AN: Well well well, look what we have here! Azzie, writing fanfiction? It's practically unheard of!

To cut an incredibly long story short: I've missed this (and you!) so very much, medical school finals are an evil bitch, and writers block is a right pain in the ass.

I can't promise consistent updates, but hey, this is something! And this probably won't be the only story to see a new chapter this weekend, so keep your eyes peeled!

Without further ado...

Chapter 11: Midnight

Donna languished by the vast pool, enjoying the warmth trapped by the glass roof. It was so very peaceful - and peace wasn't exactly something they'd had much of over the last few trips. As she adjusted her white towel bathrobe, an attendant approached holding a telephone, and she groaned internally. Taking the receiver and holding it to her ear, she made sure that the others would be able to hear her eye-roll in her tone.

"I said, no."

"Oh, come on." The Doctor whined. "Sapphire waterfall. It's a waterfall made of sapphires. This enormous jewel, the size of a glacier. It reaches the Cliffs of Oblivion and then shatters into sapphires at the edge. They fall a hundred thousand feet into a crystal ravine."

"I bet you say that to all the girls."

"Look, they're boarding now. It's no fun if it's just me and Eris. Four hours, that's all it takes."

There was the sound of rustling fabric, and Eris hissed down the phone.

"Four hours one way, man. One way. Don't come if you don't want to."

She grinned. "See, Eris says that's four hours there and four hours back. That's like a school trip. I'd rather go sunbathing."

He sighed, defeated. "You be careful, that's Xtonic sunlight."

"Oh, I'm safe. It says in the brochure this glass is fifteen feet thick."

"All right, I give up. We'll be back for dinner. We'll try that anti-gravity restaurant. With bibs."

"That's a date. Well, not a date. Oh, you know what I mean. Oh, get off."

Giggling at the look on his face, Eris called down the phone.

"We'll see you later, yeah?"

"Oi. And you be careful, all right?"

He grabbed it back. "Nah. Taking a big space truck with a bunch of strangers across a diamond planet called Midnight? What could possibly go wrong?"

And as Eris muttered under her breath, "famous last words…", he hung up.

The two of them took their seats in the vehicle - which was some kind of cross between a bus and an aeroplane. They ended up in the row nearest the cabin, and settled in as the other passengers found their own seats. The hostess came by with a trolley that was very reminiscent of those used on Earth, a customer-service-friendly smile on her face.

"Complimentary juice pack and complimentary peanuts."

The woman on the other side of the row, a middle-aged blonde, waved her off.

"Just the headphones, please."

"There you go."

And then she turned to them, passing over a series of assorted items as she went through the usual spiel.

"That's the headphones for channels one to thirty six. Modem link for 3D vidgames. Complimentary earplugs. Complimentary slippers. Complimentary juice pack and complimentary peanuts. I must warn you some products may contain nuts."

The Doctor raised an eyebrow. "That'll be the peanuts."

She laughed politely. "Enjoy your trip."

"Oh, I can't wait. Allons-y."

"I'm sorry?"

"It's French, for let's go."

"Fascinating."

As she moved onto the row behind theirs, Eris nudged him in the ribs.

"Vous êtes une menace publique. How's that for some French?"

"Oi, what have I done to deserve that?"

"Do you really want me to list your many misdemeanours?"

"...Not really."

"Headphones for channels one to thirty six."

The duo in the row behind them was made up of an older man and a young, pretty Indian girl. He gave off the air of someone who believed they knew everything.

"Oh no, thank you, not for us."

The girl, presumably his assistant, murmured politely. "Earplugs, please."

He launched into the start of a lecture. "They call it the Sapphire Waterfall, but it's no such thing. Sapphire's an aluminium oxide, but the glacier is just compound silica with iron pigmentation… Have you got that pillow for my neck?"

"Yes, sir."

"And the pills?"

"Yes, all measured out for you. There you go."

Noticing the company, the man leant over the top of their seats.

"Hobbes. Professor Winfold Hobbes."

The Doctor turned to shake his hand. "I'm the Doctor, and this is my daughter Eris. Hello."

"It's my fourteenth time."

"Oh. Our first."

The young woman leant around, smiling. "And I'm Dee Dee, Dee Dee Blasco."

Hobbes scoffed. "Don't bother the man. Where's my water bottle?"

Not liking his attitude, Eris made a point of shaking the girl's hand. "It's lovely to meet you, Dee Dee."

Across the aisle, the hostess was speaking to a couple and their son - who seemed to be making a point of not associating himself with them.

"Complimentary slippers, complimentary juice pack, and complimentary peanuts. I must warn you some products may contain nuts."

The woman beckoned him over. "Don't be silly. Come and sit with us. Look, we get slippers."

The man was a little less delicate. "Jethro. Do what your mother says."

The boy, Jethro, shrugged. "I'm sitting here."

"Oh, he's ashamed of us, but he doesn't mind us paying, does he?"

His mother groaned. "Oh, don't you two start. Should I save the juice pack or have it now? Look, peach and clementine."

As the rear door to the craft slid closed, the Hostess took her position at the front of the passenger area.

"Ladies and gentlemen, and variations thereupon, welcome on board the Crusader Fifty. If you would fasten your seatbelts, we'll be leaving any moment. Shields down." As the windows became shaded, she continued. "I'm afraid the view is shielded until we reach the Waterfall Palace. Also, a reminder. Midnight has no air, so please don't touch the exterior door seals. Fire exit at the rear, and should we need to use it, you first. Now I will hand you over to Driver Joe."

A cheery voice came over the intercom. "Driver Joe at the wheel. There's been a diamondfall at the Winter Witch Canyon, so we'll be taking a slight detour, as you'll see on the map. The journey covers five hundred kliks to the Multifaceted Coast. Duration is estimated at four hours. Thank you for travelling with us, and as they used to say in the olden days, wagons roll."

The projected map across the door to the pilot's cabin showed the estimated route change, before blinking off as the shuttle began to shake.

The hostess continued. "For your entertainment, we have the Music Channel playing retrovids of Earth classics." Screens scrolled down from the ceiling, all showing the same video of an eighties pop song. "Also, the latest artistic installation from Ludovico Klein." An abstract, artistic projection of multicoloured blobs covered the walls. "Plus, for the youngsters, a rare treat. The Animation Archives." And where the map had been, a black and white Betty Boop cartoon appeared. "Four hours of fun time. Enjoy."

She turned to carry out some of her other jobs. Eris scrunched her nose up, overstimulated by the variety of clashing media. The woman on their row didn't look too pleased either, and the Doctor guessed that the rest of the passengers were feeling the same way. So he slipped the sonic screwdriver from his pocket and turned it on. Instantly, the screens and displays switched off. He could hear Hobbes mutter from behind, "Well, that's a mercy."

The hostess fiddled with the controls for a moment, before frowning.

"I do apologise, ladies and gentlemen, and variations thereupon. We seem to have had a failure of the Entertainment System."

Eris winked across at the blonde woman. "Oh, what a shame."

The couple seemed genuinely disappointed.

"But what do we do?"

