The Doctor, Elise, and Nasreen walked down one of the walkways, keeping an eye out for Amy and the others.

"This place is enormous and deserted. The majority of the race are probably still asleep. We need to find Amy", the Doctor said. He pulled out his sonic screwdriver. "Looking for heat signature anomalies".

"But Doctor, how can all this be here?" Nasreen asked, "I mean, these plants".

"Must be getting closer to the center of the city".

They turned down a tunnel.

"You're sure this is the best way to enter?"

"Front door approach. Definitely. Always the best way".

An alarm started to go off. "Hostile life forms detected area seventeen", a computer generated voice announced.

"Apart from the back door approach. That's also good. Sometimes better", the Doctor added.

"Hostile life forms detected area seventeen".

"Doctor", Nasreen said as warriors surrounded them.

The Doctor pushed Elise behind him.

"Hostile life forms detected area seventeen".

The Doctor threw up his hands in surrender. "We're not hostile. We're not armed. We're here in peace".

A warrior stepped forward and sprayed gasses into their faces.

Elise fought to stay conscious and passed out as she felt someone pick her up.

The Doctor cried out in pain as he was being scanned.

"I'm decontaminating now", Malohkeh said turning a key.

"Decontamination? No, no, no!" the Doctor yelled, "No!"

The decontamination hurt even more than the scan.

"It's all right, it won't harm you. I'm only neutralizing all your ape bacteria", Malohkeh told him.

"I'm not an ape. Look at the scans. Two hearts. Totally different. Totally not ape! Remove all human germs, you remove half the things keeping me alive!"

Malohkeh turned off the machine.

"No, complete the process", the other Silurian told him.

"Oh, that's much better, thanks. Not got any celery, have you? No. No, not really the climate. Tomatoes, though. You'd do a roaring trade in those. I'm the Doctor", the Doctor said. He looked over and saw Nasreen right next to him. "Oh, and there's Nasreen. Good".

Nasreen opened her eyes and looked at Malohkeh. "Oh, a green man".

"Hello. Who are you?" the Doctor asked the female Silurian.

"Restac, Military commander", she said.

"Oh dear, really? There's always a military, isn't there?"

"Your weapon was attacking the oxygen pockets above our city", Malohkeh said.

"Oxygen pockets, lovely. Ooo, but not so good with an impending drill. Now it makes sense".

"Where is the rest of your invasion force?" Restac asked.

"Invasion force. Me, Elise, and lovely Nasreen? No. We came for the humans you took and my daughter". The thought of getting Elise back was the only thing keeping him calm. They wouldn't give her back if he lost his temper. "And to offer the safe return of Alaya. Oh wait, you and she, what is it, same genetic source? Of course you're worried, but don't be, she's safe".

"You claim to come in peace, but you hold one of us hostage", Restac said, signaling her warriors.

"Wait, wait, we all want the same thing here!"

"I don't negotiate with apes. I'm going to send a clear message to those on the surface".

"What's that?"

"Your execution".

"Ah".

After calming down the situation and being let go from their restraints, the Doctor said, "I'd say you've got a fair bit to talk about".

"How so?" Eldane, the leader of this particular Silurian tribe, asked. "You both want the planet. You both have a genuine claim to it".

"Are you authorized to negotiate on behalf of humanity?"

"Me? No. But they are". The Doctor gestured to Nasreen and Amy.

"What?" Nasreen asked.

"No, we're not", Amy said.

"Course you are", the Doctor told them, "Amy Pond and Nasreen Chaudhry, speaking for the planet? Humanity couldn't have better ambassadors. Come on, who has more fun than us?"

"Is this what happens, in the future? The planet gets shared? Is that what we need to do?" Amy asked.

"Er, what are you talking about?" Nasreen asked, not sure what the ginger girl was talking about.

"Oh Nasreen, sorry. Probably worth mentioning at this stage, Amy and I travel in time a bit", the Doctor said.

"Anything else?"

"There are fixed points through time where things must always stay the way they are. This is not one of them. This is an opportunity. A temporal tipping point. Whatever happens today, will change future events, create its own timeline, its own reality. The future pivots around you, here, now. So do good, for humanity, and for Earth".

"Right. No pressure there, then", Amy said.

"We can't share the planet. Nobody on the surface is going to go for this idea. It is just too big a leap", Nasreen told him.

"Come on. Be extraordinary".

"Oh, you..." Nasreen finally sighed and sat down.

