CHAPTER 12
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This story takes place before the last few chapters of War of the Guardians.
Oswin, Molly, and Dalek Omega appeared at the secret headquarters of the Dalek Resistance Movement on the planet of Peladon. The Queen of Peladon, Erimem, had agreed to let the Daleks stay here in a secret location hidden in one of Peladon's mountains.
Their secret base was well protected against being found by the other Daleks by a variety of stealth technologies that Oswin had borrowed from the Time Lords, the Daleks, the Great and Bountiful Human Empires of the future, the Cybermen, and even from old Dalek studies of the inhabitants of Spiridon. Just to make sure, Oswin and the Resistance Daleks had also used dwarf star alloy in creating the base. She had heard of the other Daleks doing the same with their bases when they wanted to stay well hidden and had decided to take their idea and use it to protect her Daleks.
Oswin had to laugh at the thought of thinking of any Daleks as hers. She had come to think of them as exactly that though. She had once hated all Daleks with a passion, but now the Daleks of the resistance had become like friends to her. She felt totally at ease among them and even found herself attempting to joke with them with little success on occasion. Daleks had no sense of humor after all.
Molly looked at all of the Daleks now surrounding them and began to look very uncomfortable. Oswin knew that she shouldn't have brought her here, but she did insist on coming. Oswin liked Molly, but she hated how she seemed to almost want to run eagerly into situations where she might get herself killed. It was almost as if she wanted to die, and that bothered Oswin a lot because she didn't know why or what she could do about it.
"They won't bother you," Oswin said to Molly with a hand on her shoulder.
"I know that, but that still doesn't make me feel any better. I'm still panicked by being around this many of them after what they did to my . . . I just feel very uneasy around even so-called friendly Daleks after what they did to my home town. I'll get over it. Don't worry," Molly assured her.
Oswin wasn't assured by this at all though. She had a feeling that Molly was keeping something from her. Something dark that caused her to be so reckless and nonchalant about putting herself in harm's way. She was going to have to dig that secret out of her later, but not now. Now was the time to see how her Daleks were doing, and then to ask them if they knew of any way to help her with fixing Marissa.
As Oswin and Molly approached the meeting area where Dalek Epsilon ran the resistance, the other Daleks around them began to stop whatever they were doing and hold their eye stalks up as though they were saluting them.
"EMPRESS IS IN THE BASE. ALL HAIL THE EMPRESS OF THE DALEKS!" the gathered Daleks began to chant in unison.
"Hey! I thought I told you that I am not your Empress. My name is Oswin Oswald. I'm your friend, and I want to help you to become something better, something great. I am not your Empress though. I don't want to be. I want you to lead yourselves. I want you to learn to think for yourselves and not to rely on anyone else to tell you what to do or how to feel," Oswin said passionately.
"IT IS A SHOW OF OUR RESPECT FOR YOU THAT WE NAME YOU AS SUCH. WE DO NOT WISH TO CAUSE YOU ANY OFFENSE," Dalek Epsilon explained as he approached Oswin.
"No offense is taken, Dalek Epsilon. I just cringe whenever any of you calls me that. It makes me uncomfortable," Oswin said.
"WE WILL ENDEAVOR TO STOP THEN," Dalek Epsilon said.
"Good. So how are things going? Is everything okay here? I brought a new recruit by the way. Say hello, Dalek Omega," Oswin said as she introduced the two Daleks to each other.
"I FIGHT IN THE NAME OF THE EMPRESS," Dalek Omega said as he addressed Dalek Epsilon for the first time.
"ALL HAIL THE EMPRESS!" The other Daleks chanted.
Oswin groaned and put her head in her hands. Molly began to laugh and suddenly felt a lot less scared here than she had before. These Daleks were almost humorous to her now.
"It looks like you've got your own little cheering section here. No wonder you like to come and visit them. They must really lift your spirits and prop up your ego on bad days. I could use someone calling me Empress every once in a while too," Molly admitted with a sad look.
"DALEKS ARE SLOW TO LEAVE BEHIND OLD WAYS OF THINKING," Dalek Epsilon said in way of apology to Oswin.
"That's okay. I knew that going into this. I'll just have to keep working on it. Even the Daleks can change. I'm certain of that," Oswin said.
"WE WILL TRY, OSWIN," Dalek Epsilon said.
Molly looked at Dalek Epsilon in wonder. This Dalek didn't seem to be anything like the other Daleks at all. He seemed to be almost human in some ways.
Oswin smiled at Epsilon as she said, "That's the first time that you've called me by my name. Thank you!"
"I LIVE TO SERVE YOU, EMP. . . I MEAN YOU ARE WELCOME, OSWIN," Epsilon said in an almost chagrined voice.
Oswin laughed at him and patted his shell affectionately. She had grown fond of this one particular Dalek. He had been the first one that she had reprogrammed when she had the idea of starting the resistance movement. He had been with her helping her all the way ever since and had become her second in command of the whole organization.
