As the monks moved towards him, the Doctor switched K9's tail-cum-stick into the hand which also gripped the tip of his scarf. Gently, he edged his way around the side of the TARDIS, getting closer and closer to the door, which was already beginning to open. Between him and the armed monks stood K9, periodically shifting his position to acquire the best angle from which to fire his stunner.
"Get away from that TARDIS, Doctor." Gesar ordered as his men edged closer. As he spoke, the abbot spotted some movement at the edge of his vision. His hearts fluttered as three sleek, spectral hounds shifted into view.
"What?" Squinting slightly, recognition dawned upon Gesar. "The hounds? They've released the hounds."
Hounds? The dvora? Across the room, Protector K'thellid shared Gesar's knowledge of the predators that had entered the room. How is this possible, it wondered, and who exactly has released them, abbot?
"Teyamat and the Doctor's accomplice."
From the corner of the room, Councillor Erkal whistled. "The Devouring Hounds, eh? Vicious, but loyal." Gently slipping behind the Protector's bulk, the cautious librarian chose to watch from a distance as the dvora emerged from the TARDIS, stepping between the Doctor and his attackers.
As his sensors adjusted to the their presence, K9 shifted again, uncertain of the danger posed by the strange hounds. Extending a more lethal weapon, he emitted a low electronic growl in an effort to keep the creatures at bay. Baring their alien fangs and folding up their snouts to approximate canine snarls, the dvora growled at K9 in return.
"What's going on, K9?" The Doctor asked.
"The situation is under control, master," said K9. "Continue into the TARDIS, I will protect you."
The Doctor's fingers found the last corner, and he shifted himself sideways and into the open doorway, preparing to duck inside.
Doctor, you must not leave.
"I'm sorry, Protector. I'll keep my promise to you, but I don't have much choice here. You don't seem to have much influence over these monks, so I'd best be seeing you."
Wait!The Doctor slipped into the TARDIS, the end of his scarf slipping from his hand as he did so. The dvora followed, backing stealthily into the ship, their hackles raised as they growled menacingly at K9, whose own entry was blocked as they disappeared inside. The little robot trundled forwards as the door closed behind them.
K9 was forced to stay and watch as the TARDIS dematerialised. Behind him, the Protector seemed incandescent with rage, its skin flashing white and purple as it broadcast its thoughts across the room.
Only Pengallia can command the hounds, Gesar! What have you been keeping from me?
"I'm not keeping anything from you…"
Our accordance requires the full and frank disclosure of information, Gesar, as expressed by your Queen on the day the treaty between us was established. Or had you forgotten?
"Of course I haven't forgotten. I've hardly had time to update you about our situation."
And we haven't the time for this….
"Query." K9 pushed forwards, interposing himself between the Protector and the abbot. "If haste and trust are required, would you not be able to share your thoughts?"
The Protector's hue paled. The robot is right. You should open your memories to me.
"What? You listen to that thing?"
I would, said the Protector. K9 saved the k'thellid from suffering far greater casualties. His actions are the foundation for my belief in the Doctor.
Gesar seemed genuinely surprised. If the Doctor was genuine…
"Very well. It can do no harm trying." The abbot cleared his mind, reaching out with his thoughts. "Contact?"
Contact, said the Protector, latching on to the abbot's telepathic signal.
"Wait," Councillor Erkal stepped forwards, eager to share the flow of information. Closing his eyes he slipped into a telepathic groove of his own. "Contact."
Half a city away, Aldus and Tanith ran through the streets, using their superior knowledge of its many alleyways and abandoned buildings to evade their half-hearted pursuers. As Aldus had noted earlier, these monks weren't trained to do his job, and despite the Doctor's accusations, he wasn't really that incompetent. The time lord was obviously brilliant, and the sheriff simply hadn't anticipated that such a person might turn up and expose his deepest secrets.
Pausing to confirm that the pursuit was over, the former sheriff turned to his co-conspirator. "Well, Tanith, it looks like we might be renegades."
