Darkness fell upon the sky like a dusky veil.

The moon was draped in blood.

Tonight, the contest would continue.

The elements of Good and Evil were set into motion.

The game that never ends was renewed.

The pawns were quickly expended.

Now, the game was played by the Knights, the Bishops, the Kings & the Queens.

Evil with a calculated movement arranged its pieces upon the board...

A grin of delight was formed upon its face, the contest was at hand.

Mercy and Goodness, looked upon the game, distress, anguish.

From the darkness of the night, the sound came - the Victor.

As if violating the night, the moaning sound ripped through the darkness.

Slowly, the blue box materialized.

From it emerged the advocate for hope, for the future.

With a sly grin, he arranged the pieces upon the board.

Evil cried in vain.

The match was won -

But the game continues.... It always continues

The Doctor sat in his room deep inside the TARDIS. He was currently in his seventh incarnation, and below the brow of the small stature man with the gentle smile a storm was ragging. The decor of his inter sanctum was sparse, but it mattered little to him, especially now. He rarely came here, and to his knowledge he was the only one who had ever ventured this deep into the TARDIS. He liked the solitude that it provided. But aside from solitude, he sought relief more than anything else. He held his head in his hands. He looked up briefly at his surroundings, a look of anguished pained across his face. He placed his head back in his hands. It was simply too much. He mumbled to himself 'Too many lives that were not mine have been given in the game.' He paused and then once again raised his head and looked around. 'Too many decisions that were not mine to make have been made.' He rose to his feet as memories filled his head. 'My companions have always assumed that I was in control. That I knew what was going on. But I am a pawn.' He knew the game was not his, yet he had to play it. The Doctor returned to his chair and set down heavily. The wood creaked as he rested fully in the chair. As he sat with his eyes closed, his mind raced repeating bits of the puzzle over and over like a broken record. His analytical skills, perfected almost to the point of the Logopolians, tried to understand something that he could barely grasp.

He spoke through gritted teeth 'Maybe the Timelords had been right when they put me on trial. Maybe I do go too far' he stood to his feet and yelled 'But how can I stop?' His words echoed in his room, repeating again and again 'how can I stop?' With each successive regeneration he became more enlightened, more aware of what the consequences would be if he did stop. But how could he continue, at what point was the price too high? It was a game that could never be won, nor would never end. The odds were always against him. He never had an opportunity to act, only to react. It was always after the fact, always after the match had already begun.

By most counts, even for a Timelord , he was no longer young. His TARDIS was starting to show its age, outdated long ago. It was outdated when he first became aware of the game, back on his home planet of Gallifrey. Or was he aware of the game before that? It was so hard to tell. His awareness of the game seemed to lie just below his subconscious, but it was always there, always shaping his every move. Deep undercurrents, rushing, crashing, molding, were always below the surface, but always present. How could he continue this fight? There was no solution, only more questions, and more obstacles. His own race, the Timelords, so advanced in many ways, could never grasp the full meaning of the game. How could they, it baffled him most the time. Yet, it had fashioned much of his life.

From deep inside the TARDIS came the forewarning toll of the cloister bell. The sound echoed through the TARDIS's almost limitless corridors resonating with a deep hollow sound. The early warning system of the TARDIS sounded a haunting alarm, one that could not simply be ignored. The TARDIS was in jeopardy; they were all in jeopardy. 'Not now', he said 'I'm not ready'.

The game was continuing, but then again, it had never really ended.

The Doctor wearily pulled himself to his feet, and found his way to the console room door. With each successive step he heard the toll of the cloister bell echoing in the corridors. Imminent danger. 'Another game' he said. As he pulled the door open to the console room door he murmured 'Maybe the last'.

Darkness fell upon the sky like a dusky veil.

The moon was draped in blood.

Tonight, the contest would continue.

Ace was putting the finishing touches on a new batch of nitro nine, or own creative twist of nitro, when the sound of the cloister bell filled the air. She sealed the top of the nitro nine bottle and raced out of her room towards the TARDIS's main console room.

When the Doctor arrived at the console room he was met by Ace. She had beaten him there and was waiting for him to arrive. The young woman greeted the Doctor with a questioning look in her eye. She had traveled with the Timelord far too long not to know that he was in some way aware of what was happening. Before the Doctor could reach the console to check the controls she began questioning him. The Doctor raised his hands towards Ace and brushed her aside; then, he headed straight towards the console. A typical response she thought. He simply could never be bothered to disclose what was going on, at least not to her. No, he would wait until after it had become painfully obvious.

She queried him again, 'Professor, what is going on?' She stood with her hands on her hips; she was expecting an answer.

He turned briefly to look at her but did not answer. Over time he had given in to her addressing him as Professor, but now he simply was too involved in the current situation to be bothered with her. The time rotor on the TARDIS was moving up and down as it normally did when the TARDIS was in the time vortex, but the engines of the TARDIS were grinding, struggling. The normal smooth sounding rhythm of the engines had been replaced by a jerking, trudging sound. Throughout the TARDIS the grinding sound of the engines cried out in chorus with the cloister bell; all singing of the forthcoming danger. Each rise and fall of the time rotor appeared to be a struggle for the TARDIS. A fight to survive. A fight to win the contest. A fight to stay whole.

'What is going on Professor?' Ace was more forceful this time; she met the Doctor's eyes with a long unyielding stare. Sometimes her eyes could penetrate the Doctor's protective exterior. But it was always like a Chinese puzzle box; a new puzzle was uncovered with each progression. He would answer her question. She knew that. But, it would be only when he was ready.

'Not now Ace! I'm busy.' He raced around the console, rubbing his hands together after he checked each readout. There had to be something wrong. The data simply did not make sense.

'Doctor, Please tell me what is going on. Don't leave me out.' Her eyes pleaded for an answer, for reassurance that the Doctor was in charge. Even in her full combat uniform she felt helpless. The courage that she tried so hard to project was not there for her this time. She felt a strange uneasiness, as if the very floor she was standing on was moving beneath her feet. She felt out of control.

The Doctor turned and looked at Ace. They had been through so very much together. 'Very well.' The Doctor continued to talk as he checked one instrument readout after another on the TARDIS's console. 'It appears that the TARDIS is being ripped apart. The very fabric that holds it together is in a state of flux that I don't fully understand.'

It took a moment for the full meaning of what the Doctor had just told her to sink in. A straight sounding honest answer was surprise enough, but a problem for the Doctor with no apparent solution; that was much harder to fathom. Her mind raced for a solution, for some thread of information that might be of help to the Doctor, but she could think of nothing. 'There must be something you can do?'

The Doctor turned briefly to look at her, then turned his attention back to the controls 'There is always something. But the right something, that is what is so elusive.' The Doctor stopped for a moment to ponder the options. 'Our only hope is to materialize the TARDIS. That should stabilize the barriers between the various dimensions. But it is not going to be easy.'

'And if you can't?' Ace asked.

The Doctor continued to labor over the controls of the TARDIS as he answered Ace's question.’If we can't, no more rice pudding for the lot of us. The dimensional forces of the TARDIS will fold in on themselves scattering TARDIS and us through the space-time continuum. All and all, not a pleasant ending'

Ace was not so sure that she preferred these honest answers from the Doctor. She was used to elusive responses that left more questions instead of answering them. Whatever was truly going on, she already wished it were over and done with. Maybe it was better when the Doctor left her out that left the worrying to him alone.

The Doctor checked the coordinates on the console. They were flying blind. The systems of the TARDIS where so erratic that he had no way of telling where they might materialize, if they could at all. Even with the controls on the TARDIS working as well as normal, materialization was never easy. But without any data the TARDIS could easily materialize inside the center of a planet, or the core of a star. Either option did not please him. But with each passing second, each toll of the cloister bell, he knew the chances of materializing from out of the time vortex were dimming.

With a few wishful settings entered into the TARDIS's console, he set the machine for materialization, hoping that it could hold together long enough to make the transformation. He instinctively reached up to his lapel to rub the emblem of a cat that was no longer there- a flash back to an earlier incarnation - and activated the materialization circuit on the console. The TARDIS shuddered, but then slowly began to make the familiar sound of materialization. Emerging from the time vortex, the TARDIS achieved materialization upon a rocky hillside of an unknown planet. The lights in TARDIS dimmed, the engines ground to a halt with a sickening sound, and the cloister bell went silent. The Doctor flashed Ace a reassuring smile when they heard the customary thump of the dimensional stabilizers transforming the TARDIS once again into a solid object.

Ace breathed under her breath. 'We made it.' She tried to return the Doctor's smile, but in good faith she knew she could not. This was not the ending, only the beginning.

The Doctor raced around the console of the TARDIS checking the instruments, every major component of the TARDIS had failed. He was looking at a totally inoperative TARDIS. He empathized with his old friend by giving the console a reassuring pat. He knew more than luck had saved their lives this time, and he chalked up another debt of gratitude for the old TARDIS.

The Doctor turned to Ace 'Go fetch Benny; I'm going to need both of you to help with the repairs. But, be careful...'

Before he could even finish his sentence Ace started with her objections 'Repairs! Listen Professor, what in the hell is going on?'

The Doctor looked for a moment at his companion; he realized that she was more frightened than anything else. 'I honestly can't say Ace. Give me a little more time to check things out. But first problem first.' He tried to sound reassuring, but the situation, at least on the surface, appeared dismal.

'Well, I'm sure that Professor Summerfield can find her own way to the control room without my help. I know I sure would after all that noise and the terrible landing you just made.'

'It is not going to be that easy', he said as he thought to himself it never is. 'The TARDIS's internal architecture has been altered. The TARDIS reconfigured itself to move us closer to the center of the TARDIS's stabilization field. But that really is not important right now. Right now I need both you and Benny here. Use that famous sense of direction of yours to find her and bring her back to the console room.' The Doctor turned his attentions back to the TARDIS's console, expecting Ace to leave but instead she just stood waiting.

Whatever response Ace was hoping for from the Doctor, it soon became apparent that he was done with her and his mind was elsewhere now. Ace did not like taking orders, especially from the Doctor, but she realized a lot more was happening here than he had let on. She decided for now it was best to do as he wished. She turned on one heel, and headed out of the console room to find Benny.

The exact whereabouts of Benny presented Ace with only a small challenge. She knew that the young woman would be in her laboratory, now the only challenge that lay ahead was finding where the TARDIS had moved the laboratory. Ace concentrated hard. She followed what she believed to be her basic instincts and in little to no time she was rewarded with the door to Benny's laboratory. She gently knocked on the door as she called out 'Benny, the Doctor wants to see you.' She quickly turned around hoping that the woman would delay answering her call and wind up wandering the TARDIS's corridors. But Benny was ready for a meeting with the Doctor and she had a few questions for him. Benny opened the door to find Ace already heading down the TARDIS's corridors. She quickly caught up with Ace, and, even though their path through the TARDIS seemed erratic, she did not question the young woman. Like Ace, she preferred to keep their conversations to a minimum.

Ace and Benny arrived back in the console room to find the Doctor on his knees beneath the central console of the TARDIS. The Doctor pulled himself to his feet. Benny turned to the Doctor with a smile 'All right Doctor, what is going on? I must say, this has not been a very smooth ride.'

