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'And is that why they gave you metal legs?'

'I do my jumping here,' enthused Nashaad.'Got to use them, they told me to use them.'

' "They", Nashaad?' the Doctor's voice lowered and became conspiratorial.

"The director and her friends? When was this?'

Nashaad looked down at the ground. 'Don't know, can't remember, don't know, can't remember, don't know -' He repeated the words like a mantra, and the Doctor soothed him.

'It's all right, Nashaad, don't worry. Probably a result of playing in the confines of this thing. Memory displacement, perhaps.'

He gestured at the alien machine they were nearing, but Nashaad wasn't looking.'I've got metal legs!' he announced, staring at them proudly.

'Or perhaps you're just mad, of course,' smiled the Doctor, brightly.

Suddenly the Doctor found himself putting a hand to his own head, his legs threatening to buckle under him. He leaned on Nashaad, who almost collapsed under the unexpected weight. 'I'm sorry,' he muttered, composing himself. 'I'm clearly more sensitive to this sort of temporal emission than I thought.'

Nashaad cheerily ignored him and went off bouncing about in Anstaar's direction the other side of the arena.

The Doctor surveyed the metal artefact.'Here we are, then. What are you? I wonder.'

He began to examine the banks of instrumentation that lined the sphere.

***

Anstaar had watched the incongruous pair walking towards the probe for a while, then looked around her, feeling a little isolated at the top of the basin by herself. Through the dense watery air, she thought she could make out a great dark shape some way in the distance.Just a glimpse... but there it was again, and in the same place. She racked her brains, trying to remember that part of the route, and how far away it was. Then she realised she remembered looking through a gap in the rock to her side at this view as they had made their way here. The path doubled back round and led on to this causeway.

She'd glimpsed the shadows passing the gap, which in turn meant two dark shapes were on their way.

There was a sudden scuffle of stones and Anstaar cried out involuntarily.

Looking down, she was first irritated, then pleased, to see Nashaad beaming shyly up at her.

'Take me down there, Nashaad. Come on, quick.' She held tightly on to his neck and hoped he wasn't enjoying this close proximity to her person as much as she thought he was. Try to jump into those bushes, all right? And take care, won't you?'

'Don't worry, I've -'

'I know. .Jump .'

***

The Doctor looked up in surprise at the sound of Anstaar's indignant yelp as she landed heavily in the patch of plant life that had seemed so much denser from above.

'See?' said Nashaad, proudly.

"The Doctor ran across to help her up. 'Are you all right? No bones broken?

Where did you land?'

Anstaar gratefully accepted his helping hand. 'On my dignity.'

'Oh, good. Much better than landing on your backside. Come and look at this.'

'What? Doctor, wait, up there I saw -'

'No time now, Anstaar!' he cried, racing back to the machine, muddied coat flapping behind him in the breeze.

She followed him, thanking the deity she could still walk. 'I think we've got company coming.'

The Doctor turned away from his study of the spheroid, tutting at his lack of tools. 'Large, nasty bipedal company?'

She nodded, grimly. T think so.' Behind her, Nashaad suddenly landed with a small excited whoop, making her jump before leaping off again himself.

'Where does he get his energy from?'

That's the wonderful thing about Tiggers,' muttered the Doctor, ignoring her puzzled look.

'They're just rounding that bend in the track.'

The Doctor looked at her sharply, then slapped a palm down on the metal surface of the machine, a dull clang resounding heavily around them.

'That's it!' He cried. 'A hairpin bend!' He reached to the back of his head, and with evident relief pulled a small piece of kinked, dark wire. 'Hairpin,' he explained. 'Picked it up earlier. Never