Donna and Molly followed the Chakdaws into the tunnels, Korris padding nervously by their side. No one spoke. The only sound was the quiet pattering of the Chakdaws' pawsteps on the icy ground. Korris stayed beside Donna, looking up at her every so often with wide, anxious eyes. She gave him a reassuring smile each time, even if she didn't feel particularly good about what they were doing.
She had no idea where the Chakdaws were leading them. The Doctor and Sherlock were gone, and if Molly had any idea what was going on, she didn't say.
The other companion followed the aliens with an unreadable expression, gaze sharply scanning the Chakdaws. Donna wondered what was going through the girl's head. Was she trying to figure out what was controlling the Chakdaws? Where they were going? Where the Doctor was? Did she have any guesses, or was she as clueless as Donna. Whatever the case was, she clearly wasn't in a chatty mood. Donna gave a slight, irritated huff, crossing her arms over her chest. If she has any clue what's going on here, she better damn well say so, the temp grumbled internally. None of that not-explaining-things-'til-the-last-minute crap the Doctor loves to pull.
They were walking in the tunnels for a few minutes before Chakdaws started breaking off from the group one by one, waddling off into small, offshoot tunnels. The group grew smaller and smaller, until it was only Korris left. He led them into the tunnel that led back up into his hut. Once they were all up, he poked his head nervously outside the hut, checking for something, before waving the humans over, leading them outside.
Out in the open, Chakdaws were scurrying out of their huts, swarming together and heading towards something Donna couldn't see. Korris quickly led them into the thick of the crowd, though since all the Chakdaws were hip-height at best, they weren't very well hidden. They let themselves be led around the edge of the camp by the crowd, until they were able to see their destination. It looked like some sort of den or cave opening in the ground, much larger than any of the tunnel openings any of the travelers had seen so far. The Chakdaws began scurrying down into the tunnel, the shade of the cave mouth swallowing them up. Donna and Molly shared an uneasy glance, but allowed the aliens to lead them down into the icy tunnel.
SCENEBREAK
The moment the Doctor and Sherlock returned to the underground cavern, the Time Lord knew no one had been there for several minutes. He let out a slight growl of frustration, starting round the cavern with a hand running distractedly through his head. "Right. So much for staying here. Why can't anyone just stay where I tell them too?" he asked no one in particular.
Sherlock was crouching by the tunnel they'd just come from, a thoughtful crinkle in his brow. Without warning, he bounced up to his feet. "Did you see a mine coming in?" he asked out of the blue.
The Doctor had forgotten the Werack's words to the Chakdaws, ordering them to the mines. "No, but it's gotta be close." He pulled out his sonic screwdriver, waving it around the walls experimentally.
The detective let out a snort. "Oh, don't bother with that." The Doctor back at him in surprise. "The mines were made on the Werack's orders. There's no way the Chakdaws built them to connect to any of these tunnels, not when these are supposed to be hidden from the Weracks. Too likely to be discovered, and those cozy little furballs did not look like risk takers."
The Time Lord ignored the detective's condescending tone and considered his point. "You're right. No, they'd try to keep it as far from here as they could, but it'd have to be close, too, in walking distance of the camp."
"The Werack will be there already," Sherlock pointed out. "He'll want to keep an eye on them. His intimidation is his power over them, so he'll always want to make his presence known, make it seem like he's always watching them. He'll also be watching out for us, of course."
The Doctor nodded. "That give us time to come up with a plan."
"What plan?" Sherlock asked dubiously.
"Dunno." He hopped to his feet, turning to face a less-than-amused detective. "Hence the coming-up-with-it part." The Time Lord flashed a grin, then turned to the tunnel, taking off at the familiar run. "Allons-y!"
SCENEBREAK
They were led far down into the darkness, down and down a winding tunnel, until they were far under the planet's surface. There were lanterns hanging sparsely along the walls, offering dim, poor lighting.
Once Donna's eyes adjusted to the light, she grew even more curious. The tunnels were much, much wider than the ones from before, and more crudely cut, with odd edges and shapes poking out from the walls. Chakdaws were lined up against the walls, digging into the hard ice with their bare claws. The temp hadn't noticed before the long, tough claws the Chakdaws had, which seemed to be retractable like a cat's. The creatures tore into the ice, digging, for what she wasn't certain.
