The Doctor pulled out his Sonic screwdriver and held it up in the sky, scanning the large spaceship above them. Pulling it back down, he read the results. "This is interesting," he said. "The language is very old, very, very old. I can only translate about half of it."

"So what is it?" Amy asked, looking over his shoulder at the device which, of course, told her nothing.

"It seems to be a Paradox machine," The Doctor said. "But the technology is extremely complex. I've never seen anything like it." The Doctor blinked confusedly. "It sure is familiar, though... I know what this is, I'm sure of it, I just can't... quite remember..."

He looked up at it again and back down to his screwdriver. Suddenly, the TARDIS gave a low groan, and he was momentarily distracted. "Oh, quick, let's try to get her right-side up again!"

They turned to the TARDIS, which was blackened with smoke. She was upside down and leaning against a brick wall that was now partially in ruins. She was also partially buried in upturned grass and dirt, and they could see that she had scraped along the ground for some time, carrying some of it with her.

Pushing and shoving, the three of them managed to push the TARDIS over so she was on her side, and, after struggling for several minutes trying to get her right side up, they finally succeeded in righting it and they fell to the grass, tired out from trying to lift the heavy box.

The hysterical people running around hadn't seemed to notice the falling blue box or the three strangers sitting next to it, which wasn't much of a shock, considering all eyes were on the sky. Rory looked around for a moment and then turned to the Doctor.

"So, did you remember what it was?" He asked. The Doctor shook his head. "No," he said. "I can't remember, I just know that I've seen that ship before." He frowned and looked down at his screwdriver. "The language was very old," he said. "Much older than any other language I've ever encountered, which is a bit scary, because I speak everything. It was almost similar to Gallifreyan, however. There were a few familiar root words."

"Familiar?" Amy asked. "How familiar?"

The Doctor shrugged. "There are just a few similarities, that's all. A few of their words are a lot like a few of Gallifreyan words. Like, paradox, time, gravity, chocolate, dimensions, darkness..."

The Doctor trailed off and a look of horror grew on his face as his eyes grew wide.

"What? What is it?" Amy asked worriedly.

The Doctor scanned the ship again and studied the results wildly. "Oh..." he said quietly. He looked at Amy and Rory, opening his mouth and closing it again before turning away.

"Tell me what is going on!" Amy said, fear being replaced with frustration.

"No, it can't possibly be them," The Doctor said. "They don't exist, it can't possibly. Yes, there's no way it could be them, I must have misread."

"Doctor," Amy said. "It can't be who?" The Doctor waved his hand at her. "It doesn't matter," he said. "If it isn't them, there's no reason for me to bother you with it."

"Oh, for goodness sake, Doctor, just tell us," Rory said. "Alright," The Doctor said. "Whatever they are, they can't be the Tenissfuin."

"Okay," Rory said. "So they can't be them. Who are the Tenissfuin?"

"Just a myth, nothing more," The Doctor said firmly. "Maybe my screwdriver is malfunctioning."

"Tell us this myth," Amy demanded. The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Oh, like we have time for storytelling! Really, Pond!" He said, examining his screwdriver.

"Well, what if it's important?" She asked defensively. "Besides, when have you ever missed out on an opportunity show off and tell us one of your pointless stories about the history of this or that race?"

The Doctor smirked. "Flattery," he said. "Very good, Pond. Fine, I'll tell you, but you're getting the very very condensed version."

Amy and Rory leaned against the TARDIS, settling down to listen to the Doctor talk about the Tenissfuin.

"The Tenissfuin, an ancient race that exist only in the oldest of legends," The Doctor said. "Legends that painted them as the phantoms of ultimate evil. They were dark, so dark that Tenissfuin literally translates as Darkness, and several languages all over the universe still use their name to describe the dark.

They were said to be terrible, silent creatures that invaded your very essence or soul. Possessors. Some legends said they had been corrupted by the power at their grasp, and ruled every living thing. But there were those opposed to them, and the entire race somehow got destroyed in the greatest of all wars, which destroyed every thing that existed, creating a whole new realm of chaos in its place. Some people believe this to be the creation of the universe.

Some people also believe that all the Tenissfuin were destroyed in the war, but a few cultures say that there was a remnant. Some say this remnant became the literal Darkness in the new universe they created, some say that they remained in hiding, to strike again, and some say they exist outside of the universe, unaware of the complex little world they created. There was even a sect of believers on Gallifrey, who said that this remnant was given bodily form and left destitute in their creation, their powers broken, to eventually evolve into the first Time Lords.

Either way, the legends all agreed that the Tenissfuin are very, very bad, but that's just what they are, legends. Now then, any questions?"

"Yeah," Amy said. "What are they doing here, now? What do they want with us?" "They don't want anything with us, Pond! They're just myths! Nothing more."

"You mean like the Pandorica?" Amy asked, raising her eyebrows.

The Doctor shifted his weight uncomfortably. "That was different," He said. "That was a myth created from your memory and then hidden throughout time so I would hear it. This is real."

"How do you know?" Amy said. "You ought to be willing to look at this with an open mind. What if this was these Tenissfuin things and you messed up because you didn't believe in them?"

