2. Lord of Darkness
In the circus ring, Terry Alexander conducted the clown acts again to a different audience. He used the same words as he had done before saying, “Make sure you pay with happiness and glee! For you, tonight’s the night you get the thrill of your lives!”
Members of the audience cheered in response to MacDonald’s words.
“Now, friends!” MacDonald then declared. “Watch as these two chums amaze you with their funny tricks!”
Jimmy Phillips watched behind a curtain as he saw what was going on in the ring. He was eventually surprised when he turned to his left to see the Doctor, Jo and Mike standing next to him. The Doctor beamed cheerfully.
“Good afternoon,” he said.
“Where did you three come from?” Phillips asked. “How did you get in here?”
“We came through the back way,” the Doctor told him.
“The Doctor and I entered through the back curtain,” Jo added. “We were hoping to speak to Mr. MacDonald, you see.”
“Yes well,” Phillips said flustered. “As you can see, he’s very busy in the ring.”
“Yes we know,” Mike said. “We checked Mr. MacDonald’s dressing room before coming here, Mr. Phillips.”
“What?!” said Phillips shocked. “You broke in?!”
“We found something of curious interest, Mr Phillips,” the Doctor said. “A machine in the shape of a tripod. Mean something to you?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Phillips replied.
“Oh I think you do,” the Doctor said. “You know something and you’re unwilling to share it with us, Mr. Phillips.”
Phillips became uncomfortable. Jo noticed this and tried to reassure him.
“If you could just tell us what you saw Mr. Phillips, we’d be most grateful,” she said.
Phillips was reluctant at first. “I know nothing of this,” he said. “I saw the machine in MacDonald’s room, yes. I asked him what it was and he just told me to get out. He wished not to be disturbed. I didn’t wish to abuse his privacy at the time.”
“Do you get on well with Mr. MacDonald, Mr. Phillips?” the Doctor asked.
“Well enough,” Phillips answered. “He does a good show for me. Plays the ringmaster role well.”
“But the two of you don’t see eye-to-eye,” Mike stated. “Is that what it is, Mr. Phillips?”
Phillips said nothing. It was almost as if he was confirming the suggestion made by Mike Yates. The Doctor saw the look on Phillips’ face.
“If so Mr. Phillips,” the Doctor said gradually, “I wonder why. Why is it the two of you don’t see things eye-to-eye?”
Jo then tugged at the Doctor, telling him to look. They now saw the act being done by the clowns. One clown was about to ask the other clown to lie down on the bed to relax.
“Here we are, Bobsey!” said Tricksey. “Lie down on the bed here!”
As before, Bobsey made his way over to the bed to lie down. He felt relaxed once he was lying down.
“There we are, Bobsey,” Tricksey said. “How do you feel?”
“Much better now thanks, Tricksey!” Bobsey said, relaxed. “I needed the rest!”
Again, Tricksey laughed mischievously as he took out from behind his back the sharp jagged saw. Howling manically, Tricksey chopped Bobsey’s body up in half. Everyone gasped in shock and horror. Women screamed. Jo shuddered at seeing the sight again of the man being chopped up.
“It’s horrible,” Jo trembled. “Just horrible!”
The Doctor wrapped his arm around Jo to comfort her.
“It’s alright, Jo,” he said reassuringly. “Don’t worry about it.”
They then saw as they did before. Tricksey picked up all the body halves and its parts of the cut-up Bobsey. Within minutes, Bobsey the clown became complete again. No scratches; no cuts. Everyone witnessed this and were astonished. They cheered once they’d seen it.
“How do you feel Bobsey pal?” Tricksey asked.
Bobsey rose to his feet, got off the bed and then made his way towards the audience. He said menacingly this time, “I feel…I say, I feel mighty hungry!”
Bobsey then drew out a sword from his coat and howled wildly, charging up at the audience. With one stroke, he attacked and killed members of the audience. Everyone gasped in horror as Bobsey did this. Tricksey drew a sword out from his coat too.
“You know what, Bobsey?” Tricksey said malciously, “So do I!”
The two clowns cackled with delight whilst everyone in the audience rows screamed. The audience scattered as they tried to escape. Very soon, more clowns were attacking members of the audience left; right and centre with swords.
The Doctor, Jo, Mike and Mr. Phillips saw this and were completely aghast.
“Doctor, they’ve killed them!” Jo exclaimed, horrified. “The clowns! They’re killing members of the audience! They’re killing…”
“Quick, we’ve got to stop this!” cried the Doctor. “Stop this massacre from getting out of hand!”
