Chapter One

It was just an ordinary day in the TARDIS, or so it seemed, as Robyn and Amy waited for the Doctor to figure out where he was going to take them.

What trouble he could get them into.

Amy was unusually quiet, and had been ever since she found the red velvet ring box. She'd managed to keep the box hidden, until she was ready to confront the Doctor about it, but she took it out quite often to look at the ring and try to understand who, or what, it might be for. It was possible that the Doctor was going to propose to someone... maybe River? But that didn't seem likely because he barely knew River, from his side of their 'relationship' anyway.

Meanwhile, Robyn was thinking about her dream. The Bad Wolf had wanted to her to see the painting's journey for a reason, but what was it? And she was supposed to warn her father, but what was she supposed to warn him about? But she didn't get to think about it for very long, when the man in question stuck his head over the edge of the platform around the console.

"Vavoom!" said the Doctor, his hair flopping as he dangled in front of his daughter and his companion.

Amy looked unimpressed. "Va-what?"

When the Doctor didn't reply straight away, both girls scrambled to their feet, emerging from underneath the platform and joining him by the console. They watched in amusement as he danced around, pulling levers left right and centre, but it still didn't help that they didn't know where they were going.

"I can't believe I've never thought of this before!" he exclaimed, throwing another switch, and then pulling another lever. "It's genius!"

Robyn frowned, finding this a very odd thing for her father to say, but didn't reply.

The Doctor threw one last switch, and the TARDIS landed with a hard thud. "Right. Landed, come on."

Amy wound her scarf around her neck. "Where are we?"

"Planet One, the oldest planet in the universe," the Doctor replied, "and there's a cliff of pure diamond, and according to legend, on the cliff there's writing; letters fifty feet high, a message from the dawn of time, and no one knows what it says, cause no one's ever translated it." He grinned. "Til today."

Robyn looked confused. "Until today?"

"What happens today?" asked Amy.

The Doctor tapped Amy's nose. "Us. The TARDIS can translate anything," he explained. "All we have to do is open the doors, and read the very first words in recorded history!"

He held out his hands to both girls, and then led them outside, where a shining cliff-face loomed in front of them, a massive edifice rising from the ground amongst the huge palm fronds and gigantic mushrooms. Robyn looked up at the cliff-face apprehensively... then smiled... and then started to laugh!

Now Amy really was impressed. "Vavoom," she breathed, the Doctor looked on, particularly pleased with himself.

Right there, high on the cliff-face, were words, exactly as the Doctor had said there would be. But they weren't the ancient words of wisdom one might expect on the oldest cliff-face in the universe, not by a long shot. These words were much more personal, and Robyn had the odd feeling she knew who put them there, and from the expression on her father's face, she was certain that he knew exactly who put them there.

There, written on the cliff, were the words "Hello, sweetie," the symbols for "Theta Sigma", and a set of time-space coordinates.

"River," said the Doctor, uttering an exasperated sigh. "I should've known." He took Robyn by the hand. "Come on, we better see what she wants. It's got to be important if she goes to the point of graffitiing the oldest cliff-face in history." He took a pen and notebook from his coat pocket, and wrote down the coordinates that were carved into the rock. "There. We're done here."

Amy frowned. "What, we're leaving already?"

"Yes. Now that we've got the coordinates, it's better we were on our way sooner than later."

"Why can't we go exploring?"

"Because whatever River wants me for must be urgent, so we shouldn't waste any more time here."

Amy sighed, and shook her head, knowing that she wasn't going to get her way this time. "Okay, okay, let's go."

The three of them went back into the TARDIS, and the Doctor used the typewriter to enter the coordinates, then began the de-materialisation sequence, racing around the console and throwing switches and levers with abandon. The room shivered and shook, and Robyn held on tightly to the railing for the duration of the flight. Then the familiar screaming, screeching, grinding noise filled the air, and she knew that they were about to land.

