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The one thing Danni could always do is sleep; no matter how devastated she was, if she was comfy she could and would fall asleep. So, when she had woken up the next day - or what she thought was the next day as it proved to be very hard to follow time in a time-travelling blue box - she had been rather well-rested. She'd dreamt about green men and pain, which wasn't great because she normally had good dreams. She was starting to regret going with Amy down into the soil.
She headed out into the TARDIS hallway and wandered through the labyrinth it presented. She smiled slightly to herself, it was if the box knew she didn't want to see anyone or think about anything. And, knowing the TARDIS, it probably did. She appreciated it greatly. She really didn't want to see anyone, or think much about anything. How was she even supposed to start processing being trapped in another universe? She'd not prepared for that at university. All she'd been shown was how to make proper references at the end of her essays and the best way to stay up for 36 hours powered by caffeine alone.
She peeked into the doors on her way around, finding the library and what appeared to be a home theatre. Again, both very good additions to home she was now trapped in. She had always wondered what the TARDIS had stored within her walls. She held onto the thought that she could now explore until she couldn't walk any further.
Or she was shot off by the manipulator strapped to her wrist.
What were her parents doing? Were they rushing around on Christmas Day, searching for their daughter? Was her mum begging people to listen to her? Was her dad going out of his mind with worry?
She opened one particular door and found what appeared to be a tennis court, but with the net on the ceiling. She frowned and closed the door quickly. She'd never had that much interest in sports.
She wasn't sure how long she'd wandered for before she'd opened a door onto a kitchen. Amy was sat at a little table, cradling a cup of coffee like it was the only thing keeping her awake. She looked up and caught Danni's gaze, smiling warmly at her. Danni shot her a half-hearted one back.
"Hi, how are you feeling?" Amy asked her and Danni shrugged, moving towards the kettle and putting it on.
"Strange. Sad, I suppose," Danni offered as she flipped the switch and it began to boil. "I don't think I'm overly sad though. Maybe it's not sunk in yet that I'm stuck here with no control over my own life anymore."
She clenched her fist as a fleeting flash of anger rushed over her before being replaced by the quiet numbness she had woken up with. Amy looked over at her, confused at what she had said but didn't say anything as Danni poured herself a cup of tea of her own and sat across from her, blowing on it gently.
"What's wrong?" Danni asked her after she become uncomfortable under Amy's gaze.
"You're really strange like this," Amy told her bluntly. "Every time I've met you, you loved every minute of it and yet you look like you hate it here. The Danni I know just loves to be with the Doctor."
Danni shrugged. "I'm not her yet, am I?" she offered as an explanation. "The Doctor said I jump around in random order, so I'm sure by the time you meet me for the first time I'll be okay with it, but right now I'm not. Right now I'm just… I dunno, I'm nothing right now." She paused for a moment. "When do we first meet?" she asked curiously.
"You told me that I'm not allowed to tell you in case it's not happened to you yet," Amy replied, sounding like she was uncertain if she was supposed to say anything.
"I haven't said that yet, have I?" Danni pointed out cheekily. "You don't have to give me details."
Amy frowned, still not sure if she should give up that information, but she could see Danni needed something to place her in the new situation she'd found herself in. "When I was a little girl," she said.
Danni was actually surprised at that. It meant that there was only a couple of episodes that she could have first appeared in for Amy. "I'm quite persistent in your life, aren't I?" Danni asked her.
Amy let out a little laugh. "Yes, I suppose so," she agreed. "I wouldn't call it persistence, though."
"Oh?" Danni replied. "What would you call it?"
"Welcomed," Amy replied instantly and Danni smiled, touched at how quickly Amy had said so. It sounded really genuine and it meant a lot to know she, at least, wasn't a bother to her.
"Do I get annoying, though?" she asked. "You know, just popping up here and there?"
"Don't be stupid," Amy retorted. "Plus, that's the way you've always been."
The conversation trailed off for a moment as the heavy feeling in Danni's stomach reappeared. She'd spent the entirety of Amy's life jumping in and out of it? And she'd met Donna as well? Did she jump through all of the companion's lives? Was she just the 'time-jumping' girl now?
Amy shifted in her chair slightly. "Did you really think this was a dream?" she asked.
Danni nodded. "Yeah, sorry," she said apologetically. "I should have known though, this has none of the M-O of one of my Doctor Who dreams."
"Oh? And how do they normally go? Are they dirty?" Amy probed excitedly and Danni giggled before blushing slightly.
"Sometimes," she admitted and Amy laughed. Danni shot her a warning look so she knew not to tell anyone else. "But not normally. It tends to involve the Doctor proclaiming his undying love for me on some crystal moon and then something peculiar happening; like Clanger's appearing and us having a Clanger wedding. Or, once, you turned up as a teacher at my university and kept scolding me for speaking 'too English'." They both laughed together and Danni bit a grin back. "You know, Amelia Pond," Danni began. "You're a lot more welcoming than I thought you might have been."
