Days Even Darker [Complete Story]

[John Darnacan]

Part 15 - Lithium & Pistachio Pudding

The Doctor was lying on the floor with his attacker on top of him, with a woman's screams in his ears. He twisted around to see Faye looking down on him and his assailant.

"No Pablo. Stop! I know him!" she yelled. Pablo quickly relented. "This is the Doctor. He owns the TARDIS." Pablo quickly stood up

"Doctoro, Yo estoy...I am ... sorry." Pablo offered his hand to help the Doctor up. The Doctor looked at both of them uncertainly, but took his hand to get up again.

"I don't think you ever met Pablo."

"Your Spanish painter friend? How?.... Oh, let me guess, a stowaway."

"You call them unexpected companions, don't you?"

"How did you get here?" The Doctor looked up and down the passageway. "Or more to the point, where is here?"

"We're inside a strange moon, inside a gas giant. We materialized here after an accident with the TARDIS." Faye looked nervously at Pablo, who in turn looked slightly uncomfortable.

"A moon inside a gas giant? That is a strange moon."

"Yes, Susan said it was physically impossible, but it's true."

"Susan is here? Where?"

"Around somewhere. Pablo went missing, and we both went looking for him." Pablo looked embarrassed. "Susan went back towards the TARDIS, I think."

"Have you seen anyone else here?"

"No one, just some strange carvings and a weird room."

"Really? Well, we'll have to take a look after we gather Susan and Romana back to the TARDIS." There was suddenly an uncomfortable look on the Doctor's face. "Well, Romana is back this way. SheÕs been hurt." The Doctor led the way.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Romana had recovered sufficiently to stand. She examined the transmat platform and control. Clearly, they had not returned to Belief Systems' home office. She headed down the corridor that she thought the Doctor had gone.She continued down the passageway through an archway. Beyond it, the walls were no longer made of rock, but rather some synthetic material. As Romana turned the corner, she found herself in a large room. It was dark outside the large windows. From the cobwebs and decay, it had been centuries since this room had been used. It had a chilling familiarity. She picked up a dusty book laying on the floor. It had an embossed Seal of Rassilon on it.

It was all she feared, all she had fought against, all she knew might come to pass, the passing of Gallifrey. Tears began to run down her face, as she stood in the presidential suite.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I'm sure this was the way I came," pondered the Doctor, as he passed an circular opening on his right. "I don't remember passing this."

"What is it?" asked Faye.

"I'm not sure"

The Doctor ducked his head in. The room inside was in the shape of a perfect sphere, over ten meters in diameter, with a thin catwalk leading to the geometric center. The inner surface was a highly polished ebony. Curious, the Doctor walked toward the center. The room began to hum, while the ebony surface glowed blue. Images began to appear on the curved walls. Faye watched as unfamiliar symbols moved around the walls at varying speeds. Images of places and people also appeared, including a young teenage girl who Faye guessed was a younger version of the middle-aged Susan. More symbols followed. Each symbol morphed into a complex equation, using more symbols Faye couldnÕt fathom. Each of those symbols morphed into yet other equations. The process repeated itself until the symbols were too small to be legible. Yet, a swirling pattern emerged around the entire sphere except for a small dark area directly opposite the Doctor.

This dark gap began to pulsate.



"The Falgrew Trans-Harmonic Conjecture? No!" cried the Doctor. "I won't do it! His eyes bulged in terror. "Mercury soup in a bowl of plaid leaves! Painting the sun with a nuclear teacup! Rent a salty moon for the zebra cotillion. And a Dalek's favourite dish is a lithium and pistachio pudding!" The Doctor turned toward Faye.

"Help me!" He grabbed his head. Faye ran toward him as the Doctor collapsed to the floor.

[John Darnacan]

Part 16 - The Historic Side Effect

It took all of Faye's strength to keep the Doctor from falling off the catwalk. He was completely unconscious. She knew it was important to get him out of this room. With great difficulty, she tried to drag his limp body down the catwalk. She never realized he was so heavy.

"Faye?" called Pablo from the doorway.

"Pablo! Quickly! We need to get the Doctor out of here!" Pablo quickly rushed forward. Although he was not as big as the Doctor, Pablo was far more effective at hauling the Doctor's body out of the spherical chamber. Pablo laid him down on the corridor floor. The Doctor's glazed eyes opened a bit.

"Doctor?" called another voice from behind them. Pablo quickly spun around. "Another Brujeria!" he breathed. Romana stepped forward.

"What have you done to the Doctor?" Romana demanded.

"Nothing" snapped Pablo. "Are you the witch who runs this casa de brujeria?"

"I've just arrived with the Doctor" she answered. Pablo eyed her with suspicion. However, Faye recognized her from seeing Romana through the TARDIS scanner on Gallifrey. "It's all right, Pablo. I think she's a friend of the Doctor."

"Doctor?" Romana called. Suddenly, the Doctor's eyes popped open.

"Yes, Madame President" replied the Doctor. "I thought I told you to rest."

"President's prerogative, Doctor" she snapped. "Besides, you look more in need of rest than I do. Are you all right?"

"Quite well," answered the Doctor. "Thank you Pablo" he said as the young Spaniard helped him up.

"De nada," Pablo answered.

"What happened to you in there? And why didnÕt it cause me to pass out?" asked Faye.

"Oh, it didnÕt cause me to pass out. I did that myself," the Doctor said with a little pride in his voice.

"Why?"

"I could sense a distinct mental intrusion. Someone or thing was probing my mind."

"That's why you were speaking gobbledygook?" asked Faye.

"Actually, it was gibberish. People often confuse the two."

"Doctor?" Faye and Romana demanded in unison. The gibberish was to confuse whatever it was, until I could force myself to pass out. "What were those swirling equations on the wall of that spherical room?"

"Spherical equations?"

"Nothing directly related to our current situation"

"Where is this room?" inquired Romana.

"Over there," Faye pointed.

"Where?" Romana asked. They all turned to see a blank wall. The circular port had vanished.

"It was there!" Pablo cried. "More brujeria!"

"What is this place? I just went into an exact replica of my presidential suite. It was rather unsettling."

"Why?" asked the Doctor. "It was in a near-terminal state of decay." The Doctor nodded.

"Is this some sort of R&D for Belief Systems faith?"

"I suspect it is something for more sinister"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The figure stood patiently outside Susan's outside-in TARDIS. (Or was it inside?) Susan tried to determine if this was just another illusion. Or, could her grandfather have come to rescue her? Had he been watching over her all this time? And he not really abandoned her after all?

"Susan?" the First Doctor called. "Child, it is time to come out. You don't belong out there." He said 'out' there, she realised. What did that mean? She decided to try to open the door. Somehow she wasn't surprised that it was no longer locked. She realised she didn't have much to loose at this point. She tentatively stepped out. The First Doctor smiled. "You see my dear, there's nothing to fear."

