I got up, only to trip over my own feet as the bed was a bit further away than I expected. Looking around the room, I realized that the entire layout was different from before. Standing up fully and observing the room, I noticed that there were quite a few people hanging around the bunk bed that I just got up from, looking at me.
"You're awake," My mom murmured softly. I stared her down, wondering if she had looked this young the first time and I just hadn't noticed.
"I am. When am I? I mean, what happened?" I asked, and they all looked at me a bit oddly, probably unused to the serious tone. I was anywhen from four to seven, after all.
"You've been asleep the whole day-"
"I missed school? Why didn't you wake me?" I demanded, only for nostalgia's sake. I knew when I was, I was four, and this was the day I slept in for just under twenty four hours. Meaning it was 2005-ish. I wondered what happened this year, only able to think of YouTube and the beginning of the reboot of Doctor Who. I believe my favorite Harry Potter film came out this year, too, as well as Casanova.
What a great year.
"We couldn't wake you up," My mom said childishly. I frowned, not realizing how condescending everyone was to children. Either way, I needed an excuse for my sudden intelligence, and I had the perfect plan.
"That's to be expected, the time travel had… many problems, as we can clearly see." I gesture to my body, frowning and shaking my head, "I come from 2019, and I've officially been the first successful time traveler."
I was so glad that Doctor Who got me into actual time travel and its possibilities, because now I have a perfect explanation and can give the basic theory behind the possibilities of time travel. Speaking of, "Einstein was wrong, by the way. Speeds are relative, which means that space is relative, but time isn't relative. Though, see- ah, you don't believe me…?" I stopped pacing, looking at the few people insane enough to have actually believed me looking back at me blankly.
"You aren't a demon?" My mom asked, and I grinned sharply at her.
"Oh, you've called me that before, that's for certain," I tilt my head, face going blank, "Though, I don't intend to let your mind go to waste as it once has. I can theoretically transfer your mind into a newer brain, so that your mind cannot betray you and throw you into… what you ended up as in my time. I only have a few years, though, so I'd be glad if you enrolled me into high school so I can finish my college education in four years… I'll be eight, then, correct?" At their blank faces, indicating I succeeded in confusing them enough not to question it, I grinned, "Brilliant."
I had planned to look up how electricity and minds worked anyway, since I wanted to help out with the VR movement, get that SAO ideal into reality, though I hadn't really had any hopes of succeeding, but now… Well, I had nothing to do. Imagine, someone with an absorbent mind, good memory, and dog-like determination going after something that was uniquely possible, without having to deal with money, food, or shelter issues for another ten to fifteen years.
Had I stayed in my own timeline long enough, I surely would've seen an actual time machine be made to work. Which would've most certainly boosted the entire tech industry towards light-speed flight, at least, and the gaming industry into SAO VR-ing abilities at most. Depending on who made the time machine, that is. Again, I was rather invested into that community, and paid a vague attention to it.
"Oh! Speaking of," I start, "What's for dinner? I'm hungry, and I want to get to work as soon as possible. Can we go to the public library tomorrow? If you don't know where it is, I do, kind of."
The room is silent for a few more moments, my mom, dad, and sisters looking at me. I shifted, sighing heavily.
"I see how it is. My mistake. Whaaa~ Me hungry! I wanna go to school and do nothing but sit on my a- my ar- my butt all day and be treated like a baby, whaaa!" I deadpan, getting back in bed, pulling the covers up, and staring duly at their shocked faces, "Hi, what happened? Is it time for school? …" At their continued silence, I wonder if I broke them.
"We need to get her to the doctor's," My mom stated, and I panicked, flailing.
"Wait! I can prove it! I can prove it!" I shout, standing up, "Nixon gets re-elected, I think, and YouTube and Casanova and Harry Potter Goblet of Fire become a thing! Come on, don't take me to the doctor, we can barely afford this house, let alone therapy!"
They hesitate, looking at me worriedly.
"If what you're saying is true… Tell me something you can't know," one of my sisters asks, excited.
"Personal or vague? I mean, uh, personal or… or impersonal?" I asked, "I mean… close to the family or in the general world?" I eventually got right. My sister shrugged, and I frowned, "Oh, thanks, that helps. Um. Dad, you've had a wife before this… I think? You're ex-army, and you rather dislike the fact that you were forced, this is your hometown, you're best friends with Uncle, and Auntie is… your friend's wife, I guess. Mom, you've… been… yeah, um, anyway," I paused, wondering what else I could tell them without messing up the timeline, "Um… oil prices go up by a lot this year? Ostriches find humans more attractive than other ostriches? … Uh… David Tennant is an actor that plays in both Goblet of Fire and Casanova?" I reach.
They all look at each other, before turning to me.
"How can we check those things?" My Dad asks.
"I mean, we have internet, right? Like, I can't live without it at this point. I literally - I mean, almost ruined my life by using it to read. Oh! Wait, duh, a four year old can't read! Give me a book and I'll read you all a chapter, come on." I get out of bed once more, walking next to them as they get a book. It's a child's book, and I scowl, "A teen's book, or one of those racy romances mom likes to read. A kid's book is too easy."
At their continued insistence, I roll my eyes and read the book, voice flat and bored. It worked, and soon we were all sitting in the living room.
"What happens in the future? Do you remember any lottery ticket numbers?" My parents ask.
"What happens to us?" My other sister asks, speaking for the first time.
