It was official, Aneres could not stand this crew, this planet, the gigantic black hole, none of it. Not only had they refused to divert the drilling so that the Tardis could be rescued, apparently the drilling was a rather slow process and they were pretty much stuck there for a very much unforeseeable future. And so, Aneres went off to explore; particularly to see if she could find something that might explain the Ood's strange behavior. The Doctor joined her, of course, and Rose decided to come along as well despite every sentiment related to distaste emanating from Aneres when she decided to do so.
"So, where do you think they keep the Ood?" Aneres asked. She looked up at the Doctor who shrugged.
"They probably have their own barracks or shelter," He pondered. Aneres nodded and grinned when they turned the corner and almost ran right into an Ood. "Well, how about you ask him?"
"Hello," Aneres took a step closer to the Ood, "We were wondering where the Ood live on the base, would you mind telling us?"
The Ood blinked at them before its small white orb lit up and it spoke. "The Ood reside in Ood Habitation, which can be found if you go down that corridor," It pointed behind itself, "And make two rights and a left."
"Thank you very much," Aneres replied with a smile. The Ood blinked back before replying.
"He is awake." The Time Lady froze, completely flabbergasted, as did her Tether and his human companion.
"Come again?" The Ood continued staring at her and repeated itself, and then some.
"He is awake, and you will worship him." Aneres watched the alien carefully as it stopped speaking for a moment. She winced as its orb lit up again. "The Beast and his Armies will rise from the Pit to make war against God."
The Doctor stepped forward and tugged Aneres behind him. "What?"
Rose winced as the Doctor glared at the alien and its apparent threat against his wife. She moved forward to rest a hand on his arm, a kind smile materializing on her face, but stopped when Aneres' head snapped to the side and the Time Lady fixed her with an icy glare. Rose snarled at the Time Lady, but said nothing as the Doctor continued questioning the Ood; who seemed to have no recollection of what he said. She frowned, however, when her mobile rang and pulled it open to answer it.
"Hello?" Rose asked quietly. The Doctor looked over with a raised eyebrow.
"He is awake, and you will worship him." Rose gasped and stared down at her mobile in horror at the demonic voice that rasped through her mobile. The Doctor glared down at the device and stormed down the corridor with Aneres in tow and Rose struggling to keep up.
"Theta, calm down, we're going to be fine," Aneres crooned mentally. The Doctor twitched slightly as fear and terror ran rampant in his mind and body. His blood felt like ice water while his skin could've been a million degrees and no matter what he did he couldn't stop imagining all of the possible things that could happen to Aneres.
"I'm not going to believe that until you're safely on the Tardis, Esha" He snapped back, his grip on her hand tightening. Aneres sighed and shook her head.
"You mean until we're safely on the Tardis. I'm not going to leave you, you know that." She raised an eyebrow at the unease in the Doctor's mind. "I'm not, and you most certainly can't make me."
"What if it would keep you safe? To leave without me?" The Doctor demanded, glancing down at her with a fierce protectiveness. Aneres shook her head.
"Doesn't matter. I lost you once, I'm never losing you again," She replied, a glint in her eyes daring him to challenge her proclamation. The Doctor sighed in frustration but didn't say anything as they finally arrived in Ood Habitation. Danny looked up from a monitor as they entered.
"Evening," The Doctor greeted with a stiff nod. Aneres followed suit but added a minute and mostly false smile.
"Sorry to interrupt, hope you don't mind," She said. Rose gave an awkward wave from behind the couple, which Danny reciprocated.
"The mysterious trio. How are you, then? Settling in?" The Doctor moved to stand right in front of Danny with Aneres standing just behind him.
"Yeah. Sorry, straight to business, the Ood how do they communicate?" Danny raised an eyebrow at the seemingly obvious answer which caused the Doctor to roll his eyes, "I mean, with each other."
Danny nodded and led them over to the edge of the platform. "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."
Aneres turned to stare at Danny. "This telepathic field. How easy is it to access?" Danny frowned in confusion and Aneres continued, "Your Ood keep saying very odd and frankly disturbing things, and I think something is influencing them."
