For a moment, the Doctor was in free fall, convinced his adventure would end right there, with his mortal body splattered on the floor of the courtyard below. Then, the air caught him, lifting him up, straightening his path. The linen tarps rustled loudly, and the Doctor squinted from the air blowing into his face.

His target wasn't far, a nightmare dressed in red scales, spanning wide wings, closing in fast. The Doctor aimed his path directly at it. His chances of going undetected weren't that bad, he thought, but then a wave of movement went through Felgorn's body. His wings flared, slowing his approach, and he swerved to the side, his body moving through the air like a snake swimming through water. His long, reptilian head tilted, its eyes fixating on the Doctor and his brittle vessel.

So much for the element of surprise, he thought, as he steered the glider toward the dragon.

That seemed to confuse the creature. It flared its wings again, stopping to confront the tiny thing and its pilot. For an awkward moment, the Doctor just fell toward a very angry, and slightly confused dragon.

Got his attention, the Doctor thought. Wasn't step 1, but it could still be step 1 in a different plan. Now I just gotta figure out which one that is.

Felgorn changed his mind just as quickly. With a furious roar, he darted toward the Doctor, opening his massive jaws, inside which the Doctor could already see the glow of emerging dragonfire.

He let go of the handles, sliding a couple inches down the wooden plank, before he grabbed it again. This way, he had shifted the glider's centre of mass, which made its wings flare just enough to rise above the superheated air. The heat caught underneath the wings, lifting the glider up, taking it high up in the air.

The Doctor quickly calculated the right moment. He let go of the glider and fell. Through the air he dropped, toward the giant animal. It was only in the very last moment that Felgorn noticed the tiny shape of the Doctor, dropping onto its face, but by then it was already too late. He jerked around, swerving through the air, trying to shake him off, but the Doctor had found purchase on the curved horn that grew out of his skull, above his right eye.

The Doctor was on fire. Both his suit's legs had been caught in the dragon's infernal flame.

No time to worry about that. He hung on for dear life, desperately trying not to get thrown off the wildly thrashing beast. He spread his legs to bring himself closer to Felgorn's skull, but the creature twisted and writhed furiously. All he needed was a physical connection, just a touch of his hand…

Felgorn lurched, throwing the Doctor off his scaly head – but he, knowing what the consequence of failure would be, held on, white-knuckled, muscles straining, and suddenly the Doctor sat right inside the twisted crown, between the mighty dragon's eyes, his hands already touching on the leathery scales.

Before the dragon knew what was happening, the Doctor reached out with his mind and established a link between them. His consciousness blended with Felgorn's, and the creature calmed itself immediately. His wings remained spread, and he began gliding downhill, toward the lake, while his mind and the Doctor's fought a battle on an entirely different battleground.

He never pried into the dragon's mind. Instead, he opened all his own doors, presenting all of himself; his memories, his deeds, his entire life was on full display. Felgorn was an old creature, but even he couldn't comprehend what he saw. All that knowledge, those impossible things the Doctor had witnessed… The mighty dragon grew confused, and then scared, like a rat sensing an earthquake, and he began to fight the Doctor's presence. But while he tried to shut him out of his mind, he unintentionally opened doors of his own.

Behind these doors were vast mountains, steep, and packed with ice; dizzying heights that led to endless drops, and the joy of delaying the spreading of massive wings until the very last moment. There were volcanoes, filled with lakes of magma, and the pleasure of letting the heated air lift his winged body up and up into a purple sky. There was a world covered in sierras of magnificent beauty. There was freedom.

He'd had a family. A competitive and belligerent kind, but underneath it all was a sense of belonging. His brothers and sisters were dear to him, despite their constant squabbles and challenges, and before other families, he had always felt proud to name them his kin.

It had all changed that fateful day, when Felgorn had been sucked into the portal, and thrown into this foreign place. That memory was coloured with nothing but sadness. Yet another lost soul, grieving, hopeless.

Unbelonging.

The Doctor felt his pain and knew it only too well, and for the briefest of moments, both of them had a unique understanding of each other. They saw each other clearly, like they never would again, and it was in that tiny sliver of time that Felgorn reached out and...

When he opened his eyes again, he found himself sitting atop a dragon head, skimming over the lake. Felgorn regained his senses simultaneously, and with a shake of his massive body, he dropped the Doctor into the cool water.

The shore wasn't far, but the Doctor's body ached in several places, and when his trainers finally felt solid ground, he was panting in earnest. 'Blimey,' he coughed, 'I really need to get in shape for all this running and flying and swimming.'

