Sorry for the slow updates.
Craig was holding his head and the Doctor rubbed his forehead as he started to get a headache.
"I am never, never doing that ever, ever again." He stated as the Bluetooth beeped in his ear and he activated it.
"Rose?" He asked feeling concerned.
"That's your wife, Rose Tyler." Craig pointed at him accusingly.
He narrowed his eyes at Craig and then rolled them. "Of course, you can understand us now." He got a sarcastic tone. "Hurrah."
"Got those plans yet?" He asked Rose trying to sound pleasant again.
"Still searching for them." She replied.
"I've worked it out, with psychic help from a cat." He said proudly now.
"A cat?" Rose asked skeptically. "You've never been able to communicate with animals before."
"Have too."
"Okay, not in the time I've known you."
"Yes. I know." He responded. "He's got a time engine in the flat upstairs. He's using innocent people to try and launch it. Whenever he does, they get burnt up." He directed his next statement at Craig. "Hence the stain on your ceiling."
"From the ceiling." Craig muttered still trying to wrap his head around the new information.
"Well done, Craig." His sarcastic tone returned. Suddenly there is a loud crash from upstairs.
"People are dying up there?" Craig begins to repeat on a loop.
"Rose," The Doctor asks concerned as John rushes into the room with Kiam. Kiam immediately disappears under the bed again. John sighs as he pulls the teddy bear from where it was abandoned on the bed and hands it down. The Doctor smiles slightly as a little hand pokes out, and without looking grabs the bear and disappears back under the bed.
"They're being killed." John states as Craig continues the loop.
"Someone's up there." The Doctor responded to John.
"Doctor?" Rose asked.
"Hang on. John, come on. Someone's dying up there."
"Sophie." John stated. "She came in while Kiam and I were out front and she is not in the apartment.
"Doctor?" Rose tried again.
"Not now Rose." He grabbed Craig and shook him. "Come on Craig, Sophie needs you." He took one arm and John took the other and they started to drag Craig out of the apartment and up the stairs.
"Where's Sophie?" Craig suddenly asked.
"Doctor?" Rose sounded angry this time.
"Rose?"
"Are you upstairs?" She asked him, sounding relieved.
"Just going in."
"But you can't be upstairs." Her voice shook. "It's a one-storey building. There is no upstairs."
"Oh. Oh, of course. The time engine isn't in the flat, the time engine is the flat. Someone's attempt to build a TARDIS." He looked at John. John raised his eyebrows back.
"No, there's always been an upstairs." Craig laughed. The lights from the door in front of them started to flicker.
"Has there? Think about it." John said to him seriously.
"Yes." Craig replied before changing his mind. "No. I don't."
"Perception filter." John told him turning back to the door.
"It's more than a disguise." The Doctor explained. "It tricks your memory."
Sophie screams from behind. With that John grabs the Doctor's sonic out of his pocket and quickly unlocks the door and runs in.
"Sophie! Sophie! Oh, my God, Sophie!" Craig calls out as they rush in. Sophie is standing near a center console that looks similar to the TARDIS. Her hand is extended and she is seems to being pulled towards the console by electricity. The Doctor stops dead in his tracks as John and Craig rush over to help Sophie. The inside of the room is an exact duplicate of the one the silence had when he had to rescue Rose. Slowly he looks around and is somewhat relieved not to see any.
"Doctor." John's voice snaps him back to the situation at hand. "It's controlling her. It's willing her to touch the activator."
"That's not going to have her." Craig says firmly trying to pull her back. Instinctively he reaches to his pocket for his sonic and finding it gone remembers John took it.
"John, my sonic." He calls out.
"It's deadlocked." John replies as he throws it and the Doctor catches his sonic.
"You've got to do something." Craig says desperately. Craig pulls Sophie again and she falls back against him.
"What?" John asks.
"Why's it let her go?" The Doctor turns as a man suddenly appears beside him.
"You will help me." The hologram says.
"Right. Stop. Crashed ship, let's see." He thinks for a moment. "Hello, I'm Captain Jack Harkness of International Rescue. Please state the nature of your emergency."
"The ship has crashed. The crew are dead. A pilot is required." The hologram says sadly.
"You're the emergency crash program. A hologram. What, you've been luring people up here so you can try them out?" He asks and points his sonic at the hologram. He quickly changes the settings and then sonics it. The hologram flickers between several forms.
"You will help me."
"Craig, what is this? Where am I?" Sophie starts to freak out.
"Hush." The Doctor says coldly. John shakes his head and goes over to Sophie and Craig. He starts talking quickly and in a low voice. The Doctor ignores them and turns back to the hologram. "Human brains aren't strong enough, they just burn. But you're stupid, though. You just keep trying."
"Seventeen people have been tried. Six billion four hundred thousand and twenty six remain." The hologram responds.
"I don't understand." Sophie says loudly.
"Oh, for goodness sake. The top floor of Craig's building is in reality an alien space ship intent on slaughtering the population of this planet. Any questions?" He asked not waiting for an answer he continued. "No, good."
"Yes, I have questions." Sophie whined.
