Chapter eleven. Probably the best chapter in this whole thing. ; )
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Octavius entered the dark, gloomy room. He was greeted by the sound of weazy coughing. He moved next to his friend, and spoke.
" You...you wanted to see me? He whispered.
Jedediah's eyes blinked open, and dark brown met crystal, sky blue.
" Yeah, I-I wanted ta talk to ya, before...before I...just in case. " He said in a hushed, hoarse voice.
" How...how do you feel? "
" Not...very good but...never mind that. What did,...what did the Doctor say? "
Octavius was silent for awhile, until he made up his mind to tell his friend.
" He says he is going to take us home. And, and I do believe it is a good idea. "
" No. "
" What? "
" No. Ya can't quite. Ya have ta...ta... " Jedediah broke into a bout of coughing.
" Jedediah... "
" Ya have ta stand and fight. The...the whole museum and...and the whole world is...counting on ya. "
" But, what about you? If I decide to go, you could be in danger. "
Jedediah smiled weakly.
" We've held our own in odds greater than this. We can...we can do it...you can...do...it... " Jedediah stammered the last few words as his eyes began to close.
" Jedediah? Are you still with me my liege? "
Octavius felt a single tear fall. He went to Jedediah, and hugged him. He stayed that way for a while, listening to the slow, rythematic beating of his heart. He heard footsteps down the hall, and turned to the door as the Doctor came in.
" Doctor. " Octavius said, full of confidence. " I am going to fight them. "
" Why have you decided? "
" I-I must. For Jedediah. "
" You know, revenge is never the answer. "
" It is not about revenge. Khamunrah's wrath has gone on to long, and innocent people have been affected. And besides, he is about to take over the world, and if he does that, it could be the end of the world. I am not doing this in cold blood, but in justice. "
" OK. I see I can't convince you otherwise, what can we do to help? "
" Well, I have a plan... "
" Good! We'll talk in the main control room of the TARDIS. You coming? "
" Yes. Just, just a second... " Octavius said, looking to Jedediah's sleeping form.
The Doctor watched as Octavius went and removed his cape, then laid it onto Jedediah.
" Goodbye, Jedediah. "
After a few moments of silence, the Doctor finally spoke.
" Come on Octavius. Let's go over the plan. "
Octavius nodded, and followed the Doctor out.
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" So, " The Doctor said aloud. " Octavius here has a plan. "
Rory and Amy gathered around.
" Well, " Octavius began. " The museum has many occupants, and most of them are miniatures, who know how to fight. We can form an army. "
" I like where your going with this, but what will they do? There...no offense, small. "
" True. But remember how Jedediah and I grew when we were in the presence of the tablet and the TARDIS? Perhaps it will do the same thing with them. "
" Perhaps...but how will they protect themselves? Daleks are lethal you know. "
" Yes. I know. We will cross that bridge when we get there. Now, what is the Daleks weakness? "
" Uhhh... "
" I know! " Rory exclaimed, jumping out of his seat. " Water! "
" Water? "
" Yeah water! "
" Rory, water will not destroy them. "
" I know! I know! But water WILL cause their systems to malfunction, rendering them to useless. "
" You do have a point...alright. With that settled, we should be going. We don't have much time. To The Museum of Natural History! "
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Larry and Teddy kept their silent vigil, waiting for that blue box to reappear. If it ever did.
" It's been three days Teddy, and still no sign of them. I just hope their alright, and that Doctor hasn't led them to their deaths. "
" I don't think that has happened. Sometimes journeys take long, but they always come to an end. "
" Not always a good end. "
Teddy studied the expression on Larry's face. The poor night guard hadn't slept in days. He must have drunk at least five gallons of coffee the past few nights. The exhibits hadn't been doing well either. Ahkmenrah was worried sick about the tablet, which, oddly enough, the exhibits were alive without it's presense. According to Ahkmenrah, the reason for this, was that the tablet hadn't been there to end the spell. So they were all alive and kicking, as that old saying goes. Through the gloom, Teddy could see the faint outline of a blue phone box. With joy, he laughed that hardy laugh, and slapped Larry's shoulder.
" Oww! What was that for? " He said angrily.
" Look! I told you they'd come lad! "
Larry looked to where Teddy was pointing, and a huge smile took over his face. They both ran to the TARDIS, and waited for the passengers to come out. A few moments later, the Doctor stepped out.
" Ah! Night guard! I told you we'd be back! "
Rory and Amy came out next, and then Octavius. He was happy to be home, but felt strangely alone.
