27
MALIGNANCE
The faded arthritic timber looked as though a mild breeze could shatter it, and yet the arches and cross beams were welded together to form a crazy post apocalyptic sculpture that almost completely blocked off the passageway beyond. Only a child or a slim girl could squeeze past them, and just such a person had a young woman with a petite form and thick dark tresses clipped tightly to her scalp. She had a small half mask over her nose and mouth to protect her from the dust, the mask looked slightly surgical and the probing intelligent eyes above it could easily have belonged to a medical profession; they shone with intelligence and enquiry. Where am I, they said, what is this place and why am I here exploring it?
The building seemed massive but long deserted having fallen into dereliction and decay many years ago if the rot, mildew and spider webs were any indication. Being careful where she stepped the woman came to a portion of wall slightly less grubby that its cousins, not clean but at least the original plaster could be made out a kind of dirty grey that had once been white, on it in red spray paint was an image a disturbing and ugly thing that the woman couldn't make sense of.
The fear of the artist was evident though; this had been done in a hurry by someone afraid for their life a person who wanted to leave a permanent record of what he or she had seen. Not human the woman decided some kind of creature or machine possibly a nightmare image done by a deeply disturbed mind although the detail was impressive and cried against this last option.
Hand encased in a plastic see-through glove Nyssa touched the wall, she wasn't sure why she didn't expect anything to happen – but it did. The portion of all – a square about 15 centimetres across – sank inwards with a click and in the air to her right a holographic ghost took shape, it was the mud-smeared face of a girl not much younger than her; thin, very pale, the eyes rich with fear and the tremulous voice a symphony of despair. This was a teenager made old before her time, drained by danger.
She spoke quickly, shooting the words out as if fighting against time. Nyssa wished she could hear them but the moving lips were silent, the message was vision only. Soon the girl became more agitated her eyes darting left and right, her features twisting into a tapestry of panic. Soon she was moving her whole head not just her eyes, something is coming said her jagged gazelle-like motions and if it finds me I'm dead.
The craning neck froze, the eyes bulged, the mouth yawned into a final terrifying scream and then the hologram froze – there was no more to see the fate of the screaming (artist?) unknown, unrecorded. Had she escaped or had she died here and if she had died where was the body?
Circling the frozen holo-face Nyssa frowned, her own heart was racing. This place was creepy enough without finding this evidence that it was creepier still. The whole atmosphere was now heavy with malignant dread; bad things had been done here and maybe not just to this unknown girl.
Lifting her left arm Nyssa spoke into the bracelet that hugged it tightly, "I've found something it's a hologram, can you upload it?"
The briefest of pauses then a figure detached itself from the shadows and cobwebs up ahead flashing a pencil torch in her direction, the man was squinting through the gloom. Like her he wore a surgical mask but the eyes above this blazed with startling intensity, as blue as an exploding star cluster and above them dark curls erupted in all directions untainted.
Nyssa nodded to the frozen holo-face, "No audio," she said, "But there's no mistaking the terror," she'd seen plenty of that herself. Reaching her the man glanced briefly at the face then the recessed portion of wall, he had a small box instrument in his right palm that barely filled the palm, slim as paper it was metallic and bore an oval screen.
"Ancient surveillance system, probably part of the original building design," he said adding that the circuitry was decayed, the processors barely functional. "I think I can clean this up," he said of the image, "Maybe even rescue some of the audio," he paused reflectively captured as she had been by the angst of the face, its sadness reaching out to touch him across (who knew how many) years.
"I wonder who she was," said Nyssa heavily?
"Was," the Doctor repeated as though there was an outside chance this person were still alive?
"Something found her," said Nyssa, "The thing she feared most of all," a shiver passed through the small frame, "Look at her eyes have you ever seen such horror?"
The Doctor didn't answer but his head nodded once, placing his palm-top device within the shimmering opalescent field of the hologram he thumbed a key and the silent, screaming, fear pregnant face imploded and vanished. It was now so many pixels floating around the central console to be hopefully wiped clean and enhanced by its sophisticated technology.
Nyssa experienced a pang of pain when the girl was gone like she'd been wiped out a second time.
"I've found something to," said the Doctor softly touching Nyssa lightly on a shoulder, "Are you all right?"
No was the short answer who could be in a place like this a place infected with menace and loss where teenage girls ran for their lives and left desperate post-mortem messages?
I will be said the gleam in her eyes I'll cope I always have in the past and I did volunteer to come here; it was my choice albeit hasty and perhaps ill-advised. She followed him up the passage to a tight squeezing function; he took the left option and dipped his head under teeth of splintered wood like the overbite of some vast alligator. Also ducking even though she didn't really need to Nyssa came across a three-legged table draped with a light coloured cloth, upon it where some small items laid out in a kind of neat formation.
