Hally stared as The Doctor began to flick at the TARDIS controls, he let out a short breath of frustration. Skulking back to where he'd discarded the plastic arm, retrieving it he came back to the console, attaching multiple wires from the messy console area to the rigid limb. He muttered irritably under his breath, something about the signal being too weak. He tried to boost it by hitting at the TARDIS monitor but the console just set off irritated sparks. The Doctor ran a hand over the top of his head, looking stumped.

"How did I get here?" Hally asked slowly, after having watched him for a few moments.

The Doctor didn't respond, a small blue light had started flashing on the console.

"Oh, oh, oh!" The Doctor exclaimed, grabbing the arm, waving it in the air excitedly. "Would you look at that!" He began to frantically type on the monitor, Hally watched the screen as some images flashed up. A deep frown appeared on The Doctors face and he rubbed his chin, thinking.

Hally cleared her throat this time. "Doctor." She said more firmly. "How am I here with you…? What happened?!" Hally could feel the panic rising in her chest. She needed answers. She needed to get back to Koschei.

The Doctor waved his hand dismissively. "Hold on… sorry… this is." His frown deepened as he stared at the screen. "…important." He grabbed a lever and pulled it down. The console started to whir painfully as the TARDIS rematerialized with a soft hum.

Hally clenched her fists, her chest was beginning to tighten as fear started to take hold. The Doctor landed the TARDIS and turned to dash towards the doors.

"LISTEN TO ME!" Hally screamed. The TARDIS made a pained noise as the lights flickered.

The Doctor turned back to her, his face was stern.

"Right now, we don't have time for this." He turned back and rushed out of the doors.

Hally cried out with anger, stomping her foot on the metal grating underfoot, before rushing out of the TARDIS to follow him. As she flew out the door she saw The Doctor slip through a backdoor just ahead, she followed quickly. Her face was pulled into a snarl and she was more than ready to start shouting obscenities at him but the scene she entered into was so strange, the insults died in her mouth.

The Doctor was wrestling with a smaller, young man. Hally cocked her head to one side, the man was thrashing around all over the place, his hands had been replaced with large plastic blocks.

Huh…

Hally watched, a look of utter disbelief on her face as The Doctor managed to pull off the head of the flailing plastic man. The Doctor turned around and sent a manic grin to a young blonde woman who was also staring at the scene. The blonde turned and quickly hit the glass of a small red box on the wall. A shrill alarm began to sound throughout the establishment, Hally winced, covering her ears. The girl was crying out loudly, trying to usher everyone out through the front door. She had no choice but to follow The Doctor back out of the building towards the TARDIS as chaos continued to erupt behind him. The blonde ran after them shouting at The Doctor.

Hally groaned loudly as he power-walked through the small alley, back towards the TARDIS doors.

"So, this is somehow more important than telling me, what. The. Hell. Is. Going. On!" She hissed out angrily, having to jog to try and keep up. The Doctor continued to ignore her, instead, he started fiddling with the plastic head.

The blonde had rushed past them both and was now pulling furiously at the large padlocked gates which blocked the exit to the alleyway.

"Open the gate! Use that tube thing. Come on!" She screamed back at The Doctor, her eyes wide with panic.

"Sonic screwdriver." The Doctor corrected.

"Use it!" She pulled again hopelessly at the chains.

"Nah, tell you what, let's go in here." He shrugged and grinned towards the TARDIS, opening the door and heading inside.

Hally skulked in behind him. "Are we just letting anyone onto the TARDIS now?!" She growled, crossing her arms childishly.

After a moment the doors were flung open and the blonde girl came racing in. There was a pause... before she swiftly ran out again.

Hally sighed and rolled her eyes, she tried to move over towards The Doctor but the blonde had stumbled her way back inside. The Doctor moved away from Hally and slowly approached her.

"It's going to follow us…" The blonde said breathlessly, her eyes flicking to Hally in confusion.

"The assembled hordes of Genghis Khan couldn't get through that door and believe me they've tried. Now shut up a minute." He shot back, sending Hally a pointed look. He started plugging the head into the console, just as Hally had seen him do with the arm moments before.

"You see the arm, was too simple. But a head's perfect. I can use it to trace the signal back to the original source…" Hally raised an eyebrow, was he explaining for the sake of the human?

