The Doctor stood.

 "This is getting awfully complicated", he muttered. "You know-" he took a step towards the Cyberman and pointed a finger at its chest "-on a planet I'm rather fond of, they have a saying: 'There is nothing to fear but fear itself'".

 The Cyberman made an abrupt, jarring noise and the Doctor leapt back in surprise, expecting some kind of short-circuit. It took him several moments to realize that the Cyberman was chuckling.

 ***

 The Cyberleader felt the change.

 It had been a long time since he had felt anything, per se. It had been even longer since any Cyberman had felt the emotion known as "fear". He had no way of knowing what fear even felt like. But *somehow* he knew. And it felt like this:

 All of a sudden, for no logical reason, as he was ordering the Cyberlieutenant to bring the intruders to him, he wondered if he was making the right decision. Cross-checking with his logic circuits, he knew there was no danger. And yet he wondered, if, just by some chance, his decision might be the cause of some problem, some misfortune, perhaps, even, his own destruction?

 His own life was immaterial, of course. What mattered was the Cyber-race. His only duty was towards whatever was best for the Cybermen.

 The only problem was, did he *really* know what that was?

 ***

 Nana Bevin was struggling to remember what had happened last time. She remembered the big things, of course, like her own rescue, and what had happened to Jacob, but it was all the little things, the minor details she didn't know, which were bothering her.

 She knew that the Doctor had rescued her, but she didn't know how; she'd been barely conscious, in some kind of delirium, when it had happened. She'd simply woken, miles away, opened her eyes to find herself staring into his; his eyes... so... so...

 The Cyberman halted, stood unsteadily. It had captured them the moment they entered the ship, but it had hardly seemed sure of itself. Nana knew there was something strange going on here, but she didn't know what. Wil had told her about the business with the crystals, but what that meant was anyone's guess. She certainly didn't remember any of it happening last time.

 Then, with a jolt, the hulking creature set off once more, and she was forced to move. She wondered where the Doctor was now. Hopefully, he would rescue her, the other her, soon. She wondered why he had done it. It seemed such a futile gesture, really, to rescue a single person out of hundreds. And she thought about those eyes again, those grey-blue eyes, eyes that were just so...

 So *sad*.

 She turned suddenly to look at Wil beside her, her eyes full of terror.

 ***

 "What have you done?"

 The Cyberman... the Mara, didn't answer. It stared back at him, if you could call it staring: those blank grey sockets somehow managed to convey a world of hatred and malice.

 And then it moved.

 Too late the Doctor realized what it was doing. He tried to leap in front of it, but was no match for the strength of the Cyberman.

 All he could do was stare as it brought its fist down and crushed the planet-ship's control panel.

 ***

 The Cyberleader knew, or *felt* he knew (the idea of *feeling* was still new to him) that he needed to do something. He could sense the rising panic and uncertainty amongst his crew. And while he felt that same panic himself, he knew that he, of all Cybermen, had the experience to deal with the situation. He hoped.

 He was no longer sure whether what he was doing was the logical reaction. It was hard, he found, to tell the difference between logical facts and illogical *feelings*. He had heard illogical humanoids talk of feelings coming from the heart region, but a preliminary scan revealed no irregularities in that area. All of his fear seemed to be bundled in with his logical thoughts; his brain was a disorganized mess.

 Yet still he clung to one thought; that all this would pass. He silenced his doubts on the matter; it was the only hope. For the first time in his life, the Cyberleader understood desperation, and it served, remarkably, to steady him.

 He reached for the intercom. "Attention all Cyber-units"- he held his voice as steady as possible- "there has been a minor disturbance in magnetic fields". He had no idea what he was talking about, of course, but desperation had taught him to improvise.

 "Continue with normal procedure until directed otherwise".

 ***

 Throughout the ship, it seemed, the Cybermen were momentarily placated. The thought that somebody, somewhere, was still in control served to overcome the spreading fear. For the moment at least.

 The Cybermen, never encouraged to be individuals, were content to let somebody else deal with *whatever* was affecting them. To defer all authority to the bridge.

 Those who were nearest the source of the disturbance, however, found themselves thinking something entirely new to the Cyber-species. They wondered if the Cyberleader really knew what he was doing.

 ***

 Bevin was dreaming.

 In her mind she swam, as she had as a child, in the water-hole near her Nana's house. Then, she had always been somewhat awkward; now, however, she was as graceful as any swimmer to have graced the Galactic Games.

 She remembered the way she had cried when she had been told she would never swim competitively; that she was too ungainly, that her dream was just a ridiculous joke that only an idiot would take seriously.

 Now, however, a hand in her dream seemed to touch her brow, softly, gently, and all her sorrow melted away. It soothed the fear of her Nana's prophesies, it dissolved her anger at the ills of the world, it even filled the hole left inside her when her parents had been taken away. And even what had happened to Jacob...

 Yes, Jacob. That's right. She'd been trying to save him. She'd thought she'd been in love with him. Now she realized she'd just been empty inside, wracked with fear and confusion.

 She'd wanted to love him, because she knew she could never love herself.

 So she'd come looking for him (she could feel herself coming out of the dream now), stupidly, with no plan, and she had been caught. It served her right. It had all been so...

 Illogical.

 ***

 Nana Bevin stood stock still, and grabbed hold of Wil's shoulders. The Cyberlieutenant ordered her to move, but she ignored him.

 "It was you!" she cried, near hysteria.

 "What?" Wil was taken aback by her the force of her emotion.

 "You died! That's why the Doctor saved me; because he felt guilty about letting you die!"

 Wil was speechless.

 "Don't you see?" she screamed in frustration. "You didn't die!"

 The Cyberlieutenant stood, unsure how to deal with this behaviour.

 Nana finally calmed herself enough to get through to Wil; "We need to save Bevin. Come on!"

 The Cyberlieutenant recovered its composure just in time to fire at the two prisoners as they disappeared round a corner.

 ***

 Two humanoids entered the room. One of them stood upright, looking around frantically, while the other leant against the wall, obviously in some pain.

 The Cyberman who had been Jacob turned to the Cyberman who had been Bevin.

 "Eliminate them."

 ***

 The Doctor clutched at his chest.

 The Mara-Cyberman chuckled again. "Afraid, Doctor?"

 "Don't be stupid," the Doctor hissed, as the world around him began to blur. "This is something much worse. Time is altering itself!"

 To be continued...