The door slid open silently. The Doctor was the first one to cross the threshold, Tegan's hand held firmly in his own. One by one the people followed them; she knew with their number, they would still be crossing the threshold when she and the Doctor reached this arena.

Although she followed numbly along, her mind was moving rapidly through the information Devon had verbally given her and the Doctor had confirmed by his reactions.

"You don't anticipate trouble in these outer...sectors...do you?" she asked, her voice more harsh than she wanted.

"Ah, no," he returned with his voice as quiet and as clipped as her own. "No, there won't be any cause for general alarm within the City until the crowd gathers in the Center."

"But it's treason to go to the Wilds..."

"It isn't treason to come back in," he said. She knew there was a small smile on his lips that she couldn't see. "No, the only thing these people will be in trouble for is their beliefs and their possession of knowledge. They have renounced their citizenship of Rassilon's Gallifrey; so long as they agree to leave once this is over, they will not be tried by his laws."

"That makes some sort of weird sense," Tegan admitted. "Rabbits, Peri isn't a member of Gallifrey...how..."

"Yes, well..." he whispered. "I had to sign a waiver for you and she when we landed on Gallifrey to get you medical help."

"Rabbits."

"Quite," he agreed. "But with these people, Tegan...Devon, the elders, the rest, it isn't the law they need to be worried about; it's the protection of that law."

"They'll kill them?"

"Probably not...if this situation is handled correctly, they should be only manhandled a bit," he said as he drew to a stop. He glanced up and down the corridor and then turned in another direction.

"Devon told me there was killing..."

"The last time the situation wasn't handled correctly," the Doctor said, a sudden strong emotion entering his voice. "And a very high price was paid. I won't have it paid again; enough has been given. It was the elders idea to add their cause to mine. And, well, the lesson has already been learned..."

Tegan felt his fingers tighten on hers, their palms pressed flat against each others. It was like he was gripping her hand as a lifeline. "You saw it last time."

"I did."

"People you knew were killed."

"They were."

His voice was so tight that she feared it would break. She tried to find words to say. She never had been any good with giving comfort; she opted more to give strength. As she found a lack of comfort in her words, she squeezed his fingers in return. "Horrible."

"Yes, well..." he continued. "I hope you understand why I wish you out of harm's way if something does happen, Tegan. It isn't a frivolous request."

She glanced up at his profile. In the dim light, he looked worn but resolute. His mouth was a straight tight line and his jaw muscles were strained. Tegan sighed and kept up her pace, increasing it to walk by his side. "I won't let anything happen to me or you," she said with conviction. "Not on your lives..."

He chuckled suddenly and glanced down at her. "That's the Tegan, I know," he admitted. "Making promises you can't hope to keep."

She took strength and tugged on his hand. "Anyway, who says that history has to repeat itself...right now? Come on, Doc...you've got a world to take on."

The Center, as the Doctor had called it, was unbelievably huge. Where she had thought that the Temple of Nanna was something to be in awe over; this room was immense, endless and left her in wonder as to how it was built. She trotted alongside the Doctor; his pace had quickened as they entered the room. The others had done the same. It seemed many were jogging to what seemed to her as points on the compass.

Marble floors met metallic walls, fountains joined plants. It seemed tranquil. But the tightness in the Doctor's grip, the painful way he squeezed her fingers, let her know that he expected it to change. His clipped pace reminded her of a military march.

"When are they going to start to read it?" she pressed.

"As soon as enough people get into the room," he answered. "Keep up, Tegan."

Devon joined them as they crossed the floor. Tegan hoisted her gown with her free hand. She could hear the flutter of fabric behind her as they charged across the space. "Where are we going in here?" she hissed.

The Doctor grimaced. "Well, Tegan. Look at the ground. Do you see the object pattern etched into the floor? Yes? Of what does it remind you?"

She shrugged as she looked down. "It's the same as that clasp on..." she released the skirt to touch at the metal at her waist. "On the dress."

"Right," he said. He sighed; apparently he had thought that she would continue to put the facts together. "The clasp is my College emblem."

