Missy was delighted to see all 'her' Cybermen infiltrating the city at every corner, especially when no one was taking in the exact danger they were in. "Look at them! My boys."

"Cybermen in broad daylight? You think people won't notice?" the Doctor questioned and looked out to see for himself.

Missy unpinned her hat and left it at the feet of a Cyberman. "Photos with the big metal men, one pound!" she called out to the clueless humans. Missy swirled to the Doctor and Minerva. "New York. Paris. Rome. Marrakesh. Brisbane. Glasgow. Everywhere. Anywhere. Me and my boys. We're going viral."

"Oh no, no, no," Minerva ran a hand through her short hair. Of course the humans wouldn't find the Cybermen as a threat until they actually attacked.

Missy returned to them with a smart phone just to show them both how 'viral' indeed they had become.

"Would you like me to take a picture?" a new woman's voice asked, Osgood. "Sorry, selfies are never as good, are they? And you're having a lovely moment. Hang on!" she snatched Missy's phone right from her hand and at the same time Minerva grasped Missy's arm.

"Ouch," Missy scrunched her nose as she felt a dreadful cold right where Minerva's hand was placed.

"Oops," Minerva spat, not the least bit apologetic. Her heart was beating wildly and not out of fear but of anger. She had long lost the fear she had for the Master and any other Time Lord. She was not the same Moontsay they had come to know so many centuries ago and she would make sure Missy understood that.

"Nice bow tie," the Doctor passively remarked to Osgood's new choice of attire that included a small, red bow tie.

"Bow ties are cool," Osgood smiled and raised the phone. "Big smiles, and now!" her voice had become louder, like an order.

Soldiers emerged from nearby buildings. "Move, move, move! Stand by. Surround target. Hold back!"

Kate Stewart appeared as well and walked up to the small group. "Afternoon," she greeted in her soft voice. "You've picked a lovely day for it. My, don't you look shiny," she admired the Doctor's and Minerva's new appearances. "Haircut?"

"Bit of a trim," went both who then shared a small smile with each other.

"Eugh," Missy looked to the side.

"The woman?" Kate laid eyes on Missy.

"Yes, ma'am," a soldier came up with another one who took Missy into custody.

"Kate Stewart," the woman then addressed the series of Cybermen. "Divorcee, mother of two, keen gardener, outstanding bridge player. Also Chief Scientific Officer, Unified Intelligence Taskforce, who currently have you surrounded."

"Human weaponry is not effective against Cyber technology," one Cyberman responded.

"Sorry, you left this behind on one of your previous attempts," Kate responded and threw down an old version of a Cyberman head. "So now that I have your attention, welcome to the only planet in the universe where we get to say this. He's on the payroll."

"Am I?" the Doctor was surprised to hear, but curious nonetheless.

"Well, technically."

"How much?"

"Probably not more than what she makes," Kate nodded to Minerva.

"Well," Minerva smirked, "What can I say? Being a Queen does pay well."

"Any questions?" Kate called to the Cybermen.

The answer came in the form of all Cybermen thumping a blue disc on their chests followed by stamps on the ground. Small engines emerged from their feet and just like that they zoomed into the sky.

Osgood's eyes widened when the cathedral's rooftop dome peeled back like an orange. "Oh, my God! Is it supposed to do that? Is that new?"

"No, no, I'm sure that's what was meant to happen," Minerva shot her an irritated look.

Kate stared at the cathedral as more Cybermen flew out. "There's going to be mass panic. Everyone in London can see that."

"Everyone in London just clapped and went whee. Hush, I'm trying to count," the Doctor squinted his eyes at the Cybermen in the sky.

"Eighty seven, I think," Osgood guessed. "OCD."

"Ninety one," Missy smirk and added, "Queen of Evil."

"Queen of nothing!" Minerva couldn't help spat again.

"Jealous?" Missy's smirk widened.

"No because in a bit I'll have you in my dungeon."

"How could Saint Paul's be full of ninety one Cybermen and nobody noticed?" Kate clapped her hands on her sides, frustrated.

"Dimensional engineering. One space folded inside another," the Doctor explained. "Bigger on the inside. Easy if you're a Time Lord."

"Mostly deploying south, a smaller number east," Osgood reported.

"Yep, but one straight up."

"So ninety one isn't a coincidence?"

"It never is," Minerva shook her head. The Doctor reached over and took Osgood's phone which was really Missy's.

"Osgood? Ninety one. Explain," Kate ordered.

"Ninety one areas of significant population density in the British Isles."

"That's one Cyberman for every city and major town," Minerva said slowly, just making the realization herself. "It's happening everywhere, all over the world, right now."

"Sweet planet, this. I think I might keep it," Missy said so kindly.

"One Cyberman per city. What could they hope to accomplish?" Kate failed to understand just like the others.

"Doctor!" Osgood pointed to the lone Cyberman that had flown upwards. It detonated itself.

"Has it exploded?" Kate frowned.

"More than that," Missy's voice drew them all in. "Cybermen don't just blow themselves up for no good reason, dear. They're not human."

"So if it's not exploding…" Minerva began.

"What's it doing?" the Doctor finished.

"Pollinating. Falling like rain into the cracks of the Earth. The dead are coming home, Doctor. All shiny and new. In twenty four hours the human race as you know it will cease to exist."

"We're going to see about that," Minerva left it clear this wasn't going to be an easy battle for Missy to win.

"Is that a challenge snowflake pr-"

"If you finish that goddamn name-" but Minerva didn't hear Missy finish it because the latter was injected a sedative that knocked her out.

"No. No, no, no, no, I need to talk to her! I need her awake!" the Doctor scolded the others, but no one flinched. He pulled Minerva to his side, knowing how hard it was for her to be face to face with...well, her killer.

