Chapter 5:
An old enemy
The next thing I know, I'm running around the TARDIS, pulling levers and flicking switches, trying to ensure that my magnificent ship will survive the journey. I look at the central column whilst I flick the levers and press the switches.
"Come on old girl, come on." I tried to persuade her, but it was no use. The TARDIS was still failing to make its journey.
"Doctor, its no use! At least we tried." I could hear Kate say to me, a few tears almost leaking from her eyes. This gave me the strength I needed. I tried one more time.
"Come on! Come on! I tell you what, you land us where I need to be then I will stop the threat, save the Earth and maybe fall in love in-between. Does that sound ok?" As soon as I finished this sentence, the TARDIS crash landed with a thud and I'm thrown off my feet onto Kate. I look down at Kate's face and she looked back at mine.
"Hello Doctor. This I quite intimate, don't you think." She said to me, almost joking. I looked back at her, and she started to smile. I started to get back up.
"Yes, sorry, you're right," then I take a look around, "I have a feeling that we may have just crashed landed." I slowly walk to a screen on the side of the TARDIS console.
"Yep, I'm right, we have crashed landed." I tell Kate, but that was not the least of her worries. She had walked right next to me and it was obvious to see that she was thinking about asking me a question or not. So, I asked her one.
"What is it? What's wrong?" After some time, she finally answered.
"Erm, when you were talking to the TARDIS," she started tugging at her hair, "What did you mean when you said 'and maybe fall in love in-between'?" I looked at her, and was thinking what to say. After some thought, I was about to answer her question, but chose not to and started heading for the door, picking up my trench coat on the way. But, before I was about to open the door, Kate ran up to me and blocked my way.
"Doctor, you know I really want to know what you meant by it. Just please, don't ignore me." She said to me, more feisty and self defendant than ever. Then, I took a hold of her arms, and looked into her eyes.
"The next thing I say to you, the next two words that you hear from me are the most important words that you will ever hear." I said to her in a trusting tone. With a puzzled look, Kate replied.
"What two words are they?" I placed my mouth next to her ear, and whispered to her.
"Trust me." I told her, and almost hypnotised, Kate nodded her head and moved away from the front of the door. I opened the door and quickly turned around to face Kate.
"Listen to me very carefully, outside this door could be the most horrendous battle that you may ever see." I warned her, and Kate listened with compassion. I moved out from the way of the door and Kate and I both stepped out from the blue box. To my surprise, we were not on the battlefield itself, in fact, we were in one of the weapon chambers in the Gallifrey citadel. And, right in front of us, was the shell itself. Kate looked ultimately surprised. So was I.
"Doctor, what is going on? How can the shell be here? Right now?" she asked me, I knew how it could be, so I explained it to her.
"We have landed here before the shell was deployed, which is quite lucky," I looked to my left and then to my right, " And now me and you are going to find whoever wants to send out this thing and find out how to stop it from releasing death itself."
This weapons store was a room full of violence and hatred. Everywhere you look you would see a weapon or a battle strategy being played out on a screen. Kate looked around in horror.
"So this is what you're people did? Held weapons and attacked the enemy?" she asked me, almost crying at what she could see. I turned to look at her.
"Kate, the enemy that faced us was a being so powerful that just one of them could take over you're planet. In fact, one almost did once." Kate looked puzzled and so I answered the question she was dying to ask.
"Our enemy was a being called a Dalek. A being that was literally born to hate," Kate looked disgusted at what she was hearing, but I continued, " Their creator, a mad man called Davros, removed them of emotions and ensured that all they felt was anger. And that all they wanted was the destruction of everyone and everything apart from themselves." Kate looked as though she would cry for hours but instead said three words.
"Don't they count?" I gave her a puzzled look.
"Count what?" I asked her, but she almost choked about what she was about to say, but she managed to get it out.
"Don't they count the number of children they murder?"
At that moment, the whole building shook and me and Kate heard three people approaching. Me and Kate had a moment to react. We ran around the backside of the TARDIS and stood their and prayed that no one would hear us. The three people were all talking to each other. All me and Kate could do was listen to what they were saying.
"Are you sure you really wish to go through with this, your majesty?" said the first.
"He knows that there is no other way, it is either this or burning." said the second. The third voice, when it could be heard, had slight elegance yet slight arrogance to it.
"My loyal friends, this thing will save Gallifrey. Just think of that. The only other thing is The Moment, and it is not to be used. We will save Gallifrey, no matter what the cost." The third voice said, slithering into peoples' minds like a snake. After I heard this, I turned my head round the side of the TARDIS just slightly. The three had their backs to me and Kate and I could see that someone had placed their hand onto the shell. A key pad then extended out from the shell and the figure typed a sequence of equations and numbers in sequence. I turned back around to face Kate.
"Now, back to the court room, it is safer there." the third voice said, and then the three figures left the room.
"Doctor, what is it?" Kate asked me, I stayed silent for a moment, then answered.
"That third voice, I'm certain that I've heard it before. Come on, lets follow them." I stood up, and so did Kate, but she stopped me from walking and asked me a question.
"Why do we want to follow them? They might kill us!" I looked her and then explained what I was doing.
"The third person to talk knows how to operate the shell, I don't. We need to find so I can ask him how to disarm it." After that, Kate understood, nodded and we walked in the same direction of the three figures. We walked down the same corridor and walked down some steps, cautious when we turned every corner. After a while of walking, we thought that we were lost, until we heard that third voice again. I couldn't understand what it was saying at first, but as I moved closer to it, it became more clear.
"The detonation will commence in exactly 15 minutes and 47 seconds." It said.
I edged closer to the room that the voice was coming from and hid outside. Kate came up behind me and she tapped me on the shoulder and I turned to face her.
"Doctor, I don't like this. Lets go." she said to me. I shook my head.
"We cant, if we leave now, your planet will be destroyed." I told her, and after some thought, she nodded.
"Right, do you trust me?" I asked Kate.
"Yes, of course I do, why?" she asked me. I answered her with 5 words.
"Do as I do, allonsy!" Then I ran into the room and Kate followed me. I was instantly hit with a bolt of electricity and fell to the floor. Kate ran over to me.
"So, he returns," slithered the third voice, "The Doctor I presume?" I slowly hoisted myself up and looked at who the voice had come from. And I was right to think that I knew this person. This person wore a long Time Lord robe and held a long staff in his left hand. On his right hand, was a metallic glove. I instantly knew who this was, and then I said his name.
"Rassilon!"