Here's the next one. I'm bouncing around some Doctor Who fics so let me know if there are any you'd like to see updated. I am avoiding the ones around the Tenth Doctor while he's with Donna because I have like... 4 that are there and my brain doesn't want to do the same episodes over and over.

The ship landed and even Ornias raised a brow as the Tardis groaned.

"Hm, that's odd," the Doctor mused but didn't seem too bothered as he grabbed his coat and the trio stepped out. "I don't know what's wrong though. She's sort of queasy. Indigestion, like she didn't want to land."

"Hm, I rather like the place," Ornias hummed, tipping his head curiously as he eyed the small room they were in. "Though I couldn't tell you why exactly."

"Oh, if you think there's going to be trouble, we could always get back inside and go somewhere else," Rose said, getting a small pause from the group before they all laughed.

"Well, I think we've landed inside a cupboard," the Doctor hummed, still smiling as he opened the door. "Here we go."

They stepped into the next room which was a larger junction leading to more corridors.

"Some sort of base. Moonbase, sea base, space base. They build these things out of kits," the Doctor mused, eyeing the metal around them.

"Glad we're indoors. sounds like a storm out there," Rose added with the rumbling echoing through the base from outside. "Thoughts, Ornias? You're a bit quiet."

Ornias hummed, eyes narrowed in thought. "Just trying to pinpoint why I like it here. Something's off if a demon like me enjoys a space. There's almost… power here. I feel relaxed but also slightly on edge." His eyes flared gold. "There's something else here that is corrupting this space."

"Right, because that's not ominous at all," Rose muttered as they entered a corridor.

"Would you rather I withhold my judgments?" Ornias questioned with a raised brow. "I'm sure it would be quite amusing to watch you try to guess what dangers are ahead. You humans are so oblivious to them usually."

Rose shot him a frown as he smirked. "Is this because I accused you of shagging my mom? Because I said I was sorry."

"To a cat," Ornias countered with a growing smirk as she groaned and turned to the Doctor who was resisting a chuckle.

"Doctor! Do something!"

"Well, he's got a point though. Best if we figure out what's caught his attention since the Tardis was so uneasy about landing." He eyed the walls with a hum. "Human design though, definitely. You've got a thing about kits. This place was put together like a flat pack wardrobe, only bigger. And easier."

They moved through the next door and into an open room with tables and chairs, making the Doctor grin.

"Oh, it's a sanctuary base. Deep Space exploration. We've gone way out. And listen to that, underneath. Someone's drilling."

Rose was looking at something else though. "Welcome to Hell."

"Oh, that's lovely. Thank you, Rose," Ornias purred, looking around himself.

"No, over there," Rose pointed out, drawing their attention to some words painted on the wall with an untranslated script underneath.

"Oh, ho. Now, isn't that interesting?" Ornias mused, voice low in his throat as they went over toward them.

"Hold on, what does that say? That's weird, it won't translate," the Doctor complained, confusing Rose as Ornias's eyes shone gold and rolled over the words easily.

"But I thought the Tardis translated everything, writing as well. We should see English."

"Exactly. If that's not working, then it means this writing is old. Very old. Impossibly old," the Doctor explained, brows furrowed.

"That's a bit rude, really," Ornias hummed, running his fingers over the words.

"How do you mean?"

"I mean, that you're being rather rude talking about my age like that," the demon mused, head tipped curiously. "These aren't meant to be translated. It's demonic script."

"You're joking," Rose scoffed, expecting the demon to agree but he didn't.

"You think I wouldn't recognize our own script?" Ornias challenged with a raised brow.

"How did it get here though?" The Doctor asked, confused. "This is the future and if you're traveling with me, then you shouldn't have been here already, right?"

"There's no trace of my presence here, no," Ornias agreed. "Which brings up the question, how does demonic script end up in a universe where there are no demons?"

"Well, couldn't one be hiding or something?" Rose offered, earning a shake of his head.

"No. Demons and angels are naturally able to sense the presence of one another. Mostly so we stay out of each other's way. Demons have a territory they don't like to share with other demons and knowing where angels are keeps us from biting off more than we can chew." He paused with a devilish smirk. "Or lets us know where the best prey to corrupt is. Still, I've been on Earth for ages now and haven't sensed a single demon or angel ever."

"We're in space though," the Doctor commented, moving up to the door to the next corridor. "Could it be that because of distance, you can't sense them? Because of time travel?"

