THE CURSE OF THE BLACK SPOT
*EDITED*
Frost's POV:
I open up the hatch which involves the Doctor bursts it open. "Yo ho ho! Or does nobody actually say that?" he asks them and I shake my head looking at Angel.
"I know," I tell her as she also shakes her head.
~FAMILY MOMENTS~
"We made no signal." Captain Avery denies.
"Our sensors picked you up. Ship in distress." The Doctor confirms.
"Sensors?" Captain Avery asks confused.
"Yes. Okay, problem word. Seventeenth century. My ship automatically, er, noticed-ish that your ship was having some bother." The Doctor tries to simplify to the right time period.
"That big blue crate?" Captain Avery asks him.
"That is more magic, Captain Avery. They're spirits. How else would they have found their way below decks?" Boatswain asks him.
"Well, er, I want to say multidimensional engineering, but since you had a problem with sensors, I won't go there. Look, I'm the Doctor. This is my wife Frost, my son Reaper and my daughter Angel. This is Amy, Rory. We're sailors, same as you. Ooo ar. Except for the gun thing. And the beardiness." The Doctor rambles.
"You're stowaways. Only explanation. Eight days, we've been stranded here, becalmed. You must have stowed away before we sailed." Captain Avery concludes.
"Now what do we do with 'em?" Boatswain asks him.
"Oh, I think they deserve our hospitality." Captain Avery replies sarcastically.
~FAMILY MOMENTS~
The Doctor is being made to walk the plank, while the rest of us where being held back from the situation the Doctor had got us into. "I suppose that laughing like that is in the job description. Can you do the laugh? Check. Grab yourself a parrot. Welcome aboard." The Doctor jokes with them.
"Stocks are low. Only one barrel of water remains. We don't need six more empty bellies to fill. Take the doxes below to the galley. Set the wenches to work. They won't need much feeding." Captain Avery tells his crew.
"Rory? A little help?" Amy asks him as he is being held by Dancer, an African born sailor.
"Yeah. Hey, listen, right? She's not a doxy." Rory defends her but gets it completely wrong.
"I didn't mean just tell him off. Thanks anyway." Amy says.
"If you're lucky you'll drown before the sharks can take a bite." Captain Avery tells the Doctor.
"If this is just because I'm a captain too, you know, you shouldn't feel threatened. Your ship is much bigger than mine. And I don't have the cool boots. Or a hat, even." The Doctor rambles as always.
"Time to go." Captain Avery laughs.
"A bit more laughter, guys?" the Doctor asks and I saw Amy has gone to the hold and found a crate of cutlasses. "Where are the rest of the crew? This is a big ship. Big for five of you. I suppose the rest of them are hiding some place, and they're going to jump out and shout boo."
"Boo!" Amy shouts taking the time to don a coat and tricorn hat. "Throw the gun down." She orders and Captain Avery obeys. She kicks it away. "The rest of you, on your knees." She orders them.
"Amy, what are you doing?" Reaper asks her.
"Saving your life. Okay with that, are you?" Amy asks him.
"Put down the sword. A sword could kill us all, girl." Captain Avery orders her looking more scared than I would imagine.
"Yeah, thanks. That is actually why I'm pointing it at you." Amy retorts and the rest of the sailors start a sword fight with Amy, using wooden staves, while Avery holds on to the Doctor. However, the sailors are terrified of getting even the smallest cut from Amy's blade. Amy runs up some steps then swings across on a rope, slashing at the sailor holding Rory as she goes.
"You have killed me," Dancer says with such terror.
"No way. It's just a cut." Amy argues but the black spot appears on his palm. "What kind of rubbish pirates are you?" she asks him.
"One drop, that's all it takes. One drop of blood and she'll rise out of the ocean." Captain Avery warns.
"Come on, I barely even scratched him. What are you all in such a huff about?" Amy asks and she makes another swing and is grabbed. She drops the cutlass and Rory grabs for it, cutting himself.
"Ow! Argh!" Rory groans in pain and again the black spot appears. "Er, Doctor, what's happening to me?" he asks.
"She can smell the blood on your skin. She's marked you for death." Captain Avery warns him.
"She?" Rory asks.
"A demon, out there in the ocean." Captain Avery refers.
"Okay. Groovy. So not just pirates today. We've managed to bagsy a ship where there's a demon popping in. Very efficient. I mean, if something's going to kill you, it's nice that it drops you a note to remind you." Reaper jokes and a wordless singing starts.
