A/N: So, I'm trying something different for the next 4-6 chapters (not sure how many this will take, yet) Anyway, this is a Doctor Who novel and the chapters will be in 3rd Person POV because the plot jumps around a lot and it was easier to do it this way. All rights go to BBC and Stephen Cole. Enjoy!

The TARDIS jolts as it lands, sending its occupants to the floor. The Doctor, Eva, Rose, George, Harry, and Ginny all share glances before they burst out laughing. Ginny's purple pygmy puff, Arnold, climbs from her jacket pocket up to her shoulder, making a chitter of protest.

"He's not too happy," Eva snorts, reaching over and ruffling the fur of the little creature, making him purr in content. "There's a good boy, eh?" she coos. 

The Doctor hops up from the floor, brushing off his pants as the rest of the group get to their feet as well.

"Everyone alright?" he asks with a wide grin, getting various answers of 'yes' back and he and Eva look at the monitor, sharing a look at the fuzzy readings. "Come on, then," he hurries to the doors and steps outside with Eva following quickly, both looking around at the crop field they'd landed in. "Flaming hot, isn't it?" he puffs his cheeks out. "Quite literally, sauna in the Sahara sort of hot," he mutters, taking his blazer off and chucking it into the TARDIS.

Rose, who'd been stepping out after them, sidesteps the blazer and catches it deftly: "thanks for that, Doctor," she rolls her eyes, folding it over her arm.

"Rose Tyler!" the Doctor turns to her with a teasing grin. "You really are something special, aren't you? Help Eva and me save the universe every other day, make sure we never run out of milk, and even offer a quality clothes-care service!" 

"Don't thank me till you hear how much I charge," Rose smiles sweetly and drops his blazer on the grating floor, making George snort as he walks out past her, followed by Harry and Ginny. 

"It's boiling out here," Ginny looks around, pulling on the collar of her shirt and stripping off her jacket as well while Arnold moves to nuzzle her neck.

"Where are we this time, Doc?" George asks, slinging his arm around Rose's shoulders while she smooths out her denim skirt.

"Not sure," the Doctor shrugs, rolling up his sleeves. "Lots of weird alien static about when we dropped out of space-time," he tells them. 

"Whole area's polluted, clogged the sensors," Eva nods, pulling her hair into a quick bun before looping her arm through the Doctor's.

"So this is a planet that sees a lot of space traffic, then?" Harry asks, looking around at all of the odd plants.

"Seems quiet enough," Ginny folds her arms.

"These plants are weird, though," Rose frowns at them. "Kind of like fat corn," she tilts her head.

"Sort of," the Doctor smiles at that, taking one of the leaves of a plant in his free hand and breaking it off.

Eva wrinkles her nose at the ooze that comes from the leaf and the Doctor waves it in her face teasingly, making her giggle as she swats his hand away. 

"Allo, allo!" the Doctor jokes, making Eva giggle more. "Or rather, Aloe barbadensis," he smiles down at her. "Aloe vera!" he tells the others.

"Don't call me Vera," Rose grins.

"Ha, ha," the Doctor rolls his eyes. "Oh, but it's lovely stuff. Good old aloe vera. Good for the skin, and great for sunburn," he glances up at the bright sun and smears some of the aloe on the back of his neck. "You too," he smiles down at Eva and puts some on her nose and bare shoulders. 

"Cause this body's Irish I burn easy, right?" she rolls her eyes, handing the chunk of leaf to George so it could be passed around. 

"Exactly," Ginny snorts, putting some of the aloe on her now bare arms and rubbing a glob of it onto Harry's neck. 

"You're one to talk, ya ginge," Eva narrows her eyes playfully and Ginny sticks her tongue out. 

The Doctor snorts loudly and heads down a line of crops, dragging Eva with him: "so, high-yield corn that also produces aloe vera, what does that tell you?" he asks.

"That this planet sells magic seeds?" Rose raises an eyebrow, her and the rest of the group following.

"That here be humans," the Doctor grins. "Probably future humans... or at least, future human plants. Could be a colony? Don't know, though," he stops and hops up and down. "Feels like Earth. Earthish, anyway. Thought we were in the neighborhood."

