Drilling area…
"Open fire!" Jefferson said, as he, Yang and the guard start shooting at the Ood.
Control room…
"I guess you could say it's Ood that we're in a sticky situation." Jared said, when the overhead shutters close. "And we're bawling our eyes out."
Drilling area…
Rose runs back to the comm, "Doctor? Doctor, can you hear me? Doctor, Ida, Weiss, are you there?"
"Open door 25." The computer said.
Jefferson, Yang, and the guard prepare to shoot.
"It's me! But they're coming." Danny said.
"Close door 25." The computer said.
"It's the Ood. They've gone mad."
"How many Ood are we facing?" Yang asked, looking at the Ood.
"All of them! All fifty!"
"That's not too bad. Danny, Rose, get out of the way. I've got this." Yang said, sending out bullets to the Ood.
"But they're armed! It's the interface device. I don't know how, but they're using it as a weapon." Danny said.
"We'll figure out something later." Yang said, when Jefferson opens the door. "Can't I just punch them?"
"Later." Rose said, as the leading Ood sticks its globe onto the guard's forehead. "We're figuring out how to beat them."
"It's not too bad." Yang said, as the guard screams and dies. "And now you're gonna die Ood."
Yang and Jefferson starts shooting.
Corridor...
"Close door 1." The computer said.
Zach and Jared see Ood coming towards them.
Control room…
"Open door 1. Close door 1." The computer said.
"Lock down. Seal door 1." Zach said.
"Lock down. Door 1."
"So, how's things with you?" Yang asked, her voice coming out of Jared's Augma.
"Just trying to stay alive." Jared said, taking out his dual pistols. "How is it with you, Goldilocks?"
Drilling area…
"I don't know if I can keep this up. Running out of ammo. How about you? What did you bring on you?" Yang asked, sending some more bullets at the Ood through her Ember Celica.
Control room…
"Only the Augma and my phone. I don't know how much augmented reality would help here. And the times I left my swords with Kirito and Asuna. All I've got is my dual pistols with a small amount of ammo."
"Given the emergency…" Jefferson said, his voice coming out of the speaker.
Drilling area…
"I recommend strategy nine." Jefferson said.
Control room…
"Strategy Nine…" Zach said.
Drilling area...
"Agreed. Right, we need to get…" Zach said, his voice over the speaker.
Control room…
"Everyone together. Rose? What about Ida, Weiss, and the…" Zach said.
Drilling area…
"...Doctor? Any word?" Zach asked, his voice over the speaker.
"I can't get a reply. Just nothing. I keep trying, but it's…" Rose said, sadly.
"No, sorry, I'm fine. Still here." The Doctor said, with some static coming from his voice.
"You could've said, you stupid…"
Point Zero…
"Whoa." The Doctor said, getting some feedback. "Careful! Anyway, it's the three of us. Me, Weiss, and Ida. Hello."
"The seal is open." Weiss said, looking between the Doctor and Ida. "It's gone. And what remains is this chasm."
"How deep is it?" Zach asked, his voice coming out of the speaker.
"I don't know. I think it goes on forever."
"The pit is open." Rose said, her voice coming out of the speaker.
Drilling area...
"That's what the voice said." Rose said, recalling what happened.
Control room…
"That means there's nothing." Yui said, sitting on Jared's shoulder. "Is there anything…"
Point Zero…
"...coming out of there?" Yui asked, her voice over the speaker.
"No, no. No sign of the Beast." The Doctor said.
Drilling area...
"It said Satan." Rose said.
Point Zero…
"Come on, Rose. Keep it…" The Doctor said.
Drilling area…
"Together." The Doctor said, his voice coming out of the speaker.
"Is there no such thing? Doctor." Rose said.
Point Zero…
"Doctor, tell me there's no such thing." Rose said, her voice over the speaker.
Control room…
"Ida?" Zach asked.
Point Zero…
"I recommend that you withdraw." Zach said, his voice over the speaker.
Control room…
"Immediately." Zach said.
Point Zero…
"But, we've come all this way." Ida said.
"Okay…" Zach said, his voice over the speaker.
Control room…
"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." Zach said.
Point Zero…
"But it's not much better up there with the Ood." Ida said.
Control room…
"I'm initiating strategy…" Zach said.
Point Zero…
"Nine, so I need the three of you back up top immediately, no ar…" Zach said, and Ida turns off the comms.
Control room…
"Ida. Ida!" Zach said.
Point Zero…
"What do you think?" Ida asked.
"I think they've an order." The Doctor said.
"Yeah, but what do you think?"
"It said, I am the temptation."
"Well, if there's something in there, why is it still hiding?"
"We could have opened the prison." Weiss said, coming up with a theory. "Maybe not the cell. Anyway, we should go down there."
"Me too." Ida said. "I'd go too. Doctor, what about you?"
"Oh. Oh, in a second, but then again, that is so human. Where angels fear to tread. Even now, standing on the edge. It's that feeling you get, eh? Right at the back of your head. That impulse. That strange little impulse. That mad little voice saying, go on. Go on. Go on. Go over. Go on. Maybe it's relying on that. For once in my life, Officer Scott, ice queen, I'm going to say retreat. Oh, now I know I'm getting old. Rose, Yang, Jared, we're coming back." The Doctor said.
Drilling area…
"Best news I've heard all day." Rose said, as Jefferson points his rifle at Toby. "What're you doing?"
"He's infected. He brought that thing on board. You saw it." Jefferson said.
"Are you going to start shooting your own people now, Is that what you're going to do? Is it?"
"If necessary."