"Quickly now, block out the sound." Boatswain orders.
"What?" Rory asks confused.
"The creature. She charms all her victims with that song." Captain Avery warns us.
"Oh, great. So put my fingers in my ears, that's your plan? Doctor, come on. Let's go. Let's get back to the er, back to the er…" Rory says before he and Dancer start giggling.
"The music. It's working on him. Look." Boatswain points out.
"You are so beautiful," Rory tells Amy.
"What?" Amy asks him.
"I love your get up. That's great. You should dress as a pirate more often. Hey, hey, cuddle me, shipmate." Rory says in some kind of trance.
"Rory, stop," Amy tells him.
"Everything is totally brilliant, isn't it? Look at these brilliant pirates. Look at their brilliant beards. I'd like a beard. I'm going to grow a beard." Rory tells her.
"You're not," Amy argues.
"The music turns them into fools." Captain Avery warns us.
"Oh, my God." Amy groans as a bright light is rising up through the water. A female figure then flies up and gently lands on the deck. Dancer goes towards her while Amy tries to hold Rory back. When Dancer touches her finger, he explodes in a cloud of soot.
"I have to touch her. Let me touch her." Rory rambles.
"Sorry, but he is spoken for," Amy argues and the Siren turns from white to angry red, and a blast of energy throws Amy backwards.
"Amy! Everybody into the hold. Rory! Come on!" Reaper shouts and the Doctor drags Rory away.
"Hey! Wait!" Rory protests.
~FAMILY MOMENTS~
There is bilge water a few inches deep in here. "What is that thing?" Amy asks.
"The legend. The siren. Many a merchant ship laden with treasure has fallen prey to her. She's been hunting us ever since we were becalmed, picking off the injured." Captain Avery informs us.
"Like a shark. A shark can smell blood." Boatswain suggests.
"Okay. Just like a shark, in a dress. And singing. And green? A green singing shark in an evening gown." The Doctor rambles yet again.
"The ship is cursed!" Captain Avery exclaims in rage.
"Yeah, right. Cursed is big with humans. It means bad things are happening but you can't be bothered to find an explanation." I reply calmly.
"She's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen," Rory says in a daze.
"Actually, I think you'll find she isn't," Amy argues seeming slightly jealous.
"She is," Rory argues still in his dazed state.
"We have to leave right now." Amy points out.
"That thing of yours really is a ship?" Captain Avery asks us.
"Well, it's not propelled by the wind," Reaper tells him.
"Show me. Weigh anchor. Make it sail." Captain Avery demands.
"And the gun's back. You're big on the gun thing, aren't you? Freud would say you're compensating. Ever met Freud? No? Comfy sofa." The Doctor rambles. It's his thing.
"Leave the cursed one, Captain. The creature can have him." De Florres tells him.
"Yes, please," Rory answers yet it wasn't needed.
"We don't want the siren coming after us." Captain Avery argues and something latches onto Mulligan's bare leg.
"It's a leech!" Amy screams in terror.
"Everyone out of the water!" the Doctor shouts to them.
"It's bitten me. I'm bleeding." De Florres states his eyes filled with terror of what was to come.
"She wants blood. Why does she want blood?" I asked looking at the crew.
"What were you saying about leaving the cursed ones behind?" Amy asks De Florres.
"It's okay, we're safe down here. No curse is getting through three solid inches of timber." The Doctor tells them and again she's back. "Oh! Ah. Hello again." The Doctor says and De Florres is drawn towards her.
"No! No! No!" We all shout at him but De Florres explodes, just leaving his hat behind.
~FAMILY MOMENTS~
We made our way into the mess deck with a hammock, sacks of food were there along with us. "Safe?" Amy asks us.
"I have my good days and my bad days." The Doctor says.
"How did she get in?" Captain Avery asks us.
"Bilge water. She's using water like a portal, a door. She can materialize through a single drop. We need to go somewhere with no water." I tell them.
"Well, thank God we're not in the middle of the ocean." Amy snaps.
"Did you see her eyes? Like crystal pools." Rory drones on in his pathetic state.
"You are in enough trouble." Amy snaps at him.
"The magazine." Captain Avery suggests.
"What?" Amy asks completely clueless.
"He means the armoury where the powders stored," Reaper tells her.