"It's fine, you'll be going where she's going," Kate motioned the two to begin walking with them.

"What? No way," Minerva frowned.

"We'll sedate you if we have to," Kate was blunt and told the truth.

"Fine," the Doctor agreed. "But you have to watch the graveyards. It's site zero for massive awakening."

Kate agreed and led the way.

The Doctor had Minerva close with him as they followed. 'Kaeya, I want you to go back to the Monsoon and stay there.'

Minerva wasn't sure if she'd heard right in her mind, but when she looked up to the Doctor and saw his firm face she knew he'd actually said it. 'I'm not going anywhere. My family's here too.'

'I know, I know seeing...Missy...is difficult for you. I don't...I don't want you near her….'

'I'm not scared,' Minerva gave a small shake of her head so that no one around them would notice. 'This isn't the Valiant. I'm not that human Minerva you met anymore. And I am most certainly not afraid to hurt her this time. Question here is are you okay with that?'

The question startled the Doctor. Minerva just smiled.

'I know that this person was someone very close to you. So I have to ask you if you would reprimand me, be against me, if I had to strike her first.'

'You? Or Missy?' a smile spread across the Doctor. 'That's not even a question.' He set a small kiss on her hair. Minerva was relieved, silently, to see him so easily make that decision.

~ 0 ~

Quite dejectedly, the Doctor and Minerva watched soldiers hoist their TARDIS into the air to be loaded onto the jet they were meant to be boarding any minute now.

"Remind me again why we had to take the long road here?" Minerva raised her eyebrows at Kate once the woman approached them.

"I'm sorry. In the event of an alien incursion on this scale, protocols are in place. Your co-operation is to be ensured and your unreliability assumed. You have a history."

"Right, fine, I get that...for him," Minerva pointed at the Doctor with a thumb. "But why me? I do run an entire planet, you know."

Kate smiled. It faded however when she saw Missy being wheeled out on a box trolley, still unconscious. "Who is she?"

"My murderer and his ex best friend," Minerva answered before the Doctor could. "Right?"

"Oh absolutely," went the Doctor. "Now where's Clara?"

"Clara Oswald, your assistant?" Kate confirmed.

"Our family. She was with us in Saint Paul's."

"The team's still on site but they've been unable to gain access to the building. However, your...sister…" Kate said slowly for Minerva, still a bit confused on Liv, "...did appear to one of my men. Clara is doing her best to stay alive."

"If we taught her good I'm sure she will," Minerva said more for hers and the Doctor's benefit. "But we still want her here with us."

"Then give the order," Kate gestured to the awaiting jet. "As soon as you're on board Boat One your word is law. Quite literally."

"Well then, Doctor, get going," Minerva motioned for him to start walking.

Without much options, the Doctor started for the airplane. He took Minerva by the hand and went up the staircase leading up to the plane. Inside they found a long conference table with chairs around it. Monitors bleeped in the room.

"Where are we going?" the Doctor asked after a moment. "Cloudbase?"

"You mean the Valiant?" Kate asked.

"Oh hell no," they heard Minerva mumble. All eyes turned on her. "I can handle anything you want, throw me at Missy if you'd like but nothing will make me step foot in that horrendous ship."

The Doctor nodded beside her.

"Too conspicuous," Kate reassured her they weren't going near the ship. "We need your location concealed, not advertised. From now on you're a moving target."

The Doctor moved along the room, stopping by a portrait of a familiar man. "Ah, I see you're bringing Daddy along, too. That's very sweet."

An Army Officer stopped just beside and saluted the Doctor. "Sir."

"Oh, don't do that," the Doctor shook his head and heard the small laugh of his wife behind. "You look like you're self-concussing, which would explain all of military history, now I think about it."

"Colonel Ahmed, sir. Privileged to meet you."

"Love your outfit, Colonel Ahmed. Are you in the Scouts? Are you a Man Scout? I didn't know they had those."

Deciding the conversation was over, the Doctor walked away. He came up to the sideboard to collect a drink.

Kate moved over to the comm. system to speak into the cockpit. "The President is on board."

"Mind you, me and Sylvia Anderson, you've never seen a foxtrot like it," the Doctor turned back. "Hang on a second. The President? We don't want Americans bobbing around the place. They'll only start praying."

"Ahem," Minerva's sharp voice made him wince.

"Not the President of America, sir. The President of Earth," Ahmed rectified for them.

"There isn't one," the Doctor flatly said and pulled a seat out for Minerva and then himself. He offered her his cup of coffee but she shook her head at it.

"There is now," Ahmed said, slightly excited.

"The incursion protocols have been agreed internationally," Kate began to explain, coming up to the other end of the table and placing her hands on it. "In the event of full-scale invasion, an Earth President is inducted immediately, with complete authority over every nation state. There was only one practical candidate - well," she amended, "There was two but she voted for you."

The Doctor let the clump of sugar he was holding over his cup drop unceremoniously. He was staring at Minerva, utterly shocked.

The blonde just shrugged. "I thought it was fair," she argued. "I get to be Queen and you get to be President."

"What the…"

"Don't be mad, dear," Minerva reached for his hand. "I really don't need that today."

"So long as you're on this plane, you're the Commander in Chief of every army on Earth," Kate called them again, specifically for the Doctor. "Every world leader is currently awaiting your instructions. You are the Chief Executive Officer of the human race. Any questions?"

Gaping, the Doctor still stared only at Minerva.

"Now you know how it feels to be King - oops, President," Minerva barely contained her smirk.

~ 0 ~

In the cargo part of the ship, Osgood worked breaking apart Missy's cellular-like device in hopes of finding important information. Not too far from her, Missy was still strapped to the trolley. And just behind her was the TARDIS.

When Missy woke up, she found the Doctor staring right at her. Beside him was Minerva, close to daggering with just a look.

