Hello everyone!

Thank you again for all your support, I love you all.

Here's the next chapter! Only one more before we get a bit more random and I start taking requests.

As usual please let me know what you think - I love reading your comments.

Thanks again for reading and hope you enjoy!

Robyn

The Doctor wandered slowly towards the kitchen, feet dragging as she tried to decide who she needed to talk to first. She'd managed to clear the air with Martha, Mickey and Jack last break, and she didn't know if she could answer any questions her current companions had so that ruled them out. As much as she wanted to have a proper talk with her wife (and hug her wife, and kiss her wife and just hold her so that she couldn't leave her again) she knew she wouldn't be able to have a proper conversation that wouldn't end in an argument about the whole situation and she didn't think she was in the right emotional state to deal with that (she didn't think she was in the right emotional state to deal with anything honestly, but when was she ever).

That left Bill, Clara, Rose, Donna, and Amy and Rory. She knew she had to talk to them all at some point, they all deserved honest answers and discussion for so many different reasons but who did she need to talk to first? It was likely to be the last time she had a proper conversation before the secret came out and she needed to talk to someone who wouldn't keep asking questions she couldn't answer. As much as she was dragging the walk out, she knew she had already made her decision – there was someone who needed an apology arguably more than any of the others. She needed to talk to Donna.

She finally made her way into the kitchen where most of her family had gathered, pottering around and chatting away. Some were making tea and others eating food that must have been left in the cupboards by the Tardis. She was glad to see they were mixing amongst themselves; Clara, Bill and Yaz seemed to be having fun talking, Rory, Mickey and Nardole seemed to be comparing notes on keeping their sanity. She spotted Martha at a table having tea with Graham and Ryan. She was mildly afraid to see River and Jack in a corner scheming away and glancing at her every so often, and the Master had slunk away out of sight for now. Finally, she found Rose and Donna talking loudly about something or other at one of the tables.

Setting her sights on the pair she shuffled over, ignoring the glances everyone sent her as she made her way past them. The Doctor practically collapsed into an empty chair, startling Donna slightly who had been gesturing wildly with her hands to emphasise part of a story she was telling. Donna trailed off as both Rose and her looked at the Doctor, waiting for her to say something. The Doctor opened her mouth to try and get some words out but nothing came out. She closed her mouth, swallowed and tried again – slightly more successful the second time.

"Rose, I... Can I... Can I talk to Donna for a moment?" The Doctor asked, she felt a bit guilty – this was the second time she'd interrupted a conversation Rose had been having to talk to someone else. Rose glanced between the pair as if looking for something, her face softened as she seemed to find what she'd been looking for.

Rose nodded. "Sure, but don't think you're getting out of talking to me later Misses." The Doctor smiled; eyes earnest as she nodded her agreement. Rose offered a grin and wink to Donna before moving over to join Yaz, Bill and Clara. And with that she was left alone with Donna, near the back of the room with some semblance of privacy.

She kept her eyes on the table, unsure how to start what was undoubtedly going to be an emotionally charged conversation. She was put out of her misery by Donna starting. "So, Spaceman we need to talk."

"You're right Donna. I just... I just don't know how to start."

"I'd hope you'd start with an explanation and an apology."

"I... I am so sorry Donna, I... memories are important and I took that away from you. I just... I just couldn't let you die." The Doctor glanced up to meet Donna's gaze, trying to show how much she meant what she said. Donna's eyes were hard but softening as she continued talking. "You're brilliant, the most important woman in the universe. Beings sing songs about you and I took that from you because I am selfish. I was selfish and I couldn't lose you."

"I can't say that I'm unhappy about being alive – I love the life I have, my husband, my family. I'm just angry that you ignored my decision. That you ignored what I wanted, you ignored my begging. My time with you was amazing, some of the best days of my life. The things I saw, the people I met and you took that from me." Donna glared at her hands, pausing to take a breath and calm herself down. The Doctor's hand twitched towards Donna's clenched fists on the table but simply hugged them closer to her. Shrinking in on herself as she nodded along with Donna's argument, gulping.

"I'm sorry, you didn't deserve it, any of it. It was my fault you were in that situation and I couldn't keep you safe. I couldn't tell your mother and grandfather that I had gotten you killed and I couldn't lose you. You were... You are one of my best friends in the universe." She smiled sadly at Donna, before dipping her eyes back to the table. "I understand it, the memory loss I mean. I lost my memories of Clara for a while and I recently found out I've lost a lot more memories than I even knew about." She let out a self-deprecating chuckle. "Memories are important and I took them from you but more importantly I went against your wishes. I cannot express how sorry I am for that but you have to understand I can't be sorry that I saved your life, but I am sorry for how I did it."

The silence lingered between the pair for several moments, neither saying anything. Then Donna let out a long, loud breath. "I understand that, I do. I'm still angry about my memories but I want to move forward. I forgive you Doctor and my time travelling with you was indescribably amazing. And Martian? You're my best friend too idiot." She smiled softly at the Doctor, it was the calmest she'd ever seen Donna and the Doctor chuckled, ignoring the warmth of a tear as it raced down her face. "Oh, you are an idiot, spaceman. Come here." Donna shuffled around the table and pulled the Doctor into her arms, squeezing her tightly in a hug. The pair laughed and cried as they held each other before Donna pulled back several minutes later.

"Honestly you really don't change." Donna shook her head in disbelief as the Doctor tried to subtly wipe away a few stray tears. "I do have to ask; will I keep my memories when we leave here?"

The Doctor scrunched her face up in thought for a moment. "I don't know but if you don't I swear I will find a way to give them back to you. I promise you that Donna." Donna smiled at her, before setting her shoulders and grabbing the Doctor by the arm to drag her back towards the rest of the group. Emotional conversation was done, Donna was back to being loud and brash and the Doctor wouldn't change her for the universe.

The Doctor followed in a sort of daze, accepting a cup of tea that was shoved into her hands by Graham and vaguely nodding along to any conversation she was dragged into until everyone started moving back towards the movie room. No one had really been in the mood to eat much, all too tense and nervously curious to find out what the Tardis wanted them to see. All too soon the break was over and it was time to face the music.

As everyone settled back in their seats, resuming their positions from before the break (meaning the Doctor was dragged back and trapped between Jack and River) she debated what they would be shown next – she knew there weren't many options but maybe she still had a bit of time? You can't blame her for being hopeful. That hope was quickly dashed when 'Ascension of the Cybermen' appeared on the screen. The Doctor took a deep breath and exchanged a glance with her current companions – there weren't many options for what that could mean.