"We've got four hours of this? Four hours of just sitting here?"

Grinning, the Doctor popped his head above the seat.

"Tell you what. We'll have to talk to each other instead."

As the little map at the front read that they had travelled ninety-eight kliks, the conversation was flowing freely. The couple who'd come aboard with their son - since introduced as Val and Biff - were telling a story from one of their many family holidays.

"So Biff said, I'm going swimming."

"Oh, I was all ready. Trunks and everything. Nose plug."

"He had this little nose plug. You should have seen him."

"And I went marching up to the lifeguard. And he was a Shamboni. You know, those big foreheads?"

"Great big forehead."

"And I said, where's the pool? And he said-"

They finished his sentence in unison. "The pool is abstract!"

The other passengers cracked up laughing as Jethro rolled his eyes, jamming his headphones deeper into his ears.

"It wasn't a real pool!"

"It was a concept."

The Doctor was howling along with the others. "And you were wearing a nose plug."

Biff nodded, pinching his nose. "I was like this. Ooo, where's the pool?"

A little while later, Eris and Dee Dee had moved to the little galley and were getting drinks from a large thermos. They were chatting about Dee Dee's degree in astronomical history.

"I'm just a second-year student, but I wrote a paper on the Lost Moon of Poosh, Professor Hobbes read it, liked it, took me on as researcher, just for the holidays. Well, I say researcher. Most of the time he's got me fetching and carrying. But it's all good experience."

"Ah, you're still learning something from it. And did they ever find it?"

"Find what?"

"The Lost Moon of Poosh."

"Oh, no. Not yet."

The Doctor stuck his head around the door frame, grinning.

"Well. Maybe that'll be your great discovery, one day."

Eris nodded, raising her little polystyrene cup in a toast. "Here's to Poosh."

"To Poosh."

When the in-flight meals were brought out, the Doctor and Eris decided to sit with Sky - neither of them had had much chance to speak to her yet, even though the rest of the passengers had all been perfectly happy to merge into one big conversational bubble. She seemed a little shyer than the rest of them. As they unwrapped their meals, the Doctor shook his head.

"No, no, we're with a friend of ours, Donna. She stayed behind in the Leisure Palace. You?"

"No, it's just me."

"Oh, I've done plenty of that. Travelling on my own. I love it. Do what you want, go anywhere. Although I mostly travel with my daughter now. That's just as fun."

Sky shrugged. "No, I'm still getting used to it. I've found myself single rather recently, not by choice."

Eris frowned, offering her a sad smile. "Oh, I'm sorry. That must have been tough. What happened?"

"Oh, the usual. She needed her own space, as they say. A different galaxy, in fact. I reckon that's enough space, don't you?"

He pulled a face. "Yeah. We had a friend who went to a different universe."

They sat quietly for a moment, poking at the chunks of meat in their ready meals, all wearing slightly disconcerted frowns. Sky sniffed at it cautiously.

"Oh, what's this, chicken or beef?"

The Doctor frowned. "I think it's both."

A little way past the halfway point of their outbound journey, Professor Hobbes had dug out the slides for one of his lectures and loaded them into the projector so he could teach them all a little more about the area they were travelling over. At first, most of them had been bored to tears by the idea, but once he started they found that they were rather engaged by it.

"So, this is Midnight, do you see, bombarded by the sun. Xtonic rays, raw galvanic radiation. Dee Dee, next slide. It's my pet project. Actually, I'm the first person to research this. Because, you see, the history is fascinating. Because there is no history. There's no life in this entire system. There couldn't be. Before the Leisure Palace Company moved in, no one had come here in all eternity. No living thing."

Jethro frowned. "But how do you know? I mean, if no one can go outside."

Val rolled her eyes. "Oh, his imagination. Here we go."

Eris pulled a face. "He's got a point, though. Think about it."

Hobbes nodded. "Exactly. We look upon this world through glass, safe inside our metal box. Even the Leisure Palace was lowered down from orbit. And here we are now, crossing Midnight, but never touching it."

A strange crunching, grinding sound came from the bottom of the vehicle, and it screeched to a juddering halt. There was a moment of silent confusion, and then the commentary from the passengers started to overlap.

"We've stopped. Have we stopped?"

"Are we there?"

"We can't be, it's too soon."

"They don't stop. Crusader vehicles never stop."

The hostess held her hands out in an attempt to placate them all, heading for the intercom phone. "If you could just return to your seats. It's just a small delay." She looked relatively calm, but her shaking hands gave her away. This wasn't supposed to happen.

Biff shrugged. "Maybe just a pit stop."

Hobbes scoffed as though the very idea was ludicrous. "There's no pit to stop in. I've been on this expedition fourteen times. They never stop."

Sky huffed. "Well, evidently we have stopped, so there's no point in denying it."

Jethro raised an eyebrow. "We've broken down."

His mother sighed. "Thanks, Jethro."

"In the middle of nowhere!"

"That's enough. Now stop it."

Finishing her phone call and plastering a smile on her face, the hostess turned to face them again. "Ladies and gentlemen, and variations thereupon. We're just experiencing a short delay. The driver needs to stabilise the engine feeds. It's perfectly routine, so if you could just stay in your seats."

The Doctor, not as convinced by that as the other passengers, sauntered over to the driver's door.

"No, I'm sorry, sir, I… Could you please-?"

He flashed her the psychic paper. "There you go. John and Eris Smith. Engine expert and apprentice. Two ticks."

He opened the driver's door and held it open long enough to allow Eris to follow him in, ignoring the hostess' begging for them to stop.

"I'm sorry, sir, miss. if you could just sit down. You're not supposed to be in there."

The two crew members in the cockpit were, understandably, rather perturbed by the intrusion.

"Sorry. If you could return to your seat, sir."

But the Doctor just flashed the psychic paper, knowing that it would fix the issue. "Company insurance. Let's see if we can get an early assessment. So, what's the problem, Driver Joe?"

"We're stabilising the engine feeds. Won't take long."

"Er, no, because that's the engine feed, that line there, and it's fine. And it's a micropetrol engine, so stabilising doesn't really make sense, does it? Sorry. I'm the Doctor, I'm very clever. And this is Eris, who also happens to be a particularly bright spark. So, tell us what's wrong?"

The second man at the controls shrugged, gesturing at the readouts. "We just stopped. Look, all systems fine, everything's working, but we're not moving."

"Yeah, you're right. No faults. And who are you?"

"Claude. I'm the mechanic. Trainee."

Grinning, Eris shook his hand. "Eris, technically a trainee too. Nice to meet you."

Joe tapped one of the screens. "I've sent a distress signal. They should dispatch a rescue truck, top speed."

"How long till they get here?"

"About an hour."

The Doctor's eyes lit up. "Well, since we're waiting, shall we take a look outside? Just lift the screens a bit?"

But Joe shook his head. "It's a hundred percent Xtonic out there. We'd be vaporised."

"Nah. Those windows are Finitoglass. They'd give you a couple of minutes. Go on, live a little."

