Chapter 2: The Beast Below

Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who.

Amy, still in her nightgown and robe, was floating outside the open door of the TARDIS as the Doctor held her ankle, the Vixen standing beside him.

"Come on, Pond." The Doctor said and pulled her back inside.

The Vixen asked, "NOW do you believe us?"

Amy said, "OK, your box is a spaceship. It's really, really a spaceship. We are in space! Whoo! What are we breathing?"

The Doctor said, "I've extended the air shell - we're fine."

The Vixen saw something below them and squatted down, "Now, that's interesting." They were flying over a spaceship. "29th Century. Solar flares roast the earth-" She and the Doctor walked to the console.

The Doctor said, "-and the entire human race packs its bags-" They worked the controls. "-and moves out till the weather improves. Whole nations..."

Amy called, "Doctor?"

The Doctor went on, "...migrating to the stars."

Amy called, "Vixen?"

The Doctor asked, "Isn't that amazing?"

"Vixen!"

The Vixen looked up from the console to saw Amy wasn't there. She tapped the Doctor on the shoulder and went to the doorway. Amy was outside clinging to the roof of the TARDIS.

The Vixen grinned, "Well, come on. We've found us a spaceship."

DW?DW?DW?

The Doctor pulled up the spaceship on the TARDIS monitor. "This is the United Kingdom of Britain and Northern Ireland - all of it, bolted together and floating in the sky. Starship UK. It's Britain, but metal. That's not just a ship - that's an idea. That's a whole country, living and laughing and...shopping." Amy chuckled. "Searching the stars for a new home."

Amy asked, "Can we go out and see?"

The Doctor replied, "Course we can but first, there's a thing."

Amy asked, "A thing?"

The Vixen said, "An important thing. In fact, thing one, we are observers only. That's the one rule we've always stuck to in our travels. We never get involved in the affairs of other peoples or planets. Oh! That's interesting."

The screen showed a little girl sitting alone, crying. Amy asked, "So we're like a wildlife documentary, yeah? Cos if they see a wounded little cub or something, they can't just save it - they've got to keep filming and let it die." She watched the little girl. "That's got to be hard. I don't think I could do that. Don't you find that hard - being all, like, detached and cold?" The Doctor and the Vixen appeared on screen on either side of the little girl, who ran away. "Doctor?" The Doctor looked into the camera and waved for Amy to join him. With a smile, she ran out of the TARDIS.

DW?DW?DW?

A voice said on the tannoy, "Welcome to London Market. You are being monitored." Amy looked about and saw an arched glass ceiling through which she could see the stars. The market was a series of stalls and booths very similar to a contemporary marketplace.

Amy looked around in wonder. "I'm in the future. Like hundreds...of years in the future. I've been dead for centuries."

The Vixen said sarcastically, "Oh, lovely. You're a cheery one." She took her by the arm and they walked with the Doctor. "Never mind dead, look at this place. Isn't it wrong?"

Amy asked, "What's wrong?"

The Doctor said, "Use your eyes, notice everything. What's wrong with this picture?"

Amy pointed to a bicycle. "Is it...the bicycles? Bit unusual on a spaceship, bicycles."

The Doctor said, "Says the girl in the nightie."

"Oh, my God! I'm in my nightie."

The Doctor said, "Now, come on, look around you. Actually look. Life on a giant starship, back to basics. Bicycles, washing lines, wind-up street lamps. But look closer. Secrets and shadows, lives led in fear."

The Vixen said, "Society bent out of shape, on the brink of collapse. A police state. Excuse me." She ran over to a table and took a glass of water from one of the people sitting there. She set it gently on the floor and looked at it intently. Then set it back on the table. "Sorry. Checking all the water in this area. There's an escaped fish." She tapped the side of her nose and rejoined Amy and the Doctor. "Where was I?"

Amy asked, "Why did you just do that with the water?"

The Vixen replied, "Don't know. I think a lot. It's hard to keep track. Now, police state - do you see it yet?"

Amy asked, "Where?"

The Doctor snapped his fingers and pointed, "There."

The little girl was sitting alone on a bench crying. Everyone walked past, ignoring her. The Vixen, the Doctor and Amy headed towards her and sat on a bench facing her.

Amy asked, "One little girl crying. So?"

