They travelled on for about an hour, before emerging into a large rocky chamber, with various openings for a whole series of side-tunnels. Numerous stalagmites and stalactites dotted about the vast cave, giving a strange beauty to the place, and Jenny breathed in awe as she took in the sight eerily illuminated by the torches and crystalline steeds. This did not go unnoticed by the Doctor, who grinned to herself, glad that despite the seriousness of the situation, her daughter could still find time to appreciate the wonders around her.
"So, which way now?" the Doctor asked Teke, who had been giving advice on the direction they should take.
"Down that passage," said the Kosronan, pointing to one tunnel with a particularly large opening. "I remember exploring down there when I was young. We should be quite close to the heart of the volcano now."
"Well, what are we waiting for?" said one of the other two guards, who was starting to feel the thrill of the adventure himself. "Let's go and take a look."
"Not so fast, fella," said Jenny, a worried look abruptly appearing on her face. "Look at the steeds. They same quite agitated about going down there."
Indeed, the crystalline horses were snorting and stomping their hooves, their glow dimming and brightening erratically. It was clear that something was disturbing them, and that was never a good sign when dealing with creatures that were as sensitive to their environment as they were.
"They sense some form of danger from that direction," realised Teke. "Their senses are very acute. Perhaps..."
"Quiet!" the Doctor hissed urgently. "Just listen."
They held their breathes and listened anxiously. At first, all that could be heard was the drip-drip of water coming off the tip of some of the stalactites. But then, they all noticed it. An echoey thump-thump sound like heavy the footsteps of an elephant, coming from within the shadowy tunnel. At first, it was quite faint, but it gradually got louder and louder, indicating that whatever was making the noise was getting closer. Soon, another sound could be heard, a sinister growling noise, like a strange cross between the sound made by a lion and a crocodile.
"I have a bad feeling about this," gulped Jenny, unknowingly quoting a line from a famous sci-fi film on the planet Earth.
Suddenly, a loud, terrifying roar reverberated through the chamber, and before anyone could react, a monstrous creature emerged from the shadows of one of the side tunnels, towering over them all. It was some kind of colossal animal that looked a bit like a green dragon, complete with a tail, except that instead of having a flesh-and-blood body with scales, this beast's form was seemingly entirely crystalline, like all the other life-forms on this world. It almost looked like a glass sculpture, a fusion of myth and nightmare you would find in a horror exhibition, except that it lived and moved. It was as tall as a t-rex, its claws were as sharp as a vulture's, and as it roared down at the startled group, Jenny could see various large teeth that could easily rip them all apart to shreds. Its eyes glowed a fiery red, and its crystalline body glinted in the torchlight, casting a ghastly glow across the cave. The steeds reared back in terror, their cries piercing the air.
"It's a Wyrmaga!" cried Teke in unusual fright. "We must flee!"
"No time!" shouted the Doctor. "Jump everyone!"
The Doctor's tone was so urgent and authoritative, that they all obeyed without thinking and leapt out of the chariot. They had gotten clear just in time, as the Wyrmaga had lifted its massive foot and stomped down hard, crushing and smashing the crystal-carriage into fragments. The frightened steeds panicked and fled back the way they had come towards the city, while the Doctor and her friends scattered, trying to avoid getting stomped on by the angry green crystal dragon.
"Mum, if you've got any bright ideas about getting out of this one, now's the time to speak them out!" yelled Jenny over the deafening roar of the creature.
"I'm thinking, I'm thinking!" said the Doctor irritably, as they took cover behind some stalagmites, and watched the creature turn its head one way, then the other, trying to find some trace of its prey. With another angry roar, it swept its tail around and smashed one stalactite apart with one of its powerful claws.
Moving as slowly and carefully as he could, Teke crept his way over to the Doctor and Jenny, his eyes filled with fear. "We have no chance. The beast will devour us all."
Jenny was not willing to give up that easily. "But what about these light beams you can shot out of your heads? Izor mentioned about those earlier. Can't you use that to drive the beast off?"
Teke shook his head in despair. "Our light beams are not powerful enough to fend off a predator as large as the Wyrmaga."
The Doctor looked over the fierce Wyrmaga with keen fascination, her hazel-eyes almost burning bright with intelligence. "I wonder... This guy lives in the darkness of these caves, am I right?"
"Yes," confirmed Teke quietly. "They are not used to intense light. They have thus adapted their other sense to be much stronger than their sight, including their hearing."
