Her Secrets

by Marvel'sWhovian

Cerys has always lived life on the sidelines. She was a quiet observer. One night she meets a mysterious man who's first words to her are "Run!" From that moment she is hooked. As time goes by she learns that she's not just ordinary. There's more to her that meets the eye and in the end, it could destroy everything. She is impossible and she has a secret that no one must know.

37. The Satan Pit

"Open fire!" Jefferson ordered as he and the guards began to shoot at the Ood as they approached us.

"We're stabilizing. We've got orbit."

Giving me another look over, Rose ran back to the comm. "Doctor?" There was nothing but static. "Doctor, can you hear me? Doctor, Ida, are you there?"

"Open door 25."

Jefferson and the guard readied themselves only to see it was Danny. "It's me! But they're coming."

"Close door 25."

"It's the Ood. They've gone mad."

"How many of them?"

"All of them! All Fifty!"

"Danny, out of the way. Out of the way!"

"But they're armed! It's the interface device. I don't know how but they're using it as a weapon."

"Open door 25."

Jefferson opened the door and the leading Ood placed it's globe on a guard's forehead. She screamed and collapsed. As she fell, Jefferson started shooting at them.

"Seal door 24. Seal door 23."

"Jefferson, what's happening there?"

"I've got very little ammunition, sir. How about you?"

"All I've got is a bolt gun. With er, all of one bolt. I could take out a grand total of one Ood. Fat lot of good that is."

"Given the emergency I recommend strategy nine."

"Strategy nine, agreed. Right, we need to get everyone together. Rose? What about Ida and the Doctor? Any word?"

"I can't get a reply. Just nothing. I keep trying but it's-"

"No, sorry, I'm fine. Still here," the Doctor said although his voice was covered by static.

I rushed over and snatched the mic from Rose. "Do you know how long she's been trying to contact you? You should have said something you idiot! We were worried sick about you! When you get back up here I'm going to murder you, you stupid-"

"Whoa. Careful! Anyway, it's both of us. Me and Ida." His voice was tight, almost as if he knew I meant my threat. "Hello. But the seal opened up. It's gone. All we've got left is this- chasm."

"How deep is it?"

"Can't tell. It looks like it goes down forever."

"The pit is open. That's what the voice said."

But there's nothing. I mean there's nothing coming out?"

"No, no. No sign of the Beast."

"It said Satan," Rose said.

"Come on, Rose. Keep it together."

"Is there no such thing? Doctor?" He was silent. "Doctor, tell us there's no such thing." Before he could answer, Zach came over the comm.

"Ida? I recommend that you withdraw. Immediately."

"But, we've come all this way."

"Okay, that was an order. Withdraw. When that thing opened, the whole planet's shifted. One more inch and we fall into the black hole. So this thing stops right now."

"But it's not much better up there with the Ood."

"I'm initiating strategy nine, so I need the two of you back up top immediately. No ar- Ida. Ida!"

There was silence over the comms. While I wanted nothing more than for him to come back up, I knew the Doctor well enough to not even think of asking. The man was always up for danger, always wanting to learn more and I didn't want to deny him that. At the same time, however, I knew I'd feel a lot safer with him with us. Sighing, we waited until the comms came to life. "Rose, Cerys, we're coming back."

"Best news we've heard all day," she said with a smile, only for it to fade when she saw Jefferson cock his rifle and point it at Toby. "What're you doing?"

I ignored them, bringing my attention to the comms. Something was nagging me and it made me uneasy. "Doctor… this Beast, it's not going to let you up that easily. It's baiting us- using fear against us. Right now, Jefferson has his gun pointed at Toby, not that I blame him. I have my reasons, not that I can explain them at the moment... just be a bit more aware."

"Will do, dear."

"Okay, we're in. Bring us up," Ida said.

I watched Jefferson come over to the controls and turned to see Rose hugging Toby. She caught my eyes and shrugged as I urged her to move away from him. "Ascension in three, two, one." As he hit the switch, the power died.

"This is the darkness. This is my domain." The monitors showed images of the Ood. "You little things that live in the light, clinging to your feeble suns which die in the-" I grimaced, trying to ignore the pain. It hurt so much and felt as if something were trying to claw into my brain, trying to tear me apart.

"That's not the Ood. Something's talking through them."

"Only the darkness remains."

"This is Captain Zachary Cross Flane of Sanctuary Base Six, representing the Torchwood archive. You will identify yourself."

"You know my name."

"What do you want?"

"You will die here. All of you. This planet is your grave."

"It's him. It's him. It's him."

"Toby," I started, "do me a favour and zip it."

