Lukas walked through the dark street. In his right hand he carried a hamper of his mother's homemade jam filled biscuits. After the last attack she had made them specially. Lukas had not been there when the alien machines had roamed through the town. He had been at school, studying Ancient Earth History. That was his favourite subject. There was something immensely satisfying and reassuring about history; it continued along a straight path, one action led to another action and it was trustworthy. This was more than could be said for the old inhabitant of the clock tower. Lukas knew practically nothing about the man who called himself "The Doctor" but he had lived in the clock tower as long as either of Lukas's grandparents could remember. Stories about him were rife in the playground. People said he couldn't die, that he came to Trenzalore in a box the size of the universe, that he once lost his leg saving the town from a giant robot. Lukas was nearly sixteen. Stories were for kids. Lukas's breath fogged about him as he clambered up the steps to the clock tower. He grasped the heavy iron knocker and banged it on the door three times.
Nothing happened.
Lukas wondered if the Doctor was in, if he was asleep, and started to feel foolish. He wondered if he should knock again, and wondered if this would upset the Doctor. Feeling relieved that he had not had to speak to anyone Lukas turned to leave when the door opened.
"Hello? Is anyone there?"
Lukas turned back, fear and shame mingling in his gut.
"H-hello sir. I have brought you a gift."
The man – the Doctor – was a full head taller than Lukas. His face was lined and wrinkled, and he leaned on a stick. His hair flopped over his face, and there was a streak of grey in it. A shirt similar to the ones Lukas's dad sometimes wore. A purple coat and a bow tie. This was not what Lukas had expected at all, and it made him uneasy. The Doctor looked at Lukas and smiled.
"Yes, hello, a gift. Love a gift, ask anyone. Do you know I was once inducted into the People Who Survived Their Own Death Society on Omicron Seven? I got a T-shirt and everything!"
Lukas was a little taken aback. The information the Doctor was providing did not seem to be relevant to what he had just said. Lukas felt embarrassed and angry, but tried again.
"Please sir; I have brought you a gift."
"Let's see."
Lukas handed the hamper to the Doctor, who turned and walked back into the clock tower, leaving Lukas alone. The young man was uncertain of what he was supposed to do. He felt trapped, and he felt as if something was happening that he should be aware of. Just then the Doctor reappeared.
"Well come on then." he said.
Lukas stepped over the threshold and into the clock tower. Shelves of wooden toys filled the wall, and there were countless pictures hung on every available bit of space. They were children's drawings, depicting monsters and spaceships and creatures but what they all had in common was the Doctor. Lukas's eye settled on one that said "I Love You" in big splodgy letters around a drawing of the Doctor.
"Right, the kettle's on, let's have a sit down and…"
The Doctor opened the hamper. Inside were row upon row upon row of jammie dodgers.
"You brought me jammie dodgers."
The Doctor's voice was filled with childlike wonder. Lukas walked to the door.
"Where are you going?"
"I need to go. My mum will be expecting me."
The Doctor appraised Lukas.
"Do you really think I'd let you go that easily?"
"Why do you want to have a cup of tea with me?" said Lukas.
"Because I know what it's like to be different, to be the odd one out, for people not to understand you."
The Doctor smiled.
"And I know it's nothing to be ashamed of."
A huge wheezing and groaning sound filled the deserted street and a blue police box winked into view. The door creaked open and the Doctor strolled out, hands gripping the lapels of his jacket.
"Cicatrix Epsilon; magnificent planet; twenty-six hour day, temperate climate, the most advanced civilisation this side of the Medusa…"
The Doctor's sentence died on his lips. Massive potholes and the wrecks of speeders littered the street. The gigantic skyscrapers that dominated the skyline were gutted and derelict.
The Doctor looked around, trepidation in his eyes.
"…Cascade." He finished.
"Doctor what is it?"
A beautiful red haired young woman appeared in the door of the TARDIS.
