Chapter 2- The Cyberman
Running quickly, I caught up to the Doctor.
"What exactly is this 'stuff' that's happening anyway?" I asked. Our Chucks slapped the pavement as we dashed through the park.
"There have been reports of a 'metal robot thing' –their words, not mine- in the park. Although, what else a robot would be made of, I'm unsure of. Well, an Earth robot anyway," he replied.
"So," I thought for a moment. "It's either a Cyberman or a Dalek, right?"
He stumbled in surprise but kept running, all the while staring at me. "How do you know those names?" he asked.
I snorted. "Smartest being in the universe and you don't even know there's a TV show about you."
Apparently, the Dalek-Cyberman-metal thing could wait because he pulled me to a stop.
"What do you mean, there's a TV show about me?"
"Really? You didn't know?" I asked incredulously. "It's bloody fantastic! It started in, like, the 60s, but I only stated watching when the 'New Series' began. Super popular in England. Oh, and your pretty much the favorite Doctor." I grinned at the look on his face.
"Really?" He preened, straightening his tie. "Am I your favorite Doctor?"
"Well, yeah." I looked at my shoes. He looked down too, and chuckled. "What are you laughing at, Spaceman?"
"Chucks. You're wearing Chucks with shorts."
You're one to talk, Mr. 'I wear Chucks with a suit'!"
"They're comfy and good for running!" he defended.
I giggled. "Preaching to the choir there Spaceman. And, speaking of running…" I nodded in the direction we had been running before we were distracted.
"Oh! Right! Allons-y!" he grabbed my hand and pulled me after him. Soon we were at the front of the park. Standing amid a growing crowd, was a Cyberman. We skidded to a stop.
"I thought they were all sucked into the Void?" I asked.
"I thought so too. Apparently, I lost her for nothing," the Doctor muttered withdrawing into himself.
I placed my hand on his arm and forced him to look at me. "Doctor, as long as something can be remembered, it can come back. Nothing is ever truly gone. She's only in another universe. We can get her back." He glared at me, but I remained unwavering before his 'Oncoming Storm' look.
"Don't you go all 'Oncoming Storm' on me Mister! I know you think it's impossible, but when had impossible ever stopped you? Or Rose, for that matter? After we deal with the Cyberman, I will help you get her back, I promise," I said.
The 'Oncoming Storm' faded from his eyes and turned into a sadness thinly covered by determination. "Let's go then," the Doctor said.
I smiled gently, knowing he still wasn't convinced we could get Rose back. "I know this is probably a stupid question, but do you have a plan?"
"You mean, beyond get rid of the Cyberman?" I nodded. "Then no." He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck.
"I…," I hesitated, "I might."
His eyes lit up. "What is it?"
Looking away from him in embarrassment, I said, "Well, a Cyberman's a robot, right? So it runs on electricity and electricity doesn't mix well with water. Well, there's a boat ride thing over there," I pointed to our left, "so, we lure it over to the water and shove it in." He looked at me with his mouth open. I blushed. Honestly, what made me think that if he couldn't come up with a good plan, that I could? After all, he's a Time Lord with nearly a thousand years of knowledge stored up and I'm just a 'stupid ape', to use the words of his 9th self. "Never mind, it's stupid. Forget I said anything."
"No, no, no, no, no!" he said hurriedly. My eyes darted back to him from where they had drifted off. "It's brilliant, and it's exactly what we're going to do." I smiled at him.
"But, how are we going to distract him?" I asked. He shrugged, and then stepped into the Cyberman's sight.
"Hello there!" he yelled over the noise of the crowd. The Cyberman's metal head turned toward him.
"Doctor!" came its tinny voice. "Must delete the Doctor." The familiar sound of firing air pistons followed but a thump as its foot hit the ground rang through the courtyard as the metal man began to walk toward the Doctor, who pretended to be afraid, before quickly walking toward the water. The bot followed him still spelling out its warning. Soon, they reached the water's edge.
The Doctor spun around and looked back at the Cyberman before jumping into the water and swimming to the middle.
"Ha! Can't get me in here, can you, metal head?" he taunted. The Cyberman stopped at the edge of the water. I stopped about 20 yards back and looked at the Doctor for my cue. Without looking away from the Cyberman, he nodded his head. I nodded back, and then started running.
When I was about 8 feet away from the Cyberman, I leapt into the air and slammed my feet into its shoulders and kicked off. Flipping through the air, I landed more or less on my feet, and then fell to my hands and knees.