Without hesitation, the Doctor ran out into the circus arena. Jo and Mike followed him. Phillips remained, hiding behind the curtain, unable to comprehend what was going on.
In the centre of the ring, the Doctor attempted to track down MacDonald whilst the massacre by the killer clowns went on. The Doctor was unable to find him.
“MacDonald!” he shouted. “MacDonald, where are you man?!”
The Doctor then heard Jo call him. “Doctor?! Over here! Quickly!”
The Doctor and Mike saw Jo kneeling beside a crumbled MacDonald on the ground. They made their way over to her whilst the pandemonium continued. As they reached Jo, they saw how MacDonald looked and were concerned.
“He’s unconscious, Doctor,” Jo said. “Fainted.”
“How did that happen, Doctor?” Mike asked.
“I’m not sure, Mike,” the Doctor said, checking over MacDonald. “Probably a coincidence I guess.”
The Doctor then told Mike to contact the Brigadier and some of his U.N.I.T. men to the circus tent right away. Mike was already onto it. He got onto his radio and switched it on. It crackled as he spoke into it.
“Greyhound Two to Greyhound Leader,” Mike said. “Greyhound Two to Greyhound Leader. Do you read me over?”
The Doctor had only looked away once before he saw Jo suddenly abducted by one of the killer clowns. She screamed once she was caught.
“Doctor!” she cried out to him. “Doctor, help me!” She spoke to the clown “Let me go, you horrid clown! Let me go at once!”
The Doctor saw that Jo was in the custody of Bobsey the clown. Mike tried to intervene and rescue Jo, but the Doctor held him back.
“Keep still, Mike!” he said. Then he called out to Bobsey “What do you want? Let her go! Please don’t do anything rash!”
The clown however laughed maniacally. “Oh but Doctor! Don’t you see?! This girl is to be our hostage! She will be taken back to MacDonald’s master! Where she will suffer torture and imprisonment for the rest of her days! And there’s nothing you can do to stop it! See you later, alligator!”
Jo gave one more cry, “Doctor! Help!”
But she soon found herself transported out of sight with the clown taking her as he laughed away manically. A moment of stillness and tension ensues once Mike and the Doctor saw Jo and Bobsey the clown vanish.
“She’s gone, Doctor,” Mike broke the silence. “Jo’s gone!”
“Yes Mike, I know,” the Doctor replied. “And they’ve left MacDonald behind.”
“But where’s she gone?!” Mike wanted to know. “Where’s Jo?!”
“I don’t know,” the Doctor answered. “But I’m determined to find out!”
They were soon interrupted as a killer clown came towards them. He raised his sword as he was about to strike the Doctor and Mike.
“Get down!!!” a voice bellowed.
The Doctor and Mike turned to see the Brigadier behind them. They immediately ducked. The Brigadier raised his revolver and opened fire, gunning down the killer clown. More U.N.I.T. soldiers led by Sergeant Benton entered the building and opened fire with their rifles. More killer clowns got gunned down as they weren’t expecting a frontal attack. They soon scattered and escaped through the backstage entrance. Most of the circus audience had already departed in a scare by then. Only the Doctor, Mike Yates, the Brigadier, Benton and the U.N.I.T. soldiers remained.
“Seems like I didn’t need to call the Brigadier up after all, Doctor,” Mike said.
The Doctor and Mike got up to their feet and the Brigadier went over to meet them. The Doctor was not happy with the Brigadier’s methods.
“Thank you very much, Lethbridge-Stewart,” he said angrily. “But I would’ve preferred you not coming in here and gunning the whole place down whilst innocent people are still here! You could’ve got us all killed!”
“I’m glad you’re pleased we’ve just saved your lives, Doctor,” the Brigadier said ruefully. He then turned to Mike. “Captain Yates? You have a report?”
“Well, sir…” Mike began.
But just as Mike was about to give the Brigadier a brief report, Benton interrupted as he brought in Phillips from the back curtain.
“Excuse me, Brigadier,” Benton said. “But I found this man hiding behind the curtains. He seemed a bit shifty to me.”
“I was keeping out of the way from all the violence the clowns were causing,” Phillips insisted. “I’ve got nothing to hide, I swear.”
“Keep him secure, Sergeant,” the Doctor said. “We may need him.”
Mike eventually saw MacDonald, who had recovered, getting up to his feet and making a run for the outer door.
“Doctor!” Mike called out.
“Brigadier, stop that man!” the Doctor insisted.
“Parker; Richards, stop him!” the Brigadier barked.