"Right, there's been a bit of a time jump again." She explained to the room with paper-thin enthusiasm. "We went on a few more adventures which I guess aren't particularly relevant. I think we've skipped something important to the 'story' though." She glanced at the fam again, they nodded in agreement. "Easy to say we had to ignore Jack's warning and there was some trouble with Mary Shelley, Lord Byron and the rest of the group in 1816 and I think we may have helped inspire Frankenstein?" She took a deep breath and glanced at those she knew would be the most affected by what she had to say. "As the title says, there's going to be Cybermen, so I just wanted to give you a moment to prepare yourselves."

A few round the room looked a bit nervous at the mention of the Cybermen; Clara glowered at the screen and Bill shifted uncomfortably in her seat (she ignored the Master preening in the corner – she was spending a lot of her time ignoring him recently) but they both met her gaze when it hesitated on them. They were strong, all of her family were strong – they'd be okay, eventually. With no more comments, the video started to play.

In space, the voice of Ashad the lone cyberman is heard with the scenes of a star ship graveyard. He talks about the cybermen being defeated but that they will rise again

"Who's that?" Amy asked, curious more than anything.

The Doctor sighed, giving Jack an apologetic look. "The Lone Cyberman."

Mickey shook his head. "Why can't they just stay dead?" He muttered mostly to himself but others sighed. Nodding in understanding. To say that none of them were exactly fond of the Cybermen would be the least.

In Ireland - a man rides a bicycle before suddenly stopping as he finds a baby in a basket. He takes it home to his wife

Both the Doctor and Master startle in their seats, turning to look at each other for a moment, neither able to understand what the other was thinking before the Doctor glared and glanced desperately away. The Master's eyes lingered on her. Jack and River had watched the exchange concerned; they both had the same train of thought – the Master was key to this secret and this seemingly completely unrelated story of Ireland was suspicious, therefore Ireland was very relevant to whatever secret had brought them here.

"That's a bit of whiplash. Going from space and the Cybermen to Ireland, I mean. What's going on there?" Bill asked clearly confused, the rest of the companions shifted, equally confused. Especially the fam who had been around for the actual trouble – they knew nothing about whatever was going on in Ireland.

The man (Patrick) tells the Garda, they talk about how he just found the baby in the lane with no note. Meg and Patrick agree to look after him until the parents are found

"Okay so we have an abandoned baby in Ireland and an army of Cybermen in space. They don't really mesh well." Martha mused; eyes scrunched up as if trying to connect puzzle pieces that don't match.

"Maybe the baby is the Lone Cyberman and we're seeing his past?" Bill offered an idea, only half joking.

That drew a slight laugh out of the Doctor, although it had a slight undercurrent of hysteria. "Sorry Bill, you need another theory."

The room turned to her, even the fam as they didn't know anything about Ireland, eager for answers. "You know who the baby is then?" Yaz asked the question the whole room was thinking.

The Master looked at her, curious to know what she would say, he raised an eyebrow at her. She shot a quick glare at him before turning to answer Yaz. "Yes, kind off. It's complicated. Honestly its best to just watch, answers are coming." She exhaled sharply, answers were coming alright, no matter how much she wished they weren't.

Time flashes forward. The baby becomes a boy. A letter arrives and the baby (Brendan) is officially their son. More time passes and we get flashes of Brendan's life. Then he gets ill

"So, we're getting quick flashes of this kid's life, he must be relevant." Rose announced decidedly, they were all getting very frustrated with the lack of answers and this mix of stories was worrying them. The rest of the room agreed with her but couldn't think of why the kid was relevant.

On a planet's surface, the Doctor is tracking down the coordinates given to then by Shelley, Graham, Ryan and Yaz are lugging equipment along

"You still aren't capable of landing where you need to." Amy grinned, shaking her head fondly at the Doctor. The Doctor pouted in response drawing laughs from most of the room.

They fins a village, and Yaz makes commando jokes about Graham to Ryan's horror

That drew some chuckles, glad to see the group still well, despite the trouble the room knew they were likely to get into soon. Ryan nodded his head in agreement with himself on screen. Yaz just grinned and nudged him, while Graham shook his head at their anticks.

Yaz wants to know what they're walking into. The Doctor explains they're in the far future in the aftermath of the CyberWars. The Cybermen have hunted down and killed most of humanity, she adds if it is a consolation the wars almost wiped out the Cybermen too

"Sorry to tell you but that's not much consolation, Spaceman." Donna drawled, rolling her eyes at the Doctor. The Doctor just grinned, shrugging a bit sheepish.

"It's far in the future, well after you lot. Humanity ultimately survives I promise." The Doctor continued trying to reassure the room, they just looked at her more incredulous.

"You're an idiot." Clara shook her head.

"Everyone knows that Clara." The Doctor grinned.

13 uses her sonic to scan the area and finds a collection of human life signs. A total of seven - the last human settlement on this side of the universe

The companions watched the screen worriedly. During their travels with the Doctor, they'd found a lot of trouble but it was never nice to be told your species was near extinction.

"Seven?!" Martha asked, looking at the Doctor like she hoped she would say she'd been lying.

"Yes, this side of the universe. There are others elsewhere. Probably." The Doctor tried to reassure the group, but their faces told her they weren't very reassured.

At the village, Feekat and Ravio talk about fixing the Gravcraft, it needs another day at least

Rory sighed. "I'm going to go out on a limb here and say they don't have a few days."

Nardole nodded. "Seeing as the Doctor's here I doubt they have a few hours."

Feekat is worried as they don't have much time, right on que two spaceships arrive and another boy runs over

"Turns out they don't even have a few minutes." Mickey shook his head. The danger was starting.

Ethan claims Feekat said they wouldn't find them, they were wrong. 13 and the fam arrive offering help. Ravio points a waepon at them

"Honestly Sweetie. What else were you expecting? You need to stop sneaking up on people." River reached out to grab the Doctor's hand, squeezing it in comfort, even as her tone showed her exasperation. The Doctor grinned but shrugged unrepentant, they all knew she wouldn't stop; she absolutely found some enjoyment out of it.

Feekat asks who they are and where they came from. 13 introduces them and says to not worry about where, just that they are there to help

"Yeah, I don't think they have time for that explanation." Bill said.

"That's if they would even believe it." Rose agreed, smiling at the other girl.

Ravio lowers her weapon. Yaz, Ryan and Graham split up to set up their equipment. The Doctor briefly ask about the group's situation - they've always run before but their escape craft is damaged. 13 orders people to hide in the buildings and not to run, asking them to trust them

"Seriously Doctor?" Jack shook his head. "You just showed up and you're already ordering poor confused humans around. They have no reason to trust you."

"Don't exactly have much time to actually explain who we are, besides they're desperate and they need the help." The Doctor said, small frown on her face as she focused on the screen.

Graham sets up his gizmo as Ethan watches - a neural inhibitor system

"A what?" Bill asked, confusion obvious on her, and most of the companion's, faces. River and Jack nodded along, seemingly having an idea what the machine was.

