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    The Slitheen

     Excursion

      SIMON GUERRIER

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   Wild dogs roamed the streets outside the Acropolis, thehuge, high rock overlooking Athens. Their claws skitteredon the smooth marble flagstones, and their tongues lolledfrom between snaggled, yellow teeth. They looked hungryand bedraggled, and they kept most people away from theancient monument in the hours before it opened.

   June pretended not to notice the scraggy, smelly thingsas they trotted back and forth around her. She rememberedwhat her ex-boyfriend had taught her about big dogs; shedidn't make eye contact with them, she kept her armsfolded, her fingers out of sight, and she kept on walking,despite the weight of her rucksack. It seemed to work. Thedogs tagged along expectantly but didn't try to eat her.

   The sun sat low in the early-morning sky, honey-coloured sunlight burnishing the trees. The air smelt freshand of pine needles. Away down the hill behind her,Athens came slowly to life, the distant burble of cars andchatter echoing up the hill. Up here, all was silent but for

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the dogs' eager breathing. But one by one even they lefther alone, padding dolefully away to scrounge easierpickings.

   June made her way to the ticket kiosk. A large man satup behind the glass partition, eyes fixed on his newspaper.Just as she had ignored the dogs, so the man ignored June.She stuck her tongue out at him and crossed her eyes untila split second before he looked up. Then she smiled hermost winning smile. He sighed, looked at his watch andreturned to his paper. June dumped her rucksack down onthe floor, her shoulders aching, and waited.

   At one minute past eight in the morning, he tucked hisnewspaper away and slid the glass partition open to peerdown at her.

   'Boro na eho esitirio parakalo?' said June, her accentnot half bad after two weeks' practice.

   The man scrutinised her student ID, then unhurriedlytore off a ticket from the book in front of him. Hemuttered the price so quietly no sound actually escapedhis lips, but June already had the correct change in euros.The man seemed to find this exhausting.

   'Efharisto,' said June sweetly. Heaving her bag backonto her shoulders, she made her way up the pathwaybehind the kiosk.

   At the gate, a guard with a twinkle in his eye tore herticket. He made a joke she didn't quite understand as hehanded it back to her. June could ask for food and drinkand hotel rooms fluently, but she wasn't up to flirting. Shejust smiled at him, tolerant but not encouraging, andcontinued on her way. In just over two hours she'd be on a

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train heading back to St Pancras. Why did men only evershow an interest when it was too late?

    The path led her up to some steep, marble steps, theancient remains of an impressive entrance gateway. Juneclimbed the steps, her heart pounding not with the effortbut with anticipation. High above her loomed thePropylea. The marble blazed white in the early-morningsun.

    She reached the top of the steps and halted. Before her,up the gentle rise of bare rock, stood the Parthenon, theruined, sun-bleached temple that had overlooked Athensfor two and a half thousand years. June gazed at it in awe,despite having seen it three times in as many days. Again,she let her eyes pick over the details, her brain alive withall the history and myth she'd gleaned from her reading.

    The Parthenon had been built before the invention ofthe load-bearing arch, so the huge, tall columns had tojostle close together to hold up the roof. Not that there wasa roof any more; it had been destroyed in an explosion ofgunpowder in 1687. The temple's vivid sculptures hadthen found their way into various museums and privatecollections. These scant fragments, scattered around theworld, gave a tantalising glimpse of the ancient peoplewho'd once lived and worshipped here. But, like a jigsawwith half the pieces missing, only a small part of thepicture remained. Students like June used the hotchpotchof remaining fragments to guess at the distant past.

    The temple and its sculptures would have been paintedin bright colours, the air alive with scented smoke andmusic. To the left of the temple would have stood an

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enormous statue of Athene, goddess of wisdom, who hadgiven her name to the city. According to myth, she and thegod Poseidon had competed for the honour, offering giftsto the people to win their favour. Poseidon had offeredtheir sailors calm waters; Athene had planted an olive tree.

    Whatever the truth of the story, ancient Athens hadmade its money trading olive oil. It had grown so rich thecitizens had lived comfortably, with enough leisure time toinvent the structures of drama and democracy stillrecognised in the world today. In fact, June knew,everything from modern maths to medicine owed a debt tothe ancient Greeks.

    So the spot on which she stood was in some ways thebirthplace of the world she knew. She boggled at thethought, resisting the need to check her watch to countdown the minutes she had left here. Another hour andshe'd have to lug her rucksack down to the train station forthe long journey home to England. June had wanted onelast quiet moment with this extraordinary place before herholiday was over. But she didn't have it to herself for long.

    A coach party of fat, noisy tourists made their way upthe steps behind her. June quickly got out of their way,following the gravel pathway round the side of theParthenon. In the two weeks she had been in Athens, shehad learnt to despair of other tourists. They stopped totake or pose in photographs, but not to simply look at themonuments. She wanted to tell them to slow down, to shutup, to think about where they were. But these people werebustling around the site like cattle, grabbing pictures andtacky souvenirs as they passed, muttering about the lack

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of a coffee shop.

    June hid from them. She made her way behind theParthenon, to the back of the rock. A low wall ran roundthe perimeter of the Acropolis, and she looked down overit to the ruin of the great Athenian theatre below. A suddensadness threatened to engulf her. She was upset that herholiday was over, but also at the desolate state of what hadonce been so great a place, how it had been ravaged bytime. She felt so small and insignificant beside the greatweight of history around her. Gazing down at the broken,weed-ridden, dusty bowl of the theatre, she felt stupid foralmost wanting to cry.

    And then, as she watched, with a rasping, gratingsound, a blue hut faded into being on the floor of thetheatre. At first she thought it must be a magic trick, butthat didn't make any sense when there was only her to seeit. Even a rehearsal would need technicians and stagemanagers, checking that the trick worked. June stared,eyes open wide in amazement. A skinny man in a brownsuit and trainers emerged from the box. He waved whatmight have been a mobile phone around, as if trying to geta signal. And then he made his way up the steps of thetheatre.

    June's brain did cartwheels, trying to make sense of theimpossible thing she'd just seen.

    Suddenly there were fat, noisy tourists bustling allround her. She waved off their entreaties to take picturesof their group and hurried away back to the entrancegateway. At first she might just been have escaping them,but then she knew exactly where she was headed. Despite

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the weight of her bag, she took the high steps two at atime, running past the guard, who really was quite cute.He called out something, might have asked her for a drink,but June could hardly hear him. She ran across theslippery flagstones and then onto the gravel track that ranround the base of the Acropolis, the same path she hadclimbed that morning.

   Soon enough the pathway split off to the right, a signindicating the teatro. By now June was sprinting,grinning, full of excitement for whatever it was she'd justseen. Something strange. Something impossible.Something she had to make sense of.

   The path dipped down then rose steeply up. The strapsof her rucksack cut into her shoulders, but she ran all theway. She staggered breathless over the summit, lookingdown on the theatre that had once been able to seat asmany as 17,000 Athenian citizens. The blue hut still stoodin the horseshoe-shaped space at the bottom, in front ofwhat once would have been the stage.

   June made her way quickly down the eroded, unevensteps. And then she stopped, an arm's length from thesolid, impossible object, gazing on it in awe. She walkedslowly all round the wooden hut, looking for power cablesor anything else that might have produced the illusion. Yetshe already knew this had been no trick. A sign said, inEnglish, that it was a 'police public call box'. A panel inthe door explained that officers and cars responded to allcalls. 'Pull to open,' it said. She reached a hand out to dojust that, then quickly snatched it away. The panel thewhole hut trembled with energy. She tentatively reached

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out her hand again, pressed it flat against the blue paintedwood. The vibration felt warm against her skin.

    June turned slowly round to gaze back up at the theatreand the high rock of the Acropolis looming above it. Therewas no sign of the skinny man in the brown suit, but she'dnot passed him on the pathway and there was only oneother way he could have gone. Quickly but carefully shemade her way back up the uneven steps of the theatre,following it further round to her left. Footprints in the drydust led up to the long, gaping wound in the side of therock, the sacred caves. June followed the tracks, whichhad definitely been left by trainers.

    The cave felt chilly after the warm air outside. June'sforearms prickled with gooseflesh. She made her way intothe grotto carefully, not daring to call out, perhaps even alittle afraid. Water dripped from long, glisteningstalactites. Small, fizzing electric lights cast eerieshadows. And then June could hear voices.

    She ventured forward, trying to keep herself concealedbehind the rock formations and stalagmites. Up aheadsomething stank of ozone. The voices were loud andangry but in a language she didn't recognise, made up ofclicks and whistles. She crept forward, to find the skinnyman struggling in the grip of two blobby grey aliens.

    June blinked. Yes, they were definitely aliens. No morethan a metre and a half tall, blobby and grey, their fleshglistening with rainbow patterns like on a puddle of oil.Two of them held the tall, skinny man while a thirdberated him in the clicking, whistling language.

    The skinny man struggled but could not get free. He

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argued back in clicks and whistles but the grey alienswould not be swayed.

   The skinny man sighed and shook his head. Andglimpsed June lurking in the shadows.

   'Bartholomew,' he told the grey alien, now in blokeyEnglish. 'You've enough explosives here to take out mostof Athens. I just can't let you do that.'

   The grey alien seemed to have understood him, and thepowerful gravity with which he said it. As it replied in adefensive sequence of clicks, June looked past it to theheap of hefty packages like sandbags. They were stackedaround three tall, wide stalagmites, more than the heightof a man. Yes, there did seem to be an awful lot ofexplosives.

   'I'm sure you've got the best of reasons,' the skinny maninsisted, again with a quick glance in her direction. Junerealised he was speaking English for her benefit, so shewould understand. 'But I'm sorry. I really am. You have toleave right now. Earth's authorities will be here anymoment. And you know what humans are like. What acurious bunch they are. Before you can say that you comein peace they'll have cut you open to see how you work.'

   And June realised that he didn't just need her tounderstand. She had to rescue him, too, or Athens wouldbe destroyed. All that wealth of history, the bedrock of theworld she knew...

   Terrified but determined, June stepped out from herhiding place. The fizzing electric lights behind her cast ahuge shadow up ahead. And she suddenly knew what shecould do to stop them.

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    'Rahrrr!' shouted June as she ran forward. Her voice

    echoed in the cave and her shadow up ahead might have

    been twenty metres tall.

       The blobby aliens threw their arms into the air and ran

    off wailing. June moved her hands, her shadow reaching

    out to grab them.

       'Oh no!' called the Doctor after the blobby aliens. 'A

    human being! Don't leave me!' But he was also laughing.

       The aliens hurried behind the explosives they'd stacked

    up round the three tall stalagmites, and into a silver

    sphere. June watched them squeeze themselves through

    the small entrance, which closed like an iris behind them

    with a high-pitched whirr.

       Only the sound didn't come from the silver sphere but

    from the wand in the skinny man's hand. He lifted his

    thumb from the control and the blue light on the wand

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clicked off. The skinny man twirled the wand around hisfingers then dropped it back into the inside pocket of hissuit.

   He wandered over to the silver sphere and knocked onit with his knuckles, as if wanting to be let in. Nothinghappened. The skinny man looked up at June and grinned.

   'Hello,' he said brightly. 'Don't worry. This is all adream. You'll wake up any moment.'

   'Those were aliens,' said June.

   'Uh,' said the skinny man. 'OK. Yeah.'

   'Aliens trying to blow up the Acropolis,' said June.

   'Yeah,' said the skinny man. 'Good point.' He hurriedover to the stack of explosives and began to scrutinisethem.

   June joined him, determined not to be scared. The manwas very tall and gave off waves of confidence, like beingup close to a huge stack of explosives was something hedid every day. He put on a pair of thick-rimmed glassesand pressed his face up close to them for a good look.

   'Need to do this quickly,' he said, 'before it allexplodes.'

   'Yeah,' June told him. 'That would probably help.'

   Each individual fat packet of explosive was connectedto the next with a single red wire. The skinny man tracedthe connections with his index finger, following themround the three stalagmites. Then he stuck his hand inbetween two packets and began to rummage around.

   'Do you know what you're doing?' she asked him,nervous at how roughly he treated the great stack ofexplosives.

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   'Sort of,' he said. 'There should be a--' He stopped, hiseyes wide, and for a moment June thought they'd both beblown to kingdom come. Then he slowly withdrew hishand from the explosives. In his fingers glinted a tinysilver sphere on the end of a red piece of wire.

   'Control box,' he told June. 'Well, not a box.Technically it's a want conduit. But you won't know whatone of those is, so let's just call it a control box.' He closedhis fingers around the sphere, gripping it in his hand. Thenhe closed his eyes tight.

   When he opened his eyes and his fingers, the smallsphere had turned pale blue. The skinny man grinned atJune and tucked it back in amongst the explosives.

   'Well,' he said, running his fingers through his thick andmessy hair. 'That's that taken care of. You just saved theAcropolis. Maybe even all of southern Greece. Well done.'

   'But why would aliens want to blow up the Acropolis?'asked June.

   'Um,' said the skinny man. He glanced back at thesilver sphere in which he'd locked the blobby creatures.'They said they had a good reason but didn't get round tosaying what. I suppose we could ask them but that wouldmean letting them out of their ship. Oh well. It'll just beone of those things.'

   'They were terrified of me,' said June.

   'Yes, well, humans are quite funny-looking.'

   'They weren't half as scared of you,' she said.

   'Yeah,' he said. 'But then I'm obviously not...' He tailedoff, glancing up at her. 'I'm obviously not as funny-looking as you.'

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    'I'm not funny-looking!' she protested.

    He looked her up and down, then shrugged, put hisglasses away and headed out of the grotto. June seethedfor a moment, then realised he might disappear back intohis blue hut. She couldn't just let him get away; sheneeded to know who he was. June ran to catch him up asthey emerged into the early-morning sunshine. He turnedback to her, a curious look in his eyes. She decided to playit bold, like they were already working together.

    'So what do we do now?' she asked.

    'We?' said the man, surprised. 'You forget all about this.Go home. You're...' He hesitated as a thought struck him.June bristled as he looked her up and down again. 'What'syour name?' he asked her.

    'Uh,' she said, surprised. 'June,' she said.

    The skinny man smiled. 'Hello, June. I'm the Doctor.'

    She laughed. 'Is that a codename? Do alien hunters allhave names like that?'

    The Doctor grinned. 'Oh yeah,' he said. 'We're like aleague of superheroes. I sometimes wear a cape. Nottoday, obviously.'

    'There's a whole army of you, is there?'

    The Doctor tried to hide it, but she saw the change inhim, the sadness in his eyes. 'Oh yeah,' he said. 'A wholearmy.'

    June had only just met him but she instinctivelyreached for his hand. 'It's OK, I'm sort of on my own, too,'she told him.

    He nodded, slowly. 'What brings you to Greece in thefirst place?' he asked her

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    'How do you know I'm not local?' she said. 'Maybe Ican just speak English.'

    'Well, yeah,' said the skinny man, like it was obvious.'But your accent is a dead giveaway. Lived most of yourlife near... Basingstoke, maybe. But living in Birminghamnow. What are you doing out here?'

    June swallowed, amazed he could know so much abouther just from how she spoke. 'Came to see all this,' shesaid self-consciously, gesturing down at the ruin of thetheatre, the Doctor's weird blue hut on what had once beenthe stage.

    'They performed Agamemnon for the very first time onthat stage,' said the Doctor. 'Beautiful evening, standingroom only. Of course they hadn't invented popcorn. Butwhat a show! Brilliant ending. I won't spoil it for you butthey pull this brilliant gag...'

    'Yeah, when Cassandra cries out,' June told him. 'Iknow. I'm doing Classics.'

    The skinny man blinked at her. 'Classics?' he said. 'Arethey still teaching that?'

    'Yes,' said June wearily. She had got a little tired ofpeople asking her why she didn't do a proper subject.

    'Brilliant,' said the Doctor. 'I thought it was allvocational courses these days. Not study just for the sakeof study. So you're out here to see the real thing.'

    'Yeah.'

    'Good for you. Better than just looking it up on theinternet, isn't it?'

    'Or seeing it on TV.'

    'I could show you around if you like,' he said. 'As a

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thank you for saving the city. We could go to the BenakiMuseum, see the sketches by my mate Edward Lear...'

    She grinned. 'I've got a train home in an hour,' she said,twisting round to show him her rucksack. 'It's why I've gotall my stuff.'

    'Oh,' he said. Again she saw the terrible loneliness inhim. 'Oh well, can't be helped.'

    'Sorry,' she said. 'But I've done the museums. I've donethe temples and the forum. And the old city walls atKerameikos...'

    'Not much I can show off to you about, then,' said theDoctor.

    'No,' said June. 'Sorry.'

    'So what do you make of it?' he said, looking awayfrom her, surveying the ancient theatre. 'I mean,comparing the real place to what you've only read aboutit?'

    June sighed. She'd been trying to answer that veryquestion for herself since she'd first arrived.

    'It's difficult to tell,' she said at last. 'You could spend ahundred years here and still not get it. I keep catchingglimpses of a whole other world, the colour and texture ofthe city as it was.' She bit her lip, annoyed that shecouldn't put it any better. 'I don't know,' she said. 'They'reso far from us now. Despite all the history andarchaeology, it's lost behind so many assumptions. Howcan we ever know what it was like?'

    The skinny man nodded, looking down over the ruin ofthe theatre and his wooden blue hut. Then he looked up atJune, gazing at her with deep, dark eyes. June felt her

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heart beating in her chest.

   'You're right,' he said. 'We can't really know withoutgoing there.' He gazed down at her, his eyes alive withmischief. 'You know, there might be something I can showoff about,' he said.

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    The TARDIS was bigger on the inside. June quivered

    with excitement she was inside a real spaceship! The

    Doctor rushed round the raised section in the middle of

    the vast room, attacking the controls. His features were lit

    by an eerie blue glow from the central column as he

    twisted and tweaked the levers.

       'Right,' he said. 'I've let the authorities know about our

    aliens and their explosives. Someone will be along

    soonish.'

       'Space police's finest?' said June as she came over to

    join him. She dumped her rucksack out of the way, under

    a battered old seat. 'What if the aliens escape before then?'

       'I sealed them in,' the Doctor told her.

       'Or if someone else sets off the explosives?'

       'I used the want conduit. Someone would have to

    imagine sunflowers and ball bearings to open it.'

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   'What?' laughed June. 'Why sunflowers and ballbearings?'

   'Um,' said the Doctor. 'I like sunflowers and ballbearings. Look, can we go now?'

   'Shouldn't I text someone? Let Mum know where I'mgoing.'

   'Go on, then,' said the Doctor. 'But I'll have you backhere the very moment you send it. And she won't believeyou anyway.' He began to work the controls again,winding a dial and typing coordinates with his long,nimble fingers. 'So. Same spatial coordinates... Just adjustthe temporal range... We want somewhere round 480 bc,don't we? When the Parthenon's all spanking new.'

   'But nobody will know where I am. What if somethinghappens?'

   The Doctor looked up at her. 'I won't let it,' he said. 'Ipromise. One quick trip, just for a look round. Nothingdangerous. No getting involved in anything.'

   A small pink light came on amid the complex controls.The Doctor didn't seem to have seen it.

   'Is that important?' said June.

   'Probably,' he said, not looking up. 'It's a distress signalsomewhere in the area.' He fiddled with some controls andread from the screen in front of him. 'Yeah,' he said.'Maximum alert, lives in mortal danger, but a thousandyears before where we're headed. Someone else'sproblem...'

   June was appalled. 'Who else?' she asked him. 'Yousaid you were on your own.'

   'I didn't say that.'

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   She snorted at him. 'Is there anyone else?'

   The Doctor kept his eyes on the controls and didn'tanswer her.

   'Doctor,' she told him. 'Someone's in distress.'

   The Doctor looked up at her and she could see hiseagerness to answer the call. 'I said we wouldn't getinvolved in anything,' he told her. And she realised heneeded her to take responsibility for the decision.

   'It's dangerous, isn't it?' she said.

   'Maximum alert,' he repeated. 'Lives in mortal danger.'

   'But we should help if we can?'

   'I made you a promise,' he said.

   'We should help if we can. Do it. Please.'

   He grinned at her and began to hammer at the controls.The TARDIS bumped and bucked around them, so Junehad to reach for the railing. She thought the Doctor hadjust got them moving at speed, racing to the rescue. Butwhen she looked up his expression was stern.

   'That's not right,' he said, eyes fixed on the screen.'There's a great hole of atemporal mismatch right wherewe want to be. Off the Kodicek scale.'

   'That's bad, is it?'

   The Doctor ran his fingers through his hair. 'Well itreally shouldn't be there. What happened in Athens in1500 BC?'

   'Did Athens even exist back then?' said June. 'What canthis mismatch thing do?'

   'Um,' said the Doctor, working the controls, 'it could doworse than all those explosives. So ancient Greece neverexisted.'

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   June felt suddenly very cold. 'You've got to stop it.'

   'Yeah,' said the Doctor. 'Probably a good idea.' TheTARDIS continued to bump and buck under them, theengines groaning under the strain. 'Hang on, we're goingto need to pass through it first. Might be a little bit rough.'

   June clutched the railing tightly. 'How rough?' sheshouted over the noise of the engines.

   'A little bit,' said the Doctor.

   And then there was an explosion.

The metal grille of the floor pressed hard against June'sface. She sat up slowly, her limbs aching. The controlroom of the TARDIS was dark and smoky, the only lightfrom the steaming central dais of controls. Oxygen maskshung down at head height, like in the safety films onplanes. The Doctor stood at the controls, perfectly still andhis eyes closed.

   'Doctor?' June asked as she got slowly to her feet. Shehad a hole in the knee of her jeans and felt a suddentwinge of pain when she put weight on her leg.

   The Doctor didn't answer. She limped over to him. Thescreen in front of him showed angry static. Steam hissedfrom a long fracture in the central column, the light insidecloudy and grey. The steam caught at the back of herthroat, a taste of spice and peaches. June hoped it wasn'ttoxic.

   'Doctor,' she said again, scared now by his silence.Again he didn't move. She reached out her hand andprodded him in the arm.

   His lips moved.

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   'What?' she said, leaning in to hear him.

   His lips trembled, struggling to form a word.

   'Out,' he said.

   June stepped back. 'You want to get out?' she askedhim. 'But I don't know where we are. We don't knowwhat's out there.'

   'Out,' he said again, the pain evident in his voice. 'Get.Me. Out.'

   'OK,' she told him. 'Maybe some fresh air will clearyour head.' She took his hand, putting her other arm roundhis waist. He made no response and felt incredibly cold, asif the skinny body inside his suit had been carved fromice. Surely no one could survive being so cold, shethought. But then she'd already come to realise the Doctorwasn't like anyone else.

   'I can't carry you,' she told him. 'You're going to have tohelp me. Can you step back from the controls?'

   She hugged him towards her and his legs struggled torespond. He managed one tiny step in her direction.

   'Out,' he said again.

   'That's right, out,' said June, patiently. 'Come on. Sameagain. Another small step like the first one.'

   With agonising effort he moved his other leg. Shehugged him towards her and he took another tiny step.One of the oxygen masks slapped against his face but hedidn't seem to notice. His eyes remained closed, his faceexpressionless, but she could see the desperate effortinside him.

   'Have you got a first-aid kit?' she asked him. 'Is thereanything I can get you?'

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    His lips trembled with effort. 'Out,' he said.

    There was nothing else she could do but help him.

    Slowly painfully slowly June led him round thecontrol deck and down the ramp to the door. He couldonly manage small, shuffling steps and she had to hold onto him to ensure he didn't fall. It took for ever. His kneeshardly bent at all.

    'You're doing really well,' she told him, breathing hardwith the exertion.

    Still holding on to him with one hand, June reached forthe latch of the door. It opened with a creak. And onlythen did June fully realise her predicament.

    She looked out onto a silvery plain of tall, wild grass,lit by brilliant starlight. They were on a slope, lookingdown over a long, wide valley, tall rocky outcrops milesoff in the distance. A moment ago it had been earlymorning, now it was dead of night. The air was cool andclean, so clean it made her nose itch. She was somewherefar back in time before the invention of smog. And heronly chance of getting home again was this strange manwho'd just had some kind of fit.

    Terrified now, June stood on the threshold of theTARDIS, not daring to venture any further.

    'Out,' said the Doctor behind her.

    She turned to face him. His eyes remained closed.

    'But we don't know what's out there,' she told him.

    He didn't respond. Now she'd taken a breath of theclean air outside, the TARDIS tasted acrid and smoky.

    'OK,' she said. 'We're just going to take one stepoutside.'

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    She led him through the narrow doorway and out intothe night. A breeze rippled through her clothes, but hershiver came from fear. The ground was hard as iron underher feet, an unforgiving land. She could see nothing butgrassland and stars ahead of them, nothing that offeredcomfort.

    The Doctor still had his eyes closed, his whole beingclosed off from this new world. June stood with him justbeyond the door of the TARDIS, feeling utterly alone.

    The tall grass shuffled in the breeze for a moment shethought she saw something moving inside it, but her mindwas just playing tricks on her. She scanned the grassyplain, making out occasional outcrops of rock or spindlytrees. Off in the distance, starlight twinkled in the calmlymoving sea. She turned to see what was behind them. Andlet out a yelp of surprise.

    The hill rose up behind them to a sheer cliff face ofrock, the pale stone almost blue in the starlight. The cliffface was raw, untouched by human hand, yet Junerecognised the crude outline immediately. One day thiswould be the Acropolis. The TARDIS had arrived exactlywhere it had set off from, just several thousand years inthe past.

    A sharp clicking sound in the eerie silence made herturn quickly back round. She ran back to the Doctor,already knowing what it must have been. The Doctorstood where she had left him, perfectly still with his eyesclosed. But the door of the TARDIS had shut.

    June tried to fight her way in. The metal handle on thedoor trembled with warmth but the door would not budge.

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    'You've got a key, haven't you?' she said to the Doctoras she struggled to get back inside. 'Please tell me you'vegot a key.'

    'Out,' said the Doctor behind her.

    June let go of the handle and went to him, taking hishand in hers. 'Please,' she said. 'It isn't safe outside. I don'tknow when we are but there's nothing out here to help us.'

    He didn't respond.

    A desperate chill ran through June. 'I can't do this onmy own,' she begged him. 'Doctor, I need your help.'

    The Doctor's eyes snapped open. For a moment shethought he had come back to her, but his eyes didn't seemto see. She waved a hand in front of him. He didn't evenblink.

    'I'll have to go through your pockets,' she told him. 'Seeif you've got the key.'

    She reached a hand forward, but just before she reachedhim he flinched. The sudden movement made her jump.

    'Hey,' she said. 'I don't know what else to do.'

    'Out,' he said.

    'Yes, "out",' she said crossly. 'We're out. I did what youwanted. But now what do we do?'

    'Cat,' said the Doctor.

    June stared up at him. 'Cat?'

    He didn't respond.

    'What's "cat" meant to mean?' She dipped her hand intothe jacket pocket of his suit. Something behind her purred.

    Ever so slowly, June withdrew her hand and thenturned slowly round.

    It took her a moment to see the cats, hidden in the tall

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grass.

   There were three of them, each about two metres longwith muscular bodies and long, muscular limbs. Only oneof them had a mane; it was the two females who dared topad forward out of the grass towards her.

   'Cats,' said the Doctor again, simply.

   'No,' June told him. 'Lions.'

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    June stared back at the lions, utterly terrified. The three

    lions regarded the Doctor and June but didn't come any

    further forward. They seemed wary of them, and the long

    shadows cast by the light from the TARDIS. Which gave

    June an idea.

       'Rahrrr!' she shouted, running towards the lions while

    waving her arms above her head. The lions took a few

    steps backwards, more out of surprise than fear. But,

    unlike the blobby aliens from before, they then stood their

    ground. They let June run up as close as she dared,

    regarding her with amusement.

       She stopped just in front of the two females. The lead

    lioness sniffed at her curiously. Its fur shone white in the

    starlight, its muscles taut with power. June looked in awe

    at the long, sharp fangs, the claws like enormous razor

    blades. The lions were perfectly evolved as predators and

    June stood right in their path. Yet the lead female then

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hung its cat-like face on one side like a kitten wanting toplay. Its yellow eyes glittered with mischief.

   'Hello, moggy,' June told it kindly. 'Who's a big, fluffycat, then?' She blinked her eyes slowly at it, rememberingsomething off the telly about that being how cats smiled.

   The lioness blinked its own eyes back at her, as if inunderstanding. It rocked back slightly on its back legs andshe thought it might be sitting down, accepting her,wanting her to tickle its belly.

   Then it pounced.

   'Help!' cried June as she fell back from the outstretchedclaws, the teeth, the whole huge creature launching itselfat her. In her fear, her legs wouldn't respond. She tumbledinto the hard ground, eyes open wide on the lionessbarrelling through the air towards her, the great silhouetteblacking out brilliant stars...

   And a slender shape darted between her and thelioness. It twisted in and up, pressing itself into the nookof the lioness's shoulder. The lioness was spun deftly overonto its back. It crashed down into the earth just besideJune, the impact jolting right through her body.

   She and the lioness exchanged startled looks. Then thelioness looked up at the silhouette of the man that hadthrown it over his shoulder. And, with a kitten-like mew, itslunk off to rejoin its friends.

   June scrambled up onto her feet, behind the Doctor. Hestood perfectly still, majestic in front of the three lions.

   'In your own time, then!' she told him, but he didn'trespond. His eyes were open but she saw the same lack ofexpression on his face. He'd snapped out of his coma to

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save her, but now, just a moment later, she had lost himonce again. 'Oh, come on,' she said, slapping her handagainst his shoulder. 'This isn't fair!'

   The lioness he'd thrown now skulked behind the othertwo lions. June almost felt sorry for it. But its friendsweren't so easily put off. The male stepped forward androared at the Doctor, filling the still night with itschallenge. It was so loud it made June's ears ring. Yet theDoctor didn't seem to notice. The male shifted back on itshaunches, ready to pounce on him. There was nothingJune could do.

   And then it and the two lionesses just turned round andfled. In a moment they were lost in the long grass,completely invisible within it. What might have been themovement of three lions could just as well have been thebreeze.

   Only then did June hear the low rumbling behind them.She turned to see a horse racing towards her, dragging asimple, two-wheeled chariot behind it. A short, slenderwoman in a gleaming, egg-shaped helmet gripped thereins, a second woman behind her brandished a bow andarrow.

   The horse snorted as the chariot came to a halt besideJune and the Doctor. June held up her hands, showing shecarried no weapons. She smiled her sweetest smile but felther heart turning over. The woman with the bow leaptnimbly out of the chariot and came over, the bow pointingright at June. She wore a simple tunic. Long dark hair randown her back in plaits, tightly coiled ringlets framed apretty face.

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  'I thought we were cat food!' June told her, eager tomake friends.

  The woman with the bow couldn't have been more thanone and a half metres tall, and gazed up at June warily.Thick black mascara emphasised almond-shaped eyes.June realised with a shock that these slender, capablewomen couldn't be out of their teens. And that theywouldn't understand her, even if she spoke to them inGreek.

  'You'll come with us,' said the woman with the bow inEnglish.

  'What?' said June, taken aback. 'Please,' she told thetwo warrior women. 'My friend is sick.'

  'You'll come with us,' repeated the woman with thebow. 'Or you will die.'

  'Oh,' said June. 'Well, if you put it like that...'

The chariot sped across the rocky ground and June hadnothing but the Doctor to hold on to. He lay curled up,like a giant child, his top half in her lap. She cradled him,not knowing what else to do.

    June had no idea how the two tough warrior womenstayed on their feet as they raced along. It was hardenough just sitting in the chariot, her legs hanging overthe back. The chariot was a low, oblong box, the framemade from slender branches of wood, the panels just pale,stringy leather, springy under their weight. June supposedit worked like suspension, but they didn't half bouncearound. She could feel the vibration through her teeth andlimbs.

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   She glanced up at the warrior women piloting the thing.They wore long swords on their belts, the dark metalscuffed and tarnished with use. Their bare legs weretanned and scarred. June felt puny sat with them on thechariot. She wondered what they had planned for her andthe Doctor. Were they prisoners, or slaves, or worse?

   The two warrior women leant back as they clasped thereins, but otherwise had nothing to hold on to. They justhad to balance expertly, a bit like they were water-skiing.It would only take a slight mistake to throw them out ontothe rocky ground. No seatbelts, thought June and grippedthe Doctor a little tighter.

   They rode on, round the base of the high rock whichwould one day be the Acropolis. Cold air seethed pastthem as they went. June considered escaping. She couldeasily hurl herself from the back of the chariot and justkeep running into the night. By the time the womennoticed and had turned the chariot round, she might havefound somewhere to hide. But she wouldn't be able to takethe Doctor with her, not in his current state. And withouthim she would never get into the TARDIS, she wouldnever get back home. Her fate was bound to him. Shecould merely sit on the back of the chariot and wait to seewhere they ended up.

   But they were not going far. Up ahead, between themain bulk of the Acropolis and a smaller outcrop of rock,stood a wooden wall. It looked crude but strong enough tokeep out wild animals. And, as the chariot drew closer,June could see it had been built quite recently.

   A door creaked open in the wall and the chariot slowed

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up to trot easily through. They entered a small open areasurrounded by new, wooden stables. Horses snorted andshuffled around in the shadows. As the warrior womenbrought their own horse to a stop, human faces peeredfrom the dark openings. When June looked round to stareback at them, the faces melted back into the darkness.

   The warrior women leapt out of the chariot and beganto tend the panting horse. They murmured encouragementand wiped the sweat from its flanks. One of the womenbegan to uncouple the chariot from the ties around thehorse's neck and body. The other, the woman with thebow, came over to June and the Doctor.

   'I will take him,' she said, and before June could protestshe had scooped the Doctor up in her arms and put himover her shoulder. His long skinny body hung like a deadweight. The warrior woman carried him away.

   'Hey!' June called after her. She scrambled off the backof the chariot, legs all pins and needles from the ride. 'Ineed him!' she called as she followed the warrior womanup a flight of simple wooden steps leading to the greatrock. The wood smelt new, freshly hewn, and shiftedslightly underfoot. It looked like the planks were only heldtogether by rope. She hoped it wouldn't collapseunderneath her. Then she emerged onto the top of therock.

   She started in amazement. The Acropolis she knew sowell now looked so different, devoid of its ancientmonuments. Instead of the great temple to Athene, a fewwooden dwellings clustered round each other, a tinycommunity on the long expanse of rock.

