Rory's pained cries filled the tunnels as Katy rushed forward, lunging at Restac before she could fire her weapon again. They wrestled for the weapon for a few moments, but Katy was far stronger and managed to loosen the Silurian's grip. With a hard shove of her shoulder, she sent Restac stumbling backwards, the creatures' eyes going wide when she found the gun now aimed at her. Katy glared at the Silurian, watching as a smug smirk grew on Restac's face.
"You apes are weak. You won't kill me" Restac exclaimed, oblivious to the danger she was in.
"You're right, an ape wouldn't. But I'm not human" Katy spat out, before she pulled the trigger, hitting Restac in the chest with the laser beam.
She felt no guilt as she watched Restac fall to her knees, smoke wafting from the wound, knowing the Silurian would be dead in a matter of seconds. An eye for an eye. A life for a life.
"No...no! What did you do?" The Doctor cried, racing toward her, his gaze on the fallen Silurian.
"What you couldn't" Katy muttered, throwing the gun to the ground, as Restac let out a pained whimper before going still.
"You didn't have to kill her!" The Doctor insisted.
"Doctor, help him...Doctor!" Amy cried, grabbing the pair's attention, as they turned to see Amy crouched beside Rory's body, tears welling in her eyes.
The Doctor's eyes went wide as he watched vines of light spread out from the crack in the wall, latching onto Rory's feet before he had a chance to stop them. He cautiously took a step forward, reaching out for his friend's shoulder, panic etched over his features.
"Amy, move away from the light. If it touches you, you'll be wiped from history. Amy, move away now" The Doctor warned her, as Katy came to stand beside him.
Her chest tightened as she looked down at Rory's motionless body, his face still contorted in pain. He had died in agony. She racked her mind for a solution, for something they could do, but as the seconds passed, she watched as the light began to engulf him more and more.
"No. I am not leaving him. We have to help him" Amy exclaimed, through gritted teeth.
"The light's already around him. We can't help him" The Doctor told her, as he now forcefully grabbed onto her shoulders.
"I am not leaving him!" Amy yelled, clutching her fiancé's arm, desperately.
"We have to. I'm sorry" The Doctor sighed, looping his arms under Amy's shoulders and hauling her onto her feet.
"No! Get off me!" Amy screamed, struggling against him.
"Katy, help me. Please!" The Doctor cried, as Amy tried shoving him away from her.
"We can't just..." Katy trailed off, her gaze falling back to Rory's fallen body, tears pricking at her own eyes.
"Katy!" He insisted, making her flinch.
With a shake of her head, Katy hooked her arm around Amy's waist and dragged her toward the TARDIS, holding her back while the Doctor locked the doors with his sonic screwdriver. Amy screamed and thrashed in her arms, tears spilling down her cheeks, until Katy finally released her.
"No! No! Let me out. Please let me out. I need to get to Rory!" Amy sobbed, rushing toward the doors and banging her fists against the windows.
"Amy, it's too late" Katy exclaimed, reaching out to touch her arm, but Amy shrugged her off.
"That light. If his body's absorbed, I'll forget him. He'll never have existed. You can't let that happen" Amy announced, her eyes flickering to the monitor on the wall, showing Rory's body had become almost completely engulfed.
In response, the Doctor pulled a lever on the console, setting the TARDIS into motion, as they started to dematerialise. Katy's mouth went slack at the Doctor's cold actions, whilst Amy sprinted forward, grabbing onto his shoulder, trying to pull him away from the console.
"Doctor, no! No! We can't just leave him there" Amy screamed, her hands hitting his chest now.
"Keep him in your mind. Don't forget him. If you forget him, you'll lose him forever" The Doctor told her, as Katy felt a tear rolling down her cheek.
She hadn't even known Rory for a day and he was...
Was that what travelling with the Doctor meant? She knew of the curse of the Time Lords, but she had always thought that was a myth. She couldn't cope with any more death in her life.
"When we were on the Byzantium, I still remembered the Clerics because I am a time traveller now, you said" Amy mumbled, in a desperate tone.
"They weren't part of your world. This is different. This is your own history changing" The Doctor admitted, with sad eyes.
"Please. You have to make it okay" Amy screeched, clutching onto the lapels of his jacket.
