!EDITED!

A/N: was 8682 words, is no 10541! Enjoy! :D

The Doctor and I were flying the TARDIS - him telling me what to do and moving me to the right spot for the most part - and she starts to make an odd groaning sound that I've never heard before. "What's wrong?" I ask worriedly when we land, running my hand along the console.

The TARDIS groans again along with a distorted hum and I frown, stroking her with my thumb comfortingly.

"I don't know what's wrong with her," the Doctor frowns, slipping his coat on as we step outside. "She's sort of... queasy... indigestion," he rubs the side of the TARDIS.

"Poor girl," I pat the door and smile softly when she still thrums under my fingers. "Could it have to do with the angels moving her?"

"Shouldn't think so," the Doctor shakes his head. "It's like she didn't want to land," he murmurs.

"Oh, if you think there's gonna be trouble-" Rose starts, looping her arm through mine, "-we could always get back inside and go somewhere else..." she trails off.

The three of us share a look before bursting out laughing, Rose and I leaning on each other to keep from falling. "I think..." the Doctor looks around as we sober up. "We've landed inside a cupboard!" he smiles and I look around to see that we were in a rather tight room and crowded room. "Here we go," he pushes the door open.

Pulling me from Rose and wrapping his arm around my waist, the Doctor leads us out into a corridor. There was another door in front of us - large, yellow, and with a wheel on it. The Doctor opens the door and grabs hold of me again as a computer announces that 'Door 15' had opened. "Some sort of base... moon base, sea base, space base," he muses, looking around. "They build these things out of kits," he explains.

I look up at the ceiling at the sound of... a strong wind? A storm? coming from outside. "Glad we're indoors, sounds like a storm out there," Rose mutters from the other side of me, her arms folded as she looks up.

Humming in agreement, the Doctor opens the next door and the computer announces 'Door 16' is open. That's got to get annoying after a while of hearing that every time a door opens or closes. "Human design," the Doctor tells us. "You've got a thing about kits," he smiles, making me roll my eyes with a smile. "This place was put together like a flat-pack wardrobe - only bigger and easier," he opens the next door and we enter some sort of canteen area - the computer telling us the door's been opened and closed.

I look around the room to see that the tables had writing on them and I snort quietly at the game of tic-tac-toe on one of them. On the far wall were the words 'WELCOME TO HELL' written in black with strange symbols underneath it.

"Deep Space exploration," the Doctor smiles as I move closer to examine the symbols. "We've gone way out! And listen to that, underneath..." he points down and I hear a humming noise. "Someone's drilling!"

"'Welcome to hell'," Rose reads.

"Oh, it's not that bad!" the Doctor scoffs, making me snort.

"No, over there!" Rose laughs, pointing to the words.

"Yeah... but Doctor, look at this writing under it," I frown, running my fingers along it.

"Hold on..." he comes to stand behind me, leaning his chin on my shoulder. "What does that say? That's weird... it won't translate," he frowns.

"But I thought the TARDIS translates everything, writing as well," Rose frowns, coming over. "We should see english," she mutters.

"Exactly," the Doctor nods against me. "If that's not working, then it means... this writing is old... very old... impossibly old," he murmurs incredulously.

"What are you?" I whisper, tracing the writing.

"We should find out who's in charge," the Doctor decides, straightening and turning to open the door. "We've gone beyond the reach of the TARDIS' knowledge - not a good move - and if someone's lucky enough-"

Computer - Open Door 19.

The Doctor and Rose gasp loudly and I look over to the door. I gasp as well, standing up and moving in front of Rose. In the doorway were these pale aliens with bald heads that came up to a slight point. They have tentacles coming from where mouths should have been, slit-like eyes, and tiny ears. The aliens were all dressed in the same dark blue jump-suits and have a white orb attached to a wire that went up into their... tentacles. "Right!" the Doctor smiles at them, trying to regain his composure. "Hello... sorry! Uh... I was just saying, um... nice base!"

The orbs the aliens are holding all light up and they speak at the same time, "we must feed."

"... you're gonna what?" the Doctor's eyes widen as he moves to stand in front of Rose and me.

"We must feed," the aliens repeat again, moving closer.

"Yeah, I think they mean us," Rose squeaks, the three of us moving back.

The aliens continue to repeat themselves, almost like a chant as they get closer and closer. The three of us move to go out the other door, but more aliens come from that way as well, chanting 'we must feed' with the others. Rose and I grab a chair each as we're backed against a wall and the Doctor stays in front of us, holding his sonic out to them.

The aliens stop and I frown when the one in front shakes and taps the orb before holding it out. "You, if you are hungry," it tells us.

I nearly drop my chair from shock, "what?" I squeak.

"Sorry?" the Doctor frowns, lowering his sonic.

"We apologize," the alien looks between us. "Electromagnetics have interfered with our speech systems," it explains and Rose and I set our chairs down. "Would you like some refreshment?"

Computer - Open Door 18.

The door opens and an older man with a gun - flanked by two other people with guns - come in. "What the hell...? How did...?" the older guard stares at the three of us as he approaches and I raise an eyebrow. "Captain..." he raises his wrist and speaks into it. "You're not going to believe this... we've got people, out of nowhere," he continues to stare at us in shock. "I mean, three... living... people, just standing here, right in front of me."

The Doctor, Rose, and I share confused looks as the three people still stare at us. What the hell...? Why are they so surprised that there were people in their base? A man's voice comes through the comm, "don't be stupid, that's impossible!"

"... I suggest telling them that," the guard retorts.

"But you're a sort of space base," Rose frowns, folding her arms. "You must have visitors now and then... it can't be that impossible," she reasons.

"You're telling me you don't know where you are?"

"No idea!" the Doctor beams, wrapping his arm around my shoulders. "More fun that way!"

PA - Stand by, everyone! Buckle down! We have incoming and it's a big one! Quake Point 5 on its way!

The entire base begins to shake and I grab onto Rose's arm as the Doctor tightens his around me, the three of us trying to stay upright. The guard runs to the door and spins the wheel as quick as he could. "Through here! Now! Quickly, come on!"

***

The six of us hurry down several corridors, ending up in what looks like a control room with a main control center in the middle. There were five other people in the room - three men and two women - and they were shouting over each other. The crew all look over when we walk in and gape at the Doctor, Rose, and I. When I scoot closer to Doctor at the attention, he squeezes me and rubs my arm soothingly.

"Oh, my god, you meant it!" one of the men - who's voice I recognize at the Captain's - stares in complete shock.

"People!" the younger of the two women exclaims. "Look at that! Real people!"

"That's us, hooray!" the Doctor cheers unenthusiastically, making me snort quietly.

"Yeah, definitely real," Rose smiles from beside us. "My name's Rose... Rose Tyler and this my big sister, Lizzie-"

"... hi," I wave with a shy smile.

"-and this is her boyfriend, the Doctor," she smirks.

"Hello!" the Doctor smiles before leaning down a bit more to my height. "I rather like that: someone else calling me your boyfriend," he whispers in my ear, making me smile widely; it did sound nice to have someone else say it.

