Rise of the Shadows, a doctor who fanfic

The Rise of the Shadows

Part One

The TARDIS materialized in the middle of what should have been the flowering meadows of the Sinsacha Plains.

So it was very much to the Doctor's surprise, that when he opened the door, he found himself parked in a night darkened alley that was strewn with rubbish, and was that snow!?

"Oi, this isn't Sinsacha, why have we landed here!?" he exclaimed, ducking back into the TARDIS interior to retrieve his coat.

He shrugged it on, and slammed the TARDIS door behind him, ignoring the rumble of displeasure from the TARDIS.

He strolled down the not so nice alley, not looking back, and stepped into the main street.

The street was virtually deserted, apart from the odd taxi, and the occasional drunk, slowly weaving their way home.

He stopped, and looked round, and wondered why the TARDIS had brought him to Earth once again. When he looked up, he saw multi-coloured lights strung across the street, and why at Christmas, and by the looks of it, somewhere in the UK.

Shrugging his shoulders, he moved along the street, hoping to find a clue as to where in the UK the TARDIS had landed him.

He rounded a corner, and stopped. He let out a deep sigh, it had to be here. It had to be Cardiff.

Arthur Stevens huddled in the corner, trying his best to cover himself with the cardboard he'd fought hard to keep. He shivered, the cold was getting to him, he was getting too old to be living on the street anymore.

He thought back to the days when he had a nice home, a nice family, and Christmas had been a time full of lights and presents. He smiled, taking another gulp from the bottle, losing himself in whiskey sodden memories.

He stopped drinking when a shadow fell across him, and he looked up, hoping it wasn't another do-gooder, trying to tell him he should stop drinking.

He frowned, when there was no person to go with the shadow, and he suddenly felt very, very cold.

Then he felt something touch him, and the shadow suddenly leapt forward, and Arthur Stevens screamed.

But no-one heard him, and who would have cared if they had, he was just another homeless person, nothing but a statistic, and Arthur Stevens disappeared, leaving nothing but the shadow, which faded away, leaving nothing but a man shaped hole in the snow.

Jack Harkness had expected to find himself in the space port on the edges of Valnaxian space, so when he came round from a particularly rough ride, thanks to his Vortex Manipulator, that had been on the fritz, he realised he wasn't in the space port.

He blinked several times, and realised it was snow falling on his face. He sat up, and as he looked round, his face dropped.

"No, no, no, not here!" he cried.

He scrambled up, taking in the coloured lights, and the gentle lapping of water against pier, and the distant sound of music, and the un-mistakable sound of a Christmas carol being sung in Welsh!

He looked up at the sky, a look of horror and desperation on his face.

"Why have you brought me here!?" he roared.

DCI Steven Williams sighed, and looked at the stack of files in front of him, and wondered where he should start.

He knew exactly what these files contained; all of them were missing person's reports.

No doubt they'd been dismissed, because they were homeless, but he didn't see it that way. A missing person was a missing person, whether they were homeless, or someone who lived in the large houses just outside Cardiff.

He couldn't believe that so many people had gone missing, without someone thinking it was out of the ordinary. But he didn't want to think what he was thinking, it made his head spin, that this was the work of one person, and if it was the work of one person, it would make them something out of his worst nightmares.

He sighed, and opened the first file and started noting the similarities between all of the cases, in the hope that he would have a light bulb moment, or that none of the cases were connected.

He hoped for the latter, as he couldn't stomach the idea that Cardiff could have a serial killer, and at Christmas.

Gwen Cooper shifted uncomfortably in bed, trying not to disturb Rhys, who'd only got home a few hours ago. He'd been working hard since she'd told him she was pregnant, and now that she was near to giving birth, he'd been working a double shift.

She thought about that time back in the Hub, when she'd used the scanner, and the shock of finding she was pregnant.

She hadn't had time to really think about it, what with the crisis that had enveloped Earth, the 456, the children, the death of Ianto, and Jack's abandonment of them.

She wondered where Jack was now, or even when he was. She wondered if he'd come across the Doctor out there, two wounded lonely souls. She hoped so, perhaps they could heal each other.

Letting out a sigh, she shifted again, and closed her eyes, and drifted off to sleep again, but she dreamt.

The Doctor walked along the deserted streets, thought whizzing through his mind. He wondered why the streets were so empty. Admitted, he wasn't in the best part of Cardiff, but you would still see the homeless huddling in their cardboard homes.

That in itself was enough to rouse his curiosity, along with the fact that as he passed another alley, there was the faint whiff of something, enough of a something to make him veer off the street, and into the alley.

The alley itself was nothing to write home about, litter strewn, a dusting of snow, and as the Doctor approached the end of it, a dark shape in the snow, and the smell was much stronger, and there was a unusual tang in the air, one that he couldn't quite place.

It was then, that he realised the shape in the snow was human shaped.

"That's odd, human sized shape in the snow, a smell and a taste I don't recognise, anyone would think there was an alien around, apart from me that is," he said, as he walked back down the alley.

He reached the end of the alley, and a cold wind blew across his back, and he shuddered, and for no reason, he whipped round, looking back down the alley.

He shook himself, and chided himself for being paranoid, and as he turned back, something caught his eye, a dark shape in the corner.

Frowning, he moved back down the alley, towards where he thought he saw something. He stopped as he reached a set of rubbish containers, and there in the corner, in the darkest shadow, it sat.

He moved forward, looking closer, at a shadow that was darker that the rest, and there was that smell, and that taste.

"Now, what are you?" he said, reaching out towards it, and jumped when it shot away at speed.

"Whoa, don't tell me you're shy," he said, as the shadow disappeared over the roof of a building.

The Doctor watched the roof line for a few seconds then blinked. He stood for a few moments, then walked back down the alley, and into the street, and began walking with a purpose.

Gwen woke with a startled cry, causing Rhys to fall out of bed. He scrambled up, a look of worry etched on his face.

"Gwen, what is it? Is it the baby?" he said.

Gwen turned to face him, and there was a look of shock on her face. "He's back, my god Rhys, he's back," she whispered.

"Who Gwen, who's back?"

"Jack, Rhys, its Jack, dear god, he's back!"

Jack slumped against the wall, looking decidedly miserable, trying to shut out the sounds of Christmas cheer. He'd thrown his malfunctioning Vortex Manipulator into the dark waters of Cardiff Bay, in a fit of temper.

Now he was stuck here, and he had decided he would sit here, until he either died of boredom, or he got arrested for loitering.

He looked up as it started to snow, and then decided he didn't want to freeze to death. The Hub would be empty, since there was no-one to staff it anymore, he would be gone in the morning, as far from Cardiff as he could get.

He stood up, dusted of the snow, stretched the kinks out of his back and headed towards the Plaza.

DCI Williams walked along the Plaza, towards the small cafe that was open twenty-four hours. He was about to step inside, when he spotted a figure lurking around the deserted shop near one of the fountains.

He forgot his coffee and started heading towards the lurking figure, who was now trying the door to the shop. As he got closer, he saw the figure move away from the door, and move to a set of steps near one of the pillars.

He quickened his pace, and as he approached he spoke out. "It's a funny time to be sight-seeing. Can I help you sir?" he said.

The figure turned round, his long coat twirling like a cape ,not with a startled expression as DCI Williams was expecting, but a wide, if not unhinged grin on his face.

"Oh, I'm not sight-seeing," the man said, the grin becoming even more unhinged looking.

"In that case sir, you must either be trespassing or attempting breaking and entering, in which case..."

"Oh, I'm not doing either of those things," the man interrupted, and one of his hands disappeared into a pocket.

DCI Williams stepped back, wary of a concealed weapon, relief flooding through him, when the man produced a leather wallet and stretched his arm out for him to look at it.

"John Smith, Department of Environment, we've had several complaints of odd smells coming from this area. Thought I'd nose around, if you know what I mean."

DCI Williams looked at the ID, then at the man. "At three in the morning?"

"Yep," the man said, popping the 'p' of the 'yep'. "Less people to panic and we haven't yet been introduced," the man said quietly, but with an air of menace that DCI Williams didn't miss.

"DCI Steven Williams, Cardiff CID," he said, producing his own ID.

The man, John Smith grinned again. "Good man, glad to see our taxes being well spent, I could have been up to no good. Well, I won't take anymore of your time, must be going," he said, and started to turn away.

"If you don't mind Mr. Smith, I'd like to accompany you, considering that this shop is privately owned," DCI Williams said.

John Smith looked at him, and seemed to be thinking about it, then smiled.

"Why not, it looks like we'll be doing some breaking and entering after all."

Gwen settled herself in the passenger seat, and waited impatiently for Rhys.

"Are you sure he's here?" he asked her as he started the engine.

She looked at him. "Rhys, I haven't been this sure, not since that thing with your cousin Andy."

Rhys blinked. "Bloody hell, that sure! Right, the Hub it is, or what's left of it."

******************

Jack made his way across the Plaza, knowing what lay beneath. He didn't know if anyone had repaired the Hub, not that he cared. All he wanted was a way off this planet.

As he approached, he could see that they had least filled in the crater, the one that had been left by the explosion that had killed him, and taken several levels of Torchwood with it. They'd even rebuilt the information shop that was used as a front.

It was then, that he noticed the door was open, and despite himself, his suspicions were raised.

Drawing his weapon, he warily approached the door, and stepped in.

The Doctor was aghast at the damage inside. "What happened here?" he said more to himself, forgetting that DCI Williams was with him.

"You must have seen it on the news, there was an explosion, all to do with what happened with the children," DCI Williams said.

The Doctor turned away from the wreck that was the Hub, and stared at DCI Williams.

"Children, what happened with the children?"

DCI Williams was about to reply, when another voice spoke.

"The children you weren't here to save."

The Doctor looked past DCI Williams, and someone stepped out of the shadows.

"Hello Doctor," Jack said.

Rhys parked the car on the edge of the Plaza, and frowned when he saw Gwen checking her gun.

"Surely you won't need that?" he said. He'd never been comfortable with Gwen handling guns, even more so, now she was pregnant.

"Rhys, he's been gone for six months. Don't you find it just a little odd that he's suddenly turned up?" she said, as she climbed out of the car.

"Alright, but if there's trouble, let me deal with it," he said.

Gwen smiled at his protectiveness, well aware he would be as much good as a marshmallow at a bonfire, at the business end of a fire fight.

"Fine, but just be careful," she said, as they walked towards the Hub.

They'd reached the steps, when Gwen saw a shadow flit across the open doorway. She gestured for Rhys to stay back, and cautiously entered the building.

"Jack?" she said, and jumped when she saw a shadow move.

"Jack?" she said again, as the shadow moved closer.

It touched her foot, and an overwhelming feeling of dread washed over her......that wasn't Jack.

****************

Rhys had followed Gwen into the building, he saw the shadow touch Gwen's foot. He saw her shudder suddenly.

"Gwen?" he said, as he saw the shadow creep up her feet.

"Gwen?" he said again.

"Keep away Rhys!" she said, her voice taut with tension.

"Gwen, what the hell?!" he said, and went to touch her.

"No!" she cried, and the shadow suddenly moved, at frightening speed, engulfing Gwen.

Rhys watched, as the shadow engulfed her, and with increasing horror he watched his wife start to fade.

"Gwen!" he cried, reaching out, touching her back.

His hand touched the shadow, and he found himself flying across the building, and slammed into the wall.

"Rhys!" he heard her scream, and with terror chilling his blood, he saw his wife disappear.

"Gwen, no!" he screamed, but he was alone.

*****************

Three

The Doctor and Jack stared at each other, and DCI Williams stared at the two men.

"Jack," the Doctor said, sensing the tension radiating off him.

"Doctor," Jack said coldly.

"What children Jack?" the Doctor asked.

Jack snorted. "As if you don't know!"

The Doctor went to speak again, when a scream broke the stalemate.

Both men reacted instantly, Jack turning and following the already in motion Doctor. They were followed by a surprised DCI Williams, trying to keep up with the turn of events.

***************

Both Jack and the Doctor skidded to a halt, and stared at the man who was kneeling on the floor, tears falling unchecked.

"Rhys!" they both said.

"It took her," was all he said.

