3

The Walker opened the door to the console room, her eyes scanning the reading pad in her hand."Grandfather, I think you should have a look at these-" she looked up as a cry sounded from below the grating of the console room.

"Ah!" the Doctor pulled himself out of the understory and raced to the main monitor. "I've got it! It's not a power leak, never was! Ooh, should've kept those panels closer to the surface, would've saved us so much time!"

The Walker watched him with wide eyes. "Grandfather?"

"It's not a leak!" the Doctor repeated as he studied the readings with feverish attention. "Never was! The power's being tapped somehow! Now I've just got to figure out where the tap's from, licckety split!"

"But you can't tap a TARDIS." the Walker replied automatically, "It can't be done by outside force."

"Never say can't." the Doctor remonstrated. He studied the figures he'd pulled up, reaching over to pull another screen closer. After a long moment, he turned preoccupied eyes on his granddaughter. "Didn't you want to show me something?"

The Walker, who'd been looking over his shoulder, started. "Wh-oh yes. I thought you ought to have a look at these readings. I've done a mapping of the area's electromagnetic and chrononic fields in an effort to discover any irregularities that might account for the state the ships are in, and…well, look." She handed over the reading pad. The Doctor took it, his brows furrowed, and studied the information. After a moment's study, he looked up, eyes wide. "When'd you take these?"

"Within the last hour. But I don't understand-"

"No, neither do I. And that's saying something." The Doctor murmured. Turning back to the screen, he scrolled through the displays. "There are irregularities in the electromagnetic field, an' from the looks of it they're-now that can't be right…blimey. They're everywhere. Overlaying each other, even." His eyebrows rose. "And is it just me, or does it look like someone took an eggbeater to the time signatures around here? Things popping back and forth in time at something of a frantic rate, and…isn't this big spike right around here?"

"I believe it's concentrated on the hill we've landed on." The Walker replied.

"Oh, it would be." The Doctor said. He sighed, then glanced back at the console. "Give me an hour to try to block the source of this energy drain, and then I think we'd better do some inconspicuous-very inconspicuous, that is- investigating. It's a bit too much of a coincidence that our ship just happens to run out of power in a spot that just happens to have irregularities in the middle of a fixed period in Time. Tell Jenny; think she's in the back store room if I remember right. Ask the TARDIS if you don't find her in there. Then we'll see what we can sort out."

…

The morning wind lifted the Doctor's coat, billowing it out as he studied the top of the hill. Things seemed normal enough, as this part of the world went. And yet…

"Anything?" Jenny asked, coming to stand beside him. Her skirt billowed in the wind.

"Not yet." He said, his eyes narrowed. He turned, hair tossed by the wind. "Hm. Ought to see something based on the readings, but…nothing." He frowned, turning to survey the landscape beyond, then turned, studying the stones that the TARDIS had mimicked. He put a hand against them as he passed, sniffed one stone, and, just in case, licked another. Nothing he could identify as out of the ordinary. He shrugged to himself, and wandered past the stones to look out. The cravat he wore chafed at his throat, but he resisted the urge to tug at it. He hadn't worn a cravat in two regenerations, and he'd rather gotten out of practice with them, though at least the suits they wore in this time period still looked good. He'd found a decent brown suit in the Wardrobe appropriate for the nineteenth century, one he'd worn and liked in his eighth body. The collar got on his nerves now, but at least it wouldn't stick out.

A murmur of noise caught the Doctor's attention. Stepping to the other side of the hill, he looked down.

A crowd had gathered at the foot of the hill, seven or eight people in all. They were unnaturally silent for a gathering. He wouldn't have noticed a sound, he thought, if somebody down there wasn't crying.

Now that he paid attention, the crowd was also out of sync with the timelines, Time moving sluggishly around the little huddle like water that has just encountered a stone. A textbook perfect picture of something occurring outside of the parameters of a set timeline. He didn't like the look of that. This could be-

The Doctor's eyes widened in shock. As he watched, the timelines straightened themselves. Where they had been tangling around an irregular event, now they flowed smooth as silk.

"How the…" he stared at the even, flowing timelines. Without really thinking about it, he took off down the hill. He had to get a closer look at this.

