Hello again!
I thought I would surprise you all with another chapter today. Hope it was a nice surprise. ;)
XxXxXxXx
Chapter 28: The Pit Opens
Sure enough, when they arrived to Habitation Three, they saw the outcome of poor Scooti. Wanda stared up with everyone else as they gazed above to the overhead glass at the floating body of Scooti. Only twenty years old . . . and she died being pulled out into space, floating away to be eaten by the black hole. They all mourned the girl in their own way. Some bowing their heads, some continuing to gaze up with wavering eyes while Jefferson recited a solemn verse. Wanda looked away, focusing her sharp eyes on Toby. He looked at her as well and another flash of red was seen within his irises.
She knew that at this moment, yes, the young man did have some control over himself and his actions. But at any point in time, in a split second, that could all change. There was a dark energy, a monster, living inside of him and it would easily possess him when given the chance. It had the real control over his life now. Not him. He was merely an illusion, a puppet. What a horrible life to live, a cruel fate. And yet . . . she had a funny feeling that she was in a very similar situation as Toby. Something living within her . . . biding its time until . . .
She was snapped out of her thoughts as the drill beneath their feet of Habitation Three was heard coming to a halt. The very same drill that the Walker Expedition had placed in searching for the strange power source that kept the planet they were on from falling into the black hole. She felt a shiver go down her spine as everyone hurriedly went out of the room, ready to get to the drill area to begin looking over their success in finally reaching their final destination. Wanda reluctantly followed behind the rest, knowing she needed to be there.
She stood in a corner in the drill area, watching the crew of the expedition working fast to get ready. They set up different equipment and working on getting Ida geared up as she readied the capsule connected to the drill, ready to go down into the depths of the planet and find what exactly they had come for. Jefferson worked in getting all but a few of the Ood locked away, confined until it was decided on what to do about the mysterious events surrounding them and the base. Wanda shook her head, knowing it was useless. There was no stopping the Beast in getting what he wanted. In fact, it had already been won. The Beast had his puppets now. It was only a matter of time before he made certain to force the crew to evacuate so that he may leave in Toby's body. But she would not let this happen. No, not in a million years. She would even destroy this damn planet if she had to and make certain that she was the dominant force in the universe and—
Her mind halted as she realized where her train of thoughts were going. Wait, what? Her? The dominant force in the universe? Where the heck did that thought come from? She . . . she was not the one that had thought that . . . right? No, no, no. She never saw herself as some sort of . . . assertive power over others. Yet . . . those thoughts always seemed to pop up whenever she was around another powerful source. Like with the shadow from Midnight . . . the Beast from here . . . and the Doctor . . . Wait, what? The Doctor? She did not think of him as some sort of power to be won and controlled and . . . Gah! What was wrong with her today?! She banged her head against the wall behind her, trying to clear her muddled mind.
"You all right there, Wanda?"
The Time Lady blinked as she realized the Doctor was standing in front of her, wearing a bright orange spacesuit with yellow helmet held by his side. He stared at her in concern, raising a brow.
"It's never a really good sign when you feel the need to start banging your head around. It usually means bad troubles ahead," he tried joking lightly.
"Sorry, just trying to clear my mind," Wanda replied, giving a wry smile. She moved away from the wall, standing closer to him. "So . . . I'm guessing you're volunteering, then? Gonna go exploring, getting yourself into trouble, and all that?"
"That's the plan," he stated with a grin. He glanced around, making sure no one was around to listen in to his next words. "Truth be told, I have a bad feeling about going down there. I mean, really bad. At least if I go down, then Ida won't have to face whatever is down there alone. And I hope that I might be able to fix . . . whatever is causing all of this. So . . ." He shrugged.
"Mmm, my Spaceman, being the hero as usual," Wanda commented, giving him a proud smile. "And with you actually wearing a real spacesuit to boot." They both laughed at this. She grabbed his hand, feeling the thick glove that protected his skin. "You be careful down there, you hear? You end up dying on me, then I'll go down there myself and give you a good punch for being an idiot."
"Yes, ma'am." He gave her a small salute, smiling warmly at her. Right before he put his helmet on, she pulled it away and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Patting his face tenderly, moving away from him with a smile, Wanda nodded as if saying he would be all right.
He blinked a second. A strange feeling swept through him as his hearts clenched in knowing something terrible was going to happen. He was not sure what, but . . . it was as if something told him he might not ever see her again. So, dropping the helmet, he shocked both himself and Wanda as he wrapped his arms around her and held her close. Pressing their lips together in a firm kiss, they both let out a low pleased tone. Oh how he loved this. This . . . wondrous, fantastic, perfect feeling and warmth they seemed to share. He could hold onto her forever and always feel satisfied, never wanting to let go. But as all good things, they never lasted. Eventually, they parted, staring deeply into each other's eyes as their cheeks glowed a soft red.
"Wanda," the Doctor breathed.
"Yeah?" the Time Lady replied in a breathless whisper. As always, the Doctor's kisses took her breath away in a beyond pleasant way.
The Doctor swallowed heavily, feeling three words on the tip of his tongue, ready to be spoken. "I—I—I—I . . ." But as always, no matter how much he tried forcing himself to say what his hearts were screaming to tell her . . . he could not get them out.
Wanda smiled kindly, tenderly thumbing his cheek and rubbing her fingertips through the edges of his hair. "Don't worry. You don't have to say it. It's not something that has to be said." She gave him a peck on the lips, grinning. "I love you, too."
He gulped, feeling his hearts pound away in elation in his chest. A wave of euphoria swept through him and he almost felt light headed by these words from her. He remembered the first time he had heard her say these powerful, meaningful words. Hearing them the first time had scared him in some ways. But now . . . they only brought joy. Though, still with some uncertainty for their future. It was a mixture of emotions going through him, really. None that he could quite pick out and settle on what exactly he should be feeling. But . . . he would think on that later. Yeah . . . later was a better time. For now, he needed to focus.
He nodded with a smile, finally placing on his helmet, and stated, "Well, I better get going. I'll see you later."
"Of course," Wanda nodded, smiling as well. He turned and went to march to join Ida in the capsule, but looked back at Wanda's next words. "Oh, and Doctor."
"Yeah?" he questioned in interest. He watched as all humour and light spirit left Wanda's expression and demeanour as she only held a steady and intense gaze.
"Sneak peek: When you feel the urge to jump, you jump, letting yourself fall. And don't look back for anything."
He slowly nodded, frowning as he turned back around and walked away. What exactly did that all mean? He was only stopped briefly by Rose as the companion gave him a hug for luck, making him promise the same as he had with Wanda in coming back after the mission. Then, he was descending down with Ida in the capsule, going straight below into the depths of the unknown.
Wanda watched the yellow capsule fit for two leave, disappearing into the nothingness. Behind her back, she began pinching her thumb, twisting it around. The old, worn habit felt good in relieving some of the anxiety and stress she felt. She knew things were meant to turn out fine, but . . . Damn timelines and their constant changing. She could never exactly predict everything perfectly. What if things went wrong like they did with the Sontarans and her clone?
"Stop worrying," Rose spoke from beside her, patting the Time Lady's shoulder in reassurance. "I'm sure everything will be fine, right?"
