It had found it's current predicament odd. Standing by the humans it would so readily see exterminated felt hypocritical to the Dalek, but it had to play things safe. There had still been no reply to it's boosted signal & it needed to uphold it's end of the bargain with the Doctor if it wanted any chance of leaving. That said, it anticipated the Doctor being unwilling to hold to his side. When the time came, it would have to ensure it had enough energy left to deal with the Doctor & the humans.
Checking it's energy reserves, the mutant was irked to find it had dropped below 50%. If the assault by the creatures carried on unabated, it's outer shell, it's life support, was in danger of being rendered useless.
Another Warrior reared from the darkness of the corridor beyond, charging forward. A direct hit from the Dalek's death ray dismembered the creature, arms, legs & tail scattering over a wide area. The humans either side of the Dalek looked on in shock & awe.
"Such inferior beings." thought the mutant, it's dome swivelling to look at the guards in turn.
Another lull in the defence occurred & this was when a new problem arose. Screaming could be heard from the interior of the ship alongside various gunshots. Turning, the Dalek and the security guards almost fired as a young woman came scurrying out of the darkness, tears streaming across her face, blood smattered over her blouse & gibbering incoherently.
"In-in-inside...o-one of...the cr-creatures!"
It was as they listened to her that confirmation came to them. Emerging slowly out of the gloom was a ridge-headed Warrior. The Dalek knew again, as it had done with the Drone & Runner before it, that this was the Warrior it had held in confinement. Curiously, it was badly wounded. A chunk from it's head was missing, so to was one of it's hands & most of it's tail. The Warrior snarled, drool seeping copiously from behind it's bared maw. Opening up it's clenched, good hand, the creature let drop the severed head of a colonist. Blood dripped & pooled at it's feet. With a reverberating howl that seemed to shake the ramp, the Warrior charged forward. It's target was clear for all present to see; The Dalek.
The first blast from it's death ray glanced the side of the Warriors head as it ducked onto all fours. Scurrying across the floor, the bullets fired at it by the security men served as only inconsequential flesh wounds or rebounded off of the creatures tough hide. With terrible force, the Warrior collided with the Dalek, sending it sliding backwards with a cry.
With an almost idle sweep of it's arms, good & bad, the Warrior flung men & woman from either side of it. Letting loose an ominous snarl, it set it's sights once more on the Dalek.
The Dalek had not remained idle as the Warrior dealt with the security officers. It's black feeler had long since disappeared into it's stick & been replaced by the nozzle of it's flamethrower. Letting loose, the flames swept over the creature who took it without flinching. From inside the furious heat, the Warrior howled angrily. The exposed wounds of its head & hand bubbled with agony. This served only to further infuriate the creature who charged forward through the flame & slashed at the Dalek. The flamethrower nozzle was swept clear off with the single swipe & all that was left was a sparking, wire exposed end.
In it's fury, the Warrior had left itself exposed. The Dalek took the opportunity presented & aim it's gunstick upwards.
"Exterminate!" it screamed.
The blast burned a hole directly through the Warrior. Acid blood seeped from the mortal wound but did not splatter or cover any nearby, such was the strength of the blast. The Warrior dropped to it's knees & gave a long, gurgling howl. The Dalek could not tell if this was of pain or the last of it's fury, dwindling with it's life. Suddenly, it fell forward, crumpling at the feet of it's nemesis.
The Dalek made a quick examination of it's flamethrower arm & found rage at the impairment rapidly growing. It had been maimed by the creatures final assault, but it made no sense!
Moving forward, the Dalek ignored the various defenders coming to or checking themselves over. The Warrior had come from the interior of the ship, but it seemed it had attacked only a small few.
"It must have gotten in whilst we were concentrating on the doors." said Knight, stopping by the Dalek.
Ignoring him, the Dalek pushed forward & stopped by the ramp. It could have taken them unawares but did not. Instead, it had entered the ship.
"Was it's intentions to slaughter the colonists & then the defenders." thought the Dalek. "or something else..."
Inside the machine, the mutant tapped it's main screen & began a full scan of the ship. As it did, however, a bleep from a smaller monitor arrested it's attention. A message had been received!