"It's dry as a bone." Captain Avery tells us.
"Good. Let's go there." I order them taking Angel off the floor.
"I give the orders." Captain Avery snaps.
"Ah. Worried because I'm wearing a hat now? Nobody touch anything sharp!" the Doctor shouts.
"Come on, Rory," Amy says and the Boatswain shuffles through his collection of keys.
"Quickly, man." Captain Avery orders him.
"I can't find the key. Tis gone, Cap'n." Boatswain informs him.
"How can it have gone?" Captain Avery asks him and the door seems to be unlocked.
"Someone else had the same idea." I voice up keeping Angel close to me.
~FAMILY MOMENTS~
"Barricade the door. Careful of that lantern. Every barrel is full of powder." Captain Avery orders his men.
"Who's been sleeping in my gun room?" the Doctor asks and someone coughs. Captain Avery opens a barrel and pulls out a boy.
"You fool! You fool, boy. What are you doing here?" Captain Avery asks the boy.
"Who is he? What, he's not one of the crew?" Reaper asks Captain Avery.
"No. He's my son. What in God's name possessed you, boy? Your mother will be searching for you. When?" Captain Avery ask the boy.
"Last winter. Fever. She told me all about you. How you were a Captain in the Navy. An honourable man, she said. How I'd be proud to know you. I've come to join your crew." The boy tells him.
"I don't want you here." Captain Avery tells him.
"You can't send me back. It's too late. We're a hundred miles from home." The boy argues back.
"It's dangerous here. There is a monster aboard. She leaves a mark on men's skin." Captain Avery tells him.
"The black spot?" the boy asks showing his palm with the mark on his skin and cough again. It was some time later and Angel was in her brother's arms for comfort while I was by the Doctor trying to think why the boy had the mark.
"There's nothing wrong with the boy. He has no scars." Captain Avery argues.
"Yep. Ignore my last theory." The Doctor says.
"He has his good days and his bad days," Amy says.
"It's not just blood, she's coming for all the sick and wounded like a hunter chooses the weakest animal." I point out.
"Okay, look, he's got a fever. The siren knows it." Amy says.
"Humans. Second-rate. Damage too easily. It's only a matter of time before everyone gets bruised. My ship, it can sail us all away from here. You and me, we fetch it. Let's go." The Doctor tells Captain Avery.
"You're not the Captain here, remember." Captain Avery tells him and Toby opens a fresh-water barrel and the Siren's hand reaches out. The Doctor forces the lid back down. "The water's dangerous. That's how she gets through. One touch of her hand and you're a dead man." He says.
"We're all cursed if we stay aboard," Boatswain says.
"It's not a curse. Curse means game over. Curse means we're helpless. We are not helpless. Captain, what's our next move?" Reaper asks him.
"Wait with the boy." Captain Avery orders.
"Captain, we're all in danger here." Boatswain reminds him.
"I said wait. And barricade the door after we've gone." Captain Avery tells him.
"Sure you want to go?" Amy asks.
"We have to get Rory and Toby away. She's out there now, licking her lips, boiling a saucepan, grating cheese." The Doctor tells her.
"Okay. Well, remember, if you get an itch, don't scratch too hard." Amy tells him more to Reaper than the Doctor.
"We've all got to go sometime. There are worse ways than having your face snogged off by a dodgy mermaid." Reaper jokes but gets a stern look from both the Doctor and me.
~FAMILY MOMENTS~
3rd POV:
"Do you want to draw lots for who's in charge, then?" Captain Avery asks the Doctor.
"Darkness? Demon? You can have first go." The Doctor says and Captain Avery stumbles and nearly puts his hand on a protruding nail head. The Doctor grabs his arm just in time.
"Nearly. Phew!" Captain Avery gasps.
~FAMILY MOMENTS~
"By all the…" Captain Avery stumbles out.
"Let me stop you there. Bigger on the inside. Don't mind, do you, if we just skip to the end of that moment? Oh, and sorry I lied, by the way, when I said yours was bigger. Kitchen that way. Choice of bathrooms there, there, there." The Doctor tells him.
~FAMILY MOMENTS~
Reaper's POV:
"What's wrong?" Rory asks Amy.
"The most beautiful thing you've ever seen?" Amy asks him.
"Oh, tell me I didn't really say that." Rory groans.
"What's going on?" Amy asks as Boatswain is unbarracading the door.
