Doctor Who Adventure Stories
Chapter 4: Shadows of the Vashta Nerada
The Doctor and Amy were running for their lives down the underwater corridor, attempting to reach the other side before the glass roof above their head was completely shattered by the giant alien shark that was trying to get at them.
"It's coming at us again!" Amy warned loudly.
The shark charges at the glass at full speed. The impact caused the whole tunnel to shake, knocking the duo off balance. The cracks in the dome are now bigger than they were before. Water started to leak in through them. The Doctor estimated one more strike would finally collapse it.
"That glass won't take much more punishment! Let's get out of here!" The Doctor panicked as he helped Amy to her feet again.
The two of them continue to run for their lives as the shark makes some distance from them, preparing itself for another charge attack. This shark not only was unlike any other found on Earth, but it was also highly intelligent.
The time-travelling duo finally reached the door but it was locked tight, which The Doctor was not surprised. He quickly pulls out his Sonic Screwdriver and zaps the door controls.
The shark picks up speed and prepares to ram the glass dome once again. The moment the door opens, The Doctor tackles Amy and pushes her and himself through just as the shark smashes through the glass. The door automatically closes and deadlocks it down as the now exposed tunnel floods with seawater.
The Doctor and Amy lay up against the door and took a few moments to catch their breaths, which was then followed up by the duo laughing hysterically upon just barely getting out alive. But The Doctor suddenly stops upon realising a really big problem as he looks through the door's little window.
"Oh, that is not good." He commented as he watched the shark tear the whole tunnel apart trying to find them.
"What's wrong?" Amy asked. She too peaks out the window, curious as to what the problem is.
"The tunnel." The Doctor pointed out. "I'm afraid it isn't there anymore. Which means…"
"We can't get back to the Tardis." Amy finished his sentence for him. The Doctor nodded slowly. They then watch the shark swim away, leaving the destroyed tunnel alone.
That was their only way back to the Tardis. As far as The Doctor knew, there weren't any other tunnels that led to the storage unit he parked it in. It would seem like they're stranded. But this wasn't the first time The Doctor had been separated from his time machine spaceship, and he doubted it'd be the last. He'll find a way back. He always does.
With no way back to the Tardis, the only thing left for them to do was explore the new underwater base. The Doctor hadn't the chance to fully explain where and when they were in time when the shark attacked. Now things have calmed down for now, there was no stopping him from showing off how clever he is.
"So what is this place?" Amy asked.
"Sub-aquatic community. Isn't it amazing?!" The Doctor started to get a little giddy as he started to delve into the history behind this place. "When the oceans rosed during the 23rd century, 75% of the Earth's landmass drowned. Humanity built its own new islands and moved on to the ocean bottom to farm and mine for minerals. You're a resourceful lot, you humans. That's why I love you! You'll move in anywhere. A bit like hermit crabs."
"Crabs? Gee, thanks a lot." Amy retorted.
As the two of them explored the base, they could hear the sound of a friendly computer voice speaking over an intercom. In front of them was a giant computer screen that played an introduction video. A video that tells them about the base and its purpose.
"Welcome, visitors, to Poseidon. Humanity's first underwater colony." The screen shows an entire layout of the base. "Poseidon was founded by Arnold Fox, former scientist of Torchwood who went on to be head of UNIT's Humanity Colonisation Program, or HCP for short.
The screen then shows them many generators and underwater farms placed around Poseidon, As well as the many facilities the base held, ranging from living quarters, laboratories, an observation deck, a school, a hospital wing, and storage rooms like the one they parked the Tardis in, and many more.
"Poseidon is a place where-
The intercom suddenly cut itself off and was replaced with just static noise. Amy was slightly relieved that happened as the friendly feminine voice made her slightly uncomfortable. The screen, however, continued to show them everything Poseidon had to offer until the video ended with a show of the base's logo which was an orange anchor in a circle of water.
The Doctor always wondered why humanity felt the need to name every major discovery they've made after a Greek god or mythical creature. But he decided not to delve any further into it as Amy brought up a really good question that he didn't even acknowledge until now.
"Hold on. If this is supposed to be an underwater colony. Then where is everyone?"
"That's a good question. Usually, it's a bad sign if people aren't wandering around a massively populated area. We better go search for them.
The Doctor uses his Sonic Screwdriver to rewind the video they had just watched and pauses it when it shows a map of the whole base and where they currently are.
Throughout the entire base, ten massive structures act as the colony's top facilities. He points to where they currently were on the map and then points over to the nearest facility which was numbered eight.
"Poseidon Eight. That's the closest. Come on. Be rude not to say hello."
The Doctor - who was able to memorise the map perfectly – leads Amy down a selection of corridors. They both kept their heads down as they travelled through the exposed tunnels, hoping not to draw the attention of the giant shark again. The less they had to deal with it, the better.
After what felt like going through a labyrinth of paths for almost an hour, the duo finally reached the entrance to Poseidon Eight. But the door was locked. The Doctor attempted to open it with his Sonic Screwdriver, but it was deadlocked. One of the two things the Sonic can't crack.
The Doctor knocks on the door, hoping someone is on the other side and can let them in. When there was no response, he decided to call out to them. If that didn't work, then they'd have to go back and try another facility.
"Uh, Doctor!" Amy says as she tugs on his jacket sleeve without taking her eyes off the window.
The Doctor froze as he noticed the alien shark swimming around outside. It didn't take long for the aquatic beast to notice them standing out in the open through the thick windows. It changed its course and began to charge into the glass dome just like before.
"What is that thing? It's not like any shark I ever saw." Amy wondered.
"That's because it's not a shark, and it's not from Earth!" The Doctor panicked as the shark smashed into the glass, causing it to crack once again. He once again attempts to bang on the door, calling out for help. Hoping and praying that someone would answer their call.
And to the duo's luck, someone finally answered and opened the door for them. It was a young man who appeared to be in his mid-twenties with short blond hair and blue eyes. He wore what appeared to be a one-piece dark blue diver suit, black boots and a badge that had his name and the Poseidon logo on it.
"Quick! Inside!" He spoke out with an Irish accent.
The Doctor and Amy rush inside as the man closes the door and locks it. The rumbling soon comes to a halt as the shark gives up on its hunt and is presumably elsewhere in the ocean. The three of them all let out a relieved sigh and rested their hands on their knees.
Once The Doctor and Amy calmed their nerves they took a look around. The room they're appeared to be some kind of computer lab full of screens and consoles. In the centre of the room was the main hub. Quite primitive, but it's not like The Doctor was expecting something majorly impressive.
Once things have calmed down, he and Amy introduce themselves to the Irish crew member. "Thanks. I'm the Doctor, and this is Amy. You?"
"Martin Flanagan." He introduced himself. "Wait. You're a doctor? Then there must be a hospital ship up top. Did you come down in a bathysphere?"
"Is that like some kind of newfangled 23rd-century corner bath, only with no corners?" Amy asked in confusion.
"She's still getting used to the pressure." The Doctor intervenes and attempts to cover up the fact that Amy is from the 21st century. Should anyone learn who they are or where they came from it would cause panic. And they can't afford to let that happen without figuring out where the people are and what's going on here.
Fortunately, Martin didn't pay attention to that comment and was instead thankful that help had finally arrived. "Oswald must've gotten an SOS out. Maybe Jones will let me into Poseidon now there's medical help."
"Who needs medical help?" The Doctor asked.
