Night-Mares in Steel

by Bronycommander

Chapter 4 Past and cost

Chapter 4: Past and cost

“What do mean?” Luna managed to ask, not understanding.

“Becoming like them,” Tyson replied with disgust.

Suddenly, Luna staggered and Celestia caught her, while Midnight checked on his relative. “He’s just knocked out. How did that…Cyberman get here?” He pointed at the destroyed body and Time Tuner took a look with his Sonic Screwdriver.

“It appears to have been sent here through a rift or void, caused by a malfunction, thus the damage.”

“I see. I get Luna and Supernova to the infirmary with Midnight.” Celestia replied and they moved.

Dinky gasped as she saw Tyson. “What happened to you?”

“A…intense fight. But don’t worry, I can repair the damage on the ship.”

None of the others could imagine what had happened before Time Turner told them, getting shocked reactions.

“Oh my…good that Tyson came to Luna’s aid,” Derpy mumbled in horror.

“Yes. But I am curious what he meant exactly.” Midnight added.

It was only a short time before both Luna and Supernova wake up, still feeling a bit numb but fine. “Ugh…” The blue pony groaned, yet was relieved to see that Supernova was alive and well.

“You’re awake. I think we need to talk with Tyson how the Cybermen came to be.” Midnight helped both up.

“Yes, it must mean something. Patch, Wagensroll and Dawnwind might be able to help.”

To everyone’s surprise, the moment Luna returned with the three historians, Tyson and his fellow Cybermen also arrived, his suit fully repaired.

“I suppose you want to know what I meant exactly.” He explained and Luna nodded.

“Okay, follow me.” Luna led the group into an office. “Now, I am going to watch your memories, the spell will cause you to be in an unconscious state until we are done.”

“That won’t be a problem for us.” Tyson assured and he stood at attention with his fellow Cybermen.

Luna light up her horn and her aura engulfed everyone.

---

Opening their eyes, the group found themselves in what appeared to be a royal palace, decorated with art and jewelry that was very familiar to Canterlot.

Looking around, they spotted a woman eating on a table, her back to them. She was wearing a noble dress, her brown hair was long, yet elegant.

“Ma’am?” A voice asked and she turned around, allowing the ground to see her face. A young smile, her eyes blue, innocent, looking at a group of three humans.

They all wore military uniforms of dark blue. Two men and a woman. The first man had short black hair and blue eyes, while the other one featured blond hair and blue eyes, with the woman also having blue eyes, but brown hair. All muscular build, appearing to be in their late twenties, to early thirties.

“Yes, Commander Tyson?” She acknowledged.

They all stood at attention, yet seemed to smile, happy to see her.

“Reporting for duty. What is your bidding, your highness?” Tyson asked, sounding friendly, yet respectful.

“Thank you, but I’m fine. But I like to do a walk in the garden.”

“As you wish, my queen.”

And so, the guards escorted her outside, with the group seeing that other guards patrolled outside with one of them, a man of slim build, black eyes and matching hair, saluting the queen and commander.

“Commander, your highness.”

“At ease, captain Glenn.” The queen nodded and took a deep breath, taking in the surroundings of the garden, with birds singing. “It’s such a beautiful day outside, isn’t it?”

“Indeed, it is, Elizabeth.”

In a way, the knights could recognize themselves in Tyson and his fellow comrades, while Elizabeth reminded Luna of herself.

Then the scene switched and now they saw Elizabeth looking out of the window, the landscape was snowy and she sighed.

“It feels as yesterday we were turning the wheels of progress. Until the frost... stopped it all. Suddenly. Without a warning.”

“And yet, you give the people hope.“ Tyson came from behind, a weak smile. “And it honors you, you put the welfare of the people of Mondas above all else. It is that hope that pushes Mondas forward.”

“I know.” She returned the smile.

“Yes. But come, the Committee awaits you.”

The woman nodded and followed him into a conference room, seeing 20 individuals around the table.

“Greetings, Queen Elizabeth. I am afraid, our Sciencemen reported that conditions on the planet will grow steadily worse, due to the increasing distance of life-giving warmth of Sol.”