Ornias hummed. "Distance wouldn't change anything other than making my sense of them weaker. Time travel wouldn't matter either as demons don't just appear; myself being the exception. They live long lives, so I should have sensed them the moment I was banished here. Besides, given how myself and Aziraphale were separated, I do believe banishment to another universe was made in order to isolate us. He wouldn't put two demons or two angels or both in the same world. If he has some control over all universes, then causing the destruction or salvation or conflict in another universe would just mean more work. Separating individuals to their own space means less of that."

"Hm, well, it's definitely food for thought," the Doctor mused, opening the door. "We should find out who's in charge though—Oh!" He yelled at the tentacle-faced creatures standing on the other side. "Right. Hello. Sorry. I was just saying, uh, nice base."

The orbs they were holding lit up. "We must feed."

"You've got to what?"

"We must feed," they repeated as Ornias raised a brow and Rose took a hesitant step back.

"Yeah, I think they mean us."

She grabbed the Doctor and turned back around only for more creatures to enter from another door, all of them repeating the same thing.

"Well, isn't this curious?" Ornias chirped, not bothered in the slightest and Rose turned to him with a glare.

"Can't you do something?"

"Whatever for?" Ornias asked. "They're hardly a threat."

"They're saying they need to feed! On us!" Rose argued as the creatures closed in on them and Ornias waved a hand.

"Oh, no, no. Aren't you listening? Are your ears clogged or something?"

Rose picked up a chair as the Doctor drew his sonic and Ornias blinked, confused as he stood closest to the ring of creatures.

"Ornias," the Doctor muttered, a bit concerned himself. "I really don't think—"

"What? You can't hear them?" Ornias questioned, brows furrowed.

"What the hell are you hearing?" Rose snapped.

"They need to feed you," he replied honestly. "I mean, I don't technically need to eat but I am a bit peckish."

"I'm sorry, what?" The Doctor questioned before one of the creatures shook its orb and tapped it.

"We must feed… you if you are hungry. We apologize. Electromagnetics have interfered with speech systems. Would you like some refreshment?"

"Um…"

Ornias snorted as Rose slowly put down her chair. "Honestly, what were you going to do? Fight them with a noisemaker and a stool?"

Rose shot him an annoyed look as another door opened and a group of people stepped in holding weapons.

"What the hell? How did…" the leader of the small group breathed when he saw them. "Captain, you're not going to believe this. We've got people. Out of nowhere. I mean, real people. I mean three living people, just standing here right in front of me," he reported to his captain via his wrist comm as he walked up to the Doctor and others.

"Don't be stupid, that's impossible."

"I suggest telling them that."

"But you're a sort of space base," Rose brought up, confused by how surprised he was. "You must have visitors now and then. It can't be that impossible."

"Depends on where the base is at, I would think," Ornias drawled, picking at his nails idly.

"You're telling me you don't know where you are?" The newcomer asked.

"No idea. More fun that way," the Doctor chirped, unbothered by the man's surprise and the armed people behind him as someone else spoke up on the speakers.

"Stand by, everyone. Buckle down. We have incoming. And it's a big one. Quake point five on its way."

The man went toward a door as an alarm went off, waving everyone toward it.

"Through here, now. Quickly, come on! Move!"

"Ooh, busy, busy," Ornias hummed as the base began to quake and they hurried through into the main control room—the base sparking and pipes bursting along the way.

The other crew there stared in surprise as well when the trio entered.

"Oh my God. You meant it."

Ornias rolled his eyes. "Why is it always about Him? Don't you lot have other deities to worship?"

He went ignored as the crew continued to eye them in disbelief.

"People! Look at that, real people!"

"That's us, hooray!" The Doctor smiled.

"Yeah, definitely real. My name's Rose. Rose Tyler. And, and this is the Doctor and Ornias."

"Come on, the oxygen must be offline," a younger man claimed, moving up to them. "We're hallucinating. They can't be. No, they're real."

"Come on, we're in the middle of an alert!" The captain reminded them. "Danny, strap up. The quake's coming in! Impact in thirty seconds! Sorry, you three, whoever you are. Just hold on, tight."

"Hold on to what?" Rose asked.

"Anything. I don't care. Just hold on. Ood, are we fixed?"

One of the creatures in the room replied as they grabbed rails nearby. "Your kindness in this emergency is much appreciated."

