Katy's heart pounded as she heard the sound of impact echoing up the tunnel leading to where the Doctor and Ida had been standing only moments ago. Dust drifted up the tunnel, followed by a sickening silence, as Katy watched Rose grab the comms, her eyes wide with panic. Had the pair got out in time?
"Doctor, we lost the cable! Doctor, are you alright? Doctor!" Rose cried, receiving no reply.
"Doctor? Doctor, can you hear me?" Rose insisted when she felt Katy reach out for her arm.
"Hey, hey. Look at the screen. We've still got life signs. They're okay" Katy explained, tapping the computer monitor under the screen she had broken only a few minutes before.
"There's no way out. They're stuck down there" Zach's shaky voice echoed through the comms, as Rose shared a terrified look with Katy.
"But we've got to bring them back. There...there has to be a way, right?" Rose questioned, as Katy opened her mouth to reply.
She flinched when she heard the door from behind her start to spark, followed by a loud snapping sound. Ignoring Rose and Danny's calls to stay away, Katy rushed over to the door, placing her hand against the metal, feeling how it shook. Shit, what were the Ood doing now?
"It's the Ood. They're cutting through the door bolts. They're breaking in" Zach informed them, causing Katy to gulp.
"How long's it going to take?" Rose asked.
"Well, it's only a basic frame, it should take ten minutes...eight" Jefferson mumbled when he heard another bolt break.
"I've got a security frame. It might last a bit longer, but that doesn't help you" Zach sighed.
"Maybe it does. You're still in the control room, you must be able to get backup power from somewhere" Katy stated.
"She's right. You heard the Doctor. Why do you think that thing cut him off? Cos' he was making sense. He was telling you to think your way out of this. Come on!" Rose pushed, as they heard Zach let out an exasperated sound.
"They've gutted the generators. There's nothing left" Zach retorted.
"You came here in a rocket, right?" Katy exclaimed, waiting for the ball to drop for the Captain.
"...The rocket's got an independent supply. If I could reroute that..." Zach trailed off, and within the next minute, they had been able to open the conduits and channel the rocket feed into the station.
"There we go. Let there be light!" Rose clapped, noticing how Katy had wandered over to another computer at the far end of the room.
"Where are you off to?" Rose frowned.
"This is a teleport. You...you guys have a freaking teleport and didn't bloody mention it?!" Katy gaped, gesturing to the machine.
"It was damaged during our descent to the planet. Besides, it can only take us one person at a time and no more than half a mile" Jefferson responded, as a glint grew in Katy's eyes.
"Give me five minutes" Katy grinned.
"You've got seven" Jefferson huffed, as he watched her crouch down beside the machine, banging her fist against a metal compartment, which opened with a twitch.
"Are you sure she knows what she's doing?" Danny asked, as Katy shoved her hand into the machine, pulling out a small circular disc, causing the whole thing to spark.
"If she says she can get it working, she'll get it working. Let's focus on you, Danny boy. How do we stop the Ood?" Rose stated, placing her hands on his shoulders and turning him back to the computer monitor.
"There's all sorts of viruses that could stop the Ood. Trouble is, we haven't got them on board" Danny explained, as Rose pursed her lips.
"Well, that's handy, listing all the things we haven't got. We haven't got a swimming pool either. Or a Tesco's" Rose huffed, hearing Katy snigger from the other side of the room.
"Pretty sure he won't get that reference, Rose" She called out, as the computer screen suddenly flushed a warning.
"Oh, my God. It says yes. I can do it. Hypothetically, if you flip the monitor, and broadcast a flare, it can disrupt the telepathy. Brainstorm!" Danny told her.
"What happens to the Ood?" Rose inquired.
"It'll tank them, spark out" Danny replied, as Rose's eyes flickered over to Katy who appeared to be tying a coil around the circular disc, no longer listening to their conversation.
"They won't...die though, right?" Rose mumbled, remembering how Katy had been affected by their telepathic link earlier.
"No. Well...probably not" Danny shrugged, oblivious to Rose's concern.
