The three of us left the Tardis, looking around at our surroundings. The moment we had landed, I had a sinking feeling that told me we should leave. While I wanted to act on it, it wasn't my decision to make… it was up to the Doctor really. I smiled, thinking about him. He had come into my room after Rose and I talked. He stayed the night, not sleeping; the two of us just talked until I had kicked him out of the room so that I could shower and change. It was becoming a routine, a nice one to be honest. It only made our bond stronger, even with me refusing to acknowledge what he had previously said and if I were still a bit cross and extremely terrified. While on the outside I faked indifference, inside, I was still a whirlwind of disaster. My thoughts were constantly on the fact that I was nothing more than a piece of his dead lover. With each passing hour, it killed me more and more… especially knowing that he wanted her back, no matter what he seemed to say. Who could deny the person they loved? Shaking my head, I brought my attention to my best friend and the Doctor, only to see him petting the Tardis. Rose had her attention on the sentient ship, a worried expression on her face. "What's wrong with her?"

"I don't know what's wrong though. She's sort of queasy. Indigestion, like she didn't want to land."

"Oh, if you think there's going to be trouble, we could always get back inside and go somewhere else," Rose responded and the two laughed almost hysterically. While they were happy to ignore the obvious warning from the Tardis, I was more than wary. As I stood there examining my surrounding, I could help but feel a sense of déjà vu. Something was going to happen, something that none of us would like and I wanted nothing more than to run back into the Tardis and force the Doctor to fly the three of us away. Yet, while that was what I wanted to do, I knew my companions would never do so. The more dangerous, the better.

"I think we've landed inside a cupboard. Here we go." He took my hand and we walked through the door.

"Open door 15."

"Some sort of base. Moon base, sea base, space base. They build these things out of kits."

"Close door 15."

"Glad we're indoors," Rose commented as a loud noise filled the room. "Sounds like a storm out there."

"Open door 16."

"Human design. You've got a thing about kits. The place was put together like a flat pack wardrobe, only bigger. And easier."

We stepped down to an area with tables and chairs and a big 3 on the wall. "Open door 17."

"Oh, it's a sanctuary base."

"Close door 17."

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

"Welcome to hell."

"Oh, it's not that bad."

"No, over there," Rose said as she pointed to a wall that had the walls painted in big red paint, laughing. Underneath there was alien script written vertically. She only stopped when the Doctor didn't join in.

The Doctor ran over. "Hold on, what does that say? That's weird, it won't translate."

"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. We should find out who's in charge." He released my hand and spun the wheel on another bulkhead door. "We've gone beyond the reach of the Tardis' knowledge. Not a good move. And if someone's lucky enough…"

"Open door 19." When it opened, aliens with tentacles where noses and mouths should be were standing on the other side. They had a tube coming out from behind the tentacles that ended with a white globe that they held. I grabbed onto the Doctor's arm, shaking in fear as a nightmare I'd had when I first met him hit me. It wasn't the moment that I had seen but I knew it was coming and I knew it would be my death.

He looked down at me curiously before returning his attention to the creatures. "Oh! Right. Hello. Sorry. I was just saying, er, nice base."

"We must feed."

"You've got to what?"

"We must feed."

"Yeah, I think they mean us."

The creatures entered the room, crowding around us as be backed away, the Doctor pushing me behind him. "We must feed. We must feed. We must feed. We must feed." More creatures entered the room chanting the same thing. The Doctor pulled out his sonic pushed me behind him while Rose picked up a bright yellow chair. I groaned, feeling like a helpless victim or a damsel in distress. Moving from behind him, I grabbed the closest thing I could find which was a metal pipe.

"We must feed," one said, before shaking and tapping the globe. "You, if you are hungry."

"Sorry?" the Doctor asked, lowering the sonic.

"We apologise. Electromagnetics have interfered with speech systems. Would you like some refreshment?" Rose placed the chair back down and I did the same with the pipe.

"Um…"

"Open door 18."

