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#128 - Wings over Colleth


Episode 1 by Gareth Preston
Episode 2 by Mezzaninedoor
Episode 3 by Gareth Preston
Episode 4 by Iris Wildthyme
Episode 5 by Mezzaninedoor
Episode 6 by Gareth Preston
Episode 7 by Iris Wildthyme
Episode 8 by Steve Lake
Episode 9 by Gareth Preston
Episode 10 by Steve Lake
Episode 11 by Mark Simpson
COMPLETED





Episode 1
by Gareth Preston


"Haul your lazy carcass out of that cave right now!"

Grandma's voice reverberated through the tunnels and glowered over Frek's supine body. He scowled and tried to bury himself deeper in his nest.

"Don't make me come in and get you," warned Grandma with a rasp.

Knowing that there could only be one outcome to this conversation, Frek dopily raised his head and stretched out his limbs, yawning with as much nonchalance as he could put into the sound. Then he padded to the entrance, his tail disinterestedly waving behind him. The sharp, cold wind quickly roused him as he poked his long, thin head out of the cave mouth and looked out at the mountain range which seemed to hover in the morning mist.

His grandma was perched on a nearby outcrop, her forelegs crossed in admonition and a scowl on her lined but handsome features. Frek pretended that he hadn't seen her for a moment and stretched out his bat like wings, letting the sun warm their upper surfaces. Then he looked across at her and smiled.

"Good morning Grandma. It's a fresh morning, isn't it?"

"Hmph! It was a fresh morning two hours ago. Just like your mother, she was a slugabed too." With a irritable flap of her wings, she launched into air and hovered in front of him. "No time for breakfast, young dragon. We have to be going."

Frek was startled. "Where? The solstice isn't till next month."

"Enough of your cheek, young pup. Come on, shake a wing or I'll nip your backside."

Someone got out of the wrong side of the nest this morning, grumbled Frek to himself. But nevertheless he dove into the air and soon glided up next to her. Without another word, she took off along the stone valley and there was nothing Flek could do but follow.

They weaved though narrow gulleys and across the turquoise plateau that marked one of the corners of their family's territory. Ahead, the sunburnt plain spread out, with only the occasional clump of trees or small herd of beasts to break the blanket of sand and rock. Flek's bronze scales were dusty and dull and he wished he could find a lake so he could take a refreshing dip. As for his growling stomach... He licked his lips as he smelt the scent of some goats, but before he could arch his body into strike position, his grandma's tail whipped out in front of his eyes.

"I told you, there's no time for that now."

Sighing, Frek moved up alongside her dark, pot-bellied form. "Why the rush? Where are we going? Please tell me, Grandma."

Still looking ahead, the older dragon replied, "A grand council meeting has been called. All the clans are expected to attend."

Frek's eyes widened. "All of them! But that only happens once a year, the winter festival. What's this meeting about? They haven't found... them, have they?"

"I've no idea, have I?" she snapped. "It's been a long time since our family was on the inside wind of the council, hasn't it? Not since my dearest Ranoulf was killed. And I don't see you doing much to bring some honour to our lair. Anyway, what d'ya mean THEM?"

Her grandson remained quiet for a moment. Then hesitantly he started, "I was talking to Old Spinoot yesterday and he told..."

"HA! That ancient flim flam! His brain's been scrambled ever since he came back from the south. I thought I told you not to go back to his cave?" A faint hint of smoke rose from Grandma's nostrils.

"That's not fair," complained Frek, "He's seen more of this world than anyone else in the family. He knows all kinds of stuff and he's not nearly as confused as everyone says he is!"

Grandma's wings flapped that bit harder and Frek had to work to keep up. "Seen everything, knows nothing! That's the measure of him. A dragon like you should be spending more time with friends his own age. You ought to be having trial fights and thinking about finding a girl, not talking rubbish about... humans."

"But what about those odd footprints? Or all those sightings, or the diaries of Queen Macraffe where she said there were..."

His grandmother cut him off sharply with a heavy tap on his head with her wing. "This subject is closed. We have real problems to deal with."

Angrily, Frek veered off to right and began to dive towards the plain. He shouted as he left, "You're right, it's closed! I'm going to find somewhere where people are open minded and still want to learn! Blazes with you and your meeting!"

She roared after him to come back, that there must be some grave danger for such a gathering to be called, but it was no use, he was already too far away.



The wind curled around a russet coloured spire of rock with a whisper, but found it had competition from an unearthly groaning, churning sound. On a broad stone ledge, a little way down the side of the mountain, a tall pillar of eroded sandstone faded into view. An unseen engine gave a final thump and for a moment, all was still. Then part of the column slid aside and a beautiful young brunette woman, wearing a dark blue dress, confidently stepped out. Her expression changed to one of awe as she saw the magnificent vista of mountains encompassing her vision. All had been shaped into fantastic, almost organic shapes by the winds of millenia, their surfaces a spectrum of purples and browns. Thaylia stepped closer to the edge to the stone shelf and peered over. Far, far below lay the winding valley floor with a glinting silver thread of a river.

A mild, cultured voice broke into her reverie, "Yes, it is a remarkable sight, isn't it. I'm glad I've finally found the time to visit Colleth."

She looked back and saw her friend, the Doctor, admiring the landscape. As always he was wearing his thick black coat and she idly wondered if he had a wardrobe of identical suits somewhere in the ship. In his hands was a peculiar combination of brass pipes, curves and gears.

He followed her gaze and smiled. "It's a little invention of mine. I thought I'd see if I could pinpoint that faint temporal ripple we picked up as we landed."

He raised his glasses to his forehead and pressed the telescopic sight to his right eye. Thaylia listened to his mumbles and tutting as she explored the rest of ledge, which didn't take long as it was fairly small and bare. A distant screech floated across the air. She looked for the source and saw distant winged shapes wheeling in the sky. Birds? She frowned, the scale seemed wrong. She tried to remember what she knew about this planet from her academy studies.

There was a dispirited sigh from the Doctor. "No sign of it I'm afraid, my dear. Ah, well, let's just look around shall we? Did you feel that?"

He was right, there was a slight tremor in the ground. Thaylia began to walk back to the safety of the TARDIS when there was a horrible cracking sound and fractures ran underneath her shoes. Alarmed, the Doctor dropped his instrument and began running towards her. But with a deafening rumble, the ledge started to disintegrate and Thaylia windmilled her arms as she teetered over the fatal drop.





Episode 2
by Mezzaninedoor


Thaylia's heart rose up into her mouth as, windmilling her arms in a desperate but failed attempt to gain her balance, she fell from the ledge. As she screamed, she saw one of her shoes fall towards the winding valley floor beneath her. A gust of wind swept across her face and she felt sharp scratches across her midriff, her face stared into the bronze scaled body of something, she couldn't tell what. Suddenly Thaylia was lifted upwards, the claws around her midriff pulling tightly, ripping her dark blue gown. Thaylia whipped her head back and as she soared she suddenly felt thrilled by the ascension into the skies of Colleth, she could see the face of her saviour now, it looked a bit like a dragon.



Frek spoke with young enthusiasm and excitement, "Humans, I don't believe it, Spinoot will go mad with envy, everyone will go mad. My very own humans."

"Hold on, hold on," the Doctor approached the dragon. "And you are a dragon, I take it."

Frek addressed the older, grey haired man and his disheveled companion, "Humans trying to fly, you need these if you want to take up flying," he was flapping his wings at the girl as he did so.

"Apparently so," Thaylia stated in a thankful manner.

"I am the Doctor and this is my friend, Thaylia." The Doctor motioned to shake Frek's hand, but realising that this might not be an easy thing for Frek to manage, withdrew it. "Thank you for saving Thaylia. Have you noticed tremors like these before?"

The Doctor had an air of understated authority about him, introductions were over and this human stranger to his land had already captivated Frek, but not as had the beautiful human lady.

"No, well, Grandma says we had them all the while in the old days, anyway they only started happening last waning."

"Waning?" Thaylia interjected.

The Doctor continued his conversation with Frek, "Last waning, ummm! So you haven't had a full moon since the tremors began. Have they been stronger since the waning."

"Don't really know, I've not really paid attention to how strong, I just know we've had them. Old Spinoot would be able to tell you, he knows everything. He knew about you."

"It really is unusual to have tremors of such a short duration." The Doctor looked through his glasses, trying to make eye contact as he could see that the young Dragon's attention was beginning to wander.

"Heh! It's not as if they are as bad as the stories say, anyway," Frek spoke quickly and turned away to walk with Thaylia, she was investigating the dusty flower beds behind the TARDIS column.

The Doctor raised his eyebrows. "An adolescent dragon, and an interesting witness, maybe I should find Old Spinoot."

As Frek walked along beside her, Thaylia was in awe, she had never met a dragon and this, this was the stuff of dreams, this was good reason for throwing her lot in with the unpredictable Time Lord. The Dragon, rather than lumbering with all the fantastical weight and spread of such a body, was almost lithe and gentle beside her, wings scraping lightly on his scaly body as he walked. His head was cocked almost bashfully; captivated now by this beauty he had saved.

The Doctor, tightly buttoned up in his thick black coat, interrupted the duo's quiet walk, "Any chance of a lift to Old Spinoot's, lad?"

Thaylia gasped, she wasn't quite sure she could do this. OK, she had soared through the air accidentally, but to climb aboard Frek to fly with the elements swirling around her.

Frek, with the opportunity to show off to his new friends, lowered his forelegs, "Climb aboard for Spinoot's, hold onto my scales and wrap your legs around my body as tightly as possible."

The Doctor motioned to Thaylia. "Any chance of a leg up, dear? Not as sprightly as I once was." Thaylia hauled the Doctor up onto the front of Frek, that was it, decision made, she was really going to ride a dragon.



Viciously, he drove in his spurs, a sharp crack of metal on scale exuded as the bald warrior reined up his transport, the spurs caught the scales and dug into the flesh where the scales had been removed to allow the warrior to command his dragon.

"@#%$ thing tried to throw me again."

The bald warrior's compatriot motioned towards a pen behind them. "We've caught three more, we'll ship them off planet tomorrow."

"Excellent, the Mage's potion will be ready soon. Are you able to keep the dragon tongues fresh for him?"

"They are bagged up in the cold running stream behind the cliff. He will be able to collect them as always."

"I do so prefer these animals when they can't talk back."

The golden dragon that the bald warrior was astride half reared himself as he heard the words of his sadistic master. It was hard for the dragon to focus on the warrior's evil mentality as though something was in the way of his anger and will, the spurs cut in again and the dragon settled.

This golden dragon was magnificent, majestic perhaps. However subdued by lack of will, it stood with its rider two men high with fine strong wings. The bald warrior was proud of his conquest and was anticipating pleasing his masters with more.



At the edge of the sunburnt plain, by the town of Colleth-Quaj, the Council was in full session, the vast amphitheatre an amazing sight, filled with the wisdom of the dragons of Colleth. A vast array of autumnal colours, scales glinting in the sun like crisp dry leaves.

Frek's grandma was perched on the public stones. She watched the President of the Union of Colleth saunter over to the lectern and lay his bronze forelegs across it, her wings flapped with excitement, wondering what was to be announced.