Ethan doesn't know what that is, and neither does Graham. From his understanding it un-supresses the emotions and pain sensations in a Cybermen which sends them a bit mad

Clara winced at the reminder of Danny, and the Doctor snapped her head round to her as she remembered what had happened in the graveyard. Clara took a deep breath and offered a small smile to reassure the Doctor she was okay. She hadn't forgotten Danny but it didn't hurt as much as it used too, her time with Me had helped. That whole day had been crazy and she'd gone over the edge in her grief – she'd betrayed the Doctor and he'd still helped her. She did shoot the Master a quick glare, he'd been responsible for most of that mess and clearly, he hadn't learnt since then.

Ethan asks if it will help, Graham hopes so but tells him to get safe anyway. Yaz is also setting up her gizmo with Ravio watching - this time is a particle projector which sends particles of gold into the air as Cybermen are allergic to it

"They are?" Rose asked, she'd never heard that before. The rest of the room had equally confused looks, that was new information to all of them.

Ravio leaves to get the Garvraft ready. Ryan sets up his and Yedlarmi joins him, working out he has a rudimentary forcefield

"All this tech is new, usually we're just running into trouble with little to no preparation." Clara mused, shooting the Doctor curious looks.

"We had the warning so I thought we'd try and be prepared for once." The Doctor tried to explain, before frowning slightly, it really hadn't gone to plan in anyway.

Yedlarmi's little brother Fuskle joins them, and he uses the device to reassure his brother things will be okay

"He's looking after his brother at least." Mickey acknowledged, gaining a few nods in agreement. The room was worried about what would happen to these humans they were meeting, trouble was coming.

The Doctor scans again as Feekat asks what she's doing. 13 is trying to work out here they're coming from but the Cybermen are sending a jamming signal to confuse them. The survivors only have two guns and one is broken

"It's not like you'd use the guns anyway Doctor." Amy berated. Sometimes the Doctor could be a tad (very) insensitive.

Feekat explains they're not soldiers, just refugees. The Doctor cares and tells them to get safe inside. It's activation time

"So, you have seven scared humans, a broken ship and some tech that might not even work against the Cybermen. The situation doesn't look great." Martha clarified, looking resigned to the bad odds.

"Don't forget the Tardis is half a mile away so they can't escape that way." Mickey added.

"Oh great. Thanks for the reminder." Mickey squeezed his wife's hand in comfort as she looked more stressed about the trouble the people on screen were obviously in.

They hold their ground as the devices power up and Cyberdrones start flying. The drones target the devices, they get down just in time but the gizmos are gone

"Well, that's just brilliant." Donna said, sarcasm soaking her voice. The little defences they had were completely destroyed already and the drones were firing down upon them.

Fuskle runs and Ydlarmi chases as the Doctor shouts at them to not run. Another survivor, Buskle encourages Fuskle to a building before she and another woman runs. Everyone who ran gets killed, as they hold Ydlerami back

The room looked down, giving the group a moment of silence. The companions couldn't get it out of their head that that was almost half the group of surviving humans dead in one go. And the fact that one of the last humans had just watched his brother killed.

The drones fly off as the survivors come out. The Doctor tells them to get to their ship, but they're sick of fighting. The Doctor tells them it will be a massare and she will buy them some time to escape

"And how exactly are you going to do that Doctor?" Jack asked accusingly, arms crossed and worry clear on his face. He could tell they were very close to the truth about this secret and he really wasn't liking how much trouble they were all in. The only reassurance was the fact they were all here in the room safe.

Feekat conceded, ordering the others to the ship or to get supplies. The fam lay out the situation as the Doctor gets frustrated before snapping at them in her worry

DOCTOR: I know! Listen to me. Do not argue. Go with the humans. Help them. Get them out of here. You won't make it back to the Tardis alive. Make sure you're with them.

The trio turned to stare the Doctor down, they hadn't liked the decisions then and they didn't like it now knowing the consequences. The rest of the room was also staring the Doctor down.

"Do you really expect them to just leave you behind? I don't think any of us would do it, we're your family." Rose asked the Doctor, an edge of desperation to her voice.

The Doctor shifted uncomfortable in her seat. "I put you in so much trouble and I need to keep you as safe as I can." She argued, determined to get her point across.

"We agreed to come, Doc. You made sure we knew how dangerous it would be before we left, we made our decision and you need to respect that." Graham announced decidedly, then offered a small smile. "Besides your our only ride home." The Doctor was still frowning but nodded at the trio, worry clear in her eyes as she turned back to the screen.

They argue asking how she'll hold them off but she says its not a discussion

"So, you have no idea and you're just being recklessly stupid then." River glared, worried about her wife, frustrated with all the secrets and angry with the universe as a whole.

"River -." The Doctor tried to start, cautiously.

"No. Don't. You can't expect us to just leave you in danger while we run. We chose to come with you but you can't just order us around or make us abandon you in danger." River argued, frustration and nerve clear in her colder-than-normal tone.

"I put you in these dangerous situations, I'm responsible for you." The Doctor argued back. She took a deep breath to calm herself before continuing, her voice breaking slightly. "I can't lose you; I can't lose anyone else."

That seemed to take the wind out of her sails and River's expression visibly softened. "I know sweetie, but we don't want to lose you either." The Doctor swallowed at that but nodded her concession for the moment, she wasn't giving up on the argument she just didn't ant to continue it now.

They refuse to leave her. 13 decides they are and is frustrated with herself with how reckless she has been with them. They're confused about her attitdue. The Doctor says they're human and if captured will be converted. She orders them to get safe saying she'll find them

Bill flinched visibly on her beanbag, drawing looks from most of the room. The majority of companions looked at her confused for several seconds before remembering what she'd mentioned earlier about being converted into a Cyberman.

The trio of current companions shared a look, that whole interaction had a whole new layer of meaning now that they knew about Bill. Her loss was still too fresh in the Doctor's mind, no wonder she'd been so terrified about them getting hurt. At the time they'd been so taken a back by the Doctor's shift in attitude and angry with her decision that they hadn't noticed how terrified the alien was but it was all too clear watching it now; she was terrified about losing them.

"Doctor-." Yaz started, unsure what to actually say but knowing she had to say something but she was interrupted before she could decide.

"No." Bill had squared her shoulders and was glaring the Doctor down. "What happened to me wasn't your fault. No don't interrupt just listen for once." The Doctor who had opened her mouth to argue, closed it again and nodded slowly, watching the young girl carefully. "What happened to me was horrible but I am okay, I am safe and happy with Heather now. But you don't get to use what happened to me to be mean to your friends. You don't get to use what happened to me to scare them off, or use it as an excuse to throw yourself into danger alone. Yes, it should make you more careful and yes it should mean you give them a fair warning. But ultimately? Ultimately, it's their choice and you don't get to make it for them. Understand?" Bill maintained eye contact with the Doctor awaiting a response.

