Chapter Twenty-nine

 

Accompanied by one soldier Dalek, the Blue Dalek glided along the TARDIS halls, mulling a disturbing possibility.  At last, it slid to a halt and rotated to regard the yellow roundels that lined the TARDIS walls.

“These circular objects house circuitry.”

Unsure how to reply, the soldier Dalek said, “Yes.”

The Blue Dalek’s next order was unexpected.  “Plug yourself into the circuitry.”

“Yes, sir.”

The Imperial trundled up to the left wall and used its sucker arm to pluck a roundel from its securings.  Just as it expected, a mass of wires and circuitry was found concealed behind the decorative roundel.  It dropped the roundel and lifted through the wires with its appendage.  Coming across the outlet it was looking for, it plugged itself in and began accessing the TARDIS central computer.

“Call up a schematic of the TARDIS,” ordered the Blue Dalek.  “See if there are any auxiliary bridges from which the Doctor can operate this time capsule and record their locations.  If one does exist, the Doctor will be there.”

“I obey.”

There was a brief pause before the soldier Dalek announced.  “The TARDIS will not allow me access to the information.”

The Blue Dalek pondered the dilemma.  “Merge your mind with that of the capsule’s.  When you become one with the programming, you will be able to access all information.  Once you have found the information you seek, take any acceptable measure to extricate yourself.”

“I obey.”

 

Allene reached the door she had sent the two Chancellery guards through.  Anxious to rejoin them, she opened it only to find herself staring into a wall.  Allene was taken aback.

How could there be a wall here?  Didn’t she see the two guards step into a room here?  Where did it go?  If there was no room here, where did the guards go?

Allene shut the door to the wall and eyed the last Chancellery guard, Andred.  “Did you see the other two guards anywhere, Andred?”

“No, Madame President,” replied Andred.  “I saw them the last time you saw them.”

“When was that?”

“Going into the room behind that door.”

Allene rubbed her chin with her free hand.  “But there is no room there.”

“I could have sworn there was before.  Maybe they doubled back already.”

“I suppose so,” Allene replied with a complete lack of confidence.  “I don’t know where else they could be.”

 

The TARDIS screamed.  Her mind had fallen under attack by an alien intelligence and she resisted with every fiber of her being.  Her protective, benign nature was pitted against the soldier Dalek’s cold, calculating character.  Two computer wills, stronger than any natural minds, locked themselves in fierce mental combat.  Unfortunately, the TARDIS was wounded and her energy supply had been depleted.  Weak from sabotage and from passing through the reality warp, her resistance was a pale imitation of the sheer defensive force she would have been able to muster in her prime.  Also, while she had a survival instinct, she lacked a clear focus to her passion.  Without the Doctor, she was little more than an unsophisticated dynamo, lacking the independent guidance the Dalek had been endowed with to utilize its raw power.

While the intelligences were closely matched, the outcome was never in question.  It was only a matter of minutes before the TARDIS would lose all trace of its individualism.  However, unexpectedly, a fresh intelligence entered the combat that reinforced the TARDIS’ will.  The Doctor, having forged his telepathic link, was now part of the TARDIS’ consciousness.  Though very surprised to find another presence in the computer besides his own, he recovered from the shock instantly and began working in fierce opposition to the invading mind of the Dalek.

Simultaneously, the soldier Dalek saw the perfect opportunity to destroy the Time Lord forever.  If it caused the TARDIS computer to overload with the Doctor’s mind inside it, the Doctor’s consciousness would be wiped from existence.  The Doctor would either die altogether or degenerate into a vegetative state.  Both scenarios were equally appealing as they meant the Doctor would no longer interfere with the destiny of the Daleks.  The soldier Dalek felt it was sufficiently intermingled with the TARDIS computer to plant a self-destruct command.  It sent out the order, waiting for the right moment to disengage itself from the computer.  It knew it had to wait until the last second to make certain the order was obeyed.

It sensed a broad surge of activity as the TARDIS computer processed its order. Then the order went through the command circuitry and re-routed itself.  Confirmation of the initiation of the self-destruction sequence returned to the soldier Dalek.  The Dalek accepted the message, mere seconds away from making its escape.  It made a terrible mistake.  It should never have allowed any message to reach its mind. Disguised as the confirmation of an order, the re-routed command or self-destruct was processed by the soldier Dalek’s consciousness.  The order to commit suicide was given by a Dalek and, not recognizing the order as the one given by itself, it was a request that could not be ignored. 

The soldier Dalek disengaged itself from the TARDIS mind.  While the order had seemed unwarranted, it had come from a Dalek.  That was all that mattered.  All Imperial orders had to be obeyed.  The soldier Dalek then initiated its self-destruct option and blew its superior self all over the TARDIS halls.

The Blue Dalek stared incredulously at the exploded Dalek in front of it.  It did not know how the Dalek was killed, only that the Doctor must have been responsible.  Fury welled up in its circuits.  Too many Daleks had died this day.  The rebels had to be stopped before more good lives were lost to their perverse cause.  Exterminating the rodents was an act the Blue Dalek looked forward to with relish.

Drawn by the sound of the explosion, Allene and Andred raced into sight, striking tense combat positions.

The Blue Dalek raised its sucker arm in a calming gesture.  “The danger has passed.”

The two Gallifreyans were still wary of relaxing when they eyed the flaming Imperial Dalek corpse.  Andred asked, “What happened to him?”

The Blue Dalek brushed off the inquiry.  “More to the point, where are your two guards, Allene?”

Allene bit her lip.  “Ah … I don’t know.”

“You don’t know,” the Blue Dalek repeated condescendingly.  “I should have suspected as much.”

“They just disappeared,” Allene offered feebly.

“Of course.  These things happen.”

“But—“

“I said I understand.  It is time to search the subsidiary control rooms.  There are two others in the immediate vicinity.  You take the secondary control room, I will investigate the third.”  The Blue Dalek then gave Allene detailed directions on how to reach her destination.  “Andred will come with me.  I don’t want you misplacing him as well.”

Allene grit her teeth.  “No.  You don’t want that.”

“Off with you.  Andred and I have to get to work.”

“Yes, sir.”  Allene clicked her heels together and stormed off down the TARDIS halls in a lather.

“Amateur,” the Blue Dalek scoffed.

 

In the secondary control room, the Doctor had finished his fundamental repairs of the TARDIS defense system.  While weapons still could be fired within the confines of the TARDIS, he was now able to cordon off areas of the TARDIS with force-fields.  He turned on the TARDIS scanner and programmed it to display internal sights.

The first room he checked was a very plain affair.  Like many sections of the TARDIS, this one had several pillars scattered about.  The walls of the expansive room were like vertical steps, many-sided, and filled with alcoves.  Wide, block-and barrel-like metal formations rose from the ground here and there like obstacles in an arcade game.  Behind all of these bits of insignificant cover the Doctor’s companions hid themselves.  Their task was incredibly dangerous but vital nonetheless, or the Doctor would have never put them at such a risk.