The Doctor sniffed the air, there was that smell again. He ran his tongue over his lips, and that taste.

Jack was kneeling down in front of Rhys, trying to get his attention.

"Rhys?" he said. "What took her?"

Rhys blinked, and tried to focus on Jack. "A shadow, it took her," he said numbly.

Jack looked up at the Doctor, who was busy sniffing the air, and running his tongue over his lips.

"Doctor?!" he said sharply.

The Doctor looked slightly startled. "Hmm, sorry, yes, a shadow you say, I wonder," he said, and began moving in a circle.

DCI Williams stood in the doorway, unsure of what was going on, but what he was sure of, was that John Smith didn't work for the Department of the Environment.

He was about to speak, when something moved on the edge of his vision. He turned and saw something darker than the room, slither across the wall.

"What the hell is that!?" he said.

The Doctor and Jack turned at his voice, and both of them saw the dark shape move.

The Doctor was the first to reach it, and once again that smell and taste assaulted his senses.

"Interesting," he said, his head tilted in curiosity. "Are you the same shadow, or are you...?" and before either Jack or DCI Williams could stop him, he touched the shadow.

There was an almighty crack, and the Doctor flew across the room, hitting every piece of furniture on his way towards slamming into the wall.

"Doctor!" Jack yelled.

"Mr Smith!" DCI Williams shouted.

Neither man, nor the still shocked Rhys noticed the shadow shoot away, and leech through a crack in the wall.

Jack rushed over to the Doctor, any anger towards him, pushed aside by concern.

The Doctor was lying in a crumpled heap, face turned away. Jack gently rolled him over, and hissed.

A bloody welt was oozing blood, and what looked like a hand shaped bruise, was already forming on the Doctor's cheek.

"I'll call an ambulance," DCI Williams said, his police training overcoming his confusion.

"No!" Jack said. "We have to get him to..." then he stopped, realising there was no longer any med-bay. He would have to get him to the TARDIS, but with the Doctor out cold, he had no idea where the TARDIS was.

There was only one place he could think of, and he looked at Rhys. Then he looked at DCI Williams, whose fingers were still poised over his mobile.

"Whoever you are, don't call an ambulance, but I need your help."

The Doctor had reeled with all the sensations that had hit him, when he'd touched the shadow. His mind had automatically shut down, to protect itself, and when it had switched back on, it was rather like being in the middle of a crowd at a football match, and they were all shouting at once.

But he could hear every single voice, each one calling out for help, and right at the front was the voice of Gwen.

The Doctor suddenly shot up, startling Jack, who nearly dropped the bowl of water and cloth he'd been using to clean the wound on the Doctor's head.

"Doctor?" Jack said.

But the Doctor was staring ahead of him, eyes open, but unseeing.

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" he cried, clutching his head. "TARDIS, need the TARDIS," he groaned, grabbing hold of Jack's arm.

"I don't know where she is," Jack said.

"I need, I need, Rassilon, they won't stop, the TARDIS can stop!" the Doctor gasped, and pressed something into Jack's hand, before his eyes rolled back into his head and he fell back onto the bed, out cold once again.

Jack looked at what the Doctor had pressed into his hand, it was the sonic screwdriver, and it looked like it pre-set for something.

Jack looked at DCI Williams, shrugged his shoulders, the man had seen and heard plenty already, so one more shock couldn't hurt, right? He pressed the button, the end of the sonic lighting up, and waited.

DCI Williams had decided that he was way out of his league, but he wasn't going to let these two men out of his sight, especially as there was a civilian involved.

He also had the feeling, that the man who called himself John Smith, or the Doctor, whoever he was, had something to do with that shadow. In fact, he was beginning to think that both these men had something to do with the case he was working on.

He wasn't however, expecting to see a blue wooden police box appear in the bedroom of a house in Cardiff. He watched open mouthed as it solidified, and the wind caused by its arrival died down.

He shook his head, this night, or morning, he didn't really know anymore, was getting stranger by the minute.

Jack smiled as the familiar shape materialised, and he placed a hand on the Doctor's shoulder.

"She's here Doctor, she's here," he said, and scooped the Doctor into his arms, a frisson of worry at how light he felt going through his mind.

The TARDIS must have sensed the condition of the Doctor, as the door opened without a key, and the medical bay was right off the console room.

Jack ignored the open mouthed DCI Williams, who was still chaperoning Rhys, and hurried into the med-bay, laying the Doctor on the table, and stepping back.

A purple glow enveloped the Doctor, and after a few minutes, the Doctor sat up, a look on his face, that made Jack fear that whatever was wrong with him hadn't been cured.

"Doctor?" he said, concern making his voice waver.

The Doctor blinked, and seemed to notice for the first time where he was. He turned to Jack, a look on his face that made Jack shiver.

"I have to get them out, get all of them out," he said.

"Get who out, you mean Gwen?" Jack said.

"All of them!" the Doctor shouted, leaping from the bed, pushing past Jack and DCI Williams, and Rhys.

Jack followed the Doctor into the console room, and found him dashing around the console, flicking switches, and pushing buttons. He stopped when the others entered the room.

"Jack, will you be so kind as to accompany DCI Williams and Rhys back into the house, and shut the door behind you."

Jack didn't move, but stared at the Doctor, his arms crossed in an 'I'm not going anywhere' manner.

The Doctor looked up again, and frowned, then an annoyed look replaced it.

"Captain, I said....." he began.

"I heard what you said," Jack said frostily. "But I'm not, no, we're not moving anywhere, not until you tell us where Gwen is, and who the hell else you've got to get out."

"Jack, just do as I ask, please!" the Doctor said, his eyes wide and intense.

"No, something dragged me back here, and I'm guessing something did the same to you. I don't want to be here, and maybe you don't either. But the fact is that we are, and I'm not leaving, not until I find Gwen."

The Doctor stared at Jack.

"Jack please, I can't, not there, it's not...."

"What, not safe, when is it ever, I'm still going with you," Jack insisted.

"No, you need to......." the Doctor began.

"I'll look after him," a voice said.

DCI Williams had finally gotten over his shock of the inside of the police box being bigger than the outside, and was now listening to the two men argue.

"I'll look after him," he finally said, and both men looked at him.

"I can't say that I understand what's going on, because I don't. But I do know that you should never turn down an offer of help, you never know when you'll need it. So Mr. Smith, or whoever you really are, let him go with you. I'll look after the gentleman. Besides, you'll need someone here to hold the fort. Plus, I think you're both connected to all the missing person cases sitting on my desk. So, I'll be leaving now," he said, gently guiding Rhys towards the TARDIS doors.

As he guided Rhys through the doors, he turned and said. "I want a word with you two, back at the station, when you get back from wherever you're going," he said in his best policeman's voice, and walked out of the TARDIS, closing the door behind him.

***********

The Doctor looked at Jack, his face serious. "If you come with me, there's a chance you could die."

"Been there, done that," Jack said casually.

"No Jack, this place, death is different, it's........not good," the Doctor said.

Jack stiffened. "Is Gwen dead?" he said.

"No!" the Doctor said sharply. "But she, and the others, they shouldn't be there. No-one should, well no human should."

Jack saw the look in the Doctor's eyes, was that fear? It faded as quickly as it had flashed in the Doctor's eyes.

"Doctor, where is Gwen?" he asked, fearing the answer.

The Doctor looked at Jack, his face an unreadable mask.

"The Howling Halls," he said.

*****************

Four

"Where, I've never heard of the Howling Halls?" Jack said, as he watched the Doctor tap co-ordinates into a keyboard.

"You wouldn't have, nor should you ever. It's not part of human history, not even part of your folk lore. That shadow, it came from the Howling Halls, and I think there's more than one, much more."

Jack straightened. "The missing people DCI Williams was on about, they've all been taken to that place."

The Doctor stopped typing, and looked at Jack. "I wish it was as simple as that, I really do. But these shadows, they've escaped, and have no intention of going back."

"So, you're going to use the TARDIS to drag them back, kicking and screaming," Jack said, having moved round to where the Doctor was standing.

He looked at the swirls and circles that made up the Doctor's language, and smiled slightly. Even after the four years he'd known the Doctor, the TARDIS still refused to translate it for him.

The Doctor hadn't replied to his answer, in fact he was suspiciously quiet, and not meeting Jack's eye.

"Doctor, that is what you're going to do?" Jack said.

The Doctor shuffled his feet, put his hands in his trouser pockets, took them out again, and cleared his throat.

"Not exactly," he said, and started fiddling with the controls.

"Doctor?" Jack said.

The Doctor looked up, his eyes black and unreadable. "That's the thing Jack, it's not that easy. If it was just one, then yes, I could trap it and send it back, but I don't know how many are out there. What I do know is, that they don't want to go back."

"How do you know?" Jack said, not liking the way the conversation was turning.

"Because they haven't killed anyone," the Doctor replied.

Jack blinked. "And that's a bad thing?"

"For me it is, those shadows are hunters, not invaders, which means only one thing."

Jack's eyes widened. "Something else wants out."

The Doctor nodded. "And whatever it is, it needs humans to do it, live humans."

Jack smacked his hand against the console, eliciting a disapproving rumble from the TARDIS.

"Then we have to get them out, including Gwen and the baby."

The Doctor looked at Jack, he face creased in concern. "She's pregnant, how many months?"

Jack screwed up his eyes, doing some mental arithmetic. "I guess she must be almost due, about eight months, why?"

"Then we need to get her out, and quick, because......." The Doctor trailed off, as if unwilling to finish the sentence.

"Doctor, why?" Jack asked, and the answer he received, chilled his blood.

"Because, what is born in the Howling Halls, stays in the Howling Halls."

***************

The Doctor found Jack in the galley, drinking something he hoped wasn't alcoholic, and a small burble from the TARDIS confirmed it wasn't.

He'd stormed out of the console room, his face white with rage.

Jack looked up when the Doctor walked in, and the glare he gave him, could have burnt him alive.

"I'm sorry Jack, but even I can't break these rules."

"Why!?" Jack spat.

"Trust me Jack, you really don't want to know what would happen if we try. That's why we need to get them out now, but especially Gwen."

"Doctor, why won't you tell me what could happen?" Jack said. "How bad can it be?"

The Doctor looked at Jack. "Jack, I've seen what happens when someone interferes with something they shouldn't interfere with. I'm won't let it happen, not again," he said, a distant look in his eyes, as if lost in some distant memory.

"Then I'll do it, if you're too much of a coward," Jack growled.

"I am not a coward!" the Doctor's voice was like whiplash. "I just, it's not possible," he said.

Jack had been taken aback, first by the vehemence in the Doctors' reply, and then by the despair that rang through the rest of his words.

"I just can't, I can't," he said again, and turned away, disappearing back into the corridor.

Jack didn't move, but sat at the table, letting the Doctor's words sink in. If the Doctor, someone he thought would break every rule to save someone, was afraid of breaking this one, then it must be something terrible.

Sighing, he finished his drink, and set off to find the Doctor.

After at least twenty minutes of trying, he gave up. It was obvious he didn't want to be found, and the TARDIS was being complicit in his wishes.

"Alright, have it your way, guess I'll just have to wait," he said and found the door to his bedroom had appeared on his left.

The Doctor knew he should have told Jack why he couldn't rescue Gwen's baby, if it hadn't been born in the Howling Halls. But how could you tell someone that their friend's baby would be a monster if it was born in that place.

The TARDIS rumbled its concern at his thoughts.

"I know you don't want to go there, neither do I. But we have to, we can't let all of those people be used for some god awful thing to escape. Now that there's a baby involved, we have no choice, I'm sorry old girl."

As he walked back towards Jack's bedroom, he felt the familiar thump of the TARDIS landing.

He knocked on the bedroom door, and heard someone's muffled reply.

"Get up Jack, we're here."

The Doctor stood at the top of the ramp, waiting for Jack, who appeared a few minutes later, yawning and pulling on his great coat.

"Before we go outside, there are a few rules. Not everything you see will be real, but they can be just as deadly. There are things here that are worse than your worst nightmares, ancient things, and I don't say this often, evil things. Don't touch anything, don't eat or drink anything, and most important of all, rule number one, don't wander off."