"What about Malthus and Erkal?"
Aldus shook his head. "There's nothing we can do to help them right now. I don't think Erkal was exposed, but Malthus will be alright."
With their path clear, Aldus led them across a small square to the most central point in the city: the old memorial tower. Built as a monument to those who fell in battle, it was a great marble clock whose stained and pitted face had long ago been divided into the sixteen phases used to measure the old Demosian day. It was from this memorial that the name of the fallen had been adopted. As each of them breathed their last, it was Tanith's job to inscribe their names in the old style, adding to the thousands that already graced its six sides.
"I need you to call together as many of the Guard as you can from the east of the city," explained Aldus. "I'll cover the west. Tell them to gather here. All mounted, with full arms and full regalia. Do you understand?"
Tanith nodded. "Yes, commander."
"Excellent. Oh…" as they shook hands and turned towards the different parts of the city, Aldus was struck with a sudden thought. "…Tanith?"
"Yes, commander?"
"I want you to drop in on Doctor Tavic when you pass him by. Make sure he attends to Melosa until we return. She'll die with worry if Malthus isn't home soon."
As the Doctor backed into the TARDIS, Romana was unprepared for what he had been through during their time apart. Turning to enter the console room, he used one hand to partially cover his dressing, and another to wave his stick around the room, attempting to find his bearings. Around him, and in complete silence, the three dvora distanced themselves, retreating behind their mistresses as the blind Doctor blundered further into the room.
"Doctor…" Romana had planned their exchange of pleasantries; her barbed remarks leading them into her revelation that this was going to be goodbye. She had decided to stay upon K'thellid, or Rendulix, and fulfil her destiny as the last scion of Pengallia.
"What happened to your eyes?" The sight of a haggard, wounded Doctor beaming a fake grin in what Romana thought was her general direction, instantly threw her plans into disarray. She stepped forwards to support him, but the stick 'accidentally' batted her away as the Doctor turned this way and that, trying to establish his location.
"I happened to my eyes," he said to the view screen. "They'll grow back."
The Doctor had done this to himself?
Romana was… well, she couldn't tell if she were devastated or incensed. How could he do such a thing? She struggled for something to say, and ended up asking him about his retrolental cryptocytes.
"My what?" The Doctor was thrown by such an odd question. Odd by Romana's standards at least.
"You really should keep up with your regenerative upgrades, Doctor," she babbled. "These days' losing your eyes is tantamount to murder."
"And I thought I had trouble understanding myself! I don't suppose you have my hat do you?"
"Your hat?" Romana looked around the console room, spotting his battered velvet hat hanging on the stand next to the TARDIS door. Retrieving it, she passed it to the Doctor. After the briefest of touches, his own hand moved from the hat to her hand, which he suddenly and unexpectedly grabbed onto.
"Thank you," he said, "now could you help me over to the console."
Complying with the Doctor's request, Romana found herself dismissed again the moment he reached his destination. After putting on his hat and tugging the brim down over his dressing, he leaned upon the TARDIS for support. Playing his fingers across the environmental panel, he then took a half step to his left. Moving to the next panel, he briefly fingered the door control before taking another step, lining himself up with the navigational controls.
"Why don't you let me do that …" Romana moved to the Doctor's side, but he nudged her away.
"The planet's in grave danger, Romana," he said, "and I…"
His probing fingers discovered an open panel and a gaping hole giving access to a cornucopia of exposed circuits. He frowned.
"What's this?" The Doctor held up a slim silver cylinder, from which two unattached wires were dangling.
"That," Romana swallowed, "would be the Modal Compensator".
The Doctor tutted.
"I thought as much," he said. "As you've reminded me on several occasions, this is one the most important TARDIS components there is. It should never be disconnected."
"I had no…" Romana began, defensively.
"So," the Doctor cut her off, "what's it doing in my hand?"
