"Zana...Zana..." a soft voice whispered, causing the bewildered brunette to look around the dark room she had wandered into. She wasn't too sure as to why she'd even followed the noise in the first place. Her curiosity always did get the best of her. But then again, it seemed familiar. Like it was someone she could trust. Someone she loved. "Zana..."
"Who's there?" She finally replied, trying to adjust her eyes to the darkness that surrounded her. "Hello?"
"Zana? Zana, can you hear me?"
"Obviously I can, I replied to you." She could almost hear the man's eyes rolling, which she found amusing.
"Where are you?"
She frowned at the peculiar question. This was a dream. An outlandish dream, but a dream nonetheless. So why the hell is a figment of her own imagination asking her where she is?
"Clearly you already know the answer," she answered after a moment. "I'm in my head. Same as you."
"In time and space, where are you?" The voice retorted, its tone changing to one of slight annoyance. "Zana, I need to know. It's of the utmost importance."
"No one says 'upmost'."
"Zana!"
"Even if I did know, why would it matter? What the hell kind of dream is this?" She muttered to herself. "Now that I think about it...this is a bloody dream. I shouldn't even comprehend that I'm in a dream...maybe the TARDIS is affecting my head somehow..."
"TARDIS? You're in the TARDIS?" The mystery voice asked quickly. "With the Doctor?"
"How do you...oh, right. My head."
"Zana Kline, you need to listen to me. The Doctor, he's nothing but trouble."
"I've figured that out, thanks subconscious."
"I'm not your-" the man huffed, "Never mind. Look, it's worse than you can ever imagine. Every person that has ever set foot on that TARDIS before you, what happened to them?"
"I haven't asked. It didn't seem like it was any of my business."
"It's very unlike you not to ask."
"He's different. He's a mystery I'm not sure I want to uncover," she admitted softly.
The mystery man sighed before suddenly calling out her name once more, "Zana...Zana! Zana!"
Zana sat up quickly as her name echoed through her head, but the voice only became louder. It took her a good five seconds to realize that the Doctor was the one calling her name outside her bedroom door.
"What?" She finally called back to the restless Time Lord. "What do you want?"
"Get up!"
"Why?"
"So we can go somewhere, why else would I want you to wake up?"
She groaned and let herself fall back onto the bed. "Is everyone else up?"
"Yup. So rise and shine! The universe awaits!"
"The universe awaits," she mocked quietly as she sat up and rubbed the sleep from her blue eyes. Eventually, she managed to drag herself out of bed and pulled on an outfit. She didn't bother glancing at the mirror as she walked by because if she did, she'd just end up critiquing everything about herself. It was a bad habit of hers.
"...and that weird munchkin lady with the big eyes? Do you remember? The way she looked at you! And then she opens her mouth and fire comes out!" The Doctor's voice rang out loudly as Zana stepped into the console room. She looked around the room to see him and Rose sitting on the captain's seat while Mickey stood at the console, his fingers pressed against a button on the control panel.
"I thought I was going to get frazzled!" Rose laughed along with him as the brunette moved to stand next to Mickey, who was smiling at the two, obviously interested in the story.
Zana gave him a small smile when he turned to look at her, "Morning, Mickey."
"Good morning," he nodded before turning back to the others, not wanting to miss anything.
"Yeah. One minute she's standing there, and the next minute roar!" The Doctor and Rose's laughs increased in volume, drawing her attention back to them.
"Yeah. where was that, then? What happened?" Mickey pondered aloud, chuckling as he watched them.
"Oh, it was on this er, this er planet thing. Asteroid. It's a long story, you had to be there," the Doctor waved him off, and Mickey's smile fell. "Er, what're you doing that for?"
Mickey looked down at the button he was pressing and frowned. "Because you told me to."
"When was that?" The Doctor seemed completely oblivious.
"About half an hour ago."
"Umm..you can let go now," he gave Mickey a sly smile as Rose laughed quietly.
"Well, how long's it been since I could've stopped?" Mickey demanded.
"Ten minutes? Twenty? Twenty-nine?"
"You just forgot him!" Zana spoke up, surprising Rose and the Doctor both, and admittedly, surprising herself. But she couldn't help it. She had to stick up for Mickey, he deserved it.
