The TARDIS uneasily lands in a small metallic room. As the lights inside flicker the door opens and the Doctor and Rose emerge, the Time Lord commenting that the ship seems a bit queasy, as if it didn’t want to land. Rose suggests that if there is a sign of trouble they could get back in the TARDIS and leave. They both think for a second then laugh, mocking the idea. They calm down and the Doctor looks around, theorising that they have landed inside a cupboard.

He opens a large heavy door before him and steps out into a corridor. He notes that they are in some kind of base. He reels off a list of bases; moon base, sea base, space base; before commenting that these were all built out of kits. As he goes to open another door Rose looks around her and listens to the howling wind outside. She tells her friend that she’s glad they landed indoors; it sounds like a storm outside.

As they emerge in a long corridor they walk along, the Doctor explaining how humans tend to have a lust for kits; telling her that the base was put up like a flat-pack wardrobe only bigger. And easier.

After passing through another door into a large room full of tables and chairs, the Doctor realises that they are in a sanctuary base, used for deep space exploration. After realising they have flown right to the edge of the universe the Doctor notes there is a faint sound below them; someone is drilling.

Rose replies by saying, “welcome to hell”. The Doctor muses that it isn’t that bad but Rose laughs, explaining that it is written on the wall opposite. The Doctor turns to see the message scrawled across the wall, with lots of symbols scrawled underneath. He walks forward and crouches by the wall, claiming it odd that it won’t translate. Rose comments that she thought the TARDIS could translate writing as well as speech and that they should be seeing English. The Doctor concludes that if the writing will not be translated it must mean the text is old, very old, impossibly old.

He springs to his feet and tells Rose they must find out who is in charge. He begins to open another of the doors by turning a large wheel lock, like one from a submarine, to let them through. He explains that they have travelled beyond the TARDIS’ knowledge and that is not a good idea. He opens the door and he and Rose turn to the area behind it, where a group of aliens are waiting for them. They stand looking at the travellers through slit-like eyes inside a domed head fronted by tentacles for mouths. They are dressed in dark drapes and hold large glowing globes in their hands.

The Doctor greets them and comments on what a nice place the base is. The creature closest to them clicks on his globe, which glows and as he does so he tells them “we must feed”. Rose realises the creatures are talking about them and as the creatures begin to repeat the phrase the travellers run back to the door they came through, but more of the creatures are already walking through it, as well as the other doors leading into the room.

The creature closest to them repeats itself, only this time taps his globe and finishes it’s sentence: “we must feed you if you are hungry”. The Doctor asks them to repeat and the creature apologises, explaining that their speech systems have been interfered with by electromagnetic impulses. It then offers the speechless Doctor and Rose refreshment. The Time Lord lowers his sonic screwdriver and Rose puts down the chair as one of the doors hisses open.

A middle-aged man enters flanked by two guards. Astounded by the Doctor and Rose’s existence. He approaches them and talks into a radio in his watch, contacting the captain. He tells him that he may not believe him but there are real humans with him, out of nowhere. The captain replies, telling him that that is impossible but the man tells him to tell the two people that.

Rose reasons that the space base must have visitors once in a while but the man simply ponders that the two really don’t know where they are. The Doctor confirms his suspicions, they don’t have a clue where they are, but it’s more fun that way. Another voice over an intercom tells them all to prepare for impact, they have an incoming. As the ground begins to shake the man opens another of the doors and tells the Doctor and Rose to get through, quickly.

He ushers them along another corridor, forcing them to move on as jets of smoke and pools of sparks engulf them. They emerge in another large room, lined with computer banks and tables surrounded by people. They all look up at the Doctor and Rose and one of the men, by the sound of his voice the same man on the intercom, states that the man who found them was not lying. Another young woman marvels at the sight of real people and the Doctor claims that they really are real, followed by Rose who introduces the two of them to the people around them.

A young man sitting at a desk gets up and approaches them, rationing that the base’s oxygen must be offline and they are hallucinating. He looks at them but realises he is wrong; they are real.

The captain, now seated at one of the computer banks, tells the others to pull themselves together. He addresses the young man as Danny and tells him to strap in, there will be an impact in thirty seconds. He turns to the two new arrivals and tells them to hold on to something, he doesn’t care what but just hold on. He addresses the aliens who found the Doctor and Rose, calling them Ood, and asks if they are fixed for impact. The creature thanks him for his kindness in the situation as the Doctor asks what the planet they are on is called.

Another woman, older than the first, tells them that it doesn’t have a name, it couldn’t have a name. As she realises the two of them really have no idea where they are the captain yells out as the impact occurs. There is a large jolt as the room shakes and everyone is thrown back into their chairs or against walls. The disturbance dies down and the Doctor gets up, claiming it wasn’t that bad. However before he can finish a much larger field of disturbance hits the base and again everyone clings for life as the Doctor is thrown to the ground. Jets of flames and smoke coupled with more bursts of sparks continues around the room until the vibrations die down and the guards run about with fire extinguishers.

The captain asks if everyone is all right, asking each of his colleagues in turn. The Doctor almost mockingly tells him that he and Rose are OK as they get to their feet. The captain explains that the surface of the planet has caved in, but he has deflected the blast onto storage units five to eight, which have been lost completely. He tells another man, called Toby, to check the rocket link and when he protests that it is not his job tells him to do it anyway.

As the man leaves the crew check that everything is working Rose asks what is going on outside, guessing it is a hurricane. The young woman tells her that an atmosphere is needed for a hurricane and there is no air outside. Rose asks what is going on outside and the older woman ponders that she really doesn’t know.

She calls for introductions, telling the Doctor and Rose that she is Ida Scott the science officer. Then she introduces the acting captain Zachary Cross Flaine, Mr Jefferson, head of security and the man who first found them surrounded by the creatures, then Danny Bartock of the ethics committee and the man who claimed the two of them were illusions. Before Ida moves on Danny points out his job is not as boring as it seems, then allowing the introductions continues. She tells them the man who just left was Toby Zed, head of archaeology and the young woman who explained about the planet’s lack of atmosphere is Scooti Mallister of trainee maintenance.

Ida then moves over to one of the walls and tells the travellers that this is home. She reaches for a lever and pulls it down. Zachary tells them to brace themselves; the sight that they are about to see can drive some people mad. Above their heads the metal ceiling splits and slides away leaving an observation port. Outside stand the depths of space, blocked out by a large glowing ring of light surrounding a plot of nothingness. Around it rocks and debris are being sucked inside, and Rose realises immediately that they are facing a black hole. The Doctor, stunned, tells her that it is impossible.

Zachary mutters that he warned them but the Doctor continues, explaining they are standing over a black hole before Ida corrects him, explaining they are in orbit around it. Again the Doctor claims that it is not possible and repeats himself when Ida again tells him that nevertheless they are in orbit. She goes on to state that the planet, a lump of rock, is held in perfect geo-stationary orbit around that hole without being sucked in. She opens the topic for discussion and Rose asks the Doctor if the situation is bad. He tells her that it is and explains to her that a black hole is a star that collapses in on itself before the matter inside becomes so dense it pulls in everything around it. Nothing can escape, not light, gravity nor time itself. Everything gets pulled in a crushed.

Rose points out that they must not be able to be in orbit, they should be being pulled inside. The Doctor confirms that they should be dead and Ida cuts in, telling him that they are here, beyond the laws of physics. She welcomes them onboard and Rose asks what is the debris around the black hole and Ida explains it is lumps of rock, dust clouds. The crew witness the collapse of complete galaxies above their heads, being pulled in. Rose mockingly comments that it is just a bit worse than the storm she envisaged, and Ida mockingly agrees; just a bit before Rose copies her. As more pockets of turbulence rock the room the winds howl outside between the mountains and valleys of rock, dwarfing the tiny base below.

In one of the corridors Toby, holding rolls of paper stumbles as the base is shaken about by the disturbance. As he continues to walk a ghostly voice echoes, calling his name. The lights dim and then power up again and Toby looks round, asking who is there. He looks around a corner and calls out to Danny, suspecting him. He looks around again then continues on his way.

