FUCK YES! FINALLY! I did it new chapter everyone !
ah! you don't know how hard it was to write this chapter. especially since I wrote and finished the next chapter before even finishing this one.
I hope the confinement is still not too hard for you; unfortunately it affected me mentally and I went to the doctor for a depression test. Luckily for me I was able to figure it out and I had the courage to tell those around me, although for my parents I had to get help from one of my teachers because otherwise I wouldn't have been able to do it so quickly.
I admitted that I had a problem when my dark thoughts finally scared me. I don't want to go deeper, but I thought of several ways for Alvia that were rather dark and painful; and I don't know if I ever said it, but Alvia my oc is based on me (it was a kind of self-insert fanfiction basically) and to come to hurt her was kind of hurting me (Out of chapter 10 and 11).
Anyway, I won't talk much, enjoy your reading and take care of yourself.
I ran with heart pounding in my throat. My hand reached inside my coat pocket and searched for the sonic screwdriver. My fingers wrapped around the handle of the screwdriver as the voice of the Cybermen reached my ears. The voice gave me the creeps, almost as much as the Daleks.
The Cybermen moved forward, hand outstretched to the group. The Doctor took a few steps back, not wanting to be caught by the metal hands.
I held my screwdriver up in the air, pointed towards the Cybermen and thought about what I wanted to do with the mechanical side of these creatures. As soon as my thumb pressed the button and the sound buzzed, the Cybermen instantly froze. And it was like Christmas, it tried to fight me, and I knew instinctively that I wasn't going to last long.
"DOCTOR!" I shouted. "The TARDIS pod! Use it against them, I can't hold much longer."
The Doctor turned to the appeal, he was surprised to see me. Was it because I was holding a sonic screwdriver and using it against the Cybermen? It doesn't matter.
I was grinding my teeth while sweat dripped from my temple. I grunted as I felt I was about to let go at any moment. My thumb was white because of the strength I was using to hold it. The sonic buzzed loudly and went high into the treble, I felt a force pushing me back that made me gasp and release my grip on the screwdriver.
The Cybermen started to move again, but only for a few seconds as the Doctor attacked the group who were blocking them with the Tardis pod. They screamed in pain as they were all disintegrated instantly. Unfortunately, the remaining Cybermen advanced and we all had to run for our lives. Mrs Moore honked her car horn to let the Doctor, Rose and her father know she was there.
I sprinted to join the group near the mansion. The Doctor caught Pete trying to get back inside and so did Rose. Knowing that the Doctor was doing a good job of convincing Rose not to go in, I jumped into the blue van as Mrs. Moore honked the horn again, complaining that it was the worst escape she had ever seen. The Doctor was the last to get in and closed the door as the van started speeding away from the Cybermen as fast as it could.
I barely had time to settle down and breathe that I was plunged into a chest and arms snaked around me in a strong hug.
"Rassilon thank you, you're all right." whispered the Doctor in my hair.
I gave him back the hug and we separated a couple of minutes later as Rose cleared her throat in a not-so-subtle way.
"I'm fine." I reassured him as I sat next to him and unfortunately in front of Rose.
"And since when do you have a sonic screwdriver?" asked the Doctor, taking the technological device in hand to look at it. " I don't remember building one for you."
"Because you didn't. It was the Tardis that gave it to me just before your regeneration."
The Doctor made an appreciation noise as he kept looking at the screwdriver from all these angles before finally giving it back to me.
"Why didn't you use it before?" asks Rose suddenly with a touch of anger in her voice.
"Because the Doctor does a very good job with his own and I don't need to get behind him." I replied, choosing to tease the Doctor instead of being angry with Rose.
I put my screwdriver inside my coat pocket to put it away before crossing my arms and leaning over to rest against the Doctor with my head against his shoulder. I began to feel sleepiness pointing up his nose and my eyes became heavy with fatigue as the hum of the engine on the road and the wheels rolling on the road lull me to sleep.
"Tired?" asked the Doctor, sliding his hand behind me to reach the top of my hip.
I could feel the Doctor's fingers gently and perhaps unconsciously caressing my hips despite my coat and clothes.
"Hmm..." I hummed quietly. "Car rides always had this effect on me..."
Rose stared at us in silence. Her eyes caught the gestures of the Doctor's hand and her gaze became darker. Her jaw tightened slightly, and her lips wrinkled into an unpleasant frown. She was furious. Furious and totally jealous.
I decided to face her gaze and then a dark eye contest was instantly born. The others didn't seem to realize what happened right now and it was for the best.
