CHAPTER 52
I do not own Doctor Who and I am making no profit off of this.
Thank you for all of your favorites, follows, story alerts, and reviews!
REBIRTH OF THE CYBERMEN PART 1
For the inhabitants of the planet Tivoli, the day began just like any other in the history of that world. They woke up at the crack of dawn with an eager smile, ate a hearty breakfast, got their children ready to go to school, joyfully greeted their neighbors . . . and then hastily surrendered en masse to yet another in a very long line of invasion fleets that suddenly showed up out of the blue on their doorstep.
Yep, it was basically just your typical day . . . if you're into the whole planetary subjugation thing that is.
"Look, Almyra! It's our latest group of extremely glorious and hopefully benevolent overlords! May they shine their light of oppression upon us with the utmost kindness and generosity! Hurry back into the house and put your best dress on before they land. You know the rules. Everyone has to pitch in and do their best in order to give a good first impression to our new masters. They might leave if they think that we're just any other run of the mill enslaved species. They could always go elsewhere and impose their will on some other lucky species instead after all," Mabus Jinn, the Official Surrender Representative of Tivoli, said to his young daughter in a joyful tone.
"Don't even think such a thing, Mabus. You don't want to jinx us do you? We might have to go an entire week without an occupying force if this one passes us by and then where would be?" Pyra, Mabus' wife, said with a horrified look on her face.
"Yeah, we might actually get some backbone and learn to rely on ourselves that way. Can't have that can we? Oh, Father, do I have to put that ugly thing back on again? You know how I hate wearing dresses especially that horrible patchwork abomination you gave me. It makes me look like I was just thrown out of a clown car," Almyra protested.
I have to admit that when I saw her dress later on I was reminded just a little bit too much of that rainbow colored abomination that the Doctor used to call a coat. I wouldn't be half surprised if Mabus had the bad luck to find it after the Doctor finally had the good sense to chuck it out the TARDIS doors somewhere.
What? Why are you all looking at me like that?
Oh, sorry! Hello, it's Amy. I completely forgot to say that it's me not Prime narrating this time around. Then again I bet you probably already figured that out anyway didn't you? My narration is definitely much better than his usually is if you ask me (and Rory agrees with me so it must be true) so naturally you'd see a huge improvement in quality.
"All of our studies say that new invaders always love seeing colorfully dressed inhabitants on the day of first contact, Almyra. It makes them far more likely to want to oppress someone with incredibly bad fashion sense. I don't want to take any chances. Put on your official greeting dress at once, Almyra! We mustn't give them any excuse to leave. You know I'll lose my job if I can't convince them to occupy us for at least a couple of months and then how will you afford to go to the prom with that boy that you like so much? What was his name again? Mumbo? Jumbo? Dumbo?" Mabus said with a deep frown of disapproval.
He sounds just as bad with names as the Doctor, doesn't he?
Almyra sighed as she said in an annoyed tone, "It's S'trumbo, Dad. S'trumbo Pax. Honestly! It's not that hard to remember."
"Just do what he wants, dear. I agree that that dress is the ugliest thing in all of time and space but if there's even a chance that it might help the overlords decide to stay then it's all worth it isn't it?" Pyra whispered to her daughter with a reassuring smile.
"Yeah, because it's always so great to have to bow and scrape before the newest freak of the week that arrives here," Almyra said in a disgusted tone.
Her father quickly gave her a furious stare now to which she finally said in a defeated voice, "Fine. I'll go put on the stupid dress but I'm not doing the Dance of Surrender for them. Let someone else do it this time around. I always look like a complete idiot in that ugly old dress."
Mabus just rolled his eyes and muttered something under his breath about ungrateful teenagers as he started to walk toward the first occupying ship to land with a welcoming smile and a wave. Somewhere behind him the official Occupying Force Greeting Committee began to sing and dance in joy as they proclaimed how wonderful and magnanimous their glorious new masters were without even having seen them yet.
Like I said before, it was just another typical day in the history of Tivoli. Or so they thought.
This invasion fleet however, as it turned out, was nothing at all like the usual visitors to that world. They had no intention of simply occupying and conquering the all too obliging residents as usual. Unfortunately for them, they had a far more insidious plan in mind.
