This is the first chapter of a two part 'episode'. I know it took a while to get it up and i'm sorry for that but i was trying to make it good and i couldn't think of how to end it so i decided to add a second part. That'll be up within a month. I know it's a long time but A-Levels. They're hard and at the moment they're my priority so.. enjoy.
ShadowTeir - I'm glad you liked it and agree, although i'm not sure yet about M stuff...maybe i'll add a separate story that would have the M stuff in it but one shots.
Counting Sinful Stars - Mmm it freaks me out too. I'm glad you liked the possessiveness, that was something some of the fans wanted so i gave it to them. I hope you enjoy this story, it has a bit of fluff in it.
Queenylime21 - Thank you! To answer your question, they;re not fully bonded, that requires them to consummate it but i'm just building stuff up till that point. Once they've fully bonded then 10 will treat her how 11 does and Winter won't see a difference between them. Hope that helps you a bit.
skidney- I'm glad you do and thank you.
grapejuice101 - Here you go. i'm sorry it took so long, refer to excuse at the top.
Veyrona- I'm glad you loved it. I hope you enjoy this chapter too.
YingWhiteyWolf - The Angel is important to the story, it's something that will never really go for her but it will become more submissive as she learns to control it.
Guest 1 - Here it is.
Guest 2 - Thank's for being understanding and i know, i hate authors notes without chapters too.
Guest 3 - Here's the update for you. Hope it was worth the wait. And thank you.
Loveless150050 - Anmber is about 24 or something like that. She was 13 when 11 met her, then she waited a total of 11 years...i think so she's 24. Also, wight The Year That Never Was, she must be about 26 now.
Loveless150050- THanks. I'm not sure what you mean about mating thing for time lords but i'm glad that you liked the new material. I do try hard.
Now without further ado...
All's Fair
"Marae?" Kieran whispered. "Marae, come back." Marae ignored him – something was in the woods, something had been taking the children and she had to find out what it was. The children where more important to Solaria than she was anyway.
Marae could hear her sister calling for her but she refused to go back. The woods had once been their sanctimony; a place that they understood, a place they cared for. But two cycles ago, everything had changed. Now, instead of happiness and solitude, the forest brought fear and destruction. Their water was being contaminated and whatever it touched turned grey with age and black with rot.
Something dark had resided in Solaria – something unnatural.
Marae crept deeper and deeper into the woods – the once calming red moon hung over the trees creating a eerie and dark feeling that had never been felt before.
Suddenly something cracked. Marae started and looked around. She could feel it – something was closing in on her. Something dark was coming and she did the only thing she could think of. She screamed.
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The Doctor had been trying to get Donna to go on another trip for three days. He was getting a little anxious over how long they had been in the TARDIS, and after he had made sure that Winter was feeling better and could withstand another journey, he had started working on Donna.
But she seemed to have other plans. "Donna come on?" He begged her.
"What part of 'no' don't you get you prawn." Her hands were folded against her chest and she was glaring at him. The universal sign of trouble. If the Doctor wasn't so anxious to get out, he would have backed off.
"Please Donna." He pleaded.
"No." She growled.
"Why?" He sounded like a whiny child - the kind that would throw a tantrum if they didn't get what they wanted. It annoyed Donna extremely. Usually she would just walk away but she couldn't this time.
"Because I don't want to." Well, she technically didn't want Winter to be forced to leave the TARDIS if she felt she didn't want to. What had happened to her on Midnight had obviously affected her more than the Doctor seemed to realised.
But she had to give him credit; the Doctor seemed to be caring more about the woman than he had before. She had noticed it over the three days and was honestly happy with the change. But it didn't mean that he was thinking about Winter completely yet.
"Why are you so interested in leaving?" She asked him moodily. The Doctor froze for a second, wondering how to approach that question. The Bond was trying to bring them closer. Now, whenever he was around Winter he felt the need to touch her - as if he were warning all others off.
The uncompleted Bond was still slightly unstable - and the need to have Winter as his, and share himself with her and no other was becoming stronger. But he couldn't stay away from her.
