I could finally breathe. The Doctor and Rose were gone. I burst into tears and let everyone - Ianto, Jack, Gwen, and Tosh - except for Owen embrace me. He stood sulking off to the side, muttering about how Ianto should've shot the Doctor. When the team let me go, he smiled weakly at me. "You alright, Rookie?"

"I'll live."

"How's that shoulder, eh?"

"It's fine." I mumbled. "I'm so tired." I whispered.

He nodded. "It's been a long day, innit?"

"Yeah."

He nodded and started to write something on a piece of paper. "What're you doing?" I asked him.

He handed the paper to me. "It's a prescription. You need to rest for the entire rest of the day, and you need to get one whole night of sleep. And don't fucking get up or do anything too stimulating."

I took the paper and chuckled a bit.

The Doctor and Rose got into the TARDIS and as soon as the door closed behind them, Rose whirled toward the Doctor, hands on her hips and a face like a hurricane. "What the hell was that?" she demanded. The Doctor huffed out a breath and leaned on the console, rushing his hands through his hair. "Well?" Rose demanded. He looked at her with his big puppy-dog eyes. "I'm sorry, Rose. Really, I am."

"Yeah? Sorry doesn't cut it, Doctor. What the hell was all that about?"

"I dunno... I suppose I just panicked. I didn't want to lose her. It's my fault, Rose. It's my fault she's all… wrong inside."

"She's not wrong inside, Doctor."

"PTSD? Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Rose? And I know she's got some sort of anxiety disorder. I mean, she was sweating, she couldn't relax, she was certainly frightened. She might even have a panic disorder. Even if she doesn't… it's still my fault. I did this to her, Rose."

Rose's expression softened. She walked to the Doctor and put a comforting hand on his shoulder as tears piled up in his big, brown eyes. "It's not your fault. Not all, anyway." she smiled. The Doctor sighed and shook his head, nearly tearing his hair out. "Yes, Rose, it is."

"No, it isn't."

"I brought her into that."

"You were rescuing her. Isn't that what the Doctor does? If it's anyone's fault, it's the Master's fault. He's the one that did all that awful stuff."

The Doctor finally relented and nodded and Rose placed a swift peck on his cheek. His ears went red for a split-second but he seemed to recover, although he wore a broad, idiotic grin. "Why don't we go back out there and give it another go, yeah?" Rose suggested. The Doctor kept his grin on and sprung from the console, flinging himself excitedly at the door. Rose followed him out to the tourist centre and they ducked inside, looking around. The Doctor slapped the bell on the counter and Ianto appeared from behind a bead curtain leading behind the counter. "I didn't expect you back so soon, Doctor." Ianto said politely, with a small smile; he seemed to have forgotten everything that had just happened. Rose and the Doctor beamed back at him. "Yeah, we decided to give it another go." The Doctor replied. Rose nodded and Ianto let them pass through the corridor alone. They already knew the way, they didn't need another escort. When they stepped out of the elevator, nothing had changed. The Torchwood team was bustling about like nothing had happened, all save for Blue. She might've been somewhere else in the Hub, but the Doctor and Rose couldn't see her from where they stood. Tosh passed them and only gave the Doctor a sour frown as she passed although he smiled charmingly at her. They made their way to Jack's office, but he wasn't there. "Where do you think Blue and Jack are?" Rose wondered. The Doctor shrugged. They kept on walking around. They arrived at the vaults, where they found Jack sitting in front of a trapped Weevil. He seemed to be talking to her until the Doctor and Rose cleared their throats. "Doctor! I didn't think you'd be back so soon." he said with a wary glare. The Doctor nodded and smiled and told him what had happened in the TARDIS. Jack put his hands on his hips thoughtfully. "She told me she'd be with Ianto."

"We went through the Tourist Centre, but he didn't mention anything about her."