Tegan twisted as she continued to charge across the floor. "Hell's teeth...they're all going to their..."

"Their college or their family's associated college, yes, Tegan," he admitted. He came to an abrupt stop in the middle of a huge etched symbol in the floor. Tegan's skirt swirled about her legs and created a breeze which kissed her legs. He glanced at her as she settled and frowned. "Rest as best you can, Tegan. Once the confusion starts, we'll be leaving."

Tegan glanced about as many others poured into the large space. They seemed to know to exactly where they had to walk and went with little confusion and problems. Tegan took back her hand from the Doctor, smoothed down her skirt and tried to look presentable.

In silence, scores and scores of people sorted and presented themselves on the several etchings. The etchings were arranged in a half-circle on the floor. Many gathered behind the Doctor, and Tegan felt they were the leaders of that College. She stepped even with her friend and lifted her chin. She felt like the part of an army again.

"Doc..."

"I see them, Tegan."

Ahead of them, on a dais not far from where they stood, several Time Lords entered. They were in full regalia. Among their number, Tegan immediately noticed Thalia. She frowned. The gold of the dress set her apart from the others with which she stood. "She certainly enjoys being the President, doesn't she?" she asked sarcastically out of the side of her mouth.

"You noticed that, did you?" the Doctor replied. His eyes scanned the dais. "Keep an eye out for Peri. I don't doubt that Thalia will bring her along."

Tegan nodded. She looked away from her friend to look at the other side of the stage. "And what is this dissertation you and these people are going to read?"

The Doctor smiled and pulled a rather large stack of paper out of the satchel that had been placed next to him on the ground. "Ah, that would be the completed analysis work on the Scripts we found."

"About the Federation and..."

"Gallifreyan evolution, yes. I do believe that it'll set the old crowd on their ears."

Tegan shook her head. "Always were a bit of a rebel, weren't you?"

"Always."

She gave him a sideways glance. "Are you sure this is 'handling it properly', Doc? What if there are more lives lost? What if our lovely hosts react to it? Don't you think..."

He patted her hand and gave her a look that she felt seared her to her soul. "It won't happen again, Tegan. I promise you."

Tegan didn't have long to wait. With a classic and characteristic clearing of his throat, he began to read. His voice was clear and concise.

But in the undertone she heard hesitancy, a softness that betrayed to her a lack of conviction what he was doing. He believed in what he was saying, but he hoped he didn't have to read what he had in his hand. She felt he was reliving the past.

After about ten minutes, Tegan was able to tear her eyes away from the Doctor and to the dais again. There were many more Time Lords gathering. The Doctor glanced up and seemed to stop, his mouth hanging open. His eyes were sad and deep, too sad for her. She reached out and laid her hand on his arm. He tensed at her touch and then eased. He slowly lowered the papers and his arms.

Another voice joined his cause and rose out of the silent group. A woman in a startling gown of lavender and blue was speaking. The eyes of everyone on the dais followed to the new reader All eyes except one set. A woman in a silver gown stood on the stage. Her hands covered her mouth, but Tegan recognized the large pixie eyes above the tanned fingers.

Peri.

Peri had seen Tegan standing next to the Doctor almost as soon as she had entered the room. A bubble of happiness that bordered on giddiness leapt to her throat. She held in the laugh of joy at the last moment and covered her mouth with her hand to keep her smile under wraps. Tegan was alive and healthy! Peri found she was ready for almost anything at that thought.

She had seen her friends. That meant that Thalia knew they were there. And the guards at her back would guess at the ringleader and under Thalia's influence be able to pick out the Doctor in the crowd. She knew their only hope was to run for it. She removed her hand from her mouth and signaled to Tegan with the hand movements they had perfected in the jungle. She quickly told Tegan about danger, guns and running, and waited for instructions.

The Doctor reached for her hand as another speaker began to read. "Do they all have your writings, Doc?"

"All, yes, "he said quietly. "We have shared it. Quiet," he urged. "And see."

"Peri..."

