Author's Note: If you are reading this and incredibly confused, I suggest that you reread the last chapter. I edited it the day before I published this chapter, and it might have changed since you read it. Also: I like turtles.

At some point the two interrogators realised that his shoulders were not actually going to dislocate. The Doctor smiled privately as they stood on the ground, Fulbert holding the end of the rope as Paul worked, tying a weight to his feet. "That should do it, my lord," Paul growled as he pulled the knot tight.

"Good. I don't know what foul beast of Satan he is, but we shall break him, you wait and see." Fulbert turned to the patiently waiting Doctor. "Do you hear me? I give the word and- how many did you put in that bag, Paul? Twenty?- and Paul releases twenty horseshoes, which are tied to your legs. You can save yourself some pain and misery and tell me where the children are. Or if that is not enough, I will add more; I have many horses. What do you say?"

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Come on, misery? I've had worse torture on my own planet."

"So you do admit to being an agent of the Adversary!" the pious nobleman yelled.

He looked down at the man and smiled. "No, not really." He tensed himself for the drop.

&&&

"K-9, where is he?" she asked, leaning against a wall, keeping to the shadows.

"Master is in the large building to your left."

She looked around the corner quickly. "What? Where inside? It is huge!"

"Master is 65.61 feet away from our present location."

"So he is probably in the back, then?" She knitted her eyebrows together in concern. "Can you tell what he is doing, by any chance?"

Whirring. "It appears by his elevated hearts rate that he is in distress of some kind. Suggest that we mount a rescue operation and attempt to attain him, mistress."

She rolled her eyes. "What did you think I was going to do, join them for a game of darts?"

"That does not seem logical, since the game 'darts' has not been invented by this point in human history."

"Shut up, K-9."

"Affirmative, Mistress."

"And I'm not your mistress."

"Affirmative."

She sagged against the wall, gathering her strength, then hurried around the corner, making her way to the building. The pair made their way around the hall, one rolling along, the other in a shambling bent-forward run and using a sword for support. Eventually, they crouched under a window, peering inside.

"He is right by us?"

"Affirmative, approximately 7 feet away."

"He must be on the other side of that wall, then." She felt an antenna pressing against her hand.

"Temperature is above 101 degrees Fahrenheit. Estimated survival now 32%."

"What?!" snapped the alarmed human. "Why did it drop off so steeply?"

"Because you intend to engage the enemy in combat." He whirred as his ears moved. "Revised, survival is now 25%."

She glared at the dog. "What makes you think that?"

"Earlier I did not take weather conditions into consideration."

"The weather?" She scoffed. "What does it have to do with anything?"

"A storm is about to break overhead. It will rain for several hours, soaking the ground. Given that we do successfully retrieve the master, the TARDIS is 4.67 miles away through dense virgin forest."

She nodded her head. "So you think that if I don't get my ass kicked, and I by some miracle can walk, that I will in the end catch pneumonia?"

"You could also be attacked by a wild animal in the woods, or possibly struck by a meteorite, or-"

"Shut up, K-9! Just once!"

"Affirmative."

She shook her head, not able to help pressing her hand against her forehead once more. "Alright, K-9, can you blast a hole in the wall?" In answer, a hole suddenly appeared, showering her in plaster and splinters. "Not yet!" A man charged out, howling, slightly disorientated and very angry. He spotted her, crouching on the ground. K-9 hit him with the laser, sending him to the dirt, unconscious. A couple more men came from around the corner, and he struck before she was even able to register.

"I suggest you find master." K-9 said as he blasted another man who appeared out of nowhere.

She nodded her agreement, then stumbled forward, ducking into the hole in the side of the wall. A well-dressed man stood inside, obviously very important. "Who are you?" he asked, shaken but indignant.

"I'm Alannah, and I believe that man at your feet belongs to me." She pointed her sword at the Doctor, who laid crumpled on the ground. She swayed suddenly, and quickly thrust the sword into the ground, using it for support and trying to look condescending as well.

"What makes you think I will give him to you?" the man said as he advanced toward her. His eyes flicked down to her leg. "You must be the thief my men found earlier in the evening. Of course you are working with this beast. No matter, I shall teach you a lesson as well." He started to swing his arm back to strike her, when a voice spoke behind him.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," the Doctor hissed threateningly from the floor, then knocked his feet from under him, knocking him to the floor. His head hit the floor with a sick thunk. Clearly he would be no more worry tonight.

"How did you do that?" she asked, awed as she watched him struggle against his bindings.

"Practice. Help me, would you?." He rolled over and sawed the bindings on his wrists on her sword. "But never mind that, how are you walking around? When I left you were barely conscious." With a flourish he swept his arms forward, grimacing as he untied the weight on his legs. Deftly, he rose to his feet, grabbed his hat, and dusted himself off.

She smiled as they ducked through the gap. "Let's say its all thanks to a certain dog we both know."

"K-9!" he exclaimed gladly, looking at his companion. "I am ever so glad to see you." someone yelled in the distance. "Reunions later. Quick, cover us." He gripped her hand tightly. "We are going to go for a little jog through the woods, is that alright?" he broke into a fast trot, holding her close to his side.

The sound of arrows flying by made her gasp, but all hissed through the grass, missing the fleeing trio. All were thankful for the cover of darkness as they crossed the wide area and entered the woods, running.

They continued for a mile, until the sounds of pursuit slacked off. She stumbled, almost falling headlong to the ground, but he managed to catch her and help her to the earth softly. "It's raining," he said, looking up at the leafy canopy over their head.

"20%." K-9 simply reported.

The Doctor looked at his dog. "What was that?"

She groaned. "He is estimating my chances of living out the night, is all. Bloody liar." He grabbed her face in his hands. "What are you doing?" she asked, confused.

"You are burning up. We have to get you to the TARDIS." He grabbed her around the waist, and hoisted her over his shoulder. "And I see you are bleeding again. I really must hurry." She accepted gratefully.

The rest of their exodus went by as a blur. Later she would remember little about it, except for an instance when their hunters caught up to them. Laser blasts from K-9 lit the night, distracting the men, allowing them to escape. At some point he set her down on the ground, resting against a tree.

"How are you feeling?" he asked cheerfully.

"I don't know…" slurred Alannah.

"Hang in there, we are nearly back."

She felt him pick her up gently and carry her in his arms "Am I supposed to hurt this much?" She saw her field of vision going dark around the edges. "Oh, Doctor… I'm…" her head lulled backwards as she fainted.