"But what about the alien pollution stuff?" Harry frowns. "Has everyone got their own spaceship in this time?"

"Seems to me-"

"Don't move," a voice warns in a low tone.

"As I was saying..." the Doctor tenses, pulling Eva a bit closer as two rifle barrels are pushed through the plants, aimed at the two of them. "Seems to me we're in something nasty and smelly but probably very good for the crops here," he smiles ruefully.

Two black human men step into view, keeping their aim. One of them looks to be in his 30s and was wearing shorts and a sweaty shirt. The other looks about 20 and was wearing a thick-strapped tank and a straw hat on.

"How did you six get in here?" the older of the two asks.

Eva, not being able to help herself when a perfect opportunity arises, nods to the plants happily: "we often just crop up," she grins, earning quiet snickers from her friends and a look from her boyfriend, even as his lips twitch up.

"Answer me," the man narrows his eyes.

"We found a gap in the... force field," the Doctor tries, getting blank looks from the two men. "No? Crack in the hole-shield? Wrinkle in the neutronic partition?"

"There was a hole in the fence," George cuts in.

"But we didn't know we were trespassing," Rose adds quickly. 

"Where are we?" Ginny asks.

"Like you don't know," the older man scoffs before looking at the younger. "Basel, do you recognize them?"

"Why should I?" the young man, Basel, asks defensively.

"You spend enough time at the aid camps," the older man rolls his eyes. 

"Why should you think we come from the aid camps, Mr..." the Doctor trails off, his head cocked to the side. 

"Chief Overseer... name's Solomon Nabarr," he introduces as he eyes the group suspiciously. "You speak Arabic," he notes.

"Course we do," the Doctor grins and pinches Eva in the arm, who was biting her lip, trying not to laugh. "Now, you were saying about the aid camps? "

"Aw, come on, man, this is Chad-"

"Chad!" the Doctor cuts off Solomon excitedly. "Oh, fab! How cool is that? How hot, I mean," he muses. "We're in Africa, guys!"

Solomon rolls his eyes, continuing: "-and don't get me wrong but from the color of your skin and speaking the language, you've got to be one of three things; aid worker, journo, or activist," he eyes them. 

"Intelligent reasoning, like it," the Doctor grins.

"Completely wrong, though," Eva cuts in with a sweet smile. "Never mind... we're travelers, that's all," she shrugs. 

"I'm the Doctor, not as in camp doctor, though some might say I have my moments," he smiles. 

"And I'm Evangeline Evans... call me Eva, and this is Rose, George, Harry, and Ginny," I point to them in turn.

"You don't look very comfy holding that gun," the Doctor looks at Solomon. "Why don't you put it down and we can-"

"Only place you could stay without drawing attention is in a camp with the aid staff, unless you're being hidden by activists," Solomon glares. "So which is it?"

"They're not activists, Solomon," Basel cuts in, tightening his grip on his own rifle.

"How do you know?" Ginny raises her eyebrows.

"Activists wouldn't act so weird," he shrugs, making the group share amused smiles. "I reckon they've escaped from somewhere," he tells Solomon.

"Escaping from here would be nice," Rose mutters to George under her breath, making him 'cough'.

Glancing at Basel, she notices a weird holographic watch on his wrist. Leaning over a bit she reads the date: 11 April 2118 at 16:47. She was about to say something to the Doctor about the date when screaming was heard off in the distance. 

"Sounds like Adiel," Basel eyes widen as he and Solomon turn in the direction of the screams quickly.

"Or like our cue," Harry retorts and Rose snatches Basel's rifle from him. 

Solomon turns at the sudden action and the Doctor takes his rifle just as quickly before handing it right back with a wide grin: "shall we see if she's alright, then? Lovely! Come on," he moves his hand to grip Eva's and two of them rush off. 

Rose shoves Basel's rifle into his hands and she and George run after the three. Harry and Ginny give Basel, who was watching incredulously, matching innocent grins before chasing off after them as well. Once out of the field, the group got a proper look at where they were. A huge mountain stood tall above them with a futuristic building made of metal and dark windows at the bottom. A vast red desert stretched on forever on the left, but they were running on what seemed like bark chippings at the moment. Up ahead was a short black woman, who was running toward them frantically, looking terrified. In her hand, Eva notes, was a data-get and she was clutching it like a lifeline. 

