The background hum that filled the TARDIS stuttered as Romana adjusted the dimensional stabilisers. Moments later it strengthened and steadied as diverted energies passed between the Temperlost and the time ship's systems. Dim light brightened, and a number of red lights dotting the console switched from red to green.
"Can I let go of this yet?" asked Teyamat, her head buried inside the pillar that supported the mushroom-shaped console. "My arms are beginning to ache."
"What?" Romana peered under the console. "You shouldn't have to hold onto that. Here." Rummaging around inside the Doctor's battered toolbox, which rested at her feet, she pulled out a Y-shaped device which she handed to the old priestess. "This Neutron Grip should do the trick."
"Your Doctor is full of surprises, Romana," said Teyamat, brushing herself down.
"That's one way of putting it," said Romana, her attention back on the energy transfer between the two TARDISes. "Which surprise were you referring to?"
"Him," Teyamat nodded at the main view screen, which showed a filtered image of the stabilised Oculus. "K'thannid. Do you really think they spoke?"
"Well, the Doctor tells the odd tall tale, but not when it matters."
"You don't think it was a ruse to secure your compliance? How well do you know him?"
"Well enough to trust his word. He said he'd met K'thannid before, remember."
Teyamat's face rumpled into a frown. "How? He's been imprisoned in the Oculus for two million years. Are there still laws against Time Lords visiting their own history?"
Romana nodded. "And against consorting with the elder races," she said. " Laws and the Doctor don't exactly go together, but the Time Lords would have had something to say about him consorting with a god of K'thannid's stature."
"If they knew about it."
"Well," Romana sighed, "we arrived here because we're on the run. The Time Lords don't know that we're here."
"I'd wondered about that. How did you break through the time loop?
"The randomizer. An invention of the Doctor's."
"Ah," the old crone smiled. "Then he's as resourceful as Pengallia."
"He's the most resourceful man I've ever met." A light flashed on the console. A signal from the Doctor. It was time to act. "That's what makes him so infuriating," she said, flicking a hastily installed switch. One by one the stellar manipulators shut down.
"How old is he?" Teyamat asked, watching the image of the Oculus, which appeared to wobble for a moment.
"He's just turned seven hundred and sixty," said Romana, turning a dial.
"I don't think so," said Teyamat. As Romana turned the dial the Oculus appeared to stretch and distort as the shadow of the bound god that lay within started to emerge. "His aura is older… much older."
"His aura?" Romana looked up from the console. Over Teyamat's shoulder she could see the sun taking on a new shape as its outer shell faded from existence.
"I was trained as a Priestess of Karn, Romana. I see beyond the material realm. Your Doctor has lived more lifetimes than his age suggests. He's walked the Eight Fold Path."
"The Eight Fold Path?" It was the third time it had been mentioned, and Romana was still none the wiser. Irritation crept into her voice. "What is it?"
"After the hurly burly's done," said Teyamat, "I suggest you ask the Doctor." Turning to face Romana, her head was framed by the bursting corona on the screen behind. Great tentacles of energy stretched and unfurled as K'thannid tasted freedom for the first time in two million years.
In Pengallia's tomb the Doctor was surrounded. All eyes were settled upon him as his thumb slipped from the trigger and the signal was unleashed.
In the moment that followed, wind began to whip around the chamber, and a faint, stilted, wheezing groaning sound began to echo through the mountain.
Beside the Doctor,his TARDIS sat, unmoving. Its battered shell throbbed as its outer dimension stabilised. But this wasn't the source of the sound.
In middle of the chamber, where Pengallia's sarcophagus lay, another part of the Temperlost's outer shell began to fade from existence. This was the source of the sound.
The wild howling of vortex energies bursting out of the now-exposed Well of Deep Time began to fill the chamber. Flickers of light burst from the open chasmthat had appeared even as the sarcophagus and part of the chamber's floor disappeared.
Spirals of light and dust flooded the room.
