Thanks to Darkdusk234 for following/faving my story.
The Time Lord Oracle: yep. Even the dark side of the Doctor loves her, she IS his Bonded after all and that would never change no matter how much darkness is inside.
NicoleR85: thanks!
"Come on Elle, just pick something", Amy urged getting just a little impatient with her friend. She'd already chosen and put on the outfit she wanted to wear while they visited Rio but Melanie was still looking!
"I don't know what to choose", Melanie huffed rifling through a rail of mid length skirts "there's too many options!"
Amy sighed, marched over to a rail and pulled out a short denim skirt. She went over to another and selected a pale pink halter neck "wear these and you're sure to render the Doctor speechless", she said holding items out.
"Yeah…no. I don't think so", Melanie said firmly.
"Oh, come on Elle. You've got the figure to pull these kind of clothes off", Amy said.
"Not with my scars I don't", Melanie said gesturing to the one on her face and neck.
"Well…what about this top?" Amy suggested showing her a vest top that would cover up the scars on her back nicely "it would keep you covered AND may help spur things along in your relationship with the Doctor".
Melanie turned to the ginger confused "What do you mean? Spur things along?" she asked.
"Well…you guys are really sweet and all but has either of you said those 3 little words yet?" Amy questioned.
"As a matter of fact, we have", Melanie replied.
"Really? When?"
"Just after the Dream Lord business. We kissed and then said 'I love you", Melanie said.
"About time!" she said happily. Melanie smiled at her friend and continued her search for a suitable top to go with the skirt. "So...how good a kisser is the Doctor?" Amy questioned.
Melanie didn't say anything, she just gave Amy a smile and carried on looking for a top. Though Amy was her best friend and she'd share everything with her, this was one thing she wanted to keep for herself...that the Doctor was an extremely good kisser. And when he decided to use his tongue...well...she really, really liked it. If she had to be honest, she wouldn't mind him doing that again or taking it a tad further.
"Oh come on Elle!" Amy protested "you gotta give me something. I thought we told each other everything".
"We do", Melanie agreed, pulling out a purple mid-length tie dyed skirt "but I want to keep this to myself".
Amy pouted, rather put out that the brunette wasn't telling. Then she got an idea. If Melanie won't spill the 'beans' then the Doctor would, with a little persuasion of course. "Well if you won't tell...I suppose I'll just have to get it from the Doctor", she said slyly.
Melanie glanced at her "You really think the Doctor would share something like that?" she asked, highly doubtful.
"Oh, I'm sure he would", Amy said confidently "It's just a matter of saying the right things".
Melanie scoffed "good luck Ames. It won't matter what you say, he won't spill".
Amy smirked "Challenge accepted Miss Hannigan", and with that she turned and walked away. Melanie watched her go before she contacted the Doctor.
'Doctor, Amy is on her way to ask you how good a kisser you are'
A moment later she heard the Doctor's mental voice ask 'oh really? Why?'
'Because I refused to tell her. I just said that it was something I wanted to keep to myself' Melanie answered. There was a pause before the Doctor spoke.
'So how good a kisser am I?'
'Very good' Melanie replied.
'Only very good?' the Doctor asked 'I might have to find you and change for mind on that'.
Melanie smiled 'go for it. I'm in the wardrobe', she told him.
'On my way'
Knowing that the Doctor was on his way, Melanie quickly renewed her search for a top to match the skirt. She pulled out several of them, looked at them all for about a second before she put them back. Melanie did this three times, getting more worried that she wouldn't find anything before the Doctor turned up. And then she found the perfect top. It a white off the shoulder top embroidered with purple flowers. Melanie easily found a pair of sandals to go with it and darted off to the changing area with her clothes.
She'd literally just stepped out, securing her mother's locket around her neck when the Doctor showed up. "What do you think?" she asked giving a little twirl "good enough for Rio?"
"It's perfect for Rio", the Time Lord replied "now, I believe I've got to change your mind on something".
"Do you?" Melanie asked, feigning ignorance.
"Yes, I do", the Doctor said stepping forward. Melanie shot him a grin before she ran off. The Time Lord chased after her. The brunette giggled as she darted around the rails of clothing hoping to lose the Doctor in the vastness of the wardrobe. She paused by a rack of coats to catch her breath. She peered around the corner waiting for the Doctor to pass by. Suddenly a pair of arms grabbed her from behind causing to her let out a shriek. Melanie tried to run off but the arms held firm around her waist. "Gotcha", the Doctor said in her ear.
