Chapter 2
Inside the Leaky Cauldron, Nathan closed his eyes and did a telepathic scan of the area. Rachael simply stood about looking bored. They had been standing around for a few minutes now and they still haven't found a clue about what caused the disturbance. The redheaded teen simply gave a huff and went over to an empty table to sit down. Nathan followed suit, but the Doctor remained. His eyes fixed upon every detail in the room.
"Doctor, I don't sense anything weird. Aside from the people," Nathan said as the Doctor studied their surroundings.
K-9 extended his probe and with the twist of his 'ears', detected what seemed to be the source.
"Master, the trace terminates here," K-9 reported.
"I see," The Doctor replied, holding his chin in thought.
"Affirmative Master. There does appear to be interference from the heighten quantum fluctuations."
"It's magic. The energy signature is magical in origin. Of course, that would explain why we've traced it here," said the Doctor with a grin on his face.
"Magic? I thought it was psychic in nature?" Rachael asked, somewhat puzzled.
"Affirmative mistress. Magic is the colloquial term for the various primordial energies that change probabilistic, quantum mechanical outcomes. It can influence psionic phenomena and..."
"Shush K-9. Let's go ahead and have lunch. While we enjoy our meal, we can see if we can spot anything unusual," the Doctor said as he went into the Leaky Cauldron.
K-9 joined the twins at the table as the Doctor went to order lunch. Nathan and Rachael were still unsure about the whole situation. Magic that could affect time and psychic energy wasn't what they were expecting.
"Hey Nate, do you ever get the feeling that we might run into a smiling cat and a girl named Alice?" Rachael asked her brother as she followed the Doctor.
"Yeah, and I think the Mad Hatter is leading the way," Nathan said with a laugh.
Rachael laughed along with her brother as they waited for the Doctor. Meanwhile, the Doctor went up to the bar and greeted the innkeeper Tom.
"Ah, hello there. I was wondering if I could get three butterbeers and three steak pies, please?" the Doctor asked Tom.
"Sure thing, sir. I take you three are travelers?" Tom asked as he took three mugs and filled them with butterbeer.
"Yes. We have just come from the Continent," the Doctor replied friendly.
"Aye sir. That'd explain why you stand out, here you are," Tom said as he handed the mugs to the Doctor.
"Thank you. By the way, I hope you don't mind me asking, but have there been any other travelers that have come through recently?" the Doctor asked.
Tom was a little uneasy answering the Doctor's question. However, aside from the unusual attire, Tom didn't get a bad impression from the man.
"Well, one of my regulars travels a lot. I could see if she would like to make your acquaintance," Tom replied.
"Excellent. I would like to meet someone new to share stories with. Thank you again," the Doctor said as he brought the drinks to Nathan and Rachael.
Tom watched the strange man join his companions at their table. While a little uneasy, he nonetheless felt that the man meant no harm and figured it would give Lara a chance to make some friends. Speaking of which, Lara came downstairs and walked up to the bar.
"Hi Tom. How's business going today?" Lara asked Tom as he handed her a mug of her usual.
"It's been a typical day mostly, aside from those travelers over there," answered Tom pointing at the Doctor and company's table.
Lara saw them and noted how much they stood out. She noticed the teens were around her age. Lara felt her cheeks heat up a little upon noticing the younger man. Despite some weird scars on his face, he was a looker. The redhead sitting next to him must be his sister, since they favored each other. As for the tall, older man with the long, multicolored scarf, Lara got the impression that he was a madman, but still friendly looking despite that.
"The older man said they had come in from a trip from the Continent. He was curious if there were other travelers, and I figured he was a friendly chap. So, I mentioned you,"
"They seem to be friendly, I'll go say hi and maybe exchange a few stories," Lara said with a smirk.
She knew Tom meant well, and she never really got the chance to speak with other travelers. Tom was a good judge of character anyways. So, Lara moseyed her way toward the travelers' table. They seemed to be in a deep discussion, and didn't seem to notice her approach.
"So Doctor, what sort of unusual thing are we looking for?" Rachael asked as she stared at her butterbeer.
"We'll know it when we see it," the Doctor said as he took a sip from his mug.
