The Impossible Planet: The Army Rises
"What is it?" Rose called as they bound down the hall, the Time Lords frantic, "What's wrong?"
"Open Door 19."
The Doctor dashed across the canteen.
"Close Door 19."
He spun the wheel, trying to open the door back to the other corridor, "Stupid doors, come ON!" it swung open and he was out again.
"Open Door 17."
They rushed down the corridor, opening another door.
"Open Door 16."
"Doctor!" Angel called, "It won't work..."
But the Doctor shoved against the next one regardless, frantically pushing the button to open it but it wasn't working.
"Door 15 out of commission."
"Can't be, can't be!" he exclaimed.
"What's wrong?!" Rose cried, finally catching up to them, "What is it?" she watched as the Doctor opened a small round window in the door and looked through it, "Doctor, the TARDIS is in there. What's happened?"
"The TARDIS is gone," the Doctor backed away from the window, devastated.
"Door 15 out of commission."
"The earthquake...this section collapsed."
Rose stared at him, puzzled, "But it's gotta be out there somewhere," she peered out the window, only to see the rocky, barren landscape.
"Look down," the Doctor commented and she did, only to see a canyon, "It's lost. Gone. Probably destroyed..."
"No," Angel shook her head, "No, she isn't. She's still alive."
The Doctor looked at her, wide eyed, he'd assumed the box had been destroyed in the quake, it was a LONG way down and that quake had been violent to say the least, "What?"
"I don't feel like when we fell through the Vortex," she replied, looking at him, "The TARDIS may be trapped down there, but she's still intact, she's still alive. And if she's still alive...we just have to find her."
~8~
The Doctor, Angel, and Rose were back in the control room, the Doctor pleading with Zach, "The ground gave way. My TARDIS must've fallen down right into the heart of the planet. But you've got robot drills heading the same way."
"We can't divert the drilling," Zach shook his head, turning away.
The Doctor stared at him a moment before moving after him, "But we NEED my ship. It's all we've got. Literally the only thing Angel and I have left."
"Please," Angel tried, "You've no idea how important she is."
"Look, WE'VE only got the resources to drill ONE central shaft down to the power source, and that's it," Zach huffed, "No diversions, no distractions, NO EXCEPTIONS. Your machine is lost. All I can do is offer you a lift if we ever get to leave this place, and that...is the end of it."
He walked away, Ida approaching the Doctor, who looked completely helpless, Angel holding his hand in comfort, "I'll uh, put you on the duty roster. We need someone in the laundry," she turned and followed Zach out of the room.
"Open Door 1."
The Doctor squeezed Angel's hand as the three of them looked at each other, the Ood leaving the room.
"Close Door 1."
The Doctor turned and leaned against the control panel with Angel and Rose, "I've trapped you here," the Doctor said quietly to Rose.
"No," Rose shook her head, "Don't worry about me," the base shook, "Ok, we're on a planet that shouldn't exist, under a black hole, and no way out," they looked at her, "Yeah, I've changed my mind. Start worrying about me."
Angel stepped forward and pulled Rose into a comforting hug, looking at the Doctor over the blonde's shoulder in concern.
He could only look down, hopeless. This was all his fault. If he'd just listened to Angel when she'd said it wasn't a good place, taken in how little she wanted to stay there, and truly turned and left, none of this would have happened, the TARDIS would still be there with them and they wouldn't be trapped.
"Come on," Angel pulled away, "You know what you need?" she gave Rose a small smile, her hands resting on Rose's shoulders, wanting her to feel better despite the fact that she herself was rather on edge about all this, "A cookie."
Rose laughed, smiling at how random that was but also how Angel it was, that girl loved her cookies, "What?"
"Yeah," she nodded, "A nice, warm cookie. Or a banana," she added, before pausing to consider her words, "Well...bananas are good, but cookies can do wonders. Yeah, cookies it is. Think they might have some?"
Rose shook her head but kept smiling, "Oh they've GOT to," she agreed playfully, "Can't have a dangerous expedition to a black hole without cookies!"
"Then let's go get some," Angel nodded, not seeming to sense Rose wasn't really being serious, "Come on," she turned Rose around on the spot and nudged her on.
Rose laughed and headed for the door, the Time Lords behind her.