As they left in the time ship for the second time that day, Robyn couldn't but feel an inexplicable combination of excitement and dread. Going to new places was always exciting, but she could do without the danger sometimes... although the running did give her a bit of a thrill. The TARDIS gave one last jolt, and Robyn slipped, falling to the floor with a thud. "So," she said, as the Doctor picked her up. "Where are we?"

"I don't know," he replied, taking her by the hand. "Let's go see."

The trio left the Police Box, emerging on a hillside, which was overlooking a wide plateau. "Right place?" asked Amy, closing the door behind her.

"Just followed the coordinates on the cliff-face," the Doctor replied, starting to head down the hill. "Earth. Britain. 1:02 am." He let go of Robyn's hand, and tapped his watch. "No, pm."

"Still wrong, Dad," said Robyn, her eyes widening at the sight at the bottom of the hill.

The Doctor looked up... and understood what she was talking about. "No... AD."

"That's a Roman Legion," said Amy, looking at the Roman soldiers with wonder.

And it was. Hundreds upon thousands of tents lay before them, the sounds of the soldiers going about their daily tasks filling the air. Robyn had never seen so many tents in the one place before, and she couldn't wait to get a closer look at them. She wondered if they might get a chance to see inside... then she shook her head.

She had more important things to think about than what went on inside the tents of Roman soldiers.

"The Romans invented Britain several times during this period," the Doctor explained, screwing up his face in concentration.

Amy looked at him smugly. "Oh, I know," she replied. "My favourite topic at school. 'Invasion of the Hot Italians'."

Robyn giggled. "But Italy didn't even exist... doesn't even exist," she said. "So the Romans were just Romans. They weren't Italian."

"Yeah, I did get marked down for the title."

But neither Robyn, nor the Doctor, were listening anymore, noticing someone running up the hill towards them. It was one of the soldiers from the camp below, his armour clinking and clattering as he ran towards the three of them. When he was in front of them, he saluted, declaring "Hail Caesar," as he knelt on the ground. The soldier had a telltale pink smear on his mouth, and Robyn realised that River Song must be around somewhere nearby.

The Doctor looked at the Roman in confusion, then decided to play along. "Hi," he greeted, putting on an air that he hoped displayed some form of regality.

"Welcome to Britain," the soldier continued, bowing as he spoke. "We are honoured by your presence."

"Well, you're only human," the Doctor replied. "Arise... Roman person."

"Why does he think you're Caesar?" asked Amy, leaning over so the soldier didn't hear her.

The soldier bowed once more, then stood. "Cleopatra will see you now," he said, leading the trio down the rest of the hill, and into the camp.

If the camp looked busy from the outside, it certainly felt busy when the Doctor, Amy, and Robyn, were led through it. Soldiers were polishing their armour, sharpening their weapons, tending their horses. Robyn had only seen horses once before, when Miss Faversham had taken all the girls in the orphanage on a day trip to a local stable and riding school. She started to move toward the horses, hoping to get a closer look, but the Doctor held her back.

"Stay close to me," he warned. "We don't want you getting lost, or trampled."

Robyn nodded, smiling sheepishly. "Yes, Dad."

The soldier led them straight to one of the tents next, and they were bathed in torchlight as soon as they were inside. There was a woman reclining on a couch, being served wine and other refreshments. She was dressed in full Egyptian regalia, as befitting a Pharaoh, or a Queen, perhaps, but there was no doubt in the Doctor's, Amy's, or Robyn's minds who the woman really was.

The woman smiled. "Hello Sweetie," she greeted, taking a sip of her wine.

This was River Song.

OoOoOoOoO

Amy was clearly amused, but not at all surprised, by River's presence. "River. Hi," she greeted.

But the Doctor was less than impressed, considering the measures the woman had taken to get them there. "You graffitied the oldest cliff-face in the universe," he said, keeping his voice low and getting straight to the point.

"You wouldn't answer your phone," River shot back, and Robyn couldn't help herself but laugh, because she remembered the telephone ringing, and the Doctor leaving it alone every single time... but then she stopped, realising that this might have been the reason why the Bad Wolf had shown her River's, and the painting's, journey. If her father had paid attention to the telephone back on the TARDIS, then River would never have needed to go to Planet One and write the words into the cliff, and they would probably have been here much sooner.