"Come on! The oxygen must be offline!" the man with long hair comes over to us. "We're hallucinating, they can't be... no," he looks us over and taps Rose's arm. "They're real!" he gasps.

"Come on, we're in the middle of an alert!" the Captain calls impatiently. "Danny, strap up, the quake's coming in! Impact in thirty seconds!" he orders and the seconds tick away on the main control screen. "Sorry, you three... whoever you are," he looks at us. "Just hold on tight," he orders.

"Hold on to what?" Rose asks.

"Anything, I don't care," he shakes his head. "Just hold on," he orders before turning to one of the odd aliens. "Ood, are we fixed?" he asks, making me raise an eyebrow at the name... is that its name or the species?

"Your kindness in this emergency is much appreciated," Ood or... the Ood? replies.

The Doctor pulls Rose and me over to some railing off to the side and we hold onto it tightly. "What's this planet called, anyway?" he asks curiously.

"Now, don't be stupid, it hasn't got a name," the older of the women scoff, making me frown and share a confused look with the Doctor and Rose. "How could it have a name?" she rolls her eyes before frowning herself when we look at her blankly. "... you really don't know, do you?"

"Nope, we really don't," I shake my head, a smile forming. "Pretty exciting!" I bounce up and down, making the Doctor and Rose laugh quietly.

"... and impact!" the Captain shouts.

The whole place shakes violently and Rose and I scream, clutching onto the railing tightly. The quake... whatever they said is over rather quickly, though, making me frown a bit. The Doctor straightens, "oh, well, that wasn't so bad!" he smiles.

The second the words leave his mouth, the base shakes again, only much more violently. I squeak, moving in front of Rose as best I can when there's a small explosion from the controls that sends sparks everywhere. After a few moments, the shaking finally stops and the room calms down. "Ok, that's it!" the Captain calls.

The older guard rushes forward with a fire extinguisher, putting out the fire quickly. The Doctor moves to check over Rose and then me. The Captain calls to his crew individually, getting various answers back and I was glad to hear that everyone seemed fine. "We're fine, thanks, fine," the Doctor rolls his eyes, still checking me over. "Yeah, don't worry about us!"

"... yes, I'm fine, Doctor," I smile up at him and he pauses in his fussing, making Rose snicker from beside us.

The Doctor narrows his eyes playfully, grabbing my chin in his hand, "good," he kisses me softly, making my cheeks burn.

"The surface caved in!" the Captain calls, bringing up a 3D schematic of the base. "I deflected it onto storage five through eight, we've lost them completely," he sighs as the sections blink red. "Toby, go and check the rocket link," he orders.

"That's not my department," the tall blonde man argues.

"Just do as I say, yeah?" the Captain sighs and Toby reluctantly leaves the room with a scowl.

"Oxygen holding!" the older woman calls. "Internal gravity 56.6, we should be ok!"

"Never mind the earthquake," Rose cuts in, folding her arms. "That's... that's one hell of a storm," she looks up at the ceiling. "What is that? A hurricane?"

"You'd need an atmosphere for a hurricane," the younger woman retorts, making me frown. "There's no air out there, it's a complete vacuum," she explains.

"Then what's shaking the roof?" I raise an eyebrow.

"You're not joking... you really don't know?" the older woman stares at us and I shake my head, folding my arms as I lean against the railing. "Well, introductions - FYI, as they said in the olden days - I'm Ida Scott, science officer; Zachary Cross Flane, acting captain, sir," she points to the Captain. "You've met Mr. Jefferson, he's head of security," she points to the older guard. "Danny Bartock, ethics committee-"

"Not as boring as it sounds," the man with long hair calls over, making the three of us smile.

"-and the man who just left, that was Toby Zed, archaeology," she continues. "... and this-" she places her hands on the younger woman's shoulders from behind. "-is Scooti Manista, trainee maintenance," she smiles.

Scooti smiles over at us kindly and I wave, smiling shyly. Ida goes over to the controls and flips a lever, "and this... this is home," she smiles.

There's a whirring sound as the ceiling opens up to a large, domed window and an orange-red light starts to shine through the room. "Brace yourselves, the sight of it sends some people mad," Zach warns.

My eyes widen as the window finishes opening and I stare up at a... a black hole. "Oh... my... God..." I gasp.

"That's a black hole," Rose breathes out.

"But that's impossible," the Doctor mutters in disbelief.

"I did warn you," Zach points out.

"We're standing under a black hole," the Doctor states the obvious.

"We're in orbit," Ida tells us.

I look at her sharply, my eyes widening further, "we're what now?"

"But we can't be..." the Doctor denies quietly.

"You can see yourself - we're in orbit," Ida nods to the black hole.

"But we can't be," the Doctor repeats more firmly, looking at her.

"This lump of rock is suspended in perpetual geostationary orbit around that black hole without falling in," Ida explains. "Discuss," she smirks.

"... and that's bad, yeah?" Rose guesses warily.

"'Bad' doesn't come anywhere near covering it," I shake my head, looking back up at the black hole and leaning against the Doctor's side, folding my arms. "A black hole's a dead start: it collapses in on itself, sucking in and in and in until the matter's so dense and tight that it starts to pull everything else in too," I explain.

"Nothing in the universe can escape it," the Doctor murmurs, rubbing my arm. "Light gravity... time... everything just gets pulled inside... and crushed," he tells Rose darkly.

"So, they can't be in orbit," Rose sums up. "We should be pulled right in."

"We should be dead," the Doctor corrects.

"Yeah, thanks for that," I roll my eyes, making him smile down at me with a cheeky grin.

"... and yet, here we are, beyond the laws of physics," Ida cuts in, leaning forward on the control center. "Welcome on board."

"But if there's no atmosphere out there, what's that?" Rose points to the clouds speeding past the window toward the black hole.

"Stars breaking up, gas clouds," Ida shrugs. "We have whole solar systems being ripped apart above our heads before falling into that thing," she explains.

"So... a bit worse than a storm, then," Rose mutters and I take her hand in mine, squeezing it comfortingly.

"Just a bit," Ida smiles.

"Just a bit, yeah," Rose nods.

***

Everyone was crowded around the controls, me leaning against the Doctor with my arms wrapped around his waist from behind and Rose was leaning forward on the controls beside us.

Computer - Close Door 1

I look over to see Toby coming in, "the rocket link's fine," he tells Zach.

Zach nods and taps a few controls, bringing up a hologram of the black hole. The Doctor slips on his 'brainy' specs and I smile to myself. Rose nudges me with her foot and wiggles her eyebrows, making me stick my tongue out at her.

"That's the black hole," Zach nods to it. "Officially designated K37 Gen 5."

"In the scriptures of the Faltino, this planet is called Kropter 'the bitter pill'," Ida explains. "And the black hole is supposed to be a mighty demon - it was tricked into devouring the planet, only to spit it out... because it was poison."

"The bitter pill, I like that," Rose smiles, making me snort quietly.