The Cyberman tilted forward and, unable to shift its weight in time, fell face first into the murky water. As it fell, I looked across to see the Doctor climbing out of the water.
Just as the rubber toe caps of his trainers cleared the water, the Cyberman hit the surface and sent an electric current racing through it. Quickly, I ran over the bridge to stand by the Doctor's side.
He looked sideways at me with his eyebrows raised and a smirk present on his lips.
"What?" I asked as I crossed my arms.
"Nothing," he said, his smirk growing more pronounced. "Nice job."
"Thank you. You too, Doctor."
We stood looking at the still sparking Cyberman for a minute or two before the Doctor spun on his heel and began walking back toward the TARDIS with long strides. I ran after him.
"So," I asked as we walked along, breaking the silence, "Where are you going next?" In my mind, I crossed my fingers and hoped he asked me to come with him.
"Oh, I don't know. Wherever the TARDIS thinks I'm needed most," he answered absentmindedly. He had his 'thinking face' on.
Internally debating telling him my idea about finding Rose, I didn't notice we were almost to the TARDIS. I did however notice when he stopped walking.
"Well, here we are," he said. The 'thinking face' was gone, replaced with the 'slightly nervous but trying to hide it' face.
"Here we are." I repeated. We stood in silence looking at the TARDIS. Finally, I said, "She's beautiful, you know." I walked closer and ran my hand over a corner post, not caring how strange I looked to the people passing by.
I jumped back when she chimed in my head, and then smiled. "You're very welcome, darling," I said back.
This surprised the Doctor. "You can understand her?" he asked.
I looked back at him, but didn't remove my hand from the box. "Sure. Am I not supposed to be able to?"
He frowned. "Most people cant. At least, not right off. It usually takes a few months before my companions can even hear her, and even then, most never learn to understand her. Those that do are usually more telepathically able that those who can't. For you to be able to understand her now…," he trailed off suggestively and looked at me intently. Then I felt a pressure in my mind. In response, I threw up walls using the method described in The Inheritance Cycle.
"Oi! Ask first! I don't really care if you want to look in my mind; just ask first, 'kay?"
He blinked in surprise. "Okay. But where did you learn how to make mental barriers? By the way, what's with the song?"
It was my turn to look surprised. "Isn't that how you make a barrier, by focusing on something or a song? That what it said in the book." I frowned but kept singing 'Stereo hearts' in my head.
The Doctor frowned too. "Well, yeah, but… Wait! You learned how to make one this strong from a book?"
I rolled my eyes and, being tired of trying to explain it to him, let my barrier fall. "Just look," I said. Feeling him hesitate, I sighted and pushed my mind out to meet his.
I felt his surprise as he hurriedly threw up his own walls and slammed shut several doors. Then I felt him delve into my memories. He immediately found the ones about the book and laughed. Then, at my mental shove, he found the ones about the show. He watched them backwards in fast forward, most recent back to the first I ever saw. Only when it came to the ones with Rose did he slow down and linger. His sorrow built up in my mind until I felt tears well up in my eyes. That was when he found the door I had created that was connected to those memories. He withdrew from my mind.
"I suppose you want to know what's behind that door, right?" I asked.
The Doctor rubbed the back of his neck and said, "Of course I'm curious, but you don't have to tell me if you're not ready." I smiled my thanks. There was another lengthy silence.
Then, I said with a sigh, "I suppose I should find my friends. Thanks for the adventure." By now, I had pretty much resigned myself to the fact that he wasn't going to ask me to come with him.
"Yeah," he said. "Or…" I looked up at him.
"Or?" I asked when he stopped.
"Or, you could… You could come with me. I need someone around who can make plans that actually work." He looked down at his dusty red Chucks.
"Really?" I grinned. "I could come with you?" I desperately tried to hide my fan girl enthusiasm and failed miserably.
He nodded. "If you wanted." He looked up nervously at me and smiled when he saw the grin on my face.
"I'd love to!" I cried.
The smile spread into a full-blown, ear to ear grin. "Brilliant!" he cried. "Come on then! Into the TARDIS!" The excited man ran into the police box and the door slammed against the inside railing.
Before stepping foot into the TARDIS, I glanced around. If I spotted my friends, I told myself, I would tell them I was leaving.
Then, in the last 20 degrees of my turn, I saw Caitie. She looked at me and we locked eyes for a moment before I looked away and stepped into the world of my dreams, before I stepped into the future.