"What are you going to do now?" Melanie asked feeling her heart hammer in her chest from the scare.
"This", the Doctor said and in one swift move, he spun her around and pressed his lips against hers. Without breaking the kiss, he picked her up and carried her over to a nearby chair. The Doctor settled down onto it with his Bonded on his lap. It didn't take very long for the kiss become heated when tongues were introduced. Melanie closed her eyes, losing herself in the kiss and the warmth that came with it. She raised her hands and ran them through the Doctor's hair. The Time Lord close his eyes, very much enjoying the sensation.
Eventually, they parted. Both breathing heavily, both faces flushed. "How was that?" the Doctor asked.
"Fantastic", Melanie replied.
"So I've definitely changed your mind then?" he questioned.
"Yes you have" Melanie pecked him on the lips "my Doctor".
The Doctor smiled and rested his forehead against hers "My Elle", he said "my Bonded".
Several minutes had passed and the pair hadn't moved. Melanie was rather content to stay on the Doctor's arms and the Doctor...well he wasn't complaining either. It was moments like these that he would cherish. But the pleasant silence was broken by Melanie's voice.
"We should probably head to Rio soon"
"Why?" the Doctor asked "Rio isn't going anywhere. Besides I'm rather enjoying this moment. Aren't you?"
"I am", Melanie replied "and as much as I'd love to stay here in your arms, Amy and Rory are gonna get impatient".
"Well they'll just have to learn to have some patience", the Doctor said "for once I want to be selfish and spend some alone time with my beautiful Bonded".
"And if they come looking for us, our alone time will be cut short", Melanie told him "so isn't it better that we find them and get the trip to Rio started?"
"No", the Doctor answered "it would require moving and I don't want to" his arms tightened around her slightly.
"Just think about it. The sooner we get to Rio, the sooner Amy and Rory will go off on a wander. That'll mean plenty of alone time for us to do whatever we want", Melanie said. The Doctor pondered over her words for a moment. She did make an excellent point. The quicker they headed to Rio, the quicker Amy and Rory temporarily vacate the TARDIS...
The Time Lord jumped up and ran out of the wardrobe with Melanie in his arms. The brunette couldn't help but laugh as his eagerness. "I can walk you know", she said as he continued to run.
"I know, I just wanted to keep you in my arms a bit longer", the Doctor glanced down at her, slowing a fraction "is that a problem?"
"Nope", Melanie said resting her head on his chest.
"Good", the Doctor said with a smile and continued on his way to the console room.
~console room~
"There you are", Amy said seeing the Doctor enter the room with Melanie is his arms? She just waved it off. He must have a reason for it but she wasn't going to ask. She was more interested to find out what Melanie blatantly refused to tell her. "I've been wondering about something..." Amy started.
"No, Amy", Melanie said as the Doctor set her down.
"But..."
"I said 'no'", Melanie repeated "I'm not going tell you and neither will the Doctor", she glanced at the Time Lord "Right?"
"Yes, absolutely. No telling", Doctor agreed quickly. Amy pouted, rather put out. She was just going to have to try again when Melanie wasn't around. "Now! On to Rio!" he declared and went for the controls, missing the look Amy was giving his Bonded.
When the TARDIS touched down, the Doctor started for the doors. He grabbed hold of the handles and cast Melanie a grin which she returned "Behold..." he pulled the doors open with a flourish "Rio!"
The sight that greeted them wasn't not Rio, in fact it was...a graveyard. Amy, Rory and Melanie move around the Doctor and out of the TARDIS. Amy looked around the graveyard shaking her head.
"Not really getting the sunshine carnival vibe", Rory remarked.
"Well maybe this is a different part of Rio that tourists don't really go to", Melanie offered. Rory shot her a look and she sighed "No, this isn't Rio", she reluctantly agreed. A breeze blew across the landscape, ruffling their hair and clothes. Amy and Melanie shivered as both of them were dressed for a warmer climate. The Doctor instantly stepped out of the TARDIS ready to give Melanie his jacket when he frowned, there was something off about the ground. Melanie raised an eyebrow when the Time Lord suddenly bounced on the spot. "What are you doing?" she asked.