"We are so far out... lost in the drifts of the universe," the Doctor looks over the hologram. "How did you even get here?" he asks the crew.

"We flew in," Zach shrugs. "You see..." he presses another button and the hologram changes to one of the planet with a red funnel of light coming from it. "This planet's generating a gravity field - we don't know how, we've no idea - but it's kept in constant balance against the black hold and the field extends out," he gestures to the funnel. "As a funnel... a distinct gravity funnel reaching out into clear space. That was our way in."

"You flew down that thing?" Rose grins, straightening and folding her arms. "Like a roller-coaster," she raises an eyebrow, making me smile.

"By rights, the ship should've been torn apart," Zach tells us. "... we lost the Captain, which is what put me in charge-"

"You're doing a good job," Ida cuts him off, giving him a sincere smile.

"Yeah... well, needs must," Zach lifts his hands, rolling his eyes.

"But if that gravity funnel closes, there's no way out," Danny points out from where he's sat across the room.

"We had fun speculating about that," Scooti smirks.

"Oh, yeah, that's the word," Danny stands, whacking her in the head with a scroll playfully. "Fun," he scoffs lightly and I smile at how close all the crew seem.

"But that field would take phenomenal amounts of power!" the Doctor points out incredulously. "I mean... not just big, but off the scale! Can I...?" he gestures to a calculator by Ida.

"Sure, help yourself," she nods, handing it over.

I pull away from the Doctor and hold my hand out, giving him a pleading look. The Doctor takes one look at me and sighs, handing me the calculator. "Thank you," I smile widely, pulling him down by his tie and standing on my tip-toes to kiss his cheek.

Grumbling to himself, the Doctor leans against the controls and folds his arms. I giggle as I work on the calculations and bite my lip to keep from smiling when I catch the Doctor watching me with a soft smile out of the corner of my eye.

Tuning everyone out as I type away at the calculator, I squeal happily when I finish and everyone looks over at me. "There we go, do you see?" I show the Doctor and his eyes widen. "To generate that gravity field and the funnel, you'd need a power source with an inverted self-extrapolating reflex of six to the power of six every six seconds," I explain quickly. "Ta-da!" I do jazz hands, making the Doctor shake his head, chuckling quietly.

Rose blinks, staring at me, "... that's a lot of sixes," she mutters.

"And it's impossible," the Doctor adds.

"It took us two years to work that out!" Zach stares at me.

I wrap my arms around my waist, chewing on my lip as I shift on my feet a bit. The Doctor wraps his arms around my shoulders, pulling me against his chest, "oh, Lizzie's very good," he smiles down at me before lowering his voice. "My tiny, beautiful genius," he smirks, tugging on my hair teasingly.

"Stop it," my face heats up and I bury it against his chest.

"No," the Doctor chuckles. "You're so cute when you go all shy and red," he squeezes me and I can practically feel his smug smirk, making me huff quietly.

"But... that's why we're here," Ida cuts in and it sounds as if she's trying not to laugh, making me groan under my breath miserably. "This power source is ten miles below through solid rock - Point Zero, we're drilling down to try and find it," she explains.

"It's giving off readings of over ninety stats on the Blazen Scale," Zach puts in.

"We could revolutionize modern science!"

"We could use it to fuel the Empire," Jefferson adds.

"Or start a war," the Doctor and I retort dryly, me pulling away and him slipping his glasses off.

"It's buried beneath us," Toby cuts in. "In the darkness, waiting."

"What's your job? Cheif dramatist?" Rose raises an eyebrow, making the Doctor and I share a look, both of us smirking.

Toby deflates just a bit, folding his arms, "well, whatever it is down there is not a natural phenomenon and this, um, planet once supported life," he explains. "Eons ago, before the Human Race had even learned to walk."

"We saw that lettering written on the wall, did you do that?" the Doctor asks.

"I copied it from fragments we found on earth by drilling, but I can't translate it," Toby shrugs.

"No, neither can I and that's saying something," the Doctor murmurs.

"There was some form of civilization," Toby sighs. "They buried something, now it's reaching out... calling us in."

The Doctor grins widely, "and you came!"

"Well, how could we not?" Ida retorts.

"So, when it comes right down to it, why did you come here? Why did you do that? Why?" the Doctor's grin widens and he answers himself before the crew has a chance to, making Rose and I smile. "I'll tell you why: because it was there! Brilliant! Excuse me... ah, Zach, wasn't it?"

"... that's me," he nods with a slight frown.

"Just... stand there, cause I'm gonna hug you, is that alright?" the Doctor asks carefully, making me shake my head while Rose snickers.

"... I suppose so," Zach shrugs, looking equal parts confused and amused with the situation.

"Here we go, coming in," the Doctor moves toward him and throws his arms around Zach's shoulders, clutching onto him and beaming. "Ah, Human beings, you are amazing! Ha!" he squeezes the Captain before letting go and Rose and I giggle at his antics. "Thank you," he beams at Zach, clapping him on the shoulder.

"Not at all," Zach shakes his head with a huge grin.

The Doctor rocks on his heels and I bit my lip to keep from smiling, knowing what was coming next. And sure enough, his voice becomes serious, "but apart from that, you're completely mad," he shakes his head, making me snort quietly - such a dork. "You should pack your bags and get back in that ship and fly for your lives," he advises.

"You can talk!" Ida scoffs. "And how the hell did you get here?"

"Oh, I've got this um... this..." the Doctor falters slightly, scratching the back of his head. "It's hard to explain, it just sort of... appears," he shrugs.

"We can show you," Rose offers. "We parked down the corridor from um... oh, what's it called?" she frowns. "Uh, habitation area..."

"Three," the Doctor and I supply, smiling at each other after.

"Three," Rose clicks her fingers at us. "Three," she turns back to the crew.

"... do you mean storage six?" Zach asks carefully.

I pale as I remember what he'd said after the earthquake... oh, God, no. The Doctor doesn't catch on quite yet, "uh, it was a bit of a cupboard, yeah," he nods before his face falls and I get a wave of fear and horror. "Storage six... but you said..." he trails off before turning on his heel and running from the room, Rose and I following after him quickly.

***

The three of us get to Door 16 and the Doctor slams himself against it, frantically trying to turn the wheel and pushing the button beside the door when that doesn't work. I put my hands to my mouth, tears welling up in my eyes at the strong waves of horror and fear that were washing over me.

Computer - Door 16 out of commission.

"Can't be! Cant' be!" the Doctor shouts, still pressing the button.

"What's wrong? What is it?" Rose asks, looking between the Doctor and I worriedly.

The Doctor doesn't answer her, opening a small porthole in the door, looking through it and he grips the cover to where his knuckles turn white. Rose steps closer hesitantly, "Doctor... the TARDIS is in there, what's happened?"

"The TARDIS is gone," he whispers and my heart aches at the hurt in his voice.

As he backs away from the window, I get a stronger wave of horror and hiss quietly with a wince. The Doctor's face was pale and his breathing quickly reaches a near pant. I put my hand on his arm and pulls me tight against him as his arms go around my shoulders and he leans his forehead on top of my head. "The earthquake... this section collapsed," he whispers, swallowing hard and I rub his back soothingly.