" Hey, Octavius, you look well. " Larry said, smiling.
" Yes...I am...well. I suppose. "
" Good. Hey, where's... " When Larry looked into Octavius' tired eyes, he understood.
" Oh. I-i'm so sorry. "
" It does not matter now. What matters is that we need to prepare for invasion...and we have a plan. Come on. "
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" So...your sure this'll work? " Larry asked.
" Yes. It has to work...your Roman is quite the genius. " The Doctor replied truthfully.
They all followed Octavius to the hall of miniatures. When Octavius walked in, he noticed no one had followed. He turned around questioningly.
" We think you should talk to them. After all, your one of their leaders. " Larry told him. " You got this. "
For a moment, he sounded a lot like Jedediah. Alone, Octavius walked into the hall. When he got near the exhibits, the Mayans gave him those harsh looks they give everybody, and the Romans looked up surprised. They had heard that their general and the cowboy general had grown and left, but this gave a whole new meaning to high in authority. A few of the soldiers backed up a few paces, unsure of how to approach their above average general. But one confident little roman stepped forwards immediately.
" You are back general! We...we feard the worse. " Marcus said, yelling to be heard.
" Of course I am back. I would never forsake my people. How did things go when I was gone? "
" Good. Nothing really happened, except that it was a lot of waiting and chaos. You were most definatly missed. "
" So listen, the Daleks are coming and so is Khamunrah. "
A shocked murmur ran through the legion.
" Kha...Khamunrah? " Marcus said shakily. " Khamunrah's coming? "
Octavius nodded.
" And...Daleks? What are Daleks? "
" You will see. I have a plan, and I need an army. "
" Great! Uh...what is the plan? "
" I will reveal the plan soon. Now, tell the men to grab their gear, and the catapults, and lower them down. Oh and also, prepare for a bigger legion. "
" You mean... "
" Oh yeah. I mean it. Now, I must speak to the cowboys. "
While Octavius' men moved everything down, Octavius walked over to the Western diorama. apparently, they had over heard the conversation.
" Hey, uh... "
" We already heard, and we will help you avenge our leader, and save the world. " One of the cowboys, Micah, his name was, said. All the other cowboys nodded their agreement. They loved their leader as much as the Romans loved their leader.
" Thank you...both Roamns and Cowboys meet outside with all of your necessary supplies! "
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Octavius stood on the top of the highest step in front of the museum. He watched with great interest at how his plan was working out. He watched two romans and two cowboys walk into the TARDIS, and then walk out full sized. Octavius had talked to the Doctor and Larry, and they had decided that perhaps having the miniatures near the presence of the tablet and the TARDIS at the same time would make them bigger, thus strengthening their defenses. It had indeed been a brilliant idea, for half a legion and few dozen full sized cowboys stood at the bottom of the steps, waiting for orders. Though the romans and cowboys had been at peace, they had never really made any friendships, besides the friendship of their two leaders. They had trade routs between them, and some of the merchants had made good friends outside of their territory, but not many. Now, Octavius was pleased to se the cowboys intermingling with the romans, and happy, excited conversations between the two sides. About thirty minutes later, all miniatures were full sized, and waiting in anticipation. Larry and the Doctor had given him full command, and he studied his new army for the day.
He had full sized catapults and chariots, as well as horses from both the roman side and the cowboy side. He had exactly 2,400 roman soldiers, equal to about a full legion, 250 cowboys, as well as the other exhibits. These including Teddy Roosevelt, his horse Texas, Sacagawea, Attila and the Huns, the cavemen, Dexter and the other two Capuchins, Ahkmenrah and his jackal headed guards, Rexy, Louise and Clark, the African mammals, a mammoth, the civil war soldiers, Christopher Columbus, and all the other occupants in the museum. It was definantly the strangest army in history, but with it's mixed cultures and military strategies, it was a force to be reckoned with. Octavius watched the out of the ordinary army gather beneath him, looking up at him expectantly. Octavius cleared his throat.
" Ladies, Gentlemen, and animals, I thank you all for giving me your time, and for offering your assistance in the battle we are soon to face. Now, this is going to be very dangerous, so any of you who do not wish to fight, may leave, without being marked a coward or a disgrace. "
" So, your letting us...desert? " One the romans asked shocked.
" Yes. You are free to desert...I will not march you into battle, unless you want me to. "
The army beneath him talked amongst themselves. Then Marcus spoke up.
" Sir, we all wish to stay and fight. "
Octavius smiled. No matter how hopeless this battle would be, he had an army behind him, backing him up all the way.
