Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I do no own anything Doctor Who or make the money from it. Its awesomeness belongs to BBC.

A/N: Well lookie at me...updating two days earlier than planned! :)

I really am starting to get annoyed by having like paragraphs of long A/Ns in the beginnings of my chapters. So from now on (well after this chapter), my thoughts/rants/jsknvkejfn will be at the bottom from now on and the stuff you need to know before reading shall be at the top. Plus as you noticed, much of my bold letteredness has left in this A/N. It sort of began to hurt my eyes.

This chapter is based on the episode "Hungry Earth." I know some of you are a little ruffled about the kiss tease last week (*in 10nant voice* I'm sorry...I'm so sorry). I just felt like a kiss was too soon blah. I suck. I know. I'll explain my reasoning through this chapter. (and thanks for all who shared their thoughts about that me in a review!) BUUTT I will be sure to make it up in these next two chapters :) Enjoy!

Somewhere deep below the Earth's surface...

A young Silurian female felt a steady tug on her conscious as her body stood still in its chamber. Slowly, she felt each molecule and cell awaken to life. The blood pumped through her veins at an alarming rate. Each of her scales felt electrified and awoken. She flexed her claws feeling its sharpness graze her palms as she opened and contracted her hands. She lifted her hands up, feeling the dormant muscles and tendons stretch. She opened her eyes and squinted through the glass. The glass slid up and she walked into the corridor. She smiled, with her teeth glistening in the dim lighting. It is time! Time for her people to awaken...and claim back the Earth.

She sniffed the air. Something is not right. Her brothers and sisters remained frozen and unmoving in their hibernation chambers. Confusion swirled around in her head. They should have all awakened at the same time from their sleeping states.

Coldness whisked past her ear. She turned around and looked at the end of the corridor. In the shadows, she felt a presence move behind it. She hissed into the darkness that stood in front of her. She crouched into a predator's position, ready to attack and defend her still sleeping people.

"No need to be alarmed..." a calm, yet strong voice instructed her, "...Alaya."

She snarled and clenched her hands into fists. She looked deep into the shadows but they appeared to be unmoving. A cold sweat perspired above her brow bone. "Who dare speaks my name?"

The shadow moved and a human male emerged in front of her. He was middle-aged man with dark skin and wore a soldier's uniform. His expression was blank and cold.

Alaya stilled in her crouched position and cocked her head to the side. "Apes dressed like soldiers..." She sniffed the air, disgusted. "How pathetic."

His dark eyes remained glued on her pale irises. "I am here to make a deal."

She chuckled with a dark humor and stood. "Apes... asking for a deal? How amusing."

His right eyebrow lifted. "Is that how you greet your awakener?"

Tired of his talk, Alaya reached for her gun but stopped short at the sight of his weapon that now sat firmly in between his hands. The gun was marked with strange alien symbols and hummed as if it were alive. Realizing his weapon held the advantage, Alaya lowered hers.

"Good," he said with the gun still aimed at her head. "Now that I have your attention, I have proposition to make."

She glared at him. "What is it you want?" The thought of working with apes made her sick.

He reached into his pocket, with his gun still in the other had. He threw a picture onto the ground at her feet. The Silurian scowled at the man. "What is the meaning of this?"

He stepped toward Alaya but she held her ground, unafraid. "Find this person. By your cooperation, my employer will supply the ultimate weapons and support for your people's return to the surface."

"You expect me to believe you," she stated plainly.

He shrugged. "I don't expect you to believe anything." His eyes narrowed. "But understand this... if you do not cooperate... your people won't live long enough to see day light."

Alaya felt a shiver race up her spine. No human had ever made the audacity to threaten her...nor had one succeeded until him. "Who are you?"

The upper corner of his mouth twitched up. "Just the messenger."

She observed the photo once again. A young girl with blond hair smiled brightly with the sun shining in the background. She lifted her head high once again, making her decision. "And how do I find this girl?"

He smiled for the first time, slightly alarming Alaya. "You're clever. You'll figure it out."

She straightened her back with her face growing more serious. "And what do I do with this female ape when I find her?"

He lowered the gun coming eye to eye with her. "Kill her."

She flared her nostrils and swallowed the venom sitting in the back of her throat. Sure, Alaya did not mind killing apes, but the menace in his eyes set her at unease.