In the control room the crew including Toby, along with the Doctor and Rose are gathered around one of the control panels. Zachary punches up a holographic image of the black hole, giving it’s designated name of K37Gen5. Ida explains that in the scriptures of the Valtino the planet is known as Kroptor, the bitter pill. The black hole was supposed to be a mighty demon that was tricked into devouring the planet but spat it out because it was poison.

As Rose claims her approval of the planet’s name and meaning, the Doctor marvels how far out they are in the drifts of the universe. He asks how the crew arrived and Zachary explains that they flew in. He punches up a new image, this time a net of the planet with a large red cone issuing from the middle. He explains that the planet is generating an unexplainable gravity field that is keeping it is constant balance against the black hole. He points of the funnel of gravity, reaching out in space from deep beneath the planet’s surface. Rose joyfully marvels that they flew down the cone like a roller coaster and Zachary explains that by rights the ship should have been pulled apart. He tells them that during the landing they lost their captain, which left him in charge. Ida assures him that he is doing a good job.

Danny explains that if the funnel closes there is no way out. Scooti mockingly points out that they have a lot of fun speculating about that and Danny playfully taps her on the head with a roll of paper also mockingly saying how he’d not thought of calling it fun. The Doctor meanwhile ponders that the amount of energy needed to generate the field would be enormous, off the scale. He asks Ida if he can use her calculator-like device and she welcomes him to it, as one of the creatures that first found the travellers hands Rose a cup of drink. Rose thanks it and asks it it’s name but it replies that none of its species have names.

The creature walks off and Rose asks Danny what species the creature is called. He simply asks where she has been; everyone has got one. Rose tartly tells him that she does not then asks again and this time he tells her that they are called the Ood. Rose ponders over the name. “That’s Ood”. Danny plays along not very enthusiastically. He tells her that the creatures are very useful as they help run the mineshaft and drilling, supervising the maintenance. As he tells her that the creatures were born for work Rose sips her drink but after tasting it stops, pulling a sour face.

Danny comments that the Ood are a basic slave race. Rose reaffirms in distaste what he has said and Scooti tells her not to start, she sounds like one of the protesters who fight for the Ood’s rights. Rose tells her that maybe she is, and asks since when humans needed slaves. Danny tells her that they actually offer themselves as slaves; if they are not given orders then they just crawl away and die. Another of the creatures joins them and Rose asks if they really like being ordered about. It replies, explaining it is all they crave; they have nothing else in life. Rose explains that she used to think that too, a long time ago.

The Doctor has finished his calculations and explains that to generate the gravity field and the funnel it would take a power source with an inverted self-extrapolating reflex of six to the power of six every six seconds. Rose joins him and points out that that is all of the sixes and he continues, telling her it is impossible. Zachary tells them that it took the crew two years to work that out and the Doctor tells him that he is very good.

Ida cuts in and tells him that that is the reason they are on the planet. The power source is ten miles below the surface under the solid rock and they are drilling down to try and find it. Zachary explains it is giving off enormous amounts of energy and Ida tells the travellers that they could use that power to revolutionise modern science. Jefferson claims it could be used to fuel the empire and the Doctor cuts in saying it could be used to start a war.

Toby explains it is buried beneath them, in the darkness waiting. Rose looks over at him and asks if his job is chief dramatist. The Doctor flashes her a smile and Toby continues, telling them that whatever is down there it is not a natural phenomenon. Eons ago, before the human race had learned to walk the planet supported life. The Doctor realises that the marking on the wall belonged to those creatures and asks if Toby is behind them. He explains that he is and tells him that he got them from fragments unearthed by the drilling but he has been unable to translate them. The Doctor explains that he has not been able to either, and that is saying something.

Toby reveals his theory that the civilisation once buried something, and now it is calling out, drawing others in. The Doctor happily comments that the crew answered the call and as Zachary turns off the hologram, Ida comments that there was no way they couldn’t have. The Doctor continues, telling them that they came, despite the danger and the odds, they still came just because it was there. He marvels at the human race then turns to Zack, and asks if he can hug him. He tells him that he can and the Doctor embraces him, commenting how amazing the human race is. He thanks Zack and then tells the crew that beyond that they are mad, they should pack their bags and leave. Ida asks how the Doctor and Rose arrived and the Doctor cobbles together an explanation about the TARDIS and how it just sort of appears. Rose remembers that they landed in Inhabitation Area 3 and Zack worriedly points out that that is storage area six.

The Doctor admits it was a bit like a cupboard and then realises what Zachary said about the disturbance earlier being diverted to storage areas five to eight. He rushes out of the control room, followed by Rose. They retrace their steps through the corridors and back to the room with the graffiti. Rose calls to her friend to tell her what is going on and soon they arrive at the door leading to the room where they landed. The Doctor tries to open it but it is locked. He opens the portal above the lock and looks out, stunned.

Again Rose asks what is going on and the Doctor explains that the TARDIS is gone. As the base computer informs them that the door is out of commission, the Doctor explains the earthquake destroyed the section with the ship inside. Rose ponders that the ship must be outside somewhere but when she looks out and down to the surface she finds that there is nothing there, only a cavern leading deep below the surface.

Some time later, back in the control room the Doctor is telling the crew that the TARDIS must have fallen into the heart of the planet but they can use the drilling facilities to go down and find it. Zack cuts in and tells him they cannot divert the drilling and when the Time Lord protests, explaining that the ship is the only thing he has, he tells him that they only have the facilities to dig one hole. There must be no diversions and no exceptions. He reasons that the machine is lost and all he can offer the Doctor is a lift somewhere if they ever get off the planet’s surface and that is the end of the matter. He walks off and Ida turns to the Doctor, telling him that she will put him on the duty roster; they need someone in the laundry. She too leaves and the Doctor is left alone with Rose and an Ood going about its business.

He tells her that he’s trapped her on the planet but she tells him not t worry about her. As more disturbances gently rock the base Rose summarises that they are on a planet which shouldn’t exist standing above a black hole with no way out. She pauses then tells him she’s changed her mind and he can start to worry about her. She laughs nervously and the two of them embrace.

The base computer announces that it is now the night shift and the chosen music track for transition is the Bolero. As the music fades in the Ood busy themselves all around the base, mainly in the mineshaft as Jefferson goes about his business. He looks down onto the surface of the planet as Scooti, decked in a spacesuit, tends to machinery out in the open. She contacts the others via radio and tells them she is on her way back, whilst Danny stands inside, counting the Ood as they walk along the corridors and in his room, Toby examines some of the artefacts found on the planet’s surface.

In the silence the ghostly voice from the corridor calls his name. He turns slightly then returns to his work as the voice tells him that it can see him. He turns again and, thinking it is Danny, tells him to stop it, as it’s not funny. He gets up and opens the door of the room to check the corridor, explaining he is trying to work but finding no one there. Again he calls out to Danny and tells him to stop it as the lights dim again. He prepares to go inside as a jet of smoke issues from the floor. He takes one last look outside before going back to his room and closing the door.

The Doctor and Rose are in the living quarters with the symbols written on the wall. Whilst the Time Lord examines the writing Rose looks around and Zack announces over the intercom that the temperature in Ood habitation is rising and someone needs to check it out. Rose walks over to the far side of the room where the Ood are serving food. She picks up a tray and Scooti tells her to help herself, just not to try the green food, or the blue. She smiles and walks off as Rose chooses her meal. The Ood fills her tray and offers her sauce. She accepts then remembers the time she used to work as a dinner lady. She quickly breaks off and apologises to the Ood, explaining she wasn’t claiming the creature was a lady. She changes the subject and asks the Ood if it gets paid for its work. In reply the creature tells her that the beast and its armies shall rise from the pit to make war against God.

Rose is taken aback and the Ood taps its communicator globe. It apologises and explains it meant to say, “enjoy your meal”. Rose looks on slightly confused then takes her tray to go and sit down.

In the control room Zack sits at his computer bank, watching the holographic display, which details the progress of the drill head. He orders it to maintain pressure then stands up and walks off to make himself a drink. As he does so the picture changes from the net diagram of the planet to a picture of an imposing beast with a horned head, which roars. As Zack turns the picture reverts back to normal. He looks around then returns to his business.

