As expected, things didn't go according to plan, well, Matt's plan, but for the two Doctors, the plan's going accordingly.
It's a matter of how much Matt can squeeze under the computer before he gets stuck completely underneath the enclosure that the Doctors forced him to go under and rewire the computer internally.
They would've done it the normal way, but for their plan to work, they needed to make it appear they're doing their tasks, and that involved capturing the Daleks guarding the doorway, disposing of the aliens inside, and take over the robotic chassises as their own.
It's not as simple as waving the Sonic Screwdriver and have the computer do it automatically, the Daleks accounted this when they forced them in that room.
Didn't expect the Doctors to come up with a plan for that.
Their next step involved Matt rewiring the computer for the Doctors as he's younger, thinner, and knew how to do it better than they can.
Well, that's their excuse, but Matt believed they just didn't want to do it, and since he's the youngest of the three, they'd bully him somehow to do it by using their seniority over him.
It's a blessing and curse that Ripley taught him how to rewire circuits and wires.
One hand, it helped him save money, another hand, he's forced into situations like this.
Suppose, it's a necessary evil.
It's annoying that they're forcing him to do it, but he rather have the skills, than not.
With his tweed jacket off, his bow tie loose, and his suspenders hanging down his trousers, Matt had his work cut out for him.
At least the computer he rewired in the library didn't make him go this length, but inevitably, Daleks didn't consider humans trying to squeeze underneath their computers in their blueprints.
"If I try to squeeze any further, they'll name a juice brand after me!" Matt told the Doctors he couldn't squeeze himself into the underside any more than he can already. Unable to go further, Matt's forced to do what he can with what's closest to him and go from there.
Looking at the wires, Matt muttered under his breath as he looked at them all and followed where they went and what they're for.
As he's looking, he noticed something in the corner, and with it as tight as it is, Matt couldn't see what it is without pressing his body against something by mistake.
"Ah, there's something in here with me," Matt called to the other Doctors.
The Doctor with the bowl cut asked, "What is it, my boy?"
Matt replied, "I don't know, I can't really move around to see."
He heard the Doctor with the cape say, "How about, now?"
Matt closed his eyes shut when the Doctor with the cape got some light underneath the computer for him to use.
While it's nice, Matt let out a yelp as he saw what it was.
It's… well… Matt didn't know what it was, but he's glad it's dead, but he wished he didn't have to look at it's eyes staring straight at him!
"What's wrong, now?" Matt heard the Doctor with the cape ask him.
Matt responded, "There's something dead in the corner in here and it has… wide eyes."
He described it and the Doctors told him nonchalantly what it is.
It did not help him!
"Just be thankful it's dead," the Doctor with the bowl cut told Matt. "If it wasn't, well, I'm sure there's worse ways to go."
Complaining about the eyes staring at him, Matt heard the Doctor with the cape sternly telling him that it's normal for it to look like that.
If it looked milky, Matt's fine.
If it looked so much as red, well, Matt's not fine.
Feeling one of the Doctors' nudging him with his foot, he heard them telling him to get a move on, they don't have all day.
Muttering under his breath, Matt rolled his eyes.
"I heard that, young man!" Matt heard the Doctor with the cape scowl at him.
Nothing got past the Doctors and Matt learned first hand from this that even body deep in wires and what's it, they'll still hear him.
Matt groaned and began to rewire the computer.
It's bizarre, insufferable, impossible, he couldn't imagine that the Daleks would've had the time or patience to do all this.
He learned as he cut and tied wires together that often the Daleks assume control of others' technologies as their own, but often not care to learn the basics.
"Well?" Matt called out to them.
He heard varied responses and inevitably forced to continue rewiring until he heard the Doctors tell him that they made it look like they're in the room and the computer's tracking the supposed sound that the Daleks feared.
Sighing, Matt couldn't wait to get out from underneath the claustrophobic hell that is the inside of a Dalek computer.
Well, if he could…
Matt couldn't squeeze himself back through the way he came and he's unable to go anywhere else.
Thankfully, the Doctors helped him… in their own way.
Yanking him, the Doctors pulled him out from under, both on opposite sides of him.
Matt slid out from underneath and looked up at the Doctors as they looked down at him.
"What now?" Matt asked them.
Helping him up, the Doctor with the cape told him that they'll begin their next course of plan, now that they got word to UNIT, they'll work to disarm the forcefield completely.
"Um, my boy," the Doctor with the bowl cut pointed a cut on Matt's cheek he received from a sharp edge as the Doctors helped him out from underneath the computer.
Thanking him, Matt fetched his tweed jacket where he realized that while he was underneath the computer, the Doctors went through his things.
"Is it in our nature to snoop in the others' things?" Matt inquired as he held a tissue up to his cut.
The Doctor with the bowl cut pointed at the Doctor with the cape and claimed he did it and not him.
The Doctor with the cape claimed that the Doctor with the bowl cut goaded him into it.
Exhaling, Matt pulled up his suspenders, tightened his bow tie, put on his tweed jacket, and kept the tissue pressed against the cut.
"So, Ripley was it?" Matt heard.
Freezing in place, Matt looked at them.
"You went through my mobile?" Matt blinked as he looked at the Doctors.
He put a passcode on it, he kept the notifications off the lock screen, and he made sure he didn't have any personal photo as the image on the lock screen!