"But..." Rose frowns, looking out the porthole. "She's got to be out there somewhere..."

"Look down," the Doctor tells her, his arms tightening around me as he breathes out shakily.

***

"The ground gave way," the Doctor walks up to Zach when we get back to the control. "My TARDIS must've fallen down right into the heart of the planet, but you've got robot drills heading the same way-"

"We can't divert the drilling," Zach shakes his head before walking away from the Doctor.

I wince at the strong wave of fear and grief and anger that hits me as the Doctor follows him, "but I need my ship! She's all I've got! Literally, the only thing!" he shouts desperately.

Zach sighs, turning to him, "Doctor, we've only got the resources to drill one central shaft down to the power source and that's it; no diversions, no distractions, no exceptions - your machine is lost," he shakes his head. "All I can do is offer you a lift if we ever get to leave this place and that... is the end of it," he gives him a pointed look before leaving the room.

The Doctor stares after him, breathing heavily in shock and anger. I move over, wrapping one arm around his waist and drawing circles on his chest with my other hand. The Doctor sighs, wrapping me up in his arms and leaning his chin on my head.

"I'll uh... put you on the duty roster," Ida comes over, shifting on her feet. "... we need someone in the laundry," she smiles awkwardly and I shake my head, nuzzling the Doctor's chest.

Computer - Open Door 1... Close Door 1.

I glance at Rose, both us of us extremely worried for the Doctor. "... I've trapped you girls here," he whispers.

"No, don't worry about us," Rose waves off just as the base shakes again and I sigh, closing my eyes. "Ok... we're on a planet that shouldn't exist, under a black hole and no way out... yeah, I've changed my mind... start worrying about us," she laughs nervously.

The Doctor lets go of me with one arm and Rose moves into our embrace, wrapping an arm around the Doctor and me both and snuggling into my side.

***

Computer - Entering nightshift. Your chosen track for transition is Ravel's Bolero.

The Doctor, Rose, and I made it back to the canteen where the strange and ancient writing was. I had gotten a journal from Toby where he'd tried to translate the writing from artifacts they'd found. Looking them over, I was comparing them to the symbols on the wall with furrowed eyebrows. The Doctor was sitting beside me, his elbow on the table and his chin in his hands as he stares at the wall symbols with a slight from. Rose had gone to get some food where the Ood were serving it up.

Zach - Danny, check the temperature of Ood Habitation. It seems to be rising.

"You should get something to eat," the Doctor mutters, not looking away from the writing.

"I'm not hungry," I shrug, copying some of the symbols into one of my sketch-books.

"Lizzie," the Doctor sighs, turning to look at me. "You need to eat," he gives me a pointed look.

"I'm not hungry," I repeat, giving him just as much of a pointed look.

"Why have you got to be so damn stubborn?" he groans, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Language," I stick my tongue out at him and he rolls his eyes. "Besides, I wouldn't be much fun otherwise, would I?" I give him a wide, cheeky grin to try and get him to smile.

The Doctor's lips twitch up as he glances at me and I cheer slightly in my head. It wasn't a full smile and it didn't reach his eyes, but it was progress. Wrapping his arm around my waist, he pulls me closer to him and I lean into his side. "... I'm so sorry, Doctor," I whisper, grabbing his hand and lifting it up to press a kiss to his knuckles.

Sighing heavily with a wave of grief hitting me, the Doctor cups the side of my head and kisses the other, "yeah," he whispers against my hair.

I look over at Rose when she sits across from us with a tray of food, but I frown at her slightly fearful expression. "You alright?" I ask worriedly.

Rose blinks, looking over at me, "yeah... fine," she waves off.

The lights flicker a few times, "you might want to see this, moment in history!" Ida calls over, making the three of us look over where she was stood. Pulling a lever, shutters start to open overhead to reveal the black hole and the room's flooded with soft red light. "There, on the edge," she points to a stream of deep red light that was spiraling into the black hole. "That red cloud... that used to be the Scarlet System - home to the Peluchi, a mighty civilization spanning a billion years... disappearing... forever. Their planets and suns consumed," she explains softly.

I watch in awe and sadness with my heart aching as the last of the light disappears into the black hole. "Ladies and gentlemen... we have witnessed it's passing," Ida announces, going to close the shutters.

"Um... no, could you leave it open? Just for a bit?" the Doctor's questions stops her. "I won't go mad, I promise," he assures her when she raises an eyebrow.

"How would you know?" Ida smirks.

"Can't go mad when you already are," I smile, making Ida chuckle and the Doctor pinches my side lightly.

I scrunch up my nose at him and he smiles, kissing it. Wrinkling my nose, I wipe at it and the Doctor chuckles, rubbing my arm as he shakes his head.

"Scooti, check the lock-down!" Ida orders and I watch as the young maintenance worker leaves. "Jefferson, sign off the air-lock seals for me!" she orders, leaving the room as well and Jefferson follows her out.

Computer - Open Door 18... Close Door 18.

Rose looks up at the black hole, "I've seen films and things, yeah," she leans forward on her elbows, putting her chin in her hands. "They say black holes are like gateways to another universe."

"Not that one, it just eats," the Doctor sighs.

"Long way from home..." Rose trails off, worrying her bottom lip.

"Go... that way," the Doctor points up. "Turn right, keep for going for, um... about five hundred years, then you'll reach Earth."

Rose takes out her mobile, sighing, "no signal... that's the first time we've gone out of range," she shakes her head. "Mind you, even if we could... what would we tell her?" she murmurs, making my heart ache and my stomach knot up at the thought of mum. "Can you build another TARDIS?" she asks halfheartedly.

"They were grown, not built," the Doctor shakes his head. "... and with my own planet gone, we're kind of stuck here," he sighs, rubbing at his eyes with his free hand.

"Well, it could be worse," Rose shrugs. "This lot said they'd give us a lift," she reminds him.

"And then what?" the Doctor raises an eyebrow.

"I don't know... find a planet, get a job, live a life - same as the rest of the universe," Rose mutters.

"I'd have to settle down!" the Doctor scoffs, his eyes widening in mock horror. "In a house or something! A proper house! With... with... with... with doors and things! Carpets! Me! Living in a house! Now that... that is terrifying!" he grimaces.

"You and Lizzie lived in that flat - carpets and everything - for three months," Rose rolls her eyes.

"That was different, it... it was temporary and we had things to keep us busy- no, shut up," the Doctor narrows his eyes at Rose when she snorts loudly and I put my face in my hands, burning up. "Different things, things to get us back that was in Sally's file... that... that wasn't... I didn't mean..." his voice goes all high and my face heats up worse, making me send Rose at glare through my fingers and she just sends me a cheeky wink with her tongue between her teeth. "Stop it! This would be permanent! It's different!"

Rose cups her mouth, "you'd have to get a mortgage," she teases in a singsong voice.

