In the sphere chamber, all was not well. The Daleks had landed on the floor and the creatures were heading towards the huddled group that was Mickey, Rose, Rajesh, and Kayla. The brunette knew that none of the group, except Mickey, would be any real help. He had, after all, been training in the other universe. But since he was currently preoccupied with awkwardly hugging Rose…all the responsibility was currently on Kayla.
So it was Kayla who stepped forwards, and it was Kayla that yelled, "Daleks!" at the foursome of Daleks. She took note of the odd, Dalek-like shape that had landed behind the Daleks and the black colored Dalek that appeared to be leader.
This was all odd, but they did do exactly what Kayla had hoped they would do and backed up a bit, not shocked or surprised, but affronted. After all, in this age, Daleks were not known to any humans. That fact made Kayla's job harder than usual. She would have to hope that they didn't recognize her from the mission the brunette had been on with the Time Agency and that they did not scan for human life.
But these thoughts did not stop Kayla from continuing to speak to the Daleks, "You're called 'Daleks.'" She pointed out as she started to carefully step towards the Daleks. Thankfully, the seemed to want to find out how Kayla knew them, or else the brunette would probably have been shot a long time ago.
"I know your name. Think about it - how can I know that? A Human...who knows about the Daleks. And the Time War. If you wanna know how, then keep us alive. That's all I'm asking. Me and my friends." Trading with any race, especially the Daleks, was hard. There were a few things Daleks wanted that they could not get. Thankfully, information was one the Daleks always wanted. For such a hateful race, they were surprisingly greedy.
From behind the Time Lady, Mickey spoke out, "Yeah, Daleks. Time War. Me too." He agreed, which caused the eye-piece to point at the black man.
"And me." Rose put in.
"Yeah. And me." Rajesh lied.
The black Dalek moved its eye-piece to look at Kayla, "You will be necessary." It stated. Then, it turned its eye-piece towards one of the normal, bronze colored Daleks, "Report - what is the status of the Genesis Ark?"
The Daleks answered promptly, "Status - hibernation." It reported.
"Commence awakening." The black colored Dalek ordered, which proved Kayla's belief that it was in charge.
"The Genesis Ark must be protected above all else." Another bronze colored Dalek said.
The foursome of Daleks, appearing to have lost interest in the group, turned towards the odd, Dalek-like shape behind them and pressed their suckers onto the giant balls on the side of it.
Kayla, seeing an opportunity, backed towards the group, "They're obviously not dead." She whispered to the others.
Rose nodded grimly, a worried look on her face, "Never mind that - what the hell's a Genesis Ark?"
In the rift chamber, the Doctor was leaning against the wall. He wasn't trying to contact Kayla – Yvonne had made it so that the Doctor could not mentally contact the brunette – and Kayla's wristband was currently in the basement getting tested, and since Kayla didn't have a phone…there was no way to contact her. The only thing he did know was that Kayla had to be alive. Otherwise he would be dead.
But this did not give him much clue on anyone else, so he stayed silent as Jackie whimpered to herself. For all the bravo and rebellious spirit she put out, Jackie was still the same Jackie Tyler that the Doctor had met about two years ago. In fact, he was quite surprised she hadn't offered anyone tea.
"What's down there? She was in that room with the sphere. What's happened to Rose?"
The Doctor finally broke, "I don't know." He snapped, which made Jackie start to sob. Wincing, the Doctor went over to her, "I'll find her. I'll get you both out. You and your daughter. Jackie, look at me. Look at me." Jackie looked up, her eyes rimmed with red, "I promise you. I give you my word." He vowed.
It was then that a Cyberman stomped over to Yvonne, "You will talk to your central world authority and order global surrender." He ordered the blonde haired woman that was sitting at her desk.
Yvonne, for her part, rolled her eyes, "Oh, do some research. We haven't GOT a central world authority." She informed the Cyberman in an annoyed voice, because evidently an evil race of aliens need to have done some research to actually be of higher standing in Yvonne's books.
The Cyberman, however, did not appear to be upset up Yvonne's information, "You have now. I will speak on all global wavelengths." Still standing near Jackie, the Doctor very slowly placed his 3D glasses back on, "This broadcast is for human kind."
After the broadcast from the Cyberman, all hell broke loose in London. Black smoke, loud cries, and gun shots barely reached the Doctor's, Yvonne's, Jackie's, and the Cyberman's ear.
