Exhibit, Part Four
Part Three
"Attention, ladies, gentlemen, and other: the Adris One Science and History Museum will be closing in thirty minutes. Please make your way to the exit. Thank you, and we hope to see you again soon."
"Doctor!"
The Doctor turned around to find Amy stalking towards him.
"Amy!" he said delightedly. "Just who I was hoping to see. Thought I'd have a look at that Earth exhibit now. Though apparently we only have half an hour, did you hear? It seems awfully early for closing time."
He frowned at his watch as if it might have an explanation.
"Never mind that, Doctor, this museum, it's keeping people like slaves. I met this man, a human, from our time working here, and there're two of his friends, only they're not allowed to leave, and they don't get paid, and - "
"Yes, yes, Amy, I'm well aware of all that," the Doctor said, not really listening. He linked his arm with hers and guided her against the flow of the crowd back towards the Earth exhibit.
"What do you mean you're aware?"
"I mean I already know! Obviously. What else would I mean? I met a lovely young woman breaking into the security office. Brilliant girl. I offered to help, she didn't seem too interested. I lent a hand, of course, but I'll bet you these 'slaves' of yours will be out of here within a week, with or without my help. There's really nothing to worry about."
"But Doctor!"
"Doctor! Amy!"
They both paused as Rory caught up. "Did you see? There are other humans here."
"I know Rory, did you know they're being kept here as prisoners?"
"Prisoners?"
"I already told you, it's nothing to worry about. They've got an escape plan all worked out, and if it seems like they need help then of course we'll step in, but I'm virtually certain they don't need it. WHAT is that?"
The Doctor stopped in midstride, throwing his arms out to the side and bringing Amy and Rory to an abrupt halt. He stared up at the sign hanging just above the official museum plaque of "21st Century Earth: First Contact before First Contact."
"'Torchwood,'" he read out loud.
He stared at it.
"Yeah, that's the name of the place they all worked before they were brought here," Amy said. "What, have you heard of it?"
The Doctor looked around the exhibit quickly, taking in the replicated Hub and its contents.
"This is bad," he said. "This is very, very bad."
Amy and Rory glanced at each other, then looked around the exhibit as well.
"Why is it bad?" Rory ventured.
"This," the Doctor said, "is a trap."
"A trap?" Amy asked. "What, for us?"
"No, not for us. For someone else. For a very specific person. This whole thing, the exhibit, the ads, the articles, it's all just an elaborate set-up. It's bait."
"Bait?" Amy repeated. "But what about the people?"
"They're probably a part of it too." He whirled around to stare Amy in the eyes. "What did you say this person's name was?"
Amy blinked, taken aback. "Er, Ianto. Jones, I think. He was Welsh."
"Ianto," the Doctor repeated, and his shoulders sank, very disappointed in being proven correct. "Ianto. Jack used to talk about him."
"Sorry, who?" Rory put in. "Who's Jack?"
The Doctor shook his head and spun around again to glare at the display. "These people aren't just a part of it, Amy, they're the part of it. They're all just bait, a lure, a trap. And once the quarry's been caught, hostages, certainly. This is very very bad."
He whirled around again, stalking forwards and grabbing the humans' arms again. "I've changed my mind," he said, "We're getting these people out. Right now."
He stopped at one of the Information panels, and whipped out his screwdriver to hack in. An expanded version of the museum map appeared, with the off-limits areas shown as well. The Doctor stared at it for a moment.
"Amy," he said. "Take this. Go through that door, down a flight of stairs, to the right. Find the living quarters. Find Ianto and whoever he has with him, and hurry back to the entrance. Fast as you can. Go!"
Amy jumped, fumbling as she caught the sonic screwdriver, but obediently rushed off.
"Rory, come with me. Back to the TARDIS. We might need to do a daring-last-second-rescue, I'd rather have everything ready to go. If we're very, very lucky, we'll be able to get out of here before the trap closes, and maybe even stop it from going off at all."
"But Doctor - "
"Attention, ladies, gentlemen, and other: The Adris One Museum of Science and History is now closed. We hope you have enjoyed your stay, and we hope to see you again soon."
The Doctor stopped in his tracks, staring upwards.
"There's no way that was a half hour," he said.
Rory shrugged. "Maybe they didn't mean an Earth hour."
The Doctor frowned, "Yes, but the TARDIS doesn't just do languages, it converts the time and distance differences as well, otherwise we'd never know what other species were talking about - "
"Attention, all museum personnel: There has been a security breach. Please evacuate to your designated emergency waiting areas until Security has eliminated the threat. Thank you, and have a nice day."
The Doctor swallowed. "Ah."
Rory glanced around worriedly. "What exactly does that mean?"
"It means the trap's just closed," the Doctor said. "And we're stuck in it."
~~
"The Adris One docking bay is currently closed. We apologize for the inconvenience. Please come again later, and have a nice day."
"Oh come on," the pilot yelled at the comm, severely irritated with the automated voice. "I have no fuel! I can't come again later! I can't even stop!"
"The Adris One docking bay is currently closed. We apologize for the inconvenience. Please come again later, and have a nice day."
"Arrrrgh!" He slammed his fist down on the console, inputting a line of gibberish into the computer.
"Fuck this," he said, and pulled up a special program on the screen. "You're not gonna let me in, I'm gonna force my way in."
"'Stationwide lockdown due to undefined security breach,'" he read. "Well, if you didn't have one before, you sure do now."
A moment more of typing, and the pilot looked up, triumphant, at the station ahead of him. The docking bay doors were opening.
~~
They all looked up when the alarms went off.
"Security breach?" Ianto repeated.
Owen raised an eyebrow at Toshiko.
"Why would it go off now, I hacked in almost an hour ago," she said. "I haven't done anything since."
"So you did hack in, then?" Ianto asked.
"As I have been since I first got access to the computers," Tosh answered crossly. "I'm not the sort to get caught."
"First time for everything."
She glared at Owen. "It's not me!"
"Maybe somebody's broken in," Ianto mused.
"You think your mystery girl's coming in to rescue us?" Owen suggested with a smirk.
"Could be," Ianto said. "She was very insistent."
Tosh stood up and went to the door. "In any case, we should take advantage of the distraction."
Owen watched her try to open the door manually, fail, and bend over to rip off the control panel and hardwire it. Even with the passcode, she'd learned to open it by force just in case of a lockdown like this.
"Is using a security breach as a distraction wise?" Ianto pointed out. "Won't the halls be filled with security teams? We'd just get caught."
"Security's almost all automated," Tosh explained. "I can almost certainly redirect it away from us."
"And where are we going to go?"
Tosh spared a glare over her shoulder at Owen as the door slid open. "I have it under control," she said, and crashed into Amy as she stepped outside.
Amy stumbled and caught herself on the doorframe.
"Found you!" she said, triumphantly.
"Mystery girl?" Owen asked Ianto, jerking a thumb at Amy.
Ianto nodded. "Yup."
Amy looked at them. "Look, we've got to get out of here, the Doctor says this is all some sort of big trap."
The others all cut in at once.
"A trap? For who?" Tosh said.
"It's not like we're going anywhere," Owen put in.
"The Doctor?" Ianto repeated. "Like, Time Lord, two hearts, TARDIS Doctor?"
Amy blinked at him. "Have you met?"
"Briefly. Over the phone anyway. Well, subwave network…"
Tosh frowned. "The Doctor's here," she repeated.
"Yes, he's downstairs!" Amy cried, gesturing. "He sent me to come get you so we can all get out of here in the TARDIS. Before the trap is set off, he says, only the alarm's gone so I'm pretty sure we're running out of time…"
She trailed off, arm out, obviously hoping they would hurry up and follow her out.
They all hesitated a moment. Then Ianto got up from his seat on Tosh's desk and joined Amy in the hall. Owen followed.
Tosh rose from her crouch on the floor and followed them slowly. Amy was explaining that they needed to get out of the museum and back down to the TARDIS, while Ianto kept looking around for danger and Owen just shrugged with his hands in his pockets and looked conflicted.
The TARDIS, Tosh thought. Can travel anywhere in time and space with no trouble at all. We'll be free in no time.
She stared at the others' backs, mildly disappointed. 'My brilliance' indeed, Face of Boe. I've just wasted a lot of time and energy to be saved by outside forces.
She sighed, jogging a little to catch up. There was no point dwelling on it, she supposed. The important thing was they were finally getting out of there. Whatever happened, she would not be a prisoner any more, and they were all getting out together. They just had to reach the TARDIS.
The four of them turned the corner to get back to the museum proper and stopped as one.
"Oh," Tosh said.
The way was blocked. Four of the robots from the Security Office stood in the hall. Activated, they were enormous. Their dull red shells filled the entire width of the corridor. Their camera eyes swiveled and focused on the group.