Jack nodded, but the Doctor looked at him, his face stern. "You do understand the rules, Jack?"

Jack sighed. "Yeah, no eating, drinking, no touching, and don't believe all you see and hear."

The Doctor frowned. "And, what about rule number one."

Jack rolled his eyes. "Don't wander off."

The Doctor raised an eyebrow, and turned towards the door.

Jack stepped forward, and his eyes widened, and his jaw fell open.

"Dear god," he said in a whisper, and followed the Doctor, stepping out onto a black nothingness.

"Welcome to the Howling Halls," the Doctor said.

Five

The Rise of The Shadows

Part Two

Gwen had only just finished screaming her husband's name, when she found herself in a completely different place.

She was now in near darkness, crowded into a cell with god knows how many people. It had seemed like hours, or it could have been minutes, she couldn't tell.

Now, she was in the middle of a panicked crowd, trying to protect her baby, huddling in a corner.

She heard a woman's scream, and the sound of someone being dragged. There was a sudden flash of light, and then it was dark again. It had been happening at regular intervals, and she knew it would eventually be her turn.

She didn't need to guess as to what was happening; fear pervaded the cell like a heavy weight. She pushed her way towards the front of the cell, determined that if she was going to die, then she could at least take some of her captors with her.

She patted the reassuring shape of her weapon, still in its holster. Who or whatever these things were, they'd obviously never seen a gun before.

She leant against the cell door, and felt a sudden twinge in her stomach.

"Please, not now," she addressed her belly, and looked out of the cell door.

It was a little brighter outside, but not much. She could however, see dark shapes flitting by, more of those things that had taken her.

Then she heard something that chilled her blood.

Jack looked round at the darkness. There was nothing, no up, no down, no left or right, nothing, not even stars, nothing. He could see nothing beneath his feet, and yet he was standing on solid ground.

He could see no discernable light, but he wasn't in total darkness.

It felt very, very wrong, and his head reeled.

"I told you, nothing is what it appears to be here," the Doctor said, seemingly at ease in the disconcerting darkness.

"C'mon," he said, walking boldly forward.

Jack followed, he looked back at the TARDIS, he stopped, it was de-materialising.

"Doctor..." he began.

"I know," the Doctor said, without looking round.

"Then how?" Jack said.

"She'll be here when it's time," the Doctor replied. "C'mon Jack, no dawdling."

Jack looked distinctly unhappy, but he followed the Doctor.

"One more thing Jack, cover your ears," the Doctor said.

Jack frowned at the Doctor's last words, and then he heard a faint sound, somewhere in the distance.

At first, he thought it was a steam train, which as he thought about it, sounded insane. As the sound came closer, he realised it wasn't a train, it sounded like a wail. But as it came closer, it became a howl, then a screech.

He covered his ears, but the sound seemed to vibrate through his whole body. He felt his bones vibrating, and his muscles began to contract, causing his own hands to painfully claw at his head.

He let out a bellow of pain, and fell to his knees, his whole body shaking.

He never felt a pair of strong hands grab hold of his coat, and pull him sideways.

The Doctor stepped out of the TARDIS, his stomach actually fluttered with nerves. This place made him incredibly uncomfortable, and he felt very vulnerable.

His mind was still full of the voices; all those humans trapped here, all calling for help. Now, he had his own ship, whining her discomfort in his mind. He'd been gently cajoling the TARDIS, whispering mental and psychic assurances, ever since she'd realised where they were going.

Now, he felt her question in his mind. "Can I go?"

"Go, I will call you," he told her, and with a grateful rumble, she de-materialised.

Now, Jack and himself were alone, there would be no sanctuary.

He let out a long breath, fought down the nerves that threatened to paralyse his feet, and looked forward, into the darkness.

"C'mon," he said to Jack.

They'd only gone a few paces, when he heard the wailing, far in the distance.

His face hardened, and without turning, he said. "One more thing Jack, cover your ears."

The screeching howl assaulted the Doctor's senses, causing every nerve to tighten. It sounded like innumerable sets of cutlery on plates, a myriad of fingernails on blackboards, and he covered his ears.

He still heard Jack's bellow of pain from behind him, and gritting his teeth, he uncovered his ears.

He staggered as the sound threatened to rupture his eardrums, he could feel his bones start to vibrate.

"Oh....no....you...don't!" he ground out, and he forced his contracting muscles to move.

He turned round, just in time to see Jack fall to his knees, agony etched on his face, his body shaking.

He staggered again, but forced himself to move forward, towards the stricken Jack. He knew that they had to get off this path, but he hadn't expected it to be so soon.

The screeching howl seemed to intensify, as the Doctor took slow, deliberate, forced steps toward Jack.

As he moved closer to Jack, the screech became a voice.

"You do not belong here!" it howled, and the voice filled the Doctor's mind.

"You do not belong!" it howled again.

The Doctor clutched his head, as the voice reverberated in his mind. "I know!" he howled back.

With his own bellow of pain and anger, he grabbed the fallen Jack, and as his muscles seized, he leapt off the path, taking Jack with him, into the darkness.

Jack blinked, was he falling, or was he imagining it? Then he felt his hair being ruffled by a breeze, no, he wasn't imagining it, he was falling, free-falling in the weird dark-but-not-darkness.

He tried to look round, but found his muscles were still contracted. He began to panic, not knowing when and if the ground was going to smash into him.

He panicked because, this was a place he'd never died in, so he didn't know if he would come back.

The panic began to fog his senses, and he was moving into blind panic, when a voice penetrated his panic.

"Jack, listen to me, listen to my voice," the voice said, in a calm tone, and it took Jack a few seconds to recognise the voice... it was the Doctor.

"Listen to my voice Jack, keep listening to my voice, just trust my voice," the Doctor said, the calm to Jack's panic. "Listen to...."

The Doctor never got to finish his words, as he saw his intended target looming up. It was little more than a ledge, but beyond it, he could see an opening, a possible way forward. He had to chance it, or they could fall forever.

Mustering the last of his strength, he withdrew from Jack's mind, and gathering the last of his strength, he grabbed hold of Jack. Moving his body slightly, he angled towards the ledge, counting off the seconds as the ledge loomed larger.

"Three, two, one!" he said, and with one final heave, he twisted, and pushed Jack away.

He heard the satisfying thud of him landing, nano-seconds before bone-crushing unconsciousness took him.

Six

It took Jack several minutes to realise he was no longer falling, and he was lying on solid ground. He took in a breath, and pain filled his chest, probably a few broken ribs, an irritation, one that he could handle, providing nothing else was broken.

He sat up and apart from some slight dizziness, he couldn't feel any broken bones. He then tried to wrack his brains as to how he'd managed to find himself on solid ground. It seemed like he'd been falling only seconds ago.

Then it came to him, the voice in his head... the Doctor!

He looked round, but could see nothing in the near dark that pervaded this place.

"Doctor?" he said into the dark, and frowned when he didn't get a reply.

He forced himself to stand up, despite his muscles protesting at such sudden movement. He stood for a few moments, allowing his eyesight to adjust to the gloominess, then looked round again, hoping to see a familiar figure nearby.

He moved forward slowly, still unsure of his footing, fearing that the ground would suddenly disappear under his feet. As he walked along what now looked like a tunnel, he noticed it was getting brighter, in fact, up ahead he could see what looked like daylight.

However, he could also hear something, not the screeching howl that had threatened to shake his body apart, a different sound, many sounds in fact, and they weren't good sounds.

As he got closer to what looked like an opening, he began to hear distinct sounds, growls and snarls, screeching and howling, none of them good sounds. Cautiously, he approached the opening, and he suddenly dropped to his belly, as the scene below revealed itself.

Down below, it looked like a scene straight out of hell, because if Jack could believe his eyes, there were shadows of every size and shape milling around.

He tried to take it all in; there must have been thousands, perhaps countless numbers of dark nightmares.

He looked round, trying to see if there was a way round the horde, when the sound of what might be feet on rock came from his left. He shifted slightly, so he could see clearly, and his heart went from freezing in his chest to sitting in his stomach.

On a narrow ledge, about ten metres away, back against the rock face, looking down at the mass of shadows was the Doctor.

Forgetting about the shadows below, he stood up, and moved right to the edge of the opening.

"Doctor!" he hissed, flinching when he saw the Doctor jump in surprise, lose his footing and desperately right himself.

Once the Doctor had righted himself, he gave Jack a 'don't do that again' glare, and began to slowly inch his way back towards the opening.

At the time, it had seemed like a good idea, but now, maybe not.

He'd come too several minutes ago, and seeing that Jack was still out of it, he'd made his way to the end of the tunnel. When he'd seen the mass of shadows, he knew that he was on the right track, wherever the shadows were, so would their captives be.

He'd seen the narrow ledge to his left, saw that it disappeared round the corner, and tentatively put a foot onto it. It seemed firm enough, so he stepped out, and began inching his way along it.

He'd got as far as the corner, when a shadow detached itself from the rest, and silently crawled up the rock face.

He was thinking of going back, when the voices of the people reasserted themselves, stronger than before, and he knew he couldn't turn back.

It was then that he heard his name hissed, he jumped in surprise, and after righting himself, he glared at Jack.

Now, he had a dilemma, did he go back to Jack, or keep going, following the voices.

The decision was made for him, when he saw the shadow creeping towards the opening, unseen by Jack. It was nearly touching Jack's foot, and with his mind made up for him, he took one more look at the shadows beneath him, then at the shadow as it touched Jack's feet.

Ignoring the voices that clamoured for his help, he set his jaw and moved.

*****************

Jack wasn't expecting the Doctor to move so suddenly, so he didn't notice the shadow creep over his booted feet.

He felt a sudden chill, but thought it was his fear for the Doctor, as he moved at speed along the ledge.

Then he felt a pain in his feet, and as he glanced down he saw a black mass creeping past his ankles, and up his calves. He stepped back, but the shadow moved with him, and the pain moved to his calves, and increased in intensity.

He let out a cry of pain, and twisted, but the shadow moved up to his hips, and he cried out again.

Then a blur of brown barrelled into him and he fell backwards, landing hard, and was then frozen in disbelief at what happened next.

***************

The Doctor had grabbed the shadow, something Jack thought was impossible, and was actually pulling it away from him.

The shadow seemed to stretch, as if not wanting to let go of its intended victim.

"You will let go!" the Doctor yelled, and with one final heave, the shadow lost its grip, and wrapped itself round the Doctor instead.

Jack scrabbled back, and stared in shock, as the Doctor was lifted off his feet, and the shadow darkened, until Jack couldn't see the Doctor anymore.

"Doctor!" he shouted, unsure of what to do.

He was about to move, when the shadow began to shake, if a shadow could shake, and to Jack's disbelief it looked like it was becoming solid and glassy. When cracks began to appear in it, he knew it had changed.

There was loud crack, and the shadow came apart, suddenly and violently, causing Jack to turn away, and cover his head with his arms.

He jumped when something touched his shoulder, and he spun round, hand held up defensively.

"It's okay Jack, it's me," the Doctor said, sounding slightly out of breath.

Jack turned and found the Doctor sitting on his haunches, eyes flickering across Jack's face, concern written all over his face.

"Are you okay?" the Doctor asked, standing up, and offering a hand.

Jack nodded, and took the offered hand, allowing himself to be pulled up. He took in the Doctor's face, he was paler than usual, and a sheen of sweat shone on his face.

"Are you oaky, what the hell happened?"

"I'm fine, we don't have time for explanations, we have to go," he said, nodding towards the opening. "And that is the only way forward."

Jack knew the Doctor had avoided answering his question, he may have said he was fine, but he didn't look it. In fact, he hadn't looked good, not since he touched the shadow back in Cardiff.

Jack sighed, it the Doctor wasn't willing to talk, then there was nothing he could do to make him. He let out a resigned breath, and followed the Doctor back towards the opening.

****************

The journey along the ledge had proved, in the end, rather uneventful, despite the close proximity of the horde of shadows down below.

The Doctor had indeed been right, the narrow ledge widened, once they'd carefully edged their way round the tight bend.

The path had been descending all the time, gently at first, but as it widened, it came perilously close to the heaving mass of shadows, and once or twice they had to freeze, when a black shape came too close.