Rachael sighed at the Doctor's response. There were only two possibilities that would explain the Doctor's response: one, he knew exactly what to look for and was pretending to be a fool. Or two, he had no clue. With the Doctor, it was hard to know the difference. The Doctor, on the other hand, did have a hunch. Experience has taught the Doctor that when searching for anything unusual, your best bet is to start with people who stood out. Nobody stands more than fellow travelers. Plus, since there didn't seem to be anything too troublesome going on at the moment. So the Doctor decided to take it easy and enjoy the refreshments. After all, it had been at least 300 years since the Doctor had a cold butterbeer. Despite seeming aloof, the Doctor did observe a teenage girl with the auburn hair and glasses coming toward their table. He quickly figured that she was the traveler that the innkeeper told him of.
"Hi there, Tom said you were looking to speak with a fellow traveler. I'm Lara", Lara greeted as she shook hands with the Doctor.
"Nice to meet you, I'm the Doctor. This is Nathan, Rachael, and K-9," the Doctor said with a loud joyful tone as he returned the greeting.
Lara was taken aback somewhat from the Doctor's pronounced response, but nonetheless she thought that this strange man was probably fun to be around. So she took a seat across from the travelers to join them in conversation. The Doctor then pulled out a small bag from his coat pocket. The bag was full of sweets.
"Would you care for a jellybaby?" the Doctor asked as he offered Lara some jellybabies.
Lara knew that no one should take candy from a stranger, but the man had a charming aura in addition to the fun-filled impression she had of him. So, Lara disregarded the notion and accepted the offer.
"Thank you," Lara said as she took a jelly baby.
"You're welcome. Well, say hello Rachael and Nathan," the Doctor said, prompting the twins to introduce themselves.
"Hi. Welcome to the table of the crazies," Rachael said as she shook hands with Lara.
"Correction mistress. I cannot experience psychological deviations due to being a robot," K-9 clinically replied.
Lara jumped a little when she heard K-9 speak. She looked at the tin dog curiously. It's one of those curious 'living' machines muggles called robots. Lara then looked up and her eyes met with the younger man's eyes. A small flush of heat went through her cheeks.
"Hi," Lara said a little bashfully.
Nathan was a bit distracted, and it was obvious why. Lara had caught his attention fully. Luckily Rachael gave her brother a helpful nudge so he could snap out of his awkward gazing.
"Oh, sorry. Hi," Nathan said quickly with a grin.
Lara returned a small grin, but before anything more could be said Thorin Eaton interrupted them.
"Lara?" he called out.
"Thorin! Wow that was quick. Please excuse me," Lara said to the others as she went to go meet with Thorin.
Thorin stood there as Lara came up to him. It had been over a year since he last saw her and they both gave each other a brief hug. Thorin noted how she seemed much happier now that she was traveling. Plus, it seemed that she had made some new acquaintances. Nonetheless, he had a job to do and he needed Lara to come with him with the Time-Turner. Still, it would be rude if he didn't talk to Lara a little before they had to get down to business.
"It's been a while Lara. How have you been?" Thorin asked.
"I'm doing alright, just hoping that this hasn't caused too much trouble," Lara said nervously.
"No worries, you did the right thing by getting in touch with me. Do you still have it?" Thorin asked.
"Yes, I have in my pocket," Lara answered.
The Doctor took note of how Lara and her friend were acting. First, he quietly studied the young man who just arrived. Judging by the suit and way he carried himself, the Doctor deduced that he was an official of some sort. The fact they were talking in hushed voices suggested that they were talking about something they wanted to keep secret. Lara becoming visibly nervous added to the seriousness of the secrecy surrounding their discussion. All of these clues gave the Doctor all he needed. His hunch about Lara was about to pay off. Nathan noticed the Doctor studying the new arrival. So, Nathan figured that he would ask the Doctor about what he found out.
"Doctor, do you think that guy may know something?" Nathan asked quietly.
"Yes. I'm almost certain my hunch is correct. Let's do a little eavesdropping, eh?" the Doctor said slyly, followed by a sip of butterbeer.
Nathan took the hint, and reached out with his mind. It didn't take long for Nathan to find out what the two were talking about. Nathan turned to the Doctor.
"Lara found something called a Time-Turner when she was traveling in Poland. It some sort of magical device that allows someone to time travel. Her friend is Thorin Eaton. He's an agent from the Ministry of Magic that specializes in time magic. Lara contacted him and he's here to take the device to the Ministry for study. Also, Thorin's boss asked the Polish Ministry of Magic for help in their investigation," Nathan reported to the Doctor. Rachael listened as well.
