The Doctor had many theories as to what had happened to poor Lynley. Psychic forces were out of the question; no human would be able to produce that amount of energy. Perhaps someone had forced the water into his lungs? But that also made no sense. Not only had there not been enough time for that to happen, surely there would have been more of a ruckus than there was. Then there was the fact that while the human lungs had a great capacity, he spat up so much that they would have had to be continuously filling. When he'd died some had been in his mouth and throat. It was like it was replenishing.

Danielle had finally given up and gone to sleep, curled up next to Rose on the bed. He really enjoyed talking to her. He was surprised by her knowledge on Shakespeare, but it was nice to be able to talk to someone about a subject who was almost as knowledgeable as he was. And she was so eager to learn more. It was unfair to claim that Rose was different and didn't want to learn, but Danielle had a different energy about her. She craved it even if she didn't understand what she was hearing.

If only he could work out what was going on. It obviously wasn't magic, but whatever was doing this was trying to make it seem like it was. Perhaps to blend into the time period. Whatever they were, they weren't from Earth. This was something alien and he would work out what it was.

Danielle and Rose were both startled awake by another scream, this time female, that cried out from somewhere in the pub. Danielle shot up just in time to see the Doctor rush past, his features hard. Her heart fluttered slightly at the sight of him barrelling towards danger, trying to help. She did rather like it.

She turned to Rose, half to see if she knew what was going on and half to see what they should do next. Rose was under the covers that Danielle was lying on, with only her underdress on as the beautiful dress she'd chosen had been rather stiff.

While the white cotton dress would have been fine for their own time, even in her half-asleep state Rose knew she could go running around in it. Danielle, on the other hand, was still fully dressed so she nodded her head towards the door. "Go, I'll catch up," she quickly instructed.

With a nod, Danielle jumped off the bed and dashed out of the room. She caught a flash of black leather across the long landing and quickly followed the Doctor into William's room.

The slam of the door opening seemed to wake Shakespeare up from whatever had knocked him out, rather than the scream of the landlady now lying on the floor. The Doctor quickly fell to the ground next to her as Danielle appeared in the doorway, gasping in horror at the sight.

"What? What was that?" William stuttered, disorientated. Danielle frowned as she caught the sound of fluttering near the open window, and dashed over to look inside.

"I don't believe it," the Doctor breathed after checking Dolly over. "She died of fright."

Danielle stood on her tiptoes, leaning on the window sill to look outside. Her eyes widened as she saw a silhouette against the glow of the moon above. Broomstick, cloak, even the hint of a cackle.

"I'm not surprised," she breathed, the shock of the sight numbing her slightly to what had just happened.

The Doctor frowned and rushed to her side, looking out of the window next to her. However all he saw was the moon, and the dark streets, and nothing more. "Why? What did you see?"

Danielle shook her head. "You're not going to believe me," she replied. "I-I don't believe me, and I saw it."

The Doctor looked down at her. Even in the dim candle light he could see that she had paled slightly. Whatever she had seen must have really stunned her. He nudged her gently and, when she looked up at him, shot her a reassuring smile. "Of course I will," he promised. "What was it?"

"It was a witch," she said. "A proper witch. Like an actual witch. With- With a cloak, and a broom," she looked back out of the window, "hanging in the sky like a Halloween decoration."

Rose appeared in the doorway, her dress barely fastened but on enough to be considered decent. She caught sight of the woman on the floor and her face dropped in horror. "Oh my god," she said lowly. "Is she…"

"Yeah," the Doctor replied before she could finish the sentence. She caught sight of the pair, the Doctor solemn and serious and Danielle almost shaking in her fright. There was nothing she could do for the poor woman on the floor, so she respectfully stepped around her and over to her friend. She wrapped an arm around Danielle's shoulder and moved her away from the window.

"It's okay," she reassured her gently. "You're okay."

Danielle shook her head. "No, no-no I'm not okay," she stuttered out as Rose sat her down in one of the empty chairs at Shakespeare's desk. "I-I don't understand. Has something happened to me? Am I next?"

"Of course you're not," Rose reassured before wondering if maybe she had a point. She didn't know what was going on in Lynley's or Dolly's head before they'd died. She looked up at the Doctor, suddenly a little panicky herself. "She's not, is she?" she asked.

The Doctor popped out his sonic screwdriver, giving Danielle a once over. It wasn't something he did very often, so Rose knew it was serious. He lowered his arm. "No, she's fine," he promised. "She's just had a fright."

He turned to Shakespeare. "Go get someone to move Dolly," he instructed. "We can't leave her on the floor."

~0~0~0~

Dolly was taken away but Danielle didn't relax, she couldn't. Something strange was going on, the Doctor himself had said it was mimicking magic. Seeing a witch out of the window, though, just made it all seem much more frightening.

"Do you think Dolly saw it too?" she asked quietly as day broke outside.

"There is a chance," the Doctor admitted as he stood by the window, arms crossed. He knew it was a fruitless effort, but he wanted to see if the 'witch' came back. "In such a superstitious time, a witch might scare someone to death."