The internal scanner displayed a picture of the adjoining room, which seemed to have no purpose but to display pillars.  The Doctor mentally dubbed it the column chamber.  That was the room they had chosen to ensnare the Imperials.  While the Blue Dalek and Andred were only a room away, they chose to turn down a hall that would lead them away from the column chamber.  The Doctor had anticipated this scenario, and he had the perfect remedy for it.  He moved the camera to follow their progress down the adjacent hall.  Once he had a feel for their position, his fingers raced along the central console, initiating the first action of his plan.

 

When Andred attempted to move farther along the corridor, he struck an invisible barrier and jumped instinctively backwards.  Surprised, he raised his hands to touch the air in front of him.  His fingers pressed against a physical presence, a wall, which blocked his passage.

The Dalek behind him screeched a Skarosian curse.  “As I feared, he has partly repaired the TARDIS defense system.  Let us go back.”

They changed course, moving back into the room of columns.  Of the three doorways set into the column chamber, the intruders opted to use the left-hand exit.  This time, Andred walked with his hands in front of him as he approached the door.  As he had feared, another force-field appeared to push his hands back when he got too close to it.

Realizing their situation, alarm took hold of the Blue Dalek.  Its eye stalk whipped around to look at Andred.  “Damn fools!  We’ve stumbled into a trap!”

The reaction was immediate.  The Dalek kicked in its thrusters and sped down the chamber, pushing its speed to the limit.  It had to reach the last door before the Doctor could seal the exit off.  It could not allow itself to be ensnared.  All it needed was a few seconds to escape.

 

The plan was working, but the Doctor had to work fast.  Looking up at the scanner, he saw the Blue Dalek was aware of its predicament and was desperately trying to escape.  Andred was not far behind in his efforts either.  The Doctor hurried to throw up the final force-field.  His hand reached quickly for the force-field controls.

“Doctor!”

The Doctor’s brief pause of disbelief gave Allene the opportunity to draw a throwing dagger from a small sheath around her ankle.  With a flick of the wrist, Allene Varalla sent it whistling through the air.  The dagger imbedded itself in the Doctor’s lower arm, preventing him from throwing the switch in time.  Stepping back, the Doctor clenched his teeth together and hissed in pain.

 

The Blue Dalek broke free of the room before the Doctor could throw up the last barricade.  Andred raced out of the trap a moment later.  They kept moving rapidly along, wary of remaining for long is so perilous an area.  Dodging pillars and metal crates as they ran, their eyes darted back and forth, searching for signs of those who had attempted to trap them.   As the Blue Dalek glided past one of the block structures on the floor, its internal perimeter alarms went off.  It had detected one of its preys.

Swerving around, it came face to face with Melanie Bush, one of the counterfeit Emissaries.  Mel stared back down the barrel of the Dalek’s gun stick.  Her lithe, athletic form was able to spring easily out of the way of the enemy barrage.

The Blue Dalek’s discovery of Mel forced Matrisa from hiding.  She stepped out of the alcove she was concealed within and readied her gun.  The Movellan frowned.  A large pillar that stood between them prevented a clear shot at the Blue Dalek. Andred, however, was completely unprotected and totally unaware of her presence.  He, along with the Blue Dalek, was too distracted by the retreating Mel to notice Matrisa.

A burst of light charged from Matrisa’s gun, puncturing a gaping hole in Andred’s head.  Blood spurted form his skull upon impact.  The Blue Dalek twisted away from Mel to see Andred’s body drop, blood gushing from the gorged-out head. 

When the Blue Dalek moved more in sight, Matrisa let fly another bolt from her gun.  It sheered over the Dalek’s suction-cup appendage, severing it from the body.  The Dalek roared with surprised wrath and spun around, firing as it turned.   The Dalek’s shots tore up the TARDIS walls.  The wall explosions moved closer and closer to Matrisa, until eventually one struck home.

Flames ignited and began to eat away at Matrisa’s chest.  Her weapon fell to the floor as her arms flew up to her chest.    She struggled desperately to beat out the fire, but her movements were now too jerky and spasmodic to be effective.  Her face contorted with rage and anguish.

Now that it had caused the Movellan damage, the Dalek pressed its advantage.  It fired repeatedly without pausing to register the result.  Each shot ripped into Matrisa, tearing apart her circuitry.  She lurched backwards, pulverized by the barrage.  There was one, final detonation before Matrisa’s components flared up in a blazing conflagration.  Like the Red Dalek before her, her body exploded into a multitude of flaming fragments that rained down on her killer, the Blue Dalek.

“No!” Mel screamed.

 

Allene approached the weaponless Doctor, flourishing her sword.  The Doctor momentarily cast his gaze to the side, where he spotted the second sword leaning against the railing.  With startling speed, the Doctor’s hand swooped down to grasp the sword by the handle.  He brought its blade up just in time to block Allene’s sudden thrust.

The Time Lady launched a vicious attack on the Doctor, striking at him relentlessly.  Caught unprepared, the Doctor was pushed backwards against the control console by the violence of the attack.  An instant after he rolled off the console, Allene’s sword crashed down on the time rotor.

She whirled around, whipping the blade through the air as she turned, and sliced a gash in the Doctor’s shoulder.  The Doctor leaped back to avoid the follow up only to find his back against the other railing.  So intent was he in only deflecting the swings that he had no opportunity to make any offensive moves.  Nor did he have any room to.  He had to get off the platform if he was ever going to recover enough to initiate a counterattack.

With athletic prowess belying his condition, the Doctor vaulted over the railing.  Allene’s sword barely missed h is head as he jumped.  Upon landing, his feet gave out under him and he dropped to the ground, just barely able to maintain his hold on the sword.  He repressed a cry of pain as his left hand grasped his ankle to ease the pain.  Allene took advantage of his fall and vaulted herself over the railing.  As she landed next to the Doctor, she brought her sword down on him with all her strength.  It clanged off the metal of the Doctor’s sword as he rose it in front of him.  He threw himself into an upright position and countered two more of Allene’s strikes.

It was a narrow recovery, and he wondered just how long his good fortune would hold.

 

Melanie hurled herself over one of the metal obstacles at the same moment it was belted by one of the Blue Dalek’s light projectiles.  In a similar predicament as the Doctor, she was able to do little more than keep one step ahead of the next yellow beam the Dalek launched at her.  And yet, even as she reeled about the room, she tried to lure the Blue Dalek closer to the entrance to the chamber of columns just in case the Doctor was still able to follow up on their plan.  There was little else she could do.

At the same time, the Blue Dalek was becoming increasingly frustrated with its nimble opponent.  “Stay where you are!  Do not move!”