"It's trouble, Amy. Serious, dangerous, not nice trouble."
The Doctor took out his sonic screwdriver and began to scan the nearest abandoned speeder. Amy pulled her leather jacket tighter around her and shivered. Judging by the temperature it was mid-autumn. The sky was a deep purple that faded to a dull red as it reached the horizon. Amy felt a sense of awe and wonder; she was the only person from her time that would ever see a sight like this. She missed Rory, sudden and deep. She wanted to hold his hand on this alien world and watch the sun go down. Amy wondered what Rory was doing right at that very second, on Earth, a million billion quadrillion miles away from where she was. The Doctor came over to Amy, darting glances around the empty street.
"Amy, listen. Something has happened on this planet. Some horrifying cataclysm has taken place and history has been shredded in its wake."
He ran a hand over his face.
"If I'd arrived, twenty-five, fifty, a hundred years earlier." The Doctor said, half to himself.
"Stay where you are!"
The voice was ragged, teenaged, yet it carried an air of authority. Amy and the Doctor raised their hands as a gang of teenagers surrounded them. The adolescents were dressed in jackets and jeans and hooded tops that looked like they had been patched up and repaired hundreds of times. They carried iron bars, hockey sticks, makeshift bows, three of which were trained on the Doctor and Amy. A teen with unruly black hair and a patched up leather jacket came forward. As he did so the others shifted subtly. He's the one in charge, thought Amy.
"Who the hell are you two?" he said.
The Doctor smiled. "Excellent question. Hello, I'm the Doctor and this is Amy, we were just in the neighbourhood doing a spot of pot…holing, now if you would kindly stop brandishing those weapons and tell us what happened here I'd be most grateful."
"They don't look like spies." Said a tall, muscular young man in a ripped denim jacket.
"We'll take them back to the park." Said the leader.
"All right. Move out!"
Amy found herself being herded through a labyrinth of narrow, dirty streets awash with water. The Doctor had gone quiet, and seemed to be considering everything that was taking place. After a walk of nearly three quarters of an hour they arrived at a small shanty town that had been haphazardly erected in a skateboarding park. Amy and the Doctor were shoved into a medium sized shack and forced to sit down. The unruly haired leather jacketed teenager came into the room and stood in the centre.
"All right. Who are you and why are you here?"
The Doctor stood up, ignoring the makeshift weapons.
"What happened here? Cicatrix Epsilon is… was the trading hub of this part of the galaxy. So what happened?"
"Sit the hell down!" shouted the leather jacket.
The Doctor stared hard into his eyes.
"Answer the question please; why isn't this city a thriving jewel of intergalactic commerce and culture? And I don't take kindly to threats."
"I'm warning you!" The leather jacket got in the Doctor's face.
"We're a rescue and recovery mission." Said Amy.
"We knew something really bad had happened on this planet, but the, er, communications went down so we came here to assess how bad the damage was and if there was anything we could do about it."
The leather jacket snorted. "Yeah right, just the two of you? Shows how much of a damn the rest of the galaxy gives about us."
"You'd be surprised." Said the Doctor absently.
The leather jacket glared at the Doctor. "This place is a scum hole. I look after my gang and we survive. We don't need any help.
The Doctor regarded the young man. "You're awfully angry about all of this."
"What the hell does that have to do with you?!" said the leather jacket.
"Because I can help, if you'll let me. All that rage and anger, but at what? You're more than competent enough to lead this lot and survive, but there's something else…"
The leather jacket glared at the Doctor, and for a horrible moment Amy thought he was going to hit him, but then the young man turned and walked towards the door.
"Keep these losers here. Don't let them escape. I'll be back."
The Doctor was encouraged to sit down by several metal hockey sticks and he did so, grudgingly. Amy scooted over to him.
"You owe me big time for saving your rear end." she whispered.
The Doctor smiled and winked.
"So what was all that stuff you were saying to that kid?" said Amy.
