"Help!" a voice called. "Help me, please, quickly!"
Eva smiled at the Doctor as she opened the door next to her, jumping out and running towards the TARDIS, the Doctor's hand in hers.
"Help!" Adric called from underneath a pair of bicycle he had just found. "Please help!"
"Davis, get them!" the detective called, and Davis helped Adric from underneath the bike. "Not that one, you fool. The other one!"
Eva opened the TARDIS' doors, running inside with the Doctor hot on her heel. Not a moment later, Adric joined them and the three listened to the Cloister Bell ring.
"The box is gone," Adric noted.
"It could be anywhere in the TARDIS," the Doctor told him.
"Battle stations?" Adric asked.
"Absolutely," Eva said.
"The Cloister Bell," Adric started.
"A choice of emergencies," the Doctor said. "We'd better dematerialise first."
He pressed a couple of buttons, then frowned.
"What's the matter?" Adric asked.
"The TARDIS is very sluggish," the Doctor said, glancing at Eva worriedly. "We may not have any choice at all. It's dragging us back."
"We'll have to find some more power from somewhere," Eva said.
"The Cloister Bell," Adric repeated.
"Shut the door, then," the Doctor instructed. "There must be some way of simplifying this." He circled the console thoughtfully.
"Architectural configuration," Eva supplied.
"That's the one," the Doctor said with a small smile.
"What's that?" Adric asked.
"Interior allocation of space," the Doctor explained. "Adric, Eva, I'm going to jettison Romana's room."
"Are you sure?" Adric asked worriedly.
"This is life," the Doctor said. "Nothing's sure."
"I'm sorry," Adric started. "I just –"
"Do you want a quick decision or a debate?" the Doctor called.
"Sorry!" Adric defended, slightly wary.
"You see," the Doctor said once the deed was done and the TARDIS was working. "There's no need to shout."
Eva hit him over the head. "That was rude, and unkind," she told him sternly.
"I have no time for this," the Doctor muttered.
"Well, make time," Eva instructed.
"We're moving," Adric stated.
"Yes," the Doctor said.
"So that other TARDIS really has gone," Adric said.
"Somehow I rather doubt that," the Doctor muttered. "Come on, Adric."
"But aren't you going to answer the Cloister Bell?" Adric questioned.
"Why don't you answer it?" the Doctor asked. "Go on. Go on," he repeated, seeing the teenager's hesitation.
"What was that for?" Eva asked the Doctor once Adric was out of reach.
"What was what?" Adric asked.
"Your rudeness," Eva replied. "As used to it as I may be, it normally doesn't reach those levels."
"Well, normally the Master isn't here," the Doctor retorted.
"You can't use him as an excuse for your behaviour," Eva scolded.
"I can, and I will," the Doctor replied, just before Adric came back.
"Doctor, it stopped," he said.
"Yes," the Doctor said. "So now we know."
"Know what?" Adric asked.
"The message was very faint," the Doctor replied. "It was from Traken."
"Traken?" Adric asked, concerned. "How's Nyssa?"
"Nyssa?" Eva repeated, confused for a moment before she remembered Nyssa was a companion of the Doctor's.
"Nyssa's all right," the Doctor said.
"Tremas?"
"Vanished," the Doctor replied. "The Master must have had a second TARDIS hidden away somewhere."
"The Master's escaped from Traken?" Adric asked. "But why take Nyssa's father?"
"To renew himself," the Doctor replied. "He was very near the end of his 12th regeneration."
"He's taken over Tremas?" Adric asked.
"Yes."
"Can a Time Lord do that?"
"Well," the Doctor said, "Not just a Time Lord by himself, but with some of the powers of the Keepership still lingering, and I was so sure, I was so sure... He must've known I was going to fix the chameleon circuit."
"He read your mind?" Adric asked.
"He's a Time Lord," Eva said. "In many ways, they have the same mind. And I told you fixing the chameleon circuit was a bad idea!"
"Not now, Eva!" the Doctor called out, making Eva jump back.
Adric looked between them, worried. "Are we still going to Logopolis?" he finally asked.
"No," the Doctor said sharply. "How can we with the Master in the TARDIS? They're retiring people. They like a quiet life. There's no telling what a creature like that would do on Logopolis."
"So how do we flush him out?" Adric asked.
"And there's no saying what that might do to the TARDIS systems," the Doctor joked, before turning serious once more. "Can you swim?"
"Yes," Adric replied.
"Eva?"
"Do I want to know why you're asking me this?"
"Eva!"
"Yes, I can swim!" she called out. "And if you'll keep treating me like this I just might swim out!"
"Materialise the TARDIS underwater," the Doctor mused, ignoring her. "And open the door." He opened the scanner, uploading a picture. "That's the River Thames. We'll put down there."
"And water sluices in and floods out the whole TARDIS," Adric said.
"Yes," the Doctor confirmed.
