-1Sorry for the month long wait for this chapter. I always seem to be in the mood to write when I don't have time to, and not in the mood when I do have the time. Ah well. All done now.
Hope you enjoy this more than I enjoyed the recent Dalek episodes of the new Doctor Who that were on recently.
This is ever so slight hints of BillyxMandy, but it's so tiny tiny small that you may not notice. Hmm.
Disclaimers are at the bottom!
--
The Dalek Invasion of Endsville - Part 3
--
Mandy raised the scythe far above her head, looked the Doctor in the eye and fired.
The scythe glowed for a brief moment, before fizzling out harmlessly. A small puff of smoke rose from the blade. Everyone was silent. Billy stared at his friend, his mouth open slightly. He could not believe that Mandy had just tried to kill someone. If it had worked, would he really have been next? Mandy stared back at him for a fleeting moment, before turning away, unable to look him in the eye.
"Excellent!" The booming voice of the Dalek Emperor shattered the silence. "You have passed my first test, child. The dampening field is still activated, the scythe won't work in here until it is turned off. Take the Doctor and the idiot below," the Emperor commanded to his Dalek minions. "And the Reaper. We no longer have a use for him. All the power we need is with the scythe and the girl."
Four Daleks lead Grim, Billy and the Doctor out of the bridge. As he left the room, Billy turned his head to face Mandy once more, with pleading eyes. Mandy caught his glare and looked away again, pretending that she hadn't seen him. Billy faced the front again and continued along the path the Daleks were marching him in. No-one saw the tears starting to form in his eyes.
--
Deep in the bowels of the Dalek ship, Grim, Billy and the Doctor were forced into a cell. It was a small room, with pretty much nothing in it. Only the door had a small window in, just large enough for a Dalek to see through. Light was minimal, just enough to make out the features of fellow cell-mates. The cell door closed and the trio was alone. Billy burst into tears.
"For heaven sake child, what ya blubbing about?" Grim scolded Billy. "We've been in worse situations than this and you've always been fine!"
"But Mandy was gonna kill me, Grim!" Wailed the child.
"Bah! She's always saying she's gonna kill ya, Billy, this wasn't no different!"
Billy sniffed a couple of times. "But this time I think she meant it, Grim," he said in a quite, solemn voice.
"No, I don't think so," interrupted the Doctor as he gazed at the floor. Grim and Billy looked at the Doctor in a quizzical way, almost as if to ask if he knew something they didn't. He shot his gaze towards Grim. "Well, was she using the scythe when you were in the school?"
"Well, yes!" Replied the Reaper, baffled.
"And it failed while you were down there?"
"Uh huh! Grim said something about a damp field thingy," was Billy's contribution.
"Well there you go. Mandy has bought us some time. She knew that thing wasn't going to go off, because of the dampening field."
"What you talkin' bout?" Blurted out Billy, with one eyebrow scrunched down tight.
"Well would a little girl really be capable of such an atrocious act?"
Grim shot Billy a knowing look as if to say 'yes'.
"But how could she have known for sure that the scythe wouldn't go off?" Grim asked the Doctor, quickly trying to steer the conversation away from Mandy's capabilities.
"Well, she probably couldn't have known for sure, I admit" replied the Doctor. "But that's why she aimed at me first, I saw it in her eyes. I mean, who would you test that sort of theory out on? Your best friend.." the Doctor indicated Billy, "… or a strange man wearing an abnormally long scarf who had just appeared from nowhere?"
Billy looked up at Grim, but the Reaper just shrugged.
"Besides," the Doctor continued, "if she had refused the Daleks would have killed us on the spot, along with Mandy."
"So why are you two still alive now?" Questioned Grim. He then added, "no offence, but I'm already dead."
"The Daleks don't trust anyone that isn't a Dalek. Billy's probably here now so they can test Mandy again later. Only next time, they'll make her kill him for real. As for me, the Emperor wants the glory of exterminating me himself. In any case, we need to form a plan quickly, otherwise we are all dead, whether it's Mandy or the Daleks that kill us."
--
"So, child, are you ready to reveal your secrets to us?" The Emperor's voice boomed throughout the bridge.
"All in good time," replied the girl, not blinking, and not looking at the giant glass tube that contained the abomination. She nonchalantly lowered the scythe so the blade was at her eye line and ran one finger along it.