"But I'd have to transmit from the central monitor. We need to go to Ood Habitation" Danny realised, as all eyes turned to Katy.
"I'm not going to Ood Habitation. I'm going to the TARDIS" Katy announced, before pressing the disc back into the machine, as a light started to pulse a strange orange colour from inside.
"The what?" Danny frowned.
"Do you know how to fly the TARDIS?" Rose pointed out.
"...How hard can it be, right?" Katy murmured, as the light coming from the machine started to dim.
"I need something to hone in on. Do you have anything from the TARDIS? Something the Doctor gave you, like—" Katy began, but Rose was quick to cut her off, holding an object up in the air.
"Like a key?" Rose grinned, as Katy shared her expression.
She then pulled the circular disc back out from the machine and rushed over to the blonde, grabbing the key from her hand. Rose's eyes widened as she suddenly pulled a pocketknife out from her shoe, receiving a questioning look from Jefferson.
"I like to be prepared" Katy exclaimed, before she began to whittle the key with her knife, causing some of the metal to fly off onto the disc.
"Woah..." Danny gaped, as he watched the disc begin to pulse a brighter yellow colour now.
"It's not ready yet. I gave it a boost, using the power from the rocket feeds but it's still powering up." Katy informed them.
"How long does it need?" Jefferson inquired.
"Twenty...maybe thirty minutes" Katy answered, hearing them all sigh.
"How long do we have?" Rose inquired.
"One minute, forty-three seconds" Jefferson muttered, looking at his watch.
"Then we need to buy time. How do we get out of here?" Rose questioned.
"There's a network of maintenance tunnels running underneath the base. We should be able to gain access from here" Jefferson suggested, as a smile grew on Rose's face.
"Die Hard" Both she and Katy mumbled at the same time.
"Yeah, I appreciate the reference, but there's no ventilation. No air, in fact, at all. They were designed for machines, not life forms" Jefferson explained.
"But 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" Zach announced, as Katy quirked an eyebrow.
"What could go wrong?" She scoffed.
Katy paced by the metal mesh floor that Jefferson had pulled up, revealing the maintenance shafts below. They were cutting it close. Fifty seconds before the Ood would be upon them, and they wouldn't stand a chance. Katy's eyes flickered to the dead guard's gun and grabbed it before anyone could stop her. She was ready to go down fighting.
"Mr Jefferson. The safety?" Katy asked, as the older man's eyes narrowed.
"You sure you know how to handle a gun?" He asked.
"Better than anyone else in this room" Katy retorted.
With a nod, Jefferson showed her the white button on the side which would take the safety off, otherwise, it was a usual trigger motion to set off the gun. With a sigh, Mr Jefferson rearranged her arms so that she could have a tighter hold of her gun, realising that the girl in front of him had little experience with the weapon. But what other choice did they have?
"Danny, we've got to go now!" Jefferson shouted at the younger man, who grabbed an orange computer chip, waving it around.
"Put that in the monitor, and it's a bad day to be an Ood" Danny grinned, when Katy suddenly grabbed the computer chip from his hand.
"I'll be taking that" She murmured, placing it into her trouser pocket.
"Oi!" Danny complained.
"Look, Danny. It's not that I don't trust you but..." Katy trailed off, with a shrug.
"But you don't trust me?" He guessed.
"You got it" She said, patting him on the shoulder.
Mr Jefferson was then piling them into the maintenance shaft one by one, with him holding up the rear, and Toby just in front of him. Katy realised he still didn't trust the man an inch, something which she was grateful for. As they started to crawl through the shaft, she could feel her skin crawl as Toby kept his eyes on her. Katy had debated about whether to force them to leave Toby behind but had thought better of it. She had a feeling the 'Beast' was playing a long game, and Toby was the main player—
"Jesus, who farted?" Katy complained as they reached a closed gate with the number 7.1 painted on it.
"Danny, is that you?" Rose accused, holding her hand other her face.
"I'm not exactly happy" Danny complained, sheepishly.