Rose frown, hoping to make her expression more intimidating. Honestly, she seemed to make herself look more ridiculous than before. If she had the power of Time Vortex running through her body, I might have thought twice before confronting her... Although... Bad Wolf attempted to hurt me for some reason that I still don't know to this day... I just stared at her without flinching or showing any emotion. Rose looked away after a few minutes, allowing herself to be totally dominated in this war of cold looks.
Good... I thought with grim satisfaction. It's time to pay her back, and I feel extremely generous...
"So, what was that thing that disintegrated those metal men?" asked Ricky suddenly.
The Doctor took a look at the pod he was holding in his other hand, which was no longer glowing.
"A bit of technology from home." he replied before putting the pod away in the outside pocket of his suit jacket.
"It doesn't glow anymore, has it run out?" worried Mickey.
"No, it's on a recharge cycle. It'll charge back up in about four hours."
"So, we don't have weapons anymore?" replied Ricky.
"Yes, we still got weapons." intervened Jake, looking at Pete.
"It may not work against those metal things, but it'll be good enough for a man like him. "
"Leave him alone! What's he done wrong?" exclaimed Rose in defence of her father.
"Oh, he just trapped the government to destroy it and let Lumic control everything. " adds Jake.
"If I was part of all that, do you really think I'd have leave my wife to them? " retorted Peter Tyler.
"Maybe the plan went wrong," continued Ricky, "but we still have the right to execute you."
"Oi!" finally intervened the Doctor. "Talk about executions, and you'll make me your enemy. A word of advice, you really don't wanna do that. "
"We have evidence, that says Peter Tyler's been working for Lumic since 2005. " said Ricky darkly.
Everyone suddenly fell silent and all eyes turned to the man in question. Rose seemed shocked by this, as if she thought her father was a man with no dark past.
"Is that true?" she asked with a small voice.
Peter Tyler appeared to be uncomfortable and didn't look at anyone.
"Tell them, Mrs. M."
"We've got a government mole who's feeding us the news." She says with her eyes fixed on the road. "Lumic's private files, his South American operations... Encrypted broadcasts twice a week."
"Broadcast from Gemini?" asks Peter Tyler.
" And how do you know that? " retorts Ricky with a scornful face.
"I am Gemini! That's me!"
" Yeah, you would say that! " sneers Ricky.
"Encrypted wavelength 657, using binary 9." Says Peter.
Jake and Ricky took one look at each other, they must have understood each other.
"That's the only reason I work for Lumic, to get information. " continued Peter Tyler in his defence. "I thought I was broadcasting to the Secret Service. And what do I get? Scooby Doo and his gang. They've even got the van!"
"No, no, the Preachers know what they're doing. Ricky said he's the most wanted person."
"Mickey, if they knew exactly what they were doing they would have searched my pockets during the time I was unconscious and removed the sonic screwdriver. They're amateurs!" I explained. "Even their knot to tie my hands was easy to undo! If Ricky has to be looking for these must be parking tickets, they have to park their vans anywhere."
"Wait, what?! What do you mean you were unconscious?" the Doctor suddenly became concerned.
"It was deliberate!" Ricky justified himself. "I was fighting the system!"
"Really?" I sarcastically sniffed.
"Alvia! "exclaimed the Doctor, finally bringing my attention to him. "What's that thing about being unconscious? Have you been hurt?!"
"I'm fine, Doctor." I reassured him gently, wishing that we wouldn't go there.
I nearly convinced the Doctor. But Mickey had to step in.
"She got knocked out on the side of her head and fell quite heavily to the ground and didn't get caught or anything." revealed Mickey.
At least that explains the pain I woke up feeling on both sides of my head...
"Couldn't you keep your mouth shut? "I hissed as I turned to Mickey.
He gave me a sheepish smile and a shrug while the Doctor grabbed my head with both of his hands and examined me quickly by turning my head left and right.
"I wish someday you could have an adventure without getting hurt..." sighed the Doctor after making sure that I was unharmed or anything.
"So, you're the guy she was talking about? " interrupted Jake.
The Doctor gave me an asking look which I answered with a simple shrug. The Time Lord turned to the Preachers to introduce himself.
"I am the Doctor, by the way."
"And I'm Rose. Hello," said Rose, with a touch of bitterness at not having been introduced by the Doctor as he used to do before.
"Even better. That's the name of my dog. " comments Peter Tyler.
I retained an amused sniff on Rose's face when her 'father' made the remark, but I could feel the corner of my lips twisting slightly upwards.
"At least I have the little staff by my side."
Ah! I laugh sarcastically in my mind.
"I knew you weren't a traitor." said Rose, turning to her 'father'.
"Why is that?"
The Doctor glanced at her that told her to be careful about what she would say.
"I just knew it, that's all."
That's not even a good argument at all. But Rose was never really able to make a good argument and in the rare cases where she did, it never lasted long.
