Sigh...Matt Smith will be leaving us soon, at the end of this year's Christmas special. I will miss him, but of course, Doctor Who moves on, as it always has.
20. Brave Heart
Victoria froze at the sight of them. Cybermen. Not like the frozen Cybermen that she had first met as a young woman, so soon after the loss of her father to the Daleks, but Cybermen nonetheless, with the distinct valve on top of their heads, or whatever that bar thing was. They marched into the coffin warehouse, as she had begun to think of the place where they stored all of these cryogenic chambers or cell boxes, and came right up to her and the Eighth Doctor. The Eighth Doctor stood up and started arguing with them, or whatever he was saying, but Victoria could not really hear what he was saying, so horrified at the sight of them that she was captivated by them, entranced by their appearance.
She had seen these Cybermen before, of course, last year when the ghosts had appeared and solidified, but she had never imagined that they would still be here…these past few hours had been beyond belief for her, even with her year or so of traveling with the Doctor, and winding up staying behind in the 1980s, over a century after her own time period. She did not know if she would survive this. The Cybermen refused to listen to the Doctor, it seemed, and grabbed her and him, dragging them out of the coffin storage section and towards a different part of the warehouse.
While sunlight had still shown through the windows in the coffin section, making it easier for them to choose people to change, the Cyber transformation area was shrouded in darkness, with light emanating only from the glowing screens and instruments of the Cybermen processing chamber. Victoria assumed that, at this point, light was unnecessary, perhaps even grotesque, to the newly transformed Cybermen, who would rather hide in the darkness. She was perhaps a little sentimental in her judgment here, but at least she was still human, for the moment, and could feel such things, including abject terror.
"I'm sorry, Victoria, I did not mean for you to get involved in all of this," The Eighth Doctor said as he and Victoria were strapped onto a gurney of sorts, about to be sent into the Cybermen processing chamber.
"Can't be helped, I suppose, although I do wish that you could have tried a little harder." Victoria managed to say as she glanced around.
The Cybermen were not alone; it seemed that a group of people, standing together in a corner of the room, separate from the Cybermen, had been allowed to stay mostly human, at least as far as she could tell, though they wore robes, covering up their faces and bodies, so they might have some metal parts that she could not see underneath. Perhaps these were the Theologians of the 4th Quarter who had been chasing the Eighth Doctor down? She assumed it must be so, they looked like Theologians dressed up for some secret ceremony. They were probably aligned with the Cybermen, for whatever reason they had.
However, she had seen what happened to Eric Klieg when he tried to ally himself with the Cybermen and that had failed miserably; she could only hope, as her soul would be gone from her soon, and she would be turned into such a heartless machine, that someday they would face the same fate that she would be in a matter of moments. Perhaps, in her Cyberman form, she would destroy them. That might be some form of comfort, however small and worthless it was.
"Next time, I will." The Eighth Doctor said, low enough so that only Victoria could hear him. She shook her head, however, not understanding his comment. How could there be a next time?
One Cyberman lumbered forward. "Any final words, Time Lord?" He asked.
"There was a time when I would have destroyed you without batting an eye." The Eighth Doctor said and then sighed. "I miss those times. Let's bring them back." He whistled.
"I couldn't agree with you more, 'Doctor'," A somewhat jolly, maniacal voice proclaimed, and one of the Theologians of the 4th Quarter ripped off his robes, revealing a coat of so many bright colors that they shone in the darkness, a head covered in bright, curly blond hair, an odd looking gun clutched in one of his hands, and a grin so malicious and grim that Victoria was almost frightened of him. "If you can call yourself that." The Sixth Doctor remarked as he fired his gun at the Cyberman nearest to the Eighth Doctor, electrifying and blasting it to pieces. The Theologians of the 4th Quarter cried out in alarm, and retreated back away from the Sixth Doctor.
"Good shot, Doctor," Another voice, Australian and female, said under the robes, and she removed her robes, revealing a head of curly brown hair, slightly grayer and more frazzled than they had been once, but there was still a spark of life left in her eyes. "I never thought you had it in you. My turn." Tegan Jovanka said, turning on another Cyberman with her gun, and blasting it alongside the Sixth Doctor as the Cybermen turned to fire at them.
