Aneres choked back a sob, curling in on herself as she hid behind a large dumpster. Her mind was torn between continuing to block the connection between herself and the Doctor so he wouldn't feel her anguish and letting all of her grief out in a raging torrent. She didn't know Ricky well, she would admit that, but he had been a comrade and she had let him die. It was her fault.
He wasn't the only one either, the realization of which cleaved Aneres' heart in two again. Ricky was now another "notch in her bedpost", so to speak, and had joined the billions of others that had perished in her lifetime. Except, he wasn't.
Ricky was different, he had spent his whole life fighting while she had enjoyed a long and luxurious stretch of life up until the War. He hadn't been that privileged, he deserved more. More respect, more love, more protection. With that firm resolution, the Time Lady stood and began flirting down the alleyways to collect Ricky's body. He deserved a proper burial more than anyone, and that was far more important than killing any Cybermen.
TEotOS
The Doctor and Mrs. Moore crawled out of the cooling tunnels, scanning their surroundings and unhappily seeing a Cyberman clambering towards them.
"You are not upgraded," it stated, cocking its head slowly while staring them down.
"Yeah? Well, upgrade this," Mrs. Moore snarled before grabbing an object from her bag and chucking it at the Cyberman's chest. The Doctor watched in amazement as the Cyberman started to crackle with electricity while short circuiting.
"What the hell was that thing?" He asked, running over to inspect the Cybermen closely. Mrs. Moore grinned and removed the device from the alien, a small rod wrapped with copper wire.
"Electromagnetic bomb. Takes out computers, I figured it might stop the cyber-suit." The Doctor grinned.
"You figured right. Now, let's have a look," They kneeled next to the Cyberman, inspecting it carefully, "Know your enemy. A logo on the front. Lumic's turned them into a brand."
Mrs. Moore winced, absolutely disgusted at what was lying in front of her. This creature had once been a person, and now they had been reduced to a gadget made up of wires and buttons.
"Heart of steel, but look," The Doctor continued before he gently pried off the logo and it's attached chest plate. The both of them gag at the sight of tissue, ligaments and rotting muscle encasing the wires within.
"Is that flesh?" Mrs. Moore rasped, trying to hold back vomit.
"Hmmm. Central nervous system. Artificially grown then threaded throughout the suit so it responds like a living thing. Well, it is a living thing," The Doctor paused and leaned in, "Oh, but look. Emotional inhibitor. Stops them feeling anything." He tapped the device a couple times.
"But why?"
"It's still got a human brain. Imagine its reaction if it could see itself, realise itself inside this thing. They'd go insane."
"So they cut out the one thing that makes them human."
"Because they have to," The Doctor paled as the Cyberman twitched.
"Why am I cold?" The machine whispered, it's voice still guttural but somewhat feminine now.
"Oh, my God. It's alive. It can feel," Mrs. Moore covered her mouth, tears blossoming in her eyes.
"We broke the inhibitor. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," The Doctor crooned gently.
"Why so cold?"
"Can you remember your name?" The Cyberman paused at the Doctor's question before slowly replying.
"Sally. Sally Phelan."
"You're a woman," Mrs. Moore noted, leaning in a little to hear the poor thing better.
"Where's Gareth?"
"Who's Gareth?" The Doctor watched as Mrs. Moore questioned the Cyberman.
"He can't see me. It's unlucky the night before," Sally croaked through the Cyberman.
"You're getting married," Mrs. Moore realized sadly.
"I'm cold. I'm so cold." The Doctor slowly stood up, pulling Mrs. Moore to her feet before taking his sonic screwdriver out of his pocket.
"It's all right. You sleep now, Sally. Just go to sleep." The screwdriver whirred for a second before Sally's Cyber form went limp and she was freed.
"Sally Phelan didn't die for nothing," The Doctor paused before gasping, "because that's the key. The emotional inhibitor. If we could find the code behind it, the cancellation code, then feed it throughout the system into every Cyberman's head, they'd realise what they are."
"And what happens then?" Mrs. Moore asked, watching the Doctor intently as she tried to push past the horrible fate Sally had endured.