"They took my wife." moans Peter Tyler.
"She may still be alive." attempted Rose to reassure him.
"That's even worse! Cos that's what Lumic does. He takes the living and turns them into those robots."
"Cybermen." Dropped the Doctor. "They're called Cybermen. And I'd take those earpieces off if I were you," he said as he took out his sonic screwdriver while Peter took the earpieces off.
As soon as they were in the Doctor's hand, the Doctor deactivated them with his sonic.
"You never know, Lumic might be listening. But he's set his sights too high, he's just a businessman. He murdered the President. All we have to do is go into the city and inform the authorities. Because I assure you this ends tonight!"
Rickey nodded silently while Mrs. Moore accelerated.
"Cybermen... I'd prefer the Daleks anytime..." I commented calmly.
Rose gave me a strange look and the Doctor was totally sceptical.
"You prefer Daleks to Cybermen?!" he asked in disbelief.
"Daleks aren't human." I said as if it were obvious. "The risk of being converted by them is practically non-existent..."
My throat got tighter as I couldn't even imagine the pain of being converted. Bill's ending had one of the worst ends for one the Doctor's companions. Sarah-Jane and Joe, the few companions of the classic I knew, were one of the few who had a near-happy ending.
"They're one of the rare few things that really and truly scare me..."
The comprehension and compassion was evident in the Doctor's eyes, and as he put an arm around me again for a quick, comforting embrace he said in a soft, calm voice:
"I understand..."
As I silently enjoyed the Doctor's embrace, I paid no attention to the look that was on us, especially Rose's, who was dark, jealous and promising bad things for the future.
The rest of the journey was relatively short. As soon as we arrived in the middle of the city, brief screams were heard, along with heavy footsteps. Mrs. Moore cut off contact and we left the van to see a strange and disturbing scene. People were all walking in the same direction, like zombies, empty-eyed and with their arms dangling, they all had headphones with the Lumic brand in them. Their earpieces were blinking blue.
"What the hell is...? " started Jake.
"What's happening? " asked Rose, quickly rubbing her arms because of the night's cold.
"It's the earpieces. Lumic finally took control. " said the Doctor.
"Can't we just, I don't know, turn them off? " suggested Rose as she went up to someone to remove the earpieces.
"ROSE NO!" I exclaimed, quickly grabbing her wrist. "They're connected to their brains, if you remove them you kill them!"
The Doctor made a remark about being controlled so easily, a remark that made him win a slap to the back of his head from me.
"Oi!" the Doctor complained as he rubbed the barely bruised area.
Jake called us. He was kneeling behind a low wall with Ricky. And to my horror I could see a dozen Cybermen a few yards away from us. They were too close to us... My heart was pounding fast, and I was trembling from fear. To everyone's relief, the Cybermen left.
"Where are these people going?" asked Rose.
"I don't know." replied the Doctor. "Maybe Lumic headquarters, he must have one. "
"Battersea." agrees Peter Tyler. "He used to build his prototypes there."
"Why is he doing this? What's his purpose?"
"He's dying. It all started to prolong his life, to keep his brain alive. At any costs."
"Those living nightmares were created because human beings refuse to accept the fate of Death." I hissed.
Immortality... It's more like a curse than a gift. I can't understand why humans would want to live so long. To live long means to feel more, both joy and sorrow. The simplest examples I can think of are simply the Doctor, Jack and Me.
"I've seen the Cybermen before, haven't I? "Rose remembered. "That head in a display box in the Van Statten's Museum."
Luckily for us this head was dead and even if by the greatest chance it had managed to survive it was now buried under tons and tons of concrete under the surface in Utah.
"Oh, we've got Cybermen in our universe, too." added the Doctor with indifference. "They started on an ordinary world and then they spread out across the galaxy. This is a parallel version, they're starting from scratch on this Earth. "
"What the hell are you talking about?" Interrupted Peter confusedly.
I saw the Doctor open his mouth to speak, perhaps trying to explain our discussion to a man who seemed more than lost on that cold and dangerous night; but he was cut off in his gait by Ricky, his face continually frowning.
"Never mind that. We need to get out of the city, no more chit-chatting. Let's split up, okay? Mrs. Moore, will you look after them, please? Jake, distract them, you go right, and I'll go left. We'll meet back at Bridge Street. Move! "... Directed Ricky before running in one direction while Jake went in the opposite direction.
The Cybermen troop was probably moving towards us and Mickey turned to Rose, telling her he was going with Ricky before quickly kissing her goodbye and leaving too. I had the reflex to grab his forearm quickly as I stared at him in a mixture of anxiety and gravity.
"Don't split up, okay? " I said without further ado.