Yeah, I'm throwing in plenty of five pound words to impress you with today. So tell me is it working so far? Am I better than Prime yet?
Mabus now looked on in horror as the first ship of the invading fleet finally landed at last and a group of beings with hairy red eyebrows and a face filled with warts emerged with giant meat cleavers in their hands.
"What kind of seasoning did you say worked best on this lot again, Chef Ginger Tongue?" Gourmand Alufrax asked as he eagerly licked his lips.
"According to the late great master chef Shockeye, the inhabitants of Tivoli taste best marinated in barbecue sauce and sprinkled afterwards with a healthy dose of red hot chili peppers from Argus V. I think I'll pick that particularly cowardly looking one over there to test his recipe out on first. He looks extra nice and plump," Chef Ginger Tongue said as she greedily eyed Mabus with a smile full of razor sharp teeth.
"Androgums," Mabus said in a terrified voice as he instantly recognized Tivoli's newest arrivals and began to slowly back away from them.
To be invaded and conquered was one thing but to be eaten into extinction was quite another altogether even for the inhabitants of Tivoli. I know I certainly didn't enjoy it when they came after me.*
Mabus couldn't help but think back now to the last time that the Androgums had been there. They had come far too close to nearly wiping out the entire planet as they began to prepare to turn Mabus' entire race into a grand buffet. Luckily for them however they had been rescued just in time by a less than amused Time Lady (I'll give you three guesses who that was) who definitely had better things to do at the time than have a whole bunch of fawning beings who looked like overgrown rats (which she really hated!) bow down before her while they set up a tickertape parade in her honor.
It was probably the only time in that world's history that they had actually celebrated being liberated.
Now as the Androgums slowly walked towards him and laughed while sharpening their knives, Mabus could only look back at that day with a fondness that he never thought that he could possibly feel when he had learned about it in history class. For the first time in his life, he actually found himself doing the impossible in that moment.
He actually began to hope that someone would leave.
That was when an already confusing day for Mabus got even more so when yet another invading fleet suddenly appeared above him, and he found himself feeling less than welcoming towards them. This was because yet again it was another one of those extremely rare groups of beings who his people never wanted to return to Tivoli for any reason whatsoever.
Cybermen.
Mabus remembered far too well what had happened when the Cybermen had last arrived on Tivoli because he had actually been there. He still shuddered even now at the thought of how close he had come to becoming one of them that day if not for the sudden fortuitous arrival of a traveling Time Lady who had arrived just in time to drive them off.
Have you guessed who she was yet?
Some of his people even whispered afterwards that they were almost certain that she was the same one as before despite having a different face when she had the same disgusted reaction to them as the earlier Time Lady had after they cheerfully surrendered themselves to her with a huge parade in her honor. In other words, she had fled just as quickly as she could.
Now he began to wonder if his reprieve on that occasion had only been a temporary one.
"What other Official Surrender Representative ever had a day like this one? Why me, Great Occupier? Why me?" Mabus asked out loud in stunned disbelief as the Cyber Fleet began to land nearby.
This time however things weren't quite as they seemed to be as he soon discovered.
As soon as they landed, the Cybermen quickly began to march out of their ships and towards the surprised Androgums at lightning speed. Now it was the universal gourmets' turn to become filled with terror as they watched one of their worst nightmares swiftly approaching them.
"This is a most cruel fate indeed, Ginger Tongue! To have such a succulent feast just within our grasp and then to have it suddenly snatched away from us in the very next moment! It's almost as if the very universe itself has turned against us. What horrible crime could we have possibly committed to deserve this?" Gourmand Alufrax commented in a horrified voice as he watched them rapidly approaching with ever widening eyes filled with terror.
Both the people of Tivoli and the Androgums fully expected to die or worse within moments of the Cybermen's arrival. In that instant, all that Mabus could think about was how he wished that the last thing he hadn't talked about with Almyra had been that stupid dress. He honestly thought that he'd never get to tell his daughter that he loved her ever again much less be able to feel that love anymore.
That was why what happened to him next completely shocked Mabus to his very core.
The Cyber Leader suddenly turned to the Androgums and said in an authoritative tone, "By the command of the Cyber Queen, you will leave this world and its inhabitants in peace at once."
