Doctor Who_ Divided Loyalties Part 31

Tegan, Nyssa, we have to get everyone away from here.

Adric, get the Commander and the others.'

But the robot...

Deactivated, I imagine, by now.'

Sure enough, the robot was lying on its back, shattered beyond repair, its chest monitor imploded and oils and grease oozing from its joints. Townsend and Oakwood were prised free of its grip by Desorgher and as all three hurried over, he kicked the robot's head away from its body, just to make sure.

Oakwood stooped to check Braune's body but then rose, shaking his head.

Um sorry, Commander,' the Doctor said, but Oakwood waved his apology away.

We can grieve for him, and Dieter, later. What's the hurry now? The Toymaker's defeated, and Stefan has run away.'

Oh no,' said the Doctor. Don't you understand? The Toymaker is far from defeated. Rallon knew he had to keep the Toymaker in check but over the unimaginable time he's been trapped with him, he could feel himself dying. That's why Rallon called me here - not to separate him from the Toymaker, but to release him so that another could take over.'

But no one would willingly do that, surely?' asked Adric.

Tegan brightened. The Observer would.'

The Doctor nodded urgently. Of course - yes, and that's the point. Remember, Dymok was an illusion, Rallon's illusion.

Or, more literally, a powerful mental reality, a realm like this one.'

He was talking faster now, becoming breathless. Even the Toymaker fell for it - he believed the Dymova existed, wors.h.i.+pped him as a G.o.d. But it was all a trap, set up from within. Rallon certainly learnt a trick or two from the Toymaker, but at heart he was still a Time Lord. He told me the answer was staring me in the face and of course he was right.

I thought he meant the puzzle, but no, he was being literal.'

Nyssa gasped as understanding hit her. Observer! It's another word for...'

Yes, well done, Nyssa, I'm glad you got it,' exclaimed the Doctor. Another word for watcher.'

Adric almost stepped back in surprise. You mean the Observer was ...?'

A projection, a shayde - something Time Lords can do - project a new or alternative version of themselves prior to regeneration. And that's what Rallon did - only the Toymaker didn't realise it. There's no real substance to a shayde but it contains an essence of what was and what will be.

The Observer was thirteen shaydes in one - enough substance to keep the Toymaker going for a while at least, but still on Rallon's terms if you like.' The others, particularly the humans from Little Boy II, Little Boy II, looked blank. looked blank.

The Doctor sighed. Oh... it's as if the Toymaker himself has regenerated. He'll look the same, probably want the same things, but there'll be subtle differences like there always are after someone regenerates.'

Let's just hope he's taken a turn for the better...' Nyssa started. Then the thunder stopped and the instant silence seemed almost as deafening. She was looking down and became aware of a huge shadow looming over her. She looked up, as did the others.

Towering above them, thirty or forty feet tall, was the Toymaker.

New toys,' he boomed.

I think Rallon's plan failed,' Tegan muttered.

I think you're right,' said the Doctor.

The only way out of this realm, Doctor, is to complete that puzzle, right?' Desorgher asked.

The Doctor was lost for words. Yes,' he said eventually.

Yes, that's what I must do. Maybe now the Toymaker has Rallon's newest personality, I can find a way to manipulate him afterwards, escape somehow. But in the meantime, it's the only way to get you all home.' He looked at his companions.

Tegan, you're the co-ordinator, remember? Take charge. Get Nyssa and Adric back into the TARDIS. She'll get you all home.'

But Doctor, I...'

And he gripped her shoulders, fixing her with that that stare. stare.

Brave heart, Tegan...' he started to say, but stopped as Desorgher scooped the jigsaw piece off the floor and jammed it into place.

The Doctor tried to reach out for him, as did Oakwood, but a maelstrom whipped up, pus.h.i.+ng them away. The Toymaker's laughter could be heard as his realm began breaking up - itself resembling a jigsaw, the pieces dropping away one by one.

Of Desorgher, they could see little - he too appeared to have become part of the puzzle, his tortured face replacing the image of the Doctor as the pieces exploded outwards. The Doctor's vision blurred and he cried out in pain as the Toymaker and his realm disappeared in a cacophony of wind.

They were in the TARDIS, huddled on the floor, all six of them.

The Doctor was the first to get up, activating the scanner which showed Little Boy II's Little Boy II's cargo bay. cargo bay.

Oakwood was at his side in an instant. This is your s.h.i.+p, is it?'

The Doctor nodded, as he helped Tegan up. Adric eased Townsend and then Nyssa off the floor.

How did we end up here?' asked Tegan.