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    A single stone building stood to one side, its roof thesame shape as a beehive. Smoke coiled from the chimneyat the top. The warrior woman carried the Doctor towardsit.

    'Let me help with him,' called June as she hurried tocatch up. The warrior woman bowed her head to stepinside. June reached the doorway and stopped. She couldfeel the warmth from inside on her bare, cold face. Butthere was also a strange, spicy stink emanating from thedarkness. It made June's nose tingle. But she couldn't letthem take the Doctor from her. She stepped into thedarkness.

    It took her eyes a moment to adjust, and then to makesense of what she was actually seeing. Through the lowporch she emerged into a simple, square room with a largespace for a fire at its centre. Embers glowed warm and redin the fire, the only light in the room. It made for asolemn, religious atmosphere, a place of peace andcontemplation. Scented smoke curled from three-leggedpots placed at regular intervals round the room.

    The warrior woman stood on the far side of the fire,where she lay the Doctor down on the ground. Shoessqueaking on the stuccoed floor of coloured zigzags, Junehurried round to reach her. The low light made it difficultto tell what the colours might have been, but June guessedred and gold. Everything seemed red and gold in here.Firelight glittered in the polished ceiling and from thegolden clothes of the people painted on the walls.

    By the time June reached her, the warrior woman wason her knees beside the Doctor's body, her head bowed

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low in prayer. A bearded man in a striped tunic squatteddown on the other side of the Doctor and ran his fingersover his face. He wore thick gold rings on each of hisfingers and gold bangles on his wrists. June could see hemust be important, so she knelt down beside the warriorwoman and tried to look respectful.

    The man continued to work, placing his hands over theDoctor's eyes and intoning some kind of prayer. He was awiry, athletic man who had seen a fair few battles. Asavage, long-healed scar cut down his forehead, missedhis eye then continued down his cheek and under histhick, dark beard. Long gold earrings dangled from hisears and he wore some kind of gold tiara. He looked up atJune with beautiful, dark eyes.

    'You have no magic of your own?' he asked.

    'I don't have anything,' said June, her voice waveringwith awe. 'I think he just needs rest.'

    'Then he shall have rest,' said the man with satisfaction.'I command it.' He smiled, his teeth in pretty good order somany thousands of years before the invention oftoothpaste. June smiled back, eager to win him over.

    'Thank you,' she said. 'He's my only chance of gettinghome.'

    The man nodded. 'You are from the future,' he said.

    June stared at him. 'How did you know?'

    The man laughed. 'Your clothes. Your size. Yourexpectations.' He nodded at the warrior woman. 'We willeat,' he told her. The warrior woman hurried out.

    The man stood, and took June by the hand, helping herto her feet. She towered over him. Some men she'd met

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didn't like that, but he didn't seem to mind.

   'My name is Actaeus,' he said, bowing to her. 'Mypeople and I are at your service. Your friend seemscomfortable. His breathing is regular. His hearts arebeating steadily. Perhaps he just needs to sleep.'

   'Thank you,' said June. She didn't ask what he meant bythe Doctor having hearts, plural perhaps it was a beliefthing. 'I'm June. Forgive me, but you said "your people".Are you the king?'

   Actaeus smiled sadly. 'I was the king of a greatprovince once. Had a home in a town of stone buildings.But an earthquake tore it down. And then my sons weretaken...' He tailed off, a terrible look in his eyes.

   'I'm sorry,' said June. Actaeus looked up at her,surprised. For a moment, June thought that she had saidthe wrong thing, that it wasn't done to pity a king. Butthen he smiled.

   'Thank you,' he said. 'Please. Won't you sit by the fire?'

   She perched on the wide bricks running round thefireside, a warm and homely spot. The Doctor layperfectly still on the stuccoed floor, just as if he wereasleep. Actaeus gathered some logs from a heap andtossed them onto the fire, then came to sit next to her. Theembers crackled and spat at the dry logs and bright yellowflame erupted round them. June felt the heat pressingthrough her clothes, the muscles in her neck and shouldersstarting to unwind. Perhaps the past wasn't so bad.

   Actaeus looked about to say something. But then therewas a movement from the far side of the fire. June turnedto see two young women run in, carrying trays. They were

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beautiful, dressed in tight bodices and long flouncedskirts. In fact, they moved with such girlish elegance andgrace that June didn't recognise them at first. But thesewere the two warrior women who had captured her andthe Doctor.

   'My daughters,' Actaeus told June. 'Aglauros andPandrosos.'

   'How do you do,' said June to the two princesses. Theysmiled at her, though she saw something cold and dead inthe eyes of Aglauros, the scars of some terrible calamity.Aglauros glanced quickly away, then looked back with aforced smile on her face, defiance in her eyes. Eager notto offend, June looked away, admiring their exquisitejewellery, delicately hewn pieces of gold and lapis lazuliin the shapes of butterflies and flowers.

   'I've never seen gold worked so beautifully,' she toldthem, though she had seen something similar behind glassin a museum.

   The princesses if that was what they were grinnedand giggled back at her. They behaved like children,nothing like the warriors she'd seen before. But she alsorealised she had misunderstood them. They hadn'tthreatened her, they had offered her sanctuary. If they'dleft her and the Doctor out in the open she would havebeen eaten by the lions. 'Come with us,' they'd said, 'ordie.' They had meant it kindly.

   'Your daughters saved our lives,' she told the king.'They saved us from three lions.'

   She'd expected the king to be pleased but hisexpression darkened. 'They must learn to hunt the lions,'

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he said. 'It is all I can do to protect them.'

   'The lions attack you?' June asked.

   Actaeus glanced away from her, over at the paintingsglittering on the wall. 'My daughters will be ready,' hesaid. He clearly didn't want to be drawn on this, so Junelet it be. With the Doctor unconscious, she needed thesepeople on her side.

   Aglauros, the older of the two princesses, knelt downbefore June with a clay basin and jug. Again, June couldsee the girl struggling with some inner torture, but thoughtbetter of asking about it outright. Maybe if they werealone together sometime, she could have a quiet word.

   They took turns to wash their hands in the clay basin.Aglauros only put her right hand forward, keeping her leftto one side. It took June a moment to realise why: just aswith the Greeks and Romans, these people ate only withtheir right hands. Until people invented toilet paper, theirleft hands were used for something else. June copiedAglauros, washing her right hand. When she was done,Aglauros held out the cloth.

   Pandrosos came forward with shallow clay bowls ofwhat looked like stew, chunks of meat in an oily sauce.Following Aglauros' example, June dipped her fingers intothe hot, sticky sauce and extracted a cube of meat. Itsquished between her fingers, drooling oil down her hand.She popped it into her mouth and chewed. Her eyeswidened in delight and she made appreciative noises atPandrosos.

   They didn't talk as they ate, which was good because ittook concentration. June couldn't help getting oily sauce

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down her wrists and chin, but the king and princessesdidn't seem to be doing much better. She found herselfgrinning as she ate. Being messy was fun.

   When they had finished, Aglauros came forward withthe basin and jug so they could wash their fingers. Actaeusburped loudly, making his daughters laugh. Then heoffered his hand to June and helped her to her feet. Theprincesses began to gather up the bowls.

   'Can I help?' June asked them. The princesses lookedsurprised.

   Actaeus laughed. 'You are an honoured guest,' he said.'And a worse fate awaits you.' June froze. But Actaeusonly smiled at her. 'The history of our people is painted onthe walls.'

   'He bores everyone with the paintings,' said Aglauros,like her dad was getting out the family photos.

   'Not everyone,' Actaeus chided. 'Only honoured guests.'

   'Then I'd be honoured,' June told him, which madeAglauros laugh. Actaeus led her over to the walls. Hedidn't say anything at first. Instead, he stood back, lettingJune look over the pictures, making sense of them herself.

   The scenes, painted right onto the plaster, showedslender warriors in the same egg-shaped helmets Aglauroshad been wearing on the chariot. They marched information and fought in a war and perhaps one sceneshowed a wedding. As well as the soldiers there werewomen and children, and scenes of strange, mythiccreatures.

   June tried to match the creatures to the Greek legendsshe knew things that might have been griffins, or the

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giant bird of prey called a Roc. But she couldn't place theenormous, bald monsters with claws the length of a manand staring, wide black eyes. They emerged from abuilding with slender fins and engines, clearly some kindof spacecraft.

   'Aliens,' she said, in horror. 'They're aliens!'

   'They are our masters,' said Actaeus, loyally. But Junecould see he didn't like it, his whole body bristled as hesaid what was expected. 'They feed us and help us, and inreturn they only ask for a small payment. That we paythem willingly.'

   'But who are they?'

   Actaeus looked confused. 'They are our masters,' hesaid. 'They are called Slitheen.'

   'They're not your masters,' said a voice from behindthem. They turned in surprise to find the Doctor sitting up.Light glittered in his eyes, alert and intelligent. Hisexpression was deadly serious.

   'I've met them before,' he said. 'And trust me, you don'towe them anything.'

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    'Doctor, you're alive!' said June, running over and

    hugging him. He patted her back rather awkwardly and

    after a moment she withdrew.

       'Sorry if I scared you,' he said, scooping up some of the

    stew in his right hand. 'But you seem to have done OK.

    Where are we? Who are the people in all the bling?' He

    stuffed the meat into his mouth and his eyes opened wide

    as he chewed.

       June glanced back at the king and two princesses. 'This

    is King Actaeus and his daughters, Aglauros and

    Pandrosos. They rescued us. From lions.'

       'Thank you,' nodded the Doctor. 'This lamb is really

    good. Lentils. And some coriander?' Pandrosos nodded

    eagerly. 'We're very flattered.'

       Pandrosos bowed. 'We only had a little left,' she said.

       'But it's just what I needed,' said the Doctor. 'Something

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to latch on to. Focus the synapses and... Those otherthings like synapses. It'll come back to me.' He ran histongue round his teeth and then grinned. 'You know,' hesaid to June, 'some people show their love by cooking. Ilove people like that.' He took another great handful offood.

   'I'm glad you're feeling better,' said Actaeus, comingforward to sit with them. It struck June as odd that a kingwould sit on the floor. But he seemed keen to welcomethem into his home as equals.

   'I just needed a bit of a sleep, I think,' said the Doctor. 'Idon't know what June has told you...'

   'You're from the future,' said Actaeus.

   The Doctor turned on her crossly. 'You told him that?'

   'No!' she protested. 'Really, he worked it out himself.'

   The Doctor considered. 'Oh, well, all right then.' Heturned to Actaeus. 'You've met people from the futurebefore.'

   'Our masters,' said Actaeus, nodding his head at thefrescos of aliens. 'We are meant to show you hospitality.'

   The Doctor nodded. 'Treating strangers well is justgood manners,' he said. 'I hope you're not forced againstyour will.'

   Actaeus smiled. 'You and June have simpler needs thansome,' he said gently.

   The Doctor put his bowl down. 'Tell me what'shappening here,' he said.

   Actaeus narrowed his eyes. June could see his quickmind picking over the Doctor's words. 'You don't alreadyknow?' he said.

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    'I want to hear how you see it yourself.'

    Again Actaeus considered. 'This is some kind of test ofloyalty?'

    'Actaeus,' said the Doctor. 'I can't help you if you won'ttell me. Tell me as much as you want.'

    'You said we couldn't get involved,' said June.

    'The Slitheen are here,' he said. 'I have to know whatthey're up to. First time I met them they were going toblow up the world. And then there was Margaret, whowanted to blow up Cardiff. And then... Look, it doesn'tmatter. What are they doing back in time, at this criticalmoment in history?'

    'They can't change anything, though, can they?' saidJune. 'I mean, it's already happened. I'm proof of it. Iexist.'

    The Doctor looked her up and down, then prodded herarm with his oily finger. 'Yes you are,' he said. 'Let's keepit that way, shall we?'

    Just for an instant June pictured her home, her parents,her friends at university, even her ex-boyfriend, Bruno. Allof them, everything she'd ever known, thousands of yearsof human history. And it could all vanish in a blink of aneye. Where would that leave her? Would she vanish aswell?

    'What can we do?' she asked the Doctor in a quietvoice.

    He looked up at Actaeus. 'How long have the Slitheenbeen here?'

    'Since before my father was born,' said Actaeus. Hetook a deep breath and began. 'They came from the sky

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and they saw we were hungry. They gave us food. Theysaved us from ourselves.'

   The Doctor groaned. 'Oh, it's not going to be theofficial version, is it?'

   'It's our history,' said Actaeus. 'It is all we have.'

   'Don't be rude,' June chided. 'You asked to hear it.'

   'I'm sorry,' said the Doctor. 'Please, go on.'

   'They have fed us, they have helped us to find peace.And in return they ask only for a small payment.'

   'I thought there would be a price,' said the Doctor. 'Andwhat do they take from you?'

   Actaeus faltered. Aglauros came forward to sit withhim, and he put an arm around her. Both had such terriblelooks on their faces.

   'You don't have to tell us,' said June. 'Doctor, please.'

   The Doctor's face was stern. 'No,' he said. 'You don'thave to tell me. But I know the Slitheen of old. I knowwhat they do. And I've beaten them more than once.'

   Actaeus sighed. 'We give them what is asked for,' hesaid. 'We are loyal.'

   'What do they take?' insisted the Doctor.

   But Actaeus glanced at Aglauros and would not sayanything more.

   'I had two brothers,' said Pandrosos, coming forward tostand behind the king. 'They were our future. They weregood boys. Though they teased me when I was small.'

   'And I had to box their ears on more than one occasion,'smiled Actaeus. 'But then Aglauros was going to have ababy. She became my daughter. We were happy! Agrandson for the king. An heir for the kingdom.'

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   'And then the order came,' said Aglauros, her eyessuddenly dark hollows.

   'It was not an order,' said the king. 'It was a request.'

   'But you couldn't say no,' said the Doctor.

   'There are stories sung of those who say no,' Actaeustold him. 'But we don't even know their names.'

   'They're punished?' asked June appalled.

   'They're wiped from history,' said the Doctor. 'Isn't thatright?'

   'Isn't it better that a man surrenders the lives of his sonsthan those of all of his people?'

   'Did you think so?' asked the Doctor.

   'I told myself it was the right thing to do. And theywere young. Keen to take the challenge. They wanted togo.'

   'What happened to them?' asked June, though she didn'treally want to hear it.

   Actaeus shrugged. 'The request said they wouldcompete for the glory of my kingdom. They went. Wehave heard nothing more. And then the earthquake cameand destroyed my kingdom anyway. And...' He tailed off,his voice breaking.

   'And I lost the child,' said Aglauros. June wanted toreach out to her, to hold her, to show some kind ofsympathy. But Aglauros sat stiffly apart from them all, anawful deadness in her eyes.

   'Some think it was a sign,' said Actaeus at length.

   'That you made the wrong choice?' asked June.

   The king looked up at her with surprise and anger, as ifshe had just slapped him. 'That my sons had failed,' he

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said. 'That they would not be coming home. The town fell.We hid in the ruins and were prey to wild animals. Sothose of us left now shelter on this rock. The animals can'tclimb the walls of our stockade. And other tribes keepaway from this place anyway.'

   'Why?' said June. 'It's a great position. You can see formiles. Isn't it a valuable spot?'

   'Our masters come here, sometimes,' said Actaeus.

   'They come here?' asked the Doctor. 'Why?'

   'Perhaps it is the view,' Actaeus smiled bitterly.

   'We're on the Acropolis,' June told the Doctor. 'Or whatwill be the Acropolis.'

   'Ah,' said the Doctor. 'And they come in groups, dothey? The Slitheen plus brightly dressed parties of othercreatures?'

   'Yes,' said the king. 'They come to point at us and castthe magic that paints our image in the air. There is a ritual.The Slitheen forecast the future and the other creatureslaugh.'

   'And then they head off to other historical sights,' saidthe Doctor.

   'I do not know,' said the king. 'But they never stay forlong. That is why we gambled we could stay here.'

   'They're running a package tour!' June realised. 'SeeAthens before they build it.' She turned to the Doctor. 'Canthey do that?'

   The Doctor sat back, finishing his meal and thinking.'Who's going to stop them? This period of your history isfull of tales of gods and monsters. Perhaps the Slitheenhave always been here. Perhaps they're meant to be.'

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   'You think this is fate?' asked Actaeus. And somethingabout him had changed. He sat forward, alert, and hissmile had gone.

   'It's just a theory,' said the Doctor. 'But there'ssomething else, isn't there?' The king hesitated andglanced at his two daughters.

   'You don't have to tell us,' said June kindly. But shehoped that would only make him tell them.

   'We have had another request,' said Actaeus. 'And thistime they ask for my daughters.'

To June's horror, the Doctor would not offer his help. Hedidn't say no, but he didn't say yes either. June wanted toargue with him. Of course they should get involved. Theprincesses were off to their deaths! She realised why theking had sent them out to fight with lions. He had hopedto train them as warriors so they might stand some chance.

   But instead, Actaeus changed the subject. He and theDoctor wiled away an hour discussing the different needsof herding sheep. June couldn't relax. She watched the twoprincesses, who sat politely listening to their father. Intheir eyes she could see their torment, their fear. But theywere too well brought up to argue. At one point Aglaurosglanced at her, and they shared a pained and desperatelook. But then Aglauros looked away again, all meeksmiles for her father.

   June turned to the Doctor. And for all he gabbled onabout how he'd once had to rescue a ram from a crocodilewith only a wooden spoon, she could see the conflict inhis eyes. No matter how long she watched him, he would

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not meet her gaze.

   Then at last, without anyone having to say it, theevening had come to an end. Aglauros and Pandrososwent over to a wooden box at the edge of the room andfrom it produced woollen blankets. These they laid aroundthe central fire.

   'Well, thanks for tea,' said the Doctor to Actaeus.'You've been very kind. June and me should get back tothe TARDIS.' He turned to June. 'Do you know where itis?'

   'Sort of where we left from,' she said. 'South side of therock.'

   The Doctor grinned. 'Really? I'm not always good atthose tricky manoeuvres. And in the middle of a crash...'

   'You can't leave the compound at this time of night,'said Actaeus. 'There are lions out there.'

   'Yeah,' said the Doctor, 'but I've got this thing with cats.Didn't to begin with, but we're on a wavelength now.'

   'Doctor,' said Actaeus. 'You can't leave the compound.I'm sorry, I need your help.'

   The Doctor stood tall, towering above him. 'You can'tforce me,' he said. He spoke firmly, with menace. Junewas almost scared of him.

   The king smiled. 'And I would not want to. But in themorning, let me make my plea again. Then, if you are notpersuaded, you can go in peace. You have my word.'

   The Doctor considered, glancing at June. 'All right,' hesaid. 'But don't expect me to change my mind.'

   June grinned at him, but again the Doctor would notmeet her eye.

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    The stuccoed floor was hard underneath her, even when

    June doubled up the blankets. But it wasn't just the floor

    that kept her awake. She watched the embers of the fire.

    The princesses slept beside their father, the Doctor next to

    June. No one else seemed troubled by the worries

    worming through her mind.

        How could they leave the king to give up his

    daughters? She understood that the Doctor didn't want to

    rock the boat, that the aliens and their strange requests

    might have always been a part of history. But surely if she

    and the Doctor could help, they were obliged to try. After

    all, aliens had stopped being masters to humans at some

    point in history. Why couldn't that happen now?

        But then, what could they really do to stop them? These

    aliens must have a sizeable operation going on. What

    difference could two people make?

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   She turned over, trying to make herself comfortable.And found the Doctor watching her. He smiled thenglanced over at the king and his daughters. The king wassnoring.

   The Doctor put a finger to his lips and then untangledhimself from his blankets. He had not taken off histrainers, and she realised he'd never intended to stay. Shereached for her shoes, lying beside her bed, but he stoppedher from putting them on. Of course, she thought, she'dmake less noise on the stuccoed floor if she escaped inbare feet.

   They made for the door on tip toes. June could hear herown heart hammering in her chest. She glanced back atthe fire where the king and the princesses lay. AndPandrosos was sat up, watching them. There was a terriblelook of disappointment in her eyes. She reached a handforward to wake the king. And then she decided not to.Pandrosos lay back down, turning away from the Doctorand June, pretending to be asleep.

   Feeling wretched, June followed the Doctor out into thebiting cold night. It took her a moment to get her shoesback on, the cold air whipping at her clothes. The Doctoragain put his finger to his lips, then led her down thecreaking wooden steps to the stockade. A man in a longcloak stood guard on the gate. His egg-shaped helmetseemed to have long teeth sewn all over it and for amoment June thought they might have been his. But theywere too long for a human and there were too many ofthem to have come from one person. She guessed they'dbelonged to some animals.

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    'Wotcher,' said the Doctor as he ambled over to theguard. He rummaged in his inside pocket and withdrew aleather wallet. 'His majesty has given us a secret mission,but this says all you need to know.' He opened the wallet,showing a blank white page.

    The guard on the gate grinned widely, showing manymissing teeth. 'I don't actually read,' he said.

    'Oh,' said the Doctor, snapping the wallet shut. 'That's abit of a problem.'

    'But I'm sure it must be all right,' said the man. 'Only anidiot would want to go out this time of night. You knowthere are lions out there?'

    'Yes, we know about the lions,' said the Doctor. 'Butorders are orders. You know what his majesty's like.'

    The man immediately stood more erectly. 'I won't speakill of the king,' he said.

    'No, of course,' said the Doctor. 'But you know whathe's been through. Best just let us do what he says.'

    The man opened the gate and the Doctor took June'shand to lead her through. 'Rather you than me,' said theguard as he closed the gate after them. 'See ya.'

June tried to speak to him as they hurried across the rockyground but again the Doctor put his finger to his lips.Perhaps their voices would travel up the sheer slopes ofthe high rock to the community asleep on top of it, shethought. But it seemed more likely the Doctor just wantedto avoid the argument.

   She held his hand tight in hers and struggled to keep upwith his long, nimble strides. Another reason not to start

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arguing now was that their voices might attract lions.

   But too late. The night air was torn by a rumblinggrowl, and a large male lion padded towards them. Hedidn't seem to think they posed much threat heapproached them rather casually. June felt almost insulted.

   'Hello, kitty,' said the Doctor soothingly.

   'I tried that,' June told him. 'It doesn't work.'

   'No?' said the Doctor, as if June were being mean tothink such nasty things of the poor pussy cat. He fished inthe inside pocket of his suit. 'But I've got a little treat forkitty in here.'

   'I don't think he's a reader, either,' said June. But theDoctor withdrew the short magic wand she'd seen him usein the future. He pressed the button and the tip of thewand buzzed with electric blue light. The Doctor raisedthe wand and aimed it right between the lion's glintingeyes.

   June waited for the wand to zap the lion with laserbeams or lightning. But instead the lion stopped in itstracks and just lowered its head forward, so the beam ofblue light tickled over its scalp. The Doctor waved hiswrist around, moving the spot of light up onto the lion'sears and back again. To June's amazement, the lion startedpurring. Warm, contented breathing filled the silent night.

   'Naw,' said the Doctor, not getting any closer. 'Who's abig fluffy cat?'

   June took a step closer to the lion, ready to tickle itsears. But the Doctor grabbed her hand. 'Best not,' he said.'Just in case.'

   He switched off the beam of light and the lion growled

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with frustration. The Doctor switched on the beam again,and the lion flopped over on its side, letting the Doctortickle its tummy with the light. It waggled its legs in sucha silly, kittenish way that June burst out laughing.

   'Come on, then,' said the Doctor. 'Which way's theTARDIS?'

   June led him on and the lion padded after them,keeping a respectful distance. It felt more like a loyal dogthan any kind of cat now. And, June hoped, with this onetagging along with them, no other lion would try its luck.

   Eventually they could see the distinctive shape of theTARDIS, stood slightly at an angle on the bare rock. Thelight on the roof and in the high windows of the doorglared bright in the starlit darkness. Immediately June feltsafe. They hurried on, the lion bounding after them,enjoying this strange game.

   As they reached the doors, the Doctor handed his wandto June, showing her the button to press. 'Go careful,' hetold her. 'We don't want him too excited.'

   June buzzed the blue light around the lion's foreheadand then over the back of its neck. The lion rolled over onthe ground, purring with delight. June laughed out loudagain at this, and the lion turned to look at her sternly.This was no laughing matter.

   While she continued to play, the Doctor fished in hispocket for the key. The door of the TARDIS creaked open,light pouring out from within.

   'Come on, then,' he said, and June hurried after himinto the time ship. The lion mewled and scratched at theclosed door.

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   'Right,' said the Doctor, hurrying to the central columnof controls. 'You're going to tell me we have to getinvolved. That we can't stand by and just let the king giveup his daughters.'

   'Are you going to tell me that we can't?' said June,joining him as he worked the complex systems. 'That wedon't want to change anything that's already happened?'

   'Er, yeah,' he said. 'I think you're gonna be good at this.'Then his head whipped back to the instruments beforehim. He put on his thick-rimmed pair of glasses to readthe screen as information scrolled across it.

   'Well,' he said, 'the TARDIS is feeling better. Needed asleep just like I did. Lost its bearings when we wentthrough that area of atemporal mismatch. Probablybecause, by definition, it doesn't have any bearings.Capiche?'

   'No,' said June. 'I have no idea what that meant.'

   'Me neither. Never mind. If we leave we might have topass through that time storm again, which isn't exactlyideal. And if we stay we might not be able to resistbothering the Slitheen.'

   'You think the Slitheen have always been here? Thatthey're meant to be?'

   'You're the classicist,' he said. 'You know the stories ofthe ancient Greeks.'

   'But they don't speak of monsters called Slitheen,' shesaid.

   'Well, they might not have known the names. Or theygot lost in all the retellings. You ever played ChineseWhispers? That's how all of human history works until

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someone thinks to write it down. And then writings arelost or translated badly...'

   'So we leave them to it,' said June sadly. 'And the kingloses both his daughters. As well as his sons andgrandson.'

   'Maybe,' said the Doctor, busy with the controls. Thenhe stopped, just gazing at the screen. He began to workthe instruments again. A map appeared on the screen. Junerecognised the snaggled coast of the Greek mainland andsome of the nearer islands. Peculiar writing scrolledacross the map, then a pattern of red dots. One marked thesite of the Acropolis, another the island of Aegina. Andseveral red spots speckled the island of Crete.

   'What do the red spots mean?' asked June.

   'Some sort of spatial something,' said the Doctor as heworked. 'Time bending a bit like a localised black hole.Probably a transmat or some other warp system forjumping from place to place.'

   'So they can tour the main highlights of ancient Greecein the same afternoon.'

   'Yeah,' said the Doctor. 'And make sure the peopleliving here all behave. Hmm.' He adjusted controls andmore information scrolled down the screen. 'But there'snothing else. No cities. There aren't even any large towns.Human beings should be much more advanced than thisnow...' He twiddled some more. 'I can't even see anyfarms. How are they feeding themselves?'

   'Actaeus said they were hungry and the aliens had fedthem.'

   'Yeah,' said the Doctor, running his long fingers

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through his hair. 'But that's only a short-term solution. Youpeople forget how to grow your own food and the wholespecies is finished.' He leant forward to work the controlsand the map zoomed out to show Europe and the top halfof Africa. Red dots speckled various places of interest.

   'There's Stonehenge and the Pyramids,' said the Doctor.'But they're already old. There's nothing from this time.Nothing being lived in or used. The only place that's gotany large building is...' He tailed off. 'Oh, yeah,' he said.'Of course.'

   'What?' asked June. But she couldn't read the peculiarlanguage. 'How come I can understand Actaeus and hisdaughters, but I can't read what's on the screen.'

   'Never mind,' said the Doctor. 'The Slitheen have gonetoo far. Oh, if they hadn't been greedy we could haveturned a blind eye. But the operation's too big now. It'shaving too much of an impact. At this rate they're going tosqueeze the human race out of existence.'

   'Yeah,' said June, 'because if only they'd killed lesspeople it would be OK.'

   'Fewer people,' the Doctor sighed. 'And not OK, no.'He stepped back from the controls. 'Right,' he said. 'Timeto go.'

   'Where?' said June. 'I mean, can't we just go straight towherever we're going? Isn't that what having a time ship isfor?'

   'Yeah,' said the Doctor. 'But there's that atemporalmismatch hanging round us like a bad smell. And anyway,turning up at Slitheen HQ in this thing is going to get theirattention. They'll be looking out for disturbances in time.

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So Plan B.'

   He hurried down the ramp to the doors of the TARDIS.'Coming?' he asked.

   She took the magic wand from him, ready to quiet thelion. 'But I don't know where we're going,' she said.

They snuck back into the stone building on the top of theAcropolis. June's shoes slapped on the coloured, stuccoedfloor. They tiptoed to the blankets, still lying strewn wherethey'd left them. The Doctor grinned up at June as theyboth sat back down. She grinned back. No one need knowthey had ever been away.

   But she looked up at the sleeping figure of Actaeus andhis daughters. And Actaeus gazed back at her.

   'Oh,' she said.

   'Shh,' whispered the Doctor. 'You'll wake--' He turnedto see the king and grinned a silly grin. 'Oh, sorry,' he said.'We didn't mean to wake you.'

   The king folded his arms. 'You left us,' he said. 'Youstole off in the night like thieves.'

   'Yeah,' said June. 'But we came back. Didn't we?'

   'And what have you decided?'

   'Oh, you'll like this,' said the Doctor. 'Your daughtersdon't need to go anywhere.'

   'And then our masters will destroy us,' said the king.

   'Nah,' said the Doctor. 'Because you're going to sendthem something better in their place. You're sending meand June.'

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    The sun beat down hard on them as they raced across

    the rocky ground. June held on tight to the Doctor, arms

    wrapped around him. He leant back, laughing and

    whooping as he drove the chariot. If she hadn't been so

    scared, she'd have hit him.

       The lining of her boars' tusk helmet felt rough against

    her hair and ears. Apparently all warriors wore them.

    Otherwise, the Doctor and June were off to compete in

    just the clothes they'd turned up in June in old jeans and

    a T-shirt, the Doctor in his slim suit. Aglauros had doubted

    whether she'd find any local clothes big enough to fit them

    anyway.

       They had strapped a curved oblong shield made of

    hairy ox hide into one side of the chariot and also a few

    paltry foodstuffs in case they wanted to stop for lunch.

    The Doctor had declined any weapons, to the princesses'

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amazement. How, they said, could he go off to fightwithout anything to fight with? Pandrosos had tried topress a dagger on June when the Doctor wasn't looking,but June turned it down. She wanted to believe in what theDoctor had said that they could sort this all out withoutanyone getting hurt.

   The Doctor drove fast yet skilfully. June felt sure shewas being bounced around less than she'd been theprevious night. Or perhaps it helped to be standing up, sothat your legs took all the vibration. She clung on to theDoctor, knowing that if he made a mistake or lost hisbalance they'd both be in serious trouble. There were nostraps to put your feet into, no crossbar at the front of thechariot to press against with your knees. The only wayyou didn't fall out was by leaning back, your own weightbalanced against the horse's.

   Moving her head, she caught the breeze as it whistledaround the Doctor. The air tasted fresh and clean,thousands of years before car engines and industry. Butthere was something else, a familiar, nose-itching tang.She eased her grip on the Doctor a bit to glance around.

   They were riding through a shallow valley, over low-cut grass. The grass looked dry and sandy coloured, withregular dollops of dung. Across the valley, sheep and goatschewed nonchalantly, ignoring the chariot as it whizzedpast. A shepherd waved at them cheerily, but June didn'tdare let go of the Doctor to wave back.

   'You know where we're headed?' shouted the Doctor.

   'To see these Slitheen people,' she said into his back.

   'Well, yeah,' said the Doctor. 'But where we're headed

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first. We're heading down through what will one day beAthenian suburbs to the port of Piraeus.'

    Again, June leant back from him to glance around. Yes,she could more or less make out the contours of the land,the gradual slope down which they were racing. She hadcaught the tube to the port at Piraeus just ten days ago. Byhigh-speed ferry, you could spend a day on the nearbyisland of Aegina and be back in Athens for the evening.

    A thought struck her. 'Doctor,' she said. 'If we're goingby water, it's going to take us ages.'

    'Won't be more than a week,' he called back.

    'I can't be gone for a week!'

    'It's all right,' he said. 'I'll still get you home themoment that we left. Nobody will notice.'

    'But I will! I'll be a whole week older. My birthday willbe all out of synch.'

    'Well, what do you want me to do? Turn back and takeyou home now?'

    June didn't say anything. She bit her lip in irritation.

    'Look,' said the Doctor. 'This is going to be fun. Youdon't get seasick do you?'

    'Yes,' said June.

    'Oh,' said the Doctor. 'Well, apart from that, it's going tobe fun.'

There was nothing even resembling a port at what wouldone day be Piraeus. The Doctor brought the chariot to ahalt in front of a long, sandy beach. A few other people intwos and threes watched each other warily. They carriedspears and long swords and all kinds of other weapons.

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One pair had the same curved, oblong shields as theDoctor, while most had shields that looked like a stretchedfigure eight.

   'We don't want any trouble,' the Doctor told Junequietly as he helped her down from the chariot. Her legswere numb with exhaustion. Riding a chariot had provedto be quite a workout. She started to unhook the horse. Itsnorted and shook one of its legs, then cantered off downthe beach, neighing happily. She could feel the othercompetitors watching her. And two stocky, bearded men inmetal armour came over to the Doctor.

   'Who are you?' one asked.

   'Oh, no one really,' he said, admiring their armour. 'Awhole bronze suit,' he cooed. 'You must be rich andimportant. So you don't want to be slumming it with thelikes of me. I'll get out of your way.'

   He bowed and stepped away from the stocky men. Butone of them grabbed him by the shoulder.

   'Doctor!' cried June, running forward. The other stockyman stepped forward to intercept her, withdrawing a longsword from his cloak. June skidded to a halt in the sand infront of him, just out of reach of the sword. Othercompetitors came closer, eager to see the fight.

   'Ow!' said the Doctor to the stocky man holding him bythe shoulder. 'Watch out. Not all of us are wearingarmour!'

   'You talk too much,' said the stocky man. 'The warriorsof Berbati are more about action than words.'

   'Is that where you're from?' asked the Doctor, wincingunder the man's grip. 'Berbati's lovely this time of year.

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Ow. Look, would you mind letting me go?'

   'Say you're sorry,' June told him. 'Please.'

   'I'm sorry,' said the Doctor. 'Can't we all be friends? Iguess we're all here for the same reason.'

   'Yeah,' said the stocky man. 'To fight. And you don'thave anything to fight with. So might as well kill younow.'

