Thanks to The Doctor's Tenth Companion, Tai Greywing, AmyAmidala, daffodilTARDIS, rosetylerrox, The Opera Ghostess (Good luck with yours!) and (Huge thanks) Marcus S. Lazarus.

LittleGinny15: Thank you! Thank you thank you thank you! And poor you! Glad I could help! Hope you feel better! Wouldn't trust stuff from the doctor's myself (unless it's the one Doctor I actually LIKE, of course ;)), but I suppose they are only there to help. The fact that they scare me senseless must just be an irresolvable problem, or something… Ahem, Thank you!

Lesslyn: Aaw, that's a great idea. Why didn't I think of that? Trinny and Susanna… lol! Hmm, I suppose you're right, it does solve a bit that'd be kinda crucial to the plot, so I suppose I can't complain too much. Thanks a lot!

Doobrey Ferkin: I've just finished mine, thank God. Hell, it was. Good luck with yours! Awful things, exams, but I suppose they're a little important… Thank you! Here's your update!

Disclaimer (again): I'm eighteen chapters in, now. Still not mine…

Reference to 'Carnival of Monsters', Jon Pertwee.

Just want to say a HUGE thanks to all of my wonderful readers and reviewers for supporting me, and for sticking with me for so long; it really does mean so much! Here's your update, guys!

Fight and Flight

"Christ, it's freezing down 'ere! And so black!"

"Do you have to complain so much? You'll have us caught, you will!"

"Sorry, Your Ladyship," Jack mumbled, sticking out his tongue at her back. She tensed slightly, staring ahead as a loud clap of thunder echoed around them.

"And I saw that," she whispered back. Jack grinned.

"You were supposed to," he smiled. "Want me to go first?"

Teri paused; trying to adjust her eyes to the intense blackness around them, then shook her head a fraction. "No, I'm fine, thanks. Just keep your trap shut, please, I'm trying to concentrate."

"On what?" he exclaimed, a little too loud. She hushed him exasperatedly and he blushed. "Sorry, I mean, on what?" he whispered.

"Finding the exit," she murmured, deciding that closing her eyes in an attempt to sense a way out would make no difference to her line of vision. If anything I'll probably be able to see better.

Jack sighed and shuffled past her slightly; blinking through the gloom into the corridor they had arrived at. On either side, he could just about make out the outlines of doors, each one accompanied by its own unlit torch sitting frozen within wall brackets.

As a peculiar memory wormed its way into his mind, he snickered. Teri tutted at the sound and opened her eyes, glaring at him.

"What?" she muttered, watching his shadow through narrowed eyes. Jack's eyes were twinkling mischievously as he attempted to smother his laughter.

"Oh nothing, just a tv program that this hallway reminds me of. Ever heard of Scooby-Doo?"

Teri shook her head, studying him dubiously. "No, why?"

"Oh, it's a rather clichéd thing, I'm afraid. Monsters Inc'd be running up and down through corridors full of doors, chasing monsters, only to leave another door in the same corridor and end up chasing each other instead of who they were supposed to be chasing." He snorted, and shook his head, overcome again. Teri shook her own head and brushed past him, frowning.

"Hmm, never was a tele-fanatic, I'm afraid, Jack. Don't have a lot of time for watching kids programs, these days."

"Oh, shame. It's a classic."

"Hmm," she murmured again, only half listening as they followed the wall through the blackness. "You know, I'm sure the exit's around here somewhere!"

"And how do you know that? We could be heading back towards the Dungeons for all we know. I can't see a damn thing in here. Are you sure you can't telekinetically grab a pen-torch, or something?"

"Yes, Jack, I'll do it right now!" she snapped sarcastically, stopping in her tracks to turn and glare at him. Jack grinned apologetically.

"Not in the mood, I understand. Sorry, I'll be quiet," he said, studying her.

"Thank you," she replied, shortly, setting off again. They continued through the corridor in silence, occasionally swinging open one of the doors as their hands connected with the brass handles, at other times stumbling as the door they had attempted to open remained firmly locked. After about a minute, Teri stopped again, stamping her foot in agitation.

"Oh this is bloody ridiculous," she muttered, annoyed. "I'm positive I sensed a way out down this way, so where the Hell is it? Door after door after door -"

"-And you expect a flashing sign above one of them to say 'Congratulations! You stand mere yards from Daylight!'?"

