Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who that goes to the BBC
In a power station's basement, a lone soldier with light skin, brown eyes and hair named Missy was on patrol as she looked around nervously at every sound.
"Castle's clear," a soldier said from her radio, "Missy, confirm status."
"All clear in the power station," Missy replied.
Suddenly, she heard a clanking sound and saw a shadow move up ahead. She then moved forward cautiously and hid behind some barrels.
"It's Missy," Missy said as she spoke into her radio again, "Something's out there."
"What do you mean?" The soldier asked her from her radio, "Is it a Cyberman?"
"I don't know. I couldn't see it. It was only for a moment," Missy answered, "Can I hide? Is it Okay if I hide?" A Cyberman suddenly walked towards and appeared in the doorway in front of her, causing her to pull out her pistol and aimed it at the Cyberman, "Don't move! I'm in the army!"
The Cyberman then began to advance towards her, causing Missy to run and hide nearby around a group of cross bracing beams. The Cyberman passed her hiding place, causing her to sigh before it stopped, causing her to exhale as the Cyberman turned around. Its right hand suddenly detached from its right arm and dropped to the floor as it crawled away from the Cyberman. This caused Missy to take a few deep breaths before her deep breaths turned into screams as the Cyberman's hand jumped onto her face.
Clara and Sydney were striding along the castle's gallery above the courtyard with Clara having her arms crossed when Brains suddenly found them.
"Um, ma'am, sir, Missy said she saw something and then she went quiet," Brains reported to both time travellers as he approached them from behind.
"It's on its way then?" Clare muttered to herself.
"Agreed," Sydney said, agreeing with her, "The Cybermen are likely on their way up to us."
Ahead of them were Porridge and the Captain with some other soldiers. They had a few containers of some weapons spread in front of them.
"Weapons! Show us," Clara said as she and Sydney approached them before she squatted around the weapons, "Only one gun?"
"Why aren't there more weapons?" Sydney asked them, "We'll need a lot more to fight off the Cybermen."
"Before today, we believed that Cybermen had been extinct for 1,000 years," the Captain explained, "Even one Anti-Cyber gun is a miracle. These things are hand-pulsars." She then pulled out a device that resembled something that could be put onto someone's hand and slipped it on like a glove, "Touch the back of a Cyberman's head, the electromagnetic pulse deactivates it."
"Wonder what's this for?" Clara muttered as she looked at what looked like a detonation unit inside the container, "Just a mad guess here, it blows up the planet?"
"Yeah, it sure looks like something designed for that purpose," Sydney said, agreeing with her.
"Implodes it!" The Captain corrected before she pulled a cylindrical device from the container with her right hand and held it up, "There's also a trigger unit."
"I'll have that then," Clara said as she took the cylindrical device from her with her left hand, "Is there any other way to activate the bomb?"
"It's set to respond to my voice," the Captain answered, "I have the verbal code."
"You will not activate it without a direct order from me or Sydney," Clara told her.
"Agreed," Sydney said, agreeing with her, "No activation without our authorisation."
As they finished speaking, the Captain stood up and walked around to face Clara and Sydney as the nanny also stood back up.
"I will follow my orders!" The Captain told them.
"Your orders come from us," Clara reminded her, "Don't they?"
"Yes, they do," Sydney said, agreeing with her, "Your orders come directly from us, Captain."
The two women and young Gallifreyan boy then stared at each other.
"You'll need to sign for that trigger unit, ma'am," Brains told Clara as he held a clipboard out towards her.
"Thanks," Clara replied as she took the clipboard from him with her left hand and signed it with a pen in her right hand.
"Do either of you mind if I take one of these?" Porridge asked both time travellers as he held one of the hand pulses in his hands, "Might be handy."
"Sure thing," Sydney replied with a smile on his face as he and Clara looked over at him as she also smiled and chuckled.
"Like he said, help yourself," the Captain added with an annoyed look on her face, "I'll teach you how to use it, upstairs. Now!"
Porridge then looked at her knowing that what was going to be said will not be good. The Captain suddenly left the area with him following her.
Back inside the Cybermen base, a chess board had been set up on the table with the Doctor, who was currently being controlled by Mr. Clever standing in front of it, while another had been set up on the floor with Rose, who was currently being controlled by Ms. Calculus laying in front of it on her stomach.
"There!" Mr. Clever said as he moved one of his chess board's chess pieces with his left hand, "That was easy."
"Your move," Ms. Calculus muttered as she moved one of her chess pieces with her left hand, "A calculated risk, but necessary."
"The games have just started," the Doctor stated as he jerked and regained control over his body before he moved one of his white chess pieces with his right hand.
"They certainly have," Rose said, agreeing with her husband as she also jerked and regained control over her body before she moved one of her white pieces with her right hand.
"Doctor…" Mr. Clever began to say as he and Ms. Calculus jerked as he regained control over the Doctor's body, while she regained control over Rose's body before he moved one of his black knights with his left hand, "Why is there no record of you anywhere in the databanks of the Cyberiad?"
"And why isn't there any mention of you either, Rose?" Ms. Calculus said, agreeing with him as she moved one of her black bishops with her left hand.
"Ah… You're both good," Mr. Clever muttered as he and Ms. Calculus suddenly accessed the information on why there weren't any information on both Gallifreyans in the Cyberiad, "You've both been eliminating yourselves from history."
"And you both have been doing so since you faked your deaths at Lake Silencio, Utah in 2011," Ms. Calculus added, "The two of you made everyone in the universe, including the Silence, believe you were dead."
"You know, the two of you could be reconstructed by the hole you've both left," Mr. Clever told both Gallifreyans.
"Exactly," Ms. Calculus stated, agreeing with her fellow Cyber-Planner, "The gaps you've both left in history are significant enough for the Cyberiad to piece together your identities."
"Good point," the Doctor said, agreeing with the Cyber-Planners as he and Rose jerked as they regained control over their bodies before he moved one of his white knights with his right hand, "We'll do something about that."
"You're both right," Rose muttered, agreeing with the Cyber-Planners as she moved one of her white bishops with her right hand, "We do need to address those gaps."
"The rules of chess allow only a finite number of moves," Mr. Clever told the Doctor and Rose within their bond, "And we both can use other Cyber units as remote processors. You both cannot possibly win!"
"Indeed," Ms. Calculus said, agreeing with her fellow Cyber-Planner, "We can use other Cyber units as remote processors for us. Your defeats are inevitable."
"We can. We know things you both don't," the Doctor stated, "For example, did either of you know... Very early versions of the Cyber operating system could be seriously scrambled by exposure to things, like gold or cleaning fluid? And what's interesting is, you're both still running some of that code."
"And we've encountered many variants of Cybermen over the years," Rose added, agreeing with her husband, "We've defeated a handful of them using those methods."
"Really?" Mr. Clever said with disbelief in his voice as he and Ms. Clever smiled at them, "Those are your secret weapons? Cleaning fluids?"
"Absolutely," Ms. Calculus muttered, agreeing with him with disbelief in her voice as well, "How quaint."
"Nope!" The Doctor told both Cyber-Planners, "Gold!" He then pulled his gold ticket back out from his jacket's inside pocket and slapped it over the metal parts of a Cyberman's Cybermask over the left side of his face.
"Exactly!" Rose exclaimed, agreeing with her husband as she stood up and pulled out a gold coin from her trouser's pocket and slapped it over the metal parts of her Cyberman's Cybermask as well.
As they placed the gold objects over their Cyberman Cybermasks, it caused their Cyber-Planner counterparts to short-circuit as they blew raspberries.
"Oh, oh, oh!" The Doctor said happily, "Like a charm."
