She left her flat in Cardiff at 4am, Armitage waiting in his car by the entrance of their building to pick her up.
She had spent most of the night thinking about what she was going to say to Jack. Part of her wanted to leave him a note, but she worried that that might tip him off and he'd come after her. No, she'd have to simply disappear until it was done. She wasn't happy about betraying him like this, but there was no alternative option.
It was happening.
And it was happening today.
Resurrecting The Master.
Today.
That was the only thing on her agenda.
The only thing she was going to do today.
She could worry about The Doctor, Jack and Martha tomorrow.
Today, nothing was going to go wrong.
The pair sat mainly in silence during the drive. They were going to arrive at the location in London at 8am. Koschei would be back by 10am at the latest. The stupid cult had readied everything. It was set. Nothing was going wrong today.
Jittery nerves fluttered in her stomach. Even if she wanted to fill the silence with small talk, she didn't trust that opening her mouth wouldn't result in her retching.
The location they'd chosen was just east of the city, still fairly central but just out of the way enough that they wouldn't be disturbed. Hally looked out of the window up at the tall glass jungle. The humans travelling to go and sit in their windowless boxes for the day.
There was a gentle vibration underneath her seat, a rumble. She barely noticed it.
But, then there was another.
A stronger shake.
Armitage noticed it too, a crease of a frown appearing on his forehead. He slowed the car to a stop, a few other vehicles doing the same around them.
It wasn't just them.
The ground was shaking.
An earthquake?
The rumbling came again, violently shaking the entire car. The suspension creaked angrily, pedestrians stumbled and ran for cover out on the street. Hally unbuckled her seatbelt, leaning towards the passenger door, her hand stretched towards the door handle. She was swiftly shoved back into her seat by the heavy hand on her chest.
"Don't you dare." Armitage shot her a warning look. She rolled her eyes and opened the car door, slipping from under his hand and onto the road. She shut the door behind her, cutting off his resulting expletive. The ground hadn't stopped shaking. Hally took a tentative step away from the car, humans were screaming, shouting. Car alarms were wailing. There was a sharp jerk and Hally was thrown towards the floor. Strong, large hands caught her before she face-planted the ground.
"I'm fine. I'm not that breakable." She hissed, righting herself and turning back to glare at him.
But for once, Armitage wasn't looking at her.
The ground had stopped shaking.
It was dark. Like it was suddenly nighttime?
Armitage was looking up at the sky.
Hally turned to follow his gaze and her mouth dropped open.
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me."
The sky.
Where there had been clear blue, light clouds and the sun before…
Now there were at least ten planets, that she could see.
Planets that certainly hadn't been there before.
They'd moved.
The entire fucking Earth had moved.
Someone had moved the Earth.
A groan tumbled out from her throat and she pressed her eyelids shut.
Why did this have to be TODAY?!
She blinked open her eyes, staring up at the impossible sky as her mind began to whir, running through all the possible scenarios.
There were planets in the sky.
They'd moved.
Something was happening.
Could she just ignore it?
Get back in the car.
They were only 20 minutes away.
Everything was ready.
But what about the planets…?
What was going on?
Surely Martha would have called The Doctor by now.
He could fix it.
She could definitely just leave it to him.
Her phone vibrated in her pocket and she grimaced.
Of course, someone was calling her. She pulled it from her back pocket, checking the screen.
Jack.
Oh, fuck.
She took in a deep breath and answered the call. "Yeah, I'm seeing them too."
Jack huffed down the line. "Gonna need you to head to the office, we've got work to do."
She winced and a soft whine snuck its way out her mouth. "Well… about that. I'm actually not in Cardiff." Her gaze flicked up to look at Armitage, whose attention had moved back to her. He was waiting for her to give him an order. What was their next move?
"What?" She could hear the tone of disbelief in his voice, like he wasn't quite sure if she was joking or not.
She rolled her bottom lip between her teeth. "I'm in London. UNIT stuff. Bad timing." She lied. Well, not about the bad timing.
"Are you kidding?! You don't even text me when you're leaving these days?"
"It was early, I wasn't expecting the world to end today!" She snapped at him, then she paused, taking a deep breath as she ran her fingers through her hair. Her hearts had started to beat frantically in her chest.
"Have you heard from The Doctor?" Jack was pacing, she could hear it. He was panicked and he'd called her for help.
Hally shook her head. "No, what about Martha, she can call him?"
"She's tried. No signal." Jack cut back. Hally's stomach dropped.
"No signal? But that's not…" Confusion melted onto her face and she frowned, looking back up at the sky. Her eyes widened in recognition. She knew that sky. "Oh my God, we're in the Medusa Cascade…"
"The, what now?" Jack barked the question, not even trying to hide the impatience in his voice.
She shook her head, thoughts running through her mind at an increasing pace. "We've moved… obviously. Someone has moved us and all these planets… to the Medusa Cascade."
"These planets aren't supposed to be here either?"
"No… the cascade is empty it's… well it's like a tourist destination. But its busy… it's… people would see…" She stared up at the planets in the sky, the more she spoke, the deeper the frown knitted her forehead together. "This doesn't make any sense."
Jack's voice cut over her rambling. "We can't get hold of The Doctor… Hal, we need you."
Frustration tumbled through her.
Why was this happening today?!
She was stuck, between two immovable walls, closing in. She wanted to ignore the gigantic problem in the sky. She really did, but she knew he was right. They couldn't get hold of The Doctor.
They needed her.
Someone had moved the Earth, and all the other planets into the Medusa Cascade. But why? And how…? "How are we still breathing? There's no sun." The thoughts tumbled from her mouth, she wasn't really speaking to Jack, more to herself. "In fact, all these planets should have crashed into one another… what's suspending us all…"
Jack sighed loudly. "Hal, I have no clue. How far out are you from UNIT?"
A groan vibrated low in her throat. "Err… I could probably get there in 15 minutes." She let out a soft sigh of resignation.
She was going to have to do this.
But if they couldn't get hold of The Doctor.
Was she supposed to fix this on her own?
She ran her hand down her face.
Where to even start?
She needed help…
Well…
Her eyes lit up with an idea.
Surely… to save the planet… it wouldn't hurt to resurrect the smarted Time Lord she knew?
Because, of course, there was a backup option…
Her eyes hardened as she made her decision, her face falling into set determination.
"I'll be at UNIT shortly. Just… keep trying The Doctor." Her eyes narrowed. "We must be in some kind of pocket… people would notice." She shook her head, focusing. "I'll be online as soon as I can."
"Alright. Hurry up." Jack hung up.
Armitage watched her as she moved towards the back seat of the car, pulling open the door and grabbing her backpack that she'd packed that morning.
"Shall I call them off?" He'd already taken out his phone, assuming her answer.
Darkness passed over her face and she straightened up, shaking her head as she looked back at him. "No. We're going ahead."
His eyebrow twitched upwards. "Are you sure now is the best time…?" His gaze flicked up at the sky, before settling back on her.
"I don't care. We're doing it." A heavy exhale fell from her lips as she stuck together the beginnings of a plan. "Call them. We're moving it. Broadfell Prison." She turned back to her backpack, keeping her Torchwood phone in her pocket she packed Koschei's phone and her UNIT laptop into the bag along with the clothes she'd brought for The Master. She zipped it up and shoved it towards Armitage. "When it's done you give him this and you tell him to open the laptop and follow the emailed instructions. If he questions you, tell him to look out the fucking window."