"Well, it looks like you have to shoot me." Yang said, aiming her Ember Celica at Jefferson. "If necessary. So, what will it be? Shoot me and Rose?"
"Yang does have a point. Look at his face. Whatever it was, is gone. It passed into the Ood. You saw it happen. He's clean." Rose said.
"Any sign of trouble, I'll shoot him." Jefferson said.
"So, what now?�� Yang asked, looking at the hologram of Jared.
"We do what we do best." Jared said, smiling. "We save the others. We kick some bad guy butt."
"Well, buttocks."
"Stop it, Yang. You're not going out with a bang."
"Come on." Rose said, hugging the terrified Toby.
Point Zero…
The Doctor and Ida return to the capsule.
"What's strategy nine?" The Doctor asked.
"Open the airlocks. We'll be safe inside the lock down. The Ood will get thrown out into the vacuum." Ida said.
"So, we're going back to Slaughterhouse Five." Weiss said.
"The devil's work."
Drilling area…
"Okay, we're in. Bring us up." Ida said, her voice coming out of the intercom.
"Ascension in three, two, one." Jefferson said, and the power goes out.
"This is the darkness. This is my domain." A voice said, as monitors flicker with images of the Ood. "You little things that live in the light, clinging to your feeble suns which die in the…"
"That's not the Ood. Something's talking through them." Zach said, his voice coming from the speaker.
Control room…
"Only the darkness remains." A voice said, over the speaker.
"That doesn't look good. Who is that?" Yui asked, sitting on Jared's shoulder. "Do you know who that is?"
"Yeah, that's the mind of the Beast." Jared said, walking around the room. "I don't like this."
"So, you'll beat them."
"Maybe."
Drilling area...
"It's him. It's him. It's him." Toby said.
Capsule…
"If you are the Beast, then answer me this. 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?" The Doctor asked.
"All of them." The voice said.
"What, then you're the truth behind the myth?"
"This one knows me as I know him. The killer of his own kind."
"How did you end up on this rock?"
"The Disciples of the Light rose up against me and chained me in the pit for all eternity."
"So, when was that?" Weiss asked, crossing her arms.
"Before time."
"Well, what does that mean? Before time?" Weiss asked. "Because I have a feeling you're gonna repeat that again. So explain."
"Yeah, you're trying to speed this up." Jared said, his voice over the speaker. "I can tell, Weiss."
"Maybe because this guy isn't making much sense."
"Before light and time and space and matter. Before the cataclysm. Before this universe was created." The voice said.
"That's impossible. No life could have existed back then." The Doctor said.
"Is that your religion?"
"It's a belief."
Control room…
"You know nothing. All of you, so small. The Captain, so scared of command." The voice said.
Drilling area…
"The soldier, haunted by the eyes of his wife." The voice said, now describing Jefferson. "The scientist, still running from Daddy." Then Ida. "The little boy who lied." Then Danny. "The virgin." Then Toby. "The ice queen who will lead the path of isolation and lose her heiress to her family's company." Then Weiss. "The girl with a temper tantrum who will feel helpless when she loses a part of herself." Then Yang. "The fanboy who will lose the people he loves and cares about." Then Jared. "And the lost girl, so far away from home." And finally ending it off with Rose. "The valiant child who will die in battle so very soon."
"Me losing a part of myself?" Yang asked. "What does that mean?"
Capsule…
"Jared, what does he mean by me going into isolation?" Weiss asked. "Does that mean I won't see you guys again?"
Drilling area…
"I want answers now." Yang said, annoyed. "You've kept secrets from me and Weiss. Please tell us the future."
"You will die and I will live." The voice said, as the image of the Ood is replaced by a roaring horned beast.
"What the hell was that?" Danny asked.
"I had that thing inside my head." Toby said.
"Doctor, what did it mean?" Rose asked.
"I think it has some meaning." Yang said, coming up with a bad pun. "If you know what I mean."
"Captain? What's the situation on strategy nine?" Jefferson asked.
"Zach, what do we do?" Danny asked.
"The planet, the orbit, the black hole. Everything's true." Toby said.
"Captain, report." Jefferson said.
Control room…
"We've lost pictures, Mister Jefferson." Zach said.
Drilling area…
"Doctor, how did it know all of…" Rose said.
Capsule...
"Did anyone get an anal…" Ida said.
Control room…
"Guys…" Jared said, sadly.
Capsule…
"Stop." The Doctor said.
Drilling area...
"What did it mean?" Rose asked.
Capsule...
"Everyone just stop." The Doctor said.
Drilling area…
"What do we do?" Danny asked.
"Report." Jefferson said.
The Doctor sends feedback through the comms to shut everyone up, "You want voices in the dark…"
Capsule...
"Then listen to mine. That thing is playing on very basic fears. Darkness, childhood nightmares, all that stuff." The Doctor said.
Drilling area…
"Isn't that how the devil works?" Yang asked. "Like a pack of Grimm?"
Capsule…
"Or a good psychologist." The Doctor said.
"Yeah, but how did it know about my father?" Ida asked.
"Okay, but what makes his version of the truth any better than mine, hmm? Cos I'll tell you what I can see. Humans." The Doctor said.
Drilling area…
"Brilliant humans. Humans who travel all the way across space, flying in a tiny little rocket…" The Doctor said, his voice over the speaker.
Control room...
"Right into the orbit of a…" The Doctor said, his voice over the speaker.
Capsule…
"Black hole, just for the sake of discovery. That's amazing!" The Doctor said, happily.
Drilling area…
"Do you hear me?" The Doctor asked, his voice over the speaker.
