Sasha and Alec tumbled into the TARDIS, slamming the doors firmly shut behind them. Jewels of sweat on their foreheads. Sasha wheezed, nearly falling on the doors as she locked them.

"They can't get in, can they?" Alec asked, stepping away from the doors, watching them intently.

"I doubt it – these doors can stand nearly anything."

"Nearly anything?"

"Well, I don't think stone Angels are much of a threat."

"Then why've we been running from them for the past few hours for no reason? We don't even know what threat they pose."

Suddenly, the TARDIS jolted, scattering Sasha and Alec across the ground. "Alec!" Sasha called, grabbing her brother before he slipped away too far. "Stay close to me! That must've been them," Sasha gasped. "We need the Doctor."

"RIVER!" the Doctor screamed, water dripping like diamonds from his chin as he slumped onto the pebbled beach that led into the black lake. "RIVER!" he cried again in desperation. "River, I need you! River . . ." he choked, his knees crumpling to the floor, tears melting into the lake water. Then, at the sudden turn, he stopped. He giggled. Within moments he was laughing aloud. "HA!" he laughed looking up into the grey sky. "No! River's not dead; she can't be dead! River died in the Library, not here, and if she hadn't I wouldn't be here. You're out here somewhere, aren't you sweetie. Where are you? You bad, bad girl . . . I'm coming to get you!"

"How long until that volcano blows?" Alec asked.

"We have half an hour," Sasha replied, clinging to the TARDIS console as the entire ship was rocked to a side.

"Ok . . ." Alec stuttered. "We're running out of time."

"Priority one: find the Doctor!" Sasha ordered.

"Ok. But how?" Alec panicked, staggering a little as the TARDIS tipped. "We can't fly this thing. We have an army of Angels outside this door. We can't take a step out there without another Angel crawling out of the ground!"

"I know!" Sasha screamed. "I. Am. Scared! I'm not used to this!"

"Neither am I!"

"But you were a spy agent! You must be used to some level of fear; a rush! I'm a police detective. I don't do this. I don't chase criminals or try and control a riot. I don't know what to do. I don't know how I'm going to get out of this mess . . . And I don't know how you are . . ."

"You don't have to worry about me."

"But I can't stop worrying! You've only just come back into my life after so long; I can't afford to lose you again."

"But you can't wrap me up in this protective nest."

"What else do you suggest? I can't stand to see you in this much danger, but at this same time I see this light in your eyes - this excitement every time your life's on the line. It scares me!"

"You can't protect me forever!"

"THAT'S BECAUSE I'VE ALREADY LET YOU DOWN!" Sasha screamed. The TARDIS jolted. Sasha slipped, but Alec caught her. ". . . Thank you," Sasha choked.

"Anytime," Alec said, not quite smiling. "Don't think I don't care."

"About what?"

"You," Alec replied. "Things have changed for me too."

"Yeah . . ." Sasha grunted. "Shannon, for one."

"You think I care more for her than you?"

"You tell me," Sasha challenged him.

Alec's jaw hung. "It's different for us."

"How? You've barely known her for a month."

"The same amount of time as I've known you."

Sasha gasped. "How can you say that?"

"Because it's true!" Alec cried, falling back into a chair. "In my mind I see two people. I see Sasha – this fifteen year old girl that was always sweet and would talk about anything. Then I see another Sasha – she's twenty five. She's like the Sasha I knew, but she's grown up. She's caring, and funny and protective. She's everything that Sasha is, but she's not the same."

"I'm the same person I've always been. Yes, I've grown up, but I'm still the girl that you grew up with."

"I know you are, it's just . . . I'm not used to it. In my head I see how you used to be, but I'm living with who you are now. I don't know . . . It doesn't seem right - knowing someone for so long, so closely, and then they change within a day. It's almost like an illusion. Like you've taken this mask off that you've been wearing for ages and I can't adjust. It's like a trick."

"You think this is a trick; that I've been messing with your head for the past twenty five years?"

"No! I know it's not, but . . . I don't know. I just can't do this."

"Do what? Travelling in the TARDIS with me and the Doctor?"

"No that's not what I meant!" Alec argued.

"Holding secrets then. That's not what the Alec I knew used to be like! Maybe you're a trick! For example, I don't remember my brother being a spy the last time I met him."

