Last of the Cybermen (audio story)

 was the 199th story in Big Finish Productions' monthly range. It was the second story in the "Locum Doctors" trilogy, and partnered the Sixth Doctor with Second Doctor companions Jamie McCrimmon and Zoe Heriot.

Publisher's summary
It's been ten years since the final assault on Telos, the last act of the Great Cyber War. Thanks to the Glittergun, humanity prevailed – and the half-machine Cybermen were utterly obliterated.

Out on the furthest fringes of the galaxy, however, they left their mark – in the form of a giant Cyber-head, hundreds of feet high. A monument? A memorial? A tomb? The Doctor, the Cybermen's most indefatigable adversary, sets out to investigate... but he fails to return to his TARDIS. Leaving the Ship, his two companions – brave Highlander Jamie MacCrimmon, and super-intelligent Zoe Heriot – find a stranger in the Doctor's place. A stranger in a coat of many colours, who insists that he's the Doctor – transposed in time and space with one of his former selves...

But why here? Why now? Has the universe really seen the last of the Cybermen..?

Part one
On a dwarf planet in the Kuiper Belt, Jamie McCrimmon and Zoe Heriot wait in the TARDIS for the Doctor to return, after he left the ship over an hour ago. The two are worried, not only because he's been gone for so long, but also because of the electrical storm occurring outside.

The two then notice the Doctor on the scanner, running over a ridge and heading for the TARDIS. A flash of light occurs, and the Doctor vanishes. The two leave the ship to find him. Upon leaving the TARDIS, they note that the gravity of the planet is stronger than on Earth. Their search leads them to a gully right by where they last saw the Doctor. A voice calls out to them from below and they look down to see a strange man laying down there. The man calls to them by name, delighted to see them.

Zoe asks the man why he is laying there, to which he replies that he fell. When Zoe then asks him if he broke any bones, the man takes the time to check every one of his bones. By the time Jamie and Zoe join him, he's discovered that the only injury he has is a stubbed toe. The man remembers that he was running in some woods, he stubbed his toe on a root, then a flash of light occurred, and he suddenly found himself on this planet, only to fall down the gully.

Jamie tells him that they're looking for the Doctor. He disappeared while running past the gully, so he must have fallen down it. Zoe realises immediately, that the stranger must have switched places with the Doctor. She points out that they may just switch back again, but the man wonders if something sinister is responsible for the transposition. He decides that they should head back to the TARDIS, cause knowing himself, his former self is likely to get to the TARDIS and send a distress signal to him with the telepathic circuits. Jamie is confused as to who the man is, as he hasn't introduced himself yet, but Zoe caught onto the things the man said and has already realised who he is. The stranger is the Doctor.

Jamie rejects it immediately, as the stranger looks nothing like the Doctor. Zoe reminds him of a time in which he told her that the Doctor changed his face once before. Jamie reveals that it was Polly who told him that, but that she was also one to tease and mess with him. The Sixth Doctor brings up the time Jamie's face got changed in the Land of Fiction, which is enough to fully convince Zoe of the Sixth Doctor's identity.

Jamie is still not convinced, and surmises that the Doctor was running from this stranger, and that the stranger has knocked out the Doctor and hidden him somewhere, with his goal being to steal the TARDIS. Zoe realises that Jamie's theory is wrong, pointing out to the two what the Second Doctor was really running from, a Cyberman, who has just arrived.

Jamie waits for the Sixth Doctor to prove that he is the Doctor, by telling them to run, which the Second Doctor would likely say in this situation. However, the Sixth Doctor notes that running would be pointless, as the other side of the gully is too steep for them to outrun the Cyberman. Jamie decides to start throwing rocks at the Cyberman. Zoe notices that the Cyberman is acting oddly, but Jamie keeps throwing rocks at the Cyberman, causing it to fall. The Doctor also noticed the Cyberman's strange behavior, so he and Zoe decide to investigate it.

The three manage to climb out of the gully, only to stare in surprise at the sight of a giant Cyberman head, built on the top of a mountain. Jamie asks if it's a statue or a monument, but the Doctor points out that the Cybermen don't build monuments. Zoe walks over to the edge of the ravine that the Cyberman fell down, but can't see anything. The Doctor provides her a torch from his pockets. The three can hear the Cyberman calling out for help. The Cyberman starts making a beeping noise, which the Doctor recognises as a distress signal, which is likely to call down more Cybermen from their citadel on the mountain.

The ground under Zoe's feet gives way, causing her to fall into the ravine. The Doctor calls down to Zoe, asking her if she's okay. Zoe is fine, but there is no way for her to climb back up. Jamie decides to head back to the TARDIS to get some rope. He doesn't want the Sixth Doctor to come with him, as he doesn't trust him, but the Doctor points out that Jamie can't get in without the key, which the Doctor has. Jamie takes it to mean that this man stole the key from the Second Doctor. Zoe, completely annoyed by this, tells the two to get going.

The Cyberman keeps pleading for help. Zoe asks him why he's doing so, when she realises something. This Cyberman can feel pain, so she quickly helps it out from under the rock its leg is trapped under. The Cyberman gets to its feet and advances on Zoe.

