The Tardis rocked for the last time before she gave an almighty wheeze as she finally settled. Donna and Terry slowly raised their heads from where they'd been clinging for dear life to the side of the console while the Doctor dusted his hands proudly.
"There we are!" He declared as he surveyed his companions with dancing eyes. "Set the controls to random. Mystery tour."
He gestured toward the Tardis doors, saying in a low voice while Donna's eyes went wide as plates, "Outside that door, could be any planet, anywhere, any when in the whole wide u- Are you all right?"
He stopped abruptly as Donna's face filled with a conflicted expression like she was both excited and extremely stressed.
"Terrified." Donna admitted breathlessly, tearing her eyes away from the Tardis doors and toward the two Time Lords beside her. "I mean, history's one thing but an alien planet?"
Panic was starting to really creep into her tone. Terry grinned while the Doctor suggested in a serious tone, "I could always take you home."
At that, the panic left Donna's face and she rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, don't laugh at me." She scolded and Terry laughed.
"Don't worry, Donna. If you're feeling both afraid and excited, you're not alone." She said kindly.
Donna looked at her in surprise while the Doctor added with a nod, "I know what it's like. Everything you're feeling right now. The fear, the joy, the wonder?"
He gestured between himself and Terry.
"We get that."
The Doctor grinned widely at Donna and the tension left the redhead as she asked the other two in wonder, "Seriously? After all this time?"
"Yeah." The Doctor said with a smile. "Why do you think we keep going?"
"I dunno, never-ending honeymoon?" Donna suggested and Terry laughed.
"Okay, maybe a bit of that too." The Doctor acknowledged while Terry walked toward the doors.
"Come on, you two. Or I'll leave you behind."
"You could never leave me, darling!" The Doctor called as he strode after her.
"Oh, now I want to try." Terry grinned cheekily back as she stopped by the door. Donna sighed.
"Again, the flirting. Where is first you?" The redhead complained but they all heard the joking undertone.
Terry grinned while the Doctor waited for Donna to join them by the door. The companion finally did and she breathed out in nervous excitement once again.
"This is barmy. I was born in Chiswick."
Terry grinned as Donna's excitement infected her. The Doctor was already grinning like a fool as he grabbed his long tan jacket while Terry pulled her black blazer over her red shirt.
"I've only ever had package holidays. Now I'm here. This is so... I mean it's…"
Donna struggled to find the right words as she looked between her friends with bright eyes.
"I don't know, it's all sort of… I don't even know what the word is!"
The Doctor laughed as Donna turned and flung open the door to dash outside. Terry and the Doctor followed behind her, only for all three to stop dead in their tracks as they were hit by ice-cold wind.
"Oh, I've got the word." Donna said in a flat tone, all the excitement gone as the wind bit her skin. "Freezing."
Terry shivered; it seemed she was doomed to be perpetually cold lately. First the cold star, now this. The Doctor, on the other hand, brightened even further.
"Snow!" He exclaimed in awe as he surveyed the snowy terrain they had landed in. "Oh, real snow. Proper snow at last."
Terry had to laugh at his enthusiasm, only now remembering how the Doctor had complained about it never actually snowing at Christmas. The Doctor beamed when he saw Terry's mood instantly lifted.
"That's more like it. Lovely." The Doctor turned to Donna next. "What do you think? Real snow!"
"Bit cold." Donna answered dryly as she wrapped her arms around herself, rubbing her bare arms.
The Doctor and Terry hadn't noticed yet as they continued to stare out at the rocky ravines and tall mountains all around them.
"Look at that view." The Doctor murmured admiringly as he looked around at the entire landscape covered in enormous icicles and dusted with pure white snow. High up in the sky, a planet that resembled a pale white Saturn shone like the moon on a clear summer's day.
Terry examined the beauty before her until Donna said from beside them, "Yep. Beautiful, cold view."
Noticing Donna's chattering teeth, Terry turned her head to glance over the companion but the Doctor was as oblivious as ever.
"Millions of planets, millions of galaxies, and we're on this one." The Doctor nodded to himself. "Molto bene. Bellissimo, says Donna, born in Chiswick."
The Doctor flashed Donna a grin before he started walking off as he continued.
"All you've got is a life of work and sleep, and telly and rent and tax and takeaway dinners, all birthdays and Christmases and two weeks holiday a year… and then you end up here!"