Two U.N.I.T. soldiers immediately responded to the Brigadier’s order as they blocked MacDonald’s escape. They caught him just as he was about to head the other way. MacDonald began protesting, but the Doctor, the Brigadier and the others ignored him. The Brigadier then noticed something that worried him.
“Doctor, what’s happened to Miss Grant?” he asked concerned. “Is she around somewhere in the vicinity?”
The Brigadier then saw the troubled look on the Doctor’s face as well as on Mike Yates’. The Doctor looked around the circle, as if to pick up a trace of where Jo left off. He eventually gave a solemn response.
“I’m afraid not, Brigadier,” he said. “For some reason, Jo Grant’s been captured. And with all that’s happened, it’s very worrying indeed.”
Jo meanwhile hadn’t really left the circus at all. She was now in an alternative reality. When she woke up, she could see the Doctor, the Brigadier, Mike, Benton and the other U.N.I.T. soldiers before her. But it was more like looking at them through a glass mirror; a window or a glass wall. That’s what it seemed to her.
She began to call out, “Doctor! Brigadier! Mike! Sergeant! Can you hear me?!”
But it was no use. Whatever Jo said, they couldn’t hear her. She felt scared. Cold and darkness surrounded her.
“Where am I?” she asked to no-one in particular. “What is this place?”
“Found yourself in bit of a pickle hey, Jo?” a voice startled her.
Jo swung round to see the menacing clowns taunting her – Bobsey and Tricksey. They ganged up on her as they stood in the alternative reality.
“Those soldier friends of yours and that Doctor won’t be able to hear you through the wall,” Bobsey said tauntingly. He was the one who spoke to her first.
“In fact,” Tricksey added, “they’ll never hear you if you were far away from them a hundred miles.”
Jo shuddered as the clowns ganged up on her closer and she shook them off.
“Leave me alone!” she cried. “Please, let me out of this place! I want to get back!”
“You will never escape my domain!” a cold voice spoke to her.
Jo felt her skin go cold and the hairs stand up on the back of her neck once she heard the chilling, dreaded voice nearby. She turned to see a figure descending towards her. He was like a lord of a mansion making his way down the stairs.
“Who are you?” she asked nervously. “What do you want? Why have you brought me here?”
“So many questions from one who has been close to the Doctor,” said the figure coldly.
Jo became scared. “How do you know the Doctor?” she asked. “Who are you? Answer me please! Why am I in this place…whatever it is?”
“I am known as Discipulo,” the man answered. “And I control this domain. This reality.”
Jo trembled. “Are we still in the circus?”
“Yes,” Discipulo answered. “I am also the organiser of this circus project. You have merely stepped through a gateway into my realm. And here you shall remain.”
The clowns cackled with laughter whilst Jo’s fears turned into anger.
“No!” she shouted. “I won’t be your prisoner! I’ll find a way out! And the Doctor will rescue me! Be sure of that!”
“Oh but I am sure of it, dear Miss Grant,” Discipulo said. “Miss…Josephine Grant. Yes, I know all about you and your friend the Doctor. And your service to U.N.I.T.”
“How can you possibly know?” Jo wanted to know.
Before Discipulo could answer, the clowns piped up.
“Hey look, Bobsey,” Tricksey said. “The Doctor and those U.N.I.T. buffs! They’re talking very intensely, aren’t they?”
“Right you are, Tricksey,” Bobsey replied. “Fearing for Miss Grant, I should imagine.”
“I wonder what they’re going to do next,” Tricksey said.
The two clowns cackled mockingly whilst Jo continued to watch through the glass mirror as the Doctor, the Brigadier and the others talked on the other side.
“Just like looking through the looking glass in Alice in Wonderland,” Jo said.
The Doctor meanwhile had been explaining to the Brigadier what had just happened. Mike Yates supported the Doctor’s claims as a witness. The Brigadier began issuing orders out to Sergeant Benton.
“Benton,” he barked. “Set up a wide perimeter around the circus area. I want nobody to be seen going in or out of this tent. Understood?”
“Yes sir,” Benton replied. “I’ll set up a ring of troops around the area at once!”
Benton saluted and carried out the Brigadier’s orders. The Doctor and Mike meanwhile were still worried about Jo as they wondered where she was.
“Do you know what’s happened to Jo, Doctor?” Mike asked.
The Doctor put on his wounded, thoughtful face. “I’m not really sure, Mike my dear chap,” he said. “Whether she’s been transported out of space and time together, I can’t really be sure.”
“But you intend to get her back of course,” Mike checked.
“Naturally,” the Doctor replied. “If only I had the right sort of equipment…”
The Doctor trailed off as he stopped for a moment. Realisation dawned upon him.
