Prevention
"No, no, no! Not THAT one! That is a hideous color. Choose that one," River points to just beside The Doctor.
"This one? This one is all wonkers and totally inappropriate for the color scheme," replies The Doctor.
They were standing in a cluttered room full of various sorts of items. Shelves lined with lamps and books and letters; an old Gallifreyan crib that The Doctor slept in as a baby, stood next to the door. Just then, the door opened, and in walked Rory.
"Either of you guys seen Amy?"
"No. I thought she was with you," River said.
The Doctor picked up the object River had pointed to. "Last I saw her, she was in the writing room. You might try in there. Rory, what do you think of this painting with this frame?"
"Uh... I think it looks fine?"
"There, you see? This frame is perfect for it," said River and she took the frame from The Doctor's hands.
The Doctor gave River a brooding look as Rory walked over to take a closer look at the painting. "Is this one of Vincent's?"
The Doctor quickly snapped out of his glare and held the painting up. "Why yes! Yes it is! Do you like it? I just got it as a gift."
"To himself. He stole it from the Musee d'Orsay," River chimed in.
"How could I steal something that belongs to me?" The Doctor pointed to the lower right hand corner of the painting. "There, you see? 'To The Doctor. Beware... Vincent Van Gogh." Rory had a puzzled look on his face, as if he was pondering why The Doctor and River didn't seem as concerned with the ominous warning Vincent had not only written, but painted for The Doctor.
The painting was of a wide field, a canyon, with towering cliffs engulfing it. On either side was a vast army. Above them, standing upon the cliffs, were two figures, indistinguishable in their facial features. Their stature was of larger size than those of the army, no doubt to symbolize their importance and power over them.
The title of the painting: Trenzalore.
Just then, the TARDIS jolted, causing the trio to topple over. The lights flickered off for a moment as dimmer lights came on, a sign that the auxiliary power had come on. Somehow, the ship had lost power.
"What was that?" River asked
"I don't know..." The Doctor replied "But whatever it was, it most definitely was very not good." The Doctor dashed out of the room and River and Rory followed. The painting lay on the floor, torn in two.
Upon reaching the control room, The Doctor mumbles aloud to himself "Oh no, no, no, no, NO! This is not good! This is most definitely NOT GOOD!" The Doctor fumbles around with the controls on the dash. River scurries along beside him, also checking the controls. The two of them attempt to power the TARDIS back on, but the ship simply moans in defiance.
Rory anxiously stands by, unsure of how to assess the situation. He then thinks of his wife and her whereabouts. Alarming thoughts come to his mind as he thinks about the tremor sent out through the TARDIS and what might have happened to his wife as a result.
"Doctor, I think we should go look for Amy."
River steps away from the console and walks towards Rory. "I think that would be a good idea."
Suddenly, River sees a figure stir from beneath the console platform and hurry behind the staircase. She stares intently at it and without breaking gaze, she draws her gun and starts to walk towards the stairs.
Rory follows her befuddled; he's torn between his curiosity at River's actions and his urgent desire to find Amy.
"Who's there?" River states with a slight quiver of uncertainty mixed with her usual authoritative intonation. She edges closer and closer, Rory trailing behind. Both are cautious as neither know of who's company they keep.
The Doctor leans over the TARDIS console hanging his head whilst releasing a deep sigh. He is unable to power the TARDIS back on and is mystified at its state. He peers over towards River and Rory, drawn in by River's statement. He treads towards them, a determined look upon his face.
River peers under the steps and sees the figure slumped on the floor, knees pulled towards their chest. It was a girl, a young girl, with brown, curly hair. She was wearing a long, black chesterfield coat, unbuttoned, revealing a red shirt. She wore trousers tucked into military style boots which stood out like a sore thumb against the rest of her outfit.
The Doctor stepped in front of River and stared at the girl for a moment. He knelt down in front of her and stared at her. "Who are you?"
The intruder did not make eye contact with any of them; she continued to stare at her knees remaining as still as possible.
"What did you do to my ship? It seems to be locked, I can't get into it. No one... can lock my ship. Now... Who. Are. You?" The Doctor was very poignant with these last few words. He wanted to know who this girl was.
"Okay... another question then. How did you get on this ship? No one and I mean no one can get on this ship without my knowing. How..." He raised a finger and pointed it at her, "did you?"
The girl raised her head for the first time and looked straight at The Doctor. "I'm sorry, but I can't tell you that."
