graham who shrugged but didn't answer her silent question. They couldn't say things hadn't ended in explosions.

YASMIN: Make it where?
BESCOT: To Ko Sharmus. And the Boundary. It's where we've been trying to get to. Our only point of safety.
YEDLARMI: Yeah, that's what we've been told.
BESCOT: You've got to believe, Yedlarmi.
YEDLARMI: Do we? And how's that working for us?
BESCOT: It's the best we've got.
GRAHAM: And what Boundary are you talking about?
RAVIO: Supposedly a way out of this galaxy. A gateway, a direct route out of here, into another random part of the universe. We get through there, the Cybermen can't follow. The Boundary patterns are never the same twice. It's our best hope of safe harbour.

"How does that work?!" Jack asked, forehead scrunched up as he mentally went through his knowledge of future tech to try and figure out how this gateway could exist. River seemed to be doing the same thing on her other side. The Doctor was stuck between the two trying her best not to look at the Master who was giving across the impression of smugness though their link.

(Bang, alarms.)
YEDLARMI: Energy parcelling's cratering. Didn't I say you were pushing it too hard?
RAVIO: It's fine.
YEDLARMI: What did I tell you?
RAVIO: It's fine!
BESCOT: Fourteen breaches in the shell lining.
YEDLARMI: Oxygen pressure's dropping.
BESCOT: Energy cells compromised. Contents getting critical.
(Bang!)

"That's not fine." Donna decided, her voice showing no room for negotiation, not that anyone in the room was likely to argue.

GRAHAM: Ah!
RAVIO: Okay, it's not fine.

"At least she admits it." Mickey shrugged, with a small worried smile.

YEDLARMI: The whole system's melting down.
RAVIO: It can't, not here.
BESCOT: It's going to blow. Get down!
(Explosion.)

The group whipped around to check on the pair that had been in the ship who were offering small reassuring smiles that they had survived. The Doctor watched the pair for several minutes, she didn't know what had happened to them when they were separated, they hadn't had time to share stories and the adventure hadn't ended well.

[Cyberfighter]

(At warp.)
RYAN: This is rough. It's making me feel sick.
DOCTOR: Cyber warp tech. Not designed for humans. Ooo! Have a humbug. It'll help. Added ginger.

"And why do you have ginger sweets in your pockets?!" River thundered, turning her whole body towards the Doctor next to her who shrunk slightly in her seat. It didn't help she could feel Jack's confused/angry glare from the other side of her and the Master's messy bundle of emotions across the room.

The rest of the room turned to the pair, a mix bag of confusion and worry. Most of them hadn't heard that tone from River and were confused over her anger about the sweets.

"River! Why are you shouting at her for having sweets? You know what she's like she usually has sweets in her pockets." Amy was the only one brave enough to ask her daughter the thought on most of their minds.

"Because, mother, they're ginger sweets." River gritted out, not taking her eyes off the Doctor. When silence met her announcement, she continued her explanation. "As I'm sure you'll remember the Doctor mentioned earlier that ginger was different for Time Lords. Ginger acts like alcohol for them. So, I would like an explanation for why you have something you know will get you 'drunk' so to say, on adventures when you need your full concentration?" The last part was directed towards a rather expressionless Doctor.

The Doctor couldn't hide her wince at the explosion of noise that met River's answers. They all wanted to know why and when and how and so many questions she didn't want to answer, but she'd promised to try and River wasn't going to let her get away with it.

She took a deep breath to steady herself, glancing up at her current companions first, they were the only ones that really deserved the answer – it was them that she could have put in danger with her stupid choices. "I just needed a break from everything sometimes. I didn't ever have any when we were in actual trouble but sometimes when you were all at home or asleep, I'd just have some time to myself and I couldn't help it. It helped me deal with the memories and Galif-… I'm sorry, I know it was dangerous but I never did it when I was with you, I swear." Her pleading answer was aimed to the trio watching her with eager eyes, apprehension clear on their faces.

"God Doc. It's not that we're worried about. Well, a little bit. But the fact that you were essentially drinking away your worries and memories is." Graham choked out, looking a bit pale with the revelation.

"I'm sorry." She answered for lack of anything else to say. She let out a small squeak when River grabbed her, she'd been so focused on her fam she'd been ignoring her wife. River pulled her against her side, so that she was tucked into her side and curled an arm around the Doctor, trapping her in a sort of hug. "River!"

"You shouldn't have those sweets but I can't and don't want to control you. Just let me hold you. I think we both need the comfort." River explained, holding her wife close to her. She felt the moment the Doctor agreed, as she practically sunk into her side, energy leaving her.