"If you are the Beast, then answer me this. Which one, hmm? Cos the universe has been busy since you've been gone. There's more religions than there are planets in the sky. The Archiphets, Orkology, Christianity, Pash-Pash, New Judaism, San Klah, Church of the Tin Vagabond. Which devil are you?" the Doctor asked.

"All of them."

"What, then you're the truth behind the myth?"

"This one knows me as I know him. The killer of his own kind."

"How did you end up on this rock?"

"The Disciples of the Light rose up against me and chained me in the pit for all eternity."

"When was this?"

"Before time?"

"What does that mean?"

"Before time."

"What does before time mean?"

"Before time and light and space and matter. Before the cataclysm. Before this universe was created."

"That's impossible. No life could have existed back then."

"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. The scientist, still running from Daddy. The little boy who lied. The virgin. The lost girl, so far away from home. The valiant child who will die in battle so very soon. And the daughter of time who will soon take her life. Her greatest fear coming to pass." I froze, the words hitting me to the core. I couldn't understand how it would know of my greatest fear. The more I thought of it, the harder it was to breathe. It wasn't until Rose grabbed my hand did I feel some comfort… that I felt somewhat better.

"Doctor, what does that mean?"

"Don't listen, Rose, Cerys."

"What does it mean?"

"You will die and I will live." The image was replaced to a red roaring horned beast.

"What the hell was that?"

"I had that thing inside my head."

"Doctor, what did it mean?"

"What do we do? Jefferson?"

"Captain? What's the situation on strategy nine?"

"Zach, what do we do?"

"The planet the orbit, the black hole. Everything's true."

"Captain, report."

"We've lost pictures, Mister Jefferson."

"Doctor, how did it know all of-" Rose asked as I grabbed my head and grit my teeth as everyone spoke at once.

"Did anyone get an anal-"

"Jefferson."

"Shut up."

"What did it mean?"

"Please, shut up." I cried. When they all continued on, I called for the Doctor.

"Everyone, just stop."

"What do we do?"

"Report."

There was feedback through the comms and everyone finally quieted. "You want voices in the dark then listen to mine. That thing is playing on very basic fears. Darkness, childhood nightmares, all that stuff."

"But that's how the devil works."

"And a good psychologist," I said to Danny as I straightened up, still feeling the throbbing but trying to work through it.

"Yeah, but how did it know about my father?"

"Okay, but what makes his version of the truth any better than mine, hmm? Cos I'll tell you what I can see. Humans. Brilliant humans. Humans who 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 elders, his juniors, his friends. All with one advantage. The Beast is alone. We are not. If we can use that to fight against him-" There was a snap, a loud bang and then nothing.

Rose and I scrambled to the comms. "Doctor, we lost the cable! Doctor, are you all right? Doctor!"

"Comms are down."

"Doctor? Doctor, can you hear me?"

"I've still got life signs, but we lost the capsule."

"Say something. Are you there?"

"There's no way out. They're stuck down there."

Rose moved over to my crouched figure and placed her arms around my shoulders, trying her best to comfort me. "But we've got to bring them back."

"They're ten miles down. We haven't got another ten miles of cable." There was banging at door 25. "Captain? Situation report."

"It's the Ood. They're cutting through the door bolts. They're breaking in."

"Yeah, it's the same on door 25."

"How long's it going to take?"

"Well, it's only a basic frame. It should take ten minutes." Another bolt was cut. "Eight."

"I've got a security frame. It might last a bit longer, but that doesn't help you."

"Right. So we need to stop them, or get out, or both."

"I'll take both, yeah? But how?"

"Look, there's a reason this Beast cut the Doctor off," I snapped, the pain finally getting to me. Along with the pain, there was the fear that I'd never see the Doctor again and that was something I truly dreaded. "He was the only one making sense. Instead of letting your fears get the best of you, use your brains. Toby, stand in the corner facing the wall."

"What? Why?"

"Because I said so! Rose, you're turn."

She nodded and faced the others. "Come on! For starters, we need some lights. There's got to be some sort of power somewhere."

"There's nothing I can do. Some Captain, stuck in here, pressing buttons."

"Shut up, Zach and believe in yourself. All you have to do is press the right buttons."

"They've gutted the generators. But the rocket's got an independent supply. If I could reroute that... Mister Jefferson? Open the bypass conduits. Override the safety."

Jefferson began to do as was said. "Opening bypass conduits, sir."

"Channelling rocket feed in three, two, one. Power." The lights came on and Rose clapped.

Rose clapped, a huge grin on her face. "There we go."

"Let there be light!"

"What about that strategy nine thing?"

"Not enough power. It needs a hundred percent," Jefferson answered.

