Author's Note: Hey, we're getting towards the end of this story! Only two chapters left, after this one.

Enjoy!

One of the Daleks onboard the Experimentation Ship touched its plunger to a monitor. Then twitched. "ALERT!" it shouted. "ALERT! IPSA SHIP DETECTED APPROACHING."

The Dalek Inventor Prime drifted forwards. "SCAN FOR ANOMALOUS DIMENSIONAL ENERGY READINGS."

The Daleks nearby all scurried to their posts to do so.

"SCANS CONFIRM UNSTABLE DIMENSIONAL ENERGY SOURCE APPROACHING THIS VESSEL," one of the Daleks reported.

"INTELLIGENCE CONFIRMS IT IS THE MISSING ELEMENT TO CONSTRUCT A STABLE DIMENSIONAL GATEWAY," another confirmed.

"CEASE HOSTILE ACTION TOWARDS APPROACHING IPSA SHIP," said the Dalek Inventor Prime. "WEAKEN OUR SHIELDS BY 43%. WE MUST OBTAIN THE MISSING DIMENSIONAL KEY."

"WE OBEY!" the Daleks chimed.

The Dalek Inventor Prime turned back to the interface that had been built, connected to the Delta wave transfer device. And it knew… just a matter of time, now. Soon, the Daleks would have access to everything in the entire infinity of creation. And a power that would let them crush IPSA and everyone else in this universe in a single second.

Raykins told the others that their ease at getting to the Dalek Experiment Ship had been due to her lash-up with the glass pillar's shielding.

In truth, though, Raykins hadn't understood the first thing about Dawn's time machine, when she'd seen the inside. Couldn't have made the lash-up work even if she'd been a technical genius.

Which she wasn't.

No, Raykins knew the Daleks had made it easy for them on purpose.

IPSA only had to fire one or two blows to just the right stress points in the Daleks' shielding, and the defense net fell apart. Like they were waiting for that IPSA ship to come.

And they were.

Raykins didn't know if it was the pillar they wanted, or Dawn, or both — but the presence of Dawn and that glass pillar onboard IPSA's stealth-ship was the only reason the Daleks hadn't blown the IPSA ship into bits of space-debris, by now.

That was clear.

Raykins mustered her courage. Schooled her features, so that she wouldn't give away her real plans. Then she waited, as their ship performed a smash-dock maneuver onto the Experiment Ship — forcing its way through the hull and then sealing off the hole it left behind.

No Daleks were present, outside, after they'd smash-docked.

Which meant the Daleks knew they were here. And were waiting for them.

Agent Yelanka, standing up in front of the group, was saying much the same thing. "You know what that means," she said. "We go out in stages. Spread out and make a wide sweep. Find what we want and then get out."

Raykins stayed behind until last.

Watching, as everyone else went out in pairs.

Nothing they did, now, would stop the Daleks from killing them all. They knew that, already. But Yelanka had her orders, and Raykins had her plan.

The sound of a throat clearing behind her made Raykins spin around.

Then glare at the figure who'd emerged from the glass pillar perched at the far end.

"You were supposed to stay in there until I got Seo back for you," Raykins snapped, pointing at the glass pillar. "You shouldn't have—"

"Yeah, got news for you," Dawn interrupted, leaping over to stand by Raykins' side. "If Buffy couldn't keep me out of danger, there's no chance you'll ever get close." She held out a hand. "So give me one of those Dalek-Be-Gone guns, and let's go."

Raykins was stern for a long moment.

Then gave in, and handed Dawn a gun. "At least with you around, I might stand a chance of making it out of here alive," she muttered, as she readied her own gun. "I'm pretty sure you're the only reason the Daleks didn't blow up our ship on the way over here."

Then she charged out into the Place of No Return.

Agent Yelanka had her orders.

And she would follow them to the letter. Even if that included not telling Raykins the real plan. Even if it meant laying down her own life before the Daleks.

This was why she'd been selected.

To do this.

"Shields and teleportation jammers," said her second, managing to open a door. "In here."

The moment they entered, they froze. Face-to-face with two Daleks.

This was it.

"EXTERMIN—" the Daleks chanted.

Agent Yelanka and her second both aimed their guns at the machinery that controlled shields and teleportation. And blasted it as much to hell as they could.

Before the Dalek blasts caught them, and they screamed in the agonies of their deaths.

Seo heard the racket from deep inside the solitary cell in which she'd been placed since her last failed interrogation. There were still bodies inside the cell, Slayers who hadn't been cleared up from last time.

Seo wondered where all the remaining Slayer prisoners were.

If they were still alive.

They had to be, right? Seo knew that not all the prisoners had been killed. Not yet.

Unless that commotion outside was the Daleks killing all the rest of them. Just to prove to her that she couldn't stop them.

Seo gritted her teeth. She needed to get off this ship! Absolutely…!

That was when the door opened. And two very familiar faces emerged in the doorway.

"Seo!" one called.

"Aunt Dawn!" Seo cried, racing forwards. She ached all over from Dalek tortures, but… seeing Aunt Dawn again… it just made her want nothing more than to swoop her aunt into the hugest hug she could.

So she did.

Then stepped back. "We have to get out of here," Seo warned. "We have to—"

"Your glass pillar's that way," said Raykins, who was standing nearby, covering Dawn and Seo. "Now let's get a move on and leave."

So they ran.

Ran as fast as they could, feet pounding against the grated floor.

They turned a corridor, to discover a Dalek hovering just in front of them. Eyestalk spinning around. "PRISONERS LOCATED," it reported. "EX—"

Raykins blasted it to smithereens.

