Chapter 11: The Edge of Destruction


The TARDIS slowly drifted through space, silent and lost like a cork bobbing in water.
Its passengers lay sprawled about as motionless as corpses.

It was a long moment before anyone stirred.
Groaning heavily, Barbara sat up; her puffed-up hair sticking up in the back as she massaged her bruised forehead and slowly shifted to her feet.

She moved in a kind of daze; she sluggishly shuffled forward around the Console, teetering slightly on her worn Thal sandals.

After a few paces, Barbara paused, blinking rapidly. She stared around the stark white interior of the time machine. Her eyes eventually found Ian, who was draped across the Egyptian throne, still apparently unconscious.

Barbara shook her head, trying to clear the haze of confusion clouding her brain. Where was she? What was going on? Was this Mr. Chesteron's office? Yes, it had to be.

"Mr…Mr. Chesteron?" Cautiously, Barbara leaned forward and lightly tapped Ian on the shoulder. He stirred, his eyelids fluttering slightly.

Barbara jumped when she heard a groan behind her and turned around just in time to see a small girl stagger to her feet; she was pale and petite, almost fairy-like; her short raven hair stuck out from her head on all sides as though she'd been electrocuted. Her expression was loose and dazed, like she was drunk.

Her eyes widened when they fell on Barbara, a spark of recognition giving way to clouded confusion. "I…I know you," Susan slurred.

Barbara was about to respond when Susan suddenly cried out; grabbing the side of her head, she staggered away from the Console.

"Have you hurt your head?" Barbara asked, half-reaching towards her.

"Yes, terribly; my neck hurts too," Susan replied through gritted teeth.

"Well, let me look at it," Barbara offered.

Susan faltered slightly before slowly lowering her hands from her head. "It's going away now," she whispered. "That's better. I…I couldn't think where I was."

"Do you want to sit down?" Barbara offered.

"No, it's alright. Grandfather!" Susan screamed, rushing over to the Doctor, who was lying on the ground as still as stone.

Barbara followed. "He's cut his head open," she declared as the young girl knelt down beside him.

"I'll get some ointment," Susan replied, her voice cracking slightly.

"Get some water too," Barbara added, stooping down so as to peer more closely at the Doctor's wounded forehead.

"Right." Susan got back up only to falter slightly, gripping her neck again.

She stumbled backward, nearly tripping over a blue and black draped finger lying curled up on her side under the Console.

Susan stared at the figure, her mouth hanging partially ajar. "Who's that?" she whispered.

"I don't like the look of this cut," Barbara muttered.

"Shouldn't we help the man in the chair?" Susan inquired, gesturing over to Ian.

"Susan, go get some water for you grandfather," Barbara repeated.

Susan turned to go, but stopped when a hand suddenly grabbed her ankle. She screamed and teetered on her one leg as she glanced down to see Terna peering up at her. The black and blue scarf had fallen loose from her head to reveal her singed roots. She regarded Susan incredulously.

Susan stared. "Who are you?"

Terna paused, sliding up into a sitting position. "I…I'm Terna. Yes, I believe that's what you call me."

"Oh." With that, Susan headed off to fetch the ointment and water.

Puzzled, Terna slowly rose to her feet and stared around. Where was she? It wasn't the palace or the city, or even Eedonya from the looks of things.

Oh no. It was a Dalek prison camp!
Fear erupted in Terna's chest only to be instantly quelled when she turned and saw the TARDIS Console. She closed her eyes and shook her head. How foolish of her; she was in the TARDIS of course.

It was then that Terna caught sight of Ian still lying sprawled across the Egyptian throne in the corner. "Hey," Terna moved over to the partially conscious man. "That's my chair."

"What?" Ian staggered awake; blinking rapidly, he looked up at Terna. "Who are you?"

Terna quirked a brow. "You too?"

"You're working late tonight, Ms. Wright," Ian added distractedly, peering over Terna's shoulder at Barbara, who was still hovering over the Doctor.

He turned back to Terna. "Can I have a glass of water?"

"Susan's fetching some," Barbara replied.

"Susan Foreman, you mean?" Ian inquired.

"Can I sit down?" Terna asked, grimacing as she massaged her neck.

Ian hurriedly got to his feet, and Terna took his place on the throne. The human man looked back over at Barbara and the Doctor. "What's he doing there?"

"He's hurt his head," Barbara explained.

"Here. Let me see," Ian knelt down beside Barbara as Terna looked on.

"Silence," she murmured, putting her head in her hands as a funny tingling sensation slowly crept up her neck. "I've never heard silence this loud."

"Well, his heart and breathing seem alright," Ian deduced, "and I don't think that cut's as deep as you think."

"Terna?" The Lyall peered up between her fingers at Barbara. "Perhaps you could do that thing you did in the Cave of Skulls. Remember? When you healed him before?"

Terna blinked. "Oh, right…that." Slowly, she got to her feet and walked over to the Doctor. Kneeling down, she reached out her bandaged hand and gently pressed it to the Doctor's bloody forehead. He stirred slightly at her touch as Terna closed her eyes and attempted to concentrate her energies, but something was wrong. The Amina within her felt turbulent and untamable.

Terna removed her hand from the Doctor's forehead to see the cut had not healed.

"What happened?" Ian inquired.

Terna stared down at her hands. "I don't know. For some reason, I cannot concentrate my power."

"Why not? It worked before," Barbara stated.

"I know." Terna licked her dry lips, "But I suddenly can't seem to get a hold on myself."
"Well, maybe it's because of the burns," Barbara offered. "Perhaps the power will come back once they've healed."

Terna traced the lining of her bandages thoughtfully. "Yeah, maybe."

At that moment, the Doctor groaned, his eyes fluttering slightly. "I can't take you back, Susan. I'm sorry, but I can't..."

"He's delirious," Ian mused.

"What do you suppose has happened?" Barbara wondered aloud. "This ship, the TARDIS, there was this great noise and then…I can't remember."

"Who knows?" Terna replied, hoisting herself to her feet.

Suddenly, there was a crash and a loud scream. Everyone whipped their heads towards the door leading to the corridors to see Susan standing on the threshold, her eyes wide with fright. "The doors!" she cried.

The other three glanced over to see the doors to the TARDIS had swung wide open. "They can't open on their own. They can't!" Frantically, the young Time Lady stepped over the shards of the broken water glass and hurried over to the other three.

"Perhaps he did it," Ian offered, pointing to the Doctor still on the floor.

"Grandfather?"

"Yes, before he cut his head open."

"No." Susan shook her head definitively. "He wouldn't, not while the ship was in flight."

"Well, then they must have been forced open when we crashed," Barbara declared.

"Crashed? But we didn't crash," Terna asserted. She faltered, "Did we?"

"No, the ship can't crash. It's impossible!" Susan seemed almost hysterical: her features pale with fright as she dropped to her knees beside the Doctor, her small frame trembling.

"It'll be alright, Susan," Barbara attempted to reassure her, but the girl shook her off.

"No, there's something here," Susan declared getting back to her feet and looking about her. "In the ship, can you feel it?"

"What?" Ian asked.

"But that's not possible." Barbara tried to sound confident, but her voice faltered as she glanced worriedly over her shoulder.

"You feel it; don't you, Terna?" Susan inquired of the Lyall. "I know that you do. I heard you whispering about the silence being loud."

Terna stared at her. "How could you-? You were in the other room when I said that."

"Oh, never mind that," Barbara hurriedly changed the subject, trying to suppress a horrid feeling caused by Susan's proclamation slowly creeping up on all of them. "Here. Give me the bandages."

Susan handed her former teacher the roll of gauze and some medicine. "The ointment is in that tube," she explained quietly. "It's initially green when it's placed on the bandage, and it goes inside the wound. When the bandage is white again, it means the wound has healed."

"Do you suppose Susan is right?" Ian inquired of Terna while the other two tended to the Doctor.

"About something getting in? How should I know?" Terna replied with a shrug. The motion caused her head scarf to droop into her eyes, and she hurriedly adjusted it so that it once again covered her damaged hair.

Almost on a whim, Ian strolled over towards the doors. Terna followed. "Is there something out there?" she inquired.

However, before Ian could get a proper look, the doors abruptly swung shut. He stared at the doors in surprise before spinning back around to face Terna. "Did you do that?"

She shook her head.

"Did either of you?" Ian called to Susan and Barbara, both of whom had also witnessed the doors sporadically closing.

Susan shook her head, her eyes very wide. "We haven't moved," she whispered.

Ian glanced back at the doors before taking a tentative step back. Terna moved up to them and gently placed a hand on the smooth, white surface. The substance felt almost hot beneath her fingers and not the usual pulsing warmth of the TARDIS but a legitimately uncomfortable feeling like the top of a stove after it's just been cooking something.

Suddenly, the doors swung open again, nearly knocking Terna off her feet as she staggered back, and Ian grabbed her shoulders to steady her.

They exchanged a glance before Terna righted herself and both then walked towards the doors, but they slammed shut once again before either could get a good look outside.

"You don't suppose the crash triggered some kind of automatic switch?" Ian offered. "You know, like the automatic doors at the mall."

"What's a mall?" Terna asked.

Susan watched them mess with the doors, seeming to become more and more nervous. "I'm going to try the controls," she declared, rushing over to the Console.

"Susan, no!" Terna cried without thinking, but it was too late. As soon as she touched a lever, Susan recoiled with a cry of pain, her whole body going rigid as though she'd been shocked.

"No!" she screamed.

"Susan!" Terna rushed to her side just as the young girl collapsed beside her grandfather.

The ghost of Terna's fear from before resurfaced as she quickly crouched down beside the young Time Lady, and fumbled for a pulse. One…no two. Two? Was that normal? Well, better than none she supposed. The Lyall dared to breathe a sigh of relief.

"It's alright," she declared, straightening up. "She's just fainted."

"But she was alright a minute ago," Ian protested, moving away from the doors. "What happened?"

"A while before that we were all unconscious," Barbara reminded him.

"Right," Ian trailed off as he looked around him once more, his hand slowly reaching forward as though grasping for something and then dropping back downward as though he'd forgotten what he'd been attempting to grab. He paused, staring at seemingly nothing, before he bent forward, putting his head in his hands. "What's going on here?" he demanded.

"Susan?" the Doctor's slurred speech was the only response to Ian's question.

"He's beginning to stir," Barbara announced, kneeling back down beside him. Faintly, the Doctor reached towards her, seeming to view her as something else entirely judging from the hazed look in his eyes. "My head," he moaned.

"You've cut your forehead," Barbara explained, "but you'll be alright."

"No, it hurts here," the Doctor gestured to a spot behind his ear.

"Here? There's no bump or bruise," Barbara observed, leaning in closer.

"It hurts…my neck," the Doctor murmured.

Terna looked at the Doctor, her expression bemused before she glanced at Susan, then at Ian. "Here. Help me carry Susan to the sick bay," she said to the latter.

"Alright," Ian bent down and grabbed hold of Susan's ankles while Terna hooked her arms under her elbows.

As one, they hoisted her limp body off the ground. "We're putting Susan to bed," Ian informed Barbara, who was still fussing over the Doctor. "If anything happens, let me know."

"What could happen?" Barbara demanded as he and Terna turned to leave.

Ian faltered. "I don't know."

"Never mind," Terna urged as the two carried Susan out of the Console Room and down the hall towards the sick bay.
Although neither of them had been there before, they found the room fairly easily, which Terna felt was rather strange but decided not to dwell on it as she and Ian gently lowered Susan onto one of the black L-shaped cots.

Her body was as limp as a doll's, her head lolling slightly to the side with her black hair still sticking out from her scalp.
Cautiously, Terna reached forward and gingerly brushed a few stray locks from Susan's eyes before reaching forward to properly drape her arms over her waist and fix her leg from hanging over the side of the bed.

"Any fever?" Ian inquired. Terna felt her forehead.

"I don't think so. Fetch me some water."

"Water…Right," Ian wandered over towards what he assumed was a sink. He found a wide variety of buttons sprawled across a kind of panel-like surface with a small dish at the base.
He stared at it for a few moments before experimentally pressing a few buttons; there was a series of beeps and then a small plastic bag slid out onto the dish.

