Focused on the wax figures guarding them, the Doctor mused their options, as he looked down at them, staring back with their empty eyes, devoid of life.
He questioned if they should discuss this around the wax figures, unsure of their capabilities, but Theodore revealed his telepathy with the Doctor, temporary linking him alongside Lila as they discussed their escape without the wax figures overhearing.
"If we cut ourselves free, we'll drop about six meters," the Doctor noted how they risk falling from a substantial height that would chance them dying from the way they fall, break their feet, shins, almost improbable for them to safely drop from where they're held, unless a miracle happens.
Looking down at their bound feet, Theodore saw how the drop would've inevitably injure them, worse kill them if they dropped incorrectly, and without the ability to open a rift, he didn't have a way to safely get them down.
"What if you throw your voice?" Lila suggested to Theodore as she looked down at the wax figures and heard back from Theodore, "Excellent idea, dear Watson!"
Plotting their escape, Theodore's icy blue eyes glanced around the apparent factory filled with vats of bubbling wax.
Looking above where they're attached, the pulley with the hooks, cogs turned in Theodore's head as he worked out a way to dispose the wax figures without Miser and his son hearing it.
Couldn't dump them back into the molten vat, not without risking them coming back out, and no one wants to deal with that, so Theodore opted to hook them with the same hooks used on them.
Working it out, the trio concluded their private talks, and so began the endeavor of escaping their fates.
Parsing together what Miser sounded like, began Theodore replicating his voice, and threw it far enough that the wax figures wouldn't suspect something amiss.
Convincing them, the wax figures were instructed to lower the trio from the hooks, at least they wouldn't be so high up, and while Theodore couldn't simply ask them to cut the ropes, there's still opportunities.
The wax figures did as it was instructed, without question, though it would be shocking if they suddenly started talking, thankfully they didn't because Theodore didn't even want the thought crossing his mind what his father's wax figure sounded like.
Instructed to go elsewhere, the wax figures left them, and began the next stage of their escape.
With their feet safely touching the ground, began the next set of plans, involving a trick Theodore learnt from his father who learnt it from Harry Houdini himself.
It's not a trick for everyone, especially those adverse to the thought of intentionally disjointing their wrists or other, fearing the chances of something going awry, but it's a useful trick, when the need calls for it.
Slowly, Theodore performed the terrifying trick to those untrained, his wrist going limp, as he slid his hand through the rope, before popping his wrist back, allowing him to undo the rope around his other hand.
His hands freed, Theodore undid the ropes from his feet, before turning his attention to the other two, undoing the ropes, freeing them from the restraints.
Holding his wrist, the Doctor exhaled as he didn't think he'd still have feeling in his hands from how tightly bound the ropes were, before Theodore ushered them away from the hooks.
With the wax figures elsewhere and Miser with his son, the trio worked to hook the wax figures, so when Miser comes back and notices them gone, he couldn't sic his wax figures.
Thankfully, the wax figures have no lemons, and fell for their dubious ploy with no trouble, hooked, lined, no sinking into the wax, obviously, but they're dealt with, giving the trio time to reconvene as they discussed their plan.
Holding his Sonic Screwdriver, Theodore admits he isn't sure if it could pick up either TARDIS since he isn't sure how they're hidden away in the museum, and Lila didn't have her iPod in his TARDIS this adventure, battery trouble, it'd seem.
An unusual series of events resulted in the iPod's battery cease charging and function, all-together, it appeared that when Theodore used it to track the TARDIS in a previous adventure, the unusual signals from his Sonic Screwdriver caused the iPod to react negatively, resulting in its shortened lifespan, and battery acid leaking from the sides.
As an apology, Theodore paid for a brand new one, since then, Lila opted not to bring it with her on their layovers, out of fear of it happening, again.
Al theorized that technology in their world simply couldn't handle the interface from the Sonic Screwdriver, too primitive, leading him to try and come up with something to alleviate the issue, but it's taking longer than anticipated.
This led to the Doctor having an idea, suggesting that Theodore set his Sonic Screwdriver to look for his, the idea that they're technologically the same, avoiding the issues that happened prior, and the belief Miser didn't have foresight to ensure that nothing within the TARDIS couldn't broadcast outward, it's a gamble, but it's worth a shot.