He took the bag from her but his expression was unconvinced. "The catalyst for the ritual is you… You have to come."
She chuckled bitterly. "The Master always has a backup." The side of her mouth twitched with a smirk. "The catalyst is his imprint. But I'm not the only one he gave that to, am I?" Her eyes flashed and she cocked a knowing eyebrow.
Armitage caught on to her meaning immediately. "Ah."
Broadfell Prison.
The current residence of one, Lucy Saxon.
"Yes." Hally shook off the dozen uncertainties about what she was about to do and confidently met Armitage's gaze. "I need to go to UNIT. You're going to go and resurrect The Master. Understood?"
He nodded.
She really hoped the fear that was wringing her insides wasn't showing on her face. "Text me when it's done." Armitage didn't need telling twice, he moved away from her to get back into his car. "Oh and Armitage." He paused, looking back at her. "If anything goes wrong, I will kill you." She shot him a far too innocent smile. He snorted in response and got in, taking her backpack with him and sped away.
Without a second thought, Hally turned and sprinted towards Tower Bridge. She ran there, shouted at the men manning the gate, got herself escorted to Mace's office and acquisitioned herself a computer all in less than sixteen minutes. The first thing she did was log herself into the system while Mace was busy monitoring the large screen on the far side of the floor. They were running multiple scans of the surrounding planets. Twenty-seven in total.
She typed up the instructions, emailing them to herself.
Then she plugged in her phone, downloading the Archangel application for remote control.
Finally, she activated Archangel.
She closed the laptop, moving to observe the scan on the mounted screen.
Twenty-seven planets.
All existing in perfect harmony, shoved inside the Medusa Cascade?
What was she supposed to do about this?!
There was a sharp beep as the scanner picked up a new signal. On the screen above them, red splotches appeared. Hovering. Moving towards the Earth. Spaceships. Disk-like in shape. Something was coming.
"There's an incoming transmission." A UNIT soldier informed them.
Mace looked from him back to the screen. "Well, patch it threw."
It took a few seconds to filter the transmission through their system.
"Ex-ter-min-ate! Exterminate! Exterminate!"
Hally stared at the screen as still as if someone had frozen her to the spot.
No.
The transmission continued, the Dalek's repeating their war cry over and over.
The red ships shimmered on the scanner, moving closer and closer to Earth. There were more than two dozen ships. Each ship would contain hundreds of thousands of Daleks. If not more.
She could hear her hearts hammering in her ears.
Fear.
Ice cold.
Like a bucket of freezing water being tipped over her head.
They couldn't fight that many Daleks.
Her phone vibrated and she brought it to her ear, her eyes never leaving the screen.
"It's the Daleks!" There was panic in Jack's voice. Fear. He'd already given up.
When she spoke, her own voice croaked with uncertainty. "I know." She swallowed the bile rising in her throat.
"Where are you?!"
"UNIT."
"You need to get out of there, they're targeting military bases!" Jack's warning rang out over the speaker of her phone, but his meaning didn't quite land on her. She was still watching the screen.
Daleks.
Daleks were coming.
A burning heat began to fizzle underneath the chill of her fear. It grew into a central furnace, melting away at her until she wasn't frozen underneath it anymore.
Rage.
Unapologetic rage.
Daleks.
A whole army of Daleks.
They'd stolen the planet and they were about to attack.
She had been so close.
She could have picked yesterday.
Yesterday and then she and The Master would be gone. They could have stolen Jack's Vortex Manipulator. Easy Peasy. Nowhere near the Daleks.
But no…
"Hal!" Jack shouted down the phone at her, jolting her attention back to the present.
"Evacuating… yeah." She blinked and moved to action. She turned to Mace and gave the order. "We're evacuating, NOW!" Her gaze flicked back towards the screen. There was something in the middle of the planets. Something smaller, perfectly spherical.
A central ship.
If she had any hope of stopping the Daleks…
That would be where she needed to be.
Hally hung up on Jack and bolted towards the exit, she caught up with Mace, grabbing him by the shoulder. "Do you have weapons? Explosives, anything?!"
"Err…" He blinked, taken aback by the wild fire burning behind her eyes. "Yes. Ah, this way." They broke away from the fleeing group and descended a flight of stairs into one of the armouries. He scanned a card for access, opening the door for her.
"Fine. Now, go." She strode forward, leaving him by the door.
"What are you going to do?"
Her face curled into a snarl. "Blow up some Daleks. Now, go!"
He flinched and turned, leaving her.
It didn't take her very long to set up the explosive devices. The building was old, structurally there were very few places that would need to crack in order for it to be sent crashing to the ground. She could hear the Daleks already in the building.
Chaos was raining down in the streets outside.
Judging by the screaming and the sounds coming from the floor below, not everyone had managed to evacuate.
But they hadn't found her yet.
She needed to draw more in.
Her phone started to beep. A consecutive short tone, one after the other. She took it out of her pocket, scowling at it. Hoping it would shut up.
"Can anyone hear me? The Subwave Network is open. You should be able to hear my voice Is there anyone there?" Her phone screen flickered and lit up as a female voice spoke over the speaker.
Hally stared at it. She recognised that voice.
The image on her phone was blurry, waving with static. "This message is of the utmost importance. We haven't much time. Can anyone hear me?"
"Harriet Jones?" Hally asked, her face scrunching with confusion.
But Harriet didn't respond to her straight away, she was talking to someone else.
"Captain Jack Harkness, shame on you. Now stand to attention, sir. Harriet Jones, former Prime Minister." The image cleared and Hally saw as Harriet held up her passport, identifying herself. "Sarah Jane Smith, 13 Bannerman Road. Are you there?" Hally couldn't hear the others' reply. "And have I got Hally, daughter of The Doctor?"
"Ummm yes?" She stared at her phone.
What was this?
"Good. Now. Let's see if we can talk to each other." Harriet's attention moved away from the screen and she began typing. Hally's phone screen split itself into four sections, video images popping up into each segment. Hally turned her phone on its side to better see, but aside from Harriet, there was Jack and the Torchwood Hub and Sarah Jane Smith, along with a young-looking boy. Harriet hummed, murmuring to herself. "The fifth contact seems to be having some trouble getting through."
Upon seeing her, Jack bristled. "Hally! Where are you?!"
She pulled a face at him, one that clearly demonstrated how little she was enjoying his irritation. "Umm, the same place as the last time you asked."
"I told you to get out of there!"
"It's a work in progress!"
Harriet boosted the signal and in the fourth segment popped up, Martha.
"Hello?"
Jack's face fell into one of happy relief. "Ha, ha! Martha Jones. Where are you?"
Martha's eyes lit up at the sight of her friends. "I guess Project Indigo was more clever than we thought. One second I was in Manhattan, next second. Maybe Indigo tapped into my mind, because I ended up in the one place that I wanted to be."
Martha's mother touched her daughter's shoulders fondly. "You came home. At the end of the world, you came back to me."
Hally's eyebrows shot up. "You used that thing without testing it? Martha, you could have died!"
Martha gave the screen an apologetic smile. "But then all of a sudden, it's like the laptop turned itself on." She raised an eyebrow.
Harriet nodded. "It did. That was me." She raised her identification again for Martha's benefit. "Harriet Jones, former Prime Minister."
Martha let out a soft laugh, smiling. "Yes, I know who you are."