"How long have you been here?"

"Hmmm, for as long as I can remember"

"Then, you're not really my grandfather, are you?"

"No, I'm afraid not"

"Then, who are you?"

"I'm not always sure" the figure said, still mimicking the first Doctor perfectly. "But there is someone who visits and calls me Draist. So, I suppose that is as good as name as any."

"Why do you make yourself look like my grandfather?"

"But I haven't? You have!"

"I made you look like my grandfather?"

"The Doctor? Yes, that was what he was called. I've seen this image before. I suppose that's why it came to me so easily," said the figure, as if realizing it for the first time.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Doctor, Romana, Faye and Pablo made there way back along the confusing labyrinth. Finally, they found the carvings.



"Doctor, can you make these out? Susan said something about an ancient conspiracy."

"Ancient conspiracy? What a coincidence!" said Romana pointedly at the Doctor.

"And who is Susan?" The Doctor did not respond.

"The Doctor's granddaughter" Faye blurted out.

"Granddaughter?" repeated Romana.

"Doctor, you seem to have more secrets than the stars!" Romana was clearly hurt at never being told he had a granddaughter.

"Doctor, it is time you did some explaining. What is this ancient conspiracy?" she demanded. "I take it that it is something from the dark days of Gallifrey."

"You mean from the time of the Death Zone and those horrendous games?" He smirked knowingly.

"No, there were days even darker. These carvings are pre-historic Gallifreyan." Faye let out a short laugh. Everyone looked at her.

"Sorry" she said embarrassed. "I just had an image of Time Lords in animal skins, making cave paintings."

"By prehistoric, I mean before our recorded history. Gallifreyans were quite advanced even then."

"Doctor, Gallifreyan historic records are quite complete" countered Romana.

"Extensive perhaps, but not complete. That was part of the intended illusion of the ancient conspiracy. The cover-up was the final stage."

"And what was covered up?"

"Many things, including what Peligren and Telu called the historic side effect."

"Which was?" demanded Romana. The Doctor hesitated, but finally acquiesced.

"Regeneration."

[John Darnacan]

Part 17 - Desperate Disclosure

There was stunned silence at the Doctor's revelation. "Regeneration is a side effect?" Romana asked incredulously. "Of what?"

"Genetic manipulation." Faye remembered symbols in the carvings showing the concentric humanoids figures. Another section had symbols that reminded her of DNA. But at the time, she thought the notion silly since she assumed the carvings were ancient. Romana and the others took a moment to take all this in. Of course, Pablo was completely ignorant of things like DNA and regeneration, but he could sense to the seriousness of the discussion.

The Doctor continued "Without regeneration, Gallifrey would never have developed time travel. Even the normal lifetime of a genius isn't long enough to work out the temporal complexities. But as Rassilon, Omega and the others had several lifetimes to work it out, they were able to do it."

"So they altered their genes to discover time travel?" Faye inquired.

"No, I doubt even old Rassilon knew the source of our regenerative powers. Neither he nor Omega had any interest in biology or genetics. You might say the development of time travel was a side effect of the side effect." Romana stood pondering what effect such a revelation would have on time lord society.

"Why are there no records of this?" she asked. "Surely, those who did this would have recorded their triumph, and even touted it. It would have been an accomplishment heralded by all Gallifreyans."

"Perhaps, but those were darker days," the Doctor reminded her.

"How is it that you know all this?" Romana demanded.

"Telu was an archeologist. Before I left Gallifrey, he asked for my help sorting out various archeological discoveries at the ancient monastery at Fenbaru."

"Am I to be deprived of any credit?" asked a voice mockingly from the shadows. A copper-coloured glint reflected out of the shadows. A slender figure emerged. "But even in those darker days there was some light." said Eplinger.

"Peligren?"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Susan looked at the being who had taken on the image of her grandfather. She regarded him with suspicious, yet she was also drawn to him. She realised that using his use of her grandfather's appearance and gestures might be affecting her judgment.

"Are you here all alone?" she asked cautiously.

"No, there is another. Plus, I like to play with the Srylans."

"Who or what are the Srylans?"

"They guided you here. I believe you called them jellyfish."

"Those blue puffy things are intelligent?"

"Sensed that, did you? Oh yes, perhaps not as intelligent as you, more like...dolphins. They love to play in the planet's upper atmosphere."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Yes Doctor" answered Peligren. "I have to admit, I was surprised to see you after so many centuries, and yet now quite pleased. As I recall, you were to be an aimless wanderer in the fourth dimension."

"As were you. But instead, we find that you've been interfering with the affairs of various civilisations, with your perverted manipulation of religion," the Doctor accused. Peligren merely chuckled.

"Throwing stones from your glass house, Doctor? Weren't you put on trial for interfering with the affairs of various civilisations?"

"That was different," countered the Doctor indignantly.

"It always is" patronised Peligren.

"I never manipulated religions, or anything else, for monetary profit!" snapped the Doctor. Again, Peligren smiled.

"Profit?" sblack personed Peligren. "I'm hurt. You think wealth is what I seek. I let those fools at Belief Systems keep their profits. What need do I have of such things? Being away from Gallifrey, I admittedly required some financing for resources for my work. Participation in Dremnack's little business enterprise was merely provided me with the means to my end. However, the manipulation of religion has been an interesting education." The Doctor looked at Peligren with disgust.

"How can you condone, or participate in, the scams those religion mongers perpetrate?"

"Doctor, you are amasingly shortsighted for a Time Lord. I remember how you complained of the stagnant and unimaginative groupthink of the High Council. Yet, you have succumbed to the very same thing!" Peligren proclaimed.

"Have I?" the Doctor commented sarcastically.

"You know Doctor, with your help I could complete my work here in short order."

"Really? But I'm so stagnant and unimaginative" the Doctor snapped sarcastically.

"Don't be petulant, Doctor. You came to understand the significance of the Ancient Conspiracy almost immediately. Although quite bright, Telu would have never figured it out on his own. Together, we could achieve the ultimate fusion of power."

"Power?" "Yes. Don't you see Doctor? We can realize the potential of the Ancient Conspiracy, or more accurately, improve upon it!" announced Peligren. A look of horror filled the Doctor's face.

"If you do that, everything we've sacrificed will be pointless!" spat the Doctor.

"Doctor, you misunderstand me. My goal is order, not chaos."

"Your goal is madness!"

"Madness or not, you will help me" warned Peligren

"Perhaps, I could help you" suggested Romana.

"The President of the High Council, help me? I'm flattered." Romana's expression revealed her shock at being recognised.

"Yes, Lady Romanadvoratrelundar, I know who you are. You are admittedly quite intelligent, but there is an additional quality that the Doctor possesses, which would make his services particularly helpful."

"None of us will help you!" countered the Doctor emphatically.

