4. Meeting the Skeletrons
Inside the police station’s waiting room, Jackie and Mickey had been waiting for a very, very long time. They wondered what they were going to do as they sat in silence for nearly an hour.
“We’ve got to go and find Rose,” Jackie eventually said. “She’s not safe. And it’s all because of that Doctor of hers!”
“The Doctor told us to stay here,” Mickey said.
“And you’re going to listen to him?” Jackie challenged him. “Not worried about Rose, are you?”
“Of course I’m worried about Rose,” Mickey said. “I just don’t think we should ignore him. I kinda…grown a respect for him. You know…seen things from his point of view. Perhaps it’s better this way.”
“Well, think all you like,” Jackie said as she stood up. “I’m going out there to find Rose.”
“The police will try and stop you, Jacks,” Mickey warned her.
“Well, they’re just going to have to be lucky with me, won’t they?” Jackie retorted.
“Where would you go?” Mickey asked her. “Have you any idea of where to start looking?”
Jackie was about to walk away before she stopped in her tracks. She became embarrassed. Very soon, she sat right back down again, feeling annoyed. She said nothing for a short while before she turned to Mickey.
“Alright then. Where would you start?” she asked. “Where would you go? Tell me your ideas on how to find Rose.”
Mickey looked at Jackie for a moment before he looked away. He thought really hard about this. It then occurred to him.
“This muck all started out back at Prof Briggs’ house,” he said. “He’s the one responsible for making Bobby become what he is. Perhaps we should go there.”
“Will Rose be there?” Jackie asked.
“I dunno,” Mickey replied. “But perhaps we may get an idea where the Bobby-Dalek’s taken her. Might give us some clues. If we know where to find any.”
“Well, that’s where I shall go,” Jackie said. “To find Bobby the Dalek. And hopefully find Rose too.”
“On your own?” Mickey questioned.
“You don’t have to come with me if you don’t want to,” Jackie offered. “I can manage by myself okay.”
“I didn’t say I wouldn’t come with you,” Mickey said.
“Good,” Jackie replied. “Cos I’m not asking you to.”
With that, Jackie began to walk out of the police station’s waiting room and out through the front door. After a number of seconds, Mickey eventually got up and followed.
“Hold it there. Jacks,” he called. “I’ll tag along. You might need me in case we get into trouble. We’ll use my car.”
Back inside the TARDIS, the Doctor; Rose and Captain Jack got around the console as they set forth on finding the Bobby-Dalek. The Doctor used the TARDIS’ tracker via the scanners to home in on the tracking beacon he had planted on the Bobby-Dalek.
“Is it working?” Rose asked.
“Just give me a mo,” the Doctor replied. “It should come up any minute now.”
There was no sign at present. All seemed to be dead. The Doctor eventually gave the scanner desktop screen a thud.
“Come on, come on,” he said impatiently.
As he did that, the scanner whirred into life and picked up the signal from the tracking beacon.
“Got it!” the Doctor cheered. “Bobby-Dalek is heading for the centre of the Powell Estate!”
“Bobby, Doctor!” Rose insisted. “Don’t call him Bobby-Dalek! That makes him sound like he ain’t one of us anymore.”
The Doctor ignored Rose as he concentrated. “He’s heading back to his father’s house. Back on Handley Street.”
“Professor Calvin Briggs’ house?” Jack became puzzled. “He’s going to activate the portal from there?”
“Think, Jack,” the Doctor told him. “That would be the best place to activate the portal, wouldn’t it?”
“Because the remaining Skeletron armour is there,” Jack realised. “Bobby’s going to initiate that in order to activate the gateway to Migra-Minor.”
“Bingo!” the Doctor cheered. “Ten points for the winner!”
“But wouldn’t that take time?” Rose asked. “We can stop him, yeah? Before he activates the portal, he can reach him, right”
“Not whilst he’s got the Zorbius crystal,” the Doctor said. “He’ll use it to activate the portal within seconds.”
“We’ve got to find some way of breaking Bobby out of his Dalek conditioning,” Jack said. “To free himself from the machine. If he’s on Migra-Minor for more than ten minutes…”
“His body will start to decay,” the Doctor finished.
“You mean the atmosphere of that planet is radioactive?” Rose asked.
“There’s a high dose of radiation on the planet,” Jack confirmed. “Has been for over fifteen thousand years. But with a hazard bracelet on you, you’ll be okay.”
“But since Bobby hasn’t got a hazard bracelet, he’ll be exposed to the radiation,” the Doctor elaborated further. “He’s got Dalek armour to protect him and he’s mutating into a Dalek by the second. But that’ll just slow the process for him to decay rapidly.”
“Then we’ve got to hurry and reach him before it’s too late,” Rose said.
“Thing is, how are we going to break him out of the Dalek conditioning once he’s freed from the machine casing,” Jack wondered.
“It worked with his fire engine,” the Doctor reminded Jack. “It seemed to be working, didn’t it?”
“But not enough,” Jack said.
“No, it wasn’t,” the Doctor realised. “That’s the puzzling thing. Which begs the question…”
The Doctor became deep in thought for a moment.
Then he realised. “Wait! Just a minute!” And then he let out a cheer of triumph, feeling victorious. “Yes! That’s it! The mirror! It’s all down to mirrors!”
“What do you mean?” Rose asked.
“Mirrors that remove memories!” the Doctor cheered. “Be back in a tick. Just wait here!”
