The would-be rescue party now glanced at each other for a moment. Silently, Barbara removed the gold necklace from around her neck and held it up with a firm nod, casting a silent glance towards the door.
"Are you quite certain…?" the Doctor silently mouthed, before stopping halfway. Of course she was quite certain—she was Barbara Wright. And this would be the best way to go about their conundrum—quickly and efficiently.
With the door opening outward, the Doctor now used his sonic screwdriver on the hinges so that he could gently pull the door inward. The Cyberman was standing with its back to them, trying to prevent the other students from trying to escape.
Within moments, it was over; Barbara had used the necklace to choke the Cyberman as Ian and the Doctor seized it by the arms and dragged it into the bathroom.
"What now?" Ian whispered, as they unceremoniously stuffed the now-dead Cyberman into one of the stalls.
"By Zoe's count, there should be only one left," the Doctor said.
"Yes, the leader," Zoe agreed.
"I shall keep it busy," the Doctor said. "Zoe, I want you, Ian, and Barbara to start getting the students out through this window once I hold that Cyberman's attention. No matter what trouble I may be in, make sure the students are getting to safety."
"Doctor…" Barbara whispered, holding out her gold necklace. "Keep this with you, just in case."
"What will you do without it?" the Doctor asked.
"There're more bottles of cleaner under the sinks," Zoe informed him. "Carrying that chain will be useful, seeing as though you can't see it if you hold it properly."
"Yes, I suppose you're right," the Doctor said, taking it. "Very well, then; I shall go first and work my way to wherever the Cyberman is. You handle the students, but make sure they are unobserved."
Without waiting for a response, the Doctor headed out of the bathroom, slipping into the crowd of students, who were silently standing together in fright, staring up towards the front of the room.
A few whispers followed the Doctor as he made his way to the front. There, he could see the lead Cyberman, staring at someone, who turned out to be Jamie. Jamie was separated from the group, and appeared to be silently staring the Cyberman down.
"Well done, Jamie; I shall take over now," the Doctor announced, breaking free of the group of students.
Luke and Percival, along with a few other students at the front of the pack, were frantically trying to warn the Doctor of something as he approached Jamie, but he was oblivious to their efforts.
"So!" the Doctor said, with a smirk. "It looks as though your plans have failed! The Cybermen outside are being dealt with as we speak, and the Cybermen inside have been neutralized! What do you have to say about that?"
"They are expendable," the lead Cyberman responded. "Here, I shall convert an army to complete the invasion that was prematurely halted."
"All by yourself?" the Doctor asked.
Wordlessly, the Cyberman looked at Jamie and made a circular motion with its hand. The piper turned to face the Doctor with a blank expression—and a piece of silver sticking to his left temple.
"Jamie…"
The sheer, unbridled horror in the Doctor's voice was something that Ian and Barbara had never heard before; despite that they were herding the students towards the bathroom exit, Ian headed forward, staring as he saw the converted Jamie.
"We tried to warn you!" Luke said. "He was so desperate not to let any of us get brainwashed that he let himself get brainwashed instead!"
Ian gently ushered him and Percival along to follow the other students.
"You will order the students back into this building," the Cyberman ordered the Doctor. "Or else I will have this human destroy you. Your emotions will make you too weak to fight back against him; this we know."
But the Doctor wasn't even listening to the Cyberman; all he could do was stare into Jamie's empty eyes.
"Jamie… Jamie, I know that your mind is strong enough to resist the conversion. Look at me, Jamie. Focus on me—on my voice. You remember Toberman, don't you, Jamie? Do you remember how he was able to resist the conversion? His anger at the Cybermen allowed him to break free!"
Jamie didn't move or say a thing.
"Destroy him," the Cyberman ordered.
The piper took a few steps towards the Doctor; Barbara and Zoe called out in alarm while Ian rushed forward to help; the Doctor hollered at them to stay back, not taking his eyes off of Jamie, who was standing only inches from him.
"Jamie, you can break free from the cyber-control just as easily," the Doctor said, softly. "You have emotions that are much more powerful than anything the Cybermen could ever come up with."
Slowly, the Doctor placed his fingers over Jamie's right hand. Barbara's gold necklace was still in the Doctor's hand, and as the Doctor placed his palm over Jamie's, he gently pressed the necklace into Jamie's hand. A slight look of relief flashed across the Doctor's face, and a new determination filled his eyes.