"Don't be so sure. After all, you are in my domain now. Nothing happens here without my knowledge. Peligren raised his copper-coloured pistol. "And no one leaves without my permission. I'll be back in a little while. Then, you can judge for yourself." Peligren withdrew. Pablo sprang forward grab him while his back was turned. Instead he slammed into a wall that materialized behind Peligren. Pablo let out a growl of frustration.

"We're rats in a changing maze" realised Faye.

"That's why we couldn't find our way back." The Doctor seemed to not hear Faye. He turned to Romana.

"Why did you offer to help him?" snapped the Doctor.

"To get information" Romana said tersely. "I would probably get more information from him than you! All this alluding to an 'ancient conspiracy', yet no answers. If regeneration is a historic side effect, then what was the cause?"

"I told you, genetic manipulation"

"Yes, that was the method. But why were they -- whoever 'they' were -- trying to manipulate the Gallifreyan genome?"

The Doctor frowned, looking at the floor. It was first time Faye had ever seen such a look of quiet desperation on his face. After a moment, he sighed.

"Telepathy" he finally answered.

[John Darnacan]

Part 18 - The Order of Egra

"Why were they -- whoever 'they' were -- trying to manipulate the Gallifreyan genome?" demanded Romana. The Doctor frowned, looking at the floor. It was first time Faye had ever seen such a look of quiet desperation on his face. After a moment, he sighed.

"Telepathy" he answered.

"To acquire telepathy?" asked Faye.

"No, to get rid of it!"

"Why?"

"I referred earlier to the days of prehistoric Gallifrey as being days even darker than the so called 'Dark Times'. They were indeed darker. Our current telepathic talents are a mere shadow of what they once were. Imagine a race of Herculean telepaths. Mind reading was a curse, always knowing the dark thoughts of others. A great psychic war broke out, lasting for centuries. It was a civil war of unbelievable magnitude. Telekinesis, mind control, psychic mortars, mental viruses; it was beyond our imagining."

"A small group of scientists at Fenbaru were assigned to work on developing new and horrible mental weapons through genetic manipulation. Luckily, the group was unsuccessful in enhancing the psychic powers of Gallifreyans. However, they did discover out how to turn them off, or at least reduce them greatly. Then, it dawned on them. They had a way to not only stop the escalation of the war, but to stop the war itself. The scientists of war became the scientists of peace."

"And they were successful?" asked Faye.

"Yes, in part because of the historic side effect they discovered. Back then, the Gallifreyan lifespan was only slightly longer than that of humans. The immense longevity that regeneration offered encouraged people to undergo the genetic procedure. In essence, the promise of longevity served as bait."

"Didn't they realize that they were no longer telepathic?" asked Romana.

"The procedure triggered a slow reduction in the telepathic enzymes, so the psychic-retarding effect didn't happen immediately. And of course, even today we retain some vestiges of telepathy."

"How long did it take to do this procedure on billions of Gallifreyans?" asked Faye.

"There were only several hundred thousand Gallifreyans left at the time. The war had taken a heavy toll on the population. Still, it took nearly three hundred years. Those scientists, dedicating their lives to wiping out the telepathic scourge, became known as the Order of Egra, named after their leader."

"I still find it hard to believe there's a natural connection between regeneration and mental abilities," commented Romana.

"Really? Why do you think there's a period of disorientation immediately after regeneration?"

"So what did Telu have to do with all this?" asked Romana.

"Telu was a direct descendant of one Egra's scientists at Fenbaru. Using ancient artifacts handed down through his family, he was able to uncover part of the truth at the archeological dig at the monastery at Fenbaru. Monastery is really a misnomer. It was actually a research facility. As an archeologist, he was quite adept at uncovering the secrets that the Order worked so hard to conceal. Even Telu found it difficult to believe it at the time. That is why he asked for my opinion and analysis. In turn, and much to my regret, I consulted Peligren, an accomplished scientist who was already investigating the genetic causes of the Gallifreyan telepathy. Peligren had previously consulted with me on a family matter, so it seemed safe to include him."

"Doctor, this is a riveting piece of history, but why are you so worried about it now?" Romana queried. "I understand the motives of the Order of Egra. They were trying to alter horrible events. But now it nothing more than fascinating history."

"But what if the process could be reversed?"

"I don't know of any Time Lord who would give up regeneration for telepathy," Romana said dismissively.

"Perhaps not. But, the genes for telepathy are still within us. They just need to be turned on. And, Peligren is a brilliant geneticist. What if he has figured out how to have both, telepathy and regeneration? Add to that the power of time travel. Do you have any idea how dangerous that would be? Just look at the Master with all the chaos he has created throughout time and space with his hypnotic abilities. Pelligren might create a dozen Super-Masters! It would be the telepathic wars all over again. Back then, it was only the fate of one planet at stake. This time, with the power of the Time Lords, the whole universe would be at risk!"

[John Darnacan]

Part 19 - The Forgotten Name

The image of the First Doctor just stood smiling at Susan, as if lost in thought. A pained darker look crossed his face.

"Draist? Are you all right?" Susan asked.

"I'm sorry, my dear" he said in a very grandfatherly way. "I.....was distracted"

"You're not my grandfather. So there's no need to pretend. What do you really look like?" asked Susan. A look of confusion crossed his face.

"You know, child. I don't really know. I've never even thought to ask the question." The image of the Doctor frowned.

"Pardon me, I must go."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"We need to find Susan," said the Doctor flatly.

"Which way is the TARDIS? Hopefully Peligren is not aware of its presence."

"That way" said Pablo.

"No, it's this way," contradicted Faye.

"Friends of yours?" chided Romana.

"Apparently, one way's as good as another," commented the Doctor. He turned to Romana.

"We should split up. If you find Susan first, keep her in the TARDIS. Take Pablo with you. If things get out of hand, dematerialize and return to Gallifrey."

"Excuse me, Doctor. I am the President of the High Council. I don't have to take orders from anyone," snapped Romana, clearly still annoyed with the Doctor over his recent withholding of information and issuing of orders."

"Pardon me Madame President, what do you think we should do?" asked the Doctor in courteous, but slightly mocking, tone.

"I think you should answer another question. You said to Pelligren a moment ago, 'everything we've sacrificed will be pointless'. What did you mean by that?" The Doctor looked exasperated.

"Pelligren discovered that, although latent, the telepathic gene was still strong in some Gallifreyans, and telepathy might re-emerge in future generations. There were six Gallifreyans who were likely to pass on the gene."

"Four to hide, one to run. To shepherd the last one" Romana said, reciting Telu's dying words.

"You were the one to run, weren't you?"

"Yes. Telu and Pelligen were two of the four to hide. The other two are of no importance now."

"And who was the 'last one'?" asked Romana. The Doctor did not answer.

"It's Susan. Isn't it?" guessed Faye.