"Hadn't you heard about the sickness? It's taken everyone on the base. Oswald has put the place on lockdown. That's why Jones won't let me in. I was working a harvester out on the Prairie. That creature attacked us… Killed Pat, Oswald's brother and the base leader. I'm the only survivor. Everyone else is safe underground while I'm stuck up here alone. And Jones won't let me in because of the quarantine. The creature had knocked out communications. I've been stuck in here for two days."
"What kind of idiot is this Jones?" Amy wondered.
"It's a computer." Martin points over to the central hub of the computer lab.
Attached to the side of the hub facing the door they came through was some kind of purple and green coloured, circular machine. It had two metal arms that connected it to the hub, like it was holding it up, allowing it to scan the room. In the centre of the device was a black round screen that acted as the eye of the Artificial Intelligence inhabiting it.
The Doctor recognised this device as a Cyber Class 14 Nexus Prime computer system. Humanity's very first successful sentiment AI. Designed to aid and assist mankind in research and development. He approaches Jones and attempts to reason with the AI, convincing it to open and let Martin into the main underground area of the base.
"Hello Jones, I'm the Doctor. Now what's this all about you not letting in my good friend…" He turns to Martin for clarification of his name.
"Martin."
"… My good friend Martin? Why don't you be a good computer and let us in?"
Jones responded with a British feminine voice that sounded like it was glitching out now and then.
"Poseidon Community is on lockdown. Quarantine must be maintained to safeguard the staff on Poseidon."
"But you're not safeguarding the staff, are you?"
"What do you mean?" Jones asked.
"Martin's not safe, he'll starve to death. I'm a doctor, and I can cure everyone in that base. If you keep me out here, they'll all die. And I bet you're fitted with the standard Nexus Prime laws. See, you can't injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm."
"But Poseidon Community is on lockdown. I cannot open this door, even if I wanted to."
"How about a compromise?" The Doctor suggested. "If you release the manual override, then we will open the door, not you."
"…And I wouldn't have to actually open the door myself?"
"Nope. You won't be in breach of your programming." He holds his hand up and performs a scouts honour sign. "Scouts honour…So how about it? Does that work for you?"
"It is an acceptable, logical solution. Releasing manual override now."
Martin then heads over to the controls for the elevator that leads down to the main area of Poseidon. He was relieved to see the doors opening. At long last he can re-join the rest of his crew.
"Open sesame!" The Doctor proclaimed proudly. "Thanks for your help, Jones."
"It's been a relief to talk to someone who actually understands me, Doctor," Jones replied in an almost flirty tone.
"Oh boy. I think you've pulled." Amy joked.
The Doctor awkwardly scratches the back of his head. "Well, I can see the attraction, hehe."
With all problems resolved, The Doctor, Amy, and Martin all enter the elevator and ride it down to the bottom floor.
Martin leads The Doctor and Amy out of the elevator and straight to what appears to be the mess hall. The whole room was decorated with Christmas ornaments. Stockings were hung on some of the walls and in the middle of the room was a huge, decorated Christmas tree with an angel on the top.
The room was empty except for two other individuals. One was an older man who appeared to be in his forties with a shaved ginger head. And the other was a Japanese woman with long black hair tied up in a bun. They were both wearing the same type of suit that Martin wore, only the man's was black and the woman's was green with the first aid symbol on her chest. She also wore a medical backpack and a white cap that also had the first aid symbol.
"Oswald! Dana!" Martin called out, gaining their attention.
"Martin!" Dana responded first. She then runs up to him and embraces him in a warm hug. Oswald walks up to him and gives him a pat on the back.
"We thought you'd been killed." He spoke up. "Merry Christmas for what it's worth."
After they break off the hug, they notice The Doctor and Amy standing behind him. But before they could ask who they were, The Doctor felt the need to explain why it took him so long to get down there.
"When you put Poseidon into quarantine Jones wouldn't let Martin through. But that's going to happen if you have a Cyber Class 14 system with a Nexus Prime processor doing the work of… well, a 1984 PC. Like putting Einstein on a supermarket check-out. Going to get grumpy and play up."
"Who the hell are you?" Oswald interrupted sternly.
"He's a doctor," Martin answered. "There's a hospital ship up top." He points upwards as he says that.
"But there isn't any hospital ship." The Doctor clarified. "You don't need a hospital ship – you've got me! You couldn't wish for a better Christmas present… Merry Christmas by the way. Had no idea it was Christmas."
Amy clears her throat, addressing that she is here as well. "Erm… and I'm Amy… Just Amy."
Upon closer inspection, The Doctor noticed that Oswald's skin was looking slightly pale. He gets close and personal and even reaches out to touch his face for a better examination. "You're not looking too good, Ozzie."
Oswald pushes The Doctor away in annoyance. "Get away from me!"
"He's just trying to help," Dana says as she calms him down.
"Bingo! Well observed." The Doctor added. "Who are you?"
"Dana Tanaka. I'm the Poseidon medic. And this is Oswald Fox, the current head of the base."
"Ah." The Doctor remembers the founder of Poseidon was a man who went by the last name Fox. "Then you must be related to Arnold Fox. The one who built this place.
"Yeah, he was my grandfather… Why do you care?" Oswald replied rudely.
"Anyway." Dana interrupted, shifting the focus back to the topic at hand. "I've been trying to contain the sickness that's been infecting everyone on the base. The sickness kills off red blood cells. It doesn't respond to anything. We've confined non-essential crew to their quarters."
"Hold on a minute!" Oswald interrupted also. "If he's not from a hospital ship where did he come from? There's way too much weird stuff going on around here."
Suddenly – without any warning – the lights go out. Forcing the base to switch to emergency lighting, filling the dark room with a red, ominous glow.
Oswald and Dana start to panic and quickly pull out their torches and turn them on. Whilst the Doctor, Amy and Martin were confused as to why they were acting scared.
"The lights!" Oswald panicked.
"What are you scared of?" The Doctor wondered at first. The gears in his head began to turn rapidly as he was narrowing down the reasons why they'd be scared of the dark. "… It's not just the sickness that's a danger here, is it?"
Dana nodded as she shined her torch onto them. "The monsters are back. They hide in the shadows. They come in the dark.
"What does?" Amy asked.
Suddenly, the emergency lights and the crew's torches go out simultaneously. The group all kept their nerve to ensure whatever it was didn't hear them.
The sounds of faint swishing and growling can be heard all around them. The Doctor holds Amy close to him to protect her. Dana and Oswald do the same. But Martin had nobody to stay close to, leaving him wide open to be attacked.
In but an instant, the sounds gathered together in the spot he was standing in, which was then followed by something falling to the ground with a loud thump. All in a span of a second. Once that second has passed. The emergency lights flicker back on, as well as the torches.
The Doctor immediately looks in the direction of where Martin is and is now convinced as to what they're up against once he sees the skeleton of what used to be Martin Flanagan.
"…Vashta Nerada!" The Doctor finally answered Amy's question.
The rest of the group soon notices Martin's bones still in his suit lying there on the ground. In less than a second he'd been stripped to the bone, leaving not a trace of any flesh. Not even so much as a single drop of blood. His suit was also shredded to pieces like it had been forced through a paper shredder.
"Martin! No!" Dana shouted, shocked at his sudden death after just reuniting with him. Oswald comforts her as she starts to tremble in fear. Amy was also quaking with fear upon seeing Martin's remains.
"What… what happened to him?!"
"I'm sorry… But he's been devoured by the Vashta Nerada."
"That's what they're called?" Dana asked after regaining some of her composure. "You know what they are?"