The Doctor frowned. "But it's impossible," he said. "There's no way these beings could exist," "That's what I used to think about you," Rory said absently. The Doctor started and looked at him. "Really?" He asked. Rory looked at him.

"Yeah," he said. "Back when Amy and I were kids, and she would tell me the stories about you. I thought I knew she was pretending, because there was no possible way you could exist."

The Doctor looked disconcerted. "Well then," he said. "I suppose we could investigate a little bit, see if we can find out whether or not these people are the Tenissfuin. And if they're not, we'll find out just who they are."

"Fair enough," Amy said. "And how are we going to do that?"

The Doctor stood up. "The way we always do," he said. "Investigate."

"And how are we going to do that?" Rory asked, standing up as well. The Doctor turned and smiled at them, pulling out his psychic paper. "See who calls for our help."


Captain Jack Harkness was having a very bad day. As another small explosion sounded, marking the end of another computer, he ran from one monitor to another, trying to ignore the red alert sirens blaring in his head.

"Have you finished the scans yet?" He called to Gwen Cooper, who was also running back and forth between the computers. "Yeah," she said. "And I can't figure out anything about it. It's like nothing we've ever seen before, and it's overloading our computers."

Jack ran over and looked over her shoulder. The results were indeed very confusing, and there were several strange symbols, presumably some alien language they hadn't encountered. Although it certainly looked familiar. He was sure he'd seen something like it before.

That's when it hit him. The strange circular symbols reminded him of the Doctor. Was it possible this was Gallifreyan?

Pulling out his psychic paper, he concentrated on sending a message to the one man he knew who could help.

"What are you doing?" Gwen asked. Jack closed his eyes to concentrate. "Cashing in a favor," he said.

Hey Doc, need some help. Jack.


"Well, that's a big one," Mickey said, looking over his wife's shoulder out their kitchen window.

"Yeah," Martha agreed, staring at the ship in the sky. "Any messages?" Mickey shook his head. "The usual clients seem to be pretty busy."

Martha considered this, and decided it might be for the better. "Well, if we're not being hired, maybe we should sit this one out," she said. Mickey thought it over. "Maybe," he said. "It bein' dangerous and all."

Martha smiled. "Wouldn't want to risk the baby," She said quietly. Mickey smiled as well, and reaching out a hand, placed it on his wife's stomach, which was a bit bigger than it had been before.

"Yeah," he said. "Wouldn't want to risk my son." "You mean my little girl," Martha said teasingly. Then her face sobered as she turned back to the window. "Still," she said. "It probably would be best to at least see what's going on, so we can be prepared."

Mickey nodded, pulling his cell phone out of his pocket and going through the contacts. "Who should we call?" He asked. Martha frowned in thought. There was only one person she was thinking of, even with all the connections she'd made as a U.N.I.T. soldier and later, as a mercenary.

"Call the Doctor," she said. Mickey looked up at her and then smiled. "Alright," he said, returning his attentions to the phone. Pressing the call button, he handed the phone to Martha,who held it up to her ear as it rang.


"Oh, I'm sorry, your Majesty," The Doctor said. "I'm getting another call. I'll look into it, I promise." With that, he pressed a button, ending the call with the Queen. "That was the Queen," he said proudly to Amy and Rory, who nodded, humoring him. He had already said so three times.

"Hello, Martha!" The Doctor said, returning the phone to his ear. "I presume you're calling about the spaceship in the sky. Yes, this is the Doctor, who did you think it was? Well, you called me, might I remind you."

He shuddered slightly and held the Psychic paper up to eye level as he talked. "Oh, well, alright then. Yes, I'm looking into it right now. No, you're not the first to call." He smiled at the psychic paper. "How are you doing then? Oh, you don't say! Well, congratulations, is it a boy or a girl? Oh, you don't know yet. Well, that's nice, I-"

He suddenly trailed off and stared at his Psychic paper in horror.

"Doctor?" Amy asked, knowing instinctively that something was very, very wrong.

He just stood there, and he pulled the phone away from his ear, glancing from the paper to the phone fearfully.

"Doctor, what is it?" Amy asked, running up to him and looking at the psychic paper. In clear, black letters, a new message was appearing on the paper, overlapping the message from Jack.

The Darkness is rising. All will be consumed.


Jack stared down at the Psychic paper, not believing what he saw. New words were showing up, in handwriting that definitely wasn't the Doctor's.

The Darkness is rising. All will be consumed.


Martha looked at her husband fearfully. "What is it?" He asked, concerned by her expression. Without saying anything, she held the phone up to his ear. A new voice was speaking, the call with the Doctor had been cut off.

"The Darkness is rising. All will be consumed."


Brian leaned back in his chair, the sight of the giant spaceship was worrisome, of course, but he had complete faith in his son and daughter in law, as well as the Doctor, to take care of it. Sipping his iced tea, he stopped suddenly and looked at the radio. He had been listening to the news talk about the appearance, but this was different. This new voice was loud and snarling, yet at the same time, whispering quietly. It was enough to worry even this trusting individual.

