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For the life of them, Alice and Martha, neither woman would ever be doing this again for as long as they lived, and that was climbing into the likes of a stinking sewer. It stunk to high heavens with things they dared not think about. Both were going to have to kill the Doctor for this, no doubt about it.

"Turn left. Go about half a mile," Diagoras instructs them now, having finally gotten into the sewer, each person gazing up at him from the opening as they each held a torch, "Follow Tunnel 273. Fall's right ahead of you. You can't miss it."

"And when do we get our dollar?" the young man Frank spoke up from behind Alice, looking somewhat uneasy and with nothing but worry in his eyes.

"When you come back up."

"And if we don't come back up?" the Time Lord enquired, staring back with an expression neither Martha nor Alice could understand.

"Then I got no one to pay." Diagoras returned coldly with a shrug.

"We'll be back," Solomon muttered reassuringly.

"Let's hope so," Martha whispered to her redheaded friend, who nodded in agreement but couldn't pull her eyes away from Diagoras, and neither could the Doctor.

"Something about that bloke just gives me the creeps," Alice uttered to the Time Lord as they caught up with the others in the tunnels.

"We just gotta stick together," the young Texan Frank spoke up, bringing the Doctor away from his worrying thoughts, "It's easy to get lost.  It's like a huge rabbit warren. You could hide an army down here."

"So, what about you, Frank?" Martha goes to ask the young man out of interest but also to try and ease his nerves. Almost having jumped at every noise around him, "You're not from around these parts, are you?"

"Oh, you could talk," Frank chuckled, "No, no, I'm from Tennessee, born and bred."

"So, how come you're here?" Alice now cuts in on the conversation.

"Uh, my daddy died. Mama...couldn't afford to feed us all.  So, I'm the oldest, up to me to feed myself, so put on my coat, hitched up here on the railroads.  There are a whole lot of runaways in camp younger than me.  From all over: Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas... Solomon keeps a lookout for us." the young man explained briefly, smiling at Solomon up, peered over his shoulder at his name before facing forward again, and Frank glanced to the girls on either side of him, "So, what about you? You're both a long way from home."

"Yeah, we're both just hitchhikers as well," Martha shared a look with her best friend and roommate; both young women giggled.

"You ladies, stick with me. You'll be all right," Frank assured them both, an arm wrapping around each of their shoulders, having taken a shine to them. Alice noticed Martha was blushing a little, and she had the nerve to tease her about fancying the Doctor as she internally scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"So, this Diagoras bloke, who is he then?" the Time Lord went to inquire.

"A couple of months ago, he was just another foreman. Now it seems like he's running most of Manhattan," Soloman offered him in response.

"How did he manage that, then?"

"These are strange times," Soloman answers with a slight shake of his head, "A man can go from being King of the Hill to the lowest of the low overnight. It's just for some folks it works the other way 'round."

"Whoa!" the Doctor gasped, suddenly stopping everyone in their tracks as right there on the ground was a green blob of God knows what, giving off a sickly luminous aura.

"Is it radioactive or something?" Alice stepped on one side of the Time Lord and Martha on the other. The almighty stench the blob gave off made both young women cover their noses and mouths. The Doctor placed his torch down to crouch before it.

"It's gone off, whatever it is," Martha's muffled voice in disgusted through her hand.

"Reminds me of the time mum bought home some smelly blue cheese once," Alice screwed up her face in disgust, her voice a little muffled from her hand, "Stunk the fridge, let alone the whole house out for weeks."

The Time Lord can't help but notice how adorable she looks when scrunching her nose, even if the smell puts her off; internally shaking his thoughts away, he now put on his glasses and carefully lifted the slimy blob.

"And now you're picking up the blob. Why doesn't that surprise me?" Alice shook her head but still couldn't help her thoughts wander every time the Doctor wore those glasses and how handsome he looked.

The Doctor goes to sniff the blob in his hand before nodding at it, "One of you shine your torch through it," Alice shines her torch through it, "Composite organic matter," he looks between both young women, "Martha? Ally? Medical opinion?"

"It's not human. I know that," Martha replied with a frown.

"Martha's not wrong, not anything I've seen before either," Alice shrugged, uncertain as her friend of what the blob could be as Frank and Soloman looked on, somewhat puzzled by it all.