"It's going to be hard, but you can do it, Amy. Tell me about Rory, eh? Fantastic Rory. Funny Rory. Gorgeous Rory. Amy, listen to me. Do exactly as I say. Amy, please. Keep concentrating. You can do this" The Doctor insisted, moving her to sit on the console seats, as Katy approached them.
"I can't" Amy shook her head, as Katy crouched down in front of her, bringing her hands up to touch her face.
"You can. Tell me...tell me about the first day you met him, tell me how you felt" Katy pushed, as the Doctor's hand slowly moved to touch her shoulder.
"I...we were at school...he—" Amy began, when the whole room suddenly lurched to the side, throwing all three of them to the ground.
Katy let out a groan, pain ripping through her body, reminding her of the bruises still covering her abdomen. Her eyes fluttered open, finding a small red box in front of her, as she grit her teeth at the sight of it. It was Amy's ring. The same ring Rory had taken back to the TARDIS to keep safe.
"What were you saying?" Amy questioned, her eyes still full of tears, but all the pain was gone.
The Doctor and Katy stayed where they were for a few seconds, staring at her with thinly veiled horror. Katy scrunched her eyes shut as the realisation hit her, feeling another stray tear rolling down her cheek.
Amy had forgotten him.
The drill had been destroyed just as planned, and the Doctor had dropped off the surviving a few miles away from the now burning structure. Amy had announced that she was going for a shower, wanting to wash off all the dirt she was still covered in. The Doctor found Katy sitting underneath the console, the ring box in her hands, a haunted expression on her face. He wasn't sure if he was glad that she also appeared to remember Rory.
"Is this what it's like travelling with you? Everyone dies and you just move on?" Katy accused, looking up at him with a pained expression.
"What would you rather me do?" The Doctor sighed, dropping down onto the console seats opposite her.
"Tell her. Remind her who she's lost" Katy suggested, as the Doctor ran a hand over her face.
"And hurt her more? It won't help" He insisted, as Katy pursed her lips.
"Right. I almost forgot. The Doctor always knows best, huh?" Katy muttered, as the Doctor refused to meet her eyes.
"Are you gonna' keep travelling with her?" Katy inquired.
"She has no family. She doesn't have Rory anymore—" The Doctor started, but she cut him off, pushing herself onto her feet.
"So, now all she has left is you. Funny how that's worked out, isn't it?" Katy scoffed, throwing the ring box toward him.
"You're acting like I wanted this to happen" The Doctor sighed.
"Didn't you? I've been fooling myself all day, pretending that I know anything about you...but I don't" Katy explained, as the Doctor grimaced at her words.
"You will" The Doctor insisted.
"And you really think that version of me would be saying anything different to you right now?" Katy retorted, coming to stand in front of him, as he reluctantly raised his head up to face her.
"Cut her loose. If you actually give a damn, cut that girl loose before you get her killed too" Katy announced, watching as tears began to well in the man's eyes.
Just as the Doctor opened his mouth to reply, Katy felt the TARDIS shift around her, as she was once again thrown to the floor. This time, she was pretty sure she had hit her head, figuring she had blacked out for a few moments. Her mouth dropped open when she realised it had been a lot longer than that. The TARDIS had changed. It was back to the golden colour she remembered from when she had first stepped through the doors. Gone was the glass beneath her, showing the lower parts of the console, now replaced with a metal grate instead.
"Fuck" She muttered, pushing herself up onto her shaky feet, eyes darting around the console room.
The TARDIS was making a strange groaning noise, the centre of the console pulsing an odd green colour. It was as if it was complaining about where it had landed. Or maybe just annoyed by her presence. Katy's face contorted in pain as her stomach throbbed, pulling up her shirt to reveal the purple bruises that were still on her abdomen.
"Injuries travel with me. Great" Katy huffed, as she heard the TARDIS hum, as if it was mocking her.
"Where's your boyfriend got to then?" Katy asked the TARDIS, hearing a hearty laugh from outside the TARDIS doors, right on cue.
Grumbling under her breath, she stormed toward the doors, shoving them open to find the first version of the Doctor she had met. For some reason, she found herself shocked by this, blinking a couple of times, as her brain tried to catch up with the realisation that everything, she had been told was true. She really was drifting along the Time Lord's timeline. Her eyes flickered to the Doctor's side, finding Rose, clutching at her stomach, still giggling to herself.
"Glad to see you two are having such a great time" Katy huffed.