"I ordered surrender." The Cyberman stated.
The Doctor turned to glare at the Cyberman, "They're not taking instructions. Don't you understand? You're on every street - you're in their homes. You've got their children. Of course they're gonna fight." He spat.
Kayla, Rose, Mickey, and Rajesh were crowed together when the black Dalek came towards them, "Which of you is least important?" it asked.
Rose blinked, "What's that supposed to mean?" she asked.
"Which of you is least important?" the black Dalek repeated.
"No, we don't work like that. None of us." Rose protested.
"Designate the least important!" the Dalek ordered.
Kayla sighed, "Arguing won't help. If any of us want to come out of this alive then we need to make sacrifices." She stated, effectively taking charge for the time.
Rose shook her head, looking horrified, "We can't just push one of us to the Daleks!" she protested.
Mickey frowned, "I think we might have to." He said, sounding disappointed.
Closing his eyes, Rajesh stepped forwards, "This is my responsibility." He stated.
Rose gasped and grabbed Rajesh's shoulder, "No, don't!" she begged.
Ignoring her, thankfully, Rajesh moved until he was standing in front of the Daleks, "I er - I represent the Torchwood Institute. Anything you need, you...come through me. Leave those three alone."
"You will kneel." The black Dalek ordered.
Rajesh blinked, "What for?" he questioned. This made Kayla wince. Questioning the Daleks was never a wise decision.
Thankfully, however, the Daleks did not shot the man, "Kneel." The Dalek repeated its order. Looking confused, Rajesh knelt in the circle of Daleks and tried to ignore them as all their eye stalks pointed at him.
"The Daleks need information about current Earth history." The black Dalek started.
Rajesh swallowed; Kayla could see his chest starting to speed up as his eyes flickered around the group of Daleks, "Yeah well I can give you a certain amount of intelligence but nothing that will compromise Home Land security—" he started to ramble.
If Daleks could be amused, then they would have been by Rajesh's sentence, "Speech is not necessary. We will extract brainwaves." It stated.
Kayla took in a sharp breath, knowing exactly what the Daleks were about to do. This knowledge, however, did not stop the brunette from gasping as the three Daleks advanced towards Rajesh, their suckers aimed at his forehead and his ears.
"Don't...I- I'll tell you everything you need. No. No!" Rajesh started to beg, the first signs of fear growing in his face.
But it was just as Kayla knew it would be. The Daleks…the Daleks crushed Rajesh's skull. And when the Daleks rolled back, they let Rajesh's blackened corpse fall to the ground.
"His mind spoke of a second species invading Earth infected by the superstition of ghosts." Dalek Sec announced.
With a horrified squeak, Rose started forwards, "You didn't need to KILL him!" She yelled at the Daleks.
Once again, Kayla could only thank a higher power that the Daleks didn't kill her for her tongue, "Neither did we need him alive." One of the Daleks pointed out; Kayla hated that she could see the wisdom, no matter how horrible, in that statement.
The black Dalek turned to a different Dalek, "Dalek Thay - investigate outside." It ordered.
"I obey." The bronze Dalek – did that black Dalek just call him Dalek Thay? Kayla could only think of one group of Daleks who had names, and if she was right then they were in trouble. – rolled away and out the door.
The Doctor felt a bit stupid that it took until one of the Cybermen say, "Units open visual link," for him to notice that something was going on with the Cybermen. So when a visual of the area occupied by the two Cybermen that had been sent to scope out the sphere chamber came onto Yvonne's laptop, the Doctor was very interested.
"Visual contact established."
In the sphere chamber, Kayla wished she could contact the Doctor. But since she couldn't, Kayla hoped that her emotions were strong enough to register with the Time Lord. Until she could see him, however, the brunette could only watch and listen.
"Establish visual contact. Lower communications barrier." The black Dalek ordered.
After a few seconds, a projection appeared in the same spot that the sphere had been. The projection was in Dalek…Thay's point of view, which meant it was tented blue.
"This won't go so well." Kayla whispered, more to herself than anyone else, as two Cyberman stood waiting around the corner Dalek Thay had just rounded.
The Doctor sucked in a sharp breath when he saw the bronze Dalek rolled around the corner and stop in front of the two Cybermen. If it had to be any evil alien, why was it the Daleks?