The two of them exchanged looks for a few moments, before deciding that it really couldn't hurt that much to give it a try. Besides, it would be a good story to tell the rest of the lads back at the station.

"Well. Alright then."

And Joe raised the front screen. The sight they were greeted with was truly stunning, unlike anything they had ever seen before. All the way out to the horizon, the structures were composed entirely of diamonds. There was such beauty, with the sun catching every facet and edge, casting the prettiest of shimmers across the setting in front of them.

"Wow."

Eris leant across the controls, smiling widely at the sight. "Oh, that is beautiful."

Claude agreed, leaning slightly against her in the cramped space. "Look at all those diamonds. Poisoned by the sun. No-one can ever touch them."

The Doctor hummed. "Joe, you said we took a detour?"

He nodded. "Just about forty kliks to the west."

"Is that a recognised path?"

"No, it's a new one. The computer worked it out on automatic."

"So we're the first. This piece of ground. No one's ever been here before. Not in the whole of recorded history."

As the four of them grinned at the thought, Claude spotted something that made him frown. "Did you just…? No, sorry, it's nothing."

But the other's weren't happy with 'nothing', and pressed a little harder. "What was it? What did you see?"

"Just there. That ridge. Like, like a shadow. Just, just for a second."

"What sort of shadow?"

A steady beep from the console cut him off before he could answer, and Joe shook his head.

"Xtonic rising. Shields have to go down."

As the heavy grey screen descended, Claude leapt forwards, putting his finger against the glass to emphasise what he'd seen. "Look, look. There it is, there it is. Look, there."

The Doctor frowned, trying to see what was going on. "Where? What was it?"

But the shield had closed fully.

Claude sighed. "Like just something shifting. Something sort of dark, like it was running."

"Running which way?"

"Towards us."

There were a few moments of very awkward silence before Joe sighed.

"Right, Doctor, Eris, back to your seat. And, er, not a word of any of this. Rescue's on its way. If you could close the door. Thank you."

Sky was waiting by the door for them as they left, shooting each other slightly thoughtful looks.

"What did they say? Did they tell you? What is it? What's wrong?"

He shrugged, trying to reassure her. "Oh, just stabilising. Happens all the time."

She seemed to believe it, huffing in irritation. "I don't need this. I'm on a schedule. This is completely unnecessary."

The hostess ushered them away from the doors. "Back to your seats, thank you."

As she ducked into the cockpit, Dee Dee popped up above the seat back to talk to them quietly.

"Excuse me, Doctor, but they're micropetrol engines, aren't they?"

Hobbes tutted. "Now, don't bother the man."

She ignored him. "My father was a mechanic. Micropetrol doesn't stabilise. What does stabilise mean?"

The Doctor, knowing that the excuse he'd just used would never fly with the clever young student, decided to go for a half-truth. "Well. Bit of flim-flam. Don't worry, they're sorting it out."

Now paying attention - and jumping to his own conclusions - Hobbes piped up. "So it's not the engines?"

"It's just a little pause, that's all."

"How much air have we got?"

"Professor, it's fine."

Unfortunately, his words had been audible throughout the shuttle - and they were starting to cause problems.

"What did he say?" Biff frowned.

"Nothing."

Val looked like she was on the brink of a nervous breakdown. "Are we running out of air?

Seemingly realising the damage he'd just done, Hobbes tried to backtrack. "I was just speculating…"

When the hostess reappeared from the cockpit, the passengers practically jumped down her throat with questions.

"Is that right, miss? Are we running out of air?"

"Is that what the Captain said?"

She looked a little flustered at the onslaught. "If you could all just remain calm."

"How much air have we got?"

One row back, Jethro sighed. "Mum, just stop it."

"I assure you, everything is under control."

Biff huffed. "Well, doesn't look like it to me."

And his wife jerked her thumb at the Professor. "Well, he said it."

Dee Dee tried her best to reassure everyone - not that she could be heard over the general hubbub starting to rise. "It's fine. The air is on a circular filter."

"He started it-"

"Well what if-"

"-do about it then?"

"How is this going to-"

Rolling her eyes, feeling a thumping headache starting to come on what with all the babble, Eris whistled sharply. "Everyone! Quiet!" She couldn't help but sigh with relief when they all shut up. "Thank you. Now, if you'd care to listen to my good friend Dee Dee."

"Oh. Er," The girl looked surprised to have been called upon, but did her best nevertheless. "It's just that, well, the air's on a circular filter, so we could stay breathing in here for ten years."

Grateful for the fact everyone was now listening, the Doctor nodded. "There you go. And I've spoken to the Captain. I can guarantee you everything's fine."

As if whatever was making the noise had been waiting for his voice as the cue, two solid thuds rang off the outer metal casing of the ship.

Knock. Knock.

The babble started to return.

"What was that?"

"It must be the metal. We're cooling down. It's just settling."

"Rocks. It could be rocks falling."

"What I want to know is, how long do we have to sit here!?"

There was another pair of thumps.

Sky frowned, wrapping her arms around herself. "What is that?"

Val flinched. "There's someone out there."

Hobbes scoffed. "Now, don't be ridiculous."

Dee Dee was just trying to keep the peace. "Like I said, it could be rocks."

But the Hostess quickly quashed that thought, which hadn't necessarily eased the tension in the room. "We're out in the open. Nothing could fall against the sides."

Thud. Thud.

Eris felt a smirk slip onto her face. "Knock, knock."

Matching her expression, Jethro sidled over and nudged her in the ribs. "Who's there?"

As the two of them snickered, two more thuds rang through the shell of the ship. Sky looked seriously freaked now.

"Is there something out there? Well? Anyone? What the hell is making that noise?"

Hobbes shook his head, trying to be reassuring; it really didn't come across that way, though.

"I'm sorry, but the light out there is Xtonic. That means it would destroy any living thing in a split second. It is impossible for someone to be outside."

Two more thuds.

"Well, what the hell is that, then?"

Curiosity now very much piqued, the Doctor had pressed his stethoscope to an accessible area of the hull, ignoring the Hostess' pleas for him to return to his assigned seat.

"Hello?"

The next two knocks came quicker, and in a different location to the previous ones. They sounded closer to the emergency exit door.

"It's moving." Jethro muttered, backing up against the seats. His mother grabbed his hand.

"It's trying the door."

Hobbes was getting more irate by the second. "There is no it. There's nothing out there. Can't be."

Thud, thud. Thud, thud. Thud, thud.

"That's the entrance. Can it get in?"

Dee Dee shook her head. "No. That door's on two hundred weight hydraulics."

Hobbes grabbed her by the wrist, hissing under his breath. "Stop it. Don't encourage them."

"Well what do you think it is?"

Hauling himself out of the chair, Biff stomped over to the entrance door. His wife tensed, her breath catching in her chest. "Biff, don't."

The Doctor agreed with her assessment. "Mister Cane. Better not."

The man simply shrugged. "Nah, it's cast iron, that door." And he whacked his fist against it three times.

He got three solid knocks in return. That freaked Val out even more, clinging to her son's arm.

"Three times. Did you hear that? It did it three times."

"It answered."

"It did it three times!"

