2. Escaping Salvador Twice Over
Back on the space hotel, Tari and Harry, along with Cigihana, Emsterdon and Sparta, were forced into the private office behind reception by the ten remaining Skeletrons under Other Salvador’s command. Other Salvador joined them too.
“What is the meaning of this?!” Cigihana protested. “We’ve done nothing wrong, Emsterdon and I.”
“That’s right,” Emsterdon joined in. “Nothing wrong! How dare you treat us like this?!”
“I haven’t forgotten about you two,” Salvador said bitterly. “I remember you and your past association with the Doctor! You’re my enemies and I’m not letting you out of my sight!”
“What makes you think we’ll oppose you,” the Tendrasta queen challenged the dark lord. “We’ve no idea what you’re planning. Apart from blowing up the hotel of course!”
“Silence!” Salvador bellowed. “You two and the android are my prisoners and I won’t let you stop me in my plans to acquire the Zoribus crystal!”
“What makes you think you’re going to get it?” Emsterdon challenged Salvador boldly.
Salvador looked dangerously at Emsterdon, seeing the defiance in her eyes. He advanced towards her before Cigihana got in his way.
“Don’t you dare hurt my beloved, Salvador,” Cigihana said defiantly.
The dark lord considered for a moment. Eventually, he decided not to strike at Emsterdon. Instead, he addressed both the insect-like girl and the queen. “Your android detected the presence of the Zorbius crystal when you three came to reception. Yes, I know of your activity. Do not ask why. I shall soon gain the answers I need from your android.” He then turned to Sparta. “Where is it, android? Where is the Zorbius crystal? Answer your lord and saviour or I shall extinguish the lives of your queen and her wife!”
“Sparta, don’t,” Emsterdon told him.
But it was too late. Sparta answered as he pointed. “In the safe.”
“Sparta?!” Cigihana and Emsterdon reacted horrified in unison.
The android justified himself. “My responsibility is to protect you, your majesty, and your wife. I can’t let Salvador harm you.”
“Excellent,” Salvador said pleased before he turned to Tari and Harry. “You two! You know the combination to unlock this safe! Open it at once!”
“We won’t,” Harry answered. “We protect the crystal from the likes of you! That’s what the Doctor told us!”
“Open the safe now!” thundered Salvador.
“You’re an evil man,” Tari said. “We don’t answer to evil men!”
“I’m not evil,” Salvador shouted. “The Doctor’s evil, not me! Why can’t people understand that?! You’re all stupid! I’m not evil! I’M NOT EVIL!!!!”
“And now you’ve insulted us,” Emsterdon remarked. “You’re such a bully!”
Other Salvador became more threatening to Tari and Harry. “Open the safe now or else I shall have the lives of your two children crushed by the Skeletrons!”
At the snap of his fingers, the two babies Donna and Clara in their cots appeared in the private office. They were crying away as the Skeletrons advanced towards them.
“No!” Tari cried out, distressed.
“You wouldn’t,” Harry argued.
“I would,” Salvador said pretty seriously.
“You’re a monster!” Cigihana shouted. “A horrid man!”
“I don’t care,” Salvador thundered. “What give you the right to call me a monster?! If it gets me what I want, then so be it!”
“Why don’t you open the safe yourself,” Emsterdon argued. “You’ve got god-like powers after all! Isn’t that what the Doctor told us?”
“Don’t give him any ideas,” Cigihana told her wife.
Salvador became smug. “I know her ladyship will do anything to protect the crystal from me. But if I threaten the lives of her husband and her children, she’ll do exactly what I want her to do and I’ll soon have the crystal from her!”
“It was just the lives of my babies you were threatening,” Tari protested.
“So I’ve changed my mind,” Salvador snorted. “Your husband will perish too if you continue to resist me!”
“You’re so heartless,” Harry shouted.
“You’re all nothing!” said Salvador exasperated. “You’re all insignificant! I am the great power here! I am your lord and saviour! All praise to me! All bow down before me! I only matter! Only I, you hear!”
“You’re completely bonkers,” Emsterdon said. “I see why the Doctor wants to stop you!”
“Stop mentioning the Doctor like she’s a hero!”
“But she is a hero,” Cigihana argued. “She saved my planet many years ago! The planet that you and the Daleks tried to destroy!”
“SILENCE!!!” Salvador snapped angrily. “Silence, all of you!” He threatened Tari again. “Give me the crystal! Open the safe or else your family dies!”
“Alright, alright,” Tari cried, surrendering. “I’ll open the safe for you Salvador. As you wish.”
Tari slowly made her way towards the safe before Harry stopped her. “Tari dear, what are you doing?”
“It’s alright,” Tari reassured him. “Trust me! I’ve got this!”
With that, Tari approached the safe and began to open it. It took a while to unlock the safe, but eventually she managed to open it. Once it was opened, Tari slipped her hand inside and took out the Zorbius crystal. It appeared to be mostly formed, but there were still some fragments left to be filled in. Once Tari had the crystal in her hands, she stood up and looked at Salvador who was eager to see it.
“At last! At last!” Salvador declared triumphantly. “Hand it over to me, woman!”
“It’s Lady Tari to you, Salvador,” Tari retorted.
“Hand it over at once!” demanded Salvador impatiently.
“Don’t you want to know why the Doctor gave me the Zorbius crystal in the first place?” she asked.
“My patience is wearing thin,” Salvador said brusquely. “I must have the crystal now! Give it to me!”
“It was given to me because I had a fragment of the Zorbius crystal inside of me once,” Tari went on. “The magicians on my home world tried to extract it from me when I was a little girl! And I guess that if the Doctor and you are a part of the Zorbius crystal, then I must be too.”
Realising what Tari was saying, Salvador began to panic and cried out. “No! Don’t you dare! Don’t…”
It was too late. Tari closed her eyes and the Zorbius crystal glowed in her hands. Eventually, glass-like prisms were formed around Harry; the two babies; Cigihana, Emsterdon and Sparta. Cigihana and Emsterdon reacted in panic as they tried to break the glass down with their fists. Nothing happened.