The Vixen said, "Crying silently. I mean, children cry cos they want attention, cos they're hurt or afraid. When they cry silently, it's cos they just can't stop. Any parent knows that."

Amy asked, "Are you two parents?"

The Vixen was startled at the question but didn't answer. "Hundreds of parents walking past this spot and not one of them's asking her what's wrong, which means..."

The Doctor said, "-they already know, and it's something they don't talk about. Secrets. They're not helping her, so it's something they're afraid of. Shadows - whatever they're afraid of - it's nowhere to be seen, which means it's everywhere. Police state."

The little girl got up as the lift bell rang and the figure in the nearby booth turned to watch her.

Amy asked, "Where'd she go?"

The Doctor replied, "Deck 207, Apple Sesame block, Dwelling 54A. You're looking for Mandy Tanner. Oh-" He reached into his pocket. "-this fell out of her pocket when I accidentally bumped into her."

The Vixen said, "Yes, after the first five unsuccessful tries."

The Doctor blushed and handed Amy the ID wallet. "Took me four goes, not five. Ask her about those things - the smiling fellows in the booths. They're everywhere."

Amy said, "But they're just things."

The Vixen said, "They're clean. Everything else here is battered and filthy - look at this place. But no-one's laid a finger on those booths. Not a footprint within two feet of them. Ask Mandy, 'Why are people scared of the things in the booths?'"

Amy whispered, "No. Hang on - what do I do? I don't know what I'm doing here and I'm not even dressed!"

The Doctor said, "It's this or Leadworth. What do you think? Let's see. What will Amy Pond choose? Ha-ha, gotcha!" He checked his watch. "Meet me back here in half an hour."

Amy asked, "What are you two going to do?"

The Vixen stood up and grinned. "What we always do. Stay out of trouble." She pulled the Doctor up. "Badly."

They leapt over the bench and walked away, hand in hand. Amy got up and faced them. "So is this how it works? You never interfere in the affairs of other peoples or planets, unless there's children crying?"

"Yes."

Resigned to her task, Amy turned back and tried to figure out which way to go.

DW?DW?DW?

Amy stopped to get her bearings near another booth. She found the way she wanted to go and headed down the street.

Mandy said, "You're following me. Saw you watching me at the marketplace."

Amy held up the ID wallet. "You dropped this."

"Yeah, when your friend kept bumping into me."

There was an area of the street surrounded by barriers. Amy asked, "What's that?"

Mandy said, "There's a hole. We have to go back."

Amy asked in confusion, "A what? A hole?"

Mandy asked, "Are you stupid? There's a hole in the road. We can't go that way." Amy headed for the gate. "There's a travel pipe down by the airlocks, if you've got stamps. What are you doing?"

Amy replied, "Oh, don't mind me. Never could resist a "keep out" sign. What's through there? What's so scary about a hole? Something under the road?" She sat on the ground and examined the lock.

Mandy looked at the booth and said, "Nobody knows. We're not supposed to talk about it."

Amy turned around. "About what?"

"Below."

Amy asked, "And because you're not supposed to, you don't? Watch and learn." She used a hairpin to pick the lock.

Mandy said, "You sound Scottish."

Amy replied, "I am Scottish. What's wrong with that? Scotland's got to be here somewhere."

Mandy said, "No. They wanted their own ship."

Amy hummed in agreement, "Hmm. Good for them. Nothing changes."

Mandy asked, "So...how did you get here?" The figure in the booth spun to show its angry face.

Amy replied, "Oh, just passing through, you know, with a guy and a girl."

Mandy asked, "Your boyfriend?"

Amy said, "No. Friends. They're together though." She said in realization. "Oh."

"What?"

Amy replied, "Nothing. It's just...I'm getting married. Funny how things slip your mind."

Mandy asked, "Married?"

"Yeah, shut up, married. Really, actually married. Almost definitely."

Mandy asked, "When?"

Amy replied, "Well, it's kind of weird. A long time ago, tomorrow morning. I wonder what I did." The lock opened. "Hey, hey, result! Coming?"

"No!"

Amy shrugged, "Suit yourself." As she prepared to go inside the tent covering the hole, Mandy saw the figure in the booth spin to show its third face.

Mandy shouted, "Stop! You mustn't do that!"

