Chapter 27 -- Just In Case You Ever Needed More Evidence That Daleks Suck

They were back in the alley.

The Doctor was currently staring at the door. Kyra was sitting on a crate. "It's not gonna open," she said finally.

"Yes, but then how do we get in?"

"Um, remember me? Super powered mojo chick? Really not an issue right now."

"Yes, without making a scene."

She walked up, pressed her hands to the door, and concentrated. It opened.

"What did you do?"

"Broke the seal. Come on, come on, come on. Wow, this is what crack must feel like."

"All right, well...If I were a Dalek, or a Cyberman working for a Dalek, where would I keep...a Ringo?"

Kyra pointed past him.

"Why that way?"

"Because there's four Cybermen right behind you."

"Oh, all right," he said. And turned. "Hello! We need...I'd like to see your leader."

"You will be deleted."

"They need new writers," Kyra decided.

"No, no, no," he said. "You...are guards. Correct?"

"We are Cybermen."

"But you've been...placed as guards, correct?"

"Correct."

"Guards don't delete intruders. They bring them to their leaders. To decide their fate. Besides...I'm the Doctor."

Silence.

"Still afraid of you. Amazing."

"Don't think your boss would be too happy if you deleted the Doctor before he could gloat."

"You will follow us."

"Love to!"

They were led deeper in, through tunnels and metal cages. To the Daleks.

"Oh, this is interesting. Use one building as a disguise, and drive halfway across town using the sewers. Absolutely brilliant. The Daleks couldn't've thought of this by themselves."

"Maybe that's where the Cybermen came in. Cheap labor and the brains of the outfit. Think they're gettin' gypped, myself."

"It's the perfect marriage of both species. Perfect logic. Where is this logic taking them?"

"To a world full of both? God, what nightmares."

"Why do they need Ringo? They could convert...anybody!"

"Why don't you ask?" Kyra said, and pointed. "Here comes the Big Man. Well, Dalek."

"Oh, and which one are you? Another of the Cult of Skaro, or are you Dalek Caan again?"

"I am Dalek Caan."

"Oh, yeah, that's right. Other three are dead, aren't they? Well, in the Void, at least. Well, look at you. All...getting your way, and...controlling the Cybermen. I don't...I don't see how you do that."

"Questions will cease. You will be exterminated."

"Oh, well, that's not very like you. You were always so good at questions!"

"You use questions only to stall your fate so that you can manipulate a clever escape. I will not be tricked again. You will be exterminated."

"He's on to you," Kyra said.

"Oh, no, no. Now you're starting to think like Dalek Sek. After all, he seemed to think he was the brains of the outfit."

"Dalek Sek was a fool. Dalek Sek has been deleted. Now the Doctor will join him."

"How am I to join him if he's in the Void? That doesn't sound very logical. Seems more...emotional. Don't you think?" he asked, looking at a nearby Cyberman.

"Very human of him, really," Kyra said, conversationally, to the Cyberman next to her.

"I mean, you Daleks...have never really needed any help. In fact, in one time line.... you've destroyed the Cybermen. So...why ally with them here? What do they have that you need? You're a Dalek! Supreme being! And you! Cybermen! You, you there. You look familiar. You don't look...quite like the others. Your one of the Independent, aren't you! You're one of the originals!" He stepped back, looking it over. "What are you getting out of this?"

"We have been promised this world. Once the Daleks have control, we will rule here. We will finally have a world of our own."

"Do you really expect them to go through with that?" Kyra asked. "I mean, you've heard how these things are! Supreme beings, and all that? I mean, come on. You're inferior to them. Why would they give up anything they've promised you? Oh, sure, you'll probably get the planet. This little dead useless husk once they're done with it."

"Besides, Daleks are conquerers," the Doctor added. "Best in the galaxy. Aren't they, Dalek Caan?"

"We are Daleks. We are supreme."

"Doesn't sound like somebody'll who'll share to me," Kyra added.

"So why Earth?" the Doctor asked.

"They are weak. They are inferior. They do not deserve to exist."

"Then why control them? Why not just blow up the Earth?"

"Makin' more?" Kyra asked. "Hearin' the pitter patter of little Dalek feet? Well, the squeak-squeak of little Dalek wheels, I mean."

"Come on, Caan," the Doctor said. "What've you got planned? After all, you've got us in hand. What could we possibly do to get out?"

"You are weak. You are helpless."

"Oh, very much so! Couldn't lift a finger to stop you!"

"The humans are warlike. We can learn much from them. They conquer. It is their nature. They defend what is theirs, as Daleks must do. We can learn this from them."