"What's this planet called, anyway?" The Doctor asked curiously, earning a scoff from an older woman.

"Now, don't be stupid. It hasn't got a name. How could it have a name?" She asked, earning blank looks from them. "You really don't know, do you?"

"And impact!" The captain called out as the base shook for a moment and the Doctor stood up again.

"Oh, well, that wasn't so ba—" He nearly fell when it quaked again, getting grabbed by Ornias who wasn't budging an inch despite not holding onto anything but him.

Ornias smirked at him with a wiggle of his brows once the quake finished and the Doctor cleared his throat as he was released, adjusting his suit as the captain did a check-in with his crew. Once everyone was deemed uninjured and one man sent off to check on the rocket link, Rose chose to speak up again.

"Never mind the earthquake, that's, that's one hell of a storm. What is that, a hurricane?" She asked, curious about the noise outside.

"You'd need an atmosphere for a hurricane. There's no air out there. It's a complete vacuum," the youngest woman answered her.

"Then, what's shaking the roof?"

"You're not joking. You really don't know," the older woman realized before shaking her head. "Well, introductions. FYI, as they said in the olden days. I'm Ida Scott, science officer. Zachary Cross Flane, acting Captain, sir. You've met Mister Jefferson, he's Head of Security. Danny Bartock, Ethics committee."

"Not as boring as it sounds," Danny pointed out.

"And that man who just left, that was Toby Zed, Archaeology, and this is Scooti Manista, Trainee maintenance. And this? This is home." Ida pulled a lever as the captain warned them.

"Brace yourselves. The sight of it sends some people mad."

"Mm, some could say the same about me," Ornias hummed under his breath, getting an elbow to the side courtesy of Rose.

The shutters overhead moved aside though, revealing a black hole hovering above as clouds of gas and stardust were pulled in. The sight of it sent the Doctor and Rose to their feet in stunned shock and amazement.

"That's a black hole."

"But that's impossible," the Doctor breathed.

"I did warn you," Zach chimed in.

"We're standing under a black hole."

"In orbit," Ida added.

"But we can't be."

"You can see for yourself. We're in orbit."

"But we can't be," the Doctor pressed as Ida shrugged.

"This lump of rock is suspended in perpetual geostationary orbit around that black hole without falling in. Discuss."

"And that's bad, yeah?" Rose asked, concerned as Ornias stared up at the dark expanse silently.

"Bad doesn't cover it," the Doctor bit out, confused and uneasy. "A black hole's a dead star. It collapses in on itself, in and in and in until the matter's so dense and tight it starts to pull everything else in too. Nothing in the universe can escape it. Light, gravity, time. Everything just gets pulled inside and crushed."

"So, they can't be in orbit. We should be pulled right in."

"We should be dead."

"And yet here we are, beyond the laws of physics. Welcome on board," Ida hummed as Rose again questioned the cacophony of noise outside.

"But if there's no atmosphere out there, what's that?"

"Stars breaking up. Gas clouds. We have whole solar systems being ripped apart above our heads, before falling into that thing."

"So, a bit worse than a storm, then."

"Just a bit."

"Just a bit, yeah."

The base quaked a little bit more and Ornias suddenly whipped around, staring at a door leading out with furrowed brows. His head tilted slightly, listening, before the door opened and Toby walked in with a scowl.

"The rocket link's fine."

Ornias eyed the door for a bit longer before turning to the others gathered around a hologram of the black hole.

"That's the black hole, officially designated K three seven Gen five," Zach informed them as Ida cracked a small smile.

"In the scriptures of the Falltino, this planet is called Kroptor, the bitter pill. And the black hole is supposed to be a mighty demon. It was tricked into devouring the planet, only to spit it out, because it was poison."

"The bitter pill. I like that," Rose chirped, nudging Ornias who'd perked up at the mention of a demon. "Maybe that's why you like it here so much."

"Hm, yes, well, the black hole is hardly a demon. Still, the effects this place has on the mind is curious."

"How do you mean?" Rose asked, confused but Ornias waved her off, knowing that discussing things with the present company wasn't ideal for the moment.

"We are so far out. Lost in the drifts of the universe. How did you even get here?" The Doctor asked the crew instead, drawing their attention away from the demon for now.

"We flew in. You see, this planet's generating a gravity field. We don't know how. We've no idea. But it's kept in constant balance against the black hole. And the field extends out there as a funnel. A distinct gravity funnel, reaching out into clear space. That was our way in."

