A/N: Hey everyone, I know it has been a while since I posted an update, I apologise for that. Real live got in the way once again. Family illness, I've been down with Covid again as well, the cat ended up needing emergency treatment. It all happens at once, doesn't it? Anyway, I've had some fun writing this little story line and I am working on the next few chapters, we have an episode coming that I have a lot of ideas with, but know I can only go in one direction. I hope that you enjoy this chapter!

Kari was doing her very best to hide the nerves that were filling her. Her little plan had fallen apart the moment she had stepped outside the TARDIS and now she was following a Dalek. She was actually surrounded by them, there was no escaping. At least she knew that the Doctor was safe, even if he was in the blue box shouting at Jack, trying to find a way out. If she survived this, she was going to be in some seriously big trouble with the Time Lord.

"So, wipe out any life forms recently?" Kari asked, trying to fill the silence. "Destroy any nice planets?" It was also a way for her to try and distract herself. In her head she had been mapping the way they had come, making sure she knew her way back to the TARDIS, but she realised she didn't need to do that. The TARDIS would make sure that she found her way back.

Instead of answering her, they just continued to move through the Dalek ship that they were on. It really didn't make Kari feel any better. All she could hear was the sound of the Daleks moving and her own hearts beating. She didn't like it, not one little bit. The moment she stepped outside of the TARDIS she had blocked her mind off, keeping the Doctor out, just like he was keeping her out. He really didn't need the worry of knowing her plan had gone wrong.

Eventually they came to a stop, they seemed to be in some kind of control room and every single Dalek in there stopped and turned to face her. With so many eyestalks on her, Kari really did feel uneasy. All that confidence that she had started with was completely gone and the fear was beginning to fill within her

"MOVE." One of the Daleks screeched, nudging her back with its plunger.

"Yes, okay. No need to push." Kari responded, moving closer towards what she could only assume was the main control unit for the ship. "Is anyone going to explain exactly what you need me to do and how I'm going to do it?" She asked.

Only once she was standing in front of the unit did one of them bother to speak to her. "YOU WILL TOUCH THE POWER CORE DIRECTLY. THIS WILL TRANSFER THE ENERGY REQUIRED FOR THE DALEKS."

Kari did not like the sound of that, plus she also couldn't shake the feeling that there was something else going on with the Daleks, something they were not telling her. "You know what, I don't really like that idea. Any other suggestions?"

"TOUCH IS WHAT IS REQUIRED."

A small sigh escaped her lips. "Okay, I touch it, then what?" She needed to know, it wasn't like she did this regularly, she didn't know what to do or what to expect. There was silence from them, not a single one answering her. Even when she looked at them now they turned their heads away. "You are the ones that need my help, remember? Tell me, or I am out of here."

The one closest to her shifted a little, before responding. "THE POWER CORE WILL ABSORB THE ENERGY FROM YOU."

There was still something not right, something bothering both her and the Daleks. "How much energy?" Kari asked cautiously, a feeling of dread washing over her.

"ALL OF IT." The Dalek replied. "THE POWER CORE WILL DRAIN YOU OF ALL ENERGY."

"So basically it will kill me?" Now Kari understood why they were all a bit reluctant to tell her anything. "You do know that by killing me you are making the biggest mistake of your existence."

"EXPLAIN"

Kari couldn't wait to explain this to them, she wanted to see them shudder in fear. "Well, you kill me and then there is nothing in the whole of time and space that will stop the Doctor from coming after you and wiping every single Dalek from the universe. This one and the next. He will hunt you down. He will kill you." A few of them did roll back in fear. "The Doctor, the Oncoming Storm, the Predator. Without me, there is no one to stop him. I can send you back into the Time War, but that is not going to stop him, because he will know exactly where you are." There was now a slightly smug grin on Kari's face. She had done it, she had scared the Daleks.

Suddenly the screen in front of her sprang to life and a familiar face appeared on it. "She's right. There is nothing that would stop me." The Doctor called. Kari couldn't help but notice the wild and angry look in his eyes. She knew that some of that was directed at her, because of what she had done. But Kari expected it, she knew he was going to be furious with her. "Do not think for a second that you will be getting out of this alive."

