Chapter Text
The world stopped.
A small, hateful smirk tugged at his features, and your mask dropped completely.
This couldn't be your reality. You refused to believe it, shoving his statement deep down into whatever box you could find in your subconscious. Your ribcage suddenly felt so much tighter.
You looked down, unsure of how your feet were still moving. Apart from the sound of your collective footsteps, the passage was silent - far too silent - had it been like that this whole time?
Then, a sound assaulted your senses.
Something made contact with the ground, over and over, to your right - as if it was running - and the whole group came to a stop. Heads snapped to the right.
The vibrations could be felt through the ground, like an earthquake travelling through the adjacent passage. No one said a thing.
The movements slowed. Then, scratching - like fingernails on a chalkboard - followed by a deep, spine-chilling grunting. You exchanged wide-eyed looks with Jon and Raina, anchored in place by your fear.
Perhaps mercifully, the heavy movements picked up again as the life form bounded out of earshot.
Everyone jostled, uttering concerned words amongst themselves; even the soldiers.
"Okay, let's pick it up," said the commander, his steady voice cutting through the commotion. "We'll split up. Scatter our scents. Confuse it, then regroup in the ravine. It's a straightforward way out from there."
Calloused hands closed around your upper arms. The passage was descending into chaos, the commander's booming voice sounding above all.
"You have all completed your mandatory caving training, let's see you put it to the test," there was not a shred of fear evident in his voice. In fact, he kept it neutral and monotone - it unsettled you. He stuck out an arm, splitting the group in two. "Two of you will take the rogue human. I'll come with you. The rest of you, take the man and the woman. Travel via the western passage, and we'll take the east. Remember the mission, and follow it honourably."
You stepped forward. "You can't separate us!"
You were immediately yanked back, a hand closing over your mouth, tasting of sweat and soil. Your ankle screamed at the awkward impact with the ground.
"Be silent, damn it!" said one of your captors through gritted teeth. The other soldier was at your side in a heartbeat, tightening the handcuffs until they were nearing the point of cutting off bloodflow. You resisted the urge to roll your eyes, only just. "You have no idea what you're dealing with. If you wish to see the daylight again, I suggest you shut up and walk."
There was a fearful edge to his tone that, admittedly, rattled you a bit.
When he removed his hand from your mouth, your gaze fell straight on your fellow humans. The remainder of the crew led them towards a fork in the cave - towards the western passage.
Jon mouthed a swift good luck, though no hope shone in his eyes. Raina gave you a doomed look.
Just as fast as the order was spoken, the group was broken up. They headed down the western passage. You, the commander, and the two soldiers ventured down the east.
The comforting presence of Jon and Raina was immediately replaced by an urge to run after them. You considered your ankle, handcuffs, and the many blasters in the equation, and decided against it. The moment you did, guilt swept through you.
One of you against three intimidating, authority-obsessed aliens and an unidentified creature. The next few hours would prove interesting at best, and fatal at worst.
The gradual sound of rushing water was a welcome one to your ears.
An hour or so later, the eastern passage had broadened significantly, making way for a trickling stream that eventually widened to a coursing subterranean river. Its current flowed steadily, zigzagging around jutting stalagmites and rocks that erupted from the ground.
To the left of the river sat a raised path that was undoubtedly eroded into shape over the years. It offered enough room for your group to walk in single file; the commander walked ahead of you, and the two other soldiers behind you.
There were few words being exchanged at this stage. Heads up, eyes forward, flashlights on; one step after the other.
No conversation. No warmth.
No sign of the Doctor.
You took in your surroundings as a means of distraction. The other stark difference that separated this passage from all the others were the tree roots. They emerged from the walls and ceiling, reaching in different directions like some kind of sea creature.
Some roots were as tall as you, and some were as small and spindly as a spider's legs. Some burst from the walls and snaked into the river, then back out and across the path; others dangled from the ceiling as if they were grasping for something. Some twisted around the stalagmites or each other like some brutal, twisting dance.
Hope sparked in your chest at the realisation that you must be getting closer to the surface. Though that vast unknown yawned ahead of you, there was the promise of fresh air and light between the present moment and whatever place they were taking you. It was the silver lining to this whole situation.