A few people looked up at him as he trotted down the slope, then lowered their eyes to the center of the circle. The weeping woman, an older lady with grey hair, was using her shawl to wipe her streaming eyes and sobbing.

"We'll have to be getting' the priest." One man said.

"Priest?" the Doctor asked, "Is somebody hurt? I'm a doctor; if there's anybody hurt I can help."

The man nearest him, a well-built man with dark hair, turned slowly. "There's little you can do, sir. Doctors are for the living."

On the other side of the circle, the woman wailed.

The Doctor pushed himself into the circle. A body was sprawled on the path, arms and legs flung wide. The skin was grey in the morning light.

Dropping to one knee, the Doctor studied the body. "Who is this man?"

"'Is name's Harry McGrath." A man with sandy hair said, "And since his mother's here now, we'll be taking him home."

The Doctor looked up, then stood, straightening his jacket. Nineteenth century wordchoices, he reminded himself. "Yes, of course you will. Only thing to do. But could you give me a few moments with the body? I'd like to find out how he died."

"Died on the foot of Knock-na-Cu." One man said, his tone implying that no other reason was needed. The Doctor glanced at him. He'd have to find out what superstitions surrounded this hill, if it made people accept death around it so readily.

The woman wailed again. Other women in the crowd rushed to comfort her. Turning back to the Doctor, the men regarded him. "I don't see as that's needed." A white haired man said gravely. Other men in the crowd nodded or murmured agreement.

"Well," the Doctor said, meeting the old man's eyes, "I see as it is. And I'd assume that the town constable will feel the same. The examination will only take a minute."

The old man stared back at him, his face wearied beyond anger."We can't pay you."

"That's not a problem." The Doctor said. After a moment, still holding the old man's gaze, he dropped to one knee and went about his work. Surreptitiously, one hand reached into a pocket, flicking the controls of his sonic screwdriver. He needed all the biodata on this. It would do a full reading through the fabric of his coat. His hand reappeared with a magnifying glass. "Hm." He said, mostly for effect. Externally there wasn't a sign of what had happened. Of course, this could be nothing. Maybe this man had simply died. Maybe this was none of his business. But somehow, he doubted that.

"Well?" said the elderly man. The Doctor straightened.

"Cardiac arrest." He said blithely. "His heart gave out. Could've happened anywhere at any time, really, but some little scare or other tipped it off last night. I'm sorry."

The old man nodded. "We'll be takin' him home now."

Slowly, four men lifted the body, carrying it off down the path toward the village. The Doctor watched them go.

"That was the man who gave me trouble last night."

The Doctor turned to look at his daughter, her deep blue eyes shining in a face that had gone blank. "You didn't tell me this."

…

"And you swear you didn't get involved at all?" The Doctor asked as his daughter opened the door to the med bay. She glanced over her shoulder. "I swear, Father."

"You sure?"

"Cross my hearts and hope to regenerate." she said earnestly. "I just walked out of there and came home."

The Doctor nodded to himself. "Well, it may just be a coincidence and I may be poking where poking isn't required, but in my experience the universe really doesn't like coincidences, so I'm going to look into this anyhow. Might as well, since the old girl won't let me do a bloody thing anyhow."

"Still losing power?"

"Holding steady for now, but it's not good. Now, let's see…"

Taking his sonic screwdriver out of his pocket, he plugged it into a reader. A holographic image of the body appeared on the monitors. He flicked several switches, and the body reappeared as a skeleton, muscle-man, and naked human. The readings for the body flipped past. The Doctor's brows shot up. "Blimey."

Jenny peered at the readings. "Shit."

Her father shot her a disparaging glance. "Do you have to curse?"
Jenny glanced up at him, and shrugged, before looking back at the figures. "His whole body shut down. All the systems…"

"Mm-hmm. Every system in his body gave up the ghost. But why?" Turning to another monitor, the Doctor slipped on his glasses and began to type at a speed that made his fingers blur, studying the readings that came up as he manipulated the information. He stepped back. "Well that'd do it. Look at this."

Jenny stopped fiddling with the high collar of her dress, and studied the figures. She stared.

"I did this on a hunch." The Doctor said quietly, "And the hunch was right. There's not a single ATP molecule in this body. He's completely empty of chemical energy. And without energy, his body couldn't function." he studied the images. "Like running out of petrol."