"Absolutely," Rose muttered, agreeing with him as she grinned, "Couldn't have gone better."
"Right, you, Cyber... Webley," the Doctor said as he pointed his right hand's index finger at Webley before he pointed it at Artie and Angie, "And you, kid things. We'll bring the chessboards, let's get out of here."
"Agreed," Rose muttered, agreeing with him, "Let's get out of here."
With that said, the Doctor sweeped the pieces of his chessboard into his arms as Rose bent down towards her chessboard and began to pick up the pieces of her chessboard.
Back on the castle's upper gallery, Porridge looked at the pulsar that was now on his right hand as he stood on the gallery with the Captain as the pulsar buzzed.
"You knew it was me!" Porridge told the Captain before he looked at her.
"I was in the Imperial Guard on Caspertine," the Captain confirmed, "Mostly just parades but I had the honour to guard the old Emperor during the ice picnic."
"When the snow bears came and danced for us," Porridge added as unbeknownst to them, they were being watched by a Cybermite, "That was a day!"
"We're a punishment platoon," the Captain told him, "We can't beat a Cyberman. The Imperium has to know what's happening."
"Like you said, the communicators are out," Porridge reminded her, "The only way you can report this now is to activate the bomb."
"Yes!" The Captain confirmed.
"And I forbid you to do that," Porridge stated as he took a step closer towards her.
"I don't get it," they suddenly heard Clara admit as she and Sydney climbed up the stairs behind them, causing them to look at them, "Why would you blow up a whole planet and everybody on it just to get rid of one Cyberman?"
"I'm with Clara on this," Sydney said, agreeing with Clara as she sat down on a chair in front of Porridge, "Blowing up an entire planet seems extreme just to deal with a single Cyberman."
"We tried other ways but they only work sometimes," Porridge explained, "So now we take drastic action, and it works."
"What about gold?" Sydney asked him, "Isn't there something you could do with that? I remember my father telling me about how he once used gold on a Cyber-Leader after his companion Adric sacrificed himself."
"Yes, gold can work, but it's not always reliable," Porridge confirmed, "We've had to take more drastic measures to be sure."
"And if you find a Cyberman and you can't destroy it immediately, you implode the planet," the Captain added, "I was sent here because I didn't follow orders. I can make up for that."
With that said, the Captain turned around before Porridge looked at Clara and Sydney as the Captain walked towards the bomb and picked it up.
"Put it down, I forbid you!" Clara ordered the Captain as she stood up and confronted her.
"Like Clara said, put it down," Sydney said, agreeing with the nanny, "We can find another way."
"Yeah, what they said!" Porridge stated, agreeing with them.
"You ran away," The Captain reminded him, "I will do what I was brought up to do, 'Live for the Empire, fight for the Empire, die for the Empire.' This is Captain Alice Ferrin," She then pushed past Clara as she walked past them, "Imperial ID 19-delta-13B. Activate…"
Suddenly, a beam fired right at the Captain in the back, causing her to fall to the floor dead.
"Cyberman!" Porridge exclaimed as they saw a Cyberman in front of them, "Get down!"
With that said, the three of them ducked for cover as two soldiers ran over and checked for a pulse from the Captain. As they were doing that, Clara and Sydney both saw the Cyberman standing below the gallery and was looking up at them and the castle's galleries before walking away.
"The Doctor said to get somewhere easily defensible," Clara said as she and Sydney led the soldiers through one of the castle's corridors, "But if we stay in the castle, it'll pick us off one by one. We have to take it out."
"And remember, my mother told us to keep a lookout for each other," Sydney added.
"Is that an order, ma'am?" One of the soldiers, who had a heavyset physique with light skin, blue eyes and brown hair named Ha-Ha asked the nanny.
"Yes," Clara answered as she and Sydney walked back over to him and the other soldiers.
"What else would it be?" Sydney retorted with a smirk on his face, agreeing with her.
"Good," Ha-Ha replied.
"You know what to do?" Clara asked Brains as she and Sydney looked at him.
"Clara's right," Sydney said, agreeing with the nanny, "Do you know what to do, Brains?"
"Pulse to the back of the head, fry the brain circuit interface," Brains answered.
"It's going to be hard to get in close enough," Clara told them.
"Agreed. We'll need to be very careful," Sydney said, agreeing with her before they turned around and continued down through the corridor.
Inside a warehouse, a female Soldier slowly walked the floor, watching for Cybermen. As she walked through the warehouse, she suddenly stopped and saw a head of what looked like a Cyberman and rushed towards it to pick it up, only to be attacked by the rest of the Cyberman's body as it came up from behind her. It lowered her to the ground before grabbing its head before placing it back over his neck.
In a different area of the warehouse, a Cyberman lowered two soldiers to the floor with both of its hands and made its way for Ha-Ha, who was standing just outside the door.
"I've heard about the Cybermen since I was in my cradle!" Ha-Ha told the Cyberman, "I'm not afraid of you!"
As he finished speaking, the Cyberman began to move and walk towards Ha-Ha.
"Now!" Clara yelled out at him as she stood behind a group of sandbags with SYdney standing next to her as she held the pulse rifle in her hand and aimed it at the Cyberman.
"Like she said, get out of the way, Ha-Ha!" Sydney said, agreeing with the nanny.
With that said, Ha-Ha jumped out of the way as Clara fired the pulse rifle at the Cyberman, disintegrating it. Ha-Ha laughed as he stood back up. Clara and Sydney both looked amazed as they stared at where the disintegrated Cyberman was standing.
"Hold it right there!" Ha-Ha ordered the two soldiers as they stood back up with cyber-implants in their left ears.
"What's happening to them?" Clara asked Ha-Ha.
"Yeah, what did the Cyberman do to them?" Sydney said, agreeing with Clara.
"One more step, and I fire!" Clara warned the soldiers as she aimed the pulsar rifle at them and prepared to fire it again.
"No, don't fire that," Ha-Ha ordered her, "A pulse will deactivate them." Two soldiers suddenly came up on either side of the first two and used the pulsars on them, knocking them unconscious as they collapsed to the floor, "And anyway…" He then looked back at her, "It's a waste of charge. We may need it again."
"You don't think that was the only one, then?" Clara asked him.
"Yeah, do you?" Sydney said, agreeing with the nanny.
Ha-Ha shook his head before the soldiers moved away from the deactivated soldiers as the five of them began to head back to the castle.
Outside of the castle, the Doctor and Rose were making their way to the castle. Webley, Angie and Artie were following him. The soldiers suddenly surround them, causing both Gallifreyans to hold their chessboards in front of their faces.
"Don't shoot! Don't shoot!" The Doctor pleaded with the soldiers.
"Like he said, don't shoot us!" Rose said, agreeing with her husband.
"We're nice!" The Doctor added as he and Rose lowered their chessboards, "Please, don't shoot!" Clara and Sydney then arrived with the soldiers, "Hey, Clara, Sydney, you two haven't let them blow up the planet. Good job."
"Absolutely," Rose said, agreeing with him as she looked at Sydney and Clara, "Thanks for keeping things under control."
"Did you both get the kids?" Clara asked them, "Are they all right? What's going on?"
"Yeah, Mum and Dad, what's going on?" Sydney said, agreeing with Clara as he noticed that they had metal parts of the Cybermasks of Cybermen over the left sides of their faces, "What's wrong with your faces?"
"Bit of a good news-bad news, good news again thing going on, so…" The Doctor began to answer before Clara aimed the pulsar rifle at him, "Good news, we've kidnapped their Cyber-Planners and right now two two of us are sort of in control of these Cybermen."
"Exactly," Rose said, agreeing with him, "We've got a handle on the situation, more or less."
"Bad news?" Clara asked them.