“Not a chance!”  Mel found it grimly amusing that the Dalek expected her to stand still just to give it a clearer shot at her.

She was also beginning to wonder where her so-called friends were.  What were they doing while she was running for her life?

Just when she had given up on them, Peri popped her head out from behind a nearby pillar.  “Dalek!  Over here!”

The Blue Dalek froze.  It refused to be lured away by so obvious a distraction.  “I will see to you later, ‘Cordelia Mackie’!”  This said, it jumped into life and fired another salvo of shots in Mel’s direction.

A large weight suddenly landed on top of the Blue Dalek and began wrenching at its eye stalk.  Reckless and determined, the Blue Dalek bucked like a wild bronco to throw off its attacker.  It lurched drunkenly back and forth and spun on its base at high speed.

Unable to maintain his grasp on the Dalek, Ravner was hurled straight into a wall.  A loud crunching sound and a sharp yell followed the dislocating of his shoulder.  Wincing, he dropped to the ground, grasping his injured arm.

The Blue Dalek saw its broken attacker as easier prey than the limber Mel and moved to polish him off.

 

Allene seemed in no danger of tiring while every move meant agony to the Doctor.  His legs were in terrible condition, and Allene knew it.  She kept forcing him to turn on his bad leg to keep the pain as intense as it could be.

The Doctor’s immensely long scarf proved to be another obstacle.  He was in constant danger of tripping over the ends as they trailed on the floor in front of him.  During critical moments he had to prevent the scarf from slipping off his shoulder, giving Allene the perfect opportunity to lunge at him.

Whatever moves on the Doctor’s part that weren’t defensive in nature were usually mere distractions.  The Doctor repeatedly feinted at Allene to throw her off balance.  There was a hidden trick in the strategy that Allene wasn’t completely aware of.  Like the boy who cried “wolf’, it seemed that all the Doctor’s attacks were feigned.  Just when he convinced Allene that his next move was going to be another feint, he executed a series of vicious lunges and ripostes that sent Allene reeling.  Now their positions were reversed and Allene fond herself hard pressed to block, let alone strike back.  The Doctor’s blade slashed through the air repeatedly followed by the loud clang of metal on metal.  With each swift maneuver, he drove the Time Lady back.

Just when the Doctor was gaining the most ground, an arc of pain lanced up his leg, crippling him.  He lifted his attack and stumbled back to the railing, leaning against it for support.  It gave Allene an opportunity to catch her breath and recover from the assault.

The Doctor gave her a tooth grin as he wiped a handkerchief across his face.  “You’re rather good.”

            “Thank you.”  Allene, apparently tired of resting, stepped forward to resume the attack.  Her foot landed in the midst of a coiled section of the Doctor’s trailing scarf.

            The Doctor’s blue eyes glowed with delight when he saw his chance.  He swiftly pulled the scarf taut around her ankle and yanked Allene’s foot out from under her.  She let out a surprised yell as her back slammed to the ground.  Completely disoriented, she blindly held her sword out in front of her to defend herself.  With one final, powerful swing, the Doctor knocked the sword from her grasp.  It spiraled into the air and clattered to the ground far out of her reach.  The Doctor brought his sword up to her throat and held it there, keeping Allene pinned.

            Allene stared defiantly up at him.  “You won’t kill me.”

            “Would you care to test that theory?”

            Allene lowered her eyes, uncertain.

            The Doctor reached forward with his free hand and grabbed Allene’s neck.  He pinched a nerve between his thumb and forefinger.  Her eyes bulged for an instant before her head drooped to the side.  The Doctor lowered her head gently back to the floor, leaving her there, unconscious.

 

            The Blue Dalek never had the opportunity to act.  Leo had been biding his time for the best moment to emerge from hiding to better assist his comrades.  When, at last, the Dalek put its back to him for a protracted moment, the lion-man sprang into action.  He wrapped his massive paws around the Dalek’s hide and heaved the ponderous creature into the air. The Blue Dalek, seething with indignation, screeched hysterical demands for its release.  Ignoring the cries, Leo took heavy, deliberate steps towards the pillar room.

            Seeing where Leo was carrying it, the Blue Dalek grew frantic.  It fired its gun into the ceiling, sending large chunks of rubble falling down on both itself and Leo.  This did nothing to slow Leo’s progress.

            “The Doctor better be ready with that force-field,” he growled.

            He crossed the threshold of the door and took several strides into the room.  Flexing his muscles, he heaved the Dalek forward.  The creature soared ahead, shrieking as it flew.  The front of its base tipped forward and struck the ground first, sending it somersaulting into the rear wall.  It landed on its back and, looking much like an overturned insect, rolled back and forth, fighting franticly to right itself. 

            The Dalek’s thrusters levitated it into the air and settled it back onto its base.  Focusing it eyes on the exit that Leo had just bolted out of, the Dalek rocketed ahead.  It didn’t know what the Doctor was planning, but it knew that if it remained in the room it would die.

            Gradually, it realized that progression across the room becoming more difficult.  The Dalek felt like it was swimming against an ocean current.  Although safety was scant feet away, it dawned on the Dalek that reaching it was impossible.

            It felt itself being assaulted by a gale that was cyclonic in potency.  Its optics was overwhelmed by millions of shapes and colors in the seconds before its eye stick imploded under the pressure.  The crushing strength battered its armor, shattering its sense globes.

            “Doctor!” it roared.  “You cannot stand in the way of desti—“

            An enigmatic force wailed primal fury as the four walls of the room closed in on it.  In the next instant, the room was jettisoned and the Dalek ejected into the Space/Time Vortex.

 

            On the central console’s database monitor, the words “JETTISON COMPLETE” appeared.

 

 

Chapter Thirty

 

            Allene Varalla’s eyelids parted slowly.  Like a camera out of focus, her vision was foggy and blurred.  In the surreal half-light, she made out the vague forms of the Doctor and the Emissaries framed in the murky setting of the secondary control room.  Their voices sounded distant and distorted and their movements were leaden.

            Allene tried to speak, but only managed a strangled croak.  The sound she made alerted the others that she was conscious.  First at her side was the Doctor, whose wide blue eyes stared straight into hers.  His mouth moved, but the sounds that came out were unintelligible.

            “What?”

            Managing to rouse herself enough to ask the question, the world seemed to come a little more into focus. 

            “How are you feeling, Allene?” the Doctor repeated.

            “I still don’t trust her,” came a voice from behind him.

            The Doctor turned and snapped at whoever spoke to be silent and returned his gaze to Allene.  “A bit groggy, I gather?”

            “Yes,” Allene said slowly.  Her senses were recovering very quickly now and her vision was back to normal.

            “Ah.  I see you’re becoming more alert.”

            Allene shook her head.  “What has happened to me?”