ETHAN: I've programmed in a destination of Ko Sharmus. That's where the others will be heading. Now, if this is warp drive, we'll get there before them. I've been scanning, but I can't see them. Maybe we're already ahead. What?

"You're heading to the same place, that's good." Bill muttered; the room was still a bit too tense to really appreciate it though.

DOCTOR: You're good at this.
ETHAN: First thing my dad taught me. How to hijack cyber ships, how to take 'em apart, how to burn 'em to the ground. I was four.
DOCTOR: Born in wartime.
RYAN: So this is all you've ever known.
ETHAN: The war made us pariahs, because of what was always coming for us. The last Cybermen, intent on destroying the last humans.

If the mood in the room wasn't already tense it would have been now. They'd gotten so focussed on the Doctor they'd forgotten the horrible fact of humanity almost being wiped out in a war against the Cybermen.

(A hologram appears.)
DOCTOR: Ah! Here he is, the bad penny. We were just talking about you.
ASHAD [hologram]: We know where you are. We will find you.
DOCTOR: Yeah, yeah. Have you not asked that great slab of Cyber AI you absorbed about me? I'm the Doctor. Consult the Cyberium, mate. I've stopped you lot so many times before, and I'll do it again, time after time after time.

"Cyberium?" Clara asked, raising an eye at the Doctor in a way reminiscent of her school teacher days.

"It's what Ashad wanted when we found us in 1816. What Jack warned us not to let the Lone Cyberman get. He got it. It being a kind of AI with all the knowledge of the Cybermen, it's incredibly dangerous in his hands, well his mind." The Doctor explained, frown fixed on her face.

ASHAD [hologram]: No. The Cyberium does know you. Both you and humanity will be destroyed, and I shall bring the Cyber race to its greatest ever glory.
DOCTOR: Quite a grudge you've got against humanity, especially considering you used to be one.
ASHAD [hologram]: When the glorious Cyber Empire arrived, I was a willing recruit. But as I took my rightful place, as I began my blessed ascension, I was denied. At first I cursed myself, hid in the shadows, ashamed. But now I understand I was not discarded. I was chosen to revive the glory of the Cyber race.

"He chose to be converted?!" Rose and Bill exclaimed at the same time; expressions clearly horrified. The Doctor grimaced but nodded.

"There's something wrong with him even before becoming a Cyberman then." Bill continued, mixed between disbelief and horror. That wiped away any worries she had about a partial conversion.

DOCTOR: There's no glory being a Cyberman. And there's definitely no glory in you. I mean, talk about an identity crisis. You despise who you are. That anger and hatred that's driving you, those are human emotions. The real Cybermen, they don't do emotions, so you loathe your own being because of what's driving you. Now that's what I call an inner conflict.
ASHAD [hologram]: Yes. You are correct.
DOCTOR: Oh. Am I? I didn't expect you to take it that well. I'll have to bill you for therapy at this rate.

"Seriously Doctor?" She just shrugged; she really hadn't expected him to admit she was correct.

ASHAD [hologram]: The Cyberium has given me understanding. It has distilled my purpose. I am the perfect vessel. Everything is in me for the ascension of the Cybermen, and beyond.
DOCTOR: What do you mean, beyond? What's beyond that?
ASHAD [hologram]: All your deaths. The death of everything is within me.

"And that is a truly worrying statement." Amy announced with a grimace. The 'death of everything' was never a good thing. She didn't miss the glance the current companions and the Doctor shared which only increased her worry. Nothing good was coming.

[Cliff]

BRENDAN: Stop there, thief! Come on, then. Give me the bag. Everybody gets their stuff back.

"Ireland again! And another time jump." Bill declared, slightly redundantly at this point but she'd started and was going to continue announcing the jump between stories.

(The thief pulls out a revolver.)

"That took a turn suddenly." Yaz blinked, chewing her lip slightly in worry. She had the advantage of knowing most of what happened with the Cybermen at least but she had no clue about Ireland and that made her more nervous. She also couldn't help with emphasise with young Brendan - she knew the dangers of work as a policewoman.

BRENDAN: You don't need to do that.
MICHAEL: Move round now.
BRENDAN: All right, all right.
(Now Brendan is on the cliff edge.)
BRENDAN: Look, I know you don't want to use that.
(Gunshot. Brendan falls backwards. Thud. The Sergeant runs along the shingle beach.)

The room watched the screen a mixture of shock and horror clear on their faces. They really hadn't been expecting that turn of events. The Doctor risked a glance at the Master who met her eyes but kept his expression and emotions guarded – they both knew exactly what had happened. They were getting tantalisingly close to the truth and the Doctor wasn't sure how she could deal with the emotional mess that was inevitable. She was already wishing she still had those ginger sweets even if no one would approve.