"Yeah, what exactly is the bad news?" Sydney said, agreeing with the nanny.
"Bad news, the Cyber-Planners are in our heads," the Doctor answered.
"And they're trying to take over our bodies," Rose added.
"And different bad news, the kids are, well, it's complicated," the Doctor told Clara and Sydney.
"Complicated how?" Clara asked them as she stepped towards them.
"Yeah, Dad, what do you mean that it's complicated?" Sydney said, agreeing with the nanny.
"Complicated, as in walking coma," the Doctor answered.
It's definitely really complicated," Rose said, agreeing with him.
The Doctor and Rose both hid behind their chessboards once again and ducked behind the children. Clara then hurried forward and looked at them both with worry on her face before Sydney did the same and had a similar worried expression on his face.
"Please tell me either of you can wake them up," Clara pleaded with both older Gallifreyans as she raised the pulsar rifle at them.
"Yeah, can you?" Sydney asked his parents, agreeing with the nanny.
"Hope so," the Doctor answered in a sing-song voice.
"I hope we can as well," Rose said, agreeing with her husband.
"Other good news?" Clara asked them as she approached them.
"Well, in other good news, there are a few more repaired and reactivated Cybermen on the way. And the Cyber-Planners are installing a patch for the gold thing," the Doctor answered as he backed away from her before he realised that wasn't good news, "No! Wait, that isn't not good news, is it? Um, so, good news…" He then held his chessboard over his head, "I have a very good chance of winning my chess match."
"And I have a good chance of winning mine," Rose said, agreeing with him, "We're in this together."
"What?" Clara and Sydney both said with confusion in their voices as the nanny lowered the pulsar rifle.
"We'll explain later, in a bit of a hurry," the Doctor assured them before he and Rose began to run up the drawbridge, "Get us to two tables." He and Rose then stopped and turned around towards them, "And somebody tie both of us up!" He then held his left hand up, "Need hands free for chess." He then began to walk up the drawbridge again before he turned around towards them again, "And immobilise us. Quickly!"
"Yes, please," Rose said, agreeing with him, "We don't want to hurt anyone when the Cyber-Planners are in control of our bodies."
With that said, both older Gallifreyans turned back around and ran into the castle.
The Doctor and Rose had both set up their chessboards on two tables in front of the throne and across from each other. Clara tied the Time Lord to his chair, while Sydney tied his mother to her chair, leaving their hands free. Webley, Angie and Artie were standing on the floor facing them.
"Right, that's good," the Doctor muttered as Clara finished tying him to his chair, "I won't be able to move, but hands free, good."
"Exactly," Rose said, agreeing with her husband as Sydney finished tying her to her chair, "We need our hands free for this."
The two of you are playing chess with yourselves?" Clara asked both older Gallifreyans with shock in her voice.
"Yeah, isn't that a bit odd?" Sydney said, agreeing with the nanny.
"And winning," the Doctor confirmed.
"Not to brag, but yes, we are," Rose added with a confident smile on her face.
With that said, the Doctor raised his right hand and ripped off the golden ticket as Rose did the same with her own right hand and pulled the gold coin off of the metal parts of her Cybermask, causing energy to pulse through them as their Cyber-Planner counterparts regained control over their bodies.
"Actually… He has no better than a 25% chance of winning at this stage in the game," Mr. Clever stated as Clara moved away from behind him, "Some very dodgy moves at the beginning."
"And she has about a 20% chance of winning," Ms. Calculus added, agreeing with her fellow Cyber-Planner as Sydney moved away from behind her, "Her initial moves were quite reckless."
"Hello, flesh-girl," Mr. Clever greeted Clara as he looked at her, "Fantastic! I'm one of the Cyber-Planners."
"Hello, Gallifreyan boy," Ms. Calculus said, greeting Sydney, "I'm the other Cyber-Planner. Brilliant, isn't it?"
"Doctor?" Clara said as she crossed her arms and walked around to face him.
"Mum?" Sydney muttered as he walked around Ms. Calculus to face her as well.
"Afraid not," Mr. Clever told them, "We're working the mouths now. Allons-y! Oh, you should see the state of his neurons. He's had some cowboys in here, ten complete re-jigs."
"That's right," Ms. Calculus said, agreeing with him, "We're the ones talking now. Molto bene! And her neurons have had four complete re-jigs, almost half as many as his. Quite fascinating."
"You aren't the Doctor," Clara realised as she looked at Mr. Clever.
"And you're not Mum," Sydney stated as he looked at Ms. Calculus.
"No!" Mr. Clever said, agreeing with them, "But we both know who you two are. One of you is the impossible girl. Ooh, they're very interested in you."
"Indeed," Ms. Calculus added as she looked at Sydney, "And you, Epsilon Sigma, or Sydney Rory Smith. Partially named after one of their former companions, Rory Williams. Such an interesting blend of memories."
"Why am I impossible?" Clara asked them.
"Haven't they told you?" Mr. Clever retorted, "The sly devils. Oh, dear me, listen, the sooner, we wake, we'll strip you down for spare parts, then build a spaceship and move on."
"Exactly," Ms. Calculus said, agreeing with him, "We'll dismantle both of you for spare parts. And then, like he said, construct a spaceship and continue our journey. Efficiency at its finest."
"If it weren't for you partially converting my parents and integrating with their minds," Sydney said defiantly, "I would say that wouldn't be possible due to my Gallifreyan physiology."
"And by 'we' you both mean more Cybermen?" Clara asked both Cyber-Planners as she lowered her arms and placed her hands on the table that Mr. Clever was sitting at.
"They're waking from their tomb right now," Mr. Clever added, "The two of you can either die or live on as one of us."
"Precisely," Ms. Calculus said, agreeing with him, "The Cybermen are awakening, and you two will join them. Your choice, death or conversion."
"The Doctor will stop you both," Clara told both Cyber-Planners.
"As will Mum," Sydney added, agreeing with the nanny.
As they finished speaking, Clara and Sydney both heard two scratching sounds as Clara looked down at the Doctor's right hand and that The Time Lord was writing on a notepad with the words reading 'Hit me, Clara.' Sydney on the other hand, looked down at his mother's right hand and saw that she was also writing on a notepad with the words on hers reading, "And hit me as well, Sydney.'
"They can't even access the lips," Mr. Clever added.
"Quite right," Ms. Calculus said, agreeing with him with a smirk on her face, "They lack the control to work the lips. Pathetic, really."
As both Cyber-Planners finished speaking, Clara slapped Mr. Clever's right cheek with her left hand, while Sydney slapped Ms. Calculus' right cheek with his left hand as well, causing the Doctor and Rose's bodies to jerk as they regained control over their bodies.
"Owwww!" The Doctor and Rose shouted as they placed their right hands over their right cheeks, "Ow!"
"Oh, that hurt!" The Doctor added, "No, stop! Enough! Bit of pain, neural surge, just what we needed." He then lowered his right hand, "Thank you, Clara."
"Exactly," Rose said, agreeing with him as she winced, "Neural surge did the trick." She then lowered her right hand, "And thank you too, Sid."
"Why am I the impossible girl?" Clara asked them.
"It's a thing in our heads, we'll explain later," the Doctor explained.
"Yeah, if you want a quick explanation, Sydney could briefly explain it after the two of you leave us so we could concentrate on our chess games," Rose added, agreeing with her husband.
"Chess games, stakes?" Clara asked them.
"Yeah, what are the stakes in these chess games?" Sydney said, agreeing with her as he looked at his parents.
"If they win, we give up our minds and they both get access to all our memories along with knowledge of time travel," the Doctor answered, "But if we win, they'll break their promises to get out of our heads and then kill us anyway."
