If you want to help me financially, you can do it on
https://ko-fi.com/neverluckysmile
The Master gorged himself on all the festive food that his copies had found in the kitchens, turkeys and chickens and masses of vegetables. Danni had sat next to him on the vast table, eating nothing herself but making sure he ate enough to at least stabilize himself for what was to come. His blonde hair fell over his eyes as he tore animalistically into the carcases of the birds, stuffing the greasy flesh into his mouth. She chewed on the nail of her left thumb as he licked the last plate clean, shifting uncomfortable in her chair.
The look in his eyes as he satisfied his hunger brought back flashbacks of his face as he pinned her against the wall the first time they'd... she shifted again, shaking her head as if to shake the images out of her head. Now was not the time to think about that, actually the images could just stay tucked away in a little box at the back of her mind, with the masses of boxes of memories of the Doctor piled on it. He placed the plate down and looked over at her, smirking as if knowing what she was thinking about and she blushed slightly to herself.
"Feel better?" She asked him.
"No, I'm so hungry." He hissed out and she nodded sadly.
"I know." She whispered as he sat back on his chair slightly, looking over her thoughtfully, looking calmer than he had all evening.
"You told me I was going to be resurrected." He recalled in a low voice, "Did you know it was going to go wrong?" She nodded again.
"I did." She admitted, "I knew Lucy was going to sabotage it, and the effect it would have on you." And she hated that it had to be that way. She'd still been half herself when she'd told him that piece of information, she'd managed to keep the series of events the way she knew them to be, but even if he didn't sacrifice himself at the end, he'd more than likely burn up by the end.
"But you never told me." He didn't sound angry, but his eyes had narrowed slightly to indicate otherwise.
"I might have done, if you hadn't driven me mad first." She snapped, defensive because he made her that way. The younger Doctor's always brought up her ineffectiveness in changing things, did he have to as well, "I did try to fix it, I told you to be kinder to her." He smirked and leant across the table towards her, resting his elbow on the table and then his chin on his hand.
"Drove you mad?" He replied silkily, "I believe you went willingly, didn't you? I remember you begging me, almost sobbing for me when I called." She flushed a deeper red as the images broke out of the box, flashing across her minds eye. Images of the Valiant, of the drumming pounding behind her closed eyelids...
"Stop it." She told him firmly.
"We both enjoyed that, didn't we? Your youthful body thrashing underneath me, so hungry for my touch. Nothing is stopping us doing it again." The way he was looking at her had her shifting again. She couldn't understand it, why did he have such a strong effect on her?
"T-There is." She insisted and he rolled his eyes, looking bored.
"Don't tell me you're still hung up on the Doctor?" He asked, "Not after what we did, how I made you feel." He reached over and stroked her cheek. She batted his hand away, her skin burning.
"I'm not 'hung up'." She snapped, "I love him, and he loves me." He barked out a laugh.
"You know that the moment you jump backwards he won't anymore. Love is fickle, sex is not." She glared at him.
"We got married." She told him bluntly and his eyes narrowed, "He may not love me now, but he will in the future and that's where I'll always plan to end up." He grabbed her hand, dragging her over the table as she yelled in surprise. He barely paid attention to the ring, thankfully, but he was suddenly fuelled with an intense rage that it was there in the first place.
"How dare you!" he hissed, "You are mine, did you forget that?" She stared into his eyes, terrified as they darkened with the statement.
"I... I'm not yours." She stuttered out. His grip on her hand increased painfully, squeezing her bones together tightly, crushing the band between her fingers, and she gasped in pain. She tried to twist out of his grasp, bending her wrist the wrong way but his grip didn't even falter.
"Yes you are. You are mine, only mine. That... that idiot cannot have you." He bit out and she increased her struggling.
"Please, let me go. You're hurting me." She whimpered fearfully. He blinked, breaking out of the haze of fury he was in and chucked her back into her chair. She let out a sob, tears running down her cheeks as she rubbed her hand gently, checking to make sure he hadn't done any permanent damage to her. His chair scraped painfully across the floor as he pushed it backwards, standing up abruptly and storming out of the room.
