The Ood come closer to the group of humans and Jefferson gives the command to stop them. "Open fire!"
While Jefferson and the guard are taking out the Ood's near them, Zach is breathing a sigh of relief. "We're stabilizing. We've got orbit."
When the Ood are taken care of Rose runs back to the comm. "Doctor? Doctor, can you hear me? Doctor, Ida, are you there?" Layla bites her lip in worry at the lack of response.
Open door 25.
Jefferson and the guard face the door ready to take out any of the infected Ood. But they huff out a breath when they see that it is just Danny. "It's me! But they're coming."
Close door 25.
"It's the Ood. They've gone mad." Danny was biting his nails as he paced around.
"How many of them?" Jefferson was really hoping that it wasn't too many, but his hope is soon gone.
"All of them! All fifty!"
Jefferson decides to go on the offensive and go after the Ood's himself. "Danny, out of the way. Out of the way!"
"But they're armed! It's the interface device. I don't know how, but they're using it as a weapon."
"Jefferson, maybe we should be safe rather than sorry and not go after the Ood right now. If all of the Ood are infected and they are armed, they out gun you." Layla points out.
He seems to think about it a second but shakes his head. "I'm a soldier. I'm not just going to sit here and twiddle my fingers." He works on trying to open the door.
Open door 25.
As soon as he opens the door they see that there are several of the Ood's on the other side. The Ood in the lead sticks its interface globe onto the guard's forehead. She screams as she is electrocuted and falls to the ground, dead. Jefferson clenches his teeth in anger and shoots at the Ood and then slams the door shut.
"Jefferson, what's happening there?" Zach asks over the comm.
He sighs. "I've got very little ammunition, sir. How about you?"
"All I've got is a bolt gun. With er, all of one bolt. I could take out a grand total of one Ood. Fat lot of good that is."
"Given the emergency, I recommend strategy nine." He ignores the slight guilt he feels at the suggestion.
Zach ponders it before he believes that this is the only option. "Strategy nine agreed. Right, we need to get everyone together. Rose? What about Ida and the Doctor? Any word?"
Rose bites her lip. This whole time she hadn't heard back from the Doctor at all and she was starting to fear the worst. "I can't get a reply. Just nothing. I keep trying, but it's…"
A staticky noise comes from the comms and Rose sags in relief to hear the Doctor. "No, sorry. I'm fine. Still here."
Rose was relieved but she was also annoyed at the Doctor for worrying her. "You could've said, you stupid…"
A loud, high pitched, sound cuts Rose off. "Whoa. Careful! Anyways, it's both of us. Me and Ida. Hello. But the seal opened up. It's gone. All we've got left is this chasm."
Layla rubs her face. She had been worried at the lack of communication from the Doctor and Ida's end, but she was also worried for another reason. She kept sending glances towards Toby. Now that they were semi safe her mind was registering an alarming find she made earlier. When she had helped with getting Toby to safety she had held onto his wrist to lug him around. It didn't occur to her then, but as her own heartbeat slows down from the panic and fear she realizes that something was wrong with Toby. Very wrong. She couldn't feel his heartbeat in his wrist where she grabbed. She was worried that this thing, whatever was in the chasm, had permanently affected him. She also doesn't want whatever this thing was to know that she was onto it. This situation reminded her a little bit like the Gelth. I think that whatever was in the chasm is now inside Toby. Between the terrifying possession and lack of heart beat, I think it would be safe to assume that the original Toby is no longer alive. My fear is that because it could affect the Ood, if 'Toby' was cornered, it could take control of someone else. Layla decides to keep her thoughts to herself. Hopefully if I don't draw attention him, this thing will think it is safe and not go to anyone else.
"How deep is it?" Zach wondered.
"Can't tell. It looks like it goes down forever." If Layla had seen how far the Doctor had leaned over to look in the chasm she would have had a panic attack.
"The pit is open." Rose swallows harshly. "That's what the voice said."
Zach was confused though. "But there's nothing. I mean there's nothing coming out?"
"No, no. No sign of the Beast."
"It said Satan." Rose was beyond freaked out. They were under a black hole, this voice was speaking through Toby and the Ood, and the Doctor was ten miles down underground.
The Doctor scoffed. "Come on, Rose. Keep it together." While he didn't believe that this voice was Satan, he was worried about the suddenly violent Ood and being separated from Layla.
"Is there no such thing? Doctor. Doctor, tell me there's no such thing." The Doctor didn't get to reply to her though to ease her worries.
"Ida?" Zach cuts in. "I recommend that you withdraw. Immediately." Zach wasn't sure what he believed, but there was something around that was dangerous.
"But, we've come all this way." Ida was upset with the suggestion. She wanted to explore this amazing place.
Zach nods his head in understanding, but it didn't change his mind. "Okay. That was an order. Withdraw. When that thing opened, the whole planet's shifted. One more inch and we fall into the blackhole. So this thing stops right now." To him it was an easy decision. He valued their lives more than this energy source.
"But it's not much better up there with the Ood." She tried to reason with him.
"I'm initiating strategy nine, so I need the two of you back up top immediately, no ar…" Zach stops talking as he registers that Ida's comms went silent. "Ida. Ida!" Rose was gripping the comm tightly hoping that the Doctor doesn't fight this order. She knows he wants to explore, but this was dangerous. Layla was also hoping he didn't put up a fight. For some reason though, a bad feeling was growing in her heart.
Xxxxxx
Ida turns to the Doctor wanting his opinion. Wanting someone else besides herself to tell her to move forward. "What do you think?"
However the Doctor wasn't going to do that for her. "I think he gave an order."
She nods her head. "Yeah, but what do you think?"
The Doctor pursed his lips in thought. "It said, 'I am the temptation.'
"Well, if there's something in there, why is it still hiding?"
The Doctor shrugged. "Maybe we opened the prison but not the cell."
The both walk closer to the pit and stare into it. Ida looks at the Doctor. "Maybe we should go down. I'd go. What about you?" Yeah she wanted to go, but she didn't want to go alone.
