"Yeah, the junction in Habitation Five's been opened. It must be the Ood they're in the tunnels!" Zach exclaimed through the comm.

"Well, open the gate" Danny started to press up against it waiting for it to open.

"I've got to get the air in!" Zach protested.

"Just open it, sir." He begged for Zach to open the gate.

"Where are they? Are they close?" Rose asked her voice shaking.

"I don't know. I can't tell. I can't see them. The computer doesn't register Ood as proper life forms." Zach desperately tried to get the air in as soon as possible.

"Whose idea was that?" Rose sarcastically asked breathing a little faster due to how thin the air was getting in the tunnel they were in, the others were definitely noticing as well with how fast they all now started to breathe.

"Open the gate!" Danny demanded now pounding on it again, sweat clinging to his forehead and palms due to the enclosed space around him. As if a prayer was answered the gate slid up allowing them to continue Danny scrambled into a mobile position identical to the one before crawling on his hands and knees extremely quickly through where the gate once was.

"Danny, turn left. Immediate left." Danny followed turning the left Zach had pointed out for him, Rose and Rita followed behind with Toby and Jefferson after.

"The Ood, sir. can't you trap them? Cut off the air?" Jefferson suggested to Zach turning his head around slightly to check that the Ood were not behind them.

"Not without cutting off yours," Zach replied through the wrist-comm he then looked at the screen, his eyes growing wide. "Danny, turn right. Go right! Go fast, Dan. They're going to catch up!" He shouted Danny picked up the pace moving as fast as he could not wanting to die from a 'slave race'

"I'll maintain defensive position." Jefferson stopped.

"You can't stop!" Rose protested.

"Jefferson with us now!" Rita shouted ordering him to not stop.

"Miss Stone, Miss Tyler, that's my job. You've got your task, now see to it." He protested risking his own life for the others.

"You heard what he said, now shift." Toby hissed at them both wanting to get away. Jefferson moved to lean against the tunnel watching the others crawl away, the Ood turned the corner and appeared crawling towards him there red eyes pearcing into his. Jefferson braced himself then began to fire at the Ood causing the first few to fall and the ones behind to crawl over the deceaced.

"Eight point two. Open eight point two. Zach!" Danny started to bang on the gate again hearing the gun fire echoing in his head panicking him even more. "Open eight point two!" He screamed again.

"I've got to aerate it," Zach shouted back.

"Open it now!"

"I'm trying."

"Danny, stop it. That's not helping." Rose pulled his arm stopping him from possibly damaging the gate causing it to never open.

"Zach, get it open!" Toby then began to panic.

"Jefferson, I've got to open eight point two by closing eight point one. You've got to get past the junction. Now move. That's an order, now move!" Jefferson pulled out his pistol firing it a couple of times before it clicked empty, he then began to retreat towards the others.

"I'm going to lose oxygen, Jefferson, I can't stop for your dramatics!" He made the quick decision to open the gate allowing Danny, Rose, Rita and Toby through.

"That's it! Come on." Danny started to move again

"Danny, turn left and head for nine point two. That's the last one. Jefferson you've got to move faster. John, move!" Rose turned her head seeing Jefferson moving as fast as he could towards the gate.

"Keep going!" Toby screamed hoping for the man to make it, the gate began to close a moment before he managed to get through.

Jefferson stopped panting at the lack of air. "Regret to inform, sir, I was a bit slow. Not so fast, these days."

"I can't open eight point one, John. Not without losing air for the others." Zach's voice cracked knowing the fate of his friend.

"And quite right too, sir. I think I bought them a little time."

They listened in Rose biting her lip to stop the tears from falling, her head on the brunette's shoulder.

"There's nothing I can do, John," Zach paused. "I'm sorry."

"You've done enough, sir. Made a very good captain under the circumstances. May I ask, if you can't add oxygen to this section, can you speed up the process of its removal?" He made his final request.

"I don't understand. What do you mean?"

"Well, if I might choose the manner of my departure, sir, lack of air seems more natural than, well, let's say death by Ood. I'd appreciate it, sir." He choked a little, Rita slowly rubbed Rose's arm soothingly her eyes looking down saddened, she tried to get him to move.

"God speed, Mister Jefferson." Zach informed him.