Eventually the path levelled off, and it disappeared into another entrance.

"How do you know we're going the right way?" Jack asked, as they walked into the near darkness again.

"We just are," the Doctor said unhelpfully.

"But how do you know?" Jack said again.

"We just are Jack," the Doctor said again.

But the answer didn't satisfy Jack. "Not good enough Doctor, I want to know how?"

The Doctor stopped and rounded on Jack. "Because we are Jack, just leave it!" he snapped, and turned back, walking off.

"Keep up Harkness!" he said.

Jack stared after the Doctor, and followed him, more determined than ever to find out.

They walked in silence, for what seemed an interminable amount of time, before the Doctor stopped again.

Jack could see a fork in the tunnel, now that his eyes had adjusted to the near dark.

The Doctor looked both ways, then turned back to face Jack. "We should rest, things are waking up, and it is night after all."

Jack wanted to ask how the Doctor knew that, but then again, he was the Doctor. So, they settled down, pulling their heavy coats around themselves.

The silence was only broken by the scuttle of things in the dark.

"Just keep still," the Doctor's voice came out of the dark, no more than a whisper. "Move and they attack."

Both men held their breath, and Jack had to fight the instinct to move, when something brushed against his face.

In fact, several something's crawled across his face, and then the scuttling disappeared into the dark.

Jack tensed when the Doctor suddenly moved, but he'd only moved to sit next to Jack. "Get some sleep, you're going to need it. It won't be easy, they're not going to let them go, just because we ask nicely."

"I gather that, but what about the big bad you thing really wants out?" Jack said.

The Doctor sighed. "That would be my job."

"And what about me, what's my job?" Jack asked.

"I need you to get them back to where we landed. If the TARDIS is there, get them out, is that clear," the Doctor replied.

"No, I won't leave you behind," Jack said vehemently.

"Jack, don't make me regret my bringing you along. The TARDIS will come back for me. I can't do what I have to do, if I don't know they're safe."

Jack couldn't see the Doctor's face, but the tone of his voice, carried the weight his expression would have.

"Fine," Jack said after a few seconds. "But only if you answer me one question, how do you know this is the right way?"

The Doctor was silent, and Jack thought he's pushed it too far.

"Because I can hear them," the Doctor said.

Jack blinked. "How long have you...?"

"Long enough," the Doctor interrupted.

Jack fell silent, realising it must have been since he touched that shadow back in Cardiff.

"Are you okay?" he said.

The Doctor shifted again. "Get some sleep Jack," he replied, once again avoiding the question.

Jack shook his head, he sounded tired.

"Sleep Jack," the Doctor said, and Jack found he was very tired.

He woke with a start, and found the tunnel was lighter, but he also found he was alone....the Doctor was gone.

"No," he said and went quiet when he heard footsteps.

He tensed, ready to move, and when the owner of the footsteps reached the junction of the two tunnels, he moved, flooring the figure, putting all of his weight into it.

The figure let out a whoosh of air, and pushed Jack off.

"This is not bloody Gladiators!" said the Doctor indignantly, once he'd got his breath back.

"I thought you were...."Jack said.

"What, a shadow. I don't think they have feet," the Doctor said testily.

Jack bristled at the Doctor's tone. "I woke up, and you were gone. What was I suppose to think!" he snapped.

The Doctor went to speak, but thought better of it. A wave of guilt washed over him, had Jack thought he'd abandoned him. Perhaps he should have woken him, but he didn't have the hearts, besides, he thought he would be back, before Jack woke up.

As it was, it had been a fruitless excursion. He'd hoped to find what really wanted out. Not the shadows, they weren't powerful enough, even en masse to break out, but there were things that were more than capable of doing just that.

He hadn't been sure, not until he'd tackled the shadow that attacked Jack. Something was controlling the shadows; he could feel it, like a cancer, in what mind the shadow had.

It had made his skin crawl, and the sooner they left this place, the happier he'd be.

He put a hand on Jack's shoulder. "Jack I....."

His voice was cut off by a scream echoing down the tunnels.

Seven

"That sounds like...." Jack began.

"A human scream!" the Doctor finished.

"Which way...?" Jack started to say, but shut up, when the Doctor raised a hand.

He tilted his head, very much like an arctic fox, listening for a hare, deep under the snow.

"This way!" he said, and suddenly took off, like the hare being pursued by the fox.

Jack followed, a few startled seconds later.

"Doctor, wait!" he called after the rapidly disappearing back of the Doctor.

He ran faster, cursing himself for letting himself go. He'd forgotten how quick the Doctor could be.

"Wait!" he shouted again, but the Doctor had disappeared round a bend in the tunnel. He rounded the corner, and came to a sudden halt.

The Doctor was halfway up the tunnel, kneeling beside what looked like a body, a human shaped body.

*****************

The Doctor had taken off when he'd located the direction of the scream, sure in the fact that Jack would follow.

The scream was echoing in his ears, it was a women's scream, and his hearts lurched.....was that Gwen?

He skidded round the corner, and not far up the tunnel there was a body, and he felt guilty relief when he saw a flash of blonde hair...not Gwen.

Then he felt the guilt that it was someone, a sister, a wife, a daughter, a mother. He sprinted the rest of the way, and the feeling of something cancerous rose in his mind again.

It was replaced by revulsion, as he neared the body, or what had once been a body. He knelt down, and all he knew was that it had been female.

*******************

The Doctor pulled the woman's long hair back over what was once her face, just as Jack was approaching.

"It's not Gwen," he said. "But it is someone, and that's one too many."

He stood up, and Jack could see by his ramrod straight back, and the tautness of his shoulders, that he was angry.

Jack stopped next to the Doctor, and caught the flash of anger in the Doctor's eyes. They were darkening, becoming that dangerous black.....a storm was approaching.

Gwen had been shoved back to the centre of the panicking prisoners, as the cell door opened once more, and another unfortunate soul was dragged out.

She tried to fight down the nausea, it wasn't helping that she was feeling increasing movement from her baby.

"Please, not now," she spoke to it, she really didn't want to give birth here.

Someone elbowed her in the stomach, and she yelped in pain.

The person turned in surprise, and Gwen could see it was a man, but she could also smell the unique smell of alcohol and unwashed body.

The man's eyes widened, as he looked down at Gwen's stomach. "Oh, I'm sorry," he said, in a cultured voice, and he moved away slightly, once the crowd had settled once more, into an uneasy calm.

Gwen smiled at the man. "It's alright, it can't be helped. It's not exactly empty in here. I'm Gwen by the way," she said, and extended her hand.

The man eyed her suspiciously, and cautiously took her hand.

"Arthur Stevens," he replied. "Do you know where we are?"

"I'm sorry, I don't, but we can't give up. Someone must know we're missing," she said, sounding more confident than she felt.

"You maybe," Arthur said. "Not everyone will be missed. But never mind me, you must be what.....thirty-two weeks?"

Gwen looked at the man. "Yes, how can you tell?"

"I'm a...well, I used to be an obstetrician, in another life," Arthur said, a hint of sadness in his voice.

Gwen went to say something, but a twinge of pain made her take in a sharp breath, and clutch her stomach.

Arthur put his hand on her stomach. "I think your baby wants out, it must be the stress."

"No, I can't give birth here!" Gwen said, in a horrified tone.

"I don't think you'll have a choice, if no-one knows we're here," Arthur said.

"No!" Gwen said. "He'll know," and she grimaced as a sudden pain rippled through her......the baby.

Jack could do nothing but follow the Doctor, as he strode down the tunnel. He'd watched as the Doctor had gone from slow burn to simmering with anger.

They'd come across more bodies, and Jack guessed that whatever wanted out, was now starting to do just that.

They'd encountered several shadows along the way, and the Doctor had dispatched them with cold ruthlessness, and Jack began to wonder who was the more damaged.

They approached what looked like a dead end, but as they got closer, they could see a door at the end.

"That looks suspiciously like a cell door to me," the Doctor said, his first words in a while.

He stopped suddenly, and held up a hand to stop Jack.

Shadows were flitting back and forth, constant moving across the cell door.

"Remember your job," the Doctor said, and before Jack could stop him, he'd stepped forward.

"Excuse me, do you think you could help me?" he said, hands stuck in his pockets, wandering casually towards the nearest shadow.

***********

Jack watched as the Doctor was surrounded by shadows, and had to stop himself, when the Doctor was physically lifted off his feet, and disappeared into a mass of black shadows.

He shook himself, and remembered the task at hand. It seemed the shadows had focused solely on the Doctor, which did make his job a lot easier. He felt a twinge of concern as to what the Doctor had been taken off to meet, but the thought slipped away, as he approached the cell door.

Cautiously he peered inside, but it was too dark to see clearly, but he could hear the shuffling of feet, and several coughs, that told him the occupants were human. Out of curiosity, he pushed on the door, and to his surprise it opened, just a crack.

Slowly, he opened the door, and stepped in. He froze, when he felt cold metal against his cheek.

"Don't move," a female voice, with a strong Welsh accent said in a hiss.

"Gwen, is that you?" he said.

He was rewarded with a gasp, and then he was engulfed in a hug.

"Oh my god, Jack, I knew it. I knew you were back, I knew you'd find me!" Gwen said into his chest.

Jack hugged her back, and jumped when he felt her stomach move. "Gwen?"

Someone touched her arm, and a man's voice said. "She's on the verge of going into labour. Are you here to get us out?"

Jack looked over Gwen's shoulder. "How many are there?"

"I don't know, how did you get here, have you got a ship?"

Jack smiled. "Oh, have I got a ship. Let's just say, it's bigger on the inside."

Gwen let out a gasp of surprise. "The Doctor, he's here, where is he?"

"He's busy, we have to go Gwen, all of us."

Jack raised his voice. "Listen, I know you're scared of what's out there, but we have to get out, get out now."

There was a low murmur, and Jack raised his voice again.

"If you want to stay, stay, but if you want to leave, then follow me, your choice. C'mon Gwen," he said, taking hold of her hand, and leading her out of the cell. "You don't want your baby born here."

Gwen frowned at Jack's words, but allowed him to pull her out of the cell. They were followed by at least eighty people, the ones with more of their senses about them, helping the ones that didn't.

Gwen held on tight to Jack's hand, and looked back. "There were more than this," she said quietly.

"I know, but there won't be any more, not if the Doctor and I can help it. Are you going to be all right, the baby?"

"I'll be fine, worry about the others, and the Doctor."

The Doctor had been reining in his temper for long enough. He'd seen plenty of death in his nine hundred and odd years, but it still cut into his soul when it crossed his path. It angered him that something was using innocent people as a means to get somewhere they should never be.

He was just getting used to the sensation of moving without seeing where he was going, when he unceremoniously deposited onto a hard rock surface.

"Oi, that's no way to treat a lost tourist, I'm going to write a stern letter to my tour operator, when I get home."

He stopped talking when a voice hissed.

"And what are you?"

Eight

Jack stepped cautiously out onto the ledge, fearing that it might disappear under his feet. Sighing with relief, when it still felt solid under his feet, he gestured for the first of the group to move.

"It's okay, just remember to not look down," he said.

As the first group made its way onto the ledge, he heard the gasps of fear, as they did look down, and saw the mass of shadows that still milled around the huge space.

"Move slowly," he said.

One of the bolder members of the group, made the first move, and began edging his way along the narrowing ledge. Emboldened by the first, the others started to traverse the ledge, until all but Gwen, a man who called himself Arthur and Jack were left.

Jack could see the first of the group carefully rounding the bend in the ledge, and knew that the relative safety of the tunnel was just ahead.

He looked back down the tunnel, and then at Gwen and Arthur.

Gwen looked at Jack, saw him look down the tunnel. She touched his arm, and smiled at him.

"Go on, go, I know you want to, we'll be fine."

Jack shook his head. "I can't, he made me promise. Besides, how will you get inside the TARDIS, if she's there at all?"

Gwen smiled. "You're forgetting something, I'm a woman, and she's obviously a woman. We both love two very stubborn men, I think she'll let me in. Now go, we'll be fine, don't let him face whatever it is alone."

Jack smiled, and kissed Gwen, then turned to Arthur.

