A/N: This one is getting really long. I need to wrap it up soon... it'll be probably be finished by chapter 26. Or chapter 106.

Chapter Twenty

Flying Solo

Ashley sat on the stone step with her head in her hands and wondered why she had suddenly become the unluckiest person in the world. If it wasn't bad enough that she had lost the Doctor – who could be dead for all she knew – she had to get lumbered with an argumentative horse, almost get eaten by a Big Bad Werewolf, almost drown in the Bog of Eternal Stench, have her hair brushed by a Barbie Princess… She wondered if the blonde braid would serve as a good noose. It probably would, but she quickly decided that that wasn't really the best way to solve her problems.

With an overly dramatic sigh, she hauled herself to her feet and turned towards the spiralling stone staircase. She looked up, and groaned. It was going to take forever to walk up there.

'When I find you Doctor,' she muttered as she started her ascent. 'You're never leaving my side again.'

'When we get out of here,' the Doctor grumbled, wrist deep in sewage. 'I hope I never see you again.'

The two heroes leading the way grunted in agreement. They had been crawling through the vile muck for about twenty minutes. The Doctor knew this even though he wasn't wearing a watch as he had been counting the seconds. He couldn't believe that the whole situation had resorted to this. His suit was going to be completely ruined now.

'Not far now.' Karl grunted from ahead. 'We should see some light soon.'

'How did you two get into this business anyway?' the Doctor asked, pausing to flick something thick and slimy from his fingers. 'Are you born into it or something?'

'Well it was either this or blacksmith work.' Karl replied. 'My father wanted me to be an accountant, but I couldn't stand the thought of an office job.'

The Doctor snorted. 'Yeah because that would be the hard part for you.' He muttered.

Karl looked over his shoulder. 'And what are you implying?'

'Nothing,' the Doctor replied innocently. 'Nothing at all to do with your ability to process numbers.'

'Do you want to know something, Doctor?' Karl growled, stopping and twisting to see him better. 'I don't appreciate your discrimination.'

'Discrimination? Me? In the same sentence?' The Doctor stopped and considered this. 'Well actually I shouldn't be that surprised…'

'We do our best,' Karl went on. 'We have rescued countless maidens, slain many dragons. We are the most sought after heroes in the land. And I would also like to remind you that we are the only two to escape the castle alive.'

The Doctor's brow wrinkled. 'You mean there were more back there?'

Karl nodded. 'I think Feelia was the last. They are all there.'

'You mean all the heroes? All of them in the whole land?'

'Yes. I believe they were either killed by the dragon or eaten by its young.'

The Doctor's frown deepened. 'Why didn't you mention it earlier?'

'Why should I have?'

'Because we could have looked for others! Helped them escape!'

'Heroes don't need saving, sir.'

'Well you two did. If I hadn't turned up I bet you two would have been big gristly ice pops by now.' The Doctor sat back on his haunches and rubbed his face with one hand. 'Well we're going back anyway. We can look for others whilst we're there.'

Karl nodded. 'I suppose. Extreme times call for extreme measures.'

The Doctor nodded and opened his mouth to speak, and then stopped. He frowned and peered around Karl. 'Um… Where's Feelia?'

Karl looked around in alarm. He snatched the torch from the Doctor and shone it ahead. 'Feelia?' he called out, his voice echoing all along the tunnel. 'Feelia!'

The Doctor glanced back as he heard something moving in the water behind him. He reached forward and grabbed Karl's arm. 'Sshh!' he hissed.

Karl looked around, eyes wide. 'Feelia!' he bellowed.

'For God's sake be quiet!' The Doctor whispered harshly. 'Just for once! Shut up!'

Karl looked at him for a moment, jaw working. He snorted through his nose but remained quiet. The Doctor took the torch back and shone it down the tunnel behind him. Something long and thin slithered out of the light with a splash of water, too quick for the Doctor to get a good look. A second after and a similar noise sounded from the other direction, on Karl's side. The two men looked around, the Doctor checking both ways with the torch quickly, eyes scanning the surrounding blackness.

'Do you know if anything lives down here?' he whispered.

Karl shook his head. 'I heard stories of creatures hiding down here, but they are just children's tales.'

'Well in some places dragons are just children's tales, and we're pretty sure they exist.' The Doctor shone the light down the tunnel behind him. 'We're too far now to go back. We'll have to carry on.'

'What about Feelia?' Karl asked.

The Doctor's tone dropped. 'I'm sure we'll find him on the way.'

Karl regarded him for a second, and then nodded grimly. Without another word, he turned and began crawling through the sludge, the Doctor right behind him and something else splashing around behind them.

They had crawled another hundred yards or so when the tunnel began to widen. Above them, more tunnels sprouted off in various different directions, most of them going straight up. The Doctor stopped to peer into one of the vertical tunnels, pointing the torchlight straight upwards.