The Doctor stepped to Angel's side, taking her hand, knowing she wasn't really as ok with the situation as she was trying to seem for Rose, "I'm sorry," he told her softly so Rose wouldn't hear, "I should have listened to you, we should have turned back. The TARDIS is lost because of me."
She squeezed his hand, "I'm not happy to be here," she admitted, "I don't like this planet. Everything in me is telling me to get away from it. And I have a feeling the TARDIS is going to be cross with you about this," she nudged him, "But...I AM happy to be with you," she added, "Even if we're on an impossible planet on the verge of falling into a black hole. I...I can bear that, as long as I'm with you."
He smiled at her, lifting her hand to kiss the back of it, "Just as I can if I'm with you. And then some."
"Good," she nodded, "Then we'll always be with each other."
"Always," he promised, leaning over to kiss her as well. He loved how she could always make him feel a bit better about a situation just by being there, just by smiling at him. It was like she always knew just what to say to cheer him up. And it wasn't because of any 'feeling' telling her what to say but just who she was inside. She was just such a caring soul, with such a warm and loving heart that she just couldn't stand it to see anyone else upset. She was remarkable.
"Though next time," she murmured, pulling away, "Don't argue with the psychic."
He laughed, smiling fully now, "I promise."
"Good."
~8~
"Entering night shift," the computer announced that night, "Your chosen track for transition is Ravel's 'Bolero.'"
The song began to play over the speakers as the Ood worked around the base. Jefferson, wandered amongst them, watching Scooti at work on the planet's surface, "All finished," she called into the wrist comm. of her spacesuit, "Heading back inside."
She started back as Danny ticked off the Ood on a clipboard as they filed past him, "Ood 7 Gamma 10. Ood 7 Gamma 11. Ood 7 Gamma 12..."
~8~
Toby smiled softly as the music carried into his room where he was examining fragments of the ancient writing beneath a microscope. The music cut off sharply and there was a sound of buzzing electricity. He looked up, startled, but dismissed it, getting back to work.
"Toby..." the same voice as before hissed to him.
He jerked up, looking around sharply, searching the room with his eyes. A moment later he shook his head and turned back to the scrolls.
"I can see you…"
"Danny, is that you?" Toby asked, irritated, "It's…it's not funny, alright?"
There was no reply.
He got up and strode out the door, "Dan?" he opened it, peering down the hall to see it deserted, "I'm…I'm trying to work, Daniel," he hesitated, disturbed, "Look, if…if that's you, then can you just stop it..." the lights flickered again. He dashed back into his room when a low groan echoed through it. He glanced around, up and down the corridor, but it was still deserted.
The sound stopped.
~8~
The Doctor sat by the ancient text in the canteen area, staring at it with his brow furrowed as Angel just wandered around the room, pausing a moment and looking at a table of papers, before heading over to it to look at what they were, when Rose got up to go to where the Ood were serving food, Scooti getting served at the moment.
No cookies unfortunately.
"Danny, check the temperature of Ood Habitation," Zach called over the speaker, "It seems to be rising."
Danny stood and walked off, past Angel as she moved back to the Doctor's side, when Scooti noticed Rose standing a few feet away by the Ood hatch, "Help yourself," she gestured at the tray, "Just don't have the green. Or the blue."
She laughed and headed back to her table where she was going over a few reports as Rose picked up her tray and stepped up to the Ood, "Uh, bit of that, thanks," she pointed.
The Ood spooned some sloppy blue goop onto her tray, "Would you like sauce with that?"
"I'll have a go, yeah," she nodded, watching as the Ood shook some sauce onto her tray, "I did that job once. I was a...a dinner lady! Not that I'm calling you a lady. Although, I dunno," she eyed it closely, "You might be. Do you actually get paid, though? Do they give you money?"
"The Beast and his armies shall rise from the Pit to make war against God."
"...I'm sorry?"
"Apologies," the Ood said after shaking its orb, "I said, 'I hope you enjoy your meal.'"
"Yeah…" she replied, watching it carefully, recalling Angel's warning to keep an eye on the Ood, before turning and joining them back by the wall, already feeling safer to be away from the Ood and nearer to them.
~8~
Zach worked away in the control room, eyeing the hologram of the drill, "Drill head now at Point 16," the computer announced as Zach tapped some keys, "Drill head speed increasing."