"Why are you still alive?"

"You saved me."

"I saved Gallifrey."

"Yes, Gallifrey too, I suppose," Missy gave a casual shrug. "There's always collateral damage with you and me. It's our Paris."

"Gallifrey's lost in another dimension."

A tiny smirk nearly made it to Missy's lips. "Yes and no."

"Meaning?"

"Yes, it's in another dimension. No, it's not lost."

"And let me guess," Minerva finally spoke up, figuring Missy was about to go against the Doctor any moment now, "You're not gonna tell us."

"Now why would I ever tell you something?"

Minerva rolled her eyes. "Yes, fine. Why come back, though?"

"Scared?" Missy taunted but Minerva didn't falter in the least.

"Of you? In your dreams. If I had to I would kill you, less than a second."

Missy's lips stretched into a smirk, and she laughed. "You don't even see it, do you?" she asked, but neither Minerva nor the Doctor understood which only added to Missy's joy. "I am going to enjoy unmasking you to the Doctor."

"What are you talking about?" Minerva narrowed her eyes, letting the Doctor slightly pull her back a bit.

"You'll know, I promise," Missy said.

"C'mon," the Doctor thought it was best to keep them apart and turned Minerva for Osgood's desk.

"Mister President, sir, we're ready for you up here," Ahmed's voice came through the comm. System.

"Remember all those years when all you wanted to do was to rule the world?" the Doctor mumbled before answering in the comms. "On my way."

"Now what are you up to, Osgood?" Minerva decided it was better to focus on anything but Missy until she had no choice.

"Oh, er, it's her little device thingy. I thought there might be useful information on it. Who is she?"

"You'd never believe us if we told you," the Doctor joined them.

Osgood's eyes flickered to Missy then back to them. "Cos I thought she might be the Master, regenerated into female form? Your childhood friend, responsible for a number of previous incursions."

"My murder," Minerva added. "Feel free to add that to the record. In case I strike first."

"We do have files on all our ex-prime ministers. She wasn't even the worst," Osgood put down her tools. "Doctor, there's something nobody's talking about."

"Which is?"

"The clouds caused by the exploding Cybermen, they haven't dispersed. They're still there. In fact, they've expanded and are covering almost all the land masses. We're all looking at the graveyards. Maybe we should be looking up? What do you think?"

The Doctor was obviously impressed and after a silent look with his wife, he answered with another question. "All of time and space?"

"Sorry?" Osgood blinked.

"Just something for your bucket list," Minerva smiled and walked away with the Doctor.

~ 0 ~

Kate read off the latest news to the Doctor, and Minerva, from a tablet in the conference room. "We've done heat scans of some of the cemeteries and, in each case only a handful of Cybermen have so far emerged. But every individual burial site is active."

"Active?" Ahmed repeated slowly.

"She means hatching," Minerva corrected.

Kate nodded. "More are coming. Potentially millions."

"So the rain caused all that in just a few hours?" Ahmed glanced out the window.

"It wasn't rain, Man Scout. It was pollen," the Doctor rectified. "Cyber-pollen. Every tiny particle of a Cyberman contains the plans to make another Cyberman. All it has to do is to make a contact with compatible living organic matter and bang! Full conversion. But if they have learned how to convert the dead."

Minerva turned her chair to the nearest monitor holding Missy. "And so that's what she was doing. That's what 3W was for. She creates an all-new paranoia among the super-rich about dying. She exploits the wealth and the mortal remains of selected people so she can create a whole new race of Cybermen. Kind of clever if you think about it but also so like her," Minerva rolled her eyes.

"Cybermen who can recruit away your guns, Man Scout, it's all over," the Doctor waved a hand. "How can you win a war against an enemy that can weaponise the dead?"

"They're not attacking, apart from isolated incidents. They're just wandering about," Ahmed reminded them of the last report.

"You can't expect a newborn to just get up and start firing," Minerva admonished.

"Why were you there this morning? Why were you already attacking?" the Doctor thought back to how easily Osgood and Kate had appeared back at the cathedral and how...coordinated they were to attack.

"Been investigating 3W for a while, then we got a tip-off," Kate shrugged.

"From a woman with a Scottish accent," added Ahmed, now realizing who the woman really was.

"Can't play to the gallery unless there's a gallery, and here I am," the Doctor mumbled.

"Oh I'm gonna shoot her," Minerva glanced back at the monitor to see Missy sticking out her tongue at them, or her, who knew.

"Dead bodies don't have minds, of course, but she's been upgrading dying minds to a hard drive for a long time," the Doctor thought. "So she upgrades the hardware, and then she updates the software."

Kate gave him a look. "What do you mean, a long time? How long?"

"Well, she must have a Tardis somewhere, so as long as she likes. The past, the future-"

"How long, Doctor?"

"Well," Minerva leaned forwards on the table, "Depends. How long has the human race had a concept of an afterlife?"

"Turns out the afterlife is real, and it's emptying," the Doctor rubbed his forehead, already thinking of the massive numbers that were about to be recruited. "Every graveyard on planet Earth is about to burst its banks."

~ 0 ~

Clara didn't know whether to count herself lucky she'd somehow made it out of the cathedral alive or to start saying goodbye now that she was in a the local cemetery where dozens of Cybermen were bursting from tombstones and mausoleums. For the moment, it appeared they weren't taking an interest in her, but that didn't stop Liv from worrying.

"We have to find the Doctor and Minerva," the blonde held Clara's hand.

"Thought about it…" Clara said quietly, too engulfed with the sight before thek to worry where their friends were.

"Oh my God," Liv's eyes widened. "Do you think...do you think my body is like that too?"

It took Clara a minute to figure out Liv was talking about her actual human body that was buried somewhere in San Diego. Clara immediately looked out to the Cybermen again, now unable to stop thinking about it too.