'How far do they go up?' he whispered.

Karl joined his side, now comfortably able to turn around fully. 'I'm not sure how far,' he replied. 'But I know they are connected to the other rooms. More sewage outlets.'

The Doctor cocked an eyebrow. 'Nice. Well let's just hope no one decides on a trip to the little Troll's room while we're down here, eh?' He pointed the torch ahead again and nodded for Karl to continue.

'So, can I ask you something, Doctor?' Karl asked as he travelled through the sludge.

'No I don't dye my hair,' the Doctor replied. 'But it's looking good for 900 plus, eh?'

Karl gave him a bemused look before he carried on. 'Where are you from?'

The Doctor clicked his tongue. 'Oh just a quaint cottage not far from the Three Bears. They have a lot of break in problems, but, touch wood, I've never had any.'

'I do not understand you. I assume you're trying to be humorous?'

The Doctor shrugged sadly. 'At one point I didn't have to try. But to answer your question, I'm from everywhere really. Don't have a fixed address at the moment, which isn't very good to enter competitions or anything. And it's basically impossible to pass a credit check, not that I would pass it even if I did have a fixed address…'

'So… are you a Freelance?'

'I'm sorry?'

'A Freelance Hero. You know, the kind that kind drop in where there's trouble and save the day, without being recruited. I always wanted to get into Freelancing, but I was worried about the pay.'

'Oh the pay in measly,' the Doctor replied. 'Actually, there is none.' He paused thoughtfully. 'I suppose I am a Freelancer. Never thought of it that way before. I don't really intentionally set out to find places that have managed to get all messed up, it just kind of happens. I blame the TARDIS.'

'TARDIS?' Karl repeated curiously. 'Is that your steed?'

The Doctor chuckled. 'If you like.'

Karl mulled over it for a moment. 'And where is it?'

'Probably still standing on Piccadilly Lane. More than likely frozen solid.' He sighed sadly. 'When I get back I'll have to warm her up, poor thing. Talking of steeds, what possessed you to get such an awful horse?'

'What, Arnold?' Karl replied. 'Oh he was going cheap. The sellers had the right idea to stick a feedbag on his face when I went for the viewing. I couldn't see anything wrong with him when I bought him, but then as soon as the bag came off… well, you probably know the rest. You mentioned that he was with your friend?'

'I think he is.' The Doctor nodded. 'If she hasn't roasted him by now. She's not very patient. In fact… she's probably not all that different attitude wise to the horse.'

'Then I feel very sorry for you, Doctor.'

It took the Doctor a moment to realise that this was an attempt at a joke, and he laughed gently. He opened his mouth to apologise to Karl for his rudeness earlier, but he was interrupted by a sound above him. Both men stopped instantly and the Doctor shone the torch up.

A pale hand hung down from the blackness in the tunnel directly above them. It was thick and scarred – obviously Feelia's. It was motionless. A drop of blood rolled down the arm, emerging from the darkness where the rest of him was hidden, and dropped off the end of his finger. It landed on the Doctor's shoulder with a soft pat.

'My God…' Karl murmured.

Something splashed around lightly behind the Doctor. The Doctor looked around, eyes wide but unable to penetrate the gloom. 'We need to move.' He said quietly. 'Now.'

They both turned and crawled as fast as they could, ignoring the smell and the sewage that splashed in their faces. Behind the Doctor, something started to give chase, splashing and slithering through the water. Then more splashes sounded, and the Doctor had an awful feeling that more of them were dropping out of the tunnels above.

'Go!' he yelled at Karl as something brushed his feet. 'Faster!'

Karl moved quicker, his breath coming out in harsh gasps. With more room now, the Doctor swapped his knees for his feet and began to race along on all fours. His back grazed the top of the tunnel. At one point he felt something moving replace the hard ceiling.

'There's light!' Karl cried, moving quicker. 'I can see the end!'

By now it sounded like there were dozens of the creatures chasing them. They kept trying to grab the Doctor's ankles – whether with claws or tentacles he couldn't tell. If they didn't get outside soon, he just knew they were going to suffer the same fate as Feelia.

The sudden sunlight took the Doctor by surprise and instead of getting on two feet and continuing to run, he stumbled and landed on his front. Karl had successfully traded four limbs for two and was racing across the open valley. He turned and began to race back when he noticed that the Doctor had fallen, but then he skidded to a halt – eyes wide with terror.

The Doctor only got a glimpse of what Karl had saw before the creatures engulfed him. They were small – no larger than domestic housecats, with screaming deformed faces and long, slug-like bodies. Their wings were like bat wings and they streamed out of the opening of the tunnel like bats out of hell. The Doctor felt the slimy bodies curling around his arms and legs, and grabbing the back of his suit. Then he was rising fast into the air and, just before the panic took over completely, he managed to think; Oh not again.