"Exactly," Rose said, agreeing with her husband, "They'll go back on their word and then kill us."
"That's not reassuring," Clara told them.
"Not at all," Sydney added, agreeing with her as he shook his head.
"No," the Doctor said, agreeing with them.
"Yeah, you're both right, that's not good at all," Rose muttered, agreeing with them.
"Please tell me one of you can fix what happened to the children?" Clara asked them.
"Children. Yeah. They're fine," the Doctor assured her, "I mean, right now their brains are just in standby mode."
"Exactly," Rose said, agreeing with him, "They're only in standby mode, but they're okay."
"That is not fine!" Clara told them.
"Not fine at all," Sydney stated, agreeing with Clara.
"Listen, right now, they have a better chance of getting out of this situation alive than either of you do," Mr. Clever stated as he regained control over the Doctor's body.
"Indeed," Ms. Calculus said, agreeing with her fellow Cyber-Planner as she regained control over Rose's body as well, "They stand a better chance then you two."
"Which one of you both said that?" Clara asked them.
"Yeah, which one of you two is talking now?" Sydney said, agreeing with Clara.
"Us, Cyber-Planners," Mr. Clever answered with a smile on his face, "Mr. Clever and Ms. Calculus."
"Yes, we Cyber-Planners are the ones who are speaking now," Ms. Calculus said, agreeing with him as she smiled at them.
"And now, if you don't mind, we have chess games to finish," Mr. Clever added as he poked Clara on the forehead with his right hand's index finger, "And you both have to die pointlessly and very far from home." He then held his left hand up at them, "Too-da-loo!"
"Yes, lovebirds," Ms. Calculus said, agreeing with him with a smirk on her face, "We need to focus on our chess games, and you both need to meet your ends."
With that said, Clara and Sydney both exchanged a brief glance, a hint of an unspoken connection passing between them as Ms. Calculus' words lingered before they left both Cyber-Planners to continue their chess matches against their Gallifreyan counterparts.
"Apparently there are more Cybermen on the way," Clara said as she and Sydney walked through the castle's main gate onto the drawbridge, followed by Brains as he held the pulsar rifle in his arms, while Porridge stood with the soldiers on guard duty next to the main gate.
"We need to find a way to slow them down or stop them," Sydney stated as he glanced at Clara with concern etched on his face, "Mum and Dad can only hold out for so long." He then looked at Porridge and Brains, "Any ideas on how we can create a diversion or fortify our defences?"
"There's at least a dozen more shots left in the gun before it needs to recharge," Brains answered.
"We might have more than a dozen Cybermen to worry about," Clara told him.
"Clara's right," Sydney said, agreeing with the nanny, "From what my parents have told me, it's very rare for Cybermen to just be one legion. They usually bring an army's worth of them. We're going to need more than just a few shots."
"What's that cable?" Clara asked them as she turned around and noticed a cable behind them and near the main gate before everyone else turned around and looked at the cable as well.
"Power line for the park," Porridge answered.
"What would happen if we dropped the end into the moat and turned it on?" Clara asked them.
"Clara's got a point," Sydney said, agreeing with her, "What would happen if we do exactly that?"
"Fry anything alive that entered the water," Ha-Ha answered with a smile on his face.
"Can Cybermen fly?" Clara asked them.
"From Mum and Dad's stories, they can't fly, Clara," Sydney answered.
"He's right, ma'am," Brains said, agreeing with the young Gallifreyan boy, "Cybermen don't have the ability to fly."
"First good news of the day," Clara told them as she stepped forward, "Do it!"
"Yes, let's get it started," Sydney said, agreeing with her, "We need every advantage we can get."
A few moments later, they all lowered the cable into the water before Brains pulled up the cable's power switch with his left hand, turning on the power. As the cable descended into the moat, it suddenly burst with power on contact and began to crackle as Ha-Ha and one of the female soldiers laughed as they looked down into the moat's water. The soldiers then retreated back into the castle as one of them rotated its windlass, causing the drawbridge to raise back up.
Back in the castle's throne room, the chess matches continued as the Doctor moved a white piece towards another part of his chessboard with his right hand as Rose did the same with a white piece on her chessboard before they both jerked back in their seats.
"Stop that!" The Doctor ordered Mr. Clever within his and Rose's bond, "I felt that."
"Like he said, stop that!" Rose said, agreeing with him, "I also felt that."
"Of course you did," Mr. Clever stated, agreeing with them.
"Indeed," Ms. Calculus muttered, agreeing with her fellow Cyber-Planner, "You both felt that because we wanted you to."
"And it's time to get up," Mr. Clever added, "Wakey, wakey, boys and girls. Wakey, wakey."
Inside the Cybermen's tomb, the Cybermen inside awoke and became active as their chests lit up blue and clenched their hands into fists before they rose their heads up straight. The doors to the tomb suddenly began sliding up as the Cybermen began marching out of their tomb's storage rooms in the thousands.
In the castle's courtyard, Clara, Sydney, Porridge and the soldiers had set up a line of defence. The two time travellers walked towards Porridge as he stood in front of a pot of soup. Clara and Sydney then stopped next to him as the nanny rubbed her hands in the chill as Porridge put some of the soup into a cup.
"There. Get that in you," Porridge told Clara as he handed her the cup of soup, "Warm you up."
"Oh, thank you, Porridge," Clara replied as she took the cup of soup from him with her right hand.
"Would you like some as well, lad?" Porridge asked Sydney as he looked at him.
"No, thanks, Porridge," Sydney answered as he shook his head with a small smile on his face, "I'm fine. Gallifreyans are more resistant to the cold than humans are."
"Suit yourself," Porridge replied with a nod.
"Hey, Clara!" They suddenly heard the Doctor call out to Clara from the castle's throne room as the nanny raised the cup to her lips.
"Oi, Sydney!" They heard Rose call out to Sydney from the castle's throne room as well.
"Well see what they want," Clara told Porridge as she lowered her cup and walked away from him with Sydney as Porridge smiled at them, "Call us if there's any change!"
"Like she said, we'll go see what Mum and Dad wants," Sydney said, agreeing with her, "And call us if there's any change."
"All right," Porridge replied as both time travellers headed back inside the castle.
Outside the park, the Cybermen all began to march towards the castle.
"Hey, Clara, there you are," the Doctor greeted Clara as he and Rose smiled as they watched her and Sydney enter the Throne room.
"Hello, Sid!" Rose greeted her son as she and the Doctor watched as Clara checked the children's responses by snapping her fingers in front of them as Sydney stood next to her.
"Now, quick rundown," the Doctor went on, "What's our weapons strength?"
"Like he said, what's the status of our weapons for the battle with the Cybermen?" Rose asked them, agreeing with her husband.
"One big gun, five of those hand pulsar units and a shiny black bomb that implodes the planet," Clara answered as she and Sydney walked over to the Doctor and Rose.
"Yeah, that's right," Sydney said, agreeing with her, "Those are our key weapons."
"Yeah, yeah, the bomb one," the Doctor muttered, "Now, tell us, does it happen possibly to have a remote triggery thing?" Clara then pulled the trigger from her pocket with her right hand and held it up, "Brilliant. Pass it here."
"Yeah, pass it to one of us," Rose said, agreeing with her husband.
"No," Clara refused.
Indeed, I don't think that's a good idea," Sydney said, agreeing with her.
"Why not?" The Doctor asked them.
"Like he said, why can't we see it?" Rose muttered, agreeing with her husband.
"In case you both are not either of you right now," Clara answered, "Or even if you both are you, just in case."
"Yes, it's a precaution we need to take," Sydney said, agreeing with her, "It's a risk we can't take if Mr. Clever and Ms. Calculus are currently in control of your bodies."