The Doctor was very happy to hear that. It gave him the perfect cover that would allow him to learn more about this Time-Turner. The twins immediately figured out what the Doctor had planned.
"Well, I think it's time we show our credentials," the Doctor said with his trademark, toothy grin.
"Time to play spies," Rachael said sarcastically.
The Doctor with the twins in tow, walked up to Thorin and Lara.
"Once you get your things together, we'll head over to the Ministry …"
"What an excellent idea! Pardon my interruption. Are you Mr. Eaton of the Ministry of Magic?" the Doctor boomingly asked.
""Y-yes, can I help you?" Thorin asked, a little shocked by the stranger's introduction.
"Actually, I was hoping to ask you the same question," the Doctor replied.
"Really?" said a confused Thorin.
"I am the Doctor. These are my assistants, Nathan and Rachael. We're agents from the Polish Ministry of Magic. We had received reports of an unusual Time-Turner, and we were sent to investigate," the Doctor explained with a lie.
"That's suspiciously quick. Do you have any sort of credentials?" Thorin asked skeptically.
"Of course," the Doctor said as he pulled out a blank pad of paper from his pocket and handed it to Thorin.
From Thorin's point of view, the blank paper pad was a full set of governmental credentials. That was the beauty of psychic paper, and it was one of the Doctor's favorite tools. However, psychic paper wasn't always foolproof. Lara felt there was something a little off with the 'credentials'. Despite this, Lara figured that the Doctor was genuine in his offer to help them. Thorin handed the Doctor back his pad and continued to question him.
"Looks good to me, but I do have a few questions," said Thorin as finished speaking with the Doctor.
"By all means, ask away," the Doctor said confidently.
"It was only an hour ago when we sent out the owl to your superiors, how did you learn of it so quickly?" Thorin asked.
"Word does travel fast. However, we have been investigating this artifact for some time," the Doctor said with a grin.
"The Polish Ministry was already aware of it?" Thorin continued with his questioning.
"To a degree, yes. Most of what we learned was mostly rumors. Luckily, we just so happen to be here in London chasing another rumor when we met Lara," the Doctor answered with a made-up explanation.
By this point, Thorin didn't have much reason to keep questioning the Doctor. His account was plausible, though convenient. Perhaps Croaker could get more info out of the Doctor when they got back to the Ministry.
"Well, I'm glad that you're here then. I think we'll need all the help we can get," Thorin said with a sigh.
"I am certain of it," the Doctor said in a somewhat stern tone.
Thorin turned to Lara.
"Lara go ahead and get your things please."
"Okay, I'll be back in a couple of minutes," Lara replied as she went to her room to get her things.
While Lara got her things, the Doctor went to pay the tab he and the twins owed. Thorin turned to the twins.
"Does your supervisor always act this way?" he asked.
"Yeah, but that's part of his charm," Rachael answered with a smirk.
Nathan remained silent, but nodded. Thorin simply accepted their words.
Once everyone regrouped the Doctor took the lead and said to the others,
"Let's go, no time to waste."
Lara and Thorin were a bit dumbfounded by the Doctor's immediate takeover of the situation. Since they had no reason to protest, they decided to just let him lead the way. Nathan, Rachael and K-9 knew the drill and followed the Doctor outside. They are used to the Doctor's antics after all, and when he got like this then they knew that he had a plan. While they didn't know what the Doctor's plan was, they had complete trust in it. It didn't take long for the group to reach the Ministry building. Despite being in the center of Magical London, it seemed like any other government building. Which made it stand out in a bizarrely normal way to the twins.
A lot of office workers poured out of the building. It was quitting time and they were eager to make their way home. However, there were a few who stayed late, most notably the Aurors who acted as the police force for the Ministry. Thorin and his boss, Saul Croaker, often stayed late too. Tonight was going to be another late night. As the group went to Croaker's office, the Doctor was in deep thought. He had yet to examine the Time-Turner, but the Doctor had a sneaking suspicion that the artifact had a lot more to it than simply traveling through time. His face gave way to a chillingly grim expression when another thought crossed his mind. There was no way the Doctor and his companions were the only ones to detect the disturbance. Which meant that the Time-Turner could be a lure for trouble. However, the Doctor knew that they would have to wait for any trouble to turn up. Once at the office, Thorin and Lara entered first. Upon entering, they were greeted by Croaker who was at his desk going over a thick tome.
