A/N: I can tell already I'm going to have an obscene amount of fun in the next chapter :o

Chapter 12 - Best-Laid Plans

When the Doctor woke up, the first thing he became aware of was a painful thudding of a pounding headache in his skull. He groaned and dared to open his eyes. It took a few moments for him to realise that he was in his cell, and a newly-issued Follow-Me bot was hovering quietly next to his bed.

Doctor?

The Doctor blinked slightly. 'Rose,' he said. His voice was so weak it surprised him a little.

How are you feelin'?

'Mm,' he muttered. He managed to raise his head to look down at himself. Abruptly he realised he was naked.

'Rose...' he began, confused.

It's just how the droids processed you. Relax. You're still a bit groggy. You were really disorientated.

'Woz goin' on?'

Koboho had you in aversion therapy. I lost you in about week two, you were really confused.

He immediately tried to get up, but he could barely move his limbs. His entire body felt like dead weight.

Don't. Just rest here, yeah? You don't need to do anythin' but rest.

'Exercise hour has now commenced,' the voice said from overhead. 'Proceed to the exercise areas immediately. This is not optional.'

The door clunked loudly – unlocking. Not that he was going anywhere. He blinked again, trying to focus. Everything remained stubbornly blurry. 'How long wassa in there?'

Four weeks.

'Tha' s'plains it,' he muttered, progressively trying to move his mouth from side to side to try and get it to function properly. 'How did we 'scape?

… I'll explain later.

'Tha's mah line.'

She giggled in his head.

'Dun't laugh.'

Sorry. God, I'm so glad I've got you back.

The Doctor laughed. 'Yeah.'

Jack found you in the infirmary by the way, he knows everything. He's coming as soon as he can.

He nodded.

Can you feel Leah?

He checked the bond. 'She's 'kay.'

She's never been away from us this long…

'I know,' he murmured. 'She's 'kay. With Brax.'

I know. I just miss them.

'Me too.'

The door opened. For a fleeting moment the Doctor panicked, raising his head as far as he could until he saw it was a blurry Jack, letting himself in. He looked at the Doctor, stopped, and grinned.

The Doctor abruptly realised he was naked. 'Jack...'

Jack rolled his eyes. 'Relax, I've seen it loads of times. I'm in a relationship with your clone you know,' he pointed out. He shut the door behind him before grabbing the Doctor's clothes from the chair as he moved forward to sit next to him. The Follow-Me bot reacted, but didn't set any alarms off.

'No,' the Doctor realised, his brain moving faster than his mouth could. 'Can't... Tracker.'

'Don't worry. I temporarily scrambled my tracker. I've got five minutes. I found some diluted liquid nano genes in the infirmary.' He produced a phial, taking the Doctor's wrists. It was only then the Doctor realised they were heavily bandaged along with his ankles.

Jack obviously saw his confused expression. 'Restraints,' he told the Time Lord.

The restraints cut into you. Just let him use the nanogenes so you can walk.

The Doctor mused that he didn't really have much choice in the matter as Jack carefully began to undo the bandages, revealing that he had some long, vicious, bloody cuts around his wrists.

Jack rested the Doctor's hands on his lap, being gentle. He then methodically poured some of the liquid nanogenes onto the cuts, redoing the bandages before doing the same to his ankles. Within moments the cuts had thinned slightly.

Jack then proceeded to dress him, piece by piece. He had to manhandle the Doctor since the Time Lord was so weak, but eventually he managed to get him back into his prison issue shirt and trousers. Jack then covered him with the blanket, making sure he was comfortable.

'Jack.'

'Yeah?'

'Thank you.'

Jack smiled a little. 'Okay?'

'Yeah.'

'Who did this to you?'

The Doctor looked at him under heavy eyelids. 'It dun't matter.'

'It does to me.'

'Is done. Need ta 'scape.'

Jack gazed at him for a long moment. 'Okay,' he eventually replied. 'I've got our guy for Sirrus. Next time I see you, it's game on, and we're not friends anymore.'

The Doctor nodded weakly. 'Mmmkay.'

'Don't find me until you're ready and you've got the plan going,' Jack said seriously. 'Get better first. I can keep him sweet.' He leant forward and pressed a kiss to the Time Lord's head. 'Good luck.'