“A moon had erupted from the twin planet's surface unbalancing the equilibrium, that’s why Mondas left its orbit.” Another one added and she sighed again.

“I see. What are our options?”

“The Committee came to only one option: We must relocate underground in order to survive.”

“I see. It will be a hard burden on us.” She replied with concern.

Again, the scene switched and the group couldn’t believe their eyes.

Before them was a big city, located in what appeared to be a cave with a big metal roof on top of the cave. It looked familiar to Trottingham from years past.

Then a neighing greeted their eyes and they looked at the source in shock.

It was what looked like a horse, a policeman riding it. But that wasn’t shocking.

The horse itself was augmented with cybernetics, one half of the face covered in metal, a red glowing eye shined through the metal, a spotlight mounted on the head. The policeman himself, was augmented as well. He lacked a cloth mask, but the face was slightly deformed, unemotional. He looked not even alive. It was more like…a zombie.

His movements looked normal at first, but his ever-watchful eyes seemed never to get tired. Yet, it dawned on them quickly that this was a predecessor of the Cybermen.

The people that walked the streets looked less healthy, being slightly pale.

Blinking, the group saw Elisabeth looking out of a window, being also slightly pale as her eyes were fixed on a capsule going up. “We can only pray it will work.”

“Good evening, Mr. Crewman.” A male voice could be heard on a radio. “I’m speaking to you on behalf of the Central Committee, in which must be the strangest telephone call ever. In moments, you will step out of your capsule. The first man to set foot on the surface since our journey began.”

Everyone had to gasp to see that the sky was pitch black, nor stars or anything. Yet it seemed to be worse for the Astronaut. The moment he stepped out and saw the surface, heavy breathing could be heard from him, becoming more labored until he screamed.

“Oh my…” Dinky mumbled in pity, realizing this had been too much for him.

They blinked and found themselves back in the city, with the queen now standing with their guards in front of bizarre machinery. A conveyor belt, leading to several mechanical arms, surgical tools and syringes.

“Be careful of there.” Elizabeth said with worry in her eyes, hugging Tyson.

“I always will be, milady.” He replied before he climbed on the conveyor belt and the group looked away as the sound of machinery and surgery followed.

A short while later, Tyson and the others came out, all looking like the cloth Cybermen, briefly inspecting their bodies before sent to the surface via elevators.

On the surface, the Cybermen seemed to construct some sort of propulsion system before the group found themselves in what looked like a hospital room.

Screaming entered their ears, seeing a Cyberman that thrashed as a few nurses stormed in. “Quick, morphine, his body rejects the implants!” One of them yelled but it was too late, as the Cybermen became limp. “Damn it! That’s the fourth one in two days. They barely survive a week…”

Now the group started to understand the reason behind the Cybermen: A desperate solution to survive in an unsustainable environment, forced to remove their emotions, as the processing drove them insane.

Yet before anyone could say something the scene switched, seeing many public buildings abandoned and the windows boarded up, before it drew into the palace.

Nothing could prepare the group for what they were about see.

In a chamber, they saw all the members of the Committee, together with the Queen.

They were all hooked up in wires, with overgrown bulbous heads and withering bodies, looking no longer alive, as they were very pale, almost decaying.

A very terrifying sight.

“We must survive.” A monotone, buzzing voice spoke up, consisting of all voices of the committee and Elisabeth, speaking as one.

“The propulsion system must be finished as soon as possible.” It was Elisabeth’s voice that spoke up. “The course of Mondas must be altered.”

“Sacrifices must be made.” One committee member disagreed with her.

“No. We must save our people.” Elizabeth stated, “Give them hope.”

The others could be heard discussing before they spoke as one, “Disjunction, the committee does not agree.”

“But…B-but-“ Elisabeth stuttered before starting to thrash around, screaming in pain.

None of the group could imagine what she had gone through, trying to give their people hope before they found themselves at a graveyard, a group of Cybermen saluting as a coffin was lowered into the ground.

It took only second to realize that this group were Tyson and the others, a tear left his eye.