"You know that as well as I do, Jamie," he said.
The piper still did not respond, but he didn't attack the Doctor, either, much to the frustration of the Cyberman.
"I ordered you to destroy him!" the Cyberman ordered, walking over to them and standing right beside Jamie.
"Jamie's mind does not belong to you!" the Doctor shot back. "Even after your conversion, he will not harm me; his emotions are stronger than that! You cannot—and will not—win this way!"
The Cyberman seemed to realize this, and decided to take matters into its own hands. With one swift motion, the Cyberman seized the Doctor by the throat.
Ian, Barbara, and Zoe immediately started across the room, but the Cyberman now turned to them.
"Bring the students back here, or this one dies."
To prove its point, the Cyberman tightened its grip around the Doctor's throat; the Time Lord flinched, falling back on his respiratory bypass system, but still feeling the pain from the attack.
And as quickly as it happened, it ended; a flash of rage filled Jamie's eyes, and with an angry shout, he pressed Barbara's gold necklace against the Cyberman's face.
Weakened, the Cyberman let go of the Doctor, but Jamie persisted with the attack until the Cyberman was still. The Doctor, who had taken a moment to massage his throat, now gently grasped Jamie's shoulders and helped him up.
"Jamie…?"
"Doc… Doctor…" the Scot stammered. "Are… Are ye…?"
"I'm quite alright," the Doctor assured him, gently. He tenderly placed his hand on the side of Jamie's face; a look of sadness crossed his own face as he felt the metal implant on Jamie's temple. "Oh, Jamie… I'm so sorry I wasn't here to prevent this from happening to you…"
Jamie shook his head slightly.
"It… would've been… one of the others… if nae me," he said. "I had to… protect them, e'en if it meant…" He flinched. "It hurts…"
"Yes, I imagine it would," the Doctor murmured to him, softly. "The implant seeks to suppress emotions; if you're actively resisting it, then, of course, it would hurt."
"Can… can ye…?"
"Yes, of course I can remove it. Ian, Barbara, Zoe… I shall need your help for this," the Doctor called to them.
They moved without any hesitation; Ian used his suitjacket to give Jamie something to rest his head upon as the Doctor gently laid Jamie onto the floor. The Doctor gently touched the metal implant with Barbara's necklace.
"That will deactivate it," he said. "Zoe, take this necklace and place it in that box with the Cybermat over there. Make sure it's completely deactivated, as well."
Zoe nodded and did so as the Doctor now placed his fingers on Jamie's temple, right next to the metal implant.
"Jamie, I'm going to make you fall asleep for a little while, and then manipulate your nervous system to help with things. Is that alright?"
The piper gave a nod, and the Doctor proceeded. The Brigadier entered about halfway through the delicate procedure; Barbara had quickly shushed him before he could startle the Doctor.
At last, the Doctor managed to remove the implant.
"There, that's done it," the Doctor sighed. "He'll feel a bit sore there, but there will be no lasting damage."
"Then there's hope for McNeil?" Ian asked.
"Oh, there's always hope," the Doctor assured him.
"Are you saying that McCrimmon was converted just like McNeil?" the Brigadier asked, stunned.
"Yes, but he never once gave in," the Doctor said, proudly.
"So it is possible to resist the conversion?" the Brigadier further inquired.
"Oh, absolutely," the Doctor said. "Evoking strong emotional responses will always cause resistance—the sort of emotional responses evoked by contact with loved ones, for instance. I imagine that if we remove that implant and reunite McNeil with his family and friends, he, too, will make a full recovery." He gently helped Jamie sit up as the piper began to stir. "How are you, Jamie?"
"Better," the Scot said, now managing a smile.
"Good," the Doctor said, now drawing him into a hug. "And mind that you don't ever give me a fright like that again! That goes for you, too, Zoe!"
"Of course, Doctor," Zoe promised. "But there is still one loose end left to tie up—Reginald."
"I'd sent some of the men back to the school," the Brigadier said. "It seems that young Mr. Klieg took his belongings and fled; we're looking for him, of course, but we have no clues as to where he might have gone."
"Klieg!?" Jamie exclaimed, as he and the Doctor now got to their feet. "Ye mean that chappie—"
"Yes, Jamie—ancestor of Eric Klieg," the Doctor sighed. "I'm afraid, Brigadier, that even if you do track him down, there is little you can do. He is going to spread the tale of the Cybermen to his progeny, and it will all come to a head on Telos."