Ian picked it up to find, to his surprise, it was filled with ice cold water. "Huh, handy," the human mused as he quickly ripped open the bag and dabbed some of the liquid onto his handkerchief.

"Here." He passed it to Terna, who slowly draped the moist cloth over Susan's sweaty forehead. As she did so, the Lyall couldn't help but laugh grimly to herself.
Not an hour ago, Susan had been nursing her wounds, bandaging her up with ointment and gauze, and now here she was returning the favor, although to a lesser extent of course.

"Is she alright?" Ian asked. Terna jumped, she had almost forgotten he was there.

"Uh, yeah, I think so," she replied, straightening up and turning to him. "Maybe you should go see how Barbara's getting on?"

"Well, alright. If you think you've got things covered here," Ian replied simply before heading out of the sick bay back towards the Console Room.

Terna watched him go and was just beginning to feel that funny prickling feeling returning to her neck when she turned around to find Susan wide awake and kneeling on the cot, holding a pair of scissors out in front of her like some kind of weapon.

Terna stared in surprise as the young Time Lady regarded her with a poised, cold expression.
"Susan, what are you doing?" Terna reached forward in an attempt to take the scissors from her.

"No." She was taken aback by the harshness in Susan's voice as she brandished the scissors in a more threatening manner, gripping them tightly. Terna froze, blinking in shock.

"Who are you?" Susan demanded, her voice oddly flat.

"Susan," Terna exclaimed in surprise. "It's me. Here, give me those scissors." She tried once again to take them.

Susan jerked her arm as though she intended to strike, and Terna leapt back on reflex. She'd barely done so before Susan lunged forward.

Hardly thinking, Terna reached for the Omni-Vice magnifying glass in her pocket, but stopped when Susan's body suddenly stiffened, she threw her head back with a cry of apparent pain.

"Susan?" Terna cautiously asked, taking a tentative step forward.

"No! NO!" Susan shrieked, and Terna jerked back as the young girl began viciously stabbing the scissor blade repeatedly into the cot, shrieking with growing intensity on each blow.

Terna stared at her, not believing the apparent brutality she was witnessing. What was going on? What the actual hell was happening?

Susan continued to attack the cot for only a few moments more before she suddenly stopped and slumped forward; lying draped across the cot apparently unconscious again as the scissors fell from her grasp and clattered to the floor.

Terna stood rooted to the spot, staring at Susan with a look of complete horror.

()()()

When Terna left the medical bay, she found the others in a side living area off the Console Room gathered around a small table. The Doctor was sitting on a leather sofa, his head heavily bandaged.

Ian looked up upon her entering. "Is Susan asleep?"

"I guess you could call it that," Terna replied, setting the scissors down on the table beside the sofa.

"No, no, no, the ship must have stopped and put us down somewhere," the Doctor declared, seeming to respond to an inquiry of Barbara's.

"But where?" the human woman demanded. "Where are we?"

"Oh, all these questions, Ms. Wright," the Doctor complained, rubbing his wounded forehead.

"Is it possible we haven't landed at all?" Terna offered. "I mean, we're not in flight, but we might not have landed either. Perhaps we're in some kind of neutral setting, hovering in mid-air...er, space."

"I suppose it's possible," the Doctor replied thoughtfully.

"You don't even know, do you?" Barbara exclaimed in exasperation. "You're just guessing." With that, she stalked out of the room and into the Console Room.

When Barbara entered, she found it dark. "Can we have some light in here?" she called, almost nervously.
"What for?" the Doctor called back.

Perplexed, Terna settled down on the sofa beside the Doctor. No matter what, she couldn't shake this funny feeling she was having, a feeling like something was crying out to her from out of the shadows.

"Have you any idea where we are, Doctor?" Ian asked.

"Where is not as important as why, young man," the Doctor asserted. "I must go and check the fault locater again," he added, hoisting himself to his feet and heading back to the Console Room.

Ian followed after a moment, while Terna lingered on the couch. She closed her eyes, still trying to shake that odd feeling.

Help me.

Terna's eyes snapped open, looking around frantically but seeing nothing. Shaking her head, she got to her feet and headed to the Console Room to join the others.

Ian and the Doctor were milling about the controls while Barbara stood off to the side, watching them. "Everything's in a mess," Ian declared.

"You didn't touch the controls did you?" the Doctor asked him.

"No."

"Or you?" the Doctor asked Barbara.

The human woman glared at him before stalking out of the room once more.

"What about you, Terna?" the Doctor asked, seeing her lingering on the threshold. The Lyall shook her head.

"I know Susan wouldn't," the Doctor mused.

"I'm worried about her," Terna declared, walking over to him and Ian. "What would have caused a temporary memory lapse like that?"

"I was thinking." Terna jumped and turned to see Barbara had reentered the room. "Do you suppose something could have gotten into the ship?"

"No. No, of course not," the Doctor asserted.

"You mean, when the doors were open?" Terna asked.

"No, it's ridiculous," the Doctor replied.

"What do you even mean, Barbara?" Ian demanded, "That some kind of animal or something could have gotten into the ship?" He laughed nervously.

"Yes," Barbara replied simply.

"It's not very logical, is it?" the Doctor stated.

"In my experience, logic is a bit overrated," Terna replied with a shrug. "Perhaps some kind of sentience did manage to get in here. It's entirely possible, what with the doors continuously opening and closing like that."

"Terna's right," Barbara agreed. "Things aren't always logical. And, after all we've been through, perhaps…" Her voice trailed off.

"Look, I've been very patient with you, Ms. Wright," the Doctor snapped, "But I haven't the time for these absurd theories. It's probably an electrical fault, or mechanical, or maybe the entire main unit. I don't know." The Doctor continued to ramble as he moved about the Console. "I just don't know, but I'm very worried about the whole thing. Young man," he called to Ian, "I think you'll have to help me with the fault locater since Susan's unable."

Terna rolled her eyes. "Sure, go play with your instruments," she called after the Doctor as he crossed the room towards the fault locater with Ian close behind, "You closed-minded fool!"

"Terna, perhaps you should go see if Susan's alright," Barbara offered.

"Uh, yeah, sure," Terna turned to go back to the med-bay, but Barbara grabbed her arm. "Don't tell her about something being in the ship, the less said, the better."

Terna nodded mutely, before exiting the Console Room.

"Best keep away from the console for the time being," Ian advised the Doctor. "It might give you an electric shock."

The Doctor nodded. "Right. Well, the fault locater is over here on this far wall." He led Ian over to the elaborate mechanical system spread out across the wall in the corner of the Console Room.

The Doctor paused in his examination of the system to lean his head the cool metal wall. "Are you alright?" Ian inquired.

"Yes. It's just these numbers keep blurring before my eyes," the Doctor explained.

"Anything I can do to help?"

"Yes, if you would just take a look at that screen there," the Doctor replied, stepping back to allow Ian a closer look.

The latter squinted at the screen, but his vision also went fuzzy when he tried to scrutinize the readings.

()()()

Meanwhile, Terna cautiously made her way into the medical bay, trying to make her movements as slow and unthreatening as possible. Susan was lying where she'd left her: flat on her back on the cot, her arms crossed over her chest, her pale skin seeming to almost shine under the harsh lighting of the room. With her fair skin, dark hair, and still posture, she reminded Terna of the old Earth story of Snow White. Susan's eyes were closed and the cloth was still draped across her forehead.

Tentatively, Terna leaned forward and felt the cloth to find that it had dried. She turned toward the sink to get more water to wet it when Susan's eyes suddenly opened.
"You're awake," Terna exclaimed. "Feeling better?"
Susan's expression was unreadable. She didn't respond, simply stared at the Lyall.

Terna leaned in closer. "Susan? You do remember who I am, don't you?"
"Of course I do," Susan finally replied. "You're Terna."

Terna breathed a sigh of relief in spite of herself. The incident before, when Susan had claimed not to remember her, which had resulted in trying to attack her with a pair of scissors had disturbed the Lyall Queen quite a bit. However, she wouldn't let her worries show. As Barbara had instructed, she needed to try and keep Susan, the most emotionally volatile of the group, as calm as possible until their situation had been sorted.

"Why did you ask me?" Susan inquired as Terna removed the dry cloth and turned to wet it in the sink. "There's nothing wrong with me."

"No, of course not," Terna replied as she dispensed more water from the machine.

"Where's Grandfather?" Susan demanded.

"In the Console Room with Ian and Barbara," Terna replied, fumbling slightly with the water bag. She wasn't used to this kind of thing, and her bandaged fingers weren't helping.

"Have they found out what's wrong?"

"You're grandfather thinks there might be a power failure or something," Terna replied, keeping her back to Susan as she finally managed to tear open the water bag. It ripped clean in two, causing the water to explode all over the sink with a loud splash. "Damn it."

"Why did you ask me if I knew who you were?"

Terna stared down at her hands; the water had soaked through her bandages, causing them to stick to her skin in stringy clumps.

She dared a glance over her shoulder to see Susan glaring at her from her spot on the cot. Eyes never wavering, she closed her small hand around the scissors.

Terna's heart skipped a beat. How did she get those back? Damn, she must have slipped out of the med bay when I was in the Console Room with the others. Terna cursed her own foolishness.

"Susan, give me those scissors."

"No."

"Give them to me." Terna whirled around and made a move to grab the blades from Susan's hand, but the young girl held them aloft, their sharp tips turned on the Lyall.

Her hand crept towards the hilt of her Omni-Vice jutting out of her dress pocket. "Susan, I don't want to hurt you."

"You said there'd been a power failure." Susan's voice was cold, impassive

"No, I said that's what your grandfather thinks," Terna corrected her.

"I overheard you talking," Susan asserted, her grip tightening on the scissors. "There's something in the ship, and they don't want you to tell me."

"Susan, give me the scissors," Terna snapped.

"No! You lied to me," Susan cried.

"Susan." Terna took a deep breath. "I don't want to hurt you; you know that I don't." Slowly, she pulled the Omni-Vice from her pocket. "Now, give me the scissors."

Susan lunged. Terna ducked behind her, snatching her wrist and twisting it behind the young girl's back. She cried out as her grip slackened, and Terna managed to pry the scissors from her hands.

Susan whimpered in pain, and Terna quickly released her, allowing her to flop back down against the cot.
She lay there, looking dazed at the far wall. Terna watched her, stepping back against the wall, the scissors clutched in one hand, the Omni-Vice in the other.

"Is everything alright in here?" Barbara entered at that moment, pausing on the threshold to regard the two aliens, her expression perplexed. "What's happened?"

"Nothing," Terna replied, shoving herself off the wall and stuffing both the scissors and the Omni-Vice back into her pocket.

"I used to think they were just shadows," Susan mused. "It's so quiet in the ship."

Barbara pursed her lips. "Yes, well, we're just imagining things."

"Silence is a friend that never betrays," Terna said aloud.

"Confucius," Susan added bitterly.

"But we must be imagining things," Barbara insisted, walking quickly across the room to the other two. "I mean, how would something get in the ship?"

"The doors were open," Susan reminded her.

"But where would it hide?" Barbara cried.

"The ship's big enough," Terna stated with a shrug, "Or perhaps it doesn't have a temporal form."

"Perhaps it's in one of us," Susan declared.

Barbara's eyes widened, her face white as powder. "No. We must stop talking about this," she cried.

"Supposing there isn't a fault?" Susan demanded, sitting bolt upright in the cot, which made Terna jump away from her only to remember she no longer had the scissors.

"You must be clairvoyant," Ian declared from the door. The other three looked his way as he strode into the room, hands in his pockets. Susan flattened herself against the cot, her eyes watching him intently. "We just checked everything, and it's all perfect," Ian continued, "Which is fantastic," he added grimly. "How are you feeling," he asked Susan.

"I'm alright," she replied, relaxing somewhat as she slumped back against the cot.

"What's the Time Lord up to?" Terna inquired of Ian.

"If you mean the Doctor, he deduced that since there's no fault inside the ship, the danger can only be outside it. So, he's going to turn on the scanner."

"No!" Susan shrieked, leaping to her feet and running from the room.

"He can't do that. It'll shock him like it did Susan," Terna added, dashing after her.

"Grandfather, don't touch the scanner!" Susan cried as she raced into the Console Room, Terna close behind. "When I touched it before it was like being hit but without any pain."