“Yes,” he said. “That might just well be it.”
“You know where Miss Grant is after all, Doctor?” the Brigadier enquired.
“Not me personally, Brigadier,” the Doctor answered. “But I might know something else that would know where Jo is.”
“Something else?” asked Mike.
“Yes, it’s in my TARDIS,” the Doctor explained. “The Zorbius crystal containing infinite knowledge. And the energy traces that I located earlier with my little tracker.”
“What’s Zorbius then?” the Brigadier asked. “Name of a new pop band?”
The Doctor didn’t hear the Brigadier as he was lost in his own thoughts. “I’ll have to use my wits about me in order to use the crystal to save Jo though. It’ll be risky, but I’ll have to take my chances.” He now turned to the Brigadier. “Lethbridge-Stewart, I wonder if you wouldn’t mind having your chaps bring the TARDIS here for me. I need to do some work…”
“Save your breath, Doctor,” the Brigadier interrupted. “We thought of everything. We brought the TARDIS along with us once I suspected you and Miss Grant would be down here. Though quite frankly with your behaviour on the line and breaking U.N.I.T. regulations, you should be on a charge.”
“Thank you, Brigadier,” the Doctor said cheerfully. “Most kind of you to be so proactive.”
“Is there anything I can do, Doctor?” Mike asked.
“Yes Mike, there is,” the Doctor replied. “You can accompany me. You’re my lab assistant in Jo’s absence.”
“Tremendous,” Mike said.
“Brigadier, where is the TARDIS?” the Doctor asked.
“This way, I’ll show you.”
“What about him?” Mike asked, pointing to Mr. MacDonald.
“Bring him along as well, Mike,” the Doctor said. “He’s essential in our investigation and our experiments.” Turning to the Brigadier, he said, “Lead on, Lethbridge-Stewart.”
The Doctor followed the Brigadier whilst Mike dragged a begrudging Terry Alexander MacDonald as they headed off out of the circus tent.
“No!” Jo cried, pleading desperately. “Please, Brigadier; Mike; Doctor! Don’t go! Come back, please! Please come back!”
But it was no use. No matter how hard Jo tried to call out to them, the Doctor, the Brigadier and Mike Yates with Mr. MacDonald were already off out of the circus tent. The two clowns jeered and gloated whilst she was unhappy.
“Aww, missing your friends already, little Jo?” Tricksey taunted.
“Not getting much satisfaction and entertainment from us clowns, hey?” Bobsey added on.
“Oh do you have to cry so much,” Tricksey mocked. “Like a wee little baby.”
“Calling out for your friends,” Bobsey jeered. “Just to prove how pathetic and afraid you are.”
The clowns laughed again whilst Jo became red with fury.
“Stop it!” she shouted. “Stop it, both of you! You’re horrid! You can’t keep me here like this!”
“My lord wishes for you to be here,” Discipulo said. “To see the trap the Doctor will fall into when he comes through. This is the beginning of a new dawn! You shall help us to see it through when the Doctor comes and rescues you!”
Jo shuddered at the thought that these people had planned it out. That they intended to capture Jo and were expecting the Doctor to come after her. She attempted to challenge their certainty.
“Supposing the Doctor doesn’t come in here,” she said. “Supposing he won’t rescue me.”
“He will come, Miss Grant,” Discipulo said. “You cannot expect us to be doubtful. We know he will rescue you as you are so dear to him. And he is so fond of you.”
It was true. Jo knew deep in her heart that the Doctor would do anything; risk everything to save her life in times of peril. And she would do the same for him.
“Then you should know he will defeat you,” Jo said defiantly. “Whatever you people are, he’ll sort you out!”
“But my lord is powerful beyond imagining,” Discipulo insisted. “He cannot be defeated! He shall rule righteously with all knowledge and great wisdom throughout the cosmos! He will control millions!”
Jo was terrified of Discipulo as much as she was terrified of the clowns. There was something greatly sinister about him. So wretched; so callous; so obsessive. As if he was in want for something. And he looked to his great lord to do it.
“Just who is this lord of yours Mr.…what was your name?…Discipulo?” Jo asked. “What is he to you? What is he to me?”
Discipulo then knelt to the floor. This startled the clowns as much as it startled Jo. She became anxious. Then she saw Discipulo raise his arms up in the air and call out; shouting at the top of his voice as if he was speaking to someone close by.
“My great lord! My everlasting protector! I worship you, my lord! I have done thy deed! My minions have captured the girl! All is as it should be! All except the capture…of Mr. Alexander MacDonald! He was left behind! But I hope you’ll agree with me, it does not matter! He has done his part! The girl is in our grasp! The next stage can go ahead!”