"Why? Did you think I'd persecute the English girl?"
"No, I thought you might have been dead possessive of the Doctor and wouldn't like another girl on the TARDIS."
Amy shrugged. "You're not another girl, you're Danni-Girl. His Danni-Girl. If I didn't want you here I wouldn't be here, he wouldn't allow anyone in who didn't like you."
Danni blushed at the thought. She was his Danni-Girl? That was a thought that normally didn't come up unless she was dreaming. "He does seem to like me," she admitted. "Which is probably a good sign if I'm going to be jumping around him for the unforeseeable future."
The Doctor opened the door, striding in and grinning at the sight of the two women. "There you are!" he exclaimed. "What are you doing hiding in here? Having a girly chat about girl things like hair and shoes and boys?" He sat down next to Danni, taking her cup of tea out of hand and drinking it. Danni's mouth fell open.
"Hey! I wasn't done with that!" she snapped. She snatched it back and he pouted.
"Come on, I want a cup of tea," he whined and she gripped it tighter.
"Then get your own, Spaceman. This is mine." He looked at her, eyes wide and bottom lip out in his best rendition of a puppy-dog face but she just stared back before sighing in defeat and handing it to him.
"I give in to you a lot, don't I?" she asked as he grinned and kissed her on the cheek before nodding and taking a sip.
"All the time," he told her and she sighed again.
"Great. A spoilt Time Lord. Just what I need..." She trailed off and looked down at her arm as the Vortex Manipulator strapped there began burning, getting hotter and hotter like it had with Ten.
"Why's it burning?" she asked. The Doctor put the drink down and shot her a sad smile.
"It means you're about to leave again," he explained gently. He looked so sad but, as she clutched at her arm, she almost missed it.
"Does it always hurt?" she whimpered before hissing in pain. He didn't have a chance to reply as both he and Amy disappeared in a bright white light, only for them and the kitchen to be replaced by a dark metal box.
"Oh Danni, am I glad to see you!" a voice cried in aloud whisper. She looked to her left and saw Donna in one corner in a huge duffle coat, barely visible in the dark. She frowned before gasping as the chill in the air caught her and goosebumps covered her arms.
"Oh my god it's freezing!" she cried, wrapping her arms around herself. "How am I supposed to know it's going to be cold?" Donna grabbed her and pulled her closer, unzipping her coat and letting the younger ginger woman huddle in it, never taking her eyes of the other corner of the room. Danni looked over to see a group of Ood staring back at them.
"Oh it's the Ood. I like an Ood," she said happily. She'd always enjoyed the Ood episodes, but they weren't exactly treated well. With Donna they were set free, but not until… Her stomach dropped. "Hold on, are we in a storage container?" she asked lowly. Donna nodded.
"Yeah. I got locked in here by the bloody security," she explained before addressing the Ood. "Can you help us?" One of the Ood raised its head to look at them, revealing a pair of deep red eyes. "Oh, no you don't," Donna warned it.
"Ah, red-eye," Danni commented. "Not so good. We need to get out of here."
"I tried that," Donna retorted. "What have we done? We're not one of that lot. We're on your side!" she insisted as the rest of the Ood looked at them, now all with red eyes. "Stay where you are, that's an order! I said stay!" she commanded.
"We need to get out of here," Danni reiterated, slipping out of Donna's jacket and moving to the door. Of course, it was locked so she began banging hard. "Doctor! Get us out!" she screamed. "I know you're out there! Let us out!"
"Doctor, get us out of here!" Donna screamed, joining in to hopefully catch the Time Lord's attention before they were Ood-ed to death.
"Doctor, I swear if you don't open this door right now I'm gonna kick your arse!" Danni exclaimed.
"If you don't do what they say," she heard a voice say just outside the door and she halted her banging, "you're really in trouble. Not from me; from them. They're both red-head's, you know?"
"Unlock the container," another voice commanded. The door opened and Donna rushed out
"Doctor!" she cried, hugging him tightly. He hugged her back before letting her go, making way for Danni who practically jumped him as she hugged him.
"There we go, safe and sound," he promised gently, stroking her hair to try and comfort her. She didn't think on how strange it was that he went from Donna to her so quickly, she just took the comfort. She loved an Ood, but the red-eyed ones were terrifying.
That was going to be her life now, wasn't it? Spending her time jumping from place to place, being absolutely bloody terrified?
"Yeah, what about them?" Donna asked as the Ood began leaving the container. One approached a guard and held it's orb up to his head, setting it off with a spark of electricity and killing the man.
