Chapter 25: Impossible Planet Part 2/ Satan's Pit
The Doctor pulled her into a room where they could overlook the Ood. Danny was standing there, fiddling with a computer screen. When he noticed the two of them, he jumped slightly, eyes wide.
"Evening," the Doctor said, nodding his head. Danny swallowed and nodded.
"Ah. The mysterious couple. How are you, then? Settling in?" Danny asked curiously. His eyes drifted towards Freya's stomach, as if he was awed at the thought of her being pregnant. How long had they been there that he thought he'd never see a pregnant woman again? The thought was unsettling to Freya.
"Yeah. Sorry, straight to business. The Ood, how do they communicate? I mean, with each other," the Doctor corrected, glancing at Freya as he tugged on his ear.
"Oh, just empaths. There's a low level telepathic field connecting them. Not that that does them much good. They're basically a herd race. Like cattle," Danny explained. Freya's heart raced at that statement and she gazed down at the Ood sadly.
"We already knew they were slightly telepathic. Freya was able to hack into it using the baby's telepathic nature. But this telepathic field. Can it pick up messages?" the Doctor asked.
"Does the circle mean anything to you?" Freya asked as well. Danny stared at the two of them for a moment before Freya continued.
"And one of the Ood said something off at dinner," Freya added, realizing that her words had made little sense.
"An odd Ood. Hmm," Danny said, rolling his eyes. Freya gripped the Doctor's arm, glancing down at the Ood once more. All of their heads were raised, staring at them.
The circle. She'd mentioned the circle. Did that mean that meant something big to them? It had to have.
"And Freya got a message on her cellular device as well," the Doctor added.
"Oh be fair. We've got whole star systems burning up around us. There's all sorts of stray transmissions. Probably nothing. Look, if there was something wrong, it would show. We monitor the telepathic field. It's the only way to look after them. The're so stupid, they don't even tell us when they're ill," Danny scoffed.
"Monitor the field. That's this thing?" the Doctor asked, moving towards a computer screen. Danny nodded.
"Yea. But like I said, it's low level telepathy. They only register basic five," Danny said. Freya glanced at the screen to see Basic 5 start rising in number, quite quickly.
"Well, that's not basic five. Ten…twenty…They've gone up to basic thirty," the Doctor read.
Freya's eyes shifted back to the Ood. Instead of staring at her as they had been before, they were now focused on the two men.
"But they can't," Danny said in disbelief.
"What does basic thirty mean?" Freya asked, not taking her eyes off of the Ood.
"Well, it means that they're shouting, screaming inside their heads," Danny said uneasily.
"Or something's shouting at them. Did you pick up anything from them earlier?" the Doctor asked Freya. Freya nodded.
"They seemed scared," Freya supplied.
"But of what? Where's the screaming coming from? What is it saying? What did it say to you?" Danny asked, spinning around.
"He is awake," Freya said, the words feeling wrong on her lips.
"And you will worship him," the Ood all replied monotonously.
"What the hell?" Danny asked as Freya took a step back.
"He is awake," the Doctor said cautiously, staring down at the Ood.
"And you will worship him," the Ood repeated once more.
"Worship who? Who's talking to you? Who is it?" the Doctor asked, eyes glued to them. The Ood made no move to answer and the base itself started to shake.
"Emergency hull breach," the computer voice droned.
"Which section?" Danny asked, eyes wide. The comm sparked to life.
"Everyone, evacuate eleven to thirteen. We've got a breach. The base is open. Repeat, the base is open!" Zach's voice called out. Danny rushed for the door, opening it quickly. The Doctor's hand slid into Freya's as he pulled her along after him, door slamming behind them.
"I can't contain the oxygen field. We're going to lose it," Zach's voice sounded over the intercom. Jefferson appeared in the corridor, hurrying them along.
"Come on! Move!" he shouted, pulling them along. From other doors appeared some of the other crew, Jefferson rushing them all along.
"You too, Toby!" Jefferson shouted at Toby, who seemed extremely disoriented. Freya reached out to him, pulling the Doctor to a stop until Toby took her hand. The Doctor dragged the both of them after him.
"Breach sealed," the computer announced.
"Everyone all right? What happened? What was it?" the Doctor glanced, eyes darting around the room before he spun on Freya. He quickly pressed his forehead against hers and his hand on her stomach, checking on the baby. The baby felt fine to her. Felt almost…giddy…from the excitement.
"He's your son," Freya murmured as the Doctor pulled back.
"Oh yeah," the Doctor said with a grin before turning back to the others.
"Oxygen levels normal," the computer voice interrupted them.
"Hull breach. We were open to the elements. Another couple of minutes and we'd have been inspecting the black hole at close quarters," Jefferson said grimly.
"That wasn't a quake though. What caused it?" the Doctor asked curiously.
"We've lost sections eleven to thirteen. Everyone all right?" Zach's voice called out.
"We've got everyone here except Scooti. Scooti, report. Scooti Manista? That's an order. Report," Jefferson called out. Freya's heart sank at the silence. The Doctor's hand slid into hers, squeezing it reassuringly.
"She's all right. I've picked up her biochip. She's in Habitation Three. Better go and check if she's not responding. She might be unconscious," Zach's voice said. Freya let out a breath of relief, shoulders dropping at the news.
"Habitation three. Come on. I don't often say this, but I think we could all do with a drink. Come on," Jefferson said, beckoning the whole crew to follow him. The Doctor's eyes were on Toby.
"What happened?" he asked.
"I don't…I don't know. I was working and then I can't remember. All that noise. The room was falling apart. There was no air," Toby said, his voice haunted. Freya moved to hug him but the Doctor pulled her back, his grip tight. Freya glanced up at him, noting that his eyes were hard.
Something was going on. And that something had to do with Toby.