With that, the Doctor ran round to the back of the console room and headed into the back room through the door. Rose and Jack waited as he went off.
“Any thoughts on what he’s planning, Rose?” Jack asked.
“Not a clue,” Rose replied.
Eventually, the Doctor came back, holding a small mirror in his hand.
“Here we are,” the Doctor cheered. “We’ll use this!”
“A mirror?” Rose said dubiously.
“You’re going to use a mirror on the boy?” Jack checked.
“A mirror and a fire engine! See!” the Doctor said, as he showed the mirror and the fire engine in each hand of his, grinning delightedly.
“And how’s a mirror with a fire engine going to help?” Rose asked.
“You’ll see, Rose,” the Doctor. “You’ll see. Come on! We should be nearly there by now. TARDIS materialising already!”
With that, the Doctor ran back to the console, filled with excitement. He watched the time rotor oscillate up and down before it slowly came to a halt. The TARDIS had landed at its destination.
“And this will all help Bobby…” Jack was about to ask ‘how’ before the Doctor interrupted him.
“Confident about it,” the Doctor said. “Now come on! Stop hanging about! When was the last time any of you had doubts about me?”
Rose and Captain Jack gave looks, which the Doctor ignored. Still beaming with delight, the Doctor headed off outside the TARDIS to make for Professor Briggs’ house.
Down in the cellar of Briggs’ house, Jackie and Mickey came down the stairs, having just entered the house via the front door. They made their way down to reach the bottom.
“This is not like you, Jacks,” Mickey said. “Breaking and entering. That’s usually the Doctor’s thing. Or mine.”
“Yeah well, I’ve picked up a few traits from you and the Doctor,” Jackie said. “Ever since Rose did this whole travelling lark…”
“Yeah, you’re telling me,” Mickey interjected. “It would never have happened like this years ago.” Once they’d reached the bottom of the stairs, Mickey said, “Right! Now that we’re down in the cellar, where do you want to start?”
“We look around,” Jackie said. “Find anything. See if there’s anything that leads to Rose.”
“Gotcha.”
Mickey and Jackie went their separate ways as they began to search for clues in the cellar. Mickey approached an old working desk as he began to search through some papers and old documents.
“There’s nothing much around here,” Mickey called out to Jackie. “Pretty boring stuff really.” As he looked through the papers, Mickey saw something of interest. “Though there are some interesting notes by the Professor about some…alien armour and a robot. That must be the Dalek.” He paused for a moment. “If Briggs was around here then he could’ve…”
Just then, Jackie gave out a scream. Mickey immediately ran over to where she was. He held onto her as she sobbed away.
“Jackie? What is it, what’s wrong?” Mickey asked apprehensively.
“He’s dead,” Jackie sobbed, pointing for Mickey to see. “He’s dead, Look!”
Mickey looked and saw what Jackie was pointing at. They saw the dead body of Professor Calvin Briggs, rotting away and slowly decaying. Mickey held his hand to his mouth.
“God, I feel sick,” he rasped.
“He did this,” Jackie realised. “That little boy Bobby. He killed his father!”
“Correct!”
At the sound of the grated voice, Mickey and Jackie turned around to see the Bobby-Dalek behind them. Mickey held onto Jackie as she trembled, afraid.
“Where did you spring from then?” Mickey demanded.
Ignoring the question, the Bobby-Dalek declared, “You shall die. You will both be exterminated!”
“No, you can’t!” Jackie begged. “Please Bobby, don’t!”
“Exterminate! Exterminate!!! Exterminate!!!!” the Bobby-Dalek cried.
But at that moment, before the Bobby-Dalek could even fire, the TARDIS materialised, whooshing and grinding, between it and Jackie and Mickey. Jackie and Mickey became relieved once they saw the TARDIS land with a thump in front of them.
“Rose!” Jackie cried. “She’s alive, Mickey! She’s still alive!”
“She’s in there, Jackie,” Mickey said relieved. “The Doctor, Jack and Rose are in there!”
Inside the TARDIS, the Doctor, Rose and Captain Jack watched via the scanner screen as they saw the Bobby-Dalek in the cellar. They also saw Jackie and Mickey as they came in to land.
The Bobby-Dalek echoed from outside as it spoke, addressing the ship’s pilot. “Doctor! You will come out, Doctor! Come out now!”
The Doctor, Rose and Jack watched the screen, contemplating what they should do next.
“My mum’s out there,” Rose argued. “We’ve to go out there and help her.”
“And Mickey too,” Jack added.
The Doctor became annoyed and grumbled. “Why they have to spoil things, I’ve no idea.”
“They probably came to find us,” Rose suggested. She corrected herself. “Or rather, find me. They wanted to help with whatever we were doing.”
“We’ve got more things to worry about than domestics,” the Doctor argued.
“Doctor!” Rose gritted her teeth.
“Doctor!” the Bobby-Dalek grated from outside, demanding insistently.
Eventually, after a few moments of silence, the Doctor sighed and said, “Alright then. Let’s get this over with, shall we? And let’s keep that Dalek-kid quiet.”
“Very neat landing Doc, I must say,” Jack remarked.
“Thank you, Jack,” the Doctor said pleased. “Easy-peasy is what I say.”
With that, the Doctor, Rose and Captain Jack made their way to exit the TARDIS.