Satisfied by her reaction, the soldier turned back into the shadows, disappearing from sight.

She walked towards the wall and flipped the lever up. Three of the nearest hibernation units to flickered on. If I am going to hunt, she thought excitedly, Why not share the glory.

Tardis

The Doctor sat contently at the head of the kitchen table. Since their little excursion with his alter ego, Rose and Amy decided they should have ...how did they put it?... "family time" with a nice breakfast. It was a team effort: Rory made the eggs. Rose handled the oven. And Amy...supervised. They all sat at the table, completely stuffed and satisfied by their accomplishment. Rory gaped in horror as Amy dipped her eggs into the ketchup sauce. She smiled with sweet satisfaction at his reaction, and Rose lit the room with a laugh.

The crinkles around his eyes emerged as the Doctor smiled. It felt like old times...and now even an better one with Rory and Amy here in the Tardis. It seemed like days to him since he and Rose were separated in the dream challenge. His eyes flicked downward as he recalled the moment she told him the Dream Lord's identity... which was indeed his own. With all that the Dream Lord had done to her, the Doctor thought that she would look at him differently or be afraid. The way Dream Lord mocked her during their encounter made the Doctor cringe now as he sat in his chair. The darkness of the Doctor's soul haunted his every move as he traveled throughout the galaxy. But she embraced him without a thought and gave him underserved forgiveness when they reunited.

He hearts warmed as he recalled their almost kiss . It was like a force of nature taken over him, and he couldn't help himself. The Doctor did want to give a good kick to Amy when she interrupted their moment and caused the awkwardness that followed. He did notice Rose sigh into his arms as they broke away before going to Amy.

It wasn't that the Doctor simply wanted Rose to be with him...but he needed her. The Doctor knew his feelings have always been that way with Rose, but he could never muster up the courage to tell her so. Something always got in the way...whether it is a monster, timing, or simply his absurd excuses. He felt like he caught her off guard as he held her, but something in her eyes illuminated as he drew near her, like she wanted it as well.

Rose smiled at the Doctor from across the table who now was speaking to Rory about how "fish fingers and custard is an edible meal." She observed the way his head jerked as he spoke, and the animation in his eyes as he spoke enthusiastically. The Doctor glanced over in Rose's direction and she blushed slightly; feeling like she was caught watching something she shouldn't. She could barely look him in the eye every since their little encounter by her bedroom door.

That moment was one she dreamed of for the longest time. The look in his eyes confirmed his feelings for her in a nutshell. Her chin tingled from where he gently placed his hand. When he held her, it was like the world melted away and she didn't care about the Dream Lord, the metacrisis, or the cracks for once since her return. She knew Amy did not mean to interrupt them so blatantly (for she did profusely apologize to Rose when they were alone). Rose hoped she would have a chance to talk to the Doctor about it later.

"Well, I for one thoroughly enjoyed this meal." Amy said to the three of them. "What next? I'm getting cabin fever."

"Can we go somewhere a bit normal?" Rory asked. He was a little exhausted from running away from monsters who seemed to always want to kill him.

The Doctor wiped the remaining crumbs on his mouth with the back of his hand. "Where to then? Warm? Cold? Earth? Past? Future? How about the hidden mines of the planet, Frigga? They say its so cold your fingers fall off and-"

"Warm," Rory interrupted. "Somewhere definitely normal and defiantly warm."

"How about the beach?" Amy suggested looking at Rose. She nodded in agreement.

"The Doctor in a bathing suit," Rose wondered aloud. "Now that would be a sight to see..."

Amy laughed. "What do you think? Speedo or Boxers?"

The Doctor glowered at them playfully. "A sight you never will see." Rose rolled her eyes and smiled.

The Doctor then stood from the chair and clasped his hands together. "South America it is then."

The Doctor lifted his sonic to the padlock on the gate and with a pop sound, it unlatched. Amy's eyes widened. "That's breaking and entering!"

He narrowed his eyes in defiance. "The correct term is 'sonic and entering' I believe."

Amy shook her head and Rose inwardly rolled her eyes. The Doctor never failed at any opportunity to show off his sonic screwdriver. She peered through the gate at the large factory ahead of them. Although she stood eleven years into Earth's future, it was like they were on a different planet. The drill was almost too impressive to believe.

