And then, as if suddenly electrified, he scooped them up and clutched them to his chest like the baby was real, and the bottle the most precious in all creation.

Because, very possibly, it was.

Sabbath moved purposefully through the vibrating corridors of his craft, the gun gripped in both hands. Now he had three apes at his heels. He had collected two from the control deck, the brightest and cleverest who were trained never to leave the heart of the Jonah Jonah. They had remained to guard against any possible attack while the others of his crew had investigated the Doctor's intrusion: now he had given them direct orders to enter combat mode. Their teeth were bared, their animal excitement roused. They would show no mercy.

He paused by the darkened hold. The fallen orang-utan had vanished.

A low groan came from the shadows, the sound of someone dragging themselves back to consciousness. Sabbath peered into the gloom, tried the switch but the lights were malfunctioning.

He detected movement. Caught sight of a figure shifting weakly in the shadows, of pale skin on a big, bulbous head. Clearly his ape had recovered and dealt well with this mutiny.

'Kalic.u.m,' he sneered. 'It seems the future has stored some surprises for us both.' He levelled his gun at the shadows. 'Come out. Now.'

There was no response.

Sabbath stepped aside and clicked his fingers, and his apes rushed in to the room, shrieking and roaring, fangs bared. But though they seized the figure he did not come easily.

'Take him alive,' Sabbath commanded, impatient with the struggle.

But by now his eyes were adjusting. He saw one gorilla grasp that big, oddly wrinkled head.

And peel off the saggy, wrinkled skin of some kind of mask to reveal the enraged and screeching ape beneath.

Sabbath scowled. He, of all people, was allowing his rage to taint his intelligence. He opened his mouth, about to bellow at his crew to cease this charade. Then he felt a sharp metal point stick deep into the back of his neck. His voice died in the back of his throat.

'Sorry, dearie,' hissed a female voice in his ear. 'But you really shouldn't judge by first appearances. Get the point?'

'Catch this female and kill her,' Sabbath gasped at his bewildered apes, as he started sinking to the floor. He fumbled for the dart in his neck and yanked it out. His vision began to blur. But he clenched his fists and fought against the drug, focused on his heartbeat, drove it faster and faster, fast enough to drive out the poison, fast enough to beat his other senses back into life. He would not submit.

As his apes bundled en ma.s.se en ma.s.se in pursuit of their human quarry, Sabbath set off dizzily down the pa.s.sageway. The floor was still trembling beneath his feet as if in fear. in pursuit of their human quarry, Sabbath set off dizzily down the pa.s.sageway. The floor was still trembling beneath his feet as if in fear.

As he neared Kalic.u.m's lair, a familiar voice called his name. He turned, forced himself to focus.

Then he half smiled. 'Doctor.'

'It's over, Sabbath,' said the Doctor softly from the shadows.

Sabbath turned away and staggered on, swung the wheel that opened the door to the capsule chamber. 'Not yet it isn't,' he hissed thickly.

Anji stared out in wonder through the windows in the wall of Chloe's ship, clutching hold of Fitz's hand.

They had arrived.

Here they stood, before the beginning of the universe, standing in a few homemade seconds of time.

Outside was the void, the absolute nothingness that held the speck that could ignite at any moment into... everything.

Anji had expected to feel awe and majesty and a million different emotions. But with disappointment she found there was nothing stirring inside her. Maybe because that was all there was, anywhere.

Everywhere.

Nothing.

'It's actually kind of boring, isn't it?' muttered Fitz. 'It reminds me of the halfway house on Mount Snowdon on a foggy day.'

'Thanks, Fitz,' she said. 'Should anyone ever actually ask me what it was like to be standing on the cusp of all creation, you'll be pleased to know that brilliant observation of yours will be the only b.l.o.o.d.y thing I'll be able to think of.'

He shrugged. 'Shall we see how our chauffeurs are doing?'