Festooned with dust and web now they nevertheless spoke to her of careful almost ritualistic placing, they had been left to be found some time in the future by a person who perhaps didn't expect to return. The holo-girl, Nyssa blinked back tears?
I haven't touched them said the Doctor's quick glance but perhaps you'd like to, "I've made a recording," he said gently, "But thought you'd like to do the hands-on stuff."
Thanking him with a concealed smile she approached the table upon it were what looked like a pocket diary with a cheap red plastic cover, an archaic staser pistol – late 21st century by the contours and alloy and a single sheet of paper upon which the horrible wall drawing of before was repeated this time with more minute detail.
"Some kind of creature," Nyssa said out loud thinking it might be the one the girl had fled unsuccessfully from. "Nothing native to earth but then we aren't on earth;" she cast a sideways look at her companion, "are we?"
Picking up the diary he thumbed through it casually then handed it to her, Nyssa found that most of the pages were scrawled with poignant messages HELP ME and PLEASE HELP ME. Some had a curious set of digits 82546 and on the very last page in different ink and much bigger was the letter M.
"Could that be here name," Nyssa wondered out loud then revised this, nobody just had a single letter; the girl would write her full name and at the front of the diary not the back. M was something else something unpleasant it made her think of malice, murder and monsters.
"82546," she mused, "A room number?"
The time lord shrugged, "Room, floor, PIN – it's hard to say with no context."
To her surprise he picked up the pistol, he hated guns as much as her but this one seemed to fascinate him; turning it over a few times he thumbed open the catch on its belly to study its innards.
"This had been modified," he said, "Several times, that chip is from something more powerful." He made a humming sound, "Fancy hot wiring a staser, neat work though she knew what she was doing." Clipping the gun shut he dropped it into a pocket; now that was very unlike him.
"You're keeping it," Nyssa let a thread of surprise and distaste echo through her voice?
"For a more detailed analysis," he said as she picked up the drawing flipping it one way then the other.
"If only we knew what this was, is it familiar to you?"
He blinked a no then said, "Before we go back to the TARDIS I just want to check something out." Moving on ahead of her he squatted down over a grey smeared box attached to the wall, opening this with a sonic hum he peered inside. Nyssa saw three thick black cables, a sonic bulb played over them and gave a short warble; the cables were live there was power here in this derelict skeleton of wood and plaster.
Moving his all purpose tool up and down the cables the time lord glanced up, "The power has been redirected to the floor above, somebody needs a lot of juice."
Nyssa frowned, there was someone alive here could it be the holo-girl; had she survived after all?
The doctor was going to take a look; she could see it in his eyes he was dying to find out if the girl was alive as much as her.
"Just a quick recce," he said, "But first let's get back to the TARDIS and see if she's cleaned up the hologram."
They were just moving away when a sound pulsated up the passage ahead of them, a rippling, oscillating roar heavy and guttural made by something big. Heart freezing Nyssa felt every inch of skin prickle with fear, her mind thought of M and that it had found them very quickly.
Still and silent the handsome man by her side waited for the sound to come again, which it did louder and longer possibly angrier. He took out the staser pistol and reopened it taking out the main chip, turning this over in thumb and forefinger he applied a narrow sonic ray to it.
"More power," Nyssa asked?
The chip was replaced and the Doctor took a few backward steps waving her to do the same. A shape moved into view, a vast all-encompassing bulk that filled the passage from floor to ceiling and rubbed against both walls. Oozing forwards with muscular speed the thing let out a new sound a deeper, nastier, hungrier exhalation.
Nyssa had backed up to the open box of cables, the Doctor guided her beyond it he seemed to be in no rush this wasn't a mad dash he was being calculating, letting the monster see them drawing it on temptingly, here we are come and get us if you can.
Accepting the offer the thing (and she still couldn't make out any real detail yet in this gloom) lunged forwards. The Doctor raised his gun, he took aim then he jerked the gun sideways and down away from the monster and fired….into the power cables.
As these exploded arms sheathed in a frock coat covered Nyssa's eyes and just as well, for the blast was brilliant a super white blueness a glare that could scorch optic nerves. Both of them turned away as a bellow of pain filled the air; soon after that they were running – forwards, sharp turn left, another sprint, sharp right, jump, dash and then they had halted not because the way ahead was blocked but because of the voice; it swam in the air around them disembodied, ghostly and tired with age.
"Don't move," it said, "I can help you from here - if you keep running IT will only find you IT never gives up."
Nyssa looked around but couldn't see anything, not a grill nor a speaker where was the voice coming from how was it being transmitted? The scientist in her craved explanations but found none.
"Move to your right," said the voice brittle with time, "Push open that door and go inside, it isn't a trap I promise."