"And then I got something else on my er, communicator thing," Rose interjected. Danny scoffed at the two women and shook his head.
"Oh, be fair. We've got whole star systems burning up around us. There's all sorts of stray transmissions. Probably nothing. Look, if there was something wrong, it would show," He gestured at another monitor, "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."
The Doctor frowned and inspected the screen which just read 'Basic Five'. "Monitor the field. That's this thing?"
Danny nodded, "Yeah. But like I said, it's low level telepathy. They only register basic five." The Doctor stiffened as the reading started climbing to Basic 7, then eight, nine and so on.
"Well, that's not basic five," Aneres commented, "That says Basic 30. Is that even remotely possible if the telepathic field is naturally so low?" She tensed as all of the Ood raised their heads to stare at the four of them on the platform.
"But they can't," Danny muttered as he clicked some buttons on the monitor to refresh the feed. The Doctor followed Aneres' gaze and clenched his jaw as the Ood kept staring up at them.
"Doctor, the Ood. What does basic thirty mean?" Rose asked, her voice shaking slightly. The Doctor ignored her, though, and remained staring back down at the Ood. Danny looked over at the blond and sighed.
"Well, it means that they're shouting, screaming inside their heads." Aneres shook her head and looked down at the Ood with pity. The Doctor took a deep breath.
"Or something's shouting at them," He suggested. Danny frowned and looked between the Doctor, Aneres and Rose.
"But where is it coming from? What is it saying? What did it say to you?" He demanded. Aneres looked over at him, turning away from the Ood as she spoke.
"The Beast and his Armies will rise from the Pit to make war against God." Danny paled at her words and started trembling. Aneres looked back over at the Ood while the Doctor was lost in thought.
"Yeah, something about the beast in the pit," Rose repeated lamely. Danny turned back to look at her.
"What about your communicator? What did that say?" He asked.
"He is awake," Rose replied. The Ood straightened and shouted as one.
"And you will worship him." The Doctor blinked before his face darkened and his lips twisted into a snarl. Danny stared at the Ood in shock.
"What the hell?" He whispered. Aneres took a deep breath and refused to let her eyes stray from the tentacled aliens in front of them. The Doctor opened his mouth a few seconds later.
"He is awake." The Ood continued staring at the Time Lord as he spoke.
"And you will worship him." Aneres let out a sigh as the Ood gave the same reply all at once.
"Well, that's not good," She whispered to the Doctor mentally. Her Tether nodded and leaned against the railing above the Ood.
"Worship who?" All four of them stiffened when the Ood refused to reply and just stared up at them, "Who's talking to you? Who is it?"
"I don't think they can answer," Aneres commented as the Doctor kept repeating his question. "What if the thing talking to them hid its name or actual self from the Ood as protection?"
The Doctor nodded. "That does seem to be the case here, unfortunately. Are they still reading Basic 30?"
Danny leaned to the side to check the monitor. "Yeah, yeah still Basic 30."
"Let us know if that changes, okay?" Aneres ordered. Danny nodded and moved to stand closer to the monitor and watched it closely. The Time Lady turned back to look at the Ood, just knowing that whatever was screaming at them was more dangerous than it seemed. A few seconds later, she was proved right.
The base started rattling, causing crashes and grating from the metal paneling of the base. Aneres wrapped her arms around the railing and held tight as alarms started sounding. The Doctor followed suit, one arm wrapped around the railing and one around his Tether. Rose let out a shriek as the rattling turned to rocking and sent her stumbling around on the floor. Danny gripped his desk until his fingers turned white and winced as the alarms grew louder.
"Emergency hull breach. Emergency hull breach," The intercom blared. Aneres tensed and looked up at the Doctor.
"Seems like we just keep having bad luck," She whispered across their connection.
"This isn't bad luck. Something is here," The Doctor watched Danny as he flicked through readings in an attempt to locate the breach, "And it's looking to hurt someone."
"Yeah, that seems about right," Aneres grunted as a particularly rough jolt sent her head crashing into the railing. The Doctor pulled her closer to tuck her head into the crook on his shoulder while maintaining a death grip on the railing. Rose let out another shriek as she fell on her side and was unable to brace herself. Zach suddenly spoke over the intercom, forcing the four of them to look up.