Stepping outside, the Doctor, Rose and Captain Jack faced the Bobby-Dalek. Jackie and Mickey came round beside the TARDIS to reunite with Rose.
“Rose, I’m so glad to see you alive,” Jackie said. “I thought I’d never see you again!”
“Mum, don’t fuss!” Rose told her. “I’m fine!”
Once Rose met up with Mickey, she smiled at him. He smiled back.
“I’m glad to see you, Mickey!” Rose said, relieved.
“Yeah. Good to see you too, Rose,” Mickey replied.
Rose and Mickey hugged each other whilst the Doctor confronted the Bobby-Dalek.
“You’ll really want to think about this, Bobby,” the Doctor said. “If you activate the portal and meet up with the Skeletrons, you’ll find yourself dead.”
“I will not be taken in by your lies,” the Bobby-Dalek grated.
“I’m talking to Bobby, not to you, Dalek,” the Doctor growled. “As far as I’m concerned, the Dalek part of you means nothing to me. It’s Bobby I want to speak to. Let him go, Dalek. Free him!”
“I shall open the portal and be reunited with my brothers,” the Bobby-Dalek announced. “I shall meet up with the Skeletrons on the other side!”
“Think about it,” the Doctor persisted. “Think of what you’re doing, Bobby. The atmosphere on Migra-Minor is lethal!”
“Bobby does not exist, Doctor,” the Bobby-Dalek said. “I am all Dalek!”
Just then, one of the lights on the Dalek’s casing flicked on. Bobby must have switched the light on, the Doctor guessed. Soon, a portal opened and a great, gushing wind came in, nearly blowing everyone off their feet, including Jackie.
Once the Bobby-Dalek had opened the portal, it turned to the Doctor triumphantly and said, “My victory awaits! My ultimate destiny!”
With that, the Bobby-Dalek made to move forward and enter the portal. The Doctor saw Jack lift his arm up to activate the vortex manipulator on his wrist.
“Jack, can you shut it down?” the Doctor asked. “Can you shut down the portal?”
“I can try,” Jack replied. “There’s not enough residual power in this thing, but it should stop the portal long enough from widening.”
Jack worked hard on his vortex manipulator. Soon the portal was beginning to close.
The Bobby-Dalek turned to Jack. “No! You will not shut it down! I forbid it!”
“Sorry, kid,” Jack grinned. “Luck’s run out on you!”
“Exterminate!” the Bobby-Dalek declared.
With that, the Bobby-Dalek opened fire. Jack moved out of the way before he got hit. He fell to the floor in an instant and was knocked out unconscious. Rose came round beside Jack, horrified that he was nearly shot at by the Bobby-Dalek.
“Jack!” Rose cried. “Jack, are you alright?”
Jack was still out cold. Meanwhile, the portal was still expanding.
The Doctor became worried. “It’s not enough! Bobby-Dalek is able to get through!”
This was true as the Bobby-Dalek glided forward to enter the portal.
“See me, Doctor!” the Bobby-Dalek goaded triumphantly. “See me enter for my victory! Victory for Zorbius! Victory for the Daleks! VICTORY!!!!”
The Doctor ran forward, trying to grab at the Bobby-Dalek.
“No! Bobby, no!”
But it was too late. The Bobby-Dalek entered the portal and disappeared from sight. The portal had closed the instant the Bobby-Dalek had entered. All became silent once the portal had closed. The Doctor was horrified as he stood, looking anxiously at where the portal had been, not knowing what to do next.
Rose called him back into reality. “Doctor, help us!” she called to him. “Help with Jack! He’s injured!”
Snapping out of it, the Doctor came round as he helped Rose to lift Captain Jack up from the floor.
In the living room of Professor Briggs’ house, Rose and the Doctor lay Captain Jack on a settee with Jackie and Mickey helping them. They checked on Jack to see him recover from the blast that the Bobby-Dalek had given him.
“Ooh! What hit me?” Jack asked.
“You’re alive!” Rose said pleased. “Oh thank God, you’re alive!”
“‘Course I am,” Jack grinned. “Never doubt it, Rose.”
“Jack’s always alright, Rose,” the Doctor teased her. “You should know he gets himself out of the deadliest of scrapes easily.”
“Hey! What can I say?” Jack laughed. “I’m immortal!”
“That’ll be the day,” Rose joined in.
The Doctor patted Jack on the back. “Feel good to get yourself back on your feet for another trip, Jack boy?”
“Eh, he’s not going anywhere, Doctor,” Rose told him. “He’s hurt.”
“Never mind about me, Rose,” Jack said. “I’ll be alright. And yes, Doctor, I’m ready to go to Migra-Minor. That’s where we’re going, isn’t it?”
“Good man,” the Doctor approved. “Don’t want to waste any more time.”
The Doctor and Rose helped Jack up to his feet and off from the settee. Jackie and Mickey watched, mildly surprised.
“You’re going somewhere?” Mickey asked. “The three of you?”
“Already?” Jackie joined. “With Bobby-Dalek gone and everything?”
“Exactly!” the Doctor replied. “We’re going to chase after Bobby-Dalek. See ya!” He then turned to Mickey. “You’re more than welcome to join us, Mickey boy. But Rose, Jack and I need to go now unless you hurry.”
Mickey thought about it for a moment. Then he shrugged. “Think I’ll pass, Doctor. Thanks anyway.”
“Okay,” the Doctor accepted Mickey’s answered. “Off we go then!”
