Warning: Lemon.

Chapter Twenty-Four: The Impossible Planet

"So. When it comes right down to it, why did you come here? Why did you do that, why? I'll tell you why.Because it was there."

-The Doctor

Yugi walked into the console room, looking around before straightening his shirt and walking up to the Pharaoh, leaning against the console. The Time Lord shot him a look, Yugi shivering at the look. "You alright?"

"Yeah, a shower, food and some sleep was all I needed."

"Mm." The Pharaoh gave him a long look, Yugi mentally congratulating himself on wearing these jeans and shirt, both articles of clothing clinging to him. With that look, Yugi was regretting not asking the Pharaoh to join him for his nap, but he had the sneaking suspicion that he wouldn't have gotten any sleep at all, not that he would have minded that at all. In the past month, linear time, they had pushed that boundary so many times. Yugi shivered at the reminder, all of their adventures ending with him pressed up against some surface as both he and the Pharaoh tried to get closer to each other. Thankfully, there hadn't been any more discussion about what the fragment was doing to Yugi. Now that he knew that he wouldn't suddenly keel over dead, Yugi was more than happy to just forget about its existence.

He gasped as the Pharaoh walked up behind him, pulling him into a hug and kissing the back of his neck. Yugi wrapped his arms around the Pharaoh, leaning back against him. He bit his lip to keep from making a noise, the idea of just going back to his room much more appealing. Yugi turned his head, giving the Pharaoh more access, the Time Lord immediately taking advantage of it. Unfortunately, Yugi's cell phone chose that time to go off.

They parted, Yugi with a frustrated groan as he tried to calm himself back down. He reached into his pocket to take out his phone, glancing up to look at the Pharaoh, finding the Time Lord on the other side of the console. Yugi huffed before staring at the caller ID on the phone, rolling his eyes before he answered it. "Hey Mom."

"Hey Yugi. I hadn't heard from you in a while."

Yugi sighed and sat back in the captain's chair with a smile. "I meant to call you earlier, but I kind of passed out."

"Passed out? Was it some sort of alien thing?"

"No, Mom, I was tired."

"Oh." He could imagine the blush Junri would have, some part of him glad that his mother cared so much about him. "Well, I just worry, Yugi. You're out there all alone with the Pharaoh…and he isn't the most reliable."

"He's plenty reliable."

"To me he isn't. And…I trust your judgment, sweetheart. When will you be coming home?"

"Eventually. For all I know I could be headed your way right now, but in the future."

The line was silent for a while before Junri sighed. "I'm never going to get how you are able to keep up with all of that stuff."

"Comes with the territory."

"Right. Well, I have to get off to work. Just checking to be sure that the Pharaoh hasn't gotten you killed or done anything else to you." Yugi glanced over at the Time Lord, wishing that the Pharaoh would do something else to him. "I'll see you when you come around. I love you."

"Mom, I-" He stared at the time rotor, the truth about what was happening to him right on the tip of his tongue. Junri knew nothing about the fragment that he housed in his mind or the fact that it was the reason that he wouldn't be human anymore sometime in the future. Yugi bit his lip, glancing at the Pharaoh before sighing. "I love you too. Bye."

The line when dead, Yugi staring at his phone before pocketing it, standing up slowly. The Pharaoh looked his way pausing in his usual circle around the TARDIS before quickly walking to Yugi, pulling him up into a hug. "Yugi…"

"I can't tell her. I just can't." Yugi shook his head, clinging to the Pharaoh. "I don't want to her to know that…She's so afraid that she'll lose me."

The Pharaoh just nodded, holding him close as Yugi trembled, trying to get up the courage to dial his mother's number again, finally sighing and putting his phone away in his pocket. He would call her after this adventure, and he would ask the TARDIS to remind him. The time machine was like a second mother to him and he had a sneaking suspicion that the TARDIS was on Junri's side in this thing. She had an increasing tendency to lock the Pharaoh and Yugi in different rooms when Yugi needed his rest, food or to call his mother, not letting either of them out until Yugi was done.

He stepped out of the hug, smiling as the Pharaoh continued his rounds, reaching out to pet the TARDIS. His hand was hovering over the console when the TARDIS made a strange groaning noise, the time machine wobbling a bit before righting herself. Yugi glanced up at the Pharaoh, the Time Lord staring at the time rotor before glancing at Yugi. "Change of plans, I'm setting her down close by."

Yugi nodded and braced himself for the rocking that would indicate that they were leaving the time vortex, startled when it was much rougher than usual. He blinked in confusion and looked over at the Pharaoh, stumbling backwards to allow the Time Lord to get by, the Pharaoh struggling to land the TARDIS. Yugi lunged for a lever when the Pharaoh pointed at it, pressing down on it and smiling when he heard the dull thud of the TARDIS landing, glancing over at the Pharaoh before standing up.

A jerk of the Pharaoh's head sent them outside, Yugi stopping short when he realized that they were in a small space, edging to the side so that the Pharaoh could get out of the TARDIS. The Time Lord gave the cramped space they were in a quick look over before reaching out to rest a hand on the TARDIS, Yugi perking up as he heard a soft hum from the machine. He edged closer to the TARDIS, glancing between the Pharaoh and the time machine. "What's wrong with her?"

"It feels like she's queasy, or digesting…" The Pharaoh trailed off, glancing around before shrugging. "We're stuck here for the moment. Give her a few hours and she'll be fine."

"Right." Yugi nodded before moving to the door and pulling it open, squeezing through the small space before opening it wider for the Pharaoh. "I say we take a look around. Just remember we're in Storage Area 6. And don't give me that look, you're an old man."

"Old man?" The Pharaoh looked appalled, Yugi chuckling to himself before breaking into a run, rushing to the next door. He scrambled to get it open, aware that the Pharaoh was coming to get him. Yugi managed to wiggle through the small opening, still laughing as he rushed into the large room, coming to a stop at the sight of strange writing that covered the wall opposite of him. Yugi stared at the writing, having a moment to be amazed that the TARDIS wasn't translating before the Pharaoh grabbed him. "Who are you calling an old man?"

Yugi didn't respond; too busy staring at what was written in red above the strange black letters: Welcome to Hell.