"I thought it was about time we all met given the current crisis. Torchwood, this is Sarah Jane Smith."
Jack offered the screen a nod. "I've been following your work. Nice job with the Slitheen."
Sarah cocked her head to the side. "Yeah, well, I've been staying away from you lot. Too many guns." She turned to give a pointed look towards the young man.
A knowing smile curled up the edges of Jack's mouth. "All the same, might I say looking good, ma'am?"
A light peppering of a blush spread across Sarah's cheeks. "Really? Ooo."
Hally rolled her eyes, rubbing a hand over her face, but before she could complain, Harriet beat her to it. "Not now, Captain. And Martha Jones, former companion to the Doctor."
Martha looked like she wasn't quite sure what to do with the instruction, so instead she asked a question. "But how did you find me?
"This, ladies and gentlemen, this is the Subwave Network. A sentient piece of software programmed to seek out anyone and everyone who can help to contact The Doctor." Harriet explained.
Martha looked up, lowering her voice. "What if the Daleks can hear us?"
"No, that's the beauty of the Subwave. It's undetectable."
"And you invented it?" Sarah questioned, her tone holding some disbelief.
"I developed it. It was created by the Mister Copper Foundation."
Jack exhaled, drawing the attention back to him. "Yeah, but what we need right now is a weapon."
Hally shook her head. "We can't fight the Daleks from down here."
Jack chose to ignore her pessimism. "Martha, back there at UNIT, what, what did they give you? What was that key thing?"
Martha's face fell and she held up a black, square device. "The Osterhagen key."
Hally cocked an eyebrow, her stomach sinking. If UNIT's last hope was the Osterhagen project, they were in for a disappointing surprise.
Harriet cut across the discussion. "That key is not to be used, Doctor Jones. Not under any circumstances."
Jack frowned. "But what is an Osterhagen key?"
"Forget about the key, and that's an order." Harriet levelled a stern look at Jack, which somehow did the trick. "All we need is the Doctor."
Sarah Jane took in a breath, taking a step towards the camera. "Only, excuse me, Harriet, but. Well, the thing is, if you're looking for The Doctor, didn't he depose you?"
Her eyebrow had cocked before she had a chance to control her face. The look was mirrored on Jack and Martha's face.
Ah, of course, Sarah Jane wouldn't remember most of what the Prime Minister who had proceeded Harriet had done.
Whoops.
"He did. And I've wondered about that for a long time, whether I was wrong. But I stand by my actions to this day, because I knew, I knew that one day, the Earth would be in danger, and The Doctor would fail to appear. I told him so myself, and he didn't listen." Harriet fixed them all with a stern look. Hally did have to give it to her, Harriet wasn't wrong.
"But I've been trying to find him. The Doctor's got my phone on the TARDIS, but I can't get through." Martha inputted.
"That's why we need the Subwave. To bring us all together. Combine forces. The Doctor's secret Army." Harriet's eyes flicked over the screen addressing them all.
Hally shook her head, her mind working from Martha's point. "We have to be hidden… otherwise he would have found us by now. You can't hide twenty-seven planets in the Medusa Cascade… there must be a pocket. We're in a bubble of some sort, otherwise, he'd find us. We need a bigger signal…"
Jack jumped across her, his eyes lighting up. "Wait a minute. We boost the signal. That's it. We transmit that telephone number through Torchwood itself, using all the power of the Rift."
The young boy next to Sarah Jane took a step forward, eyes bright with an idea. "And we've got Mister Smith. He can link up with every telephone exchange on the Earth. He can get the whole world to call the same number, all at the same time. Billions of phones, calling out all at once."
Hally's eyebrows arched. "That could work…"
A grin split over Jack's face. "Brilliant. Who's the kid?"
"That's my son." A soft laugh fell from Sarah Jane, her eyes grazing over the boy with pride.
"Excuse me. Sorry." Ianto squeezed into the frame next to Jack. "Sorry. Hello. Ianto Jones. Er, if we start Transmitting, then this Subwave Network is going to become visible. I mean, to the Daleks."
Harriet nodded, only professional determination on her face. "Yes, and they'll trace it back to me. But my life doesn't matter. Not if it saves the Earth."
There was a moment of silence as her sacrifice settled on them. Jack raised his hand in a salute. "Ma'am."
A small smile flickered onto Harriet's face. "Thank you, Captain. But there are people out there dying on the streets. Now, enough of words. Let's begin."
Hally watched as Harriet and the others moved to action.
"Rift power activated." Jack confirmed, with Gwen and Ianto adding in the background, "All terminals coordinated." "National grid online. Giving you everything we've got."
"Connecting you to Mister Smith." Sarah Jane added, her son piping up too. "All telephone networks combined."
"Opening Subwave Network to maximum." Harriet's hands were typing away off-screen, her attention split.
Sarah Jane took a step back. "Mister Smith, make that call." She ordered.
Hally rose to her feet, there were still Daleks inside the building she'd been hiding in. There was more she could do. "I'm going to give you more time. They'll clock onto the signal soon enough, time to distract some Daleks."
"What are you going to do?" Jack's voice was laced with worry.
She paused, looking back down at her phone, a wry smile forming on her face. "Remind them of their favourite pastime." She shot Jack a knowing wink. "Time Lord hunting."
"Be careful!" Jack shouted.
Hally gave a nod of appreciation towards Harriet, who offered her an encouraging smile in return. Then, Hally flicked off her screen, slipping her phone back into her back pocket.
Time to make some noise.
She pulled the Laser Screwdriver from its holster, sending out a sonic signal that she knew the Daleks would immediately clock onto. Drawing them up onto her floor. Then she darted towards the staircase, they would rise and she would make a run for it down the staircase. Because Daleks were so very predictable.
Once she could hear them advancing on her floor, she descended as fast as she could to the exit, the detonator in her hand. The second her feet flew her out of the exit, she smacked her palm down onto the detonation button, not once stopping to look back at the building as she heard the unmistakable rumblings of the explosive devices activating. The ground beneath her feet vibrated as the building shook. Then, gradually, almost as if gravity hadn't quite figured out its job, bits of the building began to fall. Each brick that fell pulled another with it until the entire building cascaded downwards, impacting the floor with a violent crash. Once she'd sprinted far enough away, Hally paused to look back at the destruction, excitement shooting through her.
She probably shouldn't have found the devastation she'd left behind so thrilling.
Hally waited for a few moments, until she could hear the cursed screeching of more approaching Daleks before she turned and ran once more. She ran across Tower Bridge, throwing a look over her shoulder to check that she was indeed being tailed by half a dozen tin cans.
But she wasn't planning on winning.
She just needed their attention.
She needed a route up to that central ship.
On the other side of the bridge, she could see more Daleks approaching. They were going to have her surrounded from either side.
Perfect.
Let them come.
"Halt. You will be exterminated." The four Daleks in front of her fanned out, trapping her in a circle.
She let out a bark of a laugh. "Oh, you might want to do a quick scan first." The Dalek that had spoken shifted forward, its scanner twitching towards her. "You are a Time Lord, you are an enemy of the Daleks." The Dalek advanced, aiming its blaster at her in threat. "The daughter of The Doctor. You will come with us."
Hally cocked an eyebrow. The daughter of The Doctor. That was not the reaction she usually got from Daleks. Perhaps she was losing her touch?
Oh well, it had done the trick.