I frown, "I can't say, bro. It could change the whole of history. Uh, you become a drug addict and slowly lose your mind, living in the basement in your adulthood, and you also get into drugs, though none so severe as she, and uh, yeah, same thing, except pregnant. Mom's mind betrays her as time goes on, and she stays stuck in the past, Dad gets hea- I can't even say that. Damn. U-" I pause and wince as my sisters gasp, pointing at me, and my parents frown, scolding me over my language.
"Oh, come on! You guys think stupid-" more gasps, "is a swear word! And shut up!" I glare at the two children as they gasp once more. I swear, I'd end up choking someone out by the end of the day if they didn't-
"We believe you," My mom stated, and I gaped at them.
"Wait, really?"
At their encouraging nods, I look away, unused to having supportive parents. What happened? How did it all go downhill? I sigh heavily.
"Okay. Can- What month is it?" I asked, and nod as my parents tell me it's September.
"Can you enroll me in high school? Oh, oh no," I suddenly hiss, frowning.
"What?" My sister asks.
"Most of my teachers will still be there, except younger. Damn, I mean, some of them were cool teachers…" I mumbled, looking at my lap.
"Why don't you stay with kids your own age?" My mom asked, and I scowled at her viciously.
"I'm almost eighteen! All of my friends are gone, and I've been- I went back in time to my younger body! I don't want to learn my abc's again when I know advanced algebra and calculus! I've graduated, I don't want to deal with this again, mum. I want… I just want to read a good book that hasn't been written yet in my room while listening to music that hasn't been invented yet. I'm an edgy, depressed teenager who just wants a home," I whispered in the end, looking down. I must've looked quite the sight, because soon I was being hugged by mom, and I froze up, awkwardly waiting for it to be over. It took too long, and I slowly started speaking.
"Mum… Please let go. I'm not comfortable enough with you to hug you anymore," I explained, and I felt as she physically flinched away from me, as if I was dry ice. I frowned as they scolded me and tried sending me to my room. I could feel my confused "are you an idiot?" look take over my face.
"You shouldn't talk to your mom like that! That was really rude, and you should feel bad," Dad scolded.
"I… Dad… I'm eighteen," I said.
"That still doesn't give you the right to be so rude!"
"I fucking tried being kind! Okay? Everything that's happened since I was twelve with her has been fucked up and terrible! If your fucking enemy hugged you would you stand there and kindly tell them to let you go? No! You'd punch that bitch in the face! But did I? No! Y-you know what? Go fuck yourself, I'm leaving! I shouldn't have expected anything but condescending bullshit from you all!" I snapped back, running to my shoes, putting them on, and storming out. I ran as fast as I could away, grabbing my bike and heading towards town, and made it to the cornfield, vanishing in the cornstalks just before they caught up.
I then snuck my way around, ending up on the adjacent side of the cornfield, oddly further away than the opposite way was. Avoiding cop cars and walking rather far, I managed to get to the end of the hill rather easily, biking towards where I knew the library would be.
I made it to the library easily, for they hadn't thought to look that far for a missing four year old, and I walked in, heading to the nonfiction area to read up on space and time. I needed to figure out how to get back to my time before I messed something up and it was too late. After picking up three heavy books on Einstein's theory, time travel, and rocket science respectively.
"What's a kid like you doing looking through books like that? Shouldn't you be in the kid's area?" A familiar northern accent came from behind me, and I turned around to glare at the idiot who dared to be so assumptious, only for my glare to slacken at the sight before me.
"What's a man like you doing in America? Shouldn't you be in northern Britain?" I snapped back, "Or being in a television show?" I muttered, walking past him and struggling to put the books on the table. Why did I become so short? What happened to my sweet, sweet heights?
"Why would I be in a television show?" He asked curiously, taking my books and putting them on the table. I then struggled to climb onto the stupid ass chair that's seat was as tall as I was. What the hell. I was both grateful and offended when I was picked up and plopped onto the chair.
"Because you're an actor," I replied absently, standing and pulling Einstein's theory towards me.
"I am? That's news to me," He chipped in happily, "Ooh, Einstein, great guy, very fun to hang out with."
I paused, staring blankly at the book for a moment before turning to the man before me. Leather jacket, big ears, northern accent. Tall, I also noted, staring up at him. I licked my teeth, not at all prepared for this situation.
"... Why is a man like you here?" I said, voice getting quieter as I stared him down. He grins, shifting and about to respond when suddenly an extremely familiar blond walks up.
"Doctor, what're you doing talking to a kid? We're here to find-"
I slowly get off of the chair that I was on, terrified, and rushing off. I was glad that the familiar blond came when she did, for I was not dealing with the Doctor when I was too small and weak to even fight back. Quickly running outside, I grab my bike and pedal off as fast as I can, passing a blue box that wasn't there before.
"- the disturbance in the space-time continuum, right? What could it be?" Rose asked the Doctor, who looked at her happily.
"Well, I was thinkin' the same thing, but then I saw a toddler picking up books on quantum theory and time travel," He answered, "I'm glad it was so easy, I thought it'd be something difficult and possibly dangerous."
"You don't think it was the child that just ran off terrified?" Rose asked, and the Doctor grinned proudly.
"Exact- wait, what?" He turned to look at where the child was, only to see that she was gone. Looking around, he ran around, spotting the child on a small bike with its training wheels still on rattling away rather quickly for a small bike.
Glancing at Rose, he ran off after the child.