"What did you eat for lunch, rotting eggs?" Katy muttered, followed by gagging noises from the rest of the team.
"Well, now you're just being dramatic" Danny retorted, despite the fact he was covering his own nose with the sleeve of his jacket.
"I've got to oxygenate the next section. Now, keep calm or it's going to feel worse" Zach informed them.
A second later, they could hear metal scrapping in the distance, followed by the sound of...crawling? Katy's eyes widened as she realised there was only one thing that could be making that sound. It was the Ood. They had found them.
"Captain, what was that?" Mr Jefferson questioned, speaking into the communicator on his wrist.
"The junction in Habitation Five's been opened. They're in the tunnels!" Zach informed them.
"Open the gate" Danny exclaimed, in a panicked tone.
"I've got to get the air in" Zach replied, as Katy grabbed Mr Jefferson's arm to speak into his comms.
"Then close the last gate behind us!" Katy insisted.
"I can't. Not without having to stop aerating the next section" Zach explained, causing her to groan.
"Where are they? Are they close?" Rose inquired.
"I don't know. I can't tell. I can't see them. The computer doesn't register Ood as proper life forms" Zach told her, as Katy banged her head back against the metal tunnel behind her.
"Whose bloody idea was that?!" Katy gaped.
In reply, the gate finally opened, and the group began crawling into the next sections of the tunnels as fast as their arms and legs could carry them. Toby had managed to push himself in front of Katy, appearing to want to put as much space between himself and the Ood as possible.
"The Ood, sir, can't you trap them? Cut off the air?" Mr Jefferson suggested, as they took a left into a new tunnel system.
"Not without cutting yours off" Zach exclaimed.
"Danny, turn right. Go right! Go faster, they're going to catch up!" Zach warned, as the group quickened their pace.
"I'll maintain defensive position" Mr Jefferson announced, twisting around and raising his gun in the air.
"You can't stop!" Rose cried, as Katy gestured for her to go on.
"I've got him. Go!" Katy insisted, as Toby shoved the blonde into the next tunnel without another word.
Pulling herself up onto her knees, Katy took the safety off her gun, her head snapping up when Jefferson suddenly fired his weapon. She jumped out of her skin when she saw the Ood were already upon them, their red eyes boring into her own. Mr Jefferson continued firing his gun until all his bullets were used and half a dozen Ood lay dead on the floor. He reached behind him to grab Katy's gun, but she pushed him away. Using all her strength, she then shoved him into the next tunnel and began to fire her gun, hitting the nearest Ood between the eyes. Mr Jefferson tried to pull himself up, dazed after being thrown into the tunnel when he felt Katy grab his arm.
"Zach, close gate 8.0!" Katy ordered.
"Are you clear—" Zach started, but Katy cut him off.
"Close it!" She shouted.
Before Mr Jefferson could react, she then pushed him away from her again as gate 8.0 closed between them, cutting her off from the rest of the group. She could hear Mr Jefferson banging his fists against the gate, but her focus was solely on the Ood racing toward her. With her finger still on the trigger, she raised the gun up over her head, away from the Ood in front of her, which tilted its head.
"You kill me, and you lose your only chance to get off this planet..." Katy trailed off, as the Ood's red eyes narrowed.
"So, if you really are the Devil...how about we make a deal?" Katy exclaimed.
Rose was frantic as she tried to pry open the gate with her bare hands, knowing Katy was trapped with the Ood on the other side. Mr Jefferson was beside her, attempting to hit the gate with the handle of his gun, despite the way Zach was shouting into their comms to stop. Danny had his head in his hands, knowing there was a good chance that Katy was already dead. That she had died protecting them.
"Open the gate" Rose announced, as Toby gave her a look of disbelief.
"You know I can't do that. Not without losing oxygen for all of you" Zach sighed.
"We can't just leave her behind! I promised...just open the gate!" Rose shouted, angrily.
"Rose. She made her choice. We should respect it" Toby retorted, earning a glare from the blonde.
"I don't understand, why did she do it? Why trap herself in there with those things?" Danny mumbled.
