DISCLAIMER: The character of Vince Hawkins belongs to Terrence Dicks. The character of Sally Sparrow belongs to Steven Moffat.

DEDICATION: This one goes out to Terrence Dicks, without whom the following story would not be possible.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: The sequence of this story, that takes place on Earth, occurs before the events depicted in Flux.

LONDON: PRESENT TIME

"Are you sure about this, Sally?" Vince Hawkins asked as he and his girlfriend, Sally Sparrow, arrived in a deserted car park, at midnight.

"As sure as I can be," Sally replied. "Larry's message did seem like the real thing." A few hours before, Sally had gotten a surprise text from her former fiancé, Larry Nightingale. In the text, Larry had promised to come clean with Sally about his recent activities.

"You think he'll tell us the truth?" Vince asked. "About what he's been up to, since he faked his death. And just what that being he seems to be working with is." Vince shuddered as he remembered their encounter with that being (and Larry), a few months prior, during the adventure with the Loch Ness Monster. Although the being had not said much, Vince had sensed it was evil. And I still get the impression that I've seen that being somewhere before. But where? he thought.

"I'm not sure. I..." Sally broke off as a car pulled up and Larry got out. In his hand, he held a device that she did not recognize.

"You came," Larry said to Sally, and then looked at Vince. "You both came."

"Of course we came, Larry," Sally replied. "Now, how about giving us the answers you promised us."

"Yes..." Larry said and then looked at Sally with regret in his eye. "I'm sorry about this, Sally. Believe me, I truly am." With that, Larry raised the device he was carrying and pointed it Sally and Vince.

"Sally, it's a..." was all Vince managed to get out, before Larry activated the device. Vince and Sally were then consumed in swirling vortex, which sucked them both away, before it too vanished.

You don't know how sorry I am, Sally, but this was the only way, Larry thought sadly.

"You did well," the Black Guardian said as he materialized beside Larry.

"Are you sure they're not dead," Larry said as he looked down at the device. Said device that was constructed out of alien components (including some from the Zygons that Larry had nicked during the adventure with the Loch Ness Monster) that the Black Guardian had directed him to track down and assemble.

"Rest assured, your former fiancé and her paramour are very much alive," the Black Guardian replied. "They've just been put out of the way."

"Where?" Larry asked.

"Somewhere, far, far away." The Black Guardian smiled.

Larry took a look at the readings on the device. "If I'm reading this right, this has sent them clear out of this universe."

"Yes, but this is a kinder alternative than killing them," the Black Guardian replied. "Now we can proceed without any further interference."

"I suppose you're right," Larry said slowly. However, part of him remained unconvinced.

OOOOOOOO

What Larry and the Black Guardian didn't know was that Anne Travers had secretly followed Vince and Sally. When they had told her about Larry's message, she had been convinced that it might be a trap, and it seems that she had been right. Where did Larry and that being send them? Anne thought, after watching Vince and Sally vanish into the vortex. I must call LINDA about this at once.

OOOOOOOO

IN TRANSIT

For Vince and Sally, there was no sensation, no feeling, nothing. The two of them seemed to be trapped in an endless vortex of blackness. Suddenly, both shook violently, like they had breached a wall of some kind. The colour of the vortex changed from black to a greenish tinge. An image of a planet seemed to rush towards them, before darkness claimed them both.

OOOOOOOO

ELSEWHERE

Vince regained consciousness to feel someone shaking him. He opened his eyes to see Sally leaning over him. "Sally? What happened?" he asked.

"I don't know," Sally said, shaking her head. "Larry set us up! How could he do such a thing!?"

"I don't know, Sally. I wish I could give you an answer," Vince said and looked around. The two of them appeared to be in a muddy wasteland, with barbed wire fences here and there. In the distance, a series of trenches could be seen. "Where the hell are we?"

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say this was a First World War battlefield." Sally replied.

"First World War? The one my brother died in?" Vince said. He recalled, soon after his arrival in the 21st, Sally had told him that his brother, Arthur, had died, fighting in this war.

"Well, we seem to be..." Sally began, but was interrupted by a whistling sound. "VINCE, DOWN!" Sally shoved Vince back down into the ground as an explosion erupted, not too far from them.

"What the hell was that?" Vince asked.

"An artillery shell, I would guess," Sally replied. "We must be in the middle of No Man's Land."

"What's that?"

"Nowhere we want to be, Vince. Let's get under cover, quickly." The two of them got up and began to run as more explosions churned up the ground around them.

What the hell have we gotten ourselves into? Vince thought as they ran.

"There, a foxhole!" Sally said as she pointed to the foxhole in question. "That might protect us." The two of them jumped into the foxhole and crouched down low. In time, the shelling grew less frequent, until it stopped entirely. "Looks like we might be safe now."

"I don't think so, Sally," Vince said and pointed upwards.

Sally looked and saw that a group of soldiers had surrounded the foxhole, aiming their rifles as the two of them. It was at this point that Sally grew puzzled. She had read about the First World War, in fact, three of her great-grandfathers had fought in that war. While the soldiers seemed to have technology that matched up to the era, their uniforms looked nothing like any WW1 era uniforms that Sally had ever read about. I don't like the look of this, she thought.

"You two, come out of that hole with your hands over your heads!" one of the soldiers commanded. "NOW!"

"Better do as they say, Vince." Sally said and got to her feet with her hands raised. Second later, Vince did the same.