"Thank you, sir." Jefferson took his last breath before there were a hiss and Zach saw Jefferson's blip disappear.

"Report Officer John Maynard Jefferson PKD deceased with honours. 43 K two point one."

"Zach, we're at the final junction, nine point two," Danny said softly. "And er, if my respects could be on record. He saved our lives." Danny sadly told Zach a hint of pride for Jefferson in his voice, proud that the man put others before himself.

"Noted. Opening nine point two."

"Wait no!" Rita snapped her head just as the gate began to rise. She was too late the Ood were on the other side.

"Lower nine point two! Hurry, Zach!" Rose screamed backing up seeing the Ood look up at them.

"Back! Back! Back!" Danny ordered.

"We can't go back! The gang point's sealed off. We're stuck." Toby shouted

"Rose the gate!" Rita shouted looking up.

"Come on! Up!" The blonde pushed the deck flooring away scrambling to her feet and climbing out, she helped pull Rita then Danny.

"Come on! Toby, come on!" She shouted at him to hurry up.

He looked at the Ood his eyes now red placing a finger to his lips as if to tell them to be quiet, Toby then grinned at them before looking up his eyes back to 'normal' and his face full of fear. "Help me! Oh, my God. Help me!" He begged Rita and Rose crouched down pulling the man up to safety groaning at how little he was helping himself.

"It's this way" Danny heads into a direction and the rest follow running along the corridor. They ran in 'Ood Habitation' and the Ood surely noticed their presence, they started climbing the stairs deadly globes in hand ready to kill.

"Get it in!" Rose shouted at Danny. "Transmit!" She shouted.

"I'm trying, I'm trying! I'm getting at it." He begins to search his pockets for the chip and the Ood start to gain on the group climbing the stairs.

He pulled the chip out of his pocket and placed it in. "Danny, get that thing transmitting!" Rose ordered. He frantically pressed buttons and the basic reading fallen to zero, the Ood grabbed their heads in pain and Rita and Rose started jumping in the air.

"You did it! We did it!" She laughed hugging Danny then Zach and lastly Rita

"Yes!" Danny screamed, Rose stopped cheering and spoke into the comm.
"Zach, we did it. The Ood are down. Now we've got to get the Doctor."

"I'm on my way." He informed them.

"Doctor, are you there? Doctor, Ida, can you hear me?" Rose said into the comm.

"Zach ran through to the group. "The comms. are still down." He informed Rose then started to type on what looked like a computer. "I can patch them through the central desk and boost the signal. Just give me a minute."

"What happens now then?" Rita asked.

"I don't know" Rose replied. "We get the Doctor then I don't know"

"Been a long day" Rita chuckled. "It's funny how a good few months ago I was at my boring apartment doing boring things like sitting watching TV but then changing a light bulb I ended up stuck with you two."

"And that's a bad thing?" Rose frowned.

"No way definitely not" She laughed.

"Okay should be back up now" Zack stepped out the way. Rose grabbed the comm again. "Are you there, Doctor?"

"He's gone." Rose's heart sank at Ida's words.

"What do you mean, he's gone?" She asked her voice cracking and her hands shaking.

"He fell into the pit. And I don't know how deep it is. Miles and miles and miles."

"But what do you mean, he fell?"

"I couldn't stop him. Is Rita there with you?" Ida asked.

"I'm here" She took the comm from Rose speaking into it.

"He said both of your names before falling" Zach slowly moved his arm to get the comm not wanting to startle Rita or Rose.

"I'm sorry," Zach said to them both sympathetically. Rita put on a sad smile, there was always the possibility that he wouldn't come back, one small change and she would never see him again, stuck in this universe never finding out why she was brought here, the universe would be defenseless, she saw 'Turn Left' and how bad it became without the Doctor.

Then there was Rose, she would never see her mother again just like the beast said 'the lost girl so far away from home' "Ida? There's no way of reaching you. No cable, no back up. You're ten miles down. We can't get there." He sadly told her the news.

"You should see this place, Zach. It's beautiful. Well, I wanted to discover things, and here I am." Said Ida in awe.

"We've got to abandon the base. I'm declaring this mission unsafe. All we can do is make sure no one ever comes here again."

"But we'll never find out what it was."