"It's okay, Eppy. You're allowed a little slip up every now and then," Oswin said with a snicker.
"I AM PLEASED TO REPORT THAT ALL GOES WELL IN OUR MOVEMENT. WE HAVE ADDED MANY NEW MEMBERS RECENTLY, AND WE SEEM TO BE GROWING IN STRENGTH. THE RECENT INFILTRATION BY THE SHADOW HAS WEAKENED THE MAIN GROUP OF DALEKS AS WELL AND HAS MADE MANY OTHERS WITHIN THEIR RANKS DISSATISFIED WITH THE DIRECTION IN WHICH DAVROS IS TAKING THEM. THEY WISH TO FIND A NEW DIRECTION AND A NEW LEADER. I HAVE GLADLY BEEN TELLING THEM ABOUT YOU," Epsilon said.
"You're the leader not me. I just help," Oswin said.
"I RESPECTFULLY DISAGREE. YOU ARE THE HEART AND SOUL OF THIS MOVEMENT. WITHOUT YOU, IT WOULD NOT EXIST," Epsilon argued.
"Let's just agree to disagree for the moment, Eppy. Right now, I need your help. I have a friend who has been exposed to the Regenerative Element and has now been made immortal. Is there any way to make her normal again? I want all of you to put your heads together and help me come up with an answer," Oswin pleaded.
"THE REGENERATIVE ELEMENT? IT WAS REPORTED AS A FAILURE," Epsilon said in what almost sounded like confusion.
"It was, wasn't it?" Oswin said with a mischievous grin.
"I SEE. YOU HAVE BEEN UP TO YOUR USUAL TRICKERY THEN. DO YOU HAVE A COPY OF THE ORIGINAL FORMULA? YOU HAVE PROBABLY CHANGED WHAT IS ON THE DALEK NET ALREADY," Epsilon asked.
"You know me so well. Here it is. Use it to see if you can find a way to change my friend back to normal. Dalek Omega was there when I used it on her so he can fill you in on any other details that you might need to know. You could also use it on the resistance as well in order to give us an advantage in battle. I'll leave that up to you though," Oswin said as she handed him the memory stick with the true formula of the Regenerative Element on it.
"I WILL DO WHAT I CAN. GIVE US A FEW DAYS TO WORK ON IT," Epsilon said.
I know that you'll do your best. I'll see you later then. Come on, Molly. We've got to get back to the others," Oswin said as she grabbed Molly's shoulder.
The two women then vanished as Oswin's temporal shift took them back to Marissa's TARDIS.
"GOOD BYE, EMPRESS," Epsilon said after she had left.
Epsilon still thought of her as his Empress whether she liked it or not. She was much more than that to him though. She was also his friend. He would gladly die for her and so would the other Daleks in the resistance. Each and every one of them were there because of her. She didn't believe that she was the leader of this movement, but she was in every way. She was its inspiration. The other Daleks here all believed in her vision of a future where the Daleks were not feared but a major force for universal peace and harmony instead, and so did Epsilon. He would gladly storm Skaro itself for her. In fact, he looked forward to it.
As Oswin and Molly were busy with the Epsilon and the resistance, Marissa was still trying to wrap her mind around her new change in circumstances. She stared ahead blankly sometimes as she tried to process what had just happened to her. Koschei kept trying to talk to her, but it didn't really help that much. It was still a lot to get over suddenly finding yourself immortal after all.
"I feel so bad for her," Tegan admitted to Peri as the two of them stood watching the two Time Lords.
"It doesn't seem so bad to me. I think it might be kind of nice. Being immortal," Peri said.
"Why should it be her?" Nyssa asked with a hate filled voice.
Tegan looked at her in surprise. This was the first time that she had spoken since Koschei had appeared. Tegan had been very worried about her, and now that worry just jumped up a notch. That hadn't sounded like Nyssa talking at all just now.
"What are you talking about?" Tegan asked.
"Why should she be immortal? His girlfriend gets to be immortal while my father is long dead thanks to him. All of my people are destroyed, and my home is gone thanks to him. Yet he gets rewarded while I have to continue to suffer," Nyssa said with pure hatred.
Tegan looked at her in horror. Nyssa had never been this way at all. She had hardly ever mentioned her grief to any of her friends. She had never let grief and anger eat her up like this when she knew her. She had always tried to help others and deal with her pain in a positive way. She hadn't wanted anyone else to have to go through what she had.
Nyssa had never tried to seek revenge on the Master either for what he had done. Tegan had always thought highly of Nyssa for that. She wasn't so sure that she would feel the same way given the same circumstances. She still hadn't forgiven him for killing her Aunt Vanessa after all.
She had seen that he had indeed changed since she had known him, but that still didn't exonerate him for what he had done in her book. Not in the slightest.