Seeing that this situation could descend into utter chaos, the Doctor moved to the centre of the room, hands held out. "All right, all right, all right. Everyone calm down."

Sky was now incredibly pale. "No, but it answered. It answered. Don't tell me that thing's not alive. It answered him."

There were another three thuds, and the Hostess shook her head. It was clear that she was doing her best to keep it together. "I really must insist you get back to your seats."

"No, don't just stand there telling us the rules. You're the hostess. You're supposed to do something."

Walking over to the door, doing his best to hide his own anxiety, the Doctor's fist hovered for a second before hitting the door. Four times, four knocks. There was a long pause with nothing, and everyone in the bus relaxed a little.

And then, four knocks came in reply.

Visibly shaking now, Sky was shouting frantically. "What is it? What the hell's making that noise? She said she'd get me. Stop it. Make it stop. Somebody make it stop. Don't just stand there looking at me. It's not my fault. He started it with his stories."

Dee Dee reached for her. "Calm down, please!"

"And he made it worse!"

Val shook her head, irritated. "You're not helping."

"Why didn't you leave it alone? Stop staring at me. Just tell me what the hell it is."

"Calm down!"

The thuds started up again, this time on the roof - and there was a clear direction to their movement. They were heading in her direction.

"It's coming for me. Oh, it's coming for me. It's coming for me. It's coming for me. It's coming for me."She backed up to the driver's door, hyperventilating as the sounds became even more aggressive. Realising what was about to happen, the Doctor reached for her.

"Get out of there!"

But it was too late. With a colossal boom, the shuttle rocked violently, sparks flying as the electrical systems shorted and the lights went out. It was only dark for a handful of moments before the low emergency lighting switched on, revealing the sprawling pile of people in the middle of the aisle. It wasn't very powerful, but it was enough to chase back some of the shadows in the confined space. Everyone had been standing so close together that when the turbulence had occurred, they'd knocked eachother over like bowling pins.

On one of the entertainment screens above, Rose Tyler was front and centre. She was only visible from the neck up, and the words she was saying were inaudible. But, had anyone been looking - rather, had two particular time travellers been facing the right direction instead of crumpled in a heap - they would have been able to make out the words on her lips. The names she was desperate for someone to hear. The image was only there for a few moments, and then the power dropped again. No one was any the wiser that she had been there.

Groaning, the Doctor rubbed at the back of his head, certain that a bruise would blossom beneath his hair after being thrown against the arm of one of the seats.

"Arms, legs, neck, head, nose. I'm fine. Eris, you alright?"

"Just about, yeah. I think your knee gave me a concussion."

Helping her shift into an upright position, he used the sonic to check for any major damage before pressing a kiss to the side of her head. "Ah, you'll live. Still got a brain in there."

She poked him in the ribs, making him twitch away. "Want me to check if you've got one or not? Actually no, it's not even worth looking."

"Oi!" He shifted to get a proper look at the rest of the group as they untangled themselves. "Anyway, how are we? Everyone alright?"

There was a hum of muttered yeses, before Professor Hobbes' voice cut through the rest.

"Earthquake. Must be."

Dee Dee shook her head. "But that's impossible. The ground is fixed. It's solid."

The hostess got to her feet, fishing in the net attached to the back of the nearest chair. "We've got torches. Everyone take a torch. They're in the back of the seats."

Val, tears in her eyes, reached out to her son in the dim light. "Oh, Jethro. Sweetheart, come here."

But the young man had something else on his mind. "Never mind me. What about her?" And he pointed a shaking finger at the ravaged remains of the front row of seats, at the hunched figure of Sky in the rubble.

"What happened to the seats?"

"Who did that?"

"They've been ripped up."

Getting to his feet, the Doctor held his hands out placatingly, trying to calm everyone down.

"It's all right, it's all right, it's all right. It's over. We're still alive. Look, the wall's still intact. Do you see? We're safe."

This was quickly disproven by the air hostess - having failed to get any response from the drivers, she attempted to open the door. This simple, innocent motion almost caused a calamity, bright white light from the outside streaming in and a terrible howling vacuum… the door slid closed again after a few seconds, the ship working automatically, leaving the passengers staring at it in shock.

"What happened? What was that?"

"Is it the driver? Have we lost the driver?"

"The cabin's gone."

"Don't be ridiculous. It can't be gone. How can it be gone?"

"Well, well, you saw it."

"There was nothing there, like it was ripped away."

"What are you doing?" Biff stopped arguing with his fellow tourists briefly as he saw the Doctor fiddling with a panel by the door.

The Doctor didn't pay much attention to the man. "Ah, that's better. Little bit more light. Left a bit, Eris. Thank you. Molto bene." And he pulled the panel away, to the sound of more clamouring concern from the passengers.

"Do you know what you're doing?"

"The cabin's gone. You'd better leave that wall alone."

"The cabin can't be gone."

He shook his head. "No, it's safe. Any rupture would automatically seal itself. But something sliced it off. You're right, the cabin's gone."

The Hostess frowned. "But if it gets separated…?"

"It loses integrity. I'm sorry, they've been reduced to dust. The driver and the mechanic. But they sent a distress signal. Help is on its way. They saved our lives. We are going to get out of here, I promise. We're still alive, and they are going to find us."

Jethro caught his attention. "Doctor, look at her. Something has to be wrong, why won't she turn around?"

"Right. Yes. Sorry. Have we got a medical kit? And, um, what's her full name?"

When the hostess realised that his question had been directed at her, she took a moment to think. "Silvestry. Mrs Sky Silvestry."

Moving to crouch beside the woman, with Eris waiting just behind him, he kept his voice gentle. "Sky? Can you hear me? Are you all right? Can you move, Sky? Just look at me."

He was vaguely aware of a conversation happening behind him.

"That noise from outside. It's stopped."

"Well, thank God for that."

"But what if it's not outside anymore? What if it's inside?"

"Inside? Where?"

"It was heading for her."

Having had no response, the Doctor tried again. "Sky? It's all right, Sky. I just want you to turn around, face me."

Very slowly, unflinching even as her eyes found the bright torch beams, Sky turned to face him.

"Sky?"

And, her voice faltering slightly, she replied. "Sky?"

"Are you alright?"

"Are you alright?"

"Are you hurt?"

"Are you hurt?"

"You don't have to talk."

"You don't have to talk."

"I'm trying to help."

"I'm trying to help."

"My name's the Doctor."

"My name's the Doctor."

"Okay, can you stop?"

"Okay, can you stop?"

"I'd like you to stop."

"I'd like you to stop."

It hadn't taken the little gaggle of humans at the back very long to realise what she was doing, and they started talking over eachother in panic, Sky's voice occasionally audible over their own as she repeated every word.

"Why's she doing that?"

"She's gone mad."

"Stop it. I said stop it!"

"I said stop it."

"I don't think she can."

"All right now, stop it. This isn't funny."

It was difficult to think straight with so many people talking, and Eris tried to calm the group down. "Shush, shush, all of you. This isn't helping."

"My name's Jethro."