'You too.'

He left, making sure the door was shut firmly behind him.

Did I mention how much I hate your plan?

'S'good plan,' the Doctor said, closing his eyes. 'Will work. Promise.'

'It's a good plan,' Leah was insisting to the adults stood around her, halfway across the universe. 'It'll work. Promise!'

'Sweetheart, anythin' that involves chargin' headfirst into a nest of spiders is bloody ridiculous,' her granny told her firmly. 'Call that pest control thingy again!'

'But it'll hurt the people inside.'

Her granny sighed. 'Okay. But be careful. Promise me, sweetheart.'

'I promise,' Leah said honestly.

'Je'kai'lei-n?' Alex asked his big sister.

'We're gonna test it,' Leah replied. 'Try and get one on its own and try the Rastinate on it to check it works.'

Alex nodded. He tried to haul on his backpack filled with the Rastinate, but it was too heavy for him. Uncle Ianto took up the duty, putting in on instead.

Leah nodded at him. 'Okay. We ready?'

She received a series of affirmations in reply.

'Okay,' she breathed, turning to the TARDIS door. She steeled herself, and began to walk forward.

The Doctor had managed to drift off to sleep despite his pounding headache, but he was woken what felt like seconds later by the sound of his door opening. He looked up – still finding himself a bit groggy – and saw it was Koboho, followed by armed droids.

Go away!

The Doctor tried not to laugh at Rose's tone, and instead focused on Koboho. 'Wha'?' he moaned.

'I'm just checking to see you are recovering well,' Koboho said, a little apprehensively, the Doctor thought.

'I wanna fila complaint,' he muttered, just about able to say it. Shorter sentences, he decided, with less words.

'Pardon?'

'Complaint. Me. File.'

Koboho stared at him as though he'd just stripped naked and danced the flamenco in front her her. '... Pardon?' she repeated, swallowing slightly.

'Complaint. C'mon.'

'... You can't…'

'Art'cle seven, amen'ment six,' the Doctor told her tiredly.

Koboho continued to stare at him. 'I assure you, Doctor, you were treated in accordance to regulations detailing—'

'Oi, droid,' the Doctor said, looking at the nearest droid. 'Pro'col sixteen.'

The droid snapped to attention immediately. 'Protocol sixteen initiated.'

'Doctor, you can't…'

The Doctor ignored her, steeling himself for a long speech. 'I, the Doctor, fila comp'aint 'gainst General Koboho for my trea'ment while in New Shada. I was subject ta torture beyond der Universal Interr'gation reg'lations for four weeks withou' charge. I submit der evidence of mah own tes'imony and available sec'rity footage of sol'ary confinemen' cell numbah five. I requesa re'sessment of General Koboho's pos'tion as Prison Warden by Neo Purokulamation 'thorities.'

The Doctor breathed out. Long speech over. He looked up at Koboho, gauging her reaction. Her usually beige judoon face was becoming increasingly more red with pure rage.

'Send,' he finished, turning over to face the wall.

'Your message will be sent momentarily,' the droid told him politely.

'Cheers,' the Doctor muttered. He half expect Koboho to smite him where he lay, but she didn't. She simply left, closing the door behind her.

What if she doesn't send the message?

'She hasta. Automa'ic,' he replied quietly. 'Den Leya'll come widda ship.'

Won't Koboho work out that you and Leya know each other?

'Nah. Judoon are stoopid.'

Oh, c'mon. She was smart enough to work out you had a plan. Besides, you only insult entire species when you're tired. Go back to sleep.

He sighed, and closed his eyes again.

He was woken up again by a familiar voice.

'Doctor, can you hear me?'

He blinked, and focused on the face of Leya looking down at him. She smiled briefly, but mostly looked concerned.

'The Time Lord's just causing trouble,' Koboho was saying. 'It's typical in their nature!'

'I'm afraid we take prisoner complaints very seriously at the Neo Proclamation,' Leya told Koboho, before looking back at the Doctor. 'How are you feeling, Time Lord?'

The Doctor blinked a few more times. 'Weak,' he replied honestly.

'What did the torture consist of, Koboho?' Leya asked.