"What? I mean . . . what?!" Mabus said as his jaw dropped.
"What he said," Gourmand Alufrax said as he stared at the Cyber Leader as if he had just told him that he would never be able to eat again.
"This world is under the protection of the Cyber Queen and per her orders the people here will be allowed to continue to live their lives as they choose. If you do not leave at once, we will be forced to either convert or terminate all of you with extreme prejudice. Please don't force me to do that. The conversion process in particular is far worse than any kind of death that you could possibly imagine. I can speak to you of that from personal experience," The Cyber Leader said in what actually sounded like a regretful tone to Mabus' amazement.
The Androgums all looked at one another in absolute terror as soon as the word conversion was mentioned. To be changed into an emotionless being that could never again experience the pleasure of carefully preparing and then slowly savoring a well cooked meal was definitely a far worse fate than death to an Androgum after all.
If I was the one in their shoes then that would probably be the last thing on my mind in that moment. That extreme devotion of theirs to the pleasures of food though was a very good thing right now because it definitely produced the desired results when the Androgums immediately began to scream and stampeded towards their ships in a mindless panic.
"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! What I actually said was that you should only kill people as a last resort and that you should never I repeat NEVER convert anyone ever again. What part of that did you take to mean that you should threaten people with it the first chance that you got?" I said in a furious voice as I exited the first Cyber ship that had landed.
Yep, I'm finally here at last. Did you miss me?
"I was certain that only such an extreme threat would deter this particular group of invaders, Cyber Queen, and it appears that I was quite correct in that assumption," The Cyber Leader said with that same tone of regret as before.
At least it didn't sound as if he was enjoying the whole thing anyway. That's at least some progress from their having been completely soulless killers, right?
"You might be right but let's at least exhaust every other alternative first before we start to head down that road, okay? Oh, and I thought I told you not to call me your Cyber Queen. Who do you think I am? Oswin Oswald? Let's get something straight right now, Tin Man. I'm not your leader. I never said that I was either as I recall. There's no way that you're roping me into that job if I can help it. I'm just here making sure that you don't go back to your old ways again especially after what we all just went through together on Alba III," I said in an annoyed tone.
"Why? What happened there?" Almyra asked as she suddenly walked straight up to us without an ounce of fear.
"Something almost as awful as that dress you're wearing. Please tell me that you didn't actually buy that thing," I said with a frown.
Almyra laughed and said, "Give me credit for at least a little bit of taste. My dad gave it to me to wear. He thought it would impress people."
"Yeah, it'll definitely give them an impression alright. Somehow I don't think it'll be the one that you want them to have though," I said with disgust.
"I know, right?" Almyra said with a triumphant smile.
"Almyra, be careful!" Mabus said in alarm because he had absolutely no idea whose side that I was on at that point in time.
"Oh, please, Dad. If she was here to kill or convert us, she'd have already started by now. She's not even a Cyberman anyway which just makes me even more curious. Just who are you?" Almyra asked me with a curious expression.
"My name's Amy Pond. It's nice to meet you. In fact this is the first time that I've met someone from your planet that actually engaged me in a normal conversation. Most of you just want to surrender to me as soon as they see me," I said with a warm smile.
"I can't imagine why. It must be your extremely friendly disposition," Almyra quipped.
"Hey! I was being friendly. What do you mean by saying that? I'm always perfectly sweet and nice to everyone that I meet. See? This is me being friendly!" I said in an angry voice.
"Yeah, and having your boys threaten to convert people will definitely win you the title of Miss Congeniality alright," Almyra said with a smirk.
"First of all, they are not 'my boys'! Second of all, I never told them to threaten anyone. I don't threaten people. In fact, I never threaten people. I don't know where these kinds of rumors get started but I bet it was the Doctor. If I ever find that out for sure, I'll punch him right through . . ." I started to say.
"Yeah, I can't imagine how things like that get started about you. Not at all," Almyra said with a chuckle.
I couldn't help but smile at her now despite her attitude problem because I found myself actually liking her at that moment despite myself.
"Almyra, be quiet! It's never a good thing to challenge our new overlords especially when they've just so graciously saved us from being eaten. Might I mention that you're just as lovely as the morning sunrise, Amy Pond? That is the correct way of addressing you, yes? Or should I call you Your Majesty instead?" Mabus said with a huge smile.