"Oh, don't worry," the Doctor assured them, "The Cyber-Planners are hibernating between moves right now." He then placed his left hand's index finger over his lips as he shushed at them.
"Like he said, they're hibernating between our moves right now," Rose stated, agreeing with her husband.
"Prove you're you," Clara urged them as she leaned onto the Doctor's table, "Tell me something only the Doctor and Rose knows."
"Agreed, something only the real Mum and Dad would know," Sydney added, agreeing with the nanny.
"Clara... I suppose... We're the only ones who know how you mean to us," the Doctor said sincerely as he and Rose looked at them, "You're like a daughter to me, you're funny, brave, and kind."
"And Clara," Rose muttered with a sincere expression on her face, "Like he said, you're like a daughter to me as well. We both care about you deeply."
"And lately, I've been feeling something different…" the Doctor went on, "Something more than just fatherly affection…"
"We've both noticed it," Rose added, "It's almost as if there's something more than just our roles as guardians…"
As Clara and Sydney heard both older Gallifreyans speak, they noticed something odd about what they said and realised that they weren't the ones in control of their bodies, but their Cyber-Planner counterparts were instead before the nanny slapped Mr. Clever on his right cheek again with her left hand as Sydney slapped Ms. Calculus on her right cheek again with his left hand as well.
"Ow! Ow! Ow!" The Doctor and Rose both yelled as their bodies jerked as they regained control of their bodies.
"Yes!" The Doctor said as he and Rose removed their right hands from their cheeks, "It's us! That really hurt."
"Yes, it's really us!" Rose said, agreeing with him as she rubbed her cheek before she removed her right hand from her cheek, "And it really hurt! But thank you, Sydney."
"How did you know those were them?" The Doctor asked Clara and Sydney.
"Yeah, how did you both know that the Cyber-Planners were in control of our bodies and not us?" Rose said, agreeing with her husband.
"Because even if those were true, which they're obviously not, I know you both well enough to know that the two of you would rather die than say them," Clara explained.
"Exactly," Sydney muttered, agreeing with her, "It was obvious you weren't yourselves."
"And finish your stupid games!" Clara urged both older Gallifreyans as she swung her right arm at the Doctor before his left hand reached out and grabbed her right arm, causing her to groan as she tried to pull herself free, "Doctor, let go."
"Yeah, Dad, let her go," Sydney said, agreeing with Clara as he looked at him with concern on his face.
"I can't," the Doctor replied hoarsely, "He's got control of the left arm."
"He's right," Rose said, agreeing with him, "I can feel that through our bond that he has control over the Doctor's left arm."
"Aaargh! Aaaargh!" The Doctor grunted as he tried to regain control over his left arm before Clara let go of the bomb's trigger device, "No! No!" Through Mr. Clever controlling his left arm that he began smashing it to pieces against the table as he screamed, "Aaargh! Aaargh! Aaargh!" The four of them then exchanged glances.
"Doctor?" Clara muttered as she looked at the Time Lord.
"Dad?" Sydney said, agreeing with Clara as he also looked at his father.
"He got what he and Ms. Calculus wanted," the Doctor explained, "He destroyed the trigger. Our moves."
"The Doctor's right," Rose said, agreeing with him, "They used our moves to have the trigger be destroyed. It was their plan all along."
"What do you both mean, 'He and Ms. Calculus got what they wanted'?" Clara asked them.
"He means, good news, boys and girls," Mr. Clever said hoarsely as he regained control over the Doctor's body, while Ms. Calculus regained control over Rose's body, "THEY'RE HEERE!"
"Exactly," Ms. Calculus muttered, agreeing with him with a sinister smile on her face, "They're here, and it's time for our victory."
As they finished speaking, both Cyber-Planners leaned back straight in their chairs with smiles on their faces.
Outside the park, thousands or possibly millions of the Cybermen had lined themselves up the walkway from the main section of the park to the castle with their right fists clamped to their chests before they lowered their right arms.
On the castle's upper gallery, Clara leaned against the wall with Sydney having seen what they were up against.
"One gun, five hand pulsars and a planet-smashing bomb that doesn't work anymore," Clara muttered to herself.
"Why not?" Brains asked her.
"Broken trigger unit," Clara explained.
"My dad's Cyber-Planner counterpart destroyed it while controlling his left arm," Sydney added, "It was why he and my mum's Cyber-Planner counterpart called us into the throne room to see them. It was part of their plan to have the trigger unit be destroyed to stop us from using it."
"But you signed for that, Clara," Brains reminded the nanny.
"I've learned so much from you, Doctor and Rose," Mr. Clever told the Doctor and Rose, "It's been an education. But now it's time for the endgame."
"And I've learned so much from the two of you as well," Ms. Calculus said, agreeing with her fellow Cyber-Planner, "It's also been a great education for me. But like he said, the endgame is upon us, and you'll see the brilliance of our plan."
With that said, Mr. Clever Slammed down a black chess piece onto his chessboard with his left hand before Ms. Calculus did the same with one of her black chess pieces.
Outside the castle, the Cybermen marched on towards the castle before stopping at the moat. One of them suddenly stepped into the water. As the Cyberman stepped into the moat, sparks flew from its body, causing it to move jerkily before bending over.
Back on the castle's upper gallery, Clara, Sydney and the others laughed when they saw that their plan was working.
"Brilliant," Clara muttered to herself.
"It's more than brilliant," Sydney argued, "It's absolutely brilliant."
"Upgrade in progress," the Cyberman in the moat suddenly announced as it straightened back up before it continued to march across the moat before the others followed the Cyberman towards the castle.
"Ah," Clara muttered as she, Sydney and other others stopped laughing as they all looked at each other before she looked at the soldiers, "Who's our best shot?"
"Yeah, who's our best shot?" Sydney asked the soldiers, agreeing with Clara as he looked at them.
"Probably it's me," Ha-Ha answered before Brains handed the pulsar rifle to Clara, who took it with her right hand before she took it over to Ha-Ha.
"Shoot any of them who make it across," Clara ordered him, "The rest of you, take defensive positions."
"Yeah, everyone else, take your defensive positions," Sydney ordered the soldiers, agreeing with Clara before they headed off to their positions.
"Porridge?" Clara called out to Porridge as she looked at him.
"Yes?" Porridge asked her as he looked up at her.
"Keep yourself safe," Clara urged him.
"Yesh, stay safe, Porridge," Sydney said, agreeing with her, "We'll need you in one piece, especially given your small size."
Porridge then walked away from them as Clara and Sydney both looked over the upper gallery's railing.
In the castle's courtyard, Ha-Ha and Beauty both took up defensive positions across from the main gate. Just as the first Cyberman came through the door, Ha-Ha activated the pulsar rifle and fired it at the first Cyberman as it rose its right arm at them. The blast from the pulsar rifle caused the Cyberman to fall backwards a bit before disintegrating into nothingness before they laughed. More Cybermen suddenly made their way through the door, causing Ha-Ha and Beauty to stop laughing as their smiles fell.
"Alice Ferrin, you should have destroyed this planet when you had the chance," Porridge told the Captain as he covered her corpse before he picked up the bomb with his left hand.
"They're nearly here," Mr. Clever muttered to himself.
"Indeed, our Cybermen are nearly here," Ms. Calculus said, agreeing with her fellow Cyber-Planner.
"And now, Doctor, you can take my bishop and keep limping on for a little longer," Mr. Clever went on as he hovered his left hand over his bishop before he pointed at the Doctor's queen, "Or you can sacrifice your queen, and get the children back. But it's mate in five moves and I get your mind."
