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Chapter Text

The day before the beginning of the Time War.
Romana stood in her white robes, her blonde hair falling down to her shoulders. Her cuboid control room, with stone walls and pale-blue roundels with a hexagonal pale-gold console was rich with a stale tension uneasily awaiting news from the battlefront. A brown-haired woman in what seemed to be leather ran into the room, panting.
“My lady president.” She panted.
“Please, Leela. Call me Romana.” Romana assured.
“Very well Romana. Come along K-9!” Leela yelled. A small, grey robot dog trundled into the room with a whir.
“Coming mistress!” A high-pitched voice came from outside. K-9 -a small, grey robot dog- trundled into the room with a whir.
“Greetings other mistress.” K-9 greeted Romana.
“Hello K-9. What news do you have?”
“The Daleks are amassing forces. They’ve made alliances with other species to help defeat our forces.” Leela answered.
“Other species? Allying with the Daleks? That will end well.” Romana muttered.
“Mistresses?” K-9 asked.
“Yes?” Romana and Leela answered.
“I am intercepting a transmission. It is as follows.” K-9 spoke, before a mechanical voice boomed from his voice box.
“Time Lords of Gallifrey! This is the Daleks! If you surrender yourselves to us, then we will not exterminate your peoples! Cease Transmission” Before it fuzzed out.
“End of transmission, Mistresses.” K-9 said, his voice back to normal. Shortly after, one of the roundels on Romana’s control room turned into a screen, a Dalek on it. It played the exact same thing K-9 had said.
“Attention Mistresses. I am receiving several transmissions coming into this room.” K-9 informed.
“You told K-9 to intercept transmissions coming into Gallifrey control?” Romana asked, stunned.
“I did not.” Leela defended herself.
“The Mistress is correct. She only told me to intercept all transmissions.” K-9 confirmed.
“K-9? What line did that transmission go on?” Romana asked, as the roundels on the walls flickered, turning into round screens.
“Scans indicate it was transmitted along Gallifrey emergency frequency, Mistress.” K-9 answered.

Twenty minutes later, Romana sat in her pale-gold throne, a roundel being used as a camera. Across Gallifrey, all devices were showing the same feed and playing the same noise.
“Residents of Gallifrey. This is your Lady President speaking to you. Earlier, the emergency line was hijacked by an unknown force. I urge you all to remain calm. The transmission sent to your devices earlier was likely a hoax. The Time Lords shall live long and prosperous lives.” Out of sight, Leela stood at the console, ensuring the feed worked well.
“Once again, I urge you all to remain calm. You will all live happy lives. Until we can ascertain the true nature of this broadcast, I advise all to stay in your homes and remain calm. I will inform you of information as it arrives, I assure you. May Rassilon be with you.” Romana said, ceasing the transmission.
“Mistress. I am intercepting several transmissions.” K-9 informed Romana.
“That would be the public trying to contact me. Postpone them all, Leela.” Romana commanded. K-9 spoke up with news.
“Mistress?” K-9 spoke.
“Yes?” Romana and Leela spoke.
“I have managed to reverse the signal’s path and locate the source.” K-9 answered.
“Good boy, K-9. Where is it?” Romana complimented, before adding a question.
“It is in galactic quadrant 4-omega-9.” K-9 answered.
“I shall send a reconnaissance scout to look there.” Leela said, turning to leave.
“Wait!” Romana yelled. Leela turned back around.
“My apologies. Romana, may I-” Leela began.
“Not yet. I wish to appoint you war commander. You have treated me well, and you have a nose for battle. However, such a thing cannot be done except in the presence of the High Council.” Romana cut in.

A short while later, Romana stood on the proscenium, looking out at the sea of Time Lord dignitaries. Some voices cut through the rabble.
“What do you mean, unknown? They identified themselves!”
“We have yet to confirm their identity. We have tracked their location, and we are working to ascertain their true species. Now for what I called this session for. I propose Leela be placed as War Leader. She has served us well and has a nose for battle. All those who stand against my judgement, raise your hand.” Romana spoke. No-one raised their hand. But one voice cut through the silence.
“I propose we retrieve Rassilon’s body and resurrect him.” This naturally caused uproar, before a vote was counted. Enough said yes to warrant an expedition.
“I believe you may have forgotten that his body lay in the Death Zone.” Romana rebutted. She hadn’t been there, but when she was being dragged in, she got caught in a Time Eddy. It was a headache to say the least.
“Then we shall go there!” The voice came again, causing enough uproar that it could be heard throughout the building. The decision had been made by the High Council.