"The Darkness is rising. All will be consumed."


"The Darkness is rising," The Doctor read from his psychic paper. He looked up at Amy and Rory as he finished the quote. "All will be consumed."

"The Darkness?" Rory asked. "Are they talking literal darkness, or the alien legend thing?"

The Doctor sighed. "I wish I could say they were talking literally," he said. "But I'm afraid even if they aren't the Tenissfuin, they seem to have named themselves the Darkness. See, it's capitalized on my psychic paper."

"But are they the Tennissfuin or not?" Amy asked. The Doctor hesitated. "I don't want to say for certain that they are," he said. "But it certainly is beginning to seem that way."

"Yes! So I was right," Amy said, smirking. The Doctor frowned. "I don't think you're quite grasping the gravity of this situation," he said. "We could be facing an enemy so ancient, so powerful, that they were rumored to have created the universe by fighting. The original big bang. Time Lords are nothing compared to what these people were in power. This, Amy Pond, is the real deal."

Amy didn't look quite so smug now. "Well, what are we going to do?" She asked.

"I don't know," He said, raising his sonic screwdriver again and scanning the ship. Looking at it, he pursed his lips. "The Darkness is rising," he read from the device. "All shall be consumed."

"What does that mean, 'All shall be consumed?" Rory asked. The Doctor shrugged.

"If I were to guess," he said. "They intend to destroy the human race," he said. "If they are the Tenissfuin, and the legends are true, then they will find a way to possess the human race. If not, they might be carnivores, looking for a food source."

Amy looked slightly anxious. "Well, we've got to do something," she said. "I know that, let me think a minute!" The Doctor said. Closing his eyes and rubbing his head, he began to pace back and forth on the sidewalk.

"Alright," he said finally, pulling a small notebook out of his pocket and beginning to write. "Here's what we'll do."

He turned to Amy and Rory and talked as he wrote.

"You, Amelia Pond, are going to gather the troops." The Doctor said, ripping the page out of the notebook and then holding it out to Amy. "Each person on this list is crucial, completely vital. And you need to make sure that you get them in order. Give each of them the same message, except for River of course."

"River?" Amy interrupted, a bit confused.

"Yes, River! You can't gather the troops without River Song!" The Doctor exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air. "But like I was saying you need to give them this message or they won't really get it. Tell them, new face, new man, less plan, need a favor; and then have them call me on Rory's cell."

"What do you mean by new face?" Asked Amy. "And less plan? Should I be worried?"

"No, not a bit. Just tell them that, and then have them call me for further instructions." The Doctor told her, handing her the notebook. "The first person on the list gets another message that's just for him. Tell him 'Don't start anything, She's married'."

"What did you say?" Rory asked, sounding stressed and slightly concerned.

"Nothing, nothing." The Doctor sighed. "I'm going to distract the Tenissfuin so that you have time. Rory, you're with me."

"Why am I with you?" Rory asked, though he seemed already resigned.

"Because, I travel with companions." The Doctor explained. "And if they know anything about me and I don't have someone with me, they'll get suspicious. So you're going to stay with me, while Amy gets me an army."

Amy inspected the list in confusion. "Jack Harkness at Torchwood institute? Dr. Martha Smith and Mickey? Sally Sparrow?" She read aloud. "I haven't heard anything about these people, why are they important?"

"They're definitely important, everyone I travel with is important!" The Doctor exclaimed as he walked to somewhere in the TARDIS, ignoring the smoke coming from the dead console and searching inside some boxes. "But these people are all extra crucial! The first one especially. But then the second one is second most important."

"So, I'm just supposed to go on my own, with a big, dark, monster out there, and gather the troops?" Amy asked, somewhat annoyed and scared. "While you and Rory run around like crazy people and put your lives in constant danger?"

"Yes, and don't forget the message." The Doctor told her. "It's important, especially for the first one on the list. But look what I still have!"

He pulled some roman armor out of a box and Rory groaned.

"Again?" He sighed.

"It's absolutely perfect, Rory!" The Doctor said, laughing and tossing Rory his sword. "It's great. Nothing says major distraction more then a roman centurion and a man wearing a Stetson!"

"But River shot your Stetson." Rory said rationally. The Doctor smiled and placed upon his head a Stetson that was nearly identical to the one that River had shot.

"Now then, I'll see you later, Pond." He said. "We'd better get out of the TARDIS and get started because we really need to take these people down. Rory and I will go first. Wait ten minutes before you leave the TARDIS and remember, everyone is counting on you! The fate of everything lies on your shoulders."

He grinned and opened the TARDIS doors. "But no pressure. Come on, Rory!"

"Bye, Amy. I'll see you later." Rory said, kissing Amy's cheek and then turning and following the Doctor out the doors. Amy sighed and waited for ten minutes before stepping out into the street. How on earth was she supposed to find the people on this list? And the Doctor had said she must get them in order. Looking down, she read the first name. Jack Harkness from Torchwood Institute.

Looking around, she decided to start by going down a random street and ask everybody about this Torchwood thing. Maybe somebody could point her in the right direction.