"About him being too angry."
"I've seen this before, Amy. I've experienced it myself. Our friend in the leather jacket blames himself for what's happened to this city, that's why he's so angry. If I could have just spoken to him a bit more…ow!"
One of the kids jabbed the Doctor in the side with his hockey stick.
"Leave him alone – ouch!" said Amy as she received a jab.
"You know, I'd be much more inclined to try and help you if you weren't poking my friend and I in the ribs with metal hockey sticks." Said the Doctor.
"Never trust games that require long wooden things." He added, almost as an aside.
Amy flashed her most dazzling smile. "So tell me, how do a couple of fine young lads like you end up as prison…guard…things?"
The young man nearest to Amy blushed, and his friend elbowed him in the ribs.
"Don't talk to the prisoners! David'll kill you!"
"David? Is that the guy in the leather jacket?" said Amy.
"Shut up, you." Said the other young man. He turned his baseball cap so that the brim was shading the back of his neck, and turned away from Amy and the Doctor.
"What a bunch of little brats." Amy whispered.
"They're scared, Amy, and confused. The world they knew has been torn down around their ears and they've got no-one to rely on but themselves."
The Doctor leaned back, and tried his hardest to appear non-threatening. "We're a rescue and recovery mission, my friend and I. What if I told you we could get you unlimited food supplies?"
The two young men did not react. The Doctor reached into his jacket pocket and drew out a packet of jammie dodgers. He opened the packet, selected a biscuit and bit into it.
"Mmm. Try one, Amy."
The young men turned around to find Amy and the Doctor enjoying a packet of jammie dodgers. The Doctor smiled and passed the packet to the young man in the baseball cap.
"Take as many as you want, but don't forget to share. Plenty more where that came from, right Amy?"
"Oh, absolutely." said Amy through a mouthful of biscuit.
Both of the young men looked nervous. Eventually the one who had blushed took a jammie dodger from the packet and popped it into his mouth. He chewed and swallowed, and took another.
The Doctor looked worried. "I hope I haven't just introduced junk food to an alien civilisation."
Amy smiled at the teenagers. "Ok, so now you know we're not a threat and we mean what we say how about telling us what happened here?"
The young man who blushed opened his mouth to speak but received a swat on the head from the baseball cap.
"Ow! I don't think they want to hurt us Gary!"
"We are all about helping people, so why don't you tell us what the problem is?"
Amy gave her most charming smile.
The blusher swallowed hard. He glanced at the door of the shack and began to speak.
"Cicatrix Epsilon has always been rubbish. We grew up here and there were gangs and crime and the government was corrupt. I never really thought about the government much until what happened to Darius."
"Go on." Said the Doctor.
The blushing young man fidgeted. Eventually he began to speak again.
"We were riding our bikes through the city and Darius almost hit this weird kid and there was like an explosion and these guys in helmets and black body armour took him away."
The adolescent was breathing hard. Amy took his hand.
"It's ok." She said.
"The…the next time any of us saw him…Darius was…different…he waved his arm…and…and a sky…scraper…just collapsed. He…he said he…he was going to…to make everyone who had ever hurt him pay…starting…starting with David."
The Doctor and Amy exchanged a glance.
"Why did Darius want to hurt David?" said the Doctor.
"David brought him into our gang." said Gary.
"We didn't want him here but David always stood up for that runt. Like it was our fault he couldn't ride. Darius is who did all of this."
The Doctor glared at Gary. Amy put her hand on the Doctor's forearm.
"Where is he now? Darius I mean." said Amy.
"He's in the old stadium. He calls it his temple. All the survivors have to pay him tribute." Gary spat the word.
"We're the only ones left who don't."
"I'd like to meet him." said the Doctor.
The three others gave the Doctor looks which ranged from horror to downright incredulity.
"You what?" said Gary.
"I'd like to meet Darius. I'm quite sure everything can be sorted out, right Amy?" said the Doctor.