A loud voice interrupted Discipulo’s babbling. It spoke with the same cold darkness as his, except only darker; stronger and more powerful. If Jo didn’t know any better, it had a hint of a Spanish accent.
“Cease your wittering, minion; servant; disciple,” the voice said. “I, Salvador, announce my own objectives! I don’t need you to dictate to me what I do and what to expect! The matter of MacDonald’s fate and your incompetence shall be dealt with. But for now, I shall attend and deal with the girl myself! For she…shall endure my company!”
Jo saw the man appear before her. It was another dark cloaked figure; but taller and proud. Jo was scared at the sight of him. It reminded her of another dark man she knew well. Except this one was colder and charmless than she expected him to be.
Inside the TARDIS in one of its labs, the Doctor was gathering the equipment he needed to take outside. Mike Yates had MacDonald strapped in a chair for interrogation whilst at the same time preventing him from suddenly escaping. MacDonald was struggling to break free whilst being strapped in the chair.
“You can’t keep me like this,” MacDonald protested. “I demand my rights. I demand to see your superior officer – Brigadier…somebody, wasn’t it? You shall pay and be sorry for tying me up!”
“I’m very sorry to cause you this inconvenience, Mr. MacDonald,” Mike said. “But the Doctor will soon attend to you shortly.”
“What could the Doctor possibly want to interrogate me for?” MacDonald asked. “I know nothing! Nothing that would interest him!”
Before Mike could answer, the Doctor walked briskly over to them. He carried the Zorbius crystal in his hand, showing it to Mike.
“There you are, Mike,” he said. “I’ve got my equipment ready to take with us out of the TARDIS. And this will be what will get Jo Grant back.”
“What, that thing?” Mike said sceptically.
“This is a very special kind of crystal containing extraordinary energy,” the Doctor told him. “The Zorbius crystal, as I present it to you.”
The Doctor offered it for Mike to take a look at as if he were offering him a glass of vintage wine. Mike took the crystal and eyed with curiosity. MacDonald, strapped in the chair he wasin also eyed it curiously too.
“How does this crystal get Jo back?” Mike asked.
“Like I said Mike,” the Doctor began, “and as I told Jo – the energy emissions I detected from my tracker in the circus earlier were similar to this crystal’s energy patterns. With the equipment I’m bringing along, I can enhance the whereabouts of where Jo is in alternative dimensions. If you can radio in Sergeant Benton and have him and some of his chaps take my equipment out of the TARDIS for me, I’d greatly appreciate it.”
“I’ll see to it at once, Doctor,” Mike said.
Taking out his radio, Mike began contacting Sergeant Benton. The Doctor meanwhile approached MacDonald who looked very annoyed and put-out. The Doctor showed the crystal to MacDonald. MacDonald flinched once he saw it.
“Find this fascinating do you, old chap?” the Doctor asked, waving the crystal in front of MacDonald’s face.
“Certainly not,” MacDonald replied.
“Oh but you do,” the Doctor insisted. “Your circus project with Plato’s theory was all a set up. As I suspected from the beginning.”
“How can you be so sure?” MacDonald challenged him.
“Oh…the tripod reality machine you had in your dressing room gave it away,” the Doctor explained. “Hardly a thing to have when you’re using a room to dress up for an evening’s entertainment at a circus. Phillips enquired about it himself and you chose not to answer him.”
“That’s speculation, Doctor,” MacDonald said. “Your theories have no ground of evidence that I set things up.”
“No, of course not,” the Doctor agreed. “But then there was that mimetic conference you had with someone when you excused yourself from seeing Miss Grant and me. I knew you were mentally communicating with someone. The appliance of your fingers to the temples of your forehead was enough to give the answers I needed.”
MacDonald said nothing at first, feeling quite embarrassed. He looked up at the Doctor contemptuously.
“You didn’t accuse me at the time,” he said.
“No, of course not,” the Doctor replied. “I needed further proof to back up my theories. And of course I wanted to have a little talk with you.”
“Well, now you’ve got me, what happens now?” MacDonald asked.
“Who exactly do you work for, Mr MacDonald?” the Doctor asked gradually. “Really work for, I mean? Not Mr. Phillips of course.”
A moment of silence ensued.
“My master…or employer…” MacDonald explained, “…happens to be known as…Discipulo.”
“Mr. Discipulo, hey?” the Doctor said, intrigued. “And should I know him?”
“He knows you, Doctor,” MacDonald said. “He’s been waiting for his moment to gain what he lost because of you, Doctor. He says if I work for him and get you, he’ll make me rich. Wealthy beyond all measure.”
