“DOCTOR!” called William as he was held back by Doh-Komoh.
“THERE’SSS NO POINT IN YOU RISSSKING YOUR LIFE LIKE THAT!” argued the Draconian Emperor. The sound that filled the cave…wasn’t the high-pitched rush of focused energy transmitted at a deadly level. Instead, it was an electronic warble, a warble the Transformers knew.
“…Megatron-!” said Optimus.
“I recognize that sound too, Optimus,” replied Megatron.
“Maximum power!” ordered the Dalek Emperor. “FIRE! FIRE! EXTERMINATE THE DOCTOR!” The Daleks tried again, but the same warble sounded throughout the cave.
“…No way!” breathed William in astonishment.
“Weaponry malfunction!” yelped the Red Supreme.
“Total power failure in armament circuits!” reported the Black and Gold Supreme. A wicked grin crossed the Doctor’s face.
“Aha!” she said. “The Beacon you set up has been turned against you! By Octus, if I’m a betting Time Lord.” The instant she finished that declaration, all those that were enslaved by the Daleks set down their tools.
“Well, well, well!” chuckled Doh-Komoh. “Daleksss without the ability to kill! On their home planet, no lessss! How doesss it feel?!” The Daleks backed up in fear!
“Keep back! KEEP BACK!” cried the Emperor.
“And if he doesn’t, what can you do?” asked William. “Your weapons are totally useless.”
“The power failure is temporary!” insisted the Gold Supreme. “Superior Dalek technology-!”
“Has gone kaput!” interrupted Amy. “You’re no longer in a position to give orders or to stop us from just waltzing out of the mines!”
“Amy is quite correct,” said the Doctor. “We’re all in this together. All equal. …All powerless!”
“Daleks do not recognize inferior beings as-!” protested the Section Leader.
“Spare us your propaganda!” boomed Optimus. “The Doctor’s right, Octus must have used his new alt-mode to usurp not only the Decepticons, but you Daleks.”
“The real question is where would he get an army to be successful?” mused the Doctor.
“It looks like our truce, Optimus, has altered just a tad,” said Megatron.
“Agreed,” replied Optimus. “We all need to work together to defeat Octus. …That includes you, Daleks.”
“Daleks do not cooperate with inferior beings!” barked the Emperor.
“Consider their words, Your Majesty,” warned the Doctor. “You may obtain ballistic weapons to kill us, like you did on Exxilon, but bullets are useless against the Transformers. One angry Decepticon could just raise his foot and stomp on you like a human would stomp on a cockroach and kill you easier than that. And you have FIVE angry Decepticons. Those facts must penetrate even Dalek arrogance.” The Emperor and the Supreme Council looked at one another.
“…I must confer with the Council,” boomed the Emperor. “Councilors, follow!” He led the Supreme Council out of the mines.
“…Doctor, that was just stupid!” hissed William. “What was your backup plan if you were wrong?!”
“Well, ducking for a start, then getting you two out of here,” replied the Doctor. “Then we’d have to solve the Beacon Problem ourselves.”
“…Doctor, if the Daleks can’t shoot,” asked Amy, “how are they moving?”
“Psychokinetic energy,” answered the Doctor. Amy groaned and shut her eyes.
“Because, of course, mind powers are at play with them,” she sighed.
“Doctor,” said Doh-Komoh, “do you think the Daleksss will agree?”
“They don’t exactly have much choice in the matter,” remarked the Doctor. “Either allow Octus to take control or side with the lesser of their perceived two evils and restore power.”
“Doctor, you know the Daleks of old,” said Optimus, “perhaps you can be our spokesperson?”
“I was about to make the same offer, Prime,” chuckled the Doctor. “One moment.” The Doctor headed to the mines’ entrance and ducked behind the rocks to hear the Emperor and his Council talking.
“The only method available,” said the Black and Silver Supreme, “is to reset the Beacon!”
“That will require cooperation with our slave workers!” argued the Red Supreme.
“A temporary measure!” replied the White and Black Supreme. “We will cooperate long enough for the Beacon to allow only Dalek weaponry! Then we will exterminate all who do not obey Dalek commands!”
“Agreed!” said the Emperor. The Doctor heard enough and rejoined the group.
“Well, Doctor?” asked Megatron.
“I think they’ll go for it, only until the Beacon is reset,” reported the Doctor. “So we need to destroy it and get a fighting chance. …Not that they’ll act in time to stop that from happening.”
“How very Decepticon of you,” purred Megatron.
“I still warn you all, don’t trust the Daleks an inch!” urged the Doctor.
“The Emperor’sss coming back,” warned Doh-Komoh. The Emperor Dalek approached the group.
“Well?” asked the Doctor.
“Very well, Doctor!” replied the Emperor. “The truce exists between all parties!”