"They are carnivorous photo-organisms that live in the dark. Like a microscopic school of piranha fish swimming in the shadows. Almost every planet has them, but usually in small clusters. This is now the second time I've seen an infestation this aggressive on a massive scale."
"Most planets? Not Earth, right?" Amy asked, almost afraid of what his response would be.
"Yep. They live on Earth and billions of other worlds. Where there's meat, there's Vashta Nerada." The Doctor answered calmly. "The last time I met them was on a planet-sized library. It was also there where I first met River Song. You remember her, don't you?"
Amy was too consumed with fear over what had just happened to fully listen to The Doctor's explanation. Even now her hands were shaking. Between them and Weeping Angels, she couldn't decide which of them was the more terrifying alien she'd met.
"I am never turning the lights off again. Not ever!" That was all Amy could say in response, her voice taken over by fear.
"The Vasta Nerada on Earth are unusually timid. They normally feed on roadkill. Sometimes people would go missing, but it's very rare and they can only pull it off if there's enough of them. But this… down here. This is something else. This is alien."
"it all started with the flash," Dana spoke up.
"Flash?" The Doctor responded; his interest being piqued again. "What flash?"
"It happened two days ago. A great flash lit up the ocean bed. It looked like a camera flash only it was as big as the sky. The sickness, that shark creature, the shadows… It all started then." She explained.
"This is getting out of hand." Oswald started. "I have to evacuate everyone on this base."
"Good plan. Bad idea." The Doctor addressed, pointing out the flaws in his plan. "Life pods have lots of dark corners. Your people will be dead before they reach the surface."
"We're on emergency lighting! It won't last forever." Oswald raised his voice to him. "Eventually it'll run out and the shadows will kill us all. I've got to get everybody off Poseidon before that happens."
"Or I can fix the generator." The Doctor suggested. "Come along, Amy… You two stay out of the shadows. And forget about the life-pods."
They were soon out of the mess hall and back into the elevator before anyone could even so much as stop them. Angered by this, Oswald decides to ignore The Doctor's advice and go through with his plan anyway.
"Oswald, where are you going?" Dana asked.
"What do you think? I'm preparing the life pods for launch."
"But The Doctor said-
"I don't care what he said!" He shot back at her. "Why should you care either? You don't know that man or the woman with him… I'm not going to let the others go out the same way Martin did… The way my brother did."
Dana attempts to comfort him by placing her hand on his shoulder. But Oswald nudges her away and walks down to the opposite side of the mess hall to the rest of the base.
Dana was sure The Doctor and Amy would be fine and decided to go after her boss. But not without taking one last look back at Martin's body. She felt so bad for him. He only just reunited with his friends and died before they even had a chance to properly catch up or throw a big welcome.
"…What am I going to tell his mother?" She muttered to herself as she exited the mess hall.
Back on the surface below the water, The Doctor approaches Jones and asks her for directions to the main generator room. She projects a holographic layout of the base and highlights a set of tunnels that'll lead them there.
But there was a huge problem. Not only did they have to keep an eye out for the giant shark, but now the tunnels were all pitch black due to the blackout.
"Doctor… Are the Vashta things in every shadow on this base?" Amy hesitantly asked.
"No. But they could be in any shadow. And there's no way of telling which shadow is empty and which has Vashta Nerada in it. So I wouldn't recommend setting foot in that dark corridor.
"So what do we do?"
"I could use the Sonic Screwdriver to boost the emergency lighting for this corridor, but I don't know how long it'll last. So I recommend we run like Usain Bolt."
The Doctor accesses the controls for the emergency lighting no zaps it with his Sonic Screwdriver. The whole corridor is lit up with red lighting with the sounds of the generators powering up.
Upon activation, The Doctor and Amy run like hell through the corridors before the lights can run out of power. The Doctor was leading the way, remembering the directions Jones had given him.
The lights eventually started to flicker, and the generators started to power down. It would appear that the Vashta Nerada were tampering with the power again, trying to catch them in the dark so that they could devour their flesh.
The Doctor grabs Amy's hand and encourages her to pick up the pace, practically dragging her behind him. The generator room was dead ahead, and the best part was that it was completely lit up so the Vashta Nerada wouldn't get them.
Once safe inside The Doctor and Amy take a moment to catch their breaths. They're safe for now, but they can't say the same for the people below who are barely surviving on emergency lighting. So there was no time to waste.
"Right then… let's get to work."
"Doctor, what about the Tardis?" Amy reminded him.
"She'll be alright." He reassured her. "That part of the tunnel was sealed off."
"Yes, but there's a tone of ocean in between us and it." She stated bluntly. "Even if we save the day again like we always do. How will we get back to it?"
"Yeah, we'll cross that bridge… or flooded tunnel… when we come to it."
The duo began to take a look around the room, looking for what the problem was and seeing if they could fix it. On the way, they come across a pair of skeletons in what appeared to be technologically advanced air-tight diver suits. They were both lying against the wall.
"Poor chaps." The Doctor commented. "They must've been working on the farms outside. They must've noticed the generator was broken and tried to fix it themselves."
"Until the shadows got to them." Amy finished. "How come their suits are still intact? When they got Martin, his suit was torn to shreds." Amy then decided to get a closer look at the dead divers.
The Doctor then thinks back on his last encounter with the Vashta Nerada on the library planet. He recalls one of the astronauts he was with being devoured by them with his suit still intact. But what made that scene stand out was how the Vashta Nerada were able to control the suit and use it as a puppet. His eyes suddenly shot wide open upon realising what was going on.
"Amy, get away from them now!" He shouted.
He pulls Amy out of the way just in time, as one of the diver suits starts to come alive and attempts to grab her. The two of them backed away as the two diver suits slowly got up and stared down at them.
"It's alive! How is it alive?!" Amy panicked, still recovering from almost being grabbed by a corpse in a suit.
"The Vashta Nerada are animating it. I've seen this before. Both suits have a swarm of them inside, and they're all working in unison to move it. Like a puppet on strings."
The Doctor quickly scans the whole area, hoping to find a way out. They couldn't go back the way they came as the emergency lighting in the corridors had shut off, leaving them trapped. Even if they were on they couldn't lead the divers back to the others. They'd just be putting them in danger.
If they are to survive they'll need to think fast. The Vashta Nerada were starting to seep out off the suit from the underside of the boots and reached out for them. The instant they touch them, or even their shadows, they'll end up like poor Martin.
The Doctor scans the generator room and notices a ladder leading to the platform above the generator and directs Amy towards it.
"Ladder now! Don't let them touch you! Don't let any of them touch you!"
The two of them quickly race up the ladder to safety. Fortunately for them, the suits don't move very fast. But no matter how much they outran them, they'll always find them. Nobody can hide from the darkness.
The suits were unable to follow them up the ladder and were forced to give up for now. But the Vashta Nerada were patient creatures. They could wait for hundreds of years until their prey gives up or dies. Their bodies can still be consumed even if they're dead. It was only a matter of time until The Doctor and Amy were forced to come down and face them again. Until then they will walk around the generator in a circle, cutting off their only exit.
"What do we do now?" Amy asked as she caught her breath.
"We can't let them roam outside, and we can't stay up here. We'll have to find a way to take them out before we can fix the generator."
The Doctor and Amy walk across the platform, occasionally gazing down at the two divers below who are now patrolling the area, waiting for them to come down.
At the end of the room, The Doctor comes across a small dark area that has what appears to be infrared lights hanging on the walls and ceiling. On the back of the wall was a huge sign that read "Danger! Radiation Cleansing Station". He then spots the controls for the lights and presses a button that switches on the bright red lights.
