As soon as they entered the maintenance tunnels everyone moved faster than they ever had in their lives. Aneres kept looking behind her every so often as they moved, paranoia starting to form in the back of her mind with each passing second. Finally, they had covered enough distance that Aneres allowed herself to just look forward. Unfortunately, upon doing so she caught a whiff of a not so pleasant odor and shook her head. Stress did bizarre things to the human body.
Danny's comm crackled as he spoke into it, "Which way do we go?"
"Just go straight ahead. Keep going till I say so." The group followed Zach's order and continued crawling forwards. After a moment, Rose decided to break the silence.
"Not your best angle, Aneres," She commented. The Time Lady rolled her eyes and kept crawling forward.
"The Doctor would disagree," Aneres shot back with a smirk.
"I don't know, it could be worse," Toby griped as he looked forward at Rose's arse. Rose's face darkened with embarrassment.
"Oi!" Aneres bit back a grin as Zach spoke once again.
"Straight on until you find junction seven point one. Keep breathing. I'm feeding you air. I've got you," The group sighed in relief and kept crawling until they reached another junction.
"We're at seven point one, sir," Danny said. Aneres took a second to sit still and take a few deep breaths despite the odor still hanging in the air.
"Okay, I've got you. I'm just aerating the next section."
"Getting kind of cramped, sir. Can't you hurry up?"
"I'm working on half power, here," Zach snapped. Jefferson rolled his eyes and shouted.
"Stop complaining," Aneres laughed at Jefferson and looked over at Danny.
"I think you're gonna need to stop complaining," She joked. Danny rolled his eyes playfully.
"I heard." Aneres turned to shout back to Jefferson.
"He heard!" Toby sighed angrily.
"But the air's getting a bit thin," He griped. Rose scoffed.
"He's complaining now," Rose pointed out. Jefferson nodded.
"I heard." Rose took a moment to sniff the air and grimaced.
"Danny, is that you?" Danny glared at the blonde woman.
"I'm not exactly happy," He snapped. Aneres shrugged and kept waiting for the junction to open.
"I'm just moving the air," Zach said suddenly, "I've got to oxygenate the next section. Now, keep calm or it's going to feel worse."
BANG. The entire group jumped at the sound and started breathing faster, adrenaline flooding through them faster than ever. Danny was the first to speak.
"What was that?" He demanded.
"Mister Jefferson, what was that?" Aneres shouted back. Rose shook her head and tried to stay calm, but was failing miserably.
"What's that noise?" Toby asked desperately.
Jefferson seemed to be the only one remotely calm, and casually asked, "Captain, what was that?"
"The junction in Habitation Five's been opened. It must be the Ood," Zach grumbled as he kept working. "They're in the tunnels!"
"Well, open the gate!" Danny shouted desperately. Zach let out a groan of frustration.
"I've got to get the air in!"
"Just open it, sir!" Aneres shook her head at Danny's desperation, knowing that all he was doing was wasting their current air supply.
"Where are they? Are they close?" Rose demanded, the paranoia starting to get to her as well.
"I don't know. I can't tell. I can't see them. The computer doesn't register Ood as proper life forms," Aneres sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.
"Well, that wasn't a very smart decision," She muttered coldly. Danny was still shouting.
"Open the gate!" Aneres turned back around as the gate opened and shuffled after Danny while they struggled to hear Zach over the comm.
"Danny, turn left. Immediate left." Danny nodded and took the first left with everyone following suit behind them. Jefferson frowned as an idea occurred to him.
"The Ood, sir. can't you trap them? Cut off the air?" Jefferson asked.
"Not without cutting off yours," Zach paused, "Danny, turn right. Go right! Go fast, Dan. They're going to catch up."
Aneres cursed under her breath as she scrambled after Danny, her knees and hands aching as they landed on the metal panelling repeatedly. Rose and the others stayed as close as possible, until Jefferson stopped.
"I'll maintain defensive position," Jefferson decided. Aneres looked back at him and down at her gun before sliding it down the passage to him. Rose ducked as Aneres threw a pack of ammunition towards him.
"You'll need those more than me," She explained while Jefferson gathered them up. He nodded at her gratefully. "Stay strong Jefferson."
