AN: I will admit, that last chapter took far longer to write than normal. I just didn't want to end it for whatever reason. Ugh. Anyway, apologies for the delays! I've been busy at work and that was when I was doing a lot of writing. I've also had to find another show to turn on when I'm at home since I write and watch at the same time. I haven't been watching season 8 just yet of Doctor Who, largely because I want a few episodes to be out first. I torture myself by wishing the next episode was out otherwise. GAH. Hence the other shows. If I'm distracted, I won't give in to the urge. Anyway, ON WITH THE STORY!

"Open fire!" Jefferson roared. The guards immediately started shooting the Ood and Celeste covered her ears to block out the noise. The shaking slowed down and Zach told them through the comm that the planet had returned to orbit. With all of the Ood dead, Celeste made her way back to the comm.

"Doctor? Ida? Are two all right down there?" She frowned when there was no response and turned around to look at the door when Danny burst in, hands raised defensively.

"It's me! But they're coming. It's the Ood. They've gone mad," Danny panted out.

Jefferson and the guards lowered their guns. "How many of them?" Jefferson asked Danny who had collapsed against the wall.

"All of them! All fifty!"

Jefferson yanked Danny away from the door, "Out of the way!" Jefferson started to open the door much to Danny's horror.

"But they're armed! It's the interface device. I don't know how, but they're using it as a weapon."

Jefferson ignored him and opened the door, the guards standing in front of it waiting. The lead Ood immediately stuck the globe to the female guard's head and she screamed as she died. Jefferson started shooting at the Ood trying to come in. With all the Ood dead, Jefferson hastily sealed the doors. Celeste looked at the corpses sadly.

"Jefferson, what's happening there?" Zach asked through the comm. Jefferson sighed and spoke through the drive on his wrist.

"I've got very little ammunition, sir. How about you?"

"All I've got is a bolt gun. With um, all of one bolt. I could take out a grand total of one Ood. Fat lot of good that is," Zach said, defeated.

"Don't give up just yet, Zach. There are still options," Celeste said lightly.

"Given the emergency, I recommend strategy nine," Jefferson said calmly.

"Strategy nine… Agreed. Right, we need to get everyone together. Celeste? What about Ida and the Doctor? Any word?" Zach asked with a sigh.

"Not yet, I'm sure it's just comm trouble."

"Sorry! I'm fine. Still here!" the Docor burst out through some static. Celeste sighed in relief.

"You need to stop worrying me, Doctor."

"Sorry! Won't happen again. Anyway, it's both of us. Me and Ida. Hello. But the seal opened up. It's gone. All we've got left is this chasm."

"How deep is it?" Zach asked.

"Can't tell. It looks like it goes down forever."

"The voice said that the pit was open. Doctor, as much as I don't want to say it, I think you should go down," Celeste said hesitantly.

"But there's nothing. No readings, there's nothing coming out?" Zach asked.

"No, no. No sign of the Beast," the Doctor said. "Celeste, are you sure?"

"Yes," Celeste replied firmly.

"Ida, I recommend that you withdraw. Immediately," Zach commanded.

"But, we've come all this way. And Celeste told us to go down," Ida replied.

Zach grit his teeth. "Okay. THat was an order. Withdraw. WHen that thing opened, the whole planet's shifted. One more inch and we fall into the black hole. So this thing stops right now

"But it's not much better up there with the Ood."

"I'm initiating strategy nine, so I need the two of you back up top immediately, no ar…" The comm switched off and Zach frowned. "Ida? Ida!"

Ida looked at the Doctor. "Well, what do you think?"

The Doctor stared at the hole. "I think he gave an order." He paused. "But I also think that Celeste told me to go down and if there's one person I've grown to trust, it's her." His mind drifted to their conversation earlier and he smiled wryly. He hadn't always given her words much thought until after the fact but this time he was going to take her advice. He looked over at Ida and grinned. "Let's go, Ida Scott."

Ida smiled and went over to the capsule to grab the repelling gear. The Doctor pressed the button on his comm, "Celeste, we're going down."

Celeste smiled in relief, "Be careful. Just because I told you to go down there doesn't mean everything will pan out like I believe it will."

The Doctor let out a groan, "Honestly, after this, never again."

Celeste chuckled. "I'll give better advice in the future. Maybe." She let go of the mic and turned around to face Jefferson, who was pointing his gun at Toby. "What now?" She asked in mild irritation.

"He's infected. He brought that thing on board. You saw it," Jefferson said, his eyes glued to Toby.

"So you're going to shoot your own people now? You're better than that, Jefferson."

"If necessary, I'll do it."

"Then you'll have to shoot me too. I'm not going to let you shoot him out of fear."

