Hey all! Thanks for all the lovely reviews.

The next chapter is up! They might seem a bit 'fast' these chapters and there are quite a few time skips but we're sort of just seeing snippets of the time war!

153 days since Koschei was taken…

The constant rumbling of the engine underneath her was rocking Hally to sleep. The air transport carrier skating swiftly over the once beautiful hills of Mount Ivar. The small team in the carrier were all looking around, some with anxious looks on their faces. This team had been tasked with the retrieval of a Dalek prisoner being held within the underground labyrinth of the mountain.

She shot Lenden a small smile, he winked back confidently. She stifled a laugh and rolled her eyes. Just over a month ago she'd promised Persca that she would make sure Lenden got back safe, so here she was, following him to all the depths of hell.

They'd both been transported from the academy to one of the military training camps that had been established on the other side of Mount Cadon. The snowy side. Hally had quickly realised that while she herself might be quite… weak and have pretty terrible stamina. She could use her… advantage to cheat her way into being stronger, faster and a lot more deadly. This was how she had quickly graduated with Lenden from the training camp and into what was currently a recon squadron.

Hally sighed softly and arched her back to try and see out of the small slit of a window in the side of the aircraft. All she could see was darkness. Hally felt the aircraft begin to slow up, Greir, their Captain unbuckled her safety belt and stoop up, holding onto one of the poles that lined the ceiling for support.

"Ok, this needs to be a quick in and out team. The prisoner is located deep inside sector 13. Vance and I are going straight in for the recon. Wraight and Forde you'll be eyeing us from above, keep her in stealth. Tomason, Oakdown…" The Captain turned her gaze on her and Lenden. "You're coming with us, keep our exit clear… we're not expecting any kind of attack. However, the locals have been a little hostile considering what we're keeping in their basement."

Hally nodded slowly. "Got it."

The aircraft made its careful landing a few short minutes later. Hally had surprised even herself at her ability to follow instructions when it came to life or death. Plus, after her promise to Persca, she really had to be on best behaviour, so to not get kicked out their squadron. There had been rumours about Time Lord's going rogue. Squadron executions and soldiers simply disappearing into thin air…

Once on the ground, the team took their separate positions, Hally and Lenden found the planned exit route and took up position just outside. Hally found herself edging closer to the damp wall of the dark tunnel, trying to find suitable cover should they need it. Once in position, their pair fell silent. A whistling wind ruffled through the grass at their feet. The darkness was thick and seemed to centre in on them. It was eerily silent.

They waited in tense silence for around 15 minutes. Lenden checked the sky, shifting from side to side on his feet. "Shouldn't we have heard from them by now?" He whispered, catching Hally's attention.

She nodded, straining to try and hear anything from the mouth of the dark tunnel that quickly disappeared into the darkness as it wound deeper into the mountain.

Silence.

"Come on, we should check on them." Lenden took a few tentative steps into the tunnel. Looking back at her for confirmation. Hally bit her lip, looking around, uncertain. During most of their training and missions together Lenden would always look to Hally for the final decision. He'd seen her get out of enough tight spots to have the opinion that it seemed to be best when you were doing whatever it was she was doing. After a few moments, she nodded uneasily, heading in behind him.

"I've got a bad feeling about this…" She whispered.

The pair made their way cautiously further and further into the darkness of the tunnel. With a small click, Lenden flicked on his torch, shining a harsh white light through the thick darkness. They slowly eased further and further inside the mountain, the silence that surrounded them seemed to hold the promise of something dangerous.

"It's too quiet." Lenden's voice cracked a little. Hally turned to try and shoot him a reassuring look but she couldn't see his face at all in the darkness.

Suddenly there was a sharp cry of anguish from up ahead, followed immediately by haphazard flashes of bright purple and blue lights. Before Lenden could turn to Hally to ask what they should do, Hally had already bolted down the tunnel towards the lights. As they drew closer, they could hear the sounds of multiple blasters being fired, the light coming from each shot illuminating the tunnel. Further shouts of panic and harsh screaming came from around the corner. Lenden flashed a worried look over to the girl sprinting beside him, the flashes of the blasters lighting up her face just enough for him to be able to see the excited grin on her face. However, before they could get around the corner, Vance came barrelling into them, his weapon still firing at whatever had been attacking him.

He recoiled, shocked that he'd hit something, raising his blaster straight at Hally's face. She knocked it away, growling softly. "Watch where you're pointing that thing!"

