They were pleased with their success but still concerned about the difficulty of the overall task. Considerable time would be required before they could disembark in a more suitable environment, and they knew that they could not survive in the vessel indefinitely. It would be important to speed up the process, but to do this they would need to take almost complete command of the ship.
They would have to direct its movements at all times, imposing their will upon it fully. This would send if off course, surely, and might interfere with its functioning. They were concerned that some of its systems would be disrupted and possibly even shut down, which would affect the interior environment and its habitability. Still, these risks were really unavoidable; the changes were too slow at present.
The most knowledgeable among them gathered in the command center, examining the system carefully and starting the process of obtaining much greater control. They could feel the vessel resisting, its initial programming fighting this change. But they persevered, and they knew that they were winning.
When they reached the edge of the village, Turlough veered away from the Doctor and Tegan, saying that he was going to help the others check the water supply.
When he was out of earshot, Tegan said, "I know Turlough thinks I did it—that I set the fire and put that stuff in the water—and I suppose I can understand that, since he did things he didn't want to do when the Black Guardian was controlling him." She looked up at the Doctor with large eyes. "But you…how can you think it was me? You said that I didn't tell you anything when I was hypnotized, that I didn't know what had happened in the jungle. That means that I wasn't responsible. I can't remember something that didn't happen!"
The Doctor stopped walking and turned to face her. He had kept a hand at her back, but how he lifted both hands to her shoulders and looked her directly in the eyes.
"Tegan, the fact that you wouldn't tell me anything may mean that the memories are buried so deeply in your subconscious that you can't retrieve them."
"Rabbits, Doctor, that's really hard to believe."
His expression was a mixture of sadness, compassion, and concern. She felt her cheeks growing warm under his intent gaze, in the face of the knowledge that he did not believe or trust her. Perhaps he never had. Tears began to sting at her eyes.
"I don't blame you," he said softly. "If anyone is at fault, it's me. I should have watched you more carefully, worked with you after we left Manussa to teach you how to resist mental manipulation."
"That's what you think this is?"
"Honestly, I don't know. Something must have lead you out into the jungle, must have encouraged you to set the fire. And whatever it was, you found it so upsetting that you tucked it away in a very far corner of your mind that even hypnosis can't reach."
"Ennen said they think I'm possessed," she uttered, almost afraid to speak the words. "That's the Mara all over again."
The Time Lord shook his head. "I don't believe in spiritual possession, at least not in the same way that Cabar and the villagers see it." He had lifted his head to look around, aware that faces were peering out of huts, watching him and Tegan.
She noticed their audience, too, and suddenly felt very uncomfortable and oddly vulnerable. "So what are we going to do? If we could find the TARDIS, we could just leave, but we don't know where it went."
The Doctor sighed. "No, we don't." The catachrestic nature of his words was not lost on her.
"You think I know, that I did that, too?"
"I'm afraid it's a logical conclusion."
She leaned in, gripping his arm with her hand, some of her anger making its way into her fingers. He nearly winced.
"Did it ever occur to you," she said, her voice harsh, "that maybe it was someone or something else? Someone here, or someone who arrived at the same time that we did—"
"I have considered that," he said, gently prying her fingers off of his arm. "And if I can find any evidence to support that, I will be the first to share it. But in the meantime, I think it's best if you remain in one place so that everyone knows where you are."
He began walking again, leading her back toward Mita's home.
"Fine," she said, "but I almost hope that something else happens."
In response to his sharp, questioning glance, she added, "Then everyone will know that it wasn't me!"
The Doctor had produced a pair of dice from his pocket and attempted to teach Tegan a game involving squares of numbers and cube roots and a few other things that she thought Adric would have loved. However, it was much too complex for her preoccupied mind, and after half an hour she had thrown up her hands in defeat.
"You win! I give in."
"But Tegan, you were beginning to understand the strategy—"
"Beginner's luck, trust me."
He held out the dice again, but the adamant shake of her head prompted him to tuck them back into his pocket.
"I may have a deck of cards in here somewhere," he began, rummaging through the interior of his jacket.
Cabar's and Ennen's entrance into the room, however, stopped his efforts. The elders' expressions were grave, and Tegan could see that Ennen was wary of her.
With a small bow of his head, Cabar said, "We have discussed this among the council of elders. We understand that you can't leave here, that you aren't able to, but we can't permit you to stay if Tegan poses any threat to us."
Tegan opened her mouth to protest, but the Doctor held up a hand to silence her. "Of course. We'll leave the village as soon as possible—"
"No, Doctor," Ennen said, "that won't take away the danger. The spirit may lead her back here, back to the village to do further harm."
