PARTNERS IN TIME

by NotoriousVandenbussche

"Indy!" The name echoed through the tunnels. Indiana Jones lifted his head from the map he was struggling to read in the dim yellow light of his torch, but before he could determine who might be calling his name in this dark corner of the world and why, he found himself on the ground, holding on to his fedora, his map flat on his face and a bullet missing him by mere inches.

"Indy!" The name echoed through the tunnels.

Indiana Jones lifted his head from the map he was struggling to read in the dim yellow light of his torch, but before he could determine who might be calling his name in this dark corner of the world and why, he found himself on the ground, holding on to his fedora, his map flat on his face and a bullet missing him by mere inches. He removed the map off his face only to find himself facing a great mane of red hair.

"What…"

Shots were fired from every direction.

"Are you… doing here?" Indiana barely managed to ask.

"Hi, I'm doctor R…"

"Yes, I know who you are, but what are you doing here? How…"

Another near miss had prevented him from completing his question.

Doctor River Song, who was still lying on top of Indiana, holding him down with surprising force, turned and returned fire into the darkness behind her. She quickly got up to her feet and reached out her hand.

"I'll explain later," she said with a sense of urgency, "but now I think we better run!"

As if to emphasise her point, a downpour of bullets forced her to drop back to the ground next to Indiana. He quickly shoved his map into his satchel and turned onto his stomach. He exchanged glances with River and in a moment of pause in the shooting they got up and run away from the bullets and into the darkness ahead.

In 1995, deep in the Syrian desert away from any civilisation, doctor River Song was waiting for her transport back to prison with her three guards, Jacob Wilma and father Octavian. They have just finished another rescue mission, which River hoped would go some way towards reducing her sentence.

It was a warm July evening and the sky was clear and full of stars, planets and other cosmic objects. River looked around and tried to take in as much desert air as she could before having to go back to the not so fresh air of her cage. Something a few feet away caught her eye. What was it? A stone? Hardly a rare sight in a desert, she thought. But there was something strange about that stone and River knew a lot about stones, rocks and minerals. That stone didn't belong in this desert, it didn't belong in this country, or maybe even this planet. She reached to pick it up.

"What are you doing?" Asked Octavian.

"A souvenir."

He looked at River dubious for a moment and then let it go, or more precisely he had to let it go when something else got his attention.

From somewhere in the darkness a figure appeared, a shadow, no one has seen where it came from, but it was walking straight towards River. Octavian, Wilma and Jacob tensed, put their hands on their weapon and moved in front of River, who did not have a gun.

"Stop right there!" Octavian commanded.

The shadow ignored him and continued directly toward River.

"Who are you? What do you want?"

There was no reply. The phantom pulled a gun. The three guards pulled their own guns and aimed them at the dark figure.

"Can everyone please calm down?" said River to no one in particular.

The mysterious figure fired the gun and Octavian pushed River to the ground. He, Wilma and Jacob returned fire, but the figure was gone as abruptly as it appeared, and they were all alone in the desert again.

"Are you alright?" Octavian helped River up.

"Yes. Thank you."

"Who was that?"

The question was left hanging in the air, River was lost in thoughts. She felt the stone in her pocket and wondered if there was a connection, if there was, she couldn't see it yet. It was as if the stone was placed there for her to find and the moment she did, someone tried to kill her. Was it a message? she wondered.

The teleport was activated, it was time to go back.

The complex maze of tunnels and underpasses was dark and dingy. Built from old stone, the walls and floor were damp and gave the stuffy air a mouldy aroma. Occasionally, the whooshing sound of a passing underground train could be heard from an indeterminate direction and distance. A quick patter of tiny feet, or a brush against the clothes, so light you couldn't be sure if it was real or your mind was playing tricks on you, would remind you of the thousands of mice populating these tunnels.

It had become too dark for Indiana and River to continue running, but they couldn't risk using their torches for fear of being seen. Even without the light from their torches, their invisible pursuer was waiting for them around every corner, anticipating their every move, forcing them to change direction constantly with cascades of bullets. There was no point in shooting back, it was like shooting into oblivion. Wandering aimlessly in this endless labyrinth, River and Indiana lost all sense of direction and time. Indiana missed open air and daylight, or any kind of light, he couldn't remember the last time he was above ground. They were trapped, he thought, and it was only a matter of time before two of the infinite number of bullets shot at them, would finally find them and they would die in this godforsaken place with nothing to show for it.

"Where are we going?" he asked in an angry whisper, after yet another round of bullets nearly knocked of the hat off his head and had forced them to change direction for the gazilionth time. It was a futile question, River didn't know where they were going any better than he did.

"This is pointless!" he growled. "We can't keep going on like this!"

They retreated to the corner from which they had come and leaned against the wall hoping to blend with it and the darkness.

"Have you got any better ideas?" River whispered back.

"We could try splitting."

"And where would we go? We don't even know where we are. Trust me Indy, it's better to stick together. Besides, you'd be lost without me!"

Indiana wondered if he should run away from her as well.

There was a pause in the shooting and out of force of habit more than anything else, they tried to look around hoping to somehow pierce the blackness with their gazes.

"There!" River was pointing, but Indiana couldn't see. "On the left, other side."

About fifty yards away, on the wall across from them there was a square in a different shade of black. Was it there or were they imagining it? Indiana looked again, he could barely see it, but there it was, a black patch on the black wall, waiting for them.

Indiana was tired. His clothes, all worn out and dusty from the long hike, had become a part of his skin, his saddlebag and bullwhip dangled lazily at his side and his battered fedora was just barely clinging onto his head. He was on his knees on the ground, turning a beautiful box-like object in his hand and admiring it. The familiar tinge of excitement he felt every time he was on the verge of a new discovery as if it was the first time, was washing over him.

The cube he was holding was the size of a music box, made of a beautiful stone. On each of its faces were delicate carvings. The level of craft and precision that went into the making of this stone box was exquisite. The stone was hardly damaged and once the dust was brushed off and cleaned it looked almost new. Indiana took a moment to appreciate the ancient artefact and what must have been a labour of love.

Wu Han approached, holding two more similar boxes and placed them on the ground next to Indiana. It was a hot day and they were sweating, but Indiana didn't care. He wiped the swat off his forehead and looked at the three stone boxes with ever-growing excitement. He placed the box he was holding on the ground between the other two and leaned back to look. The stone was gleaming in the sun and the three boxes looked magnificent. Indiana took each one, turned it in his hand and examined it. He rearranged them on the ground and paused for a moment to consider. He couldn't make up his mind and kept rearranging the boxes for a while, like a strange game of Three-Card-Monte, trying to find the queen. Finally, he found an arrangement his instinct told him was the right one. He took a deep breath and picked up the middle and the right-hand side boxes, put them together and started twisting them until, as if by magic, a hidden mechanism got them to click and lock together. He did the same with the box on the left. Once connected, the three boxes became a beautiful little chest with no visible lid.

Practically holding his breath, Indiana held the newly formed box and tried to open it from all sides, the stone would not yield. He twisted it in his hands and tried different angles, but it resisted. It was too valuable an artefact and he would not risk breaking it by using too much force, so he kept turning the box around trying to figure out how to open it.

Wu Han gave Indiana a gentle tap on his back.

"You can open it?" Asked Indiana.

Wu Han nodded.

"Without breaking it?!"

He nodded again and took the box off Indiana's resigning hands.

It was a short distance to the black patch on the other side of the tunnel, but since even the smallest movement they made invited the wrath of whoever it was that was shooting at them, it was becoming farther and farther away.

"I'll create a distraction, and you run." said Indiana eventually.

"Ho Indy, you're so brave!" she said and pushed him straight into the middle of the tunnel, directly in the line of fire.

He didn't have time to think, he began shooting back automatically. River ran and hid behind him, while shooting her own gun, using him as cover and shooting from behind him. She then ran to the opposite wall firing her gun continuously. It worked! The attacker finally paused long enough to allow Indiana to run and join River on the other side.

"Thanks a lot!" He said sarcastically.

"You're welcome."

Now all they had to do was move towards the hatch, only a few yards away. Keeping their backs to the wall and moving slowly, they started their stealthy progress. After an eternity of careful advance, they finally found themselves standing underneath the dark patch on the wall, unharmed. Carefully and quietly Indiana stretched up on his toes and reached out his hand to try and feel what waiting for them above.

