fabula.
S9E25 · The Time Monster Part 5 graph
S9E25
· The Time Monster Part 5

Dalios makes desperate plea for Doctor’s aid

Overlooking a twilit terrace, King Dalios shatters his stoic reserve and confesses his lifelong terror of awakening Kronos. After dismissing the possibility of destroying the indestructible crystal, he turns to the Doctor not as ruler but as fellow outsider who comprehends time’s paradoxes. In a raw outpouring of vulnerability, Dalios abandons politics and supplicates for the Doctor’s intervention against the incoming Master and Queen Galleia. The plea exposes Dalios’s strategic impotence and his fear that Atlantis’s sacred legends will become the weapon that annihilates his kingdom, pivoting their fragile rapport into a binding alliance to stop the impending catastrophe.

Plot Beats

The narrative micro-steps within this event

1

Dalios requests the Doctor's help to stop the evil men and save Atlantis from destruction.

determination to hope

Who Was There

Characters present in this moment

2
Dalios
King
 primary

Overwhelmed with a lifelong terror that mixes personal dread with royal duty, his stoicism shattered by the urgency of impending doom

Dalios drops his regal mask and expresses raw fear over the prospect of awakening Kronos, revealing his personal terror and political helplessness in the face of the indestructible crystal. He urgently pivots from royal authority to desperate supplication, directly imploring the Doctor for intervention against the Master and Queen Galleia.

Goals in this moment
  • • Gain the Doctor's direct assistance in preventing Kronos' awakening
  • • Prevent Atlantis from falling into the Master's grasp
Active beliefs
  • • The crystal cannot be destroyed by any known means
  • • The Doctor alone may possess the wisdom to outmaneuver divine temporal forces
Character traits
vulnerable desperate strategically impotent revealing his inner terror
Follow Dalios's journey
The Third Doctor
Scientific Adviser
 primary

Controlled rationality masking unwavering resolve to intervene, tempered by respect for Dalios' newly exposed vulnerability

The Doctor listens with quiet philosophical detachment, using gentle questioning and analogies to acknowledge the crystal's paradoxical nature without dismissing Dalios' fears. He responds with measured reassurance and acceptance of the plea, positioning himself as a fellow outsider capable of comprehending time’s paradoxes.

Goals in this moment
  • • Determine why the crystal wasn't destroyed previously
  • • Accept Dalios' plea and commit to stopping the Master and Queen Galleia
Active beliefs
  • • Time anomalies like the Crystal of Kronos require unconventional solutions beyond destructive force
  • • Shared outsider status with Dalios enables collaboration despite political distrust
Character traits
philosophical measured reassuring calmly rational
Follow The Third …'s journey

Objects Involved

Significant items in this scene

1
Crystal of Kronos

The Crystal of Kronos becomes the focal point of Dalios’ confession, as its indestructibility is repeatedly emphasized and linked to his lifelong terror. The conversation centers on failed attempts to destroy it, establishing it as both a spiritual terror and an inescapable political liability that the Master will exploit.

Before: Intact and in Atlantean possession, guarded but politically …
After: Still indestructible, now recognized by both men as …
Before: Intact and in Atlantean possession, guarded but politically misused as a divine idol
After: Still indestructible, now recognized by both men as a catalyst for impending disaster requiring their immediate alliance

Location Details

Places and their significance in this event

1
Dalios' Terrace

Dalios' Terrace serves as the intimate setting where royal authority yields to personal terror and urgent alliance. The twilight atmosphere softens protocol, allowing Dalios to lower his public mask and reveal the depth of his fears, while the open sky and setting sun frame the moment as a turning point in Atlantis' fate.

Atmosphere Melancholic yet urgent twilight confessional, where stately diplomacy dissolves into raw humanity
Function Private sanctuary for pivotal alliance formation beyond political posturing
Symbolism Represents the collapse of royal illusion in the face of cosmic threat
Access Restricted to trusted visitors and royal intimates only
Fading golden twilight light Marble balustrade overlooking spired rooftops of Atlantis

Narrative Connections

How this event relates to others in the story

Within this episode

What led here 2
Causal

"The Doctor's philosophical conversation with Dalios (Beat f3d...) culminates in Dalios explicitly requesting the Doctor's aid to stop 'the evil men' and save Atlantis (Beat 930...), forming a formal alliance."

The crystal's indestructible paradox revealed
S9E25 · The Time Monster Part 5
Emotional Echo medium

"The revelation of the Minotaur's eternal suffering as a guardian (Beat 91ff...) echoes Dalios's earlier fear and trauma regarding Kronos (Beat 930...), reinforcing the theme that power demands sacrifice and eternal vigilance."

Dalios reveals the Minotaur's curse
S9E25 · The Time Monster Part 5
What this causes 1
Character Continuity

"Dalios's plea for help (Beat 930...) is answered when he welcomes the Doctor and Jo, forming a direct alliance and showing his trust in the Doctor based on their shared understanding of the threat."

King Dalios mistakes Jo for a goddess
S9E25 · The Time Monster Part 5

Key Dialogue

"DALIOS: Then help me, Doctor. Help me to find a way to stop these evil men. Help me to save Atlantis from destruction."