Rise of the Cybermen, Part Three
Clara and the Doctor- having gotten off track from their search for Mickey- found themselves at Pete Tyler and Jackie Tyler's mansion. A party was going on, people milling about all over the property.
"They've got visitors," the Doctor announced after scoping out the place.
"Yea, I noticed." Clara replied. "I overheard someone talking about Jackie's birthday." The Doctor nodded, everything making sense to him.
"Rose's mum. Must be her birthday." He glanced at the party. "I should've pegged Jackie as the type for a grand party."
"Hell, anyone would have a grand party if they had the money," Clara pointed out. The Doctor was quiet a moment, a plan forming in his head.
"Well, given Pete Tyler's guest list, I wouldn't mind a look." The Doctor pointed out a few recognizable people entering the party- some diplomats that she recognized, as well as celebrities. "And there is one guaranteed way of getting inside." Clara raised an eyebrow. She already knew what he was going to say, but didn't want to give that away.
"And what would that be?" He grinned at her, the tip of his tongue sticking out between his teeth.
"Psychic paper." He flipped out his psychic paper, making it say a few random things to demonstrate how it works. "So, who do you want to be?"
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Clara wasn't too upset about being a servant for the Tyler party, but she did think that they could have been someone a little better.
"We could have been anyone." She muttered, holding out her tray of champagne to a guest with a smile on her face. The man sneered at her, taking a glass rudely. The Doctor served someone a lady finger, bumping Clara's hip with his own.
"Got us in, didn't it?" He asked, looking at her with a bit of a smile on his face. She couldn't help but smile back, butterflies in her tummy.
"I suppose it makes sense," Clara admitted. "'If you want to know what's going on, work in the kitchens.' That's what they always say in spy movies, isn't it? No one pays attention to the help." The Doctor tapped her on the nose the same way the future Doctor did.
"Exactly. According to Lucy, that man over there-" Clara felt something warm and unpleasant bubble in her tummy, effectively killing her butterflies.
"Who's Lucy?" Clara asked lightly, trying to hide how unhappy she was. In the back of her mind, she was aware that the unpleasant feeling she felt was jealousy, but she didn't want to admit that.
"She's carrying the salmon pinwheels." The Doctor pointed to a pretty blonde woman graciously serving salmon to guests. Clara's jealousy flared.
"Oh, that's Lucy, is it?" Clara muttered, holding out her tray for another person to take a glass.
"Yeah." The Doctor answered obliviously. "Lucy says, that is the President of Great Britain." He pointed to a man who had many people standing around him. Clara snorted.
"What, there's a President, not a Prime Minister?"
"Seems so." The Doctor mused. Clara could almost see the cogs of his brain turning.
"Or maybe Lucy's just a bit thick," Clara mumbled under her breath spitefully. Luckily, the Doctor didn't hear her. Good, she was kind of shocked by how mean she was acting. It wasn't like she had a claim on the Doctor or anything. Not that I don't want to, she couldn't help but think.
A man stood at the top of the staircase, pulling the attention of everyone. He was fair haired- Clara couldn't tell if he was a blond or a redhead- and balding.
"Excuse me! Thank you very much." He beamed at the crowd. "Thank you if I could just have your attention, please?" The crowd quieted.
"Pete! Go on, Pete!" A random man yelled. Pete laughed.
"Thank you very much!" He said. Different people called up to him, but he quieted them quickly. "Um, I'd just like to say thank you to you all, for coming on this, this very special occasion. My wife's thirty ninth."
"Don't believe that one." The same man interrupted him. Pete grinned, giving his signature thumbs up.
"Trust me on this." The crowd chuckled. "And so, without any further ado, here she is, the birthday girl. My lovely wife, Jackie Tyler." A blonde woman in a black dress sauntered into view, hair done up nice. Clara thought it was a bit obvious that she wasn't really thirty nine. Everyone clapped for her and Clara awkwardly clapped her thigh. Jackie smiled serenely at the audience.