"No..." the Doctor shakes his head, looking thoroughly horrified.

"You've got to go proper domestic this time," I tease, elbowing his side lightly.

"I am dying, that's it," the Doctor groans miserably, leaning his forehead against my temple. "I am dying, it is all over! Put me out of my misery, tiny!" he sobs dramatically, making me giggle.

"What about me? I'd have to get one too," Rose rolls her eyes with a smile.

"I don't know, could be the same one, really," I smile, thinking about it a bit.

As much as I'd complained about being trapped and forced to live normally with the Doctor in 1969... it did force us to really deal with what it meant to be in a relationship. It helped us get even closer and to get used to the change from friends to a couple without any immediate distractions.

"Three of us could all... I don't know... share? Like a proper family, all of us living together and..." I trail off when I notice the Doctor had pulled away - his arm still around my waist - and he was looking down at me with a raised eyebrow and fond smile, Rose smiling widely. "Or n-not..." I murmur, wrapping my arms around my waist and looking at the table. "I- I don't know... whatever... we'll-" I clear my throat, biting my lip. "We'll sort something out."

"I'm not living with the two of you," Rose cuts, making me look at her with a frown and I get a small pang of hurt from the Doctor. "I mean, the TARDIS can soundproof rooms but in a regular flat? That's... ew... I don't want to hear anything going on... ever," she shudders dramatically, wrinkling her nose.

The Doctor coughs awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand. I glance at him, my lips twitching up even as my face burns and I raise an eyebrow at Rose, "how do you know the TARDIS soundproofs?"

"No reason," Rose shrugs 'nonchalantly', looking at her nails.

"Anyway," the Doctor cuts in. "I promised Jackie I'd always take you girls back home," he mutters, tracing the lines of my rose tattoo under my jacket and I fight down a shudder as his fingers brush bare skin... why did I wear this outfit again?

"... everyone leaves home in the end," I mutter, giggling quietly when he hits a ticklish spot.

"Not to end up stuck here," the Doctor retorts, chuckling as he hits the same spot again and I jump slightly.

"Yeah... but stuck with my sister and best friend? That's not so bad," Rose smiles, shaking her head at us.

The Doctor's hand stills and he smiles at Rose softly, "yeah?"

"Yeah," Rose nods.

"Eh, could be better," I shrug, smirking.

"Oi, cheeky," the Doctor pouts, pinching my side.

I go to retort, but my phone goes off, making me frown as I get it from my bag. "But... there's no signal," I shake my head, looking at the unknown number. "... hello?" I answer warily.

A deep voice comes through, "he is awake," and I throw my phone down, my breathing beginning to quicken and my heart starting to race.

"What? What is it?" the Doctor cups my chin in his hand, forcing me to look at him as worry washes over me.

"This... this voice... it- it said 'he is awake'," I whisper shakily. "But it- I don't know... the voice sounded powerful... scary powerful," I shake my head.

"The um, the Ood that was serving food said something weird," Rose mutters.

"What did it say?" the Doctor looks at her, pulling me close and rubbing my back to try and calm me.

Rose glances at the Ood that was still at the serving station, shivering slightly, "it said 'the beast shall rise from the pit'..."

"... the beast?" I frown, my eyebrows furrowing.

"Come on, let's do some investigating," the Doctor suggests, smiling between Rose and me.

***

The three of us get to Ood Habitation and I see Danny working at a computer. Heading down the stairs, I look over the railing to an area below, frowning slightly when I see the Ood sitting on benches. They were facing forward and not moving... what were they exactly? Rose said they were servants and that they rely completely on Humans. Shaking my head, deciding to table that for another time, I beam at Danny, "hello!"

"Evening!" the Doctor smiles, hands shoved in his pockets.

"Only us!" Rose smiles, hopping off the second to last step and folding her arms.

"The mysterious trio," Danny smiles over his shoulder as we reach him. "How are you, then? Settling in?"

"Yeah, sorry, straight to business," the Doctor leans against the computer. "The Ood, how do they communicate? I mean, with each other?"

"Oh, just empaths," Danny shrugs, continuing his work. "There's a low telepathic field connecting them. Not that that does them much good, they're basically a heard race, like cattle," he explains.

"This telepathic field, can it pick up messages?" I ask, leaning against the railing.

"Cause I was having dinner and one of the Ood said something... well, odd," Rose puts in.

"Oh, an odd Ood," Danny rolls his eyes with a smile, turning to us.

"Then I got something else on my, um-" I glance at the Doctor and he raises an eyebrow, trying not to smile. "Communicator... thing..." I mutter, rolling my eyes when the Doctor snorts loudly.

"Oh, be fair," Danny scoffs, folding his arms. "We've got whole star systems burning up around us - there's all sorts of transmissions! Probably nothing," he waves off and I raise an eyebrow with Rose and the Doctor looking as equally unconvinced. "Look, if there was something wrong, it would show, we monitor the telepathic field," he explains, pointing to the computer. "It's the only way to look after them - they're so stupid, they don't even tell us when they're ill," he rolls his eyes.

"Monitor the field? That's this thing?" the Doctor asks, tapping the computer screen.

I move over beside him and look at the readings, seeing 'Basic 5' on the screen. Danny glances over, "yeah, but like I said: it's low-level telepathy," he shrugs. "They only register basic five."

I raise an eyebrow, sharing a look with the Doctor when the reading starts to rise. "Well, that's not basic five," he comments. "Ten... twenty... they've gone up to basic thirty," he looks at Danny with raised eyebrows.

Danny frowns, looking at the computer, "but they can't-"

Rose cuts in, her voice slightly shaky, "Lizzie... Doctor... the Ood."

The two of us move over to the railing where Rose was now standing to see the Ood turn toward the balcony as one. "What does basic thirty mean?" Rose asks.

"Well... it means that they're shouting - screaming - inside their heads," Danny looks down at the Ood with wide eyes.

"Or something's shouting at them," the Doctor and I retort quietly, him leaning forward on the railing.

"But... where's it coming from? What it is saying?" Danny frowns, turning to Rose. "What did it say to you?"

"Something about the beast in the pit," she mutters, wrapping her arms around my waist from behind and leaning her chin on my shoulder.

Danny blinks before looking at me, "what about your communicator? What did that say?"

"'He is awake'," I repeat what the voice had said, folding my arms and holding onto Rose's.

"And you will worship him," the Ood tells us all together, making me raise my eyebrows in surprise and Rose tightens her arms around me.

"What the hell?" Danny gasps, staring at the Ood in shock.

"He is awake," the Doctor calls down to the Ood.

"And you will worship him," they repeat, sending an unpleasant shiver up my spine.

"Worship who?" the Doctor asks, getting no reply and narrows his eyes. "Who's talking to you? Who is it?"

"Ok... well, that's creepy," I mutter as the Ood stay silent before I scream as the entire base shakes and we all stumble.

Computer - Emergency: hull breach! Emergency: hull breach!

"Which section?" Danny shouts into his comm.