"Jesus! Don't do that!" Rose complained, jumping out of her skin.
"You look..." The Doctor trailed off, deciding not to finish his sentence when he saw the look Katy shot him.
She knew she looked a mess. Her hair was matted, clothes still stained with dirt, and her cheeks red and blotchy. But she sure as hell didn't need the Doctor telling her so. After all, she was still pissed at him. Was it fair to take it out on the previous regeneration?
"...Lovely" The Doctor mumbled, with a sheepish expression.
"Are you alright?" Rose questioned, noticing how Katy was guarding her side.
"I'm fine. Just not everyone else is" Katy muttered, pushing past the pair.
The Doctor was following close behind her, as they found they were in some sort of cupboard. She was quick to turn the lock on the door, entering a long corridor, a little rusty looking, but at least with breathable air.
"I'm guessing it's early days for you?" The Doctor suggested, earning a curt nod.
"And I've done something to upset you?" The Doctor continued, as she nodded again.
"Is it gonna' help if I say sorry?" The Doctor asked, as Katy came to a stop, turning around to face him.
"...I get to slap you...then we're even" Katy exclaimed, as the Doctor gave her a look of disbelief.
As angry as she was, this wasn't the Doctor who had lied to Amy. He didn't even know who she was yet. And, if she was being one hundred per cent truthful, she knew there was nothing the Doctor could have done to stop Rory from being killed. The man had sacrificed himself for his friend.
"I've already got slapped enough times by her mother, thank you" The Doctor scoffed, as Rose came to hover over his shoulder.
"No. No way" The Doctor shook his head, watching as Katy crossed her arms.
A few minutes later, Katy and Rose walked side by side along the winding corridors, grinning at each other, while the Doctor rubbed at his sore cheek. He had wavered a lot quicker than Katy had been expecting.
"Oh, stop complaining" Katy called out, as the Doctor opened the door at the end of the corridor.
"I agreed to a slap, that...that was a punch" The Doctor retorted, swinging the door open.
"I barely touched you!" Katy scoffed, as the three walked into the larger room, looking up at the dome ceiling.
"Oh, it's a sanctuary base. Deep Space Exploration. We've gone way out. And listen to that, underneath. Someone's drilling" The Doctor announced, as Katy jumped up and down on the spot a few times.
"Gravity's a bit off" Katy frowned, as the Doctor gave her an appreciative glance.
"Yes, it is. Good spot" He grinned.
"Welcome to hell" Rose mumbled.
"Oh, it's not that bad" The Doctor complained, as Rose nudged his shoulder, pointing to some writing in the corner of the room.
"No, over there" Rose laughed, as the smile on the Doctor's face dropped.
Under the words Rose had read were strange symbols, appearing to be in some sort of order that Katy couldn't recognise. The Doctor rushed forward to take a closer look, both girls following him.
"That's weird, it won't translate" The Doctor frowned.
"But I thought the Tardis translated everything, writing as well. We should see English" Rose agreed, as Katy reached out to touch one of the symbols, recognising it vaguely.
"Exactly. If that's not working, then it means this writing is old. Very old. Impossibly old" The Doctor explained, almost speechless for once.
"Entropy sirens" Katy mumbled, as the Doctor turned to her with narrowed eyes.
"What?" He questioned.
"This symbol. It's from the Entropy Sirens, which means...door, I think. Or window?" Katy suggested, as the Doctor crouched down beside her, placing a hand on her shoulder as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
"Sirens?" Rose gaped, as the Doctor nodded.
"An all-female species which danced in the primordial cosmos before the stars were born" The Doctor went on.
"They could disintegrate you with the sound waves they produced. Or so, the myths say" Katy shrugged, as a shiver went down Rose's spine.
"We've gone beyond the reach of the Tardis' knowledge. Not a good move" The Doctor stated, as he went to open the next door.
"Open door 19" A computer-automated voice announced, as the door swung open to reveal a sight that caused all three to let out a yelp.
Three aliens with long red tentacles hanging down from their faces were staring back at them, their amber eyes narrowed. Katy shut her gaping mouth, eyes darting to the white globe they held in their hands, connected via something akin to an umbilical cord. The alien in front tilted it's head at them, clearly not having expected the intruders.
"Oh! Right. Hello. Sorry. I was just saying, er, nice base" The Doctor exclaimed, a tad awkwardly.
