The Time Traveler and The Immortal

Mistletoe Doesn't Always Mean Kissing Part 2

The Cyberman was sitting in an arm chair that seemed stiff and uncomfortable. He was splashed with red and green paint and if descended down his chest and over his legs. He also glimmered and shined differently than the other Cybermen we had just seen. As if he had been dipped in glitter. But the thing that stood out the most was over his mouth, the hard line that marred his face, was a smile that reached almost from eye to eye, drawn in marker. He was also dotted by shines of colour from the reflection of fairy lights that were strewn around the room.

The room itself was small, and it looked like it was owned by a hoarder. Piles of food were in the corners and blankets seemed to form a makeshift bed. There were mountains of circuitry that littered the floor in different states of modification.

At the sight of a Cyberman, The Doctor wiped out his sonic screwdriver although what that would do against a robot was beyond me. Maybe he could assemble a cabinet at it? Melody whimpered and hid behind my legs, clutching the Tiger closer. Jimmy noticed our looks of distress.

"Oh no, Mistletoe isn't like the other Cybermen you saw back there. It took me a while to trust him and to see him differently but he's really not like them. He's..."Jimmy was struggling for words and his eyes were flitting between what we now knew as 'Mistletoe' and The Doctor, "He's like a giant robot teddy bear...Vulcan," He finally summarized.

"Okay," The Doctor said suspiciously, "And Mistletoe is different why?" He looked over at Mistletoe and from what I could tell from behind The Doctor, looked him in the eye. "How are you different from the other Cybermen out there?" And he gestured at the passage that lay behind us.

"I have gone, what Cybermen consider mad," Mistletoe sat up even more and turned slightly toward us.

"Why don't you start from the beginning?' I asked as I moved more into the room with Melody still tucked behind me. It was warm in here and it made a change from the chill of the rest of the station.

"Yes, of course." Mistletoe began, "I was part of a Cyberman ship that was on an invasion mission around the galaxy to upgrade and expand the Cyberman empire. But..." He seemed like he was sucking in a breath, "We were hit by a comet and the ship was destroyed, only two of us made it out without being totally destroyed. Me and one other," He looked down and seemed about as sad as a Cyberman could be.

"A second is he here?" The Doctor pressed, "Is he hostile?" He looked worried.

"Yes, he is here. His name is Baldur." Mistletoe looked up. "We hit the space station and ended up inside. We were badly damaged and our systems were affected by the direct contact with space and with such cold. And while I ended up in a storage compartment filled with things I later knew as Christmas decorations, Baldur ended up in a drain. And while I thawed out and rebooted in an area filled with happiness and where I could hear the sounds of children shouting in joy. Baldur only saw darkness and only heard the groaning of pipes. When I had finally fixed myself, I had developed emotions.After a while, I realized what it felt like to be happy and regretful. But when Baldur thawed out he had only known darkness and things that kept his narrow-minded Cyberman metallicity intact. So while I lived in secret here. Baldur kidnapped people and started upgrading. He spent so long doing this that he too went mad. He took his name from the station and I took mine from my favourite of the Christmas decorations," And he gestured to the sprigs of mistletoe that were about the room, "He created a way to make Cybermen that are even stronger and more ruthless by converting children with cybermites slowly until they assimilate. He took over the station a month ago." Mistletoe looked sadly at his lap. "And I cannot stop him."

"I was shopping here with my wife, Mary and my son, Sam." Jimmy put in, "Baldur took over the station, I made it out but I have no clue where Mary and Sam are and how they're doing." He was sad and he sniffed as if holding back tears. "Mistletoe found me and we've been trying to think of a way to save everyone." He explained. He looked disheartened, "We've only been able to scout around their base camp. They have a main control panel that Baldur controls the rest of the Cybermen from but we can't get anywhere near it." He looked down for a moment then looked up. His eyes were filled with tears. "I...I just want to see Mary and Sam again. And even if I can't," He choked out, "I would at least like to say goodbye." And the tears he was trying to hold back dripped down his cheeks.

"No use crying," Said The Doctor, he sounded the same way he did whenever he was trying to seem positive and on top of things. He sounded like he wanted us to believe he had a plan. The last time I heard that voice I ended up stuck in a medieval dungeon about to be burned at the stake. And from the way that Jimmy, Melody and even from what I could tell Mistletoe seemed convinced, I was stoic and kept my face blank. "We can just sneak in, Mistletoe, You said there were pipes and vents all over the station?"He turned to the Cyberman.

"Yes, but they're all incredibly small, Baldur fit in the largest and then only just. And he wasn't trying to move around without making a noise." The robot responded.

"Yes well, Rose! Think you can fit down there and infiltrate without making a noise?" He looked at me and quirked an eyebrow.

"Think Doctor? I know." I looked him dead in the eyes and silently cursed him. I could get lost in his hot chocolate eyes but the smirk behind them let me know that he only phrased it that way so I would rise to the challenge. I have this thing where if someone doubts me or questions my abilities then I have a need to prove them wrong. "Just show me where I can get in."

"Good, Melody," I drew a breath as he turned to her and crouched down. As much as I trusted The Doctor, I felt like he had spent so much time around people like me who were infallible that he lost perspective on how weak mortals are. I knew he was close her in the future and he knew what she would turn out to be, but the part of me that had been looking after Melody for months and months was fearful that she might be harmed. "Can you please infiltrate the children, I know their cyborgs but," He drew in a breath and gestured to the surrounding circuitry. "We could make you look like one of them, when we stop Baldur they'll come back to themselves and we don't want a drove of panicked children to run into the Cybermen firing off their guns. Can you do that?" He asked.

"Yep," Melody said and sniffed, "I'll make sure that all the kids are safe," I stopped myself from laughing, it was so silly, the five-year-old calling children who were probably older than her kids.

"Great," And he straightened up, " Rose when you've snuck in I need you to distract the Cybermen and draw them away from the controls so that Mistletoe, Jimmy and I can override them all in a way that will save the children. "So where are the vents?" He looked to Mistletoe.

"We're doing this now?" Mistletoe asked as he got out of the chair.

"No time like the present, we just need to make something to hide the fact that Mels isn't a cyborg." And he looked to me, "Rose, can you help?"

"Yep," I replied and started toward some circuits, I stopped when I heard The Doctor cough. I turned to face him, "What?"

"Ummm," And his eyes flicked up to where above our heads sat a sprig of mistletoe. "It's tradition," He offered up. I smirked and kissed my index finger and then put it to his lips.

"I'll kiss you when we save the station, Doctor," And I turned and started to make silver wiring like I had seen on the other children for Melody.

Behind me, although I couldn't see it, The Doctor sucked in a breath and looked at the back of my head.