"They have my body up and running...without my permission," Liv was close to anger. "Because...because let's face it. Cybermen are appearing from all ages. They took my body...and they converted it to a Cyberman."

Clara didn't have any words of condolences , she just had herself. She gave Liv's hand a tight squeeze and just let her know that she wasn't alone.

~0~

Kate grew tired of seeing the Doctor go from one place to another in the conference room. He was like a child refusing to sit still. "Mister President, you need to get back in your seat."

"I don't like being the president," the Doctor scowled. "People keep saluting. I'm never going to salute back."

Minerva sat perfectly comfortable at the conference table, looking amused at him. "I would be lying if 60% of my reason to vote for you didn't spring from wanting to watch this one moment."

The Doctor swiped a lily off a vase then turned around to meet his wife's smirk. "You're awful."

"I am," Minerva was close to laughing then, just to bug him even more, she saluted. Although rather annoyed, he walked over and handed her the lily. "Where's my salute?" she teasingly asked afterwards.

"Do you know, that was always my dad's big ambition, to get you to salute him just once," Kate remarked, although now seeing he didn't even want to salute his own wife she guessed it would have been even harder for her father.

"He should've asked," the Doctor easily said back, although his eyes landed on the window.

"Hello?" Minerva waved a hand to signify she was still waiting for her salute.

'Bit cheeky aren't we?' went the Doctor in her mind.

'My murderer is on the same plane. Give me a break,' Minerva smirked.

For Kate, it appeared like the Doctor had remained staring at the windows behind her. "Doctor, what are you looking at?" she followed his gaze to the windows but saw nothing but gloomy skies.

"The clouds. Still there. So what else have they got?"

But then a metal face appeared at the porthole, scaring to death Kate

"Oh, dear Lord!"

The Doctor yanked Minerva off her chair, protectively pulling her to him. "There's a Cyberman out there on the fuselage. But on the plus side, it's not turbulence."

Minerva glanced at the monitor and cursed herself for being too slow. "Doctor, she's out! And I doubt anyone let her out!"

"What's it doing? Where did it go?" Ahmed had watched the Cyberman disappear from outside. "What can one Cyberman do to a plane?"

"I get the feeling it's not just one Cyberman," Minerva mumbled and allowed the Doctor to walk her out of the room, or sprint.

~0~

The first thing the Doctor and Minerva saw in the cargo room/laboratory was the like of ashes on the ground with broken spectacles. Osgood.

Minerva gaped at the sight and only looked up when they heard steps across them. Missy was coming out from behind the TARDIS.

"Oh, she was really scared. It's classic," Missy laughed. "Have you got any more friends I can play with?"

~0~

Clara knew that she hadn't made it to the cemetery in her own. Liv told her that a Cyberman brought her over without so much of a threat. So when she saw one Cyberman out of the fest just staring at her, she knew it must have been the Cyberman that brought her.

She ran over till she stood in front of it. "Are you the one that brought me here?"

"Affirmative."

"Yup, that's the one," Liv curiously eyed the Cyberman. It clutched onto a small piece of paper in its hand.

"So you know who I am, right?" Clara asked.

"You are not the Doctor."

"Of course I'm not the Doctor. I was lying to stay alive," and for some reason Clara didn't feel like she needed to lie. "But how do I know so much about him?"

"You are his associate."

"No, I'm not. I'm not his associate. I'm his family," Clara argued back. "Have you got any sort of Cyber-Internet in there because, really, you should look it up. Look up what happens to you if you harm me."

"Where is the Doctor?"

"What, you think I would give up the Doctor or Minerva? Don't be daft. I would never, ever, give them up, because they are my family. He and Minerva are the closest people to me in this whole world. They are the people I will always forgive, always trust. The people I would never, ever lie to."

But behind Liv was studying the Cyberman silently. There was something off about it, from the very start of it. No Cyberman saves a human and continued to converse with her. Like an instinct, the Cyberman pointed its weapon at Clara but almost immediately it shook and instead it removed the face plate.

Clara shuddered a breath. "Danny?"

Danny dropped the paper he was clutching and spoke in a near shaking voice, something that didn't go unnoticed by Liv. "Danny Pink is dead. Help me."

"Oh, my God. Danny-"

"Help me."

"Danny, I am so sorry-"

"Help me. I need you to do something for me. I can't do it myself." Danny then took off the cover off his chest disc and revealed the emotional inhibitor inside.

"What is that?" Clara stated at the device doubtfully.

"It's the emotion center of a Cyberman," Liv said slowly, eyes trailing up to Danny's face. "See a Cyberman isn't meant to have emotions. They're machines. Robots. But you didn't have it off, did you?" she asked Danny. "You can still feel." That's why he saved Clara, that's why he brought her to the cemetery. He still remembered everything of his human life.

"I need you to switch it on," Danny's voice shook. "Please. I don't want to feel like this."

~0~

The plane was rocking rather violently, having all of its passengers trying desperately hang onto something. Missy, however, was just enjoying the 'fun' ride.

"Quit laughing!" Minerva ordered.

"Oh, there she goes again!" Missy flapped an arm over her head. "Snowflake Princess, throwing orders here and there!"

"Stop it!" the Doctor went next.

Missy's lips curled up in a knowing smile. "And there he goes, blind!" she rolled her eyes. "You know, I've been up and down your timeline, meeting all those silly people who died to keep you alive, both of you! And you know what I worked out? What you so blindly-" she pointed at the Doctor, "-have missed for centuries now?"

"Stop talking you lunatic!" Minerva frantically yelled.

"She-" Missy pointed at her, "-is just like me now! You've fashioned her into what she's become now."