"Yes" sighed the Doctor. "Susan was of the newest generation on Gallifrey. Her telepathic abilities were latent, yet of enormous potential. Had she stayed on Gallifrey, exposed to other latent telepaths, her powers would have emerged. That is I why I shepherded her away. Her life with her husband on Earth has protected her from telepathic stimulus, and thus, kept her telepathy latent."

"That's why you left Gallifrey," concluded Romana.

"It was merely one of several reasons, but it was the one that tipped the scale at the time, and made the difference" replied the Doctor. "Merely the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back."

"We should split up and look for the TARDIS" ordered Romana.

"I'll take Pablo with me since he knows what Susan looks like, and I don't." There was a slight emphasis on the I don't, indicating she was still annoying at his withholding certain facts.

"Wise as ever, Madame President. Come along, Faye." The Doctor turned exited down the opposite corridor.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Draist had turned and disappeared. The pastel aura faded as well, leaving Susan back in one of the stone corridors. There was no TARDIS in sight.

"Susandranoraltaxia?" called a voice, down the corridor. Susan had not heard her full Gallifreyan name in over twenty years. When she and her grandfather had landed in a London junkyard in 1963, she found that humans had difficulty remembering or pronouncing her name. In fact, some mocked her name. By time she enrolled at the Coal Hill School, she had shortened it to Susan, which luckily was a common English name. In fact, she enjoyed her new name in her new life so much, she had nearly forgotten that Susandranoraltaxia was her Gallifreyan name.

"Susandranoraltaxia, is that you?" called Peligren.

[John Darnacan]

Part 20 – Susandranoraltaxia

“Susandranoraltaxia, is that you?” called Peligren. Susan whirled around.

“Who are you?” Susan asked.

“I am an old friend of the Doctor’s” smiled the thin blonde stranger. “My name is Peligren. You and I met a long time ago, at one of those interminable ceremonies at the Panopticon. Of course, I’ve regenerated since then. But you may remember that I later stopped by your house later. In fact, we played some parlour games. I believe you won every round.”

Susan did remember someone coming round and playing some rather odd parlour games, after some tedious day-long ceremony inducting some cardinal into the High Council. She recalled it was only a couple months before she and the Doctor departed Gallifrey.

“Did Grandfather send you?”

“No, but we’ve looked out for one another. I left Gallifrey at the same time you and the Doctor did. I was extremely pleased to find you here. Welcome to my home for these many centuries.”

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

The Doctor and the others continued circulating in the endless maze. They tried doubling back several times to discover the paths they had taken had changed.

“Peligren has been moving the walls around to keep us confused.”

“Well, that’s obvious. He wants to keep us isolated from whatever he’s doing.”

“It’s not that obvious,” replied the Doctor. “Since Peligren has control of the architecture, he could simply keep us is a confined area, but he hasn’t.”

“Why?”

“I’m not completely sure, but I think I’ve determined an algorithm to get us out of this maze.”

“The problem is that we’ve been trying to stay together. We actually need to separate.”

“Separate?” asked Faye nervously. It was clear that none of them were comfortable with the idea of separating again.

“Yes, but each will have to go in a different way. Faye, go down that way, turn right at every chance. Any time the path forces you to turn left, turn around and go back. But keep turning right at every chance.” Faye stared at him incredulously.

“Pablo. You go the opposite way. Turn left at every chance, unless you hit a T-intersection. Then turn right. Romana, you alternate left-right-left-right.”

They all looked at each other as if the Doctor had lost his mind.

“Go on” prompted the Doctor. They all left in their respective directions. The Doctor pulled a coin out of his pocket, tossed it in the air and caught it. He placed the coin back in his pocket, while retrieving a yo-yo out of the opposite pocket. With that, he turned left and began walking.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

“What are we doing here?” asked Susan.

“There’s a crisis on Gallifrey. A civil war has erupted. That is why the Doctor sent for you. Unfortunately, he was a victim, one of the first casualties. Ironic, in that he was trying stop the war.”

“Grandfather dead? It can’t be! He’s fought Daleks and other terrible horrors. And he’s always triumphed!”

“Yes, the Doctor was a valiant champion for justice. And I am as devastated as you by this loss.”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t believe it without some sort of proof” she replied. Peligren frowned, looking sympathetic.

“Very well” he sighed. “Come with me”.

They entered a control room. Susan followed Peligren to a side control panel, where he activated a monitor. Before flicking the last switch, he turned.

“Are you sure you wanted to see this?” he asked. She nodded. “This video record was obtained by one of my spies in the capitol.” He flicked the last switch. The monitor hummed to life. It showed the Doctor in a spherical room, with symbols swirling around him. The Doctor, who was in the same regeneration when he visited her on Earth, was yelling in distress. He finally collapsed to the floor.

“My understanding is that this particularly insidious form of execution drives its victim mad before causing final death.” Pelegrin turned to Susan who had tears in her eyes. “I’m sorry.” She nearly fell, but Pelegrin held her to support her weight. She sobbed in his arms.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

“The Doctor, Romana, Faye and Pablo kept walking in the Doctor’s bizarre patterns. Occasionally, they would meet, but the Doctor would insist they continue moving in their chaotic paths. In fact, he urged them to move faster, and to not worry if they made a mistake. This made Faye and Romana somewhat cross. Only Pablo seemed to take the chaos in stride.

Finally, all four converged at a doorway. They all expected the Doctor to tell them to continue again.

“I think we’ve arrived,” the Doctor said as he pushed open the double doors. The others were silent at what they saw.

“I suppose we should have expected this,” Romana commented, as she laid her hand on a roundel.

“Yes, this moon is Peligren’s TARDIS.”

“With one of the largest exterior interfaces I’ve ever seen on a TARDIS, the size of a small moon, kilometers across.”

“I believe there’s a reason for that,” murmured the Doctor as he knelt down to examine the extremely altered central console. “This TARDIS is no longer dimensionally transcendental.”

“How peculiar” Romana answered as she knelt down in front of the console.

“Yes, apparently the chameleon circuit has been connected to transdimensional interface. That’s how the walls moved around so effortlessly. It was like the chameleon circuit adapting to our movements.”

“But so quickly”

“Yes, Peligren must have been quite occupied by our chaotic ballet”

“That’s why you had us running around in circles” Faye concluded.

“Yes, but where is Peligren?”

“Doctor, what do you make of this?” interrupted Romana, pointing to a rather unusual module beneath the console.

“Trouble” the Doctor concluded.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

After Susan had cried herself out, she forced herself to analyze the situation, as her grandfather would have.

“I was trapped inside an inside-out TARDIS. Then, I spoke with someone who took on the image of my grandfather, but clearly wasn’t. A rather odd fellow.

Peligren frowned and stopped.

“Within this facility, I built an interactive matrix. When you and your friends arrived, you disrupted the flow of the matrix, causing a distortion of the imaging systems. I’ve been using the image of my old friend the Doctor, as an interface” he explained.