The Pharaoh noticed his distraction, setting him down before looking in the direction that Yugi was. The Time Lord tipped his head to the side and rushed over to the writing, sitting on the stairs beside it as he stared at it. Yugi followed at a slower pace, staring at the strange symbols. They reminded him slightly of Arabic, but he was more disturbed by the fact that the TARDIS wasn't translating them. He sat down next to the Pharaoh, reaching out to trace over one of the letters before looking at the Time Lord. "I can't read them."

"I might be able to, but this is old. Older than the TARDIS or the Time Lords." Yugi stared at him, the Pharaoh reaching out to rest a hand on a blank space on the wall, frowning as he stared at the letters. "The TARDIS isn't translating this for me, because she just doesn't know about this language."

"But, what about your language? The TARDIS doesn't translate that."

"I ask her not to." Yugi shot the Pharaoh a hurt look before shaking his head, resting a hand on the Pharaoh's arm as an apology. He had no right to demand that the Pharaoh share his language with him, it was one of the few things that the Time Lord had of his planet anymore. The Pharaoh smiled at him and placed a hand over Yugi's shaking his head when he looked back at the wall again. "I must be getting rusty, because I don't understand any of this."

"Well, this is a base right?"

The Pharaoh looked around before nodding, standing up. Yugi stood with him, moving his hand so they could hold hands. "Sanctuary Base, standard form." He turned on the spot before shaking his head. "And it sounds like there's something gone on outside…and below."

Yugi turned his head to the side, nodding slowly. "Sounds like high winds."

"And a drill." At Yugi's confused look, the Pharaoh pointed toward his feet. "A drill below and a storm above, interesting."

"Let's find the people. There have to be people here if the drill is still running." Yugi turned, looking at the two other doors in the large room. "And if we came out of a storage section, then it would make sense that-"

Yugi's heart started pounding as he watched the wheel on one of the doors turn, his eyes widening as he shrunk back, the Pharaoh moving to get his sonic screwdriver. Yugi glanced around before snatching up a small stool, looking up as a group of aliens began advancing.

They all wore blue coveralls, carrying a glowing ball in their hands that was attached to their face with a white wire. Yugi swallowed at the sight of the aliens, their white, squid-like heads ending in red tentacles that dangled where the mouth would be, the white wire ending somewhere in the mass of tangles. Yugi stared at the aliens before shifting his hold on the stool, promising himself that he would just use it as a shield, the aliens looked harmless and passive enough, maybe they were just surprised that there were humans on their base. After all, the Pharaoh hadn't said anything about there being humans on this base, Yugi had just assumed as much.

After a moment of hesitation, Yugi lowered the stool a bit, giving the aliens a smile. To his surprise, they titled their heads to the side, the balls in their hands lighting up as they spoke. "We must feed."

"What?" Yugi scrambled backward, the Pharaoh stepping in front of him with the sonic aimed at them. The aliens continued to move forward, Yugi glancing backward to see that they were backing into a line of counters. He turned back to tell the Pharaoh this, realizing that the aliens had cross the room in that time, Yugi staring helplessly as they came to a stop. He and the Pharaoh were outnumbered and surrounded. It would be easy for the aliens to reach out and grab them if they tried to slip by.

"We must feed. We must feed. We must-" The alien in front of the others stopped, staring at the ball in its hand before it gave the ball a sharp smack, staring at it for a moment before looking at them again. "We must feed you, if you require it."

Yugi felt his jaw drop open in shock, the Pharaoh glancing back at him before quickly pocketing the sonic screwdriver. He looked at the aliens a moment more, their leader staring back at him, but sounding almost sheepish. "Electromagnetic waves sometimes interfere with the translators. We apologize for the inconvenience."

"That's…fine…" The Pharaoh reached back for Yugi, the human hanging onto him as they looked around the room. "So where-"

"I thought I told you Ood to report…" A red headed human barged in, staring at Yugi and the Pharaoh. The first thing that Yugi noticed was the gun that the man carried, leaning slightly closer to the Pharaoh. He felt the Time Lord shift, probably looking at the gun. Before the Pharaoh could speak, the man reached for a communicator, speaking into it. "Captain, you aren't going to believe this, but we have company…human company."

Yugi couldn't hear the reply from the captain, but the curt response from the man was enough to tell him that it was an order. The man dropped his gun to his side, glaring at the aliens before motioning with his free arm. "Go to your stations. Didn't you hear the warning about the impact?"

The aliens shuffled away, the man staring at them before gesturing. "I have orders from the captain to get you up to the command unit. You'll be safer up there than with the Ood."

"Ood?" Yugi didn't get his answer as the man took off, the Pharaoh grabbing his hand and rushing after. Yugi wasn't surprised that they were moving at a run, swallowing nervously when he felt the station shaking under him. He supposed that the better question would have been what kind of impact was coming, suddenly not sure that the station would hold. The base, which had seemed so sturdy before, was suddenly shaking because of whatever was coming, Yugi glancing up at the man that was leading them. "What kind of impact?"

"Later." He was shocked by the curt reply, stumbling as the base shook again. Yugi reached for the Pharaoh's hand, using it to steady himself as he stood up and then not letting go as they rushed down the hallway again, Yugi spotting a door ahead of them. The man who was leading them stopping and quickly opening it before ushering them in, Yugi stumbling a bit over the threshold.

When he looked up, he found himself staring at a command center, stations clearly laid out and with hints about the people that worked there, some messy and some clean. The command center was the same drab colors as the rest of the station, Yugi's gaze jumping to the Ood that were moving along one side of the room, the aliens getting themselves prepared for whatever was coming. A strange, high pitched noise made him look back into the center of the room, four people staring back at him. The oldest woman shook her head, pointing at the two of them. "But that's impossible. No one can get to where we are."

"There had to be an arrival code that we missed."

"No arrival code, captain." The man who had brought them in shifted nervously, Yugi noticing that his hold on his gun had tightened as well. "Just appeared."

"How-" The captain stopped, staring at the flashing screens in front of him before shaking his head. "Doesn't matter now. Brace for impact!"

The humans lunged for their seats, bracing themselves and holding onto the handles that were by their workstations. Yugi glanced back at the Pharaoh before reaching to hold onto the railing, noticing that the Time Lord looked as nervous as well. Yugi bit his lip and looked around, taking a deep breath the moment before the base rocked. He yelped as he was thrown off of his feet, Yugi flinching as his shoulders took on the strain of holding himself in place, his body twisting only as the ground bucked and twisted under them, the base creaking ominously.