"What is going on here?" Victoria asked, shocked by all of this activity when she had assumed that she was already doomed.
The Eighth Doctor had already ripped off his restraints, and set to work on Victoria's restraint, as he said, "The cavalry is here, as they say. And as an old friend of mine used to say…Geronimo." He grinned.
"Geronimo!" The shout was echoed from the front of the warehouse as the doors were opened, revealing the bright noonday sun, and Victoria had to shield her eyes from the brightness of the sun and that group of people charging into the warehouse.
A few hours before, Tegan had been sitting in Hyde Park, reading a newspaper and humming an old Johnny Chess song to herself. She still couldn't put it out of her mind, all of these years later. She had loved the man, after all, though it might have been for the wrong reasons. Johnny Chess, otherwise known as John Chesterton, had been a link to her past, odd though it might have been, with a faded memory of some stories his parents had once told him about the Doctor, who traveled through time and space in a police box.
Tegan had been shocked to learn of his connection when they first started dating, and though she might have considered breaking up with him then, feeling that it was too weird and that this might be a bad sign for their relationship, she still was attached and attracted to him, and she couldn't help asking him more about those stories. She wanted to find out more, and see if what he told her was true, and not made-up or fake. The details were a little vague, and she thought that he might have gotten some of the stories mixed up or distorted, but otherwise, it sounded as if his parents Barbara and Ian had traveled with the Doctor, albeit in a different form, the old man she had briefly met along with about two other Doctors. (Apparently, it was supposed to be three other Doctors, but she had never met the fourth one.)
Tegan had shaken her head and smiled to herself when she heard those stories from Johnny, fascinated by how the Doctor could so quickly be transformed into legend and myth, his story passed down through the generations. She had never imagined that the Time Lord could be such a spectacular, mythical figure, when he had seemed rather ordinary and plain, compared to the other Time Lords and monsters that she had met while traveling with him. Perhaps everything he had gone through, and all of the people that he met along the way, perhaps that got rubbed off of him somehow, and he became a living legend, a beacon of hope, when he had saved so many lives in the past and future, albeit while destroying others in the process.
Tegan sighed and shook her head, even now, as she thought about all of those people who had lost their lives, including Adric, helping the Doctor or getting caught up in his shenanigans. That had been why she had left him, for the second time, in the end; "it wasn't fun anymore," She had said, meaning that she was tired of seeing so much violence and bloodshed, with the Doctor caught up in the midst of it all. Perhaps she had been harsh to him, on some occasions she did have fun with the Doctor and her friends, and it wasn't entirely his fault that things turned out so bad, but it was a valid criticism in its own way. The Doctor could have done better, tried harder, she thought, to save those in need. It annoyed her sometimes that the Doctor couldn't be better.
But Johnny Chess was proof that not all of the Doctor's actions had been in vain, that there were people out there who still saw him as a hero, and Johnny…Tegan sighed. Johnny had been a hero to her in so many ways, then, but afterwards he became a mess, rather like the Doctor to her. She began to project her frustrations and hopes with the Doctor onto him, and Johnny couldn't cope with that. It wound up being a messy divorce, and Tegan had been a mess for years afterwards, unable to stand being without Johnny and yet hating him as well. Finally, though, it seemed like things had calmed down; she wasn't as obsessed or mad as she used to be, although thoughts about Johnny and his songs still lingered in her mind. She couldn't control it.
As she sat there, a man with curly, blond hair in a brightly colored jacket with yellow suspenders walked along the path and sat down next to her; she had noticed him from afar, how could she not when he was so bright, but she had hoped that if she ignored him, then he might go away, keep on walking without noticing her. However, that was not the case.
"Hello, Tegan, how are you today?" He asked, grinning as he stared at her.
Tegan frowned and turned to stare at him. "Who are you?" She asked, wondering if she had met him somewhere and had forgotten about him, although how could she forget such a monstrosity of a coat?