"Kanjuchi," Adiel pants as she falls into Solomon's open arms. "The tunnels... something happened to him," she clutches onto him.

"What happened to him, Adiel?" Basel barges past everyone to get to her.

"Where is he now?" Solomon puts in urgently.

"New growth chamber, he was screaming... we found some weird gold stuff and it... " she pulls away from Solomon and buries her face in Basel's shirt. "It ate him," she whispers.

"This sounds right up our street!" the Doctor exclaims rather excitedly, earning a stomp on the foot from Eva, making him pout. 

"He's stuck in the chamber, couldn't get out!" Adiel cries, not taking notice of the Doctor's tone.

"You lot, help Basel look after Adiel," the Doctor points to his group with his free hand.

"Just quickly," Rose moves over to whisper to him and Eva. "It's 2118... is that future-ish enough to explain that space pollution you picked up?"

"Nope," Eva shakes her head, popping the 'p'. "Right then, Solomon, show us the way to these tunnels," she smiles.

"You're staying here," he shakes his head.

"Stop wasting time! We're not!" the Doctor argues. 

"You are," Solomon raises his rifle warningly.

"It's not even loaded!" the Doctor rolls his eyes, taking the rifle and pulling the trigger. 

Everyone except Adiel yelps when shots ring out and several stalks of the odd aloe corn get wrecked. The Doctor was quick to chuck the rifle into the field, far away. 

"Bozo," Eva hits his chest. 

"Alright, then, it is loaded," he mutters sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. "But aren't we wasting time? I think so," he raises his eyebrows at Solomon. 

"Now... tunnels! Adiel was running in this direction, ergo..." Eva grins and pulls the Doctor off in the direction of the huge mountain. 

Harry's leg twitches anxiously and Ginny laughs to herself before nudging him: "go on," she smiles.

"I love you," Harry beams, giving her a quick kiss before running off after the Doctor and his cousin. 

"You better, we're getting married in a month!" Ginny calls after him jokingly and he smiles widely over his shoulder, sending a wink. 

"Come back!" Solomon shouts after them, taking Basel's rifle off him and chasing after the three. "Send some manuals to search the fields," he calls over his shoulder. "Check that they haven't damaged the crop, they might have planted something!" 

"Like what!" George calls after him incredulously. "Magic beans!?" he jokes, making Rose giggle and Ginny roll her eyes. 

Rose watches the Doctor, Eva, and Harry sprint off with Solomon chasing them while waving his gun and shakes her head: "see ya, then," she sighs. 

Basel, now with his hands free from the rifle, wraps his arms around the frightened and shaking Adiel. His eyes, however, were trained on the three strangers that were left distrustfully.

"We won't give you any trouble," Ginny tries to assure him when she sees the look. 

"Honest, we won't," George puts in sincerely. "But maybe you should make her a cup of tea for the shock or something, yeah?" he eyes Adiel in concern.

"Or something," Basel tightens his arms around the girl for a moment before sighing. "Alright, come on, help me get her inside," he murmurs. 

• • • • • •

"Hello," Harry grins as he falls into the step with the Doctor and Eva, having caught up to the two rather quickly.

"You couldn't help yourself, could ya?" Eva laughs in excitement, her hearts racing.

"Course not," Harry replies, laughing as well. "Merlin, I missed the running!" 

"Love the running!" the Doctor laughs.

Solomon races after the Doctor, Eva, and Harry, trying to ignore the painful stitch in his side: "stop!" he shouts for what seems like the hundredth time.

The three trespassers were a good twenty meters away, nearing the entrance to the underground tunnels that Adiel had mentioned and they were getting further and further away by the second. Solomon aims his rifle and fires a warning shot, making the trio come to an immediate stop and the Doctor turns to him indignantly: "look, Solomon, I'm not being rude-" he stops himself at Harry and Eva's look. "Well, maybe I am," he shrugs, not really caring. "But how about you get your priorities right?" he raises an eyebrow, folding his arms.

