Author's Note: Hey everyone reading this story! This was my entry to the doctor who short story contest The Temporal Logbook. Sadly I was rejected right after the first week of rejection letters. So since they can't give feedback, how about you guys do? DON'T BE NICE IF YOU CAN'T. Make me cry if you have to! I don't care! So...
Enjoy.
The Doctor was doing his daily mad dance around the TARDIS console, grinning like an idiot. Rose watched him with an amused grin on her face.
"So, where are we going today?" she asked, excitement in her tone. He looked up at her, his grin spreading wider.
"Oh, I thought we'd go to one of the nicest planets in the universe! It's a brilliant sight to see, really. High mountains ready to pierce the sky, miles of flowers as far as the eye can see! This planet's name is-" he was abruptly cut off when the TARDIS suddenly began to shake. The Doctor's grin faded as he rushed back to the console.
"Doctor! What's going on?" Rose asked, demanding for an answer. The Doctor's teeth clenched as he fought for control. Sparks flew from the console.
"I don't know! She's just crashing! It's like the TARDIS has locked onto something, but I don't know what!" The Doctor shouted. The TARDIS shook more violently as it began to go into the mystery planet's atmosphere. Rose screamed as she was knocked off her feet while The Doctor gripped the console tightly to stay standing.
"Hold on!" The Doctor shouted as the violent shaking continued. Then, the shaking just cut off, and smoke came from the console. The Doctor's eyes widened as the two began to cough. "Out! Out!" he said hurriedly helping Rose up off the floor as they bolted for the doors.
"Wait, Doctor! We don't even know where we are yet? What if-" Rose was cut off for a round of coughing.
"We have no choice, Rose. You're going to choke in here. Come on!" The Doctor ordered, opening the door and giving her a gentle push out. He followed.
"Doctor..." Rose breathed, her gaze was on the horizon. The Doctor looked, and he saw twin suns peeking over rounded mountains, shining a silver light on the land. The ravaged land. The Doctor growled.
"Out of all the planets in the universe! All of them, we had to end up on one in a war... I could've gotten us to Zenda or Canix 2, but no! We had to end up here!" he complained. Rose raised an eyebrow.
"Do you even know where we are?" she asked. The Doctor nodded in anger.
"We're on Belvok. The planet that lived through a fifteen year war. Two sides, the side of Free Land, and the side of Marked Land. A raging fifteen year war over territory. Worst behavior in the universe. Even worse that you lot," he grumbled.
"Mind telling me a bit of the planet's history? Cos last time I checked I haven't traveled by TARDIS for 900 years," Rose deadpanned.
"The planet Belvok. Home to the species Griftls, belongs in the Galaxy S1-7. Shares a sun with four other planets, two of which have other species living on them. This planet was once a popular tourist attraction, due to its stunning scenery. The planet I was telling you about in the TARDIS? It was supposed to be this one, but in a more peaceful time. It looks like the TARDIS had other plans about our visit," The Doctor shrugged.
"So, we're stuck here until the TARDIS stops smoking and it's ready to fly again?" Rose asked.
"Afraid so." The Doctor quipped. Then he clapped his hands together, and a grin appeared on his face. "But I've always wanted to know what really happened in this war. Fifteen years in, the Mark Land side suddenly won! The Marked Land side was losing, then they just somehow won the war in a matter of two days! How suspicious is that? " The Doctor exclaimed.
"Great. That's nice. We're stuck in the middle of a war." Rose grumbled, crossing her arms.
"And just our luck! We've landed on the Mark Land side! Maybe we could find out what let them win the war!" The Doctor exclaimed, getting more excited by the second.
"Um, Doctor." Rose tugged on his jacket.
"But really, I want to know! I mean, how can they win in just two days? Don't you think that's strange?"
"Doctor?" Rose repeated.
"They'd have to make a total come back and then use massive force to win," deduced the Doctor.
"DOCTOR!" Rose shouted, getting frustrated with his rambling.