"Return to your quarters," said one of the robots, in the unmistakable voice of Doctor Eskar Xarchac, "Or you will be eliminated."
The robots' weapons began to glow.
~~
"What do you mean we're stuck in the trap. You said the trap wasn't for us."
"It isn't," the Doctor reiterated, running over to yet another door, opening it, looking both ways, and shutting it again. "Doesn't mean we can't get stuck in it. A bear trap is meant to catch bears, but if you stick your foot in it by accident it still hurts."
Rory followed at a more sedate pace, watching wearily as the Doctor led him through the side passages of the station.
"So what's the plan, then?"
"The plan, Rory, is to get to the TARDIS, find Amy and her friends, put Amy and her friends in the TARDIS, and get out of here as quickly as possible."
"And why can't we just go directly to the TARDIS the way we came in?"
"Because security's been activated and if we just wander around willy-nilly in the main halls they're going to find us," the Doctor said.
"Couldn't we just explain that we're not the person they're looking for, and we just didn't get out of the museum in time?"
"Maybe we could, under different circumstances. But I was just in the security office a little while ago, and it was full of rather large robots with big guns. Speaking from experience, you can't usually negotiate with large robots with big guns. Well, sometimes you can, there was that one time on Coridine, but I think they're more the exception than the rule. Lovely people though, those robots, they make an amazing fruitcake. Ah ha, here we go!"
Apparently finding a door he was satisfied with, the Doctor ran through. Rory followed, and they jogged down a long, darkened hall.
"This station's old," the Doctor explained. "Much older than the museum. It has a lot of disused maintenance tunnels and passages. They're not mapped very well, mind, but this one should probably get us back over to the docking bay."
"We parked in a cupboard though," Rory pointed out.
"Yes, but the cupboard was very near to the docking bay. Pay attention, Rory, these things are important."
They hurried back out another door into the bright hallway that lay between the museum and the living area. The Doctor ran triumphantly past both sets of doors for the docking bay and flung open the door to the supply cupboard in which they had parked.
A mop fell to the floor. The TARDIS was nowhere in sight. The cupboard's interior was filled with the bulky mass of a very large, dark red robot with a big gun.
The Doctor blinked at it. "See?" he said to Rory. "I was right."
To the robot, he said, "I don't suppose you've come to give me a fruitcake."
The robot's eyes focused on the Doctor. It raised its gun.
The Doctor took a step back. "Oh come now, there's no need for that," he said. "We did mean to get out when the announcement was made, really, only we wanted to see one last exhibit first, and we got stuck, if you could just tell us where our ship has got to - it looks like a big blue box, says 'police box' on the top - we'll get out of your hair, no harm no foul, right?"
"I thought you said you couldn't reason with big robots with large guns," Rory murmured.
"I said large robots with big guns," the Doctor corrected, "and it's worth a shot, anyway."
A voice came from the robot. "I'm afraid that won't be happening, Doctor," it said.
"Oh, and why not? I know this is all a big setup, but it has nothing to do with me, I only came because Amy insisted."
"It may not have been meant for you," the voice hissed, "but you'll do just fine. I've had enough of this ridiculous charade. I may have been promised an immortal, but a regenerating Time Lord is just as good."
The Doctor shook his head. "Really, Doctor Xarchac, I'd hoped better from you. A brilliant mind like yours, and you waste it like this. Your time could be much better spent helping people."
"I am helping people, Doctor," Xarchac's voice answered. "I can heal almost any wound and reverse death, but soon I will be able to avert death entirely."
"Right," said the Doctor. "Good luck with that."
He shut the cupboard door in the robot's face.
"Run!"
~~
"Return to your quarters," the robot repeated, with the same intonation as before.
It's a recording, Ianto thought. There goes any chance of reasoning with it.
"What do we do?" he asked.
Amy took a step backwards, knocking into his elbow. "What is that thing?" she asked quietly.
"It's a security bot," Tosh murmured back. "They're only supposed to be used in cases of extreme emergency."
"Is our getting out of here really such a big deal?" Owen asked.
"The alarm went off before we got out of the room," Ianto pointed out. "They couldn't have known we were going to do something before we did it, could they?"
"The Doctor said this was all some sort of trap," Amy pointed out as the robot repeated its ominous message. "Maybe this is a part of it? To keep you all contained or something."
"That actually seems pretty likely," Toshiko said. Like Amy, she was backing away slowly, her hand grasping Owen's mangled one seemingly without her notice. "But what is it a trap for?"
Amy kept her eyes on the robots. "He didn't say. Well, he said something, but it was all very convoluted and unfocused, like usual."
"Return to your quarters or you will be eliminated," the robot repeated.
"You know, that's getting really annoying," Owen chided it. He took another step back as well, trying to give Tosh's hand a reassuring squeeze.
"Return to your quarters or - "
"ESKAR!" shouted a voice from behind them. Ned pushed his way between them all, more furious than Ianto would have thought possible. "Eskar, what the hell do you think you're doing?!"
The robot didn't answer, but it and its companions stopped and lowered their weapons.
"Eskar!" Ned shouted again. "What is going on here? Why did you evacuate the museum? Why has security activated?"
No response.
"Who's this?" Amy whispered.
"That's Ned," Ianto whispered back. "Runs the museum along with the fellow whose voice is on the robot."
"Eskar, I know you can hear me!"
There was a soft crackle from the robot's speakers.
"Nerranderot," Xarchac said calmly.
"Eskar, what do you think you're doing?!"
"I'm executing the plan," answered Xarchac. "I've had enough waiting around, Nerranderot. I've let you go ahead with your little exhibit, even with the drain on resources and the utter waste of space. But now it's time for action."
"Eskar," Ned pleaded. "This is ridiculous, you're not accomplishing anything - "
"Nonsense. I've caught a Time Lord."
Ned's mouth shut with a snap.
"I have something useful to study, Nerranderot, and I intend to do so. Now get out of my way." The robots raised their weapons.
Ianto pulled Amy behind him. Behind him, he could see Tosh and Owen stepping quickly backwards, ready to bolt.
"Ned," Ianto prodded.
"Eskar," Ned said yet again. "Please. This is going too far. Turn the security alert off and let's talk this over. I'm sure we can come to some sort of arrangement…"
"I don't think so," Xarchac said. "You've had your chance."
The robots opened fire.
Ianto grabbed Ned by the collar and yanked him around the corner.
"Run!" he shouted, though the others had already broken into a sprint ahead of him.
They ran for their lives.
~~
They ran. They didn't look back as they heard the cupboard door splinter behind them, nor at the booming footsteps following in their wake.
"Where are we going to go?" Rory panted.
"Dunno. Somewhere. Anywhere."
The Doctor skidded to a halt, holding his hand out to catch Rory as three more of the red robots emerged from around the corner ahead of them.
He looked around. "This way!" he shouted, and ran for the docking bay doors.
The Doctor pressed some buttons on the panel next to the door. It bleeped but the doors didn't open. He frantically searched his pockets.
"You gave your sonic to Amy!" Rory said, backing up into him. He was inexplicably still holding the mop that had fallen from the cupboard, brandishing it in front of him as if it could ward off the incoming line of robots.
"Of course I did," the Doctor muttered. "Help me pull it open!"
There were no handles. They each stuck their fingers in the small crack between doors, leaning backwards and pulling with all their weight and strength. The doors barely budged.
"Come on," the Doctor urged, "Open! OPEN!"
The doors flew open. The Doctor and Rory collapsed to the ground. Rory stared in shock at the man standing in the doorway. He looked back, curiously.
"Um," said the man. "Hi?"
The Doctor got to his feet in one quick movement. "You idiot," he spat at the man. "What are you doing here?"
The man blinked, utterly confused. "…I… was out of fuel…?"
"Never mind that," the Doctor said, pushing him backwards into the docking bay and grabbing Rory's arm again. "Run!"
The three of them stumbled into the docking bay. The Doctor ran to the door control and shut it just as the first of the robots reached them. There was a loud bang from the other side.
"They only locked it from one side, so the authorities can get in if they’re called," the Doctor explained. "Lucky for us."
He turned and grabbed both of them, pulling them away from the door and towards the ships. "It won't take them long to break through, though. We need to find another way out of here."
"Why?" the man asked. "Why are those things after you?"
"They're after you," the Doctor corrected, which made absolutely no sense. Rory frowned, trying to puzzle it out, and the man looked just as baffled.
The Doctor sighed heavily, pausing to lean against the wall and compose himself. He looked up at the man wearily.
"Really, Jack, I expected better from you. Falling for such an obvious trap, I don't believe you."
