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The heavy doors slammed open, the guards staring in shock as the three travellers barged through the doors. They barely had time to close before two guards pushed them open, the King walking through the opening.
“Don’t just stand there!” He roared. “Get them!” He ordered.
The outside doors swung open, the Doctor leading the others down the small steps and onto the light walkway.
“Which way do we go?” Kareenarlus asked, looking around. The Doctor took in his surroundings, trying to decide what move he would take.
“They’ll be through those doors any moment.” Drishorn reminded, looking back through the glass doors they had barged through. He quickly looked up and noticed the glowing ball above them. He unclipped his cloak and wrapped it around his arms. A moment later, the doors opened, the guards groaning and raising their black arms to their visors as the light glinted off Drishorn’s sparkling cloak. It had originally been made to ward off radiation, but now it had a new purpose.
“This way!” The Doctor shouted, grabbing Kareenarlus and pulling her away. They ran down the light walkway and away from the throne room, dodging guards as they ran.
The King sat back down in his throne, turning his attention to the woman who had brought the travellers into his presence.
“What is your name?” He asked calmly.
“Zoe, my lord.” Zoe introduced, taking a bow as she did so.
“And you say these travellers came from outside?” The King wondered.
“That’s practically impossible.” A woman’s voice came. She spoke with an American accent, and wore a white shirt, her badge showing the second-highest rank possible.
“Ah, advisor!” The King beamed. “How nice to see you.”
“You too!” The advisor smiled. She was an older woman, with ash-blonde hair that sat short against her face.
“This is my advisor.” The King introduced. “I trust them with my life,”
“I haven’t failed so far.” The Advisor joked. “So, what’s this about fugitives?” She asked.
“Yes.” The King confirmed. “Two Time Lords and a humanoid.”
“Time?” Zoe wondered under her breath.
“Understood, my lord.” The Advisor nodded. “I presume this guard is here to help?” She asked.
“Guard?” Zoe gasped.
“She was the first to see them as they entered from the surface.” The King explained. “And hopefully, she can help us catch them.” He smiled behind his mask.
Kareenarlus’s head began to throb. The anaesthetic was beginning to wear off.
“Drishorn, do you remember which way it is back to the TARDIS?” She asked. Both she and the Doctor had been in so much pain that they had blacked out a couple of times between the TARDIS and the door.
“I think I do.” Drishorn admitted. “It was down this way.” He led, walking down a cramped corridor of light-grey concrete. Lights on the floor below them threw their shadows up to the arched ceiling.
“Doctor?” Kareenarlus asked. “Do you think we’ll be able to get out of here?” She panted.
“I’m not sure.” The Doctor admitted. “We’ll just have to hope that whatever’s caused the TARDIS to go haywire has gone.” He reminded.
“And if it hasn’t?” Kareenarlus asked, before crying out in pain. Drishorn clamped his hand over their mouth, hiding the cry with his palm. Two guards ran past, checking the area.
“Then we’ll just have to hope,” He began, before grunting in pain. “That the Time Lords are willing to accept a call for help.”
“If we can even make it through.” Drishorn pessimistically reminded. The three of them exited the corridor, into a large, sprawling square. The cool air blasted them. Buildings crowned their view, bright lights burning like smaller suns. Large trees hung over them, filtering the sunlight.
“Ever the optimist.” The Doctor seethed.
“Oh, dear Rassilon.” Kareenarlus sighed. “Look.” She pointed up to a large screen that had been mounted on the side of a building. There, plastered on, was the face of the King.
“My subjects!” The King greeted. “It is good to speak to you all. Recently, we have had visitors.” He began, his subjects watching their screens. “Those visitors have unfortunately left my company prematurely.” He admitted. “They must be found and brought back to the palace.” He requested. Relatively low-quality images of their faces were then put on the screen.
“We need to get back to the TARDIS.” Drishorn muttered.
“We need,” The Doctor grunted, holding back his pain. “Need to lay low.” He panted. “Which way?” He asked. The people going about their business began to notice the three strangers, staring at them.