I instantly shook with revulsion as I said, "And that's what I always hated about this place: the constant groveling."
Then I turned to Almyra and immediately said, "No offense."
"None taken. I completely agree with you in fact," Almyra said with a sad expression.
"You do?" I asked in surprise.
"Yeah. That's kind of why I'm a bit of a social outcast around here. I never did believe that we should just lie down and let everyone in the universe completely walk all over us. In fact, I once told the Sontarans exactly what they could do with themselves. I think my dad may have had a mini stroke that day. At least it finally got me a boyfriend though. He thought it was completely awesome and more importantly he thinks that I am too. That's always a plus," Almyra said with a wicked smile.
Yeah, I definitely liked her alright which was a first for me on this world.
"Wait a minute. Amy Pond. I know that name from somewhere," Almyra said as she studied me closely.
"Uh, oh. Here it comes," I said as I immediately began to back away from her.
Almyra's face brightened now as she said, "That's right. You're Cliodna Brightshore! You're that Time Lady who saved this world at least once before and probably twice, aren't you? Am I right? Was that really you both times?"
"Yeah, I'm afraid so," I said as I prepared to make a hasty retreat in another minute.
That's right. It was me who saved them twice before and immediately wound up regretting it each time. Just like I was sure that I was about to now.
"It's her! It's the Great Occupier! I can't believe this! She's come back to us at last in our hour of greatest need just as the prophecies always said that she would," Mabus said in a tone filled with reverence.
It was a tone that I really, really hated. What I hated even more was the way that Mabus and every other Tivolian in sight began to prostrate themselves before me.
All of them did except Almyra that is amazingly enough.
"So why did you leave?" Almyra asked curiously as she spoke to me just like a regular person would instead.
"Are you kidding? Just look at them," I said as I pointed to the rest of her people who were practically groveling at my feet at that moment.
"Yeah, it is kind of annoying isn't it?" Almyra agreed with an embarrassed look on her face.
"Annoying isn't the word for it," I said with a sigh.
The last time that I was on Tivoli was probably the one time that I beat the Doctor's all time record for leaving a planet (in this case Gallifrey when Flavia made him Lord President) as quickly as possible. I couldn't wait to get away from them because they practically made my skin crawl in every sense of the word when they started worshipping me as a goddess.
Did I mention that I hate rats? I know that sounds wrong to call them that but just look at them.
That's why suddenly finding myself back there once again (wasn't I the lucky one to keep being drawn back to that planet?) was definitely a less than pleasurable experience for me. Then again I hadn't exactly been having the best of times even before then lately.
As it turned out, switching the Cyberman's emotions back on was not one of my brightest moves. In fact, I'm going to go on record and say the following about it.
Worst. Idea. Ever!
You'll find out more about that later on though. Right now I still had the people of Tivoli to deal with at the moment. I was already mapping out a quick escape route back to the Cybermen's ship in my head just in case the people of this world started to worship me again.
I mean I'm great and all but I'm definitely not goddess material. A queen? Sure. I'll go along with that. That goes without saying. Not a goddess though.
"What was that smile about? I thought you hated being fawned over," Almyra said in an amused voice as she watched me.
"I do. I was just thinking about how a friend of mine would have really loved it here. He always likes it when people appreciate how great that he thinks he is," I said with a chuckle.
"I'll have to meet him sometime," Almyra said with a smile.
Then she became extremely sad as she added, "Not that I'm ever going to get to anywhere of course. I'm far too needed here to help kiss everyone in the universe's feet."
"I'm sorry. Things could always get better though even if it doesn't look that way right now. I know they certainly did for me. I used to feel exactly the same way as you do once and then my life completely changed for the better one day when a man literally dropped out of the sky right in front of me," I said to her in a reassuring tone.
"Kind of like you did just now to me," Almyra pointed out.
"Hey, don't you start with the hero worship too! You're the only sane one here," I protested.
Almyra laughed as she said in a sarcastic tone, "Calm down, Great Occupier. I'm not about to start worshipping you just yet. I was just pointing out the obvious."
Then she looked at me with a forlorn expression as she said in an upset voice, "I have to admit that it would be nice if someone could actually take me away from here though. I don't belong here, Amy. I'm not sure I belong anywhere really."