The Doctor was a bit less diplomatic in his approach. "Jethro, leave it. Just shut up. Sky, why are you repeating? What is that, learning? Copying? Absorbing?"

Eris cut in. "The square root of pi is 1.772453850905516027298167483341. Wow."

Sky had successfully repeated every number without failing or flinching.

"But that's impossible."

"She couldn't repeat all that."

"Tell her to stop. She's driving me mad! Just make her stop!"

The humans were babbling over each other again.

"Stop her staring at me. Shut her up."

"It's got to be a trick."

"That's impossible.

": I'm telling you, whatever your name is-"

"Her eyes. What's wrong with her eyes?"

"She can copy anything."

"Biff, don't just stand there, do something. Make her stop!"

"Look, you're scaring my wife."

"Mrs Silvestry."

"Six, six, six." (That, of course, was Jethro's contribution).

"She's different. She's something else. Do something. Make her stop!"

Two things happened simultaneously that got everyone to finally stop talking for a moment - the main lights came back on, and Eris climbed up on a chair to bang her fist against the ceiling.

The quiet didn't last long, however. Val looked particularly jittery, and was picking at the sleeves of her cardigan so fiercely that she was probably going to put holes in them sooner rather than later. "What about the rescue? How long's it going to take?"

The Hostess checked her watch. "About sixty minutes, that's all."

Unable to keep his mouth shut, Hobbes tried to take control of the situation. "Then I suggest we all calm down. This panic isn't helping. That poor woman is evidently in a state of self induced hysteria. We should leave her alone."

Something had changed. Not that everyone had noticed - the first word to come from two mouths rather than one was enough to alert the Doctor and Eris, but of the others it was only Jethro who had realised by the end of the sentence.

"Doctor."

"I know."

Hobbes continued. "Doctor, now step back. I think you should leave her… alone. What's she doing?"

Finally, they had spotted it.

Val gasped. "How can she do that? She's talking with you. And with me. Oh, my God. Biff, what's she doing?"

"She's repeating, at exactly the same time."

"That's impossible."

"There's not even a delay."

"Oh man, that is weird."

Aware that he was also being mimicked, the Doctor stood and moved a few steps away from Sky, pulling Eris with him. "I think you should all be very, very quiet. Have you got that?"

"How's she doing it?"

"Mrs Cane, please be quiet."

"How can she do that? She's got my voice! She's got my words!"

"Come on, be quiet. Hush, now. Hush. She's doing it to me!"

"Just stop it, all of you. Stop it, please." Turning back to Sky, still keeping Eris a little bit further away, he decided to test just how far her ability for simultaneous repetition went. "Now then, Sky. Are you Sky? Is Sky still in there? Mrs Silvestry? You know exactly what I'm going to say. How are you doing that? Roast beef. Bananas. The Medusa Cascade. Bang! Rose Tyler, Martha Jones, Donna Noble, Tardis. Shamble bobble dibble dooble. Oh, Doctor, you're so handsome. Yes, I am, thank you. A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O." Again, perfect copying. Now more than a little unsettled, he stood up properly and rejoined the group.

"First she repeats, then she catches up. What's the next stage?"

The look on Eris' face mirrored the way he felt exactly. "No idea. That's why I'm keeping my damn mouth shut."

Dee Dee frowned, "Next stage of what?"

Jethro was already at the far back of the shuttle, keeping as much distance between himself and Sky as possible. "That's not her, is it? That's not Mrs Silvestry any more."

The Doctor nodded, "I don't think so, no. I think the more we talk, the more she learns. Now, I'm all for education, but in this case, maybe not. Let's just move back. Come on. Come with me. Everyone, get back. All of you, as far as you can."

They all tucked into the little galley space at the opposite end of the space, most of them doing their best to avoid eye contact with the thing that had once been Sky Silvestry.

Val had gone very pale. "Doctor, make her stop."

"Val, come with me. Come to the back. Stop looking at her. Come on, Jethro. You too. Everyone, come on. Fifty minutes, that's all we need. Fifty minutes till the rescue arrives. And she's not exactly strong. Look at her. All she's got is our voices."

"I can't, I can't look at her. It's those eyes."

Staring slightly into space, the words seemed to leave Dee Dee's mouth without her even realising. "We must not look at goblin men."

Biff frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"

The Doctor needed a moment to remember where he'd heard it before. "It's a poem. Christina Rossetti."

She nodded, finishing the verse. "We must not look at goblin men. We must not buy their fruits. Who knows upon what soil they fed Their hungry, thirsty roots?"

"Actually, I don't think that's helping."

Hobbes shook his head. "She's not a goblin, or a monster. She's just a very sick woman!"

Jethro was chewing at the chipped polish on his fingernails. "Maybe that's why it went for her."

"There is no it!"

"Think about it though. That knocking went all the way round the bus until it found her. And she was the most scared out of all of us. Maybe that's what it needed. That's how it got in."

"For the last time. Nothing can live on the surface of Midnight!"

The Doctor groaned. "Professor, I'm glad you've got an absolute definition of life in the universe, but perhaps the universe has got ideas of its own, hmm? Now trust me, I've got previous. I think there might well be some consciousness inside Mrs Silvestry, but maybe she's still in there. And it's our job to help her."

Biff scoffed. "Well, you can help her. I'm not going near."

"No, I've got to stay back, because if she's copying us, then maybe the final stage is becoming us. I don't want her becoming me, or things could get a whole lot worse."

"Oh, like you're so special." Val hissed.

"As it happens, yes, I am. So that's decided. We stay back, and we wait. When the rescue ship comes, we can get her to hospital."

Having been entirely silent for the last few minutes, the words the Hostess spoke made everyone run cold. "We should throw her out."

"I beg your pardon?"

"Can we do that?"

"Don't be ridiculous!" The Doctor groaned - things were clearly getting out of control, and the group seemed to be discussing the idea with a lot less disgust than he'd like. Eris was very clearly struggling to keep her mouth shut, torn between the thought of feeding whatever was inside Sky and ripping the idiots a new one.

Feeling a bit more confident now, the Hostess continued. "That thing, whatever it is, killed the driver, and the mechanic, and I don't think she's finished yet. Look at her. Look at her eyes. She killed Joe, and she killed Claude, and we're next."

"She's still doing it. Just stop it. Stop talking. Stop it!"

"Biff, don't, sweetheart."

"But she won't stop. We can't throw her out, though. We can't even open the doors."

"Yes, we can. Because there's an air pressure seal. Like when you opened the cabin door, you weren't pulled out. You had a couple of seconds, because it takes the pressure wall about six seconds to collapse. Well, six seconds exactly. That's enough time to throw someone out."

Unable to help it any more, Eris let her head fall back against the wall with a thud. "Thanks, Dee Dee. Just what we needed."

"Would it kill her outside?"

"I don't know. But she's got a body now. It would certainly kill the physical form."

"I wouldn't risk the cabin door twice, but we've got that one. All we need to do is grab hold of her and throw her out."

