Doctor Who_ Return Of The Living Dad Part 36

'Not now,' said the Doctor. 'Not now you've done this to her. She's gone further and further away from being human.'

'She's been exploring,' said Albinex. 'Discovering what she's capable of. Time doesn't limit her the way it limits me.

Or even you. I believe,' he breathed, 'she could do anything.'

The Doctor smiled. 'Except make me give you those codes.'

The Fury looked down at him.

He held his ground as she descended. The wind rushed through his body, not disturbing the air around him, not moving a hair on his head.

She reached out her hands to him, smiled at him with blind eyes. He took her hands in his.

M'Kabel imagined he could see s.p.a.ce-time straining around the Doctor and the ghost as they connected. The Doctor's mouth opened as her power poured into him. His eyes flickered and closed as his head fell backwards.

His hat fell off. M'Kabel jumped.

Take him back,' Albinex told the ghost. 'Take him back to when he first learnt the codes.'

M'Kabel had the impression of rushing motion, hidden under some surface skin of reality. The Doctor's eyes opened again, staring blankly into the ghost's face, as she unwound his life.

There was a sudden ripple in the room, a grinding, tearing sensation. The Doctor cried out in an alien tongue.

M'Kabel couldn't tell whether it was pain or surprise or some arcane Gallifreyan emotion.

She pushed, pushed him down to his knees, fighting every step of the way. She was gripping his wrists, forcing them together, back against his chest. Their faces were an inch apart, not touching, their eyes locked.

The Doctor yelled again, turning his head sharply to one side, eyes tightly closed. She pushed pushed. He cried out in that dark language. She PUSHED. His mouth opened, but no sound emerged.

I CAN'T DO IT she said. M'Kabel flinched at the ripple of her voice through his viscera. she said. M'Kabel flinched at the ripple of her voice through his viscera.

'What's the problem?' said Albinex.

I CAN'T GET BACK BEFORE HIS DEATH.

'His what?'

HE DIED.

'You said the regenerations wouldn't matter.'

THIS ONE IS DIFFERENT.

She let go of him, suddenly, and he fell sideways onto the floor. M'Kabel hovered, alarmed, until she floated back and away. Keeping his eyes on the ghost, he crept up to the Doctor and checked that he was breathing.

'Do you forgive me yet?' said the Time Lord' in a tiny, distant voice' and closed his eyes.

For the first time' Isaac looked ruffled.

He was holding onto his grandson. Keith Brannigan Kane-Summerfield was a bright-eyed toddler, perhaps eighteen months old. He was wearing a dark blue pair of overalls and a stripey T-shirt.

He had burst into wails when he'd first arrived' but a few cuddles and a bit of warmed milk later he was quite happy to sit on granddad's lap and look around.

Not one of them doubted that it was Keith.

'How?' breathed Jason.

He held out a finger, and his son closed his tiny fist around it. 'Va va va va va,' said Keith.

'Well, we're not going to get any answers out of you,'

said Jason.

'The Doctor could tell us,' said Benny. 'Maybe Keith fell back through time, somehow.'

'But why? What for?' said Isaac.

Benny just shook her head. 'The Doctor could tell us.'

Roz came into the shop. She looked at the four of them.

'What's this?'

'This is our means of reproduction,' said Benny. 'We call it a "child".'

'It's my grandson,' said Isaac. He grinned, just for a moment, his eyes astonished.

Roz looked between Benny and Jason. 'What, did he bud off, or something?'

'The ghost gave him to us,' said Benny. 'We need the Doctor.'

'b.l.o.o.d.y h.e.l.l,' said Roz. 'Well' why are you just sitting here? Isn't he upstairs?' She headed for the stairs, absently doing up a b.u.t.ton on her shirt.

'Va va VA va va!' said Keith, waving his hands around.

'I hope there's a twenty-four-hour place around here,'

said Benny. 'I think we're going to be in need of nappies shortly.'

'Tell me about your plan,' said the Doctor.

He was sitting with his back to the wall of the ballroom.

The gla.s.s of water M'Kabel had brought him was sitting beside him. His arms were folded and his eyes were closed.

'All right,' said Albinex.

'That was easy,' said the Doctor' opening one eye.

I want you to know.' The Navarino sat down on the floor'

a few feet from him.

He was back in his natural form; a great, suckered purple blob, a cartoon s.p.a.ce monster. If you made dolls of him, little girls would get them for Christmas.

'I want you to know that I'm not going to kill anyone.

Listen. I'm going to take control of a single cruise missile, and threaten to set it off if they don't give me the resources I need. I'm going home. I'm going to lead the Navarinos.'

'Lead them?' said the Doctor. His voice was full of amus.e.m.e.nt. 'Wherever are you going to lead them?'

'We used to be warriors,' said Albinex. 'We were proud and strong. We believed in courage and honour and taking action. I still believe in those qualities.'

'So you're going to go home and bully the Navarinos into becoming your army.' He actually laughed. 'An army of Navarinos! Half of them would be on R and R and the other half would go AWOL looking for a good pub. Why would you bother with the Navarinos, when there are whole planets full of potential galaxy-conquering soldiers out there?'

'They're my people.'

The Doctor looked Albinex in the purple eyes. 'They never liked you, anyway.'

'What.'

'They didn't want to play war with you. So you stole one of their toys instead of sharing.' He gestured around at the ballroom.

'I never fitted in,' said Albinex, proudly. 'I never conformed.'

'Bully,' said the Doctor, 'for you.'

'Look,' said Albinex. 'Even if I actually set off the missile, less people would die than will die this year from tobacco.'

The Doctor rolled his eyes. 'Do you really imagine you can so precisely predict the future? Perhaps you imagine that the web of time would protect Earth. Prevent it from being destroyed, because that's the way that history goes. Well, it wouldn't. Believe me. The balance is too fine.'

He sat back again. 'Anyway, it's academic, since you won't have the codes.'

'Why do you care so much?' Albinex shook his head.

'Why Earth?'

'I'll tell you this much for free. Most planets look like quarries. Earth is precious.'

Albinex got up. He glanced at M'Kabel, who was hovering behind the bar, pretending to read the bottle labels.

She exploded into life behind him, a surreal, floating sower. 'Where have you been?' Albinex said.

I CAN'T EXPLAIN, she said, after a moment. YOU YOU COULDN'T UNDERSTAND.

'Never mind,' said Albinex.

The Doctor didn't flinch as she floated gently down and wrapped herself around him.

She unfolded his arms, holding them against the wall behind him, as they looked into each other's eyes.

She expected him to struggle. She hadn't realized yet that he didn't need to.

'All right,' said the Navarino.

She was a sizzling tang all over his body, a lemon crush that soaked into his skin and burnt him. He tried to push back, reach inside her and find what was left of the human being. She had seen his TARDIS. Where was it?

'Take him back. Find the moment.'

M'Kabel dropped the gla.s.s he was holding. The ghost was screaming.

'Hold him there!' Albinex shouted. 'Hold him! Make it last!'

I CAN'T!

With a violent burst of movement, she rushed backwards and up from the Time Lord. 'Why did you stop?' shouted Albinex, over the frantic buzzing of her wings.

IT HURT ME! ME!.

She moved back further, gently bobbing against the ceiling. Albinex looked at M'Kabel, jerked his purple head.