From some way off came a roar, a slavering snarl and the thud of approaching mass. Hurt and blinded the monster hadn't given up; it had their scent now and like any hunting animal (if it was an animal), it wouldn't give up on food.
Nyssa found herself in a large, dirty pantry of plain blue squared walls.
"Close the door and throw the bolt," said the ghostly instructor, as soon as this was done Nyssa felt it in her stomach – a sensation of rising, the pantry was a lift albeit it a crude make shift one. It soon stopped though they'd only gone up a floor, and the power was directed up one floor as well; it seemed they were going to find out by whom.
Unbolting and opening the door a crack the Doctor peered out, no need to squint there was electric light it came from strips added to the ceiling these were all different types and lengths – more cannibalisation. Carefully he opened the door fully and stepped out into another passage, one cleared of webs and smudges, no dust on the floor and someone had made a stab at clearing and repainting the walls; was that a pine air freshener?
My god thought Nyssa what a difference, this floor looked habitable even gentrified. This must have been what the building interior had once been like.
"Door at the end," said the voice, "It's unlocked."
The visitors swapped a look, might as well said the look on his face and hers responded that she was okay with it – no monster up here apparently.
"May I ask who you are," said the Doctor giving his and Nyssa's identities but not adding the usual rider about being travellers because they were obviously not residents.
"That," said the voice. "Will become obvious."
Bit cryptic thought Nyssa. Why the mystery? "Thank you for helping us," she said warmly trying to establish some kind of rapport.
"The staser came in useful to, I assume you left it," said the Doctor but there was no reply to this. Up to the door now he turned its handle and gently pushed, more light came from inside this time from halogen lamps; there was warmth to central heating and more pine scent plus bleach and disinfectant. The Doctor's acute sense of smell detected something else and he smiled with boyish delight, "I don't believe it," he said, "Tea," he added, "How very civilised."
Nyssa couldn't resist a chuckle then she was inside an apartment with carpet underfoot, clean walls, and small tables holding carved ornaments.
"Lounge on the left," said a slightly muffled voice not amplified now through some kind of tannoy system. The Doctor made his way to the lounge entrance and with his usual delicacy eased the door open as though expecting it to blow up in his face; a not uncommon occurrence in his life by any means but this time the caution was misplaced. He broke into a smile and Nyssa was moved to join him, a perfectly normal even suburban room greeted her; at least on first inspection but a closer look revealed the presence of small viewing screens, a complex communication system built into one wall, various other staser weapons scattered around and a complex motorised cart like those old people buzzed around in.
An old person sat in this one as well – a small, wizened figure with heavily lined Sahara dry skin, sunken watery green eyes and virtually invisible lips. The thinning hair was more white than grey with patches of scalp visible through it and both hands shook. Nyssa was looking at an elderly grandmother, a pensioner; some geriatric who no doubt never left her abode because there was nothing to leave it for.
"Nice to meet you at last," said the Doctor, "Of course we have seen you before, holographically speaking but it's nice to meet the real person."
Nyssa felt her lips part and jaw drop, she looked at the old crone again taking in facial contours, noise, eyes…could it be, no surely not; but yes it just might be.
Holo-girl or the person who used to be her decades ago, quite a few decades looking at this emaciated figure.
It had never occurred to Nyssa that the hologram was so old, recorded years in the past. "It is you," she said moving closer to the old woman, "You left a message for someone to find but there was no sound, how many years ago was it?"
A sad, ironic smile greeted this and the watery eyes rose to meet those of the Doctor with a question and a warning. He said, "It wasn't years ago at all was it," he asked catching on with his usual alacrity.
Nyssa turned towards him, what did he mean by that remark?
"The creature did this to me, it stole my youth," said the old woman with an ache of sadness. Resting a hand on an ancient shoulder the Doctor gave a sympathetic squeeze, "I'm so sorry," he said. Nyssa's brain was still trying to process what she'd heard, a vast portion of it denying this grotesque and impossible phenomenon. How could a teenage girl become an old woman so quickly, what kind of creature had such power?
"Everyone here was young before IT came," said the grandmother sadly, "This was a Halls of Residence for students, the brightest and the best," a single hot tear slid down the lunar surface skin of the left cheek.
"I'm sorry to," said Nyssa feeling deflated by this revelation and thinking of how it must be to become so old so quickly, the richness and experiences of life denied you; never to have any children. Nyssa had none of her own she had devoted herself to her career and had no regrets, but one day that might change if she met the right person.
The old woman shrugged as though she'd come to accept her fate, but how could anyone?
"The way you've rigged the power cables is very clever," said the Doctor.
"I had help; in the early days there were a few of us but gradually they all died on forages for food and supplies."
"I see," said the time lord like he didn't really see at all, "The creature killed them all, aged them to death?"
The ancient white haired head nodded solemnly.