The Doctor looked behind them out to the field where the Tardis stood. "Do you think Rory will be okay?" He asked, worrying why he was taking so long.

"He'll catch up," Amy said with a flick of her hand and she went through the gate's opening.

Rose nudged the Doctor's shoulder with her own. "A bit off from South America, huh?"

The Doctor pursed his lips. "Well, wipe away some clouds, take out the drill, and add some sand and waves, and it could be a beach."

She smiled and looked above at the vast drill that stood overhead. "What could they be using it for?" Rose asked, crossing her arms.

The upper corner of his mouth twitched. He loved the way she never failed questioning everything around her. "Let's find out."

Amy, Rose, and the Doctor snuck inside the side entrance. The hallway lead to a vast walkway dug into the earth with concrete walls surrounding them. Dim lighting from the lights above guided their a path. A soft humming noise of machinery and the occasional drip of water was all they heard.

The Doctor pushed foreword and hopped on certain areas of the ground, like a bunny. He twirled a piece of grass in between his fingers. "Don't you feel it? The ground is being odd."

Rose's eye brows furrowed and she gave one hop on the ground in attempt to understand his point. "Doctor...the ground is fine."

He began feeling around the walls, picking at every crack as they moved forward. "The ground doesn't feel like the way it should-"

Amy sighed. "Doctor, it's been ten years into the future. The ground feels perfectly fine."

The Doctor cocked his head to the side. "Good thought, but no it doesn't." A sound of an alarm echoed ahead in the distance. He stopped and took out his sonic. "Hear that?" The girls heard the feint sound as well.

He looked at its readings. "The drill-up starter mode. Aferwaves of a seismological shift and blue grass." He put put the piece of grass in his mouth, recoiled, and spit it out. Rose's mouth twitched in amusement, but she hid her smile.

Amy's face twisted in disgust. "Have you always been this disgusting?"

Rose and the Doctor both responded to that; he, giving a 'no' and she exclaiming a 'yes.' Rose glared at him and put her hands on her hip. "Oh come on! You will touch an' eat everything that looks remotely edible."

He straightened back his shoulders. "That's recent." Rose gave him a good look before he turned toward the sound and resumed walking, with both girls behind him.

They all turned around corner and entered what appeared to be a large, open lab. Light spilled in from atop through windows and countless computers were scattered across counter tops. Tools, wires, lanterns, and drilling equipment covered the walls and tables. A large patch of earth stood at the side of the lab.

A middle-aged woman wearing a suit perched over a desk looking intently at the readings displayed on the screen.

"Hello!" The Doctor said. The woman jumped from her concentrated position.

"Subtle," Rose coughed. The Doctor looked at her and gave a waggish frown.

"Who are you?" The woman asked, not recognizing the people that stood before her. She brushed off her dark hair off her forehead and took her glasses off. Her eyebrow furrowed. "What are you doing here?"

The woman gave a look at Rose and Amy, who were both dressed in shorts and tee shirts. "And what the hell are you wearing?"

Amy looked at Rose, realizing that they both were wearing bare to none appeal. "We are dressed for Rio," she said, directing that comment solely for the Doctor.

"Who are you?" The woman asked again reaching for her cell phone.

Within a millisecond the Doctor took out his physic paper, giving her a good picture of what was on it. "Ministry of Drills... Earth and..."

"Science," Rose said, allowing her voice to fill with a sense of authority.

"New ministry," the Doctor said, acknowledging Rose's keenness with a nod. "Quite big...just merged! With..em..."

"The Ministry of...Soil!" Rose finished for him.

"Yes!" the Doctor said, clasping Rose by the shoulder, "Huge transition for us. There is a tremendous responsibility on our shoulders and... we don't like to talk about it. What are you doing?" He asked, changing the subject to more important matters. She put down the cell phone. He came up to the screen observing the readings. Amy hung her head and leaned against a cart while Rose stood a few feet from behind the Doctor.

"None of your business," she said flippantly, but didn't stop him from looking at the monitor.

The readings were jumping off the screens, having warning signs clearly flashing into different parts of the monitor.

"Doctor," Rose said softly, "is it suppose to be doing that?"

The Doctor shook his head as a no while still observing the screen's audacious reports. "Where are you getting these readings from?" The Doctor asked the woman.