"And Rose, you can take my knight and continue playing the game for a bit more," Ms. Calculus added as she hovered her left hand over her knight before she pointed at Rose's queen with her left hand's index finger, "Or you can do like what Mr. Clever urged your husband and sacrifice your queen to get the children back. But if you do that, it will cost you your mind."
"Go!" Ha-Ha ordered Beauty before they ran to different positions around the courtyard.
As Ha-Ha found his new defensive position, he aimed the pulsar rifle at the Cybermen as Beauty found hers. One of the Cybermen then aimed their right arm at one of the other soldiers as they ran for cover and fired their right wrist blaster at him, killing the soldier instantly as he fell to the floor. Ha-Ha suddenly fired the pulsar rifle at another Cyberman, blowing its head to smithereens.
"Take my queen and give us back the children," the Doctor told both Cyber-Planners as his and Rose's bodies jerked again as they regained control of their bodies before he grabbed his queen with his right hand and moved the queen.
"And you take my queen as well and return the children to us," Rose added, agreeing with her husband as she grabbed her queen with her right hand and moved the queen as well.
"Emotions!" Mr. Clever and Ms. Calculus both muttered with disbelief in their voices as they jerked as they regained control over the Doctor and Rose's bodies again.
"Can't either of you see what a foolish move those were?" Mr. Clever asked both Gallifreyans, "You've both lost the games!"
"Exactly," Ms. Calculus said, agreeing with her fellow Cyber-Planner, "Those moves were driven by emotions. You've both lost."
"Kids, back now!" The Doctor ordered the children as his and Rose's bodies jerked as they regained control over their bodies yet again.
"Yes, come to us, kids," Rose said, agreeing with her husband.
Mr. Clever and Ms. Calculus jerked as they regained control over the Doctor and Rose's bodies again as Angie and Artie suddenly fell to the floor on their knees as their Cyber-implants deactivated. Mr. Clever then grabbed the Doctor's queen with his left hand, while Ms. Calculus grabbed Rose's queen with her left hand as well before they kissed the pieces.
Back in the courtyard, Ha-Ha and Beauty both ran along the walls as they were being fired upon by Cybermen as they screamed.
"Emotions, Doctor and Rose," Mr. Clever muttered to himself, "All for two human children you both barely know. And it was a pointless sacrifice anyway."
"Indeed," Ms. Calculus said, agreeing with her fellow Cyber-Planner as Angie stood back up and looked around the room, "A completely pointless sacrifice. Emotions make you both weak."
Back in the courtyard, Ha-Ha fired the pulsar rifle at another Cyberman, causing its head to also blow to smithereens.
"So, Doctor," Mr. Clever muttered as he and Ms. Calculus looked at Weebly, "Do you think the children's death will affect your relationship with Miss Clara or even your son?"
"And Rose, do you believe their deaths will affect your relationship with them as well?" Ms. Clever asked her Time Lady counterpart as Porridge suddenly entered the room with the bomb in his hands.
Back on the castle's upper gallery, the Cybermen chased Clara, Sydney and Brains as they fired their right wrist blasters at them before the three of them gasped as they evaded the Cybermen's lasers.
"Welcome to Webley's World Of Wonders, children!" Webley said as he turned around towards the children as Porridge watched as he turned towards them before Mr. Clever and Ms. Calculus hid smiles behind their left hands as they placed them over their mouths, "Now presenting delights, delicacies... and death."
"Doctor!" Angie called out to the Time Lord, "Rose!"
Porridge suddenly hurried over and applied his hand pulsar to Webley's left leg. Webley reflexively kicked Porridge away with his left leg, causing the man to land at the base between both tables holding the chess boards. Webley's cybernetics suddenly sparked with electricity as the Doctor and Rose's bodies jerked as they regained control over their bodies.
"Angie, are you okay?" The Doctor asked Angie, "Just look after Artie, okay?"
"Yes, Angie, just look after your brother," Rose said, agreeing with her husband before Angie knelt beside Artie.
In the castle's gallery, Beauty was following a Cyberman, ready to hit it with her pulsar when its head suddenly swiveled around, causing her to hold up both of her hands as she gasped in shock.
Back in the courtyard, more Cybermen marched through the main gate as Clara, Sydney, Ha-Ha and Brains were running across and stopped as soon as they saw the Cybermen. Ha-Ha suddenly fired the pulsar rifle at the lead Cyberman, only for it to be knocked back rather than being disintegrated by the weapon.
"Upgrade in progress," the Cyberman announced as it stood back up straight.
"Your move!" The Doctor ordered Mr. Clever as Webley turned towards the children again, "But before you take it, just so you know, sacrificing my queen was the best possible move I could have made. Like Rose said earlier, the Time Lords invented chess. It's our game. And if you don't avoid my trap, it gives me mate in three moves."
"And my move was just as deliberate," Rose added, "We know this game inside and out since we were Time Tots. You underestimate us at your peril. The Time Lords always have a few surprises up their sleeves."
"How?" Mr. Calculus and Ms. Calculus asked both Gallifreyans as they jerked as he regained control over the Doctor's body, while she regained control over Rose's body.
Back in the courtyard, Clara picked up a mace from the floor to use against the Cybermen with both of her hands as Sydney did the same thing with a sword that he found on the floor.
"I've got no charge left!" Ha-Ha reported to them as he tried using the pulsar rifle on the Cybermen that were approaching them, only for it to not fire.
As the Cybermen continued to advance towards them, Clara panted as the four of them backed away from the Cybermen.
"How?" Both Cyber-Planners asked both Gallifreyans again.
Back in the courtyard, Clara swung the mace at the lead Cyberman. It caught the mace from her hand from its shaft with its right hand and threw it to the ground. Sydney then swung the sword at the lead Cyberman as well, only for it to catch it by its blade from his hand and also threw it to the ground as it continued to advance towards them.
"Come on, you both call yourselves 'chess-playing robots?'" The Doctor retorted with disbelief in his voice as his and Rose's bodies jerked as they regained control over their bodies.
"Exactly!" Rose added, agreeing with her husband, "You both claim to be chess masters, but you can't handle a little strategy from us?"
"How?" Mr. Clever and Ms. Calculus asked both Gallifreyans again as they jerked as he regained control over the Doctor's body again, while she also regained control over Rose's body again.
Back in the courtyard, Clara, Sydney and the others continue to back away from the Cybermen and towards the wall.
"You figure it out!" The Doctor laughed as his and Rose's bodies jerked as they regained control over their bodies again.
"Yeah, work it out yourselves!" Rose said, agreeing with her husband.
As the Cybermen continued to advance towards Clara, Sydney and the others, the three humans and Gallifreyan boy continued to back up towards the wall.
"Or don't you have the processing power? Hmm?" The Doctor asked Mr. Clever as he twiddled his bow tie with his right hand.
"And can't you compute?" Rose said, agreeing with her husband as she straightened her jacket's right lapel.
"Please stand by," one of the Cybermen suddenly said as the three humans and Gallifreyan boy reached the wall and pressed against it as it extended its right hand out towards them, "You will be upgraded. Welcome to the Cyberiad…" The other two Cybermen then did the same and reached their hands out towards them, "Upgraded. Welcome to the Cyberiad. You are into… Cyberiad…" All four of the Cybermen then began to freeze, their hands a fraction away from touching human and Gallifreyan skin, "And you will be upgraded."
Suddenly, all of the Cybermen finally froze in place, causing Clara, Sydney, Brains and Ha-Ha to exchange glances before they laughed to each other in relief.
"What are you doing?" The Doctor asked Mr. Clever as he felt him doing something from inside his and Rose's bond.
"Yeah, what's going on?" Rose said, agreeing with her husband as she felt Ms. Calculus doing something inside their bond as well.