"Ah, perfect. A Radiation Chamber." The Doctor whispered to Amy. "This was probably used to cleanse the divers' suits of any possible radiation in the ocean. Maybe if I can use the Sonic Screwdriver to reflect radiation rather than absorb it, it'll fry the Vashta Nerada right out of their suits."
"I'm not luring them into a chamber full of radiation!" Amy stated.
"Oh don't worry. I'll handle that. Once I lure them into that chamber, you press the big red button to activate the machine… But wait until I get out, of course. I've absorbed enough radiation in my lifetime. I don't want to go through that again."
Amy was not quite sure what the Doctor was talking about, but frankly, she didn't want to know.
The Doctor then climbs over the railing and drops down into the entrance to the radiation chamber. The Divers quickly notice his presence and start approaching him from both sides.
The Doctor quickly uses his Sonic Screwdriver to reverse the polarity of the infrared lights to reflect radiation. Eventually, the divers follow him into the chamber and attempt to corner him. The Doctor, however, reaches into his jacket pocket and pulls out a bright and powerful glow stick. The light was bright enough to force the divers to back off.
"Stay back, sailors! I've got a glow stick and I know how to use it!"
Once the divers were backed into a corner, The Doctor dashes past them and shuts the door behind them, sealing them inside.
"Now, Amy!" He shouted up to her.
Amy slams her palm on the big red button. A bright red light fills up the chamber from behind the huge metallic door. The radiation started to build up until it became lethal. Both divers eventually succumb to it and collapse. The Vashta Nerada inside evaporate into smoke that starts to fog up the airtight diver suits.
The two of them waited a while until the radiation had been completely emptied before they could safely examine the divers unharmed.
"Are they dead?" Amy asked worriedly.
"They were already dead." The Doctor corrected her. "The Vashta Nerada just weren't done with them yet."
As he examines the diver suits, The Doctor comes across something that might prove useful to explain the origin of this great flash Dana spoke of.
"Hello. An Environment Status Chip. It indicates dangerous radiation. And it's been activated."
"Well duh. We did just kill them with radiation." Amy sarcastically reminded him.
"That's not the point." The Doctor silenced her. "This chip says that the radiation that affected them is not from Earth. This is Vortron Radiation. An alien radiation that is a major threat to all organic life. Most likely brought here through this Great Flash. Like the Vashta Nerada and the giant shark."
"Alien radiation? This is turning into such a great place." Amy vented. "But shouldn't we get this generator working before the lights go out and the Vashtas hear the dinner bell?"
The Doctor had almost forgotten about the generator. The very reason they came here in the first place. If the Vashta Nerada were reanimating dead suits like in the library, then he can't deny the possibility of there being any more of them scattered throughout the base. All the more reason to get the lights back on as quickly as possible.
The Doctor opened up the generator's panels and began to manually rewire the whole thing, which didn't take him long at all. He was fortunate that there wasn't any serious damage to the generator.
"Hmm, the generator's still not working." He muttered to himself. "The rewiring should've jump-started the whole thing… Something must be blocking the vents." He turns to Amy. "I'll keep working on it here, you head up the ladder and-
"I know, I know. Bravely face the darkness and monsters and save the day, again." She uttered as she walked over to the ladder.
"Well, it's probably just a matter of flicking a switch. But yes. Good luck with, er… flicking that switch…"
Amy heads back up to the ladder and reaches the vent control switch. She flicks it as The Doctor instructs. The sounds of the fans powering up can be heard throughout the room. Sea debris that was clogging up the fans gets blasted out into the open water, cleaning them out completely.
The Doctor makes another attempt at rewiring the generator and manages to succeed in jumpstarting it. All the power is restored to the base and all the lights in the dark corridors instantly light up. Their mission was a success. And hopefully, it'll stop the Vashta Nerada… At least for a while.
"Brilliant! Well done, Engineer Pond! Now let's head back to the others and find out what's really going on here."
"What do you mean really?" Amy questioned him.
"The sickness, the Vashta Nerada, Jaws out there… they're all connected."
"It's that flash of light they all saw, isn't it?"
"Thanks for chipping in, Amy. Come on. Jones may know more about this alien radiation we've discovered."
The Doctor and Amy took their time making it back to Jones. With the lights fixed they didn't need to worry about the Vashta Nerada. And even if the lights were to go out again, the sun was fully out above the water, letting its rays shine through the glass domes.
But they still needed to figure out what caused this Great Flash that brought the shark, the Vashta Nerada, and the alien radiation sickness to Earth. The Doctor hopes that Jones might have an answer as to what kind of radiation the chip he picked up reacted to. If the radiation is the main cause of the sickness, then it shouldn't be difficult for him to try and create an antidote.
"Hello, Jones, me old mucker." The Doctor addressed her in a sailor's accent. "Can you have a butcher's at this for me?"
"Certainly, Doctor. Though I would appreciate you dropping the accent." Jones responded as one of her mechanical arms grabbed hold of the chip. "This is a standard Environment Status Chip, issued to all Poseidon personnel."
Jones takes a few seconds to analyse the radiation within the chip. But her sensors end up having difficulty getting a proper reading on it.
"That's strange. I'm picking up some unknown radiation. I'm supposed to be able to identify every possible type of radiation. My sensors must be damaged."
"No, your sensors are working perfectly." He reassured her. "You can't identify it because it's alien. And I'm fairly certain I can fix it too… I need to tell the others. How are they doing?"
"Oswald is preparing the surviving crewmen for evacuation," Jones answered.
The Doctor quickly turned back around in shock. He specifically told him to forget about the life pods. Once again, nobody ever does what he tells them to. He and Amy head for the elevator and ride it back down to the bottom. Once they arrive, they run into Dana who appears to be waiting for their return.
"You did it! You fixed the generator." She praised him.
"Never mind that. Where's Oswald?" The Doctor demanded. "I told him to forget about the life pods."
"I'm sorry." Dana lowers her head. "I tried to talk him out of it, but he's determined to save everyone."
"Lead us to him. I may have found a way to create a cure for the sickness… Maybe that'll get him to listen."
Dana wanted to ask him how he was able to think up a cure so easily when it had taken her so long to even conclude that radiation was the cause. But she understood a dire situation when she saw one. Without another word, she leads them through the base to the area where the escape pods are stored.
To nobody's surprise, Oswald was already there, checking the inside of them for any dangers, using his flashlight. He notices Dana, Amy, and The Doctor enter out of the corner of his eye. He was not happy to see him again. Ever since he'd arrived he felt as if he'd been trying to run the base better than him. The very thought caused him to clench his torch tightly.
"Oswald! The Doctor thinks he can synthesise a cure for the sickness." Dana informed him.
Oswald decides to climb down from one of the pods and hear them out just this once, curious as to how this stranger from who knows where was able to succeed where Poseidon's best medical expert failed.
"As I was explaining to Dana on the way here, the symptoms of the sickness involve rapid decay of red blood cells, stiffness in the muscle joints, and a very nasty cough. The cause of the sickness is alien radiation that was sent here by this Great Flash you mentioned. It's called Vortron Radiation, and it is extremely deadly to living flesh and blood creatures. Luckily for you, I know how to cure it. Poseidon is guaranteed to have what I need… Sea Sprouts, Brine Oil, and Sticky Mushrooms… Those are always growing in some damp corner of an undersea base like this." He explained.