"She'll have a plan. Some stupid plan to save us all, without actually thinking about her own safety" Rose scoffed.
"How'd you know that?" Danny asked.
"It's what the Doctor would do" Rose replied, running a hand through her hair.
Katy walked through the base with her shoulders tense, hands balled into fists at her side, ready for an attack at any moment. Every few seconds the Ood from behind her would nudge her forward with their free hand, their weapon still raised in the air. She was half debating whether to test her theory that pulling the communicator globe away from the Ood's face would disconnect its weapon.
"A pointless act" The Ood's possessed voice announced, sending a shiver down her spine.
"It's true then? You're telepathic? That's how you knew so much about the crew, all their fears? You just read their minds?" Katy suggested.
"Child's play" The Beast replied, through the nearest Ood.
"And you wanted the humans to come here? To set you free? This has all been part of your plan, right?" Katy went on, wanting to understand.
"This event was put into place long before the humans began" The Beast explained.
"Are my friends still alive?" Katy asked, earning another shove to her back.
"For now" The deep voice muttered.
"And the Doctor? He should find you soon" Katy explained.
"He has a part to play. As do you" The Beast stated.
"I told you. Once I can get this teleport working, I can to the TARDIS and pick up your vessel" Katy told him, as the Ood in front of her came to a halt.
"Yeah. I know Toby's still possessed. You're not a great actor" Katy huffed, as the Ood began walking again.
"If you betray me, I will kill your friends. One by one. I will leave the Doctor for last, and flay his skin from—" The Beast started, before Katy cut him off.
"Okay, okay. I get the message. Besides, you need him alive. He's the only one who can fly the TARDIS" She scoffed, grimacing as the Beast made a sound akin to laughing.
"A most primitive technology. Easily learned" The Beast retorted, as she raised an eyebrow.
"You're lucky the Doctor isn't around to hear you say that" Katy mumbled, under her breath, as the Ood in front of her opened the next door, revealing it to be Ood habitation.
"Alright. This'll do. I should be able to access the mainframe by the computer, give this one last boost of power" Katy exclaimed, rushing over to the computer, and typing on the keyboard.
Her eyes flickered down to where there were a dozen Ood still in the pen, glaring up at her, an ominous warning. The Ood must have had some sort of hive mind, all their gestures now the same, driven by one urge. To serve the Beast.
"As it was always meant to be" The Beast suggested, causing her to flinch.
"You said the Disciples of the Light rose up against you, trapped you here. You don't think they imagined you pulling off something like this?" Katy questioned.
"It matters not what they thought. They are dead. Their ancestors turned to ash and dust" The Beast informed her.
"And I'm guessing that's what you plan to do to the rest of the universe?" Katy murmured.
"I will destroy anyone who stands in my way" The Beast replied.
"...Let's hope not" Katy exclaimed, before reaching into her pocket and grabbing the computer chip that she had taken from Danny earlier.
She slammed the chip into the computer port, pressing a red button beside it, transmitting the code into the computer, as the Beast's growl echoed all around her. She watched as the screen flashed up a warning on the computer, and her head started to spin.
Basic: 0
A screeching sound deafened her a second later, so loud it felt like her skin was vibrating from the force of it. She clutched at her head as she let out a cry of pain, watching as the Ood surrounding her fell to their knees. Her whole mind felt as though it was on fire, as she felt something drip down from her nose, realising she was bleeding, her shirt becoming stained as she too fell to the floor. She let out a scream before the sound overwhelmed her and she passed out, everything going black.
"—ty? Katy?!" A familiar voice cried, as Katy felt someone shaking her shoulder roughly.
"...Ow" Katy mumbled, reaching up to touch her forehead which was still throbbing.
"You did it! You stopped them!" Danny exclaimed as hands were grabbing onto her and hauled her onto her feet.
"Remind me to never do that again" Katy scoffed, blinking a few times as her vision slowly returned.
"I can't believe you actually tricked the Devil" Danny muttered, as Katy gave him a small shrug.