In one of the corridors Danny begins to try and lock one of the doors. The base computer begins to talk, saying, “he is awake”. Danny asks the computer what it said and when it continues to talk it is its normal constructive tone, telling him to close the door.

In his room, Toby is examining more of the artefacts. Once again the ghostly voice calls out to him but before he can react it tells them not to turn around. Speechless, Toby mumbles that the voice isn’t Danny’s then asks whom the voice belongs to. It replies, telling him he has so many names. Again Toby makes to turn around but the voice tells him that if he looks at him he will die. Again he asks who he is and the voice tells hi that he is behind him. Again he orders him not to turn around; one look and he will die. He tells him that he is reaching out, he is so close and he must not look round. He lavishly tells him that he can almost touch him but before any more can be said Toby turns round. He looks behind him but there is noting there bar the glowing wall of his room.

He turns back to the desk and looks at the fragments of pottery he has been examining but realises there are no markings on them. He puts them down and slowly removes his gloves, and when he turns his hands to see his palms he finds the symbols etched onto his skin. He scrambles around and reaches for a mirror. He picks it up and looks at his reflection; all across his face are the ancient markings, lining his glowing red eyes. He writhes in agony and falls to the ground, unconscious.

In the inhabitation quarters the lights flicker and Ida contacts Zack, asking if there is a problem. He explains there is no more than usual and tells her that the Scarlet System is burning up outside and it might be worth a look. He signs off and Ida addresses the others, telling them this is something worth looking at, a moment in history. She walks over to a wall and pulls a lever opening the observation dome above them.

Around the black hole swirls a red cloud, which Ida explains used to be the Scarlet System, home to the Polushi; a mighty civilisation spanning a billion years disappearing, their planets and suns consumed. She addresses the others and tells hem that they have witnessed it’s passing. She makes to close the observation dome but the Doctor asks that she leave it open. She agrees then tells Scooti to check the lock down and Jefferson to check the air lock seals.

Rose talks to the Doctor, and comments how in films she has seen it was said that black holes were gateways to other universes. He tells her that the one before them is not, it just eats, swallowing things up. Rose ponders that they are a long way from home, and the Doctor points out to her the journey they would take to get back to Earth, which is over five hundred years away. Rose checks her mobile phone and notes that it has no signal; it’s the first time they’ve gone out of range. She realises that even if she were to phone Jackie she wouldn’t know what to tell her now they are stuck.

She asks the Doctor if he can build another TARDIS but her tells her that the ships were grown, not built and with his home planet gone they’re stuck. Rose comments that it is not that bad as the crew offered them a lift. The Doctor asks what they will do after that but she claims she does not know; they could find a planet and get a job, live a life like everyone else. The Doctor comments worriedly that he would have to settle down, live in a house with doors and carpets. He jokily tells his friend that that is genuinely terrifying and she replies, teasing him by chanting and telling him that he’d have to get a mortgage. The Time Lord denies it and claims it is all over. Rose sympathises by telling him that she’d have to get one too, then points out that they could get one together.

She sheepishly ends the conversation saying they’d have to see what happens and the Doctor merely mumbles something similar. He then tells Rose that he promised Jackie he would always return her daughter home but Rose points out that everyone leaves home in the end, and being stuck with the Doctor isn’t that bad. Her phone rings and she answers it, on the other end is the ghostly voice that confronted Toby. It merely tells her “he is awake” and Rose immediately throws the phone to the floor.

Some time later the Doctor and Rose arrive in Ood habitation where Danny greets them and asks how they are settling in. The Doctor asks how the Ood communicate with each other, and Danny explains that they are empaths, they are surrounded by a low level telepathic field, but it doesn’t do them any good because it leaves them as a herd race. The Doctor asks if they can pick up messages, and Rose tells him that when she was having her dinner in the canteen the Ood said something odd. Danny scoffs at the idea of an odd Ood before Rose tells him about the message on her phone.

He tells them that above them there are entire star systems breaking up, with many stray transmittions and if there were anything wrong then they would know, because they monitor the telepathic field, it’s the only way to look after them because they never tell their masters anything, not even when they are ill. The Doctor looks at the machine, which monitors the telepathic field whilst Danny explains that the Ood operate at a low level of basic five. As he speaks the level begins to rise and the Ood begin to look up from their laps. The doctor warns Danny as Rose tells them of what is happening below the gantry they are standing on.

As the level reaches thirty Danny claims that the change is impossible, and Rose looks on as the Ood turn to face them. She asks what basic thirty means and Danny explains that it means they are shouting inside their heads. The Doctor notes that it could be something shouting at them and Danny asks what Rose heard in the canteen. She explains something about the beast and the pit and when he asks her about the message on her phone she tells him what she heard; “he is awake”.

“And you will worship him”. The Ood, holding their communicators address the people above them. The Doctor repeats what Rose said and the Ood reply in the same manner. The Doctor asks whom the Ood are talking about but they do not arrive.

Elsewhere, Scooti arrives in Toby’s room with his accounts but he is nowhere to e seen. She hears the opening and closing of door forty-one in the distance and she realises there is something wrong. She rushes back to the door and asks the base computer if the door has been opened and it confirms her suspicions. Scooti explains that that is the airlock and no one is allowed out during the night shift. She asks if anyone has gone outside and again the computer confirms it.

Scooti then asks whose space suit has been signed out but the computer tells her no suit has been taken. She contacts Zack and tells him the door may be broken, and explains about the apparent expedition onto the surface. The communicator however does not work and Scooti is forced to ask the computer to trace the fault, but it maintains there is nothing wrong. It then goes on to tell her that “he is awake” and when Scooti asks what that means the computer tells her “he bathes in the black sun”.

Scooti backs away then walks to an observation window looking out onto the planet’s surface. There, amongst the flowing dust clouds stands Toby, embracing the rocky landscape before him. He turns to see Scooti through the window, his face alive with a manic grin with his eyes glowing and his skin covered in the ancient symbols. She comments that there is no air out there on the surface and he can’t survive out there. He beckons to her to join him outside and slowly she begins to raise her arm towards him. As he continues to beckon she realises what she is doing and brings her arm to rest by her side.

She yells in protest and his grin falls. He clenches his fist and the glass between them begins to crack. Scooti realises what is going to happen and runs back to one of the doors, screeching for it to open to no avail. The door remains closed as Toby throws open his clenched fist and the glass shatters.

In the Ood habitation room the ground begins to shake. The Ood remain still as the computer reports the breech. From the control room Zack warns the others via the communicators that the base is open and they must reconvene near the living quarters. Across the base the crew rush for safety, all arriving in the corridor outside the living quarters, including the now unmarked Toby. The Doctor asks what has happened and Jefferson tells him of the hull breach. The Doctor asks what caused it but Zack cuts in over the communicator explaining they have lost sections eleven to thirteen. He asks if everyone is all right and Jefferson explains everyone has arrived apart from Scooti. He calls over the communicator for her to report but he gets no reply.

Zack tells him to check inhabitation unit three, the one Rose and the Doctor arrived near. As Toby checks his now clean hands, Jefferson tells the others to come with him, they could all do with a drink. The others move on but the Doctor remains behind to help Toby, who has sunk to the floor. He asks him what happen and he replies that he was working when the room began to fall apart and there was no air. Rose helps him get to his feet and tells him to come and get some protein one. The Doctor remarks that she has settled in and Rose tells him that it’s quite nice; protein one with just a dash of three.

They arrive in the living quarters to find the other crew members looking for Scooti and reporting on their communicators. As they look around Jefferson calls Zack and tells him that Scooti cannot be found. Zack insists the computer is telling him she is in inhabitation three but Jefferson tells him she is not there. The Doctor speaks up, telling the others he has found her and when they follow his gaze they reel back in shock. Above them, beyond the observation dome is Scooti, or rather her body. Her dead lifeless form floats in the heights of space, drifting towards the black hole. The Doctor apologises to her as Jefferson reports to Zack, telling him that Scooti Mallister is dead. As Ida simply states that Scooti was only twenty years old she closes the observation hatch leaving Scootie’s body to drift ever closer to the black hole, whilst Jefferson laments with a poem:

For how should man die better
Than facing fearful odds
For the ashes of his father
And the temples of his gods.