Rose scoffed and looked over. "You can't stop!"
Jefferson sighed and repositioned his weapon while bracing himself against the wall of the maintenance shaft. "Miss Tyler, that's my job. You and Miss Aneres have your task, now see to it."
Rose opened her mouth to protest but Toby beat her to it. "You heard what he said, now shift!"
Aneres and Danny went back to scrambling down the hall with Rose and Toby not too far behind. Before they made it to the next junction, gunshots echoed. Aneres winced and kept crawling, praying he was going to make it out. Eventually, they reached the next gate.
"Eight point two. Open eight point two. Zach!" Danny ordered. There was a pause from Zach's end of the comm. "Open eight point two!"
"I've got to aerate it," Zach snapped back.
"Open it now!" Aneres suppressed the urge to slap Danny as the air got thinner and thinner the more he shouted. She took another two deep breaths before holding it, incredibly grateful for her larger lungs.
"I'm trying!" Zach shouted back. Danny growled and started punching the gate wildly, panting for air as he did. Rose growled with frustration, as did Aneres.
"Danny, I am not above punching you if you keep that," The Time Lady snapped. Danny turned to snap back, but Rose cut him off.
"Danny, stop it. That's not helping," Toby was the next one to let out a groan of exasperation.
"Zach, get it open!" Zach sighed over the comm at Toby's words.
"Jefferson, I've got to open eight point two by closing eight point one. You've got to get past the junction. Now move. That's an order, now move!" He shouted. Aneres listened carefully and heard Jefferson still firing at the Ood. Zach growled over the comm, "I'm going to lose oxygen, Jefferson, I can't stop for your dramatics!"
Aneres grinned as the gate opened, signalling Jefferson's retreat from the Ood. Danny was cheering as they moved forward, only stopping when Zach spoke again.
"Danny, turn left and head for nine point two. That's the last one. Jefferson, you've got to move faster. John, move!" Aneres paled as they kept going around the left hand turn and towards nine point two, all without a single glimpse of Jefferson following them. Rose turned to shout desperately.
"Mister Jefferson!" Toby snarled at her and kept crawling, about to run Rose over.
"Keep going!" The whole group stilled as they heard another gate close, followed by Jefferson's voice over the comm.
"Regret to inform, sir, I was a bit slow. Not so fast, these days." Aneres sighed and looked down at the ground disappointedly. Rose held back a sob while Toby looked largely unaffected and Danny seemed about to piss himself from fear. Zach was the first to respond.
"I can't open eight point one, John. Not without losing air for the others."
"And quite right too, sir. I think I bought them a little time." Aneres wanted to scream at the man. He had bought them ages of time and instead of being able to survive he was trapped. If she ever got her hands on whatever was torturing them, she was going to put it through a million versions of hell until it got what it deserved.
"There's nothing I can do, John," Zach paused, his voice failing him for a moment, "I'm sorry."
"You've done enough, sir. Made a very good captain under the circumstances. May I ask, if you can't add oxygen to this section, can you speed up the process of its removal?" Jefferson requested. Aneres frowned but waited for Zach to respond.
"I don't understand. What do you mean?"
"Well, if I might choose the manner of my departure, sir, lack of air seems more natural than, well, let's say death by Ood. I'd appreciate it, sir!" Aneres closed her eyes and prayed Zach wouldn't deny him that. Dying without a chance of a proper burial or being by your loved ones was bad enough, she knew that from personal experience, but not choosing how to die when you knew you were going to anyways was far worse. Zach replied a few seconds later.
"Godspeed, Mister Jefferson."
"Thank you, sir." Aneres waited, looking behind her until there was a hiss of air. Her eyes squeezed shut and she let out a shuddering breath. Danny's eyes widened in shock and horror, as did Rose's. Toby remained impassive, waiting for another order from the captain.
"Report Officer John Maynard Jefferson PKD deceased," Zach eventually said, tears audible in his voice, "With honours. 43 K two point one."
Danny was the first to respond to Zach. "Zach, we're at the final junction, nine point two. And er, if my respects could be on record. He saved our lives."