Jefferson slowly lowered his gun. "Any sign of trouble, I'll shoot him."

Celeste sighed and approached Toby slowly. She knelt down and shoved aside the desire to scream at him for killing Scooti. "Are you all right?" She asked him instead.

Toby shook his head with a grimace. "Yeah. I don't know."

"Can you remember anything?"

"Just… It was so angry. I was fury and rage and death. It was him. It was the devil," Toby said hoarsely. Celeste smiled thinly and pat his shoulder. She silently hoped that the Doctor would be okay in that pit.

Zach looked at the information on his screens about the state of the planet and cursed at Ida and the Doctor for being stubborn. The lights flickered throughout the base before the power abruptly shut down. Everyone inside looked around anxiously.

"This is the darkness. This is my domain," a dark voice said. The monitors throughout the base switched on to reveal images of the Ood. "You little things that live in the light, clinging to your feeble suns which die in the…"

Zach spoke through the comms softly, "That's not the Ood. Something's talking through them."

"Only the darkness remains."

"This is Captain Zachary Cross Flane of Sanctuary Base Six, representing the Torchwood archive. You will identify yourself."

"You know my name," the voice said.

"What do you want?"

"You will die here. All of you. This planet is your grave."

"It's him! It's him. It's him," Toby started saying as he rocked back and forth. Celeste eyed him warily.

"If you are the Beast, then answer me this," The Doctor said. "Which one, hmm? 'Cos, the universe has been busy since you've been gone. There's more religions than there are planets in the sky. The Archiphets, Orkology, Christianity, Pash Pash, New Judaism, San Klah, Church of the Tin Vagabond. Which devil are you?"

"All of them."

The Doctor snorted. "What, then you're the truth behind the myth?"

"This one knows me as I know him. The killer of his own kind."

Celeste frowned at the statement. "How did you end up on this rock?" The Doctor asked, his voice tense.

"The Disciples of the Light rose up against me and chained me in the pit for all eternity."

"When was this?"

"Before time."

"What does that mean?" The Doctor asked incredulously.

"Before time."

"What does before time mean?"

"Before light and time and space and matter. Before the cataclysm. Before this universe was created."

"That's impossible. No life could have existed back then!"

"Is that your religion?"

"It's a belief."

"You know nothing. All of you, so small. The Captain, so scared to command. The soldier, haunted by the eyes of his wife. The scientist, still running from daddy. The little boy who lied. The virgin. And the lost girl, so very far away from home. The child with secrets even from herself who will soon perish in flames."

Celeste froze. That line wasn't the same as the one that she was familiar with. "Doctor… I don't know what that means," she said softly.

"Celeste, don't listen to a word it says," said the Doctor firmly. She bit her lip and remained quiet.

"You will die and I will live," the voice said smugly. The image on the screens was suddenly replaced with a roaring beast, making Danny jump nervously.

"What the hell was that?" He asked frightfully.

Toby shook his head and muttered under his breath. "I had that thing inside my head…"

"What do we do? Jefferson?" Danny asked, his eyes darting around the room frantically as he searched for an escape route.

Jefferson scowled and spoke into the comm, "Captain? What's the situation on strategy nine?"

"The planet, the orbit, the black hole. Everything's true!" Toby cried out, tugging at his hair. Everyone was shouting and talking over each other within seconds, the fear in them escalating. The Doctor shouted at everyone to stop talking but no one listened. Celeste rubbed her temple fretfully as Danny and Toby continued to mutter and cry. Suddenly, the loud sound of feedback came through the comms and everyone covered their ears at the harsh sound.

"You want voices in the dark, then listen to mine. That thing is playing on very basic fears. Darkness, childhood nightmares, all that stuff," the Doctor said, his voice angry and frustrated.

"But that's how the devil works!" Danny countered.

"Or a good psychologist," the Doctor said more calmly than before.

"Yeah, but how did it know about my father?" Ida asked curiously.

"Okay, but what makes his version of the truth any better than mine, hmm? 'Cos I'll tell you what I can see. Humans. Brilliant and beautiful humans. Humans who travel all the way across space, flying in a tiny little rocket or a blue box, right into the orbit of a black hole, just for the sake of discovery. That's amazing! Do you hear me? Amazing, all of you. The Captain, his officer, his elders, his juniors, his friends, my best friend. All with one advantage. The Beast is alone. We are not. If we can use that to fight against him, then we will get through this," the Doctor said passionately.

Everyone sat quietly as they absorbed what the Doctor had said. Celeste felt her cheeks heat up at his comment about her and cleared her throat loudly. She opened her mouth to say something when a loud noise shattered the quiet and they heard Ida shriek before the comms cut out. Celeste grabbed the mic tightly and spoke to the Doctor in desperation. "Doctor! The cable! Can you hear me? Are you and Ida all right?"