"All right, we need a way out. Zach, Mister Jefferson, you start working on that. Toby, what about you?"

"Toby is currently in the corner."

"I'm not a soldier. I can't do anything."

Rose turned to me and we had a silent argument. I sighed, giving in, as I usually did. "No, you're the archaeologist. What do you know about the pit?"

"Well, nothing. We can't even translate the language."

"Right," Rose said, turning away from him.

"Hold on. Maybe…"

"What is it?"

"Since that thing was inside my head, it's like the letters made more sense."

"Well, get to work. Anything you can translate, just anything. As for you, Danny boy. You're in charge of the Ood. Any way of stopping them?"

"Well, I don't know."

"Then find out." Rose pulled him to the computer. "The sooner we get control of the Base, the sooner we can get the Doctor out. Get going. Shift."

I walked over to Rose, wrapping my arm around her shoulders. "You're loving this, aren't you?"

"So much," she laughed before sobering up. "How're you feeling?"

"Like crap but I can manage. Been through worse, you know."

"Yeah."

"Open junctions five, six, seven." The door sparked again as another bolt was cut. "Reroute filters sixteen to twenty four. Go."

"There's all sorts of viruses that could stop the Ood," Danny said annoyed. "Trouble is, we haven't got them on board."

"Well, that's handy, listing all the things we haven't got. We haven't got a swimming pool either. Or a Tesco's."

The screen popped up with an affirmative. "Oh my God. It says yes. I can do it. Hypothetically, if you flip the monitor, broadcast a flare, it can disrupt the telepathy. Brainstorm!"

"And the Ood?"

"It'll make them spark out."

"There we are, then. Do it!"

"Rose, that's murder," I articulated. While I was all for saving ourselves and getting the Doctor and Ida back with us, I did not want to do it in a way that was basically slaughter. The Ood were innocent in the situation. They were being manipulated and controlled.

"It's either us or them. We need the Doctor back."

"But at the cost of the Ood? It's not their fault that they're being used." Danny silently watched us, uncertain as to what he should do. "Killing them does not get the Doctor and Ida up here."

"They're trying to kill us!"

"It's not their fault, Rose. Yes, I admit, we have Ood after us but to murder them-"

"If I might interrupt, they were at basic 100. Technically they're already dead."

"See. We aren't killing them. Now, get to it, Danny."

"I'd have to transmit from the central monitor. We need to go to Ood Habitation."

"That's what we'll do then. Mister Jefferson, sir. Any way out?"

"Just about. There's a network of maintenance tunnels running underneath the base. We should be able to gain access from here."

"Ventilation shafts."

"Yeah, I appreciate the reference, but there's no ventilation. No air, in fact, at all. They were designed for machines, not life forms."

"But I can manipulate the oxygen field from here. Create discrete pockets of atmosphere," Zach said. "If I control it manually, I can follow you through the network."

"Right, so we go down, and you make the air follow us… by hand."

"You wanted me pressing buttons."

"Yeah, I asked for it. Okay, we need to get to Ood Habitation. Work out a route."

"Danny!" Rose called as the Ood almost broke through the door and Jefferson opened the grate.

"Hold on! Just conforming."

"Dan, we got to go now! Come on!"

"Yeah!" He grabbed an orange compute chip from the machine and ran over to us. "Put that in the monitor and it's a bad time to be an Ood."

"We're coming back. Have you got that? We're coming back to this room and we're getting the Doctor out."

"Okay. Danny, you go first, then Cerys, then you, Miss Tyler, then Toby. I'll go last in defensive position. Now, come on, quick as you can!"

We all got down. "God, it stinks. You alright?"

"Yeah, I'm laughing. Which way do we go?"

"Just go straight ahead. Keep going till I say so."

Jefferson shut the entrance. "This is not your best angle, Danny," I teased.

"Oi, stop it."

"I don't know, it could be worse."

"Oi!" Rose said to Toby.

"Straight on until you find junction seven point one. Keep breathing. I'm feeding you air. I've got you."

"We're at seven point one, sir," Danny informed Zach as we all panted, trying to regain our breaths.

"Okay, I've got you. I'm just aerating the next section."

"Getting kind of cramped, sir. Can't you hurry up?"

"I'm working on half power, here."

"Stop complaining."

"Mister Jefferson says stop complaining," Rose told Danny.

"I heard."

"He heard."

"But the air's getting thin."

"He's complaining now."

"I heard."

"Is that you, Danny?"

"I'm not exactly happy."

"I'm just moving the air. I've got to oxygenate the next section. Now, keep calm or it's going to feel worse."

