"A lovely statue, don't you think. Of course it's only an image of what they thought it looked like. You primitives do love your teeth and
claws. It's funny how an idea can spark such creativity. Of course, the reality is much, much worse."
The Darkness knelt and placed his hands on two indentations on the stone floor and deep beneath the group's feet the ground began to rumble and shift.
The Darkness's voice rose above what sound to Martha like huge gates opening as he moved across to the now stirring Gwen.
"What superb timing, I needed you awake," he said. "Stand her up!"
Martha could only watch as the Darkness placed his hands against her temple. She could only watch as Gwen began to shake and the Darkness let out a gasp of pain.
She blinked and focused her eyes again...were the dark veins disappearing from the Doctor's pale features.
She flinched as both the Darkness and Gwen cried out in unison and she closed her eyes to what she thought would be the site of both Gwen and the Darkness collapsing on the floor.
She opened her eyes when Gwen spoke and the tone was a familiar and chilling one. Her eyes went to the floor to find the Doctor in a heap at Gwen's feet.
"Well, this is new, it's very...never mind."
Gwen looked down at the crumpled form of the Time Lord. "So very weak, soon you will have a new energy and a new master."
"Oh, he'll have a new master. Just not you brother," a voice came from behind Martha and she was nearly blinded by the blue light that arched over her head.
The Darkness spun away from the unconscious Time Lord but seemed unfazed by the light.
"Hello brother, late again."
The Light stepped down onto the stone floor, taking in everything as his soldiers placed themselves opposite the Darkness's hybrids.
"Oh, I'm not late, in fact, I think I'm just in time. You don't have the Time Lord's body anymore...which means..."
Another bolt shot out and hit Gwen full in the chest, the sound of her hitting the wall drowned out by the increasing noise beneath their feet.
The hybrids that were holding Martha suddenly let go of her and managed to crawl a few yards before the ground began to shake violently. It felt like an earthquake, but she knew it was more than that.
She forced herself forward; she had to get to the fallen Doctor.
She let out a frightened cry when she was grabbed from behind and hauled behind a pillar. Her fright turned to anger and lashed out.
"Hey, it's me," a familiar American accent hissed.
She turned, she was never gladder to see a friendly face than she was now.
"Ja..."She began to say, but he placed a finger on her lips and shook his head and nodded behind her.
She turned and started.
Once again the two brothers were engaged in a physical struggle, only this time it was Gwen and Ianto.
But that wasn't Martha and Jack's main focus of attention, nor was the still unconscious Doctor.
Their attention was taken by the crack that was appearing in the statue and the increase in the tremors.
"The Doctor, I have to get to him!" Martha had to shout.
Jack shook his head. "Too dangerous!"
"No Jack, he's going to be host to whatever comes out of that!" she pointed at the ever widening crack in the statue and moved, straight into the arm of one of the Immortals.
Jack moved too but found his way barred by two of the hybrids and found himself held in vice-like grips.
There was screeching hiss of escaping air and the air was filled with an ear-splitting crack as the statue split apart and crumbled.
It caused even the two combatants to stop and turn towards the sound.
The Darkness turned to his brother, well aware that he may not win this fight and tried a new tactic.
"Brother, listen to me. Neither of us can win this fight, but together we can become unstoppable. With the power that will be harnessed through the Time Lord we can truly become gods...what say you?"
The Light looked at his brother and then at crumbling statue and then at the still fallen Time Lord. He knew his brother was treacherous and should not be trusted; but the desire to have the power, even shared was enough to persuade him.
"Agreed, if we can harness the power."
"That we cannot, but we, I can control the Time Lord. I know his weaknesses."
The Light looked at his brother and then followed his gaze and smiled.
"The humans?"
"Yes and not just in this universe...there is someone he holds as more precious than the rest. As long as I have that, I, we have the Time Lord. But these two will suffice."
The Darkness stopped and looked back at the statue. "It's time, bring them!"
Jack tried his best to struggle as he was dragged towards the brothers. He was almost stopped in his tracks by the fetid, sulphurous smell that emanated from the destroyed statue. He was forced to his knees in front of the brothers.
"Well, there's no point in killing him, he only comes back. But he'll be fun as a toy," the Darkness said.
