Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who

Nightmare in Silver – Part Two

In his chess room, Webley took a long swig from his hip flask before picking up a stale sandwich. "Well, it's official. I'm out of bread. I wonder if these newcomers have anymore…still, a stale sandwich is better than no sandwich. Not as good as a fresh sandwich of course, or a chicken. Mmm, chicken" he said dreamily, thinking about all the delicious food his low rations didn't provide him. He got some food from the soldiers – and who knew where they got their supplies from – but the stuff they gave him was just so bland.

He finished his sandwich and leaned on the chess table, facing the Cyberman – which abruptly lurched forward and grabbed his arms, much to Webley's alarm. That's a bit odd" he said nervously, and then thought – maybe Porridge was playing a practical joke on him. "That's not funny. Give me my hands back" he insisted, struggling in the Cybermans death grip. A swarm of little silver bugs poured out of the Cyberman's eye sockets and crawled across to Webley, up his arms to his face. "Upgrade in process" the Cyberman intoned. Webley screamed.

The Corsair, Flavia and the children were only a few rooms away – but the room was soundproof, which was why they'd put the kids to sleep here. Angie wasn't interested in sleeping, however – rather in complaining. "I hate the future. It's stupid. There's not even phone service. I'm out of here" she huffed, getting off the settee she was lying on and heading for the door. The Corsair stepped in front of the exit, folding his arms and smirking down at her. "Going somewhere?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

Angie scowled at him. "I need the bathroom" she insisted, but the Corsair just pulled out his sonic and scanned her. "No you don't. According to my highly sensitive technologically advanced equipment, what you need is a reality check, young lady", he knelt down to look her right in the eye, "you are a strange planet in a strange time and we time travellers are your only ticket home, so I suggest you do as you're told" he instructed. Angie bristled, and her irritation was only increased when Artie reminded her, "Emily's dad said not to wander off".

"He said that, and then he wandered off" she retorted, even as she walked back to her settee and sat down. "He's a grown up, he can take care of himself. I'll take that", the Corsair scooped up her mobile, "now go to sleep". He walked over to put her phone on a high shelf; and whilst his back was turned, Angie slipped back out of bed and snuck out, breaking into a run when she was outside in the park. When the Corsair looked round and realised she was gone, he bit back a curse. "Flavia!"

The Time Lady started from her doze, scrambling out of the armchair she'd been sitting on. "What? What is it? Where's Angie?"

"She wandered off, big surprise! Stay with Emily and Artie, I'm going to find her" the Corsair insisted, storming out of the room. Flavia looked at Emily and Artie, and asked them "Did either of you see Angie leave?" Artie shook his head. "I had my eyes closed" he explained, so Flavia turned to Emily, who hesitated before replying, "Me too. I didn't see her go".

/

Meanwhile, Clara and Porridge were walking and discussing the planet they were on. "Was this really the biggest amusement park in the universe?" Clara asked curiously, and Porridge nodded. "Yeah, Hedgewick bought the planet cheap. It'd been trashed in the Cyberwars" he explained.

"Who were we fighting?"

"Cybermen. Technologically upgraded warriors. We couldn't win. Sometimes we fought to a draw, but then they'd upgrade themselves, fix their weaknesses and destroy us. It's hard to fight an enemy that uses your armies as spare parts".

"You beat them, though. Beat them or you wouldn't be here. How?"

"Look up there" said Porridge, pointing at a bit of space that was black and blank, "That corner of sky? What do you see?"

"Nothing" she replied, "It's just black. No stars, no nothing".

"It used to be the Tiberion Spiral Galaxy. A million star systems, a hundred million worlds, a billion trillion people. It's not there anymore. No more Tiberion Galaxy. No more Cybermen. It was effective" he sighed.

"It's horrible"

"Yeah, I feel like a monster sometimes"

"Why?"

"Because instead of mourning a billion trillion dead people, I just feel sorry for the poor blighter who had to press the button and blow it all up" Porridge admitted. Clara didn't really know what to say to that, but before she could try to reply, the Doctor came over and asked "Clara, did you tell Angie she could go to the barracks?"