From Benny's flippant expression it was clear to the Doctor that Ace had not passed on the current state of affairs so he had one more problem to deal with. His close inspection of the TARDIS console had done little to relieve his earlier hypothesis of how grave their situation was. The need to make another decision sparked an internal debate. Should he inform them of the situation, as he currently understood it? It would only cause them worry. But then, you can't hide the truth from them forever; sooner or later they would all have to face it. At least this truth.

'As best as I can tell, the TARDIS has lost almost every major system' he stated in a matter-of-fact way. He did not want to cause undue distress. Panicking would do them no good, however he did want them to fully understand how grave their situation was. 'We are currently running at half power on backup, and should be able to maintain this state, by my calculations, for at least five days. In that time, we will need to complete repairs on the TARDIS.' It sounded absolute. A clear statement of the problem, and the action that was required. He could only hope they would not press him for more, for he had little more to give them right now.

'And if we don't, what will happen?' This time Benny's face showed considerably more concern. The smile that had been on her face when she greeted the Doctor was now nothing but a forgotten memory.

'I don't think you really want to know.' He paused. They were pressing; they were looking for answers that the Doctor could not provide, at least not yet; he was not ready. 'But, if we are lucky the time vector generator will be the first to go. In essence, the TARDIS will simply become a wooden box.'

'And if we are not lucky?' Ace asked, now seeing the holes in the Doctor's statement.

'Just let that vivid imagination of yours run wild Ace.' It was not a informative answer but one that Ace was more accustomed to. Here and now it comforted more.

'But that is only if we stay inside the TARDIS, right?' Ace added with a glimmer of hope that the puzzle would be that easy to solve.

'Yes, however, I would advise against us leaving' the Doctor stated.

'Why?', Ace demanded. One penetrating word that hung in the air for an answer.

The Doctor stepped back and thought for a moment; he weighed his options but in the end he reverted back to the truth for an answer. He'd try anything to get them thinking about the immediate concerns. 'The whole exterior sensor array is down. We have no way of knowing where and when we have landed. Nor can we tell what the atmosphere would be like outside the TARDIS. We could easily open the doors and walk out into a strikingly beautiful planet or we could open those doors and all die instantly.'

'But if we had to, we could. It is still an option - right?' Benny asked.

'Yes Benny, the controls for the door still work if that is what you are asking, but that is not an option right now, It won't be until we can ascertain more about the exterior environment.'

Ace turned to look directly at the Doctor 'So what is still working in this heap of junk?'

The Doctor frowned. Junk or no junk, it was still his TARDIS - his home away from home these last 700 or so years. 'The life support, and food dispenser. So, it appears neither will we freeze, starve, nor suffocate for the time being' the Doctor added with a hint of a smile that was not returned by either Ace or Benny.

'Anything else?' asked Ace.

'Nothing much to speak of.'

'Sounds as if we got lucky, at least the life support systems did not go out' Benny added, this time trying to look on the bright side.

'I don't think luck had much to do with it', was the Doctors only reply.

Ace did not press the Doctor any further. She knew now was not time to concern herself with the Doctor's games; she would have more time for that later. However Benny, always utilizing her scientific mind, started pondering their predicament. If she was going to be of any help, she needed the facts. Unlike Ace who acted better on pure instinct, Benny was comforted more by facts, by something that she could work with, and shape. 'How did this happen? I thought the TARDIS was indestructible'.

The Doctor did not waste time coming up with an explanation. To him, the facts of the situation presented a perfectly clear picture. He had formed a theory of which he was quite proud and he was eager to try it out. 'Normally it is, pretty much. But something ripped a hole in the space time continuum while the TARDIS was traveling through it. We should have been destroyed, not just damaged.'

'So, is that what set off the cloister bells?' asked Benny.

'Yes, exactly. By the time I arrived at the console room the damage had already been done. The force must have been extraordinary, it plummeted through the space-time continuum like a rock being thrown into a stained glass window, shattering and splintering the continuum just as easily. The TARDIS absorbed the brunt of the blow but in the process the stabilization fields between the TARDIS's dimensions were weakened. It took everything we had to keep from folding in upon ourselves. In essence, the TARDIS was struggling to hold itself together.'

'But what caused the force that tore through the continuum?' asked Benny.

 'A very good question, Benny, and one I'm not sure how to answer. But we have more pressing problems at the moment.'

Ace sat quietly listening to the exchange of techno jumble between Benny and the Doctor, then she decided it was time to do one of things she did best - push. 'I think that the exterior sensors should be our first order of business'. The Doctor turned to Ace, thinking that apparently her time in the space fleet had brought out her best abilities: to organize a problem and determine the best direction for a solution. Tact, however, was still missing. She had changed so much over the years.

'My thoughts exactly Ace, and that was what I was about to suggest.', the Doctor said, not wanting to lose the upper hand.

'Oh', Ace added with a slight smile upon her face.

Benny listened carefully to the exchange between the Doctor and Ace. It was clear that this was getting them nowhere, so she decided to get them back on the straight and narrow. 'Where do you keep your replacement parts, Doctor? Ace and I are pretty handy with tools' she added with a grin.

The Doctor looked at Benny with surprise 'What replacement parts?'

'What?' Benny hoped that the Doctor was in some sick perverted way trying to joke with them. Please, let him just be joking.

'I've been meaning to stock up, but spare parts for an old Type 40 are not the easiest to come by.'

Ace rolled her eyes. 'So, let me get this straight. We are stuck, lord only knows where, and when with a broken down old TARDIS and no spare parts to fix it. Every major component appears to be destroyed, by causes unknown and we have less than five days to fix this mess.'

'That, my dear Ace, while not the most optimistic sounding rendition, is a fairly adequate summary of our situation.'

Benny absorbed the information carefully. She knew that somehow they should be able to work out a solution, they had to, they had no choice. 'Doctor, you must have some replacement parts around here, something we can use? In all the rooms of the TARDIS, there is nothing of use?' Benny was pleading for an answer.

'None that I can recall. And even if I could, we could spend days wandering the TARDIS corridors trying to find the room where they are stored now. However, I do have a plan of action.'

'You always do, don't you.' The Doctor turned to look at Ace. Her statement was ambiguous enough, but he grasped the true meaning. She was becoming aware. Sooner or later they would need to talk, but not now. It would have to wait one more problem to juggle.

'It is more of last ditch effort, but it is a plan. I'm hoping that we can take the working parts from the systems that are damaged and be able to salvage enough so that we can get the exterior sensors back on line. Then, with any luck, we can get help from the outside. If we had to, I could develop replacement parts. It may take a few years, but what is an eon or two among friends?'

If that was another attempt at humor, it was hard for Benny to tell. For someone who had lived as long as the Doctor, the prospect of a few eons might not seem that bad. 'Doctor, I'm quite fond of you, but growing old and dying inside of the TARDIS while you dibble with the parts is not how I've always envisioned the last days of my life.'

'Hmm. Well then, my dear crew, I suggest we get started with repairs' the Doctor stated, while holding the labels of his jacket. Then, with a sweeping motion of his hand, he directed them towards the console.

The Doctor assigned Benny and Ace the task of dismantling the non-working components of the TARDIS. It was interesting to see the mixtures of technology scattered through the maze of electronics that made up the ship. It was quite obvious that the Doctor had envisioned taking time some day to properly complete repairs, but had done many a quick patch job to hold things together until then. As the scheduled repair time had not yet arrived, the quick repairs were still in place and many of them appeared to have been in place for years. At one point, Benny found a jelly like piece of candy that had been chewed and then used as a polymer to bridge the gap between two separate light conduits. As Benny and Ace disassembled the components, the alien technology started making sense. They soon realized what a miracle it was that the TARDIS worked at all.

Because of the TARDIS's age, in design it was a mixture of 20th century silicon components and light conversion technology. When the Doctor had left Gallifrey the TARDIS had been in for repairs. And from the looks of the circuitry, it appeared that the Doctor had never stopped performing those repairs. At the moment the Doctor had managed to find various tools in all sorts of odd places in the TARDIS and had found each of them a sonic screwdriver to work with. No matter which tool was really needed, it appeared that the Doctor would find some way to perform the task with his sonic screwdriver. He often went out of his way to use it.

As each component was removed, the Doctor would examine it and place it in either of two piles: working, and non-working. The non-working pile was growing an order of magnitude faster than the working pile. But no one seemed to take much notice. They were all working together. No fighting, no battling of wills, just simple labor. It was a rare sight, and unfortunately none of them had the time to fully enjoy it.

When they had completed their dismantling of the non-working components of the TARDIS the Doctor stood back and carefully studied the small pile of working parts. A look of distress was clearly visible upon his face. Ace turned to him, 'It is not enough, is it Professor?'

The Doctor just continued to stare. Something was troubling him, nagging at his memory like a long forgotten friend. He knew he was overlooking something obvious.

'There is not enough here to get a good FM radio working, let alone a sensor array' Ace said. Ace was right, it was obvious even to her that the current pile of components was a sad sight indeed.

'Victorian!' - cried the Doctor

'What?' Ace and Benny answered almost in unison.

The Doctor raced around the console room slapping his forehead as he ran with excitement. 'Ah, wood grain, stained glass windows, very attractive indeed. The auxiliary Victorian control room - maybe it did not substation as much damage as the main console.'

Benny's face lit up, 'So what you are saying is that we may have more spare parts?'

'That is exactly what I'm saying' the Doctor answered.

'Maybe a working control room, huh Professor?' Ace asked

'That is very unlikely considering that it is connected to the same circuitry as the main console, but working parts never the less. Now the only trouble will be finding it.'

Ace brushed Benny and the Doctor aside. 'Here, follow me.' The Doctor and Benny obediently followed behind Ace as she swelled with pride over her small, and self imposed leadership role. But it was one that was well deserved, because in no time Ace led the small party to the Victorian control room.

'How ever do you do that?' asked the Doctor.

'You have your secrets, Doctor, and I have mine' replied Ace.

'You should show me sometime Ace; my basic S.O.D. always seems to be out of whack', stated the Doctor.

'Your what?' Benny asked

'Oh, sorry - Sense Of Direction.'

'Yeah, yeah, truer words and all that lot, now what Professor?' The Doctor took that as his cue to begin his survey. He turned his attention to the console in the Victorian control room, checking one instrument readout after another, rubbing the back of his neck and making small sounds to himself, or maybe the TARDIS. It was always hard to tell. The room was very different from the rest of the TARDIS. Most of the rest of the TARDIS was now a well-lighted off-white with white roundels on the walls that gave an almost sterile look to its hospital/high tech appearance. In contrast, the Victorian control room had the appearance of deep mahogany wood walls. It appeared to be more part of a library of some grand old estate than the auxiliary control room for a time and space machine. The time Rotor was not visible on the main console, and several of the roundels appeared to be stained glass. It was clearly in stark contrast to the Doctor and most of his TARDIS. The Victorian control room expressed a very classic reserved appearance.

The Doctor finished his close inspection of the console and stood up. 'Well, it is not as bad as the other, but we will need to dismantle it to pull the working parts. Just as in the main console, none of systems are without damage'. Once again Ace, Benny and the Doctor set about dismantling the console. This time they were old hands at the task and it went along very quickly.

Benny turned to the Doctor as they worked, hoping that he had ascertained more information about their damage. 'Doctor any more ideas about how this happened?'

The Doctor looked away for a second and then put his sonic screwdriver down. 'Oh, I have ideas Benny, but none that I'm prepared to share yet.'

'Maybe later', Benny retorted.