The Light nodded and looked at Martha, who was quiet and fearful. "Now this one will make a tasty morsel for it."
The Darkness nodded and looked once more at the gap where the statue had been.
"It's coming, wake him up," he gestured to the crumpled form of the Doctor.
He looked down at Jack. "Now Harkness, you will stand witness to the birth of a new empire. An empire where humans and all the lower life forms will worship their new gods."
He stepped past Jack and hauled the still unconscious Time Lord up and dragged him to the feet of the statue.
"Don't think hiding in the dark will save you," he snarled and let go, not caring if the Time Lord's head hit the floor with a skull cracking thud.
He stepped back and with his brother awaited their destiny.
Jack kept struggling but to no avail, but he stopped when he heard what sound like footsteps belonging to something very large. He glanced over at Martha who was frozen in what was probably fear.
He looked over at what were once two of his closest friends and finally saw that they were lost. He looked over at the still form of the Doctor and knew he could not stop what was about to happen.
The words of the ghostly figure of the Doctor echoed in his ear. "Let what happens happen."
If he was expecting something large to accompany the footsteps, then he was mistaken...what came out didn't have a body, well not a physical one.
Black smoke curled out of the gap and began to coalesce into something that looked vaguely body shaped and it seemed impossible that it had footsteps, but it did.
The ground reverberated as it stepped out of the large crack and halted just in front of the body of the Doctor.
Its head or what looked its head tilted downwards. A smoky hand reached out and brushed the body, which twitched at its touch.
"Time Lord!" a voice rumbled from within it. "Who brings me a Time Lord?"
It looked up and stared at each person in the room with empty pits that should have been eyes.
"Who brings me a Time Lord?" it repeated.
It turned its head when someone cleared their throat.
"I did," the Light said.
The smoke creature rested its gaze upon the figure that had spoken.
"Then come forward and claim your reward."
The Light gave his brother a triumphant smirk and walked forward.
"You are the one who brought me the Time Lord?"
"Yes, I knew you needed a host worthy of your great power."
"Is that so? Do you think that I need your help in such a task?"
The Light frowned. "You are displeased."
The smoke creature bent at the waist and towered over the Light. "I can see what you are and what you are is a tiny little thing that is nothing but a power hungry parasite."
The Light went to take a step back, but before he could even take a half-step a smoky hand engulfed him.
"I cannot tolerate any challenge to my power," the smoke creature rumbled. "You will feed me."
The scream that was ripped from Ianto's throat as the Light was dragged painfully and slowly out of its host made Jack freeze in horror...this thing was no better!
Seconds seemed to turn into eons as Jack watched Ianto writhe in agony in the grasp of the creature. He wanted to run to him as he dropped to the floor but was held fast by the two hybrids.
"He always was ambitious," the Darkness said.
The creature focused its gaze on the Darkness. "You are no different, you are the one that dared possess the body of the Time Lord and ally yourself with lesser creatures. You too shall feed me."
"No, I serve only you!" the Darkness shouted.
The creature took a step forward. "Do not think taking the form of a female will save you. I don't share power with anyone."
The Darkness ran behind his own and the Light's soldiers.
"Protect me!" he cried and ran behind a pillar.
Laser fire filled the air but passed harmlessly through the creature.
It roared its anger and swept an arm towards the soldiers and they were tossed aside like dust in the wind.
Jack watched all of it with increasing horror and helplessness. He couldn't stop any of it, held back as he was.
Then he felt the grip on his arms loosen and with a surge of anger he broke the hold the hybrids had on him and dashed away, but stopped a few seconds later.
Who did he go to first?
Before he had chance to make a decision there was the sound of something being crushed and he spun round.
The pillar the Darkness had gone behind had exploded into dust as the smoke creature demolished it.
Jack's attention was drawn to the roof of the chamber as a large crack began to skitter across it.
He had no way of knowing if Gwen or Ianto were dead. He had to concentrate on the one person he knew was at least alive and awake.
He found her behind one of the pillars, arms wrapped round her knees. He gently touched her but still she jumped.
"Martha, it's me. We have to get out of here. This place is going to come down."
