"Doctor, where are we headed?" Nyte asked. They had been running non-stop since their escape from the prison. Now in the middle of a dense forest with the sun peeking just above the horizon, their path was beginning to be illuminated but their destination still unknown.

"I have no idea- this way just looked promising. Much more promising than that way, though I suppose the only way we could actually test that is if we split up and went both ways." The self-titled 'raggedy man' had said all in one breathe.

"How would that make sense? We'd both be lost in the woods at that point then?"

"Well then why would you suggest something like that? I swear sometimes I wonder why I deal with you humans. Brains are all jumbled with unnecessary plans!"

They ran towards the sunlight and away from the castle. The complete opposite of where Loren would be.

Loren, she must be worried sick. He thought to himself. Or worse she must be trying to find me.

Nyte had no idea how long he had been imprisoned, it could have been a couple days or a few weeks for all he knew. The reason for his incarceration he knew to be for his new found ability to control fire. How Alf found out about it at all was the question on his mind. They had gone to extraordinary lengths to ensure their secrecy and still he knew. The young mage remembered the conversation with his soon to be father in law vividly but right now the important thing was finding out where this mad man was taking him.

There was something odd about his visit today, something missing. No, someone.

"Doctor! Where are the Ponds?"

The Doctor stopped abruptly and a dark look came upon his face as he turned to face the man who had just barely stopped in time to avoid collision. Whenever he had shown this face Nyte knew that something terrible had happened or was about to happen; for as wonderful and generous as he was, he was also ruthless and terrifying.

The silence in the forest only added to the tense atmosphere.

"Amy and Rory will not be joining us on this little venture and that is all you need to know for now." He said coldly, eyes filled with sorrow and rage.

Nyte knew better than to press for more information but he had never seen the man without his faithful companions. Not seeing them this time made him fear the worst. He knew travelling with the Doctor was a dangerous life. They had once traveled to a land known as Westeros where dragons lived and children of the forest slept and for a while Nyte loved his time with the Khaleesi Daenerys who instructed him on manners of the court and even helped convince Loren to give him a chance. When the civil war in her kingdom erupted however… nothing prepared them for the amount of bloodshed and needless deaths they witnessed.

He only hoped that Amy and Rory had not met the same fate.

"My apologies, friend, I am just not used to their absence." The Doctors gaze softened and then turned to one of confusion as he checked his surroundings. He circled around the area they were standing, staring above the trees and past them, looking for something.

"The sun is out." He stated curiously.

"Yes Doctor, that is typically what-"

"And Nyte, you're awake!"

"Yes, I am as are you." The mage was beginning to become annoyed. It was typical for The Doctor to go off on tangents but the rhetorical statements got tiresome after a while.

"That is exactly my point! The sun is now completely up yet, listen." The Doctor cupped his hands over his ears to signal Nyte to listen closely to his surroundings and there was nothing. It was completely and terrifyingly silent.

"I hear nothing."

"Exactly! In a forest this dense we'd expect to hear something! A singing bird or a chirping bug, but there is nothing. Why do you think that is?" He asked almost too excitedly.

The Doctor was right, of course. The sun had almost completely risen but there was no sign that any of the local fauna knew it was time to start the day. It was as if they were scared to come out, or had completely abandoned their forest to begin with. Neither of the options appealed to the men standing in the abandoned forest.

"The forest is abandoned, almost as if someone, or something, frightened them away." The Doctor continued "I have a feeling we will be seeing something new very s-"

"THE. DOCTOR. IS. HERE." came an all too familiar mechanical voice from deep in the woods.

The Galifreyan's eye's went from that of bewilderment and curiosity to cold recognition and then settled on fear.

The Daleks were coming.

/

After her failed attempt to get new information from her father, Loren sat in her room and waited for the sun to set. The darkness would be her ally tonight as she would leave the castle to find her beloved and figure out just what was happening.

All attempts to coax the princess out of her room were met with either silence or faux sobs. The plan depended on the staff and guard believing that she were in mourning after her father made the announcement that Nyte was found dead earlier this morning. It was a lie which caused only more confusion and a want for more answers.

She had walked over to the window on the far side of the room and began to count the guards and memorize their pathing when the first explosion happened. It wasn't as audible as Loren remembered when she first encountered the Daleks but it was just as terrifying. Without thinking she flung open the doors to her balcony and began her descent down the walls.

The climb was as easy as it had always been. She used to sneak out of her castle to get away from the responsibilities of being a princess and to see Nyte who lived in the forest until she forced him to move into the castle. There were also times she would leave to be with the villagers and learn about their trouble; she was going to be queen after all. Whatever her reason, she learned how to climb and she learned how to do it with haste. This worked to her advantage. Now she was making the usual climb to run towards one of the greatest threats she had ever faced, and somehow she knew she would find Nyte there.

First, she needed to ensure her people's safety. Halfway down her descent she pushed off her tower wall to leap over the side gates she landed with a roll to break her fall. The princess sprinted down the path towards the village of Barden. She could see the curious villagers coming out to try and find the source of the explosion.

"The princess is here!" the villagers shouted as they looked at her quizzically, wondering what she could be doing here in the middle of the night.

Loren ran passed them and towards the town square where she could be heard by all.

"My people! There is danger coming from the forest! You must flee now! I have no time to explain but you must run to the castle! The gates will be opened for you but you must go now!" She exclaimed to everyone and she saw the look of understanding, for the people adored their princess, as they began to run uphill towards the palace entrance.

Loren guided the last of the villagers to the path towards the palace and started running towards the forest when something in an alleyway caught her attention.

She walked down the alley way as another explosion went off and she could faintly hear Dalek chatter coming closer.

Her fear turned to hope as her eyes came upon the big blue box that meant help was already here.

"Hello you great big beautiful girl!" Loren exclaimed touching the Tardis and reaching for the key in her blouse pocket.

/

Author's Note!

So some really important things to note from this chapter

1.) I mentioned Westeros to open up the fact that we are going to multiple worlds, I really want to take Nyte and Loren to places that you or I have always wanted to go

2.) I am trying really hard with Loren so please bear with me on her. Nyte I've had and developed for years. Loren is a baby OC

3.) DALEK FIRE BENDER SHOWDOWN NEXT CHAPTER!