"Bill, I-."

"Understand?"

"Yes." The Doctor sighed, squeezing her eyes tightly shut for a moment before meeting Bill's eyes again. "I'm sorry. Are you going to be okay?"

"I'm okay you stupid old man, I promise." Bill offered a small smile and that was all the Doctor needed to know she'd be alright, nodding and offering her own small smile. Then she glanced up to her current trio of companions who'd been watching the conversation with conflicting emotions.

"I'm sorry you three, I just wanted you to be safe." The Doctor offered the group.

"We know but we're a family Doctor. We chose to be there and we want you to stay safe as well. It's a two-way street. But thank you for the apology." Yaz spoke for the group. The matter was settled for the moment and the video was allowed to continue.

Ashad appears, the Doctor says she'll stop him, just her and him. More cybermen appear detecting lifeforms, proving her wrong

"It never is." Rory sighed; the rest of the room nodded in commiseration. None of them were liking the danger the group was all in.

Bill was focused on something else though. "He's not fully converted." She muttered shocked. The Doctor glanced at her, realising where her train of thought was going.

"I'm sorry Bill, I know what he looks like but he is fully converted, there's no hope for him." The Doctor tried to explain, she didn't know how to tell her the rest – that'd he'd chosen this, they'd just have to watch.

The Cybermen want to delete the humans, 13 comes up with a new plan to protect them - act as bait, she runs

"I'm not sure if I should be glad or not to see your plans haven't evolved since we saw you last." Amy debated; it drew some chuckles out of the group but the atmosphere was still tense.

Graham is running as Ashad and the Cybermen spot them. Ryan gets cut off from Graham and Yaz but tells them to keep running

The rest of the companions turned worriedly towards the trio as if checking they were actually there and safe. The current companions shared a glance, happy to see the others cared but nervous about what they were going to see on screen. Graham and Yaz nudged Ryan, who was stuck between the two, as if to remind themselves he was safe – they'd all been scared when they had ended up separated.

They keep running and make it to the Gravraft, they're not ready and are missing Feekat and Ethan but they are out of time. They realise Ryan isn't with them either. But its' too late and they're being shot at. They get inside the ship even as Graham fights to find Ryan

"Glad to see your worried Grandad." Ryan joked, nudging Graham.

"Course I am, Ryan. I'm just glad you found the Doctor again." Graham said, ignoring the joking tone of Ryan's initial comment. He'd been too worried at the time to really appreciate it.

They take off, Bescot protests because their equipment didn't work and their friends are dead

"Hey! It's not their fault the tech didn't work. At least they tried something." Martha protested, arguing with the people on screen.

"Martha, love. They can't hear you." Mickey squeezed his wife's hand in comfort. Martha just shot him a look that made him raise his hands in mock surrender.

They fight over leaving without the others, but decide if they aren't here then they are already dead. Yaz and Graham argue they need to be let out to find Ryan and the Doctor but its too late - they take off

"Just great, you've been separated with no way of contacting each other and half of you are still in danger. Just brilliant." Donna announced shaking her head. That was just typical wasn't it?

13 watches the Gravraft shakily take off. Ryan finds her and they take cover as they are shot at

"At least the two of you are together." Clara said, trying to find the silver lining in the massive dark cloud of trouble they were in.

13 has a cyclindrical hand grenade thing which she sonics and Ashad prowls the building. Ethan and Feekat watch from elsewhere, Ethan comes out of hiding to surrender, pretending it is just him

"Very brave." Jack shook his head, concern for the group causing his brow to crinkle. "Brave but stupid. He'll be able to tell he's lying." He glanced at the Doctor as if hoping to hear that he was wrong but the Doctor refused to meet his eyes, focussing on the screen.

Ashad commends him on bravery but calls him a liar before shooting at Feekat's hiding place making him fall out

The room looked down again, another person dead with someone else in danger. Things weren't looking great.

Ashad debates leaving them alive for now to share the message that all of humanity is falling as the Cybermen rise. 13 disagrees, throwing her grenade and shouting at the group to run

The room let out a collective breath, glad to see the Doctor save Ethan. The group was still in some danger but they hadn't had to watch more people killed on screen and they were out of immediate danger for the second. Yaz and Graham were watching the screen eager to know what had happened when they hadn't been there – they'd shared stories but it was something else to see it.

Ryan wants to find Graham and Yaz but Ethan saw them leave on the Gravraft. 13 tells Ryan to concentrate, they can't make it to the Tardis so they have very limited escape options. She asks how fast they're feeling

"And as usual it's time to run." Amy grinned. "If there's one good thing about adventures across time and space with you Doctor, it's the fitness routine."

"One good thing?! Not seeing time and space? The running. Typical." The Doctor complained, while the rest fo the companions laughed.

Ryan works out the plan is to steal the Cybermen's ship

"Ooh, I like that plan Doctor." Jack grinned, nudging the Doctor slightly trying to get a response.

She rolled her eyes but grinned back, only a little bit shakily. "I figured I'd take a leaf out of your book for once."

River laughed. "Please, I think you've been stealing ships since before any of us were born."

The Doctor made a face of mock offense. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

River and Jack shared a glance, mischief clear on their faces before answering in sync. "The Tardis."

The Doctor grinned a bit more sheepishly at that and the rest of the room chuckled at the interaction, glad to see the group smiling.

13 hot wires the Cyberfighter, commenting about how she used to hot wire warp drives for sun on a weekend as a teenager, or the equivalent at least as they didn't have weekends or teenagers. Apparently it used to make people mad but she declares herself the real winner now

The room chuckled at how excited the Doctor was messing with the Cybership and not uncurious about the mention of her childhood that was so rare.

The Master raised his eyebrow at the Doctor from where he'd been sitting quietly in the corner, carefully watching the video waiting for what he knew was coming, eager to see the Doctor's companions' reactions to the truth. Her mention of childhood memories brought him out of his own thoughts and back to the present. "Everyone was always mad at you anyway; you were always finding trouble."

The Doctor met his eyes for the first time in a while, for once having a non-literal mental conversation. "You say that like you weren't next to me helping me find or make trouble." She argued, stuck somewhere between reminiscing and defensive – they both knew what was coming and neither were quite sure they were ready.

Ethan helps as the engines come on. 13 declares it is going to make Ashad cross and to hold on

"Like you actually care about making him cross. You're probably hoping for it." Rose said, the Doctor just shrugged grinning slightly.

The Cybermen watch their ship get stolen.

Back in Ireland, Brendan is a young adult getting ready for a job interview

"And we're back to Ireland." Bill sighed, the room was a bit on edge with worry over the group being split up and in danger with the Cybermen and now they were back seeing Ireland with no idea why it was relevant.

