They lapsed into a comfortable silence for a while until the Doctor suddenly stopped, turning to Hanna. Though before he could talk Fred pushed between them, blindly continuing to follow orders.
"Stop." The Doctor said into his microphone. "Now come back here. Stop." He instructed the Yeti and it did as he said. Now the Doctor looked at Hanna, "I've been thinking. Until we know who else is working for the Intelligence, everyone must be suspect." When she nodded he continued, "The fewer people who know this chap's on our side, the better. Unless you're willing to tell me who is working for the Intelligence now?"
She sighed, "I would if I could, Doctor. But... I dinnae know if you knowing would change anything. Though, I would say I trust Jamie, Victoria and the Brigadier," She sighed before correcting herself, "The Colonel, I mean. One day I'll get it right..."
"Yes, well even so..." He mused.
"But yeah, keeping it a secret is a good idea. I mean whoever is working for the Intelligence will know he is anyway so if he's the only person who knows it could help narrow it down." She smiled at him.
"Yes... Ah! I know!" He moved to stand in front of Fred before speaking into the microphone again, "You are to remain here for..." he paused and looked at Hanna, "Do you think a minute will be enough?"
"Should be." She replied, "We're not that far away from HQ now."
The Doctor thought for a moment before continuing into the microphone, "You are to remain here for... 90 seconds and then resume acting on orders from the Intelligence until you are told otherwise. Is that understood?"
As if in reply, Fred roared, causing the Doctor and Hanna to laugh.
"Right," The Doctor said once more into the microphone, "Switch off for 90 seconds starting from now."
On his command, Fred went completely still. They stood there for a moment before turning and starting to move away as quickly as they dared through the tunnels.
"Is that Jamie and the Colonel?" Hanna asked after a few moments of silence, pointing at two figures ahead of them.
"Yes, I believe so," The Doctor replied.
"Come on!" They heard Jamie's voice echo through the tunnels and the Scottish boy came forwards to meet them. Once they were closer he said, "There's fungus at Warren Street."
"Yes, I know." The Doctor replied.
"Oh." Jamie sounded slightly disappointed that he hadn't been able to give them some new information, "Hey, what you doing down here anyway?" He continued.
"Well, as a matter of fact-" the Doctor started to explain but stopped as he noticed Lethbridge-Stewart close by. "I'll tell you another time. Hello, Colonel!"
"Glad to see you're both safe," The Colonel said as he approached them. "Any luck with your gadgets?"
The Doctor and Hanna exchanged a glance and she shrugged slightly. He looked back at the Colonel, "No, afraid not."
"Pity." He replied.
"Any news of Victoria?" The Doctor asked them.
"Yes," Jamie replied, "She's at the Piccadilly station."
"Piccadilly?" The Doctor echoed.
"Yes," The Colonel replied, "As is Professor Travers."
"Are they all right?" Hanna asked.
"Yes," Lethbridge-Stewart told them.
"How do you know?" The Doctor asked, suddenly suspicious.
"I ran across Arnold. He saw them." Lethbridge-Stewart replied.
"Arnold?" The Doctor frowned.
"But Evans said he'd been eaten by the fungus." Hanna pointed out.
"Yes. He went into it, all right, but he came out again somehow." The Colonel told them what he'd found out. "Says he can't remember what happens."
"Fishy," Hanna shrugged, "But as least we know where the others are and that they're okay."
"Well, we haven't got any time to find out what did happen," The Doctor said.
"Yes, your 20 minutes?" The Colonel said. When they others nodded in clarification he became suddenly businesslike. "Well, come on, then." He said before turning and heading back towards HQ.
"So what now?" Hanna asked the Doctor as they started to follow.
"We can't do anything until we get back to Headquarters. And if we've got time Anne and I will try to increase the range of the control units. Come on." They moved to catch up with the others.
Once they were almost at HQ, the Colonel suddenly stopped. "What is it, Colonel?" The Doctor asked, the others crowding in behind him to try to see what was going on in the gloom ahead.
"Something up ahead." The Colonel said.
"We've got to keep going, though." Hanna told them.
"What, fungus behind, you mean?" Lethbridge-Stewart asked.
"Yup." She replied, "And God knows what else."
"Is that you, Colonel?" A voice rang out from ahead of them.
"It's Arnold." The Colonel sounded relieved at the familiar voice, "Hang on, Staff!"
"Why isn't he at HQ?" Jamie asked as the Colonel went on to greet Arnold.
"We're about to find out," Hanna told them, moving to join the Colonel. A moment later the rest of the ground joined them.
"Sir, the fungus," Arnold said, "It's swamped HQ."