"Under the soil," she stated plainly.

An old man burst through the lab room and shouted, "The drill is up and running again...what's going on? Who are you?" He looked at the three newly arrived people standing in the lab.

"Amy, Rose, the Doctor," Amy responded. "We are not staying...are we Doctor?"

The Doctor ignored her comment and went to a patch of earth on the ground. It was large hole in the concrete with a pile of rich soil in it. The Doctor examined it, taking a hand full and looking at every particle. "Why is there a big patch of earth in the middle of your floor?"

The woman shrugged her shoulders. "We don't know. It appeared over night."

The Doctor stood suddenly, a chill creeping on the back on his neck when a realization. "Good. Right. You all need to get out of here very very fast."

Rose remained crouched on the ground looking at the patch of earth. For some reason, she couldn't look away.

"Why?" the woman asked, glancing at him with concern.

"What's your name?" the Doctor asked, coming up to the computer screen once more.

"Naseeren Chaudhry."

"Tell me then, Nasseeren," the Doctor said, "Why are you getting these readings?" She looked at the screen seeing the graph jerk slightly.

"It's moving," the Doctor said, confirming her thoughts.

Rose scooped up a cup of the crumbled soil in her hands. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary in her eyes. It just looked like...rocks. She released the soil from her hands. In the hole, swirls of smoke radiated from the center of it. "Doctor...is steam a good thing?"

He looked over his shoulder catching Rose's worried look as we crouched infront of a pool of steam. "No." He took out his sonic but stopped short as the walls began to shake.

"Doctor!" Amy shouted losing her balance. "What's happening?!"

"The ground. The earth. Moving! But how!?" He said twirling around, looking frantically around the room for clues.

"Earthquake?" Rose suggested, clutching the broken ground with the palms of her hands.

"Doubt it." He said, looking at the screen. He scratched his head. "It's only happening in this room!"

With a jerk from the ground, more holes appeared, crumbling the foundation of cement in certain areas.

Rose jumped back, clutching the cart where Amy stood. "I think I get what you mean now when you said the 'ground is odd!'"

"The ground is attacking us... from beneath," the Doctor said, gripping the edge of the table as the Earth continued to shake.

"That's impossible!" Naseeren shouted in skepticism. "The ground can't...attack!"

"Under the certain circumstances," he said trying to calm her, "...I'd suggest...run!" The Doctor leapt from his position, dodging the holes. Rose made way for the Doctor, while clutching onto his jacket to keep herself from falling.

The old man yelped in pain as his foot became trapped in a newly formed hole. Amy looked recklessly behind her then back to the Doctor.

"No," the Doctor mumbled, recognizing that look on her face. "Stay back, Amy! Stay away from the Earth!"

Amy swallowed back her panic and leapt across the hole, pulling the man out of a it and pushing him towards the entrance. Before she could move, her foot sunk into the earth with a jerk, causing both of her legs to sink into a new hole.

"Amy!" The Doctor shouted. Rose's eyes widened, dripping with fear. The both rushed foreword, avoiding holes and coming to Amy, each grabbing one of her arms.

"So-som-somethings got me," she whispered in fear.

"Amy," Rose said, "We got you. Don't move."

Amy nodded rapidly. "Don't let go, okay?" She told them.

"Never," the Doctor answered her.

Her head began to shake. "D-doctor w-hy is it doing this?"

"Stay calm, Amy," the Doctor said reassuringly. "I need you to stay calm."

He turned his body slightly towards the door and shouted. "Turn off the drill!" Naseeren and the old man ran out of the room, obeying his order.

"Can you get me out?" Amy pleaded.

"We're gonna get you out," Rose said with a small smile. "It's going to be alright. Just don't let go of us."

Amy's body jerked downward so now half her torso was in the earth. "Doctor," she rasped, "It's got my leg."

"We're not going to let go, Amy," he said with his breathing becoming labored at the strain now on each of their wrists.

She took a sharp intake of breath. "Doctor...something is pulling me down! I can't fight it-"

The Doctor took better grip on Amy's arm. "Amy, you need to stay calm. They are powering down the drill-"

With a sudden tug, the Doctor and Rose lost grip of Amy's hands, just long enough so that her entire torso was now into the earth. The rushed back, grabbing her sinking arms frantically.