“Very wise of you,” said the Doctor. “Now, I think we need to investigate where Octus scuttled off to.”
“The Gold Supreme will assist in the investigation!”
“Thundercracker,” barked Megatron. “You will assist the Gold Supreme.”
“Bumblebee, you do the same,” ordered Optimus.
“Amy, William, you’d better accompany them,” said the Doctor. “I need to get into the Dalek City and locate the TARDIS so we have an escape route.”
“Be careful, Doctor,” advised Amy.
The investigation team was walking along the surface of Skaro, staying near the mountains. The Gold Supreme brought up the rear. “Tell me, Thundercracker,” said Bumblebee, “while we’re not shooting each other and as you’re a Decepticon I consider respectable, why side with a guy that poisoned Cybertron’s core?”
“Why side with a bot that wants to restore the old regime?” asked Thundercracker.
“Optimus isn’t like the old High Council,” retorted Bumblebee.
“Isn’t he? He’s trying to undo Megatron’s work.”
“Can’t you see that Megatron lost his way?”
“…You’re just…”
“You know he’s right, Thundercracker,” said William. “My own time is in the worst kind of turmoil, but the ideals are still worth fighting for. What were the Council’s ideals?”
“…Plenty for all, that we were all equal under Primus,” replied Thundercracker.
“And Megatron’s current rule?” asked William. Thundercracker balked.
“…Peace through tyranny,” he finally answered.
“That’s not the path to peace,” said Bumblebee. “That leads to the Daleks’ philosophy.”
“Our philosophy DOES lead to peace!” barked the Gold Supreme.
“Does it now?” scoffed William. “The Doctor told me about how a Kaled created you.”
“Kaled?” asked Bumblebee.
“The Kaleds were our humanoid ancestors!” explained the Gold Supreme. “The Kaled you speak of, Davros, our creator, conditioned the first Daleks to survive! Survival meant becoming the dominant species! When all other life-forms are suppressed, when the Daleks become the supreme beings in the universe, THEN you have peace! Wars will end! We are not a power of evil, but of good!”
“You really believe killing all non-Daleks is good?!” protested Amy.
“It IS good!” retorted the Gold Supreme. “This discussion is at an end!”
“He’s not wrong,” remarked Bumblebee. “I see Octus over there.” He pointed out where Octus was. It was a small building with Daleks being automatically unloaded from a production line. The casings were open, so everyone could see what a Dalek looked like inside.
“Oh, gross!” gagged Amy.
“How’s this production line up and running?” muttered William.
“A shielded backup, maybe?” guessed Thundercracker.
“Correct!” replied the Gold Supreme in as much of a whisper as it could muster. The opened Daleks were brought to a machine with an electric prod. The machine gave the Dalek creatures a zap, waking it up and prompting it to seal its casing. The awakened Daleks then assembled in front of Octus.
“…Do you know how the first Daleks came to be?” Octus asked the Daleks. “…They were humanoid once. Then they were taken in by a wicked scientist and tortured! Mutilated! A ruined form of life! And now…perfected! My Daleks…whom do you serve?”
“…We serve Octus!” called one of the new Daleks.
“He is the true Emperor!” said another.
“OCTUS! OCTUS! OCTUS!” cheered the new Daleks.
“TRAITORS!” shrieked the Gold Supreme as it broke cover. “EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE!”
“Come back here, you FOOL!” shouted Thundercracker. Then…they saw it happen! One of the new Daleks rushed at the Gold Supreme…then its travel skirt split into eight segments that extended, then the limb and neck section split away to reveal a torso as six of the skirt sections traveled up to the shoulder area to make six arms while the remaining two became legs! The eyestalk sunk into the dome and the new six-armed humanoid form of the new Dalek punched a hole through the Gold Supreme!
“Oh…no!” breathed Bumblebee. “The Daleks were dangerous enough…!”
“But Daleks that can transform into a humanoid form?!” finished Thundercracker.
“Tell me, my brother,” Octus said to the Dalek that killed the Gold Supreme, “how does it feel?”
“…I…feel!” replied the Transformer Dalek. “It…is…GOOD!”
“Excellent!” praised Octus. “Our personal counter-beacon works! Now you are deadlier than ever! …Now to take care of some…pests!” Octus assumed robot mode and looked towards where the Gold Supreme came from. “Rejoice, brothers! Your first collective test is here! Show these inferiors the true meaning of terror! Transform! Transform…AND EXTERMINATE!”
“EXTERMINATE!” called Octus’ Daleks as they all assumed robot mode! “EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE!”
“RUN!” shouted Thundercracker as he scooped up William and took off. Bumblebee scooped up Amy and did the same as the Octus Daleks took to the air and pursued them, screaming “EXTERMINATE” all the while!