The Doctor, Rose and Jack were about to go off before Jackie barred their way.
“Not Rose, Doctor,” Jackie said. “She’s not going anywhere!”
The Doctor rolled his eyes whilst Rose approached her mum, taking her to one side.
“Mum, you have to let me go,” she said. “I’ve got to go with Jack and the Doctor. We’ve got to stop Bobby and the Dalek on this planet they’re on.”
“It’s too dangerous for you, Rose!” Jackie persisted. “I don’t want to lose you!”
“Mum!” Rose stressed. “The Doctor and Jack need me far more than ever. Mickey will be here to look after you.”
Jackie was about to protest further before Rose stopped her.
“Don’t let us start a fight now,” she said. “I’ve really got to go!”
As Rose was about to head off with the Doctor and Jack, Mickey took Jackie to one side by the shoulder, gently pulling her away. Jackie became upset at the thought of losing Rose again, whilst Rose turned back to look at her and Mickey.
“Hey!” she called out to them. “I’m coming back. I’ll be back for you both, I promise.” She said this last thing to Mickey in particular.
Mickey looked at Rose and smiled weakly before saying, “Yeah, you’d better.” He paused for a bit and said, “Good luck, “Rose.”
Rose smiled at Mickey before the Doctor dragged her away.
“Come on, Rose,” he said. “In you get into the TARDIS.”
With that, Rose gave one last look to Mickey and Jackie before she joined the Doctor and Captain Jack. The trio went inside the TARDIS where they’d parked it in the living room. As soon as they’d entered, the TARDIS dematerialised, whooshing and groaning as it went. The blue police box faded away as Jackie and Mickey watched it go. Jackie moved away from Mickey to stand in the empty space where the TARDIS had been.
“I’m worried, Mickey,” Jackie said. “I’m afraid she won’t come back.”
Mickey reached out a hand to Jackie and she took it.
“Yeah,” he grunted. “Feel the same way too. Hope she, the Doctor and Captain Jack know what they’re doing – wherever they are.”
On the planet surface of Migra-Minor, everything was dismal. There was nothing there. No vegetation can be found. No plants or any sign of civilisation. It was empty. Very soon, a portal opened in mid-air and the Bobby-Dalek glided out. Once the Bobby-Dalek was on the planet surface, the portal closed in an instant.
“I have…I have…arrived,” the Bobby-Dalek stammered. “Migra-Minor…waits for me!”
The Bobby-Dalek began to groan. It felt the radiation affecting the boy inside the casing. But it wasn’t going to be bothered by that. The Bobby-Dalek was determined.
“Must…reach…the Skeletrons,” it struggled to grate. “I…must…find…them…find them…find them.”
Eventually however, it needn’t look no further. A squad of Skeletron Hunters came out from some cave dwellings nearby. They were armed with swords and arm blasters which contained the ‘deepening rain’.
“My brothers!” the Bobby-Dalek grated. “I have…found you…at last! I have…the Zorbius…crystal…with me. We can…move ahead…with our conquests.”
“You have the Zorbius crystal?” the first Skeletron checked, speaking in its cybernetic voice. “It is in your possession?”
The Bobby-Dalek raised the Zorbius crystal in its sucker stick to show it to the Skeletrons. It clutched the crystal tightly in its sucker stick.
“Did you…ever doubt…I would get it?” the Bobby-Dalek asked. “With our minds…combined…the boy and the Dalek…we are…invincible!”
“We shall see,” the second Skeletron said. “We must make our way to the tower.”
Just then, the TARDIS materialised nearby, wheezing and groaning as it did so. The Bobby-Dalek and the Skeletrons turned to see the TARDIS, as it landed on the ground with a loud thump. The Skeletrons and the Bobby-Dalek became horrified.
“You were followed!” the first Skeletron said accusingly to the Bobby-Dalek. “How could you let the Doctor follow you here?”
“I…do not…understand,” the Bobby-Dalek stuttered. “How…is this…possible? The Doctor…does not…have…the coordinates…for this…place…to find me…here.”
The TARDIS doors soon opened and the Doctor stepped out, grinning delightfully as ever. Rose and Captain Jack were behind him. They wore hazard bracelets to protect themselves from the radiation on the planet.
“That’s where you’re wrong, Bobby boy,” the Doctor said. “You’ve still got that tracking beacon on your Dalek casing that I latched onto you. I can find you wherever and whenever I like.”
“Skeletrons!” the first Skeletron barked. “Kill him! Kill the Doctor!”
The Skeletrons drew their swords and began to approach the Doctor.
The Doctor turned to them. “Ah! I see you’ve brought some old friends! How nice!”
The Bobby-Dalek glided forward in front of the Skeletrons to face the Doctor.
“Let me…kill him,” the Bobby-Dalek demanded. “I shall…kill…the Doctor…with…pleasure! Let me…kill him! Let me…exterminate him!”
The Skeletron leader thought for a moment as it bit its skeletal teeth.
“Very well,” it eventually said. “You may kill him. You may exterminate the Doctor.”
Satisfied, the Bobby-Dalek began to raise its gun-stick and aim directly at the Doctor. As the Doctor stepped forward, Rose tried to stop him. She was horrified to see the Skeletrons, but she was even more horrified about the thought of the Bobby-Dalek killing the Doctor.
“Doctor, he’s going to kill you!” Rose told him.