"Right where do you want to start?" He smiled, leaning on the side of the TARDIS, watching the human in amusement.

She looked around for a few moments, her mouth open. "The insides bigger than the outside…"

"Yes." The Doctor crossed his arms.

"It's alien…?"

"Yep." He popped the P, happily.

"Are you alien?"

"Yes." He countered, almost challenging the girl.

"Is…she?" The blonde looked back over to Hally again, who was just watching the exchange, a small sneer on her face.

The Doctor looked back at his daughter. "Kind of."

"You said you travelled alone?" The human frowned, cocking her head to one side suspiciously.

Hally shot The Doctor a glare. "Did you forget I was here?" She challenged.

"Long story…" The Doctor flapped his arms at both women, trying to shut them up. He turned back to the girl pointedly. "Is that alright?"

She paused, nodding slowly. "Yeah."

"Ah yes… Rose this is Hally, Hally… Rose." The Doctor motioned between them both. "It's called the TARDIS, this thing. T-A-R-D-I-S, that's time and relative dimension in space." He said proudly.

Rose was silent for a second before she covered her mouth with her hand, a small sob escaping her throat. Hally's features softened, feeling a pang of sympathy for the girl.

"That's ok. Culture shock. Happens to the best of us…" The Doctor said, matter of factly.

"Did they kill him, Mickey, did they kill him." She sobbed. "Is he dead?"

"Oh, I didn't think of that." The Doctor said, still somehow managing to sound cheery. Hally sent him an incredulous look, moving to stand closer to the crying human.

"He's my boyfriend, you pulled off his head, they copied him and you didn't even think…" Hally put a hand on the girl's shoulder, trying to comfort her. "And now you're just going to let him melt?!" Rose motioned over to the console irately.

"Melt? Oh no, no, no, no, no!" The Doctor cried, bounding up to the head which was indeed, starting to collapse into a pool of plastic sludge. Hally shot Rose an awkwardly apologetic look.

"What are you doing?" Rose continued, taking an accusatory step towards The Doctor.

"Following the signal, it's faint." The Doctor started bashing a few things. "Wait a minute, I've got it. No, no, no, no, no. Almost there, almost there. Here we go!" With a small spring, The Doctor turned and ran back out of the TARDIS. Hally audibly groaned.

"You can't go out there it's not safe!" Rose shouted, following him quickly.

"Argh!" Hally shouted to no one in particular, begrudgingly following the two out of the TARDIS. The Doctor was pacing up and down the walled riverside, muttering.

"We've moved… Does it fly?" Rose turned back to ask Hally.

Hally made a face, deciding it was easier to just nod.

"Disappears there and reappears here, you wouldn't understand." The Doctor muttered harshly. Hally narrowed her eyes at him. What was his problem?

"But if we're somewhere else, what about that headless thing it's still on the loose." Rose paced back and forth, biting her lip.

"It melted with the head, are you going to witter on all night?" He snapped.

Rose sent him a look before going quiet. "I'll have to tell his mother…" Hally frowned, the inkling of panic returning to her chest. Hally tried to shake it off, trying instead to focus on Rose.

The Doctor sent Rose a confused look, she scoffed. "Mickey. I'll have to tell his mother he's dead and you just went and forgot him again! You were right, you are alien."

"Look if I did forget some kid called Mickey…" The Doctor turned on her.

"Yeah, he's not a kid!" Rose countered.

"…It's because I'm busy trying to save the life of every stupid ape blundering about on top of this planet. Alright?"

"Alright!" Rose cried back.

"Yes it is!" The Doctor snapped.

"Wow… You truly are something else." Hally muttered venomously at him.

He rolled his eyes. "You can be quiet too, or at least you can thank me for being alive!" He turned away to face the river. Hally grabbed his shoulder, pulling him back to face her.

"What's that supposed to mean? What are you keeping this from me!?" Hally's voice rose to a shout. The Doctor shrugged off her hand, covering his face with his hands. An awkward silence fell. The human felt the need to fill it.

"If you are an alien, how come you sound like you're from the north?" She asked quietly.

Hally groaned softly.