He has an interview with the Garda, he's asked why he wants to be a guard and Patrick answers for him - that he wants to serve

That caused the Doctor to flinch. She still wasn't quite sure how the memories lined up, so many were still missing (more were missing than she had probably), but she knew at one point she had worked for the mysterious 'Division' and she still had no idea what they did.

The seargenat tells Patrick to let Brendan answer for himself, Brendan declares he wants to make a difference. The sergeant is the same one from the day Brendan was found

"Is it just me or have they not really aged much. Brendan's the only one that seems to be older." Clara pointed out; eyes wide as she watched the screen.

"Maybe its just because Brendan was a kid, makes the ageing more obvious?" Martha offered an explanation with a shrug; she hadn't really noticed it.

"No, I think Clara's right. Okay so something weird is going on in Ireland too. Great." Amy agreed.

Back in the future on the Gravraft. Yaz and Graham talk about where they are and what they're doing. They need to find the Doctor and Ryan and decide that between the two of them they'll work it out

"Good on you two. Stay strong and together." The Doctor nodded at the pair who grinned back, she wasn't trying to be condescending and they knew it.

Yedlarmi and Ravio argue about the controls, Ravio is pushing it too hard but the life support is low. Thye're not sure they're going to make it

"So, they seem to have a destination in mind which is good but it'd be nice not to crash for once." Martha said, looking to Yaz and Graham who shrugged but didn't answer her silent question. They couldn't say things hadn't ended in explosions.

Yaz asks where they are going and the refuges answer to Ko Sharmus at the boundary - the only known point of safety supposedly. The boundary is apparently a gateway between this galaxy and the next - it will spit them out randomly in another part of the universe so the Cybermen can't follow

"How does that work?!" Jack asked, forehead scrunched up as he mentally went through his knowledge of future tech to try and figure out how this gateway could exist. River seemed to be doing the same thing on her other side. The Doctor was stuck between the two trying her best not to look at the Master who was giving across the impression of smugness though their link.

Alarms start sounding. Things are going wrong on the ship, Ravio claims it is all fine

"That's not fine." Donna decided, her voice showing no room for negotiation, not that anyone in the room was likely to argue.

They admit it's not fine

"At least she admits it." Mickey shrugged, with a small worried smile.

The whole system is melting down and Bescot says to get down, then there is an explosion

The group whipped around to check on the pair that had been in the ship who were offering small reassuring smiles that they had survived. The Doctor watched the pair for several minutes, she didn't know what had happened to them when they were separated, they hadn't had time to share stories and the adventure hadn't ended well.

In the cyberfighter at warp speed, Ryan is feeling sick. 13 offers a ginger humbug that she had in her pocket to help

"And why do you have ginger sweets in your pockets?!" River thundered, turning her whole body towards the Doctor next to her who shrunk slightly in her seat. It didn't help she could feel Jack's confused/angry glare from the other side of her and the Master's messy bundle of emotions across the room.

The rest of the room turned to the pair, a mix bag of confusion and worry. Most of them hadn't heard that tone from River and were confused over her anger about the sweets.

"River! Why are you shouting at her for having sweets? You know what she's like she usually has sweets in her pockets." Amy was the only one brave enough to ask her daughter the thought on most of their minds.

"Because, mother, they're ginger sweets." River gritted out, not taking her eyes off the Doctor. When silence met her announcement, she continued her explanation. "As I'm sure you'll remember the Doctor mentioned earlier that ginger was different for Time Lords. Ginger acts like alcohol for them. So, I would like an explanation for why you have something you know will get you 'drunk' so to say, on adventures when you need your full concentration?" The last part was directed towards a rather expressionless Doctor.

The Doctor couldn't hide her wince at the explosion of noise that met River's answers. They all wanted to know why and when and how and so many questions she didn't want to answer, but she'd promised to try and River wasn't going to let her get away with it.

She took a deep breath to steady herself, glancing up at her current companions first, they were the only ones that really deserved the answer – it was them that she could have put in danger with her stupid choices. "I just needed a break from everything sometimes. I didn't ever have any when we were in actual trouble but sometimes when you were all at home or asleep, I'd just have some time to myself and I couldn't help it. It helped me deal with the memories and Galif-... I'm sorry, I know it was dangerous but I never did it when I was with you, I swear." Her pleading answer was aimed to the trio watching her with eager eyes, apprehension clear on their faces.

"God Doc. It's not that we're worried about. Well, a little bit. But the fact that you were essentially drinking away your worries and memories is." Graham choked out, looking a bit pale with the revelation.

"I'm sorry." She answered for lack of anything else to say. She let out a small squeak when River grabbed her, she'd been so focused on her fam she'd been ignoring her wife. River pulled her against her side, so that she was tucked into her side and curled an arm around the Doctor, trapping her in a sort of hug. "River!"

"You shouldn't have those sweets but I can't and don't want to control you. Just let me hold you. I think we both need the comfort." River explained, holding her wife close to her. She felt the moment the Doctor agreed, as she practically sunk into her side, energy leaving her.

Ethan has programmed in the boundary as well, knowing that's where the others will be heading. At warp drive they should get there before them, he's been scanning for them but can't find them

"You're heading to the same place, that's good." Bill muttered; the room was still a bit too tense to really appreciate it though.

Ethan shares that his dad taught him how to hijack cyberships and destroy them when he was four. He was born in wartime - the cybermen determined to destroy the last of humanity

If the mood in the room wasn't already tense it would have been now. They'd gotten so focussed on the Doctor they'd forgotten the horrible fact of humanity almost being wiped out in a war against the Cybermen.

A hologram appears - Ashad. He says they know where they are and are going to find them. 13 isn't worried, she asks if he's consulted the Cyberium about her. She's stopped them before and will do it again

"Cyberium?" Clara asked, raising an eye at the Doctor in a way reminiscent of her school teacher days.

"It's what Ashad wanted when we found us in 1816. What Jack warned us not to let the Lone Cyberman get. He got it. It being a kind of AI with all the knowledge of the Cybermen, it's incredibly dangerous in his hands, well his mind." The Doctor explained, frown fixed on her face.

Ashad claims the Cyberium does know her but 13 and humanity will be destroyed. Ashad claims to have been a willing recruit to the Cyber Empire, he was first denied but understands now he chosen to revive the Cyber race

"He chose to be converted?!" Rose and Bill exclaimed at the same time; expressions clearly horrified. The Doctor grimaced but nodded.

"There's something wrong with him even before becoming a Cyberman then." Bill continued, mixed between disbelief and horror. That wiped away any worries she had about a partial conversion.

13 tell shim there's not glory in any of this and argues the anger that drives him is a human emotion, that real Cybermen have no emotions. Ashad just accepts it to her surprise

"Seriously Doctor?" She just shrugged; she really hadn't expected him to admit she was correct.