Kari had to admit that she was glad to see him, even though she knew that he was absolutely enraged with her for what she had done and was currently doing. It wasn't just the hard, stone cold look that was on his face, she could see the fire in his eyes and could just feel the anger radiating off him. "Told you." She ended up saying smugly, trying not to just fall apart there and then.

"You, be quiet. We are having words when you get home, do you hear me? What do you think you are doing?" The Doctor half yelled at her. "As if things weren't bad enough already, you decide that you are going to go off on your own to face the Daleks."

It was pretty obvious that he was angry with her, but he was trying so hard to contain it. "Doctor, I'm sorry." Kari told him, hoping that he would listen to her. "I had a plan."

All the Doctor could do was look at her through the screen. "And how is that plan working out for you?"

"Um, yeah, not so good at the moment." Kari admitted, definitely feeling a little ashamed but not ready to admit it just yet. "But hey, Daleks. There are worse ways to go, I suppose. Like being sucked into a black hole maybe." Now her eyes were begging and pleading with him, she needed him to understand, she needed him to know that it was all going to be okay, that it was fine. "Nothing escapes a black hole."

"Kari, now is not the time." Clearly he had not understood her at all. "Let Kari go. Or I will destroy every single one of you."

"NO." The Dalek beside Kari said. "SHE WILL SEND US BACK INTO THE TIME WAR. THE DALEKS WILL WIN THE WAR. WE SHALL REIGN SUPREME. ALL HAIL THE DALEKS."

Suddenly all the Daleks began chanting, all screeching out 'all hail the Daleks.' It was actually a little unsettling and Kari did not like it at all. "I'll send you somewhere in a minute, right into a black hole." She muttered, noticing Jack now standing just behind the Doctor. "Black holes are great, aren't they Jack? How about we send this lot into a black hole instead of back to the Time War?" Her big brother looked at her with some confusion at first before his eyes suddenly went wide. "I love a black hole. Nothing beats a black hole. They literally suck the life out of everything. Nothing can survive it."

The look on the Doctor's face said that he was still very frustrated. "Will you stop talking about black holes!" He ended up shouting. "You are in the middle of a fleet of Daleks who want to use you as a power source, which will kill you! And all you can talk about is black holes!" All Kari could really do was roll her eyes. He was too angry with her to actually listen to what she was saying and to make sense of it all. Her original plan may not have turned out so well, or at least that was what she was letting the Daleks think.

"ENOUGH!" One of the Daleks called. "THIS CONVERSATION IS IRRELEVANT. END TRANSMISSION." Before the Doctor or Kari could say anything, the transmission was cut and the screen went black.

"You know, that was really rather rude. That's the last time that I am ever going to see the Doctor and you didn't even let me say goodbye. Well, I don't think I'm going to help you now." Kari said, pouting and making it really look like she was having a sulk. There was no response. "You could at least say sorry."

"DALEKS DO NOT APOLOGISE."

Kari let out a huff. "Yeah, I've noticed. You lot are pretty boring, and getting a little predictable." She knew that she had to keep them busy for a little while longer, keep them distracted while her brother tried to get the Doctor to understand what was going on. She needed more time. "I mean, of course you had to come to Earth to find me. Couldn't have surprised us in the middle of space, could you? No, because you had to use Earth as a bargaining chip. Plus, I'm pretty sure that even if I do power you up, you're going to blow the planet out of the sky."

"YOU ARE CORRECT." The Dalek that seemed to be the most talkative said to her. "EARTH WILL BE DESTROYED AND SO WILL THE DOCTOR."

There was something that the Daleks seemed to be forgetting, and Kari was ready to let them know what it was. "Really? How are you going to destroy the Doctor?"

"HE IS ON EARTH. WHEN WE DESTROY THE PLANET HE WILL DIE WITH IT."

Kari looked at them in pretend shock. "Really? That's odd, because I am pretty sure that he is in the TARDIS. You know, the one that you have on this ship, the one that no Dalek has ever managed to break into. The one that you are going to take back into the Time War when you hop back there when I'm dead." There was a hint of joy in her voice as she spoke, she knew that they hadn't thought of any of this, and it made her happy to know that.

"ALL DALEKS TO CONTAIN THE TARDIS. THE DOCTOR IS ON BOARD." Suddenly there was panic everywhere, the Daleks were rushing about trying to get to where the TARDIS was, to guard it, to make sure that the Doctor, if he really was there, did not get out. A great big grin stretched across Kari's face.