I think furiously as I pedal away, not really believing that I'd make it very far and only hoping that a cop would see me and take me back to the domestic hell I'd have to live through again. There was no way in hell I'd survive the Doctor if he thought I was a danger to the future, and I most certainly was, whether my big aspirations came true or not.
"Hello! Why'd you run?" A voice called from next to me, and I scowled, stopping the bike and turning to look at the rude ass bastard.
"Couldn't even let me get off of the parking lot?" I sassed, awkwardly trying to get off the bike and stumbling when I did.
"Oops, sorry. Bit young, aren't you?"
"I'm eighteen, you arse," I whine, pouting and sitting down. The Doctor exchanged a look with Rose before kneeling down next to me.
"Of course you are. Now, what I want to know, is how you got here?"
"I biked."
"Yes, you did, but before that, how did you get to this time and age?"
"I presume that it was a universal rift, which probably closed upon my arrival, though it could still be open. I'm not from this universe, let alone this time." I said, hugging my knees to me while I sit, "Though, seeing as you exist, I'd rather not return anyway."
"Why's that?" Rose asked, and I looked up at her.
"Well, what better way to spend life than to spend it with an actor that isn't an actor? Of course, if you'll let me join you on your adventures, ma'am."
"Oi, what about me?" The Doctor asked.
"I bet if she wants me to you'll allow it," I reply immediately.
"How would that work? There's a lot of running to do and you're… Not that fast," Rose asked, and I frowned, shaking my head.
"There's this program for geniuses, on Earth, right now. If I can get into the program I'll bet you anything I'll meet you two again, hopefully when I'm a bit taller and faster. I can easily get into the program, since I'm already fourteen years ahead of some kids, I hope. I'll… I'll try avoiding creating paradoxes and stuff, though I'm not even sure if I can, seeing as I'm not even from here. It explains why the air tastes different, at least." I looked around, seeing that no one was really paying us any mind.
"The man who owns the internet is always looking for new people to induct, and I think that a four year old with the intelligence of a high schooler is kind of what he wants," I explain further, and the Doctor and Rose look at each other before looking back at me.
"No one owns the internet," Rose denied, giving me the information I needed to be confident that I'd actually have a chance to meet them again. What better way to be protected than, one, being miles underground, and two, being next to the most dangerous, and yet safest, man in the universe. Plus, I'd get to talk to a Dalek, and I think that's pretty cool.
"At the moment someone does, but they lose their ownership later on, I think," I explain, shrugging, "Plus, I mean, my information might be a bit off, I am from a parallel universe, kinda, after all."
And that was how I first met and didn't get killed by the Doctor. Hopefully my winning streak would never end, since the only thing keeping me alive was my intelligence and fandom knowledge.
"That's a Slitheen, I think it's called, and vinegar is deadly to it… I found out in the lab and by hacking into the united nations intelligence." Year 2007, a very good year.
"That, isn't an alien. It's a cyberman, and they're very dangerous. Any species can become cybermen, and their main goal is total assimilation… I'm guessing from the coding." Year 2008, where I had become a sort of alien tech hoarder, only rivalled by the british kid.
"That… is a musical instrument. And a broken vacuum. Can I keep them, actually? It'll give me something to do when I need to wait for loading webpages and stuff." Year 2009, where I got a hold of the alien tech I remembered from the show. I had written everything I knew down in Gallifreyan, and gave vague descriptions of what to look out for.
"That… is… um. I forgot the name, I'll need to check on UNIT later, if you'll let me? Thank you, so kind, and what it does? It takes someone's memories and becomes them, essentially. No, I am not a zygon, or you'd have caught it, since they're genetically different." Year 2010, where a dead zygon appeared, and I winced, not exactly knowing when the Zygons actually appeared in the reboot. 2016? 2012? 2010?
"A Dalek. I'd like to study this specimen more, may I?" I asked hopefully, only to frown when he denies me, "Well, okay, but if it doesn't talk, maybe I can help." 2011, one more year until I meet the Doctor. I had been running and learning martial arts and parkour the day after I had met the Doctor.
"Yes! I'd be honoured!" Early 2011.
"It's extremely dangerous, I wouldn't suggest anyone being even ten floors above or below it." Present time, with Van Statten, the man that owns the internet.
"Don't be ridiculous! It can barely move!"
"Sir, it's constantly repairing itself, and its one goal is major mass murder. Total genocide. You haven't even gotten through its armour yet, and at full power its armour melts bullets!" I argue politely, trying not to get my memories erased by his mood swings, "No offense, but if it gets even close to the surface it could and would kill every single human on Earth. Nukes wouldn't phase it."
"That doesn't sound good, what do you suggest?"
"I suggest we at least get everyone besides those testing and talking to it on a regular basis above the bulkhead on floor forty six. And I also suggest that every security detail learn to aim at its eyestalk and only its eyestalk if it escapes," I said, hoping he'd listen.
"... Hm… If you can get it to tell us its name, and not just tell me, I can allow a few less floors to work on. Would it go down?"
"Probably not, seeing as it would mostly be looking for freedom."
"Great, give this woman a raise."
"Of course, sir." His manager stated, and I walked off after my dismissal.
Walking to the dalek, I stare absently at it.
"Hello, Pepper," I say, having long since gotten it to freely speak to me.
"He-llo, Mae," the dalek responds.
"... Can you say your species name aloud? I've been looking for others of your kind, but a species name would surely help me find some," I asked. Its eyestalk turned to me, and it looked at me pitifully.
