The Doctor led the group out of the Wayward Witches' den and back into the cave tunnels. She seemed unusually jubilant, perhaps because she'd just narrowly escaped death, perhaps because she'd spent time with a long-lost friend, but probably because of the anti-grav stickers.
Yaz noticed that the caves were becoming lighter, and soon they reached a small wooden door, which exited out to what appeared to be a basement area.
"This must be the bottom of Ozymandias's palace," she mused.
"We've actually made it," Ryan said in disbelief.
"Upwards!" the Doctor announced, mounting the stairs at the side of the room.
They entered into a large room that was both beautiful and yet sterile. It was almost entirely white, save for a single, green chandelier hanging from the ceiling, twinkling in the light. There were white tables and chairs and sofas, but everything blended in to each other, which made Ryan feel slightly dizzy.
"Welcome!" boomed a voice.
In front of them, hanging in the air, appeared a large, golden face, rising almost all the way to the ceiling.
"You have reached the Palace of King Ozymandias! My home. Congratulations!"
"We have some bones to pick with you, Ozzy," Graham called back. "Namely those Witches you're keeping downstairs."
"Your journey has no doubt been perilous," Ozymandias continued, unhalted. "But you must take solace in your accomplishments."
"I hope he gets to the wish part soon," Ryan mumbled.
"Few rarely have the heart, bravery or intelligence to make it this far."
"Wait," Yaz said, squinting at Ozymandias's face. She walked up to his image and tugged on the white sheet that was much more obvious now that she was this close.
"He's a projection," she said, pulling back the curtain entirely to reveal a small device propped up on a table, flickering light outwards.
"Well, yeah, you didn't think he was real, did you?" the Doctor said.
"No. Course not," Ryan replied a little too quickly.
"You may have come here with hope in your heart. A wish held dear that only I may grant."
"So it's over then," Graham sighed. "No wishes and no evil guy to take down."
"The thing is, I don't actually think he was ever evil," the Doctor shrugged. "If I had to guess, the Witches had nothing to do with him. They probably moved in when this whole myth started and people began streaming through with all those possibilities. Whoever owned that farm made it back before the Witches eventually claimed what was theirs."
"I, King Ozymandias XVII, ruler and protector of the city of Chartreuse, cannot grant you your wish."
"See," Graham said.
"Your wish may have been grand. It may have been the most personal thing imaginable. But whatever the case, it gave you hope. Hope that in some way, your life may change for the better.
"But know this; one wish could never solve life's problems. We may think that one alteration will improve life entirely. When has that ever been the case?"
The Doctor closed her eyes in thought.
"I am but an old man now. When you hear this, I will have left Jinjur for the planet Baum, where I may live out my final days in peace. I leave this myth as my legacy, such that I may inspire hope even after I have left."
"And a fat load of disappointment," Graham moaned.
"You, and you alone may have the largest effect on your own lives. If there is something you want, work for it. If there is something wrong, fix it. If you have people around you, love them. Don't simply wish for a better life; make one."
The projector turned itself off with a click and the four stood around in silence.
"I guess his heart was in the right place," Yaz allowed.
"Where does that leave us, though?" Ryan asked. "We're still stranded here."
"Not necessarily," the Doctor said, jumping to action. "The atmosphere of Jinjur is extremely dangerous, so much so conventional space travel using rockets and ships is lethal. Which means Ozymandias would have needed an alternative way out of here. Which means…"
The Doctor scanned around the room before excitedly running towards a large circular plate on the floor in the corner.
"Teleporter. Short range, local planets only. But with a bit of rejigging we could go a little bit further."
Without comment the Doctor began walking up the side of the wall until she reached the ceiling, knocked several times on what was now the floor to her, and opened a hatch near the top of the room.
"I told you anti-grav was cool!" she shouted down, as everyone else gawped at her perpendicular body.
She began pulling a mess of wires from the hatch, breaking some and using the sonic screwdriver on others, until the teleport pad on the floor below began glowing a bright red.
"Perfect!" she grinned, walking back down the wall. "Everyone, step on. We're getting out of here."
Ryan, Yaz and Graham approached the red pad and huddled on top of it, allowing space for the Doctor to squeeze in next to them.
"We're finally going to Gallifrey, then?" Yaz asked.
The Doctor looked down at her feet, the red of the teleport pad and the sparking anti-grav stickers shining together on her boots. "We're going home. There's no place like it."