Next Installment!

Rose didn't remember what had happened to her, she woke up with a shooting pain in her leg. She must have fallen on it. She shifted and it was like lightning, yep definitely busted.

"Doctor!" She called up to the sky but there was nothing. She pulled herself up she crawled to the edge of the cavern. She stood up and looked around. There was nothing. Roots of the beautiful world above hung around her. There she saw him; the Doctor lying on the ground. He must have jumped in after and had not woken up. She began to shuffle toward him but the roots had stopped her. These roots were just as alive as the plants they feed. Roots snaked from all sides pushing her away from her Doctor. They had formed a wall between them. "Doctor! Wake up!"

"Rose." A woman's voice called from behind her. "Rose, come awake your sleeping hero." Rose looked down a small dark tunnel; a grey light glowed against the dirt packed walls. Cautiously she began to walk down the small tunnel hanging onto the roots to support the mangled leg. "Rose come toward perfection." The voice called as she grew closer to the light. The end of the tunnel was close.

"Who are you?" Rose asked.

"Everything you could be."

Somewhat unsettled by this notion she still continued to the end. In a larger area the only light came from a machine. A large machine hooked up to large roots. This was powered through the planet.

"What are you?"

"I am perfection," the machine responded. "I am the perfect human."

"But…but you're a machine."

"Exactly." The machine hummed and hissed in silence, the metal had begun to rust and peel. The knobs and levers seemed that would never move again. "Would you like to be perfect?"

"Why would I want to?"

"I'm more than just what you see before you. I see what you dare not think about. When the Doctor gets bored of his little human toy and he leaves and forgets you."

"He won't."

"You sound doubtful." Rose considered this; could the Doctor ever give up on her? I mean a human might entertain a Time Lord for only so long. No, he was her Doctor. But then again she would eventually die; a year to the Doctor is more like a second. And she would be replaced, easily. "You are like an ant compared his colorful history."

"How do you know such things?"

"Rose, I know everything, I am perfect. And you will be too."

"What if I chose not to?"

"If is a big factor Rose." The machine waited for the response. Rose went back and forth in her mind.

"How do you know the Doctor?"

"Oh the Doctor and I go back farther than he would care to remember. He wouldn't remember me but I used to be called The Mistress."

"No."

"What?"

"My answer is no."

"You dare reject perfection."

"Imperfection is what brings people to the Doctor. I don't care if I am not perfect because the Doctor wouldn't want it like that." Even I pain, she crossed to the machine. Each shot of pain was like a lightning strike but she kept walking. She was about four feet from the machine.

"Well then. We will just see about that." The grey light turned red. "Assimilate." Two cybermen stepped from behind 'perfection.' "Assimilate." The cyberman's assimilation blade was coming toward her. Backing away she fell backwards. Here was the end.

"You see Rose," the machine talked, calmly. "The Doctor will learn that everything will be taken from him." The cybermen pulled a saw at her. "Welcome to perfection Rose."

He awoke on the cold dirt after he heard a slithering sound. Bolting up right he thought iwas a snake but it looked more like a root. He looked up at the blue sky. He guessed a good thirty foot fall. He slowly got up and brushed himself off. They were not going to get back up there so they would have to find another way out. But where was Rose. He looked around and didn't see her. She must been up and walking just fine. We looked down at the floor looking for foot prints. He found them and the sonic screwdriver confirmed it was her. One for was dragging and the other heavy. The fall had not gone without injury. How did she scuttle away so fast? And why had she had not woken him up? Maybe she didn't even see him, he was in the dark but then again her call to him would make him wake up at the slightest moment.

"Doctor," a voice whispered.

"Rose?"

"Doctor," it whispered again, "Doctor." Pointing down a small carved in hallway he began cautiously walking to the voice as it continued to call to him. His pace quicken just in time to find her. Rose lay frozen between two cybermen and in front of a glowing machine one was ready with a saw getting closer.

"Rose!" He ran to her. She turned to him and smiled. She knew he was coming to save her. But then the unthinkable happened. One of the cybermen pushed to blade into Rose. At look of pain shot across her face and it paled as she collapsed into the dirt. "No!" Jumping on to the Cyberman pushing their blades a forcing them to shoot each other into both destroying each other.

"Doctor, you had always strived for perfection. Here it is." He picked Rose up

"Oh god," Turning to the machine, "What are you?"

"Perfection, but you can call me Mistress. Don't worry dear Doctor we will meet again." The T.A.R.D.I.S screeching was heard in the corner. "But now dear Doctor I believe your ride is here." He didn't questioned how the machine brought the T.A.R.D.I.S to him. The only thing was watching was Rose slowly bleeding out of the chest wound and her face slowly getting white. He picked her up and broke open the door. The blood was soaking into his clothes.

"Please Rose," He begged, "Stay with me." Laying her on the chair he turned to the control. "No one will die today." And he punched in a coordinate.

Bare with me here. We are just getting started!