K'thellid's inner sky erupted with golden light as the sun exploded and expanded outwards. Blazing fingers of light stretched out like forks of lightning as clouds evaporated around them. Then the light dimmed, and the fingers of light began to curl; to ball up into a fist-like knot of golden energy.
K'thannid.
The god's eyes closed, and the sky went dark.
Inside the vortex, the temporal echo of K'thellid solidified as the Well of Deep Time – the corridor connecting the world's interior with the periphery – reappeared upon its surface. Directly overhead, the winds of time swirled, and K'thannid's eyes opened once more.
It looked down upon the Temperlost and Pengallia's fleet.
At last.
"Well," said Romana, "this is the point where we cross our fingers."
Teyamat looked confused, making the sign of a cross at the view screen before them. "Is this some kind of superstition?"
Romana couldn't help but smile. "A custom," she said, holding up her own crossed fingers to demonstrate it properly. "From Earth."
"The Temperlost!"
Teyamat pointed at the view screen. As K'thannid faded from the sky over K'thellid, the viewpoint had changed, following his emergence into the periphery, where K'thannid was taking the form of a great winged cephalopod that dwarfed Pengallia's TARDIS and its fleet. "Did he agree not to damage them?"
"Damn." Romana cursed as a great claw emerged from K'thannid's growing form, reaching out to envelop the fleet. She quickly reached forwards to manipulate the controls in front of her.
On-screen, the Temperlost and the fleet faded away.
Inside the TARDIS, a small silver sphere began to materialize in the centre of the control room. It was accompanied by a familiar wheezing and groaning sound.
Melosa?
Malthus reeled when he heard his wife's name. Ahead of him, the linen curtain fell back into place as Erkal and K9 slipped into the room beyond. Running up to the doorway, the sergeant caught the curtain, peering inside at the scene. His eyes settled on the body of his wife, and on Doctor Tavic, who hovered anxiously above her.
"Erkal?" Tavic was a tall willowy man with thinning white hair and grim, humourless features. "What are you doing here?"
Melosa lay in front of the pendectarian, who was obscuring the sergeant's view. The robot dog, K9, was at Erkal's side. Its nose-weapon was extended and pointing at the doctor.
"I should be asking you that, Tavic?" Erkal said. " I saw a menk come in here. What's going on?"
"What do you think?" The doctor snapped. He seemed agitated.
Malthus knew something was wrong.
"Melosa had a seizure. She died on my way here."
Dead?
A wave of emotion surged through Malthus. Holding back the giddiness and nausea at hearing the doctor's words, he swept the curtain aside and stepped into the chamber, pushing his way past Erkal and the dog to cradle his wife's body.
"Melosa," he sobbed. Looking up, he fixed his eyes on those of the physician. "Tell me you can save her, Doctor Tavic."
The doctor nodded thoughtfully. "With help," He said, " but I'll need you all to leave me to my work."
"Query." K9 interrupted. "My scanner indicates that the patient Melosa displays no sign of life. I estimate the time of death as four hours and twenty minutes ago."
"She can still be regenerated," the doctor said. "I managed to suspend the regeneration process with tanha extract. She can be revived, but timing is critical," he urged. "You must leave."
"This regenerator unit is non-functional," said K9. "As is the loom."
"So, Tavic," asked Erkal, "how will you regenerate her without any equipment?"
"Let him do his job," urged Malthus. Looking down at his wife, he swept a lock of her grey hair aside before leaning forwards to kiss her forehead. Stepping away from her, he reached for the councillor's arm. "Let's do as he says, Erkal. Let's go."
"What about the creature, sergeant." The elder was pointing towardsa water tankset against the far wall. A k'thellid rested there, floating in the murky liquid. "Are you going to leave Melosa and Tavic here with that?"
Erkal was right. Something was wrong.
"What's it doing here, Tavic?" The sergeant asked.
"Its here to assist me," said Tavic, his patience shortening. "Now, please, leave us."
