Sorry there was no chapter yesterday I'm going on holiday for two weeks on Saturday and have to have chapters edited and ready so I can just upload them while away.
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"You know I hate surprises." Rita groaned as the Doctor took her hand not saying a word while leading her out the TARDIS with Donna following, the Doctor then pulled back a small curtain, "Ancient Rome." He laughed loudly then quietened his voice stepping out into the street. "Well, not for them, obviously. To all intents and purposes, right now, this is brand new Rome."
"Oh, my God." Donna gasped staring at them as Rita chuckled in amusement, "It's, it's so Roman. This is fantastic." She hugged the Doctor and Rita as they both laughed at the joyful expression on the human woman's face. "I'm here, in Rome." She looked around, "Donna Noble in Rome. This is just weird. I mean, everyone here's dead."
"People don't take to kindly to being told that they're dead," Rita whispered to Donna the Doctor nodding in agreement.
"Hold on a minute." Donna stopped smiling looking over the Doctor's shoulder making the two turn around in confusion. "That sign over there's in English." They looked over at a small crate to see the sign painted on was in English. "Are you having me on?" She asked. "Are we in Epcot?"
"No, no, no, no." The Doctor shook his head amused "That's the TARDIS translation circuits" The woman looked at him blankly not understanding what that meant.
"Basically it translates to the natural language helps you fit in and read it," Rita explained in better terms for her. "Works with speech as well."
"You're talking Latin right now." The Doctor informed her grinned at the look on her face.
"Seriously?"
"Mmm." The Time Lords hummed nodding.
"I just said 'seriously' in Latin?" Donna asked gleefully, Rita smiled in amusement as the Doctor grinned, "Oh, Yeah."
"What if I said something in actual Latin, like veni, vidi, vici?" Donna started to babble on. "My dad said that when he came back from football. If I said veni, vidi, vici to that lot, what would it sound like?"
"Umm." The Doctor thought then looked at Rita standing beside him.
"No idea." She shrugged. "You threw all of the TARDIS manuals out." She crossed her arms.
"They disagreed with me," He protested. "You have to think of difficult questions, don't you?" He jokingly said to Donna.
"I'm going to try it." She beamed walking over to a man selling fruits, "Afternoon, sweetheart. What can I get you, my love?"
"Er, veni, vidi, vici."
"Huh?" He frowned at her. "Sorry? Me no speak Celtic," he said thinking she couldn't understand him. "No can do, missy."
"Yeah," Donna said walking away back to the pair. "How's he mean, Celtic?"
"Welsh." The Doctor replied glancing at Rita smirking before looking back at Donna. "You sound Welsh."
"You sound like me" Rita laughed. "I wonder if that would happen in other languages?" She thought aloud as the Doctor took her hand while they walked down the street.
"Don't our clothes look a bit odd?" Donna asked frowning slightly.
"Nah." He waved her off. "Ancient Rome, anything goes. It's like Soho, but bigger."
"You've been here before then?" She raised her brows at them.
"Mmm. Ages ago." He nodded.
"Before you ask, that fire had nothing to do with us." Rita cut in. "Okay maybe it did, he started it though," she jerked her thumb over to the Doctor beside her.
"But we never got the chance to look around properly." He said while Rita nodded agreeing with what he was saying. "Coliseum, Pantheon, Circus Maximus. You'd expect them to be looming by now." He muttered running out of the street with Rita heading into another. "Where is everything? Try this way." They continued to run Donna on their heels/
"Not an expert," Donna looked up the Time Lords following her gaze seeing a large mountain, "but there's seven hills of Rome, aren't there? How come they've only got one?"
"No..." Rita quietly whispered in a gasp as the ground began to shook, the Doctor held Rita by the waist looking into her eyes seeing the slight worry deep in them. The ground shortly finished shaking as Donna kept herself upright gasping at the sight. "Wait a minute. One mountain, with smoke." She said seeing the smoke seep out of the mountain. "Which makes this..."
"Pompeii." The Doctor and Rita both looked in horror.
"We're in Pompeii." The Doctor stared at the volcano. "And it's volcano day."
He looked at Rita who grabbed his hand, "We have to get to the TARDIS" the two ran off Donna behind them, people began to stare at the three strangely as they dodged the people in the street. They skidded to a stop throwing the curtain back and seeing the TARDIS nowhere in sight. "You're kidding." Donna's eyes frantically moved around the small area where the TARDIS was. "You're not telling me the TARDIS has gone."