"London in 1981," Eva mused. "I even have a place to go to."
"Don't be silly," the Doctor retorted. "Where do you have to go?"
"My life doesn't revolve around you, you know!" Eva called out.
"Really?" the Doctor asked. "So you don't just pop in and out of my timeline?"
"I'll just wait until I pop to a different you," she told him. "The last one I've been with ignored me almost completely and he was still better!"
"And what would you do in the meanwhile?" the Doctor questioned. "Where will you stay?"
"With my father," Eva said determinedly.
At that, the Doctor paused. "Your... father?" he repeated.
"I must have told you I was born in this universe," Eva said. "A single call to my father and he'll pick me up. I could stay with him until I'm pulled away again."
"Don't," the Doctor quickly said.
"Why not?" Eva asked. "I'm clearly not wanted here."
"You are," the Doctor told her. "You always are."
"Then start acting like it!"
"It's because of the Master," the Doctor explained. "I don't like the thought of you being anywhere near him."
"Deal with it," Eva told him sharply. "I don't know how many times I'm going to have to say this, but I'm not a china doll, nor am I a damsel in distress! I can protect myself – I have done it before and surely will do it again. You can't use the Master as an excuse for your behaviour. Now stop acting like a child and start acting like the 700 year-old man that you are, Scarfy!"
By the time she finished, Eva was slightly out of breath and tears threatened to fall from her eyes. The Doctor neared her and pulled her into a tight hug.
"I'm sorry," he whispered in her ear.
"You should be," Eva told him. "Now go and drown your TARDIS."
"Our TARDIS," the Doctor corrected with a smile. "Scarfy?"
"It fits you," Eva shrugged.
"I missed you calling me that," the Doctor admitted before looking away from her. "Adric, shut down everything. Fold back the Omega configuration."
"Folded back," Adric said.
"Good," the Doctor nodded at him, pulling and pressing on the console. "Exponential cross-field?"
"Halted."
"Good. Pathways to conditional states 7 to 17?"
"Closed."
"Excellent. Main and auxiliary drive?"
"Ended."
"Good," the Doctor looked at Eva. "Now, we're partially materialised so there'll be a slight jolt. Are you ready?"
"If you are," Adric replied.
"What?" the Doctor asked. "Well, I'd feel more confident if you just said yes."
"Yes," Eva said, coming to stand next to him.
"Good," the Doctor said. "Here we go, then." The TARDIS shook and the Doctor looked at the scanner. "A gentle splash-down," he muttered, right before there was a hit that made the trio fall to the ground. "We must've touched bottom!" he called, standing up.
"Touched bottom?" Adric repeated.
"Good thing that the water was there to break our fall," the Doctor said.
"That was after the water broke our fall?" Eva questioned, rubbing the spot on her head where she hit herself falling down. "You know, sometimes I think it really will be better if I was the one to fly the TARDIS."
"Not gonna happen," the Doctor said shortly, moving towards the door. "Careful now," he said. "The water pressure could send all three of us flying. Ready?" he asked Adric, who was standing at the ready with the button to take down the exterior shell of the TARDIS.
"Yes," Adric nodded, as Eva moved closer to the Doctor.
"Now!" the Doctor called.
Adric pressed the button and ran forwards, ready to help the Doctor hold down the doors. Eva hid a small smile as she remembered the scene and watched the Doctor work out what had happened.
"That's odd," he muttered. "There's no pressure on those doors at all."
"Perhaps we aren't down very deep," Adric offered.
The doors opened and the trio walked out to find themselves standing on a boat in the River Thames.
"Ah," the Doctor sighed. "I thought there'd be a perfectly simple explanation."
"Nearly got it right," Adric said, trying to lighten the Doctor's mood.
"Nearly, but not quite right," Eva commented.
"There's something not quite right about all of this," the Doctor said.
"The Master," Adric said.
The trio turned to look at a white figure standing on the bridge and looking at them, its hand raising as if to acknowledge their presence.
"Nothing like this has ever happened before," the Doctor said. "I've got to get to the bottom of this. You stay here."
"Ahem?" Eva cleared her throat questioningly.
"You can come," the Doctor quickly said. "Or stay. Whichever you want to do."
"I'll stay," Eva told him. "But only cause you asked so nicely."
She couldn't help but smile as the Doctor rolled his eyes.
EMH
As soon as the Doctor came back, he rushed into the TARDIS with Eva and Adric hot on his heel.
"Door!" he ordered.
"Who was that?" Adric asked, complying. "Doctor, who was that?" he repeated sternly when the Doctor said nothing.
"Set," the Doctor said.
"Where are we going?" Adric asked.
"Logopolis," the Doctor said.
"What?"
"I've just dipped into the future," the Doctor said darkly. "We must be prepared for the worst."
He flew the TARDIS away and moved closer to Adric and Eva.
"So that was the Master?" Adric asked.
