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'Dryfid!' he turned to the leader of the Tuatha. 'Send some men to be prepared to open the gates when I give the word.'

'Very well.'

'Now then ... ' The Doctor pressed his fingers against the stone. Doubt crept into his expression and he looked closely at the dark rock.

'Should something have happened?' Ace asked.

'Too many things to remember,' he complained. 'Without the keying code I'll need a power source to reactivate the stones.' A mighty crash came from the far end of the tunnel.

'They've nearly broken through, Doctor!' Stuart called.

'No time.' The Doctor searched his pockets. 'Nothing.' He strode over to Goibhnie. 'Goibhnie!' he whispered urgently. 'Goibhnie, how can I reactivate the stones? The keying code is different to the deactivation sequence.'

'Use ... ' Goibhnie's electronic voice was weak and distorted. 'Use the energy from my flyer.'

'There's no time to disconnect it and link it up again. The demons are almost through the gates.'

Goibhnie didn't seem to be listening. 'So much pain. Insufficient endorphin release. Doctor, will you supervise the Ternog experiment?'

'It can supervise itself. Goibhnie, show me the keying code. '

'Death,' whispered Goibhnie. 'An unexplored realm, uncharted, beyond empirical definition. If I could record the results, it would make a great experiment. Use the power pack from my respirator, Doctor.'

'Show me the keying code. We can take you over to the stones. '

'There is no keying code. I never anticipated having to reactivate them. Another fault in my technique. Still, the new procedure awaits.'

'If I can get you back to the TARDIS, I can give you medical treatment.'

There was an almost messianic gleam in Goibhnie's eyes. 'No time. Use it, Doctor.' His arms somehow found the energy to reach up and snap open the seals on his helmet, letting in a rush of the unfamiliar, unfriendly atmosphere.

'This will provide excellent material for a research paper on the subject of mortality,' his unenhanced voice croaked weakly.

'Only medium material,' the Doctor said sadly. The Doctor looked at the alien's revealed face. It could almost be human but for the pale green tint of the skin and the gills waving weakly in the air. When they stopped moving, he reached into the suit and felt about for the respirator. It came loose easily.

'Goibhnie is dead?' asked Dryfid.

'I'm afraid so.' The Doctor hurried to the stones, rapidly disconnecting the power pack from the respirator. 'He did care for Tír na n-Óg.'

He pressed the power pack against the side of the first stone and let it discharge some of its energy.

The galaxy within the rock flared into life.

'Where shall we send them to?' the Doctor mused. He took out his pocket watch and flipped it open.

'Without Goibhnie the artificial sun will need some extra fuel to keep it going. I suppose ... ' Conflicting emotions raged in his mind. Wholesale destruction of life? Could it be justified? He raised his pocket watch and sighted along its diameter at the sun. It emitted a high-pitched bleep and a row of figures appeared on its small digital screen. He turned back to the stone and taking Ace's hands he positioned them on its surface.

'Keep them steady, no matter what happens.'

'Right you are, Professor.'

He hurried across to the other stone.

'They're through!' a voice called. The sound of baying howls echoed up the tunnel. The Doctor fumbled the power pack against the stone and released its package of energy. Just as the first demon, its jaws wide and claws outstretched, reached the mouth of the tunnel, he pressed his fingers against the stone, rediverting the flow of information. The rather surprised looking head and shoulders of the beast were carried forward, but the rest of it had vanished.

'Wicked!' shouted Ace, her enthusiasm momentarily getting the better of her.

'Keep still, Ace!'

The demons kept coming. A menagerie sewn together haphazardly. Gangling limbs with tough sinews and wiry tendons. A torso with a heart that bulged outside the ribs and