Part 32 (2/2)

Polly could do nothing but stare as G.o.dwanna began finally to grow grey, her skin stretching until her face looked like a decayed prune. Her now thin body flopped to the floor and wriggled like a fish out of water.

Then it stopped and she was dead. A few seconds later, her skeleton began snapping and she was dust.

245.

'Oh dear. Poor G.o.dwanna.' Tim stood facing Dent, who held the energy globe. 'Come on, Udentkista. We might not be friends but at least let's use the power to go home. Leave this sector.'

'We've been here for forty thousand years, Atimkos,' Mrs Wilding said. 'This is home now. I doubt our own people even exist any more.'

Tim snarled at her, 'Don't be so pathetic. Let's find out.'

He waved his arm towards the dust that had been G.o.dwanna. 'She had us trapped for all that time. Without her, we can do anything.'

'I like Earth.' Dent stared at the globe. 'Everything I like about it is here, in my hand.' He looked at Tim. 'And you want to expend it, destroy it just to go back to a dead world.'

'We don't know it's dead!' shrieked Tim. 'We'll never know unless we go and find out.'

There was a thump from behind them. Polly turned and saw the Doctor, carrying the book, having closed it. 'A dangerous toy, Atimkos. You shouldn't be playing with toys like this.'

Tim was furious. 'How did you get here?'

'We brought him.' Polly saw two Cat-People and Ben standing by the open doorway of the TARDIS. One of the Cat-People was carrying a strange contraption.

'Your world is dead, I'm afraid. By 1994 it had been gone for ten thousand years. You've destroyed Earth for nothing.'

Dent caressed the air around the globe, unable to completely touch it. 'Not destroyed, Doctor. Transformed.

With this young lady's help,' he nodded at Polly, 'Tarwildbaning and I can restore it.'

'You can't!' yelled Tim. 'You mustn't!'

'No!' said one of the Cat-People suddenly. 'No, give it to us. We need to power our s.h.i.+p. Return home.'

Ben walked towards Polly. 'Don't believe Aysha. She has no intention of returning to Feles, her world. She just wants the power to continue destroying planets.'

246.

The Doctor tossed the book between his hands. Then he smiled at Aysha, his green eyes glittering. 'Is that so, Your Majesty?'

Aall raised her rifle-blaster. 'That is no concern of yours, alien.' She moved the blaster to cover the Euterpians. 'Please surrender the energy globe.'

Tim laughed. 'Shut up, p.u.s.s.ycat. You have no idea of the power you're dealing with here. None of you have.'

Aall stepped forward. And began dying as Tim shrieked a long, piercing note straight at her. For a split second her body vibrated, and she staggered, lumps of fur and flesh vanis.h.i.+ng. As she dropped to the ground, her rifle-blaster clattered in front of Aysha. 'Mother . . .' she hissed and disintegrated.

'Who's next?' spat Tim. 'I'm not joking. I am going home.'

'Good hunting,' murmured Queen Aysha at the fading dust that was once Aall. She bared her teeth and hissed, 'Your life is mine, Euterpian.'

Dent suddenly darted sideways, tossing the globe at the Doctor, who in turn threw the RTC/book to Mrs Wilding.

'Well done,' the Doctor called as he, Polly and Dent ran to the open TARDIS.

Tim shoved Ben aside as he followed, but the TARDIS door was slammed in his face. 'No!' Tim yelled angrily, smas.h.i.+ng his fists against the door.

Inside, the Doctor stared at Dent.

'Can you really rea.s.semble Earth. Intact?'

Dent nodded. 'At a cost. But one that seems appropriate.'

'Your own energy?'

'Mine and my beloved.' He looked around the TARDIS.

'Hmmm, interesting. Transcendental engineering. We were once investigating something similar.'

The Doctor smiled. 'Maybe that's where we got the idea from. Certainly your RTCs found their way to my planet, often disguised as books.'

247.

'Paper makes an excellent trigger, Doctor.' Dent touched the console. 'Tim will kill to get his hands on this and that energy globe, Doctor.'

'I thought he might. That's a nasty scream he's got. Poor Aall.'

Polly suddenly frowned. 'Doctor, what does anechoic mean?'

Dent started. 'Why?'

'Well, this'll sound silly but I met G.o.dwanna in a dream, after Tim used his powers to manipulate my mind. She said it. Like a warning.'

Dent looked at Polly. 'She knew. She knew Atimkos was possible danger, even to her.'

'I can do it, Mr Dent.' The Doctor's face had one of the grimmest expressions that Polly had ever seen him wear, regardless of his body. He reached below the TARDIS console and opened a flap. Inside was a tiny golden rod with black tips at either end.

Dent frowned. 'What does that do?'

The Doctor stared at the rod. 'My TARDIS is made up of two objects occupying the same s.p.a.ce - the exo-sh.e.l.l and the interior. If I remove this time vector generator unit, the interior dimensions are literally tucked away in an alternate dimension, leaving just the exo-sh.e.l.l both in here and out.'

He tugged at it and there was a flash.

The Doctor, Polly and Dent were standing inside a box the same size as the police box exterior. Only the energy globe gave them light.

'The TARDIS is no longer protected by the field generator. There's nothing to stop Atimkos getting in.' He gave Polly responsibility for the globe.

It tickled her hand and she thought it peculiar that she couldn't actually touch it but knew it was there. She could feel something.

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