With a voice that swirled like the wind he spoke, "Wings of Colleth, we have kept this secret for some time, however it is possible that they have returned!"

There was a mixture of excitement and trepidation amongst those outside the council hierarchy and the public, who or what could this be.

Suddenly from the sky above the amphitheatre, a golden dragon dove down and flew past the President, then with a turn of incredible poise and exhibiting a magnificent turn of pace, the golden dragon switched its body and tail around and the President was smitten by the stroke of the golden dragon's tail.

Frek's grandma had a brief impression of the President's vacant expression as he slumped over the lectern, the scrolls and lectern crashing to the dusty floor. The golden dragon roared, soaring away, leaving acrid vapours filling the air in its wake. Frek's grandma only then caught in the corner of her eye the figure of the balding warrior and casting a vast shadow over the plains, she and five hundred dragons took to the skies moaning in dragon song at the loss of the President.

As Frek approached the village with the Doctor and Thaylia holding on hard to his scales, smoke from the woods below appeared to spiral up into the air.

Frek shouted through the wind, "We always seem to get these woodland fires in the heat, mind you, sometimes it's the younger dragons, unsanctioned trial fights getting out of hand. I've not found a girl I've wanted to show my flame off..."

Frek stopped. He saw a number of tunnels were billowing smoke and he could see old Spinoot's. It was Spinoot's that was the worst. Forgetting he had the Doctor and Thaylia on board, the dragon suddenly dropped into a steep dive.

This time it was the Doctor who was falling towards a dusty demise.





Episode 3
by Gareth Preston


As he tumbled through the air, the Doctor took a second to review all the previous times he had been plunging to his death, hoping to find some useful tips. Unfortunately, he discovered that most times he had planned to jump and had taken a grappling line or arranged for a convenient sofa to be beneath him, or it had been a low gravity world. He tried spreading his limbs to build up wind resistance, but this didn't make much difference. There was a sudden blur of bronze colour and his body impacted onto a scaly back. His glasses flew off, skittered down the flank of his rescuer and were gone. Gripping tightly to the hard surface, he felt a hand groping for his arm. Blearily looking up, he saw Thaylia's face contorted in effort as she tried to hold on to him. As he scrambled up on to Frek's back again, the dragon looked around at him with relief.

"Nearly thought I wasn't going to make it! Sorry about that, I'm not used to carrying mythical creatures. Are you hurt at all?"

The Doctor felt his ribs cautiously and winced. "Nothing that won't heal soon enough. My thanks."

"Had to do some pretty nifty flying just then, pity you missed it."

Thaylia brushed her tousled hair away from her face, "Believe me, it felt impressive enough from where I was sitting."

Frek gave a shy smile, then his expression grew concerned again. "We're nearly there. Oh, what's happened here? Who could have done this?"


They passed through a pall of black smoke and hovered above a scene of devastation. It was a large gully with several cave mouths set in its sides. Blackened tree stumps fringed it. From every hole, dirty smoke arose and they all smelt a powerful burnt ordure. But worse than that was the pale body of an old dragon which lay sprawled across the far wall.

Frek gave a short screech and dropped like a stone next to the broken form. His passengers slid up and hastily got out of the way of his frantic tail thrashing. The young dragon nudged his old friend with his snout, then his eyes widened as he saw the scorched wounds on his belly and neck.

"No, not Spinoot, not now," he whispered hoarsely.

The Doctor looked around the gully and focused on a piece of dull metal lying nearby. Picking it up, the object was some kind of wrist guard, with buttons and circuitry built into it.

"Look at this," he said to Thaylia, "what sort of race uses this kind of technology, hmm? Despite the electronics, I'd say there's something rather medieval about its design."

"It belongs to a humanoid race, probably mercenaries with level six technology, but with a culture deliberately aping an earlier, warrior based model," she replied distractedly.

"Really?" The Doctor tried to peer suspiciously at her over his spectacles, but then remembered he'd lost them. "And how do you establish that amount of detail? You're making assumptions again."

"Not really, look!" She pointed at her feet where the bloody corpse of a large, muscular man lay. He was dressed in a furred jerkin, leggings and boots, again with the odd mix of ancient and modern. She knelt down and swiftly frisked him for some kind of ID, but with no luck. The Doctor passed her a handkerchief to clean her hands. Suddenly they became aware of an intense glare. Looking up, they saw Frek glaring at them.

"Men did this! Your kind! How could you attack us? What had we done to you? I thought you were my friends!" He took a menacing step forward, smoke rising from his nostrils. The Timelord slowly opened his arms in a gesture of peace.

"Not all men are the same. We've only just arrived here, I'm afraid we've no idea who these people are or what they are doing."

His voice was drowned out by a roar. The dragon rose up on its hind legs, preparing to deliver a killing blast of fire.

"It wasn't them."

The voice was low and weak, but its effect was instantaneous. Frek whirled round in time to see Spinoot raise his head slightly, tongue feebly flicking. He tramped across to his wounded friend and cradled his head. Spinoot rolled up his rheumy eyes.

"They don't look anything like the men who attacked. Different coatings," he wheezed. "Tried to fight them back, but too many of them. They can shoot fire from sticks, just like I always said. Bet you didn't believe that."

"Oh, I did, I believed everything you said!" Frek urged. "What happened to everyone else?"

"Taken... I think. Great nets of light. Didn't see much after the fire sticks." Spinoot's breath rattled as he tried to form the words.

The Doctor approached and patted the creature gingerly on its shoulder. "Just lie there now, conserve your strength." He looked up at Frek. "Has this happened before?"

"No, nothing like this!" Realisation crossed his features. "The council! This must be what it's about!"

Spinoot grew agitated, "You must fly to them, youngster! Warn them."

"But I can't leave you!" spluttered Frek.

There was a discreet cough from further down Spinoot's body. Thaylia had been examining his wounds.

"These aren't quite as bad as they look. He hasn't lost too much blood. If I can clean and dress them, your friend stands a good chance of recovery. You should go to your council, this is important. Take the Doctor with you." She looked appealingly at Frek.

Frek looked at the Doctor curiously. He straightened his clothes.

"Yes, I have some small experience in matters like this," he admitted modestly. "I believe I can be of help if you'll trust me. Ah, Spinoot will be in safe hands." He reached into a pocket and pulled out a roll of dressings and a Swiss army knife which he tossed to his companion.

Frek nodded dumbly and said goodbye respectfully to his elder. Then a few moments later he had spread his wings and launched himself into the dark blue sky, with the Doctor hanging on with grim effort.

Thaylia watched them shrink away into the distance. Telling Spinoot she would be back in a moment she set off in the direction of a brook that gurgled a little way down the ravine. As she walked, she had the faint suspicion of eyes following her.



With effort, the six guards flapped their huge wings and pulled, muscles bulging with effort under their dark red skins. Slowly the President's body was hauled into the air and they began the solemn journey to the graveyard. Chima turned away from the sight and looked out towards the twisted mountain range, the direction in which the assassin had flown. She sensed the heavy tread of Kayleeh coming towards her.

"Still no sign of them?" he rumbled, gesturing with a powerful foreleg. Kayleeh was an impressive figure, golden scales shining in the noon day sun and an almost sculptured feel to his frame. It was not surprising, thought Chima, that this clan chief had won so many supporters. She arched her elegant silver head and neck towards the newcomer, tearing her gaze from the view.

"No, still no word. Maybe they are still chasing the killer?" she ventured.

Kayleeh shook his head. "We sent four of our fastest warriors after him. They would have caught him by now. I fear they have been killed by our new enemy."

Chima shivered and drew her ivory wings closer. "I still cannot believe it. Men are a legend. Maybe this dragon has built some kind of decoy for its back."

Kayleeh gave a disgusted snort, "It seemed alive enough to me. This is unprecedented, but we must face the facts. The return of man, that must be what the President called us here to tell us about. What cruel fate."

Chima looked across the vast amphitheatre. It was still filled with clan members, unsure now what to do and gathering in groups to debate and gradually work themselves up into a panic. She knew that order must be seen to be reimposed soon.

"It is time for the elders to do our duty," she hissed. "A new President must be selected."

Kayleeh laid a claw on her own. "Now is not the time for such rituals. We must act to battle this threat, the time for debate is later. I recommend we raise an army and seek out these monsters!"

She pulled her leg away. "I want to avenge him as much as you, but rashness might only lead us into greater peril. I am going to call the rest of the elders together. Follow me."

She lifted off her perch and glided over the amphitheatre, calling a summons. Kayleeh watched her depart through narrowed eyes.





Episode 4
by Iris Wildthyme


Thaylia crouched down by the brook and dipped the empty container she'd recovered from the wreckage in the cave into the cool, clear water. It looked clean enough to use for bathing Spinoot's wounds, not that she was much of an expert in the field of dragon injuries. She wished she had brought her pocket database with her for more information. She smiled to herself and murmured: "Yeah, and while you're at it, wish for a medikit as well."

A pebble bounced down the side of the ravine and plopped into the water. Thaylia froze. Someone behind her... instinct kicked in and she flung herself left. A bolt of white light blazed over her head and smashed into the water with a roar, spraying her with water. Slightly dazed, she looked up from her prone position and saw a man advancing down the bank towards her. He was as big as the man they'd found in the cave, if not bigger. He held some kind of energy weapon in his hand, and there were other weapons attached to his belt and leather bandoleer across his chest. Dark skinned, muscular. His face was decorated with some kind of tribal marking, and Thaylia wracked her brain to think of where she'd seen it before. Earth... one of those tribes. The Maoris? Or was it the Cockanis? She shook her head, trying to concentrate. She struggled to her feet. He hadn't tried to fire again, which either meant the weapon had a long recharging cycle, or he didn't feel she was worth wasting ammunition on. Both could work to her advantage - if only she had a weapon herself! All she had was the Doctor's Swiss army knife. The gun she'd had with her since leaving Gallifrey was back in the TARDIS. The Doctor was never happy with her carrying it. "No guns!" he would exclaim, then stalk off, muttering darkly, to wherever it was he went to in the TARDIS when he wanted to be alone. Thanks, Doc...

She tried to manoeuvre so she could get back up the bank and back to the cave, where either she could find a weapon or hope that Spinoot was strong enough to help her. But the big man stayed between her and those possibilities, and kept on coming towards her. He grinned, revealing a row of white teeth sharpened to dagger-like points. Thaylia grinned back, knowing her own immaculate Gallifreyan dentistry was nowhere near as intimidating. She whipped the knife from behind her back, biggest blade extended, and dropped into a fighting crouch. The man paused for a second, then slowly replaced the weapon on his belt and drew a large machete-like blade from a sheath behind his back. His grin widened an inch or two.

Thaylia flung the knife at his head and bolted for the gap between him and the cave. The man ducked easily and swung the blade. It clashed on the rock face just above Thaylia's head. She aimed a kick at his side. The man merely grunted and swung the blade again. Thaylia leaped back and aimed a chopping blow for his neck. It was like punching a tree, and probably twice as ineffective. The man swung again, blade whistling closer and closer, and Thaylia found herself retreating back towards the water. She slipped on a rock and went down, avoiding a mortal swing in the process. The man grunted with delight, sensing imminent victory.