"Sensitive hearing, huh?" said the Doctor thoughtfully, as she fished out her Sonic Screwdriver from her jacket pocket. "In that case, I may have a solution . Get ready to cover your ears, everyone."
Before anyone could stop her, the Doctor stepped out from hiding and began marching right towards the Wyrmaga!
"What is she doing?!" hissed Teke in disbelief. "She's going to get herself eaten up or stomped on!"
Jenny, though equally surprised by the Doctor's bold move, kept her cool. "Trust her," she whispered back, a hint of a smile playing on her lips. "She's got a plan, I'm sure of it."
As Jenny and the three Kosronans watched with baited breath, the Doctor slowly moved closer and closer towards the Wyrmaga.
"Oi, mate!" she called to the giant crystal dragon. "Down here!"
Its red eyes gleaming menacingly in the dark, the Wyrmaga turned its head towards the source of the voice. It snarled wickedly as it took in the sight of the small creature looking defiantly up at it, clearly something delicious that it could eat up.
Completely unfazed by the beast glaring down at her, the Doctor raised her Sonic Screwdriver and pointed it at the monstrous creature, which had paused in its rampage, intrigued by the sudden appearance of the new threat. She flicked a switch, and the tool emitted a high-pitched whine that grew in intensity until it was almost unbearable. The screwdriver's glow shifted from red to a pulsing, blinding white as the Doctor adjusted the frequency. The creature's fiery eyes squinted in discomfort, and it took a step back, the sound waves resonating through its crystalline body. Jenny and the others had to clap their hands over their ears, wincing from the incredible noise.
With a final flourish, the Doctor released the button and the screwdriver let out a deafening sonic boom that echoed through the cavern, causing some of the stalactites to break off the roof and come crashing down in pieces. The Wyrmaga reared back, its crystalline body shuddering as the sound wave hit it full force. The creature's roars of anger turned to shrieks of pain, and it stumbled away, tail lashing wildly.
"Quick, Teke!" called the Doctor, just managing to make herself heard over the noise. "You and your mates use your laser beams against it while it's disoriented."
Ears ringing, Teke and his two comrades leapt from hiding and focused their attention on the creature. Drawing on their innate abilities, they unleashed a barrage of red laser beams from their foreheads at the staggering creature. The beams struck the Wyrmaga with surprising effectiveness, as if the sonic boom had weakened its crystalline armour. Normally, the creature would have easily shrugged off such an assault, but caught off guard and already in pain, the beams pierced through the creature's shiny scales, causing it to roar in anguish.
The creature, now utterly panic-stricken, reared back, eyes flashing with fury, pain and confusion. It thrashed its mighty tail violently about, sending stalagmites and shards of crystal flying in all directions. With incredible speed, it disappeared down another passageway and was enveloped by the darkness.
"Phew! That was close," breathed Jenny, as she came out of hiding and hurried over to join her mother. "Nice going, Mum."
"No biggie," said the Doctor. "Though I hope the poor thing wasn't too badly hurt. I just wanted to scare it off."
Teke shook his head in bafflement. "I just don't understand it. Wyrmaga normally live in the lava of the volcanos on this world, and rarely come out. Why is this one wandering the caves and not staying in its natural habitat?"
"There's something else that's been bothering me too," said Jenny with a frown. "You said a few minutes ago we're now quite close to the heart of the volcano, and it's pretty active, right? Then how come the temperature hasn't gotten any hotter the closer we've gotten?"
"I think I know the reason," said the Doctor. "And if I'm right, it'll be final confirmation that the Dominators are hiding here. Let's take a look down the passage that the Wyrmaga came from."
Moving with the utmost caution and discretion, the small group crept their way down the dark tunnel, keeping the eyes and ears open for any sign of more Wyrmaga coming their way.
"We should be reaching a vast cavern, filled with boiling lava," said Teke. "But I can't feel any heat from it, and it should be getting lighter as we approach."
Jenny suddenly remembered what the Doctor had said earlier about the Dominators using 'negative mass flux absorption' to power their ships. "Say, Mum, do you think that these Dominators have absorbed all the energy from the lava in this volcano, to power their ship?"
"It would certainly explain why we're not feeling any heat," nodded the Doctor. "And it would also explain why the Wyrmaga is stomping angrily about the place, since its natural habitat has presumably been turned into black rock."