“My friends. Do you know where they are?”

“Yes, I sent them back to Earth. Innocent non-Gallifreyans should not be endangered by our conflict. I regret that even you are involved.

“Me? How am I involved?” exclaimed Susan.

“You are the cause of the war.”

[John Darnacan]

Part 21 – Patriotic Duty

“How can I be responsible for a war on a planet I left over 20 years ago?” Susan protested.

“Let me ask you this: why did you leave Gallifrey?” Pelligren inquired.

“Grandfather had fallen out of favour with the high council. He said he was bored, but I always believed it was his pride that made him leave Gallifrey.”

“It was neither boredom nor pride. It was because of you.”

“Me?” she gasped.

“I personally tested your latent telepathy with that parlour game. How could you win all 64 rounds?”

“I was always good at parlour games”. Susan looked away.

“Yes, you were, because of your latent telepathy” Peligren replied. Susan snapped around. “Part of your mind denies it, but deep down you know it is true.”

“What do you want of me?”

“There is a faction on Gallifrey that wants to escalate to a telepathic war. They’ve used you as an excuse.

“Me?”

“Yes, I’m afraid that the Doctor was not completely successful in covering up all the records about you and your departure from Gallifrey. Someone uncovered those records and used them to weave a conspiracy. They call it the Susandranoraltaxian Conspiracy.

“No!” Susan cried.

“I’m afraid so, my dear. The fictitious scenario they’ve created says the Doctor whisked you away to build a telepathic weapon of mass destruction, which will to be powered by your powerful telepathy.”

“But I’m a latent telepath!”

“You and I know that, but the conspirators have conveniently left that fact out. And to be quite honest, your telepathy could be significantly developed, if you put your mind to it, no pun intended.”

“I must go back to Gallifrey, tell them, let them examine me,” stuttered Susan

“That’s exactly what the Doctor was planning, and why he sent his companion to Earth for you. Unfortunately, the conspiracy was more advanced that we realized. We were betrayed by a friend by the name of Telu, a betrayal that cost the Doctor his life.” Peligren gestured toward the monitor that just displayed the Doctor’s execution.

“I’m sorry to throw all this at you like this,” Peligren continued. “But there is still hope, if you are willing to help.”

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

“Doctor, what do you make of this?” interrupted Romana, pointing to a rather unusual module beneath the console.

“Trouble” the Doctor concluded. “Apparently, Peligren has connected the telepathic circuits, chameleon circuit, holographic emitter, and internal dimensional stabiliser to this device here, which I’m not quite familiar with.”

“Why?” asked Romana.

“Not sure,” answered the Doctor. He examined the device with geodesic protrusions. “I suspect it’s a sub-harmonic router to another larger device. We’d better find it.” Romana and the Doctor headed immediately for the only one other door to this control room. Faye just looked at Pablo and shrugged. They both followed.

They burst into another room with a crystalline ring structure, which seemed to be illuminated from within by a blue light. At each side of this massive structure were two crystalline nodes with what looked like a control couch. Laying in one was Susan, with her eyes closed.

“Susan!” the Doctor called.

“I'm afraid she can’t hear you, Doctor” echoed a voice. The voice was familiar, but not Pelegrin’s.

[John Darnacan]

Part 22 – The Ultimate Weapon

They burst into another room with a crystalline ring structure, which seemed to be illuminated from within by a blue light. At each side of this massive structure were two crystalline nodes inside which were what looked like a control couch. Laying in one was Susan, with her eyes closed.

“Susan!” the Doctor called.

“She can’t hear you, Doctor,” echoed a voice. The voice was familiar, but not Pelegrin’s.

“Doctor, it’s you… I mean… another you,” Faye blurted out, upon seeing Draist in the image of the First Doctor.

“No” both Doctors replied. The Doctors looked at one another. Then, Draist spoke.

“The Doctor is not likely to be fooled by a hologram. Hmmm? No, no, my dear.” Draist continued. “He wasn’t fooled by that Malzardi on Arcturus 3, so he’s not likely to be fooled now.” Draist turned back to the real Doctor and smiled. “My name is Draist, D-R-A-I-S-T. I’m pleased to finally meet you.”

“What have you done to Susan?” the Doctor demanded. Without waiting for an answer, the Doctor charged toward Susan. Suddenly, the entire room crackled as the Doctor slammed into a charged force field. The jolt knocked the Doctor to the floor.

“I would have gladly warned you my boy, had you asked,” Draist called out with just enough tetchiness to remind the Doctor of his former self. Annoyingly accurate, he thought to himself.

“What is this?” the Doctor asked, gesturing to the structure.

“Oh come now, my good fellow. You already know, don’t you? If not, you are certainly capable of figuring it out.” The Doctor looked at the massive device with his granddaughter at its core. Draist turned to the others. “Why don’t you make yourselves comfortable? Pelegrin is almost ready to begin.”

“Draist!” yelled Peligren in an angry voice. “You need to focus!” It wasn’t clear exactly where Peligren was calling from, but it was in the general direction of the crystalline structure

“My apologies, master” said Draist. “Excuse me,” he whispered. With that, Draist walked into the crystalline structure, completely unimpeded by the force field.

“Do you know what this is?” asked Romana.

“Some sort of ultimate telepathic weapon, I imagine, combined with temporal technology” grumbled the Doctor. “And we’re at ground zero!” The deep blue crystals turned to green.

“Peligren! Peligren!” yelled the Doctor.

“What is it, Doctor?” snapped Peligren’s disembodied voice.

“A deal – my life for Susan’s. I have the same telepathic gene as Susan. You can use me.”

“We both know that’s not precisely true, Doctor. Nice try, though. Besides you wouldn’t bring the right attitude to the project.” The Doctor realised where Peligren was, in a control couch directly across from Susan.

“More brujeria!” Angry, Pablo ran toward Susan in some quixotic attend to rescue her. He got a lot closer than the Doctor, yet still slammed into the force field. The Doctor and Romana exchanged glances.

Faye went to help Pablo up. “That was really stupid, Pablo. Let the Doctor handle this.” The crystal structure changed to a greenish yellow light.

“Draist, do you have any tea perhaps?”

“Doctor, attempting to distract Draist will not help you. He is under my complete control. This process cannot be stopped. Soon Draist will be fully imbued,” echoed Peligren’s voice.

“What is he talking about?” asked Faye.

“He’s building his telepathic weapon, using Susan to initialise it.” He explained.

“Imbuing Draist?” asked Romana.

“Yes, of course, I should have realized sooner. Draist is an anagram for TARDIS,” realised the Doctor out loud. “That explains the reconfigured wiring of his TARDIS. He’s given it full sentience, the first step on the path to telepathy.” He turned back forward the crystalline structure. “He’s building a telepathic weapon out of his TRADIS. We must reach Susan.”