He was panicked and moody whenever he was away from her for extended periods of time and half of him thought it was punishment for all the times he wanted to get away from her. The Universe's idea of retribution was harsh.
So, he thought, it was better if he could be distracted from her. That way, nothing would happen.
"Go ask Winter." She growled, knowing that he would go and bother her instead. "If she says yes then have at it." The Doctor grinned and turned to go find Winter when he noticed her standing by the console flicking switches and pulling levers.
"What are you doing?" Winter looked up from what she was doing momentarily before going back to her task.
"I've put the TARDIS on random." She stated. "She'll probably take us somewhere cool - like she always does." The Doctor stared open mouthed at her. No-one had ever flown the TARDIS single handed - at least not since he had Romana on it.
Winter couldn't hold back her grin at the Doctor's shocked face. "I'm sorry it's just that I couldn't stand being in one place anymore, and from the looks of it, neither could you." It wasn't a total lie. As much as she may have wanted to stay in the TARDIS, Winter knew that she had to leave eventually. It may as well be now rather than later.
Besides, no Doctor - not this Doctor or any other could last more than a few days before he was setting co-ordinates again. And things had been okay since after what had happened between the two of them.
[:]*[:]*[:]
Winter found herself slowly drifting out of sleep until she was fully conscious. However when she opened her eyes, it wasn't her familiar cream coloured walls that met her view, but a burnt orange sky, shining light onto purple grass. Winter moved her head to get a closer look at what she knew to be Gallifrey, only to find that her eyes met with the Doctor's brown ones.
"Good morning." She whispered somewhat awkwardly. She was aware of what she had done yesterday and she was dreading to have the conversation that the Doctor was sure to want to have.
"Good morning." He said smiling back at her. Winter sat up and looked around the room. It was messy - clothes in places, trinkets in corners. But it was just like she imagined the Doctor's mind to be. An organised chaos.
"I'm sorry." She blurted out. The Doctor's eyes snapped to her and seeing that Winter was refusing to look at him, he brought his fingers up to her face and brushed the long, curled white strands that were keeping him from seeing her magnificent eyes.
"You don't have to apologise to me Winter. Ever again." She shook her head, not believing what he was telling her so he closed his eyes and pressed his forehead to hers. "I mean it." He said through their Bond. "If anything, I'm the one that should apologise to you."
Winter's eyes snapped up to his, effectively breaking their contact. "If it weren't for me telling her that you were the clever one, she wouldn't have latched onto your mind." She whispered in shame.
"And if it wasn't for me, you wouldn't have been hurt." The Doctor told her. "It wasn't your fault Winter. It would have happened anyway." He cupped her face, making sure that she could see how much he meant what he was saying.
"She might not have died."
"Maybe not," the Doctor told her. "But then you would have." His voice was firmer at the idea that he was so close to losing her and brought her closer to him again.
[:]*[:]*[:]
His embrace created safety in Winter; something had changed for the Doctor enough to feel less hostile over their Bond. She had felt it in their connection - and over the next few days, the Doctor had made an effort to be near Winter as often as possible.
He was there when she had a nightmare, or she needed his psychic imprint - and more than that, the Doctor seemed to be touching her more. She was always within an arm's reach and he was constantly holding her hand, or playing with her hair.
To be honest, Winter was enjoying it. And moreover, she found that she was fighting a blush whenever he kissed her cheek or played with her hand. The touch created tingles, and often came with a warm feeling of comfort.
"How did you learn to pilot the TARDIS?" The Doctor finally asked, snapping Winter back to the conversation.
"I was with Eleven for about five months before you found me, and then I…" she trailed off momentarily."Then I learned a lot from the TARDIS herself in The Year That Never Was."
"Oh."
Donna watched as a shadow passed over Winter and the Doctor. It was obvious that whatever they were talking about wasn't a happy experience for either of them - though she couldn't help but wonder what it was they were both recalling. She didn't allow herself to ask however. Whatever it was, was private.
The shadow was broken however when Winter suddenly flicked one last lever and the TARDIS began to shake around. They all held on to whatever it was they could so as not to bump their heads on something.
