"Everyone all right?!" The Doctor checked in with everyone once the quake ceased. "What happened? What was it?"

"Hull breach" Jefferson answered. "We were open to the elements. Another couple of minutes and we'd have been inspecting that black hole at close quarters" Toby was down on the ground, gasping for breath. Rose crouched down to help him.

"That wasn't a quake" Nova concluded with a shake of her head. "What the hell was it?"

"And what caused it?" The Doctor added.

"We've lost sections eleven to thirteen" Zach's voice broke through Jefferson's wrist-com. "Everyone all right?"

"We've got everyone here except Scooti" Jefferson responded. "Scooti, report" No answer. "Scooti Manista? That's an order. Report"

"She's all right" It wasn't Scooti who responded but Zach yet again. "I've picked up her biochip. She's in Habitation three. Better go and check if she's not responding. She might be unconscious" When no one was looking, Toby glanced down at his hands. It was as if there was something that was previously on his skin, but it wasn't there anymore. "How about that, eh? We survived"

"Habitation three. Come on. I don't often say this, but I think we could all do with a drink. Come on" Jefferson began walking and everyone followed after him. Well, everyone except Toby, and the TARDIS team. Toby was still on the ground. Rose was still crouched beside Toby. Tate remained standing, looking down at him. The two Time Lords crouched in front of Toby. They could tell he had seen something troubling. 

"What happened?" The Doctor asked him.

"I don't. I don't know" Toby sputtered. "I was working and then I can't remember. All that noise. The room was falling apart. There was no air"

"Come on. Up you get" Rose said as she helped Toby to his feet. "Come and have some protein one" They all began walking down the corridor.

"Oh, you've gone native" The Doctor commented.

"Oi, don't knock it. It's nice. Protein one with just a," Rose clicked her tongue. "dash of three"

______

The TARDIS team entered Habitation 3 with Toby. When they got in there, everyone seemed to be arguing about the whereabouts of Scooti. Turns out, she wasn't in Habitation 3. Jefferson spoke into his wrist-com. "Zach, We've got a problem. Scooti's still missing"

"It says Habitation 3" Zach replied.

"Yeah, well, that's where I am, and I'm telling you she's not here"

The Doctor glanced upwards. The shutters were still open, which meant the black hole was on full display. Something else, however, caught his eye. "I've found her"

Rose gasped, putting her hand over her mouth. "Oh, my God" She stumbled backwards, nearly tripping over her own feet, but Tate placed a hand on her back to steady her.

There was Scooti, right above them, drifting away towards the black hole. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry" The Doctor apologized.

"Captain" Jefferson turned on the wrist-com again. "Report Officer Scootori Manista PKD, deceased. Forty three K two point one"

"She was twenty" Ida lamented. "Twenty years old" She pulled the lever that closed the shutters.

Jefferson began to quote Horatius by Thomas Babington Macaulay. "For how should man die better than facing fearful odds? For the ashes of his father and the temples of his Gods" There was a moment of silence between everyone, but it wasn't for remembrance. There was a whirring sound that had come to a halt.

"It's stopped"

"What was that?" Rose questioned. "What was it?"

"The drill" The Doctor answered.

"We've stopped drilling" Ida added. "We've made it. Point Zero"

______

The TARDIS team went to the drilling area along with Zach and Ida. "Capsule established. All systems functioning. The mineshaft is go. Bring systems online now" Ida announced. She was dressed in a space suit.

The Doctor and Nova approached Zach. The two of them were also dressed in space suits. "Reporting as volunteers for the expeditionary force" The Doctor said.

"Doctor and Nightingale, this is breaking every single protocol" Zach warned. "We don't even know who you are"

"But you trust us, right?" Nova said with a grin. "And you can't let Ida go down there on her own" 

"Believe me, my Supernova can make a very convincing argument" The Doctor said. "I don't want her going down there, but here we are"

"Hey, like we said earlier" Nova looked at her Doctor. "Individually we're good, but together we're exceptional" She then turned her attention back to Zach. "Back on the topic of trust. Go on. Look us both in the eye. Yes you do, I can see it. Trust"

"I should be going down" Zach tried convincing them.