Two other Daleks moved forward to form a triangle around her, she braced herself for the teleport. The ground slipped out from under her and she stumbled, thankfully managing to keep upright as a new floor crashed underneath her feet. Hard. Metal. A constant gentle vibration. She straightened herself up and took in her new surroundings. An enclosed space, dim lighting with a central control panel. Perhaps a basement? It wasn't the main part of the ship. Not the bridge. One of the Daleks that had transported her shunted forward, forcing her to take a few steps back. It was manoeuvring her. "Activate holding cell." The Dalek ordered and a column of light filtered down from the ceiling to where she stood. A glimmering force field fell in front of her. She reached out, grazing her fingers over it. She was trapped inside a cell.
Not the end of the world.
As the Dalek turned its back on her, she pulled out her phone, opening the app she'd downloaded at UNIT.
Archangel – ACTIVATED
Location – TRANSMITTING
T-MINUS: 20 MINUTES
Alright, so now it was just a waiting game.
A high-pitched giggle drew her attention to an area just behind her right shoulder. It was shrouded in darkness but she could make out a platform, on top of which sat an open Dalek container. The creature sitting exposed atop it, wriggling and squirming.
"Dalek Caan foretold your coming." The voice had come from further away, there was a darkened tunnel leading into the room she was imprisoned in. A figure shifted into view. Hally took in a sharp breath, staring at the creature before her.
She'd never seen him in person before.
The creator of the Daleks.
Davros.
They'd not crossed paths during the Time War.
Although she wished they had.
He was grotesque.
Barely alive.
Maintained by the technology within the Dalek shell on which he sat. His face was something from a child's nightmare. Empty sockets lay where eyes used to, a spherical orb sat in the centre of his forehead, instead providing his visual input.
Hally's eyes flicked back over toward the squirming mass of the exposed Dalek. Dalek Caan. The last of the Cult of Skaro. They'd last met in New York in 1930, back with Martha, back before The Master.
"Oh, did he? And what exactly did he foretell?" Hally kept her voice level, not wanting to betray the tornado currently whirling inside her.
Caan let out another excitable giggle.
"Something funny?" She cocked an eyebrow at the deranged Dalek. Caan hummed, a high-pitched wail as his limbs flicked with uncontainable glee.
A Dalek wheeled forward. "The TARDIS has been detected."
Davros snarled and moved away from her towards the central column. Caan garbled, "Tee hee, hee. He is here. The Dark Lord is come."
Hally pulled a face. "Oh, no I think you're getting confused with Voldemort."
They ignored her.
Instead, Davros tilted his head upwards, addressing a Dalek elsewhere. Perhaps on the main bridge. "Supreme One, this Subwave Network, I would address it. Give me access."
An image flickered into existence above the central control column, a live feed, straight onto the TARDIS. She could see The Doctor and Donna from the camera embedded in the console monitor. The Doctor's face fell into one of confusion and he banged his hand against the monitor. "No, no, no, no, no. There's another signal coming through. There's someone else out there. Hello? Can you hear me?"
Davros slid towards the screen. "Your voice is different, and yet its arrogance is unchanged." On the screen, The Doctor's face drained of any colour, his eyes refocusing on the new projected image. Davros smiled, the expression pulling hideously at his face. "Welcome to my new Empire Doctor. It is only fitting that you should bear witness to the resurrection and the triumph of Davros, lord and creator of the Dalek race."
It took a few moments for The Doctor to respond, fear lingering in his eyes. "But you were destroyed. In the very first year of the Time War, at the Gates of Elysium. I saw your command ship fly into the jaws of the Nightmare Child. I tried to save you…"
Hally kept her mouth closed, observing as Davros gloated to her father. Dalek Caan had flown into the Time War to save Davros.
"But that's impossible. The entire War is timelocked." The Doctor spat.
"And yet he succeeded. Oh, it cost him his mind, but imagine. A single, simple Dalek succeeded where Emperors and Time Lords have failed. A testament, don't you think, to my remarkable creations?"
Davros unclipped the buckle of his tunic, revealing to The Doctor his decimated body. He had grown new Daleks from himself. Taking cells of his own body and turning it into a new army. "New Daleks. True Daleks. I have my children, Doctor. What do you have, now?"
Hally didn't say a word. If The Doctor knew she was on the Dalek ship he'd come straight for her and she still needed time.
T-MINUS: 15 MINUTES
The Doctor's eyes burned into the screen and he sneered. "After all this time, everything we saw, everything we lost, I have only one thing to say to you…" A gleam appeared. "Bye!"
The transmission cut out and a deeper Dalek voice commanded over the ship's communication system. "Emergency. Locate the TARDIS. Find The Doctor."
Davros shifted away from the screen. "He will go to the Earth to find his precious Human allies."
"And death is coming. Oh, I can see it. Everlasting death for the most faithful companion." Caan cackled, writhing up on his casing. A frown pulled at her face as Hally looked between them both. Whatever Caan was getting at didn't sound good.
But surely it was just the ramblings of a creature turned insane by the Time Vortex? She turned back to Davros, if he could answer The Doctor's questions, then he could answer hers. "What do you need twenty-seven planets for anyway? Hiding out in the Medusa Cascade, not very Dalek of you is it?" She taunted. Whatever information she could gather would help with the completion of the half-plan she'd started to formulate.
Davros laughed at her, the sound cruel and cold. "Time Lords, always so arrogant. You never see past what's in front of you."
She clicked her tongue against her teeth. "Rude." Her eyes narrowed at him, not deterred. "How are you keeping them in alignment?"
"We are not." His top lip curled into a sneer.
Her eyebrows arched high on her forehead.
So the planets had aligned themselves.
The twenty-seven planets were existing in perfect balance. But that would…
Her eyes widened, light glittered behind her iris. "So, it's like a battery?"
Davros snarled at her, at least she imagined it to be a snarl, it was quite difficult to decipher his expression when there was so little of his face left. "So you're powering something…" Her voice tailed off, it was evident that Davros wasn't going to be forthcoming with whatever he was planning. Most likely he was waiting for the arrival of The Doctor. "Well, whatever it is I'm going to assume it's not good."
"How astute of you. You are, just like him."
Hally cocked an eyebrow.
"Full of arrogance. Your father, the destroyer of worlds. Yours and mine. And what are you? An almost companion. What do you really know of him? Your father. The murderer." His voice creaked with anger, baiting her.
Hally frowned, soft surprise filtering onto her face. "Oh, I fought in the Time War, crispy."
Davros snarled at her, spitting his words as his anger snowballed. "And yet, to no avail. You are unimportant. You are here only to witness my victory." He bared his teeth at her, turning to Caan who gave a giggle.
"Death is coming." Caan squirmed. "She is coming. Her destruction is so beautiful."
Davros sneered, triumph clear on his face. Hally looked from Caan back to Davros, a thought scuttling its way into her mind.
Davros didn't know.
Well, Davros hadn't survived past the first year of the Time War.
Hally hadn't joined until much later.
How would he know?
But that was the point.
He didn't.
Davros didn't know that she was anything other than 'The Doctor's Daughter'.
But Caan did.
Caan knew.
And Caan hadn't told him.
Not one single Dalek had referred to her as the Archangel of Death.
Which was a little disappointing as she did love the dramatic flair it added.
'The Daughter of The Doctor'.
That's what they'd said.
That's all they thought she was.
But Caan hadn't told them.
Interesting.