There was silence for a few seconds as Zach cleared his throat and composed himself before replying. "Noted. Opening nine point two."
Aneres looked up as the gate opened, only to yelp as an Ood stared back at them from the other side. Danny and Rose started screaming frantically as they crawled away, the former struggling to get around Aneres to do so. The Time Lady forced herself up against the wall as they scrambled away, leaving her face to face with another murderous alien. She smirked and laid on her back before kicking her legs out, nailing the Ood in the eyes with her heels.
"Lower nine point two! Hurry, Zach!" Rose screamed.
"Back! Back! Back!" Danny shrieked at the others. Toby rolled his eyes.
"We can't go back! The gang point's sealed off. We're stuck," Rose looked up at that and realized there were grates above them. She grinned and pointed up at them while Aneres kept kicking the Ood with all the strength she could muster until the gate snapped shut.
"Come on! Up!" Rose shouted while she punched at the grating until it popped out. Aneres rolled back onto her front and followed Rose out, with Danny close behind. Toby, however, stayed seated in the tunnel. Rose looked down and started shouting again.
"Come on! Toby, come on!" Toby didn't say anything. "Toby, get out of there!"
Toby snapped back to normal and scrambled over to the opening with pleading eyes. "Help me! Oh, my God. Help me!"
Aneres ignored the man as Rose and Danny reached down to help him up, more focused on the Ood that were sprinting toward them from down the hallway. She didn't move, knowing the Ood had the upper advantage here with the ability to use their orbs now that they were standing up. Aneres turned back when she head Toby's body land on the grating and Danny's shouting.
"It's this way!"
Zach's voice echoed over the comm a few seconds later. "Hurry it up!"
Aneres grinned as they burst through the door into Ood Habitation, where Danny immediately ran to the main computer on the cat-walk. He fumbled to remove the chip from his pocket, but eventually jammed it into one of the ports. Aneres watched as he typed frantically at the keyboard, forcing the code from the chip into the broadcast as best he could.
"Transmit!" Rose screeched. Aneres refused to shout at Danny and instead went to brace herself against the door leading into Ood Habitation.
"I'm trying, I'm trying! I'm getting at it!" Danny shouted at Rose. Aneres winced as Ood started running from other doors and up the stairs to the control monitor. Danny's typing grew faster with each passing second.
"Danny, get that thing transmitting!" Rose shouted again. Danny let out a cheer as the code went through, the monitor flashing Basic 100 for a few more seconds before it dropped to zero instantly. The Ood stopped in their tracks, writhing in pain before dropping to the floor, limp. Aneres let out a sigh of relief and stepped away from the door.
"You did it! Good job Danny!" She shouted over. Danny gave her a wide grin and a thumbs up while Rose cheered, ecstatic.
"We did it!"
"Yes!" Danny said, delighted and bouncing in place. Aneres grabbed the comm and spoke into it again.
"Zach, we neutralized the Ood. It's safe enough now to get the Doctor." Rose's smile widened impossibly further at those words as butterflies flew around in her stomach.
"I'm on my way." Aneres let out a loud sigh of relief and let her body relax for a moment. Once her body processed most of the adrenaline, she straightened her spine again and turned back to the others.
"Let's go."
TEotOS
The Doctor looked around slowly as Ida carefully lowered him further into the Pit, expecting something to jump out at any moment to attack him. However, he was pleasantly surprised by the lack of such an event and decided to continue some form of conversation with Ida.
"You get representations of the Horned Beast right across the universe, in the myths and legends of a million worlds. Earth, Draconia, Velconsadine, Daemos. The Kaled god of war. It's the same image, over and over again," The Doctor frowned thoughtfully, "Maybe that idea came from somewhere, bleeding through. The thought at the back of every sentient mind."
"Emanating from here?" Ida asked, more than terrified by that theory. She shook it off and kept lowering the Doctor into the pit.
"Could be."
"But if this is the original, does that make it real? Does that make it the actual devil, though?"
"Well, if that's what you want to believe. Maybe that's what the devil is, in the end. An idea." The Doctor stopped speaking as he lurched to a stop. Ida looked over and cursed under her breath at the sight of the cable having run out. She looked back down at the dangling Time Lord.