River clapped her hands, and one of the servants brought her a rolled up piece of paper.

A rolled up piece of paper that Robyn recognised immediately.

Holding out the paper, River smiled.

"What's this?" the Doctor asked, looking at it apprehensively.

"It's a painting," River replied. "Your friend Vincent." The Doctor snatched the painting from River's hands, taking it to the desk nearby to study it. "One of his final works," she continued as he spread it out, unrolling the paper across the surface of the desk. "He had visions, didn't he? I thought you ought to know about this one."

Amy stared at the painting, wide eyed, and in shock. "Doctor?" she murmured, a bad feeling forming in the pit of her stomach. "Doctor, what is this?"

The Doctor didn't answer straight away, the wheels in his head turning as he tried to figure out what it meant, what had driven the artist to paint such a disastrous image. He'd known the TARDIS was going to explode at some point; he'd known even before he'd adopted Robyn, and it still scared him. He had no idea how she was going to take the news, especially after she'd said she considered the ancient time ship her home.

"Dad, what is it?" Robyn asked softly. "Can I see?" When he didn't reply, her face darkened. "I can handle it," she said, drawing close to his side. She looked up at him with sad eyes. "Please?"

River looked at the little girl with interest. "It's all right, Doctor, you can show her. Your daughter's a very, very, capable child." She smiled. "And she takes after her father, if I remember correctly."

Forgetting what she was asking for a moment, Robyn looked at River in surprise. "How do you know who I am?" she said. "This is the first time I've met you." She frowned. "Have you met me before now, but that meeting hasn't happened yet from my perspective?"

River's smile widened. "Spoilers!" she said gleefully. "You're a smart child, but I'm not going to tell you if you're right."

Robyn nodded slowly, then turned back to her father. "Please, Dad," she begged. "I want to see Uncle Vincent's painting."

The Doctor sighed, then let the little girl poke through underneath his arm, so she could take a closer look at the painting. "If it upsets you, then don't be afraid to let it out," he said, hugging her gently. "Don't hold back on my account."

"I'll be fine, Dad," Robyn replied, smiling up at him. "Just... don't go away."

"Never."

Robyn swallowed, then looked down at the painting that had haunted her dream... and gasped. Wisps and tendrils made of oil paint swirled across the paper, depicting huge, bright, terrifying, balls of orange and yellow flame converging around a central object against the murky dark blue, dark purple background... an object she knew very well, and loved very dearly.

It was the TARDIS.

And it was exploding.

Before she could say a word, the Doctor led her away, making her sit down in a nearby chair so she didn't fall down from the shock. She looked at her father with tears in her eyes, unable to get the terrible image out of her mind. Now she understood why the Bad Wolf had not let her see it in her dream, when she was alone, and without the Doctor to comfort her when she needed it the most. And after what she'd seen, she certainly needed her father at that moment, more than ever.

The Doctor crouched in front of her. "I'm sorry," he said. "I shouldn't have let you see that, not after what you said on Aickman Road."

"I... " Robyn began, but stopped when she felt a lump form in her throat. Then she felt the Doctor gather her in his arms and hug her, and then set her back down on the chair . "Dad, is that really going to happen?" she asked tearfully, hoping that he would reply in the negative.

"I don't know," he said wearily. "I honestly don't know, but I'm hoping it can be fixed just as much as you do."

Robyn nodded sadly, then hugged her father again. "Thank you."

Despite this, Amy was still scared. "Why's it exploding?" she asked.

River shook her head. "I assume it's some kind of warning."

"I know," Robyn said suddenly, getting to her feet shakily. "I know it's a warning. Because I dreamt about it, I dreamt about you taking it, so you could bring it here." She looked at the Doctor fearfully. "Something bad is going to happen, Dad, she told me so, in my dream -"

The Doctor's face darkened. "Who told you?" he asked suddenly, inspecting his daughter's face carefully. "What did you see?"