"I must have been something incredibly frightening," Shakespeare added. "She sat out three bouts of the plague in this place when we all ran like rats. She had such enormous spirit."

"But she was by the door," Rose reasoned. "Would that mean the witch was in the room with you?" She turned her attention from her friend, meeting William's surprised gaze.

"It does seem to be revolving around you," the Doctor agreed. "Lynley drowned, but on dry land and only after talking to you."

"You're accusing me?" William asked in reply, defensive.

The Doctor shook his head. "No, but then Danielle, who has never been here before, saw a witch as well. After meeting you. What's the last thing you remember?"

Shakespeare rocked back in his chair. "I was writing," he replied simply. "The last scene was almost finished, then I woke up to Dolly's scream. I must have fallen asleep. Sometimes my mind continues to think, but my body can no longer hold out."

Danielle looked up at the Doctor. "Do you think that the witch was in here?" she asked, and he nodded, confirming Rose's guess as well. "Why, though? What has Mr Shakespeare got to do with witches?"

"Didn't you write about witches?" Rose asked the play write. She remembered that. It was in Macbeth, she'd had to do that for her English GCSE.

Danielle shook her head before Shakespeare even had a chance to answer. "No, not yet," she murmured.

"But that is an idea," Shakespeare mused, tapping his bearded chin.

"They're not witches," the Doctor stated firmly. "They're just trying very hard to make everyone think like they are. But why? Why go through all this trouble just to kill a landlady and a master of the revels?"

"But in a time where people believe in witches it's quite a good cover," Rose reasoned. "No one's going to suspect aliens when there's magic."

"Peter Streete spoke of witches," Shakespeare commented, still wondering about how to work witches into a play. There were very intriguing, and quite popular at the moment.

"Who?" Rose asked.

"He designed the Globe," Danielle replied. "The architect."

"There's a chance he saw them too," the Doctor reasoned, pushing off from the windowsill. "Lets go to the Globe. Maybe it will have some proper answers.

~0~0~0~

The Globe during the day was nothing like it was during the evening. Without the crowds of people within it, it was huge, and bright and almost colourful. It had fresh sawdust on the floor, the stage was bare. She wasn't sure how many people got to see it like this apart from the actors and workers, but Danielle felt rather special to see it in the day. It was like seeing school at night.

"This is amazing," she whispered, spinning around to take in every little detail she could. "I wish I had a camera."

"No one would believe you if you showed them," Rose replied cheekily.

"Who said anything about showing anyone?" Danielle retorted. "This is for me."

The Doctor shook his head in amusement as he looked around the giant room. "It's definitely impressive," he added before turning to William. "But fourteen sides is a bit odd for a building. Why fourteen?"

Shakespeare, with the ending to his play in hand, shrugged his shoulders. "It was the shape Peter Streete thought best, that's all. Said it carried the sound well."

Danielle walked over to the stage, leaning against it to look out. "Does it matter?" she asked.

"I don't know," the Doctor replied. "There's something niggling me about the number. Something hidden away in my brain somewhere," he shot her a grin. "I do have a lot to work through."

She shot him a grin of her own. "Yes, we know, you're super smart," she retorted.

"There's fourteen days in a fortnight?" Rose shot out as an idea and the Doctor nodded, his thoughtful frown falling back.

"It's the atomic number of silicon," Danielle suggested before frowning. "I'm not sure if that actually means anything, though."

"No, but good guess," he replied. "It's something simpler, though. Something to do with this building, this period in history."

"Oh!" Rose exclaimed. "Fourteen lines in a sonnet!"

Danielle shared her smile. "Oh, that is a good one!"

The Doctor agreed. "Words and shapes following the same design. There's something more, though. Something I'm missing."

"Is it space-y?" Danielle asked, much to Shakespeare's confusion. "I mean, it sounds alien to me. Is there like… I dunno, a fourteen-planet solar system or something?"

"Alien?" Shakespeare asked. "You mean, from another land, like you are?"

Danielle looked up at him. "I mean farther than that," she replied. He smiled at her, holding his hand out and helped her on the stage.

"And how far are you from?" he asked.

"Very far," the Doctor answered for her, with a bit of a bite. Rose pressed her lips together to try and not smile at the annoyance on his face and the flush on Danielle's. "There's something in that fourteen. Don't suppose we could talk to the architect?"

"You won't get an answer," William replied. "A month after finishing this place, lost his mind. Starting raving about witches, hearing voices, babbling. His mind was addled."

Danielle looked down at the Doctor. "More witches," she commented and he nodded.

"Where is he now?"

"Bedlam," William replied sombrely.

Danielle's eyes widened. "Bedlam?" she almost shrieked. "That's not going to happen to me, is it?"

"Of course not," the Doctor replied shortly. Rose frowned.

"What's Bedlam?"

"Bethlem Hospital. The madhouse," Shakespeare explained.

"It's not a madhouse, it's a torture site. A prison. They take the weak and the ill and beat them just for existing," she looked at the Doctor, eyes hard. "I'm not going there," she told him firmly, with no room for arguments.