   Before June could cry out, the stocky man had reachedfor a blunt cudgel hanging from his belt. He swung it highabove his head, brought it crashing down on the Doctor.But the Doctor twisted, caught the man's wrist in his handand held it, the cudgel just clear of the top of his head.

   The stocky man gaped. He could not move his hand.

   'I won't fight you,' the Doctor told him. 'Unless youforce me to. And trust me, you don't want that.' Hetightened his grip on the man's wrist. The stocky manyelped in surprise. It might even have been funny, were itnot for the terrible look in the Doctor's eye. 'Do you?' hesaid.

   'No,' said the stocky man.

   'Good,' said the Doctor, letting him go and smiling.'We're better working together. Best of the best from allacross Greece. Working against the Slitheen.'

   The stocky man regarded the Doctor coolly. June sawthe other groups of soldiers glancing at each other. Andthe man with the sword in front of her, the stocky man'sfriend, heading for the Doctor.

   'Watch out!' cried June. The other man in armour wasnow running at the Doctor, his sword held aloft.

   'No,' shouted the stocky man, stepping past the Doctor

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to intercept his friend. But the sword was already comingdown. The stocky man twisted, slapping his blunt cudgelagainst the edge of the sword. It hit with an ear-splittingcrack, and the man with the sword spun round, offbalance, smacking into the man with the cudgel. Bothcollapsed in a heap just in front of the Doctor.

   'I mean it,' the Doctor told them pleasantly. 'TheSlitheen have got us all fighting each other because we'reeasier to control that way. It's classic divide and conquer.But we can take them on.'

   The stocky man lay tangled up with his friend on thesand. 'How?' he asked the Doctor.

   The Doctor extended his hand to the man. 'You stickwith me,' he said. The stocky man glanced at the othersoldiers all around them. He lay prone, defenceless. Buthe'd been offered a chance. June grinned as he reached upand took the Doctor's hand.

They built a barbecue on the beach while they waited tobe collected. June wasn't the only woman, but all werewarriors of the first rank. They came from the main townsof Greece Kokla, Mycenae, Tiryns and all had thesame stories to tell. Earthquakes had ravaged theirkingdoms. The Slitheen masters provided their food. Andin return they asked only for a small token payment.Every community had to send warriors to compete forglory.

   The Doctor organised the cooking, casually askingquestions about the earthquakes and the Slitheen. Junehelped, building the fire, preparing the food, chatting to

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the other competitors. Most people had their own smallprovisions, but the stocky man, Alyon, organised fishingrods and a group of volunteers. Soon they were cookinglong, silvery fish in the hot ashes of the fire. More pairs ofcompetitors arrived as the afternoon wore on. There weremaybe as many as seventy of them by the time the sun hadset.

   They served up, and a portly, red-nosed fellowproduced an amphora of wine. He also led the singingonce they'd eaten. Soldiers sang of their homes, theirloved ones, the stories of their people. They told stories inwhich they were the heroes, in which they brought gloryhome. June and the Doctor joined in with the choruses.Then they wanted to hear June's story, to hear what thefuture was like. They all seemed quite familiar with theidea of time travel, but had never met a human being fromthe future before.

   She tried to wriggle out of it but that just made themmore insistent. They laughed and applauded and called hername. Eventually she gave in.

   'I'm nothing special,' she told them. The soldiersheckled and booed, dismissing this idea. 'Well, all right,'said June, 'I'm great. But my life is pretty ordinary. A nicemum and dad, nice friends, a nice life. A bit of troublewith boys.' Alyon wolf-whistled and the soldiers laughed.June found herself blushing. 'I'm OK,' she said. 'Justnothing to sing stories about.'

   Alyon tutted. 'You are the most important one here,' hetold her and the other competitors. 'Because you give ushope. That one day our lives will be better. That the

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Slitheen will be gone and there will be no more struggle.'

    June smiled sadly. 'I wish I could show you,' she said.'It's not perfect, but it's all right.'

    'There's always struggle,' said the Doctor. 'The struggleto do what's right. The struggle to provide for a family, tolearn, to make things better. It wouldn't be life if it wasn'thard work. But things do get better. So long as you lot canwork together.'

    'What are you proposing?' asked Alyon.

    The Doctor stared into the fire, saying nothing. Junenudged him with her elbow. 'Go on,' she said. 'We have todo this.'

    'But the Slitheen can wipe out their people if theyresist,' he said.

    'And if they don't resist, all humanity is wiped out.'

    'We don't know that. Perhaps this is how it always was.'

    She snorted. 'Doctor, does it feel right? The ruins ofkingdoms at the beck and call of aliens? We're no betterthan slaves.'

    The Doctor gazed into the fire. And then he got to hisfeet. The firelight glinted orange off his bony features,sparkling in his eyes. 'All right,' he told the assembled,eager soldiers. 'This is what I think we should do...'

The eight boats arrived before dawn. They were long, flat-bottomed cargo boats with huge, square sails and nobodywas sailing them. In eerie silence the boats moved atspeed across the water, to line themselves up on the beach.

   'It's impossible,' said June.

   'It's just magic,' said Alyon. He and the other

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competitors began to load their possessions onto the boats.Each boat could take about ten competitors and theirluggage. The passengers sat on the boxes of cargo.

   'I don't like this,' said the Doctor as he helped June intoone of the boats. 'I don't like no one being in control.'

   June didn't like it either the boats seemed so smalland vulnerable. She remembered the last time she'd beenseasick. The sickness had three awful stages. First youthought you were dying, then you knew you were dying,then you really wished you were dying.

   The Doctor must have seen the look in her eyes. 'Youcould stay here,' he told her.

   'We'll be fine,' she told him, even more horrified at thethought of him leaving her behind. 'These things run onmagic. They're automatic, like a monorail or something.'The Doctor didn't seem any happier.

   When the boats were all loaded, they simply glidedbackwards out onto the water, turned and headed out tosea. They moved so smoothly that June could close hereyes and believe they were perfectly still. The othercompetitors marvelled at this ingenuity, but the Doctorsulked at one side.

   'It's not really sailing, is it?' he said.

   Soon the rocky peaks of Greece were no longer visiblebehind them, and the sea stretched to the horizon. The sunrose ahead of them, painting the sky and water all theshades of orange and pink. June sat back to enjoy theshow, enjoying herself. But she noticed the competitors onthe other boats whispering nervously to one another.

   'They're having second thoughts about what you said,'

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she told the Doctor.

    He watched the soldiers, then followed their nervousglances to the sky ahead of them. 'No,' he said. 'It'ssomething else.'

    The sky ahead of them had turned a beautiful crimson.

    'I love a sunrise,' said June. 'You watch it from Delphiand you can see what the ancients meant. The chariot ofday chasing away the night.'

    But the Doctor looked serious. 'Red sky in themorning,' he muttered. 'Ask any shepherd. That's reallynot good news.'

    He hurried to the back of the boat, pushing past a portlybloke who was looking rather poorly. The Doctor pressedand poked at the back of the boat, but could find noworkings.

    'What is it?' asked June.

    'There's going to be a storm,' he told her. 'I want tocheck these things will cope.'

    June gazed up at the red sky again. Yes, it did look alittle angry. And there were dark clouds on the horizon.She felt a moment of terror.

    The Doctor produced his magic wand and beganbuzzing at the boat's mast and moorings. It had littleeffect.

    'Don't worry,' he said. 'I'll fix it. Go and find someoneto talk to. Take your mind off it.'

    June's stomach gurgled with fear as she left the Doctorto his work. She sat unsteadily down beside the portlybloke, who looked wan and ill. 'Feeling seasick?' sheasked him.

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   He grinned. 'Hardly. It's a hangover. Should havewatered down the wine. My own silly fault.'

   'I'm June,' she told him, extending her hand.

   'Deukalion,' he said, taking her hand and kissing it. Hisdark beard felt rough against her fingers. But his eyeswere bright and young he couldn't have been much olderthan her.

   'You're not a soldier,' she said.

   'No,' he admitted. 'My fighting days are long past. Butthe kingdom needed someone to send and they thought itmight as well be me.'

   'What did you do?' she asked.

   'I didn't do anything!' he protested, then he clutched hishead in both hands. 'Ow,' he said. 'I am never drinkingagain.'

   'What did you do?' she asked him again.

   'I dared to suggest a king was wrong on a matter ofprinciple,' he said.

   'A matter of principle,' said June sceptically.

   'Yes,' said Deukalion. 'The queen can snog whoever shelikes on her birthday. That's one of those things aboutqueens.'

   'And you were one of the people she snogged.'

   'I might have been,' said Deukalion. 'And then themasters said they wanted people to compete for his glory.And I got volunteered.'

   June laughed. 'I bet you did.' Deukalion beamed at her.And behind him the sky was black.

   'Doctor!' she cried as the boat lurched sickeninglyunderneath them. The sea that had been so perfectly calm

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now churned with dark power. A great wave clattered overthe side of the boat, soaking those sat up by the prow. Itbegan to patter with rain, fat globules smacking hardagainst June's skin.

   'Everybody keep down,' said the Doctor, struggling tothe front of the boat, brandishing his magic wand. Just theway he took command made June feel a hundred timesless terrified. 'We've got to--'

   But his words were lost to the awful roar of the rainnow lashing down. The boat smacked hard against anotherhuge wave and tipped almost at a right angle. Then thewave had passed and they slapped down hard onto thewater. The force knocked the Doctor from his feet, senthim slithering back towards where June and Deukalionwere kneeling.

   'Ow,' said the Doctor. He grinned. 'This is more like it.A proper sailing trip!'

   Despite her terror, June grinned back at him. Hisfeatures were lit up by electric blue lightning, the crash ofthunder right on top of it. They turned quickly round tosee the mast of one of the other boats sparking into flame.Soldiers screamed, and one fell into the water. Junethought she saw Alyon on that boat. The lightning flashedagain and the sail was ablaze.

   Their own boat suddenly lifted and droppedsickeningly as the waves crashed against them. June clungon to the Doctor, lungs raw where she'd been screaming.

   'It's all right!' he yelled, barely audible over the storm.'We're going to be all right!'

   And then a wave smashed so hard into them that the

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boat was turned right over. June fell through the air andthen through cold, dark water.

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    The cold sea embraced June, held her tight. It weighed

    upon her, tried to stop her thrashing her arms and legs.

    She fought against it, no idea which way was up or down.

    Water clogged her nostrils. Sound rumbled dumbly all

    around her.

       She struggled to remain calm, looking into the dark,

    murky depths for anything that could help her. Cargo

    floated past her head: a sword, a helmet, a sandal. She

    kicked in the other direction, making for the surface.

       June burst from the water, wheezing in the air. Rain

    lashed her face and a great wave grabbed her, lifting her

    high into the angry night. Thunder rumbled and men cried

    out. As the wave peaked and began to fall, she looked

    down on the wreckage of boats and people. Not one boat

    remained upright.

       The competitors could not swim. She saw one man

    struggling in the water, his arms wrapped round a torn-off

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piece of wood. June kicked her legs and swam to him. Herprogress was better after she'd yanked off her shoes andsocks, swimming in bare feet. But when she reached theman he tried to fight her off, instinctively protecting thewood that kept him floating.

   'It's all right!' she shouted to him over the noise of thestorm. 'I can swim. I just want to help.'

   The man turned to her. It was Deukalion. His eyes werewide with fear. He tried to reply to her but couldn't get thewords out.

   'It's OK,' she told him. 'It's going to be OK. We justhave to find the Doctor.'

   Another wave rolled underneath them, and Deukalionlet out a low moan. June reached for him, grabbed hisshoulder, then tucked her arm gently around his neck. Shehad learnt lifesaving at school and remembered themanoeuvres. Deukalion tried to fight her off, but the waterhad sapped all his energy. He surrendered to her, nestlingthe back of his head in her shoulder.

   'Try and lie out flat,' she said, gently in his ear. She trodwater, keeping them afloat and stable. Deukalion's breathbecame more regular.

   'We're...' he wheezed. 'We're going to die.'

   'I'm not going to let that happen,' she said. She lookedall round, searching for anything that might help. The seachurned around them, lightning flashing in the dark. Andthe light picked out two faces in the water. June whoopedand waved with her free hand. The second time the Doctorsaw her and waved back. He too had someone in tow.

   June waggled her legs as best she could and carried

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Deukalion slowly over towards the Doctor. It seemed totake for ever, the waves working against them. June had toswim backwards, dragging Deukalion after her, so shecouldn't see where she was going. She kept being slappedin the face by water rebounding off Deukalion, and he didnothing to help her. She wanted to let him go just to wipethe hair back from her face. But she resisted thetemptation screaming inside her. Painfully slowly, theymade their way through the water.

   'OK,' shouted the Doctor. 'You're going to have to reachhis hand.' June couldn't see where he was, but he soundedclose. Something clonked down hard on her head,stunning her for a moment. She relaxed her grip onDeukalion, sank down into the water. The wetness on herface and eyes brought her to her senses. She struggledback up, grabbing Deukalion, who was struggling fromher grip.

   'Sorry, sorry,' she heard the Doctor calling. And thenDeukalion let out a cheer. He stopped struggling, and sheducked round, moving his head to her other shoulder soshe could see what he had done. He held his arm aloft, outof the water, linking hands with another man also lying inthe water. The other man must have clonked her on thehead as he reached for Deukalion. June glimpsed afamiliar spiky quiff on the far side of the man's shoulder.

   'Doctor!' called June, her voice high and raw.

   'Hello!' he said cheerily, ducking his head round that ofthe man he'd saved so he could see her more clearly. Hewore a ridiculous, wide grin, his eyes open wide. 'Knewyou'd be around here somewhere.'

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   'You don't lose me that easy,' she told him. 'What arewe going to do?'

   The Doctor glanced all round. 'We're passing throughthe storm, I think. Just got to keep together. Calm waterscoming up.'

   June swallowed, the seawater full of salt. 'I can't seeanyone else,' she said.

   The Doctor's smile faltered. 'No,' he said. 'If we canfind something for you lot to cling on to, I can go for alook...'

   'There isn't anything,' she said.

   The Doctor held her gaze, an awful expression on hisface. 'No,' he said. 'No, there's only us.'

They rode out the storm together. The Doctor asked themall questions, keeping them awake. June felt comfortablein the water, as comfortable as sitting by the fire withActaeus, the same warm contentment flooding throughher. She felt the numb ache in her muscles and knew sheneed only relax her grip of Deukalion to slip away into thewater's embrace. It would be easy, and she so wanted tosleep...

   'Oi, June, it's your turn,' called the Doctor. 'First kiss.'

   'Yeah,' said Deukalion, his head nestling in hershoulder. 'I had to tell you mine.'

   'All right, all right,' said June. 'First proper kiss waswith a boy called Jonathan. At a bus stop, when we werefourteen.'

   'Hah!' laughed Vik, the man the Doctor had rescued. 'Igot married at fourteen.'

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    'That late?' asked the Doctor.

    'My second wife,' said Vik.

    'I had two wives,' mused Deukalion. 'But both at thesame time.'

    'How did that work out?' asked June.

    'Oh, it was good,' said Deukalion. 'Until they found outabout each other.'

    They drifted on, chatting about nothing. June couldalmost have enjoyed it. The rain died down to a drizzleand the waves slowly levelled out. June told them aboutBruno and Melissa, the boyfriend and best mate she hadrun away from. Vik offered to hunt them down for her.Deukalion said that, if she wanted, June could be his thirdwife.

    'I think we're coming out of it,' said the Doctor.

    June looked up. Dark cloud gave way to bright bluesky. The sun pressed warm against her face.

    'This isn't so bad,' she said.

    'Um,' said Deukalion. 'We're still in the middle of thesea.'

    June glanced round. The water reached to the horizonall round them. But when she turned back to the Doctor hewore a stupid grin.

    'Oh, brilliant,' he said. He nodded his head, indicatingthe far side of where Vik lay in the water.

    June kicked, bobbing out of the water high enough tosee over him and Deukalion. To where the two square-sailed boats awaited them.

June hauled herself into the first boat, to find two people

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already lying on its floor. She recognised the woman fromthe barbecue the night before. She had a great speakingvoice, like a proper actress, and had told a story about aclever owl. Her name was Herse. The man introducedhimself as Polos.

   Vik and Deukalion clambered up into the boat. Junewatched the Doctor climb into the boat just across fromthem. He hunted around, waving his magic wand atvarious bits of it, then kicked the central mast infrustration. It only hurt his foot. He muttered somethingangrily, then saw June watching him and grinned at herwith embarrassment. Deciding the other boat offered themnothing, he dived neatly overboard to join June and theothers.

   For a long time they just lay there in the boat, soakingand exhausted under the sun, spreading their clothes out todry. But the Doctor lay looking out to sea, his eyessearching for any other movement, for any othersurvivors.

   'We could go back,' June said to him, after she'drecovered a bit. She found it difficult to move, her limbsaching from all that time in the water. Yet the horror of allthe people they'd lost weighed down on her.

   'How?' said the Doctor dejectedly. 'This boat's sittingperfectly still on the water, ignoring the currentunderneath it. I could get out and kick and it wouldn'tmake any difference.'

   'But you've got your magic wand.'

   The Doctor withdrew the device from his pocket. 'It's asonic screwdriver,' he said. 'But the boat is deadlock

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sealed. They don't want us wandering off.'

   'So we just sit here?' said June.

   'Until they decide they've waited long enough forsurvivors.'

   'But all those people!' said June. She thought of Alyon,and all those who'd sung stories. All of them were gone.

   'Think of it this way,' said the Doctor. 'We're way backin your past, so these people had been dead for centurieseven before you were born. Like watching early films orsomething. You see the people, you hear them speak, butthey're already gone.'

   June watched Deukalion, Vik, Herse and Polos. Shecouldn't think of them like that. They were alive here andnow. She shared their exhaustion and pain. The Doctorsaw her expression and smiled sadly.

   'No,' he said, putting an arm around her. 'It doesn't worklike that, does it? I'm sorry.'

   'You read history,' she said quietly. 'You read about atime when the average life span was 25 to 40. Or you readthe statistics for children dying young. And you thinkpeople must have been different back then. That they musthave got used to it.'

   'You saw Aglauros,' said the Doctor. 'You never getused to it. Each death wears you down. You keep pressingon. Struggling to survive, to build something better.Whatever the odds against you. Indomitable.'

   June didn't feel very indomitable. She lay back in hisarms, watching their other shipmates sprawled out underthe sun. There were only six of them left now to face thedreaded Slitheen.

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    When June awoke, the two boats were gliding swiftly

    over the water. Sore and exhausted, she joined the Doctor

    at the back, looking out over the barely discernible wake.

        'Feeling better?' he asked.

        'Not really,' she told him hoarsely. 'Told you I got

    seasick.'

        'Seems smooth now,' he said, eyes on the calm water.

        'Yeah,' she agreed. 'But it was before. That storm came

    out of nowhere.'

        'That's what I was thinking,' said the Doctor. 'And then

    there are all these earthquakes.'

        'It happens round here,' she said. 'All over Greece and

    Turkey. Even in our time.'

        The Doctor nodded. 'Mmm,' he said. But he didn't seem

    convinced.

        Maybe it hadn't been an accident. June shuddered at the

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thought why would anyone inflict something like that onthem? She left the Doctor to his dark thoughts.

   June's clothes were pretty much dry, if stiff from dryingin the sun. Her money and student ID card had mushed inher wallet. It shouldn't matter, she knew, but it hurt her.These ruined bits of paper were all the proof she had ofwhere she came from, of her real life.

   Determined not to cry, she joined the others, watchingover the curled prow of the ship for wherever they wereheading. They comforted each other, telling more of thestories they'd shared round the camp fire who they were,where they came from, the things that were important.Deukalion hugged his sides, looking pale and sick. Hersehad her arm round Polos, the man who had rescued her.He came from a town on the coast of Boeotia, he toldthem, and learnt to swim as a child.

   The sun passed above them and behind to the left. Junecouldn't remember which direction that meant they wereheading in. But at last a dark line appeared on the horizon.June called the Doctor over, and in the seconds it took himto join them, they were looking at a long coastline ofrocks and trees. Their exhaustion gave way to excitement.

   'Where is this?' asked June, but the Doctor didn'tanswer. He pointed at the long grey buildings at the top ofone high cliff.

   'It's a stone building,' said Polos, amazed. 'Look at thesize of it. Like the old stories! They must be safe from theearthquakes out here.'

   The Doctor said nothing, his eyes narrowed as hewatched. The boats came to rest on the thin crescent of

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beach at the foot of the high cliff. They tumbled out ontothe hot, fine sand, soft between June's bare toes. Shecollapsed forward, lying face down, just glad to touch dryland. The Doctor sat down beside her.

   'No one's here to meet us,' he said.

   June looked up and around. The beach filled theshallow inlet in the cliff, but they were cut off by deepwater from which poked jagged rock. There didn't seem tobe any way off the beach but for the boats they'd justarrived in. A line of green on the cliff wall showed how farthe tide came in to the beach. It reached well above theirheads.

   'Oh no,' she said as she sat up. 'We're not out of this yet,are we?'

   'I think they like to keep us guessing,' said the Doctor.

   Deukalion, Vik, Polos and Herse wandered round thecrescent of sand, stretching their legs and exploring. Butthey could see no way off the beach, either. They cameback to the Doctor and June, plumping down in the sand.

   'We're playing someone else's game,' said the Doctor.'We wait for their next move. But remember, we're in thistogether.'

   They sat waiting all afternoon. The tide washed uptowards them, each time coming an inch closer. Theymoved back up the beach as the sea claimed it, until theirbacks were up against the cliff. The tide lapped aroundtheir ankles, pulling at them as it fell back. Each time itreturned it had a little more strength.

   'Just keep together,' said the Doctor. 'We can getthrough this.'

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    'I can't swim,' said Deukalion. He glanced round atJune. 'Can we do what you did before?'

    'We'll be fine,' June told him. 'Just do what the Doctortells you.'

    The sea splashed against her shin, then sucked aroundthe back of her knee. Even when the tide withdrew, waterstill covered her ankles.

    'Um,' said June. 'Doctor. Have you got any ideas?'

    The Doctor was gazing out to sea, a strange smile onhis face. 'You know,' he said, 'I don't think that storm wasmeant to happen.'

    June blinked at him. 'What?' she said.

    'It doesn't make sense. I mean, what was it meant toachieve?'

    Water lapped against June's thigh. 'Doctor, now isn'texactly the time.'

    'But doesn't it bother you?' he said. 'Because if thestorm hadn't happened, what would we be doing?'

    'Well,' said June. 'We'd still have ended up here. Onlythere'd be lots more of us.'

    A terrible thought struck her.

    'There'd be too many of us.'

    'Exactly,' grinned the Doctor.

    'Seventy people,' said Deukalion. 'All fighting againstthe tide.'

    'All fighting each other, more like,' said Vik.

    'You'd all want to be up against the cliff,' said theDoctor.

    'But there's only room for a few of us,' said June. 'So itwould get nasty.'

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    'It could get nasty,' said the Doctor. 'Maybe you'd worktogether.'

    'You think so?' asked June.

    'It's a nice idea,' said the Doctor. 'But you've all beentold you're competing with each other. Perhaps this is thefirst round.'

    'Great,' said Deukalion. 'I mean, that's really cleverwhat you've worked out. But the tide is up to my waistnow!'

    'Oh yeah,' said the Doctor. 'It has to look like you're inreal danger. You're meant to be fighting for your life.'

    'It'll be OK,' said June, taking Deukalion's hand. Hesqueezed her fingers tightly, watching the water rise upround his middle. 'If it comes up to your shoulders, youjust float on it again. We'll be fine.'

    The water came up to her armpits, and then no further.It lapped and splashed around her arms, and Deukalionstarted laughing.

    'We're OK,' he said. 'We're OK.' He leant over to kissJune on the forehead. She ducked away before he couldfollow that with a kiss on the lips.

    'So now what?' she asked the Doctor.

    'They'll come for the ones who are left,' he said. 'We'llbe on to the next round.'

    Stars began to peek from the darkening sky, and a coldwind ruffled the surface of the water. June shivered, butDeukalion squeezed her hand. Vik, Polos and Hersehuddled close together, keeping warm. 'We could alwaysdo that too,' Deukalion said to June.

    'I'm fine,' she told him.

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   He looked crestfallen. She assumed he'd pulled thesame puppy-dog face when his wives met one another.

   'Ah,' said the Doctor. 'Here we go.' Behind them, higherthan the level of the water, the pale cliff face rippledinwards. They looked up into a dark opening.

   The Doctor reached his hands up to it and hauledhimself from the water. He disappeared into the darknessfor a moment, checking it was safe. Then he hurried back,a wide grin on his face. He reached down to help June outof the water. 'Come on, then,' he said. 'You're not going tobelieve this.'

A huge, tall cave had been carved out of the rock. Juneand the others stood on a narrow stone platform, the gapout to the sea just behind them. The platform was about ametre wide, running round one edge of a deep pool ofwater, in which floated an enormous ship.

   The hull was more than sixty metres long, the darkwood curving elegantly up out of the water to the deck.Three huge masts reached up almost to the ceiling of thecave, the vast sails tethered by a complex system of ropes.It was a majestic, beautiful vessel but thousands of yearsout of place.

   'It's the Cutty Sark!' said the Doctor. 'Or a very goodcopy.'

   'But why's it here?' asked June.

   'They probably use it for pleasure trips,' said theDoctor. 'Bit more comfortable than those boats.'

   'How do they get it out of the cave?' asked Polos.

   The Doctor looked round the cave. 'There must be

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some controls somewhere.'

   'But it shouldn't be here,' June insisted.

   'What?' said the Doctor. 'A Victorian tea clipper in thelate Bronze Age?'

   'Yeah,' said June. 'It doesn't make sense.'

   'Oh, it makes sense,' said the Doctor. 'It just shows theSlitheen don't give a stuff about history. Come on.'

   He led them along the platform round the side of thehuge ship. They made their way down the dark corridor atthe back of the platform, water clattering noisily fromtheir sopping clothes. June worried her jeans might shrinkafter two long soaks in cold water, but there was little shecould do about it now. The Doctor led them, June closebehind him, Vik, Polos and Herse. Deukalion was at theend, muttering quietly to himself but loudly enough forthe others to hear that they were all going to die.

   But they walked for an hour without incident. A warmbreeze pressed against their faces, slowly drying their hairand clothes.

   The corridor led them slowly upwards, and then theyreached a flight of stone steps. Light glittered down onthem from somewhere high above, so they were just ableto make out the edges of the steps. They were weary afterall the time in the water, and every step was exhausting.But slowly they climbed up towards the light.

   The Doctor stopped them within sight of the toplanding. Noise echoed from the lit passageway ahead, thenoise of many people.

   'We can't go back,' whispered June.

   'No,' said the Doctor. 'But just remember...'

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   'We're all in this together,' they chorused.

   'Um, yeah,' said the Doctor, awkwardly. 'I suppose thatproves it.'

   Deukalion sniffed. 'Until you want to do your ownthing,' he said.

   'You'll see,' said the Doctor. 'Everyone ready?' Theynodded. 'OK,' he said. 'Let's go.'

They emerged into a wide, square courtyard larger than afootball pitch. People in all kinds of costumes were busytraining in the centre. June gaped at them, trying to makesense of it. There were people in spacesuits, peopledressed as Vikings, people in the leather uniforms ofSamurai. Two Roman centurions duelled with woodenswords. Women in heavy, old-fashioned police uniformspractised karate moves, dancing around in bare feet.

   June turned to the Doctor, hoping he'd explain. But hewas gaping too.

   'They're from all through time,' said June. 'Brought hereto compete.'

   'It looks like it, doesn't it?' said the Doctor. 'But they'renot. Real Vikings didn't have horns on their helmets.'

   'And the police should be wearing boots,' said June.

   'Yes, they should.' He and June looked round. Thecourtyard was bordered by a high gantry, from which thesport could be watched in safety. June's heart leapt intoher mouth.

   Terrifying creatures pressed against the railings. Somehad long, scarlet tentacles, others glistened with darkspikes. One fat creature belched clouds of dark blue gas.

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    'Aliens,' she said, in awe. Yes, she'd known there werealiens here, but actually to see them... It was incredible.

    'Tourists,' the Doctor corrected her. She glanced at him,then back at the throng of strange creatures. And shealmost had to laugh. The aliens nattered noisily and tookpictures, exactly like the brash tourists she'd seen hulkinground the Parthenon. Even in outer space, tourists werestill tourists.

    A man dressed in a suit of armour clanked over to theDoctor and June and the others. 'Quick,' he said. 'You'dbest start training. Give them something to look at. They'llmake bets on how you do.'

    'Right,' said the Doctor. 'You lot get going. Make it lookgood. I need them to be watching you.'

    Vik, Herse and Polos hurried into the centre of thecourtyard and began a number of well-practised fightmoves. June assumed they had spent months training tocompete in this contest. They looked professional and alittle scary.

    'Aren't you going?' she asked Deukalion.

    'No,' he said. 'I'm sticking with you. Just like you said.'

    'It might get nasty,' the Doctor warned him.

    'But June's going with you,' said Deukalion.

    'He does have a point,' said June.

    'All right,' said the Doctor. 'Welcome aboard. There'sjust a few rules...'

    'Look,' said the man in the suit of armour. 'Whateveryou're doing, get on with it. The masters don't like us justtalking.'

    'Right,' said the Doctor, chastened. 'Thanks.' He led

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June and Deukalion across the courtyard, through theduels and play-fights. A pretty girl in a khaki camouflageball gown did an awesome high kick as they passed.Deukalion veered towards her. June grabbed his arm andushered him on.

   They ducked into the dark cloister under the alien-stuffed balcony. Blood-red columns held up the balcony,looking oddly upside down because they were thicker atthe top than they were at their bases. The Doctor whippedhis sonic screwdriver from his suit pocket and buzzed iton the lock of the door. With a click, the door swung openand they passed quickly through.

   'Right,' said the Doctor. 'We just need to find where theSlitheen are hiding,' he said.

   'Oh, really?' gurgled a high, childish voice. Three longclaws slashed out of the darkness, round the Doctor'sneck, lifting him off the floor. The creature steppedforward, slapping the Doctor's body against the wall. Junegaped up at it in horror: two and a half metres of greenflesh, wet and wobbling, naked but for a bracelet roundone wrist. Its long, scaly neck curved over at the top, likean upright prawn, its huge head leering down at theDoctor, struggling in the grasp of its claws. The bloatedgreen face was like some warped, mutated baby withhuge, jet-black eyes. It smiled, showing razor-sharp teeth.

   'I'd say,' it giggled at the Doctor, choking in its grip,'that you've found us.'

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    Deukalion ran for the door but it had closed behind

    them. He squealed as he tried to force it open. June

    watched the Doctor hanging from the Slitheen's long

    talons, his legs wheeling in the air. She watched the

    Slitheen grinning at its prey and tried to think of

    something she could do. The Slitheen towered over her, its

    green muscles glistening and taut.

       'Wait,' she begged it. 'Please!' She tried to think what

    would appeal to the huge alien creature. What would it

    care about? The Slitheen giggled gleefully as it closed its

    grip around the Doctor's neck. 'If you don't let him go,'

    June said sternly, 'he'll give you a bad review.'

       The Slitheen twisted its long neck to look down at her.

    Huge black eyes blinked expressively.

       'He'll do what?' it slurred. Thick spittle drooled from its

    lips. The Slitheen had breath like old baked beans.

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    Behind them, unable to get the door open, Deukalioncontinued to squeal.

    'A damning review,' said June, willing herself not toflinch. The Slitheen blinked at her again. Then it twistedits head to look back up at the Doctor.

    'Is he famous?' it asked suspiciously.

    'Me?' said the Doctor, straining in the grip of theenormous talons. 'No, not famous exactly. Have to travelincognito. You know how it is. But I've got someidentification if you could just see your way to letting medown...'

    Carefully, the Slitheen placed the Doctor back down onthe ground, but kept its claws loosely clasped around hisneck. The Doctor fished in his inside pocket and producedhis battered leather wallet. The blank page inside dazzledthe Slitheen, who jumped back a couple of steps.

    'Oh my word!' it gurgled, throwing its claws into theair. 'A gazillion apologies! We weren't informed you'd becoming!'

    The Doctor flapped the wallet closed and stuffed itback in his pocket. Then he straightened his tie, lookingserious and in charge. 'Well,' he said hoarsely, 'that's sortof the point. I'm meant to be invisible.'

    'Oh yes, of course,' the Slitheen bowed obsequiously. 'Inever saw you, honestly.'

    'Well, you've seen me now,' he said. 'Hello. I'm theDoctor. Travel critic for the Mutter's Spiral Herald. This ismy assistant June and our local Passepartout, Deukalion.'

    The Slitheen curtsied at June. 'Charmed,' it gurgled.'I'm Cosmato Fel Fotch Hangle-Wang Slitheen.'

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   'How do you do,' said June.

   'Help,' said Deukalion, pressed up against the door.

   'My friends call me Cosmo,' said the Slitheen quietly.'You can be my friends if you want.'

   June raised an eyebrow at the Doctor. 'Would that beappropriate?' she asked him archly.

   Cosmo took another step back. 'I only meant to befriendly!'

   'Oh,' said the Doctor grinning. 'I think we can all befriends, can't we? You'll have to forgive my assistant.Right one for the rule book. Gives me an earful just forparking on an up-quark!'

   The Slitheen bobbed its head between them, trying towork out which of them it wanted to side with. 'Well,' itmurmured. 'Rules are there for a reason.' It had clearlydecided June was the one to fear.

   'Yeah,' said the Doctor appreciatively. 'I suppose that'sright. I'm glad I met you, Cosmo. You're a pretty shrewdobserver.'

   'It is one of my skills,' admitted Cosmo modestly.

   'Well,' said the Doctor. 'We normally do this on thequiet. Nose round on our own. But since you've beensharp-eyed enough to spot us, I guess we might as wellhave the tour.'

   Cosmo nodded. 'Oh yes,' he said. 'I'd be delighted.What would you like to see?'

   The Doctor's eyes twinkled. 'Absolutely everything.'

June found it hard to make sense of the layout. Instead ofmain hallways and corridors, the citadel as Cosmo

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called it had some 1,300 rooms connected by varioussmall corridors. Rooms sprung from other rooms, so theymight as well have been traipsing through a maze for allshe could get her bearings. Cosmo proudly showed themthe theatre, the vast storerooms of clay vases, and boastedthat no other building in this period of history hadanything like five storeys. Then he was on to thefascinating subject of aqueducts and sewers. June foundherself concealing a yawn. To her horror, Cosmo saw her.