Ornias drifted away from the group then, not interested in the technical babble the Doctor demanded and instead bypassing the other humans for one of the creatures nearby. He stood before it, eyeing it curiously. He'd heard them since the beginning, such small minds crying out while smothered by technology and their human suppressors. Normally, that would make them an appeasing meal but they were religious. Or, well, some form of religious. Not one he knew of or understood given they were alien but one that made them less appetizing than the atypical slave race.

"Hm, a suppressed mind, silenced by anything and everything. Tell me, creature, what do you know of this place?" Ornias hummed under his breath, tipping his head along with the creature.

Its orb lit up then as it offered a plastic cup to him. "Your refreshment."

Ornias chuckled lightly, accepting the drink as it moved toward Rose to do the same. "Oh, there's no hiding from me, you know. I'll get the answers I need eventually." Ornias shifted over to where Rose was and waved a hand at Danny. "You, human. Tell me about these creatures."

Danny raised a brow as Rose stepped in.

"Sorry about him. What… What are they called? Do they have names?"

"Oh, come on. Where have you been living? Everyone's got one," Danny scoffed with a smile.

"Well, not me, so what are they?"

"They're the Ood."

"The Ood?"

"The Ood."

"Well, that's Ood," Rose joked as Ornias rolled his eyes.

"Very Ood, but handy," Danny explained. "They work the mine shafts. All the drilling and stuff. Supervision and maintenance. They're born for it. Basic slave race."

Ornias scoffed as Rose bristled.

"You've got slaves?"

"Don't start. She's like one of that lot. Friends of the Ood," Scooti cut in as she frowned.

"Well, maybe I am, yeah. Since when do humans need slaves?"

"But the Ood offer themselves. If you don't give them orders, they just pine away and die."

Ornias let out a short laugh, making Danny frown at him. "I could say the same about humans. Though tell me, Danny, have you met an unaltered Ood?"

Danny eyed him in uncertainty. "Well, no."

Ornias's smile fell quickly, eyes sharp and flashing gold briefly. "Then, what would you know about whether or not they were born to be slaves?"

"I-I, um…"

"Do me a favor, yes?" Ornias purred, leaning in and lightly patting the side of his face, making him wince. "Treat them kindly or you might find your roles reversed someday soon."

He couldn't say much against that as Ornias offered a large, false smile and wandered off back toward the Doctor as he finished the calculations he was doing.

"There we go. Do you see? To generate that gravity field, and the funnel, you'd need a power source with an inverted self extrapolating reflex of six to the power of six every six seconds."

"Mm, love the triple sixes," Ornias hummed from behind him, making him bring a hand up to the back of his neck and shoot him a mild glare.

"It took us two years to work that out," Zach complained, making the Doctor preen.

"I'm very good."

"Doctor, your pride is showing," Ornias mused, ducking out of his reach with a chuckle when he went to prod him for the jab.

"But that's why we're here. This power source is ten miles below through solid rock. Point Zero. We're drilling down to try and find it," Ida explained.

"It's giving off readings of over ninety stats on the Blazon scale," Zach added.

"It could revolutionize modern science."

"We could use it to fuel the Empire," Jefferson agreed pridefully as the Doctor eyed them with caution.

"Or start a war."

"Which would be very typical of humans," Ornias drawled, perching himself up on a railing until Toby spoke up.

"It's buried beneath us, in the darkness, waiting."

Ornias's gaze shifted to him, eyes flaring briefly as he inhaled deep.

"What's your job, chief dramatist?" Rose scoffed as Toby shot her a dirty look.

"Well, whatever it is down there is not a natural phenomenon. And this, uh, planet once supported life eons ago, before the human race had even learned to walk."

Ornias appeared behind him, startling him when he spoke. "Did you copy the script on the wall in the other room?"

Toby jumped, jerking away from him uneasily. "I-I copied it from fragments we found unearthed by the drilling, but I can't translate it."

Ornias smirked devilishly. "Oh, isn't this getting exciting? Unknown power that's off the charts, demonic scripts etched onto fragments of an ancient civilization, black holes, triple sixes, that voice ticking away in the back of everyone's heads. Has someone been looking at my wish list?"

The Doctor turned to him with a frown. "Voice? Ornias, what voice?"