"I think it would kill them," The Doctor paused again, "Could we do that?"
"We've got to. Before they kill everyone else. There's no choice, Doctor. It's got to be done," Mrs. Moore declared before turning… right into the path of a Cyberman. Her lips parted in a silent scream and her limbs writhed as the ruthless current flowed through every inch of her body.
Eventually the Cyberman dropped her on the ground and faced the distraught Time Lord across from it.
"No! No, you didn't have to kill her!" The Cyberman ignored his shouts.
"Sensors detect a binary vascular system. You are an unknown upgrade. You will be taken for analysis," The Doctor winced as the Cyberman took his arm and began dragging him up to wherever analysis occurred in this place.
TEotOS
Ricky's body was exactly where she had left it, open eyed next to a chain link fence in a damp alleyway of London. Aneres briefly wondered how many others had been left like this, dead or dying in a cesspool of misery that they could never escape? Hundreds probably, but there wasn't time for her to focus on that. And so, with careful steps, she approached Ricky Smith and pulled him up onto her back before taking off once again.
She didn't get far before she had to hide inside an abandoned apartment complex from a large battalion of Cybermen. Their extremely loud movements had given them away, but disguising herself had proved tricky with a 155 lb human being on her back. Several minutes passed before the Time Lady dared to try and move, and when she eventually did it wasn't pleasant.
"I need to work out more often," Aneres grumbled mentally as she descended the stairs at a far slower pace than she had ascended them. Thankfully there weren't that many steps and she managed to get pretty far away before needing to stop and rest again.
She looked around and noticed a small public park, completely uninhabited by Cybermen for the moment. Taking a chance, she dragged Ricky's body inside and began searching for a shovel.
TEotOS
Mickey and Jake searched Lumic's ship, looking for anything that could possibly take out the transmitter.
"The controls are sealed behind here, we need like an oxyacetylene or something," Mickey said, pointing out the barrier around the control pad. Jake rolled his eyes.
"Oh, and I forgot to bring it with me."
"Well then, what do we do?" Mickey demanded.
"We'll crash the Zeppelin."
"With us inside it?"
"We could set it to automatic and then just leg it. Let's have a look," Jake decided before he approached the steering controls, "It's locked. There's got to be an override."
"Let me have a go. I'm good with computers. Trust me," Mickey said with a grin, his fingers already typing away at the keyboard. Neither of them noticed the Cyberman waking up in the alcove behind them.
TEotOS
The Doctor sighed as he was led into the control room by the Cyberman, "I've been captured, but don't worry, Rose and Pete are still out there. They can rescue me," He trailed off at the sight of them also standing in the control room, "Oh well, never mind. You okay?"
"Yeah. But they got Jackie," Rose replied, her voice sullen. The Doctor winced and looked over at Pete.
"We were too late. Lumic killed her," He choked out, tears threatening to fall. The Doctor nodded slowly before testing one of their only options left.
"Annie? Annie can you hear me?" Silence.
"Annie, I'm serious, you said you were coming to Battersea, where are you?" Once again, no reply. Dread filled his mind at the idea of what could've happened to her between the center of London and Battersea.
"Annie, we need your help. Please." And with that, the Doctor turned his attention back to their current problem.
"Then where is he, the famous Mister Lumic? Don't we get the chance to meet our Lord and Master?" He jeered.
"He has been upgraded," The Cyberman replied.
"So he's just like you?"
"He is superior. The Lumic Unit has been designated Cyber Controller." The Doctor, Rose and Pete watched with horror as an ever more complicated Cyberman was wheeled into the room, from which Lumic's voice echoed.
"This is The Age of Steel and I am its Creator."
TEotOS
Aneres sighed in relief as she unearthed a shovel from a shed in the back corner of the park. As she walked back over to Ricky's body, she kept her eyes out for any possible places where she could bury him. The rose bushes were a possibility, but she eventually decided the large oak tree about 20 feet away from his body was best. And so she placed her shovel down before going over to grab Ricky and bring him to his final resting place.
TEotOS
Mickey continued to type on the keyboard before him, grinning at his progress, "Almost there."
