Chapter 25: The Satan Pit

Donna pushes the remote and the picture comes back on.

Jefferson yells to open fire on the Ood. In the control room Zach announces they are stabilising and they still have orbit. Rose runs back to the comm. She calls for the Doctor. A door starts opening and Jefferson aims his gun but it's Danny. He explains about the Ood and that all fifty of them were coming. Jefferson yells at him to get out of the way and reopens the door. The lead Ood kills the guard next to Jefferson before he opens fire.

"Oh my god." Rose gasps. "It's probably safer where you are Doctor."

"Yes." He agrees, looking rather unhappy about that fact.

Zach leaves the control room but Ood are marching towards him so he goes back in and seals the door. Jefferson has shut the door again and seals both entrances to the drilling area.

"You guys need to get out of there not lock yourselves in." Jack protests.

"The Ood outnumber them by a lot. Until they have a plan of where to go better to lock the doors." Donna reminds him.

Zach asks Jefferson what's going on and he reports back he has very little ammo left before asking about Zach. The Captain opens a cupboard to find a bolt gun with only one bolt in it. Jefferson suggests strategy Nine. Zach agrees and says they need everyone together. He asks Rose if she has heard from the Doctor but she says she hasn't. The Doctor interrupts to say he's still here. Rose tells him he could have said, calling him stupid and then the Doctor just gets feedback from his earpiece.

"I'm going to kill you one day." Rose glares at Ten.

"Hey, we'd only just got communication back. I wouldn't keep you worrying if I could help it." He tells her. Suddenly he grins a little. "And...Ouch! By the way. That feedback hurt my poor sensitive ears."

"You poor, tortured soul." She states dryly.

"Indeed." He agrees with a smirk.

The Doctor reports he and Ida are ok but the seal has opened. Zach asks how deep the shaft is and he tells them it looks like it goes on forever.

"Why do I have a horrible feeling you're going down there?" Sarah-Jane looks at Ten half amused, half exasperated.

"No idea." He tries to look innocent. Everybody snorts in derision and he pouts that nobody believes him.

Rose recalls the voice saying the pit is open. Zach asks if there is nothing coming out and the Doctor agrees there is no sign of the beast. Rose points out it said Satan and the Doctor tells her to keep it together.

"Oh yeah? You telling me there is no Devil out there?" She challenges him. He sighs.

"I don't know everything that's out there but panicking isn't going to help the rest of the crew. I didn't want them panicking, wasn't so worried about you. I know you can keep your head in a crisis." He points out.

Rose asks if there is no such thing but the Doctor doesn't reply. Zach cuts in to tell Ida to withdraw. She protests and he states it is an order as he is initiating strategy Nine. Ida turns off the comms.

"What the hell?" Mickey exclaims. "They need to get out of there. People had better not die because they waited for her and the Doctor to work out satisfying curiosity isn't the most important thing."

"I know it isn't." Ten grinds out in annoyance.

Ida asks what the Doctor things. He states that was an order and she asks what he thinks again. He looks down into the chasm saying that it said it is the temptation. Ida asks why it is still hiding. The Doctor suggests they opened the prison but not the cell.

"And lets not open any more." Donna suggests.

Ida thinks they should go down.

"No! That's a terrible idea. You have no idea how far down it is. Jumping would almost definitely kill you." Martha points out.

She asks if the Doctor would go. He states he would go in a second.

"You had so better not." Rose tells him warningly.

In the end he says they should retreat, claiming he is getting old. He turns the comms back on and tells Rose they are coming back up.

"Oh thank god." Rose breathes out. She sits up and leans over to give Ten a sideways hug.

"You're way beyond old, Spaceman." Donna snickers.

"Oi! I'm perfectly middle aged for a Time Lord." Nine protests.

Rose states that is the best news she's had all day.

"Well then, that's definitely the right choice. Gotta make your day." Ten smirks down at her. She sticks her tongue out as a reply.

Jefferson points his rifle at Toby. Rose asks what he is doing and Jefferson reminds her that he was infected. She asks if he is going to start shooting his own people now and he replies that he will if necessary. Rose points out Toby's face is clean and tells him that he will have to shoot her if necessary and he stands down. He adds that he will shoot at any sign of trouble.