"No, I didn't mean that, it's just that each time I sense it, the feeling moves. It's like it's running away from us. We move forwards towards it, and it runs on ahead."

Jack snorted. "Yeah, ok then, and that's a perfectly logical explanation, Teri."

"Well, we are in some sort of wizard-inhabited world, Jack, why not have moving doors? I suspect it's a pretty ordinary thing to have around here."

Jack frowned at her, thinking.

"Are you actually serious about there being witches and wizards here? I never believed in them, and I don't know if I've converted, yet. It just seems so fanciful, black cats and cauldrons. I thought you were joking, to be honest."

"No, they're real, Jack. From what went on in that Interrogation Chamber, they're real, flesh and blood wizards. And they're anything but benevolent."

"Benevawhat?"

"Friendly, Jack. Honestly!" Teri sighed, exasperated. She suddenly stumbled to a halt, Jack walking unkindly into her back and knocking her a few steps forwards.

"What is it?" he whispered, his heart racing as he watched her pale slightly.

"There's someone down there," she mouthed at him. Jack blinked and nodded, straightening his arm and aiming the gun at the end of the corridor.

"Where?" he mouthed back, frowning. Teri pointed, her arms visibly shaking as she pressed herself against the wall, falling still. Jack arranged himself so that he was standing directly in front of Teri, his gun covering them. He glanced warily over his shoulder as s rustle of movement caught his senses, but there was nothing behind them.

"Right, forget the exit, Jack, we can't find it. We have to get to my TARDIS," Teri whispered urgently. "Dunno why I didn't think of that before, actually. Must be an after-shock." Jack turned back to the moving shadow in front of them, and nodded.

"Where is it?" he muttered out of the corner of his mouth, never lifting his eyes from the advancing creature.

"The Throne Room," she muttered back. "Or at least, that's where I landed. It could have been moved since then."

"Right, and do we know where the Throne Room is?"

"Not a clue, but my instincts tell me it'll be on the ground floor. So if we could just find a nice, cosy lift, or something, maybe an arrow to point us in the right direction, that'd be nice…"

"Will a pitch-black marble staircase be any good?"

Teri turned to him and saw that his eyes were focused on a rich area of darkness on the opposite side of the corridor. She sighed, somehow expecting there to be no lifts to transport them through floors in this place, and nodded. She turned her head to the left, and stared at their guest, silently thanking Rassilon that he, or she, or it, had turned and was progressing down the corridor, back the way it had come. Guard duty, she thought to herself.

As soon as the shadowy creature had been completely enveloped, she tapped Jack on the shoulder, and beckoned him to follow her, pointing distractedly at his gun in an attempt to warn him to keep it positioned. Jack nodded in understanding, smirking slightly, and moved swiftly across the corridor to the blackened staircase.

Moving as quietly as possible while still taking the stairs two at a time, they reached the ground almost immediately, sighing with relief as a vast marble hall stretched out in all directions before them.

"The Entrance Hall!" Jack whispered with delight. Teri promptly stood on his foot and he fell silent. They stood stock still, barely breathing, staring around the Hall, a faint hint of sunlight from the main doors illuminating a square of dust and dirt on the floor before them, just enough to offer their eyes a little relief after the blackness of the corridor. Teri blinked slightly, her eyes adjusting again, and reached for Jack's hand. Jack started slightly, but quickly relaxed.

"I think that's the Throne Room," she whispered, pointing across the Hall to a pair of large double doors, engraved with a pair of twisting snakes, two shimmering emeralds winking invitingly from the eyes.

"Right," Jack murmured, frowning at the wide expanse of open Hallway that was lying before them. "Or we could just take the exit. That is what we were originally looking for, after all, and we could follow the walls, hide in the shadows." he whispered nervously. Teri sighed.

"Well we can't very well leave without the TARDIS, can we? We wouldn't make seventy yards out there on our own, not with witches and wizards sending God knows what after us! Besides, once I'm back in the TARDIS, I should be able to track The Doctor."

"You couldn't track before, or you wouldn't have ended up here," Jack mumbled. A faint blush rose in Teri's cheeks, and she scowled.

"I was pulled off course, actually, it had nothing to do with my tracking! The TARDIS was intercepted!"