"Never you mind Doctor," Ornias drawled. "Oh, you daft human children with your infinite curiosity and ignorance toward danger. The devil's practically screaming it at you and you all came running in! Haha! It's brilliant how stupid you are!"

"Yeah, lay off on the stupid bits, Ornias, would ya?" Rose muttered, seeing how the crew were eyeing him rather unhappily.

"Oh, please. You lot could do with a wake-up call. I feel sorry for these lot." He waved over at a small grouping of Ood. "They're the only ones aware of it but they're so smothered by human oppression they can't say anything except in their heads. They're stuck getting buried here with you."

"Ornias," the Doctor said sharply, concerned by what he was saying but knowing that the humans were getting put on edge by his blatant insults. "Could you… Could you not? Just… Just a bit."

Ornias raised a brow, looking around at the displeased people in the room, and rolled his eyes with a wave of his hand. "Yes, yes. How dare I insult the tiny minds of the human species while in a room full of them? Go on. Go about your usual boring tasks while I wait for the penny to drop."

The Doctor sighed, shaking his head and turning to the crew. "Sorry. He's a bit tense… and rude."

"No kidding," Zach scoffed. "I take it he's not human?"

"Not in the slightest," the Doctor muttered before offering him a grin. "So, when it comes right down to it, why did you come here? Why did you do that? Why? I'll tell you why. Because it was there. Brilliant. Excuse me, uh, Zach, wasn't it?"

"That's me," he answered, curious how he could have such a bright outlook on things after what Ornias had just said.

"Just stand there because I'm going to hug you. Is that all right?"

Ornias scoffed, getting a firm finger pointed at him by the Doctor.

"Behave or I'll go over there and hug you too."

Ornias wrinkled his nose in disgust as Zach begrudgingly agreed to get hugged and the Doctor did so with a beaming grin.

"Oh, human beings. You are amazing! Ha! Thank you."

"Not at all."

The Doctor's smile fell then. "Though Ornias was right. Apart from that, you're completely mad. You should pack your bags, get back in that ship and fly for your lives."

"You can talk," Ida cut in. "And how the hell did you get here?"

"Oh, I've got this, uh, this ship. It's hard to explain. It just sort of appears."

"We can show you," Rose offered. "We parked down the corridor from, uh... Oh, what's it called? Habitation area…"

"Three."

"Three. Three."

Zach raised a brow. "Do you mean storage six?"

"It was a bit of a cupboard, yeah," the Doctor mused as his mind started to piece together what that meant.

"Hm, penny in the air," Ornias chimed, flicking a coin up idly, waiting for him to figure it out.

"Storage six… but you said… you said storage five to eight!"

Ornias caught the coin as the Doctor suddenly rushed for the door. "And the penny drops."

"The ground gave way. My Tardis must've fallen down right into the heart of the planet. But you've got robot drills heading the same way," the Doctor explained to Zach, desperately trying to get the man to do something now that he'd discovered the Tardis was gone.

"We can't divert the drilling."

"But I need my ship. It's all I've got. Literally the only thing!"

"Doctor, we've only got the resources to drill one central shaft down to the power source, and that's it. No diversions, no distractions, no exceptions. Your machine is lost. All I can do is offer you a lift if we ever get to leave this place, and that is the end of it."

Ida stepped forward when Zach left, feeling bad for him. "I'll, uh, put you on the duty roster. We need someone in the laundry."

The others also left, leaving him, Ornias, and Rose with a few remaining Ood. He shifted over to where Rose was, leaning against the console solemnly.

"I've trapped you here."

"No, don't worry about me," she pressed as the building quivered again. "Okay, we're on a planet that shouldn't exist, under a black hole and no way out. Yeah, I've changed my mind. Start worrying about me."

He pulled her into a hug as the speakers overhead announced the change into the night shift.

"Entering night shift. Your chosen track for transition is Ravel's Bolero."

Orchestra music chimed in and Ornias hummed along to it, perched across from the Doctor and Rose with his wings out. The Doctor frowned, frustrated with the demon who had been poking fun only a moment before.

"Why didn't you say anything?" He bit out, drawing the demon's golden eyes to him before the Doctor spotted an Ood and waved at him. "And put those away! Last thing we need is you getting noticed."

"Please, they hardly care. Or, well, they're not exactly fans but they are pleased that at least someone is listening to them," Ornias mused. "And if you must know, the Tardis is safe, in one piece and waiting without worry so why should I bother to announce that we can't leave right away? It's a given you're too curious to try and run off anyway, even if the Tardis were here."