"She told me she was the Bad Wolf."

"The Bad Wolf," the Doctor echoed, his face draining of colour. "The Bad Wolf came to you in your dreams? When?"

"Last night."

Amy looked at both of them in confusion. "What? Who's the Bad Wolf?" she demanded. "And is something going to happen to the TARDIS?"

"It might not be that literal," River replied, studying the painting again. "Anyway this is where he wanted you; date and map reference on the door sign, see?" She shook her head. "As to the Bad Wolf, only the Doctor really knows who she is, except that she was the greatest love of his life." She frowned. "Although, you do have a tendency to blow things all out of proportion sometimes, Doctor."

The Doctor remained silent for a few moments, ignoring River's comments, because he was still processing his daughter's admission. When he was ready, he looked up at her and asked, "Does it have a title?"

"The Pandorica Opens."

So this is the day the Pandorica, whatever it is, opens, the Doctor mused. Right after the Bad Wolf - no - Rose appears to Robyn and tells her she has to warn me about something. He couldn't help but smile a little at the thought of it. Even though he'd left her in the parallel universe with his clone, she still managed to find a way to look out for him, making sure that he never forgot her. But the fact that she'd appeared to Robyn was quite worrying, despite how it much pleased him to know that she was still around in spirit.

But Amy was surprised by the revelation that the Doctor had been in love before, not to mention the fact that the person he was in love with was also, supposedly, a legend in her own right. She was about to question him about her, when he looked at her sharply, and she knew that the Bad Wolf was a subject best left alone for the time being. "The Pandorica," she said instead, turning back to River. "What is it?"

"A box, a cage, a prison. It was built to contain the most feared thing in all the universe."

"And it's a fairy tale, a legend," the Doctor interrupted, standing abruptly. "It can't be real!"

Robyn looked up at him as he paced the room. "But myths, legends, fairy tales, a lot of them have a basis on fact." She swallowed. "Which means it could be real."

"But if it is real," River added, "it's here, and it's opening, and it's got something to do with your TARDIS exploding." The Doctor quickly grabbed several rolled up maps, and spread them out across the painting, cross-referencing the directions between them and the ones Vincent painted, but River was sceptical. "Hidden obviously, buried for centuries," she continued "You won't find it on a map!"

"No," the Doctor agreed, looking up from the map in front of him. "But if you buried the most dangerous thing in the universe, you'd want to remember where you put it!"

Robyn stood from her seat, and joined the rest of them at the desk. "So we find it," she murmured, determination steadily creeping into her voice. "And we find out what's inside it, so we can stop it from coming out."

OoOoOoOoO

No less than a hour later, allowing River time to change from her Cleopatra outfit, the four of them were away, riding on horseback across the plateau, and following the map reference Vincent had sent them. Robyn was perched precariously in front of the Doctor, the wind billowing around them as the horse's hooves churned the loam underneath them. It was the most amazing thing she'd ever experienced in her life, sitting there on the back of that beautiful ebony beast with her father being the only thing keeping her from falling. It was glorious, but it was terrifying at the same time. None of them had any idea what they were going to find when they arrived at their destination, which heightened the excitement, and made the journey even more important.

Suddenly, the ancient monument, Stonehenge, loomed on the horizon. The stones stood exactly as Robyn had remembered them from all the books she'd read, both in the TARDIS library, and back at the orphanage, rising from the ground like sentinels guarding the land around them. This, as the Doctor had quickly figured out, was where the Pandorica had been buried in a chamber far under the earth called the Underhenge. The Underhenge itself had been considered as much a myth as the Pandorica, for a time, but now that they knew the truth, nothing was going to stand in their way.

The Doctor urged the horse to move faster now, as Stonehenge drew closer and closer. The pounding of the horse's hooves filled his ears, but he ignored it, his eyes firmly on the prize. They were nearly there, and he kept a fairly tight grip on both his daughter, and on the reins, so he didn't lose either of them. If the Pandorica was about to open, and there really was something about to escape, then they would have to be ready for it. Nothing could go wrong. He would have to make sure Amy and Robyn were kept safe, in case anything happened to him... not that he wanted anything to happen to him, since he'd grown to like this version of himself rather quickly, and he didn't want to go through another regeneration quite so soon.

