Chapter 10: The Pandorica Opens
Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who.
Now I've decided to skip 'Vincent and the Doctor' and 'The Lodger' cos if the Vixen's dead i don't know how I'll change it.
The Vixen woke up to find herself perfectly fine. Only she wasn't in the Silurian City. No, she was on the Byzantium. When she, River, the Doctor and Father Octavian had left to find the primary flight deck. She heard her past self giving out orders. "Good luck, everyone. Behave. Do not let that girl open her eyes. Keep watching the forest. Stop those Angels advancing. Amy, later!" The Vixen's past self tapped Amy on the head gently, before leaving. "River, we're going to need your computer."
The real Vixen walked up to her and put her hands over Amy's. She said softly, "Amy. You need to start trusting me and the Doctor. It's never been more important."
Amy said, "But you don't always tell me the truth."
The Vixen whispered, "If we always told you the truth, we wouldn't need you to trust us."
Amy said, "Vixen, the crack in my wall, how can it be here?"
The Vixen replied, "I don't know yet, but I'm working it out." She looked at her past self. "Now, listen. Remember what I told you when you were seven?"
Amy asked, "What did you tell me?"
The Vixen rested her forehead against Amy's. "No, no... That's not the point. You have to remember." She kissed her softly on the head and left.
Amy asked, "Remember what? Vixen? Vixen?"
The Vixen came to shackled to a tree root with futuristic handcuffs underground. She groggily opened her eyes to look at a blonde she thought she would never see again. "Jenny?!"
Jenny jumped back. "Who are you? How do you know my name?"
The Vixen struggled against her cuffs, overjoyed to see her daughter alive and well. "Oh right. Regeneration. Jenny, it's me. Vixen!"
Jenny asked suspiciously, "How do I know it's you?"
The Vixen said dryly, "You were born of my tissue sample stolen at gunpoint. General Cobb shot you during the terraforming."
"Mum?!" Jenny rushed forward to open her mother's cuffs.
When she was free, the Vixen squeezed the life out of Jenny. "What happened? I thought you died."
Jenny coughed, "Air! Mum, I need air."
"Sorry. But how-"
Jenny said, "Well, I think it was the terraforming. Then…" She blushed. "I nicked an escape shuttle from the spaceship." The Vixen gave a short laugh. "I tried to find you but never did. Anyway, after a few years or so, there was this bright light and I passed out. I woke up in a cell or something and this guy called something like John Harker…"
The Vixen asked, "Captain Jack Harkness?"
Jenny replied, "Yeah. That's it. Friend of yours?"
The Vixen replied, "Sort of a brother really. But what did he say?"
Jenny went on, "He asked me who I was and what I was doing there. And I said I was your daughter and was trying to find you. So he got all suspicious and scanned me, finding out that I did have two hearts and something called Bad Wolf in my veins. Then Captain Jack let me out saying that I was in someplace called Torchwood, Cardiff on Earth and that I had appeared through this Rift in Time and Space. But my shuttle was completely destroyed. Then he gave me this." She showed the Vixen the strap on her wrist. "Said it was a Vortex Manipulator and I could travel through Space and Time with it, looking for you. So I left as soon as I could. Then after a while, I met this woman somewhere in London, Sarah Jane Smith her name was, I told her I was your daughter and she immediately took me to her house. I asked if she could help me find you and she helped me find this." Jenny held up a Sonic Pen, the same one Matron Cofelia had.
The Vixen sighed, "I thought I threw that away. Anyway, continue."
Jenny said, "I then got these readings on the Manipulator that were off the scale, so I came to check it out. Also I got this weird tingling in my mind when I got here."
"That would be me. You've travelled in Space and Time, plus you're my daughter, you've got the same golden essence, Bad Wolf, flowing through you as I do. That's why you could feel that."
"Then I found you cuffed next to this box thing."
The Vixen said, "Okay. Let's catch up. You have a Vortex Manipulator like mine. You found a Sonic Pen. And you have Bad Wolf flowing through you. And you met two of my friends."
Jenny replied, "Sounds about right. By the way, did you notice you have a sword?"
The Vixen replied, "Yeah. I did make it. But I'm so happy you're okay." She hugged Jenny again then looked around. "Where are we?"
"No idea."