Vance faltered, Lenden held his hands above his head, trying to calm the stocky man. "Hey! Hey! It's us! What the hell happened? Where's the Captain?!"

"Dead." Vance finally spat out as he pushed past them. "Morons didn't check it was actually unconscious. Thing was just playing dead!" Hally's eyes widened as the source of all the commotion rounded the corner on them. Its bright blue, single eye seemed to scan over each of them, the point of its blaster passing between them thoughtfully.

Hally shook her head in disbelief. So this was a Dalek. It didn't look as deadly as she'd thought, a bit primitive. Like someone had made it in their back yard…

"Ex-ter-min-ate!" The golden tin can shrieked, bringing Hally back to the present.

"Shit." She muttered, seeing that its weapon was currently trained on Lenden. Without thinking, Hally moved as fast as she could, pushing herself in front of Lenden as the electric bolt fired from the Dalek.

Hally let out a sharp cry as it hit her square in the back. She was knocked forwards into a stunned Lenden's arms.

There was a painful ringing in her ears and she could suddenly see dark spots creeping into her vision. She barely registered Lenden shouting at her, panic in his eyes. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Vance shooting back at the Dalek, Lenden had a painfully tight grip on her. That was when she realised that her legs had given way, he was keeping her up. Trying to move her back up the tunnel.

The pain in her back was immense, a burning hot fire was pushing through her body. The smell of burnt flesh suddenly engulfed her and Hally had to fight the urge to retch when she realised it was her own.

She was going to die.

Her body froze in panic. One of her hearts had stopped.

Stopped.

It felt like it had been burnt to a crisp.

"Hal! No… Just stay with me!" Lenden was now practically dragging her back up out of the tunnel, she could hear the unmistakable sound of Vance's blaster as he covered them from behind.

It was strange, the further he carried her out of the tunnel, the easier walking seemed to become. Hally could still taste the blood in the throat, however, it didn't feel like it was choking her anymore. Each breath was becoming slightly less and less agonising.

Perhaps death could be peaceful?

She could still feel a burning pain radiating from her back as Lenden dragged her back onto the ship. In the background, she heard Vance cry out for Forde to get them out of there. Lenden practically dropped her onto the make-shift med-bay, crying out for Wraight to grab a medkit. She winced as Wraight roughly turned her over onto her front, expecting to feel the harsh cold of the medical equipment on her wound.

A stunned silence followed. Hally frowned. After a few moments, she pushed through her hands, finding she could actually quite easily sit herself up.

"Wait…what's wrong?" She finally asked, when neither man spoke. Gingerly she twisted round to try and see or touch her back. Weirdly the pain had faded to a dull ache.

Lenden looked slowly between her and Wraight, his face was a mixture of confusion and…fear?

"I saw you. You were hit. You were hit right in front of me…"

Hally nodded, worried by the look that was passing over Lenden's face, "I know… my heart stopped." She scrunched up her face in confusion, touching the left side of her chest. Her heart was beating perfectly again.

"There's nothing there…" Lenden looked up at her.

A small gasp escaped Hally. She was trying to think. Think quickly. She needed to breathe. She'd forgotten to breathe.

"Umm…" She had to come up with something. Anything.

"Maybe… it… it was… just a stun." She winced at her terrible attempt of a lie. Neither Lenden nor Wraight looked at all convinced.

"Dalek's don't do stun kid." Vance narrowed his eyes at her as he came back in from the cockpit.

"Well. This one did." She growled back defensively. Hally grabbed a spare top from the drawer underneath the med-bay, throwing it over her ruined one.

"Guys… just drop it. I'm alive. Lenden, you're welcome." She shot him an accusatory glare, hoping it would get him off her back as she slipped awkwardly off the bed. The trio all shared a look of disbelief as she casually went and sat back in her seat, buckling herself in as if everything had gone completely to plan.

Vance shook his head and muttered something under his breath irritably as he skulked back to Forde in the cockpit. Wraight looked awkwardly down at the floor, taking a seat as far away from Hally as possible.

Lenden looked between them, before slowly taking the seat opposite Hally. "Yeah… no, thanks." She looked up at him, raising an eyebrow in irritation. He continued. "I mean, thanks for saving my life, and for somehow not regenerating." He frowned at her, worry crossing his face.

"Fluke." She said, licking her lower lip. "We should be more worried about the fact that we totally failed our mission. The asset is now free in the mountain and Greir is dead." She clicked her tongue harshly. But looking at Lenden, it was like he hadn't heard a word she'd just said.