Around them a noticeable whirring noise, which echoes around the entire base, comes to a halt and Ida notes it has stopped; the drilling is completed, they have reached the power source of the gravity field.

Whilst Zack announces over the intercom that all Oods are to be confined, Ida is in the main mining facility standing in a spacesuit, telling the others that a capsule has been established to take her down to below the surface. As she orders for all of the systems to be put online the Doctor arrives, also decked out in a space suit reporting as a volunteer to go down in the capsule. Zack tells him that he cannot allow him, as it breaks every protocol and nobody really knows who he is. The Time lord smiles at him and tells him that he trusts him and he cannot allow Ida to go down alone. He admits he sees a glimmer of trust in the captains eyes and when Zack tells him that he should be going down himself the Doctor tells him that a captain should stay in the base, not go down in the mission.

Zack realises that he is not going to be able to change the Doctor’s mind and says nothing, merely turning and making sure everything is ready for descent. The Doctor checks the settings on his spacesuit as Rose approaches him, explaining it has been a long time since he wore one. She jokily orders that he bring it back in one piece but in her voice there is a trace of worry in her voice.

As the Doctor dons his helmet Rose admits that people back on Earth don’t realise how tough space travel is, they think it’s all teleports and anti-gravity. The Doctor tells her he will see her later and she smiles, claiming not if she sees him first. She leans forwards and kisses his helmet.

Meanwhile, in the Ood habitation unit Danny and an armed guard are standing on the gantry facing the seated creatures. Danny uses the telepathy device to order the Ood not to move and that no command can override his instructions.

In the control room Zack activates the capsule and counts down as the pod prepares to depart. Jefferson saluted the Doctor and Ida and as the countdown reaches zero Rose stands and watches as the pod slides below the surface. Toby looks on, crouched in a corner examining his hands and as the machinery whirs, the pod disappears from sight.

Zack monitors their progress from the control room and warns them when they reach the limit of the oxygen field, they are own their own. Inside the pod the Doctor activates his oxygen pump and on the surface Rose advises them to keep breathing. From the control room Zack warns her to stay of the intercom but she tells him there is no chance.

Inside the capsule the ride begins to get bumpy and in the Ood habitation centre the creatures stand up in unison, facing Danny and the guard. The base soon shudders as the pod touches down and Rose and Zack asks if everything is OK. The Doctor reports back claiming everything is fine. Rose asks what they can see but the Doctor admits it is too dark to see. Ida launches a gravity ball which illuminates them, revealing that they are standing in a large cavern, surrounded by grand arches and statues. Ida marvels at the beauty of the sights around them as the Doctor tells Rose to tell Toby that they have found his lost civilisation.

On the surface, Rose tells Toby he’s going to have a lot of work to do and he unenthusiastically agrees, still examining his hands. Zack warns them to stay focused and asks Ida to find out where the power source is. She is using a locator to find it, and asks if their video links are being reported to the surface but Zack admits they are not, there is too much interference. Ida explains that there is no turning back now, and the Doctor protests, saying phrases like that are usually not helpful, as are others such as “nothing could possibly go wrong” or “this is the best Christmas Walford’s ever had”. Ida asks if he has finished rambling. He apologises and they continue their journey, as on the surface Danny reports to Zack.

He explains the Ood are staring at him and wont stop when he tells them to. Zack explains he is a big boy now and can take being stared at. Danny goes on to explain that the telepathic field is now at basic one hundred and there isn’t a fault. Rose asks Jefferson asks what that means and he explains that at basic one hundred they should be brain dead.

Zack orders Danny to keep watching them and orders Jefferson to keep an eye on the other Ood. He arms his gun and despite Rose’s protests explains the ammunition he is using seeks organic life only. The Doctor calls from below ground asking if everything is all right and they all reply, lying that it is fine.

He explains that he and Ida have found something, a giant round metallic hatch engraved with the ancient symbols. The Doctor has a nasty feeling it is a trap door and when Zack asks if it will open he admits that’s what trap doors usually do. Ida claims trap door does not do the object justice, it’s too big, around thirty feet in diameter. Zack asks if there is any way of opening it but Ida admits there appears to be no way of doing so, only the un-decipherable symbols surrounding it can do that.

On the surface Rose asks Toby what the lettering means and he explains that he does. Despite Jefferson asking when he managed to do that Rose asks him to tell them in the ghostly voice that once stalked him he tells them that these are the words of the beast, and he has risen. He gets up from the floor to reveal that he is now once again covered in the symbols and his eyes glow red once more. He continues, explaining he is the heart that beats in the darkness and he will rise. Jefferson aims his gun at him and tells him to stab at him as the Doctor and Zack demand to know what is going on. The communicators begin to fail but Rose manages to tell the Doctor about Toby’s transformation.

Toby turns on Jefferson and asks if his wife ever forgave him. The guard claims he has no idea what he is talking about but Toby knows he does. He decides to share a secret with him, she never did. Jefferson orders him to stand down and allow himself to be confined, and tells them that if he doesn’t he will be forced to shoot him. Toby looks at him and asks how many he can kill. He stands tall and yells, letting the symbols on his face dispel into the air and take over the Ood standing around them, which then spread around the rest of the creatures via the telepathic field.

As the now clean Toby faints the Ood chant that they are the legion of the beast. The Doctor tries to ask Rose what is going on but to no reply. Zack does the same but again to no avail. In the mineshaft launch station the Ood talk in the voice of the beast, claiming the legion shall be many and the legion shall be few. Rose reaches for her communicator and admits they are possessed whilst Jefferson reports they are not listening to them any more. In the holding area the Ood prepare to move, claiming the beast has woven himself in the lives of man since the dawn of time. Some call him Abbadah, some may call him Satan…

As one of the Ood advances towards him Danny reports that things are going awry. As the creature approaches them it stands before the guard and launches it’s communication globe at him. It attaches to his forehead and electrocutes him, until he falls to the floor dead. Danny runs for his life, whilst the Ood advance on Rose, Jefferson and another of the guards. Jefferson keeps his gun raised whilst Rose continues to hold her communicator. They try to get through the door at the end of the corridor whilst the Ood chant that the legion of the beast shall spread across the universe.

Down below the surface the cavern trembles. The trap door begins to open, the middle sections falling away one by one. As the whole planet starts to shake Zack begins to look at the holographic computer, and from the net plots he sees he realises what is happening, he opens the observation hatch and it confirms what he feared, the planet is moving. Meanwhile in the cavern the rest of the trap door is sliding away to reveal the pit beyond.

Above ground Rose, Jefferson and the guard struggle to open the door whilst the Ood channel the voice of the beast, which calls itself the sin, temptation and desire; the pain and loss.

As Ida and the Doctor struggle to see into the pit, Zack realises the gravity field is gone, the planet is moving and is about to be sucked into the black hole. As he struggles to keep control the Ood continue to advance on Jefferson and Rose, still channelling the voice of the beast which tells them it has been trapped for eternity, but no more.

In the cavern the ghostly voice echoes throughout the ancient underground world. The pit is open, and the beast is free…

As the Ood advance on Jefferson, Rose and the guard, the militant man opens fire with his machine gun, blasting the creatures before them whilst in the control room Zack realises the planet is stabilizing and closes the observation hatch above his head.

Now free to move Rose, Jefferson and the guard make their way back to a communication station where the young traveller tries to contact the Doctor and Ida, but the others cannot pay attention, something is trying to open the door behind them. It bursts open and a startled looking Danny enters, hastily locking the door behind him.

He tells the others that the Ood have gone mad and when Jefferson asks how many he tells him that all fifty are now out of control. Jefferson pushes him aside to open the door whilst the young man tells him that the creatures are using their communicators as weapons.

The door opens and sure enough a crowd of Ood are standing waiting. They move forward and one of then throws it’s communication orb at the guard, electrocuting her to death. As she screams in agony before falling to the floor Danny cowers behind Jefferson as once again he opens fire with his machine gun.

In one of the many corridors of the base Zack exits from the control room only to find a line of Ood marching towards him. He frantically retraces his steps and opens the door to the control room before locking himself inside. Once there he activates a lockdown, sealing every door in the base.