Ace shot the Doctor a questioning look. It was short, but he caught it out of the corner of his eye. 'So Professor, when we get this going - the sensor array - what makes you think we'll be able to find help? There are more people in this universe that would rather kill you than help you.'

He grimaced at the remark; however, on close inspection it was true. 'I'm sure, Ace, that we can find some form of intelligent life that would be more than happy to lend assistance to a humble traveler such as myself.'

Ace just let out a deep sigh.

'I think that our first goal should be to get the audio subsystem working. With that we can determine what forms of life are around' the Doctor stated.

'Intelligent life' added Benny.

'Something like that' replied the Doctor.

'Why not the visual first?' asked Ace.

'Ace, I just don't think we will have enough working circuitry. Besides, that would only allow us to see what things look like a few hundred feet from the TARDIS. We may need a larger search area.'

'Assuming there is any life around' Ace replied.

'Intelligent life' piped in Benny.

As before, the pile of non-working components far out numbered the small pile of working components. However, now there was a larger total of working components than before. Even before Ace and Benny had finished dismantling the non-working systems the Doctor was working on the audio subsystem of the sensor array. He poked and searched through the pile of working components piled up on the TARDIS floor, carefully picking out what he hoped would be just the right piece to get his collection of circuits working. Ace looked up at the Doctor while he was deeply studying the pile, looking for what appeared to be the proverbial needle in the haystack. 'So, Professor, when you get the audio subsystem back on-line can we tune up the local easy listening radio station and pipe it through the whole TARDIS like one giant mall.' She managed to make the statement with a straight face.

For a while her bluff worked. The Doctor stopped his work to comprehend the statement, then he frowned as he realized the joking nature of the request. 'No Ace, I think we have more pressing matters.' he paused 'why ever would you want to do that?'

'Just to annoy you', Ace added with a particularly devilish look in her eye.

'You don't need a radio to do that!', the Doctor retorted back. The Doctor stepped up and wiped his trousers with his hands. He had completed the assembly of what he hoped would be a working audio subsystem and handed it to Ace and Benny to take to the main console. 'Plug this into the exterior sensor array; it should give us at the very least a working radio module. I'm going to stay in here and see what else I can piece together. If you need me just press this button, if the audio subsystem is working it should provide an audio link between the two control rooms.'

'All right Doctor, consider it done' Benny stated. Benny and Ace made there way back to the main console room with Ace carefully leading the way. It was clear that they were both tired from the whole ordeal. Benny, after enduring the silence as long as possible, tried to comfort Ace 'I'm sure we are going to be all right.'

Ace looked at the older woman for a brief moment, then responded 'Yeah but at what cost?' Ace had answered in a low voice, as if even the TARDIS might be listening.

Benny did not reply. Once back in the main control room Benny carefully inserted the audio subsystem into the console as the Doctor had instructed her to do. Immediately there was a crackle as the unit came to life.

Almost instantaneously Benny signaled for the Doctor in the auxiliary control room. 'Doctor, you better come in here quick, I think we just got the communications system on-line. We are receiving a radio transmission.'

'Yes, yes all right. Tell Ace I was sure there was intelligent life around here somewhere. I'll be by later to gloat and to send our SOS, I'm busy now'.

'You still better come anyway. You need to hear this.' Benny stated. There was a definite urgency in her voice, one that the Doctor did not pick up, but it was clearly present.

'I don't have time to listen to the music of this culture. I have important work to do, and so do you. We still are not out of the woods yet.'

Ace now spoke up. 'Professor, you better come. I think this is something you need to hear.' This time the Doctor heard the urgency in the voice. He pulled himself to his feet and after a little meandering found his way to the main console room. As he neared the room he heard voices, no just one voice, repeating the same message over and over. As he opened the door to the main control room he immediately noticed Ace & Benny staring at the main console in disbelief.

'Attention all travelers. Warning! This area is not safe. We are leaving this radio satellite beacon as a warning for all that might travel through our solar system. Our sun is posed to go super nova in four hours. Please leave the vicinity. Attention all travelers ......… super nova in three hours and 59 seconds.......'

The elements of Good and Evil were set into motion.

The game that never ends was renewed.

Dr. Julia Taylor's mind went back to 1988, it was like that day all over again. That was when she and her Father had first been brought in on the plans to build the Super conducting Super Collider (SSC) near Waxahatchie, Texas. The SSC was to be an enormous storage ring collider accelerator 54 miles long, and hopefully capable of providing a testing ground for a quantum accelerator. However, in October 1993 after about one-fifth of the tunnel had been completed, the Congress of the United States voted to cancel the project. The official story stated the cancellation was a result of the accelerator's projected cost of over $10 billion or so the official story always stated. There had always been persistent rumors that the British government or at least the United Nations secret agency known as UNIT had had the program stopped. But that made little sense to Julia. Why would they care? She figured it was a scapegoat that some poor political puppet with little imagination had dreamed up.

Growing up, Julia had watched as the brilliant ideas of her Father were wasted over the years. Now he was gone. He could never finish his work, but she knew she could. He had spent much of his life as a professor at a small university and while his job afforded him time to develop his theories - moneys and resources were always limited. For that reason more than any other she had joined the military. She served in a unit that most definitely had an agenda other than her own, how much different she had no way of knowing. She had managed to direct their research so that she was able to work on her own goals as well as well as meet those of her agency. The virtually unlimited funds and resources at her disposal had well made up the freedom of choice that the military cost her. That was clearly obvious in what stood before her, the resurrected SSC project. Three years after its death it was secretly and quietly brought back to life. The exact details of the 'public story' did not concern her, it was not her department, but she hoped it would be better than the British government rumor: a curly topped wild-eyed scientific advisor who put an end to things and insisted that his lab was somehow housed in an old police box.

With the SSC project she hoped to resume her Father's life work. What had begun as almost a joke between them, a light speed overdrive had become the basis for a quantum accelerator. this was the dream that had shaped much of her life. With it, she could control the quantum reactions that take place inside of a particle accelerator; a feat that had never been successfully accomplished. Until now, quantum reactions had been observed only on particles, but never on a whole object. Her goal was to accelerate a whole object though a quantum reaction. Normally, due to the nature of a particle accelerator, any object placed inside of the particle stream is ripped apart at the molecular level. But with the quantum accelerator on-line, she hoped to be able to move an object before the molecules could begin to dissociate themselves. Her goal was to be able to move an object from one location to another in an instant. She marveled at the potential.

She went over and picked up the latest computer printout. Her calculations were right on the money. A tear ran down her cheek as she ran the experiments in her head. Soon, they would leave the confines of her skull. Soon her dreams would be true. If only her Father had lived to see this day.

The door closed quietly behind the General. 'She is getting close you know.'

'Yes,' the Admiral said as he turned to the General. ' I saw the printout last night.'

'Does she have any idea?'

'Of what she is really making? No. She is too blinded by her own goals. Blinded to the truth.'

'Is this the only way?'

'You know it is.'

The pawns were quickly expended.

Now, the game was played by the Knights, the Bishops, the Kings and the Queens.

'That settles it. We are going to need outside help', stated the Doctor. The Doctor reached for the control to the exterior doors. He depressed the control and after a brief pause the doors to the TARDIS opened. The Doctor turned to his two companions. 'Ace, Benny - stay here. I'm still not sure of what we may be facing.' With his orders clearly given the Doctor turned and exited out of the TARDIS before either young woman could question him. They were left behind with the haunting radio signal warning of their impending danger.

From the ledge of the rocky hillside where the TARDIS had materialized, the Doctor had a clear view of the surrounding landscape. He took a deep breath of fresh air and then pulled the TARDIS doors closed. He turned back around and directed his attentions to his new surroundings. A broad-leafed plant jutting out of the hillside near his feet caught his eye, he reached over and touched the lush foliage with his hands. He allowed his gaze to flow upwards to the top of the peak and then pan around the lush mountainous terrain. His eyes settled in the valley below on a small river and a village.

He pulled out a pair of looking glasses from his jacket and peered into them. He saw stone streets; a collection of neat building that appeared to be a mixture of mud and rock, and not a soul sight. It should be the perfect place to keep them busy for a while.

The wind picked up as the sky darkened a strong gust of wind gently tossed his hair about. On the horizon a storm was brewing. Flashes of lightening lit up the sky, outlining the terrain below. A few drops of rain fell upon his cheek and rolled down his face. He turned back towards the plant. 'No one told you, I suppose, that this planet is a sitting time bomb'. He stared at the plant a while longer. ' Sorry I can't help'. He waited, wanting to convey his true grief for being unable to help. Then he turned his glance once more to the village below. He reached for the handle to the TARDIS door and pulled it open. The clouds parted and sunshine shown brightly on the rocky hillside as the Doctor stepped back into the TARDIS.

Ace and Benny hurriedly met the Timelord as he entered back into the TARDIS. 'So, what is it like?' one of them asked.

'Very pleasant very pleasant indeed, and very deserted. I spotted a small village just a few clicks down in the valley. I would say that it is just a short afternoon's walk away.' He turned and studied both of their faces, and then the smile disappeared from his face. 'We are working on a clock now ladies, and we are in dire need of help.' Ace and Benny both listened attentively to the Doctor, they did not need to ask what the Doctor needed them to do, and they both knew that the answer was forthcoming. 'Go see how advanced their civilization appears to be. Maybe, they will have something of use for us.'

'What are you going to do?’ asked Ace.

The Doctor paused for a moment. Maybe she knew, but he could not tell. He smiled at her and stated 'I'm going to stay here and continue working on the TARDIS. It will be best if we divided our efforts.'

Ace appeared to accept this answer 'and how will we know what to look for? I don't expect they will have a TARDIS repair shop' Benny asked..

'You won't. However you are both bright women. Look for signs of technology. I'll get a better inventory on what kind of parts we are going to need while you are gone, but first you two go case the area out.'

'Case the area out? C-a-s-e it out?' asked Benny, the words stumbling out of her mouth.

'Sorry, one too many colloquiums from earth dear Benny before your time. Survey the area. There, that should suit an archeologist better.' The Doctor reached over and patted Benny on the back. He considered doing the same for Ace but wondered how many fingers he would draw back. With that said, there were no more questions. His companions understood the importance of time. The Doctor reached for the control panel and opened the doors to the exterior of the TARDIS. He walked out with Benny and Ace and pointed out a small trail that led down the rocky hillside to the village. Ace and Benny headed straight for the path and started their descent. Ace turned to wave good-bye to the Doctor. She glanced back just in time to see him closing the TARDIS doors.

While Benny and Ace worked their way down to the village the Doctor typed in the last known coordinates for an SOS message to be sent. It was not a general alert, but a message intended for one person only, the only person that could provide the type of help he knew he needed. It was a last ditch effort. There was no way of knowing if his message would be received or what response he could expect. He had not been in contact with her since she left and the message would have to travel through the gateway and into E-Space, but it was their only real hope. A grasp. A gamble.

Ace and Benny continued working their way down the trail. Ace, always on alert, approached cautiously as Benny stormed ahead. 'Oy' she called to Benny 'Wait up before you get yourself killed'.

'By whom?' Benny asked. Ace looked around. Even from this distance it was clear that the village below was deserted. Benny continued 'the Doctor said the village was deserted' and for once it appeared that he was correct. Benny slowed her pace some, giving Ace time to survey the area and still catch up. The two young women emerged out of the woods into a clearing at the edge of what appeared to be the main thoroughfare. As they passed each house it was quickly noted that everything was still in place. At one small dwelling the front door stood open and a group of birds that resembled chickens ran to and fro in the front yard. Benny walked up to the gate that surrounded the house, swung it open and stepped in.