"What?" He asked. Rose pointed off in the distance where two figures were running towards them. The Doctor's grin grew.
"Fantastic! Griftls! Hopefully they're on the Marked Land side!" He said happily.
"Doctor, they've got guns..." Rose mumbled, seeing the familiar shape in one of the figure's hands.
"Oh, they won't shoot us! If they're on the Marked Land side like I said, they should be needing soldiers. Trust me, they won't shoot two perfectly good fighters," The Doctor blew it off her concerns.
"I order your surrender on behalf of the Marked Land Griftl agreement! You will come with us!" The first one said as they finally reached the two time-travelers.
The Doctor beamed. "With pleasure! Come on, Rose, lets follow the Griftls." He replied cheerily.
"We have names you know, human," The first one said hotly.
"Oi! I may look human to you, but I'm not!" The Doctor huffed, a bit offended.
"Right. I am Alzos, Commander of Marked Land troop #3, and this is my brother, Hayshe." Alzos introduced himself and his brother.
"Nice to meet you. I'm The Doctor, and this is Rose, my companion." The Doctor announced.
"Companion? That's an old term for everyone living on Belvok. Where are you from?" Alzos asked.
"Well, we're intergalactic reporters, here to gather information about the history and people of the war. Let's just say we come from a long time away from... um, what year exactly is this?" The Doctor asked, also flashing his psychic paper. Alzos looked at them funny.
"What, I thought you two were reporters. You don't even know what year you traveled to?" He asked, full of doubt.
The Doctor coughed. "Well, we sort of..um. Our planet's years don't coincide with Belvok. Let's just say we didn't want to end up in the wrong year." He said awkwardly.
Hayshe laughed. "Well, at least we know why you're here.. But why in the name of Xalg and Dalg would you want to come here, during the war?" He said.
"We thought it would be best to see action." The Doctor replied.
"Xalg and Dalg?" Rose whispered to The Doctor.
"The names of the twin moons for the planet." He whispered back. "Anyways, the year...?" He asked again.
Alzos rolled his eyes. "The year is 3817, the 12th of Axiin, the start of year fifteen of the Belvok war." He sighed. "Twelve days ago, the war had its 15th year anniversary. Not a very good thing, if you ask me... I wish this war would end soon."
"Don't worry, brother. I'm sure it will." Hayshe said helpfully.
"I mean with us winning. Because right now we're losing, Hayshe. If we really lose this war, everyone who commands the troops on the losing side won't ever return!" He cried. He shook himself to regain control. "Anyways. You two will come with us." He said swiftly, the two Griftls walking off in the other direction.
As Rose and The Doctor followed, he turned to talk to her. "The 12th of Axiin is the day they start reclaiming the war. We landed on the very day! This is fantastic!" He exclaimed.
"I'm getting a bad feeling that we caused it." Rose mumbled under her breath.
"Hurry up, you two! Come on!" Alzos called to them. It took some time reaching the destination the two brothers were taking them. When they all arrived they stood at one spot waiting.
"Um, so what? We just stand here?" Rose asked.
"No, silly. We go underground." Hayshe laughed. He stomped his foot, and the ground beneath them began to sink. Rose gaped.
"You have an underground base with an entrance in plain sight? How did the other side not find this already?" She wondered.
"The entrance looks like the ground. We planted foliage so it would blend in with the surroundings..." Alzos answered. They stood in silence as they continued to go down.
"Can't this thing go any faster?" Rose asked.
"Do you ever stop asking questions?" Alzos shot back, clearly annoyed. Rose sighed, crossing her arms. Finally, they reached the underground tunnel. They stepped off the lift and Alzos pushed buttons, sending the lift back up to the surface. The four ended up in a somewhat empty room, only a desk and chairs in the middle.
"Come, sit." Alzos said. Rose went over and sat, but The Doctor stayed standing.
"So, Alzos, anything you need us for? I mean, I just kind of assume. You didn't bother killing us, so..." the Doctor said casually.