The Vixen grinned, "Let's go find out, then." She typed something in her Manipulator and put Jenny's hand on hers before they flashed to the outskirts of a Roman encampment, to face Romans, all with lipstick on their faces. "Oh. Hello! I'm the Vixen, this is Jenny. Say hello to the nice soldiers, Jenny."
"Hi." Jenny waved.
A soldier said, "Cleopatra will see you now." The Vixen and Jenny shared a look before being pushed forward.
"Hello, sweetie."
The Vixen got that other presence in her mind again. Not Jenny, but someone else. "River Song. Why are you dressed as Cleopatra?"
River replied, "Only way to find out things is to get on the inside. Rule 346."
Jenny asked, "Sorry, but who are you?"
The Vixen said, "Jenny, this is River Song. River, this is Jenny. My… daughter."
River teased, "Ooh. You and the Doctor been busy have you?"
"Shut up, she's a generated anomaly."
Jenny said, "Still a real person, though."
River commented the Vixen, "Nice sword."
"Thanks."
River asked, "So, what are you doing here? You're not scheduled for a few more hours."
The Vixen said, "River. Rory and I died and we were swallowed by Time Energy. Well, I sort of was, but then I woke up in this box thing and Jenny found me. How do you know the Doctor's gonna be here though?"
"I wrote a little message for him on the oldest cliff face in the universe. He didn't answer his phone."
"Ah. So, think we can wait with you?"
River replied, "Sure. I hope you two don't mind being Cleopatra's bodyguards. Or wearing armour."
Jenny and the Vixen said in unison, "No problem."
River said uneasily, "There is something you should see, Vixen. Go get changed first, before anyone asks questions. Go straight out, then first tent on your left." The Vixen nodded before she and Jenny left.
The Vixen and Jenny looked at a painting of the TARDIS exploding. They were now in Roman armour with capes and the Vixen's sword at her side and a gold one at Jenny's. River explained, "One of Vincent Van Gogh's last artworks. Apparently he was buddies with your boyfriend."
Jenny asked, "What is this?"
The Vixen said, "It's the TARDIS. My home. River, if the Pandorica is real, the Doctor and Amy need to get here as fast as they can."
A Roman soldier came in, "Ma'am. A blue box has been spotted not far from camp."
Jenny, the Vixen and River looked at each other before nodding.
The Doctor walked into the tent and the first thing he saw was River, dressed as Cleopatra, being waited on by two servants, a blonde Roman soldier by her side. River greeted, "Hello, sweetie."
Amy smiled, "River! Hi."
The Doctor hissed, "You graffitied the oldest cliff-face in the universe."
A voice called out from behind him. "Apparently you wouldn't answer your phone."
The Doctor's breath hitched and he turned around to see the Vixen grinning, clad in Roman armour. River clapped her hands and the servants left, all except the soldier next to River.
Memories came shooting back in Amy's mind. But not all of them. "Vixen?"
The Vixen grinned at her. "Hi, Amy."
Amy covered her mouth before hugging the Vixen. She pulled away. "You're alive."
The Vixen looked at herself. "I think so."
The Doctor suddenly strode forward and scooped the Vixen up, capturing her lips in his. The Vixen smiled and kissed him back. "Hello, Doctor."
The soldier beside River spoke up. "Aw. That's so sweet."
The Vixen pulled away and beckoned her over. "Doctor, this is Jenny. She's my daughter."
"Hello, Dad."
The Doctor's mouth fell to the floor. He said something smart like, "Uh… What? Sorry… But… I… uh… what?"
The Vixen, River and Jenny laughed. The Vixen said, "She's a generated anomaly. And she's also Gallifreyan. And we're also River's bodyguards. Well, Cleopatra's."
Amy said, "Okay, this is the weirdest day of my life."
The Doctor muttered, still shocked, "I'll say."
River said, "It's about to get weirder. So can we move on and get to the real problem?" She held out the scrolled canvas.
The Doctor said, "I'll want an explanation later." He turned to River and asked, "What's this?"
The Vixen walked over to River. "It's a painting. From your friend, Vincent."
The Doctor snatched the painting and began to unroll it.
River stood up, "One of his final works. He had visions, didn't he? I thought you ought to know about this one."
Amy asked, "Vixen? Doctor, what is this?" The group examined the painting. "Why's it exploding?"
River replied, "I assume it's some kind of warning."
The Doctor sat down, his thoughts heavy.
Amy asked, "Something's going to happen to the TARDIS?"