"We must feed" The creatures announced, the white globe in their hands lighting up as they spoke.
"You've got to what?" The Doctor frowned.
"We must feed" They repeated, taking a step forward, as Rose instinctively grabbed both her friends by the arm.
"Yeah. I think they mean us" Rose gulped, dragging them into the centre of the room.
"We must feed. We must feed. We must feed" The aliens chanted, as the two other doors in the room opened to reveal over a dozen more of the creatures.
Rose grabbed a nearby yellow stool, holding it up in front of her, the only thing she could see to use as a weapon. The Doctor held an arm out in front of her protectively, pointing his sonic screwdriver toward the aliens, panic coursing through his veins.
We must feed you.
"Feed us?" Katy questioned, earning odd looks from the pair beside her.
We must feed you, if you are hungry.
"I think your speech system is on the blink, buddy" Katy huffed, feeling a wave of relief as she took a step forward.
"Woah, woah. What are you doing?" The Doctor cried, reaching out to grab her hand, pulling her back a few paces.
"They're telepathic. That globe they use to speak...it's missing out words" Katy explained, as the Doctor blinked a few times.
"So, just to clarify, they're not trying to eat us?" Rose asked, earning an amused snort from Katy.
"I reckon I can fix your speech systems if you...uh, Doctor? My hand?" Katy exclaimed, holding up her hand which he was still holding onto a little too tightly.
"Right. Yeah. Letting go now" The Doctor mumbled, dropping Katy's hand as if it burnt him.
She then took a step forward, as the alien held out the globe to her, with an almost trusting look in its eyes. She then gave the white globe a tap with the palm of her head, hearing something rattle inside, finding the globe lit up brighter.
"Electromagnetics have interfered with our speech systems. Would you like some refreshments?" The alien suggested as a wide grin grew on Katy's face.
"Well, now that you mention it—" Katy began, but was cut off by the computer's automated voice again.
"Open Door 18" The computer announced, as a group of people came rushing in, stopping in their tracks when they spotted the newcomers.
"What the hell?" A middle-aged man gaped, looking dumbstruck.
They were soon brought to the control room, much to the shock of the crew, who repeated over and over again how the group couldn't be real. That it was impossible. There were more of the tentacle creatures dotted around the room, carrying heavy boxes and assisting the human staff. At least they didn't stare at her like she was a freak of nature. A bad feeling was gnawing away at Katy, finding she wished she had never left the safety of the TARDIS.
"Come on, we're in the middle of an alert! Danny, strap up. The quake's coming in! Impact in thirty seconds! Sorry, you three, whoever you are. Just hold on, tight" A man sitting at the control panel, who Katy assumed was the Captain, informed them.
"Hold on to what?" Rose questioned, in a panicked tone.
"Anything. I don't care. Just hold on" He insisted.
"C'mon" Katy urged, grabbing Rose's sleeve and guiding her to a nearby handrail, as the Doctor followed suit.
"What's this planet called, anyway?" The Doctor asked, getting a few odd looks in response.
"Now, don't be stupid. It hasn't got a name. How could it have a name?...You really don't know, do you?" One of the crew exclaimed, bemused.
"And impact!" The Captain yelled, as Katy grabbed onto the handrail the Doctor was also clutching onto.
The whole base shook for a few seconds, as Katy struggled to keep her footing, scrunching her eyes shut, expecting it to get worse. She frowned when the shaking suddenly stopped, watching as the Doctor let go of the handrail.
"Oh, well, that wasn't so bad—" The Doctor began, but was cut off as the room lurched to the right, sending him flying backwards.
Katy reached out to grab him before he could fall, clutching onto the handrail with her other to steady them both. As the room continued shaking, sparks flew off from the console, and one of the tentacle creatures was thrown to the ground beside her. She wrapped her arm around the Doctor, pulling him closer and toward the ground, hoping to stop him from getting seriously injured. The sparks on a nearby console erupted into flames close by, as Katy shut her eyes, trying to ignore the sudden heat. Then, as quickly as the quake had started...it stopped. She slumped to the ground, exhausted and breathless.
"You just had to say it, huh?" Katy complained, pulling her arm away from the Doctor's waist.
"Yes, well...thank you" The Doctor nodded, rubbing the back of his neck, cheeks flushed.