Soon though it was all over and the Doctor rose to his feet. "Let's see where we are then." He grinned. He was so happy; Winter seemed okay, or at least she didn't look like she was going to shriek in pain or faint . Donna wasn't going to kill him because they were on another planet, and they were finally on another planet!
He walked on over to the doors and flung them open. From where she was, Winter could see something green in the sky, different shades of green. And then something blue floated by.
Quite by surprise, a feeling of excitement washed over Winter. She had missed this; she had missed the travelling and the unknown. The last year or so had been lived in fear but what she wanted now was that healthy fear, the one that didn't give her nightmares.
So, with a small smile on her face, Winter found herself making her way towards the entrance of the TARDIS. She stopped briefly at the entrance to look at whatever the old girl had in store for them and she was not disappointed.
The view was astounding. The first thing that captured her attention was the face that the sky was varying shades of green. Where it was closest to the two orange suns, the greens were a pale murky-green colour and further away from them, it became a olive and then forest green.
The pale metallic clouds were, instead of floating in the sky as she was used to, hovering just above the tall, thick violet grass blades that were shaped like amethyst tear drops. In front of her, Winter could see a building that would look like a normal suburban house if it wasn't for the fact that it was made out of glass that glinted and glistened in the orange glow.
"Oh that is gorgeous." She head Donna exclaim as she came to look.
"I know." Winter whispered back. This was what she loved about travelling with the Doctor. No matter where she went, Winter was always amazed by some extraordinary thing or another be it travelling through time or seeing a site like the one she could see.
From her place next to Winter, Donna could see the Doctor was beginning to fidget slightly. She sighed and shook her head, and at Winter's curious glance she pointed to where the Doctor was standing.
"Where'd you take us this time?" Donna asked loudly. The Doctor's grin widened as he began talking a mile a minute as usual.
"Were on the planet Solaria in the Straxon galaxy. It's known for its abundance and fertility in both the land and the women but…" Both Winter and Donna followed him pretending to listen but really they were watching him and giving each other speculative glances. He was like a child at Christmas.
[][][]
The Doctor watched Winter look around the village and interact with the people. She seemed to be happy, chatting to each person, trying out new fruits, laughing with Donna. He smiled. It was good to see her being a bit more cheerful.
Winter turned to him and smiled. He grinned at her and went over to join her and Donna. "Hello Doctor." She greeted. She turned and looked around. Something came over her face and she frowned for a moment.
"What's wrong?" The Doctor asked taking her hand in his gently. He was worried that she was getting a headache or was feeling too tired. Maybe it hadn't been such a good idea for them to leave the TARDIS after all. Maybe it would have been best if he had monitored her in the Zero Room just to make sure.
"It's nothing." She shook her head. Maybe she was just being stupid. She didn't know the customs of the land…but then maybe there was something strange. It couldn't hurt to ask could it?
"I just…why aren't there any children?" The Doctor frowned. His first instinct was to breathe a sigh of relief that there was nothing physically wrong with Winter. Then however, he turned to look himself. Sure enough, there were no children - that was not a normal occurrence on Solaria.
"Your right," he murmured. "There are no children." At that moment, Donna came over with a large tray of odd looking purple fruit.
"These things are gorgeous." She said biting into one. "What are they? I mean god! They're delicious." She paused when she noticed that neither the Doctor nor Winter where answering her. In fact, they both had frowns the size of Naples on their faces. "Oh what's wrong with you two?" She asked.
The Doctor turned to look at her. "Solaria is known for how bountiful it is in fruit and in women." He told her.
"Yeh? So?"
"So why aren't there any children?" Donna looked around the town square and then looked at them as if she didn't know what they were talking about.
"Don't be stupid - there are children everywhere." She said rolling her eyes at the two of them. The Doctor had obviously been inside the TARDIS for way too long if he couldn't see the children running around.
"What are you talking about?" Winter asked frowning at Donna. "Donna there are no children. Anywhere."