"I guess he thought it was believable that I would throw you lot under the bus to save myself" She admitted, as Rose placed her hand on her shoulder.
"Well, I never doubted you" Rose grinned.
"As touching as this all is, we've still got to get off the base. Now" Zach announced, from where he was standing by the door, ushering them out of the room.
"We need to get the Doctor and Ida first" Rose reminded them.
"You think you can walk?" Danny inquired, as Katy gave a quick nod.
"You didn't need to power up the teleporter, did you?" Toby asked, speaking for the first time since she had woken.
The pair shared a cold look for a moment, both knowing that Katy knew about Toby's true intentions. Or at least, the intentions of the thing that was possessing him. Toby tilted his head, still waiting for her response, almost goading her on.
"It finished powering while we were still in the vents" Katy responded.
"Maintenance tunnels" Zach called back, making her roll her eyes.
"But it can still be used to get you to this machine of the Doctor's?" Toby insisted.
"Doesn't matter without the Doctor. There's no way in without him" Katy informed the man.
"She has a key" Toby stated, pointing to Rose, whose eyes narrowed.
"...It's just for decoration. Doesn't actually open the doors. Only the Doctor can do that" Katy clarified, as Toby stared at her for a moment too long.
She could practically feel him searching her mind for the truth, instead discovering a false memory of the Doctor gifting Rose the key, a sweet, but unimportant gesture. She imagined the Doctor telling them that a key to the TARDIS could not be replicated, and that he owned the only one in all of creation.
"Then we should go find your Doctor" Toby muttered, before turning on his heel and marching toward Zach, as Katy and Rose shared a look.
"What was that about?" Rose frowned.
"I think you'll find out soon enough" Katy sighed, beginning to stagger forward.
Katy paced anxiously behind Rose as she tried to communicate with the Doctor and Ida, but neither was responding. That was when her eyes flickered up to the life signs on the monitor...Ida's heart was still beating strong, but the words 'connection lost' flashed up where the Doctor's heartbeats should have been. Her gaze then fell on Rose, and the lost expression on the blonde's face. She wouldn't survive losing the Doctor. Not like this.
"Are you there, Doctor?" Rose insisted, growing desperate.
"He's gone" Ida's voice echoed through the comms, causing Katy's brow to furrow.
"What do you mean, he's gone?" Rose questioned, in a quiet voice.
"He fell into the pit. And I don't know how deep it is. Miles and miles" Ida explained, as Katy pushed herself forward, taking the comm's from Rose's shaking hand.
"People don't just fucking fall. What happened? Why didn't you stop him?" Katy snapped, feeling strangely angry.
"How could I? He wouldn't listen to me. He said...he said you and Rose should leave. Get out while you can" Ida confessed, as Katy dropped the comms, walking a few steps away, gripping the nearby handrail.
"That stupid, selfish bastard" Katy mumbled under her breath, taking her makeshift teleporter out of her pocket.
"What are you doing?" Rose asked, with wide eyes.
"The TARDIS fell into the centre of the planet. He might...it's worth a shot, right?" Katy suggested, as Zach gave her a look of disbelief.
"You heard Ida. I'm sorry...he's dead" Zach pointed out, as Katy pursed her lips.
"We don't know that" Katy said, shaking her head vehemently.
"He fell miles down into that pit. No one could have survived that" Mr Jefferson told her.
"Well, clearly you don't know him as well as we do" Katy mumbled.
"We're staying" Rose stated, firmly.
Before anyone could say another word, Katy had grabbed the comms and struck Rose in the back of the head, knocking the blonde out cold. She reached out to grab her friend before she could fall and ushered for Mr Jefferson to take her. The others stood around in shock, their mouths hung agape, even Toby appearing taken aback.
"You got a pen?" Katy asked, turning to a dumbstruck Danny.
"Sure?" Danny replied, rifling through his pockets before handing her what she had requested.
She then grabbed Rose's arm, writing a short message on her palm, before closing her hand into a fist, so no one could see what she had written. She hoped it would be enough to help the blonde save herself.