"But that's incredible!" exclaimed Teke. "Lava normally needs months to cool before turning into rock, yet you're suggesting that these Dominators have managed it in just a couple of days?"
"I am indeed," said the Doctor. "And here's the proof!"
They turned a corner in the tunnel and emerged into a vast cavern, the size of a football field, with a large canal running through it. Instead of the fiery, molten river of lava that most of them had been expecting, the canal was filled with black, charred rock. It looked like a burnt-out riverbed, the once-blazing lifeblood of the volcano now cold and lifeless.
The Doctor's eyes narrowed as she took in the sight. "Exactly as I thought," she murmured. "The Dominators have drained the heat from this volcano to power their ship. It's a highly advanced form of energy theft, and it's going to have a devastating effect on the ecosystem here."
"Like with the Wyrmagas that live here," said Jenny. "They've been driven out of their homes."
"Indeed, and if we don't stop them, it won't just be the lava that's gone," said the Doctor grimly. "We have to find their ship and shut down their operation before it's too late. Teke, do you know anywhere close where they might be hiding?"
Teke considered carefully for a moment. "There is a nearby open-air chamber in the mouth of the volcano, where the lava flow normally converges into a single, massive lake of fire. If these Dominators are here, that's where they would most likely be using as a base."
"Then let's take a look," said the Doctor. "Keep on your toes, everyone. I suspect this is when things are going to get really dangerous."
They proceeded with extreme caution, their footsteps echoing slightly in the vast silence of the cave. The Doctor's instincts were on high alert, her eyes darting from side to side as she scanned the area for any signs of movement or danger. Jenny and Teke followed closely behind her, with the other two Kosronans bringing up the rear, their faces tight with tension.
As they rounded another bend, the Doctor abruptly stopped. "Hold on," she whispered. "Do you feel that?"
Jenny nodded. The air felt different, charged with a faint electrical current that tickled the hairs on their arms, and there was a slight vibration in the walls and the ground they were walking on. And a little further ahead could be heard the faint hum of machinery.
They inched forward, keeping low, until they emerged from the tunnel and found themselves on a ledge that overlooked another rocky chamber. The sight before them was breathtaking. They had come out into the vast open mouth of the volcano, the sky above them bright and blue, a stark contrast to the inky blackness of the tunnels they had just been navigating. The ledge was narrow, but it led to a series of crystalline bridges that spanned the gap to the chamber floor.
Crouching down, the Doctor and her party peered over the edge of the steep ledge. Far below, gleaming in the sunlight shining from above, was the Dominator spaceship. It was a sleek, black, metal craft that seemed to pulse with an eerie energy. The ship was not unlike a flying saucer, but it had a more intimidating, industrial look to it, as if it had been designed not for exploration but for warfare and conquest. It was surrounded by a sea of blackened rock, the only sign that this area had once been a fiery lake of lava.
On the chamber floor, several Quarks moved with a jerky, mechanical precision. They were busy around a colossal piece of machinery that resembled a laser drill. It was emitting a low hum that resonated through the cavern, and a faint light flickered along its length, hinting at the power it contained. The Doctor's eyes narrowed as she studied the scene.
"Hmm, if I'm not very much mistaken, that's a jacenite-powered drill for burrowing into the crust of the planet," she murmured. "The Quarks must be setting it up to dig right to the core of Kosron."
Jenny's gaze followed her mother's, and her eyes widened when she spotted a large hover-sled parked not far from the ship. It was brimming with what looked like diamonds the size of boulders, each one gleaming brilliantly in the shafts of light that pierced the cavern. Strong metal nets held them firmly in place on the cart, preventing even just one of them from falling off.
"Mum, look," she whispered, pointing at the bundle of 'diamonds'.
Teke's eyes lit up. "The kidnapped children! We've found them!"
The Doctor beamed. "Great! They haven't locked them up in the ship. That'll make things easier."
"So all we need to do," said Jenny, enjoying the thrill of the adventure, "is sneak down there, find out what exactly the Dominators are up to, save the kids, and stop the Quarks before they can blow up the whole world!"
"Exactly, sweetheart!" said the Doctor cheerfully. "You've summed it all up perfectly."
"But how can we do all that?" asked Teke doubtfully. "If we go charging in there, we'll be shot down without mercy."
The Doctor grinned. "As it happens, I think I've got an idea..."
To Be Continued...