"The sooner we get to habitation three, the sooner you can get some food and drink into you. That'll make you feel better," Freya told him soothingly from the Doctor's side. Jefferson snorted, glancing at her.
"Are we talking about the same food?" he asked her. Freya's lips cracked into a wide smile at his words.
The group slowly made their way down the hallway, back towards habitation three.
"I've checked habitation four. Can you hear me?" Ida's voice called out as they entered Habitation three.
"There's no sign of her. The biochip says she's in the area. Have any of you seen Scooti?" Jefferson asked. Freya glanced around, but the room was completely empty.
"No, no, no, I don't think so," Toby said shakily.
"Scooti, please respond. If you can hear this, please respond. Habitation six," Ida's voice called out once more.
"Nowhere here. Zach? We've got a problem. Scooti's still missing," Jefferson said. Freya glanced over at the switch Ida had pulled. It was still down. So the shutters were still open.
"It says Habitation three," Zach's voice called over the coms. Freya glanced up, hoping to catch another glimpse of the sky above.
And her stomach turned.
Because floating there was Scooti's body.
Freya flung herself away from the Doctor and at the trash can, the food she'd eaten earlier spilling up.
"Yeah, well, that's where I am, and I'm telling you she's not here. The pregnant one's sick again though," Jefferson said. Freya could feel his eyes on her but she couldn't stop gagging.
"I've found her," the Doctor said, his voice sounding hollow. Freya retched once more before sinking down next to the trashcan, feeling shaky.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," the Doctor murmured before making his way over to Freya.
"Captain. Report Officer Scootori Manista PKD, deceased. Forty-three K two point one," Jefferson said hollowly.
"She was twenty. Twenty years old," Ida said in horror.
"She thought you were fit. We were talking earlier about how fit you were," Freya whispered, a choked laugh escaping her throat as tears burnt her eyes. The Doctor's arms wrapped around her and he pulled her into his lap as she curled up into a ball.
" 'For how should man die better than facing fearful odds? For the ashes of his father and the temples of his Gods,'" Jefferson quoted sadly. Freya could hear the sound of the shutters closing as the Doctor stood up, lifting her in his arms.
"It's stopped," Ida said quietly. Freya listened, not sure what she was talking about.
"What's stopped?" Freya asked, her voice a croak.
"The drill," the Doctor told her.
"We've stopped drilling. We've made it. Point Zero," Ida said with a bitter laugh.
"Can we get her to a med bay? Get some medicine for nausea?" the Doctor asked.
"Sure. Our med bay was damaged but everything we have is in the drilling area, which is where we need to go," Ida said, motioning for the Doctor to follow her. The group of them solemnly made their way to what they deemed the drilling area. Freya had no idea why they were drilling, but exhaustion from the vomiting made her too tired to truly care and ask.
"All non-essential Oods to be confined," Zach ordered over the coms.
"Capsule established. All systems functioning. The mineshaft is go. Bring systems online now," Ida said as the Doctor sat Freya down on a table and moved away from her. Jefferson started digging in a cabinet, pulling out a tablet for Freya.
"Here. This should help with your nausea," Jefferson told her gently. Freya smiled at him and swallowed it without hesitation. She glance around for the Doctor, but he wasn't present.
Neither was Ida.
"What's going on?" Freya wondered aloud.
"Ida's getting dressed to go down and investigate the area that we've reached. I don't know where your husband went," Jefferson said with an apology. Freya nodded at his words.
Ida made her way back into the room, wearing a spacesuit.
And soon after, so did the Doctor.
"Reporting as a volunteer for the expeditionary force," the Doctor said with a grin.
"Doctor, this is breaking every single protocol. We don't even know who you are," Zach said over the com.
"Yeah, but you trust me, don't you? And you can't let Ida go down there on her own. Go on. Look me in the eye. Yes you do, I can see it. Trust," the Doctor said to a screen. Freya's eyes widened. He was going to go down without her? She struggled to get up off the table.
"I should be going down," Zach's voice reached her ears.
"The Captain doesn't lead the mission. He stays here, in charge," the Doctor said.
"Not much good at it, am I? Positions! We're going down in two. Everyone, positions! Mister Jeferson, I want maximum system enhancement," Zach ordered. Freya stumbled into the Doctor. He steadied her automatically, his expression sinking at Freya's own expression.
"Can I come with you?" Freya asked him immediately. The Doctor shook his head.
"It probably isn't safe down there, and I don't want you in harm's way. You'll be much safer up here," the Doctor told her. Freya gripped his spacesuit tightly.
"But…but if it's not safe, why are you going?" Freya asked, her voice tiny.
"Because I can figure out what's on this planet that makes it so impossible. I'll be back," the Doctor reassured her.
"Promise?" Freya asked, staring at him, searching for any hesitance, any sign of a lie. Nothing flickered through his eyes.
"Promise," the Doctor repeated her, staring at her. He pulled her to him, kissing her on the lips. The baby pulled her from her mind into his, feeling everything from his point of view, his perspective. When he finally pulled back, he was gasping and Freya was swaying.
"Baby needs to not do that so frequently. It exhausts both him and you," the Doctor said with a playful smile.
"You try telling him that. I doubt he can understand you just yet. And if he can, he's probably like you and will ignore any warnings," Freya said with a choked laugh. The Doctor gave her one last hug before pulling his helmet on.
"I'll see you later. I love you," the Doctor told her intensely.
"Love you too," Freya told him, swaying slightly as he took a step back. Jefferson steadied her, helping her back to the bed she'd been placed on before.
The Doctor stepped into the lift-like capsule and like that, it disappeared from sight.
"Is it safe?" Freya asked Jefferson as soon as the Doctor had disappeared from sight.
"It should be," Jefferson said, but Freya could tell he was lying.
