Chapter Six: Daleks in Manhattan Part Two

Disclaimer: I do not own Psych or Doctor Who.

Shawn and Gus weren't looking to go back to Hooverville and there didn't seem much else to do in 1930 so they waited in Tallulah's dressing room while she got ready for her performance that night.

Unfortunately, she seemed to mistake their sticking around as a genuine interest in her plight. "Lazlo…He's wait for me after the show, walk me home like I was a lady. He'd leave a flower for me on my dressing table. Every day, just a single rose."

"That is absolutely fascinating," Shawn told her, not really listening.

"Did you report him missing?" Gus asked her. "I mean, Lazlo had a job and everything so he wouldn't be just another vanished unemployed man."

"I tried to," Tallulah informed them. "But Lazlo's just a stagehand so nobody really cared. The guy they hired to replace him works for two pennies less than Lazlo did so they're probably glad to see him gone."

"I'm sorry, I still can't get past this," Shawn said, shaking his head. "His name was really Lazlo? His first name?"

Tallulah frowned at him. "Of course it was, to both questions. Why is that so strange?"

"Because nobody names their kid Lazlo. It just doesn't happen," Shawn insisted.

"Lazlo's mother did," Tallulah pointed out. "It's Hungarian, you know."

Shawn rolled his eyes. "Well you're not any better! Your name is Tallulah."

"Tallulah is a perfectly fine name!" Tallulah insisted. "Ever heard of Tallulah Bankhead?"

"I think that it is safe to say that I have not," Shawn replied. "But that whoever she is, it is not enough to make me concede that it isn't a bizarre name."

"Why am I letting you wait in here with me again?" Tallulah wondered aloud.

"Because our friend is currently searching desperately for your Lazlo," Gus quickly spoke up.

"Well stop making fun of my name," Tallulah ordered. "I don't like it."

"And I don't like-" Shawn started to say before Gus elbowed him in the ribs. "Never mind."

"How can you just go on tonight like nothing's wrong?" Gus asked her. "If it were me and anything happened to, say, Shawn I'd be a nervous wreck."

Tallulah shrugged, trying to look indifferent. "That's the way things work around here. I can't afford to take any time off or I'll be replaced. I only have this job because the person I replaced broke her ankle. I'm one month's rent away from Hooverville so it doesn't matter how upset I am about this, I have to keep going. Lazlo wouldn't want me to end up homeless."

"I guess we do have something in common," Shawn realized, surprised. "Though I haven't actually been kicked out of my apartment since moving back to Santa Barbara."

"You're from California?" Tallulah asked. "I hear it's nice out there."

"Best weather in the world," Shawn proudly agreed.

"So you two are into musical theater, huh?" Tallulah asked them knowingly.

Shawn snorted. "Me? Hardly. Gus is really into them and the Doctor seems to be, too."

Tallulah looked confused. "But I thought…well, it doesn't have to always be reciprocated. I just hope you and the Doctor can find happiness together."

"…Thank you," Gus said uncertainly.

Shawn started coughing in an effort to hide his laughter.

"Alright, what?" Gus demanded.

"Nothing," Shawn said innocently. "And 'into musical theater' is most certainly not a euphemism for 'gay'."

"What?" Gus cried. "I'm not gay, Tallulah, really. And neither is the Doctor."

"We think," Shawn corrected.

"Rose is not a guy's name, Shawn," Gus pointed out.

"It might be if he ever went to prison," Shawn argued.

"If you say so," Tallulah said skeptically. "I know a lot of folks would mind about that sort of stuff but not me. I've got too much to worry about just to get by to worry about how other folks are getting by."

"I appreciate that," Gus told her. "I think."

"All I know is that you've got to live in hope," Tallulah said idly, bending down to pick up a white rose on her dressing table. "There's no telling when things will get back to normal and everyone won't be starving but it can't last forever. Lazlo can't be gone forever. Cause look, on my dressing table every day still."

"Do you think it's Lazlo?" Gus asked, intrigued.