"Good for you Rosie." Jack smiles.

"What if he is still infected though?" She asks worriedly.

"Then I'm sure Jefferson will shoot him later. Maybe there is a way to cure him or maybe now it is concentrating on possessing the Ood. Whatever happens, you did a good thing." Jack tells her calmly.

Rose asks if he is alright and he says he doesn't know. When she asks if he remembers anything he just states it was so angry. Full of rage and death, he calls it the Devil. Rose hugs him. The Doctor and Ida return to the capsule. The Doctor asks about strategy Nine and Ida tells him they open the airlocks, throwing the Ood out into the vacuum while they are safe in the airlock.

"So mass slaughter then?" Martha frowns.

"To them they are only livestock. Slaves." Donna bites out angrily. "They wouldn't think twice about it."

The Doctor states they are going back to a slaughter and Ida calls it the Devil's work. They get in the capsule and Ida tells them to bring them up. Jefferson counts down. As he gets to one the power goes out. The voice calls out that this is the darkness and this is his domain. Monitors flicker with images of the Ood.

"It's just playing on typical humans fears." Nine reassures them all.

Zach realises something is talking through the Ood. He then introduces himself, telling it to identify itself.

"Torchwood?" Ten scowls. He had forgotten that little detail of these lot working for Torchwood archives. "Dammit they are everywhere."

The voice tells him that he knows its name. Zach asks what it wants and it states they will die planet will be their grave. The Doctor then cuts in asking which Beast it is as there are loads of religions now with different devils. It replies that it is all of them.

"Crikey. It's almost a big headed as you Spaceman." Donna tries to joke. Mickey and Jack both laugh. Ten just sticks his nose in the air and ignores her, making her grin wider.

The Doctor asks if it is the truth behind the myth then. It replies that this one knows it as it knows him, calling him the killer of his own kind. The Doctor moves on quickly, asking how it ended up on the rock and it tells him the Disciples of the Light chained it before time.

"What?" Nine looks confused.

The Doctor protests that no life could have existed back then and it asks if that is his religion. The Doctor pauses before saying that it is a belief.

"This thing is good." Jack tries to inject some lightness back into the room. Diffuse the tension.

"Yeah, I need tips from it on how to wind the Doctor up." Rose joins in, smirking slightly.

"Oh no! You do enough of that by yourself, without any tips." Nine assures her.

The voice calls out a secret of each of them, calling Rose the valiant child who will die in battle soon. Rose nervously asks the Doctor what that means. He tells her not to listen but she asks him again what it means.

"It was wrong Rose. You didn't die. You are so very much alive." Ten looks into her eyes so she can see his sincerity. She nods and he hugs her, pulling her into a similar position she had been with Nine earlier. Her head on his chest and his arm wrapped tightly around her shoulders.

The voice continues that they will die and it will live. The image of the Ood is replaced by a roaring horned beast. Danny asks what the hell was that and Toby says that thing was inside his head. Rose asks again what it meant and Danny is asking what they should do. Everyone starts rambling at the same time until the Doctor tells them to listen to him. They ignore this until he sends feedback through the comms and then everyone shuts up.

"A good whistle always works too." Jack winks.

"That was louder." Ten smirks.

"What about your poor ears?" Martha asks.

"Well, some sacrifices have to be made." Ten grins.

He tells them to listen to him, as it is playing on basic fears. Danny points out that is how the devil works and the Doctor retorts or a good Psychologist. Ida asks how it knew about her father.

"Low level mind reading." Nine shrugs. He felt empty with Rose's warmth at his side. Apparently he had grown far too used to having her there in the last couple of days. Now he missed it and she'd only moved half a foot away.

The Doctor tries a different track, calling them brilliant and amazing. He points out that the Beast is alone but they are not and they can use that to their advantage. The cable shears and falls into the shaft. Ida calls out that the cable snapped. The Doctor and Ida get out of the capsule and throw themselves to the ground as miles of steel cable arrives at speed.

"Even the Devil doesn't like your gob." Donna chuckles.

"Because I was making sense. Making everybody feel better." Ten puffs out his chest proudly.