"No, no, no. I was just, I was-I was calibrating. I was just...No, I know exactly what I'm doing," the Doctor tried, but just as Zana went to insult him, a large explosion knocked her to the floor. Rose let out a shout as she landed on the ground, and the Doctor was quick to get up and move to the control panel, worriedly looking over it.
"What the hell was that?" Zana demanded as she sat up and gripped onto the edge of the console. The TARDIS seemed to be spinning out of control!
"The time vortex is gone. That's impossible! It's just gone!" The Doctor gaped. "Brace yourself! We're going to crash!"
Just as the words left his mouth, the TARDIS jolted to an abrupt stop. Zana coughed and tried covering her mouth, but it didn't stop the smoke from entering her already burning lungs. Gas masks extended from the ceiling, but she didn't bother grabbing one as she stood up and waved the vapors from her face.
"Everyone all right? Rose? Zana? Mickey? " The Doctor asked quickly.
"I'm fine. I'm okay," Mickey nodded. "Sorry. Yeah."
"She's dead," the Doctor breathed as the others stood. Zana looked over at him, the tone of his voice worrying her. "The TARDIS is dead."
"You can fix it?" Rose asked hopefully.
"There's nothing to fix. She's perished. The last TARDIS in the universe. Extinct."
Zana shook her head, not wanting to believe what the Time Lord was telling them. But the Doctor's voice proved to her that he was right. He sounded so...broken. Like a piece of him had just disappeared.
"We can get help, yeah?" Rose's voice quivered.
"Where from?"
"Well, we've landed. We've got to be somewhere!"
"We fell out of the vortex, through the void, into nothingness," the Doctor informed solemnly. "We're in some sort of no place. The silent realm. The lost dimension-"
"Otherwise known as London!" Mickey laughed.
Rose, Zana, and the Doctor all turned to look at him, only to see him walking out of the TARDIS, onto a London street.
"London, England, Earth. Hold on," Mickey reached down and grabbed a newspaper off the ground as the others stepped out of the lifeless box. "First of February this year. Not exactly far-flung, is it?"
"So this is London," the Doctor muttered, looking around disbelievingly as Rose moved to look at the newspaper.
"Yep," Mickey nodded, not looking up from the paper.
"Your city."
"That's the one."
"Just as we left it."
"Bang on."
"And that includes the Zeppelins?"
"What?" Zana frowned, but the Doctor just nodded behind her. She spun around and gasped at the Zeppelins flying through the sky. "Where's the planes? Are we in the future or something?"
"Not the future, no."
"That's beautiful," Rose breathed as one passed overhead.
"Okay, so it's London with a big international Zeppelin festival," Mickey reasoned.
The Doctor shook his head, "This is not your world."
"But if the date's the same, it's parallel, right? Am I right?" Mickey realized excitedly. "Like a parallel Earth where they've got Zeppelins. Am I right? I'm right, aren't I?"
"Must be," the Doctor replied bluntly as Zana spun around in a circle, taking everything in.
"So, a parallel world where..." Rose began.
"Oh, come on," Mickey turned towards her. "You've seen it on films. Like an alternative to our world where everything's the same but a little bit different, like, I don't know, traffic lights are blue, Tony Blair never got elected."
"And he's still alive," she breathed, her eyes locked on something ahead. Everyone turned to see a poster with a middle-aged man holding a drink in his hand while giving a thumbs up with the other. "A parallel world and my dad's still alive."
Zana's eyes widened as she looked between the poster and Rose. The resemblance was there, definitely. "Oh my god..."
"Don't look at it, Rose. Don't even think about it. This is not your world," the Doctor warned instantly.
"But he's my dad and," she stepped forward and pressed her fingers against the advert, which suddenly exclaimed Trust me on this. "Well, that's weird. But he's real."
"Trust me on this," the poster repeated. Zana rested a hand on Rose's arm, trying to comfort her. This had to be big for her friend, seeing that her dad was alive and well here in an alternate reality. But at the same time, it wasn't him. And she wasn't too sure Rose comprehended that.
"He's a success," Rose smiled proudly at the moving advert. "He was always planning these daft little schemes. Health food, drinks, and stuff. Everyone said they were useless. But he did it."
The Doctor stepped in front of her, resting his hands on her shoulders. "Rose, if you've ever trusted me, then listen to me now." Rose sighed and glanced back at the poster. "Stop looking at it! Your father's dead! He died when you were six months old. That is not your Pete. That is a Pete. For all we know, he's got his own Jackie, his own Rose. His own daughter who is someone else, but not you! You can't see him. Not ever."