Oswald, however, remained unconvinced. "This is a joke. Right? Brine Oil is used to keep our machines running. Ingesting it will destroy our bodies!"
"You might use Brine Oil to keep your machines going, but it's also full of Iodine. Unfortunately, the ingredients we need are in the other facilities above that we have no access to."
"Oswald. We need to give them the access codes to get onto the agricultural sectors."
Before Oswald could object to such a proposal, The Doctor decided to butt in again and tell him off about the Life Pods.
"And, by the way. I thought I told you… trying to get your people off Poseidon in the Life Pods will just get them killed."
"So you expect me to just sit around and twiddle my thumbs while you mess around with some quack medicine?" Oswald shot back at him.
Now was the time for Amy to step in. The whole time she's been here she felt like she didn't get to do much, apart from helping dispatch two divers. She believed in The Doctor's plan and was determined to help him achieve it.
"If you really want to save your people you'll listen to The Doctor!"
"And let you go mushroom picking? So you can get eaten by those things in the shadows? No way! Enough people have died on my watch. No one else, Doctor. It's too dangerous… We've got one chance and it's these pods. Now if you don't mind, this is a restricted area… Get out!" He raises his voice at them.
The others simply comply with Oswald's request and leave him to his work preparing the pods for launch to the surface.
The Doctor was completely against this idea. He knew the Vashta Nerada were hiding in those pods, awaiting the rest of the people to enter so that they could feast on them, allowing only their bones to reach the surface.
"What a stubborn jerk," Amy muttered in annoyance.
"Oswald is a good man." Dana defended him. "But so many people have died, including his brother. The previous leader of the base… Oswald's been struggling to fill his shoes, trying to do what he believes is the right thing. If I were in his position I'd probably be angry too."
"Yeah, yeah," Amy responded. "It's just a shame he's so spectacularly wrong. The Doctor needs those access codes."
"There's always Plan B." The Doctor interrupted.
Before he could explain what that plan was, they followed Dana to her lab far out of Oswald's earshot. As The Doctor explains his Plan B, he decides to give the lab a good look over, making sure it has the necessary equipment needed to help brew an antidote.
"Since Oswald won't let us out, we'll need you to give us those access codes instead, Dana."
"I'm sorry, but I can't give them to you. Oswald will kill me if he finds out."
"I'm sure we'll find the ingredients in the storerooms out there. Now that we have the generator working again it'll be much safer. We'd be taking all the risks, not you."
"And I'm responsible for your safety. I can't let you go." Dana replied stubbornly.
"Look…" The Doctor approaches Dana and proceeds to look her straight in the eyes to show her that she has nothing to worry about. "You're not putting Oswald in danger, or breaking his trust. This will help all of us… Please, Dana." He pleaded.
After a long pause to think it over, Dana finally decided to help them out. She types in the access codes into the lab's computer, unlocking all the other facilities on the surface.
"Access codes accepted. Security override released." Jones said as she made the other facilities available to them.
"Shush!" Amy whispered to Jones. "We're trying to do this on the quiet, you numpty!"
Dana ignores Amy's little spat and turns to The Doctor. "Be careful… and try to get back before Oswald notices."
"Thank you, Dana. I'm always careful. And when we come back with the cure, he'll be glad we went." The Doctor reassured her.
With the codes accepted, The Doctor and Amy head back up to the surface and begin searching the other Poseidon facilities for the ingredients they need for the sickness cure.
Their first stop was in Poseidon Three which was where all the oil, fuel, and spare parts for the machinery were stored. The Doctor picks up a full can of Brine Oil and hands it over to Amy. Amy immediately buckles under the weight of the can, struggling to hold it up, even with two hands.
"Why do I have to carry it?" She complained.
"Because I need to be on alert for any threats. As well as the other two ingredients we need… We should find the Sea Sprouts in the crop storage unit in Poseidon Five. Come along, Pond."
Amy grunts in annoyance as she follows the Doctor out of Poseidon Three and straight on towards Poseidon Five.
Inside were rows and rows of greenhouses that all contained many fruits, veg and crops for humanity's survival.
The Doctor quickly scanned through each of them by peeping through the windows. He eventually finds the one that contains the Sea Sprouts. They appeared to be huge football-sized Brussels sprouts… except they were blue instead of green.
"Here are the Sea Sprouts." He pointed out.
"Yuck! Why are they so big… and blue?" Amy uttered.
"These sprouts were grown on the ocean bottom. With Earth's landmass submerged, it was the only place they could grow crops."
He reaches through one of the windows and picks up a huge Sea Sprout. He just about managed to fish one out and was about to hand it over to Amy, but she quickly backed away.
"No way I'm touching that thing!" She retorted. "I hate Brussels sprouts as a child, and I especially hate these."
"That's fine." The Doctor understood. He then bends over and picks up the final ingredient they needed that was growing in a dark, damp corner of the room they were in.
He holds up a huge bunch of green mushrooms with white polka dots on them and holds them in front of Amy. Her immediate response was to cover her mouth and nose with her free arm and resist the urge to throw up.
"You can always carry the Sticky Mushrooms instead." The Doctor teased. "And blimey, are they sticky."
Amy instantly shakes her head and backs away from him. "Nope! I'm good with just carrying the oil, thanks."
"Suit yourself." He joked. "Come on, Amy. Let's get back to the lab and work on the cure.
Now that they found everything they needed, they quickly raced back to Dana's lab, making sure Oswald didn't find out in the process. As soon as they were inside, the Doctor took the three ingredients and mixed them all together in a couple of test tubes. He then places the test tubes in the Centrifuge to help separate the solids from the liquids for about twenty minutes.
Once it was done, he picked out one of the test tubes and held it up to the microscope for some final adjustments. Satisfied with the results, he presents his work to Dana.
Dana was holding back the urge to hurl upon looking at the disgusting concoction the Time Lord called a cure. The combined aroma of the Brine Oil and the Sticky Mushrooms produced a terrible smell. And the colour of the liquid itself didn't help matters. As it looked like a dehydrated person's urine.
"Urgh! Is that witch's brew really going to fix me?" Dana asked.
"I know it looks, smells, and probably tastes horrible. But you'll feel better, I promise… Though it could use some sugar lumps."
Dana takes a deep breath before quickly gulping down the medicine. The foul taste almost made her spit it out in disgust. But she trusts that this will cure her and swallows it fast. She ends up coughing in a grossed-out fashion as she races over to the fridge and drinks a ton of water straight from the bottle, not even bothering to waste time pouring it into a cup.
"BLECH! That is… the foulest thing I have ever tasted!"
"Got a kick, hasn't it?" The Doctor teased, somewhat amused by her reaction. "Yeah, that's the seaworm extract."
Now Amy was starting to gag at the sound of that, making her feel all the more fortunate that she hadn't been infected by the Vortron Radiation. "You've got to be kidding me!"
"I call it, The Doctor's patented Vortron Radiation Elixir. 100% effective. Caution… you may grow hair on the palms of your hands." He spoke like a quirky inventor doing advertisements for his products. "But, until that happens, I need your help, Dana."
"With what?" She asked.
"Vortron energy only comes from some sort of dimensional vortex."
"Are you serious?" Dana asked, not taking this explanation seriously.
"He's serious," Amy spoke up. She'd been around him long enough to know when he was serious or not.
"Just what kind of doctor are you? Really?" Dana questioned. Up until now, she'd been keeping her suspicions about him to herself. But all this talk of aliens and dimensional vortexes forced her to act on her disbelief.
"The kind you need." The Doctor responded. "I mean really need. And if I can find the source of the Vortron Energy I can make everything better."