"That's it. That's all we've got. You getting any sort of readout?" The Doctor shook his head in response.
"Nothing. Could be miles to go, yet. Or could be thirty feet. No way of telling. I could survive thirty feet," the Doctor commented. Ida shook her head wildly.
"Oh no you don't. I'm pulling you back up," She decided. The Doctor rolled his eyes and held out his sonic screwdriver, freezing the drum in place. Ida stared down at him, horrified.
"What're you doing?"
"You bring me back, then we're just going to sit there and run out of air. I've got to go down." Ida felt tears ting her eyes as he spoke.
"But you can't. Doctor, you can't." The Doctor smiled kindly.
"Call it an act of faith." Ida shook her head and squeezed her eyes shut, forcing tears down her cheeks.
"But I don't want to die on my own," She sobbed. The Doctor winced for a moment before smiling again.
"I know." He reached to his sides and started undoing his carabiners that held him to the rope. He looked back up at Ida a moment later. "I didn't ask. Have you got any sort of faith?"
Ida shook her head. "Not really. I was brought up Neo Classic Congregational, because of my mum. She was. My old mum," She had a sad smile on her face as she spoke, "But no, I never believed."
"Neo Classics, have they got a devil?" He asked gently. Ida stared down and shook her head again.
"No, not as such. Just er, the things that men do." The Doctor shrugged.
"Same thing in the end." Ida watched as he continued undoing the carabiners.
"What about you?" The Doctor looked back up with a thoughtful frown.
"I believe," He paused, "I believe I haven't seen everything, I don't know. It's funny, isn't it? The things you make up. The rules. If that thing had said it came from beyond the universe, I'd believe it, but before the universe? Impossible. Doesn't fit my rule. Still, that's why I keep travelling. To be proved wrong. Thank you, Ida."
"Don't go!" She cried out, starting to sob from within the suit. The Doctor stared at her, his fingers around the last carabiner.
"If they get back in touch, if you talk to Aneres, just tell her. Tell her. Oh, she knows," And with that, the Doctor fell, taking his light of hope into the darkness of the Pit. Ida sobbed softly and released the cable, only to jump as the comms turned back on.
"Doctor, are you there? Doctor, Ida, can you hear me?" Ida took a deep breath and tried to calm down as Rose spoke frantically into the comm. "Are you there, Doctor?"
"He's gone," Ida whispered. She could feel the tension on the other side of the comm as she spoke. A moment later, there was static as someone grabbed the comm from Rose,
"Where," Ida shivered at the darkness in Aneres' voice, "Is he, Ida?"
"He fell into the pit. And I don't know how deep it is. Miles and miles and miles," She rambled. Ida heard Aneres take a very long, very deep breath.
"Did he actually fall or did he let go?" Aneres asked coldly. Ida tensed and eventually whispered back.
"I couldn't stop him, he detached himself from the cable," Ida paused again to take a deep breath, "He said your name, and that you would know what he meant." There was silence from the other end of the comm until Zach spoke.
"I'm sorry. Ida? There's no way of reaching you. No cable, no back up. You're ten miles down, we can't get there." Ida sobbed softly as her Captain spoke. She looked up after a moment to look around the cavern again.
"You should see this place, Zach. It's beautiful," She sniffled and sobbed again, "Well, I wanted to discover things, and here I am."
Zach paused before continuing. "We've got to abandon the base, I'm declaring this mission unsafe. All we can do is make sure no one ever comes here again." Ida sighed, disappointed.
"But we'll never find out what it was."
"Well, maybe that's best," Zach murmured. Ida nodded to herself from within the suit.
"Yeah."
"Officer Scott-" Ida cut him off.
"It's all right. Just go. Good luck."
"And you," Ida sniffled as Zach cut the comm link. She was alone.
TEotOS
"Danny, Toby, close down the feed links. Get the retrotropes online, then get to the rocket and strap yourselves in. We're leaving," Zach ordered. He hated leaving Ida behind, but he had already exhausted all their options of leaving with the most people alive. Aneres watched him carefully, knowing he meant them too, but also knowing exactly who was going to pitch a fit.