She narrowed her eyes at the giggling mass. Caan had lost his mind, for sure, but there was something lingering behind his words. A certainty. A knowledge.
And then there were the twenty-seven planets.
A battery.
A powerhouse.
She had a plan.
It had practically laid itself out in front of her.
It was actually a pretty good plan.
It might even work.
Fingers crossed.
Two Daleks circled into the chamber from her left.
Her phone buzzed.
Davros manoeuvred away from her towards the incoming Daleks. "Doctor. How kind of you to join us."
Hally pulled her phone from her pocket, flicking her eyes up to see The Doctor escorted into the room, flanked by more Daleks.
Her gaze dropped back to the phone screen.
One notification.
A single word.
A – Done.
A flurry of emotion fell through her, settling in her stomach.
Excitement fizzed underneath the surface, battling with the anxiety that was trying to snatch at it. All covered with a flurry of impatience.
The Master was alive.
The only reaction she could afford was the small sly smile that curved the side of her mouth.
Her attention was split.
She had so many things to do.
The Master was alive.
The Doctor was here.
Save the Earth.
Destroy the Daleks.
But, The Master was alive.
She felt The Doctor's presence move further into the room, could feel his gaze on her. She slipped the phone back into her back pocket.
"You're late." She hummed, looking up at her father, an eyebrow cocked in sarcastic jest. But her gaze slid past The Doctor to the human behind him.
Shock slammed straight into her chest, pulling the breath from her lungs.
Rose.
"Activate the holding cells." Davros ordered, oblivious. Two columns fell down from the ceiling, encasing The Doctor and Rose in their own cell. The Doctor held out his hand as Hally had done, testing the barrier.
Rose was staring back at her, eyes round with yearning. Grief. Love.
She looked the same.
Almost exactly as she'd remembered.
Hally took in a sharp breath and closed her mouth. The Doctor looked behind himself at Rose and then back to his daughter.
Hally hadn't imagined she would ever see her again.
Looking at each other.
For the first time as mother and daughter.
"Excellent. Even when powerless, a Time Lord is best contained." Davros continued.
Her mother.
The Doctor looked down at his enemy. "Still scared of me, then?"
Davros considered him. "It is time we talked, Doctor. After so very long."
Right in front of her.
"No, no, no, no, no. We're not doing the nostalgia tour. I want to know what's happening right here, right now, because the Supreme Dalek said Vault, yeah? As in dungeon, cellar, prison. You're not in charge of the Daleks, are you? They've got you locked away down here in the basement like, what, a servant? Slave? Court jester?"
Hally blinked, pulling her attention away from Rose to the conversation happening between their captor and her father.
Davros paused, clearly uncomfortable. "We have an arrangement."
The Doctor barked a laugh. "No, no, no, no, no. No, I've got the word. You're the Dalek's pet!"
Davros sneered, but Hally could see the poorly concealed anger brewing underneath. He turned from The Doctor, gliding towards Rose. There was a sharp pang in Hally's chest as the human stared down at him, her face a mask of bravery.
"So very full of fire, is he not? And to think you crossed entire universes, striding parallel to parallel to find him again." Davros taunted.
"Leave her alone." The Doctor's anger bled into his words, his body tensing.
Davros turned back to him, his face pulled in cold amusement. "She is mine to do as I please."
"Then why am I still alive?" Hally felt her chest swell with pride at Rose's defiance.
Davros chuckled. "You must be here. It was foretold. Even the Supreme Dalek would not dare to contradict the prophecies of Dalek Caan."
"So cold and dark. Fire is coming. The endless flames." Caan giggled, his voice arching in a playful sing-song.
Both The Doctor and Rose looked to Caan, shock and confusion painting their faces.
"Mmm… he does that." Hally motioned toward the wriggling mass.
"What is that thing?" Rose exhaled.
The Doctor's face was dark, as he explained for the human. "You've met before. The last of the Cult of Skaro. But it flew into the Time War, unprotected."
Davros interjected, "Caan did more than that. He saw time. Its infinite complexity and majesty, raging through his mind. And he saw you. All of you." He turned back to face the three of them, surveying them with his false eye.
Caan cackled happily. "This I have foreseen, in the wild and the wind. The Doctor will be here as witness, at the end of everything. The Doctor and his precious Children of Time. And one of them will die."
Pure rage crossed The Doctor's face. "Was it you, Caan? Did you kill Donna? Why did the TARDIS door close? Tell me!"
Hally looked up at her father. Donna? Donna was dead?
But Davros jumped on The Doctor's emotion. "Oh, that's it. The anger, the fire, the rage of a Time Lord who butchered millions. There he is. Why so shy? Show your companion. Show your daughter. Show them your true self. Dalek Caan has promised me that too."
"I have seen. At the time of ending, The Doctor's soul will be revealed." Caan garbled. "And she will see and she will burn. It will be so beautiful."
"What does that mean?" The Doctor demanded, heated fury burning behind his eyes.
Davros hummed in patient amusement. "We will discover it together. Our final journey. Because the ending approaches. The testing begins." The creator of the Daleks reversed away from them.
"Testing of what?"
Davros's face split into a wide, ugly smile. "The Reality bomb." He motioned a crooked hand back to the central screen, an image appeared. "Behold. The apotheosis of my genius." They were watching some kind of prison chamber, humans were being herded into the centre of a platform.
She looked down at her phone.
T-MINUS: 10-MINUTES
A separate notification popped up.
ARCHANGEL: REMOTE ACCESS REQUEST, LONDON, UK
She accepted the request.
ACCESS GRANTED
It appeared someone could follow instructions after all.
The Daleks were counting down towards the testing, she moved her gaze back up to the viewing screen.
The unseen Dalek voice, who she assumed to be the Supreme Dalek announced overhead, "Activate planetary alignment field."
"That's Z-neutrino energy, flattened by the alignment of the planets into a single string. No, Davros. Davros, you can't! You can't! No!" The Doctor slammed his hand against the force field containing him.
Hally watched on the screen as the Daleks activated the test, within seconds the gathered humans had disintegrated into nothing.
"Doctor, what happened?" Rose's eyes were wide with fear, looking to The Doctor for help.
But The Doctor didn't answer her, instead, Davros swivelled around to face them, his face pulled into a victorious grin. "Electrical energy, Miss Tyler. Every atom in existence is bound by an electrical field. The Reality bomb cancels it out. Structure falls apart. That test was focused on the prisoners alone. Full transmission will dissolve every form of matter."
Understanding passed over Rose's face. "The stars are going out."
Hally frowned. Was that how it had been possible for Rose to cross dimensions?
"The twenty-seven planets. They become one vast transmitter, blasting that wavelength."
Davros cackled, grotesque excitement building. "Across the entire universe. Never stopping, never faltering, never fading. People and planets and stars will become dust, and the dust will become atoms, and the atoms will become nothing. And the wavelength will continue, breaking through the Rift at the heart of the Medusa Cascade into every dimension, every parallel, every single corner of creation. This is my ultimate victory, Doctor! The destruction of reality itself!"
The Doctor was silent.
Both Hally and Rose looked to him, a chill running through her at what she saw.
Fear.
Helpless fear.
He didn't have a plan.
He had absolutely nothing.
Shit.
It was probably a positive thing that she was working with a vague plan…
With a secret, not dead, Time Lord up her sleeve.