SERGEANT: Brendan! Brendan.
(Brendan gasps and sits up.)
BRENDAN: I... I'm fine. I'm fine! Which way did he go? Come on.
(And runs off.)

"The hell?" Bill let out then blushed a bit at the volume she'd shouted it. The sentiment seemed to echo through the room though, all shocked by what they'd just seen.

"But he was dead! He was shot and even if he survived that, he fell off a cliff! How?!" Rose asked the room at large despite none of them having answers outside the Doctor and Master.

The Doctor just sighed, which she thought to herself she seemed to be doing a lot lately, but gave a vague answer to try and appease the room at least for now. "I promise it will be explained soon, just watch please." She was so distracted by the rest of the room she missed the looks River and Jack exchanged over her head, they both had a theory forming and they weren't liking it at all.

[Garda]

(Being checked out by a doctor.)
BRENDAN: I was lucky.
(Patrick and the Sergeant look at each other.)

"They know something. They absolutely know something." Bill pointed out, everything was making less and less sense.

[Farmhouse]

(Newspaper headline - Miracle fall officer receives commendation.)
MEG: It's a lovely picture. You look very dashing.
BRENDAN: Ma, put it away.

[Gravraft]

GRAHAM: We're still alive!

"Back to trouble in space then. Glad you're still alive." Mickey offered the current companions a smile. The whole room was glad to see them well on screen even though they knew they had survived as they were in the room with them.

YEDLARMI: Give it time.

"Well, he's a bundle of fun." Nardole muttered.

GRAHAM: I wish you was a bit more glass half-full, sunshine.
RAVIO: He's right, though. If anyone's got any heartfelt end-of-life speeches, now is probably the moment.
GRAHAM: Er...
YASMIN: Well er...
RAVIO: Oh, God, you're not actually going to do that, are you?
YASMIN: There must be something we can do. Why is all this shut down?
RAVIO: We've got to conserve what little power we've got left.
(Thud on the hull.)

"That doesn't sound good." Rory sighed, closing his eyes tightly for a second as if would make the danger disappear.

BESCOT: What was that?
RAVIO: I don't know.
GRAHAM: Any idea where we are?
YEDLARMI: Middle of space, dying slowly.
GRAHAM: Yes, thank you, Eeyore, I got that much.

That comment earned a few chuckles from the room, glad for the break from the tense atmosphere that kept creeping in to suffocate them.

BESCOT: Oi, you. How many times have we had to get out of trouble together?
YEDLARMI: There's only three of us now. We're just the scraps.
BESCOT: Yeah, but we're still not going to go down without a fight.
YASMIN: What are those noises?
RAVIO: We were passing through the old battlegrounds when everything failed. Who knows what's out there.
YASMIN: I'm going to take a look.
YEDLARMI: Oi, careful, will you?
(Yasmin climbs up to a viewport.)
GRAHAM: What's out there? Can you see what's making the noises?
YASMIN: Yeah, I can.
GRAHAM: And?
YASMIN: Bits of dead Cybermen, floating in space.

"That's not good. Let's hope they really are dead." Clara declared, shooting the pair a nervous look every so often.

RAVIO: Must be one of the last battle sites.
GRAHAM: They're definitely dead though, right?
RAVIO: Look, we're turning.

"A ship. That's good right?" Rose asked hopefully. The look that Graham and Yaz shared didn't reassure her.

BESCOT: What else can you see?
YASMIN: Dormant ships. Loads of 'em. That's hope right there. Right, Graham?
GRAHAM: Yaz, jump down. Let's have a look. There you go, look. Now, that one at the front, there's an opening in it, like a... a docking bay. If we could just get in there, and get across there, you know what
RAVIO: We'd never reach it. We don't have the power.
GRAHAM: Well, what about life support?
YASMIN: Yeah. Channel the remaining energy off those systems.
GRAHAM: That's what you need, burst of acceleration.
BESCOT: It might work.

"Look at you two with the brilliant ideas! Ten points." The Doctor grinned proud of the pair while the three current companions bemoaned the reappearance of the point system.

RAVIO: We could vent the air pressure. It could spin us enough.
YEDLARMI: We'll lose all the oxygen. We'll be dead.
GRAHAM: We're dead anyway! At least let's have a go, eh?
BESCOT: Okay.
YEDLARMI: So, we channel every last bit of life support towards propulsion. Everything off. Shut everything down. Any system that's still got even the tiniest hint of power has got to go. We must be mad.
YASMIN: Not mad. Hopeful.

"Half the time I think they're the same thing." Donna grumbled. The Doctor grinned madly, that explained a lot about her then.