"Okay." He nodded.
"Where is it then?"
"You told me not to tell you." He looked at her.
"Oi. Don't get clever in Latin." Rita faintly smiled glad that even Donna could keep her sass in the hardest of times.
"Right then." Rita took off running to the fruit seller Donna had spoken to before the Doctor and Donna behind her. "Excuse me?" She tapped his shoulder. "Yes, hello." She nodded gaining his attention. "There was a box..."
"Big blue box." The Doctor cut in speaking over her. "Big blue wooden box, just over there." He pointed behind the curtain. "Where's it gone?"
"Sold it, didn't I?" He smiled smugly at them.
"But it was never yours to sell," Rita explained to him.
"It was on my patch, weren't it?" He asked his smug grin growing. "I got fifteen sesterces for it. Lovely jubbly." The man rubbed his hands together happily.
"Who'd you sell it to?" The Doctor frowned.
"Old Caecilius." He informed them. "Look, if you want to argue, why don't you take it out with him? He's on Foss Street. Big villa. Can't miss it."
"Thanks." The Time Lords modded then ran off quickly skidding to a stop and running back, "what'd he buy a big blue wooden box for?"
The man shrugged not know why he actually wanted the box. Rita groaned not having the time to chat she pulled the Doctor away following the man's directions desperately trying to find a sign telling them where the man lived, "Foss Street" Rita quietly said to herself repeatedly reading the signs as the Doctor did the same. "There!" She pointed the Doctor beaming at her. They both then turned to Donna who was actually there.
"Why do they always wonder off, rule one: don't wonder off!" The Doctor groaned taking the blonde's hand as they retraced their steps quickly before bumping into the red head. Ha. We've got it. Foss Street's this way." He grabbed her arm dragging her off in the direction they came from as Donna pulled away shaking her head at them, "no. Well, I found this big sort of amphitheatre thing." She quickly explained. "We can start there. We can gather everyone together." The two then started to frown not understanding what she was babbling on about. "Maybe they've got a great big bell or something we could ring. Have they invented bells yet?"
"What do you want a bell for?" The Doctor asked.
"To warn everyone. Start the evacuation." She stated. "What time does Vesuvius erupt? When's it due?"
"It's 79AD, twenty-third of August," Rita said after licking her index finger and sticking it in the air as the Doctor opened his mouth to speak. "And that makes it volcano day tomorrow."
"Plenty of time." Donna nodded. "We could get everyone out easy."
"Yeah, except we're not going to." The Doctor said.
"But that's what you two do. You're the Doctor and the Stone." She looked between them. "You save people."
"Not this time." The Doctor shook his head explaining it a little harsher than Rita hoped he would, she couldn't really blame him though, it was volcano day tomorrow and the TARDIS was 'brought'. "Pompeii is a fixed point in history. What happens, happens. There is no stopping it."
"Says who?" Donna snapped.
"Says me." He snapped back.
"What, and you're in charge?"
"TARDIS, Time Lord, yeah."
"Donna, human, no." She copied his tone.
"Stone, angry come on!" She groaned grabbing the Doctors arm. "We do not have time for this."
"I don't need your permission." Donna backed away before Rita could grab her to drag her away to the TARDIS. "I'll tell them myself."
"You stand in the market place announcing the end of the world, they'll just think you're a mad old soothsayer." The Doctor snapped at her. "Now, come on. TARDIS. We are getting out of here."
"Well, I might just have something to say about that, Spaceman." She hissed.
"Oh, I bet you will." He shouted back taking Rita's hand and running down the street back to Foss Street.
"Not how I wanted that to go," Rita grumbled.
"She will understand." The Doctor reassured her then quietly added: "I hope." Suddenly as the Doctor, Rita and Donna entered the Villa the ground began to shook, the Doctor caught a marble sculpture of a man before it fell and patted his cheeks in the process, "Whoa! There you go."
"Thank you, kind sir." The man nodded in gratitude. "I'm afraid business is closed for the day. I'm expecting a visitor."
"But that's me," he stepped forward shaking his hand. "I'm a visitor. Hello."
"Who are you?"
"I am..." he looked around for an idea as one suddenly popped into his head. "Spartacus."
"And so am I," Donna added.
"Rita." The Time Lady stepped forward shaking his hand.
"Mister and Mrs Spartacus." He looked between them as they automatically shook their heads.
"Oh no, no, no. We're not, we're not married."