Jack turned and stared at her, his eyes wide.

"Seriously?"

"Yes, that's the only logical explanation for how I ended up here that I can come up with. The Dark Lord must have a machine of immense power, and whatever it is managed to intercept my TARDIS during flight, pulling me in here. Why he wanted me is a mystery, but he must have paid an awful lot of money to create the apparatus to get me."

"He must have wanted your knowledge," Jack murmured, distractedly. Teri blinked, his words sinking in slowly. "If you're a… Time Lady… you'll have a knowledge of probably the entire Universe at your disposal, whether you consciously know of it, or not. I'm sure I read about that somewhere, might have been in the TARDIS, but I remember finding out that information sinks in exceptionally quickly during a Time Lord's stint in a Gallifreyan School."

Teri felt her breath catch.

"Just exactly how much do you know about my people, Jack?" she asked, quietly, considering his reaction. Jack fell instantly silent, avoiding her eye.

"Ah, well, not all that much… I mean it's just scraps I found during my short-lived stay on board the TARDIS… I mean, nothing really from The Doctor, he never mentioned anything -"

"-He doesn't talk about his family? Why on Earth not?"

Feeling faintly irritated, as though he'd just been ushered unwillingly on stage, Jack lowered his gaze, automatically examining the laser gun in his hands.

"Look, I don't know about your people, you'll have to ask The Doctor about everything, okay?"

Teri scowled again, her eyes now narrowed slits as she studied him. Jack cleared his throat, the noise echoing throughout the vast Hallway, and both were drawn back into their situation with a violent tug.

"Yes, well, I think I'll do that, thanks, Jack. But first, we have to find him," Teri whispered, watching the doors across the Hall. Jack nodded, suddenly nervous again.

"Erm, are you sure our red-eyed friend won't be in there waiting for us?" he asked, trying to keep his voice as politely inquisitive as possible.

"Most likely."

"So… how do you plan to get into your TARDIS, then?"

"No idea, I'll decide that when we get in. One trait I know I've inherited from someone… I like to Improvise. Must have been my mother, I can vaguely remember her TARDIS interior was always a jumble of collected items. Amazed it all worked, I was. Incredible ingenuity. Anyway, there's work to be done."

They shared a look, steeling each other, and nodded.

As Teri made to dash forward, Jack raised a hand and halted her with a whispered 'wait!' She turned back, puzzled.

"What does your TARDIS look like?"

"Aah."

"Aah? What's 'Aah' supposed to mean?"

"It, er, could be anything. Ever heard of a Chameleon Circuit?" Jack nodded, and she nodded too, collecting his thoughts for him.

"I never had the chance once I'd stepped out of the doors to see what I'd been travelling in. They stunned me the second I crossed the doorframe. Not particularly comfortable, but there you go. Serves me right for not checking on the Scanner, I suppose."

"So if they know about it, what makes you think it's still in there? I'd have moved it for inspection as soon as it arrived, and from what I can gather, you've been here days, rather than minutes, Teri."

"Er, blind faith, is it called? Yeah, that's all I'm going on; Blind faith."

Jack smiled.

"Good on you, that usually works for me." Teri returned the grin, her scars from her violent affairs shining against her white skin as her muscles tightened. Jack was given the impression that it had been a long time since Teri had smiled.

"Just out of interest, how long have you been here?" he asked suddenly. Teri shrugged.

"Feels like forever, but I doubt it has been. A few weeks, maybe. I can't remember much of my life before this. Nothing seems significant, anymore."

Jack nodded in understanding, unconsciously reaching for a memory of his life before The Doctor, before realising that it had been a long time since he'd ever had one to think about. They swapped faint smiles, squeezed each other's hands encouragingly, and turned to face the open and noticeable Hall.

Together, then ran the length of the great room, to the rather majestic-looking but highly disturbing door on the other side, beside themselves with glee at the silence swirling around them. No guards. No one blocking the doors, no one at the stairs. Nobody around. How they had made it this far without notice was a mystery, but both thanked whatever Gods on the job for their streak of sheer good luck.

Stationing themselves on either side of the doors, Jack drew in his weapon to his chest, his heart thumping considerably harder and faster than usual. Teri reached out a tentative hand to the brass door handle, her fingers shivering against the harsh coldness of the metal.

