Ties Between Time and Space

✦18✦

Chapter Eighteen
Trickster Blood, Remember?

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"ALL PUPILS TO CLASS IMMEDIATELY. AND WOULD ALL MEMBERS OF STAFF CONGREGATE IN THE STAFF ROOM." A voice over the intercom said.

*---*---*

"No, no, this classroom's out of bounds," Rose said and stopped a hoard of children from entering the room she, the Doctor, and Sarah Jane were in. "You've all got to go to the South Hall. Off you go. South Hall!" she called out when they all turned around to walk away.

*---*---*

Emma was on the other end of the school, skidding to a running stop just outside of the teachers' staff room. Mr. Parsons was the first to arrive of many and quickly Emma pointed to another room somewhere down the hall.

"Sorry, they made a mistake. All teachers are supposed to meet in the gym. In the gym!"

"Why would we meet in the gym?" Mr. Parsons asked, doubtful.

"No idea," Emma shrugged. "I'm just doing what the headmaster's asked. The intercom in his office broke suddenly, so he couldn't tell you himself," she lied.

Skeptically, Mr. Parsons believed Emma and went to the gym. He squeezed through the door after three other teachers and once she knew everyone was safe inside, Emma locked the double doors and broke the handles. She then took off running again.

*---*---*

"Any luck?" Emma asked, sighing as she caught her breath and walked back into the Maths computer room.

"I can't shift it," the Doctor shook his head. He had the wires of the panel looped around his neck and the box itself in his hand as he tried to scan it with his sonic screwdriver.

"I thought the sonic screwdriver could open anything!" Sarah Jane stressed, stumbling over her words.

"Anything except a deadlock seal."

"And wood," Emma added as she came back to his side.

"Not helping, Em," the Doctor said. "There's got to be something inside here. What're they teaching those kids?" He set the box down, threw down the wires, and crossed the room to look for something else to use.

"If only Tony or my Uncle Sam was here," Emma muttered to herself before the room lit up in a green and black light show.

The large screen in the front of the classroom showed symbols, numbers, letters, and patterns. All of them, flashing at an insane rate like someone was actually supposed to keep up with the speed they were going at.

"Uh, Doctor?" Emma called.

"You wanted the program? There it is," Sarah Jane said, staring at the screen.

"Some sort of code," the Doctor muttered coming up behind them. He wasn't sure of it at first but the longer he stared at the screen, watched the numbers and symbols, and read the letters, he figured it out and his eyes widened. "No. No, that can't be."

Emma's hand found the Doctor's and just the physical contact with her was enough to ground him. "Calm down and explain it," she told him.

"The Skasis Paradigm. They're trying to crack the Skasis Paradigm."

"The Skasis what?" Sarah Jane asked.

"The-The. . . " the Doctor was battling to explain it in words, his brain was working so fast. "The God maker. The universal theory. Crack that equation and you've got control of the building blocks of the universe. Time and space and matter, yours to control."