Liz permitted herself the brief distraction of looking up at this accusation and gasped in horror. The figure no longer looked entirely human. Where once ‘Septurus’ had stood, a ghastly shadow, wreathed in hellish flames, utterly devoid of light, glowered at the Doctor.
‘Well surmised, Doctor,’ the Guardian replied in darkly demonic voice, ‘But it will not do you any good. My agents have already done their work. And you can’t stop it.’
The Doctor smiled placidly. ‘That’s true enough.’
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that Liz had successfully extricated herself from her cell.
‘But on the other hand,’ the Doctor said casually, ‘That device of yours is running on a rudimentary form of electric power, derived from refracted sunlight. I notice you are keeping your distance from it.’
The Guardian smiled mirthlessly.
‘Indeed Doctor. But as you observe, you are nowhere near the source.’
Throughout their discussion, Liz had stolen stealthily to the console controlling the power. With the Doctor’s direction, much of what previously was alien to her now made intuitive sense. A few quick switches on the console were all she needed to gain control. Noticing her success, the Doctor said with every air of courtesy, ‘Indeed sir. But as you might observe, my companion is near the source.’
As the guardian span on the spot, the Doctor yelled ‘Now Liz!’
She pulled the final lever, and the room flooded with the stored sunlight. A truly terrible howl filled the air, and the Guardian flailed on the spot, vanishing into nothingness. Captain Lunden had managed to climb up the rope just in time to see the Guardian vanish, closely followed by Ludwig. As Lunden rushed to open the downstairs door, Ludwig pointed a shaking hand at the spot where the Guardian had stood.
‘What … what was he Doctor?’ he said in horror, ‘Has he been destroyed?’
‘No, not destroyed,’ said the Doctor gravely, ‘Merely dismissed. Darkness cannot coexist with light you know.’
Liz knelt sombrely next to Grendell, whose breathing was painful and laboured. Ludwig rushed to his father’s side, but Liz shook her head. Ludwig turned his anguished face to his father.
‘Father, forgive me,’ he half sobbed, ‘I had to stop him.’
‘No,’ sighed Gendell, ‘Forgive me son. Promise … do better than I.’
Grendell fell back into his son’s arms. As Ludwig wept, Liz stood urgently. The room was filling with the great and good of Tara, all astonished by her appearance, but she had no time for that.
‘Doctor! The countdown is still happening! We must deactivate the transmat or else the pestilence will spread to the whole cosmos!’
‘And we lose our ticket home!’ the Doctor added, dashing to the console. His fingers worked rapidly, pulling at wires and switches. He muttered to himself ‘This is no time to reverse the polarity …’ and meshed two wires together. Liz looked tensely at a meter on the console. ‘Doctor! We have less than ten seconds!’
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