"Identify yourselves." The Dalek ordered.
"You will identify first." The Cyberman retorted.
"State your identity."
The Doctor sighed; if only he could contact Kayla in some way!
"You will identify first."
"Identify!"
Mickey seemed to be the only one enjoying this display that was playing out on the projection, "It's like Stephen Hawkins meets the Speaking Clock." He whispered to Rose and Kayla.
Kayla rolled her eyes, "Which is which?" she replied to Mickey, only for both of them to be shushed by Rose.
Grinding her teeth together, because Rose was still very grating, Kayla turned her attention back to the projection, "...illogical, you will modify." One of the Cybermen was ordering.
"Daleks do not take orders." Dalek Thay informed them.
"You have identified as Daleks." One of the Cybermen stated.
The black Dalek rolled forwards a bit, "Outline resembles the INFERIOR species known as 'Cybermen.'" It announced.
The Doctor cursed under his breath when Jackie, obviously terrified, leaned over to him, "Rose said about the Daleks. She was terrified of them. What have they done to her, Doctor? Is she dead?" she whispered in a tearful voice.
A sudden thought striking him, the Doctor turned to face her, "Phone." He hissed.
Jackie stared at the Doctor, "What did you-?"
"Phone!" the Doctor repeated, more sharply than the last time he had said it.
Still confused, Jackie slipped the Doctor her phone. Instantly, the Time Lord went into contacts and then called Rose Tyler. When this was over, he was definitely getting Kayla a phone.
Kayla whipped her head around when Rose's phone went off. The blonde had jumped from the noise, but luckily, the Daleks didn't notice. Her brow drawing together, Rose glanced over at Kayla before she slowly clicked the answer button but she didn't speak to the person who had called her.
Glancing towards the still occupied Daleks, Kayla looked over at Rose's phone and read off the name. Mum – or as Kayla knew her, Jackie Tyler – had called Rose.
Covering the speaker of the phone, the Doctor hissed to the worried Jackie, "She's answered, she's alive." He reported to Jackie, which sounded much better without voicing the other possibility that Kayla had grabbed the phone off of Rose's body.
It would probably be best that he didn't mention that, actually.
Still, he couldn't help but say, "Why haven't they killed her?"
Jackie frowned and crossed her arms, "Well, don't complain!" she ordered the Doctor.
"They must need her for something." The Doctor muttered to himself.
"We must protect the Genesis Ark." One of the Daleks cried out.
Hearing this through the phone, the Doctor's brow furrowed, "The Genesis Ark?" he questioned to himself. Confused, he placed the 3D glasses onto the bridge of his nose and stared at the laptop.
"Our species our similar, though your design is inelegant." The Cyberman that was speaking to the Dalek stated.
Kayla leaned forwards a bit, knowing the start of a deal. So did, apparently, Dalek Thay, "Daleks have no concept of elegance."
"This is obvious. But consider - our technologies are compatible. Cybermen plus Daleks - together, we could upgrade the Universe." The Cyberman proposed.
Her eyes widening, Kayla quickly glanced over at her two companions. Rose's eyes had widened; Mickey's jaw was set.
"You propose an alliance?" Dalek Thay asked.
"This is correct." The same Cyberman agreed.
The Dalek twitched slightly, "Request denied." It stated.
Reacting instantly, the Cybermen thrust their arms forwards, obviously about to shoot, "Hostile elements will be deleted." They said together. The one that had been speaking shot first, then, barely a few seconds later, the other one fired as well.
Not knowing exactly who she wanted to win, Kayla stared at the screen as the rays bounced off the Dalek's amour.
"Exterminate!" it cried out.
Without further warning, the Dalek shot at both Cybermen. With a scream, the Cybermen fell to their knees and then to the floor, dead.
His eyes wide, the Doctor watched the Dalek kill both of the Cybermen. The visual link cutting off, the lead Cyberman stomped off, "Open visual link." It ordered.
It was within a few moments that a Cyberman leader made contact with the Daleks, "Daleks, be warned: you have declared war upon the Cybermen." It warned.
"This is not war. This is pest control." The black Dalek retorted.
"We have five million Cybermen. How many are you?" the Cyberman asked, while the threesome of humans exchanged horrified looks.
