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‘Immortality. To grow old and never die.’ Nick shook his head, and glanced at the Innocent. ‘Yes, that is what the word means. But why would I want it?’ The Boss shook his head and stepped forward. The Innocent returned to his place. ‘Because, Bloke, that is who you are. The life you have lived for the last fourteen months as a human is a lie. You were never meant to be human.’ ‘Rubbish.’ Nick shrugged. ‘Sorry, but it is. Since returning here all my memories of being a Millennium People have come back to me. I can remember what happened to me now. Exactly.’ His mind drifted back to his arrival on Nova Mondas with the Scholar. ‘The Millennium People were becoming human, and it was on Nova Mondas that my body settled into such a biological state.’ The Boss held up a finger. ‘But only because you remained away from the Forum. Becoming human was only a part of our metamorphosis. An intermediate stage between what we were and what we are.’ He moved further from the circle and closer to Nick. ‘If you had not got lost on Nova Mondas you would be here now.’ The Boss turned and indicated a space in the circle. ‘Return to us, Bloke. You are one of the Millennium People.’ Nick regarded his memories. Centuries of memories as one of the Forum compared to a scant few months of life with the Doctor and Falex. A wink in the eye of the eternity of being one of the Millennium People. The Bloke stepped forward to take his place in the Circle of Moderation. *** The wooden door creaked under the pressure. Two Kuang-Shi stood in front of it, ready to defend the castle from the invaders. They did not expect the avalanche of people that came once the door caved in. Some fifty people surged through the door, the initial wave taking care of the two Kuang-Shi. One crumpled to dust after being staked through the heart while the second was neatly beheaded. The people surged forward, chanting aloud. Once the hallway was clear the Doctor stepped carefully through the doorway. He looked down at the dusty remains of the vampires then down the hallway and shook his head. It was not the death of the vampires that bothered him, but the simple fact that they were once members of the villages. People who had their lives curtailed by Count Orlock’s bloodlust. The Doctor sighed and made his way through the hallway. *** Alf ran onto South Africa Road. She had briefly considered trying to break into the Territorial Army Centre and stealing some weapons to fight Nicholas with, but upon reflection figured it would take too long. To her left was the White City estate, while on her right was Greyhound Park. Before her, on South Africa Road, were loads of caravans. She didn’t much care for the travellers, but she had no desire to lead a vampire into their midst. Neither did she intend to take Nicholas into such a busy place as the estate. She turned to the fence surrounding the overgrown park. There was a gap in the fence, through which she climbed. *** Nicholas leaped over the fence and landed in the long grass. He could see Alf at the other side of the park trying her best to remain hidden. He smiled. The woman was too weak and too wounded to be of much entertainment. Better to get it over and done with. *** The Doctor entered the banquet hall to find Count Orlock sitting at the table. The Count looked up and smiled. ‘Doctor, I am glad to see that you have not disappointed me.’ ‘Nice to be expected, I imagine.’ The Doctor removed a wooden stake from one of his coat pockets. ‘But I have not come here as your guest. Rather as your...’ A screech of anger came from behind the Doctor. His reactions were honed this time. He span around, the stake catching the creature in the heart. The Doctor staggered back in surprise. The figure with the stake sticking out of its heart was Alf. Or appeared to be. ‘Lady Dorothy! No!’ Count Orlock jumped to his feet. Lady Dorothy turned to dust before the Doctor’s eyes. He looked down at her remains and rubbed a boot in them. He turned to Count Orlock, his eyebrow raised. ‘Did you know that I travel with a version of her?’ ‘What do I care?’ The Count advanced on the Doctor. ‘You who care so much about life are so willing to kill now?’ The Doctor stood firm. ‘You don’t qualify. Your kind are parasites, not life. You feed off the life of others, you have none of your own.’ Count Orlock launched himself at the Doctor and fell back to the floor as a foot made contact with his stomach. The Doctor was almost as surprised as the Count. He turned to the owner of the foot and shook his head. ‘Who else would it be?’ Ephan smiled. ‘You are a good man, Doctor. But you were wrong, this is not your fight. It is mine.’ He removed a small sword from his belt. ‘He is the one who brought the vampire curse to my world and...’ Ephan look at the Doctor. ’He was the one who killed my father.’ Ephan advanced on Count Orlock and swung the blade. Orlock was on his feet and swiped the blade from him. The sword hit the far wall. Count Orlock watched then turned to Ephan. ‘I remember you. You were to be our celebration for the Doctor’s Becoming. I do so hate to be let down.’ He flung a hand out to grab Ephan only to find a sharp knife cut straight through it. He held his hand in front of him and looked curiously at the knife. ‘Do you think such a thing can stop me?’ Ephan shook his head. ‘No.’ The Doctor looked between the two of them unsure what would come next. He took a step back. ‘Well, I would love to stay, but I have friends who need my help. You seem to have everything under control, Ephan.’ Neither Ephan nor the Count acknowledged the Doctor, both were looking at each other with undisguised hatred. The Doctor backed out of the hall. Count Orlock removed the knife out of his hand. ‘Foolish boy.’ Ephan smiled. ‘Not at all.’ From behind his belt he removed a small metal box. ‘The Doctor calls this a lighter. Let’s see if it still works, shall we?’ Count Orlock flung himself at Ephan. *** The Doctor closed his ears to the screams coming from inside the banquet hall. Regret was a thing that he was familiar with. But no matter how he looked at it he knew that what had happened on Styria was beyond his control. Yes, he should have stopped Orlock when they had first met, but there was no way he could have known what would have happened. At the time the Doctor had, as he thought back then, saved a life and that was enough. The Doctor shook his head. He was not responsible for Ephan. The boy had turned into the cold killer because of Orlock, and it would have happened whether he had been there or not. At least, the Doctor thought sadly, things have reached a conclusion quicker this way. He glanced back at the banquet hall doors one last time. The people of Larkhowl could take care of things on their own now, it was time he helped out his companions. He focused his mind on the Time Amulet that he held out in front of him. It began to glow and the Doctor smiled. The first portal he had seen in six months was forming before him. ‘Goodbye Styria. I won’t be back again.’ He shook his head and stepped through the portal. With a surge of electrical energy it closed behind him. *** The Garden of Moderation evaporated around the Bloke. He was standing in nothingness. A white empty nothingness. There was a figure in front of him. It looked like a mannequin that could be found in most shop windows. The limbs were at odd angles, making it look like some grotesque statue. The head turned. ‘Tick,’ it said. ‘Tock.’ The Bloke shook his head in the hope that it would clear the image before him. ‘What are you?’ ‘Tick. I am the Dommervoy. Tock.’ It waved one of its disjointed limbs and the Bloke staggered backwards. He held on to his head. ‘What are you doing?’ It felt as if some box was forming around his memories, shutting them out from the rest of his mind. Bit by bit his life with the Millennium People was being closed off to him. All he could remember was his life with the Doctor, Falex and Alf. ‘Tick. It is not time for you to regain your memories and powers. They will be hidden in the dark recesses of your mind until the time is right. Tock.’ ‘Argh!’ Nick fell to the floor and rubbed the implants in his legs. ‘No, why have you given me these again?’ ‘Tick. You will be as you were until the time is right. Tock.’ *** Nicholas fell into the wooden fence, snapping the wood and splashing into the pond below. He looked up at Alf. She stood there, looking down at him as if he was a piece of rubbish. In her hand she held a piece of the wooden fence. ‘You are stronger than I realised,’ he said laughing. He began to get to his feet. ‘You’d better believe it.’ Ignoring the pain in her shoulder Alf swung the wood, knocking Nicholas back into the water. While he was stunned, Alf lifted the sharp piece of wood and slammed it down into Nicholas’ chest. It tore through the skin, ripping through the rib cage. Nicholas tried to cry out but all that came from his mouth was blood. ‘Hurts, doesn’t it? Vampire bodies are quite fragile things really, aren’t they?’ Nicholas coughed. ‘Not content with taking away my manhood, now you want my life too.’ ‘It wasn’t me who did that!’ Alf yelled, tears brimming in her eyes. ‘Why can’t you understand that? It wasn’t me.’ She turned to her knapsack and pulled out a box of matches. Alf looked from the little box to Nicholas. She had seen enough vampire films when she was younger. With a sniff, Alf said, ‘It wasn’t me.’ One by one she lit the matches on dropped them onto Nicholas’ body. *** Nick returned to Highgate Cemetery the next morning after having spent the night trying to work out what had happened to him. He remembered every bit of his encounter with Bradley, up to and including the involvement of the Millennium Bitch. Then there was a huge gap in his memory. Nick did not know how he knew that, he just did. He had a suspicion that the Bitch had taken him back to Forum World. If that was so then what had happened to him there that would cause him to have a block on his memory? After spending the night thinking about it Nick realised that he might never learn the answer to that question. All he knew was that he came to outside the coffee shop. He had looked through the windows and saw the damage done by his encounter with Bradley. Of Bradley there was no sign, and Nick was in no rush to look for him again. There were notices on the door claiming that the shop was now an ‘official UNIT investigation site’. He entered the Lebanon Circle and looked around. There was no sign of the portal by the cedar tree, and no sign of the Doctor. Nick hoped the Doctor was all right - he remembered learning that Bradley had sent the Doctor into a trap. Nick elected to wait for a while. Something told him that the Doctor would find a way back, as would Alf. At least he had some idea of where the Doctor was, but with Alf he had no idea. He decided to hope for the best and settled himself with the thought that Alf had discovered all kinds of things about her past. Nick was still sitting with his back to the cedar tree when Alf walked through the gap between the bushes and the catacombs. Nick got to his feet quickly when he saw the state of her. She was wearing her long black leather coat, although it was hung over her right shoulder, covering what looked like a sling. She stopped and looked at him. Her eyes were haunted by something. ‘What the hell has happened to you?’ Nick asked, as he approached her and took in the wound on her face. Alf just stared at him, as if unsure of something. ‘Nick?’ she asked. ‘Who else would it be?’ Alf walked over to him and Nick embraced her careful not to put any pressure on her right shoulder. They remained like that for a while, as Nick allowed Alf to get it out of her system. Whatever ‘it’ was. They were disturbed by the air crackling around them. Nick released Alf and noticed the tears in her eyes. He turned to face the tree and smiled as a portal appeared. Alf wiped her eyes and a smile came to her face when she saw the Doctor emerge from the portal. The haunted look in his eyes matched her own. ‘It worked,’ the Doctor said, his face breaking into smile. ‘Using the Time Amulet I was able to steer the portal back in time to here.’ He noticed Alf’s arm. ‘Ah, but I didn’t quite get back far enough it would appear. What has happened to you? It was Nicholas the Impaler wasn’t it?’ ‘Yes,’ Alf replied with more hatred that Nick had ever heard before. ‘But he won’t be impaling anyone again.’ Nick opened his mouth to speak, but Alf shook her head. ‘I’ll explain later. Just get me back to Alpha Centauri so I can get my shoulder fixed.’ The Doctor nodded. ‘Yes, that is a very good idea.’ He turned to Nick. ‘What happened to Bradley?’ Nick was still looking at Alf. He tore his look back to the Doctor. ‘I’m not entirely sure. I remember him attacking me and then...’ Alf cut in violently. ‘Look, can we just get away from this damn time?’ The Doctor and Nick turned to her, questioning looks on their faces. She raised her left hand. ‘I will explain what happened later, right now I just want to get as far away from here as possible.’ The Doctor cleared his throat. ‘Um, okay then.’ He smiled. ‘Give me your hands.’ Nick clasped the Doctor’s right hand and took Alf’s left. Gingerly Alf removed her right arm from the sling, gritting her teeth at the pain, and took the Doctor’s left hand. ‘Let’s go then.’ *** Time in the Time Vortex is an abstract thing; not something that people (humans in particular) can get their heads around. For the briefest of seconds a corridor was opened in the Time Vortex, tearing a huge gap through its interstitial matrices. In those brief seconds three people shot through that corridor like a bullet from a gun. Unlike the first time they were not heading into the past but into the future. Seconds later the corridor vanished and the Time Vortex was restored to its usual state of flux.
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