The inside was dark but for red emergency lights flashing. Amy found a torch and turned it on. In the beam she saw a creature—or part of a creature—reaching out through the hole. It swayed slowly. "Oh, my God. That's weird. That's..." The creature struck with what seemed to be either a beak or a stinger. Amy shouted and scooted out of the tent backwards.

She stopped to see she was surrounded by black-hooded men. One sprayed gas from his ring and she fell unconscious.

DW?DW?DW?

The Doctor and the Vixen climbed down a ladder and the Vixen placed her hands on the wall before leaning in to listen. "Can't be. Doctor." She used her new sonic screwdriver to get a reading.

The Doctor then saw a glass of water on the floor. He lied down and stared at it.

A woman wearing a mask whispered, "The impossible truth in a glass of water. Not many people see it." The Vixen pulled the Doctor up. "But you do, don't you, Doctor, Vixen?"

The Doctor asked, "You know us?"

The woman whispered, "Keep your voice down. They're everywhere. Tell me what you see in the glass, Vixen."

The Vixen asked, "Who says I see anything?"

"Don't waste time. At the marketplace, you placed a glass of water on the floor, looked at it, then came straight here to the engine room. Why?"

The Vixen replied, "No engine vibration on deck. Ship this size, engine this big, you'd feel it. The water would move. So...I thought we'd take a look."

The Doctor opened the power box on the wall. "It doesn't make sense. These power couplings, they're not connected. Look. Look - they're dummies, see?"

The Vixen crossed the hall and tapped the wall. "And behind this wall, nothing. It's hollow. If I didn't know better, I'd say there was..."

The woman whispered, "No engine at all."

The Doctor said, "But it's working. This ship is travelling through space. We saw it."

"The impossible truth, Doctor. We're travelling among the stars in a spaceship that could never fly."

The Vixen asked, "How?"

The woman whispered, "I don't know. There's a darkness at the heart of this nation. It threatens every one of us. Help us. You're our only hope. Your friend is safe." She handed them a device. "This will take you to her. Now go, quickly!" She began to walk away.

The Doctor asked, "Who are you? How do we find you again?"

The woman turned to face them and whispered, "I am Liz 10. And I will find you." There was a crashing sound and the Doctor and the Vixen looked around. When they turned back, she was gone.

DW?DW?DW?

Amy woke up in a chair and the first thing she saw was the Smiler in the booth. There were four monitors in front of her in the style or retro televisions. A computerized voice said "Welcome to voting cubicle 330C. Please leave this installation as you would wish to find it." Amy stood up and looked around. "The United Kingdom recognises the right to know of all its citizens." There were 3 large buttons in front of her: "Protest", "Record" and "Forget". "A presentation concerning the history of Starship UK will begin shortly. Your identity is being verified on our electoral roll." Amy sat down. "Name - Amy Jessica Pond. Age - 1,306."

Amy gasped, "Shut up!" She giggled.

"Marital status..." Amy straightened, serious. "Unknown." She flopped back into the chair. On the four screens, a video started, showing an older man as a presenter. 'You are here because you want to know the truth about this starship, and I am talking to you because you're entitled to know. When this presentation has finished, you will have a choice. You may either protest...or forget. If you choose to protest, understand this. If just 1% of the population of this ship do likewise, the programme will be discontinued, with consequences for you all. If you choose to accept the situation - and we hope that you will - then press the "forget" button. All the information I am about to give you will be erased from your memory. You will continue to enjoy the safety and amenities of Starship UK, unburdened by the knowledge of what has been done to save you. Here, then, is the truth about Starship UK, and the price that has been paid for the safety of the British people. May God have mercy on our souls."

Images flashed across the screens, reflected in Amy's eyes. She reacted and hit "Forget". As she wiped her tears, a video message started on the screen. It was from herself. "This isn't a trick. You've got to find the Doctor and the Vixen and get them back to the TARDIS. Don't let them investigate. Stop them. Do whatever you have to. Just please, please get the Doctor and the Vixen off this ship!" The door to the room opened and Mandy was waiting for her. As the message replayed, the Doctor and the Vixen hopped into the doorway.

The Doctor asked, "Amy?" Amy turned the message off.

The Vixen asked, "What have you done?" Moments later, she was on the chair using her sonic screwdriver on the lamp above. "Yeah, your basic memory wipe job. Must have erased about 20 minutes." She jumped to the floor.

Amy asked, "But why would I choose to forget?"