"No, it's not. And I'll tell you something else. We must be at least half a mile in, and I don't see any sign of a collapse, do you? So why did Mr Diagoras send us down here?"

"So where are we now? What's above us?" Martha wondered aloud in question.

"Well...we're right underneath Manhattan," The Time Lord offered simply with a shrug.

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"We're way beyond half a mile," Soloman points out as they continue through the sewers, "There's no collapse, nothing."

"That Diagoras bloke, was he lying?"

"A slimeball like that. I'm not surprised that he did," Alice replied to her friend as the Doctor squinted down the tunnel. 

"So why did he want people to come down here?" Frank asked, peering back over his shoulder from the direction they'd previously come.

The Time Lord couldn't help but think the young man made an excellent point. He needed to find out what was going on by himself, yet it wasn't without its risks, so he turned to face everyone, "Solomon, I think it's time you took these three back. I'll be much quicker on my own."

"Hang on, it was your idea in the first place to..." the young Noble began to protest, neither she nor Martha looking best pleased but gets cut short by a loud squealing bouncing off the sewer walls, everyone turning their heads to face where the sound had come from.

"What the hell was that?" Soloman demanded, almost jumping out of his skin.

"Hello?!" Frank goes to call out. The fear in his voice could be heard as it shook slightly as it echoed off the walls. Martha tried to get him to stay quiet.

"Frank."

"What if it's one of the folk gone missing?" Frank turned to look at the older man and the other, trying to defend what he was doing, "You'd be scared, half-mad down here on your own."

"Do you think they're still alive?" the Doctor asked the young man with a raised eyebrow.

"Heck, we ain't seen no bodies down here.  Maybe they just got lost," Frank replied when more squealing was heard once he had finished talking.

"I know I never heard nobody make a sound like that," Soloman voiced with concern as the Doctor went further to look at the others staying behind, "Sounds like there's more than one of 'em."

"This way," the Time Lord suggested, they go down the current tunnel.

But Solomon another as he shone his torch down another, "No, that way."

Right at that moment, the light of Martha's torch catches that of a figure huddled close to itself in a corner sitting on the ground. Alice couldn't tell if it was a trick of the light or shadows of what they were seeing before them that looked like the face of a pig, but she wasn't sure.

"Doctor..." Alice whispers for him, her friend's light and others not having left the figure, as the Doctor returns to rejoin everyone.

"Who are you?" Soloman asks of the figure as the Time Lord comes up beside the young women to shine his torch on the figure and the others.

"Are you lost? Can you understand me?  I've been thinkin' about folk lost..." Frank began to inquire, stepping forward only for the Doctor to stop him.

"It's all right, Frank. Just stay back. Let me look," he walked forward, approaching the figure carefully. The others stayed right behind the Doctor, "He's got a point, though, my mate Frank.  I'd hate to be stuck down here on my own," the creature, whatever it is, makes a slight squeal, "We know the way out.  Daylight.  If you want to come with us," the Time Lord crouched before the pig man's face now looking him over with nothing but curious eyes, "Oh, but what are you?"

"Is, uh, that some kind of carnival mask?" Solomon asked, trying to find it hard to believe it was real.

"No, it's real," the Doctor offered, glancing over his shoulder and then back to the pig man, "I'm sorry.  Now listen to me.  I promise I can help," Alice and Martha then see shadows dancing across the wall, but he hasn't noticed them, "Now, who did this to you?"

"Doctor..." Martha urgently said, "I think you'd better get back here."

More pig men began filling the opposite end of the tunnel, and Alice did the best thing she knew when she was scared: yell, "Oi Doctor, we need to go right now!"

"Actually...good point," he now stands, realising the gravity of the situation, quickly getting up and moving away from the approaching pigmen and back towards the others.

"They're following you," Martha pointed out. The pigmen were still behind him.

"Yeah, I noticed that, thanks," the Time Lord returned sarcastically as he finally reached them, "Well then, Martha, Alice, Frank, Solomon..."

"What?" the young redhead responded, her voice almost high-pitched.

"Um, basically...run!"

After all four started racing down the tunnel as the pigmen chased them not long after coming to a cross-section, both young women shining their torches this way and that, confused on which way to go, "Where are we going?!"