The Doctor couldn't just stand around and hear any more talk like that. "Now, listen, all of you! For all we know that's a brand new life form over there. And if it's come inside to discover us, than what's it found? This little bunch of humans. What do you amount to, murder? Because this is where you decide. You decide who you are. Could you actually murder her? Any of you? Really? Or are you better than that?"

There was a slight pause, and then -

"I'd do it."

"So would I."

"And me."

"I think we should."

"I want her out."

He felt his jaw hit the floor. "You can't mean that!"

"I'm sorry, but you said it yourself, Doctor. She is growing in strength."

"That's not what I said."

"I want to go home. I'm sorry. I want to be safe."

"You'll be safe any minute now. The rescue truck is on its way."

The Hostess shook her head. "But what happens then, Doctor? If it takes that thing back to the Leisure Palace, if that thing reaches civilisation. What if it spreads?"

"No, because when we get back to the base, I'll be there to contain it."

Val sniffed haughtily. "You haven't done much so far."

Biff concurred with his wife. "You're just standing in the back with the rest of us!"

The Hostess continued. "She's dangerous. It's my job to see that this vessel is safe, and we should get rid of her."

Hobbes was sweating slightly. "Now, hang on. I think perhaps we're all going a little bit too far."

He relaxed a bit at that. "At last. Thank you."

"But… Two people are dead."

"Don't make it a third! Jethro, what do you say?"

The teenager sniffed. "I'm not killing anyone."

"Thank you."

His mother rolled her eyes. "He's just a boy!"

"What, so I don't get a vote?"

The Doctor groaned. "There isn't a vote. It's not happening. Ever. If you try to throw her out that door, you'll have to get past me first."

The Hostess shrugged. "Okay."

Biff looked very sure of himself. "Fine by me."

"Oh, now you're being stupid. Just think about it - could you actually take hold of someone and throw them out of that door?"

"Calling me a coward?"

Not liking the way the strange man spoke to her husband, Val sneered. "Who put you in charge, anyway?"

And somehow, that was enough to unleash an onslaught of questions from the other passengers - all shadowed by the echo of Sky's voice from the other end of the carriage.

"I'm sorry, but you're a Doctor of what, exactly?"

"He wasn't even booked in. The rest of you, tickets in advance. He just turned up out of the blue."

"Where from?"

He groaned. "I'm just travelling. I'm a traveller, that's all."

"Like an immigrant?"

"Who were you talking to? Before you got on board, you were talking to someone on the phone, the pair of you. Who was that?"

"Just Donna. Just my friend."

"And what were you saying to her?"

"He hasn't even told us his name."

Jethro winced slightly, like he didn't want what he was about to say to really come out of his mouth. "The thing is though, Doctor… you've been loving this."

"Oh, Jethro, not you."

"No, but ever since all the trouble started, you've been loving it."

Hobbes nodded. "It has to be said, you do seem to have a certain glee."

"All right, I'm interested. Yes, I can't help it. Because whatever's inside her, it's brand new, and that's fascinating!"

Val frowned. "What, you wanted this to happen?"

"No!"

"And you were talking to her, all on your own, before all the trouble. Right at the front, you were talking to that Sky woman, the two of you together. I saw you, we all did."

The Hostess nodded towards the door. "And you went into the cabin."

"What were you saying to her?"

"I was just talking."

"Saying what?"

"You called us humans like you're not one of us."

"He did. That's what he said."

Dee Dee looked thoughtful, worried. "And the wiring. He went into that panel and opened up the wiring."

"That was after!"

"But how did you know what to do?"

"Because I'm clever!"

That outburst went down like a lead balloon. Eris, still fighting not to feed the thing growing within Sky's mind, groaned aloud, and slowly clapped her hands. She could see exactly where this was going. After a few moments of silence, the other passengers started clamouring again, offended, suspicious, and generally even more aggravated than they had been ten seconds previously.

"I see. Well, that makes things clear."

"And what are we, then? Idiots?"

"Oh, that's not what I meant!"

"If you're clever, then what are we?"

"You've been looking down on us from the moment we walked in."

"Even if he goes, he's practically volunteered."

Eris shouldered her way in front of the Doctor, arms folded. "Oh come on, just listen to yourselves, please. You're good people, you're not like this!"

"Do you mean we throw him out as well?"

"If we have to."

The Doctor couldn't help but feel alarm rising in his chest - it wasn't himself he was worried for, per se, but he was worried about the impact any stupid decisions would have on the rest of the passengers. And, of course, about what they might do to his daughter in their panic. "Look, just- Right, sorry, yes, hold on, just…. I know you're scared, and so am I. Look at me, I am! But we have all got to calm down and cool off and think."

Hobbes' face held an element of curiosity, reverting to his usual scientific tendencies even in a crisis. "Perhaps you could tell us your name."

"What does it matter?"

"Then tell us."

"John Smith."

Seeing the disbelief on their faces, Eris wished that, just for once, her dad shared her tendency to use the Brigadier's last name for cover.

"Your real name!"

"He's lying. Look at his face!"

"His eyes are the same as hers!"

"Why won't you tell us?"

"It's a simple enough question."

"He's been lying to us right from the start!"

"What's your name? Really?"

"No one's called John Smith! Come off it."

The Doctor ran a hand over his face, not entirely sure how they'd ended up in this position. "Now listen to me. Listen to me right now, because you need me, all of you. If we are going to get out of this, then you need me!"

"So you keep saying. You've been repeating yourself more than her."

"If anyone's in charge, it should be the Professor. He's the expert."

But something had changed. A slight audible slip, the loss of a layer of sound that only went noticed by two people. Eris felt all the blood run out of her face, and turned slowly to stare at Sky, looking for the tiniest of changes that could have happened in the last few moments. Behind her, Jethro tapped his mum on the shoulder.

"Mum, stop. Just look."

His dad huffed. "You keep out of this, Jethro."

"Look at her!"

And they all did - and almost simultaneously, realised what had changed.

"She's stopped."

"When did she?-" But when the Doctor spoke, Sky's voice still echoed his perfectly. "No, she hasn't. She's still doing it."

Val frowned. "She looks the same to me. No, she's stopped. Look, I'm talking, and she's not!"

Biff tried it too. "What about me, is she? Look. Look at that. She's not doing me. She's let me go."

Then it was the Hostess' turn. "Mrs Silvestry? Nor me. Nothing."

"Sky, what are you doing?" Still, she followed the Doctor.

"She's still doing him."

"Doctor, it's you. She's only copying you."

"Why me? Why are you doing this?"

Eris had grabbed her dad by the elbow, and he could practically feel her nails digging in even through his jacket, the worry pouring off her in waves. "Oh, she won't leave him alone."

"Do you see? I said so. She's with him."

"They're together."

"How do you explain it, Doctor, if you're so clever?"

"I don't know. Sky, stop it. I said stop it. Just stop it."

"Look at the two of them."

Detaching himself from his daughter's grasp, squeezing her hand for a moment before making his way slowly down the carriage, the Doctor chose his words carefully.