"Alert's out, now," Raykins warned them, as they heard the shrieks of Daleks advancing, behind them. "Gotta run fast, or we're toast."

"I like toast," Seo offered.

Didn't stop any of them from running, though. Zigzagging through the maze of the Dalek ship, trying to go vaguely in the direction they wanted, but mostly trying to avoid Daleks.

"What about the other IPSA prisoners?" Seo said. "We can't leave them to—"

"My orders are to get you out," Raykins interrupted, glancing back at the pursuing Daleks. She gestured at them to wait, then rounded another corner, and blasted a waiting Dalek. "That means I—"

That was when Raykins heard a small 'ping'.

She looked down. Stared, in horror, at the light that had just illuminated on her belt. "Oh, no." Turned to Dawn and Seo. "Grab onto me!" she shouted, reaching out for them. "Just—!"

But neither Dawn nor Seo had the chance.

As the world shifted around Raykins, and the teleport activated. Her entire environment shifting and changing, until…

Raykins blinked.

She was at IPSA High Command.

Facing down a woman in Korjensky Official uniform, her black hair swept back into a bun. She was looking down at a series of command panels, and closed them up with an officious nod. "And… Spocky complete," she announced. Her eyes fixed on Raykins. "Special Agent Raykins. Welcome home."

Raykins lunged for the command panel. "Send me back," she said. "They were almost out. I almost—!"

"You came dangerously close to disobeying an order," the Officer cut in, sealing the command panel away in an isomorphic locking pad. "Purposely smuggling a civilian onboard a stealth ship. You are lucky the President recognized your importance to the greater benefit of IPSA's war efforts. Or you'd be in very serious trouble for this."

"I have to get them back!" Raykins shouted. "Those were my orders! To rescue—!"

"We weren't certain we could trust you with the whole truth," said the Officer. "Particularly after your objections. Agent Yelanka and the others knew that they were going on a suicide mission. Their orders were to take down the teleportation blockers and shields, and make sure that you remained alive."

Raykins froze. "What?"

The Officer stepped towards Raykins. "You, Deborah Raykins, are in a unique position," she said. "You have insights into the Daleks' experiments in biological warfare — more than anyone else before you, now that you've seen their Main Experiment Ship. You have had exposure to this Weapon — which the Daleks have gathered extensive data on, by this point — data they have already transmitted to the Dalek Supreme. Therefore, when IPSA discovered a potential biological super-weapon had been unearthed in Someleydaya, it was clear that there was only one Agent suitable for the job."

"Yes, fine, anything!" Raykins retorted. "Just get me back to that ship!"

"You don't understand my meaning," said the Officer. "That was a suicide mission. As we speak, high-powered IPSA missiles are on their way to destroy the Dalek's Main Experiment Ship completely. Leaving no trace behind."

For a few long moments, there was silence.

Raykins couldn't speak.

Realizing… this had been a ruse. A set-up. To get her onto that ship.

"You… you never cared about rescuing—" Raykins started.

"The Daleks have had a vampire and a deadly super-weapon onboard that ship," said the Officer. "IPSA protocols are very clear. The ship and anything onboard which might benefit the Dalek war efforts must be destroyed."

Raykins felt something dark rising up inside of her. A surge of utter anger and disgust. "You have no idea what you've just—!"

"I have every idea," said the Officer. "I put together this whole plan, Agent Raykins. Because I knew… you were the only agent smart enough to pull it off." She pressed a small button, and an image shimmered into the air. Showing a mostly-buried body, looking like a stitched-together part-cyborg, part-demon, and part-human. It seemed to be utterly dead and lifeless. "Now. This is the latest image from Someleydaya."

Raykins couldn't think about that.

Couldn't think about any of this.

"How long until the missiles strike?" Raykins snapped. "How long before…?"

"We got you out about a minute and a half before the missiles were due to strike," said the Officer. She glanced down at her watch. "Which means, with transfer time involved, the missiles will strike right about…"

From a far wall, a screen gave a spurt of information on missile trajectories.

And then a printout of a successful hit.

"Now," said the Officer.

Raykins felt her heart sink. She'd failed. How had she failed?! She'd done everything she'd thought was right, and now… now…

They were both dead.

Dawn Sompters. And the unknown daughter of Bunfy Sompters.

They were dead, and it was all Deborah Raykins' fault! All her stupid fault for not making sure they got out of there! All…!

No.

Raykins snapped her eyes over to the Officer.

Her hands bunching into fists. Her anger rising through her, snaking around inside like something living and desperate to surface.

No. She hadn't been at fault.

"So, Agent Raykins," said the Officer. "Are you ready for your next assignment?"

Raykins remained silent for a long while.

Then, "What's your name?"

"Officer June T. Marya," the Officer reported. "The one who saw your full potential."

Raykins stepped forwards. "In that case, Officer June T. Marya," Raykins whispered, her voice low and threatening, "I'll do what you say. I'll go to Earth. I'll make sure the Daleks lose this war." Her eyes gleamed with something hard and desperately angry. "But I won't play your games anymore. You got that?"

Officer Marya didn't seem to pick up on the threat. "If you insist, Agent Raykins. Dismissed."

Raykins spun around.

Oh, yes.

She'd make sure the Daleks lost this war.

And then, she swore — upon everything she held dear — that she was going to make the Korjensky Officials pay for this. She would hunt them down to the far side of the Milky Way, if she had to, but she wouldn't stop until IPSA and Korjensky and all of it was crushed out of existence.

The group that had betrayed her.

And everything she thought she understood.

"You don't know who you just killed, Officer Marya," Deborah Raykins muttered under her breath. "But I do. And after this war's over, I'll make sure every other Slayer out there does, too. Turn them all against you. Just you wait and see."