"Then how do you survive, what do you eat," the Doctor asked?
"My needs are few now I survive on what there is."
Nyssa looked around unable to see any signs of nourishment no plates or cups, maybe there was a large freezer containing ready-made meals or some kind of nutrient gel.
"How long have you been here," she asked, "On your own?"
The spindly shoulders rose and fell as though time had ceased to have any meaning, it could be days or years.
"Why doesn't the creature come up here and attack this room," Nyssa asked but the Doctor had the answer to this.
"You've seen it," he said, "Too bulky, it would never fit in the lift and I'm guessing the stairs are pretty much decayed between floors. So it stays where it is picking off anyone foolish enough to cross its path," like us he didn't add.
"What is it," Nyssa enquired the academic in her hungry for data, for facts, "Is it alien to this planet or was it born here, was it made in some way in a lab?"
Taking out the drawing of the creature the Doctor smoothed it out, "We didn't get a clear look, is this it's true appearance," he asked the old woman?
Shuddering she reached out to touch the sketch but her fingers recoiled at the last moment, clenching into the palm. "Its appearance," croaked the dry voice, "Changes."
"A shape shifter," Nyssa ventured.
"Or part of a life cycle a metamorphosis like with some insects," the Doctor added?
Not waiting for a reply, perhaps sensing one wouldn't be offered he took out the diary, "Is this yours," he flipped it open.
Myopic eyes squinted at the small pages, quickly the time lord fished a magnifying glass from an inner pocket. Nyssa was amazed, did he carrying that around with him all the time what an odd thing to have. He placed it in front of the diary, "Does that help," he asked turning pages? "This digit here," he said indicating 82546 which had been written in big letters and underlined, "Do you know what it means is it a code or room reference?"
He turned to the last page having so far received no answers, "Is M you," he smiled?
"Marie," said the tired voice and the small figure slumped; its head dipping and eyes half-closed in great exhaustion.
"Sorry," he said closing the diary, "We're tiring you, I should have known better. Is it all right if we take a look around the apartment, bit nosey I know but I'm insatiably curious?"
Getting no response to this he waved Nyssa to follow him and guided her out into the hall with an expression of renewed vigour.
"It's not her fault Doctor she's old and tired."
"She didn't answer anything except my last question but from her eyes I could tell she recognised that digit."
Deliberate evasiveness, Nyssa would have thought the old woman capable of it; why bring them here to trick them she had after all saved their lives?
"You think the answer could be elsewhere in this apartment?"
His movements and darting eyes answered that one and soon they were in a kitchen – sink on the right, range on the left and up ahead a tall oblong fridge. Swiftly he went to it and opened it revealing empty shelves, an empty freezer nothing to eat or drink at all just crusts and ridges of ice.
Nyssa shook her head in wonder, maybe there was food in the cupboards but opening these exposed only dust and dry rot. How could anyone live on nothing or was Marie starving to death?
"The larder is bare," intoned the Doctor, "But then I thought it would be."
Did you, Nyssa's sharp look was dubious?
"Then how does she survive, how could anyone with no food? I mean she's too infirm to go out looking for any and even if she wasn't there's the creature, we must help her."
A sonic melody played over the kitchen it rose in pitch then sank to a sharp monotone; this led him over to a box near the only table. Prizing it open revealed more cables smaller ones in a lattice formation, "You know," he said, "This is very sophisticated work a real feat of engineering, I'm not sure a bunch of frightened, trapped students would be able to come up with anything even close, this is so good it's almost up to my standard and believe me," he smiled, "That's high."
Nyssa wasn't sure, "It's amazing what you can do when your life's at risk," she'd had to be pretty adaptable in her time.
Maybe said his quick glance but I don't think so, "Marie's diverted all the power of the building up here and I do mean all of it, but why does she need so much, a fraction would light and warm this apartment?"
Maybe she has special needs thought Nyssa, medical equipment for dialysis.
"What you said about the creature being too bulky to get up here, do you believe that?"
No said his pause not really.
"How about it killing all of Marie's friends?"
"If they existed, if they were her friends; if the creature that attacked us attacked them."
Interesting qualifications, "Have you learned anything else useful from those cables?"
Not yet said the set of his jaw as he slid along the linoleum to another portion of wall, here he had to be more crude using a small pen knife to tear into and rip open the plaster much to Nyssa's horror, but that horror turned to astonishment when she saw the glistening cube of crystal exposed; it was far more exotic than anything seen so far and not part of the natural electrics.
Squatting down herself she tried to make out what it could be, but the Doctor warned her not to touch it. He didn't need to tell her it was alien or anachronistic because that was obvious, it was something that had been added to the circuitry and the reason why so much power was being diverted.
"Have you see anything like it before," she asked?
