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The man in cage began to change in front of their eyes, twisting and screaming in pain as the wolf inside him broke free, changing his outer appearance to match the one inside. Danni turned to Rose, eyes wide in fright as Rose watched with a horror-filled fascination.
"We need to get out of here!" She exclaimed in panic. Rose nodded, looking around for a way to escape. There was a door leading out across the room from them, but they were all chained together to a hook on the wall.
"What about that?" She nodded at the wall, "These dungeons are old even now. Maybe we can break it off."
"It's worth a shot." Danni agreed, turning to the others, "Right, you lot!" She barked, "We're going to get up, and we're gonna pull." The pair scrambled up and pulled once, quickly realising that they were the only ones trying to escape. Danni glared at them, feeling a bit peculiar because she couldn't put her hands on her hips, like she did when anyone, especially the Doctor wasn't behaving, "Look, unless you want to die we have to work together." She looked pointedly at the Lady in finery, "All of us. Now get up, and start bloody pulling!" They all did as the young girl commanded, scrambling up and grabbing hold.
"Right, one, two, three, pull!" Rose commanded loudly and they all began to pull at the chain, groaning loudly in their struggle.
~0~0~0~
The Doctor ran down the corridor, Sir Robert hot on his trail. So much for a nice evening with Queen Victoria, Rose was in danger and he had to save her. He'd get to the bottom of the chanting, and the little boys being stolen from their homes later. She was what was important, and he couldn't let her be eaten by some sort of werewolf.
"This way!" Sir Robert called, turning off the main hallway, running down the stairs. There was a door at the bottom, the basement if the Doctor had to guess, and he rattled the handle but the door didn't open.
"Eugh, why did it have to be wood?" The Doctor shouted angrily, pulling back and kicking it once. It budged, but only slightly and the second kick threw it open. He dashed inside, grinning in relief at the sight of Rose, chained to a bunch of other people but very much alive and safe. Then his grin faltered at the red-head next to her. Why the hell did she have to be there?
"Where the hell have you been?" Rose shouted angrily and his attention was pulled back to her. He shot her a cheeky grin before turning to see the 'werewolf' grab hold of the bars of it's cage, snarling viciously at them all.
"Oh, that's beautiful!" The Doctor breathed in awe as the beast tore the bars clean off the cage, splintering it with a howl. Now free from the wall, the chain falling in-between their cuffs and onto the floor, Rose and Danni began ushering everyone out urgently as the Doctor stared at the creature. He then stepped back, joining the two women's efforts.
"Out! Out! Out! Out! Out! Out! Out! Out! Out! Out!" He repeated hurriedly, unable to take his eyes of the 'werewolf'. The last of the staff scrambled out and Rose turned to the Doctor, who was still staring at the creature like he was impressed.
"Come on..." She cried, dragging Danni out with her. The Doctor followed, but only after the 'werewolf' chucked the top of the cage across the room, narrowly missing his head. He slammed the door shut behind him, sonicing it shut.
"Well, nice job on saving Rose again." He snapped at Danni as he fell into step with the pair, pushing in between them so one girl was on either side. Rose rolled her eyes.
"Back off, she was down there long before either of us were here." She snapped, "Right, Danni?" She looked past the Doctor at Danni expectantly, but was surprised by the guilty look on her face.
"Sorry, Rose." She murmured apologetically, "I should have tried harder."
"But you didn't do anything..." Rose began to defend.
"Why change a habit of a lifetime?" The Doctor interrupted harshly as they entered the cloakroom, where the Steward was handing out guns to everyone.
"Arms... and you Clive," He was saying, shooting a particularly dark glare at one young man, "Ready everyone?" He ran over to the Lady, "Take the girls. Get them out through the kitchen." He commanded, Lady Isobel rushing over to her husband.
"I can't leave you. What will you do?" She sobbed and he smiled bravely at her.
"I must defend her Majesty. Now, don't think of me - just go." He told her. She pulled him in for a kiss before turning to all her maids.
"All of you at my side, come on!" She commanded and the group left the way they came. The Doctor, after making sure that the men were all armed and ready for what was coming, heading back over to Rose, pulling out his screwdriver again and holding it to the cuffs snapped around her wrists.
"It could be any form of light modulated species triggered by specific wavelengths," The Doctor rattled off quickly, "did it say what it wanted?"
"The Queen, the Crown, the throne - you name it." Rose replied, looking terrified. He chucked the handcuffs to one side, opening his mouth to ask her if she was all right when the sound of splintering wood filled the air, the 'werewolf' having broke from the room. The Doctor jogged cautiously into the hallway, seeing the creature stood there, panting as it stared back for just a moment before growling and charging at him. He jumped and ran back into the room, grabbing Rose by the arm and pulling her behind the line of men waiting, guns aimed at the door. One of the stable-boys took hold of Danni, shooting her a reassuring smile before also pushing her behind the line. Rose reached out and took her hand, Danni's still bound in front of her as the creature charged into the room.