"I reckon we might be able to help," Eva cuts in, glaring at the man and putting her hands on her hips. "If it ends up being that we can't, then you can go all guns a blazing on us, chuck us out, all of that... deal?"

Solomon stares at her in slight shock as she grabs the Doctor and Harry's hands, dragging them off without even flinching about the still raised gun. The three head over to a set of steel doors in the rock that were wide open.

"Through here, is it?" Harry asks, nodding to the doors as he lets go of Eva's hand. 

"Alright," Solomon sighs, stepping up beside them warily. "But you three are going in ahead of me so I can keep my eye on you... I'll direct you," he nods inside the tunnel. 

"If it makes you feel all manly and brave, have at it," Eva rolls her eyes, making the Doctor snort and Harry sigh in exasperation. 

The doors lead to an access tunnel and the temperature was a drastic change to the sweltering heat outside, which was welcome after the run. The roof was jagged rock and the lights were down low, giving the tunnel a sort of crimson glare. 

"Lava tubes!" Eva squeals as she drags the Doctor forward, Harry and Solomon behind them. "Oh, this is wicked! Molten lava pours down the volcano, the outer layers cool and solidify, but the core stream continues to flow and evacuates itself completely to leave behind empty tube-ways through the rock," she explains with a wide grin. 

"Atta girl," the Doctor smiles down at her, kissing her cheek. 

"I did actually know how the tunnels come to be here," Solomon retorts dryly.

The four of them reach the first of the caves and Eva looks around excitedly, running her fingers along the wall to feel the rock. Solomon grabs torches from hooks on the wall and passes them around so they each have one. Harry and Eva both decide against using their wands to light the way since Solomon was already so suspicious of them.

"Blades, helictites... Geologist's dream, this little lot," the Doctor muses, watching Eva with a fond smile.

"How far does the network stretch?" Harry asks curiously.

"Several kilometers, Fynn says," Solomon hurries down the huge cavern, grimacing when his shoes make a gross squelching noise from the wet and smelly ground. "We've only cleared a few hundred meters so far. The tubes are very fragile to the east. We're trying to shore them up but resources are limited," he explains.

"What resources?" the Doctor asks and then beams when bats chitter and rustle from above them and he sees fungus growing from the bat droppings in the tunnel floor. "Aha! I get it, you're framers!"

"This is Agricultural Technology Unit 12," Solomon replies.

"Farmers farming fungus inside a volcano!" the Doctor grins, making Eva snort, the sound echoing in the tunnel. "Genetically modified, is it, like the crops?" he asks, pinching Eva's sides and making her giggle, swatting his hands away. 

Solomon rolls his eyes at the couple: "the world needs food and there's precious little land left in which to grow it. Global warming, desertification..."

"So you're using your 'agriculture technology' to grow it in less obvious places," Harry murmurs. 

"Yep, under a volcano, that's not at all obvious," Eva rolls her eyes. 

"And if we're in Chad, we must be walking about underneath Mount Tarsus, right?" the Doctor asks.

"You expect me to believe you don't even know-"

"Whoa, hold on," Eva stops, sliding a bit on the slippery ground, the Doctor grabbing her waist to stabilize her. "Thanks, sweetie," she sends him a wink. "Isn't Tarsus still active?" she asks Solomon.

"No eruptions for 80 years," he waves off. 

"Then aren't you overdue one?" Harry frowns.

"How'd you think the agri-board beat them down on the land price?" Solomon retorts. "Come on, it's just through there," he uses his rifle to point around the corner. 

"He's awfully fond of the big gun... reckon he's compensating?" Eva grins back at the Doctor with an overly innocent expression, making him laugh loudly.

Harry rolls his eyes with a smile at the two while Solomon looks back with raised eyebrows. The Doctor clears his throat and rubs his ear with a sheepish smile: "sorry, through here, you said?" he asks in a high voice, walking around the corner with Eva snickering behind him, only for them both to come to an abrupt stop with wide eyes. 

"No tricks," Solomon warns, gesturing with his gun for Harry to move. 

Harry steps up beside Eva, his own eyes widening as well: "tell him that," he murmurs quietly.

