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Danni stared, dumbstruck with terror, at the beaten tower, trying to compute the fact that she on Gallifrey. That, somehow, she'd been thrown into the Time War, through the Time Lock the Doctor had put Gallifrey in. He'd thrown her into Gallifrey. The Doctor had thrown her out of the TARDIS, into deep space and somehow managed to throw her onto Gallifrey.
The Doctor had tried to kill her.
Her wrist was still burning from the trip, but she barely noticed it as her mind rushed through what happened. She'd expected him to be furious with her, to send her to Jack's and maybe even leave her there forever. But he'd held her out of the TARDIS into the universe outside, and then had let go.
"Exterminate!" A robotic voice finally pulled Danni out of her stupor and she spun around to see a Dalek lowering itself out of it's squad, having spotted her. Utterly destroyed by this revelation, she didn't move until it exploded in front of her in a flash of blue light. She screamed, surprised again as someone grabbed her arm.
"Come on!" The man barked and she allowed herself to be dragged into another building, still completely dumbstruck at how impossible the entire situation should have been. The building she'd been pulled in was, amazingly, in better condition than the one she had landed in and she was dragged into a small room where the door was slammed shut. She stared at her rescuer, blinking at him as he turned to face her, brown eyes burning into hers.
"Koschei..." She whispered, amazed. He nodded and she just continued to stare as he turned to the door, locking it with a bolt from the inside.
"Are you trying to get yourself killed?" He snapped angrily.
"I don't understand..." She started meekly, interrupting herself as the heat from the manipulator became too much. She hadn't realised that it was still burning, but now it demanded her attention as it blazed hotter and hotter against her skin and she hissed, falling to her knees as she grasped it tightly.
"What's wrong?" He asked, alarmed, kneeling in front of her.
"It... it hurts!" She cried out, squeezing her eyes closed. She felt him take her arm to examine the manipulator before cursing loudly and her arm dropped unexpectedly.
"That things burning up!" He exclaimed. She nodded, unable to reply as she fought down the scream in her throat. It felt like her arm was melting, as if her skin was blistering up and exploding simultaneously. Eventually she couldn't hold it back and a small scream ripped it's way out of her throat as he roughly grabbed her arm. The pain began to dull almost instantly and she opened her eyes just in time to see him chucking something against the wall. She stared at him blankly for a moment before her gaze slowly dropped to her arm. Where the manipulator had sat from the moment she had put it on in Claire's front room, there was now a deep angry burn in it's place, but no leather.
"You... you took it off." She stated lowly. What was happening? Nothing made any sense, but she also felt slightly numb about it as she looked at the wrist, a piece of herself she never thought she'd see again.
"We're outside the Time Vortex. No time, no fixed points. Being torn from the Vortex obviously caused it to malfunction and it began frying it's own electronics." He explained as if he was explaining it to a child. She frowned as her eyes caught his hands, both palms an angry red.
"You burnt yourself." She whispered in awe, reaching out to gently stroke across the damaged skin. He hissed slightly but showed no other signs of discomfort.
"Yeah, well, it was hot." Her eyes locked with his deep brown ones, still not quite believing he was there. He frowned as she just continued to stare at him. He was so calm as well. Nothing like the Koschei she'd last seen, perhaps being torn from the Vortex fixed his problems as well as her own.
"Danielle?" He asked slowly, trying to get her attention.
"I..." She stuttered out, still dazed, before she reached over and ran her fingers through his blonde hair, "It really is you." She whispered and leant forward, kissing him gently on the lips. He grabbed the sides of her head, holding her in place, neither moving as their lips pressed together in relief. When he finally let go, she moved backwards onto her heels, "I'm in the Time Lock." She stated.
"It's not a Time Lock." Koschei replied, "Your husband put us in a pocket universe." She looked away slightly, causing him to frown for a moment then grin, "Oh, trouble in paradise?" He teased.
"No!" She snapped, "What the hell is a pocket universe?"
"It's an echo of our own universe." He explained slowly, like she was an idiot and it just made her scowl more, "They tend to fade in and out of existence extremely quickly, but the Doctor managed to create an artificial one."
"How do we get out?" She asked in reply. He took a note of the use of 'we', but didn't comment on it just yet. Use that for later on, when he found out what had happened between her and the Doctor. Gather as much ammo as he could, then use it against the other Time Lord.