"This is Dalek High Command. Your signal was received & a task-force has been sent along the coordinates attached to your message. Estimated time of arrival: 8640 rels. Shuttle Craft will home in on time-space beacon. Message ends."
It had not been abandoned after all! It could dispense with it's bargain with the Doctor & the irksome humans.
Turning, the Dalek began to re-gauge it's gun when another echoing wail came from the side doors. Flicking for the scan to continue & re-checking it's power levels, the Dalek returned it's focus to the defence of the Repair Dock. It would have to use the human's for a little while longer.
The craggy snow & ice covered hills to the Mines sat desolate & the overcast sky hung above like a dark funeral shroud. Darkness seeped into every corner & the few trees which decorated the forlorn mountain stood ominously. A light flurry of snow was the only movement for miles. A sparkling crackle of electricity brightened up the area, wind emanating out from the ball of energy. The Doctor & Nyssa soon came into focus, this time their feet planted firmly on the ground. As they fully appeared, the electricity & light disappeared, blanketing the area in gloom once more.
"Better landing this time." said the Doctor.
"Still not a fan of that form of travel though." said Nyssa, pinching the bridge of her nose.
"Yes, very crude & nasty." replied the Doctor, pocketing the device. "Typical of the Daleks, but they're the kind that only cares if it works, not if it's comfortable."
Taking a few steps forward, reaching into his other pocket as he did, the Doctor nearly slid on the thick sheet of ice hidden beneath the fresh snow.
"Watch your step." he said, pulling free his pocket torch.
Nyssa took several shuffling steps forward & took the Doctor's arm as they both looked upon the Mine entrance. Stalactite's of ice & rock hung above the entrance whilst jagged rocks, evenly spaced from one another, gave the opening the appearance of a great, vicious-looking, fang-filled mouth. The darkness beyond these macabre fangs was impenetrable, even as the Doctor shone his torch.
Looking around, & in spite of the falling snow, there was no accompanying wind. The barren hillside was silent except for the faint "pat" of the snow flakes connecting with their fellows on the ground.
"I don't like this place at all." said Nyssa through a puff of vapour & chattering teeth.
"It is a tad creepy, I suppose." admitted the Doctor. "But we've got a meeting to get to."
Slowly making their way over the snow & ice, the Doctor & Nyssa negotiated the uncanny teeth that guarded the entrance & passed into the welcoming darkness beyond.
The tunnel proved spacious, yet still the two travellers felt oppressed. A heavy feeling, growing more weightier & overbearing with each step, followed them in the darkness. They found no comfort in the escape from the outdoor elements nor the lack of wind. The interior was as cold, if not colder than, outside & the thick, crushing silence played on their nerves. At any moment they expected a resounding voice to emanate or sharp claws to lunge from the darkness. For five minutes, their difficult descent continued, such was the atmosphere that the odd time the Doctor or Nyssa would slip on the frozen dirt & rock beneath their feet, it came as something of a relief.
Various tunnels lined the main passageway, following through to their own sequestered seams of valuable mineral & metals, but the Doctor & Nyssa knew they were not lost. Something from further in pulled at them, beckoned them. They knew that the main path was the only one the needed to take.
Soon, they found the entrance to a large chamber. The portal had only partially been uncovered, so the Doctor & Nyssa had to make an effort to pass over the rocks still in place. As they clambered through the aperture, the dark pit sat brooding in their line of vision.
Nyssa was first in & she found her eyes glued to the pit itself. The contours of the pits edges ended in jagged points & the blackness beyond seemed as endless as the teeth-filled mine entrance.
"Nyssa, give us a hand will you?" came the Doctor's voice.
Turning, Nyssa hurried over & helped the Doctor to push through the narrow opening. Entering, the Doctor looked upon the pit.
"Ominous, isn't it." he said distantly.
"It's not just a feeling. Without having any tangible proof, I know there's something in there. The presence is strong." said Nyssa.
The Doctor "hmmed" his agreement & dropped to his knees. The inner chamber floor was made up of soft dirt, some of it clinging to his trouser knees & the detonator as the Doctor dropped it, a walkie-talkie & the temporal shift.