   'And now I think we've earned a drink,' he said quicklyas they joined the other aliens on the balcony above thecourtyard, looking down on the duelling humans. June feltnervous about mingling with such extraordinary-lookingcreatures, but the Doctor seemed to take it in his stride andshe didn't want to embarrass him. There were one-eyedaliens and horse-like aliens and aliens with faces like lionsand sprouting enormous wings. They wore elegant dinnerclothes, sipped elegant drinks and gossiped and giggledelegantly. Some passed comment on the humancombatants down in the square, but the fighting seemedmore like background entertainment, like a telly on at aparty. June felt embarrassed at her own bedraggled state.She wasn't even wearing any shoes.

   'This is the main arena,' Cosmo continued, leadingthem up to the balcony. He nodded and smiled at some ofthe guests, holding his head high to show he was onofficial business. 'The late human period preferred an eye-shaped game space, of course. They staged gladiatorialcontests, pitched players against wild animals and mostsavage of all fought a game called "football". Its rules

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are lost to us now, but it sounds absolutely ghastly!'

    'Ghastly?' said June. 'Why?'

    'Well,'    said    Cosmo,     leaning     towards    herconspiratorially. 'We don't know exactly. But one sourceclaims they competed for two hours, during which not oneplayer died!' He gurgled with laughter as if this was thefunniest thing in the world. 'Seriously, though,' he said.'Most respected academics don't think that would havebeen tenable.'

    June smiled up at him, horrified but trying not to showit. A spiky waiter in a silk bow tie glided round them witha tray of drinks. Deukalion leaned in and grabbed a glassof a scarlet liquid. He made to drain it but the Doctorstopped him just in time. The glass was returned to thetray.

    'Wallagula dissolves human stomachs,' he explained.

    'Great!' enthused Deukalion. 'Just what I'm after.'

    'Go watch the competitors,' the Doctor told him. 'I'llneed tips for laying a wager.' When Deukalion was gone,the Doctor turned to Cosmo. 'Primitives,' he said.

    'Oh, I know,' agreed Cosmo easily. 'Who'd think they'llgrow up to be the scourge of the galaxy!'

    'What?' said June. 'Human beings?'

    'No offence,' Cosmo added hastily. 'Some of my bestfriends are humans.'

    'Really?' said the Doctor.

    'Oh yeah,' said Cosmo. 'Well, there's you two, anyway.'

    'We end up the scourge of the galaxy?' said June,appalled.

    'Tell me, Cosmo,' the Doctor interrupted. 'What year are

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you from? In the future, I mean?'

   Cosmo scratched at his forehead with one enormousclaw. 'The Lord Predator, Haralto Wong Bopz Wim-Waldon Arlene, died twenty-two years ago. The currentLord Predator prevails.'

   'Yes, he prevails,' agreed the Doctor airily. 'Thank you.'He leaned over to June. 'He's from the year 34,600 or so.Bit after the Platonic War.' He considered a moment. 'And,sorry, personal question. Have the Slitheen been allowedback home yet?'

   Cosmo gasped at the Doctor. He looked quickly roundat the assembled alien guests, but they were all too busywith one another. Cosmo cleared his throat. 'I can'timagine what nasty rumours you've heard about myfamily,' he sniffed.

   'I'm sure they're all completely unfounded,' said theDoctor.

   'But also tricky to disprove,' admitted Cosmo, his headsagging down. 'We expect a legal ruling any time in thenext thousand years.'

   'Oh, sure,' said the Doctor. 'So at the moment you'retemporarily of no fixed abode. Looking for opportunities.On the make, so to speak.'

   'The Slitheen have always been entrepreneurs,' Cosmotold him carefully.

   'Oh yeah,' grinned the Doctor. 'This is very impressive.I'm just trying to build up a picture. Make a great feature,you see. You and the family, battling all the odds. Comingup with this lot from nothing. Great stuff for an editorial.'

   Cosmo snickered. 'That could be a valuable

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advertisement for what we're doing here.'

   'I suppose it might be,' nodded the Doctor. 'Thoughobviously you know the rules. It would have to look like Iwas being independent.'

   'Oh yes,' drawled Cosmo. 'I completely understand. Tellme, Doctor, what else would you like to see?'

   The Doctor looked all round, popping his mouth like agoldfish. 'I dunno really,' he said. 'The accommodation for the guests and the competitors. The transportersystems you're using. The temporal drives for getting backto Arlene-plus-22. Everything you've got.'

   Cosmo blinked at him and for a moment June thoughtthe Doctor had pushed him too far. Then Cosmo grinnedwickedly, showing his long, razor-sharp teeth. 'You'replanning a very big editorial,' he said.

   'Well, I can't promise anything,' warned the Doctor.'But I could pitch this as a main feature.'

   'Then please,' crooned Cosmo, 'come this way.'

   The Doctor grinned at June and followed behind theSlitheen as he led them through the throng of aliens.

   June turned back to the balcony. 'Deukalion!' shecalled.

   He came running over. 'I don't like how the rest of thecompetitors look up at me on the balcony,' he said. 'Ihaven't touched the drinks up here, but I don't think they'regoing to buy that stuff about us all being in this together.'

   'We'll get through to them,' June told him. 'It's going tobe OK.'

   'So you say,' said Deukalion. 'But--' His eyes openedwide. 'Eep!'

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    A huge, broad-chested man barred their way. He lookedlike he worked out a lot. Long golden hair reached downto his shoulders, his skin glistening like scales. His neckboasted long grey slashes of skin, and he glided towardsthem not on legs but a glistening, fishy tail. He was somekind of alien merman.

    'Um, excuse me,' he said to June. 'Are you anindigenous Terran native?'

    June furrowed her brow at him. 'Sorry,' she said kindly,'I don't know what that means. And we kind of have to besomewhere. Catch you later, maybe.'

    She grabbed Deukalion's hand and they pushed past themerman to catch up with the Doctor and Cosmo.

'He fancied you!' Deukalion insisted as they hurried up thegangway.

   'He didn't!' June replied, but could feel herself blushing.What would a merman see in a plain human girl like heranyway?

   'I might as well have been invisible,' Deukalion wenton. 'I could have been singing the tale of my people andhe would only have noticed you.'

   'Just drop it,' June told him. 'And don't tell him.' Theyhad almost caught up with the Doctor.

   'Yeah, but he fancied you,' whispered Deukalion.

   'All right, maybe he did,' June said through grittedteeth.

   The Doctor turned round to see them coming. Junegave him a wide smile.

   'Everything OK?' he asked.

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    'Oh yeah,' she said. 'What have we missed?'

    'Well,' said the Doctor, 'we've been discussing theseearthquakes. Cosmo admits they're a nuisance.'

    'And they're nothing to do with our operation,' Cosmoadded quickly. 'The whole region sits over two tectonicplates.'

    'Even so,' the Doctor said. 'It's a tad more seismicallyactive than it should be. Normally you can predictearthquakes and stuff. But you say this lot just comes outof nowhere.'

    'We are looking into it,' said Cosmo sadly.

    'You mean the earthquakes aren't the work of themasters?' asked Deukalion in amazement.

    Cosmo glanced at the Doctor and June before replying.He obviously wasn't used to answering to the natives. 'Weare looking into it,' he said.

    'But we've made sacrifice in your honour to spare usfrom them,' said Deukalion. 'You've accepted ourofferings. You attended our rituals.'

    'Yes, well,' admitted Cosmo, glancing again at theDoctor and June. 'We just wanted to be polite. And therituals are part of the authentic experience, aren't they?'

    'What?' said Deukalion, utterly appalled.

    'Humans take their beliefs very seriously,' said June,taking Deukalion's hand. She could see it wouldn't do toannoy the huge Slitheen.

    'Oh, we know that,' Cosmo told her. 'And it's not likewe charge our parties more for attending the festivities.It's all part of the package. It has mutual benefit.' Heappealed to Deukalion. 'We come to these gatherings with

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your feed.'

   'That is true,' admitted Deukalion. 'And we get the wineas well.'

   'That's very clever of you,' said the Doctor. 'Makingthem dependent. Makes them easier to round up.'

   'What do you think we are?' said Cosmo, eyes wide.'We didn't do this to them. We arrived here to findmankind in a wretched state. They scavenged in the ruinsof once great cities. They chased after wild cattle andfought each other for meat. They were on the edge ofextinction.'

   The Doctor narrowed his eyes. 'What happened?'

   'I've no idea,' said Cosmo. 'Honestly. But we're not theonly non-terrestrials to come this way. The Osirans madequite an impact on the continent just south of here.'

   'The pyramids were built a thousand years ago,' said theDoctor.

   'Aliens built the pyramids?' asked June.

   'No,' said the Doctor. 'Humans built the pyramids. Butaliens gave them a few pointers.' He gazed up at Cosmo.'So you're saying that since then humanity has justdeclined?'

   'I don't know,' said Cosmo. His round, black eyestwinkled. 'Maybe there's another feature in it. You canvisit some of the farms we've set up ourselves. They'revery picturesque.'

   'Maybe,' said the Doctor. 'So you found starving massesand you gave them all they needed.'

   'We use molecular repurposing,' said Cosmo proudly,indicating the bracelet on his wrist. 'Point this at the raw

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sand or rock and you can turn it into grain. They don'tgrow it themselves, of course. Poor things don't knowhow. So we pop round on a regular basis and make surethey don't run out.'

   'But then they won't learn!' said June.

   Cosmo blinked in confusion. 'They've no intention oflearning.'

   'Why bother growing it when it's just dumped on yourdoorstep?' said the Doctor.

   'Exactly,' said Deukalion. 'Anyway. Farming's dirty.You spend all day in the muck.'

   June felt her head reeling. She knew farming wascrucial to history. She remembered all the dull stuff aboutthe wool trade and enclosures she'd had to learn for her Alevels. Even in her own day, the ways people farmed, howthey managed to feed themselves, was always in the news.And these aliens were stopping them doing it.

   'But they've got to farm for themselves,' she toldCosmo, her voice high with emotion. 'They won't besustainable otherwise.'

   'Ah,' grinned Cosmo. 'That's an important word. Makesure you mention it in your article, Doctor. The tourists webring here provide the revenue to finance what we do.That's what these wet-hearted naysayers don't understand.They write letters and chain themselves to our time drives,saying we shouldn't interfere in history. But the humanshere don't know any better. With the best will in the world,they're not very bright. And if we stop doing this, if westop bringing tourists, all the humans round theMediterranean will starve.'

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    They continued the tour in silence. Cosmo pointed out

    the plush quarters that catered to the needs of eighty-seven

    per cent of all known alien species. The Doctor admired

    things called puffer amps or something. But June wasn't

    really listening.

        Instead she turned the issues over in her mind. Perhaps

    Cosmo had a point. Yes, she wanted the aliens gone and

    for human beings to take charge of themselves. But they

    couldn't do that in one sweeping movement without

    thousands of people starving to death. This needed a long-

    term solution, involving a widespread programme of

    education and training. And she couldn't get involved in

    anything like that herself. She had her own life to get back

    to.

        And if she wasn't prepared to put the work in, to save

    the future of her own species, why should anyone else?

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   'We have to do something,' she told the Doctor.

   'What do we do?' he said.

   'I don't know, we tell someone,' she said.

   'That's what his article's going to do,' Cosmo pointedout. 'Give them all the facts. Let them make up their ownminds.'

   'Um,' said Deukalion. 'Sorry. What is this article youkeep going on about? I hear the word and I imagine a claytablet with writing. But for more than just keeping recordsof our food stocks.'

   'It's a sort of song,' June told him. 'A story you tell otherpeople. But you write it down.'

   Deukalion nodded. 'But why can't you just sing it?'

   Cosmo nudged June's elbow. 'I wouldn't bother,' hesaid. 'Even the simple stuff's beyond them. You just goround in circles.' He gestured up the passageway. 'We'renearly at the transporter booth that blinks us across toadmin. You can see our temporal technology there.'

   'Brilliant,' said the Doctor. 'I love a bit of that.'

   Deukalion shrugged at June as they lagged behind. 'Iunderstand the words,' he said. 'But the meaning justsounds bar-bar bar-bar bar-bar.'

   'It's easy, really,' said the Doctor. 'You've got a roomwith a map on the wall, right?'

   'That's right,' Cosmo confirmed.

   'Right,' said Deukalion, brow creased as he tried tounderstand.

   'The map,' said the Doctor, 'is covered in little red dots.You choose the red dot you want to go to. You press it.And zzzip! you're there.'

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    'It's more ping! you're there,' said Cosmo. 'But all right,that's how it works.'

    'You understand?' June asked Deukalion.

    He grinned. 'Not a bit of it.'

    'But I understand the language,' said June. She lookedat the Doctor. 'Your ship is translating for me, isn't it?'

    'Yeah,' said the Doctor. 'But Deukalion lacks theconceptual vocabulary. Imagine going back to the 1860sand finding the world's leading physicist. Then explain tohim about compact discs. You shine a light at a small,round mirror and out comes all this old music. Thesepeople haven't even invented the wax cylinder. They'dthink you were a witch.'

    'Aren't you a witch?' said Deukalion.

    'No!' said June.

    'You talk like one,' he said sheepishly.

    'She smells like one,' gurgled a low voice from upahead. They all turned to stare up the dark passageway.

    'Oh,' said Cosmo, sniffing deeply. 'This is a treat. Mysiblings have popped over from the administrative centre.Hello, Mamps and Hisk and Leeb! These are my newfriends.'

    'Hello!' said the Doctor cheerily.

    Three Slitheen lumbered out of the gloom. If anything,they were even taller and fatter than Cosmo, their clawsand teeth more sinister. One of them, with a gold ringthrough its nose, waggled a claw at Cosmo.

    'Cosmata,' it gurgled crossly. 'What are you doing withthese prey?'

    'They're not, Mamps, they're not,' Cosmo said quickly,

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waving his claws in caution. 'You can tell they're from thefuture. Sniff their clothes and hormones.' He turned backto the Doctor, June and Deukalion. 'My big sister,' he said.

   'How do you do,' said the Doctor.

   Mamps inhaled carefully. 'Mmm, you've been around abit, haven't you?' she slurred. 'I can taste the nymph glandsof the planetoid Gris in the fibres of your suit.'

   'Very good,' said the Doctor. 'I was there a few billenniafrom now. Anyway. As Cosmo already knows, I'm doingthis feature on your operation.' He waved his wallet ofmagic paper in front of their wide, black eyes. 'It's for theMutter's Spiral Herald...'

   'Really,' said Mamps. 'So you'll want access to all oursystems.'

   'Well,' said the Doctor, 'just a quick nose round. Whatyou're doing here is just fascinating. Isn't it fascinating,June?'

   'Fascinating,' she agreed.

   'Hmm,' Mamps considered, taking a step forward. Thenshe lashed out a claw, catching the Doctor round the neckand lifting him from his feet.

   'No!' cried June.

   'But we've done this already,' said Deukalion. 'I don'tunderstand.'

   'He'll only give us a bad write-up!' whined Cosmo.

   'He's not a journalist,' sneered Mamps. 'He doesn'tsmell sour enough. And he's using psychic paper toconfuse our minds.'

   'It helps,' the Doctor wheezed, his own eyes bulgingfrom their sockets as Mamps squeezed his slender neck.

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'Me. Get my. Stories.'

   'You are a wriggly specimen,' cooed Mamps, liftinghim closer to inspect him. 'And I don't smell any fear.Defiance, yes. But you're not scared at all.'

   She let go her grip and the Doctor smacked hard intothe ground.

   June ran to where he lay. Deukalion came to join them,cowering behind June. The Doctor gazed up at the fourSlitheen that closed around them, brandishing their claws.

   'This isn't how you get your five stars,' he said,hoarsely.

   'Oh,' preened Mamps, 'I like him. He fights even at theend.'

   'He seemed very convincing,' said Cosmo in a smallvoice.

   'I told you,' said Mamps. 'The agitators have all kindsof tricks to inveigle their way into what we're doing.'

   'Agitators?' protested June. 'We're not agitators.'

   'Oh, come on,' said Cosmo. 'You were asking all aboutthe welfare of the human prey.'

   'You hunt people?' she said, horrified.

   'They're Slitheen,' the Doctor told her.

   'We have to pay for the humans' food somehow,' saidCosmo. 'We take a small percentage of them each year.And those provide entertainment which draws the touristsand their revenue.'

   'You hunt us down,' said Deukalion in horror. This wasevidently news to him too. 'We're meant to be competing.'

   'And you are,' said Mamps. 'There are games andlevels. We give you a sporting chance. The odds are better

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than for your surviving without our patronage. Really, Icould run you the numbers but you wouldn't understandthem.'

   'It's barbaric,' spat June.

   'It's your heritage,' said Mamps.

   June felt suddenly cold. 'What does she mean?' sheasked the Doctor.

   'It's a theme park,' he said. 'You saw those costumeseveryone was wearing. The policewomen who didn't haveshoes. This place lets aliens see the dark past of humanity.Their battles. The gladiatorial games.'

   'That's the word!' laughed Mamps. 'That's the veryword. I said it would come to me!' She twisted round toaddress her siblings. 'That needs to go on the posters.We've resurrected Earth's famous gladiators.'

   She gazed down at the humans on the ground beneathher. Thick saliva drooled at them from her lips. 'And I'vehad another idea,' she said. 'This Doctor is in the nextshow.'

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    The waiting was the worst part. The Doctor, June and

    Deukalion were locked in a damp cell, the sounds of the

    courtyard being prepared echoing through the one high,

    tiny window. The preparations sounded complex and

    enormous. Whatever the Slitheen had planned, it looked

    like it would be spectacular.

       June huddled up against the wall, trying to think about

    anything but what she knew of gladiatorial contests staged

    by the ancient Romans. They had staged enactments of

    great battles, hunted lions and elephants, generally done

    anything they could think of that involved exciting deaths.

    Some of her classmates mostly the boys had revelled

    in the gory details. It didn't feel quite so much fun when

    you were one of the competitors.

       'It's going to be fine,' said the Doctor for the umpteenth

    time. 'We're going to get out of this.'

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   'So what's the plan?' said June.

   Before the Doctor could answer, Deukalion shook hishead. 'We all stick together,' he said sarcastically. 'Yeah,that's going to work. You'd think they'd at least let thecondemned have a last amphora of wine.'

   He punched the wall, then, pretending it hadn't hurt,placed his sore hand under his armpit.

   June sat quietly, thinking of all she'd left behind, backin her own time. Where would her mum even start whenJune failed to come home? Would there be missing-personposters and an appeal on the telly? What would Bruno andMelissa make of it, her treacherous ex-boyfriend and ex-best mate? She felt a guilty thrill at what it would do tothem. And then felt even more guilty for thinking it. Noneof that seemed to matter any more.

   The man in the suit of armour came to release themfrom the cell. He had with him a squad of guards invarious not-quite-right historical costumes, brandishingswords and spears to ensure June and the others didn't tryanything.

   'Sorry,' he said. 'It's time.'

   They were led from their cell and, as they got nearer tothe great courtyard, they could hear the assembled crowd.The gurgling voice of one of the Slitheen boomed over theloudspeaker system, whipping the audience of assembledaliens up into a frenzy.

   'You've only two minutes left to place your bets,' itsaid. 'We're now nine to one against on them survivingninety seconds. But these are wily human beings. Surelysome of you fought in the Platonic War or have done the

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tour of New Mars. You know what these people are like!My colleagues are ready to accept all currencies...'

   Up ahead, June saw the bright opening leading out onto the courtyard. They had dusted the courtyard withbright yellow sand. It made it look more like an athleticsarena. The ghoulish thought struck her that it would alsohelp soak up any blood. Her heart hammered in her chestand she struggled just to breathe. Deukalion looked nobetter, but the Doctor didn't seem worried at all. Thatconfidence, that mad bravado, helped settle her nerves.Yes, they were in this together. And, whatever the odds,she trusted him.

   'Sword or spear?' asked the man in the suit of armour.

   'Oh, I'm fine as I am,' said the Doctor.

   'What?' asked Deukalion. 'Are you mad?'

   'Maybe,' said the Doctor. 'I just don't like weapons.'

   The man in the suit of armour nodded. 'It means it willbe quick,' he said. He turned to June. 'Sword or--'

   'I'm fine, too,' June cut in.

   The Doctor beamed. 'Good for you.'

   'We're in this together, aren't we?' she said, taking hisarm.

   'Well I'm going to have both,' said Deukalion sniffily.

   'You're not allowed both,' said the man in the armour.

   'But they've not got weapons, so it evens out,' saidDeukalion.

   'He's right,' said the Doctor. 'Not that it's going to dohim any good. But, on average, you give him both andwe've still got less than one weapon each.'

   The man in the armour considered, then sighed,

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shaking his head. Deukalion was given a long, bronzesword and a spindly, wobbling spear. He could barely lifteither of them, so he dragged them behind him as hefollowed the Doctor and June out into the light.

   They knew the audience had seen them by the suddenexplosion of noise. Cheering, applauding, the slap oftentacle and flesh against the floor and balustrade. Juneblinked in the sunlight, glancing round at the packedbalconies. Aliens even sat on the tiled roof to get a betterview. She had been to football matches once or twice, hadheard the same roar of the crowd. They were baying forher blood.

   The Doctor led her and Deukalion out to the centre ofthe courtyard where a tall Slitheen was standing. Junerecognised Cosmo's brother Hisk, sporting a top hat andglittering bow tie.

   'That's it, that's it,' Hisk slurred appreciatively. 'Comeand say a few words for our dear viewers.'

   He poked a silver prong of a microphone under theDoctor's nose. The Doctor gazed round at the aliens,milking the moment. Then he leant into the microphone.'You should all be ashamed of yourselves,' he said.

   The aliens laughed delightedly, some of them evenapplauded.

   'Dear me, you're a natural,' said Hisk. 'We like a bit ofspirit. But tell me, competitor, what fighting style can weexpect to see?'

   'We're not going to fight,' said the Doctor simply.Several of the audience laughed at this, but most shuffleduncomfortably in their seats.

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   'Oh, very good,' crowed Hisk, though he also lookeduncomfortable. He pointed the microphone at the groundas he whispered, 'You know what we'll do to yourkingdom if you don't play along?'

   'I don't have a kingdom,' said the Doctor. 'And we'renot going to play your game.'

   The huge Slitheen blinked at him. For a moment Junethought Hisk might just strangle the Doctor there andthen. But he lifted the microphone and giggled into it. 'Oh,we've got a feisty one here, ladies and gentlemen. He'ssaying he's not going to fight! He's going to be a pacifistin the ring!'

   The audience took the bait and began to laugh.

   'I'm giving you one chance,' the Doctor told Hisk. 'Letus go now, stop all this. Or I will have to stop you.'

   Hisk looked him up at down. 'You?' it said.

   'Me,' said the Doctor. And even June felt scared by theway he said it.

   The Slitheen snorted, though he was obviouslydisturbed. He backed away from the Doctor. 'Thecompetitor says this is my last chance,' he told the crowd.'But let's see what he makes of tonight's first challenger...'He hurried through a gate which closed behind him, thecrowd applauding and cheering.

   Across the courtyard, another gate slowly opened. Junecould hear something roaring and grunting behind it,something huge and angry. Then a huge black bullbarrelled out towards them.

   The bull was at least as tall as she was, maybe the sizeof a minivan. Long, sharp horns curled from either side of

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its enormous head. Beady eyes fixed on June and theothers. It scraped its front hoof in the sand, lowering itshead, ready to charge. The crowd roared its approval.

   'I'm ready,' said Deukalion, coming forward with hisspear. 'You two keep back.'

   'Deukalion,' said the Doctor. 'We won't win by fighting.We just become part of their game.'

   'We've got to do something,' June told him. 'That thing'senormous!'

   'And stupid,' said the Doctor.

   'And angry,' said Deukalion. 'It's coming!'

   The bull had started to trot towards them, slowlypicking up speed. The Doctor stood his ground. June andDeukalion sank back behind him, utterly terrified. Thebull brayed a low, guttural challenge as it began to run.The Doctor smacked his lips.

   'You're not convincing anyone,' he said.

   'Doctor!' said June.

   'It's fine,' he said. 'I've thought of something. Well, tobe honest, you did.' And he started running headlong at thebull.

   June gaped in horror. The Doctor raised his handsabove his head and started shouting. The crowd watchingwere on their feet, delighted. June couldn't breathe. Thehuge blocky shape of the bull charged down on the Doctorand he kept sprinting towards it. The bull lowered itshead, its huge horns outstretched...

   And the Doctor grabbed them. The bull lifted its head,and the Doctor leapt, somersaulting over the bull's backand landing neatly in the sand.

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    'Olé!' he shouted.

    And the crowd went absolutely mad, on their feetapplauding. June and Deukalion were applauding too.

    The bull skidded to a stop and looked round, confused.It saw the Doctor, bowing gracefully to his audience, andgrunted with annoyance. Head down, horns pointed rightat him, it began to run.

    The Doctor didn't see it, too busy with taking theapplause. June took a step forward, ready to cry out. Butthen she saw the Doctor hesitate. The bull barrelledtowards him and, at the last minute, the Doctor put hisarms back, caught the horns again and flipped backwardsover its back, managing two complete twists in the airbefore he landed on his feet.

    The audience were ecstatic. Again the bull skiddedround and this time the Doctor flipped over its back one-handed. 'Come on!' he shouted at the bull. 'That one wastoo easy!'

    The bull stopped, panting, sweat glistening in its thickblack fur. Up in the balconies, aliens gabbled excitedlyand exchanged slips of paper. Against all the odds, theDoctor had survived more than ninety seconds. Bulbsflashed as the tourists took pictures.

    The bull remained perfectly still, head low, itsbreathing ragged. Slowly, the Doctor began to walktowards it. He spoke gently to it, too quietly for June tohear the words. But she saw the bull take a step gingerlyforward. The Doctor reached a hand out and began tostroke the bull's shaggy forehead. The bull responded,pressing its face against his side.

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   'Awww,' said a large part of the crowd.

   The Doctor looked round to grin at them as he strokedthe bull behind the ears.

   'Um,' said Deukalion, and he dropped the spear so itslapped into the sand.

   'Yeah,' said June. 'He's good.'

   A spattering of applause broke out from in amongst thecrowd. The sound grew, more and more aliens picking itup. Soon, the Doctor and the tamed beast had earned astanding ovation. And the squawking fury of Hisk.

   The Slitheen charged out into the sandy courtyardwaving an angry claw. 'This just isn't on,' he yelled at theDoctor. 'It's against all the rules. We're contractuallyobliged to show a fatality. It's either you or this stupidcow!'

   The Doctor turned slowly. 'You're making a mistake,'he called to him.

   'Mistake?' Hisk exploded. 'Mistake?' He was almost onthem now. 'I've got to have a death. It's what the audienceexpects!'

   His voice was shrill, his claws up in the air as heemphasised the point. The bull chose its moment andcharged.

   'No, wait!' cried the Doctor as the bull pushed past him.

   June saw him fall back, rolling nimbly out of the wayof the hooves. Hisk cried out, tried to get his claws downand round in time. But too late! The audience gasped asthe bull smashed into him.

   June turned quickly away.

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    They were put back into the same cell as before.

    Deukalion punched the wall again, then slipped his

    bruised knuckled under his armpit.

       'Well, you started well,' said June to the Doctor who sat

    dolefully in one corner.

       'I thought I could show them a better way,' said the

    Doctor. 'But the Slitheen won't forgive me for killing one

    of their own.'

       'So we're just on to the next level,' said June.

       'Perhaps,' said the Doctor. 'Or they'll just take us out of

    the game. I'm sorry, June. I miscalculated.'

       'You were brilliant out there,' she told him.

       He smiled. 'Yes, I suppose I was.' But the darkness still

    haunted his eyes.

       Eventually Cosmo came to see them. The young

    Slitheen hung his head sadly. His face looked bruised dark

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green.

    'The family is very upset with you,' he snivelled. 'Weall felt those horns.'

    'I'm sorry,' said the Doctor. 'I really am. I tried to warnhim.'

    'Hmm,' Cosmo said. 'Not very hard. Let's just hope theinsurance pays out. He had a partner and eggs.'

    'I'm sorry,' said the Doctor again. 'What are you goingto do with us?'

    Cosmos shifted uncomfortably. 'I know what I'd like todo,' he said. 'It's been days since I hunted anything. ButMamps says that we have to acknowledge your appeal.'

    'I haven't appealed,' said the Doctor.

    'No, your appeal,' said Cosmo. 'Your showbiz style andpanache. The customers are always right.'

    'You mean your tourists liked the show?' asked June.

    'They loved it,' said Cosmo sadly. 'You do everythingyou can for these people, literally slave day and night.And what really makes them happy? One of your brothersgetting skewered!'

    'It's not very grateful, is it?' said June.

    'No,' said Cosmo. 'It's not. Anyway. They want you atthe banquet tonight.'

    'A banquet?' asked Deukalion, suddenly perking up. 'Inthe Doctor's honour?'

    'Of course not,' said Cosmo. 'We have a banquet everynight. But some of our guests want to see you. Mampshopes it will shut them up if we stick you on one of thetables.'

    'What do you expect me to tell them?' asked the Doctor.

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   'Will there be wine?' asked Deukalion.

   'You'll behave yourself,' Cosmo warned the Doctor.'That's all. Or I'll skewer both your friends.'

The banquet consisted of four rows of long tablescrowded with all kinds of what June assumed to be food.Alien tourists chattered and bickered and shoved past eachother to reach the various delicacies, loaded high on theirplates. They turned as June, the Doctor and Deukalionwere led in by Cosmo. Some applauded, some catcalled,some laughed. Because they'd turned, she could see whatthey'd been eating. The huge, severed head of a bull staredblindly from the end of the table. June felt her stomachheave.

    Cosmo led them to a separate, small table on whichwere strewn a few meagre scraps of cooked meat. Therewere similar scraps all over the floor, as June's bare feetsoon discovered. The Doctor suggested that they mightwant a proper meal, and Cosmo muttered that he'd seewhat was available.

    As soon as he was gone, aliens began to crowd theirlittle table. They wanted pictures or autographs or to askquestions. June kept being asked how long she'd beenmarried to the Doctor. Bulbs flashed up close, blindingher, and she found herself signing her name acrossholograms of her own startled face.

    The Doctor chattered happily to the queuing aliens.'They're fascinated by humanity,' he told June. 'You're allso exotic and strange. I think this lot could help us changethings around here.'

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   June didn't like the attention she'd never understoodthe celebrity thing. At school, she had felt awkward andtongue-tied just having to speak in front of her classmates.But the Doctor's words made her try her best, for the sakeof all the humans living under the Slitheen. It wasn'texactly easy.

   One alien just wanted to rub its mandibles over theback of her hand. She withdrew quickly, with a squeak ofhorror. The Doctor leant into her ear.

   'He's just showing subservience,' he explained. 'TheAru are a bit touchy-feely.'

   June sighed and extended her arm. The Aru leanedforward and shook its chins at her. When it had finished,her wrist felt warm and waxy, but didn't seem to beharmed. 'Thank you,' she told the Aru, who skippedhappily away, back to its friends.

   She listened in to the Doctor, holding court. The alienshad plenty of questions how humanity had come fromtheir current primitive state to conquer so much of space,whether they were right to clear the worlds of Pif, or whattheir role had been in the outbreak of the Platonic War.Smiling the whole time, the Doctor feinted and parried,dodging what were evidently controversial topics. Junerealised with a start that humanity had a lot to answer forin the future. These people were thrilled and tantalised bycontact with humans, but also a little terrified.

   Once they'd eaten, Mamps took to the stage to explainthe itinerary for the next day. The Slitheen would beattending to some personal business first thing thefuneral of poor Hisk but they'd be back mid-morning to

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lead an excursion to the ruined Osiran spaceport. 'DoctorRomain has prepared handouts and a lecture,' said Mamps,indicating a tall, lithe creature with dreadlocks at the headof one of the tables. 'She's promised to keep it short.'

    Then the banquet was over. The tables were clearedaround them and a disco was set up. June tried to stayclose to the Doctor, but aliens clustered around him, stilleffervescent with questions. Instead she tried to findDeukalion again, assuming he'd be at the bar.

    'Excuse me,' said a voice behind her. She turned to seethe huge merman who'd approached her earlier that day.'I'm sorry,' he said. 'I didn't mean to alarm you.'

    June realised her mouth was hanging open. Themerman wore a shawl of thin black material that onlyemphasised his muscles. He slithered towards her on hisfishy tail.

    'I'm Cecrops,' he said. 'From the Collective of Mulch.'

    'I'm June,' she said. 'From Birmingham, at the moment.'

    'I tried to speak to you earlier,' said Cecrops. 'I washoping for your perspective.'

    'Oh,' said June. 'OK. What did you want to know?'

    'I'm not sure I want to know anything,' said Cecrops asif it were a clever joke. 'I just want to hear it from you. Asa native, so to speak. Your testimony should be a part ofthe discourse.'

    She stared at him. 'I don't understand,' she said.

    'Right,' he said, smiling sheepishly. 'Well, I guess it'sthe whole debate about the impact we're having bycoming here. I thought you'd have your own view.'

    'Do you mean like eco-tourism?' asked June. Either the

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TARDIS couldn't quite translate his words properly or hewas just talking nonsense.

   'Yeah, that sort of thing,' he said. 'And also, I just reallylike human beings. You know?'

   She didn't know quite how to answer that. He seemeddesperately keen for her to like him. And he was reallyvery good-looking, even with the fishy tail. But he wasone of those boys who saw her as the embodiment ofsome ideal rather than a person in herself. She was a causefor him to champion, not a girl who he might buy a drink.

   'Look,' she said. 'I'm sort of with this bloke.' She lookedround for the Doctor. He still stood surrounded by aliens,but Mamps had her long arm tightly around him, hergolden nose stud sparkling. June made to hurry over tothem but Cecrops grabbed her arm.

   'I don't take part in the hunts,' he told her. 'And I'm avegan.'

   June gasped in horror at him. She must have looked soappalled that he let her go. She twisted away from him,running for the Doctor, stood there with the Slitheen.Their enormous claws loomed at her as she approached.She wanted to be sick. It hadn't occurred to her thathumans might be on the menu. If the Doctor had lost tothe bull that afternoon, would this banquet have includedhim? The odd looks the aliens had given her all throughdinner suddenly made sense. She reached the Doctor, headspinning.

   'They kill us!' she said. 'They're killing us.'

   Mamps leaned into her. 'Not right at this moment, Ithink you'll agree.' The alien tourists squawked with

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amusement.