Mickey nodded, confused, and I let him go to join his doppelganger of this world. The Cybermen were much closer and we all started to run so we wouldn't get caught and killed. Or worse, converted.
We ran, again and again. More than I could handle, but I had to keep going. My ribs hurt, as did my legs. I was panting, desperate for air. I could feel myself slowing down, when I didn't want to, I couldn't slow down. Not with my life on the line, not with Cybermen right behind me. Rose and her dad was in front of me, and so was Mrs Moore. It was too dark for me to see the Doctor, he was probably in front of all of us. He was always the quickest, even in his old body.
But it turns out that the Doctor wasn't all there in front of us. His hand grabbed mine, making me gasp in surprise; and he ran with me. Although it was more like him dragging me along with him.
As we ran down the street, we noticed that there were Cybermen standing in front of us, fortunately we were able to turn into a street that was perpendicular to this one. And the small group of Cybermen grew even larger. We ran again and again, past countless empty houses, running again and again through the dark, cold, damp streets of London.
Until we finish hiding between trash cans of a club, lit by electric blue neon. The Cybermen's heavy, robotic footsteps became closer and more frightening. I put a hand over my mouth to muffle any sound I could make while I was still panting from this vital and painful effort. My lungs burned, and I would kill someone for some water.
Rose grabbed one of her father's hands for reassurance, Mrs Moore was holding some sort of grenade that I thought might kill a Cybermen; and the Doctor, who was still holding my hand, reached up his sonic screwdriver and activated it. It didn't buzz, but it lit up, a few seconds later the Cybermen moved away from us, walking away thanks to the Doctor's intervention. When they were far away we got up as quietly as we could and continued on our way to our intended destination. Thankfully the pace slowed, and we didn't run for our lives like we used to.
We got there first. There was no one on the street but us. We were able to take a breather and rest for a bit. I stood against a wall between a house and the street, choosing a place with not much moisture. With my hand against my chest, I could feel my heart beating fast, but gradually slowing down; my breathing was slightly wheezy, and I was very thirsty.
A couple of minutes later, Jake arrived.
"I ran past the river, you should've seen it. The whole city' s on the watch." he reports. "Hundreds of Cybermen, all down the Thames."
Suddenly a man ran up to us. I would have said it was Mickey, but since he was wearing the same clothes as his double it was impossible to know for sure. And while Jake was hoping it was his friend Ricky, Rose was hoping it was her boyfriend. It was indeed Mickey, who then went to hug Rose while he tried to explain to Jake what had happened. But in his grief, Jake didn't listen to a word and went so far to insult Mickey, telling him that he was nothing.
"We can mourn him when London is safe." intervened the Doctor with a grave and sombre expression. "For now, we've got to move on."
We all agreed, the mood was gloomy and sad; and after a short time, the time to pull ourselves together, we left. We walked in silence to Battersea, Lumic's factory was on the other side of the Thames.
The building had four huge chimneys from which a dark smoke constantly came out with the smell of burning flesh, and there was also a huge zeppelin stationed on the roof.
"The whole of London is been sealed off, and the whole population is being taken to this place." declares the Doctor as he looks at the factory. "To be converted."
"We've gotta get in there and shut it down." says Rose seriously.
"How do we do that?" asked Mickey.
"Oh, I'll think of something." replied the Doctor much less seriously.
"You don't have a plan?! You're making this up as you go along!" exclaimed Mickey with dismay.
"Yup!" said the Doctor, exaggerating the "p." But I do it brilliantly." he added without any modesty.
Rose held back a smile as Mickey had to accept the evidence about the Doctor.
"Show-off." I mumbled gently, shaking my head.
"But you like it." whispered the Doctor in my ear.
I huffed and puffed with exasperation and amusement as I gently pushed the Doctor with one hand as he leaned towards me. The difference of size was clearly apparent. Rose glanced at us with a dark look, I could easily guess that it was meant for me; and Mrs Moore sat down on a wooden bench of a dining table, taking her bag off her back to open it and remove her laptop. She turned it on and typed on the keyboard for a while, after a few minutes she waved to us to take a look at the screen. We could see in a window with a logo and the name of Cybus Industies and a 3D map.
"This is a schematic of the old factory." she tells us. "Look, there are cooling tunnels big enough to walk through."
The Doctor gestured towards the screen, pointing to a specific entry.
"This way, we'll access the control room."
"There's another way in. Through the front door." said Pete Tyler, hand in pocket. "If they took Jackie for upgrading, she'll probably walk in that way."
"We can't just go strolling up." protested Jake as he approached.
"Oh, but we can, with these." Replied Mrs. Moore while she reached into her bag.
In the palm of her hand she presented us two pairs of Lumic branded earpieces. The Doctor took two to examine them.