~0~0~0~
Night fell and Koschei called every spare clone he had in the house into the main hall, where they all waited for their command as he stood under the arch of the machine that created them all. He had a thoughtful frown on his face and his hands clasped, his fingers pressed against his mouth as he anxiously anticipated the outcome of his own experiment.
Danni sat in one of the two thrones designed for the father and daughter team that had started it all, watching fearfully what was going to happen next. She'd tried to talk him out of following the drumming, but it had been batted away and now she found it hard to sit still, bouncing her leg and tapping the arm of the throne in her own form of distress. This might actually have been her own personal hell, right here. Watching him slowly work towards destroying himself, and having no clue about how to it. She was used to the Doctor not listening to her, to things happening she could have prevented but for whatever reason he'd decided to ignore her. She was even used to keeping her mouth shut around the Doctor and letting bad things happen for the sake of harmony in the universe. Watching Koschei do the same was absolute agony.
"Night has fallen." He declared as he walked down the few steps at the base of the machine, towards the Naismith-Master who was waiting for orders, "Are we ready?"
"Every single one of us is prepared." The Naismith-Master replied.
"Then we listen," Koschei stated, "all of us, across the world."
"Please, don't." He glanced over at Danni, who was looking utterly defeated as she pleaded with him one last time. He rolled his eyes and didn't even bother to reply, he couldn't even look at her when she looked like that.
"All of us." He repeated pointedly, "Just...listen." He closed his eyes and leant his head back, searching his mind for the drum beat. The Naismith-Master followed suit, as she knew the billions of other clones across the world were doing. She founder herself wishing she could hear it, wondering if she could run across and ask him to share it with her. He would, but she shouldn't, "Concentrate. Find the signal." She had staring so intently that she jumped in her seat when his eyes shot open in surprise and confusion, "There." He hissed, "The sound is tangible. Someone could only have designed this. But who?"
His eyes darted around, falling on her and tilting his head. She looked away, guiltily and he jogged over, studying her.
"Who is it?" He demanded and she shook her head.
"No." She whispered and he slammed a hand on each of the throne arms, leaning over her and pressing her into the chair.
"Who is it?" He shouted, visibly scaring her.
"The sound...it's coming from above." The Naismith-Master declared from across the room, pulling Koschei's attention back. As quickly as his anger had appeared, joy filled his face.
"It's coming from the sky!" He screamed, pushing off the throne, only pausing to pull Danni out of the chair to pull along with him. His grip crushed her hand as he rushed to the double doors that lead to the balcony outside just in time to see the brilliantly white star fall from the sky, an orange trail streaking from it, "There!" He pointed at it as it made a nose-drive towards the earth, "Get out there and find it!" He ordered. A explosion was heard as it landed in the woods on the mansions grounds, shaking the ground and Danni jumped again, clinging to his arm with her free hand out of instinct.
"Yes, sir." The Guard-Masters replied simultaneously as Koschei smirked down at her, smug and very happy at her reaction.
"Oh, shut up." She snapped, letting go of his arm but not managing to take her hand back as dragged her back in and chucked her back into the throne. She groaned, rubbing her back as the brutal force caused it to ache, did he have to be so rough? He paced silently waiting for his guards to radio in and he stopped in the middle of the room when they did.
"It's a diamond, sir." The crackly voice called over the speakers, "Oh... the most impossible diamond. You won't believe this. It's a White Point star!" Koschei stared, stunned at first, before he started laughing manically. Danni pushed away into the back of the throne involuntarily as he went skeletal again, the image scaring her more than she ever thought she could be. He turned to her.
"A White Point star!" He crowed absolute glory, "Do you know what this means?" He rolled his eyes, "Of course you do. You've known this was going to happen for a very long time." She nodded.
"Yes, I have. Please, don't do it." She replied. He stormed over and pulled her out of the chair as forcefully as he had thrown her in. He spun her around and, one hand holding hers tightly and the other around her waist crushing her up against him, began dancing with her across the patterned floor to the sound in his head.
"Do what, my dear Danielle? Use this obvious link to unlock Gallifrey from the Time Lock? Why ever not?" He asked her before dipping her. She clung to him tightly, afraid he was going to drop up but he pulled her up and continued despite her obvious distress.
"I can't tell you." She whispered back, "Just please don't do it." He let go of her hand for a moment and tweaked her nose.
