Issy: Oh, good I'm glad it came out right. I was a little nervous about it. Grem is a difficult character, but I enjoy writing him. And I'm always nervous about being OOC with Martha and Jack.

Mystery Commenter: Creepy is what I was going for. I'm happy it came across and that you're enjoying it.

Dengirl: You're right. Jack and Martha had better hurry up, especially after this chapter.

Thank you everybody for taking the time to read and comment! I really appreciate it and can't wait to hear your thoughts on this chapter.

When the Doctor awoke, exhausted, aching and in pain, he noticed something was different. It took him a moment to figure out what it was, but he finally decided that it was the darkness. It wasn't as... touchable as it had been. Akdevor had left him alone. This wasn't terribly surprising. If Akdevor had thought his mind was difficult to penetrate when he was awake, then he'd have found it impossible while he was sleeping. When he slept, his mind could focus more on rebuilding and maintaining his mental barriers, making them virtually impenetrable in that state.

He slowly got up from where he had been laying sprawled out on the cold floor, wincing at the protests of his body. He had multiple long cuts and several burns. He attempted to rub at the back of his neck, but frowned irritably at finding the metal collar in the way. He grabbed the cord that kept him connected to the wall with only a few inches of slack to move and ten began feeling the collar until he again found where it opened. Keeping his hand there, he scratched his head with his other hand and began thinking. He now knew the dimensions of his current prison and of the room outside. He also knew where both rooms' doors were, but he was still practically blind. Akdevor and his Legion could see, which was a major problem. If he could see, he would feel much better about any attempt at escaping. He was certainly at a disadvantage, but that didn't change the fact that he needed to get out of there as quickly as possible and find Jack and Martha.

He went over his escape plan carefully in his mind, picking over the details with care. Getting out of this room would be simple enough. It was an 8x8 square and the door was at the far end of the room on the left side of the wall. It would take him straight out and into the large room he'd been carried into at the first. This was the more tricky part, as the room was a good 120x80 feet with nowhere to hide in order to sneak through. He would simply have to book it, not an easy task when your pursuers can outrun you in a split second. If he should happen to run into Legion or Akdevor along the way, he'd end up right back here. He rubbed a hand over his face indecisively. Well, if he stayed, he was 100% screwed. If he tried to escape, there was a 50% chance he would be screwed. He decided on the latter.

Getting the sonic screwdriver from his pocket -which he was grateful had not been confiscated upon his capture- he unlocked the collar and set it gently down on the floor so that it wouldn't make any noise. He then quickly and quietly crossed the room, finding the door exactly where he'd thought it would be. He pointed the sonic at the door, lighting the room with a dim blue light as it whirred and unlocked the door. He opened it just a smidge and peeked out, then realized how pointless this gesture had been, since he couldn't see anything, and simply opened it wide and stepped out in the large room.

Nothing attacked him, which was a good sign, but he wasn't in the clear yet. He still had a 120 foot sprint ahead of him, plus a few miles to get out of the shadow of the mountain. He stood for a moment, listening and smelling the air, but he got nothing. With this in mind, he started running, sprinting across the room as fast as his legs could carry him. If something heard him, at least he would have a head start.

"Help!"

He had gotten halfway across the room when he'd heard it and he skidded suddenly to a halt. He paused, listening hard and wondering if perhaps he'd just imagined it.

"Someone please help!" the voice called out again.

The Doctor figured out where it was coming from and turned, making his way through the darkness towards where he'd heard the call come from. When he got to the wall, he began walking along it, feeing for doors. Actually he found several, spaced 8 feet apart from each other. The first one he found he opened and looked inside. It was as dark as his had been, so he shined the sonic into the room and although its light wasn't terribly bright, it showed him that there was no one in the room. He went to the next door and checked inside, but again found no one.

"Help! Please help me!" the voice- a young boy's, likely in his teens- called out again.

The Doctor got to the third door, threw it opened and pointed the sonic into the room. It illuminated a young alien boy within, who flinched away from its light and backed away into the corner. He had a collar around his neck, which was connected to a cord in the wall. All of these rooms were prison cells.

The Doctor dashed across the room and knelt beside the boy. He was aqua blue and had large black eyes with white pupils. His clothes had been torn and ripped in several places, looking more like rags than anything else. The Doctor looked him over briefly, but found no major wounds save for a few scratces to match his own, and then pointed the screwdriver, unlocked the boy's collar.

"Hello, there!" the Doctor greeted cheerfully. "I'm the Doctor. I'm going to help you. And who might you be?"

"Marcol," the boy replied, looking at him with wide eyes.

"Nice to meet you, Marcol," the Doctor said with a smile. "Can you see?"

"No. Can you?"

"Nope. Right now I'm as blind as a bat," he stated and then looked out of the door. "Marcol, do you know if they have anyone else in these cells?"

Marcol shook his head. "No. But I didn't really get a good look."