The ground thumped in the distance, like a horde of giants were charging at him through the forest. Trees exploded, and Felgorn thundered out onto the lakeside, his roar an almighty storm of rage and teeth and the promise of a fiery death.

The Doctor took off his blue suit, and wrung it out.

'Any last words, trickster?' the Dragon's menacing voice boomed in the Doctor's head.

'You can talk!' the Doctor shouted with delight. 'Look at you! Oh, that'll make things so much easier! By the way, trickster? Don't like it. I don't trickst. Well…' he half-shook his head. 'Maybe I do. But I try my best to be honest. By the way – again – thanks for saving my life!'

The Dragon's head slowly turned to one side, bringing his eye closer toward the Doctor. His telepathic voice was a poisonous whisper.

'What are you talking about?'

'Oh,' the Doctor said, flapping a hand at him. 'You'll figure it out soon enough. Takes a bit to sort it all out, all that data. But don't worry, you'll catch up.' The Doctor was working the water out of his suit arms while Felgorn bared his teeth, growling. 'You cannot fool me. Your command over me has ceased. Your efforts have failed. You will not escape your punishment.'

'What is it with you lot? Punishment here, punishment there! Ever tried learning a new tune?'

The dragon's nostrils flared angrily, and the Doctor raised a placating hand, while putting his suit back on. 'Alright, alright. Listen: I haven't tricked you. The things you saw in my head are the truth. The machine that controlled you is destroyed. You're free. Nothing good will come from punishing anybody. So give it a rest, eh?' He folded his arms, smirking confidently. 'In fact, I think I deserve a reward.'

'What a desperate attempt at saving your own skin. It is almost amusing.'

'Oh, I amuse you, do I?' the Doctor said, as he took off his trainers and socks one at a time to wring them dry, dancing on one leg. 'Well, that's good! Why kill something that amuses you?'

'You deserve to burn,' Felgorn seethed, 'along with every other creature on this world.'

The Doctor slipped his ragged sock back onto his foot. 'You just looked into my mind, Felgorn. What else did you find there?'

The dragon fell silent, his head hovering about thoughtfully. He jerked in surprise, then fixated the Doctor curiously.

'Now he's catching up,' the Doctor grinned.

'You… are peculiar…' Felgorn's voice said, 'Not from this world. You travel by means that defy logic. Your mind does not fit to your body. Your knowledge is old, and vast, yet you are so young... What are you?'

'I am your ticket home. Happy birthday and all that.'

'What do you mean?'

'Still not there? Well, that's why you saved my life, isn't it? See, while we were doing the vulcan mambo, your unconscious did a lot of thinking, and a lot of decision making. Well, one decision, really. See, I was dying just a couple minutes ago. Massive amounts of TARDIS energy, absolutely deadly. But you took most of the excess energy out of me, balanced it just right between us.' The Doctor tilted his head. 'You should feel it, slight burning sensation in your chest area. But I reckon you'll be fine, big fella that you are.'

'You are... the... Doctor.'

'Hello! Nice to meet you. Well, technically this is our second meeting, since you already know everything about me. Well, actually it's our third, come to think of it. But anyway, the point is you know me. And that means you also know that I don't help exclusively. If we're gonna get you home, you'll have to do your part.'

'My part?' The dragon sounded amused.

'For starters, no killing and burning of everyone and everything while I'm away sorting things out.'

Felgorn's face hovered closer, his slit pupils glinting with intelligence. 'If what you showed me is true, then the angel king and his advisor are still alive. And unpunished.'

The Doctor's expression turned grim. 'And they will remain unpunished.'

A thunderous rumbling resounded from Felgorn's throat, which the Doctor assumed was his laughter. 'Look at this…' he hissed. 'Again, a tiny creature is trying to command me. Do you really think I will allow another leash around my neck?'

'I'm not trying to control you, Felgorn, I am begging you! Hasn't there been enough bloodshed? Enough destruction? No matter on whose account.'

The Dragon's face came closer and closer, teeth bared, nostrils flaring, an abysmal stench reeking from his teeth, but the Doctor didn't flinch. He recognised an empty threat when one was made so obviously in his face.

Felgorn seemed to realise that his efforts were in vain. 'You bargain for their lives. Why?'

The Doctor shrugged. 'To stop a cycle.'

He knew he didn't need to say more. Felgorn had seen his mind; he knew what cycle the Doctor was talking about. There were only too many examples to pick from his memory.

The Dragon stared at the Doctor. The Doctor smiled back.

'Make for a swift return,' his voice spoke, while Felgorn raised himself up, spread his wings, and started into the air, creating a wind so strong, it blew the Doctor right back into the lake.