The Vixen replied, "It might not be that literal. Anyway this is where he wanted you. Date and map reference on the door sign, see?"
The Doctor asked quietly, "Does it have a title?"
River replied, "The Pandorica Opens."
Amy asked, "The Pandorica? What is it?"
Jenny said, "I've heard of that. It's like a box. A cage. A prison. It was built to contain the two most feared things in all the universe."
The Doctor said, pacing, "And it's a fairy tale, a legend. It can't be real."
Jenny said, "Well it must be, cos I found Mum cuffed to a tree root right beside it."
The Doctor turned around. "What?"
The Vixen said, "After I 'died' or whatever, I went through a few of my memories. Like that thing people say that when you die, your life flashes before your eyes. So then I woke up and Jenny was right there and she opened my cuffs with her sonic pen."
The Doctor asked Jenny, "You made a sonic pen?"
Jenny replied, "No. Sarah Jane Smith helped me track it." The Doctor giggled and high fived Jenny.
The Vixen cleared her throat. The Doctor said, "Right, continue."
"So Jenny found me cuffed next to the Pandorica, right? Then she opened the cuffs and told me what happened and then we teleported to the outskirts of the Roman encampment, where Cleopatra was expecting us. By the way, River, how did you know we were there?"
River replied, "Spoilers."
The Vixen just rolled her eyes. The Doctor asked, "Where is the Pandorica?"
Jenny replied, "We don't know. Like Mum said, we teleported to the borders of the Roman camp. I flashed into some cave or something where the Pandorica was and then Mum and I teleported out."
River said, "If it is real, it's here and it's opening. And it's got something to do with your TARDIS exploding."
The Doctor pulled out some local maps. The Vixen said, "It's hidden, obviously. Buried for centuries. You won't find it on a map."
Jenny said, catching on, "No. But if you buried the most dangerous thing in the universe, you'd want to remember where you put it."
The Doctor gave another giggle. "She's smart. I like you."
The Vixen, Jenny, the Doctor, River and Amy rode horseback across Salisbury Plain to Stonehenge. River and Jenny had changed into something a little more 'modern' while the Vixen had stayed in the Roman armour, not bothering to change all over again.
The Doctor leant forward, "Come on. Hya!"
The Vixen, the Doctor and Jenny used their sonics on some of the stones lying on the ground. River took out a scanner and typed in some information. Amy asked, "How come it's not new?"
River replied, "Because it's already old. Been here thousands of years. No-one knows exactly how long." She looked up skywards.
Amy said, "OK, this Pandorica thing. Last time we saw you, you warned us about it, after we climbed out of the Byzantium."
"Spoilers!" River put a finger to her lips.
Amy said, "No, but you told the Vixen you'd see her again when the Pandorica opens."
River replied, "Maybe I did. But I haven't yet. But I will have. Vixen, Doctor, I'm picking up fry particles everywhere. Energy weapons discharged on this site."
The Doctor stood on a large stone. "If the Pandorica is here, it contains the mightiest warrior in history. Now, half the galaxy would want a piece of that. Maybe even fight over it." He jumped off the stone and put an ear to it. "We need to get down there."
River placed a device on the corner of the large stone. There were large standing lights placed around the area. She walked up to the Vixen, "Right then. Ready." River pressed a button on her scanner and the rock slid to the side revealing stone steps underneath.
The Vixen stepped forward as River took a torch from her pocket and switched it on. The Doctor said, "The underhenge." He, the Vixen and Jenny took out their sonics and used them as torches as they entered.
The Doctor stepped out of a narrow passage and used his screwdriver to light a torch. River went to the opposite wall and brought a torch over to light it. Jenny lifted up a large board that was acting as a lock across a huge set of doors. With a nod and a smile to the Vixen, they pushed open the doors and found themselves in a cavernous room. In the center stood a large box with an intricate circular pattern on each side.
The Vixen murmured, "It's the Pandorica."
River walked up to her and Jenny. "More than just a fairy tale."
The Doctor walked forward and stepped on something, He looked down to see the arm of a Cyberman. He continued towards the Pandorica and placed a hand on it. The Vixen said, walking forward, "There were two goblins, or tricksters, or warriors. Two nameless, terrible things, soaked in the blood of a billion galaxies."
The Doctor said, "The most feared beings in all the cosmos. And nothing could stop them, or hold them, or reason with them. One day they would just drop out of the sky and tear down your world."