"Not bad work," Jake praised, his smile fading as the Cyberman broke free from the alcove behind him, "It's moving! You said it was dead!"
"Yeah. But a robot's still a big robot," Mickey looked up from the keyboard and turned to the Cyberman, "Wait a minute. Hey, Cyberman, over here. Come on, you brainless lump of metal. Come and have a go!" He dashed over to the Transmitter Controls and beamed as the Cyberman followed and plunged its hand into the panel, electrocuting itself.
"The transmitter's down!" Jake and Mickey shouted in delight, watching as people poured out of the factory free as the wind. A beeping at the monitor distracted them though.
"Hold on, I've logged on to Cyber Control," Mickey murmured, watching as the monitor showed the Doctor, Pete and Rose facing Lumic.
"They're alive! The Doctor and Rose, there they are!"
"Never mind them, what the hell is that thing?" Jake demanded, leaning in to get a closer look.
"Shush. Has this thing got sound?" Mickey turned up the volume dial, managing to hear Lumic over the speakers.
"I will bring peace to the world. Everlasting peace," The deranged man claimed. Mickey and Jake glared at the man that had been the downfall of their friend and comrade.
TEotOS
Blisters had started forming on Aneres' hands by the time she had finished digging the grave in front of her. Her face was stained red and shining with sweat and tears, her legs were shaking with exhaustion, but she wasn't quite finished yet. She turned to Ricky and knelt next to him, her tears dripping onto his peaceful face.
"I'm so sorry Ricky. I am so sorry and I know I can't do much more than this to make it up to you, so I hope you can forgive me," A loud sob escaped her lips, "You were a loyal comrade, a beloved son, and a dear friend who helped save so many people in such a short amount of time. Thank you for that."
Her hand brushed away the tears on both of their faces before reaching up and undoing her hair ribbon. Once it was detangled from her locks, she ripped it in half and wrapped one piece of it around Ricky's wrist. She tugged on it to make sure it was secure before standing to wrap the other piece around a skinny branch of the oak tree.
"Now your loved ones will know where to find you, and you won't be alone." Aneres whispered before bending over and shifting his body into the grave. Another sob tore from her throat as she picked up her shovel and began to cover him with nature's blanket, one that would protect him for eternity.
TEotOS
"What is your name?" Lumic asked, staring at the Time Lord before him.
"I'm the Doctor."
"A redundant title. Doctors need not exist. Cybermen never sicken."
"Yeah, but that's it. That's exactly the point! Oh, Lumic, you're a clever man. I'd call you a genius, except I'm in the room," Rose giggled at the Doctor's joke, "But everything you've invented, you did to fight your sickness. And that's brilliant. That is so human. But once you get rid of sickness and mortality, then what's there to strive for, eh?"
Lumic seemed to pause, considering the Doctor's words as he continued, "The Cybermen won't advance. You'll just stop. You'll stay like this forever. A metal Earth with metal men and metal thoughts, lacking the one thing that makes this planet so alive," The Doctor gestured to Rose and Pete with his next words, "People. Ordinary, stupid, brilliant people."
"You are proud of your emotions," Lumic stated.
"Oh, yes," The Doctor said with a grin.
"Then tell me, Doctor. Have you known grief, and rage, and pain?"
"Yes. Yes I have."
"And they hurt?"
"Oh, yes," The Doctor whispered, remembering exactly how much he had personally lost in his 903 years of life in this universe. His eyes glazed over slightly as memories flitted across his mind.
"I could set you free. Would you not want that? A life without pain?" Lumic questioned.
"You might as well kill me."
"Then I take that option."
"It's not yours to take," The Doctor snarled, not about to let something as pathetic as Lumic even attempt to destroy him, even the parts that caused him pain, "You're a Cyber Controller. You don't control me or anything with blood in its heart."
"You have no means of stopping me. I have an army. A species of my own."
