Into the Dalek

I was one extremely pissed off Time Lady. When Clara suggested having The Doctor go get some coffee for us, it sounded like a good idea. We went to a small park in Glasgow while The Doctor went to get coffee. I would have sent Annabelle with him but I thought there was no way he could screw that up… Boy was I wrong! We sat there for 8 HOURS waiting for him to come back. When went back to were the TARDIS should have been, it was gone!

Luckily, Clara had enough money to get us train tickets back to London. Annabelle and I stayed at Clara's flat while she went to work. I thought about calling Mom to get us plane tickets to Denver to wait for The Doctor to show up, but we figured it would be best to stay near Clara for the time being because we knew that The Doctor would have to show up at some time.

I was about three weeks later. I was in Clara's flat watching TV when I heard the TARDIS start to materialize in Clara's flat, "Annabelle…" I called.

Annabelle walked out of the kitchen, "I know," she said. She was wearing a blue long sleeve top that showed a bit of cleavage, a black pleated skirt that reached to her knees, black pantyhose and black boots, "This is going to be good…" she said with a smile.

Once the TARDIS was done, I marched inside. I saw The Doctor and Clara. I walked right up to The Doctor, "Where the hell have you been?!" I shouted.

"You all sent me for coffee," said The Doctor.

"That was three weeks ago! In Glasgow!"

"It's not my fault, I got distracted."

"Why am I not surprised?" The Doctor was holding a take out tray of drinks. I took one, "It better be a good distraction."

"Oh, It is…"

The Doctor then told us how he saved a young woman from a Dalek attack in the future. He took he back to her base which turned out to be an old hospital ship, that has been converted to a command ship. They were going to kill him but when they found out he was a doctor they took him to meet a special 'patient.' A Dalek.

They found it floating in space. They thought it was deactivated. So they brought it on board and tried to disassemble it. They didn't know there was a living creature inside until it started to scream. The Dalek then did something shocking it told my uncle that the Daleks had to be destroyed.

I couldn't believe what I was hearing, "A good Dalek?" I said.

"There's no such thing," said Annabelle.

"That's a bit inflexible," said Clara, "Not like you. I'd almost say prejudiced."

The Doctor sighed, "Do I pay you? I should give you a raise."

"You're not my boss, you're one of my hobbies."

"Come on."

We walked out of the TARDIS and we were on the ship where the Dalek was being kept, "That was quick," said a young, black woman.

"This is gun girl," said The Doctor, "She's got a gun, and she's a girl. This is a sort of boss one. Are you the same one as before?" he asked a older white man with graying hair and beard.

"Yes," said the man.

"I think he's probably her uncle, but I may have made that up to pass the time while they were talking." The Doctor pointed at Annabelle and me, "These are my nieces, Teddy and Annabelle." Then he pointed at Clara, "This is Clara, not my assistant. She's, er, some other word."

"I'm his carer," said Clara.

"Yeah, my carer. She cares so I don't have to."

I rolled my eyes as we were escorted to where the Dalek was being kept, "Doctor." said the Dalek.

"Hello again," said The Doctor.

"Will you help me?"

"Will you?" asked Clara.

"A Dalek so damaged, it's turned good," I said, "Morality as malfunction. How do we resist?"

"Daleks must die," said the Dalek, "Daleks must die."

"So, what do we do with a moral Dalek?" asked Annabelle.

"We get into its head," said The Doctor.

"Mmm. How do you get into a Dalek's head?" asked Clara.

"That wasn't a metaphor."

The Doctor took us took a lab and we were taken to molecular nanoscaler. Us Time Lords were sitting inside the capsule. While the young woman, who we learned was named Journey, helped Clara get ready. Then, two solders, a male and female, walked in the capsule with Clara and Journey.

"What are those ones for?" asked The Doctor, "I don't need armed baby-sitters."

"We're not baby-sitters," said the female.

"We're here to shoot you dead if you turn out to be a Dalek spy," said the male.

"I'd like to see you try," said Annabelle, as she made a move to stand.

"Annabelle," I said, as I put a hand on her shoulder to keep her in her seat

"Okay, listen up," said Journey, "Now, remember, do not hold your breath when the nanoscaler engages. You'll feel like you want to, but you must keep breathing normally during the miniaturization process."