"But you don't know the best part of all this." He told her before taking her hand back into his and continued waltzing with her.
"I do." She corrected, "I know you're going to try and convert them all to yours clones as well. Please, just leave them alone. Please, Koschei, just leave them where they are." She begged and he frowned coming to a halt.
"I thought you would be happy that I was releasing your pitiful race." He stated before letting her go with a shrug and turning around to give commands to his men.
"You can keep all of them if it will stop you doing this. Please!" She cried out, a sob breaking from her throat at the end. He spun back around to see her in tears, "Please, I can't... Not again. Please, don't leave me again." She sobbed out before the sobbing wrecked her frame. Confused, he reached forward and brushed the tears off one of her cheeks, and she leant into his palm.
"Why are you so upset?" He asked in a low voice, staring into her eyes. She looked away, hiccuping slightly through her sobs.
"Because I..." She trailed off, unable to finish her thought, refusing to, "I hate that you leaving terrifies me." She whispered back, "Please, Master." His breath hitched at her using his title, something she never had done by the end of the last time they'd been together and he loved it.
"Then why do you keep resisting me?" He murmured silkily, leaning in close to her ear, reminiscing of the Valiant. When he'd been in power, when he'd had power over her.
"Because I love the Doctor so much more." She replied firmly, confidently and he didn't like that at all. He pulled her up against him, tilting her head so she was staring up at him, eyes wide and shining with tears.
"I wouldn't tell him." He promised and she shook her head but didn't push him away.
"Yes you would." She pointed out meekly, "He'll say something to irritate you and you'll use it against him. I won't hurt him, not again." He looked around then leant closer so his breath was tickling her ear.
"I would do anything to feel you pressed up against me again, to see your skin glittering with sweat as you scream my name. To taste your skin," He nipped at her earlobe and a gasp escaped her lips as she started to struggle away from him, "I would even stop following the signal." She tensed, stopping her movements at the revelation.
"If I sleep with you..." She started slowly.
"I would stop following the signal." He finished, "You," He kissed her neck between each word to emphasize the pauses, "Have. My. Word." She leant into his kisses as his hands travelled up under the back of her shirt, tracing patterns on her hot skin.
"I... I can't." She cried out, scolding herself for even considering it, trying to move away for him but he held her in place.
"You wouldn't have to worry about me never wanting you." He told her, "No matter when you jump, I will always want you. I would never break your heart by not loving you. He will, and he is now isn't he? Knowing he's up in that spaceship and you're not even glancing across his mind. I know it's killing you inside; I won't ever do that." She looked him in the eyes searchingly, thinking on what he said.
"Won't break my heart by not loving me?" She repeated in a whisper and he nodded, his fingers snapping her bra open underneath her top.
"Never." He swore.
"You'll always love me?" She asked and he nodded.
"Always."
"You love me?" She asked, amazed and he blinked, suddenly realizing what he said.
"No." He snapped out and let her go. She stumbled slightly and he pushed her roughly away, furious with himself and with her. What happened? Where had that come from?!
"That's what you just said." She told him gently and his eyes narrowed in anger. It was her, this silly human that was distracting him. He needed to focus, form a plan that would work!
"No I didn't." He insisted.
"You said you would always love me." She repeated.
"No!" He screamed, going skeletal as he chucked his hand out in front of him. A bolt of energy shot out, slamming into the floor and cracking the patterned wood. She screamed, diving out of the way just in time but feeling the red hot heat from the beam burn down her arm. He was panting as he stared at her and she looked down at the hole he'd made.
"You... You were trying to hit me." She breathed, horrified and terrified. He hadn't even hit her when she'd turned on him on the Valiant. He'd gone to slap her but hadn't been able to.
He straightened slightly, looking proud of himself, like he'd meant to do it all along. He hadn't, but he couldn't admit that to her. The wounded look on her face made him feel worse, he actually felt guilty and that was a new feeling he really didn't like. He stepped forward and she stepped back.
"Stay away from me." She whispered, her insides twisting as she felt betrayed. They argued back and forth, he held her hand too tight and yes, he'd twisted their working relationship to get her to sleep with him on more than one occasion, but this felt worse in a way she couldn't explain. She held her hand up, showing her his ring, "You see this?" She snapped, "This is why I won't sleep with you! This right here! Can you see what it is?" She stormed over, giving him his first good look at the diamond shining there, "He actually loves me! He doesn't need to taunt me, or trick me into anything I don't want to do. He doesn't drug me to fall in love with him, I did that on my own!" He grabbed her hand, looking at the ring.