“What is this?!” Emsterdon cried anxiously. “We’re trapped inside some prisms all of a sudden!”
“Salvador, is this your work?!” Cigihana demanded accusingly.
“Tari, what have you done?” Harry asked, as he saw the two babies Donna and Clara protected in their cots as well as the same prism they were in.
“It’s alright, Harry,” Tari reassured him. “I’ve used the Zorbius crystal to protect you, our babies, the queen of Tendrasta and her subjects; and every other guest aboard this hotel. Salvador and the Skeletrons can’t harm you now. Don’t worry! I’ve made sure the crystal prisms are impregnable.”
“You can’t do this!” Salvador cried angrily. “This isn’t fair!”
“I must go now to rescue the Doctor and her friends,” Tari said as she turned to Salvador and used the Zorbius crystal in her hands. “She’ll sort you and your terror out! She’ll end it soon!”
“Stop this I say!” Salvador demanded angrily.
Before she made her escape, Tari turned to Harry and said, “I’ll see you soon, love.”
With that, she closed her eyes and the Zorbius crystal glowed in her hands again.
“NO!!!” Salvador bellowed as he lunged forward.
But it was too late. Tari vanished from sight, taking the Zorbius crystal with her. Once he had fallen to the ground, Salvador thumped his fists in anger. Harry, Cigihana and Emsterdon were surprised by what just happened. Sparta remained emotionless.
“Where did Tari go?” Emsterdon asked anxiously.
“She must be down on the planet rescuing the Doctor and getting help from her,” Cigihana suggested.
“I hope she’ll be okay,” Harry said worriedly.
Meanwhile, Other Salvador got up from the floor and muttered, “I must warn King Salvador of Lady Tari’s escape. With the crystal in her hands, she can do anything to oppose me!”
Back on King Salvador’s planet, the Doctor and her friends were locked up in their prison cell by the Skeletrons. After the Skeletrons left them ten minutes later, the Doctor and her friends worked out a way on how to escape.
“So, what’s the plan?” Ryan asked the Doctor. “How are we going to escape this prison cell?”
“Can’t really make much of an escape when his majesty‘s confiscated my sonic,” the Doctor stressed the words ‘his majesty’ ironically. “The cheek! I wish Salvador wasn’t two steps ahead of me at times. I’ll have to resort to the old days of using a piece of string to get us out of here.”
“Have you got a piece of string?” Graham asked.
The Doctor checked her bigger-on-the-inside coat pockets. She eventually pulled out a long piece of string from one of them. “And what do you know?” she smiled cheerily. “Got one already in my coat pocket. Mind you, it’ll take a while to break out of this cell with the piece of string. I’m not sure how secure these prison cell doors are. Made by Salvador himself, remember?”
“Well, we can’t just sit here waiting for Salvador and his zombie soldiers to starve us out,” Yaz argued. “Lady Tari, Harry and the others need our help. Goodness knows what the other Salvador is doing to them right now on that hotel.”
“Yeah,” Graham joined in. “We’ve got to make sure everyone’s safe on that hotel as well as us. Who knows, the dinner service could be diabolical.”
“Thinking of your stomach, are you?” Ryan teased Graham. “Whatever happened to those cheese and pickle sandwiches of yours?”
“Used the last sarnie up before we came here, didn’t I?” Graham replied.
“’Course you did,” Ryan grinned cheekily. “Should’ve guessed.”
“Oy! Can’t help it if I’ve got nervous energy,” Graham argued.
The Doctor turned her attention to the prison cell door with her piece of string. “Ah well, no time like the present. If it’s going to take a while to get us out of the prison cell we’re in, might as well as get started.”
Before the Doctor could apply her piece of string to the prison cell door. “Doctor, there’s something I need to ask you.”
“Yes, Yaz! Anything you like. Though I am rather busy.”
“Is it true what Salvador said? That you tortured him as a child?”
Yaz’s question stopped the Doctor in her tracks. She thought for a moment, lowering her piece of string, before she turned back to her friends.
“Why? You think I might be a bad person if I told you that I did?”
Yaz was quite startled by the Doctor’s response. “Just curious, Doctor. I mean, you don’t exactly come across the type of person that can hurt someone.”
“There’s a lot about me you don’t know, Yaz,” the Doctor pointed out.
“True,” Graham agreed. “But it doesn’t mean you’re really a bad person, does it, Doc?”
The Doctor looked at her three friends each in turn, considering the answer she was about to give.
“Yes,” she eventually said.
“What?” Ryan asked, perplexed.
“In a way, I did sort-of make Salvador go through hell when I experimented on him to become a Time Lord,” the Doctor elaborated. She paused for a moment. “I did a lot of prodding and poking about on him when I conducted experiments on him. It doesn’t mean I wasn’t being kind on him though. I was proud of Salvador. I was proud of the achievements I made with him. I was looking forward to making him become a Time Lord like me. To be accepted by Time Lord society.” She paused again. “But then…”
At that point, the Doctor felt like she couldn’t go on any further. She was feeling regretful over her actions.
“It’s alright, Doctor,” Yaz assured her. “You can tell us.”
“What went wrong?” Ryan asked encouragingly.
Eventually, the Doctor answered. “Everything went wrong when the Master interfered.”
“The Master,” Graham reacted surprised. “That O guy we met.”
“Yes,” the Doctor said. “But not as you three know him. He was different back then. We were good mates, he and I. The Master was hungry for power though. He used Salvador for his own ends. He manipulated him, made him think that I was making him an abomination. A threat to be destroyed.”
“So it was the Master who made Salvador what he is today,” Yaz realised. “It wasn’t your fault. You didn’t cause what happened to Salvador when he was a kid.”
“It’s not as straight-forward as that, Yaz,” the Doctor corrected her. She paused for a moment before she continued. “I was arrogant back then. Not considerate or sensitive enough to other lifeforms. I was the scientist who didn’t know from right to wrong. Being like other Time Lords at the time. I hated myself for it. It’s one of the reasons why I fled from Gallifrey in the first place.” She paused again. “The damage was done. I made Salvador what he is today through my irresponsible actions. The Master was right. I made him an abomination. I’ve tried many times to reason with Salvador. Apologise to him. Telling him I didn’t mean what I ended up doing to him. But he listened to the Master instead. He hated me for what I did to him. And rightly so.”