"You know I didn't…she hasn't" said Clara, but deep down, she knew what the answer would be… "She just went in there, the Corsair's come after her" the Doctor confirmed. Clara sighed in exasperation. "Come on" she said, hurrying towards the barracks. Porridge, the Doctor and Romana followed her. When they got there, Angie was telling Captain Ferrin about Porridge. "Angie!" Clara exclaimed crossly, striding over to the girl, who glared at her in annoyance. "She always has to turn up and spoil everything. I wasn't doing anything. Why can't you just leave me alone?" she snapped.

There was a sudden loud crash, and a Cyberman appeared, much to the soldier's alarm. The Corsair immediately aimed his blaster and prepared to fire, as Ferrin shouted "Cyberman! Attack formation!" The Cyberman moved in a blur, zipping past the inept platoon and heading straight for… "Angie!" cried Clara, running forwards, but the Cyberman was too fast for her. It zoomed over to Angie, who was screaming in terror, grabbed her and put her over its shoulder like a fireman, before speeding off.

"Angie!" Clara cried, running after her young charge. "Clara, Clara!" the Doctor called, pulling her back with Romana's help. Ferrin looked shaken. "That was a Cyberman, but they're extinct" she protested, or at least tried to. The Corsair rounded on her. "Clearly they aren't extinct, if one of them just turned up, now are they?" he asked scathingly. Ferrin nearly made a biting retort when Flavia came running in. She panted hard, trying to catch her breath, and the Doctor strode over to her. "What are you doing here? Where are Emily and Artie?"

There were tears in Flavia's eyes as she managed to say, "I'm sorry, I tried – it was too fast…"

"What happened?"

"A, a Cyberman. It t-took the children" Flavia explained. The Doctor's face darkened. He turned on his heel and walked up to Ferrin. "Captain, a word please. Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but I take it your platoon doesn't do much fighting" he stated bluntly, and she sighed. "What do you expect? We're a punishment platoon. It's why they sent us out here, so we can't get into trouble".

"Okay then. As Imperial Consul, I'm putting Romana in charge" the Doctor decided, taking Ferrin's insignia from her uniform and pinning it onto Romana's lapel instead. She promptly took it off again and pinned it to Clara's shirt, much to the younger woman's surprise. "As the wife of the Imperial Consul, I'm putting you in charge" Romana told her with a smile, before turning back to the Doctor. "I'm coming with you to find our daughter" she insisted. He nodded, not bothering to argue.

"Clara, stay alive until we get back, and do not let anyone blow up this planet" the Doctor instructed his companion, who looked rather perturbed by the thought. "Is that something they're likely to do?" she asked. Rather than reply, the Doctor advised her "Get to somewhere defensible. We'll get the children back, we promise. Stay alive, and you lot, no blowing up the planet!" he added to Ferrin and her platoon, before hurrying to catch up with Romana.

/

Angie struggled in the Cyberman's grasp to no avail. "Put me down! I hate you!" she yelled furiously, her fists beating against the silver back of the robot. It put her down in a room she didn't recognise; Webley was there, with weird metal stuff covering on side of his face, and so were Emily and Artie. Both of them had blinking blue lights attached to the side of their faces. Artie's face was blank, and he wasn't moving, but Emily was twitching slightly. "Artie? Emily? What's happening?" Angie asked desperately.

"Please stand by. You will be upgraded" Artie stated in a monotone. His sister frowned in confusion; but then she looked up and saw Webley advancing on her. She screamed as the Cyberman grabbed her by the head, pinning her in place as Webley attached something to the side of her face. Angie found herself falling asleep, and she struggled to stay awake, but it was no good. Her face became emotionless and unresponsive, as Webley guided her to stand in line beside her brother.

The two human children were in a coma like state, but Emily was no human, and she was fighting against the Cyber-control with all her might, screaming out in her mind. Help me! No! I won't be like you! Mummy! Daddy! Help me! Please help me!

/

Back at the barracks, the first thing Clara did was order the platoon to gather all the weaponry they had that could stop a Cyberman. The Corsair stepped into orchestrate moving boxes of equipment out of storage – not that there was much to move. "That's the last of it, Clara" he informed her. "Okay. We need to find somewhere defensible. Where?" Clara asked Ferrin, who led her over to a small billboard that served as a map to the park. "There are three locations within walking distance - the beach, the Giant's Cauldron, and Natty Longshoe's Comical Castle".