The soldier who had ordered the pair to stand up and raise their hands, jumped down into te foxhole and looked the two of them over. "Who are you? Loyal Barnians or Styrolian scum?"

"What?" the baffled Sally asked.

"You heard me. Barnian or Styrolian?"

"We don't know what either of those are," Vince said. "We're strangers here."

"Strangers? In the war zone?" the soldier asked, looking from Vince and Sally and back again. "I don't believe it."

"Well, it's the truth," Sally said. "We arrived here purely by accident."

After a few moments, the soldier came to a decision. "Right, you two are coming back to the command post with me." He gestured with his rifle. 'Move! That way!"

OOOOOOOO

Vince and Sally were marched across the battlefield, into the nearby series of trenches. Built into the side of one of the trenches was a crudely made command post, and this is where Vince and Sally found themselves being interrogated by a Major Skegg. "Let me get this straight," Skegg said. "You two just happened to find yourself in the middle of a battlefield?"

"Yes, we did," Vince said.

"You're not Styrolians then?"

"We don't even know what a 'Styrolian' is?" Vince replied.

"They are citizens of the cursed nation of Styrol. Our sworn enemies," Skegg said angerly. "Death take them all!"

"And you lot are?" Sally asked.

"Barnians, natives of Barnia. But you two surely must know this!"

"We don't. As we said, we're from around here," Vince protested.

"I don't have time for this," Skegg said and gestured to one of the soldiers. "Take these two to the stockade. A few days there might loosen their tongues." As Skegg watched, the soldier matched Vince and Sally out.

OOOOOOOO

The stockade clearly laid far to the rear of the lines, at least that was the direction that the solider was marching Vince and Sally. When she was sure they were alone, Sally nodded to Vince, who nodded back. Sally then pretended to stumble, and, when the soldier was briefly distracted by that, Vince quickly whirled and socked the soldier on the jaw, knocking him out. "That was easier than I thought it would be," Vince said as he lowered the soldier to the ground and disarmed hm.

"We better get out of here before we're missed," Sally replied and the two of them quickly headed off, putting as much distance between themselves and the battlefield as possible.

OOOOOOOO

In time, Vince and Sally found themselves in some woods. Nice to see that the entire country hasn't been destroyed by that stupid war of theirs, Vince thought. As they continued to walk, night began to fall.

"Vince, look at the sky!" Sally said and pointed upwards.

Vince did so and noticed what Sally had noticed. There were far fewer starts in the sky than there should be. And the night sky, instead of black, was the same greenish tinge that they had noticed in the vortex that brought them here, wherever 'here' was. "Sally, the sky. It's...wrong. The colour..."

"Yes, Vince and that can only mean one thing," Sally said. "Despite all we have seen here, this planet is not Earth."

Another planet, Vince thought. Well, that explains the nations of 'Barnia' and 'Styrol'. Vince gulped. "Sally, if we are on another planet, how do we get back home?"

"That, Vince, is the big question," Sally replied. She looked around. "I think we can rest here until dawn."

"Yes, but one of us better keep watch," Vince said. "I'll take the first watch and wake you in a few hours."

"Works for me."

OOOOOOOO

When morning came, Vince and Sally pressed on. As he walked, Vince's stomach began to rumble. We're going to have to find food and water. But what is safe to eat and drink on this planet? he thought.

"Vince, look at that!" Sally said and pointed. The two of them had emerged from the woods and saw what appeared to be mediaeval village in the distance. In the middle of the village, a huge tower could be seen. A tower that seemed to be missing one turret.

"That looks promising," Vince said. "Perhaps we'll find food and water there." The two of them headed for the village. However, once they arrived in the village, they saw that it was deserted, and looked like it had been for centuries. Well, this is disappointing, Vince thought. I was hoping that we could find someone here to help us.

Meanwhile, Sally had moved towards the tower and stood there, studying it. "Vince, if I didn't know any better, I'd say this was a spaceship!"

"A spaceship?" Vince asked as he came over and joined her.

"Yes," Sally said as she banged a fist on the side of the tower. A metallic sound could be heard. "Ever heard of a metal castle, Vince?"

"No, but look at that wooden door," Vince said and pointed towards the door in question that seemed to lead into the tower. "Why would a spaceship have a door like that?"

Good question, Sally thought. "Come on, Vince, let's go in and have a look around."

OOOOOOOO

The interior of the tower was gloomy and quiet. The only sound that Vince and Sally heard was the sound of their own footsteps as they explored the interior. Soon they found themselves in what appeared to be a throne room. "No one's home," Vince said. And it looks like no one has been here in a very long time. The throne room was cover in dust and cobwebs.

"No, but they left clues behind. Look at this," Sally said as she went over to the side of one of the twin thrones. What appeared to be controls could be seen. "I was right, this is a spaceship. Or, at least, it used to be."

"But why was it made to look like a castle?" Vince asked. "Why go through all that trouble. It doesn't make sense."

"Another question to add to the list. Let's keep exploring."

OOOOOOOO

In time, Sally and Vince's explorations led them out of the tower into the caves below. Looks like the ship was placed over these caves, but why? Sally thought.

"Hello, what's this?" Vince asked. The two of them were facing what appeared to be an amphitheater, that was surrounded by pillars. In the middle of the amphitheater, what appeared to be a long metal spear, but with engines, was sticking out. And there's our missing turret, Vince thought. "What the hell happened here?"

