A/N - Hihi, I told you I'd be updating quicker, aha! Uh, just to quickly reply to the reviews I got left before!
Geast (Guest) - Part Two is gonna take place a year after this adventure for Callum, Keith and Laura, but it'll take place after The Doctor, The Widow and the Wardrobe for the Doctor - so Amy won't be with them anymore, I'm afraid! Thank you for the review!
The10thDoctorRocks - Thank you very much for the good review! I thought it would be good to suggest how much Callum's changed since his first adventure, and the best way to do that was by getting the others to point it out, and I'm glad you didn't mind the gap in between updates - thank you for your patience!
Now, on with Part Three!
Meanwhile, in orbit, the Doctor, Amy and Sharpe had just stepped off the elevator, onto Deck Five.
"Alright, so what are we looking for?" Amy asked.
"If it's meant to be top secret it'll be in Lab number 3," Sharpe said, pointing at a door with a large number 3 engraved into it.
"Excellent, that saves us hunting around! Oh, by the way, Captain, where are the rest of the crew?" the Doctor asked, as he opened the door. "I meant to mention before!"
"Well, you see, when the pirates boarded, there was an immediate evacuation via teleportation. The only reason the Deck Seven personnel and I were left behind was because of a power fluctuation in the system. I was performing an inspection when the pirates boarded, so I was the only superior member of personnel left onboard, making me Acting Captain."
"Ah, I see," the Doctor nodded. "That would explain why this place is such a mess." The three of them stepped into the lab to see that the place was in chaos, with spilled coffee and paperwork all over the floor. "Ah, and there's what we came for!"
A large glass tank was in the centre of the room full of what appeared to be flakes of red snow.
"Burning snow," the Doctor murmured, quietly. "That is quite ingenious. What was the point of it though?"
"I have no idea," Sharpe replied, crossing to a computer. "But I'm sure there'll be an explanation on the records."
"Excellent, you search for tha-" the Doctor started, being interrupted by Amy's phone as it began to ring.
"It's Callum again," Amy said, as she pressed the speakerphone button. "Hey, you three okay?"
"Oh, yeah, we're fine... but we have a problem," Callum replied.
"Why what's wrong?" the Doctor asked.
"Well, um, I may or may not have hit the wrong lever, and we may or may not be on Earth on Christmas Day."
"Christmas Day?! Sharpe, what day is it?" the Doctor cried.
"Christmas Day, Doctor," replied Sharpe. "You all arrived at half past eleven on Christmas Eve. It's five past twelve now."
"Callum, what time is it on Earth?"
"Same time for us, Doctor," Callum said. "The scanner says we're in London."
"Hm, that could be useful for us, actually," the Doctor murmured. "Right, it's alright, you three stay there just now, and I'll phone you back!"
"What? What about you and the others?"
"Oh, it's just me, Amy and Sharpe. The others went to a panic room to wait it out. But we're in the Lab now, and we've found the Brimstone Snow. I think it's safe to say this could prove to be a deadly weapon. Anyway, I'll phone you back in a bit, just stay where you are for now, alright?"
"Okay," sighed Callum. "Talk to you soon." The line disconnected.
"Right then, Sharpe, found the file yet?" the Doctor asked.
"Yes, Doctor. It would seem that you were right when you said the Snow was a weapon. It was sanctioned by the US Government as a threat against the terrorist cells operating in the East."
The Doctor's expression turned stern and his jaw clenched. Amy noticed his change in demeanour straight away.
"Doctor, keep calm. You need to keep in control."
"Ugh, humans," sighed the Doctor, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Right, okay, I'm alright."
"You sure?" Amy asked.
"Yes, yes, thank you, Amy, sorry."
Meanwhile, two decks below them, Captain Ranheim of the good ship Demonheart was handing out orders.
"You two, Squill, Darkrun, go back to the ship and find the flight path of that box. You get them three lilly-livered scum piles and bring 'em back onboard post'aste, d'you understand?"
"Yes, Cap'n!" the two cyborg pirates said in unison, marching back towards the elevator.
"What about us, Cap'n?" asked another pirate, whose face was a mesh of flesh and machinery.
Ranheim turned to the other six members of his crew, his one red cybernetic eye glaring at them. "Wha'd'you mean, you idiot?! We're goin' to get the Snow!"
