In the short flight through Gallifrey's atmosphere, Cara had figured out most of the basic flight controls. She had not, however, figured out what or where the landing sequence was, and the ground was rapidly approaching.
"Crowns and wings of Hades," Cara gritted her teeth and tried to bring the ship down in as controlled a manner as possible. The real trick would be crash-landing safely and without overshooting her target. Her train of thought led to multiple calculations of speed and trajectory, none of which were helpful without instruments. She was just going to have to wing it.
Something on the controls flashed red, and Cara guessed it was some kind of proximity alarm letting her know that she was about to crash. She could hear atmosphere rushing past the hull. It was the worst possible moment for another memory-vision to hit, so hit it did.
"Come on, it's always outside."
The Doctor followed her to the secret tree. It was so cliché, so very obvious, that no one had suspected the hiding place. The spot had been Cara's suggestion, but the others had agreed. Little did they realize they were handing the machine, the very future of Gallifrey, to the maddest of them all. From the beginning, he had been loath to let the machine out of his sight. Cara had noticed this long ago. It suited her purposes just fine.
Cara opened her eyes to find that miraculously, she had landed. The ship's panels were dark. In the corner, Daleks oozed. The sound of groaning metal seemed distant as unfiltered planetary glow ventured into the ship through cracks in the hull. But nowhere could Cara see a door. At least, not until she looked up.
A hatch above her was partially sprung open, but it loomed about five feet above her head. Too far to jump. However…
Her gaze landed on the slimy Dalek casings. She grinned. Moments later, she balanced atop one of the Daleks, her arms raised above her. She leapt toward the hatch and grabbed it easily, swinging her feet up to her hands. Cara pushed the hatch the rest of the way open and crawled onto the curved, smooth, coppery surface of the ship. From this vantage point, she could survey the immediate area, and in fact, most of the rest of the local hillside. Not far off, a tree stood alone. A tree, but not a tree. And also…someone else was there.
Cara's eyes darted to a hazy area in her mind. It cleared, and she saw the blue box sitting quietly on a hill near the tree. The Doctor again. A shadow of the scene moved, showing the door opening and a phantom image of the Doctor and a woman moving out of it. The woman darted ahead, leading the Doctor toward the tree. Cara knew the woman, for she had once thought in the same pattern. It was her sixth self. But the phantom image was overlaying something else. A different time, a different Doctor, a different woman. Cara's eyes crossed and she shook her head quickly, her hair coming further loose from the tight bun she'd been sporting. It was as if she was watching the same scene played different ways, and she could see both at the same time.
The woman stopped and turned to glance over the landscape. Her mouth dropped open in recognition at the same time that it closed in confusion. She turned and left, but she stayed and stared. The Doctor moved carefully behind her, staying within his own phantom much more neatly than the woman did.
Cara slid down the side of the ship, her feet landing softly in a bed of shining platinum grass. She walked cautiously across the grass toward the two figures, TARDIS, and tree. They watched her approach. The woman took a few steps backward, almost back into herself. The Doctor didn't move, but he also started moving toward the tree. One of him spoke as both.
"Dodi, maybe you should get back in the TARDIS."
The woman spoke now, "But it's…it's her!"
"Dodi! Tissue paper!"
The woman nodded and split away from herself, one of her striding phantomlike toward the blue box. The other stood gazing back at the Doctor.
"Are you coming?" Cara recognized her former voice.
"Of course," the Doctor said and didn't say.
Then Cara was drawn into the shadow of her own phantom. She was now indistinguishable from herself, and the Doctor from himself. The surroundings were as they were and as they had been.
The two Time Lords walked to the tree and entered it through a door in the bark.
As soon as they stepped inside, the double vision was reorganized. It remained, but it seemed as if that was the way things should be. And Cara found herself no longer in any sort of control over her destiny. The things she did were not merely her idea, they were also concretely set in time as things that would happen. Things that had happened already.
It unfolded as it had before.
Inside the tree was a much larger room than would have fit inside the tree trunk. It was a room that existed as a pocket in dimensions. Old technology, but effective enough. In the center of the room stood the culmination of centuries of efforts. The brainchild of many brilliant scientists and engineers. The thing that could unite the Time Lords as nothing else ever had. Many of the Elders in the Syndicate had respected, even feared it.
Cara felt a blend of awe and fear, herself, building inside her as she gazed at the object. It appeared at first unimpressive. The fear came from knowing what the kitchen-appliance-sized box was capable of. And also, possibly, from knowing who lurked in the farther reaches of the secret tree laboratory. He waited until the moment was right, for he could do nothing else.
The Doctor tried to walk ahead of Cara, but she blocked his way.
"Cara, you have to stop this!" he cried, "The Infinity Syndicate won't stop until they've destroyed themselves and the universe along with them!"
"But we can save Gallifrey!" Cara cried, "it's our only hope. The entire Dalek fleet is coming and normal Time Lords can't withstand an attack of that magnitude. The Daleks and the Time Lords will destroy each other unless we do something!"
"This isn't the way!" the Doctor yelled, "come with me. We'll find another way!"
"There is no other way," Cara growled, shaking her head.
The Doctor gasped at something behind her, "The Master!"
"Good to see you again," the Master crooned condescendingly in a voice as carefully manicured as his handlebar mustache, "What do you think of my new look? Not too ostentatious for the future ruler of Gallifrey, do you think?"
"CO-ruler," Cara reminded him with a dark smile. The Master regarded her with a momentary look of confusion before nodding, "Of course, you're right, my dear. And thank you for bringing me this…" He paused to gesture at the Doctor with a short black cane, "…gift."
"What?" the Doctor glared at Cara.
The Time Lady just winked at him and sidled to the Master, "Everything is in place. It is about to begin."
"Well," the Master favored her with a smile, "we mustn't waste time."
The Doctor moved toward the two, "Cara…"
"Oh, do have a seat, Doctor," the Master waved a hand dismissively. A chair forcefully scraped across the floor toward the other man, "you are about to be a witness to a truly historic event. And isn't that something you enjoy?"
The Doctor sat, but ignored the Master's taunting, "Cara, please. Gallifrey is going to fall and there's nothing you can do about it. If you come with me, you'll be safe."
"Safe?" Cara whispered.
"This isn't you," the Doctor gestured to the room, "not really. You've only forgotten."
"No, Doctor," everything seemed to stop as Cara spoke those words. Even the Master was silent. Tossing her hair, Cara stared at the Doctor, "I've remembered." She flung out an arm, sending him flying, chair and all, out the door. The Master's laughter rang in his ears as he banged on the bark door, now closed tightly. He noticed the multitudes of flying specks appearing in the sky alongside dusk's first hints of starlight. Silver leaves fluttered down past him, flashing scarlet in the light and swirling chaotically in the wind. The Doctor sighed. It was no use trying to alter a past as horrifically frayed as this one. Yet still he took out his sonic screwdriver and worked at the door.
From the TARDIS, Dodi watched him. There was much about the situation that she did not understand, but she did understand that it had something to do with a small piece of metal that she'd taken from the Doctor's pocket. She fingered it as it nestled in her palm. So smooth and cool to the touch. Why had he seemed so afraid of it? It was just a ring. She held it up to inspect it. Yes, just a simple ring.
A tickle rose in her throat, sneaking into her nose. Not thinking, she covered the sneeze with her hand. The ring flew from her fingers, dropping toward the TARDIS floor. Before it hit the grating though, it vanished as if an invisible hand reached through a pocket in the air and snatched it inside.
Dodi stared at the empty air that the ring had vanished into. She swallowed hard and wondered if she'd just destroyed the universe.