The Doctor regarded his granddaughter thoughtfully. "Oh really? Where were you hit?" he asked, calmly stepping away from the Console.

"The back of my neck hurt," Susan replied.

The Doctor raised a brow. "Yes, rather like mine."

"Mine did too, but only for a minute," Terna added.

At that moment Ian and Barbara entered, the former rubbing his own neck thoughtfully. "Funny. It didn't seem to affect Barbara and me in that way."

"No, I suppose it didn't," the Doctor mused, shooting a glance at the two humans before turning back to his granddaughter. "However, I must find out what's outside the ship, Susan."

Susan pursed her lips and shook her head vigorously. "But what if you get hurt?"

"I'll be find, Susan; I promise," the Doctor reassured her, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Now, step aside so I can turn on the scanner."

Susan looked as though she wished to argue further, but relented instead: stepping aside to allow the Doctor access to the Console.

Tentatively, the Doctor leaned forward and reached towards the TARDIS console. Everyone held their breath, even Terna, which surprised her as she'd quite forgotten that she needed to breathe nowadays. Poised on one foot, the Doctor slowly reached out and pulled one of the levers down with just the tip of his finger.

Nothing happened. Everyone relaxed as the Doctor straightened up, looking pleased with himself.
"Nothing happened," Susan remarked.

"Yes," the Doctor smiled before glancing over at Ian and Barbara again.

"Why does he keep looking at us like that?" Barbara whispered to Ian, who only shrugged in response.

Help me. Terna's hands went to the sides of her head, her fingers pressing gently to her temples as she felt that familiar pulsing ache in the back of her neck once more.

"Hey, the scanner's working," Susan exclaimed, rushing around the Console to get a better look at the screen mounted on the wall. The image it presented was of a pleasant scenic meadow lined with trees and bushes with a little stream cutting through the setting; the sky was a clear, cloudless blue.

"That could be England," Barbara exclaimed.

"That can't be what's outside the ship," the Doctor exclaimed. "It's just a photograph, an image captured from a location we've traveled to before."

Help me, please. Please help me. Terna closed her eyes and shook her head, trying to clear it. Help me. Please, you have to help me!

Terna gripped the sides of her head, gritting her teeth painfully. Open the doors. You have to see. Open the doors!

Go away, Terna cried in her mind.

Open the doors

"Shut up!" Mind clouded by the voice, Terna lunged forward and jerked the lever that opened the TARDIS doors.

"Terna, no!" Susan shrieked as the doors swung open and the room filled with light.

"The doors, close the doors," the Doctor cried as Susan dove forward and quickly yanked the lever back up, causing the doors to slam shut.

Terna staggered backward, blinking rapidly, not fully grasping what she'd done until the Doctor turned on her. "What on earth did you think you were doing?" he snarled, grabbing Terna's shoulders and shaking her roughly. "Where you trying to kill us all?"

Terna staggered away from him as she stared around her in confusion. That voice, she certainly wasn't imagining it now. Who was it? Where was it coming from?

"Answer me!" the Doctor shouted.

"Shut up, and let me think!" Terna screamed back before slowly sinking to the floor as a feeling like she was turning to lead washed over her.

"Grandfather, the image on the scanner's changed," Susan exclaimed, directing the Doctor's attention away from Terna. The image on the screen was now of a dense jungle.

"That's the planet Quinnis," the Doctor stated, sitting down on the Egyptian throne. "Another photograph."

"Why is the scanner showing us pictures?" Ian demanded.

"Well, they are all places the TARDIS has traveled to before," the Doctor explained. "Didn't I ever tell you the TARDIS has a memory system? It records all of the places we've ever been."

Ian shook his head, bewildered. "No."

"Funny," the Doctor hardly sounded convinced. "I could have sworn I'd told you."

"Look at the scanner," Susan called, just as the image changed again, displaying a picture of a small, speckled moon, then of an ocean of stars, before there was a white flash and then the screen went blank once more.

There was a heavy silence. "What was that about?" Terna asked, getting to her feet and staggering over to the Console.

"Oh, don't you know?" the Doctor asked mockingly, arching an eyebrow at her. "I thought you might be able to tell me."

Terna stared at him. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"You just tried to open the doors: an action that could have killed us all," the Doctor declared calmly, getting to his feet as he spoke while the other three looked on in bemusement. "And you did so without hesitation or a qualm."

"But-" Terna started, but the Doctor cut her off.

"And now you're playing innocent. Trying to confuse me, eh?"

"What are you getting at?" Ian demanded.

"Look. Why don't we just open the doors and see what's outside the ship?" Barbara interjected while subtly moving to stand closer to Ian.

"What's outside is not as important right now, Ms. Wright, as what is inside," the Doctor declared.

"What exactly are you trying to imply?" Terna demanded, taking a step closer to the Doctor.

"Grandfather, are you saying that there are other beings inside this ship aside from ourselves?" Susan asked, attempting to get between the Doctor and Terna.

"Precisely," the Doctor declared as he calmly stepped around the Console and rounded on Terna, Barbara, and Ian. "I know now who is responsible," he pointed at Terna. "You are. You and the two humans sabotaged my ship."

"We didn't even touch your ship," Barbara exclaimed at the same time Ian cried: "What are you talking about?" and Terna yelled: "What?! Are you insane?"

"You're the cause of this disaster," the Doctor declared, "And you knocked both Susan and me unconscious."

"Oh don't be ridiculous!" Barbara exclaimed. "We were all knocked out."

"A charade," the Doctor rounded on Terna. "You attacked us, didn't you? Used one of your mind-bending ability to leave me helpless and then you had your human accomplices tamper with the controls."

"But we checked the controls and there was nothing wrong," Ian exclaimed while Terna looked on, silently fuming.

"No, sir, you checked the controls," the Doctor corrected.

"But why would we do this?" Terna demanded.

"Yes, for what reason would we have?" Barbara added.

"Isn't it obvious?" the Doctor exclaimed. "You want to be free of this ship, don't you Terna? So, you went behind my back and tried to do it yourself or your trying to blackmail me."

"And what of us then?" Ian demanded.

"You three struck a deal then, didn't you?" the Doctor surmised. "What did she promise you? Hmm? Did she promise she'd get you back to Earth?"

"I did nothing of the sort," Terna snapped.

"Oh, but you did," the Doctor declared, jabbing an accusing finger at the Lyall Queen. "You're a backhanded schemer, aren't you, Terna? Determined to go behind my back and sabotage my ship and drag the other two down into the mess you've made for yourself. That's your problem; you threaten others at the cause of your own mistakes! You're nothing but a coward!"

Crack! Silence fell heavy in the air after the sharp sound of Terna smacking the Doctor hard across the face. Susan clapped a hand over her mouth to conceal a cry of shock as her grandfather staggered back; his head snapped to the side, staying there for a moment before he slowly turned back to face Terna.

The Lyall, meanwhile, stood rooted to the spot, her azure eyes smoldering. "How dare you," she hissed, taking a step closer causing the Doctor to instinctually take a step back. "You have no right to say such a thing to me when you are exactly the same way!" Terna cried, her voice rising in volume with each word. "You're the one that makes your mistakes at other's expense because this," she gestured around at Ian, Barbara, the petrified ship, "All of this, it's all your fault. Do you hear me? It's all your damn fault!"

With that, she turned and bolted from the Console Room.
The Doctor watched her go, seemingly unperturbed.
"You have some nerve, Doctor," Barbara declared, rounding on the Time Lord. "You have no right to accuse us of sabotage, any of us! Don't you realize, you stupid old man that you'd have probably died in the Cave of Skulls if we hadn't been there to help you?"

"You don't-" the Doctor tried to speak, but Barbara cut him off.

"And what about what we went through with the Daleks? Not just us, but Susan too. And all because you wanted to go down and explore that city! You shouldn't accuse us; you should go down on your hands and knees and thank us for all the help we've given you, Terna too. She saved your life for God's sake," Barbara cried, her voice rising with every word. "But gratitude's the last thing you'll ever have or any kind of common sense either!" And, with that, Barbara stalked out of the room.

"Barbara, Barbara, wait!" Susan called, rushing after her, leaving the Doctor and Ian alone in the Console Room.

The Doctor didn't utter another word as he moved to the Console and began absentmindedly fiddling with a few buttons. "It would seem that this part of the console is safe, the area around the scanner switch that is." Ian watched him.

"You can't blame us for this," He said to the Time Lord, bemused when he didn't respond. "Frankly, Doctor, I find it hard to keep pace with you."

You mean, to keep one jump ahead. That you will never be. You need my knowledge and ability to apply it, and then you need my experience to gain the fullest results" As he spoke, the Doctor straightened up and moved away from the console. "Perhaps we should get some sleep," he declared. "Yes, a good night's rest might do us all some good."

Ian rolled his eyes. "If it even is night: we have no way of knowing."

The Doctor looked slightly miffed. "Do what you like, Chesterfield. I'm going to bed."

"Doctor," Ian called after him, causing the Time Lord to pause on the threshold. "Please apologize to Barbara…Terna too. They both deserve it, and you know it."

When the Doctor didn't respond, Ian continued. "Doctor, something very strange is going on here. This is no time for personal quarrels. I think it would be in all of our best interests if you made up with Barbara and Terna."

The Doctor looked back at Ian, his expression grave. "I'm afraid we have no time for codes and manners," he declared, "And I certainly don't underestimate the dangers, if they exist. But I must have time to think. I must think. Rash action is worse than no action at all, hmm?"

At this, he exited the room.

Ian looked on after him. "I see nothing rash in apologizing to Barbara," he scoffed.

()()()

Terna burst into the med bay and, with a scream of frustration, snatched up the nearest medical kit and hurled it across the room. It collided with the far wall next to ornate cuckoo clock hanging on the far wall. The clamor of impact and the resulting shriek of scattered metal objects echoed throughout the empty room as Terna slowly sank to the floor amidst mess. Pulling her legs up into her chest, she buried her face in her knees, feeling hot tears spilling from the corners of her eyes.
"Why?" She whispered into the darkness of her folded arms. "Why did this have to happen to me? Why couldn't I have just burned with the others?"

Only silence responded. Terna glanced up, puzzled, only to find that the cuckoo clock in the corner wasn't ticking. Strange, it appeared undamaged, and Terna certainly hadn't hit when she'd thrown the kit across the room.

You still have so much to learn. Terna stiffened. That voice. That voice from before. Please. Help me.

Terna jumped at the sound of a footstep; snatching a scalpel from the floor, she leapt to her feet and whirled around, brandishing the object like a weapon, only to come face to face with Susan. The young girl shrieked, flattening herself against the wall.

Terna paused and then relented, letting the blade fall from her hand and clatter to the floor.
"Oh, it's just you," she mumbled, dropping her gaze so as to wipe away her tears unnoticed.

Susan took a step closer, her own eyes brimming with concern. "I'm sorry about what Grandfather said to you," she whispered, stooping down to begin gathering up the scattered medical supplies.

Terna watched her keenly before collapsing onto a cot with a sigh. "It wasn't your fault."

"I know, but try to understand him. Forgive him," Susan urged, picking up the scalpel and neatly placing it in the box with the rest of the supplies.

Terna smiled, but it was without humor as she readjusted her head scarf. "I don't think I'll be able to make peace with your grandfather until I've made peace with my situation, Susan."

The young Time Lady gave Terna a small smile as she gently pressed the medical kit into Terna's arms. "I know you can do both."

At that moment, Barbara entered the room, looking to be on the verge of tears herself. Susan jumped up and headed over to the sink to fetch her a glass of water as Barbara slumped onto the cot beside Terna.

"None of the clocks in the hallway are working," the human woman murmured glumly. "Even time isn't right in this accursed place."

Bemused, Terna glanced over once more at the soundless cuckoo clock.

"Susan said I should forgive him," she said after a moment, fingering the medical kit. "What do you think?"

"I don't know," Barbara replied, her voice quiet. "Thank you," she added to Susan as the girl handed her some water.

"I guess we should all just go to bed then," Terna said to Barbara, getting to her feet.

"Please, think about what I said," Susan quietly pleaded with them.

"I'm going to bed," Barbara replied, following Terna out of the room.