There was one more last heave, Yugi losing his hold and falling on the floor, laying there as he breathed heavily. He felt a hand on his check, Yugi turning his head to smiling at the Pharaoh, the Time Lord kneeling next to him. "Yugi?"

"I'm alright."

"Is everyone alright?" Yugi sat up sluggishly as he heard the captain shout, watching as everyone else in the room responded with a series of groans. The Pharaoh looked like he was about to snap at the captain, Yugi resting a hand on the Time Lord's arm just before the next jolt shook the station, Yugi thrown into the Time Lord. The Pharaoh wrapped an arm around Yugi's waist, holding him close and reaching up for a hold again, the two clinging to each other as the base rattled around them, the shaking lasting for a moment longer before going silent, Yugi suddenly aware of how loudly he was breathing.

He stood up slowly, shivering as the Pharaoh's hand slid down his body, looking carefully around the room as people rushed around, one grabbing a fire extinguisher and putting out the small fire that had started. Yugi swallowed, turning to look at the captain as he slumped back in his chair. "We're good, it passed through. Storage sections five through eight are gone though, it probably collapsed through there." The captain rubbed his forehead, looking up at the Pharaoh and Yugi. "Now, about you two."

"Should you even be here?" Yugi looked around, ignoring the odd looks before staring back up at the roof where he could still here the sound of something moving past at a fast rate. "Wouldn't it be better to get out of here with that hurricane?"

"You need an atmosphere to have a hurricane." When Yugi gave the woman a questioning glance, she just shook her head. "Introductions before information. I'm Ida Scott, the science officer in this place."

She pointed to the black man that sat behind the circular console in the center of the room, the man giving a lazy wave. "He's Zachary Cross Flaine, the captain of this fine base."

"Acting captain."

Ida ignored Zachary and moved on, motioning towards the woman beside her, the young woman smiling shyly and pushing a strand of dirty blonde hair behind her ear. "This is Scooti Mallister, trainee maintenance. And the one who brought you in is Mr. Jefferson. Don't bother asking for a first name unless you want to get snapped at."

A flustered young man charged into the room, gasping for breath and glaring at all of them. He straightened out his shirt with one hand, the other arm occupied in holding a bunch of rolled up papers. "Thanks for that. I almost got trapped in the downed section."

"You should have listened to the alarm." Jefferson moved from his place by the wall, the young man glaring back at him.

"I was there checking on something 'vitally important' as per your orders." The young man huffed and marched to his station, sitting down and unrolling one of the papers, ignoring the rest of them.

Ida shook her head, leaning back against her station and rolling her eyes. "That bundle of joy there is Toby Zed, our head of archeology here. And the one next to him is Danny Bartock, head of the ethics committee, which equates to taking care of our Ood here."

Danny gave them a partial salute before standing up to walk over to the Ood that were against the wall, helping them out of their restraints. Yugi stared at the bunch of people before glancing back at the Pharaoh, noticing that the Time Lord didn't seem to be paying attention, his gaze on the ceiling of the base. "You say there's no atmosphere, but there's wind."

"It isn't wind." The Pharaoh's eyes narrowed, Ida sighing and reaching for a lever on the wall. "Here's home sweet home to us."

She pushed the lever down, Yugi craning his head back as the panels on the roof slid back, revealing the inky black of space. His attention was caught by the hints of red and orange, focusing on them as the panels slid back further. Yugi's mouth dropped open as he caught sight of the thing hovering above them, unable to speak as he stared at it. He felt the Pharaoh grip his hand tightly, the Time Lord stepping forward. "That's a black hole."

Ida nodded slowly, tipping her head to stare up at the black hole. "We're in geosynchronous orbit around it…or what passes for it under these circumstances. By all accounts, we should fall in, but we don't."

"B-but black holes are collapsing stars." Yugi looked back at the Pharaoh wanting to be sure that he got this right. "They pull things in because of gravity…or something. We shouldn't be here!"

"And yet, here we are." Zachary gave them a smirk, leaning back in his chair with a shrug. His smugness lasted a moment longer before he leaned forward and pressing a few buttons. Moments later, a grainy hologram of the black hole appeared on the screen, Zachary resting his elbows on the control center. "That's where we are, officially designated K37Gen5. We're on a small asteroid that is orbiting it."

Another press of a button called up the image of the asteroid with the base on it. Yugi was nudged aside, turning to look as Toby leaned up to point at the asteroid. "From what we can gather, there was once a civilization here. The Valtino, that's who we think lived here before, call this place Krop Tor; it means the bitter pill in their language. Apparently, the black hole was a demon that they tricked into eating this asteroid, but it spat it back out because it was poisonous."

"Was that Valtino writing in the area back there?" Yugi gestured over his shoulder, Toby staring at him in confusion before nodding slowly, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I've been working on translating this stuff, but I'm only to get a few words here and there." Toby sighed and pushed away from the table. "But I'm getting there."

Yugi watched the archeologist walk back to his work station, only then noticing that the Valtino writing covered the papers that Toby was working on. Yugi resisted the urge to walk over there and try to help, turning around to look at the hologram again as Zachary spoke. "Whatever this place is, there's some strange power located under this station."

"So you're drilling to get to it." The Pharaoh raised an eyebrow, Yugi blinking in surprised as he remembered that the Time Lord had mentioned something about a drill earlier.

"Yeah. The Torchwood Archives wanted to see what this place was, so we were sent here. We came down…" Zachary trailed off as he quickly typed a command into the computer, nodding when a funnel-like shape emanated from the asteroid. "We came down that gravity tunnel and landed here. It's the only way on here. From our calculations, we think that it is enough to balance against the blank hole."

"But that would require," the Pharaoh tipped his head back as he thought, Yugi watching the Time Lord's fingers twitch, "a power source with an inverted self-extrapolating reflex of six to the power of six every six seconds."

All of the crew stared at him in awe, Ida the first one to recover her powers of speech. "That took us two weeks to figure out."

The Pharaoh shrugged, leaning forward to point at the gravity funnel. "If that gives out, you're all done for. Wouldn't it be best to just leave?"

"Not without the power source. We have to know what's going on out there." Ida glared at him, the Pharaoh returning the glare for a moment before straightening up. The two launched into a conversation, Yugi stepping away from them. He could already hear the Pharaoh listing off the possible bad uses of the source of power, Ida responding back just a quickly. Yugi shook his head, accidentally bumping into one of the Ood.