"You just don't get it, do you? An army's nothing. Because those ordinary people, they're the key. The most ordinary person could change the world," The Doctor stared at a camera in the corner of the room, smirking at the sight of the flashing red light on it. "Some ordinary man or woman, some idiot," Rose frowned at the Doctor's word choice, "All it takes is for him to find, say, the right numbers. Say the right codes. Say, for example, the code behind the emotional inhibitor. The code right in front of him."
TEotOS
Mickey watched the Doctor speak on the monitor, "Because even an idiot knows how to use computers these days. Knows how to get past firewalls and passwords. Knows how to find something encrypted in the Lumic Family Database, under er. What was it, Pete? Binary what?"
Pete spoke up, "Binary nine."
Jake frowned in confusion while Mickey's eyes widened and his fingers got back to work on the keyboard, searching for that one little database.
"Binary Nine," He whispered to himself while continuing to listen to the Doctor speak.
"An idiot could find that code. Cancellation code," The Doctor explained, "And he'd keep on typing, keep on fighting. Anything to save his friends."
"Your words are irrelevant," Lumic scoffed.
"Yeah, talk too much, that's my problem. Lucky I got you that cheap tariff, Rose, for all our long chats on your phone."
"The phone," Mickey gasped, immediately typing in the cancellation code as it popped up on the monitor in front of him.
"You will be deleted," Lumic repeated for the umpteenth time that day.
"Yes. Delete, control, hash. All those lovely buttons. Then, of course, my particular favourite, send," Mickey clicked the send button, "And let's not forget how you seduced all those ordinary people in the first place."
Rose's phone beeped while the Doctor spoke, "By making every bit of technology compatible with everything else."
"It's for you," Rose piped up, passing the phone to the Doctor.
"Like this," The Doctor cheered before sticking the phone into a docking station. Mickey watched in amazement as the code was transmitted and all of the Cybermen screamed in pain.
"Yes!" Mickey and Jake cheered as the Cybermen began to die.
TEotOS
The dirt was dark and moist, a stain on the otherwise green landscape of the park where Aneres had buried Ricky Smith. The Time Lady had fallen to her knees in front of it out of sheer exhaustion, staring at it with empty eyes that had seen far too much. In the background, she hear humans running away, screaming and she idly realized that they must have succeeded in saving the world.
It didn't matter to her, and yet it did. She knew she was grieving, and that her priorities had been adjusted, but was it justified? Should she have left him behind and helped her Tether? In the grand scheme of things, stopping Lumic was far more important than one singular person's death, but she couldn't bring herself to believe that.
Perhaps it was because he had died alone, with no one he knew beside him. Maybe it was because his only family member was going to have to learn that the one person she loved more than anything in the world was just… gone. However, none of those reasons made sense to Aneres because they weren't exclusive to just Ricky. What made him special?
Unable to answer that question, she simply put her head in her knees and continued sobbing, her mental walls crumbling down with each passing second.
TEotOS
The Doctor stopped running through Battersea Station as he was finally able to feel Aneres' presence again. His body sagged in relief, and he connected to her mind once again, only to stiffen at the tidal wave of grief that was crashing through her mind. The Doctor brought a hand to his chest, feeling his hearts crack in half at the pain he was feeling from her.
Rose's arrival distracted him, however. "It's Mickey. He says head for the roof!" She screamed, her phone next to her ear.
He slowly nodded before racing up the stairs as fast as he could with Pete and Rose hot on his tail. Eventually they made it to the roof, just as Mickey piloted Lumic's zeppelin down to meet them.
"Mickey, where'd you learn to fly that thing?" Rose said into the phone, her mouth gaping at the sight. Neither her, nor Pete noticed the Doctor wincing in pain as he struggled to get through to his Tether.
The zeppelin contnued its descent, only faltering occasionally until it stopped to drop a rope ladder down to them.
"You've got to be kidding," Pete groaned, rolling his eyes at the rope ladder. The Doctor however, said nothing and merely pushed Rose onto the ladder before staring his own ascent despite being rather distracted.
"Hold on tight, we're going up! Welcome to Mickey Smith's Airline. Please enjoy your flight. Woo!" Rose laughed at Mickey's announcement, overjoyed until the rope ladder suddenly jolted downwards roughly. Everyone looked down to see Lumic clinging onto the bottom, striking fear into their hearts.