Solomon moves to stand beside Harry and stares in complete and utter shock. Standing in the entrance, was a golden statue of a man with his arms held wide open, face contorted into an expression of pure fear.

"Kanjuchi," Solomon whispers, his stomach churning. 

He goes to move toward his friend, but Harry puts a hand on his shoulder to stop him: "don't touch him," he warns gently. 

"But he's been hurt!" Solomon protests, pulling away from Harry's grasp.

"We'll examine him," the Doctor cuts in, holding Eva's hand as she stares at the statue sadly. "I'm the Doctor, remember? ... come on, love," he tugs on her hand and he and Eva step up to the statue warily. "Though even from this distance, I'd say he was dead," he says quietly.

Solomon leans against the tunnel wall, his legs buckling under him as his stomach turns unpleasantly: "who would want to-" he shakes his head. "It's like he's been painted all over... is that what killed him?" 

"Like in James Bond, you mean? Goldfinger, that was the one," the Doctor beams at Solomon over his shoulder. "Who's playing Bond these days? Cal Mac-Nannovitch was my favorite... it's always the one you grow up with, isn't it?" he muses.

"Anyway," Harry cuts in, giving the Doctor a pointed look while Eva covers her mouth, trying to hide her laughter. 

"Right... sorry, but no," he shakes his head. "Urban myth. People don't suffocate when you paint their skin. Something else killed this man," he lightly taps Kanjuchi on the arm, creating a clanging sound that echoes around the tunnel. 

"This stuff is way heavier than paint," Eva murmurs with a slight frown, running her finger over the smooth metal-like material. "It's holding him upright... 

"And it's still warm," Harry notes, his hand on the shoulder of the statue. 

"Suggests some sort of physical reaction is continuing," the Doctor nods, slipping on his 'clever' specs and looking inside Kanjuchi's mouth. "The stuff's in here too; coating his tongue, the inside of his mouth, back of the throat..." he murmurs, his eyebrows furrowing. 

"How?" Solomon barely got out, swallowing hard.

"Don't know, we'll have to take samples, run a full chemical analysis... here's a funny thing, though," he frowns, looking back at Solomon. "Didn't Adiel say she left him inside the chamber?"

"He... he must have struggled out," Solomon mutters, unsure.

"Suppose he could've," Eva murmurs, examining Kanjuchi closely. "But look at him... doesn't look like he was frozen mid-struggle, does he?" she raises an eyebrow.

"So, he squeezed through that narrow little exist and planted himself here... posing himself like that; feet together and arms apart?" Harry frowns, folding his arms. 

"He was trying to keep whatever did this to him in there, it must still be inside," Solomon reasons. 

"Yeah, he does look like he's standing guard, doesn't he?" the Doctor mutters quietly, slipping his specs off with a thoughtful expression.

"I think we should have a word with Adiel, find out exactly what happened in there," Eva suggests. 

"Poor girl's only just back from holiday, she'll need another one to get over this," Solomon rubs his nose. "I must tell Fynn," he sighs.

"Who's this Fynn again?" Harry asks.

"Director of Development, in charge here; he'll contact Law Enforcement," Solomon replies.

"Oh, blimey, that's all we need," the Doctor groans. 

"A band of butch soldiers with big guns and closed minds," Eva agrees, rolling her eyes. 

"They'll find who did this," Solomon murmurs.

"Who? What do you mean, 'who'? You heard Adiel, some gold stuff ate him!" the Doctor reminds him before frowning. "Suppose we'd better have a word with him," he sighs.

"Who?" Solomon frowns in confusion.

"Your man Flynn, try and keep up!" Eva claps. "Come on, then," she starts to head off. 

"Do you want to lead the way?" Harry offers to Solomon.

"No, tell you what, we'll go first again, shall we? You can keep pointing the gun at us," the Doctor cuts in, following after Eva with his hands in his pockets, watching her skip ahead with an amused grin. 

"It might help you believe you've got some power over the situation, Mr. Overseer!" Eva calls back, making Harry smile and the Doctor snort loudly. 

