They all broke into a run. Their footsteps pounded hard on the metal floor, the sound echoing through the corridors. They didn't care how much noise they made, because the Daleks already knew where they were.
"Run!" The Doctor shouted, leading the way, running in a random direction.
"Like you need to say that!" Amy snapped, frustrated. She stumbled for a moment. Sarah Jane grabbed her hand and pulled her forward. They hurried forward, trying to keep up with the others. Mickey and Martha sped up, several feet ahead of them, holding on to each other for dear life.
Amy could hear the sound of the Dalek's rolling towards them. Their battle cry echoed through the corridor, boucing off the walls, making it sound ten times louder than it actually was. Amy's heart left her chest to pound in her throat, and the air she managed to gulp down burned as her lungs begged for more.
Over all the noise and the heavy breathing, Amy heard the sound of a vibration. Sarah Jane must have felt it, because she lifted her mobile up to her face. Her eyes widened.
"Doctor!" she called. "The weapon control room is straight ahead!"
"Where?" he yelled back. Sarah Jane checked the instructions.
"The next room!" she shouted without looking up. Amy heard the Doctor turning his screwdriver on, and the sound of a door sliding open. Martha and Mickey, who were a few feet ahead dove into the room. The Doctor disappeared, and Amy heard him shout, "The door won't stay open for long!"
Suddenly, Daleks came into view at the end of the hall. Amy knew it wasn't far to the door; just a few meters. But it felt like it was taking so long.
They were so close when Sarah Jane tripped. Her hand was ripped out of Amy's grasp, but by the time Amy realized it, she had already slipped through the closing door. Amy was suddenly aware of her empty hand, and a cry of fear behind her as the door slid closed. A few seconds later, Amy heard banging on the other side.
"Let me in!"
At the noise and the cry, Martha and Mickey spun around on their heels, and the Doctor looked up from the computer that he was typing on. Their eyes widened.
"Sarah Jane!" Amy shouted, cursing at herself. She hurried to the door and pressed her hands on them. "Sarah Jane, I'm so sorry!"
"Let her in!" Martha half-shouted at the Doctor.
Sarah Jane must have heard them, because she said, "No, don't!" After a moment of silence, they heard her croak, "I'm surrounded by Daleks."
Amy winced, several emotions setting in; panic and guilt were two she could identify. The others were silent. When Amy turned and saw their faces, she knew they must have been thinking the same things; they all could have gotten through the door.
"Doc-tor!" came the cry of a Dalek. "It is I, Dalek Sec. Open the door immediately!"
"No! Don't!" they heard Sarah Jane shout. "Don't, Doctor!"
"Open the door, or the female shall be exterminated!"
Amy's breath caught in her throat. This was her fault. "Sarah Jane, I'm so sorry," she whispered.
"Open the door, or the female will be exterminated!" Dalek Sec threatened again.
The Doctor glanced back and forth fearfully between Mickey, Martha, Amy, and the door. Amy was sure that she could hear his double-hearts pumping hard. She could also read his face. He was torn. He opened and closed his mouth like a fish. Amy wasn't sure what was going through his mind, but she could guess.
"I...I..." he whispered. "I have to let her in!"
Amy knew that he couldn't, otherwise the Daleks would get them. But she couldn't go and say that they had to leave Sarah Jane out there to her death.
"You can't!" Sarah Jane screamed through the door, ignoring the Daleks' commands to be quiet. "Please, Doctor, don't!"
"I can't leave you!" he thundered.
"With the number of Daleks on this ship, they could tear the whole universe apart!" Sarah Jane yelled. "And whatever they're building in that factory, it isn't good!" Her voice began to break, and Amy knew tears must be beginning to fall. "It's me... or the universe."

The Doctor slowly lifted his hands in the air, and the others followed in suit. Maria's heart pounded as her arms leisurely lifted above her head. She glanced at Rose, who looked rather terrified. Jack (who was dead five minutes before) looked tense, wrinkling his nose as if a bad smell was under it. A grin, however, split across the Doctor's face.
"Take me to your leader," he commanded.
"I bet you've always wanted to say that," Jack murmured. The Doctor nodded.