"And how do we do that?" Amy spoke out.
"Does Poseidon have external scanning equipment?" He asked Dana.
"Of course." She points over to her lab's main computer. "Over there."
The Doctor heads over to the lab's computer and uses his Sonic Screwdriver to activate the external scanners. The scanner soon locks and hones onto the coordinates of the source of the Vortron Radiation. The screen shows them an image of an old shipwreck miles away from their location.
"That's the source of the radiation?" Dana questioned.
Both Amy and Dana were confused about how a shipwreck was connected to the Great Flash and everything it brought to Earth. The Doctor, however, recognised the ship instantly and already had a vague idea of what happened.
"You said Vortron Energy came from some sort of vortex. That's just a shipwreck." Amy pointed out.
"Oh, no no no no no no, Amy Pond." The Doctor silenced her. "That is no ordinary shipwreck. That is the shipwreck of the USS Eldridge."
"Yeah. Like that means anything." She replied sarcastically.
"The Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, the 28th of October 1943. Project Rainbow."
"Nope. Still not getting it." Amy responded as she shook her head.
The Doctor turns around to properly explain it to his clueless companion. "The US Navy experiments with Einstein's Unified Field Theory to make their warships invisible. Instead, they break the laws of trans-dimensional physics. They open a gateway and the Eldridge travels across the world and back again in the blink of an eye. Every man on board is either killed or went insane."
"So, what's it doing on the seabed?" Dana questioned.
"My people took steps to stop the experiment."
"Your people?"
"Time Lords," Amy answered first. "We'll catch up another time."
The Doctor continues his explanation regardless of what Dana is going to ask about the Time Lords.
"The gateway was unstable and the Eldridge disappeared again before they could neutralise it. And now it's here and the gateway's still open. Allowing the Vortron Radiation, the Vashta Nerada, and the giant shark to come through. And now we have to close it before anything else comes through."
The explanation was then cut off by the sounds of machinery powering up. A computer voice announced that the Life Pods were now ready for boarding. The announcement caused The Doctor to start worrying again.
"He's going ahead with it! Those aren't Life Pods your crew will be getting into. They're coffins! Come on, Amy. We have to stop this!"
The Doctor and Amy rush towards the lab's exit hoping to stop Oswald from evacuating his people.
But to their surprise, Oswald anticipated their arrival and was standing on the other side of the door, pointing a gun at their heads. In his other hand, he was holding some rope.
"I suspected you'd go behind my back, Dana. I just didn't want to think you'd go through with it." He tosses the rope to Dana and orders her to tie the Doctor and Amy to the pipe at the end of the lab. "However, you can make amends for your mistake by tying them up."
Dana wanted to object, but the serious look on Oswald's face showed how seriously disappointed he was with her, giving them the access codes behind his back. This was her only chance to start earning back his trust again. With no choice, Dana did as she was told. Oswald forces the duo to back up against the pipe and stay still as Dana ties their hands behind their backs to the pipe.
Once they were secured, Oswald instructed Dana to pack up her lab essentials and prepare for evacuation. As she does so, he addresses The Doctor and Amy one last time.
"I don't like this, Doctor. But getting these people – getting Dana – off Poseidon is all I care about. Which means making sure you can't interfere."
"Oswald please." Dana defended them. "He says the Life Pods aren't safe. You have to listen to him!"
"We've been careful!" He shouted at her. He pauses for a moment to allow himself to calm down. "…I've checked the pods myself. I KNOW they're safe. This way, at least we've got a chance."
"He's right, Dana. It's a chance." The Doctor spoke out in his defence, shocking Amy and Dana. "He wants to keep you safe. Go with him."
Dana hangs her head in sorrow as she turns away from her new friends and prepares to leave with Oswald. He glances back at the two of them one last time before following through with his evacuation plan.
"I'll be back to get you, Doctor."
He then exits the lab with Dana, leaving The Doctor and Amy alone. Once they were out of sight, Amy started struggling against the ropes, trying to break free. But it was no use.
Frustrated with their predicament, she decides to vent her frustration to The Doctor. Why would he let Dana go off with that madman? Why would he suddenly be ok with his plan knowing what'll happen if they get inside the Life Pods?
"What are you playing at?"
The Doctor responded by somehow managing to slip his wrists out of the ropes and freeing himself to Amy's amazement.
"And how did you get out of those ropes?"
"Harry Houdini. Long Story. No time. And arguing about the Pods was just wasting more of it. We need to get to the Tardis and quickly." The Doctor explained.
"The Tardis? … How?" Amy questioned.
"Not sure. But I believe we still have an ally in the base who may know a way… Oh Jones?" He called out.
Jones appears on the lab's computer screen as she answers The Doctor's call.
"You called, Doctor?"
"Show me the service system layout."
Jones complied and showed them a layout of Poseidon. She then darkens the base itself and highlights a set of trenches that run underneath the base.
"Watertight service trenches run beneath Poseidon. Although seabed tunnels connecting with your craft's sealed location have been destroyed, access is achievable."
"Yes!" The Doctor cried out loud. "Thank you, Jones. I would kiss you if you had lips."
"Oh, so you DO like her, huh?" Amy teased him.
The Doctor laughs off his embarrassment, not letting his companion's words get to him.
He memorises the route of trenches that'll lead them back to the Tardis in his head and proceeds to use his Sonic Screwdriver to open up one of the vents above the lab.
"Up you go, Amy."
"Are you sure about this?"
"No. But this is the only way we can get back to the Tardis."
"What are we gonna do once we even get there?"
"We're gonna travel to the USS Eldridge, find the gateway, and shut it down, sending everything that came through back to where they came from." He quickly explained.
They were on the clock now thanks to Oswald's stubbornness to get everyone off Poseidon with the Life Pods. They have to get rid of the Vashta Nerada and the alien shark before they can evacuate safely.
The Doctor puts his hands together and helps Amy get into the vents above. Then he stacks a couple of the lab's chairs atop the counter to allow himself to climb up unaided.
Once inside they make their way through the damp cold vents until they reach the underground trenches on the surface. They have no idea what they'll find once they reach the Eldridge, but they can expect they'll run into the Vashta Nerada. Making a last attempt to stop them from shutting the gateway down.
Upon landing within the Eldridge shipwreck, the Tardis automatically expands the air shell until it completely consumes the entire ship, draining it of water and allowing The Doctor and Amy to breathe once they exited the blue box.
The Doctor steps out first, making sure the area is secure. He takes a deep breath to make sure the Tardis's airfield expansion was a success, which it was to his relief.
"What's it like out there?" Amy called out from inside the Tardis.
"Smells a bit stale. Tastes of engine oil and halibut. But it'll do. Come on out, Amy."
Amy steps out of the Tardis and is surprised that there is oxygen inside a completely submerged wrecked ship.
"How is there oxygen? This the Tardis's doing?"
"Yes. But it's also a projection of the gateway. You probably don't realise it, but this ship is actually lying on its side. The Vortron Energy has caused the gravity of this ship to remain as it was before the gateway was first activated. Fascinating, isn't it? But come along, Pond. We have to find the Accelerator. The heart of the gateway."
The Doctor leads the way forward through the wrecked ship. But they suddenly stop in their tracks upon hearing a familiar sound.
"What was that?" Amy blurted out.
The Doctor points outside the window. Amy was shocked to see that the giant shark was now circling the Eldridge. But the weirdest part of it was that it was swimming upside down from their perspective, due to the Vortron energy manipulating the gravity within the ship. The shark spots them through the small round window and lets out another roar, acknowledging that it knows where they are and what they are up to.