"Or it just got tired of you talking." She retorts with a wicked grin.

Rose calls into the comm, asking if the Doctor is alright. Zach tells her the comms are down. He still has signs of life but they have lost the capsule. He tells her they are stuck down there.

"Well, now you have some rope to go pit jumping." Sarah-Jane points out.

"Oh fantastic." Rose mutters sarcastically.

"Better than just jumping in." Martha points out, to which she nods grudgingly.

The capsule is wrecked and the Doctor asks how much air they have. Ida tells him fifty five minutes. Rose states they need to bring them back but Jefferson tells her they don't have another ten miles of cable. There is banging on door 25 and Jefferson asks the Captain for a report. Zach tells him the Ood are cutting through the door bolts.

"Well that's just brilliant." Jack sighs in exasperation. "And you guys have no way out."

Jefferson agrees they are doing the same there. Rose asks how long it will take and he replies about ten minutes. Another bolt is cut and he corrects eight minutes. Zach states he has a security frame which will last a bit longer. Rose starts to work on a plan saying the need to stop the Ood, get out or both.

"I'd take both." Mickey mutters.

"Me too given the choice." Rose nods.

Danny says he will take both but asks how. Rose tells him that he heard the Doctor. She points out the Beast cut him off because he was making sense.

"Boy am I glad you didn't hear that then." Rose laughs. "I'd never have heard the end of it."

"Well, now I can enjoy it." Ten smirks.

Rose tells them to start with the lights, saying there must be power somewhere. Zach bemoans the fact he can't do much but press buttons. She points out that is what the Doctor meant, press the right buttons. Zach seems to straight up and states he can reroute the rocket's independent supply. He then tells Jefferson to open the bypass conduits.

"You are fantastic." Nine beams at Rose.

"You whip 'em into shape Rosie." Jack wriggles his eyebrows suggestively. Donna hits him upside the head and he pouts at her.

The lights come on. Rose then asks about strategy Nine and Jefferson tells her they don't have enough power. She turns her focus to a way out and tells Zach and Jefferson to work on that.

"Captain Rose." Sarah-Jane smiles.

When she turns to Toby he states he isn't a soldier and can't do anything.

"You don't need to be a soldier, you need brains." Martha states firmly.

Rose tells him he is the archeologist, asking what he knows about the pit. He replies nothing, they can't even translate the language. Rose turns away but he calls for her to hold on. Since the thing was inside his head the letter make more sense. She tells him that anything he can translate will help. Then she goes over to Danny, saying he is in charge of the Ood is there a way of stopping them. He states he doesn't know so she drags him in front of the computer and tells him to find out.

"Wow, you tell 'em girl." Donna whistles approvingly.

"Good job someone up there has a brain." Mickey nods his agreement. Nine bites his tongue to stop himself pointing out that he would have been utterly useless there himself. Rose shoots him a look of both amusement and appreciation so she clearly knew what he was thinking.

Ida starts collecting some of the cable, saying they can use the disconnected drum to abseil into the pit. When the Doctor doesn't sound quite convinced she points out they are running out of air with no way back.

"I'm surprised she actually has to persuade you to do this." Donna looks at him in astonishment. "You just said you go down there in a second and now it's pretty much your only choice."

"Yeah, well that was when I had a definite way back to Rose." Ten mutters darkly.

The Doctor states firmly he will get back there as Rose is up there. Ida suggests that the key to that is finding out what's in the pit. The Doctor calls it half a good plan, as he is going down instead of Ida.

"She's going to love that." Rose laughed a little.

In the drilling area everyone is working away. Danny says there are loads of viruses that could stop the Ood but they don't have any.

"Oh, well that's dead useful." Jack rolls his eyes.

Rose sarcastically tells him it's very handy to sit around listing stuff they don't have. She adds they don't have a swimming pool or a Tesco's either.

Jack offers her an air high five which she returns.

The screen then says affirmative and Danny excitedly says he can do it but they need to get to Ood habitation for him to transmit it. Rose says that's what they will do and asks Jefferson if he has found a way out yet. He states there is a network of maintenance tunnels but there is no air at all as they were designed for machines. Zach speaks up saying he can feed them air manually as he follows their path. Rose tells them to work out a route to Ood habitation.

