Surrounded by steep slopes and mountain mist sat the great archway which led into the monastery of Mount Madronal. The weathered remains of four large round seals were carved into the large slab-like doors that stood some forty feet high by twenty wide.
While two of Gesar's monks helped him to dismount, K9 focused himself upon the task of identifying the ancient symbols. Through his visual circuits he was able to enhance the images, cross-referencing them with the vast database of symbols and icons acquired during his time with the Doctor. Disregarding the doors' ornate borders, which showed serpents and dragons looping through and between them, K9 quickly matched the images to the seals of Demos, Dvora, Madron and Patrex. One world and three great founders, familiar to any student of Gallifreyan iconography.
Stepping forwards, one of the brothers, whom K9 identified as Xerinar, extended his baton before striking the centre of the left-hand door three times. A moment later the doors made a deep grating sound as they swung inwards, revealing a large arched cavern crisscrossed with beams of refracted daylight. Which returned K9 to his observations of the Oculus. His internal light meter indicated that the spectral shift had slowed, a clear indication that the sun had started to stabilize.
With Erkal beside him, K9 followed behind Protector Kthellid's floating palanquin as the monks, the k'thellid and the Honour Guard crossed the monastery's threshold. With a few words from Abbot Gesar, the monks inside gave their visitors a wide berth, eying Aldus and his men suspiciously as they were led deep into the mountain, towards Pengallia's tomb.
As he passed through the doorway, K9 found himself gently nudged by the hand of Councillor Erkal.
"Look, K9," the old man whispered, pointing to where one of the k'thellid had just dismounted. The creature was not following its leader, but instead slid into a side passage, where one of the monks was waiting in the shadows. "Let's follow."
Sneaking into the now-empty passageway, Erkal paused to give K9 time to catch up.
"K9, there's something you should know," Erkal said. K9 responded by rotating his audio receptors rotated towards him. "As well as being a Councillor, I'm also a member of the Honour Guard."
The robot dog's head tilted upwards and to the side. He extended the tip of his stunner.
"I'm not like Aldus," the old librarian put his hands up, as if to fend off any attack from the little robot. "I have different… motivations."
K9 said nothing, instead taking the opportunity to scan the area. He located the k'thellid and the monk several metres ahead. He satisfied himself that neither the master nor the mistress were in the vicinity. He did, however, detect recent traces of Romana's psychic spoor. She had been nearby quite recently.
"Please explain," he finally asked, having first reduced the output levels on his external speaker.
"There's something going on here," said Erkal. "There has been for years. The falling population is not consistent with the technology at this monastery's disposal. If looms or regenerator units are still being used, the population would remain constant. If they aren't being used, then nobody can regenerate."
K9 processed the information as the old man continued. "In good conditions, a typical Demosian should live no more than seven to ten thousand years, yet the fallen are expected to believe we've been alive for two million."
"And the k'thellid?"
"I know they're involved," said Erkal, "I just don't know how. I was hoping you might…" he paused to consider his request, "…help me to investigate. What do you say?"
K9 considered his position. Until the TARDIS returned he had no overriding orders. This left him with two courses of action: find the most likely place for the TARDIS to arrive and wait… or explore, gather information, and report back his discoveries to the master and mistress at the first opportunity.
"I will accompany you," he replied, activating his servomotors. "This way."
The councillor shuffled along behind as K9 led them deep into the labyrinth of corridors that lay ahead.
K9 and Erkal's departure did not go entirely unnoticed.
Since the Doctor had arrived, Sergeant Malthus had begun to question his motivation as a member of the Honour Guard. While he had not spoken out about his concerns, the sergeant found it increasingly uncomfortable to stand by the sheriff's side during their escalating confrontations. He was still loyal, of course. But he had taken to hanging back from the action, and was the rear-most of the Honour Guard when they had entered the mountain.
