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The Doctor waded through the debris, occasionally picking things up and sometimes discarding them. Yalaea walked over to the shelves, her eyes scanning for a manual. She pulled a pile of paper down, sat cross-legged on the floor and started to sort through them. The Doctor eventually reappeared with wires hanging around his neck. He removed his jacket and threw it over a table.
"What are you doing?" he asked disapprovingly.
"Looking for instructions." Yalaea replied.
"Pah! I don't need instructions!" the Doctor dumped the wires at Yalaea's feet and disappeared again.
"You do if you want to get this thing working!" Yalaea muttered after the Doctor's receding back. Yalaea finally found the manual she wanted and started to compare the wires to the diagrams in the manual. She discarded more than she kept and soon there was a small pile at her feet. The Doctor walked up to her, his arms full of junk. He placed them beside Yalaea and sat down.
"I think that's all we need." He huffed.
"I'll be the judge of that!" Yalaea replied. She glanced up from the manual and grinned. "Come on then. Let's get started!" They got to work. Dismantling parts and rebuilding others, never getting in each other's way much like they were in the TARDIS. Yalaea occasionally checked the manual but the Doctor built on instinct, connecting wires with his sonic screwdriver and he always had something draped across his shoulders. Soon the shape of a sphere started to emerge, getting larger and larger as time went by. As they neared the completion the Doctor made an astounding discovery.
"Oh that's brilliant!" he said.
"Wha' is it?" Yalaea walked over to stand beside him.
"Time Lord Technology!" the Doctor replied. "It's bigger on the inside!"
"Oh that is brilliant!" Yalaea hugged the Doctor quickly but she soon sobered as memories resurfaced in her mind.
"What is it Yal?" the Doctor asked.
"How did it end?" Yalaea's voice cracked. The Doctor didn't need to ask to know that she was talking about the Time War. He placed an arm around Yalaea's shoulders.
"You don't want to know." He said softly.
"Yes I do." Yalaea whispered.
The Doctor sighed. "They died Yal. Everyone died." A tear ran down the Doctor's face. "Towards the end, the Time Lords went, well, they wanted to become 'beings of pure consciousness without the restrictions of time'. They were going to destroy time itself, killing… everyone." The Doctor's voice lost all emotion as he went on. "The Daleks were growing stronger and had alliances and…well, I was the only one who could end it…I had the key for the De-mat Gun and I managed to modify it into the Moment…" the Doctor's voice was almost inaudible. "It would remove entire species from Space and Time instead of a single being."
"Doctor." Yalaea pulled away from him roughly. "Oh God please no!" her eyes filled with pleading tears.
The Doctor looked hurt and his eyes dropped. "I had to Yal. It was the only way…they…they" the Doctor cleared his throat, "I set the Moment to both Time Lords and Daleks. Gallifrey disappeared in a silent flash that spread throughout Time and Space. There were, of course, exceptions in that the Master survived, as did I and a few scattered Daleks remain out there somewhere…" the Doctor's voice was filled with centuries of sadness.
"Oh Doctor!" Yalaea whispered her eyes horrified "I'm so sorry." She reached up and hugged him tightly, her arms wrapping around his neck. "I forgive you." She murmured into his ear.
"Thank you." The Doctor murmured back his arms squeezing her waist. They stood like that for a while before the Doctor pulled away "Now, back to work." he grinned. Yalaea grinned back and joined him in rebuilding the sphere.
They finally finished and standing before them was a sphere. It was about six metres in diameter and it had a carving of a Mermaid over the door. The Mermaid was sitting on a rock amidst the ocean spray but her tail seemed as though it had legs within it. Yalaea frowned and lent closer to the carving. She leapt back as the doors hissed open and the Doctor emerged. "Finished!" he grinned and Yalaea grinned back.
"Wonderful." She said, "Can I have a look?"