"How did you do that?" He implored.

"Do what?!" She cried out, coughing awkwardly when Wraight looked over at her outburst. "Look. Seriously. I didn't do anything. Can we just drop it?" She hissed.

Lenden's voice dropped even quieter so Wraight couldn't hear. "You think they're going to drop it? Because you're right… we did fail, and they've got a pretty big reason to blame it on you…"

Hally's eyes widened. "Me…?" She bit back, flicking a glance over to Wraight to check he couldn't hear them. "It wasn't my fault? You were with me the whole time…"

Lenden shook his head sadly. "I know… that's not what I meant. What we just saw… Hally. That's not normal."

She let out a small frustrated groan. "I know. Okay. Trust me I know." She ran her hands over her face, trying to find the right words. "I can't explain it Lenden. I'm sorry… look don't put yourself in any danger. Okay? This is my mess. I promised Persca you'd stay out of trouble."

He let out a small laugh. "Yeah well, you officially stepped in front of a bullet for me so consider that contract filled."

She shook her head in exasperation, chuckling. "I can't, you might decide to walk in front of another blast." He smiled back at her, his eyes still held a kind of sadness.

The rest of the ride back to the closest checkpoint had been silent, eventually, Wraight had stood up and left to find the others, so Hally and Lenden had just sat in a semi-awkward silence. Once they'd landed Hally had swiftly departed from the group and made her way to the sleeping quarters alone.

Looking back, that had probably been a mistake.

There was a small mirror in the communal bathroom. Once she was sure she was alone, Hally had stripped off her tops and turned around. Straining to see her back in the mirror.

She stared at the perfect porcelain skin.

Not a single mark.

A small smile pulled at the side of her mouth and she covered her mouth with her hand to stifle the laugh that escaped. She turned away from the mirror, her eyes wide.

"Oh my God…" She grinned stupidly into her hand.

A small trickle of misery eased its way into her mind as she realised that the one person she wanted to share this insane discovery with, was probably on the other side of the galaxy at the moment.

Hally quickly redressed and climbed into her bunk, lying down and staring at the ceiling in amazement.

She must have eventually fallen asleep because the next thing she was aware of was being roughly pulled awake as someone painfully grabbed her upper arms and yanked her out of bed. Before she could see who it was, a scratchy black fabric was pulled over her head.

Hally yelped in fear and tried to kick out at the perpetrator. She managed to land a nasty hit to their shin and she triumphantly heard a grunt of pain. Her panic only rose when she felt more hands make a grab for her. Two securing her legs, as she felt her body get shifted up onto someone's shoulder, the world tipping upside down.

She shrieked and continued to squirm painfully. "Put! Me! Down!" She cried out.

Her continuous shouting was completely ignored as she was marched away, then, suddenly she was thrown down onto the ground. The harsh concrete cutting into her knees and hands when she tried to break her fall. She could now see various lights coming through the black material that was covering her head. Multiple hushed voices mumbled incoherently all around her.

Someone stepped forwards, a shadow falling across the light in front of her. She could still hardly see a thing.

"Gentlemen, the events that unfolded tonight were part of a routine recon mission. Now. Because of this soldier in front of us. Many have died, including the well-respected Captain Grier." Hally heard a murmur of agreement pass around the room. What the hell was this!?

She opened her mouth to fight back but the unfamiliar voice continued. "This soldier has committed treason. Has betrayed her own. And so, this assembly has condemned her to complete exile." There were a few cries of contemptuous agreement.

"Wait, what?!" Hally shouted, trying to get to her feet.

The crack that sounded as something (probably someone's hand) smacked into the side of Hally's face, reverberated around the room. She was knocked back to the ground, holding a hand up to her face as pain exploded across her cheek.

Hally felt two pairs of hands grab at her upper arms again, hoisting her up to standing. Someone grabbed both her hands and forced them together. She felt the cold metal of restraints against her wrists and the unmistakable click as they were locked shut.

"She is to be exiled and imprisoned with immediate effect. On the planet Phrìosan." Hally tried to struggle against her bonds but they only bit into her skin tighter. She felt the hands at her arms release her, until she was standing alone. The restraints on her wrists hissed and beeped sharply and Hally groaned inwardly. They were Prison Vortex Transporter Restraints.

