The Doctor and Anastasia blasted down the hall.

"Is there always this much running?" panted Anastasia.

"I'm afraid so. Not far now though." They blasted through a door out into the freezing night. "There" he pointed.

The dome was out in the courtyard of the Palace, having obviously been built much later than the palace itself. It was a typical, entirely functional, building, where much of the science and engineering the Cybermen carried out was located. It was a logical location for the TARDIS to be, but the dome gave no clue of its interior – if the Doctor had not locked it up, he would only have been able to guess.

The pair hid behind a wall of the palace, the dome in sight but some distance away and with Cybermen nearby.

"What's your plan?"

The Doctor lifted up the master-key and his sonic screwdriver. "Use this-" emphasising his right hand with the screwdriver "- to amplify this-" raising his left hand with the key "- to hopefully mollify the Cybermen long enough to get us in."

"Will it work?" she asked worriedly.

"I mean, probably. I wouldn't be here if my crazy plans didn't work more often that not. Ready?"

She nodded, and they stood up. The Doctor pressed the screwdriver to the key. There was nothing for a few moments.

"Is it working?" she asked.

The Doctor scanned the guarding Cybermen. "Yes. Let's run." Anastasia didn't hesistate.

(-)

"You want me to do WHAT?" shouted the Tsar in disbelief.

"You heard me," said the voice from the computer. "Let them get away."

"You want me to let the Doctor get away?" He couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"And the girl as well. We don't need them – we have all the information we need both from his TARDIS and her biodata. And there is a lot that could be gained by observing them and then luring them back at a more convenient time."
"I suppose you also think it will lull them into a false sense of security?" the Tsar yelled sarcastically. "The Doctor isn't that stupid."

"Of course he isn't," snapped the Associate. "But it will be his curiosity and sense of right and wrong that will undo him eventually, not his stupidity. Killing him now would achieve nothing."

"You know what you are saying?" The Tsar remained furious.

"Perfectly," snapped the Associate, his patience having run out. "I know what the Doctor is like far better than you do. This is what I wish to happen!"

"Then I have little choice to agree," seethed the Tsar. "But I want you to know I disagree."

"I hadn't noticed," said the Associate, now turning on his own sarcasm. "Please trust me, my friend. I am working for all our benefit." And with that, it snapped off.

Working for all our benefit indeed. One day he would see that fool suffer for all the indignities he had caused, but for now, the Tsar simply stared out into the sunrise. This was a victory – letting the Doctor feel like it was not would be to their benefit. It was a case of playing the long game. But after over a century of waiting, it had been too long a game. One thing for sure; his time would come.

(-)

Anastasia could not help but feel uneasy at all the motionless Cybermen. The Doctor was frantically searching the dome for his TARDIS, while she waited, hoping that the key would not suddenly stop working.

"This feels too easy," she said to herself.

"It does rather," the Doctor said, coming up behind her and making her jump. "But that's a problem we'll work on later. I've found the TARDIS."

She followed him into a sparse metallic room, just like the rest of the dome, to see a blue wooden box.

"I was meaning to ask, why does your time machine look like... that?"

"It's a long story," said the Doctor, putting the key in the lock and opening the door. "Best get going for now though."

She followed him inside and was suddenly awe-struck. Inside this unassuming blue wooden box was a vast, cavernous room. In the middle was a large round console, with a round column rising out of its middle up into the equally cavernous ceiling. Around that central console were a few larger columns lining the edge of the central platform it was located on, with a few seats scattered around its edge. A ramp led up from the door to the platform, while everything else on the outer rim was at a lower level.

"It's..." she started.

"Bigger on the inside than it is on the outside? I had in fact noticed," the Doctor said, already at the controls, fiddling with switches and buttons.

"I was going to say that it's incredible," she said. "But, yeah, it is bigger on the inside."

The great engines roared into life. "Got to get back through the trans-reality barrier," the Doctor said urgently. "Huh," he said a few moments later. "That was easy."

"We're in your universe?" asked Anastasia.

"Yes," he said. "That was far too easy."

"You think they let us get away?" she asked.

"Yes," he replied, taking off his coat and throwing it at a coat stand next to the console. "But that's their mistake. I'm not as easily manipulated as Nicky and his mystery pal think."

Anastasia sat down for the first time. She suddenly realised she was still wearing her servant rags.

"Hey, do you have a wardrobe somewhere?"

"Yeah, down there, to the right, second door to the left," said the Doctor. "But before you go, I think there a few things we need to talk about."

"I know," she said. "I'm the most important woman in the universe. Somehow."

"Precisely," he said. "There's a lot I found out today and a lot I didn't get the answers to. But there's one thing that's very clear to me – I'm going to need your help to do it. I need to know whether you're ready."

Anastasia sat in thought for a moment.

"Will it always be that dangerous?" she asked.

"Oh, yes."

"Will it always be that exciting?" she asked, her eyebrows raised.

"Oh, yes."

"Then count me in," she said, standing up to look at him straight on. "And I want to get to the bottom of this just as much as you do. I want to find out why they got my brother and I want to make them pay."

The Doctor frowned. "Revenge is a dangerous emotion. It can get in the way-"

She interrupted him. "It won't. I promise. There's a lot I want to learn from you, Doctor. I can't let that get in the way."

"Then I believe you." He turned back to the console and turned round one of the monitors on the console so they could both see it. "So, Anastasia Viatov. Where next?"

She smiled as she surveyed the stars and galaxies on the screen in front of her. "Wherever you think will be exciting."

"That I can do," he smiled, and pulled a lever on the console, as the TARDIS spiralled into the vortex, to begin their journey towards all the adventures and excitement that was yet to await them.

(-)

So that is where it ends, said the being.

"Ends?" said the Doctor, surprised. "Whatever gave you that idea?"

The story has come to an end, has it not? The being was confused.

"This particular story has, yes. But this wasn't the end. It was only the beginning."

So many small stories can tell one big story, asked the being.

"Yes, precisely," said the Doctor. "And oh boy is this a big story."

Then, said the being, it is a story you must tell me Doctor. You have piqued my interest.

"I would be delighted. Anastasia and I went through a lot together. And oh boy are you going to love it. Or at least I hope you do."

I hope I do too, said the being.

"Hope," said the Doctor. "You're learning hope."

There is much I am learning, said the being.

"Same here," said the Doctor quietly. "All the time."

Anastasia said she wanted to learn from you Doctor, said the being. Was that the case?

"Oh yes," said the Doctor. "She learnt a lot from me. And I learnt a lot from her. That is how it works in my universe. We teach each other things."

I understand that, said the being. As you are teaching me now.

The Doctor beamed. "Indeed I am. I'll make a corporeal being out of you yet."

(-)

Next Time: The Secret of Laina