“They say they are intelligent, yet they think like a man with no brain!” Leela scoffed.
“What is the Death Zone?” Leela asked. She didn’t know it.
“I would also like to add it to my data banks, Mistress Romana.” K-9 added.
“Oh, very well. Long ago, in the time of Rassilon, my predecessor many times over, decided that it would be worth their time to create a zone in time where they would deposit members of a species, and they would fight to the death. The Tower of Rassilon is located there, behind several tests. If you pass the tests, then you would find Rassilon and his ring of immortality. That’s assuming you survive the monsters. It was shut down when the time of Rassilon came to an end.” Romana answered.
“What sort of tests?” Leela asked. Romana was silent.
“Insufficient data, Mistress Leela.” K-9 answered at the same time.
“Then it appears I shall have to go myself to find out.” Leela said, getting up.
“You can’t go!” Romana gasped.
“This Rassilon sounds cruel. If I allow his body to be resurrected, then that cruelty will begin again.” Leela rebutted.
“Oh, very well. But try to make it look like you’re not there to ensure they fail.” Romana submitted.
“Come along, K-9.” Leela said, turning to the door.
“Coming, Mistress Leela.” K-9 answered, trundling alongside Leela.
“Leela!” Romana yelled, causing Leela to turn around.
“Stay safe.”
“I shall, my Lady President.” Leela answered, a grin on her face.

“And you understand that this will be your only way out?” A Time Lord asked, holding up a reflective copper ring. A squadron of five time Lords and Leela nodded.
“Affirmative.” K-9 answered.
“Very well, then.” The Time Lord answered, handing them each a ring. A panel in the steel wall opened, causing a stream of blinding white light to break into the room. Leela led the way through, followed by K-9 and the five other Time Lords.

When Leela left the shimmering kaleidoscope of the Time Vortex, she was in a misty, emerald-green forest. If it wasn’t in a place called ‘the Death Zone’, it would’ve been awe-inspiring. K-9 and the other Time Lords came out soon after.
“Welcome to the Death Zone.” Leela muttered under her breath.

Chapter Text

In Romana’s control room, a bald Time Lord informed her of the news.
“Lady President, they have entered the Death Zone. They have the maps we have on file.”
“Let us hope they do not find Rassilon.” Romana muttered to herself.
“I have informed them of their best course of action.” The Time Lord informed her.
“Thank you. Consider yourself General now.” Romana thanked. The newly ranked bald General turned and left the room.
“Be safe, Leela.” Romana said to herself.

When Leela left the shimmering kaleidoscope of the Time Vortex, she was in a misty, emerald-green forest. If it wasn’t in a place called ‘the Death Zone’, it would’ve been awe-inspiring. K-9 and the other Time Lords came out soon after.
“Welcome to the Death Zone.” Leela muttered under her breath.
“What is everyone’s name?” Leela asked, turning around.
“My name is K-9, mistress.” K-9 introduced himself.
“Very good, K-9. My name is Leela. I am from the Sevateem tribe.” Leela introduced herself.
“I don’t see much point in it. It’s not like we’ll see each other much.” A heavily tanned, black-haired Time Lady spat.
“Sorry about her. She’s not the most cheery. They’re Raven. Call me Ash.” Ash -a shorter Time Lady with ginger hair, which fell down to her chest and wing bones, and rounded cheeks- introduced herself.
“I’m Cory.” Cory, a Time Lord with blonde hair which stuck to his face, spoke up.
“Xien.” Xien, a younger Time Lord with strawberry blonde hair and blue eyes spoke up. The fourth one stayed quiet, preferring not to talk.
“It’s getting dark. We should camp for the night.” Ash advised.
“Especially in a place called the Death Zone.” Ash finished.
“You have a nose for battle, Ash. You will be a worthy ally.” Leela added.

