●Chapter 3●

The Ceiling exploded.

Fragments of bronze metal rained down, causing the soldiers underneath to leap aside, their heads turning sharply upwards as the roof caved in. The Time Lords who had previously been watching the statues stared at the hole above them, before looking down with a start only to find the angels still glaring at them, their mouths contorted into a scream.

"In your own time!" The Renegade called, the only one who'd kept his eyes on the approaching statues.

The soldiers clambered over the rubble in a hurry, one detaching a device from his crimson armour and setting it on the ground. The air above it started to shimmer as gravity warped above it. The Renegade, assisted by a few of the soldiers in staring at the weeping angels, moved towards the device as the first couple of Time Lords stepped into it and were propelled up and out of the building. The Renegade was last, never taking his eyes of the stone forms; still standing with talons extended staring hateful at the air as he was propelled up.

The five Gallifreyans moved at a jog towards the Tardis, standing a short distance away. Although the Renegade kept checking the crater they'd emerged from nothing emerged; evidently the angels were struggling to operate the device or find another way out.

They reached the battered police box and moved inside in single file. The Renegade moved swiftly to the console and started setting a course for Elysium 18-T. One of the soldiers turned and wearily leant against one of the coral-esque pillars. He turned over the rift device in his hands. "How do we use this?" he asked, looking up at the Renegade.

"It's designed to be fired into space for remote activation," He replied, not looking up from the controls. "18-T doesn't have the firing capabilities, but we can launch it from here. As for the activation, it should only take a line of didactic code from the station to activate it."

He pulled a lever next to him, and the room shuddered into motion.

X

The creature that telepathic scans had termed the Nightmare Child continued its approach, space itself bending around its serpent-like form. The chrono-barrier stretched out before it, curving around the constellation in a yellow, transparent sphere. Above its surface was suspended the sea of asteroids and planetoids, and from the largest one came wave after wave of battle Tardises, as Elysium 18-T tried to defend itself from the approach.

The Tardis materialised, the oxygen shield activating as the door swung inwards and the Renegade stared out into the vacuum.

"It's too close," he muttered hoarsely. "Faster than I thought."

The four soldiers stood behind him. "The rift. It'll encompass the station."

The Renegade dragged his hands wearily down his face. "I doubt it, but the shockwave given off will destabilise the chrono-barrier." He turned to look back at the soldiers.

"They'll be able to get into Kasterborous."

X

The Commander stared over the rows of terminals in front of him, to the holographic map in the centre of the command centre. He looked sharply up as a blip appeared on the communications display. "Dartja, what is that?"

The Gallifreyan squinted at his terminal. "Signal, from out of orbit. Type 40 Tardis. Reads as friendly but – rogue?" He looked up at the Commander. "It's the Doctor."

The Commander nodded. "Open the channel."

"We have a Temporal rift device," The Renegade's voice came out slightly garbled over the channel. "Mark 12. We can activate it near the creature; let the vortex tear it to pieces."

The Commander frowned. "With a creature that size? The aftershocks will obliterate the gate. Gallifrey will be defencless."

"Not defenceless. The stations will still be operational. We'll lose a step, but that's the price we're going to need to pay to stop this."

The Commander paused, his mind speeding. Dartja and the other Gallifreyans at the terminals turned to look at him. Silence hung in the air.

"Yes." He whispered. "Yes it is." He looked up through the glass ceiling, to where the Nightmare Child continued like a dark shadow. "Kill it."

The communication ended.

X

The sky opened, splitting open as the time vortex spilled out like an explosion. The Nightmare Child let out a roar that was heard across the galaxy as it was encompassed by the vortex. The split sealed as the shockwave shot towards the Gates of Elysium, a small police box dematerialising as it tore past it.

The grey wave hit the station, cracks rippling over the asteroid as Elysium 18-T shook under the force. The sphere shimmered as the wave blasted into it, before dissolving to nothing.

Finally, the shaking stopped as the wave disintegrated and the lights faded.

The Nightmare Child was gone.

X

"Congratulations."

The Renegade turned to see the Commander standing next to him. He nodded to him before turning back to gaze into space.

"We received word from the High council. They're not happy about the loss of the Gate, but they've accepted it as a necessary loss."

The Renegade nodded again. "I just wish there had been another way." He sighed and looked down.

The Commander shrugged. "Not a bad net score though. An entire Dalek fleet gone and that thing sucked into the time vortex."

The Renegade turned slightly. "I've been thinking about that. The creature was made of pure psychic energy, the final creation of the destitude colonies. That much psychic energy, deposited into the time vortex…"

"What is it?" The Commander asked.

"I think maybe we created nightmares." The Renegade sighed. "Dark psychic energy sent throughout all time? Had to end up somewhere." He smiled sadly. "The Nightmare child."

The Commander shifted. "I doubt we'll ever know." He said. "But at least accept the victory. You did a great thing today, Doctor."

The Renegade winced. "Perhaps. Or maybe I'm just delaying the inevitable." He looked up out through the glass again. "This war seems more helpless every day."

"We have to have hope." The Commander sighed. "Well. I need to get to the command centre. Good day to you, Doctor." He turned on his heel and walked briskly away.

The Renegade turned back to the window, and continued to stare out into the darkness.

"No more."

The End.