"So, you're waking up at last. I was beginning to worry about you."

At the sound of the deep, patronizing voice that she instantly recognized as Kovarian's, River's eyes snapped opened. But she winced, and closed them again as the bright light in the room made her aching head pound even harder. Groaning softly, she raised her head, which was still throbbing painfully. She opened her eyes again, slowly this time, things gradually came into focus. She could see her captor standing in the doorway at the end of the room. River tried to move, but she couldn't. Once her senses became slightly clearer she realized that she was bound with leather straps by her wrists and ankles to the chair she had been placed in after being captured.

"Kovarian?" Her own voice sounded slurred and far away. Kovarian walked towards her, and the malicious smile on her face made River feel queasy with fear. Holding the vortex manipulator in her left hand, Kovarian glanced at it and then looked at River contemptuously.

"It was almost too easy, finding you again, Melody Pond. Did you really think that you could escape from me?" Kovarian lowered herself to eye level with River, and studied her for a few seconds before continuing.

"You know that you've been a bad girl, Melody. And in my book, bad girls need to be punished. I'm sure your precious Doctor would say the same thing. Oh, speaking of the Doctor, he should be here quite soon. Oh yes, I know that you sent him a distress call. I can read you like an open book, my dear. My team of- well, let's just call them engineers- have been monitoring your path through the vortex manipulator. It's rather a simple device, really. It doesn't take much to override the coordinates. But all of that aside…" As she spoke, River watched with trepidation as Madam Kovarian pulled a knife out of her pocket and moved it towards her left wrist. She was surprised and a very suspicious when she realized what Kovarian was doing.

"Why are you setting me free? What do you want?" she demanded. Madam Kovarian laughed, and didn't say another word until she was finished freeing River's bonds.

"Don't even think of trying to escape. My soldiers will shoot to kill if I tell them to. But I want you alive, Melody Pond." Kovarian drew eye-to-eye with River and spoke to her in a whisper.

"You love him, don't you?"

River swallowed hard, trying to suppress a sob of fear.

She means the Doctor. She's going to use me to kill the Doctor. Again. But I won't. I don't care if she tortures me, or kills me, I will not let her hurt him!

"Yes. I do. And if you think for one moment that you're going to use me to hurt him, then you are wrong." River's voice trembled slightly as she spoke, and her lips quivered with intense emotion. Madam Kovarian shook her head, and looked pitying at River.

"Oh, Doctor, Doctor. Love at first sight, wasn't it? You must have so many wonderful memories of the Doctor that you cling to. You must live for the days when you see him." Her tone of voice was contemptuous, and the more she spoke, the more afraid River became. Drawing her face up close to River's, Madam Kovarian spoke in almost a purring voice, filled with malicious delight.

"I have a plan for you, Melody. Don't worry… it won't hurt you. Much. But the Doctor? Oh, it will hurt him so very much. And the best part of it all? You won't even feel his pain. I'm going to make you forget him. Every single hour, every precious moment… every journey, every kiss, every word… you'll forget it all." River's heart began to race, and shook her head in disbelief.

"I will never forget him. You can't make me!" She tried to stifle the tears that rose in her eyes but to no avail.

"Nothing will ever take the Doctor away from me," she whispered, her voice rough with emotion.

"We'll see about that," said Madam Kovarian, standing up and walking to the doorway of the small room.

"Captain Hyron! She's ready. Bring her to the Mind Regeneration Chamber." Turning to River, who was breathing hard and trying to think of an escape plan, without success, Madam Kovarian explained, "You see, my dear, you're going to start from scratch. In a few minutes, you won't remember a thing about the Doctor. And after that, he's going to come to visit you." She smiled cruelly as a group of soldiers entered the room and grabbed hold of River, who struggled as they dragged her to her feet.

"I don't think you'll have much to talk about," she added, chuckling evilly at her own joke.