"Fire!" The Steward cried and they did, the wolf howling in pain and fright as it turned and ran back out the room, "Fire!" He screamed again and they shot at the doorway. Rose's grip tightened on her hand at each gun shot and Danni rubbed her thumb over the back of her hand, trying to reassure her even though she was terrified herself. The guns still smoked, but the men began lowering their guns when it became clear the wolf was no longer trying to attack.
"All right, you men, we should retreat upstairs, come with me." The Doctor cried but the Steward shot him a look of disbelief.
"I'll not retreat." He declared cockily, "The battle's done. There's no creature on God's Earth that could survive such an assault."
"But it's not from Earth!" Danni exclaimed, "It will kill you, please come upstairs."
"You would do well to keep a hold of your lady friend, Doctor." The Steward snarled, he did not take orders from such a common little girl.
"Oh, she is not a lady, nor my friend." The Doctor snapped, Danni wincing at his words. But they were good, she knew. Anything was better than the forgiveness Eleven had shown her. The pain, the heartbreak in some twisted way made her feel better, made her feel like she was at least sort of being punished for what she had done, "But she is right. I'm telling you, come upstairs!"
"And I'm telling you, sir," The Steward bit out, "that I will sleep well tonight with that thing's hide upon my wall." He took purposeful steps towards the doorway, looking out into the hallway before walking back, a triumphant grin on his face, "Must've crawled away to die-" He cut himself off with a scream as a giant paw smashed through the ceiling above, pulling him up and through the hall. Danni and Rose stared in horror as the sound of him being devoured alive was pierced with his agonised screams.
"There's nothing we can do!" The Doctor shouted, grabbing Rose's hand and pulling her from the room as he ran. Danni continued to stare, tears in her eyes because the man might have been arrogant, but he still didn't deserve to die like that. No one deserved to die alone. And she'd left him, on the floor, bleeding, the gun shot still ringing...
The wolf dropped down with a howl and she turned, running after her two friends and Sir Richard, who paused to wait for her to catch up. They headed upwards again, towards the main floor. Danni tripped, unable to steady herself with her hands still bound in cuffs and she fell as they burst into the hallway. The Doctor turned and sneered at her on the floor.
"You are useless, aren't you?" He mocked and Rose shoved past him angrily, helping Danni up, who didn't reply. Because yes, she was useless.
~0~0~0~
After they had found Queen Victoria, and found that they weren't able to get out of the windows due to the mansion house being surrounded by monks with guns, the wolf found them, trying to break down the door between the last hallway and the next. His claw poked through the shattered wood and Rose turned to the Doctor.
"What do we do?" She exclaimed.
"We... run!" The Doctor offered.
"Is that it?!" She shouted angrily and he glanced over his shoulder.
"You got any silver bullets?" He asked her and she looked at him incredulously.
"Not on me, no!" She snapped in reply. He turned to Danni.
"Don't suppose there's any chance of you being prepared?" He asked and she shook her head.
"I didn't know I was coming here." She told him meekly and he rolled his eyes.
"Of course, I forgot." He taunted before turning back to the rest of the group, "There we are then, we run. Your Majesty, as a Doctor, I recommend a vigorous jog." He jogged on the spot, "Good for the health. Come on!" He grabbed the Queen's hand, pulling her first up the stairs as the sound of the wolf breaking through the door followed them up.
"It's coming!" Danni cried and he shot her an unimpressed look over his shoulder.
"Yes, thank you for stating the obvious, but I had noticed." He told her and she blushed in embarrassment. Eleven would have comforted her. Not that she deserved comforting, but he wouldn't have outright insulted her. She deserved it though, oh it was so confusing, "Come on! Come on!" They ran around a corner, the wolf almost on them when a man in a red uniform appeared and shot it once in the face. The wolf roared as it fell back and he joined them around the corner.
"I'll take this position and hold it." He told them as he reloaded his gun, before looking up at them, "You keep moving, for God's sake! Your Majesty," He looked at the Queen, remorseful, "I went to look for the property, it was taken. The chest was empty." The other four looked at her, panting as she held a hand to her chest to calm her own beating heart.
"I have it. It's safe." She replied with no further explanation, their curiosities peaking further.
"Then remove yourself, Ma'am. Doctor, you stand as Her Majesty's Protector." He ordered the Doctor, who blinked in surprise, "And you, Sir Robert - you're a traitor to the crown." He raised his gun, cocking it as he readied himself to attack the creature.
"Bullets can't stop it!" The Doctor insisted urgently but the man looked him straight in the eye, determined and not the least bit frightened.
"They'll buy you time. Now, run!" They complied, running down the hallway as the man stepped out into the open space, shooting at the beast. Rose and Danni froze, watching in horror as the wolf pounced on the officer, taking it's time to kill him as he screamed. Danni reached out, grabbing Rose by the hand.
"Rose, sweetie, come on!" She cried, pulling her into the room the Doctor had lead the other two into, the Doctor and Sir Robert slamming the double doors shut behind them.
