Like the creature, he fought so long even his name was lost. He wanted it to stop. He was just insintct, the Doctor could relate to that. That's what time lords became after living so long. They became instinct, hungry for power. Well he wasn't to that point yet. There was a deep hatred for the time lords, deep in his hearts. He hated his own people but a part of his still wanted to be forgiven. But that was a delusion the Doctor didn't see through. He would never be forgiven. He didn't deserve it.
The Minotor went after Howie before the Doctor could ask it anymore questions. Howie, the second person that died today.
When the Doctor and Rory were out in the hallway with the pictures of the victims, the Doctor had to ask him. He had to know what actually brought them here, Rory told him he wasn't afraid of anything, after what he had seen on the TARDIS. What could be more scarier than what's out there? He found no reason to be scared. If it wasn't Rory, it had to be Amy.
The Doctor went to go check on Rita. She didn't seem to be panicked, like most humans would. She amazed him.
"Why is it up to you to save us?" Rita had asked.
He had to. He had to keep saving them because if he even stopped, the weight of the dead on his conscience would come crashing down. He ignored the answer because she wouldn't understand. When would he understand that humans were understanding creatures? He looked at Amy who had rescued the fish he had told her to. She was setting it on a table on the stairs landing.
He felt guilty for messing up her life. Just the mention of time travel and they jump on it like a kid being offered candy. He purposely used that to get them to come with him. He didn't prefer to travel alone, but he'd never admit he needed them. That he wanted the attention. He was broken and they temporarily filled the hole inside him. They were his temporary fix. But Amy and Rory were different. If something happened to the Ponds, it would only make the hole bigger, because they were family.
He went to go find the manitor again. He got distracted.
The door appeared, the number on the door was eleven. He knew it was for him. He couldn't resist on opening it. It seemed to call to him. He was curious as to what was behind his door. He opened it. There sitting on the bed was himself.
The Doctor smiled while his other self smiled sinisterly. "Of course." He should have known."Who else?" He shut the door and put on the do not disturb sign.
He was going to take Rita with him. He had said nobody else dies today. It made him angry that he didn't get his way. After calming down, he tried to think why the creature killed Rita, if she was calm...it wasn't fear. It was faith.
He had told them to fall back on their beliefs, that only got them killed. He made them expose their faith. Amy's faith in him was what brought them to the hotel.
Amy started to say, "Praise him.'
The Minotaur was closing in on them. They ran to the closet room they could find. It was Amy's room, where little Amelia Pond sat, waiting, waiting for her raggedy Doctor to return. The Doctor decided in order to save her she had to convince her to loose her faith in him.
"I can't do anything to stop this." He told the adult Amy.
"What?" Of course he could. He could stop anything.
"I stole your childhood and now I've led you by the hand to your death." As he said them, the Doctor started to believe that everything he was saying was the truth. "But the worst thing is, I knew. I knew this would happen this was what always happens." He knew he could stop the Minotaur. He was saying those words to save her. This was the only way to save her. At the end of this trip he'd do her a favor by saving her permanently. "Forget you faith in me. I took you with me because I was vain." That had been the truth. That's why he ever took people with him now. He was an old man that prefers the company of the young, precisely young human females. "Because I wanted to be adored." And he wanted nothing more to be adored by her. "Look at you, the glorious Pond. The girl who waited for me." The young Amelia Pond, frowned. She had wanted nothing more than to be adored too but he had used that.
"I'm no hero." He never had considered himself one. "I really am just a madman in a box." He kissed Amy on the forehead. "Amy Williams." It was a word that separated them, a sign that she needed to let go of him. He felt like it was the end. That it was time for them to leave. It was the only way to save them. "It's time to stop waiting."
That's what destroyed the Minotaur. As it lay dying, the Doctor comforted it. And it thanked him.
"What do time lords pray to?" Amy asked him. He avoided her question like he avoided Rita's.
He didn't pray to anything. Back in the time of Galifrey, time lords worshiped Omega as their God but the Doctor didn't. He knew why his door was there. His faith was in humans He didn't need to anwser because the answer was right in front of him. His faith might have been in humans but most of all, Amelia Pond, a name in a fairy tale. They were each other's weakness. That's why he had to give her up, and Rory. If anything happened to Rory, Amy would never forgive him. She would always choose Rory. It would be the only thing that came between them. He'd rather drop them off to start their new life so they'd be safe. He didn't think he would be able to stand loosing his family again.
Amy looked at the Minotaur, asking "what is it was saying?"
"An ancient creature, drenched in the blood of the innocent. Drifting in space through an endless shifting maze. For such a creature, death would be a gift." He went over to the Minotaur, "Then accept it, and sleep well." He walked away from it and it gave it's last words. "I wasn't talking about myself." It shook the Doctor to the core, because it spoke the truth.
He dropped the Ponds off at their new home.
Amy was confused, wondering if this was another adventure.
"Real house, real door keys." The Doctor tossed Rory a pair of keys. Rory went inside to check out the house.
Amy knew that The Doctor was going to leave. He wasn't giving them the house and the car for nothing.
"You haven't seen the last of me." The Doctor didn't know if that was the truth or not. He had to give them up or he never would. "Bad Penny is my middle name."
"Why now?"
"Because you're still...breathing." If they traveled with him any longer they would surely die or leave him anyway. He made his way to the TARDIS, "Did you know there's a planet that translates to Invalintary Sadness?" He tired to not look sad, for Amy's sake, cheer her up. It worked. Amy laughed. "Or maybe there's a even more scarier adventure in there."
"Even so, it can't happen like this. After everything we've been through, Doctor, everything." She tried to stay happy, so he wouldn't see her cry. That's what he had been trying to do. "You can't just drop me off at my house and say goodbye, like we shared a cab."
"And what's the alternative, me standing over your grave? Over your broken body, over Rory's body."
Amy hugged him. She might not have faith in him anymore, but she loved him so much, like a son. He was her son-in-law. She was still convinced that River was his wife, in the future. "If you bump into my daughter tell her to come see her old mum sometime."
"Look after him."'
"Look after you."
They both smiled and she kissed the Doctor on the forehead.
He walked back toward the TARDIS and waved to her.
She laughed because she didn't want him to see her cry. Amy Pond didn't cry, but she was sure Amy Williams did. "Bye." She said to him.
He disappeared into the TARDIS, not wanting to look at her any longer, he couldn't. Because he knew behind that smile were tears. It was now or never he had to say goodbye.
As he left them behind, they were both unsure if they were ever to see him again.
AN: Thanks for all your reviews. Don't forget to look out for my other Doctor Who Fanfictions. When I re-watch episodes I get ideas like this. I can't help it.