Tallulah shrugged. "Who else could it be? Who else would bother? But I keep asking myself, if it is him then why is he hiding from me?"

"You mean other than the fact that he's probably turned into a pig person?" Shawn asked rhetorically. "I've got to tell you, a lot of girls would find that a turnoff."

Tallulah looked disturbed by this.

"Hey," Gus said, trying to change the subject before she had to go on. "Where's Frank, anyway? The Doctor said he was going back to the sewers alone."

"Oh, I think he said something about going back to Hooverville to try to rally the homeless," Shawn replied with a short laugh. "Maybe it would have worked if it were Solomon but as it is…this should be good."

"This show stinks," Shawn complained as they watched the performance from the wings. "I want a refund."

"We didn't actually pay to get in," Gus reminded him.

"Does that mean you don't think we can get our money back?" Shawn inquired.

Gus rolled his eyes. "In the Great Depression? No chance."

"I mean 'you put the devil in me'? Really?" Shawn couldn't believe it. "This must be a really cheap act."

"The crowd doesn't seem to mind," Gus pointed out, indicating the wildly applauding audience.

"Yeah, well they live in 1930 and, if Frank's any indication, have no culture," Shawn claimed. "Hey, what's that?"

Gus looked over to where Shawn was gesturing. "That looks like one of those pig-men."

"And he's staring at Tallulah. I bet it's what's-his-name," Shawn said. "Come on, let's go talk to him."

"You must be out of your mind if you think I'm going to run across the stage to chase after one of those pig mutants," Gus said stubbornly, crossing his arms and planting his feet firmly on the floor.

"Oh come on, it's probably just Lazlo," Shawn said, tugging on Gus' arm.

"So? We don't' know anything about him," Gus pointed out. "I'm not going anywhere until the Doctor comes back."

Shawn sighed. "Suit yourself." With that he raced out onto the stage and after the pig creature with no regard for the act he was interrupting.

Gus tried his best to keep watching the act – which more or less recovered from the interruption – and not worry about whatever his best friend had gotten himself into now. However dangerous it was, him chasing after Shawn would not have made it any better and Shawn wasn't about to be dissuaded.

After a few moments, the Doctor ran up to him looking thoroughly spooked which was hardly reassuring. "Where is he? Where's Shawn?"

"He saw one of those pig things watching the show and thought it might be Lazlo," Gus explained. "He chased after it. Is he in danger? What did you find?"

The Doctor was about to answer when they heard a shout. "BAD WILBUR!"

"Charlotte's Web? Really?" Gus asked automatically before realizing what happened. "Shawn!"

Gus and the Doctor ran off after the sound. They reached the sewer cover from earlier and the Doctor threw on his coat.

"They've taken him!"

"Who's taken him?" Gus demanded.

The Doctor didn't reply, just started climbing back down into the sewer.

"You're not going without me," Gus said firmly as he started down the ladder as well.

"No, no, no, no, no way. You're not coming," the Doctor said, his tone leaving no room for argument.

Gus glared at him. "The hell I'm not! That's my best friend kidnapped by mutant pig creatures, after all. There is nothing in this universe that could convince me not to come. Now are you going to tell me what's going on or am I going to have to walk into this blindly?"

The Doctor sighed. "But it's not safe-" he started to say before the look on Gus' face convince him he wouldn't be changing his mind. "Fine. I'll explain on the way."

A pig creature pushed Shawn up against the wall. "I swear, I'm a vegetarian!"

He noticed a group of humans walk by in the custody of yet more of those pig creatures. One of them he even recognized.

"The competent one's still alive!" he exclaimed. "That's always a good sign."

"Shawn," Solomon greeted him. "I'd say that it's good to see you but under the circumstances let me just say that I'm sorry they got you, too."

A pig creature pushed him to keep moving and Shawn fell into step beside Solomon.

"How did they get you, too?" Solomon wanted to know.

Shawn coughed awkwardly. "Oh, you know. I saw a pig creature and raced after it only to be captured by more of them."