"What do we have to lose?" the Doctor gestures as he gave them his idea, leading to Lila to reply with, "Our lives, but it's a good idea."
With the Doctor's help, Theodore's able to fine tune the Sonic Screwdriver to pick up on the Doctor's, weak as it may be, it's better than nothing.
Quickly, the trio fled through the aisles of vats, following the signal, hunkered below the rim of the vats, as they searched for wherever doorway that Miser and Swenson went through.
Found the wide doors that pushed inward, allowing them to enter another part of the factory, where they discovered more wax figures lining the walls, and as they looked closely, these wax figures weren't moving, unfinished.
"Baffling, how does he control which ones move and don't?" The Doctor wondered as he studied the unfinished wax figures of various Greek philosophers, they looked more like clay figures with how they're coloured, Lila musing they looked like unfinished action figures than wax.
Staring at them, Theodore responded that he isn't sure himself, but for now, onward, and hurry, high-noon tea's almost over.
Following his lead, Theodore looked down at the Sonic Screwdriver as he's following the blue light guiding them through the cold empty hallway that smelled sickly sweet.
It almost got to a point of causing them to gag because of how offending the smell is and amazed that it didn't spell into the factory with the vats.
Cautiously, they dove into a storage the moment Theodore opened it, fearing that if they linger too long, they'll get caught by Miser and Swenson.
Upon entering the storage, they're greeted with even more wax figures, one of them, Plato, that hasn't been put out with the other philosophers, or the others haven't been brought inside, hard to say.
They're all poised differently, that it was hard to walk, but the three managed as they gained their bearings.
Lila stopped as she briefly smelled the offending sweet smell coming from Plato, and alerted Theodore and the Doctor.
A quick sniff around the storage, it's wafting with the sickly smell.
It perturbed them that wax figures smelled sweet, as there wasn't need for scented wax figures, though these days, one isn't sure what goes through the minds of egomaniacs.
Of course, Theodore had the bright idea of licking his finger, touching Plato, before licking his finger again, to his amazement, he briefly exclaimed, "Sweet!"
Raising their brows at this display, the Doctor and Lila stared at Theodore silently as he showed them his finger, affirming that the wax figures weren't wax.
Candy!
Molten candy!
"Excuse me, what?" Lila raised a brow at the proclamation that they're not dealing with wax figures, but figures made of candy.
A shocking turn of events, if that's even possible.
Excitedly nodding, Theodore tried convincing her to try for herself, but Lila opted not to, and the Doctor remarked, "Impossible! When we were destroying those displays, none of it felt or smelt like candy!"
Despite common sense dictating otherwise, Lila watched as the Doctor goes over to the wax figure that Theodore tasted, reached out, broke off a piece of Plato's finger, and bit it!
Standing there with her mouth gap, Lila sees the Doctor chewing on the candy, for a moment, before spitting it out, finding it foul after moments of chewing on it.
"Certainly sweet, not very good sweet, yuck!" the Doctor hated the sweet at it turned foul in his mouth, sticking his tongue out, causing Lila to say, "I've heard pillars of salt, but candy's a new one!"
The knowledge that the bubbling vats didn't contain wax, but candy, made Theodore even curiouser, that the Doctor asked if he dealt with someone like this before.
"No, I'm afraid this isn't one of my usuals," Theodore informed him that this one wasn't someone that popped up on his or his late father's radar.
Furrowing his brow, the Doctor tapped his finger against his chin as he then wondered, "I've never heard of candy being used in this fashion, why on earth would anyone use it?"
Alerted, they turned their heads as Lila found a wall vent, letting them sneak around the factory without the fear of Miser or Swenson finding them.
Now, that they're aware of what they're dealing with, it's a matter of how they'll deal with these strange confectionary figures, as they're much more resilient with heat than average sweets.
"You don't think they sugar coated the TARDIS, do you?" Lila asked the men as they're all on fours, crawling through the vents, attempting to find their way around, hoping to find the Doctor's TARDIS with Theodore's Sonic Screwdriver tuned to the Doctor's.