Author's Note: Hello again. Another quick update, aren't I a good girl?

Huge thanks to the following people for supporting this story in the form of much-welcome reviews: padmay97, klinicallyinsanekoschei, MayFairy, Aietradaea, tree1138, Romana-II, iDestiny, Astra68 and Imorgen.

Can't think of much else to say this time, so yadda, yadda, yadda...here it is!


CHAPTER FOUR

The Doctor ran like the wind, his red Converse sneakers barely touching the ground, his double heartbeat pounding in his ears. If there was one thing he knew how to do well, it was run - he had been doing it for as long as he could remember. And this time it was more important than ever, because he was not running for his own life, but for his daughter's. He could see in his mind's eye the black filaments of Cybermat venom crawling up her arm and knew that every extra second he could gain was crucial.

At last, the familiar welcoming blue of the TARDIS came into sight. Pulling the key from his pocket, he thrust it into the lock of the time machine and flung the doors wide, bursting into the console room. Tearing off his coat, he tossed it across the nearest coral support column and threw himself to his knees on the mesh flooring, pulling up great sections of it to reach the storage area below.

"Now where did I file it?" he muttered to himself. "So long since I've needed it, could be anywhere. 'C'...'C' for Cybermat, got to be..."

As he spoke, he heaved out a chest and opened it, frantically pulling out items at random and discarding them over his shoulder.

"Carrionite crystal ball, spare piece of celery, Agatha Christie novel, Cup of Truth, cricket shoes, Cottingley fairy photos, cat badge...blimey, no Cybermat antivenin...maybe 'A'? 'A' for antivenin, that makes sense, just what I'd do..."

He pulled out another chest and began going through the contents. "Anti-gravity device, acupuncture needles, Andorran grommets, acidophilus milk, audiometer, Atlas of Athena...come on, come on, come on, where are you?"

Frustrated, he sat back on his heels, running his hands through his hair. "I've got to get a better filing system. Think, Doctor, think!" Then his eyes brightened. "Of course! 'M' for Medical! Where else?"

Leaping across to the other side of the console, he tugged aside another section of flooring and retrieved a large plastic crate. "Mu-field generator, Mirror of the Gorgon, mothballs, toy mouse...ah ha! Medical kit! And there you are, right where I left you! Cybermat antivenin!"

With deep relief, he drew out a small case containing a hypospray device and three glass ampoules of a deep amber liquid. The antivenin sparkled and shimmered in the light, attesting to the large proportion of gold dust contained in the serum, essential for neutralising the Cybermat poison.

The Doctor was so engrossed in checking over the antidote, he did not think to look up at the exterior scanner screen where, behind his back, the fading afternoon sunlight struck silvery gleams from still more ominous metallic forms.


Tejana was actually falling. Somehow, the knowledge managed to pierce her fog-shrouded brain. This was no venom-induced hallucination, she had really tumbled right through the earth into a warm, womb-like darkness. Now she was falling...no, not falling, precisely, more like sliding...deeper and deeper into the bowels of the planet, gathering speed as she went. She could not have stopped, even if she had wanted to. But the idea of stopping never really even crossed her mind. The screaming of the children in her head had disappeared, leaving behind a peculiar, fatalistic lethargy. She could no longer feel her injured arm – it was numb all the way up to the shoulder. All she wanted to do now was to sleep. A small voice in the back of her head warned her that she had to stay awake and alert, but she couldn't remember why.

"Jack?" she whispered. Jack had been here, hadn't he? She was sure she remembered seeing him. After all, Jack was always there when she needed him, as constant as the sunrise. But why didn't he answer? "Jack?"

But there was only silence and she just kept on sliding through the darkness. Oddly, the sensation of skidding along at speed was familiar and almost soothing, like being on a helter skelter ride at a funfair. Her brow creased in a bewildered frown, her fevered brain trying to make sense of what was happening.

"I told the Doctor I didn't want to go to the Carnivals of Aractacus," she said to herself, rather crossly. "He just never listens!"


Confident he had everything he needed, the Doctor snapped the small case shut, dragged on his brown coat and shoved the life-saving antivenin into his pocket. For a moment, he contemplated taking the TARDIS back to the place he had left Tejana, but in the end he decided it was safer to run. Sometimes the TARDIS could be a little...unpredictable?...unreliable?...particularly over short distances. And in this situation, there was no room for even a little leeway. He had to get back to Tejana right now.

The console room looked like a bomb had hit it, with miscellaneous items scattered all over the floor. Carefully avoiding the yawning gaps left by the mesh flooring he had pulled up, the Doctor raced for the doors and erupted back out into the forest path, only to skid abruptly to a stop in horror. Seven silver cyborgs, unmistakably Mondasian Cybermen, emerged ponderously from the trees and completely surrounded him, cutting off his retreat to the TARDIS. They were tall and menacing and each of them held a deadly-looking energy weapon.

"You are a Time Lord," the Cyber-Leader said implacably, inclining his black-helmeted head towards the Doctor. "The Time Lords are the enemies of the Cybermen. You will be deleted."

"DELETE. DELETE!" chanted the other Cybermen, raising their weapons with perfect synchronicity and deadly accuracy.

"Uh-oh!" the Doctor breathed. "Busted."