RAVIO: Okay.
GRAHAM: Don't panic. And don't take any deep breaths, cos they ain't gonna come.
YASMIN: We've been stranded in space before.

The trio and the Doctor shared a look remembering their first proper adventure as a group when they'd ended up stuck in space while trying to find the Tardis. It seemed like so long ago now. They'd come so far and seen so many things since then.

GRAHAM: Yeah.
RAVIO: Here we go.
GRAHAM: Yeah.
(Ravio gives the nod and appropriate levers are pulled. The Gravraft tumbles towards the Cybercruiser and slots neatly through into the docking bay.)
GRAHAM: We landed.
RAVIO: I think we did.
(They laugh.)

A cheer broke out across the room, happy for some good news at last.

[Cybercarrier]

YEDLARMI: Look at the size of this place.
RAVIO: We must've come in through the docking bay entrance.
YASMIN: Well, good job they left the doors open.
YEDLARMI: We triggered automation sensors as we came in. Set everything going again. You two are lucky.
GRAHAM: We're not lucky, sunshine, we're persistent. We never give up. Luckily for you.
YASMIN: Let's have a look around.
GRAHAM: Right.
(A Cyberfighter drops out of warp nearby.)

"Out of trouble in one way and straight into trouble in another way." Martha shook her head. "Typical."

[Cyberfighter]

CYBERGUARD 1: Exiting warp, leader. The trail of the human craft ends here.
CYBERGUARD 2: Human life signs registering on carrier ship.
ASHAD: Yes. The Cyberium sees all. Their destiny and ours, intertwined. The site of our greatest defeat, and soon a shrine for our rebirth.

The room glanced at the pair worried, they were practically trapped on the giant ship with Cybermen coming after them, things weren't looking good and they still didn't know where Ryan and the Doctor were.

[Planet]

DOCTOR [OC]: Shuttle calling Ko Sharmus. Anyone hear me? Anyone there on Ko Sharmus, talk to me. Please? What I'd give for a friendly voice right now.
(An older man comes out of a tent.)
DOCTOR [OC]: Go on, please? Shuttle calling Ko Sharmus.
KO SHARMUS: Ko Sharmus responding.

"At least you two have found the right place. Grham and Yaz just need to find a way there to meet you." Rory said, glancing between the trio and the Doctor.

[Cyberfighter]

KO SHARMUS [OC]: Hello? Hello?
ETHAN: We've made it!
DOCTOR: This is the Doctor. Who's that?

[Planet]

KO SHARMUS: I've told you. This is Ko Sharmus.
DOCTOR [OC]: Ko Sharmus? You're a person, not a planet?

The room turned to look at the Doctor. "Did you really think Ko Sharmus was a planet?" Amy asked, disbelief clear in her voice as was a tone of fondness.

The Doctor shrugged. "You never know, wouldn't be the first time I met a sentient planet." That drew her some more looks but she didn't offer any more information and the video continued playing.

KO SHARMUS: Who are you? What do you want?

[Cyberfighter]

ETHAN: We're human. We've come to cross the Boundary.

[Planet]

KO SHARMUS: No, I don't think so.

"What do you mean 'no'?" Donna protested for the sake of the people on screen, the rest of the room seemed equally annoyed and disbelieving.

[Cyberfighter]

DOCTOR: What do you mean?

[Planet]

KO SHARMUS: There are no more humans.

"Well, he's in for a shock." Rose grinned.

[Cyberfighter]

DOCTOR: Well, we've got news for you. First things first, we're on a stolen Cybership, but we're not Cybermen, we're friendly, and there's more on the way.

[Planet]

DOCTOR [OC]: Very much looking forward to meeting you.

[Cyberfighter]

DOCTOR: Now forgive me, I need to jump off. I have to land this thing properly.

"I don't think you're capable of flying anything properly, Doc." Graham teased, happy to see the pair semi-safe. The Doctor just pouted while the others laughed.

[Planet]

DOCTOR [OC]: I'll just park this thing over the bridge.
(Ko Sharmus watches them fly overhead.)

[Cybercarrier]

(Same designer as for the Borg Cubes...)
RAVIO: It's so cold in here.
GRAHAM: Ah, see? That is cos you're alive and breathing, cos of us.
RAVIO: Are you going to keep going on about that?
GRAHAM: Yes, every hour on the hour. What are you laughing at?
YASMIN: You.
GRAHAM: What about me?
YASMIN: You've come a long way, Graham O'Brien.
GRAHAM: Thanks, Yaz.

The pair shared a grin, they really had come a long way since meeting the Doctor. Watching the videos just made the difference all the clearer. To think that he'd wanted to run away the first time he had heard the word 'aliens' and now he was coming up with plans to save the last of humanity in the middle of space in the far future.