Capsule…
"Amazing, all of you. The Captain, his Officer, his elders, his juniors, his friends. All with one advantage. The Beast is alone. We are not. If we can use that to fight against him…" The Doctor said, and there's a loud bang.
"You have got to be kidding me!" Weiss said, when the cable shears and falls into the shaft. "The cable broke!"
"Get out!"
The Doctor, Weiss, and Ida get out of the capsule and throw themselves to the ground as alleged miles of steel cable arrives at speed. And the Schnee looked over at the Doctor and Ida worried about Yang and Jared.
Drilling area…
"Crap." Yang said, frowning. "I can't believe we lost the cable. I wonder if Weiss is okay."
Control room…
"Anyway, we lost communication with them." Jared said, looking down at Yui. "Is Weiss' aura still at max?"
"I think so." Yui said, closing her eyes for a moment. "She's still alive."
"Good. That's a relief. How about the Doctor and Ida?"
"I think they're still alive. I think they're stuck there." Yui said, sitting on Jared's shoulder.
"Shit. Yang is so gonna kill me later."
"Will she?"
Point Zero…
The capsule is wrecked.
"How much air have we got?" The Doctor asked.
"Sixty minutes. Fifty five." Ida said.
Drilling area…
"But we've got to bring them back." Rose said.
"They're ten miles down. We haven't got another ten miles of cable." Jefferson said, while there is a banging noise at door 25. "Captain? Situation report."
Control room…
"Well, the Ood is breaking in through the security of the door." Jared said, pacing around the room. "They're cutting through the door bolts. We're in a bad situation as you, Goldilocks."
Drilling area…
"I know." Yang said, aiming her Ember Celica at the door. "They're doing it here at door 25."
"How long's it going to take?" Rose asked.
"Well, it's only a basic frame, it should take ten minutes." Jefferson said, and another bolt is cut. "Eight."
Control room…
"Jared and I have got a security frame. It might last a bit longer, but that doesn't help you." Zach said.
Drilling area…
"Well, all we have to do is stop the Ood situation." Yang said, coming up with a plan. "Or we can get out."
"Maybe we can do both." Rose said, agreeing with Yang.
"I'll take both, yeah? But how?" Danny asked.
"You heard the Doctor. Why do you think that thing cut him off? Cos he was making sense. He was telling you to think your way out of this. Come on! For starters, we need some lights. There's got to be some sort of power somewhere." Rose said.
Control room…
"There's nothing I can do. Some Captain, stuck in here, pressing buttons." Zach said.
"You and I have the upper hand here." Jared said, running towards the console. "I'm okay with technology. With the guidance of you and Yui, we've got this under the band. The Doctor meant we should press the right buttons."
"He's right." Yui said, smiling. "You have buttons all around this machine."
"They've gutted the generators. But the rocket's got an independent supply. Jared, if we could reroute that. Mister Jefferson?"
Drilling area…
"Open the bypass conduits. Override the safety." Zach said, his voice over the speaker.
"Opening bypass conduits, sir." Jefferson said.
Control room…
"Channelling rocket feed in three, two, one. Power." Zach said.
Drilling area…
The lights come on.
"There we go." Rose said.
Control room…
"Let there be light!" Danny said, his voice over the speaker.
"What about…" Rose said, her voice over the speaker.
Drilling area…
"That strategy nine thing?" Rose asked.
"Not enough power. It needs a hundred percent." Jefferson said.
"All right, we need a way out. Zach, Mister Jefferson, you start working on that. Toby, what about you?" Rose asked.
"I'm not a soldier. I can't do anything." Toby said.
"No, you're the archeologist. What do you know about the pit?"
"Well, nothing. We can't even translate the language."
"Right, you don't know the language." Yang said, frowning. "And neither do we. But can you translate it?"
"Hold on. Maybe."
"What is it?" Rose asked.
"Since that thing was inside my head, it's like the letters made more sense."
"Well, get to work. Anything you can translate, just anything. As for you, Danny boy. You're in charge of the Ood. Any way of stopping them?"
"Well, I don't know." Danny said.
"Then find out. The sooner we get control of the Base, the sooner we can get the Doctor out. Shift."
Point Zero…
"Well, we've got all this cable, we might as well use it. The drum's disconnected. We could adapt it, feed it through." Ida said.
"And then what?" The Doctor asked.
"We go down the pit, you dolt." Weiss said, annoyed.
"Down. Right."
"We're running out of air with no way back. It's the only thing we can do. Even if it's the last thing we ever achieve." Ida said.
"We'll get back. Rose, Yang, and Jared are up there." The Doctor said.
"Well, maybe the key to that is finding out what's in the pit."
"Well, that's one half of a good plan." Weiss said, happily.
"What's the other half?" Ida asked.
"The Doctor and I go down the pit. Not you, Ida. I can catch myself from falling with my glyphs. And the Doctor can survive that fall."
Drilling area…
"Open junctions five, six, seven. Reroute filters sixteen to twenty four. Go." Jefferson said.
"There's all sorts of viruses that could stop the Ood. Trouble is, we haven't got them on board." Danny said.
"That's really handy, Danny. Listing all the things we don't have. Like Zwei." Yang said, sadly.
"Or a swimming pool. Or a Tesco's." Rose said, agreeing with Yang.
The screen says affirmative.
"Oh, my God. It says yes. I can do it. Hypothetically, if you flip the monitor, broadcast a flare, it can disrupt the telepathy. Brainstorm!" Danny said, happily.
"What happens to the Ood?" Rose asked.
"It'll tank them spark out."
"That��s our plan. To escape this place. Kill the minds of the Ood. We can do it."