"I can't hold on!" Amy shouted, feeling her hands begin to slip through their fingers. "What is under there? I don't want to suffocate!"

"Hold on Amy," the Doctor said through gritted teeth. "I need you to hold. on."

A glazed look casted over her face. She looked between Rose and the Doctor with a sense of newfound control sweeping across her expression.

"No," the Doctor growled, "Don't you give up on me!"

"You can't!" Rose shouted. Tears formed in her eyes. "You and I...we're in this together...you, me, Rory, and the Doctor."

Silent tears rolled down Amy's cheeks as she looked into Rose's pleading eyes. "Take care of them."

She turned her head to the Doctor, whose face masked with fury and pain. "Tell Rory..." She whispered to him, not able to finish that sentence.

With another jerk, her head sunk into the earth. The Doctor shouted her name over and over, digging his hands into the ground.

"No...No...No..." he repeated digging further, but without success. All he received was more soil in his hands. He slammed his hands on the ground, causing Rose' frozen form to jump. He stood, examining the soil with his sonic. As he looked at the readings, its answer was clear: no life form showed beneath the surface.

His head began to twitch as he gripped his sonic tightly with the hand that held it. Rose looked up at the Doctor, whose anger and ache rippled through the air. Rose stood calmly and took the Doctor's hand in her own. His eyes were glazed over with unshed tears as he looked at Rose's distraught face. She slipped her hands around his neck pulling him into her arms. His rigid form shuddered before he placed his hands on her lower back with his face buried where her neck meets the shoulder. Rose stroked the Doctor's head, letting her tears fall silently on his head.

Rose felt a shroud of numbness slip over her body, letting the absence of Amy sink in as she held the Doctor. Rose didn't know what words of comfort to say to the Doctor, but gave what little she could by holding him. He pulled away, but she let her hands around his neck, stroking the back of his neck.

His features hardened, showing no a trace of the sadness that previously showed on his face. She gripped his chin with her hand, forcing him to look at her. He complied with hesitance, and looked to Rose, whose eyes blazed as bright as a sun.

Her head dipped down, but her eyes still held his. "If there is one thing you have ever taught me...it's to never give up."

The Doctor swallowed his dry throat. He then nodded. Amelia Pond is alive...and he refused to believe anything else. He would find Amy with Rose...even if it meant crawling through the Earth to the core itself to get her back.

Rose struggled as she carried two boxed of equipment in her hands. About three minutes before, Naseeren and the old man, who was called Tony, shoved boxes in her hands as they rushed out of the lab.

Within five minutes of Amy's disappearance, the Doctor discovered that bio-programming was the cause of the holes as well as Amy vanishing beneath the soil, a use of technology very advanced and very unearth like. Even with the drill off, the Doctor kept hearing noise from beneath the earth. He concluded that something was coming up, which had to be the source of the bio-programming... and it was coming up at a very quick rate by his calculations.

Rose finally emerged from the building, dropping the boxes at the feet of Narseen. She wiped the sweat off her brow and breathed the fresh air deeply. The Doctor walked all about, stomping on the ground.

"Doctor," Narseen said, breaking his train of thought. "How can something break through the crust?"

"You saw the readings!" He said continuing foreword.

Abruptly, a static noise rippled through the air.

Rose looked up to the sky, observing a glowing red energy pulse overhead. "D-did you see that?"

The Doctor leapt onto the ground from the stairs. He picked up a rock and strapped it into a slingshot he pulled out from his pocket. He launched the rock into the air, and watched as it bounced off of a red force field that encompassed the sky.

The Doctor took out his sonic, letting the buzzing fill the air. "Energy signal originating from the center of under the earth. Encompassing the perimeter by about twenty kilometers..."

Rose glanced over to Doctor but kept her eyes on the sky. "English please."

"Basically...we're trapped," he said, finally looking at Rose for the first time in several minutes.

Rory appeared from down the street with a mother and son following behind him. Rose swallowed back the lump in her throat and forced the hot tears back into her eyes. Luckily, Rory was too focused on something than to notice Rose.

"Doctor," Rory said, "the graves are eating people-"

"Not now, Rory," the Doctor said, returning his attention to the sky. "I've got an invisible energy force field surrounding the town in which no one can get in or out."