"The all-important tools we may very well need." muttered the Doctor. "Nyssa, you take this."
Beckoning her over, the Doctor placed into her left hand the detonator &, standing up, clipped the walkie-talkie to the front of her lilac jacket.
"Why will I need these?" she inquired.
"For reasons that will become all clear soon." he said, fishing about in his inside pocket. Handling it gingerly, the Doctor produced a gold pocket watch & held it up so that Nyssa could see the face.
"Once I go in, contact Telly & have her try to take off. If it doesn't work & I don't come back out of that pit in exactly ten minutes, contact Telly again on the walkie-talkie.
Once she's confirmed the ship has begun to take off, press the detonator."
Nyssa took the pocket watch & examined it. The covering face had an intricate design &, as she unclasped it, noticed that the clock-face had it's own, unique design also. A small engraving was positioned on the interior of the cover.
"A gift, from my granddaughter." he said, a sad smile on his lips. "So don't lose it...unless, of course, I don't come back out of there, in which case I'd like you to take care of it for me."
"Don't speak like that." chided Nyssa. "You just make sure you come back in as many pieces as went in."
"Now that I can't guarantee." smiled the Doctor. "Whoever is in there may want a pound of flesh for an entry fee."
The Doctor was in the process of walking over to the pit when he stopped & about turned, a concerned look on his face.
"I'm sorry for asking you to do this, Nyssa." he said. "If I could spare you..."
It took Nyssa a moment to realise what he was talking about. It was as she felt the reminder of the detonator in hand that it clicked with her too. Raising her hand up, she looked at the device.
"I hadn't enough time to digest it." she said, her voice a little weak. "I'd rather not think about it too hard, otherwise I might hesitate. I understand what needs to be done, let's just hope it's only the monsters that are caught in the explosion."
The Doctor watched his companion for a moment, worry, for her, & shame, for himself, marring his features.
"I only ask you to do this because I may not be able to, even if I'm able to get out."
Tearing her gaze away from the detonator, Nyssa, seeing the Doctor's face, did her best to smile reassuringly.
"You can count on me." she said.
Smiling, the Doctor walked over to the edge of the pit, about turned & extended his arms outwards.
"I've never doubted it." he said.
And with that, he fell backwards into the dark chasm & disappeared from view.
In the stifling darkness, the Queen was surprised. The soothing Voice had changed. No longer did it caress her with it's loving calm, not longer did it compose her with it's soft words. Now it screamed. Now it implored.
"Leave!" it screamed. "Leave!"
The thought was incomprehensible to her. To leave the home she had taken, the home she & her siblings had carved out & changed to their needs? To abandon her children for no other reason than the Voice had told her?
The stain on her authority as the unifying voice of the Hive aside, the Queen was intelligent enough to desire reason. But the voice continued to scream it's desperate plea.
As suddenly as the voice began, it ceased & in the calm, the Queen could think. Though she was unwilling to flee, she too had a disturbing feeling, ever since the non-human had fled her throne room. Had something been done?
At the time of her awakening, she had assumed that she had prevented some kind of sabotage or insidious ploy. But what if she had, in fact, been too late? What if she had only caught the tail end of something & the non-human had escaped the victor?
Tilting her head skyward, the Queen let loose a screech & began to pull & strain at the holding strands of web...
"Where is the Doctor!"
The Dalek had pinned Telly to the side of the ship, it's feeler having replaced the broken flamethrower nozzle. After trying & failing to set the ship on it's way after Nyssa's cagey communication, Telly had slumped into the co-pilots chair. A commotion over the radio, one that seemed unrelated to the creatures periodic assaults on the perimeter, caused her to venture from the cockpit to see what was going on. Upon exiting the ramp, the Dalek had surged forwards & slammed her hard against the hull of the ship. The black sucker clenched over her collar bone, the pain slicing through her from it's over-strong grip.
"I have no idea, you glorified garbage can, why are you asking me?" she said, her voice strained.
"You are an associate of the Doctor & the woman, Nyssa. I have seen you conferring." screeched the Dalek. "You will tell me where the are!"