"Oh, and now it begins," Missy gestured to the TARDIS where the phone had begun to ring. "Doctor, I do believe you're on call. Miss Oswald expects?"

The Doctor ran to the TARDIS with Minerva right behind him. "Clara!?"

"Doctor. I'm with Danny-"

The Doctor knew Clara was in pain but now was not the moment for her to make up lies. "Danny's dead, Clara."

"Not yet. Not quite. But he wants to be."

"Doctor, if Danny was dead then his body must have come back as a Cyberman," Minerva whispered next to him.

"He's a Cyberman," Clara confirmed without knowing it. "Doctor, Danny's a Cyberman. And he's crying. Doctor, he feels it. He's crying. I need to know how to turn on the, uh, the inhibitor. It can delete emotion or something."

"I know what it does. If you turn it on he'll become a Cyberman!" the Doctor cut her off.

"He's already a Cyberman-"

"Not yet, he isn't."

"He's hurting because I hurt him and he wants it to stop," Clara's voice shook with terrible guilt.

"Stop the pain and he'll kill you!"

"Look, are you going to help me, because I can't do this alone. Liv doesn't know how either."

"We're not going to help you commit suicide!" the Doctor practically shouted.

"Look, the Tardis can home in on this call, right? Either you help me, or you leave me alone."

"She's not gonna listen," Minerva feared that Clara's thoughts were clouded by her pain.

"Clara? Clara, no-" but the Doctor stopped when he heard the line go off. On the other side, Clara had thrown her phone away.

"Doctor! Minerva!" Kate came in, wobbling from the plane. "The Cybermen are in. The plane's going down!"

"Oh, great. It's the daughter one. Do you like her? I like her," Missy cast a very sadistic glance at Kate.

"Don't you dare!" Minerva moved to take her down when Missy took control of the plane's state and veered it sharply.

The Doctor reached out for Minerva and clamped her onto a cargo strap with him. Kate frantically did the same. Missy didn't stop there and opened up the cargo hatch and immediately sucked Kate out.

"Why did you do that?" Minerva screamed. "You didn't have to do that!"

"Oh, don't be so selfish. I'm going to miss her, too," Missy swayed her head. "In fact, you know what? Just for that, I'm leaving." She spoke into her device that apparently served as a comm. "Boys, blow up this plane and, I don't know, Belgium, yeah? Kill some Belgians. Might as well. They're not even French. Byeeee!" and she teleported away.

"Doctor!" Minerva struggled to look up at him beside her. "Just...follow my lead!" she seized his hand and the two jumped out.

He moved his hand onto hers. 'Trust me?'

Minerva nodded her head, face scrunched from all the wind blowing in the room. She shut her eyes as soon as the Doctor took a free-fall dive with her.

~0~

Liv nervously watched Clara fiddle with Danny's inhibitor. Although she was almost sure that 80% of nervousness was from Clara. She thanked luck that the trusty TARDIS materialized across them.

"Clara, don't!" the Doctor ran out first. Minerva closely followed but she was still trying to process the fact they'd survived a freefall. Never had she loved more the box of wonders than at that moment.

Clara did not falter in her determination. "Help me."

"If you do what you're trying to do, if you succeed, he will snap you!"

"No-"

"Then he will step over your broken body and break another and another and another. He will never stop!"

"I will not harm her," Danny argued.

"P E. P E. P E. I had a friend once! We ran together when I was little. And I thought we were the same. But when we grew up, we weren't. Now, she's trying to tear the world apart, and I can't run fast enough to hold it together." The Doctor walked up to Danny and put a hand over the metal chest disc. "The difference is this. Pain is a gift. Without the capacity for pain, we can't feel the hurt we inflict."

"Are you telling me seriously, for real, that you can?"

"Of course I can."

"Then shame on you, Doctor."

Liv's eyes were drawn upwards into the dark, rumbling sky. "Can someone actually tell me what the plan is? Whether it's yours or the crazy woman. What is going on?"

"Danny, Danny, I need you to tell me. What are the clouds going to do? What is the plan?" the Doctor knew that out of any Cybermen in the cemetery Danny was the only way to figure it all out.

"How would I know?" asked Danny, sounding confused.

"You're part of a hive mind now. Presumably that's how you found Clara. Just look."

"I can't see much," Danny said after a moment.

"Look harder!"

Danny went straight face for a moment. His eyes briefly flickered to Clara. "Clara, watch this. This is who the Doctor is. Watch the blood-soaked old general in action." His eyes moved back to the Doctor. "I can't see properly, sir, because this needs activating. If you want to know what's coming, you have to switch it on. And didn't all of those beautiful speeches just disappear in the face of a tactical advantage? Sir."

The Doctor stepped backwards, seeing the point Danny was making and of course accepting it. There was danger, true danger at hand, and he wasn't going to waste in trying to make up a retaliation. "I need to know. I need to know!"

"Yes, you do," Danny went unsurprised.

"Give me the screwdriver," Clara extended a hand back for the Doctor.

"No." The Doctor remained put.

Minerva watched it all from behind and saw the desperation from both Clara and Danny. She hoped to God she wouldn't regret her stance. "Doctor, just do it. I think...I think we owe that much."

The Doctor met Danny's look before letting his sonic pass onto Clara.

"Typical officer. Got to keep those hands clean," Danny couldn't let it slide.

"Hey," Minerva pointed at him fast. "You are asking for this, don't forget that."

Clara took a deep breath in, her hand grasping the sonic. "Just point and think, yeah?"

"Yes…" the Doctor backtracked a bit.

"Okay," Clara pursed her lips, desperately trying to hold back her tears. "I wasn't very good at it, but I did love you."

"I love you too," Danny said for what he knew he would never again say.

"I'm never going to say that again." Liv's eyes filled with tears, but she knew they were Clara's. "I feel like I'm killing you," Clara's tears finally made it down her face.