Three people entered the room, two men and a woman, the younger man and woman wielding guns. "What the hell? How did…" the older gentleman asked. The creatures moved aside, letting the humans come up to us. The one in the front held up his wrist, speaking into it. "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."

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

"I suggest telling them that."

"But you're a sort of space base. You must have visitors now and then. It can't be that impossible," Rose stated.

"You're telling me you don't know where you are?"

"No idea. More fun that way." I rolled my eyes at him.

A woman's voice came over the speakers. "Stand by, everyone. Buckle down. We have incoming. And it's a big one. Quake point five on its way."

The man opened a door as the base began to violently tremor. "Through here, now. Quickly, come on! Move!" We ran through, hearing banging overhead as well as an alarm. "Move it! Come on! Keep moving. Come on! Quickly! Move it!"

We found ourselves in a control room with people working at the panels. They looked up, eyes wide in shock. "Oh my God. You meant it."

"People! Look at that, real people!"

"That's us. Hooray!"

"Yeah, definitely real. My name's Rose," she waved, "Rose Tyler, this is my sister Cerys and this is the Doctor." I waved, warily eyeing the creatures. Something about them didn't feel right to me.

"Come on, the oxygen must be offline. We're hallucinating. They can't be." An Indian man came over, poking my arm. "No, they're real."

"Come on, we're in the middle of an alert! 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?" Taking his advice, Rose and I grabbed hold to one side of the railing as the Doctor grabbed the other side.

"Your kindness in this emergency is much appreciated."

"What's this planet called, anyway?"

"Now, don't be stupid. It hasn't got a name. How could it have a name?" The Doctor tilted his head. "You really don't know, do you?"

"And impact!"

The place shock for few seconds, pugnaciously thrashing us about. I kept my hold on a railing, feeling that wasn't the end of it.

"Oh, well, that wasn't so bad," The Doctor said he released the railing, only for the place to shake again, much worse than the last time. Around us the consoles erupted into flames, lights sparked, and valves opened leaving smoke everywhere.

"Okay, that's it." The man who'd led us into the room rushed forward with a fire extinguisher in hand, quickly killing the flames. "Everyone alright? Speak to me, Ida."

"Yeah, yeah."

"Danny?"

"Fine."

"Toby?"

"Yeah, fine."

"Scooti?"

"No damage."

"Jefferson?"

"Check!"

"We're fine, thanks, fine. Yeah, don't worry about us," the Doctor said before checking on Rose and me.

"The surface caved in," the black man, the captain, said, looking at the base's schematics. "I deflected it onto storage five through eight. We've lost them completely. Toby, go and check the rocket link."

"That's not my department."

"Just do as I say, yeah?"

I watched as he left, muttering to himself. "Oxygen holding. Internal gravity fifty six point six. We should be okay."

"Never mind the earthquake, that's, that's one hell of a storm. What is that, a hurricane?"

"You'd need an atmosphere for a hurricane. There's no air out there. It's a complete vacuum."

"Then what's shaking the roof?"

"You're not joking. You really don't know. Well introductions. FYI- as they said in the olden days. I'm Ida Scott, science officer," the older woman said as she joined us in our corner. "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," he said with a smile.

"And that man who just left, that was Toby Zed, Archaeology, and," she began, walking over to the younger blonde and placing her hands on her shoulders for a moment, "is Scooti Manista, Trainee maintenance. And this…this is home." Ida pulled down a lever.

"Brace yourselves. The sight of it sends some people mad." The shutters pulled back to show a white hot, angry, disc with a black centre and black dots falling into it.

"That's a black hole," Rose stated.

"But that's impossible."

"I did warn you," the captain said.

"We're standing under a black hole."

"In orbit," Ida corrected.

"But we can't be…"

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

"But we can't be."

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

"And that's bad, yeah?"

"Bad doesn't cover it. 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," the Doctor said, absentmindedly taking my hand as he spoke to the crew. I remained silent, thinking and trying to figure out what exactly was happening.