"Fake earpieces. Dead, so no signal. " the woman said. "But by wearing them, the Cybermen will mistake you for one of the others."
"Then that' s my job. " decided Peter Tyler firmly.
"No emotion should be shown. " warned the Doctor. "Only one sign will expose you and you will be deleted."
"How have of those have you got? "asked Rose with an idea in mind.
"Just two pairs. "replied Mrs Moore , presenting the rest to Rose.
Rose took them before she turned to her father.
"If this is the best way of finding Jackie, then I'm coming too. "she continues as she stands up.
"Why does she matter so much to you?"
"No time for that. Doctor, I'm going with him and that's it. "Say Rose with determination.
"There's no way to change your mind, is there? »
"Nope."
The Doctor nodded and threw the earpieces to Rose. She got them, and she also took her father's arm to go. They were now gone to try and save the Jackie from this world. The Doctor continued talking, but I didn't pay attention. I frowned slightly as I saw Rose and her father from behind as they both walked away. Strange... I don't remember that. No, I didn't remember that because it was different. Because I was there?
It always bothered me a bit to see something that I thought I knew and that changed because of me. I know it was impossible to experience the same thing I remember seeing, because nothing in the script written by Russell T Davies, Moffat or even Chibnall, indicated my presence. On a chessboard I would be a Queen's Power Bishop of a color other than black or white. I was not a part of the game and yet I would encrust myself and make my mark on it.
"Alvia, are you okay? " asked the Doctor suddenly, his hand on my neck.
I returned to my mind immediately and met the Doctor's eyes.
"Yeah, I'm fine."
"I'm going into the tunnels with Mrs Moore..." explained the Doctor.
"I'm not going if that's what you're offering. "I'll cut it off nicely. "I think I'd feel a lot better if I stayed away from the Cybermen as much as possible."
"That's what I was thinking too." The Doctor chuckled softly. "So, you'll go with Jake and Mickey?"
"Yeah, I'm fine with that. Oh! I've got a question, will the gold work against these Cybermen? Cos, I heard you fought Cybermen with gold."
"That was a long time ago. But I don't know if it will work with them, and besides, I don't have any gold on me."
I removed a thin ring that I wore constantly on my left middle finger and presented it to the Doctor. I never took it off, except in the shower or when it was too hot, and my fingers would swell up.
"Here, take it. It is made of gold, I got it from my mother and I expect you to return it to me in good condition. »
He put one hand around mine to close it, hiding my ring from everyone's view.
"Keep it with you, it's your legacy and then you might need it more than I do. But I thank you for your concern and considering a way to fight the Cybermen. It's brave of you."
The Doctor took his hand away and came a bit closer to me, his body leaned a little towards me while his hand at my neck inclined my head so that he could kiss me more easily. It was a simple and long kiss, but it carried everything that was needed, love, tenderness, concern and trust. I gently caressed his cheek before we moved apart and put my ring back on my finger.
"Take care of you. "I said with a gentle smile.
"That's what I should say." he replies with a teasing smile.
I let out a chuckle, looking at him one last time before I turned and went to join Jake and Mickey who was already walking away. I trotted over them and put one hand on Jake and Mickey's shoulders.
"Hey, I think you're going to have to endure me for some time."
"Better you than these things. " laughed Mickey.
"Aww, I knew you loved me. "I also joked as I tapped his shoulder without being mean.
Jake couldn't help but smile despite our jokes.
It took us about a quarter of an hour to get to the other side of the Thames and about half an hour to get to the top without being spotted by the Cybermen. But we finally made it, we arrived. In silence, we climbed the last bars of the iron ladder before kneeling on the roof to prevent us from being spotted by the only two guards at the entrance of Lumic's zeppelin. Mickey managed to convince Jake to not kill the guards and Jake then suggested that we use a substance concocted by Mrs Moore.
I was holding the small bottle that Jake had pulled out and looking through the brown glass I could see that it was some kind of salt.
"Is this mineral chloroform?" I asked with curiosity.
"Sort of, I don't know the chemical formula. All I know is that it's enough to knock out those guards." replied Jake before starting to count down.
At the end of the small count, we ran quietly to the guards and forced them to smell the product in the bottle, dropping them as soon as the bodies became heavy and floppy in our arms.
"There must be more guards inside," assumed Mickey.
"So, let's go get them," exclaimed Jake with excitement and a smile on his face.
We climbed the steps to finally get inside the zeppelin, temperatures were much better inside than outside. Jake and Mickey knocked out the last guards who were blocking our way to the control room. And it looked like no one was guarding this room, which made me even more suspicious.
"The path is clear. Let's find the transmitter controls. " commanded Jake.
