They had returned to the master's manor. But no sooner had Dumah entered behind Melchia than he was rammed against the wall. The claws once more at his throat. He winced in pain from his other injuries.
"Master? What?…"
"Did you really think I would let this pass Dumah? Did you honestly think I would continue on ignoring this betrayal after I have put my pet in line?" Melchia snarled into Dumah's face, his putrid breath wafting over him. Sharp teeth glinting in the light as he spoke and snarled his anger.
"Master please"
"Please? Please? Don't make me laugh." Melchia threw Dumah to the floor in disgust. "You have out lived your usefulness. With my Sultarrvec now under my control you have no use. I think you should join your fellow workers."
"But they will kill me" he sniveled Dumah. Lying prostrate on the floor.
"They will won't they? Now get out!….while you still can" Melchia turned his back to the quivering Dumah, looking out over the bleak landscape. Dumah crawled from the room, his face a storm of anger. He would not let this pass, he would make Melchia pay, and he would make Melchia lose his power. Loose his little pet, he would see Melchia fall, and he would rise as the new master of this planet.
Dumah made his way across the manor to the communications room; he set the signal on the frequency they had told them to.
"This is the Sultarrvec mining operation calling Lord Balthazar" he sent out through space.
"What do you want?" came a deep gruff reply.
"The one you are looking for, the one you called Galen….."
They sat in the pitch darkness of the Sultarrvec's cave, Rose was holding onto the Doctor tightly. She was shivering at the horror she had witnessed. Seeing Bob ripped apart by Galen had rocked her to the core. How could he do that? She convulsively grabbed the Doctor a little tighter.
"Shhh, Rose. It's okay"
"No it's not. How could he do that? I know bob hurt him, but as he is now, Bob didn't stand a chance." Rose sobbed into the Doctors shoulder. The gruesome death playing behind her eyes
"It was like he Changed…" Jack commented, sitting on the other side of Rose.
"He did, in a way….he is only meant to have one dose, not two"
"You know what they gave him?" Rose asked, raising her gaze to look in his eyes. He had set up the Sonic screwdriver on one of the ore rocks, causing a reaction to make it glow, so they could see in the strange neon blue light it gave off. It made his eyes seem like moving oceans of crystal blue, with dark terrors hidden within its depth.
"You made it didn't you Doctor" Jack said darkly, disgusted that someone would create something like that.
"Not me personally, but my people did a long time ago. With one dose it's supposed to weaken them, make them easier to handle. When Gallifrey broke free of the old ways, and the Guardians set free. There was no more use for it. Though I did hear the guardians themselves used it, to keep criminals in line."
"What happens with two doses?" Rose asked.
"Depends on the individual. For some it killed them, others it sent them insane. Killing all in their path," He replied sadly.
"God, that's sick." Rose exclaimed with venom.
"It was necessary."
"Was it really Doctor! Is it necessary now?"
"It might be!"
"I can't believe you said that!"
"Do you guys have to shout?" came a rumbled response from the dark. "If you want to get caught, you go right a head shouting at each other. But do it when I haven't got a pounding head"
"Galen?" Rose asked cautiously
"Yeah…Rose wasn't it? I think the name was Rose. Or is it Inada? No…couldn't be Inada…. she's dead…. I think" he rambled, confused.
"Who's Inada?" Jack asked, seeing the pinpoints of red that were Galen's eyes.
"Inada is his sister" The Doctor replied
"Was….my sister" came the sorrowful reply. Rose could have almost cried at the pain laced within the tone.
"What happened?"
"Skies of fire, screams of betrayal, rivers of burning blood" He replied, as if looking at a distant scene. "Why do I smell blood Rose? You hurt?" She saw the eyes turn towards them.
"No Galen. It's not me"
"Then why do I smell blood……..oh…..not again" he moaned he started hitting his head against the wall. "Not me, never me. Blood….so much blood. Drowned it blood"
The Doctor on impulse walked out, taking the stone with him.
"Galen stop it"
"Old friend, not friend. Searching death. Voices in my head drowned out by him, never lets me forget. Never lets me die"
"Galen, stop. Look at me. Look at me!" Galen stooped, laying his head upon the ground, eyes locked with the Doctors.