Martha shook her head. "The Doctor, we have to save him, we have to."
Jack looked over at the inert shape that was the Doctor, looking carefully for any signs of life.
It was then that he noticed it had gone quiet, which in his books was never a good thing.
He was right to think so when the ground underneath him shook and he didn't need to look up to know that the smoke creature had lost interest in playing hide and seek with the Darkness and had turned its attention to them.
Jack looked up and up until he was eye to eyeless socket with the creature. He stepped in front of Martha; not that it would do much good.
"Little things," the creature hissed and with one finger forced Jack and Martha out into the open
The creature bent at the waist and looked a Jack. "You are different from the rest, you smell like a human but...immortal. You I can feed off for a long time."
It looked at Martha. "This one I will eat now," it rumbled and reached for her.
"No!" a voice rang out from behind the creature.
In the melee and the carnage he'd been forgotten and he had come round to a scene he did not wish to see.
The thing that he feared would happen had happened, and he knew now what had to be done. With a groan that was a mixture of pain and resignation he pushed himself up off the floor.
His body protested at the movement, damaged as it was from the misuse by the Darkness and the non- to- kind ministration of Davros, but he knew that he had to save everyone and stop the battle that was still raging in the city.
If it meant sacrificing himself and letting this place become his tomb, then so be it.
He pulled himself to his full height and with as much strength as he could gather he called out.
The smoke creature turned and looked down.
"Time Lord," it hissed and a trail of smoke drifted from its mouth.
"Oh, you are hungry," the Doctor said. "Been a while since you've eaten, I'll bet. Well, here's a nice tasty meal for you."
Jack was elated to see the Doctor alive but his heart sank when he spoke those words.
"Doctor, no!" he yelled and he felt Martha tighten her grip on his arm.
They both knew what the Doctor intended to do but they were having none of that.
They tensed again when the creature turned back to them.
"I think I will eat these first. You will fight too much if they are still alive," and began reaching for Martha.
"No...No...No!" the Doctor cried and forced his legs to move, trying to hide the pain he was in.
He scurried round the creature and stood in front of Jack and Martha.
"Wait! You really don't want to eat them!" he yelled and then his voice dropped to a lower tone.
"You're hungry, I understand that, but think about it, if you go stomping about out there your food will just run away. What you need is a disguise...me."
"Doctor no," Jack said again.
The Doctor ignored him. "Well, I'm offering. No resistance, but only if you let them go."
The smoke creature seemed to be thinking about it, smoke curling from its mouth.
"Agreed," it rumbled. "You will not resist. You are willing to destroy your mind, for these little things."
"Yes," the Doctor replied. "Let me say goodbye to them."
The smoke creature nodded and seemed to stop as if to give the Doctor some privacy.
He turned back to Jack and Martha, who were looking at him with concern written all over their faces.
"We're not going anywhere!" Jack hissed.
"Yes you are Jack. You need to get Ianto out of here. Get everyone you can away from it and the Darkness, get out of the city."
"What about Gwen?"
The Doctor face hardened. "She may be lost Jack. Now go!"
Jack went to protest again but was interrupted by the smoke creature.
"Enough Time Lord. Give yourself to me."
"Okay!" the Doctor snapped. "Go Jack!"
Jack looked at the Doctor and heard the hard edge to Doctor's voice, the steel in it...the no arguments tone.
He nodded and began pulling a protesting Martha away and towards Ianto, who was stirring.
"We can't leave them!" Martha protested.
Jack turned on her. "Don't you get it, he knows there's no other choice. He's giving us a chance. Now help me with Ianto!"
Martha glared at Jack but acquiesced and took hold of Ianto's other arm.
"I'll never forgive for this Jack Harkness," she growled.
"I know," he said sadly.
He looked once more at the Doctor, standing in front of the smoke creature and then turned away and with Martha's help started climbing the steps.
The Doctor saw the trio disappear up the steps in the corner of his eye and smiled. At least he'd managed to save three of them, but his hearts ached at the loss of Gwen to the Darkness.
But if this went to plan, the Darkness would not escape and at least Gwen's suffering would be short.
He looked up at the smoke creature and drew in a deep breath and gathered what strength he had.
"Let's get this over with shall we?"