"Comms are down," Zach said grimly. "I've got some life signs but the capsule is gone. There's no way out. They're stuck down there. Looks like they'll be going down afterall."

The Doctor helped Ida up and stared grimly at the destroyed capsule. "How much air have we got?"

"Sixty minutes," Ida said as she sat up. She glanced at the indicator on her suit and sighed. "Make that fifty five."

He grabbed a bit of the cable and inspected it. "Then we better get to work."

Celeste slumped in front of the mic. They didn't have much time left and they had to get out of here. There was pounding at the door that made them all turn their heads. "Captain? Situation report," Jefferson asked briskly.

Zach hesitantly checked the door to the control room. "It's the Ood. They're cutting through the door bolts. They're breaking in."

"Yeah, it's the same back here," Jefferson replied.

"How do we have before they get in?" Celeste asked.

"Well, it's only a basic frame, it should take ten minutes," Jefferson said as he scratched his jaw. There was the sound of another bolt being cut and he glared at the door. "Eight."

"I've got a security frame. It might last a bit longer, but that doesn't help you," Zach said dryly.

"Okay. So we need to get out and we need to stop them," Celeste said, rubbing her hands together.

Danny threw up his hands, "How do you propose we do that?"

"Look, the Doctor was right. It cut him off from us because he was reminding us that we can do this. We can think of a way out. Now, first! Lights. We need to direct power from somewhere," Celeste said, her positive energy getting everyone to stand up and listen.

"They've gutted the generators. But the rocket's got an independent supply. If I could reroute that… Mister Jefferson?" Zach said as he typed away at his console. "Open the bypass conduits. Override the safety."

Jefferson walked over to a console himself and started typing in commands. "Opening bypass conduits, sir."

"Ok," Zach's voice crackled through the comms. "Channeling rocket feed in three, two, one… Power!" The lights sparked back to life and Celeste smiled.

"See? There we go. Progress. Now, what about strategy nine?"

"Not enough power. It needs a hundred percent," Zach said negatively.

"All right. We still need a way out. Zach, Mister Jefferson, you start working on that. Think outside the box. Toby, what about you?"

"I'm not a soldier. I can't do anything," Toby replied miserably.

"No, you're the archeologist. So tell me everything you know about the pit," Celeste said as she walked closer to him.

"Well, nothing. We can't even translate the language… Well, maybe. Since that thing was inside my head, it's like the letters made more sense."

Celeste barely restrained her snort of derision. "Ok, well, get translating." She turned to Danny. "As for you, you're in charge of the Ood. Any way you can think to stall them?"

Danny rubbed his hand down his face. "Well, I don't know."

"Think, Danny. The sooner we get control of things here the sooner we can get the Doctor and Ida."

Ida helped the Doctor gather the cable and wrap it around the drum from the capsule. They worked quietly and efficiently until Ida broke the silence.

"We're running out of air. Guess this is really the only thing we can do. Even if it's the last thing we ever achieve," she said sadly.

The Doctor clenched his jaw. "I'll get back. I'm not leaving Celeste up there alone. I have my own promise to keep."

"Well, maybe the key to that is finding out what's in the pit."

"Well, it's half a good plan."

"What's the other half?"

"I go down, not you." Ida stared at him in shock, her jaw dropping. The Doctor ignored her and continued to work on the cable. His mind hadn't calmed down from the moment the cable had snapped. As much as he wanted to believe Celeste, his worry was nearly overwhelming him and he wanted to get this exploration done with so he could get them the hell out of here.

Celeste leaned against the railing next to Danny as he tried to figure out a way to stop the Ood. She didn't want to flat out tell him how to do it but a few nudges couldn't hurt. "There's all sorts of viruses that could stop the Ood. Trouble is, we haven't got them on board," Danny muttered half to himself.

"Well, forget that for now. The Ood are psychic. Remember what the Doctor did with the mic earlier? The feedback?"

"Oh, my god! That's it!" Danny typed furiously. The monitor showed a confirmation of what he'd entered in and he whooped in joy. "It says yes! I can do it. Hypothetically, if you flip the monitor, broadcast a flare, it can disrupt the telepathy. Brainstorm!"

Celeste grinned and gave him a high five. "Excellent! What do you need to do?"

"Well, we have to transmit from the central monitor. Which means we need to get to Ood habitation."

"Then we'll go to Ood habitation," Celeste said firmly. She marched over to Jefferson. "Mister Jefferson, sir. Any way out yet?"

Jefferson's gaze flicked over to her for a moment. "Just about. There's a network of maintenance tunnels running underneath the base. We should be able to gain access from here."