Later that afternoon, flames flickered shadows through the space where they all sat.
“We should set up watches; ensure we aren’t taken off-guard. Who wants to go first?” Xien spoke up.
“I shall perform the watches, Mistresses and Masters.” K-9 answered.
“I do not think it is wise to have a tin dog perform the watches.” Raven spat. A small tube began to extrude from K-9’s cuboid nose.
“No, K-9. You would be wise to respect him. He has saved my life several times over.” Leela spoke up, defending K-9.
“It’s a dog. I’m getting some sleep.” Raven spoke, walking over to her makeshift bed.
“I shall take the first watch. We will move out at first light. Get sleep. You shall need it for the journey.” Leela said, nominating herself for the first watch. Ash and Xien got to talking around the fire.
“Which chapter are you from?” Ash asked.
“Dromien. You?” Xien answered.
“Cerulean. It’s nice to meet you.” Ash replied.
“Sleep well, everyone. You shall need it.” Leela spoke.

Back on Gallifrey, shortly after Leela had left for the Death Zone, Romana was fronting the press.
“Lady President, there are rumours that a group of Time Lords have entered the Death Zone to retrieve the body of Rassilon. What do you have to say to these rumours?” One of the Time Lord reporters asked.
“These rumours are baseless. The Death Zone is off-limits to all beings.” Romana answered back, calmly.
“Then why is it reported that there is activity in the Death Zone?” The reporter asked again.
“The Death Zone was closed off quickly. It is entirely possible that those who are still in it are from its closure.” Romana answered quickly.
“That is all I have to say.” Romana finished, leaving. Calls rang out from behind her as she walked away. The bald general walked out and spoke into the microphone.
“This conference has concluded. If you have any questions for the Lady President or the High Council, please follow the official channels. Thank you for your presence.” He spoke, with a twinge of annoyance. Generals were meant to be on the field.

In the Death Zone, the sun was coming up.
“Wake up.” The shy Time Lord said, waking Raven and Cory up.
“Hmm? What is it?” Cory groaned. He blinked as he saw the sun rise.
“Leela, Ash, Xien. The sun’s up.” Cory told the others, waking them up.
“So it is. K-9. Can you create a map of the area?” Leela asked.
“Affirmative.” K-9 said, whirring as he began to create a map.
“No need. I’ve got one here.” Ash said, pushing a button on her right forearm Armor. A blue hologram fizzed into view above Ash’s right forearm. It was a map of the Death Zone from the Gallifreyan Archives.
“Completed, Mistress.” K-9 spoke.
“Lead us to the tower of Rassilon.” Leela spoke.
“Tower of Rassilon not registered on my map, Mistress. Co-ordinates will be required.” K-9 responded.
“Never you mind, K-9.” Ash replied, patting K-9’s metal head.
“Very well, Mistress Ash.” K-9 replied.
“Danger! Masters and Mistresses! Danger!” K-9 yelled. The Time Lords quickly raised their stasers, and Leela pulled a knife from it’s sheath on her right leg.
“What is it, K-9?” Leela asked.
“Insufficient data, Mistress Leela.” K-9 answered.
“Oh, it’s always ‘insufficient data’ isn’t it?” Raven spat.
“I see it!” Xien yelled, aiming and firing at it. The creature snarled and ran off.
“What was it?” Leela asked.
“Insuf-” K-9 started.
“Not you, K-9.” Leela cut in.
“My apologies, mistress.” K-9 apologized.
“It was green, just taller than a person, and scaly.” Xien answered Leela.
“K-9?” Leela asked.
“One moment.” K-9 answered. He briefly whirred for a second, before he dinged with an answer.
“The species described, combined with the current climate is a Martian, otherwise known as an Ice Warrior.” K-9 answered the question.
“Thank you K-9. Stay on guard. It may have friends.” Leela advised.

“What’s the situation in the Death Zone?” Romana asked, hoping for a good answer.
“We just received a transmission from the Death Zone’s frequency. They’re in there. They’ve come across something called an Ice Warrior, though. They’re alive, that’s for sure.” The bald general answered, giving Romana the answer they wanted.
“Although, according to their transmission, they’ve been there overnight. It’s only been an hour out here, how is that possible?” The Time lord who had been manning the transmission system asked.
“The Death Zone, since its creation, has been out of time synchronisation. That way, when the victor emerged, they would only have been gone for moments rather than months.” Romana explained.
“Ah, that makes sense.” The younger Time Lord responded.