"It's a vent, and it's blocked with a griddled net."

Without saying a word, River took a penknife out of her utility belt and passed it to Indiana, who once again wondered whether he should run from her. He used the River's knife to cut a hole through the net. He then looped his bullwhip through the hole and pulled. The net came off the wall with a loud bang, which attracted an angry blast of gunfire and forced them to duck down. With no time to waste, River climbed on Indiana's shoulders and he lifted her up to the vent, it was just big enough to fit one person uncomfortably. She climbed inside and held the whip down for Indiana to climb. Then she squeezed herself as far back into the vent to make room for Indiana. Bullets were flying everywhere furiously, but Indiana managed to get himself into the vent just in time. They listened for a while. Finally, the angry shooter had to give up.

The ventilation tube was narrow and tight and the air in it was thin and warm. Pushed into uncomfortable positions and their limbs aching, Indiana and River took a moment to assess their situation and contemplate their next move.

For the first time since River pushed Indiana to the floor somewhere far away in the underground tunnels, they felt safe enough to use their torches and look around. In the light of the torches River looked quite small, all folded and curled up against the metal wall of the vent tube. Her brown sleeveless dress hung loose over her black legging, almost reaching her brown heavy boots, the utilities and gun belt, shaped the dress. Indiana wondered about her bulky looking wristwatch on her left hand. He himself looked like a giant squeezed into a drainpipe, his fedora squashed against the metal celling of the tube and he was struggling to fit his satchel and bullwhip anywhere, his body bending like he never knew it could.

As Indiana was struggling to reach into his saddlebag, River reached into one of her secret pocket and they both pulled out their maps.

"Where did you get that?" They demanded at the same time.

They looked at each other suspiciously and tried to glance at the other's map while protecting their own.

"There's only supposed to be one!" said Indiana.

"Yes." River replied, pensive. "Let me see that!"

She tried to snatch Indiana's map out of his hands, but he was too quick.

"I'll show you mine if you show me yours."

River rolled her eyes.

Looking suspiciously at each other they swapped maps. The maps were identical schematics of the tunnels complex they had escaped, drawn by the same hand.

"Where did you get this map?" River asked again.

Indiana didn't answer and continued examining the map.

"You stole it didn't you?"

"I found it!"

"Where? When?"

"In a library! A long time ago."

"There is no way this map was in a library!"

"It was a friend's private library. Where did you find yours?"

"I didn't steal mine."

"Neither did I!"

Indiana huffed and went back to the map. He leaned over and compared the two maps. There were no visible differences between them. He turned the maps around checking them from different angles.

"Look!" He showed River the two maps attached together.

They were identical, but there was a path, which started on one map and ended on the other connecting them into one big map which looked like a mirror of itself.

"Interesting." said River. Indiana felt a little smug.

River felt a little guilty about coning and ditching her prison guards, whom, despite the circumstances, she has come to view as friends. But she wanted to find out more about the stone and the mysterious shooting.

The vortex manipulator had brought her to London, late 1800s, she wasn't paying attention to the coordinates, it must have been the last coordinates she used. She just wanted a place and a time to think and this was as good a place and as good time as any. She took the stone out of her pocket and stared at it, willing it to explain itself.

"Doctor Song?" she was brought back from her thoughts by the polite voice.

She put the stone back in her pocket and looked up.

"Doctor Song, I thought it might be you. It's so good to see you. How the devil are you?"

On seeing the moustached gentlemen standing in front of her, River smiled brightly and embraced him warmly.

"Oh please, call me River. It's so good to see you! It's been a long time… urmm… right?"

"Too long. Almost two years. How are you? What brings you here?"

"Oh you know, life of crime." she said and winked at him. "And how have you been?"

The author's smile faded.

"I'm afraid it hasn't been good" he replied with a grave face. "I'm on my way now to visit one of my students who has fallen ill. Perhaps you would like to join me?" He looked to River with a glimmer of hope.

"You know I'm not that kind of doctor."

"It's not that kind of illness. Well, at least I don't think so. It's a mystery."

"Oh?" River's curiosity piqued.

"Come with me to visit this young man, I'll explain on the way and you can see for yourself."

"Lead the way." She put her arm in his.

Since they were stuck inside a ventilation tube, their map, joined or separated, wasn't much help, there was no way they could tell where inside the maze they were. They couldn't risk going back to where they were getting shot at from every direction, and so they concluded that the only way was ahead and hopefully they would progress in the right direction, or at least, not too far off course.

It was a tight vent and they crawled in a single file progressing laboriously in a straight line. In order to save power, they kept the use of their torches to a minimum.

"So," Indiana had decided that perhaps conversation would help pass the time and distract him from the claustrophobia and the pain that crawling in a confined space caused him. "What are you doing here? You never answered."

"Looking for the same thing you are."

"How do you know about that?"

"I read about it in a book."

"Do you believe everything you read?"

"You don't?"

"Well…" Indiana wasn't sure how to answer that.

"Hold on." River stopped him. "How exactly do you know about it?"

"I read the same book."

"You couldn't have. That book was never published, at least not in your time?"

"It wasn't exactly a book, more like a notebook, a very old notebook. What do you mean my time?"

"How did you get hold of that notebook? Did you steal that too?"

"No! I found it!" Indiana was starting to wonder if maybe claustrophobia was preferable to this conversation.

"You have a habit of 'finding' things and just taking them, don't you?"

"I'm an archaeologist! It is my job to 'find things' to uncover history and preserve it for the benefit of the future."

"Didn't you try to sell the remains of Emperor Nurhachi to Lao Che? Isn't he a crime lord?"

"How do you know about that?! Oh, it doesn't matter. It was a long time ago! I've learned my lesson and more than made up for it."

"By robbing graves and stealing from the cultures and history of other people and giving archaeology bad reputation?"

"By stopping history from getting destroyed or falling into the wrong hands. Or would you prefer it if the Nazis got hold of our history?!"

"It is not your history! Ouch!"

At that moment River, who was in the lead, hit her head on a metal wall ahead of her, which caused Indiana to collide awkwardly with her behind. Scanning the area with their torches they realised they missed a turn somewhere and reached a dead end. They had to change direction and since there was no space to turn around, they crawled backward. Their bones were aching, and they were breathing heavily from the effort. Weak and exhausted, but determined, they managed to get back and turn into the tunnel they have missed, just barely dragging themselves through the vent.

"How did you get hold of the book then?" asked Indiana after a while.

"It was a present from a friend" River replied to Indiana's behind.

"That can't be right. You said the book doesn't exist."

"Just because you can't understand it, doesn't mean it isn't true. I have very good friends."

They crawled in silence for a while longer.

"What are you going to do when we find it?" asked River

"If we find it. I'm not even sure if it exists."

"Then why are you here? Why go through this?"

"Why are you?" returned Indiana.

"Curiosity, adventure, fun!"

"And what will you do with it if we find it?"

"One thing I will do, I won't let you take it to a museum!"

"What else is there to do with it?"

They were hot and sweaty from their difficult journey and barely noticed that the air was getting hotter.

"It's nothing but a relic," Indiana continued, struggling to catch his breath. "It belongs in a museum"

"You belong in a museum!"

The air was getting thinner and hotter and it was getting harder to breathe. The metal started to feel hot under their hands and knees.

"Is it me, or is it getting hot in here?" asked Indiana.

They were struggling to keep their hands and knees on the sizzling metal floor. Their clothes were sticking to their bodies from the sweat, yet barely providing protection from the rising heat everywhere.

"We need to move faster!" said River, worry in her voice.

With her knife she cut a piece of cloth from the bottom of her dress and cut it again to make four strips, then she took out a bottle of water from somewhere in her utility belt, poured a little water to damp to strips of cloth, gave two strips to Indiana and wrapped the other two around her hands. She kept alternating lifting her knees and her hands off the floor when the heat was too much for her to take. Her leggings were starting to singe and even her strong boots were in danger of melting. Indiana, also struggling to keep his hands and knees on the hot metal floor, took the damp cloths River handed him and wrapped them around his hands as well. They picked up the pace and crawled ahead as fast as they could.

Everything around them, the floor, the walls and the celling of the narrow tube, was boiling. Their clothes started to scorch, their exposed skin started to burn and soon the burns on their skin started to bleed. The sweat was burning in Indiana's eyes and he could barely see ahead of him. Just when he thought he couldn't take it any longer, he reached a dead end.