The Doctor gave an imperceptible nod. "Ah, yes, I saw her as well. Somehow we shall have to retrieve her."

With a grimace, Tegan surveyed the dais and then the number of people standing on it and standing between her and the stage. Then, she met Peri's eyes. As the next male voice droned on reading the information, she touched at the skin under her right eye and then touched her left shoulder. Peri nodded slowly as she straightened her gown's skirts. "Taken care of, Doctor," Tegan whispered back.

He glanced down at her in surprise, but kept his face mostly poker straight. She could tell by the tensing of his fingers that he was getting ready to run. She didn't know how he expected to make a run for it in a room where no one moved. The Time Lords were quietly intent on what was being read.

Suddenly there was a hitch in the voice of the reader and the words began to run together. It seemed to Tegan that he wanted get everything out; it seemed he was worried about being stopped. As the words were spoken faster and faster, the gathered group of Time Lords grew agitated.

The sight of familiar uniforms in red and gold heralded the arrival of the Citadel guard. Tegan frowned; she could see the guns clearly in the hip holsters. As another line was read, the Doctor took a step back into crowd. In the next breath, the guards marched off the stage and into the gathered Shogobans.

A harsh tug to her right had her stumbling through a group as it went toward the guards. As she ran to keep up with the Doctor, she glanced over her shoulder. The crowd was converging, like a vortex in a whirlwind, on the guards. There was no scuffling or fighting. It was a condensing, a quiet, silent protest where the crowd formed circles around the reader.

"Will they be hurt?"

"I sincerely hope not," he said earnestly. "I advised the elders in a different direction, but, ah, what they have chosen is their path, Tegan, I've simply given them a tool. And I have faith that they will learn from the past."

"Don't you worry about...what happens if..." she was out of breath as they cut through another section of people. The stage was near. Peri was where Tegan had told her to stand. Peri's brown eyes twinkled in happiness, but there was little time for a greeting. The Doctor simply reached out for Peri with his other hand, enfolding her wrist in his fingers. Tegan smiled widely at her friend.

"Conversation will have to wait, Tegan," he admonished as he quickly strode under a large arch with a huge etched version of the Seal of Rassilon. Tegan glanced up at the image as they jogged under it. It was massive and metallic and was set into marble. Made of two cold materials, she found that, in the blink of an eye, she needed to shiver. It reminded her of the whole planet.

Peri's hand closed over hers. Tegan glanced at her friend. Somehow the younger woman had taken her arm from the Doctor's grip. She kept up the pace, however, and fell into step with Tegan as they began to run.

The Doctor appeared non-pulsed by Peri's latching onto Tegan. He swung Tegan ahead of him like a sling. "Run, you two. I'm right behind you. Peri, you know the way..."

"Yeah, I do," Peri returned, her voice harsh and her tone biting.

Tegan wasn't talking. As their pace quickened, she felt her breath burning in her chest. Her legs moved of their own accord, but she felt like hot pokers were sticking her in her breast bone. She clutched at her chest with the hand that wasn't held by Peri as the two of them ran in tandem down the corridor.

The Doctor's heavy footfalls sounded behind her. "Don't stop, Peri...." He encouraged. "Run, Tegan. They won't ask questions. Thalia knows whose work they are reading."

Tegan's eyesight blurred and she struggled to take breaths. She and Peri were running at top speed through the cold, bright corridors. She knew why the Doc was running behind; he knew from what quarter any problems were going to occur. He was covering them, offering up the target wanted so they wouldn't fire on the rest of them.

Peri turned right and pulled Tegan with her. As the Doctor flew around the corner after them the wall at the end of the last corridor exploded into a shower of sparks.

"They've found us," Peri shouted.

"And they know where we're going," Tegan breathed.

At the last moment, the Doctor reached and clasped the both of them and pulled them down an access tunnel. He grabbed both girls about the shoulders and crept back into the shadows. They waited there, quiet as several people in uniform ran past them.

"Your friends, I believe," Peri whispered.

The Doctor grimaced in the dark. "Ah, well...I seem to have that effect on people if you haven't noticed, Peri."