Clara really wanted to prove she could manage this, being in charge – because she hadn't done a good enough job back on Earth and that was why they were in this mess. To her the only defensible place sounded like the castle. "Real castle? Drawbridge, moat?" she double checked. Ferrin nodded. "Yes, but comical" she confirmed…sort of. "We'll go there" Clara said decisively.

"Ma'am, my platoon can deal with one Cyberman, and there are protocols if we cannot immediately find and destroy it" Ferrin informed her stiffly. The captain's pride had been wounded the Doctor and Romana putting a mere civilian in charge, not that she'd say that to the 'Imperial Consuls' face. "Blowing up the planet protocols?" Clara guessed.

"Respectfully, ma'am…"

"Somewhere defensible. No blowing up the planet".

"She's your commanding officer now, isn't she, Captain?" asked Porridge. Ferrin was about to tell him that they were discussing matters of no concern to him…but instead she merely said "Yes…sir".

Clara went to talk to Flavia and the Corsair, and explain her plans to them. "We're going to move out – that's the phrase, right? – And head to a castle. Well, it's a comical castle, but the captain says it has a drawbridge and everything" she told them, before asking, "Will…will the Doctor and Romana be okay?" What she was really asking was 'Won't the Cyberman capture them too?'

"Oh, of course" the Corsair said confidently, "the Doctor's been fighting Cybermen since they first started causing trouble, and Romana's one of the sharpest knives in the drawer".

"He's right" Flavia admitted, "and besides, Cybermen can't upgrade Time Lords, so there's no danger of them being turned into Cybers…just as long as they keep their wits about them, they should be fine" she reassured Clara.

/

The Doctor and Romana went back to Webley's room, searching for any clue that would tell them where the children were. They'd heard Emily talking to them, but then she'd stopped and they dreaded to think why. "Over here!" Romana called, when she spotted a tiny silver Cyber-mite. "Firstly, if anyone's listening or watching us, one of those children you took? That's our daughter. We are coming for them all, and if you've harmed our little girl, God help you" the Doctor said threateningly. He sonicked the Cyber-mite into dormancy and picked it up on the tip of his finger.

"Not even a Cybermat any more, eh? Cyber-mites. Now, there's a local transmat link open to your home. If I can just find the frequency…" he fiddled with the sonic, and the next thing he and Romana knew they were in some kind of laboratory. "That really shouldn't have worked" the Doctor announced, half pleased and half surprised. The surprise swiftly turned to anger when he saw the children standing in a row, completely unresponsive. "Emily!" cried Romana, running over to her daughter and cupping her face in her hands.

"It's okay, baby, it's gonna be okay" she promised, hugging Emily tightly. "I…I…" She pulled back when Emily tried to speak. "Darling?" she asked, searching Emily's face for any sign of emotion.

"I…I…can't…stop…up…upgrade in process. Designation – Cyber-Planner". Romana's eyes widened in horror; she couldn't believe her ears. "No, no! Not my little girl, no!" she sobbed, embracing her daughter who just stood there. The Doctor stepped forward to shield his wife and the children from Cyber-Webley, who had just emerged from the shadows. "Release these children from Cyber-control. Now!" the Doctor demanded.

"That will not be allowed. We need children, but the children had stopped coming. You brought us children. Hail to you, the Doctor, saviour of the Cybermen!" Webley announced with all the flair of the real person. "I am not your saviour" the Doctor snarled, before asking, "How did you manage to turn Emily into your Cyber-Planner? Cybermen can't convert non-humans".

"That was true many years ago, but we've upgraded ourselves. Current Cyber-units use almost any living components. Your daughter's brain seemed perfect for our needs, but the Cyber-mites have been scanning your brains and they are infinitely more impressive. With two Cyber-Planners, the next model of Cybermen will be undefeatable".