"Well, maybe that's best." Zach thought aloud.

"Yeah." Ida agreed her voice cracking a little from knowing she was surely going to die on that piece of rock.

"Officer Scott"

"It's all right." She interrupted knowing what was coming next. "Just go. Good luck."

"And you. Danny, Toby, close down the feed links. Get the retrotropes online, then get to the rocket and strap yourselves in. We're leaving." Zach ordered, Rita looked down at the ground.

"I'm not going." Rose piped up her voice quiet rising in pitch as she tried to stop herself from bursting into tears

"Rose, there's space for you," Zach told her.

"No, I'm going to wait for the Doctor. Just like he waited for me. Rita." She looked at the brunette for help, she shook her head sadly a tear rolling down her cheek, to tell the truth, she didn't know he if survived or not. Things are different and he could not have survived. Her brain told her he could have died but her heart, oh her heart definitely said otherwise even if she didn't realise it herself.

"I'm sorry, but he's dead." Zach interrupted.

"You don't know him." She croaked. "'Cause he's not. I'm telling you, he's not. And even if he was, how could I leave him all on his own, all the way down there? No, I'm going to stay."

"I'm not leaving her, or him" Rita looked up. "She's not staying on her own here waiting for him, no." Rita sobbed. "If she isn't going then neither am I." Rita shook her head standing beside Rose.

"Then I apologise for this. Danny, Toby? Make them secure."
Danny grabbed Rose and Toby grabbed Rita both of them keeping the girls from moving. "No, no. No! No! No! Let me go! Get off me! I'm not leaving!" Rose screamed. Zach injected them both and instantly passed out.

"I have lost too many people. I am not leaving you two behind. Let's get them on board."

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"I'm not going anywhere! Get me out of this thing! Get me out!" Rita heard the screams of the blonde crying helpless and hurt, she left the rocket vibrating and heard the engines taking off, she knew the Doctor was still on the planet and it hurt her not knowing if he was dead or alive.

"And lift off! Whoo!" Zach screamed with joy glad to be somewhat safe. Rita opened her eyes she was sitting beside Rose to the right of her with a wall of the rocket to her left.

She saw Rose's eyes dart for the bolt gun and then lunge for her Rita's eyes widened "Take me back to the planet. Take me back!" She screamed at the top of her lungs.

"Rose!" Rita shouted for her to listen, Rose shook her head squeezing her eyes not wanting to listen to her friend.

"Or what?" Zach looked at her.

"Or I'll shoot." She said hastily not thinking about it.

"Would you, though?" He asked looking back at her. "Would you really? Is that what your Doctor would want? Look Rita is terrified of you" Rose slowly moved her head to see he was indeed right, Rita was pressed up against the rocket wall her eyes wide and her chest rapidly moving up and down showing the fast-paced breathing. Rose dropped the gun slumping back into her seat looked at the brunette saddened and sorry.

"Sorry, but it's too late anyway. Take a look outside. We can't turn back. This is what the Doctor would have wanted. Isn't that right?" The two didn't answer and looked through the small window, they pressed their hands up on the glass trying to get as close to the planet as they could.

"You said he was coming back" Rose mumbled looking down at her feet.

"I don't know Rose, I can't promise everything." She breathed deeply sighing. "Things change, things I see play differently, I surely told you that before." She then explained in more detail. "Anything can change and anything can play out differently. I don't know if he-" She paused. "Whatever happens I just hope you don't hate me"

"Why would I hate you?" She frowned. "You're one of my best mates, one of my closest now. It may have only been a couple of months but seriously Rita, you're one of my closest friends" She couldn't help and smile at the blonde, her kind heart and nature not letting her 'promise' get between them. Rose knew Rita cared for the Doctor just as much as she did herself and she knew she would never break that promise to hurt her friend.

Toby starts to laugh and Danny frowned at him in confusion. "What's the joke?"

"Just, we made it. We escaped. We actually did it."

"Not all of us," Rose muttered glaring at Toby.

"We're not out of it yet. We're still the first people in history to fly away from a black hole. Toby read me the stats." Zach ordered

"Gravity funnel holding, sir. Always holding." he laughed between each word.