Then he, along with his second in command and a few other Cybermen prepared to enter a spaceship, but not before he turned to Glenn and five others that stayed behind.

“Take care, soldier. Elizabeth’s devotion to Mondas won’t be forgotten.” Tyson said to him.

“Good luck!”

As the space ship left, the viewers could see how the palace’s windows were frosted, with the building looking abandoned.

Then, slowly but surely, the group had to witness how the Cybermen forced all citizens to become like them.

Eventually, the scene faded out and they saw a planet, looking identical to Earth, even down to the size and shapes of its continents. The one major way that it differed to Earth was that its continents were upside down in relation to Earth. However, it had no visible clouds in its atmosphere.

Then a single spacecraft, circular-shaped, flew towards earth in a snowy area and landed.

Three Cybermen stepped out and walked towards what looked like a soldier, who was confused and shocked at the sight. “What the heck? Tito? Is that you, Tito? What's going on here? Who is that? Who the heck are you?” He then fired a pistol at them twice point-blank, to no effect before one of them hit him across the neck and he fell over.

Two more guards appeared, one of them carrying a welding torch, walking towards a Cyberman who was wearing the jacket of the first soldier. “Hey, here it is, Sarge. Hey, sir, what's going on?” One of them asked cluelessly.

The Cybermen threw the jacket off and another joined him, striking both across the necks, taking them out. Then they all then put on the guards' parkas and move towards a trapdoor that was the entrance to a base.

Inside, a few other soldiers watched monitors, with one keeping eye on a woman, a young man and an elderly man. The latter had shoulder-length, greyish-white hair that grew around the back of his head, and piercing blue eyes that rested under expressive eyebrows. He wore a black shawl collar double-breasted Town Coat, a yellow tweed waistcoat over a white shirt with a black ribbon tie, grey tartan trousers, and shiny elasticated boots.

“Get this man back into the Observation room.” One of the soldiers, a general by the rank sigma ordered, mistaking the Cybermen for his men. Sergeant, that was an order! Take that man back to the obs.”

The woman screamed as the Cybermen revealed themselves, with one of the soldiers rushing towards the Cyberman with his gun raised. One of the Cyborgs aimed a light device at him, resembling a large, cumbersome sun lamp held at mid-section. Smoke came from the soldier’s body, and he fell backwards to the floor.

“Now look, I don't know who you are or what you are, but we've got two men in space. If we don't act now we won't get them back alive.” The general stated to the Cybermen, with one of them calmly replying,

“They will not return.”

“Why not?” The general did not understand.

“It is unimportant now.”

But we must get them back! When-

“There is really no point. They could never reach Earth now.”

“But don't you care?” The woman asked in shock.

“Care? No, why should I care?” The Cyberman asked in return.

“Because they're people and they're going to die!”

“I do not understand you. There are people dying all over your world yet you do not care about them.”

The woman rushed towards him, followed by the two men.

“Yes, but we could avoid their deaths.” She stated.

“You will be wondering what has happened. Your astronomers must have just discovered a new planet. Is that not so?” the Cyberman asked one of the soldiers, who nodded.

“Yes, that's right.”

“That is where we come from. It is called Mondas.”

“Mondas?” The man next to the elderly man did not understand.

“Mondas? But isn't that one of the ancient names of Earth?” The soldier asked and the Cybermen confirmed.

“Yes. Aeons ago the planets were twins, then we drifted away from you on a journey to the edge of space. Now we have returned.”

“You were right, Doctor.” The man next to the elderly man said, pointing at him

“But who or what are you?” the soldier wanted to know.

“We are called Cybermen.”

“Cybermen?”

“Yes, Cybermen. We were exactly like you once but our cybernetic scientists realized that our race was getting weak.”

“Weak? How?”

“Our life span was getting shorter, so our scientists and doctors devised spare parts for our bodies until we could be almost completely replaced.” The Cyberman explained.

“But that means you're not like us. You're robots!” The woman exclaimed in disgust, yet the leading cyborg was unfazed by it.

“Our brains are just like yours except that certain weaknesses have been removed.”

“Weaknesses? What weaknesses?” the soldier wondered.