'Nothing, I…'

'Do I have to ask you for the surveillance footage?'

Koboho froze. '... No. No, you don't. I apologise. I had reason to believe the Time Lord had a major plan to escape in place.'

'How?' Leya asked seriously. 'He was only here for a few days before you confined him. Time Lords are clever, but that's a bit fast, isn't it?'

'It was also partially for his own protection… He had problems integrating.'

'To which your solution was to torture him and put him in a solitary confinement cell?'

Koboho was lost for words. 'I…'

'You knew having a Time Lord was high risk, Koboho. You should've had measures in place. I would like to question the prisoner alone.'

Koboho's eyes widened. 'Ma'am, he is still a convicted Class Four criminal. I cannot leave…'

'Well he's not gonna do much to me in this state is he?' Leya interrupted her, gesturing to the Doctor still in a mess on the bed. 'Leave.'

After a moment's hesitation, Koboho snapped a prompt salute, and left.

Leya waited a few moments until she looked back at the Doctor. 'Geez, you're okay aren't you?'

'Yeah,' he muttered. 'Jus' tired.'

'You're slurring. Did she drug you?'

'Aversion ther'py,' he replied. 'Bypass. Again and again.'

Leya winced. 'Oh. Are you still okay with the plan or shall I get you out?'

'Plan,' he confirmed. 'Gotta ship?'

'Yeah. It's parked at the end of the tunnel.'

'Tonight.'

What!?

'Are you serious? You can barely string a sentence together. Wait for a while, until you feel better. I'll keep Koboho occupied.'

'Nah, 'kay by tonight. M'fine.'

Leya sighed, resigning. 'Okay. I'll need a fingerprint.'

She took his right hand, noticing his wince. She pulled back the bandages and realised the cuts around his wrists. 'If you want me to get her fired, I will,' Leya told him seriously, gazing at the cuts.

Yeah! Get her fired!

'Leave it. Plan,' the Doctor replied.

Rose sighed in his head. God, I preferred it when you did what I told you to.

He smiled a little as Leya nodded, bringing out a handheld fingerprint scanner and pressed it to the tip of his forefinger. It beeped, and she slipped it back in her pocket before putting his hand gently back under the blanket.

'Than' you for this,' the Doctor told her.

'It's okay,' Leya replied. 'Just be careful, okay? D'you need me to do anything else?'

'No. All good.'

'Dad asked if Jack's okay…?'

'Fine,' the Doctor replied. 'Saw 'im earl'er.'

Leya nodded. 'I'll go and get your fingerprint in the system.' She reached forward and hugged him. 'I know it's kinda pointless to say it to you but be careful, okay?'

He nodded, caught in her embrace. 'Am a'ways.'

She just rolled her eyes at this, getting up and leaving the cell.

A while later, Leah and Alex, with Uncle Ianto and Auntie Gwen had made it back to the hole Uncle Brax had disappeared. Leah knelt down beside it, testing. As the one in the hut, the spiders had thickly sealed it up with their webs.

Leah had dreaded this. There was only one other way down into the nest, and only she and Alex could use it. A quick look in the direction of the opening she had emerged from before told her the cows hadn't moved.

She looked at her little brother, who had already seemed to have figured out what they were going to do.

'Ce'afa shikla,' Alex said.

Leah sighed. 'Okay,' she said, looking at the adults. 'We've gotta find Hunfrid so he can clear the cows and me and Alex can go down and test the Rastinate.'

'Wait, you two?' Auntie Gwen asked, a little stunned.

'Yeah, sorry,' Leah muttered, and meant it. She took her little brother's hand, and led the group back to the village.

Leya was finding herself genuinely angry as she watched a fast forwarded version of the Doctor's confinement. He had been left in the cell for four weeks, tied to the chair, without food, water or sleep, and subject to aversion therapy. When it was over she had a very sour taste in her mouth. The Doctor in the image had blood all down his arms and legs, and he was clearly not of sound mind.

She looked at Koboho, who looked liked she wanted to be anywhere but there.

'This is appalling. You tortured him against every single prisoner rights protocol we made,' Leya said, with genuine bile.

Leya was pleased to find that Koboho had nothing to say to that. The judoon clearly knew she was guilty.