"Similar to ventilation shafts. But if they're underneath then I'm guessing there's no air."

"Right. They were designed for machines, not life forms."

"But!" Zach chimed in through the comms. "I can manipulate the oxygen field from here. Create discrete pockets of atmosphere. If I control it manually, I can follow you through the network."

Celeste smiled, "Now you're thinking. Good, so we go down and you make the oxygen come with us as we move."

"You wanted me to press buttons, yeah?"

Celeste chuckled, "Yeah, that'll work. We need to get to Ood habitation so Danny can do what he's planned. Can you work out a route?"

"Yep, I'll get it planned out in just a few minutes." Celeste glanced at the door where the Ood were still trying to break in.

"Better make it a fast few minutes, Captain."

The Doctor tugged at the cable around his waist as he was stepped to the edge of the pit. Ida looked over at him and inspected the cable as well. "That should hold it. How's it going?"

"Fine. Should work. Doesn't feel like such a good idea now," the Doctor said as he looked down into the pit. "Hmm, there it is again. That itch. Go down, go down, go down, go down, go down…"

"The urge to jump. Do you know where it comes from, that sensation? Genetic heritage. Ever since we were primates in the trees. It's our body's way of testing us. Calculating whether or not we can reach the next branch."

"No, that's not it. That's too kind. It's not the urge to jump. It's deeper than that. It's the urge to fall!" He launched himself into the chasm. Ida jumped in shock and ran to the edge.

"Doctor!" She gasped and ran back to the drum and threw the brake. The Doctor let out a grunt as his descent was abruptly halted. "Are you okay?" Ida shouted down to him.

"Not bad, thanks. The wall of the pit seems to be the same as the cavern, just not much of it. There's a crust about twenty feet down and then nothing. Just the pit. Okay, then. Lower me down."

"Well, here we go then."

Celeste helped Toby down into the shaft and looked at the door nervously. "Danny! Hurry!"

"Hold on! Just conforming…"

"Dan, we got to go now! Come on!" Jefferson hollered.

"Yeah!" Danny grabbed a computer chip from the machine and he dashed towards them. "Put that in the monitor and it's a bad time to be an Ood," he said with a grin.

"Let's get a move on. We have a lot to do and not much time," Celeste said with an eye roll.

"Okay. Danny, you go first. Then you, Miss Smith, then Toby. I'll go last in a defensive position. Now, come on, quick as you can!" Jefferson said tersely. Everyone piled into the tunnel as the Ood continued to break down the door.

Celeste wrinkled her nose. "Smells in here. You okay, Danny?"

"Yeah, I'm laughing. Which way do we go?" Danny asked.

"Just go straight ahead. Keep going till I say so," Zach replied as he watched their progress on his monitors.

Celeste smirked slightly, "Not sure this is your best angle, Danny."

"Oi! Stop it!" he said, laughter in his tone.

"I don't know, it could be worse," Toby said as he eyed Celeste's skirt.

She whipped her head around and glared at him, "Watch it!"

"Straight on until you find junction seven point one. Keep breathing. I'm feeding you air. I've got you," Zach said as he ignored their banter. They continued to crawl on their hands and knees until Danny paused at the front.

"We're at seven point one, sir," he said as they all took a moment to relax.

"Okay, I've got you. I'm just aerating the next section."

Danny shifted uncomfortably, "Getting kind of cramped, sir. Can't you hurry up?"

"I'm working at half power, here."

"Stop complaining," Jefferson muttered.

Celeste snickered and watched as Danny shifted again. "Zach, how much longer?" She asked as her nose wrinkled at the smell.

"Just a bit longer." There was a loud bang from behind them and they all turned their heads to look back.

"What was that?" Danny asked, his voice trembling slightly.

"The junction in Habitation Five's been opened. It must be the Ood," Zach said.

"They're in the tunnels!" Toby exclaimed. He pressed further into Celeste in an attempt get away from the Ood.

Danny let out a frustrated noise. "Well, open the gate!"

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

"Just open it, sir!"

"Captain, can you tell us where the Ood are?" Celeste asked hesitantly.

"I don't know. I can't tell. I can't see them. The computer doesn't register Ood as proper life forms."

"Well, if we get out of here, I suggest you all advocate for Ood in the future," Celeste said through clenched teeth.

"Open the gate!" Danny demanded as he slammed a hand against it. The gate slowly slid up and Danny rushed through followed closely by everyone else.

"Danny, turn left. Immediate left," Zach said as he continued to guide them through.

"The Ood, sir. Can't you trap them? Cut off the air?" Jefferson asked calmly.

"Not without cutting off yours. Danny, turn right. Go right! Go fast, Dan. They're going to catch up!"

