The next morning is warmer than the previous. Although a thin layer of frost and ice covers everything in the arena, the blocks and sheets of frozen ice shine with a glistening layer of water, not enough to melt, but enough to show optimism.

And nobody needs the optimism more than Chantho. She's been struggling the entire time, always between a state of catatonic and total panic. And, although she'd had no trouble for most of the games, she knows that the only reason she's lasted that long was because nobody was ever looking for her.

But on this morning, she realizes that someone is following her. She first realizes this as she was making her way around the ice fields. Slipping for the umpteenth time on the slick ground, she hears ice crunch behind her. Sliding around, not attempting to get back on her feet, she turns to face whatever is behind her.

She sees only an expanse of ice, rocks, and sparse plants, the forest further off. Sighing, she scrambles to her feet and continues her sliding journey towards the other end of the field, desperately trying to get back into the forest, and back under some sort of cover from there tributes, as well as the elements.

~The Doctor Games~

"Ten?" Amy says, through the morning's chill. She had gotten up around midnight to relieve him of his watch shift. But, as soon as he drifted off, he began whimpering and whispering words in his sleep. It was continuous, but sparse, so that, every half hour, a solid word was said among the murmuring. One word. The same word.

"Rose."

But, now that the sun is up, Amy needs to awaken him. However, he seems to be in a too-deep sleep. Amy shakes his shoulder, wondering how he could be so asleep on the solid gold Cornucopia floor.

"Come on, Ten…" says Amy, prompting him further, crouching down by his head. "Ten, you need to get up." She prods his head. "Ten?" She taps his back. "Ten…" She stands, throwing her hands above her head in exasperation. "Doctor!"

At this, he blinks his eye open. He simply states, "I thought you call me 'Ten.'"

"I do. Now get up." Her voice changes from frustrated to gentler. "You need to eat something. You never had anything yesterday."

He sits up, and, suddenly, his sullen voice gets back to his normal self. "Quite right! And I'm starving. Have you eaten? What time is it…?"

And, he begins to talk and monologue, and tell everything and ask every question. It's as if the previous night of horrors had never happened. Amy responds positively, though, inwardly, she wasn't convinced. It was like when she was sixteen, and a boy at school's mother died. He never acted any different. That same boy now lives in a mental institution.

Later, after they had both eaten their fill, and Amy has taken up a position sitting atop the Cornucopia, the Doctor leaning up against its side, he asks her a question.

"Who are you playing for?" he says, out of nowhere.

This catches Amy off guard. She leans over to give him a quizzical look. "What?"

"Who are you playing for?" he prompts, "These games: If you win, your family, friends, allies… They're all safe as well. Who are you playing to protect?"

Amy gives this a moment of thought, and replies, "My mum and dad. And Aunt Sharon, of course. And… And Rory. Rory's memory. His honor."

The Doctor frowns. Then, he smiles, a sad smile, that grows the more he speaks. "That is… Brilliant. That is so, brilliant—So human! Ha! I love it! I mean, here, you've had just about everything stripped from you, your home, your heart, your sense of right and wrong… And you remain a human. Brilliant!"

"Yeah, I guess," Amy replies, the Doctor's grin spreading to her face as well. "I still feel like an animal, though."

The Doctor sighs. "All the Daleks' fault. The Games… all for fun; how sick is that? Daleks are ancient, you'd think they'd be more sophisticated…" The Doctor's voice continues to drone on, replaying his thoughts about humanity and emotions and virtue and Daleks, but Amy doesn't hear it.

Her mind is suddenly too hard at work to listen. She is troubled, in the very nexus of her mind. Because something the Doctor said should have brought back memories. Ideas. But, for some reason, Amy finds herself unable to recall… Recall what? There is something… Something she should be able to think about, but, she just can't. Her brain works to uncover the memories. It works to get past the brainwashing of the Doctor Games. It works to get past the perception filter, so perfectly in place as to not let anybody recognize the obvious.

~The Doctor Games~

At the same time, Eleven's brain works too, but a bit faster.

"Thick!" he calls out, randomly and without warning. He'd just helped River to cross an icy stream, and stands, his back facing her, a hand slapped up against his head, as he shouts at himself, "I am so stupid! How can I be this utterly thick!"

Calmly, River replies, "Now, sweetie, you didn't get us lost again, did you? Just check the wind direction, like last time, we'll be on our way."

"No, no! Not that." Eleven says, walking away slightly, giving himself room to think. "I mean, I am stupid not to remember… Oh! Perception filter!"

"Perception filter?" asks River, her attention caught by this proclamation. "What's this about a perception filter?"

The Doctor shakes his head. "I should have known. Even with the Ood… Even with absolute power over the universe… Daleks don't care about entertainment. They never would. It's not in their biology. Daleks plan, and fight, and kill. They don't laugh. They would never organize a fun way to kill…"

"What do you mean…?" urges River.

"I mean –" A cannon blast rings through the air. He shouts at the sky, "Shut up! Where was I? Oh, yes, Daleks! They wouldn't need to watch us die, they just need us dead. So, there must be something else, with the Daleks. Someone else. A person… A person who needs to be entertained"

"Who?"

"I think I know…" the Doctor suddenly squints his eyes, and holds his head in his hands, saying, "That damn perception filter! I'm so close to the answer; I can feel it inside my mind, but I just… I just… Can't… Think!"

River puts a hand on the Doctor's tense shoulder, "It's alright. Don't stress over it. We can think later. It's a bit after mid-day; we need to catch something to eat."

However, that is easier said than done. In the Arena, the main animal is a brown-ish, tough-skinned lizard. Some robin-esque birds also flit around, and there's the fish in the icy river, but, on this day, the Doctor and River come from hunting fruitless. But, just as the sun goes down, and the Doctor's and River's stomachs are growling from hunger, two parachutes drop from the sky, one for the Doctor, one for River. And, by the light of the moon and stars, they both eat a good-sized bowl of porridge, while they watch the names of the day's death flash on the sky.

The only name is Chantho. Leo Jones had been following her through the ice fields that morning, but hadn't managed to catch her. It was Jeff that had found Chantho, cold and miserable, on the other side of the frozen landscape. It was Jeff who slit her throat, his first kill.

One more soul, lost to the Daleks' games.