"We're not staying here to mollycoddle the boy. The Captain's gone soft. It's time for us to leave." Boatswain snaps.
~FAMILY MOMENTS~
3rd POV:
"What's this do?" Captain Avery asks the Doctor.
"That does very, very complicated. That does sophisticated. That does whoa, amazing, And that does whizz, bang, far too technical to explain!" the Doctor tells him.
"Wheel?" Captain Avery asks him.
"Atom accelerator." The Doctor corrects him.
"It steers the thing." Captain Avery guesses.
"No. Sort of. Yes." The Doctor answers.
"Wheel. Telescope. Astrolabe. Compass. A ship's a ship." Captain Avery reasons.
"Oh." The Doctor groans.
~FAMILY MOMENTS~
Reaper's POV:
"He told you to wait, you dog. He's your Captain, a Naval Officer. You're honour-bound to do as he tells you." Toby tells Boatswain. Poor kid.
"Honour-bound? Do you know what kind of ship this is? Do you know what your father does?" Boatswain asks the kid.
"Don't listen to him, Toby," Amy tells him.
"We sail under the black flag. The Jolly Roger." Boatswain tells him.
"Liar! He's no wicked pirate!" Toby exclaims.
"Oh, you think so? I have seen your father gun down a thousand innocent men." Boatswain taunts Toby. Mum looked angry but I just covered Angel's ears waiting for Mum to shout at Boatswain.
~FAMILY MOMENTS~
3rd POV:
"This is how the professionals do it." The Doctor tells him and the time rotor starts to stutters. "Er, it's stuck. Not responding."
"Becalmed?" Captain Avery asks him.
"Mmm hmm. Yeah, apparently. That's new. You had to gloat, didn't you?" the Doctor asks him.
"I'm not gloating." Captain Avery argues.
"I saw that look just now. Ha, ha, his ship is rubbish." The Doctor taunts himself.
"True." Captain Avery says.
~FAMILY MOMENTS~
Reaper's POV:
"Get what treasure you can. I'll meet you in the row boat." Boatswain orders and Toby has found himself a cutlass.
"You're going to remain at your post," Toby orders him.
"I am not playing games with you, boy. You put that down." Boatswain orders him.
"One more step and I'll use this, you blaggard," Toby warns him.
"You don't know how to fight with a cutlass, boy." Boatswain teases him.
"Don't need to, do I." Toby retorts and cuts the Boatswain's hand.
"No!" Boatswain shouts making Angel cry and Mum takes her from me to calm her down.
~FAMILY MOMENTS~
3rd POV:
"It can't get a lock on the plane." The Doctor tells him.
"The what?" Captain Avery asks him.
"The space we travel in. The ocean. Sort of ocean but not water. The TARDIS can't see. It's sulking because it thinks the space doesn't exist. Without a plane to lock onto we're not going anywhere." The Doctor tells him.
"I'm confused." Captain Avery says.
"Yeah, well, it's a big club. We should get T-shirts." The Doctor says and the TARDIS starts to jolt and grind around. "What's happening?" he wonders.
~FAMILY MOMENTS~
Reaper's POV:
"You little swabber!" Boatswain shouts in rage.
"Congratulations. You made it to the menu. Probably shouldn't go out there now." Amy teases him which most likely wasn't a good idea.
"You scurvy ape!" Boatswain keeps on shouting.
"Don't shoot. The powder will blow and kill us all." Rory tells him and Mulligan takes the keys from the Boatswain's belt.
"Mulligan, what are you doing?" Boatswain asks him as he leaves.
"No honour among pirates." I taunt him and Boatswain puts down his pistol and starts rebuilding the barricade.
~FAMILY MOMENTS~
3rd POV:
"Okay, she's had her little sulk. Now she's heading for the full-on screaming tantrum." The Doctor groans.
"Can you fix it?" Captain Avery asks him.
"Argh! The parametric engines are jammed. Orthogonal vector's gone. I'm almost out of ideas. But if Frost was here then I could work something out." The Doctor says.
"Almost?" Captain Avery asks him.
"Well, we could try stroking her and singing her a song." The Doctor suggests.
"Will that help?" Captain Avery asks him.
"Hard to say. Never has before. I've lost control of her. She's about to dematerialise. We could end up anywhere!" the Doctor raises his voice.
"That sounds bad!" Captain Avery raises his voice.