()()()

Terna sat on the Egyptian throne in the corner of the dark and silent Console Room. Since her thoughts had currently taken on the consistency of boiled water, she found the concept of sleep simply unbearable.

She had far too many questions. The voice…That voice she kept hearing. It was obviously in her head because none of the others seemed to hear it, but what exactly was it? Was it that thing that had gotten into the ship and was slowly driving them all insane just as Susan had predicted? Had the creature decided to take up rest inside Terna's mind? As the most powerful of the group, her body would make the most sense.

Terna hugged herself as a feeling like pins and needles crawling along her limbs washed over her. Or maybe she was imagining everything. Maybe it was all really in her head, and she was just crazy.

Well, of course it's all happening inside your head, Terna stiffened, her hands curling around the throne's armrests. But that doesn't mean it isn't real.

Terna closed her eyes. Who are you? Tell me this-

The sound of approaching footsteps alerted the Lyall to someone entering the Console Room. Thinking fast, she closed her eyes and went limp, feigning to be asleep.

Peering through her eyelashes, Terna caught a glimpse of the Doctor silently moving through the shadowed room. He slowly approached her chair, and Terna slammed her eyes completely shut. She soon felt the pressure of his fingers against her wrist, checking if she was asleep, and it took all of her will power not to flinch away and remain relaxed.

Seemingly satisfied, Terna felt the Doctor move away from her, and she reopened her eyes just the slightest amount to be able to glimpse the Time Lord prowling around the Console as he began fiddling with a series of buttons.

Terna watched him curiously, still as a statue. She was debating about whether or not to reveal her awareness and confront the Doctor when a pair of hands suddenly shot out the darkness of the shadowed room and wrapped firmly around the Doctor's throat.

The Doctor gasped, staggering away from the console as the figure's grip tightened on his throat, crushing his windpipe.

Without thinking, Terna leapt up from the chair and lunged at the attacker; wrapping her arms around the person's waist, she managed to pull him off the Doctor and tackle him to the floor.

They wrestled there for a few moments before Terna finally managed to gain the upper hand and pinned the figure flat on his back. He looked up at her, his eyes flat, distant, and familiar.

The figure's hand shot out, pawing uselessly in an attempt to shove Terna off him. His hand found the Console instead and, before Terna could register his actions, his body gave a jolt, and she felt electricity snake through his body as those familiar eyes fluttered shut.

"Ian!" Barbara cried out as she rushed into the room just as Terna realized who the attacker was. Ian meanwhile collapsed into a dead faint.

"So, it was you?" the Doctor declared, rubbing his neck.

"Ian?" Terna lightly shock the human man's shoulders as Barbara knelt down beside him, but he seemed out cold.

"There's no use pretending," the Doctor snapped.

"Here. Help me with him, Terna," Barbara urged as she and the other woman attempted to sit Ian up, while still shaking and lightly tapping on his face, trying to bring him around.

"Oh don't play innocent," the Doctor exclaimed. "You know that he just attacked me."

"And now he's fainted just like Susan did," Terna declared.

"Fainted? She didn't faint," the Doctor scoffed. "Barbara just told me she did, and I very nearly believed her."

"Oh, what does it matter?" Barbara cried.

"Matter? Of course it matters," the Doctor shot back. "Young lady, he tried to strangle me."

"But he has fainted," Terna insisted. "Look at him."

"Oh, he's play acting," the Doctor replied, waving his hand dismissively.

"No he isn't!" Barbara cried.

"Time Lord, don't you see," Terna exclaimed, scrambling to her feet and grabbing the Doctor's shoulder, so he'd turn to look at her. "Something very wrong is happening to all of us."

"Not to me," the Doctor asserted. "Nothing happened to me. This is all just a plot between you and the two humans to take control of my ship."

"No it is not," Terna insisted.

"I've found you out," the Doctor declared. "Why won't you just admit it, hmm?"

"You have been behaving very strangely," Terna and Barbara both turned around to see Susan standing in the doorway.

"Susan!" Barbara was aghast.

"You're not saying you believe these wild accusations," Terna cried. "Come on, Susan. You're smarter than this."

"Well, what other explanation is there?" Susan cried, tears of fear and frustration pooling in her big, brown eyes.

"You do realize what must be done?" the Doctor inquired of her.

Susan's tear-filled eyes widened. "Oh no…Grandfather, you can't!"

"What are you going to do?" Terna demanded.

"Oh, Ian, please wake up," Barbara cried hopelessly, falling to her knees beside her friend and shaking him desperately.

"How did he get like that?" Susan inquired.

"It's a charade," the Doctor declared.

"Oh enough of that nonsense," Terna snapped. "I saw what happened, and it's the same thing that happened to you," she said to Susan. "He touched the Console, and it shocked him; now he's fainted."

"That did happen to me, Grandfather," Susan reminded him.

"Yes, you remember," Barbara exclaimed. "Remember, Susan? There was a pain in the back of your neck."

"Yes, yes, that's true," Susan admitted.

"That pain must have been inflicted on you by them, Susan," the Doctor declared, tugging his granddaughter away from Barbara and Terna and holding her protectively to his chest. "You say you don't remember how it had happened."

"Well, what do you think we could have done then?" Terna demanded. "Drugged you or something?"

"Who knows of the powers that you possess, Lyall!" the Doctor shot back. "Perhaps you've merely been faking not being able to properly control your abilities, hmm?"

Terna turned towards Susan, who was watching the argument between her and the Doctor like a spectator at a very intense tennis match. "Susan, you know me. You must know that I wouldn't do anything like that to you."

Susan paused, slightly overwhelmed by the sincerity in Terna's blue eyes. The Doctor, meanwhile, remained astutely unconvinced as his grip tightened on Susan.

"I see. Divide and conquer, eh? Don't listen to her, Susan," he added to the girl. "She's trying to poison your mind against me. That's what the Lyall do. They're charlatans!"

Suddenly, Ian sat up. "Doctor!" he cried. "Don't touch the controls!" He then gave a strangled choking sound before collapsing again, falling back into Barbara's arms.

Susan turned to the Doctor. "I don't think you're right, Grandfather," she declared. "I don't think Terna and the others could have caused all these things to happen."

"Oh, yes, I'll admit they're very smart," the Doctor declared. "But I won't allow them to hurt you, young lady, despite their cunning. And their actions have endangered us, leaving only one recourse: they must be thrown off the ship."

Susan gasped. "No! You can't do that."

"I can, and I must," the Doctor asserted.

"But you can't open the doors," Barbara interjected frantically.

"Don't underestimate my powers," the Doctor stated.

"And don't underestimate mine." A flash of gold in the corner of the Doctor's vision made him turn to see Terna had transformed her Omni-Vice into a sword and was pointing it directly at him. "You're not throwing anyone off this ship, Time Lord; you have no means of telling what's out there," she added as she took a step closer to the Doctor, sword still held firmly aloft. "There may be no air, it may be freezing. It may be too hot to exist."

"Or it may be twentieth century London just as you promised Ian and Barbara."

Terna's grip on her sword faltered slightly. "Why would I promise them something I couldn't keep?" she demanded. "I know nothing about this ship; this ship that I'm a part of and can never leave."

"You can't just throw us off the ship and leave us to die!" Barbara cried.

"Put yourself in my position," the Doctor shot back. "You'd do exactly the same."

Barbara shook her head. "No. I wouldn't."

At that moment, Ian opened his eyes. "What…? What's going on?"

"You're getting off the ship, Chesterton," the Doctor told him.

"Now?" Ian asked groggily, attempting to sit up.

"Yes, now," the Doctor snapped. "Get up."

Ian groaned as Barbara attempted to urge him into a sitting position, but he was so weak and disoriented that he could barely roll over. "You'll have to help me, Barbara," Ian mumbled, and Barbara quickly wrapped his arm around her shoulders so she could support him.

"Grandfather, you can't do this," Susan exclaimed.

"He can't, and he won't," Terna declared. The Doctor turned her way and froze as the tip of Terna's sword pressed to his throat. "Don't think I won't do it," Terna hissed, her voice dark as her blue eyes shown menacingly.

"Terna…" Susan started, but at that moment, a high-pitched alarm ripped through the tense silence of the Console Room. Everyone jumped and glanced around.

Startled, Terna let the sword fall from her hand and clatter to the floor just as the alarm sounded again. "What was that?" Barbara demanded.

"The danger signal," Susan cried.

"What's it mean?" Terna snapped.

"The fault locater!" the Doctor suddenly cried, rushing past her and over to the machine in the corner of the room. "The whole of it!" The Doctor pointed frantically at the fault locater which was emanating an eerie sort of glow.

"No, don't touch it, Doctor," Ian stammered, trying once more to sit up. "You'll get knocked out!" he continued to rave as Barbara attempted to calm him down.

"What the hell's going on," Terna demanded, slowly stooping down to pick up her Omni-Vice, which had reverted back to its magnifying glass form.

"Grandfather, tell us," Susan whispered.

"The whole area of the fault locater has just given us a warning," the Doctor explained, his face very white.

Susan's eyes grew to the size of dinner plates. "But everything…" her voice was barely a whisper, "Everything can't be wrong."

"That's what it means, child." The Doctor's voice was strained as he wrapped his arms around the frightened girl's shoulders.

Terna gaped. "Are you seriously telling me that the entirety of the ship has been damaged?"

"I'm afraid so," the Doctor replied, his expression grave.

At that moment, Barbara suddenly let out a strangled cry. Terna whipped around, sword redrawn to see that Ian had slipped back into his frantic state, and his arms were now wrapped around the back of his friend's neck.

"Ian!" Barbara strained. "Ian, stop! It's alright," she twisted around so she was facing her friend who was blankly staring at her with wide, petrified eyes.

Terna let the sword fall from her grasp and quickly hurried forward to try and pry Ian off Barbara. "Ian! Ian, stop it!" she cried, shaking him roughly. "Snap out of it before you do something you'll regret."

As suddenly as it came, the fit passed, and Ian's hands slid from Barbara's throat; he stared down at his fingers, a mixture of horror and confusion swimming across his face. "It's alright, Ian," Barbara soothed him, wrapping her arm around his shoulders.

"I…I pulled you away," Ian stammered. "The controls…they're alive." Ian's voice trailed off as his eyes rolled back in his head, and he slumped into Barbara's arms, his head lolling against her chest.

"Oh, Ian," Barbara choked, trailing her fingers through his hair. Terna crouched down next to them.

"He got shocked pretty badly," she mused, reaching out and pressing two fingers to his neck to feel his frantically racing pulse.

The Doctor walked over to them at that moment, the suddenness of his moments startling Barbara and causing Terna to jump to her feet and thrust her sword towards his chest.

"No, no! You mustn't be frightened of me," he insisted, holding his hands up in surrender. "I can't explain it, but I just realized the danger we're in."

"Why should I listen to a word you say?" Terna snapped, "After all that nonsense you just spouted about me betraying you?"

"Terna, please," the Doctor took a step towards her, and the Lyall was taken aback by the fear in his eyes, causing her to lower her sword. "Terna," the Doctor repeated, placing his hands on the Lyall's shoulders, "We are in a kind of danger far more drastic than anything we've encountered so far and I…I need your help."

Terna hesitated for a moment before closing her eyes with a sigh of resignation, the Omni-Vice in her hand once more becoming a magnifying glass in a flash of gold. "What do you need me to do?"

Before the Doctor could respond, the alarm sounded again.

Susan clapped a hand to her mouth. "It went off again," she cried.

The Doctor gestured to Ian, still slumped in Barbara's arms, "Hurry, we must pull him 'round."

Terna nodded mutely as she fell to her knees and began fussing over Ian: lightly tapping his face and the back of his neck in an attempt to rouse him, feeling his sweaty forehead and running her fingers through his hair.
"Would you please explain to me what exactly is going on here?" Barbara demanded.

"See that device up on the wall there?" the Doctor pointed to the fault locater. "If one small piece of apparatus fails, a little bulb illuminates and tells me precisely where the fault is."

"Quite of few of those lights are glowing," Terna mused.

"Precisely," the Doctor agreed, his expression grim. "Can you imagine what would happen if the whole of it lights up? Hmm?"

"What does it mean?" Barbara cried, her voice breaking slightly.