I jumped at a loud bang. "What was that?" Danny asked.

"Mister Jefferson, what was that?"

"What's that noise?"

"Captain, what was that?"

"The junction in Habitation Five's been opened. It must be the Ood. They're in the tunnels!"

"Well, open the gate."

I've got to get the air in!"

"Just open it, sir."

"Where are they? Are they close?"

"I don't know. I can't tell. I can't see them. The computer doesn't register Ood as proper life forms."

"And whose bright idea was that?"

"Open the gate!" The gate opened and we all scurried through.

"Danny, turn left. Immediate left."

"The Ood, sir. Can't you trap them? Cut off the air?"

"Not without cutting off yours."

"Danny, turn right. Go right! Go fast, Dan. They're going to catch up."

"I'll maintain defensive position."

I turned facing the man. "You can't!"

"Cerys, that's my job. You've got your task now see to it."

"You heard what he said, now shift."

"Shut up Toby. Jefferson, it was wrong. Your wife did forgive you," I said to the man before I continued on.

"Eight point two. Open eight point two. Zach! Open eight point two!"

"I've got to aerate it."

"Open it now!"

"I'm trying."

Danny started to hit against the gate. I grabbed his hands, keeping him from assaulting the door again. "That won't open the door." He looked down, breathing heavy.

"Zach, get it open!"

"Jefferson, I've got to open eight point two by closing eight point one. You've got to get past the junction. Now move. That's an order, now move!"

"I'm going to lose oxygen, Jefferson. I can't stop for your dramatics!"

That's it! Come on," Danny cried as the gate opened.

"Danny, turn left and head for nine point two. That's the last one. Jefferson, you've got to move faster. John, move!"

"Mister Jefferson!"

"Keep going!" Toby exclaimed as he pushed Rose and me. Not liking it at all, I punched him.

"Don't touch us," I spat before following after Rose.

"You didn't have to…"

"Not now, Rosie." She quieted and we sat by the next door as Jefferson and Zach spoke.

Just as he reached it, the gate closed. "Regret to inform, sir I was a bit slow. Not so fast, these days."

"I can't open eight point one, John. Not without losing air for the others."

"And quite right, too, sir. I think I bought them a little time."

"There's nothing I can do, John. I'm sorry."

"You've done enough, sir. Made a very good captain under the circumstances. May I ask, if you can't add oxygen to this section, can you speed up the process of its removal?"

"I don't understand. What do you mean?"

"Well, if I might chose the manner of my departure, sir, lack of air seems more natural than, well, let's say death by Ood. I'd appreciate it, sir!"

"God speed, Mister Jefferson."

"Thank you, sir.

I grabbed Rose's hand squeezing it and holding in a sob of my own, just as she did the same. I hated this place. Jefferson didn't deserve to die… nor did Scooti, or anyone else. "Report Officer John Maynard Jefferson PKD deceased with honours. 43 K two point one."

"Zach, we're at the final junction, nine point two. And er, if my respects could be on record. He saved our lives."

"Noted. Opening nine point two."

As he opened it, we all scooted back as we saw the Ood crouching there. "Lower nine point two! Hurry, Zach!"

"Back! Back! Back!"

"We can't go back! The gang point's sealed off. We're stuck."

Rose and I looked up, seeing a grated floor. We pushed it open, and pulled our way up. "Come on! Up! Come on! Toby, come on! Toby, get out of there!"

"Help me! Oh, my God. Help me!" I rolled my eyes at him, knowing it was an act. The Toby we'd met when we first arrived had been dead for a long while. Ood approached from the corridor, blocking a different path.

"Come on." They helped Toby up before replacing the grate. Door 32 opened and Ood began to file in.

"It's this way."

We ran to Ood habitation and rushed up to the console. "Get it in!"

"Danny, get down."

"Transmit!"

"I'm trying, I'm trying! I'm getting at it." He furiously searched his pockets for the chip as the Ood approached us from below.

"Danny, calm down. You won't find it if you're freaking out." He did as I said and found it.

"Danny, get that thing transmitting!" He quickly inserted the chip and the reading went from basic 100 to 0. I watched as the Ood clutched their heads and writhe in pain before they collapsed, dead. "You did it! We did it!"

"Yes!" Rose and Danny hugged before she hugged Toby as well. He moved to hug me but I flinched away, glaring at the man with malice.

"Zach, we did it. The Ood are down. Now we've got to get the Doctor."

"I'm on my way."

We all returned to the drilling area, united with Zach. Rose immediately picked up the microphone. "Doctor, are you there? Doctor, Ida, can you hear me?"