She didn't call him out on it.
Jefferson did hand her a small device that resembled a walky-talky.
"Here. It's a comm so you can communicate with him," Jefferson offered. Freya took it and gave him a wide smile.
"Don't forget to breath. Those suits can't force the air into your lungs," Freya said, hoping her voice was coming off as carefree as she was trying to make it.
"Freya, stay off the comm," Zach ordered, his voice coming through the comm.
The lift-capsule seemed to shudder a bit and shake. Freya's eyes widened as it made a dropping noise.
"Doctor, are you okay? Answer me!" Freya demanded, feeling her anxiety spike.
"Ida, report to me. Doctor?" Zach's voice demanded as well.
"It's all right. We've made it. Getting out of the capsule now," the Doctor's voice floated to them through the comm.
"Thank God," Freya murmured in relief.
"It's beautiful down here. You can tell Toby we found his civilization," the Doctor's voice called back. Freya glanced over at Toby, who'd been unnaturally quiet through everything.
"Did you hear that Toby? You get to do what you're supposed to do. They can't use you as a lackey now," Freya said with a smile, hoping to draw him out of whatever state he was in. Toby nodded absently.
"Good, good, good," he murmured. Freya stared at him, frowning. She moved to get off the bed but Jefferson stopped her.
"Stay there. Just relax. You should rest," Jefferson ordered.
"Concentrate now, people. Keep on the mission. Ida, what about the power source?" Zach asked. Freya frowned once more.
"What power source?" Freya asked Jefferson.
"That's why we're here. You weren't in the room when we told the Doctor, were you?" Jefferson asked her. Freya shook her head quickly.
"We believe there's a power source on this planet. How else could it not fall into the black hole?" Jefferson asked her.
"It could just be an impossible thing. I once talked to a girl who'd been dead for five minutes," Freya said, remembering Gwyneth.
The comm buzzed and Danny's voice overwhelmed Ida's.
"Captain, sir. There's something happening with the Ood," Danny said, his voice hinting at something akin to panic. Freya glanced down at the bracelet, watching the half a charm from earlier dissolve.
And she was hit by a wall of fear, of a loss of control, and of rage.
She shuddered, glad when the feeling faded.
"Something's taking over the Ood," Freya warned them.
"How can you tell?" Zach asked critically.
"My baby is highly telepathic. I can pick up on his readings with the help of a bracelet our…call her our guardian angel…made for me," Freya explained, tugging on her ear as she explained. She sounded barmy…she wouldn't believe herself if she didn't know the truth. Oddly enough, Zach didn't question her.
"What are the Ood doing?" Zach asked.
"They're staring at me. I've told them to stop, but they won't," Danny said, his voice shaking.
"Danny, you're a big boy. I think you can take being stared at," Zach began, but Danny cut him off.
"But the telepathic field, sir. It's at basic one hundred. I've checked. There isn't any fault. TI's definitely one hundred," Danny explained.
"But that's impossible," Zach said.
"What's basic one hundred mean?" Freya asked, glancing at Jefferson. His jaw had stiffened at the words spoken.
"They should be dead," Danny answered her.
"Basic one hundred is brain dead," Jefferson elaborated.
"But they're not. I could feel them. They're there. They're still alive," Freya argued.
"Some people think brain dead people are still alive too," Jefferson said grimly.
"But they're safe. They're not actually moving?" Zach asked Danny for clarification.
"No, sir," Danny said quickly.
"Keep watching them. And you, Jefferson? Keep a guard on the Ood," Zach ordered.
"Officer at arms!" Jefferson said to a crewman who had just entered the area. Freya couldn't remember meeting him before. Another woman entered the room and Jefferson gave her orders too. The Ood in the room didn't move.
"Is everything all right up there?" the Doctor asked worriedly. Freya glanced down at it. He couldn't have heard their conversation. He must've been muted from it. So all he'd heard was silence. Jefferson glanced up at her, meeting her eyes quickly with an abrupt shake of his head.
"Yeah. We're fine," Freya said slowly.
"It's fine," Zach agreed.
"Great," Danny added.
"We've found something. It looks like metal. Like some sort of seal. I've got a nasty feeling the word might be trapdoor. Not a good word, trapdoor. Never met a trapdoor I liked," the Doctor explained. The baby didn't like the sound of the word either, and Freya couldn't say she was too fond of it at the moment.
"The edge is covered with those symbols," Ida told them.
"Do you think it opens?" Zach asked.
"We don't want it to open," Freya said automatically.
"And why not?" Zach asked her immediately.
"It's a trap door. There can't be anything good on the other side of it," Freya said, the feeling of unease growing more in the pit of her stomach.
"That's what trapdoors tend to do," the Doctor agreed.
"Trapdoor doesn't do it justice. It's massive, Zach. About thirty feet in diameter," Ida explained.
"Any way of opening it?" Zach asked.
"We don't want it to open," Freya told Jefferson, not holding down the comm button that time.
"Why not?" Jefferson asked, eyeing her.
"I've got a really bad feeling. We don't want to know what's down there," Freya said.
"I don't know. I can't see any sort of mechanism," Ida said slowly.
"I suppose that's the writing. It'll tell us what to do. The letters that defy translation," the Doctor said, his voice sounding quite frustrated at that fact.
"Toby, did you get anywhere with decoding it?" Zach asked. Freya turned to see that Toby was slightly rocking. She slid off the table and took a small step away from him.
"Toby, they need to know that lettering. Does it make sense to you now?" Freya asked carefully. Jefferson looked up, confused.
"I know what it says," Toby said, his rocking stopping. Jefferson took a step back so he was standing next to Freya.
"What does it say?" Freya asked, taking another step back.
"When did you work it out?" Jefferson asked. Toby's head shot up to stare at them.