'What are you doing?' asked Ace.

'Looking around'.

'You can't just go barging into someone's house'.

'Who is there to ask?' Benny stated. Ace shrugged and followed closely behind Benny. To an archeologist like Benny this was very much like her normal routine except this time she would not be digging up the remains. All the evidence of the people that lived here was laid out clearly in front of her. Benny and Ace stepped inside the open door into the kitchen area. The dwelling was of simple design. The inside walls consisted mostly of a mud like stucco and wood timbers. The dwelling's kitchen consisted of a large cast-iron stove that sat in the center of a circle with a table encompassing the stove. A series of place settings were set around the table.

'Wood stove', Benny pointed out.

'Yeah, so - not what the TARDIS needs I would say.'

'Nor the technology that you would expect from a planet capable of launching a radio beacon.'

Ace turned and studied the house. Even to her untrained eye the place was very primitive. No signs of electricity or even running water.

'Come on' Benny called. 'It is obvious that there is not much to see here. Let's continue on to the main center of the village.'

Benny and Ace worked their way to the center of the village stopping along the way to occasionally peer into a house. Each dwelling appeared to be the same except for one. The first nonresidential establishment that they approached in the village center appeared to be a toy store. In the thick paned glass window a reflection of a child's doll caught Ace's eye. She stepped inside and looked around while Benny pressed on into the village. Inside the shop, Ace was surrounded by various toys. Some resembled toys she had known growing up, others were without any form or function that she could recognize. She walked over and picked up the doll. It had a sweet face. It had a sad face. Benny called out 'In here Ace!'

Ace raced out into the street. At first she could not tell where Benny's voice was coming from, but as she glanced down the main thoroughfare she saw Benny standing in front of one of the houses that they had passed when they entered the village.

'What is it? she cried.

'You better come see for yourself.' Ace raced towards the house that Benny stood in front of and walked inside expecting just about anything.

'What is it Benny?' she breathed somewhat out of breath.

'Technology!' Benny stated.

She handed Ace a metal pad with a LCD display located in the center. Upon touching the pad the display light up and a map of the solar system was displayed along with data concerning the sun, and a planned evacuation. 'Where did this come from?' she asked.

'Good question. I found it here on the kitchen table but it did not come from here.'

'What do you mean?'

'I may be mistaken, but I don't think the local inhabitants of this planet possess this kind of technology.' The distress signal indicator on the console was a clear indication that someone was in trouble. Since her travels in E-space, she had never really expected to encounter a standard SOS signal, so the alarm itself surprised her.

She walked over and studied the display. It has hard to believe her eyes. It was he. After all this time, not a word, and now here he was needing her help. That was so typical of the Doctor. She had to smile. At one time they had been almost inseparable. He had been an integral part of her life. He had given her true freedom. But, when the time for them to part had come, it seemed as natural as a river's forking. Still one still part of each other, but taking separate paths. Now again, after all this time, their paths were about to cross again.

Her TARDIS, in the form of a polished marble statue materialized just a few feet away from the Doctor's own tattered TARDIS. The Doctor was waiting outside near the marble statue when the female Timelord exited from her TARDIS.

'You've regenerated again' - he said.

'So have you.'

'I can't say that I care for it.'

'You know that is one of the problems with regeneration, you never know what you are going to get.'

'Always a shot in the dark.'

'Or a shot at something. Listen, I'm in a bit of a fix.'

'So I gathered from your message. Have you thanked me for coming?' she added with her usual glee.

'Not yet, but you are most gracious and very understanding when I do.'

'I thought I would be.'

'How bad of shape is your TARDIS in?' she queried.

'Total systems failure.'

'And how long before the sun goes supernova?'

'Approximately two hours, given that the radio beacon is correct' he stated.

'It is, I checked it with my own instruments. Not a lot of time.'

'No, very little.'

'So, we can just pop into my TARDIS. And be ready for tea in a matter of minutes'.

'How about my TARDIS?' asked the Doctor.

'We don't have time.'

'We don't have time?' he stated. 'We are Timelords. It will be destroyed. I can't leave it.'

'Come on Doctor, I never have understood your fascination with that old Type 40. It is so outdated. I can assist you in building another one, one that works. '

'My TARDIS works.' He murmured.

'On occasion it has been known to, but not on a regular bases.'

'Well, I don't want a TARDIS that works I want my TARDIS. We have a understanding.'

'An understanding huh? I see this regeneration has done nothing for your stubborn streak, or your childish ways.'

'Has to!'

A short time later Benny and Ace were able to access more information from the metal pad. It appeared to be a hand held computer system with a database specifically designed for one task - to supply information about and to assist in evacuating the planet. It was assumed that this computer was left behind in the whirlwind of activity to leave the planet while there was still time.

'So the locals needed help to get off their own planet' Ace said.

'Appears that way. Most likely a neighboring planet. From the looks of that map several planets in this solar system could support life.'

'So, there will not be any 'advanced' technology here except for maybe a wood stove which we have determined the TARDIS does not need.'

'It would appear that way' Benny stated.

'Back to the TARDIS?'

'Yeah, looks like our mission to find spare parts has failed.' Benny said. She hated the idea of failure. Their goal was far too important to be defeated but the evidence was pretty clear that they could expect to find nothing more here. 'I hope the Doctor has an alternative plan.'

'I'm sure he does' Ace stated.

Out of the corner of the Doctor's eye, he caught some movement. A little early he thought. 'Ah, here comes my two companions now. Ace, Benny I would like you to meet an old friend, Romana.' Romana extended her hand first to Benny, and then to Ace. 'Romana, this is Professor Benny Summerfield, and my friend Ace' the Doctor stated.

Ace was taken aback. She had heard the Doctor mention Romana before, and here she was a strange coincidence, too strange for her taste. She wondered what this ploy of introducing her, as his friend was all about. Did he think that would throw her off? She was way too clever for his masquerade of emotion. After all he was an alien, a Timelord, he was void of any true emotion. Ace turned to face the Doctor 'How did she get here?' she said, indicating Romana with a toss of her head. As usual the young woman got straight to the point; any tact that she might possess was merely an after thought.

'I sent for her, and she was kind enough to respond' was the only response that the Doctor could offer. The exact details would only bring about more unwanted questions.

Benny offered a smile of apology to Romana, which the Timelord returned. Then the Doctor and Romana turned and headed into the TARDIS leaving Ace with any remaining questions to herself. No sooner had the Doctor shut the TARDIS doors that Ace turned to Benny. 'It was only a ploy. Played for the fool again. I'm not his puppet on a string.' Her blood boiled as the incriminations filled her head. 'He must have known she was coming all along. He is playing games again. Damn it, I hate it when he does that and I don't even see it coming.' Ace hated to confide in Benny, but there was no holding it back any longer.

'Games?' Benny asked questioningly. 'What are you talking about Ace, I really think we are in too grave of a situation for the Doctor to be playing games.'

Ace grabbed Benny by the shoulders. She wanted her to see the clear truth in front of her face. 'Right, for someone so damn smart Professor Summerfield, you simply don't get it do you? We've been sent on a wild goose chase. Pawns, nothing but damn pawns.'

Benny pulled herself away from Ace's firm grip. She paused for a moment to gather her thoughts. 'Ace, I know you and I have had our differences, and I know you and the Doctor have been at odds lately, but I really think you are seeing ghosts that simply aren't there.'

'Am I? Oh how I wish I were. How I wish I could just believe that all of this just happened, but I can't. Not anymore. Look at the facts, Benny' Ace said shaking her fist as much at Benny as at herself. 'Why has he not ask yet about what we saw in the village?' she demanded. She wanted Benny to answer; to renew her lost faith in the Doctor. Ace's face was void of any emotion but pure anger. She was flushed and stood with her hands clinched tightly in fists as she talked to Benny. 'Why? I'll tell you why, he already knew the answer. He always does.' Ace paused, 'he needed us out of the way, but we spoiled it by coming back so soon.'

Benny gave Ace a questioning look, one that Ace picked up on without a word. The young woman once again flew into her rage.

'We are simply his tools, a means to an end. Don't you get it?' She waited. She saw nothing but a faint concern in Benny's face. But no signs of true understanding. 'But we aren't the first, or the last. Don't fool yourself Benny. I'm not so naive nor believe my self worth is so great to believe that. Just try to ask him about Adric, that was one time when even he was not in control. He has secrets, Benny, that you and I can't even fathom. And what ever they are, he goes to great lengths to keep them hidden. Lady Peinforte new his secrets, and she died with that knowledge. Others have gathered a piece of his puzzle, but he keeps the pieces hidden, scattered. So until you've traveled with him as long as I have, don't assume you know him, because once you think you do, he changes his spots! Look behind his eyes, Benny. There is a storm ragging there. A conflict that shapes the universe.'

Benny had nothing to say to Ace. It was clear from the rage in her voice that she meant every word. Evidently it was something that she had been mulling around in her mind for some time. Benny had no way to defend the Doctor, she only had a faith in him that he was trying to do what was best and she had to be content with that until she could either validate or invalidate what Ace was saying.

Evil with a calculated movement arranged its pieces upon the board.

A grin of delight was formed upon it's face, the contest was at hand.

Mercy and Goodness, looked upon the game, distress, anguish.

Dr. Julia Taylor sat in the massive control room of the SSC project. She personally wanted to check the instrument readouts of each system. Of course there were assigned engineers with the sole purpose of making sure everything was running correctly. But, she wanted to see for herself. All of her dreams were riding on this moment and she would be damned if she would let some over inflated engineer ruin this moment by lack of competence or just pure laziness.

As she studied the controls, two figures entered the main doorway of the control center. The Admiral pointed in her direction. 'See, General - that is what a woman obsessed looks like'. Her concentration was so complete it was impossible for something as small as a voice to penetrate it.

The Admiral walked over and tapped her on the shoulder. She looked up at him with surprise. She had no idea he was standing beside her, let alone in the room. 'I'm sorry', he stated, 'I didn't mean to disturb you but we wanted a status report', he said as he turned and indicated the General.

Julia took a moment to compose herself. 'Sorry sir, all is on schedule.'

'Good', said the Admiral with what appeared to be a genuine smile. 'I knew you could do it.'

'We should be able to start powering up the systems soon, and after the alpha and beta test be ready for our first trial run.'

'How long will that take?', the general asked, already knowing the answer.

'A few weeks, it is all in the proposed time table sir' Julia answered.

'It will have to be sooner Julia, I'm afraid' the Admiral stated.

'Sooner? Excuse me sir how can the powering up of a particle accelerator be sooner?'

'Julia, Congress has gotten word of this project being resurrected and they are going to do everything possible to kill it. We need results and fast.'

'But Sir, I can't change the laws of physics, we simply can't be online for a few weeks.'

'Then Julia, go ahead and pack things up, because right now that is all the time I can give you.'

Her mind raced. She could, in theory, jump start the particle accelerator with her quantum accelerator, but it had never been used like that. Hell, it had never actually been used, only envisioned, and never for that purpose.

The Admiral and the General turned and left Julia back in her own world. Back trying to solve a puzzle. It had almost become like a game to her.

The General turned to the Admiral, 'That was pretty risky in there sir, playing your ace like that.'