"Sure." The Doctor stepped aside to let Yalaea through. Inside was spherical like the outside and it was huge. It was probably smaller than the TARDIS but all in one room it looked massive. There was a control column in the centre but it was obviously made to be operated underwater as there were controls all the way up to the ceiling. The wall was carved in astounding detail and one Mermaid appeared regularly. It was the same as the one on the door and Yalaea walked over to one, interested. In this carving she wasn't a mermaid she had the legs of a human. Why is that familiar? Yalaea thought. Then it struck her. It's the Little Mermaid, from Disney! But why is Ariel here! Yalaea shook her head. It didn't matter anyway. She turned to the Doctor and he beckoned her outside. "There's something I want to show you." He said. Yalaea followed him out of the sphere and watched as the Doctor pressed a few indentations on the sphere's surface. There was a single beep and the sphere slowly started to collapse in on itself. It continued to shrink until it was about the size of a tennis ball.
"Oh that's brilliant!" Yalaea gasped "Tha' really is brilliant!"
"Isn't it?" the Doctor grinned and pocketed the sphere. He grabbed his jacket and pulled it on before turning to Yalaea.
"Come on then!" she smiled "They'll be wonderin' where we are." The Doctor grinned back and followed Yalaea out the door. Together they walked down the steps, slowly descending into darkness. Luckily they could breathe underwater but Yalaea still took the Doctor's hand as the blackness encased them. Yalaea dropped the Doctor's hand as the two Mermaids came into view.
"Finally!" one snarled.
"We've finished" the Doctor said, ignoring the Mermaid's outburst. He took out the sphere and both Mermaids stared in disbelief.
"You expect us to fit inside that?" the impatient Mermaid hissed. "You filthy, cheating son of a…!"
The Doctor held up his hand "If you let me explain…this sphere has incorporated Time Lord Technology into its design. It is bigger on the inside and it can collapse in on itself, becoming smaller." He held the sphere a little higher. "Now, if you would take us to your leader we can be on our way." He shot the Mermaids a charming smile. Without replying the Mermaids lead Yalaea and the Doctor back to the town hall. Inside was packed with anxious Mermaids, waiting for news. The Doctor walked over to the Mermaid sitting on her throne with her staff in hand. He bowed a little extravagantly and presented the sphere. "Your Majesty." His tone of voice nearly made Yalaea giggle but she managed to stop herself. The Mermaid didn't seem to notice and she slid off the throne to get a better look at the sphere.
"How does it work?" she sounded like a curious child as her eyes scanned the sphere.
"Like this, if you'll excuse me." The Doctor moved back a little and pressed the indentations. The sphere started to grow, much to the astonishment of the watching Merfolk. Eventually the sphere was back to being six metres in diameter and the Doctor opened the door. "After you." He bowed as the High Mermaid swam through the door. Yalaea heard gasps and soon the Mermaid swam out again her face bright with amazement. "You two have saved us." She bowed her head in gratitude.
"It's the least we could do" Yalaea said "we want to prevent as much human death as well as the death of Merfolk." Yalaea smiled and the Mermaid tilted her head in thanks.
"We thank you." She smiled, revealing her fanged teeth. "You have saved my city. Is there anything you desire?"
The Doctor glanced at Yalaea "Nothing" he grinned "Just that you leave as soon as possible and we get a safe passage home."
The Mermaid laughed. "That can be arranged." She signalled to some Mermaids and they swam outside. Yalaea heard the sound of horns and soon Mermaids were swimming in by the dozens. Soon the city was empty and only the High Mermaid left. "Goodbye humans." She swam towards the open door but she paused and looked back, "May I ask you your names so that you will be remembered among my people long after we are gone?"
"Of course. I'm the Doctor and this is Yalaea." The Doctor pointed to himself then Yalaea. "Goodbye…" he waved as the door closed behind the Mermaid. He took Yalaea's hand pulled her back. They watched as a blue light filled the hall and the sphere dematerialised before their eyes. "Well, that's that done." The Doctor grinned. "Now all I have to do is figure out why River is here…"
Yalaea laughed and tugged him out the door. "Well, let's go before they do something stupid."
The Doctor laughed and pushed off from the paved courtyard and, hand in hand, they swam through the different layers of the ocean, towards their friends.
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