Chapter Twelve
The Doctor sat up in a bed situated by a wide, open window in the infirmary of Gondor's capital city. Huddled round his bed were Aragorn, River and a recently returned Gandalf.
"So, as he was leaving I used the Sonic to fry the Universe Loop Diffuser. Basically it means he can't leave this universe, until it's fixed, and for that he'd need my Screwdriver," he was explaining. River and Aragorn accepted this with nods but Gandalf looked as though he hadn't heard a word. His face was vacant, as he stared out of the window. The Doctor looked at his old friend with concern, wondering what could possibly be worrying him so much. There was a fragility in the old wizard's demeanour, something he had never seen in him before. He had returned from Cair Andros and his meeting with Radagast and had barely said a word, only speaking to confirm that Radagast would remain on Cair Andros for the time being, in order to be close when the time came for his help to be needed. With a sigh, the Doctor decided to broach the subject.
"Mithrandir?" he questioned, using the name the elves bestowed upon Gandalf, knowing it would get his attention. As he had hoped Gandalf looked up.
"Yes?" he replied.
"You haven't heard a word I've said, my old friend."
"Ah…You noticed…" sighed Gandalf. "I am worried, you see, both for the future of Middle Earth, and for you my friend. Radagast was in possession of a prophecy, one he had kept to himself for many years. In fact, he claims it came into his being shortly after we arrived in this land, and was intended for Saruman. On a hunch he intercepted it, and until now it has never made any sense and while it still retains some mystery it is very clear this is the situation it was meant for." He paused waiting for a response. When it was clear that he wasn't going to get one, he took a deep breath and launce into the prophecy.
"The man with no body
Free at last
Yearns for the blue box
Inside so vast
Darkness strengthens
A great deed is undone
This world's only hope
Is a girl from London."
There was silence when he had finished. The Doctor was deep in thought, River was now pacing up and down and Aragorn just looked baffled.
"What's London?" he enquired.
"London's a where, and it's a city in our universe," replied River, indicating herself and the Doctor. Aragorn nodded, and lapsed into silence. The Doctor was thinking over the prophecy. It was obvious to them all that the first bit was about the Master and the TARDIS. The second bit however was slightly more worrying. A great deed is undone. There was only three or four great deed of Middle Earth that he could think of, and it was the most recent one that leapt to mind in this instance. He turned to Gandalf , to ask a question but was stunned into silence. There, hovering in the center of the room, glowing brightly, was The One Ring.
The Master stood in the TARDIS grinning wildly. Teeth bared, sweat glistening on his forehead he was working intently on a piece of technology with a welder. It was a short range non-organic teleporter. If it worked, and it would, its only purpose was to beam a small but very powerful object into this very console room. He began laughing as his work progressed, rising until he was manically guffawing at nothing in particular. Unbeknownst to him, the regeneration process had gone wrong. The Master had always been mad, but this time he was clinically insane. He had never been more dangerous.