I attached the force shield to my wrist. I had stripped it bare of the protective covering, decreasing it's size considerably, and mounted it on the belt, which I had cut down to size. I put on the gravity boots, and walked into the Tardis control room. I pushed the button on the Force shield generator, and the Shield activated, humming. I opened the Tardis door and walked out.

"No! Sorry, I'm fine. Still here!" the Doctor yelled into his comm device.
"You could've said, you stupid b-" The communication device screeched loudly, blanking the rest of the word out. The Doctor winced.
"WHOA! Careful! Anyway, it's both of us, me and Ida. Hello! But the seal opened up. It's gone. All we've got left is this chasm," the Doctor said.
"How deep is it?" Zach asked over the comm.
"Can't tell," the Doctor replied. "It looks like it goes on forever."
"The pit is open," Rose said over the comm. "That's what the voice said."
"But there's nothing? I mean, there's... NOTHING coming out?" Zach asked them.
"No, no. No sign of 'the Beast'," the Doctor replied.
"It said 'Satan'," Rose said.
"Come on, Rose. Keep it together," the Doctor said.
"Is there no such thing?" Rose asked. He didn't reply. "Doctor?" she asked.
The Doctor, still not answering, turned his back on the pit.
"Doctor, tell me there's no such thing," Rose said.
"Ida? I recommend that you withdraw. Immediately," Zach said.
"But... we've come all this way!" Ida protested.
"Okay, that was an order. WITH-DRAW. With that thing open, the whole planet's shifted. One more inch and we fall into the black hole. So this thing stops right now," Zach said.
"But it's not much better up there with the Ood," Ida said.
"I'm initiating Strategy Nine, so I need the two of you back up top immediately, no ar-" Ida turned off her wrist device. The Doctor raised his eyebrows.
"What do you think?" Ida asked the Doctor.
"I think they've an order," he replied.
"Yeah, but... what do YOU think?" she asked.
The Doctor put one foot on the edge of the pit, staring down into it.
"It said 'I am the temptation'," he said.
"If... if there's something in there... why's it still hiding?" Ida asked.
"Maybe... we opened the prison but not the cell," he said.
"We should go down. I'd go. What about you?" she asked.
"Oh! Oh, in a second, but then again..." he gave a half laugh, turning to her. "That is so human. Where angels fear to tread. Even now, standing on the edge. It's that feeling you get. Yeah? Right at the back of your head. That impulse... that strange little impulse... that mad little voice saying "go on... go on... go on... go over, go on..." maybe it's relying on that. For once in my life... Officer Scott... I'm going to say... Retreat," he said.
He sighed and pulled his foot back from where it was rested on the edge of the pit.
"Now I know I'm getting old," he said. "Rose, we're coming back," he said, reopening communications.
"Best news I've heard all day!" Rose said.
The Doctor and Ida trudged back to the capsule. "What's Strategy Nine?" he asked.
"Open the airlocks. we'll be safe inside the lockdown, and the Ood will get thrown out into the vacuum," Ida said.
"So we're going back to a slaughter?" he said.
They reached the capsule. Ida turns to him.
"The devil's work," Ida said.
They climbed into the capsule.
"Okay, we're in. Bring us up," Ida said.
"Acension in 5...4...3...2..1," Jefferson said.
The lights in the capsule went out..
"This is the Darkness. This is my domain," the voice of the Beast said.
"If you are the Beast, then answer me this: which one?" the Doctor asked. "Hmm? 'Cos the universe has been busy since you've been gone. There's more religions than there are planets in the sky. The Archivits... Pordonity, Christianity... Pash-Pash, New Judaism... Sanclar... Church of the Tin Vagabond- which devil are you?"
"All of them," the Beast said.
"What, then you're the truth behind the myth?" the Doctor asked.
"This one knows me - as I know him. The killer of his own kind," the Beast said.
"How did you end up on this rock?" the Doctor asked, ignoring the previous question.
"The disciples of the Light rose up against me. And chained me in the pit for all eternity," the Beast said.
"When was this?" the Doctor asked.
"Before time," the Beast replied.
"What does THAT mean?" the Doctor asked.
"Before time," it said.
"What does 'before time' MEAN?" the Doctor asked.
"Before light and time and space and matter. Before the cataclysm. Before this universe was created," the Beast said.
"That's impossible. No life could have existed back then," the Doctor said.
"Is that your religion?" the Beast asked.
"It's a belief," the Doctor said.
"You know nothing. All of you. So small," it said. "The soldier, haunted by the eyes of his wife. The scientist, still running from daddy," It said. Ida shifted uncomfortably in the capsule. "The little boy who lied... the virgin... the child whose life was stolen away... the lost girl, so far away from home. The valiant child who will die in battle so very soon."
"Doctor, what does it mean?" Rose asked.
"Rose, don't listen," he said.