"Maybe you should go have some more words with him." Jack said with a small smile. The Doctor and Rose took a big breath and nodded, exiting the vaults. They crashed into Gwen on their way out. She promptly cussed the Doctor out and gave Rose a gap-toothed smile and kept going on into the vaults to talk to Jack. "What was that all about?" the Doctor wondered, looking back after her. Rose shook her head. "Everyone was there when you sorta… assaulted Blue. I saw Toshiko givin' you a look as well." she said. The Doctor frowned and ran his hand through his hair. "Well, I'll have to make it up to them all. I'll take them all to Midnight!"

"The planet you told me about, Midnight? The one made of diamonds?"

"Yes! I've always wanted to take you there, but we just haven't seemed to have the time."

"Right. Well, you can take me there with all of them, then. Yeah?"

"Yeah. Let's go find the coffee-man."

"What the hell are you doin' back here, you slimy bastard?" they heard Owen's voice shout from behind them. They whirled around to face a very angry Owen Harper, and they started to sweat anxiously when they saw several surgical tools gripped in his fists. "Jack told you to not come back."

"I know what Jack told me, but I've just had words with him and he said it was okay. Don't worry, Owen, I've had a change of mind."

"You can call me 'Dr. Harper', you cod."

"Listen, there's no need for name-calling here - "

"Yeah? Is that right? Well there was no need for what you did to Blue, either! Any of it! She wouldn't be so fucked up if you hadn't taken her away in your stupid blue box!"

"I was just trying to save her from the Master."

"Yeah? You should've saved her in a way that wouldn't have done this shit to her!" Owen shouted, waving the tools in the air angrily. Rose and the Doctor backed away, and Rose tried to be gentle, like she was taming a wild animal. A frightened animal. She looked deep into Owen's beady eyes and saw fear, buried down. His eyes shone with fear, and she knew he feared for Blue and what would happen to her if they took her away in the TARDIS again. "We're not gonna hurt her. Not again." She said quietly. Owen's shoulders relaxed a little, and he turned away from them. They went down another hallway, where they found Blue sitting down and reading a beat-up book, like she'd read it a thousand times. She seemed so engrossed in the book that she didn't notice them come in until the Doctor cleared his throat. Her head jerked up and her eyes went wider than moons. "What the hell're you doing here?" She yelped, obviously trying to sound tough but sounding more scared than anything else.

The world was barren, and cold. Unbelievably cold. The last Daleks in existence were trapped there, and they were frozen. Systems impaired, weapons offline, even their eyestalks were frosted over. They were all dying, and fighting to survive, to carry on the great Dalek Empire. But nothing could save them from this. Well, that's what they thought. Three figures emerged from the crystallized ice-fog that made up this planet's atmosphere. A woman in what seemed to be Edwardian-style clothing and jewelry, along with the hairdo to match, a thin man in a sharp black business suit, and another man in a tan suit emerged from the ice-fog. They quietly surveyed the scene - Daleks strewn everywhere like forgotten toys, screaming, shrieking about the Dalek's superiority and hateful words. The woman looked over at the tan-clothed man and he made a little gasp of realization and whipped out an iPad which he could make notes on. She turned to the other man - the one dressed in black. He had his cheeks sucked in and a thoughtful expression on his face. "What do you think?" the woman asked. Her accent was British. He waited a few agonizing moments more before replying. "I believe there's a deal to be made." he said. His accent was also British, but there was something in his voice that made the atmosphere even colder. It was detectable in the woman's voice as well. The black-suited man picked through all the injured Daleks who lazily turned their heads to try and look at him and the two people who were following him. He searched the ruins with beady, light eyes for one Dalek in particular, which he identified and made a beeline for. He dropped to a squat with his elbows on his knees beside the fallen Dalek Commander. "Dalek Commander."

"Ye-e-e-s…"

"My name is the Master. I'm here with some… accomplices to make a deal with you."

"Spe-e-ak."

"We're volunteering to get you out of here. And the rest of your Daleks. The living ones, of course."

"Da-a-aleks do not need assistance!"

The Master laughed quietly. The Dalek was weakly speaking, barely above the normal talking volume for an average human. "Most Daleks didn't. But you lot do."

"Da-a-aleks will sur-vive!"

"If you accept my offer they will."

Silence from the Dalek. "Explain."