It was actually amazing how quickly they moved, and forgot that she was there. Now there was only a single Dalek with her, all the rest had rushed off. "Uh, hello, sorry! Still here." She called, making her presence known. "So this power core, where is it?"

All the Dalek could do was look at her, its eyestalk looking her up and down, as if assessing her, scanning her. Kari did nothing but stand there and wait. "YOU ARE WILLING TO HELP THE DALEKS?"

"Ugh, I'm not willing, I just don't have a choice, remember?" Kari told it, letting out a long sigh. "No matter what I do here, I'm dead. I've accepted that, I have come to terms with the fact that because of you I am never going to see the Doctor again. But at least I know that the Doctor will kill each and every single one of you because of that. So there is a bright side somewhere to all of this."

There was a moment or two of silence before the Dalek spoke once more. "YOU ARE DIFFERENT."

That was unexpected, it wasn't the kind of thing she thought a Dalek would say and it threw her slightly. "What do you mean?" Kari asked, keeping it together as best she could. She needed to keep her confidence level up, she needed to keep playing the game.

The Dalek rolled closer towards her. "YOU DO NOT FEAR US. YOU DO NOT FEAR DEATH." It screeched. "WHY?"

Kari was really surprised by what the Dalek had said to her and she just looked at it and blinked several times. "Who said I don't fear you?" She asked, wondering if the Dalek was now stalling. "You're the Daleks, why wouldn't I fear you? And death? Everyone and everything dies in the end, it really is only a matter of time. There is one thing that is guaranteed in life, you will eventually die."

Before the Dalek could responde there came an odd noise. Kari couldn't help but frown for a moment before she realised what it was. "Oops, sorry. That's me. Hang on a second." She said to the Dalek, digging deep into her pocket and pulling her mobile phone out. "Sorry, I have to take this." She said, before answering the call. "Hello?"

"Tell me where you are." She heard a rather panicked bowtie wearing Doctor say down the phone.

"Uh, Dalek ship. Why? Where are you?" Kari was curious to know if this was her current Doctor calling, a past Doctor, or him from the future. She could never tell.

She heard him let out a sigh. "In the TARDIS, on the same Dalek ship. What is going on, Kari? What are you doing?" There was still panic in his voice but she noticed a little bit of relief now that he knew exactly where she was. She was also relieved to know that it was the Doctor she was currently with that was calling her.

"I've just been having a really lovely chat with a Dalek, actually. It's keeping me company while the rest all go and guard the TARDIS, waiting to see if anything or anyone tries to come out." Kari was giving him an update, trying to let him know what was going on. "I'll tell you what though, if I could have one last wish I'd love to go and see a black hole."

"If this works, if we make it out of this alive, you have some serious explaining to do." The Doctor warned her. "Jack told me, explained this little plan of yours. You shouldn't be doing this." Of course he was still worried about her, he was always going to be worried about her no matter what. It just made it worse that she was on a Dalek ship and about to do something very, very stupid.

Kari couldn't help but chuckle a little. "Oh, come on. Live a little. Anyway, I'm afraid I have to go now. I think my buddy is waiting for me to power them up and send them back into the Time War. Just promise me, you won't be late, okay?"

"I won't be late, Kari. I promise. I love you, remember that."

"I love you too. Don't let Jack get into too much trouble!" Kari said to him, before ending the call and turning to face the Dalek once more. "Sorry about that, the Doctor just wanted to check that I was okay one last time before I was murdered by the Daleks. He promised not to be late when he catches up to you back in the Time War." She told the dalek casually.

There was silence, the only noise to be heard was the humming from around the ship. Until eventually the pepper pot spoke, the lights on the top of its head lighting up as it did. "YOU LOVE HIM. WHY?"

All Kari could do was blink. Had a Dalek really just asked her about why she loved the Doctor? "I… uh… what?" No, she could not have heard it right, there is no way that it could have said that.

"WHY DO YOU LOVE THE DOCTOR?"

This was a slight twist that Kari had never expected. "Love is something that can't be explained. You are a Dalek, you understand hatred and anger. Love is an emotion that a Dalek will never understand, never experience." Only Daleks who malfunctioned or were mutated would understand, but she didn't need to tell it that. "Although I met the Priminster of the Daleks once, it showed it had a concept of beauty. And then promptly fired the Doctor and I at a planet, the Dalek Asylum."