“So all that hatred Salvador has for you,” Graham realised. “It stems from being a kid.”
“And it’s been with him ever since he was a kid,” Ryan joined in. “I know he’s a bad person, but I can’t help feel sorry for him.”
The Doctor nodded as she considered what she was going to say next to her friends. “I’m not expecting you three to forgive me. I regret my actions with Salvador. I know how I caused him much harm. But I’ve tried my best to amend my actions…”
“It’s alright, Doctor,” Yaz interrupted reassuringly. “We forgive you.”
The Doctor was surprised by that. “You what?”
“’Course we forgive you,” Ryan said. “After all we’ve been through; we know you’re not a bad person. You made a mistake, so what? We’re all capable of making mistakes.”
“And it’s not like we’ve seen you do bad things lately,” Graham added. “You’ve helped to save other lives. With Rosa Parks, sorting out giant spiders, saving the Earth countless times, defeating a Dalek, Hank Prank. The list goes on. You’ve never shown yourself to be selfish, Doc. You put others first.”
“Something which Salvador hasn’t done yet,” Yaz said. “You try to tell him he must be selfless and he won’t listen. Something that can’t be redeemed unless he tries.”
“Which I don’t think he’ll do easily,” Ryan commented. “We’re behind you, Doctor. We’ll help you to stop Salvador whatever it takes. We know you won’t do anything nasty cos you’re always kind.”
“It’s one of the reasons we keep travelling with you, Doc,” Graham smiled.
“And we enjoy every minute of it,” Yaz finished.
The Doctor looked on admiringly at her three friends, pleased at their support.
“My Fam!” she declared. “I’ve had so many friends over the years. My granddaughter Susan as well as my friends Ian, Barbara, Jamie, Zoe, Jo, Leela, K-9, Nyssa, Billy, Peri, Ace, Jen, Rose, Captain Jack, Donna, Clara and Bill. They’ve all been supportive to me in my travels in time and space. You three! You come as the latest of best of friends.”
Graham, Ryan and Yaz smiled at that.
“I won’t forget your support, you three,” said the Doctor. “Not ever.”
“No problem, Doc,” Graham said.
“Always happy to help,” said Ryan.
“Likewise,” Yaz added.
After a few tender moments, the Doctor returned her attention to the prison cells doors. “Right, let’s continue to get out of here. String or no string, let’s hope we can get these cell doors open.”
“Perhaps the Zorbius crystal would be better to get you out,” suggested a voice nearby.
The Doctor and her friends turned to see Tari standing outside at the cell doors with the Zorbius crystal in her left hand. The TARDIS team were gobsmacked.
“Tari,” the Doctor cried. “How did you get there?”
Not answering the Doctor’s question, Tari went on, “Have you had your sonic screwdriver confiscated, Doctor? Because I can get it for you from Salvador if you like.”
In his throne room, King Salvador was rather pleased that he managed to lock up the Doctor and her friends in their prison cell. It was only a matter of time before he had the Zorbius crystal in his hands. Just then, he received a mental communication from his counterpart aboard the space hotel. Closing his eyes, King Salvador focused on the contact he received.
“Well,” King Salvador answered. “What have you to report?”
“It’s a disaster!” Other Salvador responded despairingly. “The Lady Tari has escaped! She used the Zorbius crystal!”
“What?!” King Salvador became enraged. “How could you let this happen?!”
“She was too quick for me!” Other Salvador argued. “I couldn’t stop her! She’s even protected her family and the other guests aboard the hotel with glass prisms! I can’t break through them!”
“Enough of your excuses,” King Salvador snapped. “Tell me where she is now!”
“She should be on your planet,” Other Salvador told him. “She’ll try to free the Doctor and her friends from your prison cell.”
“Ha! No fear there!” King Salvador scoffed. “I have the Doctor and her friends under lock and key…” It was then the king realised that the Doctor’s sonic screwdriver was missing. Breaking his mental communication with Other Salvador for a moment, he looked about his throne chair. The sonic screwdriver was nowhere to be seen.
The king soon received a splitting headache as Other Salvador re-established contact with him.
“What’s happening?!” Other Salvador demanded. “I lost contact with you for a moment.”
“The Doctor’s sonic screwdriver has gone!” King Salvador thundered. “The Lady Tari must’ve stolen it when I wasn’t looking. She must be on her way to free the Doctor and her friends from their cell!”
“How could you let this happen?!” Other Salvador scoffed. “You’re not fit to be king of your own planet!”
Ignoring his counterpart, King Salvador bellowed, “Skeletrons; Lou-Arms; Clo-Zens! Hunt the Doctor and her friends down! Do not stop until they are found! See to it that they are recaptured at once!”
The ten Skeletrons; the Lou-Arms and Clo-Zens obeyed as they went out in search for the Doctor and her friends.
Out in a corridor away from their prison cell, the Doctor, Graham, Ryan and Yaz followed Tari as they made to escape. Tari had given the Doctor’s sonic screwdriver back to her after she stole it from Salvador’s throne room. The Doctor was grateful to Tari for helping her and her friends to escape once she had opened the cell doors using her sonic. They were currently heading back to the TARDIS.
“But hold on,” Graham wanted to know. “How did you manage to escape from the other Salvador and his lot aboard the hotel so easily?”
The Doctor knew the answer already. “The Zorbius crystal is still a part of you, isn’t it, Tari. Despite having that fragment extracted from you many years ago, you’re still connected to the crystal. That’s how you were able to use it to escape and get down to this planet.”
“I wouldn’t use it for my own personal gains, Doctor,” Tari assured her.
“I know you wouldn’t,” the Doctor assured her back.
“My husband and children are in great danger,” Tari continued. “As well as the other hotel guests. I need your help. I couldn’t think of another way.”