"We're not together," Donna added.
"Oh, then brother and sister?" He smiled before nodding. "Yes, of course. You look very much alike."
The two looked at each other for a moment, "really?" While Rita tried to hold in a laugh.
"I'm sorry, but I'm not open for trade." The man apologised.
"And that trade would be?"
"Marble." He said proudly. "Lopus Caecilius. Mining, polishing and design thereof. If you want marble, I'm your man."
"That's good." The Doctor and Rita nodded. "That's good because I'm the marble inspector." The Doctor flashed his psychic paper at the man.
"By the gods of commerce, an inspection." The woman slightly gasped. "I'm sorry, sir. I do apologise for my son." She poured the boys wine into the pond.
"Oi." He looked at her annoyed.
"And this is my good wife, Metella. I must confess, we're not prepared for a..."
"Nothing to worry about," Rita reassured. "I'm, positive that you're not trying to hide anything, however Spartacus... and Spartacus look at that." She saw the TARDIS in the corner.
"That object looks rather like wood to me." The Doctor stated.
"I told you to get rid of it." Metella hissed to her husband.
"I only bought it today."
"Ah, well. Caveat emptor." The Doctor hummed walking over to the TARDIS with Rita.
"Oh, you're Celtic. There's lovely." Caecilius smiled at them.
"I'm sure it's fine..." the Doctor said patting the TARDIS and trailing off, "but we might have to take it off your hands for a proper inspection."
"Although while we're here, wouldn't you both recommend a holiday, Spartacus, Rita?
"Don't know what you mean, Spartacus." He narrowed his eyes at Donna.
"Oh, this lovely family." Donna sadly said. "Mother and father and son. Don't you think they should get out of town?"
"Why should we do that?" Caecilius asked
"Well, the volcano, for starters."
"What?" He frowned.
"Volcano." She repeated again.
"What-ano?"
"That great big volcano right on your doorstep."
"One moment please." Rita smiled. "Haven't even greeted the household gods." She quietly sighed dragging Donna away with the Doctor following. "Donna they have never heard of a Volcano is."
"The top hasn't blown off yet." The Doctor added trying to help Rita explain. "The Romans haven't even got a word for volcano. Not until tomorrow."
"Oh, great, they can learn a new word as they die." She snapped at them.
"Donna please..." Rita begged as the Doctor snapped back at her, "Donna, stop it."
"Listen," she hissed. "I don't know what sort of kids you two have been flying round with in outer space, but you're not telling me to shut up. That boy, how old is he, sixteen? And tomorrow he burns to death."
"And that's our fault?" The Doctor asked her.
"Right now... Yes."
"Announcing Lucius Petrus Dextrus, Chief Augur of the City Government." A man spoke loudly stopping the three's argument.
"Lucius. My pleasure, as always." Caecilius held out his hand, however, Lucious stood there not moving.
"Quintus, stand up." Metella hissed quietly at him.
"A rare and great honour, sir, for you to come to my house."
"The birds are flying north, and the wind is in the west," Lucius said.
"Quite. Absolutely." He nodded. "That's good, is it?"
"Only the grain of wheat knows where it will grow."
"There now, Metella. Have you ever heard such wisdom?" Caecilius asked his wife.
"Never. It's an honour."
"Pardon me, sir. I have guests." He gestured to the three. "This is Rita, Spartacus and, er, Spartacus." He frowned at them.
"A name is but a cloud upon a summer wind."
"But the wind is felt most keenly in the dark." The Doctor replied.
"Ah. But what is the dark, other than an omen of the sun?"
"I concede that every sun must set." Rita then spoke up.
"And yet the son of the father must also rise." The Doctor added.
"Damn. Very clever, sir." He nodded completely ignoring Rita. "Evidently, a man of learning."
"Oh, yes. But don't mind me. Don't want to disturb the status quo."
"He's Celtic." Caecilius informed Lucius quietly.
"We'll be off in a minute." The Doctor went to grab Donna's arm as she stepped back.
"I'm not going."
"You've got to." The Doctor told her.
"Well, I'm not."
"Donna-"
"The moment of revelation." She looked round interested. "And here it is."
Caecilius removed a white cloth showing what looked like a circuit board in stone. "Exactly as you specified. It pleases you, sir?"
"As the rain pleases the soil."
"Oh," the Doctor and Rita frowned, "now that's different."
"Who designed that, then?" The Doctor asked.
"My Lord Lucius was very specific."