"And yet, here we are, beyond the laws of physics. Welcome on board."

"But if there's no atmosphere out there, what's that?" Rose asked, motioning to the debris and what looked like clouds moving towards the black hole.

"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." There was another shake and the door opened, with Toby entering the room.

"The rocket link's fine," Toby said as he entered the room and placed the three rolls of what looked like plans down on the surface behind him.

Zach pulled up a hologram over the central control and we crowded around it to look. "That's the black hole, officially designated K three seven Gen five."

"In the scriptures of the Falltino," Ida started, "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, 'cause it was poison."

"The bitter pill. I like that."

"Course you would, Rosie," I smirked, bumping her with my hip. She smiled, throwing her arm around my shoulder.

"We are so far out. Lost in the drifts of the universe. How did you even get here?"

"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," Zach explained. "And the field extends out there as a funnel. A distinct gravity funnel, reaching out into clear space. That was our way in."

"You flew down that thing? Like a rollercoaster?"

"By rights, the ship should have been torn apart. We lost the Captain, which is what put me in charge."

"You're doing a good job," Ida reminded him.

"Yeah, well, needs must."

"But if that gravity funnel closes, there's no way out."

"We had fun speculating about that."

"Oh, yeah. That's the word," Danny said, bopping Scooti on the head with one of the plans. "Fun."

"But that field would take phenomenal amounts of power. I mean not just big, but off the scale!" He moved towards the console pulling me with him. He gave them a questioning glance. "Can I?"

Ida handed him a calculator. "Sure. Help yourself."

I watched him work, intrigued. I let out a sharp breath when I calculated just how much power was needed... without the use of the calculator. The Doctor looked up at me, his eyes urging me to speak. "It would need a power source with an inverted self-extrapolating reflex of six to the power of six every six seconds to generate that gravity field and funnel."

"That's a lot of sixes."

"And it's impossible."

It took us two years to work that out."

"She's very good," the Doctor replied, hugging me.

"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."

"It's giving off readings over ninety stats on the Blazon scale."

"It could revolutionise modern science."

"We could use it to fuel the Empire."

"Or start a war." The Doctor removed his specs.

"It's buried beneath us, in the darkness, waiting," Toby said. My eyes shot to him, examining him curiously.

"What's your job, chief dramatist?" I smirked at Rose's quip.

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

"We saw the lettering written on the wall. Did you do that?"

"I copied it from fragments we found unearthed by the drilling, but I can't translate it."

"No, neither can I. And that's saying something."

"There was some form of civilisation. They buried something. Now it's reaching out, calling us in."

"And you came."

"Well, how could we not?" Zach turned off the hologram.

"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, er, Zach, wasn't it?"

"That's me."

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

"I suppose." The Doctor looked down at me and I shrugged.

"Here we go. Come on then." He released me and went to hug Zach. "Oh, human beings. You are amazing! Ha! Thank you." He ended the hug and came over to me, taking my hand again. Rose laughing as he did so.

"Not at all."

"But 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. And how the hell did you get here?"

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

"We can show you, we parked down the corridor from er…Oh, what's it called? Habitation area…"

"Three."

"Three. Three."

"Do you mean storage six?"

"It was a bit of a cupboard, yeah. Storage six. But you said- you said- you said storage five to eight." The Doctor ran out, dragging me along with him.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Rose asked as she ran after us.

"Open door 19. Close door 19."

"Open the door! Come on!"

"Open door 17. Open door 15. Door 16 out of commission."

"It can't be. It can't be!" Seeing his distress, I grabbed his face, forcing him to look into my eyes until he calmed down.

"Door 16 out of commission."

"What's wrong? What is it? Doctor, the Tardis is in there. What's happened?"

When I saw that he we calm enough, I released my grip on his face so that he could talk to Rose. "The Tardis is gone." He grabbed my waist, pulling me to him and resting his chin atop my head.

"Door 16 out of commission."