"Nothing's undefeatable"

"We will be" Webley replied, before turning to Emily. "Transfer Cyber-Planner control to adult Time Lords" he ordered, and her hands immediately snapped up to grab Romana's face. Cyber-mites swarmed out of Emily's sleeves and onto Romana's face, who screamed as they dug themselves into her skin. "Let her go!" the Doctor roared furiously, but Webley tossed more Cyber-mites at him and he jerked, falling back against a table. Romana wrenched herself out of Emily's grasp, and the little girl slumped to the floor.

Both of them struggled desperately; the Doctor stood up straight, Cybernetic components fixed to the left side of his face. "Incorporated" he announced, "Yes, ah, unfamiliar pulmonary set-up, nervous system hyper-conductive, remarkable brain processing speed. Ho, ho. Amazing" – this was really the Cyber-Planner talking, and with a spasm, the real Doctor reasserted control. "Get out of our heads!" he yelled.

Romana confronted her half of the Cyber-Planner in her mindscape. "Let us go"

"Sorry, no can do".

"Then let my husband and the children go! You can have me instead!" Romana said desperately, not realising she was speaking aloud. The Doctor forced himself over to her and grabbed her by the shoulders. "Romana, no! You have to…argh!"

"Relax, relax. If you both just relax, you will find this a perfectly pleasant experience. You are being upgraded and incorporated into the Cyberiad as twin Cyberplanners. That's never happened before!"

"And it…never…will! Romana, listen to me! You have to regenerate!"

"Regenerate and destroy me, you mean? I don't think so"

"Oh, hello! Isn't this brilliant? We were already so clever, and now we're a million more times clever! What brains. Not human brains, not even close. I mean, we'll both have to completely rework the neural interface, but we are going to be the most efficient Cyberplanners. Not a great name that, is it? We could call ourselves Mr and Mrs Clever. So much raw data. Time Lords. There's information on the Time Lords in here. Oh, this is just dreamy"

"Ngh…he's right. If I regenerate, I'd burn out all the Cybernetic components inside and on me. I don't want to…I've gotten rather fond of this body…but I will" Romana threatened. She forced herself to take out her sonic screwdriver, and with enormous effort, she pressed the button to reverse the teleport and send herself back to Webley's waxwork exhibit, away from where her regeneration might harm the Doctor or the children. The sonic fell from her fingers and rolled away as Romana arched her back, screaming as regeneration energy poured through her.

When it was over, the first thing Romana realised was that 'Mrs Clever' was no longer in her brain. "Oh good, it worked – ooh, new voice. Sounds older. Now then, what to do?" she wondered, searching for her dropped sonic. "I can't go back to the Cyber-lab, Webley would just try to upgrade me again. The teleport will have burnt out by now, I'm probably lucky that I made it out, so I can't just zap the Doctor or Emily here. I'm going to have to meet up with Clara and the others" she decided, finding her sonic under a settee and striding purposefully out of the room.

/

The Doctor had felt Romana regenerate through their bond, and now that she seemed to be in control of her own brain, he turned his attention to getting rid of 'Mr Clever'. "I could do the same thing she did, you know. I could regenerate right now. A big blast of regeneration energy, burn out any little Cyberwidgets in my brain, along with everything you're connected to. Don't want to. You use this me up, who knows what we'll get next? But I can" he informed the Cyber-Planner in the Cyberiad.

"Stalemate, then. One of us needs to control this head. We're too well-balanced. We each control forty nine point eight eight one percent of this brain. Point two three eight of the brain is still in the balance. Whoever gets this gets the whole thing".

"Do you play chess?"

"The rules of chess are in my memory banks. You're proposing we play chess to end the stalemate?"

"Winner takes all. Nobody can access that portion of the brain without winning the game" the Doctor propositioned. They shook hands on it. "You can't win" the Cyber-Planner said confidently. "Try me" the Doctor replied just as confidently.

"You understand, when I do win, the Cyberiad gets your brains and memories. All of it"

"When I win, you get out of my head, you let the children go, and nobody dies. You got that? Nobody dies!"

/

In the show, we get advance warning when the Doctor is about to regenerate. We get time to prepare. Not here though – I'm throwing you guys in at the deep end! Mwuhahahahaha!