Knight, having ensured his fellow officers remained at their posts, stood by the side of the Dalek, his gun pointed towards the dome.
"Let her go." he said. "We've got bigger things to worry about than where that young bloke & his bird have gone."
"Bird? What bird?" said the Dalek.
"The woman." replied Knight, wearily.
"Will you kindly get off of me?" inquired Telly. "This plunger of yours really hurts you know."
"Tell me where they have gone!" shouted the Dalek. "The Temporal Shift has been taken, I know that the Doctor has taken it. You will tell me! You will tell me!"
The Daleks voice had risen several octaves since the dispute had started & now it's voice echoed throughout the dock. Seeing Telly's increasingly pained expression & what seemed like a tightening of the black thing on her neck, Knight relented.
"They've gone to the mines." he answered.
Suddenly, the Dalek released Telly who dropped to her knees massaging her collar bone. Swivelling around with lightning speed, the Dalek turned on Knight. Both it's gunstick & feeler were raised menacingly as it slowly slid forward.
"To entreat with this ""Entity""?" said the Dalek.
"What?" said Telly from the floor. "Did you think they just up & left? I've only known those two a short while, but they don't seem the sort of people to just leave others hanging."
"I know the Doctor." said the Dalek, disdain dripping from every word it uttered. "He is afflicted with compassion, but he is also devious."
"Kind of like you?" said Telly, under her breath. "Devious part at least."
"He will not have gone without some kind of assurance that he can escape."
"There." said Knight. "My help ends. I've got no idea what the man's got up his sleeves."
"You are lying!" croaked the Dalek, still advancing slowly forward on Knight. "My instruments detect that you are lying, you will tell me the truth or I shall exterminate you all!"
From his position in front of the Dalek, Knight was certain he'd hit the metal things eye, but would that stop it? He'd likely die doing it & even blind the Dalek would probably still be dangerous. Taking a deep breath, Knight lowered his gun & made his choice.
"A bombs been planted in the Hive. The Doctor's going to blow it up once we've gotten out of here."
With this, the Dalek turned & made it's way to the exterior doors.
"Hey, wait!" said Telly. "You can't just leave, what about your deal with the Doctor."
Turning, the Daleks white iris glowed ominously as it looked upon them each in turn.
"I care nothing for your fate, you can all die at the hands of the creatures or the bomb. I will not let the Doctor escape!"
Darkness surrounded him. He moved & floated in the echoing black void as if he were underwater or in space, but there was no accompanying sensation of floating or motion. He was just there. Staring into the blackness above & below him. Talking was useless here, so he called out with his mind.
"Hello! I've come to speak with you."
The thought echoed out into the silent abyss but no reply was forthcoming. Still, he tried again & again.
"Is it someone new?" came the reply.
The Voice which spoke did not actually speak. No more than the Doctor had, but neither did it's thoughts touch his. The words burned themselves onto his mind, every syllable an agony which, in the tumbling blackness, he could not voice. As the words formed, he felt painful tendrils of thought attempting to pierce the mental defences he had put in place before taking the plunge. Through it all, no shape or form could be discerned, only the words & only the assault on his mind.
"I've come to speak with you." he thought. "Please, you must release the humans, let them leave."
A deep rumbling echoed in the silence like a thousand volcano's erupting. When the next words burned themselves onto his mind, the Doctor was left in no doubt that it had been a show of mirth.
"Is that all you have come here for?" seared the words. "To my domain, you have set foot here to beg for the fodders lives? You are a fool. But I recognise you now, Catalyst, now that I have come to."
Still the tendrils of thought probed, still the Doctor hardened his resolve. He reached out again, giving voice desperately to a thought he had not intended to voice.
"Where are you?" he asked. "Where on the planet are you?"
This time, silence reigned in the dark void. Just as the Doctor was about to repeat his question, the words burned brightly.
"What is ""planet""?"
"The large astronomical body that we all walk around. The place where everything that has happened has taken place on. Events which I know you have bore witness too."
Another deep rumble echoed around him. Before he heard the answer, the Doctor knew he wasn't going to like it.
"I am not on the ""Planet"". I am the Planet."