"What's going on?"

Behind him River's hands were badly burned, and bleeding terribly and soon so would her knees.

"It's blocked!" Shouted Indiana.

He reached for his gun.

"No!" River stopped him. "The whole place will blow!"

Desperate, he started banging with his body against the wall in front of him. The heat was getting intolerable. River lifted up her left hand, ready to use her vortex manipulator to get her and Indiana out. She tried her best to wipe the sweat off her eyes, but her sweat mixed up with her blood, she was struggling to tap the vortex manipulator and grab hold of Indiana, who was desperately trying to push against the blockade in front of him.

Indiana Jones and Wu Han met in Shanghai when Indiana helped Wu Han out of a difficult situation with the gangster Lao Che. They became good friends and had been through many adventures together on their archaeological expeditions.

Wu Han looked at the small chest and turned it over in his hands. The carvings showed different characters, scenes and actions. They did not make sense to him, they were in the wrong order. He looked carefully at the box and ignoring Indiana's worried looks, he started twisting each part of the box separately, rearranging the carvings.

"You see Indy?" he said proudly, handing the chest back to Indiana. "Now it tells a story."

Indiana looked at the carvings in awe. They told the story of Wu Zeitian, the only officially recognised female empress of China, who, it was hypothesized, and the carvings supported this theory, killed her own baby girl and poisoned her son on her rise to power. Indiana inspected the carvings up close in amazement. He took another deep breath and opened the box. Inside it were three perfectly preserved pieces of a stone statue of the empress. It was remarkable. Indiana reached his hand with reverence to pick up one of the pieces, but before he could touch the statue the box shut close suddenly and a quick hand snatched it off his hands.

He lifted his head to see five angry Kuomintang soldiers threatening him and Wu Han, ready to attack at any sign of movement. Indiana recognised the Kuomintang soldiers; they worked for general Ma Hongkui, a warlord with a penchant for archaeological artefacts. Ma didn't like the treasures of China falling into foreigners' hands, and Indiana has lost a few relics to the general and his men in the past. He wasn't ready to lose the empress. He'd worked too hard to give her up.

He reached for his gun. A violent kick stopped him. He winced with pain, he thought his hand might be broken. He looked to Wu Han but knew that while he was good with the gun, he was no match to the highly trained Kuomintang soldiers.

Indiana put his hands behind his head in surrender and scanned the gang, trying to think of a way out of this predicament. On his left Wu Han did the same.

One of the soldiers approached Indiana to take his gun, as he got close, Indiana swung his elbows as hard as he could and hit the man's face with the full power of his body. The man flew back from the blow. Indiana was crazed. Kicking and punching he was engaging all men coming at him from all directions at the same time. Wu Han, always loyal to Indiana, was desperately trying to help, throwing punches and kicking anything that moved.

It wasn't difficult for the Kuomintang to overcome Indiana and Wu Han. They were quick and ruthless and despite Indiana and Wu's courage, within minutes one soldier neutralised Wu by kicking him to the ground and holding them down, while another delivered a precise punch to Indiana's chest which rendered him powerless and a third soldier pushed him to the ground.

"Stay down thief!" said the leader of the gang.

They were in great pain and had no choice but to obey.

Indiana's final desperate push did the trick and the wall in front of them fell with a bang. He and River rushed over to the other side where the metal was cool and soothing. River put the wall back up to block the heat from spilling over to their side. They took a little time to tend to their wounds. They have unwrapped the nearly completely singed cloths from their hand and did their best to clean and soothe their aching flesh.

"We've been discovered." said River.

"Ya think?!"

"Do you believe it exists now?"

Indiana didn't answer, he didn't know what to believe.

"It doesn't matter if you believe it." she said. "Someone does, and they're trying to stop us from getting there. We should carry on. We must be getting close"

They rested for a short while doing whatever they could to ease their pain. Then, channelling whatever energy they managed to restore, they pulled themselves together and continued crawling slowly into the never-ending ventilation tube, Indiana still in the lead and River just barely coping behind him.

They were silent, concentrating on dealing with their pain and preserving their energy for what lay ahead.

"I don't' like this!" said River after a while, it was too quiet.

"Me neither."

They continued onward.

"Did you hear something?" Indiana wasn't sure if his mind was playing tricks on him.

"What?"

"I think it's coming from ahead." He shone his torch ahead of him. He could see some movement deep inside the tunnel.

"What is it?"

A surprisingly powerful jet stream of water, as if someone was aiming a fire hose directly at them, hit their faces with terrible force. They had to bow their heads to avoid getting hit in the face with the full force of the stream. They barely managed to fight against the powerful stream and keep going. The ventilation tube was filling with water and it wasn't long before the water to reach their waists and elbows.

The water was reaching his neck when Indiana suddenly heard a muffled explosion, very close to him. He instinctively reached for his gun and looked behind him. He saw River, up to her chin in the water, shooting the walls of the tube, under the water. The first bullet only dented the metal, but she kept shooting under the water and above it until she managed to get a hole in the wall of the vent, through which the water started leaking. She reloaded her gun and Indiana followed suit and started shooting as many holes as he could in the walls of the tube and finally the water started pouring and going down.

"A cough?" River looked at the author with questioning eyes.

They were walking through a park on their way to the student's house.

"Yes, it started with this one student and has spread like wildfire. Nearly all the students and most of my colleagues have come down with this horrible cough."

"Nothing unusual about that."

"It's been over three months since the first student started coughing and it won't stop. It doesn't even improve in the slightest. On the contrary it is getting worse every day. We tried every possible remedy and medicine; nothing helps. It has gotten so bad that those who cough have become bedridden from exhaustion, barely able to speak, their cough is so severe. The doctors, the medical doctors, are at a loss. It's only a cough, but it won't go away, and it won't stop! Will you take a look?"

River nodded, hiding her doubts. She and the author had become good friends over the years, and she didn't want to disappoint him.

They reached a small house at the end of a small road, where the student, patient zero, resided with his parents. The student's parents, a nice old couple, were dedicated to their only son. His condition was not improving, and they were becoming desperate and even considered exorcism. The author has been visiting the family regularly and they were happy to see him. He introduced River as a friend from overseas with special expertise and asked them to let her see their son.

"Have there been any other symptoms?" River asked.

The parents shook their heads.

"None." said the author. "No fever, no runny nose, not even a headache or an upset stomach. Just that blasted cough!"

River and the author went up the stairs and into the student's room. He was lying frail in his bed, only short breaks for air between horrible all-consuming coughs.

"Hello." Said River in a soft voice. "My name is River Song, would you mind if I take a look at you?"

The student nodded weakly. She felt his forehead for a fever and felt for his pulse. She wasn't in her element. She wasn't even sure what she was hoping to find. She knew basic first aid for different life forms and had a general idea of several basic, universally common, anatomies, but she never had to cure a cough before, come to think of it, she was hardly ever sick, not physically at least, when she was it was usually nothing so common as a cough.

She asked the student to open his mouth wide and looked into his throat and tried to look as professional as she could. She felt his throat with her hand to check for any swelling, but she didn't see or feel anything out of the ordinary.

"Can you tell me how it all started?" She finally asked the student.

Talking was painful for him. He barely managed to complete a sentence before a coughing fit oppressed him and rendered him too weak to speak, but he was determined to tell his story.

"I decided to walk through the park." He whispered feebly and immediately stopped to let another attack of coughs pass. "It was only later that evening," he continued "That I noticed an irritation in my throat… I didn't give it much thought at first." The more he talked the worse his cough got.

The next day the tickly throat developed into a cough, the student managed to recall between coughs. He paid no attention to it, who hasn't had a cough before? It must have been the beginning of a cold or a reaction to something in the air, he thought. He had some tea and went to bed. He continued going to school for the next week or so, but his coughing became disruptive. It wasn't long before it started choking him. The cough had taken over his life completely, he couldn't swallow food and he was struggling to breathe. His body weakened and ached from the cough, and soon after he became bedridden. The author kept him up to date and has told him about all the others that suffered the same. He can now only eat soups and soft foods, talking was making his cough worse and he was too weak to do anything but stay in bed and sleep.

The student was now exhausted. River waited until he was out and then scanned him with a device that had not been invented yet. She and the author left the student's house promising to return the next day.