"The comms are still down," Zach told her. "I can patch them through the central desk and boost the signal. Just give me a minute." Zach immediately got to work, briskly typing away.

"Doctor, are you there? Doctor, Ida, can you hear me? Are you there, Doctor?"

"He's gone," Ida said. I felt my heart clench as I stormed over to the console.

"What the hell do you mean, he's gone?"

"He fell into the pit. And I don't know how deep it is. Miles and miles and miles."

"I told him nothing stupid. I asked him to be safe," I growled, hot tears inching down my cheeks. "If that thing doesn't kill him, I will!"

Rose shot me a concerned glance. "But what do you mean, he fell?"

"I couldn't stop him. He said your name, Cerys."

"Really, and what exactly did that idiot say?"

"That he really hopes the Beast gets to him before you do, and that he loves you."

"Of course he'd say that. He knows I'm cross with him." I released the microphone as Zach took it. Rose came over and wrapped her arms around me.

"Ida? There's no way of reaching you. No cable, no backup. You're ten miles down. We can't get there."

"You should see this place, Zach. It's beautiful. Well, I wanted to discover things, and here I am."

"We've got to abandon this base. I'm declaring this mission unsafe. All we can do is make sure no one ever comes here again."

"But we'll never find out what it was."

"Well, maybe that's best."

"Yeah."

"Officer Scott…"

"It's alright. Just go. Good luck."

"And you." Zach placed the comm down. "Danny, Toby, close down the feed links. Get the retrotropes online, then get to the rocket and strap yourselves in. We're leaving."

"I'm not going."

"Rose, there's space for you, both of you."

"No, I'm going to wait for the Doctor. Just like he'd wait for us."

"I'm sorry, but he's dead."

I glared at Zach and he inched away. "Don't you say that. You don't know that man. He's cheated death more times than we could count."

"You don't know him. 'Cause he's not. I'm telling you… he's not. And even if he was, how could I leave him all on his own, all the way down there? No, I'm going to stay. Cerys?"

"Rosie, he's not dead. We both know that but if we stay, we'll die."

"You want to leave him?!"

"You know I don't but imagine how he'll feel escaping and finding out that we remained and were sucked into the black hole."

"I'm not going."

"Then I apologise for this. Danny, Toby? Make her secure." The two men grabbed her arms. They were having a hard time holding her still with her struggling.

"No, no. No! No! No! Let me go! Get off me! I'm not leaving!" Zach injected her with something and Rose soon passed out. "No."

Zach picked her up. "I have lost too many people. I am not leaving you behind. Let's get her on board." Danny nodded and grabbed my arm.

I pulled away from him. "You didn't have to do that to her!" I shrieked before I punched Zach. "She would have come!"

He rubbed his jaw for a bit, before speaking. "She wouldn't have come."

"You don't know her."

"And you do?"

"She's my sister. I think I know her well enough."

"Then I am sorry, but it had to be done."

As we walked down the corridor, I saw an Ood twitch. "We should hurry."

"Did that one just move?" Toby asked.

"It's the telepathic field. It's reasserting itself."

"Move it. Go to the rocket. Move!"

When we reached the rocket, we all strapped in, with me getting Rose settled. "Dislocating B clamp. C Clamp. Raising blu-nitro to maximum. Toby, how's the Negapact feed line?"

"Clear. Ready to go, sir. For God's sakes, get us out of here!"

I watched Toby warily, piecing everything together. As I did so, Rose started to stir. Danny noticed as well. "Captain, I think we're going to have a problem passenger."

"Keep an eye on her."

"Wait. We're not…"

"It's alright, Rose. You're safe."

"I'm not going anywhere! Get me out of this thing! Get me out!" Her eyes met mine. "How could you let them drug me? Whose side are you on?"

"She didn't even know what we were planning. Gave us an earful. Zach has a sore jaw."

"I figured one of us had to stay awake so I came willingly. I wouldn't have let that happen if I knew." She nodded, looking around the small space.

"And lift off! Whoo!"

Rose grabbed the bolt gun and aimed it at Zach. "Take me back to the planet. Take me back!"

"Rosie…"

"Or what?"

"Or I'll shoot."

"Would you, though? Would you really? Is that what your Doctor would want?" Rose slumped back into her seat and I took her hand, still watching Toby as he laughed. "Sorry, but it's too late anyway. Take a look outside. We can't turn back. This is what the Doctor would have wanted. Isn't that right?" Rose and I looked out the window, seeing Kroptor get smaller and smaller as we moved away from it.

"Care to share what's so funny," I snapped.

"Just, we made it. We escaped. We actually did it."

"Not all of us."

"We're not out of it yet. We're still the first people in history to fly away from a black hole. Toby, read me the stats."