Ashad claims the Cyberium gave him understanding, everything is n him for the ascension of the Cybermen and beyond. 13 ask about the beyond, and Ashad tells her the death of everything is within him

"And that is a truly worrying statement." Amy announced with a grimace. The 'death of everything' was never a good thing. She didn't miss the glance the current companions and the Doctor shared which only increased her worry. Nothing good was coming.

In Ireland with another time jump, Brendan is chasing a thief next to a cliff. He demands the thief return the bag he stole

"Ireland again! And another time jump." Bill declared, slightly redundantly at this point but she'd started and was going to continue announcing the jump between stories.

The thief just pulls out a revolver

"That took a turn suddenly." Yaz blinked, chewing her lip slightly in worry. She had the advantage of knowing most of what happened with the Cybermen at least but she had no clue about Ireland and that made her more nervous. She also couldn't help with emphasise with young Brendan - she knew the dangers of work as a policewoman.

Brendan argues he doesn't need to do that, Michael (the thief) orders him to move. They change places so Brendan is on the cliff edge, he tells Michael he knows he doesn't want to use the gun. Michael shoots and Brendan fall backwards off the cliff, landing with a thud. The Sergeant runs along the beach

The room watched the screen a mixture of shock and horror clear on their faces. They really hadn't been expecting that turn of events. The Doctor risked a glance at the Master who met her eyes but kept his expression and emotions guarded – they both knew exactly what had happened. They were getting tantalisingly close to the truth and the Doctor wasn't sure how she could deal with the emotional mess that was inevitable. She was already wishing she still had those ginger sweets even if no one would approve.

Brendan sits up with a gasp, claiming he's fine. He asks which way the thief went before getting up and running off

"The hell?" Bill let out then blushed a bit at the volume she'd shouted it. The sentiment seemed to echo through the room though, all shocked by what they'd just seen.

"But he was dead! He was shot and even if he survived that, he fell off a cliff! How?!" Rose asked the room at large despite none of them having answers outside the Doctor and Master.

The Doctor just sighed, which she thought to herself she seemed to be doing a lot lately, but gave a vague answer to try and appease the room at least for now. "I promise it will be explained soon, just watch please." She was so distracted by the rest of the room she missed the looks River and Jack exchanged over her head, they both had a theory forming and they weren't liking it at all.

Later Brendan is checked over by a doctor, he claims ot have been lucky but Patrick and the sergeant share a look

"They know something. They absolutely know something." Bill pointed out, everything was making less and less sense.

Later, Meg reads the newspaper with the article - miracle fall officer receives commendation

Back in the future on the Gravraft, the group are alive

"Back to trouble in space then. Glad you're still alive." Mickey offered the current companions a smile. The whole room was glad to see them well on screen even though they knew they had survived as they were in the room with them.

Ydelarmi says to give it time

"Well, he's a bundle of fun." Nardole muttered.

They all fail at end-of-life speeches as Yaz tried to work out what they can do. Everything is shut down as they need to convert the little power they have left. There is a thud on the hull

"That doesn't sound good." Rory sighed, closing his eyes tightly for a second as if would make the danger disappear.

They don't know what it was, they think they are in the middle of space and Ydlerami continues to be a pocket full of sunshine leading to Graham calling him Eyeore

That comment earned a few chuckles from the room, glad for the break from the tense atmosphere that kept creeping in to suffocate them.

They decide they're not going down without a fight. Yaz decides to take a look out, she finds bits of dead Cybermen floating in space

"That's not good. Let's hope they really are dead." Clara declared, shooting the pair a nervous look every so often.

Ravio decides it must be one of the last battel sites, Graham wants reassurance they're dead as the ship turns

"A ship. That's good right?" Rose asked hopefully. The look that Graham and Yaz shared didn't reassure her.

Yaz can also see dormant ships and lets Graham have a look. Graham spots a close ship with a docking bay. They decide to channel the last of the remaining energy off the systems to try and make it

"Look at you two with the brilliant ideas! Ten points." The Doctor grinned proud of the pair while the three current companions bemoaned the reappearance of the point system.

Venting the air pressure could spin them enough but it also might kill them. They decide to do it as they are dead if they don't try. Yedlarmi thinks they've gone mad. Yaz argues saying they're not mad, just hopeful

"Half the time I think they're the same thing." Donna grumbled. The Doctor grinned madly, that explained a lot about her then.

Graham tells them to not panic and not take any deep breath as they won't come, Yaz shares they've been stranded in space before

The trio and the Doctor shared a look remembering their first proper adventure as a group when they'd ended up stuck in space while trying to find the Tardis. It seemed like so long ago now. They'd come so far and seen so many things since then.

They go ahead with the plan and the Gravcraft tumbles towards the Cybercruiser, slotting into the coking bay. They succeeded

A cheer broke out across the room, happy for some good news at last.

They enter the ginormous ship, triggering automatic sensors which set everything going again as they came in. They decide to have a look around. A cyberfighter drops out of warp nearby

"Out of trouble in one way and straight into trouble in another way." Martha shook her head. "Typical."

With the Cybermen - they track the humans to the carrier ship

The room glanced at the pair worried, they were practically trapped on the giant ship with Cybermen coming after them, things weren't looking good and they still didn't know where Ryan and the Doctor were.

On a new planet, the Doctor hails Ko Sharmus from the Cyberfighter. An older man comes out of a tent and reponds to the hail

"At least you two have found the right place. Graham and Yaz just need to find a way there to meet you." Rory said, glancing between the trio and the Doctor.

The group on the Cyberfighter celebrate that they made it, 13 introduces herself and the old man introduces himself as Ko Sharmus. 13 is a bit shocked as she thought Ko Sharmus was a planet not a person

The room turned to look at the Doctor. "Did you really think Ko Sharmus was a planet?" Amy asked, disbelief clear in her voice as was a tone of fondness.

The Doctor shrugged. "You never know, wouldn't be the first time I met a sentient planet." That drew her some more looks but she didn't offer any more information and the video continued playing.

Ko Sharmus asks what they want, Ethan tells him they're human and came to cross the boundary. Ko Sharmus says no

"What do you mean 'no'?" Donna protested for the sake of the people on screen, the rest of the room seemed equally annoyed and disbelieving.

13 aka what he means, Ko Sharmus argues there are no more humans

"Well, he's in for a shock." Rose grinned.

13 declares he's wrong, they've stolen a Cybership but aren't Cybermen and are friendly with more to come. She hangs up to land the ship

"I don't think you're capable of flying anything properly, Doc." Graham teased, happy to see the pair semi-safe. The Doctor just pouted while the others laughed.

Ko Sharmus watches them land.