"Lots of planets have a north…" The Doctor sent Rose a look. The pair continued with the useless small talk for a few moments before Hally let out an irritated cry.

"Ok, seeing as I'm obviously not going to get any answers out of you until we've solved the mystery of the living plastic, what is it doing here and what has it got against this planet?" Hally rounded on the pair of them, looking between them impatiently.

"Nothing, it loves them." The Doctor grinned, turning to Rose. "You've got such a good planet. Lots of smoke and oil, plenty of toxins and dioxins in the air. Perfect. Just what the Nestene Consciousness needs. Its food stock was destroyed in the war, all it's protein planets rotted, so earth… dinner." Hally crossed her arms as The Doctor explained the situation to Rose enthusiastically.

"Any way of stopping it?" Rose frowned, looking between them both.

"Anti-plastic." The Doctor grinned wildly, pulling a large tube full of dark blue liquid out of his jacket pocket.

"Anti-plastic…?" Rose asked.

"Anti-plastic." He reiterated.

"Anyone else want to say anti-plastic?" Hally exaggerated a shrug.

The Doctor sent her a look that clearly said 'shut up'.

He began to pace again, walking them along the riverfront. "But first I've got to find it. How can you hide something that big in a city this small?" He whirled around, thinking.

"Hold on, hide what?" Rose asked.

"The transmitter." He said as if it was obvious. "The consciousness is controlling every single piece of plastic so it needs a transmitter to boost the signal."

Hally started to look around as the trio walked further along the river.

He began to describe it. "…Like a transmitter, round and massive. Somewhere slap bang in the middle of London. A huge metal circular structure, like a dish like a wheel, very close to where we're standing. Must be completely invisible." The Doctor had come to a stop in front of what looked like a huge lit up, mechanised carousel. Hally cocked her head to the side as she felt Rose nod in amusement to the large circular structure behind The Doctor.

The Doctor looked behind him, trying to see what they were looking at, he turned back. "What?"

Rose nodded again, stifling a laugh.

Again, The Doctor turned back even more confused. "What…? What is it, what?"

Hally had to fight the urge to hide her face in her hands. "How the hell did I end up with you…"

The Doctor's face lit up in realisation. "Oh. Fantastic!" He grabbed Rose's hand, pointing at Hally with his other hand. "You. Stay with the TARDIS!"

"Wait, what?! No!..." Hally tried to argue, but The Doctor had already dragged Rose off into a run. She ran her hands through her hair, looking back where they'd come from. She could still see the TARDIS, it was fine. Hally flopped down on one of the wooden benches that lined the riverbank and sighed, dejected. She relaxed her head back over the top of the bench, staring up at the stars. Tears pricked her eyes as the panic started to climb back up her throat. She let out a deep breath, closing her eyes and trying to feel for something, anyone. She swallowed down the panic. She couldn't feel anyone, no one but The Doctor who was currently running to the other side of the river. She opened her eyes and bit down on her lower lip. Perhaps they were just too far away?

Hally ran her hands over her face, letting out a soft groan she forced herself to get up. She wasn't just going to sit and let The Doctor and his little human have all the fun. Hally started to run.

She jumped down off the ladder into the large underground chamber. The first thing that struck Hally was the smell. It smelt of hot plastic and metal. She crept closer to the edge, she could see The Doctor now, he was addressing the moving molten pit in the middle of the chamber. That must have been the consciousness.

"This planet is just starting, these stupid little people have only just learnt how to walk but they are capable of so much more. I'm asking you on their behalf, please, just go…" The Doctor was reasoning with the pit. Hally frowned, cocking her head to one side. Why wasn't he just getting rid of it?

That was when she noticed the two plastic men who were approaching The Doctor. Rose got there first, she shouted a warning out but it was too late. The pair had grabbed hold of The Doctor, one of the plastic men retrieving the anti-plastic from his jacket. The consciousness roared in anger and fear.

"That was just insurance, I wasn't going to use it!" The Doctor tried to reason. Hally snuck in and closer, she needed to get closer. Perhaps she could knock the anti-plastic vial into the pit.

"I was not attacking you, I'm here to help. I'm not your enemy. I swear I'm not!" The Doctor struggled, the Nestene responded furiously and The Doctor turned around.