“Hang on.” One of them realised. “It’s them!” They shouted, cutting through the air. “Guards!” He shouted.
“Where is it?” The Doctor grunted. “Drishorn!” He snapped.
“That hallway, just over there.” Drishorn gestured to a hallway, on the other side of the square.
“Alright, we’ll split up.” The Doctor planned, guards pouring through the hallway they’d just come through. “Drishorn, take Kareenarlus and meet me over there when you’ve shaken off your guards.”
“I’m not leaving,” Kareenarlus began, before crying out in pain.
“Just go.” The Doctor ordered, breaking away from the two of them.
“Come on.” Drishorn ordered, dragging Kareenarlus away. The Doctor broke away to the left, while the other two broke off to the right, losing themselves in the crowd.
“They broke off.” One of the guards noticed. “Which one do we go for?” He asked.
“We get the Doctor.” The lead guard ordered. “The King needs him for the plan.” She remembered. And with that, the platoon of guards went to the left, trying to catch the Doctor.
“So,” Began the King. “Tell me of the three trespassers.” He requested.
“Well, one of them calls himself the Doctor.” Zoe began. “He and the woman were unconscious when I saw them, and they were brought in by the man.” She continued.
Drishorn and Kareenarlus dipped and weaved through the crowd, trying to lose the guards.
“I think we lost them.” Drishorn told Kareenarlus, slowing down and stooping his head. As it was, his head was slightly above that of the sea of people. They could only just see the top of his curly head. “Come on, we need to get to the TARDIS.”
“What for?” Kareenarlus questioned. “We agreed to meet over there, remember?” She added. “And I’m not leaving without the Doctor.” Drishorn sighed, and quickly glanced around.
“Stay here.” He requested, ducking his head down to fit into the crowd. Kareenarlus was about to argue, when she was hit by another twang of pain. Drishorn returned minutes later, only to find Kareenarlus curled up on the floor in pain. Drishorn wrapped Kareenarlus in a blanket he’d stolen, and picked her up. His large frame, afforded by both his genetics and his job as a farmer, helped him greatly in this. “It doesn’t look like they’re following us.” He realised.
“They must be looking for the Doctor.” Kareenarlus realised. “But why do they want him?” She questioned. Her body was suddenly wracked by a searing pain all over, and she spasmed.
The Doctor was light on his feet, and had managed to mostly evade the guards. If any spotted him, they simply shouted, and the Doctor got even lower. Before long, however, the Doctor was cornered. He looked around the space, and tried to come up with an escape route.
“If you can’t escape them,” He muttered to himself, raising his hands in surrender. Guards surrounded him, spears at the ready. “Take me to your leader.” He requested.
“Oh, god.” Drishorn realised.
“What is it?” Kareenarlus panted.
“The Doctor.” Drishorn sighed. “They’ve got the Doctor.”
“Let me see.” Kareenarlus requested. Drishorn lifted her up higher so she could see. “We have to help him.” She grunted.
“We can’t.” Drishorn reminded. “Not on our own, anyway.”
“He’s our friend, we can’t just abandon him.” Kareenarlus groaned.
“I never said we abandon him.” Drishorn debated. “But first, we need to get help.” Kareenarlus begrudgingly accepted.
The King had been told of everything by Zoe, his advisor standing to his left.
“And these Time Lords,” The King began. “They were in pain?” He questioned.
“Yes, my Lord.” Zoe confirmed. “But I still do not understand.” She added, slightly confused. “What is,”
“Perhaps we could use that to our advantage?” The Advisor interrupted. “After all, they know our anaesthetic works.”
“Perhaps we could.” The King realised. “Place a truckload of anaesthetic in the square, and bring his TAR,” He began, before halting himself. “His box here.” He corrected. Three guards left the room to collect the Doctor’s TARDIS, although they didn’t know what it was. “He won’t leave without it.” He informed.
“How do you know, sir?” Zoe questioned. The Advisor was prepared to launch into a tirade, when the King raised a hand in declination.