Zana gave Rose a sad smile, something she had been doing a lot since she had become a resident of the TARDIS, and squeezed her hand. "Hey, Rose, let's go walk around, you know, to get your mind off things." Rose nodded and absently walked off in the opposite direction of the TARDIS, while Zana turned to the Doctor and Mickey. "I'll watch her. I'll bring her back to the TARDIS in awhile."
The Doctor sighed, "Alright. Don't take your eyes off her."
"Yes sir," she gave him a mock salute before turning and taking off in the direction Rose had went. It didn't take long for her to catch up with the blonde, who was sitting on a bench along the Thames. She sat down beside her and clasped her hands together, watching the water below them. She wasn't sure what to say to her. It's not every day that you stumble into a parallel universe where your dead father is suddenly alive and very successful, after all. "I wonder if there's a parallel me out there. Can you imagine that? Two Zanas?" Rose cracked a smile, not taking her eyes off the Zeppelins flying overhead. Before Zana could continue, Rose's phone beeped. The two looked down to see that Rose had gotten a message from Cybus Network, whatever the hell that was.
"And it's good news for Great Britain as John Lumic returns to the country of his birth. Mister Lumic, the inventor of high content metal, has denied allegations of ill health," a news anchor suddenly appeared on the phone screen.
"We're all flesh and blood, but the brain is what makes us human. And my mind is more creative than ever," it cut to a shot of who Zana was assuming was John Lumic, before cutting back to the anchor.
"With shares in Cybus Industries doubling in price, Mister Lumic is..." Zana sighed and shook her head when the engines of the Zeppelins drowned out the reporter's voice. "In other news, the Torchwood Institute published a study claiming that-"
Before he could say any more, Rose shut it off.
"Oi," Zana frowned. "I was listening to that."
"Sorry," Rose apologized absently. "I've got to see something."
Zana watched as she typed Pete Tyler into the search bar and let out a sigh. "Rose, that's going to do nothing but make things worse. You know that."
"I know...I know, but I have to know," Rose replied.
Zana shook her head and leaned back on the bench, watching as her friend read an article over Pete Tyler. She wished she knew what to bloody do.
"Zana? Zana, is that you?" A very familiar voice called out, making Zana turn around, eyes wide.
"Oh my god..." Zana breathed. She couldn't believe it.
"Zana? What's going on?" Rose frowned, having looked up from her phone. "Who's that?"
"That would be my...well, technically not, but in simple terms, that's my mum," Zana informed quietly. "Her name's Cynthia...How is that...well, obviously it's possible, but I didn't expect for it to-"
"Zana! Where have you been?!" Cynthia had pulled Zana up from her spot on the bench by her arm, making Zana wince from the grip. Her mother always was a strong one, which was odd. Wasn't like she did much at H.C Clements.
"I've...what? What do you mean, where have I been? Have I been gone?"
"For months!"
"Really?"
"Don't act stupid."
"I'm not," Zana defended.
"Then tell me where you've been! I've searched long and wide, and so's your dad!"
"Huh..." Zana knew that wherever this reality's version of Zana was, she obviously didn't want to be found. Her father had great connections, and she wouldn't doubt it if her mother did as well. But maybe things were different here...
"Come on, you're coming home," Cynthia started pulling her forward.
"Look, I can't," Zana tried, but she wasn't having any of that. "Mum, I really can't. You don't understand-"
"Zana," she gave her a look. "Cut it out."
Zana turned to Rose, who was looking on with a mix of confusion and amusement.
"Are you gonna help?" Zana called back anxiously. "Rose!"
"What am I suppose to do?" Rose stifled a laugh.
"Wha- Are you laughing? Rose!"
"Zana, quiet!" Cynthia shushed.
"Don't worry, Zana. I'll get the Doctor," Rose assured, leaving Zana to do nothing but huff.
"Zana Marie Kline, I couldn't be more disappointed in you," Zana's 'father', Carlisle, was scolding her as she sat at the dining room table with her mother watching her, arms crossed, with a look of disappointment on her face as well.
"I don't even know what I did wrong," Zana repeated for the hundredth time, the annoyance very evident in her voice. She couldn't help it! She doesn't even know these people! Sure, they were a version of her parents, but they weren't them, she knew that. But try convincing them that.
