Last of Their Kind

by ThyWanderer

Worn down from years of strife as the last of her kind, Madison once believed happiness was far from reach. Everything begins to change when she meets a man called the Doctor. As secrets and sorrows are shared between them, the pair finds comfort together amidst the stars. Madison can only hope that this time things will be different, even if the universe has other plans for her.

36. Chapter 36

Welcome back. I hope things have been good for everyone.

Enjoy the new chapter! Don't forget to leave a review after if you can.

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Chapter 36

Andy brought over a cup carrier with different coffees for them as the three sat at a round table in the corner of the café. It was a rather fancy café, with crystal chandeliers and countertops made out of marble. The chairs themselves were decorated in gold and the table was made out of pristine granite. It seemed that they truly were in a high-class society. Even a small café was made up to be something to be viewed in richness. It made Madison wonder just how expensive it was to live in a society like this. How did the lower class even manage? And for that matter, how wealthy was Andy? He wore a suit, though it didn't seem tailored to him. He was also lacking the silver earpieces. Maybe he only dressed to look like everyone else and he was just like her father back home, not a penny to his name.

"I'm not sure where to even begin. Something I think the three of you are feeling, too," Andy said as he sat down at the table. "I'm sure being in another universe doesn't help matters much." This statement clearly shocked Rose and the Doctor. While Rose blinked in surprise, the Doctor held a heavy frown and threw Madison a sharp look of reproach. She ignored his gaze as she grabbed her coffee and took a sip. The warm richness of the drink helped settle her nerves somewhat.

"You weren't supposed to know that," the Doctor muttered, drumming his fingers on the table now.

"There are no secrets amongst Mer-Kind," Andy answered easily, taking his own coffee from the carrier. Taking a large gulp, he sighed as he sat his drink back down on the table. "Not that we can help it. Our shared link makes it hard to keep secrets."

"So, wait, you're Mer? Who are you?" Rose asked, still confused.

"Well, I guess you could say, I'm Madison's dad," Andy replied with a crooked smile. "Just one from another universe. Which, now saying it out loud, sounds crazy doesn't it? Though I am excited to get to know people from another universe. I bet you three have loads of stories to tell. Gah, if only I had some pen and paper." He began patting his suit for something to write with. Madison couldn't help but smile fondly. He always did love jotting down everything new he came across. Or even his own thoughts when he had a new idea he wanted to try. The image of him hunched over his study desk and writing through all his journals crossed her mind.

"It's not good to have parallel worlds knowing about each other," the Doctor said, making Andy frown in disappointment.

"You're Maddie's dad?" Rose looked Andy up and down. "But you're so young. You practically look like her brother."

"Ah, well, that's Mer genetics for you. Our bodies' outward appearance doesn't change past twenty-five. It's both a blessing and a curse. Can't tell you how many times I get told I'm 'too young to understand'. Or how awkward it can be for my Madison and I having to be cousins all the time," Andy explained with a humorous smile on his face.

Now Rose was curious, wondering about the differences between the parallel people. "There's a Madison in this world? Where's she at?"

"Doing humanitarian work down in Africa. There was a lot of flooding and Bridget was already down there . . ." Andy trailed off as he seemed uncertain about his words. "That's why I was so confused seeing you here. But . . . guess the other universe thing explains that."

Madison watched as Andy fidgeted where he sat. She knew this was a sign of him thinking about what to say. When it came to important things, he always took the time to think over his words carefully. Never did he wish to say the wrong thing. Though, this didn't always work for him as sometimes the wrong thing just happened to come out. He wasn't as good as her mother at keeping a sharp wit about conversations. In thinking of her mother, Madison felt a sharp pang rip through her. She had been an open book for Andy, but for him, she had only gotten the basics. Her mother . . .

"The flu . . . it still got to Mother in the end," Madison spoke up quietly, seeing all eyes shift to her then. She saw the Doctor's eyes grow soft as he gazed at her. A look of empathy from him.

"It did," Andy sighed, shaking his head as his eyes grew sombre and his demeanour heavy. He fiddled with the coffee cup in front of him. "Not a day goes by that I don't miss her . . ." Then, just like her father would, Andy slapped on a smile. "But that's okay. I still have my Madison, and, well, the others. They keep me company. And one day, I'll be able to be with my love again." There was a more peaceful manner from him now as he sipped his coffee again.

"'Others'?" Staring at him, Madison felt herself slowly tensing. That word could mean nothing. Absolutely nothing. But the way he said it and how he still seemed uncertain in his words . . .

Andy lifted his eyes from the table. That way he stared at her then, on the verge of speaking but still wary. Her father only ever looked this way when he was afraid of giving someone news that would be upsetting. Finally, he said, "I saw in your memories that you never found anyone." He reached over, taking her hand. "But here we did."

Her breath was caught in her throat. Her eyes went wide as her heart froze. "What?"

Andy smiled, patting her hand. "We found them, Madison. We found other Mer."

She didn't know what to say. Things felt halted in place as the idea of other Mer had been nothing more than a dream to her. But here . . . "How many?"

"There's forty-seven of us now."

Her mind was reeling. Forty-seven. There were forty-seven other Mer in the world. The idea of one Mer seemed wondrous, but forty-seven? It was beyond imagining. "How?"

"We kept looking. Found a family in Japan. Then there were a few in Africa. A couple had holed up in Denmark. Few more down in Brazil." Andy kept talking about all the places they had found Mer scattered around the world. So many different places. So many Mer. All of them kept in contact with one another after Andy found them, and their numbers were still growing with new life added to these families.

A smile slowly grew on Madison's face as she listened to it all. It all sounded . . . "That all sounds wonderful. I'm so happy for you. All of you," she said, holding onto Andy's hand tightly. "You really did it. You found them."

"We did it. Well, my Madison and me, but still, you in another life I guess you can say." Andy smiled as well, giving her hand a squeeze. "But that's not all." She watched him, seeing that this appeared to be the part he had been wary to say. He shifted again before finally saying, "I saw your memory about David." She tensed and he nodded. "Madison here didn't keep her secret. She told David and the two of them started a family."

Now she was truly stunned. She didn't know what to say, let alone what to think about this information. She never would have thought David would accept her secret if it hadn't been for meeting him again a while back. The 'what if' had been in the back of her mind since that meeting with David. Such as: what if she had actually told him during her time together with him out in the west? It seemed the Madison here had been brave enough to actually fulfil this 'what if' scenario. She had told her David and they had children together. In another life . . . David and she had a family. Madison ignored the twisted pang of regret that sliced through her as she set her mind on knowing it was just a branching life from her own. She had made her choice with David in her life and now she lived with those choices. And they weren't such bad choices. She had the Doctor in her life now and that made things all the better.

Speaking of the Doctor, she finally felt able to glance his way. He stared at her carefully, looking wary and uneasy. Wariness of how she was feeling with knowing this and how she was taking the news. Maybe even worried that she was upset by the revelation.

"I'm okay. Don't worry," she said in his mind, trying to reassure him about her state of mind. He didn't respond. Merely he lowered his gaze to the table and kept his focus on his untouched coffee. His expression was unreadable and this worried her. She was anxious about what he was thinking, but she kept herself calm, knowing she would discuss what was on his mind once they had a moment together.

"It's so strange. Thinking how things can be so different here," came Rose's voice, snapping everyone's attention to her. The blonde's brows were furrowed, deep in thought as she stared at Andy. "Makes you wonder . . ."

"Makes you wonder if all those 'what ifs' in life are just a bunch of different universes?" Andy said for her, smiling lightly.

"Yeah," Rose mumbled, still seeming at a loss.

"And you're here now, living in one of those 'what ifs'." There was a spark of excitement seen in Andy's eyes. Something Madison was used to seeing from her own father. He always did love anything new and adventurous to behold. "You're looking for your father, right?" he asked Rose then.

"H-how did you know?" Rose blinked, looking at Madison and then back to Andy. "Oh, you read her memories. Right. Could you help us, then?"

"We don't need help. It's not good to get you involved," the Doctor spoke up, looking sharply at Andy.

"Well, it's too late for that," Andy said as he let go of Madison's hand finally and picked up his coffee. He swirled his drink before taking a gulp. "I'm already involved and I want to help. So, nothing you can do to stop me." Andy kept drinking his coffee while the Doctor raised a brow.

"I can see now where your daughter gets her stubbornness."

There was a cheeky grin from Andy as he set down his cup. "Well, it does tend to run in the family. But anyway," he waved a hand as he became more serious, "you'll need help getting around a place like this. Britain isn't as welcoming as it used to be back in the day, and I doubt it's like anything you've come from judging by how you're dressed."

"What's wrong with how we're dressed?" Rose questioned as she frowned and looked down at her pink jacket, plain t-shirt, trousers, and trainers.

"Not sure if you've noticed, but only the lower class dress like that. Though, he's not so bad," answered Andy, waving vaguely towards the Doctor. "But you'll have a hard time travelling through the different districts without the right credentials or passes. And you can't gain access to the footpaths to the upper districts without going through the Minders, which require the right EarPods and whatnot. Though if you have a work visa, that could help. But the military affirmative has been upgraded in the last month due to riot strikes and—and I'm not making any sense, am I?" Seeing the bewildered expressions from the trio, Andy sighed as he rubbed his neck. Then he grinned lightly. "But, lucky for you three, I have a way to get to Pete Tyler."

"How's that?" Rose asked.

"Well, Pete is actually a good friend of mine. I've known him for years."

"You have?"

Seeing Rose's keen interest, Andy smiled and explained, "A couple of decades ago, I was in Great Britain as a teacher. Pete was one of many kids in my class. But he was one of the clever ones. He figured out all by himself that I was older than I appeared to be. Saw a picture of me in a history book and he put it together. He confronted me outside of school, had all sorts of questions for me, and, well, seeing how he was genuinely just curious, I decided to go ahead and tell him everything."

"That wasn't very safe," Madison commented, surprised by this. Her father had been careless from time to time, but to reveal their secret so easily?

"Yeah, my Madison said the same thing," Andy chuckled, giving a crooked smile. "It turned out for the best, though. He'd come around to talk with the others and hang around as a kid. When we moved he kept in touch, writing and phoning wherever we were. He came up with ideas where we Mer could group up without bringing attention to ourselves. Safe Havens, he'd call them. Then I helped him with his Vitex company."

"You helped start Vitex?" Rose questioned in surprise.

"Eh, some of it, anyway. I gave him a loan to help him get started and gave advice when he asked for it. I'm not exactly supportive of him lying about it being a 'health drink', but getting him and Jackie up off the ground felt like the right thing to do." Finishing the last of his coffee, Andy pushed away his cup before folding together his hands on the table. "Pete is having a party tonight for Jackie's birthday, so I've been invited to come over. I can bring Madison, act like you're my Madison who's come back early, and then you two I can say are other new Mer that I've found and he won't question it."

"Does Jackie know about you being Mer?" asked Madison.

"No. Pete and I both agreed that Jackie isn't the best at keeping secrets. She's known to gossip," Andy replied.

"Yeah, that was probably for the best. She's not known to be the brightest, either," muttered the Doctor, earning a look from Rose. The Doctor sat up straighter in his seat as he held a steady gaze on Andy. "I'd rather Rose and I get into the party a different way. If we're strange guests, we're less likely to get any information out of anyone."

"Why do you want information? If you don't mind me asking," Andy said as he met the Doctor's gaze evenly.

"I want to look into this Cybus Industries. Just do some digging."

"Heh, you too, huh?" Andy nodded as the Doctor blinked in confusion. "Yeah, you're not the only one. It's the reason I'm back in Great Britain. Pete didn't tell me all the details. Was afraid of someone getting ahold of our transmissions. But I've got the gist of what he wants. He doesn't trust the company, and, frankly, neither do I. All that power under one person? That sort of thing can warp a person's mind. And Lumic certainly let it go to his head. Thinks he's the de-facto world ruler going by the way he handles his company and all the politics he gets himself involved in. They even say he had the Prime Minister of the United States of Mexico assassinated over a simple disagreement. But, well . . ." Andy glanced around the cafe edgily then, seeming to make certain no one was close by. "It's hard to say if that's all true. Though my gut feeling tells me it is."

The Doctor, Rose, and Madison all shared a glance before looking back to Andy. "Well, after meeting your daughter, I've learned to trust a Mer's gut feeling," said the Doctor.

Andy smiled briefly at this statement. "Well, if you want to get into the party another way, I can always help you get in with the staff. They're always hiring and I'm certain they'll take the help with how big the party will be. I heard even the President will be there tonight. And being staff, they'll provide you with the black-tie outfits you'll need. Though, Madison, I'll have to take you shopping if we want to get you in. Jackie won't like anyone outside of the dress code."

"I'm afraid I don't have any money," Madison told him.

"That's all right. I have quite a bit of funds saved up, so consider it a gift from your dad." Andy winked at her, making her smile fondly.

"All right, besides the crazy idea of Britain having a 'President', why would we want to be staff? We could be anyone. The Doctor has this thing called 'psychic paper', so we can get in by ourselves. We could even pass off as celebrities," Rose said.

"If you want to know what's going on, work in the kitchen," the Doctor and Andy spoke at the same time. Both of them blinked in surprise at one another before both shared a bright smile. Rose glanced between the two before huffing and crossing her arms, appearing none too pleased with the idea of being a kitchen aid.