"You can't, can you? Well then, mystery girl, tell me... what have you done with Amy?"
Rory looked anxiously between The Doctor and the girl. It hadn't occurred to him that Amy had been abducted. In fact, the back of his brain was still processing the potential whereabouts of his wife.
"Safe."
This single word left an air of tension in the room, more-so than before. The Doctor stared at the girl and she just stared right back. River continued to point her gun at the intruder and rage seethed beneath Rory's skin. The Doctor was analyzing her, trying to figure her out. Why was she still in the console room? She had somehow snuck on-board without his noticing and within that time managed to kidnap Amy. After having tampered with the controls, why hadn't she been able to devise a better escape plan.
He then noticed she wasn't actually hugging her knees. She was hugging a knee,the other knee slightly lowered. The fabric of her pants was damp. She had clearly injured her knee in the process of escape. That explained why she had remained in the console room.
Suddenly, the TARDIS jolted again. Everyone toppled over on the spot and fell to the ground. The Doctor hurried to his feet and rushed back to the controls, flipping switches and pulling levers. He stared at the screen.
"The TARDIS is resisting. Its protocols have been altered to a protocol set from the future. It's attempting to revert back to the present but the current protocols won't allow it. It's fighting with itself." The Doctor continued to flip switches and press buttons.
The intruder decided it was best to take advantage of the chaos and darted out from under the staircase. River, however, was just as quick. She took aim and fired her gun at the girl's leg. She tumbled towards the ground with a scream.
The TARDIS quieted herself and the main lights came back online. The systems returned to their normal state and a sigh of relief was heard coming from The Doctor.
"The TARDIS has resolved the problem and jettisoned the future protocol settings." He then turned towards the girl again who now lay in a puddle of blood on the floor. He walked towards her and once again knelt beside her. "You were somehow able to change the bionic symbiosis interloop of my TARDIS. I should like to know how you were able to do so, however I have a more pressing matter to attend to. I need to know where you put Amy Pond, and I need to know now." The Doctor was visibly angry and the girl had a frightened look upon her face. Her attempts at controlling the ship had failed and she was injured to the point of being unable to escape.
"I can't tell you."
"Why not?"
"I just can't! She's safe; you needn't worry about her. You can have her back in 32 hours time, but until then, you need to trust me."
The Doctor smirked and let out a chuckle at her statement. "You trespass onto my ship, kidnap my friend, wreak havoc on my control system and then tell me I need to trust you?" He cocked his head to the side. "You obviously know a thing or two about me, but there's something apparently you didn't and that is I will stop at nothing, and I mean nothing, to protect my friends." He leaned in closer to her. "Now tell me where you've put Amy or else you'll learn more about me than you ever wanted to know."
The girl's eyes darted back and forth between each of The Doctor's. Defensiveness gleamed from them, but a shimmer of fear was apparent as well.
"I will bring her back in 32 hours time."
The Doctor rose to his feet and without breaking stride, stepped over the girl and up the staircase. "River, Rory, assist our guest in being escorted to room B-221." The pair did as they were told and, each grabbing one side of the girl, hoisted her onto their shoulders and followed along behind The Doctor.
The Doctor traipsed through the corridors of the TARDIS in a hurried fashion. River and Rory struggled to keep up. Rory was feeling reassured at his confidence. He appeared to have control of the situation, however River knew better. River was aware that his anger had gotten the better of him and she was trying to work out what he was planning. More importantly, she was trying to work out how to quell The Doctor's anger while still being able to get the necessary information they needed from her on the whereabouts of Amy.
They arrived at room B-221. Upon entering it , before them were icicle-shaped rods protruding from the ceiling all directed towards one divot in the floor.
"Rory, River, place her there." he pointed at the divot. They did as he asked and stepped away.
There was a control panel just to the left of the doorway. A layer of dust was visible even from the vantage point of River and Rory. It was clear that this room had not been used in quite some time, if ever.
The Doctor pressed a button on the panel and a force field flashed around the girl. "This machine delivers a surge of electricity to whomever is within the force field." He hung his head and talked beneath himself for a moment. "It's not been used since I acquired the TARDIS all those years ago. I suspect it has never been used." He looked up. "However, in your refusal to tell me the location of one of my dearest friends, you've left me with no alternative. If you won't tell where you've taken Amy Pond, I've no choice but to activate it." His hand hovered above the button next to the one that enabled the force field.