Amy asked, standing next to Jenny, "How did it end up in there?"
Jenny replied, "You know fairy tales. A good wizard tricked it. At least that's what I've heard."
The Doctor walked around to the other side of the Pandorica while River handed Amy her torch as she took out her scanner. River said, "I hate good wizards in fairy tales. They always turn out to be one of this pair."
Amy asked, looking around, "So it's kind of like Pandora's Box, then? Almost the same name."
The Vixen and Jenny asked in unison, "Sorry, what?"
Amy replied, "The story. Pandora's Box, with all the worst things in the world in it." The Doctor put his torch in a holder then used his screwdriver on the Pandorica. "That was my favourite book when I was a kid." The Doctor stopped and walked over to Amy, a concerned look on his face. "What's wrong?"
The Doctor replied, "Your favourite school topic, your favourite story. Never ignore a coincidence."
The Vixen said, "Unless you're busy. In which case, always ignore a coincidence." She turned back to the Pandorica.
River asked, "So can you open it?"
The Vixen replied, "Easily. Anyone can break into a prison, but I'd rather know what we're going to find first."
River said, looking at her scanner, "It's already opening. There are layers and layers of security protocols in there, and they're being disabled, one by one. Like it's being unlocked from the inside."
Jenny asked, "How long do we have?"
"Hours at the most."
The Doctor asked, "What kind of security?"
River replied, "Everything. Deadlocks, time-stops, matter-lines."
Jenny asked, "What could need all that?"
River retorted, "What could get past all that?"
The Vixen said, "Think of the fear that went into making this box."
Amy heard a rustling sound and turned quickly, grabbing Jenny's arm. Nothing was there. Jenny whispered, "What?"
Amy replied, "Nothing. I thought I heard something."
The Doctor asked, "What could inspire that level of fear? Hello, you. Have we met?"
The Vixen and River rolled their eyes. River asked, "So why would it start to open now?"
The Doctor replied, "No idea."
Amy asked, "Hmm, and how could Vincent have known about it? He won't even be born for centuries."
The Vixen took out her sonic screwdriver once again and used it on the stone pillars. Jenny took out her sonic and scanned some pillars. The Vixen said, "The stones! These stones are great big transmitters, broadcasting a warning to everyone, everywhere, to every time zone. The Pandorica is opening!"
River asked slowly, "Vixen… everyone, everywhere?"
The Doctor said, "Even poor Vincent heard it in his dreams. What's in there, what could justify all this?"
River asked again, "Vixen, everyone?"
The Vixen said, "Anything that powerful, we'd know about it. Why don't we know?"
"Vixen, you said everyone could hear it. So who else is coming?"
The Doctor and the Vixen realized what River was saying, "Oh."
Jenny asked, "Oh? Oh, what?"
River said, pressing her scanner against pillar, "OK, if it is basically a transmitter, we should be able to fold back the signal."
The Doctor and the Vixen said in unison, "On it." They used their sonics on all the pillars.
The Vixen said, "Jenny, be a dear and help out will you?" Jenny nodded and pulled out her sonic.
Amy asked, "What are you doing?"
River replied, "Stonehenge is transmitting, it's been transmitting for a while...so who heard?"
The Vixen said, "OK, should be feeding back to you now. River, what's out there? Getting anything?"
River replied, "Give me a moment."
The Vixen said urgently, "River, quickly, anything?"
River said, stunned, "Around this planet, there are at least 10,000 starships."
Amy and Jenny asked in unison, "At least?"
River said, "10,000, 100,000, 1 million, I don't know. There's too many readings."
The Doctor asked, "What kind of starships?"
A transmission came through and everyone's faces were of horror. A Dalek said, "Maintaining orbit."
Another Dalek said, "I obey. Shield cover compromised on ion sectors."
Amy muttered, "Daleks. Those are Daleks."
Jenny shuddered, "I don't want to meet those things again."
"Scan detects no temporal activity."
"Soft grid scan commencing."
"Reverse thrust for compensatory stabilisation."
Jenny clutched the Vixen's arm as River whispered, "Daleks."
"Launch preliminary armaments protocol."
The Doctor said, getting into action, "Yes, OK. OK, OK, OK. Dalek fleet. Minimum, 12,000 battleships, armed to the teeth. But we've got surprise on our side! They'll never expect three people to attack 12,000 Dalek battleships."