"Yes, it is! Out! Out now! Abandon ship! Abandon ship!" the Doctor shouts and they run out as things start going Bang!
~FAMILY MOMENTS~
It seems not to be your usual dematerialisation of the TARDIS. "Okay, okay, okay. Tardis runs off on its own. That's a bit of a new one. Bang goes our only hope of getting them out of here." The Doctor says.
"Not much of a Captain without a ship, are you?" Captain Avery gloats.
~FAMILY MOMENTS~
The Doctor and Captain Avery make their way to the mess deck to see Mulligan pulls two pistols on his captain. He has a jeweled gold crown around his wrist. "Mulligan, what are you doing? This is mutiny." Captain Avery states.
"She doesn't want me. She only wants Toby and the scrawny looking fellow." Mulligan states.
"He's got the last of the supplies. We should go after him." The Doctor reasons.
"Never mind the damned supplies. What about my treasure?" Captain Avery argues and Mulligan shoots at them.
"Don't get injured. Don't get injured." The Doctor warns both him and Captain Avery.
~FAMILY MOMENTS~
They make their way to the store room with Milligan in there. "Come out of there, you mutinous dog!" Captain Avery shouts. Mulligan lights a flame then drops it when it burns his fingers.
~FAMILY MOMENTS~
Siren song. The Doctor and Captain Avery check themselves for injury. Then a light glows under the door to the hold. "She's inside." The Doctor states.
"She's come for Mulligan." Captain Avery reasons and they heard him shout.
~FAMILY MOMENTS~
"No water in here. How did she take him? You said she uses water like a door, that's how she enters a room." Captain Avery states picking up the crown.
"I was wrong. Please ignore all my theories up to this point." The Doctor tells him.
"What, again?" Captain Avery asks him.
"We're all in danger. The water's not how she's getting in. When we were down in the hold, think what happened. You, me, Frost, Reaper, Angel, Amy, Rory, leeches." The Doctor tells him.
"She sprang from the water." Captain Avery states.
"Yes, only when it grew still. Still water. Nature's mirror." The Doctor tells him.
"So, you mean…" Captain Avery starts.
"Yes. Not water, reflection." The Doctor says and as he says this Toby has a medallion his father has given him, of a mermaid. A nice shiny medallion, which he starts polishing. "That siren legend. The curse."
"You said curses weren't real." Captain Avery argues.
"Folklore springs from truth. She attacks ships filled with treasure. Where else do you get a perfect reflection?" the Doctor asks.
"Polished metal." Captain Avery concludes.
"Hmm." The Doctor agrees and hides the crown under a piece of clothing.
"We must warn them." Captain Avery orders.
~FAMILY MOMENTS~
Frost's POV:
"Frost! Open the door!" I heard the Doctor shout.
"Toby, open the door! Toby!" I heard Captain Avery shout too.
"Open the door." The Doctor orders.
"Toby!" Captain Avery shouts and The Doctor grabs the medallion and breaths on it to cloud the reflection.
~FAMILY MOMENTS~
3rd POV:
The Doctor uses the butt of a musket to break the glass windows. "We've got to destroy every reflection. Gold, silver, glass, she could spring from any of them. Oh, yes, yes, I know, I know. Very bad luck to break it. But look at it this way. There's a stroppy homicidal mermaid trying to kill all." The Doctor rambles on, he was worried for Frost and the kids and of course Amy and Rory.
"How much worse can things get?" Captain Avery asks.
"Yep. Help me lug this lot out." The Doctor tells him.
"Where are we taking it?" Captain Avery asks.
"The ocean." The Doctor tells him.
"No! No. This is the treasure of the Mogul of India." Captain Avery argues.
"Oh, good. For a moment there I thought it was yours." The Doctor jokes.
"No, no. Doctor, wait. Must we do this?" Captain Avery argues.
"Any reflection, any mirror, and the siren will attack. We have to protect Rory and Toby. Go and get the crown from the storeroom." The Doctor tells him and he starts throwing Captain Avery's gold out of the broken windows.
~FAMILY MOMENTS~
Frost's POV:
"Just wait?" Rory asks.
"Not my most dynamic plan, I realize." The Doctor argues.
"TARDIS?" Amy asks.
"It's been towed." The Doctor rewords his answer.
"What?" Amy asks.
"Sorry. We might be stuck here for a while." Reaper tells them with a groan getting what his father had said.