"The correct pilot has now been found." The Hologram continued to look at the Doctor.
"Yes, I was a bit worried that you were going to say that." He adjusted his bow tie.
"He means you, Doctor, doesn't he?" Rose asked panicking and making him realize he never turned the phone off.
"The correct pilot has been found." The hologram repeated as the electricity leaped up and wrapped around his hand.
"What's happening?" Rose sounded close to tears.
"It's pulling me in. I'm the new pilot." He told her deciding not to lie to her.
"Could you do it?" She sounded a little relieved. "Could you fly the ship safely?"
"No, I'm way too much for this ship. My hand touches that panel, the planet doesn't blow up, the whole solar system does."
"Get out of there."
"I'm trying."
"The correct pilot has been found." The hologram interjected.
"No. Worst choice ever, I promise you. Stop this." He scolded the hologram.
"Doctor?" Rose sniffled. "It's getting worse."
"It doesn't want everyone. Craig, it didn't want you or for some reason it doesn't want you John."
"I spoke to him and he said I couldn't help him." Craig answered as John looked guilty.
"It didn't want Sophie before but now it does. What's changed?" He asked.
"We gave her the idea of leaving." John answered. "It's a machine that needs to leave. It wants people who want to escape. And you don't want to leave, Craig."
"You're Mister Sofa Man." The Doctor smiled. "Craig, you can shut down the engine. Put your hand on the panel and concentrate on why you want to stay."
"Craig, no." Sophie exclaimed.
"Will it work?" Craig asked hesitantly.
"Yes." John replied.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes." The Doctor answered this time.
"Is that a lie?" Craig looked at the two of them.
"Of course it's a lie." He said, breaking first.
"It's good enough for me." Craig responded as he put his hand on the nearest control panel. The Doctor is immediately released.
"Craig!" Sophie cries out in concern.
"Craig, what's keeping you here?" John asks him. "Think about everything that makes you want to stay here. Why don't you want to leave?"
"Sophie. I don't want to leave Sophie. I can't leave Sophie. I love Sophie." Craig replies his teeth gritted with pain.
"I love you, too, Craig, you idiot." Sophie says softly as she places her hand on his.
"Doctor!
"What about the monkeys?" Craig wonders aloud.
"Oh, not now, not again. Craig, the planet's about to burn." The Doctor mumbles.
"For God's sake, kiss the girl." John pleads. As Craig and Sophie kiss, his hand is released from the panel. The room stops shaking.
"You've done it." Rose exclaims happily. "Now it's minus ones, minus twos, minus threes."
"Help me." The Autopilot starts looping as the systems begin to smoke.
"Get Kiam," The Doctor says and John rushing by him and out the door, heading quickly down the stairs.
"Did we switch it off?" Craig asks still holding Sophie.
"Emergency shutdown." He explains as he sonics it and then looks at the readings. "It's imploding. Everybody out."
The run down the stairs and out the door. John is on the sidewalk holding Kiam. Kiam starts screaming and reaching for the Doctor as he gets near. Without hesitation he takes his son and holds the sobbing child close. They watch as the top floor and roof turn into the Ship which then flies away, leaving a one story building.
"Look at them. Didn't they see that? The whole top floor just vanished." Craig asks as a man and his child walk by.
"Perception filter. There never was a top floor." The Doctor hears John answer as he takes off down the street and to the park. He rushes into the TARDIS and straight into Rose's arms. Holding her tightly and kissing her on the head.
"Mummy," Kiam cries out and grabs onto Rose. Rose takes him and holds him tightly against her.
"I'll be right back," he promised Rose as he hurried back to the house. Entering he found John had packing up the room.
"You coming with us?"
John shook his head. "Not this time. I have Amy and Rory to look after." He closed the suitcase and locked it before turning and wrapping the Doctor in an embrace. "Stay in touch. I want to know what is going on. Oh, and contact Donna, she misses you."
"I will." He sighed as they exited the room and he drops the keys on the sideboard.
"Oi." Craig turns to look at him from the sofa.
"What, you're trying to sneak off?" Sophie asks indignantly.
"Yes, well, you were sort of busy." He straightens his bow tie and then glares as John slaps his hand away from it.
"I want you to keep these." Craig comes over and picks up the keys. Before he hands the key back to him.
"Thank you. Because I might pop back soon, have another little stay." He lies.
"No, you won't." Craig laughs. "I've been in your head, remember. I still want you to keep them."
"I'll come visit." John smiles at him.
"You better." Craig says with a smile.
"Thank you, Craig." The Doctor shakes his hand.
"Thank you, Doctor." Craig pulls him into a one arm embrace.
"Sophie" The Doctor nods to her. "Now then. Six billion four hundred thousand and twenty six people in the world. That's the number to beat."
Saying goodbye to John he returns to the TARDIS and sets the suitcase right inside the door before sending the them into the vortex. He lands again a few days prior for Rose to go and drop off the note. But as he enters their room he sees Rose laying on the bed.
"Kiam's asleep." She says softly.
Deciding the note can wait, he goes to her.