"The child whose life was stolen away."
I froze midstep when I heard those words. I knew it was talking about me. Like it had directed the words at me specially. But what did that mean? I would think about it later. Now I had to find my Doctor.

"What does it mean?" Rose asked.
"You will die... and I will live," the Beast said.
The footage of the Ood suddenly cut and was replaced with a roaring horned beast, which caused everyone but the Doctor to gasp and stumble backwards. "What the hell was that?" Danny asked over the comm, his voice shaking with fear.
Everyine was speaking over one another, frantic.
"I had that thing inside my head," Toby said.
"Doctor, what did it mean?" Rose asked.
"What do we do? Jefferson?" Danny asked.
"Captain? What's the situation on Strategy Nine?" Jefferson asked into his comm.
"Zach, what do we do?" Danny asked.
"What if I can fix it? ... the black hole, everything's true," Toby said.
"Captain, report," Jefferson said.
"We've lost pictures-" Zach started.
"Doctor, how did it know all of-" Rose tried to say.
"Did anyone get-" Ida cut her off.
"Jefferson?" Zach yelled.
"Stop-" the Doctor said.
"What did it mean?"Rose asked.
"Everyone just stop-" the Doctor said.
"What do we do?" Danny interupted.
"Report," Jefferson said.
The Doctor held the communication device close to the speaker, making it screech loudly. The babble stopped and silence fell.
"If you want voices in the dark, then listen to mine; that thing is playing on very basic fears. Darkness - childhood nightmares, all that stuff," the Doctor said.
"But that's how the devil works," Danny said.
"Or a good psychologist," the Doctor said.
"But... how did it know about my father?" Ida asked.
The Doctor paused "Okay, but what makes his version of the truth any better than mine? Hmm? Cos I'll tell you what I can see: humans. Brilliant humans. Humans who travel all the way across space. Flying in a tiny little rocket into the orbit of a black hole! Just for the sake of discovery, that's amazing! Do you hear me? Amazing. All of you. The captain - his officer - his elder - his genius - his friends. All with one advantage. The Beast is alone. We are not. If we can use that to fight against him-"
He was cut off as the cable for the capsule snapped with a loud bang. The capsule fell down the shaft.
"The cable's snapped!" Ida cried.
"Get out!" the Doctor yelled.
They dived out of the capsule just as the cable landed inside it with force.
The Doctor and Ida stood, brushing themselves off.
"How much air have we got?" he asked.
"Sixty minutes," she said, checking her wrist device. "Fifty-five."
"We've got all this cable - we might as well use it. The drum's disconnected - we could adapt it," Ida said.
She started gathering up the fallen cable. "Feed it through," she said.
"And then what?" the Doctor asked.
"Abseil. Into the pit," she replied.
"Abseil. Right," he said.
"We're running out of air with no way back. It's the only thing we CAN do. Even if it's the last thing we ever achieve," Ida said.
"I'll get back. Rose is up there," the Doctor said.
"Well, maybe the key to that is finding out what's in the pit," Ida said.
"Well... it's half of a good plan," he said.
"What's the other half?" she asked.
"I go down. Not you," he said.

I walked in the dark, the only light coming from the flashlight I carried. I was heading towards the source of the energy field that was disrupting my ability to communicate telepathically with my Doctor. After I did that, I would improvise depending on what happened. I was close now. I turned a corner and stopped dead in my tracks, staring in awe at the sight in front of me. In front of me, was a massive being. A Beast. The Beast, the one I had heard. It moved forward, bellowing at me, and then stopped. It couldn't come any closer. It was chained to the wall.
I took a small step forward. I couldn't speak. You needed air to speak, and I had none. Instead, I tried something else.
{What are you?} I sent at it. I only had a link with the Doctor, but I could communicate with other telepathic forms of life. {I am the Beast,} It replied. I cringed. It's voice hurt, burning in my head.
{Where is my Doctor?} I asked, ignoring the pain.
It laughed. {I will show you your Doctor, Tei,} it said.
{What did you call me?} I asked. It did not reply. Instead, I had an immense feeling of dizziness, and then pain, burning in my head, as it showed me where my Doctor was.