"Jesus! Not this again!" Alec groaned. "You just keep going on."

"Aha!" Sasha cried. "Now that's the Alec I remember! Arguing back, always moaning . . ."

"Always nagging."

"Hey!"

"Now I can definitely see you as my sister," Alec laughed.

"And I'm starting to wish you weren't my brother," Sasha replied.

"Like I never guessed!"

"First time you've noticed the obvious!"

"You can talk!" Alec joked. "You've missed the most obvious thing already."

"No, I haven't. I bet you didn't though."

"Go on then; tell me the obvious," Alec challenged her, a smile on his face.

Sasha smiled. "The Angels stopped shaking the TARDIS ages ago. They've gone."

"Or this is part of the plan. Think outside the box, Sis," Alec teased.

Sasha rushed to the doors and unlocked them. Then she stopped. "Do we do it? Should we go out?"

Alec stepped by his sister's side. "I don't think we have a choice."

Sasha raised an eyebrow. "Yes we do. That's a stupid thing to say. We have the choice to go outside, to stay inside; to go and get some lunch, because I don't know about you, but I'm starving. Have you seen the kitchens in this place?"

"Oh shut up!" Alec cried, pushing Sasha out of the TARDIS doors. "Remember not to blink!" he called after her.

"RIVER!" the Doctor called, staggering through the forest. The sun was beginning to set, dipping the planet into darkness. Moss and dirt ground into his clothing as he struggled to keep on his feet. "River, stop playing games! We need to go. Without the light, none of us will stand a chance, and the volcano will blow in ten minutes!"

He tripped against a tree as the ground beneath trembled. A stream of smoke appeared over the tops of the trees. "Come on, River," the Doctor muttered, growing fearful. "Where are you?"

Suddenly, the Doctor jumped back. By his side, a stone hand crawled out of the ground. Steadying his breathe, the Doctor stepped back with bulging eyes. Once again the ground shook, causing the Doctor to look away from the hand.

By the time he looked back, the hand had developed, growing a shoulder and the side of a snarling face.

"RIVER!" the Doctor called. "We have to go!"

The Doctor wiped his eyes from the falling leaves and ash from the volcanic sky. The ground shuddered as a wail boomed in the distance. The boulder beside him grew a leg and hand had grown a head.

"DOCTOR!" a female voice called.

Momentarily, he took his eyes off the two developing Angels. "River?" the Doctor called.

"Doctor!" another voice called. "Doctor, we're here!"

Sasha and Alec crawled out from behind the darkness and trees, scrambling over the tree roots and rocks. They staggered, Alec watching the legs that grew out of the boulder whilst Sasha hugged the Doctor.

"Sasha," the Doctor smiled, hugging her back with his eyes on the Angels. "Thank God . . ." the Doctor sighed. "I thought you'd be dead."

"Nearly," Sasha replied. "I thought we'd both be dead too."

"How did you find me?" the Doctor asked.

"The TARDIS took us here," Alec replied, "we didn't even press a button."

"That's the TARDIS for you. It always knows where to be," the Doctor smiled, watching the half-formed Angel. Suddenly he grew serious. "Have you seen River?"

"No," Sasha frowned. "Why? What happened?"

"She got snatched by the Angels after we fell in the lake."

"What?" Alec gasped. "She's dead?"

"No. She can't be. I know her future, so she must have survived this. I just have to find her."

"Well, no rush but we've got minutes at most!" Sasha panicked.

"We have to get River!" the Doctor instructed.

"But as soon as that volcano blows, we have to go."

"Trust me; we need River," the Doctor pleaded. "I know where she has to be in the future so she has to make it there!"

"Doctor, you have more than just one life to save," Alec reminded him.

"And she'll save yours! She's already met you – I'd bet money that she's saved you at some point," the Doctor argued as the ground shuddered.

"Doctor, we have to make a move!" Sasha insisted.

"Give me a moment!" the Doctor insisted. An Angel crawled down a tree trunk. "Sasha! Watch that Angel!" the Doctor instructed her.

"Even more of a reason to go," Sasha argued. "If that volcano doesn't get us the Angels will."

"ANGEL!" Alec cried. "Over there!" Alec warned, pointing to the distance where two Angels crawled out of the ground.

"Ok," the Doctor sighed, "I can get them both in my view."

"Alec, the floor!" Sasha screamed.