"No, but I'd have to transmit from the central monitor. We need to go to Ood Habitation."
"That's what we'll do, then. Mister Jefferson, sir. Any way out?" Rose asked.
"Just about. There's a network of maintenance tunnels running underneath the base. We should be able to gain access from here." Jefferson said.
"Ventilation shafts."
"Yeah, I appreciate the reference, but there's no ventilation. No air, in fact, at all. They were designed for machines, not life forms."
"But…" Zach said, his voice over the speaker.
Control room…
"Jared and I can manipulate the oxygen field from here. Create discrete pockets of atmosphere. If we control it manually, we can follow you through the network." Zach said.
Drilling area…
"Right, so we go down, and you and Jared make the air follow us by hand." Rose said.
Control room…
��Yup, Zach, we're pressing buttons." Jared said, walking around the room. "That's what I wanted."
Drilling area…
"Okay, we need to get to Ood Habitation. Work out a route." Rose said.
Point Zero…
The ten miles of cable is now wrapped around a drum, with one end tied around the Doctor's waist.
"That should hold it. How's it going?" Ida asked.
"Fine. Should work. Doesn't feel like such a good idea now." The Doctor said, as he steps onto the rim of the trapdoor. "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!" The Doctor said, and he launches himself into the chasm.
"Doctor!" Weiss said, throwing the brake on the drum. "You dunce! You could have fell all the way to the bottom! And we could have lost one of our ways back home. Are you okay?"
"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. Ida, Weiss, lower me down."
"Well, here we go then." Ida said.
Drilling area…
The Ood are nearly through the door. The others have got a piece of deck plating up.
"Danny!" Rose said, terrified.
"Hold on! Just conforming." Danny said.
"Dan, we got to go now! Come on!" Jefferson said, angrily.
"Yeah!" Danny said, grabbing an orange computer chip from the machine and runs over to the others. "Put that in the monitor and it's a bad time to be an Ood."
"We're coming back. Have you got that? We're coming back to this room and we're getting the Doctor and Weiss out." Rose said.
"Usually Ruby is the one making the plans." Yang said, adding in more ammo to her Ember Celica. "Danny, you go in the ventilation shaft first. Next is you Rose, then Toby. Mr Jefferson and I will go in last to protect you guys. It should be a piece of cake."
"What she said. Now, come on, quick as you can!" Jefferson said.
Maintenance tunnel…
Looking like an air conditioning tunnel.
"God, it stinks. You all right?" Rose asked.
"Yeah, I'm laughing. Which way do we go?" Danny asked.
Control room..
"Keep going straight." Yui said, looking up at the map. "Stop when I say so."
Maintenance tunnel…
"That should hold them." Yang said, as she and Jefferson shut the entrance behind them as the Ood break through door 25. "Hey guys! What's up?"
"Not much." Rose said, as the group crawl off on hands and knees. "Not your best angle, Danny."
"Oi, stop it.�� Danny said, angrily.
"I don't know, it could be worse." Toby said.
"Oi!" Rose said.
Control room...
"Straight on until you find junction seven point one. Keep breathing. We're feeding you air. We've got you." Zach said, as he and Jared are typing away on the control panel.
Maintenance tunnel…
"We're at seven point one, sir." Danny said.
Control room…
"Don't worry, Yang. I've got you safe and sound. This isn't an Ood situation. Let me filter the next section with air." Jared said, looking over at Yui, when he's still typing away.
Maintenance tunnel…
"It is a bit crowded." Yang said, annoyed. "Can you hurry up? Because I don't feel like this is going up, up and away?"
Control room…
"Yang, this is half power." Yui said, sadly. "Zach and Jared are trying their best."
Maintenance tunnel…
"Stop complaining." Jefferson said.
"Mister Jefferson says stop complaining." Rose said.
"I know, I heard him." Yang said, scoffing. "He's behind my ass."
"She heard."
"We are running out of air." Yang said, angrily. "With us arguing? Can't we just stay calm and get the hell out of here?"
"She's complaining now."
"I heard." Jefferson said.
"Danny, is that you?" Rose asked, sniffing the air.
"I'm not exactly happy." Danny said.
"Well, we are moving the air." Jared said, his voice over the intercom. "Don't worry, you guys."
Control room…
"We've got to oxygenate the next section. Now, keep calm or it's going to feel worse." Zach said.
Maintenance tunnel…
Bang!
"What was that?" Danny asked.
"Mister Jefferson, Yang, what was that?" Rose asked.
"I don't know. What's that noise?" Yang asked.
"Captain, what was that?" Jefferson asked.
Control room...
"The junction in Habitation Five's been opened. It must be the Ood." Zach said.
Maintenance tunnel…
"They're in the tunnels!" Jared said, his voice over the intercom. "Get out of there! Quickly."
"Well, open the gate." Danny said.
Control room...
"We've got to get the air in!" Zach said.
"Just open it, sir." Danny said, his voice over the speaker.
Maintenance tunnel….
"Where are they? Are they close?" Rose asked.
Control room...
"I don't know. We can't tell. We can't see them. The computer doesn't register Ood as proper life forms." Zach said.
Maintenance tunnel...
"Whose idea was that?" Rose asked.
"Probably someone who didn't think one morning." Yang said, and the gate slides up behind Danny and they hurry through. "Now open the gate!"
Control room...
"Danny, turn left." Yui said, looking at the map. "Your next left."
Maintenance tunnel...
"The Ood, sir. can't you trap them? Cut off the air?" Jefferson asked.
Control room...
"Not without cutting off yours." Zach said.
Maintenance tunnel...