Thaylia splashed backwards through the shallows, trying to aim kicks at the man's legs in the hope of bringing him down as well - to no avail. She felt her clothes and skin tearing on the hard stones beneath the brook. Her hand closed on a large spherical rock. Almost ball-shaped... her mind flashed to one of the Doctor's cricket matches, and one of lectures on the tactics of the game.

"You know, a game can be won or lost on the standard of a player's throwing ability in the field. Always something to bear in mind..."

Thaylia grabbed the rock up, took a second to aim, and threw. But her aim was slightly off. Rather than strike square on his forehead, the rock thudded into the man's throat. The effect was better than she could of hoped for. He lost all interest in killing her and dropped to his knees, both hands clutching at his throat, face swelling as he tried to gasp air into his lungs.

"Howzat!" she gasped, and snatched the energy weapon from his belt. She stood back, covering him as he continued to wheeze and choke.

"Okay, my friend... you're gonna get your breath back, and then we're going to have a nice, long chat..."

Someone started clapping behind her. She jerked her head round and saw a tall figure, clad head-to-toe in shining silver armour of some sort. The helmet visor was up and she caught a glimpse of a pale face with a broad sardonic grin on it. The figure spoke.

"Congratulations, my Lady! Few have ever bested my squire in single combat before, and certainly never one of the fairer species!"

Thaylia shifted her position in readiness and pressed her thumb onto the firing stud. "Really? You must tell me about it sometime!"

As she spoke, she spun round, bringing her weapon to bear on him. But he was too quick. There was a blinding white flash, and Thaylia felt a sting of pain running through her body - then oblivion...



The Doctor grimaced and squinted, not liking the feel of the wind rushing into his exposed face. He was really starting to miss his spectacles. As modes of travel went, he certainly wouldn't have put this in his top ten. He had the continuing feeling that he was about to slip off at any moment and plunge to his doom, and this time, Thaylia wasn't around to save him. So he clung on for dear life and hoped Frek didn't perform any more aerobatics.

He looked behind him suddenly. He was sure they were being followed. He had the feeling ever since they left the cave, but wasn't certain until now. But whenever he looked round, there was nothing.

He patted Frek. "Frek, could you set us down? There's something I'd like to check..."



The Doctor crouched low in the undergrowth, watching and waiting. After discussing his plan with Frek, they'd landed and the Doctor had hopped off, Frek had taken off again and gone swooping up and away. They'd soon see if Frek was really as quiet a mover as he'd said...

A slight humming sound. The Doctor went still. There! Something came into view above him, though the Doctor could scarcely believe it. It looked like an old-fashioned knight in armour, sitting on some kind of air-bike. Anti-grav drive, most probably, though a not a terribly sophisticated one, judging from the rough sound of its motor. On a second look, the armour wasn't as old-fashioned as it was made to look. Some kind of bionic exo-armour, the Doctor surmised. He'd seen similar kinds in the past. But there was that odd mix of old and new, again. The lance the 'knight' was carrying obviously doubled as an energy weapon, but it was certainly of different eras to the sheathed long-sword, iron morningstar and LAWS rocket attached to the saddle of his 'mount'.

The 'knight' swung his helmet round to face the Doctor even as he began to stand up from his hiding position. Sensing equipment obviously installed. Let's just hope it isn't terribly sophisticated, the Doctor thought. The Doctor came forward slowly, hands behind back, for all the world looking like your average retired gentleman out on a stroll.

"Good afternoon! I was wondering if you could help me. Or rather, should I say, could I be of help to you?" The Doctor smiled pleasantly. The 'knight' swung his mount round and came forward towards the Doctor, tip of his lance inches from the Doctor's face.

"Where is the dragon?" the 'knight' rasped metallicly.

The Doctor blinked slowly with baffled innocence. "Dragon? Here? Oh no, no dragons here. Is that what you're looking for?"

The 'knight' suddenly jerked his head round a second before Frek came roaring up from behind the bank he'd been waiting behind after landing and doubling back on foot through the thick scrub. The 'knight' swung his lance round, but with remarkable strength and agility the Doctor grabbed it and pulled it down. The energy bolt struck the ground and exploded harmlessly. The 'knight' touched a control and shot forward, sending the Doctor tumbling. But Frek was too close and crashed into him, sending him to the ground. The mount spun away, hit a tree and crashed to the ground. The Doctor winced as the LAWS rocket popped free and clattered - fortunately harmlessly - to earth.

The Doctor could hear the hydraulic 'muscles' in the suit powering up as the 'knight' got to his feet, drawing his sword. Frek responded by unleashing a jet of flame, blasting the knight backwards. Armour blackened and cracked, the 'knight' started to struggle up, groping for his weapon...

Which happened to have the Doctor's foot on it. The Doctor waved Frek back. The young dragon pulled back slightly, clearly disappointed at not being able to finish his enemy off. The Doctor leaned forward and rapped on the visor.

"Anyone at home? Come along, my friend here isn't the most patient type in the universe. Especially with those who might have harmed his friends." The Doctor put special emphasis on the 'might' for Frek's benefit.

The visor creaked upwards, to reveal a man's reddened and rather agonised face beneath it. The man looked the Doctor in the eye and gasped through gritted teeth:

"If you slay me, you shall never see your friend alive again!"





Episode 5
by Mezzaninedoor


Thaylia lay alone on the dungeon floor, her once vibrant blue dress looked somehow dull now as she contemplated her loneliness amongst the mice and insects who shared the straw beneath her. "Great Doc!, no guns, what a great policy that was, let's just let the bad guys win, heh!" Thaylia thumped the stone, it made no sound, she didn't feel any better for it either.



The Doctor climbed unsteadily off the air bike and stood beside his young dragon companion, "Frek, all we've got to do is find Thaylia now. You young dragons don't tend to be able to sniff things out do you, a bit like dogs?"

Frek frowned and laid his head to one side, "No, what are dogs?"

"Ah! You don't have dogs, no matter, I'm sure I'll think of something." The Doctor paced the ground just outside the Knight's complex.

"Doctor, are you the lady Thaylia's husband?"

"Oh dear no, whatever makes you think that then, my dear Frek, no, absolutely not, now where were we," The Doctor was almost flustered, as if it was the sort of thing he never talked about, never contemplated. "Frek, now how hot is that dragon breath of yours, would it weaken the metal in the dungeon windows?"

"Probably, if I had a really good bellow at them, I was one of the best for setting fire to the dragon maids' washing at distance outside the caves back home."

"Good, good, still a problem though, we don't know where Thaylia is, do we, now how can I sort that one out? I've got it, it's an old ruse, but it should work, they are the sort of oddfellows that think well of themselves and don't expect to get caught out. Frek, if you wait behind the complex where the dungeon walls are, I'll give you a sign from the window I want you to attack, just wait and watch carefully as I might not have a lot to work with. Mind you, if she's not in the dungeons we might have a problem, anyway I'll have to meet you outside if that's the case and we'll try something else."

Frek's attention began to wander a bit, the old man, nice though he was, was talking ten to the dozen and all Frek knew was that he wanted to save this lady who had been kind to him. He wanted to prove that he was a dragon with a flame a lady like that would throw her colours in with.

"FREK!" the Doctor raised his voice, "Did you get all that?" The Doctor knew he had lost the young dragon's attention part way through.

"Yes, Doctor, but tell me, what did you do to the Knight?"

The Doctor winked at Frek and a slightly wrinkled smile crossed his face, "I frightened him." The Doctor didn't elaborate.

Frek looked quizzically at the old man, what could frighten the human warrior in this human?



Thaylia heard footsteps nearby. She recognised the Doctor's burgundy richetto shoes, snapping on the concrete. She'd know those old 1940's Earth throwbacks anywhere. The Doctor had been placed in the cell next to her, how stupid were these people, all she had to do was wait for the guards to leave. She heard the door close and immediately tore off a strip of her blue dress and passed it round the doorway. She couldn't see around from cell to cell, but she felt rough hands take the cloth from hers.

"You're not the Doctor."

"No, he's elsewhere I'm afraid".

Thaylia spoke softly, "Great, here comes another one of his plans, no guns, no violence, yet he'll get me out of here with his usual measured approach."

The current owner of the Doctor's richetto shoes coughed, "I don't think he's got a clue where you are Lady, in fact Marecsh, our leader, is the only one who does know where you are. I think you ought to think about other plans that he has for you, he seems to like the blue cloth you've given me and what goes inside it."

Thaylia spat "He better not mess with me".

"Oh! He normally does worse than that."

The Knight left the comment hanging in the stale dungeon air as Thaylia sat down and contemplated what needed to be a speedy rather than a calculated, plotted rescue from the Doctor. She smiled loosely as she thought about what she could do to her captors with a few of the toys that she had in the TARDIS, only problem was she wasn't anywhere near the TARDIS or likely to be anytime soon.



Marecsh looked at the back of the Mage as he left his presence, "More Dragon tongues, how long does this go on before we have victory! MAGE! How LONG!" Marecsh shouted, but the Mage had disappeared through the door.

"Lord Marecsh, do you want me to fetch the entertainment."

"Oh yes, fetch me the entertainment, that would be a very good thing right now." Marecsh settled back into his stone chair and, with a twisted smile, he loosened the rope around his waist.

The Doctor, in his exo-armour followed the Knight who was going to fetch Thaylia from her dungeon. He had some food with him that he placed on a wooden tray as he paced after Marecsh's guard.



Spinoot struggled through to the room in which Kayleeh was, "Old Dragon, do I know you?" Kayleeh turned to face the bronze but wizened and tired dragon as he dragged himself bodily into his room, "Old Dragon, answer me, the President is dead and we cannot drop our guard for a moment."

Spinoot, almost with tears in the corner of his wide dragon eyes, opened his mouth and showed Kayleeh his empty pallet where his mighty fire guiding tongue had once been, blood clogged his mouth, half dried. He signed in old Dragon signing, very slowly to Kayleeh.

I TOLD STORIES OF THEM, NOW THEY HAVE STOLEN THOSE STORIES AWAY FROM ME.

"Who, old Dragon," Kayleeh placed a wing on Spinoot's shoulder.

MAN.

Spinoot wearily continued signing. THEY ARE BUT TEN MILES FROM COLLETH-XUAB VILLAGE.

Spinoot collapsed in front of Kayleeh. Kayleeh didn't know this old dragon, but all the same he screamed out in dragon song.

The song carried through the council buildings and tunnels at Colleth-Quaj, all the dragons heard the lament against man that Kayleeh sang, a dead president, a defiled old dragon, and a battle that had to be fought against this evil that had begun to corrupt the land. The tales of human kindness were false, the Wings of Colleth must defeat this abomination.



The Doctor followed the guard into the dungeons carrying the wooden food tray, a small ruse that he was about to employ prior to the guard delivering Thaylia to Maresch. The guard had stopped with his keys right next to where the Doctor had earlier deposited the Knight he had borrowed his exo-armour from, even better as he knew he had the keys to the cell next to Thaylia's now, that made his plan easier, a tad easier anyway.