His face was covered in the symbols and his eyes were red. Freya took a larger step back, tripping over stray equipment. Jefferson kept her from falling but only barely.
"These are the words of the Beast. And he has woken. He is the heart that beats in the darkness. He is the blood that will never cease. And now he will rise," Toby droned.
"What is it? What's he done? What's happening? Freya, what's going on?" the Doctor's voice called out anxiously.
"Jefferson? Report, Report!" Zach called out as well.
"Officer, as Commander of Security, I order you to stand down and be confined. Immediately!" Jefferson ordered, his voice quaking slightly.
Freya took out her comm and held the button down.
"It's Toby. He has the symbols all over his face. All over him. And his eyes are blood red. I think whatever was possessing the Ood has him," Freya said, her voice shaking.
"Mister Jefferson. Tell me, sir. Did your wife ever forgive you?" Toby asked, tilting his head as he regarded Jefferson. Jefferson's grip on his gun faltered.
"I don't know what you mean," Jefferson said quickly.
"It's why you're so keep to protect little helpless Freya. Because you couldn't protect your own daughter. Let me tell you a secret. Your wife? She never forgave you," Toby taunted.
"Officer, you stand down and be confined," Jefferson ordered quickly.
"Or what?" Toby taunted.
"Or under the strictures of Condition Red, I am authorized to shoot you," Jefferson said.
"But how many can you kill?" Toby taunted before opening his mouth. The symbols floated from him to the Ood. All of the Ood jerked up into attention as Toby collapsed.
"We are the Legion of the Beast," the Ood chanted. Freya gripped Jefferson's arm tightly.
"Freya? What is going on? Freya? I'm coming back up," the Doctor said.
"Report! Report!" Zach commanded anxiously. Freya felt lightheaded. The baby was panicking like she was. Oh she wanted to get out of there. She had to get out.
"Jefferson, report. Someone, report!" Zach shouted.
"The Legion shall be many, and the Legion shall be few," the Ood droned once more.
"Sir, we have contamination in the livestock," Jefferson finally responded to the anxious comm shouts. Freya grabbed her own, ready to page the Doctor.
"It's the Ood. Whatever was possessing them, it has them all. But it doesn't look like it's going to fade this time," Freya said shakily.
"They won't listen to us," Jefferson explained in his own comm.
"He has woven himself in the fabric of your life since the dawn of time. Some may call him Abaddon. Some may call him Kroptor. Some may call him Satan or Lucifer," the Ood continued. Freya's eyes widened.
"Whatever is possessing them, Doctor, it thinks it's the devil!" Freya said quickly.
"Captain, it's the Ood. They're out of control," Danny shouted.
"Or the bringer of Despair, the Deathless Prince, the Bringer of Night," the Ood continued.
The Ood slowly made their way up the stairs. When it reached the first guard, it took out its communication device and electrocuted the guard with it. Freya's eyes went even wider at the sight.
"These are the words that shall set him free," the Ood said as one.
"Back up to the door!" Jefferson ordered, pulling everyone along with him. He pushed Freya behind him instantly.
"I shall become manifest," the Ood announced.
"Hurry! Move quickly!" Jefferson shouted over them.
"I shall walk in might," the Ood continued.
"My Legions shall swarm across the worlds," the Ood stated.
"We're moving! The whole thing's moving! The planet's moving!" Zach shouted from the comm in fear.
"I am the sin and the temptation and the desire. I am the pain and the loss. I have been imprisoned for eternity. But no more!" the Ood said as the door opened.
"The Pit is open. And I am free."
Danny ran through the open door, Jefferson's gun on him the whole time.
"It's me! But they're coming!" Danny warned. Freya grabbed the comm quickly.
"Doctor? Doctor, can you hear me? Doctor, Ida, are you there?" Freya called. Silence greeted her.
"the Ood have gone mad!" Danny shouted at them.
"How many of them?" Jefferson asked, eyebrows furrowing together.
"All of them! All fifty!" Danny shouted back in terror.
The door opened once more and the Ood began making their way into the room, holding their interface balls.
"They're armed! It's the interface device. I don't know how, but they're using it as a weapon," Danny explained, his words slurring together in his rush to get the words out. The Ood stepped in and the first one electrocuted the guard that had lived that long. She screamed and fell to the ground as Freya gripped the comm tightly.
"Jefferson, what's happening there?" Zach's voice called out worriedly.
"I've got very little ammunition, sir. How about you?" Jefferson asked.
"All I've got is a bolt gun. With, er, all of one bolt. I could take out a grand total of one Ood. At lot of good that is," Zach said grimly.
"Given the emergency, I recommend strategy nine," Jefferson said quietly.
"Strategy nine," Zach repeated slowly, "Agreed. Right. We need to get everyone together. Freya? What about Ida and the Doctor? Any word?" Zach asked.
"They haven't responded yet but just give them…" Freya drifted off as the comm came to life.
"Sorry, I'm fine. Still here," the Doctor said cheerfully.
"Thanks for letting us know," Freya mumbled grumpily as the comm went static-y again.
"Whoa! Careful there! Anyway, it's both of us. Me and Ida. Hello! But the seal opened up. It's gone. All we've got left is this chasm," the Doctor explained.
"How deep is it?" Zach asked.
"Can't tell. It looks like it goes down forever," the Doctor said. Freya glanced over at the door, noting that Danny was standing against it. It was closed. But she had a feeling the Ood were all waiting on the other side of it patiently.
"The pit is open. That's what the voice said," Freya murmured.
"But there's nothing. I mean, there's nothing coming out?" Zach asked worriedly.
"No, no. No sign of the Beast," the Doctor told them.
"It said Satan. If it's open, what's to say it's not here already?" Freya argued, feeling sick at the thought.