He then opens a communications link with Jefferson who explains he has very little ammunition left. Zack turns to a special container mounted on the wall and takes out a bolt gun, loaded with one bolt. He explains he has the capability to kill all of one Ood, which helps them very little. Jefferson recommends they commence strategy nine and with a sigh Zack realises he is right. He tells him they need to gather everyone together and asks Rose what has happened to Ida. She explains there is no reply but as she speaks the communicator cackles to life and the Doctor’s voice tells her not to worry, he is still there. With a sigh of relief and anger Rose tells him he should have said earlier and calls him a stupid b…

In the pit the communicator inside the Doctor’s helmet cackles with interference and tells his companion to take it easy. He explains that both he and Ida are safe and tells her that the seal on the floor of the cavern has opened up; all that is left is a chasm, which appears to go deep down forever.

Rose reminds him what the ghostly voice told them when the planet lost stability; “the pit is open” and from within the control room Zack asks if there is anything coming out. The Doctor mockingly tells him there is no sign of ‘the beast’ and rose cuts in, telling him that it called itself ‘Satan’. She asks the Doctor to reassure her there is no such thing but the Time Lord does not reply.

Zack cuts in, calling for Ida to return to the surface. Ida protests but he rephrases himself, explaining that what he said was an order, when the pit opened the whole planet shook and if it moves one more inch they will be lost in the black hole. Ida asks what they will be able to do up on the surface with the Ood on the rampage and Zack tells her that he is initiating strategy nine, he needs everyone up on the surface. As he speaks Ida switches off her communicator and turns to the Doctor. Zack calls to her over the severed link and sure enough gets no reply.

Ida asks the Doctor what they should do and as he approaches the pit he tells her that she was given an order. Again she asks him what he thinks they should do and he remembers how the beast claimed it was ‘the temptation’ and as he looks over the surface of the exposed chasm Ida asks why, if there is something down in the depths of the planet, it is still hiding. The Doctor theorises that perhaps they opened the prison but not the cell.

Ida tells him that they should go down the pit and before asking the Doctor again for his opinion, tells him she is prepared to go down. He tells her he has no reservation but cuts off and explains how Ida’s philosophy is so human, going where angels fear to tread. He talks to her about the feeling in the back of your head that wills you to go on, to take the risk. He ponders that perhaps whatever is in the pit is feeding on that little voice willing them to take the plunge and for once in his life the Doctor hesitates to make a decision…and says they should retreat.

He recoils and breathes in sharply, realising he really is getting old. He opens a communication line to Rose and tells her they are coming back to the surface. She admits that that is the best news she has heard all day but is cut off when she hears Jefferson cocking his gun behind her, before aiming it at Toby who is cowering on the floor.

She asks what he is doing and he explains that the man is infected, he helping being the creature onboard. She then asks if he is really prepared to shoot his own people and when he replies that he is she explains he will have to shoot her as well. She crouches down next to Toby and tells Jefferson to look at his face; the markings are gone, passed on to the Ood, he is clean. As Toby continues to cower Jefferson lowers his gun, explaining that if there is the smallest hint of trouble he will shoot him.

As the soldier moves away Rose asks Toby if he is all right and he tells her that he is, but he remembers the anger, the fear and rage of the creature inside his head. He could see death and then realises what it is he saw…the devil. Rose comforts him, embracing him whilst deep beneath the surface Ida and the Doctor are preparing to leave.

As they make their way back to the transport capsule they arrived in the Doctor asks what strategy nine is and Ida explains that it is a security measure; the crew will be kept inside the lockdown and the air locks will be opened, flushing the Ood out into the vacuum. The Doctor comments that they are making their way back to a slaughter and as Ida admits it is the devil’s work, the Time Lord looks back at the pit they have left behind.

Up on the surface Jefferson and the others receive a message from Ida, they are in the pod. Jefferson counts down and activates the ascension process but as he does so the lights dim and the power cuts out. On every computer screen around the base the Ood click into view, speaking in the voice of the beast. It tells them that this is the darkness, this is its domain. He muses at the humans of the base, calling them feeble creatures of the light who cling onto their feeble suns, which die.

Zack realises what is going, something is using the Ood to communicate and immediately asks what it is. The creature continues, telling them that only the darkness remains. Zack raises his bolt gun to the screen before him and tells the creature that he is Captain Zachary Cross Flane of Sentry Base 6, representing the Torchwood archive, before asking the beast to identify itself.

It tells him that he knows its name and so Zack instead asks what it wants and it replies that the entire crew will die here on the planet and in the corridor, Toby whispers that this is the voice that resided in his head, this is it…

Underneath the surface the Doctor asks that if the voice really is the beast then which one is it. He explains that while the creature has been gone, the universe has been busy; there are more religions than there are planets in the sky; the Arkevits, Portholity, Christianity, Pash Pash, New Judaism, Sanclar, Church of the Tim Vagabond, to which religion does he belong?

The beast claims that he belongs to all of them, and the Doctor asks if the creature is supposedly the reality behind the myth. The beast does not answer, it spouts that he knows the man talking to him, as he understands him, the killer of his own kind. The Doctor stays silent for a moment then asks how the creature came to be trapped on this planet, and it explains that the disciples of the light rose up against him and chained him in the pit for all eternity.

The Time Lord then asks when this was and the creature replies that it was before time. The Doctor asks what that means but he gets the same answer so asks again, and through the army of Ood the creature tells him that it was before time and light and space and matter, before the big bang that created the universe. The Doctor claims that that is impossible, nothing could have existed then and the creature then asks if that is his religion. The Time Lord states it is a belief and the creature tells the entire crew that they know nothing, they are so small. It addresses each of them in turn to demean them yet not by name; first it talks of the captain, so scared of command, the soldier (Jefferson) haunted by the eyes of his wife, the scientist (Ida) who is still running from her daddy, the little boy (Danny) who lied, the virgin (Toby), and the lost girl (Rose) so far away from home; the valiant child who will die in battle so very soon.

Rose asks the Doctor what the creature means and he tells her not to listen. However she is persistent and asks again, only this time the creature, still talking through the Ood replies; she will die…and he will live. Suddenly the image on every screen switches from that of the Ood to that of a giant horned beast, screeching out to eternity.

Everyone watching coils back slightly in alarm and as the image disappears and the screens close, a frightened Danny asks what it was. Toby tells him that that was the creature inside his head, and suddenly everyone begins to talk at once, Rose asking the Doctor what the beast meant about her, Danny asking Jefferson what they are to do whilst the soldier attempts to contact Zack. The Doctor cuts in, overriding all of the communicators in order to tell everyone to listen to him. He explains that the beast is playing on very basic fears, the use of darkness and childhood fears. Danny explains that that is how the devil works and the Doctor tells him that a good psychologist works that way as well.

Ida asks how the creature knew about her father but the Doctor practically ignores her, asking how his version of the truth is any different from the version the beast gives. He begins a pep talk about the marvels of humans, how the crew arrived on the planet on a tiny little ship, passing near the orbit of a black hole just for the sake of discovering something, and that is brilliant. The Captain has his officers, his crew and that is their advantage over the beast; it is alone but they are not.

Suddenly there is a snapping noise and the cable connecting the transportation pod to the surface of the planet begins to snap. Ida realises what is going on and he and the Doctor, who have not moved because of the beast’s override of the base’s power, hurriedly exit and make their way back to the cavern outside. They hit the deck as the cable falls, and above the surface Rose tries to contact them, as Jefferson examines a computer bank. In the control room Zack explains the computer is still showing there life signs but the capsule is gone, there is no way out, they are trapped beneath the surface.

Down below the Doctor and Ida get to their feet to look at the pod, covered in the fallen cable and toppled onto its side. The Time Lord asks how much oxygen they have left and Ida examines her suit, before telling him they have enough to last sixty minutes. She looks again and corrects herself, they have fifty-five minutes.