"That's fine," the Doctor said, helping the boy up onto his feet and then leading him out of the cell. He shut the door behind them (on hindsight, it was a silly thing to do) and then listened closely. Still he could hear no one, nor could he smell anything odd. They appeared to be alone.

"What kind of a name is The Doctor?" Marcol asked curiously.

"A good one," the Doctor replied dismissively. He hesitated, wondering if he should check the rest of the cells or get himself and Marcol out of there. If there were more prisoners, he wanted to help them, but then again he doubted they would be alone for very long. Akdevor or Legion were bound to show their ugly faces sooner or later, although he would prefer if it were later. "Alright, Marcol, here's the plan. I'm going to get you to the exit. Once you're there you're going to run away from the mountain and go look for Martha Jones and Captain Jack Harkness. Do you know what a human is? Yes? Good. That's what they are. They can help you. If you find them before I do, tell them that I'm here on the mountain and to look for the TARDIS. That part is very important. The TARDIS. Can you remember that, Marcol?"

"Yes, I think so," the boy answered, nodding. "The TARDIS."

"Brilliant! Alright. Hold onto me. We're going to cross the room to the door."

"I thought you couldn't see?"

"You don't need to see to get an idea of your surroundings, you know," the Doctor said. "You might want to think about using your other senses for the time being. Your eyes are pretty much useless here."

He grabbed Marcol's hand and the two of them began sprinting across the room, their footsteps echoing with concerning loudness through the room. Within seconds they had crossed the room and stopped at the wall. The Doctor bgan feeling around for the door, walking along it with Marcol at his side, holding onto his coat.

"Aha! Got it," the Doctor exclaimed happily. He grabbed hold of the handle and found it opened. He swung it wide and immediately came face to face with several (eight, he thought) sets of ghost-white eyes glowing dimly in the darkness. He shut the door and put his back to it. "Oh, that's bad..."

"What?" Marcol asked in alarm. "What is it?"

"Quick, Marcol, run across to the other side. See if there's a door over there," the Doctor said just as the door behind him lurched as something rammed into it. He put his body weight against it to keep it closed. "Hurry!"

Marcol did as he was told and sprinted across the room as fast as his legs would carry him.

The Doctor listened to his progress as he fought to keep the door closed. A few times the force of one of the monsters on the other side ramming it nearly knocked him backward off of his feet. He could hear them snarling and howling in rage and anger and it sent shivers of fear down his spine. If there wasn't another door on the other wall, then they were trapped and it would only be a matter of time before Legion broke the door down. Suddenly he heard Marcol's footsteps stop.

"Did you find a door?" the Doctor called.

He didn't get an answer.

"Marcol? Marcol!" the Doctor yelled. Suddenly the door burst forward, throwing him backwards onto is back with a heavy thud. He didn't have time to gather his wits about him before Legion was on top of him. A clawed hand came down on his chest, pinning him painfully to the floor while several others did the same to his arms and legs. His struggled fruitlessly, trying to get himself free of them, but they just pressed down harder, making him hiss in pain. He heard them snarling wickedly and a few of them snapped at him, threatening to take a bite of him.

"Marcol!" the Doctor shouted desperately. Maybe he found a door? He might have run when he heard Legion break through. He hoped he would be able to get away and find Jack and Martha.

"You have made a foolish mistake, Doctor," Akdevor rumbled. "You should not have tried to escape me." Akdevor's thick blackness engulfed the room, threatening to suffocate everything within.

The Doctor felt anger and fear make his body grow tense and rigid. "Where's Marcol? What have you done with him?"

"You know, you might have escaped had you just left him. You could have escaped, but now both of you are doomed."

"I asked what you did with him! Answer me!" the Doctor yelled furiously. He began to struggle again and he could feel Legion's surprise at his strength.

"How DARE you make demands to me!" Akdevor howled with wild rage. It was met and joined by several angry growls and wails from Legion. Then they began to tear at him. They raked their claws across his chest and arms and legs, tearing away suit and skin and leaving long, red gashes. One bit down on his arm, shaking it like it was trying to tear it off. The Doctor screamed.

"Enough!" Akdevor roared.

Legion stopped immediately, all of them backing away and releasing him.

The Doctor rolled onto his side and curled in on himself as pain screamed at him from everywhere. His wounds bled freely and pooled on the floor around him, soaking his tattered suit in red. He gasped for breath and trembled, fearing that Akdevor would decide to let them at him again and for one horrible moment that seemed to be the case. He was grabbed roughly by his feet and dragged across the room. He tried to kick away, but each time he did it felt like he was further ripping the cuts along his legs, so he simply allowed himself to be taken back to his cell. Reptillian hands relocked the collar around his neck and then took his jacket, sonic screwdriver and whatever little nothings he'd had in his suit pockets.

And then Akdevor came, bursting into his mind like a tornado and tearing at his barriers. The Doctor screamed, hoarse and weak, and began trying to strengthen his barriers, fighting against the raging monster in his mind and a horrible thought struck him; he wasn't sure he was going to be able to fight him off this time.