"Danny, turn right. Go right! Go fast, Dan. They're going to catch up." Zach said, his voice over the speaker.
"I'll maintain defensive position." Jefferson said, looking back at Rose and Yang. "Yang, you need to protect the others, as long as you can."
"I don't want to miss the action." Yang said, sadly. "But you can't stop in the middle of the ventilation shaft."
"Miss Xiao Long, that's my job. You and Rose have got your task, now see to it." Jefferson said.
"You heard what he said, now shift." Toby said.
Jefferson braces himself on the sides of the tunnel and starts firing as Ood come around the corner.
"Eight point two. Open eight point two. Zach!" Danny said.
Control room...
"Open eight point two!" Danny said, over the speaker.
"I've got to aerate it." Zach said, over the speaker.
Maintenance tunnel…
"Open it now!" Danny said, angrily.
Control room…
"Crap." Jared said, pressing buttons around the console. "We're doing our best, Danny."
Maintenance tunnel…
Danny starts thumping the gate.
"Danny, stop it. That's not helping." Rose said.
"Zach, Jared, get it open!" Toby said, terrified.
Control room...
"Jefferson, we'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!" Zach said.
"He's still there." Jared said, as Jefferson has had to resort to his pistol, and now he is completely out of ammunition. "He's wasting the air."
Maintenance tunnel…
"We're going to lose oxygen, Jefferson, we can't stop for your dramatics!" Zach said, over the speaker.
Jefferson retreats. The gate opens.
"That's it! Come on." Danny said.
Control room...
"Danny, turn left and head for nine point two. That's the last one. Jefferson…" Zach said.
Maintenance tunnel…
"You've got to move faster. John, move!" Zach said, over the speaker.
"Mister Jefferson!" Rose said.
"Keep going!" Toby said.
Gate 8.1 closes in front of Jefferson.
Control room…
"Regret to inform, sir…" Jefferson said, his voice over the speaker.
Maintenance tunnel…
"I was a bit slow. Not so fast, these days." Jefferson said.
Control room…
"We can't open eight point one, John. Not without losing air for the others." Zach said.
Maintenance tunnel…
"And quite right too, sir. I think I bought them a little time." Jefferson said.
Further along, the others hear the conversation.
"There's nothing I can do, John." Zach said, his voice over the speaker.
Control room…
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." Jared said, sadly. "I wish I could have prevented your death. But I was here, instead where you're at."
Maintenance tunnel…
"You've done enough, sir. Made a very good captain under the circumstances. And Jared, you knew what was gonna happen. You make a good leader for your friends, if possible. May I ask, if the both of you can't add oxygen to this section, can you speed up the process of its removal?" Jefferson asked.
Control room…
"I don't understand. What do you mean?" Zach asked.
Maintenance tunnel…
"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!" Jefferson said, and the Ood have arrived.
Control room…
"What will happen now?" Yui asked, sitting on Jared's shoulder.
Maintenance tunnel…
"Thank you, sir." Jefferson said.
Control room…
"We lose a good man." Jared said, as he and Zach presses the necessary buttons. ��There is nothing we can do, Yui. He's gone."
"Yeah." Yui said, as there is a hiss and then Jefferson's blip disappears from their diagram. "We can save the rest."
"Report Officer John Maynard Jefferson PKD deceased…" Zach said.
Maintenance tunnel…
"With honours. 43 K two point one." Zach said, his voice over the speaker.
"Zach, we're at the final junction, nine point two. And er, if my respects could be…" Danny said.
Control room…
"On record. He saved our lives." Danny said, his voice over the speaker.
"Noted." Zach said.
Maintenance tunnel…
"Opening nine point two." Zach said, while an Ood is waiting for them.
"Sorry, I forgot about the Ood." Jared said, his voice over the speaker. "That one right there."
"You're cutting it a bit close." Yang said, smirking. "Save us, okay?"
"We can't go back! The gang point's sealed off. We're stuck." Toby said.
"Nope." Yang said, looking up, as she and Rose pushes open a floor grating as the Ood struggles with the gate. "Now come on!"
"We are a good team, Yang." Rose said, happily. "Come on! Up!"
Corridor…
They come out near door 32.
"Come on! Toby, come on!" Rose said.
Maintenance tunnel…
Toby's eyes are red. He gestures to the Ood to keep quiet.
"Toby, get out of there!" Rose said, annoyed.
His eyes are back to normal.
"Help me! Oh, my God. Help me!" Toby said, terrified.
Corridor…
Ood approach along the corridor.
"Come on." Rose said.
"Which way?" Yang asked, sending bullets at the Ood with her Ember Celica. "I need to conserve ammunition."
"You can." Rose said, as she and Danny pull Toby up. "Stop shooting."
"It's this way." Danny said.
Control room…
The Ood are nearly through door 1.
Zach picks up the bolt gun, "Hurry it up!"
Ood Habitation…
"Get it in!" Rose said, angrily.
"Danny, Yang, get down." Toby said.
"Transmit!" Yang said, sending bullets at the Ood. "Hurry, Danny boy!"
"I'm trying, I'm trying! I'm getting at it." Danny said, searching his pockets for the computer chip as the Ood come up the stairs.
Control room…
"This really is an Ood situation." Jared said, when the Ood break into the control room.
Ood Habitation..:
"Danny, get that thing transmitting!" Rose said, while Danny does as he is told.
"Yes!" Yang said, when the reading falls from basic 100 to zero. All the Ood grab their heads and writhe for a few seconds before finally collapsing. "It looks like they got calamari to death."
"Calamari, because they look like squids." Rose said, looking at Danny. "You did it! We did it!"