"Better. We can get you out of here. This ice is slowly freezing you. If I'm correct, your defense systems are offline. You can't thaw the ice on you lot, and you'll freeze to death if you stay here. I'm your only option."

The man in the tan suit took a breath. "Well, there is the option of freezing to death, but I'm thinking that's not what they want?" he asked. The Master snarled up at him and he nodded, making more notes on his iPad. The Dalek's eyestalk was frozen over but it was still trying to see them. "What a-a-a-are yo-o-o-u?"

"I'm a Time Lord."

"Neg-a-tive…"

"What the hell's that supposed to mean?"

"You are not a Time Lord."

"Yes, I am."

"The Doc-tor is the last Time Lord in ex-ist-tence."

"That's what he thinks, innit? No. I'm the Master, and I'm a Time Lord. Go on then, scan me. Or are your scanning systems offline as well? Oh, I suppose you'll just have to trust me, then."

"Da-a-a-a-aleks do not have a concept of trust!"

"Then you'll be the first. How wonderful. Do you want the Daleks to survive or don't you? If you refuse me, the blood of the last Daleks is on your hands. Or, should I say your plungers?"

The Dalek was silent again. "Why-y-y?"

"Pardon?"

"The Da-a-aleks were res-pons-ible for the death of the Time Lords."

"Well, some of them. The Doctor was actually the one that killed the rest, you know."

"Why help the Da-aleks?"

"Getting curious, are you? Well, I can tell you it's not purely out of my good hearts. I want something in return."

"Speak…"

"I want your protection. Immunity from extermination. And… I want the Doctor."

"Neg-a-tive."

"Alright, you can kill the Doctor. I won't be too stubborn. Then I only want to be able to help. Let me help you. I know where a TARDIS is. It's old, but it can be useful. With my help and some expert Daleks we can repair it and make it so you can travel through time."

The Dalek was silent again, but this time its gun stick and plunger arm were quivering excitedly. Almost the whole Dalek was trembling. "Assist the Daleks! Find the TARDIS! Obey! Obey!"

The Master grinned and then made a face. "Ooh, well that's not very nice, innit? You're the ones that should be obeying."

"Obey! Obey! OBE-E-E-E-EY!"

The Master stood. "Alright, alright, no need to be pushy."

The Daleks had made it, with the help of the woman, the other man, and the Master. They piloted a ship with a channeled gravity field, so they could tow the Daleks behind them as they flew through space and to the planet with the old TARDIS. When they landed, the tan-suited man followed orders and shut off the gravity field so the Daleks could wander freely. The rest of them thawed but the Dalek Commander set straight to work, approaching the Master and the woman. "Who is the fe-male?" it demanded. The Master cast a sideways glance at Missy and grinned wickedly. "Oh, her? That's just Missy."

"'Just Missy'? Oh, love, I'm more than 'just Missy'. You know that better than anyone." Missy smirked. The Master laughed and turned back to the Dalek. "She and the man over there - " he nodded at Seb, who was going around to each Dalek and checking its life signs and then cataloguing them all by number. He was a comical character, innocent but loyal. A simple A.I. interface, nothing more. " - are with me. He's called Seb."

"Who is he?"

The Dalek was already sounding better and stronger. Just like the Master and Missy wanted. "He's just an A.I. interface for Missy. Don't worry about him."

The Dalek swerved its now-functional eyestalk to look at Seb. He was speaking to a Dalek. "Are you feeling better now?" he was saying, stylus hovering over his iPad, ready to take notes. The Dalek screamed something incomprehensible at him and he only smiled politely. "I will put that down as a 'yes'. Now, you'll be Dalek T:7, okay?"

Again, he was screamed at, but he seemed indifferent and he smiled at the next Dalek he approached. The Dalek Commander looked back at the Master and Missy. "What is he doing?"