"But where did you get the pattern?" Rita wondered.
"On the rain and mist and wind."
"But that looks like a circuit." Donna frowned.
"Made of stone."
"Do you mean you just dreamt that thing up?" Donna stared at him like he was mad.
"That is my job, as City Augur." He informed her with a slightly annoyed look.
"What's that, then, like the mayor?"
"Oh, ha." The Doctor and Rita pulled Donna to the side.
"Apologies about our friend..." Rita smiled at them apologetically.
"She's from Barcelona." The Doctor added as they turned around to not face Lucius or the family. "No, but this is an age of superstition."
"Of official superstition," Rita added as the Doctor gave her a look to tell her it wasn't the time.
"The Augur is paid by the city to tell the future. The wind will blow from the west? That's the equivalent of ten o'clock news." He explained.
"They're laughing at us." A young woman walked in looking very pale and quiet sick. "Those three, they use words like tricksters. They're mocking us."
"No, no," the Doctor shook his head as Rita tried to explain.
"We're not... We mean no offence."
"I'm sorry." Metella apologised holding the girl's shoulders. "My daughter's been consuming the vapours."
"Oh for gods, Mother." Quintus groaned looking at her angrily. "What have you been doing to her?"
Caecilius looked at his son in annoyance and hissed at him. "Not now, Quintus."
"Yeah, but she's sick." He protested. "Just look at her."
"I gather I have a rival in this household." Lucius glanced at the pale girl. "Another with the gift."
"Oh, she's been promised to the Sibylline Sisterhood." Metella beamed. "They say she has remarkable visions."
"Visions?" Rita tellipathically questioned the Doctor wondering what he thought of it.
"Hmm..." The Doctor hummed in reply not quite sure what to say. "I have no idea."
"The prophecies of women are limited and dull." Donna's eyes snapped at Lucius, Rita groaned quietly knowing what would happen. "Only the menfolk have the capacity for true perception."
"I'll tell you where the wind's blowing right now, mate." Donna hissed exactly as Rita guessed she would.
The ground then shook slightly before it cut out, Lucius looked around in the air then at the girl. "The Mountain God marks your words. I'd be careful if I were you."
"Consuming the vapours, you say?" The Doctor cut in interested.
"They give me strength." She said in a daydream like state.
"It doesn't look like it to me."
"Is that your opinion as a doctor?"
Rita's eyes snapped to the girls widening in the process. "What did you just say..."
"Doctor." She repeated. "That's his name just as yours is as cold as Stone."
"How did you know that?" The Doctor interrupted as Rita looked at the girl almost turning as white as a sheet.
"And you." She turned to Donna. "You call yourself Noble."
"Now then, Evelina." Her mother interrupted. "Don't be rude."
"No, no, no, no. Let her talk." The Doctor held up a hand allowing her to continue.
"You three come from so far away."
"The female soothsayer is inclined to invent all sorts of vagaries."
"Oh, not this time, Lucius." The Doctor shook his head.
"Sorry Lucius but it looks like the soothsayer has been out-soothed."
"Is that so, man and woman from Gallifrey?"
"What?" The Time Lords stared at Lucius.
"The strangest of images." He looked at them. "Your home is lost in fire, is it not?"
"Doctor, Stone, what are they doing?"
"And you," he snapped his head to Donna, "daughter of London."
"How does he know that?" She looked at them both slightly terrified.
"This is the gift of Pompeii." Lucius explained. "Every single oracle tells the truth."
"That's impossible." Donna breathed.
"Doctor, Stone, she is returning."
"Who?" Rita asked as the Doctor spoke over her. "Who is? Who's she?"
"And you, daughter of London." Lucius ignored their questions, "there is something on your back."
"What's that mean?" Donna worryingly asked.
"Even the word Doctor and Stone is false. Your real names are hidden." "His burns in the stars, in the Cascade of Medusa herself as you hide yours in fear. You are a Lord and Lady...Sir and ma'am... A Lord and Lady of Time." The girl then fainted while her mother ran up to her, "Evelina!"
The Doctor and Rita glanced at each other slightly worried, not even the Doctor knew of the blondes reasoning of hiding her true name so desperately. Metella and Donna helped carry Evelina to her room as the Doctor and Rita moved to the hypocaust grill. They removed the grill and looked down into the heat with the smoke rising. "Different sort of hypocaust?" The Doctor frowned.