Alzos glared. "Don't be so overconfident, Doctor. I could send you and your companion out to fight on the front line. I'm sure Rose wouldn't mind," he said sweetly.
That earned a glare from The Doctor. Alzos raised his hands up.
"I wasn't being serious. Seeming you travel, as you intergalactic reporters do, you have a vast knowledge of the universe? Alzos asked him.
"Correct," The Doctor said.
Alzos smiled. "Good. Because I have a job for you two. We found something awhile back while digging out the tunnels. We've kept it dormant for now, but we don't know what it is. I'm hoping you'll know," he said.
Really? How interesting," The Doctor replied.
Rose spoke up, "Um, maybe before that, you could catch me up on a few things? Maybe I could get a whole lesson on the history of this war? I haven't been traveling nearly as long as The Doctor has..."
"Of course. Anything for you two. I just hope you've got knowledge about our secret weapon. Maybe you could help us control it..." Alzos sighed.
The Doctor watched them walk out of the room. "Whatever this thing is, they might've used it to win the war," he said thoughtfully.
"Maybe," Rose shrugged, " It could be anything really, I'm just surprised it's something you don't know."
"Oh come on. I'm not a walking history book." The Doctor muttered. Rose raised an eyebrow. "Well, I don't know everything!" he protested. Rose just waved it off, following Alzos and Hayshe down the underground tunnel.
Rose was reading through some papers titled 'History of the War' to get caught up on every major event. Just when she was getting to year eight, someone came up behind her and tapped her shoulder. She jumped.
"I thought I asked you Griftls to leave me alone so I can read this stuff." She snapped.
"You did, but last time I checked, I'm not a Griftl," said the voice behind her. Rose tilted her head and turned to face him. Her jaw dropped.
"Wait, I thought only Griftls were here. You're a human!" she exclaimed.
The male human laughed. "Well, I was a prisoner of war on another planet that has Griftls living on it. I kinda got in trouble there. They caught me two years ago, then sent me here. Alzos voted to take me and I've been working in the war since. There's really nothing else I could do, it was this or jail time," he shrugged.
Rose outstretched her hand. "I'm Rose. What's your name?" she asked.
"I'm Dale. Nice to meet you, Rose. So, you're an intergalactic reporter? That's awesome. You don't have to live by planetary rules like the rest of us, I bet that's fun. No solid period of day or night, constant travel through space... That's like, being a God, right?" Dale asked.
Rose shrugged, "I guess. I never thought of it that way."
"Dale!" Another one of the Griftls called out.
Dale grinned sheepishly, "Sorry, Rose, but it looks like I'm needed elsewhere. I'll talk to you later, yeah?"
Rose nodded, "Maybe. I hope." She grinned back.
Dale smiled again before walking away. The Doctor then came up behind her.
"New boyfriend?" He asked.
"Shut up!" She grinned sheepishly as she swatted his arm.
He chuckled. "What? I was just seeing the future. You know, Time-Lord stuff," The Doctor grinned, still having a bit of fun with Rose.
Rose crossed her arms and looked away. She gathered up the papers again and began to read about year eight. "Didn't you have something to do?" she huffed.
The Doctor shrugged. "I talked to all the Griftls here. Gathered information. No one seems to know about this secret weapon, though," he said frustrated.
"Well, it's a secret, right? Alzos said so," she sighed. "I don't like the idea of a secret weapon that barely anyone knows about. If they don't know what it is, it could be dangerous..." Rose complained.
"Rose. We've landed in the middle of a war-filled planet and you're worrying about danger now?" The Doctor asked incredulously.
Rose shrugged, and went back to her reading. The Doctor looked at a screen in the control room. Alzos came up to them.
"Doctor, I have a report on the secret weapon. It is safe for you two to go and inspect it. If you both would follow me," Alzos requested.
"Year eight. I'm never gonna get past year eight," Rose sighed and got out of her seat and followed Alzos. The Doctor walking beside her.
"So, how did you Griftls carve these tunnels out? Or did they already exist before the war? You certainly didn't have the time to make the walls so smooth..." The Doctor trailed off.