"Of course," Wanda replied. But she snatched up the yellow, handle radio from the stack of equipment in front of her, tuning it to the comm frequency that everyone was communicating on. Best have it ready in case the Doctor wished to talk with her. And in case she needed to instruct him on anything or warn him or keep him calm or make certain that nothing hurt him or—oh, she hated, hated being away from him. She never did like it whenever they were separated on dangerous adventures like these.
"Wanda, stop pacing. You're giving me a headache," Rose commented as she watched the Time Lady walking worriedly back and forth in front of her.
"Not until the Doctor reports on them making it safely down," Wanda muttered, gripping the radio tight in her hands. "And then he better bloody get back up here so that I can handcuff him to me and never let him go again. Ugh. I hate adventures like these. Why does it always involve him going into dark depths and being surrounded by universe knows what."
"You worry too much," Rose scoffed, shaking her head. But then the whole room shook, making them all wobble unsteadily on their feet.
"Or maybe I don't worry enough," Wanda grumbled. She pressed on the radio in her hand, holding it up close. "Doctor, are you all right? Is everything okay? Please tell me you've reached the bottom." There was only static as a reply." Doctor, I swear if you don't answer I'll—."
"Rose, tell your friend to get off comm," said an annoyed Zach from over the radio. Wanda gritted her teeth together as she felt her temper flare up.
"Shut it, Zach! I can check up on my lover if I want to!" she barked. She pouted when Rose jerked the radio away from her.
"Wanda, chill. Seriously," Rose muttered, shaking her head while rolling her eyes. Breathing in and out, the Time Lady let out a slow breath, easing her jumpiness and troubled mind.
"Sorry," she muttered, blushing in embarrassment from her overreactions. "I'm just . . . on edge right now."
"Why's that?" Rose questioned curiously. Wanda folded her arms, glancing at Toby sitting in a corner far from everyone else.
"Reasons," was all she replied to the companion's question. Ever since Toby showed up, Wanda has been feeling a dark presence hovering over her. Hovering over them all. It pressed on all ends, trying to seep in and either take over or find everyone's dark selves. Wanda tried placing up whatever barrier she had before in Ood Habitation. If she had done as such before. She really had a hard time believing she had actually done such a thing, or had that kind of control over the Time Vortex living within her. But now she felt almost . . . weakened. Like the darkness was draining her. And the one barrier was not having it. She could feel it snarling, creaking angrily as it snapped repeatedly at the darkness, daring it to get any closer. Wanda shook off this feeling, knowing she needed to remain focused. She . . . she could figure out what the heck was up with the one barrier in her mind later.
"It's all right. We've made it. Heading out of the capsule now."
Wanda felt relieved when hearing the Doctor's response from over the radio, scooting closer to Rose as the girl began to speak with him.
"What's it like down there?" questioned the companion.
"It's hard to tell," replied the Doctor with his voice sounding as though he felt perplexed by where he was. "Some sort of . . . cave? Cavern? It's massive."
"Well, this should help. Gravity globe," came another voice, Ida. There was a moment's pause as everyone in the drill area waited for more details. Finally, when Ida spoke again, she sounded completely blown away by whatever she was seeing. "That's . . . That's . . . My god, that's beautiful."
"Wanda . . . Rose . . . You can tell Toby . . . we've found his civilization," the Doctor added in, sounding just as awestruck as Ida. Wanda knew at this moment, they were seeing the grand, ancient sculptures, archways, and other amazing sights to behold. She actually felt kind of jealous of the Doctor being able to see that without her.
"Oi, Toby, sounds like you got plenty of work," Rose called over to the young man, smiling cheekily at him. Toby did not turn his gaze to meet hers, keeping his head down as he thumbed his the palms of his hands. Wanda heard him muttering 'good' under his breath.
"Concentrate, now, people. Keep on the mission," spoke Zach from over the radio. "Ida . . . what about the power source?"
"We're close," replied Ida. They could hear her and the Doctor's footsteps crunching over gravel over the comm. "Energy signature indicates north-northwest. Are you getting pictures up there?"
"There's too much interference," Zach told her. "We're in your hands."
"Well, we've come this far. There's no turning back," responded Ida. Wanda groaned at that statement. Great, now both Ida and the Doctor were definitely jinxed. Why must everything always be jinxed on their adventures? Of course, the Doctor had the worst habit of doing the jinxing. But still . . .
"Captain, sir, there's something happening with the Ood," came the urgent note from Danny over the comm. Beside Rose, Wanda tensed, knowing it was beginning.
"Here we go," the Time Lady mumbled quietly under her breath. She half listened to Zach and Danny discussing the strange behavior of the Ood back in Odd Habitation. All of them, simply staring down Danny in a haunting gaze, and the telepathic field reaching Basic Hundred. She heard the others around muttering worriedly at this note. Basic Hundred was impossible. It meant brain death for the Ood at this point. Jefferson ordered his men to arms, guarding the other Ood that were still with them at gunpoint, making certain that the few Ood around would not try anything.
"Is everything all right up there?" sounded the Doctor in question from the comm. Rose answered quickly.
"Yeah, yeah," she assured the Time Lord.
"It's fine," Zach added in.
"Great," finished Danny. All sounded nervous and anxious. Wanda rolled her eyes, grabbing the radio from Rose.
"Everything's going to hell and we're all in big trouble," she said lightly. All around her the humans shot the Time Lady either looks of disbelief or great annoyance.
"Well, at least it's just the usual, then," came the joking reply from the Doctor. Both he and Wanda laughed lightly over the comm while everyone else rolled their eyes.
"Give me that," Rose grumbled, snatching the radio from her and waved a stern finger. "No more radio for you."
"Awww, you always take the fun out of everything," Wanda grumbled playfully. Both snickered as Rose elbowed the Time Lady in light humour.
They stood around in silence after that as the other crew of the base worked on fixing up things and getting ready for whatever was heading for trouble. Rose and Wanda leaned against a railing, tensely waiting for when the Doctor would respond in telling them of the progress below. Rose glanced briefly towards the Time Lady next to her, chewing on her bottom lip as she worried on whether or not to voice on what happened earlier to the shorter blonde. Deciding against it, rather waiting to talk with the Doctor about what he thought they should do on what happened to Wanda and her strange behaviour, Rose shifted as she gazed more curious at the Time Lady now. The companion began to wonder just from which period of time Third Wanda had come from. Or rather, which period of time the Time Lady was in her own timeline. Rose began to wonder if she should dare ask a certain question. With her curiosity outweighing her uncertainty, Rose cleared her throat lightly, gaining Wanda's attention.
"Something troubling you?" Wanda asked the companion, wondering why Rose kept sending her these curious looks.
"Just wondering if—if you have the ring yet," Rose spoke casually, looking ahead as if her response were nothing out of the ordinary. Or at least trying to as she repeatedly glanced at Wanda as if waiting anxiously for the Time Lady's response.
Wanda merely stared at her in confusion for a bit before replying, "Um, what?"
Rose sighed, "Nevermind," seeming to deflate upon Wanda's response. A second later before Wanda could question the companion's comment, the Doctor reported back to them through the comm.
"We've found something," he announced. "It looks like metal, like some sort of seal. I've got a nasty feeling the word might be 'trapdoor.' Not a good word, 'trapdoor.' Never met a trapdoor I liked."
"Then don't stand right on top of it," Wanda replied, smirking as she knew the Doctor would be standing on the gigantic metal plate on the ground. The same doorway which led straight to the Beast far down below in his dark prison.
"Right . . . yeah," the Doctor responded, sounding embarrassed that she had known where he had been foolishly standing.