"The ground feels strange", he replied "can't you feel it?" Melanie, Amy and Rory shook their heads "Just me then". He then noticed something strange out of the corner of his eye and darted off. The three humans hurried after him.
"Doctor, what is it?" Melanie questioned seeing him stop and crouch down by one of the graves. He plucked a few blades of grass.
"Blue grass", he stated standing up "patches of it all around the graveyard". Now that he said it, Melanie could see the patches of grass.
"That's weird", she remarked.
"Yep", the Doctor said.
"Who cares about blue grass?" Amy asked "we quite clearly in the wrong place and..." She trailed off and frowned across the valley. There were two people waving at them "Why are those people waving at us?"
The Doctor followed her gaze "Can't be", he said and much to Melanie's surprise he pulled out a pair of binoculars from his pocket "It is!" he lowered the binoculars "It's you, Amy. Rory as well".
"No, we're here. How can we be up there?" Rory asked confused.
"This is the year 2020", the Doctor said "Ten years in your future. Come to relive past glories, I'd imagine. Humans, you're so nostalgic".
"We're still together in ten years?" Amy said surprised.
"No need to sound so surprised!" Rory remarked.
Melanie looked at the future versions of her best friends. It made her wonder where she and the Doctor were. "I wonder where we are in ten years' time?" she said to the Doctor.
"Probably off exploring the universe...", the Time Lord said putting at arm around her, hugging her to his side "saving planets and lots of running".
"Hey, let's go and talk to them!" Amy piped up "We can say hi to future us. How cool is that?" she grabbed Rory by the arm and started to head off when the Doctor's voice stopped her.
"No, best not. Really best not. These things get complicated very quickly..." the Time Lord spotted some sort of mining thing nearby "oh look! Big mining thing. Oh, I love a big mining thing. See, way better than Rio! Rio doesn't have a big mining thing".
"We're not going to have a look, are we?" Amy groaned.
"Let's go and have a look", the Doctor said oblivious to the looks that Amy, Melanie and Rory were giving each other "Come on, let's see what they're doing". He moved his arm from around Melanie, taking her hand instead. He then pulled the brunette down the path.
"Are we seriously going to look at a 'big mining thing'?" Melanie asked as they walked "I thought we'd be off, trying to get to Rio".
"We'll go to Rio after we look at the big mining thing", the Doctor said "I promise".
"You promise", Melanie repeated.
The Doctor stopped and looked at her "Elle, I promise we will go to Rio" with his free hand he crossed his hearts "cross my hearts".
"Ok", Melanie said believing him a little bit more.
~Mine gates~
The pair stop at a set of locked gates. "Restricted access. No unauthorised personnel", the Doctor read aloud. He got out his sonic and used it on the lock.
"You know, I think that that is what people call breaking and entering", Melanie commented.
"What did I break?" the Doctor asked removing the padlock "Sonicing and entering, totally different" he opened the gate "come on".
Melanie glanced behind them, frowning. Amy and Rory were nowhere to be seen. "shouldn't we wait for Amy and Rory?" she asked.
"Nah, they'll catch us up", the Doctor replied holding out his hand. Melanie took his hand and they walked through the gate.
~Tunnel~
"What about now? Can you feel it now?" the Doctor asked Melanie as they walked.
The brunette shook her head "No, sorry. I don't", she replied.
"The ground doesn't feel like it should", the Doctor told her.
"Well, you did say this is ten years in the future. Maybe how this ground feels is how it always feels", Melanie suggested.
"Good thought Elle, but no, it doesn't" a whirring sound begins "Hear that, drill in start-up mode. Afterwaves of a recent seismological shift and blue grass" the Doctor took one of the blue blades of grass he'd collected and put it in his mouth. He made a face and promptly took it out of his mouth.
"You better wash your mouth out first before you kiss me again", Melanie said a bit disgusted by what he'd just done.
"Don't worry Elle I will", the Doctor promised "now what's in..." they walked into a room where an Indian woman, Nasreen, was standing near machinery "...here? Hello!"
"Who are you?" Nasreen demanded "What're you doing here?" she frowned at Melanie's outfit "And what're you wearing?"
"I dressed for Rio", Melanie told her.
The Doctor took out his psychic paper and showed it to Nasreen "Ministry of Drills, Earth and Science! New Ministry, quite big, just merged. It's lot of responsibility on our shoulders. Don't like to talk about it" the Time Lord tucked the paper back into his pocket "What are you doing?"