“It’s alright, Rose,” the Doctor reassured her. “It’s alright. I know what I’m doing.”
Jack held Rose back whilst the Doctor approached the Bobby-Dalek. Eventually, the Doctor took out the toy fire engine and the small mirror he’d carrying in his leather jacket pockets. He held them directly at the Bobby-Dalek for it to see.
“See these, Bobby?” the Doctor asked. “See them?”
“Another…one…of your tricks…Doctor,” the Bobby-Dalek stammered. “I shall not…fall…fall…for…another…trick…”
The Bobby-Dalek trailed off once it saw the fire engine. It soon looked straight into the mirror that the Doctor held in his hand. Soon, the Bobby-Dalek seemed to be losing concentration. It was almost forgetting its purpose.
“Look at it, Bobby,” the Doctor prompted him.
The Bobby-Dalek became distracted. “I…remember. I…recall…who I was…before…”
“Look at it, Bobby Briggs,” the Doctor continued. “Look at the mirror.”
As the Bobby-Dalek looked, the Skeletron leader tried to intervene.
“Stop this! Stop this at once!” it demanded impatiently. “Kill the Doctor! Exterminate him! That’s what you wanted, isn’t it, Dalek?”
But the Bobby-Dalek didn’t hear the Skeletron. The Skeletron leader became angrier by the second.
“Very well!” it said. “I shall kill him myself!”
With that, the Skeletron raised its sword and began to charge at the Doctor.
“No!” Rose cried. “Doctor!”
But the Skeletron leader got no further towards the Doctor as it was shot at by the Bobby-Dalek, who fired its gun-stick at it. The Skeletron’s body crumbled to the floor once it had been shot at. It robotic parts began to break apart. There was a cry of pain echoing from inside the Bobby-Dalek. It turned into a loud shriek as the boy from within began to break away from the Dalek.
“What is happening?” a distorted voice echoed from inside the Dalek casing. “What is happening…to me?”
Very soon, the Dalek casing opened and the human boy Bobby fell out of it. The Dalek casing closed up once the boy Bobby fell out. As Bobby shrieked in pain on the ground, the Dalek mutant from inside its casing shrieked as it was divided from Bobby.
The Doctor couldn’t be more pleased than ever. “Fantastic!” he cheered. “It worked! Absolutely fantastic!”
“What is it, Doctor?” Rose asked, curious. “What did you just do?”
“No time to explain,” the Doctor said. “Rose; Jack, help me get the boy out of here!”
With that, Rose and Jack joined the Doctor as they helped to lift the boy Bobby up off from the ground.
“Where do we go from here?” Jack asked.
“Back into the TARDIS,” the Doctor said. “Before the radiation on this planet immediately gets to him! Come on!”
Without arguing, the Doctor, Rose and Jack carried the boy with them to get him inside the TARDIS. They pushed the doors inwards to carry Bobby inside. Once they carried him inside, the Dalek had recovered. But it was too late for the Dalek as the TARDIS doors closed once the trio and the boy were inside.
“Stop! Stop!” the Dalek grated.
Very soon, the TARDIS began to dematerialise, whooshing and grinding as it went. The ship took the Doctor, Rose, Captain Jack and Bobby the boy back into time and space. Soon, the TARDIS was gone and the Daleks and the Skeletron were left remaining on the planet.
“You have lost the boy,” the second Skeletron accused the Dalek.
“It is of no consequence,” the Dalek grated. “We still have the Zorbius crystal! The Doctor did not seek to take it from me. An advantage for us. The Doctor’s weakness is compassion for others.”
“Then we can still carry on with our plans,” the Skeletron said. “Zorbius will be ours!”
“Yes!” the Dalek agreed. “We shall become victorious!”
Inside the TARDIS, the Doctor, Rose and Captain Jack checked on Bobby. They laid him down on the TARDIS console room floor for him to rest. They noticed that his skin was reverting from a pale white to a normal skin tone. He was becoming less of a Dalek and more of a human.
“Will he be alright?” Rose asked. “He’s not going to die, is he?”
“The TARDIS should stabilise his condition,” Jack said. “He shouldn’t have been affected long by the radiation out there.”
“Let’s leave him here until we sort this mess out,” the Doctor said. “He should be back to normal soon. No worries; no fuss. All safe and sound.”
Just then, Bobby began to stir.
“Daddy,” he wheezed. “Daddy, where are you? Are you there, daddy?”
Rose felt uncomfortable as she stood up with Jack and the Doctor.
“Like you said, Doctor,” she said. “Let’s stop that Dalek and those skeleton things.”
“Agreed,” Jack joined in. “The Daleks and the Skeletons could be causing a lot of trouble by now.”
The Doctor checked on the TARDIS scanner at the console with Rose and Jack joining him. They observed what was going on with the Dalek and the Skeletrons whilst the TARDIS was in flight nearby.
“Where’re they going?” Rose asked. “What’re they doing?”
“They’re heading towards an abandoned building,” Jack checked the scanner. “The Dalek’s going to be using that Zorbius crystal at some point.”
“Not on my watch,” the Doctor announced. “We’ll set the TARDIS to land nearby that abandoned building before we can sort out the Dalek and the Skeletrons whilst Bobby boy sleeps inside the TARDIS.”
With that, the Doctor set the controls. The TARDIS wheezed and groaned, heading towards the abandoned building where the Dalek and the Skeletrons were heading.