Ahead lay a root at about the height of your hip, forming a bridge from the path to the other side of the river. When the others spotted it, they grunted at the gymnastics that would be required to maneuver it.
Then, a different sound came out above the rushing of the river.
Scratching. Only just.
You stopped. A hand shoved between your shoulder blades barely a second later, a clear and wordless message to keep walking. Reluctantly, you did. Slowly.
Your eyes were fixated on the twisting root. The scratching continued.
Then, you saw it.
There, in the river… a grey life form, no bigger than a large dog. The water contorted its form, blurring it around the edges. You could barely make out its shape.
As you stepped closer, you strained your eyes to get a better look. The creature's shape continued to contort in the rapid waters. It did not follow the current's flow as most of the fish did.
Something grunted, the sound short and high-pitched. This time, everyone heard.
Splash.
Flashlights angled, and the crew fell quiet.
Four sturdy legs.
Light grey fur.
Two eyes, small and milky like distant stars.
There, stood by a less rapid section of the river's flow, was a bear-like creature with a rounded back. It stuck its short snout into the air, sniffing in your direction.
Except, you couldn't see it. When you looked to where the river's edge met the cave wall, you couldn't see a thing. Just thin air and rock. It was only its reflection in the river that revealed the life form's existence.
Confusion was the first emotion that raced through you. You wondered, not so distantly, if you were seeing things after spending one too many hours in the dark. Fear was the next emotion to arrive, with no subtlety.
The crew stiffened at your sides as the creature continued sniffing the air, angling its furry head in different directions.
It was completely invisible. If it wasn't for the river somehow revealing its reflection and the sounds of its movements, you would never have known it was there. A million questions arose in your mind with nowhere to put them.
To your horror, the commander picked a sizeable stone up from the ground and threw it into the river, landing at the bear-dog's paws. With a yelp, the creature perked up and scurried away.
You watched in disbelief as its contorted form bounded through the shallow banks of the river, leaving splashes in its wake before disappearing into the darkness. In the direction you came from.
"Keep moving," grumbled the commander as the splashes faded into the soundscape. The two other soldiers hesitated, exchanging a look before finally falling into step behind you.
The four of you continued walking for a while, the river eventually narrowing, but not becoming any less rapid. You wondered how your new friends were faring. Where they were. Perhaps they'd made it to the surface. Perhaps they made a wrong turn, and they were far deeper in the cave system, or worse…
You didn't let your mind wander any further.
They will be fine. You will be fine.
The Doctor will be fine.
Your level of concern held your lungs in its hands, threatening to squeeze all the air from them if you thought about her for too long.
She is clever, extraordinarily clever. And she will be fine.
Your lungs constricted.
She will be fine.
Something squeaked above you. You jumped, and the crew pointed their flashlights towards the source of the noise.
To your surprise, hundreds of those wyvern-bats clung to the ceiling of the passage, about five feet above your head.
All of them were awake and stirring. Each and every single one. They made sounds that reminded you of bicycle bells, but more high pitched and less drawn-out.
Some of the animals crawled over each other. Others stretched, revealing the leathery webbing of their wings. You spotted a few juveniles climbing onto their mothers' backs. Though you knew nothing about this species, a feeling of foreboding enveloped you.
As you considered the notion, a small, furry mass swept past your head. Then another. And another.
As you looked back to the colony, dozens of them had begun to drop from the ceiling and flap into the direction your group was heading.
Wings flapped all around you. You dropped into a half-crouch as their chirping turned to screeching.
Within seconds, the entire passage filled with the small creatures hastily flapping past you. Their calls were ear-piercing, and if your hands weren't cuffed, you'd be covering your ears. The commander barked an order, barely audible over the commotion.
Beyond the chaos, a vibration rumbled through the ground. Then another.
Dread travelled up your legs and spine before settling around your throat. For a long moment, you stopped breathing, unsure of where to place your focus.
A drawn-out growl echoed through the passage from the direction you came from. As if on cue, a weight dropped into your stomach.
