CHAPTER 24
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"ALERT! ALERT! SEVERAL RENEGADE DALEK SHIPS HAVE JUST APPEARED OVER SKARO AIRSPACE. IT APPEARS THAT WE ARE UNDER ATTACK BY THE FORCES OF THE ABOMINATION, OSWIN OSWALD," a Dalek screeched out in the main Dalek command center on Skaro.
"SEND ALL AVAILABLE FORCES TO EXTERMINATE THEM. THEY MUST NOT BE ALLOWED TO REACH THE SURFACE," the Supreme Dalek ordered.
"Oh, I'm afraid that it's too late for that," a voice said from off to the side of the Supreme Dalek.
Every Dalek there turned their eyes stalks towards the voice to see Oswin standing there smiling at them and giving them a mocking wave of her hand. Behind her stood Koschei, Marissa, Lissa, Shehzadi, Mr. Thanatos, Dalek Epsilon, and Dalek Omega. They had all snuck inside in secret with Marissa's TARDIS.
"EXTERMINATE THEM! EXTERMINATE THE ABOMINATION!" the Supreme Dalek screamed.
As dozens of Daleks opened fire on them at once, Oswin fired back at them with her gauntlets as she said with a chuckle, "You know you don't have to be so rude. You're always calling me an abomination all of the time. I guess I'm just going to have to teach you boys some manners. I'm a lady, and you don't talk that way to a lady. You can call Miss Oswald or Empress whichever you prefer. I'll even accept it if you just want to call me Boss."
"EXTERMINATE HER! EXTERMINATE!" the Daleks continued to chant in unison.
"I'm not as picky at how I'm addressed as she is. You can all simply call me Master," Koschei said as he started to attack the Daleks with his laser screwdriver.
"No," Marissa said firmly as she glared at him while spraying the entire room with a powerful virus that would instantly kill any Dalek that hadn't been inoculated against it like Oswin's had.
Koschei opened his mouth to complain when Lissa came up behind him and said, "No, Dad! As in, I'll shrink you down to the size of a doll if you even think about it. Got it?"
She then proceeded to make her point by shrinking several of the Daleks around her down to doll size with the Tissue Compression Eliminator.
"I'm never going to have any kind of fun ever again with you two around, am I?" Koschei asked with a frown.
"It depends on what you call fun. If you consider reverting back to your psycho days fun, then no," Marissa said with a grin.
Shehzadi looked on at this display of affection with sad eyes while she fired at the Daleks with a sonic blaster. She always felt so out of place whenever Koschei and Lissa were around as if she wasn't a part of the family. She knew that her mother didn't feel that way, but the other two certainly did.
She knew that if it was up to them, she would have probably been executed a long time ago. Maybe she deserved it. She was honestly sorry for what she had done now. Her mother had made her come to see just how wrong that she had been to kill even if she had thought that she had to in order to save herself. She knew that just being sorry didn't make up for it though no matter how bad she felt about it.
She was determined to spend the rest of her life trying to make up for it though. Maybe what she was doing here today would help in some way as she helped Oswin to take down one of the worst menaces in the universe.
Oswin used her temporal shift to continuously hop in and out of time in order to avoid multiple Dalek blasts that were crisscrossing wildly in all directions as she slowly destroyed one Dalek after another with her gauntlets. She was helped in this task by Mr. Thanatos, a Raston Warrior Robot who she had reprogrammed to serve her, who fired projectiles from his hands that were so sharp that they could even cut through a Dalek casing to reach the Dalek within them.
Protecting Oswin on each side of her as she moved along were Dalek Epsilon and Dalek Omega. They kept a close watch out for Oswin at every moment as they scanned the area around her to make sure that no enemy Dalek nearby was about to score a lucky shot on her. Both of them now loved Oswin and were totally devoted to her protection and safety. They were each willing to die for her as had been proven by Dalek Epsilon recently.
This small core group was extremely formidable, and they quickly mowed down all of the Daleks in the command center except for the Supreme Dalek. He escaped with his emergency temporal shift ability and swiftly reappeared on the surface of Skaro.
"THE COMMAND CENTER HAS BEEN TAKEN," the Supreme Dalek said.
"YOU MUST REPORT THIS," yet another Supreme Dalek, who was directing the fight on the surface, said.
"AGREED," the Supreme Dalek from the command center said as he left again with his temporal shift to appear before the current leader of the Daleks in order to make his report.