“And we’ll rescue your husband; children and everyone else on that hotel,” the Doctor promised her. “Trust me on this, Tari. Now where exactly did we leave the TARDIS?”
“Out on the hills,” Ryan recalled. “When we were forced to come here by those Skeletron things.”
“They’ll probably have moved the TARDIS somewhere else,” Yaz pointed out. “Can you track the TARDIS down using your sonic, Doctor?”
“Hopefully I can, yes,” the Doctor replied.
They stopped in the corridor as the Doctor used her sonic screwdriver to scan the area for where the TARDIS might be. The sonic screwdriver buzzed away nosily as the Doctor used it.
“Well, Doc,” Graham eventually prompted. “Any.”
“Yes,” said the Doctor cheerfully. “Surprisingly, the TARDIS is close by in this corridor we’re in.”
“How can that be?” Ryan asked. “Bit of a stroke of luck, ain’t it? Unless this is one of Salvador’s tricks.”
“It could be in a detention area,” Yaz suggested. “We were in a prison a moment ago.”
“And the old girl is just a prisoner as much as we are on Salvador’s planet,” the Doctor realised. “Come on!” she said encouragingly. “No time like the present.”
With that, the Doctor and the others marched forward.
Eventually, they came around a corner and saw the blue box shape of the TARDIS before them.
“Here it is!” Tari declared happily. “Here’s your TARDIS, Doctor!”
“A nice sight for sore eyes,” Graham declared.
Smiling away, the Doctor pocketed her sonic screwdriver. “Let’s get inside and head back…”
Just then, the Doctor’s group was fired upon. Skeletrons, Lou-Arms and Clo-Zen came up behind them in the corridor, firing weapons at them.
“They’ve found us,” Yaz cried.
“We’ve got to get away,” Ryan added.
“Come on, gang,” the Doctor prompted. “Run!”
With that, the Doctor and the others ran for the TARDIS in front of them.
Ryan suddenly tripped as he ran, collapsing to the floor.
“Ryan!” Yaz cried, looking back to him.
“Go, go!” Ryan told her. “Don’t worry about me! I’ll catch up!”
Yaz wouldn’t leave her friend behind however. She headed back and helped Ryan to get up onto his feet. Once back up, they made for the TARDIS. But the Doctor, Graham and Tari had already gone inside. The TARDIS doors were locked shut as soon as Ryan and Yaz came upon them. They banged on the TARDIS doors profusely.
“Doctor, what are you doing?!” Yaz cried out.
“Don’t leave us behind,” Ryan called. “Come on, let us in!”
But it was too late. Despite their banging on the doors, the TARDIS soon dematerialised, whooshing and grinding as it went. Very soon, the TARDIS was gone, leaving Ryan and Yaz behind. They were shocked by what just occurred.
“She’s gone!” Yaz cried. “The Doctor, Graham and Tari have just gone!”
“How did this happen?” Ryan asked, exasperated. “Why have we been left behind?!”
At that moment, the Skeletrons, the Lou-Arms and the Clo-Zen came up behind Ryan and Yaz.
“Stay where you are,” the Skeletron leader barked, training its weapon at them. “Hands up! Turn around!”
Reluctantly, Ryan and Yaz raised their hands and turned around to see the Skeletron leader and its Skeletrons as well as the Lou-Arms and the Clo-Zens. The soldiers examined Ryan and Yaz for a bit.
“You are now prisoners of King Salvador again,” the Lou-Arms leader declared.
“You are to come with us,” the Clo-Zen leader told them. “You will answer to King Salvador himself.”
With that, Ryan and Yaz were being escorted by the Skeletrons, the Lou-Arms and the Clo-Zens down the corridor where the king’s throne room was.
“This isn’t turning out to be a great day for us, is it,” Ryan muttered.
Yaz felt apprehensive. “I just hope the Doctor will come back and rescue us. Why were we left behind? I wonder what she, Graham and Tari are doing back on the hotel.”
Back on the hotel, the TARDIS materialised on the lower levels. Once landed, the Doctor stepped out with Graham and Tari behind her. Graham was trying to catch up with the Doctor, trying to tell her something important.
“We’ll work our way up to the top levels,” the Doctor said. “Make sure the other Salvador doesn’t spot us when we try to…”
“Doctor,” Graham interrupted her. “Ryan and Yaz aren’t with us.”
The Doctor stopped in her tracks. “What?!” Going back to the TARDIS, she looked in through the doors with Graham and Tari watching. “Ryan; Yaz, are you in there?” No response. The Doctor soon came out and closed the doors behind her. She returned to Graham and Tari. “Where have they gone? Didn’t you two see them leave anywhere?”
“We must’ve left them behind on the planet by accident,” Graham said, becoming fretful. “I did see Ryan trip up behind us, but I thought with Yaz helping him up, they’d be quick getting back into the TARDIS.”
“I was concentrating on too many things,” the Doctor admitted. “What with getting back to the hotel and sorting out Other Salvador. Sorry, Graham. I promise we’ll get Ryan and Yaz back as soon as possible.”
“But that King Salvador bloke could be doing something horrible to them,” Graham pointed out. “We can’t let Ryan and Yaz suffer like that after we accidentally left them behind.”
Before the Doctor could argue, Tari interrupted, calling, “Doctor, Graham!”
They looked to Tari. “What is it, Tari?” the Doctor asked. “What have you found?”
“In that room over there,” she pointed. “I see my husband inside! As well as our two babies. They’re in the glass prisms I kept them in.”
Tari headed off with Graham and the Doctor following her.
Eventually, inside the room that Tari had found, she; the Doctor and Graham saw Harry; the two babies Donna and Clara in their cots; Cigihana; Emsterdon; Sparta and the other hotel guests in glass prisms.
“I knew it!” Tari cheered delightedly. “I knew I saw you, Harry!”
“Tari, look out!” Harry cried, warning her.
Confused at first, Tari, the Doctor and Graham looked around to see two Skeletrons coming out and charging weapons at them. Thankfully, the Doctor used her sonic screwdriver against the Skeletrons. They were disabled in an instant, collapsing to the floor. They wouldn’t harm anyone anymore.