"Listen pal our gang has survived this long because we stay the hell away from the stadium. If you want to die knock yourself out but don't drag us into it."
"It's only your friend David I want to drag into it." said the Doctor.
"I think it's time we all had a serious chat."
"Doctor what are you doing?" said Amy.
"Amy this Darius quite clearly has a massive inferiority complex brought on by the treatment he received at the hands of our friends here. If I can talk to him, reason with him, try to make him remember the one person who cared for him…"
"Who, David? You saw what he was like, he'll never agree to this."
"David is angry and upset over his perceived failure to care for Darius." said the Doctor.
"He needs to be there too. Together we might stand a chance of putting things back the way they were."
"Even if that plan wasn't completely suicidal how are we going to get them to agree to it?" said Amy.
"By doing something incredibly clever and brilliant which I haven't actually thought of." Said the Doctor.
A furious clanging went up from outside. Shouts of "Mindless!" penetrated the small room. Gary and the blushing kid glanced at each other and ran outside. The Doctor jumped to his feet and ran after them.
A semicircle of frightened kids with weapons surrounded a twelve year old girl. She wore clothes that were too big for her and she shambled forwards, as if in a daze. The Doctor and Amy burst through the teens and stood a few feet away from the girl.
"Who let these morons out?" said David.
"You're all so scared…you're terrified…but why?" said the Doctor.
He whirled round and scanned the approaching girl with his sonic screwdriver.
"Doctor why are they behaving like this? She's just a kid!" said Amy.
"Correction: a kid in psychic thrall to the most powerful mind I have ever encountered."
Amy could see the fear on her friend's face. "So what do we do?"
"To start with, don't provoke her."
The Doctor turned back to David's gang and spread his arms.
"You lot, listen to me. This girl is being psionically manipulated but if you let me talk to her I'm sure we can sort this out without anyone getting…"
A boy in a vest and half jacket charged the girl, swinging a baseball bat."
"No don't!" said the Doctor.
The girl caught the baseball bat in one hand and snapped it in half. A swipe of her arm sent her assailant literally flying.
A wave of tension broke over the assembled teenagers. Some were edging forwards, gripping their weapons. The Doctor blocked them.
"Don't attack her. I can make her stop what she's doing but you need to stand down."
His last two words were delivered with such force that the teens did as they were told. The Doctor turned back to the girl.
"Listen to me. I know you can hear me, even though your mind is not under your control. I don't mean you any harm, I just want to talk to whoever is controlling you and then we might be able to get somewhere. Look at me. I'm unarmed. I'm not trying to hurt you or make your life difficult. I just want to help. Please, let me help."
The girl raised her head. Her eyes were unfocused. Then she said in a voice that was not her own.
"I've found you, David."
"Why don't you come face me yourself?!" shouted David.
"That's what I'm doing. I'm coming for you, right now. Natalie will kill everyone here and then it'll just be you and me. Like old times."
The girl's jaw slackened, and she began to shamble forwards. The Doctor gave her a quick scan with his screwdriver.
"Ok, so I need to break Darius's psychic hold on Natalie, no problem, no problem at all."
"Why are you looking so nervous?" said Amy.
"Because the strength of Darius's mind is off the scale and a psychic link with her could leave me a vegetable." Said the Doctor.
He straightened his bow tie. "Still let's give it a stab eh?"
The Doctor knelt down and extended his hands. Natalie swiped at him with her arm, sending the Doctor tumbling away. As one the assembled teenagers surged forwards with shouts and yells.
"No don't touch her! Leave her alone!" yelled the Doctor.
The young girl swatted away her assailants like gnats until only the boy who had blushed remained. He gripped his tire iron like a life raft and trembled.
"Leave him alone!" shouted Amy.
"If you want to pick on someone love pick on me!"
Natalie swerved towards Amy's voice. Amy waved her arms.