The Doctor waved around, still blissfully unaware that his companions hadn't followed him.
"Donna Noble, citizen of the Earth, standing on a different planet. How about that, Donna?"
The Doctor turned triumphantly, only to frown in confusion as he saw Terry standing alone by the Tardis.
"Angel, where's Donna?" The Doctor asked as he walked back toward her.
"Sometimes, sweetie, you're really not very observant." Terry commented just as the door opened beside her and Donna came back out, dressed in a huge thick fur coat with the hood covering her head. The coat was so large that from behind, Donna looked like a small bear and from the front, it looked like she had been swallowed by a fur blanket.
"Sorry, you were saying?" Donna asked as she closed the door behind her.
The Doctor hid a laugh while Terry shook her head.
"You all right there, Donna?" Terry asked and Donna tilted her head poshly.
"Lovely, thanks." Donna replied airily.
"Comy?" The Doctor asked and Donna nodded.
"Yep." She chirped. The Doctor raised a brow.
"Can you hear anything inside that?" The Doctor asked. Donna cocked her head questioningly.
"Pardon?" She asked a tad too loudly.
Terry laughed while the Doctor rolled his eyes.
"All right, I was saying, citizen of the Earth-"
The Doctor was interrupted as they heard a strange whooshing noise above their heads. The three looked up in confusion and Terry's eyes widened as hse saw an enormous red rocket fly through the sky above them. It descended in a smooth arc, disappearing over the horizon right behind them.
"Rocket." Donna breathed in awe. "Blimey, a real proper rocket. Now that's what I call a spaceship."
Terry remained pale in a way that had nothing to do with the cold, but her friends had yet to notice her reaction as Donna hit the Doctor lightly on the chest.
"You've got a box, he's got a Ferrari." She said excitedly, ignoring the Doctor's petulance as she started after the rocket. "Come on, let's go see where he's going."
Donna strode off, the coat trailing behind her. The Doctor pouted after the companion before he glanced at the Tardis. He patted the old girl fondly before he realized Terry had been unusually quiet beside him.
"Angel? What's wrong?" The Doctor asked, glancing down at the Time Lady who was staring in the direction of the rocket.
"Nothing." Terry shook her head. The Doctor didn't look like he believed her and a shrewd expression entered his eyes.
"Do you know this adventure?" He questioned. Terry couldn't lie so she said nothing at all. The Doctor nodded thoughtfully before he reached out to take her hand.
"Well, we can't let Donna go off too far on her own." He said lightly but Terry could see he was now on guard.
She wondered if she was messing with time by giving away so many clues - but she was only a Time Lord. She couldn't control all of her reactions. Even if sometimes she wished she could. But this was not such a time; and it was with grim trepidation that Terry followed the Doctor and Donna to where she knew the Ood waited.
The pair had just caught up to Donna near a rock bridge when the Doctor suddenly stopped.
"Hold on, can you both hear that?" He questioned, glancing around in a puzzled manner. "Is that… singing?"
Terry just closed her eyes as she listened to the same thing the Doctor was hearing: a beautiful delicate music that floated very faintly in the air. The soft melody made her hearts swell just from the utter perfection, and sent chills down her spine because she knew what it meant. Every inch of her wanted to run down to the factory and just free the Ood immediately.
But that wasn't how time worked.
Terry took deep, calming breaths before she opened her eyes as the Doctor called after Donna, who had continued to wander ahead as she remained unable to hear the two Time Lords.
"Donna! Take your hood down!"
Donna turned to look back at the Doctor in surprise and she tilted her head in confusion.
"What?" The companion asked but the Doctor was already starting off in the direction of the singing.
"It is singing-" The Doctor broke off as he spotted something dark on the otherwise white landscape, just a few ways away.
"Over there!"
The Doctor broke into a run, dashing toward the fallen figure. Terry grabbed Donna's hand and the two females ran after the Doctor as he headed for the dark clothed, peachy blob lying on the snow. As they grew closer, Terry could more easily make out the features of the Ood. And by the time she arrived beside the Doctor, her expression was grim as she looked down at the dying alien before them.
"What is it?" Donna wheezed, still short of breath after their run.
"An Ood." The Doctor explained, his expression as dark as Terry's as he knelt down beside the other alien.