"Oh. Oh, in a second, but then again, that is so human. Where angels fear to treat. Even now, standing on the edge. It's that feeling you get, eh? That impulse. That mad little voice saying, go on. Go on. Go on. Go over. Go on. Maybe it's relying on that." He huffs out a breath though. The excitement of the unknown is not worth it if we aren't able to get back to the top. I made a promise to Layla to be careful and come back and I don't want to break that promise. If I didn't have Layla I would do it in a heartbeat. "For once in my life, Officer Scott, I'm going to sat retreat." He turns his comm on. "Layla, Rose, we're coming back." The Doctor's statement was music to their ears.
Xxxxxx
Rose gives a slight laugh. "Best news I've heard all day." Layla was also happy because then she would actually be able to talk to the Doctor since Rose was having a monopoly on the comm.
Jefferson gets everyone's attention when he aims his rifle at Toby. Rose looks at him in disbelief. "What're you doing?"
"He's infected. He brought that thing on board. You saw it."
"Are you going to start shooting your own people now? Is that what you're going to do?"
Jefferson narrowed his eyes. "If necessary."
Rose walked in front of Toby alarming Layla. "Well then, you'll have to shoot me if necessary, so what's it going to be? Look at his face. Whatever it was, is gone. It passed into the Ood. You saw it happen. He's clean."
"Any sign of trouble, I'll shoot him." Jefferson lowered his gun and stepped back. Layla was glad that she wasn't the only one suspicious of Toby.
"Are you alright?" Rose asked Toby softly.
Toby curled in on himself tighter and avoided eye contact with everyone. "Yeah. I don't know."
"Can you remember anything?"
"Just, it was so angry. It was fury and rage and death. It was him. It was the devil."
"Come on." Rose leans over and gives Toby a hug. Layla was watching his face close. He portrayed the traumatized victim well, but she wasn't sure how much of it was an echo of Toby or the acting of whatever possessed him.
"Okay, we're in. Bring us up." They could hear the disappointment in Ida's voice.
Jefferson went to the controls but still kept Toby in his line of sight. Layla moved by him since he was the only one with means to protect them. "Ascension in three, two, one…" Nothing happens though as the power goes off.
"This is the darkness. This is my domain." The nearby monitors flicker with images of the Ood. "You little things that live in the light, clinging to your feeble suns which die in the…"
Zach swallows harshly. "That's not the Ood. Something's talking through them."
"Only the darkness remains."
"This is Captain Zachary Cross Flane of Sanctuary Base Six, representing the Torchwood archive. You will identify yourself."
"You know my name."
"What do you want?"
"You will die here. All of you. This planet is your grave."
Toby started to freak out. "It's him. It's him. It's him."
The Doctor was not convinced though. "If you are the Beast, then answer me this. Which one, hmm? 'Cos the universe has been busy since you've been gone. There's more religions than there are planets in the sky. The Archiphets, Orkology, Christianity, Pash Pash, New Judaism, San Klah, Church of the Tin Vagabond. Which devil are you?"
"All of them."
Everyone could hear the skepticism in the Doctor's voice. "What, then you're the truth behind the myth?"
The voice chuckles. "This one knows me as I know him. The killer of his own kind."
Layla clenches her hands into fists, angry that this being would purposely cause her love pain. She knows the guilt he carries with him and is not happy that this thing hit a low blow. The Doctor's heart clenches in pain. "How did you end up on this rock?"
"The disciples of the Light rose up against me and chained me in the pit for all eternity."
"When was this?"
"Before time."
The Doctor narrowed his eyes. "What does that mean?"
"Before time."
"What does before time mean?" The Doctor asked confused.
"Before light and time and space and matter. Before the cataclysm. Before this universe was created."
The Doctor shook his head. "That's impossible. No life could have existed back then." Layla wasn't too sure about that though. The Doctor is intelligent, but he wasn't that old. He hated archaeology and while he had a time machine, she doubted he traveled back to the beginning of time.
"Is that your religion?"
"It's a belief." He admitted. He couldn't say for certain that this being was lying, but he didn't want to believe it either.
"You know nothing. All of you, so small. The Captain, so scared of command. The soldier, haunted by the eyes of his wife. The scientist, still running from daddy. The little boy who lied. The virgin. The unwanted child who is destined to be alone. The lost girl, so far away from home. The valiant child who will die in battle so very soon.
Rose quickly figured out which one of those was for her and started to panic. She grips the comm tightly. "Doctor, what does that mean?"
"Rose, don't listen." He told her soothingly. He was also trying to listen to his own advice. He knew which one was meant for Layla and while he logically didn't believe that the Beast is who they are claiming to be, there is still that lingering fear about what her omen meant. Layla's heart clenched when she figured out which one was meant for her. The bad feeling from before increased.
"What does it mean?" Rose was too worked up to listen to the Doctor.
"You will die and I will live." The image of the Odd on the monitors is replaced by a horned beast roaring at them.
"What the hell was that?" Danny shrieked.
Toby paled. "I had that thing inside my head."
"Doctor, what did it mean?" Rose questioned again.
"What do we do? Jefferson?" Danny was becoming hysterical.
Jefferson tried to stay calm. "Captain? What's the situation on strategy nine?"
Not getting an answer from Jefferson, Danny goes to the next person in charge. "Zach, what do we do?"
Toby was rocking back and forth on the floor. "The planet, the orbit, the blackhole. Everything's true."
"Captain, report." Jefferson tried again.
"We've lost pictures, Mister Jefferson."
"Doctor, how did it know all off…"
"Everyone, please calm down. Panicking isn't going to help anything." Layla tried to get through to everyone. She could see that this Beast's words had really affected everyone. She was also worried, but she had faith in the Doctor's words. Besides, she had an idea of how the beast would know everyone's fears.
Everyone was talking and things were getting mashed up. The Doctor tried to gain control. "Stop. Everyone just stop."
"What do we do?" Danny asked again.
The Doctor used his sonic screwdriver to cause a piercing squeal over the comm. "You want voices in the dark then listen to mine. That thing is playing on basic fears. Darkness, childhood nightmares, all that stuff."
"But that's how the devil works." Danny said to him while continuing to panic.
"Or a good psychologist."
"Yeah, but how did it know about my father?"