   June found the Doctor had taken her hands in his. Shelooked up into his dark eyes and immediately she feltbetter. He smiled, a look that said 'I know' and 'I'm goingto put this right.'

   He turned to face Mamps. 'But you are killing us,' hesaid. 'That's what the games are about.'

   Mamps wavered for a moment. She glanced at the alientourists. 'Oh,' she said. 'You say that now. But just likeeveryone else, you volunteered to compete.' She bent herhead down to conspire with one of the tourists. 'Honestly.They say it's for the honour of their tribes. It's really quitedelicious!'

   June wanted to punch her, to do something stupid andfutile, but the Doctor held on to her hand.

   'I suppose,' he said, 'you tell them we don't feel painlike you do.'

   Mamps swung round to face him. 'How did you--' shebegan. And then she remembered the eyes watching herand broke into a smile.

   'He's got ideas about what we can do to improve the lotof the humans in our care,' she gurgled. 'And we atSlitheen Excursions are very keen to hear his point ofview. I know many of you have concerns about theenvironmental footprint our tours leave behind them.Honestly, we share those concerns. And that's why theDoctor's going to be our ambassador. We'll show himeverything he asks to see. And he can then advise us onwhere we can improve.'

   The aliens applauded. Deukalion reached out to hand

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June a wide-necked goblet of wine, a kylix like she'd seenin museums. Cecrops slithered up beside her and joined inthe applause. June felt trapped, confused. Had the Doctorjust talked his way into the Slitheen's operation? Werethey really asking him to advise them?

   She saw Mamps lean back to whisper to Leeb, the lastof Cosmo's siblings. Leeb snickered and hurried away.Mamps turned back to gaze at the Doctor with dark andgreedy eyes.

   The Doctor came over to June and Deukalion. 'Well,' hesaid loudly, 'it's all going a lot better than we could haveexpected. I'm going to pop over to the island wherethey've got whatever they're using to bring people herefrom the future. You're going to be their guests here whileI'm gone.'

   'But--' began June. The Doctor put his arm around hercompanionably.

   'I know you're going to miss me,' he said and huggedher.

   'It's a trap,' she whispered in his ear.

   He held her close. 'I know,' he said. 'They need meaway from the alien fan club before they can have theirrevenge. But what else can we do?'

   'Doctor!' she said, holding on to him tightly.

   He withdrew from her, smiling brightly, that cunninglook in his eye.

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    The Doctor stepped out of the transmat and looked all

    around him. 'That was very smooth,' he told Mamps and

    Cosmo, who had materialised beside him. The Doctor ran

    his tongue round his teeth. Journeys by localised transmat

    always left a taste in his mouth like liquorice. It tasted like

    he'd been moved about seventy miles due north. A small

    part of his brain thought this might be important, that it

    should connect to some other loose bit of memory he'd

    picked up some time in the last 900 years. He decided it

    would come back to him if it was important. There were

    more pressing concerns.

       They had arrived in a wide room cut smoothly through

    bare rock. He'd seen something like it in a palace of giant

    termites. Or it reminded him of the Jubilee line on 24 June

    2006, when he'd had that ice cream. In fact, the Jubilee

    line could be a lot like a palace of termites, depending on

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what time you were there. His mind whirring, the Doctorbegan to nose round, inspecting the controls and readoutsin the wall. And ignoring the two huge Slitheen. Theymight be planning to sneakily kill him but he wasn't goingto make it easy.

    'Atmospheric controls look fine,' he told them. 'Air's alittle muggy, but we should be OK. It'll get the creases outof my suit. Um... Is this a hard-hat area? Been ages since Iwore a hard hat.'

    'Indeed,' said Mamps, not listening. 'The temporaldrives are up this way.'

    He followed them up the passageway. They didn't seemthat worried about keeping an eye on him, which he feltwas a little rude. He knew they wanted to kill him outhere. They knew that he knew. He knew that they knewthat he knew... It was all about the optimum moment toactually do the deed. With a start, he realised that theythought it was a game. They were like cats teasing amouse. Well, he'd have to see about that.

    They continued up the passageway. The Doctor'strainers squeaked on the smooth floor. He found he couldmake them squeak even more if he dragged his feet. Thenoise annoyed Mamps, who gritted her teeth. But theDoctor glanced at Cosmo, who looked like he wanted tolaugh. Divide and conquer: simple.

    The passageway opened out onto a wide viewinggantry, overlooking vast machines. His eyes danced overthem, quickly identifying the different systems and theways they'd been modified. The gantry led off to a seriesof control panels and the open space where tourists from

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the future would materialise. He liked that you got to seethe workings of the temporal drive as the first step on thetour.

   Eager to distract the Slitheen, the Doctor cooed at theawesome sight of the huge machines, though he'd alreadyappraised them in a glance. He went right up to therailing, holding the bar tightly as the two Slitheen came tojoin him, in case they tried to throw him over the edgeright away. How easy, to go back to their tourists andbadly act their sorrow at some terrible accident. Perhapsthat was why they were playing this out; they didn't wantto go back too soon.

   'It's a very clever system,' he enthused. 'Cor. Is that astardrive disseminator bolted to the side?'

   Mamps chuckled wetly. 'The very idea,' she said. 'Doyou think we built this thing out of string?'

   The Doctor nodded, admiring the workings, followingthe route from the generation and treatment of chrononparticles to the thing like a Wurlitzer at the core. 'Did youbuild it?' he asked, all innocence.

   Mamps gripped the railing, her claws clanging againstthe metal, the sound echoing round the chamber. 'Why doyou ask?'

   'Oh, don't get me wrong,' said the Doctor. 'Cobblingthis together is an achievement in itself. But it's all bitsand bobs you've acquired from other people.' He pointed.'A Navarino time-jump, a Sundayan stabiliser. One ofthose things that makes the Vortex go wobbly. What arethey called again?'

   'Doctor,' said Mamps levelly.

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    'No, I don't think that's it,' said the Doctor. Cosmogiggled at the joke.

    'We didn't really bring you here to show you thetemporal drives,' said Mamps.

    'No, I worked that out, thank you. I'm not half as daft asI look.'

    'But you came with us anyway.'

    'Yeah,' said the Doctor. 'Probably too trusting. But it'sbeen fascinating to have a look. And I did ask.'

    'Consider it a last request,' said Mamps. She grinnedcruelly, showing her razor-sharp teeth.

    'Well, all right, kill me if you have to,' said the Doctor,and he nonchalantly turned away from her to look backout over the balcony to the huge machines. Mampsreached out her claws to him. But just before she slicedthem through his body he shrugged. 'Seems a shame,though,' he said. 'If I'm dead I can't help you out.'

    Mamps whipped the claws away behind her back justbefore he turned back to look at her. She glanced atCosmo, who grinned at her.

    'And what,' she asked the Doctor, 'can you do for theSlitheen?'

    'Oh,' said the Doctor. 'I've got a few skills. Make a greatcurry. Got these long skinny arms if you lose anythingdown the back of a radiator. Oh, and I can stop yourearthquakes.'

    Mamps blinked at him. 'My earthquakes?' she said.

    'Yeah,' said the Doctor. 'Except they're not reallyearthquakes. They're the time differential shorting out.Think of them as burps in the system.'

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    Mamps and Cosmo glanced at one another. 'You canprovide evidence for this?'

    'Er, yeah,' said the Doctor. 'I think so. If you've got alist of when and where all the earthquakes have takenplace?'

    'We can get one,' said Mamps.

    'Well, it should match up pretty exactly with whenyou've used the temporal drive. Each earthquake willprobably be about nine or ten hours before each use. Ninepoint five three seven, approximately.'

    'Look into it,' Mamps told Cosmo. He bowed andhurried away, his huge fleshy feet slapping on the smoothfloor.

    The Doctor grinned at Mamps. 'You've been the victimof your own success, haven't you?' he said. 'So manytourists wanting to nose round this period. Cradle ofcivilisation, or however you've been selling it. But youdidn't have so many punters in mind when you had thisthing put together.'

    Mamps sighed. 'The Navarinos we, um, persuaded toconstruct it said no more than four transfers per day. We'redoing twelve at the moment and can't keep up withdemand. There's a waiting list of months.'

    'And the Navarinos haven't been able to get the systemsto compensate?' said the Doctor, though he alreadysuspected the answer.

    Mamps grinned sheepishly. 'After they'd made it workthe first time, we sort of ate them.'

    The Doctor shook his head. 'That wasn't very clever,was it?' he said.

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   'It seemed quite clever at the time,' said Mamps. 'Meantwe didn't have to pay them.'

   'But it wasn't very forward thinking,' said the Doctor.'This almighty lash-up just isn't sustainable. And if thething breaks down, you lot are all trapped here. I don'tthink that would be good for anyone.'

   'We've got a contingency,' said Mamps. 'My siblings inthe future can come back to collect us. They've got a timebus for emergencies.'

   The Doctor whistled. 'Expensive,' he said.

   'Yeah, so it's only to be used in emergencies.' Shesniffed and then turned back to look down the corridor. Amoment later, Cosmo's footsteps echoed towards them. Heemerged from the darkness, belly wobbling as he ran. Inhis claws he flourished a digital reader.

   'He's right!' proclaimed Cosmo as he handed the readerto Mamps. She scrolled the screen, reading thecomparison of data. The Doctor noted the readings,surprised at how fast the burps had been growing.

   'Yes,' mused Mamps. 'Yes. This is pretty convincing.All the earthquakes accounted for but one.'

   'What?' said the Doctor, leaning forward to read thescreen. 'Which one?'

   'A minor disturbance at sea early this morning. Sankalmost a whole shipment of prey.'

   'Oh,' said the Doctor, but thought better of revealingthat he'd been in that shipment. If they wanted to knowwhere he'd sprung from, they could work it outthemselves. 'Well, can't be helped,' he said. 'The oddanomaly here or there. It's the exception that proves the

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rule!'

    'Hmm,' said Mamps. 'We had an exercise on this sort ofthing in causality training.' She tapped her claw againstthe digital reader, making some quick calculations. 'Yes,'she said. 'The numbers add up. Cosmo run the drive forfive-tenths of a second.'

    'Wait!' said the Doctor as Cosmo hurried away to thecontrols. 'You don't need to do that.' He knew he couldn'tchange anything, that it had already happened. But at thesame time he couldn't stand by while they killed all thosepoor people on the boats. He ran forward to stop Cosmo,but Mamps swept an arm out and threw him skiddingacross the smooth floor.

    'But we do have to do it,' she said. 'The storm happenedwithin the same parameters, so Cosmo must have turnedon the drive. It's how time works.' She turned back toCosmo, stood by the machines. 'Do it!'

    Cosmo turned a lever.

    'Please!' said the Doctor from where he lay a littlestunned on the floor. 'Let me just try to work it out.'

    'Too late,' said Cosmo. 'It's done.'

    'You killed all those people,' said the Doctor, quietly.

    'They were already dead this morning,' said Mamps.'It's causality. It takes a while to get used to but that's justhow things are.' She brought her claws down on him andfor a moment he thought she meant to kill him. But theclaws stopped above his head and he realised she meant tohelp him to his feet. He accepted the offer.

    'That's all the paradoxes taken care of,' she said. 'Nowyou can fix it so no one else has to die.'

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    June wandered among the alien tourists, trying to avoid

    Leeb and Cecrops. Leeb watched her coldly, guarding her

    while his siblings were away. She could see that he had

    wicked designs on her, that he considered her his prey.

    But, weirdly, she felt more bothered by Cecrops, who

    wouldn't leave her alone. He kept wanting to ask her

    opinions on various theories and legal arguments relating

    to interference in human history. She understood his

    enthusiasm, she ought to have admired it. But she didn't

    want to be the mascot for his cause. And she found his

    zeal exhausting. Couldn't he show any interest in her for

    herself, not as the emblem of a species?

       Having finished dinner, she and the alien tourists were

    back out on the balconies overlooking the main courtyard.

    Clay braziers burned at regular intervals to keep them

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warm as they gossiped and drank cocktails. June hadasked for a glass of water, but none had been forthcoming.She kept near the braziers, toasting her bare feet.

   Humans in historical costume performed down belowfor their entertainment. They sang, they danced, theywrestled, and the aliens paid them little heed. It seemedthey only cared to watch the festivities when there werelives at stake.

   June felt numb to it all, drifting through the crowd ofaliens to the part of the citadel overlooking the sea. Therewere no braziers out this far, but she welcomed the coldcutting at her body. Beyond the citadel's walls she couldsee small communities of houses scattered across therocky landscape. The sea glinted away in the distance. Itshould have been a beautiful evening but June felt simplywretched.

   She hated being up on this higher tier, looking down onthe other humans. And she hated being so helpless. Shewanted to shout out, to rail against the aliens and whatthey'd done to her people. But she also knew that thatwould do no good. She might as well rage at the sky forall the difference it would make. Causing a fuss mightgive Leeb the excuse he'd been waiting for.

   There had to be another way. But what could she do?She wasn't like the Doctor. She couldn't somersault overwild animals or anything like that. June was just anordinary, boring girl with no special powers at all.

   Deukalion came to join her, but she declined his offerof a kylix of wine. She wanted her senses to be sharp.They stood, watching the stars sparkling above them,

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ignoring the crass laughter of the aliens and the crash ofthe sea on the cliff beneath the citadel, the sound carriedup to them by the still night air.

   'The Doctor will be back soon enough,' said Deukalion,though he didn't sound like he believed it.

   'He's a match for the Slitheen,' said June. 'He canchange all this. Make it right.'

   'I hope so.'

   'But what do we do if he doesn't come back? It's sovast.'

   'We don't stand a chance,' said Deukalion, draining hisown kylix and starting on the one he'd brought for her.June rolled her eyes and turned away from him, to findLeeb lumbering towards them.

   'Hello, dear humans,' he leered, waving his claws inwhat he probably thought was a friendly gesture.Deukalion let out a squeak of terror and cowered behindJune.

   'Hi,' said June. 'No word from the Doctor, yet?'

   'I'm afraid not,' said Leeb, shaking his head. 'I hopeyou're not getting bored waiting.'

   'We're fine,' said June.

   'Good, good,' said Leeb. 'But I thought I'd make asuggestion. Perhaps you'd both volunteer to take part inour next entertainment.'

   'What?' said Deukalion. 'I thought I was a local guide!The Doctor needs me.'

   'But the Doctor's not here,' said Leeb in a cruel, sing-song voice.

   Deukalion whimpered.

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   June appraised the Slitheen. She and Deukalion weredead anyway, but surely Leeb wouldn't try anything inview of all the tourists. For the moment, he couldn't touchher.

   'What's it going to be?' she asked, forcing her ownhorror down. 'Another wild animal? That didn't work outso well last time.'

   Leeb seethed with anger. 'We thought something a littlemore educational, this time. A re-enactment of the lastbattle of the Platonic War. You'll like it; the humans win.'

   'That doesn't sound so bad,' Deukalion admitted.

   'What's the catch?' asked June.

   'Catch?' said Leeb. 'Catch? Perish the thought. You twoand fifty other competitors putting on a show.'

   'Where we have to kill each other,' she said.

   'What?' said Deukalion.

   'We want it to look authentic,' Leeb gurgled. 'Of course,you could always refuse...'

   'Then we refuse,' said Deukalion. 'Oh, now you'regoing to kill us, aren't you?'

   'You can't do anything to us in front of your tourists,'said June. 'They won't like it.'

   Leeb considered. 'No,' he said. 'That's true. But no onewill see when I do something to your friends.'

   'I don't have any friends,' said Deukalion. 'There's a fewestranged wives, but do what you like with those.'

   Leeb ignored him to blink slowly at June. 'Actaeus,' hesaid. 'And his daughters. Oh, don't look surprised. We rana sweep for technology the moment you turned up. We'vefound your funny blue box.'

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    'Please,' said June. 'What are you going to do to them?'

    'Nothing,' said Leeb. 'If you do as I tell you. Volunteerfor the show. Fight and die like you mean it. Make surethere are no awkward questions.'

    'There's no way!' laughed Deukalion. 'Is there, June?'He swallowed hard. 'June?'

    'What would you do to them?' she asked Leeb.

    'Well,' said the tall Slitheen. 'Your friends are up on thatrock, aren't they? What will one day be the Acropolis. Andunderneath is one of our transmat machines. Imagine ifthere were a problem. Imagine if I accidentally switchedoff its shield! There'd be the most awful explosion. Andfor the next thousand years that whole valley would be anuclear wasteland.'

    June gaped at him. 'But you can't!' she said. 'You'dchange history. You'd stop humanity ever developing!'

    Leeb sighed. 'You think humanity owes everything tothe Athenians?'

    'Who?' said Deukalion.

    June blinked at the huge, green creature. 'Well, no,' shesaid. 'All kinds of other people played their part. But takethe ancient Greeks out of the picture and who knows whatthe effect could be.'

    Leeb scratched at his forehead with the tip of his claw.'Oh,' he said. 'We were told humans would never get intospace if we did anything to this period.'

    And June stared in horror at the awful creature. 'Oh no,'she said. 'You know the effect you're having. You're doingit on purpose!'

    Leeb smiled. 'Keep your voice down, girl,' it said.

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'You're going to behave. You're going to take part in thisshow. You're going to fight and die with gusto. Our way,humans just grow up without all the war and conquest.You say no and we make them extinct.'

   He grinned, showing razor-sharp teeth. 'Your choice.'

'I don't really like heights,' said Cosmo as he clung to theladder beside the Doctor. They were up at the very top ofthe cavern, checking the connections of the uppermostmachines. Far below them, Mamps watched from thegantry. She seemed quite convinced that there wasnowhere else the Doctor could escape to. But he keptglancing round, just in case.

    'Me neither,' said the Doctor. He leant backwards fromthe ladder and began to unscrew the clamps securing oneof the devices. 'Best not to think about it,' he said. 'Mighthelp to close your eyes.'

    Cosmo closed his eyes, then let out a squeal of horror.'No,' he said. 'That makes it worse.'

    'Oh well,' said the Doctor. 'I'll try not to be too long.'

    The huge machines crowded around him and Cosmo.Some of the couplings were really expertly done. Headmired the use of a proton valve to join a reintegrator tothe shut-out port on an electric black hole. Mamps, henoted, had been talking rubbish. There was a stardrivedisseminator coiled in a wide loop round the logic gate asquat, oblong component that looked like a fridge but hadan effect on time like a cat-flap. Which meant the Slitheendidn't understand half as much of this system as they likedto make out.

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   The problem, he'd surmised, was temporal energyleaking out of the system whenever it penetrated space-time. But there were lots of places the leak could becoming from. He'd just have to check every stage...

   In doing so, he could check for possible escape routes.Though it didn't make sense for the cave they were in tohave any other exits than the one they'd come in by. Madethe whole thing secure if they couldn't get out by anythingother than the transmats. He could, of course, offer to testthe system and transport himself into the future. But thenhe'd only have all Mamps's siblings asking awkwardquestions. And June would be left to face the anger of thethree Slitheen back here. That didn't really seem fair.

   He considered reasons he might need June herealongside him, some expertise she might possess. Buteven if he could save her, there were still all the humansliving round the Mediterranean. There were just too manypeople involved for him to try any of his usual tomfoolery.His brilliant mind picked over all kinds of possibilitiesand found flaws in every one.

   He'd think of something; he always did. But fixing themachine would at least stop the earthquakes, savingthousands of lives in the process. Best just to get on withthe job in hand, then...

   But no, that only helped the Slitheen. They wouldcontinue bringing tourists back through time and erodingwhat little chance of taking charge of their own lives thehumans had. He couldn't sabotage or blow up the temporaldrive because that would strand all the aliens back in time,where they'd get up to all manner of antics. Yes, he could

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probably take them back to their own time in the TARDIS.But he didn't exactly want to let the Slitheen inside hisown ship. He'd had problems with that sort of thingbefore.

   What he really wanted was a way of stopping thetemporal drive from working once and for all, but thenhaving it work for him to send everyone home. Which wasexactly the sort of paradox he'd always loved untangling.And a wicked thought struck him.

   'Oh yes,' he said out loud. 'That would work.'

   He released his grip on the ladder and skidded down itat high speed. 'Wheeee!' he called, before hugging hisarms around the edges of the ladder to bring him to a stopjust before he crashed into the gantry.

   'Well?' asked Mamps.

   'Oh,' he told her, 'very well.' He ran to the controls andbegan punching instructions into them.

   By the time Cosmo had climbed down rung by rung tojoin them, the Doctor had almost finished. Mamps leanedover his shoulder to watch, nodding appreciatively. But ifshe'd had any idea what he was conjuring, she would havekilled him there and then.

   'You see?' he asked her as he stepped back from hiswork.

   'Oh yes,' she enthused, patently lying. 'And it will reallywork?'

   'Yeah,' he said, 'I think so. You saw what I did, ofcourse?'

   'Should have thought of it myself,' preened Mamps.

   Brilliant, he thought, he had them! He turned back to

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face them. Mamps and Cosmo blocked his way, theirgreen faces leering down at him, showing their razor-sharp teeth.

   'It seems,' said Mamps in a girlish, sing-song voice,'that you're usefulness is at an end.'

   'Oh yeah,' said the Doctor. He'd been so busy outfoxingthem he'd forgotten they were going to kill him. 'Shouldhave thought of that.'

   He grinned. The Slitheen grinned back. And with aterrible roar they pounced.

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    Fifty human beings knelt in the shadows waiting for

    their cue. Out in the arena, they could just hear Leeb

    introducing the show, explaining how all the players were

    willing volunteers. He liked the sound of his own voice

    too much, but the alien audience seemed to love him.

       June knelt in the darkness waiting. She had been cast as

    one of the aliens, with a crude papier mâché hat with a

    spindly head attached. While the people playing humans

    got swords and spears and shields, the 'aliens' were only

    given wooden props in the shape of ray guns. It didn't look

    like the war would take very long.

       Deukalion cowered beside her, under his own costume

    hat. Its antennae quivered in time with his quiet sobbing.

    June reached her hand out to him. He looked up at her, a

    single tear hanging from his chin.

       'I wish the Doctor was here,' he said.

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    'Yeah,' said June. 'Me, too. He'd know what to do.'

    Deukalion shrugged. 'And he said we were in thistogether.'

    June smiled. 'He said we shouldn't fight. But whatchoice have we got?'

    'I used to say that,' said Deukalion. 'I'm governed byimpulse, can't help myself. So I drink, I talk to women.'He sighed. 'My first wife says there's always a choice.'

    'Not this time,' said June. 'If we don't do this, the wholeof history goes pfft. The aliens have got a real gripe withhumans.'

    'Didn't you hear?' said Deukalion. 'The masters said wewon. That really annoys some people.'

    'The people who lost,' nodded June. 'So they wipe usout back in history, and then we never fight the battle.'

    'I wish I was a human,' he said morosely. 'I hate thissilly hat.'

    And she laughed. 'I think I just had an idea.' Shecrawled forwards in the darkness, towards the row ofpeople opposite, the competitors who didn't have to wearthe papier mâché hats. 'Um, hi,' she addressed them.'Sorry, my name's June. You're going to think this is weird,but I've had an idea how we can all get out of this alive.And we're all humans, aren't we? We should be in thistogether.'

    The row of figures glanced at one another. A couple ofpeople whispered. And then one of the humans cameforward. It took June a moment to recognise her.

    'That's what we've been telling them,' said Herse. 'Allright, what's the plan?'

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  * * *

The aliens the real aliens cheered and applauded as thefifty competitors ran out onto the sand of the arena. Thosewith papier mâché hats made for the right side of thecourtyard, those without went left. Leeb introduced themfrom his place high up on the balcony. After the death ofHisk earlier that day, he'd thought better of standing in thearena himself.

    He spoke into the bracelet round his wrist, whichamplified his voice, pointing out some of the papiermâché hats. The alien tourists cheered as he namedparticular species. They also groaned at his cheesy jokes.But Leeb proved a great showman and had the touristsbuzzing with excitement for what they were about to see.Their glee bled down into the arena. June trembled withanticipation.

    'And so the peace conference of Anselm failed,' criedLeeb, 'the delegates withdrew back to their space fleets.And the war began!'

    That was their cue. Twenty-five 'aliens' charged attwenty-five human humans, bellowing and waving theirwooden ray guns. The twenty-five humans stood theirground with perfect military discipline. They raised theirswords, ready to strike, as the 'aliens' barrelled towardsthem. June hurled herself across the sand towardsDeukalion, right ahead of her. His sword glinted in themoonlight. He looked a lot happier for swapping sides,not having to wear the antennae. And, as she snarled and

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shouted at him, he gave her a quick wink.

   She was almost on him when up went the cry. Herseyelled distinctly a single word. 'Retreat!'

   The human humans dropped their swords and fledaround the arena. The 'aliens' pursued them, still shoutingand waving their ray guns. Above them, the real aliensgasped in amazement. And then started to applaud.

   Deukalion spun round to beg for mercy from June. Shegrinned, prodding her ray gun forward as if she'd fired it athim. He cried out, clutching his sides, and fell back intothe sand. June helped pick off the rest of the fleeinghumans.

   By the time Herse surrendered, the real aliens were ontheir feet, whooping and applauding. The dead humansgot back to their feet to join the victorious 'aliens' in abow.

   'I think that worked,' grinned Herse to June as theadulation slowly died away.

   'We'll see,' said June. Leeb was lumbering downtowards them.

   'Very good,' he gurgled, clattering his talons together ina strange parody of applause. 'Very ingenious. Youchanged history for your own amusement.'

   'Well, you gave me the idea,' said June.

   That really annoyed him. But he glanced back round atthe alien tourists, all watching keenly. He couldn't touchher now.

   'Your friends on the Acropolis...' he seethed.

   'Can wait,' said June. 'You've got something moreimportant to do first.' She nodded at Herse.

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   'Ladies and gentlemen,' Herse called out, addressing thealien tourists. 'As a token of our esteem, the defeatedforces of humanity would like to invite you to join us inthe arena for cocktails and canapés.'

   Again the alien tourists cheered. Then they began tosquabble about how they could get down to the arena.

   Leeb gaped. 'But you don't have cocktails or canapés,'he said.

   June beamed at him. 'So you'd best rustle something upbefore they get here,' she said.

   Leeb grimaced at her, then pointed the bracelet on hiswrist at the sand underneath them. With a high-pitchedsqueal, the sand began to swirl up in a pink cloud. Whenthe cloud faded away, there was a table laden with drinksand little things to eat. It materialised just in time; thealien tourists descended on the table greedily.

   'There,' said Leeb.

   'Good,' said June as the alien tourists crowded aroundthem. 'And now,' she said, loudly enough for them to hear,'we can have a chat about the conditions in which you'rekeeping us humans.'

   As Leeb began to protest, behind his back Deukalionwaved from up on the balcony, then disappeared inamongst the aliens.

The Doctor gazed up at the yellowy claws as they slashedtowards him. His last thought was of June. And of anoverdue library book. And whether he'd be killed instantlyor would have a chance to regenerate. And the bleeping ofthe comms panel, just beside his head.

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   Mamps lowered her claws with a sigh. 'Oh, really,' shesaid. 'Get that, will you, Cosmo?'

   'Always on call,' said the Doctor.

   Mamps shook her head in exasperation. 'I can't be awayfor a moment.'

   Cosmo pressed the button and the screen showed Leeb,his face pressed up close. 'Mamps!' he said. 'They're beinghorrid! I don't know what to do.'

   Mamps tutted. 'What are you blathering about?'

   'The humans,' Leeb told her. 'They've organised aparty.'

   'You mean like a union?' said Mamps.

   'No, a party. With cocktails and stuff.'

   'Aw,' said the Doctor. 'I like a good party. Can we gohave a look when we're done here?'

   Mamps blinked at him. 'You'll be dead when we'redone here.'

   'Oh yes. Sorry.'

   'You can handle a little party,' Mamps told Leeb. 'Letthem have their fun.'

   'But Mamps,' said Leeb. 'They're talking to the punters.They're talking human rights!'

   'What?!?' shrieked Mamps. 'How could you be sostupid? Right, I'll be there in a moment.' She reached outand switched off the communicator. Her nostrils twitchedwith rage, her golden nose ring glinting.

   'Trouble?' said the Doctor cheerily.

   'It's none of your concern,' Mamps told him.

   'No,' said the Doctor. 'Of course not. You'd better get onwith killing me.'

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    Mamps nodded. 'Yes,' she said, raising one claw abovehis head.

    'Shame though,' said the Doctor just as she was aboutto strike. 'I've got experience of human rights.'

    'I don't give a stuff about human rights,' Mamps toldhim crossly.

    'She doesn't,' Cosmo agreed.

    'Yeah,' said the Doctor. 'You're just going to kill themall, aren't you?'

    'Yes,' said Mamps. 'I am.'

    'Only not in front of your punters,' said the Doctor.'Because they won't approve of that. So you probablywant someone to negotiate for you now.'

    Mamps lowered her claws. 'Someone like you, I takeit?' she said.

    'Well, now you say it,' said the Doctor. 'I suppose Icould.'

    'Hmm,' said Mamps. 'I let you live and you help us outwith this bother. Make the punters think we care for theprey. At least until we can get the prey off somewhere wecan kill them without being seen.'

    'That sounds like a perfect plan,' said the Doctor. 'Andyou promise not to kill me if I help you.'

    Mamps nodded. 'On my honour,' she said.

    'You, er, don't have any honour,' said the Doctor.

    Mamps grinned. 'Good point. But we don't have time todraw up a contract. Can't you take my word just thisonce?'

    The Doctor grinned back. 'Tell you what,' he said. 'Whydon't I negotiate peace between the humans and tourists,

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and then we'll see where we are?'

  Mamps nodded. 'Yes,' she gurgled. 'That will do fine.'

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    The transmat pinged and four people suddenly stood in

    the room. Deukalion turned to the others, grinning. They

    stared at him in awe. He rather liked having pretty women

    staring at him in awe.

       'See?' he said. 'It's easy.'

       King Actaeus and his daughters stepped forward,

    waving their swords at the room as if duelling ghosts.

    Deukalion sighed and stepped out in front of them.

    'There's no one here,' he told them. 'I said it was OK.'

       The others did not smile back. 'You foretold the doom

    of my kingdom,' said Actaeus. The scar running down his

    face caught the light. 'Told my people to flee for their

    lives. But we are "OK".'

       'No,' said Deukalion. Why did he always have this

    problem with people in authority? 'I said things would be

    OK. You didn't need to come back with me.'

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   'You said you were fighting for the freedom of men,'said Actaeus. 'That the Doctor had sent you. How couldwe not be here?'

   'Well, yeah,' said Deukalion awkwardly. 'Well, we'renot fighting exactly. We're being smarter than that.'

   The king's daughter-in-law, Aglauros, regarded himwith a sly smile. 'The Doctor could talk his way roundanyone,' she said.

   'Exactly,' said Deukalion. 'So there's no need for you to--'

   The map on the wall flickered. Deukalion had survivedthis far by trusting his instincts. And his instincts werescreaming now.

   'Quick,' he said, leading the king and his daughtersaway up the passageway to a storage area. There werecrates stacked high on both sides of the corridor,amphorae of wine, olive oil and the liquid fuel he'd seenthe masters use for fire. They ducked behind crates filledwith fine grey-black dust. Deukalion ducked down behindthe crates and his head exploded in a sneeze. He glancedat the king, who could not tear his eyes from the contentsof the crates.

   'Pepper,' murmured Actaeus. 'More pepper than I'veever seen in my life. We're looking at a fortune!'

   Deukalion grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled himdown behind the crate. In an instant the magic booth downthe passageway let out a ping.

   'And,' gurgled a high voice, 'you know what we'll do toyou if it doesn't work.'

   The Slitheen, Mamps, emerged, another Slitheen

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tagging along behind her. And behind them both, walkingfreely, came the Doctor.

   'Mamps,' he said cheerfully, 'I fixed your machine, soyou can bring all the tourists you want here. And now I'llfix this problem with the humans.'

   'I just want you to be conscious of what's hanging onthis,' said Mamps. And then she stopped abruptly. Sheraised her head, sniffing the air. Deukalion peered throughthe gap between two crates. And Mamps stared directlyback at him. Deukalion knew songs in which the masterscould sniff out a man like a dog sniffed out prey. His nosetwitched again, and he fought back the urge to sneeze. ButMamps gazed at him with her black eyes.

   'Something up?' the Doctor asked her.

   Her eyes narrowed. Then she looked back at him. 'Ithink the seasoning is a bit damp,' she said. 'Come on, let'sget this done.'

   The two Slitheen and the Doctor disappeared down thepassageway. A long time after they'd gone, Deukaliondared to let out his breath. He'd never felt so relieved.

   'Said we were OK,' he told Actaeus as they got to theirfeet.

   'He's working for them,' Aglauros told him.

   'What?' said Deukalion. 'Never. He's spinning them aline.'

   'And where did they come from?' said Pandrosos,heading down to the map on the wall.

   'It shows the last trip in yellow,' said Deukalion. 'Iworked that out to get us back here.'

   'Here,' said Pandrosos, pointing at but not touching the

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dot. 'An island just a bit north of here.'

   'Where they can summon the creatures they bring here,'said Actaeus. 'The Doctor said he had fixed their magic.'

   'He's up to something,' said Deukalion. 'He must be.'

   'He didn't look like it,' said Aglauros.

   'Well, he's not going to make it obvious,' saidDeukalion. 'That is kind of the point.'

   'Maybe,' said Actaeus. 'But you said we should fightback.'

   'I didn't!' said Deukalion. 'We're not meant to fight!June said we can be smarter than that.'

   'We don't need to fight them,' smiled the king. 'Theyhave conjured fuel and oil and wine out of the air. We canjust use their magic against them.'

'So what's the problem?' asked the Doctor, stepping intothe arena with the cocktail-swilling aliens. June felt a thrilljust at the sight of him. She ran over, throwing her armsround his shoulders.

   'You're all right!' she said.

   'I'm better than that,' he said, disentangling himself.'And you've been pretty brilliant, too. I take it this is youridea?'

   She felt herself flushing with glee. 'I had a hand in it,'she said.

   'If only the humans had thought to back down in thereal war!' he went on. 'Billions of lives would have beensaved.'

   June regarded him carefully and his smile faltered.'Humans did something terrible, didn't they?' she asked.

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   He shrugged. 'I'm not really meant to tell you,' he said.'Spoilers. You know how it is.'

   'But enough to make all these creatures despise us. Towant us written out of history.'