"The edge is covered with those symbols," Ida told them.
"Do you think it opens?" Zach questioned her, pressing for some real answers for this mysterious place.
"That's what trapdoors tend to do," murmured the Doctor over the comm.
"'Trapdoor' doesn't do it justice," countered Ida. "It's massive, Zach. About thirty feet in diameter." The question popped up from Zach about possibly opening the metal door that was lying on the ground. But Ida quickly replied back, "I don't know. I can't see any sort of mechanism."
"I suppose that's the writing," the Doctor pointed out, letting everyone know of the writing all along the edges of the metal door. "It'll tell us what to do. The letters that defy translation."
"Toby, did you get anywhere with decoding it?" questioned Zach loudly over the comm so that everyone could hear. Everyone in the drilling area looked at the young man in the corner who had curled up into himself. He had buried his head into his arms with his knees pulled up to his chest. Wanda tensed. The hairs on the back of her neck slowly stood on end as the barrier within growled lowly. The dark energy within the room had shifted dramatically, radiating with a might now. Her own energy within suddenly spiked up as it readied in defense. Emerald eyes darkened as she stared Toby down, knowing what was happening to him again.
"Toby, they need to know—that lettering, does it make any sort of sense?" Rose questioned the young man. She glanced curiously at the Time Lady beside her when she suddenly felt Wanda grab her arm and taking a step in front of her as some sort of stance for protecting and guarding. What had Wanda so on edge? Besides the obvious strange and creepy occurrences, of course.
"I know what it says," they all heard Toby muttered in a low tone.
"When did you work that out?" Jefferson questioned, raising a brow in surprise. They all watched as Toby slowly stood, not facing them directing yet. Sucking in a sharp breath that sounded almost like a hiss, Wanda noticed the black writing that was all over Toby's face and palms. Then, he faced them all with his deep, blood-red eyes. Eyes so piercing that it felt as though he were staring into their very souls.
"These are the words of the Beast. And he has woken," Toby spoke to them. But they all could tell it was not truly the young man. His voice was deep, dark, and menacing that sent a chill down everyone's spine. "He is the heart that beats in the darkness. He is the blood that will never cease. And now he will rise." Jefferson stepped around Rose and Wanda, aiming his gun straight at Toby.
"Officer, you will stand. Stand down!" Jefferson commanded Toby, keeping his weapon aimed perfectly at the other man's chest.
"What is it? What's he done?" they heard the Doctor's voice question from the comm, sounding overly worried. "What's happening? Wanda! Rose! What's going on?!" These were the last words they heard from him as the radio in Rose's hands cut to static, leaving them nothing more to hear or say.
"Officer, you've comprised security," Jefferson barked at Toby as the man advanced at them. "You will stand down and be confined, immediately!" Toby titled his head to the side, his neck making a creaking sound while smiling wickedly at the man.
"Mr. Jefferson, tell me, sir. Did your wife ever forgive you?" he breathed in a hissing whisper. They saw Jefferson's hand tightened on his gun.
"I don't know what you mean," Jefferson responded in a tight voice.
A dark glint with through Toby's red eyes. "Let me tell you a secret. She never did."
Jefferson swallowed heavily. "Officer, you stand down and be confined."
"Or what?"
"Or under the strictures of Condition Red, I am authorized to shoot you." Jefferson cocked his gun, aiming it at Toby's head now. Both Rose and Wanda tensed, not liking the gun being drawn and ready to kill another.
"But how many can you kill?" taunted Toby. His red eyes began to glow brightly as he opened his mouth, letting out a deep, guttural growl. They watched as all the black letters from his face trailed off in a dark smoke and went straight for the Ood around them. The Ood shook as the black smoke entered into their eyes, turning them red as well. Toby in front of them gasped and coughed, collapsing to the ground. Jefferson turned his gun, aiming it at the Ood now. The Ood before them pulled out their translator orbs, holding them out as their own weapons.
"We are the Legion of the Beast," the Ood told them in deep voices. "The Legion shall be many, and the Legion shall be few." The static from the radio cleared enough from the radio for them to hear a faint voice of the Doctor.
"Wanda! Rose! What is it?! Wanda! Please, answer me!" they heard the Time Lord say in a panic.
"It's the Ood," Rose told the Doctor. Or at least, hoped that she was telling him as the comm sounded out in static again. She let the radio fall to her side, gripping onto Wanda's arm tightly and scooted closer to the Time Lady. "Wanda, do you know what's going on?"
"Yeah," Wanda whispered to the girl. "Rose, just stay by me and don't let the Ood touch you with their orbs."
"He has woven himself in the fabric of your life. Since the dawn of time," the Ood continued to speak as one, advancing towards them. "Some may call him Abaddon. Some may call him Krop Tor. Some may call him Satan. Or Lucifer . . . or the Bringer of Despair . . . the Deathless Prince, Bringer of Night. These are the words that shall set him free."
"Back up to the door!" Jefferson barked in order at them. They all scooted back away from the Ood, putting as much distance from themselves and the advancing threat. All the while, Wanda made certain to keep Rose safe behind her.
"I am become manifest," the Ood growled at them. "I shall walk in might. My Legions shall swarm . . . and swell across the worlds." They just reached the door of the drill area when the whole world started to shake in great violence. All stumbled and fell to the ground as they lost their balance from the quaking and fearful world. All the while, the Ood continued to advance towards them. "I am the sin and the temptation and the desire. I am the pain and the loss. And the dead will come."
"Get that door open!" shouted Jefferson at the other security officer that was with them.
"I have been imprisoned for eternity," the Ood told them with deep, even voices. "But no more."
The Pit is open . . . and I am free.
Wanda shivered as those wicked words echoed through her mind and a nasty laugh followed soon after. She and Rose let out startled yelps as Jefferson and another one of the security officers sent a wave of bullets straight at the advancing Ood. Wanda shielded the companion, waiting for the last Ood to drop to the ground before allowing Rose to move away. As soon as the Time Lady made certain that her friend was fine, she rushed down the steps from the door, grabbing the radio from the ground where Rose had dropped it.
"Doctor! Doctor!" she shouted into the radio, feeling panicked in knowing he was down there, stuck, with no way out. Only static answered her. This only heightened her fears. What if something had changed and during the quake a rock fell on him? Or—Or something else had crawled out of the open pit of the Beast and hurt him? Or he could have fallen into the pit, killing himself! She breathed in and out, counting to three to calm herself. There was no need for her to lose her head and panic. If something really had happened to him, then she technically would not still be alive at this moment. And she would have received the ping warning in her mind if something truly awful was going to befall on him.
She glanced over when seeing Danny rushing into the room. He slammed the door shut behind him and locked it into place, babbling on in a panic about all the other Ood who were coming after him. Jefferson pushed Danny out of the way, beginning to open the door up again to face the Ood. Wanda dropped the radio and ran over to them.
"Don't open that door!" she shouted in warning. But it was too late as Jefferson and his other officer opened the door and went to face the Ood. But the Ood were ready. One Ood sent an orb straight at the other security officer's forehead, killing her on the spot. Jefferson began to shoot at them rapidly, hoping to defend themselves and make some progress in defeating the Ood. Wanda ran up to them. "Stop shooting you moron! We can't fight them this way!" She swiftly moved around Jefferson after he stopped firing and slammed the door shut, slapping her hand on the nearby button to seal it.