"Four." The black Dalek answered.
If Cybermen were capable of laughter, that Cyberman on the holographic screen would have laughed for a very long time. "You would destroy the Cybermen with FOUR Daleks?!" It asked, its voice growing in power at this threat.
The black Dalek moved forwards, "We would destroy the Cybermen with ONE Dalek. You are superior in only one respect."
"What is that?" the Cyberman asked.
"You are better at dying. Raise communications barrier!" the black Dalek ordered.
As the screen went to static, one of the bronze colored Daleks cried out, "Wait!"
Shaking his head, the Doctor moved back over to Jackie, "Lost her." He explained.
"Rewind image by nine rells." The bronze Dalek ordered. As the screen reappeared and went backwards, Kayla sucked in a breath a familiar suited figure in the background, "Identify grid seven gamma frame." The bronze Dalek ordered. The screen zoomed in on the Doctor, obviously pacing.
"This male registers as enemy." The bronze Dalek stated.
Kayla, glancing over at Rose and Mickey, turned her full attention to the Daleks. It was very lucky that she had done this because the black Dalek turned around, its eye on her, "The female's hearts have increased." It reported.
Noting the plural, Kayla stepped forwards a tad bit, her hands raised, "They have." She agreed.
"Identify him and yourself." The black Dalek ordered.
Kayla nodded, fully intending to comply, "I am Kayla Harkness." She stared at the Daleks, "Daughter of Captain Jack Harkness and Bonded to the Doctor, and that is the Doctor on the screen." She answered with a smirk. The smirk only grew larger as the Daleks rolled back.
"Five million Cybermen - easy. A Time Lord and a Time Lady? NOW you're scared." She couldn't help but taunt.
"Quarantine the Sphere Chamber. Start emergency upgrading. Begin with these personnel." The lead Cyberman ordered.
At his command, three Cybermen stomped over. One grabbed Yvonne, the other grabbed Jackie, and the last one grabbed the Doctor. However, before they were even out of the office, the lead Cyberman called out, "This one's increased adrenaline suggests he has vital Dalek information." It ordered, which made the third Cyberman leave and the two others to drag Jackie and Yvonne out.
"No, you can't do this! We surrendered! We surrendered!" Yvonne was screaming.
But the Doctor did not pay attention to her. Instead, he focused on Jackie Tyler, "You promised me! You gave me your word!" she accused.
"I'll think of something!" the Doctor tried to reassure her as she was dragged out of sight.
The bronze Dalek that had killed the two Cybermen suddenly entered the chamber, "Cyber threat irrelevant. Concentrate on the Genesis Ark." It reported.
The black Dalek rolled over to the Genesis Ark and placed its suction arm on the egg-like thing on the side.
Taking this as an opportunity to speak to the others, Mickey nodded to a spot further away from the Daleks. Kayla glanced over at the spot and then at the black man. Checking on the Daleks, Kayla started to walk backwards with Rose and Mickey following her.
"Why are we being kept alive?" Mickey whispered.
Kayla nodded towards the ash pile a few feet away, "They're not afraid to kill us. So maybe they're just making sure they have extras."
Looking sick at this thought, Rose looked over at the Daleks, "But why do they need to have extras?" she asked.
Kayla had no answer for the blonde.
The Doctor was staring out at the devastation of London. He was sitting on the window sill and was silent. He was not in the mood for visitors, like the Cyberman approaching him right now.
"You are proof." It stated.
The Doctor didn't even turn to face the machine, "Of what?" he asked.
"That emotions destroy you."
At the bland sentence, the Doctor shrugged, "Yeah, I am." He agreed, "Mind you, I quite like hope. Hope's a good emotion. And here it comes." Glancing to the side, the Doctor expected to see Jack Harkness and his team.
At first, when a group of people in black with guns appeared, that seemed to be the case. But then, after the sudden and quick fight, the man that had just blown the head off of a Cyberman turned to the Doctor, "Doctor - good to see you again." He greeted. Taking off his helmet, the Doctor knew instantly it was not Captain Jack Harkness. No, this was Jake from the other universe.
"Jake?!" he couldn't help but cry out.
Jake shrugged, looking rather smug, "The Cybermen came through from one world to another - and so did we." He explained.