"Calm down, Freya. Keep it together for the baby," the Doctor warned her. Freya gripped the comm tighter.
"Is there such a thing? Is the devil real?" Freya asked, begging for the Doctor to contradict her. She was met with silence.
"Ida? I recommend that you withdraw immediately," Zach's voice called out.
"But we've come all this way," Ida argued.
"That was an order. Withdraw. When that thing opened, the whole planet shifted. One more inch and we fall into the black hole. So this thing stops right now," Zach told her firmly.
"But it's not much better up there with the Ood," Ida argued once more.
"I'm initiating strategy nine, so I need the two of you back up top immediately, no arguing…Ida? Ida!" Zach called as the comm turned to static. Freya's eyes widened.
"What's strategy nine? What just happened to the comm?" she asked, clutching onto Jefferson's shirt tightly.
"We open the airlocks and throw the Ood out. We'll be safe inside the lock down. It sounds like they lost signal. Or one of them switched it off," Jefferson told her in a soothing voice.
"You should calm down," Jefferson added.
"Calm? How can she be calm? How can we be calm?" Danny shouted anxiously from the door.
"She's pregnant. Do you really want her freaking out on you right now?" Jefferson shot back at Danny. The comm's static faded.
"Freya, we're coming back," the Doctor said. Freya sighed in relief.
"Good," Freya breathed. She turned around, only to see Jefferson pointing the gun at Toby.
"What're you doing?" Freya asked in horror.
"He's infected. He brought that thing on board. You saw it," Jefferson told her, eyes still trained on Toby.
"Are you sure? It went into the Ood," Freya murmured, staring at Toby.
"But it still could be in him!" Jefferson said quickly.
"I can tell you if it is," Freya told them. Jefferson eyed her and Freya watched as a charm dissipated.
But she couldn't get feelings from Toby from the baby. She did get a bad feeling from the baby. She focused on that feeling, trying to understand what was wrong. A second and third charm dissipated and she heard a quiet, disconnected voice.
"Toby…bad….can't….tell…them….pretend….he….is…good. Bad….pass…into…another….person….if…tell…he…is…bad," the voice said. But the words weren't from one voice. It was like the baby was borrowing the words from whenever he'd heard them being spoken. Freya eyed Toby and nodded.
"You don't need to kill him," she said. If he was bad and they killed him, he'd pass into someone else and they'd have to kill another person. They just had to keep an eye on him.
"How can you tell?" Jefferson asked her.
"My baby is telepathic. If my baby says he's fine, he's fine. Don't kill him," Freya ordered, her voice shaking slightly as she did. She technically didn't tell a lie with her second statement. Only the first. If her baby had said he was fine, he would be fine. She just couldn't tell them the truth. Let them believe a half-lie.
Toby shakily got to his feet, but Jefferson kept Freya firmly behind him.
"Okay, we're in. Bring us up," Ida's voice called out through the comm. Jefferson moved to the console, pulling Freya with him as he did.
"Ascension in three, two, one," Jefferson said as the power went out. The monitors flickered to life with images of the Ood.
"This is the darkness. This is my domain. You little things that live in the light, clinging to your feeble suns which die. Only darkness remains," the Ood droned.
"That's not the Ood. Something's talking through them. This is Captain Zachary Cross Flane of Sanctuary Base Six, representing the Torchwood archive. You will identify yourself," Zach ordered. Freya's head hurt at that. Torchwood? She'd heard that before. The mansion! Her mansion, in Scotland. It was called Torchwood. She'd heard it before, too, she was sure of it. But where?
"You know my name," the voice responded.
"What do you want?" Zach asked cautiously.
"You will die here. All of you. This planet is your grave," the voice said.
"It's him. It's him. It's him," Toby murmured in horror as he clutched his head, rocking back and forth.
"If you are the Beast, then answer me this. Which one, hmm? Cause the universe has been busy since you've been gone. There's more religions than there are planets in the sky. The archiphets, Orkology, Christianity, Pash Pash, New Judaism, San Klah, Church of the Tin Vagabond. Which devil are you?" the Doctor asked back.
"All of them," the voice said.
"What, then you're the truth behind the myth?" the Doctor asked in disbelief.
"This one knows me as I know him. The killer of his own kind," the voice said. Freya shuddered at its words. It knew who the Doctor was. What he'd done.
"But he's not just the killer. He's bringing them back," Freya murmured to Jefferson. She didn't want them to think of him like that. She didn't want anyone to think of him like that.
"How did you end up on this rock?" the Doctor asked, ignoring what Freya had said. So did the voice, Freya was glad to hear. She didn't want to hear the voice address her.
"The Disciplines of the Light rose up against me and chained me in the pit for all eternity," the voice said.
"When was this?" the Doctor challenged.
"Before time."
"What does that mean?" the Doctor shot back.
"Before time."
"What does before time mean?" the Doctor asked again.
"Before light and time and space and matter. Before the cataclysm. Before this universe was created," the Beast said.
"But if you were chained before the universe was created, how did you end up in this universe?" Freya asked. No response was given to her. She didn't mind. She didn't like what it was saying though. There were too many flaws. It couldn't be the truth.
"That's impossible. No life could have existed back then," the Doctor said.
"Is that your religion?" the voice taunted.
"It's a belief," the Doctor stated.
"You know nothing. All of you, so small. The Captain, so scared of command. The soldier, haunted by the eyes of his wife and dead child," Freya glanced over at Jefferson, whose grip on her tightened once more.
"The scientist, still running from Daddy. The little boy who lied. The virgin," the voice taunted. Freya glanced around the room, eyes widening as both Toby and Danny reacted negatively to the words.
"And the lonely girl. The girl whose only chance at happiness is a baby. Your baby will die because of you," the voice said. The blood drained from Freya's face immediately and she glanced at Jefferson. Her hand rested on her stomach, pressing slightly as she focused on the baby. The baby felt fine. He felt a bit unsettled, but so was Freya.