"How do you plan to do that? You can't absorb this from every single human! There's bound to be one who'll...rebel."

"It will be exterminated."

"Wait, wait, wait," Kyra said. "I'm sorry, I"m just tryin' to ...get it, I guess. Um, what drives us, to conquer and defend and wage war -- it's all emotion. Possessiveness, jealousy, anger, rage, any of that. Isn't emotion...weak?"

"Oh, she's got a point. You'd have to...get in touch with your emotions. Learn to feel again."

Something beeped. Kyra and the Doctor exchanged glances. The Doctor mouthed two words -- It's working.

She nodded, almost imperceptibly.

"No, no, no. It's starting to make sense. You do -- sense some emotion. Rage. You can understand that. After all, all that screaming you do. You're angry because you can't feel. You're just...trapped, inside that box. But you wouldn't be able to learn that ...simply from absorbing intelligence. You'd need a way to incorporate...a human brain. That's why you want the Cybermen! That's it! You want their technology! It would be the perfect blend of species! You don't want to conquer, you want to...to absorb!"

He was walking, pacing, talking at moments to Cybermen, then to Dalek Caan, then across the room, in another Cyberman's face. "That's it! Oh, you have to admit, you've got to admit...that's brilliant."

He turned to face Kyra, smiling. He noticed a Cyberman stepping back. "Duck."

Kyra hit the floor.

"Emergency! Emergency! All Dalek return to base! Cybermen revolting! Exterminate! Exterminate! Exterminate!" the Dalek shouted as Cybermen started firing at the lone Dalek.

Kyra and the Doctor started to crawl...anywhere as long as it was out of the way of the battle.

Dalek Caan, joined by several others started to fight back. Several Cybermen fell to the ground, and several Daleks exploded too.

By the time Kyra and the Doctor made it out, the fighting seemed to die down. But they could still make out yelling from the Daleks and Cybermen. Both demanding the other be destroyed. Kyra and the Doctor chose this time to find Ringo, and see if they could get him free.

Kyra rose to her knees when they were clear of the battle. "God, I hope they exterminate each other."

"Wouldn't put it past them."

"Give me a minute. Merrillee -- she's Angela's mum -- she ran through some of this stuff with me. I should be able to concentrate and find him." She squeezed her eyes shut and thought.

He pulled out his sonic screwdriver. After all, his way was probably faster.

A split second later, they both pointed. "That way!"

Kyra rolled her eyes and ran for it.

"Well, my way worked, didn't it?"

"How do we unhook him?"

"Let me think, let me think. All right...well, it's all...neurological. We have to do it carefully, or else he could be lost. With this technology, we may never get him back."

"Or they end up with a carrot on drums."

"Yes, that wouldn't work, either." He traced cables and wires, muttering to himself.

"OK, OK, seems like this main cable leads to this panel here. Now...let's just figure out... protocols...Hmm. Wait a second, wait a second. The Ringo bot! It has to end with the Ringo Bot! So we do a reverse feed loop, this with the transmission dampeners." Muttering. "Right. Got it. Now, just to get him...unplugged."

"Can we just unhook him, or was that too much to ask for?"

"No, no, no. Has to be done carefully. See, the brainwave dampener, that'll keep him unconcious, but this here keeps his brain in a lively state. Keep that up, turn that down. Got it. Right. Just to wake him up." He leapt up, knees on the chair, and slapped him across the face.

"What the bloody hell --"

"Right, he's awake. Let's go!"

"I've been havin' the weirdest bloody dreams..."

"Pretend you still are, you'll live longer," Kyra suggested.

"We have to go! We have to get out of here now! The Daleks are gonna know we've got him and the Cybermen are gonna get wise themselves!"

"Well, we can't just turn 'em loose!" Kyra snapped. "What are we gonna do about them?"

"We'll do that once we've got out of here!"

"Good plan."

They ran for it.

Kyra dodged a falling bit of ceiling, yanked Ringo out from under a tumbling wall, then shoved them both through a hole in the outer brick. "Here. We're out. Where'd we park?"

The Doctor pointed, and Kyra dragged Ringo along.

"This is weird."

He shoved the door shut, used the sonic screwdriver to weld it shut. "Kyra!" he yelled. "Can you blow it?"

"With all the energy they gave me? How'd you like it on the moon?" She concentrated, holding her hands palm-up. An odd, pale green glow surrounded her.

And the whole place exploded.

Or rather -- imploded. No scattered debris, just smoking ruins.

And Kyra fainted.

TBC...