The Doctor and another woman were securing a cable to a contraption.
"That should hold it. How's it going?" the woman asked.
The cable unraveled.
"Fine," the Doctor said. "Should work... doesn't feel like such a good idea now," he said, standing on the edge of the Pit. "Ha, there it is again! That itch." he bobbed up and down crazily. "Go down, go down, go down, go down, go down," he said.
"The urge to jump," the woman said. Do you know where it comes from, that sensation?" she asked. "Genetic heritage. Ever since we were primates in the trees. It's our bodies way of testing us. Calculating whether or not we can reach the next branch."
"No, that's not it. That's too kind," the Doctor said. "It's not the urge to jump, it's deeper than that. It's the urge to fall!"
He jumped backwards down the pit.

{DOCTOR NO!} I screamed at him, but he couldn't hear me. The Beast laughed again.

"Doctor!" the woman yelled. She pressed a button and the cable tautened.

I breathed a sigh of relief as the Doctor stopped falling. He was now hanging by the cable a short way into the pit.

"Are you okay?" the woman asked.
"Not bad, thanks. The wall of the Pit seems to be the same as the cavern, just not much of it. There's a crust about 20 feet down, and then... nothing. Just the Pit. Okay, then, lower me down," he said.
"Well, here we go," the woman said. She pressed the button again. The Doctor was slowly lowered down into the Pit.

The vision disappeared, and I looked at the Beast.
{Stop blocking our link,} I ordered it. It just laughed in response.
{Stop it!} I yelled. {Let me talk to him!}
{Do you know who you are?} It asked.
{I DON'T CARE, STOP BLOCKING OUR LINK!} I screamed at it.
{The little girl, who was so frightened of leaving home. But you had no choice, because you were selected.}
{Stop it,} I said.
{Are you ever angry at you Doctor for stealing your life away from you so effectively?} It asked.
{He didn't steal anything from me, now stop it!} I yelled.
{If it weren't for him, you would be free. You would be living a life. A life with emotions. Isn't that what you want? To be able to have children? A loving mate?} It asked.
{Please stop,} I whispered. {Please just stop it.}
{Remember Tei,} It said.
{STOP IT!} I yelled. {I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOUR TALKING ABOUT! LEAVE ME ALONE!} I yelled, turning and running, the Beast's taunting laughter following.
{You can never run Tei,} it said. I dropped to my kness, scraping my hands on the ground.
{LEAVE ME ALONE!} I shrieked.
{Watch your Doctor Tei.}
{STOP CALLING ME THAT! MY NAME ISN't TEI!} I yelled.
{Watch your Doctor die,} It said, sending me another vision.

The Doctor was still being lowered down the Pit, in complete darkness.
"You get representations of the Horned Beast right across the universe," he said. "In the myths and legends of a million worlds. Earth... Draconia... Velconsadine... Daemos... the Kaled God of War... it's the same image, over and over again. Maybe... that idea came from somewhere. Bleeding htrough... the thought at the back of every sentient mind," he said.
"Emanating from here?" the woman asked over the comm.
"Could be," the Doctor said.
"But if this is the original, does that make it real? Does that make it the actual devil, though?" the woman asked.
"Well, if that's what you want to believe. Maybe that's what the devil is, in the end. An idea," he said.
The cable ran out, and the Doctor jerked to a halt
"That's it, that's all we've got," the woman said
The Doctor pressed buttons on the device on his wrist.
"You getting any sort of readout?" she asked.
"Nothing. Could be miles to go yet. Or it could be thirty feet. No way of telling," he said. He paused, thinking. "I could survive thirty feet," he said.

{NO, DOCTOR, DON'T YOU DARE!} I screamed. "

"Oh no you don't . I'm pulling you back up," the woman said.
He started moving up, but he pressed a button on his end, stopping again.
"What're you doing?" the woman asked.
"You bring me back, and we're just gonna sit there and run out of air. I've got to go down," he said.

{Let me go,} I plead with the Beast. {Let me teleport, let me get him out of there!} I yelled.
The Beast just laughed.
{PLEASE!} I screamed.

"But you can't. Doctor , you can't," the woman said.
"Call it an act of faith," he said. He released one of the hooks securing him to the cable.

{DOCTOR DON'T!} I screamed at him desperately, trying to break down the phsycic barrier blocking our link.