Mandy replied, "Cos everyone does. Everyone chooses the "forget" button."

The Doctor asked, "Did you?"

Mandy said, "I'm not eligible to vote yet. I'm 12. Any time after you're 16, you're allowed to the see the film and make your choice. And then, once every five years...

The Vixen said, "And once every five years, everyone chooses to forget what they've learned. Democracy in action." She headed back to the monitors.

Mandy asked, "How do you two not know about this? Are you Scottish too?"

The Doctor replied, "Oh, we're way worse than Scottish. We can't even see the movie. Won't play for us."

Amy said, "It played for me."

The Vixen explained, "The difference being the computer doesn't accept us as human."

Amy asked, "Why not?" The Vixen and the Doctor gave her a look. "You look human." She joined them.

The Vixen argued, "No, you look Time Lord. We came first."

Amy asked, "So there are other Time Lords, yeah?"

The Doctor replied, "No. There were, but there aren't... Just me and Vixen now. Long story."

The Vixen said, "There was a bad day. Lots of bad days. Bad stuff happened, and you know what? We'd love to forget it all, every last bit of it, but I don't. Not ever. Cos this is what we do - every time, every day, every second. This. Hold tight. We're bringing down the government." She pounded the "Protest" button. The door slammed shut, leaving Mandy outside. The Smiler in the booth turned to show his very angry face.

The Doctor pulled Amy and the Vixen into the corner of the room as the floor slid open. "Say, 'Wheee!'" Amy and Vixen yelped as they fell down the chute.

DW?DW?DW?

The Doctor, the Vixen and Amy fell out of the chute with a scream. The Doctor stood and used his sonic screwdriver. "High-speed air cannon. Lousy way to travel."

The Vixen asked sarcastically, "Gee. You think?"

Amy asked, "Where are we?"

The Vixen replied, "600 feet down, 20 miles laterally - puts us at the heart of the ship. I'd say... Lancashire. What's this, then - a cave? Can't be a cave. Looks like a cave."

Amy stood up and helped the Vixen up. "It's a rubbish dump, and it's minging!" She threw a piece of rubbish.

The Doctor replied, "Yes, but only food refuse." He sniffed. "Organic, coming through feeder tubes from all over the ship."

Amy got down on her hands and knees. "The floor's all squidgy, like a water bed."

The Vixen asked, scanning with her sonic, "But feeding what, though?"

Amy said, "It's sort of rubbery, feel it. Wet and slimy."

The Doctor and the Vixen heard a distant moaning and stood. The Vixen realized where they were. "Er... It's not a floor, it's a..." She and the Doctor put their screwdrivers away. "So..."

Amy stood up and asked, "It's a what?"

The Doctor said, "The next word is kind of the scary word. Take a moment. Get yourself in a calm place." He took the girls' hands. "Go "omm"."

"Omm."

The Vixen said, "It's a tongue."

Amy asked, "A tongue?"

The Doctor said, excited, "A tongue. A great big tongue."

Amy asked, stunned, "This is a mouth? This whole place is a mouth? We're in a mouth?!"

The Doctor replied, "Yes, yes, yes, but on the plus side, roomy."

Amy asked, "How do we get out?"

The Vixen took out her screwdriver. "How big is this wonderful beast? It's gorgeous! Blimey! If this is just the mouth, I'd love to see the stomach." They heard grunting. "Though not right now."

Amy rolled her eyes. "Doctor, Vixen, how do we get out?"

The Doctor said, "OK, it's being fed through surgically implanted feeder tubes, so the normal entrance is..."

They saw the sharp teeth of a closed mouth. The Vixen finished, "-closed for business."

Amy said, "We can try, though." She headed forward.

The Doctor said, "No! Stop, don't move!" The mouth heaved in agitation. "Too late. It's started."

Amy asked, "What has?"

The Vixen replied, "Swallow reflex." They slipped and fell back into the refuse. The Doctor and the Vixen used their sonics on the mouth walls.

Amy asked, "What are you doing?"

The Doctor said, "We're vibrating the chemo-receptors."

Amy asked, "Chemo-what?"

"The eject button."

Amy asked, "How does a mouth have an eject button?"

The Vixen snapped, "Think about it!" They heard the creature growl, and, on their knees, looked up to see a wave of bile coming towards them. The Doctor said, "Right, then." He straightened his tie and grabbed Amy and the Vixen's hands. "This isn't going to be big on dignity. Geronimo!" Amy yelled and there was a great grunting and splashing.