While this was going on, the Resistance's ships had all managed to land safely, and there was a full on civil war going on now all over Skaro. Oswin was going to help to even things out a little bit for her forces she hoped as she prepared to make a special broadcast to every Dalek on Skaro through the communications systems in their casings.
"Attention! This is Oswin Oswald, the Empress of the Daleks. I have already taken control of the main command center, and I plan to take the rest of this planet within the day. Skaro will soon belong to my Daleks. Any Dalek who wishes to join me and my forces needs to come over to our side now or be counted as an enemy. If you choose to join us, we will treat you as one of us; and there will be no further violent action taken against you. You have my word on that. Join me and help us to create a new future for the entire Dalek race together. We can do so much good throughout the universe if only we will put aside the ways of war and genocide. If you believe in this too, then join us immediately and break your servitude to the old ways that have you all trapped in an endless cycle of death and destruction. This is the same flawed philosophy that led to the near destruction of the Daleks in the Time War, and it will lead to their eventual total defeat in the future if things are not changed here and now. Join me, my people. Join me, and we can remake what it means to be a Dalek. We can make the name Dalek into one to be respected and honored throughout time and space instead of reviled and feared if only you will give me the chance," Oswin said in a heartfelt speech.
At that moment, a massive outcry went up from every corner of the planet as thousands upon thousands of Daleks shouted, "HAIL THE EMPRESS! ALL HAIL THE EMPRESS!"
These Daleks all turned on the others at once, and several areas of the planet immediately started falling to Oswin's newly converted soldiers. They started to report in to the command center and offer up their allegiance to Oswin over and over again as yet another garrison, unit, or city on Skaro fell.
Oswin laughed with joy as it looked as if she was accomplishing the impossible. She was doing it. She was slowly taking over Skaro one piece at a time.
"SOMEONE MUST GO OUTSIDE TO COORDINATE THE INVASION WHILE THE EMPRESS REMAINS PROTECTED HERE WITH A SUITABLE FORCE OF BODYGUARDS," Dalek Epsilon proposed.
"I'm going out there. I've got to lead the invasion personally, or none of the new recruits will respect me," Oswin protested.
"NO. YOU WILL STAY HERE WHERE YOU WILL BE PROTECTED," Dalek Epsilon said.
"AGREED. THE EMPRESS WILL NOT LEAVE THE COMMAND CENTER," Dalek Omega said.
"Excuse me! I'm the one who's in charge so I'm the one calling the shots around her. I'm going!" Oswin said forcefully as she used her temporal shift to head for the surface.
"SHE IS SO STUBBORN. SHE IS RECKLESS, WILLFUL, AND OBSTINATE. GO AND PROTECT HER WHILE I RUN THINGS HERE," Dalek Epsilon ordered.
"I OBEY," Dalek Omega said as he used his temporal shift to follow Oswin.
Lissa started laughing, and Epsilon's eyestalk turned to look at her quizzically as he said, "WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF YOUR LAUGHTER?"
"Sorry. I just think that it's so funny. All of those things that you just said about Oswin I mean. You sound just like my dad when he talks about me," Lissa said with a giggle.
"What? I've never said anything like that about you," Koschei protested.
"Well, you will talk that way about me. In the future," Lissa corrected herself.
"Now that I can believe," Koschei said as he smiled at her.
Epsilon realized that what Lissa had said was true in a way. He had to admit that he did feel very protective of Oswin and that his feelings for her did equate to those of a father for a daughter if put into a human context. He was in no way her father though nor did he consider himself as such. He was more a faithful servant devoted to protecting his Empress from any and all sources of danger to her including herself.
"Hey, are you okay?" Marissa asked Shehzadi as she saw her looking down at the ground sadly.
"Do you ever wish that I wasn't here?" Shehzadi asked her.
"No, sweetie. Never! Why would you say that?" Marissa asked.
"I just feel like you'd be so much better off if I wasn't. You already have Koschei, and you will have Lissa. You already do really. What do you need me for? I feel like a fifth wheel around here," Shehzadi said sadly.
"You're my daughter and I love you. You are in no way a fifth wheel, and I'll always want you around me no matter what. Do you understand that? As for those two, they'll come around eventually and see you for who you are now instead of who you were," Marissa said as she hugged her tightly.
"Thanks. I just needed to know that. I just needed to be sure of my place with you," Shehzadi said as she smiled.
"Consider your place firmly established then," Marissa said firmly.
"Thanks, Mum," Shehzadi said happily.