"The Ood, obviously." Layla said loud enough that everyone was able to hear her nearby and through the comm. "They are telepathic. That is how they can anticipate your needs to serve better. This thing was talking through them, which means that it had the knowledge that the Ood had. That is why this Beast's fearmongering is right on target with our fears."
"Exactly. What makes his version of the truth any better than mine, hmm? 'Cos I'll tell you what I can see. Humans. Brilliant humans. Humans who travel all the way across space, flying in a tiny little rocket right into the orbit of a blackhole, just for the sake of discovery. That's amazing! Everyone here has an advantage. The Beast is alone. We are not. If we use that to fight against him…" A loud bang was hear and the cable start to fall into the shaft.
"The cable's snapped!" They hear Ida scream.
"Get out!" The Doctor tells her. Layla's heart drops into her stomach. They are ten miles underground and the cable is now gone. Her knees weaken and she feels a little light headed.
"Doctor, we lost the cable! Doctor, are you alright? Doctor!" Rose panics and is only thinking about one of the two people now trapped down below.
"Comms are down." Zach tells them.
Rose ignores him though and tries again. "Doctor? Doctor, can you hear me?"
"I've still got life signs, but we've lost the capsule." Zach was trying to break it down to Rose gently.
Rose still didn't want to give up. "Say something. Are you there?" Her breathing was harsh and her eyes get blurry with tears.
"There's no way out. They're stuck down there." Zach's solemn words are what causes Layla's heart to break. Her breath hitches. Tears gather in her eyes and slide down her cheeks. Now she understands why the Doctor was so upset after the reaper incident. While the Doctor is technically alive, there was no way to get him back.
"But we've got to bring them back." Rose pleaded.
Jefferson looks at Rose with pity. "They're ten miles down. We haven't got another ten miles of cable. He walks away and sees Layla silently crying. He sends her a look of sympathy. He had seen the interactions between her and the Doctor. He could see the love they have for each other. He understands what it is like to lose a loved one. There is banging on the door that causes everyone to jump, startled. "Captain? Situation report."
"It's the Ood. They're cutting through the door bolts. They're breaking in."
Jefferson sighs. "Yeah. It's the same on door 25."
"How long's it going to take?" Rose asked him.
"Well, it's only a basic frame. It should take ten minutes…" Another bolt is cut and Jefferson corrects himself. "Eight."
"I've got a security frame. It might last a bit longer, but that doesn't help you." Zach informed them.
Rose claps her hands together. "Right. So we need to stop them, or get out, or both."
Layla could hear the conversation happening around her, but at the same time she wasn't listening. It felt like her chest had caved in. Her mouth was dry and her head was starting to hurt. She knew that their lives are still in danger and that she needed to get her head together, but all she could think about was how the Doctor was gone to her. She was able to clear her head some just in time to hear talking about getting control of the base to get the Doctor out. Layla looked at Rose with pity because she thinks they can get the Doctor and Ida out. Denial is a powerful motivator.
Xxxxxx
Ida looked back at the destroyed cable. "Well, we've got all this cable, we might as well use it. The drum's disconnected. We could adapt it, feed it though." Excitement was growing in Ida. Looks like we get to explore the pit anyways.
"And then what?" The Doctor knew what she wanted to do, but he wanted to hear her say it.
"Abseil into the pit."
"Abseil. Right." The Doctor's mind was running through the multiple situations. He understood that desire to explore, but he had Layla to get back to.
Ida tried to get him to see the positive to them being trapped. "We're running out of air with no way back. It's the only thing we can do. Even if it's the last thing we ever achieve."
"I'll go back. Layla is up there. I made a promise to her."
Ida could see that he was in slight denial of their situation. "Well, maybe the key to that is finding out what's in the pit."
"Well, it's half of a good plan."
Ida furrowed her brows. "What's the other half?"
"I go down, not you."
xxxxxx
"There is all sorts of viruses that could stop the Ood. Trouble is, we haven't got them on board." Danny told them.
"Check your systems Danny. There might be something in there on how to contain them. You said they are slaves; they might have code words or something to follow orders." Layla encourages him.
He messes around with the console before a bright grin grows on his face. "Oh, my god. It says yes. I can do it. Hypothetically, if you flip the monitor, broadcast a flare, it can disrupt the telepathy. Brainstorm!"
"What happens to the Ood?" Rose didn't know how a brainstorm could help them.
"It'll tank them."
"It won't kill them, will it?" Layla asked concerned. She didn't want the Ood to die just because this Beast was using their telepathy against them.
"No, it just jams the signal basically. Take out the program and they go back to normal."
Rose claps her hands in excitement. "There we are, then. Do it!"
He shakes his head. "No, but I'd have to transmit from the central monitor. We need to go to Ood Habitation."
"That's what we'll do, then. Mister Jefferson, sir. Any way out?"
He nods his head. "Just about. There's a network of maintenance tunnels running underneath the base. We should be able to gain access from there."
"Ventilation shafts." Rose guessed.
"Yeah, I appreciate the reference, but there's no ventilation. No air, in fact at all. They were designed for machines, not life forms."
"But…" Zach cut in. "I can manipulate the oxygen field from here. Create discrete pockets of atmosphere. If I control it manually, I can follow you through the network."
"Okay we need to get to Ood Habitation. Work out a route." Layla feels a little bit bad about not helping with coming up with a strategy, but she was trying her best to not fall apart.
Xxxxxx
Working together, the Doctor and Ida get the ten miles of cable wrapped around the drum. The end of the cable is attached to the belt of the Doctor. After everything is secured, Ida looks at the Doctor. "That should hold it. How's it going?"
"Fine. Should work. Doesn't feel like such a good idea now." He steps to the edge of the pit. He swallows harshly at what he is about to do and the promise he made to Layla. "Hmm, there it is again. That itch. Go down, go down, go down, go down, go down."
"The urge to jump. Do you know where it comes from, that sensation? Genetic heritage. Ever since we were primates in the trees. It's our body's way of testing us. Calculating whether or not we can reach the next branch."
"No, that's not it. That's too kind. It's not the urge to jump. It's deeper than that. It's the urge to fall!" With that the drops into the pit.