She paused, her hand shaking slightly, and closed her eyes. As she scrunched her face against the annoying little voice that was strongly advising her to step slowly away from the doors, Jack let loose a breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding. Ever so gently, Teri pushed the brass handle downwards, a tiny squeak causing her to pause a moment before continuing. As a soft click announced the handle's complete depression, she glanced nervously at Jack, who stepped up behind her and raised the gun.

Teri nodded resolutely and pushed hard against the door, practically falling over the threshold. Jack bounded in after her, gun poised and finger on trigger, but the room was empty. Feeling slightly disappointed by the lack of action, he released the pressure a little, gently rubbing at his numb fingers, and walked cautiously a few steps into the Throne Room. Teri spared a nervous glance over her shoulder at the open door, but the Hall outside was quite deserted.

Almost as deserted as the room they were standing in.

"Well, this is a highly guarded location," Jack murmured, his discontent by no means disguised. "God, breaking out of this place is going to be easier than breaking out of that Tibetan Prison."

"What were you doing in a Tibetan Prison?" Teri asked with interest.

Jack smirked, unknowingly rubbing at his stomach.

"Oh, long story. The two security guards were pretty friendly, though. They were… shall we say, persuaded to help me escape. If I ever get the chance, I'll buy you a drink sometime and tell you all about it."

"I'll hold you to that," Teri smiled. Her smile faded away, however, as she scanned the room. "There's nothing in here."

"Well, what did you expect? I told you they'd have moved it. Technology like that must seem like it's dropped from the Gods."

"Well, they can't get into it, whether they hack away at it with a chainsaw or surround it with plastic explosives. They've no chance of getting in, so they're wasting their time."

"And so are we. There's nothing here," Jack commented dryly, gesturing grandly at the surrounding marble flooring and prominent throne. He sighed and walked forward, he's footsteps echoing eerily around the chamber. Teri felt the hairs on her neck stand on end as he stopped before the grand chair, contemplating it thoughtfully.

"Not exactly royalty, but it's a nice chair," he said, turning on the plinth and sitting gingerly on the end. Feeling a little more comfortable, he shuffled backwards, his arms resting neatly on the arms. "Nice, very nice," he smiled. Teri faltered, worried, before walking a little closer herself. Jack watched her slow and nervous progression through the Hall with an amused expression, until a sudden thought hit him, and he frowned, leaning forwards.

"Teri?"

"Yes?" she asked, turning her gaze from the chair to his face.

"Do you have a key for the TARDIS? With you now, I mean?"

"Yes, of course. Why?"

"Well, I'm sure I remember The Doctor using his key to locate the TARDIS at some point. Can't clearly remember when or where it was, might have been drunk at the time… but anyway, he did. Don't know what he did, either, but I presume you do," he added as her face ignited.

She smiled broadly and fumbled with a remarkably thin chain hanging around her neck. As she pulled it free of the neck of her pale and faded lilac-looking dress, Jack's smile widened. A shiny key hung from the centre of the chain, glinting gently in the dim light that was dividing the room.

"That's more like it!" he called happily, pointing at it. Teri spared him a soft smile, before she held it against her palm, closed her eyes, and waited.

Jack fell silent, his eyes lingering for a moment on the hem of her dress, just below her knees. Now that he thought about it, and for once the removal of clothing was nowhere near the forefront of his mind, it was the first time he could remember seeing her dress-sense, due to the intense darkness that they had been living in.

The thin, silken material was moulded perfectly to her slim figure, the short sleeves hanging loosely over her shoulders. The rich-looking lilac colour was broken by streaks of red, smeared by dirt and grime from their cell. Large rips occupied undisturbed areas across her waist, and a rather more revealing one along the side of her chest. In short, an elegant and well-cared-for traditional garment probably ruined beyond repair, thanks to her captivity.

His eyes falling unconsciously to her feet, he noticed with a restrained snort that her footwear was a little unsuitable for the occasion, though she seemed to have adapted well to wearing high heels.

All in all, her attire gave off an air of, dare he say it, superiority. Almost royalty. Quite fitting, he realised, as he remembered that he was standing in the presence of what was apparently one of two surviving Gallifreyans. Unfortunately, its condition had been diminished, somewhat. Still impressionable, but diminished.