"Doctor?…" his voice now like a lost child, all alone in the night "make him stop, always calling me. He never stops. I'm trying I really am"
"That's it old friend. Make who stop Galen?" The Doctor came to one side, looking into Galen's right eye, gently stroking the dragons' hide.
"You know who, calling me to the tower. The tower burning in the sun set"
"Doctor, why is he talking like that?"
"It's the serum, it makes him in coherent, his thoughts all over the place."
"Is there anyway you can counter it Doc?"
"It has to work out of his system, but I might be able to stop what it does to his brain. He will be weak, but he will be himself." The Doctor took out his sonic screwdriver, happy that the guards of this world were so overconfident in the fact that everyone would fear the master and his pet the Sultarrvec, which they didn't really need to frisk new miners.
He played the beam of the screwdriver just behind the right eye ridge. Galen seemed to wince a moment, then his eye seemed to focus.
"Old friend?"
"Hello"
"What?…" he scrunched his eyes, as if to clear his mind "oh not again…he's done it again….blood? Oh Rassilon whom have I killed? Rose? God no….no wait if I had you would have killed me by now"
"You killed Bob, the father of the girl they say you killed."
Galen sighed, another to add to the billions he had killed.
"Sorry, I take it from the amount of blood it wasn't nice"
"You almost sound like you regret it" Jack commented, coming to join the others
"Of course I regret it. Do I seem such a cold hearted killer?….wait….don't bother to answer that" they heard him sigh, he tried to move to get comfortable, but his joints and muscles wouldn't co-operate. "Yes I regret it friend of the Doctor, I try to kill only as a last resort….or a used to. I don't remember anymore."
"My names Jack….would say it's a pleasure to meet you Galen but…"
"Hum.. Galen…..the Galen the Doctor knew died a long time ago I am now only a means to and end"
Rose was about to make a comment when the sound of cracking echoed down the tunnels, the air suddenly dropping in temperature.
"Night has fallen planet side. Rose show them where to go" Galen said quickly, he lowered his head. Rose climbed up
"Come on you two" Rose shouted from Galen's back. Jack and the Doctor followed Rose up Galen's neck. "Go into the folds of his wings" Rose climbed into the right side, the Doctor climbed in after her, so Jack went to the wing on the left. All made themselves comfortable, Rose snuggling up to the Doctor, who was glad to have her in his arms, after having feared that he had lost her.
"So what's the plan Doc?" Jack shouted over.
"Get out of here and……"
"Make Galen take you home Doctor"
"What?" The Doctor turned to Rose, the glowing stone with them so he could see her face. "What do you mean Rose, you know my home is gone."
"Galen tell him"
"Gallifrey lives Doctor"
"Your Wrong, if it was I would know. Would sense the others"
"I placed it outside time, stuck in a bubble at that moment. You can not sense them because they are not moving in time" Galen replied quietly, his voice laced with some much tiredness, that you knew he was sick of this life.
"Then why haven't you brought it back!"
"Don't you think I would if I could! You have no idea what it took to protect it in the first place. You think I would let it rot there in time? Like I have a choice with him shouting in my mind all the time. Reminding me of my oath and what I have to do!" Galen snarled.
"Who do you think? Rassilon of course. Only he would have the mental power to break through the time bubble.
"Galen…..what happened?" The Doctor asked softly. They heard Galen sigh, as his mind was drawn back to the events that led him to this………..
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He stood upon the castle made of crystal, the emerald green sun making it seem it was something it was not. The glints of colors, every shade of an earth rainbow as his people flew among the skies, or walked upon the earth. He smiled, looking to the sky in this brief moment of peace. He knew a war was coming; the Time Lords would need them soon.
"You ok brother?" came the sweet female lilt that accompanied the rush of air as his sister landed beside him. She was young by their standards, their mother having died giving birth to her.
"I am fine sister. And how goes the day with you?" he rubbed his head against his little sister. She was a beautiful shade of purple, here the same shade of green as the sun. He was abnormal among his people, the only one of pure gold. A sign he was meant to join with the Vortex.
"I have been flying with Kain"
"Kain?……Oh Kain. Well what do we have here? He is a handsome fellow."