Back in the Death Zone, K-9 led the way. Ash had uploaded a copy of her map into his memory banks, so he knew where everything was. K-9 led them, guns and knife ready for a fight. A rustling came from the leaves in the forest, and they all spun to face it, the force making Leela, Ash and Xien’s hair whip around. A large, green, armoured creature with scales lunged out from the bushes and tackled the shy Time Lord to the ground, throttling them. Everyone began firing on it, but K-9 knew best.
“Stand back.” K-9 spoke, calm as ever. The tube from it’s cuboid nose extended once more, and a red beam shot from it and hit the Ice Warrior in the back. It glowed as heat permeated it’s body. It arced back in pain and went limp, falling to the ground away from the Time Lord.
“You could have left me.” The shy Time Lord said.
“I am of the Sevateem Tribe. We do not abandon our friends.” Leela answered, extending a hand to the young Time Lord. They took it, and picked themselves up.
“Echo.” They said.
“I do not understand.” Leela admitted.
“My name. You asked it earlier. It’s Echo.” Echo said, finally introducing themselves.
“It is nice to meet you, Echo.” Leela answered, understanding.
“Come on.” Raven said, jerking her gun towards a clearing.
“Why are you like this?” Echo asked.
“We were sent to retrieve Rassilon’s body and his ring. Not to make friends.” Raven answered.

After a short while of trudging through the forest, they came across large, hilled plains of tan.
“K-9, where are we?” Leela asked.
“The plains of Omega. The most efficient route is to travel across them. However, my scanners indicate great danger in them.” K-9 answered. Leela pondered her choices, before putting it to a vote.
“K-9 seems to detect danger in the plains. All those in favour of going around, raise your hand.” They all raised their hands. Except for Raven.
“We have a mission. We are to complete it as quickly as possible.” Raven spoke, before setting off across the plains.
“Raven, stop! We are meant to work as a team. If we do not, than we shall not succeed.” Leela yelled, but Raven was already too far away.
“Well, guess we need to follow them.” Cory said, walking off after her. The others followed Cory. Beneath the hills, an android in a light-grey seamless jumpsuit with a shiny silver head awakened. It turned it’s head and moved to awaken it’s identical brethren.

Chapter Text

After a short while of trudging through the forest, they came across large, hilled plains of tan.
“K-9, where are we?” Leela asked.
“The plains of Omega. The most efficient route is to travel across them. However, my scanners indicate great danger in them.” K-9 answered. Leela pondered her choices, before putting it to a vote.
“K-9 seems to detect danger in the plains. All those in favour of going around, raise your hand.” They all raised their hands. Except for Raven.
“We have a mission. We are to complete it as quickly as possible.” Raven spoke, before setting off across the plains.
“Raven, stop! We are meant to work as a team. If we do not, than we shall not succeed.” Leela yelled, but Raven was already too far away.
“Well, guess we need to follow them.” Cory said, walking off after her. The others followed Cory. Beneath the hills, an android in a light-grey seamless jumpsuit with a shiny silver head awakened. It turned its head and moved to awaken it’s identical brethren.

Meanwhile, on Gallifrey, Romana was watching their progress.
“They’ve made it to the plains of Rassilon. They’ll be there soon. Now they just need to face the-” Romana began, turning to a Time Lord, who was watching the screen.
“Raston Warrior robots and they should be at the tower.” The Time Lord read aloud. Romana’s face paled. The Raston Warrior Robots were renowned for being the best players of the game, almost on the level of being banned, on the level of the Daleks.
“Then they’re really in trouble.” Romana muttered.

As Leela and the squad climbed the rolling hills, they saw what appeared to be hatches in the ground.
“What is that?” Leela asked.
“Preliminary scans indicate a panel, excavated from the ground on which we stand.”
“And anything further?” Raven spat. K-9 whirred before answering.
“Negative, Mistress Raven.” K-9 replied.
“Are we going to open it?” Echo asked.
“I am unsure if that would be wise. We do not know what would await us there.” Leela answered.
“Check the plans, idiot.” Raven spat. Ash rolled her eyes in annoyance, but did it all the same.
“Nothing.” Ash breathed.
“Don’t be an idiot. It must be there.” Raven spat.
“There is nothing indicated on this map.” Leela defended.
“Ugh. Let me see.” Raven spat, annoyed at their presumed incapacity to read a map. She was naturally surprised to see that there was indeed nothing there, before storming off.
“I believe you owe Echo an apology.” Leela called to no reply.
“Don’t worry, it’s okay.” Echo replied.
“We should go down.” Ash piped up.
“We should not. Our mission is to-” Raven began to bark.
“Get to the tower of Rassilon and recover his body, I know.” Ash cut in.
“For all we know, the hatches could lead to a shortcut.” Ash continued.
“Alright, we’ll go down there, then.” Raven commanded, a scowl on her face.