The girl sat there on the floor. She attempted to shift position in order to better feel the force field. Her hand pressed against an invisible facade. She looked up at the ceiling, at the icicles that hung from it. Her mind raced as she thought about her options. She didn't know what to do. She thought about possibly lying to him about her location, but she knew this would only be a temporary fix. As soon as he discovered she had lied to him, he would once again take up his position behind the panel. If he realized she had lied to him, she knew that he would be even less likely to trust her and whatever coercive measures he planned on using now would most likely be nothing compared to the measures used by a Doctor who no longer had any hope of trusting his trespasser.
She closed her eyes and accepted her predicament. Her hand slid from the invisible wall and she settled in her seat. The Doctor sighed and looked to his feet for a moment before reluctantly pressing the button. Sound emitted from the machine and sparks of light could be seen forming at the tips of the rods. Connections of light fashioned themselves between the rods before pinpointing into one single point and down into the hallow upon the floor.
The jolt of electricity hit the girl, excruciating pain flowing through her. The pain was so immense the memories of elsewhere that she had been trying to conjure up to escape her current reality where rattled from her mind. All she knew was pain at that moment. All else, even breathing, ceased in their priority.
The Doctor released his finger from the button and the girl fell to the side. She breathed heavily, trying to take in the reality of having been released from the malady that had just been inflicted upon her.
Footsteps resonated in the room and her attention started to return to her. She opened her eyes and knelling once again in front of her was The Doctor.
"Now... Please... Tell me who you are and what you are doing here." He opened his hands in gesture as he began to speak again. "Tell me what you've done with my friend and I'll release you from this confinement."
"She's safe. That's all I can tell you. She's safe. Please... I know you have no reason to believe me, but trust me, she is"
"What's your name?"
"I can't tell you." She shook her head. "I just can't."
"Why should I believe anything you say to me?"
"Because you're The Doctor... and I'm asking you to."
A few hopeful moments passed by wherein she thought perhaps The Doctor might have been persuaded. The Doctor then rose to his feet and walked back over to the controls. Without turning round, he pressed the button. The machine started up again and the room filled with flashes of light.
The girl didn't know how much time had passed. An hour? Two hours...? ….Twenty minutes? The button released again and she lay on the ground, shaking her head to and fro with what little strength she could muster. It was a futile attempt to comfort herself and lessen her pain. Her body quivered and convulsed. She turned to the side and spit blood onto the floor. She breathed rapidly and turned herself onto stomach. She wasn't sure what she was doing, weather she was trying to find a more comfortable position or weather she had forgotten of her confines and was attempting to crawl away. However, when she moved her muscles in an attempt to crawl, her body gave out on her, and she just lay there, dazed and confused.
River stood by the door to the room. She knew she had to stop the man she loved from continuing on like this. She knew that if kept this up, he would indeed kill her. It wasn't for the sake of this girl; she could care less about her. It was The Doctor she was really concerned for. What might this make him if he did go too far and kill her? And what of Amy? They may never be able to find and rescue her, where ever she may be. But before she could intervene, The Doctor had pressed the force field button and was walking towards the girl. Once again, he knelt beside her.
"You used a symbiosis protocol in order to over-ride and hijack my TARDIS. The symbiosis protocol requires a certain kind of DNA to alter. Tell me how you did it."
The girl just lay there, staring at The Doctor, her body twitching in one spot or another as her nervous system reoriented itself. The Doctor then pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and placed it on the girl's wounded leg. She cringed in pain.
The Doctor walked back to the control panel and reinstated the force field. He then swiftly left the room. River and Rory looked at one another baffled. River took off after him and Rory looked from her to the girl laying on the ground.
He walked over to the control panel and released the force field. He then slowly walked to the girl and sat down beside her. She didn't try to run, even with her prison bars lowered. She just lay there, her breathing labored.
"I know you must be in a lot of pain right now. And you probably aren't feeling very generous either after what we've done to you... I want you to know that Amy is my world. We've known each other since we were very little. I've always been in love with her, which is why I made her my wife." He chuckled. "We've even been trying to have a baby recently." Rory stared off into the distance for a moment as he pondered what could have happened to his beloved wife. Where she might be. If she was hurt. He wondered if she was pregnant and began worrying for the safety of future child he wasn't even sure existed. His head quickly turned back towards the girl that lay next to him.
"Please. I have to know: what have you done with my wife?"
The girl opened her eyes and looked into Rory's. "Given her protection."