"Gravity funnel holding, sir. Always holding. Stats at fifty three. Funnel stable at sixty six point five. Hull pressure constant. Smooth as we can, sir, all the way back home. Coordinates set for planet Earth."

"It doesn't make sense. We escaped, but there's a thousand ways it could've killed us. It could've ripped out the air or, I don't know, burnt us, or anything. But it let us go. Why? Unless it wanted us to escape?"

"Great thinking, Rose. I was wondering the same thing. This was way too easy and I think we're about to find out," I wondered, my eyes locked on Toby.

"Hey Rose, Cerys, do us a favour… shut up." Rose and I stared at the man, her finally understanding my suspicions. "Almost there. We'll be beyond the reach of the black hole in forty, thirty nine…"

Suddenly the rocket started to shake. I felt a smile cross my face as I realized what was happening. No one else did though, besides Toby. "What's happening? What was that?" Danny asked.

"What's he doing? What is he doing?"

"We've lost the funnel. Gravity collapse!"

"What does that mean?"

"We can't escape. We're headed straight for the black hole!"

"Not what you planned, was it?" I smugly asked as Toby's eyes snapped to me, his face covered in the symbols and his eyes red.

"It's the planet. The planet's moving. It's falling."

"I am the rage."

"It's Toby! Zach, do something."

"And the bile and the ferocity."

"Just do something!"

"I am the Prince and the Fall and the enemy. I am the sin and the fear and the darkness."

"It's him! It's him! It's him!"

"Stay where you are. The ship's not stable." Toby breathed out fire. "What is he? What the HELL is he?"

"I shall never die. The thought of me is forever. In the bleeding hearts of men, in their vanity and obsession and lust." I picked up the bolt gun. "Nothing shall ever destroy me! Nothing!"

"Do us a favour and shut up," I barked as I shot out the front screen. Rose hastily unfastened Toby's seatbelt and he was sucking into space, still roaring.

"Emergency shield!" A metal shutter sealed the hole but the rocket was still heading for the black hole. "We've still lost the gravity funnel. We can't escape the black hole."

"But we stopped him. That's what the Doctor would've done," Rose replied.

"Some victory. We're going in." The ship continued to shake as we were pulled towards the black hole.

"The planet's lost orbit. It's falling!" There was a rapid beeping before the screen fizzed and died. The ship was lit up in a red light. "The planet's gone. I'm sorry."

"Accelerate. I did my best. But hey! The first human beings to fall inside a black hole. How about that? History." I clutched Rose's hand and closed my eyes, waiting for the end.

Suddenly the shaking stopped and the lights came back on. "What happened?" She looked over to me and saw my smile. "Cerys?" I shrugged but could barely keep the smile off my face.

The ship leaned to the side. "We're turning. We're turning around. We're turning away!"

"Sorry about the hijack, Captain. This is the good ship Tardis. Now, first thing's first. Have you got a Rose and Cerys Tyler on board?"

"I'm here! It's us!" Rose exclaimed, throwing her hand in the air. "Oh, my God. Where are you?"

"I'm just towing you home. Gravity schmavity. My people practically invented black holes. Well, in fact, they did. In a couple of minutes, we'll be nice and safe. Oh, and Captain? Can we do a swap?" Zach ran his hands down his face. "Say if you give me Rose and Cerys Tyler, I'll give you Ida Scott. How about that?"

"She's alive!"

"Yes! Thank God."

"Yeah! Bit of oxygen starvation, but she should be all right. I couldn't save the Ood. I only had time for one trip. They went down with the planet." I sighed, feeling horrible about their deaths. "Ah! Entering clear space. End of the line. Mission closed."

Minutes later, we were in the Tardis. Rose ran up and hugged the Doctor. I watched him with hardened eyes. Approaching him, I gave him a good, hard smack. Rose looked bewildered but the Doctor seemed to be expecting it. He immediately brought his hand to his red cheek. "You can still slap like that? I'd prefer you punch me."

"Don't tempt me," I growled as I went to sit in my chair.

"Right. Zach? We'll be off now. Have a good trip home. And the next time you get curious about something… Oh, what's the point. You'll just go blundering in. The human race."

"But Doctor, what did you find down there? That creature, what was it?"

"I don't know. Never did decipher that writing. But that's good. Day I know everything? Might as well stop."

"What do you think it was, really?" Rose asked.

"I think… we beat it. That's good enough for me."

"It said I was going to die in battle. And what about what it said about Cerys?"

"Then it lied. Right, onwards, upwards. Ida? See you again, maybe."

"I hope so."

"And thanks, boys!"