"Oh, yes. We're very advanced in Pompeii." He said proudly. "In Rome, they're still using the old wood-burning furnaces, but we've got hot springs, leading from Vesuvius itself."
"Who had the idea of doing that?" Rita asked looking down.
"The soothsayers, after the great earthquake, seventeen years ago." He told them. "An awful lot of damage. But we rebuilt."
"Didn't you think of moving away?" The Doctor asked.
"Don't forget San Francisco." Rita reminded him.
"That's a new restaurant in Naples, isn't it?"
"What's that noise?" The Doctor changed the subject.
Caecilius shrugged. "Don't know. Happens all the time. They say the gods of the Underworld are stirring."
"But after the earthquake, let me guess. Is that when the soothsayers started making sense?"
"Oh, yes, very much so. I mean, they'd always been, shall we say, imprecise?" He shrugged. "But then the soothsayers, the augurs, the haruspex, all of them, they saw the truth again and again. It's quite amazing. They can predict crops and rainfall with absolute precision."
"Have they mentioned anything about tomorrows Weather?" Rita cautiously asked.
"No." He said. "Why, should they? Why do you ask?"
"No reason, just... no reason." She shared a glance with the Doctor both raising their brows in wonder.
"But the soothsayers," the Doctor changed the subject, "they all consume the vapours, yeah?"
"That's how they see." He replied.
The Doctor held out his hand collecting the dust in his hand. "Ipso facto." The Time Lords mumbled as the Doctor rubbed the small grains together in his fingers.
"Look you."
"They're all consuming this." He explained.
"Dust." Caecilius stated. The Doctor shook his head and corrected his. "Tiny particles of rock."
"They're breathing in Vesuvius." Rita said looking at the Doctor then following him over to Quintus who was sitting on a sofa drinking, "Quintus, me old son. This Lucius Petrus Dextrus. Where does he live?"
"It's nothing to do with me." He shrugged not paying any attention to him.
"Let me try." Rita rolled her eyes at the Doctor. "This Lucius Petrus Dextrus." She reached behind and produced a coin from behind his ear, after he looked up in amazement she continued, "where does he live?"
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After convincing Quintus the Doctor and Rita followed the boy after dark, leading them both through Pompeii holding a burning torch to light the way. He lead them a little further before stopping a a window. "Don't tell my Dad." Quintus pleaded them both.
"Only if you don't tell mine." The Doctor joked running up and jumping into the window before holding his hand out for the blonde. Rolling her eyes she ran to the window and jumped in with ease not needing his assistance at all, "I'm not fragile Doctor." She shook her head then turned to the window leaning out. "Can we have the torch please?" Quintus nodded handing it to her.
They began to then look around the small room seeing multiple marble statues from the chest up of Lucius. The Doctor gestured for Rita to move over to a curtain, she held the torch near it as the Doctor moved it down to then reveal a wall of different designed marble tiles much like the one Caecilius had made. "The liar." Quintus spat noticing the tiles as he jumped through the window and into the room. "He told my father it was the only one."
"Well, plenty of marble merchants in this town." The Doctor said. "Tell them all the same thing, get all the components from different places, so no one can see what you're building."
"Which is what?" Quintus frowned.
"The future, Doctor Stone." They turned around to see Lucius stood in the doorway behind him with a couple of guards. "We are building the future, as dictated by the gods."
"And you have no idea what it does?" Rita frowned at him.
"The gods only dictated, they did not say what it is for."
"Well that's rubbish" Rita shrugged. "Ask multiple marble merchants to create these tiles and you have no idea what they're for." The Doctor nodded in agreement. "Perhaps we could assist you." He raised a brow at Lucius who nodded slightly. The Time Lords then began to rearrange the circuit boards
"Put this one there." The Doctor muttered to Rita. "This one there. Er, keep that one upside down... And what you got?"
"Enlighten me." Lucius looked at him, Rita rolled her eyes at how much the Doctor was clearly not paying attention.
"What, the soothsayer doesn't know?" The Doctor asked not seeing Rita's eye roll in his direction. "The seed may float on the breeze in any direction." Lucius said.
"Yeah, I knew you were going to say that." He muttered. "But it's an energy converter."
"An energy converter of what?"
"I don't know." He shrugged before beaming, "isn't that brilliant? I love not knowing. Keeps me on my toes. It must be awful being a prophet, waking up every morning, is it raining? Yes, it is, I said so." He rambled on. "Takes all the fun out of life. But who designed this, Lucius, hmm? Who gave you these instructions?"
