Chapter 49: The Parting of the Ways

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Dalek's rushed around the ship in a state of panic, scared of what the Doctor was going to do. They had been created with the knowledge of the Doctor that the elder Daleks had from the Time War and knew he exactly what he was capable of. One turned to Danni and the Controller and Danni pulled the girl up against her protectively.

"You know the Doctor!" It shouted, "You understand him! You will predict his actions!"

"If he says he coming to get you, then he will." Danni told it, "The only thing he truly hates in this universe is you, he won't stay away and let you win."

"TARDIS detected. In flight." Another Dalek cried, pulling the attention of the Dalek hovering over them to it.

"Launch missiles! Exterminate!" Danni rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, go on, exterminate him. Give it all you've got." She mocked, smiling at the Controller who still seemed scared, "Don't you worry, he'll be fine. Then he'll save us." She promised. The sound of the TARDIS materialising filled the room and a breeze caused her hair to blow backwards. Slowly the TARDIS appeared around the pair and one of the Daleks, the outline of the Doctor and Jack becoming more prominent, Rose joining them.

"Danni! Get down!" The Doctor shouted as he solidified in front of them. The Dalek's eyepiece swivelled around to face the Doctor as she pulled the Controller to the ground with her.

"Exterminate!" The Dalek cried, shooting at the Doctor who also ducked. Jack aimed his gun at the monster, shooting at it and causing it to explode with a scream. It smouldered as Danni helped the Controller back up again.

"You did it!" Rose cheered, running over to Danni and chucking her arms around her. Danni laughed and patted her on the back as Rose squeezed her happily, "Feels like I haven't seem you in years."

"Same here." Danni admitted, "I don't nearly come back to see Rose Tyler enough." Rose pulled off her slightly, keeping both hands on her arms.

"That is very true. You all right?" She looked the girl up and down.

"Yeah. You?" Danni asked, just as concerned. Rose nodded.

"Not bad." She replied. Danni smiled warmly at her then stepped back, wrapping an arm around the Controller.

"This is the Controller, who you've already met I believe." Rose nodded. Danni took the girl's hand and placed it in Rose's, "This is Rose, one of the best examples of humanity you will ever meet." She explained gently before turning back to Rose, "Can you take her to the T.V. for me? Put the Simpsons on, something not too alarming."

"Okay..." Rose replied, confused, and she squeezed the girl's hand gently, "Just this way." Danni watched them walk into the depths of the TARDIS before approaching the Doctor and Jack who were examining them remains of the Dalek.

"Hey, don't I get a hug?" Jack mock protested and she nodded with a grin.

"Always!" They laughed as they hugged each other, Jack lifting her off the ground as he always did.

"Welcome home!" He told her and she nodded.

"I knew you'd come for me. Captain Jack Harkness saves the day once again!" Jack puffed his chest out proudly.

"Oh, you were lucky - I was just a one-shot wonder. Drained the gun of all its power supply. Now it's just a piece of junk." He explained as they turned back to watch the Doctor examine the Dalek with his screwdriver, a thoughtful frown on his face. There was something not quite right about this Dalek, but he couldn't pinpoint what.

~0~0~0~

Danni left the Doctor to explain the Dalek's and the Time War to Jack and Rose and headed to the entertainment room where the Controller was sat on the sofa listening to the Simpsons with a look of wonder on her face. Danni smiled softly at the look on the girl's face, like she couldn't believe this was actually real.

"Hello, only me sweetie." The Controller jumped slightly in her seat, relaxing as she recognised Danni's voice, "How are you feeling?" Danni slowly walked over, standing by the sofa.

"What is this show?" The Controller asked.

"Ah, that's the Simpson's. Marvellous isn't it?" Danni replied.

"It's different from everything that went through my head." She admitted as Danni sat down next to her.

"That's why I told Rose to put it on for you. It's a fine example of the silliness and joy the human race is actually capable of when given the chance." She explained, "Do you want anything to eat or drink? Or, if you want to sleep you can use my room. The TARDIS will help you find anything, just ask her and she'll direct you anywhere you want to go."

"Is this a spaceship?" The Controller asked and Danni nodded and looked upwards.