"That sounds like a damn stupid thing to do," Solomon said bluntly.

Shawn rolled his eyes. "You sound like Gus."

"Where is he? And Frank? And that Doctor of yours?" Solomon asked urgently.

"Gus was fine the last time I saw him," Shawn reported. "Well, I mean he was watching a really lousy live show but I suppose it beats this. Barely. Frank went back to Hooverville and the Doctor's investigating."

"I hope he doesn't get captured, too," Solomon said worriedly.

"He'll be fine," Shawn said, trying to stay positive. "And before there's any confusion…Gus, the Doctor, and I are not in any way 'into musical theater.'"

Solomon gave him an odd look. "Well I suppose that's why you didn't enjoy the show. Listen, you say Frank went back to Hooverville? I hope he doesn't do anything foolish."

Shawn thought about pointing out that the odds of Frank not doing something foolish seemed to be about on par with the odds of him actually getting one of Shawn's references but decided there was no need to depress the other man further. Instead, he asked, "So where are we going anyway?"

"I don't know," Solomon replied. "I just hope that we're not about to get front-row seats to the creature of those pig creatures."

Shawn groaned. Maybe he should have listened to Gus after all.

"So you said you'd explain," Gus said pointedly.

The Doctor responded by putting his hand over Gus' mouth and yanking him backwards. Gus started to protest but quickly stopped as he could feel the Doctor trembling a little. Instead, he watched carefully as some sort of mechanical creature glided by.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no," the Doctor whispered once it had passed. He let go of Gus. "They survived. They always survive while I lose everything."

"What's going on?" Gus demanded. "What is that giant pepper shaker?"

The Doctor snorted. " 'Giant pepper shaker'? That giant pepper shaker was a Dalek, one of the – if not the – most evil creatures in existence. They're supposed to be dead but they never are. I wonder if they're too evil to be able to be fully eradicated."

Gus couldn't believe it. "Are…are you sure?"

"Positive," the Doctor assured him. "The Daleks may be helpless in their natural state but that's why they have that almost unbeatable body armor. The Daleks are bad news, Gus. They were the ones the Time Lords were fighting in the Time War."

"They look like they could be defeated by a set of stairs!" Gus objected. He had known that he'd heard the word Dalek before but somehow seeing them made it difficult to believe the stories. He remembered hearing about the Time War quite vividly. The stories were horrifying, Shawn kept making fun of the names of the horrors spawned by the war, and his sympathetic crying made an appearance.

"They used to be able to be," the Doctor confirmed. "And they used to be defeated by obstructing their vision. They got rid of that fault, too. Let me tell you, the first time I saw a Dalek hover after killing everyone but Rose and the unnamed worst companion ever…we thought they were safe. I guess the unnamed worst companion ever should have known better than to taunt it. It was only a miracle that Rose didn't die that day. We don't have the sort of weapons needed to stop them here."

"Why are they doing this? What do they want?" Gus demanded.

"If the Daleks are here then mark my words, they are behind the pig creatures," the Doctor declared. "I don't know why but I'm going to find out. As to what they want…the Daleks are a race of pure evil. They are creatures born to hate and whose only thought is destroy anything and everything that isn't Dalek. If they should ever succeed, they'd probably end up turning on each other. They live to kill."

"I can't believe that," Gus said, horrified.

"Believe it," the Doctor said grimly. "That Dalek I was mentioning earlier? Because Rose touched it, it gained a little of her humanity and it couldn't kill her. It decided it was tainted and committed suicide. I don't know how much contact with Rose changed it but I believe that if a Dalek were truly capable of thinking about its purpose and what it had done, using reason instead of hatred, it would go mad. They are a fanatical, genocidal species and they do not deserve your compassion."

"But how could a species be born evil?" Gus still didn't get it. "How is that possible?"

"The Daleks aren't an organic species," the Doctor explained. "They were created by an insane Kaled named Davros. The Kaleds were at war with Thal for a thousand years and the Kaleds were getting horribly mutated from the nuclear fallout. Davros experimented on them and claimed he was trying to save them. Of course, this is the man who I once asked what he would do if he had a virus that killed on contact and could destroy all other life forms."