"I think you've babbled enough."
"Yeah, he has a habit of that, something I think I have picked up on, not too happy about that." She glared at the Doctor.
"I quite like it," he shrugged. "Anyways, Lucius, really, tell us." He raised his eyebrows at the man. "Honestly, We're on your side. we can help."
"You insult the gods," Lucius stated angrily. "There can be only one sentence. At arms." He ordered, the guards then pointed their swords at the three.
"Oh, morituri te salutant." The Doctor and Rita both muttered then glanced at each other slightly smirking before turning back to Lucius when he hissed at them, "Celtic prayers won't help you now."
"But it was them, sir." Quintus shakily said hiding slightly behind a curtain. "They made me do it. Mister Dextrus, please don't." He begged.
"Come on now, Quintus, dignity in death." The Doctor glanced at the boy. "I respect your victory, Lucius." The Doctor stepped forward. "Shake on it?" He asked holding out his hand, Lucius glared at him in annoyance not replying. "Come on. Dying man's wish?" Lucius narrowed his eyes before the Doctor grabbed his arm beneath the cloak and pulled, a cracking sound then echoed the room as Lucius groaned in pain before the Doctor stepped back holding the arm of stone.
"But he's" Quintus stared at the arm in the Doctors hand.
"Show me." The Doctor demanded, Lucius then threw back the cloak revealing his arm had turned completely to stone.
"The work of the gods." He stated almost proudly.
Quintus gasped at the sight. "He's stone."
"Armless enough, though." The Doctor threw the arm back to Lucius and grabbed Rita's hand. "Whoops." He muttered running to the window and shouting for the boy who threw his touch at the guards as the Doctor quickly soniced the circuit boards causing them to fall to the floor as the three escaped.
"Run!" The Doctor shouted keeping hold of Rita's, running down the street, they continued to run in the dark Quintus just behind them, turning a corner the three then stopped looking around.
"No sign of them." The Doctor announced. "Nice little bit of allons-y. I think we're all right."
"Sweetheart whenever you say something is alright something bad happens." Rita groaned.
"We'll be fine." He shook his head at her.
"But his arm," Quintus interrupted the two, "Doctor, Stone. Is that what's happening to Evelina?" The Time Lords opened their mouths to speak before clutching onto each other to keep their balance as the ground shook slightly.
"What was that?" The Doctor said regaining his balance while holding the blonde's waist.
"The mountain?" Quintus guessed.
There was another rumble as a cage holding a few chickens fell over in the distance, another rumble then occurred and marble slightly closer to them fell on the floor crashing.
"No," the Time Lords shook their heads watching the items fall, "it's closer."
They both watched as more things began to fall getting closer and closer as Rita breathed, "Footsteps."
"It can't be." Quintus stared.
"Footsteps underground." The Doctor said understanding what she meant.
"What is it?" Quintus worryingly asked. "What is it?"
"Sweetheart you know you said about a nice bit of Allons-y?" Rita asked slightly backing up. "How about we do that again?" She took his hand then turned to run pushing Quintus who was behind them to move. They ran through the streets the Doctor ducking, pulling the Time Lady with him as the grills around them blew open allowing the hot steam to fly out. They arrived at the Villa and ran in the Doctor running over to the hypocaust grill.
"Caecilius?" The Doctor ran back to the man Rita running over to Donna. "All of you, get out."
"Doctor, Stone what is it?" Donna worryingly asked as the rumbling got louder.
"Sadly I'm always right when the Doctor jinxes things," she slightly glared at him, "we've been followed." They snap their heads in the direction of the hypocaust grill which flew off.
"Just get out!" The Doctor tried to push Caecilius away who refused to move standing and staring at the grill, Rita tried to pull Donna away but she was fixed in place. The floor of the hypocaust then cracked before the stone and fire creature appeared out of the grill before the group who were all wide eyed.
"The gods are with us." Evelina breathed.
"Water." The Doctor shouted looking at Rita who nodded trying to pull Donna away. "We need water. Quintus. All of you, get water. Donna!" He shouted snapping the woman out of her trance as Rita finally managed pulled her away, the two ran collecting two buckets to fill them with water, they ran back but were stopped, two women from the Sisterhood clamped their hands over both of their mouths, Rita groaned knowing trying to struggle was no use while Donna tried to shout for the Doctor, struggling to fight the woman off and her screams turning into quiet muffles only Rita and the Sisterhood could hear as they were taken away.