"No!" The Doctor asked.
"I'm afraid so, sir. The main doors should keep it out of the tunnels for a bit but..." Arnold stopped, panting slightly.
"Where's Evans?" The Colonel asked.
"He ran off," Anne Travers told them. "We left HQ and when Staff Arnold told him to come with us to find you he just left."
There was a roar behind them, signalling the arrival of two Yetis. They turned to run but more emerged from the tunnels there, surrounding them.
"Our time's up!" Staff Arnold said, losing the calmness he'd had a moment ago, "We're all together! They've come to fetch us!"
"No shit..." Hanna muttered to herself as the Yeti rounded them up and started to walk them through the tunnels.
A few minutes later they stopped and the Yeti in front of them turn, letting out a grumbling roar as if trying to tell them something before it walked away, leaving them where they were. Hanna waved cheerily as it went.
"I'm going to make a break for it, sir." Arnold said under his breath.
"Think you can?" Lethbridge-Stewart asked him.
"Well, it's worth a try. On the loose, sir, I might be able to do something. If only you can distract them, sir." Arnold replied.
Hanna, Anne and Jamie – hearing them talking – had come up behind to listen. "It's worth a shot," Hanna said softly.
"All right, Staff." The Colonel conceded.
"I think he wants us to go on, sir." Arnold said as the Yeti that had moved away turned and let out another grumbling noise.
"Right. Here we go." The Colonel said, starting to walk. A moment later he fell with a cry and the rest of the group, minus Arnold, crowded around him. The Yeti behind them roared, clearly wanting them to keep moving. By the time the commotion was over and the group had resumed walking, Arnold had gone.
They walked in silence until they reached Piccadilly Circus station and the Yeti stopped. The group now gathered on the platform. While the Colonel and Anne stood close by talking amongst themselves, Hanna, Jamie and, the Doctor sat on the edge of the platform. The Doctor got out his recorder and started to play.
"Can I have a go?" Hanna asked after a moment.
"Hmm?" The Doctor stopped and looked at her, "Oh, I suppose so." He passed her the instrument.
She examined it for a moment before starting to play it, using the music to cover the sound of the Doctor's voice as he explained everything that had been going on with Fred the Yeti to Jamie.
"But why didn't you tell me all this before?" Jamie asked softly.
Hanna stopped playing, "The others were around..." she said, equally softly.
"You don't think the Colonel...?" Jamie glanced behind him.
"Well, you never know, do you?" The Doctor replied.
Jamie looked at the Yeti around them for a moment be leaning in with another question, "Which one is ours?"
"I don't know..." The Doctor told him truthfully.
"What?" Jamie seemed slightly taken aback.
"There was a lot going on," Hanna told him, "Kind of hard to keep track when they all look alike. Plus we didn't want to everyone to know about him so he's currently still obeying the orders of the Intelligence. He could be anywhere."
"Oh that's a great help...!" Jamie whispered sarcastically.
"Well, never mind." The Doctor said, "I want you to take this microphone and keep on calling our Yeti to you. Hanna, if you can I want you to go with him."
"How will I know I've got the right one?" Jamie asked.
"When it doesn't attack us," Hanna told him with a smile.
The Doctor chuckled before his voice took on a more serious tone, "I hope you don't suffer from claustrophobia."
"Eh?" Jamie asked.
"Fear of tight spaces," Hanna explained.
"Oh. No, I don't think so." He told them.
"Me neither. At least, not badly. I kind of get a little anxious if it's a really tight space but I think that's kind of normal." Hanna grinned at them.
"Good," The Doctor said softly, "I want the two of you to hide in those crates just there until the Yeti come and take us away. You think you can manage that?"
Hanna looked over at where he was pointing and nodded, "Oh aye, I should think so. Come along, McCrimmon. Let's get this over and done with."
The pair of them waited until the Yeti seemed to be not paying them any attention before climbing as silently as possible into the containers, closing the lids behind them. It was dark. And cold. And cramped. Hanna closed her eyes and leaned against of the walls, listening to everyone talk around them. After what seemed like forever, the Yetis finally arrived. She waited a little longer until she could no longer hear anything before very slowly and carefully lifting the lid of the container and peering out. The platform was deserted. "Jamie." She whispered, "Come on, it's safe."
A moment later he too emerged. The pair of them were now alone, standing on the platform at Piccadilly Circus with no Yeti to be seen.
"What was all that about with Evans?" He asked her.
"Oh, just him being himself." She replied with a shrug, "A coward."
He nodded slightly, fumbling for the microphone and calling for their Yeti to come towards them. "How long do you think this will take?" He glanced at her.