Zach's voice comes through, "everyone! Evacuate eleven to thirteen, we've got a breach! The base is open! Repeat: the base is open!"

***

The four of us - the Doctor, Rose, Danny, and I - run through the corridors, stumbling as the base continues to shake violently. Zach shouts through the comms, "I can't contain the oxygen field, we're gonna lose it!"

"Come on! Keep moving!" Jefferson shouts as he, Ida, and a few other crew members that I didn't know the names off squeeze through the door at the end of the corridor. "And you too, Toby!" he yanks Toby through, making him fall down face-first before he slams the door shut.

Computer - Breach sealed. Breach sealed. Oxygen levels normal.

"Everyone alright?" the Doctor asks, checking Rose and me over quickly. "What happened? What was it?" he pulls me over to the others with Rose behind us.

"Hull breach," Jefferson leans against the wall, his hands on his knees as he catches his breath. "We were open to the elements - a couple more minutes and we'd have been inspecting that black hole at close quarters."

I let go of the Doctor's hand and kneel beside Toby with Rose. Sitting up, he looks around with wide eyes, panting and sweating. "You ok, sweetheart?" I ask gently, getting no answer as he looks down at his hands and his breathing becomes more ragged. "Hey, it's alright," I wrap an arm around his shoulders, rubbing his arm and Rose grips his hands, both of us trying to soothe the poor shaken man.

"That wasn't a quake," the Doctor shakes his head. "What caused it?"

Before anyone can reply, Zach comes over the comms again, "we've lost sections eleven to thirteen," he announces. "Everyone alright?"

"We've got everyone here except Scooti," Jefferson tells Zach. "Scooti, report," he orders and I frown when there's only static along with a beeping noise that comes over the comm. "Scooti Manista? That's an order: report!" he orders sharply, frowning in concern.

"She's alright! I picked up her biochip, she's in habitation three," Zach cuts in, making all of us relieved. "Better go check if she's not responding, she might be unconscious," he orders. "How about that, eh? We survived," he breathes out a laugh, making me smile.

"Habitation three, come on," Jefferson nods down the corridor and everyone starts to move. "I don't often say this, but I think we could all do with a drink," he smiles. "Come on!"

Rose and I stay where we are, continuing to soothe Toby. He was still breathing heavily and was shaking slightly as he leans into my side. The Doctor comes over, kneeling in front of him, "what happened?" he asks gently.

"I don't... I don't know," he shakes his head, breathing out shakily and staring at his hands. "I- I was working and then... I can't remember," he shudders against me and I coo to him, rubbing his arm while Rose runs her thumbs over his knuckles gently. "All- all that noise... the room was falling apart... there was no air."

"It's ok, you're safe now," I murmur softly.

"Come on, up you get," Rose smiles, squeezing his hands before standing and we help Toby to his feet. "Come and have some Protein One," she loops her arm through his, gripping it with her other hand and she starts to walk down the corridor.

"Oh, you've gone native," the Doctor teases with a wide grin, making me giggle.

"Oi, don't knock it!" Rose calls over her shoulder. "Protein One with just a-" she clicks her tongue. "-dash of Three!"

I roll my eyes, smiling as she drags Toby along with her. The Doctor nudges me with his elbow and I look up at him, raising an eyebrow in question. Holding his arm out, he wiggles his eyebrows and I snort loudly, placing my hand in the crook of his elbow. "You are such a dork," I shake my head.

The Doctor hums in agreement, "your dork," he grins, kissing the top of my head and I flush red, beaming and laying my head against his arm.

***

The Doctor and I enter habitation three - the canteen area - right behind Rose and Toby. Everyone was looking around frantically and talking over one another. "Have you seen Scooti?" Ida asks Toby as soon as she sees him.

"No, no, no I don't think so," Toby shakes his head, his arms wrapped around his waist.

"Scooti, please respond," she calls into her comm, getting no answer. "If you can hear this, please respond!"

"Nowhere here," Jefferson shakes his head. "Zach? We've got a problem: Scooti's still missing," he calls into his comm.

"It says habitation three," Zach replies.

"Yeah, well that's where I am and I'm telling you, she's not here," Jefferson sighs.

Movement above catches my eye and I look up, gasping with my hand flying to my mouth. Scooti was just outside the window - floating in space and completely still. "Oh- oh, God... I'm sorry," I whisper, tears welling up.

The Doctor pulls me into his arms, "we've found her," he mutters, one hand in my hair with his other holding me to him tightly.

"Oh, my God," Rose gasps in horror.

"Sorry, I'm so sorry," the Doctor tells the crew softly.

"Captain..." Jefferson calls quietly, his voice pained. "Report: Officer Scootori Manista PKD - deceased 43K2.1."

"She was twenty... twenty years old," Ida whispers, her voice thick.

My face pales and I grip onto the Doctor's blazer... that's how old Rose is. The Doctor lets go of me with one arm and Rose curls into my side, nuzzling my shoulder. I look up with tears in my eyes - my ear against the Doctor's chest so I could listen to his steady heartbeats - and watch sadly as Scooti floats toward the black hole.

"'For how should Man die better than facing fearful odds? For the ashes of his father... and the temple of his gods'," Jefferson quotes softly.

I close my eyes, a tear sliding down my cheek as I snuggle closer to the Doctor and pull Rose closer. The Doctor presses a kiss to the top of both our heads, squeezing us tight. I breathe out shakily when the room falls completely silent.

"It's stopped..." Ida whispers.

There's a sudden crash that sounds from far beneath us. "What was that?" Rose asks, pulling away from the Doctor and I. "What was it?"

"The drill," the Doctor murmurs, pulling me closer as he runs his fingers through my hair.

"We've stopped drilling," Ida explains quietly. "We've made it... Point Zero."

***

Zach - All non-essential Oods to be confined!

Rose and I were on the exploration deck as the crew rushes around, preparing for Ida and the Doctor to go down into the mine-shaft. Ida - in her orange spacesuit - was calling out orders, "capsule established, all systems functioning! The mine-shaft is a go! Bring systems online now!"

The Doctor entering the room in an orange spacesuit on as well with a yellow helmet tucked under his arm catches my eye and I fold my arms, glaring as he approaches Zach. I was pissed off - well, worried... same thing - and we'd argued when he told me he was going down. Getting absolutely nowhere with convincing him not to, I'd settled into being silently angry.

"Reporting as a volunteer for the expeditionary force," the Doctor announces with a wide grin.

"Doctor, this is breaking every single protocol," Zach protests. "We don't even know who you are!"

"Like that's gonna stop him," I huff under my breath and Rose sighs, wrapping an arm around my shoulders.

"Yeah, but you trust me, don't you? And you can't let Ida go down there on her own," the Doctor argues happily. "Go on, look me in the eye," he grins, leaning down to be more at Zach's level. "Yes, you do, I can see it - trust!"

"I should be going down," Zach sighs.

"The captain doesn't lead the mission; he stays here, in charge," the Doctor retorts, straightening.

"Not much good at it, am I?" Zach huffs quietly - bitterly -before turning to give orders. "Positions! We're going down in two! Everyone: positions!"