"That's right, you're dealing with me now. Don't think you can behave like this and just get away with it!"
Natalie advanced on Amy Pond. As the girl drew closer Amy began to feel less brave.
"Yeah…come on…why do I get the feeling this wasn't such a great idea?" said Amy, taking a step back.
The girl stooped and picked up a jagged piece of glass which she held in front of her like a knife. Amy felt her back meet a metal wall. Natalie raised the shard of glass…
…and the Doctor pressed his hands to her temples and shut his eyes. Natalie dropped the shard of glass and went limp. Strange expressions began to flit across the Doctor's face.
"Doctor?" said Amy.
The Doctor grunted, as if pushing a heavy weight up a hill, and then he cried out. Amy started towards the Doctor. David drew a Bowie knife and Amy blocked him.
A low, angry groan came from the Doctor's mouth. With a final yell he removed his hands from Natalie's head and lay back on the ground, breathing hard.
"What just happened?" said David.
"I disrupted the psychic link between Darius and this young girl."
The Doctor held his head and winced. "Crikey Moses, telepaths round here certainly eat their Weetabix."
Natalie blinked a few times and rubbed her eyes. "Where am I?"
"You're safe." said Amy, enfolding the girl in a hug.
"Isn't that right Doctor?"
"Yes!...well no. Technically, yes. Less technically, no. Not safe at all. Not by a very long way…"
"You're not exactly helping." said Amy.
"I'm sorry Amy, I really am, but pretty soon the most powerful psionic I have ever encountered will be here and I have no way of stopping him."
"This is between me and Darius." said David.
"He did this. I've got to end it."
"And what then?" said the Doctor.
"Are you going to destroy everyone who has ever wronged you in any way?"
"Darius is a killer!" shouted David.
"He tried to kill my team! He tried to kill your friend! I've got to stop him."
"David, listen to me. If we can talk to Darius, try and make him see that he doesn't need to do this…"
David barked a laugh. "Yeah right. He only understands one thing."
"Then show him something different. Let him see that he doesn't need to hate or destroy. David, please; I need your help."
"Why do you care? It's not your world. He wasn't your friend."
"Because somebody's got to." said the Doctor quietly.
Louder he said "David, Darius was your friend. You introduced him to these people. There must have been something about him you liked. We can find that again, together, if you'll just let me talk to Darius without you attacking him."
Before David could answer there was a gigantic rumbling and crashing noise like an earthquake. Gang members took cover behind anything they could. David glared in the direction the noise was coming from. Then he turned to the Doctor.
"You've got one shot. If you don't stop him I will."
"What's happening?" Natalie tightened her grip on Amy.
"You just stay close to me and everything will be fine." said Amy, stroking Natalie's hair.
The buildings around the skate park toppled over as if they were being pushed by a gigantic hand. The nearest building, the metal fence encircling the skate park and two of the homemade shacks flew aside like toys and a boy floated into the park.
Amy remembered watching a superhero film with Rory a long time ago about people with special abilities who were mistrusted by society. The bad guy in that film had floated through the air like this boy was doing. He was wearing black jeans with a white sleeveless T-shirt and he wore…a cape? A robe? The boy could have been ten, he could have been fourteen, it was difficult to tell. His bare feet kissed the ground as he landed. The boy glared out from a shock of blond hair at David, who started towards him. The Doctor put his arm out to stop David, and then he took a step forward.
"I presume I'm speaking to Darius." Said the Doctor, straightening his bow tie.
The boy made a noise. "And who are you? A geography teacher?"
"I'm the Doctor, and I just want to talk. That's all any of us want to do, right?"
This last word was addressed to David, whose face was a study in sullen fury.
"I don't see that there's much to talk about." Said the boy.
"I'm going to kill you all and then go back to my temple. Simple as that."
"Darius look around you. These people were your friends once. David was your friend. Your best friend. How can…"
"David left me to die!" screamed Darius.