"The White Point Star." He whispered in confusion.
"Yes!" She shouted, taking her hand back, "Think about it! How the hell did he get his hands on it if there are a hundred clones looking for it? How can me having this ever end well for you?!" She clenched her hands in frustration, "I won't do this, Koschei! I'm not watching someone else walk to their death! Either change your mind, or leave me alone!" She turned and stormed out, leaving Koschei staring after her, absolutely blind-sided for the first time in such a long time.
~0~0~0~
She'd wandered the hallways for a while before settling on finding a place to hide away until either the Doctor found her or she was whisked away. The latter was more likely, considering how the end of this episode played out but she tried to stay positive, finding herself increasingly unable to. Her life prospects were going downhill rapidly, but instead of doing good and changing things that really needed to be stopped, she was moping around a mansion on her own.
She flopped down on the bed she'd found in the room she'd decided to take residence in. This was awful, but how could she save him from himself? Most of the time she couldn't save herself! And he was being so unpredictable.
Perhaps she should have slept with him. The Doctor would understand, right? She chucked her arm over her eyes, even if he did, there was no way she could have gone through with it. It was stupid, the entire situation was ridiculous. Like the rest of her life, actually.
She lifted the arm off her face, inspecting the slight charred marks that were there from the after burn of his outburst. They didn't hurt, but the force had been very powerful and had marked her. He was sure to burn out sooner than later. Maybe the Time Lock would keep him alive. Maybe it wouldn't, she had no idea how it worked.
She looked up, as if she was staring through the ceiling. He was up there right now, with Wilf. Good old Wilfred Mott. What a wonderful man he was. She really could have used a hug off 'Gramps' at that moment. It was easy to see why Donna loved him so much.
The door opened, startling her scramble up from lying on her bed, and falling off it due to her haste. There was a clone stood in the doorway, one eyebrow raised as he stared at her.
"What do you want?" She snapped at him, angry at any version of Koschei, even if it wasn't the real one.
"You've sulked long enough." He told her firmly, "It's almost ready, the Master wants you there to see the glory."
"It isn't glory." She retorted, standing up and heading over to him anyway, "It's suicide. But no one ever listens to me." He half-marched her down the hallway, keeping just half a step quicker than her so she had to jog to keep up with him.
"What happened to your arm?" He asked, sounding slightly interested and she looked at the marks again.
"Nothing, they're fine." She replied, avoiding the question as they headed into the main room once again. The clone held the large door open for her and she stepped inside to see clone Masters running around, setting up the machinery. The room was set up ready for the return on the Time Lords, the White Point star's eventual holder stood proudly in the middle of the room. Koschei was in the middle, barking out orders left and right, not noticing them until the clone who had brought her there caught his attention.
"Sir, as you asked." The clone declared and Danni looked up at the guard in surprise. She'd been asked for? Koschei spun around and stopped his frantic preparations, staring at her with wide, manic eyes. She shifted under his gaze, feeling quite self conscious. He dashed over, grabbing her just above the Manipulator and pulled her to the thrones.
"Just sit here," He told her excitedly as he pushed her into the seat, "It's not long now." He lifted her other arm, checking over the scorch marks there. Once he'd deemed them okay, he twisted the black band on her arm around, "You're still wearing this." He commented and she nodded, taking her hand back.
"Are you okay?" She asked, ignoring his look because she didn't want to go into explaining why she still wore it, "You're not burning yourself up, are you?"
"Are you really asking that?" He scoffed and her eyes narrowed.
"I don't want you to burn up." She replied defensively. He rolled his eyes.
"I'm fine, I was just wo..." He trailed off and her eyes widened in shock.
"You were worried about me?" She asked quietly.
"I never said that." He bit back.
"Well, just so you know anyway, I'm fine." She replied offhandedly. He eyed her with disbelief but didn't say anything more, instead turned to a technician.