"Okay". The Doctor tapped on the table. "Bringing things to order. The first meeting of representatives of the human race and Homo Reptilia is now in session. Ha! Never said that before. That's fab. Carry on. Now, Mo. Let's go and get your son and my daughter". The Doctor and Mo followed Malohkeh into the tunnels.

They came to one stasis pod first.

"Elise!"

"She's perfectly fine", Malohkeh reassured him. He unlocked the pod and detached Elise from the wires.

Elise opened her eyes. Her hazy blue ones met the green ones of her father. She smiled as she stumbled into his arms.

"Woah", the Doctor said, catching her.

She looked up at him and he brushed the brown curls from her face.

"Hey there". He pressed a kiss to her forehead before picking her up and carrying her.

They came to a second stasis pod in which Elliot stood.

"If you've harmed him in any way", Mo said.

"Of course not. I only store the young", Malohkeh told him.

"But why?" the Doctor asked.

"I took samples of the young, slowed their life-cycles to a millionth of their normal rate so I could study how they grew, what they needed, how they lived on the surface".

"You've been down here working by yourself, all alone?"

"My family, through the millennia, and for the last three hundred years, just me. I never meant to harm your children".

"Malohkeh, I rather love you". He placed a fist on top of Malohkeh's and Malohkeh bumped it with both of his fists.

Malohkeh opened the stasis pod and unhooked Elliot like he had with Elise. "Come".

Mo entered the pod. "Elliot? Ell, it's Dad".

"Dad?"

The two hugged.

"You're safe now", Mo told him.

"Where are we?"

"Well, I've got to be honest with you, son. We're in the center of the Earth, and there are lizard men". Elliot looked outside and saw Malohkeh and the Doctor standing there.

"Hi", Malohkeh said.

"Wow", Elliot breathed.

The Doctor entered the pod. "Elliot. I'm sorry. I took my eye off you".

"It's okay. I forgive you".

The four of them started to make their way back to the courtroom.

"You go on, Doctor. I'll catch up", Malohkeh told them.

They entered the courtroom and they caught the tail-end of the discussion.

The Doctor started clapping. "Not bad for a first session. More similarities than differences", the Doctor told them.

A noise came from the hallway.

"The transport has returned. Your friends are here", Eldane said.

Rory appeared in the doorway followed by Ambrose and Tony, who was carrying something wrapped in a blanket.

"Mum!" Elliot yelled, running to his mother.

"Rory!" Amy said happily.

"Something's wrong", the Doctor said, seeing the object Tony was carrying.

"Doctor, what's he carrying?" Amy asked.

"No. Don't do this. Tell me you didn't do this".

Tony laid Alaya on the floor.

"What did you do?" the Doctor asked.

"It was me. I did it", Ambrose confessed.

"Mum?" Elliot asked, not believing his mother had actually killed someone. He shrugged off her arms and walked over to his father.

"I just wanted you back", Ambrose told him.

The Doctor turned to Eldane. "I'm sorry. I didn't know. You have to believe me, they're better than this".

"This is our planet!" Ambrose yelled.

"We had a chance here".

"Leave us alone".

"In future, when you talk about this, you tell people there was a chance but you were so much less than the best of humanity".

Restac and her warriors came into the courtroom. "My sister!" She saw Alaya's body lying on the floor and knelt down next to it. She pulled back the blanket and let out a mournful cry.

It broke Elise's heart. Her mind went back to Gallifrey. Hearing mothers crying over their children and dead family members. She grabbed the Doctor's hand for comfort.

"And you want us to trust these apes, Doctor?" Restac asked.

"One woman. She was scared for her family. She is not typical". R

estac stood up and faced Ambrose. "I think she is".

"One person let us down, but there is a whole race of dazzling, peaceful human beings up there. You were building something here. Come on. An alliance could work".

"It's too late for that, Doctor", Ambrose said.

"Why?"

"Our drill is set to start burrowing again in fifteen minutes".

"What?" Nasreen asked.

"What choice did I have? They had Elliot", Tony told her.

"Don't do this. Don't call their bluff", the Doctor said.

"Let us go back. And you promise to never come to the surface ever again. We'll walk away, leave you alone", Ambrose said.

"Execute her", Restac ordered.

"No!" the Doctor yelled. He grabbed Ambrose and said, "Everybody, back to the lab. Run!"

Rory grabbed Elise and took off running.

"Take everyone to the lab", the Doctor told Eldane, "I'll cover you".