"Come off it." She said. "Look, there's one right behind you." She pointed to a space behind Winter and both her and the Doctor looked at the space she was pointing to. There was nothing there. No child, not even a patch of dust. "Tell him." Donna said to the man behind the stall. The man just stood there, not looking at her.
"Donna there's nothing there." The Doctor said once more. Donna frowned and the Doctor took out his Sonic and scanned her.
"Hey - what're you doin'?" She asked angrily, trying to slap the Doctor's hand away from her face.
"I' m scanning your mind. Something is tampering with your brain and it's not a perception filter - you would notice it as soon as someone told you something different." He looked at the readings.
"What is it Doctor?" Winter asked. He didn't answer her, just walked over to the man Donna had spoken to a moment ago.
"What is going on?" The Doctor asked. "Where are your children and why does my friend think she sees them?" The man looked at him, worried for a moment and then shook his head. "Tell me." The Doctor ordered. Something was very wrong with Solaria; they were peaceful, the Solarians didn't start wars but kept to themselves. So why was there a negative reading on his Sonic?
"I - I don't -" The man couldn't speak and Winter felt sorry for him. The Doctor was intimidating at the best of times but when it came to his friends… "Talk to Kieran - she - she -"
Winter placed a hand on the man's shoulder and he jumped, startled at the touch. "Where is she?" She asked softly. The man pointed a shaking finger at a road. "That house at the end?" She asked. The man nodded and Winter smiled. "Thank you."
[][][]
Marae watched at the Darkness slithered over to them. Whatever it was, was taking a Solarian form but there were shivers of death, doom and pain as it drew closer and they never stopped even when they were far away.
Marae huddled closer to the sobbing children. As she reassured them and comforted them she prayed to the heavens that they would escape. It didn't seem like a very possible thing however. Once in a while, the Darkness would take one of the children. They could hear their pleas and their cries but it would do nothing to help them. And once the child was taken, they never came back. Nothing Marae tried to do would stop them.
They were draining her life energy - not enough to kill her, but sedate her so she wouldn't act out and try and get the children out. And it wasn't just her.
Whatever these things where they had come prepared; the energy of the children were being stopped and the metal they had used to hold them prisoner was Uranium - a lethal substance to Solarian adults. Even if she and the children did manage to escape, Marae was going to die soon after.
Already she could feel the substance seeping into her blood stream and there was nothing she could do about it.
As it drew closer once more, Marae drew herself up and whispered as loudly as she could through the bars. "What do you want with us? With the children?"
Wrth i amser dulliau y lleuadau coch yn codi. Cymryd eu henaid Dwyn eu bywydau.
It was like no language she had ever heard - it was cold. Dead. It made Marae want to run away far and fast, and then curl up in a ball and sink into herself but she couldn't.
She couldn't let herself fall into the darkness otherwise she was sure she wouldn't come back out. The children needed her to comfort them. Even young Kyan. At thirteen he was the oldest of the children and as much as he tried to be brave for them, he was still scared.
He needed her. They needed her.
Help them. She thought. Please, anyone. Help the children.
[][][]
The Doctor had knocked in rapid succession on the door of the house and he hadn't stopped until someone had answered. But no-one would answer.
The Doctor, still banging on the door started shouting out, trying to get someone to open the door. He could hear someone in there - he was sure of it, but no-one came to the door.
This time the Doctor brought out his Sonic Screwdriver and used it on the door - only to frown moments later when it wouldn't work. "its wood isn't it?" Winter asked shrewdly. The Doctor didn't answer her, only glared at the door.
A moment later he began walking around the house and Winter and Donna had no choice but to follow him. "Why don't you ever make a setting for wood?" Winter asked.
"I've been a bit busy." The Doctor replied grumpily. Winter rolled her eyes but let it go, promising she would figure out a way to create a setting for wood. Before long she noticed that they were at the back of the house.
"What are we doing here?" She asked him. The Doctor looked at her and then looked up at a window that was open one floor above them. Winter followed his eyes up to where he was looking and began shaking her head harshly, already knowing what he was thinking.
"No. No way." She said. "No."