"That's where you come in." He told her, jumping to his feet, "We'll use the same way as that relic, Rassilon."
"But you're in here." She pointed out, "How can you follow the link if you're here?"
"Not me." He snapped, "With your manipulator. It can take me back into the Vortex. It brought you from one dimension to another. I'll use the link that's already in place with the Doctor's TARDIS, reprogram it, and with a boost I can reconnect to the Vortex!" He laughed in triumph, "I can finally escape this hell-hole!" He ran over and gingerly picked up the manipulator, holding the strap between his thumb and finger, "I just need to get my hands on some tools..." he trailed off in thought.
"Can I help?" She asked and he rolled his eyes.
"No, I need to do this properly and you'll just get in the way." he told her bluntly. She looked down at the floor, hurt and embarrassed but he ignored her, gathering up some weapons. He headed to the door, glancing back at her. Seeing how sad she looked, he rolled his eyes, sighing in exasperation.
"You're safer here. I won't be long." He told her before unlocking the door and leaving her alone. She curled up in the corner and hugged her legs as she listened to the sound of the Last Great Time War outside. She bit her lip as tears built up in the corners of her eyes. The Doctor had tried to kill her. If the TARDIS hadn't intervened then he would have succeeded. He hated her, and it was all her fault.
~0~0~0~
Koschei headed out, a quick glance behind him to ensure she wasn't following before he made his way through what was, once, a stunning city. He may have hated everyone who lived in it, but even he couldn't deny how beautiful it was.
Rassilon had not been too pleased with his actions on Earth, not that he'd been expecting him to be. After a period of what could only be explained as excruciating capture, he'd managed to escape and had been on the run ever since, trying to find a way out of the Time War and back into reality. However, before he'd broken free, he'd been there to hear the whispers of what the Doctor had finally done for the planet, how there may have been a few rogue Dalek's on the surface, but they were it, how they were constantly fighting but no new enemies were coming.
And he'd heard the rumours of the Time Child falling into the War at the hands of her beloved, which he did grumble about slightly because she wasn't anyone's but his. Why did no one understand that he owned her? Rassilon had, according to what little bits he'd managed to overhear in the cell he'd been held in, been searching for the 'pathetic human' who had stood up to him, probably with the same idea as Koschei; to use her and the manipulator to escape.
Not while he was still standing. He ignored the anger he felt at the idea of Rassilon being anywhere near Danielle, especially considering what he'd done to her life. Instead, he focused on how he was going to be able to get there first.
It was rather comical how he was searching burnt out buildings for, at the very least, a couple of screwdrivers during the greatest battle that had ever been waged. However, vortex manipulator's were delicate, and he only had one shot at this. His last chance to escape Gallifrey forever and head back the universe he deserved to rule.
With Danielle by his side, serving under him, rather than with him. Obviously. She'd be his to do as he chose with, And she'd love every moment of it, which was, again, a bonus he didn't really want to contemplate.
He managed to find a small workshop of sorts just as another group of Daleks descended. Gathering what he needed, he slipped it into his pocket then looked outside, wondering which was the best way back to his little hideout, considering he didn't want to go the way he came in case someone had seen him. His ran his hand through his blonde hair; she'd really liked the hair, he could tell. A smirk appeared on his face and he jumped out the hole that used to be a window. He landed with a thud just as he turned skeletal, burning up a bright blue that never seemed to go away as he snarled at the world. That was something else he'd have to fix before heading back, but one thing at a time.
A Dalek spotted him and headed his way and Koschei grinned a villainous grin.
"Hello, Dalek." He spat, "Coming to play?" He chucked his hand out, throwing a bolt of energy towards it and pulling the attention of more Daleks his way.
~0~0~0~
Danni sat on the floor of the little hideout that Koschei had brought her to, looking around. It was just a plain room, white walls and floor, a couple of tables and chairs lining one wall, pushed out of the way. That was it, really. The natural light from the small window at the top of the room was dimming, but that didn't really mean anything to her. Not every planet had days and nights like the Earth did, maybe Gallifrey didn't either. The Doctor hadn't told her anything about the planet, really.