"Whoa," the Doctor breathed, pulling on the reins to bring the animal to a halt as they arrived in front of the standing stones. He quickly dismounted, then turned to help Robyn down as Amy and River joined them. "Robyn, you need to be careful, because if I'm right, and the Pandorica is here, we'll have to find the right stone to open the Underhenge," he told her. "We don't need anyone getting hurt out here before we can fetch the TARDIS."

Robyn nodded. "I'll be careful, Dad, just as long as you are."

The Doctor grinned. "That's my girl." He took his sonic screwdriver from his pocket and started to run it over each stone, scanning them for energy readings as River used her own equipment to do the same.

"How come it's not new?" asked Amy, looking around the stone circle in amazement.

"Because it's already old," River replied, rather unhelpfully. "It's been here thousands of years. No one knows exactly how long."

Amy shook her head. "Okay, this Pandorica thing," she said, changing the subject abruptly. "Last time we say you, you warned us about it, after we climbed out of the Byzantium."

River tapped a finger against her lips. "Spoilers," she replied, warning her against saying anything more.

"No, but you told the Doctor you'd see him again when the Pandorica opens."

"Maybe I did," River returned. "But I haven't yet. But I will have." She turned to the Doctor, as the control device in her hands beeped again. "Doctor, I'm picking up fry particles, everywhere; energy weapons discharged on this site."

The Doctor stepped up on one of the stones, snapping the sonic into the off position and returning it to his coat pocket. "If the Pandorica is here," he announced, "it contains the mightiest warrior in history. Now, half the galaxy would want a piece of that. Maybe even fight over it." He jumped off, then kneeled down, and inspected the stone carefully, as if listening for something. "We need to get down there."

And so, they set to work, putting up several portable fluorescent lights to keep the area well lit after night fell, which came not long after they determined which stone needed to be moved.

"So, this is it?" asked Robyn, as River placed four small devices at each corner of the stone. "This is the entrance to the Underhenge?"

"It certainly is," the Doctor replied, his face gaining an unusual pallor as darkness fell, and the fluorescent lights became more prominent. "And stay back with Amy, so you don't fall."

Amy nodded, then took Robyn by the hand. "Yeah, stay back with me," she agreed. "Then we'll all go down there together, right, Doctor?"

The Doctor nodded. "That's right."

"Right, then," said River, placing the last device on the stone. "Ready." She pushed the appropriate marker on the touch screen, and the four devices burst into life, levering the stone off the ground and moving it to one side. Producing a torch, she pointed it down the open shaft, lighting the way down a stone staircase travelled deep beneath the earth.

"The Underhenge," the Doctor announced reverently.

As the four of them made their descent, Robyn couldn't help but feel an overwhelming sense of dread. It had been exciting to think about the Underhenge, and what they were going to find there, but now that they were actually about to enter it, she couldn't help feeling that there was something awfully fishy going on. Why had it been so easy to find it? Why put something in such a recognisable place, and then expect it to be a well guarded secret?

Emerging in the main chamber, the Doctor used the sonic screwdriver to light one of the torches, then removed it from its holder while River did the same to another torch on the other side of the room. Robyn tried to see through the gloom, but to no avail, not until the Doctor used his torch to light River's. The combined light of both torches was a welcome improvement, and it also revealed a very large pair of doors, which had been boarded shut. The Doctor and River lifted the board, dropping it to the floor with a clatter, and then, taking hold of the handles, gave the pair of doors with a mighty push... to reveal the inner most sanctum of the Underhenge...

And the Pandorica.

OoOoOoOoO

The four adventurers looked upon the Pandorica in awe, the sight of the gigantic box sending a hush over the group. Robyn couldn't believe her eyes. It was huge, big enough to fit a person... several people, if you were small enough, and unlucky enough to be put inside. She shuddered, the thought of being put inside the Pandorica, with no light, and no air, and no one to talk to... it was horrifying. She understood why something might be trying to get out, but to actually let it happen was another story altogether.

