The Doctor looked around boredly. There weren't many people around in the markets anymore. Probably because the ceremony was about to start. He smiled.

"Follow me." He said as he began walking towards the amphitheatre.

"Where are we going now?" Dean asked from behind him through a mouthful of food. The Doctor didn't respond, but kept leading Dean through the crowd so he could see what was about to happen.

The Doctor's only ever seen this once before, quite a few faces ago, but he can still remember it clearly.

Dean rushed to keep up with him as he entered the theatre, tossing the fruit to the side on the way in. They jogged in while looking for seats.

"Sorry, sorry. Excuse me. Sorry." The Doctor whispered as he walked through the crowd to the only available seats. Dean followed him silently, looking a little uncomfortable as they sat down.

Dean was looking carefully at the Queen of Years. His face, it was full of emotions. Worry, regret, hope, sadness. But that was when the girl was facing the pyramid.

She turned around and locked eyes with Dean. The Doctor was surprised, but Dean's eyes crinkled as he smiled and waved at her. The Queen smiled too, giving a little wave back. She looked like she had more confidence than before just from looking at him.

The Doctor narrowed his eyes at Dean. He's already got a list with a couple hundred questions for this so-called 'monster hunter'. Each moment with him added more and more to the list.

The Queen turned back around, standing straighter than before. She took a deep breath, and, after a moment, began to sing.

"Akhaten." She sang, drawing out the notes. "Oh god of, oh god of, oh god of Akhaten."

The Doctor pulled out the tourist's pamphlet he found while wandering around the asteroid. He put on the glasses and read about the ceremony.

"So," He said quietly, but loud enough to get Dean's attention. "They're singing to the mummy in the temple. They call it the Old God, or sometimes Grandfather." Dean nodded, not taking his eyes off of the girl.

"Oh god of Akhaten."

"Why are they singing?" Dean asked.

"This is a lullaby. It's supposed to feed Grandfather, and keep him sound asleep. It's a song without end, being carried on through generation after generation after generation." The Doctor paused, looking hopefully at the pyramid. "It's called the Long Song."

"Akhaten."

Suddenly, everyone in the crowd put their left hands up, palm facing the sky, holding an object out towards the sun. As soon as they were in the air, the objects started disappearing.

"What are they doing?" Dean looked around at all the people, fascinated.

"They presenting offerings to the Old God." The Doctor replied, looking around at some of the things the people had. "They're gifts of value. Mementos to feed the Old God." He looked at Dean, who was smiling as he watched the offerings disappear. The Doctor couldn't help but smile, too.

"Oh god of, oh god of, oh god of, oh god of Akhaten."

The crowd began to sing along with the Queen.

"Rest now, my warrior."

The Doctor looked around, trying to anticipate what came next.

"Lay…" He murmured unsurely. Dean laughed.

"Lay down, my king." The Doctor didn't sing.

Dean, however, tried to.

"Rest now, my warrior." He sang awkwardly with the crowd. The Doctor smiled down at him.

Then the planet rumbled. The singing abruptly stopped, and the Queen was looking around, absolutely frightened. The people all around them started chattering in their native tongues, all scared and confused.

A beam of light broke through the asteroids in its way as it surged towards the people. It manifested itself around the Queen of Years, levitating her into the air.

Almost immediately, Dean was running to her. He grabbed her hands, digging his feet into the ground as the beam began pulling the girl towards the pyramid.

"Just hold on, Merry! I've got you!" He shouted over the crowd's screams.

The girl screamed, clutching Dean desperately. One of her hands was pulled out of Dean's, and his arm shot back, almost breaking itself. He ignored it, focused on keeping the girl, or Merry, safe.

He was keeping his stance deep, but apparently the gravitational pull was too strong. Dean soared through space, refusing to let go of Merry.

"Dean!" The Doctor shot up from his seat as Dean and Merry were being carried away. They were already too far out for him to catch Dean's foot. He bit his lip. What the hell is he going to do?

Something silver glimmered in the corner of his eye. It was a ring. Dean's ring. It must've slipped off when his arm got thrown back.

He picked it up, staring at it indecisively. I mean, how special was it to him? Not that special, right? It's just a ring. How much sentimental value could it hold?

The Doctor took off running into the markets, stuffing the ring in his pocket. He ran for a good minute before he found the booth he was looking for.

"Dor'een!" He shouted, out of breath. The woman smiled at him and bowed. "Listen, big emergency! I need the moped! Could I trade it for this?" He held up the ring with slight trepidation.

Dor'een picked it up with her paw and sniffed it for what felt like a while. After a long, drawn out moment, she nodded, stepping aside so the Doctor could use the moped.

He wasted no time in getting on and starting it. Pretty soon, he was right behind Dean and Merry.

"Dean!" He shouted. The man looked at him, then extended his free hand. The Doctor took it and slammed the moped's breaks.

Merry and Dean were dangling midair as the Doctor tried to pull them back to Akhaten. The moped was hollering, having trouble going against the golden beam.

You could almost smell burning rubber. The moped could barely take the strain, and neither could Merry. She let go of Dean, sending him downwards.

"Ah! No!" She screamed, helplessly squirming towards Dean.

Dean climbed up on the back of the moped urgently. He stood up on the foot rests and watched as Merry was taken inside the pyramid.

"Merry!"