"None of your business", Nasreen answered.
"Where are you getting these readings from?" the Doctor asked moving over to the monitor, Melanie following him.
"Under the soil", Nasreen answered removing equipment from a hole in the floor.
An older man, Tony, enters the room "The drill's up and running again", he told Nasreen "What's going on? Who are these people?" he asked looking at the Doctor and Melanie.
"Melanie, the Doctor", the brunette woman said introducing herself and the Time Lord.
The Doctor walked over to the hole and picked up a pinch of soil, letting it fall through his fingers "Why's there a big patch of earth in the middle of your floor?" he asked.
"We don't know. It just appeared overnight", Nasreen replied.
"Good. Right" the Doctor stood up "You all need to get out of here very fast".
"Doctor, what's wrong?" Melanie asked. Before he could answer the ground suddenly started to shake. The Time Lord ran back to monitor.
"The ground is moving", he stated.
"Uh...I think we can all feel that Doctor", Melanie said.
"Is this an earthquake?" Tony asked.
"Doubt it. Cos its only happening under this room", the Doctor replied. Two more holes appear in the floor then three more. "It knows we're here. The ground's attacking us", the Doctor said his hearts starting to hammer at the growing danger to his Bonded.
"No, no that's not possible", Nasreen insisted.
"Under the circumstances, I'd suggest, run!" the Doctor grabbed Melanie's hand and ran for the door, Nasreen not far behind them. Tony tried to follow but became trapped by a hole opening up beneath one of his foot.
"Tony!" Nasreen exclaimed. Melanie tugged her hand out of the Doctor's and dashed toward Tony.
"It's ok, I got you", Melanie assured grabbing hold of his arm. Suddenly the ground beneath her feet opened up.
"Elle!" the Doctor shouted rushing over to help her.
"Something's got me!" she cried as she was pulled down through the ground up to her waist.
"I've got you", the Doctor said grabbing hold of her hands tightly.
"Don't let go", Melanie said her voice trembling with fear.
"Never", the Doctor said, his hearts hammering even more in his chest. Nasreen ran over and easily pulled Tony out of the ground.
"Your drill, shut it down! Go! Now!" the Doctor ordered Nasreen and Tony. They all but sprinted from the room.
Melanie let out small scream as she was pulled further into the ground. The Doctor shifted both hands to the one arm that was still free. "Please don't let me go", she begged, tears starting to form.
"I'm not going to let you go", the Doctor said feeling her fear which of course sent his panic skyrocketing "always and forever, remember?"
Melanie nodded, managing a smile through her tears "Yes, I remember", she said. Her smile fell as she was yanked down once more, all that remained where her head, shoulders and one arm which the Doctor was clinging onto with all his strength. "Doctor, I'm scared", she whispered "I don't want to die".
"You're not going to die Elle, not on my watch", the Doctor said firmly. He tightened his grip even more, his arms straining to hold on to her hand as she sank deeper. Now only her head and part of her that the Doctor was holding onto was poking out of the dirt. With a scream, Melanie was pulled completely underneath the soil.
"Elle no!" the Doctor cried "No! No!" he frantically dug through the dirt but to no avail "No! No! No!" he slammed his hands on the ground and stands up, pulling out his sonic screwdriver "No you're not gone. You cannot be gone", he muttered using the device on the ground.
Nasreen and Tony rush back in the room "Where is she?" the Indian woman asked.
"She's gone", the Doctor whispered, the sonic falling out of his hand as the shock set in "my Bonded is gone. The ground took her".
Melanie screamed as she was pulled through the ground. She landed on some compacted dirt, coughing when some of it got in her mouth. She got to her feet, brushed herself down and looked up. The hole she'd been pulled through was no longer there. Melanie then took in her surroundings. Thanks to some dim lighting, she noticed that she was in some kind of tunnel. Melanie stood there and pondered what to do. She could follow the tunnel and hope that she came across an exit that would get her up to the surface. Or she could wait there to see if the Doctor would come and get her. She didn't particularly want to aimlessly wander around because she had no idea who or what was lurking around. The tunnel she was in didn't build itself. If only she could call the Doctor somehow…Melanie's brown eyes widened when she remembered that she and the Time Lord had a telepathic connection.
'Doctor!' she mentally called as loudly as she could.