"Know anything that can do this?" Jenny asked. The Doctor shook his head slowly. "No. One or two things can do it, but nothing living around here. And I wouldn't have missed those signs." He glanced at his daughter. "Frankly I've got no idea." He drew a deep breath, and switched off the readings."This is going to need looking into, I think."

"I thought you said we couldn't interfere. Fixed place in time?" Jenny cocked her head. The Doctor turned to look at her."If I'm right, somebody's started interfering before us."

…

The energy was still holding at about thirty percent in the Walker's ship. While the Doctor worked on gathering information, Jenny handed the Walker tools. Her sister's ship was a lot less cantankerous than her father's, and a lot less likely to shock them while they tried to figure out what was going on. Besides, it meant that she could shuck the damn dress.

"Could you pass me that rectan again?"

Jenny handed it over, enjoying the comfort of a pair of jeans. The Walker glanced at her shirt, and grinned. Jenny had pulled on a faded black t-shirt that read 'My parents went to Sol 3 and all I got was this stupid human' in the buccari script. Jenny smiled back. "Father thought I was wasting money buying this."

"I'd disagree with Grandfather on that. It's quite amusing." Turning back to her work, Walker tilted her head, frowned, and ran a hand over the surface of the manifold in front of her. "How much has Grandfather let you work on the manifolds?"

"Not a whole lot." Jenny said with a shrug, leaning against the wall. "His TARDIS gets cranky with me because she thinks I move too fast."

The Walker could see why the ship would feel that way. Her younger sister- her young aunt, if she was being appropriate-really did tend to jump in with both feet and find out if she could swim afterwards.

Deep in the manifold of her ship, there was a small, metallic whimper. A thin brown line of weariness ran through the Walker's head. Reaching out a hand, she stroked the metal skin of her ship. "What is wrong?" she murmured. Jenny heard a hint of the reply from her sister's ship. It sounded bewildered, and a little sad. It didn't know.

Soon the Doctor popped in. "We're going to the pub for lunch. Get your clothes on."

"The pub?" the Walker asked.

"Course." The Doctor replied, "Always the best place for overhearing interesting information, pubs. And I've got a few things I'd like to hear. Get changed, an' I'll tell you what I could find on the databanks."

As the Walker and Jenny changed into the hated dresses in the Walker's room, the Doctor leaned against the wall in the hallway and talked through the door. "So, this hill is apparently named Knock-na-Cu, Hill of the Hound that means, County Meath. Town below it's called Bally Cu. No stories written down about it that I found, but a fair number of odd deaths and one or two disappearances in this decade…anyway…how much longer?"

"A little time, Grandfather."

"Ah, right…well, the stories are odd, but not totally unusual, still, it makes me wonder. We're losing energy, and the fellow died from loss of energy, and then this on top of it isn't good. I figure we sit around at the pub, hear what we hear, see what we see and all that. And with any luck-" He turned as the girls came out.

"We'll hear something useful." Jenny said.

"Exactamente." The Doctor said. "Come on."

…

The pub was emptier than it had been the last time they'd been in, and that was saying something. The Doctor ordered three glasses of stout, and found a table.

So much for listening on the local conversation. He commented to his family. Jenny shrugged. The Walker frowned slightly.

Behind the bar, a middle-aged woman with fading brownish hair poured out ale. Mary O'Hara was back there too, scrubbing at something. It looked like she was doing all right.

There wasn't much conversation. In fact, there was barely any.

"I suppose people must all be at the wake, hm?" the Doctor asked as their drinks were served. The woman shrugged, already walking away as she answered. "I wouldn't be knowing about that sir."

The Time Lords looked at each other, and the Doctor shrugged. "Think we can get anything for lunch here?" he asked after a moment, looking around the room. "I'm starved." He glanced around, and shook his head. "No, probably not."

The pub door opened, making the Time Lords look up. A thin man walked in, and from the reaction of the few patrons it might have been a tiger that had just entered. Somebody important then. The Doctor watched as the sandy-haired man glanced toward the bar, then swept the room. Law enforcement type, the Doctor decided. He'd bet a regeneration on it.

The eyes focused on him. The man strode over, and nodded. "Inspector Burnstied." He said in a clipped London accent, "I've been told that you're the doctor who examined the man from the village?"