            The Doctor held up a long metal nail with flashing lights imbedded in it.  “You had an Imperial Dalek pacification device implanted in you.  I’m afraid you’ve been under their influence for some time now.”

            Allene took hold of the nail and stared at it inquisitively.  “This was controlling me?”

            “Yes.  I just removed it now.”  The Doctor paused.  “How much do you remember about the past several months?”

            The Time Lady, disliking the feel of the cold floor under her, rose shakily to her feet.  She stepped away from the Doctor and looked dreamily off into space.  Swallowing, she said at last, “All of it.”

            “I see.”

            She pivoted suddenly to eye Peri.  “Cordelia … um …no.  Is it Peri?”

            “Yes, Peri.”

            “Are we out of danger?  Has the Blue Dalek been killed?”

            “Leo threw it into an empty room and then Mel and I jettisoned it from the TARDIS.”

            “Impressive.  And my guards?”

            The Doctor cleared his throat.  “They were the unfortunate victims of a violated TARDIS.”

            Allene closed her eyes softly.  “That is rather tragic.  They were as out of control of their actions as I was.  But I suppose if you could have saved them also, you would have.”

            “It was unavoidable.”

            Leo shook his head.  “Doctor, this transformation from villain into heroine is too sudden for me to accept without question.  I don’t trust her.”

            “You’ve said that once already,” the Doctor replied.  “There was no need to repeat yourself.  Besides, Runcible was under Dalek control before, and I set him right.  The situation is no different with Allene here.”

            “It is different,” Ravner cut in.  “Runcible never tried to kill us.  Some things are hard to forget.”

            “And another thing,” Leo added.  “Where did Runcible disappear to?  I’ll bet anything he was working both sides.  He was probably the one who set the Daleks on to us.”

            The Doctor shook his head.  “I don’t know what happened to him, but he certainly didn’t betray us.  The emotions he displayed were not faked to gain our trust.  They were real.  He was genuinely repulsed by the Daleks.”

            Allene blinked back tears.  “He did not betray you.  He died a brave man, fighting against the Daleks.”

            “How did he die?” Mel stepped forward, trying unsuccessfully to conceal the accusation in the question.

            “His wife shot him when she discovered he was on your side.  She was acting under … my orders.”

            The reaction was as immediate as it was explosive.  Mel, Peri, Leo, and Ravner began voicing their emotions all at once in very loud voices.  The Doctor raised his hand in the air to calm them.  “All right, all right, all right!  That’s enough of that now.”

            “But—“ Peri began.

            “That’s enough, I said.”  The Doctor looked at all of his companions with understanding.  “I am upset also.  But try to see if from her side.  You, Peri.  Imagine your mind being raped by an alien machine, forcing you to maim and kill innocent people.  How would you feel when you finally regained control of yourself?  Weak?  Used? Violated? All those things.  But, above all, wouldn’t you feel responsible for every last thing you did, even though there was no way you could have resisted?  How would you feel, Ravner?  Mel?” 

            Leo’s eyes bored holes into Allene’s.  “I have no way of knowing how she feels.  That is why I do not trust her.”

            Shrugging her shoulders, Mel approached Allene and took the Gallifreyan’s hand in her own.  “Allene, I can’t imagine how horrible it must be for you, so I want you to know you have my trust and my understanding.”

            Leo rolled his eyes.  “I don’t believe this.”

            “Well,” Peri added, “I trust the Doctor’s judgment.”  Plus I’ve known people in the past that have done wrong and couldn’t live it down.  I don’t want to see that happen to you also.”

            Allene smiled ruefully back at Peri.  Then she regarded Ravner, who had stayed primarily silent during the entire exchange.  “And what of you, Ravner?”

            Ravner threw his hands into the air in an expression of defeat.  “I don’t know.  I’ve been out of my depth since the moment I laid eyes on the Doctor … the other Doctor.  All I want now is to get home.”

            “Actually,” the Doctor noted, “Ravner has a point.  I think it’s time we were heading back to Shardonia.  We have a Dalek victory to prevent.”

            Leo snorted.  “Sure.  Just tell Allene all our plans.”

            “Be quiet, Leo,” admonished Mel.

            Leo stood there, stewing, as the Doctor laid in the proper coordinates for Shardonia.  “I have managed to draw up what I believe are the correct calculations.  I have no idea when we will arrive at the battle scene so all planning is impossible.  Whatever we do will have to be very impromptu.  I know that is a horrible way of going about this, but I am open to any suggestions.”

            Five faces frowned and fell into deep thought.  Eventually they all came to the conclusion that the Doctor’s assessment of the situation was correct, if put to them in a very disagreeable manner.

            The Doctor clapped his hands together and rubbed them excitedly.  “Well then, it’s time we were off.”

 

            The battle in the ice caverns of Shardonia was nearing its end.  By this time, very few of the combatants were left alive.  The slush and ice were stained with the blood of the dead soldiers.  Ruined and motionless, Dalek bodies stood with their insides ripped out and their domed heads consumed by flames.  Corpses were sprawled out on the floor or draped over one another, their bodies ravaged by enemy fire.

            In the midst of the anarchy, a wheezing and groaning sound drifted into the air, filtered out by the sounds of screaming and gunfire.  A second TARDIS materialized next to the first in the confined space between the dais and the ice walls.  The double doors opened to let all six of the TARDIS crew out into the open.  When Peri and Mel stepped out, they looked over at their TARDIS, which was completely blocked off by ice, and remembered how the icefall had stymied them so.  Slumped on the ground, half-buried next to it was the seemingly dead figure of Nyder.

For the Doctor and Allene, who had not fought in the original battle, the scene was foreign and chaotic; to the others, each event was anticipated and each disaster intimate in their memories so as to give the turmoil a strange sense of familiarity and order to it.  Looking up, they all saw their respective counterparts scrambling about atop the dais, setting explosives.  Matrisa and Dariev were there as well, their presence’s seeming ghost-like and ethereal since they had both been killed. Yet there they were, alive and well.  Though, everyone knew Dariev was not long for the world.

            The lunatic Red Dalek – whose presence also gave them a cold, supernatural feel – appeared as if on cue.  Turning on its anti-gravity thrusters, it floated up the side of the pedestal.  While it had approached as stealthily as possible, the other Peri and the other Matrisa spotted the Red Dalek instantly.

“Look!”

Like actors following a script, the Leo who was atop the dais attacked the Red Dalek, causing it to fall, smashing onto the platform.  It slammed into Dariev’s back and knocked him from the platform.  Screaming, Dariev hurtled to the ground.  His back slammed into the control panel, snapping his spinal column.

The body landed uncomfortably close to the new arrivals.  Mel bit down on her fist, choking back a scream, and Peri buried her head in the Doctor’s shoulder.  Allene turned quickly to the Doctor.  “How much longer are we going to stand by and watch?”