"You will follow," a Cyberman said. The small group did as they were told, and followed the Cybermen (Maria counted eight of them). The Doctor put his hands down to his sides (Rose and Jack did the same) so Maria guessed it was safe for her to do so, too.
Maria jumped as the Cyberman behind her nudged her forward once more. In the middle of a sea of metallic men, Maria struggled to process what had just happened. It seemed like they had been so close. But then the console had to just go and explode. Maria guessed the power boost Mr. Smith sent had just been a bit too much for the controls to handle. It seemed to only make the situation worse. Of course, without the power boost, they wouldn't have been able to transmit the pulsar anyway.
Maria was ashamed of her performance during this situation. When she lived on Bannerman Road and was a part of Sarah Jane's gang, she had been much more helpful, but that day... she had been useless ever since she fell through the floor in the upgrading chamber. Then when Jack had died and come back to life (she still didn't understand that bit), she had just stood there like a ninny. She really was being useless that day.
For some reason, the Doctor didn't look the least bit scared. Neither did Jack. Rose looked a bit nervous, but was putting on a brave face. Maria did the same. It wasn't the first time she was in a tight spot, and it certainly wasn't going to be the last.
Maria reached forward and took Rose's hand. She squeezed it comfortingly, which somehow seemed to calm the girl down. It made Maria feel a bit better, but it didn't completely wash away the fact that there were several guns pointed at her back.
The Cybermen led them towards an older building. It was the largest one in the complex, and the outside was surrounded by Cybermen Guards. Maria gulped. The leader of the Cybermen must be inside; whoever or whatever it is anyhow.
Once the group reached the front of the building, the Cyberman who had told them to follow approached the guard in front of the door.
"We have found these intruders in the main control center," the metal man said. "They must be taken to the Cyberleader."
The guard leaned to the side to scan the Doctor and his friends. After a moment, it replied, "Are you sure that is wise?"
"Affirmative," the first Cyberman argued. "The Cyberleader will extract the answers we need from them."
"What will we do with them then?" asked the guard.
"They shall be deleted."
Maria flinched at that word. The last time she had heard it, Jack had been killed (and then came back to life... she needed to ask about that, later of course). Suddenly, the arm-gun of the Cyberman behind her felt like it was pressed much closer to her back.
The Cyber-guard slowly stepped aside.
"You may pass," it said quietly. The leading Cyberman walked past it and pushed the doors open, exposing a long hallway lit up with small hanging lights. The Cybermen turned to the Doctor and his crew.
"You shall follow," it instructed. It turned on its heels and walked down the hall. Maria gave Rose's hand another squeeze; the younger girl sighed as she began to follow.
The hallway was long and narrow, with several dark twists and turns. After what felt like an hour (which was probably only three minutes), the Cyberman stopped in front of the door. The Cyberman knocked on the door, and after a few seconds, it slid open. The four prisoners and the eight Cybermen filled into the room. As the Cybermen in front of her stepped to the side, Maria could see clearly what they were there for. A Cyberman, who looked the same as every other Cyberman, except with a rather strange looking headdress, stared down at them from its throne.
"Well," Jack mused. "I guess killing their old leader didn't make a difference. They just got a new one."

The hinges creaked loudly as the door slowly swung open. The sound cut through the air like a blade, making it feel like it was rattling Clara's eardrums. The chamber opened, and she saw a dark shadow stirring outside of it.
She flinched as Donna grabbed her hand and yanked her to the side. She stumbled, but Donna steadied her, pulling her down to her knees as they crouched behind a nearby chamber. Clara glanced to the side and saw the Doctor put a finger to his lips, his face illuminated in green light.
"Don't touch the chamber in front of you," River hissed from behind her, so quietly she almost didn't catch it. Clara jerked back; her hands had been resting on the dirt ground, but the tip of her pinky almost brushed the cylinder.
Clara jumped as she heard the sound of crunching pebbles nearby as the Silurian stepped out of the chamber. Her heart skipped a beat as she heard him begin to walk away from it. Judging by the sound, the Silurian was walking towards their hiding spot. Clara crossed her fingers, praying that the guard would just walk by without noticing them, but she knew it was a long shot. Why wouldn't he see them? What kind of luck had they had so far that day to suggest that for once, fate would give them mercy?