“Yes, I’m beginning to see who Mr. Discipulo really is now,” the Doctor remarked. “Tell me, how did this project of yours start? How were you able to get transdimensional technology? My people have it and they’d never share it with anyone.”
“Ah, but my employers aren’t really humans,” MacDonald elaborated.
“Employers?” the Doctor questioned. “You have more than one employer?”
“Yes,” MacDonald answered. “Well, I have one main employer. And that’s Mr. Discipulo. He works for somebody who’s his employer. I’ve never seen the man, but Mr. Discipulo said to me that he does things…in Salvador’s name. From that, I presume that’s who he’s working for. A Mr. Salvador.”
MacDonald gradually began to realise that the Doctor was shocked hearing his words. At least, he was shocked by the name he just mentioned. The Doctor’s face was now white as a sheet as if he’d seen a ghost.
“Salvador,” he muttered. “Little Salvador.” Pausing for a moment, he then said, “No! Surely, it can’t be him! Not after all these years!”
“What are you on about, Doctor?” MacDonald asked.
The Doctor was still troubled as Mike interrupted, tapping him on the shoulder. The Doctor jumped startled once Mike tapped him.
“Sorry Doctor,” Mike said. “Just thought you’d like to know that Sergeant Benton is sending a section of troops into the TARDIS now. If you show them into this lab from your console room, they’ll start bringing the equipment out. The corridors might be confusing to them when they walk through here.”
The Doctor came to his senses as he realised what Mike was on about.
“Thank you, Mike,” he said. “That’s much appreciated. Come on! Let’s start taking the equipment with us. We’ll set it up in the circus tent.”
The Doctor then looked to MacDonald who was still strapped in his chair.
“Keep an eye on him, Mike,” he said. “We’ll bring him out with us shortly once the equipment’s set up.”
Mike nodded as the Doctor went out of the console room to find Sergeant Benton and his troops. Once the Doctor was gone, Mike kept watch on MacDonald who began to curl a mischievous grin.
Jo stared at the dark figure called Salvador apprehensively. She didn’t know what to say; what to do. She could only stare at him as she saw the cold glaring eyes looking at her menacingly and coldly.
“Fear me if you dare,” he said.
Jo trembled as she spoke, “Please don’t hurt me…whoever you are.”
The man let out a light chuckle as he came towards Jo. He reached out a hand to touch her face. She shuddered as she felt his hand touch her face and her hair.
“Do not fear, my dear,” Salvador said. “I will not hurt you. For I need you alive in order to reach the Doctor.”
“Wait a minute,” Jo realised. “You know the Doctor?”
“I know everything about the Doctor, Jo,” he said. “He brought me up.”
“Brought you up?” said Jo, puzzled. “You mean…you don’t mean to say you’re his son…and he’s your father!”
“Nothing so simple,” Salvador shuddered at the thought. “Your friend the Doctor…brought me up to become a Time Lord…just like him.”
“A Time Lord?!” Jo said, astounded. “You’re one of them?”
Salvador laughed bitterly. “Even such a resourceful woman as you cannot comprehend. The Doctor destroyed me! He destroyed my life! He made me become this…abomination! He is the one who causes so much harm and pain to others around him!”
“No!” said Jo, disbelievingly. “You’ve got it all wrong! The Doctor’s not like that! He’s the most kind, caring; self-sacrificing…”
“You do not know the pain I’ve endured!” Salvador said, interrupting her and being bitter about it. “The torture I’ve suffered!”
“Torture?” enquired Jo, perplexed.
“I was able to escape with an inch of my life from the Doctor’s people,” Salvador elaborated. “The Time Lords! And since then, I’ve attempted to gain vengeance on the Doctor! The man who helps so much yet ruins so many people’s lives!”
“You’ve been trying to kill him?” said Jo, shocked. “You’ve tried to kill the Doctor?”
“Three times I’ve done it,” Salvador said. “On various worlds. Ones which I conjured up with the power of reality.”
“The power of…reality?” Jo repeated.
“I fell so very far,” Salvador went on. “I was sent back into the Void by the Doctor. Back into the howling wilderness! Where I suffered torment and agony at being so alone in nothingness! No existence to live in; no time to breathe! I was alone for so long. With no friends or family. No past; no present; no future.”
Jo saw how Salvador – the lord of darkness – looked in that moment. He seemed so sad and dejected.
“I’m so sorry, Salvador,” Jo said simply. “You have my sympathy. But you mustn’t blame the Doctor. He would never mean to…”
Jo’s fears soon came back to her. Salvador quickly turned from being sad to being angry. He became mad with rage and terror. He roared at Jo, which terrified her.