"Mrs Silvestry, I'm trying to understand. You've captured my speech. What for? What do you need? You need my voice in particular. The cleverest voice in the room. Why? Because I'm the only one who can help?" He crouched in front of her, forehead creased in a frown. "Oh, I'd love that to be true, but your eyes, they're saying something else. Listen to me. Whatever you want, if it's life, or form, or consciousness, or voice, you don't have to steal it. You can find it without hurting anyone. And I'll help you. That's a promise. So, what do you think?"

Then it happened - a fraction of a pause, a split moment no longer than a blink, and Sky's mouth formed a question.

"Do we have a deal?"

And the Doctor copied her.

Eris felt her stomach drop through her shoes as the conversation started again.

"Hold on, did she-?"

"She spoke first."

"She can't have."

"She did."

"She spoke first."

Sky's tone was shifting, less robotic than it had been. "Oh, look at that. I'm ahead of you."

In contrast, the Doctor's voice sounded strained. "Oh, look at that. I'm ahead of you."

"Did you see? She spoke before he did. Definitely."

"He's copying her."

"Doctor, what's happening?"

Slowly, Sky started to get to her feet, leaving the Doctor on the floor. "I think it's moved."

"I think it's moved."

"I think it's letting me go."

"I think it's letting me go."

Dee Dee frowned. "What do you mean? Letting you go from what?"

Biff just shook his head. "But he's repeating now. He's the one doing it. It's him!"

Jethro nodded. "They're separating."

The Professor tentatively stepped down the aisle, reaching out a hand. "Mrs Silvestry, is that you?"

"Yes. Yes, it's me."

"Yes. Yes, it's me."

"I'm coming back. Listen."

"I'm coming back-"

"It's me."

"Listen. It's me."

Jethro looked like he wanted to be sick. "Like it's passed into the Doctor. It's transferred. Whatever it is, it's gone inside him."

Dee Dee, still watching them closely, shook her head. "No, that's not what happened."

"But look at her…"

Sky was about half way up the aisle now. "Look at me, I can move."

"Look at me-"

"I can feel again."

"I can move. I can feel again."

"I'm coming back to life."

"I'm coming back to life."

"And look at him. He can't move."

"And look at him. He can't move."

Shoving her way past Sky as aggressively as possible, Eris dropped to her knees beside the Doctor, looking carefully at his face, checking his pulse. His hearts were racing, and beads of sweat were starting to collect at his hairline.

Sky was still talking, seemingly unbothered by being slammed into by the little brunette. "Help me."

"Help me."

"Professor?"

"Professor?"

"Get me away from him."

"Get me away from him."

"Please."

"Please."

Remembering that he'd offered her his hand, Hobbes stepped forwards, put an arm around her back, and led her away from the two travellers at the other end of the carriage. The other passengers were clustered in the back rows of seats now, half wanting to be close and ask her all the questions they had, half wanting a physical barrier between them and the carnage still happening.

"Oh, thank you."

"Oh, thank you."

Jethro looked like he didn't know whether to be relieved or devastated. "They've completely separated."

Biff nodded, one arm around his son, the other around his wife. "It's in him. Do you see? I said it was him all the time."

Val seemed to be on the verge of bursting into tears. "She's free. She's been saved."

"Oh, it was so cold."

"Oh, it was so cold."

"I couldn't breathe."

"I couldn't breathe."

"I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry."

"I must have scared you so much."

"I must have scared you so much."

Val reached out, bringing her into the group. "No, no, it's all right. I've got you. Ooh, there you are, my love. It's gone. Everything's all right now."

Dee Dee flinched backwards slightly. "I wouldn't touch her."

"But it's gone. She's clean. It passed into him."

"That's not what happened."

Hobbes scoffed. "Thank you for your opinion, Dee, but clearly Mrs Silvestry has been released."

"No!"

Val snapped. "Just leave her alone. She's safe, isn't she? Jethro, it's let her go, hasn't it?"

Slightly shaky, the boy answered. "I think so, yeah. Looks like it. Professor?"

Hobbes nodded, confident in himself. "I'd say, from observation, the Doctor can't move. And when she was possessed, she couldn't move, so-"

Biff cut him off. "Well, there we are then. Now the only problem we've got is this Doctor."

Sky's tone was dripping with malice - not that most of the passengers seemed to notice it.

"It's inside his head."

"It's inside his head."

"It killed the driver."

"It killed the driver."

"And the mechanic."

"And the mechanic."

"And now it wants us."

"And now it wants us."

"He's waited so long."

"He's waited so long."

"In the dark."

"In the dark."

"And the cold."

"And the cold."

"And the diamonds."

"And the diamonds."

"Until you came."

"Until you came."

Eris' hands were slipping against the side of the Doctor's face as the sweat poured off him, struggling to keep his head in a position where she could hold eye contact, his muscles so taut that she knew he'd complain about a sore neck for days once this was all over. Because it was going to be over. They were going to get out of this. She'd made sure of that.

Behind them, Sky was still prattling on, dragging the Doctor's voice along with hers over and over again.

"Bodies so hot."

"Bodies so hot."

"With blood."

"With blood."

"And pain."

"And pain."

Val put her hands over her ears. "Stop. Oh, my God, make him stop. Someone make him stop!"

Dee Dee felt a horrible pressure deep in her chest. They had been right, the Doctor and Eris, and just like the others she'd ignored it - and now Sky was poisoning everyone's minds further.

"But she's saying it!"

"And you can shut up."

"But it's not him, it's her! He's just repeating."

Biff rolled his eyes, like it was obvious. "But that's what the thing does, it repeats."

The Hostess was quiet, watching Dee Dee closely. "Just let her talk."

"What do you know? Fat lot of good you've been."

"Just let her explain."

"I think… I mean, from what I've seen, it repeats, then it synchronises, then it goes on to the next stage and that's exactly what the Doctor said would happen!"

Biff huffed. "What, and you're on his side?"

"No."

Again, Jethro looked unsure. "The voice is the thing."

"And she's the voice. She stole it. Look at her. It's not possessing him, it's draining him."

The Hostess' eyes were wide. "She's got his voice."

Val looked between Sky and the others, shaking her head. "But that's not true, because it can't- Because I saw it pass into him. I saw it with my own eyes."

Her husband concurred. "So did I."

Dee Dee groaned. "You didn't!"

Val turned on her son. "It went from her, to him. You saw it, didn't you?"

"...I don't know."

"Oh, don't be stupid, Jethro. Of course you did!"

"I suppose… well he was right next to her."

"Everyone saw it. Everyone."

Dee Dee felt like she was going crazy. "You didn't! You're just making it up! I know what I saw, and I saw her stealing his voice!"

"She's as bad as him. Someone shut her up."

The Professor looked at her, with that same look he used when he thought she was talking out of turn in meetings. "I think you should be quiet, Dee."

"Well, I'm only saying-"

"And that's an order!" He snapped, wagging a finger in her face. "You're making a fool of yourself, pretending you're an expert in mechanics and hydraulics, when I can tell you, you are nothing more than average at best! Now shut up!"