"Him and all the others! If you'd come back for me like you promised I wouldn't have been made into this!"
"That's no reason to destroy this city!" yelled David.
"Darius please. Whatever's happened to you in the past you have a choice about what you do with your future. You've always got a choice, Darius. With your powers you could rebuild this city a dozen times over. There's no need for you to hate or be afraid of anyone. You just have to promise not to hurt anyone here. Can you do that for me, Darius?"
Darius snorted. "Don't hurt anyone. You mean like they didn't hurt me, over and over again, day after day after day! I never did a thing to anyone and all they did was make my life a living hell! Well I've got all the power now. I can do what I want to who I want. Let's see you stop me, Doctor."
Darius raised his hand, palm out, and the Doctor was lifted into the air. A gesture of Darius's hand and the Doctor's body formed a crucifix shape, his arms stretched out.
"You really don't want to do this!" shouted the Doctor.
Darius rose into the air, until he was several feet higher than the Doctor. He made a couple of gestures and several jagged pieces of metal rose into the air and pointed straight at the Doctor.
"Darius listen to me. You don't have to do this. You don't need to do this. You are the most powerful mind I have ever encountered. Nobody is putting you down or trying to boss you around now."
Darius waved his hand. The Doctor's shirt flew open and the nearest, most jagged piece of metal moved towards him.
"Let him go!" shouted Amy, standing up and walking forwards.
"Amy, no!" said the Doctor.
To Darius she said "I know boys like you. You hide away at the back of the classroom because you think you're not good enough. You think nobody will ever look at you the way they look at the popular ones or the smart ones. Well look into my mind Darius. See what I've seen."
"Why should I?" said Darius.
"Just look."
With a smirk Darius pressed two fingers to his temple. Amy cried out. It was as if her brain had been plunged into a bucket of ice water. She could feel Darius digging through her memories, peeling them away like the skin of an onion. Darius and Amy started at the same moment. And Darius saw Amy's memories.
"Hi Amelia freak."
"Seen any disappearing boxes today?"
"Looney! Looney! Looney!"
Amelia delivered a kick to the shin of the boy who had chanted looney at her causing him to yelp and hop on one foot. She pushed past the other children and went into the playground. Amelia sat down on a bench at the furthest end of the playground and took out her lunch. A shaft of happiness penetrated the gloom that was Amelia's day when she saw the face her mum had cut into the apple. Amelia bit into the apple, savouring the sweet, crisp taste. After a while she became aware that there was someone else sitting on the bench. Amelia turned to look. The boy was short, with longish hair and a school uniform that didn't fit him. He was fidgeting, and he looked at Amelia for longer than anyone could comfortably look at someone without saying something. Eventually he spoke.
"Do you mind if I sit here?"
"It's not my bench." said Amelia.
"I know. I just…wondered." said the boy.
A long moment passed. Then the boy said "Would you like to trade sandwiches?"
"No." said Amelia.
The boy said nothing. Amelia went on eating her apple. After a while she rounded on the boy.
"What are you doing here? Are you just going to make fun of me like that lot over there?"
"I…I'm n-not going to make fun of you." said the boy.
"I just thought you looked lonely."
Amelia was about to say something, then she stopped herself. She smiled at the boy. "Thank you."
The boy smiled hesitantly. "You're welcome."
"What's your name?" said Amelia.
"Rory." said the boy.
"Hi Rory. It's nice to meet you." said Amelia with a smile.
"You too." said Rory.
"Ooh she has a boyfriend!" shouted somebody.
"Wait here a minute." said Amelia, striding in the direction of the noise. Moments later there were yelps of pain and children hopping on one leg.