"Da-lek. I. Am. A. DAA-LEEK," Pepper weakly strained against its chains.
"Okay… Sorry you have to be chained. It's for the safety of every species ever, I hope you understand."
"I. Do. Nooot." It replied, and I nodded.
"As an example, if it was physically impossible for Daleks to kill the Doctor-" I paused as I waited for the Dalek to stop freaking out, "- as I was saying, if it was impossible, and you had a chance to lock him up without a good chance of escape until he fully healed from an atmospheric injury, you would, wouldn't you?"
"Yes." Pepper replied simply.
"... Right. That's all I really needed, is there anything you'd like to talk about?" I asked.
"Have. You. Found. Anyyy. Signs. Of. Daaleks?" It asked. I shook my head.
"No, sorry. I'll be sure to tell you the moment I do, okay? … Anything else you want to know before I go and do my other duties for the day?"
"What. Is. The. Weather. Like?" It asked, and I tilted my head, confused.
"I… I wouldn't know, Pepper. You've seen more sun than I have, to be honest. If that's all, I have to go now. Bye, Pepper."
"One. More. Thing." It croaked.
"Yeah?"
"Why. Do. You. Let. Them. Tooorture. Me?" It asked, almost pleading.
"... If I don't, they'll change the very essence of what I am. It's like… Someone threatening to turn you into a non-Dalek."
"..."
"I really am sorry, but… I'd rather not lose who I am, and I don't think you would want to lose who you are, either. You are a Dalek, but what if someone threatened, and could succeed, in making you less than a Dalek? You'd let others get tortured too, I'd guess."
"I. Under. Staand." The Dalek replied, and I nodded, about to leave before Pepper spoke once more, "You. Would make. A good, Daaalek."
I smile at the Dalek, "I'm human, Pepper. Haven't you heard? Humans are more murderous and genocidal than Daleks ever could be. Daleks don't torture, do they?"
And I left, and more time passed.
"What. Is. A. Huuman like?"
"There are good and bad humans, Pepper. Good ones want everyone and everything to live even at the expense of themselves. Bad ones just want to watch everything scream and cry and burn for their own pleasure."
Every time after that, the Dalek asked more and more about humans, and their comparisons to him, and time after time, I told him. I also finally got him to take on the "he" gender. He also asked after his own species and whether I've found them, and time after time I've said no, making sure to genuinely keep an eye out for them.
"Why. Do you… Call me… A mon. Sterrr, when hu-mans, are more mon-strous," the Dalek croaked out. I frowned, tilting my head at him.
"Most things with emotions are more monstrous than any Dalek ever could be. The… Well, a monster, to a human, is an unfeeling being. And you fit that description rather well, only knowing your orders and hatred and, sometimes, fear."
"DALEKS DO NOT FEEAR."
"The Doctor." I watched as the Dalek's eyestalk looked over me.
"I. Conceeede."
"Okay Pepper, okay."
And, at last, finally, I heard the TARDIS materialize. I was talking to Pepper at the time, and he seemed to hear it too.
"What. Is. Thaaat?" He asked, and I frowned, shrugging.
"That… Is the sound of someone leaving their brakes on. Do you want me to check it-"
"Nooo, you, keep, the torture, at, bayyy."
I nodded, knowing that that was true, "I do. Don't worry, I'm sure the source of the sound will be in here soon enough."
"... You know who it is," He gets out.
"Yeah."
"Tell. Me." He demanded.
"Pepper, you'll figure out soon enough."
"Is it a Daalek?"
"No," I comment, shaking my head once more.
Pepper and I stare at each other for a few moments.
"If I'm seen just silently staring at you-"
"You'll lose your-self. I know. Any. Other. News?"
"There has been no sightings of Dalek ships, no scans have found any, and I've been thorough, trust me," I comment, and look up when someone walks in.
"Van Statten wants to show his guest the Metaltron," the torturer commented, and I nodded.
"Bye, Pepper. See you soon."
"Bye, Mae."
I walk out and see the Doctor, who looked vaguely surprised to see me.
"You haven't changed much. A bit taller," He commented, and I frowned at him.
"Okay you freaking giant. I don't make it past five foot six anyway, no matter how many gods I pray to or wishes I make," I grumbled good-naturedly.
"I see you've gotten the job you wanted," the Doctor said idly.
"Yeah, turns out I actually was a small genius, but I was always held back. Not enough to get in here, though, so I just ended up hacking into his database and putting myself as a good candidate," I shrugged, "Good to see you again, kind of."
"Kind of?" He asked, and I nodded.
"I was bloody terrified of you before, and I haven't suddenly stopped being wary."
"Are you two going to have idle chit-chat for hours or are you going to show our guest the Metaltron?" Van Statten asked, and I frowned at him.
"Er, right, of course. Don't touch Pepper, or really get anywhere near him unless you want to be fried, etcetera etcetera. If you want to make him talk, well, I'm sure he'll talk to you." I shrugged, and the torturer held out gloves.
"Here, you'd better put these on. The last guy that touched it burst into flames," he said, and I scoffed.
"Okay, Simmons, leave it to the "Metaltron"'s fault when it was being tortured quite often by said guy," I snapped, and Simmons sneered at me.
"Oh, so befriending the damned thing is supposed to help? Pepper doesn't tell you anything about him or his kind!"
"He's told me more than you've gotten from torturing the damned pot!" I argued.