"Considering we use a time machine, a Sonic Screwdriver, and plenty of other technological advancement, it shouldn't come to no surprise that we're that good as guessing your pitiful passcode, my boy," the Doctor with the cape crossed his arms.
He had Matt beat there.
They learned to use things that went over normal people's heads. It shouldn't come as a shock when they're capable of unlocking a phone without so much a peep while Matt's busy rewiring the computer.
"Well, tell us," the Doctor with the bowl cut gestured.
Matt looked at them and pointed out, "Don't you think we have better things to do, than looking into my personal life?"
He heard back, "Our personal life, my boy!"
Groaning, Matt knew this wasn't a fight he could win and the Doctors made it apparent that he needed to tell them so if it ever cropped up in their adventures they can tap into his knowledge and act as if it's their own.
"She… she's my… my girlfriend, okay, happy?" Matt told them.
The Doctors didn't look impressed and one asked him if he'd liked to tell them what they needed to know or go through his mobile in full detail again.
Matt didn't tell them the whole lot, just enough to keep the Doctors happy, and by the time he's done, he got a look by the Doctor with the cape.
"Well, it sounds like there's more to your story," he raised a brow at Matt.
Matt gestured as he said that's as far as he's willing to tell them. It's not fair to air out his business without airing out Ripley's indirectly.
"And she's your boss?" Matt heard the Doctor with the bowl cut.
Sighing, Matt short handed everything that led up to him working with Ripley, scrubbing out some details, he described the events leading up to the two becoming enamored with each other.
The Doctor with the cape looked half-impressed, but the Doctor with the bowl cut encouraged Matt, well, better than nothing.
Thankfully, Matt didn't have to worry so much about them rooting around his personal life more, because it's time for the second part of the plan.
Disposing the aliens within the chassises wasn't hard, but it wasn't pleasant, but the Doctors helped him clean out the Dalek chassis so he could get in and out without sitting in the remnants of the electrocuted Dalek.
They'll have a story for the fourth Dalek.
It sought to betray Skaro.
Betrayal is common among Daleks that it wouldn't go over their heads very much. The other Daleks chase after their traitorous brother and leave the three Doctors to escape to another part of the compound where they'll find the computers to disable the forcefield.
Awkwardly, Matt climbed into the Dalek chassis from the top and settled inside. He didn't expect it to house him comfortably, but here he was, nearly waist down into the Dalek chassis, even before the top half went over hi.
"Now, remember, the Daleks will search high and low for us," the Doctor with the cape told Matt. "It's easy to pretend as them so don't be afraid if one approaches you."
It's as easy as homemade custard.
Simply, all Matt needed to do was use the voice modular to mask his voice and say things like, "The Doctors escaped!"
Reaching into the chassis, Matt found the control sticks and swerved around in place as he tried to figure out the controls.
This time, he had prior knowledge from playing at the local arcade with one of their games. Involved moving similar to the Daleks with the difference there wasn't a live weapon hidden in the arcade cabinet.
"Okay, I do this and this happens," Matt muttered under his breath as he used the controls.
Once he learned how to use the Dalek chassis, he looked at the Doctors as the top half of the chassis came over them and as they sealed, Matt heard the Doctor with the bowl cut tell him to do the same in the deep robotic voice of the Dalek.
Finding the button, Matt's upper half disappears into the chassis completely and he's greeted with a blue tinted screen that showed biometrics and scanners.
Like an arcade game, Matt moved the Dalek chassis like it's a mini tank.
Confirmed by one of the Doctors, that indeed, it's virtually a mini tank.
Matt followed the Doctors as they led charge towards the garrison of the compound.
Skaro wouldn't be in the garrison and all they have to do is convince one of his majors that there's a defected Dalek and escaped Daleks, watch them run amok trying to find them.
When they're busy, the Doctors will move onto the computers in the main chambers, where Skaro is, and that'll be the fun part of their ordeal, because they'll need to lure him away.
They must change up their plans dealing with him because he often sees through them afterwards, so this is a new plan entirely, hopefully he won't notice a thing out of place.
Of course, Skaro didn't get this far without having some lemons, but the Doctors digressed.
Matt felt like a kid again, in the cramped arcade cabinet, sweating slightly, and the low-res screen, but instead it's a Dalek chassis and he wasn't playing a tank game.
In his pocket, he heard the mobile vibrate and he noticed an auto-button on the controls which he switched on and the chassis moved on it's own.
Pulling out his mobile, Matt looked at the screen, it's Ripley again.
She'll be late getting back to the flat, she's dealing with a lot more customers than expected, and that she'll bring some food by when she comes back from the ordeal.
Matt would've texted her back, but it seemed that she was getting texts from him, because she sent him another one, "I'll make sure it's the large."
Another text from another number showed up instantly and he read the text: YOU'RE WELCOME, LOVE J ~HEART~!
It seemed that Jodie helped him with dealing with Ripley and seemed to copy him well enough that Ripley didn't suspect anything wrong.
She assumed his number and intersected Ripley's incoming messages without her knowing.
"Thank you, Jodie, dealing with Daleks, be back maybe before Ripley boxes my ears," Matt muttered as he sent a quick text to Jodie, thanking her for her help.
It's the little things and Matt's willing to take what he can to avoid the ire of Ripley.