At the mention of the Asylum the Dalek rolled back slightly. "YOU HAVE BEEN TO THE ASYLUM?" He asked with what sounded like a hint of fear in its voice.

All Kari could do was look at it with an unreadable expression on her face. "Been there and survived. Not a place I want to go back to, would not recommend. The Daleks in there are too dangerous to be let out, but too perfect to be destroyed. That shows what the Daleks think beauty is."

"AND WHAT IS BEAUTY TO YOU?"

This Dalek seemed to keep taking her by surprise. Were these all genuine questions, or was it stalling? "Why do you want to know? You seem to be a Dalek with a lot of questions. You're making me think that you are stalling for some reason. Maybe because your friends are trying to break into the TARDIS?" Suddenly the screen flickered to life and Kari saw the TARDIS surrounded by the Daleks. They weren't actually doing anything, just sitting there, waiting. "Why are you showing me this?"

"WHAT IS BEAUTY TO YOU?"

"Beauty is like love, it isn't something that can be explained, it is something that you have to see, experience." Kari replied, slightly frustrated. This Dalek was starting to annoy her, it claimed that she was different but so was this Dalek. "You ask a lot of questions for a Dalek. Why?"

The Dalek seemed to hesitate for a moment before responding. "YOU ARE THE ANGEL OF TIME. YOUR KNOWLEDGE IS FAR GREATER THAN THE DALEKS."

Kari didn't know whether she should take that as a compliment or not. Something was still feeling off. "Listen, you are a Dalek. Tell me why you want to know all of these things, because you're right. I know a lot. I've met the Cult of Skaro. I've met Dalek Caan and Dalek Sec. Oh, Dalek Sec had such a different vision on what a Dalek should be. Dalek Caan… he saw something, something he did not agree with. He turned away from the Daleks. He wasn't the first, and I doubt he will be the last." Once again the Dalek seemed to shift uncomfortably. Then something clicked in Kari's mind. "You're having thoughts, ideas that a Dalek really shouldn't, aren't you?"

"HOW DO YOU KNOW THIS? EXPLAIN?" The screeching was filled with anger, with a hint of fear. Kari had clearly touched a nerve then.

"Because I should already be dead. You should be back fighting in the Time War. Yet here we are, you asking me a lot of questions. That is something a Dalek doesn't do." Kari was wondering if this Dalek was going to be something different as well, just like Sec and Caan were, just like good old Rusty was too.

"DO WE… DO THE DALEKS WIN THE WAR?"

Now that was not a question that she was expecting, but it was one she was happy to answer. "No. In the end, nobody wins. Nobody survives. The Daleks, the Time Lords, all those others caught up in it, all gone." While Kari hadn't experienced it, hadn't been there during the war, she knew about it, and how it had impacted the Doctor.

"YOU AND THE DOCTOR SURVIVE." The Dalek reminded her. "HOW DID YOU SURVIVE?"

"I'll be honest with you, I haven't been there yet. I don't know if I will survive it. I don't even know if I'm going to survive today." She couldn't help but notice how much of a turn things were taking. "I know everything that happens, I know things that have happened and will happen, I just haven't been there yet."

The Dalek just looked at her with its single eyestalk. Not moving. Not speaking. The silence became more unsettling as each second ticked away. Kari didn't know what was going on, the whole situation had changed. Yes, her plan had changed within seconds of stepping outside of the TARDIS, but now things were just getting more weird and crazy. "I have a question for you." Kari said eventually. The Dalek didn't respond but just seemed to gaze at her. "If, hypothetically, the Daleks did wipe out all other life forms, all those who are inferior, then what? I've always wondered but never had the chance to ask. What will you do then? If the Daleks do succeed? If everything is wiped out apart from the Daleks, then what?"

It looked as if the Dalek was thinking, but had no response. There would be nothing left if they actually achieved their goal. They would be the only beings in the universe, and doing what? Sitting in their ships? They would have no purpose. Would the Daleks be able to see that, to understand that they would then be alone and have no more purpose?

A few more moments of silence went by before the Dalek finally spoke once more. "YOU WILL FOLLOW." It screeched, before turning away from Kari and starting to roll forward.