"It looks like," he sat up sharply his brow twisting and wrinkling, "But that's incredible," he ran the sonic over it in a small circles until the green glow of the crystal deepened to light blue. "There's not much doubt," he said and stood up with a sense of real purpose. "We need to get back to the ship and take a good look at that hologram because we haven't seen the full story."
"You mean there's no point asking Marie," she said?
"Assuming Marie is Marie," he threw back.
Blood evacuated Nyssa's cheeks at the implications of these words, "you mean," her head shook - this was too radical. "If the old woman in there isn't the young girl on the holo then who or what is she?"
"I don't know Nyssa but I don't think a mere student would have a Quantum Attenuator wired into her skirting board."
She's heard this expression before but only in theory, such a device (if it existed) would bend time and space creating an opening through which other dimensions could be accessed. To her knowledge no Quantum Attenuator had ever been constructed, or maybe it had by the Doctor's people; about whom he referred to vaguely in moments of nostalgia.
Very cautiously the time lord ran his screwdriver around the edges of the crystal, occasionally stopping when the light at its core flickered. Nyssa knew better than to question him during the middle of such a delicate operation. Finally he sat up with a frown and said, "I can't do it," he nodded at the crystal, "There are too many defensive mechanisms." Adjusting the screwdriver to a new setting he aimed at the heart of the device, "Maybe I can shut it down from here."
Nyssa said, "But the old lady might need it to keep her alive."
"That old lady isn't what she seems Nyssa."
Maybe not but perhaps there was a better way, "Let me speak to her first Doctor, see if I can get to the bottom of this with reason."
Ever the diplomat Nyssa was not a big fan of the violent interventionist option. "She might open up to me, tell me the truth. You never know she might not be hostile just afraid."
Not looking totally convinced the Doctor came to a quick decision he nodded once giving his tactic approval.
"Just be careful," he advised. Oh I will be thought Nyssa as she returned mentally rehearsing what she was going to say something along the lines of isn't it time you told us the truth after all we might be able to help you?
Marie wasn't there, her life support chair was but she was no longer sat in it and there was no sign of her at all. Confused and anxious Nyssa began to search the apartment wondering what could have happened to the old lady – that was when she discovered the that the main door was wide open. Surely Marie hadn't abandoned her home. Maybe something else had come in and taken her.
She called the Doctor's name, edging to the open door and peering outside. The passage was unchanged no signs of violence and no Marie, she called the Doctor again. Normally he had acute hearing and could pick up a whisper; maybe he was busy with the Quantum Attenuator.
She hurried back about to tell him their hostess had vanished but she didn't…because the Doctor had now vanished to; there was no sign of him!
The curious crystal was also missing, where it had lain was a gap in the circuitry with wispy filaments on both sides. Maybe he'd been killed his body disintegrated, but there was no hint of this no residue no scorch marks.
Further calling of his name was pointless, Nyssa was alone all alone. Fear knifed through her and she felt the first stirrings of a serious panic attack. What did she do now just stay here and hoped he returned, go outside and search; where did she even begin looking? No there was only one logical course of action she could take.
Mercifully the lift worked a second time, its controls surprisingly basic so she took it down to the floor below where they'd been attacked, where they'd seen the hologram and where the TARDIS was.
Nervously she retraced her steps able to see her own shoe prints in the dust on the floor; she came to the table, went around it and came to the portion of wall where the holo-message had been left. No sign of the creature, no sign of Marie either but then how would a geriatric get down here anyway?
Nyssa edged up to a junction and peered around it, ahead of her about ten yards distant was a tall blue shape. Between her and it were no obstacles nothing seemed to be lurking waiting for her. Taking a deep breath she rounded the corner and broke into a sprint, keeping going don't look back run as fast as you can.
The key was in her hand before she reached the door, thrusting it into the lock she gave three sharp twists to the left then one to the right, the outer door creaked open and she threw herself inside. For one crazy optimistic moment she thought the Doctor would be waiting for her but he wasn't; well how could he be?
Holding onto the central console to gather her wits she saw a light flashing, it was the image deciphering software. Resting a tremulous palm on top of it she applied pressure, the hologram shot into the air around her this time the colours where brighter and there was sound, low and muffled but distinguishable. "The others are dead," was the first thing she heard in a sharp teenage girl's voice; was it full of fear or anger or something else?
Nyssa willed her racing heart to calm down and tried to breathe normally, she had to focus to use her intelligence.
"Killing them was easy," said the voice it was now deeper, more amused even mocking. "But I know others will come and when they do I must be ready for them, this hunt was too sloppy too protracted I could have been killed myself if they'd found the Attenuator."
Marie's younger self gave an unpleasant laugh then her face began to change, to bulge and split, to stretch and ripple; very soon it had taken on the consistency of the sketch.
This was where the holo ended.