Some of the Doctor's anger fizzled out at that, knowing he was right. He sighed heavily, running a hand through his hair and waving the other at him.

"Okay, fine. You're probably right. There's definitely a lot going on here that I'm not understanding but you seem to have a clue. What was with that rant earlier?"

"Well, if you must know, it has to do with what I mentioned before," Ornias hummed, hopping down from the railing.

"The whole power and demon script thing?" Rose asked.

"Well, you heard them, didn't you?" Ornias prodded. "There's power here and it was drawing them in. Things like that don't tend to be good, you know."

"You were saying weird things though," Rose pressed. "Like voices and mind effects or something."

"Well, yes. It's a bit obvious, isn't it?"

They exchanged looks and Ornias tipped his head.

"Is it not? Oh, maybe I'm the daft one. I forgot how tiny and unfunctional human minds are."

"Oi. I'm standing right here," Rose complained, earning a smug smile from him as the Doctor tried to get him to talk.

"Why don't you explain it, Ornias? Since we're not exactly hearing the same things you are."

"If I must," he hummed, idly waving a hand at an Ood. "They're quite an interesting race to start with."

"What, the Ood?" Rose asked.

"Their minds are quite complex and loud. I don't know how it is you don't hear them, especially you, Doctor."

"I'm a touch telepath," the Doctor explained. "I'm not just constantly tuned in to every telepathic being I come across."

"Well, that's a shame. They're interesting and I'm sure you'd like them with the whole 'hero complex' thing you've got going on."

"I don't have a hero complex!" He argued, earning a raised brow as Ornias glanced at Rose, making the Doctor sputter. "I-I don't!"

"Yes, well, be in denial as much as you want. The point is: the Ood are more than just the slaves they appear. They're actually a part of a rather intricate religious order of some kind. Or, well, religious to me, anyway. They're all interconnected with each other both here and back on their home planet. Keep rambling on about some circle being broken which makes absolutely no sense to me." Ornias waved it off, continuing. "However, when I mentioned minds being altered by this space, I meant it. They're the first being affected, with their advanced telepathy. It's very subtle, really, so it's no wonder the humans haven't noticed."

"Hold on, affected by what? How?" The Doctor questioned.

"By what? I don't know. It hasn't revealed itself to me yet," Ornias mused, glancing at a door nearby and narrowing his eyes. "It's cautious of me and uncertain, which is understandable. It doesn't know what side I'm on."

Rose shook her head. "Yeah, I have no idea what you're saying. Can you not talk in riddles?"

Ornias rolled his eyes turning back to them. "Yes, yes. To make it simple, there is a powerful being here somewhere that is slowly edging itself into the minds of others; namely the Ood and those annoying humans who stumbled upon it."

"A being?" The Doctor asked, frowning. "How do you mean? You mean like a… a person?"

Ornias shrugged. "I don't know. It's concealing itself rather effectively at the moment. From me, anyway. It's noticed I've been looking and is uncertain whether I am friend or foe. The Ood tipped me onto it first and since then it's turned its focus elsewhere. It's curious though, is it not?" He asked with a smirk. "All the clues point to something demonic but I'm the only demon here."

"And thank God for that," Rose scoffed, taking the Doctor's hand as Ornias wrinkled his nose in disgust at her thanks. "Think we could meet up with the others? I'm starving."

"Fit in with the locals? Sure, I don't see why not." He shrugged before looking at Ornias. "Put your wings away though. Last thing we need is them thinking you're the problem."

Ornias sighed with a roll of his eyes. "Yes, yes."

The Doctor was talking idly with Ornias about the demonic script on the wall as Rose went to get some food from the Ood. She was a little bit worried about what Ornias had said about everything going on but was surprising herself with how relaxed she was managing to be. Just the presence of the two men kept her from thinking about the worst-case scenario, though she did hope that they were wrong and things wouldn't get out of hand when the Tardis was out of reach.

"Uh, bit of that, thanks," she asked, pointing to some dark blue beans of some kind through the window where the Ood was serving food.

"Would you like sauce with that?" It asked.

"I'll have a go, yeah." She watched as it added that to her food tray before offering the creature a small smile. "I did that job once. I was a, a dinner lady. Not that I'm calling you a lady. Although I don't know, you might be. Do you actually get paid, though? Do they give you money? Ornias said you're not actually slaves, so I was just wondering."