“You call them emotions, do you not?” Was the response from the former human and the woman looked at him in shock.

“But that's terrible. You, you mean you wouldn't care about someone in pain?”

“There would be no need. We do not feel pain.”

“But we do.” She countered firmly before the general lunged to a desk and pressed a button.

“Ha, that'll fix you! Europe will know there's an emergency here now.” He exclaimed with a grin.

“That was really most unfortunate. You should not have done that.” The Cybermen stated.

He ordered the general to inform Europe that it was a false alarm, but he refused. In response, one of the Cybermen put its hands on the man's head and he went rigid, being put down on a ledge by the stairs.

The soldier was then ordered to do the same but refused until the Cybermen threatened to destroy the computers that would help a space shuttle to land, so he did as told only to be informed by the cyborgs that it was impossible for the astronauts to return as Mondas' gravitational force is too close.

As the Cybermen started the process of securing the base, the young man next to the doctor tried to grab the gun of the killed soldier, only for the doctor to exclaim in horror, “No, Ben!”

The leading Cybermen spotted this desperate attempt. “You do not seem to take us seriously.” He easily grabbed the rifle and bent it.

“Blimey!” Ben cursed.

“Take him out and look after him. It is quite useless to resist us. We are stronger and more efficient than your Earth people. We must be obeyed.” The leader of the Cybermen stated firmly and Ben was locked up in another room.

In the room, the group spotted a calendar, surprised at the date.

December 1986.

To their horror, they had to see how the doctor and others tried to contact the space shuttle, but the screens went blank, meaning it exploded.

“Now perhaps you can see that your planet is in great and imminent danger. In order to save you, we shall require information to be transmitted to Mondas.” The leading Cybermen explained and the doctor raised an eyebrow

“Save us?”

“What about those poor men?” His female friend asked and the Cyberman looked at her

“Perhaps you will co-operate. Mondas drew the ship away. It was unavoidable.”

“Why? What is happening?” The soldier demanded to know

“I will require your name.” The Cyberman walked to him and held a small microphone towards him but he didn’t care

“Tell us!”

“The energy of Mondas is nearly exhausted and now we turn to it's twin and will gather energy from Earth.”

The man’s eyes went wide in shock. “But but!”

In disbelief, the doctor exclaimed, “Gather energy?!”

“Age, name and occupation.” Was the response from the former human.

“But for how long?” The soldier wondered before another man spoke up.

“My name is John Dyson, supervising engineer.”

With his emotionless vice, the Cyberman replied, “Until it is all gone. Age.”

“But that means that the Earth will, will die!” Dyson exclaimed.

“Yes. Everything on Earth will stop. Age, please.”

In shock, the soldier exclaimed, “But you can't calmly stand there and tell us we're all going to die!”

“You are not going to die.”

Calmly, the doctor asked, “And how are you going to stop this energy drain from Mondas?”

“Name and occupation please. We cannot. It is beyond our powers.”

This caused the doctor to yell, “How are we going to survive?!”

“Speak please. By coming with us. Age.”

In disbelief, the soldier asked, “With you?”

“Yes. We are going to take you all back to Mondas. Your age please.”

“His age is unimportant here!” A yell from the doctor, with the soldier adding,

“That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard in my life!” The solder yelled and the doctor shook his head,

“You cannot for one moment.”

In the other room, Ben looked at a projector. Hey, wait a minute! If I was to turn this on the door, it might blind him! Yeah.” He turned off the lights, then turned on the projector. An old western was played and he grinned. “Hah! I saw that film twenty years ago.

With the film lined up on the top of the door, Ben started banging on it “Oy, come in here mate, you're wanted! Oy, come in here!”

The Cyberman opened the door and covered its eyes. Ben used this to grabbed it's light weapon and backed away.

“Now then, Fred!”

“Do not resist. Give me that weapon.” The Cyberman ordered, getting closer.

“I'm sorry, mate, I'm giving the orders here. Now look, get back. I'm telling you, get back!”

In response, the Cyberman raised his arm so Ben triggered the weapon, killing him. “You didn't give me no alternative!”