Although she was well aware of the precarious nature of her plan. But she hoped, that if there was one thing she could count on, it was that Koschei hated Daleks more than he hated The Doctor.
Hopefully.
The Daleks set about readying for the detonation of the Reality bomb. They would use the power of the twenty-seven planets and the effects of the bomb would ripple through time through the Rift inside the Medusa Cascade. The Supreme Dalek ordered all Dalek fleets to return to the Crucible to take shelter. They were going to destroy everything.
Leaving only the Daleks in existence.
Up on the screen an image blinked into life.
"This is Martha Jones, representing the Unified Intelligence Taskforce, on behalf of the human race. This message is for the Dalek Crucible. Repeat. Can you hear me?"
Hally's eyebrows raised in surprise at the live feed.
Martha Jones.
Really quite impressive.
"Put me through." The Doctor demanded, but Hally could hear the tone of desperation in his voice. The Doctor had no control here. He was losing.
Davros approached the screen, his face held no surprise. "It begins As Dalek Caan foretold."
"The Children of Time will gather, and one of them will die." Caan wailed.
The Doctor shot him a withering glare. "Stop saying that." He turned back to Davros. "Put me through!"
Martha's face lit up at The Doctor's voice. "Doctor! I'm sorry, I had to…"
Davros sneered up at the screen, drawing the human's attention to him. "Oh, but The Doctor is powerless. My prisoner. State your intent."
Hally checked her phone, every muscle in her body was engaged with tension. Waiting. Stalling. Why was time going so slowly? At least it seemed that everyone around her seemed to be doing all the stalling for her.
Just 4 more minutes…
Martha held up a familiar black box. "I've got the Osterhagen Key. Leave this planet and its people alone."
Ah.
Oh, dear.
"Or I'll use it." Martha continued.
The Doctor's face scrunched up in confusion. "Osterhagen what? What's an Osterhagen Key?"
Hally made an involuntary noise like a small groan, wincing. The Doctor turned to her, looking for answers but she just shook her head in response.
Martha spoke, The Doctor turning back to look at her, his eyes widening with horror as she explained. "There's a chain of twenty-five nuclear warheads placed in strategic points beneath the Earth's crust. If I use the key, they detonate and the Earth gets ripped apart."
"Oh, God…" Hally ran a hand through her hair, her face pulled into a constant grimace. If they tried to use the key… things might take an awkward turn.
The Doctor assumed Hally's mutterings were due to her disbelief, rather than her knowledge of the truth. "What? Who invented that? Well, someone called Osterhagen, I suppose. Martha, are you insane?"
"The Osterhagen Key is to be used if the suffering of the human race is so great, so without hope, that this becomes the final option." Martha responded, her face set in pure determination.
"That's never an option."
"Don't argue with me, Doctor!" The Doctor's mouth clipped closed. "Because it's more than that. Now, I reckon the Daleks need these twenty-seven planets for something. But what if it becomes twenty-six? What happens then? Daleks? Would you risk it?"
A hum of approval came from their left, from Rose. "She's good."
The Doctor shot her a worrying look.
"Who's that?" Martha asked, unable to see the whole chamber from the video feed.
Rose cleared her throat. "My name's Rose. Rose Tyler."
"Oh, my God. He found you." The words fell from Martha's lips in an exhale.
"Second transmission, internal." A Dalek screeched and a second screen blinked into life next to the first.
"Captain Jack Harkness, calling all Dalek boys and girls." It was Jack, he was on the Crucible, along with… Sarah Jane, Mickey and Jackie Tyler? He was holding something up between his fingers on a chain, wires poking out of something glinting at the bottom. "Are you receiving me? Don't send in your goons, or I'll set this thing off."
To her left, Rose gasped. "He's still alive. Oh, my god. That, that's my mum…"
Hally looked at Rose, her eyebrows raising. The Doctor caught her look with a shake of his head. Oh, of course, Rose wouldn't know about Jack, how would she? Hally looked back at the screen.
"Umm, Jack, what are you doing?" Hally asked up at him.
He shot her a confident grin. "I've got a Warp Star wired into the mainframe."
Her eyebrows rose. Oh, that wasn't actually that terrible of an idea.
"I break this shell, the entire Crucible goes up." He raised the Warp Star in a silent threat to the Daleks.
Well, it wasn't ideal.
She would prefer to get out of this whole thing alive.
The Doctor let out a groan, not wanting to believe what he was hearing. "You can't! Where did you get a Warp Star?"
Sarah Jane took a step forward. "From me. We had no choice. We saw what happened to the prisoners."
"Impossible. That face… After all these years." Davros approached the screen, leering up at Sarah Jane.
"It's been quite a while. Sarah Jane Smith. Remember?" The human spat back, her face falling into one of hate.
"Oh, this is meant to be. The circle of Time is closing. You were there on Skaro at the very beginning of my creation." A low chuckle rumbled from his chest as he observed her.
"And I've learnt how to fight since then. You let The Doctor go, or this Warp Star. It gets opened."
"I'll do it. Don't imagine I wouldn't." Jack added.
Rose laughed, her face splitting into a confident smile. "Now that's what I call a ransom. Doctor?" The human gave The Doctor a look, her grin falling at the dark expression on his face. He stared stoically at the floor a mixture of anger, sadness and disappointment.
"And the prophecy unfolds…" Davros manoeuvred to better watch The Doctor.
"The Doctor's soul is revealed. See him. See the heart of him." Dalek Caan hummed, limbs flailing with excitement.
"The man who abhors violence, never carrying a gun…" Davros turned to look back at the screens, Martha, Jack and the others. "But this is the truth, Doctor. You take ordinary people and you fashion them into weapons. Behold your Children of Time. Transformed into murderers. I made the Daleks, Doctor. You made this."
Hally's gaze moved from The Doctor's companions to Davros and finally to her father. She recognised the look on his face, disappointment. But it was more than that. He wasn't disappointed in them. His faithful humans. He was disappointed in himself. Self-loathing engraved itself onto his expression.
There was a part of her, probably not as small as it should have been, that practically leapt up and punched the air at his revelation at the hands of Davros.
Because Davros was right.
And now The Doctor could see.
He could see.
He was just like her. Just like them.
Worse, maybe.
The pacifist murderer.
But.
That didn't mean she wanted him to suffer for it.
He wasn't perfect and that was all she ever wanted him to see.
But not like this.
Not at the hands of Davros.
"They're trying to help…" The Doctor's voice was weak, apologetic, uncertain.
Davros grinned, he knew he'd placed The Doctor exactly where he wanted him. Ready to rip open his hearts. "Already I have seen them sacrifice today, for their beloved Doctor. The Earth woman who fell opening the Subwave Network."
The Doctor looked to Rose, the question written all over his face.
"Harriet Jones. She gave her life to get you here." Rose offered him an empathetic nod.
"How many more? Just think. How many have died in your name?" Davros pressed.
Hally frowned, watching her father's face. The thoughts that passed over it and the guilt that lay with them.
"The Doctor. The man who keeps running, never looking back because he dares not, out of shame. This is my final victory, Doctor. I have shown you yourself."
Her father, before her, was broken.
And strangely enough, it didn't feel as good as she imagined it might. To have him finally see, to have him understand that he wasn't better than any of them.
It was ugly and it hurt.
"Dad…" Her voice was low but it caught his attention. His gaze drew up to hers. The shell of a man looked back at her. She hoped that her expression conveyed everything he needed to see.