He didn't particularly fancy it either. If his mind really had been broken by the witches, there probably wasn't much he could get from the man anyway. So, he needed the next best thing.

He walked over, jogging up the stairs and to Shakespeare. "I need to poke your mind for a moment," he told the play write. "This all involves you somehow, I just want to take a look."

"Ask away, Doctor," he replied, waving his arms out to either side. "I have nothing to hide."

"It doesn't quite work like that," the Doctor said. He reached out, placing a hand on each temple. "Just relax for a moment, I just want to see last night."

Danielle frowned. "You can just look into his head? Just like that?"

"Just like that," he confirmed with a little bit of a brag. "Much more impressive than writing plays, I should think."

"You sound jealous, Doctor," Shakespeare retorted. "Don't be, you are very impressive."

Danielle almost squealed in delight at the undeniable flirt in William's tone. "Oh, I knew it, I knew it," she giggled.

"You should know that I'm not that easy," the Doctor murmured. "Just relax, this won't hurt."

The Doctor closed his eyes and Shakespeare gasped in surprise. "It's like you are in my memories," he declared in amazement. "Oh, you are spectacular, aren't you Doctor?"

"I try. Tell me about last night. Show me what you remember."

"There is nothing to tell," Shakespeare warned him. "We talked, poor Lynley died. You adjourned for the night, and I set about finishing my play." He frowned to himself. "I was writing, then I was awoken by poor Dolly."

"Go further back. Remember when you told the whole theatre about your new play. What was that like?"

"I- I can't say I remember it at all," William commented. "It was as if it was through water… It wasn't the first time I'd felt like that. It was just after I had the idea for the play."

"And when did it all begin? Where did it begin? The first time you felt like that, where was it?"

"All Hallows Street."

"Too many words."

Rose screamed and turned around, eyes wide at the sight of the witch that had now appeared behind her. Danielle reached out and grabbed the Doctor, clinging to him tightly.

"It's the witch!" she exclaimed. "She's real… she's really real."

"Oh, she's real all right," the Doctor confirmed. "But she's not a witch. Rose, William, behind me."

The blonde and the writer didn't need telling twice and all three stood behind the Doctor. "I know you," he told the witch. "I didn't think you were still hanging around."

"None on Earth has knowledge of us," she cackled. "Who will die first, hmm? Perhaps you little fiery-haired lady friend?"

The Doctor shook his head, stepping forward and directly in front of Danielle. He'd felt her grip tighten on his arm and he knew it was because she was scared. "No one will die here. What is your plan?"

"Our plan will consume you all," the witch told him triumphantly. She held up her finger. "Just one touch of the heart…"

"You see, I am very clever," the Doctor continued as they all took a step back. "And I know a lot of things about a lot of people. There are fourteen walls and that is deliberate, isn't it?" The witch didn't seem to care about his words, stepping closer. "The words, the numbers, it all makes sense. You're from the fourteen stars of the Rexel planetary configuration! You're a Carrionite!"

With a scream and a bright light, the witch faded from in front of them, leaving them alone in the Globe once again.

"What was that?" Danielle asked quietly. "What did you do?"

"I named her. The power of name," the Doctor replied, quickly pulling out his screwdriver. He scanned the area but there was nothing of any use to him. He pocketed it. "It's old science. Instead of using numbers, Carrionites use words."

"Use them for what?" Shakespeare asked and the Doctor glanced at him, his face serious.

"The end of the world," he replied grimly. "Come on, we better get a move on in case they decide to make a return visit."

He nudged Rose forward, and William was more than happy to lead the way. The Doctor, though, put a hand on Danielle's arm as she made to move and stopped her in her tracks. "Are you okay?" he asked lowly. She had been threatened, after all.

Danielle nodded. "Honestly? It's a relief to know I wasn't seeing things," she told him before smiling. "A little death threat isn't enough to get rid of me."

He smiled back. "Good. That's good," he replied and they stared at each other for a moment, both grinning like idiots. Then his smile fell away slightly and he grabbed her hand. "Right, let's go."

~0~0~0~

William needed to freshen up – he had a play that night, after all. The Doctor agreed that they should go about the day as if they hadn't been confronted by alien witches using magic words to try and take over the world, so they left him to getting ready. Only for a short while, though, and soon they were back in his room as he finished cleaning himself up.

"The Carrionites disappeared way back at the dawn of the universe," the Doctor told them all. Rose and Danielle sat at the writer's desk while Shakespeare dried his face. "Nobody was sure if they were real or legend."

"Well, I'm going for real," Shakespeare retorted.

"And they want him?" Rose asked, nodding towards the play write. The Doctor could see how she had come to that conclusion. Everyone that had died or had been affected was connected to him in some fashion.

"No, I think they just found a mind that could do what they want," he replied. Shakespeare frowned.

"Me?"

Danielle nodded. "That makes sense," she commented. "A race that uses words as power finding the greatest wordsmith."

