Ezekiel and his band of fighters fought with tremendous force, swinging their poles and spears and knives at the unsuspecting Guardians, who were forced to hold out in the middle of the melee. They pushed the resistance out, before loading their weapons, dropping onto a knee for accuracy and firing at the men. The bolts of pure energy coursed through their bodies, as they fell lifelessly onto the hard ground, smashing their faces onto the gravel surface. But that did not faze Ezekiel. As the rest of his people backed away and hid, Ezekiel used his massive size to overpower one of the lone Guardians, lifted his rusty pole into the air and smashed it into the right arm of the Guardian. It met the metal-plated armour with an almighty crunch, causing the Guardian to call out in pain. Ezekiel had sent the pole through the Guardian's armour, and its wrist had unattached from its arm. The end of the arm was broken, with sparks of electricity fizzing out and wires left to sway out the metal shell. Ezekiel seized on his advantage and pushed the Guardian onto its back with his foot, and grabbed the Guardian's broken wrist and hand from the floor, calling out to the Doctor.
"Doctor! CATCH!"
Ezekiel shifted his immense weight backwards and propelled the Guardian's wrist through the air, straight in the Doctor's direction. The Doctor almost fumbled the catch, but clung onto it with his bony fingers. The Doctor looked up to acknowledge Ezekiel, but one of the Guardians had aimed in the direction of big Zeke, who hadn't noticed. The Doctor tried calling out to him, but it was too little, too late. The Guardian had fired his weapon and the blast travelled through Ezekiel's thick body, like a pen through paper. The triumphant look on his face went blank; as he stumbled forward towards the Doctor, hand on his chest. Ezekiel managed a few more steps, before falling onto one knee. He looked up at the Doctor from a distance and nodded slightly, then collapsed onto his stomach with a thunderous sound, as big Zeke's sheer amount of weight was sent plummeting onto the floor.
Amy was shouting at the Doctor, trying to pull him away from the fight, but he seemed completely oblivious. The Doctor's eyes were fixated on big Zeke's corpse, amongst the majority of his brothers.
"Doctor! We've got to go!"
The survivors of the battle had gone into full retreat, fleeing the team of Guardians, who were still as strong as when they started. The crowds of people were running down every street, alley and hiding in every nook and cranny in the city. Amy was anxious to not be caught by the Guardians, as she grabbed the Doctor's shaking hand and led him away from the courtyard. At first, he stayed still, but after a brief period of time, the Doctor snapped out of his state and followed Amy in the opposite direction. As they were running away, several bolts of energy lashed against the metal shacks they passed. The Guardians were onto to them. The Doctor and Amy darted down the narrow streets and kept turning corners to try and lose the pursuing Guardians. Suddenly, the Doctor stopped and pulled Amy into a tight gap between two shacks. The Doctor pulled Amy's waist close to his own and put his finger on her lips, telling her to be quiet. With her hands placed on the Doctor's chest, they both stared at one another, before diverting their attention to the street, where the Guardians unknowingly passed the Doctor and Amy. The two breathed a sigh of relief, sneaking out of their tight spot and slipping down another side-alley.
With a bit more space to breathe, the Doctor slid the all-important wrist device from the Guardian's dismembered hand, adjusting it around his own wrist. Using the sonic screwdriver to adjust the device, the Doctor placed his hand on Amy's shoulder and pressed a button on the device. They were instantly plunged into the white light of the teleport, a first time experience for Amy, who was unconscious last time. She struggled with the strain of the teleport, and when they appeared in the Tower, she fell onto the floor, holding her head. The Doctor, who dealt with it better than last time, pulled Amy to her feet, and tinkered with his sonic screwdriver. He clutched it with both hands and pointed it in front of him, spinning around on his feet to follow the rhythmic beeping of the sonic screwdriver. He found the 'sweet spot' and started to follow the corridor in that direction.
"Pond, this way!"
She awkwardly stepped toward the Doctor, who had gone trotting off down the corridor. They appeared to be on a different floor to last time, since the corridor had no prison cells or windows, just the lift at the end and a large number of doors on each side of the corridor. The Doctor followed his screwdriver, before arriving at the fourth door on the right. The Doctor tried to turn the handle, but it was obviously locked. He then tried to use the sonic screwdriver, which hummed, but the lock did not turn.
"Deadlock seal! The sonic's kryptonite! This is obviously it!"
Shaking the handle to try and get in, the Doctor was getting increasingly frustrated. In a wave of bottled-up anger and desperation, the Doctor took a step backwards and charged into the door with his foot, repeatedly kicking the wooden door, causing it to splinter and break. Amy joined in, using the sharp end of her boots to break through the grains of wood, until the Doctor could squeeze his hand through the gap and undo the seal, pushing the door open with full force and smashing into the wall behind it. The Doctor rushed inside, before he froze on the spot.
"Doctor? What's wrong?"
Amy also rushed into the room, but she found herself stopping in her tracks. Inside, covering the entire room was a squad of Guardians. They stood in perfect formation, completely still, attached to a computer nearest the Doctor by a series of wires. As the Doctor and Amy waited in silence, the Guardians did not move. The Doctor slowly stepped forward, towards the computer at the front of the room. Nothing from the Guardians. The Doctor started to loosen up and motioned to Amy, who followed him. The Doctor looked around the room, before shouting out.
"HA!"
Again, there was nothing.
"Just as I thought, Amelia, just shells. Shells with no mind, no intelligence. No life. Just suits of armour, waiting for something, a consciousness to fill it.
The Doctor sat in front of the computer, which sprang into life when he started to touch keys on the board. Amy cautiously walked around the sleeping army of Guardians, and happened to notice a loose arm on the floor. She slowly lowered herself to the floor to see a man in a white, lab coat, motionless on the floor. His coat had a burn mark in the middle of it, as did his chest. Amy turned the man onto his back and looked at his face, its expression blank under the wrinkled eyes and cheeks.
"Doctor?"
"Working!"
"There's someone here."
"What do you mean, 'someone'?"
"A man in a lab coat. Looks like he's been shot in the chest."
The Doctor stopped tapping the keyboard and bounced to his feet to join Amy. He inspected the body, before the Doctor ran his hand through the thick mass of hair on his head, leaving it tall and fluffy.
"Looks like a scientist."
"I recognise him, Doctor. When Jakob had me, he was the one that was attaching wires to my head. He actually seemed nice. Sympathetic."
"Jakob's scientist. Probably the real creator of the Guardians. Jakob may have had the ideas. But, this was the one who gave them life. Struck down by his creations, probably at Jakob's hand. Everywhere Jakob goes, there's a trail of bodies behind him. Well, no more."
With that, the Doctor went back to work on the computer, furiously smashing keys as the screen continuously scrolled, with the amount of information going into it. The Doctor was getting faster and faster, before peaking and ceremoniously pressing the last button.
"GOT IT! HA!"
The wires around the room started to make loud, cracking noises, before the sound of the computer died down to a low humming and the screen went black.
"Is it done, Doctor?"
"Oh Amelia, the link… is officially broken. Right now, the Guardians are orderless, missionless and completely in-the-dark, so ultimately… defenseless."
"Not completely, Doctor."
The Doctor and Amy suddenly turned their heads toward the broken door, where the familiar voice of Jakob had come from. He was standing in the doorway, with a look that could kill and a revolver in his hand.