The Lost Time Lord (A Doctor Who/Tenth Doctor Fanfiction)

Chapter Thirty: The Pit Is Open

The capsule reached the bottom with a slight crash, causing Ida and I to stumble. We both took a moment to regain our balance. 

"Doctor? Doctor, are you alright?"

"Ida, report to me. Doctor!" 

"Its alright, we've made it," I replied, pushing the door open, "Heading out of the capsule now." 

We stepped out together, shining our flashlights around to find a surface that looked a bit like a rock quarry.

"What's it like down there?" Rose asked. 

"Its hard to tell," I said, "Some sort of cave. Cavern. Its massive." 

"Well, this should help," Ida said, "Gravity Globe."

She tossed a glowing white orb into the air and it floated there, illuminating the area with bright white light. It revealed more of the cave, but rather than natural rock formations as I'd expected, the walls were made up of carvings...ancient architecture like I had never seen.

"That...That's..."Ida trailed off in amazement, "Oh my gosh, that's beautiful." 

"Rose," I said, "You can tell Toby, we've found his civilization." 

"Oi Toby, sounds like you got plenty of work."

"Concentrate now, people. Keep on the mission." Zack commanded. "Ida, what about the power source?"

"We're close," She reported as we began walking through the cavern, "Energy signature indicates north-northwest. Are you getting pictures up there?"

I kept an eye out, shining my flashlight in every crevice, searching for any sign of the TARDIS. 

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

"Well, we've come this far," She said, as we approached a giant, looming archway, "There's no turning back."

"Oh, did you have to?" I asked. "No turning back? That's almost as bad as 'Nothing could possibly go wrong' or 'This is gonna be the best Christmas Walford's ever had'." 

"Have you finished?"

"Yeah, finished." I replied, walking past her to lead the way. "Do you lot mind if I try to contact my ship? See if its down here?"

"Yeah, go ahead. But stay on target, Doctor."

I nodded, lifting the comm to my mouth.

"Mary? Come in Mary, do you hear me? Mary, are you within range?" I asked.

I was met with empty static, causing me to sigh and drop my arm back to its side. We came to a stop beside a giant metal circle with markings etched into it.

"We've found something." I said, stepping up onto the edge of it. "It looks like metal, like some sort of seal. I've got a nasty feeling the word might be 'trap door'. Not a good word, trap door. Never met a trap door I liked."

"The edge is covered with those symbols." Ida added, shining her flashlight along the writing.

"Do you think it opens?" Zack questioned.

"That's what trap doors tend to do." 

"Trap door doesn't do it justice," Ida circled around it, "Its massive, Zack. About 30 feet in diameter."

"Any way of opening it?"

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

"I suppose that's the writing. It would tell us what to do." I theorized. "The letters that defy translation." 

"Toby, did you get anywhere with decoding it?"

"Toby, they need to know. That lettering, does it make any sort of sense?" Rose asked. 

"I know what it says."

"Then tell them."

"When did you work that out?"

"It doesn't matter, just tell them."

"These are the words of the Beast." My eyes widened as a low, demonic sounding voice came through the monitor. "And he has woken. He is the heart that beats in the darkness. He is the blood that will never cease. And now he will rise."

"Officer, you will stand down," We heard Jefferson say, "Stand down!" 

"What is it, what's he done?" I asked, walking forward. "What's happening?! Rose, what's going on?! Rose, what is it, Rose!? I'm going back up."

I made a beeline for the capsule.

"Report! Report!" Zack said, attempting to regain contact with Rose and the others. "Jefferson, report! SOMEONE REPORT!"

"Its the Ood." Rose finally said.

"Sir, we have contamination of the livestock."

"Doctor, I don't know what it is, its like they're possessed."

"They won't listen to us." 

"Captain, its the Ood," Danny said, "They're out of control!" 

As I was walking back to the capsule, the ground began to shake, makin git almost impossible to stay upright. 

"Doctor! Its opening!" Ida called. 

"We're moving," Zack said, "The whole thing's moving. The planet's moving!" 

I ran back to Ida, stumbling all the way there as the trap door began opening with a loud creak. The pieces slid back, revealing a dark, bottomless pit.

"The gravity field, its going. We're losing orbit! We're going to fall into the black hole!" 

"The pit is open and I. Am. Free!"