Without even thinking about it my maternal instincts instantly kicked in and I immediately put my arm around her and pulled her close to me as I said, "Yeah, I used to feel that way too. I was wrong though and so are you. You'll see one day. I promise."
"That's excellent work, Almyra. You've actually gotten on the good side of the Great Occupier. I'm so very proud of you," Mabus said with a pleased smile as he saw how I treated her.
Obviously he had been too far away from us to hear how she felt about her life on Tivoli or he probably would have had a much different reaction. I know I would have if one of my children had been that unhappy.
"Great Occupier, are you actually going to stay here this time? I promise if you and your mighty army decide to occupy our wondrous planet that we'll make sure that you're treated with all of the respect and adoration that you so richly deserve. I already have a parade ready to start for you as soon as you give the word," Mabus said with an enormous smile.
My eyes immediately popped out of their sockets and I began to panic as I said, "I think that's my cue to leave now. Good bye, Almyra, and good luck. I hope you have a good life."
"Good bye," Almyra said in a numb voice as her face immediately fell and she looked like all of the life had been completely crushed out of her.
"I'm sorry, Almyra. I'm so sorry but traveling with me is much too dangerous especially right now. You're much better off right where you are. Believe me," I said even as I felt like a complete heel.
"Yeah, sure. Okay," Almyra said in an empty tone as she visibly struggled not to cry.
Without meaning to, I was completely destroying all of her hopes and dreams after I unintentionally had given her a small glimmer of hope by coming there when I did. I knew that it was the right thing to do though especially now.
I just wished that Almyra could see it that way too.
"It's going to be okay," I said in a soft voice as I hugged her.
I could see so much of myself in her that it no longer bothered me that she looked like a rodent anymore. All I saw was a person in pain.
That still didn't mean that I wanted to be fawned over and worshipped though. I also didn't want to be made over into a hero when I knew for sure that I wasn't one. In fact, I was far from being a hero at that moment. I had just made a huge mistake that could potentially destroy billions of lives.
A real hero would never be that stupid.
Then while I stood there holding her, I suddenly found myself and Almyra being transmatted straight off of Tivoli's surface. I could see the horrified look in her father's eyes as he watched her disappear right in front of him, and I knew that he must be thinking that I was kidnapping her. I knew exactly what he was about to go through, and I was determined that I would never be the cause of that kind of torment for anyone else.
That's why as soon as Almyra and I appeared on the Cyber Command Ship in orbit I instantly pointed to Almyra and shouted, "What do you stupid tin men think that you're doing? Take her back down there right now!"
"I'm afraid that we cannot, Cyber Queen. The rogue Cyber faction has already begun to gather around the planet Metebelis III at this very moment in order to enact yet another plan to retake Telos from us. Your sudden detour to save Tivoli has cost us valuable time and perhaps the very war for the heart of the Cyberiad itself. We will send the female back home later . . . if we survive," The Cyber Controller onboard argued.
As I felt the ship beginning to leave orbit at maximum speed, I immediately turned to Almyra and looked at her apologetically as I said, "I promise I'll do my best to keep you safe until then no matter what the cost."
Almyra looked completely oblivious to the trouble that she was in at that moment though as she laughed and said, "Don't worry about it, Amy. I'm on a ship with my planet's greatest hero and heading off into an adventure with Cybermen to save another planet. I'm just fine. In fact, I feel wonderful! I'm actually doing something. For once in my life, I'm doing something that matters."
"You just don't understand, do you? I'm not a hero. I screwed up, Almyra. I screwed up big time and now the entire universe might be about to pay for it," I said in a frustrated voice.
"What could you possibly have done that could be that bad. You seem like a good person to me," Almyra said in a voice filled with faith.
"Yeah, sure. I had good intentions but all the good intentions in the universe won't make up for what I've done. I just restored the Cybermen's emotions to them," I said in an anguished tone.
"So? Isn't that a good thing? Won't that stop them from killing or converting people anymore?" Almyra asked in a naïve voice.
"Yeah, you would think so but no. It didn't quite turn out that way I'm afraid," I said sadly.