Shakespeare couldn't help but smirk. "The greatest wordsmith?" he repeated and she flushed slightly.

"You know what I mean," she mumbled, embarrassed.

"They want to take the planet," the Doctor continued like he wasn't bothered at all by the little exchange. "But how? What does scaring people to death achieve?"

"Well, it's the play, isn't it?" Danielle replied and he frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, think about it. Poor Mr Streete was driven insane after building the Globe to their specification. Lynley was drowned because he wanted to stop the play, and I would think that Dolly would have interrupted him writing," she reasoned. He was watching her closely and she shifted on the spot. "Well, that's just what I think, anyway."

He stared for a moment before his face broke out into a grin. "That's fantastic," he cried and she giggled, smiling slightly.

"You think so?" she asked and he nodded.

"I do," he replied, turning to Shakespeare. "What happens at the end?"

He shrugged. "The boys get the girls. They have a bit of a dance. It's all as funny and thought provoking as usual," he rattled off before pausing with a frown. "Except those last few lines. Funny thing is, I don't actually remember writing them."

"So they gave him the words somehow?" Rose asked. "What for?"

"With the right words, projected into the Globe, the whole theatre could become an energy converter. It's not a play, it's a weapon!" He pointed at Shakespeare. "Do you have a map?"

He didn't, but he knew the pub downstairs would have one. As he rushed downstairs and back up again, the city was already making their way to the Globe for the debut of the new play. The Doctor watched them out of the window, acutely aware of how time was running out.

He laid the map out on Shakespeare's desk, immediately locating the street on it. "All Hallows Street," he stated, pointing it out. "It's not too far from the Globe. Shakespeare," he looked up and caught the writer's eye. "You head to the theatre. Don't stop the play, make them think it's going exactly how it should until the last moment. Until that last scene, got that?"

Shakespeare nodded. "I'll do it," he promised. The Doctor turned to Rose.

"Rose, I'm trusting you to keep him safe," he told her, keeping the command to stop him mucking things up unsaid. Rose knew, though and nodded her own agreement. "Danielle, you're with me."

"What are we doing?" she asked.

"Tracking the Carrionites down. Hopefully we can stop them before the words become a weapon."

"All these years I've been the cleverest man around," Shakespeare commented. "Next to you, I know nothing."

Danielle grinned with him. "Isn't it marvellous?" she replied and he nodded.

"Right, come on," the Doctor said as he didn't want to admit that their words felt rather wonderful. They quickly dove out onto the street, the Doctor leading the way until they reached the bridge where they would separate.

"Don't stop the play unless you have to before the end," the Doctor warned them both again. "If they notice you're stopping them, they'll attack. You're not useful to them anymore."

Shakespeare nodded and Danielle smiled at them both. "Be careful," she warned.

"I should say the same to you," Shakespeare replied, picking up her hand and placing a kiss on the back. She giggled again, flushing deep red. "You still have not given me an answer about being my guest."

"You can flirt later," the Doctor grumbled, grabbing Danielle's other hand. "We'll meet you at the theatre."

He practically pulled her down the bridge towards All Hallows Street, Danielle frowning as he abruptly tore her away from the other two. She knew that they were in a rush, after all something rather big and bad was going down, but she still didn't think that was a cause for being so rude.

"What was that about?" she asked before realising what it was. William had been putting all of his attention on her. Maybe the Doctor wanted the writer more focused on him. "Are… are you jealous? Because I didn't mean to…"

"What? Jealous of him?" the Doctor scoffed as the moved through a little alleyway between two houses. "Of course not. I'm fantastic on a universal scale. He's just a brilliant writer. There's nothing for me to be jealous of."

Danielle flushed slightly. "No… I meant…" she stuttered. She didn't know how to correct him without sounding all big headed and making him embarrassed. "Never mind. Where do we go?"

They both turned around on the spot, looking around at all of the houses on the hay-covered street. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. There were people walking around, going about their daily business. No one seemed scared, or worried, or even noticed the two people looking rather lost.

Then a wooden door creaked open without anyone opening it, causing Danielle to jump slightly in surprise. They both turned to look at it.

"I'm guessing in there?" she asked, looking up at him. He nodded.

"Do you want to wait out here?" he asked. He should have sent her with Rose and William, really. She would have been safer.

She shook her head. "If there's witches about, I want to be by your side." His brows furrowed and she rolled her eyes. "I'm not an idiot," she retorted. "Safest place is with you. Come on."

She used the hand he was still holding to pull him towards the open door. He couldn't help but smile at her determination despite the danger they were about to walk into. It was one of the reason he loved humans; so much spirit.

Inside stood a woman with blonde hair and long, black, flowing clothes. Danielle frowned. "Hang on, you're the maid," she commented. "I saw you back at the pub. You don't look anything like the witch we saw."

"It was necessary for me to take a different, youthful form," the woman replied. "Alas, it shall not be for much longer."

"I'm guessing you're expecting your spell to go off without a hitch?" Danielle asked. "That's a shame. We're going to stop you, Carrionite."