~Store room~
To say that the Doctor was relieved to hear Melanie was an understatement. 'Elle are you ok?' he asked standing up.
'Yeah, I'm fine', Melanie answered 'I'm in some kind of tunnel'.
'Anybody with you?' the Doctor questioned.
'No. I'm alone', Melanie replied 'what do you want me to do?'
'Stay put. I'll figure out a way to get to you', the Doctor instructed walking over to the computers, flashing his sonic over them.
"Oh no…what…what are you doing?" Nasreen demanded.
"Hacking into your records", the Doctor answered "Probe reports, samples, sensors. Good. Just unite the data, make it all one big conversation. Let's have a look. So, we are here and this is your drill hole. Twenty one point zero nine kilometres. Well done!"
"Thank you. It's taken us a long time", Nasreen said, pleased with her accomplishment.
'Please hurry Doctor', Melanie pleaded.
'I will', the Doctor promised 'Love you'.
'Love you too', Melanie said.
"Why here, though? Why'd you drill on this site?" the Doctor questioned.
"We found patches of grass in this area, containing trace minerals unseen in this country for twenty million years", Nasreen explained.
The Doctor looked at her, brows raised "The blue grass? Oh, Nasreen. Those trace minerals weren't X marking the spot, saying dig here. They were a warning. Stay away. Because while you've been drilling down, somebody else has been drilling up" he pulled up a screen on one of the computers showing a network of vertical tunnels "Oh, beautiful. Network of tunnels all the way down".
Tony shook his head "No, no, we've surveyed that area", he said.
"You only saw what you went looking for", the Doctor told him.
'Uh…Doctor?' Melanie called 'I can hear someone coming towards me'.
~Tunnel~
The brunette stood there, facing towards the sound. "Hello?" she called seeing a shadow cast on the dirt wall by the dim lights "my name's Melanie. I'm not intruding or anything. I was uh…pulled through the ground. Can you help me?" She watched the shadow stop "look I don't want any trouble, I just want to get back to my boyfriend. If you could just point me towards the exit, I'll be on my way". Melanie didn't get answer. Suddenly a small canister appeared, bouncing along the ground, rolling to a stop a couple of metres away. The canister exploded, releasing a white gas.
Melanie ran as fast as she could to get away from it but she wasn't fast enough. The gas overtook and enveloped her. Melanie coughed as she inhaled it. 'Doctor help me!' she called desperately 'I'm being…' she trailed off as she passed out.
~Store room~
'You're being what?' the Doctor asked 'Elle answer me!'
His hearts began to hammer when he didn't get a response from his Bonded. Something bad had just happened to her. He needed to find her, now! "I've got to go", the Doctor said and marched out of the room.
"Go?" Nasreen asked following after him with Tony "go where?"
"Underground. Someone or something has made the mistake of taking my Bonded. I'm getting her back", the Doctor said firmly.
"How are you going to do that?" Nasreen questioned.
"And what exactly is a Bonded?" Tony queried. The Doctor just ignored their questions and continued walking. One single thought in his mind: save Melanie.
Then a curious sound reached his ears, making him stop. It was drilling. The Doctor dropped to the ground and listened intently. He then jumped up and rushed back into the store room. "That wasn't drilling, that was transport", he muttered staring at the screen. Three blips were moving upwards at a fast pace "it's transport", he said louder to Tony and Nasreen who'd followed him back into the room, rather confused "Three of them, thirty kilometres down. Rate of speed looks about a hundred and fifty kilometres an hour. Should be here in ooo, quite soon", he glanced at his watch "Twelve minutes. Whatever made the Earth take my Bonded is on its way up, now". He turned to Tony and Nasreen "take this equipment, we're going to need it", he ordered. The Doctor snatched up one of the computers and rushed out of the room. Nasreen and Tony picked up the other computer and the rest of the equipment before following after him.
~Cwmtaff~
"How can something be coming up when there's only the Earth's crust down there?" Tony asked the Doctor as they walked, laden down with equipment.
"You saw the readings!" the Doctor said.
"Who are you, anyway?!" Nasreen demanded "How can you know all this?"
Before the Doctor could answer her, there was a loud whirring sound and the trio saw red lights streak across the sky. "Whoa, did you see that?" Nasreen gaped.