'My dear old friend, I have many more aces up my sleeve. That is just the opening move, but I know what her next move will be'

'But can she do it?'

'Oh, if there is a person alive today that can - she is the one. By the time she realizes it, it will be too late.'

'Is this the only way?'

'You know it is.'

As Ace and Benny entered the TARDIS it was clear that they caught a trace of a conversation that was not intended for them. Romana stood at the main console looking over the controls and talking to the Doctor who stood staring at the blank scanner screen on the wall.

'That puts a whole new light on the situation. I see why you called for me. You really had no choice considering...'

The Doctor turned and to see Benny and Ace entering the TARDIS, he put a finger to his mouth to quiet Romana. Romana quickly caught his signal, as did Ace, and the Timelord repaid the Doctor with the total silence that he asked for. For the next several minutes, hardly a word was spoken as the Doctor and Romana examined the old TARDIS. It was obvious now to everyone that time for the TARDIS and the poor deserted planet that it had materialized upon was running out. Luckily, with the skill and the grace of master magicians, Romana and the Doctor were conjuring up a scheme to cheat fate yet again.

Romana presented the idea first to the Doctor in a series of whispers. All were greeted with a series of head shaking, and 'mmmmmmm' sounds. As Romana talked the Doctor paced around the console room with a worried look upon his face. 'This is tricky business you know?' he said, finally speaking loud enough so that Benny and Ace could hear him. Ace looked away, she had been kept in the dark up until now and was content to stay that way.

'I realize that Doctor, but I don't see any other option if you still want to preserve this antiquated Type 40.'

'Antiquated! Antiquated? Ace, did you hear Romana call the TARDIS antiquated?' The young woman did not respond but it mattered little to the Doctor as he continued on with his defense of his ship. 'It may not be as new or as fancy as your TARDIS, but, but, … it is ....'

'Antiquated', piped in Romana. Benny smiled, it was obvious that Romana could really push the old Doctor's buttons.

'No, it is mature!' Somehow that was the best the old Doctor could do. Attacks upon his TARDIS were not handled with the best of character.

'So, we will give it a go - what's the worst that can happen?' Romana stated flatly. The Doctor did not reply but simply let out a little huffed sound. He knew that their current situation might prove to be far more palatable than the possible results of what they were planning; he could only hope everything would go right.

His outlook quickly changed as he heard the alarm on his pocket watch go off. He reached into his vest and pulled out the gold watch, examined it and placed it back. He turned to look at Romana. 'Well Romana, your plan it is. We appear to be out of time.' He paused, then looked towards Ace, and Benny 'Ladies, off to the new TARDIS, with no personality, and no maturity, Romana will show you the way. I'll stay here in the antiquated TARDIS.'

'You can't stay here' cried out Benny. Even Ace's face showed genuine concern.

'I'll be fine. You should be safer with Romana. 'We...' he paused and then tried again 'She is going to attempt....' he stammered. He wet his lips as the thoughts crossed his mind of the last time this feat had been attempted 'She is going to materialize her TARDIS around mine, then dematerialize taking my TARDIS along with hers into the time continuum.' He said it. He followed it under his breath with 'now only let it be true.'

'Wicked' was Ace's reply. 'Should be a cool ride.'

'Cool indeed' said Romana smiling at Ace.

'So why the worry?' Ace asked turning her question to Romana. Somehow, even with only just meeting her she felt more at ease with her than she did with the Doctor. Romana, unlike the Doctor, did not have a storm raging behind her eyes.

Romana stepped closer to the young woman 'Ace, what the Doctor and I are going to do requires very careful calculations.' She paused and walked over to the console 'It must all be done on manual override for the very reason that you are not suppose to be able to do it.' She flipped a few switches on the console and watched the lights turn from red to green above them. 'But it should be a - how do you say it? - a piece of cake.'

'So, what could go wrong?' asked Benny.

'Many things, gravity bubbles are just the beginning of the problems we may encounter' responded Romana. It was stated in such a pleasing voice that few would have even tried to fathom how gave the situation could be.

'Ah, but 'may' is the operative word. We are dealing with Romana, I trust her with my life' the Doctor stated. The Doctor and Romana exchanged a brief smile. Clearly, they were not fooling each other, but they thanked each other for their effort with slightest tilt of their heads. ' All right off with the lot of you. We are out of time, and we all know what will happen if we don't get off this planet.'

‘Yeah, kaboom' Ace said.

'Something like that.' the Doctor stated. At least for the moment they appeared to be talking again.

Romana led the two young women out of the Doctor's TARDIS and out onto the rocky ledge. From there the little group proceeded to her TARDIS. With some pride she opened the TARDIS's doors to reveal, what for the most part, was her own creation. Or at least her own twist upon a conventional TARDIS design, if a TARDIS design can be considered conventional. She motioned for Benny and Ace to take a seat upon two heavily padded chairs in the control room as she made her way to the main console.

Benny with her usual grace took the seat offered by Romana, but Ace stood just inside of the doorway transfixed. Unable to move towards the offered seat, she stood silently and slowly began to shake her head: no.

'Ace, what is wrong?' asked Romana. Romana turned at first to Ace, then to Benny, seeking reassurance. Ace only stood not yielding to take the offered seat. She was staring deep into nowhere.

'Ace?' Benny asked. 'What is it?' Terror filled Ace's face, but she didn't speak.

Benny and Romana exchanged glances. After what seemed like a lifetime Ace twisted up her face as if to speak. At first nothing came out. Then with an apparent struggle she released the words from her clinched teeth ‘Wrong…... this is not how it is suppose to be.'

'I assure you, Ace, this is how my TARDIS is suppose to be.' Romana stated, taking the young woman literally, but trying to offer what comfort she could.

Benny probed further 'What is suppose to be?'

'The Doctor' Ace responded.

'What about the Doctor?' Benny asked.

'He needs me.' She paused, breathing heavily. Her eyes scanned the room wildly, studying her surroundings. 'They know about him.' By this point Ace's face was as white as a sheet. What ever she saw, what ever it was, it was clear that it terrified her.

'Who knows about him?' Romana asked this time with considerable more concern. She had stopped checking the controls on the TARDIS and focused all of her attentions on Ace.

Ace stared blankly at them. She had heard the words leave her mouth, but she did not know who was speaking them. It sounded like her voice, but of what was she saying, she had no idea. All she knew was that she needed to find the Doctor. He was in trouble and he needed her. The young woman began to yell 'Open the Doors!' Rag boiled in her eyes, as she repeated the words again and again 'Open the Doors!'

'Do what?' asked Romana as she walked around the console. 'We are about to dematerialize.'

Ace stopped her yelling. She twisted her head towards Romona. 'Not with me here! Don't you understand? It is not suppose to be this way, he can't do it without me.… he can't.' Ace screamed. She raised her hands in a fury. Romana attempted to duck out of her way but Ace's target was not the Timelord; it was the doors. She beat wildly upon them, her whole body heaving with the effort.

Romana turned to Benny, 'What is wrong with her?'

'I have no idea' Benny stated to Romana. She walked towards Ace, fearful and tentative. 'Ace, please tell us what is wrong, we want to help'. Ace did not reply to Benny's inquiry, but continued to pound upon the doors.

'Well, it will do her no good, the doors are shut and her force could not open them.' Romana stated.

Ace froze when she heard this. Part of Romona's statement had penetrated her, had touched her. She turned and headed for the console. Neither Romana nor Benny had time to react. Ace stared hard at the console, and, with no knowledge of Romana's TARDIS, she reached for the control for the outside doors and depressed it. The main doors of Romana's TARDIS opened and its unwanted captive burst forth, with Benny and Romana following close behind.

Ace raced towards the Doctor's TARDIS. When she arrived she reached up, and pulled the door open. In the distance, the sun began to dim as if a candle was wavering in the wind, however, it was still mid day. Romana looked up at the sky in terror. 'We have to get back to my TARDIS and dematerialize now. We are out of Time, it may already be too late' she stated as the two women ran back to the polished marble statue and instantly set the machine for dematerialization.

The Doctor barely took notice of Ace as she bolted into the control room and raced out the door to the rest of the TARDIS. His mind was more concerned with the task at hand. He hurried around the controls and looked up at the scanner they had managed to get operational. He saw Romana dematerialize her TARDIS just as the world outside began to dim. He felt a slight shudder through his TARDIS and then the scanner went blank. Romana had materialized her TARDIS around the Doctor's and almost in the same instant had dematerialized both machines into the Time continuum.

After checking a few instrument readouts, the Doctor decided to dare entering Romana's TARDIS. There could be temporal instability; but, with the few exterior sensors that he had working, everything appeared to be safe. He opened the doors to his TARDIS and stepped out into Romana's main console room. As he did so, Benny greeted him with concern for her friend Ace.

'Where is Ace?' she asks.

'Somewhere back in the TARDIS' he replied. He turned to look at Romana, and then back at Benny. He realized he had not made the appropriate response.

'I'll go look for her' Benny stated.

'No, best leave her be. She is most likely just upset - or something like that.' He knew it was more, but that was the best he could offer Benny.

'Upset! Doctor she is more than upset, she has lost her mind.'

'No Benny, I believe she just found it.'

Benny looked towards the main doors of Romana's TARDIS. In the corner was something that she thought she recognized. She walked over and picked it up. It was a small sad faced doll.

Her mind raced. Those bastards was all that she could think. Here she was on the verge of realizing her dream, her Father's dream, and they wanted to move the event time up from event minus two months to event minus forty-eight hours. What the hell were they thinking? She simply could not change the laws of physics to meet their schedule.

Time, that is all she needed, just enough time. Her mind played the puzzle over and over, analyzing the various parts. At first the idea seemed almost silly. The very thing that she had dreamed of could be her deliverance; she could realize her dream. The sheer irony and recursive ness of the notion immediately gave her a warm feeling. But she dared not entertain the silly notion; it was preposterous to even consider it.

But what choice did she have but to give birth to the light speed overdrive? The only device known to man; or at this moment to a single woman, an admiral and general; that could change the laws of physics and allow them to meet their new deadline. She stormed into the main lab of the SSC and announced 'Gentlemen, from this point forward we are working on a 48 hour clock. We have to get the SSC fully operational in the next few hours or all of our work will be lost.' Their faces could easily be read; they believed it was a lost cause. Quickly, Julia relieved them of any thoughts they might have briefly entertained about getting home early that day. 'We can make this happen. I know we can. I know how to do it.' She paused and surveyed their faces. It was best if she kept them in the dark about how she planned to pull off this miracle. She had let other people dictate her fate before and was not happy with where that had gotten her; she would not repeat that mistake. She spoke to the group again. 'It is going to require that you follow my exact instructions. We will install a new device into the main accelerator. Is that clear to everyone?' They all dumbfoundedly nodded their heads.

The Admiral smiled to himself 'Soon, very soon'.

From the darkness of the night, the sound came - the Victor.

As if violating the night, the moaning sound ripped through the darkness.

Slowly, the blue box materialized.

From it emerged the advocate for hope, for the future.

'What is that Alarm?' asked the Timelord.

Romana did not answer but set about checking the instruments on her TARDIS's console. 'It appears that the time rift that nearly destroyed your TARDIS is increasing in size; the continuum is becoming unstable, as you had speculated.'

'Not speculated' he corrected her, 'as I had known'. He was not satisfied with just being right; it only made sense that others also knew and appreciated it.