Terry crouched down on the Ood's other side, gently touching his arm while the Doctor pulled out a stethoscope to check for a heartbeat while the poor Ood blinked at them with obviously pained eyes. Donna hovered behind Terry and her face scrunching a little in a mixture of curiosity and revulsion as she stared at the Ood's unfamiliar face.
"But its face." She started but the Doctor cut across her sharply.
"Donna, don't. Not now. It's a he, not an it."
"Sorry." Donna murmured, appropriately chastised, and the Doctor turned to Terry.
"Can you give me a hand?" He questioned. "I don't know where the heart is. I don't know if he's got a heart."
"I don't know either." Terry replied quietly. She looked up at Donna. "Can you talk to him while we try patch him up? Keep him going?"
Donna nodded and knelt down beside her to take the Ood's hand while Terry gently examined the bullet wound on the Ood's chest and the Doctor continued to search for a heart. The redhead only hesitated for a moment before she started in a soothing tone.
"It's all right, we've got you. Er, what's your name?"
The Ood stared at her before his translator ball lit up like Terry had seen before.
"Designated Ood Delta 50." The Ood answered in a pained voice.
The Doctor handed Terry some bandages and she started wrapping the Ood's wounds but she knew in her hearts they were too late. Even without knowing this episode, she could see the Ood was already almost dead. They had been too late to save him; the best she could do now was ease his suffering in his final moments.
Donna of course had no idea yet. So she picked up the Ood's translator ball and said encouragingly into it, "My name's Donna."
"No. No, no, no." The Doctor interrupted as he leaned over and lowered the translator ball and placed it back in the Ood's hand. "You don't need to."
"Sorry." Donna murmured sheepishly. She turned back to the Ood but she had no idea what to do for the poor creature.
"Oh, God." Donna wracked her brain before she patted the Ood soothingly. "This is the Doctor. Just what you need, right? A doctor. Couldn't be better, hey? And he's got his angel with him."
At her words, the Ood's eyes flickered with more clarity.
"The circle." The Ood croaked. Donna shushed him.
"No, don't try to talk."
But the Ood continued determinedly, even with his voice laced with pain, "The circle must be broken."
"Circle?" The Doctor asked, glancing at Terry at once as he realized this was a clue to her earlier melancholy. "What do you mean?"
The Ood closed his eyes, his head falling back onto the snow. The Doctor touched the Ood's chest to get his attention again.
"Delta 50, what circle?" The Doctor asked the Ood. "Delta 50? What circle?"
The Ood opened his eyes and Terry inhaled sharply when she saw his red pupils. The Doctor also reared back and he pulled Terry and Donna quickly away as Delta 50 sat up with an animalistic roar. He growled at them furiously with his bright red eyes glowing madly; and then he fell back onto the ground where he moved no more.
"He's gone." Donna whispered numbly as she stared down at the Ood, still breathing harshly from the earlier shock.
The redhead took a slow step forward and the Doctor warned her, "Careful."
Donna ignored him as she moved beside the Ood. Kneeling beside him, Donna stroked his head gently as she murmured, "There you are, sweetheart."
The Doctor watched her grimly before his eyes flickered back to Terry. She was staring at the Ood with a sadness that looked too old on her youthful face. He took her hand and Terry glanced at him.
"His eyes turned red." The Doctor murmured silently and Terry nodded. The Doctor's eyes narrowed in thought before he looked back at Donna as the redhead spoke up again.
"We were too late. What do we do?" The companion turned to the two Time Lords questioningly. "Do we bury him?"
"The snow'll take care of that." The Doctor replied quietly. Donna nodded before she looked back down at Delta 50.
"Who was he? What's an Ood?"
"They're servants, " the Doctor explained as he removed his stethoscope anc pocketed it. "Of humans in the forty second century. Mildly telepathic. That was the song. It was his mind calling out."
Donna stared at the Ood.
"I couldn't hear anything." She sighed before standing up and returning to her friends' sides. "He sang as he was dying."
"Yes." Terry nodded but the Doctor had other things on his mind.
"Come on." The Doctor ordered as he turned to leave.
"Why'd he change suddenly though?" Donna asked as they walked away.
"Because his eyes turned red." Terry answered briefly. Donna looked at her, puzzled.
"What's that mean?" The redhead wondered and the Doctor looked back.
"Trouble."
He turned back to the front as he explained for Donna's benefit.
"The Ood are harmless. They're completely benign. Except, the last time Terry and I met them, there was this force, like a stronger mind, powerful enough to take them over."