"I was going to put it right, but…"
"But I happened." Teyamat, who had been quiet until now, stepped between the two time lords. "The abbot and I summoned your TARDIS and delayed the Lady Romana from completing her repairs."
"Oh, hello. I'm the Doctor…" he leaned forwards, sniffing at the old crone, "… you smell old." He announced, rudely. "Very old. Is your memory intact?"
The old woman burst into a long and raucous cackle, which made the Doctor start, dropping the compensator, which fell straight into the open hole, rattling and bouncing as it fell out of reach. His face fell, until he realised how many hours it would take Romana to retrieve it.
"Mine is the most intact memory on this planet," Teyamat laughed.
"Excellent," the Doctor beamed as some of his humour returned, "we can catch up, later." Then, abruptly, he turned back to his companion.
"Romana, what's your plan?"
"Why… to rescue you, of course, Doctor."
"Yes, well, you've been there, done that, left K9 behind again. I wouldn't mind, but he was proving particularly useful this time around."
"Me?" Romana bit. "I've never left K9 behind. You, on the other hand…"
"Yes, whatever." The Doctor cut Romana short and turned again towards Teyamat. "What about the Oculus?"
"The Oculus?" The crone looked perplexed.
"Yes. K9 tells me it's unstable after I unleashed a rather nasty blast of energy into the atmosphere."
"So that was you," Teyamat said, "you do have the carnifex power."
"Yes, yes." The Doctor said dismissively. "You think I'd pluck my eyes out for fun? We need to repair the Oculus. It's artificial, like the planet's ecosystem, so there must be some kind of control."
"I'd noticed the accelerated cycle," Romana interrupted, "I'd planned to look into it as soon as…"
"Well," he snapped, "it's moved up the pecking order now, so let's not dwell on our priorities. Teyamat," he raised his voice, "where is the control?"
"The Oculus is the control, Doctor." She explained. "If you want to repair it, then we'll have to go inside."
"Inside? A hollow sun inside a hollow planet inside an invisible sun trapped in a pocket dimension?"
"Yes," the crone nodded. "When the fallen came to K'thellid, it was a world of superheated water. Only the mental and temporal powers of their Great Archon could keep its environment stable enough to support k'thellid life. The planet drew its energy from sun beyond its outer surface."
The Doctor nodded. "I know what the planet used to be like. I've been here before. A long, long time ago."
"Doctor," Romana interjected, "this planet's been in a time loop for two-and-a-half million years. How could you possibly have been here before?"
"Lets just say that my Modal Compensator wasn't working then either. Now…" he turned back to the old crone, "what was your name again?"
"Teyamat."
"Teyamat… yes. You were telling us about the Oculus."
"Without being able to chronoform the planet, Pengallia created an artificial ecosystem to replace the function of the K'thellid Archon."
"Pengallia?" The Doctor turned the name around. "Pengallia? Wasn't she that mad President with the palatial TARDIS, the unstoppable army, three dogs and a Mexxonian Dragon?"
"Doctor!" Romana snapped.
"Yes, yes, later. So how did she stabilize the planet and create the Oculus?"
"The Oculus," Teyamat explained, "used to be the palatial TARDIS."
Erkal had always feared that his thirst for knowledge would be his undoing, and his exposure to the thoughts of Gesar and the Protector made that day seem much closer than he had ever expected. The Protector's mind was the strongest he had ever encountered, surrounded by a great impenetrable wall of thoughts through which the abbot's recent experiences were permeating. Trained in matters of the mind, the abbot's focused thoughts were clear and uncluttered, knitting together the facts and opinions that he had formed over the last couple of days. It was… enlightening.
As Gesar's recollection of Aldus' escape was replayed, Erkal broke his connection. With his thoughts under his own control once more, he breathed an inward sigh of relief. His involvement had gone unnoticed, and he was not suspected.