YEDLARMI: I raided one of these carriers once. Nearly got fried to death. Good times. CyberControl should be just down here.
YASMIN: Wait. Is this a Cybership?
BESCOT: War carrier. We get this working, it can get us to Ko Sharmus. Maybe even find your friends.
GRAHAM: War carrier? Are you thinking what I'm thinking?
YASMIN: What was it carrying?

"Why is there always bad news with the good news?" Mickey complained.

Jack however seemed to have suddenly had an idea. "If it's a carrier and you being there is waking up all the systems then -." He trailed off, worry clear in his face. The grim expressions on Yaz and Graham's faces told him everything he needed to know. His words had clearly got the rest of the room thinking as they looked even more worried than they were before.

[CyberControl]

YEDLARMI: This is the control deck, all right. Systems still intact. Full power banks. This'll get us to Ko Sharmus. We could even use it to cross the Boundary.
BESCOT: Use it as a settlement ship till we find the best habitable planet.
YEDLARMI: Yeah, that could work.
GRAHAM: Oh, careful, son. You sounded slightly positive there for a sec.

"Really Grandad?" Ryan shook his head at Graham's antics.

"What?" Graham protested confused.

RAVIO: I'm going to take a look around the rest of the carrier, see what else is here.
GRAHAM: I'll come with you. It'll be safer with two.
BESCOT: Go careful.
GRAHAM: I was born careful.
YASMIN: That's actually true.

Graham shot Yaz a look while both her and Ryan started chuckling. The rest of the room started as well after a few minutes, glad to see the group in a good enough mood to make jokes despite the clear danger.

YEDLARMI: It's going to take a while to reboot. Have to go one section at a time.

[Cybercarrier]

(The lights come on as they open the bulkhead door.)
GRAHAM: Level 139. It's always been my favourite level.
RAVIO: It's as good as any.
GRAHAM: At least he's got the power back on, though, eh?
(They stagger.)
GRAHAM: Ah!
RAVIO: They must have got us moving.

"That or you're being boarded. Personally, I'm voting for your idea." Jack said, glancing at Yaz and Graham who didn't answer either way.

GRAHAM: Yeah.
RAVIO: You know, I'm starting to think we're in with a good chance of surviving today.
GRAHAM: Oh, not just today. You've still got a lot of life ahead of you.
RAVIO: Yeah, well, I hope you're right.
(They come to another bulkhead door with a glowing blue disc.)
GRAHAM: How do you reckon we get in?
(The doors creak open.)
GRAHAM: Right. Let's have a butcher's. Butcher's hook? Look? It's cockney rhyming slang. No, don't worry about it.
RAVIO: You are really strange.
GRAHAM: Excuse me, I'm the most normal bloke you're ever going to meet.
RAVIO: No, strange is a compliment. I like strange.

"Are you flirting? Ew, Graham." Ryan complained, looking a bit ill at seeing Graham flirting with someone. Yaz just started laughing at his expression and Graham's confuddled one.

GRAHAM: Oh? Oh, well...
(The lights don't come on but the doors close behind them.)
GRAHAM: What do you reckon these are, then?
(He kicks a pod and it powers up.)
GRAHAM: Oop. Hello.
(Ravio touches the blue disc on the pod and it opens to reveal its obvious contents.)
RAVIO: This was a troop carrier, bringing soldiers to the front. Fresh Cybermen ready to fight. Warrior class.

"Oh no."

(Lights start to come on.)
GRAHAM: There's got to be over a thousand Cybermen in here.
RAVIO: I counted ten doors on each level.
GRAHAM: Well, how many levels on this ship?
RAVIO: Several hundred.
GRAHAM: And we're in the middle of stealing it.

"Because things couldn't get much worse." Clara sighed. The companions' faces showed their concern for the pair. They had nowhere to hide from the Cybermen waking up on the ship and they had other Cybermen already hunting them. Five humans against thousands (if not more) Cybermen really weren't good odds. Things really weren't looking great.

(Meanwhile, down in the docking bay...)
ASHAD: We are home. The Cyberium has called me to this task, and now its vision shall be fulfilled.
CYBERGUARDS: Hail the Cyberium.

[Planet]

DOCTOR: Afternoon! Or is it morning? Loving the coastline.

"Priorities Doctor!" Donna berated. The Doctor offered a sheepish grin but underneath the paper-thin grin she was worried about Yaz and Graham. She knew they were safe, she knew they came out unharmed but it was different to see everything, to see all the danger they were in, the danger she had put them in.

RO SHARMUS: Three of you. Not just one, but three of you. I don't believe it. There's me, having lost all hope.
DOCTOR: Consider us your hope restored. I'm the Doctor. This is Ryan and Ethan. Do you mind if I have a shufti around? How are your defences here? Come on.