"Yes. The best spaceship." The room hummed and she grinned, placing her hand on top of the Controller's as she shifted on the sofa to look at her, "I'm going to find you somewhere to live, where you'll be free from your masters. Somewhere new and everyday at the same time, how does that sound?" On the television Homer complained about being full of potato salad and the two girls laughed together, Danni being pleasantly surprised about how very child-like the Controller's laugh was.

"Promise?" The Controller asked quietly and Danni linked her fingers through hers, squeezing lightly.

"Absolutely." Danni promised, "And if I don't, the Doctor will. He's brilliant like that, he'll make sure that you'll be okay. But you'll have to stay here until we do, okay? You can stay safe then." The Controller nodded, keeping her attention on the television. Even though she could barely see, there was slight blobs of bright colours fighting their way through the darkness and they were mesmerising. Danni rolled her eyes good-naturedly, she was just like a child, unable to keep her attention off of cartoons. She supposed that really she was still only five or so, having been strapped into the machine when she was child she wouldn't have really grown up. She stood up, rubbing the girl reassuringly on the arm as she did.

"I've got to go now. Just stay here until either me, Rose, Jack or the Doctor come get you okay?" The girl nodded, laughing again and Danni headed out. Where could she possibly take the girl where she would be okay? Obviously staying on the TARDIS was out of the question and Earth seemed the most logical choice, but where from there?

"There's thousands of them now. We could hardly stop ONE. What're we gonna do?" Rose asked the Doctor quietly as Danni appeared back in the console room. The Doctor took a deep breath then smiled cheerfully.

"No good stood round here chin-wagging! Human race, you'd gossip all day." He teased, "The Daleks have got the answers," He clapped his hands together, "Let's go and meet the neighbours." He headed off down the ramp, Danni jogging to Jack's side.

"You can't go out there-!" Rose cried, alarmed as the Doctor stepped out into the room. Danni shrugged.

"Come on then!" She exclaimed happily, skipping down the ramp and out to face the room of Dalek's she had just been in.

"Exterminate! Exterminate! Exterminate!" The machines all cried at once, firing their bolts at the pair who stood there, smiling triumphantly as the shots reflected off the TARDIS's forcefield. Jack and Rose appeared in the doorway, watching the ricochet in amazement. The Daleks eventually gave up when they realised their guns were not working and the Doctor turned to Danni, his arms folded across his chest.

"That was it? Useless!" He exclaimed and she nodded.

"Pointless." She agreed. He turned back to the Daleks.

"Nul points." He told them before walking over to Jack and Rose, leaning against the TARDIS, "It's all right, come on out. That forcefield can hold back anything."

"Almost anything." Jack pointed out as he joined him. Danni closed her eyes and sighed in exasperation as they Doctor's eyebrows shot up in alarm.

"... Yes, but I wasn't gonna tell them that. Thanks." Jack winced and smiled apologetically.

"Sorry." He replied sheepishly.

"They're being very quiet." Danni pointed out lowly and the Doctor stared the mass of Daleks down as they watched the exchange between the humanoids silently. The Doctor pushed himself off the TARDIS and walked right to the edge of the forcefield, leaning over the Daleks who were lined up there menacingly.

"D'you know what they call me in the ancient legends of the Dalek Homeworld?" He asked them quietly, "The Oncoming Storm. You might've removed all your emotions... but I reckon that right down deep in your DNA, there's one little spark left. And that's fear." Danni grinned happily, how she loved his dramatic speeches. With Nine having such a small tenure, he didn't get too many but it still made her skin prickle to hear one, "Doesn't it just burn when you face me? So, tell me - how did you survive the Time War?" He demanded.

"They survived through me." A voice boomed through the ship and the Doctor turned around, startled by it. He started walking towards it, lights illuminating a large open Dalek case towering over all of them, the mutant suspended in mid-air in a glass tube.

"Rose... Captain...Danni... this is the Emperor of the Daleks." The Doctor stated quietly, his voice full of dread.

"You destroyed us, Doctor. The Dalek Race died in your inferno, but my ship survived, falling through time, crippled but alive."

"I get it." The Doctor bit out angrily.

"Do not interrupt!" One Dalek shouted angrily, the others echoing it. Rose and Jack winced away from the voice, Danni stepping back and up to the Doctor who was looking slightly annoyed at all of them.

