A/N: I'm back! Sorry about the long wait. School keeps getting in the way. So, here's the next chapter.
Enjoy!
disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who.
Chapter Eleven
They were running again. This time it was away from Miss Hartigan and the cybershades.
They stopped in an alley to catch their breath.
"That stronghold." said John, between gulps of air. "Down by the river. We need to find a way in."
"I'm ahead of you! My wife and I were moving to London so that I could take a post at the University. And while my memory's still not intact, this was in my luggage." Jackson pulled out some documents. "The deeds! 15 Latimer Street. And if I discovered the Cybermen there, in the cellar, then-"
"-that might be the way in!" finished the Doctor. "Brilliant!"
"No, but there's still more. I remember the cellar. My wife. But I swear, something else was in that room..." Jackson trailed off as he lost himself in his recovering memories. "If we can find that, then perhaps it's the key to defeating these invaders. So, then! Onwards!"
Jackson marched off down the alley. He was flanked by Rose, who dragged the Doctor behind, ignoring his pleas to return to the safety of the TARDIS.
John turned to Rosita.
"Maybe you should go back to the-"
"Don't even try!" Rosita cut off John before joining the group.
John stood still for a moment, then chased after them.
Rose followed Jackson Lake with the Doctor on her heels. Somewhere further back Rosita and John were running to catch up to them.
They all followed Jackson down winding alleys and into a building. Down a flight of stairs to a cellar.
The group was nearly at the base of the stairs when Jackson paused.
Rose quckly stopped.
The Doctor was not as quick, and bumped into Rose before stopping.
Rose had to ignore how the contact opened her mind to a host of possibilities that were best left alone until they were safe on the TARDIS again.
Jackson raised his hand and aimed an Infostamp at something. He fired, and a Cyberman occupying the cellar fell over, dead.
Jackson entered the cellar and motioned for the others to enter. It was safe now.
Rose entered. Her eyes were immediately drawn to the narrow metal bronze structure that stood in the middle of the room.
The Doctor and John were also captivated by the device. Both men leaned in closer. John pulled out the sonic and started scanning the device.
"Must've been gaurding this." observed the Doctor. "A Dimension Vault! Stolen from the Daleks again, that's how the Cybermen travelled through time..."
"Jackson, is this it?" asked John. "The thing you couldn't remember?"
Jackson's eyes lost focus as he focused on his damaged memories. "...don't think so, I'm... I just can't see. Like it's hidden."
The device beeped as the Doctor and John continued to study it.
"Not enough power." muttered John. "Come on! Avanti!"
John leapt to his feet and walked through a door.
Rose was the first to follow, the Doctor in tow behind her.
Through the door was a network of underground tunnels. They were dark and wet.
Rose heard a noise, like power was being produced.
"Something's powering up." whispered Rose.
"But what do the Cybermen want?" asked Rosita.
"They want us." answered John. "That's what Cybermen are, human beings, with their brains put into metal shells. They want every living thing to be like them."
Rose shuddered, recalling her previous encounters with the Cybermen.
The tunnels wound this way and that way, until they emerged over a huge open room.
"Upon my soul..."
"What is it..?"
"Doctor, what is that?"
"An engine." the Doctor and John answered in unison.
Down below of the ground, children wearily worked a series of cogs and levers. The majority of the children pushed a large wheel round and round in an endless circle.
A couple Cybermen stood on gaurd, supervising the children.
The engine covered a whole wall, and was as tall as the room. Children worked on other various parts of the engine from elevated, rickety, wooden platforms.
"They're generating electricity." explained the Doctor.
"But for what?" wondered John.
Jackson pulled out an Infostamp and offered John one.
"No no no no no..." the Doctor ordered.
The Doctor grabbed Rose's hand and they ran back into the tunnels.
John followed Rose and the Doctor back into the tunnels.
Rosita and Jackson followed close behind.
The Doctor suddenly stopped. He examined a box that had been wired into the pipes. The box had a screen, and was displaying information about the engine.
"Power at ninety percent." observed the Doctor. "But if we stop the engine, the power dies down and the Cybermen will come running..."
Something on the screen changed.
"Ooh. Hold on." said John. He pointed to the screen. "Power fluctuation. That's not meant to happen."
"It's going wrong?" asked Rose.
"No, that's weird, the software's rewriting itself." John squinted at the screen. "It's... changing."
"Woah!" exclaimed the Doctor. "It's out of control, what the hell is happening?"
"It's accelerating." said Jackson. "Ninety-six percent. Nienty-seven..."
"When it reackes a hundred, what about the children?" asked Rostia.
"They're disposable." answered the Doctor. "Come on!"
The Doctor whirled around and they were all dashing back to the engine room.
At the mouth of the tunnel, they paused to arms themselves. Jackson passed around Infostamps to everyone.
"Power levels now at one hundred." anounced one of the Cybermen. "Delete the workforce."
Rosita and Jackson were the first to leave the tunnel. John ran after Jackson and Rosita.
Both the Cybermen started to advance toward the children. They raised their arms, their intent clear.
The children stopped working, sensing the danger. Some of them just stood there, staring. Others backed away, terrified of what was to come.
John was too far away, he would not be able to make it...
"Leave them alone!" shouted Rosita.
Twin streams of electricity found their targets, and the Cybermen shuddered and died.
John leapt forward.
"Right, now all of you, out!" shouted John. "D'you hear me? That's an order! Every single one of you, run!"
"All of you!" Rose shouted. "Fast as you can!"
"There's a hot pie for everyone, if you leg it!" declared the Doctor.
Everywhere kids snapped out of their fear and bolted out of the room. Jackson, Rosita, and Rose pushed them along.
The engine kept going, running on its own power.
"Rosita! Get them out of the sluice gate!" commanded the Doctor. "And once you're out, keep running! Far as you can! Rose, go with her!"
"I already told you, I'm not leavin' without you!" shouted Rose.
Rosita ran out of the room.
"Rose! Please! You have to leave!" yelled the Doctor.
"Not without you!" insisted Rose.
"I can't lose you again!"
"I can't lose you either! I'm staying."
"Fine!" relented the Doctor.
If they were not currently rescuing the children, John would have laughed. The Doctor never had been able to say no to Rose.
John ran to a panel of screens while the Doctor, Jackson, and Rose hurried the last of the children out.
"Come on, slowcoach!" shouted John.
The Doctor joined John and together they started pushing buttons, pulling levers, anything that might help.
John turned around to see how many children were left.
Rose still ushered children out. Just a few children remained, and already they were making their way out.
Jackson just stood there, though. He stared at the stream of fleeing children. Frozen. Lost in his broken memories.
"...my son." Jackson snapped his head to where John and the Doctor were. "My son! Doctor! My son!"
"What?!" asked the Doctor. He was not really listening though, still wrapped up in his determination to figure out the controls.
"They took my son! No wonder I lost my mind! Those damned cybermen took my child, but he's alive!" Jackson looked up and shouted. "Fredric! Stay there!"
John joined Jackson at his side.
"He's too scared." said Jackson. "Stay there! Don't move! I'm coming!"
Jackson ran toward the staircase that would lead him to his son. He was almost there...
Whoosh!
The base of the staircase exploded, throwing Jackson back.
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