The Doctor spoke. "Guard, Lord Maresch wants his prize fed before she entertains him."

"I know of no such order."

"I have the food here, he will be most displeased if we do not entertain his wish." The Doctor was finding it awkward to continue to sound as formal as the Knight's.

"Okay, let me deliver it to her then," The Knight put his hands out to receive the Doctor's tray, a mistake on his part. As the Knight took the tray, the Doctor jabbed a Venusian karate chop to the Knight's neck, the Knight stared at the Doctor in disbelief. The Doctor, a bit bemused, administered a second chop and the Knight slumped to the floor.

"Used to be able to do that with one chop, must be getting old." The Doctor muttered under his breath.

Having deposited the guard with the other Knight, the Doctor opened up Thaylia's cell.

"Doctor," Thaylia jumped up from the straw floor, "Brilliant to see you, and quicker than I expected." She hugged the Doctor almost apologetically, the Doctor seemed as uncomfortable as ever with sudden displays of emotion, but he smiled at Thaylia.

"We have a ride to catch and I need you to thumb it for me."

"What ever are you talking about."

"An old Earth term, I need to get young Frek's attention, as your dress is already somewhat torn, can you tear off a strip for me, please."

Thaylia tore a 18 inch bright blue strip from around her legs, "Will that do?"

"Fine, thank you, now I need another bunk up, I'm afraid," the Doctor motioned towards the window.



Frek saw the blue cloth in the corner of his eye as he waited behind the dungeon walls of the keep at the back of the Knight's complex. He rose fast through the thermals to high above the window and then, with a mightily deep intake of breath, he flew towards the window and let loose a mighty belch of flame. The bars practically wilted in the heat of the dragon breath, burning white hot for a moment.

Frek then circled above the dungeons once again and riding the thermals, his scales shining wonderfully in the sun, he dove and slammed his young but sturdy dragon frame into the cell walls. The bars fell on the cell floor as the Doctor and Thaylia were knocked over by the force. The Doctor scrambled first through the window onto Frek's back as he maintained his flying position by the window with some difficulty. Thaylia then lunged onto Frek as he tried to stay as level as he could, flapping his wings but trying not to displace his riders.

Thaylia slung her arms around the young dragon and kissed the nape of his neck. His scales, slightly softer there, tingled.

He turned his head and saw Thaylia smile, the most incredible, beautiful smile he had ever seen. He saw a woman, slender yet muscular, lithe legs that gripped his haunches and he knew that he had found a worthy lady for his flame, a face delicately boned, eyes wide and becoming.

Frek let out another bellow of flame and turned to fly away from the keep.

"Frek!" the Doctor shouted as wooden spears were thrown in unison from the top of the keep. One embedded itself in the top of Frek's left wing. Frek howled in pain, the Doctor and Thaylia hung on as the young dragon began to fall, spiraling from the sky...





Episode 6
by Gareth Preston


The horizon spun sickeningly in front of their eyes as the wounded body of Frek began to arch downwards.

This is it, thought Thaylia, After everything we've been through. Will I be able to regenerate after the crash or will my body be simply too damaged?

She felt a prodding on her hand and she squinted through the gale whipping about her. The Doctor was shouting something, gesturing with his hands towards the dragon's neck. "What was it again?"

"Find his pressure points! We need to relieve his pain so he can regain control!"

Immediately she understood. It was one of the many skills a Timelord learnt at the Academy, a process for healing, or killing. She spread her hands out along the taut muscle under Frek's scales, searching for the key nodes. The ground was rushing closer, but she blocked it out of her mind, knowing she had to concentrate, pushing her mental energies through her fingertips. Behind her, the Doctor was doing the same, but in addition he was reaching into the young dragon's pain seared mind.

"There is no pain. Stretch your wings and level off. You have to fly, you must or we are all doomed."

He felt a calmness spread through Frek's consciousness. The trees leapt up to meet them, then they were pulled away as with an ungainly lurch, the dragon thrust down his wings and shot back into the sky. His riders gripped his bronze flanks as tight as they could as he weaved drunkenly to and throw, eyes glazed.

The Doctor mentally suggested to Frek that he put as much space between themselves and the castle as possible and he slowly began to fly towards the thick carpet of forest which covered the nearby hills.

Thaylia glanced behind them. She could just about see armored men running about the battlements, waving and pointing.

"We're going too slowly, Doctor! They'll have a patrol on top of us in minutes."

"Eventually," agreed the Doctor, still massaging the muscles either side of him. "However, I fear they'll have to repair them first."

She raised an eyebrow. "You have been busy, haven't you!"

Her companion merely smiled grimly. "Let's see if we can find somewhere for our wounded friend to hide, shall we?"



Lord Maresch stroked his bald head with his gauntleted hand as he watched the dragon shaped speck grow smaller. Striding across the parapet, he looked down into the courtyard and bellowed, "Where are my riders! Bring them all back or I'll flay you alive!"

As his troops rushed to their hover bikes, he corrected himself. "No! Just bring me the slut and take their heads!"

"Yes, my lord!" cried his captain and gunned his bike into life.

Moments later he was yelping with terror as the bike disintegrated in mid air between his legs, bringing him crashing down on to the stone flags. Thanks to his armor, he was merely unconscious, instead of dead. Maresch looked on, white faced with anger, as his chief engineer and his apprentices hurried to examine the remaining bikes. He looked up anxiously and reported that all the bikes had been sabotaged, simply but very effectively. It would take the rest of the day to repair them.

"You have two hours", snarled Maresch, "or it will be the worse for you."

Marching back towards the great hall, he wondered why this escape seemed so galling to him. The girl was pretty to be sure, but it was more than her loss. It was the audacity of the raid, the cunning of this man called Doctor that worried him. Such a man carried a threat of revolution around him. After all his work in finding this world for the Mage, the long weeks of dragon hunting to provide him with the ingredients he demanded, it was too great a struggle to lose the prize now.

A whistle rose from the communicator at his belt. Angrily snatching it up, he demanded who was disturbing him now. His manner changed to attentiveness as he heard the guttural voice and its news.



Tail waving briskly about her, Chima tramped along the tunnel, looking for her fellow elder Kayleeh. The war party was nearly ready. She could hear their mournful songs echoing through the caves and fissures of the great mountain.

When she had left the press of scaly bodies which now filled the amphitheater, their flames and smoke had turned the sky an angry black. It was a hunting pack the like of which had not been formed since the great wars of legend. The clans had already been ready to fight after the death of their President. When Kayleeh had pulled the corpse of another elderly victim into the center of the amphitheater, that desire had become unstoppable.

A little voice inside told Chima that this might not be the wisest course of action. She counseled caution and investigation, but the roar of the crowd had deafened it. She was surprised that Kayleeh, who had been its chief instigator, was not already at its head. That was why she had returned here.

As she approached the great black dragon's lair, her ears pricked up at an odd sound. Chima tried to focus in on the sound and realised it was coming from the mouth of Kayleeh's cave. It was a scratchy, reedy buzz. Wait! She craned her head closer. The noise was forming itself into words, but she could not make them out. Then she jerked back in surprise as the rumbling voice of Kayleeh answered it.

"We are leaving now and will strike from the west. Remember, only the first line is yours. Take any more and you will have a real attack to fend off! And I assure you, you would lose that battle."

The reedy voice, that was what the sound was, a voice, but like none she had ever heard before, affirmed the deal and ended with a sharp click. Chima could not hold back any longer and rounded the corner to step into the lair.

It happened so fast. For a moment she saw Kayleeh, his glistening ebony body filling the room and in one cupped claw she saw a shiny metal box. Then the dragon gave a roar of shock and fury and rushed at her. Chima raised her talons to defend herself, but the impetus of the larger dragon was far too great. Their bodies crashed into the wall of the cavern, a whirl of wings and limbs. Chima slashed at her attacker, but none of her blows could reach her opponent's vulnerable spots. Surely someone would hear their battle? But the song of the dragons outside drowned out their screeches. Kayleeh sank his teeth into Chima's slender neck and dark blood leapt free. Chima swung her tail and caught Kayleeh across the face, knocking him aside for a moment.

"Why?" she gargled.

"Sometimes a change is needed," rasped Kayleeh. "The President was weak, but he just kept clinging on. So I made a deal to remove him, I told them where and when to find him. He didn't see the new realities on Colleth. Too bad you will not either!"

With that, the black dragon tore into his prey with teeth and talons, hemming her in, shrugging off the increasingly feeble blows in reply. Then it was over. Chima gazed up, her breathing shallow and ragged.

"You were always too weak for the council!" spat her murderer. "When they eventually find your body, you will be another victim of Man's treachery. Such a shame!"

Once he was satisfied that Chima's eyes had dimmed, Kayleeh swiftly dragged her body into a storeroom. Then he quickly climbed out to the surface and raised his most savage battle cry. In a storm of dust and noise, the dragons of Colleth departed upon their grim mission.



A green dusk had descended on the forest. The Doctor looked about himself cautiously as he approached the small clearing where Frek had finally crashed down. Across his shoulder were a couple of dead rabbits he had been able to catch with simple snares. Parting the branches, he looked at the deceptively peaceful scene in front of him. Frek lay slumped on the ground, eyes closed. Thaylia sat curled at his head, stroking his crest, a look of concern across her classical features. Coughing to announce his return, the Doctor stepped over to them. He had taken off his armored disguise and was now in shirt sleeves which had become stained with earth.

"How is he, my dear?"

Thaylia shook her head. "Those spears did more damage than we hoped. And carrying us this far has only aggravated the wounds. I've tried to dress them as well as I could." She looked down at the young dragon's noble features, now lacking their usual nervous animation. "The rest is up to him."

The Doctor unhitched the rabbits and started preparing them with a sharpened stick. As he worked, he pondered aloud.

"I've brought him some food. Not much, but it might revive him a little. He's been very brave today. I'd like to see him live to become another old storyteller someday. However, if there's going to be any chance of that, we have to do something about Maresch and his cohorts. Did you learn anything during your stay at the castle?"

She sighed. "I wish I had. They're capturing dragons and holding them somewhere hear the castle."

"I wonder why?" mused the Doctor. "And I'd like to know where they came from. Those men are certainly not natives of this planet."

"Because Frek thought that we were mythical. So no one had seen a human for long time." She frowned. "So where did the castle come from? It certainly looked old and weathered." Before the Doctor could add anything, she answered herself. "It must a relic from an older civilisation. One that became extinct."

The Doctor waved a rabbit under Frek's nose. His eyes flickered open. "Is my lady there?" he whispered.

She patted him on the snout. "I'm here, dear Frek. Just lie still. You saved my life y'know?"

The dragon's tongue darted out and dragged the Doctor's morsel back into his mouth. After a moment of crunching he murmured,
"I'm glad he's not your husband." Then his eyes closed and he was unconscious again.

Ignoring Thaylia's questioning gaze, the Doctor started drawing patterns in the dust with his stick.

"What do they want the dragons for? Something unique, that can only be found here."