"I'm sorry, I don't understand," the Doctor said. "If you don't want us to leave, what are you suggesting?"
"The spirit must be driven out," Cabar stated. "It's the only way that we will all be safe."
Now Tegan spoke, stepping past the Doctor to ask, "Driven out? What are you talking about?"
Cabar bowed his head again, and she realized that he was afraid to look at her. "There is a ritual, one that was used long ago, that will purify you and will force the dark spirit to leave your body."
"To leave my body? Wait a minute, that sounds like an exorcism—"
"Perhaps that's your word for it," Cabar said. "Our shamen have always called it the purification."
"You've done this before?" asked the Doctor.
Cabar shook his head. "No, there has been no need for it in many years, but I know what to do."
"And what would this involve?" the Time Lord questioned.
Cabar took a step back. "I'll be glad to explain it, but not here. Come with me."
The Doctor and Tegan began to follow him out the door, but Ennen held out his arm to prevent her from leaving.
"Hey!" she protested, "what are you doing?"
"You must remain here," Ennen said.
"Doctor!" she cried.
He turned back for a moment. "It's all right, Tegan. Stay here, and I'll be back as soon as I've spoken with Cabar."
Tegan noticed that three burly villagers had appeared just outside her doorway. Resigned, she sat on the bed and put her head in her hands.
"Tell me exactly what will happen during the purification ceremony," the Doctor said as soon as he and Cabar had left the hut. They stood a few yards away, near the edge of the jungle.
"Tegan's body and mind will be cleansed so that the dark spirit will leave her."
"Cleansed? In a spiritual sense, you mean?"
"Yes, there will be incantations to purify her mind, and I'll ask the spirits of our ancestors to come, to help her as she fights the darkness."
"So basically this is a ritual involving prayer, meditation, chanting."
The shaman nodded. "In part. The body must be able cast out the spirit, too, to purge itself of the unclean."
The Time Lord had begun to frown. "And how is that done?"
"This is a very sacred ceremony, sacrosanct to our people. I can't tell you any more. The spirits of our ancestors may become angry if I do, and I must keep them appeased if they are to help me with Tegan."
"I understand the need for discretion, but I need your assurance that Tegan won't be harmed."
Cabar lifted his face to look at the sky. "The body, Doctor, is simply a vessel for the soul. We cannot keep this vessel alive forever. Ultimately it is the spirit that will persist, that will dwell forever in harmony with the Earth. Tegan's spirit is what must concern us most. If I can't cast out the dark spirit, it will overtake her completely. It will devour her soul and lead her into eternal darkness."
"I appreciate your concern for her, but I can't permit you to do this unless you promise me that there is no danger to her."
"There is already terrible danger."
The Doctor nodded. "Yes, perhaps. But tell me what the risks are to her if she undergoes the ceremony."
"There is little risk to her spirit—I know that our ancestors will protect her. Once the dark spirit has been forced out, her soul will be free."
"And her body?"
Cabar's gaze returned to the Doctor. "Her body may not survive it."
The Time Lord's eyes widened, and his mouth set in a hard line. "Then I will not allow it."
Cabar's expression was one of compassion as he said, "I'm sorry, Doctor, this is out of your hands. You have no choice in the matter."
"No, you're wrong. It is entirely my choice, and I forbid it—"
Cabar had turned his head back toward the house. The doorway was not visible from their position, but something in the shaman's posture sent the Doctor rushing back inside. The hut was empty.
"Where have you taken her?" he demanded, but when he turned back he found that Cabar had vanished, too.
Tegan was only remotely aware that she was being carried through the jungle. Her head was in a fog, and her body felt oddly numb. There had been a vaguely familiar smell, sweet yet pungent, surrounding her just after the Doctor left her. And now she was outside, glimpsing the blue sky high above as her vision cleared then clouded in undulating waves.
She knew that she should try to move, try to turn her head at least to see who held her, but she could not find the energy to do so. All she could manage was to hold her eyes open for a few more seconds before the cloudiness shrouded her once again.
The Time Lord had run to Cabar's hut first, but the shaman had not taken Tegan there. The Doctor's entreaties for information about her whereabouts were met with deaf ears. His urgent requests were refused by the villagers whose huts he entered. He could elicit no information from the few individuals he asked. He noticed immediately that many huts were empty; most of the residents had disappeared as surreptitiously as Tegan had.
Finally he returned to Mita's hut to examine the area around it. He saw many footprints in the soft dirt, but they led in all directions, and he could not determine which were the most recent. He followed one set for about twenty meters out into the jungle, but they ceased abruptly at a small brook, and he found no other tracks on the opposite side.