"No idea." She replied honestly before sighing, "Look, Jamie... I'm sorry about snapping at you earlier."
"Aye, it's all right." He replied with a slight shrug.
"No, it's not." She sighed again, "Look, I really like you. You're brave and strong-willed. And that's stuff that I really do like about you. But what does drive me mad is the way you bowl into things without really thinking about the consequences. Though... I guess you wouldn't really be you if you didn't... I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm sorry I wasn't more tolerant. And that you shouldn't ever change who you are. Because you're brilliant, Jamie McCrimmon."
"Oh, aye?" He gave her a coy grin, "Well you're not so bad yourself, Hanna MacKay."
She laughed, "Thanks. Let's just get Fred over here so we can get on with this. I could use a nap."
"Aye, you're right." He nodded before starting to once more talk into the microphone, calling for the Yeti to come closer to them, telling it where they were. As he spoke, Hanna leaned on the wall to watch him. A Yeti emerged from the tunnel to their left and Jamie focussed on it, thinking it was Fred. Hanna glanced to their right and smiled as she saw a second Yeti.
"Now," Jamie said, "Raise your right arm." They Yeti he was looking at did nothing while the one Hanna was watching did. "Raise your right arm." He repeated. The Yeti he was watching walked of. "Oh, what's the use." As if snapped out of a trance, the Yeti on the platform roared.
Hanna laughed at the sudden fear on Jamie's face. "It's fine," She told him, "Meet Fred."
Jamie relaxed, telling the Yeti to stop moving, which it did. "So this is our Yeti." he said with a sigh of relief.
"Yup. Though, I'm kind of disappointed. Being here means that we don't get to see the big reveal of who the Intelligence really is." She said wistfully.
"So you really have known all along?" He asked.
"Aye, but I couldn't tell anyone."
"Who is it then?" He pressed.
"Arnold. He was one of the first people to be killed and the Intelligence manifested itself inside his body so as to lure the Doctor into his trap. Which he has managed quite successfully."
"Aye, I suppose he has." Jamie replied, "We better get after them. Fred. Take us to wherever the others have been taken."
The Yeti roared and they all started to walk, Hanna and Jamie allowing themselves to be guided to where the Intelligence had built its pyramid.
"Ah. The last members of the party." Arnold's voice said from ahead of them as they entered a building. "Come and join us."
"Jamie!" Victoria said, her voice a mixture of relief and worry.
"Victoria. Are you all right?" He asked, going over and tenderly putting his hands on her shoulders to reassure her.
Hanna moved past them, going and standing beside the Colonel. She kept her head down deliberately to avoid having to see their reunion, her stomach twisting painfully at how evident his affection for the other girl was.
"Your solicitude is touching." Arnold said, "Nevertheless, it is wasting time."
"Frightened that something might go wrong?" The Doctor asked. Hanna looked up at him, blinking away her sadness as quickly as she could.
Arnold was silent for a moment before looking at Hanna, "Join the Doctor."
She smirked at him before going over, standing beside the Doctor and bracing herself for what she knew was coming. As she had anticipated the Intelligence gave an instruction that she was barely aware of and a large hand suddenly gripped her by the throat, pulling her backward and making her choke. Instinctively she reached up, clawing at the hand to try to give herself some more space to breathe.
"Leave her be!" The Doctor shouted.
"I must ensure your complete cooperation, Doctor." The Intelligence told him. "Should you prove at all unhelpful, your young friend's neck will be broken."
"I'm fine," Hanna wheezed, "Get on with it..."
"You gave your word that no one would be harmed." The Doctor said coldly before raising his voice, "I refuse to submit until you release Hanna!"
"All right." The Intelligence relented, "Release the girl."
Hanna could breathe again and cared about nothing else, rubbing her neck and sucking in huge lungfuls of cold air, her lungs enjoying being able to inflate properly once more. She was vaguely aware of the Intelligence's voice and the Doctor's hands on her back but she ignored both. "I'm fine..." she mumbled, straightening up.
"Don't worry." The Doctor said, "I will do as you say."
"Good." The Intelligence said, "Into the machine, Doctor." It gestured towards the pyramid in the centre of the room.
Everyone spoke at once, whispering over each other in surprise as the Doctor did exactly what the Intelligence told him to, going over and sitting in the pyramid. Only Hanna did nothing, glancing up at the Yeti beside her and sidling a couple of inches to the left.
The Intelligence hooked the Doctor up to the machine before starting to talk again, "Soon your mind will be absorbed by the Great Intelligence," It told him. "You should be very proud, Doctor. Your knowledge of the past will help to shape the future of this planet."