DW?DW?DW?

They found themselves out of the mouth and back in the ship. The Doctor examined the door. "There's nothing broken, there's no sign of concussion and yes, you are covered in sick."

Amy coughed, "Where are we?"

The Vixen stood up and went to help the Doctor. "Overspill pipe, at a guess."

Amy stood up and said, "Oh, God, it stinks."

The Doctor cleared his throat, "That's not the pipe."

Amy smelt herself, "Whoo! Can we get out?"

The Vixen said, "One door, one door switch, one condition." She moved to show the button on the door. "We forget everything we saw. Look familiar? That's the carrot."

The lights came on to reveal two Smilers. The Doctor said, "Ooh, here's the stick. There's a creature living in the heart of this ship. What's it doing there?" The faces spun to show mad. "No, that's not going to work on us, so come on. Big old beast below decks, and everyone who protests gets shoved down its throat. That how it works?" The faces spun again to show anger.

The Vixen snapped, "Oh, stop it. We're not leaving and we're not forgetting and what are you fellows going to do about it? Stick out your tongues?"

The booths opened and the two Smilers stood up and walked towards the Vixen, Amy and the Doctor who backed away.

Amy whimpered, "Doctor?"

The woman appeared behind them and shot the Smilers. She twirled her pistol before placing it back in its holster.

The Doctor said, "Look who it is. You look a lot better without your mask."

Liz 10 said, "You must be Amy. Liz. Liz 10."

Amy said, "Hi."

Liz 10 shook Amy's hand. "Eurgh!" She wiped it on her cloak. "Lovely hair, Amy. Shame about the sick." She headed for the door. "You know Mandy, yeah?" She put her arm around Mandy's shoulder. "She's very brave."

The Vixen asked, "How did you find us?"

Liz 10 replied, "Stuck my gizmo on you." She tossed a device at her. "Been listening in. Nice moves on the hurl escape. So, what're the big kids doing here?"

The Doctor said, "You're over 16, you've voted. Whatever this is, you've chosen to forget about it."

Liz 10 said, "No. Never forgot, never voted. Not technically a British subject."

"Then who and what are you, and how do you know us?" The Vixen asked, eyes glowing. Amy sweared that sometimes those eyes gave her the creeps.

Liz 10 said, "You two are a bit hard to miss, love. Mysterious strangers, MO consistent with higher alien intelligence, hair of an idiot..." The Doctor pointed like he was about to argue.

The Vixen scoffed, "Doctor, don't deny it." The Doctor blushed and ran his hand through his soaked hair instead.

Liz 10 said, "I've been brought up on the stories. My whole family was."

The Doctor asked, "Your family?"

One of the Smilers began to move. Liz 10 said, "They're repairing. Doesn't take them long. Let's move." They left the overspill.

Liz 10 explained as they walked. "The Doctor and the Vixen. Old buddies of Henry XII. Tea and scones with Liz II. Vicky was a bit on the fence about you, weren't she? Knighted and exiled you two on the same day. Well, the human form of you, Vixen, but still. And as for your friend Jack, tell him so much for the Virgin Queen, that bad, bad boy!"

The Vixen asked, "Liz 10?" A Smiler rose from a booth in the corridor.

Liz 10 replied, "Liz 10, yeah. Elizabeth X. And down!" She turned and fired both pistols at the Smilers. Both fell. "I'm the bloody Queen, mate. Basically, I rule." Liz 10 took them to another corridor. It was the base of a vator shaft. "There's a high-speed Vator through there." The Doctor looked into a caged area where there were two of the things Amy saw earlier. "Oh, yeah. There's these things. Any ideas?"

Amy said "I saw one of these up top. There was a hole in the road, like it had burst through, like a root."

The Vixen said, "Exactly like a root. It's all one creature - the same one we were inside - reaching out. It must be growing through the mechanisms of the entire ship."

Liz 10 asked, "What? Like an infestation?"

The Doctor said, "Someone's helping it. Feeding it."

Liz 10 said angrily, "Feeding my subjects to it. Come on. We've got to keep moving." She stormed off in anger and Mandy followed.

Amy asked, "Vixen? Doctor?"