The Doctor’s eyes studied the transporter intently.  The collision caused the apparatus to activate.  Lights began flashing under the numerical keys, illuminating the pre-programmed coordinates for Gallifrey.  A moment later, atop the dais, the other time versions of Peri, Leo, Matrisa, Ravner, and Mel vanished from sight along with the Dalek who had attacked them.

Down below, the Doctor looked away from the sight that had been so vividly related to him earlier and returned Allene’s stare.  “We’re very close to the Conscience.  The problem is that it’s under heavy protection.  We have tried to find a way to get near it without getting ourselves killed.”

Peri grabbed the Doctor’s shoulder roughly.  “Doctor, look!  That’s you!”

The Doctor followed her gaze to see his future, blond-haired self, racing towards the Conscience accompanied by a hulking figure who could only have been Yrcanos.

Yrcanos grabbed the blond Doctor’s collar roughly.  “Doctor!  The Dalek!”

The Special Weapons Dalek came into view, menacing them with its gargantuan gun turret.

“Run, Yrcanos!”

Their reactions came too slow.  Acting first, the Special Weapons Dalek fired.  Raw energy catapulted from the barrel of its cannon and flowed over the Doctor and Yrcanos.  The Doctor felt the beam frying his body.   Dropping the anti-immunizer to the floor, he raised his arms up in a futile attempt to shield himself from the radiation.  In the next instant, he and Yrcanos disintegrated into a pile of burnt ashes.

From his hiding place behind the dais, the Doctor blocked out all emotional reaction to seeing himself killed.  He refused to allow himself to lose control of his faculties at so vital a time.  All he focused on was the small electronic component that had fallen to the ground not far from him.

He motioned to Mel, who had had a far more visible response to his death than the Doctor himself.  “Is that the anti-immunizer?”

“Yes.”

“Then that’s just what we need.”

Allene cocked her head, listening.  The sounds of gunfire had died down to a few random laser blasts.  “The battle is ending.”

“Marvelous,” Leo grumbled.  “Just when we needed a distraction.”

 

The commander stood at attention with his flat military hat held pinned between his arm and his side.  “Prime Minister, the bombardment is ready to commence.”

The Shardonian Prime Minister lifted his cerulean eyes to the sky underneath the dome Marteria.  He nodded somberly without looking at the commander.  “Proceed.”

 

There was a thundering boom and the entire cavern quaked.  Everyone within tottered to the side, trying to recover from the sudden shock of the convulsion.  A loud crackling sound followed soon after as massive chunks of ice dislodged from the ceiling and crashed to the ground.  The cavern was jounced again as another Shardonian shell bombarded it.  More deadly ice daggers dropped on the survivors, hurling the scene of the waning battle once more into a state of disorder.

The Special Weapons Dalek spun around and searched quickly for any signs of Nyder, whose leadership would be needed if they were going to transport the Conscience safely back to the Vorkim time.

Taking full advantage of the distraction, the Doctor bolted across the room towards the anti-immunizer.  Mel, reading his mind, made a break for the Conscience itself.  She stopped by its side, which was now completely free of the ice, and watched the Doctor’s progress.  He reached the immunizer and scooped it up without slowing down his pace.

A Dalek spotted him and discharged a blast in his direction.  He dove to the floor, simultaneously flipping the component under his arm to Mel.  Her hands received it eagerly.  In the time she took to catch it, the Doctor’s opponent turned its attention on her, ready to fire.

Ravner had to act if they were to succeed.  Spotting the mystical crossbow of one of the destroyed Guardians laying abandoned on the floor, he skidded across the ice and snatched it into his hands.  Twirling around, he centered the Dalek in his sights and pulled the trigger.  The base of the Dalek flew apart and the creature toppled over, crippled.  Then Ravner caught sight of another Dalek closing in on him and fired.  Its chest imploded as it slid to a halt, dead.

The commotion caused five more Daleks to approach the Conscience, ready to die to save it from their enemies.  During its advance, the lead Dalek passed too close to the sucker arm.  Then Leo stepped out of the darkness and hoisted the creature into the air.  With a mighty heave, he hurled the Dalek into its comrades, sending them scattering like bowling pins.  Leo let out a triumphant roar and pounded his chest with his massive paws.

Moving with great speed, Mel discovered the outlet in the surface of the Conscience she was searching for.  All she needed was a moment to plug the component in.  That moment was denied her.  She fell under attack by another Dalek, who bowled her over with its claw arm.  It snatched at the anti-immunizer aggressively as Mel strained to keep the part just out of its reach.

An enraged cry caused the attacking Dalek to look up just in time to see the point of Allene’s sword drive deep into its eye.  The Dalek reeled back, screaming.  “My vision is impaired!  I cannot see!  My vision is impaired!  I cannot see!  Warning, warning, war—“

Ravner cut short its squalling by taking its head off with a well-aimed blast form his crossbow.

Allene pulled Mel up by the wrist.  “Quickly, girl!  Plug the chip in!”

Mel hurriedly rediscovered the outlet and, holding her breath, drove the component in.  The moment the anti-immunizer was in place, the machine kicked into life.

A sound, like a musical tone, was born within the confines of the lustrous, crystalline Conscience.  Its resonance filled the ears of all within the chamber, chiming off the surfaces of the stalactites and stalagmites.  Heralded by the humming, a fiery scarlet light, radiating the warmth of a heart, shined from the glass-like center.  As the radiance flowed outward, it slowly turned violet.  The purple illumination fired out in individual rays, touching the heads of every living being in the room: Daleks, humans, Gallifreyans, and Familiar alike.

As the light touched the surface of the soldier Dalek who had fired on the Doctor, the Dalek began to feel a change manifesting within itself.  Purple beams washed over its circuitry, violating it.  The age-old programming had come alive, initiating its mission to convert all present to the morality of the ancient Shardonians.  Burning into the Dalek’s mind was an intense, compelling message of pure, unexpurgated human idealism.  The evangelizing force advocated virtue and righteousness, charity and benevolence.

The doctrine of faith and integrity was irreconcilable with its Dalek programming.  The Dalek was built to exterminate all non-Dalek beings that were not really alive, just occupying valuable space.  The Conscience of Shardonia challenged that position.  It disclaimed the notion that non-Dalek beings were animals.  According to the Conscience, the reality the Daleks were programmed to accept was a delusion.  Their evil, their lack of regard for human life, was the true reality.  The Daleks were not heralds of a bright new future.  They were not an army of enlightenment.  They were murderers.

And yet, the Dalek still fought the effects of the anti-immunizer, trying to purge itself of the telepathic propaganda that threatened to brainwash it.  Still, it was losing the battle.   The soldier felt its mind succumbing to the overwhelming influence of morality.  Soon it would be a firm believer in the sanctity of life.  But it refused to accept the righteousness.  It was an amoral being and refused to be any other way.