Out on the wastelands, the Dalek and the Skeletrons approached the abandoned building. The Dalek raised its eye-stalk to look up and see it. The building had seen better days.
“This is suitable,” the Dalek grated. “We shall conduct our transmission of power at the top of the building.”
“You have the Zorbius crystal safe?” the second Skeletron, who had now become leader, checked.
“It is inside my Dalek casing,” the Dalek replied. “I shall not free myself from it until we have reached the top.”
“You’d better give it to me,” the new Skeletron leader suggested. “I shall…”
“No!” the Dalek snapped. “The Zorbius crystal shall not leave my possession! I will give it to you once we reach the top of the building!”
“Just remember, Dalek,” the Skeletron warned. “The Zorbius crystal belongs to us!”
“And you should learn to remember the importance of incompetence,” the Dalek bit back. “Do not fail me! You shall take the crystal from me to place it into the transmitter.”
“We don’t have to be reminded by you, Dalek,” the Skeletron retorted.
A moment of tense silence ensued.
“Have you secured the transmitter equipment?” the Dalek enquired.
“Everything has been carried out,” the Skeletron replied, “according to your specifications.”
“Excellent!” the Dalek said pleased. “You Skeletrons make good servants.”
“We serve Zorbius and no-one else,” the Skeletron reminded the Dalek. “Let us go inside, shall we?”
With that, the Dalek trundled forward as it and the Skeletrons made to go inside the abandoned building. They entered via the jarred doors.
Close by, the Doctor, Rose and Captain Jack followed behind the Dalek and the Skeletrons to see them go inside the building. They had left the TARDIS once they had parked it nearby.
“They’ve gone in!” Jack said. “They’re heading for the top.”
“We’re too late then,” Rose said.
“Never too late, Rose,” the Doctor said determined. “Never! If only we knew what they’re going to do with the Zorbius crystal.”
“Sure you don’t want to use your TARDIS to find out?” Rose asked.
“Doctor!” Jack interrupted. “Up top! There’s a transmitter of some kind! Look!”
The Doctor stood back where Jack was standing. Taking out his binoculars from his leather jacket, the Doctor looked through them to see what was going at the top of the building. Zooming in, the Doctor could see the transmitter placed on top very clearly.
“You’re right, Jack,” the Doctor said. “It is a massive transmitter. Now why would they want that…?” Trailing off, the Doctor soon began to realise. “Oh no!” he cried. “Of course! Oh how thick am I?! I’m so completely thick, aren’t I?”
“What is it; what’s wrong?” Rose asked, puzzled.
“Up top!” the Doctor began to explain. “That transmitter is for sending out signals to summon more Dalek armies. The Dalek is going to use the Zorbius crystal to achieve that objective.”
“Dalek armies?!” Jack became astounded and shocked. “Dalek warships, you mean?”
“But you said that the Daleks were extinct,” Rose reminded him. “They died in the Time War, remember?”
“And the Dalek is going to use the Zorbius crystal to break the Daleks out of the Time War,” the Doctor continued. “To break the time lock!”
“Can they really do that?” Rose asked, shocked.
“The Zorbius crystal can do anything,” the Doctor said. “It can bring chaos and disorder just as much as it can change things for the better.”
“But what about the Skeletrons?” Jack asked. “They own the Zorbius crystal. They won’t be happy about it.”
“The Dalek won’t care,” the Doctor said. “It’ll have used the Skeletrons for what it wants. It’ll exterminate them.”
“That’s just sick,” Rose said, disgusted. “We’ve got to stop this! We’ve got to get up to the top of that building!”
“Not you, Rose!” the Doctor said. “Not even you, Jack. You two stay here.”
“But Doctor,” Rose began to protest.
“I’m not going to argue!” the Doctor snapped. “You lot stay down here! This whole Zorbius business started with me. I’m going to see it through to its end.”
“Don’t say that, Doctor,” Rose stressed. “You’re going to need our help! We’re coming with you, Jack and me!”
“Rose, I won’t ask you again!” the Doctor persisted. “Stay down here! Listen to me, just this once!”
“I won’t let you…”
“Rose!” Jack interrupted her. “We’ll stay down here like the Doctor says.”
“But Jack…”
“Please Rose. We should listen to him.”
Eventually, Rose gave in. She wasn’t happy with the decision, but she soon relented.
“Thank you,” the Doctor said satisfied. “Now I’ll be as quick as I can. We’ll be all home in time for tea before you know it. Wish me luck, you two. And if I’m going to die, let’s hope it’s a good one.”
With that, the Doctor ran off to head inside the building. He made his way up the path to head for the stairway that led to the rooftop where the Dalek and the Skeletrons were. Rose and Jack watched as the Doctor ran off.
Rose turned to Jack. “This isn’t like you,” she said. “You’re always one for adventure. Not to stay down here like the Doctor says.”
“The Doctor doesn’t know of another way in I’ve just found out,” Jack told her, winking as he did so.
Rose stared at Jack for a few moments before she suddenly realised. She smiled at him, delighted.
“You mean…Oh you’re so loving this, aren’t you?”
“We just follow the Doctor via another route,” Jack told her. “Come on, Rose! Playtime!”
With that, Captain Jack took Rose’s hand and they headed off around the building to reach the top via another entrance.
On the rooftop of the abandoned building, the Dalek approached the transmitter. The Skeletrons followed behind the Dalek. The Dalek turned to the new Skeletron leader and opened up its casing to reveal the Zorbius crystal inside.