"Just get on with it, please." The Doctor replied, now showing signs of being nervous.
This fact was not lost on the Intelligence, "You seem very anxious suddenly."
"I just want it over and done with." The Doctor answered the unspoken question as to why.
"Submission is essential," The Intelligence continued, "You must understand, Doctor, that without you complete cooperation, this transference would be of no value. Should you offer any opposition, either physical or mental, I shall be forced to punish you. Or rather, your friends. Prepare for a great darkness to cloud your mind."
As he has been talking, Hanna had been watching the others rather than the Intelligence and therefore had seen Jamie very slowly remove the microphone from his pocket. Now he spoke, "Attack now, attack the Yeti!"
Fred moved at once, roaring and moving in for the attack. There was shouting and roaring. People gesturing and taking over each other. Hanna stepped back, watching everything unfold as Jamie instructed Fred the Yeti on who to attack while he himself went over and started to try to pull the Doctor from the machine, much to the Time Lord's displeasure. Anne and Travers went over to help Jamie and together the three of them hauled the doctor from the machine. Once he was gone, Jamie ripped some of the wiring from the machine and everyone ducked to the floor as it exploded. Arnold and Fred the Yeti were both destroyed by the blast.
Hanna groaned and coughed as she started to get up, rubbing her head, "Not the best idea you've ever had, Jamie." She said, slightly louder than she anticipated thanks to the way her ears were ringing. She leaned against the nearest wall and rubbed her neck again. She still felt a bit like she was being strangled.
"Well, that's that then, isn't it?" Evans said to the Doctor, looking around.
"You blithering Welsh imbecile!" The Doctor shouted. "Why can't you do what you're told?!"
"Hey, just a minute, Doctor." Jamie protested, "If we hadn't pulled you out of that, you'd have been a heap of dust by now."
"You're just as bad." The Doctor rounded on him, "I told you to leave it to me! Now you've gone and ruined everything!"
"Ruined everything? How can we! We've won, haven't we?" Jamie was confused by his friend's anger.
"No!" The Doctor replied sharply.
"What do you mean, Doctor?" Professor Travers asked.
"Oh, why didn't they leave it to me?" The Doctor said despairingly to no one before starting to explain his plan, "I had crossed the wires of that helmet thing. The Intelligence wouldn't have drained me. I would have drained the Intelligence! As it is, all we got was a crossed circuit." He walked away from them.
"In theory." Hanna said, "Though what it also could have done is just caused an explosion and vapourised you both."
"You mean all we've done is cut off its contact with Earth?" Anne asked, "It's still out there in space somewhere, flying around?"
"Pretty much." Hanna told them, "It may or may not come back again, who knows!"
"Look!" The Doctor said, gesturing at the floor where the blackened corpse of Staff Arnold lay, gaining a few gasps of shock from the group.
"You mean to say that Arnold wasn't the Intelligence?" The Colonel asked.
"No." The Doctor replied, "He was just a poor soldier that was taken over. He was probably one of the first to disappear."
"You mean, it might come back?" Evans asked, still two steps behind in the conversation.
"Well it's still around, isn't it?" The Doctor told them. "I've failed."
"Bull." Hanna pushed between the others to stand beside him, talking before anyone else could. "You were awesome! And the Intelligence isn't going to bother anyone for a good long while, I can tell you that for nothing. So this is not a failure. I mean yes, you had hoped things would turn out differently but oh well. You still won. You still saved the Earth."
"You've got to face facts, old man." Chorley said, pushing forwards to stand on the Doctor's other side.
"Oh God, are you still here?" Hanna looked over at him with disdain.
Unperturbed, Chorley continued, "By tomorrow morning, you're going to be a household word, a national figure. I want you on my television programme."
"Oh, no." The Doctor said firmly.
"Shut up, Chorley." Hanna said, stepping between them. "That is never going to happen. Not the Doctor's style. No, he's much more 'swoop in and save the day then disappear with as little trace as possible.'"
"Oh, but-" Chorley started to protest.
"No buts." She replied. "Now, before everyone leaves, I have a little request. Can I please have a photograph?" Hanna called after them, "To remember this by."
The Doctor turned and considered this for a moment, "Hmm, well I don't see why not. Though aren't your own memories enough?"
She shook her head, "I never want to forget any of this. So I want a photograph." She grinned winningly at him before turning to the others, "I want everyone in it. Chorley, you can take it if you don't say a word about my camera."
"And why's that?" The journalist asked her.
"Because quite frankly I don't want you in the picture. You're a slimeball and I don't like you." She grinned at him, "So yeah, ask anything about the camera or the technology I hit you. Agreed?"