"What do you mean? No, oh no. Honestly! No." A door slid open above where The Doctor was stood, the Nestene had captured the TARDIS.

"Yes, that's my ship!" The Doctor shouted helplessly.

Hally groaned. "Shit." She tried to awkwardly climb further down towards the Nestene.

"That's not true, I should know, I was there. I fought in the war it wasn't my fault. I couldn't save your world, I couldn't save any of them." That got her attention, Hally looked up, it felt like a heavy stone had settled in her stomach. The Doctor was struggling against the plastic men. He finally noticed her, his face paling.

"What's it doing?!" Rose cried out from the other side of the chamber.

The Doctor tried to look over to her. "It's the TARDIS, The Nestene's identified it as a superior technology, it's terrified, it's going to the final phase. It's starting the invasion. Get out Rose, just leg it now!" The Doctor turned back to Hally, he almost looked apologetic.

The plastic men were obviously stronger than him, one of them was edging him closer and closer to the raging molten pit. Hally looked around her, trying to see if there was anything she could send flying at it. She focused, perhaps she could push the vial into the Nestene! She bit her lip, the sound of The Doctor telling Rose to run echoing around the metal chamber. Staring intently at the vial she willed it into the pit. The heavy feeling in her stomach grew until Hally had to double over and retch. She coughed and straightened herself up, trying again to move the vial. Her breath caught in her throat. Nothing was happening.

Suddenly a large electric bolt crackled from out of the Nestene pit, hitting the ceiling with a deafening crash. The platform Hally was standing on jolted as the supports were blasted with the bolt. Hally ran and jumped as the platform collapsed to the floor. She crashed onto the platform with The Doctor, rolling to avoid the hard swipe from one of the plastic men. She got up but she'd underestimated their speed, a strong, hard arm was suddenly around her neck, crushing her windpipe. Hally struggled, but the mannequin held her steady. The Doctor was shouting something at her. Suddenly the weight on her neck was lifted, Hally spun around in time to see Rose swinging from a metal chain attached to the roof. She'd kicked the man out of the way and the anti-plastic had found its way into the Nestene pit. The creature began to cry out in pain and anger.

"Rose!" The Doctor grabbed the human's hand. "Now we're in trouble." He laughed and started to drag Rose out of the chamber. Hally frowned, watching the Nestene squirm in pain.

"Hally!" The Doctor cried from above her, she looked up at him as he bundled the two humans into the TARDIS. Hally sprinted up to the platform, shutting the door behind her as The Doctor got the TARDIS taking off.

"Nice one." Hally laughed, shooting Rose a grin. Rose smiled back proudly. "Looks like PE wasn't a total waste of time."

Hally laughed, having no idea what Rose was on about.

As soon as they landed, the guy that Hally assumed was Mickey practically fell out of the TARDIS in his desperation to get out. Hally snorted in laughter, Rose sent her an apologetic look and motioned to her phone. "Just need to check on my mum…"

With the two humans gone, Hally turned back to The Doctor, he was bent over the console, flicking random buttons.

"What did you mean Doctor…" Hally asked quietly. "You couldn't save any of them?" She watched him carefully, she could feel water rising to her eyes again as she waited for him to respond.

The Doctor walked past her, opening the TARDIS door and leaning on the side.

"Nestene consciousness." He clicked his fingers at the humans outside. "Easy."

Hally sank into the seat beside the console, resting her head in her hands. She heard The Doctor begin awkwardly.

"Right then, I'll be off. Unless… I don't know… you could come with me?" Hally looked up at the back of The Doctor's head, shooting it a glare.

Hally heard Rose's voice from outside, but she couldn't quite make out what she'd said. Eventually, The Doctor closed the door and made his way over to the console, looking crestfallen. He started to dematerialise.

"She said no then?" Hally asked from her seat.

He nodded sadly. Hally slipped off the seat, slowly coming up on his left.

"What are you hiding from me? Tell me. Doctor please." Butterflies were hovering painfully in her chest. "What happened on Gallifrey?" Her voice cracked.

The Doctor looked up at her, his face was unreadable. He was silent for a minute.

"It's gone."

It felt like someone had punched her in the stomach, she grabbed the side of the console, looking at the floor.

"Everyone. Gone." He continued quietly.

