The lenses crashed around them as the pyramid shook, prompting the Doctor and Truman to retreat. The structure crumbled around them; dust from the fallen stones choked the air as the duo dodged the descending rubble.
"Doctor how are we going to get out of here?" yelled a hysterical Truman.
"The same way we came in!" replied the Doctor. He thrust his sonic out in front of him, using its readings as the North Star guiding their way home. As chaos ensued all around him, Truman sadly glanced at the place of his dreams being destroyed by his hand. He had come to Egypt hoping to explore the famed pyramids, not obliterate them. All the hard work and dedication placed into the building, all the people who died for its construction died in vain all because he wanted to do some time traveling. He was forced back into reality by a close encounter with a falling brick. Leaping over a great fissure that had been created by the disruption, they managed to escape the pyramid in time to see it collapse in on itself.
"What have you two been up to?" Windsor asked crossly. "Destroying historical landmarks?"
"GET DOWN!" the Doctor roared, tackling the unsuspecting Windsor into a sand dune. Truman and the Doctor covered their heads as they waited for the imminent explosion.
Nothing happened.
"Where's the explosion?" wheezed Truman, looking at the Doctor for an answer.
"Must've been a microscopic one," reasoned the Doctor. Truman breathed a sigh of relief and looked over to Windsor.
"Did we stop the Sphinx? Has it blown up?"
"Blown up? Of course not!" Windsor pointed towards the now stationary Sphinx. "It's stopped moving though. Right at the nick of time if you ask me, no thanks to you two. What gave you the bright idea to go gallivanting into the Great Pyramids while the city was in danger?"
"A hunch," the Doctor grinned.
"Doctor, how are the people going to rebuild the pyramids?" Truman questioned, sadly bowing his head at his hand in their destruction.
"The Egyptian people are a resilient and spirited bunch," replied the Doctor, gazing at the ruins of the pyramid while giving Truman a reassuring pat on the back. "I'll say they'll have a new one put up in a matter of years. Amazing what a race of people can accomplish when they work together. I mean, just look at the Great Sphi…" He stopped talking as he noticed the face of the Sphinx. Everything was normal, except for the lack of a nose.
"Did we just blow up the Sphinx's nose?" stammered Truman. The Doctor nodded silently.
"He must have placed the power source in the nose of the Sphinx," reasoned the Doctor. "By the looks of it, he was there as well. Poor old Khafra, dead before his time."
"He had his time," Windsor noted darkly. "He was a power hungry general who lusted for destruction. He got what was coming to him."
"Doesn't make his death any less impactful," the Doctor said. "At least now the people of Egypt can move on from the tyranny, but I'm afraid there will be more slavery and suffering for them in the future for quite a while. However!" he cheered up, raising his hand to the sky. "We have saved them today!"
Truman gave a little cheer and Windsor scoffed.
"Never scoff at saving lives!" chastised the Doctor. "Think about how these people will go on to create more people and expand civilization exponentially! You're helping that cause by saving people's lives. Even if you save them for a moment, for just one second, that's one second they can do extraordinary things in. Doesn't that give you a good feeling? Don't you feel accomplished?"
"Why do you think I became a doctor if not to stoke my hero complex?" Windsor noted dryly. "And by the way, there won't be any more mummies alive, right?" he asked in a nonchalant but fearful manner.
"Oh no," the Doctor waved his hand dismissively. "They're back resting peacefully in their sarcophaguses. Sarcophagi? Sarcophagussis? Well, in their death vessels. The residual energy within the spheres should have dissipated into the air, helping to form new live throughout the universe. Isn't it poetic?"
"As long as the dead stay dead," Windsor stated. "That's all that matters in the world."
"Never had a significant other, eh Duke?" the Doctor ribbed, causing Windsor to hit Truman.
"Hey, he's the one who said it, not me!" he defended, trying in vain to hit the dodging Windsor back.
"Well I can't very well hit our ride, can I?" he chuckled as he continued to evade the angry Truman's blows.
"Haven't you had enough violence for the day?" the Doctor asked. He gazed at the Sphinx, and beckoned the duo to join him. "The statue gives you a whole new meaning of 'the nose goes' doesn't it?" They all chuckled at the joke.
"I can't believe we inspired Lord Voldemort's image!" Windsor said, prompting more laughter.
"Gee Doctor," Truman noted as they looked upon the Great Sphinx. "Without his nose, won't he asphinxiate?"
The Doctor and Windsor turned to Truman and said nothing. There was no coming back from that joke.
And thus ends the second adventure of the Nth Doctor and his companions. It's Windsor's pick of locale for the next destination. Where will he choose to go? Find out in the next installment of the Nth Doctor, Time of the Dragons!