Chapter LXX
Mira's POV
Skaro.
Again.
Suddenly everything was falling into place. People went missing in the sewers; in those very sewers where they had found that green thing. And then Diagoras, who was sending people right in there, feeling superior to his fellow humans and shell-shocked at the same time, selling his soul not to the devil but-
Daleks.
For a moment she felt utterly frozen as she stared in his dark eyes. Daleks. It seemed to be a universal law that a species - creatures like them would always survive. Hide in some deep, dark hole just to creep up again when one would expect it the least. There presence looming silently over everything, even at most peaceful times, like a dark, cold shadow.
She opened her mouth to say something, but before she could do so the Doctor jumped up and ran off.
"Come on!" she heard him yell.
"But if that's from Skaro," she hurried after him, "I assume it didn't fly here on its own. So..."
"So?" he asked, but didn't pause for her to speak on. "We have to find Martha."
"What are they up to now?" she said, knowing exactly that they both were thinking the same about who 'they' were.
"How should I know?" he yelled without looking back, and threw open the door to the backstage area.
"You fought-" she said and almost ran into his back as he suddenly stopped. Then she heard the turmoil in the backstage area.
"Oh, that face, I ain't never going to sleep," a woman, standing in front of the Doctor, said absolutely horrified.
"Where is she? Where's Martha?" he yelled at no one in particular.
"I don't know. She ran off the stage," Tallulah replied.
Suddenly she could hear the pig squeals again, and he stormed past her, into the room they had entered from the sewers. "Martha!"
Then she saw it. The lid covering the entrance wasn't put back on properly. They had done it properly earlier when they had emerged from the sewers, hadn't they?
"Where are you going?" Tallulah demanded to know as he started to remove the lid.
"They've taken her," he said between gritted teeth.
"Who's taken her? What're you doing?" Tallulah didn't let go of it.
"No one, Tallulah, just leave it to that, please," she tried to intervene and followed him.
"I ain't no child!" Tallulah said indignantly.
"No. But sometimes ignorance is bliss. Most important lesson in live," she yelled back up, only to find that Tallulah was preparing to follow them.
"I said, what the hell are you doing?" Tallulah yelled down and a moment later she climbed down the ladder as well.
"No, no, no, no, no way. You're not coming," the Doctor fell in and it was clear to hear that he was not in the mood for discussions.
"Tell me what's going on," Tallulah insisted.
"Tallulah, trust me, you don't want to know," she tried to convince her once more.
"Yeah, there's nothing you can do. So just go back," the Doctor added, staring in the darkness of the tunnels as if searching for something.
Not that she didn't know exactly what he was looking out for. She tried to concentrate, to figure out if there was an alien presence nearby, not an easy task with someone as agitated and emotional as Tallulah next to her.
"Look, whoever's taken Martha, they could've taken Laszlo, couldn't they?" Tallulah said now.
"Tallulah, you're not safe down here," he replied.
"Then that's my problem. Come on. Which way?" she asked.
Well, she certainly had a point here, but still. She just hoped Tallulah wouldn't freak out and put them all in danger. But she seemed determined to find Laszlo, already walking off in one of the tunnels.
"Fine. This way," the Doctor said defeated.
Doctor's POV
His mind was racing. Skaro. Would it never be over? Never stop? Of course, it didn't have to mean that Daleks were here, but this genetically engineered thing must have gotten here somehow. Mira had and hinted at it and was right - he was almost certain of it, yet he refused to believe it with every fibre of his being.
"They are here," Mira's whispering pulled him out of his thoughts. It was almost inaudible, and there was no way Tallulah could have heard it. He himself didn't hear anything yet that sounded like a Dalek, but he exactly new that Mira didn't need to rely on her hearing. The Daleks were alive, and she must be able to feel the hatred that seemed to be the only emotion they would ever be able to experience.
"When you say, they've taken her, who's they exactly?" Tallulah asked, completely unaware of what was going on. "And who are you anyway? I never asked."
He tried to shush her; as much as he appreciated curiosity and questions, now was not the time for it.
"Okay, okay," she replied, as loud as before.
"Shush, shush, shush, shush, shush, shush, shush," he tried it again, gesturing at her as well, and this time he saw the shadow of a Dalek cast on the wall ahead. It was unmistakable, with the eyestalk and the distinctive shape.