In the little time it had remaining as its own master, the soldier Dalek activated its self-destruct codes.  An instant later, its body ignited in a blazing conflagration of exploded metal.

All around the room, the other Daleks experienced the same reactions.  Rather than accept the truth, they all committed suicide.  They screamed a shrill, dying screech in unison as they set afire their own bodies.  One by one, like a chain reaction, their domed heads exploded, sending metal spiraling in a thousand directions.  All twenty surviving Daleks went up in flames, their bodies detonating in time with the shell bombardment of the caverns.  Like one, giant funeral pyre, the entire chamber glowed as the flickering tongues were reflected off the cracking and melting ice walls.  The Daleks, in their self-slaughter, had voiced one final, contemptuous estimation of human morality.

The Special Weapons Dalek, the only Dalek left alive after the mass suicide, reeled under the Conscience’s mental attack.  Seeing it as the cause of its misery, and the deaths of its fellow Daleks, it centered its massive cannon on the Conscience.  It channeled a surge of radiation into the center of the machine.

Realizing what was about to happen, the Doctor and Mel fled for cover with all their speed.  They leaped behind the dais, throwing their friends down in the process.  As they dropped, the Conscience exploded behind them.  The backlash of the blast tore into the Special Weapons Dalek, incinerating it in a second.  The wave swept over the dead Daleks and Shardonians, cremating them.

From behind the dais, the Doctor felt the incredible heat of the explosion.  He closed his eyes, blocking out the brilliance that flooded the room.  The chamber basked in the brightness of a star for a full minute before the light died away, leaving the time travelers alone.

Cautiously, they crept out from behind their cover to examine the scene.  The entire room had been washed clean of blood and corpses.  Purged of every sign of violence, all that remained was the bright, slick surface of the ice walls.  The only evidence of an explosion was the front of the transporter dais, which had been melted down to a slag that resembled the spent top of a wax candle.

The Doctor’s bright blue eyes looked back and forth at the scene, taking it in.  He took in a deep breath and smiled a tired smile.  “We’ve won.  The Daleks have been stripped of their ultimate weapon.  Gallifrey is safe.  Shardonia is safe.  Every other planet they took over with the Conscience is now free.”

Ravner leaped into the air and threw his arms heavenwards.  “Yes!”  He regretted the action an instant later when a shooting pain tore through his recently injured shoulder.

Mel and Peri hugged one another and Leo started laughing a deep, throaty guffaw.

Their celebrations were cut drastically short by the sobering effect of the shell bombardment.  Now that the cavern was tranquil, the tremors seemed all the more intense.

“Quick, everyone!” the Doctor cried.  “Back to the TARDIS!”

The six of them fled back to the accessible TARDIS, streaming in and slamming the double doors behind them.  The familiar wheezing, groaning departure of the TARDIS echoed about the room an instant before the ceiling caved in under fire. Fathoms of frigid water crashed down on the chamber, splashing around the walls and enveloping everything.  In seconds, the entire cave system was drowned in the icy depths.  The chambers, the Conscience of Shardonia, and all of their respective secrets were finally put to rest, never to be disturbed again.

 

The Toymaker leaned back in his overstuffed chair.  His eyes flashed brightly as he watched the destruction of the caverns on his home scanner.  What an enjoyable game it had been.  And so satisfying a climax.

“And yet,” the Toymaker mused, “there are some players who need to be informed that the game has concluded.”

With a flick of his wrist, he changed the display in front of him.  The cavern scene dissolved away to show him a vision of the Dalek Mother-ship Vorkim hanging menacingly in space over the planet Shardonia.

“Well, Emperor Davros.  Your side has lost the game.  Time to pay the penalty.”

The Toymaker snapped his fingers together.

The outer hull of the Vorkim’s port side was shred apart as an unseen power besieged it.  Flames erupted from the fissure, mushrooming out into space.  The attack set off explosion after explosion within, gradually destroying the Vorkim, section by section.

 

On the bridge of the Vorkim, Davros’ head jerked back and forth in an insane furor, trying to understand where the attack was coming from.  “Take evasive action!”

Another explosion lurched the ship forward, sending one of the Daleks crashing to the ground.

“Attacker undetected!” screeched the helmsman.

Davros roared with frustration.  The pungent stench of the blossoming clouds of smoke burned into his nasal passages.  “Fire full laser and torpedo spread.”

The soldier Dalek at battle stations struggled frantically with the controls.  “The ship isn’t responding!”

The Dalek’s control panel erupted like a miniature volcano, hurling a rush of flame into it.  The blast rent its armor apart, and turned its interior into molten slag.  Its death throes were cut short by a second explosion that took its domed head off.

“No!” Davros shouted.  “It was a trap!  It was all a trap!”

Realizing his ship was doomed, Davros sped towards the escape pod, hurling obscenities at the mysterious Toymaker for luring him to Shardonia.  Just before he was able to make it to safety, the hatch to the escape pod slid shut in his face.  Red lights lit up around the door, sealing it closed.  The controls flashed mockingly, “Escape Pod Ejecting.”

“No!” Davros thundered.  “This cannot be!”

Through the hatch window, Davros could see the empty escape pod detach from the ship and rocket out into space.  Defeated, he turned away and observed with mute horror the now flaming ruin of the Vorkim’s bridge.  Davros shook his head, unable to believe what he was seeing.

He was trapped.  There would be no escape for him this time.  The Emperor tossed his head back and screamed one long, final curse on the Doctor as he braced himself for the end.

The ship convulsed again, sending violent tremors surging through the remaining decks before one final, tremendous detonation turned the Vorkim into a withering torch in space.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter Thirty-one

 

            “Now all I have to do is return everyone to their proper time and place.”  The Doctor paused doubtfully.  “Provided, of course, I can steer the TARDIS there.”

            Allene leaned casually against the TARDIS control room railing, observing the Doctor with a wry grin.  The two of them were alone in the control room.  Everyone else had gone to fine a room to relax in and recover from their ordeal.  “I just realized that we’ve broken every law of time doing what we did.  Still, somehow I don’t care.”

            The Doctor smiled back.  “Refreshing, isn’t it?”

            “Truly.  Not to worry though, you won’t be put on trial again.  I’ve already written up full pardons for all of us.”

            “One of the benefits of being Lord President.”

            “Yes.”  Allene’s face became slightly troubled and she pressed a finger to her lips thoughtfully.

            “What’s wrong?”

            Allene shook her head.  “It’s probably nothing.  I was just wondering why I’m still here.”

            The Doctor raised his eyebrows questioningly.  “Whatever do you mean?”

            “The Dalek society I’ve lived in for the past few months no longer exists.  By altering the future, I’ve destroyed several months of my own past. I’m no longer real.  I’m just a temporal anomaly.  What will become of me?  Will I just fade out of existence?”

