After a solid half an hour of silence, which Rose was convinced had to be some kind of a record for the Time Lord, the Doctor had suddenly slammed his fist down onto the table, right next to the dead creature that lay upon it.

"This creature is remarkable, Rose. Quite remarkable."

Having been sat down next to Kensington on one of the chairs, wrapped up in a blanket with a fresh cup of tea pressed firmly between her hands, she had jumped and cursed under her breath as she spilt the hot liquid over her hands.

"What is it?" She asked. "What have you found?"

Setting the mug down onto the ground, she raced over to him.

"This creature... Well, it's much more than a mere beast, really." The Doctor said excitedly. "It isn't from Earth."

"Well, clearly." Kensington snorted, coming over and standing across the table from him. "Where is it from?"

"No idea, never seen a species like it before."

"The boss was right, you bring nothing new to the table. Even when it is actually on the table."

"But," the Doctor continued, waving the sonic screwdriver over the mass of black leathery skin. "I think all the signs are pointing to it being a metamorphic race."

"What does that mean?" Rose questioned. "A metamorphic race?"

"It means, Miss Tyler. We are now dealing with shape-shifters." Peter Argent said as he strode back into the tent. "Species with the ability to change their entire outward appearance."

"That's correct, lieutenant." The Doctor acknowledged. "Have you seen one before?"

The soldier chose not to respond and merely glared back at him.

Rose noticed that he was now wearing a fresh uniform, and had put on over the top a ridged protective body vest which looked as though not even the creature's powerful fangs could penetrate it. Like the other men, he was also wearing guards on his elbows and knees.

Unsurprisingly too, he was quite heavily armed.

His handgun had proven useless against the creature, but it was still strapped securely to his right thigh. In addition to this, he had clipped a lethal looking hunting knife to his belt, just next to a large bulky radio that Rose had seen some of the other soldiers carrying.

Meanest of all, however, was the large black shotgun he was cradling.

The barrel was much wider than on the rifles Gordon and Hart had been carrying and it was nearly double in length. The handle was as wide as his shoulder and only added to the powerful impression of the weapon.

"Mossberg 590." Peter told her, seeing her staring at it. "Twelve gauge, firing seventy millimetre shells at the velocity of four hundred and four meters per second."

Rose stared at him blankly.

"Powerful." The Doctor commented. "I see you're feeling better and are ready for battle?"

If Peter was in any pain from his wounds, he wasn't showing it.

"I'm not going to let those things hurt anyone else." He replied. "This ends right now."

"But are you sure you're okay?" Rose asked as she nodded in the direction of the dead creature. "That thing almost killed you, nearly sliced you in half."

"Well it didn't, Miss Tyler." He replied evenly. "Worst things have tried and failed before this thing, I can assure you of that."

Before anything else could be said on the matter, Becker walked into the tent with everyone but Davidson and Gordon following in after him.

Rose could sense the change of mood amongst the men.

The recent attack had almost resulted in the death of one of their own. If they were not already so, they were all now as deadly serious as the weapons they were carrying.

Hart was still holding onto his crossbow, which now had three spare bolts loaded into a quiver that was built into the side of it. The others were all armed with shotguns similar to Peter's.

Stefan was the last to enter, carrying two bulky rucksacks on his back.

Silently, he went up and placed it at Peter's feet before he rejoined the others as they fell into line in front of their commanding officer.

"Stand up!" Becker suddenly barked. "At attention!"

They were already standing tall, but each man managed to extend by a few more inches as they stood rigidly to attention.

Waiting for a moment as he observed his team, Peter nodded with approval.

"Alright guys, relax." He said. "We all know why we're here."

Relaxing their positions slightly, the assembled soldiers responded in perfect unison.

"Boss."

"This thing is not the creature that killed Tom Richardson." Peter continued. "We now also suspect them to be able to change what they look like."

"Yes, now what I think is…"

The Doctor stopped talking the moment the lieutenant's thunderous expression shot his way.

"As I was saying." He continued, glaring at him. "This is a dangerous development, and now they've resurfaced again it poses a real risk of a containment breech."