"Technically it's only two humans with another five on the way hopefully but I don't think its time to get into all that." River said, squeezing the Doctor's arm. She still held the Doctor trapped against her, not that she minded that much – she was happy to be back in her wife's arms but she was slightly (extremely) concerned about escape routes for when everything was revealed.

[Shanty]

DOCTOR: Did this settlement start with you?
RO SHARMUS: Yes. Myself and handful of others fleeing the Cybercamps.
ETHAN: So you fought in the war?
RO SHARMUS: Yes. For a long time. Then I was captured and held in a human interment camp for processing. Sent for upgrade. I was one of the lucky ones who got away. We had heard tell of this place. We didn't really believe it, but we managed to get here. The war hadn't made it this far, so we built shelter and, over time, others came. The word spread.

"But where is everyone else?" Martha asked, inspecting the screen as if waiting of other humans to appear. Ko Sharmus' attitude and response to seeing them wasn't particularly promising.

ETHAN: So where's everyone else?
RO SHARMUS: There's only me. I helped everyone else through the Boundary. And then, because I'm an idiot, I felt like it was my duty to wait in case others came. But it's been a long time.
DOCTOR: You sacrificed your own life on the chance others were still out there.
RO SHARMUS: You make it sound more noble than it is.
ETHAN: So it's true? The Boundary, it's real?
RO SHARMUS: Of course it's real.
DOCTOR: Will you show us?

"Yes, please do. I want to see this magical boundary." Jack said mostly to himself. Leaning forward in his seat with a glance at the Doctor and River (who seemed to share the same sentiment), eager to see this so called 'boundary'.

[CyberControl]

(An alarm sounds.)
YASMIN: I think this is trying to tell us something.
YEDLARMI: Oh, no.
BESCOT: We've been boarded.

"Good, you know you're in trouble. Now you have a chance to hide or escape." Rose nodded. Half the time it seemed they had no warning and danger appeared before they could plan anything. Yaz and Graham at least had a chance to do something before they were completely trapped.

YASMIN: Open the comms channel.
YEDLARMI: Yeah, yeah, I'm doing it.
YASMIN: Graham, Ravio, head to the control deck. Cybermen just boarded.

[Cybercarrier]

YASMIN [OC]: Graham, Ravio, this is Yaz. Cybermen have boarded and are on your level. Get back here as quick as you can.
(They run to a bulkhead door.)
YASMIN [OC]: Yaz calling Graham and Ravio, can you hear me?
GRAHAM: Yes, thank you!

"Sorry Graham." Yaz offered Graham a small smile, she'd been worried when they hadn't answered the first time. Ryan was looking between the pair nervous; they really hadn't gotten into detail on how close they'd been.

(A door closes in front of them as Ashad and his escort come round the corner.)
ASHAD: Wait.
(The door opens and Ashad enters the Warrior storage area.)
ASHAD: Abandoned no longer. Ascension is near!

"Really not good."

[CyberControl]

YEDLARMI: No wonder they almost wiped us out. The systems on this ship are the most advanced I've ever seen. Have you seen the speed we're going at? It'll barely take us any time to get to Ko Sharmus.
GRAHAM: Yeah, bringing hundreds of thousands of dormant Cybermen with us.
RAVIO: We can't do that. We cannot take Cybermen to the Boundary.
YASMIN: What are our other options? Surrender this ship? Land on another planet and set the Cybermen loose there? We're going to keep all of you safe. We're going to find the Doctor and we're going to take them Cybermen down. Aren't we, Graham?
GRAHAM: Yes, we are, Yaz. Totally. Very much so.
YEDLARMI: That's some high-level self-delusion.
GRAHAM: None of us are giving up, eh? Not now. Glass half-full, right?

Graham and Yaz shared a glance, they didn't know what else to have done at the time and thankfully they seemed to have made the right choice. The rest of the room were watching the screen, concern obvious on their faces which was nice to see. Ryan was glancing between the two worried, it was different seeing the danger on screen, when it was actually happening - they didn't normally have much time to react to anything.

The Doctor grinned proud to see how much they'd all changed since she'd first met them, they'd grown in confidence and here they were helping others and surviving against all odds.

BESCOT: What do you think they're doing down there?
YEDLARMI: Let me activate the ob system.
GRAHAM: They've opened up those containers.

"Great just great." Nardole grumbled.

[Cybercarrier]

ASHAD: Awaken, my soldiers. The ascension shall begin.
(Ashad fires his laser on continuous into a Cyberman. His guards do the same. The Cybermen scream.)

[CyberControl]

RAVIO: We're carrying the Cyberman that makes other Cybermen scream.