"Is it me, or does that shark seem even more determined to eat us than before?" Amy questioned. "How did it even know we're here?"
"My guess is he sensed the gateway was under threat and is now preventing us from escaping." He theorised. "Maybe he doesn't want to go home. There won't be much in the sea that's bigger than him where he's from. Here he's at the top of the food chain."
Amy shuddered at the thought of there potentially being more sea creatures far bigger than the shark wherever he was from. On Earth, he's a top predator. But on his planet, he was the prey.
"So, turning the Accelerator off will send it home?" Amy clarified.
"Him, the Vashta Nerada, and anything else that's slipped through the trans-dimensional gateway. And hopefully, before those Life Pods are launched. Come along, shake a leg, seaman Pond!"
They continue making their way through the wrecked ship on their quest to find the Accelerator. So far things seemed to be fine. But that all changed once they came across another dark corridor. Most likely infested with Vashta Nerada.
The lights above the corridor were also going haywire, flicking on and off randomly. For them to get through unscathed, they were gonna have to time their jumps carefully and make sure they stayed in the lit-up spots no matter what.
The Doctor takes Amy's hand and carefully guides her from one patch of light to the next, only moving once the lights in the direction they needed to go switched on.
Once the two of them make it through the dark corridors they take a moment to calm their nerves before continuing through the damp, cold, rusted wreck.
"Looks like the shark is not the only one that doesn't want to go home. I think we now know where most of the Vashta Nerada went after we fixed the generator."
"Yep. This just keeps getting better and better." Amy complained.
Once they've recovered, they continue making their way through the ship until they come across another obstacle. It wasn't Vashta Nerada, but powerful jets of hot steam. Too hot to simply walk through, not without burning their skin off.
Beside the wall where the steam blasted against was a corpse of what appeared to be one of the ship's crew. All that remained was his skeleton in an old navy sailor uniform. The Doctor couldn't tell what got him first. The Vashta Nerada or the steam.
He then notices a valve handle on the opposite side of the wall and turns it, hoping that it'll shut off the steam valve. Which to his relief worked out well. He then let go and was about to carry on through, but was soon startled by the valve automatically turning back around and releasing the steam again.
"Amy, the valve won't stay closed. You go through while I hold it."
"Ok, but how will you get through?"
"That door we passed at the top of the steps… Can you find a way to open it from the other side?"
Amy nodded and made her way through the corridor, leaving The Doctor behind. She didn't like being separated from him knowing this ship was infested with Vashta Nerada. But she toughened up and carried on until she came to a ladder leading up.
She climbs up the ladder and finds herself in what appears to be the ship's draining room. She carefully looks around for any signs of shadows, assuming that any she sees has Vashta Nerada hidden in them.
She walks over to the entrance to the draining chamber and notices a big worn-out button on the side. Curious as to what it does, she pushes it.
An alarm goes off as the door she was standing by closes. She watches as she sees the room fill up with water from the huge pipes hanging on the walls within the chamber. The floor then opens up within the chamber, causing all the water to drain out of it. She started to worry from all the noise the pumping room was making, fearing that the Vashta Nerada were alerted to her presence.
Once the room was completely drained of water, the machinery powered down and the door to her side opened up once again.
"I hope no one heard that." She thought to herself. Unfortunately for Amy, someone did hear all that noise she made.
She gets jump-scared by the sound of heavy footsteps coming from behind her. She quickly turned around and was terrified to see the Vashta Nerada reanimating another diver suit with the skeleton of its wearer still inside.
This one was different compared to the ones she and The Doctor encountered on Poseidon. This one was wearing a more old-fashioned diver's suit with the long hose attached to the back of the helmet being dragged across the floor behind it. The suit itself was damaged and stained with dirt, and the helmet and the other metal parts were rusted to hell. It even carried the foul stench of damp clothes and fish, causing Amy to hold her nose.
The diver slowly approaches Amy. Each step it took sent out a shockwave due to the weight of the suit, along with a loud thud.
Without The Doctor to help her, Amy had to figure out a way to get rid of the diver before she could reunite with the Time Lord. Luckily the diver didn't move very fast compared to the advanced diver suits she encountered on Poseidon. Unfortunately, though, the Vashta Nerada raises one of its arms and allows its shadows to spread out from the feet of the suit towards Amy, forcing her to retreat inside the pumping room.
She was safe for now, but the diver continued to chase after her. Amy then realised that she had just backed herself into a corner. The door she just went through was the only way in and out of the pumping room. She was trapped.
But then she managed to come up with an idea. If she could lure the diver further into the chamber she could slip past it and seal it inside. Then she can flush it out of the ship using the pumping chamber.
She started to feel a tingling in the ground beneath her feet as the diver started getting closer to her. Holding her nerves, Amy dashes past the diver and dashes out of the door. Once out, she slaps the button and seals the door behind her. The ship's alarm sounds off again as the chamber fills with water again.
The Diver gets completely submerged in water. The floor then opens up and allows the water to get drained out. The current pulls against the Diver, forcing it out of the chamber. The lifeless puppet attempts to get at Amy by smashing its heavy fists against the window of the chamber, causing it to crack under pressure and Amy to back away. The Diver ends up getting sucked out of the chamber and is ejected from the ship. Amy takes a huge deep breath, relieved that her plan has worked. She kinda wished The Doctor had been around to see her outsmart the big scary diver.
Eventually, Amy reached the other side of the door they passed earlier and opened it up by turning the crank on the side. The Doctor was patiently waiting for her on the other side, giving her a little wave and a cheeky smile once the door had been opened fully.
"Finally. Thanks, Amy. I thought I was going to be stuck out there for good."
"Nah, just until I cleared away the danger." She boasted.
"What danger?"
"Exactly." She cockily responded.
"Anyway." The Doctor spoke out, changing the topic of conversation. "Now to finish the job. We need to find the Accelerator and shut it down."
"I think I may've found it on my way here. Follow me." Amy instructed.
She leads The Doctor back the way she came from and then takes a right down another corridor. At the end of the corridor was a huge room full of pipes, engines and machinery. Next to them was a sign that read "Engine Room."
"Now we're getting somewhere." The Doctor spoke up as he took a look around the room. He looks up at a massive technologically advanced machinery stationed at the top level of the room. "If I'm not mistaken..."
"Which of course you aren't," Amy added.
"Why thank you, Amy. You're right. The Accelerator is at the top of this room."
"And what do we do when we get there?"
"Well, would it be too much to ask for an "off" switch?" He asked/joked.
With all jokes aside, they make their way up the rickety stairs to the set of platform railings that'll lead them to the top. Along the way, they noticed many hazards that were in their way. Such as more steam jets, and electricity sparking out of the Accelerator.
Like before, The Doctor holds the valve wheel, shutting off the steam blocking their way and allowing Amy to go through. "Ladies first." He stated politely.
"Thanks. I'll let you know if it's safe up there."
"Be careful. It looks like the rift is playing havoc with the machinery in here." He warned her.
Amy acknowledged his word of warning and times her approach carefully as she climbed higher and higher up the stairs. She bided her time as the steam and electricity in front of her cleared away, allowing her to pass safely.
She keeps this up for a minute until she reaches the top. Once she arrives she notices three emergency shut-off levers on the wall beside the Accelerator's main control panel. Above the control panel was a huge glass window. Amy thought nothing of it at first, but that changed once she noticed the giant shark outside.