"You think they'll try again, boss?" Private Thompson asked. "Attack us for a second time?"

"Well, we're not going to give them the chance, are we?"

"No, boss." The soldier replied. "We'll stop them."

"Yes we will." Peter replied. "Which is why myself and Becker, along with Sergeant Amell and Private Hart are going back to the cave we searched this afternoon."

This surprised some of his team.

"But it was a dead end, boss?" Hart questioned, frowning. "There was a wall and -"

"New intelligence suggests that's where they're hiding."

"Told you." The Doctor whispered to Rose. "Oh, sorry."

Peter had heard him and turned to face the Time Lord.

"Doctor." He stated evenly. "You and Miss Tyler -"

"Oh, we know." Rose cut in. "Wait here, keep the kettle warm?"

Peter regarded her with something close to that of a look of amusement.

"Actually, you're coming with us."

"They are?"

"We are?"

Kensington, Stefan and the Doctor had all responded at the same time and had each looked at Peter with some surprise.

"That device of yours was useful." The lieutenant explained, nodding at the Doctor. "Besides, you have somewhat of a reputation for passive diplomacy with other species."

"Oh, do I? Well… yes, I suppose I do, don't I?"

"Don't flatter yourself, Doctor. It's a poor alternative compared to using this." Peter told him, indicating his gun. "But UNIT nor I want a bloodbath tonight, so it leaves me with the option of at least having you there to talk them to death instead."

"Yes, a bloodbath would be bad." The Doctor agreed. "Very well, lieutenant. Lead the way.

"Don't worry." He told him pointedly. "I intend to."

Though the rain had now lessened somewhat, it was still making the conditions unpleasant over the two mile trudge from the camp to the cave where the creatures had supposedly emerged from.

Questioning the sanity of it all and the men surrounding her more than once, Rose was beginning to regret coming along.

Despite the two perfectly serviceable Land Rovers that could have gotten them over the rough terrain in a matter of minutes, Peter had announced that they would be getting there on foot.

Her decision to question this had only served to deepen his frown.

The lieutenant had made it quite clear to her already that he would have ordinarily not let her anywhere near his operation. But perhaps wisely sensing that the Doctor would have insisted upon it, he had surprisingly relented without an argument.

Even worse, however, was that now he was acting as though she wasn't even there at all, and he had barely bothered to explain himself when she had asked about the cars.

"I prefer putting boots on the ground." He had told her. "It's more effective."

"What does that even mean?"

"It means that we are walking." He suddenly snapped back. "So suck it up and make sure that you keep up."

Determined to prove that she was no pushover, Rose had bit back her response. No matter how horrid he was to her, she was determined now to remain firmly in the thick of things.

Soldier or not, she was here to stay.

But now, out in the wet and muddy freezing cold pitch black night, she wondered why on earth anyone would choose to do this as a job. The weather conditions were bad enough without the thought lingering over them that deadly aliens who could tear out your throat with a single bite might be lurking just feet away.

"They could be out there, right now." She said, shivering against the chilly wind. "Watching us."

"You can always go back to the TARDIS, Miss Tyler." Peter called over his shoulder. "It's safer there."

Rose glared at the back of his head as she felt her cheeks flush with anger.

He had such an imperious attitude. Just who did he think he was?

Peter wasn't much older than she was, but for some reason he seemed compelled to treat her as though she were a little girl who had no business dealing with hostile aliens.

But Rose knew that simply wasn't true. The Earth would have been invaded, enslaved and even destroyed ten times over without her and the Doctor protecting it.

More than once, they had been the only line of defence. Succeeding without any assistance at all.

Still, such squabbles were not important now.

A young woman was trapped in a much more precarious situation. Unlike Rose, she did not have four highly trained soldiers and a Time Lord with her.

Then again, she might already be dead. Just like her boyfriend.

"Does his family know?" She asked Becker, who was walking beside her. "Have you told them what happened?"

"What do you mean?" He questioned. "Who's family?"

"The man's, the one who..." She couldn't finish her sentence as the sight of his mutilated body flashed across her eyes. "Have you told them that he's dead?"