"It is true that some of us regained our lost humanity when our emotions were returned, and we recoiled in horror from what we had become. That was when we sought out our liberator, Amelia Pond, and asked for her help in establishing a new path for ourselves as universal protectors instead of going through with our previous plan for universal conversion," A Cyberman explained to Almyra.
"So how could that not be a good thing then?" Almyra asked.
"With the return of our emotions also came the return of our free will. Not all of us had a single unwavering purpose that unified us as a whole anymore as we once did, and therefore almost immediately divisions began to open up between us. Part of us did not wish to follow Amelia Pond's guidance in an attempt to make restitution for what we had done. They saw being like us as a boon instead of as a curse. They wish to use the power and virtual immortality of the Cybermen to achieve absolute control over the rest of the universe and make themselves into gods in the process. They're willing to go to any lengths in order to accomplish that goal including wiping out the rest of their former brothers and sisters as they tried to do on Alba III when they tricked us into thinking that they were going to forcibly convert that world. It was a well-planned trap instead however where they ambushed us and attempted to wipe us all out in one fell swoop. They would have too if not for Amelia Pond. Now however they're trying a new tactic. This time they plan on returning a single unifying purpose to the Cybermen once more by gaining mental control over the rest of us," The Cyber Controller answered.
My hearts filled with horror as I finally understood why the rogue Cybermen were on Metebelis III now. The Doctor had once told me about the blue crystals that could be found there that could greatly enhance someone's mental abilities.
"They want to use the crystals to control your minds. If they get their way, they'll turn you all into mindless puppets again and create a huge army that will do whatever they want," I said in disbelief.
"Yes, except this time we won't be focused on universal conversion anymore but on universal dominance instead. The rest of the universe will no longer become us but will serve us instead. We will be the universe's masters," The Cyber Controller said.
"In other words, you'll be its new overlords. That would be my people's greatest dream come true but it certainly isn't mine. This is exactly what I've always tried to get away from all of my life," Almyra said in a sickened tone.
"I can't believe this. I tried to save all of you and instead all I've done is create a new version of the Daleks. Still think I'm a hero, Almyra?" I said in a disgusted voice.
"I do because I know that you'll make this right again somehow, Amy. You always do. Plus it's definitely better than sitting through another rant about how we wiped out the garden from my dad again. He just won't let that go," Rory said from behind me in a voice filled with faith.
I instantly whirled around to see Rory, Selene, and Sirona standing there with determined looks on their faces. My blood went cold as soon as I saw them because all I could think about was how I may have just gotten them all killed by what I had set into motion.
I glared at Rory now as I said, "I don't think you've ever deserved the name Stupid Face more. Why did you come here? I told you to stay away until this was all finished. It's not safe here."
"We came because you're our family and we're not about to let you bear the burden of this all alone. Besides if I wasn't here, you'd just get everything all wrong wouldn't you?" Selene said with a smirk.
"Just think of it as my way of trying to be responsible for once since you always say that I cause so much trouble," Sirona said as she put a supportive arm around me.
"I'd much rather have you alive instead," I said in an anxious voice as I began to shake with fear for her.
That was when the chair where the Cyber Leader usually sat on the bridge as he guided the Cybermen into battle suddenly swiveled around. I smiled as I saw a familiar head of blonde hair appear along with a cocky, self-assured smile that had definitely been inherited from me.
"And that's why I'm here, Mother. I'm going to make sure of it," River said with seemingly no concern whatsoever for the trouble that we were about to head into in a minute.
"Thank you. All of you," I said in a heartfelt tone even as I still worried for their safety.
"And you don't call yourself a hero? Only a hero could inspire this kind of bravery," Almyra said with undisguised awe.
"This has nothing whatsoever to do with being a hero, Almyra. This is about family, the greatest force in the universe," I said as I began to hug Rory and the others in appreciation.
I just hoped that that force would be powerful enough to help me fix the enormous mess that I had just created.
*It happened in Chapter 32 of this very story.
Next: The final fate of the Cybermen will now be determined as two factions of Cybermen enter into battle over Metebelis III and only one emerges. Which one will it be? Will Amy's decision wind up being applauded as the beginning of a grand new era or the start of a new period of unprecedented universal wide destruction? What role will Almyra play in all of this? Will she wind up achieving her greatest dream or suffering through her worst nightmare?