Ida quickly applies the break on the drum, stopping his descent. "Doctor? Are you okay?"
"Not bad, thanks." He calls up. "The wall of the pit seems to be the same as the cavern, just not much of it. There's a crust about twenty feet down then nothing. Just the pit. Okay, then. Lower me down."
"Here we go then."
Xxxxxx
The Ood were almost through the door and everyone was scrambling to head out. Layla sees Jefferson starting to lift up the floor grate and moves to help him. She felt so useless but she is glad she can help with this. "Danny!" Rose shouts as he is the last one to be ready.
"Hold on! Just conforming."
"Dan, we got to go now! Come on!" Jefferson ordered.
"Yeah!" He grabs the computer chip from the console and runs over to the others. "Put that in the monitor and it's a bad time to be an Ood."
"We're coming back. Have you got that. We're coming back to this room and we're getting the Doctor out." Rose said with enthusiasm. Jefferson and Layla shared a look behind her back knowing that being in denial is keeping her from breaking.
"Okay. Danny, you go first, then you, Miss Tyler, Layla next, then Toby. I'll go last in defensive position. Now, come on, quick as you can!" Layla wasn't happy about Toby being behind her, but she couldn't give away that she knew something was wrong with him.
They are all in a cramped space. "I really hope no one is claustrophobic." Layla said quietly.
Rose sniffed. "God, it stinks. You alright?"
Danny gives a slight hysterical laugh. "Yeah, I'm laughing. Which way do we go?"
"Just go straight ahead. Keep going till I say so." Zach directed them.
They are all crawling on their hands and knees at a quick pace. Rose looks forward and realizes something. "Not your best angle, Danny."
"Oi, stop it." He demands indignantly.
"I don't know, it could be worse." Toby says with humor.
Layla shivers with disgust and is happy that she is wearing pants and not a skirt. "Eyes down, Toby."
"Straight on until you find junction seven-point-one. Keep breathing. I'm feeding you air." Zach encouraged them.
They go down a little further before they come across the closed gate. "We're at seven-point-one, sir." Danny was starting to hyperventilate from stress.
"Okay, I've got you. I'm just aerating the next section."
"Getting kind of cramped, sir. Can't you hurry up?"
"I'm working on half power here." Zach protested.
"Take a deep breath Danny. You're getting all worked up and stress can cause you to make erratic decisions. You're already starting to hyperventilate." Layla talked to him calmly trying to get him to relax a little bit.
Jefferson could see that Danny wasn't going to calm down and hoped that ordering him would help him. "Stop complaining."
"Mister Jefferson says to stop complaining." Rose relayed the order.
Danny huffed but actually did start to calm down. "I heard."
"He heard." Rose parroted.
"But the air's getting a bit thin." Now Toby started to complain.
Layla chuckled as Jefferson huffed this time. "I heard."
Layla could hear Rose sniffing again. "Danny, is that you?"
They could all hear the embarrassment in his tone. "I'm not exactly happy."
"I'm just moving the air. I've got to oxygenate the next section. Now, keep calm or it's going to feel worse."
They all jump as they hear a loud bang behind them. "What was that?" Danny shrieked. Everyone besides Layla started questioning about the noise.
"I'm assuming it is the Ood. I am sure they are being ordered to kill us." Layla pointed out.
Zach agreed with her. "The junction in Habitation Five's been opened. It must be the Ood. They're in the tunnels!"
"Well, open the gate." Danny demanded.
"I've got to get the air in!"
"Just open it, sir."
"Where are they? Are they close?" Rose asked Zach.
"I don't know. I can't tell. I can't see them. The computer doesn't register Ood as proper lifeforms."
"Whose idea was that?" Rose questioned.
"Not very smart to not be able to locate your slaves." Layla sneered in disgust. She couldn't believe this far into the future and humans are still callous with life.
"Open the gate!" Danny screeched with panic. The gate finally slides open and they all hurry through the passage.
"Danny, turn left. Immediate left."
"The Ood, sir. Can't you trap them? Cut off the air?" Jefferson asked and suggested.
"Not without cutting off yours. Danny, turn right. Go right! Go fast, Dan. They're going to catch up."
Jefferson starts to stop and face the opposite end. "I'll maintain defensive position."
"You can't!" Rose cried out.
"Miss Tyler, that's my job. You've got your task, now see to it."
"You heard what he said, now shift." Toby urged her.
"Jefferson, you can still crawl with us and have your arm behind you shooting. You don't have to fully stop. At least try it before you decide to sit there. Please." Layla gave him another option. It would be similar to how Captain Reynolds had to shoot with the werewolf.
"Alright, I can at least try it. But if it doesn't look like it is going to help, I am stopping to take a better position."
They crawl a little further, each of their hearts pumping quickly as they hear the Ood in the tunnels with them and Jefferson shooting at them. They get to the next closed gate. "Eight-point-two. Open eight-point-two. Zach!" Danny cried out in panic. "Open eight-point-two!"
"I've got to aerate it." Zach told him.
Danny didn't want to listen though. "Open it now!"
"I'm trying." Zach was almost pleading with him to realize that he was doing his best in their given situation.
Danny is overcome with fear though and starts to pound on the gate. Rose reaches over and grabs his hands. "Danny, stop it. That's not helping."
Toby decides to take over Danny's demands. "Zach, get it open!"
"Jefferson, I've got to open eight-point-two by closing eight-point-one. You've got to get past the junction. Now move. That's an order, now move!"
Jefferson had done what Layla suggested but had fallen behind because of how he was moving/shooting. He was a lot closer to the junction than he would have been had he not listened to Layla. He drops his riffle, out of ammunition, and uses his pistol to continue shooting. However, with him still crawling he was able to catch up to the others before Zach had to close the gate and the Ood caught up. He was able to catch his breath for a few seconds before they breathe a sigh of relief. "Eight-point-one gate is closed. Cutting it a bit close there John."
"My apologies, sir."
"Opening nine-point-two." As soon as Zach opens the gate the see that the Ood are behind it and waiting for them.
"Lower nine-point-two! Hurry Zach!" Rose cries out over Danny's screaming as he tries to manually push the gate back down.
"Back! Back! Back!" The gate wasn't going back down and Danny was trying to get away from the Ood.