Meanwhile, the Doctor and Jamie arrive at the TARDIS. Jamie is still wary of the Doctor, much to his exasperation. The Doctor ponders for a moment over where he can find some rope, before noticing the old chest in the corner. The Doctor goes through the contents, noting several items that are in it, before finding mountaineering gear.

The two return to the ravine and scale down it, only to find no sign of Zoe or the Cyberman. The two deduce that the Cyberman kidnapped Zoe and took her to the citadel. The two climb back out of the ravine, talking about the things that have been happening. The Sixth Doctor is worried, as he has no recollection of these events, even though he should. He thinks that these events only happened because of the transposition.

The two hear a noise and look up to see an anti-gravity flyer hovering above them. Jamie calls out to it, hoping to get the attention of the pilot. The Doctor is against it, as they have no idea who the pilot is. The two start fighting, and are knocked out by a stun beam, shot at them from the flyer.

The Doctor wakes up to find out that he and Jamie are in a storeroom, restrained with plastic cuffs. As the Doctor doesn't have a sonic screwdriver, the two have to use Jamie's knife to cut their restraints. As they work on escaping, they notice that the only thing in the room with them are some metal boxes.

Meanwhile, Zoe is being interrogated by Zennox and the Cyberman. Zoe refuses to tell them anything until the Doctor and Jamie are brought here. She is still angry for the Cyberman kidnapping her and bringing her to the citadel, but pauses, when the Cyberman surprisingly apologises. The Cyberman reveals he's not a true Cyberman.

The three are joined by Frank, who reports that he retrieved the Doctor and Jamie, but had to stun them because they were fighting with each other, much to Zoe's annoyance. Frank and Lanky, the Cyberman, explain that Lanky is a fighter pilot in the Great Cyber War, who was captured by the Cybermen. Frank managed to free Lanky before they could convert Lanky's mind, but it was already too late for his body, which had been completely converted.

Zoe asks for conformation that there are no Cybermen here, which surprises the trio. After all, the Cybermen were wiped out ten years ago, thanks to the invention of the Glittergun.

Meanwhile, the Doctor and Jamie successfully cut through their cuffs. The two look at the door and the Doctor notes they need a small electrical charge to open the door. The battery from his torch would've been enough, but that was lost when Zoe fell. The two decide to check the contents of the boxes for something to use. Jamie tries to open one with his knife.

Zoe tries to convince the trio that she and her friends are nothing more than travelers who didn't come here on purpose. Zoe is worried that the trio may be here to revive the Cybermen, but the three quickly point out that the citadel isn't a Cyberman tomb.

The group is joined by Findel, who claims to have worked out the problem of a logic gate. Zoe realises that the four are from a museum and are here to collect relics. As Findel explains what he's worked out, Zoe offers to help them, as she is a genius, in exchange for her friends being released. Zennox decides to release only one of her friends, and to release the other one when Zoe has solved the logic gate and granted them access to the rest of the citadel. When Zennox mentions that the two are being kept in the storeroom, Findel reacts with shock, because the storeroom is where an infestation is located.

Jamie successfully opens the box, and to the horror of the two, a Cybermat is inside. It emits a signal, causing more Cybermats to enter the storeroom from a grate in the wall. The Cybermats quickly surround the two. The Doctor and Jamie are trapped.

Part two
to be added

Part three
to be added

Part four
to be added

Cast

 * The Doctor - Colin Baker
 * Jamie - Frazer Hines
 * Zoe - Wendy Padbury
 * Zennox - Lucy Liemann
 * Findel - Kieran Hodgson
 * Frank - Nicholas Farrell
 * Cybermen - Nicholas Briggs

Continuity

 * Polly once told Jamie that the Doctor changed his face once before. (TV: The Tenth Planet)
 * The Doctor recalls the incident in the Land of Fiction where he put Jamie's face back together wrong. (TV: The Mind Robber)
 * In the chest in the Second Doctor's TARDIS, (TV: The Bells of Saint John), the Sixth Doctor finds his fur coat, (TV: The Abominable Snowmen, et al) a dagger from Saladin, (TV: The Crusade) a Chameleon Tours brochure, (TV: The Faceless Ones) and a Quark's head. (TV: The Dominators)
 * Frank and Zennox tell Zoe it's been ten years since the end of the Cyber-Wars when humans defeated the Cybermen with Glitterguns. (TV: Revenge of the Cybermen)
 * The Sixth Doctor also met Zoe and a fictional version of Jamie in the Land of Fiction. (AUDIO: Legend of the Cybermen)
 * Jamie mentions his recent adventures with the Doctor, including the Cybermen in 1975 London, (TV: The Invasion) the Ice Warriors on the Moon, (TV: The Seeds of Death) visits to Australia, (AUDIO: Echoes of Grey) Tromesis, (AUDIO: The Apocalypse Mirror) and Saturn, (PROSE: The Wheel of Ice) and a meeting with Caven. (TV: The Space Pirates)