NorthernMage here with my first Doctor Who fanfic!
Firstly, I have to thank another fanfic author called Pokelolmc. As I've watched very little Doctor Who so far, only series 5, this was a bit of a struggle. She beta-ed the fanfic for me, and basically made sure I wasn't writing a very weird OOC Doctor.
I finished series 5 a while ago, and I kept thinking about what happened while the Doctor was trapped inside the Pandorica. Sure, Rory gets him out, but he'd be stuck in there for a little bit.
And during that little bit, it would be perfectly alright to panic.
Despite the fact I've been working hard on another fanfic, I decided to get this out first. Enjoy!
The conversation with Rory at the end is from The Big Bang, and the beginning in italics is from The Pandorica Opens.
Rory: NorthernMage doesn't own Doctor Who.
'No! Please listen to me! The TARDIS is exploding right now and I'm the only one who can stop it!' he begged, even though he knew well, damn well, it was useless. 'LISTEN TO ME!' he screamed until all there was was silence, cold unforgiving silence.
There was one loud crash, then a click.
The Doctor stared in horror at the sealed doors of the Pandorica.
'The Pandorica! That's a fairytale!'
Oh, if only he had been right.
If only.
It was slowly sinking in.
'Think of the fear that went into making this box. What could inspire that level of fear?'
'They...they thought I was going to destroy the universe...' he murmured, looking down at himself. The fear they must have felt towards him, the terror that the person who had stopped them all again and again was supposedly about to destroy everything...
The full impact of his situation hit him in that sliver of a moment.
Fear...
Fear was one thing he was full of right now. He knew full well that there was no way for him to escape from this prison all his enemies had put him in. Speaking of them, he was terrified even more by the fact they had managed to ally together. Daleks working with others?!
It was an idea he would have considered as mythical as the Pandorica before today.
'You can't even escape it by dying.' Ha, like he could die in here. A crazy desire to laugh nearly overtook him. For the love of Gallifrey, he was a Time Lord.
He'd just regenerate, and the Pandorica would have the last Time Lord stuck inside it forever.
Amy...Rory...if that even was Rory...he doubted either of them would last very long.
He could feel his sonic screwdriver in his pocket, but it would be useless inside the Pandorica, and he couldn't get himself out.
Was it just him, or was he struggling to breathe? You're hyperventilating, calm down! he ordered himself. You're you. Despite everything that's happened, you managed to get out of it.
But, of course, a little voice whispered, that was when you had the TARDIS. That was before Daleks, Cybermen and everything else you ever messed with created an alliance.
And what was that alliance's goal?
To destroy you. To lock you up where nobody would come looking.
They created themselves TO DESTROY YOU. TO BREAK YOU DOWN, TO WIN OVER THE ONE PERSON THEY HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO SINCE THEY FIRST OPENED THEIR EYES.
This...this was insane. Shouldn't be happening, shouldn't couldn't.
He tried breaking the shackles, shaking his arms to try and get them out, but nothing.
Please...I don't want this...
...please...
Terror shot through him, stunning him for a moment.
It's not me, it's the TARDIS! I'm not doing anything wrong!
That was the thought that snapped him back to his senses. It sounded like a child's plea.
The Doctor was 907, not 9.
Get a hold of yourself! he ordered himself. Stupid, stupid Doctor! Stop and think!
He curled his hand into fists and back slowly, trying to regain control.
'Total event collapse...every moment in history never happens. Then what...well, the universe doesn't happen. What happens to us, though? I'll figure out me later, and Rory is...something. Amy though...ha, with the universe tumbling into her dreams every night she'd be fine for a while.' he muttered, trying to think through the situation.
'The Pandorica can open easy from the outside, but it needs something non terrestrial...something that would be my sonic screwdriver.' The Doctor glared almost hatefully at the object in his pocket. He tensed, trying not to think about the possibility that had just come to mind.
The Pandorica was the perfect prison, so what if it was the only thing left in the entire universe?
'No, not possible. If the universe ended, it would get destroyed eventually along with everything else...' Just as his panic started to rise again, there was a loud click and hiss.
The Doctor looked up from where he had been staring at one of the shackles holding his hands in place and saw the doors slowly open, light blazing in.
The Pandorica was opening? Maybe they decided to listen to me after all? he thought briefly, before dismissing the idea.
Daleks may have evolved into making alliances, but there was no way they would listen to him. No, that couldn't happen.
Actually couldn't happen this time.
He blinked, seeing Rory pointing something at the Pandorica. As he watched in shock, the shackles unlocked.
'How did you do that?' he asked, confused.
Rory held up the object, which he realised was his sonic screwdriver.
Which was in his pocket.
'You gave me this.'
The Doctor took out the screwdriver which had been in his pocket, his hands now free. 'No, I didn't!'
'Yes you did, look at it.'
He got up and walked out of the Pandorica, shaking slightly. It was terrifying to think he had nearly been trapped in there forever. Don't think about that, ignore it. That's for another time. He tapped his screwdriver against the one Rory held. A spark flickered between the two.
'Temporal energy. Same screwdriver at different points in its own time stream, which means it was me who gave it to you. Me from the future. I've got a future - that's nice!'
Yes, that was very nice.
So, as the TARDIS burned in the sky throughout all of time, and he raced to try and stop the world (or, more correctly, the universe) from ending (well, never happening), he couldn't stop thinking about those two minutes inside the Pandorica.
Every failing, everything wrong, they were all in the spotlight...
Two minutes of weakness.