"I could have had them," Jefferson grumbled at her.
"No, you would have run out of bullets before you barely even made a dent in them," Wanda retorted, storming past him to be next to Rose. "You all right, girlie?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," Rose replied weakly. She received a comforting pat on the arm from Wanda as the Time Lady tried to ease her worries. The static suddenly cleared on Jefferson's wrist communicator as Zach's voice burst from the device.
"Jefferson, what's happening there?" questioned the Captain.
"I've got very little ammunition, sir. How about you?" Jefferson responded immediately. There was a brief pause.
"All I've got is a bolt gun with, uh, all of one bolt," Zach told them. "I could take out a grand total of one Ood. Fat lot of good that is."
"Given the emergency, I recommend Strategy Nine," Jefferson offered to the Caption.
"Strategy Nine agreed," confirmed Zach. Wanda shifted uncomfortably on her feet, not liking the thought of this. But . . . One: she knew it was needed. And two: it would not turn out exactly as planned in the end anyway, so . . .
"Hello? Can anyone hear me?"
Wanda jumped away from Rose and picked up the radio from the ground in haste when she heard the Doctor's voice coming through the static.
"Doctor! Ida! Are both of you okay?" Wanda asked immediately. Rose came over beside her, leaning to speak with the Doctor as well.
"Did anything happen?" questioned the companion.
"I'm fine. Still here," the Doctor replied to them. His voice distorted slightly through the static. "Anyway, it's both of us, me and Ida. Hello! But the seal opened up. It's gone. All we've got left is this . . . chasm."
"How deep is it?" quizzed Zach. There was a pause from the Doctor.
"Can't tell. Looks like it goes down forever," responded the Time Lord.
"'The Pit is open, and I am free,'" muttered Wanda. "He claimed 'no more' in his imprisonment. No more." Her mind lost focus for a minute upon those two words spoken as others began questioning what had left the pit. She shook her head, trying to keep herself on task.
"No sign of the Beast," she heard the Doctor telling them. She felt Rose tense beside her, scooting closer to hug her arm.
"It said 'Satan,'" Rose said to both Wanda and the Doctor. She sounded as though she was trying to pretend these earlier words were not affecting her, but the deep welling fear was still there.
"Come on, Rose. Keep it together," the Doctor told the girl in a stern manner.
"Is there no such thing?" Rose pressed for answers, needing to be told by both him and Wanda that all those legends from Earth could not possibly be true. But at the dead silence she received in response, Rose swallowed nervously. "Doctor." Still no response from the Time Lord, so Rose looked to Wanda. "Wanda, tell me there's no such thing."
"We'll keep you safe. I promise," was the only reply Wanda gave the companion. She hugged Rose, patting her back in comfort, afraid to look her friend in the eye. Truthfully . . . Wanda had no clue as to what exactly the Beast was. She had always theorized that he was merely what all sort of 'Devil' legends were based on and that is what the show itself had implied, but . . . Right, yeah, she was not going to try and figure out the truth behind the legends. It was best that they just stayed focused on getting the heck out of here.
Wanda half listened to Zach and Ida arguing over her and the Doctor returning to the surface. Then the radio went to static as the Time Lady knew that Ida had cut off transmission to be able to discuss the matters on what to do privately with the Doctor.
"What are they doing down there?" Rose asked Wanda, confused as to why Ida would cut off Zach and the others like that.
"They're discussing on whether or not to go down into the pit," Wanda mumbled quietly, making sure Danny and Jefferson did not hear their discussion. Things might get complicated if the found out what Ida and the Doctor wished to do. Of course, Zach and the other members of the expedition would grow angry and wish to stop the two down below. Not that they really could anyway. Was not much anyone up above could do for those down below near the pit.
"Are they insane?" Rose scoffed, completely flabbergasted in anyone even thinking about going near whatever this 'Beast' lived. Of course, only the Doctor would do something foolish as that. Typical Time Lord.
"Probably," Wanda chuckled lightly. She smiled at Rose when seeing the girl frown and roll her eyes. "Don't worry about him and Ida, Rose. They'll be fine. They're actually safer down there than we are up here."
Rose rolled her eyes once more. "Right. Of course they're safer. They're totally peachy being right next to that . . . that Beast's home or whatever. Ugh. We're all doomed."
"Everything's going to be fine. Have a little faith, girlie." Wanda joked as Rose crossed her arms and huffed. Both were alerted when the radio went off again with the Doctor's voice coming through once more.
"Wanda, Rose, we're coming back," the Time Lord told them.
"Best news we've heard all day," Rose replied in joy. She held a bright smile on her face, glad to know the Doctor would be coming back to them. Next to her, Wanda shook her head, knowing that there was no coming back for either of them. Both were needed down below for their own important path and impacts on this adventure. She and Rose whipped their heads around when hearing Jefferson cock his gun and seeing him aiming it at an awakening Toby. The young man back away in fear as Jefferson readied to fire.
"What are you doing?" Rose demanded at Jefferson, outraged in seeing him aiming the weapon on a helpless man.
"He's infected. He brought that thing on board. You saw it," Jefferson retorted, pointing his gun to shoot. Rose moved away from Wanda, standing in front of Toby as a shield as she glared at Jefferson.
"Are you going to start shooting your own people now?" she bit back. "Is that what you're going to do? Is it?"
"If necessary," Jefferson replied, keeping his tone curt and strict.
Rose narrowed her eyes. "Well, then, you'll have to shoot me if necessary, so what's it going to be?"
"Don't even think about it!" Wanda barked loudly, startling all of them, even herself, at the growling voice she had. But she ignored the way she spoke this as she stormed forward, pushing Rose out of the way of the weapon and placed herself where the companion had been. "Jefferson . . . stand down."
"I don't take orders from you," Jefferson retorted.
"It doesn't matter whether you take orders from me or not. As I said, you will stand down and leave him, Mr. Jefferson," Wanda stated, sounding steady and even with great power in her demeanour. Jefferson stared at her, seeing the might within those strangely mystical emerald eyes of hers. Even though she did not look it, with her short height and petite, young body, he felt as though she truly did have some sort of higher authority in this room. As though she were much older than she appeared to be and she had wisdom beyond even him. So, reluctantly, Jefferson lowered his weapon.
"Thank you, Jefferson," Wanda told him kindly, nodding in thanks and appreciation.
"Any sign of trouble, I'll shoot him. Whether you like it or not," Jefferson replied curtly.
"Fair enough," Wanda nodded in agreement. She watched the man walk away before looking down at the frightened Toby and Rose who had crouched next to him, smiling kindly.
"You all right?" Rose asked him gently, hoping to calm him.
"Yeah. Don't know," Toby answered with a shaking voice. Wanda slowly crouched down beside him, eyeing him carefully.
"Are you sure about that, Toby?" she asked. Her tone and demeanour were tight, edgy, as she knew exactly what was now fully within the young man. With the pit opened completely, the Beast had sent his full consciousness into the male's body. Still, as before, the Beast would allow Toby to have some control. But when it came down to it . . . Toby technically no longer existed.
"I can't remember anything except for—it was so angry," Toby explained to them. "It was . . . fury and rage and death." He halted in his words. His eyes slowly widened in pure horror as he seemed to conclude something. "It was him. It was the Devil." Rose gave him a sympathetic look as he seemed ready to cry. Hugging him, Rose patted him on the back as Toby stared at Wanda from over the companion's shoulder. Wanda's eyes narrowed as she saw the haunting smirk and eyes flashing red coming from Toby. That damn bastard. She marched forward, yanking Rose away from him.
