The Doctor regained consciousness only to discover he had been strapped to a metal bed. Lying beside him, on another metal bed, was the android version of himself. Looking at his robotic replica made him sick to his stomach.
Andrew stood over him grinning like the Cheshire cat. "Welcome back, Doctor. Good of you to join us."
"You won't get away with this," the Doctor said vehemently as he pulled against the straps.
"Oh, but I already have. Now, just relax and let the Arch do its job. I'll give you a heads up, Doctor. The more you fight it, the more pain you'll experience. That's what happened to the cleric. He transferred in absolute agony," Andrew chuckled, quite pleased with himself.
"What was his name?" the Doctor asked.
"Why do you care?"
The Doctor repeated the question angrily. "What was his name?"
"Well, if you must know, they called him David."
"You killed an innocent man without giving it a second thought. You experimented on him like he was an animal!" the Doctor shouted.
"Oh, but you're wrong, Doctor. He's not really dead. His consciousness is in a new body, a better body. He became one of us, just as you will be one of us soon," Andrew said.
"Where is he now?"
"What's with all the questions?" Andrew asked, becoming irritated.
"You said you had a secret weapon. Is David that secret weapon?" the Doctor asked.
"Bingo!" Andrew exclaimed. "He's making sure the priests don't come out of their mission alive."
"And what did you do with the woman? Did you kill her too?" the Doctor asked.
Andrew smiled. "She was of no use to me. Of course I killed her. After the process you'll discover she was of no use to you either. I've done you a huge favor."
The Doctor felt like his heart had been ripped out of his chest. He hated violence, but right now he wanted nothing more than to kill the monster standing over him with his bare hands. How could this be happening? River couldn't be dead! She was supposed to be in his future, in a future regeneration! But these men, these automatons were as ruthless as the Daleks, and they would kill anyone who stood in their way. The Doctor closed his eyes and allowed the tears to flow. He cried for the woman who had touched and stirred his heart. In the short time he hand known her, she had impacted his life like no other. He had only met River once before in The Library, an entire world that housed every book that was ever written. There had been a deep connection between the two of them in the short time they had spent together. No matter what Andrew had said, a part of him refused to believe River was really dead, and he would cling to that glimmer of hope with every fiber of his being.
David stood over the dead German soldiers as Christian and Angelo came out of their hiding place.
"David, what have you done?" Christian asked sadly.
"They tried to kill us! I had to stop them!" David snapped turning his gun on the clerics.
"What are you doing?" Angelo asked in alarm.
"Please believe me, I don't want to do this," David said in anguish. "But I have no other choice!"
"David, listen to me," Christian said softly. "I heard what Father Octavian was saying to you. This is not who you are. You're the kindest, most loving person I know. You have been a dear friend to us all. David, you've been programmed to kill us, but there is a light within you, God's light. That light is fighting against the evil desire to hurt us. Focus on God's light, David. You can overcome this."
David wanted to scream! How could this be happening to him? All he ever wanted to do was to serve mankind, but yet he had just killed several men without any hesitation and here he was ready to kill three more. He hated what he had become, a murderer. Could God ever forgive him for what he had done?
"Christian, look!" Angelo exclaimed, pointing at David's left shoulder.
David looked at Angelo and saw the look of horror on his face. "What's the matter?" David asked.
"Look at your shoulder," Angelo said to David.
David turned to look and gasped in alarm. "Dear God. What have they done to me?"
Burnt wires and metal protruded out of David's shoulder.
"Look at his chest," Angelo said to Christian.
Christian moved toward David and touched the bullet holes in his uniform. "You were shot yet there's no blood."
David stepped back and pointed the weapon at the clerics. "Get away from me!"
Christian stepped back and stood beside Angelo. "Whatever's happened, we can help you, David."
"Shut up! No more talking!" David shouted.
"David, stop it!" Father Octavian shouted from the doorway. The priest leaned heavily against the doorframe to keep himself from falling.
David instinctively turned the gun on the Bishop. "You don't understand! I can't stop myself!"
"Yes you can! You have a choice…free will! No more killing, David! Now, give me your weapon!" Father Octavian ordered.
David knew in his heart what Father Octavian and Christian had said earlier was true. No matter what had been done to alter him, he had to focus on who he truly was; a man of God. David slowly lowered his gun, walked up to Father Octavian and handed the weapon to him.
"Thank you," Father Octavian said before he collapsed into David's arms.
David lifted the unconscious priest into his arms and carried him into another room as easily as carrying a child. The cleric laid the priest on one of several cots the German soldiers had been using. David kneeled beside Father Octavian and noticed there was blood flowing from his mouth.
Angelo came to assist and knelt beside David as he proceeded to unbutton Father Octavian's shirt. To their dismay, they discovered the Bishop's chest and stomach were severely bruised. He was also bleeding from a deep gash on the right side of his ribcage.
"His ribs must be broken. He's bleeding internally," David said with concern.
Suddenly, a light appeared from under David's shirt. "What's that?" Angelo asked in alarm.
David stopped his examination of the Bishop and looked at his chest. A light was pulsating from underneath his uniform.
"Christian, come here!" Angelo exclaimed.
Christian's mouth dropped open as David stood and faced him.
"Christian, what did they do to me?" David asked in despair.
Christian walked up to David and ripped his shirt open. He stood back in terror. A round device had been placed on David's chest. It was now activated.
"What is it?" David asked in sheer terror.
"It looks like a bomb!"
