The temple's monuments were slowly fading out of existence and each second less and less of them would be remembered in time.
"We've got to find that Chrystalite!" River concluded.
"Right... back in the temple!" the Doctor ordered as he pivoted on his feet and charged down the steps to the temple. He had an idea, an idea that involved a lot of running but both he and River were used to it.
River had no idea what the Doctor was planning but she would just follow along, she trusted him with her life after all. She followed him back down the stairs into the temple and let him work but will stand by in case he needs her help.
The Doctor paused at the entrance to the main hall on the stairs and scanned the room for the man who was introducing the unveiling. "Where's the host?" he called out as the room fell silent at the sudden look of panic when he and River ran down the stairs.
"Who?" One man asked looking puzzled.
"The host, the guy who told us about the temple's history a few minutes ago..." the Doctor explained.
"But there never was a guy who mentioned any history, we've just been standing here listening to music and drinking." Another man replied.
"No, no, no... there was a host here and he showed us the monument." The Doctor argued and then stopped as sudden realisation hit him hard. "...Oh..."
"What?" River asked. "You don't think..." she began before the Doctor cut her off.
"He's been written out of time." The Doctor finished. "...Just when I needed to talk to him as well..." the Doctor pointed out.
"Doesn't that seem a little... suspicious?" River implied.
"Like it was planned, someone knew we were here, someone knew what we were doing... but how?" the Doctor pondered.
River's eyes scanned the room for any possible hints but she couldn't spot any. "Whatever's watching us, it's been cleverly disguised, maybe using a perception filter..." River theorised.
"River Song, you are brilliant!" the Doctor never even thought of that and whenever someone comes up with a good idea that he hadn't thought of, it makes them even more brilliant.
The Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver and set it to intercept any perception filter signals... nothing.
"I guess they're not hiding anything..." the Doctor mumbled. "They could be human..." he suggested off the top of his head and with a shrug of his shoulders.
"...Or maybe they're spying on us with technology..." River added looking around the room again. "...Either way, we have to find out who they are and stop them before the whole universe is erased!" she averted her attention back on the matter in hand.
"Ok... think. The host is the only one who read the inscription on the carving, but we were the ones who wrote it, so surely we should know why we wrote it and why we had it placed here- there has to be a link with the location of the Tapestry and here." The Doctor pondered as he paced the staircase.
River quickly and quietly began thinking; she was too trying to piece this together. Just then, an idea hit her. "Oh... I think I have something." She blurted out and walked to the tribute engraving, her heels clicking on the floor as she stepped over to it.
"What?" the Doctor was curious. This woman was amazing, complex but amazing and now he can see why he has such a close relationship with her some day.
River paused in front of the engraving and examined it closely. "There!" her slender hand pointed to part of the picture. "...That same pattern was outside the temple on the floor, and if you remember that the inscription was next to this pattern so it must have something to do with that and if we figure out what it is, it may help us find the Tapestry and fix this." River explained taking a deep breath after her long-winded speech.
The Doctor stood for a moment, mouth agape and speechless. "...You... are... BEYOND BRILLIANT!" he grinned at her. "...Let's go and find out then, shall we?" He briefly studied the engraving again, looking at the patterns and he did recognise them from outside.
"Going backwards and forwards... I'm getting tired of this, and I'm getting blisters!" River sighed.
"You know you love it!" the Doctor grinned as they started to head back out of the temple once again. "And if I have to I'll carry you!" he teased. River rolled her eyes, although she did like the offer.
When they reached the outside of the temple, in the centre of the desert-like sands was a large circular stone with the bizarre markings on like the one in the picture. The Doctor and River ran over to it and started inspecting. "...I think it may have something to do with those two big crystals on the temple wall..." River suggested looking over her shoulder at the temple.
"What makes you say that?"
"Well, there's two sets of markings on the stone and two crystals and if I remember rightly, then in Old-High Gallifreyan this would mean 'time' and this would mean 'space' and those same hieroglyphics are below the crystals on the wall." River inspected the patterns again as she kneeled down and ran her fingers over the markings.
"Maybe... or maybe it's us- the Lord of Time and the Lady of Space." The Doctor added.
"But, what do we do?" River asked standing back up and straightening the top of her dress.
"Hm, you stand on that bit for 'Space' and I'll stand on this bit for 'Time' and we'll just see what happens... if anything." He suggested.
River obeyed and stood on the part she was instructed to do so and the Doctor in turn stood on the other part. The Doctor reached his hand over to River and she took hold of it with a smile.
A bright light started to shine from the temple as the Doctor and River linked their hands together. The light was coming from the two large crystals- a blue light for time and a purple light for space. The lights shone directly onto the patterns on the stone that the Doctor and River were standing on, the light almost blinding them.
River shielded her eyes as the purple light engulfed her. "Doctor, what do you thinks gonna happen?" she called over to him above the rumbling noise that emerged from nowhere.
"I don't know, I just hope it's good!" he chuckled looking over and into her beautiful green eyes.
"Me too..." she mumbled, not too convinced.
The ground below them started to vibrate and the circular stone started to part down the middle- opening up the ground. The Doctor could no longer reach for River's hand without falling, she was his reassurance and he wanted her right by him. "River!" he cried out to her, she looked scared for the first time.
He wanted to run over to her and kiss and hold her tightly for some unusual reason called love, he was still unsure of River but he was almost certain that he did in fact love her. The only thing stopping him from moving was he needed to be on the Time section otherwise it wouldn't work and he wouldn't be able to find the Tapestry.
The stone had parted a lot further now and it had almost all disappeared under the sand and with that, the Doctor and River both lost balance on the little land that was left and they fell... plummeting into the unknown...