"We can't go back! The gang point's sealed off. We're stuck." Toby helpfully reminded him.
Rose looks up and sees some grating above them. She pushes it up and out of the way. "Come on! Up!"
"Go Danny!" Layla urges him to go first seeing how scared he was. She quickly follows after him and they hear Jefferson shooting.
"Help me! Oh, my god. Help me!" Toby cries out as he raises his arms for them to lift him out.
The three up top quickly pull him up and reach down for Jefferson. "Quickly Mister Jefferson, before you run out of bullets." Layla grabs his wrist and ignores her flinch and pulls while Rose and Danny grabbed under his other arm and pulled up. They were able to hear the empty clicking of Jeffersons pistol before he starts to help them with getting him out. "Come on." Rose grunted at his weight.
They don't have time to take a breather, while Jefferson helped with eliminating some of the Ood, there were still more coming. Danny takes the lead though. "It's this way."
They hear the bolts snapping from Zach's room through their comms. "Hurry it up!" He orders this in worry.
They get to the monitor and Danny tries to get the chip out of his pocket. In his panic though, things are not working out very smoothly. "Get it in! Transmit." Rose orders him. The Ood break into the control room and everyone backs away from them as far as they can. "Danny, get that thing transmitting!" Danny finally gets the chip out of his pocket and he jams it into the console. He hits the button to activate and they all watch in relief as the Ood start to grab their heads in pain and fall to the floor. Rose jumps up and down in excitement and hugs Danny who looked shocked that it worked. "You did it! We did it!"
"Yes!"
Rose hugs Toby next but Layla wants to avoid all of the mushiness to not get the feeling of wrongness. She flinches slightly though when she feels a hand on her shoulder. She looks over and sees that Jefferson is looking at her gratefully. "Thank you, Layla. I wouldn't be here if it weren't for your suggestion."
Layla gives him as big of a smile as she can in their situation, which isn't very big. "I'm just glad you listened. You were very brave to have willingly chose to stay behind to give us time to escape. I'm just glad you were able to be defensive and offensive." She stops talking and they hear Rose talking about going back to get the Doctor. Layla flinches in pain at the reminder that they wouldn't be able to save him. Jefferson squeezes her shoulder in comfort and gives her an understanding look.
"I'm on my way." Zach let them know.
Xxxxxx
The Doctor is still descending into the pit and decides to think aloud, but also to Ida. "You get representations of the Horned Beast right across the universe, in the myths and legends of a million worlds. Earth, Draconia, Velconsadine, Daemos. The Kaled god of war. It's the same image, over and over again. Maybe that idea came from somewhere, bleeding through. The thought at the back of every sentient mind."
"You think it could be emanating from here?"
The Doctor shrugged. "Could be."
"But if this is the original, does that make it real? Does that make it the actual devil, though? Or is it just another version?"
"Well, if that's what you want to believe. Maybe that's what the devil is, in the end. An idea." But where did the idea of the devil come from anyways?
The Doctor is jerked suddenly and stops descending. "That's it. That's all the cable we've got. You getting any sort of readout?" Ida asked him.
The Doctor looked around and then glanced down. "Nothing. Could be miles to go, yet. Or could be thirty feet. No way of telling." He thinks about it a second and speaks more to himself than to Ida. "I could survive thirty feet."
Ida hears him though. "Oh no you don't. I'm pulling you back up." She starts to reverse the drum but the Doctor stops it from his end. "What are you doing?"
The Doctor tries to appeal to her logical side. "You bring me back, then we're just going to sit there and run out of air. I've got to go down."
"But you can't. Doctor, you can't." She was starting to tremble at the thought of being on her own.
"Call it an act of faith." The Doctor understands her feelings. But he feels that the risk could be worth it if he could find out what's at the bottom.
"But I don't want to die on my own." There is a quiver in her voice as she expresses her fear.
"I know." He said soothingly. He works on undoing the buckles holding him to the cable. "I didn't ask. Have you got any sort of faith?" He was hoping that by keeping her talking, it would stave off the anxiety of what he was doing and she wouldn't be worked up as long.
"Not really. I was brought up Neo Classic Congregational, because my mum. She was. My old mum. But no, I never believed."
The Doctor didn't know everything and wasn't sure about that religion. "Neo Classics, have they got a devil?"
She shakes her head as she sits down close to the pit. "No, not as such. Just er, the things that men do."
He snorts. "Same thing in the end." He knew the ugly truths about humans and the evil things they can do.
"What about you?" She wonders.
"I believe, I believe I haven't seen everything." His heart clenches that he wouldn't be able to see anything else with Layla. "I don't know. It's funny, isn't it? The things you make up. The rules. If that thing had said it came from beyond the universe, I'd believe it, but before the universe? Impossible. Doesn't fit my rule. Still, that's why I keep traveling. To be proved wrong. Thank you Ida."
Ida pleads one more time to keep him from doing this. "Don't go!"
The Doctor ignores the pleading though. "If they get back in touch, if you talk to Layla. Just tell her…" He pauses here and thinks about his love. He wishes he could tell her he loved her without Rose hearing, but he doesn't know if they will get back in touch before they run out of air. He swallows harshly and his hands tremble. "Just tell her this. Tell her to remember her promise." It is a little unfair of him to tell her that while he is breaking his own promise, but he hopes that she could live and live happily without him. He undo's the last buckle holding him in and he drops into the pit.
Xxxxxx
They all get back to the drilling area and meet up with Zach. Rose runs over to the comms and tries to get ahold of the Doctor. "Doctor, are you there? Doctor, Ida, can you hear me?"
Zach was working on a nearby console. "The comms are still down. I can patch them through the central desk and boost the signal. Just give me a second."
Zach nods to her, letting her know he was finished, and she tries again. "Are you there, Doctor?"
It is quiet for a few seconds before they hear Ida. "He's gone." They can hear the sadness in her voice.
Rose didn't admit that she understood and was hoping she heard wrong "What do you mean, he's gone?"
"He fell into the pit. And I don't know how deep it is. Miles and miles and miles."
Rose felt her heart breaking. "But what do you mean, he fell?"