"Doctor. Doctor! Doctor, Doctor, Doctor, Doctor, Doctor, Doctor, Doctor!" Mr. Clever exclaimed as he and Ms. Calculus jerked as he regained control over the Doctor's body again, while Ms. Calculus regained control over Rose's body again, "We're pulling in extra processing power. Three million Cyberbrains are working on one tiny chess problem. How long do either of you think it's going to take us to solve it?"
"Indeed, three million Cyberbrains," Ms. Calculus said, agreeing with her fellow Cyber-Planner, "The combined processing power will solve this in no time. You two are outmatched."
"That's cheating!" The Doctor yelled as his and Rose's bodies jerked as they regained control over their bodies.
"He's right," Rose said, agreeing with her husband, "That is definitely cheating."
"No, no, no, no, no," Mr. Clever argued as he and Ms. Calculus jerked as he regained control over the Doctor's body yet again, while Ms. Calculus regained control over Rose's body yet again, "We're just pulling in the local resources."
"Yes, exactly," Ms. Calculus said, agreeing with him, "Utilising the resources available to us. Nothing more, nothing less."
Back in the courtyard, Clara, Sydney, Ha-Ha and Brains ducked under the frozen arms of the Cybermen.
"Oh, ooh!" Clara muttered as she looked at the Cyberman that was in front of her as she moved away from the Cyberman before she backed away from the first line and nearly ran into the second line with a gasp before they all ran from the courtyard.
"There's no way either one of you can get to mate in three moves," Mr. Clever told both Gallifreyans.
"Exactly," Ms. Calculus said, agreeing with him, "It's impossible. Your moves are futile."
"Three moves!" The Doctor exclaimed as his and Rose's bodies jerked as they regained control over their bodies, "Want to know what they are?"
"Yeah, do you want to hear them?" Rose asked their Cyber-Planner counterparts, agreeing with her husband.
"You're lying!" Mr. Clever told both Gallifreyans as he and Ms. Calculus jerked as he regained control over the Doctor's body again, while Ms. Calculus regained control over Rose's body again.
"Definitely lying," Ms. Calculus said, agreeing with him, "There's no way either of you can get to mate in three moves."
"No!" The Doctor and Rose argued as their bodies jerked as they regained control over their bodies as he reached over and took the pulsar from Porridge's hand with his right hand, while she grabbed a pulsar from one of the pockets of Porridge's pockets.
"Move one: Turn on sonic screwdrivers," the Doctor said as he and Rose reached into their jacket's inside pockets and pulled their screwdriver's out."
"Move two: Activate pulsars," Rose added as they flicked their screwdrivers and aimed them at the pulsars.
"And Move three: amplify pulsars," the Doctor finished as they began to strengthen the pulsars' strength against Cybermen and placed their screwdrivers on their tables.
The Doctor and Rose then slipped the pulsars onto their right hands and lifted them towards their face. Their left hands then reached across to stop their right hands, pushing them away as they grunted.
"See ya," both Gallifreyans laughed before they put the pulsars to the left side of their faces.
As they placed the pulsars to the left side of their faces, the Doctor and Rose's bodies jerked as the energy from the pulsars ran through them as they grunted and screamed.
"That's cheating!" Both Cyber-Planners yelled at both Gallifreyans.
Suddenly, the cybernetics on their faces sparked as they fell face-down onto the tables. Clara and Sydney then ran into the room, followed by the soldiers. The Doctor and Rose both sat back up, the cybernetics gone from their faces as they felt their Cyber-Planner counterparts disappear from their minds. The Doctor straightened his bow tie with his left hand, while Rose straightened her jacket with both of her hands as Clara and Sydney hurried over to them.
"Just taking advantage of the local resources," the Doctor stated as he threw his pulsar over his right shoulder.
"Exactly," Rose said, agreeing with him as she threw her pulsar over her right shoulder as well, "We used what was available to us."
"Ah, hello, come here and untie us, please!" The Doctor pleaded with Clara and Sydney as they stopped in front of them.
"Yes, please untie us," Rose said, agreeing with her husband.
"Do you consider me like a daughter to the two of you?" Clara asked both older Gallifreyans.
"Yeah, do you both actually consider Clara like a daughter to you both?" Sydney asked his parents.
"Not as much as the Cyber-Planners revealed to you, Clara," the Doctor answered, "We're just beginning to see you as such."
"Yes, we're just starting to see you as a daughter, Clara," Rose said, agreeing with her husband.
"Good enough," Clara replied as she hurried over to the back of the Doctor's chair, while Sydney ran over to the back of his mother's chair as they began to untie them from their chairs, "What happened to the Cyber-Planners?"
"Yeah, what's happened to them?" Sydney asked his parents, agreeing with Clara.
"Out of our heads and redistributed across one and a half million Cybermen each right now," the Doctor answered, "About to wake them up, kill us, and start constructing a spaceship."
"He's right. They've been distributed from our heads and into the Cybermen," Rose said, agreeing with her husband as Clara and Sydney finished untying them from their chairs, "And when they wake, they'll kill us all and begin constructing a spaceship to conquer the rest of the universe."
"We need to destroy this planet before they can get off it!" The Doctor added as he and Rose stood back up and grabbed their screwdrivers from their tables with the Time Lady placing hers back inside her jacket's inside pocket as he hurried over to the bomb and placed the bomb on its side as Porridge woke back up and sat up as the Time Lord scanned the bomb with his screwdriver, "There. It has a fallback voice activation."
"The Captain," Ha-Ha told him, "But she's dead."
"I think you should ask Porridge," Porridge suggested.
"Why?" Clara asked her with confusion in her voice.
"Yeah, why should they ask him that?" Sydney said, agreeing with the nanny.
"Well, he is the Emperor," Angie explained, causing Porridge to look down at the floor, "I bet he knows the activation codes." Clara, Sydney and Rose then looked between Porridge and Angie, "Oh, come on, it's obvious. He looks exactly like he does on the coin and on the waxwork. Except they made him a bit taller, but, Look, am I the only one paying attention to anything around here?"
"You are full of surprises," Clara told her before she turned towards Porridge, "Porridge?"
"She's right," Porridge confirmed.
"So you can save us?" Clara asked him.
"Yeah, can you?" Sydney said, agreeing with Clara.
"We all die in the end, does it matter how?" Porridge retorted as the Doctor walked towards him and set the bomb in front of him.
"What do we do?" Brains asked him.
"I don't want to be Emperor," Porridge told them, "If I activate that bomb, it's all over."
"And if you don't, three million Cybermen will spread across the galaxy," the Doctor stated, "Isn't that worth dying for?"
"My husband's right," Rose said, agreeing with him, "And they won't only spread across the galaxy like he said, but the universe as well, and will upgrade and conquer the universe."
"Doctor…" Porridge began to say, "Rose…"
"Three million Cybermen," The Doctor and Rose reminded him.
Back in the courtyard, the Cybermen suddenly unfroze and began heading towards the throne room.
"The bomb, the throne, it's all connected," the Doctor explained, "I just have to say, 'This is Emperor Ludens Nimrod Kendrick, called Longstaff the 41st, the defender of humanity, imperator of known space. Activate the Desolator.'" As he finished speaking, the bomb activated, "And it's done."
The Doctor then pulled his screwdriver back out and scanned the bomb with it as Rose, Clara and Sydney looked at him and the bomb.
On the castle's upper gallery and inside the courtyard, the Cybermen were on the march and continued to head towards the throne room.
"It'll blow in about 80 seconds," Porridge added as the bomb began counting down, "Easily long enough for the Imperial Flagship to locate me from my identification, warp jump into orbit and transmat us to the State Room."