On the surface Rose tells Jefferson that they must get the Doctor and Ida back but he explains to her that they are ten miles down into the planet, and they don’t have another ten miles of cable. As speaks there is a loud bang as the door next to then lets of a series of sparks. Over his communicator Jefferson begins to give a situation report but on the other end Zack has troubles of his own. Looking through the portal on his door he finds a crowd of Ood waiting on the other side, and using a pair of large wire cutters they begin to cut through the bolts of the heavy metal door.

Zack contacts Jefferson and tells him what is happening and the soldier explains that the same is happening to them. Rose asks him how long it will take and he explains that it could be as little as ten minutes. Behind them the Ood break through another of the bolts…eight minutes. From the control room Zack tells them that he has a security frame on his door that might delay the creatures for some time but that does not help the others.

Rose begins to take charge, telling the others they need to either stop the Ood, get our or both. Stressfully Danny tells her he’d settle for both and the young traveller turns to him that the beast prevented the Doctor from reaching the surface because he was speaking the truth, the crew need t think their way out of this. She opens a communication link with Zack and tells him that they need lights, and asks if there is another source of power. He explains that there is not before explaining that he is not much of a captain, sitting locked in a room pressing buttons.

Rose tells him that he just needs to press the right buttons but he admits that the Ood have gutted the generators, there is no power. He thinks for a moment then realises that the rocket has an independent supply which he can reroute. He tells Jefferson to open the bypass conduits and overwrite the safety frame. He does so and as Zack taps at the keyboards around him and as he counts down the power of the rocket is rerouted and son light returns to the base.

Rose asks if strategy nine will still work but Jefferson tells her that there is not enough power, one hundred percent is needed to achieve it. Rose tells him and Zack to find a way out before turning to Toby to give him a job to do, but he claims that he can do nothing, he is not a soldier. Rose simply states that he is an archaeologist, and asks him if he knows anything about the pit below the planet’s surface. He tells her he knows nothing, the ancient language cannot be translated. Rose turns away, as if to ignore him but he stops her and admits that since the creature took over his mind the letters have been making more sense to him.

Rose tells him to get to work, to translate anything he can. She then turns to Danny and asks if there is any way of dealing with the Ood, she sets him to work on a computer station to find a way of stopping them, the sooner they regain control of the base the sooner they can retrieve the Doctor.

Down in the pit Ida goes about collecting the fallen cable, explaining that now they have it they might as well use it. She begins to talk about adapting the pod for another use and when the Doctor asks what, she tells him they can lower themselves into the pit, at least they can try and do something, even if it is the last thing they ever do.

The Doctor tells her that he will return to the surface, Rose is still up there. Ida tells him that the key to returning could be below in the pit and the Doctor admits she has half of a good plan. She asks what the other half is and he tells her, he will go down instead of her.

On the surface the Ood are still trying to cut through the door as Jefferson works at the computer. Danny looks for a solution to the Ood and realises that if he broadcasts a flare in the computer the Ood are connected to he can interrupt their telepathy, rendering then useless. He excitedly sets to work but realises they will need to be in Ood habitation in order to set it off and so Rose asks Jefferson if there is a way for them to get there.

He explains there are a series of maintenance shafts running underneath the base they can crawl along to get there. Rose cheekily begins to think about old action movies where the hero crawls along ventilation shafts but Jefferson explains there is no ventilation down there, they were meant for maintenance robots only. As the Ood continue to break the door bolts Zack cuts in and explains that he can vent the oxygen into the shafts as they crawl along. Rose nervously reaffirms what he is suggesting, noting he will have their lives in their hands and Zack merely tells her that she wanted him pressing buttons and now she has it. Rose agrees and tells him to set about planning a route to Ood habitation.

Beneath the surface Ida and the Doctor have wound the cable around a cylinder of metal fixed to the ground and the Doctor has attached one end to his suit, before walking towards the edge of the pit. He climbs up on the raised surface where the seal once stood, commenting how the itch to go on is bugging him again. Ida explains it is the urge to jump, it is part of the genetic heritage left over from human evolution, like monkeys they are always calculating if their can make their way down to the next branch.

The Doctor explains that it is crueller than that, something different. It is not the urge to jump but the urge to fall. As he speaks he leaps backwards and disappears into the darkness of the pit. Ida realises what is going on and stops the cable from unravelling, leaving the Doctor dangling below. She uses her communicator to ask if he is al right and he replies that he is, and explains that the pit is like the cavern, a crust of rock for about twenty metres and then darkness, the reality of the pit. He tells he to lower him down and as she activates the custom built mechanism the cable slowly unravels and the Doctor begins to descend, deeper and deeper into the pit.

On the surface; Rose, Jefferson and Toby open up a hatch on the floor as Danny types away at the computer. They call for him to come with them but he tells them he must finish his work and as the last of the door bolts is cut he completes his task. A small data disc is ejected from the computer and he takes it, joining the others. He tells them that all they have to do is feed the disk into the habitation computer and it’ll be a bad time to be an Ood. Rose tells them they must deal with the Ood then get the Doctor back and as Jefferson agrees he orders them to get into the shaft, Danny first, then Rose, Toby and him covering the rear.

As the door is finally broken down Jefferson lowers himself below the floor and replaces the hatch as the Ood advance. As Rose comments how much it smells Danny asks which way to go. Zack informs him and they set off, crawling along one after the other. As they go Rose glances at Danny’s rear and comments that it is not his best angle. He playfully tells her to stop it as Toby, who is crawling behind Rose, chips in that it could be worse. Rose scolds him as they continue to shuffle along, Zack monitoring their progress on the holographic screen on his control panel and commenting that he is still feeding them air.

Some time later they come to rest, stopped by a locked hatch. Danny explains they are at the correct junction and Zack explains he is aerating the next section. Danny asks if he could hurry up, commenting on how cramped it is. He replies by explaining he is working on half power, and as Danny prepares to argue Jefferson tells him to stop complaining. Rose sniff the air again and wrinkles her nose, asking if Danny is the source of the problem. He defends himself by explaining he is not exactly happy as Zack explains he is oxygenating the next section for them to move in. He tells them to keep calm or it’ll feel worse.

From behind them there is a large crash. Jefferson aims his gun at the shaft behind them as Zack explains another floor hatch has been broken, it must be the Ood. Danny tells him to let them through but he explains he still needs to aerate it. As the Ood begin to crawl along the maintenance shafts Zack admits he is unable to see them on his map, the computer does not have the Ood registered as proper life forms. In the ducts Rose asks whose idea that was and Danny screeches for the next hatch to be opened and sure enough it slides upwards, allowing them through. They once again begin crawling as Zack directs them, and Jefferson asks if it possible to shut of the Ood’s air supply but Zack tells him he cannot do so without cutting off theirs.

Zack tells Danny to speed up as Jefferson comes to a halt, preparing to face the Ood. Rose tells him he can’t just stop but he tells her that that is his job. She has her task and she must continue. She does so and as she and Toby disappear from sight, the Ood appear before Jefferson, and he opens fire.

As the gunshots ring out the others frantically continue. Jefferson begins to follow them, still covering himself with gunfire. Meanwhile, Danny and the others arrive at the next hatch and he tells Zack to open it, despite his claims it need to be aerated. Danny begins to hit the hatch with anger but Rose stops him, reasoning that it will not help. Toby cuts in, also telling Zack to open the hatch but the captain explains he must close the hatch they have just passed in order to open the next, and Jefferson is yet to make it pas the previous hatch.

He tells him he must make an advance as Jefferson abandons his empty machine gun for a handgun to deal with the still advancing Ood. He continues to go but Zack pleads with him to hurry, he cannot stop the now automatic process and sure enough as the hatch next to Danny, Rose and Toby opens the one before begins to close. Zack tells Danny to move on to the next and last hatch, before telling Jefferson to move. Rose calls out to him as the hatch between them closes, and Jefferson is trapped on the other side.

Out of breath, he sits down leaning against the closed hatch, apologising to his captain for being so slow. Zack tearfully tells him he cannot open the hatch without loosing air for the others. The soldier takes refuge in the fact he may have brought them some time and sure enough as he speaks they arrive at the last junction hatch. Jefferson tells Zack he has been a good captain, before asking that the air in his section be cut off in order to speed up his removal. He explains that he would rather die of more natural appearing causes than death-by-Ood and as he speaks, the creatures approach his section of the shafts. He asks Zack to hurry up and he does so, cutting off the oxygen before recording an entry on the computer, reporting Jefferson’s death, with honours.