XxXxXxXxXx

Madison walked towards the back of the group as they made their way through the city. She carried her shopping bag in hand which held her dress for tonight's party. They had just finished shopping and were now simply exploring around until it was time to get to the Tyler's place. Andy and Rose were far ahead, both animatedly talking about the differences between the two Earths. Both of them were excited in listening to what the other had to say. The Doctor had long since given up on trying to keep the two from talking. It couldn't be stopped. Madison knew how her father was. He was just too curious to keep quiet and not ask a thousand questions. Rose was similar in many ways. Putting the two together just called for shenanigans to ensue. It led to neither one of them paying attention to much else. Especially to what Madison and the Doctor were doing.

Speaking of the Doctor, Madison glanced towards him for what felt like the hundredth time since the café. Other than trying to get Andy and Rose to not discuss things, the Doctor had been uncomfortably silent. It worried Madison what he was thinking. It was clear something had him upset. Though what that was, she doubted he would admit it out loud.

"What's troubling you, Doctor?" she asked him in his mind. She saw him give her a sideways glance as he walked beside her, then gazed ahead once more. His hands in his pockets and brows furrowed in a permanently brooding mood. "Please don't pretend everything is fine. It's transparent that you are perturbed." She heard a mental sigh from him and watched as his shoulders slowly lessened their tense state.

"This world . . . it has the perfect life for you. Family, friends, your people: they're all here and waiting, with arms wide open. You could have all of this . . .," he finally replied, his voice faint in her head as though he were scared to dare say them.

It stunned her that he would think this. Hadn't he been saying this world wasn't theirs? Why would he think of the possibility of her staying? Unless he thought the 'gingerbread house' was too tempting to her and that she would want to. Shaking her head, she walked closer to him and linked their arms together. "Doctor, this isn't my world. You even said it yourself."

"I know. That's not the problem. The thing is . . . I can't give you any of this back in our world. The Madison here has a family, freedom, and you . . . you have nothing." The Doctor's eyes were sombre as he looked at her. It was clear his hearts were heavy as his shoulders slumped. The swirl of sadness in his eyes pained her own heart.

Making them come to a stop, she stepped in front of him, gently pulling his hands out of his pockets. She held them, softly thumbing his skin as she tried to get him to look into her eyes. "Doctor, my people are dead. There's no getting around that. Yes, they exist in this life, and this makes me very happy knowing that in some form, somewhere, they're alive. But they're still gone for me, and nothing will ever change that. But that doesn't mean that I'm unhappy or unfilled. I have a wonderful life back home. You and Rose, Jackie and Mickey, you all are my new family. All of you make me so happy. Don't ever think otherwise." Seeing how the Doctor still avoided her gaze, she lifted a hand to grab his chin and make their eyes meet. "Do you know what I have that this world could never give me?" He frowned, shaking his head. "You. I have you in my life. You're the best thing to ever happen to me, Doctor, and I wouldn't give you up for anything."

Slowly, the Doctor's eyes lit up. He grew the warmest smile as he pulled her closer to him. "And you're the best thing to happen to me," he spoke aloud, making her heart flutter happily. Quickly he cupped the side of her face and gave her a deep kiss. When they parted, both of their faces were flushed, but neither one dropped their bright smiles. "Sorry I doubted us," he whispered.

"You're fine. If the roles were reversed, I would have worried about the same thing."

"Hey you two, are you coming or what?" called out Rose, making the two look over to see the blonde and Andy both stopped up ahead and stared at them. While Rose seemed perplexed as to why the two of them had stopped, Andy smiled at them and seemed pleased by something. Knowing her father, Andy was most likely happy to see her with someone and not be alone. She remembered her father had always worried about that, her being alone in the world. Seeing her with someone must have been a relief for Andy. Especially with knowing that in her universe there was no Mer for her to return to.

"Sorry, we were distracted," Madison said, stepping around to stand beside the Doctor. She kept hold of one of his hands, not wanting to let go of him anytime soon.

"We can see that," Rose replied, rolling her eyes lightly in amusement. "Andy says we should hurry, though."

"It's a long way off to Pete's place and we have several checkpoints to get through," Andy explained as Madison and the Doctor joined the other two. Together, the four of them walked faster through the shopping centre, heading off into the city.

XxXxXxXxXx

As night just began to settle, they finally arrived at the Tyler mansion. It was massive, built up on a hill and out in the elitist district of the city. A place where large houses were built with a good portion of land for each. Some homes were so large they even had their own private forests. It was not much different from the elites in their world. Though the zeppelins being anchored down in people's backyards was certainly different. The Tyler mansion didn't seem to have one, though, as its yards were filled with gardens instead. Madison watched the different limos arrive with guests as they in Andy's car pulled off to the side driveway. There were other cars parked here as well. Sleek, expensive vehicles meant for looks alone. Andy's car stood out being rusty in some places and having dents in others.

Andy led them to the back of the mansion where the kitchens were located. There he introduced the Doctor (going by John Smith as an alias) and Rose to the head chef for new staff. The chef was immediately grateful as two of the kitchen staff hadn't arrived, so he put the Doctor and Rose to work right away. It also seemed to help that it was Andy suggesting the two. It appeared as if Andy's word was considered valuable in the Tyler home. Madison even noticed some of the staff greeted Andy as if he were in charge. It made her wonder if Andy possibly had a bigger role in Pete's life than he originally told them. It seemed that way so far. Then again, it could be that the staff wished to treat Pete's close friend with as much respect as possible.

After using an empty room to change into the evergreen cocktail dress and flat sandals that Andy had bought her, she stuffed away her clothes into the shopping bag and hid them in the room. She hoped that she could return later for her clothing. She wasn't comfortable in this dress. It showed off more skin than she was used to it being a short dress that hugged her body and all. It even had a slit running up the dress to show her skin up above her knee and had only one short sleeve to keep it up, leaving her left arm exposed. She hoped this dress was appropriate enough. Rose had been the one insisting on her getting this dress in particular. Something about 'showing off the goods'. Madison had a feeling that Rose just wanted her to try something different for once and, well, she couldn't argue too much. It was nice to wear something more modern. Even if it did feel too revealing.

So, she left the room and joined the growing number of guests. Decorative lights were hung everywhere. People were laughing and crowding around where the photographers were taking pictures. Glasses were being clinked together in cheers. Small starters were being served around the place, with some of it being caviar, something that always revolted her to no end. There was a piano being played off to the side in one of the grander study rooms. She looked for Andy in hopes to know if there should be anything she needed to watch out for. She saw some of the guests who seemed to recognise her as they smiled in her direction and waved. She returned the gesture but didn't stop to make conversation with them. She feared saying something that would be out of character for the Madison living in this world. She didn't want to run into trouble in case she did, so she decided to stick to a corner of the room where she could view the party from a better angle. It was apparent that the highest celebrities had already shown up as groups of people were fawning over them. She wondered which one was the President.

"Champagne, madame?"

She glanced to her right, seeing the Doctor standing beside her now, holding a silver tray in his hand with a group of glasses balanced carefully on top. He had this half-bow pose going as he held out his tray to her. His eyes travelled up and down her body, and the brown of his irises seemed to grow a deeper shade as his gaze met hers. That look of desire in his eyes made her feel a pleasant warmth throughout her body. Ah, now she understood why Rose had been so firm in getting this dress. Madison smiled coyly at him as she took one of the glasses.

"Thank you," she said, keeping her voice low as she didn't want him to know how affected she was by his gaze alone. It wasn't polite to philander so openly. Especially during someone's birthday party. She held herself still as he scooted closer to her, standing right beside her now with the side of his body pressed against hers.

"You look ravishing," he whispered into her ear. His warm breath left pleasant hot trails down her bare shoulder.

"You don't look so bad yourself." She gave the tuxedo he wore a once-over. It brought out his best features, making him look as handsome as ever. And when he gave his usual grin, she couldn't help but think the outfit made him even foxier, too. "I do enjoy the bow tie," she mentioned casually as she reached up and adjusted it. She had to smirk when thinking back to his future face. Bow ties were most certainly going to be around much more often for him.

The Doctor's grin brightened briefly before he was back to thoughtful behaviour. He glanced around the room, nodding towards a man that had a small crowd around him. "According to Lucy, that man over there is the President of Great Britain."

Madison stared at the man, seeing he was an older gentleman with a very expensive suit. She watched as another man leaned over and whispered something into the President's ear. The President nodded curtly, making her aware that he was doing business even in the middle of a party. "Even he wears EarPods," she noted, not liking the idea of a world leader wearing these things. They were starting to become something almost ominous the more she saw people wearing them. She knew humans tended to follow along with trends and all that, but even this seemed to be going too far. She moved her gaze away from the man, searching the crowded room they were in. "Where's Rose?"

"Hmm . . . Ah, over there." The Doctor gestured in a distant direction, making them see Rose holding her own silver tray with starter food. She was dressed in a black and white waitress outfit. A short dress that showed off far too much leg in Madison's opinion. Rose looked in their direction, holding a disgruntled look as people took food from her tray. The Doctor waggled his fingers with a smirk at her while Madison gave the girl a sympathetic smile.

"She doesn't look too happy," Madison sighed. "I wish people around here didn't know this world's Madison, or else I would have suggested we could switch places."

"Nah, she's fine. Besides she could never pull off that dress," the Doctor commented lightly, giving Madison another sultry look.

"Be nice," she scolded him quietly, giving him a sharp eye of disapproval. "You're being rude again." He merely shrugged, still smirking like before.

His smirk fell when they heard Pete Tyler's voice echoing into the room from the foyer. Glancing at one another, the two carefully made their way out of the room and where the grand staircase was. Rose joined them much more hurriedly, clearly anxious to see her father alive and well. There they could see Pete addressing the crowd of guests, smiling pleasantly at them all. He was just as she remembered, if not much older now. It was odd seeing him dressed in a fine suit and tie, but given how much money he had now it was only fitting to match his lifestyle. Again, she spotted the EarPods on him and it made her stomach churn uneasily. She didn't want anything to happen to him like what occurred in their universe. Jackie, too, as she noticed the woman had her own EarPods as well. Madison glanced towards Rose after the two party hosts had finished speaking, seeing the look of longing on the girl's face. Oh, dear. Gingerbread house indeed. It seemed the blonde was starting to falter seeing Pete in person.

"Stay strong. Remember, he has his own life in this world," Madison whispered quietly to Rose as the music picked up and people began chatting away again.

"You can't stay. Even if there was some way of telling them," the Doctor muttered in agreement.

"Course I can't," Rose said, taking a breath and making herself lift her head to stay steady. "I've still got Mum at home, my real mum. I couldn't just leave her, could I? It's just . . ." She faltered again as she looked towards Pete and Jackie again. "They've got each other. Mum's got no one."

"She's got you. Those two haven't," the Doctor reminded her.

"They're missing out on something far greater than money could ever buy them," Madison said softly, reaching over to brush a strand of hair from Rose's face. "Remember, you're the greatest thing the Pete and Jackie from our world had ever created. Something this world will never have." This seemed to help Rose as the girl's mood lifted and she smiled lightly.

"Rose!" they heard Jackie squeal then, making the trio look over to see the woman bending down to scoop up a small dog. "Here's my little girl! Come to mummy." The woman was seen giving her doggie all sorts of kisses and affection. The Doctor suddenly snorted, snickering as he glanced back towards Rose beside him. Madison saw the heated glare Rose gave him, making his humour disappear in an instant.

"Sorry," he muttered. He cleared his throat. "We, ah, we—we should get back to work. Find out what we can about Cybus Industries." He shuffled away hurriedly while Rose scowled in his direction.

"You've definitely got your mother's glare down," Madison commented lightly as she and Rose shared a sly grin.

The two parted ways, going in different directions to mingle around the party. Though she hated being with such a large crowd of people, she went to speak with some of the ones who had waved at her earlier. Though it was immediately apparent that these people only wished to speak with her in hopes of getting in good with Pete and Andy. No matter what she said, the conversation always came back around to name-dropping and introducing them to Andy or Pete. Besides this annoyance, however, she still did manage to get information out of a few of them. Such as Andy being deeper into the Vitex company than he had admitted to. Apparently, he was Pete's right-hand man. Knowing her father, Andy probably didn't think this information would be important.

The other thing discussed was, surprisingly, the two staff members that hadn't shown up. Madison happened to hear two of the other waitresses discussing it. Apparently, the two that hadn't shown up were normally always on time and never missed a day's work. It made the two waitresses discuss other things, such as people who had gone missing out in the lower districts.

"Excuse me, but did you say people are going missing?" Madison asked the two politely. The two waitresses froze, apparently nervous to have been overheard talking by a guest. Giving the two a kind smile, she hoped to ease their worries by showing she wasn't like normal guests. "I don't mean to butt in. I'm just curious as I haven't heard about this over the news."

"Well, they don't want people to know, do they?" said the one waitress. The other shushed her friend immediately.

"I'm sorry, ma'am, we don't mean to bother your night," apologised the other waitress.

"You're not a bother at all. Please, I'd like to know," Madison said, hoping to persuade them to talk. The two glanced at one another nervously.

"It's been happening for a while now. People going out and never returning home," said one waitress.

"Or whole camps of homeless people disappearing in the middle of the night," said the other.

"But the military has been covering it up. Anyone who talks about it gets locked up, I've heard."

People missing. Military coverup. Never a good sign. Madison thanked the two before stepping away. She hurried back into the thick of the party, searching for the Doctor or Rose. Though there was no sign of either of them. Where had they run off to? Were they distracted by other things? Coming around to a more secluded part of the party, she spotted Andy and Pete in a corner. Both seemed to be in the middle of a heavy discussion. There was a troubled expression on Andy's face as he mostly listened to Pete, nodding his head every so often. Eventually, Andy mumbled something to Pete before walking away. Madison stepped back around the wall she had been hidden by, waiting for Andy to come over.