"No, no, no!" the Doctor exclaimed. This cannot be happening! He took out a catapult from his pocket, picked up a rock from the ground and fired it into the air. It hit a force field, red lights streak out from impact. The Doctor then used his sonic, revealing the force field surrounding the village and drill site. "Energy signal originating from under the Earth", The Doctor said "We're trapped".
This wasn't NOT happening! He cannot be trapped! Melanie needs him!
Then Rory and Amy along with an unfamiliar woman and young boy. "Doctor, something weird's going on here, the graves are eating people", he said.
"Not now, Rory", the Doctor waved him off "Energy barricade, invisible to the naked eye. We can't get out and no one from the outside world can get in".
"What?! Okay, what about the TARDIS?" Rory questioned.
"The what?" Nasreen questioned, confused.
"No. Those energy patterns would play havoc with the circuits", the Doctor told him "With a bit of time, maybe, but we've only got nine and a half minutes".
"Nine and a half minutes to what?" Rory asked as Amy looked around, noticing that someone was missing from the group.
"We're trapped, and something's burrowing towards the surface", Nasreen explained quickly.
"Where's Elle?" Amy asked.
"Get everyone inside the church", the Doctor said "Amy, I'll get her back".
"What do you mean, get her back? Where's she gone?" the ginger demanded.
"She was taken. Into the Earth", the Doctor replied.
"Why didn't you stop it?" Amy demanded.
"I tried. I promise, I tried", the Doctor said, his voice strained from the guilt of not being able to stop Melanie from being pulled into the ground.
"Well, you should've tried harder!" Amy shouted at him.
"I know I should've", the Doctor said quietly. Amy's face softened at the pain clearly showing on the Time Lord's face. She moved over to him and gave him a hug. "I'll find her Amy, I promise", he added.
"I know", Amy said. She had complete faith that the Doctor will find her. She knew he wasn't going to stop until he did.
The group all walked over to the church with the equipment from the drill site. "Where's Mo? Is he with you?" the unfamiliar woman, whom the time travelling trio learned was Ambrose, asked.
"This flaming door. Always sticking. I thought you were having it fixed", Tony said trying to get the door open, avoiding his daughter's questioned.
"Dad!" Ambrose exclaimed.
"Something's happened to him, hasn't it?" Elliot, Ambrose's son asked fearfully. Tony again didn't answer, instead he focused on getting the church door open. As soon as it was, they all entered.
The inside of the church, was in a state of disrepair. Crates and random pieces of junk littered the place. "So we can't get out, we can't contact anyone, and something, the something that took my husband, is coming up through the Earth", Ambrose stated while the Doctor, Tony and Nasreen set up the equipment.
"Yes. If we move quickly enough, we can be ready", the Doctor said.
"No, stop. This has gone far enough. What is this?" Ambrose demanded.
"He's telling the truth, love", Tony told her.
"Come on!" Ambrose exclaimed "It's not the first time we've had no mobile or phone signals. Reception's always rubbish".
"Look, Ambrose. We saw the Doctor's friend get taken, okay?" Nasreen spoke up "You saw the lightning in the sky. I have seen the impossible today, and the only person who's made any sense of it for me, is the Doctor".
"Him?!" Ambrose said looking at the Time Lord sceptically.
"Me", the Doctor confirmed.
"Can you get my dad back?" Elliot asked. Everyone looked at the Time Lord wondering what he was going to say.
"Yes", the Doctor answered "But I need you to trust me and do exactly as I say from this second onwards, because we're running out of time".
"So tell us what to do", Ambrose countered.
"Thank you. We have eight minutes to set up a line of defence. Bring me every phone, every camera, every piece of recording or transmitting equipment you can find. Every burglar alarm, every movement sensor, every security light. I want the whole area covered with sensors", the Doctor told them all.
When Melanie eventually woke, she found herself inside what appeared to be some sort of clear coffin. "No", she breathed "no, no, no, no. This can't be happening. Not again". Her breathing quickened and her heart rate increased as her claustrophobia set in. She had a fear of confined spaces ever since her uncle had shut her in the small cupboard under the stairs. It was one of his favourite punishments. Sometimes he'd leave her in there for days.
She reached up and hammered on the lid "Let me out!" she shouted "Let me out!" a distorted figure appeared "please let me out", Melanie pleaded, her entire body starting to tremble "I don't like confined spaces!"