The companions were led quickly off into a side tunnel, stashed away in the dark by a fearful Korris. He held up a hand in a clear stay here gesture, then scurried off back to the main tunnel. Donna watched him go with no short amount of irritation. She was getting sick of being told to stay behind.
The temp was about to turn to Molly and suggest going back out and figuring out what was going on when she heard an angry growl. "You're all late!" There was a strange skittering noise, like a really large insect, which only grew louder. Curious, Donna edged closer to the entrance to the main tunnel, silently followed by Molly. She dared to poke her head around the wall, trying not to be seen, but needing to see what was going on.
She drew in a sharp breath. A weird new creature was in the mines, something that looked like the cross between a centipede, a centaur, and a dragon. It was large, intimidating, and was looming over the trembling Chakdaws. Molly looked out below her, eyes narrowing at the sight of the creature.
The new alien watched the progress of the digging Chakdaws, pacing further down the cave, looming over the terrified creatures. An ugly snarl twisted its features. "Progress has been poor here," it growled, its eyes glinting ominously. "Pick up the pace, or there'll be consequences. I want at least three dozen from each of you by day's end, or else."
Three dozen what? Donna wondered. She craned her neck to get a better view. The Chakdaws were still hacking away at the ice, but eventually, some would pull what looked like precious stones and minerals away from the ice, setting them in hollow little ditches behind them. She felt a rush of anger as she understood. The Chakdaws were being enslaved and terrified, all for the sake of greed and some useless stones.
She felt Molly tense beside her. No doubt the other companion had come to the same conclusion. The only problem was, what could they do about it? The weird insect-thing was too big for them to fight alone, and the Chakdaws clearly weren't going to be much help, they were too scared. There weren't a lot of options.
Donna groaned internally. Where the hell are you, Spaceman?
SCENEBREAK
Since the Werack was in the mines, the Doctor and Sherlock were free to move freely about the camp. They made their way out of the tunnels, returning to the now-empty ice palace.
The Doctor took out his sonic, scanning as he picked a hallway at random and started walking. "What exactly are we looking for?" Sherlock asked.
Still scanning, the Doctor replied, "The Chakdaws are still living in huts and carving ice with their claws, but the Weracks, they've got spaceships, weapons, advanced technology. And that means..."
"Communication," Sherlock finished, eyes lighting up with understanding. "They've spread their troops out thin, one man to a camp, they have to be communicating closely to keep control over the Chakdaws."
"And to keep tabs on their shipments," the Time Lord added. "It's all got to be going back to the home planet. So, cut off their communications, the Werack's stranded."
"Doesn't help with the Werack already here," Sherlock pointed out.
"Yeah, but it stops it from bringing reinforcements in." The Time Lord paused, the sonic picking up signs of the tech he was looking for. He turned down another hallway, eventually reaching a room where an advanced computer was set up. The Doctor grinned, twirling his sonic screwdriver expertly in his hand. "Right, let's get this done, then we can go get Molly and Donna out of there. They must be in the mines, and they don't know the Werack's coming."
Sherlock chuckled. "Molly can take care of herself," he assured the Doctor. The Time Lord looked at him curiously. Neither Molly or Sherlock had said much about the Year That Never Was, and the Doctor hadn't pushed, no matter how much he'd wondered. He hadn't exactly had the best year either, being kept as a hobbled old man and the Master's prisoner, and he knew Molly's year had to have been much worse. If she didn't want to talk about it, he could respect that. Besides, she was Molly Hooper, the Woman Who Walked the Earth. She'd pull through.
He gave a rueful half-grin. "Still, not exactly the first trip I wanted for Donna."
The detective snorted. "Oh, she'll be fine, as long as she can stop blustering about long enough to stay hidden." The Doctor rolled his eyes. Sherlock and Donna weren't going to get along any time soon, he could see.
But as long as they were all safe on the TARDIS, he'd be happy to let the pair of them bicker their hearts out to the end of time.