She glanced down at her arm, determined not to think about the Doctor. The angry burn on her wrist looked absolutely awful. It was bright red and looked... wrinkly was the only way she could describe it. It looked like it had blistered up and healed over multiple times, leaving it patchy and uneven. She ran her finger over it, hissing slightly at the raw pain she felt at the touch. The skin was scarred, yet raw at the same time. Burn on top of burn, on top of burn. For five years, each time she'd been chucked away, it'd hurt her. Then it'd start to heal, and she'd be shot off again. It was hideous, but considering the emotional blow she'd just suffered, it seemed sort of apt. The physical signs of what the last five years had ended up doing to her.
She wrapped her arms around her knees, pulling them against her chest and glancing upwards at the window. He'd been gone a while, now. She hoped he was okay. How long should she leave it before heading to find him? Was she really going to be stuck here forever?
Why would the Doctor chuck her out of the TARDIS like that? She'd expected him to be angry, but he'd tried to kill her. He probably thought he had killed her. Was he happy? He didn't look happy, but maybe she'd just hoped he hadn't been. She sniffed, now she'd never see him again. The man she loved, the man who held her heart had crushed it the moment he'd told her he didn't want to love her anymore. Why couldn't she have just died?
The door opened and she jolted in surprise as Koschei stormed in, slamming the door as he panted. The moment he turned to look at her he flashed blue, collapsing to his knees as he hissed and she scrambled off, running over to him. He looked up and smirked at the terrified look on her face.
"Concerned?" He asked, feeling completely drained. There had been more Daleks than he'd been anticipating.
"I didn't know you were still doing that." She replied shakily. His face was covered in soot and she reached up to try and wipe some of it off, "What happened?" He shrugged her away, standing up and pulling his hoodie over his head. Danni looked away, ashamed at how happy she was to see the bottom of his stomach as his shirt tried to follow the black piece of clothing. Had he always been wearing a shirt underneath it?
"Daleks. They're everywhere, if you hadn't noticed." He snapped back, not commenting on her faint blush, even though he really wanted to, "You didn't happen to grab any food when you disappeared, did you?" He asked.
"No." She replied, "Sorry." He rolled his eyes, heading over to the table he'd put the manipulator on.
"Helpful as always, Danielle." He snapped, chucking the screwdrivers down next to it. All he had to do was alter some of the wiring, change the coding that connected her to the Doctor's TARDIS so it actually worked, and it'd be ready.
"Oh, I'm sorry." She snapped, "As I was dying at the time, I didn't think about grabbing you a bloody chocolate bar!"
"Dying?" He scoffed, pretending to have no idea what she was talking about, "Being a little over dramatic, aren't we?"
"Don't." She warned, "What are you doing with my manipulator?" He waved a screwdriver at her.
"Fixing it." He replied, "Tomorrow we're breaking into the Panopticon." He said it like she should have known what that was, and when she didn't get anymore explanation she headed over to his side, watching him open up the device that she'd been stuck to for the last five years, "What have they done to this?" He muttered, "Bloody idiots." He stuck the screwdriver in and pulled out a punch of wires.
"Why do we have to go to the Panopican?" She asked.
"Panopticon." Koschei corrected, "Because that's where the Eye of Harmony is. We can use it as a link to the aspect on the Doctor's TARDIS and get back." Danni blanched slightly. The Doctor's TARDIS? He'd not be happy to see her again. Perhaps there was another way?
No. She shook her head, she was just being idiotic. They couldn't stay in the Time War just because her marriage had fallen apart and she didn't want to face it. No wonder Koschei always talked down to her, she really was an idiot.
"What will you do?" She asked quietly and he paused, looking at her with slightly narrowed eyes, "When you get out? I mean, you can't be wanting to stay with the Doctor, can you?" She asked this slightly hopefully, giving him a surge of glee. He just shrugged in reply, not letting his happiness through as he began sorting through the wires in his hand, taking what appeared to be a random one and putting it between his teeth. He ripped the casing off then began separating the smaller wires contained inside.
"I can't say that being locked away with our favourite Time Lord is particularly appealing." He agreed, spitting the piece of plastic away, "However, piggybacking on his TARDIS for a while might be the way to go."
"Oh." Was Danni's simply reply, turning back to watching his hands work. Her hope disappeared and he looked out of the corner of his eye down at her as she tried to shake it off, "What's the Eye of Harmony?"
"I thought you knew all about Gallifrey." He mocked, giving up with one idea and pulling a wire clean out.
