177.

The Doctor crouched beside Chris. The young Adjudicator's hands were covering his head. He was shaking. 'I'm sorry,' he pleaded. 'I'm so sorry.'

The Doctor reached out with his own mind and unlocked Chris's thoughts.

The force of his Cousins' contempt knocked him backward. The hatred for all the torment he had given them and all the things he had made them lose.

He did not belong to their Family. They rejected him utterly.

'They came this way,' said Leela.

There were fresh footsteps in the white dust where one of a cl.u.s.ter of bulbous fungi had exploded. The tracks followed the course of an indoor stream, through an open gate, until it reached a cavernous flooded hal .

Dorothee pointed to a group of boats on the far side. 'Fancy a swim?' she said.

Leela eyed the black water warily.

'I wouldn't if I were you,' said a familiar voice.

Romana was walking down the pa.s.sage towards them. Her hair was down and she wore a scarlet tunic with grey trousers and practical boots.

The princ.i.p.al-boy look, thought Dorothee.

'This time I real y am here,' Romana said and shook hands to prove it. 'Have you found him yet?'

Dorothee and Leela exchanged glances.

It was easier than Glospin expected to get the Doctor's TARDIS upright. Owis, who had the digestive system of a gullet-grub and was already sufficiently recovered from poisoning himself, soon managed the job with Rynde's a.s.sistance.

'You'l still need a key to get inside,' said Captain Redred.

Glospin examined the ship's doors. 'Not necessarily,' he said. He pushed the door with his finger and it swung open. 'Someone forgot to secure it.'

His Cousins cl.u.s.tered at his shoulders. The hum of instruments came from the dark interior.

A sudden gasp of air stirred the hangings around the Hall and sent little dust devils spinning across the floor. A fresh shudder ran through the House.

'What's that?' said Rynde, peering up at the galleries. 'Feels like a warning.'

Glospin nodded across the Hall.

The Drudges had turned to stare at the gla.s.s casket on the dais. The hologram of Quences had finally guttered out. The dry skeleton lay in its place.

There was a sound like indoor thunder.

'I don't like the sound of that,' said Romana once she had listened to Leela and Dorothee's story.

'Why have you followed us?' said Leela.

Dorothee grinned. 'Having a spot of bother at home?'

178.

Romana looked embarra.s.sed. 'Yes, actually. The truth is I'm on the run. Andred and Amba.s.sador Whitecub barely got me out alive. Lord Ferain's seized control. He's trying to legalize my impeachment, so I'm not sure if I even have a Presidency by now.'

'Is Andred safe?' said Leela.

Romana levelled at her. 'He's admirable. But your running off like that didn't help matters.'

'The Doctor needed me,' Leela protested.

'So do we al ,' said Romana sternly.

The House boomed and rumbled. Little waves began to slap in at their feet. Across the water, a crowd of ragged figures was gathering on the half-submerged staircase.

'I think the Doctor's found his Family,' said Romana.

'They will never get across in those boats,' Leela said.

The House shuddered. A rain of plaster and wood began to fall from the atrium's dome, splashing into the lagoon.

The white branches that held up the roof were twisting and tearing themselves loose. The three companions watched as two treetrunk pillars, one on either side of the water, wrenched themselves free of the walls and tilted inward. Branches crackled and snapped as the ma.s.sive growths wound and matted themselves together into a single span over the lagoon.

Immediately, the crowd began to shuffle over the new bridge.

'Where's the Doctor?' demanded Romana as the first Cousins reached the near side.

None of them answered. Their eyes were empty. Load of zombies, thought Dorothee, watching the procession until the last skeletal stragglers had pa.s.sed.

'Come on,' she said, leading the others across.

When they reached the room, they found Chris hauling a shape out of a wel set in the floor.

'Not more companions,' he said when he saw them. His voice had a Scottish burr. 'Sometimes you're more trouble than you're worth. Al right, just stay together, do as you're told and try not to al need rescuing at once.'

He deposited the shape at their feet. 'Beaten up by my own Cousins,' he continued.

The shape had a hat on. It was the Doctor, more bruised than ever. 'Only my dignity,' he whispered unconvincingly.

Chris seemed to lose interest. He wandered away and sat in a corner.

The Doctor flinched when they touched him. 'I only wanted to be part of the Family,' he said. 'I went through al the correct procedures. Gene weaving, birth trauma, education, acne. . . obviously it wasn't enough.'

'We could leave in the TARDIS,' said Dorothee.

'No! No one goes near my ship.'

He was very apprehensive when he recognized Romana. 'What's she doing here?' he said in Leela's ear. 'Doesn't she have a planet to run?'

'I've come to help,' said Romana.

179.

'It is true,' said Leela.

'Any more of you outside?' he called. 'It's getting like the Last Rites or a wake.'

'Doctor,' Romana said sternly.

He sighed. 'You've done very well, Madam President. The future is so important.'

'And the past?' she said.

'Oh, the past. The past is dead and buried. I'll never know now.' A look of despair thundered across his face. 'And the future? I couldn't see beyond my seventh regeneration. The original Eighth Man Bound. Perhaps I have no future to see...'

His eyes closed.

'He's working himself into a premorphic trauma,' said Romana across him. 'Unless we do something drastic, he may deny himself regeneration.'

Dorothee leant forward. 'Doctor, if you're not part of the Family - '

'No,' interrupted Leela. 'You cannot ask him that.'

'I'm me me now,' he whispered. 'What good is that...?' now,' he whispered. 'What good is that...?'

'But who were you?' said Dorothee.

The Doctor's words were drifting away. 'Too many thoughts. Can't think any more... Sorry.'

'He's hardly breathing,' said Leela.

There was a movement at the door. A woman with short brown hair was leaning weakly against the frame. She wore a plain white shift and was dragging a rust-coloured dress behind her. 'If he's to live, we must unlock his mind.'

She walked unsteadily into the room.

Dorothee stared at her. 'Who are you?'

The woman held up the dress. 'His Cousin,' she said.

Leela scrambled up. 'Innocet? What happened? Have you regenerated? You must rest.'

The woman nodded wearily. She was shorter and her face ful er than the old Innocet. 'Don't be concerned for me.

We must help him.'

'Romanadvoratrelundar,' said Romana, awkwardly offering a hand. 'Please come and sit down. Are you sure you're up to this?'

Innocet closed her eyes. 'The more support, the better. Now, please sit in a circle.'

They sat and linked hands, circling the Doctor.

Innocet took a deep breath and began muttering to herself.

Behind them, Chris clutched his head. ' I am I am the Doctor. the Doctor. I am. I am. I am I am. I am. I am!' He pulled off his boot and threw it across the room.

The companions glanced warily from one to another.

180.

Innocet's head went back. Her eyes were white, the colour of looking inward.

'Why did you leave us?' Her voice resonated through her fingers, into their heads, making the circle one. 'Where have you been? Who are you?'

'Vultures!' shouted the Doctor. His body arched as if something was being torn out of him. He slumped back and lay stil .

'Can't catch me,' whispered Chris.

Innocet shuddered and sat back. The circle was broken.

'He's gone,' she said, her voice trembling. 'There's nothing. His mind is dark. I was too late.'

181.

Chapter Thirty.

The Abysm

Three two one, three two one, A wreath of roses lay.

Ra.s.silon's dead and Omega's lost, The other one's gone away.

Three to wonder and bide their time, They'l al come back one day.

Transcribed from hieroglyphics in the Domdaniel Caverns on Strava.