The Vixen put an arm around Amy's shoulders. "Oh, Amy." She looked sympathetically at creatures as they banged against the bars.

The Doctor shook his head. "We should never have come here." Amy remembered her video message.

DW?DW?DW?

The Vixen, the Doctor and Amy walked carefully through the maze of glasses on the floor of Liz 10's room. The Doctor asked, "Why all the glasses?"

Liz 10 replied from her bed. "To remind me every single day that my government is up to something, and it's my duty to find out what."

The Vixen picked up Liz's mask. "A queen going undercover to investigate her own kingdom?"

Liz 10 said, "Secrets are being kept from me. I don't have a choice. Ten years I've been at this - my entire reign - and you've achieved more in one afternoon."

The Doctor paced. "How old were you when you came to the throne?"

"40. Why?"

Amy asked, putting her hair up, "What, you're 50 now? No way!" Amy and Mandy sat on the chaise at the foot of the bed.

Liz 10 replied, "Yeah, they slowed my body clock. Keeps me looking like the stamps."

The Vixen sat on the bed, still holding the mask, "And you always wear this in public?"

Liz 10 said, "Undercover's not easy when you're me. The autographs, the bunting."

The Vixen said, "Air-balanced porcelain. Stays on by itself, cos it's perfectly sculpted to your face."

"Yeah. So what?"

The Doctor said, "Oh, Liz. So everything."

The door opened and four hooded men entered. Liz 10 asked, outraged, "What are you doing? How dare you come in here?"

A hooded man said, "Ma'am, you have expressed interest in the interior workings of Starship UK. You will come with us now."

Liz 10 asked, "Why would I do that?"

The man's head spun to show the face of an angry Smiler.

Liz 10 asked, "How can they be Smilers?"

The Doctor said, "Half Smiler, half human."

Liz 10 snapped, "Whatever you creatures are, I am still your queen. On whose authority is this done?"

The Smiler replied, "The highest authority, Ma'am."

"I AM the highest authority."

The Smiler said, "Yes, ma'am. You must go now, Ma'am."

Liz 10 asked, "Where?"

The Smiler replied, "The Tower, Ma'am."

The group was escorted to a large stone room containing high-tech machines. There was a grating through which Amy could see more of the creatures. "Doctor, where are we?"

The Doctor replied, "The lowest point of Starship UK." He spun around, arms out. "The dungeon."

A grey haired man spoke up. "Ma'am."

Liz 10 snapped, "Hawthorne! So this is where you hid yourself away. I think you've got some explaining to do."

The Doctor said, "There's children down here. What's all that about?"

Hawthorne said, "Protesters and citizens of limited value are fed to the beast. For some reason, it won't eat the children. You're the first adults it's spared. You're very lucky."

The Vixen said sarcastically, "Yeah, look at us. Torture chamber of the Tower of London. Lucky, lucky, lucky. Except it's not a torture chamber, is it?" She examined the equipment. "Well, except it is. Except it isn't. Depends on your angle."

She joined Liz 10 and the Doctor by an open "well" with a railing around it. Inside seemed to be something alive. Liz 10 asked, "What's that?"

The Doctor replied, "Well, like I say, depends on the angle. It's either the exposed pain centre of big fella's brain, being tortured relentlessly..."

Liz 10 asked, "Or?"

"Or it's the gas pedal, the accelerator - Starship UK's go-faster button." The Vixen snarled, eyes glowing, her grip tightening so much on the railing, her knuckles went white.

Liz 10 said, "I don't understand."

The Vixen snapped, "Don't you? Try, go on. The spaceship that could never fly, no vibration on deck. This creature - this poor, trapped, terrified creature. It's not infesting you, it's not invading - it's what you have instead of an engine. And this place down here is where you hurt it, where you torture it, day after day, just to keep it moving." An intermittent electrical beam shot down into the creature's exposed brain. "Tell you what." She moved to another well and lifted the grate. "Normally, it's above the range of human hearing." One of the extensions of the creature broke free. "This is the sound none of you wanted to hear." She used her screwdriver and the others heard the creature's call.

Liz 10 said, "Stop it. Who did this?"

Hawthorne replied, "We act on instructions from the highest authority."

"I am the highest authority. The creature will be released, now. I said now!" No one moved. "Is anyone listening to me?"

The Doctor took Liz 10's mask from the Vixen. "Liz. Your mask."