"Hey!" Rose exclaimed, confused as Wanda pulled her up and away from Toby.
"No time for hugs. I need you to help Danny and Jefferson think of a plan," Wanda lied her friend, knowing she needed to get Rose far, far away from Toby. Not that there was any real danger in Rose being around him, but . . . Damn did it flare up her temper and cause her to feel that possessive spark within her when something dark and evil dare to casually hug her friend. Rose sort of hesitantly nodded and walked over to Jefferson and Danny. Only briefly glancing over her shoulder in suspicion as to why Wanda was acting so strange.
The Time Lady remained in front of Toby, crossing her arms and staring him down, telling him, "I know what you are and what you wish to do. And I'll make certain to stop you."
"I—I don't know what you're talking about," Toby stuttered back weakly. Staring at him for a moment longer, eventually, Wanda let out a sigh.
"Sorry, you're right. You don't," she said in a more gentler voice. She went to turn, but then, in the corner of her eye, she saw the wicked smirk on his face.
"What do you know, Wanderer, if you don't even know the truth of your own life?" Toby hissed out in a deep voice. The Beast now speaking through the young man. Wanda stormed back over to him, crouching down to face him head-on.
"What don't I know, hmm?" she retorted spitefully, keeping her voice low so that the others farther down from them would not hear their dispute.
"Of what you really are," Toby growled in a low and menacing tone, his red eyes flashing.
The Time Lady narrowed her eyes and gritted her teeth. "Oh, what, like that there's some sort of mystery behind my past and who I am? Or that something else lives within me? Or that I'm seen as some sort of Weapon because of the Time Vortex stored inside of me? Yeah, 'cause I really don't know that already. Just shut up. Your stupid mind games won't work on me."
He suddenly grabbed her wrist, yanking her forward. Wanda hissed in pain as she felt a burning sensation on her skin from his touch. The barrier in her mind was slammed on with a rage from the dark energy touching her. Toby leaned towards her, whispering words in such sinister voice that it made Wanda's blood feel chilled. "You can pretend to care for them and wish to be a Disciple of the Light all you want, Wanderer. But I know what true darkness lies within you. You want them all dead and gone. Turned to dust." His eyes glinted in their red glow as a nasty smile grew. "But you're going about it all wrong. Why turn the weak and worthless into dust when you can rule them?"
Wanda blinked, completely confused. "What?"
"You are like me. You're powerful, strong, mighty. An eternal force. A goddess of the night. Why quell with simpletons? You should be ruling them. You should have your own Legion and rule over them all as a Queen." His grabbed her chin, making her swallow weakly as he seemed to stare hungrily at her. "I wouldn't mind sharing in my rule of darkness."
A white glow flashed through Wanda's eyes as the barrier in her mind revolted at this very notion in sharing power and control. She bared her teeth at him. She noted how he suddenly let go of her as if burned, holding his hand as he glared back in return. "Have your stupid darkness. I'm fine in the light, thanks. And I would never hurt anyone, whether they be strangers or friends, you narcissistic bastard."
A dark twisted smile grew on his face. "Are you certain about that? I think Alpha begs to differ."
She jerked away from him, staring down to see Toby blinking in confusion at her. As though questioning why she had been so close to him in the first place. The Beast now retreating back to let the young man keep up the charade of his. She wondered if maybe Toby was really a charade. That the Beast was merely pretending to be Toby and that the real Toby had long since been removed from his body. That was most likely the truth, but she did not care at the moment if Toby was alive or not. Now, she only wished to place as much distance between herself and him. Wanda turned, marching back over to Rose who had been talking with Jefferson and Danny over something. They looked at her in question when seeing the disturbed look on the Time Lady's face. Jefferson only looked away when Ida called to have him bring her and the Doctor up.
"Is something wrong, Wanda?" Rose asked her in concern. Wanda went to answer, but suddenly the lights cut out just as Jefferson hit the controls to have the capsule come back up. Everyone stared around the darkness warily with only a small bit of light coming from a screen on the controls. Then, all tensed or jumped when hearing the deep, sinister voice speaking over the comm.
"This is the darkness," spoke the Beast. The screen in front of them changed, showing them that the Beast was speaking through all the Ood standing outside the door. "This is my domain. You little things that live in the light, clinging to your feeble suns which die in the end. Only the darkness remains."
"This is Captain Zachary Cross Flane of Sanctuary Base Six, representing the Torchwood archive," Zach spoke up in authority. "You will identify yourself."
"You know my name," the Beast answered, sounding ever so arrogant.
"What do you want?" Zach pressed, wanting more specific answers.
"You will die here, all of you," retorted the Beast. "This planet is your grave." In the corner of the drill area, they could hear Toby muttering 'it's him' in a terrified voice.
"If you are the Beast, then answer me this—which one, hmm?" they then heard the Doctor speaking up over the radio. "'Cause the universe has been busy since you've been gone. There's more religions than there are planets in the sky. The Arkiphetes, Quoldonity, Christianity, Pash-Pash, New Judaism, San Claar, Church of the Tin Vagabond. Which devil are you?"
"All of them," the Beast told the Time Lord proudly.
"What, then, you're . . . the truth behind the myth?" the Doctor asked skeptically.
This seemed to humour the Beast. "This one knows me, as I know him. The killer of his own kind." Wanda's hands tightened into fists. She wanted to yell at the Beast, retort in fury at him for playing at the Doctor's hearts over the Time War and Gallifrey. But she kept her mouth shut as she knew she needed to let the Doctor do the talking or else she might say something that could ruin everything.
"How did you end up on this rock?" questioned the Doctor, seeming to bypass the last comment made by the Beast. Avoiding the subject all together.
"The Disciples of the Light rose up against me and chained me in the pit for all eternity," the Beast explained in spite. The clear revulsion and disgust at being beaten heard in his tone.
"When was this?" asked the Doctor.
"Before time."
"What does that mean?" responded the Doctor with clear disbelief and bewilderment heard in his tone.
"Before time."
"What does 'before time' mean?!"
"Before time and light and space and matter. Before the cataclysm. Before this universe was created."
There was a brief pause from the Doctor's end. "That's impossible. No life could have existed back then."
And humour and amusement was heard from the Beast's end. "Is that your religion?"
"It's a belief."
"You know nothing . . . all of you . . . so small. The captain, so scared of command. The soldier, haunted by the eyes of his wife." They saw Jefferson shifting uncomfortably next to them. "The scientist, still running from daddy. The little boy who lied." Danny's eyes widened slightly. "The virgin." In the corner, Toby winced. "The lost girl, so far away from home." Rose tensed while Wanda patted her shoulder in comfort. Then, it was the Time Lady's turn to tense. "And the woman, trying to be something she is not. Trying not to become the monster she is destined to be. For she is the real darkness of this universe and the destructor of all things. The weapon will be activated. The Alpha Wolf will rise. And all will know no more."
Wanda had enough as she snatched the radio away from Jefferson and held it close in a fist. Her teeth bared as the barrier within snarled.