"Exotic pets?" suggested Thaylia.

"If they were stealing eggs I might agree, but not full sized adults. Some kind of augmentation? Living weapons? Or maybe something more basic, ingredients, components, food even!"

"An invasion? They're going to conquer the planet? No, there's not enough of them, Colleth's too big for fifty or so men," said Thaylia. Suddenly she clicked her fingers. "I've just remembered. There's someone else in the castle!"

"Really? Who?"

"Some kind of partner of Maresch's. I remember people talking about him. He was called the Sage or something. Whoever he was, everyone was afraid of him."

"Intriguing," the Doctor remarked. He stood up and looked at the now darkening sky. There was a distant rumble from the clouds. "So the question is what is our best course of action? To try and reach the dragon council and get some reinforcements or return to the castle and discover why these knights are persecuting these creatures?"

"If we can learn why Maresch and this sage, wizard or whoever wants the dragons, then we should know how to fight them." she volunteered.

Before the Doctor could answer there was another rumble, this time accompanied by a flickering light. Gazing up, they saw a huge black cloud billowing across the sky, tongues of fire dancing across it. But they could see this was no natural storm cloud. Within the cloud they could glimpse dark winged shapes, hundreds of them. Some of the incredible beings began to emerge from the edges of the cloud and began wheeling down towards them. Faintly they could hear an angry screeching, growing louder.

"I think the decision has been made for us, Doctor," said Thaylia in an awed voice. "The dragons have come to us."





Episode 7
by Iris Wildthyme


Thaylia's natural instinct at the sight of that angry black cloud of dragons boiling towards them was to scurry behind the nearest biggest rock and burrow beneath it. It might not afford much protection, but at least she would have died safe in the knowledge that her remains had a proper burial place. She closed her eyes and shuddered. She really was getting morbid in her old age.

How she envied the Doctor's self control. There he stood, as calm and placid as ever, sucking on one of his sweets, looking for all the world as if he were watching some mildly diverting spectator event. Did nothing faze him? She came over and stood next to him, shoulder to shoulder, hoping to draw on his reserve. To her complete surprise, she did feel a little calmer. She looked over at his face: his expression was faraway, almost dreamy. He made a slurping noise on his sweet and he suddenly became aware that she was standing next to him. He shot her an apologetic look and reached into a pocket and produced a paper bag.

"Do excuse my manners. Would you care for a bulls eye? These are particularly excellent. Mrs. Benson orders them for me specially."

She took a sweet. "Why not? Perhaps the high sugar content will help absorb the dragons' fire."

His mouth twitched into a sardonic smile. "I think it would need to be an extraordinarily sugary bulls eye to absorb that amount of firepower, don't you think?"

She smiled back. What else could she do? "You might be right."

"I usually am. Ah, well." His mind seemed to wander off again. After a moment, she cleared her throat.

"I've heard of calm before a storm, but this is ridiculous."

He sighed. "My dear, there is no point in getting into a flap about this situation. Panic rarely stimulates creative thought. And at this exact moment, I'm trying very hard to be extremely creative." He went quiet again.

Thaylia gave him another moment, then leaned into him. "Is it working, then?"

He looked at her peevishly. "It would but for these continuing interruptions I keep receiving! Oh..." he started muttering ancient Gallifreyan oaths under his breath, then he clapped his hands together and composed himself again. "Options."

"Running away sounds good."

He raised an eyebrow. "To where? And on what? Our dragon friend is in no condition to go anywhere. On foot, we stand no chance at all."

She pulled a face. "Fight?"

He shuddered at the thought. "Hardly," he said dryly.

"I don't think they're in the mood for talking." Thaylia found she had to raise her voice. The angry roaring of the dragons was getting louder by the second.

"Then we'd better think of something to get them in the mood!"

A ball of flame lanced across the sky before them and exploded in the ground a couple of hundred metres in front of them.

"They're getting our range! I don't think they're going to give us chance to talk!"

There was a whoosh and something else shot across the sky - but from behind them. A few seconds later something exploded in front of the dragons. The Doctor and Thaylia swung round.

"That was a rocket!" cried Thaylia.

The Doctor pointed. "Look! The knights!" He hurried forward and clambered up onto a rock, reaching down to help pull Thaylia up with him. They saw silver figures speeding through the air towards them, weapons at the ready. Thaylia clutched at his arm.

"Looks like they were able to come after us after all!"

The Doctor was surveying the scene with what looked like a pair of opera glasses. "I don't see very many airborne. Perhaps they had a few mounts hidden away. Look, over there - some of them are on foot!"

He passed her the glasses and Thaylia looked. Through the powerful lenses she could see silver-clad figures hurrying to set up ground weapons in the cover of a rocky incline. She nodded. "Field lasers. Anti-aircraft type. Very powerful."

"Yes. I'm guessing the airborne forces are going to lure the dragons in for the artillery there to knock them out of the skies."

She turned to look at him with growing horror. "And all this is going to happen..."

"Right over our heads, yes!" he nodded grimly. He jumped down from the rock, a determined look on his face. "We must stop this. All this unnecessary carnage has been allowed to go on too long."

"It is very necessary, I'm afraid!"

They spun round to look at where the voice came from. There before them, standing tall on a rock, was a dark cloaked figure, its face concealed by a heavy hood. It held an ornate staff, topped with a glowing crimson jewel held tight in the grasp of a golden dragon's claw. The figure jumped nimbly down and strode towards them, cloak blowing in the breeze.

As the figure drew nearer, Thaylia saw that the claw was not simply made of gold, it was a real dragon's claw. She could make out the thick blood that had dried and stained the top of the staff where the claw had been thrust down onto the wood. Hot anger pulsed through her and she started to take a step forward, fists raised. But the Doctor took her arm gently and stopped her. He'd noticed too, but he was more intent on the jewel burning in its grasp. He flicked his eyes away from it to the tall figure standing before them.

"Ah. You must be this Sage character my companion mentioned."

"Your lovely companion is in error, sire." The figure bowed theatrically to Thaylia and the Doctor in turn. "I am the Mage. Your servant, my lady. Sire."

The Doctor nodded politely. "I hope your intentions are as excellent as your manners, sir. Though I suspect they are not."

The Mage spread his arms in an open, honest fashion. Thaylia wasn't fooled for a moment. He chuckled. "I hope to prove, good Doctor, that my intentions are indeed noble. I find you here in some difficulty, and I offer you my humble protection." He bowed again.

The Doctor waved at him impatiently. "Yes, yes, do desist from all this bowing and scraping. Your intentions might be, aha, 'noble' towards us, but what about our friends behind us?"

"You would count those that would destroy you as friends?" The Mage laughed. "My dear Doctor, the dragons would now destroy you as surely as they would destroy me. To them now, all men are their enemy."

"Frek is not our enemy! And there are others as well!" Thaylia burst out.

The Mage looked around at where Frek lay and clicked his tongue sadly. "I rather fear your young friend there would afford you little protection from his peers. Even if he were conscious. No, I am afraid you will have to rely upon me for your future safety, my lady."

"Supposing we don't want your protection!"

He shook his head. "You have no choice. Doctor, I regret very much that I missed you on your visit to the Keep. Had we spoken then, this situation might have been avoided."

The Doctor almost absent-mindedly reached up to polish his spectacles, then remembered they were missing and settled on scratching his nose instead. "Indeed. Do tell," he asked politely.

"This is not the time or place. You will return with me now to the Keep. Both of you." There was an undercurrent of menace running through the deep voice.

"And what of the battle?"

"Part of my plan. As are you, my dear Doctor. Come, stand with me!" He raised a hand and gestured imperiously. To her immense surprise, the Doctor complied meekly.

"What are you doing!" she hissed.

"Come along, my dear. Let's not keep the man waiting." He pulled her along with him, not without a little difficulty. "Where did you say we were going? The Keep? Fascinating piece of architecture. I'd be interested to discuss it with you, if I may. Keeps, castles, fortresses... they've always fascinated me, even since childhood. Thaylia, did I ever tell you about my family castle?"

The Mage waved impatiently. "Yes, yes, of course we will! Now, take my arm!" They were almost within touching distance. But the Doctor kept on rambling and Thaylia guessed he had some cunning plan up his sleeve.

"Lovely place, huge, rambling, full of all sorts of nooks and crannies. Terrible heating bills, place that size of course. That's it Frek, bite him!"

At that the Mage swung round, expecting to see the young dragon rearing up behind him... but there was nothing! The Doctor leapt forward and grappled with the Mage with surprising strength, grabbing at the staff. "Thaylia, the staff - get the staff!"

Thaylia jumped to comply, but the man swung round in his struggle to wrest the staff out of the Doctor's surprisingly steely grasp and barged into her, knocking her breathless to the ground. Round and round the two went, pulling and straining as if in some bizarre tug-of-war contest.

The Mage's hood momentarily fell back around his head and the Doctor suddenly froze when he saw the face it concealed. "You!" he hissed, eyes wide with shock.

The Mage took advantage of the Doctor's surprise and wrenched at the staff. There was a bright red flash. Thaylia flung her arms across her face, blinded for a moment. When the glare faded, she gasped with horror.

The Doctor and the Mage had vanished.

She struggled to her feet. "Doctor, where are you? Doctor!"

Behind her, dragons roared with fury, and in front of her, the heavy concussion of a field laser opening up. A great dark shadow covered the sky and she shrank down in terror as a dragon swooped down upon her, wailing a blood-curdling screech...





Episode 8
by Steve Lake


An unpleasant sensation washed over the Doctor, almost as if he were swimming, only every part of his body seemed to be swimming in different directions against each other. He squeezed his eyes shut in an attempt to quell his giddiness. Blood roared in his ears, and he felt as if he were about to pass out...

The feeling passed. When his vision cleared, he found himself sitting in a high backed wooden chair at the end of a long wooden table in the centre of long room lined with what looked like ivory beams. After a moment, he realised they weren't ivory, but something horribly similar.

They were the bones of mighty creatures. Dragon bones.

"Doctor? Doctor?"

A rough hand patted against his cheek. Irritably the Doctor flapped it aside and opened his eyes fully, looking for all the world like a very grumpy owl.

"I wish you'd warned me we'd be traveling in such a ridiculous fashion. I would have sucked a sweet to counteract the effects of the psionic beam."

The hooded man stepped back from the chair he'd lowered the Doctor into when they'd arrived. "You know what it was, then?"

"Of course I did!" he snapped irritably. "A simple psionic matter transference. Of course, it works a lot better when the operator's mind is more focused. Yours could do with some retuning, I might add. Then again, telekinesis was never your strongest mental discipline, was it?"

The hooded man chuckled. "Possibly not when you first knew me, but now - observe!" He held up a hand and a silver platter bearing an ornate jug and a pair of silver goblets drifted through the air towards them. "Some refreshment?" The jug lifted up from the platter and poured some red liquid into one of the goblets, then set back down again.

The Doctor applauded sardonically. "Very clever. When do you start pulling rabbits out of hats?"

"Have a care, Doctor. If you have a memory for me at all, you will remember that I have a lamentably low tolerance for insolence." He waved the platter and its contents away.