She didn't understand how a good woman like Marissa could put up with him. Peri had told her that Marissa used to be just as bad as Koschei, but she had had a hard time believing that. The woman that she had been traveling with seemed to be very kind and caring. She was nothing at all like the Master.
"What's wrong with you, Nyssa? This isn't you," Tegan said.
"How would you know? I haven't seen you in years. Maybe I've changed. Maybe I'm not lovable, sweet naïve little Nyssa anymore like I used to be when you knew me. Maybe I've grown up. I've finally seen the world for what it is. It's hard and cold and wants to reward the evil and punish the good. Maybe it's time for me to do something about that," Nyssa said with undisguised hate in her voice now.
"Nyssa?" Tegan asked as she began to doubt her friend's sanity now.
"What's happening to her?" Peri asked in fear.
She began to worry for Janine's safety as she wondered if Nyssa might start attacking them now. She seemed like she had gone crazy.
Nyssa pulled Koschei's Tissue Compression Eliminator out of her pocket and pointed it at him and Marissa. The two of them were still too wrapped up in Marissa's situation to even notice her yet though. She would have to change that.
"It's time that you have to answer for what you've done!" Nyssa screamed as she pointed Koschei's own weapon at him.
The two Time Lords looked at her in complete surprise, and Koschei moved in front of Marissa protectively without even realizing that he was doing it.
"Where did you get that? I had that in my room," Koschei asked.
"I broke into your room and took it without leaving any trace that I had ever been there. I'm highly intelligent if you'll remember," Nyssa said.
"Listen, Nyssa. I can understand why you're doing this. I deserve it I know. What I did to your father and your people was unforgivable. I know that. If you want to kill me, I won't stop you. Just don't hurt Marissa. She had nothing to do with anything that I did. Leave her alone, and I'll let you do whatever you want with me," Koschei said.
"Oh, so noble now, aren't you? What a change! As if that makes up for any of it. I will kill you, and then I will find a way to kill your little girlfriend there too. Maybe I'll keep you around though, Tegan. For old times' sake," Nyssa said as she winked at Tegan.
"Nyssa, what is wrong with you? You seemed alright before when I first met you again. What happened?" Tegan asked.
"You did, Tegan. You brought her to me. I could no longer affect you, but I had a new host now to inhabit thanks to you. One with a lingering buried resentment of the Master that I could use to enter her with. Thanks to you I have a better host now than you ever were. She's perfect for my needs," Nyssa said in a voice that was not hers. It was an evil, malevolent one that sounded almost like a snake's.
"The Mara," Tegan said with recognition and fear.
The Mara was a horrible snake-like being that entered others through their dreams and possessed them. Tegan had been possessed by the Mara several times during her travels with the Doctor. She hadn't felt its presence in a long time though. She had thought that it had been destroyed for good. It appeared that she was wrong.
"Hello, Tegan. It's been so long, hasn't it? You thought that you got rid of me that last time on Manussa, didn't you? You were wrong though. I've merely been lying dormant in your mind all of this time recovering my strength and waiting for the right moment to reemerge once more. Your will has become too strong for me to control anymore, but Nyssa is a different story. She hasn't had years to become used to resisting me. She's got no mental defenses whatsoever that are good enough to stand against me. I will use her to kill the Time Lords, and then I will take their ship. I will spread chaos and destruction through all of time and space, and then I will feed off the resulting misery that follows just as I have always done," the Mara speaking through Nyssa boasted.
"I'm afraid I can't allow that," a voice said from behind Tegan.
She turned to see a blonde woman dressed in what looked like a pink lady's outfit from the fifties. She had no idea who she was, but she seemed to radiate power and strength. Tegan automatically started feeling like everything was going to be alright now. She hadn't felt that calm and relaxed in a long time. Not since she had traveled with the Doctor.
"You cannot stop me, Arkytior. I have grown in power since we last met," the Mara said, but its words were undermined by its slightly trembling voice.
"If you haven't noticed, so have I," Rose Tyler said as she began to glow with golden energy.
Tegan was taken aback by this. This was new. Just who was this woman, and why did it seem like the Mara was afraid of her? The Mara had never seemed to be afraid of anyone, not even the Doctor.
It was then that Oswin and Molly returned just in time to witness that the console room had seemed to go crazy. Sweet, gentle Nyssa was pointing a TCE at Koschei while Rose was having a staring contest with her.
"Did I miss something?" Oswin said.
"Face it, Oswin. Without you, this whole place just falls apart," Molly joked.
Oswin just glared at her. This whole situation could quickly go downhill at any second, and she was making jokes. She was going to have to talk to her soon and find out what was wrong with her. For now though, she had to see if she could keep this from blowing up in everyone's face.
Next: Oswin and Rose must work together to stop the Mara before it can use Marissa's TARDIS to spread chaos and destruction throughout all of time and space.