"You better get her on the rocket before she wakes up" Katy exclaimed, as Zach raised an eyebrow.
"I'm guessing you're not coming?" He sighed, as she gave a quick shrug.
"Sounds kinda' cramped" She replied, with a slight smirk.
"But what if your Doctor is alive down there? Shouldn't you take her along with you?" Danny suggested, gesturing to her teleporter.
"It only travels for one. Mainly because...there might be a few kinks to it" Katy admitted.
"Like what?" Zach asked.
"Well...I might arrive down there minus a foot, maybe a couple of fingers?" Katy mumbled, as Danny shook his head.
"You're bloody crazy, you know that? Good luck" Danny huffed, pulling her into a quick hug, which she surprised herself by returning.
"You guys make it back alive, then do me a favour. Let the Ood go free. They might not be human, but they're just as important as any of you" Katy explained, as Zach reached out to place his hand on her shoulder.
"Consider it done" He replied, squeezing his shoulder, before gesturing for the rest of his crew to start walking toward the rocket.
"Hey, Zach..." Katy trailed off, turning around and grabbing the bolt gun he had brought for the control room.
"I think you'll be needing this" Katy exclaimed, giving him a pointed look.
"Understood" He nodded, giving her a small smile, before following the others.
"This is a terrible idea. Really, really terrible idea" Katy muttered, as she broke off two parts of wiring on her makeshift teleporter.
She was missing half of the things she needed to teleport, but she was running out of time. She had no choice but to hope faith was on her side. Perhaps even a higher power. If the Devil really was real, then maybe there was some God out there that wanted her to stop Him. To find the Doctor. With that thought in mind, she twisted the wires, ready to connect them together.
"Here goes nothing" She announced, closing her eyes and letting the wires touch.
A gust of air suddenly hit her, sending her flying backwards, as she let out a yelp, her eyes snapping open. The gasp that left her lips was cut off as she found herself surrounded by darkness, hurtling toward the ground below, at least a hundred feet in the air. She braced herself for impact, curling into a ball as she hit the dirt below. She was surprised when she found she was still alive, relatively unhurt as she rolled onto her back.
It made no sense.
Something had helped support her fall. Something had wanted her to live. She pushed herself onto shaky feet, finding a light in the distance, which she stumbled toward. A grin broke out on her face as she saw the TARDIS, not a dent in sight, hearing it hum as she approached.
"You have no idea how happy I am to see you" Katy murmured, running her hand down the blue door.
It was then that she spotted a figure in the corner of her eye, wearing a familiar bright orange spacesuit. She raced toward him, pulling the Doctor onto his back, finding the glass of his helmet had smashed on impact. She ripped the helmet off, but still, he didn't stir.
"Doctor? Doctor, wake up!" She insisted, shaking his shoulders, as his eyes slowly fluttered open.
A cry left his lips as Katy suddenly struck him in the face, causing him to sit bolt upright, giving her a look of disbelief.
"You couldn't have woken me a little more gently?" The Doctor scoffed, rubbing at his red cheek.
"That was for jumping into the abyss of death, idiot" Katy muttered, pushing herself onto her feet.
"There must have been an air cushion to support the fall" The Doctor theorised.
"This time" Katy stated.
"I thought I told you to leave in the rocket" The Doctor mumbled, as Katy held out her hand for him to take.
"I guess I'm stupid too" Katy huffed, as the Doctor gave her grin, grabbing her hand as she helped haul him upright.
Her head snapped up as they heard the roaring of engines, realising the rocket was launching. Rose would be safe. She hoped. But would they be able to get her back?
"C'mon, we need to...Doctor? Doctor?" Katy exclaimed, when she found the man in question was now staring at a group of paintings on the wall.
"The history of some big battle. Man against Beast. Looks like they defeated the Beast and imprisoned it..." The Doctor trailed off, noticing two golden bronze urns on pedestals, just like the ones in the paintings.
"Or maybe that's the key" The Doctor frowned, as he walked up to the nearest urn.
"Don't touch...of course you bloody touch it" Katy rolled her eyes, as both urns lit up when he reached out for them.