Alzos grinned, "Sorry, that's a secret only we will know until the war ends. We can't have any information leaked by accident."
Rose changed the subject, "Um, you never told us that there was another human here."
Alzos perked up, "Oh, Dale? Yes, he was here in the very first years of the War. His parents died in year nine. He didn't want to leave, though."
Rose raised an eyebrow, "Wait, he said he was caught and taken prisoner on another planet, then transferred here two years ago."
Alzos laughed, "He likes the new people to know a different story, it makes him look more bad, as he called it. I don't know why, maybe it's a human thing?"
Rose shrugged, then squinted, "Can't you get some more lights down here?"
Alzos laughed, "We had lights installed, but since we have superior eyesight to humans, we don't really need to use them that much. There's a control panel up ahead, I can turn them on brighter." He scampered forwards to the control panel and fiddled with a few buttons. The lights came on brighter.
"Better. Now I can actually see where I'm going," Rose said cheerfully.
They kept on walking down the tunnel for a bit longer before Alzos turned around putting a finger up to his lips.
"We are here. Be very quiet, we don't want to wake it up by accident," Alzos warned. They nodded. He went up to the door and entered a pass code. The door slid open only to reveal darkness.
"Again with the lights!" Rose said reaching for a switch.
This time, Alzos shook his head no. "That's not a good idea. This room has lights, but it's not a good idea to turn them on," he whispered.
The Doctor perked up at this, "Oh? Why's that, then?"
Alzos bit his lip, "Let's just say, the total time for the lights used in this room is one minute. In that one minute, it woke up."
"Woke up?" Rose asked. "What are you keeping in here?" she asked curiously.
"Well, that's a problem because I can't see the thing," The Doctor quipped. "If I'm going to help you identify and control it as you asked, I'll need to have a good look at it."
"You don't want to see what happens when the lights go on," Alzos warned.
"Oh yes, I do. Turn on the lights, Alzos, or I won't be able to identify this thing," The Doctor commanded.
Alzos was quiet for a moment then he shook his head, "No. Sorry. I can just describe the beast to you."
The Doctor sighed irritated, "You had to make this hard, Alzos. You may be commander of the Griftls in this sector, but I'm not one of them." The Doctor pulled out his Sonic Screwdriver and pointed it upwards. The familiar buzzing rang out and the lights flickered on.
"Oh my..." Rose breathed when her eyes fell upon the creature Alzos was keeping.
The Doctor grew pale at the sight. "It's a Dainelk..." He whispered.
"What's a Dainelk?" Alzos asked desperately.
Staring at the creature, The Doctor explained, "Dainelks are lizard-like organisms. They can be found on many other planets. No one knows what their home planet is or was. Average size ranges from twelve to eighteen feet long and five to six feet high. They live underground in places with Sedimentary and Metamorphic rocks. They don't usually eat, but rather soak in the nutrients from the ground. On the very rare occasions they do eat, they are carnivorous. In those instances they will only feed on..." The Doctor trailed off not wanting to finish his sentence. He only gulped and fiddled with his Sonic Screwdriver nervously.
"What do they feed on?" Alzos pushed. The Dainelk's eyes began to open and it started hauling itself off the ground.
"Time Travelers!" The Doctor finished, just as the Dainelk awoke and its eyes locked onto him and Rose. "Run!" The Doctor shouted, grabbing Rose's hand as they turned tail and fled from the room.
"Wait! Time Travelers?! I thought you said you were intergalactic reporters!" Alzos shouted bolting right after them. The Dainelk let out a fierce roar seeing its meal was now running away. It began to chase after the two time travelers.
"Alzos, are you crazy?! Don't follow us! It's after The Doctor and me, not you. If you come with us, it might hurt you!" Rose shouted back at him.
"Yes, but you'll need to get out of here! Since you can't see very well, You'll need me to guide you!" he countered.
"We need to lead this thing out of here and we need to be quick about it," The Doctor barked, "If we don't, it'll destroy the tunnels and everyone down here will die!"