"The Pandorica," the Doctor breathed.

"More than just a fairy tale," River replied, flashing him a wry smile.

The Doctor began to move towards the gigantic box, ducking underneath the cobwebs, but he stopped when he brushed against something with his foot.

It was an arm... a Cyberman's arm.

He edged around it carefully, unsure whether it might still be active to some degree, or whether it was well and truly dead. Either way, he wasn't going to take his chances. When he reached the Pandorica itself, he inspected it closely, running his free hand over the design on the side directly in front of him. "There was a goblin," he began, relating the tale of the Pandorica as he knew it. "Or a trickster... or a warrior... a nameless, terrible, thing. Soaked in the blood of a billion galaxies, the most feared being in all the cosmos. And nothing could stop it, or hold it, or reason with it. One day it would just drop out of the sky, and tear down your world."

Amy listened to the Doctor's story, becoming intrigued. "How did it end up in there?" she asked, almost afraid to know the answer.

"You know fairy tales," the Doctor replied. "A good wizard tricked it."

River rolled her eyes, then handed Amy the torch and pulled out her control device to analyse the Pandorica. "I hate good wizards. They always turn out to be him."

Robyn grinned. "So my Dad's a good wizard, huh?" she said with a laugh. "That actually makes sense."

"So," said Amy, waving the torch around for a moment. "It's almost like Pandora's Box, then? Almost the same name."

The Doctor had moved over to the far wall now, placing his torch in the bracket, but he still managed to hear what Amy was saying, for the most part. "I'm sorry, what?"

"The story," Amy continued. "Pandora's Box. With all the worst things in the world in it."

"And hope," Robyn added. "Don't forget about that part. Pandora's Box had all the worst things in the world inside of it, but it also contained hope."

Amy smiled. "That was my favourite book when I was a kid."

Although he'd been scanning the Pandorica, and the area immediately around it, something about this set off alarm bells in his head. This was no coincidence, but he wasn't about to say as much to Amy, and it was too important to ignore. A little misdirection wouldn't go astray either. "Your favourite school topic, your favourite story," he said, approaching Amy and inspecting her carefully. "Never ignore a coincidence... unless you're busy," he hastily added, returning to River's side, "in which case, always ignore a coincidence."

"So, can you open it?" asked River.

"Easily," the Doctor replied. "Anyone can break into a prison, but I'd rather know what I'm going to find first."

"You won't have long to wait," River announced, looking at the reading on her control device with worry. "It's already opening. There are layers and layers of security protocols in there, and they're being disabled, one by one. Like it's being," she pressed her ear to the side of the Pandorica, listening closely, "unlocked from the inside."

"How long do we have?"

"Hours at the most."

The Doctor frowned. "What kind of security?"

River scanned the Pandorica again. "Everything," she replied. "Deadlocks, time-stops, matter-lines."

"What could need all that?"

"What could get past all that?" River shot back.

"Think of the fear that went into making this box," the Doctor replied, moving around the side to inspect the design again. "What could inspire that level of fear?" He leaned in close to the box. "Hello you," he murmured. "Have we met?"

"No idea."

Amy coughed. "And how could've Vincent known about it?" she asked. "He won't even be born for centuries."

This made the Doctor stand up straight again, realising something about the stones that surrounded them. He quickly scanned them with the sonic screwdriver. "The stones!" he exclaimed. "These stones are great big transmitters, broadcasting a warning to everyone, everywhere, to every time zone." He flicked the tool and checked the readings. "The Pandorica is opening," he breathed.

River stood, the colour draining from her face as she realised something the Doctor had not thought of yet. "Doctor... everyone, everywhere?"

But the Doctor ignored her. "Even poor old Vincent heard it," he went on, "in his dreams. But what's in there? What could justify all this?"

"Doctor, everyone!" River repeated, but still the Doctor ignored her.