"The earthquake. This section collapsed."

"But it's got to be out there somewhere." She looked through the porthole in the bulkhead door.

"Look down," he said before he led us back to the control room. Rose stood on the side as the Doctor and I went over to Zach. He hadn't released his hold on me since I'd calmed him. "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."

"We can't divert the drilling."

"But I need my ship. It's the only thing I've got besides Cerys. Literally the only things." I blushed and looked down at my shoes. I could feel Rose's gaze on me, practically seeing the smile that had come to her face.

"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."

"I'll er… put you on the duty roster. We need someone in the laundry," Ida stated before she left the room as well, leaving the three of us alone with a single Ood.

"Open door one. Close door one."

The Doctor sighed and pulled me with him as he went over to Rose. "I've trapped you here."

"No, don't worry about us." The base trembled some more. "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 us," Rose chuckled before she came and hugged me.

Back in habitation three, I sat around the area staring into space, letting my mind wander wherever it pleased. I was with the Doctor as he examined the alien script and Rose had gone to get food. I tried to understand it but I could only feel my fear and the urge to run. There was something wrong with the place and it scared me more than anything. Whatever was here, it was evil and more dangerous than anyone really thought. I stifled a shiver that tried to make its way up my spine. The flickering lights did nothing to aid my terror. Sensing my discomfort, the Doctor pulled me over to where Rose was sitting, setting me down in a chair before sitting in the one beside me.

"Zach? Have we got a problem?" Ida asked through her communicator as the lights flickered on and off.

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

"You might want to see this. Moment in history." She switched a lever and opened the shutters. "There. On the edge. That red cloud? That used to be the Scarlet System. Home to the Peluchi, a mighty civilisation spanning a billion years, disappearing forever... Their planets and suns consumed. Ladies and gentlemen, we have witnessed its passing."

"Er, no, could you leave it open? Just for a bit. I won't go mad, I promise," the Doctor asked as she went to close the shutters.

"How would you know?" Ida asked.

"He already is."

She smirked and walked away. "Scooti, check the lockdown. Jefferson, sign off the airlock seals for me." The two left through doors 17 and 19 while Ida used 18.

"Open door 18."

"I've seen films and things, yeah. They say black holes are like gateways to another universe."

"Close door 18."

"Not that one. It just eats."

"Long way from home."

"Go that way, turn right, keep going for er, about, er, five hundred years, and you'll reach the Earth."

She turned her phone on. "No signal. That's the first time we've gone out of range. Mind you, even if I could. What would I tell her? Can you build another Tardis?" She handed the phone to me. I fiddled with it as I listened to them talk.

"They were grown, not built. And with my own planet gone, we're kind of stuck."

"Well, it could be worse. This lot said they'd give us a lift."

"And then what?"

"I don't know. Find a planet, get a job, live a life- same as the rest of the universe."

"I'd have to settle down... Get a house or something. A proper house with- with doors and things. Carpets. Me, living in a house. Now that… that is terrifying."

"You'd have to get a mortgage," Rose teased in a sing song voice.

"No."

"Oh yes."

"I'm dying. That's it. I'm dying. It is all over." I chuckled at his dramatics.

"What about me? I'd have to get one, too. I don't know, could be the same one. We could all live together. We could share. Mind you, I wouldn't want to hear any banging in the night," she said, throwing a wink my way. I gaped at her, my cheeks heating up as I quickly looked down at the table. She broke out in laughter. "We'll sort something out."

The Doctor cleared his throat and I saw his arm reach up, no doubt to rub the back of his neck. "Anyway."

"We'll see."

"I promised Jackie I'd always take you back home."

"Everyone leaves home in the end."

"Not to end up stuck here."

"Yeah, but stuck with you two, that's not bad."

"Yeah?"

"Yes."

I looked down as the phone rang. Gingerly, I answered it. "He is awake." I yelped, throwing the phone and jumping up. Rose and the Doctor looked at me in alarm before he grabbed me and pulled me into his chest.