"Or the bars, the gates maybe?" The Doctor pondered aloud.
"Yeah, yeah. Very interesting. Can we go before..." Katy cut herself off as a deep rumbling caused her to turn to the side.
Her jaw dropped open as she watched a creature rear its ugly head, broken horns chained to the wall behind it, bigger than any creature she had ever seen. It was the Beast.
"Something like that happens" Katy finished, as the Beast raised its arms out, the clinking of chains following.
It let out a terrifying roar, its forked tongue on display, eyes burning with fire. It appeared as something out of her nightmares. A creature which shouldn't have existed. Instinctively, Katy reached out to grab the Doctor's arm, wanting to do nothing more than drag him away.
"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...I was expected down here. I was given a safe landing and air. You need me for something. What for? Have I got to, I don't know, beg an audience? Or is there a ritual? Some sort of incantation or summons or spell? All these things I don't believe in, are they real? Speak to me! Tell me! You won't talk...or you can't talk. Oh, hold on, wait a minute, just let me. Oh! No. Yes! No. Think it through. You spoke before. I heard your voice. An intelligent voice. No, more than that. Brilliant. But, looking at you now, all I can see is Beast. The animal. Just the body. You're just the body, the physical form. What's happened to your mind, hmm? Where's it gone? Where's that intelligence—" The Doctor was cut off, as Katy spoke up.
"Toby. It's so obviously in Toby. C'mon, did you seriously just realise that now?" Katy huffed.
"Yes, well...I was just getting to that" The Doctor retorted.
"You're imprisoned, long time ago. Before the universe, after, sideways, in between, doesn't matter. The prison is perfect. It's absolute, it's eternal. Oh, yes! Open the prison, the gravity field collapses. This planet falls into the black hole! You escape, you die. Brilliant! But that's just the body. The body is trapped, that's all. The devil is an idea. In all those civilisations, just an idea. But an idea is hard to kill. An idea could escape. The mind. The mind of the great Beast. The mind can escape! Oh, but that's it! 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 your prison, your body is destroyed. Your mind with it" The Doctor grinned, grabbing a nearby rock, ready to smash the urn when Katy reached out to grab his arm.
"You destroy the planet, and we lose the gravity field. The rocket's gonna' fall into the Black Hole. Rose with it" Katy explained, as the Doctor let the rock in his hands fall to the ground.
"So, that's the trap. Or the test, or the final judgment, I don't know. But if I kill you, I kill her...except that implies in this big grand scheme of Gods and Devils that she's just a victim" The Doctor pointed out.
"I think you've miscalculated," Katy told the Beast, a smirk growing on her lips.
"I've seen fake gods and bad gods and demi-gods and would-be gods, and out of all that, out of that whole pantheon, if I believe in one thing, just one thing, I believe in her!" The Doctor exclaimed, before grabbing the rock and smashing the nearest urn before the Beast could stop him.
With a grin, Katy grabbed the other urn and threw it onto the ground, watching gleefully as it broke into pieces. The Beast snarled and growled at them, fire coming from its mouth as it strained against its chains.
"This is your freedom. Free to die. You're going into that black hole and I'm riding with you!" The Doctor spat out, before mimicking the Beast's growls.
"Actually, I think I might have a solution to that" Katy announced, grabbing his gloved hand and pulling him toward the TARDIS.
"Oh, and one last thing, before I forget..." Katy trailed off, before holding her middle finger up to the Beast, enraging it more.
Katy let out a groan as she dragged Ida inside the TARDIS, her shoulders aching from the fall despite the air cushion that had supported her fall. The moment the two women were inside, the Doctor had the TARDIS dematerialising, ready to pull Rose and the rest of the crew away from where they were likely falling into the Black Hol.
"What about the Ood?" Katy asked, as the Doctor kept his eyes firmly on the console.
"We can't make another trip" The Doctor retorted.
"Yes, we can. We have time!" Katy insisted, storming over to the Time Lord.
"We can't save them all—" The Doctor argued, but she was quick to stop him.
