The doctor was positively snarling when he returned, livid at being followed by such a “dull” creature. [i]The look that it gave him, what was it? judgement? What did he know of anything? Of the greatness he would arise to, of the goal so tantalisingly out of reach, but not for much longer! He would have to begin soon, a brass citadel would rise in Old Hoof, and it would be his home, his heavenly paradise of machine, magic and science! It would be the cradle of a new civilisation, “his” civilisation, and from its flaming halls this new order would spread across the world.[/i]

[i]But right now he would have to flee, the nightmare would return with its master soon no doubt, that rancid degenerate![/i]

He packed up his equipment, quickly piling it on to Grunge and signalling to Honey to douse the fire. “We are leaving dear, time to take a new turn” he said, packing the hacksaw away amongst his scientific equipment and lighting up his horn in a small beacon of magic and muttering a spell.

Slowly the effects of what he had just cast became more pronounced, his bronze hair turned black and his fur turned to a type of orange, huge scarred began to form and cross his face and one eye went dull, then completely white. For the others the process was much the same, with Honey turning dark beige with a sand coloured mane, the only difference being that she remained wheel bound. The spell could not affect non-existent flesh after all. To anyone watching, it would have seemed as if an illusion had been broken, as if this was really their appearance rather than the previous incarnation.

He took out one of the horns and held it in his hoof sadly; it was a necessary complication to advanced transportation however, a mutual exchange with the entities beyond the spheres. He paused before the sleeping Inquisitors, considering his options. He could take another Alicornal sample but that would doubtless lead to further complications with Thea, so he decided against it. Instead he drew a circle with the horn a little further way from them and signalled Honey and Grunge to enter it; he repeated the process with a larger circle and began to draw a series of esoteric runes on the ground around him, measuring the process perfectly.

[i]After all[/i], he mused [i]I have done this many times before.[/i]

When he was certain of the correctness of his work, he entered the circle and began a low chant in an unknown language. He had a good idea of where to go from here, an old lab of his stood around the area of Woodswatch and he could re-accommodate himself in easily. The place even had a small factory attached so he could rebuild a fair portion of his equipment after the disaster at Trottingham, much to his relief.

 Hopefully the place had not been ransacked by looters or Moon and Star forces, although he doubted many could get past the defence parameters he had set up when he left for the war front.

With one last look at the scorched ruin of Old Hoof, he smiled “I’ll be back” he giggled. Turning back to his work he spoke the second last line of the ceremony and his horn lit up with a considerable pulse of green energy, arching across the circle and causing it to glow ominously. He lifted the inquisitor’s horn into the sky a spoke the final words necessary for the teleportation.

[b]“ लकड़ी देखो, बलि सींग यात्रा.”[/b]

A bright green orb engulfed all of those within the circle after the final word, and a single arch of lightning struck it with an echoing boom. In a billow of smoke and fire, the doctor and his entourage had disappeared, leaving behind nothing but a hole in the ground, and a few distorted runes.