"So you're saying that we should all just wait here below?" Rory asks.
"The sea is still calm, like a mirror. If you go out on deck she'll rise up and attack you." Captain Avery tells them.
"It's okay. The calm won't last forever. When the wind picks up we'll all set sail." The Doctor tells them.
"Until it does, you have to hide down here." Captain Avery orders and later, Rory and Amy are asleep.
"I'm sorry about your mother. You miss her a lot." Captain Avery tells Toby.
"Three years. No word from you." Toby says.
"Toby." Captain Avery says.
"You promised her. You promised you'd come home. And she believed you would, right up until the day she died. What made you do it? What made you turn pirate?" Toby argues.
"Get some sleep now." Captain Avery tells his son.
~FAMILY MOMENTS~
3rd POV:
"It's not one star, it's two. The Dog Star, Sirius. Binary system." The Doctor says.
"I use it to navigate the ocean." Captain Avery tells him.
"I've traveled far, like you. Space can be very lonely, and the greatest adventure is having someone share it with you." The Doctor tells him.
"If we get out of this I'll take him back to England. He can't stay with me. I'm not the father he needs." Captain Avery argues.
"Who are you, Henry Avery? Respected naval officer, wife, and child at home. How did you end up here, wandering the oceans with a band of rogues?" the Doctor asks him.
"I've set my course now. Nothing I can do to alter it." Captain Avery says.
"People stared at it for centuries and never knew. Things can suddenly change when you're least expecting." The Doctor tells him.
~FAMILY MOMENTS~
Reaper's POV:
"Doctor?" Amy asks him.
"Shush," Dad tells her.
"What can you see?" Amy asks him.
"Feels like something's out there, staring straight at me," Dad says and I could tell Mum had the same feeling and I could too. It began to grow heavy with a storm with thunder and lightning, Angel got scared getting Mum to go into the ship again to keep her safe. "Man the sails!" Dad shouts.
~FAMILY MOMENTS~
The rain is lashing down. "To the rigging, you dogs! Let go the sails. Avast ye! Put the bunt into the slack of the clews." Captain Avery orders. Amy and Rory pull on the sheets.
"I swear he's making half this stuff up." Amy snorts.
"Well, we're going to need some kind of phrase book." Rory jokes and Dad is at the wheel, trying to turn her bow on to the storm. While I helped Amy and Rory.
"Toby! Find my coat. My compass is inside it, boy. Heave ho, you bilge rats." Captain Avery orders.
"Rats was all I could hear," Rory says and Toby returns with the coat, and the crown falls out and rolls along the deck. The Siren comes out of the crown and flies up into the rigging, then descends again to the deck.
"Don't let her take you!" Captain Avery shouts and Toby reaches out to the Siren. "No!" he shouts and Toby is gone in a puff of smoke. "No!" he shouts again and Dad throws the crown overboard, and the Siren disappears. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry." He sobs to himself.
"You couldn't give up the gold, could you? That's why you turned pirate. Your commission, your wife, your son. Just how much is that treasure worth to you, man?" Dad asks him and a loose spar knocks Rory overboard.
"Rory! Rory! I can't see him. Doctor? I'm going in." Amy shouts.
"He's drowning. He's drowning! You go in after him, you'll drown too. There's only one thing that can save him now." I tell her keeping her from going after him.
"What are you talking about?" Amy asks.
"The Siren. The Siren, she wants him. We have to release her." I tell her.
"Reaper, no," Amy says and Dad opens a fresh water barrel and the Siren zooms out.
"He's drowning. Go and find him!" I shout at her and the Siren dives into the sea.
"What, what did you do?" Amy asks us.
"If he stays in there he'll die," I tell her.
"But she'll destroy him," Amy argues.
"That thing isn't just a ravenous hunter. It's intelligent. We can reason with it. And maybe, just maybe, they're still alive somewhere. We have to follow." I tell her.
"Are you mad?" Amy asks us.
"If we ever want to see them again, we have to let the Siren take us. We'll prick our fingers. All agreed? Yeah?" Dad asks.
"Aye." Captain Avery agrees.
"Aye." Amy agrees too.
"Aye." Dad agrees and he draws blood from each of them. The black spot appears on their palms and the Siren appears. There is a flash of bright light.