"Open up the nuclear bolt. Infuse the power lines to maximum." He commanded and the Technician-Master entered one of the two booths where the controls sat. The one where Wilfred Mott would knock four times and end Ten's tenure. He released the other technician and another, identical Master-Clone joined them.
"Nuclear bolt accelerating, sir." The technician in the booth replied over the speaker. With a stern look on his face, Koschei left her side and placed the White Point star into the device then spun to look at her, frowning at the sad look on her face.
"Watch this." He told her happily and she smiled slightly at his giddiness. He always liked a crowd to show off to.
"I am." She promised and he turned to his many minions.
"Send the signal back and the link becomes a pathway." He commanded and the machinery around them lit up, and the four beats were suddenly echoing. She gasped and chucked her hands over her ears so she couldn't hear it and Koschei moved nearer the centre of the room, spinning slowly with his arms held out, "Come home." He called to his home planet. The sound of the drumming filtered past her mediocre block, so she dropped her hands to her side, admitting defeat and letting it rush through her. It was last time she'd hear it from him, after all, shouldn't she enjoy it?
"We have contact." Koschei stated suddenly, sounding calm but triumphant and it was too late to go back now.
"I know." She muttered, devastated.
"Sir. We've got a fix. 105,000 miles in orbit." The General-Master's voice came from a flat screen and Koschei walked over, staring as the scene at Geneva unfolded.
"He's moving, sir." One of the clones told the General in the background and Danni's heart skipped a beat. The Doctor was on his way. Her Theta.
"Get a fix on him." The General replied.
"He's moving very fast." The UNIT clone replied from the bottom of the screen, almost confused at the realisation.
"All NATO defences coordinated, sir, awaiting your command." The General-Master explained as turned back to the screen, waiting for his orders.
"I don't need him." Koschei snapped, "Any second now, I'll have Time Lords to spare. Take him out. Launch missiles!" Koschei gave the command and the General relayed it over to his men. Danni shot up off the chair and marched over, storming in front of him and looking up at the General-Master.
"Don't you dare!" She exclaimed, "Don't you dare hurt him!" Koschei grabbed her and moved her out of the way.
"He doesn't matter anymore." Koschei told her firmly and she jabbed him in the ribs.
"He's my husband!" She shouted and he smirked happily.
"Not for much longer." He crowed and she smacked his arm.
"Always! He will always be my husband." She promised, meaning every word. No matter what happened, no matter which universe she ended up him, she would always say he was her husband. She married the Doctor, whether he existed or not.
"He's heading straight for you." The General-Master told them and they were torn from their argument.
"But too late. They are coming." Koschei realised, looking joyous at the success of his plan. They were bathed in a bright white light as the gate activated and she squinted at the sudden onslaught of light. He spun around on the spot and laughed excitedly, grabbing her hand and dragging her to the middle of the room. He stared straight into the gate as she had to shield her eyes from the light. He began jumping in place as the silhouettes began forming in the light.
"Closer! And closer! And closer!" He called out to them as if it would help. Her grip tightened on his hand and he shot her a joyful grin, misinterpreting it as awe. She was terrified, absolutely terrified because she knew now she couldn't stop it. Eventually even he had to shield his eyes as he watched the Time Lords return.
"I think I should warn you..." Naismith-Master's voice called over from the window, having spotted the ship heading straight towards them at an excessive speed.
"Not now!" He bit out angrily at the interruption.
"I think you should listen to him." She whispered, but he was too busy watching the Time Lords returning to care. As the Time Lords fully materialized there was an almighty crash and the Doctor fell through the glass dome on the ceiling and landed within the fragmented glass on the floor. He weakly tried to aim the gun in his hand at the Lord President, but his arm fell back down to the ground. The President started walking triumphantly forward.
"My Lord Doctor. My Lord Master. We are gathered for the end." He declared grandly.
"Theta." Danni whispered quietly in alarm, pulling out of Koschei's grip and over to his side, helping him kneel in front of the Time Lords. He clung to her tightly, but whether it was for physical or emotional support she wasn't sure. She was holding onto him just as tightly, but she hadn't just fallen through a ceiling.
"Listen to me. You can't…" The Doctor tried but the President wasn't interested in listening to him.
"It is a fitting paradox that our salvation comes at the hands of our most infamous child." He interrupted.