"Well, that's better. Everyone working together." Martha smiles.

"Won't the Ood be able to follow you through the tunnels?" Sarah-Jane asks, a little nervously.

"If we get out quick enough they might not realise where we have gone. Besides I hope once we leave an area Zach will take the air out of it and I think they still need to breathe." Rose tells her. She glances up at Ten to see if her guess is correct but he shrugs.

The ten miles of cable is now wrapped around a drum, with one end tied around the Doctor's waist. As he steps into the rim he states this doesn't feel like quite such a good idea anymore.

"Bit late for that kind of thinking." Jack laughs.

He comments again on the itch to go down and Ida attributes it to when humans were primates and the urge to jump to the next branch.

"Time Lords were never apes." Nine points out primly.

"No, that would be far to primitive." Rose rolls her eyes.

He states it's not the urge to jump. It is the urge to fall. He launches himself into the chasm.

"Doctor!" Rose cries out, unable to help herself.

"I'm fine Rose. I'm right here." Ten assures her. She slaps his chest.

"You are an idiot!"

Ida calls his name and she throws the brake on the drum. She asks if he is ok and he confirms he is fine. He describes the inside of the pit and then Ida begins lowering him down slowly.

"Well done Ida." Sarah-Jane lets out a sigh of relief.

The Ood are nearly through the door. The others have got a piece of deck plating up. Danny is still at the monitor. He tells them he is almost done. Jefferson tells him they need to go now. He grabs an orange computer chip from the machine and runs over to the others. They each drop down. Danny first, then Rose, Toby and Jefferson says he will go last.

"Brave man." Nine nods.

Rose comments the tunnel stinks and then asks Danny if he is alright. He asks which way they go and Zach tells them to go straight. Jefferson shuts the entrance behind him as the Ood break through door 25.

"That's not good." Jack winces.

The group crawl off on hands and knees. Rose tells Danny it's not his best angle. He protests as Toby says it could be worse. Now Rose protests.

"Well, Toby's definitely got the best view." Nine states. "Lucky bastard."

"I wouldn't mind that view, Rosie." Jack winks.

"No!" Both Doctor say together. Jack and Rose both laugh.

Zach tells them to keep going until they reach seven point one. Danny announces they are there and Zach tells him he is just putting air in the next section. Danny asks him to hurry up as it's getting kind of cramped. Zach reminds him he is working on half power.

"Quit complaining. I bet you'd rather be able to breath." Donna rolls her eyes.

At the back Jefferson tells him to stop complaining and Rose passes the message forwards. Danny states he heard and Rose passes the message back again. Toby complains the air is getting a bit thin. Rose points out Toby is complaining now and Jefferson assure her he heard.

"Oh shut up you lot." Mickey shakes his head in exasperation.

Rose sniffs and asks if that is Danny who says defensively that he isn't exactly happy.

"Lovely. It didn't smell bad enough before then." Rose wrinkles her nose.

Zach repeats he is just moving the air. He tells them to keep calm or it will feel worse. There is a loud bang followed by shuffling sounds. They all ask what that sound was and Zach tells them the Ood are in the tunnel.

"They came in from a different section? Why?" Martha frowns.

"Maybe they thought it would be easier to cut them off." Nine shrugs.

Danny yells for him to open the gate. Rose asks where the Ood are and Zach replies that he can't see them as the computer doesn't register them as proper life forms.

"Well that's just fantastic." Donna throws her arms up in annoyance, catching Jack in the side of the face.

"Ow, woman!"

"Oops. Sorry Jack." She grins sheepishly.

Rose asks who's idea that was and Danny again calls for the gate to open. The gate slides up behind Danny and they hurry through. Zach calls out directions as Jefferson asks if Zach can trap the Ood by cutting off air. He replies that he can't without cutting off their air too.

"Yeah, rather you didn't do that." Rose mutters.

Zach calls out they are going to catch up to the group.

"I thought he couldn't see them?" Sarah-Jane asks.

"Maybe he just knows the group are moving too slowly?" Jack offers.