"Hello there, you must be Lara," Croaker said kindly as he stood up and shook Lara's hand.
"Yes sir, it is nice to meet you in person, Mr. Croaker. I have read up on some of your research," Lara replied, a little excited and intimidated by the fairly famous Unspeakable.
"Wonderful, perhaps you'll get to participate in this research project. You can just call me Saul," Croaker continued.
"Sir, I need to tell you about…" Thorin tried to tell Croaker about the others before being cut off.
"Hello there!" the Doctor greeted as he entered the door.
Nathan and Rachael were close behind, while K-9 waited out in the hallway. Croaker wasn't expecting them at all. He quickly went over to Thorin for answers about these unexpected guests.
"Thorin, who are these people?" Croaker asked quietly, pulling Thorin to the side.
"That's the Doctor and his assistants. He is an agent for the Polish Ministry of Magic. Apparently they had been trying to track this Time-Turner down for a while," Thorin answered.
Croaker gave a concerned look. He felt uneasy about someone just showing up looking for the same artifact that they had only recently learned about it. Croaker decided to question the Doctor. The impression he got from the eccentrically dressed man was one of friendliness and possible insanity. The Doctor's madcap way of carrying himself made Croaker think he was trying to play the fool.
"Excuse me, um… Doctor… what is your surname?" Croaker said to the Doctor.
"Just the Doctor. You must be Thorin's supervisor. Nice to meet you," the Doctor said in his typical friendly manner extending his hand to shake Croaker's.
"I'm assuming you're operating with a code name?" Croaker continued, returning the handshake.
"You could say that. Anyways, I'm guessing you would like to see my credentials, no?" the Doctor said with a toothy smile.
The Doctor had centuries of experience doing this sort of covert operation. Figuratively, it was all part of the script that the Doctor knew well. Plus, it would allow him to earn some degree of the official's trust. Croaker was a little amused by the Doctor's humorous manner. The aloofness and friendly manner would make most consider the Doctor to be mostly harmless. Still, Croaker's uneasiness remained. He too had years of experience and knew it always wise to weary of strangers who show up out of the blue.
"Yes, if you wouldn't mind. We can't be too careful these days," Croaker replied.
"Very true! Here you are," the Doctor replied in kind.
Once again, the Doctor pulled out the psychic paper and showed it to Croaker. This deception convinced the Unspeakable enough to be more relaxed around this stranger. Apparently, the Doctor's papers showed that he was an expert in matters dealing with time-magic. Yet, Croaker had never heard of him. He made a mental note to verify the Doctor's credentials later. While the papers checked out, Croaker swore they seemed a bit off. It could simply be paranoia due to the potential danger this Time-Turner could cause. For now, Croaker decided to allow the Doctor to assist them.
"Alright then, thank you Doctor. Lara, if you would show us the Time-Turner please," Croaker asked the teen politely.
"Of course. Here you go, sir," Lara said as she pulled the artifact from her coat pocket.
"Fascinating. Judging by the condition of the metal, it has to be at least five hundred years old," Croaker said as he took the artifact from Lara.
Holding it up for everyone to see, Croaker took in as detail as he could as he examined it.
"I have never seen a Time-Turner like this. I wonder what sort of substance was used in the conductor?" Croaker continued, referring to the black sand in the hourglass.
"It could be some sort of volcanic dust," Thorin suggested.
"Maybe. The minerals in volcanic ash and sand don't normally have magical properties," Croaker countered.
"May I take a look at it please?" the Doctor asked.
"Sure," Croaker said as he handed the Time-Turner to the Doctor.
The Doctor examined the artifact. Unlike the humans around him, the Doctor could sense the temporal energy coming off of the Time-Turner. The energy was weak, but it did match the echo traces that K-9 tracked earlier. The Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver to analyze the mysterious substance in the conductor.
"Doctor, what is that thing you have?" Croaker asked.
"It's my wand, disguised as a Muggle tool. I had it specially made for analyzing time-magic items," the Doctor answered with another lie.