Jack raised an eyebrow. "I don't know what you're talking about," he said. "I just came here because I needed to refuel my ship." He paused. "Is that you, Doctor?"
The Doctor looked surprised. "Of course it's me," he said. "Oh, right, you must not have seen this regeneration. How long has it been for you?"
"About 400 years," Jack said. "I like the new look. What's with the bowtie?"
"Bowties are cool. It has been a while then. Look at you, you've started going grey!"
Jack ran his hand through his salt-and-pepper hair self-consciously. "Yeah, well, not all of us can just start over with brand new hair every time we die. The centuries start to take their toll after a while. I kinda like it anyway, looks dignified."
"Um," Rory interjected. "Doctor?"
"Oh right," the Doctor said. "Jack, this is Rory Williams, Rory, this is Captain Jack Harkness."
"Hi," Jack said, turning to grin at Rory.
"Um," Rory said again, feeling suddenly awkward. "Hi."
"Don't you dare, Jack."
Jack looked exasperated. "What, I'm not allowed to say hello? Still?"
"How many times do I have to tell you, no, you're not allowed to say hello. You're barking up the wrong tree anyway, he's married."
"Really?" Jack said, delighted. "What's she like?"
"Don't you dare!"
"Um, Doctor," Rory said again, putting the awkward feeling out of his mind for the moment, "The robots have gotten through."
They all turned back towards the door. One giant red hand was stuck between the crack in the door, and was slowly prying it open.
"Right," the Doctor said. "Jack, give me a boost will you?"
Confused, Jack helped the Doctor step up. He immediately set to work prying open an air vent.
"An air vent?" Rory said, staring at it. "Really? You want us to climb through an air vent?"
"Unless you see another way out of here that isn't full of robots," the Doctor said. He ripped the screen off the vent and dropped it on the floor. He clambered in, with Jack's assistance, then reached down to help pull Rory up. "Really, all you do is complain. Even Sarah Jane had to climb through air vents. She could have been famous for climbing through air vents. It's really not a big deal."
He maneuvered so that Rory could crawl past him into the vent before reaching down to help Jack too. Crammed into the tiny passage, the three of them crawled as fast as they could back into the museum.
~~
The vent screen fell to the floor with a clatter. The Doctor fell shortly after, with a small 'Oof!'
He stood up and dusted himself off, glancing around the room as he did so. Swords, suits of armor, spears, robes, farming equipment - no robots in sight. Good.
"The coast is clear!" he shouted.
"It won't be for long if you keep shouting like that." Jack dropped to the floor behind him, pausing to dust off his hands. "The robots might not have ears, but I bet they can still hear you."
The Doctor just rolled his eyes as Jack turned around to help Rory down out of the vent.
"Er, thanks," Rory stammered. "So, what now?"
"Now," the Doctor said, "the plans have changed. Just a little. We're inserting a step before 'get to the TARDIS' that we'll call 'find where the crazy scientist man has hidden the TARDIS' with a subclause of 'don't run into any more robots.' After that, it's still find Amy, get in the TARDIS, get out of here."
He stalked around the room, staring intently at the displays. He stopped in front of a case, carefully examining the sword within it. He nodded to himself, knocked the glass cover off, and grabbed it.
Rory caught the sword as the Doctor tossed to him.
"Rory," the Doctor said, "Take this, go find Amy. Xarchac doesn't have any interest in you, so the robots should leave you alone."
"So what's this for then?"
"That's for if they don’t.”
"You… want me to fight giant robots… with a sword."
The Doctor huffed and gesticulated angrily. "Yes! With a sword. 2000 year old centurion, yes? No? Go on, find your wife. We'll meet up with you."
Rory hesitated, resisting the urge to ask how they were going to find each other again, and hurried up the stairs.
Jack raised an eyebrow. "2000 years?"
The Doctor shrugged. "Long story."
Jack stared up at Rory's retreating back. "He looks good for his age. Better than me, even."
The Doctor snorted.
"So what exactly is going on, Doc?" Jack asked. "What's all this about a trap and bait and evil scientists and all that?"
"Basically," the Doctor said, leading the way down the corridor, "Basically, there's this man, Eskar Xarchac. Brilliant doctor, inventor, scientist, you name it. You remember the nanogenes?"
Jack flinched. "How can I forget?"
"He helped invent them. Just a prototype, mind you, but they still heal people, even the recently deceased. He's that good. And he is obsessed with this kind of thing. You know how it is with these types, they just want to live forever, and they'll do anything to extend lifespan."
"And what better subject for a study on cheating death than a regenerating Time Lord?"
"Or an immortal," the Doctor said. "You're missing the point, Jack, this isn't a trap for me. I just happened to wander into it. Xarchac took advantage of my presence but I'm not what he's really after."
"And I am?" Jack scoffed.
The Doctor looked back over his shoulder at him.
"You have no idea."
He turned around, mouth already open to explain, when Jack held up a hand and shushed him.
"Do you hear something?"
They both froze.
It was nothing like the clomping of robot feet or Xarchac's drawl, but a soft sound fell through the museum hallway. Heavy breathing, trying to be quiet, and hiccoughing.
"Is someone crying?"
The Doctor turned around again, searching for the source. He walked quickly down the corridor with one hand on the wall, stopping periodically to put an ear to the wall. The sobbing got louder.
"There's somebody in the wall," the Doctor said.
Jack just raised an eyebrow.
The Doctor took a step back and stared at the wall. "There's a passage here," he explained. "Which means there's a door."
He inspected the wall for another moment. Carefully, he ran his fingers down it in a straight line, revealing a nearly invisible crack. He pushed on it.
The door slid open. There was a small gasp from the passageway.
"It's alright!" the Doctor said. "We're friends. Are you okay?"
A fuzzy little girl sat in the dark, her fur a deep grey and her tail wrapped miserably around her body. She sobbed loudly.
"Hey hey, it's alright," the Doctor cooed, stepping in to comfort her. "It's okay, I promise."
"I couldn't find my mummy," the girl choked out, accepting the Doctor's embrace. "I got lost and then the doors were locked and there were all these mean robots and I was scared!"
"Well it's okay now, isn't it? What's your name, sweetheart?"
The girl sniffed audibly. "Moshe," she whispered.
"Lovely to meet you, Moshe. I'm the Doctor, this is my friend Captain Jack. " He gestured behind him at Jack, who was biting his lip to keep from laughing.
The Doctor glared at him briefly before turning back to Moshe. "Do you know where your mummy might have gone, Moshe?"
"B-back to the flat?" she suggested. She sniffed, wiping her eyes on her frock. "Are you really a doctor?"
"Sure I am," said the Doctor. "I'm the Doctor. You can ask anyone."
"I have a friend who's a doctor," Moshe said. "He's part of the museum. Do you work for the museum? You wear a bowtie like the guides do."
"Naw, I just like bowties. They're cool." The Doctor winked at her and she giggled, sniffing a little more.
He stood up, still holding Moshe in his arms. "Right, come on, Jack. We'll have to take her with us."
Jack still looked like he was fighting off a severe case of the giggles. "Do we?"
"We can't just leave her here, she's lost!"
Jack scoffed. "That's a flat lie," he said. "Doctor, you're being conned."
The Doctor looked scandalized. "I'm what?"
"You're being conned. I should know, I did it for years. But nobody pulls off a con better than a little kid. Isn't that right?"
Moshe stuck her tongue out at him, all signs of tears and distress entirely evaporated. Her fur had turned purple.
Jack leaned in and grinned in Moshe's face. "I bet you ditched your mom on purpose, so you could go explore the museum when it was closed."
"I don't need to explore," Moshe said. "I know how to get everywhere."
"Oh you do, do you?" the Doctor said, and shoved her forwards into Jack, who grabbed her, startled. "Well then, since you're such an expert, do you think you can get us to our friends? They're being held somewhere, like a part of an exhibit or storage, they won't be with the staff housing - "
"I know!" Moshe interrupted gleefully, wrapping her tail around Jack's shoulders for balance. "I know where that is!"
"Can you get us there without any of the robots finding us!"
Moshe nodded vehemently. "I can get anywhere!" she bragged.
"Great!" the Doctor said, clapping his hands. "Lead the way!"
~~
The five of them stumbled down a flight of steps; Amy in the lead, Tosh and Owen right behind her, and Ianto dragging the out-of-breath Ned in the rear.
"I don't suppose these robots have a particular weakness in running down stairs?" Amy gasped.
"The museum's practically nothing but stairs," Owen pointed out. "It'd be pretty ridiculous if they couldn't do stairs."
"I don't know how long we can keep this up," Tosh put in, gulping down air. Her lungs were burning already, long out of practice for this sort of exertion. "We have to stop."
"Ned, isn't there somewhere we can hide?" Ianto asked, pulling the historian along as he ran.