"I am sorry!" the Doctor retorted cynically. "But if you are going to insist upon continuing with these childish charades... and while we're on the subject, do you think you could dispense with the comic-opera hood? As a rule, I prefer to see whom I am talking to."

The man slowly reached up and dropped the hood back around his shoulders. It was a darkly handsome face, with a heavy black beard and a mane of black hair tied back in a pony tail. Jagged streaks of white marked the hair at the temples. The nose was long and hooked, giving him the air of a predatory bird. The eyes were also dark, but tinged with crimson, and when the light caught them in the right way they reflected like a cat's would. The man smiled a broad grin of perfect white teeth. The incisors were tapered and sharper than a normal man's. They too were vaguely feline in aspect.

"You recognised me then?"

The Doctor nodded. "Your appearance is unfamiliar, but I knew you from the moment I looked into your eyes. They always used to give you away... Master." The last word came out harsh and metallic from the Doctor's mouth.

The man took a deep shuddering breath and turned away.

"Master... Doctor, if you knew how long it has been since I heard that word uttered to me as a name."

"I had hoped rather to never utter it again in such a fashion."

He chuckled again and turned back to face his old enemy. "You ought to know me by now, Doctor. I'm indestructible!" The word echoed around the room like a thunderclap.

"So it seems. It has been a long time, though. Centuries. I don't suppose time has changed you though."

"Oh, but that is where you are wrong, Doctor! I'm very different from that man you knew so long ago. I hardly know him myself, in fact. Your memories of him are possibly not the memories I have of him."

"Ah. I see. Is that why I am here, to chat over old times and jog your memory a little?"

"You still show a regrettable tendency towards flippancy in the face of great danger, Doctor."

"Oh, is that where I am. I thought I was in someone's dining room."

The Master grunted and waved around him. "It is the great hall of the Warriors, where the knights return after a long day's hunt to celebrate their kills."

"Sounds positively medieval. I suppose you play a large part in all this killing."

"With good reason, Doctor," he growled warningly.

"There is never an adequate reason for killing anything."

The Master slapped a hand onto the table angrily. "Survival, Doctor! How does that sound!" His voice echoed and boomed around the hall.

"Sounds like just another of your feeble excuses, is all."

The Master's face twisted with rage and for a moment he looked like he was going to strike the Doctor where he sat. Then he closed his eyes, shuddered, and seemed to take a grip of his emotions. A slow smile spread across his face.

"I refuse to be baited by you, Doctor. I dimly recall that particular game was a peculiar favourite of yours. Have you ever wondered if perhaps you had baited me a little less, I might not have turned out as I did?"

The Doctor smiled icily. "And I seem to recall a particular little game of yours that you found very popular. Namely, blaming others for your highly reprehensible actions."

The Master burst out laughing, deep brays that seemed to make the furniture around them shake. The insane edge to that laughter caused a cloud of deep concern to scud across the Doctor's face.

"My dear Doctor, how I have missed our little verbal jousts!" He gestured for the Doctor to rise. "Come, join me. See what my intentions truly are!"

Stiffly the Doctor stood up. The Master watched him with a contemptuous sneer while striding purposefully down the hall, leaving the Doctor to limp along in his wake. "I see age seems to have finally caught you up, Doctor. Final regeneration, is it?"

"Mine to know, yours to find out!" he snapped. "Besides, regeneration never seemed to bother you. As I recall, you practiced some particularly obscene methods of transcending that."

The Master sighed heavily. "Obscene? What a fiend you make me sound!"

"I can think of few worse."

The Master stopped dead and looked at him. "You really do hate me, don't you?"

"Hate is very strong word. I seldom use it, if at all."

The Master shook his head and carried on. "We used to be friends, didn't we?"

"Quite close, yes."

"I do not recall how or why our friendship ended."

"I do, but I prefer not to. And don't bother asking. It's water under the bridge, as far as I'm concerned."

"In that case, why are you so certain I am still the same evil man you once knew?"

Now the Doctor stopped, and he looked at the Master levelly. "I have known many so-called evil men have a change of heart, even to the extent that they became the exact opposite to what they once were. But you, my friend? You are evil constant. Constant!" he spat.

The Master narrowed his eyes. "We shall see. We shall see!" he rasped, and flung open a pair of large wooden doors at the very end of the great hall.

It was the Master's laboratory. What the Doctor saw in there dispelled any lingering doubts he had about the man's claims.

He wasn't as bad as his old self.

He was worse.





Episode 9
by Gareth Preston


It heaved and shuddered within a cloud of sickly brown moisture. The Doctor's throat gagged as his horrified gaze tried to take in the shape which filled the cavernous chamber which housed the laboratory. It seemed roughly conical and underneath its huge coral like surface, he could detect a maze of interlocking components, covered with pulsing veins of thick red liquid. It was a machine for some alien purpose.

And it was built entirely of live dragon organs.

The Master turned to the Doctor, calmly gesturing to the obscene hybrid like a prize art student with his graduation work. He smiled, revealing teeth which were far too white.

"After today's battle it will be complete, and then my real work can begin."

The Doctor didn't trust himself to speak, but merely fixed his old enemy with his most piercing glare. His host pantomimed a look of disappointment.

"Oh dear, it seems my great design does not meet with your approval. Have you spotted a flaw in the design? Wouldn't you like to know what it's for?"

He moved towards the machine and stroked one of the smaller dragon limbs which had become a small support strut.

"The design was a deeply guarded secret. Devised by an ancient race who spent the rest of their existence fiercely guarding their creation, hating it, but knowing that could not unlearn their knowledge or destroy the sacred texts. But nothing remains hidden forever does it, Doctor? Not even you or I."

"The natives of Colleth are remarkable creatures, are they not? Every part of their bodies are suffused with a unique energy which powers their flight, heats their flame. Now I have bent that energy to a new, higher purpose."

"Higher purpose!" spat the Doctor, unable to contain himself any longer. "These noble, intelligent creatures, which once soared and loved! Raised families and fought for each other! Reduced to dismembered slavery!"

The Master dismissed the thought with a wave.

"Their corporeal life remains, but nothing in my creation is alive as you and I are."

"Don't lie to me!" roared the Doctor. "I can hear their minds screaming and so can you!"

Even the Master blanched before the Doctor's fury but he quickly recovered himself.

"And to think that idiot Maresch believes I only want their tongues! He probably imagines me bent over a cauldron in here." the Timelord laughed. "I have been practicing alchemy of an entirely different nature. What you see before you is the new key for the domination of this universe, the second Event Synthesizer!"

The Doctor's left heart clenched, causing him to sway and nearly lose his balance. Black spots swam before his eyes. Too many shocks, too much happening at once. The Master watched him with a faint smile and decided to press home his advantage.

"I haven't been entirely ignorant of current affairs on Gallifrey. I know about the Great War and the damage it has wrought, the overthrow of the Guardians. Our brother Timelords lie weak and disorganised amongst the wreckage of their civilisation. Can you think of a better time to seize the reins of creation? With my completed Event Synthesizer I can bend the web of time to my will. Or maybe I should say 'our' will? Twice before I offered you such power, I shall not be so generous again."

"Never," rasped the Doctor weakly, but he could not stop himself sinking to his knees. The dragons' pain that he could feel radiating from the synthesizer was filling his consciousness. His left arm was a spasm of pain. And all the time he could hear the Master's insane speech.

"Then this sadly must be our last meeting, dear Doctor. I think you were destined to meet me one last time. You are here to bear witness to my apotheosis, before I obliterate you with a thought!"

The sky was thick with smoke and blood as dragon and knight clashed and whirled around each other. Screams human and inhuman merged together as huge scaled bodies hurled themselves into the ranks of flying bikes, tearing into their riders. Laser blasts cannoned through the air, some wild, but many finding their targets and searing dragon flesh. The beasts returned fire with jets of scorching fire, but the knights wisely kept out of range of the flames, using the greater reach of their weapons to deadly effect. One after another, wounded dragons were engulfed in steel alloy nets and dragged to earth.

The huge black form of Kayleeh rose up above battle, preparing himself for another killing dive. His horrified gaze took in the carnage. This was not how it was supposed to be! Instead of the token battle which would have established him as undisputed ruler of Colleth, this had quickly become a massacre.

He closed his wings and dove into the melee. Shots exploded around him, but he ignored them with lordly disdain. His front talons tore a knight in two without barely slowing his flight. He wheeled about and looked toward the distant gray shape of the castle. Maresch was cowering in there! Maybe it was too late for his people, but he could revenge himself on the human creature which had betrayed him. He whipped his tail out at a pair of knights, missing, but forcing them into the forest below. There was a brief crumpling sound, indicating that one of the riders had not pulled up in time. With a roar of hatred, Kayleeh set off towards the castle.



All she could do was watch the battle from below, Thaylia was cursing herself. Even when the lead dragons had swept over her head, their down draft knocking her to the ground, they had ignored the wounded Frek and herself because of a surprise knight attack. Suddenly she felt Frek's muscles move as he began to climb to his feet.

"Careful Frek! You're still wounded." she warned.

Frek raised his worried eyes to the angry sky above them. They could hear the faint sound of roaring and blaster fire.

"My grandmother's up there. I got to save her."

She grabbed his leathery wing. "You took a heavy hit. You won't last two minutes up there!"

He arched his head down towards her. "Even so, I have to try, haven't I?" he said simply and his voice seemed to have changed. It had deepened and carried a timbre of determination she hadn't detected before.

She nodded and before he could react, she wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a tight hug. He smiled and responded by giving her a quick lick. His tongue was surprisingly soft.

Then Thaylia stepped back and covered her eyes as Frek's flapping wings drove up a cloud of dust. Then, with a challenging screech, he shot into the sky. She tried to follow him, but she soon lost him amongst the black shapes in the clouds.

She wiped the saliva from her cheek and looked about her. Quickly she came to a decision. It was certainly no good standing here waiting for the victors to finish her off. The Mage had almost certainly taken the Doctor to the castle, so that was where she had to go. It was her turn to do a bit of rescuing.

She began to push her way though the thick undergrowth of the forest, in what she thought was the right direction. Suddenly she heard a loud, metal wrenching crash to her right. Turning in its direction, she soon found herself at the crash site of a flying bike. Its erstwhile rider lay unconscious nearby. She was amazed he was still alive. Running over to the bike she soon worked out it was dented, but still capable of flight. Praying that the knight would remain comatose, she removed his helmet, gloves, weapons and jerkin and hastily put them on. With a little bit of coaxing, the bike hummed back into life.

Carefully she maneuvered above the forest canopy, gained her bearings and flew as fast as the stuttering engine would allow, towards the threatening gray bulk of the castle.





Episode 10
by Steve Lake


The Doctor squeezed his eyes shut, concentrating hard on the pain that wracked his body and took a deep breath. Gradually the pain subsided as he shut down the feeling in his body where the pain hurt the most. Now his left arm hung limp by his side, as cold and unfeeling as a length of wood. It was utterly useless now, and would remain so until he could afford the luxury of proper treatment, but until then, it would have to do. He needed his mind unclouded by pain. Of all the faculties left to him, his mind was still his sharpest tool. Physically overcoming the Master was impossible, even if he had the full use of his body. He would have to do what he'd always done with him; out-think him.