Jefferson says he will maintain a defensive position. Rose protests but he tells her that is his job. Toby urges her forwards. Jefferson braces himself on the sides of the tunnel and starts firing as Ood come around the corner. Danny announces they are at eight point two but Zach tells him he needs to aerate it. He gets more and more desperate, thumping on the gate. Rose tells him to stop it as that's not helping. Now Toby calls for Zach to get it open.

"The poor guy is doing the best he can." Rose sighs. "Without him we'd still be back in the drilling room and all dead by now."

"I know, I'd still prefer him to be working a little faster." Nine mutters.

"He's not got full power." Martha reminds him.

"Yeah but without Jefferson they have a problem if Toby gets reinfected." Jack points out.

Zach calls that Jefferson needs to move as he can't open the next junction until he gets past that one. Jefferson has had to resort to his pistol, and now he is completely out of ammunition. Zach urges him on and he finally retreats. The door by Danny opens and Zach calls out more directions to the last door. Jefferson doesn't make it through the gate in time.

"Oh no!" Rose cries as the whole room winces in sympathy. Nine suddenly reaches over and pulls Rose to him as he has vivid flashbacks of closing a different door that she didn't get through in time. Ten lets her go easily, knowing what is going on.

Jefferson states he was a bit slow and Zach regretfully tells him he can't reopen the door. Jefferson says quite right too. He requests the air be taken out quicker so he can die a natural death instead of by Ood. Zach does as requested and announces that John Maynard Jefferson is dead with honours. Danny states they are at the final junction and he would like his respects on record that Jefferson saved their lives.

"Yeah he did but it's not over yet." Jack warns. "He bought you time but you still have a job to do."

"Hopefully, once we stop the Ood we can find a way to bring the Doctor back up." Rose smiles, trying for some enthusiasm. On screen she doesn't know he's just gone down the pit.

The door opens but an Ood is waiting for them. Rose calls for Zach to lower the door but the Ood catches it and tries to pull it up as the other back down the tunnel. Toby points out they can't go back as it is sealed off. Rose looks up, then pushes open a floor grating as the Ood struggles with the gate.

"Rose, saving the day yet again." Nine breathes.

They come out near door 32. She and Danny get out but the Ood get through the door before Toby gets out. Toby's eyes are red. He gestures to the Ood to keep quiet.

"Aww crap. He is still infected." Jack groans.

"Nothing goes right for you two does it?" Donna asks with a shake of her head.

"Apparently not." Rose covers her face with her hands. She hoped but didn't expect there to be a way to cure Toby so he would probably have to die as well.

Rose calls for him and his eyes go back to normal as he calls for help. They haul him up into the corridor. Ood approach along the corridor. Danny leads the way to Ood habitation and the Ood are nearly through door 1. Zach picks up the bolt gun, telling the others to hurry.

"Well I thought they'd be going as slowly as possible." Mickey mutters sarcastically.

Rose yells at Danny to get it in the monitor as they realise there are still Ood at the bottom of the stairs. Danny searches his pockets for the computer chip as the Ood come up the stairs. They also break into the control room. Rose yells for Danny to get it transmitting. He does. The reading falls from basic 100 to zero. All the Ood grab their heads and writhe for a few seconds before finally collapsing.

"That was a little too close for comfort." Sarah-Jane exhales forcefully.

"Isn't it always." Jack laughs.

Rose cries out that they did it and everybody hugs. She says they need to go get the Doctor and Zach states he is on his way. They all run out.

"And Ida too." Martha points out.

The Doctor is still descending. He talks about representations of the Horned Beast across the universe and Ida asks if they are emanating from here. He agrees they could be. She asks if that makes this the actual devil though and he replies if she wants to believe that. The devil may just be an idea. They run out of cable. The Doctor is dangling in the blackness.

"You've gone down another ten miles and still nothing?" Rose asks in awe.

"Yep. Never found out how far down it was." Ten shrugs.

"You didn't go all the way down?" Donna frowns.

"Weeeeeell…"

"You just jumped didn't you?" Sarah-Jane asks in exasperation. "You had no idea how far down it could be and you just jumped. You can't regenerate after everything you know?"