Back on Gallifrey, Romana was confused as to how the squadron she had sent were inside solid dirt.
“Explain.” Romana commanded.
“Our best guess is that our maps are outdated. Perhaps whatever creatures are in there excavated an underground bunker for the games.” The Time Lord hypothesised.
“But who excavated it?” Romana asked herself.

Back under the plains, K-9 was lugged down by Leela into the gloom below.
“You claim to be a worthy companion, and yet, you cannot climb a simple ladder?” Leela grunted.
“Affirmative, Mistress Leela.” K-9 answered sheepishly. As Leela crossed a built-in detector, yellowed lights blinked on one by one, illuminating the way. It was a large chamber, with wooden beams holding back dirt walls. The lights hung by wires off the beams holding the roof up.
“Do not touch anything.” Leela commanded. She could see some dirt, already falling off the walls and roof. Xien pointed at the wires holding the lights up.
“There seems to be a power source. Follow the cables-” Xien started.
“Find the power source.” Cory finished.
“Affirmative, Masters Xien and Cory.” K-9 added. Leela had put him down on the dirt floor.
“I believe we should follow the lights.” Leela advised.
“No, duh.” Raven spoke, leading the way.

Further in the tunnels, the Raston Warrior Robot that was active worked the generator. It was rudimentary and made of wood, black smoke pouring out of it, the smell and taste of electricity in the air. The Raston Warrior Robot’s head snapped to the right. It could sense them.

Further back in the tunnel, Leela led the way, and turned to her left. She was immediately met by a robot in a seamless grey jumpsuit, with a shiny silver head. Leela quickly grabbed her knife from it’s sheath and lunged forth to stab it. The knife made contact and bounced out of Leela’s hand. She jumped back in fear. Ash quickly pulled out her staser and shot it. The robot burst into sparks, singing it’s body.
“Do you think it was active?” Echo asked.
“Negative, Master Echo. Scans indicate the only source of power, excluding ourselves, to be the lights that illuminate this corridor.” K-9 answered.
“Right. K-9, keep us updated, check-ins every 2 minutes.” Leela spoke back.
“Noted, Mistress.” K-9 replied. Raven scouted ahead, travelling through the dirt corridors in eerie silence. She was startled by a hand on her shoulder; whirling about and raising her staser to whoever’s head it was. It was Ash. She stood, staser to her forehead, her eyes wide with fear. Her hearts beat out an allegro rhythm. One two three four. One two three four. Raven dropped her staser, and with a glare, scolded Ash. But they all kept moving.

Almost two minutes later, Raven was leading the squadron through the tunnel. Behind them, Raston Warrior robots began to turn their metal heads.
“Scans indicate a new source of power, Masters and Mistresses.” K-9 informed on cue.
“Where is it, K-9?” Leela asked.
“Within 20 meters south of this unit.” K-9 answered. Leela glanced behind her, long enough to see them; not long enough for them to know she saw them.
“Do not be afraid. But there appear to be automatons behind us.” Leela whispered.
“K-9. Do you think you could defeat them?” Xien asked quietly.
“Insuf-” K-9 began at his usual volume.
“K-9, lower volume level by 75%.” Ash quickly cut off.
“Affirmative, mistress Ash.” K-9 answered quietly.
“When I say fire, fire.” Raven whispered.
“Do not be a fool. We do not know if we can defeat them. It would be unwise to provoke them.” Leela reasoned, not wishing to sacrifice her life to prevent them from continuing.
“I don’t care.” Raven muttered, before yelling:
“Fire!” She whirled around and opened fire on the Raston Warrior robot nearest to her. It burst into sparks. Inside the robot’s head, it registered Raven as hostile and began its attack.

It jumped up and seemed to disappear, before re-appearing behind Raven. It shot a small, grey stick at her, and it hit Raven in the right arm, right on the forearm. Raven yelled out in pain. Leela ran off, followed by K-9 and the others.
“Shouldn’t we try to save her?” Xien asked.
“Negative. The Raston Warrior Robots are immensely difficult to defeat.” K-9 answered.
“K-9. Increase volume by 75%.” Cory spoke, returning K-9 to his normal voice.
“Shouldn’t we try to save her?” Xien asked again.
“Negative. The Raston Warrior Robots are immensely difficult to defeat.” K-9 answered, only this time, he could be heard. As Leela ran past a particularly strong wooden beam, she had an idea. She pulled out her knife, and cut the beam in half.
“Hurry!” She yelled, as the dirt began to pile down behind them. Ash was nearest to the landslide, and could feel the air being pushed out of the space behind her. Her hearts beat out another allegro rhythm. When Ash reached Leela, they could stop running now. When the dust settled, all they could see was a dense pack of brown, with speckles of grey stone.