"Doctor, is he lying?" Freya begged.
"Don't listen to him," the Doctor told her.
"Is it the truth?" Freya asked in horror.
"You will all die, and I will live," the voice finished as the image on the screen was replaced with an image of a roaring beast. Freya fell backwards at the sight of it, crashing into some equipment as she did.
"What the hell was that?" Danny asked in horror.
"I had that thing inside my head," Toby said in shock.
"What do we do? Jefferson?" Danny asked.
"Captain? What's the situation on strategy nine?" Jefferson asked.
"Zach, what do we do?" Danny asked, turning his hysteria on Zach.
"The planet, the orbit, the black hole. Everything's true," Toby said in horror.
"Captain, report!" Jefferson shouted.
"I don't feel so good," Freya said slowly as her vision began swimming. She tried glancing down to see blood pooling around her and her eyes widened in horror.
"Something's wrong. I'm hurt. Is the baby okay?" Freya asked worriedly, drawing everyone's attention. Jefferson and Danny were at her side instantly, Toby still flitting around.
"I'm going to lift her up. You need to figure out where the blood's coming from. Toby! Get the first aid kit!" Jefferson barked. Toby jumped at his words but rushed towards the first aid kit nevertheless. Jefferson gently lifted her a bit and Danny let out a sigh of relief.
"Hold still. You fell into some of the siding. It looks like a bit of glass and metal cut you open. I'm going to make sure it's not still in the wound," Danny told her. She felt pain erupt in her back but managed to keep from wincing.
"What about the baby? Will it hurt the baby?" she asked in fear.
"No. It's gonna cause a bit of blood loss, as you can see, but other than that it'll be fine. Thanks," Danny said as Toby handed him the first aid kit. Freya did wince as she felt something swipe against her skin.
"Sorry. Disinfectant. I'll bandage it up tight and it should stop bleeding. It is already slowing down a bit. Must've nicked an artery," Danny said, his voice shaky. She felt the cloth tighten and Danny frowned.
"Toby, pull her shirt up a bit. I'm going to have to wrap the bandage all the way around to make sure it applies enough pressure," Danny said.
"Without hurting the baby," Freya reminded him anxiously. Her vision was dancing.
"Are you okay?" Jefferson asked her.
"Vision blurring a bit," Freya admitted weakly. A tablet of some sorts was placed in her mouth.
"Swallow that. It should help with the dizziness and the reproduction of blood cells," Jefferson told her. Freya dutifully swallowed and her vision slowly fixed itself.
"There. That should be good. I wouldn't let her go though. She's probably gonna be shaky for awhile," Danny said slowly.
"We need to let Zach look at her soon," Jefferson added.
"Zach?" Freya asked in confusion. Jefferson nodded.
"Zach was a nurse in training, as well as the second in command. We'll head straight there," Jefferson said.
"Freya? Anyone? What's going on?" the Doctor was calling anxiously. Jefferson took the comm from Freya.
"Everything's fine. Freya took a fall but we bandaged her up. Zach, we're going to need to come your way. We want to make sure Freya's all right," Jefferson said.
"Make sure she's alright? Freya!" the Doctor called out anxiously. Freya held her hand out for the comm.
"I'm fine. Just…get back up here, okay?" Freya asked him.
"Doctor, what did the Beast mean?" Danny asked, his voice already considerably calmer than before.
"That thing is playing on very basic fears. Darkness, childhood nightmares, all that stuff," the Doctor told them.
"But that's how the devil works," Danny pointed out, his breathing increasing once more.
"Danny, can I have some water?" Freya asked, her voice coming out weaker than she wanted it to. But it did the job. Danny calmed a bit as he quickly got her some water to drink.
"Or a good psychologist," the Doctor corrected.
"Yeah, but how did it know about my father?" Ida asked.
"Okay, but what makes his version of the truth any better than mine, hmm? Cause I'll tell you what I can see. Humans. Brilliant humans. Humans who travel all the way across space, flying in a tiny little rocket right into the orbit of a black hole, just for the sake of discovery. That's amazing! Do you hear me?" the Doctor asked. Everyone was staring at the comm, as if just taking in his words.
"Freya, are you sure you're alright?" the Doctor asked immediately.
"I'm fine. Just dizzy. I'm fine. Get back up here," Freya ordered him, making sure her voice sounded as strong as she could make it. He'd be up there in a minute. She didn't need him worrying in the meantime. Especially not when he was doing a fantastic job at calming everyone down. She was good at refocusing their worry, not getting rid of it altogether.
"All of you are amazing. The Captain, his Officer, his elders, his juniors, his friends. All with one advantage. The Beast is alone. We are not. If we can use that to fight against him," the Doctor was cut off at a large crash.
"The cable's snapped!" Ida's voice called out. Freya's heart dropped at those words. No.
"Get out!" the Doctor shouted to Ida through the comm. There was another crash and then silence.
"Doctor, are you alright? Doctor?" Freya asked, panic rising inside of her.
"Comms are down," Zach said.
"Doctor? Doctor!" Freya shouted into it, her voice cracking.
"I've still got life signs, but we've lost the capsule," Zach explained.
"Please say something. Don't you dare go leaving me now," Freya pleaded.
"There's no way out. They're stuck down there," Zach explained gently.
"But we've got to bring them back," Freya whispered.
"They're ten miles down. We haven't got another ten miles of cable. I'm sorry," Jefferson told her regrettably. Tears swam in Freya's eyes as a banging started on the door.
"Captain? Situation report," Jefferson asked.
"It's the Ood. They're cutting through the door bolts. They're breaking in," Zach explained.