"Oh, he's not saving you. Don't you realise what he's doing?" Danni snapped out, glaring at the man in front of her, hatred rolling off her in her tone and look. The President raised an eyebrow at her in mild amusement as she knelt next to the Doctor, brushing off some of the glass still on his clothing, trying to make him slightly more comfortable.
"Hey, no, hey! That's mine. Hush." Koschei exclaimed, scolding her for almost spoiling his plan, before holding his arms out, "Look around you." He crowed to the President, "I've transplanted myself into every single human being. But who wants a mongrel little species like them? Because now I can transplant myself into every single Time Lord. Oh, yes, Mr President, sir, standing there all noble and resplendent and decrepit. Think how much better you're going to look as me!" Danni shook her head and the President held out his gauntlet. It began to glow blue and the effects of the gate began reversing on all the humans in the room, returning them all to normal as Koschei protested.
"What are you doing here?" The Doctor asked her quietly as the humans shook.
"You think I'd leave you on a day like this?" She replied gently, joking slightly despite the seriousness of the situation. He grabbed her hand as it brushed over his arm and stared down at the small diamond on her finger.
"You two?" He asked, sounding wounded and she shook her head.
"Most definitely not, sweetie." She promised with a kiss on his cheek. He studied the ring, recognising the diamond on it but before he could ask the humans were back to normal and trembling in pure terror.
"On your knees, mankind." The President commanded and the humans in the room all obeyed, except for Danni who stood up slowly, ready to help face the man in front of her. The insane, destructive, power-hungry two-hearted evil man who had destroyed the lives of the two men she was in between.
"No, that's fine, that's good, because you said salvation. I still saved you, don't forget that." Koschei replied, still trying to salvage something of the situation. She looked over her shoulder and saw him standing there, looking bewildered and lost at the loss of his plan, desperately trying to save himself from the wrath of the notorious Time Lord in front of him.
"The approach begins." The President announced, ignoring him completely and a low rumbling filled the room. Through the broken glass ceiling above them a shape began appearing, a burnt planet that glowed a deep orange.
"Approach of what?!" Koschei asked the Doctor, obviously not getting any answers out of their leader.
"Something is returning. Don't you ever listen? That was the prophecy. Not someone, something." The Doctor bit out angrily, glaring at the other man from his place on the floor.
"What is it?"
"Gallifrey." Danni told him, "Not just the species. Right here, right now, Gallifrey is returning." The humans started running from the room as Koschei fell to kneel on one knee, looking up at his President.
"But I...I did this. I get the credit!" He demanded, "I'm on your side." Wilf ran into the room and over to a technician trapped in the booth.
"All right! I've got you." He entered the other side and released the technician, who ran from the room. The Doctor weakly protested but it was useless. Koschei's gaze roamed across the room, landing on her briefly as he tried to work out why this was happening. Rassilon stared him down triumphantly and Koschei tried again to save himself.
"But this is fantastic, isn't it?" He asked he slowly stood, "The Time Lords restored." The Doctor glared at him from Danni's arms.
"You weren't there in the final days of the War. You never saw what was born." He panted, "But if the time-lock's broken, then everything's coming through, not just the Daleks, but the Skaro Degradations, the Horde of Travesties, the Nightmare Child, the Could-Have-Been King with his army of Meanwhiles and Never-weres, the War turning to hell. And that's what you opened, right above the Earth. Hell is descending!" She could tell the Doctor was getting though to him as he looked over at the Council suspiciously.
"My kind of world." Koschei crowed anyway, trying to act like he was happy this was happening. But his hands clenched at his sides.
"Just listen!" The Doctor commanded, "'Cause even the Time Lords can't survive that! No Time Lord, and no human." Koschei's gaze fell sharply to Danni, who smiled weakly at him. She knew that the Doctor meant her, and that reminding him she was there had thrown enough doubt into his mind to question what was coming.
"We will initiate the Final Sanction. The end of time will come at my hand. The rupture will continue, until it rips the Time Vortex apart." Rassilon explained with a sickly smirk on his face.
"That's suicide." Koschei stated in disbelief.
"We will ascend to become creatures of consciousness alone," Rassilon decreed, his arms thrown out in triumph, "free of these bodies, free of time, and cause and effect, while creation itself ceases to be."