"Won't happen again" Katy murmured, standing up straight, grimacing at the pain that ripped through her stomach.
"I deflected it onto storage five through eight. We've lost them completely. Toby, go and check the rocket link" The Captain told a tall man, in a blue shirt.
"That's not my department" Toby muttered, earning a raised eyebrow from the Captain.
"Just do as I say, yeah?" The Captain argued, as Toby grumbled under his breath and pushed his way past Katy to leave the room.
"Oxygen holding. Internal gravity fifty-six point six. We should be okay" The woman who had spoken before suggested, looking at the figures on one of their computers.
"Never mind the earthquake, that's, that's one hell of a storm. What is that, a hurricane?" Rose frowned.
"You really don't know where you are, do you? Well, introductions. FYI, as they said in the olden days. I'm Ida Scott, science officer. Zachary Cross Flane, acting Captain, sir. You've met Mr Jefferson, he's Head of Security. Danny Bartock, Ethics committee" Ida announced, patting Danny on the shoulder.
"Not as boring as it sounds" Danny insisted.
"And that man who just left, that was Toby Zed, Archaeology, and this is Scooti Manista, Trainee maintenance. And this? This is home" Ida went on, walking over to the wall and pulling a large metal lever down.
"Brace yourselves. The sight of it sends some people mad" The Captain warned them, as the shutters overhead slowly pulled back, dousing them in an ominous red light.
Katy stumbled back a step when she saw the horrifying collapsed star above them, her gaze falling on the insidious black centre that should have been dragging them toward it. The urge to run back t the TARDIS had never been so strong.
"That's a black hole" Rose gaped, in a small voice.
"But that's impossible" The Doctor exclaimed, his eyes never leaving the sight above him.
"I did warn you" Zach pointed out.
"We're standing under a black hole" Katy mumbled, more to herself than anyone else.
"But we can't be" The Doctor shook his head.
"You can see for yourself. We're in orbit" Ida shrugged.
"But we can't be!" The Doctor pushed, wondering whether he was hallucinating.
"This lump of rock is suspended in perpetual geostationary orbit around that black hole without falling in. Discuss" Ida explained, as Katy held her hands up.
"Right. Well, it was nice to meet you all, but we're gonna' get the hell out of here. Doctor?" Katy announced, looking at him expectantly.
"We're beyond the law of physics and you want to leave?" The Doctor complained, as Katy crossed her arms.
"Yes. I do, because I'm not a brain-dead moron like the rest of you" Katy retorted.
"Oi!" Danny huffed, with a pout.
"Doctor. I'm serious, I don't like it here. Let's just go" Katy insisted, coming to stand right in front of him, with pleading eyes.
"Just...just hear them out. We'll find out what's happening here, and then we'll leave. Probably...maybe..." The Doctor stuttered as Katy grit her teeth.
"If you get me killed I'm gonna' be so pissed at you" She grumbled.
Katy listened on as the crew explained how they had reached the planet, from where she was lounging on a nearby chair, her feet pinned up on one of the consoles. She shook her head in disbelief when she heard how they had flown down a gravity tunnel reaching out into deep space. She knew humans had some stupid ideas, but this was pushing it too far for her liking.
"By rights, the ship should have been torn apart. We lost the Captain, which is what put me in charge" Zach sighed.
"You're doing a good job" Ida told him.
"Yeah, well, needs must" Zach muttered, his tone full of self-loathing.
"She's right. You must be doing a damn good job to have kept this insane lot alive" Katy exclaimed, as Danny gave her a look.
"We're insane because we wanted to discover a new world?" Danny scoffed, as Katy jumped up from where she had been slouched on the chair.
"No. You're insane because if that gravity funnel closes, there's no way out. You'll all be dead in ten minutes" Katy warned him.
"She always this fun?" Danny asked, turning to Rose, who snickered.
"She's uh...having a bad day" Rose told him.
"But that field would take phenomenal amounts of power. I mean not just big, but off the scale! Can I?" The Doctor questioned, pointing to a nearby calculator, as Ida chucked it toward him.
"Sure. Help yourself" Ida nodded, interested to see how quickly it would take for him to work it out.
"Your refreshment, Miss" One of the tentacle creatures exclaimed, passing Katy a cup full of a green liquid.
Thank you, it looks...
Katy's telepathic link trailed off, as she sniffed the liquid, quickly deciding she wouldn't be drinking it.