"Keep pressure at 60," Zach instructed as he stood up and walked over to another set of controls.
While his back was turned, an image of a horned beast replaced the hologram of the planet, roaring quietly.
Zach spun around, having spotted it out of the corner of his eye, but it was gone.
~8~
Danny turned a wheel to open another door.
"Close Door 3," the computer announced.
"I've CLOSED Door 3," Danny rolled his eyes.
"He is awake."
"What did you say?"
"Close Door 3."
Danny peered through a small window on the door, confused.
~8~
Toby sat in his dead silent room, still examining the fragments of the text.
"Toby..." the voice hissed.
He started to turn when...
"Don't turn around."
He closed his eyes, feeling like he was being watched, "Dan..." he began fearfully, "That's not Dan."
"Don't look at me," the voice hissed as he started to turn around again.
"Who…who are you?" Toby froze.
"I have so many names."
"If…if I could…"
"If you look at me, you will die."
"But who are you?"
"I'm behind you, Toby. I'm right behind you."
Toby's head jerked again, taking enormous effort not to turn.
"Don't look…don't look at me."
Toby trembled.
"One look and you will die."
Toby stiffened, feeling it approaching.
"I'm reaching out, Toby. I'm so close. Don't turn around. Oh, I can touch you..."
It was too much, Toby suddenly spun around and stopped.
The voice was gone and the room was empty.
He breathed a sigh of relief, turning back to his work only to see something on his hands through his gloves. He turned them over, putting down the broken fragments and pulling them off to see his hands were covered with the ancient symbols as though tattooed into his skin. He stood up in shock, staring at them. He picked up a mirror from the desk and looked at his face, now covered in the symbols as well, his eyes red. He threw the mirror back down onto the desk, his whole body arching as though in pain as he fell to the floor.
~8~
The lights in the canteen flickered as Angel shivered, the Doctor immediately putting his arm around her.
"Zach, have we got a problem?" Ida called into the comm. on her wrist.
"No more than usual," Zach replied, "Got the Scarlet System burning up, it might be worth a look."
Ida looked over at the Doctor and Angel, who sat close to each other on one side of a table, Rose across from them, "You might wanna see this. Moment in history," she walked over to a lever and pulled it, the ceiling opening to reveal the black hole overhead, the room filling with red light, "There. On the edge," she pointed to a stream of scarlet light gently spinning towards the hole, "That red cloud...that used to be the Scarlet System. Home to the Peluchi...a mighty civilization spanning a billion years...disappearing. Forever. Their planets and suns consumed."
The Doctor felt someone take his hand and looked over to see Angel staring up at the system with a sad expression on her face, clearly thinking about their home and the similarities it held to the Peluchi. And while she held no blame for the Doctor, he knew she missed their world as did he, just the little things about it, the sky, the grass, the trees...and they were both missing it even more so now that they were cut off from the TARDIS, the last thing besides each other that they had of their home planet.
"Ladies and gentlemen...we have witnessed its passing," Ida breathed, moved, about to pull the lever again.
"Er, no, could you leave it open?" the Doctor asked, "Just for a bit. I won't go mad, I promise."
"How would you know?"
"He went mad a long time ago," Angel joked.
Ida nodded, leaving the controls and turning to Scooti, "Scooti, check the lockdown," Scooti got up and headed out, "Jefferson, sign off the airlock seals for me," Jefferson nodded and followed Ida out, leaving the Doctor, Angel, and Rose alone.
"Open Door 18."
"I've seen films and things," Rose remarked, watching the black hole, "Yeah, they say black holes are like gateways to another Universe."
"Close Door 18."
"Not that one," Angel remarked, eyeing it, her stomach twisting again, "It just...eats."
"Long way from home..." Rose sighed.
"Go that way," the Doctor pointed at the hole, a little to the side of it, "Turn right, keep going for um...about 500 years...then you'll reach the Earth."
Rose pulled her phone out, turning it on, "No signal. That's the first time we've gone out of range. Mind you, even if I could...what would I tell her? Can you build another TARDIS?"
"They were grown, not built," Angel corrected softly, "With Gallifrey gone..." she shook her head, "I mean, we COULD grow another TARDIS if we had a chunk of TARDIS coral, but that would take thousands of years..."