"Everyone, evacuate eleven to thirteen. We've got a breach. The base is open. Repeat, the base is open!" He shouted. Danny immediately leapt to his feet and ran from the room at the order, shouting for the Time Lords and Rose to follow him. The three of them managed to stumble across the room after a second before clambering down the corridors. Doors opened and slammed shut as they ran through room after room until they arrived at Habitation Three.
"I can't contain the oxygen field. We're going to lose it," Zach explained over the intercom. The Doctor and Aneres took deep breaths as they calmed down, ignoring Rose and her increasingly distressed breathing as well as Danny for the moment. Once they were breathing normally, they looked over at the two of them.
"You two okay?" Aneres asked absently while walking over to the alien writing from earlier. Rose forced herself to calm down and snarled at the Time Lady.
"Like you actually care," She snapped. Aneres raised an eyebrow while the Doctor sent Rose a warning glare. "Why didn't you try to help me earlier when the base started shaking?"
Aneres shook her head and looked back over at the writing. "You're not my companion, which means I have zero responsibility for you. How about you ask your Pilot?"
Rose looked as if she'd been slapped and turned to gaze at the Doctor, who only had eyes for Aneres. She felt another piece of her heart rot away at the sight and turn into a poisonous tendril of jealousy and rage. Her hands clenched and her fingernails pressed little half-moons into her palm as she held back the torrent of abuse that wanted to leave her lips so very very badly. However, she and the others were distracted as other members of the crew poured into the room from different doors, Jefferson among them.
"Come on! Keep moving!" The soldier shouted while ushering in some other guards. "And you too, Toby!"
Aneres listened as the intercom announced the breach had been sealed, and looked over as Toby entered the room. He was pale and shaking with watery eyes and fidgeting fingers as he took a seat at a nearby table. The Doctor started checking everyone over once the last crew member entered.
"Everyone all right?! What happened? What was it?" The Doctor demanded as he moved around the crowd of crew members. Jefferson eventually responded as he caught his breath.
"Hull breach. We were open to the elements. Another couple of minutes and we'd have been inspecting that black hole at close quarters." Aneres frowned and looked over at the Doctor.
"A quake couldn't cause that kind of damage or last that long, so what created the breach?" The Doctor shrugged and looked over at Jefferson who simply shook his head. Zach echoed over the intercom a moment later.
"We've lost sections eleven to thirteen Everyone all right?" Jefferson finished counting how many crew members were there.
` "We've got everyone here except Scooti," Jefferson held his comm up to his mouth, "Scooti, report. Scooti Manista? That's an order. Report."
Zach continued speaking over the intercom, "She's all right. I've picked up her biochip. She's in Habitation three. Better go and check if she's not responding. She might be unconscious."
Jefferson nodded and walked around Habitation Three. The Doctor shared a look with Aneres before they both started following him. As they walked, Jefferson spoke.
"Habitation three. Come on. I don't often say this, but I think we could all do with a drink. Come on."
"I'd have to agree with you there, Jefferson," Aneres muttered. The Doctor rolled his eyes fondly before turning serious as he addressed Toby.
"What happened?" Toby flinched and rocked back and forth while taking shuddering breaths.
"I don't. I don't know. I was working and then I can't remember. All that noise. The room was falling apart. There was no air-" He started hyperventilating as he continued. Aneres watched him silently, frowning. Rose eventually stepped forward and hoisted him up from the chair.
"Come on. Up you get. Come and have some protein one," The Doctor scoffed at his companion.
"Oh, you've gone native." Rose rolled her eyes and led Toby over to the Ood working at the food counter.
"Oi, don't knock it. It's nice. Protein one with just a dash of three."
"And god knows what else," Aneres commented. The Doctor nodded and walked over to wrap an arm around her waist. Then a beeping sound emanated from Jefferson's comm followed by Ida's voice.
"I've checked Habitation four. Can you hear me?" Jefferson nodded and spoke into the comm.