Rose removes her arm from my shoulders and grabs my hand, dragging me over to the Doctor. I wrap my arms around my waist, chewing on my bottom lip.

The Doctor looks over his suit, "oxygen, nitro-balance, gravity - it's been ages since I wore one of these," he tries.

"We want that spacesuit back in one piece, you got that?" Rose narrows her eyes playfully, nudging him.

"Yes, sir," the Doctor smiles.

"It's funny..." Rose mutters, folding her arms and kicking at the ground. "Cause people back home think that space travel's gonna be all whizzing about and teleports and anti-gravity... but it's not, is it? It's tough," her voice cracks slightly.

"I'll see you later," the Doctor promises, hugging her tightly.

"Not if I see you first," Rose jokes, pulling away and pulling him down to kiss his forehead.

The Doctor beams down at her before she walks off, giving me a pointed look when she passes by. I look at the ground and hear the Doctor sigh, "don't be cross," he whines dramatically.

"You know I'm not," I roll my eyes. "Well... not entirely," I mutter.

The Doctor uses a finger under my chin to tilt my face up, smiling softly as he cups my cheek in one hand and uses the other to brush the hair from my face, "I'll be back before you can miss me," he strokes my cheek with his thumb.

"Promise?"

"Promise," he smiles, running his thumb along my bottom lip.

"I'm keeping you to that," I tell him firmly, grabbing his tie and pulling him down, standing on my tip-toes so I could kiss him and he smiles against my lips. "Here," I hold out my phone to him when I pull away and he raises an eyebrow. "If you're going to go underground on a planet that shouldn't exist when you know I don't want you to, I may as well get pictures out of it," I smile up at him.

The Doctor gives me a teasing two-finger salute before putting the mobile into one of his zip pockets. I brush off his suit unnecessarily, "I do want the suit back... you with it is optional," I smirk.

"Cheeky," the Doctor narrows his eyes, pulling me back into his arms.

"Twig," I sigh, wrapping my arms around his waist and leaning my ear against his chest to hear his hearts.

The Doctor presses a kiss to the top of my head, "I love you," he whispers, making me smile and my face burn as I tighten my hold on him.

"I love you too," I pull away and my heart does an odd flip at his wide and beaming grin. "... be careful?"

"Course I will," he taps under my chin before moving over to the capsule.

I move to stand next to Rose, who was leaning against some railing opposite the capsule. Laying my head on her shoulder, she wraps an arm around me as we watch the Doctor get into the capsule with Ida worriedly.

Zach - Capsule active! Counting down in Ten... Nine... Eight... Seven... Six...

Jefferson closes the door to the capsule and gives the Doctor and Ida a salute before moving to one of the computers.

Zach - Five... Four... Three... Two... One. Release!

Rose and I wave at the Doctor, smiling as the capsule starts to move down slowly with a hiss. The Doctor waves back with a wide grin, shaking his head with a chuckle when I blow him a kiss and he sends me a wink before they disappear down into the mine-shaft. Rose and I move over to the computer quickly to watch their descent.

After a few minutes of silence, the screen reads 'DANGER' in big, red letters under the word 'oxygen'. Zach's voice comes over the comms, "gone beyond the oxygen field, you're on your own," he informs Ida and the Doctor.

Rose grabs the comm device that was attached to the computer, holding it between the two of us, "don't forget to breathe, breathing's good," she calls worriedly before demonstrating slow, steady breathing.

"I don't think he's daft enough to forget how to breathe, Rosie," I tease and she slaps my arm lightly. "Actually, now that I think about it..." I trail off, tilting my head to the side.

"Oi!" the Doctor protests indignantly, making Rose and I giggle.

"Lizzie, Rose, stay off the comms," Zach orders.

"Fat chance," Rose scoffs at the same time I roll my eyes, "yeah right," and Zach sighs in exasperation.

***

The Doctor had been talking to Rose and me on the way down into the planet between the crew updating each other. It wasn't anything important, really, but it was helping Rose and I calm down. I look at the screen when it beeps to see that the capsule has reached Point Zero, causing the base to shake. I steady myself against the computer, breathing out slowly.

"Doctor? Ida?" Rose calls into the comm, getting no reply.

"Doctor, are you alright?" I ask when there's just static. "Doctor? Ida?"

"Ida, report to me..." Zach trails off, still getting nothing but silence. "Doctor?"

"It's alright, sorry," the Doctor's voice comes through and Rose and I breathe out in relief. "We've made it! Coming out of the capsule now!"

"What's it like down there?" Rose asks curiously.

"It's hard to tell," the Doctor replies. "Some sort of cave... cavern... it's massive."

"Well, this should help - gravity globe," Ida's voice comes through and then it's quiet for a moment. "That's... that's... my God, that's beautiful," she breathes.

"Girls... you can tell Toby we've found his civilization," the Doctor mutters.

"Oi, Toby!" Rose calls over with a huge smile. "Sounds like you've got plenty of work!"

"Good, good, good," Toby nods and I glance over, frowning when he was staring down at his hands again.

The Doctor's voice grabs my attention, "and yes, Lizzie, I'm taking photos for you!"

"Brilliant!"

"Concentrate now, people! Keep on the mission," Zach scolds, making me roll my eyes. "Ida, what about the power source?"

"We're close, energy signature indicates north, northwest," Ida informs us. "Are you getting pictures up there?"

"There's too much interference," Zach replies. "We're in your hands."

"Well... we've come this far, there's no turning back," Ida sighs, making me groan and I hear the Doctor echoing.

"Oh, did you have to? 'No turning back'?" I ask incredulously, leaning back against the computer with my arms folded.

"That's almost as bad as 'nothing can possibly go wrong'," the Doctor agrees. "Or 'this is gonna be the best Christmas Walford's ever had'!"

"Or 'at least thing's can't get any worse'," I groan.

"Are you two finished?" Ida cuts in.

"... yeah, finished," the Doctor says, his voice high.

"Lizzie?" Ida asks, sounding amused and I smile slightly, imaging the sheepish look that the Doctor had probably given her and how he would've rubbed at his ear or scratched the back of his head if he wasn't wearing a helmet.

I clear my throat when Ida repeats herself, "I- I guess," I nod, hitting Rose on the arm when she snorts loudly and Ida's laughter comes over the comms.

"Captain, sir," Danny whispers through the comms. "There's something strange happening with the Ood..."

"What are they doing?" Zach asks.

"They're staring at me!" Danny whisper-shouts. "I've told them to stop, but they won't!"

"Danny, you're a big boy, I think you can take being stared at," Zach sighs.

"But the telepathic field, sir, it's a basic one hundred! I've checked, there isn't any fault - it's definitely at one hundred!"

"... but that's impossible," Zach argues, his voice going quiet with disbelief.

"What's basic one hundred mean?" Rose asks, her eyebrows furrowed.

"They should be dead," Danny answers, making Rose and I frown in confusion as we share a look.

"Basic one hundred's brain death," Jefferson explains.