"Why?" asked Clara.

"Ever microwave a lasagna without pricking the film on top?" asked The Doctor.

"It explodes."

"Don't be lasagna."

Then, we heard Journey's uncle's voice, "Nanoscaler engaging in five… four… three… two… Nanoscaler engaging now.

There was a whirring sound as we heard a computer voice say, "Nanoscaling in progress." A beam of light flashed over us and I started to feel like something was pushing on me from all sides. I forced myself to keep breathing, "Nanoscaling complete." said the computer.

"Nanoscaling successful. Everyone okay in there?" said Journey's uncle, over the intercom.

"We made it," said Journey, as we were picked up by a pair of tweezers, "Nobody popped."

"Whoa," laughed Clara, "Ha. I can't believe this." she said as we were carried over to the Dalek.

"No, neither can I," said The Doctor.

Our capsule was injected into the Dalek's eyestalk. The Doctor stood up and walked out of the capsule first. He reached out and touched the blue fluid-like wall of the eyestalk. He reached out cautiously, the light wobbled as he pushed through the wall.

Annabelle, Clara and I followed, "We'll be following you all the way, Rescue One," I heard Journey's uncle say, "Good luck all of you."

"That was weird," said Clara, once we were through the wall.

"You've seen nothing yet," said Annabelle.

"What are the lights?"

"Visual impulses traveling towards the brain," I said.

"Beautiful."

"Welcome to the most dangerous place in the universe," said The Doctor.

"Entering the cranial ledge now," said Journey, "Here."

"Oh, my God," said Clara.

We looked down and saw the blob that was the acutal Dalek bathed in red light, "Behold, the belly of the beast." said The Doctor.

"It's amazing."

"It's huge," said the male soldier.

"No, Ross," said the female soldier, "We're tiny."

"So how big is it, that living part, compared to me and you, right now?" asked Clara.

"You see all those cables?" asked The Doctor.

"Yeah."

"They're not all cables."

"Does it know we're here?" asked Ross.

"It's what invited us in," said Journey

The Doctor looked over at a long archway that had sections of vertical lights along it's walls, "Now, this is the cortex vault, a supplementary electronic brain. Memory banks, but more than that. This is what keeps the Dalek pure."

"How are Daleks pure?" asked the female soldier.

"Dalek mutants are born hating," I said, "This is what keeps them hating. It's extinguishes even the tiniest glimmer of kindness or compassion."

"This right here is worst possible thing in the universe," pointed Annabelle, "Evil refined as tecnology."

"Doctor?" called the Dalek.

"Oh, hello, Rusty," said The Doctor, " You don't mind if I call you Rusty? We're going to need to come down there with you. Medical examination, and all that."

"What, with those tentacles and things?" asked the female soldier.

"How close do we have to get?" asked Journey.

"Well, you know, we're never going to insert a thermometer from up here," said The Doctor

Journey nodded and Ross fired a harpoon into the floor. We heard Rusty call out in pain, The Doctor, Annabelle and I ran over to the soldiers, "No. No. No, no, no, no!" shouted The Doctor

"Stop!" I shouted.

"You idiot!" shouted Annabelle.

Before we could stop him Ross fired another harpoon into the floor below near Rusty, "We need a way down, the only way," said Journey.

"This is a Dalek, not a machine!" said Annabelle, "It's a perfect analogue of a living being, and you just hurt it. So what's going to happen now?"

"Oh, God," said Clara, as she figured out what was going on.

"Exactly," said Annabelle.

"What?" asked the female solider, "What is it?"

"Antibodies?' asked Clara.

"Dalek antibodies," said I said. Just the an a bunch of little round spheres came behind Ross, "Nobody move. If you attempt to help him or attack those things, they will identify you as a secondary source of infection. Stay still!"

The antibodies opened up and revealed a big blue eye and they surround Ross, "But the Dalek wants us in here," said Clara, "Why is it attacking?"

"Can you control your antibodies?" asked The Doctor.

"Ross, stay calm," said Journey, "We're going to get you out of this."

"Can you?" asked Clara.

"Ross, swallow that," said The Doctor, as he tossed him a pill.

"What is it?" asked Ross.

"Trust me."

Ross swallowed it and asked, "Now what?" An antibody shot a beam of light at Ross and disintegrated him.

