Weeks passed since the incident; Paul found more details about the unknown species that lurked within the European forests that influenced generations of people in the surrounding areas.
He was correct that they weren't aliens, native creatures of earth that evolved to steal features from humans as they became prominent, and the creatures adapted to look the part.
There was a rare condition where one can develop, preventing it from looking like a human, which the doctor alluded to when discussing his brother.
If it attempted, the features simply disappear within a short period, forcing the affected to remain in the forest, while the unaffected mingled among the humans, like the doctor.
Though their numbers dropped heavily during the world wars from the constant bombing and conscription, that the TARDIS concluded that there's only a million left on Earth, a sharp decline from when humans lived in hamlets along the countryside, the numbers to projected to drop further, as the creatures become incapable of blending and stealing from unsuspecting humans.
How the doctor managed to take features from one human to transplant to another without complications, another genetic quirk, and a creature heavily endowed with human culture that it siphoned from those suffering from low self-esteem.
With the war, it doubled considerably, due to people escaping the war zones and persecution, their desperation proved lucrative for the doctor.
Regarding the voice that penetrated his fortified mind, Paul hadn't found the identity of who the voice belonged to, the TARDIS was of no use in that regard.
There's still bits and pieces of his memory missing, likely the work of the voice, insistent on keeping him from telling all, though it didn't make sense not to wipe his mind of the whole thing entirely, unless there's a reason.
If it wanted him to remember the promise, it'd make more sense to wipe his memory, then bring it back when appropriate.
Still, Paul waited for that day, the reason for the voice wanting to speak with him, the reason for this secrecy.
Regarding Rebecca's fate, it should come to no surprise that though the events of the adventure were life changing for her, she still went ahead with her desire in changing her appearance.
Implants, hair treatments that restored her hair to its natural state but allowed her to have the colour of her dreams, and a new procedure where it allowed her to have her blue eyes without the need of contacts, via removing the pigmentation of the iris, thus exposing the underlying blues.
Though saddened, Paul knew that they couldn't always change events they didn't like, and hoped that Rebecca's comfortable in her own skin, now.
Now that the adventure's behind them, Paul and Taylor were on their latest, a man contacted Paul, insisted that he come to a seedy bar on a desert planet somewhere past Nova, claiming to know him.
So, that's what he and Taylor set out doing, arriving outside Moratorium, a local joke from times' before, where his contact waited for him inside.
"Malcom…" Taylor pondered the identity of the man who contacted Paul, no one came to mind, and as Paul led her inside Moratorium, he mused that Malcom might've encountered a different Doctor.
It happens, causes some peculiar situations, sometimes comedic, sometimes embarrassing, and sometimes strange and bizarre.
Per the oath, Paul is the Doctor that Malcom contacted.
He'll have to pick up the visual cues and whatnot to play the part until he can understand Malcom.
Covering her nose as the smell hit her, Taylor winced at the strong smell of smoke coming from all the different cigarettes and cigars lit in all corners of the bar.
Some strong, some subtle, some sweet, some sickeningly impossible to get out of her nose, overpowering each other as she moved through the bar towards the back with Paul guiding her, mindful of their steps, and attempting to avoid eye contact with anyone other than Malcom.
Uncouth characters among the scenery, chattering away to their closest circles, paying no attention to her and Paul's entrance.
Music played by a stylized jukebox at the center of the bar, a few figures hung by it, drinks in hand, arguing about what music to play next in their native tongues.
There's graffiti sprayed or carved into the walls around the bar, slurs, names, name it, they're everywhere, among the graffiti there's holes from bar fights, some stained with old blood.
Some stained with fresh blood, from a previous fight.
They stood out like two sore thumbs, it's a miracle they had gotten far into the bar without someone picking up on this and taking advantage of the situation.
Seeing everyone drunk and too deep within their own worlds, they're too preoccupied seeing them, long as they stay their distance, the illusion won't break, and there won't be trouble.
Located in the far back, towards the corner, a lone man sat with a drink in his hand, shaggy hair, a full beard, weathered skin, and his blue eyes darkened by the lack of lighting in the corner.
Hard to tell how old he is, due to his weathered appearance, but he couldn't be no older than forty years old.
He moved his head when he saw them approaching and didn't say anything when they took their seats across from him.
Paul opened the dialogue first, inquiring if the man across from him and Taylor was indeed Malcom, and he affirmed with a subtle nod that he was, before asking if Paul was the Doctor.
"I am," Paul affirmed, though he saw doubts in Malcom's eyes as he stared at him, confusion as he brought his drink to his lips.
Resting his drink on the weathered table, Malcom mentions, "Last time I saw you, you wore a suit."
Slowly nodding as he showed Malcom a disarming smile, Paul affirmed once again, he's the one and the same, though the truth is stranger than fiction.
Shrugging, Malcom didn't push on the matter, instead he proceeded to tell Paul why he sought him out.
"Doctor, do you recall when you came to our school all those years ago?" Malcom asks if Paul remembered when he arrived at his school, Grissom Academy, to which Paul haphazardly replied he did.