“You could say I’m very knowledgeable.” The King admitted. “Regardless, we need one of his kind to help us with our mission.” The Doctor was dragged into the throne room by two guards. “Speak of the devil,”
“What mission?” The Doctor interrupted. He shrugged the grabbing hands of the guards off.
“You shall find out in time, Doctor.” The King smirked, underneath his mask. “Put the anaesthetic cart in the square.”
“They won’t fall for it.” The Doctor hoped.
“They will, Doctor.” The King reminded. “Pain makes people do stupid things, Doctor. And Kareenarlus is in pain, isn’t she?” The Doctor quickly examined the room, and decided to take a seat.
“You don’t belong here, do you?” The Doctor questioned.
Drishorn was still walking Kareenarlus around the busy square, trying to come up with plans. Kareenarlus pointed out a cart in the middle of the square. Drishorn walked up to the cart, and figured out his next move. He pulled a plank of wood off one of the stalls, and fruit poured out, causing a large distraction. When he reached the cart, using the hubbub as distraction, he saw two guards, his eyes widening as he was pulled into the cart.
“That is irrelevant.” The King debated. “What is relevant is that we need you alive.”
“But what for?” The Doctor wondered. “You say you need me. And if I refuse?”
“We have another Time Lord.” The King threatened.
“How did you know Kareenarlus and I were Time Lords?” The Doctor questioned, an eyebrow raising. “I never said I was.”
“This war of yours, do you wish to fight it?” The King asked.
“Changing the subject, I see.” The Doctor drily stated.
“What if I told you I knew how it ended?” The King continued. “That I have seen how it ended, and I could end it now?”
“You’d need a pretty good plan.” The Doctor sighed. “But I’m listening.”
Kareenarlus was about to drop into unconsciousness when Drishorn ran back with a mask for her.
“Here.” Drishorn panted. “Put this on.” He ordered, handing it to Kareenarlus. She placed it over her mouth, and took a long breath in. She could feel the pain and sickness melt away with each breath she took. She put it on, the translucent mask going up to her nose.
“How did you know?” Kareenarlus questioned.
“I was a hunter back on Skaro.” Drishorn explained. “I know when there’s something good.” Kareenarlus accepted this, and had only one question.
“Now, where do we go next?” Kareenarlus wondered.
“I think the Doctor may be this way.” Drishorn began, leading Kareenarlus out of the square, and leaving the guards to clean up the mess. Drishorn led Kareenarlus through a winding maze of corridors and walkways before they eventually reached a large door that Drishorn paused at.
“Dead end.” Kareenarlus realised. Then, Drishorn spotted the vent near where the door met the floor. He dropped down, his large frame barely covering the air vent. Drishorn pulled the grille open, and began reaching around inside, as if searching for something. “What’re you doing?" Kareenarlus asked.
“Trying to get this door unlocked.” Drishorn grunted, his head still in the vent. He found it, the door unlocking and rising up. Once Drishorn had pulled his head out to see what he had found, he had smudges on his face.
“Oh god.” Kareenarlus realised, as the pair of them looked out at the room they had unlocked. They stared at the large hangar, rows upon rows of Battle TARDISes tessellating out to the horizon. People bustled about them, presumably scientists or technicians checking over the TARDISes. “What’re they doing here?”
“Shall we go find out?” Drishorn offered.
“Are you insane?” The Doctor questioned. “Gallifrey would fall in an instant.”
“And the Daleks would follow suit.” The King reasoned.
“I’d stop you.” The Doctor threatened.
“You would try. But you couldn’t stop them before.” The King debated.
“Yes, but back then, the Divergence was simply in my way.” The Doctor recalled. “You know, I’ve finally realised why you look so familiar.” The Doctor reasoned, looking at Zoe Greus. “You’re the Zagreus entity, taken Charley’s form and obeying a new Master.”
“You knew my father?” Zoe wondered, at the mention of Zagreus. The Doctor paused, piecing things together in his mind.
“You could say that. I didn’t like him much.” The Doctor recalled.
“Admit it, Doctor.” The King smirked, beneath his mask. “You’ve already lost. The Divergence will take their rightful place as rulers of N-Space, and the Time Lords will fall!”