The figure didn't say anything and then a gas started to seep into the coffin from one of the sides. "Please" Melanie coughed "don't do…" her words trailed off as she slowly succumbed to the gas once more. But before she passed out, the brunette mentally called out to Doctor.
~Crypt~
The Doctor marched down the steps of the crypt where they were holding one of the aliens prisoner. Long story short. Their plan to use tech had failed resulting in Elliot getting taken and Tony getting hurt. But he and Rory managed to capture on of the aliens that had come up from underground and now it was time to get some answers.
"I'm the Doctor", he said to the prisoner "I've come to talk". Without waiting for permission, he removed the alien's mask to reveal a Silurian face beneath it. Normally he would've commented on her appearance but he wasn't in the mood for niceties. His Bonded was stuck under the earth and just now he'd felt how terrified she truly was. He needed to get her back and he didn't care what he had to do to accomplish it. "Your people have my Bonded and I want her back", the Doctor demanded. The Silurian didn't say anything, she just looked at him.
The Time Lord crouched down and looked her in the eyes "listen to me. That woman is everything…literally everything to me. I want her and the other people that were taken back, right now", he said.
"No", the Silurian replied firmly. The Doctor stood up. He wasn't surprised by her answer. It looked like he was going to have to find the rest of her tribe and negotiate with them instead. He turned and left the crypt.
~Church~
"You're going to what?" Rory asked wondering if he'd misheard the Time Lord.
"I'm going to go down below the surface, to find the rest of the tribe, to talk to them", the Doctor repeated.
"You're going to negotiate with these aliens?" Ambrose asked, sceptically.
"Yes I am", the Doctor replied "it's the only way to get back Elle and the others without instigating war. Now, the creature in the crypt, she's my best bargaining chip. I need her alive. If she lives, so do Elliot, Mo and my Bonded, because I WILL find them. While I'm gone, all of you, in this church, in this corner of planet Earth, you have to be the best of humanity".
"And what if they come back? Shouldn't we be examining this creature? Dissecting it, finding its weak points?" Tony questioned.
"No dissecting!" the Doctor snapped "no examining! We return their hostage, they return ours, nobody gets harmed. We can land this together, if you are the best you can be. You are decent, brilliant people. Nobody dies today. Understand?"
Everyone nods, quietly while Nasreen applauds his speech. Though she did stop when no one else joined in.
~Graveyard~
The Doctor walks quickly toward the TARDIS with Amy. The ginger had been pretty insistent in going with him, stating that Melanie was her best friend. As the Doctor unlocked the door, Nasreen ran up. "No, sorry, no. What are you doing?" he asked her.
"Coming with you, of course!" Nasreen answered as if it was obvious "What is it, some kind of transport pod?" she questioned eagerly, looking at the TARDIS.
"Sort of, but you're not…coming with us", the Doctor said.
"He's right. You're not", Tony agreed, joining them.
"I have spent all my life excavating the layers of this planet, and now you want me to stand back while you head down into it? I don't think so!" Nasreen argued.
The Doctor checked his watch "I don't have time to argue!" he told her. The longer he stood there arguing, the longer Melanie was in the hands of the Silurians. And she'd been in their clutches long enough.
"I thought we were in a rush", Nasreen stated.
"It'll be dangerous", Amy pointed out.
"So's crossing the road", Nasreen countered.
"Oh, for goodness sake, all right, then! Come on!" the Doctor said crossly, unlocking the TARDIS and entering the blue box. Amy and Nasreen followed after him, the latter doing a double take at the vast interior. "Welcome aboard the TARDIS", the Doctor said going over to the console "Now, don't touch anything. Very precious".
Nasreen walked over from the doorway "No way! But, but that's…this is…" she slapped the Doctor on the arm "fantastic! What does it do?"
"Everything", the Doctor answered "I'm hoping, if we're going down, that barricade won't interfere". Suddenly the ship pitched drastically causing the trio to quickly grab hold of the console. "Did you touch something?!" the Doctor asked Nasreen. He knew Amy wouldn't have done. She knew not to which only left the Indian woman.
"No! Isn't this what it does?" Nasreen asked loudly over the noise.
"Not normally", Amy answered her "what IS happening Doctor?"
"We've been hijacked. They must've sensed the electro-magnetic field. They're pulling the Tardis down into the Earth", the Doctor explained. The TARDIS came to a juddering halt, throwing all three of them to the floor. The Doctor shot to his feet and darted out of the ship's door.