“Sympathy?!!! I do not need your sympathy! I want vengeance! I want to erase the Doctor out of reality! I want him to suffer the pain I suffered all those years ago when I was a little boy! I can wipe him out this instant – here and now!”
“No!” Jo protested. “Don’t you dare! Don’t you hurt the Doctor!”
“Ah, but I know the Doctor’s secret,” Salvador replied. “I know of his terrible future! My wrath has never been greater! I shall destroy him forever and be a lord of time as well as a lord of darkness! Complete and utter devastation!”
Salvador felt glorious and victorious. He didn’t think that he was going mad. He could see how he terrified Jo though. He smiled a sinister smile.
“You are privileged, young Jo,” he said. “To be in the presence of Salvador. You shall see…you shall know the power I have soon enough. Once I’ve laid the next phase of my plans into motion that is.”
He then turned to Discipulo who attended at his beckoning call.
“Discipulo,” he said. “Have this girl sent away until I summon her again.”
“As you command, my lord,” Discipulo said. He turned to the clowns. “Take this girl away and put her in a prison cell.”
The clowns Bobsey and Tricksey obeyed eagerly.
“With pleasure, sir,” Tricksey said.
“You girl!” Bobsey pointed at Jo. “Come with us!”
Bobsey and Tricksey took Jo by the arms and began to lead her away. Jo struggled to break free, but the clowns dragged her on. Salvador watched as Jo left unwillingly with being escorted by the clowns. He then out to see through the glass-like shell of the alternative reality which he kept within the circus tent. It was Discipulo who interrupted him.
“You do not wish to kill the girl, my lord?” he asked.
“No,” Salvador answered. “I have a much better plan in mind.” He paused for a moment. “She has faith. A lot of faith in her dear Doctor. I intend to break that faith and bring out the worst fears in her.”
Salvador laughed cruelly. Discipulo joined in with a chuckle. They both looked at what lay ahead as they could see the Brigadier and Sergeant Benton re-enter the tent from outside their dimension. The Brigadier and Benton had U.N.I.T. troops with them and they were eventually joined by Mike Yates and the Doctor.
The Brigadier and Benton saw the Doctor and Mike showing up shortly after they arrived and went over to greet them. More U.N.I.T. soldiers were carrying some special equipment of the Doctor’s. Two soldiers were taking custody of Mr MacDonald as they brought him in.
“So Doctor, you managed to come up with something to rescue Miss Grant after all,” said the Brigadier. “Judging by the load of equipment you’ve had my men bring in.”
“Well observed, Brigadier,” the Doctor said ruefully. “No need to be so pedantic.” The Doctor then turned to Benton. “Did your troops manage to find a tripod device in the backstage area of the tent, Benton?”
“They certainly did, Doctor,” Benton replied as he pointed. “It’s over there in the far corner. I thought since you’d want to look at it, the Brigadier suggested that I’d leave it over there.”
“Yes and very kind of you to do so, Benton,” the Doctor replied. He turned to the Brigadier. “May I take a look?”
“Certainly Doctor,” the Brigadier agreed.
The Doctor made his way over to the tripod device with Mike Yates behind him. Meanwhile, Phillips entered and approached the Brigadier. He was not happy with what was going on.
“Brigadier,” he began agitated. “I really must protest! I’m a busy man and have to prepare for the next circus performances this week. If you and your men are going to trample all over my circus grounds…”
“I’m very sorry, Mr Phillips,” the Brigadier interrupted, “but I’m afraid you’re going to have to cancel the rest of your circus performances at this vicinity until further notice. This area is strictly quarantined under Geneva law.”
“What?!” said Phillips shocked. “You can’t do this to me! I have a business to run! I have a right to see that…”
“May I remind you sir that you’re up to your neck in this business as much as Mr. MacDonald is,” the Brigadier said.
“I have nothing to hide,” Phillips said abjectly. “I’m an innocent bystander.”
The Doctor and Mike then returned to rejoin the Brigadier and the others. They had examined the tripod device thoroughly.
“Yes, I believe everything should be in order,” the Doctor said cheerily. “Mike and I have checked the device and we’re ready to get started on getting Jo back.”
“Doctor?” Benton enquired. “How exactly are you going to get Jo back? Surely all of this equipment can’t do it by the press of a button.”
“You’re right, Benton,” the Doctor replied. “None of it can. But this could.”
At that moment, the Doctor showed the makeshift crystal to the Brigadier; Benton and Phillips. They stared at the crystal in amazement.