• • • • • •

Rose was walking with Adiel, holding her hand with her other arm around her to calm the shaken girl. Ginny and George were walking on either side of them, and Basel was directing a few farmhands to check on the crops. Once the farmhands walk off, Basel comes over and takes Adiel from Rose, leading the four to an empty common room. Inside was an extremely thin TV, a pool table, a fish tank with tropical fish, and pieces of furniture around. It wasn't much, but it had air conditioning, which was a huge relief from the heat.

Adiel sits on one of the sofas, staring into space. Basel manages to pry the data-get from her hands and not having that to clutch to, Adiel began playing with the beads on her necklace nervously. Basel goes over to a fridge and gets out some kind of drink. It smelt like fresh fruit and he added a tablet, making it fizz up: "passive-pill, should help her calm down," he tells the others, taking his hat off and chucking it on a chair, revealing tribal designs buzzed into his hair.

"Hope your friend's alright," Rose says softly, leaning against the pool table next to George and Basel grunts in response. 

"What did he do?" Ginny asks curiously, watching the fish in the tank while Arnold chitters at them from her shoulder. 

"Agri-technician, like Adiel, part of Fynn's Food Squad," Basel explains.

"Are you an agri-technician too?" George raises an eyebrow.

"Me? I'm a crop inspector," he breathes out a laugh. "I report to Solomon," he explains.

"You inspect them, he oversees them, right?" Rose bits her lip, trying not to let him know how boring she thought that was. "So, inspecting crops, that's got to be... um, fun," she mutters, nudging George when he smirks.

Basel sent Rose a charming smile that had George scooting a little closer to her, narrowing his eyes and Basel takes the hint: "it stinks," he clears his throat awkwardly. "You lot can grab a drink if you want," he points to the fridge and they each grab a can. "You saw the crops and got hungry, sneaked inside," he guesses, eyeing the three as he sits down and wraps his arm around Adiel to comfort her. "Am I right?"

"You said it," George nods, silently thanking him for giving them a cover story.

"Are you refugees, then? From the fighting?"

"You could say that," Rose nods, taking a sip of her drink and smiling at the fruity taste. 

"Seen a lot of fighting, us," Ginny leans next to George and he wraps an arm around her shoulders, squeezing her briefly. 

"How bad is it in Moundou?" Basel asks. 

"Um... bad," Rose mutters awkwardly, not really knowing much about Africa at all. "It's, like, really bad," she adds lamely. 

"We were glad to get away," George cuts in. 

"Yeah, the rehousing camps aren't fun," Basel sighs. "I do volunteer work at the one in Iniko when I'm off-shift, hang at the school... you know," he tells them.

"Helping the kids and that?" Ginny asks with a slight smile.

"I guess," Basel shifts a little awkwardly while looking proud and defensive. "Teachers give me lessons in return, see..."

"Huh! How ungrateful is that," George snorts, but instantly regrets the attempt at a joke when Basel's eyes harden.

"How old do you think I am?" he asks, eyeing the three. 

"20... 21?" Rose guesses. "I don't know," she shrugs.

"Yeah, well, I don't know either," he scowls. "Till last year I couldn't even count that far. You three know other languages and stuff. You learned loads at school, I bet. I don't even know when I was born. My dad died in the fighting, century's end. Mum was sick and never got better. I had to look after my brothers and then... " he squeezes Adiel as if she was the one who was in pain as the others watch him in quiet sympathy. "Anyway, never had much time for schooling, only work, wherever I could find it..."

"And here you are, nice little farm next to a mountain," George grins brightly at the subject change.

"It's a volcano," Basel retorts.

"Seriously?" Rose asks with a slight smile, having never seen a volcano before. 

"And it's not a nice little farm either," he rolls his eyes.

"Well... what is this place, then?" Ginny asks.

"Just one more agri-unit sucking the land dry," Basel sighs. "Africa has debts it can never pay off, see? It rents out land to Europe and America for a handful of bucks so they can feed their people; while our own go on starving," he scowls.

"You're here, though, working for them," George points out.

"I need money and this is the quickest way to earn it," he explains quietly. "I've got to get out, get myself a proper education, get taken serious. Make people care about what's happening," he takes his arm from Adiel and leans his elbows on his knees. "Used to be just cotton and coffee and stuff Africa got ripped off for. Now the big corporations are taking native plants and animals, taking their genes apart, finding cures for diseases and stuff. They get rich, Westerners get better lives and we get next to nothing."