"There's no sign of her. The biochip says she's in the area. Have any of you seen Scooti?" Aneres and the Doctor shook their heads no. Jefferson looked over at Toby and Rose.
"No, no, no, I don't think so." Rose shook her head no as Toby spoke. Ida spoke back into the comm moment later.
"Scooti, please respond. If you can hear this, please respond. Habitation six." The Doctor listened to their conversation while Aneres' eyes flicked around the room.
"Nowhere here," Jefferson tapped his comm, "Zach? We've got a problem. Scooti's still missing." They could hear the frown in Zach's voice as he responded.
"It says Habitation three."
"Yeah, well, that's where I am, and I'm telling you she's not here." Aneres stiffened as she stared up at the open shutters and tugged on the Doctor's wrist. He followed her eyes and stiffened at the sight.
"We've found her," He breathed out. Jefferson looked up and gasped softly, almost inaudibly. Rose followed a moment later, choking on air as she gazed upwards.
"Oh, my God," No one responded to Rose's horrified words. Their eyes stayed locked on the floating corpse of Scooti Manista as she drifted in the sky above Kroptor. Her hair was slowly swaying as her body kept going farther away, towards the black hole. The Doctor and Anere hung their heads in mourning.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," The Doctor whispered to the rest of the crew. Jefferson refused to look away from her body as he raised his comm once again.
"Captain. Report Officer Scootori Manista PKD, deceased. Forty three K two point one," He said. Ida burst in and looked up at the shutters, tears brimming in her eyes as she watched her crewmate float away.
"She was twenty. Twenty years old," Ida whispered. She shook her head and walked over to the lever before pulling it and closing the shutters. Jefferson sighed and walked over to her.
"For how should man die better than facing fearful odds? For the ashes of his father and the temples of his Gods," Jefferson quoted. Ida gasped a moment later, earning frowns from the rest of the people around her.
"It's stopped," She breathed out. The Doctor and Aneres looked up, realizing as well that the base was almost completely silent for once.
"What was that? What was it?" Rse demanded, her unease growing with each passing second.
"The drill," Ida nodded at the Doctor's words.
"We've stopped drilling. We've made it. Point Zero." The crew perked up at that, praying that they were that much closer to leaving the godforsaken planet of Kroptor. "Time to go down and see what we've found."
"I need to come with you," Aneres looked over at the Doctor in shock, "It might be incredibly dangerous and you need me down there."
"Absolutely not!" Aneres snapped, glaring up at her Tether. Rose nodded, for once in agreement with the Time Lady.
"Doctor, let someone else go. We need you to stay safe," Rose implored, moving to stand near him. Aneres nodded begrudgingly.
"Your companion is right. What good does it do any of us if we lose you to whatever is down there?" She pointed out. The Doctor reached out and clasped her shoulders tightly before replying in Gallifreyan.
"Esha, you promised we would be okay. The only way I can guarantee that is by going down there and stopping whatever is causing this," Aneres glared up at her Tether.
"Then let me come with you. Two Time Lords are better than one," The Doctor shook his head no.
"There's no way Zach is going to let two outsiders go down there, not after everything they've gone through. Please, let me do this. Let me keep you safe," He implored, staring down at Aneres desperately. She gazed up at him for several seconds, her green eyes narrowed into slits and her lips pursed.
"Fine, but if I think you're even remotely close to danger I'm coming down there."The Doctor pressed a kiss to her forehead and held her tightly. Aneres took a deep breath, relishing in his scent for a few seconds and tried to ignore the burning in her eyes as she thought about what he was going to do. Finally, they separated and went down to the control room to convince Zach. Neither of them spared a glance at Rose, who looked more than ready to gouge out Aneres' eyes from her skull.
TEotOS
It hadn't taken much to convince Zach that the Doctor needed to go down with Ida, and before they knew it the both of them were strapped into space suits and entering a capsule greatly resembling a mine shaft. Zach watched as Ida set everything up, talking all the while.
"Capsule established. All systems functioning. The mineshaft is go. Bring systems online now," Zach nodded at her words and flicked a couple switches. The Doctor winked at Zach with a bright smile.