“Take it!” the Dalek commanded. “Place the Zorbius crystal into the transmitter.”
The new Skeletron leader eagerly complied as it took the crystal out from the Dalek. It placed the crystal into the transmitter itself whilst the Dalek closed up its casing. The transmitter started to power up and the Skeletron leader made its way over to the transmitter controls to check its instruments.
“Transmitter is working at full power,” it stated. “Signals are ready to be sent out. Zorbius is ours to command!”
“Excellent!” the Dalek said pleased. It then turned its eye-stalk at the Skeletron leader and its minions and slowly raised its gun-stick at them. “Exterminate! Exterminate! EXTERMINATE!!!”
The Dalek opened fire at the Skeletrons. All but the leader collapsed to the rooftop floor. Their robotic suits crumbled to waste. The Skeletron leader turned to the Dalek.
“You betrayed us!” it said bitterly. “You killed your allies! You helped us just as much as we helped you!”
“And you shall die for your usage,” the Dalek grated. “Your purpose has been served.”
“No!” the Skeletron leader barked. “Stop this!”
“Exterminate!” the Dalek ignored the Skeletron leader.
The Skeletron leader attempted to lunge forward and draw its sword at the Dalek. But the Dalek was too quick. It fired its gun-stick at the Skeletron leader. The Skeletron leader screeched before it collapsed to the rooftop floor. Once it had killed the Skeletrons, the Dalek swerved around and attended to the transmitter.
“Victory will be ours!” the Dalek declared. “The Daleks shall be released! We shall be the victors!”
“Stop right there!” someone shouted.
The Dalek turned round to see the Doctor running towards him. The Doctor stopped once he was in jumping distance away from the transmitter. The Dalek trained its weapon on him.
“Do not approach the transmitter, Doctor,” the Dalek barked. “Do not approach!”
“Oh I wouldn’t dare,” the Doctor said. “I know very well what would happen if I did.”
“You will be exterminated if you take one more step,” the Dalek said. “One more step and you will have gained nothing!”
“I’m giving you one last chance, Dalek,” the Doctor said. “End this now or I’ll stop you!”
“Daleks do not surrender!” the Dalek grated. “Daleks never surrender!”
“Then you leave me no choice,” declared the Doctor. “Here it goes!”
With that, the Doctor stood still and closed his eyes tight shut. He attempted to mind-link with the Zorbius crystal. Very soon, the transmitter began to shake and shudder. The Zorbius crystal was about to break free from the transmitter terminal.
The Dalek saw what was happening and panicked. “No! You cannot do this! Cease, Doctor! Stop or I will kill you! Cease! Cease!!! CEASE!!!”
The Doctor didn’t listen as he managed to summon the Zorbius crystal out from the transmitter. The crystal charged out from the terminal and ended up in the Doctor’s hand as he caught it firmly. Holding it in mid-air, the Doctor opened his eyes and grinned delightedly at the Dalek.
“Mine I think, Dalek,” he said. “Your loss.”
“You will not enjoy your victory, Doctor,” the Dalek declared. “You will be exterminated!”
The Dalek’s anger overtook him as it prepared to exterminate. The Doctor closed his eyes, preparing for what was to come. Just as the Dalek was about to open fire, a shout came nearby.
“Not on my watch, you don’t!”
The Doctor opened his eyes and saw Rose charging towards him. He was pushed down to the ground by her, causing the Dalek to miss its target. Rose saved the Doctor as they both ended up in a heap on the floor together. Both looked at each other, happy and delighted to see each other.
“Rose!” the Doctor began. “I thought I told you to stay downstairs.”
“And I just showed up in the nick of time,” Rose pointed out to him.
The Doctor smiled and said, “Glad you came by to save me.”
“Yeah, me too,” Rose replied.
Meanwhile, the Dalek became angry as it recharged its weapon. It changed its aim on the Doctor and Rose.
“You will not escape me!” the Dalek declared. “You will die, Doctor! You and your associate! Die now, Doctor! Exterminate…”
But the Dalek was cut off short as it got exterminated by a sonic blast of energy nearby. The Dalek blew up and exploded into pieces. Casing and mutant creature scattered all over the place. The Doctor and Rose turned to look. They saw Jack nearby, as he had just used his sonic blaster to blow up the Dalek and rescue Rose and the Doctor. Jack cheered triumphantly once he had blown up the Dalek.
“Dalek nil; Jack the Dalek killer,” he declared. “Though some day, I really need to get myself a big gun for these sorts of occasions. Sonic blaster’s good enough, but still…”
The Doctor and Rose got up to their feet as they reunited with Jack. Soon, the Doctor checked the Zorbius crystal was in tact before he placed it into his leather jacket.
“Is that alright now?” Rose asked. “The Zorbius crystal is safe.”
“Yes it is,” the Doctor answered happily. “Nicely done. Thank you, all.”
“But what about the energy fragment?” Jack asked. “The one we were supposed to get. Is it in these Skeletron remains? Or was it, since they’re now all dead?”
“As well as that Dalek,” Rose pointed out. “It could’ve had it…”
“No,” the Doctor interrupted them. “The Zorbius energy was inside Bobby when he was mutating to become a Dalek. And eventually when he did become a Dalek with the Zorbius crystal intact, all that energy was transferred into the crystal. All of that Zorbius energy was taken out of Bobby once he’d been freed from the Dalek. He doesn’t have it, neither does the Dalek nor the Skeletrons. It’s all safely tucked away in this crystal.”