"The Captain doesn't lead the mission. He stays here, in charge" The Doctor said. He craned his head to look at Nova again. "Although, if Nova is willing to change places with you then--"

"Not gonna happen, Doctor" She quickly cut him off. The Doctor looked at Zach and gave a shrug as if to say, 'I tried'.

Zach let out a chuckle because of the two of them. He then responded to The Doctor's earlier comment. "Not much good at it, am I?" He then turned to address everyone else. "Positions! We're going down in two. Everyone, positions! Mister Jefferson! I want maximum system enhancement" 

Zach walked away, and in his place, Rose and Tate approached the two Time Lords. "Oxygen, nitro balance, gravity. It's ages since I wore one of these" The Doctor said.

"This is a first for me" Nova mentioned, looking down at herself and examining every inch of her suit. "Have to say. It's more comfortable than you'd think"

"We want those spacesuits back in one piece, you got that?" Rose said.

"Yes, sir" The Doctor nodded. Nova saluted and winked at Rose. The both of them then proceeded to put on their helmets.

"It's funny, because people back home think that space travel's going to be all whizzing about and teleports and anti gravity"

"It's not though, is it?" Tate added with a shake of his head. "It's tough"

"We'll see you two later" The Doctor promised.

Rose grinned. "Not if we see you first" She placed a kiss to The Doctor's helmet first, and then she placed one to Nova's helmet. She kissed them both in the spot where their forehead was.

"Just think happy thoughts while you're down there" Tate suggested. He hugged The Doctor and then he hugged Nova. While he hugged Nova, he kissed the spot on her helmet where her cheek was. "Remember, happy thoughts"

The Doctor and Nova got into the capsule with Ida. Zach began the countdown. Rose and Tate stood off to the side, holding each other's hands in anticipation. They both looked through the window of the capsule and gave a wave to The Doctor and Nova. The both of them waved back, right before the capsule began lowering.

Zach kept watch of the capsules descent on a monitor. He took noticed as the numbers on the screen turned red. "You've gone beyond the oxygen field. You're on your own" He warned the Ida, The Doctor, and Nova. The three of them turned on their life support.

"Don't forget to breath" Rose spoke through the com. "Breathing's good"

"Rose, stay off the comm"

"No chance"

The capsule began to shudder more than usual. It then suddenly dropped. The drilling area also shook, and when it was still again, Tate took the com from Rose. "Doctor? Nightingale? You two alright?"

Zach's monitor showed that the capsule had reached Point Zero. "Ida, report to me. Doctor? Nightingale?"

"It's all right. We've made it. Getting out of the capsule now" The Doctor confirmed. The three of them stepped out. They shined their flashlights around, trying to get a good look at the area that they had now found themselves in.

"What's it like down there?" Rose had taken the com again.

"Hard to tell" Nova replied. "We're in a cave, I think. Or is it a cavern? I don't know, same difference. But whatever it is, it's massive"

"Well, this should help" Ida spoke up. She was holding a glowing ball. "Gravity globe" She threw it up and it illuminated the entire cavern. The three of them were in awe at the size of the cavern, and quite frankly, the beauty of it as well. Ida in particular was rather speechless. "That's, that's. My God, that's beautiful"

"Rose, Tate," The Doctor began. "You can tell Toby we've found his civilization" The walls of the cavern were carved into pillars and statues.

Rose chuckled as she yelled over at Toby. "Oi, Toby. Sounds like you've got plenty of work"

Toby was sitting on the ground. He still seemed quite shaken up over something. "Good, good. Good"

"Concentrate now, people. Keep on the mission. Ida, what about the power source?" Zach pushed her for information. 

The three down in Point Zero started making their way through the cavern. Ida walked in front, leading the way. The Doctor and Nova walked side by side, following behind her. "We're close. Energy signature indicates north north west. Are you getting pictures up there?" Ida wondered.