You forced yourself to rise back to your full height. The wyvern-bats banked sharply to avoid crashing into you, their wings creating small rushes of air you felt on your face. You gazed into the very dark passage.
Distantly, you registered your captors reaching for their blasters and pointing them into the abyss.
There it was again. The ground shook. And again.
Slowly, a huge grey mass appeared in the river's reflection, bounding towards you. That last bit of hope finally slipped through your fingers.
"Get a move on!" yelled the commander. "Now!"
You weren't going to argue with that. As another roar rattled your bones, you turned on your heel and ran down the passage, following the lead of the wyvern-bats.
Pain shot up your leg with each sharp impact your bad foot made with the ground. You pushed through it; kept pushing as the roaring grew louder, louder behind you.
The crew ran beside you, keeping their hands firmly on their blasters and throwing a look over their shoulders every few seconds.
You could barely see the path through the swarm of wyvern-bats. Instead, you kept your eyes on the commander ahead of you, hoping the bastard knew where to put his feet so you could follow his lead. If you fell…
You forced your focus into taking another step, then another, and another…
Oh, it was so damn hard to balance with your hands pinned behind your back—
Fresher air made its way into your burning, aching lungs. You pushed on.
Within a flash, the passage yawned open into a truly huge cavern, roughly the size of a football field. The space was borderline overwhelming with its sudden arrival. You could hardly wrap your head around the sheer size of it after all that time spent in your personal claustrophobic hell.
And it was… lighter than all the others. You looked up - and realised you weren't in a cavern at all.
When you laid eyes on the stars, your knees nearly gave out.
The sky was graced by two full moons, flooding the ravine with glorious natural light. A swirling vortex of wyvern-bats flapped towards the night sky before scattering among the starfield.
A smile - broad and genuine - broke out across your features. Somewhere along your travels, you learned to find comfort in the company of the stars - and their presence was a massively welcome sight, even now.
The relief was short-lived. You turned to find the crew at your heels. You looked beyond them only to find, well, nothing.
You spun around again, stealing another look at the night sky, and noticed much more this time.
Far, far above at the edges of the cliffs was the forest - its grand, twisting tree roots drooping far into the ravine below.
There, on the other side of the ravine, a small waterfall sprung out of an outcropping of stone, flowing freely into a lake that covered most of the ravine's floor. At three separate edges, the lake branched off into rivers that spilled deeper into the planet.
It was one of the most fascinating sights you had ever beheld, like it was pulled from a postcard and placed in front of your very eyes.
Something cold jammed into your shoulder. You whirled to find the barrel of the commander's blaster now pointed at the centre of your chest, directly over your heart - like he'd memorised human anatomy and its weak spots - and a wildness sprung into his eyes.
"Get back to the passage."
All that calmness had slid from his features now as his finger hovered over the trigger. The slits in his eyes closed on you like a mouse trap.
You looked right back. "No."
"You will go back into that passage," he spoke slowly, enunciating the words, and kept that blaster firmly in place. "And your useless existence will buy us some time."
That relief was long gone now as you contemplated all the bad options that lay ahead of you, recognising that even though there were no good solutions, you still had to choose.
The ground shook again. Another roar rang out, cutting through the stillness of the night. It reverberated off the walls of the ravine.
You saw those cogs turning in his brain as your heart hammered against the blaster. You wondered if he could feel the vibrations and sense that you were bluffing.
You were not the Doctor. You couldn't be, and would never be, no matter how hard you tried to feign bravery in her absence. You were scared, walking a fine line between wearing the mask of bravery and being betrayed by your own body language.
It all happened too fast.
He fumbled with the blaster.
And pulled the trigger.
An invisible force launched you onto your back, dust rising from your impact. Your vision filled with the stars that spun far above.
Every muscle in your body tensed and stayed that way, your hands wedged into the dirt behind your back. Painful tension overtook your body, and you gritted your teeth as your head was pulled back by a force beyond your control.
You wanted to scream and kick your legs and get up and run, but you couldn't. In fact, you couldn't even wiggle a single toe inside your shoes.
You waited for the darkness that surely beckoned, but… it didn't come.