"You vanished! You just disappeared in the dead of the night!"
"Are you sure I'm not in my room? I don't really leave my room much, you know that."
Carlisle gave her a look, "Zana, I'd know if my own daughter was in her room."
"What's in your ears?" Zana asked suddenly, having noticed the silver ear pods almost as soon as she saw them. She just figured it was a Bluetooth or something along that line, but she noticed the Cybus Industries logo on the side, the same logo she had seen in the video on Rose's phone.
"Don't start that again," Carlisle groaned in annoyance. "Zana, those Preachers or whatever you've gotten yourself into is anything but good."
"They're taking my baby girl from me!" Cynthia exclaimed, making Zana wince in surprise.
"Preachers? What do you mean?" Zana muttered, confused. "I've never really been the religious type."
"Don't be stupid."
She sighed and shook her head, "Look, mum, dad, I'm sorry for whatever you think I've done. But I honestly do not know what the hell you're talking about."
Carlisle studied her for a moment, "You really don't know, do you?"
"No, I really don't. Dad, look, I know that this is going to be hard to understand, but-"
Before she could explain, his phone went off, something that she was very used to. In his line of work, he could be called in at any time. That was if he wasn't already there.
"Sir," he answered in that professional tone that always made Zana uneasy. Every kid hated their parents' more conservative side. She could make out a man's voice on the other side, but it was unfamiliar. Usually, she knew who her father was speaking to. "Ah, Mr. Tyler."
"Mr. Tyler?" Zana frowned.
"Of course we'll be there tonight. Oh yes, my daughter will be accompanying us," he informed.
"Accompanying you where?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Jackie Tyler's birthday party," Cynthia told her as she sat a cup of tea in front of her.
"Jackie Tyler? Is he speaking to Pete Tyler?" Zana's eyes widened, taking a sip of her tea before spitting it out. "What the hell is that?"
Cynthia frowned, "Watch your tone."
"What is this, mum? This isn't tea."
"Yes, it is. What else would it be?"
"I don't know," she pushed the cup away from her and wiped her mouth with her shirt. "Ugh, that was horrible. Not enough for sugar, that's for sure."
"You don't like sugar," her mother gave her a strange look.
"What sort of normal human being doesn't like sugar?" Zana scoffed, "Man, parallel me must be a thrill."
"What was that?"
"Nothing, mum."
"Right."
Zana sighed as her father hung up the phone and turned to her and Cynthia, "We had better be getting ready. The party's an hour or so from now."
"Do I have to go?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because I said so," Carlisle gave her a stern look. "And it's going to be a long time before you're out of my sight, young lady."
"I don't even- ugh. You know what? I give up."
Zana got up from her spot and walked up the stairs, up to the parallel version of herself's room. Everything seemed pretty much the same to her room back home, with a few noticeable differences, but that was it. She stepped towards her desk and glanced over the clutter that covered it. Essays, books, pencils, notes, you name it. A small smile graced her lips when she saw a small present on the side of her desk, identical to the one that sent her out on Christmas Eve. She picked it up and carefully pulled at the blue bow, untying it.
"Zana?" Cynthia's voice, along with a knock on the door made her look up. "Start getting ready. There's a dress in your closet. The only dress you own, really. Wear that."
"Got it, mum," she replied quickly, sitting the box back down on the desk.
"You know why I don't wear dresses, mum?" Zana asked as Cynthia fixed her hair. "Because the dress is never enough. You always insist that my hair and makeup have to be done as well."
"You're eighteen years old, Zana. You need to represent yourself well. Your mind isn't the only factor that gets you into a good school."
"That's rubbish."
"That's life. Trust me, I don't understand it either," Cynthia gave her a small smile through the mirror before resting her hands on Zana's shoulders. "There. All done."
"Thanks, mum," Zana stood up and looked at herself in the mirror. She wasn't all that surprised when she had found the same exact (well, almost exact) dress she had at home stashed away in the closet, but this one was a dark, forest green, unlike the unpleasant maroon color her mum had picked out for her. The sleeves were shorter than hers, ending just below her elbows instead of at her wrists, and the overall length of the dress was shorter as well, but luckily it wasn't short enough to bother her. She had to admit, the dress was rather lovely, but she was sure it would be better for someone else. The makeup was as natural as makeup can get, must to her mother's dismay. Zana didn't necessarily dislike makeup, but under the circumstances, she didn't want to be too showy. She was going to her friend's parallel mum's birthday party, where her parallel dad, who wasn't dead, will be as well. With that being said, she didn't want to do anything over the top with her hair, so she just had her braid her bangs back. Again, her mother wasn't too thrilled about that, either.