"What is it?" she asked the moment he came up close.

"It's worse than I thought and I think I need to get you and your friends out of here," Andy said quickly to her as he grabbed her arm and began leading her back into the denser crowd of guests. The noise from the loud conversations and the music covered up what Andy began muttering to her. "Lumic is planning on turning people into these metal . . . things. The President told him 'no', but knowing Lumic . . ."

"He'll do it anyway," Madison finished for Andy. She came to a halt, forcing him to stop as well. "You've seen my memories, though. You know what we do on our travels. We've handled things such as this before. We can help stop Lumic."

Andy rubbed at his neck, sighing. "Yes, I know . . . and I know that, no matter what I say, you'll want to help."

"Of course. I am my father's daughter, after all."

Andy soon was smiling softly. "You really are." Then, he sighed again, seeming at a loss for what to do next. "All right. We should get to that Doctor of yours and see what he thinks."

"Good idea. I need to tell him what I've learned." She explained to Andy the conversation she had with the two waitresses.

"Do you think the two are connected?"

"After travelling with the Doctor, I've learned that everything is connected some way or another."

She moved swiftly through the crowd now with Andy right behind her. Eventually, they found the Doctor. He was seen coming out of a back room in the mansion. His eyes searched hurriedly through the party. Madison saw right away that something had the Time Lord on edge and in distress. His mind soundlessly called out to her in a rush, desperate to get to her. She replied in turn in a much more calm manner, wanting to help him with whatever had troubled him. But when he turned to face her, he didn't appear relieved. Rather he pushed his way through the crowd, ignoring the glares he received as he came over to her and Andy. He grabbed her arm, holding her tightly.

"We've got to leave. Now. We need to get out of here," he said, his muttered words barely heard above the party's music. There was a sense of intense urgency from him as he guided her through the different guests, still not bothering to care as he pushed them aside without thought.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Madison asked him quickly, already searching for Rose through the mess of the mansion. If they needed to leave right away . . . She spotted the blonde walking through the crowd, going to a large window in the front room. Moving away from the Doctor, she made her way quickly to her friend. Only to halt beside Rose as she caught the sign of movement outside the window.

Out in the night, there were bright spotlights shining and aiming towards the mansion. They glared through the darkness, making her squint as she to see the people that were standing outside. At least, that was what she had thought seen moving outside on the lawn. But as her eyes adjusted to the blinding lights, she began noticing the movements were more irregular than that of humans. It was stiff and unyielding as the figures moved in formation. The way they moved together in unison, rigorous in posture, was unnatural and sent Madison's body on edge. As they grew closer to the mansion and she started to see them clearer, she could see their cumbersome bodies, metres tall and thick forms made of metal. From their heads to their toes, they were completely covered in heavy grey steel, making her realise with a start that these were robotic figures marching towards the mansion. Did this world have robots?

They had odd features for robots. Their heads had these round sides to their heads that looked like ears and thin metal pieces that connected into each ear, branching up to firmly attach to the top of the head. Thin black gap for a mouth . . . Tear-like shapes with black mesh eyes . . . A startling memory came forth and she remembered seeing this before. Back in the underground bunker in Utah of 2012. The metal head that had been ripped from a body. Though the head from the bunker had been different from these robotic forms, it still held similar features that were too uncanny to be called a coincidence. She felt the Doctor come up beside her, pressing himself close to the window and cupping his hands around his eyes to help him squint through the blinding spotlights.

"It's happening again," he breathed in alarm. "No, no, no. Not again."

"What'd you mean?" Rose asked.

"Do you know them?" questioned Andy as he too stood with them by the window.

"I've seen them before," the Doctor answered, eyes widening as the robotic forms came closer.

"What are they?" Madison asked him.

"Cybermen," the Doctor managed to say just before the chaos began.

Windows were heard being broken, the glass shattering upon impact, in other rooms throughout the mansion. The screams from the party guests were mixed with the sounds of heavy footfalls and steel joints clanking against one another. The floor beneath their feet trembled from the heavy weight of the robotic forms. Sound of their metal grinding together with every move was deafening amongst the panicking party. The Doctor grabbed Madison and Rose, yanking them back just as more of the robot figures burst through the front windows before them. It was a flurry of motion as everyone in the mansion was herded into a tight pack in the front of the home. The massive robot figures, these 'Cybermen', stood around them all in a perfect formation. Their tall forms and bulky bodies were menacing. Their soulless black mesh eyes stared vacantly at everyone, sending an unsettling chill down Madison's spine. With her gut twisting, she knew her instincts were telling her to run. It was obvious that these Cybermen were going to kill them all. Though why they were just standing there now was bewildering. Were they waiting for something before they started killing everyone?

The four of them were towards the back of the large crowd of people, with the President standing in front of the Doctor. Madison felt the people around her shivering, all scared of these Cybermen standing in a circle in front of them. She glanced at Rose, seeing the girl's wide-eyed expression, though it shifted to hard resolve as she seemed to be steeling herself against what was to come next. Then, glancing at Andy, Madison saw he was much calmer, regarding the Cybermen carefully. Though his body was tense, ready to spring into a run at a moment's notice. She felt him grab her arm, ready to pull her along. She patted the hand on her arm, hoping to let him know that she was fine. These things did not frighten her, and she would be ready to run as well. The Doctor in front of her stood tall, a storm brewing in his eyes as he stared at the Cybermen. His expression spoke of old disdain, almost frustrated exhaustion as if he couldn't believe he had to face this again. He had named them, and she remembered the head from the bunker, of him calling the robotic head an 'old enemy'. So this must be this universe's version of what he had to fight against long ago.

"Mister Lumic," the President spoke then after they heard his EarPod ring. Apparently, the President had a phone call. Madison could barely hear the voice coming from the EarPods. It sounded like a elder man, boasting about crashing the party. "I forbade this," the President said bitterly in response to who he was talking to.

"What are they? Robots?" she heard Rose whisper to the Doctor.

"Worse than that," the Doctor responded, speaking from the corner of his mouth. He was talking quietly, though she knew people around them could probably still hear. Pete seemed to be keenly listening in as she saw him stare at the Doctor in the corner of his eye.

"Who were these people?" the President asked then, earning their attention once more. Madison stiffened, remembering what Andy had told her. No . . . Oh, no, they couldn't be, could they? Were these . . .

"They're people," Madison breathed in horror, staring around at the Cybermen with new eyes. People locked away behind steel and wires and hydraulics. The people who had gone missing . . . These Cybermen must be them, forced into these steel bodies as some sort of twisted experiment. But were they still aware of themselves? She couldn't sense anything from them except emptiness. Were they even alive?

"They're people?" Rose asked quietly, shocked at Madison's breathy realisation.

"They were," the Doctor answered for them both, still muttering from the corner of his mouth. "Till 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."

"Why no emotions?" Rose questioned.

"Because it hurts," the Doctor told her gravely. Their attention was gained once more by the President.

"I demand to know, Lumic, these people, who were they?" he demanded from the man he spoke to from his EarPods.

"They're the people who have gone missing. The poor and the homeless," Madison told the Doctor. "Two waitresses explained it to me. It's been happening in the lower districts for ages, apparently."

"Lumic's been using them as experiments. The ones who can be easily taken without much notice from above," the Doctor muttered, eyes narrowing angrily at no one in particular. He tensed as one of the Cybermen stepped forward, getting closer to the President.

"We have been upgraded," the Cyberman spoke in a mechanised, robotic voice. One that held no sort of inflection, only a monotone tone. Nothing to indicate that the Cyberman had once been human. Its thin mouth glowed blue as it spoke.

"Into what?" the Doctor questioned it, trying to get it to speak to him and have its attention away from the President.

"The next level of mankind," the Cyberman answered. "We are Human Point Two. Every citizen will receive a free upgrade. You will become like us."

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for what's been done to you," the President said, taking steps to get closer to the Cyberman now. "But listen to me." He looked around to the other Cybermen as well. "This experiment ends tonight."

"Upgrading is compulsory."

"And if I refuse?"

"Don't," the Doctor warned the man quickly, finally speaking up so the others could hear him.

"What if I refuse?" the President repeated, ignoring the Doctor.

"I'm telling you, don't!" the Doctor tried warning again. Still, he was ignored.

"What happens if I refuse?"

"Then you are not compatible," the Cyberman said.

"What happens then?"

"You will be deleted."

This answer made Madison's hair stand up on her neck as she felt the shift of sinister intent. Her mind screamed at her to run then, even before the Cyberman made its move. It was only a half-second later that the Cyberman grabbed the President roughly by the shoulder and a wave of blue electricity came from its steel hand and into the man it held. They watched as the President's body shook from the electric voltage as he was slowly killed. People around began to scream in terror as they all scrambled away from the scene. Most were able to push their way through the circle of Cybermen, ducking as the robotic figures tried to grab at them. Others were not so lucky as they were grabbed and electrocuted. It was a chaotic mess as Madison was jostled about, even thrown out of the way at one point as a large man pushed her aside to make his escape. It all happened so fast that she barely had a chance to tell where the Doctor and Rose had gone. In fact, by the time she managed to get out of the way of a Cyberman that came for her, she was startled to notice that her friends were gone. They must have taken off, thinking she was right behind them. She didn't even see where Pete or Jackie was. People were still screaming their heads off, running around to and fro throughout the mansion. Cybermen were chanting 'delete' as they electrocuted people. Now, what was the point of killing everyone? Didn't that defeat the purpose of 'upgrading' people?

"Come on!"

Madison was jerked away from the mess, being pulled deeper into the mansion by a strong hand. It was Andy grabbing onto her, yanking her along towards safety. She hurried to stay in step with him, trying her best to keep up. They kept having to make different turns in various hallways as Cybermen just seemed to pop up at random throughout the mansion. It felt as though, no matter where they went, there was a Cyberman ready to catch them. Eventually, Andy and Madison both were running upstairs, going as fast as they could up towards the highest point where the Cybermen had not arrived yet. Though the robotic humans were powerful and dangerous, they were slow, so it made it easy to out escape them up a few floors. Andy then pulled her into an empty room and slammed the door shut behind them, locking the door tightly. Together they then moved a wardrobe in front of the door, hoping to block it.

"I don't think that'll hold them for long," Madison commented as Andy walked past her. She glanced around the room they had come to, taking in the sight of the apparent master bedroom with a large bed in the centre and large cupboards for clothes and such. There were two windows with small balconies, but she doubted they could jump for it. They were rather high up in the mansion. The fall would most certainly hurt them. "What's the plan?" she asked Andy, hoping he had some sort of idea. "Do we use the covers and sheets from the bed to make an escape rope?"

"No, I have a way out," Andy told her as he opened one of the cupboards on the far wall. He quickly pushed his way through the clothes lined inside, making space for her to see a vault door of some kind built into the wall. As he opened the thick metal door, she realised it was a panic room. Something that became very apparent as she saw him step into a small room filled with monitors that showed images of what was happening in the mansion. She hurried into the panic room as she heard something hard banging on the bedroom's door, shutting the thick metal vault door behind her soon after.

"I don't know how long even this door will last," she confessed to Andy.

"Not to worry. We won't be in here for long," Andy assured her, giving a smile as he knelt down and pulled up a small trap door in the centre of the panic room, revealing a silver slide that went down below. "Glad Pete showed me this once. Who would have thought I'd be the one to use it."

He waved her over quickly as they heard crashing noises from outside the vault door. Kneeling down, she lowered herself through the small space that was the entrance to the escape slide. Letting herself drop, it was a quick way down through a dark tunnel. She kept her arms tucked into her body and legs straight, afraid to break something on the way through the tight tunnel. Eventually, the slide levelled out, bringing her straight into a ventilation gate of some sort. It was dark, with the only source of light coming through the slits of the vent gate in front of her. She winced as she was bumped roughly from behind when Andy came down the slide. She held up a finger to her mouth as she heard heavy footfalls just outside the gate. Both of them waited with bated breath until it became quiet again. Carefully, she placed her fingers through the slits of the vent and pushed it open. As quiet as she could she set the gate to the side before crawling out from the tunnel. From there she could see they were at the back parking space where Andy had left his vehicle.

"I need to find the Doctor and Rose," Madison whispered to Andy, keeping her voice as quiet as possible.

"I'll get the car started. Meet me back there," Andy replied, giving a nod of understanding. He reached over to grab her hand and give her a reassuring squeeze. "Just be careful, sweetheart."

Nodding, she hurried up from the ground and went to the side of the mansion. She kept her back to the wall as she carefully poked her head around the corner. A small gasp escaped her as she saw the Doctor, Rose, Pete, Mickey . . . another Mickey, and a young lad with blonde spikey hair, surrounded by Cybermen. She could hear the Cybermen chanting 'delete' and she went to rush out from her hiding place, ready to save them. But she stopped when the Doctor pulled out the small power cell from his pocket and aimed it at the Cybermen in front of him. A golden energy beam shot at the first Cyberman before connecting to all the others around the group. All of the Cybermen were then turned into dust, leaving the group open to run and escape. A van came honking down the road, driving up to the group. While most of the group ran for the van, the Doctor and Rose looked back at the mansion, staring at the lower windows. She could see the Doctor mouthing her name as Rose started to pull him back towards the van as more Cybermen started to march across the lawn towards him. Madison felt the Doctor's mind calling out to her desperately.

"Doctor, I'm okay. Get to the van. Andy and I will be right behind in his car," Madison spoke quickly into his mind as she started to back away from the mansion. There was instant relief felt from the Time Lord as she felt their minds connect.

"Just stay as close as you can. I don't want to lose you in this mess," the Doctor responded before she saw him grabbing Rose's hand and rushing to the van.