Back on the Cybercarrier, they are exploring. Graham is cheerful because they are alive, Yaz is laughing at him, exclaiming he's come a long way

The pair shared a grin, they really had come a long way since meeting the Doctor. Watching the videos just made the difference all the clearer. To think that he'd wanted to run away the first time he had heard the word 'aliens' and now he was coming up with plans to save the last of humanity in the middle of space in the far future.

Ydlerami leads the way to Cybercontrol as he has raided a carrier before. They find out the ship is a War carrier and ask the question what was it carrying

"Why is there always bad news with the good news?" Mickey complained.

Jack however seemed to have suddenly had an idea. "If it's a carrier and you being there is waking up all the systems then -." He trailed off, worry clear in his face. The grim expressions on Yaz and Graham's faces told him everything he needed to know. His words had clearly got the rest of the room thinking as they looked even more worried than they were before.

They reach Cyber control and find systems still intact. They can use it to reach Ko Sharmus and maybe even cross the boundary. Graham jokingly warns Ydlerami to be careful as he almost sounds positive

"Really Grandad?" Ryan shook his head at Graham's antics.

"What?" Graham protested confused.

Ravio and Graham split up from the rest to look around. Graham jokes he was born careful when Yaz tells him to be, then Yaz agrees with his answer

Graham shot Yaz a look while both her and Ryan started chuckling. The rest of the room started as well after a few minutes, glad to see the group in a good enough mood to make jokes despite the clear danger.

Yderami reboots the ship one section at a time. Graham and Ravio are on level 139 as the ship staggers, they think the others got them moving

"That or you're being boarded. Personally, I'm voting for your idea." Jack said, glancing at Yaz and Graham who didn't answer either way.

They talk about the future with some awkward flirting as they explore. Graham uses some cockney rhyming slang and Ravio calms him strange, which Graham argues with but Ravio likes strange

"Are you flirting? Ew, Graham." Ryan complained, looking a bit ill at seeing Graham flirting with someone. Yaz just started laughing at his expression and Graham's confuddled one.

The lights don't come on and the doors close behind them. Graham kicks a pod and it powers up. Ravio puts a blue disc on the pod and it reveals its contents - they're on a troop carrier. They're surrounded by Fresh Cybermen, warrior class, ready to fight

"Oh no."

"That's an understatement."

The lights come on revealing tons of pods as they work out they're surrounded by thousands of Cybermen on each floor, and there are several hundred floors. And they're in the middle of stealing the ship

"Because things couldn't get much worse." Clara sighed. The companions' faces showed their concern for the pair. They had nowhere to hide from the Cybermen waking up on the ship and they had other Cybermen already hunting them. Five humans against thousands (if not more) Cybermen really weren't good odds. Things really weren't looking great.

Back in the docking bay, Ashad and the other two Cybermen arrive.

On planet at the boundary, 13 greets Ko Sharmus, trying to work out what time of day it is

"Priorities Doctor!" Donna berated. The Doctor offered a sheepish grin but underneath the paper-thin grin she was worried about Yaz and Graham. She knew they were safe, she knew they came out unharmed but it was different to see everything, to see all the danger they were in, the danger she had put them in.

Ko Sharmus is in disbelief over there being three of them, just when he was losing hope. 13 introudes them then asks about the defences

"Technically it's only two humans with another five on the way hopefully but I don't think its time to get into all that." River said, squeezing the Doctor's arm. She still held the Doctor trapped against her, not that she minded that much – she was happy to be back in her wife's arms but she was slightly (extremely) concerned about escape routes for when everything was revealed.

In Ko Sharmus' hut, he reveal she fought in the war before bing captured and put in a human interment camp for processing. He luckily managed to escape with some others and managed to find the boundary, they built a shelter as the word spread and others came

"But where is everyone else?" Martha asked, inspecting the screen as if waiting of other humans to appear. Ko Sharmus' attitude and response to seeing them wasn't particularly promising.

It's only him left though as the others all went through. Ko Sharmus decided to stay in case others came. Ethan asks if the boundary is real, Ko Sharmus declares it is and offers to show them

"Yes, please do. I want to see this magical boundary." Jack said mostly to himself. Leaning forward in his seat with a glance at the Doctor and River (who seemed to share the same sentiment), eager to see this so called 'boundary'.

On the Cybercarrier at Cybercontrol an alarms sound letting them know they've been boarded

"Good, you know you're in trouble. Now you have a chance to hide or escape." Rose nodded. Half the time it seemed they had no warning and danger appeared before they could plan anything. Yaz and Graham at least had a chance to do something before they were completely trapped.

Yedlarmi opens the comms channel warning Ravio and Graham about being boarded. They don't reply the first but do the second

"Sorry Graham." Yaz offered Graham a small smile, she'd been worried when they hadn't answered the first time. Ryan was looking between the pair nervous; they really hadn't gotten into detail on how close they'd been.

Ashad and escort enter the Warrior storage area, claiming ascension is near

"Really not good."

At Cybercontrol they argue about what to do as they can't take this many dormant Cybermen to the border but they don't have another ship. Graham and Yaz are determined to not give up while the others despair

Graham and Yaz shared a glance, they didn't know what else to have done at the time and thankfully they seemed to have made the right choice. The rest of the room were watching the screen, concern obvious on their faces which was nice to see. Ryan was glancing between the two worried, it was different seeing the danger on screen, when it was actually happening - they didn't normally have much time to react to anything.

The Doctor grinned proud to see how much they'd all changed since she'd first met them, they'd grown in confidence and here they were helping others and surviving against all odds.

They spy on Ashad to learn he's opening pods

"Great just great." Nardole grumbled.

Ashad and his escort fire lasers at the Cybermen in the pods making the Cybermen scream

"That is terrifying. What are they doing?!" Bill frowned at the screen; she really didn't like the Cybermen but whatever could make them scream like that was not good.

At the boundary, the four are staring at the sea. Ko Sharmus explains this is where it starts and he's seen people go through and hopes they're alive somewhere safe. 13 mentions its a big risk, a leap into the unknown everyone has been taking - Ko Sharmus says it better than the alternative. He says to step closer as it responds to proximity

"So, he has no actual clue what it is or how it works, great." Amy rolled her eyes. "But you're going to go poke it anyway because that's just what you do." The Doctor just offered a shaky smile and shrug, they were getting so close to the truth and it was slowly eating away at her.

The Doctor walks forward and a purple vortex appears, Ko Sharmus admits to having no clue what it is but it gets them out of there

"I think I'd want to understand what the glow-y thing was and If I would survive it before I ran through it." Rory argued, gaining a few nods of agreement and a few sheepish looks from those who would have absolutely just gone through said glow-y thing.

In Ireland, Brendan is old and retiring from the Garda at a little ceremony and is presented with a gift - a clock.