"What does it look like? " asked Mickey.
"No idea, but maybe there'll be an indication or maybe a big, scary red button. "I assumed as I looked at the various buttons.
"You mean the same one that was on the spaceship at Christmas?" he remembered.
"Maybe! "I sang as a mischievous smile stretched across my lips.
I went all around to get in front of the zeppelin's double rudder. Mickey suddenly panting in fear, I looked back to feel my heart miss a beat. I jumped backwards, hitting my arm hard against the rudder as a scare gasped out of my lips.
"Cybermen! " exclaimed Jake, pointing his gun at the thing.
The time between now and the moment we realized the Cybermen wasn't activated was longer than I'd thought. Jake and Mickey came forward to examine it. The Cybermen didn't move at all, even when Mickey banged on the top of his head, making an empty metal sound.
"It's empty, no brains. It's just a shell, the exhibit model." observed Mickey.
" This is still enough to be dangerous." I pointed out as I kept my eyes on the Cybermen.
"You're getting paranoid." sneered Jake.
"I'd always be paranoid about the Cybermen, if you'd seen everything I'd seen about them... You'd be the same."
I took out my sonic screwdriver and pointed it directly at the metal creature, having the intention to shut it down just in case. I may be paranoid, but I refuse to be surprised and die because we didn't take precautions with a Cyberman we assumed was dead. I activated my sonic, which buzzed and lit up for a few seconds, sparks flew from the Cybermen's helmet and chest as information went straight to my head. I had turned off an alarm that connected the Cybermen to the Zeppelin and I had tripped a circuit that seemed important to me given the number of burnt-out components and the name that had been flashing in my mind.
Jake and Mickey looked at the Cybermen with a funny face as it smoked a bit.
"Like I said, constant vigilance! I was right, no more trouble from that thing anymore."
"Okay, let's go back to our mission, the transmitter." indicates Jake.
Transmitter we finally find. Mickey looked at it and studied it, he had good skills in network systems and mechanics, that was his subject. I rested against the rudder, arms folded.
"Fuck! " he swore after his observation.
"A problem? " asked Jake as he approached.
"The transmitter controls are locked in there. We need oxyacetylene. " he explained.
"What's that?" I asked confusedly.
"Basically, a blowtorch."
"And I forgot to take one with me! "Jake felt sorry as he hit his forehead.
" Why do we need a blowtorch exactly? "I asked again, pointing to the transmitter with one finger.
"See that panel?" Mickey pointed to it. "We'd have to remove it to access the systems, hidden inside. »
"I've got my sonic screwdriver. I think it can do just about anything as long as it's not wood. "I said as I pulled out the sonic device and tossed it between my fingers.
"We can try. "agreed Mickey before he looked confused. "Why it won't do wood?"
"No idea." I explained simply with a shrug.
I approached while Jake moved a little bit to make some space for me. The panel I thought I could remove had six bolts that seemed to be welded to the panel itself. I observed them for a few seconds before bringing my sonic towards one of them and then activated my sonic again, remembering a protocol that the Doctor used once during an adventure.
"It may take a moment..." I warned.
"No problem." assured Jake, behind me.
Indeed, it took me several minutes to remove the first bolt. The rest of the other bolts took about the same amount of time and when I finally removed the last bolt and the panel maybe 15 or 20 minutes passed. The board was indeed hiding wires and circuits. Nothing bad and nothing complicated enough for those days to fry with my screwdriver. The transmitter was now useless too.
The screwdriver was really handy. I could understand why the Doctor used it in almost 99% of his adventures and when it was taken away, he was panicked. I still remember the episode of "Robot of Sherwood" where the 12th Doctor was stuck in a cell with Clara and Robin Hood without a screwdriver. That scene was so hilarious.
"What do we do now?" I asked as I stowed my screwdriver in the external pocket of my coat.
"Let's try to find the others." suggested Mickey.
"How do we do that?"
"Hacking into the cameras? Can we do that in this day and age?" I teased.
"Hey, just because you're from the future doesn't mean we're in prehistory," Mickey pointed out slightly offended.
I falsely began to clear my throat and cough while pronouncing some of the nightmarish features of that time such as Windows Vista, Internet explorer - although that one managed to survive for a while - the size of computer screens and their graphic quality. Really, the early 2000's is really not aesthetically pleasing in terms of technology. It's artistically proven, since it's a period that my style history teacher talked about when I was still in high school.
I raised an eyebrow to Mickey while I restrained a laugh by chewing a phalanx of one of my fingers tight in a fist, as he rolled his eyes to the sky and went to grab the keyboard a further away. Mickey typed code lines on the keyboard, which were displayed on a high screen.