Layla didn't need any more confirmation. She stumbles back and feels Jefferson grip onto her arms to keep her from falling, she flinches but he refuses to let go. Her breathing is harsh and blood is rushing through her ears. "I couldn't stop him. He gave me a message to relay." Layla was able to hear and wondered if the Doctor was going to give away their bond to Rose by what he said.
"He told me to tell Layla this: remember your promise. That's all he said."
Rose's brows furrow in confusion and pain wondering what promise he was talking about, but Layla fully understood. He was talking about the thing he had her promise him when they were talking after he had proposed. She knows she promised him, but she honestly doesn't see how she could complete it. It felt like her heart was torn from her body. She just wanted to fall to the floor and cry, but Jefferson was holding her up. She curls in on herself and wraps her arms around herself.
Before Rose can demand what promise she was talking about, Zach takes over the comm. "I'm sorry. Ida? There's no way of reaching you. No cable. No back up. You're ten miles down. We can't get there."
"You should see this place, Zach. It's beautiful. Well, I wanted to discover things, and here I am." Was all Ida said in her response to having to be left behind.
"We've got to abandon the base. I'm declaring this mission unsafe. All we can do is make sure no one ever comes here again."
"But we'll never find out what it was." She protested.
"Well, maybe that's for the best."
They hear her sigh despondently. "Yeah."
Zach swallows harshly. They had already lost their original captain, Scooti, almost lost Jefferson, and are now losing Ida. "Officer Scott…"
"It's alright. Just go. Good luck." She tries to relieve him of the guilt she knows he would be feeling.
Zach nods and doesn't respond. He turns to his crew. "Danny, Toby, close down the feed links. Get the retrotropes online, then get to the rocket and strap yourselves in. We're leaving."
Zach and Jefferson move on to finish some last-minute things before they leave when they hear Rose. "I'm not going."
Zach misunderstands her though. "Rose, there is space for you and Layla."
Rose just shakes her head. "No, I'm going to wait for the Doctor. Just like he waited for me."
Zach looks at her with pity at her denial of the situation. "I'm sorry, but he's dead."
Rose's eyes fill with tears and her breath catches. "You don't know him. 'Cos he's not. I'm telling you, he's not. And even if he was, how could I leave him all on his own, all the way down there? No, I'm not going."
Zach sighs. "Then I apologize for this. Jefferson? Make her secure." Jefferson comes up to Rose and grabs her arms from behind.
She starts to fight him though. "No, no. No! No! No! Let me go! Get off me! I'm not leaving!" Zach holds her wrist and injects her with a sedative. "No." Was the last thing she said before she passed out.
"I have lost too many people. I am not leaving you behind. And you, Layla. Are you going to fight me on this too?"
Layla looks at him in anguish, but she shakes her head. "I made a promise. I will go with you willingly, Captain." She whispers out with a lump in her throat and her voice catching from trying to restrain her pain and tears.
Zach nods gratefully and looks towards Jefferson. "Let's get them on board."
They are walking down the corridor that leads to the rocket when they see an Ood twitch. "Did that one just move?" Toby asked to confirm that he wasn't seeing things.
"It's the telepathic field. It's reasserting itself." Danny informs them.
"Move it. Get to the rocket. Move!" Zach orders them.
Xxxxxx
The Doctor blinks his eyes open and moves to sit up. He sees that the glass on his helmet was smashed. "I'm breathing. Air cushion to support the fall." He tries his comm. "You can breathe down here, Ida. Can you hear me, Ida?" Ida doesn't answer him but he does hear something. "A rocket." He sighs because he knows that Layla is on that rocket and he is trapped here."
He pulls out a flashlight and shines it against the wall. He sees painting on it telling a story. "The history of some big battle. Man against Beast. I don't know if you're getting this Ida. Hope so. Anyway, they defeated the Beast and imprisoned it.
He walks further into the cavern and sees two bronze urns on platforms. "Or maybe that's the key." He touches one of the urns and they both light up, shining brightly. "Or the gate, or the bars." He looks past the urns and his eyes widen as he sees a ginormous big horned creature chained to the walls around it.
The Doctor gets close as the creature lunges at him, but is held securely in place. "I accept that you exist. I don't have to accept what you are, but your physical existence, I'll give you that. I don't understand though. There is air here, I survived the fall. Why was I expected down here, to help you? Or to go against you? Talk to me! Tell me!"
The creature remains silent but is looking at the Doctor like he is prey. "I know you can talk, you did before. Your voice, the words you spoke were intelligent. Looking at you now though, all I can see is Beast. The animal. The body." The Doctor has an epiphany What happened to your mind, hmm? Where's it gone? That intelligence? …Oh no." The Doctor was walking back and forth, running his hands through his hair making it a messier than usual. He is talking his thoughts aloud trying to work out this whole puzzle.
Xxxxxx
They get to the rocket and everyone straps themselves in. Jefferson and Zach are up front working on the controls. "Dislocating B clamp. C clamp. Raising blu-nitro to maximum. Toby, how's the Negapact feed line?"
"Clear. Ready to go, sir. For god's sake, get us out of here!" Toby told his captain.
Danny looks over as he sees Rose twitching. "Captain, I think we're going to have a problem passenger.
"Keep an eye on her."
Rose wakes up groggily and realized that she was strapped down. "Wait. We're not…"
"It's alright, Rose. You're safe." Danny tries to sooth her.
Rose starts to fight with her straps, trying to get them off. "I'm not going anywhere! Get me out of this thing! Get me out!"
Zach ignores her and hits some controls. "And lift off! Whoo!"
Rose looks over to Layla. She can see the tear tracks and pained eyes, but feels anger rising in the pit of her belly. What promise did they make? "How could you leave him behind Layla? I thought he was your friend. Obviously I can see that you don't care about him. I don't understand why he favors you so much." Rose knew she was being nasty, but she was hurting and wanted Layla to hurt with her.
Layla clenches her eyes shut. She feels that stabbing pain in her heart at reminder that they left him behind and the promise she made him. She regrets fully making that promise now because she was in agony. She never wanted to leave him behind. She would have gladly stayed back for the little bit of time she would have been alive, before the Ood found her, to be closer to where the Doctor last was. "I am doing what the Doctor would want us to do. I am continuing on."