"Ladies, ladies, I have a guest. Behave," Van Statten ordered, "Go ahead, Doctor. Impress me."
The Doctor walked in, only to drag me with him.
"Mm?" I question, and he glanced at me.
"Pepper might feel more comfortable if a friendly face is around."
I look back at Van Statten, and he waves me off. I go in with the Doctor, feeling a bit put out. Two very powerful beings in one room, freaking the fuck out, with me there. Doesn't sound great.
Before the door closed, I heard, "Don't open that door until we get a result."
I winced, oh no. It was dark inside, the lights usually off anyway when I'm in the room. The thick door clangs shut and locks. I stare blankly at it, glad I knew the passcode.
"Look, I'm sorry about this. Mister Van Statten might think he's clever, but never mind him. I've come to help. I'm the Doctor," The Doctor introduced. Pepper is silent for a moment, but the sounds of slight whirring and clicking chains comes from where he is.
"Doc-tor?" Pepper the Dalek asked, eye and working headlight thing glowing.
"Impossible," The Doctor said in disbelieving shock.
"The Doctor?" Pepper asked, and I decided to speak.
"Yeah, he's the Doctor. Sorry Pepper, I couldn't tell you for sure if it was him until now," I apologize whilst the Doctor freaks out as the lights turn on to show the Dalek in its full glory.
"Exterminate!"
"Let me out!" The Doctor pounds on the door in terror, and I look at him, a bit confused.
"He can't hurt you!" I shout loudly, cutting through both panicked responses. They both go silent, turning to look at me. I sigh heavily, "He's been injured severely, Doctor. And the electricity has to be turned on from outside of the room because of what I did to Simmons last time, Pepper."
Pepper looks at its weapon sadly, and the Doctor starts laughing. I frown at him, before shaking my head and leaning against the wall opposite the door, mouthing "what a mess" to the camera.
"Fantastic! Oh, fantastic! Powerless! Look at you. The great space dustbin. How does it feel?" The Doctor boasted, walking forwards.
Pepper panicked, "Stay back!" He yelled, backing away. The Doctor walked right up, staring into his eyepiece.
"What for? What're you going to do to me? If you can't kill, then what are you good for, Dalek? What's the point of you? You're nothing," the Doctor spat, "What the hell are you here for?"
"I am waiting for orders and Mae to find a Dalek ship," Pepper replied confidently.
"What does that mean?" The Doctor asked.
"I am a soldier. I was bred to receive orders. Mae helps me look for Dalek ships."
"Well you're never going to get any. Not ever."
"I demand orders! Mae will find a Dalek ship to get me orders."
"They're never going to come! Your race is dead! You all burnt, all of you. Ten million ships on fire. The entire Dalek race wiped out in one second. Mae, whoever she is, will never find anything but dust and rocks!" The Doctor yelled.
I rolled my eyes, scoffing silently. Didn't the Daleks invade again in, like, 2013? I'd either find the Daleks, or the Daleks would find humanity.
"You lie!"
"I watched it happen. I made it happen," The Doctor said.
"You destroyed us?" The Dalek asked, shocked and slightly sad.
"I had no choice," The Doctor said sadly, and I could barely stop myself from scoffing once more. He did, and he made the right one. He still turned into Time Lord Victorious, though, so maybe I shouldn't hang around him too much.
"And what of the Time Lords? Mae scanned for them too."
"Dead. They burnt with you. The end of the last great Time War. Everyone lost."
"And the coward survived."
"Oh, and I caught your little signal. Help me. Poor little thing. But there's no one else coming 'cause there's no one else left."
"I am alone in the universe." Pepper stated, taking it badly.
"Yep."
"So are you. And Mae. We are the same." Pepper concludes, and this time I end in a coughing fit from my constant inclusion into this conversation.
"We're not the same! I'm not- who's Mae!?" He demanded, and I try answering, only to continue coughing.
"N-no, Pepper," I cough once more, "All three of us are rather different. You're a Dalek, I'm a human, and he's something in between."
"He is more Dalek."
"I bet you had he been able to flip the electricity on right now, he would. He's more human, just in a darker, smarter way."
"You're right. I would. In fact," The Doctor pulled out his sonic, and I rush forward, trying to stop him.
"Doctor- sto- DOCTOR, YOU'RE BETTER THAN THIS YOU BLOODY IDIOT!" I snapped, only to be shoved aside as he pointed his sonic screwdriver at Pepper, threateningly, "Hah! Hahahahah, oh, wow," I start laughing at the situation, and both the Doctor and Pepper look at me.
"What are you laughing about?" Pepper asked, and I grinned darkly at him.
"Oh, it's just… The Doctor always goes on about "no weapons" and "I do my best to be a good man" and yet here he is, about to torture a defenseless and purposeless killer. I'd agree with you on the being more Dalek part, but I'm pretty sure the arrogance and ignorance is 100% his Time Lord side," I replied, not looking at the Doctor.
"Mae, he's a monster!" The Doctor claimed, and I rolled my eyes.
"And so are you," I hissed, looking at his taken aback expression, "Yes, I said it, you've killed more than a single Dalek ever could! What was the Dalek doing? Following orders, like all soldiers do. What were you doing, Doctor? Who ordered you to kill everybody you knew and loved? Who told you that torture of any kind was okay? If this is the man you are now, I'm starting to doubt who you'll become if you're without any morally correct companion by your side. You truly are alien, if you don't even know that torture, of any kind, is unacceptable."