"I'm already dead. You're here this time at least," Danny said as consolation for both of them.

"Goodbye, Danny," Clara shuddered.

"Goodbye, Clara."

Clara then activated the sonic and saw instant results. Danny's face went completely blank and his entire posture turned rigid and straight. Clara turned off the sonic and, without hesitation, moved to him and hugged him.

"Clara, no! Step away! He's activating!" the Doctor nearly lost it. "Clara, step away now! Don't!" He successfully pulled Clara back but it would only last for a moment. "Danny. Danny, if you can hear me, if you're still there, what are the clouds going to do?"

"The rain will fall again. All humanity will die," this time Danny spoke monotonously.

"And rise again as Cybermen."

"Correct."

"How do we stop it?"

"We cannot be stopped."

Missy decided to make her reappearance and did so in Mary Poppins style, floating down with an umbrella above . "Oh, that was brilliant! Oh, I love the telly here, but did you see that? Oh, Clara, you poor thing. You must feel like death. Let me pop away the pain."

As soon as she pulled out her controller device, Minerva stalked over and snatched it right out of her hands. "You're gonna pay!" she promised.

"I'm just getting a bit carried away, aren't I?" Missy backtracked a bit, playful. "It's your friends, they're so more-ish. Hmm?"

Clara silently went back to hugging Danny. The Cyberman did no such harmful thing.

Missy smirked at Minerva who had yet to raise those glaring, blue eyes from her. "Oh, stop looking all cross-pants. I'm here to give your husband a gift."

"What gift?" the Doctor moved for them and gently brought Minerva back.

"The gift of sight," Missy meant to promise. She raised her arm wearing a bracelet and spoke into it. "Cyberdears!" all cybermen, except for one, straightened up in response. "Look at Mummy! Raise your arms. Lower your arms. Raise your right. Lower your right. Turn on the spot."

All Cybermen, so she thought, followed the orders like it was a Simon says game.

"You built an entire army…" Minerva looked around at the numbers.

"Oh, don't let those eyes dazzle," Missy glowered at her. "Because you see, Doctor, how she acts now, don't you?"

The Doctor didn't want to hear more rubbish from her, especially about his wife.

"Oh, c'mon!" Missy feigned a frustrated fit. "The power to slaughter whole worlds at a time, then make them do a safety briefing is at your fingertips! But whose?" her eyes flickered from the Doctor to Minerva. "Everyone who ever lived, man, woman and child, is now at your commands. An indestructible army to rage across the universe. One to match the one you've already built!" she made a gesture towards Minerva. "And the more they kill, the more they recruit. Here, catch one of you!" she tossed the bracelet over to the pair and laughed when Minerva caught it. "Of course you would."

"All of this for what, exactly?" Minerva gritted her teeth. "You're not making sense!"

"Well of course the person with the problem is the last one to notice," Missy put her hands on her hips. "The lover is in the same boat. No, you would need someone on the outside to see it first...a friend. A friend who was never afraid to say the truth like it was. You've changed Minerva. And what's even more delightful is to see who changed you."

The Doctor's face hardened when Missy once again laid eyes on him. "Stop it!"

"Why?" Missy challenged in the next second. "Because it's an awful truth? Well let me tell you that it is nonetheless the truth. You've fashioned yourself a little soldier for a wife," she mocked him. "What's more? She turned out to be a hypocrite about it. You think I'm awful? At least I don't go around parading myself to be a noble Queen. Well now here it is: an entire army that will fall under her command because that's who she is now."

"I would never!" Minerva fiercely defended herself from the bland accusations.

"But that's just it, Snowflake Princess. You've already become it. I've seen your past. I've seen you rage war against the Silence for a daughter. I've seen you fight against your own sister because you thought she was a threat. Who's next?" Minerva growled and moved forwards but the Doctor held her back again. "And there it is!" Missy clapped her hands, laughing.

But then Liv appeared in between them, furious than ever. "You did all this to prove a goddamn point? You let people die and violated their rights after death just to make up some crazy stories?

Missy smirked.

"You made a bad mistake lady," Liv suddenly declared, stepping back. "You forgot about me...and about Clara. You forgot about humans can do. Most importantly you forgot about love. Love is a promise."

They all followed Liv's gaze to Clara and Danny, the latter still hugging the former.

"I never got to experience it but thanks to Clara i get the jist," Liv smiled.

"Danny, catch!" Minerva didn't think twice before throwing the bracelet over to him.

"You didn't notice, did you?" the Doctor smiled, unable to believe he'd missed that too. "While you were doing all your silly orders, while you where showing off, the one soldier not obeying."

Missy was also in a state of shock. "No, that's wrong. That's impossible."

"The rain will not fall." Danny let go of Clara and put the control bracelet on.

"Oh?" Missy watched him come up to her. "Why won't it?"

"The clouds will burn."

"And who'll burn them?"

"I will burn them."

"How?"

"I will burn."

Missy rolled her eyes, not taking him serious. "One burning Cyberman is hardly going to save the planet."

"Correct." Danny raised his arm and spoke into the bracelet and had all the other Cybermen listening up. "Attention! This is not a good day. This is Earth's darkest hour. And look at you miserable lot. We are the Fallen. But today, we shall rise. The army of the dead will save the land of the living. This is not the order of a general, nor the whim of a lunatic."

"Excuse me?" Missy huffed.

"This is a promise. The promise of a soldier!" Danny's voice softened as he spoke to Clara for the last time. "You will sleep safe tonight."

Clara could only watch as he ignited his rocket boots and rose from the ground. All Cybermen followed and flew off into the sky, exploding. As they exploded, they pushed the clouds away until the sun was left to shine down.