"What sort of force?" Donna asked curiously, and the Doctor shrugged.
"Oh, long story."
"Long walk." Donna pointed out as she gestured at the endless snow around them. The Doctor sighed.
"It was the Devil."
At the Doctor's words, a memory suddenly slammed into the forefront of Terry's mind. A memory from a time that seemed so long ago, she had all but forgotten it. Until now.
"Child of Time." The Beast purred as the group stood frozen and trapped, headed for a black hole. "A girl out of time and place, with knowledge and power no being can be capable of wielding. Daemon."
"What was that?" The Doctor called sharply, brows furrowing in confusion. But the Beast - no, the Devil - just went on, ignoring him.
"You walk on a knife's edge. Destroyer of one or all, you would have been a great asset… But, too dangerous to live. You will all die and I will live."
Terry shivered, suddenly feeling like someone had poured ice down her back. With all the years that had passed since that adventure and the blocks in her memories ever since she'd first regenerated, she had forgotten the Devil's words to her. And at the time, none of it had made sense anyway. But now…
Terry recalled Eleven's plea. "Please, angel. Don't go searching for her."
"You walk on a knife's edge. Destroyer of one or all."
One or all.
Terry thought of the faint, blurry memories she had of Area 52, atop the pyramid as all of time collapsed. All. Terry thought of the vision she had seen in the 13th room in the Minotaur's hotel during the 'God Complex' adventure: her current face but with burning gold eyes. One.
Terry felt cold. Was she the one? Was that it? Daemon would either destroy her or the whole universe? Was that why Eleven had asked her not to look for Daemon, because it would mean her death? Was that what her future held?
Terry faintly heard Donna and the Doctor still talking in the background.
"If you're going to take the mickey, I'll just put my hood back up." Donna snapped at the Doctor, who just ignored her as he continued to think aloud, "Must be something different this time, though. Something closer to home."
"Did you really meet the Devil?" Donna asked incredulously but the Doctor didn't answer as he instead ran on ahead over the snowy peak they had been walking toward.
"Ah ha!" He called triumphantly as he saw what he was looking for: a large, futuristic factory building just down the ridge from where they were.
"Civilisation." The Doctor declared, grinning back at the two women. Donna looked mildly impressed but the Doctor's smile dropped when he saw Terry.
"Angel?" The Doctor asked, worry filling his voice at once. Donna turned quickly at the Doctor's tone and she caught the pale fear on the Time Lady's face before Terry quickly wiped it away with a shake of her head.
"It's nothing." Terry said as she joined the other two.
"It didn't look like nothing." Donna pointed out in a concerned tone. The Doctor was watching Terry closely; but she just shook her head at them again.
"I was just lost in thought about something else." When Donna opened her mouth, Terry added quietly, "Spoilers, I'm afraid."
"Oh, I can already tell I'm going to hate that word." Donna pouted.
Terry smiled faintly but didn't say anything else. The Doctor examined her intently for another few seconds before he cleared his throat.
"Right. Let's snoop around then, shall we?" He suggested. The other two nodded and they set off again at a brisk pace as if nothing had happened, like Terry clearly wanted them to do.
But the Doctor's hand wrapped around Terry's - quite casually - as they started off down the mountain. And although Terry pretended not to notice how tight and comforting his hold was, she couldn't help but squeeze his hand back for a moment.
"Ladies and gentlemen," a pretty Indian woman was calling out in front of the factory as a group of well-dressed people gathered before her. The Doctor, Terry and Donna slipped in amongst the crowd as everyone turned to their guide.
"Welcome to the Ood Sphere. And isn't it bracing?"
She smiled widely the way people did in adverts, before she nodded at an Ood who stood beside her.
"Here are your information packs, with vouchers, 3D tickets and a map of the complex."
The Ood walked forward and offered the information packs to each person in the crowd while the woman continued her introduction.
"My name's Solana, Head of Marketing. I'm sure we've all spoken on the vidfone. Now, if you'd like to follow me."
Solana started to turn to lead the group inside. The Doctor quickly pushed through the group, calling out after the woman, "Sorry, sorry, sorry. Late. Don't mind us. Hello."
The Doctor gave Solana a wave as Terry pulled Donna out of the crowd with her while the Doctor explained to Solana, "The guards let us through."