Like Erkal, he had seen the menk that slipped off down the side-passage. He had also seen Erkal and the robot dog pursue it. The pendectarian was an old friend, and wise. Whatever had motivated him to take a side-trip with the robot was worthy of further investigation. Slipping into the side corridor, Malthus quietly followed them.
With a fractured wheezing, groaning sound, the Doctor's TARDIS slowly materialized inside Pengallia's tomb. The strain on its damaged exterior, coupled with its resistance to the psionic forces exerted by the k'thellid protector, made every pulse of its engines quiver. To those inside the tomb, its police-box shape appeared worn and battered, with translucent patches where its blue pigmentation had simply faded away.
The door opened, and a makeshift white flag popped out, tied to what had once been K9's tail.
"Hallo?" the Doctor called, tentatively stepping outside. As he had suspected, the chamber was filled with monks, k'thellid and the Honour Guard.
Lowering his flag, the Doctor raised his other hand, which contained a short, stubby device of some kind.
"Doctor?" Gesar was the first to speak. "Where is Romana?"
The abbot, flanked by a couple of his men moved forwards to intercept the Doctor, but Aldus and his men intervened, holding them back while they awaited the time lord's response.
"She's inside," he said. "She's my prisoner."
Prisoner? Thought the protector, I thought she was your colleague.
"She was," agreed the Doctor, "until that old fool Teyamat convinced her she was a resurrected goddess. I'm afraid all that power made her think she could stop me."
"What do you mean?"
"I'm the Doctor. I'm the Lord President of Gallifrey. And a carnifex to boot." He sighed, his shoulders slumping. "It's never good to fight against your true nature."
"Doctor," Aldus was confused, "what are you saying?"
"You were right about me, abbot."
"Right?" The abbot's tanned brow furrowed.
"Back on Gallifrey this world is little more than forgotten history. The Time Lords have moved on, and they weren't concerned with your world or its politics. But now… my coming here was a mistake, but it's brought you back to our attention. It's therefore my duty, as a time lord, to keep you all imprisoned… or to destroy you."
"That's not going to happen, Doctor," said Aldus, puffing out his already impressive chest and broadening his shoulders. "I gave you the benefit of the doubt. I had hoped that, together, we could work to reunite the fallen with the Time Lords. But you're no better than Gesar and the menks. Worse, in fact. At least they have their desire to survive as an excuse."
"And the Time Lords don't?"
"We're no threat to you," said the sheriff. "We never were…"
"Keep back, Aldus!" The Doctor raised the stubby device he had been holding. He shifted his thumb slightly to expose the button he was holding down. "If you don't back away I'll be forced to release this."
"Explosives?" In spite of his mistrust for the time lord, Gesar found himself a little surprised by his actions. "You intend to blow us up, Doctor?"
The Doctor smiled. "Suicide isn't my style, gentlemen. This is a remote transponder with a voolium casing and an isomorphic lock. Only my genetic codes can activate it, and it's shielded from external psionic influence. By releasing this trigger I'll transmit a signal that will destroy your Oculus."
What?
"It will send a deactivation code to the six stellar manipulators that hold the Eye of K'thannid in place. The Great Archon will be freed, and your so-called peace will be shattered once and for all. Under their true leader, the k'thellid will rise against you."
"I don't understand," said Aldus, still trying to come to terms with the Doctor's threat. It sounded like a bluff. "You'd unleash your greatest enemies upon us?"
"Pengallia is the real threat to Gallifrey, Aldus. She stole K'thannid's power, and only she can stop me."
"Really?" The sheriff shook his head in disbelief, turning to the armed Guard who surrounded the chamber. "Men, " he ordered, "kill him."
No!
Before the Honour Guard could react, the protector's palanquin had shifted itself forward as his telepathic shout echoed their heads. They froze for a moment as the k'thellid continued, broadcasting his thoughts so everyone could hear them. Listen to me, Doctor. K'thannid's release must be avoided at all costs. The k'thellid are not what they once were, and neither are the fallen.