When the sound of footsteps died down, the Doctor stepped back out into the corridor. He ushered his two friends out into the corridor and back the way they had come. Tegan stumbled after her two friends, tired and pained. After about four rambling steps, she collapsed into the wall.

"Tegan?!" Peri hissed as her hands clasped her friend's waist.

"She's weak, not ill..." the Doctor commented. He reached down and picked up Tegan in his arms and held her against his chest. "She's healed, Peri. Go. Run. Lead the way."

Peri stumbled and began to run again, the Doctor's steps pounded after her. Peri remembered the first day she had been on the planet and all the days that Thalia had escorted her, under guard, around the Capital City. She twisted and turned, running at full speed.

With a smile and a shout of happiness, Peri stumbled into the time capsule berth. The Doctor came after her. He raced for the abnormal blue box form in the middle of the cool metallic time capsules. With a grunt, he braced Tegan against the door and reached for the key on a string around his neck.

"I thought they took your key from you!" Peri said.

"Ah, well, Peri...I always kept a copy with Devon...you never know. Right. Here you go, open the door, please?"

Peri twisted the key in the lock and nearly fell in the door. The Doctor turned and entered as gunfire impacted the side of the capsule.

Inside, Peri knelt on the floor to hold Tegan, who was still awake, but weak. The Doctor shouted at them to brace themselves, pressed the dematerialization switch on the console and pulled several cords from underneath the panel at the same time. The TARDIS was thrown into turmoil; the interior lighting switched to an ugly orange; the console room floor sloped. Peri and Tegan braced their console to keep from being thrown across the room.

"What's happening?" Tegan demanded as strongly as she was able.

"We're straining the time barrier around Gallifrey. If we followed a provided path, they would be able to bring us back." The Doctor replied. With a smile, he shook his head. "I would prefer not to deal with that at the moment. We're going in an unordinary way."

The floor began to shudder and twist. Peri felt as though the world was an oil slick, swirling and colorful. She felt strong arms around her and Tegan as the Doctor joined his friends huddled on the floor.

"Shouldn't you be at the wheel?" she asked.

"No one can control the TARDIS right now," the Doctor shouted over the growing din. "Not even me, I think. She'll find a place to take us that will satisfy her needs after this trip. The strain will cause problems in the programming."

"How long?"

The Doctor gritted his teeth and shrugged. "It's not an exact science, Peri. Hold on!"

Peri put her head down and felt Tegan's reassuring hand in hers. Everything swirled and shuddered, tossed and turned until suddenly it was over.

"Where are we?" Peri asked, quietly.

Tegan gave a slow smile. "He won't have a bloody clue."

As had often been the case in their travels, the Doctor opened the door of the TARDIS. The girls stepped through the acrid smoke to the door. Outside was a beautiful spring day.

"As Tegan so succinctly put it, Peri, I haven't a bloody clue," he chuckled. "But freedom does have a rather wonderful smell and taste, doesn't it?"

Tegan felt the familiar and very welcome touch of his hand as one landed on her shoulder. The matching one landed on Peri's shoulder. "I know we have a great deal to talk about, you two...in different ways. Peri, I believe you have some questions for me. And Tegan..." he sighed. "Yes, well, we do have a great deal to talk about...but at the moment, I think we all need to rest."

With a rueful laugh, Tegan agreed. Need to talk, Doc? That's an understatement. Aloud, she said: "I, for one, want answers about what happened. You won't escape that easily, Supremo. You might be a strategist, but I'm stubborn as hell. But...I suppose it can wait...for now."

The Doctor chuckled again.

"Can we find out what happened on Gallifrey? After that meeting?" Peri asked quietly. Tegan nodded.

The Doctor lowered his head and then nodded. "I wish to know as well. I shall certainly see what I can do about that. But at the moment, I think that we need to rest."

Peri gave Tegan a smile; it seemed that neither one of them needed to talk at the moment. Peri was glad to have her back, as her hug betrayed, and Tegan was glad to be alive.