SCENEBREAK
Donna and Molly stayed in the side tunnel, watching as the Chakdaws worked. The overseer swept up and down the tunnels, gone for minutes at a time. The Chakdaws were pretty far spaced out, moving along the walls as they came up empty of gems.
Time passed, the companion wasn't sure how much. Could've been minutes, could've been hours. It wasn't like watching Chakdaws dig through ice over and over was the most captivating sight. She could've laughed. She'd left the cavern so she wasn't just sitting around doing nothing while the Doctor was in danger, and here she was, sitting around doing nothing. When she'd signed onto the TARDIS, she hadn't expected this much sitting and waiting. It made her feel restless, useless. The Doctor and Sherlock could be in serious danger, and she was sitting on the sideline, though considering insect boy was in the same tunnels, maybe she should've been more worried about herself.
Without warning, part of the tunnel collapsed, snow raining down into the tunnel, blocking it off. Donna froze, clasping a hand over her mouth to keep from crying; there were at least three Chakdaws down that tunnel. The remaining Chakdaws looked up in alarm, but none moved to help their trapped friends. The overseer skittered down from higher up in the tunnels, letting out a sharp hiss. It glared around at the remaining Chakdaws, eyes flashing with fury. "Idiots!" it snarled, causing the Chakdaws to shrink back in fear. It swatted a Chakdaw to the side, sending it skidding across the ground, shoulder sliced by the creature's claws. "I have no need for workers who can't build solid walls." It turned and began to skitter away, snapping, "Keep working!" over its shoulder.
Donna waited until the creature's skittering faded away to nothing, then darted out of cover, racing to the collapsed snow. Molly followed quickly, helping Donna scoop the snow out of the way, digging through the pile. The Chakdaws watched them nervously, still working. Donna turned and looked imploringly at them over her shoulder. "Come on, don't just sit there, help us!" she hissed desperately. They all shared uneasy glances, but none moved. Only Korris came forward, silently joining them in their digging.
They managed to pull all three Chakdaws out of harm's way, bringing them into the side passage Molly and Donna were hiding behind. They were winded, but alive. As Molly checked on them and made sure they were tucked away and safe, Donna turned to Korris. "So, that happen a lot here then?" she asked with an uncomfortable chuckle, trying to lighten the mood. The Chakdaw nodded, sadness glinting in his eyes. He glanced over to where the three victims were being checked over by Molly, expression filled with guilt.
Molly looked up at the remaining Chakdaws, expression hard. "You just sat there," she said in a low voice. "They could've died, and you just watched and did nothing." Donna looked back at her in surprise. She'd expected the companion to be the voice of reason and understanding, but there was a dark anger in Molly's expression, rage in her tensed posture and clenched fists.
Donna would've told her to back off, but she was angry too. That insect thing was intimidating, true, but how could anyone just sit back and watch while people were dying? Nothing excused that. "Listen, I don't know what the hell that thing is out there, but there's gotta be at least twenty of you. You can beat him together!"
The Chakdaws shrunk back, terror flashing in their eyes, shaking their heads. Donna felt a rush of frustration. "Anything's better than sitting back and watching this happen!" she snapped.
The aliens shuffled back, looking down at the ground with fearful, haunted expressions. Donna's anger softened into pity. What could that insect thing have done to make them so afraid? She glanced back at Molly, trying to gauge her opinion, but the former pathologist was frozen, glare fixed at the ground, jaw clenching and unclenching, completely unfocused. Donna felt fear fluttering in her stomach. Looked like she was on her own for now.
As she looked back at the collapsed tunnel, an idea came to her. "Korris," she said slowly, "would you know how to make a cave-in like that happen?" The Chakdaw stared at her with wide eyes, comprehension and horror growing in his eyes. The other Chakdaws shuffled back, staring at her in fear. Clearly, they weren't a fan of her plan.