Rose looked back at the creature and shrieked, "That thing is carving the tunnels! Why isn't it getting hurt?"
"Dainelks are underground dwellers! Their outer skin evolved to be thick enough that it won't be damaged when the Dainelk carves out new tunnels for itself. Only Igneous rocks have a chance of getting through a Dainelk's thick hide," The Doctor explained, "Only problem is I'm pretty sure we're nowhere near a volcano or lava pool!"
"Igneous rock you say? Great! I know how we can escape!" Alzos exclaimed.
"What, are you saying there are some nearby?!" The Doctor asked incredulously.
"Yes, we carved a tunnel through igneous rock a few years back. I don't actually know where it is exactly. But I'm sure there's a file on the location somewhere in the archives! We have to get to my office to search through the computer. But I know it does exist!" Alzos promised.
"Alright, I'm trusting you! If you're wrong no one will get out alive!" The Doctor warned as he slowed down to allow Alzos to pass and lead the way.
"Alright, before we do that the first priority is to ditch this thing. If we get to my office with the Dainelk on our tails then there's no point," Alzos said taking a sharp right. The Doctor had no trouble on the turn, but Rose was caught off guard. She slammed into the wall as she skidded.
"Rose, come on!" The Doctor shouted not even bothering to stop and help.
Rose huffed, regaining her speed. "Warn me next time!" she yelled angrily.
The Dainelk skidded as well, but it couldn't stop in time and crashed into another tunnel. They heard another furious roar and the stomping of its running feet again.
"That didn't stop it for very long!" Rose called nervously, sensing the creature's increase of speed. The Dainelk's pounding feet hit the tunnel floor faster and faster.
"Don't worry, the first plan never works! I have a backup!" Alzos reassured them while jabbing a button on the tunnel wall. A siren went off and behind Rose a thick wall slammed down from the top of the tunnel blocking the Dainelk off.
"I think we should be safe. The wall is made of diamonds mined under a volcano on Dalg." Alzos said catching his breath, "Best material for security. Never thought it would be this important."
The Doctor examined the wall, "Perfect. Igneous rock from any celestial body will do. We're quite lucky you have this wall here."
Alzos nodded, "I had it installed just in case the side of Free Land somehow got in. My computer holds everything, so if they got in, they'd surely win."
The Doctor nodded, "I keep forgetting you're in a war. Smart move"
"Right," Alzos replied. Rose and The Doctor began to walk down the tunnel as sounds of banging and fierce growling came from the other side of the thick wall.
The Doctor waved it off, "He won't get through."
Alzos nodded and started to walk to keep up with them when he collapsed to the ground with a grunt. Rose turned around and gasped. "Alzos!" she cried and ran back to help him up.
"Sorry, sorry," Alzos huffed helping himself up as well, "I forgot to mention my condition."
"Condition...?" The Doctor asked, suspicious.
Alzos explained, "Battle injury. Two years ago when I was still positioned on the battlefield, I got shot straight in the chest. The laser burned into my skin and it hit part of my heart. It was permanently damaged and I had to have it replaced. However, we were... short on supplies. I had to make do with a heart coming from the species on one of our sister planets. The heart works, but it's smaller than an average Griftl heart."
Rose raised an eyebrow, "Sometimes I forget how weird alien worlds can be..."
"So you have a smaller heart than you should? The Doctor asked.
"Exactly. And since the heart is smaller, it pumps smaller amounts of blood at a time. Exercising pushes it over the limit as it is. That includes running possibly for my life," Alzos mumbled sheepishly.
"Well I told you not to come with us," Rose scolded.
"Just go on without me. The tunnel will lead to my office just go straight. The pass code for the door is 5733. After going inside you wake up the computer and search up the Igneous rock tunnel. Go!" Alzos ordered.
"No way I'm leaving you here. Get up, soldier!" Rose ordered taking on some of The Doctor's commanding attitude.