He opened his eyes and cleared his throat, making a valiant attempt to sound strong and in control. He wished he could get to his feet, but he didn't trust his legs and was unsure of how much balance he'd get with only one arm. Being on his knees was bad enough, but being flat on his face would have been worse.

"What makes you think the Time Lords will be so easily overcome by your little toy? A lot has changed since you last visited home. They're a different people now. They're more... defensive."

The Master turned away from tinkering with his obscenity and leered at him. "What fear have I for a race that allows technologically retarded species like the Scourge to penetrate its barriers? No, my dear Doctor, you always overestimated their power. The Time Lords are weak and corrupt."

"Ideal subjects for your dominion then. As the old saying goes, it takes one to know one."

The Master laughed harshly. "How true!" He stalked forward and bent down towards the Doctor. "But while they are weak, I am strong. And through my Event Synthesiser, I shall be stronger still!"

"Oh, so you're content merely to be corrupt then. Well, if that's the case..." the Doctor fumbled in his pocket with his good hand and produced his draw-string purse, jingling the contents in the Master's face. "How about a little bribery to go with your corruption? What's your going rate these days?"

With a snarl, the Master batted the Doctor across his face with the palm of his hand, rocking his head to one side. The Doctor teetered on his knees, nearly toppling over. He felt blood trickling down his lip.

To the Master's surprise - and increasing fury - he grinned.

"You're quite right, of course. A fellow like you doesn't dabble in loose change. I have my cheque book in here somewhere," and he made a play of patting his coat for it. "Is the National Bank of Andromeda all right? Their currency is inflation proof in virtually any time zone."

With a roar, the Master plucked the Doctor up and flung him across the room like a rag doll. He slammed into a table, impact driving the breath from his body, but he managed to grasp the table with his good hand and keep upright. Part one of his plan accomplished; he had no desire to die on his knees.

And part two was coming along nicely too. The powerful psychic ambiance in the room had altered as well. It was no less noisy or painful to him, but now it was more chaotic, disorganised - out of control. Just as the Master was now. The Doctor had surmised that that his mortal foe was using his not inconsiderable mental faculties to maintain a tight grip over the horrific forces bottled inside his invention, and if he could loosen that grip, he might be able to get a finger hold himself.

And then he'd have him. He could use the machine to disable the man, and taking care of the rest of situation would be child's play after that, with a device like the Event Synthesiser. He was loath to use it, but needs must. It could be disposed of properly later, with due respect afforded to its victims.

He'd use the Master's rage against him now. Discipline was never the Master's strong point. It was simply a matter of winding the man up to the degree where all his energies were focused on one thing; his destruction. Not a difficult thing to achieve; it had never been difficult in the past.

But the plan wasn't without its hazards. The Master was advancing across the room towards him, vulpine features frozen into a feral snarl of rage. He reached beneath his robes and drew a curved dagger.

"Ah, reverting to type at last! I wondered how long you could go without murdering someone. And in such a primitive fashion, tsk tsk..." he shook his head at the dagger. "Lost your TCE again, did you?"

"Tissue compression is too good a fate for you, Doctor!" He raised the blade high above his head, the light flashing across its surface. "I think I require one final element to complete my little toy... the piece d'resistance!" A terrible smile contorted his face. "The beating heart of a Time Lord!"

The Doctor began to back slowly away around the table, trying to keep it between him and his adversary. "Only one? Such waste..."

"Waste? No!" The Master chuckled brutally. "The other, my dear, dear friend, I shall present to the High Council... along with my terms for complete obedience to my will!"

"Terms?" The Doctor laughed. "My, you have changed. It's not like you to offer 'terms'! Or have I misjudged you? Have you become diplomatic in your old age?"

With a howl of rage, the Master flung himself forward.

The mental turmoil in the room increased. As the Doctor weaved painfully round the table, he felt a tiny break in the maelstrom, and summoning his energies, concentrated hard.

He screamed. The Master screamed. The dagger slipped through his fingers and he clutched at his head.

"Noooo! What are you doing! Stop!"

"Never!" hissed the Doctor, face set into fearful concentration as he struggled to harness the forces.

The Master gasped, and leaned on the table for support. "You're too old and weak, Doctor! My mind is still strong!" He began to strain with concentration as well.

The Doctor blanched, feeling control slipping away... if only he had help! Where was that blasted girl when he needed her?



That 'blasted girl' was weaving her way uncertainly over the countryside towards the castle, clinging onto her stuttering mount for dear life. These damn things weren't built for comfort, she decided. Give her back her old perigosto stick any day of the week...

She yelled as a shadow suddenly blotted out the sky and something huge roared overhead uttering a dismal cry of fury. A dragon! Caught in its wake, Thaylia lost control and started to spiral towards the ground.

"Don't fail me now!" she yelled, yanking at the handlebars.

With the hard floor scant feet away, the machine responded to her desperate movements and righted itself and shot back into the sky again. Thaylia breathed a hearty sigh of relief.

"Phew..." she turned her attention to the dragon disappearing off into the distance. "Sky hog!" she yelled. She gunned the engine and shot off after it, a deep sense of foreboding filling her mind. The castle looked strong, but so did the dragon, and in its enraged state Thaylia reckoned it could easily level the building -- and anyone in it.

Including the Doctor.

She twisted back the throttle and shot forward.

"Let's just hope I'm not too late!" she cried.



The Doctor's weak mental finger hold was starting to slip away. The Master, more used to the ways of his invention, was inexorably regaining control. When that happened, he was dead; he knew it. What was worse, his concentrated effort to hold his physical pain at bay was starting to erode too and pain was coursing through his body again. His left heart was hammering wildly in his chest and he knew all too well what that was leading to. A heart attack now might prove a mercy to him, but what of the countless others that would suffer at the hands of the Master when his invention was completed?

"I cannot fail! I must not fail!" he muttered grimly, concentrating harder than ever before. The Master overheard him and grinned triumphantly. He began to creep around the table towards his foe.

"You will fail, Doctor! And I shall succeed! Face it Doctor, you've lost! I've beaten you!" he crowed. "I am the Master!"

Pain blotted the Doctor's senses and he uttered a strangulated gasp, slumping across the table with his eyes tightly shut. The Master howled in victory and sprang forward towards the Doctor, hand raised to deliver a finishing blow...

But his howl was blotted out by a terrifying shriek of fury. The Master swung round to face the arched window cut into the side of the wall and gasped in fright. A huge dragon was swooping towards them, blotting out the view.

"Humaaannnn!" Kayleeh shrieked. "You betrayed meeeee!"

"No!" screamed the Master, swinging round. He made to jump towards a control panel on the wall opposite, but summoning the last of his energy the Doctor grappled with the Master, tugging him back. The Master responded by slamming an elbow back into the Doctor's chest, making the old man sink to the ground with an agonised gasp.

But the Doctor's delay had worked. Kayleeh slammed into the wall, huge neck shooting through the window as he jammed his body against the building. His eyes glowed blood red with rage.

"My people are being slaughtered! This was not our arrangement, human!"

"Get away!" The Master cried, scuttling towards the panel. Kayleeh saw where he was heading and unleashed a ball of flame. The Master shrieked and ducked, the ball sailing over his head to slam into the panel and turn it into molten slag.

"You shall pay for this treachery!" Kayleeh bellowed, spitting blast after blast at the cowering figure as it ran frantically around the laboratory.

"Wait!" a voice cried. Kayleeh whipped his head round to see another human propping itself up on a table before it. It looked like the elderly one he had reports of. "Look over there!" it commanded, pointing a shaking finger towards the other side of the laboratory. "See what real fate this evil man has in store for your people! Open your mind and feel their agony!"

Kayleeh looked - and went berserk. He whipped his head from side to side, showering the room with fireballs. The Doctor slipped beneath his table and lay still, but the Master ran to and fro in a desperate attempt to reach safety. But every door and exit was soon blocked by a wall of flame, trapping him in the room...

And as he fired, Kayleeh began to strain at the wall, which began to buckle and give as he forced himself inside...



Thaylia saw the dragon squeezing slowly but surely through the ever-widening gap in the castle wall and brought her mount to a shuddering halt. "Whoa! Not good!"

She hovered in the air, watching, weighing up her options. Going inside and finding a way up would take too long. Her best bet was to wait until the dragon was through, then follow...



The Master rolled beneath a preparation table and grasped a leg, propelling the table over onto its side with a single heave. Various bottles of chemicals hit the ground and exploded, adding a foul-smelling vapour to the smoke from the fires caused by Kayleeh's fiery wrath. He huddled behind this scant protection and marshaled his thoughts. He'd never be able to recall that idiot Maresch and his minions in time, which meant he had to cope with this scaly intruder himself. He darted a look around. None of his weapons were within reach, and he'd never make it to any that he could see. The dragon would cut him down before he could get two feet.

That just left the Synthesiser. It would have to do. It was incomplete, but should be powerful enough for this task. He cast a wary glance over to where the Doctor was. All he could see of the old man was a single pale hand from behind the charred wreckage of the table they'd face each other across.

The hand was still. All the interference from his mind had stilled as well. The Doctor was finished. He had no more to fear from him.

He started to concentrate.

Kayleeh wriggled through the gap he had made and dropped onto the floor, which groaned beneath his weight. He flexed his wings imperiously, causing furniture and equipment to go flying, adding to the chaos. He swept a fiery blast along the walls, catching the shelves and tapestries alight. By the time he was finished, this whole place would be reduced to ash!

"Abomination!" he rumbled. "Show yourself! You shall suffer for what you have done!" Kayleeh came forward, head swinging from side to side, nostrils flaring as he sniffed out his prey. "Face me, human! Face me and burn!"

"Here, dragon!" a voice cried, and to Kayleeh's surprise, the Master stood up from behind a charred table. He spread his arms wide. "Here I am, you bloated lizard!" he laughed mockingly. "Burn me if you dare!"

Kayleeh shrieked and drew his head back to deliver the killing blast...

The Master clapped his hands to his temples and concentrated hard...

Kayleeh's cry of rage turned to one of pain. He twisted and writhed as agony coursed through his body. The Master laughed.

"Now, feel my wrath, 'your majesty'," he sneered. "And above all, feel the wrath of your subjects! Feel the wrath of those you helped to betray - and murder!"

The demonic sound of the Master's laughter faded into the terrible sound of a hundred dragons all crying in torment and pity in his mind. Then the voices turned from that to expressions of rage and betrayal.

"Kayleeh!" they cried. "You betrayed us! You destroyed us! You are the undoing of our species! Murderer! Murderer!"

Kayleeh screamed as the voices overwhelmed his senses...





Episode 11
by Mark Simpson


Thaylia saw the dragon demolish the last part of wall it needed to squeeze its bulk into the castle. It left a nice wide hole, more than big enough for her and her sky bike.

Gunning the engine one more time, she headed for the gap, somehow knowing that she would find the Doctor on the other side. He was never far from the action, in her experience.



Kayleeh rocked back and forth, the assault on his mind almost driving him to his knees.