The Doctor shook his head forlornly. "It means that the ship is on the point of disintegration. You're not to blame. None of us are."

"Then what's the cause?" Terna demanded.

Before the Doctor could respond, Ian finally awake properly. He sat up, groaning and rubbing his sore neck. He glanced up at the Doctor, blinking groggily. "Oh, you're alright," he mused. "I told you the controls were alive, but you didn't get electrocuted."

"My connection to the ship is somewhat different from yours, young man," the Doctor explained

"What do you mean?" Ian asked as he finally managed to successfully sit up on his own.

"Fifteen seconds," Susan suddenly called over from the fault locater. "The lights are going off every fifteen seconds."

"How can you tell?" Barbara inquired. "There none of the clocks are working."

"I counted," Susan hurriedly replied.

"Oh, well go on counting then," the Doctor instructed his granddaughter.

"Time Lord, what do you want me to do?" Terna asked.

"Our main priority is this," the Doctor explained. "We are on the brink of destruction, so all five of us must work together; we need to find out where we are and what has happened to my ship."

"Hold on," Ian called as Barbara helped him stagger to his feet. "What do you mean by saying we're on the brink of destruction?"

"Well, we at least know there's a strong force at work here, somewhere," Terna stated. "It's so strong that every piece of equipment is affected simultaneously."

Ian blanched. "You mean…total disintegration?"

"Precisely," the Doctor replied. "We haven't crash-landed; otherwise, I would have discovered that immediately. And I don't believe there's an evil intelligence in the ship." He turned to the other three, "Just at the same token, I no longer believe that you, any of you, have been the cause of this trouble. I…I believe I've gravely misjudged you three."

Terna folded her arms with a huff. "Damn straight."

"Well, what is the cause then?" Ian demanded.

"I don't know, but we have to find out," the Doctor replied.

"Yes, but how long do we have?" Barbara demanded, slightly frantic.

"It's definitely every quarter of a minute," Susan said of the fault locater, rushing back over to the others.

"But what does that prove?" Ian snapped.

"It means we have a measure of time as long as it lasts," Barbara whispered.

Terna remembered the broken cuckoo clock in the medical bay. "Yes, of course," she muttered, "The broken clock face: we had time taken away from us and now it's been given back to us," she said to the others, stopping as a sudden, horrible thought crept up on her while the others all looked on, "Because time is running out."

Before anyone could respond, there was a sudden white flash, blinding them all until they saw nothing but spots. The ship lurched violently, knocking everyone against the wall. As quick as it came, the light and movement ceased, leaving everyone struggling for their bearings.

"Terna!" Susan rushed over to the Lyall, who was doubled over on her knees, hands gripping the sides of her head, apparently in a great amount of pain.

"Terna, what's wrong?" Barbara soon joined her.

The Lyall didn't respond. She straightened up and glanced at the Console. "The column."

Everyone looked towards the center of the room just in time to see the central system of the Console slowly move up and down a single time in a slow, eerily silent movement.

"But that's impossible!" the Doctor cried.

"Doctor," Ian's voice was strained as he slowly moved over to stand at the Time Lord's side. "I thought you said the column only moved if the power was on."

"Yes, the heart of the machine is under the column."

"Then what's making it move?"

The source of power. You see, when the column rises, it proves the extent of the power thrust."

"So, all of the power hasn't drained away then?" Barbara asked.

"How much power do we have then?" Terna added.

"About ten minutes," the Doctor replied.

The weight of his words hung thick in the air like a wool blanket around the five travelers.

"Do you mean to say..." Terna whispered, "That we only have ten minutes till the end?"

"The end?" Ian's voice was shaking. "What do you mean?"

"She means we only have ten minutes to live," the Doctor explained.

"Ten minutes?" Barbara's voice was very quiet. "As little as that?"

The Doctor nodded grimly. "Maybe less."

Susan gasped, choking slightly as she clapped both hands to her mouth, her fingers trembling against her lips as she shook with panic. "We'll never stop it in time!"

"No, Susan," Barbara rushed to her and put her arms around her shoulders. "Please, don't."

Ian turned to the Doctor. "What do we do?"

"I don't know, Chesterton. If only I had a clue."

Barbara froze. Slowly, she stepped away from Susan and walked over to the old clock in the corner of the room, still frozen at the same time as before. "I think…I think that perhaps we've been given nothing but clues."

Terna paused. Clues…She remembered the call for help that only she could hear. "The broken clock in the medical bay," she added aloud.

"Yes, that was the most important clue," Barbara explained. "It made us aware of time-"

"By taking time away from us," Terna finished. "

"Why did the column move like that though?" Ian inquired. "I mean, none of us touched it."

"Why indeed," the Doctor mused.

"Perhaps the energy was trying to escape?" Terna offered.

"Escape? What for?" Barbara asked.

"Something outside?" Ian offered.

"Yes, possibly," the Doctor replied.

"A magnetic force?" Terna suggested.

"Well, it would have to be a gigantic one, as strong as solar system," the Doctor explained.

There was another loud bang and the ship shook once more.

"You see?" Barbara exclaimed. "The machine has been warning us all along."

"All those black outs we had," Terna mused.

"Yes, but only if anyone went near the control panel," Susan added.

"Could it be the power trying to escape?" Ian offered.

"No. No, it couldn't," the Doctor asserted. "If you felt that power, dear boy, you wouldn't live to speak of it. You'd be blown to atoms in a split second."

"Maybe you should try the scanner again?" Susan offered. "That part of the Console seems to be safe."

The Doctor nodded mutely and was about to reach for the switch when the TARDIS lurched again, once more knocking everyone off their feet and causing the doors to momentarily swing open once more.

"The doors!" Ian cried, scrambling to his feet and rushing over, but they closed before he could catch a glimpse of what was outside.

"Ow," Terna groaned as she hoisted herself into a sitting position, massaging the part of her forehead that had smacked into the Console. "Why does this thing keep doing that?"

"Susan?" the Doctor called to his granddaughter as everyone regained their bearings.

"Yes, Grandfather?"

"I want you and Barbara to join Ian by the doors. If they open again, I want all three of you to try and keep them open long enough for us to be able see outside, but only for an instant. Do you understand?"

"I understand," Susan replied, and Barbara nodded mutely before they both hurried over to where Ian was standing beside the doors.

"Terna," the Doctor beckoned to the Lyall, who had been momentarily preoccupied with her bandages.

Wordlessly, the Time Lord led her over to the far side of the Console, away from the others.

"What is it?" Terna demanded.

"I lied," the Doctor whispered. "About how much time we have left."

"You said ten minutes," Terna recalled.

"In truth, it is barely five,"

"What?!"

"Shush!"

"Why would you lie to the others like that?" Terna demanded, dropping her voice back to a whisper.

"Five minutes," the Doctor murmured. "When the end comes, they won't even know it."

Terna dropped her eyes. "So, there's really no hope then?"

"I can't see any," the Doctor replied solemnly. "Will you face it with me?"

Terna looked back up at him in surprise before her expression folded back into a rather grim smile. "Death is certain for you," she whispered, "But not for me."

"So it's true then," the Doctor whispered. "What the old legends say: the Lyall live in Space but not Time. They-You-are immortal."

Terna nodded mutely.

"Well, at the very least," the Doctor placed a hand on the Lyall's shoulder. "I won't have to face the end alone. At least you're here for me to share this sad truth with, someone I trust."

Terna shook her head. "You shouldn't trust me, Time Lord."

The Doctor smiled. "You've never given me a reason not to."

Terna stared at him, shocked.

"What are you two talking about over there?" Ian demanded from the other side of the room.

Terna jumped; she'd forgotten the others were still there. "Oh, just a theory of mine that didn't work," she quickly explained, shooting the Doctor a pointed sideways glance as she spoke.

"We must come up with a solution to this problem as quickly as possible," the Doctor added.

A moment later, the scanner came to life once more, showing the same meadow picture as before.

It had barely faded away before the doors suddenly swung open and the whole Console Room was illuminated in a blinding white light.

Everyone shielded their eyes as the glare increased; Susan screamed.

"There's nothing there! Nothing. Nothing!" she cried, tears pouring from her wide, frantic eyes. "Nothing but space."

"It's alright, Susan," Barbara attempted to comfort the young Time Lady, pulling her into her arms as Susan buried her face in her chest and sobbed.

The image on the scanner changed again, again showing the jungle scape of the planet Quinnis, and the TARDIS doors closed.

"Barbara's theory could be right," Ian piped up.

"I am right; I know I am," Barbara added, stepping away from Susan, who seemed to have calmed down a bit. "Every time the scanner shows us a pleasant image, the doors open as though it were safe to go outside, then it shows us a terrible picture and the doors swing shut again."

"Yes, and the sequence it keeps showing," the Doctor gestured to the scanner just as the cycle of images ran its course once again: a planet, a solar system, a galaxy, getting farther and farther away, then a blinding flash, then nothing.

"Of course!" the Doctor exclaimed, snapping his fingers in a 'eureka' fashion. "The sequence is our journey."

Terna quirked a brow. "Our journey?"

"Yes, after we left Skaro, we were blown off course; the sudden fluctuation in the time stream is what knocked us all unconscious," the Doctor explained. "The TARDIS has been spinning out of control further and further back in time towards imminent destruction."

"And the defense mechanism of the machine has been trying to warn us," Barbara concluded.

"So the machine can think?" Terna asked.

Help me. She gripped her forehead.

"It's not just that," Barbara added, "The defense mechanism of the machine has prevented it from destroying itself."

"Of course-" the Doctor started to say something but was suddenly interrupted.

A flash of brilliant white light erupted throughout the entire ship, engulfing everything as the TARDIS passengers all shielded their eyes. The light rose to its peak as the ship rocked about once more before it suddenly receded as quickly as it had come.

"What the hell?" Terna slowly lowered her hands from her face.

Silence.

"Susan? Time Lord?" Terna turned around to see the others all standing around the Console in the exact same spots as before, only they weren't moving.

Their bodies were frozen where they stood, arms held aloft to guard their eyes from the sudden light that had now died down. They were like statues: stiff, unblinking; they didn't even seem to be breathing.

In spite of herself, Terna felt her heart drop into her stomach.

"Susan? Susan! Hey!" Terna cried, rushing over to the young girl and waving her hands in front of her face only to receive no response. "Ian? Barbara…? Time Lord, come on! Someone? Anyone!" Terna felt herself growing more and more frantic as she raced around the Console, waving her hands, snapping her fingers, shaking their shoulders, doing everything she could to try and get the others to respond, but they didn't move a muscle.

Terna's breath came in gasps as panic began to slowly bubble up inside her. "Someone, please, move!"

"Screaming at them isn't going to do anything, you know." Terna froze at the sound of an unfamiliar voice coming from directly behind her. "Excuse me; I'd like to be looked in the eye when I'm addressing someone."

Slowly, Terna turned on the spot to once again face the TARDIS Console.

"That's better," Sitting on the Console was a young girl.

She looked to be around nine or ten; she was stick thin with knobby knees dangling over the console edge; her hair was pale blonde and extremely dirty and tangled, strips of dirt also marred the girl's face and clothes like slashes or scars.
The only thing on her body that seemed to not be dulled by any trace of filth were her eyes, and it was these eyes that made Terna realize that this was no ordinary child, for they were the eyes of someone far older than the face that housed them; they were eyes that had seen great and terrible things, eyes that had seen the stars, eyes that had seen the universe.

Terna dropped her own, unable to look at the girl head on.

The girl seemed put out by this: she crossed her arms and regarded the Lyall with a sour expression. "So are you just going to sit their gawking like a slack-jawed twit, or are you going to apologize?"

Terna blinked. "Apologize? For what?"

The girl scowled. "Don't act like you don't know!" she snapped. "You called me a thing, remember?"

"I…Uh…Um," Terna stuttered. "Who are you?"

The girl gave Terna a surprised look. "What? Isn't it obvious?" she exclaimed, jumping down from the Console and moving past the paralyzed others towards Terna.

"Not a bit," Terna snapped. "But frankly I don't really care," she added. In a flurry of movement, she snatched the Omni-Vice from her pocket, transformed it into a sword and pointed it at the girl. "Unfreeze the other's. Now!"