Tears welled in her eyes. "What… what do you mean… how?" She looked back up at him, the look on his face almost killed her. He looked so lost, like something was eating him up inside.

"We're the only ones left. Just you and me." He whispered.

Hally closed her eyes, the tears she'd been holding in fell onto her cheeks. Her legs felt like they were going to give out, she lowered herself to the floor. Curling her legs up to her chest as she just tried to focus on breathing. It was gone. Everything she'd ever known for her entire life was gone. They were gone, her friends… Persca. A pained sob escaped her mouth. He was gone.

The wave of grief that passed over her was overwhelming, it took her a good few minutes to realise that she'd stopped breathing. She coughed in some air, running her hands manically through her hair. She frowned as some of the pain turned to confusion.

"You… came back, for me?" Her voice was small but he heard her.

The Doctor put his hands in his pockets, he looked away as he let out a loud sigh. "No."

Hally frowned, looking up at him. "Huh?" When he didn't elaborate, she added. "How did I get on your TARDIS?"

"I. Don't. Know." He gritted his teeth, the words seemed to be poison in his mouth.

Hally felt a flare of anger at his nonchalance. Looking back to the floor Hally let the pain wash over her again, she wanted to just sit, on the hard floor of the TARDIS until… until he was there. She closed her eyes and tried to reach out for him, she stretched as far as she mentally could. There was nothing. Their bond was cold, empty.

The Doctor's voice broke her search. "Trust me it would have been a lot easier if you hadn't."

Hally let out a horrible laugh. "You'd rather I were dead?" She looked up at him, hatred flashed behind her eyes. The Doctor opened his mouth to respond but instead he just shook his head apologetically. He hadn't meant it like that.

Hally took a deep breath and forced herself to her feet. She grit her teeth, looking up at The Doctor.

"Go back and get the stupid human girl." Hally crossed her arms. "I don't want to be stuck on this ship with only you."

He stared at her incredulously for a moment before he moved to the console, starting to rematerialize. He jogged over to the door, opening it again. Hally heard him cry, putting on a cheery tone.

"By the way, did I mention, it also travels in time?"

Hally quickly left the console room as Rose bundled onto the ship. As she walked towards her small room, she could hear The Doctor nattering away to Rose excitedly. She closed the door to her room behind her and collapsed onto the bed. Now that she was alone, Hally couldn't stop the onslaught of tears that came, the pained sobs that turned into anguished cries. It hurt. It physically hurt so much to know that he was gone.

Hally lay awake for hours that night, craving The Master's presence.

She had so many questions.

Why had she not been able to knock that auton into the pit earlier? It should have been easy. Should she tell The Doctor?

Hally had decided that for now, she wouldn't. She hardly knew him and she definitely didn't trust him.

She wept as she decided that she wouldn't tell him about Koschei either. She didn't see the point. He was dead.

l

Hally woke up, her head was throbbing and the lights above her were flickering horribly. She rolled onto her side, pushing herself up and to the side of the small uncomfortable cot she'd woken up on. Hally looked around. She was in a cell, it was small and all the walls were grey. In fact, everything in the room was grey. The walls, floor, cot. Even the small toilet and sink were a grey colour. Hally wrinkled her nose in disgust. It smelt weird, cold and medical.

She stood up slowly, her body protested painfully. She stumbled, catching herself on the edge of the sink. Hally looked into the small rectangular mirror that was just above the sink. She looked like crap, there were horrible dark circles around her eyes and her hair was lifeless and dank. She leaned in closer to the mirror, there was the remnants of a nasty green and yellow bruise across the top of the right side of her head. In the mirror she could see that she was also dressed in grey, an all in one grey prison suit. Hally tried to stretch out her body, groaning in pain. This wasn't right. She shouldn't be bruised and she definitely shouldn't be aching all over.

Hally sat back down on the side of the cot, her body crying out in exhaustion.

Where the hell was she?

She couldn't remember how she'd ended up here, or how she'd gotten such a nasty bruise.

Hally tried to feel out around her for signs of life, for anything. Hally frowned, closing her eyes and trying again.

Nothing.

She focused inwards, trying to feel her own energy.

Hally opened her eyes.

She couldn't feel it.