"That is terrifying. What are they doing?!" Bill frowned at the screen; she really didn't like the Cybermen but whatever could make them scream like that was not good.

[Planet]

(On a stony shore.)
RYAN: So where's this Boundary? Cos that's just the sea.
RO SHARMUS: This is where it starts, every time. Where I've seen people go through, and I hope they're alive and well elsewhere.
DOCTOR: That's quite a risk everyone's taking. A leap into the unknown.
RO SHARMUS: It was preferable to the alternative. If you want to see it, step closer. It responds to proximity.

"So, he has no actual clue what it is or how it works, great." Amy rolled her eyes. "But you're going to go poke it anyway because that's just what you do." The Doctor just offered a shaky smile and shrug, they were getting so close to the truth and it was slowly eating away at her.

(The Doctor walks forward.)
RO SHARMUS: A bit further, and it will respond.
(The purple Vortex from the opening credits appears.)
RO SHARMUS: Here it comes.
DOCTOR: How is that possible?
RO SHARMUS: I don't know, but it's good, isn't it? It's the last way out of this galaxy.

"I think I'd want to understand what the glow-y thing was and If I would survive it before I ran through it." Rory argued, gaining a few nods of agreement and a few sheepish looks from those who would have absolutely just gone through said glow-y thing.

[Garda]

OFFICER: It's a sad day for us all here, but if any man can be said to have earned a peaceful retirement, it's our Brendan. On behalf of the local community, and everyone past and present who you've helped, we'd like to present you with this memento. May we all live up to the standards you've set us. Thank you, Brendan.
BRENDAN: Thank you, sir.

"Ireland again. You're definitely right Clara, Brendan's the only one ageing." Bill announced, watching the screen carefully.

"Something weird is going on there." Graham agreed.

"What gave it away Grandad, Brendan not dying after being shot or falling off a cliff?" Ryan snorted; sarcasm clear in his voice but also the undertone of concern. No one knew what was going on in Ireland but, just as with the Cybermen, it was nothing good.

(A carriage clock.)

[Outside the Garda]

(Old Brendan walks out in civilian clothes to meet his unaged father and Sergeant.)
SERGEANT: Hello, Brendan. Would you mind coming with us to the back office?

[Back office]

(They walk back through the Garda. Patrick puts the carriage clock down on a table, then they both handcuff Brendan to a chair and put headphone on him.)

"What are they doing?!" Rose asked apprehensive. It seemed clear to the room that whatever was going on – the Sergeant and Patrick knew, Brendan was at the centre of it all and it wasn't anything good.

PATRICK: We have to get rid of everything, I'm afraid.
SERGEANT: Thank you for your service. We're sorry you won't remember it.
(The Sergeant turns on the machine and Brendan writhes and screams.)

Martha gasped, hand racing up to her mouth as she connected some strings. River and Jack also seemed to have finally figured something out glancing worriedly at the Doctor who hid her face in River's side. The clock had definitely helped connect a few ideas, whatever was going on with Brendan it was directly linked to Gallifrey and this secret, their theories were worrying them and they just wanted confirmation they were wrong at this point.

The rest of the room was oblivious to this exchange, simply watching the screen in horror. The Master schooled his face deceptively blank – he didn't want the Doctor to know how he had reacted the first time he had seen the truth and that was all he could think about watching the screen, knowing who it was in that chair screaming.

{CyberControl]

(Ravio is flying the carrier.)
YEDLARMI: We're coming out of Vortex. We're not far away.
YASMIN: Close enough to send a signal, warn 'em we're coming.
BESCOT: I can help you do that.
GRAHAM: Guys, they're all waking up down there.
(All the pod doors open and the warriors step out. They salute the Lone Cyberman.)
ASHAD [on screen]: We know you're here. My warriors are coming for you.

The room watched the screen but were still too shocked to actually say anything. The danger was obvious but they were here safe and everyone's emotions were all over the place to really register much for the moment. Brendan's screams still haunted them.

YASMIN: Yaz looking for the Doctor, all frequencies. Yaz looking for the Doctor.

[Planet]

DOCTOR: Yaz, we can hear you. Can you hear me?
YASMIN [OC]: Doctor!
DOCTOR: Where are you?
YASMIN [OC]: We're on a Cyber battle cruiser with that Cyber guy and a lot of Cyber troops that are waking up.

"Good you've got contact." Mickey nodded, squeezing his wife's hand. He was worried about how she'd reacted to Breandan and he hadn't missed how she kept glancing between the screen and the Doctor, worry clear across her face – she'd worked something out that he was missing.

[CyberControl]

GRAHAM: They're coming!
(He closes the bulkhead door.)