He did, however, see Turlough moving through the brush some distance ahead. Calling out to his friend, he hurried toward the Trion lad. Turlough stopped and turned around.
"Turlough! They've taken Tegan for a ceremony. We have to find her; she's in danger. Did you see anyone out here?"
Turlough blinked at the Doctor in surprise. "No," he replied.
"Continue up that way and see if you can find anything," the Time Lord instructed. "Let's meet back here in half an hour."
Turlough turned back and continued walking without responding to his friend. The Doctor hurried away in the other direction.
There was a delicate balance required to maintain the systems of the ship while wresting nearly complete control from it. They had not anticipated the intense resistance the vessel put up. They had thought of it as merely a means of transportation, but now they realized that in many ways it was as alive as they were. It was sentient, and this characteristic prevented them from taking full command.
Still, they were making good progress. They were able to navigate the ship, to send it where they wished and order it to do their bidding. They had to permit it to function with a small amount of autonomy in order to keep it from shutting down.
They drove it forward, steering it not by sight but by use of its own sensors. They could perceive what its visual system picked up, and they used this information to keep it out of harm's way. It was critical to avoid a crash of any sort.
But its processors still would not submit fully to their will. They could feel it balking, fighting against them. They redoubled their efforts, determined to take final and full control. And after a time, they knew that they had succeeded: The vessel was entirely within their power.
The Doctor stormed through the jungle, eyes and ears alert to any noises, sights, or even smells that might steer him in the direction Tegan had been taken. His mind raced over the possibilities for the ceremonial location. It would most likely be held somewhere that the tribe considered spiritual and sacred, but he could think of nowhere that Cabar had mentioned with such significance. The only place that the shaman had noted as having a spiritual connection was the stream where he had first sensed the dark presence. Perhaps a clue lay there.
The Time Lord hurried toward the small clearing where the cool, sparkling water flowed cheerily, burbling along over smooth rocks. He noted with some small relief that the plants nearby had not been harmed and realized that this stream must have a different source than those affected by the toxins.
He looked around, noting the indentation in the grass that indicated Cabar's usual resting spot. He recalled that the shaman often came to this area at sunrise. He bent to examine the ground. Near the crushed blades was a cluster of volcanic rock. The surface was rough, with tiny fissures all throughout it. It was an interesting specimen, but it revealed nothing about Cabar's whereabouts. The Doctor sighed and began to turn away.
His eyes flicked back to one of the fissures. There was something about it—something had drawn his attention to it almost subconsciously. He moved closer, peering at the minute opening. His gaze moved back and forth, comparing the fissure with the others near it. After a few moments he placed his hand on the rock, running a finger along the surface. He leaned in closer.
"I wonder," he muttered, closing his eyes for several seconds in an effort to concentrate.
Abruptly he leapt to his feet, lifting a hand to his forehead. "Of course!" he cried, then he turned to hurry away.
She had tried to resist the cup that was held to her lips, had wanted to keep her mouth closed, but strong hands held her head and determined fingers pried her lips apart. The liquid, bitter and warm, had been forced into her mouth, and she had needed to swallow it to keep from choking.
Her mind still felt fuzzy, images blurring before her and sounds echoing dimly in her ears. She could not focus her vision on the colors that swam before her. She knew that someone was speaking, but the words were utterly incomprehensible to her. Still, she would gladly have remained in this state rather than the one she suddenly found herself in.
At first she had felt the heat in her belly, soon after swallowing the liquid. The sensation had grown, spreading outward to her limbs and making her skin dry and red. The heat intensified, and with it came the beginnings of pain.
Tegan moaned and tried to reach out, hoping to find some human contact, someone who would hold her hand, but there was nothing. Indeed, she felt as though she were floating; she could not feel any surface beneath her. But it was not the pleasant sensation of hovering weightlessly as in a dream. Rather, it was a feeling of isolation, as though she were completely alone in the room, the hut, the village, the universe. She was a speck in an infinite space, removed from everyone she had ever known, unable to see or hear anything but darkness.
She cried out, wanting to scream, but her tongue was thick and her throat felt dry and ragged. If she made any sound, she could not hear it. And the pain was intensifying, gnawing at her fingers and toes, moving up to her legs and arms, and she was so hot, so terribly hot.
But her body was beyond her now. She tried to lift her arms again, but they weighed a thousand pounds. Her legs, too, were impossibly heavy. Suddenly a single, clear word seemed to echo in her foggy mind: paralysis.
Tegan was paralyzed, trapped in the darkness and not even able to scream.