"Now, I'm not giving a speech. That's what my parties are famous for. No work, no politics, just a few good mates and plenty of black market whisky." Jackie gave a fake giggle, holding a hand out in the direction of the "president". "Pardon me, Mister President. So, yeah, get on with it. Enjoy, enjoy." The party restarted, everyone chatting with each other as Pete and Jackie made to join the party.
"Rose! There's my little girl!" Jackie called suddenly, turning towards the way she came. The Doctor and Clara watched interestedly, waiting to see Rose come out. "Come to mummy, come to mummy!" A little Yorkie came prancing towards Jackie, and she scooped the dog into her arms.
Clara and the Doctor broke into a fit of giggles.
"Oh, I wish Rose were here to see this!" Clara gasped, struggling to keep her tray level as she laughed.
"Clara?" Yet again, Clara heard that familiar voice call her name. Clara stopped laughing immediately. She stood straighter.
"Shit," she whispered. The Doctor looked worried.
"What?" He asked. Clara turned around to face her mother yet again.
"You're not my Clara." Ellie stated. "Who are you? Why do you look like my daughter? Why did you pretend to be my daughter?"
"I- well, um-" Clara stammered, shoving her tray into another servant's hands. She looked to the Doctor for help.
"Ellie, is it?" The Doctor asked. Ellie nodded, lips pursed. "I'm the Doctor. Please, may we step outside? I can explain everything." Ellie scrutinized him for a moment before relenting.
"Alright." Ellie said, arms crossed. "But, she's coming, too." The Doctor nodded, giving someone his tray. He took Clara's hand and led the two of them outside. Waiting for them was this world's Clara.
"Mum?" Other Clara asked. "Have you figured out what's going on?" Ellie walked up to her daughter.
"Not yet. They promised to explain." Ellie assured her. She looked to Clara and the Doctor. "Well?"
"Well, you see-" Clara could tell the Doctor was about to lie and nudged him in the ribs.
"The truth, Doctor." She insisted. "I'm not lying to her." The Doctor stared at her, and Clara tried to convey how important this was to her through her eyes. The Doctor seemed to understand and nodded.
He began to explain the best he could to Ellie and Other Clara, who both looked very disbelieving.
"You expect me to believe that you're from a parallel universe?" Ellie demanded, hands on her hips. "Clara Eleanor Oswald-" Clara started crying at that point. She buried her face in her hands, sobbing.
"Clara?" The Doctor sounded panicked, grabbing her around the shoulders. "Clara, what's wrong?"
"Clara?" Ellie asked hesitantly, looking from her real daughter, to this other Clara, to the Doctor. "Sweetie, what's wrong?" Clara hiccuped, trying to stifle her tears. Ellie gently pulled Clara from the Doctor's arms and hugged her. Clara clung to her.
"It's just-" Clara hiccuped again. "The last time my mum said my name was-" She started crying harder than ever, holding Ellie tighter.
"Her version of Ellie died eight years ago," the Doctor explained quietly to Ellie and Other Clara. Other Clara's hands flew to her mouth, the thought of losing her mother devastating her. Ellie, finally believing what they were telling her- how could she not? This girl was bawling because she had said her full name- rubbed Clara's back like she did to her Clara whenever she was upset.
Suddenly, lights seemed to turn on all around them, illuminating figures in the distance. Clara looked up from Ellie's shoulder, cheeks stained with tears, looking to see what was going on.
"Doctor-?" She asked, standing up. She helped Ellie to her feet. The figures began marching closer, dainty as elephants. They stomped loudly, sounding very mechanic.
"Oh no," the Doctor breathed, horrified by the figures. They had the party surrounded and were closing in. "It's happening again." His hands went into his hair, pulling at it.
"What do you mean?" Clara asked, wiping her eyes. "What are they?
The Doctor grabbed her hand and squeezed tightly. "Cybermen." He pulled her, leading her back inside. Ellie and Other Clara followed. By then, Clara could see them clearer.
"What are they?" She asked again. "Robots?" The Doctor looked grave, looking around for a way out.
"Worse than that," he muttered. "They were people, once." Ellie gasped.
"People?!" The Doctor nodded.