The scene switched back to the other room as Dyson said to the leading Cyberman, “Perhaps we'd prefer to take our chances here.

“You must come and live with us.”

In horror, the woman stated, “But we cannot live with you. You're, you're different. You've got no feelings.”

“Feelings? I do not understand that word.”

As response the doctor asked with a grin, “Emotions. Love, pride, hate, fear. Have you no emotions, sir?”

“Come to Mondas and you will have no need of emotions. You will become like us.

“Like you?” With disgust, the woman asked him and he nodded,

“We have freedom from disease, protection against heat and cold, true mastery. Do you prefer to die in misery?”

The leader of the cyborgs was unaware that the General was waking up, as the woman asked him, “But look, surely it's possible for us not to lose Earth's energy?”

“It is inevitable.”

“Then you don't mind if we all die.”

“Why should we mind?”

This caused the doctor to yell, “Why? Why?!”

“Because millions and millions of people are going to suffer and die horribly!” His female friend finished.

“We shall not be affected.”

“Don't you think of anything except yourselves?”

“We are equipped to survive. We are only interested in survival. Anything else is of no importance. Your deaths will not affect us.” The leader explained, unaware that Ben passed the weapon to the general.

“But I can't make you understand, you're condemning us all to die. Have you no heart?

“No, that is one of the weaknesses that we have removed.”

It that moment, the general pulled the trigger. It lit up, creating a bright flash.

One of the Cyberman fell.

The other turned towards the general.

The man was faster.

He ran closer and pulled the trigger again.

His enemy had no time to respond, falling also over, smoking.

The viewers could only stare at what the Cybermen had planned. Destroying their twin planet in order to save their own? It wasn’t right.

Suddenly, the radar technician announced that a fleet of spacecraft had been detected, approaching Earth. A big bunch of small blips was on the radar screen, hundreds of ships.

In response, the general decided it is time to take the fight to the Cybermen. He intended on destroying Mondas with a Z-bomb — a series of nuclear bombs that were placed at strategic points around the world. He ringed the International Space Centre. The Secretary at Geneva refused permission, but the general rephrased his question asking if he can do anything he deems suitable in order to destroy the Cybermen. As answer, he got as permission to use the bomb. The friends of the doctor argued against using the bomb, with Ben stating the Doctor believed that Mondas will destroy itself anyway when it absorbs too much energy.

Yet that officer admitted he was scared by what he is about to do but felt that he has no choice. The other soldier admitted to the woman he was reluctant to launch the bomb, citing the radiation caused by the exploding planet which would cause great loss of life on Earth. She suggested they rig the bomb so that it wouldn’t explode.

The General explained they would wait for the Cybermen to land, and then they would destroy them with their own weapons, unaware that Ben secretly left to sabotage the rocket to prevent it from reaching Mondas.

Another ship landed and the Cybermen immediately mowed down by the hidden soldiers wielding the Cybermen's weapons.

As the countdown to launch the Z-bomb reached zero, the engines failed on the launch pad, enraging the General.

“I'm getting a signal, sir. From Lieutenant Cutler, sir.” Dyson informed the General.

“I'm tumbling badly and there's little control left in the capsule. I must speak fast.” The lieutenant told on the radio, being visible on a monitor, with the officer grabbing the radio.

“Yes. Yes, go ahead, son.”

“This new planet, there's something strange happening.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, it seems to brighten up like a sun and then darken again.”

“It cannot absorb much more energy.” The doctor concluded.

“Sir, Cyberman spaceships on approach path.” One of the soldiers warned, yet Cutler didn’t care.

“Shut up, will you? Go ahead, son.”

“Hey, control's gone again. Energy loss severe It's like, it's like being on a switchback. I can't, I can't seem to-“

The transmission ended and Cutler yelled at Dyson, “Get that signal back!”

“It's gone. Could be a power failure.”

“Come on, man! Come on, Dyson, get that signal!”

“Sir, Cyberman ship on descent now!” The other soldier warned

“Radio dead. It's hopeless.” Dyson reported with regret in his voice before the other soldier added,

“The enemy will landing at any moment.”

