The Dalek Time Controller examined the Doctor and his companion with its unpleasant eye. "It is not the first time I have met you while you were in this form" it said in its terrifying voice.

"I don't look forward to it" replied the Doctor.

The Time Controller glided forward. "You will not be exterminated here. Doing so would cause unpredictability in the timeline."

"So you're just going to let me go?" said the Doctor hopefully.

Fimzol glanced over. "Doctor... you know that not to be true."

"Your associate speaks the truth" replied the Time Controller, a twinge of glee in their voice. "We have suitable technology to prevent this occurring." It turned to one of the Dalek Scientists. "Bring forward the mental manipulator!"

"I obey!" replied the Dalek, gliding away.

"What is your overall plan?" asked the Doctor. "You're not supposed to be active in this part of the timeline! There should be records of this, even if it is quite a distance from your part of history..."

"I am aware of this Doctor" replied the Dalek Time Controller. "We will leave no traces of our activity here. The past will remain intact. But the future... that will be shaped by the events here. We know that in the history of this world, at this time a surge in the telepathic crystals occurred, leaving many dead and more without memory of the events."

"And how did you get so interested in the history of this world?" asked the Doctor.

"A theory we found in the future, using remnants of the crystals and showing how they could be used for telepathic warfare. We will not change history Doctor, we will hide within events. All evidence that we were here will be gone."

The door slid open and the Dalek entered again, followed by a Scientist Dalek, three Roboswukains carrying a complex looking piece of machinery and a woman, with blue-tinged skin, red-irised eyes, and short unnaturally straight hair.

"You're not a Dalek" said the Doctor.

"A man with eyes evidently" smirked the woman. "I am First Rank Doctor Jixoki Erlath." Her laugh was sudden and shocking, as it burst out. "And you are another Doctor!"

"Why are you working with the Daleks?" snarled Fimzol.

"They are useful for me to push the boundaries of knowledge. The Department of Mental Science on La-Vysp-4 cut off funding for my work, claiming that it wasn't productive enough. But what care I for benefits, when knowledge is at stake?"

"Science should benefit the people, not be done for its own stake" said the Doctor.

Erlath moved at the Doctor in a rage, striking him with one of her seven-fingered hands. "If a male had so contradicted a female on my planet he would get worse than this!" she snarled.

"A sexist world indeed" said Fimzol.

"You are female yourself! Or are you one of those foolish females who thinks themselves male..." began Erlath.

"Gender should not be a qualifier to power, but the mind must be" replied Fimzol.

Erlath glared at her, then turned and struck the Doctor again.

"Do not damage him! He must be returned as he was to avoid suspicion!" said the Time Controller.

"Of course." Erlath glanced at Fimzol with glee. "Another mind to use? We've mainly used male minds, I've often wondered how intrinsically different the female mind is."

"And what are you going to do with me?" asked the Doctor.

"You will be returned to your TARDIS" replied the Dalek Time Controller. "Your memory of these events will be altered. You will not remember us. You will continue on your travels, eventually to meet me, and the timeline will remain stable."

"Please, at least release her!" said the Doctor.

"Doctor, the Daleks will not release me" replied Fimzol. "But I will not beg. I know they are without mercy." She tried to look brave, but worry appeared in her face. Her people were stoic and the Doctor remembered Kafyip had been so, but facing the Daleks could make even the most stoic terrified.

"This being will remain for... experimentation" said the Time Controller.

"NO! You can't!" said the Doctor.

"We are the Daleks. No other race matters but us." The Dalek Time Controller turned to look at the Doctor. In a moment of terror, Fimzol made a dart for the door, but one of the Roboswukains seized her. She struggled, striking its face, and received a powerful blow to the back of her head from the other Roboswukain. Dazed, she was dragged into the seat. As if to cause further pain to the Doctor, the Dalek Time Controller turned back to him as two more Roboswukains began dragging him from the room. "This time, we will experiment slowly. Her mind will not endure the process. We will merely see how long it takes as we gradually increase the force."

"She has a strong will!" replied the Doctor.

"She may have a significantly-higher-than-mind but it will soon break" sneered the Time Controller, sadistic glee purring through each word.

"I won't let you Daleks win easily! He's defeated you before" said Fimzol as she was forced into a chair and clamps moved over her wrists, ankles and forehead.

"I have planned this carefully. The Doctor will not remember you" snarled the Time Controller. "But your pain will assist the Daleks in our conquests."

"She must not experience other sensory input" remarked Erlath, and a Roboswukain pulled clamps over her ears and over her eyes.

"I will not let you push me around like this" remarked Fimzol.

"You must be quiet" said Erlath. "And people do have a habit of biting their tongue off." She pulled a strap through Fimzol's mouth.

"Do you have a thing for that?" asked the Doctor mockingly.

Erlath snarled at him. "It is all necessary!"

The Doctor tried to wriggle free but a blow, carefully measured, struck the base of his head, and he slumped, dazed. After a few seconds he looked up, to see the door slam shut, with him on the other side to Fimzol.

"I'll come back" he replied. "You Daleks have to know..."

A Dalek shot forward. It was a Scientist Dalek, but instead of a plunger was a hand-like claw, with numerous needles on the end. One stuck out and jabbed into the Doctor's arm, a carefully measured strike. The Doctor tried to say something but again flopped down. His mind was still aware, he had to use all his concentration to get some idea of what was happening, but it took an effort simply to turn his head. The Doctor was forced into a small ship by a Roboswukain, which began speeding up the mountain while he lay slumped and strapped to a table. It was odd, he could only remember flashes of what happened, like seeing things happen in a series of disordered photographs. A Scientist Dalek trundled over.

"Your memory of this event will be erased!" it remarked unpleasantly.

"Weeeeyyyyy... wwwwwyyyyyyy..." moaned the Doctor.

"In order that the timeline is preserved" replied the Dalek. "You will forget all this. The timeline will be manipulated for maximum Dalek..."

There was a crash and the Dalek Saucer tilted, one of the machines slipping and striking the Doctor's head, leaving him dazed further.

"Emergency!" cried the Dalek commanding the ship, as smoke billowed from a machine. "Something is wrong with the driving mechanism!"

The Doctor would normally have been glad, but he was worried himself. If the ship crashed while he was in this position...

There was another bang and the ship began to veer around. For a moment the Doctor thought he saw the TARDIS materializing and then... his mind suddenly felt focused. He recognized the man there, the man who was freeing him. He was dimly aware of being pulled into... the TARDIS? even as a shot was fired at him.

The ship crashed to the ground. The Doctor got up and staggered around to see a familiar figure standing there, in the TARDIS, but with a different desktop theme. As he walked towards the man he straightened his bow tie, momentarily noticing the blood on his hands, but hoping the red colour of the bow tie would prevent the stain being too noticeable.

"Hello" said the man, straightening his black bow tie. "I'm the Doctor."