"There's too much interference. We're in your hands"

"Well, we've come this far. There's no turning back"

"Oh, did you have to? No turning back?" The Doctor bleated. "That's almost as bad as nothing can possibly go wrong, or this is going to be the best Christmas Walford's ever had"

"Or break a leg!" Nova added on to the ramble. "Sure, everyone says it's showbiz talk for good luck, but I've know quite a number of people who've had their legs injured after they were told that. Having your legs literally break is not good luck"

Ida turned to face them, already feeling exhausted from their company. "Are you two finished?"

The two Time Lords looked at each other, and then looked at Ida. Nova gave a shrug, while The Doctor simply nodded and said, "Yeah. Finished"

______

Back on the base, Danny's voice broke through the com. "Captain, sir. There's something happening with the Ood"

"What are they doing?" Zach asked.

"They're staring at me. I've told them to stop, but they won't"

"Danny, you're a big boy. I think you can take being stared at"

"But the telepathic field, sir. It's at basic one hundred. I've checked. there isn't any fault. It's definitely one hundred"

"But that's impossible"

"What does basic one hundred mean?" Tate asked.

"They should be dead" Danny stated.

"Basic one hundred's brain death" Jefferson added on.

"But they're safe. They're not actually moving?" Zach asked for clarification.

"No, sir" Danny clarified.

"Keep watching them. And you, Jefferson? Keep a guard on the Ood"

"Officer at arms!" Jefferson called out.

A crewman approached. "Yes, sir" The crewman and Jefferson both grabbed guns.

Rose was astounded. "You can't fire a gun in here. What if you hit a wall?"

"She's right" Tate agreed with Rose's reasoning. Thus, he added on to it. "If it ricochets, you'll be doomed. Or if you make a hole, we'll lose oxygen and then everyone will be doomed"

"I'm firing stock fifteen. It only impacts upon organics" Jefferson assured them, but honestly it wasn't that assuring. He turned to face one of the guards. "Keep watch. Guard them" Jefferson referred to the three Ood in the room with them.

"Yes, sir" the guard responded.

"Is everything alright up there?" The Doctor's voice broke through.

"Yeah, yeah" Rose said.

"It's fine" Zach agreed.

"Great" Danny muttered.

______

Ida, The Doctor and Nova found themselves in an area with lots of rubble and a big round decorated door in the floor. "We've found something" The Doctor said. "It looks like metal. Like some sort of seal. I've got a nasty feeling the word might be trapdoor. Not a good word, trapdoor. Never met a trapdoor I liked"

"The edge is covered with those symbols" Ida added.

"Do you think it opens?" Zach asked.

"Well, if it's a trapdoor, then obviously it'll open" Nova said, tilting her head to the side as she looked down at the door. "Would kind of defeat the purpose of a trapdoor if it didn't"

"Trapdoor doesn't do it justice" Ida remarked. She began walking the perimeter of the door. "It's massive, Zach. About thirty feet in diameter"

"Any way of opening it?" Zach wondered.

"I don't know. I can't see any sort of mechanism" 

"I suppose that's the writing. It'll tell us what to do. The letters that defy translation" The Doctor said.

"Toby, did you get anywhere with decoding it?" Zach asked.

"Toby, they need to know that lettering. Does it make any sort of sense?" Rose asked on Zach's behalf.

"I know what it says" Toby answered quietly.

"Then maybe you should tell them" Tate urged.

"When did you work that out?" Jefferson piped in.

"It doesn't matter, just tell them" When Toby got up from his chair, he looked over at Rose, Tate, and Jefferson. He had the symbols all over his skin. Not only that, but his eyes were a dark red.

"These are the words of the Beast" Toby told in an unusually deep voice. "And he has woken. He is the heart that beats in the darkness" Jefferson stepped in front of Tate and Rose, readying his weapon. Tate then stepped in front of Rose, feeling the need to protect her from Toby. She didn't object. Instead, she gripped onto Tate's shoulder. "He is the blood that will never cease. And now he will rise"

"Officer, stand down. Stand down" Jefferson warned. He was ready to fire his gun at Toby if he tried anything.