Mr. Thanatos quietly slipped out while all of this was going on. He had no interest in the personal conflicts of Marissa and her family. His only interest was in protecting Oswin. He was programmed to safeguard her at all costs, and he was going to do so no matter what. He was already tracking her down by her biosignature even as he ran at full speed through the corridors of the command center and toward the surface of Skaro.
Oswin meanwhile was busy leading the fight against the Supreme Dalek that was running the opposition. She had already gathered together a large group of her own Daleks around her, and they were all slowly marching through every obstacle that the other Daleks threw in front of them while continuing to add more and more followers along the way.
Her forces had been basically steamrolling right through all of the other Daleks that they had come across until they came upon a huge army of Daleks that quickly surrounded them in all directions. It looked like half of the Daleks on the planet had suddenly decided to gather here to stop them.
"Oh, wonderful! I thought things had been going too smooth. Well, boys, I guess this is where we earn our pay," Oswin said.
"OUR PAY?" Dalek Omega asked in confusion.
"It's an old Earth expression. Never mind. How about this? I'll bake a very large soufflé and let each of you have a piece of it if we win here today. How does that sound?" Oswin asked with a grin.
"REMUNERATION AND CONSUMEABLES ARE NOT NECESSARY TO MOTIVATE US. WE FIGHT FOR THE FUTURE AND FOR YOU. THAT IS ALL THAT WE NEED," Dalek Omega replied.
"I was hoping that you'd say that, but sometimes it doesn't hurt to sweeten the pot when you're asking someone to die for you. I'm sorry that it has to come to this," Oswin said sadly.
"THERE IS NO NEED FOR EMOTION. WE WILL NOT FAIL. THIS DAY WILL SEE THE RISE OF A NEW SKARO, AND THE BEGINNING OF A NEW DAY FOR DALEKS EVERYWHERE," Dalek Omega said in an almost happy voice.
"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's do it then," Oswin said as she gave the signal to attack.
Then one of the strangest things that Oswin had ever seen in her life happened. Just before her Daleks could start to fight, all of the opposing Daleks began to join her without a shot being fired despite their outnumbering her forces two to one!
"DO NOT FIRE! WE WISH TO JOIN THE EMPRESS. ALL HAIL THE EMPRESS OF THE DALEKS!" they began to shout together.
"I can't believe it," Oswin said in surprise.
"DALEK EPSILON DID NOT LIE WHEN HE SAID THAT THERE WERE MANY WHO WOULD FOLLOW YOU," Dalek Omega replied.
The surprises of the day were just getting started though as everywhere Oswin went from that point onward every Dalek force that was sent against her surrendered to her as soon as she approached them. She was beginning to wonder if the other side had any loyal troops.
Then she finally got her answer as a huge force of Special Weapons Daleks appeared in front of them and started to attack. Several of the Daleks surrounding her instantly turned into a pile of empty burnt casings in one shot of the massive cannons that took the place of their suction cup arms and gun stalks.
That was when Mr. Thanatos finally caught up to Oswin. He sprang into action right away as he killed several of the powerful Daleks within minutes with a combination of razor sharp projectiles that he shot from his hands and a deadly sword that he had formed from his own body that he used to cut each Dalek that he came across in two. Within ten minutes, all of the opposing forces lay in pieces in front of him, and the robot saluted Oswin with a bow as he reabsorbed the sword back inside of himself.
"Go, T! Just for that, you get an extra special piece of soufflé tonight!" Oswin said happily.
"WHY DOES THE EMPRESS KEEP TALKING ABOUT THIS SOUFFLE?" one of the newer Dalek recruits asked Dalek Omega.
"I BELIEVE THAT SHE THINKS OF IT AS HER WAY OF KEEPING OUR SPIRITS UP. SHE THINKS THAT IT WILL KEEP US AMUSED TO BE PROMISED HUMAN FOOD AS A REWARD," Dalek Omega replied.
"I DO NOT FIND THAT VERY AMUSING. PERHAPS IF SHE HAD PROMISED US A CHANCE TO EXTERMINATE THE DOCTOR INSTEAD THAT WOULD HAVE PROVIDED US WITH MUCH BETTER MOTIVATION," the Dalek said.
"SUCH TALK MUST CEASE IF YOU WISH TO BE ONE OF US. THE DOCTOR IS A FRIEND OF THE EMPRESS. HE IS ON THE NO EXTERMINATION LIST FROM NOW ON," Dalek Omega warned the new recruit.
"UNDERSTOOD BUT IT WAS AN AMUSING THOUGHT," the Dalek said.
"AGREED," Dalek Omega replied as he laughed.
"What's so funny?" Oswin asked.