"All right, Doctor!" She shouted down to him. "Good news is I made it to the top safely. And there are in fact three off switches."
She quickly turns around to the sound of the shark roaring. She was shocked to see the Shark up close and personal to the window, staring directly at her with its black eyes.
"Bad news is the shark's here. I think it's trying to break through the window! You gotta get up here now!" She panicked.
The Doctor was then startled by another loud noise coming from the entrance to the Accelerator room they just come from. He turns to the bottom of the stairs and is shocked to see the old, reanimated diver Amy had presumably flushed out walk into the room with its thunderous footsteps. Its body was dripping wet from being sucked out into the sea. The helmet had seaweed attached to its grates, and its glass screen was cracked.
"The shark's not the only problem. There's a reanimated diver down here too!" He shouted back up to her. "I assume this was the danger you mentioned earlier?!"
The Diver began to march up the stairs to reach The Doctor. Taking a deep breath, the composed Time Lord quickly let go of the valve handle and dived past the steam vent just as it went off.
"Hold on, Amy! I'm coming!" She shouted.
He quickly made his way up the stairs, dodging the electrical discharges as efficiently as possible. The Diver walked past the steam and electricity like it was nothing, forcing The Doctor to quicken his pace.
As he was nearing the top of the room, the ship suddenly shook, knocking him off balance and almost sending him over the railings.
"Doctor! The shark is trying to smash through the window! Hurry!" Amy warned him.
The Doctor quickly got back up on his feet and hurried up the remaining stairs. The Diver was still hot on his tail, edging closer and closer to the top.
Once he reached the top, he and Amy raced over to the three levers and quickly pulled two of them down.
The shark swims away from the ship, creating some distance before proceeding with its follow-up charge. Unlike Poseidon's glass domes which were built to withstand a maximum of four charge attacks from the shark. The Eldridge's windows were a lot weaker. The Doctor estimated one more strike would be the end of them. And to make matters worse, the diver had just reached the top of the stairs and was now slowly stomping towards them.
The Doctor and Amy both reach for the middle lever whilst still holding down the other two and use all their strength to pull it down. Both the shark and the Vashta Nerada in the diver suit roar as they close in on their prey.
But with the final lever being pulled down, the Accelerator begins to power down. A huge underwater portal opens up a good distance away from the Eldridge. The shark ends up getting pulled towards the swirling vortex as it is moments away from smashing through the ship's hull.
The Vashta Nerada in the diver suit also end up getting sucked out of it and pulled towards the portal, causing the now empty heavy suit to collapse to the floor with a loud thud.
The shark roared as it fought with all its strength against the vortex. But in the end, it was pulled back through completely, sending it back to whatever planet it came from. Alongside massive streams of shadows that they assumed were the rest of the Vashta Nerada.
Once everything that was sent to Earth had been pulled back in, the vortex collapsed in on itself, resulting in another giant flash identical to the one that opened it in the first place. The brightness was strong enough to force The Doctor and Amy to look away from the temporary blindness.
The mission was over and the day was won. With all the dangers gone, there's nothing left to hold the people back from evacuating Poseidon. The Doctor and Amy cheer and hug each other, celebrating their victory before thinking of heading back to the Tardis. But not without getting one last look outside of the vast ocean.
After the Eldridge gateway was shut down and destroyed for good, The Doctor and Amy eventually reunited with Oswald and Dana in the command centre of Poseidon. The Tardis was parked behind them. They were all watching happily as the people were finally being evacuated safely in the Life Pods. Watching them fly back up to the surface.
"There they go." The Doctor spoke out. "Back to the surface. I daresay daylight never looked so good."
"What about you two? Amy asked as she turned to Oswald and Dana. "Why aren't you evacuating with them?"
"We'll take the next pod," Dana reassured them. She then turns to The Doctor. "Oswald is responding well to your meds, but the pods' SOS beacons will bring a hospital ship. We need to get everybody checked out."
Oswald then approaches The Doctor, wearing an apologetic look on his face. The whole time they'd been here he'd been rude and stubborn. He owed them everything. Starting with an apology.
"I'm sorry, Doctor. I acted like an idiot… Turns out you were right. We saw the Vashta Nerada get sucked out of the pods when you shut down the Eldridge. I should've listened to you." He places his hand on his shoulder. "You saved our skins. And I will forever be grateful for that."
"Well, I couldn't just leave you sitting in the dark, could I?" He chuckled.
Oswald chuckled in response as well, probably for the first time since this whole mess started. There was a brief pause between them as Oswald looked over at the Tardis and then back at The Doctor again. He knows now that he is not from this world, and that he was a trusted ally right from the start.
As he looked out at the remaining pods floating up to the surface, he thought back on the day he lost his brother to the Vashta Nerada. He may not have been the best candidate to take his place as base leader, but he vowed to himself that he'd learn from his mistakes and improve upon humanity's survival. Just as his late grandfather once did.
"Whoever you are, wherever you come from, we owe you everything." He addressed them once again. "We've just had our last harvest sent up to the surface, and I'd be honoured if the two of you would join us for Christmas Dinner."
"Really?" The Doctor replied, surprised by the offer. "I've been so busy saving your lives that I completely forgot it was Christmas Day." He turns to Amy. "What do you think, Amy?"
"Oh, I think it would be brilliant. I'm starving. What are we having?" She asked.
"Oswald's prize crop," Dana answered.
"Oh, marvellous!" The Doctor rejoiced, even though he had no idea what it was. "What's that, then?"
"Sea Pumpkins," Oswald answered joyfully.
"Sea Pumpkins?" The Doctor and Amy said simultaneously.
They then thought back on the greenhouses they'd encountered on their quest to find the ingredients for the Vortron Radiation cure. They remember all the weird underwater grown crops they've seen on the way, such as the blue, football-sized, Sea Spouts. The purple carrots, and perhaps the weirdest of them all. The red bananas. They both cringed at the thought of what a Sea Pumpkin would look like. Or more accurately, what it would taste like.
"You'll love them," Oswald assured them, noticing their uncomfortable looks. "Let's go eat."
Oswald and Dana start to walk down the stairs and head back to the mess hall. They stop their departure in response to the sound of the Tardis powering up. The Doctor and Amy are already inside, deciding to leave without saying goodbye. The Tardis soon vanishes completely, leaving a confused Dana and Oswald alone.
"Huh… I guess they don't like Sea Pumpkins." Dana commented.
Oswald's response to Dana's comment – to her surprise – was him laughing loud and hard. After he eases off of his laughter, he places his hand around Dana's shoulder.
"Come on, Dana. Let's go home."
The two of them continue to laugh as they leave the command centre and finally rejoin the rest of the people on the service, leaving the once great underwater colony behind. Probably never to be visited again. If his late grandfather were still alive to see his life's work abandoned he'd be very angry. If he only knew what was lurking in the shadows of this supposed underwater sanctuary.
The End
Author's Note: And that's the last of them. I know that there's a fifth episode called "The Gunpowder Plot" But I stopped working on this around the time it came out and am not really interested on writing it from scratch now. I'd rather start working on the next fic in my multiverse crossover series. This short story was written years ago and all I did was read through them, correct some spelling errors as best I can and add some more text to flesh it out better. I wrote these when I was a young teen. This was always just something I wanted to add to occupy my readers as they wait for my more important fics. Saying that, I hope you all still enjoyed revisting the old Doctor Who Adventure Game rewrites. If not, no biggie. You could just watch a playthrough of the actual games these chapters were based on Youtube.