The Doctor and Nova were able to hear what was happening, and they were growing concerned. "What is it? What's he done?" The Doctor began to ask questions. "What's happening? Rose, Tate, what's going on?"

"Jefferson? Report. Report!" Zach demanded.

"Officer, as Commander of Security," Jefferson tried talking down Toby. "I order you to stand down and be confined. Immediately!"

"He's come out in those symbols all over his face. They're all over him" Rose mumbled in a panic.

"Mister Jefferson. Tell me, sir. Did your wife ever forgive you?" Toby asked.

"I don't know what you mean" Jefferson answered, though there was a moment of hesitation before he did.

"Let me tell you a secret. She never did"

"Officer, you stand down and be confined"

"Or what?"

"Or under the strictures of Condition Red, I am authorised to shoot you"

"But how many can you kill?" Toby challenged before the red in his eyes glowed bright. He opened his mouth. A quiet scream came out as the writing started to leave his body. The symbols moved over onto the Ood. All of them jerked to attention. Toby collapsed to the ground. The Ood all slowly turned their heads and looked right at Jefferson, Rose and Tate. Honestly, the way they stared so blankly was something straight out of a horror movie.

"We are the Legion of the Beast" the Ood chanted.

"Rose! Tate! What's going on!?" Nova asked. She didn't get an answer. She looked over at Ida. "I'm going back up" She turned to look at The Doctor. "Doctor?"

"I'm coming with you" He said.

"Report. Report!" Zach repeated. "Jefferson, report. Someone, report!"

"The Legion shall be many, and the Legion shall be few" the Ood chanted.

Rose now decided to inform The Doctor and Nova about what was going on. "It's the Ood"

Jefferson spoke into his wrist-com, most likely to inform Zach of the situation. "Sir, we have contamination in the livestock. They won't listen to us"

Rose handed the com off to Tate. She was too much in a state of shock and panic to elaborate. "Doctor, Nightingale," He began in a shaky voice. He was honestly just as scared as Rose was. "Like Rose said, it's the Ood. We don't know what it is. It's like they're possessed"

"He has woven himself in the fabric of your life since the dawn of time. Some may call him Abaddon" the Ood said. One of the Ood in the Ood Habitation area, where Danny was, started walking towards the man. "Some may call him Kroptor. Some may call him Satan or Lucifer. Or the Bringer of Despair, the Deathless Prince, the Bringer of Night" 

"Captain, it's the Ood. They're out of control!" Danny tried informing Zach.

The Ood that had left formation was now standing right in front of Danny and the guard that was with him. The Ood released it's globe, and it attached itself to the guard's forehead. The guard was electrocuted. "These are the words that shall set him free" Danny took that as a sign to run.

The three Ood with Rose, Tate, and Jefferson began approaching them. "Back up to the door!" Jefferson urged. Tate and Rose, along with another guard that was with them, followed Jefferson's orders. "Move quickly! To the door! Get it open!"

"I shall become manifest. I shall walk in might. My Legions shall swarm across the worlds"

The trapdoor that Ida, The Doctor, and Nova were standing in front of sank. Well, the middle of it anyway. The ground was also beginning to shake. "Doctor, Nightingale, it's opening!" Ida informed the other two. The whole door eventually opened to reveal a deep shaft underneath it.

Zach was struggling to stay on his feet as the entire base was shaking as well. "We're moving! The whole thing's moving. The planet's moving" He opened up the overhead shutters.

Rose, Tate, and Jefferson were backed all the way to the door. "Get the door opened!" Jefferson urged in a haste.

"The gravity field. It's going!" Zach explained to anyone that could hear him. "We're losing orbit! We're going to fall into the black hole!"

Rose and Tate struggled to get the door open as the Ood continued to chant. "I have been imprisoned for eternity. But no more. The Pit is open. And I am free"