Teri's faint sigh of relief pulled him back down to Earth and he gasped as he noticed the key glowing merrily within her outstretched palms. She moved it slightly to the left, as a gold-digger would a metal detector, and the glowing dimmed. She moved it across again, back to the centre, facing the throne, and the glow increased. She smiled as she stepped forwards, occasionally shifting its position to check she was heading in the right direction, and soon found herself standing directly before the throne.

Jack frowned.

"You don't suppose this is it, do you? A Throne Room without a throne is a rather peculiar thing," he muttered. Teri shook her head, frowning.

"No, it's just around it somewhere. And I know for a fact that it would not become invisible, no matter where it lands. It has to have physical form… so where is it?" she sighed frustrated.

Jack made to stand up but a tiny button on the left arm-rest grabbed his attention before he had moved an inch.

"Wait," he murmured, holding his hand out and gesturing her closer. Teri leaned in, staring at the tiny bump on the smooth, polished surface. Puzzled, she moved the key closer to the miniscule button, and smiled gently as the glow increased dramatically.

"Don't know what it does, but I presume whatever it is will include revealing the TARDIS. Don't suppose we have much of a choice, Jack," she said, quietly. Jack nodded and reached for the button. Suddenly hit by a rather unpleasant thought, he stopped and clambered to his feet.

"Don't want to be sat there if I'm going to get sucked into another Dimension, or something," he smiled. Teri was too engrossed in the gently glowing key to take notes, and so Jack gave up, sighing. He stepped around to the side of the throne, and held his hand hovering over the tiny button. Teri nodded firmly at his questioning glance and, his heart pounding again, he reached forwards with two fingers, and pressed it.

With a strangled yell, Rose began to claw at the ground beneath her, her back arching in pain as thunderous growls left her throat. As one, her small gathering of onlookers began to step backwards, stumbling over each other in their haste to make space. All but The Doctor, who reached for her hand instead. Even the Master looked up in unmistakable interest as her howls grew in timbre.

The silent watches observed with awe as Rose's pointed ears shrank slowly down through her curls, which in turn began to straighten to a more human looking length. The holes in her trainers alerted them to a reduction in nail-length, and her clawed fingers began to shrink back into her skin, leaving reddened finger-tips and ghostly-white nails in their place. Her elongated teeth shrank back into normal incisors, and with a faint moan of pain, she prepared to sit up again, rubbing vigorously at her, now familiar, chocolate eyes.

"Oh, thank Rassilon!" The Doctor cried out, reaching forwards and pulling her into a hug as though they had been separated for a lifetime. Struggling to focus, Rose raised her own arms and wrapped them thankfully around his back, as she recognised his warm embrace.

"Oh God, Doctor!" she murmured into his shoulder, the tears falling beyond her control. As she drew away, suddenly fully aware of her aching head and the blood from his neck resting against her hand and shirt, she reached a tentative hand forward and traced the wound across his throat with a shaking finger.

"Oh, Doctor, I am so, so sorry! I couldn't help myself! It was like some mad animal awoke in my chest and I just lashed out and, God look at the state of it! Oh, I'm so, so sorry, Doctor!" she wept, clinging to him again as though fearing he would melt before her eyes.

Ignoring both the nausea and the dizzy spell that was threatening to overpower him again, he pulled away, dragging himself to his feet. Stooping enough to pull Rose straight, he almost dropped her again as she placed her unsteady weight against his already weakened body. The situation was made worse as her legs gave way from beneath her, leaving her clinging to his shoulders, her head connecting with his chest. Harry and Ron shot forwards, lifting her to her feet again, an arm each over their shoulders. She nodded gratefully and struggled to support her own weight again, gasping as a sharp pain shot through her spine.

"What is it?" Harry asked as Ginny stepped over to help support The Doctor. Rose shrugged nonchalantly.

"Hitting the ground, like that, isn't really much good for the back, Harry," she said, shaking her head. "It hurt!"

"Oh, I tried to slow your fall a bit, but I haven't completely got the knack of that spell, yet. We don't tend to use it all that often."

"I'm honoured," Rose muttered, testing her footing. She glanced wearily over her shoulder at Ginny, who was struggling to hold The Doctor steady. After twenty seconds of constant swaying, the pair made a mutual agreement to give up and he leant against the wall, grimacing.