Quickly, Alec looked down, seeing a stone arm. "Ok, we should go!" Alec grunted.

"Sasha, can we go in your direction?" the Doctor asked, busily watching the Angels in his view.

Sasha looked wary. "Ok. This side is the safest. We'll have to go quickly."

"Ok, on my count," the Doctor announced. "Three. Two. One. NOW!"

Abandoning their posts, the Doctor and Alec followed Sasha through the forest, watching behind them as the Angels chased after them. They staggered, pausing every other moment as Angels appeared from behind trees and out of rocks.

"This doesn't look like the way we came," Alec panicked.

"Shut up! I'm extremely . . . Stressed!" Sasha said in a fluster. She gasped, staggering to a halt, nearly falling into the clutches of a fully formed Angel. Its fangs were pointed, its talons pointed towards her. "Doctor! We have a problem!"

Alec screamed. "Another one here!"

The Doctor turned to look, seeing three Angels, half-formed and crawling out of the ground in front of Alec. "Watch your Angels!" Several more Angels appeared from a different direction. "More incoming!" the Doctor announced, watching them closely.

"Doctor!" Alec cried. "More this way!" At least another four were crawling their way out of rocks in the distance. "I can't watch them!" Alec cried, having to continually turn his head to keep his eyes on both incoming threats. "I can't do this for much longer!"

In a panic, Sasha turned her head to look; as she did, a second Angel joined the one she was already watching.

The Doctor tried to help, but whenever he turned his head, the three Angels would grow closer to completion.

All three of them kept turning, changing their watch between the army of Angels that approached from every side. As one turned their back, the Angels would approach, stepping closer with their hands stretched out. The ground shook, scattering them to the floor. They didn't stand a chance. Panic and claustrophobia exhausted them. Sweat dripped as they were encompassed in the stone trap. Ash and leaves fell like shards of glass, blurring their vision. Every flaw and the threat drew closer.

The Doctor made a fatal mistake. In a moment of panic and confusion, he turned his back on an increasingly close Angel. When no-one watched, it moved closer . . . Then it froze. Quickly, the Doctor turned back. He smiled. "River!"

"Well, hello, Sweetie!" River gleamed. She raised her device and pointing it at the Angels, using the reflective screen to stop them moving as she turned her back. "We should go. We've got seconds. Found the TARDIS?"

"River?" Sasha gasped.

"How did you escape?" the Doctor asked. "You were trapped underwater with a sinking Angel on your arm!"

"Vortex manipulator," River replied, gesturing to a device on her arm, "works wonders for quick getaways. I landed miles away; it was a nightmare getting back. Sorry, did I take a while?"

"Just a bit," the Doctor moaned.

"Sorry to ruin the moment, but we're still surrounded," Sasha pointed out.

"Ah . . . Right," River groaned, "we've got no choice but to make a run for it. How do you like that prospect? A little boring for an escape, but considering the circumstances I'd just like to get away."

"I agree," Alec added.

"Couldn't have said it better myself," the Doctor agreed.

"I know," River joked. "Where've you parked?"

"Not far from here," Sasha replied. "Left, I think."

"You think? I need to be certain, this is important," River insisted, not once seeming snobbish.

"Erm . . ."

"Yes!" Alec interrupted. "Go left."

"Ok. We need to run. Don't stop. Get to the TARDIS and then we leave," River instructed. "And remember, if that volcano . . ."

River was cut silent. Far in the distance, the top of the volcano flew from its base, disintegrating into fragments of confetti as it was peppered across the forest. The blast ringing throughout the trees, deafening the timelord and his friends. Flying through the air, they were scattered, landing against tree trunks and on the floor. A toxic cloud formed in the sky, covering them in a thick blanket of grey and ash. Rocks and splinters from trees drizzled from the sky like rain as blood-red lava poured from the volcano, plunging the planet into a post-apocalyptic scene. A deadly landslide followed the lava that poured down, flattening forests with it as it tore through its destructive path.

The Doctor rolled to his side, coughing dust from his lungs. He'd landed badly, a tree trunk splitting a cut across his forehead. Everything around him was grey and fragmented, his vision blurred into one dark mess. Only rustles and murmurs; the blast still ringing in his ears.