"They were until they had their humanity taken away." The Doctor continued, making his way to the drawing room, where the rest of the party had congregated in fear. "That's a living brain jammed inside a cybernetic body, with a heart of steel. All emotions removed." Clara looked up at him.
"Why no emotions?" She asked, fearing the answer. He looked pained as his brown eyes met her gaze.
"Because it hurts."
The president broke their moment, demanding to know who the people had been. It took Clara a moment to understand that he was talking to someone on the phone.
"They were homeless," Clara heard from the phone. "And wretched and useless. Until I saved them." One of the Cybermen that had herded the people into the drawing room stepped forward.
"We have been upgraded." Its mouth glowed blue as it spoke in a chilling voice.
"Upgraded?" Other Clara asked, looking to her mother for answers. Ellie shrugged and pulled her daughter into a hug.
"Into what?" The Doctor asked loudly, causing the Cyberman to notice him. The Cyberman turned its whole body to face him.
"The next level of mankind. We are Human Point Two. Every citizen will receive a free upgrade. You will become like us." The President stepped in front of the Cyberman, compassion evident on his face.
"I'm sorry." He said sincerely. "I'm so sorry for what's been done to you, but listen to me. This experiment ends tonight." The Cyberman looked unfazed. Clara wasn't sure if it could look fazed, though.
"Upgrading is compulsory." It stated.
"And if I refuse?" The president asked, crossing his arms. Clara felt panic in her gut.
"Don't," she said, her voice unable to be louder than a whisper. At the same time, the Doctor said, "Don't!" The president looked at the Doctor, trying to figure out what he meant, then turned back to the Cyberman.
"What if I refuse?"
"I'm telling you, don't." The Doctor repeated urgently, stepping forward. He let go of Clara's hand so she wouldn't have to get closer to the robotic man. Clara stepped forward anyway and took his hand again. She wasn't letting him face anything alone.
"What happens if I refuse?" The president asked again, testing his limits.
The Cyberman's mouth flashed blue again. "Then you are not compatible. And you will be deleted."
Chaos erupted. The Doctor held Clara's hand tighter and grabbed Ellie's, who grabbed Other Clara's hand. They ran through the house, successfully evading all of the Cybermen. On a hill by the Tyler's mansion, Clara spotted Mickey with a pair of people. They ran up to them, hearing a Cyberman stomping behind them. Mickey jumped in front of them.
"Stay behind me!" He shouted, hefting up a huge gun and firing it at the Cyberman. The bullets merely bounced off the silver metal and the Cyberman continued marching.
"Look at you!" Clara breathed, out of breath from running. She pulled him into a hug. "I thought we'd never see you again!"
"Um, no offense, darling, but who the hell are you?" Clara stepped back and looked up at Mickey.
"Mickey, it's me." She told him. "Clara."
"Clara, that's not me! That's the other one." Clara looked and saw another Mickey standing in the group. "Just like that's the other you." He pointed to Other Clara, who waved shyly at him. Clara ran over to the real Mickey and hugged him.
"Oh great. If it weren't bad enough, we've got two Mickeys as well as two Claras!" The Doctor complained. Other Mickey looked offended.
"It's Ricky," he corrected, shooting the Cyberman again. The Doctor took the gun and threw it to the ground.
"Bullets don't work on them." He informed everyone. He turned to the Cyberman, who was scarily close by then. He raised his arms up in defeat. "We surrender!" He called. The Cyberman stopped. Clara and the others followed his example and raised their arms.
"You are incompatible." It stated. "You will be deleted."
"But we surrender!" Clara exclaimed. The Cyberman kept chanting, approaching them.
"Delete! Delete! Delete!"
A/N: WOO! Longest chapter to date! Over 2,00 words, wow. So, do you guys like the changes I've made in this episode? I feel like I've strayed a lot from the original episode. What do you guys think?
By the way, the poll has ended. The first chapter of my other Doctor Who fanfic is up. It's called Come Along Pond, Allons-y! You should check it out. Second chapter will be up sometime this week. Don't worry though, I won't let this story lag. I'll be updating both stories once a week, but this one will continue to be my main focus. Let me know what you think of that story, as well!
Thanks for reading! Please leave a review!