A/N: Hello! I hope everyone's well! Well, in my head, this was a bit of a filler chapter but it's turned out quite action packed. Woo! Thanks to all who reviewed the last chapter:
Brownbug, MayFairy, Simpa007, padmay97, Shifuni, alyssa love (if you want more Fred/Doctor romance, go and read 'Mind Swap'! It's full of lovely Fred/Doctor moments!) Jo. Brookes, chibiwolfgurl and Lady Brid.
A Twist in the Proceedings
"Are you alright, Doctor?" Amy asked as Rory helped the Time Lord to his feet.
"I let them take him." The Doctor said, racked with guilt. "They wanted him and I knew that. I tried...just not hard enough."
"Don't be so hard on yourself." Rory said, placing a comforting hand on the Doctor's shoulder. "I'm sure you did all you could."
"It wasn't enough." The Doctor gazed down the corridor where the Master and the robots had disappeared. "He's gone."
Amy and Rory exchanged a look. As sorry as they may feel for the Doctor, they needed to get moving; the Clockworks were surely gaining on them and it was only a matter of time until they reached them. And then there would be no one to stop the robots from overtaking the universe.
"Doctor, we have to get moving."
"Yes." He agreed distractedly. "Odd though isn't it?"
"What is?" Rory asked, glancing over his shoulder to make sure the robots weren't in sight.
"Well...all of this!" He waved a hand at the walls. "All of this nonsense here. All of this technology and history mixed together." Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks. "Like something's gone out of its way to make it look like a rubbish job when actually...it's just being used as a front." His eyes widened. "Come on, Ponds! We have to get the Master back and then I think we'd better have a stern word with Mr. Horton!"
With that, they set off at a quick pace down the corridor and the last set of stairs, heading for the basement.
With several jerky movements, the robots' arms lowered and the Master leapt off them and onto the cold stone of the basement. He took a look at them all, at least twenty all gathered around him in a formidable circle; the TARDIS as solid as ever behind them.
And there, shining even in the dim light, was the panel. Good as new. As though the Master hadn't even touched it.
"This is the corridor isn't it?" The Doctor asked his companions, looking around wildly.
"To be honest, I have absolutely no idea. All these corridors look the same to me." Rory said before finding a dark oak door. "Doctor, I think this is it!"
The Doctor rushed over, Amy in tow. "Well done Roranicus! Good job! Now, there's a metal lock so I should be able to..." He trailed off and whipped out the sonic, pointing it at the door. The sonic whirred and the lock clunked. The Doctor grinned and twisted it. Nothing. He leaned on the door heavily. Still nothing. He pushed against it, ramming his shoulder against the old wood. "The sonic didn't work on it!" He cried, outraged.
Suddenly, with an almighty zap five Clockwork robots appeared around them. The Doctor slumped against the door.
"Ah. Well that's not fair is it? You've got my mode of transportation locked up in there. Lucky you, having yours built in." The robots edged in front of the Doctor, blocking the door off. "Oh. Like that is it?"
They took a step forward, making the three friends take a step back. This happened several times before they realised that there was no use resisting: the robots were taking them somewhere.
Eventually, they reached their destination in silence, all three of them assessing the best ways to get out of their situation. The robots led them to the lobby where they watched them sit down on the seats before zapping away again.
"What now?" Amy half whispered.
The Doctor didn't answer; he merely looked over at the booth in the left corner. Mr. Horton was inside, gazing at them before disappearing off to fetch something. Rory studied him.
"Doctor, he can't be a robot. Look at him. He's too...human. He's too real!"
As soon as Rory had finished, Mr. Horton appeared again and for the first time, he stepped out from the booth. Amy gasped. From the hips up, Mr. Horton was a perfect replica of human man; his skin, his eyes, his hair...they all looked real. But from the hips down, he was a mass of steel and wires. He clunked over to them and bent down to look at them all in the eye.
"Watch." He said simply before standing next to the chairs where they were sat like a sort of bodyguard. Suddenly, the Doctor noticed above the booth where Mr. Horton usually resided, a flat screen had been set up. It's screen was black.
"Doctor? I don't like this. What's going on?"
A crackling noise filled the air. Static flickered on the screen and the Doctor noticed more of those small devices on the wall. They were glowing now, like they were receiving a signal. Or giving out one.
"Hello, Doctor!" A face had appeared on the screen, grinning and pleased. "So sorry about this. Didn't want to man-handle you but you didn't leave me much choice."
The Doctor closed his eyes, feeling like he was drowning in disappointment. "Master." He said finally. "What are you doing?"
"Oh, dear!" The Master made a sympathetic face. "I've disappointed you, haven't I? Oh I do apologise...oh, wait! I nearly forgot! I don't care!"
Rory snorted, angry and disbelieving.
"This was your plan all along, I take it?" The Doctor asked, too disheartened to be angry.
The Master nodded, enthused and proud. "Oh, yes. And you fell for it! You know, I thought after all I've done, you might've learnt to not trust me. You're very naive, Doctor. It's quite sweet really."
"So what do you want?" Amy demanded. "Why are we still here?"
"And where's Fred?" The Doctor cut in, anxious.
The Master huffed. "She doesn't know true power and greatness when she sees it. She's sulking in our room, grieving for her lost innocent days of travelling with our beloved Doctor. Stupid bitch."
"She knew about this?" Rory asked.
The Master snorted. "Of course not. Do you honestly think I'd risk my plans by telling a dense human?"
The Doctor bristled. "I take it you were the reason the TARDIS was brought here?"
The Master laughed. "Oh, yes! You know, I could believe you bought that that wasn't me, Doctor. You really aren't as clever as I give you credit for."
The Doctor's anger began to bubble. "And you're the reason the TARDIS took off without Fred."
He grinned. "Brilliant, eh? I'd been developing the technology since I recovered from falling into the vortex. I found a rogue Clockwork on the transport ship and began customising it. It didn't take much. And then, when I was looking for more parts, I found Mr. Horton. I re-rooted his memory and made him the figurehead for my new army. An army of robots all doing my bidding. And then, I will rule the universe. I will be the King of the Robots. Quite a good title, I think."
Next to the Doctor, Rory fidgeted a little. The Doctor realised that Rory was getting ready to escape and he tried to divert the Master's attention.
"Why did you take Fred away from me? Why did you call me here?"
"When I saw you two on that transport ship, I knew losing her would weaken you and making you weak has been a long time hobby of mine. And then, unfortunately, I realised I need some sort of device to get my robots across the universe. Stealing the TARDIS and getting all of the robots inside would take far too much effort so I thought: why not just take a piece of her?"
"No!" The Doctor growled.
"Oh yes! So, when we had swapped bodies, I spent all my time removing the TARDIS' transportation drive. Now, it's fused into this panel, my wonderful panel. All I need is for the robots to be in the room and I can send them anywhere in the universe."
"Coldly brilliant." The Doctor said through his teeth. Rory shifted again. "But I think you might face some resistance."
At once, the three of them stood and Mr. Horton immediately rounded on them.
"Go!" Rory bellowed, wielding something he had found by the side of the chair. They shot off up the stairs and along the corridor, hoping to outrun the Clockworks but no sooner had they turned the corner, they were faced with at least ten robots. They turned to double back but it was too late. Five more robots were cutting them off.
They were trapped. Amy looked around and realised something. Horrified, she cried,
"Where's Rory? Doctor, we've lost him!"
So the Master was a bad 'un after all! Well, we all knew he probably wasn't to be trusted.
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The next chapter will be up very soon...and YAY because it's my favourite so far! See you then!