Alzos laughed. "Yes sir," he mumbled pushing himself up with the help of the wall. Rose helped him walk while The Doctor took lead down the tunnel. "It'll be awhile before I can recover. As soon as the war ends, I'm having this mockery of a heart taken out and getting a real and proper Griftl heart. I can't stand having limitations!" he complained.
"Well, you are going to have to think past your limitations because the Dainelk is right behind us!" The Doctor retorted.
"Someone's in a sour mood," Alzos muttered.
"Don't mind him," Rose explained, "I seen this before when he's trying to figure out something or frustrated, he becomes a right, old grouch."
"Oi, stop talking so I can think! I'm trying to be brilliant here," The Doctor snapped, quickening his pace.
"See what I mean," she smiled knowingly, "Come on, we don't want to lose him." Rose picked up her pace, but didn't go too fast so that Alzos could keep up with her.
They walked down the tunnel for awhile passing other tunnels connected to the one they were traveling down. Soon they came to a door with a pass code lock on it.
"5733," Alzos repeated and The Doctor entered the numbers. The lock beeped then showed a green light as the door slid open. It revealed a desk with a computer sitting on top.
"Fantastic," The Doctor beamed and walked over to the desk. Alzos let go of Rose's arm and collapsed to the ground with a sigh.
The Doctor turned the computer on and it promptly asked for a password. He tried using his Sonic Screwdriver, but it wouldn't work.
"Immune to Sonic probes. Sorry," Alzos said breathlessly in the corner.
"Well, maybe a password would help?" The Doctor asked sarcastically.
"Would it hurt you to ask nicely," Alzos retorted, "The password is Bad Wolf. Both words are capitalized. And there's a space between, just so you know."
The Doctor paled visibly when he spoke the two words. Rose noticed this.
"Doctor, what is it? Something wrong with Bad Wolf?" as Rose spoke the password it felt familiar on her tongue like she had spoken it before.
The Doctor stared off into space for a second then shook his head. "No," he said gruffly, "nothing's wrong."
"Doctor..." Rose pressed because she knew he was hiding something.
"Not now, I'm searching for the tunnel," He blew her off, furiously typing on the keyboard. He searched through the entire archive before finding it at the very end. "Ah, here we go."
"So where is it?" Alzos asked trying to stand up again.
"Woah there, Alzos, you're not coming with us this time. I'm not going to risk your life just because the Dainelk is after us only. You're gonna stay here and recover," The Doctor said sternly.
"But I have to help you! You can't see in the dark tunnels!" he protested.
The Doctor simply grinned and began to type a command into in the computer. Suddenly, the lights were turning on throughout the network of tunnels. Alzos gaped, "How-"
The Doctor gave him a sarcastic glance, "How can you not know you've got a system for turning the lights on and off in your computer?"
Alzos chuckled, "Well, again, we never really need lights. Since it was pretty much a useless thing for us I guess I forgot about it."
"Got it!" The Doctor exclaimed as he studied the location for the tunnel.
Rose clapped her hands at the good news. The euphoria didn't last long. There was a crash and a roar, then the pounding of the Dainelk's feet. Rose's smile vanished instantly.
"Well, that was to be expected really," The Doctor remarked then grabbed his Sonic Screwdriver, "The walls around the wall aren't diamonds." He looked around the room. "We're trapped in here. There's no other exit," The Doctor said sadly.
"Not so, Doctor. Over there! Move the wall over there's a secret exit," Alzos said pointing to the wall behind him.
The Doctor threw up his arms with relief, "Of course! More secrets." He took Alzos's advice and pushed on the wall. The secret tunnel revealed itself. The Doctor grabbed Rose's hand, "Let's go!"
The Doctor sped off dragging Rose behind him. "Wait, do you even know where we're going!" she protested.
"Yes, I do! I memorized the directions," The Doctor quipped, "Don't doubt me so much."
Rose and The Doctor kept running. "So what're we going to do when we get to the tunnel? I hope you have a plan!" Rose shouted.
