Chapter 15:
Nova felt her lungs burn as her hearts pounded against her chest like a drum beating rapidly. The Doctor kept a firm grip on her wrist as he tried to pull her along the damp corridor.
It'll be fine just keep running He said to her using their telepathic bond.
They came to a dead end with another stepladder, the Doctor raced up first with Nova in the middle followed by Mrs Moore. The trap door was stuck he banged his fists against the metal door first before whipping out his sonic screwdriver and whirling it around the metal unlocking it before he flung the trapdoor open. The frantic trio pushed their way up the step ladder as the cybermen just reached them, one tried to grab onto Mrs Moores legs but the Doctor slammed it shut and used his sonic screwdriver to lock it closed.
"Oh good team" Shouted the Doctor high fiving them both, grinning.
They kept pushing forward along the factory corridor, gas pipes hissed, and they could hear marching cybermen in the distance. They crept along the sides of the factory until a cyberman appeared in front of them.
" You are not upgraded." Said the cyberman stepping forward.
"Yeah? Well, upgrade this." Mrs Moore says as she throws a small rod with copper wire wrapped around it at the Cyberman. It sticks to the metal and the Cyberman jerks, then sparks and collapses.
Nova kicked the cyberman as they got closer to it.
"What the hell was that thing?" Asked the Doctor peering down at the broken cyberman.
"Electromagnetic bomb. Takes out computers, I figured it might stop the cyber-suit."
"You figured right. Now, let's have a look. Know your enemy. A logo on the front. Lumic's turned them into a brand. Heart of steel, but look."
The Doctor removes the circle chest piece on the cyberman using his sonic screwdriver. Inside is not just electronics, but seared flesh and white goo.
" Is that flesh?" Nova asked recoiling from the Doctors hands that were looking at the white stringy bits of flesh he was pulling out of the cyberman, the chest piece emitted a rancid smell that hurt her nose, she crinkled her face in disgust.
"Hmmm. Central nervous system. Artificially grown then threaded throughout the suit so it responds like a living thing. Well, it is a living thing. Oh, but look. Emotional inhibitor. Stops them feeling anything." He said still filling with the suit.
"But why?" Nova asked sadly looking down at the cyberman, peering into the open gap in its body that flashed a strange blue.
"It's still got a human brain. Imagine its reaction if it could see itself, realise itself inside this thing. They'd go insane." The Doctor explained.
" So they cut out the one thing that makes them human." Mrs Moore whispered.
" Because they have to." The Doctor says darkly.
"Why am I cold?" The cyberman asked monotonal.
" Oh, my God. It's alive. It can feel." Moore said her voice catching in the back of her throat.
Nova turned away from the Cyberman, tears welling up in her eyes.
"We broke the inhibitor. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." The Doctor says sadly, before looking over to Nova who has hunched up away from them.
"Why so cold?" It droned on.
"Can you remember your name?" The Doctor asked as he tried to shut down the cyberman.
"Sally. Sally Phelan." It stated.
"You're a woman." Moore gasped.
"Where's Gareth?" The cyberman asked.
"Who's Gareth?" Mrs Moore replied sadly.
"He can't see me. It's unlucky the night before." The cyberman continued, as the Doctor began taking more wires and flesh from the chest piece.
"You're getting married." Moore gasped, as Nova began to cry, her salty tears dripping on the puddles of sewer water before her.
"I'm cold. I'm so cold."
"It's all right. You sleep now, Sally. Just go to sleep." The Doctor whispered as he
puts the sonic screwdriver inside the chest cavity and switches her off.
"Sally Phelan didn't die for nothing, because 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." The Doctor said as each word intensified with anger and fury.
"And what happens then?" Nova said in between her tears.
"I think it would kill them. Could we do that?" The Doctor said turning to her helping her up from the puddles on the floor and he held her close to him. He tried to reach out to her telepathically, but she shut him off, so unshaken by her emotions.
"We've got to. Before they kill everyone else. There's no choice, Doctor. It's got to be done." Mrs Moore states, as she stands up a cyberman quickly advances and grasps her arm before sparking blue electricity through her body, killing her as her body slumps to the floor with a wet thump, splashing into the sewage infested puddles.
Nova screamed trying to pull away from the Doctor, but he held her firmly to his body. As she began shaking as she stared down at Mrs Moore's lifeless eyes, her blonde hair now covered in the sewage water.
"No! No, you didn't have to kill her!" The Doctor screamed, holding tightly onto Nova fearing for the worst.
"Sensors detect a binary vascular system. You both are an unknown upgrade. You will be taken for analysis." The group of cybermen declared leading them both away.
Nova's eyes wandered down to the floor as they were led away, her eyes fuzzy and unclear from tears as she stared at the lifeless body on the floor.
The Doctor said nothing but simply squeezed her hand, he didn't know how to explain how to be so passive with death but at the same time remember each face. His emotions are tainted with time.