“You and Pablo have already tried” Romana reminded him.

“I mean telepathically. We must focus on Susan. She’s our only hope.” The two timelords turned towards Susan and closed their eyes. The crystalline structure turned a more golden colour.

“It’s not working,” Romana sighed after a few minutes.

“Keep trying!” insisted the Doctor.

Holographic images began to form at the center of the crystalline ring. Faye and Pablo watched vague shapes. The first one to form was a young teenage girl playing a game with an older gentleman. It was different than a three-dimensional hologram like Draist. This one was various angles of the same event juxtaposed like a video montage. Parts of the fractured projection showed the First Doctor scowling in the background.

“Susandranoraltaxia , that’s unbelievable, sixty-four wins in a row,” said the image of the man with Susan. The images changed. The First Doctor was speaking to two Earth people inside the TARDIS. “Have you every wondered what it was like to be wanderers in the fourth dimension? Hmmm?”

The images continued. Each scene was a montage of different angles of the same situation. Sometimes it was multiple scenes. Suddenly, an unusual windowless city appeared. Faye didn’t recognize the architecture, but it seemed like there was something akin to a nuclear explosion occurring.”

“No” Romana cried out. Faye turned to see Romana still standing there next to the Doctor, except now there were tears coming from her closed eyes. Clearly, the two Time Lords were experiencing the same images telepathically. The whole image became surrounded by a sphere of rotating symbols. Faye recognized them as the same one the Doctor saw in the spherical chamber.

“Focus on Susan,” the Doctor reminded. “Don’t be distracted.”

Faye and Pablo watched as the images continued. Faye saw Monsieur Delannoy berating her for her béarnaise sauce in front of the entire class during her first term at the Cordon Bleu. Faye remembered the humiliation all too well. She suddenly realised her mind was being read, not just her conscious thoughts, but her deepest memories. Just then, Faye truly realized how insidious such a weapon this might be. All her bad memories flooded into her mind. The death of her father. A nasty fight with an old boyfriend. She felt so helpless.

The crystalline ring turned a deeper orange. The scene had changed again. There was an old woman in bed, looking very ill, with a teenage boy by her bedside. She realised the teenage boy was Pablo.

“Madre!” Pablo cried lout. “No, no muerto!” He ran toward the oscillating images. Faye yelled after him, remembering the force field. However, it was unnecessary. Apparently, the force field was only protecting the crystalline nodes. Pablo lunged for the image of his mother. The images swirled and distorted around him. There was jolt of energy that came from one of the crystalline nodes, hit Pablo, and then arced up and back to the opposite node. Pablo’s legs buckled, causing him to fall to the floor. Additional energy bolts were exchanged between the two nodes. Faye couldn’t get tell whether Pablo was dead or merely knocked unconscious.

The crystalline ring turned bright red as another bolt exchanged between the nodes. Suddenly, the nodes exploded.

[John Darnacan]

Part 23 – The Ultimate Sacrifice

Everyone in the room was knocked over when the crystalline nodes exploded. The Doctor was the first to pull himself off the floor. He headed towards the node that contained Susan. With all the destruction, it was difficult to recognise were Susan had been lying. Finally, the Doctor found the control couch, but she was not there.

“She’s over here” came the Draist’s voice. Draist was holding up a large chunk of crystal, preventing it from falling on Susan, who was lying unconscious on the floor beneath him. It was odd seeing what looked like a frail old man holding up what must have been enormously heavy. Susan’s body was twisted and bloody. “You best move her from under this section. It’s become quite unstable” Draist added. The Doctor quickly picked up Susan and carried her clear of the overhead structure. Susan winced with pain.

He gently laid her down on a section of floor that was clear of debris. Susan coughed. Blood splattered and ran down the side of her cheek. He pulled off and rolled up his coat and placed it under her head. Susan slowly opened her eyes.

“Grandfather, you’re not dead” she coughed.

“No,” he whispered, with moisture in the corner of his eyes. Susan smiled as she looked at him, but the smile was cut short by another cough of blood. “I’m sorry. It’s all my fault,” he sighed.

Romana came from behind. “I recall seeing a med kit in the control room, I’ll go fetch it.” Romana ran down the corridor. The Doctor didn’t seem to notice. He only focused on his granddaughter. Susan looked up past the Doctor.

“Thank you” Susan coughed. The Doctor turned around to see Draist standing over them, looking quite concerned. The Doctor had never been more sick of his own face, even if it was a former face.

“For what?” the Doctor demanded.

“I provided her with the opportunity destroy Peligren’s weapon.”

“But you are the weapon!”

“No, my dear boy. As you correctly surmised, I am a TARDIS, designed to serve the interests of the Time Lords. Pelegrin gave me sentience, to use as part of his terrible weapon. And I could not disobey him, as he was my master. But Susan gave me the empathy to develop a conscience.”

“In the end, I suppose empathy is more potent than telepathy” mumbled the Doctor.

“Your telepathic persistence alerted her to the menace of Peligren’s plan. Susan decided to overload Peligren’s crystalline matrix. Admittedly, the chaos caused by the Spaniard helped provided the perfect distraction. I telepathically warned her of the personal peril of the overload. But she decided if necessary, it was worth the ultimate sacrifice, a moral value she apparently picked up from you.”

“Well, Pablo’s out of it, but alive” said Faye, as she came upon them. She stopped suddenly as she saw the bloodied Susan lying on the floor.

Romana returned with the medical kit she found in Peligren’s control room. She knelt down and applied two sensor pads to Susan’s chest. Apparently, these were heart monitors.

“Doctor, her left heart has stopped.”

“Tell David I love him,” coughed Susan. “And I love you too.” The Doctor held her hand, just nodding.

“You can tell him yourself” he whispered, “when I get you back to Earth.” Susan nodded her head from side to side slightly, indicating she knew better.

“Will she regenerate?” Faye whispered to Romana.

“We can’t be sure. I’ve never heard of Gallifreyan regenerating so young” answered Romana. “She’s only in her thirties. I’m not sure she’s yet capable of it.”

“Damn you, Doctor!” roared a voice. Everyone turned around to see a disheveled Peligren in his torn tunic climbing out of the other node. He held the copper-chrome energy weapon in his hand. “You’ve destroyed centuries of work!” He heaved himself over a fallen crystal beam. “But that’s what you do best – destroy! You’ve even destroyed the last of your own family, I see,” Peligren taunted, gesturing to Susan. The Doctor stood up, rage in his eyes.

“You did this, betrayed me and the others who gave up their lives on Gallifrey to bury the Ancient Conspiracy,” growled the Doctor. “We trusted you, and you betrayed Gallifrey itself.”

“Damn you and your self-righteousness!” Peligren raised his weapon to shoot the Doctor. Suddenly, Peligren eyes bulged as an angular crystal shaft plunged out of the center of Peligren’s chest. Blood spurted out of his mouth.

