Chapter TWO: Carmen
Meanwhile, in a small room in an unknown place, a young brunette woman, who went by the name of Oswin Oswald, in a red dress, played the song "Carmen" through a sound system, as she nailed some planks over a round window. The room she was in was always kept neat, and had a hammock in one corner for Oswin to sleep in. After she nailed the planks, she went to the small microwave oven and took out a souffle, which was a bit burnt. She then grabbed her voice recorder and laid down in her hammock, documenting what had gone on in her day. "Day three-six-three. The terror continues. Also, made another soufflé, very nearly. Check defences. They came again last night. Still always at night. Maybe they're vampires. Oh, and it's my mum's birthday. Happy birthday, mum," she said. "I did make you a soufflé, but it was too beautiful to live."
As she finished, she heard the Daleks outside her small room. They ordered, "You will let us enter! We will enter! We will enter!" But all Oswin did was turn up the volume of her sound system and closed her eyes, putting her hands on her cheeks, to tune the Daleks' menacing voices Daleks said outside, but Oswin turned up the volume on "Carmen", making it drown out the war cries of the Daleks.
Meanwhile, back in the Dalek Parliament, the Doctor and the Professor talking together, thinking what to do with the problem they faced, while Mr Gold, Belle, Amy and Rory were talking to themselves a few metres back.
"So, dearies, what do you think they are talking about?" Mr Gold asked.
Amy looked at the two Time Lords, then described their actions to the rest of the group. "They've chosen the most defendable area in the room, counted all the Daleks, counted all the exits, and now they're calculating the exact distance Rory and I, are standing apart and are starting to worry. Oh, and look at the Doctor frowning now," Amy said. "Something's wrong with Amy & Rory, and who's going to fix it? And he straightens his bow tie."
"And what's wrong with you and Rory?" Belle asked.
"It's a long story..."
Darla went up to the Doctor and Professor and said, "The Prime Minister will speak with you now."
"Do you remember who you were before they emptied you out and turned you into their puppet?" the Doctor asked.
"My memories are only reactivated if they are required to ease cover or disguise."
"You had a daughter."
"I know. I've read my file."
After the chat with Darla, which got them nowhere, the Doctor and the Professor walked up to the Prime Minister. "Doctor. Professor. We have arrived," he said.
"To where?" the Professor asked.
"What do you know of the Dalek Asylum?"
"According to legend, you have a dumping ground. A planet where you lock up all the Daleks that go wrong. The battle-scarred, the insane, the ones even you can't control. It's never made any sense to me," the Doctor said.
"Why not?" the Dalek Prime Minister said.
"Because you'd just kill them."
"It is offensive to us to extinguish such divine hatred."
Belle stepped forward when she heard that last comment. "How do you find that offensive?" she asked.
"Does it surprise you to know the Daleks have a concept of beauty?" the Dalek Prime Minister asked.
"I thought you'd run out of ways to make me sick. Hello again. You think hatred is beautiful?" the Doctor asked.
"Perhaps that is why we have never been able to kill you."
A hole opened in the middle of the floor and the Doctor, the Professor and Darla walked to it. A white planet, covered in snow, was visible. "The Asylum. It occupies the entire planet, right to the core," Darla said.
"How many Daleks are in there?" the Doctor asked.
"A count has not been made. Millions, certainly."
"Are all the Daleks still alive?" the Professor asked.
"It has to be assumed. The Asylum is fully automated. Supervision is not required," Darla said.
"Armed?" Amy asked.
"The Daleks are always armed," Darla said.
"What colour? I'm sorry, there weren't any good questions left,"Rory said, after he got strange looks from the other five.
"This signal is being received from the very heart of the Asylum," Darla said, going back to some controls where the Dalek Prime Minister was. As soon as she got to the controls, the song, "Carmen", the same song being played by Oswin Oswald, came over the loudspeakers.
"What is the noise? Explain! Explain!" the Supreme Dalek ordered.
"Er, it's me," the Doctor said, kind of sheepishly.
"What are you talking about, dearie?" Mr Gold said.
"It's me, playing the triangle. Okay, I got buried in the mix. Carmen. Lovely show. Someone's transmitting this. Have you considered tracking back the signal and talking to them? He asked the Daleks," the Doctor said, then said into a microphone, "Hello? Hello? Carmen? Hello?"
"Hello?" Oswin asked, her voice coming across the speaker and over the music.
The Professor stood still after hearing Oswin's voice and blinked twice; both his hearts racing. He went forward to the loudspeaker to meet with his father, like he was caught in some sort of dream. "Who is that sexy voice?" he asked dreamily.
"Come in. Come in. Come in, Carmen," the Doctor said, ignoring everyone else in the room. He was too busy focusing on who this person was.
"Hello! Yes, yes, sorry. Do you read me?" Oswin asked. "And, did someone call me sexy?"
