Conned, Caught and Confined
Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who. Are we clear on that?
A The Pandorica Opens one shot fiction? How original…. Italics are the Doctor's thoughts.
He was getting old, far too old. Rory had diedright in front of him (for me) and been erased from existence. The universe had never known anyone (quite as brave, compassionate and human) as Rory Williams. So when Amelia's old friend, her dead fiancé, turned up, wearing a suit of Roman armour no less; he should have realised something was wrong. That more was at stake here than just a temptingly mysterious box. He now detested the wretched thing, and himself even more for being stupid enough to fall for the tricks.
He wasn't sure when the bombshell had hit him, that he was in deep trouble. Even when the Autons grabbed him (the Nestene Consciousness has really come a long way) he thought he could just talk his way out of this mess. After all, that method usually worked. "Ready for you" – the Dalek had actually sounded gleeful, which was impossible because they were emotionless drones, except for a burning hatred of all other forms of life. If anyone deserved the title of most feared being in the universe, it was the Daleks. Yet they and so many other species saw him as the greatest threat.
The worst part about this whole ordeal was that they were, in a way, right. Oh, they'd got it all wrong about the cracks; he understood time like they never could, and the explosion (I'm sorry old girl) would have happened whether he'd been flying the TARDIS or not. But they'd formed the legend of the Pandorica, and he hadn't seen the signs. How could he? He'd known the story of the Pandorica since his days on Gallifrey, and it had always been a fairy tale, nothing more (How could I have known?).
"There was a goblin, or a trickster…or a warrior". He'd done terrible deeds in the name of 'good' and 'justice'; lured his companions out of their safe normal lives and then dropped them back in again whenever he needed to. He'd fought in the Last Time War, and destroyed his own race. "It would drop out of the sky and tear down your world". He sat in the Pandorica, going through every possible escape route. Its builders had done their job too well for his liking; deadlocks, time stops; and worst of all, the restoration field above his head, preventing death.
Everything about the Pandorica was designed specifically to torture him; not with pain, that he could handle, but with immobility. All his life he'd relied on being able to run, (ever since the Schism I've been running) away from his problems, responsibilities, loneliness and guilt. Now everything he'd ever done was all he had for company, locked away with him for eternity. (I'll be awake all the time). After everything that had happened, that hardly seemed like an issue, and yet it still scared him.
He ducked his head forwards and then slammed it against the back of the chair, hoping to knock himself unconscious. Lights flashed in front of his eyes and the whole box spun around. He felt like throwing up. He took a deep breath, screwed his eyes shut, and slammed his head back once more. This time the lights filled his vision, and dimly he was aware of his body going limp as he was dragged down into the darkness. It felt good, not to have to face reality; but what was waiting for him might be even worse.
Faces swam in the fog before him, looming out of the haze. "Goodbye, Susan", "They'll forget me, won't they", "My Sarah Jane", "Now I'll never know if I was right", "Come with me", "You come with me!" "Forever", "This is me, getting out", "The Time Lord Victorious is wrong!" So many memories; he shuddered and jerked awake, still inside the Pandorica, still trapped. No, wait- not trapped. There was a chink of light, now a strip…the doors slid open, to reveal a bewildered Rory. He was just as bewildered, although he didn't show it. "How did you do that?"
The restraints retracted, but he just sat there stunned. "You gave me this". Rory held up his precious screwdriver, and he pulls out the one in his pocket. "No, I didn't". "Yes, you did, look at it" Rory said doubtfully. He finally stood up, after what must have been hours, and tapped the screwdriver in his hand against the one in Rory's. "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". (What am I saying? That's fantastic!). There was a petrified Dalek behind Rory. Back to business, it seemed.