~0~0~0~
Danni had tried to help barricade the doors, but after the Doctor had shouted at her for getting the way she had moved off to the side. It wasn't entirely her fault, after all she was still bound at the wrists and didn't have much scope for movement, but she had tried. Still, she had said nothing, letting him berate her and taking it like she should. She sat on one of the benches lining the walls, curling up and away from the scene playing out behind her. She had noticed that if she didn't intervene, most things happened as she knew they should and the Queen would be bringing up the lack of Scottish accent any moment now, so she left them to it. Instead, she shakily reached into her pocket and pulled out the phone, popping the back off and inserting the SIM card once again. Which was slightly awkward with the lack of dexterity she was suffering from. With shaking hands, she turned the phone on and did the one thing she'd never done before whilst with the Doctor, she rang him. There was a couple of rings, then...
"Danni-Girl!" He cheered from the other side and she smiled, tears building in her eyes at the sound of another Ten.
"Hello." She replied shakily, "I thought you might be Eleven, but I'm kinda glad it's you."
"Are you at Jack's?" He asked, "I can come pick you up." She shook her head, even though he couldn't see her. She looked over at the room, where the Queen was openly glaring at the Doctor.
"No, no. I'm... well, I'm with you." She explained, her voice hitching, "Younger version and all. Who are you with?"
"Donna." He replied, sounding concerned, "Danni, what's wrong?" She tried to laugh off his concern, but a quiet sob broke from her throat.
"Nothing, I'm- I'm fine." She told him, "I'm with Rose, at any rate. Imagine her face if there were two of you. She wouldn't know whether to scream or salivate."
"Oh, I see. Look, you know I didn't mean..."
"I just wanted," She interrupted, "I just wanted to say sorry. Sorry for not saving Rose, or you. Or helping Martha. And I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry about Kos-The Master." She tried to stop crying, glancing over to see if anyone had noticed, but they all seemed preoccupied with being told off by the Queen. Good, "I didn't... I know I did bad, I really do. I just want you to know how sorry I am."
"Stop it." He snapped lowly before there was some muffled noise on the other side, "No, Donna give me..."
"Danni?" Donna's voice called, "What's he done now?" Danni couldn't help but laugh in relief at Donna's angry tone, the other four looking over in surprise at her.
"Nothing, nothing at all." She promised, "I've got to go, Queen Victoria is about to behead me."
"Wait, Queen Vic..." But Danni hung up before the question was finished. She smiled brightly over at them, hiding her tears.
"So, where were we?" She asked.
~0~0~0~
The Doctor worked his way around the room, trying to spot whatever it was the had driven the creature away. It couldn't get in this room, that much was obvious but why? His fingers trailed along the woodwork on the wall thoughtfully as he glanced over at Danni. Rose had gone to see the girl while he worked and had her arm wrapped around her. If only she knew the truth, what the stupid little girl had gone and done Rose wouldn't be so friendly. But he couldn't risk telling her, he wasn't sure all the Vortex was out of her head, and if he triggered a memory then... well, he didn't want to contemplate it. He was going to save her from everything from now on, and not let Danni hurt her again.
He frowned as Rose pulled her in for a tight hug, the girl was crying. He frowned, a flash of concern hitting him from no where much like it had back on New Earth. He hoped she wasn't too scared. Because he didn't like anyone to be scared.
He turned back to the wall, running his finger over a particularly odd carving of an ornate bunch of mistletoe.
"Mistletoe..." He murmured, looking up, "Sir Robert, did you father put that there?"
"I don't know, I suppose..." The man offered with a shrug. It had just always been there, he'd never taken much notice.
"On the other door, too..." The Doctor pointed out, "A carving wouldn't be enough... I wonder..." He climbed up the barricade they'd created, leaning forward and licking the woodwork, "Viscum album, the oil of the mistletoe," He cried, jumping back down, "it's been worked into the wood like a varnish! How clever was your dad? I love him!" He looked over at Rose, the two women looking at him with slightly disgusted faces, "Powerful stuff, mistletoe. Bursting with lectins and viscotoxins."
"And the wolf's allergic to it?" Rose asked and he nodded.
"Well, it thinks it is." He replied, "The monkey monk monks need a way of controlling the wolf, maybe they trained it to react against certain things."
"Nevertheless, that creature won't give up, Doctor, and we still don't possess an actual weapon." Sir Robert pointed out and the Doctor rolled his eyes.
"Oh, your father got all the brains, didn't he?" He mocked.
"You're being rude again." Danni called over and he shot her a look.
"Miss Obvious strikes again." He snapped, "I know, I meant that one as well." He rushed over to one of the other walls, "You want weapons? We're in a library. Books! Best weapons in the world." He reached into his pocket, pulling his glasses out and putting them on, "This room's the greatest arsenal we could have." He picked up a book and tossed it to Rose, who caught it with a grunt, "Arm yourself."