Hello, faithful readers. Sorry for the late update. School just started back up again, and it's been all hands on deck in the land of crazy teachers giving out homework. I also have three subs next week, one of which shouts at everyone just for the heck of it, so that should be fun.

Enjoy the chapter.

Mickey, 9, and 11 barrelled down the hall as quickly and quietly as they could. The Sontarans didn't realize they were gone yet, and the Doctors hoped it would stay that way for as long as possible. As they crept down the halls and ducked into shadows, they prayed that they wouldn't be found. By some miracle, they hoped to find either Martha or Rose, but it didn't seem likely.

11 paused at the end of a hall, peering cautiously around the corner. He slowly beckoned 9 and Mickey to follow.

"I'm getting really tired of sneaking around," Mickey muttered, only to be snapped at by 9. He wasn't wrong though. This was getting ridiculous.

9 suddenly grabbed 11's arm and pointed at something he had missed. Mickey followed the moving finger and saw it as well. The three of them exchanged grins and hurried towards a small door, that most likely led to the outside.

With 9's handy-dandy sonic (which the Sontarans didn't have the brains to take from him), the lock clicked, and it swung right open. Through it, they saw the rocky landscape, stretching out as far as the eye could see. The Dr. Seuss trees stuck out of the ground here and there, reaching up to the bright sky.

"That's more like it," 11 said. "Come on, let's get out of the dark."

There were some shrubs just outside the door, which the Doctors ducked behind. Mickey pulled the door shut, and peered over the leaves.

"What are we waiting for?" Mickey asked. "I don't know about you, but I'd like to find my wife. Let's make a run for it!"

9 glanced at 'the idiot' for a moment, as if surprised it had spoken. 11, however, shook his head.

"What about the TARDIS?" he asked. "It's in there somewhere."

"Rose could be in danger," 9 pointed out. "We need to find them first." 11 nodded in agreement and glanced out at the landscape.

"Let's go," he hissed, jumping up and bolting towards the trees. 9 followed, but Mickey was caught by surprise.

"Wait, now?" They were already gone. Mickey stood up, but gasped and ducked when he saw something the Doctors hadn't.

There was a Sontaran running after them.

Martha let out a little shout as the figure pulled her to the side. She batted at it, trying to get it to lose its grip. Maybe if it did, she'd have a chance to escape. Not that she could see anything. She did everything she could to get the figure to let her go, but to no avail. She gasped as she felt a hand go over her mouth, muffling her screams.

Martha continued to try to escape. Her waving hand smacked the wall, or at least, Martha thought it did. The figure continued to drag her along.

"Let me go!" Martha tried to say, but she was muffled by the hand. The figure dragged her across the room and suddenly stumbled. Martha pulled away, and tried to run, but something grabbed her hand. It pulled her forward and Martha lost her balance.

Shaking hands stopped her falling, and the figure blindly pulled her to her feet.

"Chee-Chee," Martha heard the figure say. "I need light."

Flames suddenly shot up out of a torch. Martha flinched at the heat, then jumped when she noticed a person who looked just like Kala. Then, Martha's eyes fell on the person who had dragged her away.

"Oh, Rose!" she gasped. "You're okay!"

Over the years, Maria had gotten pretty handy with locks, which made opening the door to what used to be the Bubble Shock! factory very easy. It quickly swung open, and she and River hurried inside.

It had been years since the Bubble Shock! factory had any visitors, so the reception area, which had been pretty nice at one point, was covered in cobwebs. A couple windows were broken and a few chairs were overturn, probably from some kids messing around. River started walking down one of the hallways, which was the one Maria had gone down with Kelsey on the day her life changed.

"Do you have any idea where the Slitheen would keep them?" River asked, her gun in her hand and armed. Maria shook her head.

"No," she murmured. "I have no clue why the Slitheen would be on Earth, or in the Bubble Shock! factory of all places. Could just be a coincidence," she added as an afterthought.

Maria chose a door at random and pushed it open, finding herself in the industrial part of the factory. The ceilings suddenly had pipes running through them, and there were no windows; everything was darker.

The electricity that had been running through that place had been shut off for ages, so Maria pulled a torch out of her pocket. She lit it up and shined it around the hall, much to River's surprise.

"Why do you have that?" River asked. Maria glanced at her and grinned. She twirled the torch between her fingers.

"Clyde came up with this idea, carrying a torch around with you whenever you go on a 'Sarah Jane adventure'. You never know when you're going to be left in the dark." River grinned.

"Clever," she said as they walked along. She still had her gun armed. Maria lit the way.