“Fast work, Doctor,” Graham applauded.
“Thank you, Graham,” the Doctor said appreciatively. “Mind you, I’ve had a fair amount of disabling Skeletrons before. It’s like child’s play to me.”
“Doctor,” Tari said urgently. “We’ve got to get my husband, the babies and the others out of their prisms.”
“Well, surely you can do that with the Zorbius crystal you’ve got,” the Doctor told her.
Tari remembered as she took out the Zorbius crystal. “Err, would you like to use it?” she offered.
“No, no,” the Doctor said appreciatively. “You had them protected in those prisms. They’re your responsibility to let them out.”
Taking the point, Tari closed her eyes and used the crystal, which glowed brightly in her hands. Eventually, the glass prisms vanished around Harry, the babies, Cigihana, Emsterdon, Sparta and the rest of the hotel guests. They were all free. Tari sighed with relief.
“Now, you keep looking after the Zorbius crystal for me, Tari,” the Doctor told her. “You and your husband are the keepers after all. Speaking of which, your husband’s waiting for you.”
With that, Tari ran over to her husband and embraced him in a hug. The Doctor and Graham were pleased to see Tari and Harry reunited.
“Tari, are you alright?” Harry asked her concerned.
“I’m fine,” Tari reassured him. “I’m just glad you and the babies are alright.”
Tari looked to her babies. She soon cradled Donna in her arms whilst Harry cradled Clara.
“We were taken down to the lower levels by Salvador’s Skeletrons,” Harry explained. “I think Salvador was expecting the Doctor to return to the hotel lobby in her TARDIS.”
“Good thing she piloted the TARDIS here instead,” Tari said happily.
Meanwhile, Cigihana, Emsterdon and Sparta came over to meet the Doctor.
“Well, Doctor,” Cigihana began. “I presume you have a plan of sorts to sort out this mess we’re in.”
“We knew you would attend to Salvador again,” Emsterdon said. “We just didn’t expect to be a part of it as well, me and the queen.”
“A ‘Thanks a lot for saving ours life’ would be nice,” Graham complained before the Doctor hushed him.
“Trust me, you two,” the Doctor assured Cigihana and Emsterdon. “I’ve got everything in hand to sort out the two Salvadors. But I need your help. Right now, we’ve got a challenge to get back up to the top floor without any Skeletrons getting in the way.”
“I can detect the Skeletrons’ movements,” Sparta announced. “They have electromagnetic signals. I’m using my sensors in my positronic net to detect them.”
“Thank you, Sparta. Much appreciated,” the Doctor said graciously. She turned to the others. “We know now when the Skeletrons will strike next once Sparta alerts us to them.”
“Why do you want to go back up to the top floor, Doc?” Graham enquired. “We’ve rescued Tari’s husband, their kids and the rest of the hotel guests, haven’t we? Surely we should get onto rescuing Ryan and Yaz on the planet of King Salvador’s?”
“Salvador’s the problem we’ve got to sort out, Graham,” the Doctor told him. “At least the one here on this space hotel.”
“And you think you can distract him long enough to get your attention?” Cigihana enquired sceptically. “To stop him from whatever he and his counterpart are doing?”
“Provided you help me of course, your majesty,” the Doctor said. “Come on! I’ve helped you out before with saving your planet in danger by the Daleks. Trust me again! Return the favour if you will. I’ll save your planet again if you help save my friends.”
Cigihana considered for a moment.
Emsterdon nudged her. “It’s fair what she says, dearest. She helped us in the past, we should help her.”
Another moment of silence ensued.
“Very well, Doctor,” Cigihana eventually answered. “What would you have us do?”
The Doctor began to outline her plan. “We need to have a certain amount of teams to disable the Skeletrons on this hotel. Make sure Salvador doesn’t see us coming before we announce our presence.”
“How many teams would that be then?” Emsterdon asked, curious.
“About a few. But disabling Skeletrons isn’t all that the teams will be doing. We’ll be creating distractions for enemy ships that will come attacking this hotel from Salvador’s planet.”
“Enemy ships?!” Graham reacted surprised and apprehensively. “From Salvador’s planet?!”
“And Graham will be in charge of supervising the holographic distractions for an incoming space fleet.”
“Holographic?!”
“Don’t worry, Graham,” the Doctor tried to reassure him. “I have faith in you. Besides, it’s just making sure the ones who know about holographic technology know what they’re doing. Getting them up to speed and such. Also…”
The Doctor trailed off mid-sentence as she thought for a moment. Another moment of silence ensued.
“What?” Graham prompted apprehensively. “Also what, Doctor?”
Eventually, the Doctor said, more to herself, “I need to confront him in his room aboard the hotel. I need to take him down to the planet below to meet King Salvador himself.” She soon called out, “Tari!”
Tari and Harry came over to meet the Doctor, carrying their babies with them.
“Yes Doctor, what is it?” Tari asked eagerly.
“I need the hotel room number you gave Other Salvador when he checked in.”
“What have you in mind, Doctor?” Harry asked.
“All in good time, Harry,” the Doctor answered. “Also, hope you don’t mind, Tari…”
“Yes, what, Doctor?”
“I need the Zorbius crystal from you. I know I said I wouldn’t use it for my own ends, but this time, I think it’s necessary.”
Back on Salvador’s planet, in the king’s throne room, Ryan and Yaz were brought before King Salvador by the Skeletrons, Lou-Arms and Clo-Zens. Once they’d been brought in, Salvador glared at Ryan and Yaz maliciously, about to taunt them.
“Even when you try to escape, you fail miserably,” he taunted. “You think the Doctor would try to train her companions better in not tripping up. I suppose that counts as an example of how the Doctor can be such a bad teacher in the friends she makes. Friends she doesn’t deserve!”
“There’s no way you can change our minds about the Doctor,” Ryan told him defiantly. “We’re sticking behind her whatever you say.”
“She’s a true friend,” Yaz joined in. “If you had any true friends, you’d probably understand.”