The sonic screwdriver began to buzz as the Doctor scanned the Time-Turner. A few seconds later, the Doctor had identified the substance.
"That is very unusual. My analysis tells me that this is condensed dark matter," the Doctor said aloud as he continued to study the artifact.
"Condensed dark matter? What in Merlin's name is that?" Croaker demanded.
"Put simply, dark matter is a type of matter that is nearly undetectable, hardly interacts with normal matter, and makes up the fabric of the universe. This condensed form is dark matter that has been 'treated' so it will have a higher chance of interacting with normal matter and energy," the Doctor briefly explained.
This was something well beyond Croaker's or Thorin's expertise. They did make some basic sense of what the Doctor was getting at. If this substance makes up the foundation of the universe, then it would have a strong influence on the flow of time. Croaker and Thorin both became more uneasy about the Doctor now. He knew a lot more than he let on. The question in Croaker's and Thorin's minds was how could the Doctor have such advanced knowledge. Croaker decided he would keep an eye on the Doctor. He would try to find out why the Doctor knew more than the best minds in the field of time-magic. Thorin, while uneasy, was fascinated with the information the Doctor provided them. This could allow him to open up new areas of research with all sorts of possibilities. For now, Croaker and Thorin would let the Doctor finish his examination before questioning him.
The Doctor took out a jeweler's loupe from pocket and placed it on his right eye. Through the loupe's magnification, the Doctor noticed that the rings that surrounded the conductor were composed of a lattice-like weave of very fine wires. It reminded the Doctor of the TARDIS's interphasic transmitters which had a similar structure, though on a much smaller scale. So, it was likely that the rings had the same function. The difference being that the rings used magic to manipulate the temporal energy instead of the gravitational energy of black holes. Which was how the Eye of Harmony on Gallifrey powered TARDISs. The only other thing the Doctor noticed was that the conductor's hourglass-like casing was composed of a type of artificial crystal. In fact, the crystal had similar physical characteristics to ruby quartz. The same material that made up the glasses worn by the twins' father. The major difference between the two types of crystals was how they transferred energy. Ruby quartz diffuses the energy as it travels through the material. This diffusion is caused by the red-colored impurities in ruby quartz. The crystal in conductor casing would do the opposite. Being clear and thus free of impurities, any energy going through it would be amplified. The Doctor speculated that this is how the Time-Turner extracts energy from the dark matter within the conductor. The engineering that had to be involved in creating this artifact was far beyond what humans could do, even with magic. The Doctor could only draw one conclusion about the origins of the Time-Turner. It had to have come from somewhere beyond Earth. Where exactly, the Doctor was unsure. He decided to talk to Lara and see if she could give anymore details.
"Lara, did the merchant you bought this from told anything about its history?" the Doctor asked.
"No, other than he came across it in a box of secondhand items. Being a Muggle, he thought it was just a medallion," Lara said quietly.
"I see," the Doctor said as he removed the loupe from his eye.
After handing the Time-Turner back to Croaker, the Doctor began to pace back and forth. It was unfortunate that Lara couldn't tell him anything more. As he paced, the Doctor went through his vast memories of all the technologies he had encountered in his adventures. Several minutes passed, and the Doctor drew a blank. He had never encountered anything like this artifact before. It didn't match any sort of technology or magical devices that the Doctor was aware of. It was not all a loss, considering that he had figured out how this unusual Time-Turner functioned. There was a possibility that comparing it to a typical Time-Turner may help fill in some details, but this was a longshot considering how advanced the artifact was.
"Doctor, is there anything else that we should know about this artifact?" Croaker asked.
"Well, to sum up my observations, this Time-Turner did not originate from this planet. No human hand, magical or otherwise, would have been able to construct this device," the Doctor answered.
"Doctor, I'm not sure if I follow you. Are you saying this Time-Turner came from the stars?" Croaker asked in disbelief.
"In a manner of speaking, yes," the Doctor replied, and then took a seat in one of the guest chairs.
Croaker was at a loss for words. The Unspeakable saw the Doctor's answers as confirmation that he was a madman. Thorin on the other hand was a bit more receptive.
"I have a question Doctor. If the Time-Turner does come from the stars, why does it look so similar to ones we have?" Thorin asked.