“General!” The doctor exclaimed and Cutler eyed him with hate, his eyes blazing.

“The enemy! The enemy! I'll tell you who the enemy is. You are the enemy. You.”

“The Cybermen, sir. They must have landed.” The soldier on the radar warned, yet Cutler was lost in his rage as he glared at the elderly man.

“You, you, you, you killed my son!

“But, sir, they've landed!” Dyson tried to calm him down.

“The only person I gave a care about in this whole world, and you killed him. So now I'm going to kill you and I'll start on you, Doctor.”

In that moment, more Cybermen entered and the woman screamed. Cutler opened fire but the Cybermen's response was faster. The general fell to the ground, dead.

“Silence.” One of the cyborgs said, pausing for a moment as everyone looked at him with uncertainty. “ Anyone who moves will be killed instantly.”

After a short moment, the Doctor broke the silence. “We owe you our lives. That man was going to have us shot.”

“Go with the others down there.” The Cybermen pointed to a staircase

“There's gratitude for you. We save their grotty planet Mondas for what.” Ben taunted, only for the Cyberman to reply,

“Saved Mondas? We do not believe you. We have seen a rocket missile aimed at Mondas.”

“That is so. We prevented it being fired at you. We helped you. Therefore, I suggest you help us.” The doctor countered calmly.

Ben shook his head. “It's no use talking to these geezers.”

“And what do you ask in return for this?” The Cyberman asked the Doctor, who replied,

“Your planet is finished. It will disintegrate. We know why you came here, so why not stay and live with us in peace?”

“We will confer. Keep your places. Anyone who moves will be killed instantly.”

“As they did so, the other soldier whispered, “Can we trust them?”

“No, of course we can't.” Ben pointed out, yet the Doctor shook his head.

“We have no chance. We must play for time. Be quiet.” He said as the Cybermen returned. “Well, sir, what have you decided?”

“We cannot talk while that missile is aimed at Mondas. It must be disarmed first.” The leader of the Cyborgs explained.

“A moment, please.” The elderly human turned back to the soldier, “Are you able to disarm this rocket?”

“Well, yes, but, er-”

“It will give us the time we need.”

“The time for Mondas to burn itself out, you mean?” Ben concluded and he nodded.

“Yes, now quiet!” He turned back to the leader. “We accept your terms. The warhead will be removed from the rocket.”

“It must be removed to below ground level.” The Cyberman explained and the soldier nodded.

“Well, there's the radiation room. It's the deepest in the base.”

“That will do. And to make sure you do this, we will take two hostages. That girl will go to the spacecraft. You will stay here with us. You three must go to the rocket.” This caused the woman to shiver slightly in fear.

“You must do as they say.” The doctor said to Ben, who had an expression of confusion.

“Look, if you want a hostage, what about me?”

“You are needed to help with the warhead.” The leader of the cyborgs stated.

“Now, look here, you're not taking Polly.” Ben took a protective stance, only for the Doctor to raise a hand.

“Let me handle this, my boy!”

“But Doctor!”

“All of you, go with Barclay.”

“But Doctor, I think it would be a good idea if-

“Go. I think it is wiser.” The Doctor cut Barclay off, and he nodded.

“Very well. Come on, Dyson.”

“Right.”

“You give me your word that this young girl will be returned to me when that bomb is safely stowed away?”

The Cyberman nodded. “Yes.”

“Very well, child, off you go. And don't forget your coat. I don't want you to get cold.”

The Doctor then took charge of the Control Centre and contacted the International Space Centre, only to see the Cybermen had taken over.

“I am now Controller of the Earth. Resist us and you die.” The Cyberman in charge warned. “You must proceed with your second objective."

“We are proceeding according to plan.” The other leader replied.

“Report to me as soon as you are ready. We must have time to evacuate.”

“Unit Delta plus calling. Unit Delta plus calling. Unit Delta plus calling.”

“I do not understand your friend, sir. Evacuate? Surely you're not going to return to Mondas now?” The doctor asked curious.

“We will not discuss our plans with you.” The Cyberman refused

“What is your second objective? It's quite obvious, isn't it? The destruction of the Earth! Ben! Barclay! Do not help them!” He warned the others on the speaker system.