"No, I never said that." She replied, "I only knew a bit about Old Who, and after five years I'm afraid a lot has gone."
"'Old Who'?" He asked, confused for a moment, "Oh, of course. 'Doctor Who', am I right?" He didn't sound happy, but she nodded, "The aspect of the Eye on the Doctor's TARDIS was opened by one of you apes a while ago," He explained, not giving her all the details, like how it was because of him. He wanted her on his side, after all, "The aspect is remotely linked to the original underneath the floor of the Panopticon. We're going to use the link to travel back through to our universe using the Eye as the power source because whoever altered this," he motioned to the manipulator, "Was a complete fool and took out it's own power when linking it to his TARDIS so that you'd always land close to it." Well, that seemed simple enough. No, actually, it seemed really complicated and vague, but there was no way he'd explain it in a way she'd understand, so she left it alone.
She yawned, placing a hand against her mouth to stifle it. She'd had a rough couple of weeks, what with jumping around and saying her goodbyes, then Manhattan and the Doctor... well, she was feeling the effects but she didn't move from his side, in fact she leant her head against his arm. He felt solid, real and actually next to her. She'd said her goodbyes to him, had accepted she'd never see him again. Once again she was wrong, how many times was that now?
"Why?" He asked offhandedly and she glanced up at him.
"Why what?" She asked in reply.
"Why do you want to know my plans?" He asked. She shrugged.
"I dunno." She admitted, "Perhaps I thought I could, you know, maybe come with you? If you still want me to, anyway."
"What makes you think I'd want you to in the first place?" He retorted and she smiled slightly.
"On the Valiant you took my hand when you tried to escape. You weren't going anywhere without me." She reminisced, yawning again, "Well, I'm here anyway, if you want to."
"I'm quite surprised you're not planning on running back to your husband," He spat the word again, "once we're out of this hell-hole. Marriage hitting a rough spot?" She shook her head.
"There is no marriage." She replied sadly, her heart breaking all over again, "I think it's safe to say it's completely over between me and the Doctor. He hates me." She snorted cynically, "How could he not?" Silence fell between them for a moment, Koschei waiting just long enough to make her think he wasn't replying.
"I'm sorry to hear that." He replied quietly, forcing a sincere tone into his voice that made her look up at him, shocked. He had to make her believe he was being compassionate, make him seem more sympathetic and therefore warm her more to being by his side. His queen when ruling the universe.
"Really?" She scoffed, "Because what you said when you idiotically sacrificed yourself back on Earth would say differently." He shot her his cheekiest smirk.
"Give me a break, I was about to die." He retorted and she nodded, suddenly looking troubled.
"I thought you were dead." She whispered, "I'm glad you're not." He sighed, putting the manipulator down. He looked up in mock thought.
"It is tempting." He admitted, "You could be my own little pet." He smirked at her, bringing up the title he often called her when they were on the Valiant together. She glowered slightly at him, riled as he expected by the reminder.
"I'm not your 'pet'." She snapped, "I'm not anyone's 'pet'."
"We'll see." He replied, "I did think I was leaving you in the hands of someone who could look after you, though." He lied seamlessly, "It seems I was mistaken. It won't happen again, I hate being wrong."
"The Doctor did look after me." She insisted, "Not that I needed looking after, but he did and he loved me more than anything."
"Then why are you in this pocket universe, arguing with me?" He countered and her gaze hardened.
"Don't you have a manipulator to fix?" She snapped, yawning yet again.
"Not with you irritating me." He snapped in reply, "Go get some sleep, otherwise I'm leaving you behind." She smirked, bumping against him as she headed towards where she'd been sitting while she was waiting for him to come back.
"Admit it." She teased, "You missed me."
"I will not." He replied purposefully and she paused as she was bending down to pick his hoodie off the floor. He smirked to himself, this was going to be easier than he thought. She shrugged it off, lying down and drifting off to sleep. He smirked as he continued his work, now she'd sleep thinking of him and what he meant by what he'd said; he'd said he wouldn't admit it, not that he hadn't missed her. He wouldn't need to use the noise to convince her to fall for him all over again, she was already there.
This was too easy.
~0~0~0~
Danni, who'd been having a disturbed sleep full of the sounds of war, was roughly shook away from her position on the floor. Koschei hovered over her, looking frantic as he violently tried to wake her up.