"I think you're forgetting something. I'm the Doctor. And if there's one thing I can do - it's talk. I've got five billion languages, and you haven't got one way of stopping me. So if anybody's gonna shut up, it's YOU!" He shouted the last word, turning on his heel to scream at the Daleks behind him who all moved backwards away from him. Jack and Rose grinned proudly at him, Danni being the one this time to flinch away from the shout. She never liked it when he shouted, "Okay dokey. So, where were we?" He asked the Emperor lightly, the grin now plastered back on his face.

"We waited here in the dark space, damaged but rebuilding. Centuries passed, and we quietly infiltrated the systems of Earth. Harvesting the waste of humanity. The prisoners, the refugees, the dispossessed - they all came to us. The bodies were filtered, pulped, sifted." Danni bit her lip, feeling nauseous. That's what was going to have happened to her. She hadn't even thought about it, she just had pushed Rose out of the way and hoped for the best. Jack reached forward and pulled her backwards, his thoughts going to same way and wanting to get her away from the Emperor, "The seed of the Human Race is perverted. Only one cell in a billion was fit to be nurtured."

"So, you created an army of Daleks out of the dead." The Doctor stated rather than asked, glaring up at the Emperor, seeing everything, everyone he had sacrificed for nothing flash through his mind.

"That makes them... half human." Rose guessed quietly, looking to Danni for confirmation. Danni nodded, wanting to reassure the girl who looked ready to be sick but she just couldn't find it in her. She hadn't even thought, and she had condemned herself to becoming a Dalek.

"Those words are blasphemy!" The Emperor exclaimed furiously.

"Do not blaspheme!Do not blaspheme!Do not blaspheme!" The Daleks commanded, the Doctor spinning around to stare at them, disturbed and shaken.

"Everything human has been purged. I cultivated pure and blessed Dalek." The Emperor proclaimed.

"Since when did the Daleks have a concept of blasphemy?" The Doctor asked, turning back to face the Emperor.

"Since they had a false God." Danni mumbled.

"Do not blaspheme!" The Daleks commanded again and she backed into Jack, surprised they had heard her.

"I reached into the dirt and made new life. I am the God of all Daleks!" The Emperor shouted out.

"Worship him! Worship him! Worship him!" The Daleks commanded.

"They're insane!" The Doctor breathed out, horrified, "A hundred years hiding in silence - that's enough to drive anyone mad." He stared at the Daleks intently, trying to figure out a plan, "But it's worse than that. Driven mad by your own flesh. The stink of hate your own existence. And that makes them more deadly than ever." He turned back to the Dalek Emperor, "We're going." He told it before turning and storming back towards the TARDIS, Rose, Jack and Danni quickly following.

"You may NOT leave my presence!" The Emperor protested.

"Stay where you are!" One Dalek told them but they all entered the TARDIS, the Doctor closing the door behind them with a grin. The Daleks outside began firing at the TARDIS, the sounds of the shots echoing in the room as they tried fruitlessly to do any damage. They all watched the Doctor lean his forehead against the door, eyes closed as he listened to the sound of the never-ending Time War outside.

~0~0~0~

The Doctor landed the TARDIS on Floor 500 silently and stormed out, striding over to the controls and the people sat behind it.

"Turn everything up. All transmissions, wide open, full power. Now! Do it!" He shouted. The male controller from before did as he was told, typing on the console.

"What does that do?" He asked.

"Stops the Daleks from transmatting on board." The Doctor explained, "How did you get on? Did you contact Earth?"

"Well, we tried to warn them, but all they did was suspend our license because we stopped the programmes."

"And the planet's just sitting there, defenceless." He looked around,trying to find some sort of inspiration when his gaze fell on Lynda, "Lynda, what're you still doing on board?" He asked in surprise before turning on the male programmer, "I told you to evacuate everyone."

"She wouldn't go." The male programmer defended, continuing to open transmissions.

"Didn't wanna leave without finding out if Danni was okay." She told him with a sheepish smile. Danni walked over and put an arm around her.

"I'll just take her to the TARDIS." She told the Doctor gently, "She can look after the Controller while we fight the Daleks." The Doctor looked relieved at the suggestion and nodded.

"All right, but come straight back out again. We need all the hands we can get." Danni rolled her eyes at his snappy comments and began leading the girl away. Of course, keep the new girl safe and let yourself be killed instead. Not that she didn't agree with the statement, Lynda had just been caught in the wrong place at the wrong time but he still could show a little concern for her.

