After two hours walking, the Doctor and Ardok finally found themselves at the end of their journey. There was an large mound of dirt, covering something by the look of it. The Doctor walked towards it and wiped away some of the dirt.

"What is it?"

"Metal. But sticky, but metal. More like plastic actually, although in some universes they're the same thing."

There was a hum.

"Oh, well, whatever you are you clearly love a tune. Or at least humming. Well, how about this one: Twinkle twinkle little star, how I wonder what planetary system you belong to."

The hum began to melt into words.

"Who. Are. You?"

"Oh, it speaks. Love it when they do that. I'm the Doctor and this is Ardok. Question is, who are you?"

"The. Emperor. Scout."

"Which is?"

"The. Man. In. Charge."

The Doctor looked grim.

"So, you're some kind of ostracised tech. The forgotten kingpin, the scout who never came in from the freezing cold?"

"Incorrect. I. Am. God. The. Creator. Of. All."

The Doctor shared a glance with Ardok.

"Oh, well, if that's the case...Ardok, you said you were scared when you got lost here before, right?"

"No. That was Nerok."

"No, you said that Nerok abandoned you."

"Did I...oh, yes. You're right!"

The Doctor looked back at the Emperor Scout.

"What have you done?!"

"I. Have. Perfected. The. Lives. Of. These. People."

"How?!"

"By. Alternating. Their. Existence."

"You...oh, you did. Oh, this is bad. And wrong!"

He paced back and forth.

"What's wrong, Doctor?"

"Everything!" he blurted emphatically, gesturing with his hands, "everything is wrong! Your lives, your roles. Everything!"

"What do you mean?"

"Your order, the higher order."

"The priests."

"Aren't actually the higher order."

"How-"

"The Emperor Scout. It's probably been malfunctioning for a while, going insane. It's been playing God, the only way it knows how."

"Which is?"

"By swapping things around. Ardok, I'm gonna break things gently...you, and the priests. You're actually the lower class, the peasants. And vice versa. The Emperor Scout obviously did it as an experiment. But what's the ball about?"

"It. Is. Surveillance."

"Of course! It's like an eye, checking that everything's going swimmingly."

"So...so I am not me?!"

"No, you are. No matter how much a scout tries to warp your lives, you are always who you set out to be. Which begs the question; what are you? Scouting can be vague."

"I. Was. Brought. To. Scout. For. The. Sontaran. War. I. Was. Designated. As. The. Tip. Of. The. Spearhead."

"Then what?"

"A. Rutan. Attack. Damaged. Me. And. Dragged. Me. Down. Here."

"And so you were damaged, driven mental like a principal on a Monday morning."

"My. Kingdom. Will. Not. Die. Not. Now. Not. In. Eternity."

"It will. Trust me it will. I've met enough villains to know otherwise. No one wins, and everyone loses. Even the good ones. But for them it's a good loss. You see, no matter how hard you try to falsely rule, to control these innocent people, you will lose and so will they. But, oh, they will be so much more!"

He looked at K9, gestured and then got ready to run. K9 shot at the scout, and not waiting the Doctor picked his computer up. Ardok stayed behind.

"Come on!" The Doctor yelled.

"No! You run!"

The Doctor bolted away hesitantly. Ardok grabbed the smaller robot.

"You made me live a fake life of luxury while my brother lived in squalor he didn't deserve! You convinced us we were something else! You led us on for so long, and now, now I'll show you our appreciation!"

He thrust down the robot, not anticipating the colossal explosion. The Doctor looked back and sighed in regret as the remains of the scout and Ardok burnt in the flames.

lllllllllllllllllllllllllll

There was full spread anarchy. The lower ones ransacked every dwelling they found, pushed everyone on the ground angrily. Nerok stood proud amongst the chaos like an inexperienced dictator, his foot rested on Klirok's unconscious head. Soprok sidled up next to him, and sighed.

"We did all this, Nerok."

"We did, Soprok."

She then tried to strangle him, but he was prepared. He grabbed her by the neck and threw her down.

"Did you think I was so blind?! I've known about your little flings forever!"

"Nerok, stop!"

The Doctor ran in, K9 in tow. The 'dog' had a long tube stuck on it.

"Ah, Doctor. I trust you found him."

"Yes. Nerok...he's dead. He sacrificed his life for the truth."

"WHAT?!"

"The truth that you all know deep-down, but deny because you know how terrible it is. K9?"

K9 whirred, and emanated the Emperor Scout's confession through the cylinder. There was a silence like no other, which included nervous glances and raised eyebrows.

"And this...this is true?"

"Regrettably yes. I'm sorry, Nerok. You should have been here without this violence."

Out of the blue shot a red orb. The Doctor shot a glance around, and saw the crashed ship somehow moving on four small robotic legs.

"Of course! It must have been shot down by the same attack."

"I. Will. Not. Allow. My. Creation. To. Die!"

Nerok stepped out, carrying a rock that had been used to knock out Klirok.

"You killed my brother! You forced us to sleep in the dirt! I tell you now: my vengeance knows no bounds!"

He ran and smashed the rock into the ship. Both crackled with electricity, with both falling lifeless to the floor. The threat was gone. Fyrok turned to the Doctor.

"Leave. Please. If you had not interfered, our lives would not have been taken."

Taken aback, the Doctor left with K9. The TARDIS dematerialised, into the unknown.

Quillok turned to Fyrok.

"He did save us."

"Yes. And I suppose every god needs a demon."

lllllllllllllllllllllllllll

Maxine Vaughn walked through her flat, whistling a downbeat RnB track to herself while carrying a short pile of letters.

"Bill, bill, big bill, letter from your aunt Moira, and a leaflet about clothes. Nothing, basically!" she called to Gabriel, her fiancée.

"Is there ever anything?!" he called back. She laughed, and tossed the envelopes on the table.

"I've got to get to work!"

"See you later!"

"You better!"

She went outside and got into her car, starting it up just as quickly.

She arrived at UNIT HQ, and walked in while giving the necessary security clearances. Walking into her lab, she found the specimen still chained up. Her assistant, Gradhem, was taking notes.

"Any changes?"

"Not one. Can still only say one thing."

"Course it can. Only thing it knows."

It began to stir, saying one word.

"Ex...ter...min...ate..."

To be continued...