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Shonnzi grimaced and put on an appalling Scottish accent. "Haven't hearrrd of this Doctorr either. Who did you say he was? I'd like a little chat . . ."

Ace only half stifled a guffaw.

"I'm not deaf," said a voice across the street.

"Try further to your left," Shonnzi called.

Ace leant across and squeezed his hand. When she looked into his face, he was frowning. "So you're filling in the missing details?" she said.

He glanced up and down the street nervously. "He'd better hurry," he said quietly, his tone suddenly chilled.

"What did he teach you in the dreams?" she said. "And what's all this summoning business?"

Shonnzi's smile returned. It looked forced. "Nothing." He leaned in close to her. "Is he really from the future? Go on, you can tell me."

"Just don't ask," Ace muttered. After a pause when he was too quiet, she said, "What's the matter?"

"I'm all right." He shook his head and looked directly into her eyes. "Look after him, Ace."

"Why? You're not going away.

"I never thanked you, did I?"

"What for?"

"Ages ago. When I was a kid and you saved my life."

"Cut the sick jokes, Shonnzi. It isn't fair."

He smiled that forced smile again. There were tears behind its mask. "Bit of a wasted effort really."

He turned his head quickly as if he heard something.

There was a definite trembling in the ground. He touched his fingers to the dust and stared along the street.

"Got you!" shouted the Doctor. "We were right, Shonnzi!"

His Suyryte rod was juddering wildly over a section of ground. He began to scrabble in the dust with his bare hands. In a moment he had unearthed a cable.

"We were right. I knew the old facilities must still exist under all this dross," he declared excitedly. He started to drag up the cable, following its course across the width of the street.

"Doctor!"

Ace was gawping at a massive furrow that was ploughing along the street towards them.

"Get back, all of you!" shouted the Doctor. He gave one final yank at the cable. The length that emerged was grafted with a small metallic node bud. To Ace's horror, he turned his back and sat down on the shaking ground. He started to needle the Suyryte rod into the junction, jiggling it like a lever.

Nothing happened.

Behind him, the furrow surged closer, a land-bound torpedo homing on its target.

Ace tried to run at the Doctor, but strong arms pulled her back. She kicked and turned to find herself struggling with Amnoni.

Shonnzi had gone.

"Doctor!" she yelled. "Get out of the way!"

He ground the rod steadily into the node. "What use is a chimper junction if I can't get a response?" he ranted. "Where's Shonnzi? This was his idea."

Behind him, the ground broke open. The Doctor was pitched forward as the Process burst upwards in a shower of dust and earth. It loomed over him, bellowing hungrily.

The node snatched the rod from his grasp, absurdly swallowing whole something four times its length.

The Doctor squirmed over on to his back and stared up into the open maw of the Process.

"It's no good eating me," he cried. "I don't remember a thing!"

The slavering circle of teeth angled out to tear at him.

Ace kicked hard and wrenched herself free of Amnoni. She grabbed up one of the discarded umbrellas and ran at the rampant monster.

The tip slid on the slimy hide, causing no more than a graze, but the brute was distracted for a moment.

The Doctor rolled away, winding himself in the cable. He shook the node bud angrily. "What do I do to make you work?" he shouted.

The node opened like a foil flower in his hand. At its heart lay an egg-shaped ruby grafted into a nest of light filaments.

"Voice access," approved the Doctor, ignoring the rumpus behind him.

Ace was battering at the Process with the ragged umbrella. It spat angrily back at her, moving faster than she expected. With one swing of its massive head, it sent her tumbling into a stunned heap across the street.

The creature turned back towards the Doctor and was met by a barrage of stones