"Yes." the Doctor said, "I'm Doctor Good."

"A pleasure." the inspector said shortly. "Now sir, would you mind telling me the details of your examination?"

"There's really very little to say." the Doctor replied blandly. "The man's heart failed. We call it a coronary arrest, technically a coronary infarction. Essentially his heart just gave up."

"A coronary?" the inspector asked, quirking an eyebrow, "At his age?"

"Chronic lack of food can weaken the muscle tissue in the heart." the Doctor replied coolly. "Makes it vulnerable to sudden shocks."
"Ah." said the officer, "Of course. Well, I'm sorry to have to bother you sir. I've been ordered to check all deaths in the area, much of a nuisance as it is."

"A man's dead." the Doctor said quietly. "That's not a nuisance."

"Of course." the inspector said calmly. "Now sir, could you tell me where you'll be staying, if you wouldn't mind."

"Actually," the Walker said, "We won't be here for long. We're investigating the stones up on top of Knock-na-Cu."

"Yes," the Doctor said quickly, playing off the story, "my family has a real interest in archeology. We're in a few tents up on top of the hill. You know, roughing it. Builds up the immune system and all that."
The officer nodded, eyebrows raised. "Yes, well, thank you." Nodding, he turned away, and was soon out the door.

The Doctor glanced from one young woman to the other, brows raised.

Remind me to change the chameleon circuit.

Aloud, he said "What do you say we take off?" he glanced up as Mary came walking over, wiping her hands on her apron.

"Was th' constable askin' after Harry McGrath?" she asked, flipping her braided hair back over one shoulder. "That's a wake that won't be much attended. Did his heart really give out, sir?"

"Pretty much." the Doctor replied, pushing himself out of his chair. "And now we'll be getting along."

"Back up to Knock-na-Cu?"

"Yes," the Walker said, "We're studying the stones and investigating the culture that put them up."

"Ah." the girl said, her eyes wide. "And you'll be staying up there? I'm sure someone hereabouts would offer you a place in one of the big houses."

"Thanks," said the Doctor, "But we're pretty deep in our work." He paused, then on a whim turned back to Mary. "Speaking of our work, we'd like to know the stories about the hill. Anything and everything really. And-"

The pub door opened, and a young man hurried in. Thin as a rail, he cocked his hat back, looking around the room. He hurried over to the bar, then turned to the table.

"Mary!" the boy came over. Mary smiled. "Hello William."

"I just heard about what was done, an' I was comin' to-" then he glanced at the table."Oh, h'lo."

"William, this is Doctor Good, Miss Jenny and Miss-"

"Rhia." The Walker said. Resignedly, the Doctor sat back down. He wasn't getting out any time soon.

The young man pulled up a chair for Mary, and another for himself, smiling at the Doctor.

"I heard that you were the one to help our Mary. I thank you for that."

"Course." Jenny said.

"William," Mary said, "these people are after learning about the stones on Knock-na-Cu. They were asking after the stories about them."

"Is that so?" the boy said. He turned blue eyes on them. "What sort of stories would those be?"

"Any that you know." the Doctor replied.

The boy shrugged. "Well, every rock in Erin has a tale about it. Most aren't much."

"Yes, but we've got a special interest in these stories." the Doctor said, leaning towards the boy. He checked the timelines quickly before saying "And we wouldn't mind paying for them."

Ears perked up, and chairs moved closer to the table.

"Well, said William, "Knock-na-Cu is a queer place and no mistake. It has its name because right on that spot, one of the hounds of the devil hisself came out of the earth. It lay waste to the land until the king of the People of the Hill, Lough of the Long Arm, came to fight him."

Others nodded and murmured agreement. The storyteller opened his arms expansively.

"Oh, it was a long and bloody battle. The Hound was finally brought to bay, and Lough put his great spear into it, and killed it, and the People of the Hill raised the stones on its back to mark the battle."

"Yes," said another man, "But even now it's a queerish place. It's a place for the gathering of dark things, and at times the worst of the Little People come to it and woe betide any men who meet them."

"They'll take a man away with them." an elderly woman said as if sharing juicy gossip, "Or maybe kill him entire."