The woman gasped, hand on her chest as she pretended to feel pain, before chuckling to herself. Danielle looked up at the Doctor. "Did I do it wrong?"

"I'm guessing the power of a name only works when no one should know it," the Doctor reasoned, looking over at the witch for confirmation. "Now it's out in the open it loses all power."

"The power of a name works only once," the Carrionite agreed. "Observe."

She took a few quick steps towards them both, finger out and pointing at the two. Danielle took a step back into the Doctor, surprised at the swooping motion. "A heart with a faith strong and unyielding, I name this woman Danielle Fielding."

With a gasp and roll of her eyes, Danielle fell into the Doctor's arms, unconscious. He quickly laid her to the ground, being able to tell almost instantly that she was okay. He looked up at the witch, whose face was pulled into a thoughtful frown.

"Curious. The name has less impact. She's somehow out of her time," she commented and he shook his head.

"It was because it was a rubbish spell," he told her. "You only got her name half right." He jumped up to his feet with a smile that hid the anger at her attacking his friend. "Go on, give me a go. Maybe you'll get it right."

She looked him over, trying to read him. "Fascinating. There is no name," she replied. "Why would a man hide his title in such despair?"

"I have a lot to despair over. More than you could ever know," the Doctor replied grimly. "What I don't understand is; you all disappeared. The Carrionites vanished at the beginning of time, and yet here you are. How?"

"The Eternals banished us into the deep darkness," she explained. "But we found our escape through words. New words that glittered, from a mind like no other."

"Ah, that will be our boy Shakespeare," the Doctor said.

"His son perished. The grief of a genius. Grief without measure. Madness enough to allow us entrance," she explained.

"How many of you?"

"Just the three," she replied, like it was an annoyance. "But the play tonight shall restore the rest. Then the human race will be purged as pestilence. And from this world we will lead the universe back into the old ways of blood and magic."

"I will stop you," he warned her. "This planet is not for the taking."

"I should think not," she purred in reply, slowly closing the gap between them. "Men are nothing compared to Carrionites."

She reached up and he ducked his head, expecting her to go for his cheek as if to cup it. He didn't want her to touch him, after all, considering what they had planned for the Earth. However, she went for his hair and pulled out a few of the short strands.

"Ow!" he exclaimed as she dashed back towards the windows. They opened and she flew out backwards to hang in the air. "Oi, you can't do that!" he protested. "That's not fair."

"Behold, Doctor. Men to Carrionites are nothing but puppets," she told him, pulling out a small wooden doll from inside her robes.

Danielle woke up to see the Doctor stood at the window, staring out at the alien who she could barely see. She didn't move off the floor as she slowly came back to conciousness, knowing enough to keep herself considered not a threat until necessary.

"That's a DNA replication module," the Doctor told the Carrionite. "Simple, but effective. Give me it."

"I think not, Doctor," the Carrionite replied before he dropped to the floor with a cry of pain. Danielle quickly shot up as the witch flew away, cackling.

"Doctor, Doctor!" she cried, stumbling to his side. Her hands hovered in front of her, over his body. "Oh, what do I do, what do I do?" she whimpered to herself. She reached out, stroking her hand over his hair gently. "Doctor, you didn't tell me what to do," she continued. "You can't just.. You can't just die, alright? You can't just leave me."

She sniffed, tears in her eyes as she looked at him, lying dead on the floor where she couldn't do a thing. "Please, you can't," she whispered.

The Doctor had whacked his head pretty hard on the way down, but these were the words he came back into consciousness to. Danielle crying lightly as she stroked his hair, like she was so upset that he was dead. He never would have expected it.

He opened his eyes and she screamed, jumping up and away from him. "What the hell?" she exclaimed, grabbing the first thing she could see to defend herself, which happened to be a large leather bound book. It was huge and she held it in front of her like a weapon.

He sat up, groaning at the strain of only having one heart pumping. "It's okay," he quickly reassured her. "I have two hearts, she only put one out of action because she thought I was human."

She shook her head, taking a step closer as if she was going to whack him on the head. "Not buying it," she told him. "I- You never told me that you had two hearts. People just don't come back from the dead. What if you're here to eat my brain or something?"

He looked at her, trying to work out if she was serious or not. She seemed to be, though, so he sighed. "Alright, fine, do you want to check?" he asked. "We don't really have time for me to convince you otherwise."

She narrowed her eyes slightly, taking a step closer as she decided whether or not to take him up on his offer. One on hand, he was an alien and multiple organs probably wasn't the strangest thing about him. And zombies didn't tend to sit there and talk to you about how they weren't zombies.

On the other hand, he might be under a spell to convince her that he was safe. That also wouldn't be the strangest thing to happen to her since meeting him. She tightened her grip on the book. "I'm not putting this down," she warned him. "If you're a zombie, I'm knocking your lights out, got it?"

He nodded before holding his hands above his head. "Go on, then. We don't have all night."