"This way!" the Doctor goes right. The rest follow pigmen behind, chasing them to stop at the mouth of another joining tunnel, spotting a way out, "There's a ladder!"

He climbs the ladder, getting the sonic screwdriver on the lid, quickly pushing it up and aside, clattering loudly, climbing through. Martha is next to follow after him, but Alice can't help but look back as Frank and Soloman still haven't followed after them.

"Come on, hurry up!" the redhead yelled, feeling her heart pounding away in her chest and ribs throb a little painfully from the running. They couldn't be left behind and would hopefully make it. Quickly going up the ladder, the Doctor pulled up through the hole by her by her hand.

Soloman finally makes an appearance, calling for the young man, "Frank!" he yells after the young man starts to climb the ladder. Knowing the others are safe, Frank makes a mad dash towards the ladder and begins climbing. Soloman and the Doctor, holding their hands to him, eventually grab hold, "C'mon, Frank!  C'mon!"

"I've got you. C'mon!" the Time Lord tells him as he pulls on Frank's arm, "C'mon! Come on!"

But no matter how hard they try, the young man is pulled away from their grasp and back down into the sewers as Soloman yells after him, "Frank!"

"No!" In that instant, the Doctor was about to attempt to save the young man; Soloman shoved him aside, shutting the lid before more of the pigmen could get through.

"We can't go after him."

"Are you crazy? We can't just leave him down there!" the young Noble goes to snap at the older man, suddenly coming overprotective. But her best friend pulls her back, "We need to go back!"

"No, I'm not losing anybody else!  Those creatures were from Hell!  From Hell itself! If we go after them, they'll take us all!  There's nothing we can do.  I'm sorry."

"Alright, I'm sorry," Alice whispered, apologising for her over-the-top outburst. Martha squeezed her shoulder.

Out of the corner of their eyes, the young women spot another blonde woman in a black dressing gown who has stepped out from behind a shelf with a gun pointed at them, "All right then. Put 'em up," Alice and Martha are the first to put their hands up, "Hands in the air and no funny business," followed by the Doctor and Solomon, "Now tell me, you schmucks, what've you done with Lazlo?"

"Uh, who's Lazlo?" Martha goes to ask with a frown.

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"Lazlo's my boyfriend, or was my boyfriend until two weeks ago," the young unnamed blonde woman began to explain as they all stood inside her dressing room, gun still pointed at Alice, Martha, Soloman and the Doctor, "No letter, no good-bye, no nothin'. And I'm not stupid," she waves the gun continuing to talk, "I know some guys are just pigs but not my Lazlo. I mean, what kinda guy asks you to meet his mother before he vamooses?"

"It might, might just help if you put that down," the Time Lord insisted, feeling somewhat uneasy about the weapon in her hand, also noting how uncomfortable it was making the girls as well.

"Hunh?" the blonde realises in her surprise, looking at it, "Oh, sure," with a shrug, she carelessly tosses it onto a chair, almost scaring the living daylights out of everyone that it would go off, but it doesn't, "Oh, c'mon.  It's not real. It's just a prop. It was either that or a spear."

"What do you think happened to Lazlo?" the young redhead asked after a brief silence.

"I wish I knew," the young woman replied, looking rather down on her luck, "One minute he's there, the next, zip—vanished."

"Listen," the Doctor took a step towards her, "Ah...what's your name?"

"Tallulah."

"Tallulah," he repeats her name with a nod, only to get interrupted before he even can continue.

"3 Ls and an H."

"Right," the Doctor began where he was about to start, "Um, we can try to find Lazlo, but he's not the only one. There are people disappearing every night."

"And there are creatures," Soloman added with guilt in his voice and fear in his eyes, glancing over his shoulder, "Such creatures."

"Whaddaya mean 'creatures?" Tallulah now raised an eyebrow and leant forward with interest.

"Look. Listen, trust me," the Time Lord began to speak seriously, "Everyone is in danger. I need to find out exactly what this is," he took the green jellyfish blob out of his coat pocket, "because then I'll know exactly what we're fighting."

"Yech!" the blonde leans away from it in disgust because of the smell.