Madison turned and ran back towards Andy's car. She saw him in the vehicle already, looking anxious. She could hear the marching of Cybermen coming up behind her so she rushed to the car and tossed herself into the passenger seat. Andy threw the car into reverse as soon as Madison's door closed. The tires screeched across the pavement as the car sped backwards. Cybermen were coming in front of them and to the side. The car swirled as Andy abruptly turned the wheel, making the car spin around as they still sped backwards. It spun them around within the driveway, turning them to face the entrance as he pressed full force on the pedal to get going. In front of them, they could see the van speed on before they too were turning down the road and following after. Looking back, Madison could see the Cybermen on the front lawn watching them depart. She supposed that pursuit after runaway vehicles was seen as pointless when there were others the robots could turn or kill.

"That was close," she sighed as she faced the front again, glancing at Andy.

"Too close," he agreed, relaxing somewhat now as they were in the clear. For now, that is.

XxXxXxXxXx

As they drove through the dark streets, getting closer to the city, the Doctor kept Madison informed of what was being discussed in the van. Information that she related to Andy as he continued to drive after them. Everything from Pete working against Lumic and giving out information as Gemini to stop the Cybermen, to Mickey's alternate, Ricky, and the group called the Preachers who were trying to work to stop Lumic. Not a big bunch. Just a young man named Jake and a woman named Mrs Moore, with Ricky as the leader of sorts. But the three of them had saved the Doctor, Rose, and Pete, which was good enough in Madison's book.

"Pete told me he was Gemini at the party. So, not surprising there. Though your friend finding his alternate self, that's a bit of a shocker," Andy joked after Madison finished telling him what was happening in the van. The Doctor had gone silent a moment ago, apparently arguing with the people inside the van. "So, how does the Doctor know so much about the Cybermen?"

"He's fought our universe's version of them. I've seen one of their heads once in a bunker. Though they were very different looking."

"Does the Doctor really think the military will stop Lumic? He does realise that man owns the military, right?"

"Let's hope they prefer the world over their paychecks," Madison muttered. She frowned as she stared out the window. The streets seemed oddly empty to her as they got closer to the city. Then she spotted an abandoned car sitting on the side of the road, its door left wide open. Then another. And another. "Ah, Andy?"

"I see them," he said quietly as they slowed down. The van in front of them came to a sudden halt, making Andy slam on the brakes. It only took a moment for them to see why Mrs Moore had stopped the van. There were people scattered throughout the streets, crowding the area as the masses grew in numbers. All of them in a hypotonic state from the looks of things with their blank stares and their EarPods blinking rapid blue lights.

"Oh, look, they're being mind controlled. Who could have seen that one coming," Madison muttered sarcastically as she and Andy stepped out of the car.

"Yeah . . . I always thought the EarPods were a bad idea, too," Andy mumbled to her as they walked over to the van. The doors opened with the Doctor, Rose, Pete, Mickey, Ricky, Jake, and Mrs Moore coming out to take in the scene of what was happening. Madison and Andy hurried over to join them. The Doctor turned towards Madison as soon as she came up beside him, grabbing her hand tightly.

"I'm glad you're okay," he whispered to her, giving her forehead a quick kiss.

"I'm always okay. What I want to know is how we're going to free these people from Lumic," she replied, gesturing to the people mindlessly walking around them. They were all heading in a similar direction. Most likely where Lumic was trying to have them all 'upgraded'.

"Who the hell are these two?" she saw Mickey asking. Then she blinked, realising it wasn't Mickey, but Ricky glaring at her suspiciously. Right. This was going to be tricky. Both Ricky and Mickey have dressed alike. Seems the two decided to share clothes for tonight.

"Hi, I'm Madison. I'm friends with the Doctor and Rose," she introduced herself, waving awkwardly at Ricky, Jake, and Mrs Moore as the three turned towards her.

"Andy, mate, thank god at least someone I know is still kicking," Pete said, coming over to give Andy a hug of gratitude. "Did you see my wife? Did Jacks make it out?"

"Sorry. There wasn't enough time to check," Andy replied, shaking his head sadly. "I'm sure she hid somewhere in that house. She's smart, Pete. She'll keep herself safe."

"Not if she didn't keep her EarPods on. She'll be just like this lot," Pete countered, looking around at the mind-controlled crowd. Pete then looked to Madison, seeming rather surprised. "I didn't know you were in town, Maddie."

"Andy said you needed help," Madison told him, not wanting to necessarily lie to the man. But she knew she couldn't give away that she wasn't the Madison he knew, either. So she kept her focus on the mind-controlled around them. "How do we free them?"

"Can't we just, I don't know, take them off?" Rose suggested, reaching out to a nearby person to grab their EarPods. The Doctor swiftly let go of Madison's hand and went to Rose, grabbing the girl's outreached hand before she could touch the EarPod.

"Don't. It'll cause a brainstorm," the Doctor warned her, pulling her back. He glanced around at the people then, shaking his head. "The human race, for such an intelligent lot, you aren't half susceptible. Give anyone a chance to take control and you submit. Sometimes I think you like it. Easy life."

"Hey. Come and see," they heard Jake stage whisper. Everyone moved then to where the Preachers were, crouched by the side of a building and looking around the corner to another street. From there everyone saw the lines of people being led off by groups of Cybermen, all of them moving deeper into the dark city.

"Where are they all going?" Rose wondered aloud.

"Nowhere pleasant," Madison muttered.

"Lumic must have a base of operations," the Doctor said, glancing back towards Pete for answers.

"Battersea. That's where he was building his prototypes," said Pete.

"Why's he doing it?" Rose asked.

"He's dying. This all started out as a way of prolonging life, keeping the brain alive. At any cost," Pete explained.

"Yes, but why not just use the procedure on yourself? Why force the entire world into your twisted vision?" Madison muttered, shaking her head as she couldn't wrap her mind around it. It seemed horrible to force everyone into something like this. If Lumic wanted to save himself, that was all good and fine. Not turn everyone into something they didn't want.

"I don't know. It's something about his 'children' I heard him say," Pete mumbled, shaking his own head as he too was just as baffled.

"Thing is, I've seen Cybermen before, haven't I?" Rose spoke up, turning to the Doctor in question. "The head, those handle shapes, in Van Statten's museum."

"Oh, there are Cybermen in our universe. They started on an ordinary world just like this, then swarmed across the galaxy," the Doctor said, trying to keep his voice low. "This lot are a parallel version. They're starting from scratch here on Earth."

"What the hell are you on about?" Pete asked then, frowning heavily at the Doctor. The others from this universe (except for Andy) were also giving the Doctor looks of suspicion and scepticism. Madison caught the Doctor's eye, raising her brow and giving a small shrug. If there was ever a time to explain where they were from, it would be now.

But Ricky gave them no chance to say anything else as he glared at the Cybermen down the street before turning towards the group. "Never mind that. Come on, we need to get out of the city." He paused as they saw a line of Cybermen coming down the other street towards them. "Okay, split up. Mrs Moore, you look after that lot. Jake, distract them, go right, I'll go left. We'll meet back at Bridge Street. Move."

They left Madison no time to argue against this. Though she did see the benefit of making the Cybermen split up in trying to track them down. Still, there was a twist in her gut at the idea of them separating into the night. Especially a dangerous night such as this. But there was no time to voice any concern as Ricky and Jake ran down in different directions, with Mickey going after Ricky soon after. Mrs Moore waved for the rest of them to follow her, making their small group run with the woman down the street. Madison felt the Doctor and Rose both grabbing onto her hand, holding on tightly and squeezing her fingers hard as the three of them ran side-by-side.

XxXxXxXxXx

It had been an intense escape for them from the Cybermen, but they had managed in the end. All tried to catch their breath as they settled down on an empty street corner. The location where Ricky had wanted them to meet up again. It appeared to be a location where the Cybermen had already hit as there were no hypnotised people around or even any Cybermen to speak of. The cybernetic figures must have moved on to other locations that had yet to be searched through. Though Madison wondered how long it would be until the Cybermen came back around to a further search for unupgraded people. Pondering this, she looked to the Doctor to see if he had similar thoughts, seeing him not at all bothered by the extensive running they had just gone. Of course. Running never did seem to bother him. How lucky for him. She shook her head, envious to be able to breathe air so easily. She glanced towards Andy, seeing that he too was struggling for breath. She hoped it wasn't his monthly cycle coming around. That would simply be terrible timing.

"I think I'm getting too old for this sort of thing," Andy joked lightly after a moment, giving a crooked smile.

"You and me both," Pete agreed, shaking his head in exasperation. They all were alerted then to someone coming towards them when hearing the hard footfalls on the pavement. Looking over, they could see Jake sprinting over to them. He was breathing hard from the run, but there was a fire in his eyes from the excitement of the chase he had undergone.

"I ran past the river, you should've seen it. The whole city's on the march. Hundreds of Cybermen, all down the Thames," Jake said hurriedly the moment he got over to them. Before anyone had a chance to comment on this news, they turned when hearing someone else running down the way. Jake's face lit up with relief when seeing who it was. "Here he is."

But as the figure drew closer, Madison could feel who they were and the distress they felt. She let out a heavy sigh, shaking her head. "Oh, no," she whispered quietly. With a heavy heart, she could see Mickey grimace when seeing the demanding gaze from Jake.

"Which one are you?" Jake demanded from Mickey then.

"I'm sorry, the Cybermen, he couldn't . . .," Mickey said weakly, seeming at a loss of what to say.

There was a spark of fear from Jake then as he stared at Mickey. "Are you Ricky?" Seeing Mickey's hesitancy to answer, he demanded in question, "Are you Ricky?" once more.

"Mickey, that's you, isn't it?" Rose asked then, instantly relieved when seeing Mickey nod absently. While Rose went over to hug her friend, Madison watched Jake carefully. She could see the utter devastation on the young man's face. The colour slowly drained from his face. The distress that his mind went through then, tearing itself up by this news, flash through the air like that of a vicious knife. Oh, the poor dear. She knew what this feeling was. She felt it too when she lost David. She gave Jake an empathetic gaze then.

Mickey moved away from Rose, going to Jake. "He tried. He was running. There was too many of them," he tried to explain. But Jake turned his back on Mickey, walking away.

"Shut it," Jake growled.

"There was nothing I could do."

"I said just shut it!" Jake screamed as he turned sharply, glaring at Mickey in rage as his eyes turned red-rimmed and full of hot tears. "Don't even talk about him. You're nothing, you are." He turned his head again, jaw clenched as he glared at the ground. "Nothing."

Madison moved to go to him, to give him some sort of consolation. But she felt the Doctor's hand on her arm, keeping her back. She could see that he felt there was nothing to be done for Jake's emotional state at the moment. He even went to open his mouth, ready to say something to get them moving again. But he halted in his words as Andy walked around the two of them, throwing the Doctor a sharp eye before going to Jake.

"Jake, look at me," Andy said in a soothing but commanding voice. He grabbed Jake's arm, making the young man turn. Jake could be seen protesting for a moment but soon froze as Andy held a hand against his head and made themselves eye level. "It's not Mickey's fault and it's not yours, either. No one could have stopped this. But I promise you, he didn't die in vain. He was doing everything to protect this world, and we'll honour his memory by continuing this goal. We'll fight, for him, for his dreams, and we'll stop the Cybermen. In his name, we will win, and no one will ever forget him. That I swear."

Madison watched as Jake's shoulders slowly relaxed. The distress in his mind eased away gradually until there was a sense of peace. Though he was still upset, he was now thinking more clearly and could focus on their goal. Jake nodded, filled with determination now as Andy let go of him and stepped back.

"All right, I think it's high time we get to Battersea and put an end to Lumic. What says you?" Andy said to everyone then. Seeing all their resolve, Andy nodded. "Great. Then let's get going." Andy led the way with the others soon following after. Even Rose and Mickey were trailing along, not even hesitating to help.

Madison could only smile, feeling proud of her father. Even if Andy wasn't technically her father . . . Though who was she kidding. Andy was her father. Just one from another universe. And she couldn't be any less fond of seeing him in action. Looking over to the Doctor, she felt him squeezing her hand lightly to get her attention.

"Andy sure is something," he noted lightly, speaking in her mind. "Seems you've got that habit from him, too."

"What habit?" she asked.

"Telepathically connecting with others to help heal them. Though, now I'm starting to wonder if that's just a trait from Mers in general."

"I'm not sure. Mother never seemed as prone to connect with others, though she was just more cautious than us about it." Madison held his hand tighter in hers as they walked swiftly to catch up with the others.

"Still, though, I'm glad I've gotten a chance to know Andy. He's a good man."

Madison gave a warm smile in the direction of Andy. "Yes. He truly is."

XxXxXxXxXx

When they finally arrived at Lumic's base of operations, it was a massive factory of sorts. A towering brick building, the entire place was apparently running at full force as all the lights were on and with four smokestacks pumping plumes of dark smoke into the air. A large zeppelin was seen parked on top of the building, apparently ready to move at a moment's notice. Madison could only imagine what was happening inside this place as she thought of all those controlled people being forced to come here. How many were being turned into Cybermen as they stood by the edge of the Thames? The idea of all those people being forced into something against their will, brains ripped from their bodies to be placed into lifeless steel, sent shivers down her spine. Her stomach churned and she had to look away from the building for a moment to gather herself. Eventually, she was brought away from her troubled thoughts and to the mission at hand. Mrs Moore had brought a laptop with her to bring up the blueprints of the factory and show everyone the cooling tunnels underneath everything.