The Doctor panicked for a second before fishing out the sonic screwdriver and giving it to Rose's parallel father. "Pete! Take this! Use it! Hold the button down! Press it against the rope. Just do it!"
"Jackie Tyler. This is for her!" The rope crumbled within seconds of Pete pressing the screwdriver to it; and as Lumic tumbled to his death, all the Doctor could focus on was his Tether. He had to find her.
TEotOS
The Doctor stood in the entrance of Dovehouse Green with Mickey and Jake standing behind him. He walked inside, scanning his surroundings until his eyes landed on a figure kneeling in front of an oak tree. Aneres. His legs carried him to her at a speed that rivaled that of light, desperation fueling his every move until he was able to wrap his arms around her and hold her close.
"I was so worried," He whispered, his fingers white as they clenched tightly around her weak and weary form. Her head lolled to the side, resting in the crook of his shoulder for a moment before the Doctor adjusted to inspect her carefully.
"What happened to you, why didn't you meet us?"
Aneres sobbed in response, shaking her head repeatedly for several minutes. Her breaths heaved from her chest, forcing tremors to rattle through her body until she was able to slowly point at the grave in front of her. The Doctor froze while Mickey and Jake merely stared at it in shock.
"I couldn't… I couldn't leave him in that alleyway," She wailed softly, her voice hoarse from her hours of crying. Jake took a step towards it before kneeling in front of the grave beside her and the Doctor.
"You buried him, properly." Mickey rested a hand on Jake's shoulder, hearing the agony in his voice. The latter reached up to squeeze his hand tightly, barely holding back tears of his own.
"Thank you," Jake managed to choke out after a short while. Aneres nodded before hiding her face in the Doctor's neck and continuing to cry.
Eventually Jake stood up, followed by the Doctor who adjusted his grip so he could carry Aneres back to the Tardis. Mickey followed them, his body starting to feel so unbelievably exhausted after the day's events.
TEotOS
Rose and Pete watched as the Doctor approached, an unconscious Aneres in his arms, and entered the Tardis without a word to either of them.
"So where was she then?" Pete snapped, turning to face Mickey and Jake. Their faces darkened at Pete's words, frightening Rose slightly.
"She stayed behind to bury my friend you ignorant pig," Jake snarled. Mickey rested a hand on his shoulder, holding him back.
"Don't call him that!" Rose shouted, moving forward slightly. Mickey scoffed at her and rolled his eyes.
"Rose, don't defend someone who can't understand how battle changes your priorities. Remember, he wanted to stay behind for Jackie and that nearly got all of us killed."
Pete and Rose gaped at Mickey, who merely crossed his arms and pinned them down with a hard stare. A moment later the door to the Tardis creaked open to reveal the Doctor.
"I've only got about five minutes of power Rose, Mickey, so let's go," The Time Lord explained, his eyes and voice completely drained of any feeling or tone.
"Do you want to come with us?" Rose asked, smiling at Pete while she tried to ignore Mickey's cruelty.
"No, I don't think so. There's all those Lumic factories out there. All those Cybermen still in storage. Someone's got to tell the authorities what happened, carry on the fight…" Pete stammered out, unable to face the idea of leaving everything behind as it was.
"The Doctor could show you-"
"Thank you. For everything."
"Dad-"
"Don't. Just, just don't." And with that, Pete walked away from them and from the Tardis.
The Doctor watched him leave before turning to Jake and Mickey, "Now then, Jake, we've got to run. But one more thing. Mrs Moore. Her real name was Angela Price. She's got a husband out there, and children. Find them. Tell them how she died saving the world."
"Yeah, course I will," Jake said. The Doctor nodded with a slight smile on his face at Jake's words.
"Off we go, then," The Doctor whispered, about to turn around when Mickey piped up.
"Er, thing is, I'm staying." Everyone froze.
"You're doing what?" The Doctor demanded.
"You can't!" Rose retorted.
"It sort of balances out, because this world lost its Ricky, but there's me. And there's work to be done with all those Cybermen still out there," Mickey explained, watching as the Doctor's slight smile turned to one full of approval and pride.