"Ross!" shouted Journey.

"Oh, my God. What's it doing?" asked Clara, as the antibody suck up the remains and its blue eye turned red.

"The hoovering," said The Doctor. The antibody flew away and The Doctor raised his sonic screwdriver, "Gotcha."

"What did you give him?" asked Clara.

"Oh, just a spare power cell, but I can track the radiation signature. I need to know where they dump the bodies."

"I thought you were saving him," said Journey.

"He was dead already. I was saving us. Follow me and run," The Doctor ran off and we all followed. He reached a hole and The Doctor said, "They've dumped him in here. Organic refuse disposal. We need to get in there."

"Why?" asked Clara as we heard Journey and the other solider shoot at the antibodies.

"Those antibodies won't give up until we're inside there. I'd rather go in alive than dead."

"You don't know where it goes," said Journey.

"Yes, We do," I said, "Away from here. Now in. In! In!"

I went first, then Clara, followed by the two soliders, then The Doctor and Annabelle. We slid down a tube and into a tank of liquid. "Urgh. What is this stuff?" aske Clara as we stood up.

"People," I said, "The Daleks need protein. Occasionally, they harvest their victims for food. This is a feeding tube."

"Is Ross here?" asked Journey.

"Yeah. Top layer, if you want to say a few words," said The Doctor, as he laid in the gunk.

Journey grabbed him by his lapels, pulled him up and pushed him against the wall, "A man has just died. You will not talk like that."

Annabelle pulled Journey off of him "A lot of people have died," said Annabelle, "Everything in here is dead, and do you know why that's good?"

"There is nothing good about that."

"Nothing is alive in here, so logically this is the weakest spot in the Dalek's internal security. Nobody guards the dead."

"Mortuaries and larders, always the easiest to break out of," said The Doctor, as he climbed out of the gunk onto a small ridge " Oh, I've lived a life Tell Uncle Stupid that we're in. Ah ha! A bolt hole." The, The Doctor used his sonic to unscrew a large bolt.

"He'll get us out of here," I said, "The difficult part is not killing him before he can."

"Bolt hole. Actually, a hole for a bolt. Does nobody get that?"

"Also, there's the puns," said Clara.

"Watch it, decontamination tubes are hot," said Clara.

We started crawling through the tube and I heard Journey say into her comm., "Rescue One to Mission Control."

"This is Blue, Rescue One. Report," said Journey's uncle.

"The Dalek has an internal defense mechanism."

"We've lost Ross."

"What kind of defense mechanism? That thing knows you're in there to help it."

"Yeah, well, who knows? It's a Dalek. We're going to continue the mission."

"Are you all right back there?" called The Doctor, "It's a bit narrow, isn't it?"

"Any remarks about my hips will not be appreciated," said Clara

"Ach, your hips are fine. You're built like a man."

"Thanks."

We reached the end of the tube and I heard some ticking, "What's that noise?" I turned and saw the female solider behind me, "Are you wearing a Geiger counter?"

"Standard battle equipment," said the female solider, "That's just low level radiation."

"But stronger down here, for some reason. Gimme," said The Doctor. She handed him the Geiger counter and started to check the reading

"Was that him?" asked Journey's uncle over the comm., "How's he working out?"

"It's hard to say," said Journey, "He's.."

"I've got it. I know what's wrong with Rusty," said The Doctor.

"Okay, that's good. Is that good?" asked Clara.

"Well, you know how I said this was the most dangerous place in the universe? I was wrong. It's way more dangerous than that."

"Colonel, we have radiation indicators red-lining in here," said Journey, into her comm., "Could be that the Dalek is badly damaged than we thought."

"Copy that," said Journey's uncle.

"Old Rusty here is suffering a trionic radiation leak," said The Doctor, "It's poisoning the Dalek and us. Just as well we're here."

"Really? Perhaps we should get out while we can," said Journey, "Why should we trust a Dalek? Why would it change? "

"Good question," I said. I looked up, "Rusty? What changed you?"

"I saw beauty," he replied.

"You saw what?"

"In the silence and the cold, I saw worlds burning."

"That's not beauty, that's destruction," said Journey.

"I saw… More," said Rusty.

"What? What did you see?" asked Annabelle.

"The birth of a star."