"I know!" I didn't exactly have many other options now did I?" Ten retorts angrily. "We were about to run out of air with no way back up. Even if Rose and the others got back to the drilling room they didn't have enough rope to get us back up. Our only hope was to find the TARDIS." Everyone subsided again at that except Rose who simply clung to Nine tighter.

Ida asks if he is getting any kind of readout and he calls back there is nothing. Could be miles to go or thirty feet. He states he could survive thirty feet but Ida stops him saying she is going to pull him back up.

"Good try Ida. He won't listen though." Rose rolls her eyes.

She reverses the drum. The Doctor stops it. She asks what he is doing. He points out that if she brings him up they will just sit there until they run out of oxygen. She says he can't go down and he tells her to call it an act of faith. Ida tells him she doesn't want to die on her own. He says he knows but undoes the carabiners holding the cable in place around him.

Ten looks around slightly amused at them all worrying as they know he gets out of this just fine. He is about to point this out when Rose turns to glare at him.

"Don't tell me you survive this just fine, Mister. You had no idea at the time whether you would or not. Now I know you don't have any other choice but you can't sit there and say you'd be any happier than me if it was the other way around." He can't really argue that point so just nods and sighs.

The group arrive back at the drilling area and Rose immediately goes to the comms so call for the Doctor. Zach tells her the comms are still down but he can patch them through the central desk. Below, the Doctor asks Ida if she has a faith. She says not really and she asks about him. He says he believes he hasn't seen anything but he keeps travelling to be proved wrong.

"You hate it when I prove you wrong." Rose laughs.

"Yeah well, that doesn't apply to little apes." Nine smirks. She smacks him on the arm.

She suddenly calls for him not to go. He says that if they get back in touch then to tell Rose...he asks Ida to tell her before cutting himself off and saying she knows.

"I wouldn't want to hear it from her anyway." Rose mumbles, the noise muffled as her face is buried in Nine's jumped, his arms wrapped tightly around her.

He releases the last carabiner and falls into the blackness. Rose cals into the comms again. Ida says he is gone.

"I was less than ten seconds too late." Rose looks up and stares at the screen.

"It's probably a good thing, Rose. If I'd heard your voice I may never have gotten the courage to go down there." Ten tells her softly. She doesn't reply, only nods and hides her face again.

Rose asks what she means and Ida states he fell into the pit and they have no idea how deep it is.

"That's being a bit kind. He didn't fall, he let himself drop. Fall implies it was an accident." Jack raises an eyebrow.

Rose asks again what she means by he fell and Ida tells her she couldn't stop him. She mentions that he said her name. Zach takes the microphone from Rose. He says there is no way of reaching them. Ida says he should see this place but Zach states he is declaring the mission unsafe.

"I think it passed 'unsafe' a while ago. Went right to deadly." Donna mutters.

He says the best they can do is make sure nobody goes there again and Ida points out they will never find out what it was. Zach thinks that is for the best.

"I agree with Zach." Nine nods. "Sometimes, it's safer not to know."

He says her name but Id tells them to go and wishes them luck. Zach tells Toby and Danny to close down feed links and get to the rocket. Rose states she isn't going.

"Rose you have to!" Nine protests.

"Why?" She asks quietly.

"Because if you don't you'll die on that place!"

"So what? If you were gone and they gave me a lift on the rocket where would I go? I'm not in my time, don't know anybody. There would be nothing for me."

Zach tells her there is space but she says she will wait for the Doctor like he waited for her.

"Actually you seem to have spent far more time waiting for him recently." Mickey scowls.

Zach points out he is dead but Rose says denies this. She adds that even if he was dead she couldn't leave him. Zach apologises and tells Danny and Toby to make her secure. They grab her and she starts screaming.

"Oi!" Rose protests angrily.

"It's a good job they did." Ten tells her gently. "I wouldn't have had time to go back and fetch you if you'd stayed behind."

"They still have no right to force me on that rocket." She scowls furiously.

Zach injects Rose, and she passes out. Zach states he has lost too many people to leave her behind. He picks her up and they all leave. In the corridor an Ood twitches.