Meanwhile, in the TARDIS, the three friends had been waiting for a good ten minutes with absolutely no idea what to do.
"This is ridiculous," sighed Callum. "We're just supposed to stay here while the Doctor and Amy get all the fun!"
"If it's a choice between being chased by killer cyborg space pirates or sitting in a nice, safe time machine, then I'm not going to complain!" Keith said. "Oh god, I can't believe I just said 'time machine' like it's a normal thing." Callum and Laura laughed and after a second he saw the funny side and joined in.
"It's definitely been one of those days," Callum chuckled. He went to say something else, but he was interrupted by an alarm noise from the scanner. He jumped around the console to inspect the scanner and then stood with his jaw dropped.
"What is it?" Laura asked.
"We're being traced. They must have locked on to us before we even left the space station! I'll need to dematerialise again, to try and throw them off!" Callum said, sliding to the next panel of the console and flicking all the switches up at once. "This isn't going to be easy!"
"Well, this hasn't exactly went to plan, has it?" Amy hissed to the Doctor as she wrestled with the ropes tying them to the metal pillar in the middle of the room. Sharpe was tied to another pillar, and he was looking even angrier than Amy felt.
"Yes, well, how was I to know they'd override the power?!" the Doctor sighed. "It's alright, I have a bit of a plan. Well, no-"
"It's more of a 'thing'," Amy finished, rolling her eyes.
"Exactly!" the Doctor said, happily.
"I suppose it's just lucky they haven't killed us yet," Sharpe said.
"Ahahaha, don't be countin' yer chickens yet, me laddie," said the metallic voice of Captain Ranheim as he approached them. He sat down on one of the chairs, and Amy took a good look at him.
He was more or less half flesh and half technology. His face was more or less human, minus the empty eye socket where a single red light shone from. He had a long black beard, with patches of silver, tied at the ends with several golden rings.
He wore a blue vintage jacket with golden buttons and lapels that had been badly burnt, and several bullet holes indicated he was not a stranger to battle. Under the jacket he was shirtless, revealing the metal plates that had once been his chest and stomach.
The side of his body that still had flesh was heavily muscled, and half a tattoo was visible before the flesh met the metal plates. Scars covered his flesh – enough to suggest that he had probably been in one too many swordfights.
Her eyes were drawn to the sword in its sheath at his waist, tucked into his belt. He wore simple white trousers covered in several bloodstains, and a large piece had been torn from his left leg, exposing more metal plates jammed together. The pistons holding this bit together were more rusted than the rest of his body, and Amy took a quick note of this.
On his feet he was wearing black leather military boots, but they were too dark for Amy to note anything of interest.
"Getting to know your enemy, ay, lass?" croaked Ranheim. "Hm, I could do with a wench onboard my ship. Whadd'you think, lads?"
The other six pirates cheered and laughed, sinisterly.
"No thanks, mate," Amy replied, cheekily. "Set my heights a little higher than a pirate's skivvy!"
"Oh, a feisty lass at that!" Ranheim laughed, running a hand through his beard. "Don't worry, we'll soon knock that out of you."
"Don't you dare," the Doctor growled. "Don't you dare lay a finger on her."
"Ah, you'll be 'the Doctor' then?" Ranheim chuckled, standing up and stepping around the pillar to face the Doctor. "I thought you'd be taller."
"Yeah, well, sorry to disappoint," hissed the Doctor. Ranheim began to say something else when one of his crew, he had been operating one of the computer devices down the front interrupted.
"Cap'n, the program's been downloaded. We can make our way to Deck One now."
"Excellent! An' I don't think we'll be needin' all of our hostages, now, will we?" Ranheim smiled, showing the metal spikes that had replaced the space his teeth once occupied. "Take the girl, leave the other two here, and we'll get them on the way back."
"Yes, Cap'n!" the crew said in unison.
A balding, hideous man approached them and Amy felt a wave of nausea hit her as she saw the cybernetic pirate's face. A single eye occupied a metal slot, and where his mouth should have been, a metal grille now occupied. Burns covered the majority of his face, and Amy noticed that stitches ran over several parts of his body, before meeting more metal plates.