"Look after her," he said.

Arthur nodded, and took Gwen's hand, and started leading her towards the ledge.

Jack waited until they had rounded the bend, and then ran back down the tunnel. He had no idea as to how he would find the Doctor, but he was sure that he would.

******************

The Doctor was unimpressed by the booming voice that echoed around the cavernous space he was now standing in.

"Please, if you think loud shouty voices are going to impress me, then think again, show yourself!" he shouted.

"No-one shall see my face and live!" the voice boomed.

The Doctor smiled. "Please, not the I'm so powerful you can't take it line. I think that belongs to someone else."

He was rewarded with an angry hiss. " Interesting, seem to have a hit a sore point there, not so powerful then."

He knew it was probably a bad thing to do, baiting something or someone you couldn't see, but he had to do it, he had to see.

"If you're so powerful, then why do you need humans to help you get out? Oh, I get it, you're really just a second rate deity, who couldn't get out of a paper bag. You think murdering innocent humans will get you out of here?"

There was the scraping of what sounded like claws on rock, and something moved in the darkness.

There was a sudden breeze, and the Doctor gagged, when a fetid smell assaulted his nose.

The voice spoke again, only not so loud this time, but it was closer.

"Little mortal, who are you to speak to me with such impudence. I could devour you, without stopping to think about it."

The voice reverberated around the Doctor's head. There was a sibilant hiss to the word, and more than a hint of arrogance.

Whatever it was, it was intelligent, the Doctor thought.

"So, are you going to talk me to death, or am I going to be a mid-day snack. I haven't got all day, busy schedule and all."

The scrap of claws grew louder, and the Doctor noted the shadows falling back, as if they were afraid of whatever it was.

He could see a shape starting to form in the darkness. Was it a shape-shifter, or a non-corporeal life- form? He couldn't really tell, not yet, but he would soon find out.

The shape seemed to grow and grow, and then it lumbered out of the darkness.

The Doctor had to look up, and up, and up. It was at least ten metres tall, if not more, and it was definitely not a shadow.

It looked down at the Doctor with sulphurous eyes, a fang filled grin on its face, a face that was lined with wicked looking spikes, made from metal.

It bent down, until its face was level with the Doctor, and it said in a surprisingly low voice.

"So, tell me little mortal, are you afraid of me now?"

Jack was running, but he really didn't have a clue as to where he should be running. He was pretty sure that this tunnel only went one way, so he was taking the gamble that it did.

The tunnel took a sharp turn to the left, and he skidded round it, and had to put the brakes on sharpish. He threw out his arms to stop himself from toppling into what was a cavernous gap, and managed to right himself.

Once he'd recovered his balance, he looked at the gap, how the hell was he going to cross this. He stepped back, but stopped, when he heard something behind, and it wasn't a human something.

Whatever it was, it was breathing heavily, and by the sound of claws on rock, it was probably very big and probably vey hungry.

He slowly turned, and came face to slavering jaw with a creature straight out of a nightmare.

The creature hissed at him, and then growled, and as he backed away, it roared is annoyance, and he was faced with a decision, both of which the endings would be good for him.

As the creature advanced, he took the option that he felt he would more likely survive, and just might be less painful. He turned away from the creature, and with what space there was between him and the beginning of the seemingly bottomless dark, he ran.

The creature reacted with un-natural speed, and lunged for the running Jack, and as he leapt into the darkness, its jaws snapped shut, missing him by inches, so much so, he swore he could feel its teeth in his ass.

He tried to relax as he fell, but it wasn't easy, he had no idea how far or how deep, or if the creature had followed, and was falling with him. He was pretty certain, well ninety-five percent sure that he would come back, he could only hope that the creature didn't.

As he fell, he began to twist and turn like he was caught in a maelstrom. He lost all sense of where he was, as he was whirled and twisted, it felt like he was inside a washing machine.

He suddenly sensed that he was approaching ground, and he tried to relax, but knew that it would be fatal. He closed his eyes, and waited for the impact, but found instead that his feet were already on solid ground.

Frowning with confusion, he looked up, expecting to see just the darkness he had fallen into. But to his amazement, he saw the ledge he'd jumped from, just six feet above, and no slavering creature staring down at him.

He shook his head in consternation, trying to make sense of what had just happened, but it made his head spin. Then, like a light bulb going off, it made sense.

"Stupid Harkness, what did the Doc say, that nothing is what it seems. This place plays with your mind."

He shuddered, and looked round the small cavern he was in. "There must be a way out of here," he muttered.

Then he heard it, in the distance, coming from an opening on his right, It sounded like distant thunder, no, not thunder, it was a roar. In fact, it sounded like an angry roar, and Jack smiled.

There was only one person, who would be crazy enough to annoy something big enough to have a roar that loud.

"I'm coming Doctor, don't let it eat you, before I get there," he said, and took off at a run.

The Doctor stepped back a pace, when the creature had roared at him. He waited until the roar had echoed away.

"Finished, good," he said, and his demeanour had changed. Gone were the light- hearted tones of a few minutes earlier, they were replaced by darker tones, tones that held the threat of much violence.

"Now, it's my turn. If you bothered to look at me properly, I know you can, you'd know I wasn't human. I know what you are now, and I know why you need humans. You need something from them, to help you escape."

The creature laughed, a deep rumbling laugh. "Do you really think I need little things like you to escape this place?"

The creature laughed again, and leaned closer to the Doctor. " I just like the taste of them."

The Doctor's face hardened. "Food, they're just food," he said, in a quiet voice.

"They're just food!" he roared back at the creature. "They're living, breathing, intelligent beings, not hor'derves!"

"No," the creature rumbled, "They are food, just like you," and a massive hand came out of the darkness, and before the Doctor had chance to move, it had closed around him, and he found himself lifted off the floor, and heading for the creatures jaws.

Nine

Jack was running towards the roar, and then he heard the rumble of what sounded like speech. As he got closer to the sound, he could hear another voice, quieter, but holding as much power as the other.

He slowed as he came closer to the entrance of what looked like another cavern, if it was a cavern. He wasn't sure of anything being real in this place, not anymore, but he was sure of one thing, he wouldn't let the Doctor die in this place.

He stopped just short of the entrance, and cautiously stepped out into the cavern, and froze, horror chilling his heart.

The thing must have been a good thirty feet, if not more, and it looked almost as wide. But it wasn't the creature that froze Jack in fear, it was the person it was holding in its clawed hand.

Jack tried to speak, but his throat wouldn't work, as he saw the creature open its mouth, revealing razor sharp teeth. A lizard like tongue flicked out, and wrapped itself round the figure, and the figure disappeared into its mouth.

Jack suddenly found his voice, and he screamed. "Doctor!!!!!!" as the creature didn't even chew, it just swallowed.

Jack ran towards it, raising his weapon, not that he thought he would do any good, crying out the Doctor's name.

The creature looked down as it swallowed, and let out a laugh, as it swept its other hand towards the little thing running towards it.

Its hand was only a few feet from Jack, when the creature suddenly jerked violently, and its other hand went to its throat.

Jack skidded to a halt, as he saw the hand coming towards him, preparing to dive to the floor. He saw the creature jerk suddenly, and clasp its throat.

He looked up, and despite the fact that he'd seen the apparent death of his friend, he laughed.

"I hope he poisons you, whatever you are!" he yelled. "You'll never get out of here now, your way out has left the building!"

He had to dive to his right suddenly, when the creature's hand came crashing down, not in an attempt to kill him, but in, if Jack could believe what he was seeing, panic. The thing wasn't being poisoned, it was choking!

The creature gave a gasping cough, and it spat something out, which landed in a soggy heap, a few feet away from Jack.

The creature shuddered once, and shook its head.

"You taste old and bitter, there's much sweeter meat in your world."

With that it turned away and lumbered back into the darkness, and a few seconds later, the cavern was filled with screeches and howls.

******************

Jack scrambled up, and with his heart racing in panic and fear, he approached the soggy heap, which he now recognised as the Doctor, whether he was dead or alive, he couldn't tell.

The figure suddenly moved, much to Jack's relief, and the Doctor sat up, wiping saliva from his face, and pulling a disgusted grimace.

"That was just......eww!" he said, and looked up, his disgust turned to shock at seeing Jack.

"Why aren't back on Earth, Jack Harkness," he said, anger very much evident in his voice.

Jack held out a hand to help him up, but he waved it away.

"I said, why aren't you back on Earth?"

Jack ignored the anger in the Doctor's voice. "I couldn't leave you, and what the hell just happened?"

Before the Doctor had chance to reply, a rumble reverberated around the cavern, and the ground heaved, throwing the Doctor and Jack to the floor.

The rumble faded away, to be replaced once more by the screeching and howling.

The Doctor got to his feet. "No, no, no, no, this is not good, so very not good," he said.

"Doctor, what's happening!?" Jack yelled over the noise.

"It's out, Rassilon, its out!" the Doctor answered, his face pale, eyes wide in horror.

It was then that another set of screams joined the hellish chorus, human screams.

"No!" both men said, and without hesitating, ran towards the screams.

"We're just going in circles," one of the group said, as they found themselves back at the tunnel they started at, the cell door just in front of them.

"Well I'm not going out on that ledge again," another person said, and sat down.

Gwen looked at the person. "So, you'd rather stay here, and let whatever's out there kill you," she snapped.

The person was about reply, when the ground beneath them began to shake, and they were thrown to the floor.

Arthur grabbed hold of Gwen, steadying her, as the ground rocked and rolled, and then there was a loud crack, and everybody looked up.

A crack was working its way across the roof of the tunnel, and debris started to rain on them. The ground started to shift again, but this time it was joined by howls and screeches, that were too close for comfort.

One of the prisoners glanced down the tunnel, and saw something moving, and as it emerged, she screamed, and was closely followed by the others as they saw what was approaching.

*******************

Jack was finding it hard to keep up with the Doctor, who seemed unaffected by the shifting ground. He pushed himself to draw level with the Doctor, who was running way faster than he'd ever done, when Jack had been with him.

The screams had come from the direction of the cell, and a feeling of dread washed over Jack....surely it wasn't?

Jack looked over at the Doctor, who was running, jaw set in determination, and Jack wasn't even sure that the Doctor knew he was there.

So, he kept on running, trying to match the Doctor, pace for pace.

The Doctor had been expecting to die, painfully, when the creature had swallowed him. He wasn't expecting to be spat out like a sour lemon. He'd heard what he thought was Jack calling his name, but knew that couldn't be possible, Jack was away and safe, he hoped.

He'd heard the creature's rumbled words as he landed with a soggy thump. He lay still for a few seconds, winded by the force of his landing, and had felt more than seen the creature lumber off.

He took in a deep breath, and shifted, turned and sat up... and yuck, saliva and digestive juices. It was then that he noticed someone was standing over him.

He looked up, and was surprised then angry at seeing Jack.

He was about to launch into an angry tirade, when the ground lurched underneath him, and he felt....no, no, no, this wasn't good, the thing hadn't lied, it didn't need anything to help it escape...it had escaped!

He could feel it, the tear, a rip in the fabric that separated the two dimensions, and the thing was through. Then the howls and screeches, wails and roars of nightmare creatures echoed round the cavern.

Rassilon...no... they were all escaping!

Then he heard it, above the hellish noise, the distinct sounds of humans screaming, and he recoiled in horror and fear...... they hadn't escaped.

He was up and running, and not worried if Jack kept up or not, if they were still trapped here, then Rassilon help them.

Ten

Gwen had backed as far away as she could, pinned as she was by the rest of the prisoners.

The thing, and she could only describe it as a thing, was lumbering towards them, and she was expecting to be torn limb from limb.

What she wasn't expecting was for two figures to run past her, a blur of brown and blue, and head straight for the thing.

She couldn't see what was going on, as her way was blocked by the others, but she could hear. There was a gurgling roar, coming from the thing, she hoped, and then there was silence, only the distant howls and screeches from before.

She pushed her way through the small crowd, and her heart leapt with relief, as she saw one dead thing and two of her favourite people in the world.

"Jack, Doctor!" she cried, and ran towards them.

Jack hugged her, but the Doctor was looking back up the tunnel, his whole body tense. He turned and shouted.