Jefferson slowed, "I'll maintain a defensive position."

"Jefferson, you can't stop!" Celeste cried out.

Jefferson let out a resigned sigh. "Miss Smith, that's my job. You've got your task, now see to it."

"You heard what he said, now shift," Toby said firmly. Jefferson braced himself and started firing at the Ood coming down tunnel.

"Eight point two. Open eight point two, Zach!" Danny shouted.

"I've got to aerate it," Zach bit out. The shooting continued behind them and Danny starting banging on the gate frantically. Celeste grabbed his hand and scolded him gently.

"Zach, get it open!" Toby yelled.

"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 had pulled out his pistol but it clicked, indicating it was out of ammo. He looked at the gun before tossing it aside and retreating down the tunnel. The gate next to Danny started to open.

"That's it! Come on!" Danny said excitedly as he scrambled through. Celeste and Toby followed him just as quickly.

"Danny, turn left and head for nine point two. That's the last one. Jefferson, you've got to move faster. John, move!"

Celeste looked back, her eyes sad as she spotted Jefferson trying to reach the door in time. "Mister Jefferson!"

Toby waved his hand, "Keep going!" Celeste brought a hand to her mouth as the gate shut just as Jefferson reached it. She squeezed her eyes shut and let out a shuddering breath.

"Regret to inform, sir. I was a bit slow. Not so fast, these days," Jefferson said softly.

Zach gripped the console in front of him. "I can't open eight point one, John. Not without losing air for the others."

Jefferson sat against the gate and sighed. "And quite right too, sir. I think I've bought them a little time."

A few tears fell from Celeste's eyes as she listened to the conversation. Toby and Danny had quieted, already mourning the loss of their friend.

"There's nothing I can do, John. I'm sorry," Zach said, his voice cracking.

Jefferson smiled, "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?"

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

"Well, if I might chose 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!" The Ood rounded the corner and approached Jefferson who had tensed.

Zach paused and reached for a button, "God speed, Mister Jefferson."

"Thank you, sir."

Zach pressed the necessary combination and the air was removed from the tunnel. He watched as Jefferson's spot on the monitor died away and he dropped his head sadly. "Report Officer John Maynard Jefferson PKD deceased with honours. 43 K two point one."

"Zach, we're at the final junction, nine point two. And um, if my respects could be on record. He saved our lives," Danny said softly.

"Noted. Opening nine point two, now," Zach said briskly. The gate started to open and Celeste backed away from it hastily as she spotted a few Ood on the other side. Danny let out a yell as he stumbled away from the gate as well.

"Zach! Lower nine point two! The Ood are there! Hurry!" Celeste yelled out. The gate was quickly lowered and Toby groaned.

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

Celeste looked up and spotted the grate the led into the corridor above them. She shoved it aside and Danny helped her up through. "Come on! Up!" She barked out as she helped Danny up. They both looked down for Toby and Celeste closed her eyes, taking a deep breath as she knew the beast was silently telling the Ood to back off. Toby appeared at the bottom and raised his arms frantically.

"Help me! Oh, my god. Help me up!" Danny and Celeste grab his arms and haul him up into the corridor. She slams the grate back down and they run down the corridor towards Ood Habitation. Danny threw open the door and rushed to the console.

"Hurry Danny!" Celeste said as she anxiously shifted from foot to foot. Danny searched his pockets for the chip and upon finding it, he slammed it into the console. The signal was sent out and the Ood collapsed on the floor, clutching their heads and writhing in pain. "You did it! Thank goodness!" Celeste laughed as she hugged Danny. She quickly spoke into the mic to Zach.

"Zach, it's done. The Ood are down. We've got to see if we can help Ida and the Doctor."

He quickly opened the door to the control room, "I'm on my way."

The Doctor was still being lowered into the pit, which was now pitch black around him. "You get representations of the Horned Beast right across the universe, in the myths and legends of a million worlds. Earth, Draconia, Velconsadine, Daemos. The carving on the wall. It's the same image, over and over again. Maybe that idea came from somewhere, bleeding through. The thought at the back of every sentient mind," he said as he craned his neck to see if he could spot anything around him.

Ida frowned, "Emanating from here?"

"Could be."

"But if this is the original, does that make it real? Does that make it the actual devil, though?"

"Well, if that's what you want to believe. Maybe that's what the devil is, in the end. An idea." The Doctor jerked to a halt as the last bit of cable was reached. The Doctor swayed in the air and looked down, squinting into the darkness.

"Well, that's it. That's all we've got. You getting any sort of readout?"

"Nothing. Could be miles to go, yet. Or could be thirty feet. No way of telling." He paused as he pondered his own statement. "I could survive thirty feet."