"Oi! Satan! Do us all a favor and sod off!" she shouted crossly. There was static on the screen as the Beast showed his face in a raging roar. They could see he had a sunken face, glowing red, and massive horns that curled along the side of his head. Though one of these horns appeared to be broken from whatever battle he had fought in. While everyone else around her jumped back in fear, Wanda merely rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Roar at me all you like. But there's no changing the fact that you have the ugliest face in the whole universe. Not even a mother could love a face like that." There was another tremendous roar with even a slight shake of the area around them. Then the screen cut to black.
"You really shouldn't taunt creatures like that, Wanda," the Doctor scolded lightly over the radio. Though, he sounded as though he had been amused by Wanda's retort.
"I can't believe you just told the Devil to sod off," Rose muttered, shaking her head in disbelief.
"Oh, quit letting him fool you," Wanda replied. She pressed the button on the radio to speak over the comm. "Everyone, don't listen to him. He's just playing with your head, trying to get you all to doubt yourselves. Because that's what he really lives on. Doubt."
"Wanda's right. It's playing on basic fears," the Doctor added in. "Darkness, childhood nightmares, all that stuff."
"But that's how the Devil works," countered Danny. All could easily tell he was completely frightened and unnerved by what he had heard and seen.
"Or a good psychologist," interjected the Doctor.
"But how did it know about my father?" disputed Ida, sounding just as scared as Danny.
"Because he can see into our timelines," Wanda explained easily. "He just sees the bad things in our lives and twists them around, using the past, present, and future against us. It's nothing more than a parlor trick. He can point out all the things in our lives that he wants, but he can't do any real harm or danger."
"And I'll tell you what I can see—humans, brilliant humans!" the Doctor pointed out, trying to lift everyone's spirits and encourage them to remain calm. "Humans who can travel all the way across space, flying in a tiny little rocket, right into the orbit of a black hole, just for the sake of discovery. That's amazing! Do you hear me? Amazing! All of you—the captain, his officer, his elder, his juniors, his friends. All with one advantage—the Beast is alone. We are not. If we can use that to fight against him—."
The Doctor never had a chance to finish his wonderful speech as suddenly, out of nowhere, the cable connecting to the capsule down below snapped in a sharp, echoing snap. All in the drilling area watched in horror as the thick, gigantic, metal cable fell all the way down to where the Doctor and Ida were below. It seemed like forever before it finally crashed in a tremendous boom, sending dust up towards them. Wanda stared at the scene, eyes wide in dismay as everyone else panicked. Rose grabbed the radio from the Time Lady, trying to contact the Doctor and Ida. Zach then explained to them that the comms were down, but there still seemed to be life signs coming from below. However, it still meant one thing. The two of them were trapped, and there was nothing anyone could do about it or even think about rescuing them.
Wanda gulped, counting in her head as she felt pure terror and panic building up within her. One. Two. Three. Good, good. She still felt calm. That's good. She breathed as evenly as she could. Funny. She felt so unstable lately, like her emotions were running on a roller coaster. She really needed to start getting ahold of herself and stop being a worrier like her past incarnations had been. This was a new her and she had promised herself she would not be a drag like the other two Wandas before her.
"Rose, stop," she finally said as the companion began demanding that Jefferson bring the Doctor back. "Just relax, all right?"
"But Wanda, he's—," Rose began to argue.
"Fine. The Doctor and Ida are both fine," Wanda said evenly. She smiled in reassurance, patting the girl's shoulder. "We'll get him back, I swear."
"They're ten miles down. We haven't got another ten miles of cable," Jefferson pointed out, arguing against the notion of them being able to bring the Doctor and Ida back. Wanda shot him a heated look.
"I said, 'we'll get him back,'" she countered crossly. Loud banging echoed from the door, announcing the Ood from outside and their attempt to break in as they saw the sparks flying from the doorway's bolts. Jefferson told this to Zach, who replied a similar situation happening on his end. And each concluded that in the drilling area, they only had about eight minutes before the Ood succeeded in breaking in.
"Right, so we need to stop them or get out, or both," Rose said after they assessed their situation.
"I'll take both, yeah?" Danny said sarcastically. "But how?" He gazed at everyone for answers.
"I've got nothing," Zach told them, with frustration high in his voice. "I'm just stuck in here pressing buttons. And the Ood gutted the generator."
"Zach, we've got power from the rocket," Wanda explained after grabbing the radio, speaking with him. "If you can reroute the systems, we'll have enough power again."
"Right. Right!" Zach agreed, sounding more confident and in charge. "Mr. Jefferson, open the bypass conduits, override the safety." Jefferson did that immediately, working on a panel to get the connections up that Zach needed. After a bit of work on Zach's end, he managed to get the power back on. The lights flickered back to life and it gave all of them some ease in being out of the dark. Rose clapped her hands in cheer.
"What about that Strategy Nine thing?" Rose asked Jefferson once they had all relaxed in being back in the light.
"Not enough power. Need hundred percent," Jefferson explained to the companion.
"Then we need a way out," Wanda told them. She gazed around, beginning to form a quick plan and remembering what was needed of them for this day. Plus she knew they needed to hurry as the possibilities told her that they did not have as much time as from the show in succeeding today. "Jefferson, Zach, can you open the maintenance shafts and make our way through there. And before you start arguing against me on this, Zach, just manipulate the oxygen field where we can safely travel through it." Jefferson nodded and began to work while Zach agreed in the end. Wanda then turned to Danny. "Danny, think you can broadcast a flare that sends the Ood to Basic Zero?"
"Hypothetically," Danny replied with a shrug. "But I'll have to run the computer to analysis the process, and then we would have to make our way to Ood Habitation."
"Then get to work, Danny Boy," Wanda nodded at him, smiling when seeing the man getting to work on configurations on the computer.
"Someone's on top of things today," Rose said, giving Wanda a cheeky grin and bumping their hips together. "I'd like to see First Wanda try something like that sometime." Wanda snorted and shook her head.
"Yeah, not in a million years," responded the Time Lady. She gave Rose a slight guilt glance. "Sorry, I sort of stole your thunder there. This was supposed to be your moment to shine and take charge."
Rose rolled her eyes, patting Wanda's shoulder in assurance of no harm being done. "Nah, don't worry about it. As long as we get out of here, I could care less on who's giving the orders around here." The two leaned against the railing around the area they stood in, watching as everyone else muttered and worked on their tasks. Rose glanced at Wanda curiously after a quiet moment. "You never answered my question. Is that thing really the Devil, or . . ."
Wanda let out a puff of air, staring upwards thoughtfully. "I don't know. Truthfully, I don't really care, either. Any way you look at it, it's just some beast from before time trying to mess around with our heads to help itself escape and cause chaos around the rest of the universe. Same as a lot of other creatures we've come across before. Makes no difference to me in what it wants to call itself."
Rose nodded, agreeing with Wanda on that. "Still though . . . did it come before time? The Doctor didn't seem to think so."
"Yeah, well, unlike the Doctor, I tend to believe more in the impossible."
"Right. I can see that being you're an impossible woman already." Rose stuck her tongue lightly between her teeth in a cheeky grin, bumping their hips lightly together. They both giggled for a moment before the companion grew more thoughtful once again. "I never asked, but what is it you and the Doctor believe in?"
Wanda hummed, pondering over this. She never really took the time to think about beliefs and faiths and all that. It was not something she and the Doctor discussed much. They just sort of . . . did their own thing, lived by their own rules. Though their rules did tend to be very similar, there was still some things Wanda knew that she and the Doctor differed in beliefs. "The Doctor, well, I've noticed that he's always more straightforward with how the universe works. Science, knowledge, and facts. That's how he always tends to work. But he is open to new possibilities. It's why he travels. To find the impossible. As for me, I believe in the same things, expect . . . Well, I've never really told anyone about it before. It's stupid, really."