"REVEAL!" Screamed the Emperor. "Tell us, now, or you will be EXTERMINATED."
"No," Mandy narrowed her gaze and glared at the Emperor.
"Then you will DIE! Dalek supreme?"
"Emperor?" Responded the red Dalek, the same one that caught Mandy and co in the gym. The Supreme Dalek trundled towards Mandy.
"Exterminate her."
"With pleasure, Emperor!" The Supreme Dalek moved to within an inch of Mandy. "Look at me, little girl, for I am you executioner! Exterminate! EXTERMINATE!"
"You're bluffing," stated Mandy, casually, staring the Dalek in its eye stalk.
"Daleks do not bluff!" Yelled the Supreme Dalek.
"Then why am I still alive?"
There was an awkward silence that lasted a few seconds before the Supreme Dalek started shaking in anger.
"EXTERMIN….." it began. Before it could finish, Mandy swung the scythe out in front of her and took the Supreme Dalek's eye stalk clean off, creating a small shower of sparks that rained down in front of the girl.
"I don't think so," said Mandy, calmly, returning the scythe to her side.
"Argggh! MY EYE! I cannot see! Help me!" Babbled the Supreme Dalek. It started to flail about and began moving around in pointless circles, like Daleks always do when their vision is impaired. Mandy moved round behind the Dalek and pushed on it gently with both hands.
"That way," she said to the Dalek. The Dalek heeded Mandy's advice and began gliding in a straight line across the floor of the ship's bridge, and promptly collided with a closed sliding door. It moved backwards a couple of feet and then move forwards, again colliding with the door. It repeated this a few times before the door opened, revealing an elevator. The Dalek moved forward again, this time through the now open door and glided into the lift. It crashed into the wall of the elevator, and the door closed behind it. The elevator started descending, taking the injured Dalek to some unknown part of the ship.
"Foolish child," cried the Emperor, "there are over two thousand Daleks on this ship. Damaging one will not save your life."
"No, Emperor, you are the fool." Mandy spun round and looked up at the Emperor Dalek, shaking her fist at him. "If you kill me now, you'll never know how to use the powers of the underworld. You say you have ways of extracting the knowledge from Grim, but you don't know if that's going to work, and even if it does you lack the human element to use the powers to their fullest potential. So you listen to me you giant, ugly, slimy blob of crud, we do this my way, in my own time, and you're going to answer my questions before I even think about sharing my knowledge with you. Got that?"
The Emperor was slightly taken aback. He had thought that threatening to kill the girl would make her more cooperative, but instead she was more defiant.
"Very well, child, we will do things your way for now."
"That's better. Now tell me, who this Doctor guy?"
"THE DOCTOR!" Rage filled the Emperor's being. "He is the Dalek's greatest enemy! A Time Lord from Gallifrey."
"He's not human?"
"No, he most definitely is not Human. He has defeated the Daleks on countless occasions, always in the name of all things good and true. The Doctor moves throughout time and space thwarting that which he believes to be evil. He is a menace, and I will take great pleasure in watching him die soon!" The giant blob screamed in primal anger.
"He thwarts everything evil?" Contemplated Mandy.
"All that which he believes to be evil," the Emperor corrected the girl. He added, "but 'evil' is such a relative concept, wouldn't you say, Mandy?"
The girl did not respond. Instead she gazed up at the giant view screen which showed the Earth. Billions of people on the planet below did not know what was in store for them.
--
Back in the cell, the Doctor was trying to get the door open using a device he called a sonic screwdriver. It was about the size of an ordinary screwdriver but was packed with all sorts of weird and wonderful alien technology. Ordinarily the door would have given way almost immediately, but something was wrong.
"Bah!" Exclaimed the Doctor. "That dampening field is affecting the sonic screwdriver too. It's useless."
"A bit like Billy," laughed Grim. "Hehe, like Billy."
"Yeah! Like me! Deehehehee!" Chuckled Billy, oblivious to the fact he was insulting himself.
"We have to get out of here," said the Doctor, ignoring the banter. "If the Daleks manage to harness the power of the underworld, they will be invincible! All of history from this point on will be rewritten as they exterminate every species in the universe. They won't stop until only Daleks exist."