The Vixen smacked him on the head. "Cos we'd be killed instantly, idiot. So it would be a fairly short surprise."
The Doctor rubbed his head. "Yes. You're right. Forget surprise."
River said, "Vixen, Doctor, Cyber-ships."
The Vixen said, "No, Dalek ships, listen to them, those are Dalek ships."
River replied, "Yes. Dalek ships and Cyber-ships."
The Doctor said, "Well, we need to start a fight, turn them on each other. It's the Daleks... they're so cross..."
River said, "Sontaran. Four battle-fleets."
The Doctor said, "Sontarans! Talk about cross, who stole all their handbags?"
River read from her scanner, "Terileptil. Slitheen. Chelonian. Nestene. Drahvin. Sycorax. Haemo-goth. Zygon. Atraxi. Draconian. They're all here. For the Pandorica."
The Vixen walked to the Pandorica and murmured, "What are you?" The ground began to shake and she ran to the stairs, the Doctor, Jenny, River and Amy following. In that order.
The group looked up to the sky and saw lights from a number of ships flying above them. Amy asked, "What do we do?"
River pleaded, "Vixen, Doctor, listen to me, please! Everything that ever hated either of you is coming here tonight. You can't win this. You can't even fight it. You two, this once, just this one time, please, you have to run."
The Vixen asked, "Run where?"
Jenny asked, "Fight how?"
The Doctor took out binoculars and looked back the way they came. "The greatest military machine in the history of the universe."
Amy asked, "What is?"
Jenny asked, "The Daleks?"
The Doctor handed the Vixen the binoculars, who gave a short laugh. "No, no, no. The Romans!"
River and Jenny rode back to the Roman encampment. Their way into the tent was blocked by two guards.
Jenny and River were being guarded by two soldiers as the commander paced. He said, "So, I return to my command after one week and discover we've been playing host to Cleopatra. Who's in Egypt. And dead!"
Jenny snapped, "Yes. Funny how things work out."
'She's definitely her mother's daughter.' River thought. The ground shook again as a ship flew by overhead.
The commander said, "The sky is falling, and you make jokes. Who are you?"
River asked, "When you fight Barbarians, what must they think of you?"
"Oh, riddles now?"
River asked again, "Where do they think you come from?"
The commander drew his sword. "A place more deadly and more powerful and more impatient than their tiny minds can imagine."
River pulled out her disintegrator gun and used it on a cabinet. The commander and guards were stunned. Jenny asked, "Where do we come from? Your world has visitors. You're all Barbarians now."
The commander asked, "What is that? Tell me, what?"
River replied, "A fool would say, the work of the gods. But you've been a soldier too long to believe there are gods watching over us. There are, however, two people. And tonight they're going to need your help."
A soldier called, "Sir?"
The commander said to River and Jenny, "One moment." He went to the entrance to the tent where he had a whispered conversation with the soldier. They turned to look at Jenny and River. "Well, it seems you have a volunteer."
Amy lit more torches as the Vixen and the Doctor examined the Pandorica. Amy asked, "So what's this got to do with the TARDIS?"
The Vixen replied, "Nothing, as far as we know."
Amy said, "But Vincent's painting... the TARDIS was exploding, is that going to happen?"
The Doctor said, "One problem at a time. There's forcefield technology inside this box. If I can enhance the signal, I could extend it all over Stonehenge. Could buy us half an hour."
Amy asked, "What good is half an hour?"
The Doctor replied, "There are fruit flies live on Hoppledom 6 that live for 20 minutes and they don't even mate for life." The Vixen and Amy both stopped what they were doing and gave him a look. "There was going to be a point to that. I'll get back to you."
The Vixen said, "I'm going to go see what's keeping River so long." She went outside.
Amy pulled a ring box from her pocket. "So... Are you proposing to Vixen?"
The Doctor asked, "I'm sorry?"
Amy replied, "I found this in your pocket."
The Doctor looked up. "No. No, no, that's, uh...a memory. A friend of mine, someone I lost." He reached for the box but Amy pulled it away. "Do you mind?"
Amy said, "It's weird, I feel... I don't know. Something. It's like my memories of the Vixen came back but there's still something hidden in the dark."
The Doctor said, "People fall out of the world sometimes, but they always leave traces. Little things we can't quite account for. Faces in photographs, luggage, half eaten meals... rings... Nothing is ever forgotten, not completely. And if something can be remembered, it can come back."