Becker looked down at her sympathetically.

Towering over everyone, he was very bulky and had a face worn by the weather that made him look ten years older than he really was. He must have broken his nose at some point, for it was ever so slightly crooked to the left.

But despite his outwardly scary demeanour, he was actually very friendly.

Aside from Gordon and Hart, he was the only one to have spoken to either Rose or the Doctor without giving off the impression that their presence was both a problem and an inconvenience.

"It's not the first time we've dealt with a dead civilian, Rose." He replied reassuringly. "All the proper steps will have been taken."

Nodding, Rose shrank back into the jacket she had been given. Her own clothes were completely unsuitable for this kind of weather, and were even more useless for where they were now going.

Hart's spare jacket and trousers may have been two sizes too big, but at least they were keeping her warm and relatively dry. Luckily, he had small feet for a man, and she doubted that she would have been able to come at all had the boots not fitted her.

Rose had not, however, been given the protective body vests and guards that all of the soldiers were wearing.

Peter had been swift in explaining the reasoning behind this to her.

"You won't be going anywhere near those creatures." He'd told her. "You're a civilian, with no training or ability to defend yourself against such things."

"She's still coming." The Doctor reminded him. "You did promise me that, lieutenant."

"Only as far as I allow." He countered. "Besides, I suppose she's safer sticking with us than being left behind at the camp on her own."

"I didn't know you cared?" Rose muttered sarcastically.

"I don't." He retorted. "You're just not worth the pile of paperwork a civilian death in the field creates."

"Oh, sorry to be such an inconvenience."

"At last, something we can agree on."

"Yes," Rose snapped back. "Maybe we can."

Having been assisting with the preparations, Peter's team had been in and out of the tent constantly for the last few minutes. Some had, however, lingered in their tasks in order to listen in on what was being said.

None of them though had gotten involved.

Peter was their commanding officer, and his decision was final. Even so, Rose suspected that they would have agreed with him anyway. Regardless of his short temper, he clearly had their respect and trust.

The Doctor too had kept his thoughts to himself, but only because he knew that Rose was more than a match for the lieutenant.

Still, before the pair could argue any more, it seemed as though everyone was at last ready to go.

"Boss." Becker called over to Peter. "We're all set."

"Good." Peter acknowledged. "Let's go and get this job done."

The cave simply didn't look big enough.

Never mind a young woman getting through the slender gap in the rocks, Rose could not see how one of those huge creatures had managed to squeeze in and out of the narrow entrance.

"How the hell did that thing pass through there?" Stefan questioned, as though reading her mind. "It was massive and that entry point clearly isn't."

"I think they can manipulate those slender frames to make themselves fit." The Doctor theorised. "Twisting and unhinging their joints."

"Like a snake does with its jaw?" Peter ventured. "When its swallowing its prey?"

"Exactly like that." He stated. "Not bad, lieutenant."

Peter ignored him and instead set his rucksack down onto the wet grass.

"Right, Becker and Hart, stay here with Miss Tyler." He ordered. "Stefan, we'll take the Doctor in."

"Excellent plan." The Doctor agreed, stepping forward. "Oh, what?"

Stefan had held out an arm in front of him, preventing him from going any further on.

"We'll scout it out first." He told him. "Just in case."

"Unless you'd rather go in ahead of us?" Peter added quizzically. "Of course, one of the creatures could already be in there waiting for you?"

Glancing at the darkened entrance of the cave for a moment, the Doctor looked back at the soldier.

"Right… Yes, I think on reflection maybe not, lieutenant." The Time Lord admitted. "You should go in first."

With a satisfied nod, Peter handed his rifle over to Becker and drew out his knife. Stefan did the same, handing his weapon over to Hart.

"Right, Stefan." Peter stated. "On me."

"Boss."

Both soldiers then cautiously moved towards the cave and descended down into the darkness, vanishing from sight almost immediately.

A few seconds of silence followed, and Rose could see the tension on Becker and Hart's faces.

They relaxed, however, when Stefan emerged back out of the cave.