“Oh believe me, dear ones,” Salvador taunted further. “I wouldn’t dream of changing your minds about the Doctor. On the contrary, I find it amazing how she can have such loyal friends. I wonder if she brainwashed you into thinking that she’s a good person whereas in fact she’s not.”
“Mate, don’t you get it?” Ryan retorted. “The Doctor told us what happened. About how many times she tried to reason with you and make her peace. But you on’t listen.”
“Is that what she told you?” Salvador enquired mockingly. “That I’m an unreasonable person?”
“It’s very hard to trust your word on what you say about the Doctor when she’s tried to help you many times before,” Yaz added.
“I don’t care whether you trust me or not,” Salvador said bitterly. “All I want is to have you suffer. Suffer for the crimes you’ve made of being friends with the Doctor.”
“And there you go again being all erratic,” Ryan said. “Don’t you get fed up of being angry? Have you ever known love? Does love mean anything to you?”
“Silence!” Salvador shouted. “I shall weaken you two so that the Doctor can see what happens when she defies the will of Salvador! When you both defy the will of Salvador!”
“I think you’ll find we’re made of stronger stuff, Ryan and I,” Yaz said proudly.
“Deffo,” Ryan nodded. “Whatever stuff you throw at us, we can take it!”
“We shall see,” Salvador goaded before laughing out loud mockingly.
Just then, Ryan and Yaz felt raindrops pouring onto their heads. They looked up to see rainclouds. They also saw two Skeletrons nearby.
“No!” Ryan and Yaz cried in unison as they realised what was happening.
They were soon forced to their knees by the Skeletrons, preventing their escape as they held them firmly by the shoulders. Ryan and Yaz tried to stay awake, but they struggled. They soon found themselves getting sleepy and falling unconscious. Ryan and Yaz eventually collapsed to the floor.
Ryan and Yaz woke up to find they weren’t in King Salvador’s throne room anymore. They found themselves in a strange wilderness. Mists all around them. Ryan and Yaz felt very cold. They wrapped themselves warm to keep the heat in.
“It’s freezing here,” Yaz shivered.
“You’re telling me,” Ryan replied. “Oh my days, how did we end up here?”
“Where is here? I thought we were in Salvador’s throne room.”
“Is this another part of the planet? A barren desert with mists around?”
Just then, Yaz saw something in the distance. “Ryan, what’s that up ahead? Am I seeing things?”
They looked closely to see someone walking towards them from the mists.
“No, you’re definitely not seeing things,” Ryan said. “It’s…it’s a person, I think. I…I think I recognise…”
Eventually, the person came into full view. The person smiled at Ryan and Yaz. They recognised her.
“Grace!” Yaz exclaimed.
“Nan,” Ryan said sadly. He couldn’t believe he was seeing her again. The person who meant so much to him. The person who cared for him ever since his mum died and when his dad wasn’t around. Here she was standing before them, alive and well.
Yaz shook Ryan by the arm. “Ryan, this can’t be your nan. It’s not real. Your nan died, remember?”
Ryan was brought back to his senses. “Yeah, you’re right, Yaz.” He called out loud, “Don’t do this! This is proper sick. Don’t show me my nan!”
King Salvador’s voice echoed through the mists. “The Doctor could’ve stopped your nan from being killed, Ryan! But she didn’t! She failed you! Your nan died because of the Doctor.”
“No!” Ryan protested. “It wasn’t like that! The Doctor’s not to blame! My nan sacrificed herself to save us all! To save me! Don’t try manipulating me into thinking otherwise!”
Salvador went on to goad Yaz. “The same can happen to you, Yaz! If you allow the Doctor more into your life, you could be putting your own family at risk. You wouldn’t want that to happen now, would you?”
At that moment, three more figures appeared beside Ryan’s nan.
Yaz recognised them and shuddered. “No! Don’t do this! Don’t do this, Salvador!”
The figures soon came into full view. They were her mum Najia, her dad Hakim and her sister Sonya. They did the same as Ryan’s nan and smiled.
Salvador continued to goad. “You wouldn’t want your family’s lives at risk because of the Doctor. How can you live with yourself, Yaz? Knowing that your mum, your dad and your sister could be in danger by you travelling with the Doctor.”
“Stop it!” Yaz shouted at the air, looking away from her family smiling at her. “Just shut up, will you, Salvador! This isn’t fair! Leave us alone!”
“Yeah, leave us alone!” Ryan called out. “We don’t need to be fed by your lies about the Doctor! So pack it in, will ya!”
Despite their protests, Salvador continued to taunt them. “Who knows? Very soon, Yaz, your family could be at risk from the menace of the Stenza! Just like Ryan’s nan was!”
At that moment, Ryan’s nan and Yaz’s family vanished. In walked through them the menacing form of Tzim-Sha – or as Ryan and Yaz knew him…Tim Shaw – of the Stenza warrior race. Ryan and Yaz were terrified once they saw him. His face was covered in teeth as if they were his trophies from the people he killed. Tim Shaw snarled viciously at Ryan and Yaz. Soon Ryan and Yaz fell to their knees, terrified and seemingly weakened.
“This can’t be happening,” Ryan whimpered. “This can’t be happening to us!”
“Where’s the Doctor when we need her?!” Yaz cried out despairingly. “Where’s the Doctor?!”
“The Doctor’s not coming for you, Ryan and Yaz,” Salvador taunted. “She’s abandoned you! Just like she’s abandoned all of her companions! Very soon, you’ll lose your faith in the Doctor! She’ll never come back for you! Not ever again! Never…EVER…AGAIN!!!”
Ryan and Yaz continued to be taunted and played tricks with by Salvador. The illusions around them became stronger in the wilderness.
Back on the space hotel, the other Salvador considered about setting off the hotel to self-destruct in order to lure the Doctor and her friends out into the open. It was a short while later that his Skeletrons reported to him that the Zorbius crystal was nearby. When he asked where it was, they told him it was located in his hotel room. Surprised, the dark lord demanded more information. He became more puzzled when the Skeletrons didn’t respond. He wondered why. Eventually, he set off for his hotel room.
Indeed the crystal was there in his room. The other Salvador saw it was on his bed.