"But they're safe? They're not actually moving?" Zach makes sure.

"No, sir," Danny replies.

"Keep watching them and you, Jefferson, keep a guard on the Ood," Zach orders.

"Officer at arms," Jefferson orders, readying his gun.

"Yes, sir," the female guard nods.

"You can't fire a gun in here," Rose gapes at them. "What if they hit a wall?"

"I'm firing stock fifteen, only packs upon organics," Jefferson explains.

"As long as they only kill living things," I huff under my breath, rolling my eyes.

"Keep watch, guard them," Jefferson orders the guard and she aims her gun at the Ood with a 'yes, sir'.

"Is everything alright up there?" the Doctor asks, slight concern hitting me.

"Yeah, yeah," Rose assures him quickly.

"It's fine," Zach agrees.

"Great!" Danny calls sarcastically.

"Lizzie?" the Doctor calls, not believing any of them in the slightest.

"Everything's fine... for now, promise," I assure him.

"Well, we've found something," the Doctor informs us after a moment. "It looks like metal, like some sort of seal... I've got a nasty feeling the word might be 'trapdoor'. Not a good word 'trapdoor', never met a trapdoor I liked," he rambles, making me shake my head with a smile and Rose snicker quietly.

"Who has?" I raise an eyebrow, hearing the Doctor murmur a 'good point'.

"The edge is covered with those symbols," Ida cuts in.

"Do you think it opens?" Zach asks.

"That's what trapdoors tend to do," the Doctor and I reply at the same time, me rolling my eyes.

"'Trapdoor' doesn't do it justice," Ida breathes and I really wish I could see it. "It's massive, Zach, about thirty feet in diameter!"

"Any way of opening it?"

"I don't know, I can't see any sort of mechanism," Ida replies.

"I suppose that's the writing that'll tell us what to do," the Doctor says. "The letters that defy translation..."

"Toby, did you get anywhere with decoding it?" Zach asks.

I look over at Toby when there's no reply, frowning when I see that he's crouched down with his head in his hands. "Toby... they need to know if that lettering makes any sort of sense?" I ask warily, going over and placing a hand on his shoulder.

"I know what it says," he mutters quietly and my whole body tenses when it sounds just like the voice from my mobile, a chill running up my spine.

"Then tell them," Rose calls over.

"When did you work that out?" Jefferson asks incredulously.

"It doesn't matter," Rose waves him off. "Just tell them," she calls to Toby.

Toby pushes my hand off his shoulder and stands, revealing his bright red eyes and the symbols that were covering all visible skin. I gasp, stumbling back into Rose, who grips the back of my leather jacket.

"These are the words of the Beast and he has woken," Toby sneers, his lips pulled into a malicious grin.

Jefferson immediately aims his gun at Toby and I move back a few steps, keeping Rose behind me as we stare at Toby in shock. "He is the heart that beats in the darkness! He is the blood that will never cease, and now he will rise!"

"Officer, stand down!" Jefferson orders. "Stand down!"

"What is it?" the Doctor calls, worry hitting me but I'm too frozen to answer. "What's he done? What's happening? Lizzie? Rose? Girls? What's going on?"

"Jefferson?" Zach calls. "Report! Report!"

Jefferson glares at Toby, "officer, as commander of security, I order you to stand down and be confined! Immediately!"

I grab the comm shakily, "he- he's come out in the writing... all over his face," I whisper, my voice shaking and heart pounding in my chest. "It's all over him, and his eyes... Doctor... his eyes are- are red," I breathe.

Toby speaks, still in the voice of the Beast and still with that menacing smile, "Mr. Jefferson, tell me, sir... did your wife ever forgive you?"

Jefferson's face pales and his hold on his gun slackens a bit, "I don't know what you mean," he whispers.

"Let me tell you a secret: she never did," he taunts.

"Officer..." Jefferson swallows, steeling himself and holding his gun more firmly. "You stand down and be confined," he orders.

"Or what?"

"Or under the jurisdiction of Condition Red, I am authorized to shoot you," Jefferson glares.

Toby raises an eyebrow, chuckling darkly, "but how many can you kill?"

His eyes glow bright and he opens his mouth, a loud and inhuman roar coming from him. The symbols evaporate off his skin and leave his body as swirls of black smoke. The smoke seeps into the Ood that were with us, making them jerk violently. I press Rose into my back, making sure she stays behind me at all times and watch as Toby coughs, collapsing to the ground. Jefferson and the female guard aim their guns at the Ood.

The Ood speak as one, their communicators glowing, "we are the Legion of the Beast," they announce and Rose grips onto my jacket tighter, her breathing coming faster in my ear.

"Lizzie? What is it? Rose?" the Doctor calls, wave after wave of worry and fear hitting me.

"Report," Zach orders. "Report! Jefferson, report! Somone, report!" he shouts frantically.

Rose pries the comm from me, her hand shaking, "it's the Ood," she whispers.

"Sir, we have a contamination in the livestock," Jefferson reports.

"Doctor, we don't know what it is, it's... it's like they're possessed," Rose explains quietly.

"They won't listen to us," Jefferson calls.

The Ood start to move forward, "the Legian shall be the many and the Legion shall be the few! He has woven himself in the fabric of your life since the dawn of time! Some may call him Abaddon! Some may call him Kroptor! Some may call him Satan, or Lucifer!

"Captain, it's the Ood," Danny calls. "They're out of control!"

"Or the Bringer of Despair! The Deathless Prince! The Bringer of Night! These are the words that shall set him free!"

"Back up to the door!" Jefferson calls.

I start to back away with Rose behind me, Jefferson and the guard in front of us. My heart was racing, my breathing was ragged, and I was clutching behind me onto Rose's arm tightly with her other fist curled into my jacket.

"I shall walk in might!"

"To the door! Get it open!"

"My Legions shall swarm across the worlds!"

The entire base begins to shake and I stumble back into Rose, her keeping us both up.

"We're moving!" Zach shouts. "The whole thing's moving! The planet's moving!"

"I am the sin and the temptation and the desire! I am the pain and the loss and the dead will come!"

"Get that door open!" Jefferson calls.

"The gravity field... it's going!" Zach shouts frantically. "We're losing orbit! We're gonna fall into the black hole!"

"I have been imprisoned for eternity! But no more!"

I turn, keeping Rose in front of me now and the two of us try to open the door desperately along with the female guard. Jefferson stands in front of us, keeping his aim on the Ood while they continue to advance.

Computer - Door sealed.

"Come on!" Rose shouts, she and I trying to turn the wheel while the guard presses the button on the panel beside the door.

Computer - Door sealed.

"The Pit is open and I am free!"

I whimper, my entire body shaking as I continue to bang on the door. Hissing, I wince as horror washes over me and the Beast lets out a long, evil, and victorious laugh.

A/N: another chapter edited! Wahoo! If you're a rereader then you know what's coming up... ah! Anywho, thanks for reading and let me know what you think by dropping a comment or a vote... or, ya know, just be your ghost-reader and lovely self! :*