"Hang on though, Doctor. You never really said. You three, who are you?"

"Oh, the stuff of legend," he answered as he turned off the comm. With that over, I left the console room and went to my room.

I quickly stripped down and turned on the shower. Looking down, I examined my now healed cuts. I sighed, knowing that it wasn't lying, I could feel it. Something was coming and it would destroy us. I let the water run over me, removing whatever I had picked up from this adventure. When I had finished, I wrapped myself and my hair in a towel before examining myself in the mirror. I was still me, even with what I knew and as long as I remained that way, I would be fine. I walked out of the bathroom, only to jump in surprise when I saw the Doctor sitting on the edge of my bed. He looked up at me, his eyes raking over my practically naked body. "Is there something you need?"

"Yes. No. I can come back." He stood up to leave as I removed the towel from my hair, letting it fall.

"Doctor, what did you want? Something's on your mind."

"I can come back."

"Just tell me."

"I wanted to say sorry. I didn't realize how much I'd worried you."

"Yes you did."

"Alright, I did but it was an amazing discovery."

"I'm sure. Just don't be so reckless in the future." I stopped, laughing at what I had said. "I must have forgotten who I was speaking to. Don't get yourself killed, alright."

"Promise."

"Come here."

"You're not dressed."

I gave him a sly smile before using his words against him. "Nothing you haven't seen before." He gulped and came over. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and pulled him to me, pressing my lips to his. It quickly deepened but before it could go any farther, I pulled away, leaving him breathless.

"That's not fair." I gave him a small smile and motioned to the door. "That's really not fair," he grumbled as he left the room.

Once I had dressed, I tied up my hair and went to the console room. As I entered, I heard Rose and the Doctor speaking. I didn't really want to listen to what they were talking about so I headed to the library. Sitting in my spot, I watched as the fire danced, revelling in its hypnotic performance as I thought about the only thing that had been on my mind for a while… the fact that I wasn't real. While I was doing my best to pretend it didn't affect me, that it didn't bother me, it hurt more than I wanted to admit, if I were honest. I was angry but I also felt guilty and a bit selfish. I was keeping him from his second chance but I was also giving myself a chance. I didn't want to leave him… I didn't want to be her. Yet the more I compared myself to her, I found that we were more alike than anything. We were both damaged goods. From my dreams, the Doctor helped her, he healed her. While I was nowhere near healed, I felt that I was getting there… that he was helping me as well but I was irrevocably marred and no amount of love could change that. And yet, even with the bit happiness I had, I still felt horrible. I couldn't help but think just how much he might resent me for refusing her… for practically destroying any hope he may have had of getting her back. I wasn't real. I was the ghost of the woman he loved; a mirage. I was nothing. I was just a latent personality, just as the Doctor'd said. I wiped away a tear as the thoughts consumed me. He didn't love me. He just wanted me to disappear, for her to come back. I was just an obstacle. I sighed and pulled my legs to my chest, trying to clear my thoughts.

"Mind if I join you?" I looked up to see Rose standing next to me. I nodded and she made herself comfortable. "This must be your favourite place in the Tardis."

"It is. Er, there's something I want to ask you."

"Alright."

"Hypothetically, if you found out that you were the ghost of another woman, a woman who you were before but something happened and you were in love with the man who was practically her soul mate, would you, change back to give them another chance or be selfish and remain the same and live with the thought that he would resent you until your death?"

"Where'd that come from?"

"I've been reading a few books," I lied. "One had a situation like that and I wanted to ask your opinion before I read on."

"Oh, well… I don't know. If I knew how happy they were, then I wouldn't want to stand in the way of it."

"Even if he said he loved you for you and not who you were?"

"That makes it difficult. For the most part, I think I'd want to be selfish but I'd feel guilty, you know? I'd hate for the man I love to resent me, even if he'd say he didn't. It wouldn't ease my mind. Besides, if I were the same woman, what could I lose? I'd still have him. Sure it wouldn't be me but a version of me would be fine. In the end, I wouldn't lose him. Why are you really asking though?" I stared at her, my eyes welling with tears. "Cerys, what is it? What's wrong?" I shook my head. "Please tell me what's wrong."

"I lied."

"What?"

"The questions I asked, they weren't from a book."

"All right. Where were they from then?"

"You wouldn't believe me," I whispered.

"After all we've seen, Cerys, I'd believe anything."

"I'm not me. I'm a just a latent personality come forth."

"What do you mean? What are you talking about?"

"The dead woman… I'm the ghost. I don't exist," I cried out as the tears fell.

"Who told you that? You're as real as it gets."