On their way to his house, the author and River traced the student's steps and went through the park. They walked slowly and River looked for any anomalies or anything out of the ordinary that might shed some light on what, or who was attacking the students and teachers. She examined everything on the way carefully, scanning and searching for clues. Just as they were about to leave the park, on a small tree she noticed something. It was barely visible, but it was something, and she took out a magnifying glass and looked closely. On the trunk of the tree there was a small hole in the shape of a perfect square. She showed it to the author.

"Look at the shape," she said. "It's too perfect someone, or something made this."

The author and River hunched over and examined the perfect hole. River took out her trusty little penknife and scraped a bit of the tree around the hole and put it in her pocket. She straightened up and found herself facing father Octavian, Jacob and Wilma all pointing their guns at her.

"Can you believe this?!" River passed a hand through her wet hair. "It's going to take me forever to get my hair back to its gorgeous self again!"

The water had almost completely gone through the holes they had made in the tube. Indiana and River were soaked and out of ammunition. After they dried themselves as best they could, they continued crawling through the shallow water. It was uncomfortable and unpleasant, and they were both wondering what fresh hell their relentless enemy planned for them next.

Indiana was getting anxious and desperate to get out of the ventilation tube. He stopped; in front of him there was a drop. He crawled over it to let River have a look, she shone her torch into the hole.

"I think we should go down." said River eventually.

"You're welcome to!" Indiana was grumpy.

"How far down do you think it goes?"

Not waiting for him to answer, River put the torch in her mouth and started lowering herself down the pipe. She used her hands and feet to cling onto the walls of the vent, like a child climbing a doorframe, and slowly started climbing down, distributing her weight between her limbs.

"Hey!" Indiana shouted. "What do you think you're doing?!"

But River didn't reply. She didn't want to lose the torch from her mouth. Indiana flattened himself on to his stomach, shining his torch on her and watching as she slowly slid down.

The effort made River sweat and along with the dampness from the water she struggled to grip on the walls. She had to stop from time to time to catch her breath and, shifting all her weight to one side, she did her best to wipe her wet palms, trying to make them the as dry and improve her grip. She used the break to free one hand and take the torch out of her mouth and shine it down to see if she could see the bottom. These stops slowed her down, but she carried on her descent in a steady slow pace.

After a lifetime of excruciating slide down the pipe, River's right foot suddenly lost its grip when the wall of the pipe beneath her ended, she lost her balance momentarily. Luckily, she quickly retrieved her foot and stabled herself. She shifted her weight once more in order to shine her torch below her. The pipe ended a few meters above the ground. She would need to lower herself as low as possible and then jump down. She shifted her weight to the right, leaned against the wall of the tube and flung her right leg against the opposite wall where her left leg was. She was now 'sitting', pressing her back against one side of the pipe and her legs against the other and slowly sliding herself down with her hands behind her back trying to feel for when the wall ends. She slid down in this way until she reached the end of the pipe. After she checked one last time the distance to the ground, she put her torch back in a pocket, stretched her hands, grabbed hold of the walls and dropped her legs down letting her legs dangle while she was pushing against the walls with her hands. She lowered herself down as low as possible, her muscles were aching. She took a deep breath and jumped.

Wu Han and Indiana were on the ground, nowhere to run. The Kuomintang had taken their weapons and tied their hands behind their backs. As the soldiers forced them on their feet, Indiana noticed something in the corner of his eye, a stone, it looked strange and out of place to him. He had to have it. He dropped himself back down to discretely pick it up behind his back. Unfortunately, this led to more angry blows, but Indiana managed to get the stone and keep it in his tied-up hand behind his back. He got back up and the soldiers tied his and Wu Han's legs together and arranged themselves in a single file with three soldiers at the front, Indiana and Wu Han in the middle and two soldiers in the rear.

It was a warm day. The scenery, indifferent to their plight, was beautiful. Mountain tops filled with greenery pierced the clear blue sky. Tied together, Indiana and Wu Han struggled to walk and they both fell at least once. The ground was rocky and uneven, which made the journey even harder. They walked for hours with no sign of any civilisation. The sun was pounding, and Wu Han and Indiana were getting thirsty. Any attempt to request water, in English or in Mandarin, was met with violence. Why would they keep them alive? wondered Indiana. They've got what they wanted, what was the point of keeping them alive?

He never found out.

They heard a thump. One of the three soldiers in the front fell down dead. Indiana and Wu Han dropped to the ground, but before they even reached it, four more accurate snipers' shots from all around them, took out the remaining soldiers. Wu Han and Indiana were the only ones left alive, tied together, face down on the ground not daring to move.

It was silent, Indiana risked lifting his head for a moment. He saw a figure in the distance approaching him menacingly. The figure, whose face he couldn't see, took a gun out and aimed it directly at Indiana's head. Indiana, still on the ground, started backing away trying to find cover and dragging Wu Han with him. The mysterious figure started shooting. Indiana rolled over and ducked behind a rock, pulling Wu Han with him. Two snipers came out of hiding and started shooting at the phantom figure, but then it disappeared as quickly and as mysteriously as it first appeared.

"A friend of yours?" asked one of the snipers.

"I thought he was one of yours." Indiana replied, still from behind the rock.

"You can come out now doctor Jones." said the sniper. "We'll play nice."

Indiana and Wu Han came out from behind the rock.

"Slowly! No sudden movements." said the sniper.

The two snipers were aiming their guns at them. Indiana and Wu Han were still tied together. Indiana looked around at the bodies of the Kuomintang soldiers, wondering which one of them had his statue and whether the snipers know of it.

"What do you want?" he asked the sniper.

"You need to come with us."

Indiana still had the rock he picked up in his hand and with it he started cutting the rope tying his hands behind his back. He and Wu Han advanced slowly towards the snipers. He managed to release his own hands and discretely started untying Wu Han's hands. They got close to the two snipers. Once both their hands were released, Indiana and Wu Han, in complete sync, stepped apart and stretched the rope that was tying their feet together and quickly brought their hands out from behind their back punching a sniper each pushing them together. Then they quickly swapped places, getting the rope to surround the snipers and trip them to the ground. Indiana and Wu Han picked up the snipers' weapons and aimed it at them. Then they untied themselves, while still keeping the snipers on the ground, and tied them together.

"River?!" Indiana had lost sight of River while she was sliding down the pipe, but now he couldn't hear her either.

There was no reply.

"River!" His voice echoed in the tube.

"I'm alright!" came the reply from far down below. "You can come down now."

"How?"

"You'll figure it out."

It was dark where River landed, but somehow it seemed less dark than the tunnels or the ventilation tube they have been through before. From what she could make out she was in a room that looked like a cellar. It was built from a similar old stone that the tunnels were built and it was damp and dingy. Her torch light was not strong enough to assess the whole room, and she contemplated the implications of using glow sticks in the year 1947 while an unseen pursuer was doing a good job of trying to kill them in complete darkness. All things considered, she thought, of all her gadgets glow sticks were probably the least complicated to explain and their pursuer would find them with or without the light. And so, she took out a couple of glow sticks, broke them and threw them on the floor. The room became awash with the pale green glow of the sticks. It was a bigger room than she first thought. She could hear Indiana's grunting as he slid down the pipe. She looked up. The ventilation pipe was long and went down along a high wall. They were deep underground, deeper than she thought was possible, even in London. Indiana finally jumped down.

"What is that? How does it work?" Indiana looked bewildered at the glow sticks.

"Science!" she replied, "But it won't last. Do you still have the map?"

Indiana fished the map from his saddlebag. It was a little damp from the water, but his bag has mostly protected it, so it wasn't ruined. They examined the map carefully, taking care not to damage it.

It was hard to take in the size of the room after all the tight spaces they had to fit in up until now. How deep were they, Indiana wondered, and underneath what above?

According to their combined map, they were in the room that leads to the path between the maps, and not far from where they wanted to get to. At one end of the room there was a wooden door, arched at the top. The door looked very old, like it never been opened. Apart from the door and the pipe from which they dropped into the room, there was no visible way in or out of it.

"Where do we go from here?" Indiana was confused.

"Through the door, into the path."

"But…"

"Would you prefer to go back up the pipe?"