"It has to be you." The Doctor said. "You and Donna are too short to lift me up and Donna won't fit through the window." That last comment lead to the Doctor getting a smack on the back of the head by Donna. "Ow! What was that for?"
"Do you really need me to tell you that?" Donna asked, glaring at the Timelord. He shook his head but then turned back to Winter.
"No." She stated firmly. But then she stopped and thought for a moment, an idea popping into her head. "I have an idea. Why don't I get you up there?" Winter asked. The Doctor looked at her oddly and was about to comment before she stopped him. "Do you trust me?" She asked.
The Doctor didn't even think about the answer before he said it. So much had changed since he had first met her. "Yes."
Winter smiled at him and replied, "Good. Now relax okay." She began concentrating on manipulating the particles underneath him to solidify into a small oval disk, and then used the air current to raise the platform the Doctor was on.
She heard a gasp from Donna and assumed it was working so she concentrated harder - but she found that actually, it wasn't as hard to do this as it had been a few months ago. In fact, there wasn't much concentration needed on her part at all. Winter smiled at herself, feeling pride that she could use her powers to help.
"That's high enough," she heard the Doctor say and stopped the air flow from underneath him. The Doctor quickly placed one foot on the inside of the ledge, and hopped into the room. He had forgotten about her powers stupidly. It wasn't long ago she had used them but somehow he had forgotten.
The room was small, and not too shabby. There was a bed and a mirror on one side of the room and on the other there was a small mound on the ground, on which rested an oval bowl that Solarians used to thank the Universe for what they had. It was a small and humble thing that allowed them to be more in touch with nature.
He was so busy looking around that he failed to notice a woman standing behind him. "Who are you?" She asked. The Doctor spun around and saw a small woman with grey eyes and a blue sheen to her hair.
Much more importantly, she was holding something sharp and pointy.
The Doctor raised his hands to show that he was unharmed. "Who are you?" She shouted again.
"I'm the Doctor." He told her. It did nothing to calm the scared look in her eyes. "I'm not going to hurt you," he promised. "I've come to ask you about the children."
The woman's eyes widened in shock for a moment but she still didn't lower her weapon. "Who told you?" She asked.
"I don't know," the Doctor said, still watching what appeared to be a poker in her hand. "I don't know his name but he worked on a stand in the market place." The woman lowered the poker slightly and the Doctor took that as queue to keep talking. "Are you Kieran?"
"Yes." The woman said and he nodded.
"Right, well I want to help you Kieran. I want to help Solaria, because there's something invading your planet isn't there?" Kieran gulped. She didn't know if she could trust this man but her sister was in danger.
Was it really something she needed to think about though? Marae was in danger. She needed her help and this man was offering it.
"Okay." She whispered. "I'll take you."
[][][]
It was becoming difficult to breathe now. The poison in her body was spreading rapidly but Marae wouldn't give up. She could feel her sister coming for her. And Kieran wouldn't come if she didn't have any help. It wouldn't be long now.
She felt little Ama curl up next to her in fear but she couldn't comfort the little boy this time. She couldn't move. It was too much.
Marae could feel herself move in and out of consciousness.
Even if her sister didn't make it to her in time, this would all be over soon.
[][][]
Winter's eyes widened and she shivered. It was suddenly very cold. And very sad. And there was a pain in her head. She rubbed her head with the back of her hand to try and alleviate some of the pain.
"Are you alright?" She heard the Doctor ask. She turned to him and nodded her head, smiling a little. He smiled back but her took her hand in his and clasped it tightly. Winter held on just as firmly.
"What is this place?" Donna asked, looking around. She felt slightly out of place - like her body was just a second out of sync with her mind and it felt weird.
"It's the Forrest of Salvation." Kieran answered. "It was in this Forrest that the first seed of Solaria grew and blossomed into the Tree of Knowledge. It is there that Solarians gather for the Festival of Songs." Kieran smiled at the memory of the years before when she and her sister would play together under the tree.
Her smile faded abruptly when she remembered what they were here for. Donna had seen this and put her hand on the young woman's shoulder in order to comfort her.
