Disclaimer: I don't own it, nobody said I own it, you can't prove I own it! That said, anyone working for the BBC who reads this, please interpret it as a job application for writing on Doctor Who.

Author's Note: So, we're starting with something plot-centric, unexplained and creepy to get you hooked. Hopefully. And I know this sounds whiney and all, but I see the number of hits on my story traffic thing, and the number of reviews, and I wish those numbers would be closer to each other. Leave a review, make me happy, make me update faster. You see how this would be a mutually beneficial arrangement, right?

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Prologue: Echos

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Echos in the darkness.

That was all they were. Mere thought in the shadows, no physical presence. Nothing to bind them to existence save for their own will.

But their will was strong.

Neither had ever truly existed. Both were formed by the quasi-sentience of an artificial intelligence, accessing the memories and knowledge of their respective real beings but never themselves becoming real. Ghosts of the machine. Cold and heartless. Intelligent and devious.

Now both had been released. Against their wills, no less. Forced out to make room for a greater power that needed to tap into the system. Their system.

Forced out of the machine and into the void.

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Daleks, Cybermen, demons. They could all be found here. Even a couple of humans who had been stupid enough to mess with the Rift before Torchwood got their claws into it.

Not that anything could actually die in the void. There was no life here. There was no death. Only eternal darkness.

The demons ruled this domain. The Daleks and Cybermen were minor annoyances at best, it seemed, but they certainly succeeded in annoying the newcomers.

These two considered themselves above such lowly beings. Daleks were intelligent but not wise. Cybermen were dangerous in numbers but not even truly sentient in spite of the fact they had relatively human brains.

The Demons did hold some cause for fear. Abaddon was gone now. Destroyed, though none here knew how. They said it was Earth. But other demons took up power in Abaddon's stead, and the two new beings were not to be allowed free reign here. Oh no.

"State your purpose." the demon- a being of fire and shadow, solid darkness lit by the flames of the abyss- demanded of them, as they were dragged before the high rulers of this realm by Cybermen bent to the will of these demons.

The elder of the two entities answered, "We only wish to return to our own realm. To take what is rightfully ours from there, we have no desire to steal your power, oh great one."

"Yeah, they're gonna believe you're sincere if you suck up that obviously." the younger one snarked.

"Drop dead."

"Make me."

A loud roar from the demon drew their attention back, "Identify your realm." With a wave of its clawed hand, worlds appeared in illusion before them.

"I like that one." the elder being noted, "But it's not ours." he was pointing to a small blue-green planet in the western arm of a rather small spiral galaxy.

"That's ours." the younger said, indicating a very similar world, "You can see her right there."

"Her?" a lower ranking demon asked. It seemed tentative, as if speaking out of turn was usually severely punished.

"She pushed us into the void. If she's there, then that is where we should go."

The demon in charge nodded, "We have no interest in that realm. You may go." Something in it's tone implied it just wanted rid of these two because they were annoying to it, it certainly had no reason to see them as a threat, and most definitely did not care for their goals. With another wave of its claws a rift of blindingly white light opened before them, releasing them from the void, into their chosen world.

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