Chapter 9

Pride and Lilly were both swimming now. The ceiling was getting considerably closer. If Lilly put her hand up high enough she could touch it.

"Still think we're going to be saved?"

"Yes," said Pride stubbornly.

"We're going to die," Lilly said.

"Pride, Lilly, I'm here. I'm going to need you to open the box."

Ah, there it was. Pride squinted through the water. He couldn't see down there very well, but he knew where the box was.

"Are you crazy?!" Lilly shouted back.

Pride didn't stick around to hear the Doctor's answer. He took a deep breath and dove under the water. He clapped his hands and pressed them against the box. Nothing happened. Must be a different material, and he had to guess right quickly. He needed more air, and if the room filled with much more water, there wouldn't be a chance.

He tried again, thinking of a different material this time. The box split in two. Instantly, a giant eel like creature smashed against both sides, pushing them further apart. The creature lit up. At the same time, Pride was pushed away, spinning, by more water suddenly rushing in. It seemed Lilly wasn't kidding about the safety protocols casting them out. And he really needed to breath.

He struggled in the dark a moment longer, his lungs screaming at him. He'd just gotten some water going up his nose when he felt something metal grab him and pull him away. Then he was in a room. Water was coming in here too, but it was light, and as soon as the metal arm was out the doors closed.

Pride tried to breath and proceeded to cough up water.

"Are you okay?"

So, Lilly was in here too.

"Fine," he managed. He coughed some more, spit out some water, and took a few breaths to compose himself. (Why didn't she have this problem?) "Fine," he repeated. It sounded plausible this time. "It wasn't serious."

The doors opened further into the submarine, the main room, where Ruth and the Doctor were waiting. The Doctor was standing right by the doors to the air lock. Ruth was by the controls still, but she was clearly paying half attention.

"Well, that went well," the Doctor said.

"Yes, truly expeditious," Ruth said sarcastically. "Now, we have to do something. You let that creature out. Why with two of them I bet-"

They didn't hear what she bet, because the sub finished turning, and they saw both creatures, looking at each other, sitting very still in the water. They were both huge. The bigger one could easily wrap its tail around the sub and fling them away, but it didn't. Ruth reached for the controls, but the Doctor put her hands on them, making her pause.

"Wait," the Doctor said.

The two creatures circled each other, coiling up around each other with their serpentine bodies. Even if it was a different form of emoting than humans, it sure looked like a form of affection. Then the two uncoiled, and swam off, disappearing into the ocean.

"It's possible," the Doctor said, leaning forward to talk in Ruth's ear, "that a parent just wanted their baby back."

"Ah," Ruth said.

For a while, it was quiet. Except for the Doctor, who seemed to be humming something about a yellow submarine under her breath.

"That was nice," Lilly said. They all gave her a funny looked. Well, Ruth and Pride were looking at her because 'nice' was not how they'd describe it, but the Doctor looking with something else. A calculating expression, maybe. "Well . . . it was. Does that mean it's over?"

The Doctor opened her mouth, only for all the lights in the base's windows to go off. "Right. No, I guess. First we deal with that, then it's over."

"Ivan and Simon are still wandering around the place," Ruth said. "We've got to do something about them."

"Indeed," the Doctor said. "Pride, you up for a bit of alchemy?"

"You took away my ability to harm or kill people," he reminded her.

"And rightfully so, if that's your first idea. I don't want, or need, to harm them. We just need to capture them. And that will be easier with an alchemist." She turned to Ruth. "Now, take us back inside."

"What have you done?!"

"I've freed that creature you and Simon trapped in the base. I've saved the base from being attacked by its parent. And I'll make sure you never get the chance to do something like this again."

"You've also shut off the power. We relied on that creature to bring us power!" Ivan shouted at the Doctor. She got the feeling if she could see better, she'd see spit flying from his mouth. "You've doomed us all!"

"No, you doomed us all. By using a living creature as your source of power. By having another one attack the base. You shouldn't have sided with Simon." But she wasn't surprised he had.

The Doctor took a step closer. Pride shuffled along, being eerily quiet behind her. In the dark, it was unlikely Ivan noticed the smaller figure behind her.

"Last chance, surrender," she warned.

"Oh I'll show you who's surrendering."