The Doctor started to pace up and down the room, trying to think of what might be so great, and so terrible, to warrant such a huge prison, and such a wide spread warning system to go with it. "Anything that powerful, I'd know about it. Why don't I know?"

"Doctor," River interrupted. "You said everyone could hear it. So who else is coming?"

The Doctor stopped pacing, turning around slowly and looking at his three companions with horror. "Oh."

"Oh?" Amy echoed, looking back at him in confusion. "Oh, what?"

After a few tense moments, River moved over to the nearest stone, pressing her control device against it to analyse the signal. "Okay, if it is basically a transmitter," she said, "we should be able to fold back the signal."

The Doctor immediately sprang into action. "Doing it!" he cried, running about the room, and waving the sonic through the air to fold the signal back to River's control device.

"Doing what?" Amy and Robyn yelled together, both of them growing fearful.

But the Doctor didn't reply.

"Stonehenge has been transmitting," River explained. "It's been transmitting for a while, so who heard?"

"Okay, should be feeding back to you now," the Doctor announced, continuing to point the sonic at each of the stones. "River, what's out there? Getting anything?"

River worked as quickly as she could, but she wasn't quite ready yet. "Give me a moment, " she said as she waited for the data to finish processing.

The Doctor knew there wasn't any time to waste. "River, quickly, anything?" he prompted urgently.

The wait was agonising, Robyn knew that much, but she also knew it would pay off in the end. Something was coming, something bad; whether it would come from the sky, or from the Pandorica, was anyone's guess. She wondered if the reason she saw River, and the painting, in her dreams was also a result of the transmitter, and she resolved to ask her father about it when she had the chance. It was too important to just let it go.

River stared at the screen on her control device with horror. "Around this planet... there are at least ten thousand starships!"

"At least?" Amy yelped.

"Ten thousand, one hundred thousand," River amended, as the numbers climbed higher and higher. "A million... I don't know. There are too many readings!"

The Doctor's eyes narrowed in concentration. "What kind of starships?" he asked quickly.

And then the voice of hate itself filled the air.

OoOoOoOoO

"Maintaining orbit," the voice screamed, as another voice replied, saying, "I obey. Shield cover compromised on ion sectors."

"Daleks," Amy murmured softly, a look of fear creeping onto her face. "Those are Daleks."

So, that's what a Dalek sounds like, Robyn thought to herself, as she began to tremble. Something tells me I wouldn't want to meet one of those in a dark alley.

"Scan detects no temporal activity," the first Dalek voice continued, as the second said, "Soft grid scan commencing."

"Daleks, Doctor," River breathed, as the first Dalek said, "Reverse thrust for compensatory stabilisation."

The Doctor remained deathly quiet and still, as the second Dalek announced, "Launch preliminary armament protocol."

Robyn walked towards him slowly, her legs like jelly, but she didn't care. She reached out and took his hand. "Dad, what are we going to do?" she asked softly.

He looked down at her sadly, then shook his head. "Yes," he said, coming back to life and pacing the room again, dragging Robyn along with him. "Okay, okay, okay, okay. Dalek fleet, minimum twelve thousand battle-ships, armed to the teeth. But we've got surprise on our side!"

Robyn gulped. "We do?"

"They'll never expect four people to attack twelve thousand Dalek battle-ships... cause we'd be killed instantly."

"I was afraid of that," she murmured.

"So it would be a fairly short surprise." The Doctor hit himself with the sonic screwdriver. "Forget surprise."

River moved to the next stone, and new voices filled the air, more mechanical. "Doctor, Cyber-ships."

The Doctor and Robyn whirled around. "No, Dalek ships," he replied, "listen to them. Those are Dalek ships!"

"Yes. Dalek ships, and Cyber-ships!"

"Well, we need to start a fire-fight, turn them on each other. I mean, that's easy, it's the Daleks, they're so cross!"

As the Doctor's horror turned into a full blown panic, River ran over to the next stone. "Sontaran," she announced now, tapping the screen of the control device. "Four battle fleets."