As his natural senses returned to him, Erkal looked around the constabulary. Besides the abbot and the Protector, two other councilors, had now arrived. Two of the five monks who had come down from the monastery were busying themselves with an inspection of the premises while their brothers pursued Aldus and Tanith. They must, he concluded, be looking for clues to help identify the rest of the Honour Guard. Like him.
"Gentlemen," he called, clapping his hands together to get their attention, "we need to make haste. There'll be plenty of time to chase the sheriff and his accomplices. There are more pressing matters to attend to."
"He's right," said Gesar after taking a moment to recover from his exertions. "We need to return to Mount Madronal.
So, the Protector mused, Romana would appear to be the reincarnation of Pengallia.
The abbot nodded. "If the hounds have been released, it's the only conclusion I can draw. I believe this Doctor must have intended to use her as a pawn."
The Protector wasn't convinced. For what purpose?
"The Time Lords must need us," suggested Erkal, "or Pengallia. Perhaps the wars haven't ended, and their treachery has left them vulnerable and exposed."
Perhaps, but the Doctor bears us no ill will.
"G'thon said the same about Romana," noted the abbot.
"The master and mistress have been forced to travel randomly through time and space," said K9, interrupting. "They are not in control of where, or when, they will arrive."
"You think they've left us, then, robot?" Erkal was intrigued by the small robot. It appeared to be a biomorph based on an animal form similar to the dvora.
"Negative. The Doctor expressed a desire to restore the Oculus to full working order. He will endeavour to make repairs before his departure."
"If Romana has survived the Test of the Devouring Hounds," added Gesar, "then it is certain Teyamat is with them."
Agreed. She will guide them to the Shrine.
"And," concluded the abbot, "into Pengallia's TARDIS."
The Protector started to flush with anger. It is not for them to intervene.
"But if she's Pengallia reborn...?"
Their journey must not be completed without us, it insisted. The Well and that which is contained within are our responsibility. Neither Romana or the Doctor will be prepared for what they will encounter there.
"I agree," said Gesar. "We must return to the monastery immediately."
"Query. The master and mistress are in danger?" asked K9.
"The Oculus contains the Well of Deep Time," the abbot explained, "which is where Pengallia imprisoned Great K'thannid."
K'thannid, said the Protector, picking up the thread, was my… predecessor, but of greater age and power. As the sworn enemy of Pengallia, the treaties that held the k'thellid and the fallen together did not bind him.
"Query." K9 processed the information. "If their archon is restored to them, would the k'thellid not welcome its return?"
There can be only one Protector, K9. The archon's return would force us into conflict.
"Supplemental query. Do you have the means to restore the Oculus without the Doctor's help?"
The abbot paused to consider the question. "We'd need to use the Doctor and Romana's TARDIS to get us there, but otherwise yes, I believe we do."
"Then this unit will offer what assistance it can to secure the safe return of the TARDIS."
I can prevent their TARDIS from completing its journey until we can reach the shrine, the Protector added, preparing itself to communicate with the k'thellid.
"Ahem." Erkal cleared his throat loudly, doing his best to make his presence known.
Councillor Erkal?
"If you don't mind me saying," he continued, clearly not caring whether they minded or not, "these are matters for consideration by the Council."
Drawing himself up to his full height and gripping the lapels of his robes, the pendectarian moved into the centre of the room, commanding attention from the two leaders. "We may be somewhat short in numbers, but I can't allow you to make a decision without representation from the City Elders. Or have you forgotten the requirements of the accordance?"
The abbot sneered. "Really, Erkal. This is a time for action, not debate."
The Protector disagreed. Councillor Erkal is correct, Gesar. You are, of course, welcome to join us.
Erkal bowed. "Thank you, Protector. Perhaps I might accompany the robot."
Agreed. The robot will require assistance to the journey."The robot is designated K9," said K9.
"Very well," Erkal smiled, giving the odd little biomorph a patronizing tap on the head, "K9 it is then. This TARDIS of your master's, what model is it?"