"What did he say?" Gus asked, unsure if he really wanted to know.

"He said that of course he would," the Doctor replied. "He said that he wanted to be a god. He said he would get that power through the Daleks. That is the origin of the Daleks and that is what has Shawn now. Now do you see why I have to take you back?"

Gus' eyes flashed. "You tell me all of that and then expect me to go back to safety and leave Shawn at the mercy of those monsters?"

"That is what anyone sane would do," the Doctor agreed.

"Normally I'd agree with you and I'm going to kill Shawn for making me do otherwise but I can't just leave when they have him. I can't and I won't," Gus said firmly.

"I don't have time to argue with you," the Doctor said, exasperated.

"Then don't," Gus snapped. "Let's go find Shawn so we can get out of here and leave you to deal with your Daleks in peace."

"I-" the Doctor started to say before he stopped one of the pig-men. "Where's Shawn? What have you done with him?" It was clear that he didn't expect an answer.

"I didn't take her," the pig creature insisted. He looked more human than pig.

The Doctor drew back in surprise. "Can you remember your name?"

The creature nodded miserably. "Lazlo. My name is Lazlo."

Gus blinked. "Like Tallulah's Lazlo?"

Lazlo winced. "Yeah. I'm Tallulah's Lazlo."

"She's worried sick about what happened to you, you know," Gus told him. "Have you been leaving her those flowers?"

Lazlo nodded. "I knew it was dangerous but I couldn't help it. She's just so beautiful and so sweet…"

"What happened to you?" the Doctor asked him. "How did you turn into…this?"

"They made me a monster," Lazlo said angrily. "The masters."

"The Daleks," the Doctor clarified. "Why?"

"They needed slaves. They needed slaves to steal more people so they created us," Lazlo revealed. "Part animal, part human. I escaped before they got my mind, but it was still too late."

"What happened to Shawn?" Gus demanded.

"He saw me watching Tallulah. He followed me. I tried to lose him but I didn't manage it and the pig slaves got him," Lazlo replied.

"What's going to happen to him?" Gus pressed.

"It depends," Lazlo told him hesitantly. "If he's intelligent enough for them then they'll take him back to the laboratory. If not, they'll make him one of us. I don't know what they want the intelligent ones for, sorry."

"That'll be Shawn," Gus said grimly. "I suppose that gives us time."

"Where are they? Can you show me where they are?" the Doctor inquired urgently.

Lazlo hesitated. "They'll kill you."

"If I don't stop them, they'll kill everyone," the Doctor pointed out.

Lazlo seemed to deflate. "Very well. Follow me."

"I almost wish that they'd just hurry up and do whatever it is they're going to do instead of making us wait in uncertainty," Solomon muttered.

"Almost?" Shawn repeated.

"Well, the way I see it they're probably either going to kill us or turn us into those things so waiting isn't the worst thing," Solomon replied.

"Something's got the guards on edge," Shawn noted. "And whatever it isn't can't be good for us."

"You don't think anyone's come to rescue us?" Solomon asked.

Shawn shook his head. "No. Well…maybe. But the pig creatures are expecting whoever this is."

A Dalek rolled into the room. "Silence. Silence."

"Is that…a giant pepper shaker?" Shawn asked incredulously.

The Doctor, Gus, and Lazlo were watching from not far away.

"See?" Gus whispered. "It's not just me."

"You will form a line. Move," the Dalek ordered.

"Just do what it says, everyone, okay? Just obey," Solomon instructed. "No need to antagonize anyone."

"The male is wise. Obey!" ordered the Dalek.

"Report," a second Dalek said as it appeared on the scene.

Shawn privately didn't think the first creature had been there long enough to report on anything but Solomon had a point about antagonizing them.

"These are strong specimens," the first Dalek declared. "They will help the Dalek cause."

Shawn recognized the name instantly and he froze. This was bad. This was very bad.