He jerked a finger back vaguely toward the gate. This obviously confused Solana but she hid it quite well as she said in a polite and professional tone, "And you would be?"
"The Doctor, Terry Storm, and Donna Noble." The Doctor said with a charming smile and he flashed his psychic paper at Solana.
"Representing the Noble Corporation PLC Limited, Intergalactic." Donna added regaly.
The Doctor's smile widened and he and Terry exchanged amused glances while Solana consulted her clipboard.
"Must have fallen off my list." She murmured before saying quickly, "My apologies. Won't happen again. Now then, Doctor Storm, Ms. Storm, Mrs. Noble, if you'd like to come with me."
She started to turn away when the Doctor started, "Oh, no, we're not-"
"Why did she automatically assume I was married?" Donna interjected incredulously and a little too loudly.
Solana paused and glanced back and Terry smiled politely. "Thank you, that would be lovely."
She gave Solana such a pleasant smile that Solana had no choice but to return it.
"And here are your information packs, vouchers inside." She added professionally as she handed out the extra packs. "Now if you'd like to come with me, the Executive Suites are nice and warm."
The Doctor was silently laughing now while Donna continued to look offended and Terry rolled her eyes at the redhead. They walked after Solana, who stood by the door as it slid open. But just as the group were about to walk inside, a sharp ringing blared loudly around the compound. Terry jumped, startled, while the Doctor looked up in surprise.
"Oh, what's that?" The Doctor asked as he glanced curiously around. "That sounds like an alarm."
"Oh, it's just a siren for the end of the work shift." Solana said to them quickly. A little too quickly. The Doctor raised a brow but Solana just waved them inside with a smile.
"Now then, this way, quick as you can."
The Doctor glanced at Terry before he entered without a word. Terry and Donna followed as did the other guests, who were all rich travellers. It didn't take the Doctor or Donna long to realize that the other travellers were here to purchase Oods. Donna looked around skeptically while the Doctor's lips thinned just slightly but he otherwise maintained a perfectly polite facade as Solana walked over to stand on a podium.
"As you can see, the Ood are happy to serve," Solana began her presentation as buyers wandered about to examine the Ood standing around the room.
"And we keep them in facilities of the highest standard. Here at the Double O, that's Ood Operations, we like to think of the Ood as our trusted friends."
Terry barely covered her snort as she watched the Ood on display. They were placidly serving drinks and what the Doctor fondly called 'nibbles' to the buyers who looked fairly impressed.
"We keep the Ood healthy, safe, and educated."
Terry almost made a noise of disgust but disguised it as a cough. The Doctor glanced at her while Solana continued blissfully.
"We don't just breed the Ood. We make them better. Because at heart, what is an Ood, but a reflection of us?"
Terry disagreed. The monsters here forcefully cut out the Oods' ability to feel. Whereas they cut out their own hearts willingly.
Solana smiled beautifully.
"If your Ood is happy, then you'll be happy, too."
Terry watched as Solana stepped off her podium and walked toward a line of three Oods on display at the side of the room as she continued her presentation.
"I'd now like to point out a new innovation from Ood Operations."
The Doctor had folded his arms to watch Solana while Terry flipped casually through the welcome pack as Solana stopped before the first Ood.
"We've introduced a variety package with the Ood translator ball. You can now have the standard setting."
She turned to the first Ood. "How are you today, Ood?"
"I'm perfectly well, thank you." The Ood replied in the Oods' typical, polite and neutral voice.
"Or perhaps after a stressful day," Solana moved onto the next Ood. "A little something for the gentlemen."
She smiled at the group of mostly men who all peered on with interest as Solana asked the second Ood, "And how are you, Ood?"
The Ood lifted its translator ball, lighting it up just as Ood usually did when speaking but this time, the Ood's voice was that of a husky female.
"All the better for seeing you."
There were a few scattered chuckles from the men while Donna huffed indignantly. Terry snapped shut her welcome pack with equal irritation while the Doctor's brows shot up and he scoffed as Solana went up to the final Ood.
"And the comedy classic option. Ood, you dropped something."
"D'oh!" The final Ood replied in a Homer Simpson voice, making the group laugh.
Terry barely refrained from strangling the man standing near her as Solana faced the group with a smile.
"All that for only five additional credits. The details are in your brochures." She gestured around the room. "Now, there's plenty more food and drink, so don't hold back."