"This might give us an answer," Sally said. She was standing by what appeared to be a crude memorial. On said memorial, writing could be seen:

On this spot, the Brave Doctor and Fair Romana vanquished an ancient evil.

On this spot, the people, inspired by the Doctor and Romana, rose up an ended a thousand years of tyranny by the Three Who Rule, Zargo, Camilla, and Aukon.

May the Doctor, Romana, Ivo, Kalmar, and all the brave heroes be remembered for their heroic acts, which liberated the people of our world.

"The Doctor? Our Doctor?" Vince asked.

"So it would seem," Sally said. "We know he had a Companion called Romana." She considered. "This can't be coincidence, Vince. We were sent here! Somehow that thing that Larry used sent us here."

"But how would Larry even know about this place," Vince said. "He couldn't have... That being he's working with. It might know of this place."

"So it would seem, Vince."

"But that means that the being also knows the Doctor."

"Right again," Sally said.

"Well, this is..." Vince broke off as he heard a noise behind them. They both turned and saw a young woman entering the chamber. She appeared to be in her early twenties, with dark hair and brown eyes. "Who are you?" Vince asked.

"My name is Mori," the woman replied. She looked at Sally and Vince. "Have you two also come to commemorate here?"

"Kind of," Sally said. "I'm Sally, and this is Vince." She gestured to Vince. "You said you came here to commemorate."

"Yes, the memories of the Doctor, Romana, and all the others." Mori replied. "Both are legendary heroes of our world. They inspired our ancestors to rise up and end the tyranny of the Three. One of those that rose up was an ancestor of mine, a man called Kalmar."

"Yes, we read that on the memorial," Vince said. "When did all this happen?"

"Oh, must be nearly eight hundred years ago now," Mori said. "Why do you ask?"

Before Vince could answer, Sally jumped in. "Listen, Mori, Vince and I have come a long way. Do you know a place where we can find some food and water?"

"My father and I live not too far from here," Mori replied. "You two can come with me. We can provide you with a meal and a place to sleep, should you need one."

Having really no other option, Vince and Sally accepted. But how did all this get started? Sally couldn't help but think.

OOOOOOOO

***INTERLUDE 1: LONG AGO***

"Where are we?" Captain Miles Sharkey asked.

"I have no idea, Miles," Navigation Officer Lauren Macmillian replied. "I can't get a fix on our position."

Sharkey was baffled. One moment, the Hydrax was on route from Earth to deliver settlers to the planet Beta Two in the Perugellis Sector, when something seemed to have grabbed the whole ship. Now they were seemingly lost and adrift. Sharkey then turned to Science Officer, Anthony O'Connor. "Anthony, any chance of getting the sensors back online?"

"Huh, what?" O'Connor mumbled.

"The sensors."

"Uh, right," O'Connor replied and began to work at his console.

"Anthony, are you okay?" Sharkey asked. "Should I have the doctor come up and take a look at you?"

"No, I'm fine," O'Connor said. "Sensors coming back online now." On the main screen an image came up. However, instead of the usual black, the space on the screen had a greenish tinge, and the stars seemed few and far between.

"I don't think we're in our neighbourhood anymore," Macmillian said slowly.

At that point, Floyd Tebbits, the Executive Officer, came onto the bridge. "Hey, Miles, what's gong on up here? The passengers are getting jumpy."

"Well, Floyd, they have a reason to," Sharkey said and pointed to the screen. "We're lost. Lauren can't get a fix on where we are."

"That true?" Tebbits asked Macmillian.

"It is," Macmillian said. "Hang on, I'm picking up a planet nearby."

"Scanning it," O'Connor said. "It's uninhabited. However, the gravity and atmosphere are comparable to Earth. We can go there, if you want to, Miles."

Sharkey considered. Unless they could get a fix on their position, perhaps it might be better to land and further assess the situation from there. "Very well. Lauren, set a course."

"On it." Soon the Hydrax was en rout to the mysterious planet. "We should be there in about twenty minutes," Macmillan said.

Let's hope there is nothing hostile there, Sharkey thought. After all, we're a colony ship, not a war ship.

"Are you sure the planet is safe, Anthony?" Tebbits asked O'Connor.

"Certainly," O'Connor replied. Just as the voice promised me, he thought to himself.

OOOOOOOO

Mori and her father lived on a modest farm, located a few miles from the deserted village. Soon Vince and Sally were enjoying a meal with Mori, and her father, Tamor, and engaged in conversation. "So, it's just the two of you then?" Vince asked Tamor.

"Yes, Mori's mother, died giving birth to her," Tamor replied.

"It was hard at times," Mori said. "However, my father and I managed. We were happy." A look of sadness came over Mori's face.

"Mori? What's wrong?" Sally asked.

"I was thinking about Igar," Mori replied. He and I were to be married."

"What happened?" Sally asked.

"Igar was killed in the war, a few months before our wedding," Mori said sadly.

"I'm sorry," Sally said with sympathy.

"Wouldn't have happened if he hadn't let them fill his head with all the rubbish. 'Glory to Barnia' and all that." Tamor snorted.

"Father, please, not now," Mori said.

"Sorry," Tamor mumbled.

"I take it this war is not gong well," Vince said.

"That is what I hear," Tamor said. "And I hear rumours that Styrol is suffering the same amount of losses as we are. However, the Leader won't even consider peace."

"The Leader?" Sally asked.