"Yes!" Danny said, happily.
"Zach, Jared, we did it. The Ood are down. Now we've got to get the Doctor and Weiss."
Control room…
"Yup, we know." Jared said, running out of the room with Zach. "We're on our way, Rosie and Goldilocks."
Chasm…
The Doctor is still descending, "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 Kaled god of war. 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."
"So, all the thoughts of the Devil." Weiss said, walking around the pit. "The influence of Grimm back home. They're all emanating from here?"
"Could be." The Doctor said.
"But if this is the original, does that make it real? Does that make it the actual devil, though?" Ida asked.
"Well, if that's what you want to believe. Maybe that's what the devil is, in the end. An idea." The Doctor said, and they run out of cable.
"Isn't it all an idea?" Weiss asked, while the Doctor is dangling in mid-air. "Inspiration for different things."
"That's it. That's all we've got. You getting any sort of readout?" Ida asked.
"Nothing. Could be miles to go, yet. Or could be thirty feet. No way of telling. Weiss and I could survive thirty feet." The Doctor said.
"Oh no you don't. I'm pulling you back up." Ida said, as she reverses the drum. The Doctor stops it. "What're you doing?"
"You bring us back, then we're just going to sit there and run out of air. I've got to go down with Weiss."
"But you can't. Doctor, you can't."
"Call it an act of faith."
"But I don't want to die on my own."
"I know." The Doctor said, undoing the caribiners holding the cable in place around him.
Drilling area…
"Doctor, are you there? Doctor, Weiss, Ida, can you hear me?" Rose asked.
"Where the hell is Weiss?" Yang asked, looking at Jared. "With the Doctor?"
Chasm…
"It looks like we won't ever find out what's down there if you're holding the Doctor captive like that." Weiss said, climbing down to the side of the pit. "Like he said, I'm coming down with him. Just to keep that dunce in check. So, what do you have faith in? Do you have any?"
"Not really. I was brought up Neo Classic Congregational, because of my mum. She was. My old mum. But no, I never believed." Ida said.
"Neo Classics, have they got a devil?" The Doctor asked.
"No, not as such. Just er, the things that men do."
"Same thing in the end."
"Doctor, what about you?"
"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, that's why I keep travelling. To be proved wrong. Thank you, Ida."
"Don't go!"
"If they get back in touch, if you talk to Rose, just tell her. Tell her. Oh, she knows." The Doctor said, releasing the last caribiner and falls into the blackness.
"Ida, Yang and Jared knows what I have faith in." Weiss said, releasing her grip around the pit to also fall into the blackness. "Tell them, they already know. Like the idiots they are."
Drilling area…
"Weiss, someone as white as snow. We could Schnee you coming. Please respond." Yang said, sadly.
Chasm…
"They're gone." Ida said.
Drilling area…
"What do you mean, they're gone?" Rose asked.
Chasm…
"They fell into the pit. And I don't know how deep it is. Miles and miles and miles." Ida said.
Drilling area…
"But what do you mean, they fell?" Rose asked.
Chasm…
"I couldn't stop then. They said your names." Ida said.
Drilling area…
Zach takes the microphone from Rose, "I'm sorry. Ida? There's no way of reaching you. No cable…"
Chasm…
"No back up. You're ten miles down." Zach said, his voice over the speaker.
Drilling area…
"We can't get there." Zach said.
Chasm…
"You should see this place, Zach. It's beautiful. Well, I wanted to discover things, and here I am." Ida said.
Drilling area…
"We've got to abandon the base." Zach said.
Chasm…
"I'm declaring this mission unsafe." Zach said, his voice over the speaker.
Drilling area…
"All we can do is make sure no one ever comes here again." Zach said.
Chasm…
"But we'll never find out what it was." Ida said.
Drilling area…
"Well, maybe that's best." Jared said, smiling. "I really don't want to know what the writing means on the wall. Or what's in the pit."
Chasm…
"Yeah." Ida said.
Drilling area…
"Officer Scott…" Zach said.
Chasm…
"It's all right. Just go. Good luck." Ida said.
Drilling area…
"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 said.
"We're not leaving without the Doctor and Weiss." Jared said, crossing his arms. "Rose needs the Doctor, while Yang and I need Weiss."
"Rose, Jared, Yang, there's space for all three of you."
"No, we're going to wait for the Doctor and Weiss. Just like they waited for us." Rose said.
"I'm sorry, but they're dead."
"You don't know them. 'Cause they're not. We're telling you, they're not. And even if they were, how could we leave them all on their own, all the way down there? No, we're going to stay." Rose said.
"Then I apologise for this. Danny, Toby? Make them secure." Zach said, as he grabbed Rose, Toby grabbed Yang, and Danny grabbed Jared.
"Damn it!" Jared said, trying to break free of Danny's grasp. "Let me go!"
"Weiss!" Yang said, as Toby has his hands on top of her Ember Celica.
"No, no. No! No! No! Let me go! Get off me! I'm not leaving!" Rose said, as Zach injects her, while he also injected Jared and Yang for the three to pass out. "No."
"I have lost too many people. I am not leaving you lot behind. Let's get them on board." Zach said.
Corridor…
An Ood twitches.
"Did that one just move?" Toby asked.
"It's the telepathic field. It's reasserting itself." Danny said.
"Move it. Get to the rocket. Move!" Zach said, angrily.
Pit…
The Doctor and Weiss have landed at the bottom, and their faceplates are broken. Weiss wakes up, and stands up to crouch in front of the Doctor.
"Doctor, wake up." Weiss said, looking down at the Time Lord. "We're breathing down here, somehow."