"Oh, sorry."

"No, my apologizes, I should have avoided you."

Yugi stared at the alien before shaking his head. "No. Really, it's my fault." The Ood just stared at him, Yugi shaking his head and offering the Ood a smile. "So, what do you guys do around here?"

"The tasks that are assigned to us."

"Like servants?" Yugi tipped his head to the side, biting his lip. "Do you guys get paid?"

"Why would we need payment? We live to serve."

"Like slaves?" The Ood didn't respond, just blinking at him. Yugi swallowed nervously, not sure how to approach the situation. "Well, do you have names?"

"Why would we need names? We live to serve."

"A-alright." Yugi took a step back, unable to shrug off the feeling that there was something wrong with the Ood. He didn't think it was natural for any species to being this happy to be enslaved to humans, but he could always be wrong. He would just have to ask the Pharaoh and, if the Time Lord couldn't help him, he would act. There had to be some way to help the Ood.

Thoughts of that slipped away from him quickly as he stared at the Time Lord, trying to remember something important, his mind grabbing onto the figure that the Pharaoh had said earlier. It had contained a lot of sixes and that sparked something, the number six suddenly important. Yugi resisted the urge to pace, the command center too small for that. It had something to do with the number six and the shaking that they had experienced earlier, Yugi's eyes going wide before he pushed his way back to the command center, standing by the Pharaoh. "What sections collapsed?"

The Pharaoh blinked and looked at him, the Time Lord suddenly staring off into the distance. Yugi turned to look at the Pharaoh, gasping and lunged forward as the Pharaoh sagged, holding onto him as the Pharaoh paled. "No!"

The Pharaoh pulled away from Yugi, rushing to the door that led out of the command center. Yugi hesitated a moment before rushing after him. He caught the door before it swung shut, squeezing through the small space before sprinting down the corridors, the Pharaoh running ahead of him. They twisted through the series of corridors that they had come up through, Yugi watching as the Pharaoh pulled out his sonic screwdriver, aiming it at the next door. He hurried to catch up, getting to the door just after the Pharaoh.

He spared the habitation unit a quick glance before running onward, the Pharaoh already in the next hallway and racing to the door. Yugi followed him, nearly running into the Pharaoh as the door wouldn't budge. He could hear the Time Lord muttering under his breath, watching as the Pharaoh tried to open the door, first by the mechanism on the door itself before resorting to using the sonic screwdriver, neither of them working, the computerized voice protesting the move. The Pharaoh slumped against the door for a moment, breathing heavily before looking through the small window on the door.

Yugi jumped at the near sob that came from the Time Lord, reaching out to rest a hand on the Time Lord's shoulder, surprised when the Pharaoh just slid down the wall. Yugi frowned before kneeling next to the Pharaoh, wrapping his arm around the Time Lord's shoulders. "Pharaoh? Pharaoh, what's wrong?"

"She's gone."

"She?"

"She's gone…no...she can't be dead." The Pharaoh scrambled to get a good hold on Yugi, the human barely having time to register that the Pharaoh was resting his hands against the sides of his head before he slumped forward, gasping as he felt the Pharaoh's emotions rushing through his head. Yugi shivered, surprised at the depth of sorrow that was coming from the Time Lord, wrapping his arms around the Pharaoh and holding him, pressing his forehead against the Time Lord's. The Pharaoh shivered in his arms, breathing harshly as he tried to bring himself back under control.

Slowly, the Pharaoh's hands fell away from the sides of his head, Yugi continuing to hold the Pharaoh. He ran a hand down the Time Lord's back, holding him close. The minutes passed slowly, Yugi only standing up when the Pharaoh stopped shaking, holding out a hand for the Time Lord. The Pharaoh seized it, holding on tightly as Yugi helped him to his feet. Yugi smiled at the Pharaoh, brushing some of his bangs out of his eyes before turning to look out the small window.

It was as bad as he had feared. The storage section was completely gone, a large gouge in the rock below them showing where it had fallen into the center of the asteroid. Yugi sighed, giving the Pharaoh's hand a squeeze for reassurance. Storage area six had been one of those sections that had fallen through, the section that the TARDIS had been in. Yugi glanced back at the Pharaoh, sighing as the Time Lord began to tremble again, reaching to pull him into a hug. He didn't expect anything different; the Pharaoh had lost the one last tie to his home. The TARDIS was gone.

He was barely aware that Yugi was leading him back to the command center, trailing along. His thoughts were focused entirely on trying to find the TARDIS in his mind, she was always there. But she wasn't this time, she was completely gone. She had been with him for so long; it was hard to imagine life without her, his mind frighteningly empty. Since Gallifrey had burnt, the TARDIS had compensated by being more of a presence in his head, the Pharaoh doing the same for her.

The horrible part was that he hadn't noticed at first. He had the weak connection to Yugi, the connection that would only flare to life with a touch, and it was enough to have something in his head. It would never be a replacement for the presence of the other Time Lords, but it was enough for now. But he had been too worried about the black hole that they were hovering around and what was going on to notice the obvious.

The Pharaoh tried to stop himself from shaking; some distant part of himself pointing out that it would worry Yugi. He looked up at his companion, noticing that Yugi was looking back at him, the two of the standing right outside the command center. The Pharaoh ducked his head, Yugi hesitating before walking up to the Pharaoh and kissing him. The Time Lord leaned into the kiss, holding Yugi close. This planet could take away the only other thing he had, the thought drawing a whimper from him and making him clutch Yugi tighter.

"Hey." His chin was tipped up, Yugi smiling at him. "I'm still here, alright? I'm not leaving you. And we'll find the TARDIS. I promise."

The Pharaoh gave Yugi a weak smile, that enough to urge his companion on, Yugi opening the door to the command center and striding in. The Pharaoh hovered near the back of the room, trying to adjust to the new silence in his head, his entire being focused on the weak connection. He didn't want to think about what would happen if he lost that, sure that insanity would follow. He didn't have far to go anyway. The Pharaoh swallowed and looked up to watch Yugi, his companion glaring at all of the members of the Sanctuary Base.

"Listen, you need to reroute that drill."

"We can't." Zachary looked around at the others before shrugging. "We don't have the power for one."

"There is something more valuable than this source of power down there!" Yugi stared at all of them before throwing his arms up in the air with a groan. "Can't you do something?"