Danny explains they are at the final junction and adds his respects to Jefferson’s reports, explaining that he saved their lives. Zack adds the respects then opens the final hatch, revealing a group of Ood on the other side. Toby calls for the hatch to be shut and it is done, and as Rose realises they are now trapped by the Ood on both sides she opens a service duct above them and she and Danny crawl onto the surface, as the Ood break open the hatch.

They advance on Toby who turns to them and looks at them, his eyes glowing red, just as they did when he was possessed. He motions for them to be quiet and they stop, before he snaps back to normal and calls for Rose and Danny to help him out. They do so, just as a door behind the opens and more Ood approach, holding their deadly communication globes, ready to kill. They three humans run for cover as in the control room, the door begins to give way, and Zack is left calling for them to hurry up, his only consolation in holding the bolt gun ready for battle.

The three arrive in Ood habitation and Danny begins to set up the transmitter, as the control room door gives way and the Ood flood into the room. Suddenly a screeching whine rings throughout the base and the creatures stumble around, confused and in pain. As they begins to fall to the ground Danny and Rose embrace, followed by Toby as they realise it is over, they have done it.

They contact Zack and Rose tells him that they must now find the Doctor, and as the slightly unnerved captain looks around at the bodies of the Ood he tells them he is on his way.

In the pitch-black pit the Doctor is still descending, suspended by the cable. As he watches his descent he ponders how representations of a horned beast exist on so many millions of planets, woven in myth and legend; Earth, Draconia, Valconsidene, Daemos, even the Kaled god of war. He muses that perhaps that idea came from somewhere, bleeding through to every sentient mind.

On the surface Ida is talking to him via the communicator and asks if he means that the idea is what lies in the pit. He explains that it could be and she replies by asking that if this creature really is the beginning of it all, does it make it the real devil. He tells her it remains whatever someone believes and then quips that perhaps the devil really is just an idea.

Suddenly his descent stops as the cable reaches its end on the coil. The Doctor checks his wrist computer but finds no sign of life and tells Ida that there could be miles still to go; or it could be only thirty feet, and he could survive a thirty feet fall. As Ida realises what the Doctor is proposing she scolds him and begins to wind the cable back up but as she does so the Doctor activates a control on his harness that jams the mechanism.

Ida asks what he is doing and the Doctor explains that if he returns to the surface all he can do is sit there and run out of air, he has to go down. Again Ida tells him that he can’t the Doctor decides to call it an act of faith and begins to undo his harness. Ida tells him that she doesn’t want to die alone and he softly comforts her, he understands.

Back on the surface Rose, Danny and Toby have been joined by Zack as they arrive back to the corridor the Doctor and Ida’s pod departed from. Rose reaches for the communicator and calls the Doctor but receives no reply. Zack explains that the communication lines are down and begins to re-boost the signal so as to repair them.

In the pit the Doctor continues to undo his harness and asks Ida if she has any sort of faith. She mutters that she doesn’t really, and begins to talk about her neo-classic congregational upbringing, mainly due to her mother and as she begins to realise how much she misses her old mother the Doctor asks if the neo-classic congregation has a devil. Ida tells him that they do not, only the fears of what man can do. The Doctor quips that the two are not that different and Ida asks him about his beliefs.

He stops to think, and tells her that he believes he has not seen everything yet. He believes in the rules and comments that if the beast had told him it existed outside the universe he would believe it, but never before it. It doesn’t fit his rules. He explains that that is why he keeps travelling, to be proved wrong.

He reaches the end of his unclipping and thanks Ida for all she has done but she simply calls to him, asking him not to go. He asks her that if she gets back in touch with Rose to tell her…he thinks and repeats himself but then tells her that his friend will know how he feels and with a sullen face he undoes the last clasp and lets go, allowing himself to fall deep down into the darkness, out of sight.

As he does the communicator cackles to life and Rose’s worried voice calls out for her friend. Ida explains that he has fallen into the pit and she does not know how deep it is, possible many miles. Rose asks to know what she means by ‘fell’ but Ida merely says that she could not stop him, and that he did mention her name.

On the surface Rose stands stunned, as in the background Zack offers his apologies. He takes the communicator and explains to Ida that there is no way of reaching her, she is ten miles down and there is no back-up capsule or cable. Ida walks around and tells him how beautiful the cavern is, as the tinted light from the gravity globe she threw up into the air for guidance earlier pours down from the distance, illuminating the ancient civilisation that once populated the planet.

She says how she always wanted to discover things and between sobs comments how she has now. Zack mournfully tells her that they are abandoning the base and he is declaring the mission unsafe, so as to make sure nobody ever comes to the planet again. Ida notes how they never found out the true identity of the creature in the pit and Zack explains that that could be for the best.

Zack begins to formally say goodbye but she tells him to go, before the two officers wish each other luck. Zack switches off the communicator and tells Toby and Danny to begin closing down the power feed in the base before making their way to the rocket and strapping themselves in. They set about programming the computer as Zack turns to leave and Rose tells him that she is not coming with them. He explains that there is room in the rocket for her but she tells him that she is going to wait for the Doctor, as she would wait for him.

The captain apologises, telling her that he is dead. She tearfully explains that he can’t be, he does not know the Time Lord as she does. She goes on to say that even if he is dead she cannot leave him down there in the pit; she must stay. Zack apologises to her for what he is about to do and then tells Toby and Danny to make her secure. They walk forward and take her arms as their captain takes a needle from his jacket ad injects it into her struggling arm, causing her to fall unconscious. As he hauls her over his soldier he explains he has lost too many people on this mission to leave her behind. He walks off, followed by his two crewmembers, off towards the rocket.

As they make their way into the labyrinth of corridors, lined with the bodies of the Ood, Toby spots one moving and Danny explains that the telepathic field is repairing itself. They continue at a quickened pace as the creatures begin to awaken.

The Doctor stirs. Lying on a stone floor, the smashed pieces of glass that once sealed his helmet now glistening before him. As he gets up and removes his helmet he realises there must be an air pocket protecting his fall. He tries to contact Ida to tell her it is easy to breathe down in the pit but the communicator is blocked by whining interference.

In the rocket Zack begins to initiate the launch procedure, instructing Danny and Toby on what to do from their seats behind him. As Rose, seated next to Toby, begins to stir, Danny comments that they are going to have a problem passenger. Zack tells him to keep her under control and as she realises where she is the traveller immediately begins to demand to be let off. She struggles with her safety belt but as the rocket launches her cries are drowned out by the whoops of excitement from Zack and Danny.

In the cavern and down in the pit, both Ida and the Doctor realise that the rocket has taken off.

In the ship Rose reaches for Zack’s bolt gun and aims it at him, ordering him to take her back to the planet. He asks what the alternative is and she threatens to shoot him but he asks if the Doctor would want it that way. She thinks about his words then lowers the gun and sits back in her seat, as Zack tells her that it is already too late. There is no turning back now, and this is what the Doctor would have wanted. Rose looks out of a portal next to her and in the distance sees the black hole, and the planet cowering before it.

In the pit the Doctor examines some drawings on the walls around him. He notes that it is the history of some battle, one of man against beast. He talks into his communicator quipping that he doesn’t know if Ida can hear him but hopes that she can. He again examines the drawings, which show that the beast was defeated and trapped. He then turns to see an ornate urn standing on a high plinth, and sure enough the wall drawings show a pair of urns standing by the trapped beast. He shines his torch onto the other and realises that they might be the key. He reaches forward and touches one of the urns, and as he does so they both begin to glow.

The Time Lord walks to step between them and as he does so looks to what stands before him. The darkness before him fades to blood red light and he realises what is there. He steps forward onto a ledge as in the deep cavern beyond is illuminated, revealing a giant horned beast, chained with hefty bonds. It screeches as the Time Lord approaches, and looks him in the face with flaming eyes, whilst in the rocket Toby begins to chuckle.