"Yeah." The Doctor said, waking up and he stands up. "It must be an air cushion to support the fall."
"It's unbelievable that we're able to breathe." Weiss said, taking off the space suit she was wearing to wear her combat skirt again. "Orange isn't my color."
"It does clash with your hair." The Doctor said, as Weiss is holding her Myrtenaster. "You can breath down here, Ida. Can you hear us, Ida?"
Rocket…
Everyone is strapped in.
"Jared." Yui said, sitting on Jared's shoulder. "Jared. Wake up."
"Yui?" Jared asked, as he is in the back of the rocket. "Where are we?"
"We're in the rocket. You were asleep for a while."
"Crap, Weiss!" Jared said, running towards the front of the rocket.
"Jared, we left Weiss there!" Yang said, looking at Jared. "Why did we leave her there?"
"It's all right, Rose, Jared, Yang. You're safe." Danny said.
"We're not going anywhere! Get us out of this thing! Get us out!" Rose said, angrily.
"And lift off! Whoo!" Zach said, happily.
Pit…
Ida hears the rocket engines. So does the Doctor and Weiss.
"A rocket." The Doctor said.
Rocket…
Rose grabs the bolt gun, "Take us back to the planet. Take us back!"
"Or what?" Zach asked.
"Or I'll shoot."
"Would you, though? Would you really? Is that what your Doctor would want?" Zach said, and Rose slumps back in her seat. "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 rocket zooms away from the black hole.
Pit…
The Doctor shines his torchlight on wall paintings, "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."
"It does look like it." Weiss said, as she and the Doctor sees two bronze urns on a pedestals. There are two painted on the wall. "I think that's the key, Doctor."
Weiss touches one urn and they both light up.
"Or the gate, or the bars." The Doctor said.
An impossibly big horned creature wakes and looks at them. It is chained to the wall by its horns and limbs.
Rocket…
"What's so funny?" Yang asked, crossing her arms.
"Just, we made it. We escaped. We actually did it." Toby said.
"Not all of us." Rose said, sadly.
"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 said.
"Gravity funnel holding, sir. Always holding." Toby said.
Pit…
"I accept that you exist. I don't have to accept what you are, but you're physical existence, I'll give you that. I don't understand. We were expected down here. We were given a safe landing and air. You need us for something. What for? Have we got to, I don't know, beg an audience?" The Doctor asked, looking at the Beast.
"Maybe it's something from the supernatural." Weiss said, coming up with some theories. "It could be anything. A ritual, an incantation, summons, or a spell. It's annoying how this guy can't speak"
"All these things I don't believe in, are they real? Speak to us! Tell us! You won't talk. Or you can't talk. Oh, hold on, wait a minute, just let us."
"Doctor, it spoke with us before." Weiss said, looking back at the Doctor. "We heard it's voice. I think it's intelligent. Smarter than you and me."
"No Weiss, it's more than that. It's brilliant. But, looking at you now, all we 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 asked, looking at the Beast.
"Oh, no." Weiss said, realizing what's happened. "I think it went off to somewhere else, Doctor."
Rocket…
"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 said.
Pit…
"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." The Doctor said.
"Two minds are better than one, idiot. Well, if we open the prison containing this hell of a beast. The gravity field collapses. The whole planet we're standing on falls into the black hole." Weiss said, aiming her Myrtenaster at the Beast. "The Beast escapes and dies."
"That is brilliant! But that's just the body. The body is trapped, that's all. The devil is an idea. In all those civilisations, just an idea. But an idea is hard to kill. An idea could escape. The mind. The mind of the great Beast. The mind can escape! Oh, but that's it!"
"We didn't need air, there wasn't supposed to any down here, right? The guards of the prison gave us air, I think. Not this two horned Devil. I think the guards needs us alive. They set this up a long time ago."
"Just to make a decision, ice queen. Well, Devil, whatever you're called, because if you're escaping, then we've got to stop you. If we destroy your prison, your body is destroyed. Your mind with it." The Doctor said, raising a rock to smash an urn, then drops it again. "But then you're clever enough to use this whole system against us. If we destroy this planet, we destroy the gravity field. The rocket. The rocket loses protection and falls into the black hole. We have to sacrifice Rose, Jared, and Yang."
Rocket…
"It doesn't make sense. 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?" Rose asked.
"Hey, Rose, do us a favour. Shut up. Almost there. We'll be beyond the reach of the black hole in forty, thirty nine…" Toby said.
Pit…
"This is the trap." Weiss said, walking around the room. "Or a test, our final decision. I don't know what this is. It is stupid, really."
"It is. But if we kill you, we kill them. Except that implies in this big grand scheme of Gods and Devils that she's just a victim. But I've seen a lot of this universe. I've seen fake gods and bad gods and demi-gods and would-be gods, and out of all that, out of that whole pantheon, if I believe in one thing, just one thing, I believe in her, I believe in Rose Tyler." The Doctor said, smashing the urn.
Rocket…
"You idiot." Jared said, when the rocket starts to shake. "God, he deserves a Tyler slap later."
"What happened? What was that?" Danny asked.
"What's he doing? What is he doing?" Toby asked.
"We've lost the funnel. Gravity collapse!" Zach said.
"What does that mean?" Rose asked.
"We can't escape. We're headed straight for the black hole!"
Pit…
The Doctor smashes the second urn, "This is your freedom. Free to die. You're going into that black hole and we're riding with you."
Rocket…
"It's the planet. The planet's moving. It's falling." Rose said, when Toby's face is covered in symbols.
"I am the rage." Toby said.
"It's Toby. Zach, do something."
