Part 10 – Sweetness Follows
(By Morag MacPherson)

The Doctor came to and groggily lifted his head up. "What hit me? Where are we? Who's here?"

Clark waved a hand. "Jutht you and me, Doctor. I think the Time Agentth took off with Dawn, leaving uth behind."

"Huh." The Doctor's tongue darted out. "Why do I taste bananas?"

Clark shrugged. "Dunno, Doctor. You haven't eaten anything thinthe we got here."

The Doctor shook his head. "No, I feel like I'm turning into a banana. I can taste it and smell it and even sort of feel it."

"Thearch me. Although the Judoon already thaw to that."

The Doctor felt at his pockets. "Looks like they did with me, although, lucky me, those thick rhinoceri failed to recognize the threat of a sonic screwdriver." He pulled it out. "But seriously – oh bloody hells!"

"What?" Clark stood, his tail flicking anxiously.

"I'm not tasting bananas, Dawn is! It's in the back of my head. Impressive how quick she figured out that trick. They're trapped and in deep, uh, trouble." The Doctor went and pounded the force field of the cell. "Hello! Anyone there?"

A single Judoon trudged into view. "Prisoners are to remain seated in their cells at all times during this emergency situation."

The Doctor winked at Clark while they both sat down. "Really? What's the emergency?"

"Prisoners are not authorized to make such inquiries."

"But why are we prisoners? We just wanted off this module while it was falling apart around our ears." Clark edged closer to the end of the bench during this line of questioning.

The Judoon snorted. "All persons of unknown allegiance are to be incarcerated until the identities of the Oskerian saboteurs are discovered."

"Saboteurs, eh?"

"Correct."

The Doctor scratched his head with the sonic screwdriver. "So all of your squad mates are off rounding up potential saboteurs?"

"Correct."

"Good to know." The Doctor pressed a button on the screwdriver and deactivated the force field. Clark immediately sprang onto their sole guard, who didn't have time to draw his blaster before Clark was on top of him. Both combatants had thick skulls, so Clark's head-butt only slowed the Judoon down. Clark doubled over from a gut-shot the Judoon expertly delivered, but managed to wrap his tail around the guard's ankle. The guard landed on his stomach and Clark managed to pin him down, wrapping one arm around his neck in a sleeper hold. Finally, the Judoon went limp and unconscious, and Clark got to his feet.

Clark pointed to a small safe in the corner. "Can you open it?"

The Doctor nodded and pulsed the sonic screwdriver at the cabinet. It clicked open, and Clark retrieved his gun belt.

"So, Clark, if I hadn't befriended you back at the temple...?"

"I would have had no trouble thubduing you." Clark grinned. "There wath a reathon why they left only the organ player guarding the diamond." He finished cinching the belt into place and put his hat back on. "Let'th go thave Dawn and thothe two cute but treacherouth Time Agentth."

The Doctor blinked. "Right then. We'll need to get back to deck three."

"Allonth-y."

The banana sludge was now up to Dawn's chest, as she thought about it furiously in the Doctor's direction, hoping that he'd come to and could come through. For plan B, she shouted, "Either of you two have any other bright ideas?"

Jack clamped a hand around her mouth. "Shut up," he hissed. "We need the Judoon on the other side of that door to think that we've drowned." Jack stifled a yelp as Dawn bit on his fingers. "Stop that!" He dragged her with him towards a wall with no apparent exits.

Captain John had already waded over there. John gave Dawn a cross look and she immediately settled down. He put a finger to his lips and motioned for John to release her mouth.

"I'm trying to signal our location and situation to the Doctor," whispered Dawn.

John shook his head. "Handy trick, but we're way ahead of you."

Jack still seemed skeptical. "Do you know what's on the other side of this wall, because I don't."

"Calm down sweet cheeks. We're obviously in a storage section, so what's on the other side can't be worse than this."

Dawn cleared her throat, which was currently surrounded by banana concentrate. "Whatever your plan is, could you get it going?" Her arms were growing tired of holding Emort up above the goo.

John nodded and pointed his sonic blaster at the wall. Jack took a firm hold of Dawn's waist. "Don't want you to get swept away."

John fired the blaster, and a square hole appeared in the wall. Unfortunately, the surge of concentrate through it was sufficient to sweep all three of them off of their feet and into the darkness beyond the hole.