That it was ok.
That he didn't need to be anything other than what he was.
The Doctor.
"It's the Crucible or the Earth." Martha announced over the screen, poised and ready to activate the Osterhagen key.
Hally's eyes shot back up to the screens. "Ummm…"
The deep groan of the Supreme Dalek echoed through the chamber. "Enough. Engage defence zero five."
"Transmat engaged." Another Dalek announced and in front of their eyes Martha, Jack and the group on the Crucible disappeared, transported into the vault with them.
Jack caught Martha as all five of them stumbled with the sudden movement. "I've got you. It's all right."
Daleks moved to surround them immediately, their blasters shifting dangerously.
"Don't move, all of you. Stay still." The Doctor ordered, reaching out toward them in an attempt to keep everyone calm. His hand brushed against the force field of his cell, illuminating the otherwise invisible barrier.
"Guard them! On your knees, all of you. Surrender!" Davros screamed.
"Do as he says." The Doctor begged his companions.
"Mum, I told you not to." Rose muttered at Jackie, her face awash with worry.
Jackie sent her daughter an unapologetic look. "Yeah, but I couldn't leave you."
The newcomers were forced to their knees.
Davros took in a sharp breath. "The final prophecy is in place. The Doctor and his children, all gathered as witnesses. Supreme Dalek, the time has come. Now, detonate the Reality bomb!"
Hally swallowed the rising panic inside her, checking her phone, willing the timer to hurry up.
T-MINUS: 30 SECONDS
Her stomach wrung itself in knots.
Alright… this was going to be very last minute.
The ground underneath them hummed with vibrations as the ship powered up the weapon. "Activate planetary alignment field." The Supreme Dalek boomed. "Universal Reality detonation in two hundred rels." A countdown tick began as the detonator began to heat up, relaying the power from the twenty-seven planets.
The Doctor let out a cry of desperation. "You can't, Davros! Just listen to me! Just stop!"
But Davros wasn't listening to him, his head dropped back and he let out a spine-chilling laugh. "Nothing can stop the detonation!" He screamed, the crevices on his face pulled taut with elation. "Nothing and no one!"
The entire ship shook violently as the satellites finally made contact.
Hally let out a breath of relief, a soft laugh falling from her. "Famous last words…"
The lights flickered and died leaving them shrouded in black.
"What was that?" She couldn't see him, but she knew the accusation in Davros's voice was aimed at The Doctor.
The lights blinked back on along with the screen above the central column. It was blank apart from a loading status bar through the middle and text written in bold above it. A robotic female voice announced over the ship's communication system, echoing what was already on the screen.
"Archangel Downloading."
But Hally wasn't looking at the screen, she was tapping on her phone swiftly.
REMOTE COMMUNICATION LINK: OPEN
Now he could hear her.
She slipped the phone back into her pocket and looked up at the ceiling of the vault. "Oh, umm… I'm going to say that's seven? Holding cell seven I think."
A moment later there was a hiss and the force field trapping her in powered down, a sly grin spread over her face as she stepped forward. "That's better, isn't it?" Ignoring the stares she could feel burning into the back of her head from The Doctor and the humans, she turned to check the status of the loading bar behind her. With a cheerful beep the words 'DOWNLOAD COMPLETE', appeared above the loading bar and the female voice announced. "Detonation suspended."
"Sweet." She hummed to herself.
"What is the meaning of this?!" Davros screamed, swivelling to face her but not making a move to advance.
Turning back to him, she scrunched up her face. "Oh, ow… You know you don't need to shout. I'm right here." She clicked her tongue against her teeth, rolling her eyes. She scoffed shooting a look of sarcastic disbelief over towards the rest of the imprisoned group.
They stared back at her, a mixture of apprehension, confusion and awe.
God, she had an audience.
How terrifying.
And sort of exhilarating.
"What have you done?!" Davros didn't heed her advice, continuing to shout as loud as he could and at a frequency that actually made her ears hurt.
She scowled, turning back to him and staring at him as if he'd just asked a stupid question. "Well… It's a virus… I thought that was obvious with the obnoxious downloading bar?" She motioned behind her. "Anyway, it hacks into your system, you know, gives me control of everything." Her face split into a grin.
"That's impossible." He growled back at her.
She sighed, tiring of his incessant denial. "Obviously not."
"Archangel, really?"
Ah, yes. She'd been wondering when someone might ask.
And of course, it had to be Jack. Glaring at her with furious condemnation as if she hadn't just saved the entire universe.
You're welcome.
She offered him a small smile.
Oh, he was annoyed at her now.
He would probably want to pace himself.
"Yes…" She turned to him, her eyes flashing with sympathy.
"THE Archangel?" Martha added, her face falling into a suspicious frown. The Doctor was watching his daughter, careful concern written all over his features.
"Well, yes… but no… it doesn't hypnotise humans anymore. Obviously." She gave Martha a reassuring smile. "I reprogrammed it. Well, I didn't. UNIT did. After I said no to their stupid Osterhagen project." She puffed out a breath and shook her head. "There are no warheads. Anyway. I thought you'd like it? Recycling and all that? Didn't want fifteen satellites to just go to waste." She cocked an eyebrow at them, shrugging off their concern with confident nonchalance.
The other humans just stared at her blankly.
The voice of the Supreme Dalek rumbled through the vault. "Initiating countermeasures."
The screen behind her flickered and Davros sneered. "Your technology is weak, we will eradicate it from our system. Then this universe will perish and you will burn."
She shot him a small smile before looking behind her at the screen. "Yes, I thought you might." The loading status bar had refreshed, a dark red block slowly moving across the screen indicating the progress of the Dalek countermeasures. They were infiltrating Archangel. 5%.
"God, that's quite slow really isn't it?" She watched the bar crawl across the screen at a painful pace. "I guess we'll do some stalling." She murmured to herself, taking in a deep breath.
"Your plan has failed." Davros shifted forward towards her.
She hummed softly, her face a picture of polite patience. "Mmm, well I did stop you detonating, so that feels like a win."
The creator of the Daleks was already fed up with her. "You have only delayed the inevitable." He spat back.
She clocked behind her. 10%. Oh, for fucks sake.
"Maybe." She turned back to him, narrowing her eyes. "But you know… while we're waiting for you to take back control and kill me, I've got a bit of a bone to pick with you…" She pouted, crossing her arms over her chest as she rested back on one hip. Davros opened his mouth to interrupt, but she got in faster. "You see… You had the choice of literally ANY day to do this, ANY day in all of time and you chose this one?" She shot him a murderous scowl. "Because this here…" She looked around, motioning over towards the prisoners and surrounding Daleks. "Is really quite inconvenient for me. I was rather busy."
There was a deranged giggle from Caan.
Davros shook his head. "The date is irrelevant."
She hummed, nodding, her face still set in mock disapproval. "Mmm, maybe for you. But you know, next time you're planning universal collapse, if you could just check in first, I'd appreciate it. Because now, NOW, I've had to change all my plans." Her eyes flicked over towards the others, her gaze lingering for a moment on Rose. "Plus you've invited the whole family which is something that I'm still internally processing and is probably going to get quite weird." Her face twitched with a wince.
"Your wittering will not cease the inevitable."
The giggle that fell from her was uncharacteristically whimsical. She checked the screen, puffing out her cheeks with impatience. 35%.