Distantly, that gravelly voice shouted at his crew to run, climb to the exit, and you couldn't even raise an eyebrow to react.
The skies were beautifully clear, with not a single cloud in view. No light pollution stained the night, allowing for unobstructed views of the Milky Way, like someone dipped a paintbrush in stars and streaked it across the sky.
The ground shook again. Your eyes welled up.
This wasn't how your day was supposed to go.
Smaller vibrations - footsteps? - approached from a distance. Perhaps the commander was coming back to pour salt into your wounds. The steps came closer, closer—
When the Doctor's face appeared against the starfield, the ground disappeared from beneath you.
"Hi there!" she chirped, the familiar cadence of her voice like music to your ears, and those tears welled up fast. "It's all happening here, isn't it? Let's get you up… oh, that's not good—"
She threw a look over her shoulder, undoubtedly at someone or something, and grumbled something to herself. She jostled, raising an arm as the familiar trilling of the sonic filled your ears.
A moment later, the tension melted from your body. You drew a sharp breath into your lungs and flexed your fingers behind your back, craning your neck to see her properly.
Doctor was the first word on your lips.
"Paralysis ray. Convenient bit of tech when you're trying to catch your foes. Nasty when it's used on you, of course," she was shifting herself around now, gentle yet firm hands finding your upper back and then your arms as she helped you to your feet. The brief touch brought you back into your own body, as well as sending your heart soaring for the stars. "Just disabled the connection on his blaster that held the paralysis field in place. He might not notice for a bit. I'll be having words—"
With a huge jolt, the two of you were thrown backwards.
You were thrown further this time, with more than enough force to wind you. You lay on your back once more, gasping for air that didn't immediately come.
When you raised yourself onto your elbows, what you saw made your heart drop.
"Over here!" shouted the Doctor, already scrambling to her feet and sprinting to one of the far walls of the ravine, coat billowing behind her. "This way! Over here!"
She jumped up and down, frantically waving her arms like she was trying to get your attention in a crowd.
Unfortunately, you were not the only one who noticed.
A roar, guttural and absolutely spine-chilling, echoed through the entire ravine. In the forest above, birds scattered into the night sky.
The Doctor, horrifyingly unfazed, planted her feet at the edge of the lake.
A huge invisible form thundered past you, leaving tremors in its wake. A large splash sounded, and your focus snapped to the lake.
What you saw sent shivers across your whole body, your entire being, and your soul.
There, in the reflection of the lake, stood an enormous beast the size of a single storey house. It was bear-like in appearance, sporting dappled-grey fur and that same rounded back as the smaller creature you'd spotted earlier. It had bright white eyes that sunk into the front of its face and a short, compact snout lifted into the air to sniff deeply.
It lowered its head to the lake's surface as it took a step forward, sending another splash soaring into the air. It stepped towards the Doctor - picking up her scent.
Somehow, you made it back onto your feet. Your focus shifted to her, hoping to catch her eye and work out a plan.
Instead, her focus was completely fixed on the beast's reflections. Her mouth formed around a small oh before bursting into a huge grin, stars sparking to life in her eyes.
She shifted on her feet, getting ready to bolt. She couldn't seem to pull her inquisitive gaze away from the beast, even as its huge form towered over her.
Your stomach pitched so deep it could've pierced the planet's crust. You willed her to run. Back to you. You could figure it out together.
Splashes the same height as you erupted from the lake, one after the other, as the beast bounded for the Doctor.
The stars in her expression guttered, and she bolted to the left. The end of her coat flicked sideways in a way that suggested she had a close call.
"Doctor!"
A low grunt could be heard as dust rose around her. She jumped to the right, her eyes darting all over the place.
She whirled inelegantly and ran into the lake, the water reaching halfway up her shins before she stopped. The beast was immediately on her tail, the tiny splashes left by her brown boots replaced by much bigger ones.
Its reflection emerged on the water's surface like a ship breaking through the fog. It kept its head low, unseeing milky eyes fixated on the rainbow-covered woman that had just saved your life. Saliva dripped from its jaw.
Harnessing the adrenaline, you leapt into the lake, two pairs of eyes landing on you the second you made the first splash.