"And the bile and the ferocity."
"Just do something!"
"I am the Prince and the Fall and the enemy. I am the sin and the fear and the darkness."
"It's him! It's him! It's him!" Danny said, terrified.
"Great, it's the Devil." Yang said, as Toby breathes out fire. "But what the hell is he?"
"He is death itself." Jared said, and the Beast in the pit is bursting into flames. "Yang, want to punch something?"
"Yes." Yang said, enabling her Ember Celica. "I do, this thing is getting annoying. This so called Devil, I don't like it."
"Nothing shall ever destroy me. Nothing!" Toby said.
"Go to hell." Yang said, as she shoots out the front screen and Rose unfasten Toby's seatbelt. "Say hello to my little friend."
"That's what she said." Jared said, while Toby is sucked out into space, still roaring.
"Emergency shield!" Zach said, when a metal shutter seals the hole, but the rocket is still falling. "We've still lost the gravity funnel. We can't escape the black hole."
"But we stopped him. That's what the Doctor would've done." Rose said.
"Some victory. We're going in."
Pit…
"This is bad." Weiss said, as the Beast is writhing. "We have to get out of here."
"Right." The Doctor running out of the room with Weiss. "Care to give me a boost?"
"With pleasure." Weiss said, activating one of her glyphs for her and the Doctor to run across on.
Rocket...
"The planet's lost orbit. It's falling!" Danny said.
Base...
The Ood are all awake and aware.
Chasm...
Ida passes out from lack of oxygen. The disintegrating planet throws the Doctor and Weiss back against - a blue box with a light on top.
"Yes!" Weiss said, entering the TARDIS with the Doctor. "Our way of escape."
Rocket…
"The planet's gone. I'm sorry." Danny said, sadly.
"Accelerate. I did my best. But hey! The first human beings to fall inside a black hole. How about that? History." Zach said.
Then all the shaking and dramatic music stops.
"What happened?" Rose asked.
"We're turning. We're turning around. We're turning away!" Zach said, happily.
"Sorry about the hijack, Captain. This is the good ship Tardis." The Doctor said, his voice over the speaker.
Tardis...
"Now, first thing's first. Have you got a…" The Doctor said.
Rocket...
"Rose Tyler, Jared Shay, and Yang Xiao Long on board?" The Doctor asked, his voice over the speaker.
"This whole time, we were bored on that base." Yang said, coming up with a bad pun.
"Oh, bored." Jared said, laughing. "And the three of us are here. Rose, Yang and me!"
"Yes, we are. Oh, my God. Where are you?" Rose asked.
"Weiss and I are just towing you home. Gravity schmavity. My people practically invented black holes." The Doctor said, his voice over the speaker.
Tardis…
"Well, in fact, they did. In a couple of minutes, we'll be nice and safe. Oh, and Captain?" The Doctor asked.
Rocket…
"Can we do a swap? Say, if you give me…" The Doctor said, his voice over the speaker.
Tardis...
"Rose Tyler, Jared Shay, and Yang Xiao Long, I'll give you Ida Scott? How about that?" The Doctor asked.
Rocket…
"She's alive!" Zach said, excitedly.
"Yes. Thank God." Danny said.
Tardis...
"Yeah! Bit of oxygen starvation, but she should be all right. I couldn't save the Ood. I only had time for one trip." The Doctor said.
Rocket...
"They went down with the planet." The Doctor said, his voice over the intercom.
Tardis...
"Ah! Entering clear space. End of the line. Mission…" The Doctor said.
Rocket…
"Closed." The Doctor said, his voice over the speaker.
TARDIS…
"You really are an idiot." Weiss said, walking up to Jared. "Pressing buttons as Yang is trying to stay alive."
"Sorry about that." Jared said, as Rose runs into the Tardis and hugs the Doctor. "But there was no other way."
"It wasn't that bad." Yang said, smiling. "We lived. That's all that matters."
"So you two nearly dying is what matters." Weiss said, looking between Jared and Yang. "Why do I even bother?"
"I don't know." Jared said, happily. "I really don't know."
Rocket...
"I don't know. I can't remember." Ida said.
"Well, it looked like a box." Danny said.
"What do you mean, a box?" Zach asked.
"Well, down in the hold. A big blue box. It just appeared. I don't know."
"Zach? We'll be off, now. Have a good trip home." The Doctor said, his voice over the speaker.
Tardis...
The Doctor is back in his suit, "And the next time you get curious about something. Oh, what's the point. You'll just go blundering in. The human race."
Rocket…
"But Doctor, what did you find down there? That creature, what was it?" Ida asked.
Tardis…
"I don't know. Never did decipher that writing. But that's good, Day I know everything? Might as well stop." The Doctor said.
"What do you think it was, really?" Rose asked.
"Jared, what the Beast said." Weiss said, walking up to Jared. "Is it true? Will I lead a path of isolation?"
"It lied." Jared said, smiling. "That won't happen as long as I'm around."
"How about me losing a part of myself?" Yang asked. "That thing was cryptic."
"Well, it did live in a crypt. And no, you won't lose a part of yourself. You're armed and ready, Yang. I won't lose any of you guys, ever."
"And thanks, boys!" Rose said.
Rocket...
"Hang on though, Doctor. You never really said. You lot, who are you?" Ida asked.
Tardis..
"Oh, the stuff of legend." The Doctor said.
Rocket...
"This is the final report of Sanctuary Base Six. Officer Tobias Zed, deceased, with honours. 43K two point one. Also Ood 1 Alpha 1, deceased with honours. Ood 1 Alpha 2, deceased with honours." Zach said.