"Well, it could be worse," Rose tried to keep it light as their list of escapes and options dwindled, "This lot said they'd give us a lift."
"And then what?" the Doctor looked at her.
"I dunno...find a planet...get a job...live a life, same as the rest of the Universe."
"Pfft..." he shook his head, thinking about it, "I'd have to settle down. In a house or something, a proper house with...with...with...with DOORS and things. Carpets! Me! Living in a house!" Rose smiled, "Now that...that is terrifying."
"You'd have to get a mortgage," Rose teased.
"...no," he gaped, horrified.
"Oh yes."
"Now you know how Sarah Jane felt," Angel nudged him, smiling.
"I am dying," he determined, "That's it. I am dying, it is all over."
"What about me?" Rose cut in, "I'd have to get one too," she laughed, "We could get the same one! We'd all be flatmates!"
"Aren't we that now?" Angel laughed, looking at the Doctor, "The TARDIS has carpets and doors. And, if she wanted, and the Chameleon Circuit wasn't broken, she could take the shape of a house..."
"Well, THAT," he nodded, "Wouldn't be quite so bad. Best house in the Universe."
They fell silent for a few moments, their thoughts reminded of the lost TARDIS, before the Doctor sighed, "I promised Jackie I'd always take you back home."
"Everyone leaves home in the end," Rose waved him off.
"Maybe, but you've got a home to go back to Rose," Angel told her lightly, reaching out to touch Rose's hand, squeezing it, "You've no idea how lucky you are to have that."
The Doctor nodded, "And no one leaves home to end up stuck here."
"Yeah, but stuck with you two," Roes smiled, "That's not so bad."
"Yeah?" Angel smiled at her.
"Yes," she said sincerely, "It's fantastic actually."
Angel and the Doctor smiled, pleased that Rose enjoyed their company so much.
Rose's phone rang, she smiled, thinking their luck had changed for the better, and answered it, only to hear, 'He is awake' on the other end. Shocked, she quickly threw the phone to the floor.
~8~
Toby jerked awake, a murderous look in his red eyes.
~8~
The trio clambered down the stairs to see Danny in the Ood Habitation room, "Evening!" the Doctor called.
"Only us!" Rose smiled.
"The mysterious trio," Danny commented working at his computer, "How are you, then? Settling in?"
"Yeah, sorry, straight to business," the Doctor cut in, "The Ood, how do they communicate? I mean, with each other," he glanced down at the Ood sitting in an area, much like an animal pen, below.
Danny shrugged, "Oh, just empaths. There's a low level telepathic field connecting them. Not that that does THEM much good. They're basically a herd race. Like cattle."
"The...telepathic field, would it be able to pick up psychic messages?" Angel wondered.
"'Cos I was having dinner, and one of the Ood said something...well, odd," Rose agreed.
"Oh," Danny rolled his eyes, "An odd Ood."
"And then I got something else on my er..." Rose glanced at the Doctor and Angel, "Communicator thing."
"Oh, be fair," Danny scoffed, "We've got whole star systems burning up around us. There's all sorts of stray transmissions. Probably nothing," the Doctor and Rose stared at him, not convinced, as Angel glanced at the computer Danny was just at, "Look...if there was something wrong, it would show. We monitor the telepathic field. It's the only way to look after them. They're so stupid, they don't even tell us when they're ill."
"Monitor the field, that's this thing?" the Doctor glanced at the screen as well, seeing it read 'Basic 5.'
"Yeah. But like I said, it's low level telepathy. They only register Basic 5."
"Um, that's not Basic 5," Angel frowned, seeing the register rising from 5 to 6 and on, "10..." Rose glanced over as the Ood lifted their heads in unison, "20..." Angel looked at Danny, "They've gone up to Basic 30."
"But they can't..."
"The Ood..." Rose gasped as the Ood all turned as one and looked up at them, "What does Basic 30 mean?"
"Well, it means that they're shouting, screaming inside their heads."
"No..." Angel muttered, shaking her head as she stared at the Ood, "Something's shouting at them…"
"What?" the Doctor asked her.
"I dunno," she breathed, sounding just a little scared.