"But.. I don't want to die on my own," the woman said.
"I know," he said, releasing another hook.

{STOP THIS,} I yelled at the Beast. {PLEASE STOP IT! LET ME HELP HIM!}

The Doctor released another hook.
"I did't ask- have you got any sort of faith, or...?" he asked.
"Not really. I was brought up Neo-Classic, congregational... because of my mum, she was..." she paused. "My old mum. But no, I never believed."
"Neo-Classic, have they got a devil?" he asked.
"No, not as such. Just um... the things that men do," she said.

I got up, running blindly back in the direction of the Beast.

"Same thing in the end," the Doctor said.
"What about you?" the woman asked.
The Doctor paused for a long moment, thinking.

I fell to my knees before the Beast.
{LET ME GO! LET ME HELP HIM!} I yelled.

"I believe... I believe I have't seen everything, I don't know... it's funny, isn't it? The things you make up-the rules. If that thing had said it came from beyond the universe, I'd believe it, but before the universe... impossible. Doesn't fit my rule. Still, that's why I keep travelling. To be proved wrong. Thank you Ida," he said.
"Don't go!" Ida yelled.
"If they get in back touch... if you talk to Rose.. just tell her.." he said, unable to finish.

{Doctor don't,} I begged silently. {Don't do it.}

He looked down.
"Tell her..." he paused again. "Oh, she knows," he said to himself. He released the final hook, and fell into nothingness.