"I'm connected to Cyber Control. They're alive. " informed Mickey a few seconds before the screen showed what one of Lumic's cameras was filming.
On the screen we could clearly see Rose, Peter, and the Doctor; he noticed the camera and innocently turned his head towards it, letting us know that he knew we were looking at it.
"The Doctor and Rose! There they are," Mickey congratulated himself, glanced at the blond man beside him.
"Never mind them, what the hell is that?!" pointed Jake gesturing towards the screen.
Mickey shushed Jake before he typed another line of code that allowed us to listen to the Doctor's discussion with CyberLumic.
Lumic said that he would bring peace to the world and unity and uniformity; the Doctor of course objected because if the world came to such a point then it could no longer evolve and there was no place for imagination in this world either as it would be removed during conversion as Cybermen. The debate was as I remember it; the Doctor talking over and over again, claiming to be the genius in the room, pleading for humanity and human emotions. But Lumic didn't understand that, not anymore and not in a long time. There was no more debate, but the Doctor went on anyway, he was like this, always. That was one of the things I loved about him, that desire to believe in humanity and to see the best in it, despite all the pain we could do to ourselves and to others. I always had that pride that blossomed in my chest every time he made a speech like this one.
"A simple people can change the world," said the Doctor. " Ordinary men and ordinary women; even idiots. All he'd need are the right numbers, the right codes; let's say for example, the emotional inhibitor code. The code right in front of him. "said the Doctor, drawing Mickey's attention to make him work.
He took a deep breath before concentrating and preparing to code again.
"Cause even an idiot knows about computers these days. He knows how to hack firewalls and passwords. He knows how to find something encrypted in the Lumic family database. What was, err, what was that, Pete? Binary what?" continued the Doctor as he gestured to Peter for an answer.
"Binary nine," replied Peter Tyler up his sleeve, but loud enough that we could hear it from the zeppelin.
Mickey repeated in a breath what Rose's parallel father had just said before he proceeded to type on the keyboard. As he typed, and the Doctor continued to speak, numbers appeared on the screen in the foreground.
"An idiot could find that code." continued the Doctor. "And he keeps on typing, keeps on fighting. Anything to save his friends."
The Doctor turned to the camera and winked. It was for me, in some way I knew it was for me. And I blushed, like a young teenager.
"Your words are meaningless." interrupted CyberLumic.
"Eeeh, talk too much, that's my problem! " smiled the Doctor. "Luckily, we get a cheap tariff, Rose, for all our longs chats on phone."
He glanced at the camera again, mimicking the phone act. By this time all the numbers had been found and Mickey typed them back into his phone before texting it to Rose.
"You will be deleted. »
"Yes! Delete, control, hash, all those lovely buttons. And then of course my favourite: SEND ! »
A few moments later Rose's phone rings before it is checked and thrown to the Doctor who grabbed it with one hand.
"And don't forget how you seduced those people in the first place. Making this technology compatible with everything."
"This is for you."
" It' s for you."
"Like this." ended The Doctor by connecting the phone to a module that's perfectly fitted.
Hell was unleashed instantly, the Cybermen began to scream in pain and convulse as their emotions returned. The trio that was trapped inside quickly evacuated, leaving the Cybermen to their fate, along with Lumic.
Jake moved to the rudder before he began to take control.
"What the hell are you doing?! "I asked with Mickey.
"We gotta get out of here. If this factory explodes, this balloon will ignite, and we'll die."
"The Doctor, Rose and Peter are still in there! "I exclaimed. "We can't just leave them here! "
"Bring it back! " Mickey commanded as he pushed Jake out of position. " I said, bring it back! We're not abandoning them, there's no way we're abandoning them. " he continued, taking control of the rudder before taking out his phone.
I picked it up as I called Rose's number before I put it to my ear. There was one ringing tone before she picked it up.
"Rose! Listen to me! Head to the roof, quick! Before the building explodes! »
I heard Rose pass the message to the rest of the group before footsteps could be heard.
"They're on their ways, is there anything we can do to get them up? " I informed them, still holding the phone.
Jake pointed a lever and then activated it. It brought a ladder down to the back of the zeppelin.
"I'm going to the back! " I said as I gave the phone to Jake.
They nodded as I ran towards the entrance. A place I could find quickly. The wind was blowing hard at this height and my hair flew in all directions. I got down on my knees while I held on to a solid bar to avoid falling into the air. Soon the trio arrived at last and Rose climbed up the ladder first, followed by The Doctor and Peter. As the three of them climbed up the ladder, I saw the roof get smaller as we started to gain height.
"Welcome to Mickey's Smith Airlines." Mickey said jokingly over the loudspeaker. "Please enjoy your flight! Woooh!"