I try not to flinch at the Doctor's hurt expression, knowing that my words needed to be said. He would go down a very dark path if he wasn't stopped first, and I needed to help out as much as possible. The fact that he happily tortures a Dalek but doesn't kill Davros when he gets the chance sits the wrong way with me. I understand why he doesn't kill Davros, for mercy, but his ability to torture and kill left and right yet he sometimes decides to give mercy? He isn't any better than that one female Slitheen, in that case. I mean, at least the Slitheen had a solid goal. She didn't torture, even if she had no mercy.
Everyone storms in, and I followed along the Doctor as Van Statten yelled at the Dalek that's never yet spoken to him.
We all pile into the elevator and the Doctor decides to give some information, "The metal's just battle armour. The real Dalek creature's inside."
"What does it look like?" Van Statten asked.
"A nightmare. It's a mutation. The Dalek race was genetically engineered. Every single emotion was removed except hate."
"Oh? Mae said something different. Genetically engineered. By whom?"
"By a genius, Van Statten. By a man who was king of his own little world. You'd like him," the Doctor said, looking at me with an odd expression on his face.
"It's been on Earth for over fifty years. Sold at a private auction, moving from one collection to another. I know Mae said it's dangerous, but why would it be a threat now?" Another guy, Goddard, said.
"Because I'm here. How did it get to Earth? Does anyone know?"
"The records say it came from the sky like a meteorite. It fell to Earth on the Ascension Islands. Burnt in its crater for three days before anybody could get near it and all that time it was screaming. It must have gone insane."
"It must have fallen through time. The only survivor."
"You talked about a war? Mae could never get more information about it."
"The Time War. The final battle between my people and the Dalek race."
"And Mae knew this. She knew… That you survived, too," Van Statten came into the conversation again, an odd inflection in his voice as both he and the Doctor stare at me, and I feel a bit singled out. I was an expert on Pepper, I knew. And the Doctor, as well.
"Not by choice."
"This means that the Dalek isn't the only alien on Earth. Doctor, there's you. The only one of your kind in existence. And I just so happen to have an expert on aliens right here."
I frowned, pushing myself deeper into the corner of the elevator. Attention wasn't all that cool, especially when everyone seemed to want to dissect you. Soon, we were all in a room, and Van Statten had the Doctor chained up.
"What can you tell me about him, Mae?"
"Um. He has two hearts, a respiratory bypass, can run rather fast… Daleks are his species' arch enemy…" I stared into the Doctor's eyes, indecision warring, before making up my mind, "I don't know much else besides his race. Called the Time Lords, though you knew that," I paused, before trying to get him to stop the scan he was about to do, "Uh, the two things I've listed are the only two you'll find out from those painful tests."
"Right, lungs and heart. Why don't you scan anyway?" He tells the scientist, and I flinch at the pain that made the Doctor's body shudder and shake.
"Two hearts! Binary vascular system. Oh, I am so going to patent this."
"So that's your secret. You don't just collect this stuff, you scavenge it." The Doctor spoke.
"This technology has been falling to Earth for centuries. All it took was the right mind to use it properly. Oh, the advances I've made from alien junk. You have no idea, Doctor. Broadband? Roswell. Just last year my scientists cultivated bacteria from the Russian crater, and do you know what we found? The cure for the common cold. Kept it strictly within the laboratory of course. No need to get people excited. Why sell one cure when I can sell a thousand palliatives?"
"Do you know what a Dalek is, Van Statten? A Dalek is honest. It does what it was born to do for the survival of its species. That creature in your dungeon is better than you."
"In that case, I will be true to myself and continue."
"Listen to me! That thing downstairs is going to kill every last one of us!"
"Nothing Mae hasn't told me. We've set up many failsafes."
I winced at the blatant lie, shaking my head behind Van Statten's back. He blasts the Doctor with the laser again.
"Not enough! It's woken up. It knows I'm here. It's going to get out. Van Statten, I swear, no one on this base is safe. No one on this planet!"
Van Statten runs the laser scan again, just to hear the Doctor scream. I flinch, and feel only relief when alarms start blaring. I immediately run and start releasing the Doctor, Van Statten's permission or no.
"What are you doing?" Van Statten snapped, and I didn't even glance at him.
"Saving us all," I called back as the last chain fell. I handed the Doctor his shirt and jacket, thus handing him all his items.
"You've got to keep him in that cell," The Doctor ordered, taking command rather easily.
"It's impossible, there's still a code to open the cell," I pitch in.
"I've sealed the compartment. It can't get out, that lock's got a billion combinations," someone over the comm said.
"A Dalek's a genius. It can calculate a thousand billion combinations in one second flat," the Doctor disagrees.
"Everyone! Code black! Get as far away from floor fifty-three as humanly, and inhumanly, possible! Soldiers have been dispatched to escort the civilians to the safety zone!" I take charge, pushing the Doctor out of the way, "The power's been drained, so those below black zone grab your gas masks, all power, including power towards ventilation, will go towards making the safety zone safe! Stay off of black zone, but otherwise run as far up as possible, all! We shouldn't have more than ten to twenty deaths, move move move!" I ordered, watching as the people I've slowly gotten to respect and listen to me, an eleven year old, move, urging the few outliers to do so as well.
"Total evac for those above fifty-three, total shutdown for those below black zone!" I added as an afterthought.
"Who put you in charge?" Van Statten demanded, and I stared him down.