"IT IS NOTHING, EMPRESS. NOTHING AT ALL," Dalek Omega replied.
"You sound like me whenever I used to do something bad as a little kid and didn't want to tell my mum about it," Oswin giggled.
"I DO NOT KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT, EMPRESS," Dalek Omega insisted.
"Sure. Whatever you say, Ommy!" Oswin said with a mischievous smile as she rubbed the top of his casing affectionately.
"EMPRESS?" Dalek Epsilon broke in over Oswin's communicator.
"Go ahead, Eppy," Oswin said.
"THE SIEGE OF SKARO HAS GONE BETTER THAN EVEN I HAD DARED TO HOPE. WE NEARLY HAVE CONTROL OVER THE ENTIRE PLANET NOW. THE LAST REAL POCKET OF RESISTANCE LIES JUST AHEAD OF YOU. THE MOST LOYAL TO THE OLD WAYS ARE REPORTED TO ALL BE GATHERED THERE FOR A FINAL FIGHT TO THE DEATH. THE CURRENT LEADER OF THE DALEKS IS THERE AS WELL," Dalek Epsilon reported.
"Who is that anyway? Do we have any idea?" Oswin asked curiously.
"UNKNOWN. ONLY THE SUPREME DALEKS HAVE EVER SEEN THEM. THIS NEW LEADER SEES NO ONE BUT THEM," Dalek Epsilon answered.
"Okay! That sounds like someone with something to hide. I wonder what," Oswin pondered.
"BE CAREFUL, EMPRESS," Dalek Epsilon said as he ended his transmission.
Just then Marissa's TARDIS materialized in front of Oswin; and Marissa, Koschei, Lissa, and Shehzadi came out of it with eager looks on their faces. Oswin knew that they wanted to be there right beside her when she fought the final battle.
"Are you sure about this? This is going to get very dangerous," Oswin said as she offered them one last way out.
"You're not going anywhere without someone to watch over you," Marissa said.
"I AM WATCHING OVER HER," Dalek Omega said in an insulted tone.
"And I thank you for that, but I'd feel much better if I were here to watch over her too. That's kind of my job. Between keeping Oswin, my two girls, and Koschei here out of trouble, I'm lucky that my hair hasn't gone gray from all of the worry and stress by now," Marissa said.
"Let me help then," Cassie said as she appeared in a burst of Vortex energy along with Mira and Davros.
"I wouldn't have it any other way," Oswin said with a grin.
"You don't know what you're getting yourselves into. They could be up to anything if they think that they're going to lose. Daleks do not care about self-sacrifice as long as they take their enemies with them," Davros warned.
"I'm ready for whatever they have to throw at us," Cassie said with absolute confidence.
"You're not listening to me, Jacqueline. They're ready for you now as well. Who knows what they've come up with as a last ditch effort to stop you. They're desperate now which makes them even worse than usual," Davros pleaded.
"This is our one big chance to stop them once and for all, Davros. I've got to take the risk and help Oswin no matter what danger I'll be in," Cassie said.
"THIS DISCUSSION IS TERMINATED. ESCORT THE CREATOR TO CONFINEMENT UNTIL IT IS DECIDED WHAT TO DO WITH HIM," Dalek Omega said finally.
"Wait! I'm going too. I don't trust you not to kill him when you're alone with him," Mira said.
"VERY WELL. YOU MAY COME ALONG AS WELL THEN. YOU WILL BE FREE TO COME AND GO AT ALL TIMES OF COURSE," Dalek Omega said as he spoke in a more pleasant voice to Mira than he had to Davros.
"I won't be going anywhere except for by his side," Mira said.
"No. You don't have to do this," Davros said.
"Zip it. I'm going and that's final," Mira said firmly.
As the two of them left along with two Dalek guards, Cassie joined Oswin and the others as they prepared for one final assault on the remaining enemy stronghold. Then the final push began. Oswin's Daleks led the way first as they battered at its defenses.
They were shocked when several Cybermen suddenly started pouring out of it side by side with the enemy Daleks. The desperate Daleks had joined forces with the Cybermen!
"What the?!" Oswin said in shock.
A giant hologram appeared then as a very familiar face filled the sky in front of them. It was the face of the Doctor. Or was it?
"Hello, there. Surprised to see me? I'm not who you probably think I am though. Guess who I really am? Come on! Guess! You know, Oswin. I know you do. Tell them," the false Doctor's image said.
"I don't know what you're talking about. You're not the Doctor though. I know that for sure," Oswin said.