All she could do was let out a sigh and do as she was told. She had been hoping to get an answer but it was clear that was not going to happen. Instead she had to just follow a Dalek and hope that it was taking her to the power core where she could then put the next part of her plan into action. "One day, I'm going to meet a Dalek that will answer that." She ended up muttering to herself as they went through one long metal corridor to the next.

There were no other Daleks around, which did seem a little odd to Kari. Something was definitely feeling a little bit off, and she was doing her very best not to get too freaked out. The Doctor hopefully understood the whole plan now and was ready for his part in it, now she just needed to get to her part and get it over with.

Eventually they came to a stop inside a room with a big golden metal globe just sort of floating in the middle. "Uh, I'm going to take a guess and say that is the power core you want me to power up?" Kari asked, a wave of fear suddenly washing over her.

"CORRECT." The Dalek replied, before rolling closer towards it. It stopped when it was just in front of it and turned to Kari, its eyestalk locked on her. "I FEEL… WRONG."

That didn't sound right and Kari frowned a little. "What do you mean? How do you feel wrong?" A Dalek, feeling wrong? Did that mean that it felt sick?

"I HAVE THOUGHTS… IDEAS… THINGS THAT…"

"Things that a Dalek really shouldn't be thinking about?" Kari asked, receiving a slight nod from the metal machine. "What kind of thoughts and ideas? What are you thinking?" She needed to know, if she was going to help, or even just get out of this alive, she needed to find out what was going on with the Dalek before her.

"WHY DO DALEKS DESTROY? WHY DO WE ONLY FEEL HATRED AND ANGER? WHY DO WE NOT FEEL LOVE? WHY CAN WE NOT UNDERSTAND BEAUTY?"

Kari had to admit, that was not anything like what she was expecting to hear at all. "Because that is how you were created." She told it, being as honest as she could. "The one who created you designed you to be that way, you were created to destroy, to only be able to understand hatred and anger. You were never given the chance to feel anything else."

Suddenly the Dalek rolled towards Kari. While she was a little concerned, she stood her ground and let it approach her. It stopped and the casing began to open, revealing the fleshy creature that lived inside of the casing, the true Dalek. It made Kari feel a little uncomfortable, seeing the true creature inside, but she had to get over it, whatever was going on she needed to be very careful.

"Show me." The Dalek creature finally said, a tentacle reaching out towards Kari. "Show me beauty." The voice was different, less machine like, more gravelly instead.

"You want me to show you?" It didn't make sense, this Dalek was acting nothing like an actual Dalek. But then again, as she had explained, other Daleks had questions things, had other ideas. It seemed that this one was the same. "Okay. I'll show you."

Kari took a deep breath and held onto the Daleks tentacle, closing her eyes as she did. Then she thought about all the wonderful things she had seen, the stars, the birth of a star, those amazing views that the Doctor had shown her. She thought back to that time where he had just taken her to space, and they sat on the edge of the TARDIS, watching the Earth celebrate the beginning of a new year. The colours of the fireworks could be seen from space, and she loved it. She thought about the space station, the one made entirely of glass, of all the times the Doctor has taken her there. She loved it there, not just because of the views, but because of who she was with.

Her train of thought was changing, she was now thinking about the Doctor, about all the things he had done for her, all the adventures she had been on with him. She couldn't help it, Kari couldn't stop herself. She was showing the Dalek far too much, the first time the Doctor kissed her, the first time he said he loved her, both of the times that he had proposed to her as well as the time he gave her the ring.

It was a voice that pulled her back to reality, the voice of the Dalek. "You see beauty in so many things. You feel love and happiness and joy." It said, as she finally opened her eyes and looked at it whilst letting go, breaking the connection.

"And there is still so much more out there that I haven't seen. So much that I will never get the chance to see." Kari told it, knowing that the universe was far too big for her to ever explore every inch of it. "But I don't care. The Doctor has shown me so much, and I am so grateful to him for that."

Suddenly the casing began to close again, the fleshy creature going back into the Dalek shell, becoming the machine once more. Kari had thought for a moment that she was having a breakthrough moment with the Dalek, that she may have found one that was open to change, to making things different. Now she wasn't sure.

It turned away from her, moving across the room, heading towards a control panel on the wall. Kari had no idea what was going on, something was most definitely feeling a little off now, and she did not like it. She didn't know what to say, she didn't know what to do. The Dalek extended its plunger-like arm and placed it on the panel. The moment it made connection the whole ship jolted and Kari almost ended up on her backside.