"Well then leaves it to me to open that door!" Said Billy, putting on his best 'I'm heroic, honest' type voice. He lined himself up with the door and took a few steps back ready to run at it.
"Billy, no!" Shouted Grim, one hand stretched out before him in a 'stop' position. Billy paused and looked round at Grim. "Actually, yes," said Grim after a few seconds contemplation.
Billy ran as fast as he could at the door and inevitably collided with it. He slid down the door and once more lay motionless on the floor.
"Ahahahahaha!" Laughed Grim. "I love it when he does that."
"Hmm," added the Doctor, unimpressed. He began looking around the cell for something that could prove useful to them. "Aha!" The Doctor's eyes lit up as he spotted something. "A classic!"
"What are you going on about?" Asked Grim.
"Look up there! An air vent. Certainly a classic means of escape, wouldn't you say?"
"I see your point! But what are the Daleks doing with an air vent? It doesn't look like they need to breath."
"True, but they do have a life support system for their prisoners." Explained the Doctor. "Besides, there's an organic creature inside the metal container and they do … well … expel gas, of sorts."
"Deehehehe, gas," laughed a now conscious Billy as he picked himself off the floor.
"Oh great," said Grim, "the fate of the universe hangs in the balance and Billy's laughing at fart jokes."
"Yes, well, never mind that," said the Doctor trying to ignore the puerility of his companions. "The vent's too small for you or me Grim, but I bet Billy could fit in there."
Grim and the Doctor both at looked at Billy, who stared up them and gave a slightly frightened squeak.
"Billy," Grim began.
"I ain't goin' in no vent," Billy cried, interrupting the Reaper.
"Oh come on Billy, you wanted to be the hero a minute ago, this way you get to be one!" Replied Grim, grinning.
"Hey, wait a minute, you can take yourself apart Grim, so why don't you go?"
"Because I don't want to!"
Billy thought for a minute, then smiled and said, "fair enough!"
"Excellent! Now, how to get him up there?" Pondered the Doctor.
"I know!" Said Grim, and with that picked up the child and threw him towards the air vent. Billy crashed through the grate and landed inside.
"Oof," was all Billy could manage on impacting with the floor.
"Can you hear us Billy?" Shouted the Doctor.
"Yes," came the faint reply.
"What can you see?"
There was silence for a few seconds before Billy replied, "the inside of a vent."
"Nothing gets past this boy," Grim said to the Doctor, with a hint of sarcasm.
"Billy, crawl forward until you see another vent grate below you," instructed the Doctor.
"Ok. Hey I see one!" Billy appeared back at the opening of the vent he just crashed through. "Hi Grim! Hi The Doctor!" He waved at them.
"The other way, Billy, the other way!" The Doctor yelled impatiently.
"Oh, right."
The Doctor turned to Grim and asked, "does he forget to breathe sometimes?"
"You'd be surprised," replied the Reaper.
"Ok, I'm on another grate, it drops straight down and I can see a corridor," called out Billy.
"Right, try and break it loose Billy and drop down into the corridor," the Doctor relayed his instructions to Billy. "Then press the big black button on the side of the cell door and let us out."
Grim and the Doctor stood in silence, listening for a response. Suddenly, they heard a dull thudding sound, followed by a crash and scream. Then silence again for a few seconds, before the cell door opened and a very bruised and battered Billy greeted them. The Doctor and Grim stared at Billy for a few seconds, perhaps a bit surprised he managed to do it.
Billy looked back at them, and spoke, for some reason in a slightly Scottish accent. "What are you standin' around for? Do ye not know a jailbreak when ya see one?" Then Billy fell down.
--
"Your time is running out, child!" The Emperor bellowed. "You've asked your questions and now you must tell us what you know or suffer the consequences!"
"No, I need more proof of your intentions," the girl replied. "How do I know I will be rewarded for cooperating with you?"
"No, Mandy, no more talk. If you will not reveal what you know then we will begin the invasion without your help! Starting with your home town. Daleks!" He called out to his minions. "Begin the invasion of Endsville. Transport our forces to the school. Level the town. Capture humans to be our slaves. Exterminate all those who oppose us!"
"And you think that bothers me?" Mandy said, her voice cracking ever so slightly.
"Now you are the one that is bluffing, Mandy. The invasion will begin!"