The glow sticks were fading, the room was getting darker. It was quiet and there was no sign of imminent danger, but River and Indiana felt uneasy. The considerably bigger space than the one they were used to made them feel exposed and vulnerable. They started making their way slowly towards the door. The room was empty and quiet, but experience had taught them to keep alert. They reached within a couple of meters from the door and looked around before approaching the door. The door looked old and heavy, like a door to a castle. The wall around the door was made from the same old stone that was the main feature of the whole complex. The floor was just smooth concrete and dark. They looked carefully to check that there would be no surprises waiting for them as they approached the door. They moved a step closer, almost expecting something to drop, but nothing happened. All was quiet, too quiet. Another step closer and still quiet. Instinctively they both reached for their guns and kept their hands within reach of their weapons.

They reached the door. There was no handle or even a keyhole that they could see. Indiana tried to push it open. it resisted. River shook her head at him.

"What? It was worth a try."

They pressed their hands to the door and felt the wood to see if there were any hidden bumps or buttons they could push to make the door open. Indiana looked at the bricks to the right of the door, feeling them with his hands, searching for a secret handle or a button. He shone his torch on the bricks and moved his hand over them to see if he could feel anything.

On one of the bricks he noticed something, a faded carving. He looked closer and tried to clean the bricks. There were numbers carved into some of the bricks.

"Can you see numbers carved into the bricks on your side?" he called to River.

She shone her torch on the wall on the left-hand side and found the numbers.

"Yes."

They examined the bricks on both sides. The ones on Indiana's side were all even numbers and on River's side they were odd. Finally, Indiana figured it out, he knew how to open the door. He looked for the number Eight, he found it and pushed the brick into the wall, it moved. Then the brick with the number Zero, pushed into the wall. River watched him and caught on. Indiana pushed number two, River found number Seven on her side of the wall and pushed it in, then Zero again and finally One. The door started to open slowly. Indiana and River stepped back with their hands on their guns waiting to see what was waiting for them on the other side. River was the first to see the old man on the other side of the door. She pulled her gun out, and Indiana followed suit. The man was holding a gun aimed directly at them. The door was ajar and River, Indiana and the old man on the other side of the door were all aiming their guns at each other in a standoff. The man on the other side of the door was old, but steady.

"It's you!" River said finally with recognition.

The old man nodded, he pointed his gun at her and started shooting. River and Indiana were holding their guns, but their ammunition was low. They ducked, but no bullets were hitting them. River stood up

"Stop!" The man looked scared.

"No!" He said.

He started shooting directly at her. Indiana shot whatever bullets he had left at the old man. Still no bullets were hitting anyone or anything. River gained confidence and took another step closer. The old man looked scared. Indiana did not dare move.

River put her gun away, the old man hesitated, and she took another step. Suddenly the old man became furious and resumed his shooting more forceful than before. One of his bullets hit River in the shoulder. The blast from the bullet has thrown her backwards a little. The old man looked more shocked and terrified than River or Indiana. Enraged, Indiana ran towards the old man ready to fight. As if realising the gravitas of what happened, the old man backed into the darkness on the other side of the door. Indiana charged after him, but the old man disappeared. The door started to close behind Indiana, he turned around just in time to see it closed shut leaving the wounded River behind.

"Meet my friends," said River.

The author straightened up, and Octavian, Jacob and Wilma put their guns away quickly. All three of them recognised the famous author instantly and smiled excitedly.

"Interesting friends," commented the author and shook their enthusiastic hands. "Would you like to join us for tea?"

"I'm sorry," said father Octavian with genuine sorrow. "Unfortunately we have to go."

"Oh..." said the author and looked from River to Octavian. "Must you go as well?"

Octavian looked at River and she stared back at him with determination. They had a whole debate in looks only. Octavian did not have a chance and after a few minutes of reproachful looks from River, which managed to convey that the author needed their help and it would be rude to refuse his invitation for tea, he had no choice but to give in.
"All right" Octavian gave up. "I guess we can stop for tea."

River showed the gang the perfect hole in the tree and on their way to the author's house, updated them in all that has happened.

"And the shooter?" Octavian asked River quietly while the author was entertaining the excitable Jacob and Wilma.

"No sign."

She put her hand in her pocket and felt the stones.

"It's like he has given up."

They sat in the living room at the author's house, and River was telling them about their visit to the student's house.

"The cough has drained his spirit completely. The more he talked the more he coughed and the more painful it became for him."

They drank their tea in silence for a while wrapped in their thoughts. River took out her scanner and showed it to Wilma, who had a medical degree. Wilma contemplated the scans. She paused on one of the scans and examined it closely.

"What is it? What do you see?" asked River.

"I'm not sure, it could be just some dirt, but look here."

She showed River the scanner. It was barely visible, but there was a little speck of dust on the scan of the student's throat. She tried to wipe it with her sleeve, but it did not move.

"What is it?" she asked Wilma.

"A concentration of bacteria perhaps. I will have to look at the throat."

River took out the piece of wood she cut from the tree and looked at it with thought.

"Do you have a microscope?" she asked the author after a while.

"What is a micro scope?" asked Jacob.

"Microscope, yes!" Said the author. He often dabbled in science.

He got up and signalled them to follow him into his study. It was a small, busy room, full of books, papers and many different gadgets and tools. There was barely any room for all of them to fit. Octavian, Jacob and Wilma looked at the room with amazement, as if they were in a museum looking at rare art. Meanwhile, the author took out a state-of-the-art microscope from a cupboard and placed it proudly on his desk as if it was a centrepiece. None of them has seen a microscope before and they looked at it with confusion.

"This is beautiful!" Said River with admiration for what she considered a magnificent relic.

"Are there no microscopes where you come from?" Asked the author.

"I read about it in school," said father Octavian. "But only saw it in pictures."

The author was delighted for the opportunity to show off his microscope. He took the piece of wood off River, scraped a tiny chip off with his fingernail and placed it on a plate underneath the lens. He then put his eye into the eyepiece and adjusted the small wheels on the side. They all gathered around him with increasing curiosity.

"Oh…" He said, his eye still in the eyepiece. "There is a lot of movement."

"What does it do?" asked Jacob.

"Don't you know your ancient history?" said River. "It is a kind of looking glass that magnifies really small things like microbes and bacteria."

"Don't they have computers for that?" asked Wilma

"A computer?" asked the author taking his eye off the eyepiece and looking at them with questioning eyes.

Wilma realised that computers have not yet been invented has smiled politely and changing the subject quickly asked. "What did you see?"

He showed her how to use the microscope. On the tiny piece of wood Wilma saw what looked almost like an army of microscopic ants. Only they didn't look like any ant or bacteria she had seen before. There were hundreds of them on that tiny piece of wood, and they were running around in what looked like chaos and panic. She lifted her eye and looked at the author and just as he was about to say something, he started to cough.

Indiana stood dumbfounded in front of the closed door. He tried pushing it back open. He pounded on it in desperation. Nothing worked, He was on his own in a big empty room. There was nothing he could do the door had closed never to open again. He didn't really know her very well, there were still many questions, and she often annoyed him, however, the thought of having to carry on without her scared him almost as much as River did sometimes.

He turned back into the room, deflated. It was dark and gloomy He was in a room, he suddenly realised. He took out the map again and shone his torch to look. He was not supposed to be in a room, he was supposed to be in a path, a tunnel that led to the room on the second map. He took a few steps forward and shone his torch all around the room. It was just like the room he has just left behind. Above him was the ventilation tube from which they have landed into the room and on the other side of the room was the same wooden door. He looked back to the door he came in from. It wasn't there anymore, there was only a wall. He must be going crazy, he thought. It's the lack of light. He must pull himself together and get out as soon as possible. He took another look at the wall in which once there had been a door. River was behind that wall, he thought and felt guilty for abandoning her. He must continue and perhaps once he found the damn thing, he'd go back to get her, if he could ever find his way in this bizarre place.

On the other side of the wall, River was tending to her wounded shoulder. From one of her pockets she took out a small but powerful magnet and placed it above her wound. The magnet attracted the bullet out of her shoulder, and it stuck to it. It was excruciatingly painful. She used whatever was left of her water to wash the wound, then she tore another piece of her dress and did her best to bandage her shoulder. Urgh, thought River, it'll be hard to find a great dress like this one. She got up and approached the door. She moved from side to side pushing in the stones with her good hand, Eight, Zero, Two, Seven, then Zero, One. The door opened and she stepped into the same room.