Donna looked at them imploringly. She pushed her anger back, forcing her voice to be soft. Clearly, these aliens had been through hell. "Listen, the Doctor and us, we're here to help, we really are. We can get rid of bug boy out there, but we need your help. You wanna be saved? You have to help save yourselves." She offered a reassuring grin as she told them, "This can be over, forever. Korris, you helped us save these guys, nothing happened, no one got in trouble. There's only one of them, you can take him on your own, you really can."
The Chakdaws shared quick glances, silently communicating. Donna waited with bated breath. These aliens had literally been terrified into silence. Would they really be willing to move past that?
Finally, Korris gave a small nod, giving a stronger nod a few moments later. One by one, the rest of the Chakdaws followed suit. The companion let out a breath, a grin spreading across her face. "Right. Let's get started, then."
"We're bringing this whole mine down."
SCENEBREAK
All forms of communications outside the camp were now down. It had taken a bit, but the Doctor had hacked in and shut down everything, mucking it all up so badly there was no way it could be set up again. Satisfied, he and Sherlock headed out of the ice palace. "Right, time to find Donna and Molly," the Doctor remarked as they headed out into the camp.
It didn't take long to find the mines, not with the clear trail of Chakdaw pawprints leading straight to it. They stared down at the mouth of the tunnel for a few moments. Sherlock raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. "It's almost certain we're about to walk into a trap," he pointed out drily.
"What, you got a better idea?" the Doctor asked ruefully. He looked down at the cave, eyebrows raised. "Ah well, here goes nothing." They started down into the darkness.
For a while, they saw nothing. It took a few minutes before they came upon the first of the Chakdaws. The creatures stared at them in horror, gesturing for them to go back, to run, but it was too late. Skittering echoed from further down the passage, and a familiar centipede-like alien appeared out of the shadows. It grinned, flashing sharpened teeth. "How perfect. I didn't think you'd be stupid enough to come down here on your own. Do you make a habit of walking into deathtraps?"
The Doctor shrugged, keeping it non-chalant. "Only on Tuesdays," he quipped.
Predictably, the Werack lunged at them again. The Doctor jumped back, but Sherlock ducked under the Werack's swipe, coming around behind the creature. It ignored him, more focused on the Doctor, its challenger.
The Doctor turned and started off doing what he was best at – running.
SCENEBREAK
Donna and Molly heard what was going on. They hurried further up the cave, staying close to the wall and out of sight. They saw the overseer going after the Doctor, but Sherlock was further back, closer to them. "Sherlock!" Molly hissed. The detective turned, coming over once he saw them.
As he got closer, Donna grumbled, "Where the hell have you two been?"
"Actually doing something useful," the detective retorted, "Tell me, how's sitting in a tunnel been going?"
"Oi, listen you -"
Before Donna could launch into a proper fight, Molly interrupted, telling Sherlock in a serious tone, "Listen, we have a plan. We're gonna blow the whole tunnel system, but we need to get everyone out of here, including the overseer. Think you can lure him outside?"
"Why?" Sherlock asked bluntly. "Wouldn't you want him inside when it collapses?"
Molly tensed, but after a moment she shook her head. "No," she said reluctantly. "We have to give it a chance."
Sherlock still looked unconvinced, but Molly gave him a firm glare, and finally he nodded. "We'll get him outside." He took off down the tunnels, back after the insect thing.
Donna turned to Molly, who was staring off with that unfocused gaze again. "Hey, you alright?" she asked in a gentle tone.
The companion gave a shaky nod. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," she said dismissively. "I just... it just reminds me of something, that's all." She turned away from Donna, shoulders squared and chin lifted, an almost military stance. "Come on, we need to get the Chakdaws all out of here."
Donna watched her go for a few moments, not sure whether to feel worried or just sympathetic. Molly had clearly gone through something like this before, but it had to have been more than just a quick Doctor adventure, it had far too much impact on her.
As she followed the other companion, Donna resolved to find out what had happened.
SCENEBREAK
As the Doctor raced through the winding tunnels, trying to dodge the Werack, he heard a familiar voice. "Doctor!" He saw Sherlock running towards him from a side tunnel, calling out, "Doctor, we need to lead the Werack outside!"