Liz 10 asked, "What about my mask?"

The Doctor tossed the mask to Liz 10. "Look at it. It's old. At least 200 years old, I'd say."

Liz 10 asked, "Yeah, it's an antique, so?"

The Vixen said, "Yeah, an antique made by craftsmen over 200 years ago and perfectly sculpted to your face. They slowed your body clock, all right, but you're not 50. Nearer 300. And it's been a long old reign."

Liz 10 replied, "Nah, it's ten years. I've been on this throne ten years."

The Vixen walked over. "Ten years. And the same ten years over and over again-" She took her by the hand. "-always leading you..." She showed her the voting area. "-here." The buttons read "forget" and "abdicate".

Liz 10 turned to Hawthorne. "What have you done?"

Hawthorne replied, "Only what you have ordered. We work for you, Ma'am. The Winders, the Smilers, all of us." He turned on the screen.

Liz 10 said in the recording, "If you are watching this...If I am watching this, then I have found my way to the Tower Of London." The real Liz 10 sat. "The creature you are looking at is called a Star Whale. Once, there were millions of them. They lived in the depths of space and, according to legend, guided the early space travelers through the asteroid belts. This one, as far as we are aware, is the last of its kind. And what we have done to it breaks my heart." The Vixen, the Doctor, Hawthorne, Amy and Mandy watched in silence. "The Earth was burning. Our sun had turned on us, and every other nation had fled to the skies. Our children screamed as the skies grew hotter. And then it came, like a miracle. The last of the star whales. We trapped it, we built our ship around it, and we rode on its back to safety. If you wish our voyage to continue, then you must press the "forget" button." Liz 10 looked at the button. "Be again the heart of this nation, untainted. If not, press the other button." She looked at "abdicate". "Your reign will end, the Star Whale will be released, and our ship will disintegrate. I hope I keep the strength to make the right decision."

Amy asked, tearful, "I voted for this?" She turned to the Vixen, who also had tears in her eyes. "Why would I do that?"

The Vixen snapped, "Because you knew if we stayed here, the Doctor and I'd be faced with an impossible choice. Humanity or the alien. You took it upon yourself to save us from that. And that was wrong. You don't ever decide what we need to know."

Amy said, "I don't even remember doing it."

The Doctor said, "You did it. That's what counts."

"I'm... I'm sorry."

The Vixen snarled, "Oh, I don't care. When we're done here, you're going home." She and the Doctor walked away.

Amy asked, "Why? Because I made a mistake? One mistake? I don't even remember doing it. Vixen! Doctor!"

The Doctor said, examining instrument panels, "Yeah. We know. You're only human."

Liz 10 asked, "What are you doing?"

The Vixen snarled, "The worst thing we'll ever do. We're going to pass a massive electrical charge through the Star Whale's brain. Should knock out all its higher functions, leave it a vegetable. The ship will still fly, but the whale won't feel it."

Amy said, "That'll be like killing it."

The Doctor ran his hand through his hair, "Look, three options. One: We let the Star Whale continue in unendurable agony for hundreds more years. Two: We kill everyone on this ship. Three: We murder a beautiful, innocent creature as painlessly as we can. And then we find new names, cos we won't be the Doctor and the Vixen anymore."

Liz 10 said, "There must be something we can do, some other way."

The Vixen snapped, "Nobody talk to me. Nobody human has anything to say to me today!"

Amy and Mandy sat against the wall and watched helplessly as the Doctor and the Vixen worked. Three children entered the room. Mandy cried out, "Timmy!" She went to a boy. "You made it, you're OK!" Timmy said nothing. "It's me - Mandy." They stopped in front of one of the "feelers" and Mandy had her back to it. The feeler reached towards Mandy and Amy started to move forward. Instead of hurting her, it gently tapped Mandy on the back and let her pet it. In a montage, Amy began to understand.

"C'mon, use your eyes. Notice everything. Notice everything." She remembered seeing Mandy crying as she heard parts of Liz 10's explanation. "Our children screamed. It came, like a miracle." "It won't eat the children." "Children screamed. Then it came. It's the last of its kind." She remembered the Vixen and the Doctor with Mandy, the feelers in the vator shaft, the glasses of water. "Just me and Vixen now." "The last of its kind." "Is this how it works? Never interfere with other peoples or planets..." "Children screamed." She remembered meeting the Doctor and the Vixen as a child. "...unless it's children crying." "The last of its kind." "Just me and Vixen now." "Unless there's children crying." "Yes." "It won't eat the children." She remembered the children playing when they arrived. "Then it came. Like a miracle. The last of the Star Whales."