She continued to frown, but reached out to push her hand against his chest. She had to press firmly to feel through his jumper, but there was a distinct thudding underneath that suggested there was a heart beating there. She removed her hand and lowered the book slightly. "Alright. You're not dead," she admitted.

"You could sound happier about that," he retorted. He tried to stand up but groaned, falling back down to his knees. "I can't function with just one heart. Time Lords are built to be using two." He lifted his hand, balling it into a fist and slammed himself on the chest.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Trying to restart it," he replied like she should have known better. He whacked himself again as she looked down at the book in her hand. It was rather large, and rather heavy…

"Watch out," she declared before taking it in both hands, swinging it like it was a baseball bat. She smacked him in the chest and he went flying backwards.

"What was that…" he started, outraged and offended by the attack before he felt his heart kicking back into gear. His face lit up and he shifted. "Do it again, on my back," he instructed and with a yell she brought it down on him.

He laughed, standing up as his hearts beat together happily. "Oh, that's brilliant. You clever human…"

She swung again, hitting him in the arm and he yelled, grabbing it in defence. "That's enough! It's working now."

"I know!" she exclaimed. "That was for making me think you were dead." She dropped the book. "What do we do now?"

"We need to stop the play," he told her. "I had hoped that I could stop it from here, but there's nothing useful. When whatever Will wrote at the end is spoken out loud then the Earth is going to get flooded with Carrionites looking for a new planet it destroy for themselves."

"Well, that should be easy enough, right?" she replied. "Even if Rose and Mr Shakespeare aren't doing that now, all you need to do is set fire to the Globe or something and everyone will have to be evacuated."

"It's not enough," he replied, eyes looking around the room. "The right words, in the right building, with the right frequency will probably work just as well. The maths behind it is sound, it's the superstition that makes the Globe and the play to place to do it."

"But the right word in the right place can affect a generation," Danielle replied. "Maybe there really is power in those words they put in his head?"

"It's all just sound," he dismissed. "Maybe we could mimic it." His eyes darted around and she watched his mind work. It was rather fascinating to see.

"What do you mean, mimic it?"

"The words don't matter. She got your name wrong but you still were knocked unconscious. There was rhythm in the little poem she said, and rhythm means energy. That's how the Globe will work as a converter. It'll take the vibrations from the spoken words that will be magnified and broadcast to whatever 'darkness' they're hiding in. If we can find the rhythm that will open it up…"

"Maybe we can find the one that will close them back in," Danielle finished. "How do we do that, though?"

"We need to get back to the TARDIS," he told her. "Call Rose, tell her to stall. We need more time, stopping the play won't be enough."

Danielle nodded, reaching into her dress pocket and pulling out her phone. The Doctor had not only provided her with a magic mobile phone that would call everywhere and every when - apparently Rose had a similar one - but he also had a machine that provided dresses with pockets. What a time to be alive.

They both ran through the streets and Danielle called her, keeping just behind him so she wasn't too out of breath to talk.

"Stall? What do you think I am doing?" Rose asked.

"Stopping it," Danielle replied in a pant. "Don't stop it, stall it. You know, jump out so they have to keep stopping and starting. We just need more time."

"Alright, but there's not much left of it I don't think. It's been going on forever."

"I know. Do your best," she replied before hanging up. "She's going to do it."

"She will. Rose is brilliant," he replied. "Come on, we don't have time to talk."

~0~0~0~

Rose slipped her phone back into the top of her dress where she had been keeping it, turning to William. "They need us to stall the play more," she explained.

"What was that oject?" he asked.

"Oh it's…" she trailed off, waving her hand in the air as she tried to find a way to explain a mobile phone to someone who didn't even have electricity. "It's not important," she decided on. "How can we stall?"

They were backstage at the Globe, and Rose had to admit it was pretty awesome. Danielle definitely would be jealous of all the props and actors that kept walking past. They'd even been able to hear the play being performed, which she would have appreciated more if they weren't trying to stop witches taking over the whole planet.

She looked at the doors that led onto the stage and grabbed her skirt, hitching it up. "Well, there's one way," she murmured to herself, Shakespeare frowning in confusion until she strode towards the door.

"Wait!" he cried as she threw the doors open. The people on stage turned to look at the intruder, as the crowd fell silent and stared up at her. Suddenly she felt rather exposed.

"Uhh…" she started, taking a step onto the stage. "This play must be stopped at once."

The crowd immediately started to boo and jeer. She narrowed her eyes; ungrateful bastards. "Look, something bad is about to happen, right? We have to stop the play!"

She knew none of them were going to believe her. Until the Doctor had exploded into her life she wouldn't have believed herself either. She wasn't trying to convince them, though, she just wanted to create enough of a scene that the play had to be halted for a little while.

She took another step closer to the front of the stage. "Look, please, you have to listen to me!" she shouted over the noise. "There's witches!"

People started laughing, just as she had expected, and she was grabbed by the arms by two of the actors onstage. "Alright, let's get you out of here," one of them said as they marched her to the door. William was waiting on the other side and looked alarmed to see her being almost dragged off.