"We have to go." He barked, "Now. Get up." She sat up rubbing her eyes and he grabbed his hoodie, pulling it back over his head.
"Why?" She asked, "What's going on?"
"Stop asking stupid questions." He snapped, chucking the manipulator at her, "Put that back on your wrist. We have to go, now." She did as he asked, watching him shovel the small amount of tools into his pockets.
"What's going on?" She asked but he just shot her a dirty look.
"There's a war on, that's what." He retorted, grabbing her by the hand, "Let's go." He tried to pull her, but she fought against him.
"Please, just tell me." She exclaimed, really not wanting to go outside because of the very same reason. Why would she choose to go outside when it was infested with Daleks? Why would he want to do that?
"Just come on!" He shouted, hissing and turning skeletal. He panted when it faded, grabbing her by the arm and shaking her once, "Get this into you thick skull." He growled, "We have to go."
"Just tell me why?" She whimpered, terrified, before pulling out her last card, "Please, Master." His grip tightened and she cried out in pain.
"What did you call me?" He snarled and she suddenly realised her mistake as his eyes darkened and he started to radiate anger.
"Nothing..." She stuttered, backtracking, "If you think we should go, we should go." He pulled her hard, slamming her into his chest.
"What did you call me?" He asked again, quietly and totally focused on her. That manic look he'd had throughout their time together at Naismith's had reappeared after being so calm since they'd met back up again. She'd thrown him into that and she was scared of what was going to happen next.
"M... Master." She reluctantly admitted, "Please, I just wanted to know why you're rushing us out."
"Why?" He demanded.
"Because I thought you'd reply." She whispered, "Please, I'm scared." He let go of the top of her arm and she almost had time to relax, then his grip shot to her burnt and battered wrist and she screamed in pain.
"Say it again." He demanded, squeezing it. She bent slightly to get out of his grasp, but he had always been so much stronger than her.
"Master." She repeated. He growled and slammed his lips onto her. She thought about struggling, she really didn't want to go down this route again, but what else did she have? The Doctor didn't want her anymore, did he? And as he fought to get her to respond, she couldn't help but but wonder how she'd forgotten how wonderful he felt.
"I am your Master." He panted, reminding her firmly of her place, "You will do as I say." She nodded and he pushed past her, Danni trailing and feeling absolutely disgusted with herself as she did.
He didn't make a noise, motioning her to follow him as he kept a lookout for whatever they were running from. Darting from building to building, he eventually pulled her into a doorway.
"The Panopticon is on the ground floor." He explained, "Once we've headed to the Vaults, we're going to head straight there." He pointed to the largest spire, the one scratching surface of the broken glass dome, "We have to go in through the back entrance, and we only have one shot so for the love of everything, do not mess this up." She glared at him.
"Why do you think I'm going to mess this up?" She snarled, "I don't want to be here anymore than you do."
"Yes," He hissed back, "I know that, however I'm the genius here. You're just a stupid ape who asks too many questions about what's going on." Her eyes narrowed and she smacked him on the arm, hard.
"Hey! It's still my manipulator." She reminded him, "What's in the Vault?"
"What?" He snapped.
"The Vault!" She repeated, "What's in the bloody Vault?"
"Hopefully a new set of regenerations." He explained, sounding reluctant to tell her, "I can't go back in a state of perpetual death, can I? I don't want to be like Captain Flash." She pursed her lips, not prepared to argue over Jack because that would be long and foolish, although she wasn't sure why they were running so quickly. Nothing had been following them, the battle in the skies staying up there for the most part, "Right, come on then." He darted out, surprising her by taking her hand again, "We have to get there before they find us."
"Who finds us?" She asked, looking at the back of his head in realisation, "Koschei, who's looking for you?"
"No one." He snapped, "It doesn't matter. This way." They headed down an empty back alley, his eyes trained on the spire in front of him.
"Grab them!" A voice cried and suddenly flashes of blue started to surround them, a group of people appearing out of thin air in a circle around them. Koschei pulled her against him, spinning around slightly as his teeth bared almost animalistically, "Grab the Time Child." Danni blinked, looking up at them.
"How do they know I'm here?" She whispered in a panic as one more flash of light brought the final player to the party.
"The same way he does, child." A regal voice replied and Rassilon smiled sickly, "Because of me."