"We go under then up into the control centre," the Doctor stated after seeing the images on Mrs Moore's computer. Already the Doctor was sitting there formulating a plan of action. Madison could practically see all his thoughts turning away in his mind behind those brown eyes of his.

"We'll need to be careful. There might be Cybermen down there," Madison commented, already seeing ways Lumic could have placed measures to keep people away. If it were her, she would have sealed off the tunnels altogether. Though she didn't mention this out loud, afraid of upsetting everyone with the idea of their plan going to fail.

"There's another way in. Through the front door," Pete said then, earning everyone's attention. He had been relatively quiet for some time now. Madison could only imagine what was on his mind.

"There'll be Cybermen swarming all over that way," Mrs Moore replied. "We'd be better off in the tunnels."

"I'm not worried about the Cybermen. I want to find my wife," Pete clarified. "If they've taken Jackie for upgrading, that's how she'll get in."

"We can't just go strolling up," Jake argued immediately, staring at Pete as if he were mad.

"Well, we could, with these," Mrs Moore responded, pulling out a couple of EarPods from her bag. She held them up in her hand for everyone to see. The Doctor took one to examine. "Fake EarPods. Dead, no signal. But put them on, the Cybermen would mistake you for one of the crowd."

Pete nodded curtly. "Then that's my job."

"Pete, you and I both know that's suicide going in there," Andy spoke up, earning Pete's attention. Andy had a conflicted look on his face. A part of him obviously wanted to keep Pete from doing this, but another agreed in many ways.

"I have to try. I can't just stay here while she might be in there," Pete argued. "You'd do the same if it was your wife."

Andy sighed heavily, nodding tiredly. "I know."

"You'd have to show no emotion, none at all. Any sign of emotion would give you away," the Doctor warned Pete carefully.

"How many of those have you got?" Rose asked suddenly.

"Just two sets," Mrs Moore replied.

"Okay. If that's the best way of finding Jackie," Rose said, looking to Pete now, "then I'm coming with you."

Madison tensed, wanting to argue against this. Though she could see the full resolve and determination in the girl's eyes. It was obvious she wanted to do everything in her power to save the alternate version of her mother. Most likely not even for her own sake, but for Pete's. Rose would do anything to bring her alternate father happiness, even at the cost of her own life. Madison shook her head sharply when Rose caught her staring, but the girl simply turned her eyes away, ignoring Madison's frantic motions to stay. Oh, dear. It seems Rose had made up her mind on something again. Madison shared a look with the Doctor. There was a heavy frown from him, though he made no comment in stopping Rose. He, too, seemed to think it was a lost cause to try.

"Why does she matter to you?" Pete asked Rose, frowning at the blonde as he held an expression mixed between confusion and scepticism.

"We haven't got time," Rose responded dismissively. She then glanced towards the Doctor and Madison. "I'm going with him and that's that."

"No stopping you, is there?" the Doctor asked carefully, giving Rose a raised brow.

"Nope."

Nodding, the Doctor tossed Rose the EarPod he held. "Tell you what, we can attack the EarPods at the same time. Give people their minds back so they don't walk into that place like sheep." The Doctor looked at Jake. "Jakey-boy," he said, patting Jake's shoulder while walking by. He went closer to the river bank with Jake following in tow. Madison only half-listened to the Doctor and Jake discussing how to turn off the EarPods. Instead, she turned to Rose.

"Are you certain? You don't have to do this you know. She's not . . .," Madison tried persuading Rose, but saw the look the girl gave her. With a sigh, Madison nodded her head in defeat. "Right. I understand. Just . . . be careful, okay?"

"I will. Promise."

The two of them shared a hug before Madison let go and looked over at Pete. "You be careful as well, Pete."

"Yeah. Sure," Pete mumbled, a thoughtful frown on his face as he stared at the two. It was obvious he was contemplating how Madison knew Rose. To him, of course, Madison was a completely different person. She worried that maybe she was overstepping too much in being a version of Madison he didn't know. But at the same time, she didn't want to worry about that at the moment. There were bigger things to be concerned over.

"Maddie, you will be coming with me and Mrs Moore into the cooling tunnels. Andy, you can help Jake take out that transmitter. We attack on three sides. Above, between, below," the Doctor spoke rapidly as he came back over to the group. "We get to the control centre, we stop the conversion machines."

"Actually, I'd rather tag along with you, Doctor," Andy said, looking at Madison briefly. "For reasons I'm sure you can guess. Though, before you go and argue with me, I'd like to point out that I'm terrible when it comes to electronics. It would be better if you place someone who has good hacking abilities with Jake." Andy glanced towards Mickey, smiling lightly. "I've seen Madison's memories. You're rather good at hacking."

"Yeah. I am," Mickey said proudly, appearing pleased that someone took notice of him for once tonight. He then gave the Doctor a hard glance. "I'm glad someone remembered I'm still around."

"I don't need you, idiot," Jake said rather harshly.

"I'm not an idiot!" Mickey argued, angrily turning on Jake. "You got that? I'm going to help, whether you like it or not."

"Whatever," Jake muttered before turning and walking off. Mickey went to hurry on after him but stopped when the Doctor called out to him.

"Mickey. Good luck," said the Doctor, earning himself an appreciative nod from Mickey.

"Yeah. You, too," Mickey replied. He glanced at Madison. "You, too, Maddie. And Rose, I'll see you later."

"Yeah, you'd better," Rose said, giving a weak smile to Mickey. They watch Mickey nod confidently before turning and jogging away to catch up with Jake. There was a solemn silence for a moment between everyone. Wary about whether or not this plan would even work.

"When this is all over, we really should make it up to Mickey," Madison mumbled quietly to the Doctor. He gave a hum in agreement, nodding as he watched Mickey disappear in the distance before turning to the others.

"We need to get going. We don't have much time left," the Doctor said.

After everyone gave each other a quick goodbye and words for luck, Madison followed along with the Doctor, Mrs Moore, and Andy. With her stomach churning, she couldn't help but feel nervous about the idea of Andy coming along with them. She knew the reason why he had been firm with coming along was because of her. It was clear he thought he needed to protect her. However, in reality, it was she that needed to protect him. He had died in her universe. What was to say that this wasn't a day that he was supposed to be killed? With how her luck in life went at times, she could see this being a day she would have to watch her father die for a second time. No. No, she could not allow that to happen. She must protect him. At all costs. And so, she kept this thought clear in her mind as she followed the others, descending down into the underground tunnels of Lumic's factory. The moment she climbed down the ladder into the tunnel, she felt the cold air grip around her body, coiling around her exposed arms and legs. Immediately she began to shiver, but she swallowed down the chill the best she could and tried to push through. Scanning her eyes around the dark tunnel, all she could see was pitch blackness. The only light came from the open hole above, casting sinister shadows around where they stood.

"Here," she heard Andy mutter beside her. She turned to him, just in time to see him shrugging off his suit jacket.

"Oh, no, I don't—," she tried protesting, but was shushed as he placed his jacket around her. Instantly the warmth from his jacket relieved some of the chill from her. She couldn't help but smile warmly as she pushed her arms through the jacket's sleeves. "Heh. This certainly brings back memories. Remember that leather coat of yours I used to wear around the farm when I was little?"

"Oh, yeah, I do remember. Ha! It would swallow up your entire body, your little arms waving around the sleeves. You used to pretend to be an adventurer with that coat." Andy smiled fondly in remembrance, shaking his head.

Growing misty-eyed, Madison turned herself away from Andy, afraid she might start getting over-emotional in sharing fond memories with him. By chance, she happened to glance over to the Doctor just as he was placing back on his jacket. There was clear disappointment that he hadn't given her his jacket first, but at the same time, she could see soft happiness in seeing her and her father interacting. Then she noticed the light with a strap wrapped around his head, beaming into her face as he faced her. With how dark it was, it had an amusing appearance to him as the light looked as though it were just coming right out of his forehead. It was hard suppressing the chuckle that tickled up her throat.

"What?" he asked, tilting his head and making the light jiggle comically.

"Nice head torch," she chuckled as a smirk tugged at her lips. In the shadow that was cast across his face from the light, she could see the flash of his foxy grin. That twinkle in his eye of mischievousness that she found lovely.

"Sorry I don't have more. Perhaps just an old-fashioned torch?" Mrs Moore said to Madison and Andy, pulling out a small torch from her bag and handing it over.

"Prepared for anything. My kind of woman," Andy remarked lightly as Madison fiddled with the torch in her hand.

"Well, it helps to be ready for anything. Especially when running around with foolish youngsters." A small chuckle was heard in the darkness from Mrs Moore before she too turned on her head torch.

"Haven't got a hotdog in there, have you? I'm starving," the Doctor mentioned suddenly, earning everyone's inquisitive gaze.

"Of all the things to wish for. That's mechanically recovered meat," Mrs Moore scoffed, chuckling harder now.

"I know. It's the Cyberman of food, but it's tasty," the Doctor responded with a small laugh.

"You and your cravings," Madison laughed, shaking her head lightly. She earned herself another foxy grin from him before she finally managed to get her torch on.

The light from the handheld torch was much brighter than that from the headpieces that Mrs Moore and the Doctor wore. Leading to her light catching the first Cyberman that stood just a few feet in front of them. The group collectively stiffened. No one moved a muscle, or let out a single breath as they stood there staring at the Cyberman. Looking past the Cyberman and following the beam of her light, Madison saw there was an entire row of Cybermen lining the way down the tunnel. None of which seemed to be aware of their presence, let alone awake for that matter. There was a small bit of a relief that went through the infiltrating group then, one which allowed them to at least breath normally again. Though they were still tense, ready for the Cybermen to move at a moment's notice.

"Already converted, just put on ice," the Doctor said, seeming to be noting his observation aloud for them. With a firm nod, he started to move. "Come on." Madison went along with him first, only to stop short when he paused and reached out to tap a Cyberman on the face.

"Stop," she hissed at him, grabbing his hand and moving it away.

"What? They aren't aware of anything," he responded, though still keeping his voice low, just in case.

"Doesn't mean we should test our luck." Honestly, what was she to do with him? There was both a fondness for his sheer lack of awareness of dangerous situations and of frustration for his overly risk-taking nature. So, she held his hand firmly as she pointed her torch and led the way down the cold tunnel. She went slowly, however, not wanting to create too much noise that might wake the sleeping Cybermen.

"Keep an eye out for trip systems," the Doctor warned her, breathing this close to her ear.

"Oh, now you wish to be careful?" she replied sarcastically. But she did as he suggested, lowering her gaze to look down at their feet. If there was a tripwire around, she hoped that her sight would be good enough to spot it. Though it was difficult given the shadows that bounced around with every turn of the Doctor and Mrs Moore's head torches. After a moment of tense silence from them, Mrs Moore began to speak.

"Never thought I'd be working alongside the Pete Tyler and Andrew Bailey today," said the woman, holding somewhat of a sarcastic tone. Though the way she said this Madison could tell that there was an underlying cynical edge. Remembering what the Doctor had told Madison of what occurred in the van on the way to their escape, she knew that the Preachers did not exactly trust Pete as he was one working under Lumic's company. She then wondered, given what she discovered at the party, if Andy was lumped in along with the distrust for being Pete's 'right-hand'.

"Well, I can understand that. Though I'm grateful that we ran into each other when we did. I don't know what I'd do if you hadn't rescued my friends," Andy replied back, voice more light-hearted and calm as he trailed behind Mrs Moore.

"Tell me, honestly, did you know about Pete being Gemini?"

"Not until tonight. Though, knowing Pete, it didn't really come as a surprise."

"How come he didn't tell you? I thought, since you're his partner in Vitex, he'd bring you along for just about anything."

"Despite what the tabloids like to say, I'm not exactly second in charge in the company. I'm just a good friend and the guy who gave Pete a loan to help start him up. Other than that, I'm just an ordinary guy trying to keep myself out of trouble." There was a small pause from Andy then. "What about you? What made you join the Preachers?"

There was a small hum from Mrs Moore. Then, when she spoke next, there was less suspicion on her end and more simply discussing life now. "Oh, I used to be ordinary. Worked at Cybus Industries, nine to five. Until one day, I find something I'm not supposed to. A file on the mainframe. All I did was read it. Then suddenly, I've got men with guns knocking in the middle of the night. A life on the run. Then I found the Preachers. They needed a techie, so I just sat down and taught myself everything."

"I'd like to call you amazing. Because truly, that is a story. Though I'd like to also say I'm sorry that this happened to you," spoke Andy, sounding truly sincere in his sympathy.

"Oh, it's all right. As long as my family is safe, I don't mind much of what happens to me," Mrs Moore responded, dismissive in any sympathetic responses.

"What happened to your family? Is there a Mister Moore?" the Doctor asked suddenly, startling the other two in remembering that they were not the only two in the tunnel.

"Well, he's not called Moore," the woman responded, earning her a glance from everyone. There was a crooked smile given to them. "I got that from a book. Mrs Moore. It's safer not to use real names. But he thinks I'm dead. It was the only way to keep him safe. Him and the kids." A short pause, before she glanced between Andy and Madison. "What about you two? You're obviously family from the looks of you."

"She's my cousin," Andy answered.

"He's my brother," Madison said, speaking at the same time as Andy. She froze in place, horrified that she had messed up. She was so used to the brother/sister routine from her universe that she never thought that it might be a different lie here. She turned hurriedly to Andy, frightful of what they were to say in fixing her mess up. He merely blinked at her, seeming just as uncertain about what to say next.

"Seems I'm not the only one hiding away," Mrs Moore remarked absently, glancing between the two of them. "Want me to give you time to get your story straight?"