Marie was the creature, it and she where one and the same; but where was she and where was the Doctor? This was a big building, where did she start to look assuming they were still here?
Nyssa hit the 'replay' button and listening to Marie again, but the words told her nothing she hadn't already heard. So she went to the terminal's 'enhance' facility and asked it to highlight the area around the face. She had thought it was the passage but it wasn't, nor was it the apartment it was a place with smooth metal walls, a concave ceiling and a screen or window just behind Marie.
Nyssa got the software to zoom in on the window more and more and…yes there it was, an exterior view of the building the same one she and the Doctor had seen just before they materialised inside; it was the north wall high up. Marie had recorded the holo from somewhere facing that wall an elevated position, maybe the top of a smaller building.
Walking there would not be a good idea, it was too risky plus it would take ages to find an exit from this building and even if she did the air outside was hardly breathable. So she went to an area of the console that the Doctor usually kept exclusively for himself, don't touch any of these he'd once told her they're my link to the ship a sort of permanent connection.
She stood over a screen and keyed in 'find the Doctor', if she couldn't do it maybe the TARDIS could. Okay it wasn't great with short hops but what other choice did she have? Nothing happened, so Nyssa typed in the same message adding the word 'now'. Still nothing.
Exasperated she typed in 'Doctor in danger, emergency override.' Surely this craft knew who she was it must remember, the Doctor had said that his old girl remembered everyone who'd ever travelled in her and could distinguish friend from foe.
A low grating moan came from the console it sounded ominously like indigestion then the time rotor juddered to spasmodic life, rising by a third before slipping back down. It rattled a few times then gave off a rapid series of orange flashes. What did that all mean? Nyssa activated the external viewer, relief flooded out of her in a single breath and in that breath was a weary 'thank you'.
Lying on his back, legs and torso immovable the Doctor was peering up at a concave ceiling of light blue metal that contrived to look both fragile and very strong at the same time. Around him instrumentation hummed, he was in a modern, clean, scientific environment that was clearly no part of the dusty, derelict accommodation block. He was, he felt sure, inside a space craft of some kind and when Marie came into his line of vision he wasn't all that surprised to see her restored to her teenage persona. The threadbare old lady garments replaced by a figure hugging shinny suit of some smooth green material that possessed no obvious joins or seams. Not a line or blemish remained on her girlish complexion, no hint of grey in the curly hair.
Automatic site-to-site teleportation web – he'd noticed it just before Nyssa left him and not wanting her to get caught up in it he hadn't fiddled with the thing until he was alone. He had a rough idea why it had been installed and that Marie could use it to, which she had bringing them both instantly here. Here being her ship presumably.
She hovered closer looking so young, so innocent, "You're different from the others," she said no doubt referring to her previous victims; as an observation it was difficult to fault.
"You know what a Quantum Attenuator is, don't you?"
There was no mileage in denial so the time lord smiled, "You're a pan dimensional traveller, plasmorphic in nature. You came here pretending to be one of the students and ate all the others, staff to most likely as I haven't seen any."
The smile was uncomfortable, "You know nothing about me."
"I know you're a killer, and that you're probably planning to kill me to."
"You deliberately brought us both here to save the girl didn't you," said Marie, "Risking your own life in the process?"
The Doctor said nothing hoping Nyssa's logical mind would connect the dots, he was sure it would even the younger Nyssa who travelled with his fifth self had been sharp and insightful.
"Why are you interested in Nyssa," he asked before an idea occurred, "Oh yes of course, her life force that's what you feed off isn't it; the energy of youth. You're an energy vampire, a parasite."
Moving dangerously close Marie placed a hand on his throat over the windpipe, he felt the strength in it a strength far greater than a teenage girl could exert.
"Why not kill me instead, take my life force," he asked?
"You are not young," She said, "Despite your appearance; your flavour is not to my taste."
The Doctor felt mildly insulted about these references to his age and flavour, "Who are you really," he asked, "You must have a real name and a place of origin?"
Of course said the cold eyes but this information is not for your ears, why should I tell you anyway when you're going to die very soon?
"I am what you see, that is enough."
"Such modesty," he mocked straining his neck to look beyond her at the rest of the ship. The design was fairly standard – a time pod designed for one being the construction was Terurium – perfect for time travel and the motive power would be Quantum, the interface panels looked mind operated rather than manual. The pod travelled at the speed of thought.
"Why stay here," he asked, "I mean once the students were consumed why hang around it doesn't make any sense," unless he thought Marie had no choice unless she was stuck here? "It's damaged isn't it," he smiled, "The Attenuator. You were trying to recharge it by diverting all the remaining power in the building but it wasn't enough, you need more power."
Her face told him he was right, it also told him that his intelligence had been registered as a threat.
"Maybe I can help," he said quickly.
"I've searched this rock there is no more power," said Marie bitterly.
