“Come on, lad,” said the Doctor, “we need to get away from that monster behind us.”
Yentob looked beyond them and to the huge shape that was getting closer. “Yes I know.”
“Then let us pass, man,” said Nivere.
“Only on one condition.”
“Okay, okay what is it?” asked the Doctor, nervously glancing behind him.
“That you allow me to come with you.”
“What?” said the Doctor, confused.
“My God, my Lord, has done me a great dishonour. He has taken away his divine love.”
“Ah…”
“I want to show him that I can still be worthy of him.”
The Doctor thought he’d guessed the plan. “By taking us prisoner?”
“No,” replied Yentob. “But simply taking you to him, avoiding his tests and proving I am worthy.”
“Sounds like a prisoner exchange to me,” said the Doctor grimly.
“Once you get into my Lords domain you’re free to do what you want.”
The Doctor looked behind him again, the monster almost on top of them. “Can you use magic?”
“No, I’ve been cut off from it. I’m alone.”
“Doctor, we must act now!” urged Nivere.
“Yes. Yes let’s go.”
Yentob managed a slight smile and they dashed onwards.
They ran for a few minutes until there was a huge earthquake and the Doctor, Nivere and Yentob fell to the ground. The sandman exploded in a cloud of sand and dust and covered the tree’s. Screams could be heard coming from the sky and a giant green eye seemed to form and hover over Tressure’s fortress.
“Tressure!” shouted the Doctor. “Tressure, what is going on?”
“The final test,” boomed the Gods voice across the heavens.
“What final test?” asked Nivere.
“The final ever test,” said Yentob slowly. “We have learnt about it in our teachings.”
“What about the other tests we were meant to go against?” said the Doctor, suddenly realising time had run out.
“I tire of games,” boomed Tressure. “All tests are cancelled. You and your friends are in danger. Prepare to face the end of the world! The end of my world!”
The ground shook and the jungle burst into flames around them.
Caroline was finding it difficult to walk and almost felt like throwing up. She hadn’t had an experience like this since she’d been on the rides at Thornsby funfair and even that wasn’t this bad.
“Do you think that voice was talking to the Doctor?” asked Dennington.
“Very probably. Tressure’s grown tired of toying with us and we’re probably all going to end up dead,” said Dunjan, clutching to a stone building for support.
The ground opened up and Ivy and Dunjan fell down into the depths of the fortress dungeons. Caroline peered over the edge but there was no sign of them.
“Now what?” asked Caroline, beginning to lose hope.
“I have no idea. They’ll be under there somewhere. We have to get back into the fortress.”
A group of guards ran towards Caroline and Dennington, but they faded away as thunder rolled up above.
Tressure laughed out loud as his toys began falling apart.
The Doctor’s party had reached the outer wall. It wasn’t a problem getting in as the wall had already been partially demolished.
The Doctor ran ahead of Nivere and Yentob and headed for directly underneath the giant green eye. He stared up at it, determination on his face and fighting against the massive gusts of wind.
“I’m coming for you, Tressure!” shouted the Doctor.
He was caught in a green beam of light, and, just like a sci-fi movie of 20th century Earth, he was dragged up into the sky. He shielded his eyes against the giant green light and then in a flash the Doctor disappeared.
For the Doctor everything had faded to black. He was lying on a floor of what he assumed was made of metal. His head was hurting, but as far as he could ascertain he was still in one piece. The darkness began to form into a shape and the image of a spaceships command bridge blurred into view.
Sat around the ship were various suited-up control operators. Sitting in a central chair was a more human looking version of Tressure. He looked fresh-faced and young.
“Captain Tressure, I presume?” said the Doctor.
“Correct, Doctor,” smiled Tressure.
“But why here?” asked the Doctor, noticing the bridge operators hadn’t moved at all.
“Why not? This is how I would have looked had I not been touched by the Eye. No, actually,” he said, remembering something, “my body would be badly burned and charred.”
“You were in an accident. You were offered power to save your life and you took it. I can’t say I blame you, but you’ve gone about it the wrong way, perverted the Eye’s power for evil.”
“What you call your evil is my good,” said Tressure smugly.
“I’ve heard that one before.” The Doctor walked slowly around the stations of the bridge. No one moved. No one even made a sound. They just sat there, oblivious to the Doctor’s presence.
“Do you want me to tell you a story, Doctor?”
“It depends what it‘s about.”
“It’s about you and Captain Nivere and why I was so interested in you.”
“Let me guess. It’s because I’m a Time Lord.”
Tressure smiled at the thought. “Yes. That’s the reason I was so interested in you. I believe you are worthy of joining me.”
“And what about Nivere?”
“Oh, the good Captain. Didn’t you know the truth about her?”
“The truth?”
“Yes. She’s one of the Ancestors.”
“What?”
Nivere picked her way through the ruined buildings closely followed by Yentob. “What has happened to the Doctor?” asked the young man.
“At a guess I’d say he’s gone up to see your God. I should have been the one.”