The girl looked slightly miffed. "Was that a threat? Frankly, you're not very threatening."

Terna felt her cheeks go red. "Excuse me! I'm the ruler of the most powerful race in the universe!"

"Yes, yes, Queen of Souls, immortal ruler of the Keepers of Space, the Wolves of the Universe, Those Who Oppose Time, blah, blah, blah," the girl replied, waving her hand dismissively. "And what makes you think I have the power to return the others to their natural state, anyways?"

"It was you who put them like this, wasn't it?" Terna shot back.

The girl sighed. "Well, you figured that much out, at least. Honestly, I thought you were smarter and not nearly so thick. Oh, and I made certain my selection was thorough. I had so many Lyall to choose from after all."

"What a minute…" Terna paused, her grip slackening on her sword. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Like I said: thick!" the girl exclaimed, throwing her hands up in exasperation. "How could you have forgotten? It wasn't that long ago that I plucked you from outside of time and saved you from the Vortex by placing you in here."

"Wait…You…You what?!"

"Must I repeat myself?"

"But wouldn't that…? But that means you…" Terna struggled.

"For God's sake, can you even form a proper sentence?"

Terna ignored her; her mind was reeling. "Are you-Are you the TARDIS?"

The girl clapped mockingly. "And we have a winner! In a matter of speaking, yes: I am the TARDIS, the TARDIS matrix computer, to be more specific."

"So, that means you're the one who stuck me in here?!" Terna cried.

"Yes," the TARDIS replied.

"Well, unstick me then!" Terna ordered. "I demand you get me out of here right now."

"I can't do that," the TARDIS replied, folding her arms and turning aside. "Even if I wanted to, which I don't. After all, you said you hated me."

"I…You heard that?"

"Of course I did! I hear everything."

Terna sighed in exasperation. "Look, I'm sorry I called you a thing and said I hated you. There. See? I apologized. So set me free."

"I already told you I can't!"

"And why not?"

"Because I don't know how."

Terna gaped, frustration burning in her chest. "Are you kidding me? How could you not know how to free me?"

"Because I bit off more than I could chew, okay?" the TARDIS admitted. "I'm a little off my game, you know. I'm not as young as I once was, and I've been in the shop for, like, forever being tampered with. Do you have any idea how incredibly dull that is? Eventually I didn't even care. So, I needed a few repairs, big deal! I was built to travel the stars, to see the universe. I wanted to do that all again, but I wasn't leaving the shop anytime soon. So, I stole a Time Lord and ran away."

"I'm happy for you," Terna replied. "But what am I supposed to do?"

"Well, right now, I suggest saving everyone's lives," the TARDIS offered.

"What?"

"That's the whole reason I stopped time, don't you see?" the TARDIS explained. "Admittedly, we got a little off track, but you weren't listening to all my attempts to contact you for help, so I decided to take a more forward approach. Consider yourself lucky, I never do something like this."

"That voice in my head," Terna whispered. "It was you."

"Of course it was," the TARDIS replied.

"But why were you talking to me?"

"Because we're connected, you and I," the TARDIS replied, jabbing a finger in Terna's chest. "Your soul is in my soul, and my soul is in your soul. Remember? Lucky for me too, because you're the only one capable of keeping me from being destroyed."

"Oh really?" Terna was unconvinced. "And how's that?"

"Didn't you hear what the Time Lord said? He said that the only thing that could rip my core from the inner workings is the energy of an entire galaxy, and that's what we're in the middle of right now."

"Susan said there was nothing outside but space," Terna interjected.

"Yes, new space," the TARDIS explained. "When I took off from Skaro, I got caught up in Time Storm: a chaotic whirlwind of temporal energy in the Time Vortex, and it hurtled us terribly off course. We flew far, far back in time, back to the creation of a galaxy. Can you feel it? All that raw, chaotic energy? It's going to rip us apart."

"That's what you were trying to warn us about," Terna concluded. "Making us feel afraid, showing us all those images."

The TARDIS rolled her eyes. "Duh. You did take it the wrong way though."

Terna scowled. "Well, your message wasn't exactly clear."

"What was I supposed to do?" the TARDIS snapped defensively. "I don't communicate on the same level as you; I normally don't have a mouth."

"Fine. Whatever. But how am I supposed to stop us from getting ripped apart? I don't know the first thing about time, or TARDISi, or Time Storms, or any of that stuff."

"Maybe if you thought about it for a second, you'd remember what you are," the TARDIS chided. "You're a Lucent Lyall: a being of light, birth, and the energy of creation and right now, you're in the middle of the greatest store of creation energy: the beginning of a new solar system."

Terna blinked, startled. "I don't think I…"

"Now where's all that brimming confidence from before?" the TARDIS exclaimed. "You're a queen for God's sake," she added, taking a step closer and leaning forward so that she and Terna were practically nose to nose. "So, save your subjects."

Terna gasped quietly, her whole form shaking as she slowly reached out a trembling hand towards the figure that was the TARDIS.

The TARDIS smiled slightly as she stepped back and took Terna's outstretched hand. "You know what to do."

Terna nodded slowly, wetting her dry lips as she closed her eyes. As she tuned out her surroundings and focused solely on the aura of energy that flowed like a river between herself and the time machine matrix, the TARDIS's words echoed throughout her mind: your soul is my soul, and my soul is your soul.

The TARDIS's power was massive. The heat that radiated from its Heart was like the belly of a great volcano just beginning to spill over with gallons upon gallons of molten magma. Terna's insides felt like they were turning to jelly with the intensity of the heat and the fiery pain returned to her burns as the light seared through the bandages. And yet the familiarity was still there, despite the heat, there was still the burning light of Terna's own soul, hopelessly entangled within the matrix depths.

However, if Terna thought the TARDIS was intense, it was nothing compared to the Time Storm. As soon as Terna managed to concentrate her neurological energy, she was immediately bombarded with the ferocity of the storm, it was like being swarmed by a huge cloud of yellow jackets.

Terna felt her thoughts become clouded by the chaotic cloud of energy exploding out from the storm; her head swam as she began to lose her nerve, the bombardment of temporal power causing her concentration to slip from her.

Be strong, Terna heard the TARDIS's voice call out to her amongst the turbulent plane. Remember where you are, what you're capable of.

And then there it was: a great explosion of beauty, warmth, and color, like a sunrise happening all at once. It sliced through the chaos of the storm and of time.

Terna felt a smile spread across her face as the light of the newly created galaxy unfolded across her scalded skin. Finally, something that made sense.

It was easy from there, practically as easy as blowing out a candle. Terna felt the power of the newly created universe, the energy flowing out from every atom in this new world seep into her pores, like the warm water of a much needed bath.

The energy filled her to the brim, making her blood boil and he muscles charged. The familiar strength and vigor coursing through her body, it made Terna think of the old days, the days before when she'd been dancing amongst the stars, flying from nebula to nebula with her brothers and sisters.

It was such a tremendous feeling; Terna didn't want to let it end. But she knew she must.

Taking a deep breath, Terna suddenly released the energy out from her body in one great rush of light and power. It poured out of her skin and traveled along the threads that made up the web of connection between the Lyall and the TARDIS. It feathered out from their joined hands and surrounded the TARDIS heart in a bubble of energy. In a flurry of motion, like a swarm of startled crows suddenly taking flight the Time Storm dispersed.

Terna felt a warm sense of relief wash over her just as the last traces of creation Amina began to trickle out of her body. The haze of power slowly sharpened back to clarity, and Terna found herself returning to her temporal form.

"No!" she cried, "I don't want to go back."

Don't be scared, Terna felt the TARDIS's hand on her face. You have a long journey ahead of you, and you must be strong. You will do great things for this universe; that's why I chose you.

"But why?" Terna felt tears brimming in her eyes. "Why did you do this to me?"

The TARDIS smiled. "To give you the opportunity you've been waiting for," she replied. "To live, to just live, and you're going to be magnificent, Terna, absolutely magnificent."

Terna opened her mouth to respond, a million questions burning on her tongue, but at that moment, it all fell away, and she collapsed into darkness.

()()()

The last thing the other four passengers were aware of was that of a blinding white light followed by a darkness for the space of a heartbeat when there was a sudden robotic hum like the churning of a beating heart and everything jumped back into clarity in a sudden burning instant.

"The lights!" Susan cried as the three adults stared around, blinking rapidly.

"The lights have all come back on," Ian observed.

"Not just that!" the Doctor cried. "Look. The fault locater has stopped glowing; the problem seems to have mended itself."

"But how?" Barbara demanded.

"I don't know, but" the Doctor hurried over to the Console and flicked a couple buttons. It didn't hurt him in any way; his face broke into a wide grin. "Yes, everything is back in proper working order! We've even landed."

"But Doctor, how could everything get fixed like that so suddenly?" Ian asked.

"Terna!" Susan suddenly cried out before the Doctor could respond. The other three all turned to see the young Time Lady collapse to her knees beside the Lyall who was lying on her stomach in the middle of the floor completely unconscious.

"What's happened to her?" Ian asked as Barbara rushed over to try and help Susan.

The Doctor shook his head. "I haven't the faintest idea."

"Ian, come help us," Barbara called and the human man rushed over to aid Barbara and Susan in gently lifting Terna off the ground.

"Yes, I haven't the faintest idea," the Doctor murmured as he watched the other three carefully carry Terna out of the room towards the med bay, "But I'd imagine she probably had something to do with it." He chuckled to himself, "That woman, always full of surprises."

()()()

She was floating, floating on mist. Grey clouds swirled all around her as Terna opened her eyes and attempted to sit up. Her head immediately started swimming as she did so and she flopped back down on the dirt with a groan.
Her head was killing her, and there was a sharp pain in her left forearm as well.
Terna's vision moved in and out of focus like a poorly handled camera lens, the clouds of dense fog swarmed her so thickly they seemed to almost cling to her skin. Beyond that, Terna could see nothing, and all that she could feel beneath her exhausted body was heaps of charred black dirt.

"Where…Where am I?" Terna croaked; her throat was as dry as sandpaper.

A faint shuffle of footprints echoed off ian the distance. Terna tried to sit up, but her body was pinned down by exhaustion. All she could manage to do was turn her head to the left ever so slightly and her peripheral vision glimpsed the faint image of a figure slipping out of the mists and kneeling down beside her.

Terna fidgeted desperately, her skin prickling as she attempted to move her useless body, but her complete loss of energy pressed down, suffocating her chest like a heavy weight.

"Who…Who are you?" she managed to choke out.

The Lyall tensed when she felt a cool hand on her sweaty hand.

"Oh, Eva."

Terna's heart skipped a beat. Eva? But that had been her Base Name: the name she used when her true name could not be spoken.

She once again tried to sit up but to no avail.

"Shh, Eva, darling, you must conserve your strength." Terna felt a pair of arms encircle her body and lift her up so that her head was pressed against a soft chest with a warm heart beating against her temple. She tried to lift her head, so she could see the person's face, but she was utterly paralyzed.

"Please, tell me who you are," Terna almost begged, tears brimming in her eyes. She was so tired and angry and in such pain. Being filled with the Amina of a new galaxy had been a cruel reminder of her circumstances and how badly she missed her family.

"Dry your eyes, dear," the voice was soft with a slight tang like a wood-burning fire. "You are alright; you are not alone my little neptem."

Terna felt her entire body be consumed with the rush of emotions as that oddly familiar voice uttered that one little word.

"A-Avia?" Hot tears slipped down Terna's cheeks in spite of herself, scalding her burned cheeks.

"Yes, Eva. It's me."

"No," Terna clenched and unclenched her fist, about all she could do in her current state. "You can't be. This…This is a dream."

"Perhaps it is, but do you not remember all those times I came to you in your dreams, neptem? All those times I shielded you from your nightmares and rocked you off to better fantasies?"

Terna could barely breathe. The Dalek Leader on Skaro had said that she was alone, that the rest of her people were dead, but she wasn't alone. She could feel this presence beside her, it was faint, coming to her across hundreds of miles, but this familiar soul was out there somewhere.

"Where-Where are you?" Terna cried.

"I'm afraid I cannot tell you."

"No! You must tell me. I can find you. I have a way to get to you…a machine," Terna didn't bother to hide the desperation in her voice.