'How could you have known?'

'No time for that now Romana, just accept it for now.'

'So what does this mean, in English please?' asked Benny.

'Simply put' stated the Doctor, ' the force that ripped through the continuum and into the TARDIS caused a rift, or tear, in the very fabric of the time continuum.'

'Can you repair it?' asked Benny.

The Doctor turned to look at Romana. He knew the answer, but he wanted a second opinion. It was quick in coming. She shook her head slowly from side to side. 'No, the best we can hope to do is temporarily stabilize it.'

'What will happen then, I mean after you can no longer stabilize it?' Benny asked.

He knew he had to be the one to answer that question from her. If he did not, then surely Romana would. He would rather the words came from him. 'The end of the universe' stated the Doctor with a gloomy face.

'Oh that' was Benny's reply. What else could one say?

During their brief exchange, Romana had continued working at the controls to her TARDIS. 'Doctor, it appears that with a time cone inverter I can stabilize the continuum, but not for long.'

'Good Romana, I won't need a lot of time.'

'To do what?'

'To trace this whole mess back to the source and stop this from ever happening.'

'Stop if from ever happening?' She looked at him inquisitively. She did not relish the idea of the universe coming to an end. It was a thought she preferred not to entertain. But, the first law of time forbade them to interfere. She knew that, and he knew that. It made sense. If they constantly meddled in time, the universe would never be allowed to take its natural course. All things must end; maybe the universe's time had arrived. Who was she, or anyone else to say?

'Yes. I must stop it.' He could not fail. The stakes had increased considerably. He had to react, after the fact, but he saw a glimmer of hope.

'You can't do that Doctor, the dice have already been thrown, we can't have a second chance.' This was an argument she wanted to loose. But she was right. 'There are reasons that we have laws, and they must be obeyed.'

'Hog wash!' He wiped any hint of a smile from his face and looked at Romana with his piercing blue eyes. He raised his voice ever so slightly 'Romana, we must.'

'We must what, Doctor? Break one of the most sacred laws of a Timelord?'

He huffed at her. His lips were drawn tight. He hadn't the time to waste arguing his point. 'Save the universe. I was never aware that that was against the law. I must be a wanted felon by now.'

Romana paused. He had changed little over the years. 'Don't play coy with me, Doctor. You know it's the first law of time....'

'Don't lecture me about laws, Romana. I'm a renegade, rejected by my own people. '

'And who's fault was that?'

'Who indeed, you know nothing of that, Romana. But it doesn't matters now. I quit following their laws. After that I quit following anyone's laws but my own.'

She had hit a nerve and she had not meant to. She did not want to fight. She was only trying to do what was right. 'You don't mean that Doctor.'

'Don't I? For a fellow renegade you are one to talk.'

She ignored his statement. It was true that she would have some explaining to do if she ever returned to Gallifrey. She had interfered with other races, altered their course. But only because of the grave injustice being inflicted upon them. 'But those laws are there for a reason,' she continued her plea.

The Doctor knew that she meant well. 'All good laws must allow for exceptions, Romana. We can't be so rigid that there are no exceptions.'

'But...'

'No buts. If there is a price to pay, I'll pay it. I believe saving the universe is worth the cost. This argument is purely academic anyway.'

'What do you mean?'

' Don't you realize that this is not how it is suppose to be?'

'How do you know how it is supposed to be?'

'I do, trust me. Someone is changing the fate of the universe. Can't you feel it? I intend to stop them with or without your help.'

'How?' She cared not which question he chose. How he knew, or how they were changing the fate of the universe. She just wanted answers. But the oracle known as the Doctor had closed.

'Can you get my TARDIS working?'

He was avoiding the question. 'How Doctor?'

'Romana, there's a time and place for everything. I beg of you. I implore you. This is not the time. If I'm right, it may already be too late.'

She hesitated. She trusted this man more than anyone else in the universe, yet she hardly knew him. 'What do you need?'

He repeated his question: 'Can you get my TARDIS working?'

'Sure, now that we have it here in my TARDIS, I can use my spare parts and get it somewhat operational.'

'I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask for more.'

'What do you mean?'

'I need it more than operational, I need it fully functioning.'

'But I can't, not without dismantling my TARDIS.'

The Doctor grinned and handed Benny a sonic screwdriver; he then looked up at Romana. 'Unless you can leave your TARDIS operational enough to stabilize the rift and give me a fully functional TARDIS to put an end to this mess, it will not matter if your TARDIS is in tiptop working order or not.'

'I see your point.'

Romana and Benny worked on the dismantling of Romana's TARDIS. Romana kept a careful eye on their work. She was particularly careful to double check and then disable any system before they set about dismantling it. They had too much at risk to chance a mistake. One false move and the rip in the continuum could tear them apart.

The two women worked for a long while in total silence. 'Romana,' Benny stated, getting the young Timelord's attention. 'Do you think this plan of the Doctor's will work?'

'I'm not really privy to all of the details, but I trust him.'

Benny paused from her worked and looked at Romana. She needed a friend now. Even with the limited choices she had, she believed that, given her choice of anyone in the universe, right now she would choose to confide in this almost stranger. 'I want to...' she paused, swallowing hard, looking for the words ,'trust him, that is. But after what just happened to Ace, and what she said earlier, I trust him, but I don't know him.' Romana smiled at Benny, thinking that the young academician's words would come better if she just listened. 'She said things about the Doctor I found hard to believe. She talked of someone who used to travel with the Doctor called Adric, and of a woman called Lady Peinforte. Do you know these people?'

Romana indicated yes by nodding her head.

'What happened to Adric?'

She paused; these were questions she would rather the Doctor answered. 'I'm not sure,' she started slowly. 'It happened after I had quit traveling with the Doctor. But I knew Adric. He was from E-Space, the universe where I now live. The Doctor never intended to take him from E-Space, but he was a stowaway in the TARDIS. I inquired about him when I first landed. The Doctor had little to say on the subject; I could tell that it still troubled him greatly. Adric was killed when a ship he was in crashed into the earth. Adric died trying to save innocent lives.' Romana smiled her warm smile at Benny 'He was always a good boy. You would have liked him.'

'Oh, I see; I'm sorry. It is just that Ace said .... well, it really doesn't matter. What about this Lady Peinforte?'

'I'm afraid that is a question that you will have to ask the Doctor.' With that, both women returned back to their work. Their conversation continued but it was sparse. They had much work to do.

While Benny and Romana brought new life back to his TARDIS, the Doctor used his newly working sensor array to track the projectory of the source. With a strong hunch already, it was child's play to confirm the information.

'Got it!' yelled the Doctor to no one in particular. Luckily, Benny and Romana were entering his control room with the last of the new components for his TARDIS.

Romana studied the old TARDIS. She gently patted it on the console. Under normal conditions, she never would have allowed the Doctor to leave it back on the planet. It had just seemed as though there was no alternative. She had acquired many good memories here in this TARDIS, when she had traveled with the Doctor. Looking back, it was truly amazing that his TARDIS did as well as it did. An old Type 40 was long ago past its prime. It was designed as an early prototype for experimental purposes, not as a galactic taxi, which was the way the Doctor used it. She turned her attention back to the Doctor.’Good' she stated. ‘We are at our wits end trying to interface my TARDIS's components with this antiquated system. I've had to pull your own stabilization system and replace it with mine. So this plan of yours better work, because I now have no way to dematerialize out of the vortex.'

'I'll make everything right as snow, you just wait and see.'

Romana rolled her eyes. 'You mean rain?'

'What?' asked the Doctor.

'You mean right as rain, Doctor, not snow', stated Benny.

'Yes, something like that. H2O in some form.' He waved his hands about in the air as if clearing his mind for new thoughts.

The female Timelord turned to look at the Doctor. 'You realize this means that you'll leave me stranded in the vortex.'

'Yes.'

'I know' she said shaking her head. 'If this does not work it will matter little where I am when the universe ends.'

'Bluntly stated, but true' said Benny.

The Doctor turned to Benny and Romana and placed his hand on Romana's shoulder. 'So, all I need now is that you declare my TARDIS operational.'

Romana smiled a big smile, and then waved her hands in the air. 'Well I declare you operational then.'

'Good. Then, I'll leave Benny here with you to help you monitor things on this side. Ace and I will take care of the rest.'

'Ace?' asked Romana uncomfortably.

The Doctor looked at Romana with a smile 'You remember Ace: short girl, brown hair, leather jacket.'

'Of course I remember her. My point was she disappeared.'

'Oh, she has her part to play, she will be along shortly.'

'How can you be so sure?' asked Benny.

'How can I not?' The Doctor followed his reply with a wink of his eye and then placed his finger to the side of his nose.

Romana could tell that the Doctor was done with that subject. 'Have you thanked me yet?' Romana asked.

'Not yet. But I promise you in due time I will. However, if I'm going to save the universe, I need to be off..' He stated this like it was an everyday event and, for him, it almost was.

The Doctor opened his arms wide and gestured towards Benny. She hugged him good-bye.

'You'll be all right?' she asked.

He looked at her and smiled. It was a reassuring smile, one that she wanted to believe, and one that she wanted to trust. She hesitantly smiled back, then turned, and left the TARDIS.

Romana and the Doctor turned and watched her leave the TARDIS. 'Good-bye again?' she asked the Doctor. She hated to have to part company with him again. Not like this. She had so much to tell him. But he already knew it all. They both did.

'No, never did like good-byes. If this works, I'll see you around. If not...' he hesitated as he searched her eyes for an answer but he could find none, '..Well, if not, we tried.'

' We did' she said, emphasizing the word. The female Timelord turned and left the TARDIS. Once back in her own control room, surrounded by a barely functional TARDIS, she turned and watched the Doctor dematerialize. She knew, to some extent now, how he must feel.

Ace immediately took her place by the Doctor's side. She had taken her cue from the TARDIS's engines, which were once again taking the TARDIS into the time continuum. He turned and gave her a brief smile. 'Next stop: Earth, 1995, the SSC project near Waxahatchie, - my, my what a name- Texas.' The Doctor beamed with pride over his fully functional TARDIS. In a few moments the TARDIS exited from the time vortex and hovered above the SSC project control room. The Doctor turned the exterior scanner of the TARDIS on and carefully studied the viewer screen.

'What are you doing?' asked Ace.

'Getting ready to blow your socks off' The Doctor replied.

'I'm not wearing socks.'

'Stockings them, but that really loses something in the translation.'

The Timelord continued his sound bite conversation with Ace as he set a few more controls on the console. The exterior surface of the TARDIS began to flow as if it was made of water. Points projecting tide pools receding, until finely the TARDIS had taken the form of the entrance hall of the main control room of the SSC. The Doctor beamed with pride. The chameleon circuit was working again. He set the machine to materialize.

It was late into the night at the SSC project. Only the most determined of the team had managed to stay this late; it was the second day of 24 hours shift. Except for Julia and a few techs plus the General and the Admiral (who really provided no true support), the place was deserted. Julia was like a mad woman racing to her goal, but her madness was about to pay off. She stood over the main panel of the control console. On the screen to her left, the preliminary data from the light speed overdrive was appearing. It was a success; the light speed overdrive was powering up and coming on-line. Soon, she would have her dreams. She would have it all. Even in her tired state she managed a smile. She continued checking the readouts with the ever-present General and Admiral in the back, always watching, waiting.