"I mean you're handsome and all-" Tallulah continued.
Humans, he thought, grabbed her, put his hand over her mouth to finally silence her and pulled her with him into an alcove. He watched how the Dalek passed them and was gone again. Then he released her. He hardly realised that Mira was standing next to him as he whispered under his breath, "No, no, no, no, no, no, no. They survived. They always survive while I lose everything."
"That metal thing? What was it?" Tallulah asked.
For a moment, just a very short moment, he envied her. He envied her tiny little human brain, the few years her life lasted so far, and being so completely unaware of the Daleks and the war between them and him, his people, that seemingly would never end. Not as long as he and at least one of them was still alive. She would most likely never see what horrors he had seen, and certainly never have to do what he had done.
But this feeling of envy passed as quick as it had come over him, leaving nothing but anger and oncoming rage.
"It's called a Dalek," he hissed between gritted teeth. "And it's not just metal, it's alive."
"You're kidding me," Tallulah replied.
"Does it look like I'm kidding?" he snapped and turned his head to her. He vaguely realised Mira's hand in his – realising it just enough to make a conscious effort to not instinctively pull his hand back. "Inside that shell is a creature born to hate, whose only thought is to destroy everything and everyone that isn't a Dalek too. It won't stop until it's killed every human being alive."
"But if it's not a human being, that kind of implies it's from outer space," Tallulah said, realisation in her voice. "Yet again, that's a no with the kidding. Boy. Well, what's it doing here, in New York?"
He couldn't give her an answer. Yet.
But there was something else he knew for certain. Pigmen were one thing, Daleks however a whole new level of danger. "Every second you're down here, you're in danger," he said to Tallulah. "I'm taking you back right now."
But, as they turned around a corner and before Tallulah could protest, she started screaming. A moment later he saw the reason for it, one of the pigmen was standing there.
He immediately approached him, seeing that Mira stayed behind with Tallulah, as if to protect her.
"Where's Martha?" he yelled at him. "What have you done with her? What have you done with Martha?"
"I didn't take her," the man said and tried to hide his face.
"He's not hostile," he heard Mira, who had left her place at Tallulah's side. "Who are you? What are you doing here?"
"Don't look at me," the pigman said, still trying to hide his face.
"Do you know where she is?" Tallulah fell in.
"Stay back! Don't look at me!" the pigman yelled.
"What happened to you?" he asked.
"They made me a monster."
"Who did?"
"The masters."
"The Daleks," he said bitterly. "Why?"
"They needed slaves," the pigman explained. "They needed slaves to steal more people so they created us. Part animal, part human. I escaped before they got my mind, but it was still too late."
"Do you know what happened to Martha?" he asked. He just had to find her. Alive and well.
"They took her. It's my fault. She was following me."
"Were you in the theatre?" Tallulah asked now.
"Yes."
"Why? Why were you there?" she wanted to know.
"I never wanted you to see me like this," the pigman replied, and suddenly he knew who it was.
"Why me?" Tallulah asked, not quite getting it. "What I got to do with this? Were you following me? Is that why you were there?"
Finally, the man turned around, looking at Tallulah. "Yes."
He felt Mira's hand on his arm, leading him a few steps away.
"So, what now?" she asked him quietly.
"We have to stop them," he replied, being aware of the hardly suppressed anger in his voice.
She looked him straight in the eyes for a long moment, whilst he heard Tallulah and Laszlo in the background. For a moment the lost and weary expression which had filled her eyes ever since the void ship had been destroyed had vanished and was replaced by a fascinating look of utter determination, and yes, even a glimmer of that unyielding hope he had seen seen in them before. More precisely he had seen it there for the first time as he had lost the TARDIS on Kroptor. Then she looked past him at Tallulah and Laszlo, and as her eyes met his again it was gone, leaving him unsure if it had not only been the light playing tricks at him.
"I'm with you," she said, "But we have to get them out of here. Too dangerous. Next thing is to find out with how many we're dealing. And what they want."
"Sounds like we actually have a plan," he said. He didn't quite crack a smile, and he had a hard time to fight the urge to just hug her. Normally he wouldn't think twice, but after their conversation in the console room he was feeling strangely self-conscious about these things. Instead he just took and squeezed both her hands for a short moment and then he turned around to Laszlo.