"Oh, Eva." The other Lyall pressed her head firmly to her chest, stroking her fingers through her charred hair. "You do not know how badly I wish to see you again, to tell you how to find me, but it is all I can do right now to send you this message, my power is greatly inhibited."

"What do you mean?" Terna shifted slightly. "Does someone…Has someone captured you."

"Yes, it is as we feared."

"Then I have to find you!" Terna cried. "Please, tell me where you are."

"Hush now. They may be listening."

Terna felt more tears push at the corners of her eyes, "But what am I supposed to do?" she demanded. "Leave you wherever you are? You're all I have left! The others are all dead; the next dimension was a trap, everyone else burned."

"I'm afraid you are mistaken, neptem," the other Lyall replied. "While the majority of our people were killed in that dreadful incident, we are not the only survivors."

Terna's heart hammered against her ribs. "You mean…there are others?"

"Yes."

"But how? The Daleks said all of the Lyall burned."

"Renaissance."

"What?"

"Do you remember, Eva? Renaissance was the project that was formed in an alliance between our people and the people of Gallifrey, the Lords of Time. The war with the Daleks had taken everything from us, our home planet, our Empire; we had been chased to the Wastes. We wanted to try and return to our old ways, to become proper Gods once more. We wanted to create a perfect being."

Terna nodded slowly, remembering the numbers burned onto Susan's forearm and the scars on the Doctor's neck. "But what does that…?"

"The God Project," the other Lyall replied, her grip subtly tightening around Terna's shoulders, "The God Project did not just use Time Lords as test subjects, but Lyall as well."

Terna gasped. "Look at your arm," the other Lyall continued. Slowly, Terna glanced down, and nudged her wrist so it was facing up. There, seared into her arm was a blackened set of numbers.

142.

Terna shook her head, her wet eyes glassing over as she tried to make sense of all the thoughts churning in her mind. "But how…? Where? This wasn't here before."

"It was removed, Eva, as was your memories of being a test subject in Renaissance. But what I say is true; you were a part of the project, as was I. We were taken to Gallifrey along with dozens of others where we were subjected to desperate and traumatic experimentation."

Terna's mind felt like a river, thoughts rushing past her as her memories poured down into the basin of her brain like a waterfall from the abyss above.
"How-How did we escape?"

"You."

"Me?"

"Yes, neptem, as part of an experiment, several of our kind were exposed to something called the Untempered Schism: a direct entrance to the Time Vortex, a tunnel that leads to all of Time and Space. We Lyall are highly Space-sensitive beings, but we lack Time-sensitivity. The Time Lords tried to see what would happen if we were exposed to the raw temporal energy of the Schism."

"Some ran away, some went mad," Terna whispered. She remembered; she remembered being crouched in the darkness, trying not to hear the screams of her fellow Lyall as their minds burned.

"And then there was you."

Terna tensed. She remembered being bound and gagged, being dragged before a great column of some kind of energy; it wasn't light, it wasn't darkness, it was something in-between. She remembered screaming, crying, begging as they held her eyes open and forced her to stare deep into the depths of the Time-Space continuum, where the two great forces of the universe met and collided with each other .

She remembered the fire in her mind, the blood leaking from her eyes as the raw power seeped into her being. "Do you remember what you did?" the other Lyall asked.

Terna scrunched up her face, but those memories were like ashes, lost in the wind with nothing but traces of pain remaining. "You harnessed your power as the Animalus Reginum, the Queen of Souls. You used your connection to all the Lyall's souls to free all those imprisoned in Renaissance and set them loose in the Time Vortex through the Untempered Schism, freeing them from the God Project's wrath and the lie of escape into the fifth dimension. You saved the last of our kind, Eva. You saved your people."

Terna's face was sticky with sweat and tears; her mouth was as dry as a bone. "But…But I distinctly remember the lie of the fifth dimension, of shedding my form and being cast into the Time Vortex!"

"As I said, your memories have been tampered with," the other Lyall replied. "The details of your recent history were removed from your mind in order to confuse you, to make you believe that you were the last of your kind."

"But who would do such a thing?"

"Can you think of no one?"

Terna paused before suddenly remembering what the Leader Dalek had said to her. "The mole! The one who tricked our people into believing they could escape!"

"Yes, I'm afraid one of our kind has betrayed our people and used the confusion and loss that our people felt with most of the Royal family in the hands of the God Project to trick them into destroying themselves."

Terna felt anger as the prominent emotion in her whirlwind of feeling. "And what of the mole?"

"I do believe he has survived and is still out there right now," the other Lyall replied. "I believe he tampered with your memories in order to prevent you from finding the members of our kind that you managed to save, so he can find them first."

"Then I have to get to them before he does!" Terna cried, trying to sit up but finding her body was still a useless mess.

"Dispelling that Time Storm has drained your Force Amina, Eva," the other Lyall explained. "Your new body has also sustained grave injuries on Skaro, I see."

"What am I supposed to do then?" Terna cursed her own frailness.

"Here. Allow me," Terna caught a glimpse of golden light out of the corner of her eye. It wasn't Amina…No, it was distinctly different.

"What's…" Terna's voice trailed off.

"You see, I too gazed into the Untempered Schism which has granted me a special form of energy that I can use to restore my body and the bodies of others if I wish, if only for a short time. You possess a similar energy now as well," she added. "It has given you the body you possess now and even allowed you to heal the injuries of that Time Lord companion of yours when you were imprisoned in that cave."

"You mean, Amina hasn't given me healing abilities?"

"I'm afraid not," the other Lyall laughed slightly, and Terna felt her cheeks go red. "The energy you used was not Amina, it was the energy of Time, the power that flows from the Untempered Schism: Regeneration, I believe it is called."

"Regeneration?"

"Yes, and now I will use some of my own lingering Regeneration energy to heal you. Although, I'm afraid the process shall rouse you and end our time together."

"No! Avia, wait!" Terna cried, fidgeting her useless limbs. "I still have so many questions."

"And I am afraid I am out of answers," Avia replied sadly as she moved to pass the golden Regeneration energy to Terna's body. "But I do not have any doubts that our paths will cross again, not just in dreams but one day in the flesh. Go now, my neptum, and find the others of our kind that you managed to save."

"Wait! Avia," Terna interrupted. "What about…What about Rangi? Is he…Did I save him?"

For the first time, the other Lyall faltered. "I'm afraid I do not know."

Terna resigned herself with a sigh. "I guess I'll just have to find out."

"Indeed. Godspeed, my little neptum, Godspeed." With that, the Lyall known as Avia placed her hand brimming with Regeneration energy on Terna's forehead. The effect was not at all pleasant: Terna felt like hot magma was slowly pouring down her body, slowly seeping into each pour.

She let out a strangled cry as pain and fire filled her insides. The pain consumed her whole form, blotting out anything else, and Terna could feel the dream scape slowly ebbing away.

The last thing she heard before everything went black was the Lyall called Avia whispering in her ear.
"Beware. The Eyes are watching."

()()()

"Terna? Terna!"

"Huh?" Terna's eyelids fluttered, and she caught a brief glimpse of Susan leaning over her, her face lined with concern.

"Grandfather, I think she's waking up!" Susan exclaimed.

"Finally, I hope this doesn't become a thing with her," the Doctor was heard from the other side of Terna.

"Very funny," the Lyall murmured as she managed to open her eyes fully and regain proper control of her senses once more: the first thing she noticed was that she was lying on a surprisingly soft surface, certainly not one of the stiff cots in the TARDIS medical bay.

"How are you feeling?" Susan asked as Terna finally managed to sit up, that alone was a blessing.

"Actually, pretty good," Terna replied after a moment's thought.

"That's no surprise," the Doctor grumbled.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Terna demanded.

"See for yourself." Susan could barely suppress a smile as she held up a handheld mirror in front of Terna's face.
The Lyall's jaw dropped when she took in her reflection. Her skin had been healed to the point her burns had scarred over completely, but that wasn't all; the lines and creases had almost completely vanished from her face, now only a few remained around the corners of her eyes, pronounced in a rather pleasant way when she smiled.
But the biggest change was the hair, no longer charred ash-colored remains but a new crop of golden blonde locks was sweeping around Terna's shoulders and trailing in elegant waves down her back.

"You're a blonde, Terna!" Susan exclaimed. "I used to be a blonde once. It's a shame I'm not anymore, otherwise we could match."

"How…" Terna was practically speechless as she took the mirror from Susan and gaped down at her new face. Was this the power of that so-called Regeneration energy that Avia had mentioned?

Avia…Suddenly everything that Terna had seen and heard suddenly came rushing back in one great wave.

"Terna, why are you crying?" Susan exclaimed.

"Now really, there's no need for that," the Doctor added. "I dare say it's an improvement."

"It's not that," Terna sniffed, wiping her eye as the Doctor passed her a handkerchief. "Thanks," she added to him as she unceremoniously blew her nose.

"Terna, what's wrong?" Susan asked.

Terna avoided the question, momentarily glancing around. "Where are we?" she asked as she took in her surroundings; she was sitting on an ornate four poster bed draped in gorgeous blue curtains with a matching comforter. A white wood fireplace burned in the corner, the firelight's shadows danced across a Persian rug. There was a large white wardrobe in the corner and a chest at the foot of the bed. However, the most striking things about the room were the walls and ceiling which were works of art in themselves. In the dim light of the fire, the eerie images of figures and faces swirling about in painted patterns of blue and yellow, black and white danced across the walls and twirled along the ceiling.

Terna felt new tears in her eyes as she watched the graceful movements of the painted Lyall. She jumped slightly when she felt Susan's hand on her own. "Terna, please tell me what's wrong." Terna was taken aback by the genuine concern in her eyes."

"Before you do that," the Doctor interjected, "I wouldn't mind an explanation as to how everything in the TARDIS was suddenly put to rights in just one flash of light."

Terna gave him a shrewd smile, "What makes you think I had anything to do with it?"

"Well, when the light died down, you were the only one of us unconscious," the Doctor reminded her.

Terna bit her lip. "Touche." She then proceeded to explain what had occurred while the others had all been frozen in time, about her interactions with the TARDIS matrix, and her manipulating the Amina of the new galaxy in order to dispel the Time Storm and free them from certain destruction.

The more she talked, the bigger Susan's eyes got until Terna feared they might pop out of her head. "So, you actually helped the TARDIS break itself free?!" she exclaimed. "That's amazing."

"To be fair, I did most of the work," Terna corrected her. "This is a pretty bitchy time machine you have her, Time Lord. No offense," she added to the ceiling.

"Well, this explains this room suddenly appearing," Susan piped up. "This must be the TARDIS's way of thanking you for saving it and all of us."

"She actually doesn't like being called an 'it'."

"Well, it would appear this machine of mine can think after all," the Doctor mused, getting to his feet. "Go figure. Oh and really, Terna, must you keep stealing my coats?"

"What?" Terna glanced down to see that, once again, the Doctor's black tailcoat was draped over her body like a blanket. "Technically, Time Lord," she replied with a wry smile. "I don't keep taking them; you keep giving them to me."

The Doctor snorted. "Fine. Whatever," he turned to leave. "I best go make sure that those two humans haven't gotten into any of my things while I was away."

"Wait, Doctor," the Doctor paused on the threshold leading to what looked like a spiral staircase. "There's something else I need to tell you," Terna glanced at Susan. "Both of you."

Terna then spent a good few minutes recounting the events of the dream she'd experienced after falling unconscious, about the Lyall known as Avia appearing to her and revealing the truth behind the end of the Lyall and the fall of Renaissance."

Tears were slipping from the corners of Susan's eyes when Terna got to the latter subject; the Doctor meanwhile looked ready to punch a hole in a wall; he settled for pounding on the bedside table so hard the lamp clattered to the floor. "So, you're saying, they entire purpose of the God Project, of all the torment Susan and I went through as well as countless others like us was simply to benefit your own people's needs?" he snarled.

"Hey, don't go throwing this solely on us," Terna exclaimed, jumping up from her bed despite the action resulting in her head spinning slightly. "I was a part of the God Project too," she added, jamming her wrist in the Doctor's face so he could see the clearly marked numbers sewn into her skin. "Both Lyall and Time Lords were subjected to the God Project."

The Doctor still seemed unconvinced. "Oh really? And why are you suddenly recalling all this now?"