Danny typed something into the keyboard, "But...where's it coming from? What is it saying? I mean…" he turned to Rose, "What did it say to you?"
"Something about the Beast in the Pit," she replied.
"What about your communicator? What did that say?"
"He is awake," she said after a moment's hesitation.
"And you will worship him," the Ood recited.
"What the hell?" Danny gasped.
"He is awake," the Doctor turned to the Ood, addressing them.
"And you will worship him," they repeated.
"Worship who?" the Doctor asked, but they didn't reply, "Who's talking to you? Who is it?"
~8~
Scooti rummaged around her work area, trying to find the expenditure report for Toby. She'd been working on it in Habitation Three during dinner but now she couldn't find it for the life of her. She frowned, looking around at the other papers in her file. She sighed, turning to head back out of her room, down to Habitation Three to look there just as a figure walked out onto the surface of the planet without a suit, visible from the windows beside her.
~8~
The entire base shook suddenly, the trio down in the pen with the Ood and Danny still on the balcony overlooking it, when they were thrown down to the ground, the Doctor grabbing Angel to try and protect her from the jolting, "Emergency hull breach," the speakers called, "Emergency hull breach."
"Which section?" Danny shouted.
"Everyone..." Zach's voice came over the speakers, "Evacuate 11 to 13, we've got a breach! The base is open. Repeat: the base is OPEN."
~8~
Jefferson and two guards hurried along a corridor, shielding themselves from the sparks flying from the walls and the smoke rising through floor.
~8~
"Open Door 19."
The Doctor, Angel, Rose, and Danny ran through the corridors.
"Close Door 19."
"I can't contain the oxygen field, we're gonna lose it!" Zach warned.
~8~
"Come on!" Jefferson shouted, straining to keep a door open, "Keep moving!" the Doctor, Rose, Angel, and Danny ran from one direction, running into Ida and the two other guards in another, "And you too, Toby!" Jefferson pulled the boy through the door, his face and eyes back to normal, slamming it shut as Toby fell to the floor.
"Beach sealed," the speakers called, "Breach sealed."
"Everyone alright?!" the Doctor dashed over to them, "What happened? What was it?"
"Oxygen levels normal."
"Hull breach!" Jefferson gasped, catching his breath "We were open to the elements. A couple of minutes and we'd have been inspecting that black hole at close quarters."
Rose knelt down by Toby, helping him sit up as he sweated and panted on the floor, Angel slowly stopping as she eyed the boy with a frown.
"That wasn't a quake," the Doctor said, "What caused it?"
"We've lost sections 11 to 13," Zach called over the comm., "Everyone alright?"
"We've got everyone here except Scooti," Jefferson replied, "Scooti, report."
Static sounded.
"Scooti Manista? That's an order. Report!"
But again, only static.
"She's alright," Zach called, earning a sigh of relief from Jefferson and Ida, "I picked up her bio chip, she's in Habitation Three. Better go and check. If she's not responding, she might be unconscious."
Toby looked down at his hands, turning them over to see them clean, unnoticing of Angel watching him closely.
"How about that, eh? We survived."
"Habitation Three..." Jefferson nodded, "Come on, I don't often say this, but I think we could all do with a drink. Come on," he led them down the corridor, everyone but Toby, Rose, the Doctor, and Angel.
The Doctor crouched down by the severely shaken Toby, "What happened?"
"I don't…" he swallowed, speaking very fast, flustered, "I dunno, I…I was working and then...I can't remember. All…all that noise, the room was falling apart, there was no air…"
"Come on," Rose helped him up, "Up you get. Come and have some Protein One," she tucked her arm with his and led him off down the corridor, Angel stepping to the side, out of their way as though avoiding touching Toby.
"Oh, you've gone native," the Doctor called after her.
"Oi, don't knock it," she shouted back, "It's nice. Protein One with just a," she clicked her tongue, "Dash of Three."
The Doctor laughed, before noticing Angel's frown as she stared after them, "What is it?"
"I don't know," she replied, she felt like something was off with Toby, but whatever it was it was hiding itself, she couldn't be certain.
And it was tearing her apart.