"Sontarans! Talk about cross, who stole all their handbags?"

Robyn's eyes widened. She'd never seen her father so frightened that he started to babble!

As River began to list Terileptils, Slitheen, Chelonian, Nestene, Drahvins, Sycorax, Haemogoths, Zygons, Atraxi, and Draconians, as being the rest of the contingent of otherworldly visitors intending to seize the Pandorica, the Doctor backed towards it, as if each name was a physical blow, then he turned to face the box, his eyes wild with fear. "What are you?" he murmured. "What could you possibly be?" He reached out and touched it one last time, as the sound of the ships above ground grew louder. Then he turned and ran, needing to get back to the surface as quick as he could, River, Amy, and Robyn following close behind.

Robyn had never seen so many lights in the sky before, as the alien ships flew overhead. This was disastrous, and phenomenal, and terrifying, and she had no idea what it all meant, but she knew her father wasn't just going to turn and run away. He'd think of something to hold them off... he always did.

"What do we do?" Amy moaned.

"Doctor, listen to me!" River demanded. "Everything that ever hated you is coming here tonight. You can't win this. You can't even fight it! Doctor, this once, just this one time, please, you have to run!"

"Run where?" the Doctor argued.

"Fight how?"

The Doctor produced a pair of binoculars from his coat pocket, then looked into them, focusing in the direction they'd come from when they first arrived at Stonehenge. "The greatest military machine in the history of the universe," he murmured, when he found what he was looking for.

"What is?" Amy called. "The Daleks?"

"No, no, no, no, no, no," the Doctor replied, turning and giving them all a small smile, the first they'd seen on his face since the whole mess began. "The Romans."

River looked at him, dumbfounded, and more than a little bit miffed that she hadn't thought of it herself. "I can go back to the camp and see if they could provide all or part of the legion for protection," she suggested, putting her control device back in her horse's saddle bag.

The Doctor nodded. "Yes, good," he agreed. "And take Robyn with you, she'll be safer that way."

But Robyn was less than impressed by this suggestion. "What?" she squawked, looking up at him in alarm. "No way, I'm not going anywhere, Dad!"

"Robyn, this is no time to argue about it, " he replied, pushing her towards River, which was difficult because she deliberately dug her heels into the dirt to stop him. "You'll be safer with River and the Roman legion."

"No, Dad," Robyn protested emphatically. "I want to stay with you, and Amy. I don't want to leave you." She looked at Amy pleadingly. "Please, don't let him send me away. I'll be fine."

Amy looked conflicted. She understood the little girl's reluctance to being sent away, but she also understood the Doctor's position when he wanted his little daughter to be safe. She didn't know what any of the other aliens were like, but she knew that the Daleks were too dangerous to be around, especially for a little kid. "Sorry, Robyn, it's your Dad's choice." She flinched as the child stared at her, open mouthed and reeling from the, in her mind, act of betrayal. "Robyn..."

River watched the three of them, and raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure sending her with me is the best option?" she asked. "I think it might be wiser to keep her with you, Doctor."

"River," the Doctor said wearily. "We don't have time for this -"

"Your daughter has a connection with the Bad Wolf, Doctor," River replied, cutting him off. "She could have another vision at any time, and if she does, you'll need to be there when she does."

Robyn looked at River in surprise, amazed that she would vouch for her like that. "Uh, yeah," she hastily agreed. "I could have another vision at any time, and if I'm not with you, how will I know what to do about it?"

The Doctor frowned, and he knew River was right. Even if Robyn was safer with her, she might prove more useful there with him. As much as he didn't like it, he was going to have to let her stay. He sighed. "All right, you can stay," he said, taking his daughter by the hand. "But the minute it looks like there might be trouble, you find a place to keep yourself hidden, understand?"

She nodded, positively beaming now. "Yes, Dad!"

Watching the pair with a satisfied smile, River mounted her horse and rode off into the night, leaving the Doctor, Amy, and Robyn, to prepare for the Daleks, and for the rest of the otherworldly visitors, arrival.

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