"Stars are born every day. You've seen a million stars born. So what?"

"Daleks have destroyed a million stars."

"Oh, millions and millions. Trust me, I keep count," said The Doctor.

"And yet, new stars are born," said Rusty.

"Every time."

"Resistance is futile."

"Resistance to what?" I asked.

"Life returns. Life prevails. Resistance is futile."

"So you saw a star being born, and you learned something," said The Doctor, "Oh, Dalek, do not be lying to me. Come on."

"Heading for the Trionic power cells, Colonel," said Journey into her comm.

"Radiation approxing two hundred Rads. Danger levels," answered her uncle.

Soon we were right under Rusty, "We're at the heart of the Dalek," said The Doctor.

"It's incredible," said Clara.

We saw arcs of energy above us, "Geiger counter's off the scale. Looks like it's about to blow," said Journey.

"Good," said The Doctor.

"How is that good?"

"Well, I like a bit of pressure," The Doctor looked ups, "Rusty, can you hear me?"

"Doctor?" answered Rusty.

"Rusty, we've found the damage." There was a crack in the wall, "We're sealing up the breach in your power cell."

I took out my sonic out and welded the crack. Once it was done I said, "Good as new."

"That's it? Just like that?" asked Clara.

"An anti-climax once in a while is good for our hearts," I looked up, "Rusty? How do you feel?" There was no answer, "Rusty?"

"Rusty?" called The Doctor, "Rusty."

"The malfunction is corrected," answered Rusty.

"What's happened?" asked Journey.

"Not entirely sure, " said The Doctor.

The lights started to come on, "It's like it's waking up, "said Journey.

"Rusty, come on, talk to me. What's going on?"

"The malfunction is corrected. All systems are functioning," said Rusty, "Weapons charged."

"Oh, no, no, no."

"Exterminate, Exterminate."

"No, no, no," I said, as the room started to shake.

Rusty continued to call out "Exterminate." Then he said, "The Daleks will be victorious The rebels will be exterminated."

"Colonel?" asked Journey into her comm, "What's happening out there?"

She didn't get any response we just heard Rusty repeat, "Exterminate." Then he said, "Dalek fleet. Communications open."

"Teddy, What happened?" asked Clara.

"Confirmation…" I said.

"Confirmation of what?" asked Clara.

"That Daleks can't turn good. It was just radiation affecting its brain chemistry, nothing more than that. No miracle."

"Let me get this straight," asked Journey, "We had a good Dalek, and we made it bad again? That's all we've done?"

"There was never a good Dalek," said Annabelle, "There was a broken Dalek and we fixed it."

"You were supposed to be helping us."

"We gave it a shot," said The Doctor, "It didn't work out. It was a Dalek, what did you expect?"

"No more talking," said Journey, "You are done! Okay, new objective. We are taking this Dalek down."

"Exterminate. Exterminate." said Rusty.

We looked over at Clara and she was just looking at us, "What's that look for?" asked The Doctor.

"It's the look you get when I'm about to slap you," said Clara. She slapped him harder than I ever would.

"Ow." said The Doctor, as he put his hand to his cheek.

"Clara!" I said.

"Are we going to die in here?" she said looking at The Doctor, "I mean, there's a little bit of you that's pleased. The Daleks are evil after all. Everything makes sense. The Doctor is right.:

"Daleks are evil," I said, "Irreversibly so. That's what we just learned."

"No, Teddy, that is not what we just learned," said Clara.

Journey and the female solider started to place grenades around the power cell, "We need to place these charges for maximum effect. I'm going to scan the rest of the architecture for weaknesses." said Journey.

"One question," said Clara.

"No time," said Journey.

"Why did we come here today? What was the point? You," Clara looked at the Doctor, "You thought there was a good Dalek. What difference would one good Dalek make?"

"All the difference in the universe, but it's impossible," said The Doctor.

"Is that a fact? Is that really what we've learned today? Think about it. Is that what we've learned?"

The Doctor, Annabelle and I looked at each other and thought about it. Then, it dawned on us… That wasn't what we learned.

We looked back at Clara, "Clara Oswald, do we really not pay you?"

"You couldn't afford me," said Clara.

"You've got that right!" I said

We ran back over to Journey and the female solider, "Whatever you're going to do, don't do it This Dalek must not be destroyed. We can do better." said The Doctor.