Turning away from the shocked Doctor, Jake faced his group, "Defend this room. Chrissie, monitor communications." He ordered, not noticing the Doctor put his 3D glasses on once more and stared at the group, "Kill one Cyber Leader and they just download into another. Move!" Jake finished with a shout.
As his group scurried out to follow his orders, Jack turned to smirk at the Doctor, "You can't just- just- just HOP from one world to another. You CAN'T." the Doctor protested.
Jake shrugged, "We just did. With these." He explained. Without any other warning, he tossed something that appeared to be a giant yellow button that had a meatal chain on it. Clearly it was meant to be worn around the person's neck, but the Doctor did not place it on. Instead, he examined the object.
"But that's impossible. You can't have this sort of technology." The Doctor stated as he flipped the object over.
Jake continued to smirk at the Time Lord, "We've got our own version of Torchwood. They developed it. Do you wanna come and see?"
The Doctor quickly shook his head, "NO!" he yelled, but it was too late. Jake pressed his button and they both disappeared from the chamber. Though, to be exact, they merely traveled into a different universe. And the Doctor was not happy.
For as soon as they had arrived, he had glared fiercely at Jake. He was in a world where he was not Bonded to Kayla. While he felt no pain, Kayla would be.
"Parallel Earth - parallel Torchwood. Except we found out what the institute was doing and the people's republic took control." Jake was explaining to the completely oblivious Doctor. Not even bothering to look around, the Doctor tried to push his button, but he didn't leave, "There's a cool down, that won't work." Jake stated. This caused the Doctor to growl.
"I NEED to get back! Kayla needs my help!" he protested, "And Rose's mother!"
Sadly, however, this was in vain, because Pete Tyler, wearing a black suit and flanked by two guards, strolled into the room, "That'd be Jackie." The Doctor whipped around to face the man, "My wife in a parallel universe. And as for you, Doctor, at least this time I know who you are."
The Doctor ran over to the man, becoming more and more worried about Kayla, "Right, yes, fine, hooray. But I've gotta get back. Right now." He tried to explain.
Pete just calmly looked at the Time Lord, "No, you're not in charge here. This is our world, not yours. And you're gonna listen for once." Glaring at him darkly, the Doctor rubbed at his temples but fell silent.
Kayla was sitting down and trying not to make a scene. She felt like there was something she had forgotten, something important. It made her ill to her stomach. But she didn't complain because the Daleks might notice and then there would be trouble.
So instead, Kayla rubbed at her stomach and leaned her back against the cool metal wall with a sigh. The Daleks were still fussing about, but Rose and Mickey were shooting her worried looks, obviously trying to work out something. After a few seconds, Mickey came over with a sheepish look on his face.
"Rose thinks that whatever is in the Ark is waking up. She thinks that the Daleks will want one of us, most likely you, because of the background radiation."
Nodding slowly, Kayla got to her feet with a groan, "Why would they build something they can't open themselves?" she asked.
"The technology is stolen. The Ark is not of Dalek design." The black Dalek interjected suddenly, startling both Kayla and Mickey.
Rose hurried forwards, hearing the conversation, "Then who built it?" she asked.
The black Dalek's eye piece turned towards Rose, "The Time Lords. This is all that survives of their Home World." At this answer, Kayla winced; her eyes flicked over to the Ark and stared at it. Was it really from the world she had never gotten to go to?
"What's inside?" Rose asked the black Dalek.
The black Dalek stared at her, "The future." It answered.
Swallowing hard, Kayla stared at the ground. Rubbing her stomach, Kayla closed her eyes.
Dommsday has arrived! And all I can say is: poor Kayla! I sort of imagine that she would know he's not dead, but her brain would try to wipe him from her mind as to stop her from hurting. When the Doctor comes back, it will be quite a head rush. As for the rest of this chapter, it was a blast to write. I like the alternating between the Doctor and Kayla, mostly because I get to focus more on them when they're separate. And now...Review Time:
Aka-Baka Hoshi: I hope you enjoyed this chapter!
NicoleR85: I'm glad you did!
AlassAlcarin: Season 3 has to be my favorite. I mean, it gave us Martha, Blink, and Human Nature/ Family of Blood! Season three is going to be...moody. Not angst or anything, but just...Kayla will be arguing a lot and the Doctor will be very worried. As for those two episodes, fluff describes them the best. And thanks!
See ya next week!