"Oh, I mean, we could just remain silent for the next 65% if you prefer?" She cocked an eyebrow, letting out the breath she'd been holding. "Actually no… that feels kind of awkward and I'm starting to have fun." Her eyes lit up with mischief.
"Silence the female. She is powerless." If she didn't know better, she would have sworn that was anger in the Supreme Dalek's voice.
She hummed, pulling the Laser Screwdriver from its holder. "Oh, did I not mention, I'm armed?" She waved it around in a very non-threatening manner.
Davros scoffed, baring his teeth at her. "We do not fear your primitive weaponry."
Hally barked a laugh, her face lighting up with genuine delight. "Primitive?!" She chuckled to herself, patting herself on the back for opening up the communication line. "Oh, that's funny. That's a good one. Primitive. I hope you heard that. I'm going to use that."
Caan squealed. "Death is coming."
Her eyes moved to him, her face a picture of self-assured determination. "That she is."
Caan giggled happily, wriggling. Her face broke into a smile. "See, he gets it." She motioned towards the flagellating mess as if everything was crystal clear.
A hint of uncertainty passed over Davros's features, his head swivelling to look from Caan and back to her.
"I guess it's sort of unfair really isn't it." She cocked her head to one side, pretending to consider him. "You see when The Doctor does his little speech, you know… the one where he tells you to leave and never come back, it sort of has weight behind it doesn't it? Because everyone knows who he is." Her eyebrows quirked upwards. "Although… it literally never works so I'm not sure why he still tries." She shook her head, shaking away the tangent.
"Hal…" The Doctor spoke, his voice laced with unease. He had no idea where she was going with this.
She happily ignored him, addressing only the crinkly walnut in front of her. "And me? God, well me, what was it you called me? 'The daughter of The Doctor'." She grimaced, irritation passing across her face. "You know, everything else aside I find that quite reductive. But that's moving away from the point…"
The screen behind her read 65%.
"Because, what I'm getting at is… of course, you're not going to listen to me." She shrugged innocently, offering Davros a sweetly sympathetic smile. "Why would you?" She paused, her face falling into a mock frown. "I mean I have signposted it for you…" She motioned behind her towards the screen, the words still sat in bold.
Archangel Download Complete.
Checking back with Davros, she sighed at the blank expression he returned to her. "And Caan has also tried his best to help, but I guess maybe you need him to string it all together for you?" She turned her head, eyes glittering.
Davros, affronted, turned to the exposed Dalek. "What does she speak of?" He spat.
"Well, he did tell you." Hally clicked her tongue against her teeth. "It's not like a Dalek to give Death a gender." She scoffed, rolling her eyes.
"Death is coming." Caan wiggled, his voice lilting with impending chaos.
Hally hummed a shiver of anticipation running down her spine. "If you could use the full title for our resident moron." She motioned casually to Davros.
"The Archangel of Death…" Caan wheezed before erupting in a joyous cackle of laughter.
Hally grinned, pausing for dramatic effect. She rolled her lower lip between her teeth. "You know… I never really used to like that name but… It's really starting to grow on me." Her mouth curved with a wicked smirk.
Davros grit his teeth together, seething with anger. "The Archangel of Death is a myth. You are nothing but a petulant child."
"Oh, a myth. That's fun." Her eyes lit up, widening with delight. She turned to shoot a grin at The Doctor. "Did you hear that? A myth. You know I'm almost flattered."
The Doctor simply watched her, bracing himself with uncertain unease.
Hally exhaled heavily, letting the air puff out through her lips. She shot a look over her shoulder. 85%.
"God, you know this whole villain monologuing thing is tiring as hell." She took in a deep breath, bracing her hands on her thighs while she regained her breath. "I have to say, your counterattack is very slow, I could have done anything in this time." She shook her head, her face moving quickly to an expression of patronising displeasure.
"And yet, you've wasted it all with your incessant whining." A slither of smug satisfaction had weaselled its way back into Davros's voice. Assuming there was only a short amount of time until he could be rid of her.
She scoffed, offended. "Whining. I don't think this is whining. Again, I'm sure if I was a man you wouldn't call it whining." She scowled darkly at him. "Well, I've wasted all this time whining and you haven't used any of it to try and kill me, so I guess we're both idiots." She shrugged, offering him a winning smile. She looked behind her once more and groaned, rolling her eyes. "Alright, we've still got 10% to go and I'm really running out of topics so I guess we'll open up the floor for questions." She turned to her audience, looking for help.
Rose raised a hand slowly. "Umm… what is happening?"
Hally smiled at her, she hoped it was vaguely reassuring. "It's complicated. Was kind of busy today. Having an audience really wasn't part of the plan, but you know, Daleks show up and you just have to kind of improvise." She offered, giving her a simple shrug.
A low hum drew her attention to Jack, his eyes were trained on her, accusation glimmering in the piercing blue. "You weren't going to UNIT…"
Hally took in a breath, the guilt she'd been carrying for months swelling in her chest as she looked at him. "No."
"You lied."
"I've lied quite a lot to you Jack."
A deep hurt crashed over his face, before he packaged it away, his expression turning cold. She winced, but she'd come to terms with his inevitable expulsion of her some time ago.
"No…" When she looked towards The Doctor at his voice, she saw the remnants of the realisation that had drifted onto his face as the pieces fell into place behind his eyes.
She offered him a small smile. He knew. "Yeah."
Rose looked between father and daughter. "Umm, could you let us out of these cells then?"
Hally's eyebrows rose, mulling the idea over in her mind briefly. "Umm… I could but I think you might be better off in there for now." She gave her mother an apologetic smile before there was a soft beep from behind her. Signalling that the Dalek's countermeasure had hit 100%. They'd successfully hacked into Archangel. The Daleks were inside the system. She looked back at Rose. "Sort of not really sure how this next bit is going to go." She offered as explanation.
"Systems rebooting. Access restored." The Supreme Dalek announced.
Hally's hearts were beating feverishly in her chest.
So close.
"You have failed. You are powerless against the detonation." Davros gloated, baring his teeth at her.
"Yep." She agreed, unable to help the smile that was pulling at her mouth.
She'd been so patient.
The Supreme Dalek hummed. "Open communication link detected between Crucible and Earth. Scrambling Archangel remote control signal."
And now, just a little bit of luck…
"Engage defence zero five." Davros ordered.
Water blurred her eyes and a smirk flirted with the side of her mouth. "If you could…" Her eyes burned with anticipation.
Yes.
"Transmat engaged."
The words she'd hoped she'd hear.
Following the sound of the teleport engaging behind her, there were two noises. Martha, letting out a gasp of horror and Jack's furious shout. Her eyes fluttered shut and she exhaled.
Those two noises told her everything she needed to know.
She opened her eyes, shooting Davros a confident wink before turning her back on him.
She saw Armitage first, he was standing a few steps closer to her. He'd turned towards the group of humans at Jack's shout. His gun not raised but in his hand, eyeing Harkness warily. Martha had taken a step back, placing herself in front of the others protectively. Jack's face was thunder. Rage poured off him, he stood himself heroically in front of Martha. "Don't you dare come any closer." Jack warned, his eyes never shifting from their target, his voice a hateful low growl.
The eyes that grazed over the group of humans were alight with nonchalant disinterest. "Oh, no offence but… I'm not here for you." The dark brown spheres flicked away from Jack and landed on her.
Their eyes met.
Dark desire against impatient longing.
"Hi…"
"Hi."