Down in the pit of the Z-bomb, Ben, Barclay, another soldier and Dyson were disarming the bomb, dressed in protective suits. Ben raised the question as to why the Cybermen are not doing this themselves, what with them being naturally stronger. Ben hypothesized that they are intolerant to the radiation in the bomb.

They put this to the test by playing dead and drawing in the Cyberman guard from outside. The Cyborg fell dead to the ground the moment he entered and Ben grabbed his gun.

Ben used this knowledge to order the return of Polly; however, the Cybermen refused to relent. The Doctor was now taken to their ship. Ben got that both he and Polly would be killed unless they give up the bomb. In response, he looked around for something in the room that was portable and radioactive that they can use to their advantage. With the help of the soldier and Dyson, he uncoupled something from the back of one of the computers he could use for this purpose.

“Listen to me. This close proximity of our two planets means that one has to be eliminated for the safety of the other. The one to be destroyed will be Earth. We cannot allow Mondas to burn up. If you help, we will take you all back to Mondas with us. There you will be safe.” The leading Cybermen explained before one of his fellow cyborgs spoke up.

“Records, Krang.”

The monitor showed Mondas glowing brighter and brighter as Krang reported, “Our planet is nearing saturation point. We must lose no time. Switch on the monitor. Their three minutes is up. We must hear their decision.” The other did as told, but there was only static. “What has happened?”

Dyson and the soldier were extracting the fuel rods from the base reactor, with Barclay behind them carrying a Geiger counter

“Hold them away from yourselves. Gently does it, very gently. Stand by the emergency power switch. The lights will be fading any second now.” Dyson said before the lights went out

“I suppose you realize there's only about an hour's supply of lighting and heating in the emergency batteries. Then we shall all freeze to death.” Dyson warned him.

“If this don't work, mate, you needn't worry about the cold anymore.” Ben added as he checked if the corridor was clear. “Okay, it's all clear. Quick!”

“Outside, he told the others, “Dyson, you go up this end of the corridor. When you hear the Cybermen coming, come out behind them. Haines, you go round that corridor and do the same. Now look, I'll draw their fire, so when you hear the sound of this gun, start coming forward. Do you really think there's enough radiation in these two rods to trap them?”

Barclay nodded, “Just.”

“Okay, come on.” They went back into the radiation room, just as Krang and the other Cybermen were coming.

“Do not use this gas unless you have to. We need them alive and conscious.” Krang warned his fellow Cybermen before looking through the small window of the door. “Your three minutes is up. What is your decision? We shall be forced to kill you. We will give you one more chance to come out and give us the bomb.”

“Come in and get it!” Ben yelled and the cyborgs started to pump gas into the room, causing both to cough, yet he managed to say, “There's something else down by the door.

Barclay opened the door and Ben shouted, “Now!” He fired his Cyber-weapon and one of the Cybermen fell, with Krang and the other backing up in response

“I can't hold out much longer!” Barclay coughed from the gas.

“Where's Dyson and the other bloke got to?”

“The humans are behind the door. Let the gas do its work.” Krang told the other Cybermen, unware as Haines and Dyson came up behind them with the radioactive rods. Both collapsed, yet one of them managed to fire his weapon, killing Haines as Ben came out of the room.

“Quick, Dyson. Help get Barclay out of here.” Ben yelled and they all three made their way back to the Tracking room.

“What happened, Doctor Barclay? Are you all right?” The soldier manning the radar asked Ben as they came in.

“He's all right. Yeah, get in the chair.”

“Back to your desks all of you. The emergency's not over yet. Philips, there are two reactor rods out in the corridor. See that they're put back at once.” Dyson ordered a fellow staff member.

“Hey, they've still got the Doctor and Polly.” Ben pointed out with worry, about to leave

“No, wait! If you try and tackle the spacecrafts on your own, you don't stand a chance. We don't know how many Cybermen there are left.” Barclay held him back.

“Well?” Ben asked desperately.

“Well, here's one of the things they use to contact each other.” Barclay pointed to a small radio-like device.