Porridge then closed his eyes as they were transported to the imperial spaceship. Porridge stood on a multi-level dais. Behind him was a large window overlooking the planet. The Doctor, Rose, Sydney, Clara, Angie, Artie and the soldiers were on the floor. There were two female techs standing at pedestals.
"Oh, yeah! Nice ship. Bit big. Not blue enough," the Doctor muttered as he looked around the room before he stepped onto the dais and talked to Porridge, "Listen, there is a large blue box at coordinates six ultra 19P. Me and Rose need it transmatted up here right away."
"Right," Porridge replied before he looked at one of the techs, "Did you get that?"
The tech then nodded her head as she began to transmat the TARDIS from the planet below and onto the Flagship.
Back on the planet, the Cybermen entered the throne room and marched towards the bomb as it was now counting down from 13 and looked down at it.
Back on the Imperial Flagship, everyone stepped towards the window as Clara had her right arm around Artie's right shoulder as Sydney stood by them and Angie, while the Doctor and Rose stood next to each other near the window.
"And that's that," Porridge muttered, "76, 77, 78, 79." The planet suddenly exploded, causing them to be knocked around from the blast with Artie, Angie, Clara and Sydney sitting on the steps of the dais, "Farewell, Cyberiad. You know, it's… It's good to get away, good to be a person, it's good not to be lonely or Emperor of 1,000 galaxies, with everybody waiting for me to tell them what to do."
"Can't you run away again?" Artie asked him.
"Maybe it's not that simple, Artie," Sydney surmised as he looked at Porridge, "Being the Emperor isn't something you can just escape from, right?"
You're right, young man, they'll be keeping a close eye on me this time," Porridge confirmed, "That's what happens when you're Emperor, loneliest job in the universe."
"You don't have to be lonely," Clara told him as the Doctor, Rose and Sydney smiled at her caring nature with both older Gallifreyans standing on the opposite side of the dais as the Doctor had his arms crossed.
"I don't," Porridge realised with a smile on his face before he turned around and faced Clara as he got down on one knee, "Clara, will you marry me?"
The Doctor, Rose and Sydney were all stunned by the question with Sydney having a hint of jealousy on his face.
"What?" Clara asked Porridge with disbelief in her voice.
"He said…" Artie began to answer.
"She heard what he said," Angie interrupted her brother.
"You're smart and you're beautiful, and I've never met anyone like you before," Porridge told Clara, "And being Emperor won't be as hard if you're by my side. And you'd rule 1,000 galaxies."
"This sounds like an actual marriage proposal. Tricky," the Doctor stated as he leaned over Porridge's right shoulder, "Now, if you want my advice…"
"You, not one word," Clara ordered him, "This is between me and the Emperor."
"Clara's right, this has to be between her and Porridge," Rose said, agreeing with her husband, "It wouldn't be right if we were to interfere with her decision." She then noticed a look of jealousy on Sydney's face, "Don't worry, Sid, I don't think she'll accept the proposal."
"I hope you're right, Mum," Sydney replied with a small smile on his face.
"Porridge, it's like Rose said, I don't want to rule 1,000 galaxies," Clara told Porridge as behind Porridge's back, the Doctor gave her a thumbs-up with his right hand and nodded his head.
"Yeah," Porridge muttered to himself, "How silly of me."
"I'm really sorry," Clara apologised before she looked at Sydney with a soft smile, "Some things… and some people are important to me."
Sydney's smile grew a bit wider as he met Clara's gaze, picking up on her unspoken words.
"But that's stupid. You could be queen of the universe," Angie told her nanny with disbelief in her voice, "How can you say 'No' to that? When someone asks you if you want to be queen of the universe, you say, 'Yes.' You watch, one day, I'll be queen of the universe."
As she finished speaking, Porridge smiled at Angie's declaration of going to be queen of the universe some day.
"Of course, I could have you all executed, which is what a proper Emperor would do," Porridge stated as he stood back up.
"You're not actually going to do that, though, are you? You don't…" The Doctor began to say before Porridge smiled and chuckled at him, causing the Doctor to point his right hand's index finger at him, "Oh, you're... Hey?"
"Go on, get out of here," Porridge ordered them, "All of you, before I change my mind."
With that said, the Doctor, Rose and Sydney headed for the TARDIS with the children following them. Clara stood back up and saluted Porridge with her right hand as he nodded back at her before she joined them. As he watched them leave, Porridge sat on the second step of the dais.
"Thank you for having me," Artie told the Doctor Rose and Sydney as they stood inside the TARDIS with Clara and Angie as the nanny leaned against the console as he shook the Doctor's left hand with his right hand before he shook Rose and Sydney's hands as well, "It was very interesting."
"Our pleasure," the Doctor replied, "Thank you for coming."
"Yeah, thanks for coming with us on this adventure," Rose said, agreeing with her husband.
"It was great having you along, Artie," Sydney added with a smile on his face, "Glad you enjoyed it."
"Now, we've got something for you," the Doctor told Angie as he ran around the console as she followed him, "It's not from me, Rose or Sydney! It's from the TARDIS!" He then grabbed a similar-looking phone to Angie and handed it to her, "Ah! New phone."
"Thanks," Angie muttered with a smile on her face.
"You're welcome," the Doctor replied.
"Sorry I said this box was stupid," Angie apologised as she shook the Doctor's right hand with her own right hand before she shook Rose's and Sydney's hands as well before she headed for the door.
"Bye!" All three Gallifreyans exclaimed as they waved the children goodbye with their right hands.
"Bye," Angie replied as she waved them back with her left hand as she left the TARDIS.
"Thanks, Clara, Rose and Doctor," Artie replied as he followed his sister out of the TARDIS, "Thanks, Clara's boyfriend!"
As the children left the TARDIS, Clara walked over to stand beside the Doctor, Rose and Sydney.
"Thank you, Doctor and Rose," Clara told both older Gallifreyans, "You too, Sydney."
"For what?" The Doctor asked her.
"Isn't it obvious?" Rose retorted with a smirk on her face.
"Yeah, what Mum said," Sydney said, agreeing with his mother.
"Exactly, kids' day out, getting us off the planet alive, whatever you and Rose were both doing with the Cybermen," Clara explained, causing the Doctor to nod his head, "Good night, you three." She then walked towards the TARDIS' door, "See you three next Wednesday."
"Well, a…a Wednesday, definitely," the Doctor corrected her, "Next Wednesday, last Wednesday."
"Yes, definitely a Wednesday," Rose said, agreeing with her husband.
"Absolutely, a Wednesday for sure," Sydney added with a grin on his face.
"One of the Wednesdays," the Doctor muttered to himself as Clara opened the TARDIS' door with her right hand and left the ship before she closed the door behind her, "Impossible girl. A mystery wrapped in an enigma… always keeping us on our toes."
"Couldn't have said it better myself," Rose told her husband with a thoughtful look in her eyes, "She does make things interesting."
"Yeah, she really does," Sydney added with a hint of admiration in his eyes.
"Anyways, Clara, what are you?" The Doctor asked himself as he turned around and set the TARDIS in motion as Rose and Sydney exchanged a glance.
"Signs of any Cybertech remaining?" Porridge asked one of his techs as he sat on his throne on the dais of the Imperial Flagship.
"No, Majesty," one of the techs answered.
"You ever wanted to be Emperor, Gloria?" Porridge asked her as he twiddled his fingers.
"No, Majesty," Gloria answered.
"That's the right answer," Porridge replied, "Come on, let's go home."
As the Imperial Flagship began to leave the area of space they were in, the techs nor did anyone on board didn't notice a Cybermite floating nearby from the ship's scanners.
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