"Not yet," said Erkal. "K9, do you have a gene reader?"
"Affirmative," said the dog. "This unit is equipped with a Mark Four Biodata Scanner."
"Excellent. Scan me."
"What?" Malthus was confused.
"Scan me, K9," the old man repeated.
"Stand back," the robot dog said to Malthus and the Doctor as it nodded its head. "Commencing scan."
K9 emitted a high pitched noise as a line of red laser light played across the councillor's face before pausing to process the data.
"Well?"
"There is a 28 variation to the modern Gallifreyan biodata sequence," said K9.
"What does that mean?" Malthus asked.
"Modern Gallifreyans will have been subject to recent biodata upgrades as a means of enhancing their mental and physical abilities," K9 explained, "but over two million years that would account for only a 2 variance."
Erkal looked worried. "And the other 26?"
"Foreign genetic coding."
"Please." Doctor Tavic was getting impatient, stepping forward to try and usher the intruders from the room. "Leave us." He turned to the sergeant. "Malthus, if you want your wife to be returned to you, I have to act quickly."
Foreign biodata? Like Erkal, Malthus was starting to grow concerned, turning to K9. "What do you mean by foreign?"
"Nonhuman," the dog explained.
Tavic shook his head. "The introduction of foreign DNA is a normal procedure. Upgrades during regeneration are commonplace."
"K9," Malthus asked, "what's the origin of the nonhuman biodata?"
"It is k'thellid."
"K'thellid?" Malthus turned on Erkal, his fears and prejudices rising to the fore. "You're k'thellid?"
"A third of me, it seems." Erkal looked unwell. "What about Melosa?"
K9 repeated the scanning procedure before reporting his conclusion. "The patient has a genetic variance of only 1.3 from the Gallifreyan norm."
"She's not infected?" Malthus breathed a sigh of relief.
"Alright," said Tavic, desperate to recover his authority. "Listen to me. Without equipment, the only way the fallen can regenerate is by introducing foreign DNA. Tissue that's never been regenerated before. K'thellid tissue."
K9 was intrigued. "And then?"
"Some time over the next few months she'll be ready to regenerate again. The k'thellid live longer than we do, but after fusion she should have a completely fresh regenerative cycle. Think of it, Malthus. Thirteen new bodies."
The sergeant shook his head. "But she'll be k'thellid."
"Don't you understand?" The doctor sighed. "We're all part-k'thellid. Malthus, you must let me do this. She'll still be Melosa," he stressed. "It will take a while, but she'll get her faculties back in time. If you want her back, you'll let me do this."
It was a stark choice. A dead Melosa, or a k'thellid Melosa.
A menk Melosa.
A living Melosa.
"Alright," he said, reaching forwards tosqueeze his wife's cold, dead, hand. "Do what you have to."
"Thank you."
Pulling on a set of thick vulcanized gloves, Doctor Tavic moved over to the water tank. Reaching in, he took a hold of the floating k'thellid and lifted it out of the tank. Carrying the dripping creature across to the slab where Melosa lay, he placedit above her head and took a stepback. As he did so, the creature adjusted its position and reached forward with its tentacles. Gingerly making contact with her hair, her forehead, her cheek and her throat, the k'thellid's tentacles finally coiled themselves around her neck and tensed, pulling the its bulk forwards until it was in direct contact with her skill.
"What's happening?" A deep sense of unease swept over Malthus as the creature slowly stretched open its beak and began to slide its mouth around her cranium. He started to panic. "It's enveloping her head."
"It's eating her," said Erkal, flinching as the creature's muscles tightened and they slid over the top of Melosa's face.
"Its normal," said Tavic reassuringly. "Its how symbiotic fusion works." As he spoke, thesphincter-like muscles contracted. There was a loud cracking sound asthe skullsplinteredand the k'thellid started to consume the rest of Melosa's head.
"Melosa!"