In the corner of the control room a shuddering sound came. She racked it up to the powering up of the light speed overdrive; but, as she turned to the sound, she noticed the entranceway into the control room shimmer briefly. She rubbed her eyes; it must be the fatigue. She closed her eyes and placed her hands on her face for a moment to regain her composure. When she removed her hands from her face she saw them: two intruders, a middle-aged man dressed in a casual summer suit and a girl wearing a black bomber jacket. The strange man stepped forward.

'Greetings, I'm the Doctor and this is my friend Ace. Ace, go greet the gentlemen'. Ace stepped towards the General and the Admiral.

'Who are you?' asked Julia, annoyed by the disturbance.

'I'm the Doctor,' the man stated as if that was explanation enough.

Julia picked up the phone at her right hand side. 'This is Dr. Julia Taylor. I need security in here stat; somehow you let a lunatic through the security.'

'Don't blame them. Actually no one let us in; we have only just arrived. And I'm sorry to point out that it will be impossible for your guards to enter the control room. I have something blocking the entrance hall.'

'Dr. Taylor', the Doctor said in his most flattering voice, 'I'm afraid you have to stop your experiments.'

'What do mean?'

'This experiment with the quantum accelerator'.

'This is foolish. I'm going to get the guards myself.' Julia headed for the control room doors with the Admiral, General, Doctor and Ace in close pursuit. She pulled open what appeared to be the hall door and stepped into the TARDIS. She was not easily impressed but for the moment she was held speechless. She had to be hallucinating.

'Where are we?' she finally stammered. What have you done to the control room?' It made little sense, but what else could she ask?

'Oh, it is still here. I'm just in the way of the door' the Doctor stated while rocking back and forth on his feet. He was still beaming with pride over the working chameleon circuit.

'I see,' she stated and her mouth continued to move but it was awhile before the words began to make sense again. 'No, I don't see.' She rubbed her head. This had to be the fatigue; it simply did not make sense. The Admiral and General were simply standing there; this had to be a hallucination. She rubbed her head again, but nothing went away. Finally, she had to ask 'What is this place?'

The Doctor smiled at her sweetly. 'Really of no concern of yours.'

'No concern!' she yelled. 'No concern! I want some answers and I want them now. Either I'm loosing my mind, or you have a lot of explaining to do.'

'No, not really.' The Doctor smiled at her again. 'But what you are doing in that control room is a concern of mine, and for that you have some explaining to do.'

She looked at him questioningly. It was clear that she was not going to give out any information freely, no matter how bewildered she was.

The Doctor continued ' you can't just push objects through the time continuum like that, with no dimensional stabilizer. Whatever were you thinking?' The Doctor shook his head and waved his finger at Julia, like a parent scolding a small child.

She stared at him blankly. 'Who are you?' She thought: 'time continuum, what was he talking about? He seemed to grasp what she was really doing - moving an object through time as much as space - but this device was beyond the understanding of a crazed lunatic. How could he know?'

The Doctor paused. She had asked him that age old question 'Who are you.' He sometimes wondered that himself. If he had a dollar for every time he had been asked that he would most certainly be able to buy a major portion of the universe by now. Since up until this point he had lived much of his life without answering this question, he saw no reason to change now. 'Well considering that I have the upper hand, at least for now, why don't you explain to me exactly what you are trying to do in there.’

Julia though  'maybe I've just gone crazy. That would explain all of this. So why not play along with it, maybe it would end sooner that way. Why torture myself?' She turned to face the man, determined to hold on to what wits she had left. 'I don't know who you are, or what you want. If answering your question will make you leave, I will gladly do it.'

The Timelord nodded his head at Julia, indicating that she should continue.

'We are in the process of interfacing a light speed overdrive - I mean quantum accelerator - to the particle accelerator.' There, that was enough of a technical explanation that should suit this fool.

'You already have, and I'm here to stop you.' The Doctor paused. Suddenly the last piece of the puzzle clicked. 'Light speed overdrive?' he inquired. His eyebrows turned up as he repeated the question. 'Did you call it a light speed overdrive?'

'Sorry, I'm tired, and you are holding me up from my work. That is just a pet name for the device that my Father dreamed up when he first conceived the idea.' Suddenly one of his statements caught up with her. 'What do you mean I already have?'

Ace jumped in 'Julia, you have to stop what you are doing out there. Can't you see that?'

'Can't I see what?' shot back Julia. 'You are like everyone else; you want to see an end to my dreams. Well, I won't let that happen. I won't let my father's dream die. It is all that is left of him.'

'Julia, do your dreams include the end of this planet? Do they?' Julia just stared at Ace blankly. 'Do they include the end of the universe? Because if they do, you will have your dream. I have seen the results of your dream, and it is not a dream. It is a nightmare.'

'What are you talking about?'

'Doc, you talk to her, make her see sense'.

'Julia, does your dream involve pure evil? Because if it does, you are getting your wish. You are the instrument that shall bring about the end of the universe. I can tell you that all this is true because I've seen it, and I've gone to a great deal of trouble to come back here and stop it.'

'Evil?' whispered Ace under her breath. 'Don't you think that's a little melodramatic?'

'Not at all. It is the truth. Can't you tell, Ace? Can't you now feel it?' The young woman stared at the Doctor. It was there, beneath the surface, but she was not sure of just what. How would Julia have heard of a light speed overdrive? How would basic time travel knowledge be available to humans in the 20th century earth? It was Fenric again.

A look of anguish filled Ace's face. 'But what ever for? If this had worked they would have destroyed the whole universe.'

'That would be no problem for them; they have survived the collapse of the universe before.'

The Admiral turned and looked at the Doctor. He looked over at the General who had served him well. 'I no longer need your services.' The Admiral reached out his hand towards the unsuspecting man. The Admiral's hand glowed as bright as the morning sun. The General simply stood and stared. He was mesmerized by the brightness. A grin filled the Admiral's face as he reached out to the General. The man attempted to move away, but it was too late. Fenric touched the man and he faded away into oblivion. The shimmering form of Fenric then turned his attentions to the Timelord. 'Doctor, we meet again.' He turned and stared long and hard at the Timelord; then, a smile appeared on his face. 'This time, only one of us shall leave. And I have determined that that one will not be you.' The Doctor stared intently at Fenric, but did not speak. He was biding his time; he was playing the game. 'Doctor, my dear old companion, I grow weary of you.' Fenric paused, and then waved his hands in the air as he spoke. 'I grow weary of this universe. I need a change. I need a new play toy. Your thoughts no longer amuse me.'

'My thoughts?’ said the Doctor at last, stating a question and setting the first trap. He repeated it again with a puzzled expression upon his face: 'My thoughts?'

'Your puny thoughts. Secrets that you guard like a life. They mean nothing, Doctor. You mean nothing.' The shimmering form of Fenric began to move closer to the Doctor. 'It is time that I dispensed of you.'

'I think that you will find that task greater than you might have imagined.'

Fenric grew closer to the Doctor, moving across the room. His body was surrounded in a green light. The faint outline that represented what had once been the Admiral shifted from solid flesh and bones into light.

'Nonsense, Doctor. You, as usual, over rate yourself. I am immortal. You are no more than some poor excuse of combined organic matter that has caused me irritation for the last time. We, I, us, grow tired of you.'

Fenric continued his advances toward the Doctor, but the Timelord did not move. He paused and suddenly looked towards Ace. His face lit up, as if recognizing an old friend. Up until now he had taken little notice of the young woman. He stopped his movements towards the Doctor and turned fully to face Ace. The young woman did not flinch. 'Ah, one of the wolves of Fenric; I see we meet again,' he said as he looked Ace up and down with a close and careful inspection. She felt sickened and repulsed, but she stood her ground. 'Do you still serve me, little one?' He chuckled when he spoke these words.

Ace forced herself to move between the Doctor and Fenric. She stood with her back straight and a stern look in her eye. She was determined to meet his stare. 'Serve you?' she yelled. 'I'd rather rot in hell than to serve the likes of you. I serve no one.'

'What is she doing?' thought the Doctor. She was playing with fire.

'Of course you do, little one. If not me, maybe this Timelord.' Ace turned and looked at the Doctor. She did not serve him, she was no one's puppet.

'I serve no one!' she stated.

'Then you are useless.' Fenric said softly as he laid his glowing hands upon Ace's shoulder. It was too late, the Doctor saw what was happening but he had no time to respond. She quivered as she felt the life being drawn out of her. She waited knowing that Doctor would save her, he always had in the past, but the pain she felt did not stop. Ace was engulfed in the light, and then it all ended.

Julia gasped in disbelief. She ran towards Ace, who was still motionless beside Fenric. His grip lightened and the woman fell dead to the floor.

The alarm in the Romana's TARDIS grew increasing loud.

'You must be able to do something?' shouted Benny.

The female Timelord checked her instrument readouts one last time, then she reached over and turned off the alarm.

'Are we safe now?' asked Benny.

Romana studied the young girl carefully. She had never envisioned it all ending this way. But few have the luxury of actually being able to envision how their time will come. She thought back: it had been an eventful life, and for the most part a good life. She had lived it to its fullest, and she really could ask for little more. But what of this young girl? Compared to Romana's, Benny's life was only beginning and yet it was all about to end, along with everything else in the universe.

'The rift,' Benny finally said. She knew the answer, but she was hoping that somehow it would be something else.

'Yes. We've tried but we simply can't do anymore.' Romana could barely meet Benny's stare. It was hard having to admit the ultimate defeat.

'Yes we can Romana, we can do one more thing.'

'What?' asked Romana.

'Pray for a miracle.'

The TARDIS heaved violently and the lights dimmed, it was only a matter of minutes now. Romana went over and held Benny in her arms and began to cry. Not tears for herself, but for the countless number of lives that she had let down.

'STOP!' commanded the Doctor. 'Do not touch her.' Julia moved back from Ace and looked at the Timelord. She did not know whom to fear most, Fenric, or this man who had just let his friend be killed right before her eyes. This was no game. It had long ago passed that point. Another life given, another life not his to give. He felt sickened. A great void filled his insides, the cold vacuum of space surged through his veins. He was alone, and empty. He had lost companions before, but he never wanted it to happen. He had seen death many times. With each life extinguished he felt a little of himself slipping away. He knew she had to be here, but this was not how it was suppose to be. He stopped and knelt down beside the body of Ace, never taking his eyes off of Fenric. She lay motionless, pale white, without even a hint of life left in her. Fenric smiled at the Doctor. The Doctor smiled back, he had one more game to play. 'I've seen it all, Fenric. I've seen your every form. From Hitler, to Attila the Hun. Wherever carnage has reigned, I have seen you. I have seen your evil.' Fenric did not grasp the full meaning of the Doctor's words. He took them as flattery. Your ventures into my thoughts...' He paused to guarantee he had Fenric's full attention. 'They did not go unnoticed.'

'So, it matters little to us?'

'It did to me. It provided a two way street, allowing me to see glimpses of your next move even before you had a chance to finalize the plans.'

He had put Fenric off guard and gained his full attention. 'You couldn't have. We would have known; your puny mind is no challenge for us.'

The Doctor stared intently at Fenric. 'At one time you may have been right. But you have shaped me, molded me, and changed me. Whether you realized it or not, you gave me the power. The Doctor raised his hands above his head, a sphere of light appeared between his palms. He shaped it, and then brought it gently down towards Ace, never taking his eyes off of Fenric.