With an obnoxious click, Hally felt the nauseating pull of the Vortex Transporter as it dragged her primitively through space, straight onto Phrìosan. The backwater prison planet, well known for its dodgy dealings and string of missing prisoners. With an uncomfortable jerk, Hally's feet found the floor again and she staggered to stay upright. The black fabric was ripped off her head and Hally raised her hands to cover her eyes from the now comparatively bright light.

The guard grabbed her by the upper arm, by this point she was sure she'd have bruises from all this manhandling and dragged her down a concrete grey corridor. He was at least 7ft tall, Hally stared at him. He had a strangely large jaw for the size of the rest of his head. Perhaps that was what all Phrìosanian's looked like? He grunted angrily and shook her a little when he noticed her staring.

"Ow…" She groaned, trying to pull her arm free. The guard stopped and punched a long password into the pad by the door. It opened and he quickly shoved her inside, sliding the door shut behind her. Hally heard him grunt again outside the cell before his heavy footsteps disappeared back down the corridor, leaving her all alone.

Hally looked around the tiny, grey, damp cell.

Great.

165 days since Koschei disappeared…

12 days since I was wrongly imprisoned.

It'd been 12 days since Hally had eaten.

It'd been 12 days since Hally had spoken to anyone.

12 days since she'd seen any form of life… apart from the small purple spider, she had found in the corner of her cell.

12 days since she'd showered…

She sighed loudly and stretched out her back on the cold floor. Every now and then she'd heard guards escorting other prisoners in and out. They'd always ignored her when she'd tried to shout obscenities at them.

It was strange, whenever they took a prisoner out… it was always a different one brought back in.

For the first few days, she'd tried to contact The Master through their bond but she'd only received silence. He must have been too far away. She'd considered the possibility of just blasting her way out. However, the door had ended up being heavier than she'd anticipated and while she might have been able to successfully 'get angry' and blow down the door. She wasn't sure she'd then be ready for whatever was on the other side. Plus… there really aren't many ways off a prison planet.

Hally lifted up her head in surprise as her door began to slide open. Two burly guards stood on the other side of her door.

Huh…I guess they do all look like that.

She quickly scrambled to get up as one of the giants took a step into her cell. He smirked and took her by the upper arm. His massive hand looked like it could crush her bone should he be so inclined. She was marched out of her room and down the miserable grey corridor. The guard was pulling her along so quickly that Hally had to jog on tip-toes just to not trip over. The prison was like a maze and after about the seventeenth left turn Hally was completely disorientated. Finally, the guard pushed open a heavy black door, on the other side was a hexagonal room, full of people. Hally looked around frantically, it seemed to be a mixture of prisoners, guards and… others. Some were dressed all in black, it was a military-type uniform but not of any squadron she'd ever seen. Some were in full suit jackets. What the hell was this?

The guard manoeuvred Hally into the middle of the room, where Hally could now see a small stage had been set up. Her guard pulled her up onto the stage before releasing her, leaving her stood with what she now realised was the rest of the prisoners. Most of the guards then weaved their way through the small crowd and exited as quickly as they had come, those that remained stood unmoving at the doors to the room.

Hally looked around her, bewildered. A small man was inspecting each of the prisoners individually, for some he would get out a measuring tape and start measuring. Others he would just straightaway assign a number. As he made his way around each prisoner, Hally began to feel more and more uneasy. She stole a quick look at the small crowd that was now circling the stage, from what she could see at least 90% of the attendees were carrying weapons. She locked eyes with a middle-aged looking man, he was dressed in the black military attire. He flashed her a predatory smirk before turning to what must have been an associate, whispering something in his ear. The associate, also dressed in black, chuckled to himself, looking Hally up and down appreciatively. Hally tensed her jaw, looking away from the pair.

This is very very bad.

The small man scuttled over and stood in front of her, looking her up and down in a more matter of fact way. He made a small sound of confirmation before ripping off a number from his papers in front of him, slapping it onto her arm. She jumped slightly and tried to back up behind a few other prisoners, bumping into a rather muscular figure behind her, the humanoid simply hissed at her, flashing a serpent-like tongue. Hally shuffled back to where she'd been standing before, the small man had now made his way down off the stage and had picked up a small round microchip. He stuck it in between his collar bones and coughed. His voice now amplified around the room.

Hally tried to slow her breathing, her hearts were both nervously fluttering in her chest. What she wouldn't give for The Master to appear now.

"Ladies and Gentlemen!" He announced, everyone in the room quietened to listen. "Welcome. It looks like we certainly have a lot of fighters in the room tonight!" He grinned charismatically, motioning to the stage, which was largely made up large, burly men. Hally swallowed awkwardly.