"Reporting as a volunteer for the expeditionary force," He joked. Aneres rolled her eyes.
"More like a volunteer for certain death missions and sleeping on the couch for a month," She muttered. Rose glared at her slight against the Doctor, unable to comprehend how he could love someone that insulted him so often. In her opinion, Aneres should be worshipping him on her knees for every second she was able to spend with him as his wife. Rose shook her head and returned to a rather frequent thought of hers, how much better of a wife she would be.
"Doctor, this is breaking every single protocol," Zach reminded him, still uneasy about the whole process.
"Yeah, but you trust me, don't you? And you can't let Ida go down there on her own. Go on. Look me in the eye," Zach looked into the Doctor's eyes as he spoke, "Yes you do, I can see it. Trust." The Captain sighed, knowing that what the Time Lord was claiming was fact. For some reason, he just knew they would be okay if they trusted the Doctor. However, that was harder to accept than someone would think.
"I should be going down." The Doctor shook his head.
"The Captain doesn't lead the mission. He stays here, in charge." Aneres scoffed.
"Unless he's the Captain of the Tardis and irresponsible as hell," She muttered. The Doctor smiled fondly at her and reached out to hold her hand. Zach watched the two of them before shaking his head.
"Positions! We're going down in two. Everyone, positions! Mister Jefferson! I want maximum system enhancement," Zach ordered. The Doctor pulled away from Aneres to look down at the suit closely.
"Oxygen, nitro balance, gravity. It's been ages since I wore one of these," Aneres smiled at his comment.
"Yeah, I believe the last time was when we were still in school," She whispered. The Doctor nodded and looked over at Rose who gave him a smile.
"I want that spacesuit back in one piece, you got that?" The Doctor laughed at his companion.
"Yes, sir," He saluted the blonde, earning an eye roll.
"It's funny, because people back home think that space travel's going to be all whizzing about and teleports and anti gravity, but it's not, is it? It's tough," Rose murmured. Aneres sighed and reached out to adjust the Doctor's suit.
"That's just life. Whether you're at home or millions of miles away in space, it's going to be tough," Aneres stood up and pressed a kiss to the Doctor's lips. "Stay safe."
The Doctor's smile grew and he pressed several kisses to her face, "I'll see you later."
"You'd better," Aneres whispered back. She pressed one last kiss to his forehead. Rose tensed and clenched her hands into fists once more. The Doctor looked over at Rose and nodded once.
"Rose," And with that, he stepped into the mineshaft beside Ida. Aneres took a step back to watch while Zach's voice crackled over the intercom once again.
"Capsule active. Counting down in ten, nine," The Doctor and Ida checked each other over before getting fully situated in the capsule, "Eight, seven, six," Jefferson closed the door, "Five, four, three, two, one. Release."
Aneres let out a shuddering breath as the capsule began descending, taking her Tether down with it. She looked over at the monitor a few times, and glared at Roe as she reached out to grab the microphone connected to their comm system. "Don't even think about it. That line needs to stay open if they have an emergency."
Rose snarled. "I can help him!"
"No you bloody well can't!" Aneres stormed over to stick her finger in Rose's face, "You have no idea how to operate the equipment, what their emergency protocols are, or how to just shut up and wait!" By the end of her rant she was almost screaming at the human. Jefferson watched carefully, wincing when he saw Rose tighten her fists slightly.
"You're not the boss of me," She snapped back. Aneres laughed mockingly.
"Oh Rose, when will you learn? You are not all knowing nor are you exempt from the rules because you're a companion, so stop being entitled and sit your arse down so we can wait in peace," The Time Lady pointed at the floor as she spoke. Rose bristled and clenched her jaw, biting back insults as she did what she was told. Once she was comfortable, Zach spoke again.
"You've gone beyond the oxygen field. You're on your own." Aneres took another deep breath and fidgeted with her fingers as she waited. Every time the capsule shuddered she tensed and pulled on a finger, occasionally eliciting a loud pop or crack from the joints.
"Are you okay?" She whispered to the Doctor's mind. He hummed back absently.