"I don't - think so - it's all - been blocked off," he puffed. "And - Eskar - has got - access - to everywhere - anyway."
"What about weapons?" Owen demanded. "Is there any way we can fight them?"
Amy reached into her jacket pocket. "I have this," she said. "Why aren't you out of breath like the rest of us?" she added with a hint of resentment.
Owen grabbed the sonic from her. "No breath to lose. What the hell is this thing?"
Amy shrugged. "Screwdriver."
Tosh snatched it from Owen. "Good with locks," she said. "Maybe we can get into one of these rooms."
"Then we'll be cornered!" Ned wailed. "These rooms only have - one exit!"
Amy yelled suddenly, skidding to a halt. Another robot had appeared in front of them, apparently patrolling the vicinity. Its dark eyes focused on them, and it raised its weapon.
They all stumbled backwards into each other. Amy grabbed the sonic, still in Tosh's grasp, and pointed it desperately at the robot.
"Don't come any closer or I'll shoot!" she shouted. The screwdriver's tip glowed green and it buzzed. The robot was unphased.
"You can't bluff a bloody robot!" Owen yelled at her.
"Well I can't now that you've told it!" she shouted back.
The robot took another menacing step forwards. Its weapon began to hum.
It stopped suddenly, lurching forwards. For a moment there was no sound but the buzzing of electricity. Then something ripped through the robot's side, pulling out wires and tubing in its wake. The robot slumped.
"I like this sword," Rory said. "Sharp."
"Rory!"
Amy ran towards him, leaping over the disconnected security bot and tackling him into a hug. He hugged her back, one-handed, and grinned as she yanked his head forwards into a kiss.
"Well who the hell are you?" Owen demanded, somehow annoyed by the display.
"Did you just destroy one of our top of the line security automatons with an ancient Kagarran ceremonial wedding sword?" Ned put in, staring at the couple.
Rory looked down at his sword, then back up at Ned. "Yes?"
"This is my husband Rory," Amy said quickly. "Rory, where's the Doctor?"
"Still out in the museum. He said we need to find the TARDIS and get out of here, but we split up because he said the robots are only after him."
"Well they're bloody well after us too, mate," Owen said.
"What do you mean find the TARDIS?" Ianto asked. "Have you lost it?"
The sudden wailing of an alarm from the robot drowned Rory’s answer out.
"What the hell's it doing?" Ianto shouted, covering his ears.
"Calling its friends!" Tosh shouted back. "We need to get out of here before they show up!"
"I told you, there's nowhere we can go!" Ned yelled, but he followed when the humans started running again.
"All the rooms are dead ends," Tosh said, her mind racing to find a way out of this. "And we can't get out through the museum itself?"
"The museum's in lockdown," Ned confirmed. "The docking bay is closed, and there are patrols everywhere, particularly in the exhibit halls."
"Don't you have an emergency exit somewhere?"
"He'll have thought of that though," Tosh said, brushing aside Ianto's suggestion. "Even if we could get to it unhindered. I doubt one sword is going to take care of a whole army of robots."
Rory glanced down at the blade doubtfully.
They turned a corner and Tosh slowed to a stop. "Where are we?"
Owen took a quick glance around. "Science wing," he said. "Where all the labs and stuff are."
The sound of heavy footsteps rang out behind them.
"They found us," Ianto said.
"No shit," Owen added, staring at the robots turning the corner at the other end of the hall.
"Come on!" Tosh said, pulling him forwards. "Which one of these rooms has the Time Gate?"
Ned protested wildly. "It's malfunctioning!" he said. "We had to disconnect it, it either won't activate at all or it starts up on its own! It's dangerous!"
"Do you see any other choices?"
Owen stopped her in front of one of the doors. "This one!"
Tosh ripped off the panel cover and began hardwiring the door controls.
"Hurry!" Ianto urged.
"Get it open! Quick!" Rory added, brandishing his sword at the robots encroaching from the right.
"Oh lord," Ned whimpered, his eyes locked on the ones coming from the left.
"Use the damn sonic!" Amy shouted.
Tosh whipped the sonic screwdriver out from her pocket and pointed it at the controls. The door flew open.
"Quickly, everyone get inside!"
They piled in. Tosh slammed the button to close the doors. Owen tugged off the door control and reached into the wires with his bare hands, ripping them out and sending sparks flying.
"They'll still be able to get through with brute force," Tosh shouted, already running for the Time Gate's controls. "Block the doors with whatever you can! Ned, help me get this thing working!"
Ned wrung his hands while the humans rushed around him. Amy ripped open a door in the corner; a supply cupboard. She and the men grabbed whatever they could - chairs, desks, mops, buckets, strange devices, trays - and piled them up against the door. There was a loud BANG from the other side as the robots tried to get through.
"Ned!" Tosh shouted, "Help me!"
Ned whimpered and ran to the other controls.
Entirely out of things to block the door with, Rory, Amy, Ianto, and Owen pressed themselves up against the pile. It shook with every impact from the robot's huge red hand.
"You couldn't have been the sort of zombie with super strength, could you?" Ianto said bitterly to Owen. He was clutching a long metal pipe from the supply cupboard as a weapon.
"So sorry about that," Owen said with a half-chortle, "I'll bring it up at the next brought-back-to-life-by-an-evil-glove meeting."
"They're getting through," Rory said, pressing the door as hard as he could. It was already filled with dents as large as his head, and a little too close to it for comfort. He adjusted his grip on his sword.
"Any time you guys want to get that portal ready?" Owen called back to Tosh and Ned.
"Just hang on," Tosh said, utterly focused on the controls in front of her. "I think I've almost got it."
The arch began to spark a little.
"The coordinates won't stabilize," Ned warned her. "No matter what, they just keep resetting themselves, I can't control it. I can't even determine what planet it's set for, let alone what time! We could end up in the vacuum of space!"
"Shouldn't it still be set to Earth?" Ianto asked. The door creaked worryingly.
"I can't tell!"
The arch started to hum. A light appeared in the center of the archway, flickering and sparking as a wind picked up around it. A sound like distorted voices rang out in the room.
"What's it doing?" Amy shouted.
"I don't know! This is why we had to disconnect it!"
"Are you ready? You're not going to get another chance!"
"Just hang on!" Tosh yelled over the commotion.
BANG! went the door.
"Hurry it up, Tosh!" Owen called.
"Alright, here we go! Love you all! See you soon!"
BANG!
"I've got it!" Tosh shouted, ignoring everything else.
The spark in the arch grew into a full-blown portal, a shining whorl of light spinning rapidly in the center. A strong wind blew everything this way and that, sending the lighter parts of the door's blockade flying across the room.
"Toshiko Sato, you are brilliant!" Owen yelled excitedly.
Tosh beamed. The portal flashed ominously.
BANG!
Rory wrapped his free arm around Amy as the wind blew debris over their heads. They all ducked, seeking cover under whatever they could.
BANG!
The blockade shifted with the impact, sending it and all four humans sliding away from the door. A giant red hand tore through the metal and gripped the side of the door, pulling it open.
"Tosh, get us through that thing, now!"
"You can't!" Ned roared above the cacophony. "It's not pulling us through, it's bringing something through to here! The controls won't listen! It's only going the one way!"
The portal flashed again and again, sparks of golden energy crackling through the air.
The door ripped open, knocking the debris aside. Four deep red robots began to pile into the room, pushing through the blockade.
Somebody screamed.
There was a deafening whoosh! of wind and a blinding flash of light.
"EVERYBODY GET DOWN!" a voice shouted above it all.
Nobody thought about it. Owen hurled himself to one side, plowing into Ianto and knocking them both to the ground. Rory and Amy clutched each other and ducked behind the pile of broken tables and supplies. Tosh threw herself under the control desk, catching a glimpse of Ned doing the same on the other side.
There was a loud crackle, the high-pitched whirr of powerful machinery, followed by a deep BOOM! and a moment of intense, direct heat through the center of the room; the sound of crashing, sparking, and then an unnatural silence.
Tosh cowered under the control panel for a moment, shaking, disoriented, and trying to find her breath. Cautiously, she reached out, pulling herself out of her hiding spot and to her feet.
Amy and Rory huddled in the corner, still grabbing onto each other for dear life. Ianto and Owen lay in a tangle on the other side of the room, stuck somewhere in the midst of rising, staring wide eyed around the room. Between them, four of the security bots lay like fallen dominoes, enormous holes burnt through the chest of each one, dripping molten metal to the floor.
Debris lay on the floor in all directions. The archway was dark and silent again, but a figure stood in the center of it, smoke curling from the enormous weapon on its shoulder.
Gwen lowered her oversized gun and grinned.
"Alright, everybody?"