There was a thoughtful ponderance from Andy for a moment before he shrugged and smiled at Mrs Moore. "You caught us. Madison's actually my daughter and I'm a Merman who's over a thousand years old," he told her, sounding far too cheerful about giving away their secret to Madison.

"Andy," Madison groaned, shaking her head. That had always been a problem for her father. He was far too willing to just give away their secret. 'Far too trusting' her mother used to say. It was her mother who always kept him from talking openly about it. Though now that her mother was gone . . .

"Oh, well, if you say so. Let's hope there are no starving fishermen around," Mrs Moore laughed. There was a smile of humour from her, though Madison had a feeling that Mrs Moore did not entirely believe Andy. The woman even looked to the Doctor, turning her head torch on him. "What about you? You also a Merman?"

"No. Time Lord from another universe, actually," the Doctor responded casually. Madison blinked as her eyes shifted between Andy and him. Now she was just confused as to why they were being so . . . nonchalant about all their secrets. Then again, life and death situations, maybe the two felt it didn't matter much. Or, then again, maybe they shared the mindset that no one would believe Mrs Moore if she ever tried to tell anyone. It was then that Madison saw the delighted smile on Mrs Moore's face.

"Well, if we're all sharing our secrets, my real name is Angela Price," she told them. "Don't tell a soul."

"Not a word," the Doctor said with a light grin.

"Wouldn't dream of it," Andy added.

Madison was somewhat relaxed then as they started walking once more. It seemed Angela was taking their confessions with stride. In fact, there was a sense of peace that came from her then. Almost as though finding others with such deep secrets helped her feel better about her own. It created a sense of calm from Madison then, glad that Angela found some easement in her dire situation. Madison only hoped that, after today, Angela might be able to return to her family, and succeed in saving the world from Cybermen. No more secrets to be kept or forced into hiding. In a way, much like what Mers were forced to do on a daily basis. And with this thought, Madison knew then why Andy had been so willing to share his secret, knowing what similarities Angela had been through compared to that of Mer-kind.

It was a few moments later that Madison's gut began churning uncomfortably. There was a sharp twist as her instincts began to kick in on high alert. Not a moment later, before she had the chance to voice this to Andy and the Doctor, she noticed a slight movement in a Cyberman's hand that they were passing. Angela beat her to point it out.

"Did that one just move?" she said to them.

"It's just the torchlight," the Doctor said in dismissal, though his voice betrayed his casual reply as they could hear the tense tone of his. "Keep going, come on."

"Doctor, we need to move," Madison muttered rapidly. Not a second later a Cyberman turned towards them. "Now!" She and the Doctor grabbed each other's hands at the same time as they bolted down the tunnel.

The other two were close behind as they rushed down the way, avoiding the reaching hands of the Cybermen along the walls. The robotic forms were lethargic, slow to awaken from whatever state they had been placed in. However, as the group cleared the line of Cybermen and reached a place where a ladder led upwards, they could hear the robotic forms gaining functions and marching after them. The Doctor climbed up the ladder first, starting to sonic the heavy metal trapdoor above them. Angela kept muttering for him to hurry while Madison made the woman climb up after the Doctor. Andy then pushed Madison to climb as the Doctor got the door open for them and was heading up. She climbed, though not without checking over her shoulder to make certain Andy was not far behind her. The sound of the stomping mechanical feet of the Cybermen pounded in her ears along with her heart. The Doctor yanked her up through the open hatch, pulling her to sit beside Angela. It was then that there came a shout of pain.

"Dad!" Madison screamed as she watched her father become electrocuted by a Cyberman who had grabbed Andy's ankle. It was only by sheer luck that the electrical charge did not seem to be strong enough to bring down a Mer for Andy swiftly kicked hard at the Cyberman's head, knocking away the cybernetic person enough for them to let go. It was then that Andy quickly climbed up the rest of the way and, as soon as he made it through, the Doctor slammed the metal door in place and sonicked it shut. Madison didn't bother to pay much attention to anything else as she rushed over to Andy who had slumped over against a wall.

"Are you all right?" she asked hurriedly as she checked over him. She could see that the electricity had been enough to fry his ginger hair somewhat. There was an electrical burn coming up from under his collar and along his cheek. She swiftly unbuttoned his shirt to see lightning-like scars running along his chest.

"Heh. You called me 'dad'. You haven't called me that in ages," Andy remarked lightly as he struggled somewhat with his breathing. "Remind me to mark it on the calendar."

"This is no time for jokes, you idiot," she reprimanded tearfully as she watched him tremble in place.

"Just like your mum. Always called me that when she was worried, too." A low groan escaped Andy then while his body began trembling. It was a slow quiver that built up gradually in his body until it had the appearance of him being cold. Though Madison knew it had nothing to do with temperature. She felt the Doctor coming beside her, crouching down and giving Andy a quick scan with his sonic. Andy, whose eyes had slid shut, barely peeked one open. "Be honest, how bad is it?" he asked warily.

"You'll live, but you need medical care," the Doctor told him. There came a loud bang from the metal trapdoor next to them. "And we need to get going."

"Lead the way," Andy said, nodding that he was ready. Worried, though knowing that they indeed needed to hurry away from this place, she buttoned up Andy's shirt and carefully helped him up. His body pressed into her, creating a steady pressure of weight against her. Though it was nothing she could not handle as she adjusted herself, bringing in one arm around his waist and pulling one of his around her shoulders. She could see the Doctor making a move to take Andy from her, but she shook her head in refusal. She knew it would be best if he remained focused on keeping them moving down the rest of the factory while she stayed in charge of helping Andy. The Doctor must have seen her train of thought for he soon nodded and walked down the hallway they found themselves in.

"Here, I have some painkillers," Angela said then, handing over two pills to Andy. "Hopefully they can help."

"Thank you," Andy said gratefully before grabbing the pills. He grimaced as he swallowed them, but was soon smiling at the two beside him.

Madison knew he was putting a brave face on, pushing through the pain. But the tremors she felt in his body while he leaned against her spoke volumes. It also didn't help when hearing the strangled noise he tried to suppress when they began walking again. A sharp pang went through Madison then as her mind flashed back to her father laying in the hospital all those years ago. It was a horrible sense of deja vu that rocked her to her core. She pushed aside any wavering grief she experienced as she knew she must stay centred on the present. Her father of this universe needed her now and she was going to do her damndest to keep him alive and well. She was simply glad that this area of the factory had no Cybermen lining the hallway. Though it was a similar layout to the cooling tunnels, it was much warmer and brighter in the factory itself.

"It's going to be okay, sweetheart. I'll be fine once I get in some water," Madison heard Andy whisper to her as they shuffled down the hallway. She only nodded in response, not bothering to speak at the moment. She feared that her voice would betray her at the second if she did.

"You hanging on back there, Andy?" called the Doctor from up ahead of them. Both he and Angela were a good distance in the front, keeping an eye out for more Cybermen and such as the other two trailed behind. Though now both Angela and the Doctor paused in step, giving a moment for the two to catch up.

"Oh . . . I've had better days," Andy replied, his voice wavering somewhat from the pain coursing through his body. Both he and Madison then twitched as they felt their instincts kick in place. "Someone's coming!" he hissed quickly. His warning came too late as a Cyberman stepped around the corner that the Doctor and Angela were close to.

"You are not upgraded," the Cyberman droned.

"Yeah, well, upgrade this," Angela responded quickly, reacting fast before the Cyberman had a chance to even take a step forward. She successfully pulled out a cylinder of copper coil and metal from her bag, throwing it at the Cyberman. It stuck to the cybernetic chest and immediately began sparking. The Cyberman shook in place as its body was shot full of electricity, giving off a disturbing high-pitched, robotic scream of sorts as it fell on its back onto the concrete floor.

"What the hell was that thing?" the Doctor said the moment the Cyberman stopped moving. His voice was raised in shock, though his grin spoke of enthusiasm in seeing something new.

"Electromagnetic bomb," Angela explained as the two walked over closer to where the Cyberman lay. "Takes out computers. I figured it might stop a Cyber suit."

"Well, you figured right. Now, let's have a look. Know your enemy," the Doctor said as he crouched down beside the Cyberman.

"Doctor, wait," Madison called out, earning both his and Angela's attention. Biting the inside of her cheek, she could only gaze at the Cyberman in solemn sympathy. It happened the moment the suit had been electrocuted. The mind came back, allowing the person within the suit to think and feel again. It came in agonising waves, hitting Madison with a force from the terror, confusion, and dismay the woman within the metal suit was experiencing. "Please, be gentle with her," she breathed as she and Andy shuffled over.

"She's in a lot of pain," Andy said in agreement. He too gave the cybernetic woman a look of empathy and sorrow.

"'She'? How can you tell?" Angela asked, clearly shocked to hear this.

"They can sense emotional trauma and pain," the Doctor said quietly as he gently worked on the front panel of the Cyberman. "I'll be gentle. I promise." Madison wasn't sure who he was talking to at that moment. Whether it be to her and Andy, or to the woman inside the suit. She helped Andy to the ground beside Angela. It was painful for him, but Madison knew that he would want to be beside the cybernetic woman. Madison went around to the other side of the Cyberman, sitting down beside them. She reached out and touched the metal hand that lay on the ground, wishing she could hold the woman and give her some sort of comfort.

"Got a logo on the front. Lumic's turned them into a brand," she heard the Doctor say under his breath. There was a grating in his voice, a tremor of anger just coursing beneath the surface as he sonicked open the panel. Knowing the Cyberman was now aware and feeling again, she could sense the Oncoming Storm in him approaching. Finally pulling away the circular panel, he held it up for them to see. "Heart of steel," he said before setting the panel aside. From there they could see the blue glow emitting from inside the Cyberman. There was some sort of flesh, human tissue, completely white like that of a pale corpse, seen meshed together in clumps just under the surface.

"Is that flesh?" Angela questioned, with some form of logical curiosity, though there was some colour drained from the woman's face.

The Doctor hummed in the back of his throat as he held up some of the tendrils of flesh in his fingers. "A central nervous system. Artificially grown then threaded throughout the suit so it responds like a living thing. Well . . . she is a living thing." The storm quelled somewhat in his eyes as he gave the still quiet cybernetic woman a saddened gaze. He dropped the tendrils of flesh back into the hole carefully before pointing to a computer chip stuck within the flesh. "Look. Emotional inhibitor. Stops them feeling anything. Unless . . . it's broken."

Angela could only shake her head, at a loss. "But why?"

"She's still got a human brain. Imagine her reaction if she could see herself. Realise herself inside this thing . . ." The Doctor slowly looked at Madison. "How aware is she?"

"She's . . . becoming more aware by the moment," she murmured, barely speaking above a breath. She shifted as she felt the new wave of panic coming from the robotic woman. "She's awake."

"Why . . . am I . . . cold?" came the robotic voice, speaking slowly and struggling to even voice anything. There was no woman or man distinction to be heard from the Cyberman as they spoke. Only the coldness of a machine.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," the Doctor said quietly in response, lifting a hand to touch the top of the Cyberman's head.

"Why . . . so cold?" the cybernetic woman repeated, begging for someone to answer her.

No one had the heart to tell the poor woman what had become of her. Instead, the Doctor pressed on to question. "Can you remember your name?"

"Sally. Sally Phelan." A pause. "Where's Gareth?"

"Who's Gareth?" Angela asked.

The cybernetic woman didn't seem to hear Angela. "He can't see me. It's unlucky the night before."

"You're getting married?" Now Angela's spirits were lowered in hearing this. She wasn't the only one to feel sullen.

"I'm . . . cold. I'm so . . . cold," Sally spoke again, still seeming at a painful loss of what happened to her.

"It's all right. You sleep now, Sally. Just go to sleep," the Doctor said as he began to lower his sonic towards the opening in the woman's metal chest.

"Wait, Doctor, just a moment," Madison said quickly, stopping him. Reaching then around the Cyberman's head, she held it gently in her grasp, around both sides. Concentrating, she closed her eyes and focused on the mind. As soft as she could, she shifted through the distressed mind, through the tempest of disarray, to begin to crumble the turmoil bit by bit. Until she was finally able to come to a sense of soothing, lulled into a sweet dream of bliss. She focused on Sally's mindeye of what she envisioned for her wedding, letting the woman live out her fantasy alongside her beloved. By the time Madison let go of Sally's head, she felt her body trembling and the tears falling down her face. Her mind throbbed painfully, but it was a pain she could handle. For she had given Sally a final resting place to be within.

"There. She's dreaming now. You can let her go in peace. She won't feel a thing," Madison whispered, giving a small indication with her hand for the Doctor to continue. He did so carefully, pressing the sonic screwdriver into the core of the cybernetic suit. The blue glow from within disappeared not a moment later, showing them that Sally had left them completely. The stillness of the hallway was heavy on their shoulders as all stared at Sally in solemn silence. Madison continued to allow tears to leak down her face as she sat on the chilly floor, staring blankly at the Cyberman before her. All she felt, at that moment, was the throbbing of her head and heart.

"Sally Phelan didn't die for nothing," the Doctor spoke then, a sharp edge now heard in his subtle voice. "'Cause that's the key, the emotional inhibitor. If we could find the code behind it, the cancellation code, then feed it throughout the system into every Cyberman's head, they'd realise what they are." Body slowly growing tight, Madison lifted her eyes to stare at him as she listened to the implication of his words. She knew what would happen if they went with this plan. She could see it already, playing out in her mind. So many Sallys would this create. Madison couldn't even imagine the pain of all those souls, all at once.

"And what happens then?" Angela asked, seeming to wish to know what they would be facing in making this choice.

"I think it would kill them," the Doctor told her.