"Indy!"

There was no reply. He must have moved on. Gee, thanks for waiting, she thought. She looked at the room and thought that she wasn't supposed to be in a room, this was supposed to be a tunnel. On the strap of her vortex manipulator, she also had a small scanner and luckily, she had previously managed to scan the map without Indiana noticing. Now that he wasn't around to ask any questions, she switched it on and projected a hologram of the map. She was lost.

Indiana was standing in front of the door hesitating, thinking. He looked at the map, but he was not sure anymore. He pushed the numbers, Eight, Zero Two…

River was standing in front of the door, the door behind her, the one she came from had disappeared. She had to find her way out, she'd be damned if she let Indiana get there first. With that thought, she pushed in the numbered bricks.

Something wasn't right. Behind the door was another room, the same room again. It wasn't supposed to be there, Indiana should have been back in the tunnels by now, but somehow, he found himself in the same room again. He didn't know what to do.

River was looking around, she was in the same empty room with the ventilation tube above her. That was odd, she thought. She approached the third wooden door and stood in front of it, contemplating what to do next.

Once they were free from their shackles Indiana and Wu Han took water off the dead Kuomintang soldiers and quenched their thirst. Then Indiana searched the bodies for the precious statue, while Wu Han collected the weapons of the soldiers and the snipers. Indiana wrapped the box with the statue with a piece of cloth and put it in his bag. He and Wu Han were ready to make their long way back down the mountain into the main road and find their way back to Shanghai.

"You're just going to leave us here?"

Indiana looked at the snipers and thought for a moment. He threw a water flask at them and he and Wu Han started on their way. They were quite pleased, not only did they mange to get out of a bad situation with minimal damage to themselves, but they also managed to save the statue of Wu Zetian from the hands of General Ma and the Kuomintang. And so, they passed the time with cheerful conversation walking along the beautiful mountainside.

"Have you heard of the legend about the ruby that wasn't?" Wu Han asked Indiana.

"No, what's that" Indiana's eyes lit up. It was often the case that these stories were rooted in truth that led to the discovery of incredible treasures, and a ruby sure sounded a lot like a treasure to him.

"This was one of the most precious rubies there ever was, but it is lost."

"Go on."

They were walking down the mountain in a leisurely pace and were finally able to enjoy the nice weather. The mountains were fast and it would be very difficult for anyone to find them. There was no path or a road, just rocky ground and mountains everywhere.

"There were two friends," Wu Han began. "Ho Chan, who came from a rich and respectable family and Yip Ming, who was the son of the family who worked as servants for the Chan family. Yip and Ho grew up together, played together and despite their different status they became inseparable. Since they had been children, it had been their dream to become great warriors. However, as they grew up Ho concentrated on his studies and the duties of his class and status and had all but forgotten about his dream of becoming a warrior, which looked like childish foolishness and fantasies. Years had passed and Yip had become Ho's personal servant and their friendship continued to flourish. While Ho had abandoned his dream of becoming a great warrior, Yip never stopped, and he spent all his free time training and getting stronger."

They found a bit of shade and sat down to rest for a while. Wu Han continued his story.

"Yip was getting stronger and showing great talent and technique. He wished to go out and fight but was loyal to his friend and master. The day came, and a great battle ensued. Yip was torn between his love for his master and friend and his duty to his country and his dream. Ho knew of his friend's ambition. He called him to his chamber and there he presented Yip with a magnificent armour made especially for him and a beautiful sword decorated with the finest jewels. He told him, 'My friend, go, defend our country and be the great warrior you were meant to be, you have my blessing.' On the armour, where the heart is, there was a single beautiful ruby. A rare and precious stone. 'A drop of mother earth's heart's blood to protect you when you fight.' Ho told his friend, who was so moved by the gesture, he had to turn his head away, so his master wouldn't see him crying."

"Yes," said Indiana, "I have heard that warriors believed the ruby has a power of protection."

"Indeed." said Wu Han. "And knowing how precious and expensive the ruby must have been, Yip vowed that should he return alive from the battle he would return the Ruby to his friend. Ho gave him his best horse and sent Yip to fulfil his dream and become a hero."

Indiana turned his back to the door and leaned against it. This was' the fifth room he has walked into that was the same as the first one and the fifth wooden door he was standing in front of. He was wary about going through the door again, he needed some time to think. He sank down and sat on the ground, looking at the empty room.

River paced around the third same room she had entered. She didn't know if she should continue. Then she felt a drop of water fall on her good shoulder. She looked up with her torch and saw that she was under the ventilation tube, water was dripping down. This wasn't a second or a third room, it was the exact same room, over and over again.

Indiana got up and slowly started walking around the room shining his light as far and as wide as he possibly could, looking for details he might have missed. There was nothing to it, it was a big room with a door at one end. Apart from the ventilation tube there was no other way out. He looked at the map again, he could see where he needed to be. On paper it looked so close, yet out of reach. He went back and stood underneath the ventilation tube opening from which he and River jumped into the room. He shone his torch upward towards the opening, but there was nothing to see, his torch was too weak to shine through the tube. He brought his torch back into the room and saw another door, the door from which he came into the room, the door that wasn't there only moments ago. Was it always there? How did he miss that door?

When she reached the other side of the room, River saw another door, the door from which she came into the room was back.

Which door to go through? Indiana wasn't sure if it mattered. Maybe he should just stay put and see if any more doors showed up.

River examined the new door. It was the same as all the others, made of wood, like an old door of a castle, with the bricks and the numbers on the wall next to it. She hesitated.

Minutes had past, maybe hours, Indiana couldn't tell. Both doors were still there, no other had appeared. He would have to decide. He looked at the door and took a deep breath.

Eight, River pushed the first brick.

Zero Indiana continued.

Two

Seven

Zero

One

The door opened and River was standing right behind the door.

"No! Don't!"

River stopped Indiana from moving into the room.

"There's something wrong here."

"What?"

As if in answer to his question both doors on the opposite wall of each room started to open.

The room went quiet. River, Octavian, Wilma and Jacob looked at the author as if he was a ghost.

"It was bound to happen sooner or later." He answered their looks with a weak smile. "I think you'd better stay back. It is clearly spreading."

They took the author to the living room where he sat down, and Jacob made him another cup of tea.

"How do you feel?" River was worried.

"I'm fine, it's just an irritation. It always starts with an irritation of the throat."

Wilma approached him. "May I?" She asked the author politely.

"Do you think it is safe?"

"We've all been exposed by now."

The author coughed a little more and then, at Wilma's request, opened his mouth. Wilma took out a medical torch which was also a kind of futuristic magnifying glass and looked in to the author's throat. She was nervous, she was used to strange cases, but she never had to examine anyone famous before.

"I'm sorry, this might be a little unpleasant." She author's tongue down. Octavian River and Jacob tensely followed her every move.

She could see only a tiny black dot in the author's throat. She took pictures with a tiny camera that was installed on her special tool.

While Wilma was performing the rest of her standard medical tests, Jacob snuck back into the study to look through the microscope. He saw the ant-like bacteria running around. He took his eye off the eyepiece and looked at the tiny chip from the wood. He pressed his thumb against it as hard as he could and then put his eye back though the eyepiece. He couldn't kill them. He returned to the living room, where Wilma was projecting a hologram of the picture she took of the author's throat, enlarging the black dot to examine it in more detail.

"I couldn't kill them." said Jacob as he took his seat back on the sofa.

"What?" asked River and Octavian at the same time.

"I tried to crush them with my finger but it didn't work, it did nothing."

"Oh, I see." Said Octavian.

They went back to examine the holographic picture of the author's throat.

"What is it?" asked the author.

"I don't know." said Wilma. "I haven't seen this before."

She looked to River who shook her head.

"That perfect square shaped hole on the tree," said River, "Do you think something might have crushed here?"

"But that would suggest…" Said Octavian

"Intelligent bacteria!" Wilma completed their thought.

"From space." added Jacob.

"Incredible!" said the author. "Alien bacteria…" His excitement was interrupted by a cough which prevented him making any more comments on the matter.

"If it is intelligent." said River to Jacob looking at him, reproaching, "you shouldn't be trying to kill it!"

Jacob hung his head in shame.

"I will need to run some tests" Said Wilma.