Part Five
Master Post
"Attention, ladies, gentlemen, and other: the Adris One Science and History Museum will be closing in thirty minutes. Please make your way to the exit. Thank you, and we hope to see you again soon."
"Doctor!"
The Doctor turned around to find Amy stalking towards him.
"Amy!" he said delightedly. "Just who I was hoping to see. Thought I'd have a look at that Earth exhibit now. Though apparently we only have half an hour, did you hear? It seems awfully early for closing time."
He frowned at his watch as if it might have an explanation.
"Never mind that, Doctor, this museum, it's keeping people like slaves. I met this man, a human, from our time working here, and there're two of his friends, only they're not allowed to leave, and they don't get paid, and - "
"Yes, yes, Amy, I'm well aware of all that," the Doctor said, not really listening. He linked his arm with hers and guided her against the flow of the crowd back towards the Earth exhibit.
"What do you mean you're aware?"
"I mean I already know! Obviously. What else would I mean? I met a lovely young woman breaking into the security office. Brilliant girl. I offered to help, she didn't seem too interested. I lent a hand, of course, but I'll bet you these 'slaves' of yours will be out of here within a week, with or without my help. There's really nothing to worry about."
"But Doctor!"
"Doctor! Amy!"
They both paused as Rory caught up. "Did you see? There are other humans here."
"I know Rory, did you know they're being kept here as prisoners?"
"Prisoners?"
"I already told you, it's nothing to worry about. They've got an escape plan all worked out, and if it seems like they need help then of course we'll step in, but I'm virtually certain they don't need it. WHAT is that?"
The Doctor stopped in midstride, throwing his arms out to the side and bringing Amy and Rory to an abrupt halt. He stared up at the sign hanging just above the official museum plaque of "21st Century Earth: First Contact before First Contact."
"'Torchwood,'" he read out loud.
He stared at it.
"Yeah, that's the name of the place they all worked before they were brought here," Amy said. "What, have you heard of it?"
The Doctor looked around the exhibit quickly, taking in the replicated Hub and its contents.
"This is bad," he said. "This is very, very bad."
Amy and Rory glanced at each other, then looked around the exhibit as well.
"Why is it bad?" Rory ventured.
"This," the Doctor said, "is a trap."
"A trap?" Amy asked. "What, for us?"
"No, not for us. For someone else. For a very specific person. This whole thing, the exhibit, the ads, the articles, it's all just an elaborate set-up. It's bait."
"Bait?" Amy repeated. "But what about the people?"
"They're probably a part of it too." He whirled around to stare Amy in the eyes. "What did you say this person's name was?"
Amy blinked, taken aback. "Er, Ianto. Jones, I think. He was Welsh."
"Ianto," the Doctor repeated, and his shoulders sank, very disappointed in being proven correct. "Ianto. Jack used to talk about him."
"Sorry, who?" Rory put in. "Who's Jack?"
The Doctor shook his head and spun around again to glare at the display. "These people aren't just a part of it, Amy, they're the part of it. They're all just bait, a lure, a trap. And once the quarry's been caught, hostages, certainly. This is very very bad."
He whirled around again, stalking forwards and grabbing the humans' arms again. "I've changed my mind," he said, "We're getting these people out. Right now."
He stopped at one of the Information panels, and whipped out his screwdriver to hack in. An expanded version of the museum map appeared, with the off-limits areas shown as well. The Doctor stared at it for a moment.
"Amy," he said. "Take this. Go through that door, down a flight of stairs, to the right. Find the living quarters. Find Ianto and whoever he has with him, and hurry back to the entrance. Fast as you can. Go!"
Amy jumped, fumbling as she caught the sonic screwdriver, but obediently rushed off.
"Rory, come with me. Back to the TARDIS. We might need to do a daring-last-second-rescue, I'd rather have everything ready to go. If we're very, very lucky, we'll be able to get out of here before the trap closes, and maybe even stop it from going off at all."
"But Doctor - "
"Attention, ladies, gentlemen, and other: The Adris One Museum of Science and History is now closed. We hope you have enjoyed your stay, and we hope to see you again soon."
The Doctor stopped in his tracks, staring upwards.
"There's no way that was a half hour," he said.
Rory shrugged. "Maybe they didn't mean an Earth hour."
The Doctor frowned, "Yes, but the TARDIS doesn't just do languages, it converts the time and distance differences as well, otherwise we'd never know what other species were talking about - "
"Attention, all museum personnel: There has been a security breach. Please evacuate to your designated emergency waiting areas until Security has eliminated the threat. Thank you, and have a nice day."
The Doctor swallowed. "Ah."
Rory glanced around worriedly. "What exactly does that mean?"
"It means the trap's just closed," the Doctor said. "And we're stuck in it."
~~
"The Adris One docking bay is currently closed. We apologize for the inconvenience. Please come again later, and have a nice day."
"Oh come on," the pilot yelled at the comm, severely irritated with the automated voice. "I have no fuel! I can't come again later! I can't even stop!"
"The Adris One docking bay is currently closed. We apologize for the inconvenience. Please come again later, and have a nice day."
"Arrrrgh!" He slammed his fist down on the console, inputting a line of gibberish into the computer.
"Fuck this," he said, and pulled up a special program on the screen. "You're not gonna let me in, I'm gonna force my way in."
"'Stationwide lockdown due to undefined security breach,'" he read. "Well, if you didn't have one before, you sure do now."
A moment more of typing, and the pilot looked up, triumphant, at the station ahead of him. The docking bay doors were opening.
~~
They all looked up when the alarms went off.
"Security breach?" Ianto repeated.
Owen raised an eyebrow at Toshiko.
"Why would it go off now, I hacked in almost an hour ago," she said. "I haven't done anything since."
"So you did hack in, then?" Ianto asked.
"As I have been since I first got access to the computers," Tosh answered crossly. "I'm not the sort to get caught."
"First time for everything."
She glared at Owen. "It's not me!"
"Maybe somebody's broken in," Ianto mused.
"You think your mystery girl's coming in to rescue us?" Owen suggested with a smirk.
"Could be," Ianto said. "She was very insistent."
Tosh stood up and went to the door. "In any case, we should take advantage of the distraction."
Owen watched her try to open the door manually, fail, and bend over to rip off the control panel and hardwire it. Even with the passcode, she'd learned to open it by force just in case of a lockdown like this.
"Is using a security breach as a distraction wise?" Ianto pointed out. "Won't the halls be filled with security teams? We'd just get caught."
"Security's almost all automated," Tosh explained. "I can almost certainly redirect it away from us."
"And where are we going to go?"
Tosh spared a glare over her shoulder at Owen as the door slid open. "I have it under control," she said, and crashed into Amy as she stepped outside.
Amy stumbled and caught herself on the doorframe.
"Found you!" she said, triumphantly.
"Mystery girl?" Owen asked Ianto, jerking a thumb at Amy.
Ianto nodded. "Yup."
Amy looked at them. "Look, we've got to get out of here, the Doctor says this is all some sort of big trap."
The others all cut in at once.
"A trap? For who?" Tosh said.
"It's not like we're going anywhere," Owen put in.
"The Doctor?" Ianto repeated. "Like, Time Lord, two hearts, TARDIS Doctor?"
Amy blinked at him. "Have you met?"
"Briefly. Over the phone anyway. Well, subwave network…"
Tosh frowned. "The Doctor's here," she repeated.
"Yes, he's downstairs!" Amy cried, gesturing. "He sent me to come get you so we can all get out of here in the TARDIS. Before the trap is set off, he says, only the alarm's gone so I'm pretty sure we're running out of time…"
She trailed off, arm out, obviously hoping they would hurry up and follow her out.
They all hesitated a moment. Then Ianto got up from his seat on Tosh's desk and joined Amy in the hall. Owen followed.
Tosh rose from her crouch on the floor and followed them slowly. Amy was explaining that they needed to get out of the museum and back down to the TARDIS, while Ianto kept looking around for danger and Owen just shrugged with his hands in his pockets and looked conflicted.
The TARDIS, Tosh thought. Can travel anywhere in time and space with no trouble at all. We'll be free in no time.
She stared at the others' backs, mildly disappointed. 'My brilliance' indeed, Face of Boe. I've just wasted a lot of time and energy to be saved by outside forces.
She sighed, jogging a little to catch up. There was no point dwelling on it, she supposed. The important thing was they were finally getting out of there. Whatever happened, she would not be a prisoner any more, and they were all getting out together. They just had to reach the TARDIS.
The four of them turned the corner to get back to the museum proper and stopped as one.
"Oh," Tosh said.
The way was blocked. Four of the robots from the Security Office stood in the hall. Activated, they were enormous. Their dull red shells filled the entire width of the corridor. Their camera eyes swiveled and focused on the group.