"I'm not going." Bingo. Rose Tyler was glaring daggers at Zach as everyone mobilized. Aneres pinched the bridge of her nose while Zach stared Rose down.
"Rose, there's space for you," He looked over at Aneres, "Both of you."
Rose shook her head while Aneres neglected to comment. "No, I'm going to wait for the Doctor. Just like he waited for me."
Aneres bit back a growl at that comment, glaring at Rose darkly. Zach sighed and rested one of his hands on Rose's shoulder.
"I'm sorry, but he's dead." Rose shook her head desperately, tears brimming in her eyes.
"You don't know him. 'Cause he's not. I'm telling you, he's not," Aneres had to agree with that one, even though neither of them were speaking through the connection, she could feel that he was alive, "And even if he was, how could I leave him all on his own, all the way down there? No, I'm going to stay."
Zach sighed resignedly. "Then I apologise for this. Danny, Toby? Make her secure."
Aneres watched as Toby and Danny grabbed Rose tightly by her upper arms and held her tightly while Zach reached into a cupboard and pulled out a syringe. Rose paled and thrashed harder in their grasp.
"Help me Aneres! I need to wait for the Doctor!" She shrieked. Aneres shook her head and stared at Rose blankly.
"The Doctor will find us, not the other way around," Rose looked as if she'd been slapped. "So, either come willingly or deal with being sedated."
There was a pause as Zach, Toby and Danny waited for Rose to react. They winced a second later as Rose let out an ear splitting shriek.
"How dare you!" She continued writhing in their grasp, "How dare you claim him as yours! You are nothing! Nothing!" Aneres watched as Zach approached, wincing in pain from her shrieks before roughly jabbing the needle in her arm. Rose froze in the men's grasp and then went limp, her head lolling to the side. Her eyes fluttered open and shut as the injection spread through her body.
"I have lost too many people. I am not leaving you behind," He looked over at Aneres who nodded at him, "Let's get on board." The five of them moved forward at Zach's order, weaving down the hallways of the base in almost complete silence. Aneres winced as they came across the bodies of several Ood that had been killed by the brainstorm, and cringed further as one of them twitched.
"Did that one just move?" Toby whispered fearfully. Aneres shook her head.
"It's picking up leftover electrical impulses from the other Ood through the telepathic field, which is magnifying it enough to force the twitching. Think of it like cutting the head off an ant and watching its body continue to writhe in pain," The Time Lady explained. The crew members stared at her, horrified. "It's common in creatures with a telepathic connection to their brethren."
Zach nodded slowly before turning back to the task at hand and leading them to the opposite end of the base. Finally, they reached Door 56 and opened it to reveal the rocket. "Alright everyone," Zach took a deep breath, "Strap in."
TEotOS
The Doctor groaned as his eyes opened blearily. He vaguely noticed the shards of glass from his broken faceplate on the ground beside him as he rose to his feet. His muscles stretched and a few of his joints cracked as he looked around, confused.
"I'm breathing. Air cushion to support the fall. You can breath down here, Ida. Can you hear me, Ida?" There was no response from Ida on the other side of the comm. "Probably out of range."
The Doctor reached into one of his many pockets and pulled out a torch, which he promptly turned on and flashed through the otherwise pitch black cavern. His eyes widened as he lit up a wall completely covered in art. The Doctor slowly walked over and moved the beam of light across the various depictions.
"The history of some big battle. Man against Beast. I don't know if you're getting this, Ida," He paused, hoping for a response that never came, "Hope so. Anyway, they defeated the Beast and imprisoned it."
The Doctor paused as he reached the last painting, which showed two bronze urns. The same bronze urns that sat on pedestals a few feet away from him. "Or maybe that's the key," He reached out and touched one urn, causing both to light up. "Or the gate, or the bars."
A rumble. That was all the Doctor heard before turning to see none other than what was most assuredly, almost definitely, the Devil. Its horns, thicker than the strongest steel beams, and its arms formed by rotten and sinewed flesh were chained to the walls of the cave. All of the color left the Doctor's face as the Beast let out an ear-splitting roar from its decomposing mouth filled with sharp fangs that smelt quite literally of blood and death. The Doctor was torn between awe and sheer terror as the Beast quieted and the Time Lord had a better chance to observe it.