He pushed River, urging her to get off the ground. She drifted into life, her hair mixed with leaves and dirt. He screamed at River to watch the Angels, but he doubted she'd even be able to read his lips. And it was no matter. As the Doctor looked up, a boulder was scattered through the air, swiping two Angels into glitter as it disappeared into the distance.

Beside him, Sasha had pulled Alec from the ground, watching one of the few Angels to survive the blast. The Doctor watched Sasha's mouth – she was screaming. The Doctor couldn't quite interpret what she was saying, but from her fear and determination, he was sure she was pleading to run.

The four of them staggered to their feet and began to run. Fragments smashed the land around them, tearing down through the sky as if they were razor blades. Whole trees were torn from the ground as boulders tumbled through the forest. Every step was in agony. Every step nearly sent them to the ground as their shoes caught on rocks and debris beneath them. Thick grey mist blurred their sight, and the heat of burning flames disorientated them.

Finally, in the distance, a blue box stood. It felt so close, they were sure they could touch it. One more push, urging them to fight the desperate cries of their bodies as they limped and struggled towards the distant light. Angels were no longer a problem; the stone nemesis were torn apart by falling stones and puddled spits of lava.

A stone hand protruded from the ground. It reached out and snatched Alec's ankle. Unable to do a thing, Alec tripped, falling into the mud and stone shards that scraped and tore at his body. Alec screamed in pain, watching in the distance as the approaching line of lave and smoke rolled through the forest. "HELP!" Alec screamed, trapped by the hand. "QUICK! HELP ME!"

Sasha turned back, her hand close enough to touch the TARDIS doors. She watched, her heart torn open as her brother screamed in the mud - helpless. "ALEC!" she screamed, running back towards her brother.

"NO!" the Doctor cried, grabbing Sasha's arm before she could get too far.

"HELP ME!" Alec wailed.

"Doctor, we have to help him!" Sasha screamed, trying to pull out of his grasp.

"NO!" the Doctor insisted. "It's too dangerous!"

"BUT HE'S MY BROTHER!" Sasha wailed, kicking out to get loose.

"SASHA! PLEASE!" Alec cried.

"Doctor, let me go!" Sasha argued, trying to hit the Doctor, but he caught her hands.

"I'm sorry," he said bluntly. "It's too late. We don't have the time to get him out."

"BUT WE HAVE TO TRY!"

"HELP ME! HELP!"

Alec screamed.

"Sasha, come into the TARDIS," River pleaded, reaching out from the TARDIS safety.

"NO! NEVER!" Sasha screamed. "WE HAVE TO HELP HIM!"

"WE CAN'T!" the Doctor snapped. "Get in the TARDIS. I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry, but there's nothing we can do. He's dead. As of this moment, your brother is dead, because there's no way that we can save him."

"DON'T YOU CARE?"

"Of course I do. But I have to look after you too," the Doctor replied, tears rolling down his cheek.

"HELP ME!" Alec screamed, his body writhing on the ground.

"Please . . ." Sasha pleaded, giving up as tears stained her distraught expression.

"Sasha, please, get in the TARDIS," River begged, reaching out for Sasha's hand.

Reluctantly, Sasha accepted, turning back to Alec as she stepped into the box . . . Something caught her eye!

"Wait . . ." Sasha stammered, stepping back out onto the planet's surface. "Who was that?"

"Nothing. Come on, we have to go. We have seconds!" the Doctor insisted.

"Hold on," Sasha snapped. Her jaw hung open.

Alec had stop writhing. Slowly, Alec looked up. A man stood beside him. The man stretched out his hand, offering it to Alec. Alec was too afraid to decline, and held the man's hand. The man was pale; so white and grey he could be a corpse. His teeth we crooked and grisly, as if they had never seen any care. Touching the man's hand send a cold shiver into Alec.

"How is that possible?" Alec gasped, looking up at the man in horror. The two of them disappeared.

The Doctor's eyes widened. "But that was . . ." he gasped.

"What is it? What's wrong, Doctor?" River asked.

"That's impossible!" Sasha panicked. "HE DIED!"

"In the TARDIS! NOW! WE HAVE SECONDS!" River screamed.

"That can't be," Sasha gasped.

"But it was," the Doctor confirmed.

"What does it matter? Who was it?" River asked.

Sasha gulped. "That was Mr Derbyshire. He's back from the dead. And he's taken Alec."