"Oh no you don't! I'm pulling you back up." She started the drum in reverse but the Doctor stopped it using his screwdriver. "What're you doing?"

"You bring me back, then we're just going to sit there and run out of air. I've got to go down. She told me to go down so that's what I'm going to do."

"But you can't! Doctor, you can't. I'm sure she didn't mean to possibly kill yourself. You can't just leave her. I can tell how much you care about her."

The Doctor smiled grimly, "Call it an act of faith. I believe in her."

"But… I don't want to die on my own."

"I know." He started to unclip the clasps on his suit. "I didn't ask. Have you got any sort of faith?"

"Not really. I was brought up Neo Classic Congregational, because of my mum. She was… My old mum… But no, I never believed."

"Neo Classics, have they got a devil?"

"Not so much. Just, um, the things that men do."

"Same thing in the end."

"What about you?"

The Doctor paused, "I believe… I believe I haven't seen everything. I don't know. It's funny, isn't it? The things you make up. The rules. If that thing had said it came from beyond the universe, I'd believe it, but before the universe? Impossible. Doesn't fit my rule. Still, what's why I keep traveling. To be proved wrong." He reached the last clasp "Thank you, Ida."

"Don't go!" She cried out as she peered over the edge into the pit.

"If they get back in touch, if you talk to Celeste, just tell her… Tell her... " He smiled sadly. "Oh, I think she knows." He released the last clasp and fell into the darkness below.

Celeste's voice crackled through the comms once Zach had gotten them working again. "Doctor, are you there? Ida, can you hear me?"

"He's gone," Ida whispered.

Celeste's breath caught in her throat and she forced herself to calm down. "You mean he went down, right? Like I told him to?"

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

"So he unhooked himself and let himself fall, is that what you're saying Ida?"

"I couldn't stop him. He said your name, he said, you'd know…"

Zach took the mic from Celeste. "I'm sorry. Ida? There's no way of reaching you. No cable. No back up. You're ten miles down. We can't get there."

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

Zach licked his lips, "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!" Ida exclaimed.

"Well, maybe that's the best."

"Yeah…"

"Officer Scott…" Zach started to say.

"It's all right. Just go. Good luck," Ida said with a tearful smile.

"And you," he said as he released the mic. He pulled himself up and turned to Danny and Toby. "Danny, Toby, close down the feed links. Get the retrotropes online, then get to the rocket and strap yourselves in. We're leaving."

Celeste closed her eyes and let out a breath. She felt her heart beating in her chest and tried to think positively. She knew he'd tell her to go and although part of her wanted to be stubborn, she also knew that the planet was going to fall into the black hole so staying would be suicide. Her eyes opened and she looked over at Zach who had been eyeing her warily.

"Let's get out of here."

His eyes widen in surprise but he nodded in agreement. They all start heading down the corridor past the Ood still on the floor. One of the Ood twitched as they passed it and Toby looked at it fearfully.

"Did that one just move?"

"It's the telepathic field. It's reasserting itself," Danny said.

"Move it! Get to the rocket. Go!" Zach shouted and they all sprinted down the corridor.

At the bottom of the pit, the Doctor laid face down with a broken faceplate. He woke up slowly and stood, looking around in surprise. "I'm breathing." He looked back up into the inky darkness. "Air cushion to support the fall. You can breath down here, Ida. Can you hear me, Ida?" He tapped the side of his helmet with frown. The sound of a rocket taking off made him raise his face up again.

"A rocket…" He murmured. "You better be on that thing, Celeste." He took out his torch and started inspecting the paintings on the wall. "The history of some big battle. Man against Beast. I don't know if you're getting this, Ida. Hope so. Anyway, they defeated the Beast and imprisoned it." He turned and spotted two urns on pedestals, the same two that were depicted on the wall he was standing next to. He approached the pedestals, his mind working furiously to figure out the puzzle.

"Or maybe, that's the key." He touched one of the urns and both lit up. "Or the gate, or the bars." A huge horned creatures woke up and roared at him. It tugged at the chains that held it to the wall but they didn't budge. The Doctor stared up at it in silent contemplation.

In the rocket, Toby had started laughing a bit maniacally as they flew away from the planet. Danny looked at him like he was crazy. "What's the joke?" Danny asked with a raised brow. Celeste glanced over at the bolt gun that was within arms reach and clenched her fist tightly.

"Just, we made it. We escaped. We actually did it," Toby said as he continued to laugh.

"We'll see," Celeste muttered.

"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 commanded as he flew the rocket.

Toby grinned evilly, "Gravity funnel holding, sir. Always holding."

Celeste glared out the window and waited patiently.