"What is it? What happened?" the Doctor asked.

"We shouldn't be here. We should have left."

"Where's your sense of adventure Cerys?"

"Rose, this is serious." I closed my eyes, calming myself. Opening them, I looked up at the pair. "We need to get to Ood habitation."

"Evening," the Doctor said as we entered Ood habitation, where Danny was stationed and typing away at a computer.

"Only us."

"The mysterious trio. How are you, then? Settling in?"

"Yeah. Sorry, straight to business, the Ood how do they communicate? I mean, with each other."

"Oh, just empaths. There's a low level telepathic field connecting them. Not that that does them much good. They're basically a herd race. Like cattle." The Ood sat on a bench under the catwalk. I watched them for any sign of movement.

"This telepathic field. Can it pick up messages?"

"Because I was having dinner, and one of the Ood said something… well, odd."

"Hmm. An odd Ood."

"And then Cerys got something else on my er, communicator thing."

"Oh, be fair. We've got whole star systems burning up around us. There's all sorts of stray transmissions. Probably nothing." He glanced down at his clipboard before returning his gaze to us. "Look, if there was something wrong, it would show. We monitor the telepathic field. It's the only way to look after them. They're so stupid, they don't even tell us when they're ill."

"Monitor the field. That's this thing?" the Doctor asked, pointing to the monitor that read Basic 5.

"Yeah. But like I said, it's low level telepathy. They only register basic five."

I watched as the numbers increased. "Well, that's not basic five. Ten… twenty. They've gone up to basic thirty." I jumped as the Ood lifted their heads.

"But they can't."

"Doctor, the Ood." The Doctor and Rose turned to the railing, looking down while I stayed near the door. I didn't want to be there. I wanted to be back in the Tardis, away from it all but that was obviously idealistic. "What does basic thirty mean?"

"Well, it means that they're shouting, screaming inside their heads."

"Or at them," I whispered.

"But where is it coming from? What is it saying? What did it say to you?"

"Something about the beast in the pit," Rose answered.

"What about your communicator? What did it say?"

I glanced up and took a breath. "He is awake."

"And you will worship him," all the Ood said, their voices eerily echoed.

"What the hell?"

The Doctor placed his hands on the railing. "He is awake."

"And you will worship him."

"Worship who?" The Ood remained silent. "Who's talking to you? Who is it?"

The base shook again, forcing us to the floor. The Doctor and Rose ran up from where the Ood sat. "Emergency hull breach. Emergency hull breach."

"Which section?"

Zach then came on the comms. "Everyone, evacuate eleven to thirteen. We've got a breach. The base is open. Repeat, the base is open!"

"Open door 19." We ran into habitation 3. "Close door 19."

"I can't contain the oxygen field. We're going to lose it."

We ran into the corridor where we wound Jefferson and other crew members. "Come on! Keep moving!" Other crew members came from other directions. "And you too, Toby!" He ran in, falling to the ground.

"Breach sealed. Breach sealed."

"Everyone alright? What happened? What was it?"

"Oxygen levels normal."

"Hull breach. We were open to the elements. Another couple of minutes and we'd have been inspecting that black hole at close quarters." Rose helped Toby up as I warily eyed at him. Something was off about the man, something evil.

"That wasn't a quake. What caused it?"

"We've lost sections eleven to thirteen Everyone all right?"

"We've got everyone here except Scooti," Jefferson said. "Scooti, report. Scooti Manista? That's an order. Report."

"She's all right. I've picked up her biochip. She's in habitation three. Better go and check if she's not responding. She might be unconscious. How about that, eh? We survived."

"Habitation three. Come on. I don't often say this, but I think we could all do with a drink. Come on."

"What happened?" the Doctor asked Toby as he sat on the floor. I inched away from him, immediately knowing he was part of the problem, that something was very wrong with him.

"I don't. I don't know. I was working and then I can't remember. All- all that noise. The room was falling apart. There was no air-"

"Come on. Up you get. Come and have some protein one," Rose said helping the man up.