Amy snapped the box closed and gave it back. "So, you're a dad. How are you doing?"
The Doctor smiled and put the ring back in his pocket before heading back to the Pandorica to work on it.
A voice asked from the doorway, "Hey Amy, remember that night you flew away with me and the Doctor?"
The Doctor and Amy looked to the Vixen, who stood leaning in the doorway. Amy replied, "Of course I do."
The Vixen asked, "And you asked us why we were taking you and we told you there wasn't a reason. We were lying."
Amy asked, "What, so you did have a reason?"
"Your house."
Amy asked, "My house?"
The Doctor looked down and said, "It was too big, too many empty rooms."
The Vixen walked to Amy and asked, "Does it ever bother you, Amy, that your life doesn't make any sense?"
At that moment, a laser fired. It was from the now activated Cyberman arm. Amy screamed and the Vixen pulled her to hide on one side of the Pandorica. The Doctor went to hide on the opposite side.
Amy asked, "OK, What was that?"
The Vixen replied, "Need a proper look. Got to draw its fire, give it a target."
Amy asked, "How?"
The Vixen asked, "You know how sometimes I have really brilliant ideas?"
Amy and the Doctor said in unison, "Yes..."
The Vixen muttered, "Sorry." She ran out before the Doctor or Amy could protest and stood in the open, arms spread high. "Look at me, I'm a target!"
The laser fired again and the Vixen ducked behind a pillar while the Doctor tried to get a good look. Amy asked, "What is that?"
The Doctor replied, "Cyber-arm. Arm of a Cyberman."
Amy asked, "And what's a Cyberman?"
The Vixen replied, "Oh, sort of part man, part robot. The organic part must have died off years ago, now the robot part is looking for fresh meat."
Amy asked, "What, us?"
The Doctor replied, "It's just like being an organ donor, except you're alive and sort of screaming."
The Vixen said, "Doctor, you and I need to get round behind it. Think you could draw its fire, Amy?"
Amy asked, "Like you did?"
The Vixen replied, "You'll be fine if you're quick, it's only got one arm. Literally." She grinned and gave two thumbs up.
Amy nervously returned the gesture before running, screaming, in the opposite direction. The cyberarm fired at her and the Doctor came up behind it, dove, and grabbed it. The Vixen then ran out and used her screwdriver on it.
Amy asked, "Vixen? Doctor?"
The Vixen said, "Scrambled its circuits, but stay where you are. It could be bluffing."
Amy asked, "Bluffing? It's an arm!"
The Vixen said, "I said stay where you are!" She and the Doctor stood up.
Angry, Amy stepped back and crossed her arms. She suddenly looked down. "Vixen?" She fell to the ground.
"Amy!"
The cyber-arm released a large dose of energy causing the Vixen and the Doctor to collapse to the ground, unconscious.
Amy cried, "Vixen! Doctor!" The Cyberman head was using its wires to pull itself closer to Amy, binding her wrists. As she fought, she lifted it and stared. As she did so, a seam opened down the center. Inside was the skull of the former occupant. Amy screamed. The skull fell out and the head began snapping open and closed in an attempt to get to Amy. She banged it against one of the stone pillars before throwing it to the ground. It began to scuttle away. "Vixen!"
The head shot a small dart to her neck and stated, "You will be assimilated."
Amy asked, "Yeah? You and whose body?"
There was the sound of heavy footsteps. Amy looked away from the head nervously and saw the body of a Cyberman approaching. It was missing its head and left arm. It picked up the head and replaced it before coming after Amy. She tried to defend herself with a torch but the drug in her system was beginning to take effect. She fell through a double set of doors that shut behind her. Amy whimpered, "Vixen!"
The Cyberman pounded on the door to get to her and then there was silence. She put her ear to the door. "Vixen? Doctor?" A sword was thrust into the door just before it swung open to show the Cyberman pinned and sparking. A Roman soldier stood there. Amy was unable to make him out clearly due to the drug. "Who...? Who are you...?"
The soldier removed his helmet. It was Rory. He said, "Hello, Amy." Amy fainted and Rory caught her. "Whoa, whoa!" Rory carried her to a stone table and set her down. He caressed her hair just as another soldier entered the small room.
"Sir, the woman's coming round. The man's still out."
The Vixen called, "Amy?! Where's Amy?" She ran into the room.
Rory said, "She's fine, Vixen, just unconscious."