"Now, the thing you have to remember is that it's supposed to be bigger on the inside." She explained.

"What do you mean?" Lynda asked as she stepped in and saw the giant console room inside, "Oh, I guess you mean that." Danni nodded.

"Yes, I do." She laughed, "Now, you know the woman strapped into the computer? She's in the television room, but she's completely blind and hasn't done anything since she was five except stand in a computer and have data stream through her mind. So, she'll need looking after and since you're kind and sweet it seemed like the best place for you." She lead the awe-struck girl down the hallway to the entertainment room and gently opened the door. The Controller spun in her seat.

"Who's there?" She called shakily.

"It's just me, sweetie." Danni reassured her, "I've brought you a friend. This is Lynda." Lynda waved, even though the Controller couldn't see her.

"Hello." She said shyly.

"She's going to be staying with you while we sort out everything outside. If you're lucky, she might help you figure out your name." Danni explained, pushing Lynda towards the sofa, "Just ask the TARDIS if you need anything before stepping out of the room again and she'll take you straight there, she's alive you see. Be good, stay safe." She shut the door on Lynda's bewildered face and ran back out again. The Doctor was just outside the door, taking panelling of the consoles and ripping out the wires on the inside. The others stood around, not really knowing what to do as Danni shut the TARDIS door behind her, leaning against it.

"Dalek plan - big mistake. Because what have they left me with? Anyone? Anyone? Oh, come on - it's obvious. A great big transmitter - this station." Jack was watching him, a look of concentration on his face as Danni rolled her eyes. The Doctor could never just tell people what he was doing, "If I can change the signal, fold it back, sequence it - anyone?"

"You've gotta be kidding." Jack stated in disbelief.

"Give the man a medal!" The Doctor grinned at him before pulling out some more wires, "Want to tell them Danni, or is this something you don't know?" He asked mockingly. She crossed her arms.

"A Delta Wave?" She replied just as mockingly and he pointed at her.

"A Delta Wave! Well done Danni-Girl." She blinked in surprise as he continued on his mission, completely oblivious to the nickname he just called her. It had slipped out without him noticing, or maybe he used to call her it but didn't by the time 'Dalek' happened. Nah, she doubted it. So, he must have been thinking it but not saying it.

"What's a Delta Wave?" Rose asked, confused.

"A wave of Van Cassadyne energy." Jack explained quickly, "Fries your brain - stand in the way of a Delta Wave and your head gets barbecued!"

"And this place can transmit a MASSIVE wave! Wipe out the Daleks!" The Doctor cheered.

"Well, let's get started and do it then!" Rose told him and rushed over, kneeling down beside him, "What can I do?"

"Trouble is," He continued, "wave this size, building this big, brain as clever as mine, should take about - ooh - three days? How long till the Fleet arrive?" He called over to the male programmer, who glanced at his computer screen.

"Twenty-two minutes." He replied apologetically. The Doctor began pulling a large length of cable out of a hole in the desks, looked at the open end and beamed at them all.

"I can patch the extrapolator into the system, that should hold them off for a little while." Jack told the Doctor.

"Do it then, Captain." The Doctor called over as Danni dove back into the TARDIS, picking up the large circuit board before rushing back out and past the Doctor and Rose, holding it up to Jack.

"Can I help?" She asked him eagerly and he nodded with a smile.

"Do you know what to do?" He asked as he grabbed four small pieces of metal to prop the extrapolator on. She shook her head.

"Nope." He laughed, "But I'll give anything a try." She smirked, "There's a spoiler for you."

"Okay, see that knob?" He pointed out a dial to the left-hand side of the console, "pull it up and separate the wires for me." She saluted him and got to work, tearing the console apart with some difficulty. She was small, after all, and had very little upper body strength. Jack glanced over at the Doctor and Rose, who were talking intently then back at Danni, who was doing her best to ignore the pair. He smiled sadly at her, he knew seeing them together was hard for her. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and kissed her on the head, causing her to look up at him in happy surprise and confusion. He winked at her and went back to the extrapolator.

~0~0~0~

"We've now got a forcefield so they can't blast us out of the sky." Jack explained to the little group of people that had gathered around the computer; the male and female programmer had joined himself, Danni and Rose, "But that doesn't stop the Daleks from physically invading."