"How is it?" Cynthia asked.
She plucked at a loose string on her left sleeve, "It's great, mum. So, how do we know the Tylers again?"
She gave Zana a strange look, "Your father and Pete have been friends for as long as they could speak."
"What?"
She sighed, "What did those people do to you?"
"Those Preachers, yeah? I still don't know who the hell they are."
Cynthia just shook her head and left the room, leaving Zana no choice but to follow her.
"This is gonna be an exciting night," Zana muttered.
Zana stepped out of the car and looked at all the other arriving guests. She didn't recognize one person, and she wasn't sure how she felt about that. She half expected to see the Doctor, Rose, and Mickey strolling towards the front entrance, pretending to be another extravagant guest. After all, she knew that the Doctor would give into Rose and let her meet Pete. He was wrapped around her finger.
"Come on, Zana," Carlisle held out an elbow for her, which she really had no choice but to accept. Cynthia walked not too far ahead of them, greeting the other guests as they stepped into the house.
"It's so crowded," Zana complained as her Carlisle and Cynthia started mingling with the other guests. She squeezed through people to make it to an empty chair towards the back of the room, which luckily wasn't occupied by very many people. She sat down and watched all the guests, unsure of what to do. She hated social things like this. She felt out of place. Back home, her parents had finally figured that out, so she wasn't forced to attend as many as these things as she used to, but in her opinion, it was still way too many for her. She understood why they made her do it, though. A lot of people her dad and mum worked with had very good connections, and they thought that if Zana showed up, well put together and a head full of things to say, she would get on well with them, and that would better her chances of getting into a good school. A really good school.
"...We could've been guests. Celebrities. Sir Doctor, Dame Rose. We end up serving. Did enough of this back home," a very distinct voice made her look up to see two of the people she had waiting for, dressed as butlers. The Doctor was carrying a tray of champagne, while Rose was carrying a tray of nibbles, as Zana's mum had always called them. Zana smiled and got up, grabbing a drink off of the Doctor's tray, but he didn't bother looking around.
"If you want to know what's going on, work in the kitchens," the Doctor was saying to Rose. "According to Lucy, that man over there-"
"Who's Lucy?" Rose raised an eyebrow.
The Doctor glanced at a woman, who must've been the woman in favor, "She's carrying the salmon pinwheels."
"Oh, that's Lucy, is it?" Zana bit back a laugh at Rose's tone. They still hadn't noticed her.
"Yeah. Lucy says, that is the President of Great Britain."
"What, there's a President, not a Prime Minister?"
"Seems so."
"Or maybe Lucy's just a bit thick," Zana spoke up, taking a sip of the champagne. The two of them instantly turned to see the brunette smiling cheekily at them. "About time you noticed me."
"Zana!" Rose smiled. "Good to see you're okay."
"Good to see that you were looking for me," Zana replied, having realized that they weren't even trying to find her.
Rose's smile fell, making Zana sigh.
"What are you wearing?" the Doctor's eyes trailed over her, making her turn attention towards him.
"I could ask the same of you."
"Excuse me! Thank you very much," Pete Tyler's voice interrupted them, making them turn to see him standing on the staircase, looking down at everyone. "Thank you if I could just have your attention, please?"
"Pete! Go on, Pete!" A man shouted, making everyone laugh.
"Thank you very much!"
"It's about time you did some work."
"I thought you liked them young," a different man shouted, making Zana roll her eyes.
"Um, I'd just like to say thank you to you all, for coming on this, this very special occasion. My wife's thirty-ninth."
"Don't believe that one."
Pete gave a thumbs up, similar to the advert Zana had seen earlier, "Trust me on this. And so, without any further ado, here she is, the birthday girl. My lovely wife, Jackie Tyler."
Applause rang out as Jackie, who was clad in a skin-tight black dress, made her way down the stairs. "Now, I'm not giving a speech. That's what my parties are famous for. No work, no politics, just a few good mates and plenty of black market whisky." That earned a laugh from everyone. "Pardon me, Mister President. So, yeah, get on with it. Enjoy, enjoy."