"But you can't stay," Rose whispered, the thought of losing Mickey completely foreign to her.
"Rose, my gran's here. She's still alive, and she needs me more than anyone does. It's one thing for us to lose Ricky, but it would kill her and I can't let that happen. So, I'm staying."
"What about me? What if I need you?"
"Yeah, but Rose, you don't. We had something a long time ago, but not anymore."
"Well, we'll come back. We can travel anywhere. Come and see you, yeah?"
"I think it would be best if you didn't," The Doctor's eyes widened, "You and I… Whatever we were is long gone and it's time for something new. Besides, I bet there's some space reason why you couldn't anyways." Mickey looked over at the Doctor, who nodded.
"The universes would collapse if we came back. I'm sorry Rose, but this is goodbye for you and Mickey," The Doctor replied, wincing as Rose let out a soft cry.
Mickey walked over to them and held out his hand, "Doctor."
They shook hands briefly before the Doctor pulled away and said, "Take Rose's phone. It's got the code. Get it out there. Stop those factories. And good luck, Mickey the idiot."
"Watch it," Mickey chuckled, "And Doctor?" The Time Lord turned to face him, "Tell Aneres goodbye for me."
The Doctor nodded before going back into the Tardis. Rose slowly walked over to Mickey and passed him her phone.
"Thanks. We've had a laugh though, haven't we?"
Rose nodded and whispered, "Yeah."
"Go on, don't miss your flight," Mickey murmured before giving Rose one last hug.
Rose pulled away first and walked over to the Tardis, tears still falling from her eyes. She looked back at them one last time before closing the door.
"Jake, you'll want to watch this," Mickey shouted, grinning as the Tardis dematerialized in front of them.
"What the hell?" Jake whispered in awe.
"That's the Doctor and Aneres in the Tardis, with Rose Tyler," Mickey said before turning on his heel and walking back to the van with Jake.
TEotOS
Jackie looked up as the Tardis started to appear in her flat, shocked as Rose sprinted out and hugged her tightly.
"You're alive. Oh mum, you're alive," Rose sniffled. The Doctor and Aneres slowly walked over to the door of the Tardis, weary after the journey.
"Well, I was the last time I looked. What is it? What's happened, sweetheart? What's wrong? Where did you go? Who's that?" Jackie questioned, staring at the Doctor and the woman next to him.
"Far away. That was far away." Aneres nodded at the Doctor's words, shivering as he kissed the top of her head gently.
"Where's Mickey? Who are you?" Jackie demanded, staring at Aneres distrustfully.
"My name is Aneres. To answer your other question, he's gone home," The Time Lady explained, sadness coating her voice like a syrup.
TEotOS
Mickey and Jake had made their way back to Ricky's grave, this time with a makeshift headstone. Jake placed it in front of the tree, sniffling softly as he continued to grieve. After several moments of silence, Mickey spoke up.
"I know it's not easy with my face looking exactly like Ricky, but I'm a different man. I'm not replacing him. But we can remember him by fighting in his name," Jake looked up at him, "With all those Cyber factories out there, do you think they'll be one in Paris?" Mickey asked.
"Yeah."
"Then, let's go and liberate Paris."
"What, you and me, in a van?"
"There's nothing wrong with a van. I once saved the universe with a big yellow truck," Mickey said, a sad smile on his face as he hoisted Jake to his feet. They stared at each other for a moment before heading back to their van, a new mission on their plate.
HELLO AGAIN! Thank you for being so patient and amazing, my delightful readers. To start things off, let me address Aneres' actions in this chapter. Not everyone deals with death and trauma the same way, and I found it completely unrealistic that both she and Mickey would be able to just move on after seeing him die right in front of them, so I had her do something different. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I enjoyed writing it and giving some more depth to the story as a whole. Ricky seems like such a dismissed character in this episode and I wanted to give him a little more recognition. Please leave a review or a PM if you have questions, comments, or concerns. The next chapter will be an original one so it might take me a little while to get it published. Once again, thank you for staying by my side for this long! Until next time!