"Galen…stop it" she nudged him in embarrassment.
"Well…. A big brother has to look out for his little sister."
"I'm glad one of you does" She replied sadly.
"Has Balthazar been troubling you again?"
"Oh the usual, and as usual father does nothing. Doesn't even see me. I know he hates me. Blames me for mother." She looked down to the people blow.
"Oh Inada…..do not listen to them. You are not to blame and she would never want you to think so. There is no greater gift than giving yours to bring your child into this world. You will understand when you have a child of your own"
"When did you become so knowledgeable about having children? Given birth have you?"
"Oi! I'll have you know they were our mothers words not mine…..I just borrowed them." He poked her in the ribs making her laugh, "That's more like it"
"Galen…..please don't leave" she looked sad and afraid.
"I will have to when they call. A lot of us will. If not the Universe will fall to the Dalek's. I will never let that happen, not to you"
"But you are the only family, well the only one who cares about me. I don't want to lose you," she sobbed now.
"Listen my little sister. You will never lose me; I am part of time itself. So you will never lose me. You just might not see e is all" he enfolded her in his wings in an embrace.
"You're the best you know that?"
"I try," he laughed. "Come on, I'm hungry. I'll race you" he leapt from the tower and plummeted towards the ground, opening his golden wings at the last minute. He saw the flash of purple behind him to know his sister followed. He felt sorry for her. Their father now saw her only as a commodity, to be paraded around to ensure his rule. His father was king of their world; he had not always been a bad man. But the death of his wife had changed him, made him meek. Galen had no illusions as to who ran this planet now. His brother Balthazar, long jealous that Galen had become the Time Lords chosen one and merged with the Vortex, now had their father's ear. What Balthazar suggested, his father followed.
They flew across the landscape. But stopped abruptly as a warning clang erupted through the air. And in the sky the symbol of Rassilon appeared.
"The call"
"Galen….."
"Inada go to your rooms and stay there until I say so."
"Where are you going?" she asked above the woosh of many people flying past in a panic.
"To father. We have to move quickly"
"Galen be careful"
"Dalek's won't kill me!" he shouted back.
"….I didn't mean the Dalek's," she whispered as she flapped her wings for home.
"He alighted on the landing bay and walked through the halls to the throne room. The halls were large enough for you to stay in your dragon form, or you could walk in the Time lord form. Recently that had been becoming less and less. Some believed that the Time Lords had tainted them enough. That it was not pure to walk around in the form of our once enslavers. Balthazar he suspected was the main force behind this view. And no doubt go his father to become sympathetic. Os he stayed in his dragon form. The black symbol of Rassilon on his right arm.
He walked into the large vaulted room, alabaster stone shining in the green light, marred by the gold glow given off by the seal in the sky.
"Father. I trust you saw."
"I did" game the gravely, old voice of his father. In his youth he had been strong jade colored dragon. But his scales had now lost their luster.
"When do we move?"
"We don't"
"What!" Galen gasped. "You can't be serious!"
"Oh we are dear brother" came the silky reply, his brother coming from the shadows, his scales as red as blood, chest scales of a yellow hue.
"Balthazar….what have you been doing?"
"Looking out for my people."
"More like looking out for yourself!"
"Enough Galen!"
"But Father, we have to help the Time Lords! Do you want the Dalek's to win?" Galen looked on wide-eyed as Balthazar smiled.
"The Time Lords brought this war on themselves. We will raise the shield and our people will be safe." His father nodded, as if this was the right choice.
"Oh and hide like cowards. Never figured you as a coward" Galen snarled, "I won't let you do this!"
In the next instant Galen was pinned by the palace guard. He struggled, but was subdued.
"Stop this my son. It is what must be"
"That's crap. And the real king would know that. Not the sniveling ruler this one has become." Galen saw his fathers eyes flash a moment.
"Traitor…. TRAITOR!" he snarled, voice becoming hysterical. "Bind him, brand him. Make him pay!"
As Galen was dragged away, he saw his brother starting to calm his father. Then he turned to Galen…..and just smiled…..
KITG: sorry for the wait guys, my brain fried. Hope you like this chapter.