"All clear, sergeant?" The Doctor asked. "What did you find?"

"See for yourself, Doctor." He told him, nodding in the direction of the cave. "In you go."

Accepting the torch the sergeant was holding out towards him, the Doctor stooped down and carefully made his way in.

Peter hadn't been wrong about how small the cave was on the inside. There was hardly any room at all, and it was only going to get more claustrophobic when the others joined them.

The lieutenant had his back to him and was examining a very large hole that had clearly not been there on his last visit. The rain from outside was cascading down its gravelly surface.

Reaching up and applying pressure, Peter was easily able to break away some of the rock with his hand.

Sensing the Doctor coming up behind him, he shuffled over slightly so that he could crouch down beside him.

"It was right in front of me the whole time." He muttered. "Hours ago, I was stood right here and…"

The Doctor could see that he was genuinely angry with himself.

"Well, we can't get it right every time." He said good-naturedly. "You still decided to check it out. That's something."

"It's nothing if she's dead because of that delay."

The Time Lord watched him for a moment, before he nodded understandingly.

"You care about her, don't you?"

Peter glared back at him.

"Admitting a mistake is not the same as sentimentality." He snapped sternly. "I care about getting the job done. Nothing more."

"Fair enough. But there's nothing wrong in showing a bit of a softer…"

Seeing anger in the lieutenant's face once again, the Doctor quickly cleared his throat and changed the subject. "So, where does this lead to?" He asked. "How far does it lead?"

"No idea, I can't see a thing."

"Well you'll struggle without a torch, here."

Before they had set off, Peter had silently thrust his own into Rose's hands and trudged off without another word.

But now the Doctor was holding one out towards him, the soldier refused to take it. Instead, he rather curiously chose to pick up a small rock up from the ground and then threw it through the hole.

Silence followed, although he seemed to think otherwise.

"That's unusual." He whispered. "But not entirely a surprise."

"What is it?"

Peter ignored him.

Turning towards the entrance of the cave, he placed his finger and thumb between his lips and let out a low whistle which echoed out all around them.

Stefan was soon scrambling inside.

"What is it?" He asked, reaching them. "Did you find something?"

"It's not a tunnel." Peter replied. "It's a sheer drop down with a pool of water at the bottom."

"How'd you figure that?" The Doctor questioned, frowning. "I didn't hear -"

"Maybe twenty meters below us." Peter continued. "Not too bad, we could even jump it?"

"Let's get the harnesses on instead, boss." Stefan countered with a smile as he moved back towards the entrance of the cave. "Hart, bring the packs down."

Because of how narrow it was, Hart only brought in with him one of the rucksacks. The other was half pulled and half dragged inside by Rose.

Peter seemed greatly annoyed by this.

"What is she doing down here!?" He hissed. "Private, get her back above ground right now!"

"It's pouring down out there!" She protested. "And Hart couldn't manage both -"

"I don't care if it's a monsoon out there! Maybe you shouldn't have come at all if you can't handle a little rain!"

Perhaps sensing he was about to get a telling off too, Hart inched a little closer towards the entrance of the cave.

Rose, however, stayed exactly where she was and made it perfectly clear to Peter with a determined fold of her arms that she was not leaving.

It seemed to have worked because he did not argue back. But it was very horribly cramped now that there were the five of them in the cave.

Frowning as Peter barged past her on his way over to the rucksacks, Rose watched him begin to pull out a sturdy climbing rope and harness.

Turning away from him, she crouched down next to the Doctor and peered in through the hole.

"What's down there?" She asked. "Aside from those things?"

"No idea." He replied quietly, glancing over his shoulder at the three soldiers. "But they're right to be cautious."

Trying to get a better look, Rose shuffled forward a little more. Watching her closely, Peter's mouth twisted into a smirk.

"Don't get too close." He told her as he clipped himself into his climbing harness. "We wouldn't want you falling down the rabbit hole."

Flushing with anger as the lieutenant laughed at his own joke, Rose had finally had enough of his belittling attitude towards her. Rounding on him, she was ready for a fight.

"You know what, you really are -"

That was when she fell.