"Whatever Danny did must be wearing off." Donna guesses.

Toby asks if that one moved. Danny states the telepathic field is reasserting itself. Zach tells them to hurry. In the Pit the Doctor has landed at the bottom, and his faceplate is broken. He wakes and stands up. He realises there is an air cushion to support the fall. He tries to call up to Ida.

"I'm assuming it wasn't thirty feet then?" Jack laughs.

"Not quite." Ten smirks.

In the rocket everyone is strapped in. Toby tells Zach to get them out of there as Rose starts waking up. Danny warns Zach they are about to have a problem passenger. She starts yelling to get her out while Danny tries to reassure her she is safe.

"I don't think that is her primary concern somehow." Sarah-Jane rolls her eyes.

Zach states they have liftoff. Ida hears the rocket engines. So does the Doctor. Rose grabs a bolt gun and tells them to take her back.

"Rose!" They all sound a little shocked.

"Oh I'm not really going to shoot." Rose sighs, still staring stonily at the floor.

Zach knows she wouldn't, asking if that is what her Doctor would want. She slumps back in the seat. Zach apologises before saying they can't turn back anyway. He says this is what the Doctor would have wanted.

"Yeah well he's a git." Rose mutters to herself. "He's stupid and thinks I could be perfectly happy even with him gone."

"Oi!" Nine protests quietly, so the others can't hear. Except Ten. "When you die, and I'm left on my own again, would you want me to just waste my life away?"

"No." She replies sullenly. "But you can still do some good in the world."

"So could you Rose. I bet you know far more about aliens and whatnot that most humans, even in that time. Besides, that's not the point. The point is you dying is going to be devastating for me and yet you don't want me to spend the rest of my life doing nothing but grieving. So why should I expect you to do that for me. It's not like I sent you away, there was no other choice this time and I always want you to be safe. It's not like I expect you to be doing a song and dance if I died, I'd rather hope you wouldn't given that I've heard you sing."

"Oi!" She reluctantly gives him a small grin that he returns in force. She nods to let him know she understood what he was saying and turned back to the screen. He pulled her tight against him and kissed her hair.

The rocket zooms away from the black hole. The Doctor shines his torchlight on wall paintings. He talks about the history it shows. He sees two bronze urns on a pedestals. There are two painted on the wall. He touches one urn and they both light up. He realises it may be the gate. An impossibly big horned creature wakes and looks at him. It is chained to the wall by its horns and limbs.

"Woah! That's the thing that appeared in the hologram." Martha gasps.

Toby is laughing and Danny asks him what the joke is. He states they actually escaped.

"The Beast is still possessing him!" Sarah-Jane realised.

Rose reminds him not all of them did. Zach points out they aren't out of it yet but they are the first people to fly away from a black hole. He ask Toby to check the stats and the funnel is holding.

"So far." Mickey mutters.

The Doctor is talking to the Beast, saying he was expected down there until he realises it isn't saying anything but he knows from before it's capable of speech.

"So it's mind is escaping while the body remains chained." Nine nods to himself, realising it was a clever plan. A thought then occurs to him and he looks to his future self in horror.

Toby reads off some stats. In the Pit, the Doctor realises that if he destroys the prison then the Beast is destroyed body and mind. The Doctor raises a rock to smash an urn, then drops it again. He states that if he destroys the planet then the gravity field goes with it and the rocket falls into the black hole. To destroy the Beast he has to sacrifice Rose.

"Oh god!" Sarah-Jane and Mickey both cover their mouths in horror.

"Still haven't seen the TARDIS." Jack realises. "It must be there in the Pit somewhere. The Doctor just needs to find it before destroying the gravity field."

Rose realises the escape was too easy, she suggests it wanted them to get away.

"There's my clever Rose." Nine grins.

Toby tells her to shut up as they are almost out of range of the black hole.

"No time to look for the TARDIS." Donna mutters to Jack.

The Beast laughs but the Doctor steps forwards again and states that this scheme implies Rose is just a victim. He continues that he has seen an awful lot in the universe, including fake gods and bad gods but out of everything he believes in her. Then he smashes the urn.

