After both Echo and her Doctor had descended into the damp and dark sewers, they noticed Tallulah following them down. "No, no, no, no, no way. You're not coming." he immediately denied.
"Tell me what's going on." she demanded in turn.
"There is absolutely nothing you can do to help." Echo answered, not wanting to have the added ordeal of babysitting while fighting against the Daleks.
With a hardened expression, the blonde refused to be left behind. "Look, whoever's taken Martha, they could've taken Laszlo, couldn't they?"
"Tallulah, you're not safe down here." he pressed firmly, also not wanting to deal. After having lost Frank, he didn't want her to be taken as well.
"Then that's my problem." she shot back defiantly. "Come on. Which way?" then walked down a random tunnel.
Echo took an annoyed deep breath before walking down the correct path. "It's this way." she informed, causing the blonde to turn around and follow them.
As they walked under a portcullis, Tallulah voiced her wonderings. "When you say 'they've taken her', who's they exactly? And who are you two? I never asked."
"Hush." the Doctor said quietly, having heard a small sound from somewhere ahead of them.
"Okay, okay."
Just then did the shadow of a Dalek be cast on the wall and was drawing nearer. Before another word could be said, Echo silenced the woman as she and her Doctor quickly pulled her into a service alcove they'd passed just moments before. The Dalek slowly rolled by without noticing their presence. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no. They survived. They always survive while I lose everything."
Tallulah felt immensely taken aback by the pure rage and hatred that over took their features. "That metal thing? What was it?" she asked with genuine confusion.
"It's called a Dalek. And it's not just metal, it's alive." he answered, holding his love's hand for support and grounding.
Not believing such a fact, the blonde scoffed. "You're kidding."
"Does it look like he's kidding?" Echo snapped, the hatred in her eyes causing a cold shiver to instantly run down the ignorant woman's spine.
"Inside that shell is a creature born to hate, whose only thought is to destroy everything and everyone that isn't a Dalek too. It won't stop until it's killed every single human being alive." he practically growled, painting a horrible picture for her.
Tallulah looked towards where the Dalek had disappeared. "But if it's not a human being, that kind of implies it's from outer space." When she saw the looks they gave her, fear forcefully wormed its way further into her heart and mind. "Yet again, that's a no with the kidding. Boy. Well, what's it doing here, in New York?"
Without giving her question an answer, the Doctor began to lead the way down the path they'd come from. "Every second you're down here, you're in danger. We're taking you back right now."
As they rounded a corner, they unexpectedly came upon a lone pig-man. Unable to stop herself, Tallulah screamed in fright and caused the creature to try and hide. Without hesitation, Echo pulled out her blaster and took aim. "Where the hell have you taken Martha? Answer me!" she ordered with strong authority.
"I didn't take her." came its answer, heavy with truth.
Sensing a massive difference in this pig-man, the Doctor moved forward. "Can you remember your name?" he asked carefully, slowly lowering the ready blaster.
"Don't look at me." they pleaded with complete dejection.
Tallulah stepped towards them, a feeling of familiarity shooting through her. "Do you know where she is?" she asked softly.
"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."
After Laszlo brought them to the processing tunnel, they were able to see a group of taken people; both Martha and Frank being among them. "Silence. Silence." a Dalek ordered as it rolled in front of their prisoners. Laszlo immediately hid from sight out of pure dread. "You will form a line. Move. Move."
Knowing there was no choice, Martha spoke to the rest of the terrified people. "Just do what it says, everyone, okay? Just obey."
"The female is wise. Obey."
Just then did another Dalek come to receive an update. "Report."
The original looked at is comrade. "These are strong specimens. They will help the Dalek cause." An immediate waved of recognition washed through Martha upon hearing their species name. "What is the status of the Final Experiment?"
"The Dalekanium is in place. The energy conductor is now complete." it responded in return.
"Then I will extract prisoners for selection." Two pig-men immediately dragged an older black man forward. "Intelligence scan, initiate." It raised its sucker and held it close to his face. "Reading brain waves. Low intelligence."
The older man gave it a disbelieving expression. "You calling me stupid?" he challenged.
"Silence!" it ordered instantly. "This one will become a pig slave. Next."
