5. The Boot is on the Other Foot.

A knock on the door is followed by the swift entry of a runner. He is fit and not out of breath.
"The Judoon have announced that the Master has escaped!" he announces before bowing, leaving and closing the door behind him.

Crystelle is surprised. "That method of informing you must date back a bit?" .
"Sorry, I hadn't responded to my messaging device," Wilbrahim admits, glancing at his device. "It seems we need your services. The boot is on the other foot. If there's anything you need from us, please just say."

"So, am I off-the-hook?" Crystelle One asks. "I want you to say Yes! I want you to say more than Yes! I want to be fully free and forgiven!"
Wilbrahim looks at his messaging device. "The Doctor requires I completely forgive you. My boss assures me I have the authority to pronounce complete forgiveness. So, you are forgiven completely and you're free."

"Thank you," Crystelle One says, much relieved. "I can't tell you how much that means to me." It feels like a large burden has been lifted from her shoulders. She feels her stress lift from her as she hears those words of assured forgiveness. We can often allow ourselves to carry on living with unforgiveness whether we need to forgive others or receive forgiveness from others, and it can be quite a burden.

Then practicalities flood back into her thoughts. "I'll need my Tardis back."

"Ah, yes," Wilbrahim says cautiously. "About that Tardis..."
"What about it?" Crystelle One asks sharply. She's used it plenty in tracking the Master many times, and it will be an essential tool for her to trace the Master again.

"We took it to the Tardis storeroom, but shortly after that it disappeared. So, we no longer have it."

Crystelle One is surprised. She thinks quickly. If her Tardis recognised that it was no longer required, then it might return to the Time Bubble, and she might have lost her access to it for ever. She's certainly not telling the Gallifreyan Authorities about the Tardis Time Bubble the original Crystelle had made.

Crystelle One tries another approach. "Did you inspect the Tardis Instance Number when you placed it in your Tardis storeroom?"
"Yes, that's standard procedure - stock control."
"Then did you compare it to the one the Doctor returned recently?" Crystelle One suddenly feels like she's running rings around them.

Wilbrahim taps in a message on his device and receives a reply. "That's strange - they were the same Tardis."

"Not very strange at all," Crystelle One says. "It's a time machine!"
She's now sure her Tardis has just returned to the Time Bubble, unfortunately.

"So, can I use the Tardis the Doctor returned to you recently?" Crystelle asks. She likes that Tardis, the quiet zizzing sound it makes, it's neat appearance as a door in a wall, similar to other doors nearby...

But Gallifreyan Authorities are not in the habit of just giving a Tardis to a non-Gallifreyan, however accomplished they are tracking the Master.

Wilbrahim looks at her intently. "I'm sorry, that's out of the question."


Crystelle One is expected to leave and to track and trap the Master without a Tardis. She's still grateful they haven't asked her more about how she suddenly arrived on Gallifrey, but suspects that if she pushes asking too much about having a Tardis, they might start asking about her arrival on Gallifrey today.

She finds a bathroom and messages Chloe. At least Chloe's Wristwatch Tardis is still secret, she feels.


Once home, Crystelle One thanks Chloe and goes to her own bathroom to freshen up again. An additional door surprises her in the bathroom. That hadn't been there yesterday!
Curiously she opens the additional door. A Tardis interior greets her. She should have known - an extra door means there's a certain type of Tardis about!

Excitedly she runs downstairs to the lounge. "Chloe," she says breathlessly, "you've got a Tardis!"
Chloe smiles and joins in Crystelle One's delight. "Yes! Did you like it?"
Crystelle One looks at Chloe. "It's exactly the same Tardis as before! How did you get it back?"
"Simple - I just used my Tardis summoner!" .
"That simple? But is it my Tardis or the one the Doctor returned?" Crystelle One asks haltingly.
"Does it matter? They were always just the same Tardis but one of them had more miles on the clock! We probably couldn't tell the difference." .


Is Crystelle One "back in business" so to speak?