"Return to your quarters," said one of the robots, in the unmistakable voice of Doctor Eskar Xarchac, "Or you will be eliminated."
The robots' weapons began to glow.
~~
"What do you mean we're stuck in the trap. You said the trap wasn't for us."
"It isn't," the Doctor reiterated, running over to yet another door, opening it, looking both ways, and shutting it again. "Doesn't mean we can't get stuck in it. A bear trap is meant to catch bears, but if you stick your foot in it by accident it still hurts."
Rory followed at a more sedate pace, watching wearily as the Doctor led him through the side passages of the station.
"So what's the plan, then?"
"The plan, Rory, is to get to the TARDIS, find Amy and her friends, put Amy and her friends in the TARDIS, and get out of here as quickly as possible."
"And why can't we just go directly to the TARDIS the way we came in?"
"Because security's been activated and if we just wander around willy-nilly in the main halls they're going to find us," the Doctor said.
"Couldn't we just explain that we're not the person they're looking for, and we just didn't get out of the museum in time?"
"Maybe we could, under different circumstances. But I was just in the security office a little while ago, and it was full of rather large robots with big guns. Speaking from experience, you can't usually negotiate with large robots with big guns. Well, sometimes you can, there was that one time on Coridine, but I think they're more the exception than the rule. Lovely people though, those robots, they make an amazing fruitcake. Ah ha, here we go!"
Apparently finding a door he was satisfied with, the Doctor ran through. Rory followed, and they jogged down a long, darkened hall.
"This station's old," the Doctor explained. "Much older than the museum. It has a lot of disused maintenance tunnels and passages. They're not mapped very well, mind, but this one should probably get us back over to the docking bay."
"We parked in a cupboard though," Rory pointed out.
"Yes, but the cupboard was very near to the docking bay. Pay attention, Rory, these things are important."
They hurried back out another door into the bright hallway that lay between the museum and the living area. The Doctor ran triumphantly past both sets of doors for the docking bay and flung open the door to the supply cupboard in which they had parked.
A mop fell to the floor. The TARDIS was nowhere in sight. The cupboard's interior was filled with the bulky mass of a very large, dark red robot with a big gun.
The Doctor blinked at it. "See?" he said to Rory. "I was right."
To the robot, he said, "I don't suppose you've come to give me a fruitcake."
The robot's eyes focused on the Doctor. It raised its gun.
The Doctor took a step back. "Oh come now, there's no need for that," he said. "We did mean to get out when the announcement was made, really, only we wanted to see one last exhibit first, and we got stuck, if you could just tell us where our ship has got to - it looks like a big blue box, says 'police box' on the top - we'll get out of your hair, no harm no foul, right?"
"I thought you said you couldn't reason with big robots with large guns," Rory murmured.
"I said large robots with big guns," the Doctor corrected, "and it's worth a shot, anyway."
A voice came from the robot. "I'm afraid that won't be happening, Doctor," it said.
"Oh, and why not? I know this is all a big setup, but it has nothing to do with me, I only came because Amy insisted."
"It may not have been meant for you," the voice hissed, "but you'll do just fine. I've had enough of this ridiculous charade. I may have been promised an immortal, but a regenerating Time Lord is just as good."
The Doctor shook his head. "Really, Doctor Xarchac, I'd hoped better from you. A brilliant mind like yours, and you waste it like this. Your time could be much better spent helping people."
"I am helping people, Doctor," Xarchac's voice answered. "I can heal almost any wound and reverse death, but soon I will be able to avert death entirely."
"Right," said the Doctor. "Good luck with that."
He shut the cupboard door in the robot's face.
"Run!"
~~
"Return to your quarters," the robot repeated, with the same intonation as before.
It's a recording, Ianto thought. There goes any chance of reasoning with it.
"What do we do?" he asked.
Amy took a step backwards, knocking into his elbow. "What is that thing?" she asked quietly.
"It's a security bot," Tosh murmured back. "They're only supposed to be used in cases of extreme emergency."
"Is our getting out of here really such a big deal?" Owen asked.
"The alarm went off before we got out of the room," Ianto pointed out. "They couldn't have known we were going to do something before we did it, could they?"
"The Doctor said this was all some sort of trap," Amy pointed out as the robot repeated its ominous message. "Maybe this is a part of it? To keep you all contained or something."
"That actually seems pretty likely," Toshiko said. Like Amy, she was backing away slowly, her hand grasping Owen's mangled one seemingly without her notice. "But what is it a trap for?"
Amy kept her eyes on the robots. "He didn't say. Well, he said something, but it was all very convoluted and unfocused, like usual."
"Return to your quarters or you will be eliminated," the robot repeated.
"You know, that's getting really annoying," Owen chided it. He took another step back as well, trying to give Tosh's hand a reassuring squeeze.
"Return to your quarters or - "
"ESKAR!" shouted a voice from behind them. Ned pushed his way between them all, more furious than Ianto would have thought possible. "Eskar, what the hell do you think you're doing?!"
The robot didn't answer, but it and its companions stopped and lowered their weapons.
"Eskar!" Ned shouted again. "What is going on here? Why did you evacuate the museum? Why has security activated?"
No response.
"Who's this?" Amy whispered.
"That's Ned," Ianto whispered back. "Runs the museum along with the fellow whose voice is on the robot."
"Eskar, I know you can hear me!"
There was a soft crackle from the robot's speakers.
"Nerranderot," Xarchac said calmly.
"Eskar, what do you think you're doing?!"
"I'm executing the plan," answered Xarchac. "I've had enough waiting around, Nerranderot. I've let you go ahead with your little exhibit, even with the drain on resources and the utter waste of space. But now it's time for action."
"Eskar," Ned pleaded. "This is ridiculous, you're not accomplishing anything - "
"Nonsense. I've caught a Time Lord."
Ned's mouth shut with a snap.
"I have something useful to study, Nerranderot, and I intend to do so. Now get out of my way." The robots raised their weapons.
Ianto pulled Amy behind him. Behind him, he could see Tosh and Owen stepping quickly backwards, ready to bolt.
"Ned," Ianto prodded.
"Eskar," Ned said yet again. "Please. This is going too far. Turn the security alert off and let's talk this over. I'm sure we can come to some sort of arrangement…"
"I don't think so," Xarchac said. "You've had your chance."
The robots opened fire.
Ianto grabbed Ned by the collar and yanked him around the corner.
"Run!" he shouted, though the others had already broken into a sprint ahead of him.
They ran for their lives.
~~
They ran. They didn't look back as they heard the cupboard door splinter behind them, nor at the booming footsteps following in their wake.
"Where are we going to go?" Rory panted.
"Dunno. Somewhere. Anywhere."
The Doctor skidded to a halt, holding his hand out to catch Rory as three more of the red robots emerged from around the corner ahead of them.
He looked around. "This way!" he shouted, and ran for the docking bay doors.
The Doctor pressed some buttons on the panel next to the door. It bleeped but the doors didn't open. He frantically searched his pockets.
"You gave your sonic to Amy!" Rory said, backing up into him. He was inexplicably still holding the mop that had fallen from the cupboard, brandishing it in front of him as if it could ward off the incoming line of robots.
"Of course I did," the Doctor muttered. "Help me pull it open!"
There were no handles. They each stuck their fingers in the small crack between doors, leaning backwards and pulling with all their weight and strength. The doors barely budged.
"Come on," the Doctor urged, "Open! OPEN!"
The doors flew open. The Doctor and Rory collapsed to the ground. Rory stared in shock at the man standing in the doorway. He looked back, curiously.
"Um," said the man. "Hi?"
The Doctor got to his feet in one quick movement. "You idiot," he spat at the man. "What are you doing here?"
The man blinked, utterly confused. "…I… was out of fuel…?"
"Never mind that," the Doctor said, pushing him backwards into the docking bay and grabbing Rory's arm again. "Run!"
The three of them stumbled into the docking bay. The Doctor ran to the door control and shut it just as the first of the robots reached them. There was a loud bang from the other side.
"They only locked it from one side, so the authorities can get in if they’re called," the Doctor explained. "Lucky for us."
He turned and grabbed both of them, pulling them away from the door and towards the ships. "It won't take them long to break through, though. We need to find another way out of here."
"Why?" the man asked. "Why are those things after you?"
"They're after you," the Doctor corrected, which made absolutely no sense. Rory frowned, trying to puzzle it out, and the man looked just as baffled.
The Doctor sighed heavily, pausing to lean against the wall and compose himself. He looked up at the man wearily.
"Really, Jack, I expected better from you. Falling for such an obvious trap, I don't believe you."
Jack raised an eyebrow. "I don't know what you're talking about," he said. "I just came here because I needed to refuel my ship." He paused. "Is that you, Doctor?"