"We are not far now." Kieran told the Doctor, snapping out of her sadness. There was no time for this. If her sister was still alive, if the children were still alive, being upset would not help them in any way.
Not far in front of them was a clearing that held a large temple like building, and it seemed like it had once been full of faith and happiness but now it oozed a darkness that chilled Winter to the core. But what was the oddest thing was the circle of death surrounding the building. Not more that a metre from the building, the grass and any plant that would otherwise be alive had been turned black and began to rot.
"What happened here?" Donna asked, looking at the circle with unease on her face. Kieran shook her head in sadness.
"This happened not long before the children began going missing. We cannot touch it - it is Uranium."
"What does that do?" Donna asked her.
"Uranium is weakly radioactive because of its unstable isotopes but it's enough to react with the cells in mature Solarians, mutating them, creating a fast acting poison if you will. They can't survive after being touched but it for longer than three days." The Doctor explained.
Winter had a sudden sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. "But how did it get there?" She asked.
"I don't know." The Doctor said slowly, as if he were trying to figure that out himself. He began walking towards the temple, Sonic out and scanning everything hoping to get some data that would help him identify what was causing this.
Winter, Donna and Kieran followed after him, Kieran more careful not to step on the circle of dead grass. While physical contact was needed for the cells to mutate, being in its presence was enough to begin to make her feel weak.
"Don't wander off." He told them. "We don't know what could be here." They all nodded in conformation and followed after the Doctor.
There were so many rooms inside the building. If Winter didn't know any better she would have said that it was bigger on the inside. But that was Timelord technology. No other race was capable of doing something like that - at least not yet.
They walked through the halls, not seeing anything when suddenly Winter noticed a slight sparkle out of the corner of her eye. She stopped and moved towards it. It was a door, there was something on the door. In the corner.
She bent down and took a closer look. It was a sliver leaf, stuck on the door. She frowned and pushed the door open, looking through. Through the door was a circular room with many other doors, all closed and all looking worse for wear except for one.
Winter looked back and noticed that she had lost the group and groaned.
Where was she? Where was the Doctor?
Oh he was going to be so mad when she found them again. He was pretty firm when he had told them to not wonder off and what had she done? Wondered off.
But now that she was there, she was going to look around. On the left of her there was a door carved in what seemed to be silver. It was dull though, as if something had gotten rid of its shine. It was also open a tiny bit.
Winter too that as a invitation and really she should have known that that was a bad thing but she continued anyway. She pushed open the door with a struggle as it was heavy and walked into the room. She was shocked at what she saw.
In the middle of the circle stood a cage holding people inside it. Winter gasped and rushed towards the cage. "Doctor!" She called. The Doctor came running into the room to find her with Kieran and Donna following behind him.
"Don't wander off. I think that was what I said." He told her angrily. Winter shook her head ignoring his anger and pointed towards the cage.
"Marae!" Kieran shouted as soon as she was close enough to see her sister's body. "Marae. Wake up." But the woman wouldn't stir. She was lying on the ground with the children that had been taken crouching around her.
"Doctor open the cage." Donna urged but the Doctor already had his Sonic out and was aiming at the cage. The door soon unlocked and Kieran was rushing forward, ready to fling the door open.
"Wait!" The Doctor called out, holding onto the woman.
"Let me go. My sister is in there." She shouted, struggling. But the Doctor wouldn't let her go.
"There's Uranium coating the bars." Instantly, she stopped struggling and froze. Oh Marae."I'm sorry. But if we move quickly we may be able to save her." Kieran nodded and stood back enough so that she wouldn't accidentally touch the bars.
The Doctor soniced the bars open and Kieran ran inside, picking up her sister and cradling her close to her chest, whispering pleads for her to wake up.
Winter meanwhile ran to the children and one by one started checking their pulses, making sure they were alive. They were. She thanked God. Their pulses were slow but they were still thrumming. The children were alive, but they wouldn't be for long.
"Doctor we need to get them medical help. Soon." The Doctor nodded and used his sonic to stabilise them for the moment. It wouldn't last for long but at least for now they were safe.