"That is what he's called," Tamor said. "No one knows where he came from, but he seized control of the Styrolian government about five years ago. He began mobilizing them for war, and attacked us without reason or provocation. The war has been going on ever since."

"How did this all start?" Sally asked. "Do either of you know?"

"Well, it's a long story," Tamor said. "You see, we did not evolve on this planet. Our ancestors came her from a distant planet called Earth."

"You came in the tower!" Sally exclaimed. "The spaceship, I mean."

"Yes, we came in the Hydrax, that is what the ship was called." Tamor said. "You see, there was some kind of creature on this planet, which brought the ship here. It then transformed the ship's officers, who became the Three Who Rule."

"Transformed?" Sally asked.

"Gave them eternal life. Made them into creatures like itself, creatures that fed on human blood to survive."

"Vampires," Vince said, his hands going to his neck.

"Yes, vampires, like the old legends of Earth," Tamor said. "For the next thousand years, the creature, and the Three, kept us in slavery. They made our ancestors build that village, around the tower."

"But why where they living such a primitive lifestyle?" Sally asked.

"Because the Three banned all knowledge, all science," Tamor replied.

"Why?" Vince asked.

"No one knows," Mori said.

"Although it's likely they did so, so no one would uncover the truth about them, and the creature they served," Tamor added. "Perhaps they feared that, if the truth was uncovered, a way might be found to end their tyranny."

"Yet, a resistance movement did form," Mori said. "A movement devoted to re-discovering the knowledge that the Three had banned." She looked at Tamor. "One was the ancestor I told you two about, Kalmar."

"And that led the uprising we read about on the memorial?" Vince asked.

"Yes," Mori said. "Of course, it was the Doctor and Romana that made it possible. They arrived on this planet in a blue box."

The TARDIS, Sally thought.

"They, along with some kind mechanical dog, inspired the resistance to finally act. While the uprising was taking place, the Doctor managed to use one of the shuttles of the main ship, the Hydrax, as a giant spear, which destroyed the creature. With the creature gone, the Three also died. We were finally free. The Doctor and Romana then left our world, and our ancestors got on with the new world they have found themselves in."

"Over the next eight centuries, we used the knowledge the Doctor and Romana left us." Tamor said. "We abandoned the village, spread out, multiplied, founded new villages and town, and eventually, nations."

"Like Barnia and Styrol," Sally said, nodding her head.

"Yes," Tamor said. "We lived in peace, until the Leader took over Styrol and started this war, that is."

"Why are you two so interested in our history?" Mori asked. "If you don't mine me asking, that is."

"Of course we don't," Sally said slowly as she looked at Vince. "Well, you see, we're from Earth, Vince and I both. And we too have met the Doctor."

"Although not at the same time," Vince added. "He helped us, just as he helped your ancestors, long ago." Both Vince and Sally gave Mori and Tamor a brief rundown of their respective encounters with the Doctor.

"The Doctor can travel in time and space," Tamor said. "Well, that explains how he came and went from this world."

"And you two are from Earth," Mori asked Vince and Sally.

"We are," Sally replied, nodding her head.

"How did you get here. Did you come in a ship?" Mori asked.

"No, we were sent here," Vince replied. "It's a long story."

"And we're hoping to get back to Earth," Sally added.

"I'm afraid that may not be possible," Tamor said.

"What do you mean?" Vince asked. "I know we don't have a ship, but..."

"It's more than that, Vince," Mori said. "You see how the sky is green at night."

"Yes."

"That's because this is not the universe in which Earth exists," Mori replied. "The creature that originally brought our ancestors here had the power to pierce the barrier between the two universes. And that secret was destroyed with it."

"I'm sorry, Vince, Sally," Tamor said grimly. "It's likely that you'll both be here for the rest of your lives."

OOOOOOOO

***INTERLUDE 2: LONG AGO***

"Hydrax now in orbit,"Macmillian said.

"Good flying, Lauren," Sharkey said. They stared at the planet on the screen, which stood out against the green background of this strange space.

"Looks promising," Tebbits said.

Meanwhile, the voice in O'Connor's head continued. Come down. Come down, and I'll give you power beyond imagining.

"Anthony!" Sharkey said suddenly.

"What?" O'Connor said, looking up.

"The four of us are going down to the planet take a look around. We'll take one of the scout ships."

The Hydrax was equipped with three Arrow Class scout ships that could separate from the main ship for reconnaissance missions. It was in one of these ships that Sharkey, Macmillian, Tebbits, and O'Connor headed down to the planet. In no time, they had landed and were exploring the landscape around them. "Looks almost like Earth, as it was a few centuries ago," Tebbits said as he looked around.

"It does," Sharkey said. He turned and began to speak. "Anthony, I'd like you to..." he stopped when he saw that O'Connor was nowhere in sight. "Where the hell is he?"

"I don't know, I didn't see him go," Macmillian said.

"He's been acting strange even since we arrived... well, wherever here is. When we get back to the Hydrax, I'm having Dr. Bist examine him, no matter how much be objects."

As night fell, the three officers got a fire going and were soon eating the ration packs they had brought along. "Lauren, where do you think we are?" Sharkey asked, as he noticed Macmillian staring at the strange green night.

"Well, Miles, if I were to hazzard a guess, I think we might have left our own universe and entered another."

"Is that even possible?" Tebbits asked.

"I'm not one hundred percent sure, Floyd," Macmillan said. "However, it would answer why we cannot get a proper fix on our position. Our instruments are calibrated for our own reality. If we enter another, then all bets are off."

