DISCLAIMER: Doctor Who does not belong to me. It belongs to the BBC. I am getting no financial reward from this; I am just borrowing the premise & characters for my own enjoyment (and hopefully, yours too)

MAD, IMPOSSIBLE POND & HER RAGGEDY DOCTOR

A total AU version of new!Who series 5 & onwards…

Chapter One: Amy Chooses Differently

Flashing forward, or flashing backwards. Amy couldn't tell which reality was real. When she was in the TARDIS it felt so right. Travelling with the Doctor was everything that she had ever wanted, and everything that she could possibly want and yet there was the other reality where she was married to Rory and they were about to have a baby. In that reality she was happy, she felt content but with the re-emergence of the Doctor all the feelings that she had buried over the past five years resurfaced.

So Amy along with the Doctor and Rory bounced back and forth between the worlds, trying to figure out which one was the dream and which one was not. The Dream Lord kept telling Amy that she had to choose, that she alone could bring the madness to an end. But Amy didn't want to choose. How could she when it would break the heart of one of the men in her life?

And then it happened. In the bedroom of her soon to be born child, Amy watched as Mrs. Pockett, an old lady that Amy had actually come to like in this version of reality opened her mouth. That scary eye thing emerged and started to spray the acid that dissolved the person into ash in Amy's direction. Rory screamed for her, but he had been knocked to the ground, the Doctor was the closest.

Without even thinking, the Doctor threw himself in front of Amy and her unborn child. He was willing to do anything to protect her, especially after he had ruined her life by making her wait for him all those years. Amy choked back a sob as the Doctor fell to the ground in pain. "Help him," Amy pleaded to Rory as she crawled to the Doctor's side. "You're a Doctor now Rory," she pleaded again. "Help him."

"I'm sorry," Rory apologized as he got to his feet.

"Amy," the Doctor croaked out, bringing her attention to him. "Live well."

Amy watched in horror as her Doctor, her raggedy Doctor disintegrated into a pole of ash. At first she didn't quite know what to do, or what to say. There was just this bone crushing, heart breaking loss that threatened to consume her. Amy looked up with tears in her eyes at Rory and realized something— she didn't love him. In a moment Amy realized that she didn't want to be married to Rory and she didn't want to be living in Upper Ledworth either. She wanted more than anything to travel around with a mad man in a blue box.

"Amy," Rory began apologetically as he reached down to her. "I'm—"

"No," Amy said as she got to her feet. "No he's not dead."

"Amy," Rory began again, thinking that Amy had finally gone off her rocker. "He's gone. You saw it. We both saw it."

"I know what I saw," Amy agreed as she got up. "But he's not dead. He can't be dead."

"Amy?" Rory asked, reaching out to her.

"No," she said as she recoiled from him. "Rory I'm sorry but… no."

Rory's face fell as he understand. "You don't want this life."

Tears sprang to Amy's eyes. "I'm sorry."

"But this might be real,"

"It can't be," Amy stated firmly. "Because the Doctor is dead."

"Amy… you still have me."

"I know," she choked out. "And I do care for you Rory, I really do but I… the Dream Lord has been saying that I would have to make a choice and I've made it. This isn't the real world. It can't be. I don't want it to be."

"Amy…"

"I'm sorry," she apologized. "I didn't know. I really didn't. Not until now."

Rory closed his eyes. He knew that he too had a choice. He could help Amy end the dream by killing the two of them, or he could find a way out— keep her and their baby alive to fight another day. And while the second option was more appealing to Rory who loved Amy dearly, he loved her enough to let her go.

"Okay," he said at last. "What do you want to do?"

The only thing that Amy could think of was to drive the van into something solid. She and Rory made their way down the stairs, the aliens giving them a wide berth. Amy wondered why they weren't attacking them, and Rory figured that it was because they knew what they were planning on doing. "Are you sure that you want to do this?" he asked as he handed her the keys.

Amy nodded. "I'm certain."

"And if you're wrong…"

"Then I'm wrong," she stated bluntly. "But you know that this can't be real Rory. Even if it is, we don't want this world. Upper Ledworth is not a good place, and the entire world could be like this for all we know."

Rory nodded, conceding. "Alright."

And with that, they climbed into the van and Amy drove it into the doorway of their home. They died in the Ledworth dream and woke up in the frozen TARDIS. Amy found herself facing Rory and with the last of her strength she rolled over and looked into the eyes of the Doctor as they opened. Her Doctor was alive— they were about to die anyways— but her raggedy man was alive.

"So you chose this world," the Dream Lord began as he appeared over them. "Well done, you got it right and with only seconds left. Fair's fair," he admitted. "Let's warm you up…" the Dream Lord flicked his hand and the power was restored.

"I hope you enjoyed your little fictions," he continued. "It all came out from your imagination so I'll leave you to ponder on that. I have been defeated. I shall withdraw. Farewell."

With the power fully restored; Amy, the Doctor and Rory got to their feet. "What happened?" the Doctor asked as he glanced around the TARDIS. "I didn't die… did I?"

Amy nodded. "You did actually."

"And you figured out that that world was a dream all on your own?" he asked proudly.

"We did," Amy said with a nod as the Doctor started flipping some controls on the TARDIS controls. "What are you doing now?"