"Stats at fifty-three. Funnel stable at sixty-six point five. Hull pressure constant. Smooth as we can, sir, all the way back home. Coordinates set for planet Earth." Toby read the states his laughing dying down just a little.

"Yipee us" Rita coldly muttered.

"It doesn't make sense." Rose started to think. "We escaped, but there's a thousand ways it could've killed us. It could've ripped out the air or, I don't know, burnt us, or anything. But it let us go. Why? Unless it wanted us to escape?"

"Hey, Rose, do us a favour." Toby leant into her. "Shut up. Almost there. We'll be beyond the reach of the black hole in forty, thirty-nine."

"Oi!" Rita went to slap him but Rose pulled her back. "She's actually being clever and you tell her to shut up" Rita pointed at him. "She's been more of a man than you ever have today, she lost a good friend and still kept it together to try and survive and get him back. I don't see you doing that" She snapped at him. The rocket then started to shake.

"What happened? What was that?" Danny looked around the inside of the Rocket trying to see an answer on the monitors.

"What's he doing? What is he doing?" Toby asked.

Zach gritted his teeth trying to control the rocket. "We've lost the funnel. Gravity collapse!"

"What does that mean?" Rose grabbed on to Rita's am and her seat trying to stop herself from shaking.

"We can't escape. We're headed straight for the black hole!" he shouted pulling on the controls.

"It's the planet. The planet's moving. It's falling." Rose shouted.

"Oh my god Rose" Rita pulled the blonde away from Toby. She snapped her head in his direction, Toby was now covered in the symbols again and his eyes were red.

"I am the rage." the deep voice spoke out signalling Toby was no longer himself.

"It's Toby. Zach, do something." She screamed.

"That isn't Toby!" Rita shouted holding Rose.

"And the bile and the ferocity."

"Just do something!" Rose shouted.

"I am the Prince and the Fall and the enemy. I am the sin and the fear and the darkness."

Danny started to panic pushing against the right side of the rocket next to him trying to get away. "It's him! It's him! It's him!"

Zach snapped his head around. "Stay where you are. The ship's not stable!" Toby then started to breathe out fire and the four widened their eyes. "What is he?? What the hell is he?"

"I shall never die. The thought of me is forever. In the bleeding hearts of men, in their vanity and obsession and lust"

"Rose get ready!" Rita shouted reaching for the bolt gun Rose threw down beside them both earlier.

"Nothing shall ever destroy me. Nothing!"

"I wouldn't be so sure of that" She shot the gun at the glass.

"Go to hell," Rose said darkly unfastening Toby's seatbelt causing him to be sucked out into space, roaring in fury.

"Emergency shield!" Zach gasped.

"We've still lost the gravity funnel. We can't escape the black hole." Zach told them desperately trying to turn the rocket around.

"But we stopped him. That's what the Doctor would've done." Rose looked at Rita who slowly nodded.

"Some victory. We're going in." Zach sarcastically said.

"The planet's lost orbit. It's falling!" He looked back, it then disappeared from the monitor.

"The planet's gone. I'm sorry."

'Come on, not today Doctor, not now and not today! We need you, Rose needs you, you promised me you weren't going to be an idiot!'

"Accelerate. I did my best. But hey! The first human beings to fall inside the black hole. "How about that? History." Zach said before the rocket stopped shaking.

Rita's eyes widened and a huge grin plastered on her face. "Oh my god!" She shouted

"What happened?"

"We're turning. We're turning around. We're turning away!" Zach moved his hands from the control.

There was a buzz and the Doctor's voice started to come through in the rocket. "Sorry about the hijack, Captain. This is the good ship TARDIS. Now, first thing's first. Have you got a Rose Tyler and a Rita Stone on board?"

"I'm here! It's me! Oh, my God. Where are you?" Rose gasped.

"You bloody took your time, idiot"

"Lovely to see you too Rita" He joked. "I'm just towing you home." He informed Zach. "Gravity schmavity. My people practically invented black holes. Well, in fact, they did. In a couple of minutes, we'll be nice and safe. Oh, and Captain? Can we do a swap? Say, if you give me Rose Tyler, I'll give you Ida Scott? How about that?"

"She's alive!" Zach gasped not believing his ears

"Yes. Thank God."

"Yeah! Bit of oxygen starvation, but she should be all right. I couldn't save the Ood. I only had time for one trip. They went down with the planet." He sadly told them.