"This 'ere be Blinky," said Captain Ranheim. "An' he'll be your guide til we get back to Demonheart, my dear."
"Don't take her!" the Doctor cried, struggling against his restraints.
"Doctor, help me!" screamed Amy as the pirate called Blinky untied her from the pillar and handcuffed her to his metal plated arm.
"Knock 'em out," ordered Ranheim, before turning and walking out the Lab. Amy called for the Doctor again as a pirate with long, metal arms punched the Doctor and Sharpe square in the face at the exact same time. They both slumped slightly, being knocked unconscious almost immediately.
"Doctor? Doctor! Doctor!" Amy cried as she was dragged away.
The Doctor woke what seemed like days later, and blinked a few times to try and clear his vision. That punch had been pretty tough.
"Only the fifth time I've been punched by a cyborg," he mumbled. "It never gets any easier."
"Doctor? Are you alright?" Sharpe asked. He had woken up only a few minutes after being knocked out.
"I think so," the Doctor said. "Head's still ringing a bit, but no long-lasting injury. How long have I been out?"
"I'm not sure, but I think Amy's communicator might be able to tell you," Sharpe said. "She dropped it on the way out."
"Her communi- communicator?!" the Doctor cried. "That's it! Her phone! She must have deliberately knocked it out her pocket. I can get hold of Callum! Can you kick it over to me please? It's a little out of reach."
With a litle bit of effort, and several attempts, Sharpe finally managed to get the phone over to the Doctor.
"You're still tied up and your hands are behind your back," Sharpe pointed out. "How are you going to know what to press?"
"Oh, Sharpe, haven't you heard of speed-dial?" the Doctor replied, recalling exactly how Amy unlocked her phone, and the button she would press to speed-dial Callum's number. He pushed the speakerphone button and smiled triumphantly as it began to ring.
"Doctor, you're okay!" cried Callum, happily, as he answered the phone. Keith and Laura drew closer to him to hear what he was saying and he put it on speaker so they could hear the conversation.
"Ah, well, yes and no. But first things first, Amy's been kidnapped by space pirates, and me and Sharpe are... a little tied up. Do you think you could steer the TARDIS back and help us?" the Doctor replied.
"I think so, yeah," Callum said. "We're back in flight again, because they were performing a trace to try and track us down!"
"Hm, I'm guessing they'd only send one or two of the crew after you three. So eight crew members and the Captain. Right, got to make a plan!" the Doctor said. Then suddenly he groaned. "Oh, too many things to do! Okay, no, Callum, it's alright! Bring the TARDIS back here, and then I'll tell you three the plan!"
"On our way!" Callum cried, disconnecting the call and hitting a button in front of him. Swivelling around the console, he flipped a switch and then grabbed onto a lever. "Here we go!"
Meanwhile, the pirates and their hostage had arrived at Deck One. Amy was strapped down to a chair and she kicked and struggled viciously to get out of her bonds to no avail.
"Oh, I swear you're in for it when I get out of these!" she yelled.
"Shut her up," said Captain Ranheim, quietly, with a wave of his cybernetic hand.
One of the crew, who had a robotic head – except with incredibly human eyes – came over to Amy and produced a gag, tying it around her mouth to prevent her from speaking. She considered trying to bite him, but considering his hand was made of steel, she'd probably only break her teeth.
"Excellent, now, Strandox, get a transmission to the United Nations. Varavin, monitor the shields, and Blinky, Trander, Mocksbone, get the Snow program running. Fuldir, you keep our lass well guarded."
"Yes, Cap'n," the crew replied in unison, rushing about their respective tasks.
This isn't turning out quite the way I wanted it to, thought Amy, worriedly.
Callum, Keith and Laura rushed out the TARDIS into the Lab.
"Oh, thank God for that!" Sharpe said, quietly.
"Right, quickly, Callum, take the sonic screwdriver from my pocket and use it to break the lock on these chains," the Doctor said. Callum reached into the Doctor's tweed jacket and produced the screwdriver, before walking around the back of him and sonicking at the lock.
"Okay, so what's the plan, Doc?" Keith asked.
"Don't call me Doc," the Doctor sighed, irritably. "Anyway, the plan is quite simple. You three are going back to Earth."
"What?!" cried Callum. "You're sending us home?!"