"We don't have time for hellos', we have to get out, get out now!"

Gwen looked at him. "We couldn't find the TARDIS, we ended up here, twice, we can't get out."

The Doctor looked at the group of people. "Listen, there is a way, but it's risky, are you willing to try?"

The person who'd refused to move before stepped forward. "Listen mate, if you can get us out, then it doesn't matter, does it? We'll die here if we stay."

The rest of the group nodded, and crowded forward.

The Doctor looked at Gwen, who being supported by Arthur. "Are you?" he said.

"I'll be fine," Gwen said. "I am not having this baby here."

The Doctor smiled tightly. "Then follow me," he said.

*****************

DCI Williams had just made himself another cup of coffee, when he felt the floorboards tremble under him.

He shook his head, traffic, he thought.

Then he heard a deep rumble, like it was deep underground, and the house began to shake....dear god, an earthquake.

He steadied himself, and the house stopped shaking, and then the screaming began.

He went into the living room, and pulled back the curtain, and his mouth fell open.

People were running down the street, some were screaming, others were just running, as fast as they could, holding children, or by themselves.

He ran to the door, and stepped out, and straight into a scary version of Grimm's fairy tales.

If he could believe his eyes, and wasn't sure if he should.

What looked like a troll, all twelve foot of it, was lumbering down the road, holding a sparking lamp post in its oversized hand. It was using the lamp post to smash cars and houses, and was bellowing its anger as it went.

DCI Williams staggered back, and then he looked up as he heard a screech, and something flapped by, leathery wings beating.

Shaking himself, he stepped back into the house.

"Stay inside sir, I have to attend to something," he said, although he wasn't quite sure what he was going to do about a twelve foot troll, and a flying something, and whatever else might be out there.

He closed the door behind him, and walked out into the chaos.

***************

Gwen held onto Jack and Arthur as they stepped into what looked like a giant hole, well according to the Doctor, it was a giant hole, or tear, but Gwen knew it was bad, whatever it was.

She'd been expecting to step into a maelstrom, by the way the Doctor had been speaking, but instead they stepped out onto the Plaza, just a few feet from where she'd disappeared.

The Doctor had herded the others through, and when he appeared out the hole, he ran forward.

"This isn't right, not right at all, we should be..."

He was cut off by a gasp from one of the group.

"Dear god!" another said.

The Doctor turned, and what greeted him was like a scene from hell.

Cardiff was lit, not by the night sky, or the glow of street lighting, but the deadly orange glow of fire. He narrowed his eyes, and could just make out shapes whirling in the sky, and as he adjusted back to the reality of Earth's dimension, he started to hear the screeches and howls of what was once trapped in the Howling Halls.

"Those things, they're not shadows, what are they!?" Jack said.

The Doctor watched the skyline, listening to the sound coming from the city.

"In their dimension yes, but out here, where reality is different, they become whatever you're worst nightmare is, troll, ogres, all those things you think of as fairy tales, or myths."

Ignoring it for the moment, he turned back to Jack and the others.

"Jack, get everyone inside, the Hub, or what's left of it," he said, and turned to run towards the city centre.

Jack caught hold of his arm. "You're going anywhere, not without me!"

The Doctor looked at Jack, annoyance giving his voice a sharp edge.

"Jack, I don't have time to argue, those things will rip this world apart, if I don't stop them!"

He went to move, but Jack's grip on his arm was solid.

"No, I've seen you nearly die once today, not again!"

Still holding the Doctor's arm, he turned to Arthur. "Can you take them, the shop to the right, down some steps, Gwen can show you."

Arthur nodded, and without a word, herded Gwen and the rest away from Jack and the Doctor.

The Doctor scowled at Jack, and then sighed.

"Fine, if you want help, I need you to find UNIT, they'll be here somewhere, they need to round up those things."

"What about you?" Jack said, still not letting go of the Doctor's arm.

"I'm the only one that can stop it. If I can get it back through the hole, the others will follow, it's the one with all the power."

"Then what?" Jack asked, knowing he wouldn't like the answer.

"I have to close it."

With that, the Doctor wrenched his arm free, and was off, and Jack knew that he wasn't going to catch him, not this time. With a heavy heart, he turned to his task, and took a guess as to where UNIT would be.

"This time, I really hope you're wrong Doctor," he said, looking at the now empty plaza.

*****************

The Doctor ran full tilt towards the city centre, and only slowed when it became impossible to run. He'd been expecting to be nearer the creature, but somehow another hole had appeared in the walls, and had come out on the plaza.

He knew he couldn't use that, as it had closed seconds after they had stepped through. There was only one thing he could do, and if it worked, this could get so much more dangerous.

It was like a war zone. Cars were crushed and overturned, black smoke filling the air, buildings were half destroyed.

He was glad to see that the streets were deserted, which made his task a little easier, no humans to try and save. For once things seemed to be going right.

Then he heard the roar, the one that meant his target was nearby, and as he rounded a corner, he stopped. He hadn't seen the creature, because of the smoke, but now he did, and even he was shocked.

The creature had grown, it must be at least sixty feet, if not more, how in Rassilon's name was he going to get its attention.

"Of course! You're so thick!" the Doctor said, and ran.

The creature was swiping at a multi-storey car park, it was getting angrier by the minute. I had thought these little things would be easy to catch, but they were not. They were even fighting back, killing or capturing most of its army.

It still had the bitter aftertaste in its mouth of the little thing it had tried to eat, and there was nothing to take the taste away.

It went to take another angry swipe at the building, when it heard a tiny voice, not far from its head.

"Oi! That's vandalism that is!" it said.

The creature looked down, and on the building next to the one it was destroying.

"You!" it roared, and reached towards the building, but the annoying little thing was already moving.

"You!" it roared again, and the little thing appeared on the street, and was running away.

The creature roared, and moved, intent on crushing the little thing.

Eleven

Jack had found any easy way to locate UNIT; he followed the sounds of gun and heavy weapons fire. As he got closer, he could hear the screeches and howls of the things that had escaped.

He rounded the corner, and found himself in what could only be described as a zoo. Cages were scattered everywhere, occupied by what looked like scary versions of fairy tale monsters. It looked like UNIT were in control, as more creatures were either being caged, or their bodies were being dragged into containers.

Jack recognised the solider in charge, it was Captain Mogambo, she saluted Jack.

"It's good to see you back with us sir." She looked past him, "The Doctor not with you?"

Jack was about to speak, when a thunderous roar filled the air, and the ground vibrated under their feet.

The aforementioned Doctor raced round the corner, skidded to a halt, and held up a finger, whilst drawing in gasps of air.

"I...need....to...borrow...one....of...your...helicopters....captain," the Doctor gasped.

Captain Mogambo looked at the Doctor. "What for?" even as she lifted her two-way radio to order it.

"To....outrun....that, might...have...annoyed it...a little too much," the Doctor said breathlessly, and pointed over his back, just as it lumbered round the corner, demolishing a building as it went.

"Would you see to the helicopter Jack, and a word please Captain!" the Doctor shouted.

There was a flurry of activity, and as the creature reached the black and red line that was UNIT, it began scattering soldiers, caged things, cars and whatever stood in its way.

A helicopter appeared over one of the buildings, and headed towards the creature.

The Doctor was hanging out of the door, one hand on the door frame, the other trying to look at the readings on the sonic.

"This is not good, really not good," he said.

Jack grabbed hold of the Doctor, and pulled him back inside. "What are you thinking of doing?!" he yelled over the sounds of the engines, and the angry roars of the creature.

"Tell the pilot to stay just out of its reach. We have to get it back to the tear, before it's too late!" the Doctor shouted.

Jack looked at the Doctor, and somehow he knew what the Doctor was going to do. He'd deliberately antagonised the thing, got it to follow him, hoping to get it back through the tear. What his part in the plan was, he didn't know, but he was ready for it.

The Doctor leant out of the helicopter again, allowing the creature to see him. He had to keep its attention on him, time was running out. If the readings were right, and he feared they were, the tear between the two dimensions was starting to close.

The helicopter executed a sudden turn, as the creature took a swipe at it, and the Doctor would have fallen out, if Jack hadn't had a firm grip on his coat.

The creature roared again, and tried to reach for the buzzing thing, that was stopping it from getting its claws on the bitter tasting thing.

The helicopter swooped once again, narrowly avoiding the massive hand of the creature, and it only just managed to avoid the claws on the end, but it dipped dangerously close to a building, and only just managed to right itself.

The pilot took the helicopter further up, and hovered just out of the reach of the creature's hands. He gestured for the Doctor to put on his headset.

"Sorry sir, but the thing is too quick for me to keep it as close as you want. What do you want me do?"

The Doctor nodded. "Alright, then put me down as close as you can to it, and get yourself away, thank you."

Jack was too busy watching the creature bulldozing its way towards the out of reach helicopter, to see the look that passed over the Doctor's face.

He felt the helicopter rise, and turn steeply, the Doctor must be changing tactics, and as the helicopter once again began to descend, he was unprepared for the Doctor's sudden leap out of the helicopter.

Before he had time to react the helicopter was away, and he couldn't see the Doctor anymore.

"Hey, what the hell are you doing, go back down!" he yelled at the pilot, who ignored him, and continued to fly away from the creature and wherever the Doctor now was.

He continued to protest, even as the helicopter landed, and was still protesting when he was marched away from the helicopter, back towards Captain Mogambo.

"Captain Harkness, there is no point in struggling. I was under orders from the Doctor, and I will have you restrained, if I have to."

Jack gave her a filthy look, but knew he couldn't outrun the whole of UNIT. "You can't let him do this alone, you do know what he's going to do?"

Captain Mogambo nodded. "Yes."

Jack had gone very still, and very quiet, would fate or the universe, whatever you call it be so cruel as to pull him back here, just to witness the death of the Doctor.

He wouldn't, couldn't believe that.

"Please captain, you can't," he said. "Please, let me," he pleaded.

Captain Mogambo looked at Jack, then at the path of destruction the creature had made, and sighed.

"Alright, let him go."

The Doctor knew that Jack would be angry at him, but he couldn't let Jack sacrifice himself.

He slowed his pace to a fast jog, well aware of the creature bulldozing its way towards him. He ran out onto the Plaza, the only place big enough for what he wanted. He took out his sonic, adjusted a few buttons, and aimed it at the sky.

If he was right, and he hoped he was, what he was about to do would work.

At first the sky remained stubbornly orange, the fires in the city still burning, and the sounds of the creature destroying buildings, were the Doctor's only companion.

Then the sky began to change, from fiery orange to red, then from red to purple, with black at the edges of the colour. Soon it was a broiling mass of bruise coloured sky, and there were flashes of light coming from within the colour.

A sudden breeze lifted the Doctor's coat, and rubbish began to whip past him, driven by the strong wind that now blew across the plaza.

The sky began to move and writhe, and take shape, and there was the sound of distant thunder, and lightning suddenly flashed across the sky.

The Doctor smiled grimly, it had worked, he'd moved the tear, and if he'd got it right, the signal he'd sent, would get the attention he wanted.

Now all he had to do was wait.

Twelve

Jack stopped running when he heard the first peal of thunder. He looked up, and saw the dangerous looking sky, saw the flashes of lightning, and the whirling maelstrom of the clouds. A sudden gust of wind carried the roar of the creature to his ears, and he started running again, towards the plaza.

The Doctor could hear the roars of the creature as it approached the plaza. He looked at the tear, could see the shifting, whirling patterns within it.

He could feel it, feel it starting to close. If he had a god, he would be praying that what he wanted would get here, sooner than later.

So intent was he on monitoring the tear, he didn't see the figure enter the other side of the plaza, at a run.

DCI Williams had intended to go straight to the station, but his way had been barred by a fight between what looked the troll from Billy Goat Gruff, but three times the size, and a Cyclops straight out of Greek mythology. They were fighting over what was now an empty bus, the passengers long gone.

He detoured round the fighting monsters, and made his way to the other side of the plaza. He approached it, and he could feel the static in the air. He looked up, and saw the broiling sky, lighting flashing across it.

He looked down, and saw the man who called himself the Doctor, and froze. The Doctor was busy looking at something in his hand, and was glancing up at the sky.