"Oh, you've gone native."

"Oi, don't knock it. It's nice. Protein one with just a dash of three."

When we reached habitation three, Scooti was nowhere to be found. I fidgeted with my bracelet, worried for the girl. "I've checked Habitation four. Can you hear me?" Ida said.

"There's no sign of her. The biochip says she's in the area. Have any of you seen Scooti?"

"No, no, no. I don't think so."

"Scooti, please respond. If you can hear this, please respond. Habitation six."

"Nowhere here. Zach? We've got a problem. Scooti's still missing."

"It says habitation three."

"Yeah, well, that's where I am, and I'm telling you she's not here."

I tugged at the Doctor, motioning outside where I saw Scooti floating past. I turned into him, not wanting to look at the girl. His arms wound around me and he pulled me closer, shielding me from the sight even more. "I've found her." They all looked through the open shutters to what I had already seen.

"Oh my God."

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"Captain. Report Officer Scootori Manista PKD, deceased. Forty three K two point one."

"She was twenty. Twenty years old."

Ida closed the shutters as Jefferson began to quote Horiatis by Thomas Babington Macaulay. "For how should man die better than facing fearful odds? For the ashes of his father and the temples of his Gods."

"It's stopped," Ida stated as the base was eerily silent.

"What was that? What was it?"

"The drill."

"We've stopped drilling. We've made it. Point Zero."

We all ran to the drilling area, most excited about the feat. I on the other had couldn't have been more worried. "All non-essential Oods to be confined," Danny said over the tannoy.

"Capsule established. All systems functioning. The mineshaft is go. Bring systems online now." The Doctor and Ida were both in bright orange spacesuits. I felt my breathing grow shallow at the sight of him, realizing he was going down.

"Reporting as a volunteer for the expeditionary force."

"Doctor, this is breaking every single protocol. We don't even know who you are."

"Yeah, but you trust me, don't you? And you can't let Ida go down there on her own. Go on. Look me in the eye. Yes you do, I can see it. Trust."

"I should be going down."

"The Captain doesn't lead the mission. He stays here, in charge."

"Not much good at it, am I?" I watched the Doctor make a face before Zach walked off. "Positions! We're going down in two. Everyone, positions! Mister Jefferson! I want maximum system enhancement."

Rose and I walked over to the Doctor. "Oxygen, nitro balance, gravity. It's been ages since I wore one of these."

"I want that spacesuit back in one piece, you got that?"

"Yes sir." As he started to put on the helmet, I grabbed his arm, pulling him away from the group. "I'll be fine, Cerys."

"You can't promise me that."

"Would you prefer I stay up here?"

"I wouldn't ask you to do that."

"You could though."

"I know." I looked away for a moment before looking into his chocolate eyes. "Just try to be safe. Nothing stupid."

"I can do safe." I gave a half-hearted smile. "I always come back." I nodded and he grabbed my chin and lifted my head up until our lips met. "Promise." I gave another nod and stepped back, putting on his helmet. We then walked back over to Rose.

"It's funny, because people back home think that space travel's going to be all whizzing about and teleports and anti-gravity… but it's not, is it? It's tough."

"I'll see you later," he told her.

"Not if we see you first." He smiled at us and Rose kissed the helmet and backed away.

"Capsule active. Counting down in ten, nine, eight, seven, six." The Doctor and Ida entered the capsule and Jefferson closed the door. "Five, four, three, two, one. Release." The capsule is lowered on its cable. I barely noticed Toby watching his hand as Rose and I watched their progress on the screen. Rose was holding onto the microphone for dear life. "You've gone beyond the oxygen field. You're on your own."

"Don't forget to breath. Breathing's good." I chuckled at her as she took in a few deep breaths.

"Rose, stay off the comm."

"No chance." We stood there for a moment watching the monitor before the area violently shook and almost knocked us to the grated floor. "Doctor? Doctor, are you all right?"