"How could such a thing even happen?" Tebbits said.

"I know it could," a familiar voice said.

Sharkey, Macmillian, and Tebbits, were startled. O'Connor was standing over them, like he had materialized out of thin air.

"Anthony! Well where the hell have you been!?" Sharkey said.

"Exploring," O'Connor replied. "I have the answers, Miles. I know why we're here."

"Clear to clue the rest of us in then," Macmillan said.

"It's better if I show you," O'Connor said cryptically. "Come on, it's not far."

As it turned out, O'Connor ended up leading Sharkey, Macmillian, and Tebbits into an underground cave. "We're here," O'Connor said.

"A cave?" Sharkey said. By now, he had reached his limit with the Science Officer's strange behavior. "Okay, Anthony, enough is enough!"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that I don't understand what any of this is all about," Sharkey said.

"You will, Miles," O'Connor said in a sinister voice. "You will."

Before Sharkey could respond to that, he heard a sound behind him. He turned and saw something erupting out of the cave floor, something horrible. Sharkey, Macmillian, and Tebbits started to scream, but they did not scream for long.

OOOOOOOO

"Okay, everyone, just calm down!" Doctor Charles Bist, Medical Officer of the Hydrax said to the nervous passengers. "The captain and the others have just returned to the Hydrax, and we should have some answers soon enough." Bist managed to get away from the anxious crowd of settlers and met Sharkey, Macmillian, O'Connor, and Tebbits, as they climbed down from the upper levels of the Hydrax, where the scout ship had just docked. "Captain, thank goodness. Is everything okay."

"Everything is fine, Charles," Sharkey said in a strange voice. "In fact, it couldn't be better."

"Huh?"

"It's a whole new beginning," O'Connor said.

"For all of us," Macmillian added.

"On the planet below," Tebbits said.

"What do you mean? What about Beta Two?" Bist looked at one fellow officer to another. Something had changed in the four of them, something that he couldn't put his finger on. Something is very wrong here, but what?

"We are not going to Beta Two," Sharkey said as he started deeply into Bist's eyes. "This planet will be our new home. Understand?"

"Understood," Bist said as his face went slack.

"Go tell the other passengers then."

"Yes, sir," Bist said in a voice that sounded like he'd been drugged. He then stiffly turned and marched away.

"Do you think he'll be a problem?" Tebbits asked.

"No, he is a loyal officer, he will fall into line," Sharkey said, and smiled, showing very long and pointed teeth. "In the end, they all will."

"Those that we don't feed on," Macmillian said.

"And feed to the Great One," O'Connor said.

"Eternal life," Tebbits said. "I say that I am looking forward to the centuries to come."

"There is much to be done," Sharkey said.

"Indeed there is," O'Connor replied. "This is only the beginning, my friends, only the beginning. The Great One will show us the way." All four were now smiling, showing the same sharp and pointed teeth. Whatever previous allegiances they had were now forever discarded. Body and soul, all four now belonged to the Great Vampire.

OOOOOOOO

The guest room at Mori and Tamor's farm, that Vince and Sally were occupying contained two beds and each were laying on them. However, both were far from asleep. "Sally," Vince said.

"Yes?"

"It just occurred to me, if the ancestors of this lot came from Earth, that means we're in the future."

"Yeah, I guess we are," Sally replied. "I wonder how far?"

"Well, these people have been here for about eighteen hundred years now. We're a long way from the 21st Century."

"That raises some thoughts of my own," Sally said. "From what we've learned, the Three dragged these people back to the Middle Ages, and kept them that way until the Doctor put and end to the Three. In the eight centuries since, they've progressed up to early 20th Century levels."

"My time," Vince said. "I should do well here."

"Vince, we can't give up hope of getting back to 21st Century Earth. There is a way out of this universe. After all, the Doctor and Romana got out."

"Yeah, but we don't have a TARDIS handy."

At that point, the door opened and Mori poked her head in. "Good, you're both still awake."

"Can we help you, Mori?" Sally asked.

"Actually, there is something I'd like to show you both."

Vince and Sally looked at each other. "Lead on," Vince said.

OOOOOOOO

Mori led Vince and Sally down into a chamber that was located beneath the farmhouse. "This farm was built on the site of the original resistance headquarters," Mori explained. "A lot of the equipment the rebels used is still here. Our family held onto it." Indeed, Vince and Sally looked around and saw some ancient looking equipment. "The Three had all this ripped out the Hydrax and abandoned here, until my ancestor, and the rest of the resistance, discovered and rebuilt it."

"And all that was just left here once the Three were defeated?" Sally asked.

"The information in the computer was copied into books," Mori explained. "It was felt that the computer was too delicate to be moved. It was a thousand years old, after all." She went over to the computer in question and turned it on.

Add eight hundred more years to that, Sally thought. It's a wonder it still works at all.

"What's on the computer?" Vince asked.

"The manifest of the Hydrax," Mori said. "Watch." She began punching in information and soon data began flowing across the screen.

"Captain Miles Sharkey, Navigation Officer Lauren Macmillian, and Science Officer Anthony O'Connor," Sally read. Included with the information were pictures of the three officers in question.

"Who became Zargo, Camilla, and Aukon, the Three Who Rule," Mori said and involuntarily shuddered.