Panic immediately set in when the pig-men forced him away. "No, let go of me! I'm not becoming one of them! No! No!" he yelled and struggled to get free. All to no avail.
As the Dalek moved on to the next person, Laszlo looked at the travelers. "They're divided into two groups. High intelligence and low intelligence. The low intelligence are taken to become pig slaves like me." he practically whispered, terrified of being discovered in any fashion.
"And the high intelligence?" Echo quickly asked before Tallulah could voice her objections.
"They're taken to the laboratory."
The Doctor furrowed his brow in confusion. "Why? What for?"
Laszlo shook his head, intense distaste for his ignorance. "I don't know. The masters only call it the 'Final Experiment'."
After Frank was scanned with higher intelligence, it was then Martha's turn. "Intelligence scan, initiate. Superior intelligence. This one will become part of the Final Experiment."
Fear and disgust shot through the doctor-in-training with the speed of a freight train. "You can't just experiment on people. It's insane! It's inhuman!" she exclaimed, wishing for the Doctor and Echo to come rescue her.
"We are not human." came its immediate response. "Prisoners of high intelligence will be taken to the transgenic laboratory."
When the prisoners, Daleks and pig-men alike began moving, Laszlo quickly went to lead Tallulah away. Though they paused when they noticed the couple remained unmoving. "Doctor, quickly!" he pleaded quietly, not wanting anything to happen to either of them.
In return, the Doctor shook his head. "We're not coming. I've got an idea. You go." then turned back around with determination.
"Laszlo, come on." Tallulah urged, eager to leave the terrifying tunnels for good.
Making up his mind, he sighed and looked at his beloved. "Can you remember the way?"
She nodded, "Yeah, I think so."
"Then go, please." he beseeched, knowing his best option was to help the travelers in any way he could.
Tallulah's features dropped, her fears intensifying. "But Laszlo, you gotta come with me." she argued. She spoke as if it were obvious, though he still denied her.
"Where would I go? Tallulah, I'm begging you. Save yourself. Just run. Just go. Go." he pleaded further as he gently ushered her away, refusing to let her be put in the path of needless danger.
Once she had gone, they allowed the Daleks to glide pass before they slyly joined with the humans filing by. "Just keep walking." the Doctor muttered to Martha quietly.
With overwhelming joy, she held back a laugh of relief. She felt as though she could finally breath. "Oh, I am so glad to see you two."
A smile twitched into place as Echo replied playfully, "Welp, you can kiss me later as thanks." Upon seeing her lover's expression, her grin widened. "Oh don't you worry, my love. You can kiss Frank." then sent a mischievous wink to the smiling younger man behind them.
Not long later did they all enter the Daleks' laboratory. Thankfully, they didn't realize they had two extra prisoners. "Report." the main Dalek that had led them there ordered of its comrades.
"Dalek Sec is in the final stage of evolution." Dalek Thay answered without hesitation.
"Scan them. Prepare for birth."
"Evolution?" Echo quietly wondered aloud, keeping her sharp eyes focused on the shaking Dalek Sec.
Martha leaned closer to her friends as she whispered in confusion, "What's wrong with old Charlie boy over there?"
"Ask them." the Doctor unexpectedly whispered back.
She immediately looked at him with disbelieving horror. "What, me? Don't be daft."
"We can't be noticed yet. Ask them what's going on." he urged, then slowly walked with Echo and hid out of sight.
Taking a terrified deep breath, Martha stepped away from the group of scared people. "Daleks, I demand to be told. What is this Final Experiment? Report!"
Looking directly at her, Dalek Jast chose to answer. "You will bear witness."
"To what?" she inquired further.
"This is the dawn of a new age."
Martha still couldn't understand what they meant, so she asked. "What does that mean?"
"We are the only four Daleks in existence, so the species must evolve to a life outside the shell. The Children of Skaro must walk again."
Seconds later, almost on cue, Sec's shell stopped smoking and the light went out in its eye stalk. The casing then opened and a strange biped slowly struggled out. When the casing shut, the biped straightened as it fully stood. Martha stared in disgusted shock. "What is it?" she absentmindedly mumbled out.
It had the one-eyed head and hands of a Dalek blob, but was wearing a black pin-striped suit. It then took a deep breath and spoke for the first time. "I am a human Dalek. I am your future."
And with that, penis face has been born.