"Is this another of those memory problems you mentioned, Terna?" Susan inquired.

Terna shook her head. "No. My mind was deliberately tampered with. I was given false memories that made me forget our involvement in Renaissance."

"Who would do such a thing?" Susan asked.

Terna turned to her. "Do you remember on Skaro? The Leader Dalek said they had planted a mole amongst those of us that hadn't been a part of the God Project and tricked them into killing themselves off; there was a traitor amongst our ranks and, according to Avia, he may have survived."

"And how do you know this Avia can be trusted?" the Doctor demanded.

"Believe me, I know."

The Doctor raised a brow. "Oh? And how's that."

"Because she's my grandmother."

Susan clapped a hand to her mouth. "That's why I was crying," Terna said to her. "Because I was lead to believe my people were all dead, that my entire race was gone forever, but I was wrong. There are others out there, one's that I saved, one's that I loved. My family could be out there for all I know."

"Oh, Terna that's wonderful!" Susan exclaimed.

"So, what does this have to do with us?" the Doctor demanded.

"Well, I don't have any idea as to where the members of my kind that I saved from Renaissance are at the moment; they were scattered throughout all of time and space through that Uninterrupted Schism thing."

"Untempered Schism," the Doctor corrected.

"Whatever," Terna waved his correction aside. "Quite frankly, it's an overwhelming idea, all of time and space and no leads as to where to look first." The Lyall grinned in spite of herself, "But it seems that fate has finally dealt me a good hand."

"And what do you mean by that?" the Doctor asked.

"Duh," Terna held her arms aloft. "I was dumped into a Space-Time Machine of all things. The whole universe is my backyard. I can go anywhere and everywhere, all through space and time."

"Which means you'll be able to find your people!" Susan exclaimed, clapping her hands.

"Now hold a second, Terna," the Doctor interjected. "I'm not a chauffeur. What makes you think I'll willingly valet you all across the universe?"

Terna responded with a smug grin. "You don't have much choice in the matter, since I'm here to stay."

"She wouldn't do any harm, Grandfather," Susan added.

"And besides, it's not like you have anywhere important to be, and you can't even control where you land anyways."

The Doctor scowled. "Fine. Do what you wish," he snapped, turning towards the door. Susan jumped up from the bed and scampered past him.

"Come on, Terna, you have to see where your room is," she called as she skipped up the stairs.

Terna smiled after her, but it soon faded when she remembered the last words her grandmother spoke to her before she'd disappeared.

The Eyes are watching.

"I don't like that unsettled look in your eyes," the Doctor commented, jerking Terna from her thoughts.

"Are you certain there isn't anything else we should be concerning ourselves with? This mole you mentioned, perhaps?"

Terna faltered. "No," she finally replied.

The Doctor's eyes narrowed. "I hope you aren't keeping important information from me, Lyall, because, like it or not, our fates are intertwined now, and I don't want your presence to potentially threaten Susan or myself. Do I make myself clear?"

Terna gritted her teeth. "Just be careful," she finally said, "Don't go sticking your nose in places where it doesn't belong."

The Doctor snorted. "I'm not making any promises, not to you or anyone else."

With that, he left.

Terna lingered in the middle of the room for a few moments before she proceeded to peel the rest of the bandages from her now relatively smooth hands.

After a short time, she too made her way up the spiral stairs, where they lead she didn't know.

Terna yelped in surprise when she nearly smacked her head on a trap door above her head. Puzzled, she pressed her hand against it and it lifted after slight effort on her part.

The trap door was lifted up from the floor and collapsed behind the Lyall as she popped her head up out of the floor to find herself now in the middle of the Console Room.

"Whoa, what?" she whispered.

"Pretty cool, huh?" Susan exclaimed from the corner where she was busy layering herself with several articles of winter garments.

"Just make sure you close that door behind you," the Doctor called to her as he fumbled with a long black cloak. "We don't want anyone falling down those stairs."

"Uh, right," Terna quickly hoisted herself out of the hole in the floor and closed the trap door behind her. "So, my room's right under the Console?" she added.

"Yep. As far as I'm concerned, you've got a five star sweet," Susan exclaimed as she wound a scarf around her neck. "The heat from the TARDIS Heart will keep you nice and warm at night."

"Speaking of warm," Terna remarked. "Why are you two dressed like that?"

"Look at the scanner," the Doctor replied, gesturing to the screen. "See where we've landed.

Terna obliged and saw that the screen now depicted a vast tundra stretching out for miles in every direction and completely covered in a thick blanket of frosty snow; bright sunlight streamed down from the pale sky to dance across the frozen surface, making the landscape almost sparkle in the daylight.

"Where are we?"

"I don't know," the Doctor replied, tugging on a pair of gloves, "Which is why we're going outside to check it out. Now, where have Ms. Wright and Mr. Chesterton gotten to?"

As if on cue, Ian entered, also dressed in winter clothes, "I don't think Barbara's really up for the excursion," he declared. "Oh, hello, Terna. Glad to see you're awake," he added to the Lyall.

Terna noticed he didn't seem all that surprised at her new appearance, perhaps he'd witnessed the change while she was still unconscious.

"I see. Still upset about all that's happened, I suppose," the Doctor mused. "Here. I'll go take to her."

"I'll come too," Terna added, following the Doctor out of the room and into the side sitting room where they found Barbara sitting on one of the couches, looking slightly disturbed.

Her face brightened somewhat when she saw Terna enter. "Oh, Terna, you look marvelous. Ian said your appearance had changed, but I didn't believe him. It's wonderful."

"Yes, it's quite the improvement isn't it," the Doctor added.

Barbara didn't respond.

The Doctor sighed. "Ms. Wright, I'd like to talk to you, if I may. We've landed on a planet; the air is good, but it's rather cold outside."

"I know. Susan told me," Barbara replied; she didn't make eye contact.

"Yes, you haven't forgiven me, have you?" the Doctor observed.

"You said terrible things to us," Barbara replied.

Yes, I suppose it's the injustice that's upsetting you," the Doctor mused, "And, when I made a threat to put you off the ship, it must have affected you very deeply."

"What do you care what I think or feel?" Barbara demanded bitterly.

"As we learn about each other, so we learn about ourselves," the Doctor recited.

Barbara tried to hide it, but the Time Lord caught the hint of a smile teasing at the corners of her mouth at that. "Perhaps."

"Oh, yes. Because I accused you unjustly, you were determined to prove me wrong. So, you put your mind to the problem and, luckily, you solved it," the Doctor continued. "And I'd like to apologize to you too, Terna," he added to the Lyall, who was leaning against the door frame, watching the whole exchange. "I treated you all unfairly and I'm deeply sorry."

Terna smiled. "Thanks, and I'm sorry too. You know, for smacking you and threatening to stab you in the throat." She shrugged, "And I wouldn't worry too much. It's not the first time we've threatened to kill each other, and it certainly won't be the last."

The Doctor chuckled. At that moment, Susan pocked her head into the room. "Grandfather, we're leaving now."

"Oh, yes. Have Chesteron open the doors, would you?" the Doctor asked, getting to his feet. "Are you coming?" he added to Barbara.

The human woman hesitated for half a second before she stood up. "Yes."

"Oh, I hope Susan managed to show you to some proper apparel," the Doctor added. "We have a rather extensive wardrobe after all."

"Yes, she gave me these," Barbara replied, gesturing to a pair of thick snow boots and a furry pink parka, the latter of which she tossed over her shoulders.

"Ah, good. As, for you, Terna," he turned to the Lyall. "Follow me."

Terna raised a brow as she followed the Doctor back into the Console Room, Barbara close behind them to join Ian and Susan by the open TARDIS doors.

A sharp winter breeze cut through the warm interior of the time machine, sending a tremor up Terna's spine and sprinkling goose bumps along her arms.

"Ah, here we are," the Doctor had walked over to a coat rack in the corner where he promptly plucked an elegant, full-length white fur cloak. "I understand your previous coat was soiled in the Cave of Skulls," the Doctor explained as he held out the cloak to Terna, "So, here you are: a garment fit for a queen."

Terna paused for a second, unsure what to say before she took the coat from him. "Uh, thanks, Doctor. I guess."

The Time Lord grinned. "Doctor, you called me Doctor."

Terna started. "I…What?"

The Doctor laughed. "It's about time. Here. Let me help you with that," he added, seeing Terna struggle with the clasps on her cloak.

Terna felt her face grow hot with embarrassment as the Doctor leaned forward to assist her with the fastening her cloak properly.

"Thanks," she told her shoes."

"Grandfather, come on!" Susan called from outside the ship.

The Doctor and Terna turned around to see the other three had already gone outside into the bright winter air.

The exchanged a slight glance before following.

Crossing the threshold to the outside was like stepping into another world. Terna felt herself fully embraced in the cool pleasant embrace of a winter chill, everything was so sharp and bright, completely covered in that mysterious frozen substance that made the atmosphere almost seem to glow with a kind of eerie light.

The others seemed to be enjoying themselves as well. Susan was on her back amongst the thick dirfts making a snow angel; Ian and Barbara had found a patch of ice and were attempting to skate on it.

Terna felt a smile spread across her quickly numbing lips; it was cold, her breath came out in wisps of white steam, but she wasn't bothered by it at all.

"Hey, Barbara!" Susan had jumped to her feet and barely gave the human woman time to glance her way before she'd hurled a ball of pack snow directly at her. It struck Barbara in the shoulder and caused her to fall on her butt in a snowdrift.

"Man down!" Ian laughed.

"Why you!" Barbara grabbed a handful of snow and tried to throw it back, but Susan dodged and it caught Ian instead.

"Oh, it's on now!" Ian cried, grabbing two fistfuls of powder and throwing them simultaneously at the two girls.

"Grandfather!" Susan called and the Doctor staggered back as another icy ball caught him in the side of the face.

Terna laughed just before another snow ball from an unknown assailant suddenly struck her in the face; she slipped back on a patch of ice and fell flat on her back in the snow.

Susan gasped. "Uh oh," Ian turned to Barbara. "You're dead."

"Terna," the young Time Lady rushed over to her. "Are you alright."

But Terna was giggling; no, she was roaring with laughter. So much so that she could hardly get back up. Seeing she was alright, Susan started laughing as well, and the two rolled around in the snow for a few minutes.

"Good lord," Terna gasped as she finally managed to sit up, snow was plastered all over her new blonde hair, causing the soaking locks to stick to her forehead. "I did not see that coming."

"Are you alright, Terna?" Barbara asked. "I'm so sorry."

"I'm fine," Terna replied, waving a dismissive hand.

"Hey, Grandfather. Come look at this," Susan called from a short distance away where she was on her hands and knees looking intently at the snow.

"What is it, child?" the Doctor asked as he and the two humans wandered over to where Susan was.

"Look at this huge footprint," Susan gestured to a distinct imprint in the snow. It was at least seven inches across and embedded deep in the snow.

"That's no human footprint," Ian remarked, noting the distinct three toes.

"What do you suppose it is?" Terna asked, getting to her feet and coming flecks of ice out of her soggy hair.

"It looks like it was made by a giant," Susan exclaimed.

At that moment, a giant roar sudden ripped through the silent snow covered glade. Everyone froze and whipped around towards the direction of the noise.

Terna's blood ran cold, and she doubted it was due to the weather.

"What was that?" Barbara whispered.

"Whatever it was, it sounded close," Ian replied.

"Perhaps we should go back into the ship now?" the Doctor offered.

"Yes, let's," Terna agreed, and the others nodded before they all dashed back into the TARDIS and quickly closed the door behind them.

A familiar whirling sound echoed throughout the tundra, slowly rising in volume before it abruptly died down, leaving nothing but silence in its wake.


A/N: No, Terna did not Regenerate, it was more like a 'rejuvenation' I guess. Her burns were healed to the point they scarred over, and she physically looks about fifteen years younger and her hair color changed from grey to blonde. However, just so we're clear, the energy that Terna used to heal the Doctor's slit throat in the Cave of Skulls in Chapter 5 wasn't actually Amina but rather the remnants of her 'Regeneration' energy that had lingered as she'd only had her body for about 15 hours, at least from her point of view. Well, I hope that clears everything up, and I hope you all enjoyed.