"Yes, it's just a bit of a bumpy ride. Nothing to worry about," The Doctor replied. Aneres nodded and continued listening in on his end of the connection, the assurance it brought soothing her frazzled nerves. She took deep breaths, trying to listen to his own and match the rhythm, when the capsule screeched and shuddered loudly. Aneres gasped and reached out to brace herself against the wall, terror flooding her system from both herself and his side of the connection.
"Doctor? Doctor, are you all right?" Rose shouted, unable to reach the comm as Aneres moved to block it from the human. She kept one hand bracing herself against the wall while the other reached up to rub her temple slowly.
"Theta, what's going on? What happened?" Aneres demanded. The Doctor struggled to respond for several seconds, leaving her fear to mount higher and higher. Zach's voice crackled over the comm again.
"Ida, report to me. Doctor?" He demanded, worry clear in his voice. Eventually, the Doctor's voiced resounded through the comm system.
"It's all right. We've made it. Getting out of the capsule now," Aneres nearly sobbed with relief. "I'm alright, Esha. Don't worry."
"You're making that rather difficult," Aneres managed to say, a bit of humor cutting across her anxiety. The Doctor chuckled mentally.
"I am, aren't I. Sorry about that, darling." Rose stood up, frowning at the Time Lady as she sort of stared into space. Seizing her moment, Rose rushed forward and grabbed the comm system.
"What's it like down there?" She asked breathlessly. Aneres blinked a few times, removing herself from her immersion in the connection to stare murderously at the back of Rose's head. The Doctor was far kinder than her, however, and answered Rose's question.
"It's hard to tell. Some sort of cave. Cavern. It's massive." Rose nodded and smiled, about ask more questions if it weren't for Ida interrupting.
"Well, this should help. Gravity globe." The comm was silent for a moment before Ida managed to whisper, "That's, that's. My God, that's beautiful."
"Esha, look through my mind, you need to see this," Aneres did as he asked and gasped softly as she saw the cavern through the connection, clear as day. It was absolutely massive, with arches and spires and intricate carvings she would give anything to see. The Doctor kept his connection with her open while speaking back into the comm.
"Rose, you can tell Toby we've found his civilisation," He said. Rose grinned, hearing his amazed smile as he spoke and wishing she could be there to see it.
"Oi, Toby. Sounds like you've got plenty of work," Toby looked up at Rose and gave her a false and anxious smile.
"Good, good. Good." A few moments later, Zach spoke up again.
"Concentrate now, people. Rose, get off the comm, we need to keep our focus on the mission. Ida, what about the power source?" Rose glared at the comm, wanting nothing more than give Zach a verbal lashing in that moment. However, Aneres had once again abandoned her immersion in the connection and snatched the comm away from her. Rose glared at Aneres but knew she wouldn't be able to get that back easily.
"We're close. Energy signature indicates north north west. Are you getting pictures up there?" Ida asked over the comm.
"There's too much interference. We're in your hands," Zach replied.
"Well, we've come this far. There's no turning back," Aneres winced at Ida's word choice and almost laughed when the Doctor shared her sentiments.
"Oh, did you have to? No turning back? That's almost as bad as nothing can possibly go wrong, or this is going to be the best Christmas Walford's ever had." Aneres was seconds away from releasing a giggle at her Tether's ridiculous rambling, but refrained as best she could.
"Are you finished?" Ida demanded. The Doctor paused before meekly replying.
"Yeah. Finished." The comm crackled again as Danny's voice came through from OOd Habitation.
"Captain, sir. There's something happening with the Ood," Aneres stiffened at the news and listened carefully.
"What are they doing?" Zach asked worriedly.
"They're staring at me. I've told them to stop, but they won't."
"Danny, you're a big boy, I think you can take being stared at."
"But the telepathic field, sir. It's at basic one hundred," Aneres' mouth dropped open in horror, "I've checked. there isn't any fault. It's definitely one hundred."
"But that's impossible," Zach muttered. Aneres tightened her grip on the comm as she tried to come up with a plan, a solution. Too many unknowns were being handled right now, if this were a math equation she would never be able to solve it.