This creature could have stood taller than the glass dome of Arcadia if it could stand upright, without chains. The Doctor watched as it moved, tugging on its chains desperately while growling lowly. He shuddered as the ground beneath his feet shook with each passing second. He inhaled softly, and addressed the creature.
"I accept that you exist. I don't have to accept what you are, but you're physical existence, I'll give you that," He began before frowning in confusion, "I don't understand. I was expected down here. I was given a safe landing and air. You need me for something. What for? Have I got to, I don't know, beg an audience? Or is there a ritual? Some sort of incantation or summons or spell? All these things I don't believe in, are they real? Speak to me! Tell me!"
The Beast didn't respond except with another low growl and baring its fangs at the Time Lord. "You won't talk. Or you can't talk. Oh, hold on, wait a minute, just let me. Oh! No. Yes! No. Think it through. You spoke before. I heard your voice. An intelligent voice. No, more than that. Brilliant."
The Doctor walked back and forth on the ledge, inspecting the creature as best he could. "But, looking at you now, all I can see is Beast. The animal. Just the body. You're just the body, the physical form. What's happened to your mind, hmm? Where's it gone? Where's that intelligence?" His face fell, "Oh, no."
Aneres. The Beast had always been inside Toby, just waiting to come out, and now it was stuck on a base with the one person he absolutely could not live without. The Doctor ran his hands through his hair frantically as he realized exactly how utterly fucked they were. His Aneres, his Esha, she would die if he couldn't stop it. Her whirlwind spirit, her sparkling smile, her eyes of emerald green, the eye to his storm, she would be gone. And it would be his fault, again. His eyes darkened as he looked back up at the Beast. He didn't know how to fix this, but he would be damned if he wasn't going to try.
And then another rumble resounded, this time from above the base, above the planet in its entirety. "The rocket," He whispered, a light of hope filling his heart. If she was on the rocket, she was safe. If she was safe, his life was complete. The Doctor's lips stretched into a feral grin as he stared right into the Beast's eyes.
"You're imprisoned, long time ago. Before the universe, after, sideways, in between, doesn't matter. The prison is perfect. It's absolute, it's eternal," His eyes widened and he grinned, "Oh, yes! Open the prison, the gravity field collapses. This planet falls into the black hole! You escape, you die. Brilliant!"
The Doctor paused and frowned to himself, realizing that was far too simple. "But that's just the body. The body is trapped, that's all. The devil is an idea. In all those civilisations, just an idea. But an idea is hard to kill. An idea could escape. The mind. The mind of the great Beast. The mind can escape!"
His eyes darkened with a deep rage, a rage that wouldn't rest until he revenged himself on the creature that threatened him and the woman he loved. "Oh, but that's it! You didn't give me air, your jailers did. They set this up all those years ago! They need me alive, because if you're escaping, then I've got to stop you. If I destroy your prison, your body is destroyed. Your mind with it."
The Doctor let out a short bark of a laugh and grabbed a nearby rock, preparing to throw it directly at one of the urns. But, he stopped. He turned back to the Beast, shattered and broken as he kept thinking it out.
"But then you're clever enough to use this whole system against me. If I destroy this planet, I destroy the gravity field. The rocket. The rocket loses protection and falls into the black hole. I have to sacrifice Aneres," The Doctor's body trembled as it fought to contain the Oncoming Storm. He wanted nothing more than to rip this Beast apart with his bare hands, even if it took him a millenia. But, he couldn't.
"So, that's the trap. Or the test, or the final judgment, I don't know. But if I kill you, I kill her. Except that implies in this big grand scheme of Gods and Devils that she's just a victim. But I've seen a lot of this universe," He grinned darkly at the Beast, "I've seen fake gods and bad gods and demi-gods and would-be gods, and out of all that, out of that whole pantheon, if I believe in one thing, just one thing, I believe in her." There was a crash as the urn shattered.
TEotOS
Aneres gasped as the rocket jolted harshly, smacking her skull against the back of her chair. Danny looked around fearfully, while Toby's features morphed with a deranged sort of terror and Zach started frantically pushing buttons. Rose let out a shriek as the rocket rocked back and forth, shaking its passengers from side to side.