Further in the tunnel, near the generator, the last Raston Warrior Robot Leela’s lot had to face felt the earth shaking and looked back. With it’s superior sight, it could see Leela and the others. Leela could faintly see it. It jumped and appeared behind them. Leela had a plan. She first threw her knife at it. The knife skimmed the Robot’s arm and clattered as it fell to the dirt ground. She quickly leaped back, up against the dirt wall. When the robot jumped, Leela quickly dodged to the left, causing the robot to plant face-first into the dirt wall. From there, Ash, Cory, Echo and Xien opened fire on it. Instead of sparking, it exploded in a shower of flames. A loud creaking came from above.
“I suggest we move at an increased pace, Masters and Mistresses.” K-9 advised.
“Agreed. Run!” Cory yelled, picking up K-9. As Leela ran past her knife, she picked it up and pushed a nearby panel in the roof open. Everyone got out, shortly before the flames licked through the wooden beams and the walls collapsed in, the roof following shortly after. To Leela, it looked like an exhaling belly. They all rested for a few moments.
“We have arrived at our destination.” K-9 piped up. Everyone turned around to see a large tower, made of grey stone, occasionally broken by a mossy stone. Leela looked at the others, then pushed a panel with a near-invisible hinge, causing it to scrape open.

Back on Gallifrey, Romana was surprised they had made it there that quickly.
“They’ve arrived at the tower. Now this is where it gets difficult.” Romana spoke, seemingly to herself.

Chapter Text

Back on Gallifrey, Romana was surprised they had made it there that quickly.
“They’ve arrived at the tower. Now this is where it gets difficult.” Romana spoke, seemingly to herself.

“Agreed. Run!” Cory yelled, picking up K-9. As Leela ran past her knife, she picked it up and pushed a nearby panel in the roof open. Everyone got out, shortly before the flames licked through the wooden beams and the walls collapsed in, the roof following shortly after. To Leela, it looked like an exhaling belly. They all rested for a few moments.
“We have arrived at our destination.” K-9 piped up. Everyone turned around to see a large tower, made of grey stone, occasionally broken by a mossy stone. Leela looked at the others, then pushed a panel with a near-invisible hinge, causing it to scrape open.
“Who wishes to go first?” Leela asked.
“I shall, Mistress. I am the most durable sentient creature here.” K-9 spoke, not fully understanding the connotation of its words. K-9 trundled into the tower.

Inside the tower, a large checkerboard sat in the floor. As K-9 led the way into the tower, he paused.
“Do not move ahead of me.” He spoke, his small, colander-like ears rotating as he scanned.
“Scans indicate a live power circuit travelling through certain conductive panels on the floor.” K-9 answered.
“Which panels are conductive?” Xien asked K-9.
“Scans at this range prove ineffective.” K-9 answered.
“I shall lead. This unit has been insulated against increased electrical voltage.” K-9 added, moving towards the checkerboarded floor. The first panel he crossed on was a black one. No zapping noise. The next was a white panel. Still no zapping noise. As K-9 continued, the air grew more and more electric with tension. K-9 was almost on the fifth row of squares. He crossed onto a black panel. The zapping of electricity pierced the air, and before anyone could process what was happening, K-9’s boxy body was lying on its side.
“Assistance is required! This unit is currently experiencing mobility issues.” K-9 yelled. Cory reached down, and put K-9 back on his tyres, concealed in his black base.
“Thank you Master Cory.” K-9 thanked.

“Madam President. They’ve found their way into the tower, but they haven’t moved past the first test.” The Time Lord watching the screen informed Romana.
“Is there any particular way we can help them?” Romana asked.
“I can try to disable the first test, but other than that there’s not much I can do.” The Time Lord answered.
“Then do it.” Romana replied; secretly happy they couldn’t stop them much.