"You see now? That's what they were planning in the final days of the War. I had to stop them." The Doctor hissed.
"Then take me with you, Lord President." Koschei beseeched, "Let me ascend into glory." He knelt in front of them, arms outstretched ready to be taken with them.
"You are diseased, albeit a disease of our own making. No more." Rassilon declared and Koschei's face fell in devastation as he realised just what they had done to him. Danni felt herself shaking in anger and she stepped forward towards the Lord President.
"You don't succeed." She declared spitefully, "You fail, you'll rot forever in the hell of your own making, Rassilon. An old race with an outdated leader; you are irrelevant and pointless."
"You know nothing, ape." The man replied, angry that she was addressing him in such a fashion.
"I know that there is a price to pay for using a child in your games." She retorted, "You think he'll help you, but he never will."
"You think you know him so well, but you are a speck in the course of time." He taunted and she shrugged, not disagreeing with him.
"I know him well enough to know that he won't let you get away with this." She pointed out, "The link between him and the star is temporary and can be easily reversed. Your plan is flawed, for such a magnificent Lord President I expected more." She taunted.
"Do not dare try and anger me, girl. I do not hold such things up to chance." He declared, "There is a third aspect, one we know will never be destroyed." She frowned.
"Wait, what?" She asked, confused. There was nothing in the episode about that, and it was one of the episodes she still remembered pretty much in full. They chucked the diamond through time on the trails of the drumming in the Master's head, or something to that effect. Nothing else, there was nothing or no one else in the episode, "No there's not. You chucked the diamond into the Vortex to prove you were there. That was it."
"You think you're here by coincidence?" He mocked, stepping forward, "Before we were betrayed by your precious Doctor, I was wise enough to take some necessary precautions should we need them."
"You're boring me." She declared simply, the Doctor staring at her in disbelief and Koschei almost laughing at her disrespect, "Either tell me, or shut it."
"The power of the signal was never enough to pull us through." Rassilon explained, his eyes narrowed slightly, "The Time Vortex needed manipulating into place, a hole created to allow the accession. You are here by my own hand, child." She blinked as the information fell into place.
"You sent me the manipulator?" She muttered slowly.
"The walls between the universes grew weak as the War raged through our own. The legends of the Time Child were already surfacing, and it was clear you were suitable to carry the fixed point that was required for the plan to succeed. " She still looked confused and his lips turned in a sneer, "Why do you think you were safe from the effects of the Master's meddling? I needed someone who was capable of carrying a fixed point, someone more. You were drawn here for my use and my use alone. Legend told that neither the Master nor the Doctor would ever harm you, and so the manipulator would always remain."
"No, that can't be true." She insisted in deep denial, "Because even if I had the Manipulator, you couldn't guarantee anything. That's not preparation, that's luck."
"The Time Child legend foretold of your love affair with the two men behind you." He sneered, as if disgusted, "Both of whom could be guaranteed be at the forefront of any necessity to use the device. The Manipulator was crudely encoded with the exact details needed to lock it onto the Doctor's TARDIS's Eye of Harmony. Eventually you would land where you are right now, the Manipulator with the correct time coordinates necessary to allow our escape. That is why you are here, child."
"You tore my from my family, my friends?" She whispered, distressed beyond description. She wasn't here by accident? Rassilon had brought her here to help him escape? Her head spun as she looked at Koschei in horror. He was going to be sucked in with them, and it was all her fault?
"And now I shall tear you away from the men you adore, starting with your lover." She stood, looking down in devastation as he held his gauntlet out, pointing it at Koschei, the energy humming as it came to life. She started shaking and spotted the gun, then made a snap description and dived for it. However, the Doctor grabbed it first and she skidded across the glass. He cocked it then aimed the gun at the President, protecting the blonde man.
"Choose your enemy well. We are many. The Master is but one." Rassilon bit out but the Doctor didn't move, looking determined.
"But he's the President. Kill him, and Gallifrey could be yours!" Koschei goaded and he spun around, this time cocking the gun in his direction, "He's to blame, not me!" He exclaimed angrily, then deflating as he worked it out, "Oh, the link is inside my head. Kill me, the link gets broken, they go back." His eyes narrowed, shining in fear, "You never would, you coward. Go on then. Do it." He taunted. The little shake of his head, almost begging the Doctor not to do it sent the Doctor spinning back round to face the President, "Exactly. It's not just me, it's him. He's the link, kill him!"