"I really am sorry, Doctor," she called desperately. The Doctor simply nodded, turning to Ron.

"We have to find her," he murmured, trying to steady his breathing enough to speak. Ron nodded, his face unnaturally pale as he leant back and stared at the black void above their heads.

"God, Doctor, you've faced your fare share of cuts and scrapes today. That wound looks pretty fatal from where we're standing," George called, watching them from the wall. Fred nodded in agreement.

"Hardly fair," he said, shaking his head. The Doctor sighed, pushing himself from the wall and stumbling almost drunkenly towards them.

"Don't ask, it's almost normal for me, honest. Although why I'm still alive like this is a pretty puzzling thing. The only thing I can relate it to is a mental transference of energy, but that's only possible between Time Lords," and he fell silent, gripping onto Ginny's shoulder as they stopped in front of the Master, who was examining his nails as though bored with the proceedings.

"Right, so. How do we get out of here?" Harry asked, gripping Rose's elbow with unacknowledged strength. Enough strength to cause her fingers to go numb, in fact.

"No idea, but I don't fancy running into the Sirens again, they aren't exactly pleased to see me," The Doctor said, pointing half-heartedly at the ceiling.

"The who?" Ginny frowned.

"The Sirens of Time," The Doctor said, his voice strangely mystical. Rose smiled slightly, but it slipped almost immediately.

"So those things were real, then?" she asked. When The Doctor nodded grimly, she sighed. "I thought I might have dreamed that bit. So where are they? They haven't come after us."

"No, I presume they'll be working their way down here sometime soon. And I'd rather we weren't here to greet them," he called, walking as steadily as he could along to the end of the corridor, before falling against the wall and sighing. "Bloody blood loss," he muttered. Rose dropped her gaze guiltily, all too aware that he would not accept a third apology. "I don't know what's keeping me alive but I think I'd rather regenerate."

"Regenerwhat? That's when you change your body, is it?" Fred asked. Rose nodded at him, and he lapsed into a thoughtful silence, George considering his unusual face with worry.

"Doctor?"

Seven heads swivelled and turned to see the Master, leaning casually against the black wall.

"Yes?" came the somewhat pained reply.

"A deal is a deal."

"Ah," he sighed again. He paused, then said, "Can we not find Hermione first? She's in rather a lot of trouble as she is."

"We can pick her up on the way, my TARDIS is in the same chamber. You do, of course, no the way," he added silkily, still finding faint interest in his finger nails.

"No, I must confess I failed to take down road directions after being almost bitten to death. No offence, Rose, but your teeth were rather sharp."

Rose scuffed the ground guiltily, her toes rubbing through the holes. The Master let out a rather obviously forced sigh and stepped into position in front of the group.

"Looks like you'll have to follow my lead, then," he said airily, smirking. The Doctor resisted the urge to flash two fingers in his general direction through fear of over-exertion. Instead, he nodded and walked as close to the Master as he could without arousing suspicion, secretly gripping the handle of his sonic screwdriver in his coat pocket. A faint smile swept across his face as he was reacquainted with its familiar cool thrum beneath his fingers.

Making a steady pace through the pitch-black corridors, the group pressed ever onwards, eyes and ears strained for anything beyond their blackened passage. After about twenty minutes, Harry turned to The Doctor.

"You do know that we haven't accomplished what we set out to do, don't you?" he said, a faint hint of annoyance etched skilfully behind his words. The Doctor nodded sadly.

"Well, we did try. We just couldn't find them. There were plenty of people we shouldn't have encountered, but the ones we were searching for just weren't biting the line. And after all, you never really gave us a lot to go on, Harry."

"Shifting the book?" The Doctor opened his mouth to object but Harry laughed, raising a hand. "Don't worry, it is partly my fault. There wasn't anything to narrow down our search, but I should have looked a little harder."

The Doctor shook his head violently, the sudden movement sending another wave of nausea into his throat again and causing him to lean against the wall once more in an attempt to steady his vision. "No, Harry," he said once he'd recovered. "You couldn't have worked harder if you'd tried. Ignore me, I'm just not really one for admitting to my mistakes," he smiled.

A low and thunderous roar from up ahead caused them to stop dead in their tracks, gazing nervously into the black void before them.

"Oh, now what?" Fred murmured, irritated. "This is getting ridiculous!"