They crossed quickly over to Chloe, who was trying to shake Jamais awake, tears streaming down her face. 'Help me!' she shouted. 'Please! He won't wake up!'

Anji was on her knees beside the little girl in a moment, feeling for a pulse in Jamais's cold, sealskin neck.

'It was too much to bring everything here! Too much!'

Anji pressed her hands against the animal's chest, but there was nothing there now. Jamais's eyes were closed, his breathing had ceased.

'Poor little b.u.g.g.e.r,' sighed Fitz softly, as Chloe shrieked in pain.

Anji reached out to the girl through the net, who tried clumsily to hold her back. She felt the cold buzz of the mesh pressing into her skin, but ignored it. Chloe was sobbing and wailing, trapped in the net with two corpses.

'We've got to get her out of here!' Anji snapped at Fitz like he was somehow responsible.

'Wait,' he said, calmly. 'When Erasmus died, the net lost power. Now the pet's popped his little clogs, well...' He raised his eyebrows at her.

She saw the links in the mesh were glowing only feebly now.

'Try it,' she said.

As she shushed and made rea.s.suring noises to Chloe, Fitz took the edge of the mesh caught beneath the cold, stiff bulk of Erasmus and pulled. Gently, he eased it over the big man's body and up over Chloe's skinny legs.

'That's it,' muttered Anji, and helped him manoeuvre the net up over the little girl's shuddering body. 'Hold still, sweetheart. The net can't hold you now.'

With a shout of triumph, Fitz finished lifting the mesh free and threw it with all his strength. It skittered away, like a wounded animal, before stopping lifeless in a tangled heap. Anji lifted Chloe away from the cold bodies of those the little girl had loved, and held her as close as she could.

A clanging sound from the Jonah Jonah made Anji jump and Fitz swear. Even Chloe looked up from Anji's shoulder. made Anji jump and Fitz swear. Even Chloe looked up from Anji's shoulder.

It was the hatch cover on top of the Jonah Jonah. First it shook, then it swung open.

'Help me!' yelled Trix, her head sticking up from the conning tower. 'There's a b.l.o.o.d.y great ape with a gun right behind me!'

'Get out of there, then!' Fitz shouted.

'Nice one, Einstein,' muttered Anji, plonking Chloe into his arms. She ran to the side of the Jonah Jonah and swung herself up the slippery rungs. and swung herself up the slippery rungs.

'What are you going to do,' called Fitz crossly, 'throw it a banana?'

That would at least be a stab at a plan, thought Anji ruefully as she reached the deck.

Trix had almost made it out of the hatch. Then she shrieked and fell forwards.

'It's got my foot!' she gasped, her fingers sc.r.a.ping against bare metal as she tried frantically to find something to grab hold of, anything that could stop her being pulled back down inside the ship.

Anji threw herself on her front and reached down into the dark hatchway. She felt thick, rubbery fingers clamped round Trix's ankle presumably the beast's other hand held the gun, but there was no room to wield it in the cramped s.p.a.ce. So she dug in with her nails as hard as she could, gritting her teeth, working the sharp points as deep and far into the animal's flesh as she A guttural grunt echoed up at her and the fingers pulled away. With a yell of triumph Trix shot forwards, slithering out over the metal and losing her balance. As Trix fell to the floor far below with a thump, Anji closed the lid of the hatch. Then she looked over the side of the ship.

Trix was lying winded on the wooden floor, panting for breath. But she gave Anji a weak thumbs up, which Anji returned.

'That's not going to hold them!' yelled Fitz. 'They'll just work the mechanism from the inside! Trix, where's the Doctor?'

Anji jumped for the rungs without even turning back round. She could hear the hiss and buzz of the hatch mechanism opening even now.

'He stayed to try and help Guy,' Trix gasped, still fighting for breath. 'No chance, I reckon.'

'We're all dead anyway!' shouted Chloe, her wonky eyes all red and puffy. 'We can only exist here because of Jamais providing the time. Now he's gone, his protection's fading too!'