   The Doctor looked round at the assembled aliencreatures. 'Is that what you wanted?' he asked. The alientourists looked down at their feet those of them withfeet. They murmured indistinctly and would not meet hiseye.

   'All right,' said the Doctor. 'But it's not what you wantnow.' The aliens looked up, eager to assure him that they'dseen the error of their ways.

   'I never wanted it,' said Cecrops, slithering forward onhis fishy tale. 'Sorry,' he went on. 'I just didn't want youlumping me in with the rest of this lot.'

   The other tourists groaned. June saw the Doctor glanceover at the three Slitheen, whispering to one anotherbehind the tourists. Mamps looked up at her and smiledcruelly, showing razor-sharp teeth.

   'No really,' Cecrops went on. 'The package tour is theonly way you can get back to see this stuff. But most ofthe people who come on these things are...' He tailed off.'Well, they don't take it as seriously as I do.'

   'We've been discussing rights for humans,' Juneexplained to the Doctor.

   'Right,' he said.

   'Human beings are people too,' added Cecrops. Amurmur went through the crowd at this. Cecrops turned onthem, raising himself up to his full height. 'There's somany stories,' he said. 'About their greed and violence, the

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things they've done to other species. But is that anydifferent from the rest of us?' He let them hang on that forjust a minute, then came in with the punchline. 'Soundsjust like my family.'

    The tourists stared at him. And laughed. They turned toeach other and began to compare amusing stories aboutthe shocking things their own families had done. TheSlitheen looked on in horror.

    Cecrops turned back to the Doctor and June. 'Was thatall right?' he said.

    'Brilliant,' said the Doctor. 'You've got them looking forways that we're all the same. Taking the initiativethemselves.' He twisted round to look up at the stars, thenlooked back again. 'And just in time, as well.'

    June went over to Cecrops. 'So you don't get on withyour family?' she asked him.

    He smiled sheepishly. 'They don't get on with me.Everything's got to be about how we're seen and whatpeople think. Don't ask questions, don't cause a fuss.Certainly don't do anything political...' He looked round atthe gabbling tourists, and then back to June. 'Whoops.'

    But she hadn't stopped teasing him yet. 'So you're nothere to change my world,' she said. 'You're just runningaway from your family.'

    'I'm not,' he said, affronted. 'I just needed to clear myhead. You know, work out my priorities.'

    And she did know that need to get away. She could seethe same restlessness in him that she felt herself. Just ashe'd said, they weren't very different. She took a steptowards him. 'When this is over--' she began.

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   'You'll be dead,' gurgled Leeb, striding purposefullytowards them.

   Cecrops bravely put himself between June and theSlitheen. But Leeb only giggled the more. 'Boy,' he saidloudly, so everyone could hear. 'You're guilty of corporateespionage. We all heard you loud and clear.'

   The alien tourists clucked at one another, trying toremember what had been said. June reached forward totake Cecrops' hand.

   'I didn't say anything of the sort,' he told Leeb.

   'You said you weren't part of the package deal,' Leebcrowed. 'Nobody takes it as seriously as you.'

   The alien tourists decided that yes, Cecrops had indeedsaid those very words. They also remembered the wayhe'd set himself up above them. June saw the lion-facedcouple with the huge wings nodding their heads together,their earlier differences forgotten now Cecrops was in theframe.

   'I didn't mean it like that,' he protested.

   'You're an agitator,' sneered Leeb. 'Corporate espionageis a very serious crime. It carries a very serious penalty.'He giggled. 'In fact, if we have reliable witnesses, we canchoose any penalty we like.' His smile vanished as heturned to the alien tourists. 'And we have reliablewitnesses, don't we?' he barked at them.

   The alien tourists didn't mistake his tone. Theymurmured their assent.

   'Good,' said Leeb. 'So now we're going to have a hunt.Mr Cecrops and the humans he's augmented to tell theselies. Versus anyone who'd care to join me.'

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   Cecrops and June backed away towards the Doctor asLeeb came slowly forward. The alien tourists exchangednervous glances, not sure how to behave. Cosmo andMamps emerged from between them, taking their placesbeside Leeb. One Slitheen each against Cecrops, theDoctor and June.

   'Sorry,' said Cecrops. 'Said I shouldn't do anythingpolitical.'

   'You were good,' June told him. She leant forward tokiss his cheek. Then she turned back to the Doctor. Hewas looking up at the sky.

   'Um,' she said. He seemed startled as he looked roundat her.

   'What?' he said. 'Sorry, I wasn't paying attention.'

   'They're going to kill us,' she said, indicating the threeSlitheen. The Doctor looked up at them and grinned.

   'No they're not,' he said.

   Mamps laughed. 'And what's going to stop us thistime?' she asked.

   'You need me,' said the Doctor.

   'What for?' asked Mamps.

   The Doctor turned to June, a huge grin on his face, andthen turned back to the Slitheen. 'Because I'm the only onewho'll get you and your punters back home.'

   Mamps froze. Just the look on her green face madeJune want to burst out laughing. 'What did you do?' saidthe Slitheen.

   'When I said I was fixing the systems?' said the Doctor.'Well, I was fixing the systems. First, I made it make atunnel through time. One end open in the year Arlene-

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plus-22, the other open just twenty-four hours from now.Then I put a password on the end that opens up tomorrow,so only I can open it. And then I got the machine totransmat itself into orbit, just ' he left a dramatic pause 'over there...'

    With a flourish he pointed up at the stars. June,Cecrops, the Slitheen and the alien tourists all looked upwhere he was pointing. The blanket of stars remainedunchanged.

    After a moment the Doctor let his hand down,scrutinising the finger with which he'd pointed.

    'That's odd,' he said. 'I thought there'd be a bang.'

    'Another bluff,' preened Mamps, taking another stepforward. 'You've run out of surprises.'

    'Um,' said the Doctor, glancing at June. 'Yeah. Sorry, Ithought that would work.'

    'It's OK,' she told him, holding on to Cecrops. 'We gaveit our best shot.'

    And before the Doctor could reply, a voice soundedfrom high above them: 'I sing the last song of KingActaeus!'

    They all turned to look. On the balcony looking downon the arena, on them, three tall silhouettes blanked outthe stars. June gasped as she recognised them. Deukalionstood flanked by Aglauros and Pandrosos.

    'It's the drunk human!' said Cosmo.

    'What does he think he can do?' said Mamps.

    'What's this all about?' the Doctor called up to him.

    Deukalion smiled. 'You think we're stupid,' he said tothe aliens. 'You bring us here to play your evil games and

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you think that we are helpless. But tonight we strike ablow for humanity.'

   'Not another one,' moaned Mamps. Some of the aliensconcurred.

   'The final one,' Deukalion declared. 'The great KingActaeus gives his life for the people. The masters aremasters no more!'

   Mamps and the other Slitheen began to run towards thebalcony, where Deukalion and the king's daughters stoodfirm. June felt a chill run through her as she turned to theDoctor.

   'What can Actaeus do?' she asked.

   The Doctor scratched at the back of his head. 'Well,nothing,' he said. 'I mean, even if you attacked thetemporal drives with a sword...' His smiled faltered. Heturned round, away from the Slitheen and the aliens andDeukalion, in the direction of the sea.

   In time to see the whole sky erupt in flames.

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    The fuel splashed slickly over the magic instruments

    and the metal floor, splashing against Deukalion's bare

    ankles. He had seen the masters cover a town in this stuff;

    flame consumed it quickly, water would not put it out. No

    one had escaped. Deukalion and a few others had been

    chosen at random to survive so that they might sing the

    tale to others. Those who dared oppose the masters met

    the most terrible ends.

       He had tried to remind Actaeus and his daughters of

    this as they dragged crates of fuel through the magic

    portal that had brought them here from the citadel. But the

    old king would not heed the warnings. His people had

    been scattered into the hills, he had no kingdom or

    anything else left to lose.

       Fuel dripped from the gantry down onto the machines

    below. Actaeus removed his cloak, dipped it into a crate of

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fuel, then threw it out over the balcony. He held on to onecorner, so the soggy cloak snapped short, fuel spatteringhigh across the cavern to slap all over the machines.Actaeus repeated the trick, fuel dripping thickly from thesystems he had hit.

   They worked quickly, unloading most of the fuel, thenstacking the crates against the control bank of winkingglass beads. Deukalion wanted to study the machine, tomake sense of its awesome powers, but he knew this thingenslaved them. It let the masters bring ever more strangecreatures here from the heavens while it remained,people would live under their magic. It had to bedestroyed.

   'We are done,' said Actaeus at last. He hugged both ofhis daughters. 'Now,' he said. 'You must go.'

   'We all go,' said Deukalion.

   'No,' said Actaeus. 'One of us must stay to light thefire.'

   Deukalion stared at him. 'You could light it, then pressthe map. Escape back to the citadel.'

   The king smiled sadly. 'And perhaps in my haste it willnot light. Deukalion, this must be done properly. I amproud to do it. Go.'

   Deukalion protested, but Aglauros dragged him away.'He is the king,' she said simply. 'We obey him in allthings.'

   Pandrosos hugged her father again and listened to hiscounsel. Then she joined Aglauros and Deukalion in thepassageway leading back to the map. Actaeus stoodproudly on the glistening gantry, his sword in his hand. He

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was smiling.

   'We tell them,' said Pandrosos, 'and in his name, that themasters are masters no more,' she said.

   'And then what?' asked Deukalion as they dragged himwith them. 'We can't fight them!'

   Pandrosos only smiled as they reach the map. Shereached out and pressed the red dot that took them back tothe citadel.

The sky danced with fire, purple and red and then, with agreat roar of noise, the shockwave smashed through them,hurling them into the hot, dry sand. June lay there,stunned, looking up at the purple stars, wondering why noone was screaming. She realised with a start that she'dgone deaf.

   Strong hands reached for her, helped her to her feet.Cecrops looked battered and bloody, but he was moreconcerned about her. She fought him off, knowing theyneeded to find the Doctor. It took a moment to spot him,up on the balcony overlooking the explosion. The threeSlitheen stood beside him.

   'Doctor!' she yelled as she ran for the steps and madeher way round to him. Her voice sounded as if underwaterand, though she said 'sorry' and 'excuse me' as she pushedthrough the alien tourists, they didn't seem to hear her.They gaped and cooed at the pretty colours of the sky, asif this were just another part of the evening'sentertainment. But June knew better; something had goneterribly wrong.

   The Doctor embraced her, holding her close. For a

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moment she thought he had been stunned into silence bythe explosion. But as she withdrew from his arms sherealised he was talking. She let him go, watching his lipsas he gabbled on. He spoke too fast for her to pick out thewords, his eyes wide with horror and amazement. TheSlitheen kept close to him. They wouldn't kill him in frontof the tourists not without letting on there'd been somemistake but they wouldn't let him escape.

   'I can't hear anything,' she told them. But she had noidea how loud she had spoken and they didn't seem toregister. So she shouted the same thing: 'Doctor, I can'thear!'

   The Doctor turned his gaze upon her, still gabblingaway. Behind her, Cecrops glided forward, eager to be ofhelp. The alien tourists took pictures of the pretty sky. Ashand cinder rained down on them.

   The Doctor tried asking June questions and shestruggled to read his lips. Perhaps he mentioned apineapple. Then he reached into his pocket for his sonicscrewdriver and buzzed blue light into her ears.

   Suddenly she could hear the whole awful night. Thesky roared with fire and energy. The alien touriststwittered with excitement. 'They sure put on a good show,'she heard one enthuse.

   'It's not good, is it?' June asked the Doctor.

   'Keep your voice down,' hissed Mamps. She lookedback at the alien tourists and said loudly, 'I'm glad itsurprised you. We spent weeks planning it.'

   The Doctor took June by the arm and led her furtheralong the balcony, away from the tourists. Cecrops

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followed them, like a loyal dog.

   'The temporal drives were built deep inside the rock,'he said. 'The explosion must have taken out most of theisland.' He shook his head sadly, an agonised look in hiseyes. 'There would have been people living there.'

   'Not any more,' said Cosmo, checking the readout ofthe bracelet on his wrist. 'I think the whole of Thera hasgone. The temporal drive, the transmat... All of itdestroyed.'

   'Thera...' June repeated, trying to remember the word. Itnagged at some part of her memory.

   'Santorini,' said the Doctor. 'In your time, it's calledSantorini.'

   And June thought of the map she'd had for hoppingislands on her holiday, a lifetime ago. An arc of land likethe crusts from a slice of bread, the main body of theisland lost beneath the sea. You could visit one of thetowns buried in the ash... The ash only just falling now.June could almost hear the cries of the people out thereacross the sea. She gripped the Doctor tight.

   'Cosmato,' said Mamps quietly. 'We need to send asignal to the family. Get them to send the time bus so wecan get this lot home.'

   'But without the temporal drive I'll have to build arelay,' protested Cosmo. 'That'll take for ever!'

   'Then you'd best get started now,' Mamps glowered.

   Cosmo thought better of protesting and hurried away.

   Mamps turned to the Doctor. 'You see?' she said. 'We'llget this fixed. You've barely inconvenienced us.'

   'I didn't do anything,' the Doctor told her. 'Well, nothing

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that would do anything like this. No, this is your owndoing.'

     'Hah!' laughed Mamps. 'How are we responsible?'

     'You pushed the humans until they snapped,' saidCecrops. 'We tried to warn you.'

     'The humans wouldn't know where to start,' saidMamps. 'They're three and a half thousand years awayfrom discovering time-travel technology!'

     'But they don't need to understand something to breakit,' said the Doctor.

     'Deukalion said it was Actaeus,' said June. She proddedLeeb in the arm. 'You were going to blow up his people.'

     'What?' said Mamps. 'You didn't ask permission.'

     'No!' protested Leeb. 'I just said I would. To make theprey behave!'

     'Where is Deukalion?' asked Cecrops, looking round.June looked too, but Deukalion, Aglauros and Pandrososhad long since disappeared. So had the other humancompetitors. The Doctor caught June's eye, shook his headimperceptibly, telling her not to say anything.

     'He'll be found,' said Leeb. 'And punished. I think we'llhave a hunt.'

     'It'd better be in the citadel,' said the Doctor. 'It's goingto be a bit wet outside.'

     They turned to look back over the citadel walls in thedirection of the fiery sky. Mamps and Leeb both gasped,and it took a moment for June to realise why. The sea nolonger twinkled away in the distance. Instead, pale sandstretched to the horizon, the tide out for miles and miles.

     'What's happening?' asked June.

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    'There's going to be tidal wave,' said the Doctor calmly.He looked up at Mamps. 'Tell me there's a force fieldround the citadel,' he said.

    'We didn't think there was any need,' said Mamps sadly.

    'Oh well,' said the Doctor, clapping his hands together.'I've got a couple of minutes to rig one up.' He beamed atthe Slitheen for a moment, then grabbed June's hand anddashed off across the balcony.

    'Go find Deukalion,' he told her once they were out ofthe Slitheen's hearing. 'Make sure he's not being stupid.'

    'Right,' said June, letting him go. He disappeared off upthe passageway.

    She turned, pleased to see Cecrops slithering after her,glad for the protection he gave her. The courtyard andbalconies showed alien tourists, still admiring the purplesky. But there were no other humans to be seen anywhere.She tried to think tactics, what her priorities would be inDeukalion's place. And it seemed quite obvious.

    'Cecrops,' she said as he reached her. 'Where do theylock up the rest of the competitors?'

Cosmo stood in the map room, surrounded by torn-openmachines. He gurgled with frustration as he tried to fusewires together, then slapped the large box he had takenapart. The Doctor skidded in behind him.

   Cosmo threw him an angry glance. 'I'm going as fast asI can,' he said. 'I don't need any help.'

   'And you're doing very well,' said the Doctor coming tojoin him, squatting down amid the tangled mess of wiresand components. 'Can't be easy without the temporal

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drive. What are you using for the power supply?'

   Cosmo shrugged. 'The distress signal has its ownreserve,' he said.

   'I'm going to have to commandeer it,' the Doctor toldhim. 'Sorry, I need the power. Otherwise we're all going toget wet. There's this huge tidal wave on the way.'

   Cosmo blinked at him but the Doctor had alreadystarted work, feverishly lashing the wires together, hissonic screwdriver buzzing. His natural authority madeCosmo hesitate before interrupting.

   'But we have to send the distress signal,' said Cosmo.'Or we'll be stuck here for ever.'

   'It's all right,' the Doctor told him. 'I'll make sure youget home.'

   Cosmo nodded. 'But Mamps will be cross if I don't dowhat she tells me.'

   A thought struck the Doctor. He smiled at Cosmo andstarted patching two wires together that would short outthe whole system. 'I'll tell you what,' he said. 'If there's anypower left from the force field, you can have it back.'

   Cosmo considered. 'But will a distress signal getthrough a force field?' he asked.

   'If I rig it up right,' the Doctor told him, his fingersworking quickly as he fused another component to hismachine. 'We'll make it one way, so anything can get outbut nothing can get in.'

   'Ooh,' said Cosmo. 'That's clever.' He leaned in toexamine the Doctor's handiwork and noticed the error he'dworked in. 'But you're doing it the wrong way round.'

   'Am I?' said the Doctor, innocently. He let Cosmo take

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over. 'Tell you what,' he went on. 'You make that work andI'll get the distress signal working.'

                           * * *

June followed Cecrops into the dark corridor of thehumans' quarters. They were more like stables thanbedrooms, berths of wood stacked up together, lined withstraw and rags. It stank of too many people squeezed intotoo small a place, with little concern for hygiene. But theplace was empty, the cell doors hanging open, the locksbroken on each one. June and Cecrops hurried on.

   They emerged from the dark into a flat, open space,encircled by high walls. It looked like the exercise yard ofa prison in a movie. For a moment, June felt as if she wasin a film, as she watched a large group of people in theirvarious historical costumes clustered at the centre, busypractising dance moves. She saw Herse, Polos and Vik,and several of the people who'd taken part in the re-enactment of the Platonic War. They waved at her,delighted she'd chosen to join them.

   As June and Cecrops hurried over to them, June sawDeukalion directing. He had a kylix of wine in his hand.

   'Hi,' he said grandly as he saw them coming.

   June didn't know where to start. 'What are you doing?'she said.

   'I'm going to sing a story,' said Deukalion proudly. 'Thislot are going to make it look good.'

   'But,' said June, perplexed, 'why?'

   'Well,' said Deukalion. 'The masters are stuck here now.

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So we need to show them a good time. Instead of thegames, we can have a party, feed them, sing them ourstories.'

   June gawped.

   Ash drifted down onto the dancers, nestling in theirhair. 'And who's daft idea was that?'

   'Mine,' Deukalion beamed. 'It's much better than tryingto drive the masters into the sea. That's what Aglauros andPandrosos wanted to do. Not their fault; I think Actaeusordered it. He didn't know about us all working together.'

   Cecrops smiled. 'But you convinced them otherwise,'he said.

   'We don't have any kings with us,' said Deukalion, 'sowe had to make the decision ourselves. Everyone madetheir own decision, and we counted up the results.'

   'You voted?' said June, amazed.

   'Is that what it's called? It was pretty close, to behonest, but the majority said we should look after themasters rather than trying to kill them. Hence the danceroutine. It's us working together.'

   'It's very well organised,' agreed Cecrops. June thoughthe'd be wowed by a human eating a boiled egg.

   'Yeah,' said Deukalion.

   'Not all of you,' said June. 'Where are Aglauros andPandrosos?'

   Deukalion looked all round. 'Um,' he said. 'Sulking, Iguess. Along with all the other people who wanted to goto war. I don't think they're really into the performing arts.'

   June felt her heart turn over. She couldn't believe thetwo warrior princesses would ever surrender so easily. She

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turned to Cecrops. 'We've got to get back to the courtyard,'she told him. 'They're going to do something stupid.'

   Around them, beyond the high walls looming over theyard, they heard a horrendous growl of noise.

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    The Doctor and Cosmo walked out onto the balcony to a

    chorus of applause. Behind the alien tourists, far beyond

    the citadel walls, an enormous tidal wave surged over the

    coastline. White spray exploded high over the landscape,

    the trees and grassland lost under dark, fast-moving water.

       The aliens hurried round the citadel walls to watch the

    flood seethe and gnash towards them. Cosmo cheered as a

    small clump of stone dwellings was entirely consumed.

    But then he saw the Doctor's dark expression and his grin

    faded from his face.

       'We're going to be safe, aren't we?' he said.

       'I think so,' said the Doctor quietly. 'We'll see. But there

    could have been tens of thousands of people in the path of

    that wave.'

       'Yeah,' said Cosmo nervously. 'But we're going to be

    safe.'

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   They made their way to join the alien tourists at thewall. Dark water filled the landscape, still surging quicklytheir way. It picked over trees and shrubs, pooling in thevalleys, filling them flat and then coming on. They sawsheep and goats hurrying from the deluge, trying to findhigh ground. But there was no high ground. The watersurged around the hill of the citadel itself, rising up andup, licking the stone walls.

   Cosmo giggled in terror as they joined Mamps andLeeb. But the Doctor looked confident as he watched thewater reach up over the top of the wall. The Slitheensquealed together, then broke into a laugh. The watercontinued to rise past the top level of the wall. It didn'tspill over the wall, it just kept rising high into the air,pressing against the invisible barrier. They soon lookedout, as if through glass, into the murky swirl. Bits of rockand tree bumped up against the barrier and were then lostagain in the gloom.

   The alien tourists applauded and took pictures. Somebrave souls reached hands or tentacles over the citadelwalls. They could press through the barrier, touch thewater, feel it warm and wet. But when they withdrewagain, their hands and tentacles were dry.

   The Doctor beamed. 'Yeah,' he told Cosmo. 'We'regoing to be safe.'

   'You mean you weren't sure?' said Cosmo, appalled.

   The Doctor grinned. 'Well, not a hundred per cent. Butcongratulations. You did that.'

   Cosmo glanced back at the wall of water, alreadyfalling away, then at Mamps and Leeb. 'Yes,' he said

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proudly. 'So I did.'

   'When the water dies away,' the Doctor told themsternly, 'we start getting the tourists out. You pack up andgo home.'

   'Do we now?' said Mamps.

   'Yes, you do,' said the Doctor. 'Enough is enough. Toomany people have died.'

   'No one that matters,' said Mamps.

   But before the Doctor could respond there was a cryfrom behind them.

   The alien tourists gazed in horror over the citadel wallsas the water fell back. Mamps ran forward to see what hadappalled them. The flood had churned up the landscape,ripped out all the trees. Bodies of sheep and cows laybroken in the mud. What had been just a moment before abeautiful landscape now looked like a vision of hell.

   One of the alien tourists began to take pictures, the bulbof the flash vivid in the night. A few others reached fortheir cameras, too, but they were all utterly silent as theytook in the awful sight.

   'The party's over,' said the Doctor. 'They'll tell theirfriends what you did.'

   'But we didn't do anything!' said Mamps. She addressedthe tourists. 'You know this wasn't us! It was that group ofhumans!'

   The tourists shifted uncomfortably. One of the Balumincame forward, a pale blue creature with long tentaclespainted in lurid tattoos. 'Yes,' it said, 'but only because ofthe way you'd been treating them.'

   'You're just as bad as they are,' chipped in another alien.

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   'You're worse,' said a third. 'Imagine that! Worse than ahuman!'

   The aliens twittered with horror at this revelation.Mamps and Leeb tried to placate them, but couldn't makethemselves heard. The aliens demanded their money backand said they'd write to the news networks.

   Mamps turned on the Doctor. 'You ruined everything!'she seethed.

   'Whoops,' he told her, grinning.

   'The humans are barbarians. They burned whole worldsin the Platonic Wars.'

   'There were terrible things done on both sides,' said theDoctor sadly. 'And it doesn't mean you can wipe themfrom history.'

   'But if we don't,' said Mamps, 'the humans wipe out theSlitheen.'

   The Doctor blinked at her. 'Do they?' he said. 'Sincewhen?'

   'We've travelled in time,' Mamps pleaded. 'We've seenwhat gets done.'

   'Well,' said the Doctor, 'I'm sure I can have a word.Humans are very amenable, if only you talk to themnicely.'

   'Doctor!' yelled June. He turned and saw her andCecrops heading towards him across the balcony.

   'See?' he said. 'This is my friend June. She's nice.' Alientourists crowded round, keen to meet her.

   'Doctor,' said June, pressing her way through thecrowd. 'Aglauros and Pandrosos. They're raising an army.'

   'What?' said the Doctor.

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   The alien tourists muttered with fear at the idea of ahuman army.

   'See?' crowed Mamps. 'And they took no prisoners inthe Platonic War. A baaraddelskelliumfatrexius can'tchange its pustules.'

   'But I told them not to fight!' the Doctor insisted. Thenhe stopped. 'A what?'

   'A baaraddelskelliumfatrexius,' said Mamps. 'It's a beaston our home planet. Sort of like a giant squirrel. Extinctnow, but they used to have pustules.'

   'Yeah, I got that,' said the Doctor. 'Look, be fair, thehumans do have a lot to be cross about. But I'll talk tothem. Make this right.' He turned to June. 'Where arethey?'

   'We don't know,' June admitted.

   'Over there,' said Cecrops.

   They turned.

   An army of humans had assembled in silence on the farside of the balcony, blocking their escape. The humanswere dressed in the same daft historical clothes as before,but they'd added bits of armour, metal shin pads and boars'tusk helmets, where they'd been able to scrounge them.Those at the front carried tall, oblong shields, on whichwere painted the same crude logo a human stick manback-flipping over a bull. The alien tourists huddledtogether in fear.

   'Hey,' said the Doctor indignantly. 'That's me on thoseshields. You can't use me as your emblem if you're goingto fight.'

   One of the warriors stepped forward. Aglauros looked

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terrifying in her hotchpotch armour, a boars' tusk helmetwedged on her head. 'You showed us we could resist themasters,' she declared.

   'But you weren't here for that bit,' he replied. 'I showedyou not to fight.'

   Aglauros shook her head sadly. 'The masters aremasters no more,' she said. 'I promised my dead father.'

   'Look, I'm sorry about Actaeus,' said the Doctor. 'Butthis really isn't the way...'

   'If you're not with us,' said Aglauros, 'you're with them.And we have vowed to show them no mercy.'

   'Now hang on just a moment--' began the Doctor.

   'Oh, let them come,' gurgled Leeb. He and Mamps andCosmo stepped forward to face the human army. 'I've notkilled anything since this morning!'

   'No,' said the Doctor. 'You've got this all wrong!'

   But the humans were already charging.

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    Leeb raised one claw at the humans racing towards him.

    He clicked the controls on the bracelet at his wrist, but the

    Doctor launched himself at the huge Slitheen, knocking

    his arm so that the death beam fired high over Aglauros'

    head.

       Leeb struggled with the Doctor, trying to grab him. The

    Doctor couldn't escape, so he leapt right at Leeb. They

    both toppled over the balcony to crash down in the sand of

    the arena below.

       The wave of humans broke on the alien tourists. Some

    of the aliens stood their ground, sweeping claws and

    tentacles at their attackers. Mamps and Cosmo were

    laughing as they waded through the human shield,

    warriors screaming as they were trampled and cut down.

       'Doctor!' yelled June, running to the railing. The Doctor

    lay in the sand, unmoving. Leeb got unsteadily to his feet

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and raised his claws above the Doctor's head. June coulddo nothing and then something moved suddenly besideher. Cecrops threw himself over the railing of the balconyto slap hard onto Leeb's back. They tumbled over in thesand and were up again quickly to face off against eachother.

   'You're dead, fish boy,' Leeb taunted.

   Cecrops didn't say anything. Leeb charged, Cecropsrolled back on his tail and let Leeb smash into the wall ofthe arena.

   June laughed, and ducked her head as a tentaclewhipped towards her. A blobby creature fought a man withtwo swords, blocking and parrying as they danced backand forth. June struggled to get out of their way.

   Half the alien tourists had joined the fight, the otherhalf cowering behind them. June caught sight ofPandrosos duelling with Cosmo, her sword clatteringagainst his claws.

   'You've got to stop!' she shouted. 'We won't getanywhere like this!'

   'Who's side are you on, girl?' growled a soldier in frontof her.

   'I'm not on anyone's side,' she insisted. 'There shouldn'teven be any sides.'

   No one listened. She ducked and weaved through thefighting, trying to get to the steps that led down to thearena. Her only hope, she felt sure, was to get to theDoctor. A human man cried out as Mamps slashed herclaws through him. Then the great Slitheen turned onAglauros, who dodged nimbly from the talons as they

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swept her way. To June's horror, Aglauros and Mampswere both grinning, enjoying every moment of this.

   She reached the stairs, clambering past a human soldierlying face down on the steps. June grabbed the banisterand jumped over him, landing so hard in the sand that shelost her footing. Rolling forward, she missed a spear thatthwacked into the ground where she'd stood. She lookedup, around, but couldn't tell which of the tangledcombatants had thrown it. Her bare feet ached but she hadto keep moving.

   Leeb and Cecrops circled round one another in themiddle of the arena. The Doctor lay on the floor to oneside and June hurried towards him. Leeb slashed atCecrops, who hopped back, lifting himself on his handsand slapping the Slitheen hard in the face with his tail.Leeb fell backwards, flipped nimbly over and was back onhis feet again.

   June reached the Doctor, grabbing his shoulder to turnhim over on his back. His face was covered in sand, whichshe tried to scrape away. Suddenly his eyes snapped open.

   'Ow,' he said indignantly.

   'You fell off the balcony,' she told him.

   He sat up, waving her off. 'No, ow, you're rubbing sandin my face.'

   'I was rubbing it off.'

   'Oh,' he said. 'Oh, well, that's all right then. Good onyou. What have I missed?'

   'Everyone's gone mad,' she said as he looked all round.The Doctor got quickly to his feet, trying to work outwhere to start. Leeb slashed at Cecrops and just caught

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him on the arm. Cecrops yelled out in pain and toppledbackwards.

   Leeb leered, taking a step towards his fallen adversary.He reached for the bracelet on his wrist, the one that firedthe death ray. And the bracelet wasn't there.

   'Looking for this?' asked the Doctor. He held thebracelet in his hands.

   'That's mine,' seethed Leeb. 'Give it here.'

   'It's for molecular repurposing, isn't it?' said the Doctor,fiddling with the controls. 'You use it to turn sand intodrinks and nibbles.'

   'Give it here,' Leeb insisted, swiping at the Doctor, whoducked quickly out of the way.

   'I just want a go,' said the Doctor. He grinned. 'All thisphysical exercise,' he said. 'Doesn't it make you hungry?'Before Leeb could respond, he aimed the bracelet at thesand and pressed the little button.

   The sand exploded with pink light just in front of Leeb.He cried out as objects smashed into his legs and belly.Cakes and biscuits slapped against him, knocking himbackwards a step at a time. The more he retreated, themore the cakes and biscuits came.

   'Waaah!' he wailed, protecting his face with his claws.Biscuits smacked his shoulders. He hit the back wall ofthe arena and still the biscuits came. Leeb fell on hisknees, sobbing, and was quickly buried under a cairn ofcakes.

   'You killed him,' said Cecrops in amazement, getting upoff the ground.

   'Nah,' said the Doctor. 'Just pinned him down for a bit.

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Taken him out of the game.'

   'But those are just cakes,' said June.

   'Rock cakes,' said the Doctor. 'Heaviest thing I couldthink of. Come on. We've got to stop everyone else.'

Bodies blocked their way up the steps, so the Doctor gotCecrops and June to put their arms round him and pointedthe bracelet at the sand at their feet. They rocketed up on aspire of rock cakes and pink steam, taking some of thefighters by surprise. June felt a mile high as she, Cecropsand the Doctor leapt from the spire down onto thebalcony. The balcony felt sticky under her bare feet.Aliens and humans stopped to stare.

   The Doctor took the opportunity to step neatly betweenMamps and Aglauros, grabbing Aglauros' sword out of herhand. He held the sword in one hand and raised thebracelet in the other. Mamps took a swipe at him but hedodged easily out of the way.

   'Now, now,' he chided. 'This bracelet does funny thingsto sand. I wonder what it could do to a silicon-based lifeform.'

   Mamps stared at him, wide-eyed. 'You wouldn't,' shesaid.

   'Maybe you shouldn't force me,' he said. 'I thought wecould have a natter. Oi,' he shouted at the rest of thefighters. 'Time out, if you please!'

   Around them, June saw the fighting stop as humansand tourists turned to watch the stand-off between the twoleaders. A lion-faced man with wings like an eagle's evenlet the human women he'd been fighting step round him

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for a better view.

   'Right,' said the Doctor. 'Aglauros. Hello, that's a prettyoutfit. Tell Mamps here that you're sorry.'

   'What?' said Aglauros in horror. 'I would rather die.'

   'I'd be happy to oblige,' gurgled Mamps.

   'Oh,' said the Doctor, surprised. 'Really? They're notmasters any more. I thought that's what you wanted.'

   'We want all the masters dead,' said Aglauros. And shedrew a dagger from a scabbard at her waist and lunged atthe Doctor.

   He parried with the sword he'd taken from her, butAglauros twisted round and slashed at him again. TheDoctor dodged, bumping into Mamps. 'Sorry,' he said ashe blocked another attack from Aglauros.

   'Don't mention it,' grinned Mamps. 'Let me know if Ican be of any assistance.'

   'Oh, I'm fine,' said the Doctor as he and Aglaurosslashed and parried their way through the aliens andsoldiers. 'But this is stupid!' said the Doctor as they went.

   Aglauros snarled at him. 'Death to the masters!' sheshouted. 'Death to those who help the masters!'

   To June's horror, Aglauros' army took up the shout,turning again on the alien tourists. Battle resumed, morebitterly than before. A lumbering alien crashed into Juneas it dodged round a man with a spear. She recoveredherself in time to see Cecrops, backed up against the wallby Pandrosos.

   'Death to the masters,' Pandrosos told him.

   'But I'm really into human beings,' Cecrops tried to tellher.

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   June cried out as Pandrosos lunged her sword atCecrops. There was a metallic clang.

   'Sorry,' said Deukalion, holding Pandrosos' sword backwith his own. 'He's with me. Got a problem with that?'

   Pandrosos stepped back, twisted round and slashed athim. Deukalion blocked her without even trying. He heldhis sword in one hand, Pandrosos gripped hers in two.Their swords slashed and clacked and clanged asDeukalion kept her from Cecrops.

   'You're on the wrong side!' Pandrosos seethed.

   'You're attacking people who don't even have weapons,'said Deukalion. 'That just isn't fair.'