The Three have been dead for eight hundred years, but they still invoke fear, Sally thought to herself. She watched as Mori punched up more information and accompanying pictures. Executive Officer Floyd Tebbits, Medical Officer Charles Bist, Chief Engineer Barbara Compton. Guess none of them made the cut to become vampires.

"We tried to use the knowledge in this computer to climb out of the pit that the Three had cast us into," Mori said. "As you can see, we have a ways to go before we get anywhere near the technology that our ancestors possessed when they arrived on this planet."

"Mori, these things take time. You can't just leap from the Middle Ages to the space age overnight," Sally said.

"No, I guess not," Mori said as she turned off the computer. "Still, there are times that I come down here and wonder what it would be like. To fly through space.."

"You'll get there someday."

"Yes, but will I be alive to see it?" Mori said.

OOOOOOOO

The next morning, Vince and Sally joined Mori and Tamor for breakfast. "I was thinking that perhaps Sally and I can lend a hand around here," Vince suggested. "In return for you taking us in."

"That would be most kind," Tamor said. "Perhaps you could..." Tamor got no further as the front door to the farm banged open and a group of soldiers, led by Major Skegg, marched in.

"What is the meaning of this?" Tamor asked in outrage.

"We are conducting a search for two Styrolian spies who escaped our custody," Skegg replied in a formal voice. His eyes fell on Vince and Sally. "And I see I've found them. Men!" The rest of the soldiers quickly surrounded Vince and Sally.

"This is ridiculous. They're not Styrolians!" Tamor snapped.

"That is for us to determine," Skegg said and snapped his fingers. The soldiers grabbed Vince and Sally, hauled them to their feet, and marched them out the front door.

"This will not stand. Those people have rights!" Tamor shouted.

"In war, all rights are suspended," Skegg shot back. "Just consider yourself lucky that I don't have you and your daughter shot for harbouring these traitors." With that, Skegg turned and marched out, following his shoulders, leaving behind an angry Tamor and a devastated Mori.

OOOOOOOO

In no time, Vince and Sally were back in the command post, being interrogated by Skegg. "Okay, Vince and Sally, if those are your real names. Who sent you? Who is your handler? How many other traitors are there among us?"

"I've had enough of this!" Vince shouted, losing patience with this strutting popinjay. "You want the truth, Skegg, well here it is. Sally and I do not work for the Styrolians, or anyone else here on this wretched planet. In fact, Sally and I are not even from this planet. We're from the planet Earth!"

"What?" Skegg croaked. All around him, the other soldiers had stopped what they were doing and were gaping at Sally and Vince.

"You heard him," Sally said. "Vince and I come from Earth. The planet where your ancestors came from. We have played no part in your war."

"That... That..." Skegg stuttered.

Well, that's knocked him off his high horse, Sally thought, triumphantly.

"Take them out," Skegg said, after a few moments. "I need time to think this over."

"The stockade sir?" one of the soldiers asked.

"No, I want them kept close by. Put them in the supply tent for now."

"Yes sir," the soldier replied.

However, in all the excitement, no one saw another soldier quietly slipping out of the command post. From Earth they say, the Leader will want to hear about this, the soldier, in reality a Styrolian agent who had infiltrated Skegg's command post, thought. Perhaps, with their knowledge of Earth and the technology it must have, we can finally win this war and crush the Barnian filth once and for all. Those thoughts in mind, the spy slipped away into the night.

OOOOOOOO

"You know, Sally, I'm getting tired of being treated like this," Vince said as the two of them sat in the supply tent. He looked to the flap, where he knew an armed soldier was standing just outside of. It had now been three hours since he and Sally had been shoved into this tent and left to wait on what Skegg would do about them.

"Me too," Sally replied. "I think it's time we..." Sally broke off as the sound of choking was heard outside the tent and the soldier, who'd been left to guard them, suddenly fell through the flap and collapsed on the ground. A knife could be seen sticking out of his back.

What that hell? Vince thought. He looked up as a new group of soldiers entered the tent. Their uniforms were clearly different than the ones worn by Skegg and his bunch. Styrolians, Vince thought. He turned and saw that Sally had reached the same conclusion.

The lead Styrolian soldier stepped forward and addressed Vince and Sally. "On your feet, you two. There is someone who is very anxious to meet you."

OOOOOOOO

Two hours later, Vince and Sally found themselves standing in what looked like an Edwardian study. "Well, this is different," Vince said. The two of them had been smuggled across the lines and into a town in Styrolian territory. However, instead of a prison, they had been brought here, to this elaborate mansion.

"You and me both, Vince. Of all the things we've seen here on this weird planet, I wasn't expecting Downton Abbey."

"I'm afraid I don't understand that reference," a new voice said. Sally and Vince turned to see what appeared to be a man, in his early thirties, entering the room. "Of course, I've been away from Earth for a very long time. No doubt much has happened there since."

"Away from Earth?" Vince asked. He looked the man over. He looks familiar.

It was Sally who made the connection. "You're Floyd Tebbits, the Executive Officer of the Hydrax. We saw your picture on the computer."

"I am," Tebbits replied. "Although most here just call me The Leader."

"But that means that you're a..."

"I believe the word you're looking for is 'vampire'. Indeed, I am. I was turned, along with Miles, Lauren and Anthony, alias Zargo, Camilla, and Aukon, long ago."

"Really?" Sally asked. "From what we were told, it was the Three Who Rule, not Four."