"Oh I suppose so." He still looked disgruntled.
"None of the rest of you escape either," She said to Lethbridge-Stewart, Evans, and Professor and Anne Travers. "I want you in it. Even you Evans, though honestly it's a close run thing between you and Chorley here." She got out her camera and turned it on, "I'll send a copy of the picture to UNIT for you, Brigadier." She stopped and sighed, "Can I please just call you that? I'm bored of correcting myself."
"I'd rather you try to get my rank right," Lethbridge-Stewart replied, a shadow of a smile on his face, "Though, what is UNIT?"
"Ah..." Hanna pulled a face, "Well that's something I was thinking you could maybe work on. I think this world needs some kind of... government agency so that if things like this happen again you're prepared to deal with them. You could lead it. And get promoted?" She grinned at him, "You know, theoretically?"
"Sometimes with you, I don't know whether you're speaking the truth or not. But it's a good idea. I'll suggest it." Lethbridge-Stewart replied.
Hanna just laughed at this before handing her camera to Chorley and instructing him on how to use it. She then gathered everyone else in so that she was standing in the middle with the Doctor, Jamie and Evans on her left and, Victoria, Lethbridge-Stewart and Professor Travers on her right.
Once Chorley had taken a couple of pictures, just to be on the safe side, she took the camera back from him. "Colonel," She said, turning to him, "Would you mind escorting the Doctor, Jamie, Victoria and I back to Covent Garden. We can show you that our space and time machine really does exist."
"Yes, I don't see why not." he replied, "We can check the tunnel for Yeti on the way. Come along."
Hanna grinned as the group walked and far too soon they were at Covent Garden. The fungus had gone and standing nonchalantly on the platform was the familiar blue shape of the TARDIS.
"Wonderful to meet you both," The Doctor said, shaking first the Colonel and then Hanna by the hand.
"And you," Hanna replied earnestly, "See you again."
He chuckled and nodded, "Oh I'm sure I will." He said before going over and unlocking the TARDIS door.
Victoria was next, gracefully shaking her by the hand.
"You're good, Victoria." Hanna said to her, "A lot better, smarter, and worth more than just being scared by things. And you'll do well to remember it."
"Will I see you again?" The other girl asked.
Hanna sighed, "I doubt it. But I won't ever forget this."
Finally Jamie. Jamie who Hanna had fantasised over meeting for so many years. She shook his hand before leaning over and placing a soft kiss on his cheek, "I will never, ever forget about this, Jamie McCrimmon." She said, "I promise you that. This is something that will always stay with me."
"Aye," He smiled at her, "And I won't forget it either."
She didn't say anything else, just smiled sadly as they turned away and one by one entered the TARDIS. A few moments after the door had closed, they were gone. The TARDIS dematerialising with a wheezing groan of engines.
"Good God!" The Colonel exclaimed.
Hanna laughed, "You get used to it, Colonel. I promise."
"So what's next for you?" He asked her after a moment.
"Back home. The Doctor will hopefully be here soon to pick me up." She replied with a shrug. Before she could say anything else the air was once more filled with the sound of the TARDIS engines and she turned as the blue box once more materialised into existence on the platform beside them. "Here's my ride." She said simply, going over to the doors.
Before she reached them, the door opened and the Eleventh Doctor stepped out. He didn't say anything, just smiled sadly and saluted to the Colonel before looking at Hanna, "You ready to go?"
She nodded, glancing over her shoulder and saluting before the pair of them disappeared inside the TARDIS, leaving the Colonel alone on the platform as once more the blue box faded from view.
Author's note: So here it is. The final part of Web of Fear. I'd like to say thank you SO much to all the people who had read and reviewed this story so far and in particular those who have sent me such positive feedback on these last four chapters. I knew right from the start that I wanted to include a story from Classic Who and for me, Web of Fear was the obvious choice. It's one of my favourite stories from my favourite era of Doctor Who. Though I will admit that as I got closer to uploading the chapters I became really worried that people wouldn't like it. Turns out I needn't have. So thank you all again! And I hope that I have possibly inspired people to go and watch some of the Classic series.
Question time! (Please send me any questions you may have. No matter how weird, bizarre or even mundane you think they are!)
Happy-Rea:
1. 'What would her superhero name be?' Okay when I first read this Hanna shouted "THUNDERWOMAN!" at me. Then she changed her mind to "The Flying Scotswoman." So one of those. She's a strange one.
2. 'Prior to travelling with the Doctor, what was the furthest she'd travelled?' Probably only actually as far as London. From near Glasgow. So not very far at all!
3. 'Do you want to build a snowman?' Come on, let's go and play.