“You are a lowly human being,” snarled Yentob.
“I’m much more than that, Yentob. Yes, I’m a human but I’m still much more. And more than you’ll ever be as well,” she added nastily.
Nivere suddenly felt a pain in her chest and she collapsed to the floor. The sky spun around above her and suddenly everything was black. When she dared to open her eyes she was floating above a church.
“Where am I?” she asked. But there was no reply. And then she recognised her surroundings.
From the church door a younger version of herself emerged followed by a young woman with strawberry blonde hair. They both wore old fashioned Earth clothes.
“Please, Jayne,” she said, “try and see reason.”
“Have I not been fair?” She spoke in an American accent. “Have I not allowed us all to live proper lives?”
“Yes, but-”
“But nothing, April. It’s our own stupid fault that we’re in this situation. The least you can do is act with some responsibility.”
“I’m sorry. Give me another chance.”
“How many chances do you want?” scolded Jayne. “Thomas and Rebecca knew the consequences when they had their little…encounter, and so do you. You do not use your powers for your own gain.”
“Please…”
“No. From here on our your powers are relinquished from you.”
Nivere collapsed to the floor, crying and begging at Jayne’s feet. “But where shall I go? I can’t live here in this primitive time.”
“I’ll send you to the future,” said Jayne. “Maybe you’ll learn your lesson and stop misusing power given to you.”
Up in the clouds, the older Nivere was crying. “No. No!” She cried.
“Why wont you tell me about these Ancestors?” asked the Doctor.
“It’s not your place to know yet,” said Tressure, calmly.
“Why not?”
“That would be telling,” smirked Tressure.
Ivy and Dunjan opened their eyes. Ivy was getting fed up of waking up in bad situations, but thankfully, at the moment, everything seemed peaceful. She was content to close her eyes and go back to sleep. Her body ached and her left wrist felt very painful, maybe she‘d broken it, but she decided that giving up would only allow Tressure to win.
She sat up and realised, to her dismay, that she was surrounded by solid metal bars. And worst of all was that she was in Tressure’s throne room.
“What’s happening now?” groaned Dunjan, still lying at her side.
“Looks like we’ve been taken prisoner,” said Ivy standing up. “But I can’t see the big boss man anywhere.”
It was true. Tressure had disappeared, but in the darkness Ivy noticed Danny sitting in Tressure’s throne.
“He won’t be happy with that,” she said.
“My Lord has allowed me to take charge until he returns,” replied Danny darkly.
“And where has he gone?” asked Dunjan.
“To…” Danny suddenly felt uncomfortable, “…to talk to the Doctor.”
“Why?”
“To find out whether the Doctor is worthy of the power.”
“The Doctor will never accept his power. He’s not selfish like you,” said Ivy.
Ivy couldn’t see it, but in the dark Danny flinched at the word ‘selfish’.
“I am only serving my God.”
“You’re just power mad.”
“Be easy on him, Ivy,” said Dunjan. “He has a weak mind. Tressure can take those sort of people quickly.”
“You’re right about the weak bit,” said Ivy, sitting down again.
In the throne Danny began to shake. “How much longer?” he whispered to himself.
Yentob had met up with Dennington and Caroline. At first Caroline hadn’t trusted the young savage, but Dennington made her see reason that everyone had to try and work together now.
“Where’s Nivere?” asked Dennington.
“She went elsewhere,” said Yentob, dismissing the question.
“So what’s your plan, Mark?” asked Caroline.
“I’m not sure. We need to find the others.”
“Well,” began Yentob. “I can’t be certain where your two friends will be held, but when I was possessed by Tressure I took the lizard man to one of the lower dungeons.”
“You mean Grasp is still alive?” asked Dennington.
“Yes. He’s injured, but he’s still alive.”
“Do we really need Grasp?” asked Caroline, remembering how difficult the lizard could be.
“He’s got strength. Strength that we need. Let’s go.”
They crossed the shaking ground, avoiding drops and cracks in the ground until they finally reached the entrance to the main fortress building. Outside were two crumbled guards bodies.
Yentob seemed extremely distressed.
“Something up?” asked Caroline.
“Yes. For many years I’ve been taught to believe that our Lord cares for us, helps us through life. But this…” He indicated the bodies.
“He’s trying to destroy this planet, Yentob,” said Dennington. “I wouldn’t trust a God who did that.”
Yentob closed his eyes and clasped the stone eye around his neck. “I wanted to be faithful to him. I wanted to show him I was worthy to join his worshippers again. But this is too much.”
“What are you going to do?” asked Caroline.
Yentob pulled the stone eye from it’s chain and threw it into one of the deep chasms in the ground.
“My Lord - no, Tressure - is no longer my God. It is time he realised that you cannot turn your back on those who loved and cared for him. Tressure must pay for this!”
Caroline patted him on the shoulder and smiled at Dennington. Then, setting their sights on their main objective, they pushed open the fortress gates and went inside.
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