"Hm, the clouds have all gone," Liv couldn't take her eyes off the sky for fear of it all reversing.

"Yes, burned up. Totally burnt. Burnt to nothing," the Doctor said but winced for Clara's sake. "Sorry."

"Ten zero eleven, zero zero by zero two," Missy suddenly said.

"What did you say?" the Doctor glared her way, thinking it was a backup plan now.

"The current coordinates of Gallifrey. It's returned to it's original location. Didn't you ever think to look?"

"Stop lying!" Minerva suddenly aimed Missy's device straight at her. "I am so sick of you lying and hurting my family!"

"And there it is," Missy didn't seem the least bit surprised. In fact, one could say she was almost waiting for it to happen.

"M-Minerva," the Doctor was shocked to see his wife so close to...well...killing.

"There we have it!" Missy began to clap. "Finally, she reveals herself. Don't you see Doctor? You've made this - you've made her."

"Shut up," ordered Minerva, gritting her teeth together, her finger just inches above the button.

"This entire time haven't you ever once stopped to see who you've become?" Missy asked, stepping forwards. "Last time we met you said you would never aim to kill."

"Times change."

"Ah, so it has," Missy's eyes flickered to the Doctor. "Do you see it now? Right before your very eyes? I have loved seeing the story unwrap. The lonesome Snowflake Princess meets the Doctor who slowly changes her. I've seen her at her worst. I've made sure you and her stayed together just so that you - Doctor - could see her in the end."

"The advert," Minerva suddenly remembered the Victorian advert that had led her and Clara to the Doctor while he was working through his regeneration. "That was…" she blinked rapidly, faltering for a minute, "...that was you?"

Missy smirked. "I've waited so patiently for the end of this story. Sweet Snowflake Princess what have you become?"

Minerva had never felt so scared in her life, and she'd been through much.

'Honestly Minerva I don't even know who you are anymore," Clara looked away, taking a breath. 'You changed for the worst.'

Clara shifted under Minerva's glance, assuming she was remembering her outburst from the Moon incident. The realization, the connections, were finally being made and Minerva was not ready for it.

This regeneration, oh this regeneration...had really screwed with her mind. Or so she had blamed. Yes, the regeneration had totally changed her personality in a whole different way that had never appeared before. She was quicker to make assumptions and act on them, even if they weren't always most peaceful way. But before that, back to when the Ponds were in the TARDIS...she had changed. She killed Kovarian without hesitation, and even if it was in an alternate universe Minerva admitted she would do it all over again if she had the chance. Anyone who hurt her family would suffer by her hand. With Clara and Liv, she was prepared to do anything it took to keep Elias and the Doctor safe. That...that wasn't her, or it used to not be her.

Kaeya… she heard the Doctor's voice in her mind. She had blocked her entire mind off from him but not before he got a blip of all the emotions and feelings that were rushing through her.

Minerva felt out of place, weak. She lowered the device in her hand, missing Missy's widest smirk ever. "What have I become?" she whispered.

"Everything you never dreamed of," Missy answered for her, completely satisfied to see it all finally sink in.

"Enough!" the Doctor took Minerva into his arms, the blonde too lost in her thoughts to argue.

"No point in denying it Doctor," Missy laughed. "Sweet little Snowflake Pr - AH!" An energy bolt had fired from behind and got her.

Everyone gaped as a Cyberman, the last one, stood at a distance from them. It pointed to something, or someone, lying among the gravestones.

The group ran forwards and found none other than Kate Stewart lying on the ground.

"Kate!" the Doctor bent down beside the woman and checked for a pulse. "She's breathing! She's alive! She can't be here. She fell out of a plane. The Cyberman must have caught her."

Clara leaned down as she heard Kate mumbling things. "Doctor, she's talking about her dad."

The Doctor slowly got up and turned to the last of the Cybermen. "Of course. The Earth's darkest hour and mine. Where else would you be?" He straightened and gave the only salute he would ever give...to the spirit of Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge Stewart. "Thank you."

~ 0 ~

Clara was not expecting to see the Doctor and Minerva reappear so soon after her first call. It had been only two weeks since the Cybermen attack, and Danny's death, when Clara decided to finally call up her friends. She would have thought they would be late by months but it was only the next day. She smiled warmly when Elias pushed the coffee place's door open, or so he thought, for his parents. In reality the Doctor had pushed from above but let the toddler believe it was all him.

"I did it!" he cheered for himself then scurried over with his teddy bear in hand all the way to the table Clara was waiting at. Liv was standing right next to her, visible only to them. "Hi, Ca-yah," he greeted politely and started pulling on a chair on his own.

"Elias," Clara tried helping but the boy insisted he was going to do it himself. So she waited for his parents to join them. "Hi," she greeted them a bit nervously.

"Hello," the Doctor greeted back. Minerva smiled the best she could and sat down next to him. "We got your message. Is there news?" they assumed Clara wanted to talk about how Danny had ultimately survived in the end thanks to Missy's bracelet.

"Where's Danny?" Minerva made the assumption and looked around for the man.

Clara gulped. Liv put a hand on her shoulder, encouraging her to go on and tell them what happened. "He's not coming back. He, um...he sent back a child he accidentally shot while he was…" Clara made the gesture and the two understood.

"Clara, we're sorry," the Doctor said. Elias got up on his chair and pushed his teddy bear Roger to Clara as a way to comfort her.

"Thank you, El," Clara patted the bear's head. "I called you because I wanted to talk." She sighed and looked at Minerva. "I should have said it two weeks ago before you left but…"

"Clara…" Minerva could guess where this conversation was going and shook her head.

"You need to hear it," Clara reached for one of Minerva's hands. "Because Missy took it all out of context."

"You would think," Minerva bitterly smiled.