Tejana's strange journey through the earth finished in a sudden, unexpected rush. One minute she was sliding endlessly through the darkness, the next minute she had exploded feet first into the light, landing on her back with a painful jolt. For a moment, she just lay there, trying to catch her breath.

Now that WAS weird, she thought dimly. Even for the Carnivals of Aractacus and that's saying something!

Fortunately, she seemed to have landed on something soft. Flexing the fingers of her good hand, she explored the surface of the ground beneath her. If she hadn't known any better, she would have said it was carpet. Perspiration trickled from her brow and stung her eyes. Rubbing her hand irritably across her face, she managed to sit up. To her absolute astonishment, she appeared to be sitting on the floor of an Earth-style parlour from the Victorian era. The softness beneath her was indeed carpet, of the ugly floral-patterned kind. She was surrounded by a crowded profusion of uncomfortable-looking furniture – sofas, ottomans, stools, upright chairs and easy chairs, all of them upholstered in a variety of stiff, scratchy fabric and carefully spread with intricate hand-made lace doilies. A plush-covered round table held pride of place in the middle of the room, displaying a multitude of tiny, framed photographs of what appeared to be children. A small, brightly-blazing fire crackled in the hearth, over-arched by an ornately carved wooden mantelpiece, on which a profusion of hideously-coloured wax flowers reposed under several glass domes.

Tejana blinked in confusion, staring around the room. It looked normal enough, rather long with a high, airy ceiling, the walls covered in garishly striped wallpaper and decorated with still more sepia tinted photographs, as well as innumerable portraits and prints. Eerily, there was not one single window and, apart from a wooden door at the far end of the room, there was no evidence of any other entrance point. Any clue as to the means of Tejana's unorthodox arrival appeared to have inexplicably vanished.

"Alice," she murmured hazily. "That's who I am today. Alice in Wonderland. Any moment now, a White Rabbit will pop out and tell me it's late for a very important date."

Just then, a soft, timid voice said, "Hello."

Tejana nearly jumped out of her skin. Turning her head, she saw a small, humanoid figure curled in a wing-back chair by the fire.

"You're not a rabbit," Tejana said.

"'Course not," the other replied, hopping diffidently down from the chair. At that moment, Tejana got her first good look at her new companion - flowing blonde hair; a pale, delicate face; big blue eyes; dressed in a long, ruffled white nightgown.

The Time Lady's fever-addled brain seemed to freeze in terror. This had to be a nightmare, some sort of hallucination, it just had to be. "Oh gods, you're the doll, that awful, creepy doll. First you were crying and then you were screaming and now you're talking to me." Instinctively, she began to scrabble backwards in retreat, a stifled scream choking her throat. "Just keep away from me...stay back!"

The apparition's perfect face creased in a small frown. "Why are you so scared? I'm not a rabbit or a doll. I'm a child. My name is Alison."

"Alison," Tejana said to herself grimly. "OK, the doll just told me her name is Alison. I've got to get a grip. Come on, Tejana, you're the last daughter of Gallifrey...get a grip, get a grip, get a grip!"

"Really, I'm a child, not a doll," the little girl insisted. "Here, feel."

Slowly, as if approaching a wild animal, she extended her hand cautiously towards Tejana's cheek. Tejana flinched away, but as the fingertips brushed her skin, she realised they felt warm and gentle and very much alive.

"There, see?" Alison smiled. "I told you. I'm a child. But what are you?"

Tejana gazed at her, only partially reassured. "I'm a Time Lady. My name is Tejana."

"A lady?" Alison put her head on one side curiously. "That can't be right. To be a lady, you have to be an adult."

"I am an adult," Tejana answered hoarsely. Her voice was failing her now. The icy coldness from her arm had spread into her torso and up into her throat, paralysing her vocal chords. The unique properties of the poison in her system were preventing regeneration. In some far, distant part of her mind, she recognised that she didn't have long to live. This time, the Doctor would come too late.

"That can't be right," Alison said. "There are no adults, not any more. The children are the only ones left. Nurse says so."

Tejana couldn't answer. Instead, she lay back on the soft carpet, her strength draining away. If these were her last moments, she had to say, she was pretty disappointed. There were plenty of other things she would have preferred to hallucinate about as she crossed over, that was for sure.

"What's the matter?" Alison persisted, patting her on the shoulder.

"Sick..." Tejana gasped out. "So sick..."

"Oh dear. Nurse doesn't allow anyone to be sick. That's against the rules!" the child exclaimed. "I'll have to go and get her."

With that, she turned and disappeared.

"Wait..." Tejana called, her voice almost inaudible now. But no-one answered.

It didn't worry her too much. It was more peaceful to be alone. She wished she had the energy to think back over her life, to say goodbye to everything she had known, to all that she had been. But she seemed to be floating in a misty haze now, the flame of her life wavering like a candle in the wind. Vaguely, she became aware of a woman bending over her. She was in her late middle age, with a stern face and greying hair drawn severely back beneath a white lace cap. She was dressed in a long, black gown, covered by a practical white apron.

"Goodness me," the woman clucked to herself. "You'd think they could give me some notice before sending me another one. And, what's more, by the look of it, this one's defective! Whatever next?"

With that, she lifted the delirious Tejana into her arms, as easily as if she had weighed no more than a feather and began to carry her away.