"Red alert! Fire!" they head guard screamed. The guards turned to the approaching Ood, shooting them down. The Doctor grabbed Danni's hand and the trio began running away, dodging random bullets bouncing off other containers. "Shoot to kill!" they heard the man cry. They were joined by a woman that Danni recognised from the show. She had to admit, she did appreciate the fact the casting had been so spot on. It made everything a lot easier when she could tell who the characters were before she'd even talked to them.
The group ran out of the warehouse and continued until they were a safe distance away before pausing for breath. Danni wrapped her arms back around herself. "My god, it's so cold!" she exclaimed. "I need more warning. How-How am I supposed to prepare for this?"
The Doctor shrugged off his overcoat and draped it over her shoulders with a smile. She looked up at him, surprised. "I didn't mean for you to give me your jacket," she told him gently.
"Can't have you getting a cold, Danni-Girl," he replied and she smiled shyly, pulling it tighter. If this was real, and as much as she tried to deny it she knew it was, then the Doctor was being nice and protective not because her subconscious wanted him to, but because he wanted to. She didn't really know how to feel about that. Part of her was slightly suspicious as to why he was being so nice, the other part was jumping up and down like a school girl.
"If the people back on Earth knew what was going on here..." Donna started, panting.
"Don't be stupid," the sales woman interrupted. "Of course they know."
"They know how you treat the Ood?"
"They don't ask," she clarified. "Same thing."
"Solana," the Doctor butted in before an argument started. "The Ood aren't born like this. They can't be. A species born to serve could never evolve in the first place. What does the company do to make them obey?"
"That has nothing to do with me," Solana replied outraged that he was implying she was doing it.
"What, because you don't ask?" Danni snapped.
The woman glared at her. Danni glared right back. "That's Dr Ryder's territory," she explained.
"Where is he? What part of the complex?" The Doctor reached into the front pocket of his overcoat and pulled out a map, unfolding it as he showed it to her. "I could help with the red-eye. Now show me!" They stared at each other for a moment before she reached out and pointed to a place on the map.
"There. Beyond the red section," she told him quietly.
"Come with me," he asked. Solana stared at him, shocked at his offer. "You've seen the warehouse, you can't agree with all this. You know this place better than me, you could help." She panted slightly, trying to catch her breath, as she deliberated over what to do.
"They're over here! Guards, they're over here!" she shouted. The Doctor grabbed Danni's hand again and they began running away as the guards started to run towards them.
"Where-Where are we going?" Donna asked.
"Ood Conversion," Danni replied. "It's where they make the Oods subservient. It's the source of the red eye." She panted hard. "I-I think I'm going to need some training!"
"What for?" Donna asked.
"The running! I-I'm not going to be able to keep up with this for long."
"We really don't have time for you being young," the Doctor told her. "You can do it, Danni-Girl."
Danni appreciated his faith in her, even if she didn't quite believe it herself. Her lungs were burning, her side aching and her thighs were already beginning to feel like the muscles inside were going to snap. She had always been painfully average at best in PE, and she'd been much further below average in her interest in participating. If she'd known what had been to come she would have stopped hiding in the Sixth Form common room and more time actually doing the cross country running.
"We're- oh god," she groaned. "We're going to hit some more guards!"
They ran around the corner just in time to see two more guards with guns running towards them. The Doctor skidded, turning and pulling Danni behind him. She let him fling her around, feeling a little like a ragdoll.
"This way!" he cried as he took them down a different route. The warehouse that housed the Ood conversion wasn't shiny and new like the others that they had passed. The entrance was hidden behind stairs and other structures, as if hiding it from view. They obviously didn't want anyone to pay any attention to it.
The Doctor reached into his pocket as he looked up at the building. "Oh, can you hear it?" he asked them. He buzzed the door and unlocked it. "I didn't need the map. I should've listened."
Donna looked to Danni, confused. "Do you know what he's on about?" she asked. Danni nodded as the Doctor let them in, only to turn around and break the lock by zapping it. It sparked. "Does that mean we're locked in?" Donna pressed, panicking slightly. The Doctor didn't reply, pulling out a small torch from his pocket that he used to find his way into the building.
"Listen," he commanded. "Listen, listen, listen, listen." He headed off without them, repeating the word under his breath.
"As a Time Lord he can hear things humans can't," Danni explained to Donna as they followed him. "If anything's being transmitted over a psychic field then he can pick it up." They headed down a set of stairs and followed the path past empty cages, chains swinging ominously.
They paused for a moment as the Doctor winced, hissing in pain. "Oh, my head."
"What is it?" Donna asked.