"No thinking about it. It will kill them," Andy spoke up then, sounding grave yet his voice grating from anger. Finally noticing his own tears, Madison felt her heart twist at the sight of her father having streaks down his face. He continued to stare hard at Sally in front of him, not daring to lift his eyes from the Cyberman. "You're suggesting we put thousands of people through a living hell. All at once."

". . . Yeah," the Doctor sighed, shaking his head now. "I can't think of any other way of stopping them. Not without allowing them to convert thousands more before I can put an end to it more peacefully."

"We don't have a choice, then, do we?" Madison finally said, her eyes not focused on either one of them as she senses herself becoming rather faint, not all there and present with them. But this lasted only for a second longer before she became more focused, resolved in knowing the course of action the Doctor wanted to take would be the right one. "We can't leave them as they are, and we cannot allow them to convert any more people. Whatever choice we make today, there is no right or wrong answer. All we can do is make certain that the future is clear for other Sallys out there to have a chance, a real moment, to experience their lives with their loved ones."

"They'll die in pain, though," Andy argued rather weakly as he saw the logic in their choice but was still clearly torn by it.

"Would you rather have them have a quick death of pain, or be forced to live out a vegetated state for eternity?" Madison countered. "If I'd had a choice, I'd choose having my emotions back rather than being forced to live with none."

Soon, Andy sighed and nodded. "I wish there was another way."

"I know. Believe me, I know. I wish there was one, too. But it is a way that we can save so many others," the Doctor said, reaching over to rub the top of Andy's shoulder with a strong hand. "I'll make sure they go quickly. I don't want them to suffer, either." There was only a brief instant of Andy nodding before he swiftly sucked in a harsh breath and turned to Angela who had stood up from their huddle.

"Angela!" he cried while reaching out to grab Angela. He made a move to yank her back away from the waiting Cyberman who had appeared stealth-like into the hallway with them. They never even heard the stomping of its feet. Madison wondered if it had turned off some of its mechanical noise to sneak up on them. No matter, she was just as shocked as the rest and she saw that the hand of the Cyberman had grabbed Angela before Andy could reach for her. The electricity flowed through the woman's body, making her shake on the spot before soon dropping to the floor in a heap, completely still and lifeless.

"No!" Madison shouted, anger flaring up as she shot up from the ground and glared at the Cyberman in a fury. "You bastard!"

"No! No! You didn't have to kill her!" the Doctor shouted along with her, his own rage bared fiercely at the Cyberman.

"Sensors detect abnormal biological structures," the Cyberman droned as more of its comrades stomped down the hallway towards them. "You three are an unknown upgrade. You will be taken for analysis."

There was no more they could say as the Cybermen made them move on. Madison went over to Andy as quickly as she could, helping him to stand and walk alongside her and the Doctor. Down the hallway, they went deeper into the factory. Madison could feel her heart hang heavily down into the pit of her stomach. The loss of Angela had been so abrupt. Not even a chance to save her. The worst part was, Madison knew that she could have saved Angela if she had not been so distracted. The pain in her mind, the throb of helping soothed someone, must have deluded her senses in her instincts of danger. And Andy was in no shape, either. Still . . . there was so much more she wished she could have done for Angela. If anything, if they were to succeed today, then the only thing Madison had in mind was to give Angela's family word of her heroism.

Eventually, they were brought into some sort of central control room. In the heart of the factory, a massive room with all sorts of monitors and work spaces for someone to keep watch over the factory and its operations. From the moment they stepped into the room, they could see Pete and Rose had been captured as well, the two being guarded carefully by other Cybermen. Pete was seen sitting on a chair, with his elbows resting on his knees as he leaned forward and stared gloomily at the floor. Rose was fidgeting on the spot beside him, choosing to stand and bite at her bottom lip in an anxious manner. There was a look of utter despair in the girl's eyes that had Madison worried immediately.

"We've been captured but don't worry, Rose and Pete are still out there. They can rescue us. Oh, well, never mind," the Doctor spoke up then in absent sarcasm as he started to undo his bow tie. He let the material hang around his collar as he frowned in concern when seeing the looks on Rose and Pete's face. "You okay?" he asked them once the Cybermen brought him, Andy, and Madison over. Andy let go of Madison, moving to lean against the desk of the monitors next to where the Cybermen had them stand. He didn't look good to Madison. He was pale, and when she held his hand she could feel how clammy he was. The tremble was still there as well. He gave her a weak smile, trying to show that he was fine.

"Yeah," Rose answered first, her voice sounding subtly thick from unushered tears. "But they got Jackie."

"We were too late. Lumic killed her," Pete said, his own voice gruff as he glared absently at the ground. Then, he happened to glance up and his brow furrowed in worry when seeing the state of Andy. "You all right, mate?"

"Never better. Just got a bit of shock therapy from a Cyberman," Andy joked lightly. Then, he gave Pete a look of empathy, his eyes growing in soft understanding. "I'm so sorry, Pete."

Pete swallowed heavily, his head giving the smallest nod. "Yeah," he uttered in a wavering breath.

"And where is he? The famous Mister Lumic?" the Doctor called out suddenly, raising his voice as he stared around the room of monitors and Cybermen. He looked at one Cyberman then. "Don't we get the chance to meet our lord and master?"

"He has been upgraded," another Cyberman answered.

"So he's just like you?" the Doctor questioned.

"He is superior. The Lumic unit has been designated Cyber Controller."

Madison could only wonder what this meant, though she received the answer to this shortly after watching the Cybermen turn at attention and the large wall in the back moved. Out from hissing smoke and low blue light came forward a Cyberman that was sitting down in a massive grey steel chair. Though the term 'chair' could be scarcely used as it looked more like a pile of tubes and wires with how many connections there were into the Cyberman. The Cyberman itself was indeed different from the rest. One starts, there is a clear window, a see-through section of its head, showing the human brain inside the shell. The eyes glowed a bright, white light. The Cyberman also appeared to be larger and bulkier than the rest, with wires and tubes attached to the metal frame of the robotic form. She wondered why Lumic had turned himself into a Cyberman before his takeover had been completed. Perhaps his health had been far too terrible to keep him alive before it could be finished. Either way, it did not matter to her. He was the reason so many were now dead, after all.

"This is the Age of Steel and I am its creator," Lumic boasted to them, his voice robotic though it sounded much more human than the rest of the Cybermen.

Madison only half listened to the sarky retort the Doctor gave in response to this as her senses were overloaded with a wave of panic and terror. Though none of which were her own. She could feel Andy tense up beside her, showing that he felt it as well. Then, she distantly heard the screams begin to slowly rise up, growing louder by the moment. All those people, slowly coming to and waking up from their hypnotic state, now all felt by the two of them.

"That's my friends at work. Good boys," the Doctor said, praising the work of Mickey and Jake. "Mister Lumic, I think that's a vote for free will." He gave a wink and a click of his tongue then, grinning proudly that his plan had worked.

"I have factories waiting on seven continents," Lumic said in dismissal. "If the EarPods have failed, then the Cybermen will take humanity by force. London has fallen, so shall the world." This declaration didn't settle well with Madison. Her stomach, which was already in a tissy from the overwhelming sensation of all those scared minds down in the depths of the factory, twisted in uncomfortable knots.

"Lumic, why are you doing this? You wanted immortality. Well, you've got it now. There's no need to bring it on everyone else," Andy spoke up, throwing a heated stare at Lumic. "Just take the Cybermen you have and go."

"My life's work will not be complete until I have brought the world into my vision," Lumic stated coldly. "I will bring peace to the world. Everlasting peace and unity and uniformity."

"And imagination?What about that? The one thing that lead you here," the Doctor suddenly said, speaking rather bluntly. Madison had seen him taking a fleeting, subtle glance towards a security camera in the corner of the room just a moment ago. Now he had his arms crossed as he leaned against the monitors behind him. "Imagination, you're killing it dead."

"What is your name?" Lumic questioned snidely.

"I'm the Doctor."

"A redundant title. Doctors need not exist. Cybermen never sicken."

"Yeah, but that's it. That's exactly the point," the Doctor argued loudly, stepping away to walk closer to Lumic, still apparently trying to reason with the Cyberman. "Oh, Lumic, you're a clever man. I'd call you a genius except I'm in the room. But everything you've invented, you did to fight your sickness, and that's brilliant, that is so human. But once you get rid of sickness and mortality, then what's there to strive for, eh? The Cybermen won't advance. You'll just stop. You'll stay like this forever. A metal Earth with metal men and metal thoughts, lacking the one thing that makes this planet so alive. People!" He walked around as he spoke, going from being close to Lumic to wandering amongst the other Cybermen within the room. He finished his plea with his arms thrown out in exasperation, still trying to reach Lumic somehow.

"Ordinary, stupid, brilliant people," the Doctor finished, facing Lumic once more.

"You are proud of your emotions?" Lumic asked him offhandedly.

"Oh, yes."

"Then tell me, Doctor, have you known grief and rage and pain?"

There was a flash that crossed the Doctor's face then. An indication of harsh remembrance beneath the surface. "Yes. Yes, I have."

"And they hurt?"

"Oh, yes."

"I can set you free. Would you not want that? A life without pain?"

Unable to keep quiet any longer, Madison spoke up, "You cannot truly live without the highs and lows that come from emotions. They're what makes life meaningful. Pain and sadness are just as important as happiness and love. Without them, that would be a meaningless life. You'll be living in nothing more than a vegetated state if you continue down this path."

"Or, I will be fulfilling what humans were always meant to become. Infinite beings of consciousness," Lumic countered, dismissing her entirely. "Will you not join me?"

Madison noticed the dark glare that crossed the Doctor's face when Lumic mentioned 'beings of consciousness'. All she could think about was what his own people had almost done. "You might as well kill me," the Doctor spoke then, voice unwavering as he stared down Lumic.

"Then I take that option," Lumic responded coldly.

"It's not yours to take," the Doctor argued swiftly, spitting his words in anger. "You're a Cyber Controller. You don't control me or anything with blood in its heart."

"You have no means of stopping me," Lumic countered as the Cybermen moved to face the group, ready to do as their Controller commanded. "I have an army. A species of my own."

The Doctor ran an aggravated hand down his face as he started to wander around the room again. "You just don't get it, do you? An army's nothing. 'Cause those ordinary people, they're the key. The most ordinary person can change the world. Some ordinary man or woman . . . some idiot." The Doctor made a slight turn of his head towards the camera on the wall briefly. It was at this point Madison started to realise what he was doing.

The Doctor continued on. "All it takes is for him to find, say, the right numbers, say the right code, say, for example, the code behind the emotional inhibitor. The code right in front of him. 'Cause even an idiot knows his computers these days. Knows how to get past firewalls and passwords. Knows how to find something encrypted in the Lumic family database under, ehm—what was it, Pete? Binary what?"

"Binary nine," Pete answered quickly, also knowing what the Doctor was trying to do.

The Doctor nodded in appreciation before rambling on. "An idiot could find that code. A cancellation code. And he'd keep on typing, keep on fighting." By this point the Doctor had carefully moved over to the main control centre in the room. "Anything to save his friends."

"Your words are irrelevant," Lumic spoke then, apparently growing annoyed by the Doctor's ramble.

"Heh, talk too much, that's my problem," the Doctor said in cheek, grinning mischievously at Lumic now. "Lucky I got you that cheap tariff, Rose, for all our long chats on your phone." He put an emphasis on the word 'phone' while glancing towards the camera again.

"You will be deleted."

"Yes. Delete. Control. Hash. All those lovely buttons," said the Doctor while turning his head, ignoring Lumic's threat. "Then, of course, my particular favourite. Send. And! Let's not forget how you seduced all those ordinary people in the first place, by making every bit of technology compatible with everything else."

By this point, Rose's phone was heard beeping. Madison glanced over, seeing the girl pulling out the mobile from a pocket in her waitress outfit. Rose only glanced at it for a moment before turning towards the Doctor who stood a few feet away. "It's for you," Rose said before tossing the phone over to the Time Lord.

The Doctor caught the phone easily, grinning in triumph now. "Like this," he finished before inserting the phone into a slot in the control centre in front of him.

The reaction was instantaneous. All the Cybermen within the room grabbed their heads and began screaming, quaking on the spot. At the same time, Madison and Andy exclaimed in shock and pain, gripping their heads in the agony from the bombardment they were experiencing. Madison never felt something quite like this before. This wave after wave of pain and suffering. All at once. Normally she felt such broken minds with more easement into the situation as she approached it. But to have it hit so suddenly. She felt the Doctor beside her not a moment later while the Cybermen were still screaming in their high-pitched robotic voices. She could feel them all dying, painfully, slowly. She did not even realise that she had been sobbing, crying hard tears, until the Doctor cupped her face and made her look at him. She could feel his fingers go to her temple.

"I'm fine," she managed to gasp, pulling her face away from his hands. "We need to go."

"I need you focused," he countered.

"Trust me, I am. Now let's move." She went to Andy, throwing his arm around her shoulder and wrapping her arm around his waist, ready to get going. Andy leaned heavily against her, panting through raspy breaths while his eyes were closed. She wasn't sure if it was from the agony the Cybermen were facing, or if it was from his injuries.

"What have you done?" Lumic demanded in outrage, looking at his creations dying.

"I gave them back their souls," the Doctor answered him, glaring at Lumic now. "They can see what you've done, Lumic, and it's killing them." He ran over for Rose's phone, grabbing it. He then ran for the exit, with Rose and Pete not far behind. Madison and Andy were far slower, but they were quick enough to not be far behind.