There was a danger there, she knew, Toby was somehow involved but she didn't know how, and her feelings were so...jumbled. All she could feel was a darkness, a fear, something twisting in the very essence of the planet. She needed to know! Not knowing was putting everyone in so much danger. How could she help if she couldn't understand her feelings enough to express them? How could she stop the humans from making a mistake or wandering into a trap or being harmed if she didn't know what was happening? She couldn't even explain to the Doctor what was going on her feelings were so scattered.
"Angel?" he frowned, watching her as she seemed to grow deeper in her thoughts, more frustrated. He walked over to her, taking her hands, "What's wrong?"
She shook her head, "Everything."
"What?" he blinked.
She frowned, shaking her head more, even more frustrated, "I don't know why I said that."
He nodded a moment before reaching out to cup her cheeks in his hands, "I want to try something," he began, staring into her eyes, "You've been getting more feelings than normal here, yes?" she nodded, knowing he'd seen her expressions shifting whenever she got a 'feeling,' "Close your eyes," he whispered and she did, "Now...just...feel."
Her forehead scrunched in concentration.
"No, no, no," he stroked her cheek with his thumb, "No thinking. No concentrating. No forcing anything. Just let yourself feel."
She took a breath and relaxed as much as she could, still on edge about the planet, but enough where she wasn't so focused.
"Good," he smiled, watching her, "You don't like it here," he reminded her as she nodded, "It was dark and there's something off about the Ood..." she nodded again, "What else is there?"
"Toby's right," she murmured, her hearts starting to race as she felt her 'feelings' bubbling within her, almost like they were trying to rush to the surface but weren't quite strong enough to do it.
"About what?"
"There's something in the dark. It's calling out. It's calling to the Ood."
"What is?"
She inhaled sharply, "The Beast...the...the Beast in the Pit...it's trapped but...it's not safe. WE'RE not safe..."
He frowned, seeing her almost starting to pant, breathing heavily, "Why not?"
"We're surrounded," she reached out and grabbed his arms, clutching his elbows as he tried to soothe her, but it wasn't working, she was feeling so much...too much... "It's everywhere. The Darkness is everywhere. It's below us. It's above us. It's..." she swallowed hard, her face scrunching, "It's among us."
"Where?" he tensed, feeling that familiar surge of protectiveness rising in him.
Her eyes snapped open, wide for a moment in fear before they flew up to catch his gaze, "Toby," she stepped back and looked down, nearly shaking, "It's gotten to Toby."
He walked over to her, pulling her into his arms as she trembled, clutching the front of his shirt. He gently stroked her hair, shifting just a little, almost rocking her back and forth, desperate to calm her. He never should have done that, tried to get her to feel what was surrounding them. He knew it probably wouldn't be anything good and that it would likely upset her...but he didn't think it would upset her quite so much. He'd seen her getting upset over NOT being able to get a clear feeling and just...wanted to help.
He pulled away a little, kissing her forehead, "Whatever this Beast is..." he promised her, "I'll stop it."
"WE'LL stop it," she corrected, pulling away as well, taking a breath, feeling just a little better after having been in the Doctor's arms, "Not just you anymore, remember?"
He smiled at her, that was SO Angel. Here she was, upset and probably scared out of her mind, and she was STILL trying to make HIM feel better. He had to admit, he could take comfort in that small inkling of the future she'd gleamed, those vague feelings...now they knew something was wrong, not just with the Ood, but with Toby as well, that he should be watched and treated with caution, he knew the danger was growing closer, and he knew that the Beast, whatever it was, was trapped at the moment.
"Come on," Angel said after a moment, "We should get to Habitation Three," she frowned, "Rose is there with Toby," she reminded him.
"Right," he nodded, squeezing her hand and leading her down the hall.
Angel though, glanced out the side window and up at the black hole looming, the knot appearing in her stomach once more as she recalled her own words.
The Pit was below...
Toby was among...
But the black hole...the black hole was above...
A/N: Hmmm...Angel's getting more and more suspicious of Toby...and what's this? Scooti's report went missing? Will that have any effect on the story at all? And why the emphasis on the black hole being above? Well, I'll say this, we know what version of the Beast is in the Pit and what version is in Toby...and that's all I'm gonna say about that :) Don't want to give away too many spoilers :)
Guess what! DW might be 3rd for TV today! It only needs less than 10 more stories to beat Buffy! Woo! Lol, sorry, don't know why I'm so obsessed about that :)