Sorry, what was your name?
We have no titles. We are as one.
Ah. What's your species name then?
We are Oodkind. But our human betters refer to us as Ood.
Oh. And you...you like working here?
She had noticed the human crew barely seemed to interact with them, not even bothering to look at the aliens when they asked for something. It was already starting to irritate Katy, and she couldn't help but wonder if they felt the same.
We live to serve. We crave nothing else in life.
Nothing at all? So, you've never...wondered what one of these tastes like?
The Ood seemed a little taken aback by the suggestion, blinking at her a few times, before shaking its head.
Are you thinking about it now?
A grin grew on her face as the Ood gave a slight shrug, but even without the body language she would usually look for, she could tell through the telepathic bond that the Ood was curious.
I won't tell anyone if you don't.
She then placed the cup of liquid into the Ood's hands, as it looked around the room, appearing nervous.
Don't worry. I'll tell them I asked you to try it.
She watched as the Ood then used its tentacles to drink the broth, causing some of the liquid to froth over the edge of the cup. Once it had consumed the contents, Katy could see by the Ood's eyes it was happy.
Thank you, Miss. You are very kind.
Well, I'm not sure I'd go that far. I know you said you don't have a title but there must be some system the humans use to differentiate between you.
I am Ood 6 Alpha 1.
Katy's lips turned up at the realisation, realising the Ood were being used as nothing more than slaves by the humans.
Is it alright if I call you Six?
Quite alright, Miss.
She then patted the Ood on the shoulder and made a beeline toward Danny and Scooti, who appeared to be laughing at their interaction.
"Making friends?" Danny chuckled, as Katy crossed her arms.
"Yeah, maybe I am. What kind of jobs are you getting these guys to do?" Katy asked.
"They work the mine shafts. All the drilling and stuff. Supervision and maintenance. They're born for it. Basic slave race" Danny shrugged, as Katy's blood boiled.
"You've got slaves?" Rose gaped, having heard part of their conversation, and becoming as angered as Katy.
"Don't start. They're like that lot. Friends Of The Ood" Scooti scoffed, as Katy scoffed.
"Well, someone has to be. You're treating them like animals" Katy pushed.
"The Ood offer themselves. If you don't give them orders, they just pine away and die" Danny argued, beginning to feel a little guilty himself.
"And how'd you know that?" Katy asked.
"Well...that's what...I mean the company..." Danny stuttered, eyes growing wide.
"Humans. You never learn from your past mistakes, do you?" Katy muttered, with a look of disgust.
"Some of us do" Rose countered, as Katy gave her a small smile.
"There we go. Do you see? To generate that gravity field, and the funnel, you'd need a power source with an inverted self-extrapolating reflex of six to the power of six every six seconds" The Doctor announced, grabbing both Katy and Rose's attention.
"666?" Katy laughed, making the Doctor's forehead wrinkle.
"It took us two years to work that out" Zach gaped, as the Doctor gave a slight shrug.
"I'm very good" The Doctor sniffed.
"And very modest" Katy added, earning a nudge from the Doctor.
"This power source is ten miles below through solid rock. Point Zero. We're drilling down to try and find it" Ida told them.
"We could use it to fuel the Empire" Jefferson suggested.
"Or start a war" The Doctor mumbled, with narrowed eyes.
"It's buried beneath us, in the darkness, waiting" Toby exclaimed.
"What's your job, chief dramatist?" Rose teased, making Katy snort.
"Well, whatever it is down there is not a natural phenomenon. And this planet once supported life eons ago, before the human race had even learned to walk. They had some sort of language. I copied it from fragments we found unearthed by the drilling, but I can't translate it" Toby explained.
"No, neither can I. And that's saying something" The Doctor sighed.
"There was some form of civilisation. They buried something. Now it's reaching out, calling us in" Toby went on.
"Sounds like a trap" Katy stated, as everyone in the room went still.
"The gravity funnel, it was created so people like you could get safely to the planet. You've been thinking about what you could get from this planet, but what about what this planet wants from you?" Katy retorted, hearing a few audible gulps.
"Now, she's auditioning for chief dramatist" Rose mocked.
"And I'll tell you exactly why you all still came. Because it was there. Brilliant. Excuse me, er, Zach, wasn't it?" The Doctor queried, earning a quick nod.
