"You're going to what?" Rory asks.
"{Y/N} and myself are going to go down below the surface, to find the rest of the tribe, to talk to them," the Doctor says.
"You're both going to negotiate with these aliens?"
"They're not aliens. They're Earth-liens. Once known as the Silurian race, or, some would argue, Eocenes, or Homo Reptilia. Not monsters, not evil. Well, only as evil as you are. The previous owners of the planet, that's all. Look, from their point of view, you're the invaders" {Y/N} says.
"Your drill was threatening their settlement. Now, the creature in the crypt. Her name's Alaya. She's one of their warriors, and she's our best bargaining chip. We need her alive. If she lives, so do Elliot and Mo and Amy, because we will find them. While we're gone, you four people, in this church, in this corner of planet Earth, you have to be the best of humanity" the Doctor says.
"And what if they come back? Shouldn't we be examining this creature? Dissecting it, finding its weak points?" Mack asks.
"No dissecting, no examining. We return their hostage, they return ours, nobody gets harmed. We can land this together if you are the best you can be. You are decent, brilliant people. Nobody dies today. Understand?" {Y/N} asks, Nasreen applauds the speech.
*Time skip*
Nasreen follows the Doctor and {Y/N} to the TARDIS.
"No, sorry, no. What are you doing?" the Doctor asks.
"Coming with you, of course. What is it, some kind of transport pod?"
"Sort of, but you're not coming with us" {Y/N} says.
"She's right. You're not" Mack says.
"I have spent all my life excavating the layers of this planet, and now you want me to stand back while you two head down into it? I don't think so."
"We don't have time to argue," the Doctor says.
"I thought we were in a rush."
"It'll be dangerous" {Y/N} says.
"Oh, so's crossing the road."
"Oh, for goodness sake. All right, then. Come on" the Doctor mutters.
"Hey. Come back safe" Mack says.
"Of course," Nasreen replies, the Doctor and {Y/N} walk into the TARDIS, Nasreen follows.
"Welcome aboard the TARDIS. Now, don't touch anything. Very precious" the Doctor says as {Y/N} stands next to him.
"No way. But, but that's, this is fantastic. What does it do?"
"Everything. We're hoping, if we're going down, that barricade won't interfere" {Y/N} says, suddenly they get knocked off their feet.
"Did you touch something?" the Doctor asks.
"No. Isn't this what it does?"
"We're not doing anything," the Doctor says, {Y/N} stumbles towards the console.
"We've been hijacked. I can't stop it. They must've sensed the electromagnetic field. They're pulling the TARDIS down into the Earth" {Y/N} says looking at the scanner, the TARDIS comes to a sudden stop, throwing the Doctor, {Y/N} and Nasreen to the floor.
"Where are we?" the Doctor walks over to the doors and opens them, loose soil is raining down, gently, from the hole above the TARDIS.
"Looks like we fell through the bottom of their tunnel system. Don't suppose it was designed for handling something like this" the Doctor says.
"How far down are we?"
"Oh, a lot more than twenty-one kilometers" {Y/N} says.
"So why aren't we burning alive?"
"Don't know. Interesting, isn't it?"
"It's like this is every day to you two."
"Not every day. Every other day" the Doctor says.
"We're looking for a small tribal settlement probably housing around a dozen Homo Reptilia? Maybe less" {Y/N} says as they all walk further into the tunnel, Nasreen goes down a side passage and stops.
"One small tribe."
"Yeah."
"Maybe a dozen?" the Doctor and {Y/N} walk over.
"Ah" they look down on a vast chamber filled with buildings and whatnot.
"Maybe more than a dozen. Maybe more like an entire civilisation living beneath the Earth" {Y/N} says.
---
~Bread 🍞