The Doctor looked surprised. "Of course it's me," he said. "Oh, right, you must not have seen this regeneration. How long has it been for you?"
"About 400 years," Jack said. "I like the new look. What's with the bowtie?"
"Bowties are cool. It has been a while then. Look at you, you've started going grey!"
Jack ran his hand through his salt-and-pepper hair self-consciously. "Yeah, well, not all of us can just start over with brand new hair every time we die. The centuries start to take their toll after a while. I kinda like it anyway, looks dignified."
"Um," Rory interjected. "Doctor?"
"Oh right," the Doctor said. "Jack, this is Rory Williams, Rory, this is Captain Jack Harkness."
"Hi," Jack said, turning to grin at Rory.
"Um," Rory said again, feeling suddenly awkward. "Hi."
"Don't you dare, Jack."
Jack looked exasperated. "What, I'm not allowed to say hello? Still?"
"How many times do I have to tell you, no, you're not allowed to say hello. You're barking up the wrong tree anyway, he's married."
"Really?" Jack said, delighted. "What's she like?"
"Don't you dare!"
"Um, Doctor," Rory said again, putting the awkward feeling out of his mind for the moment, "The robots have gotten through."
They all turned back towards the door. One giant red hand was stuck between the crack in the door, and was slowly prying it open.
"Right," the Doctor said. "Jack, give me a boost will you?"
Confused, Jack helped the Doctor step up. He immediately set to work prying open an air vent.
"An air vent?" Rory said, staring at it. "Really? You want us to climb through an air vent?"
"Unless you see another way out of here that isn't full of robots," the Doctor said. He ripped the screen off the vent and dropped it on the floor. He clambered in, with Jack's assistance, then reached down to help pull Rory up. "Really, all you do is complain. Even Sarah Jane had to climb through air vents. She could have been famous for climbing through air vents. It's really not a big deal."
He maneuvered so that Rory could crawl past him into the vent before reaching down to help Jack too. Crammed into the tiny passage, the three of them crawled as fast as they could back into the museum.
~~
The vent screen fell to the floor with a clatter. The Doctor fell shortly after, with a small 'Oof!'
He stood up and dusted himself off, glancing around the room as he did so. Swords, suits of armor, spears, robes, farming equipment - no robots in sight. Good.
"The coast is clear!" he shouted.
"It won't be for long if you keep shouting like that." Jack dropped to the floor behind him, pausing to dust off his hands. "The robots might not have ears, but I bet they can still hear you."
The Doctor just rolled his eyes as Jack turned around to help Rory down out of the vent.
"Er, thanks," Rory stammered. "So, what now?"
"Now," the Doctor said, "the plans have changed. Just a little. We're inserting a step before 'get to the TARDIS' that we'll call 'find where the crazy scientist man has hidden the TARDIS' with a subclause of 'don't run into any more robots.' After that, it's still find Amy, get in the TARDIS, get out of here."
He stalked around the room, staring intently at the displays. He stopped in front of a case, carefully examining the sword within it. He nodded to himself, knocked the glass cover off, and grabbed it.
Rory caught the sword as the Doctor tossed to him.
"Rory," the Doctor said, "Take this, go find Amy. Xarchac doesn't have any interest in you, so the robots should leave you alone."
"So what's this for then?"
"That's for if they don’t.”
"You… want me to fight giant robots… with a sword."
The Doctor huffed and gesticulated angrily. "Yes! With a sword. 2000 year old centurion, yes? No? Go on, find your wife. We'll meet up with you."
Rory hesitated, resisting the urge to ask how they were going to find each other again, and hurried up the stairs.
Jack raised an eyebrow. "2000 years?"
The Doctor shrugged. "Long story."
Jack stared up at Rory's retreating back. "He looks good for his age. Better than me, even."
The Doctor snorted.
"So what exactly is going on, Doc?" Jack asked. "What's all this about a trap and bait and evil scientists and all that?"
"Basically," the Doctor said, leading the way down the corridor, "Basically, there's this man, Eskar Xarchac. Brilliant doctor, inventor, scientist, you name it. You remember the nanogenes?"
Jack flinched. "How can I forget?"
"He helped invent them. Just a prototype, mind you, but they still heal people, even the recently deceased. He's that good. And he is obsessed with this kind of thing. You know how it is with these types, they just want to live forever, and they'll do anything to extend lifespan."
"And what better subject for a study on cheating death than a regenerating Time Lord?"
"Or an immortal," the Doctor said. "You're missing the point, Jack, this isn't a trap for me. I just happened to wander into it. Xarchac took advantage of my presence but I'm not what he's really after."
"And I am?" Jack scoffed.
The Doctor looked back over his shoulder at him.
"You have no idea."
He turned around, mouth already open to explain, when Jack held up a hand and shushed him.
"Do you hear something?"
They both froze.
It was nothing like the clomping of robot feet or Xarchac's drawl, but a soft sound fell through the museum hallway. Heavy breathing, trying to be quiet, and hiccoughing.
"Is someone crying?"
The Doctor turned around again, searching for the source. He walked quickly down the corridor with one hand on the wall, stopping periodically to put an ear to the wall. The sobbing got louder.
"There's somebody in the wall," the Doctor said.
Jack just raised an eyebrow.
The Doctor took a step back and stared at the wall. "There's a passage here," he explained. "Which means there's a door."
He inspected the wall for another moment. Carefully, he ran his fingers down it in a straight line, revealing a nearly invisible crack. He pushed on it.
The door slid open. There was a small gasp from the passageway.
"It's alright!" the Doctor said. "We're friends. Are you okay?"
A fuzzy little girl sat in the dark, her fur a deep grey and her tail wrapped miserably around her body. She sobbed loudly.
"Hey hey, it's alright," the Doctor cooed, stepping in to comfort her. "It's okay, I promise."
"I couldn't find my mummy," the girl choked out, accepting the Doctor's embrace. "I got lost and then the doors were locked and there were all these mean robots and I was scared!"
"Well it's okay now, isn't it? What's your name, sweetheart?"
The girl sniffed audibly. "Moshe," she whispered.
"Lovely to meet you, Moshe. I'm the Doctor, this is my friend Captain Jack. " He gestured behind him at Jack, who was biting his lip to keep from laughing.
The Doctor glared at him briefly before turning back to Moshe. "Do you know where your mummy might have gone, Moshe?"
"B-back to the flat?" she suggested. She sniffed, wiping her eyes on her frock. "Are you really a doctor?"
"Sure I am," said the Doctor. "I'm the Doctor. You can ask anyone."
"I have a friend who's a doctor," Moshe said. "He's part of the museum. Do you work for the museum? You wear a bowtie like the guides do."
"Naw, I just like bowties. They're cool." The Doctor winked at her and she giggled, sniffing a little more.
He stood up, still holding Moshe in his arms. "Right, come on, Jack. We'll have to take her with us."
Jack still looked like he was fighting off a severe case of the giggles. "Do we?"
"We can't just leave her here, she's lost!"
Jack scoffed. "That's a flat lie," he said. "Doctor, you're being conned."
The Doctor looked scandalized. "I'm what?"
"You're being conned. I should know, I did it for years. But nobody pulls off a con better than a little kid. Isn't that right?"
Moshe stuck her tongue out at him, all signs of tears and distress entirely evaporated. Her fur had turned purple.
Jack leaned in and grinned in Moshe's face. "I bet you ditched your mom on purpose, so you could go explore the museum when it was closed."
"I don't need to explore," Moshe said. "I know how to get everywhere."
"Oh you do, do you?" the Doctor said, and shoved her forwards into Jack, who grabbed her, startled. "Well then, since you're such an expert, do you think you can get us to our friends? They're being held somewhere, like a part of an exhibit or storage, they won't be with the staff housing - "
"I know!" Moshe interrupted gleefully, wrapping her tail around Jack's shoulders for balance. "I know where that is!"
"Can you get us there without any of the robots finding us!"
Moshe nodded vehemently. "I can get anywhere!" she bragged.
"Great!" the Doctor said, clapping his hands. "Lead the way!"
~~
The five of them stumbled down a flight of steps; Amy in the lead, Tosh and Owen right behind her, and Ianto dragging the out-of-breath Ned in the rear.
"I don't suppose these robots have a particular weakness in running down stairs?" Amy gasped.
"The museum's practically nothing but stairs," Owen pointed out. "It'd be pretty ridiculous if they couldn't do stairs."
"I don't know how long we can keep this up," Tosh put in, gulping down air. Her lungs were burning already, long out of practice for this sort of exertion. "We have to stop."
"Ned, isn't there somewhere we can hide?" Ianto asked, pulling the historian along as he ran.