"You don't know about anything he would want!" Rose snapped back at her.
"That's enough Rose. Begin angry at the situation is not an excuse to take your misplaced anger out on Layla." Jefferson scolds her like a father.
Rose grabs the bolt gun that they happened to bring and aims it at Zach. "Take me back to the planet. Take me back!"
Zach barely glances back though. "Or what?"
"Or I'll shoot you."
This time he turns back to be face to face and calls her bluff. "Would you, though? Would you really? Is that what your Doctor would want?" He watches as Rose slumps in her seat. "Sorry, but it's too late anyway. Take a look outside. We can't turn back. This is what the Doctor would have wanted. Isn't that right?"
Toby starts to laugh all of a sudden and Danny looks at him confused. "What's the joke?"
A few more chuckles escape him before he replies back. "Just, we made it. We escaped. We actually did it.
"Not all of us." Rose told him sourly. Layla feels that stab of pain in her chest again.
"We're not out of it yet. We're still the first people in history to fly away from a blackhole. Toby read me the stats."
Toby just smiles. "Gravity funnel holding, sir. Always holding. States at fifty-three. Funnel stable at sixty-six-point-five. Hull pressure constant. Smooth as we can, sir, all the way back home. Coordinates set for planet earth."
Xxxxxx
"You're imprisoned, long time ago. Before the universe, after, sideways, in between, doesn't matter. The prison is perfect. It's eternal. Oh yes! Open the prison, the gravity field collapses. This planet falls into the blackhole! You escape, you die. Brilliant! But that's just the body. The body is trapped, that's all. The devil is an idea. An idea is hard to kill though. An idea can escape. The mind of the great Beast." He was getting more excited as the pieces were starting to fall in place. "You didn't give me air, your jailers did. They set this up all those years ago! They need me alive, because if you're escaping, then I've got to stop you. If I destroy the prison, your body is destroyed. Your mind with it."
He picks up a rock and raises it above his head. He starts to bring it down to break the urn when he halts just before touching it and drops the rock to the ground. "But then you're clever enough to use this whole system against me. If I destroy this planet, I destroy the gravity field. The rocket. The rocket loses protection and falls into the black hole. I have to sacrifice my Promised One and the others.
He huffs. He doesn't want to do that, but he also can't let this thing escape its prison. "So, that's the trap. Or the test, the final judgement. I don't know. But if I kill you, I kill her. I've seen a lot of this universe. I've seen fake gods and bad gods and demi-gods and would-be gods, and out of all that, out of the whole pantheon, if I believe in one thing, just one thing. I believe in them." He knew that Layla would be hurting. That she would be struggling. Her side of the bond was stronger than before and he knows that if it was him, he would have been practically catatonic. But he also knows that Rose is there, or at least hoping. He believes that while Rose is upset, it is not to the degree that Layla is feeling. Rose would be able to take care of the problem while Layla pulls herself together. He picks up the rock and smashes the urns. The planet starts to shake. "This is your freedom. Free to die. You're going into that blackhole and I'm riding with you." The Doctor's heart felt like they were being torn out of his body. He had been able to push the puzzle of the Beast to the forefront of his thinking, but now that the problem is solved he grieves for what he lost with Layla. Tears run down his cheeks and he wishes that things had been different. The planet was shaking so much that it causes the Doctor to fly back and smack right into the Tardis.
Xxxxxx
"It doesn't make sense. We escaped, but there's a thousand ways it could've killed us. It could've ripped out the air or, I don't know, burnt us, or something. But it let us go. Why? Unless it wanted us to escape…" Rose murmurs. Layla looks at Toby in suspicion. While she was still hurting and in pain, she hadn't forgotten her observations about him. Just thinking about them is what she believed was keeping her from being totally unresponsive.
Toby looked at Rose. "Hey, Rose, do us a favor. Shut up. Almost there. We'll be beyond the reach of the blackhole in forty, thirty-nine."
The rocket starts to shake and everyone grips their arm rests tightly. Danny looks around as best as he can while being strapped down. "What happened? What was that?"
"What's he doing? What is he doing?" Toby snarls out. No one besides Layla, who was still watching him, heard him.
Zach and Jefferson were messing with the controls. Zach looks at the monitor is shock. "We've lost the funnel. Gravity collapse!"
"What does that mean?" Rose asked him.
"We can't escape. We're headed straight for the blackhole!" Zach said at the same time that Jefferson said, "we're falling into the blackhole."
Rose looks out of the window to her right and her eyes widen. "It's the planet. The planet's moving. It's falling."
Layla's eyes widen and her breath stutters as she watches more symbols appear on Toby's face. He clenches his teeth in anger. "I am the rage!"
Rose looks over and scoots over in her seat away from him. "It's Toby. Zach do something."
"And the bile and the ferocity."
"Just do something!"
"I am the Prince of the Fall and the enemy. I am the sin and the fear and the darkness."
"It's him! It's him! It's him!" Danny screeches out and looks like he is about to take off his straps to get away from Toby.
"Stay where you are. The ship's not stable!" Zach looks back in panic when Toby breathes out fire. "What is he? What the hell is he?"
"I shall never die. The thought of me is forever. In the bleeding hearts of men, in their vanity and obsession and lust." He doesn't see Rose pick up the bolt gun again. "Nothing shall ever destroy me. Nothing!"
Rose aims the gun at the front glass. "Go to hell." She shoots and then unfastens Toby's seatbelt. They all watch as he is sucked out into space, still snarling at them.
"Emergency shield!" Zach and Jefferson shout. The hole is sealed but the rocket is still falling backwards. Zach sighs in resignation. "We've still lost the gravity funnel. We can't escape the blackhole."
"But we stopped him. That's what the Doctor would've done." Rose tells him, at least glad that the Beast that caused all of this mess is gone.
"Some victory. We're going in." Zach slumps. Jefferson remains quiet, calmly accepting his fate as he did when he offered to stay back and go defensive for the others. Layla is just numb to everything now. A blip of happiness sparks in her heart. At least I can go down with the Doctor.