"What's basic one hundred mean?" Rose asked, turning to Jefferson with a frown. Danny spoke up on the comm.
"They should be dead." Aneres wanted to scream at that revelation. Whatever was shouting at the Ood was far worse than it seemed earlier, she knew that much.
"Basic one hundred's brain death," Jefferson elaborated. Rose froze and Aneres let out a frustrated sigh.
"But they're safe. They're not actually moving?" Zach asked. All of them waited for Danny's response.
"No, sir."
"Keep watching them. And you, Jefferson? Keep a guard on the Ood," Aneres watched as Jefferson held his gun up and pointed it at the Ood.
"Officers, at arms!" He ordered.
"Yes, sir," Various crewmembers replied. Aneres kept watching while Rose decided to speak up.
"You can't fire a gun in here. What if you hit a wall?"
"I'm firing stock fifteen. It only impacts upon organics," Jefferson stared down his crewmates, "Keep watch. Guard them." They nodded as he pointed at the Ood standing near them.
"Yes, sir." Jefferson nodded in approval while the Doctor spoke once again over the comm.
"Is everything all right up there?" Aneres picked up the comm.
"For now, I'll keep you updated," She whispered, trying to ignore him probing her mind for more information. Aneres didn't need him worrying about this while he was so far underground.
"It's fine," Zach replied quickly. Danny followed suit.
"Great," He replied from Ood Habitation. The comm was silent for a couple minutes before the Doctor spoke up again.
"We've found something. It looks like metal. Like some sort of seal. I've got a nasty feeling the word might be trapdoor. Not a good word, trapdoor. Never met a trapdoor I liked," He rambled. Aneres' body continued to tense up until she was sure she was going to rip herself in half or shatter her spine with her own muscles.
"The edge is covered with those symbols," Ida remarked over the comm.
"Do you think it opens?" Zach asked.
"That's what trapdoors tend to do," The Doctor jibed back. Aneres could practically hear his eyes rolling at the Captain.
"Trapdoor doesn't do it justice. It's massive, Zach. About thirty feet in diameter," Ida described.
"Any way of opening it?" Zach asked.
"I don't know. I can't see any sort of mechanism," Ida admitted. Rose frowned disappointedly while Aneres prayed the trapdoor couldn't be opened. If they managed it, who knows what could come out.
"I suppose that's the writing. It'll tell us what to do. The letters that defy translation," The Doctor said.
"Toby, did you get anywhere with decoding it?" Zach demanded. Toby looked up and nodded shakily.
"I know what it says," He rasped. Aneres stared at him warily, not wanting to get anywhere near anything that knew more than the Tardis. The amount of potential danger was way too dangerous to take that chance. Unless you were Rose.
"Then tell them," Rose said gently. Jefferson frowned down at Toby.
"When did you work that out?"
"It doesn't matter, just tell us," Toby looked back up from the floor at Rose's and Aneres nearly screamed. Symbols from the hidden language riddled his alabaster skin and his eyes were a blood red that screamed vitriol and hatred at those that gazed into them. His mouth opened and a horrific voice echoed from them.
"These are the words of the Beast. And he has woken. He is the heart that beats in the darkness. He is the blood that will never cease. And now he will rise," Aneres was shaking and pale, Rose had taken several steps back, and Jefferson turned his gun on Toby without a second thought.
"Officer, stand down. Stand down," He ordered, not wanting to shoot Toby but not above protecting his crew. Aneres couldn't look away from the deranged man as her blood was replaced with ice water laced with terror that kept her standing still and her eyes fixed on him. The Doctor's voice crackled across the comm.
"What is it? What's he done? What's happening? Annie, Rose, what's going on?" He demanded, feeling everything his Tether was feeling but unable to see the cause.
"Jefferson? Report. Report!" Zach commanded, shouting over the comm desperately.
"Officer, as Commander of Security, I order you to stand down and be confined. Immediately!" Jefferson shouted at Toby. Aneres pulled the comm up to her face slowly.
"He has the writing all over his body, he sounds like he's possessed, I don't know what's wrong with him," She choked out into the microphone. Aneres heard the Doctor gasp but she didn't hear his response as Toby opened his mouth again.