"Awww." Jack grins widely at Rose and the Doctors. Nine is simply nodding like everything his on screen counterpart just said should be obvious. Ten finds himself with an armful of Rose who has thrown herself at him and pulled him into a very tight hug that makes him grateful for respiratory bypass.

"That is something that will never change." Ten assures her.

The rocket starts to shake. Danny asks what is happening and Zach calls out they have lost the funnel and they can no longer escape. Below, the Doctor smashes the second urn as the Beast roars. He calls out that the Beast is going into the black hole and he is going with it. Looking out the window, Rose sees the planet is moving. She looks back and jumps as Toby's face is now covered in markings again. Everyone is yelling until Rose uses the bolt gun to shoot the window and then undoes Toby's seatbelt, sending him flying out into space.

"Well done, Rosie." Jack nods appreciatively.

Zach calls for emergency shields. A metal shutter seals the hole, but the rocket is still falling. Rose states they stopped him and that's what the Doctor would have done. Zach says it's not much of a victory as they are going in.

"Well it's a pretty good victory considering what you stopped from getting away." Donna shrugs.

The Beast is writhing. The Ood are all awake and aware.

"Oh." Donna looks down sadly remembering the Doctor saying something about not saving them when he last met the Ood.

Ida passes out from lack of oxygen. The disintegrating planet throws the Doctor back and he lands next to the TARDIS.

"About time too." Martha breathes.

Danny states the planet is gone and Zach apologises, saying he did his best. Then the rocket jerks and stops. Rose asks what is happening and Zach realises they are turning away. The Doctor's voice sounds apologising for the hijack.

"I think they might just be alright with it." Jack laughs.

"Possibly." Rose agrees. She has finally looked up from Ten's chest but his arms around her don't let her move very far.

He asks if they have Rose on board and Rose calls out she is there. She asks where he is and he says he is just towing them home. He says that his people practically invented black holes before adding that they actually did.

"Always such a show off." Donna rolls her eyes.

He then asks if they can do a swap, Rose for Ida. Zach is relieved to hear she is alive. The Doctor confirms she has a bit of oxygen starvation but otherwise is fine.

"Fantastic." Nine beams.

He regretfully adds he couldn't save the Ood as he only had time for one trip. Then they enter clear space. A little later, Rose runs into the Tardis and hugs the Doctor.

"I had better never ever let you out of my sight again." Nine breathes out a sigh of relief. Even knowing everything ended fine, he still felt better when they were at least together on screen.

On the rocket, Ida is saying she can't remember and Danny puts in it looked like a box. Zach asks what he means but he states that's just it. It looked like a big blue box. The Doctor's voice comes on again saying they are off now. On the TARDIS he has changed back into his suit.

"Now that was a relief." Ten sighs. "Those orange suits are very uncomfortable after a while."

"And orange really isn't your colour." Rose adds with a smirk.

"Better than some of the things I used to wear." Nine mutters.

He starts to give a warning about next time they get curious but cuts himself off saying they will just go blundering in.

"Now you sound like him." Martha gestures to Nine. "What happened to that being a brilliant thing to do?"

"Some things are probably best left undisturbed." Ten tells her firmly.

Ida asks what he found down there and he pauses before saying he doesn't know, he never deciphered the writing. Rose asks what he thinks it really was and he says they beat it which is enough for him. Rose points out it said she would die in battle. He tells her firmly that it lied.

"Course it did." Jack agrees earnestly.

He calls goodbye to those on the rocket. Rose thanks the boys but before they go Ida asks who they are. The Doctor states they are the stuff of legend before dematerialising.

"Oh yes. The Doctor and Rose Tyler, in the TARDIS, as it should be." Nine grins.

Zach gives a final report listing Toby as dead along with all the Ood. The screen goes black.

"At least the Ood were listed with honours too." Donna nods in satisfaction.

"Well that was a bit intense. How about a break for sme food?" Martha suggests. Everyone agrees and they all get up slowly, wandering over the to fully laden table. Everyone mingles as one big group this time rather than splitting into little twos or threes. The Doctors stand either side of Rose with Donna next to Ten and a smirking Jack on Nine's other side. They laugh and joke and try to take their minds of the future for just a little while.