"Me?" the Doctor asked with a look on his face. "I'm going to blow up the TARDIS."

"What?" exclaimed Rory.

"Notice how helpful the Dream Lord was?" the Doctor asked as he worked the consoles. "Okay there was misinformation, red herrings, malice and I could have done without the limerick but he was always very keen to make us choose between dream and reality."

"What are you doing?" Rory asked as the Doctor laughed.

"This isn't the dream," Amy insisted. "This is reality."

"No it's not," the Doctor promised.

"It has to be," Amy whispered.

"Stars burning cold," the Doctor said almost gleefully. "As if. The Dream Lord has no power over the real world. He was offering us a choice between two dreams."

"And how do you know that?" asked Amy as she gripped the TARDIS consoles tightly in fear and worry but with the utmost trust in the Doctor.

The Doctor smiled. "Because I know who he is."

The TARDIS exploded. Amy, Rory and the Doctor instantly found themselves alive and well in the very much still intact TARDIS. Before either of the humans could ask the Doctor anything he reached underneath the console and pulled something out.

He stood up and leaned against it, glancing up at his companions. "Any questions?"

"What's that?" asked Amy

"A speck of psychic pollen from the candle meadows of Karass don Slava. Must have been hanging around for ages. Fell in the time rotor, heated up and induced a dream state for all of us." the Doctor explained as he went to the door and blew the pollen into space.

"So that was the Dream Lord then?" asked Rory. "Those little specks?"

The Doctor shook his head. "No. Sorry. Wasn't it obvious? The Dream Lord was me. Psychic pollen, it's a mind parasite. It feeds on everything dark in you. Gives it a voice, turns it against you. I'm 907. It had a lot to go on."

"But why didn't feed on us too?" asked Amy.

The Doctor smiled. "Darkness in you pair? It would've starved to death in an instant. I choose my friends with great care. Otherwise I'm stuck with my own company, and you know how that works out.

"But," Amy protested. "Those things he said about you. You don't think any of that's true?"

The Doctor glanced to Rory and Amy with a confused look on his face. "I don't understand," he said at last. "If I died, how did you figure out that that world wasn't reality? You wanted it so much to be real."

"I uh…" Amy began awkwardly.

"You better explain it Amy," Rory said bitterly.

"Rory," she begged. "Please."

"What's going on here?" the Doctor asked. "What did I miss?"

"It's you!" Rory shouted angrily. "It's always been you."

"I thought that I could have a normal life with you Rory," she said sadly. "I really thought that I would be able to forget the Doctor and settle down but it's not something that I want. I'm so sorry," she apologized. "I could never have that life with you Rory. It's not my dream. It's yours, and you need to find yourself a girl who will love you the way that you deserve to be loved. You're so special and—"

"How could you," Rory began, sounding angry. "How could you want me, when you can have all this," he finished bitterly and resigned.

"Rory?" Amy asked.

"Take me home Doctor," he said dejectedly as he took a step back from Amy. "I'm done travelling with you, with the both of you. I'm ready to go home."

The Doctor said nothing, he merely pulled some controls and the TARDIS whirred to life. Within moments all movement stilled and the doors swung open to reveal Ledworth. June 26, 2010 just moments after Rory had been whisked away.

Without saying a word he walked out of the TARDIS and the doors closed behind him. Amy watched through the window as Rory continued to walk away into the night. He didn't look back. When the Doctor placed a comforting hand on Amy's shoulder, she didn't flinch.

"I'm sorry," he apologized. "I've ruined everything."

Amy stayed silent.

"If I had returned to you after five minutes instead then I could have shown you the universe and returned you to your own time where you would have grown up content and happy and—"

"Don't be sorry," Amy stated.

"What?" the Doctor asked, feeling confused again.

She looked at him. "I said don't be sorry."

The Doctor furrowed his brow. "Why not?"

"Because I could never be happy anywhere but here," Amy assured before she walked past the Doctor to the TARDIS console. "This place captured my heart when I was a little girl. You captured my imagination just the same. I waited for you Doctor. Fourteen years. I waited for you. I'm not going to let you go now that I've found you."

The Doctor took Amy into his arms and held on to her tight. "Amelia Pond," he said with a smile. "I am glad that you chose me."

"Course you are," Amy said with a smile of her own as she pulled back. "I'm fabulous."

The Doctor laughed. "Yes you are."

"So where to now?" she asked excitedly.

The Doctor pondered and let his hands dance across the controls of the TARDIS until he finally figured out a destination. "How about Rio?"

TBC

Author's Note: I did this with Stargate Atlantis and Stargate SG1 and I quite enjoyed it. In those ficletts, I took one moment and changed it and followed the ripples through the remaining two seasons, changing things and adding things as I went. I decided with Series 6 of newWho starting up so soon, that I would try my hand with this fandom. As you can see, Amy has made a different choice and you'll just have to wait and see how it changes the plot as we know it now. ^_^ If you enjoyed please leave a review!

Author's Note 2: Monday September 19, 2011: I've decided to update this chapter. I really didn't like how Amy came off in the previous incarnation of this chapter so I've changed it to make the Doctor the one who dies in the dream instead of Rory— I think that it sets up my AU story a LOT better. :D Please review if you haven't done so already!