The Doctor continued to stare up at the giant beast in front of him. "I accept that you exist. I don't have to accept what you are, but your physical existence, I'll give you that." The beast roared at him in response. The Doctor frowned thoughtfully. "I don't understand. I was expected down here. I was given a safe landing and air. You need me for something. What for? Have I got to, I don't know, beg an audience? Or is there a ritual? Some sort of incantation or summons or spell? All these things I don't believe in, are they real? Speak to me! Tell me!"

The beast merely snarled at him in response. The Doctor looked more confused. "You won't talk. Or you can't talk. Oh, hold on, wait a minute, just let me… Oh! No. Yes! No. Think it through. You spoke before. I heard your voice. An intelligent voice. No, more than that. Brilliant. But, looking at you now, all I can see is Beast. The animal. Just the body. You're just the body, the physical form. What's happened to your mind, hmm? Where's it gone? Where's that intelligence?" The Doctor froze and looked up into the inky blackness in horror. "Oh no."

He started to pace, speaking impossibly fast. "You're imprisoned, long time ago. Before the universe, after, sideways, in between, doesn't matter. The prison is perfect. It's absolute, it's eternal. Oh, yes! Open the prison, the gravity field collapses. This planet falls into the black hole! You escape, you die! Brilliant! But that's just the body. The body is trapped, that's all. The devil is an idea. In all those civilizations, just an idea. But an idea is hard to kill. An idea could escape. The mind. The mind can escape! Oh, but that's it!" The Doctor spun and stalked up to the beast he leaned down to glare at the Doctor.

"You didn't give me air, your jailers did. They set this up all those years ago! They need me alive, because if you're escaping, then I've got to stop you. If I destroy your prison, your body is destroyed. Your mind with it." The Doctor grabbed a rock on the ground and stormed up to an urn to smash it to pieces. He raised the rock but froze when he was struck by another thought. The rock fell from his now limp hand as he turned back to the beast.

"But the, you're clever enough to use this whole system against me. If I destroy this planet, I destroy the gravity field. The rocket. The rocket loses protection and falls into the black hole. I have to sacrifice Celeste." The beast started to laugh at the Doctor's plight.

"You know, it doesn't make a bit of sense. There's a thousand ways it could have killed us but it didn't. It practically herded us to the rocket. Got us all to panic and flee. Like it wanted us to get away," Celeste said calmly as she continued to stare out the window. She glanced at the gun again out of the corner of her eye.

Toby scowled, "Hey, Celeste, do us a favor. Shut up." Celeste turned her head and stared at him flatly. "Almost there. We'll be beyond the reach of the black hole in forty, thirty nine…"

The Doctor felt his hearts pounding hard in his chest. Thoughts of Celeste drifting through his mind, the possibility of never seeing her again nearly sent him to his knees. "So, that's the trap. Or the test, or the final judgment, I don't know. But if I kill you, I kill her. Except that implies in this big grand scheme of Gods and Devils that she's just a victim. You couldn't have possibly predicted that she would know exactly what was going to happen. Wouldn't have seen that she told me, explicitly, to come down here. And you also wouldn't have know that in this universe, I believe in her more than anything."

With that, he grabbed the rock again and smashed the urn. The Beast bellowed in fury as the entire planet began to shake.

The rocket's progress was suddenly halted and it started to shake violently. Celeste felt a slow grin show on her face as everyone else in the cabin started to panic.

"What happened? What was that?" Danny asked frantically.

"What's he doing? What is he doing?!" Toby said angrily. Celeste let out a harsh laugh. His head whipped around and he glared at her. Celeste's eyes danced in amusement.

"You clearly do not know the Doctor if you honestly think that he'd let you escape. You picked the wrong opponent," she said with a shake of her head. Toby snarled at her and gripped the armrests of his chair tightly.

"We've lost the funnel. Gravity collapse! We can't escape. We're headed straight for the black hole!" Zach cried out.

"The planet's moving, it's falling into the black hole," Celeste said calmly.

Toby's face was once again covered in the black symbols and his red eyes burned with rage. "I am the rage!" Toby snarled out.

"Toby is no longer himself. We need to do something," Celeste called out.

"And the bile and the ferocity. I am the Prince and the Fall and the enemy. I am the sin and the fear and the darkness," Toby continued.

"It's him! It's him!" Danny shouted as he leaned as far away from Toby as possible.

"Stay where you are! The ship's not stable!" Zach shouted as the ship continued to shake. Toby breathed out fire and Zach looked back at him in horror. "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. Nothing shall ever destroy me. Nothing!"