"I do! We run and draw the creature into the tunnel. Then, we escape out the other side and trap it within!" The Doctor answered.
"That's the plan?" Rose asked incredulously, "What if the tunnel has changed? No one's been there for a long time. Most of them didn't remember where it was! What if it collapsed?"
The Doctor sighed, "Well, let's hope not!" They kept on running and then took a right. At the turn they saw Griftl soldiers ahead.
"What's going on? Where's Alzos?" demanded first one.
"You soldiers have to get out of here! The creature, the Dainelk, is after us. Just us, not you!" The Doctor ordered trying to squeeze past them.
"You're not going anywhere until you tell us where Alzos is!" the soldier said blocking the way.
"Alzos is fine. He is in his office recovering!" barked The Doctor. "We drew the Dainelk away from him. You know about his condition, right? He ran too much and he collapsed. But don't go down that tunnel just yet because the Dainelk's coming down here to get us!" he explained.
"Doctor?" Rose asked, "What's that rumbling noise...?" The Doctor stopped and listened. The rumbling was getting closer.
"It's tunneling through the walls! Cheap short-cut!" he shouted just as the Dainelk's head appeared out of the wall. Rock fragments showered over them as The Doctor shielded Rose from the rocks. "Come on, time to go!" he grabbed her hand once more and took off. The Dainelk roared, swished its spiky tail to sweep away the Griftls from its path, and chased after Rose and The Doctor.
"Open fire!" The Griftl commander shouted as they all got up. They drew their guns and fired, but the lasers did nothing to the Dainelk's thick skin. The creature swished his tail once more and it collided into the walls leaving large cracks. Seconds later, the tunnel collapsed, blocking off the Griftls.
Rose looked behind her. "Doctor, it just blocked the way off!" she shouted.
"No time to worry about it!" he replied diving to take a left. "The Dainelk won't even bother to take the sharp turns. It will just tunnel straight through the walls. We've got to stop it. If it gets to be too much for the entire tunnel system, everything could collapse. We can't let that happen!"
"Just tell me it's not that far away!" Rose said desperately. She was beginning to run out of steam.
"Just a bit longer!" he reassured. The Doctor guided them through rights and lefts until they couldn't hear the Dainelk anymore.
"Doctor, where's it gone? I don't hear it!" Rose said nervously. The Doctor didn't stop to listen.
"I don't know, but it wouldn't just leave us. It's somewhere close!" The Doctor huffed as he himself beginning to tire. It wouldn't be much longer to the tunnel if he had followed the directions right.
"Over there! Those rocks look different!" Rose shouted pointing ahead to a more darker kind of rock.
"Fantastic!" The Doctor grinned, "Come on!" He swerved and they ran into the tunnel.
"Doctor, the lights are out further up in the tunnel. We won't be able to see where we are going!" Rose shouted fighting to keep the panic from her voice.
The Doctor stopped to catch his breath and raised his sonic screwdriver, "Well, it will be a race through dark places, but at least we will have a little light in short bursts." He switched it on and a faint blue glow emulated from the sonic screwdriver, "let's hope the igneous rock slows down the Dainelk."
"Yeah, hopefully," Rose agreed breathlessly as she and The Doctor began to make their way down deeper into the tunnel.
They were twenty six feet in when they heard a roar as the Dainelk came crashing out of the tunnel floor a few feet from the igneous tunnel entrance. Rose gulped and The Doctor squeezed her hand.
The Dainelk's eyes focused on them and it growled loudly. However, it hesitated for a moment looking at the rocks around the tunnel.
"It senses the rocks are different," The Doctor told Rose. The Dainelk hesitated a bit more then it began to move forward.
Rose took a few steps backwards and felt rock behind her. She gasped, "The tunnel! It ends here!"
The Doctor backed up and he felt a solid wall of rock. He raised his sonic to get a better look. "The tunnel collapsed! They way out is blocked," The Doctor said with frustration as he turned around, "I'm sorry Rose."
The Dainelk began to slip into the Igneous rock tunnel, but because of its immense size it scraped against the walls. It let out a roar of pain as its skin began to split open.