"You can't stay. Even if there was some way of telling them," Zana turned to see the Doctor telling Rose, who was watching the Tylers intently.
"Course I can't. I've still got Mum at home. My real mum. I couldn't just leave her, could I? It's just, they've got each other. Mum's got no one..." Rose's voice went soft.
"She's got you. Those two haven't. All these different worlds, not one of them gets it right," the Doctor muttered.
"Rose! There's my little girl! Come to mummy, come to mummy!" Jackie's voice made the, turn to see her pick up a little Yorkie, "Yes, good girl! Good girl, aren't you?
The Doctor and Zana both looked at Rose before bursting out laughing, which earned them a glare. "Sorry."
"Who are your parents, Zana?" the Doctor asked as the two of them walked down an empty hallway, looking for a computer of some sort.
"Cynthia and Carlisle Kline," she informed, crossing her arms. "Why?"
"Just curious. You never said."
"Yeah. Well, thanks for looking for me. I appreciate it, by the way."
He glanced back at her, "Sorry."
"No, you're not."
"I really am. I was...preoccupied."
"Yes, I know. Watching Rose is a full-time job."
He stopped walking and turned to look at her, "Don't."
"And where the hell is Mickey?" She asked, seeing that he was annoyed with her. She didn't care. Don't get her wrong, Rose meant a lot to her too, but there are other people he should be concerned about.
"I...I'm not sure."
"What the hell is wrong with you, Doctor?" She glared at him.
"I couldn't run after both of them!"
"That's all Mickey wants, you know, is for someone to show him that they care."
He gave a frustrated huff, "Why aren't you doing it, then?"
"I am! But what does that mean coming from someone like me? Nothing, compared to it coming from someone like you. Or even from Rose. He adores Rose, Doctor."
The Doctor muttered something under his breath before pushing a door open and stepping inside. Zana let out an annoyed groan before following after him, closing the door behind her. She watched as he pulled a pair of glasses from his pocket and slid them on before going to work on the laptop. She watched him work, and for some odd reason, she felt all of her anger and annoyance towards him fade. She had to look at things from his perspective. Her father was always telling her to look at things through the eyes of another before judging them, but she couldn't help it sometimes.
"Ah, here we go," the Doctor's voice brought her from her thoughts.
"Find something?" Zana moved forward, standing next to the Time Lord as she looked over the computer screen.
"I think so," he nodded before clicking on the video. Zana recognized the voice as John Lumics instantly.
"The most precious thing on this Earth is the human brain, and yet we allow it to die," the video was saying. "But now Cybus Industries has perfected a way of sustaining the brain indefinitely within a cradle of copyrighted chemicals. And the latest advances in synapse research allows cyber kinetic impulses to be bonded onto a metal exoskeleton. This is the ultimate upgrade. Our greatest step into cyberspace-"
"Oh my god..." Zana gasped.
"Cybers," the Doctor breathed before grabbing Zana's hand and rushing out the door.
"Cybers? What?" She asked as they rushed past all the guests. "Doctor?"
He didn't reply, instead pulling her towards the window, joining Rose. Zana let go of his hand and squinted her eyes, trying to get a better look at the things marching towards the house, but the bright light shining their way was making that a bit difficult.
"It's happening again..." the Doctor breathed, his breath condensing on the window in front of him.
"What do you mean?" Rose looked at him worriedly.
"I've seen them before."
"What are they?"
"Cybermen," he informed solemnly.
As the words left his mouth, the Cybermen crashed through the windows on the other side of the room, making the three of them turn around. The metal men surrounded everyone, forcing all the guests into a group. Zana felt someone grab her arm, and turned to see her parents pulling them towards her, away from the Doctor and Rose. Before she could protest, a phone rang, followed by the president answering with, "Mr. Lumic."
"Mum, Dad, let me go. I have to get back to the Doctor," Zana yanked her arm away, leaving her parents to follow her back towards her friends.
"I forbade this," the president was saying.
"What are they, robots?" Rose whispered to the Doctor.
"Worse than that," he informed.
"Who were these people?" The president demanded of John Lumic, whose voice couldn't be heard by the other guests.
Rose frowned, "They're people?"