Celeste snorted and grabbed the bolt gun, aiming it at the front of the rocket. "Yeah, well, how about you play with a black hole and get back to us on how that worked out?" She shot the glass out and swiftly unlatched Toby's seatbelt. He roared as he was sucked into space, his red eyes still burning with his rage. Celeste gave him a cheeky wave as Zach shut the emergency shield.

"We've still lost the gravity funnel. We can't escape the black hole," Zach said in resignation.

Celeste smiled, "We'll be fine. Just be calm and trust the Doctor."

"The planet's lost orbit! It's falling in!" Danny shouted. The planet was sucked into the black hole as they watched in a mixture of horror and calm. "The planet's gone. I'm sorry, but there is no rescue now."

"Accelerate… I did my best. But hey! The first human beings to fall inside a black hole. How about that? History," Zach said with false cheer. Celeste shook her head and continued to smile. The rocket's shaking slowed down causing Zach to look at the instruments in front of him.

"About time. Honestly, you'd never guess he likes to be dramatic," Celeste said with a chuckle.

"We're turning. We're turning around. We're turning away!" Zach cried out in shock and glee.

"Sorry about the hijack, Captain. This it the good ship TARDIS," the Doctor's voice said as he spoke through the comms. "Now, first things first. Have you got a particular auburn haired young woman on board?"

"I'm here, you big dummy. You like to cut things close don't you?"

The Doctor laughed, "I'm just towing you home. Gravity schmavity. My people practically invented black holes." Celeste rolled her eyes and mouthed the word dramatic. "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 Celeste Smith, I'll give you Ida Scott? How about that?"

"She's alive!" Zach cried out. He laughed happily and slumped in relief. Danny whooped again.

"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." They all grew quiet for a moment as they thought of their fallen friends and the Ood. "Ah! Entering clear space. End of the line. Mission closed."

Celeste opened the door to the TARDIS and walked inside with a happy sigh. She approached the console and said a silent hello to the TARDIS who hummed at her happily. The Doctor idly pushed a few buttons as he watched Celeste say hello the TARDIS, a soft smile on his face. She turned to him and put her hands on her hips. "You took your sweet time rescuing us. Did you decide to take a trip to Barcelona beforehand?" She asked, a smile playing at her lips.

He snorted and leaned against the console with his arms crossed. "Well, I could have gone to Earth and back but I didn't want to leave you in suspense for too long."

She dropped her arms from her hips and launched herself at him with a laugh. He hugged her tightly before letting her go and looking her up and down. "You're all right though? No damage from the Beast or the Ood?"

She shook her head, "Nope, completely fine."

"Good! Now then. Zach? We'll be off, now. Have a good trip home. And the next time you get curious about something… Oh, what's the point. You'll just go blundering in. The human race," he said with a shake of his head.

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

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

"It doesn't matter what it was or what the writing said. Just need to know that it's gone and we'll never see it again. We have enough demons to deal with already without one claiming to be the first one ever," Celeste said dryly. "Although, it did say some things that concerned me…"

"It lied. Everything it said was a lie. Right, onwards, upwards, Ida? See you again, maybe!" The Doctor said as he started to power up the TARDIS.

"I hope so," Ida said wistfully. "Hang on though, Doctor. You never really said. You two, who are you?"

The Doctor looked at Celeste who gave him a wink. He grinned, "Oh, the stuff of legends." The TARDIS disappeared back into the time vortex, leaving the others to make their way back to Earth.

Celeste sat at the piano in the music room playing a song that had been in her head since they had landed on the impossible planet. The Doctor walked in and sat next to her, watching her play silently. She sighed and let the last few notes fade away, anticipating the questions she was sure he had about what she knew of the past.

"I only want to know one thing," he murmured, his eyes peering at her intensely. She nodded silently and waited for him to ask. "Do you… Know my name?"

She chewed her lip and slowly shook her head, "No, your name is never revealed in the show. The only thing that we ever learn is what your nickname at the academy was. Theta Sigma. Other than that, complete mystery. I'm pretty sure, however, you've said several times that humans wouldn't even be able to pronounced the first part of your name."

He continued to stare at her silently as he absorbed what she'd just said. "Say it again," he whispered hoarsely.

"Which part?" She asked in confusion.

"The name I went by at the academy."

She smiled, "Theta Sigma."

His eyes grew misty as he was bombarded by memories of the past. After a few minutes, he focused back onto her and smiled happily. "Don't go spreading that around. This is between you and me."

"Secret's safe with me! Now, should we head back to Earth and see if Rose is ready to head out?"

With a sigh, he stood up from the bench and held out a hand to her. She chuckled and placed her hand in his so he could help her up. He gently tugged her up but didn't release her hand; instead he pulled her closer until they were a fraction of an inch away from one another. They stared at each other a moment before leaving the music room hand in hand.