The Vixen rushed over. "OK..." She checked Amy with her screwdriver. "Yes, she's sedated, that's all. Half an hour, she'll be fine. OK, Romans, good, I was just wishing for Romans, good old River and Jenny. How many?"
Rory replied, "50 men up top, volunteers. What about that thing?" He pointed to the Cyberman.
The Vixen asked, "50? Not exactly a legion."
Rory nodded to the other solider, who left. "Your friends were very persuasive, but it's a tough sell."
The Vixen said, "Yes, I know that, Rory, I'm not exactly one to miss the obvious. And that's my daughter you're talking about. Not River. The other one. But we need everything we can get."
The Doctor walked in the room and asked, "Where's Amy?"
The Vixen replied, "She's fine. Just sedated. Now take these." She pulled out two large guns from a chest and gave one to the Doctor. "OK, Cyber-weapons. This is basically a sentry box. So, headless wonder here was a sentry. Probably got himself duffed up by the locals. Never underestimate a Celt."
Rory started, "Vixen... How are you alive?"
The Vixen sighed, "I did a big Bad Wolf thing. Hush now, Rory. Why leave a Cyberman on guard?"
The Doctor said, "Unless it's a Cyberthing in the box."
The Vixen asked, "But why would they lock up one of their own? So not a Cyberthing, but what, what? No, we're missing something obvious, Rory!" She stood face-to-face with Rory, still missing the obvious. "Something big, something right slap in front of us, I can feel it!"
Rory muttered, "Yeah, I think you probably are."
The Vixen said, "I'll get it in a minute." She and the Doctor strode out of the room with the guns leaving Rory just standing there. There was a loud clatter as they suddenly dropped the weapons and slowly re-entered the room. They walked up to Rory and stared at him, blinking in case they were hallucinating from being unconscious. The Vixen poked Rory in the chest and Rory swayed. "Hello again."
Rory nodded, "Hello."
The Doctor asked, "How've you been?"
Rory replied, "Good. Yeah, good. I mean, Roman."
The Vixen said, "Rory, I'm not trying to be rude, but you died. I mean I did too, but like I said, I did a big Bad Wolf thing and survived, obviously. But you died."
Rory replied, "Yeah, I know, I was there."
The Vixen said, "You died and then you were erased from time. You didn't just die, you were never born at all, you never existed."
Rory asked, "Erased? What does that mean?"
The Doctor asked, "How can you be here?"
Rory replied, "I don't know. It's kind of fuzzy."
"Fuzzy?"
Rory said, "Well, I died and turned into a Roman. It's very distracting!" He ran a hand across Amy's cheek. "Did she miss me?" Neither the Vixen nor the Doctor answered.
There was a loud whooshing and rumbling and Vixen ran out of the smaller room into the main cavern, the Doctor and Rory behind her. The symbols on the Pandorica were glowing green. The Doctor used his screwdriver on it. The other Roman soldiers watched.
Rory asked, "What is it? What's happening?"
The Vixen replied, "The final phase. It's opening." The Doctor set a hand on the turning gears.
River called them on her communicator. "You're surrounded. Have you got a plan?"
The Doctor was lying on the ground by the Pandorica as he used his sonic screwdriver. The Vixen replied, "Yes! Now you and Jenny hurry up and get the TARDIS here. We need equipment!"
The Doctor asked the Pandorica, "What are you? They're all here, all of them, all for you. What could you possibly be?" The Vixen had an idea and she looked at the communicator in her hand before running out.
As the ships flew overhead, the Vixen's voice echoed in the night. "Sorry, sorry, dropped it." The Doctor and Rory looked around trying to locate the Vixen. "Hello, Stonehenge! Who takes the Pandorica, takes the universe. But bad news, everyone..." She jumped up on a flat stone. "'Cos guess who?! Ha!"
The Vixen spoke into the communicator, her eyes glowing and her voice strong. "Listen, you lot, you're all whizzing about, it's really very distracting. Could you all just stay still a minute? Because I am talking!"The Doctor and Rory flinched as the ships stilled. "The question of the hour is, who's got the Pandorica? Answer... we do. Next question, who's coming to take it from us? Come on! Look at me, no plan, no back-up, no weapons worth a damn. Except for this sword and let's face it, I can't fight you all with one sword. Oh, and something else, I don't have, anything... to... lose! So if you're sitting up there in your silly little spaceship, with all your silly little guns, and you've got any plans on taking the Pandorica tonight, just remember who's standing in your way. Remember every black day that we ever stopped you. Every day I ever turned you to dust. And then, AND THEN, do the smart thing. Let somebody else try first."The Vixen held her arms outstretched, daring someone to try.