With that, the Doctor felt gravity. He felt himself plunge, warm air swooping past his ears & blurring his vision.
"Umm, Doctor...Nyssa...either one of you there?" came a voice.
Nyssa, who had been sitting with legs slanted to her right & switching her gaze from the Doctor's pocket watch to the dark abyss before her, jumped as the voice echoed slightly in the large chamber. Fumbling for the walkie-talkie, Nyssa pressed the button on the side.
"Telly?" she said. "What's the matter, has something happened?"
"There's been a slight hiccup on our end..."trailed off Telly, her voice slightly muffled by the crackle of the walkie-talkie.
Glancing at the watch, Nyssa narrowed her eyes.
"What do you mean?" she asked. "The creatures haven't gotten into the ship, have they?"
"No...nothing like that." replied Telly. "The Dalek, it discovered you & the Doctor had disappeared & was pretty forceful in it's overtures. It knows you guys used that temporal thing & took off."
"What about your defences?" asked Nyssa, worry taking hold.
"We've bunkered up in the ship & Brett's got an idea for electrifying the hull, just thought I should let you know what's happening."
"Thank you." said Nyssa. "I hope it stays that way. You just have to hold on for a little while longer."
"How long?" came the ghost of a voice.
"8 more minutes."
Falling, the Doctor resigned himself to a gruesome death when suddenly, gravity ceased. He was back to floating without sensation & found himself now hovering above a world of endless jungle. As he watched, the words burned onto his mind with their familiar pain.
"I do not belong to your Universe, Catalyst. I fell through the barriers which connect this Universe to many others. Before the first Fall, I was senseless, soulless. In that time, life bustled upon the surface."
Without warning, the birds-eye-view of the jungle below zoomed inwards & the Doctor saw himself before the Temple. Strange 3 eyed humanoids busied themselves with important & unimportant tasks. Through the crowds, the Doctor could see a man chiselling away at a lump of rock.
"More life came from beyond, taking with them the Children."
The image before the Doctor dissolved & the 3-eyed humanoids suddenly reappeared, bowing before cloaked giants. One stretched it's hands out to the side & beckoned for the lead humanoid to examine a large, fleshy egg. Before the scene could continue, it dissolved once more.
"Much time passed & slowly, the life that once existed dwindled. So too did the Children."
This time, only the briefest flashes of images entered the Doctor's mind. Images of bloody terror, the building of statues, smooth headed, obsidian black monsters emerging from the darkness, the last humanoid cocooned. Lifting his hands up, the Doctor covered his face.
"It's too much, too much." he thought."Got to stay strong!"
"Then came the Fall. I passed through darkness & colour, saw things that could scarcely be described to one even such as you, Catalyst, & I passed out the
Otherside. Awake. Full of sensation. Alive."
Once more, the Doctor's vision blurred as sensation returned & he felt himself pulled backward. The jungle stretched before him & flitting among the trees he saw crows.
"I could not make sense. I was aware I had power, but I could not use it without great effort, so it was that I took to sleep. In my dreams, I saw through the Little One's eyes, but I could not fathom if this was happening as I dreamed, if it had happened long ago or was yet to come. I was confused."
The large crow that he & Nyssa had encountered flitted from a tree & landed atop a rock.
"My only comfort in my search for understanding was the Children. They slept too, within their fleshy prisons, waiting, yearning to be free. To propagate & live. In time, they became my children."
A wave of malice swept over the Doctor, such that he had not felt in a long time. Even with the Entity's explanation, the Doctor was piecing together the story from the foreign emotion & thoughts that bombarded him. Before he could continue, however, another tendril of pain tapped at the defences in his mind. It was still trying to break through, to
break him.
"So long had we waited. I still had no control, no way of making sense of what I saw when I awoke. I saw the Silver Killer arrive, but had no awareness of when.
The Doctor's mental strength was waning now. More & more tendrils of thought exploded in his mind & he found it harder & harder to concentrate.
"But In my dreams I saw the Fodder. They came from afar to search & with but a flex of my mind I enticed them to stay, gave them my blood to lure them with power. But still nothing changed!"