As he advanced slowly towards the crystal, a voice said behind him, “I wouldn’t bother if I were you, Salvador. I placed the crystal inside a bubble to make sure you never get your hands on it.”
Slowly turning around, Salvador saw the Doctor behind him. He felt bitter to see the Doctor as she stood there all smug and proud. “What have you done to my Skeletrons? Have you disabled them?”
“Oh yeah,” the Doctor answered, folding her arms. “I had my mates disable them before I reprogrammed them to lure you into a trap. My mates and I have become quite a team lately.”
“If this is your idea of a trap,” he indicated the Zorbius crystal on the bed nearby, “I’m not impressed.”
“That’s the thing about you, Salvador! You’re so easily susceptible. You can’t resist the Zorbius crystal when you want it so badly.”
“I shall obtain the Zorbius crystal out from the bubble you’ve put around it! I shall crush the bubble once and for all since I’m connected to the crystal so strongly!”
“And there’s where I find you to be totally ‘thick’ to my advantage!”
Salvador became puzzled and anxious. “What do you mean?”
“You see, I told you a big whopper that the crystal was contained inside a bubble,” The Doctor now stood opposite Salvador with the bed in-between them. Picking up the crystal from the bed and holding it in her left hand, she continued, “I just had to distract you long enough so that I can get your attention.”
“And what will this achieve?” Salvador responded snidely. “I can simply swipe the crystal from you!”
Salvador tried to reach the crystal but the Doctor held back, keeping a distance from him.
“You could, yes, you could,” the Doctor said. “But there’s a question I would like to put to you. A question I would like you to answer.”
“I haven’t got time for this,” Salvador snorted.
“Have you ever met your other self?” she asked. “The one that rules the planet nearby?”
“I don’t care what you say,” Salvador said defiantly. “I choose to ignore you!”
“Well, that’s too bad,” the Doctor continued. “Cos I think the two of you should get to know each other. In fact, why don’t I get you two hooked up right now?”
“No, don’t!!!” Salvador cried.
But it was too late. As soon as the Doctor said, “Let’s get a shift on!” she closed her eyes; buzzed her sonic screwdriver onto the Zorbius crystal and it glowed brightly in her left hand. The Doctor and Salvador got zapped out of the hotel room in an instant.
Once they’d gone, the hotel room door slid open and Graham, Tari, Harry, Cigihana, Emsterdon and Sparta entered.
“Right,” Graham began. “The Doctor’s taken that Salvador geezer to the planet below, so her plan should be underway.”
“We should see to it that the next stage of her plan is in progress,” Tari declared.
“Quite right, your ladyship,” Graham said. “You and your husband go to them holographic projectors. Have those distractions the Doctor needs created.”
“The projectors are going to require a lot of power,” Harry advised. “I hope we’ll have enough before the invasion that the Doctor warned us about comes.”
“One thing at a time, sunshine,” Graham said encouragingly. “Now hop to it!” As soon as Tari and Harry left, Graham turned to Cigihana, Emsterdon and Sparta. “You three, help her ladyship and Harry!”
“Who put you in charge then?” Cigihana said challengingly.
“The Doctor did, in case you forgot, your majesty,” Graham told her, sounding tough. “Now, do you want to be free of the two Salvadors we’ve got to deal with or not?”
Reluctantly, Emsterdon told her queen, “Come on, dearest. Let’s go and help while we still can.” She turned to Sparta. “You too, faithful android.”
“At once, madam,” Sparta responded blankly.
Cigihana groaned. “And we were supposed to enjoy our third honeymoon!”
As Cigihana got dragged off to join Emsterdon and Sparta, Graham remained in the hotel room for a bit. He felt anxious about the current situation.
“I hope you know what you’re doing, Doc,” he said quietly. “Just get Ryan and Yaz back in one piece.”
The Doctor and the other Salvador meanwhile ended up on King Salvador’s planet. They stood in the throne room where King Salvador was torturing Ryan and Yaz under the Skeletrons’ rainclouds. The king became angry once he saw the Doctor and the other Salvador. The Doctor ran over to check on Ryan and Yaz, using her sonic screwdriver at a distance and avoiding the deepening rain.
She became very angry with King Salvador. “What have you done to them?! Is this how you treat all guests at your castle, Salvador?!”
“That’s King Salvador to you, Doctor!” the king reminded her. “And you forget! Your friends were prisoners like you. Prisoners who should’ve known better to escape me.” He looked to the other Salvador in the throne room. “What is this you’ve brought me, Doctor? Am I supposed to know this person?”
“You are me, you idiot,” the other Salvador snapped at him.
“I don’t want to know,” King Salvador retorted.
Getting up from the floor, the Doctor looked at the two Salvadors. She stood between them, pocketing the Zorbius crystal she used into one of her trench coat pockets. The Skeletrons, the Lou-Arms and the Clo-Zens in the room were oblivious everything happening in the throne room as they stood.
“So,” she interjected. “Two Salvadors meeting each other for the first time. I see the two of you don’t like each other very much.”
“Can you blame us?” King Salvador snorted. “This Salvador failed in his task to acquire the crystal!”
“You failed in your task to keep the Doctor and her friends in their prison cell,” the other Salvador argued. “When that woman Tari stole the Doctor’s sonic screwdriver under your nose.”
“You should’ve known the Lady Tari had a connection to the Zorbius crystal!”
“It was overlooked!”
“Salvador overlooks nothing!”
“I am Salvador!”
“So am I! And I’m better than you!”
“I take strong objection to that!”
“Listen to yourselves, the pair of you,” the Doctor said, interrupting them. “You two are so alike! Arrogant, easily influenced by anger; and you can’t agree to accept responsibility for your actions. You can’t agree that you two are one of the same. But you can if you put your minds to it!”
“What say you, Doctor?” King Salvador enquired, despite himself.
“You two are divided from each other,” the Doctor explained. “You’re both vulnerable. But you can unite and be at harmony with each other. You can share your experiences with each other. That way, you can find a solution to become better people. Not to go roaming about the universe in revenge, but help other people.” She turned to the other Salvador. “You, Salvador, you like your majestic self, don’t you?”