I checked the screen to see it said the capsule had reached Point Zero. "Ida, report to me. Doctor?" Zach called to them through the communicator.

"It's all right. We've made it. Getting out of the capsule now."

"What's it like down there?" Rose asked.

"It's hard to tell. Some sort of… cave. Cavern. It's massive."

"Well, this should help. Gravity globe. That's… that's… my God, that's beautiful."

"Rose, you can tell Toby we've found his civilization."

I watched as Rose turned to Toby. "Oi, Toby. Sounds like you've got plenty of work."

"Good, good, good."

"Concentrate now, people. Keep on the mission. Ida, what about the power source?"

"We're close. Energy signature indicates north, north west. Are you getting pictures up there?"

"There's too much interference. We're in your hands."

"Well, we've come this far. There's no turning back."

"Oh, did you have to? No turning back? That's almost as bad as nothing can possible go wrong, or this is going to be the best Christmas Walford's ever had."

I grabbed the microphone from Rose's hand. "Well, you're finally learning," I laughed before returning it to her.

"Yeah, well…" I laughed some more, seeing him rubbing the back of his neck.

"Are you finished?"

"Yeah. Finished.

Then Danny came over the comms. "Captain, sir. There's something happening with the Ood."

"What are they doing?"

"They're staring at me. I've told them to stop, but they won't."

"Danny, you're a big boy. I think you can take being stared at."

"But the telepathic field, sir. It's at basic one hundred. I've checked. There isn't any fault. It's definitely one hundred."

"But that's impossible."

"What's basic one hundred mean?"

"They should be dead."

"Basic one hundred's brain death."

"But they're safe. They're not actually moving?"

"No, sir."

"Keep watching them. And you, Jefferson? Keep a guard on the Ood."

"Officers at arms!" Jefferson ordered as he and the other officers retrieved their guns.

"Yes sir."

"You can't fire a gun in here. What if you hit a wall?"

"I'm firing stock fifteen. It only impacts upon organics. Keep watch. Guard them," Jefferson said as he motioned to the few Ood in the room.

"Yes sir."

"Is everything alright up there?"

Rose and I looked at each other before she handed me the mic. "Yeah, nothing we can't deal with."

"Good. We've found something. 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."

"The edge is covered with those symbols."

"Do you think it opens?"

"That's what trapdoors tend to do."

"Trapdoor doesn't do it justice. It's massive, Zach. About thirty feet in diameter."

"Any way of opening it?"

"I don't know. I can't see any mechanism."

"I suppose that's the writing. It'll tell us what to do. The letters that defy translation."

"Toby, did you get anywhere with decoding it?"

Rose turned over to Toby. "Toby, they need to know that lettering. Does it make any sort of sense?"

"I know what it says." I jerked my head up, looking at Toby, seeing his head practically between his legs.

"Then tell them," she said as she moved towards him. I quickly reached out and grabbed Rose, pulling her away from him.

"When did you work that out?"

"It doesn't matter, just tell them."

Toby turned around, his body covered in the same symbols and his eyes were a bright red. "These are the words of the Beast. And he has woken. He is the heart that beats in the darkness. He is the blood that will never cease. And now he will rise." His voice was deeper than I'd ever heard it.

Jefferson stood before us, aiming his gun at Toby. "Officer, stand down. Stand down."

"What is it? What's he done? What's happening? Rose, Cerys, what's going on?"

"Jefferson? Report. Report!"

"Officer, as Commander of Security, I order you to stand down and be confined. Immediately!" Toby spread his arms, stretching before lowering them and cracking his neck.

"He's come out in those symbols all over his face. They're all over him," Rose said into the microphone.

"Mister Jefferson. Tell me, sir. Did your wife ever forgive you?"

"I don't know what you mean."

"Let me tell you a secret. She never did."

"Don't listen to him, Jefferson," I said, turning Toby's attention to me.