"There is," he whispered, "Aboard my ship." Her hand left his throat and hovered above him like a bird of prey, but he wasn't telling her anything she hadn't worked out for herself; it was the real reason he was still alive.
The time pod lay within a quad of ridged concrete overlooked by one balcony, the TARDIS sat perched on this giving Nyssa an overall view. Even though the pod was cloaked she could see it thanks to the mind altering properties of the TARDIS, which did a lot more than merely translate alien languages. That the Doctor was inside the pod was beyond doubt, where else would he be; which meant Marie was with him? The real question was what form was she now using the old lady, the creature or the teenage girl?
Options, thought Nyssa ticking them off in her mind?
Project a force field from the TARDIS to encapsulate the alien pod thus preventing it from leaving. This was risky it might provoke Marie into harming the Doctor, assuming she already hadn't.
Attempt a site-to-site teleportation from TARDIS to pod – it was doable but again highly risky. She might materialise anywhere in the pod like right in front of Marie for example.
She could try to link up the TARDIS central core to the Quantum Attenuator, which would allow a power transfer from one to other. She could drain the QA of all power or feed it too much and cause an overload. Again this was very dangerous with the Doctor aboard the other ship.
The simplest thing to do the most obvious would be to go over and knock on the pod, confronting Marie directly but how was that going to work she had nothing to bargain with, no cards to play and no weapon?
In the event the decision was taken out of her hands when the side of the pod peeled open and two people emerged, the Doctor in the lead with a weapon jabbed in his spine. He looked up at her with those blazing blue sapphires of his; they were so luminous so deep it was impossible to read what lay behind them.
He offered a smile but it was jaded a tad threadbare. "Open the TARDIS Nyssa," he said shocking her, did he mean what she thought he meant; that he was taking Marie inside it?
"Why," the older, wiser Nyssa was less trusting; not so easy to push around.
"Because," said the girl, "I'll kill him if you don't."
She let Nyssa see her weapon, a vicious particle disseminator that could scramble cells and atoms. Was regeneration possible after a point-blank burst from such a weapon?
"How I do know you won't kill him anyway," Nyssa replied standing firm? You don't said the calculating eyes but if you defy me he's certainly dead and so are you.
"Doctor, what is she wants inside the TARDIS?"
"Power," answered Marie for herself, "The power to leave this miserable little pebble, and I mean to have it." She jabbed her prisoner in the back ordering him to move, slowly he did so heading from some metal steps that led up onto the balcony.
Having the TARDIS key in her left fist Nyssa made no attempt to unlock the doors to the blue box, perhaps she and the Doctor could overpower Marie outside of it and take off leaving her stranded here. If only they'd done that in the first place.
Appearing the time lord threw her a smile, I'm fine it said don't worry we'll get through this. Marie leapt up behind him keeping both prisoners covered.
"Open the ship," she said gazing surprised at the primitive looking blue hut.
Standing firm Nyssa put both hands behind her back, "How much power do you intend to take from us," she asked as though this were a negotiation?
As much as I like blazed the look in Marie's eyes, "Do as I say," she said.
"Or what, you'll shoot us," Nyssa sneered, "Do that and you'll never gain access?"
"All I have to do," said Marie, "Is threaten to harm you, isn't that right Doctor; you won't stand by and watch your friend here injured, maimed or burned will you? I could melt off a limb or disfigure her face, I could even…"
But the time lord wheeled around angrily not wanting to hear anymore, he didn't need a catalogue of threats.
That's enough his eyes blazed I will not have a close friend of mine threatened, "If you want my help," Voice icy calm he moved closer to Marie, "You'll put the weapon away."
The response to this was a short, blinding burst of power that missed Nyssa by inches, hitting a chunk of stone and blowing it to atoms.
"We go inside your ship," Marie said harshly, "Right now, this isn't a debate it's a demand backed up by lethal force."
For brief agonizing seconds the man in the frock coat just stood there stiff-backed and defiant then wheeling around he walked over to Nyssa, took the key off her, went to his craft and unlocked it. Instead of going inside he looked back at Marie. After you said her nod, so he went inside. After you to, said a look at Nyssa but as Nyssa entered she noticed that the Doctor was fiddling with something just inside the door a small knob or catch.
He was finished by the time Marie entered and moments later all 3 of them were stood within the gothic cathedral-like Console room, a vast echoing chamber that combined classical archaic design with modern theatre. The central console itself looked clunky and primitive with its large levers, dials and meters but Nyssa knew it was anything but. The clumsy ancient style was an affectation, like the owner's clothing and hair; it was eccentric and deceiving deliberately non-futuristic and homey.
Marie did not seem impressed and ordered power transferred from here to her pod, "How fast," Was her curt demand?