"The Beast and his Armies shall rise from the Pit to make war against God," the Ood replied, sending a tendril of ice through Rose.

"I'm sorry?"

"Oh, now isn't that intriguing?" Ornias purred from right behind Rose, making her jump and whip to him with a glare.

"Yeah, could you not keep sneakin' up on me?" She complained, before seeing his eyes glowing gold once more. "And stop it. You're going to get in trouble if they see your eyes like that."

"Yes, well, we're all about to be in a bit more trouble," Ornias said, surprisingly serious, taking her arm. "Come. We best join the Doctor again. It's making its move."

"What? What do you mean?" Rose asked, abandoning her tray as he pulled her toward the Doctor. "Ornias? Ornias, hey!"

The Doctor stood up, seeing Rose getting hauled over. "Ornias, what's going on? Rose?"

"I don't know. He just started hauling me over here after the Ood said something weird."

"Said something weird?" the Doctor turned to Ornias though, the man having let Rose go and frowning at a nearby door. "Ornias? Everything okay?"

"Not in the slightest," he muttered. "I highly suggest keeping Rose with you for the moment. Whatever it is has started to make its move and something about it is vaguely familiar."

"Familiar how?"

"I am uncertain what it is but the abilities it has are not unlike my own," Ornias replied, turning away from the door to face them. "I am simply suggesting you remain cautious in case we are dealing with something like my kind."

"I thought you'd be a bit more excited by the prospect of trouble," Rose muttered, rubbing her arm where he'd grabbed her.

"Yes, well, I also mentioned demons are territorial." Ornias glanced at her with a flare of his golden eyes. "I would rather the two of you be left alone by whatever this is. I'll not risk my entertainment being taken by someone else."

"Yeah, you know it's a bit weird when you talk about us like that, right?" Rose mentioned, getting a roll of his eyes before the lights in the room flickered.

"Zach, have we got a problem?" Ida asked through her wrist comm, concerned about the lights flickering.

"No more than usual. Got the Scarlet System burning up. Might be worth a look."

Ida turned to the trio who moved to sit at a table—Ornias standing near the railing with his arms folded, listening. "You might want to see this. Moment in history," she said, moving and opening up the shutters above to show the cloud that was getting sucked into the black hole. "There. On the edge. That red cloud. That used to be the Scarlet System. Home to the Peluchi, a mighty civilization spanning a billion years, disappearing forever. Their planets and suns consumed. Ladies and gentlemen, we have witnessed its passing."

She went to close the view but the Doctor stopped her and she turned to the other crew members in the room to hand out tasks. Surprisingly though, Ornias stood with a plastered-on smile.

"Might I join one of you? Get a bit of a tour?"

Scooti perked up. "Sure thing. I'll give you a bit of a look around if you like."

"Excellent. Stay out of trouble, Doctor. Rose, keep him in check."

"Will do," Rose said with a cheeky grin as the Doctor wrinkled his nose with a pout, leaving the demon to his wanderings.

I hummed as I trailed behind Scooti, more than grateful to find someone heading toward one of the sources I'd felt the Being in. Already though, it was moving. Whatever plan it had was going into motion and it started with the Ood and one of the crew. The most susceptible, of course. They're all a bit tainted except this one, I mused as I gave Scooti a glance. Some more than others though and one of them is close. Then, I heard something as we reached Toby's room.

"Toby, I've got your expenditure—" Scooti stopped as she entered the room and no one was there but I was frowning.

The Ood have lost their battle. It's moved quickly. "The Doctor better be keeping an eye on Rose," I muttered under my breath, turning to Scooti. "You, girl. We need to get back to the others. Now."

Scooti raised a brow. "Yeah, I've got a name, you know."

I rolled my eyes. "Yes, yes. Scooti. Happy? Now, we really need to—"

"Open door 41," the computer announced, interrupting me. "Close door 41."

"Forty-one?" Scooti questioned, making me frown.

"Is there something wrong with that number?"

"Yeah, actually. That's the airlock."

"Oh, dear," I mused grabbing her before she could bolt out the door.

"Hey! What are you—"

"I really don't have time to argue with you, child," I drawled. "And as much as I would love to let you go blundering into this, the Doctor would be rightly annoyed if I let you run off to your death. So do me a favor." I turned to her with a sickly sweet smile, eyes flaring gold and making her stop struggling instantly. "Go back to Habitation 3 and wait there for everyone to gather. Understand?"