"That won't hold them for long." Jack muttered worried.

"It's better than nothing." Graham argued back, not really that bothered by the comment he knew Kack was just worried. They all were.

GRAHAM: They're right outside the door!

[Planet]

DOCTOR: Yaz, get off that ship now.

[CyberControl]

YASMIN: We can't! We're trapped and they're about to break in.

[Planet]

DOCTOR: Yaz. Yaz!
(Something happens in the Boundary.)

"Bad timing." Rory muttered, watching the screen anxiously, everything seemed to suddenly be happening at once.

ETHAN: What is that?
DOCTOR: That's not possible.
RO SHARMUS: I've never seen it look like that before.
DOCTOR: That's my home planet. That's Gallifrey.

"How? Why? That's honestly one of the worst things that could happen right now." Clara said, shooting the Doctor worried looks. She really didn't need the reminder of what had happened with her home when her friends were in such serious danger. The rest of the room seemed mixed between shocked at the appearance of Gallifrey and worried for how the Doctor would handle it and scared for the danger they were all in.

Yaz and Graham shared a glance that definitely explained a few things, they hadn't gotten much of an explanation regarding the planet and boundary the first time. Then they glanced at Ryan and all three seemed to have the same thought – they would finally find out what had happened through the boundary and hopefully what had happened to the Doctor that led to them all being brought here.

The Doctor just glared at the screen, ignoring the Master pushing at their bond and River squeezing her arm in an attempt of comfort. Things weren't ending they were only just starting.

(The Cybermen push the door open.)
DOCTOR: How is Gallifrey here?
(Then a figure jumps in.)
MASTER: Wow! Oh! Ah! That's a good entrance, right? Be afraid, Doctor. Because everything is about to change... forever.

"I was wrong." Clara declared in the ensuing silence that suffocated the room. "He's officially the worst thing that could happen right now." She glared at the Master who preened in his seat, smugness radiating off him – oh, he was so excited to see their reactions and the Doctor dealing with those reactions. He wanted to see their interaction again, he wanted her attention all for himself.

The Doctor just managed to grab Jack's arm before he lunged to his feet to try and punch the Master. She glared him down when he whirled around to try and escape her grasp. He must have found something in her expression as he reluctantly settled back down on the sofa, poised on the edge ready for action. Instead, he glared at the Master who smirked back seemingly unaffected. "What have you done? Because destroying Gallifrey wasn't enough. What have you done to her?" He practically spat out, the Doctor kept a light grip on his arm to prevent him changing his mind and taking a leap at the Master. She was just glad that River had her other hand otherwise she thought River might have also had a go at the Master.

"Do. What did I do to her? For once you'll be glad to know I did nothing Freak. Gallifrey did everything I simply showed her the truth." The Master practically purred, his eyes focussed on the Doctor rather than Jack, he wasn't sure what he wanted to see in her expression but he didn't get it, the Doctor was too busy looking round the room to focus on him. That thought turned sour in the pit of his stomach – of course even now he still didn't have her attention.

"What does that even mean?" River argued reaching the limits with her frustration, glaring fiercely at the Master, annoyed that his focus was till on the Doctor and no one else.

The Master laughed, a laugh edging on hysteria and madness. "Yes Doctor. Why don't you tell your little pets what they did to you? Why don't you tell them the truth about the Timeless Child?" That got her attention. The Doctor met his eyes, hazel eyes meeting hazel eyes both a swirl of madness, grief, fury and indescribable sadness. She couldn't even begin to untangle the mess of emotions that she was getting through their bond, maybe he had been more affected by what he had learnt than she first thought.

"-tor… Doctor?!" The Doctor's attention snapped away from the Master and back to Jack who had clearly been calling her name for a while based on how worried he looked.

"Sorry. What is it Jack?" She mumbled out, thoughts still focused on the Master and Timeless Child.

That did nothing to alleviate Jack's worry. "What did he mean Doctor? We've all had enough of the secrets. Please." He was practically begging at the end which was unusual for him. She spared a glance around the room taking in all the anxious, concerned and frustrated looks. Martha in particular looked like she was holding back tears – had she figured something out? If any of her companions, outside of Jack and River, were likely to piece it together it would be her or Clara. Martha had seen the Chameleon Arch after all and what had happened in the Ireland part with Brendan was probably close enough to worry her.

She forced her focus away from that mystery and back to Jack who looked like he was about to start calling her name again. She took a deep breath to try and calm the jittery feeling slowly taking her over, it didn't work but she pushed forward anyway, they were waiting on answers. Answers she wasn't prepared to give. She glanced between Jack and River before leaving her eyes on the blank screen. "You're about to find out. Let's continue."