'I'll need full access to your main security systems,' Leya continued.

Koboho nodded. 'Yes,' she replied, and wordlessly led the girl to the security room. When the system was unlocked, Leya simply ordered her out of the room, and settled down in front of the computers.

She quickly checked for droids, and then pulled out the fingerprint scanner. She connected it to the monitors and uploaded the Doctor's fingerprint. After a few clicks and a fake profile the fingerprint saved itself in the system.

FINGERPRINT CLEARED FOR LEVEL 1 SECURITY

Leya then closed the windows, and went to all of the security footage that contained the Doctor. She obligingly deleted any footage of the Doctor and Jack together, replacing it with copies of other files. She then went back to the security footage of solitary confinement cell five to make copies and notes. She hardly wanted to watch it again, but she had already made the decision that she would have to remove Koboho.

Leah and her group reached the village to find Hunfrid sitting in the Elder Council's meeting house, deep in thought. When they entered, he smiled.

'Leah,' he greeted.

'Hunfrid, we need your help.'

'Of course,' he said. 'What can I do for you?'

'We need to get back down that opening in the cow herd to test our gas. Can you clear them for us?'

He frowned slightly. 'I hope you are not putting yourself in danger.'

Leah could hardly deny it. 'Sorry,' she ended up saying with a small shrug.

He sighed. The ejection of his huge lungs blew back Leah's hair slightly. 'You are very much like your father, you know.'

Leah smiled. 'Hope so,' she replied.

'Okay,' he replied, getting up to leave the meeting house. They emerged into the sunlight and made to head towards the cow herd, when suddenly there was scream.

'Who was that?' Auntie Gwen asked quickly, looking around in a panic. Leah looked up just in time for another scream, seeing a village resident descend down through the dirt into the ground.

'They're taking—' Auntie Gwen began, when the ground suddenly exploded from under her and she disappeared in a scream, straight down in a flail of limbs.

Then everyone was screaming and running.

'Don't move! It's the vibrations in your feet!' Leah yelled over the cacophony, but no one was listening. The people who had made it to the stones were desperately trying to help their fellow villagers, taking daring strides out to the dirt where they disappeared in a yelp.

There was nothing Leah could do to help them. Hunfrid immediately reached down to scoop them and Uncle Ianto up, but as Uncle Ianto took a stride the ground exploded again, a black furry leg hooking around his foot. Alex, who had been standing next to Uncle Ianto, lost his footing in the hole…

Leah screamed in Hunfrid's hand, throwing out her hand to grab her little brother but a spider leg was already gripping his foot.

'Let him go!' Leah shouted, clinging for dear life onto his hand. He was staring up at her, tears in his eyes, stretched between her and the spider…

'Jarrr!' Leah screamed in Gallifreyan. 'Jarrr!'

Her little brother was flailing his leg, trying to get the spider off of him but its gripped remained resolute.

'Naqq! Wi-naqq!' Leah yelled.

Hunfrid's huge hand suddenly plummeted into the dirt around Alex, enveloping a hand around him and attempting to pull him out. But it was obvious whatever the spider had latched onto underground was a firm and fast hold. Clearly Hunfrid worked out if he held on for much longer Alex was going to get hurt. He let go.

'Help!' was the last thing her little brother cried as he disappeared into the ground.

'No! No! Alex!' Leah screamed until her throat was raw, tears running down her cheeks. But it wasn't going to make any difference. Spiders were already heading up Hunfrid's legs, trying to immobolise him. He kicked them off as best he could and began to run across the village to the herd of cows. It took barely thirty seconds at his pace. He cleared the cows with a few waves of his arm, and placed Leah down next to the hole in the ground.

'Good luck!' Hunfrid cried to the little girl, trying to kill the spiders running all over him. Leah didn't waste any time. She dropped into the hole and quickly climbed down the rocks. It turned dark – Hunfrid was covering up the entrance to prevent any spiders pursuing her. But she could still hear the screams of the villagers from both above ground and through the tunnels. She swore she heard her little brother cry her name.

She was on her own now.

Translation:

Je'kai'lei-n? - What are we going to do?

Ce'afa shikla. - It's okay.

Jarrr! - Hold on!

Naqq! Wi-naqq! - Please! Please!