The triumphant glee painted all over Sky's sallow face made Eris feel sick, but she couldn't leave the Doctor like this. She wouldn't leave him vulnerable just so she could go and have a shouting match. And besides, Sky was already doing enough talking. She wouldn't engage and make her talk more, make him suffer more. She just couldn't.

"That's how he does it."

"That's how he does it."

"He makes you fight."

"He makes you fight."

"Creeps into your head."

"Creeps into your head."

"And whispers."

"And whispers."

"Listen."

"Listen."

"Just listen."

"Just listen."

"That's him."

"That's him."

"Inside."

"Inside."

Biff snapped. "Throw him out!"

Val was crying. "Get him out of my head!"

"Yeah, we should throw him out."

"Don't just talk about it, just- You're useless! Do something!"

"I will. You watch me. I'm going to throw him out."

Sky sneered. "Yes."

"Yes."

"Throw him out."

"Throw him out."

"Get rid of him."

"Get rid of him."

"Now."

"Now."

Biff set off down the aisle, but found Eris in his path. She stood as tall as possible (which wasn't very tall at all) with a look like thunder on her face. She was braced against the seats on either side, ready for a fight.

"Go on then. But if you want him, you have to go through me first. Can you do that, Biff? Beat up someone who's barely older than your son just to hurt an innocent man? Because he's not the problem here, Biff. I can see that, Dee Dee can see that… why can't you? Sky is killing him!"

There was a moment when it looked like he was going to stop, reconsider… and then he went for her throat. Biff wasn't a man who really knew how to fight, so he was never going to end up doing her too much damage - but anyone would go down after a punch directly to the windpipe. He started to shove past her, taking advantage of the fact she'd let go of the seats on one side, but Eris still had a bit of fight left in her. Severely winded, she dug her nails into Biff's arm hard enough to draw blood, leaving deep bloodied marks the whole way down. He bellowed in pain and shoved her again, sending her flying into the wall, her head bouncing off it with a sick crunch. She slumped, dazed, and Biff took his chance. He grabbed the Doctor under the arms and started dragging him backwards down the aisle.

Dee Dee begged him to stop, and from beside her, Val hissed angrily. "It'll be you next!"

The Hostess was in full agreement. "I don't think we should do this."

Biff scoffed, pausing for breath as he struggled with the Doctor's weight. "It was your idea!" Professor, help me."

Hobbes looked scandalised. "I can't- I'm not-"

"What sort of a man are you? Come on. Come on! Help. Professor, help me!"

The Doctor had hooked a foot around the seat on the end of the row where Eris was starting to recover her senses. Very reluctantly, the Professor came down the aisle to help Biff move him.

"Grab hold of him. Not like that. Are you stupid?"

Sky started to crow again, like she'd already won. "Cast him out."

"Cast him out."

"Into the sun."

"Into the sun."

"And the night."

"And the night."

Biff snapped at Hobbes as he faffed around trying to unhook the Doctor's foot from the arm of the chair. "Come on. Don't just stand there. Do something!"

Sky agreed. "Do it."

"Do it."

"Do it now."

"Do it now."

"Faster."

"Faster."

Recovered enough to pull herself upright, Eris lunged forwards and grabbed the Doctor's legs with all her might, and the men reeled back slightly, losing their grip just a bit. She looked terrifying - blood was pouring from her broken nose, and her face was grey, but the fire in her eyes was chilling.

"If you want to throw him out, you'll have to throw me out with him. I dare you."

Sky didn't seem remotely perturbed by the disturbance. "That's the way."

"That's the way."

"You can do it."

"You can do it."

"Molto bene."

"Molto bene."

"Get him out!" Val shrieked.

"Allons-y."

"Allons-y."

They had almost made it to the door, just passing the last row of seats, moving even more slowly now that they were dealing with Eris' weight and aggressive resistance, and that one strained line of French from the Doctor's lips was enough to make the Hostess make up her mind.

"That's his voice."

"The starlight waits."

"She's taken his voice!"

"The starlight waits."

"The emptiness."

"The emptiness."

"The Midnight sky."

"The Midnight sky."

"It's her - she's taken his voice!" And as the men lost their grip completely after a particularly strong effort from Eris, the Hostess rushed forwards and dragged Sky out of arm's reach, shoving her towards the entrance door. She reached for the button and slammed it, hard. The door opened, bright light flooding the carriage. Everyone cringed back, blinded, screaming - everyone apart from her. The Hostess stood there and counted, a bruising grip on Sky's upper arms.

"One, two, three, four, five, six."

Right on time the pressure wall collapsed, and the Hostess and Sky were pulled out to the surface of the planet outside. And the door slid closed.

The Doctor coughed, his voice hoarse after the ordeal, and tried to scrape himself off the floor. Eris crawled to him, eyes slightly out of focus, pulling him to sit upright.

"Dad? Dad come on, talk to me."

He wheezed slightly, turning to look at the door. "It's gone. It's gone. It's gone, it's gone, it's gone, it's gone. It's gone. It's gone. It's gone, it's gone, it's gone. It's gone, it's gone, it's gone…" Muscles burning, drenched in sweat, completely exhausted, he pulled Eris in as close as possible, looking closely at her to assess her injuries.

Voice shaking, Val piped up from a couple of rows away. "I said it was her."

But the identical venomous looks on their faces made the shame flood back over her again, and she didn't say another word.

Twenty minutes passed before anything broke the silence again. Dee Dee and Jethro had managed to find some wet wipes in the galley, and Eris and the Doctor had managed to clean up a bit. Of the remaining people on board, those two were the ones who'd retained the most of their humanity. A slightly accented voice came through the shuttle's speakers. "Repeat. Crusader Fifty rescue vehicle coming alongside in three minutes. Door seals set to automatic. Prepare for boarding. Repeat. Prepare for boarding."

Sat pressed against each other, faces ghost-white, the Doctor and Eris squeezed each other's hands as tight as they could. Neither particularly wanted to talk, but both had a question they wanted the answer to. Eris' throat felt raw as she spoke.

"The hostess. What was her name?"

The humans shot looks at each other, shame dawning across their faces once again. It was Hobbes who took one for the team and answered.

"I don't know. None of us even thought to ask."

When they finally reached the resort again, Donna greeted them with the biggest hug she could manage and led them over to a little table so her friends could sit down. They both looked pale and shaken, red bruises harsh against Eris' neck and blood covering her shirt, and she called one of the attendants over to order more of the amazing milkshakes she'd had earlier. Once they'd had a few minutes to recover a little, she asked the question that had been bugging her since the information about the incident had been announced on the tannoy boards.

"What do you think it was?"

The Doctor shrugged. "No idea."

"Do you think it's still out there?" There was a pause. "Well, you'd better tell them. This lot."

"Yeah. They can build a Leisure Palace somewhere else. Let this planet keep on turning round an Xtonic star, in silence."

"Can't imagine you without a voice."

Eris sniffed. "It's nowhere near as peaceful as you'd hope it would be."

He nudged her. "Molto bene."

Donna grinned. "Molto bene."

But both of their faces fell, and he shook his head.

"No, don't do that. Don't. Just… don't."

Happy reading angels! Thank you for coming back to this story with me 3