"No." Zachary leaned forward, tapping a finger against the table. "We are close to the source of power and we will not reroute. Two, we can't spare anything, we're rationed enough as it is. Three, it's an unexplored fissure; it could collapse in the next few days. Four, it's the night shift, we're closing up shop. Sorry, we can't do anything for you. Whatever is down there is lost."

The Pharaoh backed into the wall, trying to cling to it but only managing to nearly fall down. He didn't want to face the fact that the TARDIS may be lost forever, he didn't want to leave his precious ship down there alone. She would be scared and frightened, afraid that she had been abandoned, her one great fear since her original Time Lord had died. The Pharaoh could just imagine her keening right now, shivering and fighting back a similar sound from his own throat.

He looked up at a soft touch to his cheek, staring at Yugi for a moment before he realized who he was looking at. The Time Lord gave a small shake of his head, smiling at Yugi as he came back to himself. The TARDIS was gone, but that was no reason to completely lose himself. There was still Yugi, and enough for them to worry about. The Pharaoh swallowed and stood up straight, waiting to see what Yugi would say. His companion just kept his hand resting on the side of his face, smiling at him. The Pharaoh was sure that Yugi was going to say something to try and cheer him up, the human flinching away as Zachary spoke.

"Since you seem to be stuck, we'll give you a place to stay. We'll take you out with us when we leave. That could be any day now."

"In the meantime," Ida smiled at them, "you can help around here. We need someone in the laundry."

She smirked as she walked out of the room, the rest of the crew slowly trickling out. Zachary paused by the door, looking nervous before he gestured towards the hallway. "You can take any of the rooms that aren't occupied off Habitation Three. As soon as we have things settled, food will be served in Habitation Three. I'm…I'm sorry for your loss."

And then he was gone, the Pharaoh staring after him before pushing off of the wall and walking over to the command center and leaning against it. Yugi walked to him after a moment of hesitation, the Pharaoh looking over at him before looking up at the black hole above him. He sighed; watching the last vestiges of the universe that the black hole had consumed earlier disappeared.

"I've always heard that black holes are gateways to another world or time." Yugi gave a weak chuckle. "There're tons of movies about it."

"Not this one. This one just eats." The Pharaoh shook his head and leaned back against the command center, staring at the door out. The Time Lord sighed, hanging his head and staring at the floor. It was really hitting him now, the fact that he was stuck on this asteroid below a black hole, their existence only guaranteed by a tenuous gravity funnel that could collapse at any moment. And the TARDIS…the TARDIS was far beyond his reach. The Pharaoh ran a hand through his hair before he looked over at Yugi again, the human still staring up at the black hole. He turned and rested a hand on Yugi's shoulder, Yugi jumping before smiling. "Are you alright?"

"Of course I'm alright." Yugi shrugged, the motion not enough to shake the Pharaoh's hand from his shoulder. He reached out, resting his hand on the Pharaoh's outstretched arm. "I'm always alright."

"Yugi…"

"Don't worry about me." Yugi gave a weak laugh, shifting slightly. "I'm fine, just…a bit overwhelmed."

"I do worry. It's my fault that we're stuck here. I should have…"

"Should have what?" Yugi raised an eyebrow and shook his head. "There's nothing you could have done, it's just bad luck. Don't worry about me."

The Pharaoh opened his mouth to speak, shutting it a moment later to shake his head. He reached out for Yugi, pulling him into a hug and holding him close, glancing up at the black hole before ducking his head and resting it on Yugi's shoulder. His companion hesitated for a moment before tightening his hold on the Time Lord, the two of them standing there and clinging to each other.

He shivered as Yugi nuzzled his neck, gently prying the Pharaoh's hands from his back, guiding them to rest on his temples. "I'm here if you need me."

The Pharaoh smiled, guiding Yugi into a brief kiss, ignoring the urge to reconnect with the human. He had to at least try to be more dependent on himself. At the first chance, he would get Yugi off of the asteroid, even if it meant that he had to leave the TARDIS behind, he would be coming back to get her. But the time machine would understand that, she would want to keep Yugi safe as well. And if there was no way to get her back…the Pharaoh stopped before he could go further with that thought, finding himself clinging to Yugi again. At least he still had Yugi.

He looked up as the strands of Bolero drifted through the speakers, Yugi pushing away from him for a moment before cuddling close. The Pharaoh rubbed a hand down Yugi's back, feeling the human coax him into a slow sway, Yugi smiling up at him. "I never got to see you dance."

The Pharaoh raised an eyebrow. "You probably don't want to. It's been a good few years."

"Then I can just teach you again." Yugi laughed before pulling back again, holding his hand before leading him towards the door. "Let's get you some food and then we'll figure out what to do about the TARDIS."

He just nodded, allowing Yugi to lead him out into the hallway, not wanting to tell Yugi that he had resigned himself to leaving this place without the TARDIS. The Pharaoh squeezed Yugi's hand, looking up as they came to the next door, telling himself not to worry about it. If Yugi wasn't worried, then he wouldn't be, or he pretend that he wasn't.

The door opened into the Habitation Unit, Yugi immediately guiding him to a table before rushing off for food; the Pharaoh shaking his head and following after Yugi, the human giving him a shocked glance encouraging the Time Lord to laugh. "Yugi, I'm perfectly capable of functioning on my own."

"But you-"

"I know." The Pharaoh reached up to brush one of Yugi's bangs away from the side of his face, using the contact to brush across the surface of Yugi's mind, smiling as the human shivered. "But I have you."

Yugi gave him a tentative smile before turning around to the food, glancing around at all the colored choices. The Pharaoh raised an eyebrow before quickly pointing to something green and blue, Scooti walking by and giving a low whistle. "You're brave."

He shook his head, scooting out of the way to allow Yugi through, noticing that the human had struck up a conversation with the Ood. "So, what planet are you guys from?"

"It does not matter. This is where we serve, so this is where we are from." The answer got a strange look from Yugi, the human glancing back at the Pharaoh before clearing his throat and trying again.

"Well, do you like it here?"

"We get to serve, and that is our life."

"But are you happy?" The Ood just blinked at Yugi, the human shifting awkwardly before sighing, the Pharaoh recognizing it as a temporary surrender. "Alright. Thanks."

"The Beast and his armies shall rise from the pit and make war against God." Yugi and the Pharaoh froze at that, the Ood focused on the translator ball in its hands. It gave the ball a tap, shaking it a bit before looking at Yugi. "My apologies. I meant to say, please enjoy your meal."