Nyssa touched one of the walls, stroking it. It came to us, didn't it, Doctor. The TARDIS saved us - it knew we needed to be safe.'

Somewhere the Toymaker's influence couldn't get into.' The Doctor smiled. Possibly, Nyssa. Quite possibly.'

Townsend looked at the TARDIS scanner which showed just s.p.a.ce, and Little Boy II Little Boy II in the top left-hand corner. Matt Desorgher?' she asked, already knowing the answer. in the top left-hand corner. Matt Desorgher?' she asked, already knowing the answer.

The Doctor shook his head. His bravery saved all of us.

Maybe one day I can retrieve him from the Toymaker's celestial toyshop.'

Tegan stared at him. After all they'd been through, after everything that final battle had demonstrated about the Toymaker's power and the Doctor's role in it, he still wanted to look on the bright side. She didn't know whether to hug him or thump him.

Oakwood looked at Townsend. We've got work to do, Sarah.

The crew probably think we're dead.'

If they even remember who you are,' Adric added.

Oh, I think their minds will have cleared, Adric. Thank you for sharing your thoughts, though.' The Doctor offered a hand to Oakwood, but the commander shook his head.

I'm sorry, Doctor, I can't just shake and say forget it. Too much has happened.'

I understand, Commander. May I at least offer my thanks and sorrows?'

Yes, Doctor, thank you.'

Without waiting to be asked, Nyssa activated the TARDIS doors and Oakwood marched out, followed by Townsend who turned at the last minute and mouthed goodbye' to them.

Can we get away from here, please?' Nyssa asked.

The Doctor activated the TARDIS console in silence and within seconds they were back within the s.p.a.ce-time vortex.

It was the Toymaker's doing,' he said simply. He took all our innermost subconscious thoughts and gave them a voice we would never have given them ourselves.'

Tegan considered this. It was probably true - she certainly didn't hold it against him that she was here while her father possibly died elsewhere. What was the point?

Recriminations got you nowhere, Aunt Vanessa had always said. Maybe she was right. Forget Heathrow. Forget Air Australia. Time to write off your losses, Tegan Jovanka, and move on. If the TARDIS was to be home for a while, and these people her family, it was time to stop fighting them.

She looked at Adric. And for the first time noticed that he wasn't really such a little boy after all. Yes, he would no doubt still have his strops and his whinges, but beneath it all there was a young man developing who, one day, would no doubt strike out on his own and forge a future. He'd be all right.

And Nyssa. Whatever did or didn't happen between her and the Doctor regarding Tremas and the Master, it was dealt with. Nyssa clearly wasn't happy but she would adapt. She was strong like that. An inner strength. Tegan wished she could be more like that.

And the Doctor?

He stared at them - impossibly old eyes for ever locked inside a young body, reflecting the wisdom and experience of hundreds of battles, explorations and experiences.

I think we need a good holiday,' Tegan said quietly.

Somewhere peaceful and idyllic, without monsters, super-villains or cosmic disasters.'

Heathrow, 1981?' he suggested, and Tegan surprised herself with the a.s.suredness of her answer.

No. Not now.' She looked at Adric and Nyssa. But while the Doctor sorts that out, I think we all need a rest.'

The Doctor stared at the scanner.

One by one, his companions silently left the console room, going to their bedrooms. Tegan had taken charge - a.s.sumed the role he always believed she would. Co-ordinator of his over-staffed TARDIS.

The scanner showed the s.p.a.ce-time vortex, a myriad of possibilities.

He thought of Rallon and the possibilities denied him all those years ago. And his final sacrifice.

He himself hadn't lost as such, but he hadn't won either.

However, against a foe as powerful as the Guardian of Dreams, a tie was better than he had the right to hope for.

He glanced over to the inner door, through which the others had traipsed.

Time would heal them.

He wondered if it would heal him as easily.

Round Four Annex

1.

All Wrapped Up

As he walked on to the command bridge of Little Boy II Little Boy II Commander Kristan Oakwood again ran a finger around the inside of his high-collared uniform, aware that no matter how much he wished for it, his neckline was unlikely to get slimmer. Commander Kristan Oakwood again ran a finger around the inside of his high-collared uniform, aware that no matter how much he wished for it, his neckline was unlikely to get slimmer.

Knew there was something I should have asked the Doctor to get the Toymaker to sort out,' he muttered. That's not funny,' said Sarah Townsend at her station, quietly enough for only him to hear.

Oakwood shrugged. Guess not.' He glanced at the telemetry station, wondering if he could remember the name of the young red-haired girl who had replaced Matt Desorgher.

She looked too young to have left college, let alone work on his bridge.

Things change, Sarah. And I have reports to fill out.