"Just stand there, because I'm going to hug you. Is that all right?" The Doctor asked.
"I suppose so" Zach shrugged, as the Doctor pulled him into a tight hug, with a beaming smile.
"Oh, human beings. You are amazing! Ha! Thank you" The Doctor grinned, patting him on the back as he stepped away.
"Not at all" Zach murmured, with a slight smile of his own.
"But Katy's right, you're completely mad. You should pack your bags, get back in that ship and fly for your lives" The Doctor told them, earning a huff from Ida.
"You can talk. And how the hell did you get here?" Ida asked, curiously.
"Oh, I've got this er, this ship. It's hard to explain. It just sort of appears" The Doctor replied, running a hand through his hair.
"We can show you, we parked down the corridor from er. Oh, what's it called? Habitation area three?" Rose suggested, watching as Zach's eyes doubled in size.
"Do you mean storage six?" He gaped.
"Yeah, it...but you said...you said storage five to eight..." Katy trailed off, feeling her heart stop, as the Doctor was running out of the room before anyone could stop him.
"The ground gave way. My TARDIS must've fallen down right into the heart of the planet. But you've got robot drills heading the same way" The Doctor exclaimed, not ten minutes later, almost begging Zach.
"We can't divert the drilling" Zach shook his head.
"But I need my ship. It's all I've got. Literally the only thing!" The Doctor insisted, as Katy saw Rose flinch out of the corner of her eye, clearly hurt by his words.
"He's a man, Rose. They don't think before they speak. Just cause' he's got two hearts doesn't make him any different" Katy mumbled, in a hushed voice.
"I just can't believe the TARDIS is really gone. Couldn't even see the crater it fell into, it's that far down" Rose sighed, running a hand over her face.
"It'll be alright. I'll figure something out. Just to spite the Doctor, I'll figure out a way to save the day" Katy told her, as Rose shot her a grateful smile.
"I'm really glad you're here" Rose admitted, as they watched Zach march away from the Doctor, not interested in listening to his pleading any longer.
"I never asked, how long's it been since we first met? I mean, in your timeline?" Katy inquired.
"Oh, I don't know, bout' six months or so" Rose answered.
"And we're...we're friends? You don't just put up with me for his sake?" Katy pushed, ushering toward the Doctor.
"Yeah, course. We're like family really, now. My mum bloody loves you" Rose grinned, as Katy's eyes widened.
"Oh...right. You haven't even met her yet. Oh, God. My mum. She won't know what happened to me. I'll have just disappeared..." Rose trailed off, as Katy shook her head, placing her hand on the blonde's shoulder.
"Hey. Don't think like that. It's no time to be giving up" Katy insisted.
"You okay?" The Doctor asked, strolling over to them, his brows furrowed with concern.
"Don't worry about me" Rose shrugged, as the entire base shook once again, reminding them of how dangerous their situation was.
"Okay, we're on a planet that shouldn't exist, under a black hole and no way out. Yeah, I've changed my mind. Start worrying about me" Rose mumbled, obviously terrified.
The Doctor pulled her into a tight hug a moment later, his arms wrapping around her, as she all but melted into his embrace. Katy looked away from the intimate moment, not for the first time wondering whether the pair were more than just friends. Not that it really mattered to her. Not if it didn't get in the way of them escaping, right? Katy found her thoughts drifting to the hug she had shared with the...
God, what should she even call him? The Older Doctor? No, that didn't seem right.
"How're you holding up?" The Doctor asked, as Katy pursed her lips.
"How many regenerations have you had?" Katy questioned, out of the blue.
"...Ten. Well, there was...this is my tenth" The Doctor stuttered, his eyes becoming stormy.
"And in all those regenerations you've never thought of creating some sort of teleport device to take you back to the TARDIS?" Katy accused, as the Doctor let out a long sigh.
"I've trapped you here" The Doctor muttered.
"We're not trapped, we're just...geographically troubled" Katy shrugged, as the Doctor's lips twitched into a smile.
"...I want to go down there. Maybe the TARDIS has fallen nearby the drill site. C'mon, you know it's the best chance we've got" Katy explained.
"It is. But there's one hitch with your plan" The Doctor stated, as she quirked an eyebrow.
"And what's that?" She retorted.
"I got us in this mess. If anyone's going down there...it's gonna' be me" The Doctor insisted.