"You're telling me," The Doctor mumbled, straining his ears against the pounding of blood inside his lobes and the thumping of his racing hearts. "Hold on a moment," he added as the roars reached his ears once again. His companions fell silent, listening, watching.

"Oh, it can't be!" he muttered, listening to the rapidly becoming frequent cries. "I recognise that. That sound, I've heard it before, centuries ago!" Everyone had stopped, now. Rose stepped up behind him, reaching for his hand. "This is getting increasingly more worrying," he murmured, shaking his head. "I don't know what the Hell's going on, but we have got to get away from here!"

As though his words were a power switch, everyone began to back away, retreating through the corridor they had just walked up, pushing and shoving despite their best attempts as the corridor began to feel incredibly claustrophobic.

"Wh-what is it?" Rose asked, her voice shaking.

As though in answer to her question, a towering, soaked creature launched around the corner, advancing slowly but surely towards them. From the way it was sniffing unseeingly towards them, the creature was blind, but its sense of smell was working at one hundred and ten per cent despite its reluctance to watch its prey.

"Eurgh, what the Hell is that thing?" Ginny asked, her words laced elegantly with an undisguised disgust.

The Doctor stared up at its dripping mouth as it swooped down upon them, unconsciously pushing Rose behind him as the rest retreated further down the corridor.

"A Drashig," he whispered, staring at the beast in shock. "Another creature from my past, one that certainly shouldn't be camping out in the Underworld. This is becoming more and more dangerous by the second." He blinked and spotted the Master, standing just behind him. "Right, I agree, we have to get to your TARDIS," he called back, suddenly. The Master smiled faintly, stopping his retreat.

"We aren't far from that ice-chamber, now, it's a few minutes walk down this corridor, Doctor," he said, almost helpfully. The Doctor nodded and examined his possibilities.

"Right," he said, his voice commanding as it echoed eerily around them. "Harry, stick with me. Rose, take this vial, Hermione will be somewhere in the chamber where the Master is going to take you to. His TARDIS is in there, so trust me, he will be taking you. Bring her around, it shouldn't take too much. Then, the Master can key in my molecular structure into the Scanner and you can come and collect us. Why I'm trusting you to do this honestly is beyond me, but there you go."

The Master blinked and stared at him.

"Are you crazy? That's suicide!" he cried indignantly.

"Well, I can't repair your TARDIS for you while I'm being digested, now, can I?" he spat back. "Your TARDIS will be fine enough to pick us up, once you've tracked us, and then we can get the Hell away from here, alright?"

The Master considered his determined face for a second, then nodded.

"Alright, then, we'll try it your way. But if the Scan proves fruitless, we're leaving without you," he said firmly.

The Doctor paused, watching Harry. Harry's face was skilfully blank, as he stared resolutely back, wand in hand.

"Fine, but you get the others to safety before you go gallivanting off over the Universe, comprendé?" The Master nodded, and The Doctor sighed reluctantly, following Harry's tracks down through the corridor behind them. The rest shrank as far into the walls as they could, holding their breaths as the monstrous creature shuffled achingly slowly past them.

The Doctor withdrew his sonic screwdriver, pointing it directly at the Drashig's face, trying to keep its attention focused on him rather than the rest, and watched as the four teens, Rose and the Master bolted as quietly as they could away from them.

"Ready, Harry?" he called, his hearts beating viciously against his chest.

"As ready as I'll ever be," Harry replied, straightening his aim. The Doctor nodded and waited, watching with baited breath as the Drashig approached, looming above them, teeth bared. "Aah, problem!" Harry called suddenly, causing The Doctor to turn and glance over his right shoulder. Harry was standing just behind him, facing the opposite direction, staring into the gloom ahead of them. "We have company," he said.

"Who?"

"Er, what were those Sirens of Time you mentioned?"

The Doctor could have laughed at the irony.

"Oh, fantastic," he sighed, not sure whether he wanted to cry with exasperation or scream it out instead.

Harry glanced wearily over his shoulder, staring briefly at the Drashig, then turned to stare as three beautiful creatures shuffled towards them through the gloom, accompanied by a peculiar bear-like animal. Then he turned to The Doctor, who seemed unsure as to what his next move was going to be. The Doctor met his gaze, his face pale.

"We're trapped," they said unanimously.

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