"You're right. I'm not. I'm much cooler than he ever was. In fact, I'm much cleverer. You might say that I'm Mr. Clever," the taunting face said with an evil laugh.
"Oh, no! It's not possible! It can't be. You died. The Doctor destroyed you. Clara told me that he did," Oswin said.
"I'm not her Mr. Clever though. I'm the one that you faced, Clara, back in the original timeline before it was changed. I'm hurt. Don't you remember me?" Mr. Clever said with a taunting smile.
"I'm not that Clara. She's gone and I only have bits and pieces of her memories in my mind. Sorry to disappoint you. How did you escape the timeline being changed anyway?" Oswin asked.
"You're not the only one with friends in high places. I was saved and brought into this timeline even as the other one was erased. I've been made into a temporal anomaly just as you were. I decided to shake things up while I was here and take over the Daleks. I mean why not? I always wondered what would happen if my people got together with the Daleks. I always thought that we'd make the most powerful army in the universe. I guess now's my chance to find out. Won't it be cool? By the way, do you think I should keep the bow tie or lose it? I mean the Doctor isn't exactly the greatest expert when it comes to fashion, now is he?" Mr. Clever said.
"EMPRESS, AN ENTIRE CYBER FLEET HAS JUST COME INTO ORBIT AROUND SKARO," Dalek Epsilon warned over Oswin's communicator.
"Those are my boys. Come on down and join the party!" Mr. Clever shouted.
"I'm sorry about this. I had no idea that he was behind things," Oswin apologized to everyone.
"THE ENEMY LOOKS LIKE THE DOCTOR!" the Daleks all started to say together. Then they all began laughing.
"What?" Oswin asked confused.
"EVEN YOU COULD NOT HAVE GIVEN US GREATER MOTIVATION THAN THIS, EMPRESS. OUR ENEMY WEARS THE FACE OF THE DOCTOR! WE WILL TRULY ENJOY EXTERMINATING HIM. WE WILL NOT REST UNTIL WE WIPE THE ACCURSED DOCTOR, I MEAN MR. CLEVER, OFF OF THE FACE OF SKARO," Dalek Omega said.
"EXTERMINATE THE DOCTOR! EXTERMINATE HIM!" Oswin's Daleks began to chant together as they charged at Mr. Clever's forces.
"Maybe keeping the Doctor's appearance wasn't as great an idea as I thought," Mr. Clever said to himself as he watched his forces being attacked with glee by Oswin's Daleks.
"I guess no matter what you do you just can't take complete and absolute hatred for the Doctor out of any Dalek. It's just too ingrained inside of them," Oswin commented.
"It's a good thing too for once. I think that this time it's going to give us the edge that we need to declare final victory," Marissa said.
"I say that anyone who hates the Doctor can't be all bad," Koschei said.
"I'll pretend that I didn't hear that," Cassie said after she loudly cleared her throat.
"None of this changes anything. You're all still going to die, and I'm going to be the new ruler of Skaro now and forever. Do you know why? It's because I'm cleverer than every single one of you put together hence the name. Do you want even more proof of that? Well, here's Exhibit A!" Mr. Clever said.
The Cybermen in the front lines sprayed a thick substance all over those of Oswin's Daleks who were immediately in front of them. The sprayed Daleks began to immediately stop moving as they screamed in pain. Then white foam started coming out of the tops of their casings.
"Do you remember the Movellan Virus, Clara? Of course you do. You're read over the entire Dalek database. For those of you not in the know, here's a quick history lesson. It was a deadly virus designed to kill Daleks, not to mention the Kaleds that they came from, as quickly and efficiently as possible. Well, guess what? I've just improved upon it, and my Daleks are the only ones who have been inoculated against it. Kind of like what you were doing before, Ushas, to my Daleks only better!" Mr. Clever said.
The Daleks in the front line died within seconds of being exposed to the virus and quickly turned to dust including their casings. It was as if they had never even existed.
"Fantastic! So you know what I say to your attacks against me now? Allons-y! In other words, bring it on!" Mr. Clever said in a manic voice.
Oswin looked at her Daleks with her eyes filled with tears. Davros had been right. She had just led them all here to be slaughtered. She didn't know what to do now. She had absolutely no idea how to save them.
But she knew someone who would.
Next: It's the final showdown on Skaro between Mr. Clever and Oswin for the fate of the Daleks. Who can stop the evil Cyber-Planner now that he has such a powerful new weapon at his command? Oh, and who kept him from being erased from time anyway? All of this and Oswin discovers that there may be more of the original Clara left inside of her than she originally thought.