She nodded dumbly as I released her and turned away, leaving the hypnotized woman to hurry back the way we came.

"Now, door 41 you said?" I hummed, following the numbered doors nearby until I found the one I wanted, lightly tapping the control panel near it. "Careful, careful," I purred as a spark of electricity jumped off the device toward my hand. "Tell me, computer, who stepped outside?"

"Cannot confirm."

"Hm, yes, try again please because someone obviously wandered out. The humans need suits, yes? Who took a suit then?"

"No spacesuit has been logged out."

I sighed, rolling my eyes. "Look, I feel I'm being rather polite with you. You might be a daft machine but I should still be able to get some answers from you before frying your circuits. Do you have a fault or something?"

"There is no fault."

"Then, who has stepped out onto this planet's surface?"

"He is awake."

I paused, a slow smirk stretching over my face as my eyes burned gold and my black, feathered wings snapped out with a stretch. "Ooh, answers now? You finally plan to reveal yourself to me then?"

"He is awake."

"Yes, so you've said, but who is he and why is he so determined to keep me in the dark, hm? I mean, I'm all for a bit of chaos. We might be able to come to a deal. He leaves my companions alone and I won't interfere in what he does to the others," I mused, waiting patiently for a response.

"He bathes in the black sun."

A hum of machinery started up and I shifted toward the window nearby whose shutters lifted to reveal Toby standing outside. He wore no suit, no protection, just stood there soaking in the dark. He turned then, revealing blood-red eyes and a smirk on his face—skin littered in demonic script.

"Oh-ho," I said with a smirk back. "My, my, it's been a while since you've done possession obviously. You'll give yourself away like that. The eyes, the marks. You need to be more subtle if you want to do anything."

I lightly tapped the glass separating us, making him tilt his head before I curled my finger toward me, beckoning him. His eyes narrowed in suspicion and I scoffed lightly.

"Come now. I just want to talk. Demons should get along, shouldn't we? You just need to let me in."

He bared his teeth in a snarl then, lifting a hand and shattering the window, sending the air rushing out. Alarms blared in the base as the rest of it shook but I didn't move because of the lack of air. As a demon, I didn't need it anyway. Instead, I walked out to him, feathers ruffled and stretching out as he took a hesitant step back.

"I offered you a chance to speak," I said coldly, eyeing him with an icy frown. "An opportunity to work together even, but if you're too proud to take that… too… full of yourself to accept my offered hand, then we might very well have a problem."

He took a step forward then, challengingly as his voice finally pulled its way forward.

"I am the Beast," he snarled, voice low and twisted in a way that would chill the souls of any humans who heard it. "The Bringer of Despair, the Deathless Prince, Abaddon, Lucifer. You are but a speck that will die with all the others."

I stared down at the man; the body that was nothing more than a corpse with this so-called Beast within. I felt no fear, no unease, no sense of urgency to get away. I'd met Lucifer before. I'd faced the devil himself and every bone in my body burned while anywhere near him and his palace in Hell. So, this man, this… child claiming to be him? It made me angry. A right and proper anger that tore itself up my throat until I was nearly ready to kill the man and be done with it. Already, my hand was around his throat as he squirmed, surprised by the offensive action and show of strength.

"You seem to be a bit confused," I muttered, shifting into something darker as I held the possessed corpse in my hand. "You seem to think that the Dark Lord, the Devil himself is here in this universe and trapped on this measly little rock and that that Being is you?"

The corpse didn't reply. The Beast had no answer other than snarls and my large, gaping jaws hovered over him as I cackled like a mad man before my hand slammed him into the ground; breaking up the rock underneath him and making him choke as I bellowed back.

"Satan! Diabolos! Beelzebub! Iblis! Ash-Shaytān! Belial! Azazel, even! You think you compare to Him! That he would bother to come to this puny place for a group of children who aren't even dark enough to entice me! The only reason I do not smite you now is because I've got an idiot here who is making this punishment livable! And the last thing I need is for some… disgusting, prideful pest like you attempting to touch what is mine," I breathed, golden eyes burning right back to the Beast who was hiding away behind the man I held. "But if you touch them… if you so much as attempt to do anything to my prey…" I leaned in close, shifting back into my humanoid form as a sharp nail tapped the hollow in the man's throat. "I will destroy you."