"Uh...yes..." the Professor said, blushing bright read. "Anyway, yes. We're reading you loud and clear, sexy."
The Doctor looked over at his son. "Sexy...?"
"You call the TARDIS sexy, which means I can call..." the Professor trailed off his sentence, then asked Oswin, "I'm, sorry, what's your name?"
"Oswin Oswald, junior entertainment officer, starship Alaska. Current status, crashed and shipwrecked somewhere not nice. Been here a year, rest of the crew missing. Provisions good but keen to move on," Oswin explained, then said, "but Sexy's fine."
The Professor beamed after hearing that last bit, but the Doctor ignored him and asked, "A year? Are you okay? Are you under attack?"
"Some local lifeforms. Been keeping them out."
"Do you know what those lifeforms are?"
"I know a Dalek when I hear one, yeah."
"What have you been doing on your own against the Daleks for a year?"
"Making soufflés."
"Soufflés? Against the Daleks? Where'd you get the milk?"
"This conversation is irrelevant," the Supreme Dalek said.
"No, it isn't," the Doctor said.
"No! Hello? Hello?" Oswin asked over the loud-speaker, then she faded out in static. The Professor then tried to bring back the reception. He liked hearing Oswin's voice. To him, it was very comforting and he could easily lose himself in it.
While the Professor was doing what he could to bring back Oswin, the Doctor started to explain to the Supreme Dalek, why th. Conversation was important. "Because a star-liner has crashed into your Asylum, and someone's got in. And if someone can get in, then everything can get out. A tsunami of insane Daleks. Even you don't want that," the Doctor said.
"The Asylum must be cleansed," the Supreme Dalek said.
"Then why is it still here? You've enough firepower on this ship to blast it out of the sky."
"The Asylum forcefield is impenetrable," Darla said.
"Turn it off," the Doctor suggested.
"It can only be turned off from within the Asylum."
"A small taskforce could sneak through a forcefield. Send in a couple of Daleks. Oh. Oh. Oh, that's good. That's brilliant. You're all too scared to go down there. Not one of you will go, so tell me, what do the Daleks do when they're too scared?
"The Predator of the Daleks will be deployed," the Supreme Dalek said.
"You don't have a Predator, and even if you did, why would they turn off a forcefield for you?" the Doctor asked.
"Because you will have no other means of escape," the Dalek Prime Minister said.
"May I clarify? The Predator is the Dalek's word for you," Darla said.
"Me? Me?" the Doctor asked.
"You will need this. It will protect you from the nano-cloud," Darla said, putting a bracelet on the Doctor's right wrist, before putting on an Amy and Rory. The bracelets were the same ones that Mr Gold, Belle and the Professor had on.
"Um...What's the nanocloud?" Belle asked, but Darla kept on talking.
"The gravity beam will convey you close to the source of the transmission. You must find a way to deactivate the forcefield from there," Darla said.
"You're going to fire all of us at a planet? That's your plan? We get fired at a planet and expected to fix it."
"In fairness, that is slightly your MO," Rory chimed in.
"Don't be fair to the Daleks when they're firing me at a planet," the Doctor said, then asked, "What do you want with them?"
"It is known the Doctor required companions," the Supreme Dalek said.
"Oh, brilliant. Good oh," Rory said.
"OK, but what about Rumplestiltskin and Belle. Why are they here?" the Professor asked.
"We have been monitoring Storybrooke," the Dalek Prime Minister said.
"Why?" Mr Gold asked, stepping up.
"We have been monitoring it ever since there was a strong static electric charge on Earth," the Dalek Prime Minister said, mentioning to when Storybrooke was created. "Whatever it was, it is strong. It will serve the Dalek cause well..."
"Oh...you mean magic?" Mr Gold asked.
"We also know what happens when your kind leaves Storybrooke. Those bracelets allow you to leave."You and the Professor are the strongest there. You are useful in this situation. Those bracelets allow you to leave Storybrooke."
"But what about Regina? She knows magic too. I should know. I taught her."
"The witch ... is weak."
"Well, she did come to us to "jumpstart" her magic..." the Professor said.
Meanwhile, back in Storybrooke, Sidney Glass had been released from his cell in the Hospital Asylum, and went over to Regina's house in order to cheer her up. He had made hamburgers and they had just started eating them, when Regina felt a shiver down her spine.
"What's wrong, my Queen?" Sidney asked.
"I just had the slightest feeling someone was talking about me," Regina asked.
"Yup. Those sloppy Joes will do that to you."
The Doctor went over to where both Mr Gold and Belle were standing. "Now, Rumple. Belle. Don't worry. We'll get through this, I promise. Just don't be scared, guys," the Doctor said.
"Scared? Who's scared. Geronimo," Amy said.
"Ha! Oi!" the Doctor said. And with that, the Dalek puppets that were there pushed the group of six into the gravity beam.