"W-what?" Rory stuttered. "The Tardis?-"

"No use," the Doctor said looking at the sonic readings. "The time circuits won't respond to this very well. Could fry the entire thing."

"So what exactly is happening?" a woman with red hair asked, clutching the shoulders of her son.

"Something is burrowing up while we've been drilling," Narseen said bluntly.

Rory's jaw slacked open. He looked around him. "Where's Amy?"

Rose bit her lip while the Doctor's hand with the sonic shuddered. The Doctor's hearts pumped loudly into his ear while Rose looked away from Rory.

"Get inside the church," the Doctor said to Narseen, Tony, and the mother and son. Rose stood next to him, now forcing herself to look at Rory.

Rory observed them both. His face paled. "Doctor...Where. is. Amy?" Rory asked, with more strength behind it.

The Doctor began walking to the church, "I'll get her back, Rory-"

Rory's lip curled slightly, "What do you mean 'get her back?' Where has she gone?!"

The Doctor stopped and turned. "She was taken...into the earth."

Rory froze. "How?" He managed to ask. "Why didn't you stop it?"

"Rory-" the Doctor said coming closer to him. Rory stepped back. "I'll get her back."

Rory's eyes went ablaze. "Is this how it will always be?" Rory said, raising his voice. "Will we just be another pair of travelers lost to your excursions?"

The Doctor's face dipped down and his face grew even more somber. "Rory please," the Doctor pleaded softly. "...we need you."

Rory shook his head, backing away from the Doctor. Rose came beside Rory and gently placed her hand on his shoulder. "Rory...I know you feel like you can't do anything and you 'ave to put trust into a man you barley know. Believe me, I know." She swallowed her breath. She looked back to him. Rory met her eyes with a torn expression. "So if you don't believe him, then believe me... the Doctor will bring her back. All of us will bring Amy back."

Rory looked at his feet with emotions swirling in his eyes. His adam's apple bobbed before he nodded without looking into her eyes. He passed the Doctor without a glance and walked into the church.

Rose came up next to the Doctor and without speaking, slipped her hand into in own, fitting perfectly with its shape. The Doctor clenched his jaw. Rose squeezed her hand. He looked down at their entwined fingers, then back to her eyes.

"I don't deserve you," he said softly, looking at their hands once more. He brought her hand he held to his mouth and kissed the back of it. Rose bit her lip and looked down at her feet. She wanted to say so much in that moment, but without another word, he tugged her with him back to the church to resume their mission.

A/N: (Quite large...because you know I rant).

Happy Valentine's Day! Hard to believe we are already two month's into the year.

Speaking of Valentine's Day, here is a little shoutout love to reviewers!:

My wickedly awesome peeps who have generously reviewed more than once: Pig-Rabbit-Suk, SittingOnTheEdgeOfTheUnivers e, summersrain, jedichild, LadaHathaway, The Doctor Rose, OTHCharmfan

and for the ammaaaazzziinnggg Classic Who suggestions from last week!: Caskett54, Guest (commented on 2/2), shtoobs, olegnAiDociN, summersrain, olegnAiDociN

To all in the review section, I see everybody and love you all so very much as well! I try to PM response as much as I can. Makes me such a happy writer to see those reviews! Also, my favoritors and followers are flipping amazing...just thought I'd throw that out there.

Like the new book cover? I was going for "its them against the world" kind of feel. If you look carefully you can see some hidden faces in the background (turning up the brightness on the screen helps). :) Took me like 5 hours to figure how to do it lolol

So many projects, papers, and just annoying busy work this following week (thanks school...which is sOoOoOoOo utterly fan-fricking-tastic). I want to keep my 2 week update plan but I'm planning to post the next chapter between March 2nd (Saturday) to March 6th (Wednesday), just as a precaution. Next chapter will continue off of this one as well as dip into "Cold Blood." Do I smell some more Doctor and Rose moments? Indeed I think I do... :)

Total side note and random, but I'm beginning to write a Lokane fic (which is pairing based from the movie Thor) coming up hopefully Easterish/May which I'm soooo pumped for... I don't mean to toot my own horn...buuuttt...its looking pretty good if I do say so myself... :) I will link it in a chapter when it's up, but if you are a fan of the Lokane universe, please check it out when I publish it! :)

Thanks so much for reading! Please please please review! It can be as simple as a smiley face :) All thoughts are welcome.