Things begin to explode by then as some of the Cybermen's heads burst, sending fire and eruption in their wake as pieces of metal and flesh went flying everywhere. In reaction to this, some of the building began to ignite in a fiery blaze. They kept running through all of this. Through the destruction, the chaos, and the fire. At some point, they halted when the Doctor discovered their exit had been blocked. It looked bleak in their attempt to escape.

"There's a balloon on the roof . . .," Andy said weakly. Only Madison heard him as the sound of the pandemonium throughout the factory carried too greatly.

"The zeppelin!" she called to the others at the same moment Rose got a phone call.

"She's right. Mickey's waiting for us," Rose said after ending the call from Mickey. The Doctor led the way from there, leading them up different stairs that circled the factory. The rest followed after him as quickly as they could. All the while avoiding other eruptions that occurred and spurts of fire. The entire building was quaking by the time they arrived at the roof. The fire was coming up from the sides of the roof's edge, and some through the vents of the air ducts that rested on the roof. Nothing of which was a good sign. The zeppelin was hovering close by, looking as though it were quivering in the air from all the explosions. A rope ladder came down from the zeppelin then the moment they got closer.

"Andy, Maddie, you two go first!" the Doctor called, waving for the two of them to get on before the others.

Madison didn't protest, knowing that Andy was getting worse by the minute, especially with all the running, and she needed to get him on the airship quickly. She only hoped there was water onboard to help him. So, she pushed Andy to the ladder, helping him climb. She could feel the tremors in his body as she held a hand on his back to keep him from falling as she climbed just below him. She glanced down to see Rose coming behind her next, followed by the Doctor and then Pete. The airship then began to rise, steering away from the crumbling factory before they too succumbed to destruction. It was difficult to help Andy to hold onto the ladder and not fall as she too struggled to climb the ladder. The wind was whipping around them in almost a gale. A bone-chilling gust encased them as they rose into the inky blackness of the night. When the sudden jerk came, shaking the rope ladder so badly that she almost lost her grip, she let out a cry when Andy began to go limp.

"Just hang on! You've got to keep climbing!" she shouted over the thrumming of the zeppelin's engines and the rush of the wind around them. She could see Andy shake his head to get himself back to focus. While he climbed, she turned her gaze down to see what had caused the jolt in the rope ladder. From there, she could see that Lumic had gotten onto the ladder as well, slowly climbing up. His heavyweight made the ladder sway around tautly. She watched as the Doctor tossed down his sonic screwdriver to Pete, who then used said sonic to sever the rope under him. The fall for Lumic, after that, was quick. Going down, down to the factory before being swallowed up by the inferno of flames from the building. Madison turned her head away, keeping her attention on the pressing matter of her father growing weaker by the moment.

Eventually, she helped Andy up into the zeppelin's open hatch, pushing his back to get him to a solid floor. She could see him flopping over the moment he got through the opening, falling to the ground onto his back with arms and legs spread out. After getting through the opening herself, she hurried to move him away from the hole and into the ship more by dragging him by his arms. When she finally got him to a spot to rest, she went to kneel beside him, checking him over. He was breathing in wheezing breaths, completely unconscious now. Feeling his pulse, it was much too fast.

"Doctor, we need to hurry. Andy needs water," she said the moment the Doctor and Rose crawled up through the opening. The Doctor hurried over to her side, touching a hand to Andy's throat to feel his pulse.

"I don't know where we can find water," he muttered, shaking his head at a loss.

"There's a pool in the back," Pete said the moment he climbed through the opening. Rose helped him pull up the ladder and shut the hatch. "Take him to it, quick."

Not asking any questions, the Doctor and Madison both grabbed Andy and hoisted him up. The Doctor ended up carrying Andy mostly while Madison opened different doors for him. By the second door, Mickey and Jake had both come rushing over to meet them. Their grins of triumph quickly melted when seeing the state of Andy.

"No time," Madison said hurriedly before they had a chance to comment. "We need to get him to the pool. Pete, where is it?"

"Left. Go left. It's all the way in the back," Pete instructed them. "And someone, for god's sakes, get back at the wheel."

Jake hurried off back to pilot the ship while the rest continued on to the back. Madison kept opening the doors as they went, leading the way until finally reaching the 'pool' area. Being that this was a zeppelin, the cabin space was not the biggest. Though it was grander than any zeppelin that she had ever been on before. Be as it may, the pool was more of something one might find as a bathhouse of sorts. A very massive tub to bathe in and not really all that much room for actual swimming. But it was perfect enough for what they needed. It even had water already in the marble bath, ready to go for someone to take a dip in. Madison turned to the Doctor who carried Andy, waving for them to set the Merman down by the outside of the bath first. Without question, the Doctor helped Madison get Andy undressed. Madison didn't even worry about exposing Andy to everyone. She just wanted to get him healed. Be damned the thought of modesty at the moment. His injuries were worse than they had initially assumed as without clothes they could see all the burns in arched welts along his frame, worse by his ankle where the Cyberman had grabbed him. She moved faster when his breathing began to falter as he twitched, grabbing him and hoisting him into the bath. She got into the water next to him, not bothering to undress herself and ignoring her hesitancy with there being Pete and Mickey around. Pete already knew about her, of course. But Mickey . . .

"How is going in water supposed to help him?" she heard Mickey asking someone behind her. It was the last thing she heard clearly as she pushed Andy under the water and went below the surface with him. She hugged him tightly, arms around his shoulders as she closed her eyes. Her heart was hammering away in fear of what would happen to him. Had they found the water in time? Or were they too late? Was she to watch her father die for a second time? She winced as harsh images flashed through her mind. Memories of old tore at her, down to her core. Her breathing hitched and her eyes burned. She was lost in a loop of seeing her father on a white cot, closing his eyes for the last time, playing out in her mind over and over again.

"I'm okay, sweetheart. I'm not going anywhere," came the most gentle words. Words which yanked her out of her frantic state of mind and to the present. She pulled away slightly to get a look at Andy, seeing him smiling at her.

Already being in water had helped as his skin colour had returned to normal and his breathing was even and calm. She gave a sound of relief, though it came muffled in the water and was nothing more than bubbles from her mouth. She then pulled Andy into a strong hug, arms wrapped so tightly around him that she could feel both of their hearts beating as one. He returned her hug, arms around her back and rubbing it in soothing motions. She could feel his mind easing hers, deluding the turmoil from her head to give her peace of mind. She thanked him by returning the gesture.

"We should probably see what the others have planned. It's a bit of a mess in London right now and I know Pete will want to fix things soon," Andy said after they had their long moment of hugging. She knew he was right. Though it was hard letting go of him. It was . . . simply too comforting, holding him, sharing their thoughts together. However, she knew she needed to pull herself together and focus on the others. For she knew, with a heavy heart, that soon she would be leaving Andy behind. Forever. The only solace she had with this in mind, was that Andy still had his own Madison in this world to keep him company.

So, she moved away from their hold on each other, turning her head to look at the surface of the water, seeing the hazy image of the Doctor watching her below the ripples of the bath. She moved carefully, sitting up to break through the surface. Andy followed her closely, sitting next to her as he too surfaced and stared at the Doctor. The Time Lord had crouched beside the bath, clearly in concern for Andy's health. Though there was a hint of fascination as Madison knew he was still just as puzzled by their healing ability when it came to water. Something she and he had discussed at different moments previously.

"How are you feeling?" asked the Doctor, looking at Andy.

"Much better. Though I think I'll have to stay in this bath overnight," Andy answered, shifting his emerald green tail somewhat to get more comfortable.

The Doctor gave a short nod, already knowing this from experience with Madison. "Pete and Jake are getting the zeppelin close to the TARDIS. We'll be ready to go soon."

Upon hearing this, Madison stiffened. Her heart clenched as her stomach dipped. "I thought we were stuck here for twenty-four hours?" she asked, her voice already coming out breathless and wavering.

"The power cell is ready now. If we don't leave soon, we'll never get back," the Doctor replied, giving her a look of sympathy. It was clear that he knew why Madison was suddenly bereaved in the aspect of leaving. "We still have some time before we get back to the ship. So . . ." The Doctor scratched his neck, seemingly uncertain then.

"Just give us a moment, Doctor," Andy said, voice as calm as ever. There was still a smile on his face, though it had lessened, turning into a forlorn expression.

The Doctor did not say anything more. Merely gave another small nod of understanding before standing up and moving away. Madison watched as he went over to Mickey and Rose, who was standing in the corner of the bathroom, whispering to each other. She could see Mickey giving her glances every so often, still seemingly in shock over her transformation. Though he seemed to be trying his best not to openly gawk at her. Putting this aside, for now, Madison turned to Andy instead. She felt desperation then in waiting to stay longer. Even if she knew this could never be, it still tore at her heart in knowing that she must leave. There had been so much she had wished to do with him within a day. Things that could help give new memories to the nightmare that was his death from her universe. So far, it had been nothing but destruction and chaos that they had to face together. Then again . . . that was just like them, wasn't it? They had faced quite a bit of danger during their life. Still, she had wanted it to be different this time.

"I wish . . .," she said, her voice already thick from unushered tears.

"I know." Andy brought up a hand, holding the side of her face. His webbed fingers rubbed at her dripping wet hair. "I know, sweetheart. But at least we had some time together today, eh? Knowing how our life works, it actually went rather smoothly today, I think." He gave her a crooked smile. One which she couldn't help but give a small, wavering laugh at.

However, all humour vanished as she hugged him. Arms wrapped around his shoulders, and she pressed her face into the crook of his neck. Burying herself away from the inevitable departure. Though she did not wish to stay in this alternate universe, the idea of leaving crawled at her insides. Twisting them up in painful folds. She just wanted one more hour. One more moment with Andy. But it was ending too soon. She could feel the airship starting to descend to its landing place. They were going to leave, with nothing she could do about it. She felt Andy lifting a hand to her face, pressing his fingers to her temple as she rested her head against his shoulder. She closed her eyes as she felt him entering her mind. It was then that he began playing out a scenario in their shared link. An hour for them to spend time together. Nothing exciting, really. It was simply them, sitting together in a cafe on a bright sunny day, talking. Just talking. But it was everything to Madison those imagined words they shared. The laughs they had. The coffee they drank together. It was wonderful and it was real to her. A true memory. Then, the image finally faded and Andy moved his hand away.

"Thank you," she whispered, holding him tighter.

He gave her a squeeze around her middle in response, not needing to say anything to show how much he cared for her. But still, he did. "I'm so proud of you and the woman you've become. No matter what universe you come from, you'll always be my little girl."

More tears cascaded down her face as she nodded and buried her head into the crook of his neck. "I love you, dad," she spoke, her voice muffled.

"I love you, too. Never forget that," he said as he ran his fingers down her head.

Then, it was over and they pulled away. Sad smiles were given before Madison turned and pulled herself out of the bath. She hoisted herself carefully to the edge of the bath, turning on the spot to allow her tail to flop onto the cold floor of the room. She would need to start drying now if she wanted to catch up with the others for their coming departure.

"Here, I'll find a towel," Rose offered when noticing Madison sitting her tail outside of the bath. The girl walked around the large room to see what she could find while Mickey, with hands in his coat pockets, stood there a few feet from her, looking her up and down.

"So this is the big secret you've been keeping?" he asked. "You're a mermaid?"

"Yes. Sorry it's been a secret. I didn't know when the right time would be to tell you," Madison said, trying to offer an apology for keeping him out of the loop. She could tell it bothered him. Something else he had been left behind while in the company of the Doctor. Mickey shrugged to show there were no hard feelings, but she could tell it still troubled him. Before anything more could be said, Rose was walking over with a large fluffy towel in hand. Madison used it quickly to dry her tail. She knew her legs would still form, even with a soaked dress. Though some scales might stick around with how wet her hair and dress were. She sighed, her tail giving a loud slap on the tiled floor. She hoped no one else would be around outside of the TARDIS. She didn't need to be the one who ruined the secret for Mers of this world.

"We're here," the Doctor said the moment he came back into the bathroom. He saw Madison trying to hurry up in drying herself off. He silently came over to grab the towel from her. Gently he ran the damp cloth up and down her tail in smooth strokes. When her tail finally shifted and morphed back into legs, she could see the furrowed look on the Doctor's face as he stared at the patches of scales on her legs and arms. There was a flash of worry in his eyes then.

"Don't worry. It's just because my dress is still wet. It's keeping me rather dampened," she explained.

"It's unfortunate when it happens," Andy agreed as he leaned close to the bath's edge to stare at them. The Doctor gave a nod before helping Madison to her feet. She wobbled somewhat where she stood, but soon felt the pins and needles from her legs slowly disappear. As the Doctor took her hand, ready to get going, Madison looked back at her father one last time. There was so much that still felt unsaid. Things that felt torn within that made her hesitant to leave. But she knew that she must.

"Goodbye, dad," she said quietly, already feeling a few stray tears trail down her face.

"Bye, sweetheart," Andy said kindly. Then, he looked at the Doctor. "Before you go, there's something I think that needs to be said."

"What's that?" the Doctor asked, genuinely curious now.

Andy held a very stern expression as he eyed the Doctor carefully. His Irish accent coming out. "You take care of my daughter, ya hear? Don't make me have to cross a universe to come kick ya arse." Then, he slapped on a smile again and had back his accent from before. "Got it?"

"Ah, erm, yes, sir," the Doctor replied, suddenly seeming anxious as his eyes momentarily looked at Madison in a nervous gesture for help in this matter. She couldn't help but chuckle, squeezing his hand in hers before pulling him along and down the hallway. Not once looking back as she feared her resolve might just crumble.

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Sorry that this chapter was longer than usual. I hope that it was still good. If you enjoyed feel free to leave a review. It's always appreciated.

Stay safe out there!