"How do you deduce that?" the Doctor asked him.
"I just guessed," Adric shrugged.
"Never guess," the Doctor said. "Unless you have to. There's enough uncertainty in the universe as it is."
"But we can help you, can't we?" Eva asked.
"In the ordinary way, yes," the Doctor told her. "This is something far too serious."
"What sort of something?" Adric asked.
"A chain of circumstances that fragments the law that holds the universe together," the Doctor told them.
"Logopolis?" Eva asked.
"Yes," the Doctor said. "That aerial's a recent addition."
"Are we going to be staying long?" Adric questioned.
"You are," the Doctor replied.
"What?"
"You and I have to part company," the Doctor said. "I'd prefer Eva to stay with you, but I doubt it would happen."
"That's the first smart thing you said about me all day long," Eva told him.
"Look, if you're going after Nyssa, I'm coming, too," Adric said determinedly.
"Adric, don't argue," the Doctor said tiredly.
The door that separated the Console Room from the rest of the TARDIS opened and Tegan ran inside, looking shaken and distressed.
"I demand to see whoever's in charge of this ship!" she said, causing Adric and the Doctor to look at each other worriedly.
"That would be him," Eva said, marking at the Doctor.
"Traitor," he muttered.
"Be nice," Eva told him, kissing his cheek before walking away. "I'll make some tea. It seems we're all quite in the need of it."
EMH
Eva hummed to herself as she put the kettle on. She knew what was going to happen right now, and honestly couldn't bother with it.
The Doctor would ask Tegan a couple of questions and she'd answer them – at least until it all became too much and she'd demand he'd take her back to earth and her aunt. The Doctor would then realize her aunt was the woman from the car and tell her she's staying with them.
By then, Eva should be back with the tea, calm Tegan down and they could head out to Logopolis.
Eva put the tea and teacups on a tray and took it to the Console Room. She expected to hear Tegan talking to the Doctor and demanding he'd take her home, but was surprised to be met with silence. The Console Room was empty.
"Seriously?" she muttered to herself, stabilizing the tray on a nearby chair and heading for the door. "Would it have killed him to wait for me?"
She pressed on the button on the console that was supposed to open the door, but nothing happened. Frowning, she pressed the button again. Again, nothing happened.
Eva walked to the door, pushing it slightly only to find it locked.
"Doctor?" she asked. "Doctor, let me out. Doctor!"
She banged on the door, anger building up inside of her.
"Doctor!" she called. "Doctor, open this door right now!"
She kicked the door, frustrated, before turning her back to it and slipping to the floor. The odds that the Doctor was still close enough to the TARDIS to hear her were slim and she knew that even if he could hear her, he wouldn't open the door.
For the first time since she appeared in this universe, Eva wished she was with a different Doctor – a New Who Doctor. Not because she thought they wouldn't lock her in the TARDIS – she knew that it was more than likely that they still would – but because at least the Doctor's companion would have a cell phone she could call.
Not that she knew any of their numbers.
A thought occurred to her and she jumped to her feet, running to her room. Standing in the middle of it, she looked around.
She was young, as the Doctor reminded her all too often. That meant there were plenty of older versions of her who had travelled the TARDIS before, and knew what had happened here and now.
"If I were an older me," she muttered to herself, "Where would I leave myself a note?"
Probably in the first place you'd look in, a small voice replied and Eva rolled her eyes.
She walked towards the desk, opening the top drawer and smiled at the sight of a note bearing a telephone number. Walking back to the Console Room, she used the phone that was stationed there to make a call, and waited.
It wasn't long before she received a reply.
"Eva," Martha said happily. "How are you?"
"Been better," Eva replied. "Can you pass me the Doctor?"
"Of course," Martha said. "Doctor! Eva's on the line!"
"Evie!" the Doctor called as he took the phone from Martha. "How are you?"
"Pissed," Eva replied. "You'll never guess where I am."
"Where are you?" the Doctor asked cautiously.
"Logopolis."
"Oh," the Doctor said in understanding, swallowing nervously. "Have the TARDIS shrunk yet?"
"Not yet," Eva said bitterly. "Guess I have a lot to look out for."
"Yeah, sorry about that," the Doctor sighed. "It was back when I was paranoid about the Master getting to you."
"Well, it's my third time meeting a young you and my third time meeting the Master and this is the worst you've ever been," Eva told him.
"Yeah, I may have overreacted on this one," the Doctor admitted.
"You think?"
"But that's the worst I've ever done!" he added quickly. "I've never locked you in the TARDIS afterwards."
"You better have not," Eva said. "I think I just might kill you if you attempt to do this again."
"Noted," the Doctor replied, but Eva could hear the smile in his voice. "Well, I've got to go now, we're going to check an abandoned house in London. See you soon!"
"See you soon," Eva replied, hanging up the phone and looking around at the empty Console Room.
What was she supposed to do now?