Yugi gave a jerky nod before walking back to the table, the Pharaoh glancing back at the Ood before following him. The two settled down, Yugi poking at his food while the Pharaoh automatically started to eat his without really paying attention, starting when he realized that it was all gone. Yugi laughed, reaching out to poke the Pharaoh's forehead. "Where are you? Oh…TARDIS…right."

The Pharaoh reached up to capture Yugi's hand, holding it in his own on the table. Yugi glanced down at that, smiling before eating his own food. It seemed like that was enough to show his companion that he was coping. Of course, his strategy was not the best; he was just refusing to think about it. It would soon come crashing down on him when he reverted back to his old habits. Until then, he would be alright, he still had Yugi, still had some sort of connection inside of his head, so it wasn't completely silent. Yet.

He looked up from his study of Yugi, taking the time to notice the way his bangs fell against the human's face in jagged strands, when Ida stood up. The intercom system in the room crackled, Ida pressing a button and glancing at the rest of them. "Anything wrong, captain?"

"No. I'm just warning you that I'm signing off. Oh, and the Scarlet System is overhead. It's going now." The intercom crackled again before it went silent, Ida nodding slowly and moving to the lever that would slide back the panels. The Pharaoh shifted in his seat, still holding onto Yugi's hand, tilting his head back as he watched the black hole being revealed.

The first thing that caught his attention was the strip of red that was heading for the black hole, getting smaller and thinner as it reached the center before disappearing altogether. The Pharaoh sighed, hearing Yugi give a gasp of wonder. "It's beautiful. But what was it?"

"The home of the Polushi. They lasted for billions of years. That," the Pharaoh raised his free hand to trace the line of the line of red, "is all of it, all their planets and suns. Gone."

"We have witnessed its passing." Ida spoke the words quietly before shutting the panels again and checking her watch. "Well, we'd better be off to bed, morning shift comes early. Yugi, you'll be helping Scooti with the maintenance, we need another small body to crawl around places. Pharaoh, you're in the laundry."

The Pharaoh shot Yugi a glare when the human laughed, rolling his eyes and watching as the others filed out of the room, the Ood shutting down the food serving area with loud clangs of metal, leaving Yugi and the Pharaoh alone. The Time Lord sighed, just to break the silence and looked up to where the black hole would be.

"Well, they did offer us a ride home."

"The Earth is over five hundred years away."

"That's a long…Wow." Yugi shook his head, staring up at the ceiling is well. "So you'd get back to Earth then. Unless this thing," he tapped the side of his head, "decided to help me out with that."

"Yugi…" He was given a smile by his companion, probably to warn him that it was just a joke. But it still was a little too possible for comfort. He was realizing that he was clinging to Yugi in the absence of his TARDIS, his sanity suddenly relying very much on Yugi being somewhere near him and alive. The Time Lord swallowed harshly, he had to do something about that. It had been dangerous before, but it was worse now. He didn't even want to think about what he would do if Yugi was taken away from him now.

"Huh." The Pharaoh looked up, Yugi holding his cell phone in one hand, the other still entwined with the Time Lord's. He glanced up to see the Pharaoh looking at him, spinning the phone around to show him the display. "No signal. We're finally out of the range you gave this thing. I can't even call my mother now, not that it would help. What would I tell her?"

"You're stuck on an asteroid."

"Beneath a black hole?" Yugi laughed and shook his head. "No, that would earn you another slap and my mother yelling at you, I want to keep you in one piece. It might be better that I can't tell her…since I can't go back."

"Yugi, I-"

"Don't you dare apologize. I wouldn't have given this up for the world." Yugi gave him a soft smile, squeezing his hand. "Stuck with you isn't bad."

"You say that now."

Yugi raised his eyebrow. "Like I would change my mind?" The Pharaoh didn't have an answer for that, looking away. He felt Yugi shift before the human spoke. "What? Are you like some tyrannical housewife secretly?"

The Pharaoh gave a short laugh before looking at Yugi out of the corner of his eye. "What makes you think that I would be the wife?"

"You're the pretty boy."

"Pretty boy?"

Yugi leaned forward and nodded, smiling. "Yeah, much prettier this time around. You've got that tan and sexy thing going for you."

"I take it you approve."

"Of course." Yugi nodded before sitting back and sighing. "I guess that makes me the wife then."

"Sorry."

"No, it just means that I get to nag you." Yugi flashed him a smile and sighed, tipping his head back to stare at the ceiling. "I guess this means that we'll have to settle down, get a house."

"A house!" The Pharaoh groaned melodramatically and rested his forehead against the table. "Oh no."

"Houses and mortgages."

He lifted his head and shook it. "I refuse. I will die before I get a mortgage. That's pushing towards domestic."

"Still don't do domestic?" Yugi tsked before laughing, tipping his head back further as he stretched, the Pharaoh's gaze darting to the skin that was revealed as Yugi's shirt rode up. His companion leaned forward again; the Pharaoh tempted to close the distance between them and kiss him, Yugi smiling to show that he knew what he was doing to the Time Lord. "Then what are we."

"Brilliant exceptions to the rule."

Yugi laughed at that, rewarding the answer with a kiss on the Pharaoh's forehead. "Come on, we have to get up early."

The Pharaoh stood up, still not letting go of Yugi's hand as they walked towards the living quarters of the small crew here, easily locating the rooms that were not being used. Yugi peeked into one of them, smiling before letting go of the Pharaoh's hand and rushing into the room, turning in the small space. The Pharaoh watched him for a moment, Yugi grinning and scrambling up into the top bunk, immediately wrapping the covers around him. "Mine."

"Fine. Just don't fall out." The Pharaoh took of his coat, throwing it over the chair in the small room, sighing before kicking off his shoes, flinging himself back on his bed as Yugi's shoes dropped from above.

"Sorry."

"Humans." The Pharaoh thought he heard Yugi laugh before he flopped back into his bed, reaching for the light. "Night Yugi."

"Goodnight." He flipped the light off, stretching out on the bed. He wouldn't actually sleep tonight, didn't need to. Although, it was strange not to have Yugi there to sleep with, the Pharaoh quickly assuring himself that it was a good thing. Yugi needed his sleep, he didn't need an over attached Time Lord feeling him up at night. Although that idea wasn't too bad, the Pharaoh shook his head, turning onto his side and staring at the wall in the darkness, lifting his head from the pillow as he heard Yugi turn on the bed above him, sitting up as Yugi peered down from his bunk.