"You can't possibly stand for that!" Zoe exclaimed, prompting everyone to look at her. "Doctor, we have to find him—wipe his memory so that he can't do that!"
"I'm afraid that these future events are technically a part of my past—and Jamie's," the Doctor explained. "It's become fixed, you see—we cannot possibly change it without creating a paradox."
"Then we have to stand back and let him escape!?" Zoe asked. "Let him create Brotherhood of the Logicians—and the Elite Programme!?"
"Oh, I see…" the Doctor said, understanding the reason for Zoe's ire. "Zoe, come here."
Glumly, the astrophysicist stood beside the Doctor, who, while still holding Jamie in one arm, drew an arm around her.
"You know you mustn't change your personal past," he said. "You've heard me give that lecture to Jamie the numerous times he asked for me to help change the events of the Jacobite Rebellion."
"But this isn't changing the outcome of a war," Zoe said. "What kind of paradox would it create if I ordered him to forget about his plans for the Elite Programme?"
"It isn't that simple, Zoe; no matter how you try…" the Doctor began, but trailed off as Barbara cleared her throat.
"I believe I can explain this to her, Doctor," she said, with a smile.
"Yes, I do believe you can," the Doctor said.
Jamie blinked as Barbara now led Zoe off to the side.
"What does Barbara know aboot trying to change time?" he wondered.
"More than you'd expect," the Doctor said. "She learned that during a trip to Mexico we once took."
"Right around the time that the Doctor learned a lesson, too," Ian smirked. "Never indiscriminately make cocoa for others."
The Doctor gave him a look, but Jamie blinked in confusion again.
"Eh?"
"The Doctor didn't know that making a cup of cocoa for someone was considered to be a marriage proposal among the Aztecs," Ian continued. "What's more, she accepted."
Jamie gave him a look of disbelief.
"What did he do?" the Scot asked.
"Made his apologies and took his leave of the bride-to-be. I suppose she knew it wouldn't have worked between them," Ian said.
"Have you two quite finished with this subject now?" the Doctor inquired.
The Brigadier now cleared his throat.
"I need to rejoin my men," he announced. "We're going to search the area and attempt to look for Mr. Klieg—as well as make sure that there are no surviving Cybermen. I'll meet with you all in the morning and give you the details." He proceeded to give each of them a polite nod of farewell. "Take care, Mr. Chesterton, Mr. McCrimmon… Heartbreaker," he added to the Doctor.
"Ohhhh!" the little Time Lord fumed. "If you're going to leave, then leave!"
The Brigadier indeed left, with a smirk on his face, and it was with some vexation that the Doctor realized that there was an identical smirk on Jamie's face. This vexation quickly passed, however, as the Doctor reminded himself of how close Jamie had come to losing all of his emotions earlier.
The Time Lord sighed, drawing his arm around the piper again, hoping that Jamie would never truly know how frightened the Doctor had been to see that.
At least, he consoled himself, it was over now.
Epilogue: With Your Blessing, I Will Go
After Zoe and Barbara had finished their conversation, they rejoined the others, and the five of them returned back to the school grounds, where the rescued students had been taken by UNIT after their harrowing ordeal.
Luke, Percival, Sandra, and Minerva immediately ran up to check on Jamie. After the piper reassured them that he was fine and that the threat of the Cybermen was now gone, it did prompt Percival to ask something.
"…You're the Jacobite who went missing at Culloden in 1746, aren't you?" Percival queried.
"Aye, that was me," Jamie said, with a nod. "But I wasnae abducted. I went of my own free will."
"…And Doctor Smith…?" Percival began.
"Aye, he's an alien," Jamie said, as the Doctor gave a cheerful wave to Percival.
"What kind?" Percival gushed, as he waved back.
"I don' really know," Jamie admitted.
"Some sort of humanoid reptile, if you ask me," Zoe said.
"And where are you from, Zoe?" Luke asked. "Or, should I say, 'when' are you from?"
"I'm from the 21st century," Zoe replied, proudly, and she soon found herself bombarded with questions from the other students about what the future was like until Sandra and Minerva returned to their usual standby of shooing the others away.
Eventually, Barbara restored order and instructed the students back to their dormitories, giving them the assurance that there would be UNIT soldiers standing guard overnight until the final word came from the Brigadier in the morning.