“So it’s done,” Rose said relieved. “We’ve managed to do it. We’ve saved the day.”
“And the universe,” the Doctor reminded her. “That as well, Rose.”
“I don’t believe it,” Rose laughed.
“Neither do I,” Jack joined in. “But hey, that’s time travel for you.”
“And the Daleks,” Rose checked again. “They won’t get the call. They won’t escape the Time War.”
“The Dalek didn’t get to send its message,” the Doctor told her. “We got here just in time. That’s me all over, I suppose. I usually prefer to be on time at the right place and the right time, you know.”
The trio laughed for a bit whilst they stood on the rooftop. Eventually, they set off back down the building to return to the TARDIS where they had parked it.
Back on Earth in the 21st century, in the living room of the Tylers’ flat, the Doctor; Rose and Captain Jack sat with Mickey; Jackie and little boy Bobby. They were having chips and cups of tea. They all sat happily on sofas in the living room, reflecting on the success of their adventure.
“Thank you for bringing Rose back to me, Doctor,” Jackie said. “I’m glad she’s alright.”
The Doctor grinned. “I wouldn’t let anything happen to her, Jackie,” he said. “Never ever.”
“See, Mum!” cheered Rose. “I told you I’d come back.”
Jackie smiled, if a little half-heartedly.
Jack sat up and turned to the Doctor eagerly. “So, what will you do now with all that technology of the Skeletrons? Just leave it there on the planet.”
“‘Course not,” the Doctor replied. “The owners of the Archive Stores on Migra-Minor will sort it out. They’re very good keepers, those librarians on Migra-Minor. All that Skeletron stuff and Dalek stuff will be stored, waiting to be picked up. Leave it for a hundred years and I’ll see what I can do with it. Given time.”
“And Bobby?” Rose asked. “You’re sure Bobby won’t kill anyone else again? He’s not a Dalek anymore, is he?”
“Bobby’s a little boy again as he should be, Rose,” the Doctor cheered. He then turned to Bobby. “You won’t hurt anyone else now again will you, Bobby boy?”
Bobby nodded before he turned to Jackie and said apologetically, “I’m very sorry, Mrs. Tyler. I didn’t mean to hurt you. I didn’t know what I was doing. Please forgive me.”
Jackie smiled and placed a reassuring hand on Bobby. “There’s nothing to forgive, Bobby,” she said. “I’m just glad to see you okay.”
With that, Bobby hugged Jackie for warmth. She received him gladly.
Rose leaned in on the Doctor. “What are we going to do about Bobby?” she asked. “He’s lost his dad. There’s no one to care for him.”
The Doctor thought for a moment. It never occurred to him to consider the ramifications of Bobby’s current position.
Then it was Mickey who spoke. “I’ll find someone to look after Bobby,” he said. “I know this charity that does kid stuff. I’m sure there’s someone who will look after him.”
“Nice one, Mickey,” the Doctor cheered. “Who says that you’re a waste of space? You do us all proud looking out for Bobby.”
Mickey smiled at that. Rose smiled too. She eventually went over to join Mickey and sat by him on the sofa. She looked at him once she sat by him.
“I did mean what I said, Mickey,” she said. “That I would come back for you. For you and for Mum. You’re the home I always want to see.”
Mickey wasn’t sure what to make of that. But he smiled all the same.
“Yeah thanks, Rose,” he said. “Glad to hear it.”
“And I would like to see you again,” she added. “I would like to come back and see you, if you don’t mind.”
Mickey considered this for a moment, before he eventually smiled at her.
“Yeah,” he said. “So long as you come back for me and your mum, that’ll be fine.”
Rose smiled before she eventually hugged him, glad that they reconciled their differences. The Doctor observed from afar. He had a mild expression on his face.
Jackie picked this up and objected. “Hang on! You’re making it sound like that you’re still carrying on with this time-travel malarkey. You only just had an adventure. Don’t you want to stop?”
The Doctor beamed at Jackie. “Always moving on. Never stopping to rest. Resting’s for sheep. Not like us. Not like the team I’ve got.”
“There’s always so much more to look forward to, Mum,” Rose joined in. “The thrill of an adventure always waiting out there.”
“And we always go for it,” Jack added. “All new worlds; new places and new times. All sorts of strange, strange creatures waiting for us.”
“And we’re the ones to stop them from ruining the beauty of it all,” Rose said. “Cos so much of its beautiful out there. It really is.”
“Life’s not just about you lot watching telly; eating chips like we’re doing; and going to bed,” the Doctor said. “There’s so much more out there.”
“So, so much more,” Jack said. “Everything changes around here and you’ve always got to be ready. Ready and on the run.”
“Nothing gets in our way,” Rose smiled. “Off we go into time and space! Seeing everything and anything!”
Jackie and Mickey watched, astounded by the trio’s enthusiasm for adventure and by them thinking that they’re so clever. They knew they could never break Rose out of her addiction for adventure. Neither could they break the Doctor and Jack out of it.
“And you know what?” the Doctor continued cheerily. “It’s all going to be…”
The Doctor raised a hand up in the air. Rose and Captain Jack joined in the high-five as the trio shouted out excitedly, joyously and laughing, “FANTASTIC!!!!”
© Tim Bradley, 2020
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