"I never meant this to happen," he told the screaming voices in his head. "I only thought I was sacrificing a few of our people for their greater good."

"Arrogant fool!" a voice condemned him. "You believed that gaining power for yourself would somehow help our people? You deserve to be here, not us."

"We are the innocents," said another voice.

"We are the victims of your greed."

"We are the stepping stones on your road to power."

"What use is your power now?" demanded the first voice. "This puny creature uses us against each other, when he should pay for the crimes committed against our race. And all you can do is whimper!"

"What should I do?" wailed Kayleeh.

"Burn the Human. Then throw yourself on the mercy of your fellows."



The Doctor was conscious. He wasn't sure how, but he was. Trying to hold back his pain, he saw that the dragon seemed to be at the mercy of the Master's infernal device. His old adversary was standing to one side, oblivious to the creature's pain while the laboratory began to burn around him.

Then a fleeting thought crossed the Doctor's mind. He had been trying to block out his own pain, in an attempt to defeat the Master. But maybe he was going about this the wrong way.

Concentrating, he opened his mind to the pain, the pain in his arm, the pain in his head, all the niggling little aches and pains from his struggle with the Master earlier. When it seemed like his mind was on the verge of overloading, he reached out one last time.

The scream was almost deafening this time. Dozens of dragon minds, unified in their agony. Harnessing this force, The Doctor propelled the mental energy at his foe.

Taken by surprise, the Master was lifted off his feet and thrown against the hard stone wall. He slid down the wall, landing in a crumpled heap at the bottom.

Shaking off his malaise, Kayleeh looked around the room. He dismissed the elderly human, he seemed to be dead anyway. Then he spotted the one he was looking for.

Stalking over, the floor shaking beneath him, Kayleeh towered over the Master, who was beginning to regain his senses. His eyes widened when he saw the dragon leaning over him.

"You have destroyed me," Kayleeh said quietly. "But before I die by the claws of my betters, I will execute you, for the crimes you have committed against our race."

"No!" The Master protested, scrambling to his feet. "I can still help you. You can still be top dragon on this world."

"Lies!" spat Kayleeh, smoke curling from his nostrils. "You will burn for what you have done." The dragon drew back his head, to deliver the killing blast.

"Stop!" commanded a voice behind Kayleeh. The dragon turned slowly, to see another human standing by the hole in the wall. Given that it had a different thorax to the other two humans, he deduced it was a female. It also had a gun.

"How dare you interrupt my revenge, human?" roared the dragon.

The female stood her ground. "Whatever he's done, that man deserves a chance to redeem himself."

"There's little chance that will ever happen," said another voice.

Kayleeh and the female turned. The elderly human was standing, at a slight angle, cradling one of its arms.

"Doctor!" the female exclaimed. "You look awful! Are you all right?"

"I'll live," said the Doctor. He turned to Kayleeh. "So, you betrayed your people, in the cause of power. It seems that even a race as noble as yours throws up some bad apples. Speaking of which." He turned to the other human.

"Gloat all you like, Doctor," spat the Master, from his position pressed against the wall. "I control the Event Synthesiser."

"Not any more," the Doctor said mildly. He saw the look in the Master's eyes. "Don't believe me? Try and use your abomination. Go on, I dare you."

"I'll blast you out of existence with a thought," the Master declared. He closed his eyes, concentrating. After a few seconds effort, his eyes flew wide open in surprise.

"See, told you so," the Doctor said with a weak smile.

"What have you done?" screamed his enraged nemesis.

"I created a bond between the minds of the slaughtered dragons and our friend here. He now controls the device you brought into existence."

"No! No, this can't be true!" The Master sank to his knees, almost sobbing. "All my work, all my efforts, wasted."

The Doctor shook his head sadly. "It was the lives of the people who you put to work in your terrible machine that were wasted. But I wouldn't expect you to understand that. You never have valued life, of any species."

The Master got to his feet once more. He glowered at the Doctor. "You may have beaten me this time, Doctor, but you'll never take me alive!"

With one fluid movement, he threw the glass bottle he had picked up from the floor. The bottle exploded in a shower of glass and smoke in front of the Doctor and Thaylia.

When the smoke cleared, the Master had vanished.

The Doctor stared at the spot where his old enemy had been. "He never learns."

"Now I have lost my chance of revenge!" screeched Kayleeh.

"You still have the chance to do one good thing," the Doctor said. He pointed to the Event Synthesiser. "You could put your fellows out of their misery. Destroy that device."

"Why should I take orders from you, human?"

The Doctor smiled weakly. "Because I'm asking you to do the right thing. Because you know, deep down inside, that it's the correct course of action."

Kayleeh snorted, a small jet of fire escaping his nostrils. "Very well. Leave now, or be burnt along with it."

Thaylia put an arm around the shoulder of the Doctor. He leaned against her, glad of the support.

"Come on, Doctor. I have one of those hover bike things."

The Doctor nodded. "Try and keep to the speed limit, my dear."



In the skies of Colleth, the battle between dragons and men was going badly for the dragons. They had already lost almost half their number, while there were still far too many humans in the sky.

Frek had joined the battle, doing his best to help his fellows while looking out for his grandmother. Eventually, he spotted her.

She was hemmed in by humans and they were moving in for the kill. Leaving the main part of the fight, Frek swung around and headed for her position.

The first human was easy to fry, as they were not expecting his attack. The other three then turned on the newcomer.

This was their second mistake. Grandmother burnt another to a crisp before they could fire on her grandson.

The remaining two humans didn't know which way to turn. Frek and his grandmother picked them off with ease.

"You're hurt," she said when the two dragons met.

"It's nothing," he told her. "I had to come, had to join the battle."

Grandmother smiled. "You're a good boy, Frek. Are you fit enough to rejoin the others?"

He nodded. "I can manage," he told her. Together the two dragons flew to join their fellows.



The dragons had withdrawn temporarily from the fight to regroup. One of the scouts saw the battle between Frek, his grandmother and the men. Quickly, word spread among the dragons.

"We should rally our remaining forces behind the boy," decided Grenth, the senior dragon still with the fighting force. "If a boy and an ancient can beat four men, we have a chance of winning this fight."

A roar went up from the surviving dragons. Filled with renewed hope, they re-entered the fray.



Thaylia powered the sky bike away from the castle. They had left Kayleeh to destroy the Event Synthesiser.

"Who was that man?" she asked her passenger, glancing over her shoulder to see if he was still awake.

"The Master. He was a friend once. Then we became enemies."

Thaylia knew there was a lot he wasn't telling her, but she decided not to ask. If he wanted to tell her, he would.

He tapped her on the shoulder, then pointed at the sky. "Look over there."

She followed his finger. Above them, the battle was still raging. But unlike before, it seemed to be turning against the men and in favour of the dragons.

And leading the dragon side was a familiar face. Frek was in the forefront of the attack, pressing the dragons' advantage. Alongside him was an old, female dragon.

As they watched, three sky bikes spiraled to the ground in flames. Another exploded in the air. That left four men against dozens of dragons. The men turned and fled the battlefield, with half the dragons chasing them.

Some of the dragons had spotted the Doctor and Thaylia. They changed direction, heading for the two Gallifreyans.

"I hope they've run out of puff," Thaylia said with feeling.

"Unlikely," the Doctor replied. "Their flames will be powered by some kind of internal mechanism, which will only extinguish them when they are completely exhausted."

"Can't you let a girl hope?" Thaylia complained.

Despite the fact he was behind her, Thaylia could almost hear him smile. "I always have hope, even in the face of overwhelming evidence."

"Then let's hope they are friendly," she said with feeling.

Thaylia landed in a small clearing in the woods. She helped the Doctor to climb off the bike.

"I should attend to your arm," she said, concern etched across her face.

The Doctor shook his head. "We don't have time for that. Look."

Thaylia turned. Half a dozen dragons were landing in the clearing. The Doctor stepped up beside her and the two Gallifreyans met the dragons face to face.

"Humans, your kind have butchered the people of Colleth. Now you will pay for your actions."

The Doctor, despite his injuries and obvious pain, stood protectively in front of Thaylia. "We have helped your people. We are not butchers. Not all men are the same."

"Liar!" spat the dragon. "You will be roasted where you stand!"

"Do that and you'll be next, Grenth," said a voice from behind the Time Lords.

Everybody looked to see who had spoken. A murmur ran through the dragons. It was Frek the Hero. Frek, who in spite of his wounds, had led the victorious final assault against the men.

"My apologies, Frek," said Grenth. "I let you have the honour of destroying these humans."

"They are not to be harmed," Frek told him. "They are my friends."

The murmur among the dragons got louder. "All men are our enemy!" declared Grenth forcefully. "These should burn!"

"No!" shouted Frek. "They burn over my dead body! They have helped our people."

"The boy speaks the truth, I have seen it in his mind," said Frek's grandmother, backing up the young dragon. "And if you don't believe us, maybe you will believe the word of Old Spinoot."

She stepped aside and the elderly dragon shuffled forward. His wounds had been cleaned and bound. Frek was overjoyed to see his mentor alive and well.

"Spare these humans," rasped the old dragon. "They are friends of our people."

The Doctor sighed. "Well, now that's settled, maybe someone would like to strap this arm for me."

As Thaylia searched around the bike for a medi-kit, an explosion reached their ears. In the distance, a column of flame rose from the castle. More explosions followed.

"The Master?" asked Thaylia.

"He has survived worse fates in the past," the Doctor replied. His eyes were filled with sadness.

"Kayleeh, our new leader, was last seen heading for the castle," said Frek's grandmother.

For a moment, the Doctor considered what to say. "He died bravely, in the service of his people."

Dragons and Gallifreyans bowed their heads in silent respect.



Two days had passed. The dragons had found the Doctor's TARDIS and brought it to the village.

Thaylia and Frek were strolling around the edge of the village in silent companionship. They had spent much of the last two days together, flying over the spectacular landscape, talking and laughing. Frek's injuries had healed quickly.

They were approaching the TARDIS. The Doctor was standing outside, polishing his new spectacles on his white scarf. The time had come to say goodbye.

Frek broke the silence. "I wish you could stay."

Thaylia smiled sadly. "I wish I could too. But the Doctor needs me. Maybe, some time in the future, I can return. I might even return for good."

"Something to look forward to," Frek said lightly. He placed a gentle paw on her shoulder. She put her hand on top of it. "Take care, Thaylia. I'll miss you."

"You too, Frek." She reached up and kissed him lightly on the cheek. "I'll miss you too." Then she turned and walked quickly towards the TARDIS.

The Doctor was waiting for her, his arm in a sling. Despite his ordeal, he looked remarkably well.

"Difficult goodbye?" he asked softly.

Thaylia nodded. The Doctor placed his good hand on her shoulder, much as Frek had done. "Who knows where Time will lead us? We may pass this way again, one day."

"I hope so," Thaylia said quietly. She turned, waved to Frek and disappeared into the TARDIS.

The Doctor smiled sadly. He too waved to his dragon friend, before following Thaylia inside. Moments later the TARDIS disappeared from the surface of Colleth.