Missy only waved her hand in a dismissive manner. "Oh, cataloguing your Daleks. Alphabetized from A to Z by element - composed in a 21st century-style military manner - and six Daleks to each each element, maybe five or seven. Now, there's twenty-six flights ranging from Arcadia Flight to Zygon flight, and that's six and a half squadrons. So, naturally, that's three groups, give or take a few Daleks, and that all makes up a wing. Seb has always had a fascination with the United States Air Force." Missy finished explaining. The Dalek paused for a moment, most likely storing the information in its databases, and then resumed its interrogation. "Where is this TARDIS?" it demanded straightaway. Missy put her hands on her lips and laughed with grandeur. It almost seemed phony and theatrical. She latched onto the Master's arm and he grinned. "So quick? Don't you want to know how your good little soldiers are doing?" he said. The Dalek was quivering with excitement. "Tell me where the TARDIS is! Obey! Obey! You will obey the Daleks!" it shrieked. The Master laughed and rolled his eyes, making the Dalek angrier. It spouted some nonsense about obeying the Daleks and how if he didn't comply he would be exterminated and the Master listened with intrigue. "You really think that's gonna work on me, Dalek? Without me, you've no way of locating the TARDIS."

"We will perform internal scans on the planet's interior! You have told the Daleks all we need to know!"

"Good luck." the Master scoffed. He turned on his heel and walked with Missy back to their ship, calling Seb over. "Oh, can't it wait? I'm nearly finished cataloguing them! I only have Xeron Flight and Zocci Flight left to go!" Seb complained. Missy glared at him and he threw his hands in the air with exasperation before clicking with his tongue and putting his iPad away. He began walking to their ship. "What is it this time? I really don't like being interrupted when I'm working!"

The Master gave the Dalek Commander a slight grin. "The Daleks don't want to cooperate. I suppose they'll have to locate the old TARDIS on their own, then."

Seb rolled his eyes and clucked again. "Oh, this again? Really, I don't know how anyone falls for that."

He reluctantly climbed into the spacecraft and they were about to take off until they heard the Dalek commander screaming at them to stop. "Dalek scanners cannot detect the TARDIS!"

Missy, the Master, and Seb all grinned and stopped the ship from taking off. They walked off of the landing ramp and stood in front of the Dalek confidently. "Are you saying you want our help?" the Master wondered. The Dalek was silent for what seemed like a long time. "The Daleks require your knowledge of the location of the TARDIS in order to take the Universe and make the Daleks the only race!"

"So, you need our help?"

"Daleks do not need help!"

"Alright, then. We'll be off."

"Halt! Do not leave the Daleks! You will obey!"

"Will we? Watch us leave, then."

"You will be exterminated!"

"You will never find that TARDIS."

They were at a standstill, Dalek against Time Lord. Just like old times. Missy watched the exchange with interest, and Seb watched with a mix of boredom and anticipation. "Well? Can I go back and organize your silly Daleks?" he demanded. Missy nodded at him, anticipating that the Dalek's answer would be yes, and he grinned happily, rushing off until he stopped dead, a dark frown on his face. "Which Dalek is which? Well, I left off at Dalek Y:6. Dalek Y:6?" he called into the flurry of Daleks. They dotted the landscape like miniscule flecks of bronze when seen from a distance. He disappeared into the congregation and the Dalek replied with the exact answer Missy anticipated. "The Daleks need your help." the Dalek Commander finally said shamefully. The Master and Missy both grinned and set to work building the Dalek Base right above the TARDIS. "We'll need a Headquarters here, and some slaves for manual labor. You can get those for us. You're fine, but let the rest of the Daleks recover from the ice. I think you'll find some nice new additions to maybe one-hundred of them."

"Explain!"

"Well, thanks to the special coldness of that planet we rescued you from, about one-hundred of those Daleks can fire death rays with crystallized ice in them. They'll freeze the victim inside-to-out. A slow, deliciously painful death." Missy said, licking her lips with a mad glint in her cold blue eyes. Eyes colder than the new Dalek death rays. The Dalek Commander lowered his eyestalk to peer at his gunstick. "Am I like they are?"

Missy shrugged. "How should I know? I can't tell unless I'm being frozen inside-to-out."

The Dalek looked as if it was about to fire on her but then lowered its gunstick and raised its eyestalk. "Begin work on the Dalek Base! The new Dalek Empire will rise into the Un-i-verse! Daleks will conquer!"