"But, there's something for everyone." The small, presenter-man sent Hally a wink. A few of the crowd members laughed. "Sweet. Although we are told that she was sent here after killing one of her squadron!" He gasped dramatically. "So perhaps a fighter yet!" He choked out a fake laugh, turning back to the 'audience'.

Hally's eyes flickered around the crowd.

No friendly faces here.

She knew exactly what this was. She had to get out of here.

"Now, number 201… very strong guy. Almost took out 3 of our guards this one! Bidding is starting at 500 Phliox's!" The presenter approached a terrifying-looking creature, his skin was bright red and his face resembled that of a beetle. Hally looked around the remaining prisoners as the auction continued on. Surely if they all decided to fight their way out they might stand a chance? Hally then remembered the labyrinth of tunnels and the fact that the entire planet was full of them. She fiddled nervously with her fingernails.

The presenter was cut off halfway through bargaining for number 213 by the predatory middle-aged man in the blacks. "Oi! Hurry up and get to the girl will you!" There was a low hum of approval from the crowd. "Some of us want to get her home early…" He sent her a wink. Hally paled and had to swallow down the bile that rose in her throat.

The small presenter laughed. "Well, since you're so keen." He considered her for a moment. "Let's start at 2,500 Philox's!" Hally tried to take a small step back, the man merely laughed.

"Done!" He raised his hand to the presenter, who nodded. Looking around the crowd for any counteroffers.

"2,600!" Came a call from the back, a tall, slim man, wearing dark glasses. Hally wrapped her arms around herself tightly. Panic building in her chest.

The man, who by his attire, Hally assumed was some kind of missionary smirked. "Cut the crap. 3,500!"

"Come on sweetheart, I promise not to bite." He grinned hungrily at her.

Something inside her snapped and Hally lunged herself at the man. There was a sharp intake from the crowd and a few even reached for their weapons but Hally had already barrelled into him. It was taking all her concentration to not completely lose it and send him flying across the room. Instead, she focused her energy into her strength, easily flooring him with a well-aimed punch to the back of the knee. Once on the ground, Hally grabbed his arm, twisting it painfully into his back. He let out an undignified scream as his arm broke with a satisfying snap.

She jumped up to her feet, dodging one of the guards as they made a swipe for her. Instead, she ducked and stealthily pulled a gun from the holster of one of the suits. Aiming it quickly at the presenter.

People stood around her gasped and took a few steps back, almost tripping over one another. The presenter gave her a sympathetic look.

"Now, now. There's absolutely no scenario where this ends well for you. Put it down, dear." Hally swallowed, noticing that all the guards were now pointing blasters in her direction. She stood her ground, gripping her gun tightly.

From out of the crowd, stepped a pale humanoid. He was wearing a pinstriped grey suit and was carrying a cane. He looked barely older than Hally.

"Finchly, dearest…" He drawled towards the presenter. "Let me." He took a step towards Hally, and into the sight of her gun. He flashed her a charming smile. "That was quite something." He smiled knowingly at her. "Let me make you a deal, sweetheart. Give me the gun. And I'll buy you." He looked over his shoulder to Finchly, the presenter. "…say 3,600, will that do?"

The presenter nodded, watching amusedly. "Sounds about right."

He turned back and held out his hand, motioning for Hally to give him the gun. "Come, come. We don't have all day." Hally waivered, fear flashing across her eyes. He obviously picked up on it because he chuckled patronisingly.

"Don't worry. I won't touch you." He smiled sweetly, beckoning for her with his fingers.

Hally took a deep breath, not seeing another choice and stepped forward slowly, lowering the gun into his hand. He grinned and with his other hand, quickly caught her wrist. He turned back to Finchly. "Just charge the usual account dearest." Hally began to pull at his grip weakly. He sighed dramatically and turned back to her.

"Please don't. This is going to be a lot easier if I don't have to carry you out of here…" His eyes twinkled impatiently. Hally pulled harder, almost pulling him off balance.

"If you want, I'll happily leave you with one of these gentlemen… but trust me they have much more imaginative uses for you." Hally cried out angrily and in a desperate attempt, bit down hard on his hand.

"Ah!" He let her go suddenly. He began to laugh. "Oooh, I like this one!" He clicked his fingers and two of his associates appeared from the crowd behind Hally.

She felt a sharp scratch on the side of her neck and suddenly everything went black.