"Yes," William said, "Like poor Arnie O'Hattary."

"And don't forget Patrick McCartney."

"And what about old O'Leary? Now that was a story."

….

It was the middle of the afternoon before the Doctor stood and handed out coins.

"Could we walk you up to the stones?" William asked. Mary shot him a glare, shaking her head. But the Doctor shrugged, trying to make himself look relaxed.

"Why not." he glanced at Jenny. Run up and change the chameleon circuit before we get there, okay?

Right. Jenny nodded to the humans as she hurried out of the room. Mary looked after her quizzically.

"It's amazing how many stories managed to crop up around a single small hill." the Walker said, trying to keep the conversation light as they left the pub.

"Aye, strange it is." the young man beside Mary said. "And stranger still that anyone wouldn't know to stay away from the place." he glanced at his companions. "Not that it's anything but old stories."

"Oh I don't know." the Doctor said quietly. "Old stories sometimes have a grain of truth to them. You'd be surprised."

"And the storytellers really were quite amusing." the Walker added. "Especially the older fellow who whistled between his teeth when he spoke." She glanced at the two humans with a smile, but both had their heads down.

After a moment, the Walker glanced at her grandfather. Was there anything in that discourse that you found important?

He glanced at her, and gave a small shrug. Not really, aside from the fact that they know something happens here. They wrapped it up in their own mythology of earth-based spirits-that's the Hill People they were talking about- and just about anything could cover themselves in the guise of fairies.

But not anything could tap into a TARDIS power supply.

No. Not many things can pull a trick like that. There are things that the fairy stories were based on. They're nasty. Existence outside of time, far too much power. Deeply attached to this planet too. But this isn't their kind of thing.

Do you think we could manage a trip on reduced power?

He shook his head slightly. I wouldn't risk it. And coming from me, that's saying something.

Beside him, the Walker sighed. The dirt beneath their feet crunched.

"All the same," the Walker said, "it is lovely country."

The Doctor looked up, then nodded. "Mm. The Emerald Isle, they call it."

"If it wasn't so troubled, this country would be Eden." Mary said. "But as it is-"

The flash through the Doctor's head blocked out the rest of what the girl was saying. It was Jenny. Jenny, and she was shocked. Father! Something's happening up here!

"Jenny." the Doctor said. He started to jog forward.

"Grandfather? What's-"

The Doctor whirled when he heard the gasp. The Walker stood frozen, her head tilted up.

She turned, her eyes wide. "Grandfather, something's wrong… My ship…my ship!" with a terrified glance, she sprinted past him. Her grandfather dashed after her, following up the side of the hill. Above them the stones rose stark against the sky.

Walker! What-

It's my ship! She's being drained of power! I've got to get to her.

On the brow of the hill, Jenny's silhouette was picked out against the blue of the sky. The Doctor pumped his legs harder. But however fast he ran, he seemed to gain no speed. The air thickened until it felt as if he was drawing water into his lungs. They reached the top of the hill. The air shimmered like a heat mirage between the stones.

What the hell is going on?

Mary cried out behind them. "You mustn't step foot into th'circle! Ye mustn't! Tis to the Hill Folk you'll go if y' do!"

The Doctor ignored the shout behind him, running to canvas tents that concealed his ship. Then he froze. His eyes widened, his head tilting back. Jenny was right. Something up here was wrong. So wrong. Something was disturbing spacetime.

"Jenny, Walker." He called, "Get out of here. Run. Get into the ship. Now!"

There was a rumble like thunder. The air seemed to thicken, the pressure aching in the Doctor's chest. This was bad. Every iota of his body was screaming at him to get out of this area.

…

Jenny moved to follow her father's order. She felt as if she was standing on ground that was shifting. Everything seemed to wobble, and the bright sunshine seemed to spin at odd angles, making her dizzy. Then something flashed, just in the center of the circle, a light so bright that Jenny threw up her hands on reflex.

And then it was over. She looked up.

There was a man standing in the center of the circle, his head tipped back. A tall, pale man, his dark hair in a wild tangle of curls. He drew a deep breath. His head lowered, eyes staring at the stone ahead of him. "Ah. I am here." He let out a sighing laugh. Then he swayed. His knees gave way, and he slowly toppled to the ground.