"What happened? What was that?" Danny demanded, his head whipping around as he looked over all of the readings.
"What's he doing? What is he doing?" Toby shrieked while thrashing in his seat. Aneres' breathing picked up as she clutched the arms of her chair tightly. Zach let out a shout of pain as he was roughly slammed to the side.
"We've lost the funnel. Gravity collapse!" He shouted. Aneres felt her hearts stop. The funnel was gone. They were trapped. They were going to fall into a black hole. She was going to die without him by her side. She was going to leave him all alone. She failed. Everything else melted away as she panicked.
"What does that mean?" Rose shrieked from her chair. Zach blinked back tears as he shouted back.
"We can't escape. We're headed straight for the black hole!" Rose cried out as the rocket continued to slam their bodies against various surfaces. Aneres remained silent, staring into space, until she noticed a black mark on Toby's neck. And another, and another. Soon, his entire body was covered and his eyes returned to their blood red color from before. Her eyes narrowed dangerously.
"I am the rage," Toby growled. His lips curled into a snarl crossed with a grin and he turned to address Aneres.
"And the bile and the ferocity," Aneres reached out slowly as he watched her. She felt her mind clearing. Felt her skin bubbling with the desire to kill. To protect. To rid them of this disease.
"I am the Prince and the Fall and the enemy. I am the sin and the fear and the darkness." Rose and Danny were screaming unintelligibly. Aneres wrapped her fingers around the bolt gun that Zach had brought on board. Toby let a stream of fire leap from his mouth and cackled as Danny and Rose screamed louder. Zach was paralyzed with fear.
"I shall never die. The thought of me is forever. In the bleeding hearts of men, in their vanity and obsession and lust." Aneres blinked at him slowly as she raised the bolt gun with one hand and aimed it at the front screen of the rocket. Rose vomited on the floor of the rocket as her breathing quickened beyond hyperventilation. Danny and Zach didn't know what to do, their fear chilling them to the core.
"No man shall ever destroy me. None!"Toby cackled. Aneres' lips twitched up in a smile as she whispered four words.
"I am no man." The bolt flew through the front screen, Aneres reached over and unclicked Toby's seatbelt, cackling loudly as he was dragged through space, towards his doom and destruction. Zach and Danny watched in shock as a man they once considered their friend roared into the endless night, and perished amongst the stars.
"Emergency shield!" Zach eventually managed to shout as the vacuum continued to suck the air from the rocket. A metal shutter quickly snapped across the hole, letting them breathe freely. Unfortunately the rocket was still descending into oblivion, following the beast to its doom.
"We've still lost the gravity funnel. We can't escape the black hole," Zach whispered hoarsely. Aneres dropped the bolt gun and sagged into her chair while she caught her breath. She looked over and saw Rose had made herself pass out, vomit still at the corner of her mouth from earlier.
"It's alright," The two men turned to stare at Aneres, "We stopped it, and now there's just a little less evil in the world."
"Some victory. We're going in," Zach muttered bitterly. Danny watched the monitors in horror as they kept changing until they flashed red suddenly.
"The planet's lost orbit. It's falling!" Danny shouted, watching the planet crumble within seconds. There was a pause before he spoke again. "The planet's gone. I'm sorry."
"I did my best," Zach sighed, looking over at Danny, "But hey! The first human beings to fall inside a black hole. How about that? History."
And then they stopped. Aneres froze and a disbelieving smile stretched across her face.
"We're turning. We're turning around," Zach grinned as he spoke, "We're turning away!" He leaned across the dashboard and hugged Danny tightly. The two men let a few tears fall, so relieved they were okay. And then they heard something that should've been impossible.
"Sorry about the hijack, Captain!" Aneres sobbed delightedly at the sound of her Tether's voice, "This is the good ship Tardis. Now, first thing's first. Have you got Aneres and one Rose Tyler on board?"
"We're here," Aneres shouted, her heart about to burst with euphoria. "We're both here! Oh thank god."
"What are you doing Doctor?" Danny asked with a grin.