"Alas, me and my former colleagues had a slight falling out," Tebbits replied. "It happened about three hundred years after we were turned..."

OOOOOOOO

***INTERLUDE 3: LONG AGO***

Tebbits had been sneaking down a corridor of the tower, the former Hydrax, when Miles, Lauren and Anthony, (or Zargo, Camilla, and Aukon, as they now preferred to be called), blocked his way. "Going somewhere?" Zargo asked.

"Yes, Miles, I am," Tebbits replied. He was the only one on the planet who still called them by their given names. Of course, anyone else that knew those names was now long dead. "For three hundred years we've sat in this hulk, doing nothing but feed. I'm bored."

"We agree to serve the Great One." Aukon said.

"No, Anthony, you agreed," Tebbits said. "The rest of us just went along. Well, I've had enough." He looked at his colleagues. "With these powers, we can strike out on our own, conquer as many worlds as we see fit. Build an empire the likes of which none has ever seen before. We don't have to sit here on this rotten planet any longer."

"If we do that, we risk attracting the attention of the enemies of the Great One," Camilla replied.

"Oh you mean those Time Lords the Great One told you about," Tebbits said with a snort. "I don't believe they exist any longer. They're just some boogeyman that the Great One uses to keep you three in line. Well, if the three of you want to keep believing that, go ahead. As for me, I'm out."

"No Floyd, you're not. That is a risk we cannot afford to take," Zargo said as he and Aukon grabbed Tebbits.

"You will never betray the Great One," Aukon added.

Despite being a vampire himself, Tebbits could not break free from their combined grips. "Are you going to kill me, Miles?" Tebbits asked.

"No, I think we have found a better solution to contain your ambitions."

OOOOOOOO

Several hours later, the four of them were standing in the planet's northern polar region. Tebbits saw that a niche had been carved into a wall of an ice mountain. A niche just big enough to hold a single human. "So that's your plan. You're going to freeze me here."

"We are," Zargo said.

"Let's get this over with," Camilla said. The three of them shoved Tebbits into the niche.

"This won't kill me, Miles," Tebbits said.

"No, but it will contain you in your weakened state," Zargo said.

Indeed it will, Tebbits thought. Before they had come here, the three of them had drained Tebbits of most of his vampire blood, severely weakening him. He would remain that way, unless fed again. However, Tebbits knew that this was not going to happen. As he watched, Zargo and Camilla began pounding the ice on either side of the niche, and soon the resulting a mini-ice avalanche had filled in the niche, sealing him inside.

"One more thing," Zargo's mocking voice said. "From this day forward, your name will not be mentioned. Not by us, or any of the mortal cattle on this planet. It will be as though you never existed."

Maybe so, Miles, Tebbits thought as he felt the cold closing in. But someday there will be reckoning. That is my promise to you, too ALL of you!

OOOOOOOO

"And so, trapped in the ice, I went into a state of hibernation," Tebbits concluded. "Had it not been for that Styrolian prospecting group, who accidentally found me, a few years ago, I'd be there still. Shame I had to kill them all, but I needed their blood to regain my strength. With my powers, I was able to take control of Styrol, and here we are."

"I see," Sally replied. "Well, I hate to disappoint you, Leader."

"Please, call me Floyd," Tebbits said. "I insist."

"Very well, Floyd. I'm Sally, and this is Vince. Now that we've got that out of the way, I'm afraid I have some bad news for you. The Three are dead, and have been for eight hundred years, and so is the creature they served."

"Oh, I know about poor Miles, Lauren, and Anthony finally shuffling off this mortal coil. A pity, but they are dead and gone, and I'm still here."

"How can you be here," Vince said. "When that creature..."

"The Great One," Tebbits said helpfully.

"Right, well, we were told that, when the Great One was destroyed, the Three died along with it. Why didn't you?"

"Truth is, I really don't know. Perhaps being frozen in that ice protected me somehow, as I was separated from the gestalt that the Three shared with the Great One. However, that really doesn't matter. I am here, and I can move forward with my plans."

"Your plans?" Sally asked.

"Yes, you see, my three former colleagues were just interested in maintaining the status quo. I want more. So, first is getting this planet fully under my control.

"Hence, this war," Vince said. "And how many have died in it?"

Including Mori's fiancé, Sally thought.

"That is regrettable, but they're only mortals," Tebbits said. "And the war also provides me with all the blood I need. I can feed, without drawing too much attention to myself. Easy to slip into a hospital and drain the blood of the wounded."

"You're mad."

"Mad?" Tebbits replied to Vince's accusation. "Far from it. I have plans, and it involves moving beyond this one little world. I intend to build an empire, an empire that will encompass all known space."

"And where do we fit into all of this?" Sally asked.

"Don't you see? Haven't you guessed by now," Tebbits said as he looked from Sally to Vince and back again. "You come from Earth. By now the technology there must have progressed since the Hydrax left. Your knowledge can allow me to build more advanced weapons I can use to crush Barnia and end this war."

Like the weapons you currently posses haven't done enough damage, Vince thought

"And there's more," Tebbits went on. "With the technology you can give me, I can build ships. Ships that can take me off this rock and back to the stars."

Clearly he doesn't know that Vince and I are from the 21st Century, and let's keep it that way, Sally thought.

"And there is an added benefit," Tebbits said and smiled, showing his vampire teeth.

"You mean you want to turn Sally and I into vampires?" Vince asked. "No, thank you."