"Henry, do you want to die?" At his silence, I continued, "The Doctor doesn't know procedures like I do, we're a team of leaders here. You either help or we die." I gave him his ultimatum.
"Rose, get out of there!" The Doctor yelled as the power died and went out. Van Statten showed the layout, and the Doctor thought for a moment.
"This museum of yours. Got any alien weapons?"
"Below black zone, unable to be retrieved," someone else answered, and I tilted my head. Huh, so others called it the black zone as well.
"We've got to keep that thing alive. We could just seal the entire vault, trap it down there," Van Statten demanded.
"Leaving everyone trapped with it. Rose is down there. I won't let that happen. Have you got that? It's got to go through this area. What's that?" The Doctor snapped back, looking tense.
"There's nothing until the safe zone, Doctor," I said, "I made sure of that as soon as I found out they had a Dalek stored down there."
"Good job."
"I thought you were the great expert, Doctor. If you're so impressive, then why not just reason with this Dalek? It must be willing to negotiate. There must be something it needs. Everything needs something," Van Statten tried, and I scoffed.
"Besides murder and other Daleks? No, it's not just any alien, Van. Salt Lake City would go down in laser beams and screams."
"Yeah, that's all it needs, that's all any Dalek needs." The Doctor agreed.
"But why would it do that?"
"Because it honestly believes they should die. Human beings are different, and anything different is wrong. It's the ultimate in racial cleansing and you, Van Statten, you've let it loose! The Dalek's surrounded by a force field, regular bullets won't affect it, but it's not indestructible." The Doctor answered, staring down Van Statten for a moment.
As the guards ignore the Doctor's advice, having already gotten the same advice from me, some stay behind to distract it and shoot at it. Its lens cracks slightly as it killed them all, staring at Rose.
"Pepper, can't you just give them mercy?" I asked over comm, and the Dalek looked at the nearest camera.
"They don't deserve mercy. They are hu-man."
I flinch back as the screen goes dark, "Damn. Some of them are the good kind, though," I grouse, running hands through my hair.
"Perhaps it's time for a new strategy. Maybe we should consider abandoning this place," Van Statten commented, staring at the dark screen.
"Except there's no power to the helipad, sir. We can't get out." His assistant said.
"You said we could seal the vault." The Doctor asked after.
"It was designed to be a bunker in the event of nuclear war. Steel bulkheads," Van Statten still finds time to boast about.
"We'd have to bypass the security codes to override the emergency power. That would take a computer genius."
"Good thing you've got me, then," Van Statten said, sitting down to a computer screen and starting to type.
"You want to help?" The Doctor asked.
"I don't want to die, Doctor. Simple as that. And nobody knows this software better than me," Van Statten boasted, only to be cut off by me.
"Ah, that's actually not necessary. I already rerouted the power, and it will automatically close once the emergency power starts running lower than it can close the bulkheads. I uh, reworked the entire system only months after I found out about the Dalek. I've been working on it for a while/
"Sir." Statten's assistant said, The Dalek back on the ground and visible on the screen.
"I shall speak only to the Doctor."
"You're going to get rusty."
"I fed off the DNA of Rose Tyler. Extrapolating the biomass of a time traveller regenerated me."
"What's your next trick?"
"I have been searching for the Daleks."
"What, is Mae not enough? What did you find?"
"Mae was right. There was nothing. Where shall I get my orders now?" The Dalek asked.
"You're just a soldier without commands."
"Then I shall follow the Primary Order, the Dalek instinct to destroy, to conquer."
"What for? What's the point? Don't you see it's all gone? Everything you were, everything you stood for."
"Then what should I do?" The Dalek asked, and I shoved the Doctor aside.
"Maybe you should just relax and stop killing people, yeah? You can feel the sunlight, live in a nice area, maybe one day you'll find another Dalek that survived, a commander, and you can get orders from them?" I suggested, only to get pushed aside by the Doctor once more.
"All right, then. If you want orders, follow this one. Kill yourself."
"Or just live a nice life of comfort and feeling the warm sun!"
"The Daleks must survive!"
"The Daleks have failed! Why don't you finish the job and make the Daleks extinct. Rid the Universe of your filth. Why don't you just die?" The Doctor snapped, and I glanced at him.
"Careful there, Doctor. Your words are starting to sound like a human's," I said the same time Pepper said, "You would make a good Dalek. You would make a better human."
I froze, and wondered just how much I affected Pepper.
"Seal the vault." The Doctor ordered.
"Doctor, she's still down there," Statten's assistant said.
The Doctor called Rose, and I waited for their conversation to finish.
"Mae, go to greet them. If the Dalek escapes, you'll be the best line of defense," Van ordered, and I frowned, but did as asked. I walked absently down to floor forty six, and made it in time to rush and greet the other two. Dragging along Rose as fast as I could, but she still didn't make it. Mainly because she gave up before it was over, dragging me back with her.
I frowned, but shook my head. I was once like that too, so I couldn't really speak.
"Sorry, I was a bit slow," Rose replied to the Doctor as the Dalek went around the corner. He stared at both of us as he slowly slid forwards, "See you, then, Doctor. It wasn't your fault. Remember that, okay? It wasn't your fault. And do you know what? I wouldn't have missed it for the world."
"EXTERMINATE!"
Rose flinched, and I just stood there, waiting for the inevitable pain and death. When it didn't occur to me, I was confused. He killed everyone but Rose, what made this different.