"The Doctor…"

"He told you that?" Rose asked, an angry edge to her voice. I nodded. Without a word, she helped me stand and dragged me to the console room where we found the Doctor. He turned smiling at us before it disappeared.

"What happened?" Rose said nothing as she sat me down and stalked over to him. "Rose, what happened to Cerys?" She said nothing but all I could see was the blur of her hand and the Doctor's head turning to the side. "What the hell was that for?" he angrily exclaimed, nursing his now red cheek.

"What the hell was that for?" she asked him incredulously. "That was for the crap you said to Cerys. That was for making her cry and feel as if she was nothing! What the hell is wrong with you? She's just the ghost of another woman? She's a latent personality? How could you say that to her? I thought you cared about her?"

"I do. Rose, you don't understand. It's-"

"If you didn't want to be with her, you shouldn't have led her on. You should have said something rather than spouting that crap," she yelled, causing the man to flinch a bit.

Rose, Cerys... she is my wife."

"What?"

"Cerys and I are married."

"When the HELL did you get married?!"

"No… not this version of her. The Cerys I'm married to was… is a like me. She used a Chameleon Arch to change her biology from Time Lady to human."

"What are you talking about? We've only met a year ago."

"All those nightmares weren't nightmares at all. She was dreaming about a life she lived. It happens sometimes where the past bleeds through to the unconscious. If it hadn't I wouldn't have been able to tell her."

"But that makes no sense. We grew up together."

"That would be the perception filter. I don't know exactly where it is but it's something she's always had on her. The Chameleon Arch created the backstory and the perception filter cemented it."

"And what does a perception filter do?"

"Hers is extremely powerful if it could make you think she grew up with you. Rose, Cerys is 900 years old, only a year younger than me."

"900? Wait, this doesn't make any sense. Let's say you're telling the truth and Cerys is a Time Lady, then why wait so long to tell her? And why the hell would you say those things?"

"If I'd told her any earlier, she would have died."

"And the other bit?"

"All I said was that she was a latent personality. I was trying to convince her that the others weren't true. I do care about Cerys. I love her… and the fact that I'm admitting it should say a lot."

"Is that why you were always…"

"Yes."

"How did you know?"

"I could always tell. In Gallifrey, there's this thing called Ame Soeur."

"And what's that?" Rose asked. She was doing all the talking since I had yet to find my voice. No matter what he said, the thoughts were ever present in my mind, constantly reminding me of my inadequacy, that it was all empty words and he didn't care. After all the time I'd spent forcing myself to pretend it didn't bother me, there was nothing I could do. It drained me… brought on more nightmares and left me sleepless. I was beginning to hollow out again; beginning to revert to my old self, one step closer to initiating my plan.

"A soul mate. She's that… literally the other half of my soul. I spent years travelling alone and one day, I find her in a shop basement filled with plastic dummies."

Rose turned away from him. "Cerys… are you alright?" I stared at her, seeing her eyes widen. "No, not that look. Please, Cerys. Not again."

"What is it? What's wrong? The Doctor stood before me and kneeled, gazing into my eyes. "What's happened to her, Rose?"

"She… she's shut down. The last time she had that expression… I can't say… but it was bad."

"What happened?"

"I can't tell you. She doesn't want anyone to know. Look, I need to get her to bed."

"I'll help you."

"You've done enough," she spat and the Doctor recoiled, returning to his position at the console. Gently, she grasped my arm and pulled me up before leading me to her room and setting me on the bed. "Sleep. I'll wake you in a bit with some tea." I nodded and laid down. Sleep came quickly but the nightmares did as well.

---

Hello all. So we are coming to the end of Rose. Just so you know, I am skipping Fear Her and Love and Monsters. They weren't particularly my favourite episodes and it would have taken me FOREVER to write because of that. But anyways, I appreciate everyone who reads Her Secrets so very much and reviews are welcomed. I truly love seeing them and reading what you have to say. Just going in my email and seeing that i have one is the best feeling in the world, so please, leave a review. With that said, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and that Cerys was believable. Oh, and the slap Rose gives him... Yikes. Never want to get on the wrong side of a Tyler... especially Rose. She's ten times worse than the Oncoming Storm.

But guys, guys! What do you think of Capaldi? I am utterly in love with how he portrays the Doctor. Oh, and Clara has a boyfriend! I do have to say that at the end of Deep Breath, I practically cried when they showed Matt. It took me forever to love him as the Doctor and to throw that phone call in... it broke my heart but it was definitely like a last farewell... a chapter closing in a hopefully never-ending book. Granted I did burst out in hysterics like I did with David but there was a tear or two. Anyways, I'll leave you guys to that.