The Doctor lowered the remote slightly. "Would you care to explain?"
Pengallia defeated us by stealing our genetic heritage. The protector replied. She created a symbiotic link between the fallen and the k'thellid. We need each other in order to survive. If K'thannid is released, his power will not be returned to the k'thellid. My people will not rise up and overthrow the fallen.
"Will not," The Doctor asked, "or cannot?"
Cannot. The protector clarified. Only those chosen by Pengallia herself can wield the Archon's power. She took it and bestowed it only upon her most trusted aides.
"Wait," said Aldus, "Pengallia's most trusted aides were the Myrmidon. He paused as the revelation sank in. "The Honour Guard! You're saying that if the Doctor unleashes K'thannid, it will be us who can wield his great power!"
"As I suspected," said the Doctor, lowering the remote and breaking into a smile.
"You were bluffing?" Gesar asked.
"Sort of," said the Doctor. "I just wanted to be absolutely certain that K'thannid should be released and the Well of Deep Time reopened."
He raised the remote again, and this time he released the button.
In another part of the monastery, K9 and Councillor Erkal followed the slimy white trail left by the unmounted k'thellid. Like the creature preceding them, their progress was slow.
"Councillor," K9 said as quietly as his circuits allowed, "we are being followed."
"Monks?" The old man asked, his voice tinged with concern.
"Negative. Sergeant Malthus is pursuing us. He is maintaining a mean distance of 4.3 metres."
"He's a good man, K9," Erkal whispered, breathing a sigh of relief. Of all the Honour Guard Malthus was the most reasonable. Whether he had been despatched by Aldus or followed of his own volition, the sergeant would ask questions before acting. "And useful backup if we need help."
K9 didn't respond. Instead he paused, adjusting his sensors before reporting further. "The k'thellid has entered another corridor 8.5 metres ahead of us. There is some interference caused by the rock."
"It's alright," said Erkal. "I seem to remember this part of the monastery from one of the times I was brought up the mountain to regenerate."
"Query: You recall your regenerations, and yet you earlier claimed to be uncertain of having lived so long. This data is inconsistent."
"I see what you mean," said Erkal, pausing to think about it. "I remember all but my last regeneration, which must have been seven… eight thousand years ago. That's much longer than a body would normally last. It's rare for a final incarnation to last as long as even a thousand years."
"Query: Is your situation unique?"
"No," said Erkal. "No, it isn't. It seems to have been the same for most of the fallen, as if we'd somehow had our last lives extended."
"So you do not recall any deviation in procedure?"
"In the old days, the dying would be brought up the mountain, connected to a regenerator unit, and then returned to the city. Over the years our memories became less and less reliable, but that's to be expected. Then the procedure changed. My last body was dead before it was taken up the mountain, and I didn't return until several years later. Yet I have no memory of the intervening time."
Reaching the break in the corridor, K9 paused. He briefly scanned ahead – and behind – before turning the corner and leading them towards a chamber not far ahead. Its entrance was obscured by a dirty linen curtain.
"There appear to be three life forms ahead. One human, one k'thellid, and a deceased human."
"This is it, K9," said Erkal. "That must be the regeneration chamber."
Edging forwards to the end of the corridor, they paused outside the chamber. Easing past K9, Councillor Erkal gently reached for the curtain, drawing it cautiously aside so that he could peer inside.
The far wall was decked with old technology. A biodata store, a loom, and a metamorphic symbiosis regenerator. Beside it was a large water-filled tank, which was occupied by the k'thellid.
In the centre of the room was a row of stone pallets, one of which was occupied. The features were obscured, but he recognised the hair. Leaning over her was a familiar face. Dressed in a blouson with a linen apron and a face mask.
Drawing the curtain aside, Erkal beckoned K9 to follow.
"Doctor Tavic," he said loudly by way of an announcement. "Would you care to explain what are you doing to Melosa?"