“No mas brujeria! Mi diablo!” yelled a dazed Pablo who was pressing the other end of the crystalline shaft protruding from Pelligren’s chest. They both fell to the ground. Faye ran over to help Pablo.

“Doctor!” called Romana, who was still tending Susan. He rushed to Susan’s side.

“Her other heart has stopped” Romana murmured.

“No!” he yelled hoarsely, his eyes full of tears. They waited, but there was no sign of regeneration.

[John Darnacan]

Part 24 – Gently into the Night


“Doctor!” called Romana, who was still tending Susan. He rushed to Susan’s side.

“Her other heart has stopped” Romana murmured.

“No!” he yelled hoarsely, his eyes full of tears. They waited, but there was no sign of regeneration.

“It seems she was too young to regenerate” Romana commented sadly.

“Youth was not the problem. Remember, I told you how strong telepathy and regeneration was genetically mutually exclusive. I’ve always suspected she that her telepathic abilities might be so strong, that she might not be able to regenerate.” The Doctor continued to hold Susan’s hand.

“Can she survive without regenerating?” asked Faye.

“No, her injuries are too serious. Her hearts have already stopped,” answered Romana. Faye saw the Doctor eyes close in pain. Her own eyes filled with tears as she placed her hand on his shoulder.

“Then, the solution is obvious, my dear fellow. She needs to be less telepathic. Hmmm?” Draist said. Romana and the Doctor turned to Draist as if he were out of his mind.”

“Of course” the Doctor said, in burst of realisation “Did Peligren give you access to his genetic research?” Draist nodded.

“His entire genetic database” Draist replied.

“Can it be done?”

“I believe Peligren’s control couch may be sufficiently intact to be of our use,” Draist informed him. The Doctor quickly scooped Susan’s limp body and carried her to Peligren’s node. Draist was already standing there, with his eyes closed.

“I’m re-routing all systems now. It is difficult with all the damage” Draist reported. Some of the crystals adjacent to the control couch flickered to life. The Doctor placed Susan on the couch. The crystals went from blue to purple. Other crystalline sections lit up. Swiftly, the light turned golden, but it wasn’t coming directly from the crystals. Susan body started to glow harmonically with the crystal node. It was almost blinding. When the light receded, Susan slowly opened her eyes, except now her eyes were a different colour, as was her hair.

“You look completely different” said Faye amased, as she had never witnessed the regeneration process. Susan smiled. The Doctor hugged her. Then suddenly, she froze. The Doctor could feel her stiffen.

“What’s the matter?” the Doctor asked. She stared over the Doctor’s shoulder. The Doctor suspected that perhaps Peligren had regenerated too. He quickly spun around to see no one except Susan’s reflection in a high polished crystal wall. She placed her hands on the sides of her face which was thinner. She tugged at her now auburn hair as if to check whether is was a wig.

“How will I explain this to David, or our friends?” Susan turned her head slightly to examine the profile of her new nose and mouth.

“The first regeneration is always a shock” The Doctor reassured her. “And then every one after that,” he mumbled to himself.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now that Draist was a confirmed ally, finding the TARDIS was a simple task. It was surprisingly close to the crystalline room, given all the turns in the maze. Pablo was still groggy. The Doctor placed him on a cot, and let him sleep. Faye and the newly regenerated Susan tended to him. Pablo kept asking who this new woman was, and whether she was another witch. Meanwhile, the Doctor and Romana were having a talk with Draist.

“As a TARDIS, you as still the property of the High Council” explained Romana. “Your ‘unique configuration’ makes you very dangerous.”

“Dangerous, my dear?” responded Draist. “Don’t many on the High Council consider the Doctor ‘dangerous’, yet you let him roam the continuum. Hmm?”

“Well that’s different.”

“Is it?”

“Draist” the Doctor interrupted. “If you were free to roam the continuum, what would you do?”

“For now, stay here. I’ve become rather attached to the local life forms. I call them Srylans. Each one has different personality, you know. We’ve become quite attached to one another.”

“And, if you become bored with the Srylans?” inquired Romana.

“You needn’t worry about me. Through Susan and the Doctor himself, I’ve been imprinted with the Doctor’s conscience. Besides, I’m no longer dimensionally transcendental and can’t change my exterior. So there’s little damage I can do. I will never become the weapon Peligren had hoped.”

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

The Doctor returned Romana to Gallifrey. The President agreed to keep certain facts to herself, such as the existence of Susan and Draist. Romana encouraged the Doctor to say on Gallifrey, but claimed he has too set in his ways to return. Besides, he had to return Pablo and Susan to their respective homes.

As Pablo was still recuperating, they dropped Susan off first.

“Grandfather, you must stay for a while,” she implored. “I’m going to need you to explain my regeneration to David.”

“The last time I left, I gave David an envelop to give you.”

“Yes, I remember. I was quite cross with you.”

“I’m sorry, my dear. But the information I gave you about Borusa’s time scoop was useful wasn’t it?”

“Yes” she admitted.

“And this envelop,” the Doctor said, as he pulled it out of his pocket, “will be of help in explaining everything to David.” Susan hugged him tightly. “Don’t worry. I shall be back some day. I suspect you will have a new name then. As you went from Susandranoraltaxia to Susan Foreman, and then Susan Campbell, you can choose a new name. Never had much use for names myself, but a new one might help you blend back into a life on Earth, perhaps you could become David Campbell’s second wife.” Susan smiled at his suggestion.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

After the TRADIS dematerialized, Faye came over to the Doctor as he was adjusting the controls.

“You know, Pablo could travel with us for a while,” she suggested.

“No, I don’t think so,” answered the Doctor. Faye was taken back by the Doctor’s sudden dismissal of the idea.

“Why not?”

“He’s a bit erratic and unpredictable.”

“Yes, but the same could be said of you,” she shot back. The Doctor made no notice of the comment.

“You care for this young fellow, don’t you?”

“And what if I did?”

“He’s no good for you. He’s a womaniser” the Doctor said dismissively. “You saw how he was attracted to Susan after she regenerated.

“He was dazed. I do believe you are jealous.” She marched out of the control room annoyed.

About an hour later, Faye came back.

“Where’s Pablo?” she asked.

“Barcelona”

“We materialized?” She turned to the console. Faye knew little about the TARDIS’s controls, but she could at least tell whether it was in motion or not. Her face flushed with anger. “I didn’t even get a chance to say goodbye!”

“You wouldn’t have been able to anyway. He was unconscious.”

“You dumped him? Who knows what could happen to him!”

“Wrong on both counts. First, to answer your first objection, I examined him and personally laid him in his bed at his hacienda. By the way, his portrait of you is quite good.”

“You got to see it?....Don’t try to distract me!” The time column settled.