   Cecrops escaped from behind Deukalion and slitheredquickly over to June. 'Look,' he said. She turned to seeHerse and Polos protecting the lion-faced man from twohuman soldiers. The lion-faced man seemed even moreappalled to be rescued by humans than attacked by them.

   Across the balcony, the Doctor and Aglauros continuedto duel. The Doctor leapt for the tall spire of rock cakes,skidding down the side to land in the arena. Aglauros washot on his heels. They danced over the sand, cutting andthrusting, neither finding an advantage.

   Humans and alien tourists still clashed swords andtalons up on the balcony. But Deukalion's friends wereslowly getting between them.

   Two of them even guarded Mamps. June saw her shakeher huge head in exasperation.

   'I was enjoying that,' Mamps opined to Cosmo. 'Whydo we all have to be so rational?'

   Then she gestured for Cosmo to come closer,

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whispering something in his ear. June nudged Cecrops andthey both ducked round the various soldiers to followCosmo as he hurried away.

   They left the quieting battle as Cosmo charged downone of the corridors and into the strange labyrinth of guestrooms. He ducked round a corner ahead of them and theyhurried to keep up.

   'We can't lose him,' June said. 'He can't be up toanything good.'

   The passageways jutted off at sharp angles and split offin all directions. They sometimes lost sight of Cosmo for amoment as he took a sudden turning. He and Cecropscould both outrun a human and June soon had a stitch.

   They lost sight of Cosmo just before a junction of threepossible paths. Cecrops listened carefully, but theycouldn't tell which way Cosmo might have taken.

   'Split up?' said June.

   'You can't face him on your own,' said Cecrops.

   'Don't worry,' she said, 'I'll scream if I need you.'

   Before he could argue, she ran off down the rightpassage. She glanced back to see him taking the left.

   She hurried up the gloomy passage, listening for anymovement ahead. Round a corner, she found a longcorridor of doors. Curtains shrouded each of the openings.The corridor ended in a wall, so she didn't have muchchoice. She ran to the first of the doorways and poked herhead round the curtain.

   A large, square bed filled most of the room. At least,she assumed it was a bed. It might also have been somekind of bath, filled with idly wriggling spaghetti. There

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was no sign of the Slitheen.

   June checked the next room and found an identical bed.Clothes lay scattered all round the floor, with a heap ofdirty whites in the corner.

   She had checked four rooms when she heard Cecropscry out. 'June!'

   She fled back up the passageway in time to see Cosmoemerge from the one on the left. He had somethingbundled up in his claws, and when he saw her, his eyesopened wide. With a high, mewling cry he sprinted awayfrom her, back up the way they had come.

   June didn't follow him at first. 'Cecrops?' she called upthe left passageway. 'Cecrops, are you OK?'

   She didn't get an answer.

   With a thrill of horror she started forward. 'Cecrops, it'sOK. I'm coming!'

   She followed the passageway round to an identicalcorridor of doorways. One curtain had been slashedthrough, the long stripes of material flapping sadly down.Terrified of what she would find, she ran into the room.

   Cecrops lay sprawled in the bed of slowly wrigglingworms. Three lines of red streaked down his shoulder andchest where Cosmo must have slashed him. He winced asthe wriggling worm in his hand nosed around the first ofthe wounds. And when he opened his eyes he saw June.

   'What are you thinking?' he said to her. 'Get after him,quick!'

   'Right,' she said, too stunned to argue, and turned tailback out into the passageway. She ran, struggling toremember the route they had come in by, unable to stop to

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work it out. She felt stupid for not having paid moreattention, and for the rage coursing through her atCecrops. How dare he snap at her when she'd beenmaking sure he was all right.

    Then, for a moment, she thought she'd got herself lost.The passageway didn't mean anything to her. But againthere came that strange, high-pitched wail, up ahead ofher. She redoubled her pace.

    The passageway twisted once more and then sherecognised the corridor that led into the arena. Cosmoskulked up ahead, cuddling whatever he'd stolen, just bythe entrance to the arena. June tiptoed up behind him, buthe glanced back to look at her.

    'You can't jump out on me,' he giggled at her. 'I couldsmell you from more than a mile away!'

    June stopped, instinctively sniffing to see what stinkshe gave off. Cosmo giggled and turned away from her.He bent, letting go of the bundle he'd been holding socarefully. Something lumpy fell out onto the ground,letting out a high-pitched wail as it fell. June ran forwardto see as the thing landed with a bump on the floor. It satfor a moment, looking up at Cosmo in shock, and then letout a terrible cry.

    'Mummy!' it wailed as June ran towards it. A little, lion-like face turned away from her, and it hurried away onfour stumpy legs. The stumps of its nascent eagle wingswaggled as it ran.

    'Aw,' drooled Cosmo as it scurried away, 'you scaredthe poor little thing.'

    He and June watched the little creature run out into the

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arena, past the pile of cakes and biscuits under whichLeeb still lay. The Doctor and Aglauros still fought in thearena, their dance a little slower, more exhausted, but theirskill still evident in every move.

   Above them, the alien tourists and humans let out ashared gasp of surprise. They seemed to have finishedfighting each other and crowded round the railing towatch the Doctor and the princess. Aglauros turned to seethe little creature hurrying towards her.

   'My baby!' cried a woman's voice from up on thebalcony. And Aglauros dropped her dagger, runningforward to snatch up the creature. June ran forward, outinto the arena. The Doctor looked horrified and threwdown his sword.

   'All right,' he said, his arms out in submission. 'Isurrender. Please, let it go.'

   'My baby!' wailed the woman on the balcony the lion-faced woman June had spotted before. Her lion-facedpartner hammered the railing.

   'Let him go!' he yelled at Aglauros. 'Wretched human!Let my son go.'

   Aglauros twirled round in the sand, a wicked smile onher face. The watching aliens and humans gazed on inwonder, terrified of what she might do. June hurriedtowards the woman and child, but the Doctor raised ahand to make her keep her distance.

   'Please,' he said gently to Aglauros. 'Look at him, he'sjust a child.'

   Aglauros sneered at him without looking down. Thenshe yelled up at those watching above her.

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   'I had a child!' she told them. 'And my child had afather. But the Slitheen killed them.'

   The watching audience gasped in horror. The lion-facedwoman let out a cry.

   'They've taken everything,' Aglauros went on, her voicewavering with grief. 'The city I lived in, the king I obeyed,his people scattered in the wind. I have heard what you doin this citadel. We fight and die for your pleasure.'

   The aliens looked shame-faced, but June saw Mampsgrinning with pleasure. She realised anything Aglauros didnow gave the Slitheen free licence to wipe out all thehumans. They'd argue they had no other choice likeputting down violent dogs.

   'Please,' said the Doctor to Aglauros. 'Don't do this.'

   'No,' said June. 'Do.'

   Aglauros snapped round to stare at her. She had a handround the small creature's throat. The Doctor didn't dareget any nearer to her. But June took another step forward.

   'You're right,' she told the princess. 'They've enslavedus for years. They've ground us down to almost nothing.They want to wipe us out.'

   'Yes,' said Aglauros. But June could see the doubt in hereyes. The moment June had agreed with her, not given hersomething to fight, Aglauros was on the back foot.

   'You want to hurt them back,' said June. 'It's not enoughto stop them. They have to understand what they've doneto you.'

   'They need to know,' Aglauros agreed.

   'And you know how much it hurts,' June went on.

   'Yes,' said Aglauros.

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    'You can make them feel like that,' said June. 'You canput that on them.'

    The lion-faced man cried out in rage and frustration, aterrible, animal yell.

    'But you're not going to,' said June. 'Are you?'

    Aglauros looked down at the lion-faced creature for thefirst time. The alien creature wriggled in her grasp, thenlooked back up at her with wide, lion-like eyes. Aglaurosgazed back, then looked slowly up at June. 'We could usehim,' she said quietly. 'We could bargain with them.'

    'You could,' said June. 'Are you going to?'

    The lion-faced woman jumped over the railing, herwings unfolding to slow her fall. She landed lightly on thesand and walked slowly over. Tears cut tracks down herhairy face and her eyes were terrible to see.

    'Please,' she said pitifully.

    Aglauros reached out the child towards her without aword.

    The lion-faced baby threw his arms round his mum'sneck. The mother held him tight, gazing at Aglauros.Aglauros gazed back. June saw the desolation on her face.

    'Thank you,' choked the lion-faced woman.

    And above them, as one, the humans and alien touristsapplauded.

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    'You're clearly more civilised than us,' the lion-faced

    woman told June.

       'They have their moments,' the Doctor agreed, with a

    massive grin. He clapped June on the shoulder. 'That was

    brilliant,' he told her.

       'It was awful,' she said. 'The poor woman.'

       They watched Aglauros hanging from Pandrosos,

    sobbing together. Humans and aliens had come down

    from the balcony to join them in the arena. But they kept

    their distance from the two princesses, glancing

    awkwardly round at one another.

       Cecrops eventually approached them. Pandrosos

    nudged Aglauros who looked up at the merman. He

    smiled sadly at her. 'If there's anything we can do,' he said.

       She saw the scars on his chest from where Cosmo had

    slashed at him. 'You fought on our side.'

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    Cecrops smiled. 'There aren't any sides now.'

    'Rubbish!' screamed Mamps hurrying over. She andCosmo had used their bracelets to turn the cairn of cakesand biscuits back into ordinary sand. Cosmo now slappedLeeb around the face, trying to revive him. 'Youkidnapped that baby!' Mamps went on. 'You were going tokill it!'

    The Doctor made to protest. But the lion-faced womanstepped out in front of him.

    'How dare you!' she said. 'This has all been your fault!You told us the humans were all willing volunteers! Yousaid your tours were fair trade!'

    'Yeah!' jeered some of the other aliens.

    'Now, madam,' began Mamps as the tourists circledaround her. Mamps stepped back and they surged forward.She turned to Cosmo, who'd got a dazed Leeb on his feet.

    'Run!' she shouted, throwing her claws up above herhead. But there were humans and tourists all round them.

    'You're not going anywhere,' said Herse.

    'Get out of my way, little ape,' Mamps crowed. 'I canstill tear you in half.'

    'You're not going to kill all of us,' said Herse.

    A tentacled alien prodded Mamps in the arm. 'You'regoing to give us our money back.'

    Mamps hissed at the terrible words. She turned toCosmo and Leeb. 'Busted,' she said to them. And clackeda talon against the bracelet on her wrist.

    Before anyone could stop them, Leeb had thrown hisarms around Cosmo as he too worked his bracelet. Sandwhirled up around the three Slitheen, sparkling with pink

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light. The aliens and humans fell back as the two pinkclouds suddenly exploded with energy. And then there wasno sign of the Slitheen.

   'They blew themselves up,' said Cecrops.

   'Not likely,' said the Doctor. 'They just repurposedthemselves. Slitheen are made of silicon, like most of thesand. I expect they'll just revaporate somewhere elsenearby.' He paused. 'Is "revaporate" even a word?'

   'We've got to find them!' said June.

   'Nearby as in anywhere in fifty miles. They'll keep theirdistance from the tourists, I think. Lie low for a whileuntil their siblings turn up in the time bus.'

   'Cosmo sent that distress signal,' said June. 'Whyhaven't they arrived?'

   'Um,' said the Doctor. 'I sort of got in the way of thesignal.'

   'You stopped it?'

   'No,' he said. 'I just sent it to someone else. Called inthe alien hunters.'

   'The who?'

   The Doctor grinned. 'You and me. It's the signal wepicked up in the first place.'

   She gaped at him. 'And that time storm we crashedinto, that was their temporal drive exploding,' she said.

   'Yeah,' said the Doctor. 'Very good. You're getting thehang of this stuff.'

   'So what will happen to the Slitheen if they're notrescued?'

   'Oh, they will be,' said the Doctor. 'The family in thefuture will realise something's up. So they'll send the time

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bus back anyway.'

   'You seem very sure of it,' she said, puzzled.

   'Well, if they don't I'll give them a nudge. But firstthings first. Let's sort out how we're going to get thesepeople home.'

The Doctor and Deukalion led everyone down the darktunnel that led back to the tiny strip of beach. Humanshelped alien tourists with their luggage and souvenirs,singing and chatting and teasing each other as they went.A couple of competitors from the kingdom of Mycenaewere going to stay to look over the citadel. Everyone elsecouldn't wait to get clear of the place.

   The huge Cutty Sark sat quietly in the cave where Juneand the others had first seen it. Some of the alien touristsadmitted they'd been out on it before, but no one seemedsure how to pilot the thing, or how to get it out of thecave.

   'It can't be that hard,' said the Doctor, buzzing his sonicscrewdriver at a hatch in the wooden side. A gangplankslapped down in front of the Doctor's feet, leading into theship's dark stomach. 'I mean, the Slitheen managed, didn'tthey? And I'm a lot smarter than them. Right, everyoneaboard.'

   The aliens and tourists trooped onto the ship, thegangplank wide enough for them to go in pairs.

   'You can leave your swords behind,' he told Aglaurossternly. She snorted at him, looked ready to argue, thenglanced round at her fellow passengers.

   'We're all friends together,' she said.

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   'Exactly,' said the Doctor.

   Aglauros unstrapped her daggers and dumped them in aheap beside the gangplank. The other humans and touristsdropped their weapons behind her

   June helped the lion-faced woman carry her wrigglingson on board. Her name was Amber but she lookedpuzzled when June asked the name of the boy. 'He's notreally old enough to decide something like that,' saidAmber. 'Though he is very smart for his age.'

   They stepped onto the gangplank. The ship swayed andcreaked in front of them, a huge yacht with vast, billowingsails.

   Once everyone was aboard, the Doctor and June madetheir way up to the deck, already heaving with aliens andhumans. There were incongruous, futuristic controls andthe Doctor fluttered his fingers over them gleefully. Aheadof them, the cave wall just faded away. The morning skyand sea were streaked with red and purple, fallout fromthe explosion. It made for the most incredible sunrise. TheCutty Sark drifted effortlessly out into it.

   Deukalion joined them at the desk of controls as theDoctor started the engines. It took June a moment torealise they were moving, the workings so smooth andsilent. But the cliff face beside them began to slide by andthen they were haring over the sea. The Doctor explainedthe simple controls to Deukalion who took great pride intaking the wheel.

   'But can't we just teleport over?' asked June, pointing tothe map on the wall. A red dot was casting out from theisland of Crete, moving steadily northwards. 'That's us,

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isn't it? This ship has a teleport thing.'

   'Yes,' said the Doctor. 'But where we're going doesn't.We'll have to go the long way. Come on, it'll be fun.'

   June followed the Doctor out onto the deck again. Theirfellow passengers had found a kiosk of tacky souvenirs the same Greek heads and masks and athletes you couldbuy in June's own time, only made from stone. The Doctorused Leeb's bracelet to turn a box of broken statues into anice cream stand. He and June began handing out conesand explaining to the passengers how they worked. Junehanded an ice cream to Cecrops, but he barelyacknowledged her, staring out to sea.

   'You all right?' she asked. 'Ready to go home?'

   He smiled sadly but didn't answer.

   A cry went up from the starboard side after they'd beengoing about half an hour. The Doctor ran round to lookover the rails, then dashed to join Deukalion at thecontrols. Between them they brought the Cutty Sark roundsharply. June hurried downstairs to join Herse and Polosunfastening the gangplank. They lowered ropes out of thewide door in the side of the ship, aliens coming to helpthem as they worked.

   Then Polos scampered out, down the rope. June ran tothe doorway to see him balanced on a makeshift raft. Twomen, three women, a number of children and goats allgazed up at her, grinning. They had barely survived theprevious day's flood, but they were not the only survivors.

   With the Doctor and Deukalion at the wheel, the shipcontinued to pick up stragglers for the rest of the day. Thealiens and humans already aboard fussed round, offering

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food and drink and explanations for all that had happened.June kept by the doorway, working ropes back and forth,laughing as the stories being told got warped andexaggerated with each telling. At one point, she too haddanced over the back of the bull in the arena. In anotherversion the humans and aliens had put the Slitheen to thesword. The newcomers seemed to prefer the more violentversions.

   They had rescued more than a hundred people as theruin of Thera appeared on the horizon. June joined thecrowd up on deck to see the awful sight. Two long,slender bread crusts of land marked the ends of what hadonce been a huge island. There was nothing between themnow but darkly steaming sea.

   Deukalion steered the ship expertly into a cove, underthe Doctor's direction. He showed them which buttonlowered the anchor and the ship came to a standstill. Theycrowded round the deck to observe the dark, steamingcrust of land. The contours had been smoothed by layersand layers of ash. There was no sign of life at all.

   'We can't go out there,' said June. 'It must still beboiling hot.'

   The Doctor grinned at her. 'The temporal drive was inthe middle of the island. Much higher than anything that'sleft. We need to get up to the height of where the gantrywould have been.' He licked his finger and held it out overthe rail running round the deck. 'It's coming,' he said. 'Ican feel the rent in time.'

   He rummaged in his pocket to produce Leeb's bracelet,and fired it at the island of ash. Pink cloud whirled all

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over the island, rising high into the purple sky.

   'What are you doing?' said June. 'You can't make astaircase out of food.'

   'No,' said the Doctor. 'But I can absorb all the heat fromthe lava. Otherwise it'd be too hot for us to land there. Andwe've got a lot of work to do by this afternoon.'

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    They took everything they could from the Cutty Sark.

    They cut the masts down, they carried out all the furniture

    and fittings. They took boards from the floors and panels

    from the walls.

       On the highest point of the strange, grey island, they

    worked together to construct everything they'd taken into

    a single plank, like a mile-long diving board. As the

    afternoon wore on, Cecrops led a team tearing up the

    ship's sails. They snaked the cord round and round the

    diving board tightly, so it acted like a handhold. It was the

    best they could do, but it didn't look very safe. June was

    glad she wouldn't be one of those to walk across this death

    trap.

       Then the light was fading and the stars started to come

    out above their heads. Some of the alien tourists tried to

    spot their homes, pointing out constellations to the

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bemused humans. And then there was light in the skyacross the water, high above their ship, in the space wherethe rest of the island had been.

   'That's it!' shouted the Doctor. 'We haven't got long.We've got to get the gangplank out to it.'

   They clustered round the huge long board they'dconstructed and, from the sheer cliff face of the island,carefully fed it out into space to reach the rip in time. Itwas a tricky operation, steering the thing from one end,the weight ever greater the more they fed out into the air.The first time, they missed the rip in time completely andnearly dropped the board. But the Doctor spoke softly,encouraging them, and the second time they did it.

   The far end of the board rested in the rip in time, as ifhanging from a loop of string. Miles below, the sea lappedand splashed around the tiny Cutty Sark. The boardseemed so fragile, so narrow, so high.

   'OK,' said the Doctor, testing the cliff-side end of theboard where it was wedged into the ground. 'It isn't openlong. You've all got to get going.'

   The alien tourists said their goodbyes and beganlugging themselves and their luggage across the board. Itbent under their weight and for a moment everyone heldtheir breath. But the thing they had made was strongenough to take the weight of a few tourists at a time. Thehumans waved and cheered as the first tourist, a Balumin,walked down the diving board and vanished into thewarped bit of space. A moment later he re-emerged. 'Itworks!' he said, grinning, and vanished once again.

   The tourists streamed after him, laughing and waving

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back down at the ship. But one tourist lagged behind theothers. Then he stopped altogether.

   'Come on, Cecrops,' said the Doctor. 'No dawdling.That tunnel won't last for long.'

   Cecrops looked down at the Doctor and June. 'I've beenthinking,' he said.

   'Oh dear,' said the Doctor. 'That doesn't sound good.'

   'I've been thinking how we stop this happening again,'he said.

   Behind him, the lion-faced couple with the babystopped and turned back round.

   'Yes,' they said. 'We've got to make sure humans are leftin peace.'

   'What do you want to do?' asked the Doctor.

   'I should die,' said Cecrops. He turned to the lion-facedcouple. 'Tell my family I died, that the Slitheen didsomething wrong,' he told them. 'They'll sue the businessfor everything it's got. No one will ever try this again aftermy family are finished.'

   'You can't stay behind,' the Doctor told him.

   'Why not?' said Cecrops. 'There's nothing for me backhome. I came here to escape all of that.'

   'You'll be stuck here for the rest of your life,' said theDoctor.

   'I know,' he said.

   'You can't run away from things for ever,' June toldhim. 'Tell him, Doctor.'

   The Doctor scrutinised Cecrops. 'You're not going to betold, are you?'

   'No,' said Cecrops. 'And it's my decision.'

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   'If you're sure,' said the Doctor.

   'I am,' nodded Cecrops. He looked up at the lion-facedcouple. 'Please. Tell them it was the Slitheen's fault.'

   The lion-faced woman nodded and took her partner'shand. They hurried up the steps and were lost in the warpof time. There were no more tourists left. The spindlyboard hung high in the night sky, one end in the swirlingrip of time.

   'But what will you do with yourself?' said the Doctor ashe and June led Cecrops back down the slope towards theship.

   'I don't know,' said Cecrops, grinning. 'I'll find someoneto take me in.'

   He looked up at the humans gathered round the deckwatching him. Aglauros smiled back at him. June felt aterrible pang of jealousy, but bit it down. Of course itmade sense for Cecrops to stay behind. But the samewasn't true for herself. For the first time since she had metthe Doctor, she longed to get back home.

   'So it's finished,' she said to the Doctor. 'His family takethe Slitheen to court and bankrupt the business. Theynever come back here again.'

   'Yeah,' said the Doctor.

   'So history's back on track.'

   'Yeah,' said the Doctor.

   'So why don't you look happy?'

   The Doctor shrugged at her. 'There's still some looseends. I mean, there's still the small matter of--'

   A cry went up from the far side of the deck. Theyturned in time to see a man flying backwards through the

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air. June gasped in horror. The humans fell back fromMamps, Leeb and Cosmo.

    'Hello again,' gurgled Mamps.

    'They must have teleported aboard,' said June.

    'We knew you wouldn't leave the tourists stuck in thisbackwater,' said Mamps. 'We can use your tunnel to gethome.'

    The Doctor nodded back up the slope of the island.'You'd better get a move on,' he said. 'It's not going to bethere for long.'

    Mamps grinned. 'We have a few things to take care of,first,' she said. 'We're going to teach you apes a lesson.Now there's no wet-hearted punters to see.'

    'There's no need for that,' said the Doctor. 'Just go.'

    'Make me,' grinned Mamps, and she idly swept hertalons out and killed one of the humans stood by her side.The man toppled back, and those around him scattered interror. Leeb and Cosmo chased after them, laughing.

    'Stop this!' shouted the Doctor. 'You don't need to dothis!'

    'And you made us give up our swords,' shoutedAglauros.

    'I wanted to avoid any fighting!' the Doctor protested.

    The Slitheen tore through the humans, talonssnickering with speed. Mamps launched herself at theDoctor. June grabbed him, hauling him out of the way justin time. Mamps crashed down onto the deck, springinground to attack them again. June tried to drag the Doctoraway, but he shook her off.

    'No more running,' he said.

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   Mamps loomed towards him, claws raised for the kill.The Doctor let her come. Mamps was seething with anger.

   'That doesn't sound good,' the Doctor told her. 'I thinkyou're getting old.'

   'I am not,' she wheezed, looming over him. The Doctorgrinned at June.

   'When Slitheen get old,' he said, 'they suffer fromhardening of their soft tissues. Slows them right down.'

   'Like hardening of the arteries?' asked June. 'I think mygranddad had that.'

   'A bit like that,' said the Doctor. 'They slowly lose themoisture inside themselves. Bet it's uncomfortable.'

   'I'll have you know,' said Mamps, bearing down on him,'that I'm in the prime of life. I'm certainly quicker thanyou.'

   She slashed her claws down on him. The Doctorducked nimbly forward to grab her arm, but Mamps wastoo quick and tossed him casually aside. June saw theDoctor smash hard into the deck. Then she was looking upat Mamps's razor-sharp teeth.

   'No one to save you now,' Mamps gurgled.

   She raised her claws to strike. June cowered, nowhereto turn.

   'I wouldn't,' said the Doctor, behind Mamps.

   Mamps hesitated. 'And how are you going to stop me?'

   'With your bracelet,' said the Doctor. 'I'm feeling ratherpeckish.'

   June and Mamps both glanced at Mamps's wrist. TheDoctor had swiped the bracelet when he'd grabbed herarm. Mamps turned slowly round. The Doctor aimed the

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bracelet in her direction. He took a step forward andpressed one of the buttons.

    Mamps cried out, but nothing happened, at least not toher. Away across the deck, Cosmo, wrestling Cecrops,cried out as his own bracelet erupted in pink smoke.

    'Go,' said the Doctor to Mamps. 'Before I change mymind.'

    Mamps considered. Then she called out to Leeb andCosmo. 'All right, that's enough. We're going.'

    They retreated over the side of the deck and onto theisland. High up the hill, the spindly diving board stillreached out across the water to the rip in time. Thehumans kept their distance, tending their wounded anddead. June couldn't tell how many people the Slitheen hadkilled. But she seethed with anger at the dumb cruelty ofit.

    'You can't let them go,' she told the Doctor.

    'Kill them,' said Aglauros.

    'If they don't get back home, their siblings will comelooking for them,' said the Doctor.

    Mamps leered. 'They'll come in force.'

    'You want the Slitheen to leave you in peace,' theDoctor told Aglauros. 'They will if you let these three go.'

    Aglauros turned to look at the dead and woundedpeople, the awful things the Slitheen had just done. Thenshe nodded. 'Go,' she told the Slitheen.

    'As you command,' Mamps snickered, starting up theslope. And then she leapt back down onto the deck.

    She landed right in front of June. The shock knockedJune from her feet. As she fell back, she saw Mamps

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withdrawing her claws. The Doctor cried out, runningforward. Mamps laughed and leapt back to the island.

   June lay back, stunned, watching the three Slitheenracing up the slope of the island, faster than the pursuinghumans. Let them go, she wanted to say. But she couldn'tget the words out. She looked down at her own body, atthe gouge in her front where Mamps had stabbed her withone claw.

   The Doctor and Cecrops were either side of her, talkingquickly about what to do. Deukalion joined them, his eyeswide in horror. June felt no pain, just a bit woozy. Perhapsthe Slitheen's claws were poisoned. Perhaps her own bodyhad dulled the awful pain. She wanted to lie back andsleep. The Doctor yelled at her but she could barely hearhim. She smiled to show she was OK, and fell back, herhead hitting the deck as if it were a pillow.

   As the Doctor and Cecrops fussed over her, she lookedup at the diving board, reaching out into the night. TheSlitheen stopped to turn back and slash their claws at thepursuing humans. She saw Polos dodge a savage blow.Then Cosmo threw his claws up and pointed to the rent inthe sky. It shimmered with silvery light, straining tountwist.

   The Slitheen turned away from the humans and hurriedout across the diving board. It buckled and twanged undertheir weight. June saw them race across the diving boardand hurl themselves at the rent in the air. And the rent justfaded away.

   Windmilling their claws and screaming, the threeSlitheen dropped from the end of the diving board like

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stones. The board followed them, spinning round as ittumbled down into the sea. June lost sight of them behindthe people fussing over her wound. The diving board hadbeen maybe a mile high no human could have survivedsuch a fall. Despite what they'd done to her, she hoped theSlitheen survived. If they died, their siblings would surelyenact a terrible revenge. She suddenly felt a terrible painin her stomach, trying to consume her.

   The Doctor gazed down on her, such agony in his eyes.His lips moved but she couldn't hear him. She struggled toread his lips.

   'It's going to be OK,' he assured her.

   She smiled, knowing he lied, and fell back intodarkness.

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    June     woke unable to move or see. She lay still,

    paralysed, staring up at the sweet-scented smoke curling

    above her, listening to the silence all around. Then she

    struggled to sit, but her arms were pinned to her sides by

    the blankets and her gut exploded with sudden, agonising

    pain. She fell back, letting out a single, ragged breath.

       'It's OK,' said Cecrops, coming over to her and smiling.

    'You're going to be OK.'

       She smiled up at him, exhausted, then fell back into

    unconsciousness.

    Later, they brought her outside on a throne of ornately

    carved black wood. Sunlight warmed her face and skin,

    made her feel alive. She sat high up on the rock that

    would one day be the Acropolis and let people fuss around

    her. Away in the distance she could just see the mastless

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ruin of the Cutty Sark moored in the bay. The tidal wavehad hit here, too, the whole shallow valley covered over indark mud. June knew she was getting better when shestarted to notice the smell.

   But the mud proved very fertile, and June watched theDoctor wading about in it happily, followed by anentourage of the human soldiers. He had them cuttingfurrows and sowing seeds, all the time spoutingenthusiasm and advice. Slowly the highly trained warriorslearned the rudiments of farming. Herse and Polos wereapparently the most gifted students.

   'So they'll feed themselves,' she said to the Doctor oneevening when he returned from his work.

   He sat beside her in his mud-spattered suit, gazing outover the new allotments. 'We'll see,' he said. 'Now theyknow what they're doing, Deukalion will take peoplehome in the ship. They'll spread the word, get everyoneworking...'

   'But will it work?' asked June. 'Are people going tostarve?'

   The Doctor smiled sadly. 'It's not our problem anymore,' he told her. 'There'll be more food here than theyneed for themselves. But this whole area is lacking in tin,which they need for making bronze. So they'll have totrade with other people.'

   'So the different kingdoms work together,' said June.

   'If they've got any sense. But you know what people arelike. There'll be arguments and wars soon enough.'

   June looked round at the people chatting and laughing,helping each other at the cooking fires.

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   'But it's not our problem any more,' she said softly.

   'They have to do this for themselves,' the Doctor toldher. 'No more interference. We can't wrap them in cottonwool.'

   'So we're done here,' she said.

   'As soon as you're feeling better,' he said. 'But yeah.Then we should be off.'

They held one last party up on the high rock. Cecropsdished out the wine, Aglauros and Pandrosos dancedaround the fire. They ate from wide clay bowls. The olderbowls were painted with spindly octopuses and dolphins,but they'd also fired new pottery that showed an emblemof bulls' horns and a stick man flipping over a bull's back.It had become a symbol of their freedom.

    Deukalion plucked at a five-stringed lyre and sang thestory of their fight with the masters. The Doctor laughedwhen, in this version, it had been Deukalion's own idea tobuild the Cutty Sark. But June felt distant from it all, notsharing their excitement. Cecrops and the others assumedshe still felt her wound and edged round her with care. Butthe Doctor leant in to whisper in her ear.

    'Ready to go?' he asked.

    'Yeah,' she said. 'It's harder the longer we leave it.'

    He nodded. Then Cecrops grabbed the lyre and, a littleunevenly, sang an old song from Earth's history, a popsong she sort of knew about a starman waiting in the sky.To the others' surprise, June sang along until the Doctorasked her to dance. Slowly, carefully so as not to strain herstitches, they zigzagged back and forth in front of the fire.

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June kept expecting to feel sudden pain, but it did notcome. Deep down she knew she'd been well for days.She'd been stalling to stay just that bit longer...

They crept away before dawn, tiptoeing down the woodensteps from the rock and out through the door of thestockade. Moonlight glinted eerily over the newallotments, a breeze tickled at them as they ran. TheDoctor held his sonic screwdriver out in front of them,ready for any lions.

   'It's better this way,' he said. 'I've never liked goodbyes.'

   But as June and the Doctor reached the TARDIS theyfound their friends waiting there.

   'We couldn't let you just slip away,' said Aglauros, herarm round Cecrops' waist. June felt she could leave themto their lives now, could let them tell their stories, eachtime writing her and the Doctor out of history that little bitmore. She felt even more itchy to leave them to get onwith it.

   'We wanted you to have something to remember us by,'said Deukalion. And he handed over a great amphora,painted with a somersaulting stick man.

   'Thank you,' said the Doctor.

   They variously shook hands and hugged. Cecropssniffed back silvery tears.

   'You'll be OK,' June told him.

   'Yeah,' he said. 'And if the crops fail we've got that lastbracelet. Magic up some supplies.'

   'Not much juice in it,' the Doctor warned. 'Youprobably only get to use it once.'

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   'We'll be fine,' said Cecrops.

   June leant up to kiss him on the cheek, then reachedforward to whisper in his ear. 'Athens,' she said, 'made itsmoney from trading olives and olive oil.'

   He kissed her back. 'Good tip.'

   'What was that?' asked the Doctor as she joined him atthe door of the TARDIS.

   'Nothing,' she said sweetly.

   He scrutinised her for a moment then turned back to theothers with a grin.

   'Well, bye then,' he said. 'Best of luck.'

The Doctor closed the door and hurried to the dais ofcontrols. Soon the great engines shuddered into life, thecentral column heaving with power.

   'So we did it?' June asked him as he worked. 'History isback as it should be?'

   'Oh yeah,' he said easily. 'With no more alien tourists, anew age is about to begin. One not of Gods and monstersbut of extraordinary human beings. Your lot, thehistorians, call it the age of heroes.'

   But something in his eyes disturbed her.

   'You're sure?' she asked him. The Doctor didn't lookround, his eyes fixed in concentration on the controls.

   'Doctor?' she said, a chill going through her.

   He shrugged. 'We'll go and see,' he said. 'Once I'vefound you a pair of shoes.'

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    The sun blazed down on them as they stepped from the

    TARDIS. June took the Doctor's hand and led him up the

    perfectly regular steps of the gleaming new theatre. Men

    in beards and simple tunics went about their business, not

    even sparing the two visitors a glance.

       From the top of the theatre, in the shadow of the high

    rock, they could look back on the bustling city of Athens.

    Smoke curled from white, blocky buildings. There were

    temples and statues and all the noise of a busy community.

       June marvelled at the sight. She'd studied this place,

    she had read all about it, and she almost felt she had been

    here before. Her eyes picked over the details: lines of

    clothes hung up to dry, children playing in the fields.

       'It's not quite at its height,' the Doctor explained. 'But

    this is Athens booming. Its citizens living the good life.'

       They made their way along the path leading round the

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rock. A pungent whiff reached them from the marketdown the hill. They could hear men in the market, makinggrand speeches, arguing philosophy and politics. Junewanted to go and investigate but the Doctor held on to herarm.

    'Let them work it out for themselves,' he said. Sherealised he'd heard her whispering to Cecrops.

    'I only meant to help,' she said.

    'It's cheating,' he told her. He glanced round. 'Funny,' hesaid. 'I can't see any women.'

    June squinted. 'There's one, over there.'

    Sure enough, there was a figure putting out somewashing. She wore a shapeless all-in-one black outfit,covering her head and arms. 'Ancient Athenians had somefunny ideas about women,' said June. 'The respectableones wore the veil. It's funny, it makes it look more likesomething from the Middle East than the cradle of theWest.'