Amy saw both Mandy and Timmy petting the feeler. "Doctor, Vixen, stop." She went to them. "Whatever you're doing, stop it now!" She went to Liz 10. "Sorry, Your Majesty, going to need a hand." Amy led her to the buttons.

The Vixen rushed over and shouted, "Amy, no! No!" Amy forced Liz 10's hand down on the "abdicate" button. The whale bellowed and the whole ship shook, causing havoc on every level.

The Doctor asked, "Amy, what have you done?"

Amy replied, "Nothing at all. Am I right?"

Hawthorne said, "We've INCREASED speed."

Amy said, smiling, "Yeah, well, you've stopped torturing the pilot. Gotta help."

Liz 10 asked, "It's still here? I don't understand."

Amy explained, "The Star Whale didn't come like a miracle all those years ago. It volunteered. You didn't have to trap it or torture it - that was all just you. It came because it couldn't stand to watch your children cry. What if you were really old, and really kind and alone? Your whole race dead, no future. What couldn't you do then? If you were that old, and that kind, and the very last of your kind..." She turned to look at the Vixen and the Doctor. "-you couldn't just stand there and watch children cry."

DW?DW?DW?

On the observation deck, the Doctor stood looking out onto the starship, one arm around the Vixen. Amy joined them and said, "From Her Majesty." She held out the mask. "She says there will be no more secrets on Starship UK."

The Vixen sighed, "Amy, you could have killed everyone on this ship."

Amy said, "You could have killed a Star Whale."

The Doctor faced her. "And you saved it. I know, I know."

Amy said, "Amazing, though, don't you think? The Star Whale. All that pain and misery... and loneliness." She looked sideways at the alien couple. "And it just made it kind."

The Vixen said, "But you couldn't have known how it would react."

Amy said, "YOU couldn't. But I've seen it before. Very old and very kind, and the very, very last. Sound a bit familiar?" The Vixen hugged her. "Hey."

"What?"

Amy smirked, "Gotcha."

The Doctor and the Vixen laughed. "Ha! Gotcha."

The Vixen, the Doctor and Amy headed back to the TARDIS. Amy asked, "Shouldn't we say goodbye? Won't they wonder where we went?"

The Doctor replied, "For the rest of their lives. Oh, the songs they'll write! Never mind them. Big day tomorrow."

Amy asked, "Sorry, what?"

The Vixen replied, "It's always a big day tomorrow. We've got a time machine. We skip the little ones." She unlocked the TARDIS.

Amy asked, "You know what I said about getting back for tomorrow morning... Have you ever run away from something because you were scared, or not ready, or just... Just because you could?"

The Doctor replied, "Once...a long time ago. Together."

Amy asked, "What happened?"

"Hello!"

A phone began to ring. Amy nodded, "Right. Vixen, Doctor, there's something I haven't told you. No. Hang on, is that a phone ringing?" They entered the TARDIS. "People phone you?"

The Vixen replied, "Well, it's a phone box. Would you mind?" She and the Doctor prepared to dematerialize.

Amy answered the phone on the console. "Hello? Sorry, who? No, seriously. Who?" She muffled the phone against her shoulder. "Says he's Prime Minister. First the Queen, now the Prime Minister. Get about, don't you?"

The Doctor asked, "Which Prime Minister?"

The Vixen motioned for Amy to pull a lever. Amy pulled the lever before speaking into the phone, "Er, which Prime Minister?" She turned to the Vixen. "The British one."

The Vixen asked, "Which British one?"

Amy asked, "Which British one?" Her eyes widened and she passed the phone to the Doctor. "Winston Churchill for you."

The Doctor said, "Oh! Hello, dear. What's up?"

Churchill replied on the phone, "Tricky situation, Doctor. Potentially very dangerous. I think I'm going to need you and the Vixen."

The Vixen took the phone from the Doctor and said. "Don't worry about a thing, Prime Minister." She grinned. "We're on our way." The TARDIS dematerialized.

Second chapter finished. I'll post the next chapter as soon as I can. Press the review button. You know you wanna.