"Oi, what about me!" Rita interrupted, shouting at him narrowing her eyes at the air. "You forgot about me who do you think I am?"

"Well, you're Rita Stone I think and you called me an idiot." He protested. "But you're definitely coming Rita, I have a promise to keep. Oh, and I would never forget about you! The shouty brunette."

"Shouty brunette. Says the man who doesn't shut up!" She laughed then tilted her head slightly. "But what promise would that be?" Rita crossed her arms.

"Quite a few actually, finding out about how you are here, Barcelona. Need I go on?"

"No that's enough" She chuckled.

"Ah! Entering clear space. End of the line. Mission. Closed."

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Rose opened the TARDIS door entering with a huge grin on her face, Rita followed the same, she leant against the railing as Rose ran up to the Doctor giving him a hug, he lifted her off his feet and she squealed laughing. Rita shook her head slowly walking up to the console then stopping as the Doctor let Rose go.

"Rita Stone" He grinned opening his arms.

"Doctor" She laughed as he then pulled her into a hug.

"You're such an idiot, next time try and find the TARDIS a little quicker" She laughed mumbling a little.

"Where's the fun in that?"

"Where's the fun in- never mind" She shook her head Rose laughed and she joined in. "Glad to be back" She patted the console. "Not queasy anymore?" She raised a brow at the Doctor.

"Not queasy anymore" He nodded in confirmation.

"Now I'm going to get out of this space suit, little hot"

"Suprised it hasn't fallen off" Rita joked reclaiming her normal position cross-legged on the jump seat. "You're too skinny" she shook her head. He rolled his eyes then walked off.

Rose let out a laugh after he walked off. "Too skinny" she repeated through laughter.

"Oh, come on he is!" She shoved the blonde a little who just began to laugh at the brunette even louder. "You're not even denying it!" she pointed. Rita then started to laugh as Rose fell to the floor in laughter the Doctor walked back in with only his suit while he looked confused and a little concerned noticing both of the girls on the floor practically dying of laughter.

"What is so funny?" He asked walking up to the console.

"Rita"

"Rose" Both girls replied at the same time then laughed even more.

The Doctor shook his head then took a microphone on the console "Zach? We'll be off, now. Have a good trip home and the next time you get curious about something." He looked at the girls who had now stopped laughing and were raising their eyes brows at him as if to say 'they won't listen' "Oh, what's the point. You'll just go blundering in. The human race."

"But Doctor, what did you find down there? That creature, what was it?" Ida curiously asked.

"I don't know. Never did decipher that writing. But that's good, Day I know everything? Might as well stop."

"What do you think it was, really?" Rose questioned.

"I think we beat it. That's good enough for me."

"It said I was going to die in battle." She looked at him worry filling her face.

"Then it lied." He said seriously and a little coldly. Rose smiled at him and Rita gulped a little if it was sort of telling the truth about Rose what did it mean about her...

'The one trapped inside. The girl all on her own, tick tock goes the clock Rita Stone.'

She played those words over and over in her mind, nothing she couldn't think of any explanation for it. Maybe it lied? She wasn't from this universe, maybe it truly was trying to scare her? Clocks countdown as well as up, it didn't say what way. 'No it lied' She thought pushing it to the back of her mind.

The Doctor's cheery voice appeared once again as he spoke into the microphone "Right, onwards, upwards. Ida? See you again, maybe."

"I hope so."

"And thanks, boys!"

"Yeah thank you!" Rita shouted.

"Hang on though, Doctor. You never really said. You three, who are you?" They paused looking at each other thinking of what to say, the Doctor then smiled at the pair and replied.

"Oh, the stuff of legend." He pulled a lever and the beautiful wheezing of the TARDIS began dematerializing the TARDIS and sending them into the vortex as the Rocket holding Zach, Ida and Danny flew back to planet Earth.

A/N: Due to the little amount of time the Doctor and Rose are in 'love and monsters' I will not be including it in the story. The jump in time between it all is a little too wibbly wobbly with seeing the Doctor and Rose at the start to getting to the end and the death of the mother. I would love to make it but sadly I will not. 'Fear Her' is next and then we have possibly the last 3 chapters of this book.