It seemed as if Toby were to say something but was interrupted by Jefferson, much to my relief. The way he stared at me, offered more than just the feeling of discomfort. "Officer, you stand down and be confined."

"Or what?"

"Or under the strictures of Condition Red, I am authorised to shoot you."

"But how many can you kill?" Toby's eyes glowed brighter as he opened his mouth and the symbols left him, floating to the Ood who jerked. Toby coughed and collapsed to the grated floor. Jefferson cocked his gun as the Ood faced us, their eyes glowing the same red as Toby's did.

"We are the Legion of the Beast."

"Rose? What is it, Cerys? I'm going back up."

"Report. Report! Jefferson, report. Someone, report!"

The balls in the Ood's hands lit up. "The Legion shall be many, and the Legion shall be few."

"It's the Ood."

"Sir, we have contamination in the livestock."

"Doctor, it's the Ood. They've been possessed," I said before I handed the mic to Rose and fell to the floor, clutching my head. It hurt, it hurt so much and there was nothing I could do. The more the Ood spoke, the more darkness entered my thoughts, all the anger and pain I'd ever felt. An overwhelming darkness manifested within me, one unlike any I'd ever felt. Just as I was going to give into it, I felt Rose's hand on my shoulder, calling my name.

"They won't listen to us."

"Doctor, there's something wrong with Cerys! I don't know what to do."

"Get her up and keep her safe, Rose." I felt myself being lifted and led away.

"He has woven himself in the fabric of your life since the dawn of time. Some may call him Abaddon. Some may call him Kroptor. Some may call him Satan or Lucifer."

"Captain, it's the Ood. They're out of control!"

"Or the Bringer of Despair, the Deathless Prince, the Bringer of Night. These are the words that shall set him free."

"Back up to the door!" Rose, the other officers, and myself ran to the door, with Jefferson in the rear, moving towards us with his gun at the ready.

"I shall become manifest."

"Move quickly!"

"I shall walk in might."

"To the door! Get it open!"

"My Legions shall swarm across the worlds."

The base began to shake again, more violently than before. I stumbled, barely catching myself before I fell onto my face. "We're moving! The whole thing's moving. The planet's moving."

"I am the sin and the temptation and the desire. I am the pain and the loss and the-"

"Get that door open!"

"The gravity field. It's going! We're losing orbit! We're going to fall into the black hole!"

"I have been imprisoned for eternity. But no more."

"Door sealed."

"Come on!" I heard Rose cry as she kicked the door. I opened my eyes, pushing away the pain I felt. I straightened up, getting my balance. "Cerys, you alright?"

"I'll manage. Right now, we have to get out of here."

"Door sealed."

"Thanks for the reminder," I snapped. "Now, this Beast, it's controlling everything around us. Rose, do me a favour and stay away from Toby. Trust me on this." She nodded. As I was about to say something else a voice came through the comms.

"The Pit is open. And I am free. Bwahahahahahaha!" Ignoring the pain that came along with it, I went to help them get the doors open.

We are finally up to the Impossible Planet and thus towards the end of Rose :(. I know I made it seem as if everything is fine between the Doctor and Cerys but there is definitely a reason to that madness.

But what about the effect Cerys is having? I wonder what's causing it and why... Curious, isn't it? I can guarantee that all will be answered soon, just not too soon haha.

So, I was thinking of giving a sneak peek for an upcoming chapter at the end of the next one. What do you guys think? It's more of a thank you to everyone who's read and enjoyed the story since I've started it... even with the gaps between my updates, something that has been a recent thing for the past 2 months. I want to try updating everyday but I can get pretty forgetful and lazy... plus, I want to get far enough so that I'm not rushing to post a new chapter and write the next. So far, I have a good amount written but I would like to have some more done and fleshed out, which is my main problem at the moment. I've just been writing it and adding in after I've finished a few episodes. But enough of that. Thanks to everyone who reads, enjoys, and reviews the story. I appreciate it. Be sure to let me know what you think about the sneak peeks.