They managed to get the children up and moving while Kieran lifted Marae in her arms preparing to leave the room. "Uhh Doctor?" Donna said patting the man on his arm.
"What is it Donna?" He asked quickly.
"There are shadows at the door." The Doctor looked up at where she was pointing and sure enough there was a distinct difference to the light then there had been when they had entered the room.
"What is that?" Kieran whispered to Winter but she couldn't answer the woman. She looked at the Doctor but he was too busy concentrating on finding another way out of the room.
"You will not leave." A voice whispered throughout the room. It was terrifying; the voice layered itself with voices that Winter recognised all too well. It was as if they had stolen the voices of her loved ones.
The room was suddenly darker; shadows surrounded them but there was nothing to cast them. It reminded the Doctor too much of the Library and he stood forward. "Show yourself." He ordered. The shadows did nothing but move in closer together. Soon it was so dark that the Doctor couldn't even see the exist any longer.
"I said show yourselves!"
"Who are you to order us?" The voice roared.
The Doctor stared at the shadow, anger burning in his eyes. "What business do you have with the inhabitants of this planet?" He asked, his voice cold.
"We are no one. We are nothing. We want what belongs to us."
"No, no, no, no. Whatever you are you've been using the children for something. For what? Genetic implanting? Specimen diffraction?"
"Your knowledge is beyond this galaxy." It whispered harshly. The shadow began to spread across the floor, drawing closer to the children.
"Oh, but you can read my mind can't you? You have some kind of telepathic field so you know I'm telling the truth." Of course he wouldn't let them get in too far. The knowledge a Timelord possessed was far more dangerous than anyone could imagine.
"We will feed." Every voice blended together in a series of hisses and growls to say those words which suggested they had some sort of Hive Mind or connection.
The shadow, which had been slithering across the room, reached the children, encompassing them in black fog.
"Name yourself." The Doctor ordered. "Planet of origin. Galactic coordinates. Species designation according to the universal ratification of the Shadow Proclamation."
"The Shadow Proclamation holds no authority over us. We will feed." The voices said together. A shiver ran down Winter's spine as they said those words and she prayed the Doctor would be able to stop them.
"Tell me your name!" The Doctor shouted.
"We have no name."
"What?" The Doctor asked, confused. "How can you have no name?"
"We have slept beneath the earth for thousands of years. And now we rise. Now we shall feed."
"What do you mean you have no name? How can you have no name?" The Doctor's mind raced. How could they have no name? Every creature had a name. Even if they were reluctant to give the name, a Timelord could sense the name hidden in the folds of a mind. But there was nothing. Nothing.
Which meant - "You aren't a species." The Doctor realised. "You aren't a species. But then what are you?"
There was a scream, and one by one the children fell towards the ground. Winter rushed towards them and checked their pulse again. There was nothing.
"They're dead." She choked out. "They're dead." She looked towards the shadows, eyes blazing with fury. "What did you do?" She screamed at them.
"They were our sustenance. They are pure of essence."
The Doctor grabbed hold of Winter's shoulders and ushered her backwards, noting the steel grey colour her eyes had turned. "They were innocent children." She hissed angrily.
"Yes." They answered back. They stopped and the shadows began moving around the room, overlapping. The Doctor noted with wariness, that they were circling closer and closer to Donna and Winter.
"Chemical F recognised. Begin extraction." The voices growled in unison. As they did that, Donna began feeling something odd in the pack of her head.
"Doctor?" She called warily. "I think they're doing something to me." The Doctor's head spun to the ginger and he glared.
"What are you doing? Stop it!" He demanded.
"Chemical F recognised." The children began to cling to the back of their heads, moaning.
"Doctor!" Winter shouted as Donna and the children began to cry in pain. "Help them!" The Doctor changed the setting on the Sonic Screwdriver and aimed it at the shadows.
The buzzing sound filled the room and the shadows suddenly recoiled into themselves, crying out a terrible, high pitched squeal that made their ears ring.
The Doctor grabbed ahold of Donna and lifted her up. "Run."