Ace felt the warm light; it penetrated her like the sun on the first day of spring. It warmed her all over and she felt at ease. She opened her eyes to find the Doctor still hunched over her.

'Doctor' she said and he turned to look at her.

This was the moment that Fenric had been hoping for. Dreams were made of this moment. He could not have asked for a better ending. He lurched forward towards the Timelord, extending his arms around Doctor's chest. The Doctor cried out in pain.

'Die Timelord. Die!' His voice echoed through the TARDIS. 'You obsolete fool. You thought you could defeat me.' He had to laugh. The notion was ridiculous. To think that at one time he had been fooled by something so easily defeated. 'Die Doctor!'

The Doctor felt the very life leaving his body as Fenric continued to hold him. There was nothing he could do. Fenric had attacked too fast. He had had no time to prepare himself. The world faded around him. It was all going black. Then it began, something new. A new beginning was starting inside him. But it couldn't be, he would never survive it. Like the shell of an egg being broken to soon. He was not ready. It was too early. He felt his body calling upon its natural reserves. It was fighting to survive, but he knew the time was wrong. His body was attempting to make itself new again. He was regenerating. He felt what over time had become a natural process for Timelords: yet again beginning. His last regeneration had proceeded relatively smoothly, but it had been due. Others however, under the best of circumstances, had almost killed him. Just like any other natural function of the body, he could not stop it. He had been dealt the losing hand. Even if he survived this attack by Fenric, his own attempt to survive would be his demise.

Fenric threw his head back in laughter. Before him stood the machinery to destroy the universe, and his deadly arms encircled the thorn that had been in his side for far too long. What more could he ask for? His delight was infinite. His form continued to shift from solid to light.

Ace worked her way to her feet, she was still unsteady, but her mind was focused. Fenric did not even take notice of the wobbling form pulling itself up. He was in ecstasy. She took a deep breath and then jumped into the air, aiming her foot at Fenric's head. It hit with deadly accuracy. She cried out as she hit him, throwing her full force into him. Her timing was perfect, he was in solid form when her foot hit. It not only loosened his hold on the Doctor, but it threw him in the air, and up against the TARDIS wall.

'Doctor!', she cried. 'Oh lord, please let him be alive.' She reached for him, even though he appeared to still be glowing. Her voice called out to him. In the breaking light he could hear her voice. He could feel her touch. He was slipping farther away. He could end his struggles; the fight would finally be over. How he relished the thought. No more fighting, only peaceful, blissful rest. But the time had not yet come. His rest was not yet due. He had to go back to her. He had to leave the light. He moaned as he slowly opened his eyes. He suddenly felt refreshed, renewed, and still himself. The regeneration had halted. He quickly turned his attentions to Fenric.

'And now Fenric, it is time that I return you back to the shadow dimensions.'

Fenric lifted his head to look at the Doctor, but he had not the strength to stand. 'Never! I'll not return.' Fear crossed Fenric's face for the first time. The Timelord knew that he could never ultimately defeat him, but he had trapped him before. He could only hope for that much again.

Fenric's pathetic form continued to glow, as he lay motionless. His latest body was almost exhausted from the demands that he had placed on it. But he only needed it a short while longer. He only needed to start the light speed overdrive and he would achieve his goal. No more Doctor, no more universe. He searched his mind, for a distraction, something to gain him the time he needed. 'You cannot exist without me Timelord. Don't be foolish, don't sign your own death warrant.'

But his last minute attempt at any type of appeal was too late. The Doctor had already reached back in time; back into his mind to the first time he played the contest. The Doctor closed his eyes. His brow wrinkled as his mind constructed the next course of action. The words began to leave his lips, at first with a mumbled sound, but then growing in volume until they became audible to everyone including Fenric himself.

Dessert winds violate the night shifting sands bringing the contest to life.

From the sands I pull bones never touched by human hands.

I carve the pawns, the champions of the game that once held flesh and now shall reign.

The game that began before time itself is renewed, but this time you must loose.

Your fate is sealed the contest you cannot choose.

The pawns unite the war is at hand. Evil, you will be defeated by one single man.

The pieces are placed upon the board, a riddle, a game, which you must explore.

You were the genesis for this contest, and you have decreed its demise.

From this contest but a single champion shall arise.

I defeat you evil, I send you back to where light cannot reach, back into the shadows

Where time appears to have ceased.

Eternity is the time you will spend, I reach into time, to that place you have known, back to the shadows that you must roam.

The interior of the SSC workroom darkened as the rift in the time continuum approached. Almost instantly the exterior doors of the TARDIS flew open. Lightning filled the space and storm induced winds carried Julia, the Doctor, Ace and lastly Fenric out of the TRADIS and into the SCC control room.

Using the last of his energies Fenric quickly got to his feet. At first he appeared ready to run, but then he turned to the Doctor. He turned up his lips to show his teeth. A gesture that could easily be mistaken for a grin, but the growl, and low mumbling sounds exiting from Fenric were a cry from the belly of evil. He was preparing to rip the Timelord to death. He longed to tear the flesh of this man. He longed to end its puny life. With every fiber of his existence he wanted this man dead.

'You have not the will, Timelord,' Fenric yelled into the storm. Lightening filled the air, along with cracks of thunder. Yet through it all the ghostly voice of Fenric reigned. 'I can never be destroyed. Do you hear me Timelord? NEVER. I existed before your universe ever did, and I shall continue.'

The Doctor continued repeating his chant undaunted by Fenric's cries. Then, with the passing of his hand into the air, Fenric slowly faded, leaving behind only a faint glow. The storm ceased.

Ace, and Julia were both speechless, what could one say. Finally, Ace had to ask. ''Um, how?'

'I willed it, or rather yet he - or should I say - they - or how about we.'

'So it is over?' asked Julia

'For the time being.'

'What will happen now?'

The Doctor turned waving his hands in the air 'This should never have happened, and once I'm done putting everything back in place, it never will have.'

Julia was stunned. It had just been too much. What ever this crazy person wanted, she would allow. As they got to their feet the Doctor turned back to the TARDIS entrance way and was greeted by an old friend. Ace noticed it also.

'The TARDIS?'

'Seems like it is back to it's police box motif' stated the Doctor.

Julia turned to look. 'What is that?'

'My office, my lab, my phone,' stated the Doctor.

Julia felt ill. She grabbed the counter and sat down in a chair. It was that crazy police-box story again. She could not take it.

'What is wrong with her?' asked Ace.

'Shock - Police boxes sometimes induce that.' He smiled a toothy smile at Ace and then tipped his hat towards Julia. The Doctor walked with Ace over to the TARDIS and opened the door for the young woman. Once inside, he headed for the controls.

'How about a marble statue, for old times sake? Maybe Mercury, the messenger, can send out a message that yet again I have saved the universe.'

'What are you talking about now, Professor?'

'The chameleon circuit, Ace, please pay attention.'

'Mercury. Yeah that would be cool. Romana kind of inspired you to try out a statue, huh?'

'Romana.' He puffed: 'Why that is hardly original.'

The Doctor entered the information into the console to transform the outer plasma shell of the TARDIS into something resembling a statue of Mercury. On the viewer, the exterior of the blue police box shuddered, and then it remained a blue police box.

'Oh yeah, hardly original like a blue police box,' Ace stated.

The Doctor reached over and patted the TARDIS on the console. 'It is all right, if you like this shape, then the reached police box shape it will be.'

'What about Benny?'

'Oh, that should take care of itself. Once we slip back into our normal time stream, none of this will really have happened.'

With that said, the Doctor reached over and dematerialized the TARDIS.

Julia looked up just in time to see the police box disappear, then she put her head back down. It had been a long life for her.

With a sly grin, he arranged the pieces upon the board

Evil cried in vain

The match was won

But the game continues

It always continues

Dr. Julia Taylor sat at her kitchen table. She had just received a phone call that confirmed her fears; the SSC project would not be given a second chance. As a scientist, she was disappointed, but her life would continue. She had her whole career in front of her, and even though she only worked for a small college she was comforted to know that the pay would always stink and that she would always be needed. She had young minds to shape, and the future to mold.

Romana's mind was taken a universe away, through the CVE that connected the two universes, E-space and N-space, to the memories of an old friend. Romana did not know why she was thinking of the Doctor. He rarely entered her thoughts; she stayed entirely too busy constructing a working TARDIS to have to many jaunts down memory lane. Maybe someday when she had completed her TARDIS she would dare to navigate through the CVE and back into N-Space to find that Timelord, maybe someday. She smiled, and in her two hearts she wished him well where ever he might be.

Somewhere in the universe a newborn infant cried out. It was a new day and a new beginning for evil. It's life had already been touched by Fenric. It was a new pawn in a new game. It's future had already been written, it's destiny had been decided.

The Doctor sat in his room deep inside the TARDIS. He was currently in his seventh incarnation, and below the brow of the small stature man with the gentle smile a storm was ragging. The decor of his inter sanctum was sparse, but it mattered little to him, especially now. He rarely came here, and to his knowledge he was the only one who had ever ventured this deep into the TARDIS. He liked the solitude that it provided. But aside from solitude, he sought relief more than anything else. He held his head in his hands. He looked up briefly at his surroundings, a look of anguished pained across his face. He placed his head back in his hands. It was simply too much. He mumbled to himself 'Too many lives that were not mine have been given in the game.' He paused and then once again raised his head and looked around. 'Too many decisions that were not mine to make have been made.' He rose to his feet as memories filled his head. 'My companions had always assumed that I was in control. That I knew what was going on. But I am a pawn.' He knew the game was not his, yet he had to play it. The Doctor returned to his chair and set down heavily. The wood creaked as he rested fully in the chair. As he sat with his eyes closed, his mind raced repeating bits of the puzzle over and over like a broken record. His analytical skills, perfected almost to the point of the Logopolians, tried to understand something that he could barely grasp.

He spoke through gritted teeth 'Maybe the Timelords had been right when they put me on trial. Maybe I do go too far' he stood to his feet and yelled 'But how could I stop?' His words echoed in his room, repeating again and again 'how could I stop?' With each successive regeneration he became more enlightened, more aware of what the consequences would be if he did stop. But how could he continue, at what point was the price too high? It was a game that could never be won, nor would never end. The odds were always against him. He never had an opportunity to act, only to react. And it was always after the fact, always after the match had already begun.

By most counts, even for a Timelord , he was no longer young. His TARDIS was starting to show its age, outdated long ago. It was outdated when he first became aware of the game, back on his home planet of Gallifrey. Or was he aware of the game before that? It was so hard to tell. His awareness of the game seemed to lie just below his subconscious, but it was always there, always shaping his every move. Deep undercurrents, rushing, crashing, molding, were always below the surface, but always present. How could he continue this fight? There was no solution only more questions more obstacles. His own race, the Timelords, so advanced in many ways, could never grasp the full meaning of the game. How could they, it baffled him most the time. Yet, it had fashioned much of his life.

From deep inside the TARDIS the Doctor thought for a brief second that he heard the forewarning toll of the cloister bells, but it appeared to be only his imagination. 'Not now', he said. 'I'm not ready' .He waited, but the sound did not repeat itself.

With a smile on his face, he stood up and looked around. He patted the roundel nearest him and said to the TARDIS 'I must look into doing some repairs on this TARDIS when I get a chance'. The TARDIS returned his statement with the smooth sounding rhythm of the engines transporting him and his companions through both time and space.