River and Indiana turned around towards their opposite doors and pulled out their guns. The doors opened, but there was no one and nothing behind those doors, they turned back to face each other and where there was a door separating them, they now saw the old man standing in the middle of one big room.

"Who are you?!" Indiana was pointing his gun at the old man.

"You have no bullets." said the old man and Indiana reluctantly put his gun away.

"Who are you?" Indiana asked again, "Who is he?" He asked River.

"You need to go now." The old man was dying "The door will close again soon."

They turned around. The two doors were gone. There was now only one door and it was open. River looked at the old man.

"Go!" He said.

She nodded to him and went to the door. Indiana didn't move. He just looked from the old man to River.

"Come on Indy, we need to go." River called him from the door.

"What is going on here?"

"I will explain, I promise." said River. "But you need to get over here, the door is going to close!"

"So? There will be another, they keep popping up."

"It won't be the same door. This is the right door" said the old man.

"Trust me." said River.

"Why should I? I don't know you! For all I know you are trying to kill me! Or him! Or both of you!"

"Believe me Indy," said River "If I wanted to kill you, I wouldn't have missed. Now will you come?"

Indiana was hesitant, the door started to close.

"We should do this together." said River urgently.

Indiana looked at the door, then turned to look at the old man, who nodded at him encouragingly. He thought about what it was like when he and River were separated. He made up his mind and joined River through the door. It closed behind them.

They were now back in a dark narrow tunnel, only unlike the other ones they have been through, it looked more like a cave and there were candles on the walls lighting the way. The warm candlelight was a refreshing change to the gloomy darkness they had gotten so used to.

"Alright!" Said Indiana. "Start talking! Who was the old man? What's with the doors? What's going on here?!"

River opened her mouth to speak, but then she wrinkled her nose.

"Can you smell something?" she asked.

"Don't change the subject!"

"No, really, can't you smell it? Something is wrong!"

Indiana sniffed the air. It was unmistakable, the strong smell of bitter almonds.

"Cyanide!" he said.

"It's coming from the candles."

As the candles were burning, they were releasing cyanide vapour. River approached one of the candles intending to blow it out.

"No!" Said Indiana. "Look!" He pointed at the top of the candle, it was rigged, if she blew out the candle it would explode. Either way they would die.

Indiana took out the map and looked. They were so close, they only had to survive the tunnel, at the end of it there was a left tun which is where they were supposed to be.

"Come on!" He said to River.

He gave her his hat and she put it over her mouth.

"Gah!" She said. "I think I rather take my chances with the cyanide!"

Indiana rolled his eyes at her and she put the hat back over her mouth. Indiana used his shirt to cover his mouth and they started running through the tunnel. There were candles everywhere, and they started to feel the effects. They were getting weaker and struggled to breathe. They were getting dizzy and it was difficult for them to move, but they kept going, frantic, through the tunnel. At the end of the tunnel they could see a door. Not like the kind of doors they had seen before, but a normal household door. The effects of the cyanide were getting stronger. Indiana and River were starting to choke. Indiana fell and struggled to get up again. River grabbed him and started to drag him, struggling to breathe herself. She just barely reached the door and threw herself at the handle.

"Yip Ming became a brave and renowned warrior." Wu Han continued the story as he and Indiana continued their descent, now little more than half way down the mountain.

"He was strong and fought like no other. After he won that first battle, he went on to fight more battles band won them all. His reputation grew, his name became known in all of China. He was feared by his enemies and worshiped by his allies. People would recognise him by his magnificent armour and sword, the beauty and quality of which were as famous as Ming was. Everywhere he travelled Ming was received with great admiration and respect.

"Meanwhile, Ho Chan finished his studies and continued working in the family business, which would eventually become his own. He was a smart and benevolent man, and he made a great success of the business for his family and himself. Occasionally he heard of his friend's heroic fame and was happy for him. But he also missed him and longed for the day he would come back. As the months and years went by, Ho found a wife and settled down. He was happy and led a quiet life, but never stopped thinking of his friend.

"War was over, but not for Yip Ming. He wasn't ready to come home, his thirst for fighting and the glory they brought him wasn't satisfied. He would go from town to town, village to village and pick fights with anyone in his path. Everywhere he went he would tell of his glorious battles demanding respect and admiration. Soon people started treating him like a pest and a burden. He was drunk and disruptive. No one remembered his hero days anymore and he was known as an obnoxious troublemaker best avoided. One day, drunk, Yip stumbled back into his own town. He wasn't the man he once was. He had become fat and foul mouthed. He no longer had his brilliant sword, he had sold it for drink. His armour no longer fitted him, and he carried it in his hand. No one recognised him and he fell asleep somewhere on the side of the road.

"When he awoke, Yip recognised his hometown and he was ashamed. He couldn't face his friend and have him think him a useless drunk. He looked at the armour and for the first time he noticed that the ruby that was placed to protect his heart was missing from it. He must have lost it at some point and never noticed. Some people think he lost it in his famous first battle, others think that he must have lost it one of his drunken fights or sold it for money. Whatever it was, Yip could not remember, and he was mortified. He remembered his promise to return the ruby to his friend had he lived. He was already worried that he had let down his friend, but without the ruby he would not dare face him. And so, without being seen, he left his hometown and went to look for a stone to replace the one his friend gave him. He walked, since he no longer had a horse, from village to village, until he found a merchant who had a ruby just like the one Ho has given him all these years ago. But Yip had no money or goods with which he could pay for the expensive ruby. After long deliberations, the merchant who felt sorry for Yip agreed to let Yip have the ruby and in return he would have to work for the merchant for the rest of his life to pay it off. With the ruby in his hand Yip rushed to see his friend, accompanied by the merchant who did not trust him not to run away.

The two friends were so happy to see each other they hugged and cried. Yip, who was ashamed of his situation, introduced the merchant as a soldier friend. They spent the whole day together telling stories and talking about old days and for the first time since the war was over Yip felt happy again. The time had come for Yip to leave Ho and return with the merchant for work. He gave Ho the stone and not wanting him to know of his misfortune, Yip lied and said he was off to win the heart of some maiden in a faraway place. He promised to write to his friend soon. They hugged and Yip left his friend to go work for the merchant."

Indiana and Wu Han had finally reached the main road. They went in to Wu Han's car and drove off towards Shanghai.

"So, what happened?" Indiana urged Wu Han.

"Years went gone by. Yip travelled with his merchant and worked as his slave. Wherever they stayed, Yip would sleep with the animals, eat leftovers, just barely living. He became a hard man, his days as a hero and later as a rascal seemed like a long-forgotten dream. He got old and sick, and finally the merchant had no more use for him. He let him go in some unknown place, where he would spend whatever was left of his miserable days. As it happened, Ho's wife was passing by on her way back from visiting her family, and she recognised Yip, though he was old and haggard. Seeing that he was in a terrible state, she was sad and knowing how much her husband loved Yip, she took pity on him and brought him home with her. Yip, who was so old and sick did not recognise Ho's wife, he let her take him as he had no power to do anything even if he wanted to.

"When Ho saw his friend in such a terrible state he begged him to tell him what had happened to him. Through his tears Yip has confessed to everything and told his friend that he lost the ruby he gave him and replaced it with a different one, but since he had no money to pay for the ruby, he spent his life slaving to pay it off. When he finished telling his story, seeing the tears in his friend's eyes, he begged his forgiveness. Ho, was shocked and deeply distressed by Yip's story. 'It was a gift my friend' said Ho. 'I never wanted it back. No forgiveness is needed my dear friend.' And with that Yip died, with his friend by his side.

"It is a sad blessing that Yip died not knowing that the ruby Ho put in the armour was a fake. Back in those days, while Ho was rich, he couldn't afford giving his friend a real ruby. He thought that the symbolism of the stone was more important, and picked a beautiful red plastic bead to put on his friend's armour."

"Well I'll be damned!" said Indiana. "That's quite a story!"

"But you know what," said Wu Han, "Now the fake bead is worth more than the ruby. People have been trying to trace Yip Ming's movements hoping to find this 'ruby that wasn't' it is worth more than any other precious stone of the time."

Indiana's eyes were gleaming. "All right Wu Han, show me what you've got."