"... Are you okay, Pepper? Are you feeling a bit down?" I asked cautiously. Rose opened her eyes.
"I am armed. I will kill. It is my purpose," Pepper replied, and I shook my head.
"You say that, but really, none of us have a purpose, do we?" I asked, "There's no point to any of us, besides maybe Rose." I gestured at her.
"They're all dead because of you."
"Lots are alive, actually. Only about five people died," I commented, only to be ignored.
"They are dead because of us."
"And now what? What're you waiting for?"
"I feel your fear. It is different from Dalek fear."
"What do you expect?"
"Daleks do not fear. Must not fear," he shot around us, "You gave me life. What else have you given me? I am contaminated. I feel… Mae was right. I'd take torture over this."
We all stared awkwardly at each other, before Pepper started up comms and connected to the Doctor after we all walked down the hall to the nearest camera.
"Open the bulkhead or Rose Tyler dies," he ordered.
"You're alive!" The Doctor exclaim, and I silently stand there, leaning against the wall chilly. No one really cared that I lived, which made me both happy and sad.
"Can't get rid of me," Rose claimed.
"I thought you were dead."
"Open the bulkhead!"
"Don't do it!"
"What use are emotions if you will not save the woman you love?"
I tuned out by then, staring at Pepper. The only thing even close to a friend was dying soon. Neither he nor I were very close, but we were all the other had in times of utter decimation. It was a nostalgic feeling, since I was remembering him and knowing that he wanted this more than everyone else, at this point. My only friend was going to commit suicide and everyone would rejoice. Great.
We all silently walked into the elevator, and I spoke.
"Will you kill them?"
"... I should."
"But you won't?"
"No. Why am I like this?"
"I'm begging you, don't kill them. You didn't kill me," Rose added in just in case.
"But why not? Why are you alive? Why is Mae alive? My function is to kill. What am I? What am I?"
As Rose warns against moving, I stare sadly at Pepper.
"You're a hybrid now, not exactly Dalek not exactly human. You're like the Doctor, except less god-complex," I answered, following him as he questioned his torturers.
"Don't do it! Don't kill him! You don't have to do this anymore. There must be something else, not just killing. What else is there? What do you want?" Rose begged, and I tilted my head at her actions.
"That's a good human right there, Pepper. I've never met one, before," I told him.
"I want freedom. I want to share the sunlight with Mae."
I stared at the Dalek, a bit surprised.
"W-with me? I thought you hated me…?"
"I do not. You are… Not a Dalek. But I find you as a fellow soldier."
"Ah, so you think of me as a friend, too. We're both of the same opinion of the other." I reply.
The Dalek blasts a hole in the roof, and I stand next to him, feeling the sunlight upon my skin for the first time since I was six.
"You're out. You made it. I never thought I'd feel the sunlight again," Rose commented.
"What does it feel like?" Pepper asked, and I stared at him as he opened his shell. We both stay there, taking in the feeling of the sunlight.
"It's warm, isn't it?" I asked him.
"It… is… this feels… good?"
"Yeah, that's the right word if it doesn't hurt and makes you feel the opposite of discomfort," I explained.
"-re all dead," The Doctor muttered sadly.
"Why do we survive?" Pepper asked.
"I don't know."
"I am the last of the Daleks."
"You're not even that. Rose did more than regenerate you. You've absorbed her DNA. You're mutating," the Doctor commented.
"Into what?"
"Part human. The good part, sorry," I answered.
"Isn't that better?" Rose asked, and I smiled sadly at her.
"Not for a Dalek," The Doctor responded.
"Not for Pepper, I don't think," I confirmed.
"I can feel so many ideas. So much darkness. Mae, give me orders. Order me to die," Pepper requested. I stared at him for a moment, sad.
"Is this really what you want? You have so much to live for, you could be an all new species of greatness," I tried.
"You can't do that! You can't order Pepper to die! Isn't he your friend? How- How could you do that to a friend?" Rose demanded, and I didn't look away from Pepper.
"This isn't greatness, this is… I pity you, to have to live like this. This is sickness. I shall not be like you. Order my destruction! Obey! Obey! Obey!"
"... Then do it. Kill yourself, Pepper." I ordered quietly, "I'll miss you."
"You will. You've never been afraid of me, even knowing I could kill you at any moment. Do you want to die too?" He asked, and I laughed sadly, grin fading as soon as it started.
"Yeah, yeah I do. But… I can't. I… Have unfinished business," I muttered, looking at Pepper sadly, "Sorry for not joining you."
"I am sorry too. Exterminate."
I watched as the Dalek shuts its eye. Rose and I retreat as it closes up its armour again then rises into the air. The balls on its lower body spread out around it creating a forcefield, then it implodes safely. I nodded at his nonexistent remains and moved onwards, following the Doctor to his TARDIS.
Sorry I haven't continued Loyalty Beyond Hope or An Angel's Diary yet. I'll get there one day, but here's another sympathizing with the villain story. Hope you enjoy! Reviews are always welcome, but as are lurkers, so... Just be you, lolz. I'm not sure if this is EXACTLY original or anything, and I kind of didn't expect this to happen the way it did. It was meant to be just a self-insert story that went nowhere and where I was being myself, but then I realized that yeah, it'd probably have an effect that the Doctor would notice, so I added that in, and then suddenly I realized I'd feel bad for the Dalek, mass murderer or no, and would try to befriend it... So yeah, here's a story that started with a plan, got derailed, got back on track, only to be extremely derailed once more.