    The Doctor nodded. 'Women get the vote eventually,'he said.

    'In Greece?' she said. 'You know when?'

    'Um,' he said. 'No.'

    '1952,' said June. 'You're on my turf now,' she laughed.'I've studied this bit.'

    'And what do you think?'

    June stared at him. She struggled to find the rightwords. 'It's not what I expected,' she told him at last. 'Ithought I would see it and then it would all make sense.But it's just as complicated and strange as before.'

    'Yes,' he said, taking her hand. 'It's better than a lot of

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other places from this period of history. And it's headingin the right sort of direction. But...'

    'But,' said June, 'it could do better.'

    'Yeah,' shrugged the Doctor. 'You don't like it?'

    She grinned. 'I love it. Wouldn't want to live here. Andit's still a bit of a shock. But I want a look at theParthenon.'

    'Done,' he said.

    They continued round to the place which had once beena stockade, the entrance to the high rock. A soldier with around shield and golden shin pads stood severely in theirpath. The Doctor fussed in his suit pocket and producedhis wallet.

    'Hello,' he told the soldier. 'We're come to inspect theAcropolis.'

    The soldier nodded. 'Tourists, are you?'

    'Er, yeah,' said the Doctor, surprised.

    'Trade is our lifeblood,' the soldier explained. 'There'sno fee, though we would ask you to remember the localgods on your way back out.'

    'Right,' said the Doctor. 'Good tip. We will.'

    The soldier took a step back, letting them pass. 'I hopeyou enjoy your stay.'

The Parthenon took a bit of getting used to. June and theDoctor boggled in front of the enormous temple, in thespot where future tourists would one day pose for photos.The roof and columns and all of it had been brightlypainted in red and yellow and blue. The statues woregaudy make-up, their bare skin brilliantly pink. June

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struggled to make sense of the sculptures running highabove the columns. It took effort to pick out the details inall the sumptuous colour and paint work. But there, at last,she could see rows of horses marching in parade. Sheknew the procession of old, having seen the same stones,bereft of garish colour, in the British Museum.

    'It's barking mad,' said June, gazing around in wonder.

    'It looks like it's all as it should be,' said the Doctor.

    A young man in a tunic came over to them. 'Hello,' hesaid. 'Have you visited Cecropia before?'

    June blinked at him. 'Cecropia?' she said.

    'Yes,' said the young man. 'Sorry, what do they call ourcity where you come from?'

    Before June could respond the Doctor stepped in. 'It'sgot a few names,' he explained. 'But I thought you called itAthens.'

    The man smiled. 'Yes, we sometimes call it that. Didyou want a look at the goddess Athene?'

    He led them inside the temple. Light stole into the darkspace through specially made gaps in the ceiling. Scentedsmoke curled from braziers placed at regular intervals.June felt a thrill of excitement to be inside the incredibleplace.

    Athene gazed down at them from an ornately carvedpedestal at the end of the temple, a huge statue of ivoryand gold. She stood tall, in a long tunic and breastplate, anelaborate boars' tusk helmet over her head, decorated ingold. In one hand she grasped a spear, in the other sheheld out a small, winged creature, as if offering it to thosewho looked on. June took a step forward to get a better

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look and gasped at the image painted on the goddess'sbreastplate.

   'The gorgon Medusa,' their tour guide explained.

   But June recognised only too well the green skin andblack eyes.

   'It's one of the Slitheen,' she said.

   'Looks like it,' said the Doctor. 'Caught up in the historyof the city, now. Part of the songs they sing.'

   'Medusa turned people into stone,' said the tour guide,sticking to his script.

   'I don't remember that bit,' said June.

   'And then she saw her own reflection and turned tostone herself,' said the Doctor. 'Have you not seen Clashof the Titans?'

   'No,' said June. 'I mean, yes, I've seen the film. But Idon't remember the Slitheen turning anyone to stone.'

   'Well,' said the Doctor. 'Stories can get mixed uptogether when you tell them for long enough. Have younot seen Sherlock Holmes Versus the Titans?'

   June sighed. 'You made that up,' she said.

   'Maybe I did,' said the Doctor. He turned to the tourguide. 'Tell us about Cecrops,' he said.

   'Ah,' said the tour guide, pleased to show off hisexpertise. 'The first king of Athens. Half-man, half-serpent, he invented marriage and did away with bloodsacrifice. He lived in a three-roomed house here on theAcropolis. And his daughters Aglauros, Pandrosos andHerse were turned to stone by the Medusa.'

   'What?' said June, horrified.

   'Well, that's one story,' said the guide quickly. 'It could

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have been Hermes that did it.'

    The Doctor took June's hand. 'It's a thousand yearssince we left them,' he told her. 'They were always goingto be long dead.'

    'How can you say that?' she said, tears tracking downher face. She felt awful for her earlier, stupid jealousy.'After everything we've been through together, we leftthem to some terrible fate.'

    'I'm sorry,' said the Doctor. 'But we don't know whatreally happened. It's just an old story now.'

    Yes, thought June, desperate for anything to cling to. Itwas only a story. 'People don't get turned to stone in reallife,' she said.

    'No,' said the Doctor. 'That's silly.'

    'Um,' said the tour guide. 'You can see them if youwant.'

    The Doctor turned to him. 'See who?' he said.

    'The stone people,' said the tour guide. 'They're in acavern under the Acropolis.' He grinned awkwardly. 'It'scalled the grotto of Aglauros.'

June insisted on seeing the grotto. They made their wayback round the side of the Acropolis, past the theatre withthe TARDIS on its stage, and into the wide-mouthedcavern where June had first rescued the Doctor, whatseemed a lifetime before.

   Their tour guide led them inside, bearing a flamingtorch since electric light had not yet been invented. Theypassed statues and votive offerings the guide explainingthat the cavern attracted its own religious cult.

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   They emerged into an open space, three large figureslooming out of the darkness. The Doctor and Juneapproached them warily. Firelight danced over the barestone the statues had not been painted. They wereexpertly sculpted, life-size creations. June could see whypeople thought they had been living beings magicallytransformed into stone.

   'The daughters of Cecrops,' said the tour guidereverently. 'At least, that's what the legends say.'

   But June knew better. 'It's Mamps,' she said. 'And Leeband Cosmo.'

   'Yes,' said the Doctor, amazed. 'And pretty goodlikenesses, aren't they?'

   But as they dared to get closer, the statues didn't lookquite so perfect. The stone looked rough, as if the statuesneeded one more go with a chisel. June put out a hand tostroke the rough, glistening surface. She jumped as adroplet of water splashed down on the back of her hand.She looked up. A stalactite hung above her head. Shedodged a second drip of water as it fell from the stonespike. The droplet spattered against Mamps's stone thigh.

   She turned to the tour guide. 'Did you really think thesethings were princesses?' she asked him.

   'Well,' he grinned at them. 'It's a good story, isn't it?Better than when they all live happily ever after.'

   'You,' June told him, smiling, 'are such a boy.'

'OK,' said the Doctor, stepping back from the controls.'Just as I promised. Back the moment we left.'

   June felt cold, watching the controls, not wanting it to

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be over. 'Can't I stay?' she asked in a quiet voice.

    'You'll miss your train home,' he told her, nodding atthe rucksack parked under a chair. 'And there are peoplewaiting to see you.'

    She nodded, reaching for the bag that contained somuch of her old, real life. And felt a spasm of pain fromthe wound in her gut. Perhaps it was best that she leftwhile still in one piece.

    Something pinged on the dais of controls. The Doctorblinked in surprise and checked the instruments. Alienlettering scrolled across the screen.

    'What does it say?' said June, coming over.

    'Um,' said the Doctor. 'You remember those alienstrying to blow up the Acropolis?' he said.

    'You called in the authorities,' said June. 'The spacepolice.'

    'Yeah,' said the Doctor. 'But it turns out those aliens arespace police themselves.' He read over the message again.'Investigating a case of tax fraud,' he said. 'But that doesn'tmake any sense. Why would they want to blow up theAcropolis?'

    June considered. 'Maybe they weren't really blowing upthe Acropolis,' she said. 'Maybe they were doingsomething else.'

    The Doctor nodded slowly. 'They did say they had thebest of reasons.' His eyes opened wide. 'Oh,' he said. 'Ofcourse.'

    He suddenly dashed across to the TARDIS doors andflung them open.

    'What?' June called after him, but he'd already run out

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into the daylight. He called something back at her, but theonly bit she caught was the word 'causality'.

   June dumped the bag back under the chair and followedhim.

June closed the door of the TARDIS and hurried up theruined steps of the theatre after the Doctor. Above them,fat noisy tourists milled about on the top of the Acropolis,the same ones who'd asked her to take their pictures. Juneheld her sore gut as she leapt up the uneven stairs, sweatbeading on her brow.

   The grotto seemed smaller than it had been just amoment before, two and half thousand years previously.Rocks crowded the gravel pathway as she hurried to catchup with the Doctor. She emerged into the open spacewhere she'd first had to rescue him, but the Doctor wasnowhere to be seen. Electric light shone brightly from thewalls, but she still could not spy him.

   Then he jumped out from beside the silver sphere thatlurked behind the heap of explosives, piled high aroundthree stalagmites. In his hands he held the wire with thetiny sphere hanging from the end.

   'It's not a bomb,' he told June quickly, as he held thesphere between his fingers. 'Well, not as such. This thingfocuses all the energy. It makes a lot of heat in a confinedarea, plus a few little chemical tricks.'

   'Great,' said June. 'But should you be doing that?' Thetiny sphere in his fingers had started to glow.

   'Um,' said the Doctor. 'All I did was take off the lockthat I'd put on it. It's doing everything else itself.'

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    With a start, he dropped the wire with the sphere on it,waggling his fingers in pain. The sphere steamed withenergy, glowing brilliant pink. He glanced back at thelarger sphere, banging his hand against it. Apart from thesound, it didn't do anything.

    June grabbed the Doctor's arm and dragged him backfrom the high heap of sandbags. 'We've got to get out ofhere,' she said.

    'Nah,' he said. 'It's not going to explode. Trust me. Allthat energy is being focused into the stones.'

    The heap of sandbags began to shift with pink steam,and the stalagmites started to glow. June tried to drag theDoctor back from whatever was happening, but he lookedon in fascination. Pink steam poured from the sandbags,enveloping the tall stones. Slowly the light faded from thetiny sphere and the pink steam dispersed into the air.

    'Oh,' said the Doctor with disappointment. 'I thought itwould be more exciting.'

    He took a step forward and knocked his knucklesagainst the first of the stalagmites. The stone creaked likeleather and then collapsed in small pieces, revealing thething hidden inside.

    Mamps stood there, her green flesh glistening wet, pinksteam curling from her long talons.

    'Thought so,' beamed the Doctor.

    'They survived,' said June in horror.

    'Oh yeah,' said the Doctor. 'Slitheen are pretty hard-wearing. They just calcified over time. Maybe they can doit on purpose, or it's just a sign of old age. But their softtissues harden, mineral deposits build up. And slowly they

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turn to stone. Some enterprising soul thought they werestatues and sent them to Athens, because it's hot onsculpture. And the Athenians thought they were ugly andstored them in the cellar. Something like that, I expect.'

   'They were never rescued by their siblings,' said June.

   'No,' said the Doctor. 'They've been stuck here forthousands of years. Buried under drips of limestone. Untilwe reversed the process.'

   He tapped his knuckles on the other two stalagmites,which collapsed to reveal Cosmo and Leeb. They stood,eyes closed, not even breathing, pink steam curling fromtheir wet flesh.

   'Um,' said June. 'Do you think that's a good idea?'

   'What?' said the Doctor. 'They're not going to be anytrouble. And I've unlocked the space police, too. Not thatthey seem to have noticed. Oh well, they'll all be a bitslow and confused to begin with. Like anyone after a longsleep.'

   But as he spoke the words, June saw Mamps's facetwitch into a cruel smile. The Doctor turned to see, andMamps's huge black eyes gazed back at him.

   'Good morning,' said the Doctor, kindly.

   'Yeah,' gurgled Mamps, sounding very awake. 'It willbe.'

   And she and the other two Slitheen pounced.

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    The Doctor grabbed June just in time, yanking her out

    of the way of Mamps's claws. Mamps, Cosmo and Leeb

    smacked hard into the rock wall of the cave and fell back,

    stunned. For a moment, June thought they'd knocked

    themselves unconscious, but then they began to stir. The

    Doctor grabbed her hand.

        'Quick,' he said. 'We don't have much of a head start.'

        They ran hand in hand up the gravel pathway, out into

    the daylight. June felt a stab of pain in her guts, her

    stitches straining with the effort.

        'What are we going to do?' she said.

        'Easy,' said the Doctor, and then vanished in a green

    blur. He and Mamps tumbled down the ruins of the

    ancient theatre towards where the TARDIS stood waiting.

    The Doctor kicked and fought, giving as good as he got.

    Mamps wailed with surprise and pain.

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   June could do nothing to help. She turned to see Leeband Cosmo emerging from the cave. They tottereduneasily, not fully awake. But when they spied her, Leebsmiled cruelly.

   'Breakfast,' he gurgled.

   June turned and ran as fast as she could, clutching heraching sides.

   Leeb and Cosmo's footsteps slapped the dry groundbehind her. June's first thought was to run down thetheatre to the Doctor and the TARDIS, but Leeb leapt infront of her, blocking her path. She twisted, racing backup the ruined steps and following the path that led roundthe side of the Acropolis. Up above them, she heard thenoisy tourists cry out at the strange sight. Then there camethe clicks of cameras capturing the image of June runningfor her life.

   She half-ran, half-slid down the steep path, unsteady inthe shoes the Doctor had found her in some cupboard ofthe TARDIS. As she heaved her legs up the steep facingslope, she heard a crash behind her. Leeb and Cosmo hadtaken the hill with too much speed and come crashingdown. She didn't stop, using the slight advantage to gainsome distance.

   Heart hammering, gut almost on fire, she staggeredalong the pathway and up past the ticket kiosk. The queueof customers stared at her in amazement as she ran past.As she caught sight of the good-looking guard on the gate,she heard the tourists scream out in terror behind her. Andthe gurgling delight of the Slitheen as they tore throughthe crowd.

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   The guard ran forward to help, but June grabbed hishand and dragged him through the gate and up the stepsonto the high rock. 'What are those things?' he asked inhorror, but she didn't have the breath left to answer.

   At the top of the steps, she dared to glance back. Thetwo Slitheen were still hard on her heels. Leeb leered up ather. 'There's no escape,' he said.

   June let go of the guard's hand and sprinted round theside of the ruin of the Parthenon, her feet scrunching onthe bright gravel. The noisy tourists parted around her,then screamed at the two Slitheen bearing down on them.June didn't look back, she raced to the far end of theAcropolis, where it looked down to the theatre.

   The TARDIS stood there, just as she'd left it, tiny fromso far above. But she could not see the Doctor or Mamps.

   Gravel scrunched behind her and she turned to seeLeeb and Cosmo trotting easily towards her. Theyextended their talons towards her, both wearing the sameevil grin.

   'You don't have to do this,' she told them, barely able toget the words out.

   'You and your friend didn't have to ruin our business,'said Leeb.

   'And anyway,' said Cosmo. 'We're hungry.'

   He pounced. Leeb pounced too. And just before theirtalons touched her, June threw herself down onto thegravel. The Slitheen cried out, realising too late what she'ddone. Leeb grabbed for the safety rail as he flew over it,but his great claws clattered on the metal and could notget purchase. He and Cosmo disappeared over the edge of

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the high rock with a wail of despair.

   June struggled to her feet, her whole body aching. Shecarefully leant over the railing, just in time to see the twoSlitheen smack into the steps of the theatre. They rolledclumsily down to the bottom, arms and legs waggling,crashing hard into the TARDIS. She watched them lyingthere, still on the stone floor, feeling nothing but horror.Her gut ached with the exertion, but her stitches remainedin place. She needed to sit down.

   Other tourists approached her, leaning over the railingto gaze down on the two Slitheen. June ignored theirquestions. She needed to see what had happened to theDoctor. But as she stood up again the tourists cried out inexcitement. June pushed past them to look over the railingagain.

   The Slitheen were getting to their feet. They dustedeach other down, shaking their heads to clear their senses.Then they looked up at the high rock, looked right up atJune, and grinned their wicked grins.

   She shuddered with fear, knowing she had nothing leftto give, not even able to run away. The Slitheen blinkedup at her. And then they threw up their claws.

   June followed their gaze, up the slope of the theatre, towhere a group of figures stood. Mamps had her clawsbehind her back, prisoner of the grey blobby aliens whowere wielding some kind of ray guns. The Doctor stoodwith them, looking dishevelled from the fight butotherwise OK. He supervised the blobby aliens as theycuffed Leeb and Cosmo. But as the aliens led theirprisoners back up to the cave, the Doctor remained by the

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TARDIS.

   She wanted to call out to him, but couldn't with all thetourists around her. And he'd said he didn't likegoodbyes...

   Then a hand clamped down on her shoulder. She turnedwith a start to see the good-looking guard, some Greekpolicemen just behind him.

   'I'm sorry,' he said. 'But you'll need to answer somequestions.'

She denied everything. They sat her under the shade of theParthenon and brought a cup of tea, but she couldn'texplain any of what had happened. Partly, she knew theywouldn't understand. And partly she didn't have thevocabulary. They kept using the word kostaumi theymust think the Slitheen had been men in costume.

   With a pang of loss, she realised the Doctor must havegone, that she no longer shared his magic ability tounderstand any language. He had brought her back, just ashe'd promised. But she felt awful at not being able to havethanked him for everything she'd seen. Because despite allthe horror and exhaustion, she had loved being with him.

   The police eventually decided she couldn't help themand agreed to let her go. Knowing it was all over, Junewalked one last time round the high rock, allowing herselfone quick glance down at the ruin of the theatre. TheTARDIS still stood there.

   June made her way quickly back to the exit, ignoringthe good-looking guard as he tried to ask her for a drink.She made her way gingerly along the same path she had

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now followed so many times before. The last slope tookthe breath from her, but she would not have dreamt ofstopping. She staggered down the uneven steps of thetheatre, almost laughing out loud at the site of the bluepolice box stood there so incongruously. It trembled withstrange power as she reached for the door. But it wouldnot open.

   June slapped her hands against the wood panels.'Doctor!' she called. 'Doctor!'

   She almost fell in on him when the door creaked open.

   'Hello,' he said. 'You took your time.'

   'I had to answer some questions.'

   He sighed. 'Me too. Had to pop back to the year Arlene-plus-22 and fill in loads of forms. Turns out Cecrops wasright. His family has taken the Slitheen business to piecesand got them on all sorts of charges. They couldn't sendanyone back to rescue Mamps and the others because thetime bus got impounded.'

   'So the blobby aliens wanted to arrest Mamps and theothers,' she said.

   'Yeah,' said the Doctor, awkwardly. 'I sort of got thewrong end of the stick. Nearly ended up with a charge ofobstructing justice.'

   'But if you hadn't,' said June, 'you wouldn't have metme, we wouldn't have gone back in time, and we wouldn'thave stopped the Slitheen in the first place.

   'That's what I told them,' said the Doctor. 'Let me offwith a warning. I suppose that's OK.'

   June grinned at him. 'So it's all worked out,' she said.

   But the Doctor looked away into the distance. 'I think

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so,' he said. 'But at what cost.'

   She nodded sadly. 'All those people who died,' she said.

   The Doctor looked back at her. 'And you'll have missedyour train home.'

   She gaped at him for a moment, then quickly checkedher watch. Her train would have left more than half anhour before. And the next would miss her connection, soshe'd never get back to St Pancras. After everything she'dbeen through, she wanted to laugh.

   'What am I going to do?' she said.

   'Well,' said the Doctor. 'I came back because I've stillgot your rucksack. You'll need your passport to bookanother train.' His eyes twinkled. 'Or...'

   'Or?' she said, already knowing what he was going toask her.

   'Or I could give you a lift.'

   She looked him up and down. 'Straight home toBirmingham. No detours.'

   'Scout's honour.'

   'No answering distress signals? Nothing dangerous ormad?'

   'Of course not,' he said. And then he smiled at her. Hisdark eyes twinkled with mischief.

   Laughing, June followed him inside.

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               Acknowledgements

I've pillaged history and lots of people's hard work tocobble together this story. Cecrops, Aglauros and severalother of the characters appear in The Greek Myths, asretold by Robert Graves. I used Louise Schofield's TheMycenaeans as a guide to 1500 bc, and Mary Beard's TheParthenon and Ian Jenkins' The Parthenon Sculptures tofind my way round the site now and as it was in itsheyday.

  Ken Dowden's The Uses of Greek Mythology exploreshow the ancient stories have been spun and adapted to suitthe needs of each new generation. Three of Dowden'sformer students Debbie Challis, Xanna Eve Chown andScott Handcock made comments on various bits of thisbook, catching my more embarrassing errors. Debbie alsomarched me round the Acropolis telling me clever thingsand pointed me in the direction of the ancient Greek bitsin the British Museum.

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 Russell T Davies, Rob Francis, Rupert Laight, GarethRoberts and Gary Russell also spared time to answerquestions on the finer points of Slitheen history andculture.

 Thanks also to Robert Dick, Amanda Lindsay andManpreet Sidhu for their assistance. Lastly, thanks toJustin for letting me write the thing, Steve for correctingmy spelling, Lee for another amazing cover, and everyoneat BBC Books.

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           Also available from BBC Books

           featuring the Doctor and Rose

    as played by David Tennant and Billie Piper:

               THE STONE ROSE

               by Jacqueline Rayner

         THE FEAST OF THE DROWNED

                by Stephen Cole

         THE RESURRECTION CASKET

               by Justin Richards

     THE NIGHTMARE OF BLACK ISLAND

              by Mike Tucker

          THE ART OF DESTRUCTION

               by Stephen Cole

            THE PRICE OF PARADISE

                 by Colin Brake

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              Also available from BBC Books

             featuring the Doctor and Martha

    as played by David Tennant and Freema Agyeman:

               STING OF THE ZYGONS

                   by Stephen Cole

                  THE LAST DODO

                 by Jacqueline Rayner

                  WOODEN HEART

                   by Martin Day

                 FOREVER AUTUMN

                   by Mark Morris

                   SICK BUILDING

                     by Paul Magrs

                    WETWORLD

                 by Mark Michalowski

                   WISHING WELL

                    by Mark Morris

                 THE PIRATE LOOP

                  by Simon Guerrier

                   PEACEMAKER

                  by James Swallow

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                  Also available from BBC Books:

                    The Encyclopedia

                           by Gary Russell

                       ISBN 978 1 846 07291 8

                               £14.99

                 Do you know what was playing

                      on Cassanda's iPod?

                      What was the name of

                     Shakespeare's lost play?

     Where were the Slitheen planning to hide a tribophysical

            waveform macro-kinetic extrapolator?

      There's no need to search time and space it's all right

    here. From Autons to Anne Droid, from Cat Nuns to Canary

     Wharf, from Plasmavores to Pig Slaves... everything you

    need to know about everything you didn't know you needed

                   to know about Doctor Who.

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                    Also available from BBC Books

                   featuring the Doctor and Donna

          as played by David Tennant and Freema Agyeman:

                  Martha in the Mirror

                          by Justin Richards

                        ISBN 978 1 846 07420 2

                    UK £6.99 US $11.99/$14.99 CDN

        Castle Extremis whoever holds it can control the

     provinces either side that have been at war for centuries.

      Now the castle is about to play host to the signing of a

     peace treaty. But as the Doctor and Martha find out, not

                  everyone wants the war to end.

    Who is the strange little girl who haunts the castle? What is

    the secret of the book the Doctor finds, its pages made from

      thin, brittle glass? Who is the hooded figure that watches

     from the shadows? And what is the secret of the legendary

                            Mortal Mirror?

    The Doctor and Martha don't have long to find the answers

     an army is on the march, and the castle will soon be under

                        siege once more...

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                    Also available from BBC Books

                   featuring the Doctor and Donna

          as played by David Tennant and Freema Agyeman:

                         Snow Globe 7

                             by Mike Tucker

                         ISBN 978 1 846 07421 9

                     UK £6.99 US $11.99/$14.99 CDN

           Earth, 2099. Global warming is devastating the

               climate. The polar ice caps are melting.

     In a desperate attempt at preservation, the governments of

       the world have removed vast sections of the Arctic and

    Antarctic and set them inside huge domes across the world.

        The Doctor and Martha arrive in SnowGlobe 7 in the

    Middle East, hoping for peace and relaxation. But they soon

        discover that it's not only ice and snow that has been

                    preserved beneath the Dome.

     While Martha struggles to help with an infection sweeping

    through the Dome, the Doctor discovers an alien threat that

    has lain hidden since the last ice age. A threat that is starting

                               to thaw.

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                   featuring the Doctor and Donna

          as played by David Tennant and Freema Agyeman:

                     The Many Hands

                             by Dale Smith

                         ISBN 978 1 846 07422 6

                     UK £6.99 US $11.99/$14.99 CDN

      The Nor' Loch is being filled in. If you ask the soldiers

     there, they'll tell you it's a stinking cesspool that the city

     can do without. But that doesn't explain why the workers

         won't go near the place without an armed guard.

      That doesn't explain why they whisper stories about the

    loch giving up its dead, about the minister who walked into

              his church twelve years after he died...

    It doesn't explain why, as they work, they whisper about a

                       man called the Doctor.

         And about the many hands of Alexander Monro.

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                   Also available from BBC Books:

             Starships and Spacestations

                           by Justin Richards

                        ISBN 978 1 84607 423 3

                      £7.99 US $12.99/$15.99 CDN

    The Doctor has his TARDIS to get him from place to place

    and time to time, but the rest of the Universe relies on more

          conventional transport... From the British Space

    Programme of the late twentieth century to Earth's Empire

     in the far future, from the terrifying Dalek Fleet to deadly

     Cyber Ships, this book documents the many starships and

       spacestations that the Doctor and his companions have

                     encountered on their travels.

    He has been held prisoner in space, escaped from the moon,

     witnessed the arrival of the Sycorax and the crash landing

      of a space pig... More than anyone else, the Doctor has

      seen the development of space travel between countless

                                worlds.

     This stunningly illustrated book tells the amazing story of

    Earth's ventures into space, examines the many alien fleets

    who have paid Earth a visit, and explores the other starships

      and spacestations that the Doctor has encountered on his

                            many travels...

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                   Also available from BBC Books

                   featuring the Doctor and Donna

           as played by David Tennant and Catherine Tate:

                       Ghosts of India

                            by Mark Morris

                        ISBN 978 1 846 07559 9

                    UK £6.99 US $11.99/$14.99 CDN

     India in 1947 is a country in the grip of chaos a country

      torn apart by internal strife. When the Doctor and Donna

       arrive in Calcutta, they are instantly swept up in violent

                                  events.

    Barely escaping with their lives, they discover that the city

     is rife with tales of `half-made men', who roam the streets

      at night and steal people away. These creatures, it is said,

    are as white as salt and have only shadows where their eyes

                                should be.

       With help from India's great spiritual leader, Mohandas

         `Mahatma' Gandhi, the Doctor and Donna set out to

                       investigate these rumours.

     What is the real truth behind the `half-made men'? Why is

     Gandhi's role in history under threat? And has an ancient,

     all-powerful god of destruction really come back to wreak

                     his vengeance upon the Earth?

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                  Also available from BBC Books

                  featuring the Doctor and Donna

          as played by David Tennant and Catherine Tate:

                     The Doctor Trap

                        by Simon Messingham

                       ISBN 978 1 846 07558 0

                   UK £6.99 US $11.99/$14.99 CDN

    Sebastiene was perhaps once human. He might look like a

    nineteenth-century nobleman, but in truth he is a ruthless

       hunter. He likes nothing more than luring difficult

    opposition to a planet, then hunting them down for sport.

    And now he's caught them all from Zargregs to Moogs,

                   and even the odd Eternal...

     In fact, Sebastiene is after only one more prize. For this

     trophy, he knows he is going to need help. He's brought

    together the finest hunters in the universe to play the most

       dangerous game for the deadliest quarry of them all.

      They are hunting for the last of the Time Lords the

                             Doctor.

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                   featuring the Doctor and Donna

           as played by David Tennant and Catherine Tate:

                     Shining Darkness

                          by Mark Michalowski

                        ISBN 978 1 846 07557 5

                    UK £6.99 US $11.99/$14.99 CDN

     For Donna Noble, the Andromeda galaxy is a long, long

    way from home. But even two and a half million light years

         from Earth, danger lurks around every corner...

      A visit to an art gallery turns into a race across space to

        uncover the secret behind a shadowy organisation.

        From the desert world of Karris to the interplanetary

      scrapyard of Junk, the Doctor and Donna discover that

      appearances can be deceptive, that enemies are lurking

      around every corner and that the centuries-long peace

    between humans and machines may be about to come to an

                               end.

    Because waiting in the wings to bring chaos to the galaxy is

                  the Cult of Shining Darkness.

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                   Also available from BBC Books:

           The Time Traveller's Almanac

                            by Steve Tribe

                        ISBN 978 1 846 07572 8

                               £14.99

         Who are the eminent artists of the 16th, 19th or 21st

      centuries? What are the mysteries of Carrionite science?

      Where do the Daleks come from? Answers to all of these

        questions and more are found in The Time Traveller's

            Almanac, the ultimate intergalactic fact-finder.

      The Almanac draws on resources far and wide, from the

       beginning of time to the end of the universe, to provide

         information on key historical events and great lives,

    important issues in science, technology and the arts, and the

                   stories that have defined each era.

         Fully illustrated with photos and artwork, The Time

     Traveller's Almanac provides an essential biography of the

                         Doctor Who universe.

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                  Also available from BBC Books

                 featuring the Doctor and Donna

        as played by David Tennant and Freema Agyeman:

                The Story of Martha

                           by Dan Abnett

            with David Roden, Steve Lockley & Paul Lewis,

                 Robert Shearman, and Simon Jowett

                      ISBN 978 1 846 07561 2

                  UK £6.99 US $11.99/$14.99 CDN

     For a year, while the Master ruled over Earth, Martha

     Jones travelled the world telling people stories about

      the Doctor. She told people of how the Doctor has

     saved them before, and how he will save them again.

      This is that story. It tells of Martha's travels from

      her arrival on Earth as the Toclafane attacked and

      decimated the population through to her return to

     Britain to face the Master. It tells how she spread the

     word and told people about the Doctor. The story of

              how she survived that terrible year.

     But it's more than that. This is also a collection of the

    stories she tells the stories of adventures she had with

      the Doctor that we haven't heard about before. The

           stories that inspired and saved the world...

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                Coming Soon from BBC Books

                     featuring the Doctor

                 as played by David Tennant:

                      The Eyeless

                         by Lance Parkin

                     ISBN 978 1 846 07562 9

                 UK £6.99 US $11.99/$14.99 CDN

       At the heart of the ruined city of Arcopolis is the

     Fortress. It's a brutal structure placed here by one of

    the sides in a devastating intergalactic war that's long

    ended. Fifteen years ago, the entire population of the

     planet was killed in an instant by the weapon housed

    deep in the heart of the Fortress. Now only the ghosts

                              remain.

     The Doctor arrives, and determines to fight his way

      past the Fortress's automatic defences and put the

     weapon beyond use. But he soon discovers he's not

    the only person in Arcopolis. What is the true nature

    of the weapon? Is the planet really haunted? Who are

    the Eyeless? And what will happen if they get to the

                 weapon before the Doctor?

    The Doctor has a fight on his hands. And this time he's

                        all on his own.

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                Also available from BBC Books

                      featuring the Doctor

                 as played by David Tennant:

            Judgement of the Judoon

                         by Colin Brake

                     ISBN 978 1 846 07639 8

                 UK £6.99 US $11.99/$14.99 CDN

    Elvis the King Spaceport has grown into the sprawling

     city-state of New Memphis an urban jungle, where

       organised crime is rife. But the launch of the new

     Terminal 13 hasn't been as smooth as expected. And

                 things are about to get worse...

    When the Doctor arrives, he finds the whole terminal

     locked down. The notorious Invisible Assassin is at

    work again, and the Judoon troopers sent to catch him

        will stop at nothing to complete their mission.

      With the assassin loose on the mean streets of New

    Memphis, the Doctor is forced into a strange alliance.

    Together with teenage private eye Nikki and a ruthless

      Judoon Commander, the Doctor soon discovers that

     things are even more complicated and dangerous

                    than he first thought...

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                Also available from BBC Books

                      featuring the Doctor

                 as played by David Tennant:

               Prisoner of the Daleks

                       by Trevor Baxendale

                     ISBN 978 1 846 07641 1

                 UK £6.99 US $11.99/$14.99 CDN

       The Daleks are advancing, their empire constantly

       expanding into Earth's space. The Earth forces are

      resisting the Daleks in every way they can. But the

    battles rage on across countless solar systems. And now

         the future of our galaxy hangs in the balance...

     The Doctor finds himself stranded on board a starship

       near the frontline with a group of ruthless bounty

    hunters. Earth Command will pay them for every Dalek

      they kill, every eye stalk they bring back as proof.

    With the Doctor's help, the bounty hunters achieve the

     ultimate prize: a Dalek prisoner intact, powerless,

    and ready for interrogation. But where the Daleks are

    involved, nothing is what it seems, and no one is safe.

    Before long the tables will be turned, and how will the

        Doctor survive when he becomes a prisoner of

                         the Daleks?

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                   Coming Soon from BBC Books:

                 Companions and Allies

                             by Steve Tribe

                        ISBN 978 1 846 07749 4

                    UK £7.99 US $12.99/$15.99 CDN

      The Doctor has been travelling through space and time

      for centuries, showing his friends and companions the

     wonders of the universe. From Sarah Jane Smith and the

    Brigadier to Martha Jones and Donna Noble, Companions

    and Allies celebrates the friends who have been by his side

     and the heroes that have helped him battle his deadliest

                           foes. Find out:

    · How the First Doctor uprooted schoolteachers Ian and

    Barbara from their twentieth-century lives

    · Why the Third Doctor worked for UNIT

    · How the Fifth Doctor sacrificed his life for Peri

    · Who helped the Eighth Doctor save Earth from

    the Master

    · What became of Rose Tyler and her family

       And much more. Beautifully illustrated and including

          for the first time a complete story guide to the

      adventures of all ten Doctors, this is the definitive guide

                 to the Doctor's intergalactic family.

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