--
Down on the planet surface, over a hundred Daleks began pouring out of Endsville school. They made light work of the soldiers that had remained to guard the quarantined building. Once they had broken through the lines of defence, the Daleks began trundling off into town…
--
"Doctor, don't you think it was just a little too easy to escape?" Grim questioned the Time Lord as they, along with Billy, crept down a corridor on the Dalek ship.
"Yes, yes it was," the Doctor whispered, solemnly.
"You don't find that strange at all?"
"No, not in the least. They wanted us to escape."
"What?" Yelped the Reaper, as the trio peeked round a corner to make sure the coast was clear.
"Yes, that cell was rigged so we'd get out easily. Why do you think there were no guards? In fact, there don't seem to be any Daleks on this level at all. Haven't you noticed that we've been walking round in circles? And that none of the doors we've tried will open?"
"So you're saying that it's … ?"
"A trap!" The Doctor faced Grim, his eyes wide, the rest of his face expressionless.
--
Mandy stared at the view screen which now showed the carnage that was beginning on the planet below. She was not reacting, merely blinking occasionally as she gazed, transfixed as the destruction of her hometown played out. The streets nearest the school were the first to be attacked. Daleks broke down the house doors as if they were cardboard. Whole families were forced out of their homes and lined up in the streets. Those that tried to run were cut down by the Dalek's fire power and left where they fell.
--
"So if it's a trap, and we fall into this trap, isn't that …. urm…. " Billy tried his hardest to think of the words he was looking for.
"A bad thing?" Grim offered, fear in his voice.
"Well, I was going to say cookies, but that works just as well!"
Grim stared at the child for a few seconds. "I'd love to see what makes you tick, one day Billy." Grim then turned to the Doctor and said, "so why are intentionally falling into a trap? I hate to agree with Billy but it certainly is cookies. I mean 'bad'!"
"Because Grim, if I'm right this will give us our best shot of escaping and defeating the Daleks. If I'm right, this trap isn't just a trap, it's a test."
"Awwww, a test!" Groaned Billy. "And I haven't even studied."
"No, Billy," said the Doctor, dismissing the stupidity once again, "not a test for us."
"Mandy!" Exclaimed Grim.
"Precisely. All we have to do it hope that she hasn't been doing too much revision with the Emperor."
There was silence for a few seconds while the trio contemplated their fate. The relative calm was shattered when Billy piped up.
"I'm confused, is the test on Geography, or something?"
--
Mandy continued to watch the monitor closely. Whole sidewalks were now lined with people as Daleks moved up and down inspecting their prisoners. Buildings were on fire, as Daleks began destroying everything just to show their power to the terrified population of Endsville. More people tried to break away, to run for their freedom, only to be exterminated seconds later.
"Humans make excellent slave workers," the Emperor's voice interrupted the sounds of explosions and screaming being piped through the view screen's sound system.
"That I do agree with," replied Mandy, still transfixed on the screen.
"I'm impressed with you, Mandy. Even though you have yet to share your knowledge with us, you have still shown amazing potential. Most humans would break down after seeing their home town destroyed, their people killed and enslaved. You are different."
"What took you so long to figure that one out?" Mandy said as she finally broke away from the screen and turned to face the Emperor.
"You would make an excellent Dalek," he boomed.
Mandy didn't reply, instead she turned back round and stared at the view screen again, as more terrified citizens of Endsville were exterminated.
"Just look at the carnage, Mandy," the Emperor continued, "you could control all of this. You could determine the fate of a billion people on your world. Doesn't the thought of all that power make you feel alive, Mandy?"
"Yes. It does," Mandy couldn't lie. As long as she could remember she wanted power, and now it was hers for the taking.
"People would fear you, as they fear the Daleks. Not only in Endsville, not only on your planet, but throughout the entire universe!"
"People … to control …." said Mandy, slowly and thoughtfully.
"And to EXTERMINATE!" Added the Emperor. As he screamed the last word, Mandy was bought back to reality with a jolt. She opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted.
"Emperor! The plan has worked! The prisoners have escaped," a Dalek informed the Emperor.
"Excellent! What kept you, Doctor?" He said, out loud. "Now, Time Lord, you will meet your doom! Take Mandy to the prisoners. It's time for her to prove herself utterly."