Rose smiled in encouragement. "Go on. Tell me. I won't laugh, promise."
Wanda returned the smile, feeling even more glad to have a friend like Rose. "I had this dream once. A long time ago. In my dream, I saw sort of what life would be like after we die." She closed her eyes as she tried to recall her strange dream. It had really been so long ago. But even after all these years, she still had memories of her dream. It stuck with her so strongly . . . there just had to be something more to it. "It was like . . . each one of us becomes our own star when we die. We're stars, so beautiful, so carefree, dancing and drifting around with no worries, no guilt, no sorrows. Just happiness. Stars that shine brightly through the darkness. Stars that guide others through troubles and woes. We could go anywhere we want to as these stars. We would have an eternity of love and warmth to do as we've always wanted." She opened her eyes once more, glancing in embarrassment at Rose when seeing the companion's puzzled stare. "Like I said, it's silly."
"No, no. I . . . I like it. It sounds nice." Rose held a sincere smile, holding Wanda's hand tenderly. "I'd love to be a star with you one day."
Wanda laughed and grinned brightly at her. "As if you aren't already a star." They both grinned, leaning against one another in delight.
"Excuse me. C-can I help in anything?"
Wanda and Rose glanced over, seeing Toby standing nervously behind them. Rose held a sympathetic look while Wanda kept her gaze cool on the young man. Half of her wished to still believe this was the real Toby coming out and was not some act. But the other half, the strong half with the full weight of the barrier baring its teeth for a fight, felt otherwise. It held no remorse for the young man whatsoever. Wanda turned, allowing Rose to speak with the young man, telling him to keep looking over the ancient letters. While she herself focused on keeping calm, as well as perhaps keeping the invisible energy she seemed to be producing as a barrier of protection for them all against the darkness leaking out from Toby.
Danny just finished creating a chip to put in the Ood Habitation monitor for his plan and Jefferson and Zach finalized the route to get to the location when the Ood were making their way into the drill area. They all rushed in climbing into the maintenance shafts, crawling in a line together at a fast pace. Zach guided them along the way, telling them which direction to go through all the twists and turns of the cramped, metal tunnels. It was a long trek with Zach telling them which ways to go. The air became thinner and they all began to sweat the closer they came to the small door leading to the next tunnel. Zach began working on getting the next tunnel aerated when they heard the clattering sound coming from down the way.
"What was that?" asked Toby fearfully. Jefferson at the end of the line, closest to Wanda, turned and began preparing his weapon.
"Mr. Jefferson, what was that?" questioned Rose in concern to what made that noise. Though, she had a bad feeling about what exactly was creating that sound.
"It's the Ood," Wanda replied, trying to keep her voice calm so that the others would not panic. "They're coming after us down the shaft."
"Zach, open the gate!" Danny yelled into his wrist communicator, beginning to panic.
"I've got to get the air in!" Zach shouted back firmly. There was a moment of the rest of them babbling away in fright before the gate finally opened, allowing them all to scramble down the next tunnel. They heard the Ood coming right behind them, making fast pace in catching up.
"I'll maintain defensive position," Jefferson told them after a moment, halting in the middle of the tunnel to brace himself on an assault on the Ood. Both Rose and Wanda stopped to turn back to the man while Danny and Toby continued to scamper onward.
"You can't stop!" Rose yelled at the officer.
"Miss Tyler, that's my job," Jefferson replied curtly.
"Jefferson, you stupid moron, get your butt moving!" Wanda ordered the man. She yanked the gun after out of his hands. Ignoring his yelling protests, she threw the gun down the tunnel away from them, muttering under her breath 'bloody hate guns' before turning to face the furious man head-on. "There's no need to be the idiotic hero. We're going to make it just fine. Now march!" She pushed him and Rose on ahead of her, making certain that both kept going down the tunnel.
The three of them just made it to the next tunnel where Zach would be closing the gate, this way leading them onto the farthest aerated tunnel. The gate began to lower just as they all slid through, making it safely on the other side. They could hear the Ood banging the gate, enraged that they did not get their targeted prey. Once the three regrouped with Danny and Toby, all let out a collective sigh of relief.
"Thanks," Jefferson finally said to Wanda once he caught his breath. "I think you've just saved my life."
"You're welcome. Anytime," Wanda replied with a smile, glad to save another person on their travels. They all let out yelps of fright when Zach opened the other gate, only for there to be hordes of Ood on the other side. Rose and Wanda swiftly led the way back, kicked a grate open above them and allowing all to escape back out into the base.
They ran straight to Ood Habitation as the many Ood chased after them. Even more Ood were inside the area, ready to kill them off. Danny skidded to the computer monitor of the telepathic field, slammed the chip he had created into the system. They watched as the Ood around them gripped at their heads, shaking in agony and then falling to the ground out cold.
"You did it. We did it!" Rose cheered, jumping up and down while hugging Wanda and giving the Time Lady a kiss on the cheek. Wanda giggled, glad to see Rose looking cheerful again, but . . . She stared sadly over at the Ood, feeling at a loss for the poor creatures. It had not been their fault, after all. They were nothing more than the Beast's slaves. Just like they were for the humans. Shaking her head, Wanda followed after the others who were running to get back to the drilling area. Rose was still determined to get the Doctor back that way, and it was the closest place next to the rocket that would lead them all out of here.
In remembering what the Doctor was about to do at this point, Wanda rushed around the others when they drew closer to the drill room. Her logic being overridden with her fearful and worried emotions becoming a driving force as she grabbed the yellow radio that was still on the ground in the room.
"Doctor? Ida? Hello?" she called out to them. There was only static in response. She gripped the radio tightly, shaking in knowing where the Doctor would be going . . . alone. She did not want him to be alone. She wanted to be with him. To hold his hand if he became scared, or worried, or terrified, or—
"Wanda, I'm sure he's all right," Rose whispered gently, patting Wanda's trembling shoulder. "You said so yourself. We'll get him back."
"Yeah . . . Yeah, of course," Wanda agreed, giving a shaky chortle. "I'm just being a worrywart. Hmm. No, I don't like that saying. It sounds weird . . . 'worrywart.' Why would a wart be worried?" Rose snorted and Wanda grinned playfully, glad to make the companion laugh.
"All right. Patched through," Zach told him after he worked on getting the comm back open. Hesitating, knowing what the Doctor had done, Wanda finally called through.
"Doctor?" she asked in uncertainty. Could he still be there, waiting to hear from her? She somewhat wished that he were still there and had not allowed himself to fall into the pit just yet so that she may hear his voice again. Just once so that she could feel reassured that everything was going to be okay. Her hearts sank when hearing Ida reply instead. Not that she did not care that Ida was fine or anything, it was just . . . her Theta . . .
"He's gone," Ida told the Time Lady, voice fill in a solemn tone. Rose leaned over Wanda's shoulder, speaking into the radio as she felt horror go through her.
"What do you mean, he's gone?" the companion demanded to know what Ida would say such an awful thing. If the Doctor was gone . . . then what would happen to Wanda?
"He fell . . .," Ida began to explain, but trailed off as though she was stricken to tell the Doctor's two companion's his fate.