As Rose fastens her seatbelt Danny asks what the joke is. He bluff that he is happy they have made it, that they have escaped. Rose reminds him that not everyone lived to tell the tale and Zack tells them that they have not made it yet, they are still the only humans ever to fly away from a black hole. He asks Toby to read out the statistics and he explains the gravity funnel emanating from the planet is holding.

In the pit the Doctor continues to stare at the beast before him and tells it that he accepts that it exists, not what it stands for but it’s physical appearance is granted. He notes that he was expected down in the depths of the planet; his fall was broken and he was supplied with safe air to breathe. He asks what it is he is needed for, asking if he has to beg an audience, perform some sort of ritual, recite some sort of incantation or summons or spell, and then notes that none of those are not things he believes in.

He asks if they are real but gets no reply, the creature merely sways too and fro. He raises his voice and tells it to speak to him but it gives no reply and the Time Lord realises that perhaps the creature is not being ignorant of talking, but does not have the ability to talk. He begins to realise what is going on as pieces of information begin to piece together in his brain. He remembers how the crew heard the creatures voice beforehand, but now all that is before him is the body of the beast, its mind has gone. He ponders to himself where it has gone then looks to the sky, and realises.

Toby continues to read out the statistics as the ship makes its getaway. He tells Zack to take it steady and reads out that the coordinates are set; they are destined for planet Earth.

The Doctor again reads the cave drawings and recites how the creature was imprisoned (taking the time to comment how it may well have been before, after, in-between or sideways from the universe; it does not matter) and that the prison it was held in was perfect, eternal. If the prison is broken then the gravity field will collapse and the planet will fall into the black hole, therefore meaning that if the creature escapes the prison it will die anyway.

The Time Lord then comments that how only the body is trapped, and goes on to state how in however many civilisations it is known it, the devil is still an idea; yet like an idea the mind can escape. Then suddenly he realises that it was not the beast that led him down to the pit, the jailors did because now the beast’s mind is escaping, then someone is needed to stop it. He reaches for a rock and makes to smash one of the urns, so that if the prison is destroyed the creature’s body will die and thus will its mind.

However as he thinks deeper he drops the rock, realising that the beast can use the system against him, because if the gravity field is cut off the escaping ship has no protection and will not be safe from being sucked into the black hole and Rose will die. The Time Lord looks sullen and watches as the beast begins to jerk its body in muted laughter.

In the ship Rose has had time to think and has realised not everything makes sense, they were able to escape when the creature had a thousand ways to kill them; it could have taken away their air or burnt them but yet it let them escape, unless that was it’s intention. Toby leans over and asks her to do him a favour and shut up, before beginning a countdown from forty as to when they will be out of reach of the black hole.

In the pit the Doctor ponders over the trap left for him; if he kills the beast he kills Rose. He then begins to confront the beast more confidently and explains that that implies in the big grand scheme of gods and devils that Rose is just a victim. Yet he has seen a lot of the universe, he has seen fake gods, bad gods, demy-gods and would-be gods and out of all of them if there is one single thing he believes in, it is Rose.

He picks up the rock and smashes one of the urns. In the spaceship the control room begins to shake. Toby screeches; demanding to know what ‘he’ has done as Zack explains the funnel has gone; the gravity around them is collapsing. Rose asks what that means and he explains; they are heading straight for the black hole and sure enough outside in space the rocket begins to tumble out of control, being pulled away from safety.

In the pit the Doctor smashes the other urn and drops the rock. He quips that the creature has its freedom; freedom to die. As the creature struggles and roars to break free the Doctor imitates it, after explaining that it is going into the black hole and he is riding there with it. He stands defiantly, as the creature’s joints begin to riddle with flame, and fire rides forth from his lungs.

In the ship Rose stares out of the portal and realises that the planet is on the move, into the black hole. She leans back into her seat but as she does discovers Toby’s face has changed. The ancient symbols once again mark his skin and his eyes glow red; he is the carrier of the beast’s mind. In the voice of the beast he declares that he is the rage and the fire and the velocity, he is the prince and the fall and the damming, he is the sin and the fear and the darkness. As he talks, only stopping to breath great balls of fire, Rose calls over to Zack for help but nobody ca do anything. As Danny cowers in fear Zack screeches, asking what Toby really is.

In the pit the ground is beginning to shake and as the creature starts to break up in a great ball of flame, the Doctor stumbles but with a smile on his face.

Toby continues to squirm in his seat, roaring that he will never die; he will live forever in the bleeding hearts of man; in their vanity an obsession and lust. Nothing can destroy him. Rose leans forward and grabs the bolt gun again. She unbuckles Toby’s safety belt then tells him to go to hell, before firing the gun and blasting the safety screen before them. She, Danny and Zack hold on as Toby is sucked out into the airlessness of space. As he roars, being sucked towards the black hole, Zack activates the emergency screens and the room is sealed shut again.

Zack yells, saying they still have no gravity and are being sucked into the black hole as well. Rose simply comments that they have stopped the beast, and that is what the Doctor would have wanted. The captain fobs it off as “some victory” as they continue to hurtle out of control.

In the depths of the doomed planet the beast bursts into flames, whilst the Ood awaken and realise their predicament and the breathless Ida fall unconscious. Watching from the rocket computer screen, Danny realises that the planet has little time left and down below beneath the miles of rock the Doctor begins to walk away, stumbling and falling before a large object before him. He looks up and with a sigh of relief realises that he has finally found what he was really looking for; the TARDIS.

On the rocket’s scanner screen the crew watch as the planet disappears into the black hole. Danny apologises to Rose as Zack hits the ship’s accelerators. He tells them he did his best then awkward tells them they are making history; they are the fist humans to fall into a black hole. As the three humans prepare to meet their doom they are taken by surprise when the ship stops shaking and everything returns to normal. Rose asks what is happening and Zack explains they are turning around, away from the black hole.

Suddenly the communicator activates and the Doctor’s cheerful voice welcomes them, apologising for the hijack and welcoming them to the good ship TARDIS. He asks if Rose is onboard and she excitedly tells them she is, before asking what he is doing. He explains that he is towing them home and sure enough out in space as the TARDIS flies away from the beckoning dead star the rocket follows.

The Time Lord mocks gravity, writing it off as a problem by telling him that his people practically invented black holes…in fact they did. He tells them that in a few minutes they’ll be perfectly safe and then asks Zack if he may conduct a swap; if he gives him Rose Tyler, he will return Ida Smith to him and as he speaks he gazes at Ida’s unconscious body sitting next to the console. Zack and Danny rejoice that their colleague is alive and the Doctor explains she is suffering from oxygen starvation but should recover soon.

The Time Lord then sorrowfully tells them that he only has time for one journey; the Ood could not be saved. He breaks into happiness again as he tells them they have reached clear space again; they are safe, the mission is closed.

Some time later Rose opens the door of the TARDIS and runs forward, embracing the Doctor. They both smile and chuckle whilst onboard the rocket Ida has returned, and together with Danny and Zack begin talking about the TARDIS and what it looked like, when it landed down in the hold of the ship.

The Doctor opens a communication link with the ship and tells Zack that he and Rose are about to leave. He tells them to have a good trip home and begins to warn them that if they ever get curious again…but then cuts off, realising that the human race will heed no warning, they will always go bumbling in. Ida cuts in, asking what the creature down in the pit was. The Time Lord explains he does not know, he never did decipher the ancient writing. He laments how he’s glad he did not know; the day he knows everything is the day he should give up travelling.

Rose asks what her friend personally thought it was but he replies by saying that he thinks they defeated it, and that is good enough for him. Rose then points out that the creature said she would soon die in battle and the Doctor tells him that it lied. He calls out to Ida, telling her he might meet her again some time and as both the travellers say their goodbyes Ida asks the Doctor who he and Rose really are. In the TARDIS they both look at each other and the Doctor tells her: “the stuff of legends”.

As the Doctor activates the TARDIS console the ship begins to activate and the ship roars to life, whilst in the rocket Zack delivers his final report; reporting the death of Tobias Zed, deceased with honours. He then moves on to begin reporting the deaths of the Ood, one by one.

As his voice reels off the list of deaths the ship continues its flight, out into the universe towards the crew’s home, planet Earth.