Amy dropped to her knees and clawed at her head. Darius was raking through her thoughts like a drill through earth. Memories flickered before her eyes like a silent film; she saw herself in the psychiatrist's office sweeping the behaviour charts onto the floor, she saw herself at thirteen, at fourteen, at fifteen. She saw boys who had tormented her in primary school begging her to go to the prom with them. And through it all she saw Rory. Wonderful, stupid, beautiful, clumsy Rory telling her she wasn't crazy, or giving her his lunch when she didn't feel like eating hers, or complaining that his raggedy doctor costume was too tight when they were kids. All these memories and more filled Amy's mind.
"Rory is my hero." said Amy.
"Not because he was a gang leader or a superhero but because he was there. The only one who always was, through the bullying and the psychiatrists and all those boys chasing me."
Blood trickled from Amy's nose.
"Whatever you're doing Amy you need to stop." said the Doctor.
"This will work, I know it will." said Amy.
To Darius she said "Find my memories of June 27th, 2004."
Amy doubled over under a renewed psychic assault. The world around her shimmered like the surface of a lake, and she was…
…standing in a room full of teenagers, all of whom were in formal dress. A band was playing on a stage and Amy noticed Darius beside her.
"What is this place?" he said in a dazed voice.
"Just pay attention." said Amy.
As they watched, a handsome youth with great hair entered the room with a sixteen year old Amy on his arm. The young man smiled in a self-congratulatory fashion as he greeted the others. Amy's younger self looked uncomfortable. Across the room, next to the punch bowl was Rory, in a pale blue suit that looked a size and a half too big for him. He gazed at the younger Amy for a long moment and then turned away. As Amy and Darius watched, the younger Amy broke away from the handsome young man and went over to Rory.
"Rory! Are you ok?" said the younger Amy.
"Shouldn't you be with Tim?" said Rory in a resentful voice.
"Rory I'm sorry, it's just that…"
A tuxedoed arm snaked around the younger Amy's waist, pulling her away from Rory who made a gesture of frustration and defeat and walked out of the room. As Amy and Darius watched, the younger Amy seemed to be in an argument with Tim, who turned to his friends and laughed. The younger Amy stormed out. Then Amy and Darius were in a dark corridor, where a blue tuxedoed figure was facing away from them. Amy jumped as her younger self walked through her and touched the blue tuxedo on the arm.
"Hey." said the younger Amy.
"I'm really sorry about that. I thought Tim was…something that he wasn't. I'm sorry."
"It's ok." Said Rory, without moving.
"I mean in real life girls like you don't…I mean, he's very popular, you're very…attractive…so you wouldn't go to the prom with just anyone."
"He's a pig." said Amy.
"I should never have gone out with him."
Rory was fidgeting. With a burst of courage he turned to Amy and said "Would you like to…"
"How about we go…"
Amy and Rory stopped at the same time and smiled nervously at each other. A few moments passed, and then Amy took Rory's arm and led him towards the exit.
"Come on, you. We're getting the best Chinese in Leadworth and watching 10 Things I Hate About You at mine."
"I don't like that film." Rory tried to protest.
"How can you not like 10 Things I Hate About You? Heath Ledger! Singing! Need I say more?"
"I'd prefer to watch Wallace and Gromit…"
Amy and Rory's laughter and conversation faded as they left the school.
"I…I've never been that close to anyone." said Darius.
Amy massaged her temples with her fingers.
"There's one more thing I want to show you." She said.
"Find my memories of December 21st 2007."
A million images blurred past.
Eventually they reformed into a pub decorated for Christmas. People old and young mingled with eachother, and some of the younger people were dancing. A young black woman finished belting out All I Want For Christmas Is You to a massive cheer. She gave a saucy wink and hopped down from the stage. Amy and Darius followed her until the young lady threw her arms around another Amy and Rory.
"Come on guys we've only been to twelve pubs! I'm getting bored."
"Er, perhaps we should take it easy from now on." said Rory.
The young lady shrugged. "Suit yourself. I'm heading into town. See you tomorrow!"
She left Amy and Rory alone. There was an awkward silence as both of them tried to avoid looking directly at the other. Eventually Amy said "Rory, about what you said on Monday."