The words exploded into his mind & the Doctor nearly lost consciousness. A brief image of a miner discovering the professors material told him all he needed to know about it's origin. The rage it felt at still being stymied was palpable, however. He couldn't help himself but think again.
"The Dalek...was too efficient. The parasites freed themselves & it was able to catch them before they could do any harm."
"In my dreams, I searched. I searched for a way to break the stalemate. And in my dreams, I saw you. The Catalyst for Change. Wherever you went, you broke the equilibrium & with a stronger concentration of my will, I chose to pulled you here. I was still unable to discern Time. I had no way of knowing if you had arrived or if the time for it was still far off."
With one last exertion of his will, the Doctor reached into his coat pocket & thought again.
"Until Astor forced Telly to implement the material into their systems. It woke you up & you let the creatures loose with your planet-quake."
"They live. They expand. My children will go on. But you still try to stop them, to stop me! I will not allow it."
The Doctor steeled himself for one final assault by the Planet's tendrils, gripping as he did the Temporal Shift...
Nyssa watched the watch's seconds hand tick round. Mentally, she was counting.
"30, 29, 28..."
Grabbing the walkie-talkie attached to her jacket, she spoke into it.
"Telly, you need to start up now!"
"Roger." came the crackled reply.
It was now or never.
Pressing the detonator, Nyssa sat in the silence of the chamber. She had not expected to hear the dull crumple of the explosion, but she had expected something. Anything.
Grabbing the walkie-talkie, she spoke clearly.
"Telly? Are you alright?"
A few seconds passed before she heard a whooping cheer explode from the radio.
"Wooohooo! You guys did! We're away!" came Telly's voice.
"That's wonderful." said Nyssa, relieved.
"We-huh, what? Alright. Nyssa, Brett wants a word."
"Miss Nyssa? Brett here, we managed to get a digital layout of the power plant. It's registering catastrophic damage, but there's been no explosion."
Nyssa was at a loss as to what the professor was driving at & was about to ask when his voice filtered through the radio.
"What this means is, the plant will still explode, it just won't do so immediately. You've got about an hour before Crow's Dell goes up in a mushroom cloud."
Attempting to reply, Nyssa found the colony ships signal fading. Eventually, all that replied to her entreaties was static. Placing the Doctor's pocket watch in her inside jacket pocket, Nyssa stood up & dropped the detonator. Walking over to the pit, she was startled to see the Doctor appear clinging to the edge. Appearing in a weak flash of light, he struggled to pull himself up until Nyssa hurried over & pulled him clear.
Crawling forward, the Doctor stopped some feet away from the pit & collapsed onto his back. Nyssa dropped to her knees beside him & was horrified to see a change had come over the Doctor. His face was haggard & exhausted. Dark bags hung heavily under his eyes & he continued to stare unblinkingly skywards.
"Doctor, are you all right?" pleaded Nyssa. "Please speak to me."
With a flicker, the Doctor's blue eyes twitched from the ceiling to his companion. For a moment, the only noise in the chamber was his laboured breathing.
"Got...to get...back to the...to the Tardis..."
As he spoke, the Doctor struggled to perch himself up on his elbows. Seeing this, Nyssa helped him.
"The planet...it's alive...it's not happy that the colonists got away." the last part of his sentence was spoken clearly & with no laboured breathing. Roughly, he grabbed a handful of Nyssa's jacket & looked up at her. "Nor the explosion at the colony."
"It's going to pull itself...the planet out of this Universe...and us with it!"
The Dalek passed through a large grouping of trees when it's sensors picked up the explosion at the plant. The Slave Units whirred about it's head as it continued to push on. They had been largely useless during it's defence of the colonists, but had served as early warning cameras for the exterior doors. One of the smaller ones had since been destroyed keeping a watchful eye on the interior doors, so now the Dalek was left with the larger & the last of the small drones.
It had made good time, but was still not far enough away to not be affected by the resulting nuclear explosion. Examining the sensors report, the Dalek was relieved to find that it still had time to get away.
It's expanding the range of it's sensors, the Dalek set it to work searching for either traces of the Temporal Shift or the Doctor's time-space machine...