He stepped forward and smiled at the two actors. "I'll take her from here," he told them. They both shared a look, like they knew exactly how he was going to take care of her, but passed the crazy woman off to him anyway before heading back onto the stage.

"That didn't work, it didn't stop the play," he said to her. She straightened out her dress.

"We're not trying to stop it, we're trying to stall it, remember?" she retorted as someone onstage promised that the show would resume from the beginning of the scene. "Alright, it's your turn."

He nodded, ready. It was getting near the end of the play and there was no sign of the Doctor or his Danielle anywhere. If this what was needed of him to slow the witches, then he was happy to charge out there and try and stop the play the best he could.

~0~0~0~

Device in hand, the Doctor and Danielle emerged back onto the streets of London to find chaos in the skies above. There was an ominous crowd above the Globe, with swirling winds and bright light coming from inside. People were screaming and running away from it, but the Doctor nodded with his head and they both ran straight towards the danger.

They burst into the back of the theatre to find Rose trying to rouse an unconscious Shakespeare. "What happened to him?" the Doctor asked.

"Collapsed on the stage, didn't he?" she retorted as the play write started to come around. "Not sure what 'appened. He was trying to make a racket and he dropped."

"Are you alright?" Danielle asked as he blinked away his own confusion. In the theatre people were still screaming, with gleeful cackling heard underneath.

"I think so," he replied and the Doctor nodded, shifting the large thing he had strapped to his back.

"Good. Come on," he instructed before rushing into the theatre. Danielle and Rose helped Shakespeare up and they followed.

Danielle's eyes widened at the sight they came into. The wind blew even stronger in the theatre, people cowering away from the woman and her cackling sisters as they stood on the balcony above them.

The woman they had encountered held up a glass ball. "They come. They come!"

From the ball a swirl of purple smoke and black figures appeared, swooping around the large open area like little ghosts before all swirling into a smoky vortex in the middle of the room.

The Doctor nodded. "Right, this is it," he said, pulling the device off his back. Rose nudged Danielle.

"What the hell is that?" she asked and Danielle shrugged. The device looked a little like a proton pack from the Ghostbuster movies. It had a small box that sat on his shoulder and a long, thick wire that ran from it to the small metal thing he held in his hand that had a trigger.

"He said it was going to replicate the sound needed to stop the Carrionites," she replied. "He did say its name but it was long and I can't remember it."

He pulled the trigger and a long, loud screeching came from the end of the device he was holding. The crowd cried out, people holding their hands over their ears and the people on stage did the same. Danielle moved over to his side, protecting herself from the noise that she could only describe as microphone feedback.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm trying to find the right setting," he told her as the witches screamed and he fiddled with a dial. "Just give me a minute…"

"I don't know if you have a minute!" Rose shouted just as the Doctor managed to hit the settings he was looking for.

From the speaker that he was holding came a different noise, much more like a series of beats rather than just once constant noise. There was an immediate shift in the air. The witches above them seemed to scream in anguish as the vortex in the middle of the room became much more violent, sucking in the black shadows more and more.

"I think it's working! Oh, you clever man!" Danielle exclaimed happily, grabbing onto the Doctor's arm and jumping up and down. He looked down at her and they both shared a happy grin.

"The deep darkness! They are consumed!" the witch cried out as, behind them, the doors burst open. A mass of paper began flying out into the theatre only to be sucked up into the vortex with the rest of the Carrionites until, finally, with a flash of lightning and an almighty crash of thunder they all disappeared. The room settled as if nothing had happened and there was silence.

The crowd, slowly at first until they all came to the realisation they'd been tricked, began to clap the people on stage. They'd loved the show, they had no idea how it was pulled off but there was a good chance William would never hear the end of the requests for something just like it.

The Doctor lowered his speaker and frowned. The three Carrionites that had been sat in the balcony hadn't been sucked up with their sisters, but they were also nowhere to be seen.

Danielle tugged on his arm and he turned his attention back to her. "Bow," she told him, taking hold of his hand. "They think we faked it."

He was about to say they should correct them, but then he saw how happy the crowd was and just how happy she seemed to be. So he joined in, letting himself basque in the glory for a moment before letting go and dashing off stage. Danielle watched him go with a frown, but Shakespeare held onto her other hand and she decided that if it was important, he would have called for her to follow.

"This is brilliant," she told the play write over the cheers. "No wonder you love it."

"It is not as brilliant as you, my dear," he replied and she shot him a look.

"Yeah, don't do that," she told him bluntly. She looked up at the balcony and saw the Doctor holding a crystal ball, turning it over slowly and looking rather confused. She let go of Shakespeare's hand. "Enjoy."

She dashed off the stage, meeting up with the Doctor as he came down from the balcony. "What is that?" she asked before he could even say a word.

"Here, have a look yourself," he replied, handing it over to her. In the swirling smoke inside were the three aliens, snarling and banging as if trying to get out.

"Are they stuck in there?" she asked and he nodded.

"I'm going to take them to the TARDIS so no one accidentally lets them free," he told her.