"Do they know about the Delta Wave?" The male programmer asked. Jack nodded.

"They'll have worked it out at the same time. So, if they want to stop the Doctor, that means they've got to get to this level – 500." He pointed to the diagram on the screen of the satellite. Red lines began flashing their way down the top of the diagram, highlighting the top levels of the Game Station, "Now, I can concentrate the extrapolator around the top six levels, 500 to 495. So, they'll penetrate the station below that at level 494 and fight their way up."

"Who're they fighting?" The male programmer asked, feeling like he already knew the answer. Jack pushed back, leaning on the back of the chair in front of him.

"Us." He revealed.

"And... what're we fighting with?"

"The guards had guns with bastic bullets - that's enough to blow a Dalek wide open." Jack explained.

"There's FIVE of us." The female programmer pointed out sceptically.

"Rose, you can help me. I need all these wires stripped bare." The Doctor called over from the floor outside the TARDIS where he was still working on the Delta Wave. Rose turned to Danni, hesitant to leave but Danni nodded at her encouragingly, pushing her over. Her part was still to come.

"Right! Now there's FOUR of us!" She exclaimed in frustration. She hadn't asked for all this, she had wanted to go home but her stupidly cute co-worker had refused to leave so she had stayed to. She couldn't leave him on his own.

"Then let's move it! Into the lift! Isolate the lift controls!" Jack commanded, motioning to the lift on the other side. He then turned to Danni.

"You're staying here." He told her firmly. She frowned.

"No, I'm helping fight. I can't leave you on your own, Jack." She protested.

"And what will happen if you fight?" He pressed. Her face dropped as she thought back to the episode and he patted her on the arm.

"That's why you're staying here." He told her gently, "I need something worth saving."

"But Jack..." She protested weakly. She knew he had to die so Bad Wolf would resurrect him, because some much revolved around Jack being immortal but the thought of him dying alone made her want to cry. He shushed her gently before he took her hand and walked her over to the Doctor and Rose, "Danni-Girl here is going to help you, Doc." The Doctor looked up at the pair, Danni clinging to Jack's hand with tears in her eyes and Jack smirking just a bit too brightly. He stood up, brushing his hands on his jeans and nodded.

"She can help Rose." He told Jack, who nodded and pushed her gently to the blonde woman.

"They'll head down first, not up." Danni told them quietly, "Try and at least get the people who won't fight onto a higher floor, because they'll massacre them otherwise." Jack nodded once.

"Will do, Danni-Girl." He promised. They all stood in silence for a moment, solemn but trying to be hopeful, "It's been fun!" Jack settled on, "But I guess this is goodbye."

"Don't talk like that." Rose scolded him gently, "The Doctor's gonna do it. You just watch him."

"Rose..." He stated with a sad smile on his face, stepping forward and cupping her face in his hands, "You are worth fighting for." He placed a brief kiss on her lips before turning to the Doctor. Rose blushed at the action, "Wish I'd never met you, Doctor!" He told the man, "I was much better off as a coward." He cupped his face and kissed him as well. He then stepped towards his Danni-Girl, who had tears running down her cheeks. He cupped her face and wiped the trails away with his thumbs.

"It'll be okay." He promised her, meaning more than just his certain death. He leant forward and pushed his lips against her. He went to pull away, meaning the kiss to be as brief as the Doctor and Rose's but she stood on her tiptoes, chucking her arms around his neck and holding him in place. The Doctor and Rose both stared at them in surprise, the Doctor's fists tightening involuntarily as they moved back, Jack's eyebrows up in his hairline.

"Love you." She told him through her sobs. He ruffled her hair and she laughed at the ridiculousness of the action. He pointed towards the exit.

"See ya in hell." He ran off without a backwards glance to the trio and Rose turned to the Doctor, who was staring after him with a thoughtful frown on his face.

"He's gonna be all right..." The Doctor turned to her, a solemn look on his face, "... isn't he?" She turned to Danni, who had sat down by the desk, her head in her hands as she sobbed, "Danni?" She asked worriedly. Danni looked up at her and Rose's heart broke at the devastated look on her face. Danni then shook her head, wiping her cheeks and plastering a smile on her face. She turned to the Doctor.

"Well, we best get cracking. What do we do now?" She asked him.