"It's known as bio-piracy," a cool, collected voice cuts in. 

Rose, Ginny, and George jump slightly, turning to the doorway to see a tall black man in a lab coat standing there: "however, Basel knows that although I direct the scientific research at this unit, I am just as opposed to the trend," he continues. "I intend that my work will benefit the world, not only a portion of it," he looks at the trio. "My name is Edet Fynn, I wasn't expecting visitors."

"I doubt you were expecting one of your agri-technicians to wind up gold-plated either," the Doctor retorts, stepping into the room with Eva and Harry right behind him, the former with her hand entwined with his.

"But these things happen," Eva smiles pleasantly.

"They're the Doctor, Eva, and Harry," Rose points to them with a sheepish grin, Eva sending her a quick wink. "We're Rose, George, and Ginny," she introduces.

"Here to help, like the Koala Brothers," the Doctor smiles, stepping away from Eva and settling himself between Basel and Adiel. "She talking yet?"

"I gave her a p-pill, she's coming down," Basel replies.

"What's going on?" Fynn turns to Solomon, who'd stepped in quietly with his rifle still in hand. "Where did these visitors come from? I had no-"

"Kanjuchi is dead, Director," Solomon cuts him off quietly.

"Dead?" Fynn stares at him in shock.

"You're joking," Basel shakes his head.

"What happened?" Rose frowns.

"That's the 24-carat question," Eva kneels in front of Adiel and waves a hand in her face, getting no response. 

"Adiel, sweetheart, that's a lovely necklace," the Doctor smiles, noticing her playing with it. "Where did you get it, hmm?"

"I made it," she whispers.

"Those stones are beautiful," Eva smiles up at her, placing her hands on Adiel's knees and squeezing gently.

"They are local stones," she replies blankly.

"Not just stones, though, are they? I reckon they're tektites, yeah?" Eva glances up at the Doctor he nods, sending her a wink.

"Glassy crystals often formed as the result of a meteor impact, or something from space anyway," the Doctor explains. 

"Got any craters round here?" Harry asks Fynn, folding his arms.

"No," Fynn steps forward, his shock turning into anger. "But apparently, I have a member of staff lying dead-"

"Standing up, actually," Eva cuts in, standing and facing Fynn with an eyebrow raised.

"-while you two sit there discussing a necklace!" he snarls.

"Oi, they're trying to calm her down!" George glares at the man.

"Ease her back by talking about normal stuff, yeah?" Rose agrees.

"Normal," Basel sighs, putting his head in his hands. 

"Won't really help much if you lot keep shouting," Ginny rolls her eyes.

"Hang on," the Doctor frowns. "What am I sitting on?" he pulls the data-get from behind him. "Wow! A data-get... you still use these!"

"It's Adiel's," Basel snatches it from him. 

And Fynn takes it off Basel: "the data in the fungus crop I came for," he murmurs, looking at the readout. "No, wait... this isn't right..."

"Kanjuchi thought it was gold," Adiel cuts in quietly. "I wanted to prove he was crazy... I did a scan," she explains.

"These readings are gibberish, the data-get's faulty," Fynn reasons.

"Or else it's trying to break down chemical elements it's not programmed to recognize," the Doctor retorts. 

"Elements that aren't found on Earth," Harry agrees.

All of a sudden, a farm worker in dirty denim comes in, holding a golden something in his arms.

"Put it down, Nadif!" Solomon shouts urgently.

Nadif immediately drops the thing and it hits the ground with a dull clang. Everyone stares; it was a golden statue of a vulture.

"Such craftsmanship, it's a work of art," Fynn says in awe, kneeling beside it to get a better look.

"That's a vulture!" Basel breathes. 

"A solid-gold vulture," George mutters.

"It's not gold," Eva shakes her head. 

"And not a statue," Harry adds seriously.

"That was a real vulture once... a living thing, enveloped in this same augmented magma," the Doctor runs a hand through his hair. 

"What" Fynn looks at them sharply. "Augmented by whom?"