“I don't know how it works.”

“Well then, do anything, make a signal. Draw them here.”

“Is that wise?” Dyson asked with concern.

“Well, if that spaceship takes off we'll never gonna see them again.” Ben pointed out

“You may bring them all in on us.”

“Well, that's a risk we've got to take,” Ben replied and pressed a few buttons, causing the comm. unit to buzz. “That should do it. Any idea how long it'll take for them to get here?”

"You stand by with those guns.” Dyson advised as they took positions

“Now look, we must all get down, other side of the room.” Barclay ordered and Ben acknowledged.

“Okay.”

“Opposite the door so we can face them. Use the guns.” Barclay ordered as the lights went suddenly out

“What now?” Ben wondered.

“The emergency battery's running out, I suppose.” Dyson suspected

“We can't face them in the dark!” Barclay yelled and his college countered,

“Now we shall freeze to death.”

“They must get those reactor rods back.” As Barclay said, this, the light went back on, causing Ben to sigh in relief

“Hang on, they're coming back.”

“Here they are,” Barclay warned as three Cybermen entered, with one opening his mouth,

“Resistance is useless. Drop your weapons.”

Yet the radar operator had news, pointed at the screen.

“Just look at Mondas, sir. I can't believe it!”

The twin planet was flash brightly, as it was about to explode.

“Fantastic! It looks as if it's melting!” Dyson exclaimed and Ben added,

“It's falling to bits!”

Just moments after the crusts of the planet were cracking and exploded into a million pieces.”

“The end of Mondas.” Barclay concluded.

“Hey, look!” Ben pointed at the Cybermen. They were staggering before falling to the ground and…falling part. ”What's happened to them?”

Barclay had an answer. “They've disintegrated!”

“They must have been entirely dependent on power from Mondas.” Dyson suspected.

The scene then switched to the International Space Centre, the group saw the Secretary-General, together with a woman and a boy, the latter two were scared.

“Listen. This close proximity of our two planets means that one has to be eliminated for the safety of the other. The one to be destroyed will be Earth. We will take you all back to Mondas with us. There you will be safe.”

“You will not take them!” The Secretary-General drew a pistol, only for the Cybermen to grab the boy, who screamed.

“Resist and I will kill him!” The Cyberman threatened, yet what was happening next surprised everyone.

One of the other Cybermen aimed his gun at him and fired, killing his fellow Cyborg.

Before any of the other Cybermen could react, they started to stumble and fell apart, save for the one who had fired and five others. It took the group only seconds to understand that this group was Glenn and the other five.

“Thank you. But…why?” The man asked as the boy ran into the woman for comfort.

“Because it’s the only right thing to do,” Glenn replied. “We belonged once to an honor guard, which took protection of our noble leader and the citizens as our duty.”

“Why have they fallen apart and not you?” The woman wondered.

“Mondas was destroyed, they were depend on power from it. We, however, secretly equipped us with independent power sources.”

“Then… why not stay and live with us?” The man offered. “As thanks for helping us.”

“It is a generous offer, but we politely decline. We want to find the others of our former force.” Glenn stated and he, along with his comrades went back into the shuttle and it took off, flying into space.

With this, the memory faded and the group was now in a white void.

“Glenn and the others didn’t deserve this,” Art Strings said with pity, “But it honors them having stopped the others.”

“Indeed. But all this to save their planet…” Luna wondered in disbelief.

“I know, it’s…crazy but…” Patch mumbled. “Desperate times call for desperate measures.”

Everyone stayed silent for a moment, processing his words.

“As much as I hate it to say, yes.” Midnight nodded. “Though, I wonder what happened afterwards.”

“Right. Only one way to find out.” Luna lit up her horn, preparing them to see the next memory.

Author's Note:

Wasn't easy, having only the script of the corresponding episode to work with

Comments

[shining paladin]

nice keep it up

[midnightwolfGX]

Pretty good. The back-and-forth between the Cybermen and the heroes felt a little dragged out, but overall, this chapter felt very good and suspenseful!

[Bronycommander]

10397215
Glad to hear it