--
The Doctor, Billy and Grim continued their futile wandering around the Dalek corridor.
"Grim, I'm hungry!" Complained Billy.
"Here, have jelly baby," said the Doctor, taking a paper bag out of his coat and offering a sweet to Billy. The child took one and ate it.
"Wow, thanks Doctor! You're my new best friend!"
"It doesn't take much, does it Billy?" Grim sighed.
Suddenly, a door ahead of them began to open, and out stepped Mandy, still clutching the scythe, with four Daleks in tow.
"Now, Doctor, it is time for you to DIE!" The Emperor's voice screamed through the intercom and echoed down the corridor.
"Never say die, Emperor," was the Time Lord's response.
"Face it Doctor, you've lost! Mandy, destroy them all, now! The dampening field has been lowered, the scythe will work now. Kill them all! I know you have the power to destroy the Reaper too, so do it. EXTERMINATE THEM NOW!" The insane ramblings of the Emperor screeched through the ears of all the non-Daleks in the corridor.
"Don't do it Mandy, whatever reward he's told you you'll get it's not true," cried out the Doctor.
Mandy aimed the scythe at the trio. Billy looked Mandy in the eyes once more, his gaze not budging. The girl stared back at her friend, and for a brief moment tuned everything else out.
"KILL THEM!" The Emperor once more boomed, "DESTROY THEM NOW! BECOME LIKE US!"
That did it. Mandy's left eye began to twitch violently and she prepared to activate the scythe.
"Noooooooooooooooooooo!" She screamed, as she swung round one hundred and eighty degrees and fired at the four Daleks behind her.
They were vaporised in an instant, leaving only four circular scorch marks on the floor.
"I'm nothing like you," she said quietly, and then began to shout. "I will not be like you! You kill indiscriminately. That's just not my style. I WILL NEVER BE LIKE YOU!"
"Brilliant, now follow me!" Commanded the Doctor, as he turned and ran down the corridor. Grim, Billy and Mandy followed him. They reached a door and the Doctor opened it with the sonic screwdriver to reveal an elevator.
"Hey I thought that thing didn't work?" Said Grim.
"Well, the dampening field is down now, but not for long I suspect."
The four of them piled through into the lift, the doors closed behind them and the elevator began to descend.
"It's nice to have you back, Mandy," Billy said, placing one hand on the girl's shoulder.
"Grrr," Mandy growled at Billy, glaring at the hand on her shoulder. "Get off me!"
Billy obliged, and skulked backwards to the corner of the elevator.
"Where are we headed?" Asked Grim.
"I don't know, I didn't think that far ahead," replied the Doctor.
After a minute or two the elevator came to a rest and the doors opened. The Doctor and co cautiously stepped out of the lift. The room was quite dark, and quite long and narrow - just wide enough for the four of them to stand side by side. Control panels lined the walls either side, and at the very end of the room the Doctor could just make out a cylindrical structure that toward over the room.
"We're in the engine room!" The Doctor twigged.
The doors of the elevator closed behind them. Suddenly, the room began to get lighter, and the shape of a dozen or more Daleks began to become clear in front of them.
"Welcome, Doctor," the Emperor's voice was heard once more. "You didn't honestly believe that we didn't have a backup plan, did you? Destroy them all, my Daleks. Including the girl. She is as weak as the rest of them."
Mandy raised the scythe and tried to fire it at the approaching Daleks, but it failed. The Doctor turned and tried to open the doors again with the sonic screwdriver but that too failed.
"The dampening field must be back up," the Doctor explained, "we're trapped!"
The Daleks continued to advance on the Doctor, Grim, Billy and Mandy. The four of them moved backwards slowly, until they were right up against the wall.
"Billy?" Said Mandy, quietly, but not taking her gaze off the Daleks.
"Yes, Mandy," the boy replied, also continuing to face straight ahead.
"If we don't get out of this, there is something you should know."
"What's that Mandy?"
The Daleks were almost right on top of them now.
"Billy …." the girl began.
"EXTERMINATE!" Screamed all the Daleks simultaneously. They aimed their weapons, and prepared to fire.
--
Grim, Billy, Mandy and all related characters were created by Maxwell Atoms and are owned by him and Cartoon Network (I reckon).
Doctor Who is owned by the BBC. The Daleks were created by Terry Nation.