~FAMILY MOMENTS~
Frost's POV:
I looked to the siren and looked carefully and saw something in the design that made me know I could reason with her and I could get Angel better and keep her. I arrived at what looked to be a spaceship and saw the others on the metal floor waking up. "Where are we?" Amy asks.
"We haven't moved. We're in exactly the same place as before." I tell them and not even acknowledging me they look through a window onto the deck of the ship.
"We're on a ghost ship." Captain Avery states.
"No. It's real. Space ship trapped in a temporal rift." I tell them.
"How can two ships be in the same place?" Amy asks.
"Not the same. Two planes, two worlds, two cars parked in the same space. There are lots of different universes nested inside each other. Now and again they collide, and you can step from one to the other." The Doctor answers.
"Okay, I think I understand." Amy answers.
"Good, because it's not like that at all. But if that helps." Reaper says.
"Thanks." Amy snarls.
"All the reflections have suddenly become gateways." The Doctor says and they all look back as if they just realized I was here with Angel. The Doctor runs over hugging me and Reaper come over as well and I pick up a piece of metal and through it through the window where it lands on the deck of the ship.
"Ever look in a mirror and think you're seeing a whole other world? Well, this time it's not an illusion." Reaper says and a beeping sound is heard.
"The signal," Amy says.
"Yes," I tell her.
"The distress call." Amy clarifies.
"Uh huh." The Doctor answers.
"There was a second ship here all the time," Amy says.
"And the Siren is on board." The Doctor tells her and he opens a door to reveal an alien skeleton. Its spacesuit says D.I.H.S. "Dead."
~FAMILY MOMENTS~
We were on the bridge and there were more skeletal crew. "You were right. There was something staring at us the whole time. How long has this ship been marooned here?" Amy asks.
"Long enough for the Captain to have run out of grog." Captain Avery says.
"I don't understand. If this is the Captain, then what's the Siren?" Amy asks.
"Same as us. A stowaway." Reaper tells her.
"She killed it?" Amy asks.
"Human bacteria," I tell her.
"What?" Amy asks.
"A virus from our planet. Airborne, traveling through the portal. That's what killed it. Didn't get its jabs. Urgh. Look." I tell her and The Doctor has put his hand in some gunk.
"What is it?" Amy asks.
"Sneeze! Alien bogies." The Doctor says and he wipes his hand on the sleeve of Amy's pirate coat.
~FAMILY MOMENTS~
Lots of people lying on beds floating in mid-air, and connected by a tube to the ceiling. "McGrath! He's one of my men." Captain Avery says.
"He's still breathing," Amy says.
"My entire crew is here. Toby!" Captain Avery shout noticing his son.
"Rory!" Amy shouts.
"The TARDIS!" the Doctor shouts.
"We have to get them out of here." Captain Avery says.
"Wait. His fever's gone." The Doctor states.
"He looks so well," Amy says.
"She's keeping him alive. His brain is still active, but all its cellular activity is suspended. It's not a curse, it's a tissue sample. Why get samples of people you are about to kill?" I ask.
"Help me get him up," Amy says and Rory begins to wake. And a beeping sound goes off.
"She's coming," I tell her and we hide behind a bank of monitors. The Siren floats in, singing her wordless song, and goes to Rory. He calms down and sleeps again.
"Anaesthetic," I state.
"What?" Captain Avery asks.
"The music. The song. So she anaesthetizes people and puts their body in stasis." I explain to him. The Siren goes to Toby. Captain Avery steps out, gun ready.
"Avery, no!" the Doctor shouts and Captain Avery shoots, and the Siren turns red. She advances on Captain Avery, then the Doctor sneezes. The Siren heads for him instead.
"Fire. That's new. What does fire do? Burn? Yes. Destroy? What else? Sterilise! I sneezed. I've brought germs in." the Doctor says and he blows his nose and throws the handkerchief on the floor. The Siren blasts the offending article. Amy runs to Rory. "Amy, stop. Don't interfere. Don't touch him. Anaesthetic, tissue sample, screen, sterile working conditions. Ignore all my previous theories!"
"Yeah? Well, we stopped paying attention a while back." Amy says.
"She's not a killer at all, she's a doctor!" I tell them. Amy stops fiddling with Rory's life support and the Siren returns to green.
"This is an automated sick bay. Its teleporting everyone on board. The crew are dead, and so the sick bay has had nothing to do. It's been looking after humanity whilst it's been idle. Look at her. A virtual doctor able to sterilize a whole room." The Doctor says.