"Mister Jefferson. Tell me, sir. Did your wife ever forgive you?" He asked, his voice sweet yet malicious and burning in their ears as he spoke. Jefferson stiffened and paled slightly.
"I don't know what you mean," He whispered. Toby cocked his head to the side.
"Let me tell you a secret. She never did," He whispered back, grinning at the fear turning to fury inside Jefferson. Aneres watched as he repositioned his gun and aimed right between Toby's eyes.
"Officer, you stand down and be confined."
"Or what?"
"Or under the strictures of Condition Red, I am authorised to shoot you."
"If you don't, I will," Aneres suddenly snarled, earning a look of surprise and almost a challenge from Toby. He smirked at her.
"But how many can you kill?" They watched in horror as the symbols melted off of his body and drifted in a cloud of black smoke to the Ood, who immediately stiffened once the symbols landed on their skin. Aneres watched as the Ood all took a step forward and spoke in unison.
"We are the Legion of the Beast."
"Annie? What is it, Annie? I'm going back up," The Doctor shouted over the comm.
"Report. Report!" Zach went unanswered, "Jefferson, report. Someone, report!"
The Ood spoke again, forcing shudders down Aneres' spine and a cloud of fear over her mind. "The Legion shall be many, and the Legion shall be few."
"It's the Ood," Rose shouted, just loud enough to be picked up over the comm. Jefferson nodded and shouted as well.
"Sir, we have contamination in the livestock."
"That's an understatement," Aneres forced herself to take a deep breath as she spoke, "The Ood are possessed by whatever got Toby, which means we are royally fucked if we can't figure out how to stop it."
No one commented on her language as the Ood continued their sermon. "He has woven himself in the fabric of your life since the dawn of time. Some may call him Abaddon. Some may call him Kroptor. Some may call him Satan or Lucifer-"
Danny interjected over the comm, "Captain, it's the Ood. They're out of control!"
"Or the Bringer of Despair, the Deathless Prince, the Bringer of Night," The Ood continued. Aneres gasped as she heard a guard scream over the comm. "These are the words that shall set him free."
Jefferson kept his gun trained on the Ood while pulling Rose back from them. "Back up to the door!"
"I shall become manifest," Aneres back away from the Ood and their words.
"Move quickly!" Jefferson shouted.
"I shall walk in might," The Ood chanted.
"To the door! Get it open!" Aneres ran to stand beside Jefferson as they kept backing away to the door. Rose started trying to pry it open, doing her best to ignore the Ood.
"My Legions shall swarm across the worlds," The ground began shaking as the Ood continued speaking.
"Doctor, it's opening!" Ida shouted over the comm. Zach's voice came on a moment later.
"We're moving! The whole thing's moving. The planet's moving," He said, fear coating his voice like a syrup. The Ood barely reacted and kept speaking.
"I am the sin and the temptation and the desire. I am the pain and the loss and the-"
"Get that door open!" Jefferson shouted. Rose finally managed to turn the handle and opened the door to reveal a deep shaft. Zach's voice came on the comm.
"The gravity field. It's going! We're losing orbit! We're going to fall into the black hole!" Aneres covered her mouth at his words, physically biting back a scream and its associated feelings of panic. Her eyes never strayed from the Ood as they continued approaching them.
"I have been imprisoned for eternity. But no more."
"Door sealed," The intercom droned. Aneres paled and turned back to the door which was now shut once more. She rushed forwards and pounded on it desperately.
"No, no, no!" Aneres shrieked. The intercom echoed once again.
"Door sealed." Silence reigned for a split second before a deep and echoing voice resounded from the center of the planet.
"The Pit is open. And I am free!" Aneres bit down on her finger harshly as the voice cackled loudly and sent the entire planet vibrating beneath them.
"Theta, help us," She whispered mentally.
Hello again! I decided to write this chapter instead of taking a break, I want to keep my momentum going as much as I can. Hopefully you guys enjoyed this, please leave a review with questions, comments or concerns, I really love hearing from you guys! Thank you so much for being devoted readers! Bye for now!
-Angel