River burst through the door and dragged Indiana in. She closed the door, and they breathed in as much clean air as they could. Indiana got up and they looked around. They were standing at the top of four steps that led down into yet another room. This room, however, was different. It looked like a workshop. It was empty save for a desk in one end of it. The desk had papers on it, a diary and a small model of something. The room was lit with a low light coming from one lamp high up in the ceiling. Indiana looked at the map, they were in the right place, but there was nothing there apart from the desk. All this effort and pain and nothing, he thought, what a waste of time. He looked at River.

"It's not here."

"Patience." she said.

Indiana exhaled with frustration and went to the desk. He picked up the model and looked at it.

"What do you think you're doing?" River asked.

He put the model down. "I'm just looking."

She approached the table and picked up the diary and looked in it.

"Anything there?"

"Nope." She said and slammed the diary shut and put it back on the table. Indiana picked it up and looked inside. There was nothing in it. He put it back down.

"Alright, River, what now? What's going on?"

"We wait."

"Wait for what?"

"You'll see."

"I'm getting out of here!"

Indiana stomped his way back to the four steps and to the door.

"No wait!" River called him. "What about the cyanide?"

"I'll run through it!"

"And what about that room? You'll be stuck in a loop!"

"I'll find a way. I'll go back up the vent if I have to. I'm not staying here!"

"Don't you want to see what happens?"

"What's gonna happen? I'll tell you what's gonna happen, we'll get shot at again!"

"Trust me, just wait."

"Why should I trust you? I don't even know you! You seem to know a lot about me, but you never told me who you really are or what are you doing here."

"I'm doctor River Song. I'm an archaeologist."

"You said that last time. Some archaeologist! How come I never heard of you? No one has, I looked. What papers did you publish?"

"Ah…" Said River. "It's a bit complicated."

"It's always complicated!"

Indiana put his hand on the door and inhaled deeply, preparing to open the door and run through cyanide tunnel. There was a strange whooshing noise and sudden burst of wind, which made Indiana stop in his track and turn around.

Something materialised, out of thin air right there in the room. River and Indiana looked in awe.

The author was so excited at the idea of having contracted alien bacteria, it was as if it was a cause for celebration rather than a worry. He had so many questions, but the cough was preventing him from asking them.

"Slow down," said father Octavian. "You're making yourself cough."

River suddenly had a revelation. "That's it!" she said.

"What?!" Octavian and the author chimed together.

"You are making yourself cough! The more you talk the more it makes you cough."

"So, I shouldn't talk?" asked the author and started coughing again.
"I don't know."

She got up to join Wilma and Jacob, who had shut themselves in the author's study in order to try and study the alien bacteria as best they could. Octavian got up to go with her.

"He's madly in love with me." said River nodding towards Octavian. "He can't let me go anywhere without him." and she winked at him and the author laughed, which has made him cough even more.

"very well," Said Octavian sitting back down, embarrassed. "I'll wait here."

"I think it's something to do with the human voice." said River as she walked into the study.

Jacob was using a special whistle, changing pitches constantly in an attempt to communicate with the bacteria, while Wilma was looking through the microscope for any kind of reaction. They stopped and turned to River.

"The more they talk, the more they cough. Talking has some kind of effect on the bacteria, which makes the carrier cough."

"What kind of effect?" asked Wilma.

"I'm not sure."

Wilma returned to the microscope while River bowed down as close as she could to the plate with the chip of wood and all the bacteria.

"Hello, little ones" she said. "Who are you? Where are you from?"

"Something is happening!" said Wilma.

"Do you think they understand?" asked Jacob and kneeled next to River "Harroum!" He coughed.

River and Wilma looked at him.

"They are forming a straight line and they are walking. Let me look at you," Said Wilma and he opened his mouth and looked in to his throat.

"Say something."

"Argh carugh shour." Wilma's instrument limited his ability to speak.

"Just say ahhhh…" said River.

Jacob just stood there and said 'ahhhh…' Until he was interrupted by a cough and ran out of air.

"Can you hum something? A song? Or a piece of music?" Wilma asked him after she let him get his air back. Jacob took a deep breath and started humming an old lullaby he remembered. Wilma kept looking in to his throat. His humming was constantly interrupted by the coughs, but he was determined to continue.

"They are coming out! Your humming is enchanting them, they are walking out. Keep humming!" she said. She grabbed her medical bag and took out a kind of tube pipe, like a hoover and stuck it into Jacob's mouth as deep in to his throat as she could without causing him to gag.

"Keep humming!"

"It's like that story, the Pied Piper of Hamlin, where he played all the rats out of town." Said River.

"The what?" asked Wilma.

At that point Jacob was humming, for the first time, without being interrupted by any cough. Wilma took out the tube off his mouth and looked at his throat.

"It's clear!"

She looked into the tube, but she couldn't see anything in it. She took the chip of the microscope and whatever was left of the wood and sealed it all in in her medical bag.

They went to the living room where Octavian and the author sat in silence, not sure whether talking is good or bad for the situation. River sat down and told them the story of the Pied Piper of Hamlin and how he enchanted the rats and later the children to leave the town.

The author caught on and cheerfully started singing. His voice was surprisingly high and nasal and though there were no arguments that he was a great author, his singing talents left something to be desired. River and her companions did the best they could to hide their laughter.

Once the author was clear, they went from house to house, to all the sick students and teachers. It was difficult at first to convince all the sick and exhausted patients to sing, especially since the singing caused them more coughing to begin with, but once they managed to sing through the hard part it wasn't long before they managed to cure the whole community.

Finally, just before they were leaving, River, Octavian and Wilma all sang one song in order to make sure they were clear of any alien bacteria. Octavian and Wilma, who had the best voices, entertained everyone with a beautiful duet.

"It has been an honour working with you." said Octavian when it was finally time for them to go, and he shook the author's hand.

"And a pleasure to meet you, young man," The author replied. "I cannot thank you enough! All of you. You have helped stop a plague." He shook everyone's hand and gave River a warm hug.

"Are you sure you can't stay a little longer?" he asked.

"It is time for me to go, but I promise I will come see you again soon." River said.

"Don't leave it too long, and you can bring your friends any time." he waved them goodbye as they were transported back into the prison ship.

The time machine.

It was beautiful! The Time Traveller, the old man, came out of the time machine and approached Indiana and River. Instinctively, Indiana put his hand to his bullwhip, but River grabbed his hand and shook her head.

"But he tried to kill us! It was him!" Indiana muttered under his breath.

"Yes," said River.

"Are you going to kill us?" He asked the Time Traveller.

The Time Traveller shook his head.

"You tried before."

The Time Traveller nodded.

"Why?" Asked Indiana.

"I was angry."

"And now?"

"I have been here an infinite amount of time and I have tried to kill you almost the same amount of time. I have no choice but to trust you."

Indiana looked confused.

"You are dying," said River.

"Yes," said the Time Traveller.

"Would you like us to stay?" she asked and Indiana looked at her as if she was mad.

The time traveller shook his head.

River nodded back at him and the Time Traveller disappeared into thin air.

Indiana was dumbfounded, he looked from River to the time machine and back. They stepped closer in silence, taking in the moment.

Indiana reached his hand and touched the time machine as if to make sure it was really there.

"Come on," said River finally as she climbed in and sat down.

"You're not serious?!"

"I am always serious about time travel," said River. "When do you want to go to? No wait, don't tell me, surprise me." she said and gesture him to come sit next to her.

Indiana looked at her as if she has just told him she was an alien. River looked back at him, waiting. Finally making up his mind he squeezed himself into the small seat in the time machine, next to River.

"Are you sure this is safe?" he asked hesitantly.

"Where's the fun in that?"

Indiana looked at the magnificent display panel, trying to get his head around everything that had happened and was still happening. He started turning the dials on the panel.

"Hold on one minute." he stopped. "Isn't this stealing?"

"Not stealing, borrowing. That's totally different"

Indiana looked at her dubiously.

"I would know the difference." She answered his look. "My husband is a thief."

"You have a husband?"

"I have many."

River looked at the display panel and took out a stone from her pocket, a stone which didn't belong in the Syrian desert in 1995. Indiana looked at her stone with surprise and then took out the stone that didn't belong in the mountains of China in 1934. They slotted their stones in two holes in display panel. The panel woke up and lit up. Indiana thought for a moment and turned the dials. River pulled the lever at her side. There was a great whirl of wind and a whooshing sound and Indiana Jones and River Song disappeared with the time machine.