The Time Lord didn't ask why. Clearly, there was some sort of plan in place, and there wasn't time to talk about it. As Sherlock joined him, he turned to face the Werack, who was several paces behind, a taunting grin on his face. "Oi! Lizard-face! Might want to catch me soon, wouldn't want your slaves to see you fail to catch one miserable little bi-pedal." As the Werack howled with rage, he bolted, turning back onto a passage that would lead to the main tunnel.
They finally made it outside the tunnels, out into the sharp, bright sunlight. They split off as the Werack came roaring out of the tunnel, ready to dodge and confuse the creature together, but there was no need. A flood of Chakdaws came rushing out of the tunnels, pushing past the Werack, to its fury. "Where are you going?!" it roared, glaring down at the creatures. "Get back in there!" Molly and Donna rushed out as well, past the distracted Werack, coming to the Doctor and Sherlock's side.
Without wanrning, there was a deep rumbling, and the snow around the entrance fell in. It looked like the ground itself had caved it, leaving a crater-like ditch. The Doctor watched with a growing grin as he understood. "Oh, that's brilliant," he remarked. They'd collapsed the mines, the source of the Werack's greed.
The Werack let out a shriek of fury. "NO!" It raced towards the fallen mine, shoveling snow aside, but the entrance was gone. With a roar, it whirled back around, rising out off all four arms to loom over the Chakdaws. "WHO DID THIS?!" it screeched.
The Chakdaws flinched back instinctively, but Donna stepped up beside them, followed by the rest of the travelers. "We did," she said firmly, even as the creature loomed over her, even as her own heart pounded with fear. "We all did. They're not sitting back and letting you walk all over them anymore, and we're helping."
The Werack screeched furiously, shooting forward to strike Donna, but before he could, Korris raced towards him, grabbing onto one of his centipede-like legs. The Werack whirled to face him with a shriek, but before he could retaliate, the other Chakdaws followed suit, swarming over the Werack, forcing it flat against the ground, thrashing and struggling. The creature let out a howl, but it was defeated, and it knew. "You'll pay for this," it hissed, glaring straight at the Doctor.
"Actually, we won't," the Time Lord corrected him cheerfully. "See, we cut off your communications. No one to call for help to. You're on your own."
The Werack hissed, but at last stopped struggling, defeated. The Chakdaws began dragging him off towards the ice palace. The Doctor wondered with amusement at the irony; the creature was to be imprisoned in the palace he'd commissioned.
Korris, and the few Chakdaws who'd stayed, turned back to the travelers. Korris swallowed, then, in a low, scratchy voice, he whispered, "Thank you."
The Doctor beamed. "See? I knew you could do it!" He looked after where the Werack had been taken. "Well, looks like you have your camp back. What'll you do now?"
Korris lifted his chin, suddenly looking stronger than the Doctor had seen him before. "Few us will travel," he said haltingly, "spread word... free camps... take planet. All free." He reached out, putting a furry paw on the Time Lord's hand. "You go... we're grateful, always owe. We fight now. You go."
The Time Lord knew he was right. The Chakdaws could take their own planet back, and it was time to get back to the TARDIS. He gave the Chakdaw a warm smile. "Take care of yourself there, Korris."
The Chakdaw nodded, then turned to Donna, expression growing somber. "Thank you Donna... your words, made strong, made brave. You're right. Had to save selves. Thank you."
Donna's expression faltered, and for a moment she looked uncertain, overwhelmed by such thanks. "No problem," she finally managed.
As the travelers turned away, the Doctor put an arm around each of the companions on either side of him, grinning. It may not have been the first trip he'd wanted for Donna, but all in all, it hadn't turned out that badly.
"All in all, it hadn't turned out that badly." Well, maybe from your point of view, Doctor, but from mine this whole bloody episode is nowhere near as good as I wanted it to be. I'm once again writing through block, and once again I've taken way too long to post this chapter. I am so, so sorry for the crappy quality and lateness, something I've been saying too much lately. Hopefully things will get better with the next episode. Which one will that be? I don't know yet. Sorry. So sorry. *hides behind laptop*
On another note, I started another story, a SuperWho story with Rose Tyler after Doomsday. If you're interested, check it out on my page.