"What, just cause' they're not pretty blondes their lives don't matter to you?" Katy scoffed, as the Doctor gave her a look.
"That's not what I'm saying" The Doctor told her.
"If they were human, you'd do everything you could to save them" She pointed out, as the Doctor's forehead wrinkled, realising she was right.
"One minute. I'll land for one minute, bring in anyone who will come" The Doctor exclaimed, as she gave him a slight smirk.
Katy watched on with amusement as one of the twenty Ood that were crowded into the TARDIS console room, offered the Doctor a cup of tea, which no one was quite sure where he had found. They had dropped Ida off a few minutes before, saying their final goodbyes to the rest of the crew.
"I can't believe you told the Devil to 'Go to Hell'" Katy sniggered, after Rose told her how she had sent Toby flying off into space.
"I saw my opportunity, and I took it" Rose giggled.
"Disappointed I missed it" Katy murmured
"Well, you were busy saving him, weren't you?" Rose pointed out, hearing Katy scoff.
"He was doing alright by himself" Katy stated, her eyes remaining on the Doctor.
"Thanks, by the way. For your message on my hand. Toby = Devil filled me in pretty quickly" Rose huffed, holding up her palm with the faded message.
"I figured you needed a nudge" Katy teased.
"This still doesn't let you off the hook for knocking me out, you know? My heads still banging" Rose complained.
"Well, I promised the Doc I'd look after you" Katy shrugged.
"Funny. He asked me to do the same thing for you" Rose informed her, as Katy turned to her in confusion.
"What do you mean?" She asked.
"Before he went into the capsule, he asked me to promise I'd keep you safe" Rose admitted, as Katy's mouth went slack for a moment.
Just as she was about to question the blonde further, one of the Ood came to stand in front of them, holding his white communicator globe out. The Ood seemed upset when he noticed how Rose flinched, quick to make an excuse to leave, still traumatised by the events of the day.
"May I speak to you, Miss?" The Ood asked, as Katy nodded.
"We spoke on the base. You named Six" The Ood told her.
"You know you don't have to keep that name. There are plenty that are much better" Katy explained.
"I would like to keep it. It is the name my friend gifted to me" The Ood replied, as Katy gave the Ood a beaming grin.
"The Doctor said we should arrive on your home planet soon. You must be excited" Katy stated.
"I am glad I am alive. As are my brothers and sisters" Six informed her, as Katy's smile slowly fell.
"I'm sorry we couldn't save all of you" Katy confessed.
"I would like to thank you. For trying. The humans do not think of us often" Six explained, as she placed her hand on the Ood's arm.
"They're a bit slow, but they have good intentions. Most of the time" Katy exclaimed, as the Ood nodded.
"We will not forgive your kindness. Oodkind do not forget" Six said, and if the creature could smile, she was sure the Ood would at that moment.
"Maybe I'll come to see you all sometime" Katy suggested.
"I would like that" The Ood replied, as Katy was pulling Six into a hug, finding they stilled underneath her.
The smile was back on her face as she felt the Ood wrap its arms around her back, patting her shoulders, somewhat awkwardly. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the Doctor staring at the embrace, a questioning look on his face. Katy quickly said her goodbyes to her new friend and approached the Time Lord, wanting to ask him what exactly he had said to Rose. This version of the Doctor hadn't known her for long, so why would he care if she lived or died?
"Do you think we're friends?" Katy blurted out, causing the Doctor's brain to short-circuit for a moment.
"Don't you?" The Doctor retorted, as Katy pondered on it for a moment.
"Well, I guess I could be stuck travelling with someone worse" Katy shrugged.
"Yeah?" The Doctor questioned, with a small grin.
"Yes" Katy nodded, seeing how the Doctor's face lit up.
"So, does this mean you'll stop slapping me from now on?" The Doctor asked, as she huffed out a laugh.
"Not a chance" She smirked, as the Doctor gave her a toothy smile.
Neither saw how Rose was watching them from across the room, her brown eyes filled with sadness and jealousy.