“No!” Other Salvador answered.
The Doctor turned to King Salvador. “Your majesty, you like the ‘other you’, don’t you?”
“No!” King Salvador replied.
“But surely this is an opportunity for you two to become better people! Isn’t that a better option? Not to be universal vigilantes but to become heroes?”
At one moment, the two Salvadors considered the Doctor’s words.
Eventually, King Salvador said, “You think we wish to become better people?”
“I’d like to think so,” said the Doctor encouragingly. “Isn’t that what we all want? To better ourselves?”
“I wish to exact my revenge on you, Doctor!” King Salvador persisted.
“Me too,” Other Salvador added.
“But you two don’t like each other,” the Doctor said. “You can’t succeed in exacting your revenge upon me if you don’t like each other. It won’t work like that! Trust me, Salvadors. You two are going to fail in your mission to exact revenge if you can’t see eye to eye!”
“I don’t care!” King Salvador snapped. “As long as I have my revenge for what you did to me, then so be it!”
“Same here,” Other Salvador joined in. “We don’t care about your ideals, Doctor! They mean nothing to us! We hate every fibre of your being!”
“But I’m a peace-loving person, Salvadors,” the Doctor insisted. “I hate war; I don’t like suffering and I don’t like hardship. I try to teach the value of good things to all peoples just like I try to teach them to the friends I travel with.”
“That won’t be the case for very much longer,” King Salvador goaded.
The Doctor didn’t like the way King Salvador said that. She became anxious. “What do you mean? Salvador, tell me, what have you done?”
“I’ve made your two young friends see the person that you really are,” King Salvador declared, indicating Ryan and Yaz nearby. “The person who inflicts pain to anyone she travels with. You’re a monster, Doctor! I don’t care if it takes me a hundred years to make them see that and break their faith in you. I will keep torturing them to ensure it! I WILL KEEP TORTURING THEM!!!”
Ryan and Yaz convulsed despairingly whilst they lay on the floor of the king’s throne room.
“You’re a disgrace, Salvador,” the Doctor said disappointed. “I can’t fathom how you can be so low.”
“Remember, Doctor,” King Salvador said. “This is your doing! Your fault!”
“It would’ve been better if your people didn’t open that portal to let me in and step onto their world,” the other Salvador said behind her.
That made the Doctor ponder for a bit. She pondered if she’d been going about this the wrong way. She pondered whilst Ryan and Yaz convulsed despairingly. She hoped she could save them in time.
Back on the space hotel, Graham was taking charge. Currently in the main lobby, he saw how Tari and Harry worked hard to set up all the holographic projectors in place around the hotel. Tari and Harry were clearly experts at what they were doing, having run this hotel for a fair amount of years.
“Will the projectors provide clear enough holograms for the bad guys to see them in space?” Graham asked as Tari and Harry worked.
“They should,” Tari answered. “Obviously the diameter of these projections will have to be at 156 degrees to the point of 10.170.”
“Obviously,” Graham said perplexed.
“We did experiment with this approach once when we tried to add giant adverts outside the hotel for people to see,” Tari said. “This is going to be a very different effort however.”
“Well, you seem to know what you’re doing, love,” Graham assured her.
“I certainly hope so, Graham,” Tari replied.
“Have you got enough ships for the enemy ships to see though?” Graham then enquired.
“Trust us, Graham,” Harry said behind him. “We know what we’re doing. The configuration of these projections is up to safety standards as well as being on a coordinated high scale. The ships created will be enough to fool the enemy and there’ll be a good supply of them for what we need.”
“Great, fine,” Graham said, having to put up with that answer.
“This must be way out of your depth, Graham,” Tari said consolingly.
“Oh I’ve done mechanics work in my time. This just isn’t the sort of thing I’m used to,” Graham admitted. “I’m being the nuts and bolts man here, I suppose.”
“You could check that the projector panels are secure in place,” Harry offered, handing Graham a screwdriver. “We don’t want the projectors to be falling apart whilst the holograms are in operation. Ask her majesty Queen Cigihana and her lot to help you out.”
“Good idea,” Graham said approvingly, taking the screwdriver from Harry. “Thanks cockle!” He then went over to Cigihana, Emsterdon and Sparta who were working at another holographic projector nearby. “’Ere, your majesty. Could one of your lot help me to secure the projector panels. Maintenance double-check and all that.”
“Can’t you see that we’re busy?” Emsterdon said irritably.
“If it’s not too inconvenient,” Graham stressed firmly.
After telling Emsterdon off, Cigihana turned to Sparta. “Sparta, you go with Graham. Make sure the projector panels are in place. Also check that there aren’t any deviations in the computer programming.”
“Understood,” Sparta answered as he went to join Graham.
Meanwhile, Emsterdon was becoming fretful. “This is a nightmare! A terrible nightmare!”
“Emsterdon, calm down,” Cigihana tried to reassure her.
“How can I keep calm when all of this is happening?!” Emsterdon asked. “It’s like when the Daleks attacked Tendrasta. How’s the Doctor going to save us from two Salvador threatening our lives?!”
“Hey, listen,” Graham tried to assure Emsterdon. “If the Doctor saved your life before, she can do it again. Trust me; I know we can get through this. Keep to the plan like the Doctor said. We’ll be alright.”
“He’s right, Emsterdon my dear,” Cigihana said. “We’ll survive this. Now get your act together and keep helping me with this projector we’re working on.”
Emsterdon sniffed before she said. “Alright. As you wish, my queen.”
Using her screwdriver, Emsterdon continued to work at the projector with Cigihana.
Cigihana turned to Graham. “Thank you, Graham. That helped a lot.”
“No problem,” Graham replied, smiling at Cigihana. He then turned to Sparta. “Come along, mate. Maintenance check-up on projectors, you and me.”
With that, he and Sparta went off down a corridor out of the main lobby. As they went, Graham couldn’t help wondering whether everything was going according to plan at the Doctor’s end. He hoped Ryan and Yaz were still safe.
© Tim Bradley, 2020
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