Fitz helped Trix back up, and Chloe ran and threw herself back into Anji's arms. The hungry howl of one of the apes roared up out of the hatchway.

Anji felt like joining in with its screams.

Sabbath staggered inside the capsule room. Beyond the grey matt bulk of the capsule, he saw Kalic.u.m was stirring on the spotless tiles of his surgical theatre, his large head bobbing from side to side on his scrawny neck.

Kalic.u.m saw him and smiled. 'Greetings, foolish one.' He eased himself up into a sitting position.

'You've been attacked,' Sabbath observed.

'This form I wear is weak.' He turned his back to Sabbath to inspect his controls.

'It is your spirit that is weak, Kalic.u.m. You are corruptible, beneath contempt.' He advanced. 'And I will prove a shrewd Caesar to you.'

Kalic.u.m seemed not to hear, engrossed in the console's displays. 'Good... The diamonds are breeding. The body is in the capsule. All is prepared.'

'What is in those diamonds?' Sabbath demanded, dragging his coat sleeve over his sweating brow. 'To what have you bent my purpose? You will tell me.'

But even as he spoke, the capsule glowed with an unearthly light and faded from view.

'It is done,' said Kalic.u.m simply. 'And alas, my poor, simple dreamer, I shall tell you nothing.'

Sabbath could feel the drug filing down his senses, gaining hold. He clutched his head in his two huge hands, forced himself to focus on Kalic.u.m. But where once there was a man, now there was only a column of crystal, ice-bright and stretching from floor to ceiling.

Then it cracked, with a noise like bones breaking.

Sabbath collected his wits and dived for the door. His senses jolted and jarred as he tumbled out into the corridor, heaved shut the door and spun the locking wheel just as the crystal column shattered and a million lethal shards shattered through the room, destroying everything.

He staggered back up. Headed for the bridge of the Jonah Jonah. He must summon his ape crew, find a way out.

He would live to know the answers to his questions. And he would act accordingly.

Anji backed away alongside the others as the gorilla leaped out from the hatch like a jack-in-the-box and ranged over the prow of the Jonah Jonah. It swung round the rifle to cover them, mouth wide open, a defiant roar building in the back of its throat.

Then it c.o.c.ked its head, as if listening to something Anji couldn't hear. She glanced at Fitz anxiously, but his eyes were glued to the ma.s.sive ape, as were Trix's.

'His master is calling,' said Chloe quietly. 'He has to obey.'

And sure enough, the ape turned and lurched back over to the hatch. The gun fell from its fingers, a toy suddenly forgotten along with its targets.

'Maybe they're getting ready to leave,' said Trix.

'But they can't!' Anji cried helplessly. 'The Doctor's still on board!'

'Look!' shouted Fitz. He was pointing through the window.

The capsule had appeared, a huge silver bullet hovering in the void.

'Guy must be in there,' Trix realised.

Anji made for the door. 'Come on!' she told the others. 'We've got to get that thing open and get Guy out!'

'Terrific,' said Fitz nervously.

'Why does everyone have to be a hero?' said Trix sourly.

Fitz poked her in the ribs. 'I didn't hear you complain when '

'Can we just go if we're going?' hissed Anji. 'Before my nerve's gone all together.'

'I'll help you,' said Chloe shyly.

Anji opened the doors and took a deep breath.

'So this is nothing,' she said.

The void was absolute and seemed well, it would, Anji supposed to stretch out forever. If you looked at any one patch for too long your head throbbed and you started to feel sick, so Anji decided to just focus on the distant capsule outside.

'There's no ground, no surface,' said Fitz anxiously. 'Well be like in the cartoons, we'll start running and we'll fall!'

'No,' said Chloe. 'This is s.p.a.ce Jamais has given us. It should still be stable.'

'But look how far away that capsule is!' moaned Trix.

'There's no time, no s.p.a.ce, not really,' Chloe told them. 'They're distorted. Can't you see?'