"Yeah, it's the same on door 25," Jefferson said grimly.
"How long's it going to take?" Freya asked worriedly.
"Well, it's only a basic frame. It should take ten minutes," Jefferson guessed as a bolt was cut.
"Eight," Jefferson amended.
"I've got a security frame. It might last a bit loner, but that doesn't help you," Zach said, his voice full of defeat.
"So we need to stop them and get out. Any suggestions?" Freya asked slowly.
"How? We have nothing," Danny pointed out.
"What was the Doctor saying? We can do it. There has to be a reason the Beast cut him off. Whatever he was saying, it was right. We can do this. All of us. First of all, we need light so we can see to find an exit," Freya said slowly, wincing. She was starting to feel the pain from her injury now. But the baby was fine, if not worried. But not hurt.
"There's nothing I can do. Some Captain, stuck in here, pressing buttons," Zach said with the same air of defeat he'd used before.
"That's what the Beast wants you to think. You have everything you could possibly need. You have everything at your fingertips. All the right buttons. All you have to do is press the right buttons," Freya told him in her most soothing voice.
"They've gutted the generators. But the rocket's got an independent supply. If I could reroute that….Mister Jefferson? Open the bypass conduits. Override the safety," Zach said. Freya's lips twisted into a smile. Jefferson tentatively let go of her and moved to do what he was ordered to do. Danny steadied Freya before she'd realized she was swaying.
"Opening bypass conduits, sir," Jefferson reported.
"Channeling rocket feed in three, two, one. Power," Zach said as the lights came on.
"Great. Fantastic job," Freya told him.
"Freya, you look really pale," Jefferson said, catching sight of her in the light. He moved over to her quickly.
"Just dizzy still. I'm fine. We have to get out of here or we'll all be dead. I think I can manage," Freya said quietly. She quickly got to thinking. They mentioned the strategy nine. If they could make that work, that would solve their problems.
"What about Strategy Nine? Can you still do that?" Freya asked.
"Not enough power. It needs a hundred percent," Jefferson said grimly. Freya nodded. Of course. They would have already done it otherwise.
"So we need a way out. Zach, you and Jefferson can work on that. Toby, what about you? You're the archaologist, right? Can you try translating some of the stuff? If we can figure out what it says, we might be able to fight this," Freya said. She knew it was no good. But she also knew she had to keep him busy. If she didn't pretend he was like the others, he would notice. And so would the others.
Toby nodded miserably and turned away from them to do what she'd asked.
"Danny. The Ood. You're in charge of them. Is there any way to stop them?" Freya asked Danny.
"I don't know," Danny responded immediately.
"Try to come up with something. There has to be a way to stop them. The Ood aren't invincible. The sooner we get control of the Base, the sooner we can get my husband out of that pit," Freya said. Danny nodded and carefully lowered her onto the med-bed she'd been sitting on before. He moved to do what she'd asked. Freya watched them, trying to come up with any other things they would need.
"Open junctions five, six, seven. Reroute filters sixteen to twenty-four. Go," Jefferson said. Freya wasn't sure if he was talking to himself or Zach.
"There's all sorts of viruses that could stop the Ood. Trouble is, we haven't got them on board," Danny said miserably.
"Can we create a new virus using what we have?" Freya asked.
"No. I don't know how to do that," Danny murmured.
"But there has to be something else you can do," Freya prodded him gently. She glanced around him at the computer screen, which was flashing affirmative. Her eyes widened.
"Danny!" she called, drawing his attention back to the screen.
"Oh my God. It says yes. I can do that! Hypothetically, if you flip the monitor, broadcast a flare, it can disrupt the telepathy. Brainstorm!" Danny said, nearly laughing in relief.
"What does it do to the Ood?" Freya asked him.
"It'll take them spark out!" Danny cheered.
"Okay. That's what we need to do. Can you do it here?" Freya asked him. Danny's smile dropped and he shook his head.
"No, I'd have to transmit from the central monitor. We need to go to Ood Habitation," Danny said decisively.
"Jefferson, any way to get us to Ood Habitation?" Freya asked. Jefferson glanced at her carefully.
"There's a network of maintenance tunnels running underneath the base. We should be able to gain access from here," Jefferson explained.
"Sort of like ventilation shafts?" Freya asked. The thought of being in a small area like that, crawling, make her head spin.
"Only problem is, there's no ventilation. No air, in fact, at all. They were designed for machines, not life forms," Jefferson stated grimly.
"But I can manipulate the oxygen field from here. Create discrete pockets of atmosphere. If I control it manually, I can follow you through the network," Zach said excitedly.
"So we go down into the airless tunnels and you'll make the air follow us by hand?" Freya asked, hoping she was following everything.
"You wanted me pressing buttons," Zach reminded her. Freya nodded at his words.
"Yeah. So we need to get to Ood Habitation. Work out a route," Freya ordered shakily.
"Aren't we forgetting something? There's no way you can make it down the ventilation shafts. Not only are you pregnant and crawling around in a tunnel cannot help you. And you're already lightheaded and close to passing out," Danny pointed out.
"But the alternative is leaving her here for the Ood to kill," Jefferson argued.
"I would only slow you down," Freya realized.
"We aren't going to just leave you here," Jefferson argued.
"You don't have a choice. We can't do anything with the Ood attacking us," Freya pointed out.
"If we can find a hiding spot for you in here, we can come back for you as soon as we get rid of the Ood. It'll take no time to get here from Ood Habitation without the Ood in the way," Danny suggested.
"So we leave her in a room full of beasts possessed by the devil and HOPE they don't happen to find her?" Jefferson asked in disbelief.
"We don't have time to argue. You have to go!" Freya urged them as a phrase popped into her head. Her eyes widened.
"Wait – a perception filter. I can use one of those," Freya said, pulling her TARDIS key out from under her shirt, staring at it.