"Are you out of your mind?" asked Journey.

"No, I'm inside a Dalek. I'm standing where I've never been. We cannot waste this chance. It won't come again."

"What chance? I have my orders."

"Soldiers take orders," said Annabelle.

"And I'm a soldier," said Journey.

"So am I," said Annabelle, "But, a Dalek is a better soldier than either of us will ever be. You can't win this way."

Journey held up a grenade to pull the pin. But she didn't. She put it down and groaned, "Bah! So what do we do?"

"Something better."

We climbed up to a recess and once we were all together again The Doctor said, "The Dalek isn't just some angry blob in a Dalekanium tank. If it was, the radiation would have turned it into a raging lunatic."

"It is a raging lunatic, it's a Dalek," said Journey.

"But for a moment, it wasn't," I said, "The radiation allowed it to expand its consciousness, to consider things beyond its natural terms of reference."

"It became good," said Annabelle, "That means a good Dalek is possible."

"That's what we learned today. Are we right, teach?" asked The Doctor.

"Top of the class," said Clara.

"But now it's back to how it was," said Journey.

:But what it saw, what it felt, is still there," I said.

"Yeah, I'm not really seeing that."

"Not here. There," I pointed upwards,

"You mean in the cortex vault?" asked Journey

"The evil engineering?" asked Clara.

"Every memory is recorded," said Annabelle, "Some are suppressed, but they are all still intact. We need to show the Dalek that star being born again." She looked right at Clara, "We need to get up there, find that moment and reawaken it."

"Me?" asked Clara.

"Yes, you."

"How?"

"You'll see when we get there."

"And then once you've done it, the Dalek will be suggestible to new ideas," said The Doctor, "It will be open again. And, Teddy and I will show it something that will change its mind forever"

"What?" asked Journey.

"Not a clue," I said.

"This is crazy. There is no way that we can get back up there in time."

"Yes, there is," said the female solder.

"No, Gretchen. It'll bring the antibodies back down on us."

Gretchen looked at Clara, "Tell me the truth. Are they mad or are they right? I've come this far. Probably going to die anyway. Wouldn't mind something to do for the rest of my life. Are they mad or are they right?"

"Hand on my heart?" asked Clara, "Most days they're both."

Gretchen looked at us, "One question, then. Is this worth it?"

"If we can turn one Dalek, we can turn them all. We can save the future," said The Doctor.

"Gretchen Alison Carlisle. Do something good and name it after me."

"We will do something amazing, I promise," I said.

"Damn well better," said Gretchen as she primed her harpoon gun.

"No, Gretchen," said Journey, as Gretchen fired two harpoons into the floor to anchor the cables to the floor then fired two up to the cranial ledge.

"Go," said Gretchen.

I turned and saw the antibodies coming, "They're coming. They're coming."

Journey fastened pulleys onto the zip wires, " Grab hold of the rope. Don't look down."

"Good luck."

I gave Annabelle a quick hug, "Stay safe."

Annabelle and Clara shared one zip line, while Journey used the other. They took off and The Doctor and I head to confront Rusty. While Gretchen held back the antibodies as long as she could.

We made our way up to Rusty. The Dalek mutant looked so huge in front of us, "Well, Rusty, here we are. Eye to eye," said The Doctor.

"You cannot save the humans. They will be exterminated," said Rusty, "I shall join the Dalek units in the final attack."

"We saved your life, Rusty," I said, "Now we're going to go one better. We're going to save your soul."

"Daleks do not have souls."

"Oh, no?" said The Doctor, "Imagine if you did. What then, Rusty? What would happen then?" I saw a flash of light travel down neurons . I looked at a holgraphic projection that was in front of rusty. I saw images of soldiers dying, "Your memories. We're about to give some back to you," said The Doctor as he worked on some tubing, "See, all those years ago, when I began." He opened it and took out some neurons. He pulled them apart, "I was just running. I called myself the Doctor, but it was just a name. And then I went to Skaro. And then I met you lot and I understood who I was. The Doctor was not the Daleks."

I saw more Impulses flowing down the cables to Rusty. They were images of Daleks flying in space and attacking the Valiant when they stole Earth, "Look," I said, "More Memories. It's like someone's messing around up there. Do you remember the star you saw being born?"