"It's working! Maybe it won't come in," Rose exclaimed happily.
However, the Dainelk wasn't about to give up just yet. It began pushing through again, the rocks slashed longer cuts into the Dainelk's hide. Things began to take a turn for the worse. The tunnel started to rumble and shake.
"Doctor?" Rose asked fearfully, "What's that?"
The Doctor grimaced. "It's started..." He replied, a panicked tone in his voice.
The tunnels shook more and more and then the sides started to crumble. A large chunk of igneous rock from the tunnel ceiling broke way and fell on the Dainelk's head embedding itself into the flesh. It let out a roar of pain as it backed up trying to shake the rock loose from its head. Blinded by pain it reared up and caught sight of the small shaft of light from a hole in the ceiling.
"Look! It's climbing up!" Rose pointed as the Dainelk's front legs gripped the tunnel ceiling. It hauled itself up and out of the tunnel. The pair heard a loud clang as if something big and metal had hit the Dainelk. It roared in rage and then quickly speed off into the distance. The Doctor cautiously walked out underneath the large hole created by to the Dainelk to take a look .
"It's gone on a rampage. I never like hurting things, but the Dainelk hurt itself," The Doctor sighed.
"We survived!" Rose exclaimed happily walking to The Doctor with a bounce in her step. The Doctor grinned at her and they embraced for a moment.
"Hey, you two! You two really damaged my sector's base!" Alzos's angry voice came down from the top of the hole.
"Alzos! Brilliant! You have a rope, I hope!" The Doctor called back up.
"It's good to see you're feeling better!" Rose said politely.
Alzos smiled, "Thank you, Rose! You are very kind. Please come up first, you can leave The Doctor down there."
"Oi!" The Doctor said indignantly.
Alzos rolled his eyes and lowered a rope, "Alright, he can come too." Rose went up first, followed by The Doctor. As they looked around, they saw a few bodies scattered on the ground as well as many of Alzos troops armed with weapons standing guard.
"Doctor, the side of Free Land was attacking. How did they even find us?" Alzos asked.
"I don't know. Lucky guess, maybe." He replied.
"They threw a bomb at us," Alzos said seriously, "It would have wiped out this military sector and several others surrounding it."
"Oh." The Doctor spun around to look at their surroundings, "So...where's the bomb, then?"
Alzos pointed off in the direction of the Dainelk and they spotted a cylindrical, metal object caught on its back.
"The Dainelk's ran off in a rampage. Because it's blinded by the pain right now, I'd say it should destroy the side of Free Land completely in about two days, with the bomb's help," The Doctor said, patting Alzos on the back, "Congrats on winning the war!"
Alzos's eyes opened wide with surprise as he looked at The Doctor, "You mean we're going to win? After all this time?"
"Yep!" The Doctor nodded beaming.
Alzos shouted happily, "You hear that, my brothers? We're going to win the war!" His words were met with cheers as the Griftl troops raised their arms in the air. "Come on, no time to lose! We'll follow the Dainelk in its blind battle!" Alzos ordered, "March!" He and his troops marched off in the direction the Dainelk had gone. Rose and The Doctor watched them go.
"I was right! We did cause it!" Rose exclaimed suddenly.
"Sort of. It was really the Dainelk's doing, winning the war," The Doctor countered.
"What do you think happens after Alzos's troop go off to fight?" she asked.
"The Dainelk will bring the bomb over to the side of Free Land and it blows up a good chunk of their defenses. The Marked Land side moves in to finish up the job and the war ends. It's like karma, really. The Free Landers started this war and then tried using the bomb to finish it. Only now the bomb is getting delivered right back to them courtesy of the Dainelk. This world's version of the Trojan Horse," The Doctor explained.
"A Trojan Horse," Rose mused, "The beast that won the war."
"The beast that won the war," The Doctor agreed. He took her hand and the pair walked away. The twin moons Xalg and Dalg lighting the way for the planet's saviors.