"Ireland again. You're definitely right Clara, Brendan's the only one ageing." Bill announced, watching the screen carefully.

"Something weird is going on there." Graham agreed.

"What gave it away Grandad, Brendan not dying after being shot or falling off a cliff?" Ryan snorted; sarcasm clear in his voice but also the undertone of concern. No one knew what was going on in Ireland but, just as with the Cybermen, it was nothing good.

Outside the Garda office, old Brendan meets his father and the sergeant who haven't aged. They take him to a back office and handcuff Brendan to a chair, putting headphones on him and the clock on the table

"What are they doing?!" Rose asked apprehensive. It seemed clear to the room that whatever was going on – the Sergeant and Patrick knew, Brendan was at the centre of it all and it wasn't anything good.

PATRICK: We have to get rid of everything, I'm afraid.
SERGEANT: Thank you for your service. We're sorry you won't remember it.
(The Sergeant turns on the machine and Brendan writhes and screams.)

Martha gasped, hand racing up to her mouth as she connected some strings. River and Jack also seemed to have finally figured something out glancing worriedly at the Doctor who hid her face in River's side. The clock had definitely helped connect a few ideas, whatever was going on with Brendan it was directly linked to Gallifrey and this secret, their theories were worrying them and they just wanted confirmation they were wrong at this point.

The rest of the room was oblivious to this exchange, simply watching the screen in horror. The Master schooled his face deceptively blank – he didn't want the Doctor to know how he had reacted the first time he had seen the truth and that was all he could think about watching the screen, knowing who it was in that chair screaming.

On the Cybercarrier, they've made it to the Boundary or close enough to send a signal to warn the others. The pods start opening as the warriors step out, and Ashad tells them they're coming for them

The room watched the screen but were still too shocked to actually say anything. The danger was obvious but they were here safe and everyone's emotions were all over the place to really register much for the moment. Brendan's screams still haunted them.

Yaz sends a signal to the Doctor on all frequencies, the Doctor responds, and Yaz warns them they're on a Cyber battel cruiser with Ashad and a lot of troops waking up

"Good you've got contact." Mickey nodded, squeezing his wife's hand. He was worried about how she'd reacted to Breandan and he hadn't missed how she kept glancing between the screen and the Doctor, worry clear across her face – she'd worked something out that he was missing.

Graham warns the group the soldiers are coming as he closes he bulkhead door

"That won't hold them for long." Jack muttered worried.

"It's better than nothing." Graham argued back, not really that bothered by the comment he knew Jack was just worried. They all were.

13 tells them to get off the ship, but they're trapped and the soldiers about to break in. 13 shouts for Yaz but something happened at the boundary

"Bad timing." Rory muttered, watching the screen anxiously, everything seemed to suddenly be happening at once.

The Doctor is in shock while the others are confused, Ko Sharmus has never seen that before. Through the boundary is Gallifrey

"How? Why? That's honestly one of the worst things that could happen right now." Clara said, shooting the Doctor worried looks. She really didn't need the reminder of what had happened with her home when her friends were in such serious danger. The rest of the room seemed mixed between shocked at the appearance of Gallifrey and worried for how the Doctor would handle it and scared for the danger they were all in.

Yaz and Graham shared a glance that definitely explained a few things, they hadn't gotten much of an explanation regarding the planet and boundary the first time. Then they glanced at Ryan and all three seemed to have the same thought – they would finally find out what had happened through the boundary and hopefully what had happened to the Doctor that led to them all being brought here.

The Doctor just glared at the screen, ignoring the Master pushing at their bond and River squeezing her arm in an attempt of comfort. Things weren't ending they were only just starting.

(The Cybermen push the door open.)
DOCTOR: How is Gallifrey here?
(Then a figure jumps in.)
MASTER: Wow! Oh! Ah! That's a good entrance, right? Be afraid, Doctor. Because everything is about to change... forever.

"I was wrong." Clara declared in the ensuing silence that suffocated the room. "He's officially the worst thing that could happen right now." She glared at the Master who preened in his seat, smugness radiating off him – oh, he was so excited to see their reactions and the Doctor dealing with those reactions. He wanted to see their interaction again, he wanted her attention all for himself.

The Doctor just managed to grab Jack's arm before he lunged to his feet to try and punch the Master. She glared him down when he whirled around to try and escape her grasp. He must have found something in her expression as he reluctantly settled back down on the sofa, poised on the edge ready for action. Instead, he glared at the Master who smirked back seemingly unaffected. "What have you done? Because destroying Gallifrey wasn't enough. What have you done to her?" He practically spat out, the Doctor kept a light grip on his arm to prevent him changing his mind and taking a leap at the Master. She was just glad that River had her other hand otherwise she thought River might have also had a go at the Master.

"Do. What did I do to her? For once you'll be glad to know I did nothing Freak. Gallifrey did everything I simply showed her the truth." The Master practically purred, his eyes focussed on the Doctor rather than Jack, he wasn't sure what he wanted to see in her expression but he didn't get it, the Doctor was too busy looking round the room to focus on him. That thought turned sour in the pit of his stomach – of course even now he still didn't have her attention.

"What does that even mean?" River argued reaching the limits with her frustration, glaring fiercely at the Master, annoyed that his focus was till on the Doctor and no one else.

The Master laughed, a laugh edging on hysteria and madness. "Yes Doctor. Why don't you tell your little pets what they did to you? Why don't you tell them the truth about the Timeless Child?" That got her attention. The Doctor met his eyes, hazel eyes meeting hazel eyes both a swirl of madness, grief, fury and indescribable sadness. She couldn't even begin to untangle the mess of emotions that she was getting through their bond, maybe he had been more affected by what he had learnt than she first thought.

"-tor... Doctor?!" The Doctor's attention snapped away from the Master and back to Jack who had clearly been calling her name for a while based on how worried he looked.

"Sorry. What is it Jack?" She mumbled out, thoughts still focused on the Master and Timeless Child.

That did nothing to alleviate Jack's worry. "What did he mean Doctor? We've all had enough of the secrets. Please." He was practically begging at the end which was unusual for him. She spared a glance around the room taking in all the anxious, concerned and frustrated looks. Martha in particular looked like she was holding back tears – had she figured something out? If any of her companions, outside of Jack and River, were likely to piece it together it would be her or Clara. Martha had seen the Chameleon Arch after all and what had happened in the Ireland part with Brendan was probably close enough to worry her.

She forced her focus away from that mystery and back to Jack who looked like he was about to start calling her name again. She took a deep breath to try and calm the jittery feeling slowly taking her over, it didn't work but she pushed forward anyway, they were waiting on answers. Answers she wasn't prepared to give. She glanced between Jack and River before leaving her eyes on the blank screen. "You're about to find out. Let's continue."