            The Doctor frowned.  “Of course you’re still real.  The moment you left Gallifrey in my TARDIS you removed yourself from your time stream.  Once you did that, you could have made any changes you wanted in the past, even in your own history, because you’ve excluded yourself from the effects of the changes.”

            “That wouldn’t cause a time loop?”

            The Doctor paused.  “The consequences of tampering with history depend on the circumstances.  In this instance, no, it wouldn’t cause a time loop.”

            “I wish I’d had a better grasp of the principles of time travel.  After all, I have been studying them ever since I was a Time Tot.”

            “The knowledge I have comes only from hundreds of years of intimate experience.”

            “Good.”  Allene smiled.  “Now I don’t feel so foolish.”

            Without turning to look at the new arrival, the Doctor scolded.  “Mel, it isn’t nice to eavesdrop.”

            Mel stepped humbly into the control room, embarrassed.  “Sorry.  I was just –“

            “Listening in.  I know.”

            “She was only curious, Doctor,” defended Allene.   “Mel, do you want to talk to the Doctor?”

            “But I don’t want to intrude or – “

            “I was just leaving anyway.”

            Mel smiled sheepishly.  “I would, thank you.”

            Allene swept graciously out of the room, giving Mel a friendly pat on the shoulder before she left.  Mel shuddered.  “It’s creepy.  I can’t believe that’s the same woman I met on Gallifrey.”
            “Your reaction is perfectly natural.”  The Doctor adopted a more casual air.  “Now, what was it you wanted to talk to me about?”

            “Actually, I was going to ask about the same thing you were talking to Allene about.”

            “Time loops?”

            “No.  Not that exactly.  I was wondering about you.”

            “Me?”

            “Yes.  You have just accumulated so much knowledge of your own future.  You’ve met people you aren’t supposed to meet for years.  You’ve just learned of vital incidents in your future.  You’ve even just seen yourself die.”

            The Doctor walked aimlessly around the central console, stopping at the other side.  “Do you know that I have vague memories of every one of my future incarnations?  At one time or another, I’ve met all of them.”

            “Vague memories?  How could you forget a single detail of that kind of meeting?”

            “My youthful self never has any more than a fleeting memory of an encounter with one or more of my future selves.  True, on rare occasions, events prompt brief recollections of future events – like my remembering meeting Peri in my second persona.  However, the forces of time will not allow me to remember any facts that will alter my own destiny.”

            “Time won’t allow you?”          

            “It is a mystery even to the wisest of the Time Lord scholars.  There are unknown forces in time that affect the synapses of the brain and cause temporary, selective amnesia.  The memory of my death hasn’t faded yet, but it will soon.  It is for the best, really.  I would rather not recall so disturbing a sight.”

 

            Nyder crawled wearily down the TARDIS halls, trying to discover a place where he could hide and recuperate.  It was terrifying for him to be trapped in enemy territory in such a weakened condition, but the alternative would have been waiting in the ice caverns for the bombardment to kill him.

            He was thankful his bleeding had stopped, so he was not leaving a trail of blood on the TARDIS floors to be discovered by one of his adversaries.

            As he turned a corner, he almost moved right into one of the female crewmembers.  Thankfully, she appeared too distressed to notice him.  She merely staggered into what was probably her bedroom and shut the door behind her.  Intrigued despite himself, he pulled himself off the floor and walked carefully over to the room she had just entered.  There was another door right next to it, which he slipped into.  It appeared empty and unused – a perfect place for him to hide.  He pressed his hypersensitive ear to the wall and listened to discover what was wrong with the woman.

 

            Needing a great deal of rest, Peri had attempted to find her bedroom in the TARDIS.  She was not surprised to find that it was completely different in this Doctor’s TARDIS.  The decorations, the design of the bed, and the walls, were all alien to her.  Nevertheless, she was too tired to care and stretched out on the bed.  It seemed like ages since she last had a good rest, but it was only a few hours.  And what eventful hours they were.

            The moment she relaxed, she felt it was safe to cry.  She buried her head in the pillow, lamenting the death of her Doctor.  He’d survived so many impossible situations in the past, only to be cut down so suddenly and so horribly.  And yet, that wasn’t what hurt her the most.  Her own biting words to him repeated endlessly in her mind, causing a dull ache in her heart.

            “That’s twice you’ve harmed me!  Twice!  I barely escaped both times.  I may not be so lucky next time.  So, excuse me if I’m not leaping in the air with joy that you found me!”

            She saw the misery and defeat in the Doctor’s face as her rejection tore him apart.  “I knew you wouldn’t be too happy to see me, but I got a message that your life was in danger.  I came to protect you.”

            “Who’s going to protect me from you?”  I can’t live with worrying when and where you’ll lose it next.  I’m not a fool, you know.”

            Peri clutched the pillow to her for comfort, sobbing.  She felt as if her own guilt would kill her just as surely as the Daleks lasers killed the Doctor and Yrcanos.

            “I’m sorry, Doctor.  I’m so, so sorry.”

            A long shadow fell over Peri.  “Would you like to tell him that yourself?”

            Peri spun her tear-stained face around suddenly.  Managing to suppress a gasp of fright at the sight of the intruder, her expression soon changed to defiant.  “How did you get in here?”

            The Toymaker smiled evilly.  “I have my ways.”

            “Then you can use the same way to get out.”

            The smile didn’t leave the Mandarin’s face.  “You don’t look very happy to see me, Peri.”

            “Why should I be?  You killed the Doctor.”

            “Yes, I suppose I did … in a roundabout sort of way.  And so soon after you treated him so horribly.  But I wouldn’t go to pieces with guilt over that.  After all, he did deserve every word you said to him.”

            Peri sniffed and wiped her eyes.  “No he didn’t.”

            “Well, I don’t agree.  But your opinion is the one that matters most.  If you really regret what you said to him, why don’t you take it back?”

            Peri made a sound caught between a sob and a short, humorless laugh.  “It’s a little late now.”

            The Toymaker appeared confused.  “No it isn’t.  I’m perfectly willing to let you visit him … if you are willing to pay the price.”

            Peri’s ears pricked up.  “Visit him?”

            “Certainly.  He’s a guest of mine in the Toyroom.”

            Peri’s spirits slowly began to rise.  “You mean he’s still alive?”

            “So long as he stays in the Toyroom.”

            Peri resisted the cold realization that was coming to her.  “No.  You didn’t.”

            “I did.”  The Toymaker admitted his crime with nonchalant pride and a devious grin.  “The Doctor lost the game.  His soul belongs to me.”
            Peri straightened her back and stared levelly at the magician.  “Who else have you got?”

            “King Yrcanos, Matrisa, Eukel, Davros, and all the Daleks and Shardonians who died in the battle.”