Rory seemed to be mustering his courage. At last he said "I really like you Amy, and I want us to be more than friends."
"So do I, it's just that you're my best friend and I'm not sure if it would…" Amy trailed off.
A song started. Amy began to sway to the music, gently saying "Macarena."
Rory looked left out. He stared at Amy for a long time. The he cupped her face in his hands and kissed her on the lips. Amy was rigid for a moment, then she kissed Rory back. They wrapped their arms around eachother and kissed as if it were their last day on earth.
The pub and the music and the memory faded away. Amy looked around. The world was grey and there was nothing anywhere. She turned to Darius but he was gone. Amy's stomach lurched as she fell. The world turned from grey to streams of crimson and orange and Amy fell past images of her life. Below her was a black dot that began to look more and more like a mouth the further Amy fell. She screamed, and then she felt a hand gripping hers. Amy looked up. The Doctor was there.
"Amy come on!" he yelled over the howling wind.
Amy grabbed his hand with her other hand and pulled herself up. The world dissolved into kaleidoscope shapes.
Amy could hear voices above her. She swam upwards through sleep until her eyes fluttered open and she stared into the Doctor's face. He removed his hands from her temples and enfolded her in a hug.
"Amelia Pond." He said.
Amy's head was pounding.
"What happened?" she asked.
"It seems that whatever Darius saw in your mind convinced him not to kill us all." said the Doctor.
"Where's Darius now?" said Amy, rubbing her head with one hand.
"He and David are having a long overdue talk. I'd venture to say there'll be no more death and destruction. Always a good result."
With enormous effort Amy propped herself up on her elbows. She was on a makeshift bed in a shack, a rough blanket over her. The door creaked open and David and Darius walked in.
"We've been talking." said David.
"We're going to try and fix the city. Make it a good place where people want to be."
David knelt down by Amy's side.
"Thank you for giving me my friend back." He said.
Amy smiled.
"So! Where to next? Decisions, decisions. Did you know there is a planet populated by an entire species of sentient sound?"
The Doctor strode towards the TARDIS, a broad smile on his face.
"Actually Doctor I'd just like to take it easy for a bit. Read a book, watch some TV, sleep for a month."
The Doctor winked. "Not a problem. Have you been to Tortrex Seven? There everybody sleeps for a hundred years at a time and only wakes up during the solar eclipse…"
The Doctor's voice faded as he went into the TARDIS. Amy took one last look at the world she had saved and went in after him and shut the door. There was a huge whooshing and rasping of engines…
"…and the TARDIS flew off into the time vortex." said the Doctor.
Lukas's face was a question.
"But how did you know what was in Amy's mind?" he said.
The Doctor tapped his nose. "It's all very sciency."
"So Darius was convinced not to kill everybody…by Amy's memories of her and Rory?"
"Darius understood that he could get things right because Rory did. Food for thought eh?"
Lukas seemed to be considering this.
"I see." He said at last.
The Doctor smiled, his face creasing. Lukas wanted to ask the Doctor something. He wondered if he could, or if he should. Lukas wondered if the Doctor had time to answer his question.
"Right, I think it's time I fixed some of these toys." said the Doctor, pulling himself up out of his chair.
Lukas sensed his opportunity slipping away. After the Doctor had taken a couple of steps Lukas said "Doctor."
"Yes?" said the Doctor.
"Please can I ask you about something? Sometimes I find it difficult to tell what other people mean when they say things, and sometimes they say things that don't make sense."
The Doctor's mouth worked.
"That is a tough one." He said at last.
"There's no easy answer either, it takes a long time and a lot of work. The important thing is to keep trying."
"But I don't always understand what people mean." said Lukas.
"I had a friend once who had a similar problem." said the Doctor.
He went back to his chair and sat down.
"Let me tell you about when Clara and I met the Celestial Toymaker…"