“What is that, Doctor?” the Brigadier asked.
“The Zorbius crystal,” the Doctor answered. “Or at least what I’ve been able to retrieve of it. And a fine piece of workmanship I might hasten to add.” He then turned to Phillips. “Do you know anything about this, Mr. Phillips? Has Mr. MacDonald enlightened you at all?”
But before Phillips could answer, somehow and without warning, MacDonald broke away from his captivity by the U.N.I.T. soldiers. He ran towards the Doctor and snatched the crystal off him within a second.
“Sergeant Benton, stop that man!” the Brigadier cried.
MacDonald managed to get a fair distance away from them. He reached his arms out and called to the open air. “Mr. Discipulo! I’ve got it! I have the crystal in my hand! It’s yours for the taking! If you’ll let me step through…”
But MacDonald’s words were cut short. The crystal was taken from his hand as he got punched in the face by Benton who came up from behind him. MacDonald staggered and fell to the ground unconscious. Benton, who held the crystal in his hand, breathed exasperated before returning to the others.
“Well, that was a close one and no mistake,” he said. “Good thing I had him.” Benton then handed the crystal back to the Doctor. “Here’s your crystal, Doc.”
The Doctor took the crystal and smiled appreciatively.
“Thank you very much, Sergeant,” he said. “If it weren’t for you, we would’ve lost our chance of saving Miss Grant.”
The Brigadier turned to Mike. “Captain Yates, see to it that MacDonald’s taken to a place of security. Don’t let that man out of anybody’s sight. Is that understood?”
“Yes sir,” Mike saluted.
Mike called for some U.N.I.T. troops and they obeyed, joining him to pick up the fallen body of Mr. MacDonald from the ground. They escorted him to a place of security. Meanwhile, the Doctor returned his attention to the tripod, carrying the crystal in his hand.
“Right, Lethbridge-Stewart,” he said. “The sooner I can start tinkering with this machine and my equipment the better.”
“Do you have any idea how all this mumbo-jumbo stuff works, Doctor?” the Brigadier asked. “It’s all beyond me, I’m afraid.”
“I hope so, Brigadier,” the Doctor answered. “I intend to find that out for myself. I’m interested in how this energy project and the circus business connects together. And what connection there is with this crystal and me.”
Eagerly, the Doctor began tinkering at the tripod machine. The Brigadier watched him rather apprehensively.
In the alternative reality, Salvador sensed that the Doctor was tinkering. He was having none of it. He turned to Discipulo and commanded him. Discipulo attended to Salvador’s summons, bowing obediently.
“The Doctor is attempting to disrupt my glory,” Salvador said. “His interference angers me! I will not have him thwart my plans! I shall destroy his future if it’s the last thing I’ll ever do!”
“You wish me to do something, my lord?” Discipulo enquired.
“Yes,” Salvador answered. “I am sending you into that other reality. The one which they are comfortable with. Go there and stop the Doctor from interfering. Warn him off as well as his U.N.I.T. friends.”
Discipulo shuddered at this. He was more comfortable in the reality he was living in. He didn’t want to wander into another one and be lost forever. Just like MacDonald was lost at that moment.
“Please my lord,” Discipulo begged. “Do not send me there.”
“You are a servant of Salvador,” Salvador said. “And a servant of Salvador must obey his commands. You should know that by now, Discipulo.”
“But I shall be exposed to the horrors of that reality,” Discipulo insisted. “I cannot defend myself. Without the power I seek, I am unable to survive…”
“I will be protecting you with my will and powers surrounding this circus,” Salvador interjected. “Unless you wish to defy the wish of Salvador and be erased from history, you will never get your desire fulfilled if you choose to disobey me.”
Discipulo became calm again. At least he knew what the consequences would be if he did not do as Salvador said. He knew his anger and rage all too well. Well enough that it could destroy their bargain and agreement forever and he wouldn’t be able to get what he wanted. What he wanted…from the Doctor…after all these years.
“Forgive me, my lord,” Discipulo said. “I did not mean to be disrespectful. I trust your will. I shall go in there and warn off the Doctor.”
Salvador gave a sinister smile. “Excellent, Discipulo. You are a good servant. A worthy disciple of Salvador. You know what it means to be in my service. What I gave you is a friendly warning. Think no more of it.”
“My thanks to you, my saviour,” Discipulo said. “You are very kind.”
“Yes,” Salvador said coldly. “Now go! Go and stop the Doctor!”
With that, Discipulo prepared to enter through the gate of realities whilst Salvador continued to embrace his power.
© Tim Bradley, 2020
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