"Laszlo, can you show me where they are?"
"They'll kill you," Laszlo replied.
"If we don't stop them, they'll kill everyone."
"Then follow me."
Mira's POV
Laszlo was leading the way. He claimed to know where the Daleks were, and as soon as they got there he and Tallulah would have to leave. It was more than enough that they had Martha. A few minutes later they all crouched behind a corner, watching a large group of pigmen with some people, prisoners, Martha and Frank among them.
The pigmen seemed to be nervous, but she couldn't figure out why.
"What're they doing? What's wrong? What's wrong?" she heard Frank say to Martha.
Suddenly, a Dalek was approaching. "Silence. Silence."
His cold, screaming voice cut through the air, right into her very soul.
"What the hell is that?" she could Martha hear. Of course, she had never met them before. Oh, they should have gone back to the TARDIS.
No.
Whatever the Daleks wanted here, they certainly were about to change the history of humanity. It had been right to come here, but nevertheless, she just wished they had gone back to the TARDIS and headed on to the dinosaurs.
"You will form a line. Move! Move!" the Dalek screamed.
"Just do what it says, everyone, okay? Just obey," Martha said, showing an incredible amount of courage.
"The female is wise. Obey!"
"Report," another Dalek appeared.
"These are strong specimens. They will help the Dalek cause," the first Dalek reported as commanded. "What is the status of the Final Experiment?"
"The Dalekanium is in place. The energy conductor is now complete," the other Dalek replied.
"Then I will extract prisoners for selection," the first Dalek said and the pigmen dragged one of the prisoners, an older man, forward.
"Intelligence scan, initiate," the Dalek screamed and held his sucker arm onto the man's face. "Reading brain waves. Low intelligence."
"You calling me stupid?" the man asked.
"Silence! This one will become a pig slave. Next."
"No, let go of me," the man yelled as the pigmen dragged him away. "I'm not becoming one of them. No! No."
"Intelligence scan. Initiate," the Dalek continued.
She turned her head to Laszlo, who had started to explain. "They're divided into two groups. High intelligence and low intelligence. The low intelligence are taken to become pig slaves like me."
"Well, that's not fair," Tallulah said, again just a bit too loud.
"Shush," the Doctor tried to silence her.
"You're the smartest guy I ever dated," Tallulah continued, completely ignoring him.
"And the others?" the Doctor asked.
"They're taken to the laboratory."
"Why? What for?"
"I don't know," Laszlo replied. "The masters only call it the Final Experiment."
"What is this final experiment?" she wondered. "Do they need more Daleks?"
She turned her head again and watched the Dalek proceed with his scans. He had just scanned Frank, attesting him superior intelligence, and now continued with Martha.
"Intelligence scan, initiate. Superior intelligence. This one will become part of the Final Experiment."
"You can't just experiment on people. It's insane! It's inhuman!" Martha yelled at the Dalek.
"We are not human. Prisoners of high intelligence will be taken to the transgenic laboratory."
"Transgenic?" she repeated, looking at the Doctor.
"Look out, they're moving!" he said, instead of replying to her question.
A moment later Laszlo and Tallulah were on their way, but the Doctor stayed in place.
"Doctor. Doctor, quickly!" Laszlo said.
"I'm not coming," the Doctor replied, "I've got an idea. You go."
"Laszlo, come on," Tallulah urged.
"Can you remember the way?" Laszlo asked her.
"Yeah, I think so."
"Then go, please."
"But Laszlo, you got to come with me," Tallulah said.
"Where would I go?" Laszlo replied. "Tallulah, I'm begging you. Save yourself. Just run. Just go. Go."
After a moment of hesitation, Tallulah left.
Her look fell on the group of people and pigmen, lead by the Daleks. There was only one way to find out where they were going. The Doctor seemed to have a similar idea, he and Laszlo joined the humans, just before she could suggest to follow, but maybe a bit more discretely.
"Just keep walking," the Doctor said to Martha, who had just seen them.
"Oh, I'm so glad to see you!" she replied.