"What is the status of the Final Experiment?" the first Dalek asked.

"The Dalekanium is in place. The energy conductor is now complete," the second Dalek responded.

Terrified or not, Shawn decided that Dalekanium was still a really stupid name.

"Then I will extract prisoners for selection," the first Dalek declared.

As he began scanning the other captives, Shawn leaned over to Solomon. "The 'Final Experiment' sounds far too much like the 'Final Solution' for my tastes, particularly since from all I've heard the Daleks are a genocidal species."

"What's the Final Solution?" Solomon asked blankly.

"It's Hitler's plan to wipe out all the Jews in Europe," Shawn whispered back.

"I've never heard of him," Solomon told him frankly.

"You will," Shawn said grimly. "Assuming we survive."

It was Solomon's turn to be scanned.

"Intelligence scan. Initiate. Superior intelligence." The Dalek turned to Shawn. "Intelligence scan. Initiate. Superior intelligence. These two will become part of the Final Experiment."

"You can't just experiment on people! It's insane! It's inhuman!" Solomon shouted.

"We are not human. Prisoners of high intelligence will be taken to the transgenic laboratory," the Dalek said coldly. "Move out."

"Doctor, quickly, let's go," Lazlo urged him.

"I'm not going. I've got an idea. You go," the Doctor told him.

Lazlo shook his head. "What's left for me up there? If I can help you help these people then that's more than I thought I could do. Besides, I know more about them than you. You can remember the way, right?"

Gus threw his hands up in the air. "How many times do we have to go over this? As much as I would dearly love to leave the scene in a very manly manner, I can't as long as Shawn's down there. If you have a plan to save him then I'm coming with you."

The Doctor shook his head in irritation. "Why do I even try?" he muttered.

"I don't know but it's wasting time," Gus replied.

They moved ahead of the procession and when the Daleks passed, Gus and the Doctor fell in line beside Shawn.

"Just keep walking," the Doctor murmured.

"Normally people wait until they get captured by the bad guys before becoming prisoners," Shawn remarked. "But I guess your way could work, too."

" 'They'll be fine', huh?" Solomon asked sarcastically.

"It's good to see you, too, Shawn," the Doctor told him. "You can kiss me later. You too, Solomon."

Shawn coughed. "I thought we agreed that Gus would help with all the kiss-related savings?"

"Oh no we did not," Gus said firmly. "This is all your fault, anyway! Why did you have to go chasing after Lazlo?"

"So that was Lazlo?" Shawn looked pleased and being proven right. "If it hadn't been for me, you wouldn't have found them. You should thank me."

Gus snorted. "Yeah, maybe when we're no longer being held prisoners by genocidal maniacs."

" Report," one of the Daleks with them said as they entered a room with two more Daleks, one of which wasn't looking very good.

"Is that all they ever say?" Shawn asked, annoyed.

"Dalek Sec is in the final stage of evolution," another Dalek announced.

"Scan him. Prepare for birth," the first one ordered.

Gus blanched. "Is he pregnant?"

"I sure hope not," Solomon replied, nauseous.

"Evolution?" the Doctor asked, intrigued. He nudged Gus. "Ask them what that means?"

"Why me?" Gus demanded.

"They know what I look like," the Doctor explained. "And Shawn might provoke them."

Gus groaned. "What's the Final Experiment?"

"We are the only four Daleks so the species must evolve a life outside the shell. The Children of Skaro must walk again," one of the Daleks informed them, sounding almost pompous.

"But isn't their shell what makes them so deadly?" Gus asked uncertainly.

"Just because they might be able to survive without it doesn't mean they won't use it," Shawn pointed out.

"I have no idea what you guys are talking about and I think I prefer that," Solomon remarked.

The Dalek in the center of the room's shell powered down and the casing opened to reveal a monstrous creature with a head with a mouth, one eye, and tentacles. He was wearing the same suit Diagoras was wearing and his hands were almost claw-like.

"I am a human Dalek," the creature said slowly, ominously. "I am your future."

Gus promptly fainted.

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