"THE DALEKS DO NOT BELONG HERE." The Dalek soon said, its head turning to look at Kari. "THE DALEKS NEED TO BE EXTERMINATED."

"Wait, what?" Kari couldn't quite believe what she was hearing. A Dalek saying that the Daleks needed to be exterminated? That could not be right, could it?

"YOU AND THE DOCTOR PLAN TO EXTERMINATE THE DALEKS. HOW?"

Now she was really confused. Did she tell it the truth? That the plan was to send them all into a black hole rather than back to the Time War like they wanted? A black hole that they had no chance of escaping from. "I… I don't…" Kari couldn't think of anything to say. The whole day was just taking too many twists and turns for her to keep up with now.

An image appeared on the wall, a recording. It was from when she was having her conversation with the Doctor, when he had hijacked their feed and was talking to them, and to Kari.

"But hey, Daleks. There are worse ways to go, I suppose. Like being sucked into a black hole maybe. Nothing escapes a black hole." Kari on the screen said.

"Kari, now is not the time. Let Kari go. Or I will destroy every single one of you."

"NO. SHE WILL SEND US BACK INTO THE TIME WAR. THE DALEKS WILL WIN THE WAR. WE SHALL REIGN SUPREME. ALL HAIL THE DALEKS."

Kari watched and mumbled along with part of what she said next. "I'll send you somewhere in a minute, right into a black hole. Black holes are great, aren't they Jack? How about we send this lot into a black hole instead of back to the Time War? I love a black hole. Nothing beats a black hole. They literally suck the life out of everything. Nothing can survive it."

"Will you stop talking about black holes! You are in the middle of a fleet of Daleks who want to use you as a power source, which will kill you! And all you can talk about is black holes!"

The video feed ended and the Dalek turned to look at her. "YOU INTEND TO USE A BLACK HOLE TO EXTERMINATE THE DALEKS."

Kari let out a sigh. "Yeah, instead of sending you back into the Time War, I was going to send you straight into a black hole and hope that the Doctor got there in time to pick me up. Otherwise I was going to go with you." This Dalek really was something different, it really did seem to have more ideas than the other Daleks on that ship. "So, now you know my plan. Guess you may as well just kill me." She knew that there was no way that she was going to get out of this one, not that she could see at least.

The Dalek looked at her. "RUN" It said, causing Kari to frown. "RUN. YOU HAVE 90 RELS."

She had no idea what was going on, but she was starting to become even more curious about that Dalek. "What are you going to do?"

"ALL REMAINING POWER WILL BE USED TO TRANSPORT TO THE NEAREST BLACK HOLE. THE DALEKS WILL BE EXTERMINATED." It told her.

"Why?" It really did bother her that a Dalek was talking about exterminating other Daleks. "Why are you doing this?"

It stopped what it was doing and its eyestalk focused on her again. "SO YOU CAN CONTINUE TO LIVE."

For a moment, she really didn't know what to say. "I will never forget this." Kari ended up saying, knowing that this Dalek was something so different, something so new, that it deserved to be remembered. "I promise you."

The Dalek didn't respond, just lowered its eyestalk a little before turning away from her. Kari took that as her cue and quickly made a run for it through the ship. She could feel the TARDIS calling to her, telling her which way to go. All Kari could do was just hope that she didn't encounter any Daleks on her way.

A/N: I really do hope that you all enjoyed that chapter. With the next story line that is coming, as I have mentioned, I have a lot of ideas for it but can obviously only go one way. However, I am thinking of writing a few different versions of it and then maybe posting them separately as alternatives. Let me know what you think about doing that.

A big thank you to all who have left a review, I do enjoy reading them and it is wonderful to know that even after all these years people are still reading and enjoying this.

I just want to comment on a few messages I have gotten recently. Yes, I know that there are a lot of stories out there that are use 'jumping' in them. Yes, my story was one of the first to do it. No I do not mind that other people are doing it. We all have to start somewhere, right? I was reading fan fiction before I was writing it, reading other things is often what help us to develop on our own ideas. It's nice to know that my story has inspired so many others with their own writing.

Well, I'm going to shut up now and get back to work. Until then next time!

Pippa.