"That is a good question and shows me that you are very insightful. The simplest answer is that all of the Time-Turners are primitive copies of this one," the Doctor said, touching the side of his nose with his index finger.
"I see. Mr. Croaker, you did say you estimated its age to around five hundred years right?" Thorin asked.
"Yes. Which would make it at least three centuries older than the earliest documented accounts of Time-Turners," Croaker answered.
"Tell me Mr. Croaker, is the early recorded history of Time-Turner fragmentary?" the Doctor asked in the hopes of testing his hypothesis.
"Now that you mention it, yes. The early history of Time-Turners is poorly known. The earliest known mention is from a German manuscript dated to the eighteenth century," Croaker answered with a stunned tone.
Croaker now fully grasped what the Doctor was getting at. While he still thought the otherworldly origin hypothesis was ridiculous, Croaker had to agree that the artifact may have inspired early wizards to make their own. The poor documentation would easily conceal the existence of this artifact.
While the academics were discussing the Doctor's findings, Rachael sat next to K-9 bored out of her damn mind. It took everything she had to keep from falling asleep. While the discussions were kinda interesting, Rachael was a little disappointed that the seriousness of the disturbance seemed to have died down. She was ready to face whatever danger was to come, only to be in a lecture hall talking about magical time machines. Then again, since the visions Nathan and the Doctor came from the future, maybe this was the calm before the storm. Rachael was itching for something to happen. K-9 took notice of Rachael's lack of attention.
"Mistress, would like for me to recite articles from the Encyclopedia Galactica?" the robot dog asked.
"No, K-9. Not in the mood for a knowledge dump," Rachael said a humph.
"Affirmative mistress."
Rachael turned and looked at her brother. Lara was talking to Nathan about her trips through Europe and her future travel plans. Rachael did get a little amusement when she noticed the slightly dopey grin on Nathan's face. She didn't need to be telepathic to know what was on her brother's mind. When this was all said and done, she was going to tease the hell out of Nathan. Before her attention lapsed again, Rachael noticed K-9 perk up and dart across the office to the window. K-9's radar-dish ears twisted rapidly.
"Danger master!" K-9 loudly announced.
"What?!" the Doctor, Thorin, and Croaker cried out in unison.
KA-BOOOM!-SMASH!
Crashing through the window was three trigger happy Daleks.
"EXTERMINATE!" the evil creatures screamed in unison as they fired their energy guns.
Quickly, Nathan held up his hands and projected a telekinetic force field to protect everyone from the energy blasts. Rachael also sprung into action, taking one of the Daleks by surprise with her optic blasts. The crimson beams tore through the Dalek's shell.
"THIS UNIT IS IMPAIRED!" called out the damaged Dalek.
The Doctor quickly toppled over Croaker's desk and jumped behind it. Thorin and Croaker joined the Doctor in short order. Lara tried to take cover behind a chair, but she got cornered by the lead Dalek. K-9 saved Lara by attacking the Dalek's eye-stalk with his laser.
"VISION IMPAIRED!" screamed the lead Dalek.
"CAPTURE THE DEVICE! IMMEDIATELY! IMMEDIATELY!" another Dalek called out.
Two more Daleks joined the fray.
"WE OBEY!" yelled the newly arrived pair.
Croaker and Thorin pulled out their wands ready to fight.
"What are those things?" Thorin cried out.
"Daleks! They must be after the Time-Turner!" Doctor yelled to the others.
The Daleks repeatedly screamed their battle cry "EXTERMINATE!" as they continued their assault. Nathan's force field was holding, but the strain was starting to get to him. The Daleks were concentrating their fire on the invisible bubble projected by Nathan. Whenever an energy blast struck the field, Nathan felt the impact in his mind. Each impact felt like a blow from a sledgehammer. He didn't know how long he could hold out, but he was determined to hold out for as long as possible. Rachael fired her optic blasts to deter the Daleks. She managed to score a few more hits, but the hateful creatures just kept coming. Rachael hoped that the Doctor was coming up with a plan to get everyone away from them.