"Into the pit," Wanda sighed heavily, shaking her head. She remained silent for a moment, listening to Rose gasp in utter horror. Pressing the button on the side of the comm, Wanda swallowed as she felt the need to know one thing. "Ida, before the Doctor decided to . . . to fall, did he wish to have you say something?"
"Yeah . . . something to you," Ida replied.
Wanda smiled softly. "Let me guess, he said that I already 'know,' right?"
"Y-yeah."
Wanda chuckled quietly, forlorn in her way she shook her head. "Right. Of course. It's not something that needs saying." She sucked in a breath, pulling herself together. "Okay, um . . . thanks, Ida. You were brilliant." She moved away, letting Zach and Ida say their 'goodbyes.' Wanda wished she could assure Ida and the rest that everything would be fine, but . . . giving away too many spoilers and making it seem as though all would be fine around a certain 'Toby' was not the best plan. She had already slipped earlier in saying the Doctor would be fine, but she only hoped the Beast had dismissed this in thinking she had merely been hopeful at the time. Now, she had to play the part of someone grieving so that the Beast would not grow suspicious and to let him believe that he had won. For they needed to get into space for a certain companion to set the Beast back to where he truly belongs.
"Hey, it's all right."
Wanda tensed as she felt Rose gently wrap her arms around the small blonde. Wanda leaned against her friend, allowing tears to leak down her face. Rose matched the Time Lady with her own tears.
"He . . . he really loved you, you know? I know that's what he was going to say," Rose spoke quietly. "He was just . . . being stubborn and an idiot again for not saying it when it mattered. He really should have said it."
"It doesn't matter. I know what he meant and I know that . . . what words he wished to say," Wanda replied quietly.
"Rose, get your friend. We're leaving," Zach ordered the two girls, marching away from the area to go towards the rocket that would take them away from here. The others of the expedition followed after him. Rose appeared torn, knowing she needed to get herself and Wanda to go with them, but . . . the Doctor . . . She gasped when Wanda suddenly pressed herself to the companion, breathing into the girl's ear.
"Rose, when you see his eyes go red, you grab that bolt gun and shoot him straight back to hell," growled the Time Lady in a low tone. "That bastard deserves to die for what he's done here and in the past." Not giving time for the companion to understand or ask what exactly Wanda had meant, the Time Lady was grabbing Rose's hand and dragging her off after the others. Rose blinked in bewilderment, unsure of what to think of Wanda's harsh words and behaviour. But there was something that she had seen. Something that . . . flashed within Wanda's emerald eyes.
Rose could have sworn she had seen a strange, menacing, white glow.
XxXxXxXx
Wanda made certain to sit in the front by Zach. She wanted to be nowhere near Toby when it happened again. When the Beast came out to haunt them. She feared the barrier in her head might finally burst forth and attack from the way it had been continuously pounding within her mind. In fact, it had grown rather painful and she felt weak in the strain of keeping herself level headed and calm as she knew the moment she let her temper out . . . all hell would break loose. Literally.
She heard Toby beginning to chuckle darkly in the back. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Rose sitting right next to the young man, with Danny right next to the side and Jefferson strapped into another section of seats just behind them. Gazing down close at Rose's feet, the bolt gun caught Wanda's eye. She looked up again at Rose. The girl had been watching her look about, noticing how the Time Lady gazed at the tool gun at her feet and then back her at. Rose raised a brow and nodded slightly at the device on the floor. There was a small nod given from the Time Lady, indicating that Rose's assumptions were correct. It best she hold onto that gun. Discreetly reaching down, Rose grabbed the bolt gun and held onto it close in her tight grip, readying herself. Wanda faced the front again, closing her eyes as she focused her thoughts on the Doctor. Her Doctor. Her Theta. Her husband. The one and only person in the whole universe she would ever love.
Please, Theta, I believe in you . . . So believe in Rose and me. She called out in her mind, hoping, praying, that somehow, some way, he would hear this and would be eased into doing the right decision. She felt the rocket around them give a violent jolt, and then begin to descend back towards the planet and the black hole.
"What happened? What was that?" Danny cried out in alarm and terror.
"What's he doing? What's he doing?" Toby questioned in utter disbelief and horror. The rocket spun around as the black hole pulled them back towards where they had left. Out the window, they saw the massive black space dragging them towards their death. No escape.
Wanda looked over her shoulder, seeing Rose looking out the window at the falling planet. Then, the Time Lady saw the glowing red eyes of the Beast and Toby reaching to grab the companion from behind to kill her.
"Rose! Do it now!" Wanda shouted, alarmed in seeing the companion close to being strangled. Rose jerked around, pressing herself back against the wall as Toby began screaming in rage at her.
"I am the rage and the bile and the ferocity! I am the prince and the fall and the enemy!" shouted the Beast in his dark voice. Rose did not wait for him to finish his damn, smug monologue as she aimed the bolt gun in her hands and pointed at the front window of the rocket. She fired, shattering the glass in a burst. The vacuum of space whipped through the ship, pulling at them all with great force to be dragged out into emptiness and the black hole. Rose reached over, unbuckling Toby from his seat and watched as he screamed when being pulled out to space.
Wanda felt the Beast scratch at her cheek as he flew past. She merely smirked at him and stuck out her tongue as they saw him being pulled straight towards the black hole, bellowing along the way. Good riddance. Zach placed on the emergency shields, making it safe for them all inside the ship once more.
"We've stopped him," Rose breathed in a sigh of relief.
"Good job, Rose. You've just beat the Devil," Wanda joked lightly, smiling proudly at her friend. "Now that's a story to tell your mum."
"Oh, don't even think about mentioning this to her," Rose chortled shaking her head.
"Ah, wake up you two," Zach retorted crossly. "We're still being dragged into the black hole."
"Yeah, but not for long," Wanda told him, grinning brightly. Not too soon after she said this did the rocket halt in its shaking and they felt the ship being gently pulled away from the ominous black hole. Wanda and Rose both beamed and cheered when they heard their most favourite Doctor speaking over the comm of the ship.
"Sorry about the hijack, Captain," the Doctor announced cheerfully to them. "This is the good ship TARDIS. Now, first things first, have you got a Rose Tyler and the Wanderer on board?"
"I'm here!" Rose cheered, waving up her hand as if the Doctor could actually see her.
"Hello, sweetie!" Wanda exclaimed happily. She could practically hear the beam on the Doctor's face with his next words.
"And hello to you my lovely, lucky, brilliant, magnificent Wanderer!" he laughed. Wanda giggled throwing her head back in delight as laughter and a wonderful warm feeling spread through her. She could not wait to be back in the Doctor's arms, holding him close and never letting go again. Geez, why did she feel so clingy towards him lately? It was like she could not stand being merely an hour away from him anymore. Was that the way the Doctor usually felt when she was away? At least, this is what Eleven always explained to her in how he felt every time in her departure. And, of course, with them having bonded, that would change some things around.
Wanda gasped as she realized the warmth spreading through her was not just her happiness and joy. She watched as the white light built up around her.
"No," she whispered in disappointment as she was yanked away. Right before the Doctor was about ready to bring both her and Rose aboard to the TARDIS and safe into his arms.
XxXxXxXx
Welp, I hope it was a good surprise at least. Can't say what will come of the next adventure ahead for Wanda and the rest. Hopefully nothing bad. To all those who have reviewed already, thank you so much! I will make certain to reply to all reviews in the next chapter to come! Until next time!
~Tinker~