"A few minutes, the old girl takes some time to warm up," said the Doctor as though discussing an antique car.
"Not too many minutes I hope," Marie answered aiming at Nyssa, who gazed at her captor's hands. These seemed too large for her arms like they'd swollen out of proportion, her feet to had a balloonish, inflated quality. Marie's figure had altered in other ways, fattening, widening; acquiring odd bulges. Having noticed this herself the girl gazed down at her arms, legs and midriff.
She was losing her humanoid disguise as though she couldn't retain it in this rarefied atmosphere. Clumsily she took a step forward, almost tripped but righted herself with a blob-like appendage.
As Nyssa watched the person before her distended alarmingly, bulging and rippling with ever increasing speed as though in the grip of some aggressive infection her skin and hair tone vanishing under a pulsing mass of green octopiod flesh.
The Doctor had seen it to but unlike his companion didn't seem surprised, "That's more like it," he said, "I like to see the real face of my opponents."
Dropping her gun, as she could no longer grasp it, Marie or the seething almost shapeless mutant she was becoming lunged and slurped across the Byzantine floor of the room. Nyssa dashed out of the way but something snagged her left ankle and with a wrench threw her onto her hands, a tentacle was wrapped around her leg several times and another tentacle was snaking towards her body, when she punched at it the appendage seized her wrist and forearm. Calmly the Doctor twisted a dial to its maximum setting and depressed a lever shaped like a car jack. The whole ship shuddered violently as if in revulsion, violet light replaced the usual yellow glow and the floor seemed to rear up, parts of it higher than others.
Nyssa rolled sideways and the alien went with her both of them pulled by gravitational forces they couldn't resist. Totally inhuman now the shapeless, boneless, gelatine creature attempted to gain another purchase on its prisoner. Suddenly both of them were airborne, plucked into the air as though the console room had gone to zero-g. Nyssa floated upwards and felt the grips on her limbs weakening, she wondered why until looking back she noticed that the ship's outer doors were…..wide open!
How could they be open during flight?
She remembered the Doctor touching some hidden catch, had he taken the snick off to use an old earth term?
They were hovering in the air some meters above the alien's pod and getting higher by the moment.
"Release my companion," the Doctor bellowed unaffected by the zero-g conditions because he clung to the central console.
A rasping, nasal almost male voice came from the mutant, "If I fall she falls."
"Nobody needs to fall, just let her go and agree to give up your demands for power," the Doctor's tone was pleading like he didn't really want to do this.
A tentacle shot out and gripped Nyssa around the neck cutting off her air supply, the meaning obvious – stop this now or she dies.
Unhappily the time lord nodded, he let go of the console, kicked with both feet and shot across the gap between himself and the alien. On the way he grabbed something, Nyssa didn't know what it was until he jabbed it into the side of the amorphous intruder – an umbrella, a huge parasol-type thing like you'd have on a hot beach only from this umbrella their came an electrical discharge, a crackle of current.
With a scream the mutant released Nyssa, flew towards the door, reached out desperately and snagged the Doctor himself. The two of them shot towards the open door, one pulled by the other. The time lord tried to jab his foe again but couldn't manage it as the creature wriggled and squirmed, then a tentacle tore the brolly from his grip disarming him.
Hanging onto a baby grand piano screwed to the floor Nyssa cried out but she was powerless to do anything as creature and Doctor shot to the TARDIS exit, where some powerful magnetic force gripped them both. The alien was sucked outside and pulled the time lord with it. Gripping the door frame he tried to arrest the deadly plummet, his fingers again found the hidden catch or knob and fumbled with it desperately.
"We die together," said a voice below him and tentacles tore the Doctor out of his ship, he and the monster plummeted through the air. NO, Nyssa's mind screamed it can't end like this.
One second later the zero-g effect ended, the ship righted itself and she slumped painfully onto her knees. Scrambling around the piano so she could see through the open doors she just made out the diminishing shapes; but there was nothing she could do both of them would be dead in seconds.
This was when an extraordinary thing happened, the TARDIS doorway seemed to telescope to extrude outwards to lengthen at an unbelievable rate as it reached outwards and downwards. She'd never seen it do anything like this before, then again she barely knew anything about this amazing craft which seemed more alive than machine at times. Stretching down until it reached the time lord the doorway enveloped him like a divine hand, closing around him, snatching him and severing the tentacles holding him. It literally plucked him from the jaws of death and drew him back into the console room, employing some emergency esoteric function hitherto unseen.
The Doctor was saved but the alien was not and as he flopped onto the floor beside her sweating and breathless the time lord permitted himself a look of anguished regret, I didn't want this to happen said his eyes if only it hadn't.
She hugged him anyway just glad he was still alive even if she didn't fully comprehend why he was or what she had witnessed. There was no need for words, what could they convey better than the hug they shared anyway?