"They were until they had all their humanity taken away. That's a living brain jammed inside a cybernetic body, with a heart of steel. All emotions removed," the Doctor's voice was cold as he explained it to her and Zana.
"Why no emotions?" Zana asked softly.
He looked down at her sadly, "Because it hurts."
"I demand to know, Lumic. These people, who were they?" The president's voice boomed.
Everyone watched him eagerly as he listened to Mr. Lumic's response, but much to their dismay, nothing else was said. That was until the metallic voice of the Cybermen filled the air. Zana reached down and gripped the Doctor's hand, fear filling her. These creatures were humans once...now they were nothing but a brain in a metal suit.
"We have been upgraded."
"Into what?" The Doctor demanded, lacing his fingers together with Zana's, knowing that she was afraid.
"The next level of mankind. We are Human point two. Every citizen will receive a free upgrade. You will become like us."
The president stepped forward, looking at all the Cybermen in the room, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for what's been done to you but listen to me. This experiment ends tonight."
"Upgrading is compulsory."
"And if I refuse?"
"Don't," the Doctor warned sternly.
The president ignored him, "What if I refuse?"
"I'm telling you, don't!"
"What happens if I refuse?"
"Then you are not compatible."
"What happens then?"
"You will be deleted."
Screams filled the air as one of the Cybermen gripped the president's shoulder, electrocuting him the in process. The Doctor pulled Zana away from the group of hysterical people, making sure Rose followed close behind. Pete was calling out for Jackie, but he was barely heard over the screams of the people who the Cybermen got their hands on. The Doctor, Rose, and Zana jumped through the broken window, but that's when all sense came back to Zana. She let go of the Doctor's hand and tried to rush back inside, but the Doctor was quick to grab her.
"There's nothing we can do!" He exclaimed.
"My parents are in there!" She shouted.
"And so's my mum!" Rose added.
"They're not your parents! Come on!" He grabbed Rose's hand and pulled her away, leaving Zana to follow. A line of Cybermen blocked the three of them from running across the lawn, so they turned and rushed towards the other side of the house. Much to Rose's shock, Pete came through a broken window, just as they had.
"Quick! Quick!" Rose shouted to him, making him follow them.
"Pete, is there a way out?" The Doctor asked quickly.
"The side gates. Who are you? How do you know so much? Zana, who is this?" Pete questioned her, making her frown in confusion before remembering what her mother had told her earlier.
"You wouldn't believe it in a million years," the Doctor told him just as more Cybermen cut them off. Zana moved closer to the Doctor, dread filling her as two people rushed towards the group.
"Who's that?" Rose frowned
"Get behind me!" Mickey, along with another man, stepped in front of them and opened fire on the Cybermen. It didn't really surprise Zana when the bullets just bounced off, but it still made the Cybermen stop in their tracks.
"Oh my God, look at you!" Rose pulled Mickey into a hug. "I thought I'd never see you again!"
"Yeah. No offense, sweetheart, but who the hell are you?" Mickey informed, making Zana frown.
"Rose!" A different Mickey rushed forward. "That's not me. That's like the other one."
"Oh, as if things weren't bad enough, there's two Mickey's," the Doctor muttered, making Zana roll her eyes.
"It's Ricky," he informed, glancing over at Zana. "You must be parallel Zana, then."
"It would seem that way," she nodded, holding a hand, but he ignored it.
"But there's more of them," Mickey informed, bringing her attention back to him.
"We're surrounded," Rose shook her head.
"Put the guns down. Bullets won't stop them," the Doctor told them, but the blonde man that was with Ricky and Mickey opened fire once more. "No! Stop shooting, now. We surrender! Hands up. There's no need to damage us. We're good stock. We volunteer for the upgrade program. Take us to be processed."
"You are rogue elements," the Cyberman's voice made Zana shudder. Mickey stepped closer to her, which she was grateful for. She was so glad he was okay. He stepped in front of her, standing in the way of the Cybermen.
"But we surrender," the Doctor frowned at the Cyberman's words.
"You are incompatible."
"But this is a surrender!"
"You will be deleted."
"But we're surrendering! Listen to me, we surrender!"
"You are inferior. Man will be reborn as Cyberman, but you will perish under maximum deletion," Zana gasped as the Cybermen marched towards them, arms outreached. "Delete. Delete. Delete!"
A/N: Ooops. I was supposed to have this done last weekend...sorry...