Quinn stood just inside the door by the hat rack, waiting for the Marshall to be shocked at the inner dimensions of the TARDIS. He failed to do so.
"Nice time capsule," he said. "Type 50?"
"40," the Doctor replied.
"He knows about the TARDIS?"
"Well, maybe not this one but... yeah. The Time Lords worked pretty closely with the Shadow Proclamation," the Doctor said. "There's a plaque authorizing this TARDIS as an official police vehicle somewhere around here."
"There are other TARDISes? Er, TARDISii?"
"Were," he said, fortunately too engrossed in what he was doing to be melancholy. She was surprised, somehow. It was silly as soon as she thought about it for a moment, but somehow the strange box had seemed so uniquely him that it was peculiar to think of another such machine anywhere in the universe. Somehow a bit of the magic was lost when she pictured the Doctor heading down to some TARDIS dealership, picking this particular box out of a line of vessels disguised as chests of drawers, mailboxes, old steamer trunks, refrigerators, and port-a-potties.
"What's the plan, Doctor?" Collins asked.
"The manifest energy of the entire candle meadow is coalescing, becoming more and more like one organism the stronger it gets. Before it would make a meal out of a few of the villagers' darker thoughts, then harvest enough to get through the lean months with a good burning, but that doesn't manifest anything more than a simple beast and a little destruction. Now it's stronger than it's been in centuries and it's going to try to fill out the storehouses."
"But why?" Quinn asked. "What good will that do? You said there was symbiosis here. Why not go back to that?"
The Doctor looked up at her. "You've never been hungry," he said, as if that were explanation enough.
"Sure I have. And with this baby sucking the life out of me I eat more than I ever did before."
"Okay, you have been hungry. Fine. You've never starved. And if you had you'd understand. There's kids that survived the Blitz, or people who lived through the great depression, who've had three square meals a day for decades since then. And I defy you to find me one who still doesn't stockpile every little bit they can. Once you know the fear of not knowing where your next meal is coming from, you'll understand what it is to hoard it for a rainy day."
He probably didn't mean anything by it - it just sounded like a story he'd seen played out too many times before his very eyes. But she couldn't help but feel that he was dressing her down somewhat for her prior life of privilege.
"So, what do we do?" Collins asked again.
"We hope that, even for a plant that covers the whole region, there's a point where enough is enough."
He nodded. "I hope so too. If we get through this, I'll have the planet's rating changed. There won't be a need for a garrison here, and then we'll leave them alone. It's time to stop lying to these people.
After a minute or two had passed, the Doctor opened the doors to reveal that they were now sitting in the middle of the village. The fires had all been put out but some of them were still smoldering. The destruction made Quinn's heart catch in her throat. Last night these had been happy people throwing a feast. They didn't deserve this. Not that most people did deserve their lousy lot in life, but this seemed especially tragic.
It was mid-morning now, and a surprisingly small group of people had gathered when the TARDIS materialized right in the village square. Perhaps fatefully, though, Andrinia was among them.
"Doctor!" she called as soon as she saw him exit the strange blue box. "Have you saved them? Have you brought them with you? Where's Kalaan? Where's my sister?"
He looked pained, and he put his hands on her shoulders when he spoke. "Andrinia. The situation is worse than you can imagine," he said. "I'm going to do my very best to save your world - because your whole world really is in danger. Do you understand? This whole village and everyone you've ever known will be destroyed if I don't do this."
She nodded. "You're going to save everyone. That includes Kalaan, right?"
He hesitated. "I've learned things since yesterday. I'm going to do my best, I promise, but... I don't know what will happen to the people who have already been converted," he said, speaking almost too quickly.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean... she might be alright when this is over. Or... she might not."
Andrinia looked into his eyes, her own shining with moisture. "But you promised," she said.
"I know. I'm sorry."
Quinn stepped forward. "The Doctor said he didn't know what would happen. Everything might be okay."
"Might? Might isn't good enough! You promised!"
The Doctor didn't say anything, didn't try to defend himself. He just stood there and took it.
Andrinia became silent, however, when the chief priest himself came out of the box. "Daughter," he said, "why do you cry?"
She looked at him with a mix of awe, reverence, and fear. "I... I..."
This must be like meeting God himself and the president, all rolled into one, Quinn thought.
"Do not forget the tenets you have learned, even in this trying time. Do not allow your darker impulses to have free reign. Be strong; it's never been more important. Can you do this?" She nodded. "Good. This Doctor is a trusted friend, and he will do all he can to help. Now we must go. The fate of the world depends upon it."
Andrinia nodded. "Where is everyone else?" the Doctor asked her.
"Mostly they've gathered at the inn, watching the meadow," she said.
"Then that's where we're going," he said. "Come on. I'm never one to miss a good show." The three of them hurried off. As soon as they were out of earshot the Doctor spoke to Collins. "What happened to being honest with them? A moment ago it was time to stop lying."
"Once we get through this and everyone is alive, I will tell them the truth, I promise. But until then, I intend to stem the tide as much as I can."
The Doctor didn't reply. Once they arrived at the inn he could see that the situation was almost exactly as Andrinia had described. There were about fifty people on the second floor of the inn - some on the balconies, some who had climbed onto the rooftop when the balconies became full. All of them stared out over the rooftops to the meadow, and it was eerily silent.
"What are they looking at?" Quinn asked.
"One way to find out," the Doctor replied, and bounded into the inn. Quinn and Collins followed close behind.
Even the hallways and stair cases were crowded and the Doctor couldn't persuade people to let him through. They had been standing on the stairs, just three steps up from the main floor, for five minutes when Quinn decided she'd had enough. "Ooooooh!" she exclaimed, rubbing her side.
The Doctor turned to her immediately. "Quinn? Are you alright?"
"I'm not sure, I... owwwwwwww."