"Oo, look at this. Stunning!" The Doctor exclaims excitedly, as Celeste looks at the bubbling tubes with a look of disgust.
"What does it do?" Donna peers at the tubes closely, Alfie just admiring from a distance.
"Particle extrusion. Hold on. Brilliant. They've been manufacturing Huon particles. Course, mine and Alfie's people got rid of Huons. They unravel the atomic structure." Alfie watched the Doctor with a fond smile at how excited the older Time Lord was getting.
"Your people? Who are they? What company do you represent?" Lance's tone held a ring of panic but Celeste just turned around and flipped him off.
"Feisty behave love, we can't go around swearing at the humans." Alfie scolded lightly, a small smile on his face.
"Ugh fine. Bet you a twenty that she slaps him in the next five minutes." Nodding her head towards Donna and the Doctor, she holds out her hand.
"Deal. But I bet its within mmmm.... the next 60 seconds" Alfie grins, shaking his bonded's hand.
"You're on."
The pair watch as the Doctor turns a knob on top of the container he was holding and Donna starts to emit a soft golden glow.
"Oh, my God!"
"Oh my God indeed Donna." Alfie's voice was low, as he realised the danger Donna was in with Huon particles running around her body.
"Genius. Because the particles are inert, they need something living to catalyse inside and that's you. Saturate the body and then. Ha!" The Doctor exclaims loudly suddenly, making Celeste jump lightly. Alfie sniggering quietly as he intertwines his fingers with hers.
"The wedding! Yes, you're getting married, that's it! Best day of your life, walking down the aisle. Oh, your body's a battleground! There's a chemical war inside! Adrenaline, acetylcholine. Wham! go the endorphins. Oh, you're cooking! Yeah, you're like a walking oven. A pressure cooker, a microwave, all churning away. The particles reach boiling point. Shazam!"
Donna slaps the Doctor, making him stop talking rapidly in excitement. Celeste sighs as she hands over twenty pounds to Alfie, grumbling quietly.
"What did I do this time??" The older Time Lord looks other at Celeste and Alfie, a small pout on his face.
"Are you enjoying this? Right, just tell me. These particles, are they dangerous? Am I safe?" Donna's voice raises as she panics slightly, Celeste walking over to the bride, her hand still intertwined with Alfie's.
"Yes."
"Doctor, Alfie, if your lot got rid of Huon particles, why did they do that?" Donna asked a moment later, her voice calm as she took a steady breath.
"Because they were deadly." The Doctor remained silent as whilst Alfie answered her, his voice grave.
"Oh, my God."
"Donna we promise you, we'll sort this out. Whatever has happened to you, we will fix it." Celeste took Donna's hand in her spare one and gave her a small smile.
"We're not about to lose someone else." Alfie speaks up, his thoughts of his sister as the Doctor lays his hand on the younger time lord that he see's as a brother.
"Oh, she is long since lost." Everyone's heads snap towards a wall that was slowly moving upwards. Lance stays at the back, slowly sneaking out as Celeste bites her lip in worry about what was to come.
A hole going down to the centre of the earth is to be revealed and the Doctor pulls Celeste behind him, not wanting her anywhere near the edge. Alfie moves closer to Donna making sure the bride wouldn't be in any danger of falling.
"My kind have waited so long, hibernating at the edge of the universe until the secret heart was uncovered and called out to waken!" The hidden voice echoes through the whole room, making the girls shiver slightly.
Black robots higher up on steel steps point their guns towards the quadruple, Alfie pulling Donna gently towards the Doctor and Celeste.
"We need a way get them out, if things go south." Alfie branches out into the telepathic link he has with the Doctor, trying it for the first time. A small headache forms in his mind but he pushes it back, focusing on the moment.
Feeling a nudge in his mind, the Doctor gasps quietly, realising Alfie was reaching out to him mentally. A small smile forms on his face as he feels a wave of nostalgia hit him from when he was on Gallifrey. It was nice to not be the last of your kind anymore.
"Take the entrance we came in, there was several ladders that can take us to the surface. I can distract and do the talking." The Doctor responded back, his eyes glazed over slightly. Celeste beside him realising what was happening between the two Time Lords.
"Someone's been digging. Oh, very Torchwood. Drilled by laser. How far down does it go?" Celeste spoke up confidently, giving Donna a side eye when the redhead gave a 'what' face.
A sense of pride bloomed in both Time Lords as they watched their bonded talk, both feeling a warm rush of content.
"Down and down, all the way to the centre of the Earth!" The voice proudly spoke again, making Donna roll her eyes slightly.
"Really? Seriously? What for?" Alfie calls out, confidently clicking his tongue against his teeth. A trait very similar to his sister's.
"Dinosaurs."
"What?" Both Time Lords turn to Donna, confusion obvious on their faces.
"Dinosaurs?" Donna repeated with a semi expectant face.
"What are you on about, dinosaurs?"
"That film, Under the Earth, with dinosaurs. Trying to help."
"Uh, thank you for the thought." Alfie speaks quickly before the Doctor can say anything rude. The older Time Lord albeit being slightly distracted by Celeste almost dying of laughter in the background.
"Such a sweet couple." The voice calls out cloyingly, earning a roll of the eyes from Celeste. The Doctor and Alfie frown, each moving closer to Celeste, the protective nature of the Time Lords making Donna smile.
"Only madmen talk to thin air and trust me, you don't want to make us mad. Where are you?" The Doctor calls out, his voice hard as steel, matching the dark shadow on his face.
" High in the sky. Floating so high on Christmas night." The Empress transports herself in and Celeste jumps, a small squeal escaping her lips.
"Impossible." The Doctor murmured quietly whilst Celeste grimaced, her face paling slightly.
"What is it about spiders that are so creepy?" She mutters quietly to Donna, the read head bride nodding in agreement.
"I think it's the eyes and the speedy legs." Before the two could discuss it further, Alfie leant down, a small teasing smile on his face.
"I don't think commenting about their species, will make the Racnoss any more amicable."
"Oh shush martian man." Rolling her eyes, Donna moves closer to the Doctor, not listening previously to what he was saying to the Empress.
"Again, we're not martians." Groans Alfie, Celeste giggles, feeling a bit more relaxed.
"That's it, the last of your kind. The Racnoss come from the Dark Times, billions of years ago. Billions. They were carnivores, omnivores. They devoured whole planets." The Doctor says, his face aghast as Alfie clenches his jaw, remembering the terror the Racnoss brought upon numerous planets.
"Racnoss are born starving. Is that our fault?" The Empress clicks her pincers menacingly, Alfie intertwining his hand with Celeste as she shivers slightly.
"They eat people?" Donna's voice was uneven, shock evident as she stared up at the Doctor.
" HC Clements, did he wear those, those er, black and white shoes?" Speaking up, Alfie inclined his head to where a pair shoes were sticking out from some webbing.
"Oh god!"
Sorry that this chapter has taken so long to be published. I really despise this episode, my arachnophobia just screams no.
There will be a part four, hopefully out in a week or so.
I hope you enjoyed it!!