"Witches in a magical blue box?" she teased back. "You're really like a fairytale, aren't you Spaceman?"

"Depends which one," he retorted, chucking his arm around her shoulder as she held the glass ball securely. "Prince Charming, maybe?"

She chuckled. "Perhaps," she agreed. "I was thinking more like the Mad Hatter."

"Oi, I can take you home, you know?" he warned and she smirked up at him.

"No, you wouldn't," she said confidently. "I'm too fantastic for that."

~0~0~0~

The next day came and, after the night of rest, Danielle was both happy and sad to see the back of Shakespeare and the sixteenth century. Sad because she was having such a wonderful time with the Bard himself, but she really was looking forward to a proper shower and indoor plumbing. Plus, she had to admit she was getting itchy feet and she was looking forward to going somewhere new.

They found William in the Globe, checking over his theatre to make sure nothing was damaged. Luckily nothing seemed to have been broken or damaged. In fact, it was like a group of witches hadn't descended on the theatre at all.

He sat down on the stage next to the Doctor. "Tell me, what was that strange thing that you used to drive the Carrionites away?" he asked the Time Lord.

"Just a speaker, really," he replied. "It locked onto the right frequency for the energy converter to reverse and trap them up for the rest of time."

Shakespeare stared for a moment before letting out a bark of a laugh. "I understood none of that, Doctor," he admitted freely. "Which no longer surprises me. Meeting you has shown me that I know nothing of the world outside my own."

"It just mimicked the science behind the Carrionites magic," the Doctor explained. "Just like the right word in the right place has power, the sounds it made also held that power. It would have been the same had you made up a sonnet there and then with the right beats."

Danielle, who had been sat on the Doctor's other side, leant forward while holding a finger up. "Sorry, wait a…" she started. "Are you saying that we could have been there to hear a never-before-heard Shakespeare sonnet, and instead we got some… some stupid Morse code?"

The Doctor was absolutely affronted. "I thought you liked my backpack!" he protested.

"I would have liked to hear Mr Shakespeare here using that fantastic brain of his to create some actual magic," she retorted.

"Does it actually matter?" Rose asked her as the Doctor crossed his arms, pouting. She knew Danielle didn't mean to hurt his feelings, but it was obvious they were very much hurt. "I mean, the day was saved. Surely that's all the matters?"

Danielle turned her head to look at her, an incredulous look on her face. "Of course it is," she replied. "But I could have heard William Shakespeare creating poetry. Do you know how many people would dream of that?"

"Probably less people than would dream to travel amongst the stars with an alien," William replied, earning surprised stares off the trio. "You're from another world like the Carrionites," he told them like it was obvious. "And Rose and Danielle are from the future. It's not hard to work out."

Danielle grinned. "That's incredible. You are incredible."

"Not as near as you, my dear," he replied, jumping off the stage. "However, I would hate to leave such a fair maiden disappointed." He walked in front of her, taking her hand. Her eyes widened and her cheeks turned deep red. "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?" he started and her breath caught. "Thou art more lovely and more temperate…"

"Will!"

Danielle quickly shook her head as two men rushed into the room. "No, no, no, no, no…"

The two men came to a stop just by the entrance."Will, you'll never believe it. She's here! She's turned up!" one exclaimed.

"We're the talk of the town," the other one continued. "She heard about last night. She wants us to perform it again."

"Who?" Rose asked with a frown.

"Her Majesty! She's here."

"And that's our cue to leave," the Doctor said as he too jumped off the stage.

"We could meet the Queen," Rose pointed out and the Doctor shook his head.

"Nah, don't do well with royals," he explained. "Come on you two. There's a lot more to see."

As Danielle hopped down as well, Shakespeare kept hold of her hand. "Until next time, my sweet Danielle," he told her, placing a kiss on the back of her hand. She flushed deeply.

"Until next time, Will."

~0~0~0~

I'm glad you all seemed to take to my little change. I have to admit I was a bit worried.

As always, if you haven't read the original Danni stories, go check out my profile!

Reviews :)

LilactheDryad - Well, you asked a couple of questions so I'll try and answer them! Firstly, though, yes the plan is for Danni to replace Clara completely and then some. This isn't the original Danni, this is Danielle Song, who yes is an echo. I absolutely hate bananas and therefore banana bread, and I decided to give her that little quirk because I can. The sonic thing I think I got off the internet, but honestly I can't remember. And telling you Martha's first trip would be a spoiler I don't want to give yet XD

KatMackenzie93 - Thanks sweetie! It's cute, isn't it? XD

bwburke94 - I'm glad she's starting to come together :)

WeasleyIsLove - Yeah, I wanted her to have a bit more of an impact on the overall story than original Danni did. They're super cute, aren't they? XD

serenitysaiyan - Yes, I aim to surprise! I can't possibly tell you about future Dannis, that would be all spoilery. But yes, the longer she's there, the harder it will be to lose her!

Counting Sinful Stars - I know, she loves him so much XD

bored411 - Thanks sweetie! I'm glad you liked the change, I was worried for a little while people wouldn't.