Untold Knowledge (Doctor Who x Genius Fem! Oc) [Book 1]

Chapter 87: Daleks in Manhattan

"Stay back! Don't look at me." they pleaded again, desperate to remain hidden.

Echo frowned at the obvious pain in his voice. "What happened to you?" she questioned, not an ounce of judgment present.

The pig-man sighed heavily.in despair. "They made me a monster." he answered, tears stinging his eyes.

"Who did?" the Doctor pressed, feeling great desire to obtain as much information as was possible.

"The masters." came the grim reply. Loathing and condemnation was all he could feel when speaking the name.

Furrowing her brow, Echo became confused as to the end game that was expected. "They're called Daleks. Why did they do this to you?"

With a heavy sigh, the pig-man knew to tell everything he could. "They needed slaves. They needed slaves to steal more people, so they created us. Part animal, part human. I escaped before they got my mind, but it was still too late."

"Do you know what happened to Martha?" the Doctor asked, hoping for the best possible answer but also remained realistic in the face of the Daleks.

He hung his head in regret. "They took her. It's my fault. She was following me."

Tallulah stepped even closer as she shoved her nervousness aside. "Were you in the theatre?"

"I never--... Yes." The remorse and sheer guilt that he felt was as strong as though it were its own entity. A demonic entity, at that.

Having pieced together who this tortured pig-man was, both the Doctor and his Echo remained respectfully silent. "Why? Why were you there?" the blonde pressed, needing definitive proof on his identity.

"I never wanted you to see me like this." he muttered in a heartbroken voice.

She shook her head. "Why me? What do I got to do with this? Were you following me? Is that why you were there?"

He gathered as much courage as he had and turned around to face her, though the shadows of the tunnels still darkened his features. "Yes."

"Who are you?" she asked quietly, desperate for her suspicions to be proven wrong.

"I was lonely." he admitted easily.

"Who are you?" Tallulah asked again, her own tears moistening her eyes as well.

"I needed to see you." As she witnessed the sorrowful scene, Echo couldn't help but imagine how the couple must have felt. When she looked to her equally silent lover, she found an equally empathetic expression as he too watched the situation unfold.

"Who are you?" her voice quivering with emotion.

He then looked away, trying to turn and leave. "I'm sorry."

But Tallulah immediately stopped him. "No, wait. Let me look at you." Anticipating her rejection, he hesitantly moved into the light for her. "Laszlo? My Laszlo?" she asked, her tears flowing strong. "Oh, what have they done to you?"

He could no longer keep his tears at bay either. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"Laszlo, can you show us where they are?" the Doctor asked, knowing that there was nothing that could be done to reverse his forced transformation.

With a shake of his head, he denied them. "They'll kill you."

"If we don't stop them, they'll kill everyone. We don't have a choice." Echo said, eager to destroy the last Dalek scourge.

A nod of understanding was given, having seen just a fraction of the cruelty the 'masters' were capable of. "Then follow me."