"Can't you hear it? The singing?" he replied. He shone his torch around the room and the beam of light landed on a group of Ood, huddled together in one cage in the darkness. The Doctor headed towards them and, spotting a large switch on the wall, turned the lights on. All the Ood looked up in unison at them, startled by the sudden bright light. He turned his torch off and the Ood moved to huddle more closely together, hiding from the strangers, each holding something tightly in both hands. They looked terrified.
"They look different to the others," Donna said softly.
"That's because they've not been processed," Danni explained softly. Once again she was struck with just how much more horrible it was in real life than on television. The Ood looked so frightened. The cage they were in was tiny and dirty, and they smelt of waste and neglect. The whole room was unfit for anything, let alone keeping living creatures in. "They're not slaves, yet, they're just captives."
The three crouched down in front of the cage, looking over the Ood sadly. Danni felt like she was about to cry. It was awful.
"That's their song," the Doctor said in realisation.
"I can't hear it," Donna replied with a slight shake of her head. The Doctor looked at her, eyes wide.
"Do you want to?"
Donna took a moment to really deliberate it but nodded, turning to him. "Yeah."
"It's the song of captivity," he warned.
"Let me here it."
The Doctor swallowed. "Face me," he commanded gently. She did as he asked and he leant forward and placed his fingertips on her temples, closing his eyes. "Open your mind. That's it. Hear it, Donna... Hear the music." Donna gasped and turned to face the Ood as the song rushed through her mind. Danni watched as tears began running down her face.
The Doctor turned to Danni, looking just as sombre as the situation needed. "Do you..." he began to ask and she shook her head quickly.
"No, please don't," she begged in a whisper and he almost sighed in relief. He hadn't wanted her to hear it, he didn't want her to feel as sad as he and Donna felt. He'd come to realise just how deeply she felt everything, this would just break her heart.
"Take it away," Donna sobbed and he turned back to her.
"You sure?"
"I can't bear it," she admitted. She turned back to face him and he took the song away before turning back to the cage. She watched him for a moment before doing the same. "I'm sorry," she whispered, ashamed.
"It's okay," he reassured her.
"But you can still hear it."
"All the time," he confirmed softly. He reached across and pulled Danni up against him, holding her tightly. She looked up at him, slightly confused at the rather familiar behaviour but he continued to stare at the Ood as if it was normal for him. She hugged his arm back, giving him the comfort he needed. She didn't need to hear the song to know how heart-breaking it was.
"This can't continue, can it?" she asked before tilting her head up to look at him. "We'll stop it, won't we?"
He nodded. "Yes," he promised her. They all slowly stood up and the Doctor unlocked the cage with the screwdriver. There was a crash above them and Donna looked up.
"They're breaking in," Donna exclaimed worriedly.
"Ah, let 'em," the Doctor dismissed. He entered the cage first, followed by Danni and Donna. The Ood, terrified, shuffled away from them into one corner and he bent down to seem less threatening.
"What are you holding?" he asked them gently and one Ood looked up at him shyly. "Friend," he promised it. "Doctor, Donna, Danni," he motioned between all of them, "friend." The Ood still seemed very shy so the Doctor scooted a little closer. "Look at me. Let me see," he coaxed gently and it began shuffling closer to him. "That's it. That's it, go on. Go on."
The Ood held out their hands, taking the top one off what they were cupping. Sat there was a small brain connected by a tube to their body, a little like an umbilical cord.
"Is that…" Donna started, surprised.
"Ood are born with two brains," Danni explained softly. "One in the head and one in their hands."
"A hindbrain," the Doctor clarified. "Like the amygdala in humans, it processes memory and emotions. You get rid of that, you wouldn't be Donna anymore. You'd be like an Ood." He looked back at the Ood. "A processed Ood."
"So the company... cuts off their brains," Donna whispered, horrified.
"And stitches on the translator," the Doctor snapped out, teeth bared, almost snarling.
"Like a lobotomy," Donna finished for him. "I spent all that time looking for both of you, Doctor, because I thought it would be so wonderful out here." Tears were running down her face again, "I want to go home."
The Doctor turned to look at her, stunned at her wish. Danni, now crying openly, couldn't help but agree. Life with the Doctor always looked so good, but it was easy to forget the horror when you were watching it on television. Living through it was so much worse than she could have envisioned. The poor Ood, taken at birth and having everything torn from them without their consent was sickening.
"Humans are awful," Danni whispered. She looked to the Ood. "I'm so sorry," she continued. "You don't deserve any of this."
The door crashed open and the Doctor looked over his shoulder. "They're with the Ood, sir," a voice called out. They turned to see a man in a suit approach them with a guard and a man in a white lab coat approaching. The Doctor jumped up and slammed the door to the cage shut, pushing his face between the bars.
"What are you gonna do, then?" the Doctor challenged. "Arrest me? Lock me up? Well, you're too late! Ha!"