Rose climbed up a little more, while the Doctor just a bit below her when abruptly the ladder came down. Leaning a bit to one side I could see that the CyberLumic had hung on to the ladder and was trying to climb up. Peter was close enough to the Doctor to give him his screwdriver. But I learned that the reality was different from what we could know by heart; and the Doctor could not give Peter his screwdriver because the risk of losing his screwdriver was far too great as the ladder moved wildly, swayed by the weight of the CyberLumic, the wind, and Mickey's ability to fly the zeppelin.
And so, I found myself reaching for the screwdriver and using it for the fourth time that night and pointing it as low and as close to Lumic as possible so as not to knock the trio off their feet because that would cause them certain death - although the Doctor could regenerate to survive, but that wasn't my intention either -. A few moments later, the rope broke, causing CyberLumic to fall into the air and into the flames as his factory finally exploded.
I vaguely felt the warm breath of the flames rising as Rose and Peter exclaimed with joy. The trio started climbing again and after this effort which seemed painful - and I could understand it, I would be in the same state if I had to - they were at last in the zeppelin recovering their breath.
Rose laughed nervously at all that had just happened while I looked at the Doctor, Jake and Mickey came, leaving the zeppelin on automatic and went straight to the two Tylers for some assistance. My eyes met the Doctor's and a smile grew on my lips, a few seconds later I was in his arms as he hugged me tightly, his face hiding in my neck, while I was on tiptoe with my arms wrapped around his shoulders and neck.
We loosened our grip on each other slightly without breaking the embrace.
"Hello," said the Doctor with a smile that stretched his lips and slightly squinted his eyes.
"It's over", I congratulated him.
"Yes," he nods "It's over."
We kept holding each other until we finally had to separate. We left the zeppelin which was parked and abandoned not far from the old Lumic factory. Jake and Mickey set off in an unknown direction while Rose, The Doctor and I returned to where the Tardis was, followed of course by Peter who didn't know what to do or where to go.
During the entire walk, which was mostly silent, the Doctor stayed by my side and our hands touched each other several times. I had this urge to hold his hand which was made impossible by Rose's presence and her dark, fixed gaze on ourselves.
But when we finally arrived in front of the TARDIS, Rose preferred to stay outside with her father. The Doctor unlocked the door with his key and let me in first like the gentlemen he was. It was heartbreaking to see the console room so dark and cold and empty of life when just a couple hours ago it was humming with life and joy and flashing its lights happily.
The Doctor walked around the console, taking out the small luminescent green pod and placing it in a specific spot on the console. The lights came back as the humming noise, just like if the Tardis had just awakened, and it made us smile in delight. I giggled with joy as Sexy buzzed and beeped joyfully greeting her return to life. The Doctor also let out a small laugh before stealing a kiss from me and going outside to warn Rose.
I could hear that Mickey and Jake had been returned when the Doctor exclaimed happily when he saw his clothes and coat back. Speaking of coats, I took off mine and my hoodie, remaining in my thin but warm turtleneck. I gently patted the console while I was talking to Sexy.
"Remember the screwdriver you gave me? Of course, you do, you sexy temporal thing. Well I've used it several times today, it saved our lives and the lives of thousands and thousands of people in London tonight. Thanks for building this for me, Sexy."
She was buzzing in joy and flashed her lights which dimmed from time to time; it was as if she was blushing with joy while excited. She was truly the most beautiful thing I had never seen before; the Tardis was one such thing.
But the joy that we both shared didn't last long, the Doctor came back, his clothes in his arms followed by Rose who looked miserable; her cheeks were wet, and her eyes filled with tears.
Then as soon as the door were closed, the Doctor dematerialised the Tardis and we returned to our universe in an equally chaotic but less than fair ride. Rose and the Doctor went to change while I stayed seated in the console room with Sexy, my joyful mood had faded with Rose's grief and I was doing my best not to cry as I thought about my family who were far, so far away and whom I would never be able to reach again.
The two returned in their usual clothes, and the Doctor parked the Tardis in Jackie's living room. Rose went out first and we followed her a few moments later, she was in her mother's arms, surely crying again.
"What is it? What's happened, sweetheart? " asked Jackie. "What's wrong? Where did you go?"
"Far away." replied the Doctor solemnly. "That was... Far away."
"Where's Mickey?"
"He's gone home." I replied gently before chewing my lower lip.
For those who have dark thoughts, a loss of desire to do any activity, bad sleep and the sudden urge to cry for no reason etc...
Talk about it. with me, with your friends, your lover, your teachers, your family.
because there are people who LOVE and CARE for you; are HERE FOR YOU even if you don't see it.
Talk about it before the idea of hurting yourself happens or worse.