"It's nothing big," she said, "but it will let us shed a bit of light on the situation."

There was suddenly a loud creak coming from behind them. They swirved around, River's finger on the trigger. Maria flashed the torch around wildly, trying to find something-anything.

"What?" Maria murmured. "I heard something, I swear!"

"So did I," River said.

"It could be a Slitheen," Maria pointed out.

Suddenly, everything went black.

Amy wandered around the console room, bored out of her mind. She had gone to check on Sarah Jane, and found she was still sleeping. 10, Donna, and Rory had been gone for a while, and she didn't know when they would be back. She ran her hand along the coral, noticing how her shoes tried to get caught in the holes of the grated floor. Amy glanced at the door once more, as if watching it would make them come back.

Amy jumped when she heard a noise. Spinning on her heels, she was quick to find where they came from. She smiled in relief.

"You alright?" she asked, leaning on the coral.

Sarah Jane Smith slowly nodded. She leaned on the doorframe, rubbing her eyes.

"I think so," she murmured. "The headache has gone." She seemed to notice for the first time that they were alone. "Where's the Doctor? Where's everybody gone?"

"They saw something," Amy said, walking towards the console, "Outside. It looked like someone who was hurt. They went to make sure they were alright, but we didn't want to leave you by yourself."

"I could have taken care of myself," Sarah Jane half-snapped. She began to walk towards Amy. Amy didn't take offense. She assumed she didn't mean it that way.

"Better safe than sorry," Amy pointed out. She gave Sarah Jane a small smile, which she returned. Sarah Jane sat herself down in the seat in front of the scanner, which had gone back to cutting in and out.

"What's wrong with the scanner?" she asked. Amy shrugged.

"It was broken when we landed," she told her, wandering over to it. "The Doctor spent most of the time you were sleeping working on fixing it." She shook the scanner around and nothing happened. "It's busted again," she grumbled, plopping herself in the seat next to Sarah Jane.

The two women jumped suddenly as a loud, sharp noise echoed through the room.

"What the hell…" Amy murmured. She glanced towards the TARDIS door and jumped as they heard three more of the same noise.

Knock, Knock, Knock…

Sarah Jane and Amy exchanged glances.

"Someone's knocking on the door," Sarah Jane said, slowly standing up.

"The Doctor?" Amy whispered.

"Doesn't the Doctor have a key?" Sarah Jane pointed out. Amy chewed her lip.

"I'm not sure," she replied. "My Doctor has a habit of losing it." Four more knocks echoed through the room, sending shivers down Amy's spine.

Knock, Knock, Knock, Knock...

"Is there any way to see if it's them out there?" Sarah Jane asked. Amy shook her head.

"The scanner's broken," she said.

Knock, Knock, Knock, Knock…

Probably against her better judgement, Amy stood up and began walking towards the door. Sarah Jane's eyes followed her.

"What are you doing?" she demanded, getting to her feet. Amy glanced back at her, her hand on the handle.

"If it's the others, we've got to let them in."

"We don't know what's out there!" Sarah Jane shot back. For some reason, Amy didn't listen. She twisted the lock and pulled the door open.

Donna, Rory, and 10 raced across the landscape towards the little blue box, which was slowly coming into view. 10 fumbled with his key as he ran and Rory raced ahead of them. Donna could scarcely believe the TARDIS had been this far away from the cave, but it felt like forever before they arrived.

10 stood in front of the door, trying to jam the key into the lock. He called out to them.

"Sarah Jane? Amy? Are you alright?" He then cursed when he dropped his key onto the sandy ground.

"Oh, move over," Donna snapped. She pushed in front of the Doctor and prepared to get her key out, when suddenly, the door moved as soon as she touched it.

Donna pushed on it slightly, realizing it was ajar.

"This can't be a good sign," Donna murmured, pushing it all the way open. The three of them hesitantly crept inside.

"Amy?" Rory called, his eyes searching for the red head.

"Sarah?" the Doctor called out.

"Hello?" Donna shouted, hurrying to one of the hallways. "Is anyone here?" she screamed down in. She just heard her own voice echoing back.

The Doctor disappeared through one. of the doors and returned three seconds later, looking distraught. "The med bay's empty," he told them. "Sarah's not there."

Rory peeked into a door inside one of the hallway. "Amy's not in our bedroom," he said.

"The kitchen's empty too," Donna reported reappearing through a door. "So is the pool."

"Amy? Sarah Jane?" Rory shouted.

It was no use. The TARDIS was empty. They were gone.

So, what do you think?

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