"Able to burn your face off," Amy says.
"She's just an interface, seeped through the join between the planes, broadcast in our world. Protean circuitry means she can change her form, and become a human doctor for humans. Oh, sister, you are good." The Doctor explains.
"She won't let us take them." Captain Avery says.
"She's keeping them alive, but she doesn't know how to heal them," I tell them.
"I'm his wife, for God's sake. Why can't I touch him?" Amy asks.
"Tell her, Amy. Show her your ring. She may be virtual but she's intelligent. You can't do anything without her consent. Come on. Sophisticated girl like you. That must be somewhere in your core program." I tell her.
"Look, he's very ill, okay? I just want to look after him. Why won't you let me near my husband?" Amy asks and the Siren holds out her hand, and a circle of light appears around it.
"Consent form. Sign it. Put your hand in the light. Rory's sick. You have to take full responsibility." I tell her and Amy does so, and the Siren disappears. Amy turns off Rory's life support.
"He can't breathe. Turn it back on." The Doctor tells her.
"What do we do? I can't just leave him here." Amy says.
"He'll die if you take him out." Captain Avery says.
"Rory? Rory, wake up." Amy says.
"Where am I?" Rory asks.
"You're in a hospital. If you leave, you might die." Reaper tells him.
"But if you don't, you'll have to stay forever," Amy tells him.
"You're saying that if I don't get up now," Rory says.
"You can never leave," Amy tells him.
"The Siren will keep you safe." The Doctor tells him.
"And if I come with you?" Rory asks.
"Drowning, on the point of death," Reaper informs him.
"I'm a nurse," Rory says.
"What?" Amy asks.
"I can teach you how to save me," Rory tells her.
"Whoa. Hold on." Amy says.
"I was drowning. You just have to resuscitate me." Rory argues.
"Just?" Amy argues back.
"You've seen them do it loads of times in films. CPR. The kiss of life." Rory argues.
"Rory, this isn't a film, okay? What if I do it wrong?" Amy asks.
"You won't," Rory tells her.
"Okay, what if you don't come back to life? What if…" Amy says.
"I trust you," Rory tells her.
"What about him? I mean, why do I have to be the one? Why do I have to save you?" Amy asks him.
"Because I know you'll never give up," Rory tells her.
"We have to send this ship back into space. Imagine if the Siren got ashore. She would have to process every injured human." The Doctor says.
"What about Toby?" Captain Avery asks.
"I'm sorry. Typhoid fever. Once he returns it's only a matter of time." The Doctor tells him.
"What if I stay with him, here? The Siren will look after him. I can't go back to England. And what home does he have now, if not with me?" Captain Avery asks.
"Do you think you can sail this thing?" I ask him.
"Just point me to the atom accelerator." Captain Avery says with confidence.
"I know you can do this. Of course, if you muck it up I am going to be really cross. And dead." Rory says.
"I'll see you in a minute," Amy tells him. The Doctor rips off Rory's restraints. They get him off the bed and carry him into the TARDIS.
~FAMILY MOMENTS~
Where Amy starts CPR, doing 1 breath to 5 chest compressions. "Come on. Come on, Rory. Not here. Not this way. Not today." The Doctor says.
"He trusted me. He trusted me to save him." Amy says beginning to cry.
"You still can. You can still do this. He believes in you. Come on, Amy. Come on!" THE Doctor tells her.
"Please, please, please wake up. Wake up. Wake up. Come on. Come on." Amy pleads, but finally, even she gives up. After a few moments, Rory starts coughing up water.
"Amy. Amy, you did it. You did it!" Rory shouts and later, Captain Avery has control of the spaceship, with Toby as his co-pilot, still attached to his life support mechanism. The rest of his crew come to watch as they fly between the stars.
"I thought I was an excellent pirate." Amy states.
"I thought you were an excellent nurse," Rory says.
"Easy, tiger. Goodnight, Doctor. Reaper. Frost and you too Angel." Amy says to us.
"Goodnight, Amelia," Reaper says.
"You only call me Amelia when you're worrying about me," Amy says.
"I always worry about you," Reaper tells her.
"Mutual," Amy says.
"Go to bed, Pond," I tell her. I look to the screen with the boys and the body scan is still undecided as to whether Amy is pregnant or not.
"Oh, Amelia." We mutter.
TO BE CONTINUED...
Heart, Follow, Comment