I looked at the screen and saw the projection of Rusty's memory of when he saw a star being born.

"I… I remember." said Rusty

"You saw the truth, Rusty. Do you Remember how you felt. You saw a star being born. The endless rebirth of the universe."

"No."

"And you realized the truth about the Daleks."

"Truth? What is the truth?"

"Let me show you the truth," said The Doctor, "I've opened your mind and now I'm coming in." The Doctor spliced two pieced of cut neuron together with his bare hands and he screamed as the energy surged through his body.

I used my telepathic connection with The Doctor to join in on his telepathic conversation with Rusty, "I'm part of you," said The Doctor, "My mind is in your mind."

"I see your mind, Doctor. I see your universe," said Rusty.

"And isn't the universe beautiful?" I asked.

"I see beauty."

"Yes, that's good," said The Doctor, "That is good. Hold on to that."

"I see endless, divine perfection."

"Make it a part of you," I said, "Remember how you feel right now."

"Put it inside you and live by it," said The Doctor.

"I see into your soul, Doctor," said Rusty, "I see beauty. I see divinity. I see hatred."

"Hatred?" asked The Doctor.

"I see your hatred of the Daleks and it is good."

"No, no, no," I said, "You must see more than that, there must be more than that."

"Death to the Daleks," said Rusty, "Death to the Daleks. Death to the Daleks."

"No, there must be more than that," said The Doctor, "There must be more than that. Please."

"Daleks are evil. Daleks must be exterminated. Daleks are evil. Daleks must be exterminated. Exterminate!" We watched through our telepathic connection with Rusty as he killed several Daleks. When he was done he said, "The Daleks are exterminated"

"Of course they are," said The Doctor, "That's what you do, isn't it?" Then, we broke our connection with Rusty.

Once we were back outside we were standing next to Rusty when Journey's uncle and a small group walked through a large hole in the door, "Journey." said her uncle.

"Uncle Morgan," said Journey, as she walked over to him.

"I have transmitted a retreat signal," said Rusty, "The Daleks will believe the humans have initiated the ship's self-destruct."

Journey and her uncle shared a hug, then Clara asked, "What about you, Rusty?"

"I must go with them."

"Of course you must," said The Doctor sadly, "You've unfinished work, haven't you?"

"Victory is yours, but it does not please you," said Rusty.

"You looked inside me and you saw hatred. That's not victory. Victory would have been a good Dalek."

"I am not a good Dalek… You are a good Dalek." Rusty continued to look at The Doctor as he turned to leave. Then he turned and rolled away.

"Till the next time," said The Doctor as he walked out of the room and headed to the TARDIS. Annabelle and I were close behind him. Clara was just a couple steps behind but she caught up to us as we reached the TARDIS.

As we were about to go inside Journey came running up to us, "Doctor," we turned and stopped then she said, "Take me with you."

Us Time Lords looked at each other and then The Doctor walked up to her, "I think you're probably nice. Underneath it all, I think you're kind and you're definitely brave. I just wish you hadn't been a soldier."

Journey pointed at Annabelle, "But, she's a solider."

I shook my head, "No… She's my daughter…"

Then, The Doctor, Annabelle and I walked into the TARDIS.

A short time later, we were in the console room waiting for Clara to change her clothes. Once she was done she ran up the stairs and said, "How do I look?"

"Sort of short and round-ish, but with a good personality, which is the main thing," said The Doctor.

I shook my head and Clara said, "I meant my clothes. I just changed."

"Oh, good for you, still making an effort."

I shook my head again, "You look very nice, "Clara." I said.

"Thank you."

The TARDIS landed, "Okay, right, you're back in your cupboard," said Annabelle, "thirty seconds after The Doctor picked you up."

"When will I see you all again?"

"Oh. Soon, I expect," said The Doctor, "Or later. One of those."

Clara headed for the door, opened it and stopped for a moment she turned and looked back, "I don't know."

"I'm sorry?" said The Doctor.

"You asked me if you're a good man and the answer is, I don't know. But I think you try to be and I think that's probably the point."

"I think you're probably an amazing teacher."

"I think I'd better be," Clara then closed the door and left.

AN: If you like this story, please like, follow and leave me a review in the box below. It give me inspiration to keep going.