“Ah, here we are,” said the Doctor, indicating the TARDIS had landed.

“Where?”

“Where we need to go to address your second objection. As I recall, didn’t you want to go to Paris?”

Faye felt a mixture of emotions as they left the TARDIS. She was glad to finally be back in Paris, but she was still annoyed at the Doctor. He had a lot of explaining to do. She watched him as he pulled out his pocket watch.

“We best get moving”. The Doctor opened the external door. “Closing time is in less than two hours.”

Faye followed the Doctor down the streets of Paris. Although still irritated at the Doctor, Faye’s mood lightened at being in Paris.

“What year is it?”

“Late 1970s, early 1980’s by the look of it.”

“You know the time, but not the year?”

“Ah, here we are” announced the Doctor. Faye almost didn’t recognise the Louvre without I.M. Pei’s glass pyramid. They entered one of the side entrances and were about to turn a corner. Suddenly the Doctor pulled Faye back as she just caught a glimpse of the TARDIS.

“Someone moved the TARDIS?” she asked.

“No, shhh.” The Doctor looked around nervously.

A tall man and an older woman were admiring the TARDIS as if it were an exhibit. The man seemed quite excited by the presence of the police box. Suddenly, two men and a woman, hurried by.

“It’s President Romana” Faye exclaimed.

“Shhh, she wasn’t president back then.” They watched the man with the curly hair and long scarf let the other two into the TARDIS. Then, the TARDIS dematerialized with all three on board.

“We’re stranded. Who were they?”

“Romana, myself, and I believe a policeman named Dugan or Duggan…..something like that. Sorry, I do hate bumping into myself. It always leads to such awkwardness.”

The two art critics seemed unperplexed by the TARDIS’s disappearance. In fact, they seemed to think it’s vanishing in to thin air was part of the exhibit.

“Which way now?” the Doctor asked himself. “Ah yes.” The Doctor plowed on down the hall.
After several turns, the Doctor abruptly stopped.

“We are being followed.”

“By who? Are we in danger?” asked Faye.

“Do me a favour. Go wait down at the end of the hall.” Faye started to object. “Don’t argue.”
Faye obediently did as the Doctor asked, although clearly she was put out once again by his lack of explanation.

The Doctor waited for a few seconds, then finally turned around. An older gentleman with an aquiline nose, wearing a business suit and bowler, stood smiling. They stared at one another for a moment. Finally, the Doctor broke the ice.

“I don’t believe you’ve left Gallifrey for several centuries. To what do I owe this high honour, my dear Cardinal Tegrum?”

“I often think of myself as a shepherd, searching for lost sheep” Tegrum answered.

“Well if I’m a sheep, I’ve been lost from the flock for a very long time. Even the most fanatical shepherd would have given up on me a long time ago.” The Doctor turned away.

“President Romanadvoratrelundar has just provided the Inner Council with a briefing of recent events.”

“I’m sure she was quite delightful,” the Doctor commented lightly, while admiring a particularly dusty oil painting. He was not completely sure what Romana chose to reveal.

“The Ancient Conspiracy was quite fascinating”

“History often is,” smiled the Doctor

“Oh indeed, fascinating. Two things in particular struck me. First was her vision of Gallifrey’s destruction. Most disturbing.”

“An inner fear revealed. I’m sure the fate of Gallifrey weighs heavily on her mind, nothing more,” the Doctor said dismissively.

“Perhaps, but what I always find most interesting is what was not revealed. The very nature of politics. Our dear Romanadvoratrelundar chose to conceal certain details, as is her right as President of the High Council. But she neglected to conceal a detail she did not realise the significance of.”

“Oh, and what is that?”

“A spherical projection of symbols.”

“Why would that be important?”

“We both know that spherical projection is a special requirement of the Falgrew Trans-Harmonic Conjecture.” The Doctor spun around. “And both times it appeared, it came from your mind, and in great detail from the President’s description.”

“Again, an inner fear, nothing more. We both know the danger that the Conjecture represents should it ever be completed, if it can be completed. It would be a madness beyond what Peligren wanted to create.”

“But why would the President fear the Conjecture. Work on it was abandoned before she was born. In fact, it was abandoned when you left Gallifrey. So how could it be an inner fear, unless you revealed it to her. And if you revealed it to her, why did she not conceal it from us.” It was clear that Tegrum possessed a razor-sharp intellect.

“But the question is, have you completed work on the Conjecture? Will Romanadvoratrelundar’s vision come true?”

“I’ve not done any work on the Conjecture since before I left Gallifrey. The second answer is nothing lasts forever, not even Gallifrey.”

“Then, Gallifrey will be destroyed?” demanded Tegrum.

“You assume I know much far too much. Nothing lasts forever. We may not go gently into the night, but the night always comes,” answered the Doctor. “By the way, you should check out the new Mona Lisa while you’re here.”

With that the Doctor walked away. Cardinal Tegrum scowled.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

The Doctor rejoined Faye and brought her into the impressionist wing of the Louvre. He abruptly stopped again.

“What’s wrong now?” Faye asked.

“Nothing.” He motioned to the cubist paintings in front of them. She starred at them. Some looked slightly familiar, but she couldn’t place where she had seen them before. It had been so long since she has been in a gallery. She looked at the Doctor with a questioning look. He pointed to the signature on one painting.

“Picasso? Our Pablo?” she asked incredulously. She then realised the painting resembled the fractured images from Draist’s crystalline projection room.

“You may have accidentally triggered the creation of abstract cubism” the Doctor smiled. “Faye, I didn’t mean to upset you. Pablo couldn’t travel with us. He had his own destiny. And beyond his fiery temper, Picasso did become a bit of a womaniser. I didn’t want you hurt.”

Faye nodded her head and hugged the Doctor, then gave a short laugh.

The Doctor looked at her quizzically. She pointed across the gallery. It was Pablo’s painting of Faye. He must have finally completed it. It was simply entitled, “Dream of the Muse”.

THE END

[Fitz Kreiner]

the first time ive read all the chapters of this story Prof!

very well written and i liked the back story into the Doctors past and why he left Gallifrey and the whole history of Gallifrey.

very well written and very enjoyable.

[John Darnacan]

Thank you, Beowulf. I was afraid there were a few chapters that got bogged down in explanations. What do you think?

[Fitz Kreiner]

In part three of Final invasion, and quite a bit of Part four there will is/will be lots of explanation, but i dont think it detracts from the story, far from it, i think it adds the background to the whole thing and helps the narrative.

If you read the latest installment and the next, you will have the majority of the parts taken up by explanation of plans and whats been going on. i think that the key is to make that as dramatic and exciting as possible, then the talk is almost as good as the action as you can imagin seeing what is being talked about. and i think you managed to capture that here!

i just hop i can do the same!

*although, there will be plenty of action to come in Final Invasion, and subsequent follow on stories.... *