Danny was now looking out of the window on the side. "The planet's lost orbit. It's falling!" A few moments later and Danny relays them the news. "The planet's gone. I'm sorry." Layla's eyes are vacant. She couldn't handle seeing the planet sucked into the blackhole and just stared at her hands.
Zach gives up. "Accelerate. I did my best. But hey! The first human beings to fall inside a blackhole. How about that? History."
The shaking of the ship stops suddenly and everyone looks around in confusion. "What happened?" Rose directed her question to Zach.
A blooming smile forms on his face. "We're turning. We're turning around. We're turning away!"
The comm comes to life and they hear the Doctor. "Sorry about the hijack, Captain. This is the good ship Tardis." Layla lets out a huge breath and feels all of the tension she unknowingly had releases from her body. Her eyes were opened wide and more tears were pooling in them. This time from happiness. "Now, first thing's first. Have you got a Layla and Rose on board?"
"I'm here! It's me! Oh, my god. Where are you?" Rose exclaimed in happiness.
"Safe and sound." The Doctors heart clenched as he heard the quiver in Layla's voice. It is times like this that he wished they had already told Rose about their bond, because he doesn't want to cause more upset than what they had dealt with today and he can't reunite with Layla in an open display like his hearts are begging him to.
"I'm just towing you home. Gravity schmavity. My people practically invented blackholes. Well, in fact, they did. In a couple of minutes we'll be nice and safe. Oh, and Captain? Can we do a swap. Say, if you give me Layla and Rose, I'll give you Ida Scott? Is that a fair trade?"
Zach chokes. "She's alive?!"
"Yes. Thank god!" Danny exclaims.
"Thank you Doctor!" Jefferson tells him gratefully.
"Yeah. She has a bit of oxygen starvation, but she should be alright. I couldn't save the Ood. I only had time for one trip. They went down with the planet." He tells them solemnly. "Ah! Entering clear space. End of the line. Mission closed."
A little bit later Layla and Rose run into the Tardis. Rose immediately runs to the Doctor and wraps her arms around his neck. The Doctor flinches but awkwardly pats her back. He is staring at Layla over Rose's shoulder, drinking in the sight of her. The Doctor goes to the comm to say their goodbyes. "Zach? We'll be off now. Have a good trip home. And the next time you get curious about something… Oh, what's the point. You'll just go blundering in. The human race."
"But Doctor." Ida gets his attention before he disconnects. "What did you find down there? That creature, what was it?"
"I don't know. Never did decipher that writing. But that's good. Day I know everything? Might as well stop."
"What do you think it was, really?" Rose asked hoping he would be more open with her than Ida."
The Doctor looks at her before quietly replying. "I think we beat it. That's good enough for me."
Rose bit her lip. "It said I was going to die in battle."
The Doctor hopes to calm her fears. "Then it lied. Right, onwards, upwards. Ida? See you again, maybe."
"I hope so." She smiles softly.
"And thanks, boys!" Rose cheers to the crew.
"Hang on though, Doctor. You never really said. You three, who are you?" Ida wonders.
The Doctor gives the comm a small smirk. "Oh, the stuff of legend." He ends the call and puts the Tardis in the vortex. The Doctor was trying to think of a way to get rid of Rose so he could talk to Layla privately, before he could think of anything though she speaks up.
"So what are we going to do now?" Rose was happy that things worked out and that the Doctor was safe, but she was addicted to the adventures and wanted to go on another one with him.
"I think we should take a break for the night Rose. Things were very stressful today. Maybe you should go call your mum. You almost lost the ability to talk to her."
Rose doesn't really want to leave the Doctor, but he was right that she almost lost being able to talk to her mum. "Yeah, I think I will do that. If anything, this adventure made me realize how much I miss her. Have a nice night, Doctor." She walked towards her room to make the call.
As soon as Rose left the room, Layla lost control of the tight hold she had on her emotions. She runs to the Doctor and leaps into his arms, wrapping her legs around his waist. She buries her face against his neck as she cries out. The Doctor felt his throat closing up as tears welled up in his eyes. They just held each other tightly. Reaffirming that both are safe and sound. She pulls back slightly but doesn't let go of him. She takes one hand and slides it along his cheek. She pulls him in for a long and tender kiss, both expressing their love for each other in the kiss.
"I can't do that again Doctor. I felt like I was going to fall apart when we had to leave you behind and I thought that I had lost you. I don't want to wait to bond. This way we are tied together and we have a way of communicating when we aren't together."
"I know, love. We can bond whenever you are ready. Let's take one more trip with Rose before we drop her off for a little bit and we can spend time together alone."
Layla rests her forehead against the Doctor's and just takes in his presence. "I was thinking that I could talk to Jackie in the morning and ask her for her help with telling Rose about the bond. I think it would be helpful for Rose to have her there for comfort and she could help temper Rose's emotions."
"That sounds good. Now, enough about her." The Doctor grabs her on the back of the neck and he crushes his lips against her. It was a frantic kiss, one filled with love, grief, and desperation. A tremble passes through their bodies as they hold onto each other firmly. Their grips on each other growing tight as their fervor picks up even more. They pull back slightly and their breathing is ragged. The Doctor looks at her with glossy eyes as he remembers the anguish he had felt earlier at the thought of losing her. His hearts pound harshly and he roughly swallows the lump in his throat. He rests his forehead against her, breathing in her scent and hearing her breath hitch. Time and space meant nothing to him at this moment. There was only her. "I love you Layla."
Layla heard his breath catch as he spoke and hugged him tightly as she felt the tremors in his body. But she didn't want this. She didn't want him sad or thinking about what they almost lost today. She wants him to embrace that they are there, together. Right now in this moment. She wants him to see that they overcome all odds. She also didn't want to think about how broken she was when she thought she had lost him. How devastated she felt. That I… She cuts herself off from thinking about it anymore. She pushes it to a deep corner in her mind. She knows that there isn't much she could say to help his emotional state at this time. She knows that in time he will be okay. So she does all she can to help him in this moment while working through her own emotions. She will be there for him as he is there for her. They can grieve the loss they almost suffered, together. She runs one hand through the back of his hair and hugs him tighter with the other. "I love you too Doctor."