"She wasn't wrong about you changing, but she was wrong to what extent. You are not a bad person, and I hope to God my words never made you think that. It's like...it's like the Doctor once said," Clara smiled for a minute as she glanced at the man, "We all change. And it's good. We have to change."

"I agree," the Doctor looked at his wife, taking her other hand. "After all this time, it is impossible to be the same woman from the iced lake. You changed because you had to, because it was needed."

"But I…" Minerva tried to argue against it.

"Some of it was bad, but sometimes the only decisions to make are the worst ones. But still...someone has to make them," Clara reminded her. "Who better than a Queen with self control?"

"Mommy's the best," Elias proudly said and let himself sit back down on his chair.

Minerva let out a small laugh and took her hands out of the Doctor's and Clara's to clean some loose tears off her face.

"And the best sister," Liv added, laughing.

Clara was relieved to see that Minerva was letting herself feel better. It made her next words just a little easier to say without feeling the guilt she thought she would've if things had gone the other way. "There was another thing I wanted to talk to you both about. It's, um...it's about me...and...and Liv...and you."

"What is it?" the Doctor asked, wondering if they were in problems as well.

"I lost Danny...three times," Clara struggled still to accept that. "And I...I need time to build myself up again. You know sometimes, when you're in the TARDIS, it feels like you're running away from problems...and this is one problem I don't want to run from. Danny deserves better than that. So I...want to stay away from travelling for a while. I want to process it, and...and let it sink in."

"You want to...leave the TARDIS?" Minerva summarized it just to confirm it was what they were hearing.

"No, Ca-yah," Elias shook his head, once more pushing himself to stand on his chair. "No go!"

"It's just for a while," Clara promised them all.

"You don't think I would ever stay away from you, do you?" Liv tested them out and smiled. "They'd have to lock me up."

Minerva began to smile at the use of her very words. "Same."

"It's just until I feel better," Clara promised again. "And-and Liv can go to the TARDIS any time she wants. You don't have to stop and mope because of me."

"Actually…" the Doctor took a breath in and glanced at Minerva, both thinking of the same thing, "...perhaps this works out for the best."

"What do you mean?" Clara made a face, just as confused as Liv was now.

"We've been thinking…" Minerva pointed between her and the Doctor, "...about Elias."

"That's me," Elias pointed at himself, despite not knowing what they were talking about.

"And we came up with a little plan," Minerva finished. "See, we've been worrying that with all our constant travelling Elias may not be benefiting like we want him to."

"We think Elias needs to start interacting more with other children," the Doctor simplified it before they rambled on trying to explain it.

"Oh," Clara blinked, instinctively looking to Elias who'd gotten more interested in his teddy bear.

"My grandfather says that Elias is developing at a faster rate psychologically than most Moontsay children," Minerva continued to explain, "And the Doctor agrees it's happening faster than most children of his people as well. We want to make sure he gets the best childhood experiences. He can't very well do that if he's never around children."

Clara and Liv stared at Elias who was now talking to himself and probably to Roger. It wasn't hard to agree with that. Elias was hardly ever around children, and when he was it was only for a couple of hours every once in a while. As a teacher, Clara knew that it was important for children to be around other children in order to understand the concept of a society, a community.

"We want to stop travelling for a while too," the Doctor finally admitted out loud. "Because Elias is the only of his species, we figure the best we can offer to him is a stable home on the Monsoon for a while. They share half of his genes there and so we'll be better able to record his growth."

"So you're...you're going to live on the Monsoon?" Liv asked slowly, the idea sounding far too tetchy even for those two.

"For our son, we will," the Doctor nodded.

"But you've never been one to just stop travelling…" Clara couldn't help smile a little.

"Once, I did," the Doctor corrected. "When Minerva became a Moontsay again she had to stay far more time on the Monsoon. I stopped travelling for her then and I'll gladly do it again for our son."

"I'm proud," Clara was left to say. "And I hope it works out, then."

"It's not forever," Minerva warned for all of them.

"Just a vacation," Clara agreed.

"So...we're okay?" the Doctor needed to make sure before they had to go.

"Yes," both Clara and Liv answered at the same time, smiling as well.

It was a lot easier to say goodbye (for a while) if she knew that everyone had something they wanted to get done and overcome.

~ 0 ~

And so, when Minerva and the Doctor arrived on the Monsoon, it felt a lot less conflicting for them than they thought.

"Mommy, Daddy, my own bed?" Elias was hopeful as looked up between his parents. They all stood in the old bedroom set for Minerva and the Doctor, complete with the adjoined room that was Elias' nursery.

"You want your own bed now?" the Doctor repeated, fairly amused. "You think you're old enough for one?"

"No more crib," Elias shook his head, clutching his teddy bear as he started for the connecting door.

Minerva waited until Elias was far enough before she asked. "Are you okay?" The Doctor looked away, knowing exactly what the question was about. At his silence, Minerva turned to him, reaching to touch his face. "I know...I know the coordinates didn't match...so you don't have to lie to me. Not to me."

Because of course she knew the Doctor had gone off the first moment he had to see if the coordinates Missy gave were right and led to Gallifrey.

It had not.

"Doctor," Minerva gently turned his attention back to her. "I don't know how you see this place," she motioned to the area, "But I want you to know that this place can be another home for you."

The Doctor smiled at her, although he was still writhing with anger for Missy's last trick, he couldn't find it to be angry when he was with Minerva. "If you're here...then yes."

Minerva smiled.

Author's Note:

And bam! We're done! As I said before, I don't plan on doing the Christmas special of this season because I frankly just hated it. No reason to write it too when it wouldn't make sense for this story anyways. But, the next story has been posted and...it's called Tomorrow Will Be Another Day. Go give it a read!

Thanks for everyone who read and reviewed! It always means a lot! Hope the next story is even better for you! :)