It was obvious that he had noticed the thing that was slithering across the plaza. He tried shouting, but the wind whipped his voice away, and the thing was advancing, stalking what was likely to be its next meal.

DCI Williams somehow knew that if this man died, the world, never mind this city, would descend into some god forbidden hell.

He had to distract that thing, but how?

He looked round, spotted the ideal thing, picked it up and started to run, not for the Doctor, who was still engrossed in monitoring the tear, but for the thing that was heading for him.

With a bellow of anger, he ran straight across the path of it, smacking the thing on the nose, before dodging away.

The thing gave a startled hiss, which caused the Doctor to turn, and notice the thing for the first time, and DCI Williams.

"Keep doing what you're doing Doctor!" DCI Williams yelled, above the hiss of the thing that was now focused on him, above the increasing howl of the wind, and above the roar of the advancing creature.

*******************

The Doctor stared at DCI Williams in shock, as what could only be described as an overgrown python lunged for the policeman.

"No!" he cried. "Get away, you can't!"

But his words were lost in the sounds of the storm, and the roars of the creature as it lumbered into the plaza.

The creature stopped, looked down into the plaza, ignoring the giant snake that was pursuing one of the little things.

It was focused on the Doctor, who was torn between helping DCI Williams and the creature that had now appeared in the plaza.

The creature looked up, and saw the tear. It looked down at the Doctor, and began to laugh.

"Clever tiny thing, but do you think you can force me out of this world."

The Doctor looked up at the creature, then at the seething mass of cloud, and he smiled.

"Oh no, not me, them!" he yelled, and pointed to the rift.

The colour of the sky started to change, deepening in colour, till it was almost black. The wind suddenly died down, and in the distance another sound began to make itself heard.

At first it sounded like the wind was picking up again, but it changed from the howl of the wind, to the howl of something else, and then it turned into a screech.

The effect on everything within earshot was instant.

The Doctor clamped his hands to his ears, as did DCI Williams, both men trying to block the screeching as it grew louder and louder.

The giant python stopped its advance on DCI Williams, it hissed not in anger, but in what sounded like apprehension.

It hissed again, as it saw shapes appear out of black sky, shapes that flew with deadly accuracy, straight for the snake.

DCI Williams looked on in disbelief, his hands still clamped over his ears, as what looked like winged demons flew towards the snake that had been pursuing him.

They whirled and dove at the thing, razor sharp claws tearing at flesh.

The snake hissed, but was driven back, until it disappeared in a heaving mass of wings and claws.

He watched as it was lifted off the ground, and the winged demons flew back towards the black sky.

Nervously he got up, and turned to watch, but he was distracted by the creature that was towering over the Doctor.

He watched, frozen in terror, as with a bellow of rage, it reached for the Doctor and engulfed him one huge hand.

He wasn't sure what he should do, but when he saw it raise the Doctor to its face, he knew what he had to do.....find help.

The creature had no need to clamp its hand over its ears, but it knew what the howls and screeches meant.

It looked down at the tiny thing below him.

How could it have summoned them, the gatekeepers?

With a bellow of rage, it reached down and grabbed the tiny thing, intent on squeezing the life out of it.

It ignored the gatekeepers that harassed the other creature. It ignored them as they flew across the sky, screeching and howling towards the city.

It brought the tiny thing to its face, caring not if it was in agony.

With a rumble of anger it spoke.

"What are you, if you can summon the gatekeepers? You are not one of the tiny things."

It was surprised when the tiny thing started to laugh, an insane, almost maniacal laugh, when it should be in agony.

The Doctor had ducked involuntarily as the winged creatures had swooped out of the sky. He knew it had been a dangerous move. The gatekeepers could be as much trouble as the inmates of the Howling Halls.

But to his mind, they were they lesser of two evils. At least he knew the gatekeepers would go back, once they'd finished what they had to do.

Then they would close the tear, for good, hopefully.

He tried not to think of the damage they might cause in the process, nor what price he might have to pay.

He sighed, why was there always a price?

He thought all this, in the seconds it took for the creature to realise what he'd done.

He flinched when a gatekeeper came within striking distance, and the screech it gave threatened to burst his eardrums.

It proved to be a mistake, to take his eyes of the creature, a possibly fatal mistake.

Thirteen

Intense pain suddenly went through him, a look of surprise and pain crossed his face, as the creature's hand closed round him and began to squeeze.

Fire burnt through him as it raised him up to its face, and rumbled a question at him. As he was raised towards the creature's face, he saw what was behind it.

For some odd reason, he felt like he wanted to laugh. Must be the shock, but it seemed the right thing to do.

The creature was puzzled; this tiny thing should be dead, not laughing. It was about to squeeze the life out of the tiny thing, when it heard the sound of something it feared, coming from behind it.

It turned, and looked up at the still swirling, broiling mass that was the tear in the wall between its prison and this world, and it flinched.

Jack was running hard, but it seemed like the plaza was getting further away, not closer.

He'd heard the roar of the creature, and guessed it had found the Doctor, and he hoped it wasn't in the process of tearing him into tiny Time Lord pieces.

He was nearly at the entrance to the plaza when the screeching assaulted his ears, and he had to cover them, to save his hearing. He risked taking his hands away, and nearly regretted it, as a louder screech than the others ripped through the air.

That, he thought, did not sound good, and forgetting the danger to his ears, he ran.

He barrelled round a corner, and collided with someone. They both went sprawling, and when Jack righted himself, he saw it was DCI Williams.

"Thank god, you have to help him. That thing, it's killing him!" DCI Williams shouted above the screeches that were echoing from the plaza.

Jack grabbed DCI Williams. "Where!?" he shouted.

"The plaza, that thing, it's killing him!" DCI William shouted back, and as Jack went to run past, he grabbed Jack's arm.

"Its huge, you can't fight it!"

Jack shrugged off the detectives grip, but instead of running, he stopped.

"You're right, I can't. DCI Williams, can I trust you to do something if I ask it."

DCI Williams straightened.

"Sir, that man back there is quite possibly dying. I would tackle the Devil himself for that man, ask it."

Jack smiled. "Good man, then do this, about four miles that way is a detachment of UNIT troops, under the command of one Captain Mogambo. Tell her I sent you, tell her Code Red in the plaza, go!"

DCI Williams nodded, and set off, hoping his stamina would last.

Jack watched for a few seconds, making sure the DCI Williams was heading in the right direction.

He turned and began running again, now he could focus on saving the Doctor, whether he wanted him to or not.

As he came closer to the plaza, he heard another screech, but this one sounded different to the others. This one sounded larger, if that were possible, and it sounded a lot angrier than the others.

It was as he was running into the plaza itself that he heard an ear-shattering roar, and as he entered the plaza, he had to skid to a halt.

He couldn't quite take in what was happening, but what he did see was a figure, held tight in the grasp of the creature, which was now at least sixty feet.

He could see, even from this distance that the figure was in pain, and as he watched, he saw something metallic drop from the figure's hand.

He would have followed the trajectory of it, if it hadn't been for the large, no not large, huge shape looming up behind the creature, and the screech that came from it almost deafened him.

The Doctor had seen what was coming towards the creature. It was huge, its wings span must have been at least sixty feet, its body at least twice that.

It was aiming for the creature, long and no doubt razor sharp claws extended, and it let out a screech that threatened to deafen him.

The creature turned, with speed that belied its size, and actually took a step back, as the giant thing swooped down on it.

It roared as it assailant dove straight for it, swiping at it with its free hand. It missed, but it had the desired effect.

The huge winged creature swerved, and its claws clipped the creature as it did so, the speed and weight of it, causing the creature to spin round, and stagger slightly.

The creature tried to right itself, but in doing so crashed into one of the pillars that were dotted around the plaza. The impact caused the pillar to disintegrate, in a shower of rubble and glass.

The impact also made the creature lose its grip on the Doctor, and he felt himself slipping, and then falling.

Jack had been watching the scene in silent horror, and watched as the creature staggered into the pillar. It was only as it tried to right itself, that he saw the hand holding the Doctor flex and open, and he saw the Doctor fall.

He started to run, and the gap between himself and the falling Doctor seemed like a giant chasm, and the sixty or so feet the Doctor had to fall, seemed like it was only a few feet.

He'd only got halfway across, when he heard the Doctor land with a sickening crunch.

"Doctor!" he yelled, and started to sprint.

He only got a few yards, before he had to dodge suddenly. The creature had regained its balance, and was moving again.

Jack dived to one side, as a foot came crashing down, as the creature strode back into the middle of the plaza. It roared its defiance at the winged creature that was now circling back, and was once again gathering speed.

It answered the creatures roar, with a deafening screech of its own, and began barrelling towards the creature which was now standing in the centre of the plaza.

Jack tore his eyes from what was going to be a clash of Titans, and back towards the crumpled form of the Doctor.

Sprinting the rest of the distance, he fell to his knees besides him. He gently rolled him over, and was relieved to hear a groan escape the Doctor's lips.

Jack used the sleeve of his coat to wipe the blood away that was trickling from a large gash on the Doctor's forehead.

He was rewarded with a soft "Oww," and then a whispered "double oww," as he tried to move the Doctor out of the way of what was going to be a fight.

The Doctor knew it was going to be painful, when he hit the floor, so he tried to relax, in the belief that it wouldn't hurt too much.

Well that's another mistaken belief, he thought, as he hit the concrete with a bone-crunching and very painful thud.

The last thing he heard before darkness took him, was the combined roars and screeches of the two creatures, and then he blacked out.

What seemed like an eternity later, he started to surface from the darkness, when pain reminded him he was still alive, and he felt something woollen and scratchy pass across his forehead.

"Oww," he said "double oww," when he felt hands under his armpits, causing pain to ripple though his chest.

He tried to look up, and saw a flash of blue, that could only be Jack. He'd be the only one foolhardy enough to attempt rescuing him.

His attention was distracted by the loud screech that filled the night sky, and he looked back towards the receding plaza, and what he saw, wasn't good.

Fourteen

The huge gatekeeper and the creature were locked in a life or death struggle.

The gatekeeper had its talons embedded in the creatures shoulders, and was using its rows of teeth to bite mercilessly at the creatures flesh.

The creature was trying to grab hold of the gatekeeper's wings, desperately wanting to hurl the gatekeeper away.

The two huge creatures manoeuvred like wrestlers, and as they did they careered into buildings, destroying cafes and bars as their struggle took them perilously close to the water's edge.

The pier was starting to bend and shift under the combined weight, and it groaned its protest, as the two behemoths struggled to kill each other.

In the skies above, dark shapes flew, carrying what looked like metal cages, or carcasses of dead things. They flew over the two struggling creatures, and back into the swirling mass, that was the tear.

Jack dragged the Doctor up the steps, and into the relative safety of the shop that fronted Torchwood.

He placed him gently on the floor. "I'll be back in a second," he said, and disappeared into what was left of the hub, hoping to find some discarded medical supplies.

The Doctor had allowed Jack to drag him away from the struggling creatures, too weak to resist. He felt Jack lower him to the floor, and heard him say he'd be back.

As soon as he heard Jack's footsteps receding, he moved.

He slowly got to his feet, his ribs protesting at the movement, and nearly fell over as a wave of dizziness and nausea washed over him. Gritting his teeth, he straightened, and with some effort, made his way out of the door

The sounds of the two giants battling it out assaulted his ears, and he turned towards the pier.

"This is not good, not good at all," he said, and as he moved, he reached into his coat pocket.

When he didn't find what he wanted, he panicked, his screwdriver, he didn't have it. Then it dawned on him, it must have dropped out his hands when the creature had tried to squeeze the life out of him.

"No, no, no, I need that!" he said, but he didn't have time to look for it.

He rummaged in his pockets as he ran towards the two creatures, discarding the stuff that he couldn't use, mumbling what were quite possibly curses in Gallifreyan.

He stopped momentarily when his hand alighted on something. He took it out of his pocket, and a smile spread across his face.

"Now, this will do nicely," he said, and set off at a sprint, not towards the two gladiators, but towards the jetty, at the end of the pier.