Gesturing with one hand, Malcom then asked if he remembered the peculiar object that was donated to the school.
Paul leaned heavily on what little context he knew to get the information he needed from Malcom.
With ease, Paul learnt that a different Doctor came to the school to assist in the identification of an unusual item donated to it, but from the sounds of it, it'd appear that it was nothing more than a graphite sculpture, nothing worth the time and effort put into studying it, to which Malcom then bitterly tells Paul what happened soon after.
It happened when Malcom went on an internship, he was set coming back the following week, when he received the horrible news, his school was attacked, and there were no survivors.
"Attacked?" Taylor raised her brow as she hears this, Malcom affirming what he said with a solemn look as he described how it looked like a war zone when he swiftly returned, desperate for any sign of life, finding only destruction and death.
Curious, Paul asked who or what attacked the school, and the answer made his eyes widened as Malcom told him, "Some mechanical soldiers from another world, robots, but they weren't... they were like..."
Paul finished his sentence as air trapped in his throat, "... Cybermen..."
Slowly looking towards him, Malcom affirmed Paul's fears as he expressed horror such things existed, questioning why they attacked Grissom Academy.
"Why did they attack the school, Doctor, what did we do to deserve their ire?" Malcom wanted to know why, but Paul could not answer his questions.
His mind racing, Paul tried to find reason for Cybermen attacking a school, but not take people to be turned, as Malcom confirmed there were no survivors.
Going back to the object a previous Doctor attempted to study, Paul inquired if it was among the ashes, but Malcom struggled as he mentioned not seeing it among the rubble, but his mind was elsewhere at the moment.
Understandable.
"Why would the Cybermen attack the school, Doctor, at its core it has always been a school of science, not war!" Malcom looked Paul in his angel eyes, desperate for answers, why these strange machines attacked the school, his only home.
Clearing his throat, Paul explained, "They don't attack without reason, Malcom. There must've been something that set them off, could it have been the box?"
Scoffing at him, Malcom listlessly shrugs as he stated, "What could've been so damn special about that box, Doctor, it was graphite, you said it yourself!"
Not expecting an outburst from Malcom, Paul stuttered in defense as he spoke, "Well, I suppose we can speculate, but it was just a thought, Malcom, you don't need to take it seriously. It could just be a coincidence, the Cybermen destroying your school in retaliation for something."
But Malcom wasn't convinced, the look in his eyes told Paul he wasn't satisfied with the explanation, and Paul knew he had to elaborate further.
"Cybermen are one of the few most logical machines in the known world. There's a method to their madness. They won't attack without reason. Something set them off. Are you sure there wasn't anything going on in your school, something that could've drawn them to it?" he asks Malcom the possibilities if something they were doing in school might've attracted unwanted attention from the Cybermen.
Malcom frowned deeply as he considered the possibilities, trying to remember everything that happened before the attacks, but he couldn't remember. His memories seemed lost to him as he recalled events that had transpired, like ghosts, there, but not.
"Some of the students kept saying they saw someone, a man, in different spots of the school. The teachers, the headmaster, none of them could find an explanation for it. It got so bad, they had to hire more security guards so the little ones could sleep at night. Their description reminded me of someone me and my butterfly saw, the one we thought was you," Malcom's voice drops as he recalled the incidents leading up to the Cybermen attacking Grissom Academy.
Confusion on Taylor's face, she speaks up as she asks Malcom about his "butterfly" and he proceeded to show her a photograph he kept with him at all times, a picture of himself and his girlfriend.
Grissom Academy's official stance was it didn't allow relationships among its student body, but everyone cooped up in one building for long periods of time, well, it wasn't a surprise that Malcom and Lydia wound up in each other's arms.
"I was going to marry her, Doctor," Malcom tells Paul and Taylor with sorrow in his voice, the confusion, the hate against the Cybermen for taking everything away from him.
Seeing the two in their younger days as she studied the photograph, Taylor could see how much Malcom and Lydia loved each other and felt the sorrow coming from Malcom from losing Lydia to the Cybermen.
"They're still here, Doctor," Malcom tells Paul.
After the attack, Malcom scoured for answers, and with the information from Paul, he put a name and a face to the culprits that destroyed Grissom Academy and slaughtered everybody, allowing him to pinpoint where they went after they attacked.
"Whatever they were looking for, it wasn't at the school," Taylor concluded as she shared looks with Paul.
Rubbing his angel eyes, Paul then asks Malcom, "This man you mentioned, was he doing anything?"
Thinking back, Malcom stated that from what he knew talking to the others, the strange man seemed to appear at random, and always disappeared when someone notices him, like a ghost.
"Could the Cybermen been after him?" Malcom asks Paul.
His brow furrowing, Paul said, "I like to think I know the Cybermen, Mr. Malcom, and if I know them best, whatever is going on, they are our best knowing."
It's not something Paul liked to say, but if they want answers to their questions, they'll have to find a Cyberman and get it to tell them what exactly happened.