" That is good to know, and I thank you. Now, we have much at stake here. The whole museum, and possibly the universe is at stake here, we must... "
" The whole universe? "Sacagawea said suddenly. " You mean, there is more to the universe than just stars and planets? "
" Indeed. There are things out there, things coming here, that you have never seen, and probably never will see again. Now those things want to take over, and we cannot let that happen. " Octavius replied in a serious voice.
Attila said something in Hun, and then Ahkmenrah translated.
" He says, ' We're ready! ' "
Indeed the Hun looked ready, with his sword drawn, and his determined face. But Octavius shook his head.
" Normal weapons will not help us with this enemy. To defeat them, we must use,...these. " He said, picking up a water gun. Everyone just stared at him.
" A water gun? " One of the cowboys said on the verge of laughter. " How's a water gun gonna help? "
" These are creatures with robotic exoskeletons. The water will fry their systems, rendering them useless. "
" But where are we going to get enough of these water guns? " Teddy said from the back of the crowd.
" That's where I come in. " Larry said, backing up a big semi truck into the museum loading dock. Everyone stared in wonder, as the back opened, and they saw probably the largest supply of water guns they'd ever seen. " I had a few thousand dollars left from when I owned Daley Devices to kill. I'm happy to blow it on water guns. Now, everyone line up, and I will give you one, and show you haw to use it. Also, I have water balloons in here, and a few blow up swimming pools for refilling, also, a couple dozen buckets. "
As Octavius watched the exhibits filling water guns, and water balloons, and emergency supply buckets, a smile crept onto his face. This was the biggest campaign he had ever faced. And the one that would take the longest to prepare for. He figured each soldier would be armed with a water gun, and a small sack of about twelve water balloons. The rest of those water balloons could be launched out of the catapults. Also, the soldiers would keep whatever weapons they had, as a last resort. Realizing they probably needed his help with the preparations, he left his perch to fill up a couple of water balloons with Rory and Amy.
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Is it mornin' already? Jedediah thought as he saw the light of the day through his eyelids. He blinked open his eyes and looked around. It was very bright, so he turned his head the other way. Still being unable to get away from the brightness, he lifted his hand to shield his eyes. While he lifted his hand, he felt something smooth and silky. He looked down to see a red Roman cape. Then, remembering his conversation with Octavius, sat up. He felt stiff, and his skin felt like it had sun burnt, and his head throbbed a little, but other than that he felt fine. He pushed of the covers, and took his hat off the nightstand. Standing slowly, as to not make himself dizzy with the sudden movement, he stood up, and stretched. He remembered he was still in the TARDIS, but realized that they weren't moving. Going slowly, he grabbed Octavius' cape, and headed for the door. Walking down the hallway, he felt something sharp and metallic in his left pocket. Taking it out, it looked like a normal piece of metal. How'd that get in there? He thought. Then he remembered while being held captive by the Daleks, he had found a little piece on the ground, and snuck into his pocket, to help him escape. As he walked into the TARDIS control room, he saw the Doctor leaning over a table, studying a map of the world. Outside, he could hear laughing and shouting. Had the battle already ended? No. It couldn't have ended already.
" Doctor? " He said cautiously, as to not startle him.
The Doctor whirled around, and saw a tall, palish cowboy holding a red cape, and a piece of metal.
" Well,...looks like you made a speedy recovery, though you look very pale. Come. Have a seat. "
Jedediah did as he was told, and sat across from the Doctor. They sat quietly for a moment, both studying the map. The Doctor had circled New York, and some planet on the outskirts of the map. Realizing that this was not a normal map, Jedediah became curios.
" What is this a map of? "
" The universe. Every planet in the universe. "
" Is that Orange planet Gethria? "
" Yes. That's where we first met the Daleks. I believe that their invasion force is stationed there, and that they will have their ships orbiting the planet soon. "
" Have ya found a way ta fight 'em yet? "
" Indeed we have. Water guns and water balloons. "
Jedediah nodded, understanding the concept of robot + water = Kaboom.
" What is that you hold in your hand? " The Doctor asked curiously.
" I picked this up on Gethria, after I was captured. "
" Let me see that. "
The Doctor examined the piece of metal thoroughly, then soniced it.
" Just as I thought...Dalekanium...i've never been able to recreate it before...never had enough power...but with the tablet...good job cowboy. I can mass produce this, and make armour for everyone. "
" Do we have enough time? "
" Oh yeah. We'll make it work. "
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End of a looking chapter. Please review!