"I'm just towing you home. Gravity schmavity. Our people practically invented black holes," Aneres rolled her eyes as he paused, "Well, in fact, they did. In a couple of minutes, we'll be nice and safe. Oh, and Captain?" Zach perked up.
"Can we do a swap? Say, if you give me Aneres and Rose Tyler, I'll give you Ida Scott? How about that?" Zach and Danny let out a loud cheer and hugged each other again. Aneres closed her eyes and smiled, so proud of her Tether.
"She's alive!" Zach crowed with delight.
"Yes. Thank God," Danny whispered.
"Yeah! Bit of oxygen starvation, but she should be all right. I couldn't save the Ood. I only had time for one trip. They went down with the planet." No one said anything for several seconds. Finally Aneres spke up.
"There were no Ood to save, they died long before the planet went down. I'm sorry, Doctor," She whispered. The Doctor gasped softly over the comm, but said nothing more until he managed to pull the rocket far enough away from the black hole.
"Ah! Entering clear space. End of the line. Mission closed," He said over the comms. Aneres quickly unbuckled herself and went over to Rose, shaking her gently. The blonde woke up and wiped her mouth instantly, still tasting vomit. Aneres explained what had happened just as the rocket doors opened to reveal the Doctor standing in the console room.
Aneres stared at him for several seconds before sprinting inside and jumping into his outstretched arms. Her head buried itself into the crook of his neck, her arms wound around his neck and her legs wrapped around his torso. He let out a soft hum as he breathed in her scent and clutched her tightly, never wanting to let her go. Neither of them noticed Rose stumbling inside until she turned and retched again, vomit pouring from her mouth and into space. The Doctor raised an eyebrow at his companion and set his Tether down.
"You alright?" Aneres sighed and walked over to the girl to pull her hair back.
"She made herself sick on the flight by hyperventilating," Aneres explained. The Doctor winced and turned back to the crew standing in the rocket with Ida beside them. They stared at him, still unable to comprehend what had happened since his arrival on their base.
"We'll be off, now. Have a good trip home," He started to walk to the console but turned around again, "And the next time you get curious about something. Oh, what's the point? You'll just go blundering in. The human race." The crew blushed as the Doctor sent them a fond yet exasperated smile.
"But Doctor," He looked directly as Ida, "what did you find down there? That creature, what was it?" The Doctor shrugged and leaned against the door.
"I don't know. Never did decipher that writing. But that's good, Day I know everything? Might as well stop," He quipped. Aneres shook her head fondly as Rose calmed down, allowing her to leave the girl and stand next to her Tether.
"What do you think it was, really?" Rose managed to choke out. The Doctor sighed and looked over at her while wrapping an arm around Aneres' shoulder.
"I think we beat it. That's good enough for me," He replied. Rose shook her head worriedly.
"It said I was going to die in battle." The Doctor tensed but shook his head at the girl.
"Then it lied," Rose still looked unsure, but didn't say anything. The Doctor looked back at Zach, Danny and Ida. "Right, onwards, upwards. Ida? See you again, maybe."
"I hope so," Ida admitted. Aneres smiled at the three of them
"Thank you, we couldn't have made it out without any of you," The Time Lady murmured. Ida grinned at her while Zach and Danny gave her a salute along with smiles. Rose smiled at them once she wiped her face clean.
"Yeah, thanks guys," She said quietly. The three of them then turned and walked further into the console, but stopped as Ida spoke up again.
"Hang on though, Doctor, Aneres. You never really said. You three, who are you?" The Doctor shared a grin with Aneres and kissed her on the cheek before replying.
"Oh, the stuff of legend," Ida laughed softly at that. Out of anything in the universe, that was the best description for them, wasn't it? The trio waved at them one last time, and then the doors to their ship closed, carrying them away into the far corners of the universe.
HI AGAIN! I'm so glad we've made it through the Impossible Planet and the Satan Pit because these are some of the harder episodes to write in my opinion, especially if you want to do it well. Hopefully I accomplished that, and I hope I do just as well with the original chapter I have planned to publish next. Please leave a review with comments, questions or concerns and I hope you have an amazing day as well as an amazing Easter! Bye bye readers!
-Angel