Outside of the Ministry building, several Aurors tried to fight the attacking Daleks. They fought valiantly, but with limited success. Their usual attack spells had little effect on the Daleks' armored shells. A few Aurors resorted to using the Killing Curse on the invaders despite the possible legal consequences. This tactic was successful since it magically bypassed the armored shells and killed the octopus-like creatures inside. Soon, all of the Aurors remaining resorted to using the Killing Curse, and allowing them take out many of the Dalek drones. Casualties were beginning to mount among the defenders however. The Daleks' energy guns easily blasted through the ward charms the Aurors used to protect themselves. Some were using physical barriers for cover, but even the thick stone fences that surrounded the Ministry building couldn't stand up to the blasts for long.
Back inside Croaker's office, the Daleks were inching ever closer in acquiring the Time-Turner. Luckily, Croaker had put it in his jacket pocket when the Dalek started their attack. Unfortunately, Nathan could keep his force field any longer. When the psychic shield gave out, the energy blast burned through the desk, nearly hitting Croaker. He managed to dodge just in time. When Croaker hit the floor off to the left of the desk, the Time-Turner fell out of his pocket and rolled toward where Lara was taking cover. The teen saw the artifact and without a second thought dove in to snatch it up. Before Lara could grab the Time-Turner, a stray blast struck it. Lara nearly panicked when that happened, but to her surprise the Time-Turner didn't seem affected by the deadly energy. Lara took a cloth from her pocket and used it to pick up the artifact. She scurried to the other side of the office next to Nathan behind a large wooden cupboard.
While his force field failed, Nathan was still in the fight. He knew they needed to do something that would distract the Daleks long enough for them to make an escape. Then Nathan had an idea and telepathically contacted the Doctor.
Doctor! I have an idea to help us escape. Are the Daleks vulnerable to psychic attack?
The Doctor was trying to keep low and wasn't able to really plan anything. Upon hearing Nathan's idea the Doctor grinned. He quickly responded back mentally.
Yes. All Daleks are connected to an artificial telepathic network that isn't shielded from psychic attacks. So, if you are able to muster up a powerful enough attack, it should temporarily disable them.
No sooner than when the Doctor sent his response, Nathan immediately began to focus on the Daleks' network. He sensed the network instantly thanks to the pure hatred that strongly radiated from it. Once Nathan got a fix on the network, he focused his remaining psionic power into a surge of raw telepathic static. Like a blitzkrieg, the surge took the Daleks by complete surprise and overwhelmed their network. Soon, the network failed, leaving the Daleks stunned and powerless. Even the Daleks fighting the Aurors outside were stunned. Which the remaining Aurors took quick advantage of. They managed to kill all of the powerless Daleks that were outside. Back inside, the group quickly took their opportunity. Croaker led the group to a secret room that had an exit to the outside. Quickly they went into the secret room and Croaker closed it off with a charm. Mere seconds later, the four remaining Daleks inside the office rebooted their systems. Once they were fully operational, the Daleks gave chase as they chanted:
"SEEK! LOCATE! EXTERMINATE!"
"SEEK! LOCATE! EXTERMINATE!"
"SEEK! LOCATE! EXTERMINATE!"
The Dalek that took point picked up faint traces of the group's body heat with its infrared sensor. It also picked up the weak electromagnetic distortion generated by the Time-Turner. It turned to the others and gave an order to them:
"WE MUST ACQUIRE THE TEMPORAL DEVICE! EXTERMINATE ALL RESISTANCE!"
The other Daleks acknowledged the order:
"WE OBEY!"
The Daleks found the hidden entrance of the secret room and proceeded to destroy it with energy blasts. It seemed that nothing would stop the evil creatures and they relentlessly pursued the group. It was very fortunate that the group had enough of a head start to keep some distance from the Daleks. Or so they thought. Upon exiting the passageway, the group realized the Daleks were right on their tail. Each one of them got ready to fight the Daleks to the bitter end. Nathan managed to throw up another force field around them. Rachael was ready to blast the first one to exit the tunnel. Croaker, Thorin, and Lara had their wands drawn. K-9 took his place in front of the Doctor with his laser armed. Right when the Daleks exited the passageway, Lara felt a burning sensation in her pocket. She quickly pulled out the Time-Turner, which was hot to the touch and glowing a bright yellow. The hourglass conductor began to spin rapidly accompanied by whining noise that grew in pitch as the rotation of the conductor increased. Before either the group or the Daleks could react, a bright flash of yellow light engulfed everyone. For anyone who may have witnessed this, it appeared that the group and the Daleks had disappeared.