I felt the barrier lift between us. This Beast, this cruel Beast, would allow me to feel him die.
{DOCTOR!} I screamed at him.
{Shadow?} he asked. {I thought you were dead!}
{WELL I'M GOING TO BE IN A FEW MINUTES YOU SELFISH BASTARD!} I screamed as loud as I could.
He was still falling.
{Alright, so a lot more than thirty feet,} he sent.
{WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?} I screamed.
{Sheesh, you're emotional right now,} he sent.
{WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO BE?} I asked.
{Well, the chip should have wiped your memory, and-} he stopped mid-sentence. {Oh, it did, didn't it? You've met the Beast,} he sent. {Wow, this is a very, very long way to fall,} he commented.
{STOP EMPHASIZING THE OBVIOUS DOCTOR!} I screamed.
{Shadow, you're giving me a headache. If I'm going to die, I don't want to die with a headache,} he sid.
{YOU'RE NOT GOING TO DIE, I'M GOING TO FIND A WAY TO SAVE YOUR SORRY ASS! AND THEN, I'M GOING TO KILL YOU MYSELF FOR ACTING LIKE AN IDIOT!} I screamed.
{Please don't,} he sent. Then his end went black.
{Doctor?} I asked. {Doctor, are you there? ANSWER ME!}
There was no reply. I stood, glaring at the Beast.
{I have one hour left to live,} I said. {I can find some way to kill you in that time,} I sent. It laughed, and showed me where my Doctor was. I turned and ran, heading for him. I had nowhere else to go, nothing to do. I saw him, lying on the ground, face down. His helmet was broken. I ran to him, falling to my knees at his side.
{You idiot, why'd you have to let go?} I sent, tears running down my face.
There was no reply. I had expected none. {Do you realize what you've done?} I sent, turning him onto his back. {Now I die too. How stupid is that?}
I took the helmet off of him, brushing the shards of glass off of his face carefully. And then I noticed something odd.
He was breathing. How could he be breathing? There was no air here. And then the more important point hit me. He was BREATHING. That meant-
{Doctor?} I yelled, hand flying to his chest. Yes, both hearts were beating. He was ALIVE.
{DOCTOR!} I yelled into our link, slapping his face lightly. {DOCTOR, WAKE UP!} I screamed at him. He groaned, hand flying to his head.
{Stop yelling at me Shadow, I don't want to die with a headache,} he said.
{You're alive you idiot, you're not going to die! I'M NOT GOING TO DIE!} I yelled. He opened his eyes, and sat up, looking around.
"Air cushion to support the fall," he said, more to himself than me. He turned on his comm. "You can breath down here, Ida," he said. "Can you hear me, Ida?"
{Doctor, there is no air here,} I said. {I can't breath.}
He looked at me in confusion. "Then how are you here?" he asked.
I showed him the Force Shield generator. He looked at me.
"But that holds air in. You still wouldn't have enough air for more than a few minutes. You can't be breathing," he said.
{I'm not,} I sent.
"Then how are you-" he stopped, looking me over. "Oh you didn't," he said.
{Yes I did,} I sent back. "You installed it?" he asked.
{Yes,} I said.
"You installed it yourself?" he asked.
{Yes I did,} I said.
He stared at me in horror. "What-" he stopped, looking up as there was a rumbling sound.
"A rocket..." he whispered. He watched as it flew further and further away.
The Doctor got up, and started walking, in the direction of the Beast's cavern.
{The Beast is in there,} I sent.
"Well then, it's about time I met him face-to-face, isn't it?" he said, grinning. I shook my head. He was insane.
He shone his torch on the wall of the cavern. There were crude drawings of a horned beast and tiny stick figures surrounding it.
"History of some big battle. Man against Beast. I dunno if you're getting this, Ida. Hope so. Anyway, they defeated the Beast and imprisoned it," he said.
The light of his torch fell on what looked like a large vase on a stand. Surprised, he turned the torch light back on the symbols of people carrying the vase on their heads. He approached the vase - there is another one in line with the first. "Or maybe that's the key," he said, thinking aloud.
He touched the vase, and they both lit up. "Or the gate, or the bars," he comtinued.
The Doctor turned upon hearing a quiet growl. His mouth dropped open as he saw the Beast. It roared at him. He stared at the Beast.
"I accept that you exist. I don't have to accept what you are, but you're physical existence, I'll give you that," he said.
The Beast growled. The Doctor took a few steps forwards.
{Doctor,} I sent in warning.
"But I don't understand. I was EXPECTED down here. I was given a safe landing, and air. You need me for something. What for?" he asked. The Beast lunged forwards, straining against the chains holding him.
"Have I got to... I dunno, beg an audience? Or... is there a ritual? Some sort of incantation or summons or spell? All these things I don't believe in - are they real?" he asked The Beast just looked at him. "Speak to me! Tell me!" he said loudly. The Beast did not reply to him. "You won't talk. Or... you CAN'T talk. Hold on, hold on. Wait a minute, just let me..." he thought hard. "Oh! No. Yes! No... think it through, you SPOKE before. I heard your voice. An intelligent voice. No, more than that - brilliant! But, looking at you now... all I can see," the Beast growled. "is Beast. The animal. Just... the body. You're just the body, the physical form! What's happened to your mind? Hmm? Where's it gone? Where's that intelligence?" he asked. He glances upwards. "Oh, no..." he said. The Doctor shone his torch on the symbols covering the walls. "You're imprisoned," he said. "Long time ago. Before the universe, after, sideways, in-between, doesn't matter. The positioning is PERFECT. It's absolutely- it's eternal. Oh, YES! Open the prison - the gravity field collapses! This planet falls into the black hole! You escape, you die. BRILLIANT! But that's just the body. The body is trapped, that's all. The devil is just an idea. In all those civilisations - just an idea." He pauses, edging forwards as he worked it out. "But an idea is hard to kill. An idea could escape. The mind - the mind of the great Beast - the mind can escape! Oh, but that's it! You didn't give me air - your jailers did! They set this up! All those years ago! They need me alive. Because if you're escaping, then I've gotta stop you," he said.