Back in the Death Zone, Leela and the others were in a cobblestone hall, the arch at the end filled with people from all their pasts. There was a man with brown curly hair and a long scarf -The Doctor- a tall-ish man with brown flattened hair and eyes -Carter-, and a shorter girl with shaggy black hair -Ghost-. As Leela and the others approached the archway, they began to clamour.
“Wait, stop! Take one more step, and we’re all dead.” Carter yelled. The Doctor nodded, affirming. They all stopped.
“Don’t try scanning it. It could be set off by even the slightest scan.” Ghost spoke. Leela and the others turned to each other and talked to each other.
“We can’t go through there. Those are our friends.” Ash told the others.
“The path ahead appears to be the only path into the Tomb of Rassilon.” K-9 spoke.
“Then we’re stuck.” Cory spoke.
“Not quite.” K-9 began, gaining everyone’s attention.
“Care to explain?” Xien asked.
“That is not The Doctor. His personality does not match what is stored in my data banks for that face.” K-9 explained.
“So it’s a fake?” Echo asked.
“The probability of that is approximately 65%, Master Echo.” K-9 answered.
“Then Leela should lead, in case there’s another test.” Ash spoke up. Naturally, Leela didn’t want to, remembering what Romana had told her: ‘try to make it look like you’re not there to ensure they fail’
“I am unsure that is wise. A sixty-five percent chance is still a large one to take.” Leela spoke, trying to keep herself off the back foot.
“It’s better than a coin flip.” Xien pointed out, noticing Leela’s change in attitude. They started walking towards the invisible threshold they were at before. Naturally, Carter, Ghost, and The Doctor tried to stop him. As Xien took that step, the three figures fizzed a silver-blue before disappearing.
“See? It was a trick by the tower.” Xien spoke, their voice echoing up and down the stairs.

Back on Gallifrey, Romana was standing at the monitor, silently cursing her luck. She could only hope they went up the tower instead of down. They were close to Rassilon’s Tomb.

Xien led the way down the stairs, the others following in their wake.
“The map appears to indicate that the tomb is approximately 6 meters below us.” K-9 informed, carried by Cory, who was grunting with the effort. Despite K-9’s size, it was somewhat heavy. As soon as they finished, they were met with a large, stone box, with faces of Time Lords engraved on the side. Dark-red pillars stood in the corners. On the box lay an old man, with ginger hair and a bushy beard in bright yellow robes, his hands clutching a steel ring with the Seal of Rassilon engraved on it’s flat top. They had finally found Rassilon. Echo walked up and removed the ring from Rassilon’s grip. The ring was a legendary object, said to grant immortality to it’s wearer. But immortality is a terrible curse, not a gift. Echo slid the ring onto Rassilon’s hand. Rassilon’s body began to glow a golden-white.

Back on Gallifrey, a panel in a steel wall opened, causing a stream of blinding white light to break into the room. The newly resurrected Rassilon led the way through, followed by K-9 and the others. Before long, Romana was waiting for Leela outside the High Council chambers.
“Did you succeed?” Romana asked.
“I regret to inform you that I was unsuccessful.” Leela informed.
“Oh well, it was a long shot anyways.” Romana sighed. The doors opened, and Romana stepped through onto the gangway, ready to talk to her people. The rabble was silenced when Romana reached the end of the gangway.
“Our mission was successful. I move that Rassilon be installed as War Commander alongside Leela.” Romana planned, trying to remain calm. All hands raised before Romana could even call for a vote. As Romana walked back, and Rassilon walked out, the High Council went crazy.
“Our Lady President does not understand the implications of the transmission sent earlier today. The Daleks have declared war on Gallifrey, and I intend to retaliate. But only the President can do that, I hear you. I accuse Romanadvoratrelundar of treason, on the grounds that she attempted to prevent my return. And as you all know, my word is law. I hereby sentence Romanadvoratrelundar to be my Vice-President, and install myself as Lord President of Gallifrey.” Rassilon boomed, his scheming finally paying off. Romana attempted to summon guards to remove Rassilon, but they did nothing. They could do nothing against Rassilon. Within minutes, the news spread. Screens throughout the capital read ‘Rassilon re-installed as Lord President of Gallifrey. Leela to be War Commander. Romanadvoratrelundar demoted to Vice-President.’

In his office, Rassilon sat in his chair in dark-red and gold, scheming his next decision. He pressed a button, and began transmitting to galactic quadrant 4-omega-9.
“Daleks of Skaro. This is Rassilon, the Lord President of Gallifrey. We have received your threat and declare war on the Dalek Race.” He spat. This was the beginning of the Last Great Time War.