"Yeah, well, you can kiss me later. You too, Frank, if you want," the Doctor replied, and she could only shake her head; but with a slight, lob-sided smile.
Martha's POV
They followed the Daleks, who gladly didn't realise they now had three extra prisoners, into some sort of laboratory. She had to admit that they had done a good job – the whole room was stuffed with devices, pipes and hoses between them, filled with liquids. She counted three Daleks, plus one who was behaving quite strange.
"Report," one of the Daleks yelled.
"Dalek Sec is in the final stage of evolution," another one answered.
"Scan him. Prepare for birth."
"Evolution?" the Doctor whispered next to her.
"Birth? What the fuck?!" she could Mira hear on her other side.
"What's wrong with old Charlie boy over there?" she asked and pointed at the Dalek in the middle who was shuffling and shifting quite erratic, smoke coming from his shell.
"Ask them," the Doctor whispered in her ear.
"What, me?" she whispered, even though she felt more like yelling the words at him. "Don't be daft."
She had seen those creatures above London, and she would certainly not step forward. Why wasn't he going?
"I don't exactly want to get noticed. Ask them what's going on," he answered her unspoken question.
He had a point, hadn't he? And he certainly wouldn't need a coward with him in the future. Everything in her screamed she should run away, get out of here as fast as she could. But, then again, it was for him, and she didn't want to disappoint him. He hadn't let her down, he had saved her on New Earth, he had saved the whole planet from the Carrionites. Just as she had brought herself to step forward, she heard Mira saying, "Martha, stay back."
She watched Mira approach the Daleks without hesitation, her posture straight as if she owned the place, as if representing all of mankind.
"Mira!" the Doctor hissed, but it was too late to stop her. "Oh, what's she up to know? When they scan her they'll keep her!"
Why would they keep her? But before she could think further about this, her attention was drawn to Mira and the Daleks.
"Daleks!" Mira addressed them and stopped just in front of them, her arms crossed now. All of them – apart from the smoking one - spun around, their eye-stalks pointing at her. "You illegally set foot – well, wheel – on this planet. I demand to know why."
"Who are you?" a Dalek yelled at her, eyeing her with his eyestalk.
"I am Mira Rhodan. I guess it's save to say I speak in the interest of all mankind right now. And you will tell me now what you are doing here!"
The first Dalek scanned her, just as he had scanned herself and the others down in the sewer. Mira didn't even flinch.
"Abnormal DNA," he yelled. "Mutation. Increased cellular activity. Traces of higher dimensional radiation. Superior intelligence. You will be essential part of the final experiment!"
"Well then," she sighed, shifting her weight to one of her right leg as if getting bored of standing there, "Get to the point. What is your final experiment?"
Martha was bound to admire her in this moment, her voice calm like that, her whole demeanour self confident and almost casual, whilst she herself was shaking with nerves.
Suddenly the scales fell from her eyes. Mira was behaving like him. The Doctor couldn't have done it any better. So was she not human after all? There was no way a human would face those Daleks like that. Without even a hint of fear in their voice.
"You will bear witness," another of the Daleks yelled and got closer to her.
"To what?"
"This is the dawn of a new age."
"New age? Dawn of a new age? Not pompous at all, is it? Where's the rest of you anyway? Can't be all of you, can it?"
"We are the only four Daleks in existence, so the species must evolve a life outside the shell. The Children of Skaro must walk again."
Then the shell of the Dalek in the background stopped smoking and the light in his eyestalk went out. The casing opened, and, to her utter surprise, and a human figure struggled out. The shell closed again, and the figure – creature – straightened itself. His head was strangely malformed, and it looked a bit like his brain was out in the open. He had only one eye, which was looking through the room slightly disoriented.
"What is it?" she breathed and turned around, but the Doctor didn't answer.
"I am a human Dalek. I am your future," the creature stated.
Mira took a few steps forward, eyeing the creature up and down and finally broke the silence that had befallen the room. "My, my! A traitor to his own race," she said quietly, took a few steps to the side as if to examine this creature even closer, and then continued, "Is this what they've promised you, Diagoras?"
oneWhoReadsToMuch (Sorry, with dots parts of your name get automatically deleted) NeoMulder, bored411, Type40Tardis, Julia N SnowMiko: Thanks for leaving a review :-)