"I found it in the west field," Nadif mutters in fear. "It was trying to fly, but it couldn't; it turned to... to this, right as I watched," he explains.

"Anything else?" the Doctor asks, standing and shoving his hands in his pockets.

"That isn't enough?" Basel gapes at him.

"May I remind you, Doctor, that I am the Director here?" Fynn gives him a pointed look.

"Really?" Eva scoffs. "Cause from what I've seen, the only thing you've done is stand there looking like an idiot with his dick out," she rolls her eyes, making Fynn gape at her in shock as the Doctor 'coughs' rather obscenely.

"Sorry about her, she's hasn't had her afternoon nap," Harry gives Eva a look, Rose and George snickering quietly. 

"Don't apologize for me," Eva sends a look back. "You need to start directing!" she tells Fynn.

"We've got to get on top of all this before it gets on top of us," the Doctor agrees, pointing down to the vulture.

"Alright," Fynn straightens, cleaning his throat. "Organize your teams to search for any more affected wildlife," he orders Solomon, who nods and leaves with Nadif.

"There must be another way into that cave," Harry mutters.

"Somewhere the wildlife's using," the Doctor nods.

"Impossible," Fynn denies. "The growth chamber has to be secure, no light, no change in temperature. The fungus can only thrive in a specific, controlled environment," she explains.

"Looks like whatever else has turned up in that chamber's not so fussy," Ginny retorts.

"There was no daylight visible when Kanjuchi and I were inside," Adiel puts in.

"Look, there are two options," Eva snaps, nudging the vulture with her foot. "Either the vulture found a hidden way into that chamber or else this happened to it somewhere else!"

"We must get over there and see for ourselves," Fynn heads for the door.

"There we are, then! Only took half an hour," the Doctor rolls his eyes, pulling Eva after him. "Come on, love!"

"No, Doctor, she stays here," Fynn shakes his head. "The crop is at a crucial stage and the less disruption in the growth chambers the better," he gives Eva a cold glare. 

"Just try and order me about, Director, I dare you," Eva glares right back, her tone taking on a dark edge as her eyes flash gold for a second, only Fynn and the Doctor seeing.

"This guy's a fucking knob," Bad Wolf growls in Eva's mind, making her wince slightly.

Fynn flinches and the Doctor frowns, squeezing Eva's hand. After they'd left the Burrow, he ran a scan on her... without her knowing, of course. The TARDIS was refusing to give any answers, though, deleting the results right when they came up.

"Yes, um..." Fynn clears his throat, regaining his composure. "On the way over, perhaps you will explain to me precisely who you are and how you come to be here," he looks at the Doctor, trying not to look at Eva.

"Perhaps," the Doctor shrugs, pulling Eva from the room. "Alright, love?" he asks worriedly, running his thumb along her knuckles. 

"Fine... just haven't got patience for idiots today, I guess," she sighs, taking her hand from his and wrapping her arm around his waist while she copies the tapping on his side.

The Doctor kisses the top of her head, his arm going around her shoulders and pulling her close. He was thinking of what her eyes flashing gold could mean and wondering why she was lying to him about it. It couldn't be that bad, could it?

• • • • • •

"Stay with this lot, Basel!" Fynn calls over his shoulder, rushing to catch up with the Doctor and Eva.

"With the bird, you mean," Rose sighs, eyeing the metal one in the floor.

"Why'd this have to happen?" Adiel whispers, tears in her eyes as she stares at the vulture as well. "Why today?"

"Why any time?" Basel retorts.

"I can't believe Kanjuchi's dead," she sniffles. "If I hadn't run out on him, maybe-"

"Maybe you'd be dead too," Ginny cuts in gently.

"Don't let me fall asleep... there're things... things I need to..." she fell to her side on the sofa, snoring softly.

"That golden thing gives me the creeps," Basel mutters quietly. 

"Me too," George admits.

"It's still so... sort of lifelike," Rose frowns, staring at it. "I mean, I know it was alive, but it still looks like any second it's going to-" she gets cut off by the bird turning its head and staring at her before launching itself at her with a screech.

A/N: Hope you guys like it, let me know!! :D Thanks for reading and see ya next week! :*