"Pharaoh?"

"Yes?"

"About doing domestic…"

The Time Lord sighed. "I didn't mean it as an insult Yugi."

"I know, I know. It's just that…if I had to share a house with anyone, it would be you." Yugi bit his lip for a moment, the Pharaoh staring at him. How had he been so lucky to get this human on the first try? Yugi, who seemed to accept everything about him without blinking, the human who cared about him enough to risk his own life to save him. Yugi understood him better than he sometimes understood himself and always knew what to say. And how could he have been so blind to Yugi's attraction to him earlier? Why hadn't he acted on it?

All of the arguments that he had used against himself melted away, leaving the Pharaoh stuck staring up at Yugi. His companion could handle himself, and it would be too smothering if the Pharaoh acted as he wanted to, keeping Yugi safe all the time. He suddenly felt that the universe was too small of an offer for what Yugi gave to him freely, the Pharaoh struggling to come up with something that he could give back to Yugi. After all, the human offered up himself, all of him, to the Time Lord who had destroyed more planets and species than he had saved. Wasn't it fair to return the offer?

The Pharaoh sat up, scooting off his bed and holding out his hand for Yugi. The human reached out to hold his hand, confused for a moment when the Time Lord gave his hand a tug, smiling when he figured out the signal and clambered down to the floor. Yugi stared up at him, the Pharaoh letting go of his hand and brushing Yugi's bangs away from his face, smiling down at his companion before leaning down for a kiss. Yugi responded eagerly, wrapping his arms around the Pharaoh's neck. The Time Lord sighed into the kiss, taking a step forward as Yugi stepped back, the two of them tumbling onto his bed.

He rolled on top of Yugi, slipping a hand under Yugi's shirt and tracing patterns on the soft skin there. Yugi gasped and arched up into his touch, the Pharaoh surprised when Yugi fumbled to catch his hand. The human panted for breath, staring up at him in surprise. "Pharaoh?"

"It's alright, Yugi." The Time Lord leaned over to kiss him, Yugi slow to respond to this one. The Pharaoh sat up, wrapping his arms around Yugi and pulling the human into his lap. He cuddled Yugi close, staring at the wall across from them. There was a choice to be made here, the choice that the Pharaoh had always avoided since leaving Gallifrey. Right now, stranded without the TARDIS, he had to choose between time and space and Yugi, and Yugi was winning by a large margin. He had forever for time and space, and he and Yugi only had a short while. The Pharaoh smiled at that, tipping Yugi's chin up. "Stuck with you, isn't too bad."

Yugi's mouth fell open slightly, the human trying to figure out what the Time Lord was saying. "W-what?"

"Yugi," the Pharaoh leaned forward, his lips brushing across Yugi's, "how long are you going to stay with me?"

The human blinked, the Pharaoh watching as Yugi focused on the question. Yugi looked up at him, the Pharaoh watching as his companion's eyes darkened, Yugi pressing himself up against the Pharaoh. "Forever."

Their lips met again, Yugi taking the moment to pull the Pharaoh back over him. The Time Lord let himself rest over Yugi, the human arching up against him with a moan. The Pharaoh slipped his hands under Yugi's shirt, brushing over Yugi's sides before beginning to pull the shirt over Yugi's head, the human breaking the kiss to help him. The shirt was thrown to a corner of the room, the Pharaoh ducking his head to kiss the skin that had been revealed to him. He felt hands fumbling with his own shirt, sighing against Yugi's skin and sitting up to help his companion.

Yugi quickly tugged his shirt off, stopping when the garment fluttered back onto the bed, staring at the Pharaoh's chest before looking up, biting his lip. "Is this because you lost the TARDIS?"

"No Yugi." The Pharaoh kissed his forehead. "This is because you are you, amazing and simply you." The Time Lord's hands strayed down Yugi's sides, the human gasping. "Irresistibly you."

Yugi gave a strangled sound that could have been his name, the Pharaoh chuckling before lowering his head to kiss the side of Yugi's neck, resisting the urge to make any marks. He didn't want to have to deal with the other crew members tomorrow or any ribald jokes. Instead, he moved down Yugi's chest, pushing the human back into the bed as he did so. Yugi allowed himself to be lowered to the covers, one hand reaching down to tangle in the Pharaoh's hair.

His companion gave a muffled squeal as the Pharaoh nipped at the skin of his stomach, Yugi panting heavily the closer the Time Lord got to his pants. The hand in the Time Lord's hair tightened for a moment before slipping out, the Pharaoh looking up at Yugi. His companion was biting down on his other hand, Yugi's eyes opening slightly to look down at the Pharaoh, the irises darkened. He smiled up at his companion, dragging himself up Yugi's body to gently kiss Yugi's mouth, not surprised when Yugi responded fiercely.

Their tongues brushed against each other, Yugi clinging to his shoulders and trying to draw him down as the Pharaoh struggled to sit up. The Time Lord gave his companion a quick glance before undoing his belts, stopping when Yugi tackled him back to the bed. He expected the human to go right for the zipper of his pants, surprised when Yugi seemed to kiss his way down the Time Lord's chest in an almost leisurely fashion. "Do you know how hard it's been to not jump you before now?"

The Pharaoh just rolled his hips up into Yugi, catching his companion as Yugi fell onto him. "I can only imagine."

Yugi just glared at him, attacking the button and zipper on the Pharaoh's pants before stripping them off, barely having time to remove the Time Lord's socks when the Pharaoh had flipped them again. The human struggled for a moment before relaxing, gasping as the Pharaoh undid his pants, stroking him through his underwear. His companion bucked up into his hand, a whimper escaping before Yugi clamped a hand over his mouth. The Pharaoh smiled, sitting up to pull off his own pants, turning to pull Yugi's pants and underwear completely off as well.

His companion just stared at him, a mixture of lust and awe in his eyes. The Pharaoh raised an eyebrow as Yugi's gaze strayed down to his crotch, Yugi blushing and looking away. "Oh."

"Oh?"

"It's normal." The Pharaoh shook his head, leaning over Yugi. The human glanced up at him before shifting nervously. "I thought that, because you were-Oh God."