Jack came back after a fruitless search of the Hub, and although he was probably expecting it, somewhere deep in his mind, he was still surprised to see the Doctor gone.

Surprised, and truth be told, angry.

"The stupid, self-centred, suicidal, egotistical, crazy son of....." he rattled off his thought on the Doctor's action, as he ran back out onto the plaza.

He scanned it, but saw only to two creatures, which were now starting to feel the effects of their struggle.

In a sudden lull of the sounds coming from them, he thought he heard what sounded like a boat.

"Please, he hasn't," he said, and raced towards the jetty.

The Doctor steered the boat with one hand, and continued adjusting the settings on the device he'd found.

He was a little surprised to find, thinking he'd destroyed it a long time ago, life times ago. This object was dangerous, deadly even, if not used correctly, and he would never have considered using it, if the situation wasn't so desperate.

He looked up, and could see the two creatures, still locked in mortal battle. Black blood was now flowing freely from both protagonists, and he could see that the gatekeeper was starting to weaken.

"No, definitely not good at all," he said, as he let the boat coast towards the struggling pair.

Removing his coat, he slipped into the cold water of the bay, the device blinking and humming slightly in his hand.

He started swimming towards the pier, and as he approached, he could see the metal structure starting to bend and buckle.

He swam up to one of the supporting struts, and a little clumsily, due to the object in his hand, began climbing.

He had to stop as the whole structure shuddered, and threatened to throw him back into the water. He could hear the struggle above him, the screeches of the gatekeeper becoming more pain filled, and the roars of the creature becoming louder.

The gatekeeper suddenly let out a long agony filled screech, and there was the all too familiar sound of something being broken.

The roar of the creature vibrated the metal support the Doctor was climbing. His hand slipped, and he nearly dropped he device.

He caught it, his hearts racing with nerves. He really did not want to drop this thing, not yet anyway.

With one final effort, he pulled himself off the support and onto the pier itself, and behind the creature, which was now triumphantly taking the carcass of the gatekeeper apart.

Taking one last look at the device in his hand, he strode towards the triumphant creature, and bellowed.

"Oi ugly, still here!" he stepped back a pace, as the creature turned.

The creature looked down, and saw the tiny thing it had tried to crush earlier.

It dropped the carcass of the gatekeeper, and roared its anger at the tiny thing.

"Little thing, so persistent. Tell me, do you really want to die?" it rumbled, and reached for the tiny thing again.

The Doctor didn't try to run, when the creature reached for him. He stood calmly, and let it take him in its massive hand, feeling his ribs creak as it did so.

He could feel the device vibrating in his hand.

Nearly there, just a few seconds more, he thought, as the creature once again raised him to its face.

"Do I want to die? No there's a complicated question" he mused. "If you ask my psychologist, he might say I have an overdeveloped tendency towards suicide, but then again, he's no Sigmund Freud."

The creature let out a rumble, that might have been laughter.

"Enough of this, time to silence you. I have this whole world to devour."

The creature opened its massive jaws, and started placing the Doctor in its mouth.

"Oh, I don't think so," the Doctor said, and with a throw that would have made W.G. Grace proud, hurled the device into the creature's maw.

*****************

Fifteen

At first nothing happened, and the creature's jaws started to close, and the Doctor closed his eyes, just in case the device failed to activate.

Then the creature suddenly jerked, and the Doctor once again found himself falling.

The creature's hands went to its throat, and with a howl of pain, its jaws opened wide.

Incandescent light poured from its mouth, and its whole body began to glow, brighter and brighter, until it was engulfed in light.

The Doctor was blinded by it as he fell, but he never reached the water below, as the light flared, and he momentarily saw the back of his own eyes, before the shockwave of the explosion that followed, sent him into darkness, and he was hurled into the dark waters of the bay.

*****************

Jack had managed to find a boat that was still working, and was now speeding towards the waterfront.

He could still hear the sounds of the creatures, but as he willed the little boat to go faster, he heard a long screech, and then silence, and then the roar of the creature.

He knew somehow, that he wasn't going to get there in time, to stop the Doctor doing what he was going to do, but he'd be dammed if he'd admit it.

As he entered the waterfront, he saw the now empty boat that the Doctor had taken, his discarded coat draped over the edge, but there was no sign of the Doctor.

He looked up, and saw the creature taking the winged whatever it was apart, and then suddenly turn, and reach down for something.

The next thing he knew, he was throwing himself into the water, as what he thought was a nuclear flash came towards him.

He surfaced seconds later, taking in a gasp of cold air, spitting out water.

He looked towards the pier, but it wasn't there anymore, but neither was the creature, and as he looked up, nor was that awful swirling black mass in the sky.

Belatedly he started looking round for the Doctor, hoping to see him in the water. But all he could see was the cold dark waters of the bay.

He swam back to the small boat, and once again scanned the water, but there was nothing.

The only evidence that there had been anything untoward was the still orange skyline, the result of the fires that still raged in the city.

He steered the boat back towards the jetty, and was about to run towards the now destroyed water front. He decided to take one more look out at the dark water, just in case, and then he saw it, the flash of pale skin against black water.

Not caring if the water was too cold, he ran back towards and into it, swimming towards the figure that was gradually being taken out towards the open water.

He grabbed a handful of sodden jacket and began swimming back to the jetty. The water was so very cold, and the Doctor was very heavy, and he was getting tired.

Bright light suddenly illuminated the dark, blinding him. He heard voices, and the sounds of feet in water.

His hands were too numb to feel the weight of the Doctor taken from him, too numb with cold to feel someone pull him out of the water, too cold to hear someone talking to him, too cold to hear himself answering the voice.

The warmth of the blanket around him made Jack shiver against the cold of the early morning. He glanced over at the other ambulance, could see the medics working on the Doctor.

He wanted to go over, but there was no strength in his legs, and he was still so cold.

He looked up when he heard a choking gasp, and then relieved sounds coming from the medics.

Jack saw Captain Mogambo approaching, a smile now on her face.

"He's going to be okay, swallowed half the bay, and has sunburn you wouldn't believe, but he's going to be okay. We're taking both of you to our medical unit."

Jack went to protest, but she held up a hand. "I know, but we can handle this. He managed to close the tear, that thing has gone, so has everything else."

Jack relaxed a little, that was until someone came striding over, it was DCI Williams, and he didn't look happy.

"You can't do this!" he said angrily. "Your obstructing a police investigation, I need to talk to both of these men and all the other witnesses!"

Captain Mogambo stiffened. "DCI Williams, this case is no longer your concern. I'm sure your Chief Superintendent can explain it to you."

"But you can't!" he spluttered.

"Sir, this incident is now covered by the Official Secrets Act, and as such, it can no longer be discussed by anyone who does not have clearance. So, I suggest DCI Williams that you remove yourself this instant, before I have your badge."

Jack looked apologetically at the receding figure of DCI Williams, it was a little harsh, but was necessary.

"You know he'll keep digging," Jack said as himself and the Captain watched the medical staff fuss over the Doctor, who was now complaining verbally, something about "guinea pig" and "lab rat."

"We'll deal with that when it happens, but for now everything is under control. The others that came back with your team member have been interviewed, and been sworn to secrecy under the Official Secrets Act. As for the public in general, well that once again, we'll deal with as it comes."

Jack turned away from the window separating them from the Doctor. "Speaking of Gwen, she was having contractions."

"We're well aware of that, hence she is currently in a private maternity ward. She's quite safe, and well into labour, so I've been told."

Jack smiled. "Thank you, now I think I should go and calm him down, before he damages your medical staff."

The Doctor looked up as Jack entered the examination room, and with an angry glare at the medic, who was trying to apply some kind of lotion to the side of his face that was several shades of sunburnt red.

He pushed the medic away, and spoke to Jack, the annoyance evident in his voice.

"Jack, will you tell these philistines to go away. I am not letting them anywhere near me with their antiquated potions!" he said, the testiness in his voice telling Jack that he was at least mentally undamaged.

"They only want to help, let them finish," Jack said.

The Doctor sighed, and acquiesced, allowing the medics to finish, although he did fidget all the way through.

Once they'd finished and had left the room, Jack sat on the edge of the examination table.

"You're one lucky Time Lord, that heat flash would have fried anyone else. It was also a very stupid, dumb-ass thing to do. What was that thing?"

The Doctor blinked, and didn't reply for a few seconds. "Something I should have got rid of a long time ago, but never did. Which in hindsight, was not a bad thing, considering, and no, there isn't another one, just in case Torchwood or UNIT think it'll make a good weapon."

He said this whilst staring hard at the one way mirror that served as a window, and knowing that behind it, a certain captain was shifting uncomfortably.

"So," he said suddenly. "When do I get out of here?"

The next twenty-four hours of the Doctor and Jack's lives, were spent explaining what happened to a constant stream of UNIT uniforms.

By the time they had finished, the Doctor patience was wearing extremely thin, and he'd never been so glad to see the blue wooden box that was his home.

It was still sitting in the rubbish strewn alley, but now with a coating of snow on its roof.

They stopped outside the door, both men silent for a few moments.

"Are you sure you don't want stay for while. Gwen will be glad to see you, you can see the baby," Jack said.

The Doctor looked at Jack, and Jack could see the immense sadness in his eyes.

"No, everyone's safe, happy, but what about you?" he said. "Will you stay?"

Jack shuffled his feet and looked down at the ground.

"I....no, I can't, not yet...it still hurts."

The Doctor cleared his throat, and seemed to be warring with himself, before speaking again.

"Then come with me," he said softly.

Jack looked up, and could see by the Doctor's eyes, that it wasn't just a request, it was a plea, and he hated the answer he was going to give.

"I'm sorry, but no," he said "I have to work this out on my own. I've got another vortex manipulator, so if I want to leave, I can."

Jack's heart faltered at the crestfallen expression on the Doctor's face.

"If that's what you want, fine. But if you change your mind, you know how to find me," the Doctor said.

He unlocked the door, and put one foot inside, before turning round.

"Goodbye then Jack, give my love to Gwen and the baby, and take care of yourself Jack," he said, before stepping inside and closing the door.

Jack stepped back as the sound of the ancient engines broke the silence of the alley, then he turned and walked away.

Jack stepped into the private ward, and walked along it, until he came to the room he wanted.

"Hello Jack," Gwen said, as he stepped in.

"Jack," Rhys nodded, just happy to have his wife back.

The room was full of cards and flowers, and a selection of soft toys.

"The flowers are from Arthur Steven's family. A thank you for re-uniting him with his family, he'd been missing for three years," Gwen said.

Jack nodded and walked over to the cot at the side of the bed, and looked down.

A pair of wide blue eyes looked back up at him.

"Can I?" he said.

"Of course you can," both Gwen and Rhys said.

Jack bent and scooped up the little bundle, who squirmed in his arms.

"Hello," he said softly. "And your name is?"

He looked over at Gwen, who smiled.

"We called......"

They all looked up when there was a knock at the door, and one of the nurses came in, carrying a huge bunch of balloons, a card, and a gift wrapped box.

"These were left at the nurse's station," she said.

"Who by?" all three asked.

"He didn't give his name, tall gentlemen, nice smile. He said to say congratulations."

"When was this?" Jack demanded, and handed the baby to Gwen.

"I'm not sure, about five minutes ago, is there a problem?" the flustered nurse said, as Jack flew past her.

Gwen smiled at the nurse. "No, there's no problem, not at all."

Jack flew out of the lift, and dashed through reception, and out into the hospital car park.

He looked round, desperately hoping to see a flash of a tan coat.

He suddenly heard a very familiar sound, and sprinted round the corner of the building, and skidded to a halt, just in time to catch the last fading colour of a blue wooden box.

He stood for a few moments, and then he smiled.

That was so like the enigmatic Time Lord he knew, and with the warmth returning to his heart, he went back into the hospital, safe in the knowledge that someday, they would meet again.

The blue wooden box spun in the vortex and the lone figure inside watched as Jack walked back inside the hospital.

The Doctor sighed and the TARDIS rumbled as she felt his sadness.

"No, it's better this way, everyone's happy, even Jack, I hope. Onwards and upwards I say," he said, smiling broadly.

The blue wooden box spun in the vortex, letting the time winds lead them to new worlds and new adventures.