"I don't - think so - it's all - been blocked off," he puffed. "And - Eskar - has got - access - to everywhere - anyway."
"What about weapons?" Owen demanded. "Is there any way we can fight them?"
Amy reached into her jacket pocket. "I have this," she said. "Why aren't you out of breath like the rest of us?" she added with a hint of resentment.
Owen grabbed the sonic from her. "No breath to lose. What the hell is this thing?"
Amy shrugged. "Screwdriver."
Tosh snatched it from Owen. "Good with locks," she said. "Maybe we can get into one of these rooms."
"Then we'll be cornered!" Ned wailed. "These rooms only have - one exit!"
Amy yelled suddenly, skidding to a halt. Another robot had appeared in front of them, apparently patrolling the vicinity. Its dark eyes focused on them, and it raised its weapon.
They all stumbled backwards into each other. Amy grabbed the sonic, still in Tosh's grasp, and pointed it desperately at the robot.
"Don't come any closer or I'll shoot!" she shouted. The screwdriver's tip glowed green and it buzzed. The robot was unphased.
"You can't bluff a bloody robot!" Owen yelled at her.
"Well I can't now that you've told it!" she shouted back.
The robot took another menacing step forwards. Its weapon began to hum.
It stopped suddenly, lurching forwards. For a moment there was no sound but the buzzing of electricity. Then something ripped through the robot's side, pulling out wires and tubing in its wake. The robot slumped.
"I like this sword," Rory said. "Sharp."
"Rory!"
Amy ran towards him, leaping over the disconnected security bot and tackling him into a hug. He hugged her back, one-handed, and grinned as she yanked his head forwards into a kiss.
"Well who the hell are you?" Owen demanded, somehow annoyed by the display.
"Did you just destroy one of our top of the line security automatons with an ancient Kagarran ceremonial wedding sword?" Ned put in, staring at the couple.
Rory looked down at his sword, then back up at Ned. "Yes?"
"This is my husband Rory," Amy said quickly. "Rory, where's the Doctor?"
"Still out in the museum. He said we need to find the TARDIS and get out of here, but we split up because he said the robots are only after him."
"Well they're bloody well after us too, mate," Owen said.
"What do you mean find the TARDIS?" Ianto asked. "Have you lost it?"
The sudden wailing of an alarm from the robot drowned Rory’s answer out.
"What the hell's it doing?" Ianto shouted, covering his ears.
"Calling its friends!" Tosh shouted back. "We need to get out of here before they show up!"
"I told you, there's nowhere we can go!" Ned yelled, but he followed when the humans started running again.
"All the rooms are dead ends," Tosh said, her mind racing to find a way out of this. "And we can't get out through the museum itself?"
"The museum's in lockdown," Ned confirmed. "The docking bay is closed, and there are patrols everywhere, particularly in the exhibit halls."
"Don't you have an emergency exit somewhere?"
"He'll have thought of that though," Tosh said, brushing aside Ianto's suggestion. "Even if we could get to it unhindered. I doubt one sword is going to take care of a whole army of robots."
Rory glanced down at the blade doubtfully.
They turned a corner and Tosh slowed to a stop. "Where are we?"
Owen took a quick glance around. "Science wing," he said. "Where all the labs and stuff are."
The sound of heavy footsteps rang out behind them.
"They found us," Ianto said.
"No shit," Owen added, staring at the robots turning the corner at the other end of the hall.
"Come on!" Tosh said, pulling him forwards. "Which one of these rooms has the Time Gate?"
Ned protested wildly. "It's malfunctioning!" he said. "We had to disconnect it, it either won't activate at all or it starts up on its own! It's dangerous!"
"Do you see any other choices?"
Owen stopped her in front of one of the doors. "This one!"
Tosh ripped off the panel cover and began hardwiring the door controls.
"Hurry!" Ianto urged.
"Get it open! Quick!" Rory added, brandishing his sword at the robots encroaching from the right.
"Oh lord," Ned whimpered, his eyes locked on the ones coming from the left.
"Use the damn sonic!" Amy shouted.
Tosh whipped the sonic screwdriver out from her pocket and pointed it at the controls. The door flew open.
"Quickly, everyone get inside!"
They piled in. Tosh slammed the button to close the doors. Owen tugged off the door control and reached into the wires with his bare hands, ripping them out and sending sparks flying.
"They'll still be able to get through with brute force," Tosh shouted, already running for the Time Gate's controls. "Block the doors with whatever you can! Ned, help me get this thing working!"
Ned wrung his hands while the humans rushed around him. Amy ripped open a door in the corner; a supply cupboard. She and the men grabbed whatever they could - chairs, desks, mops, buckets, strange devices, trays - and piled them up against the door. There was a loud BANG from the other side as the robots tried to get through.
"Ned!" Tosh shouted, "Help me!"
Ned whimpered and ran to the other controls.
Entirely out of things to block the door with, Rory, Amy, Ianto, and Owen pressed themselves up against the pile. It shook with every impact from the robot's huge red hand.
"You couldn't have been the sort of zombie with super strength, could you?" Ianto said bitterly to Owen. He was clutching a long metal pipe from the supply cupboard as a weapon.
"So sorry about that," Owen said with a half-chortle, "I'll bring it up at the next brought-back-to-life-by-an-evil-glove meeting."
"They're getting through," Rory said, pressing the door as hard as he could. It was already filled with dents as large as his head, and a little too close to it for comfort. He adjusted his grip on his sword.
"Any time you guys want to get that portal ready?" Owen called back to Tosh and Ned.
"Just hang on," Tosh said, utterly focused on the controls in front of her. "I think I've almost got it."
The arch began to spark a little.
"The coordinates won't stabilize," Ned warned her. "No matter what, they just keep resetting themselves, I can't control it. I can't even determine what planet it's set for, let alone what time! We could end up in the vacuum of space!"
"Shouldn't it still be set to Earth?" Ianto asked. The door creaked worryingly.
"I can't tell!"
The arch started to hum. A light appeared in the center of the archway, flickering and sparking as a wind picked up around it. A sound like distorted voices rang out in the room.
"What's it doing?" Amy shouted.
"I don't know! This is why we had to disconnect it!"
"Are you ready? You're not going to get another chance!"
"Just hang on!" Tosh yelled over the commotion.
BANG! went the door.
"Hurry it up, Tosh!" Owen called.
"Alright, here we go! Love you all! See you soon!"
BANG!
"I've got it!" Tosh shouted, ignoring everything else.
The spark in the arch grew into a full-blown portal, a shining whorl of light spinning rapidly in the center. A strong wind blew everything this way and that, sending the lighter parts of the door's blockade flying across the room.
"Toshiko Sato, you are brilliant!" Owen yelled excitedly.
Tosh beamed. The portal flashed ominously.
BANG!
Rory wrapped his free arm around Amy as the wind blew debris over their heads. They all ducked, seeking cover under whatever they could.
BANG!
The blockade shifted with the impact, sending it and all four humans sliding away from the door. A giant red hand tore through the metal and gripped the side of the door, pulling it open.
"Tosh, get us through that thing, now!"
"You can't!" Ned roared above the cacophony. "It's not pulling us through, it's bringing something through to here! The controls won't listen! It's only going the one way!"
The portal flashed again and again, sparks of golden energy crackling through the air.
The door ripped open, knocking the debris aside. Four deep red robots began to pile into the room, pushing through the blockade.
Somebody screamed.
There was a deafening whoosh! of wind and a blinding flash of light.
"EVERYBODY GET DOWN!" a voice shouted above it all.
Nobody thought about it. Owen hurled himself to one side, plowing into Ianto and knocking them both to the ground. Rory and Amy clutched each other and ducked behind the pile of broken tables and supplies. Tosh threw herself under the control desk, catching a glimpse of Ned doing the same on the other side.
There was a loud crackle, the high-pitched whirr of powerful machinery, followed by a deep BOOM! and a moment of intense, direct heat through the center of the room; the sound of crashing, sparking, and then an unnatural silence.
Tosh cowered under the control panel for a moment, shaking, disoriented, and trying to find her breath. Cautiously, she reached out, pulling herself out of her hiding spot and to her feet.
Amy and Rory huddled in the corner, still grabbing onto each other for dear life. Ianto and Owen lay in a tangle on the other side of the room, stuck somewhere in the midst of rising, staring wide eyed around the room. Between them, four of the security bots lay like fallen dominoes, enormous holes burnt through the chest of each one, dripping molten metal to the floor.
Debris lay on the floor in all directions. The archway was dark and silent again, but a figure stood in the center of it, smoke curling from the enormous weapon on its shoulder.
Gwen lowered her oversized gun and grinned.
"Alright, everybody?"
Part Five
Master Post