The Beast roared in fury, straining against the chains. The Doctor picked up a rock.
{DOCTOR NO!} I yelled, running forward.
"If I destroy your prison, your body is destroyed. Your mind with it," he said. He swung the rock over his head, ready to bring it crashing down on the vase - and then stopped. He dropped it.
"But then you're clever enough to use this whole system against me. If I destroy this planet, I destroy the gravity field. The rocket. The rocket loses protection and falls into the black hole. I'll have to sacrifice Rose," he said.
He had a look of mild disgust on his face. The Beast laughed mirthlessly. "So, that's the trap. Or the test or the final judgment, I don't know. But if I kill you, I kill her," he said.
The Beast laughed, then roared at him. "Except that implies - in this big grand scheme of Gods and Devils - that she's just a victim. But I've seen a lot of this universe. I've seen fake gods and bad gods and demi gods and would-be gods - out of all that - out of that whole pantheon - if I believe in one thing... just one thing... I believe in HER," he said.
{DON'T YOU DARE,} I shrieked, He picked up the rock and smashed the vase. {DOCTO NO!} I yelled.
The Doctor smashed the other vase. "This is your freedom! Free to DIE. You're going into that black hole and I'm riding with you," he said.
Flames fell from the Beast's mouth. I marched over to him, grabbing his arm roughly.
{The hell you are,} I sent, hauling him away roughly.
"Where are we going?" he asked.
We turned the corner, and he saw the Tardis.
"Oh, YES!" he yelled, yanking the door open and running inside. He took us to the edge of the pit, above it. He started to go out, and then ran back in, gasping for breath. "Ida's out there," he said. "But I can't breath. We're out of the Pit."
{I'll get her,} I said, activating the Force Shield. I walked out, and saw her, lying on the ground by the side of the Pit. I grabbed her under her arms, pulling her into the Tardis. The Doctor closed the door, and ran back to the console as I tugged her helmet off.
"Is she still alive?" he asked.
{She's fine, just unconcious,} I said.
"Good," he said, turning on the inter-ship communications device. "Sorry about the hijack, Captain. This is the good ship TARDIS," he said. "Now, first thing's first - have you got a Rose Tyler on board?" he asked.
"I'm here! It's me! Oh, my God!" she said, sounding giddy. "Where are you?" she asked.
"I'm just towing you home. Gravity-schmavity. My people practically invented black holes," the Doctor said. "Well - in fact, they did," he said, pulling a lever. "In a couple of minutes, we'll be nice and safe. Oh, and captain - can we do a swap? Say, if you give me Rose Tyler - I'll give you Ida Scott? How about that?" he asked.
"She's alive!" we heard someone say delightedly.
"YES! Thank God," another man said.
"Yeah! Bit of oxygen starvation, but she should be all right," he said. He turned solemn. "I couldn't save the Ood. I only had time for one trip. They went down with the planet," he said.
{What are Ood?} I asked. He sent me an image of an Ood.
The computer bleeped.
"Ah! Entering clear space - end of the line - mission closed," he said.
Rose opened the door of the TARDIS. The Doctor looked up and smiled. They ran to each other and the Doctor gathered Rose up into his arms, lifting her clean off the floor. They both giggled, happy to see one another again. "Zach? We'll be off, now. Have a good trip home," the Doctor said over the comm.
"And the next time you get curious about something- oh... what's the point? You'll just go blundering in. The human race..." he said.
"But Doctor, what did you find down there? That creature - what was it?" Ida asked.
"I don't know! Never did decipher that writing. But that's good! Day I know everything? Might as well stop," he said.
"What do you think it was? Really?" she asked.
"I think... we beat it. That's good enough for me," the Doctor said.
"It said I was gonna die in battle," Rose said.
The Doctor caught her eye.
"Then it lied," he said.
Rose smiled. "Right, onwards, upwards - Ida - see you again, maybe!" the Doctor said.
"I hope so," she replied.
"And thanks, boys!" Rose said.
"Hang on though, Doctor. You never really said... you two... who are you?" Ida asked.
"Oh..." he looked at Rose. "The stuff of legend."
He pulled a lever and we watched the rotor rise and fall. I walked up behind him, arms crossed over my chest.
"Doctor," I said. He turned. "The Beast... he called me Tei. He said my life had been stolen away." I paused. "He said it was your fault."
The Doctor looked very uncomfortable.
"Who am I Doctor?" I asked. "Who am I really?"
"Your name was Tei Neferati. You were born on the planet Galva Neerta," he said. "Your parents were Saali, and Grem. When you were six, you were 'selected'," he said.
"What does selected mean?" I asked.
"The Galva Neertan government took you from your parents, and stuck you in a tank. They increased your growth rate. 15 years of life, gone in a few days. They installed your Shadow Device, and the teleporter," he said.
"Why didn't I remember?" I demanded.
He looked at me sadly. "They also installed a chip, in your brain. It wipes away any trace of the life you had before you were selected. And it inhibits emotion," he said.
"Can we take it out?" I asked.
He shook his head. "I'm afraid not. Removing it would kill you."
"There has to be something we can do," I said desperately.
"I'm afraid there isn't. If there was, I swear, I would do it," he said.
"But... but that's not fair. Doctor that's not fair! Why me?" I asked. I collapsed, and he caught me. "What's happening?" I asked, pushing him away and scrambling to my feet.
"The chip's starting. You'll go to sleep, and when you wake up, you'll have forgotten again," he said.
"But I don't want to," I whispered, a single tear falling down my cheek. "I don't want to forget," I said.
I locked eyes with him. "Promise me Doctor," I said. "Promise you'll make me remember. Promise."
"I promise," he said softly. I closed my eyes and collapsed, letting the chip take over again.