            “All of them?”

            “All of them.”

            Peri felt the wrath rising within her.  “They’ll be your slaves forever.”

            “That can change.”

            “How?”  Peri refused to sound too eager.  She knew the Toymaker was playing games with her.

            “If you are willing to gamble your own soul, there is a chance you can win back the freedom of both the Doctor and King Yrcanos.”

            “What about the others?”

            “I am not willing to give any more up than those two.”

            “How do I know you won’t just steal my soul as well?”

            “That will only happen if you fail in your efforts.”

            Peri stepped off the bed and walked to the back of the room, deep in thought.  She knew it was suicide to accept the Toymaker’s offer, but how could she live with herself is she turned down an opportunity to save the souls of the most important people in her life?

            “You know you cannot refuse,” the Toymaker coaxed. 

            “Has this offer been made to any of the others?’

            “No.  It is exclusive to you.”

            “In that case, I want you to promise something to me.”

            The Toymaker looked doubtful.  “I will not necessarily make that promise.”

            “Don’t involve anyone else in this game.  This has always been between you, the Doctor, and me.  It began that way; it is only fitting that it finish that way.”

            The Toymaker nodded.  “Very well.  I admire your sense of occasion.  Now, are you willing to play one, final game?”

            Peri took a deep breath.  “Yes.”

 

            The Doctor tossed his long scarf over his shoulder as he walked briskly towards Peri’s room.  He realized that she probably needed rest, but it was important to him that he speak to her.  He knocked humbly at her door and awaited her reply. There was the sound of a slight commotion from within and an eerie flash of light glared through the cracks in the doorframe.

            Galvanized into action by the flare, the Doctor threw the door open in time to catch a fleeting glimpse of Peri and the Celestial Toymaker disappearing into a blaze of energy.

            “No, Peri, no!”  The Doctor raced in the room a moment too late to prevent the departure.  He bit his fist and stamped his foot angrily.  “Doctor, you are an imbecile!  Why didn’t you realize he’d go after Peri?”

            Leo hurried into the room, just as excited as the Doctor.  “Doctor!  I just sensed the Toymaker’s presence on board.”

            “You’re a little late.  He just left with Peri.”

            Leo’s gaze swept the room.  “They just left here.  I can feel the residue from the teleportation.”

            The Doctor’s eyes widened with interest.  “Can you use the lingering energies to reopen the portal?”

            Leo paused.  “I’ve seen my mistress do it, but I’ve never tried it myself.”

            “You’ve got to try!”

            Leo nodded.  “I never meant to imply otherwise.”

            Ravner, Mel, and Allene all arrived at the door to Peri’s room at the same time, responding to the Doctor’s frustrated shouting.

            “What happened?”

            “Peri’s been kidnapped by the Toymaker,” the Doctor explained quickly.  “Leo and I are going after him.” 

            The lion man closed his eyes, blocking out all the tangible and immaterial features of the room.  He meditated, trying to sense the presence of the dwindling gateway.  His mind reached out, beginning to perceive the energies he sought.  Once they were discovered, the difficult aspect of his task began.  Leo grunted with strain as he recollected the scattered energies into one, cohesive whole.  The air in front of him glimmered as the portal began to take form.

            As Leo worked to stabilize the rift, Ravner eyed the Doctor.  “The Toymaker is the one who caused all our misery?”

            “Yes.  Next to him, the Daleks look like campfire girls.”

            “Then I’m coming too.  I have a score to settle with him.”

            Allene and Mel voiced their desire to help as well.  The Doctor wasn’t keen on letter them all go, but he knew there was no use arguing with them.  They’d been through too much to turn back now.

            By the time the short debate ended, Leo had made a major breakthrough in recreating the gateway.  The air buckled, releasing a dazzling burst of light.  When the light receded, a circular portal stood there in front of them, stiff and secure.  They could clearly see the sandy wasteland of the Toymaker’s planet on the other side.

            “Quickly,” Leo cried.  “Everyone through the portal!”

            The moment it stabilized, the Doctor hurled himself through.  Following immediately after were Allene and Ravner, who took with them their sword and crossbow, respectively.  Mel crossed the threshold a moment later.  Leo remained in the TARDIS, maintaining the portal until he too was able to jump through.

            As Leo leaped into the unknown, Nyder stood just outside the door, watching.  He made a fist with his taloned hand and growled.  The Toymaker.  That parlor trick performer had made a fool of the Imperial Daleks.  He had manipulated them, pulling their strings like marionettes.  Nobody could do that to the Daleks and live.  He watched the portal with vengeance filled eyes.  Even after Leo was no longer there to hold the gateway open, it remained hanging, shimmering in the air, and tantalizing Nyder.  If the Doctor and his party were seeking out the Toymaker, then so would Nyder.

            Two spotlights illuminated the wax figures of the Doctor and King Yrcanos.  The Toymaker gestured grandly at them as he turned to look for Peri’s approval.  “Here they are.  Lifeless, inanimate zombies.”

            Peri dropped to her knees in front of the Doctor’s body.  She grasped his legs, feeling the cold, hard wax under her fingers.  “What have you done to them?”
            “My dear child, ask not what I’ve done to them, but what you can do for them.  You have the power to save them.”

            “Oh, really?”

            Her voice was thick with sarcasm and mistrust.  The Toymaker didn’t let that bother him.  “All you have to do is win two games.  One for the soul of the King of the Krontep, one for your Time Lord … friend.”

            “You swear you will release all of us when I have finished these games?”

            The Toymaker scratched the back of his neck thoughtfully.  “If you win back their souls, you will defeat me utterly.  I have no grounds to hold you here should that situation arise.”

            Peri rose from the ground.  She walked over to King Yrcanos and looked fondly at him.

            He really loved me, she thought.

            “I will begin the contests whenever you are ready.”  There was impatience in the Toymaker’s voice.

            Peri nodded slowly.  “I’m ready.”

            The Mandarin led her to the end of the House of Wax, in the direction of a set of doors.  With each wax figure they passed, Peri’s horror mounted.  Standing on ornate pedestals, beautifully labeled in bronze plaques, were Goth, Jenner, Matrisa, Runcible, and dozens of other faces both familiar and strange to her.  Peri shivered at the gruesome sight of a human skeleton whose skull was twisted into a ghastly death scream.  The plaque at its base merely read”  “Trevor Madison”.  She was further disturbed by the likenesses of the Blue Dalek, Davros, and all their minions.  Their very presence as captives in the Toyroom made her fear the Toymaker more than ever.

            As a finishing touch to push her nerves closer to their breaking point, she noticed that the final pedestal was vacant.  No wax figure yet stood on it.  However, the brass identification plate nailed to the base had been engraved with the name of the exhibit soon to be placed there:

 

“Perpugilliam Brown”