"A what?" Jefferson asked.
"It's what keeps our ship from being noticed. It shifts your perspective away from the object. This key is attached to our ship that has it. If I can find a way to enhance it, I could ideally sit here and be ignored," Freya guessed, reaching quickly into her pockets. The TARDIS was always putting things in her pockets.
This was something that was important. The TARDIS had to have a way to know about this.
Sure enough, her fingers closed around a tiny metal box. She pulled it out, noting the adhesive already attached to the back. She carefully pressed the tiny box to the key and dropped it onto her chest.
"See me?" Freya asked them. Jefferson's eyes went wide and he shook his head.
"What was that?" he breathed.
"Hey! Where'd Freya go?" Toby asked in alarm. Freya took the necklace off.
"The TARDIS comes in handy. Now go. I'll be fine. When you get back, just call for me once you get to this room," Freya ordered them. She slipped the necklace back on as Jefferson shoved them down the ventilation tunnel.
As soon as the lid to the tunnel snapped shut, the door was broken down. Freya barely breathed as the Ood rushed into the room, ignoring her as they made to follow the others.
It worked. Somehow, some way, it had worked. Freya didn't dare breath out, knowing that she could draw their attention at a moment's notice.
They all left. And as they did, Freya's vision blurred even more. She glanced down at her wrist to see the first charm bracelet dissolve completely and the second dissolve halfway. Her eyelids were heavy.
Pull the box off the necklace and lay down. Sleep. You're hurt and you need to heal. Hurt and exhausted. You'll be safe.
The TARDIS, Freya's mind supplied as she laid down, complying with the voice. That meant the TARDIS was okay. And if the TARDIS was okay, Freya would be too. She fumbled with the necklace, peeling the box off and tucking it into her pocket before her eyes drifted shut.
"Dislocating B clamp. C Clamp. Raising blu-nitro to maximum. Toby, how's the Negapact feed line?" Zach's voice pulled Freya from unconsciousness. She blinked slowly.
"Clear. Ready to go, sir. For God's sakes, get us out of here!" Toby shouted. Toby. No. Toby was possessed. No. And they were leaving. Freya glanced around quickly, eyes widening.
The Doctor and Ida weren't there.
"Captain, we may have a bit of a trouble passenger," Danny said, meeting Freya's eyes.
"Where's the Doctor? Where's Ida?" Freya asked, moving against the seatbelt. Her eyes landed on the bolt gun. The only weapon on board. Toby was there. They couldn't kill him. He could move into someone else. But they couldn't take him with them. Not while he was possessed.
"It's all right. You're safe," Danny told her gently as Freya unbuckled her seatbelt and lunged for the bolt gun, cradling it against her as Danny pulled her seatbelt on, just for them to rockily take off.
"And lift off!" Zach shouted as Freya stared at Toby. Toby smirked back at her until Danny turned around.
"Freya, put the bolt gun down," Danny said carefully. Zach turned around quickly, eyes wide. And Jefferson even looked alarmed.
"It was too easy. Don't you understand? Us getting off there was too easy. We should have been killed. They had too many opportunities to kill us if they wanted us dead.
"Why don't you do us a favor and shut up? We're alive. That's all that matters," Toby said snidely.
"No. You don't understand. The rest of you don't. It wanted us to escape. No, it needed us to escape. Because Toby's still possessed," Freya said. Danny and Jefferson turned abruptly to Toby, who looked terrified.
"I don't know what you're talking about! Of course I'm not possessed!" he protested quickly.
"No. Remember how I said my baby was telepathic? Toby's possessed still. That's why we're getting away. The Devil needs to get away," Freya said as the rocket began to shake.
"What's happening? What's going on?" Danny asked in alarm.
"We've lost the funnel. Gravity collapse!" Zach shouted in horror.
"What does that mean?" Freya asked quickly, glancing over to see that Toby's face had gone white.
"We can't escape. We're headed straight for the black hole," Zach said in despair.
The Doctor would save them. But they had to get rid of Toby first. Freya quickly unbuckled Toby's seatbelt and after a cursory glance, shot the bolt gun at the front screen. He was instantly sucked into the space just as his eyes turned red and the symbols overtook his face.
"Emergency shield!" Zach shouted as a metal shutter sealed the hole. The rocket was still falling, but the Devil was out of there.
"We've still lost the gravity funnel. We can't escape the black hole," Zach pointed out.
"No, but we got rid of the devil. When the Doctor saves us, that's what will matter," Freya pointed out. Danny and Jefferson both stared at her with sorrowful eyes.
"The Doctor fell. He fell into the Pit and there was no way out. He's not coming," Danny said cautiously.
"You're wrong. Because our space ship? It's down there too. She's down there and she's alive. He's coming for us. Wait and see," Freya told them as they continued their plunge towards the black hole.
After a minute of being pulled, it just…stopped.
"What was that?" Danny asked.
"We're turning. We're turning around. We're turning away!" Zach shouted in disbelief.
"Sorry about the hijack, Captain. This is the good ship TARDIS," the Doctor's voice filled the cabin. Freya's eyes slid shut in relief. She knew he was coming. And he had. They were safe.
She knew it.
"First things first. Is my wife aboard?" the Doctor asked, his voice bordering anxious.
"Yeah. I'm here," Freya said, struggling to say it as loud as she could.
"Good! Fantastic! How about we do a trade, Freya for Ida Scott?" the Doctor asked cheekily. Freya relaxed at the sound of his voice. They were safe.
And she drifted once more into sleep.
Sorry for the long wait. I've been writing on this chapter for about two weeks and only just finished it. I've recently changed locations and at my new location, I have no desk. I always write at a desk. It makes for an uncomfortable and difficult transition. Please leave a review with your thoughts!