"Guess." He said, twiddling his fingers, and Tegan caught the familiar sight of gleaming brass from the Yale key he deftly maneuvered between his fingers. Plus, there was that awful cat pin on his lapel, right where his celery stick used to be.
"Doctor." She said, staring at him. "It is you, isn't it?" She asked, as he settled back on the park bench, looking immensely satisfied with himself like a Cheshire Cat.
"Indubitably, undoubtedly, indomitability, one of a kind. Well, one of a dozen or so, actually…" He said, holding up a finger, "But who's counting here?" He remarked. "Well, I am, actually. I am the Sixth Doctor, right after the Fifth, whom you traveled with so for so long, regenerated and after the Fourth Doctor, the first one you met, regenerated. Kids' stuff, really." He said, scratching the back of his head.
Tegan shook her head. "Why are you here? Why have you come back to me after so long away, for me anyways, when it has not been very long for you, I imagine?" She remarked, eyeing him.
"Well, it has been awhile for me, not years and years," He said, eyeing her, "But it has been awhile. I actually regenerated not that long ago, really, from your Fifth Doctor to my present form, and it was a nightmare experience for me, a horrifying catastrophe. The poison really affected me, my mind and everything. I did not really think I would ever recover from what happened to me on Androzani, the trauma there was just too great for me. But eventually, I managed to piece myself together again."
"You still look a little messed up," She remarked, staring at the Sixth Doctor's coat.
"What? This?" He asked, examining his coat. "It's wonderful, it's colorful, just the sort of brightness and sunshine and happiness that one needs in one's life when one is constantly being chased around and shuffled through an assortment of nightmares and strange beings." He remarked. "Plus, it's very theatrical and spectacular, just the sort of thing I need to distract a villain. I love a good theatrical every now and again." He said, grinning.
"I bet you do. And what about the cat pin?" She asked, smiling smugly.
"That's a secret weapon. I don't care to discuss it yet." He remarked.
"Uh-huh." She said, shaking her head. He was even loonier than he ever had been before, if that was even possible. "So tell me again, why are you here and why are you bothering me?" She asked.
"Well, while I was recovering from my regeneration, I thought about you. I accidentally called my new assistant Peri 'Tegan', as in 'Brave heart, Tegan', do you remember that?" He asked, staring at her.
"I remember that, Doctor." Tegan said and sighed, shaking her head. "But you don't get to do that, you know, you don't get to bounce around into other people's lives, and then bounce out of them without a word of farewell, before you turn up again out of the blue, when so many years have passed them by, without a word from you…you don't get to do that and then casually mention that you are traveling with another companion, whom you mistakenly called by their name!" Tegan sighed. "It shows you how irreplaceable you really are." She remarked sarcastically.
"Tegan, I'm sorry," The Sixth Doctor said, clutching her hand. "I should have been more upfront with you, honest and fair with my feelings. I should have been more firm with you, reassuring, trustworthy. I never gave you what you really wanted." He remarked. "Can you forgive me?" He asked, staring at her.
"What do you want, Doctor?" She asked, staring back at him.
He sighed and let go of her hand as he said, "I need a favor, some help in dealing with a problem." He sounded more distant than he ever did before.
"Forget about it." She said, standing up and ready to walk away, turning her back on the Doctor forever. It felt good.
"It has to do with Cybermen." He called after her.
Tegan stopped and hesitated. "Cybermen?" She asked, turning back towards him.
"There are people in danger." He insisted. "They need our help. We have to save them!" He cried.
"We?" Tegan asked, staring at him.
"It's a problem too big for just a few of us to deal with. All of my past and future selves are assembling, with some of my companions, to tackle the problem head-on. Will you join us?" He asked, holding out his hand. "For Adric?"
Tegan scowled at him. "This is low, even for you, Doctor." She said, but gripped his hand. "I'll do it." She added.
"That's my girl." The Sixth Doctor had said with a smile, leading Tegan out of Hyde Park and towards the warehouse. "Brave heart."
"Don't call me that anymore," She muttered, shaking her head.
"I understand, believe me, I do." The Doctor said, sighing to himself.
Well, what do you think? More to come soon!