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Whilst the Doctor had gone swanning off to find out what the blob was, Alice and Martha were sitting on a plush green sofa in Tallulah's dressing room, now all in her sparkling costume, gazing into the mirror in a chair, putting on her makeup. Both young women honestly felt bad for the girl Alice more than Martha. She knew what it was like to lose a loved one, especially her father and the thought of losing anyone else. On the other hand, Martha had no idea what it was like to lose a loved one and dared not think about it.

"Lazlo..." the young blonde sighed wistfully before putting on her lipstick, "He'd wait for me after the show, walk me home like I was a lady."

"Can't remember the last time a man did that for me, if ever really," Alice muttered aloud, smiling at her from across the room, "Don't get many gentlemen where Martha and I come from."

Tallulah nodded and smiled back at the young redhead through the mirror, getting her powder and adding some final touches to her makeup, "Of course, He'd leave a flower for me on my dressing table. Every day, just a single rose."

Martha now went to stand beside her, "Haven't you reported him missing?"

"Sure," the blonde scoffed bitterly as Alice got up to stand beside her, seeing how sad it made the other woman, "He's just a stagehand. Who cares? The management certainly don't."

"Can't you kick up a fuss or something?" Martha went on to ask.

"Okay, so then they fire me."

"But," Alice frowns briefly, "They'd listen to you. You're one of the stars," she now insisted, meeting the other woman in the eyes again and looking into the mirror.

"Oh, honey," Tallulah sighed with a shake of her head, expression lighter than before. However, her smile was still sad, "I got one stone in a back street revue, and that's only because Heidi Chicane broke her ankle, which had nothin' to do with me whatever anybody says," she shook her head now putting down her brush, "I can't afford to make a fuss. If I don't make this month's rent, then before you know it, I'm in Hooverville."

"Okay, we get it," Martha nodded, understanding at least she and Alice had tried to persuade her.

"It's the Depression, sweeties," Tallulah sighed, glancing to one woman and then the other before she gazed back at herself in the mirror before standing up, "Your heart might break, but the show goes on and if it stops, you starve. Every night I have to go out there, sign, dance, keep goin'. Hoping he's gonna come back..." suddenly she breaks down crying.

Both women embraced her in a big hug as Martha said, "I'm sorry."

"Hey, everything's going to be alright. Lazlo will come back because we're going to find him," Alice offered to the blonde with a consoling smile, "Just wait and see."

"Hey, you're lucky, though," The girls pull out of the hug as Tallulah now wipes her eyes, looking to the redhead, smiling at her and patting her hand, "You got yourself a forward-thinking guy with that hot potato in the sharp suit."

"What, me and him," Alice scoffed with disbelief and laughed a little. The subject of her being with the Doctor is a sensitive matter at that, "We're not...together and probably never will be full stop."

"Honey didn't think I saw how the guy looked at you before he left...he cares about you."

"Well, he doesn't see me like that were just friends."

Martha and Tallulah scoffed at her, shaking their heads, "Ally, I've seen how he looks at you and how you look at him. You're both in denial about it all."

"Can you just stop," she blushed with embarrassment but then shook her head and scoffed again, "It's not going to happen. Besides, there's this friend he had, Rose. They used to be, you know..."

Tallulah nodded in understanding, seeing how much it affected the redhead, "He's still hung up on this Rose chick. She must have been real special, huh?"

"Ally, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said anything in the first place. Guess I was too quick to judge," Martha steps up beside her friend and flatmate, taking her hand and giving it a sympathetic squeeze.

"It's okay. I'm getting over it anyway," Alice returned the squeeze even though she was still uncertain of her words or feelings.

"So what about you? Do you have a special fella in your life?" Tallulah is now directed at Martha.

"Um, no," Martha shifted a little uncomfortably in response, "Not at the moment."

"Oh," the blonde muttered, "That's a shame," she returned with a friendly smile, "Still, ya gotta live in hope.  It's the only thing that's kept me going 'cause..." she picked up a white rosebud off her dressing table showing both women, "look. On my dressing table every day still."

Alice takes the Rose from her before asking, delicately brushing the soft petals with her fingertips, thinking it was a bittersweet yet romantic gesture, "Do you think Lazlo left this?"

"I don't know," the blonde shook her head, Martha staring at it whilst Alice still held it, "If he's still around, why's he bein' all secret like he doesn't want me to see him?"