"The final act of your life is murder. But which one of us?" They stared each other down until one of the two women with her hands over her eyes lowered them, catching the Doctor's eyes. Danni watched him exchange as a tear ran down the woman's cheek, before turning to look at Koschei, knowing he was about to leave her. Again.
She missed the woman, who Danni had always suspected was his mother, purposefully looked at her but she felt the Doctor shift to look down at her. She smiled sadly at him before looking back at Koschei. The Doctor spun to face Koschei again.
"Get out of the way." He said slowly. Koschei grinned, seeing his plan instantly as he dove out of the way of the White Point Star and over to Danni, who chucked her arms around him. He tensed underneath her as she clung to him, just hoping he would stay now but knowing he never would. The Doctor shot the device holding the diamond and went up in flames as it sparked.
"The link is broken. Back into the Time War, Rassilon. Back into hell." The Doctor shouted and a female voice rang out throughout the room, proclaiming 'Gallifrey falling!'. Danni looked up in wonder, trying to see if she could see where the the voice was coming from.
"You'll die with me, Doctor." Rassilon proclaimed.
"I know." He replied calmly, accepting his fate. Danni reached out, taking his hand and linking her fingers with his, all the time keeping her arm wrapped around Koschei's waist, holding him close too. The two Time Lords meant everything to her, and this was it, the last moment she'd ever be with them.
Koschei looked down at the woman in his arms, marvelling for a moment just how much more mature she looked compared to the last time he saw her. She was more confident, more such of herself and probably vastly more happy than she ever had been with him. This was how he'd liked her, what had drawn him to her when she'd first stood up to him, right back at the start of his reign on Earth. She'd snapped how she'd known his plan, dismissing him and tended to the Doctor as if he hadn't mattered. She hadn't been scared of him then, and he don't think she ever had been. The only other person he knew like that was the Doctor.
"Get out of the way." He told them and she looked up at him, shaking her head as she let go of the Doctor's hand to look up Koschei, who was facing the Time Lords determinedly.
"No, no please!" She begged and he shot her a grim smile, "You said you loved me!"
"Always." He replied with a wink before shooting a bolt of energy at Rassilon, hitting him straight in the chest. The Doctor grabbed Danni as she fought hard to stop him, sobbing wildly.
"You did this to me! All of my life!" Koschei screamed, throwing out his other hand and shooting him again, "You made me!" He shot another bolt, stepping closer, "You did this to us!" Another bolt, "One! Two! Three! FOUR!" And in a blinding white flash, he is sent back to Gallifrey with the Council and the Time Lock was restored.
~0~0~0~
The Doctor groaned as he rolled over in the smashed glass on the patterned floor. He looked around in disbelief, flexing his hand, testing his body.
"I'm alive. I've... There was..." He pushed himself up, "I'm still alive." He laughed shakily as he felt tears of relief gather in his eyes. He looked around the room, just observing in his happiness and saw Danni sat in the middle of the giant sun-like pattern on the floor, her legs crossed and staring at the gate.
"He left me. Again." She told him, whispering. He walked over to her. She wasn't even crying, it was like she couldn't find it in her to be upset. This day had always been coming, it had always been a bitter-sweet notion. She got to see him again, but only when she knew she'd never see him again.
"I'm so sorry." He told her, and she knew he was sincere as he held his hand out to help her up. She clung to it tightly as she pulled herself up and he winced as she crushed it in her grip.
"I'm going to go in a minute, I think." She told him with an apologetic tint to her voice, "Will you be okay?" He smiled widely, the elation radiating through him. He was alive. She was alive, she was by his side and he'd never let her be anywhere else again.
"I always am, you know that." He replied. Her arm started with the familiar burning and she looked at the gate one last time.
"I will be there, you won't be alone." She told him ominously, "But it's an earlier version of me, I don't know what's happened here." He frowned and opened his mouth to ask what she meant, when Wilf, who had been forgotten by all, knocked four times on the glass booth. His eyes went wide in realisation and she had enough time to kiss his cheek and then she was gone.