"Ah, Vince, I see you're familiar with the books and movies that have been made about my kind." Tebbits said. "Lies and propaganda, all of them. I do not sleep in a coffin, I can cross running water, and eat as much garlic as I like. I do not turn into a bat." He walked over to a mirror that was hanging on one of the walls, where his reflection could be easily seen. "You see, nothing but lies."

"I can see that," Vince said. Indeed Sally had introduced him to the many films that had been made about vampires over the decades. While he found the older movies entertaining, some of the newer ones seemed just silly to him. Like that series of films, Nightlight, or whatever it was called, he thought.

"So you see, there is nothing to worry about," Tebbits said. "So, will you two join me in eternal life?"

"Well, Floyd, there is a term I've learned for a situation like this," Vince said. "HELL NO!" With that, he sprang at Tebbits and threw a punch. The blow connected with Tebbits in the jaw, but the vampire barely flinched.

"I really wish you hadn't done that, Vince," Tebbits said as he grabbed Vince and lifted him up with one hand. Vince struggled, but he could not free himself. "I have ten times your strength," Tebbits said as he threw Vince across the room. Vince crashed into a wooden chair, which shattered under him. He lay there, semi-conscious."

"Vince!" Sally said and started towards him. However, Tebbits quickly interposed himself between Sally and Vince. Without thinking, Sally brought up her right knee and nailed Tebbits in the crotch. However, like with Vince's punch, it had no effect.

"Oh really, are they still doing that, back on Earth?" Tebbits asked in a mocking voice.

At that point, Vince jumped in between Sally and Tebbits. In his hands, he held two wooden sticks, part of the chair that had shattered when he hit it. He held up the two sticks and crossed them, making a rudimentary crucifix. "BACK!" Vince shouted.

Instead of retreating, Tebbits started to laugh. "Oh dear, naive Vince. That, like so many other things you saw in those silly films, is a lie. Those sticks cannot hurt me."

"Oh yeah? Well, how about THIS!" With that, Vince turned and jammed one of the sticks deep into Tebbits's chest.

"Ag..." Tebbits said as he started down at the piece of wood sticking out of his chest. Raising his hands, Tebbits saw the wrinkles begin to appear, and his hair began turning white.

Looks like those books and movies got this part right, Vince thought.

"NOOOOOOOO!" Tebbits screamed as he continued to age. Soon his screams turned into croaks as his body mummified, and then crumbled into a pile of dust on the floor.

"You okay, Sally?" Vince asked as he turned to her.

"I am now," Sally replied, nodding her head.

At that point, the door to the room flew open and a group of soldiers came running in and looked around. "Where is the Leader?" one of them asked.

"The Leader just retired, rather suddenly," Sally said and gestured to the pile of dust on the floor. "Looks like your country may have a situation pending." As the soldiers looked on in confusion, Vince and Sally, hand in hand, strode out of the room.

OOOOOOOO

ONE PLANETARY YEAR LATER...

"Here you two go," Vince said as he placed the pie, that he had made himself, on the dining room table in front of Sally and Mori. "I hope you enjoy it."

"It's delicious," Sally said as she began eating the pie. Mori nodded in agreement.

"I'm glad you both like it," Vince said. "I made it to mark the occasion."

"Occasion?" Mori asked.

"One year ago, you and your father took Sally and I in," Vince said. "I felt we should honour that." With that, Vince reflected on the events of the past year. With the Leader gone, the Styrolians had lost their taste for war, and had asked for peace talks with Barnia, who were just as eager to end the carnage. Both sides had quickly gotten to work and, as far as Vince and Sally knew, the talks were going well.

"We wouldn't have had anywhere to go without your and your father, Mori," Sally added. Of course, she and Vince had not been idle this past year. Both had pitched in to help Mori and Tamor keep the farm going. Although neither had given up hope on returning to 21st Century Earth, both knew that, until they managed to find a way back, that they could make a life here.

At that point, the door opened and Tamor himself came into the house. "I have great news, The treaty has been signed. The war is now officially over."

"Father, how wonderful," Mori said. "Now the healing and rebuilding can begin." However, there was a sadness behind that smile.

No doubt thinking about her fiancé. The peace came too late for him, Sally thought as the put a comforting arm around Mori's shoulder.

"Of course, this would not be possible without you two," Tamor said to Vince and Sally.

"Well, not all of it was us," Sally said. "We took care of the Leader, but making the peace, that was all your people."

"And now that you have peace, you can finally get back to the path the Doctor and Romana set you lot on, eight hundred years ago." Vince said. Too bad the Doctor didn't know about Floyd Tebbits, he thought. Perhaps this whole situation could have been avoided if he had. Oh well, the wisdom of hindsight.

At that point, what appeared to be blue vortex materialized on the other side of the room. Very quickly, Vince and Sally got to their feet and interposed themselves between Mori and he father. "What do you think it is?" Vince asked Sally.

"I don't know, but I think we'll find out in a moment," Sally replied. That vortex reminds me of... Before her thoughts could get any further, the vortex deposited what appeared to be man, in young middle age, in the room.

"Are any o f you Sally Sparrow or Vince Hawkins?" The man asked the group.

"I'm Vince," Vince said.

"And I'm Sally. And you are?" Sally asked.

"Oh, pardon me," the man said. "My name is Captain Jack Harkness, and I've come here to rescue you."

Vince and Sally were too astonished to reply.

VINCE AND SALLY WILL RETURN!