Sensing that they would be leaving the following morning, Zoe opted to spend the night in the dormitory with Sandra and Minerva; Jamie, on the other hand, wanted to sleep in the TARDIS now that his cover was blown. The Doctor opted to do so, as well, and extended the invitation to Barbara and Ian, as their rooms were still intact. In the end, they declined; the Doctor suspected that it was because they didn't want to be tempted to leave their now stable lives behind.
He understood, of course, and spent the night by Jamie's side to make sure that he wasn't suffering any nightmares from his harrowing ordeal earlier that evening.
Morning brought the Brigadier and his report—there were no signs of the Cybermen within a ten-mile radius of the school. Unfortunately, there were no signs of Reginald Klieg, either. Zoe was disappointed at the latter news, but having talked it over with Barbara had helped her to feel better about her ordeal—and the fact that Isobel had also arrived to say goodbye, too, also helped.
The Brigadier had also informed them that they had contacted McNeil's family; McNeil had managed to say a few words to them over the phone—a sign that the Doctor saw as very positive indeed.
After promising Barbara that she could call for aid from UNIT whenever she needed, the Brigadier took his leave of them once more, as did Isobel.
"Well," the headmistress sighed, as they now went about the necessary task of returning the gold items they had stored for safekeeping. "I certainly am glad this is over. …Though, I presume we should start searching for a new physics teacher posthaste?"
The Doctor chuckled.
"You know me, Barbara. I can never stay in the same place for too long." He hesitated. "Of course, you two can always come with me again."
"A generous offer, Doctor," Ian said. "And though we would like to travel with you again, the fact of the matter is… our place is here."
"In the same way, I am sure my offer that Jamie and Zoe can stay here and finish off the term will be turned down," Barbara added.
"I would like to stay," Zoe said. "But I feel that I can do so much more traveling with the Doctor. Thank you, though."
"Och, it's a generous offer, too," Jamie said. "But my place is with the Doctor. …Besides, if I have t' wear trousers one more day, I'll go mad!"
The assembled group did laugh at this, but quickly sobered as they realized that it was time to say farewell. Once the gold had been returned, and after giving Jamie and Zoe enough time to say goodbye to the Luke, Percival, Sandra, and Minerva, Ian and Barbara followed the Doctor and the companions to the TARDIS.
Jamie said his goodbyes to Ian and Barbara first. Zoe went next, shaking Ian's hand, but then giving Barbara a hug.
"You remember what I told you, Zoe," Barbara whispered to her. "And you continue to be as brilliant as I know you can be."
Zoe nodded, her throat tightening as she pulled away and stood back to let the Doctor say goodbye to them now. Gently, the Time Lord took one of their hands in each of his, look to the both of them with a smile.
"Mind that you don't wait so long to call me next time," he said.
"We'll remember. And you just remember that you are free to visit anytime," Ian reminded him.
"I'll second that," Barbara agreed. "And, Doctor… Thank you."
"It was my honor and my pleasure to come to the aid of two old friends," the Doctor assured them. "…Look after each other."
"You three look after each other, too," Barbara said.
The Doctor knew that any further chat would only serve to make the goodbyes more painful; he let go of both of their hands and stepped back until he was next to Jamie and Zoe and grasped each of them on a shoulder before leading them inside the TARDIS and closing the doors after one last wave.
Ian and Barbara stayed for a moment, watching until the familiar police box had completely dematerialized before returning back to their otherwise normal lives.
On board the TARDIS, the atmosphere was noticeably glum. Even Jamie, who hadn't seemed to get too attached to the other students, was upset—though his distress seemed to be stemming from the Doctor's.
Zoe was feeling sad upon saying goodbye to the friends she had made, as well, to say nothing of the disappointment that she hadn't, at least, given Reginald a good judo-throw as recompense for ruining her childhood.
Her thoughts soon turned to the Doctor and Jamie. Realizing that someone had to say something, Zoe picked up a cricket ball from the floor of the console room and cleared her throat as she held it up.
"Shall we?" she offered, innocently, as they turned towards her.
What followed was nothing short of utter chaos as the three of them alternated between bowling, batting, and fielding. And as cricket balls bounced every which way, Zoe had to admit to herself that even though Reginald's creation of the Elite Programme had robbed her of a normal childhood, it had, at least, led her to the life she was living now.
That, she agreed, was definitely worth a lot.
The End
Notes: And, it's finished! Thanks to everyone who followed this! I'll be back later this month with a new fic.