Yugi pressed his head back against the pillow, biting his lip as the Pharaoh began to stroke him again, his hips giving little jerks. The Pharaoh smirked and leaned forward, pressing kisses against Yugi's neck, catching the strangled noises that Yugi was trying to keep from escaping. Slowly, he was able to make out the word that Yugi was repeating over and over again, looking up at his companion's face. "Please, please, please, please, please…"

He shook his head, moving so he could whisper into Yugi's ear, the move earning a muffled moan from his companion. Yugi managed a few more of the soft pleas before moaning, the Pharaoh tracing the shell of Yugi's ear with his tongue. The human whimpered, writhing beneath the Pharaoh, the Time Lord trying to slow the desperate movements. He wanted this to last, not to be done in an instant, but even his own body wouldn't let him move slowly. He had wanted this for too long.

The Pharaoh gave a soft moan, ducking his head to kiss Yugi's shoulder, unable to stop himself from licking the human's skin, enjoying the salty taste of sweat. There was something else there as well, the Pharaoh going still for a moment, deaf to Yugi's quiet protests. A low growl came from him at the scent that was still faintly on Yugi's skin, the Pharaoh not even realizing that he had made the sound. He was consumed by the thought that he could still smell her on Yugi.

His rational mind tried to come back to the fore, insisting that it was just his time sense acting up. Time Lords hadn't physically mated for nearly billions of years. But the Pharaoh wasn't willing to listen, all he could think about was the fact that Yugi still smelled slightly of Miho, and he was not about to give up his companion to that blonde human. Yugi was his and his alone.

He bit down on the skin of Yugi's shoulder, hearing a muffled squeal from his companion before licking the bruise. Now she would know, if she ever dared to get close to Yugi again, that that the human was his. The Pharaoh gave a soft hum before turning to kiss Yugi, slightly soothed by his marking of the human. The faint smell of Miho still lingered on Yugi, but that would be gone soon enough. She would never have him again.

The Pharaoh winced as Yugi clawed at his back, managing to shift the Time Lord enough to grab one of his hands, moving it back towards his erection with a needy whine. The Pharaoh smirked, shaking Yugi's hand from his own and ignoring the moan of disappointment. He waited until he had Yugi's full attention before offering two fingers to Yugi, biting back a moan and the human eagerly took them into his mouth, sucking on them. The Time Lord groaned at the soft noises of enjoyment that Yugi made, unable to stop himself from rocking his hips against Yugi, taking the chance to remove his fingers from Yugi's mouth when the human gasped.

He brought the fingers down to Yugi's entrance, Yugi opening his legs wider, and wrapping an arm around the Pharaoh's neck. The Pharaoh waited until Yugi nodded, slipping one finger in. He barely noticed the slight wince that his companion gave, struck by the tight heat that was Yugi. He trembled, more eager to feel that heat around his own erection, ducking his head to kiss his way up Yugi's neck as he stretched him.

The first sounds that Yugi made had a distressed edge to them, the Pharaoh about to comfort his companion when it changed, the Time Lord shivering as Yugi struggled to muffle the sounds, the human's hips bucking up eagerly. He slipped a second finger in, earning a sharp intake of breath from Yugi, the sound the only pause in the litany of soft moans and squeaks that he was drawing out of his companion. He could feel his self control slipping at the sounds, glad when Yugi gripped his shoulders and shook his head, panting for breath. "N-no more."

The Pharaoh nodded and slipped his fingers out of Yugi, the human's hips following his motion. Yugi gave a disappointed moan, staring up at the Time Lord desperately. The Pharaoh smiled and gave Yugi a fleeting kiss before shifting, feeling the head of his penis brush across Yugi's entrance, the touch earning a sharp intake of breath from his companion, Yugi's hand tightening on his shoulders. But whether from fright or anticipation, the Pharaoh didn't know, but he didn't give Yugi the time to think over it.

Trying to make the motion as smooth as possible, the Pharaoh thrust into Yugi, quickly leaning forward to kiss the human to prevent any sounds from escaping. Yugi gave a strangled whine, the Pharaoh pulling away when they both had to breathe. His companion had his eyes closed, breathing hard. The Pharaoh kissed Yugi's forehead, Yugi opening one eye before nodding slowly, the Pharaoh unsure how to take the motion. His hesitation didn't last long, Yugi rolling his hips up deliberately.

The Pharaoh smirked before lowering his head to kiss Yugi again, drawing out of the human's body at the same time. He thrust back in just as quickly, the way Yugi wrapped his legs around the Time Lord's hips showing that he approved of the pace, the slight pressure encouraging him onward. The Pharaoh complied with his companion's wishes, setting a fast pace.

His first thrusts missed Yugi's prostate completely, an accidental shift bringing him into contact with that bundle of nerves and drawing a moan out of Yugi, the first one that wasn't muffled. The Pharaoh smirked, situating himself so that he could hit that spot again. The next thrust nearly had Yugi screaming, Yugi biting his lip at the last moment to keep the sound from escaping. The Pharaoh kissed him again, wrapping his arms around Yugi to hold him close as he thrust, Yugi moving with him.

The pace was too fast for either of them to last long, Yugi succumbing first with a gasp, his body jerking slightly as he climaxed. The Pharaoh tensed at the breathy sigh that Yugi gave, catching his name in the little exhalation and that was all he needed to send him over the edge as well, gritting his teeth to keep from crying out. He managed to hold himself up for a moment more before he collapsed on top of Yugi, feeling his companion snuggle up close.

Silence reigned between them, the Pharaoh catching his breath and becoming aware that Yugi was placing light kisses all over his neck, sometimes stopping to lick at a certain spot before moving on. The Time Lord allowed Yugi to continue the leisurely activity for a while before he pulled out of Yugi, falling over to his side and gathering his companion close.

Yugi glanced over his shoulder before rolling onto his other side, facing the Pharaoh. The Time Lord looked down into Yugi's sleepy eyes, smiling and pressing a kiss to the human's forehead. Apparently, that was permission enough for Yugi to wiggle into a comfortable position, falling asleep with his head pillowed on the Pharaoh's shoulder. The Time Lord smiled down at his companion, reaching for the sheet before pulling it over them, cuddling Yugi close.

To his surprise, he felt tired, the Pharaoh assuming it was because of the physical sensation; one that his kind had not experienced for a long while. He ignored the urge to analyze everything that had happened, preferring to wrap his arms tightly around Yugi and drift into a partial doze, lulled into his complacent state by the warmth of Yugi at his side.

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