Revulsion and mistrust urged Malthus forward to end the process. Tavic intercepted him, delaying the sergeant just long enough for the k'thellid's beak to bite down through the flesh of Melosa's throat, severing her head and extending a gristlytube-like organdeep into her spinal cavity. It was replacing her headwith its own.
A torrent of golden light entered Pengallia's tomb, bursting from the openchasm like an inverted waterfall. Snake-like threads of brilliant energy twisted and writhed as they spread outwards, filling the chamber. K'thannid, the controlling mind, sought out the bodies of his children. One by one the Honour Guard fell to their knees, infused by the overwhelming energies that seeped into every living cell.
As their tormentors' bodies began to glow, the terrified k'thellidremained untouched by the power of their god. Their minds had long since been disconnected from K'thannid, and the few cephalopods that bore witness to the transformation quivered in fear and anticipation.
In the centre of the chamber Sheriff Aldus, already a giant of a man, towered over the Doctor and those around him. As he felt the power surge through his body, true realisation dawns upon him, and he smiled.
"Brothers," he turned to the fallen that surrounded him, "we are descended from the original Honour Guard, and we have inherited K'thannid's power. Pengallia stole it, and nowher gift lives inside us. There's no need for peace with the k'thellid at all."
Another of the fallen, himself coming to terms with the wave of energies that transformed him, stepped forward to challenge the sheriff's logic. It was the abbot, Gesar.
"You're wrong, Aldus," he said. "Now you know the truth, you must surely see that the k'thellid aren't a threat to us. They need us."
"Hah," the sheriff laughed in Gesar's face, flecks of spittle settling on his beard. "They might need us, abbot. But we don't need them!" He reached forward, his bear-like grip catching the abbot around the throat as his golden aura brightened and expanded. Locking eyes with the abbot, he started to squeeze.
Stop!
It was Protector K'thellid.
Alone among the k'thellid, their leader seemed unfazed by the danger that Aldus and the Honour Guard now posed. His palanquin slid smoothly forwards as the sheriff cast the abbot to one side, squaring up to the vast, heavingbulk of the great cephalopod.
Their eyes met.
So, thought the protector, it has come to this.
"I've waited a long time for this," Aldus raised his balled fist, which shone like a brilliant sun, "menk."
As Aldus lifted his fist, the Doctor, still standing in the centre of the chamber, began to feel something strange.Time itself appeared to be slowing. His hackles rose as a strange itch began to form deep inside his skull. Pain shot through his shattered optic nerves as he pitched forwards and his goggles clattered to the floor. Scabs cracked, clots thinned and blood flowed from his eyes again. It wasn't just slowing. It was flowing backwards.
"No," the time lord muttered as an impending sense of dread began to overwhelm him. His eyes were healing as the flow of timearound himwas being reversed. Blackness was replaced by dark shadows, which lightened to forma blurred grey patchwork. Within moments the greyness had become a haze of brilliant, chaotic, colours.
Two large,surprised eyes returnedto the Doctor's face. Ashis vision cleared he could see that everything around him was still. Frozen.
Aldus was paused in mid-laugh as his stationary fist was poised to hurl an equally motionless ball of psychic energy at his intended victim. The protector. Around the room glowing monks and Honour Guard weresuspended in a single moment. So to was the stream of light emerging from the Well of Deep Time.
In the corners of the room, the few remaining k'thellid and k'thellid hybrids were frozen in mid-flight, their fears and anxieties trapped by the power of their former god.
The Doctor's eyes suddenly came into sharp focus. As they did so, they registered the only other movement in the chamber: the shifting photophores of Protector K'thellid's skin confirmed the Doctor's suspicions.
K'thannid may once have been the directing mind, but no more.
Time flowed forwards, and the sheriff's fist opened. He reached out with his mind, and the glowing ball of psychic energystarted movingtowards the protector.
"Don't use your mind!" the Doctor shouted.
But it was too late. The flow of time had returned to normal.