River opened the Doctor's jacket and slid his screwdriver carefully into the inside pocket. She fixed his collar and brushed her hands over his shoulders, and down his arms. She tugged the bottom of the jacket pulling it firmly into place. Reaching up, she straightened his bow tie with her delicate fingers. All the while the Doctor's fascinated eyes never moved from her.
"Now," she said finally pressing her hands flat against his chest, "Go get them..."
The Doctor started to turn towards the doors of the Tardis.
"Wait!" River reached up, running her fingers through his hair in an attempt to tame it, "Okay go..." she sighed in a manner which was simply code for, 'Go now or I'll never let you go at all'.
The Doctor rolled his eyes with a smile before once more making his way to the doors. He took a deep breath and sighed loudly as he unlatched the door and stepped outside. Facing him was the army of Clockwork men, and in the centre was the upgraded model.
"Time Lord," the Doctor announced pointing to himself as the door clicked shut, "Time And Relative Dimensions In Space... Tardis..." he continued pointing up to his faithful blue box. He turned his finger to them, circling it wildly so as to include all of them, "... Talking clocks..." he said finally with a small hint of a smile.
Everything went silent for a moment, everything except for the quiet ticking that the Doctor was facing. It was as though they were processing his words. With a sharp jerky movement one of the heads tilted to one side, awaiting the point of the Doctor's declaration. Their pause was in vain as the Doctor pressed on.
"Now you lot... Scavengers... Stealing people for parts... What's that about eh?... Go to a junk yard or something...these People are not your tools... You can't have them... I won't let you" Simultaneously they took a step towards him, he pulled his screwdriver on them, "I... Won't... Let... You" he said defiantly, "This ends today," he added darkly, "Leave this ship... Rebuild elsewhere"
The silence was deafening. The Doctor's eyes darted from side to side trying to watch all of the mechanical monsters meant for children's nightmares. They pushed forward, pinning the Doctor against the Tardis door. The catch had jammed, the door remained closed, the Doctor's feet hung loosely a few inches from the ground. He gasped against the crushing force against his windpipe. His eyes radiated a fiery hatred towards them and at the same time a desperate hope, both of which were fast dying. Inside River tugged and pulled at the lock, it was completely jammed shut.
"Doctor!" she cried, "Its stuck she's still not fully regenerated!"
The Doctor gasped and choked as he gripped the hands which were wrapped around his throat, trying desperately to relieve the pressure at the very least. He needed one more breath.
"I ... C... Can help..." he stuttered using all his strength to raise his screwdriver into view. He was released sharply and fell into a slumped heap at the base of his Time Machine. He gasped for air his head going dizzy with the sudden rush of oxygen. The tingling that had begun to take over his fingers started to subside. His breathing slowly returned to normal and he was able to clamber uncertainly to his feet, leaning back against the Tardis for support, "Alright," he sighed frowning as he struggled to fight off the faint feeling. His hand delved into his pocket and brought out River's screwdriver, "I did this... Only once before... With a sonic pen... Long story... Out of interest have any of you any idea what happens when two sonic devices are brought together? ... No... Actually... Never mind... Not important..."
He brought the tips of the screwdrivers together, glancing briefly up at the Clockwork men. Then he pressed the buttons. Sonic vibrations filled the air with the same magnitude that River had accidently produced with the Tardis. Spark flew and smoke erupted, clockwork heads exploded and bodies fell. The Doctor fell back, sliding down the side of the Tardis, a result of the blasts caused by the bringing together of the screwdrivers. He sat a moment in shock amongst the flaming material and metal shards. Wires and circuit boards protruded from various broken limbs. Shattered masks were strewn across the floor of the corridor. The Tardis doors burst open resulting in the Doctor falling heavily back into the doorway of his faithful machine.
"Well it's about time," he sighed looking up, his head well placed between River's feet.
"Good view?" she asked brightly before giving him a sharp kick, "Always the geniuses..." she mumbled leaving him on the floor, legs hanging out of the doorway.