The sound of crunching pebbles grew louder as the Silurian moved closer. Clara struggled to make herself smaller, to move backwards so that he wouldn't see her, but the others didn't move. Donna had let her hand go, but Clara could feel that she was shaking in fear.
Or was that her?
Clara held her breath as she saw a large black boot step mere inches in front of her. She pulled her fingers back in the nick of time to keep them from getting squashed. Clara squeezed her eyes shut.
There were two possible outcomes for the next couple seconds; option one, the Silurian wouldn't notice them and keep walking. Option two, her would notice them and kill them. She prayed for option one.
She didn't breathe or open her eyes for several seconds. Even when the crunching steps continued in the opposite direction, Clara didn't get her hopes up. That pesky voice in her mind kept whispering 'he's gonna see you. You're gonna die!', but she didn't want to believe it. No, she had to see Sydney again. She whispered Sydney's name over and over in her mind, picturing his handsome face and bright smile. Despite the situation, the thought of him made a small balloon of happiness well up inside her. If the Silurian was going to kill them, she wanted her last thought to be about him.
It was right there when she realized the footsteps faded away in the distance. In the next few moments, she heard a grinding noise. She opened her eyes and looked over her shoulder.
About fifty feet away, a large door opened up, and the Silurian disappeared through it. Then the door slid shut, leaving them in the dark, illuminated with an eerie green glow.
She, along with Donna, Rory, River, and even the Doctor, breathed a deep sigh of relief. River half collapsed next to the Doctor and threw her arms around him. Rory and Donna enveloped Clara in a hug, unable to believe their luck.
She still had questions, though, but Donna voiced one of them first.
"Why did only one Silurian wake up?" Donna whispered.
"Maybe he got called somewhere," the Doctor murmured.
"Why would Calcon be waking up one person?" River asked.
Clara thought for a moment. Then, suddenly, a memory surfaced. Her mouth dropped open, and she covered it. Rory noticed this.
"What is it?" he questioned, concern in his voice. All eyes were suddenly on her.
"I think she's beginning to call her troops," she told them. "When I was in the vents, I heard Calcon planning to take the earth back under their control. They want to destroy the human race!"
Rory huffed, "Well, there's a freaking surprise."
The Doctor ignored him as he questioned further. "Did anything else happen?"
Clara thought for a second. "An older Silurian appeared and told Calcon she couldn't do the invasion of the surface, that he gassed the Silurians the last time to avoid war with us. Eldane, his name was." The Doctor's eyes widened at that. She continued. "Then Calcon called him a traitor, and several guards dragged him away."
"Where?" the Doctor questioned in a hushed voice.
"To the cells."
The Doctor stood up, careful not to touch the chamber in front of him. He pulled River to her feet as the others grew to their full height.
"We need to find Eldane," the Doctor whispered. "He can help us force the Silurians back into hibernation. But we need to get out of here. Come on, we need to get to that door."

Can I just say that Sarah Jane getting trapped outside the weapons room was my favorite part to write? She's my favorite companion, and she's just so brave all the time.
I finished this chapter at 2 in the morning. At 1, I was talking to my sister, noticed the time, and said into my hand as if it were a cell phone, "Sally Sparrow, it's one in the morning. You think I'm coming round at one in the morning?"
I am such a dork.
Anyway, I was going to post it as soon as I was finished, but then it occurred to me that nobody would be on at two in the morning. So I shall update as soon as I wake up tomorrow. Which will be today when I finally post it. Yada yada yada.
As a continuation of my apology for the month long wait, I will do my best to continue posting chapters every few days until the story is done.
I already have the next chapter finished, but I want to write the one after that before I post. I'll try to have it up by Monday.
Its been a long journey on the slow path, and I think we're reaching its end.
I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!

LASTLY. THERE IS AN IMPORTANT POLL ON MY PROFILE PAGE THAT I REQUEST EACH AND EVERY READER VOTE ON! Thank you for your time.