The ships took off and the Doctor and Rory exhaled. The Vixen threw Rory her communicator before jumping down. She said, "That'll keep 'em squabbling for half an hour! Romans!"
Rory said, "They're still out there. What do we do now?"
The Vixen replied, "If we can stop whatever's in this box getting out, then they'll go home."
Rory said, "Right."
The Doctor took a deep breath and turned to Rory. "Rory, I'm sorry, you're going to have to be very brave now."
Amy had woken up and was walking towards them rubbing her head. She walked right past Rory to the Vixen and the Doctor. Amy groaned, "Oh, my head."
The Doctor said, "Aaaahhh."
"Aaaahhh."
The Doctor gave her a cursory examination. "Just your basic knock-out drops. Get some fresh air, you'll be fine."
Amy asked, "Is it safe up there?"
The Vixen replied, "Not remotely, but it's fresh."
"Fine." Amy turned and nearly bumped into Rory. "Oh, you're the guy, yeah, the one who did the...swordy thing."
Rory nodded, "Yeah."
Amy said, "Well, thanks for the swording. Nice swording. Vixen, you should practice with this guy." She tapped Rory on the shoulder and walked off.
Rory said, "No problem. My men are up there. They'll look after you."
"Good. Love a Roman!" Amy went up the stairs.
Rory asked, watching her leave, "She doesn't remember me." He turned to the Vixen and the Doctor. "How can she not remember me?"
The Doctor said, "Because you never existed."
The Vixen said, "There are cracks. Cracks in time. There's going to be a huge explosion in the future, on one particular day. And every other moment in history is cracking around it."
Rory asked, "So how does that work? What kind of explosion? What exploded?"
The Doctor replied, "Doesn't matter, the cracks are everywhere. Get too close and you can fall right out of the universe."
Rory asked, "So I fell through a crack and now I was never born?"
"Basically."
Rory asked, "How did I end up here?"
The Vixen licked her lips. "We don't know, you shouldn't have. What happened? From your point of view, what physically happened?"
Rory replied, "I was in the cave, with you and Amy. I was dying and then I was just here, a Roman soldier. A proper Roman. Head full of Roman... stuff, a whole other life. Just here like I'd woken up from a dream. Started to think it was a dream. You two and Amy and Leadworth. Then today, in the camp, the men were talking about the visitors, the girl with the red hair. I thought you'd come back for me. But she can't even remember me."
The Doctor scoffed, "Oh, shut up."
Rory asked, "What?"
The Doctor reached into his pocket, pulled out the ring box and tossed it to Rory. "Go get her."
Rory said, "But I don't understand. Why am I here?"
The Vixen grinned fondly, "Because you are. The universe is big. It's vast and complicated and ridiculous, and sometimes, very rarely, impossible things just happen and we call them miracles, and that's the theory. 900 years, never seen one yet. But this would do me. Now get upstairs, she's Amy and she's surrounded by Romans. I'm not sure history can take it."
Rory nodded and the Doctor slapped him on the back as he headed topside.
River and Jenny entered the TARDIS and immediately went about setting the coordinates to take it to the Vixen and the Doctor. River said to Jenny, "OK... Press that." Jenny did so and the TARDIS dematerialized with a jolt. River asked gently, "What's the matter with you?" The TARDIS was not behaving for Jenny or River. "What are you doing, what's wrong?"
The TARDIS stopped with a jolt. River asked, "OK? You OK now?" The monitor acted up and River whacked it a few times before helping Jenny up. They stepped outside.
Jenny asked, "Why are we here? Isn't this Amy's house?"
River nodded and held out her scanner and they slowly walked towards the door. The scanner began to beep and Jenny saw alien symbols burned into the grass. She grasped River's arm, who said, "OK, so something's been here." The door was off its hinges and the girls proceeded carefully into the house.
Jenny and River proceeded up the stairs to Amy's room. Jenny saw Amy's childhood 'Raggedy Vixen and Raggedy Doctor' dolls. River saw them and sighed, "Amy... Oh, Vixen, why do I let you two out?"
They then saw a children's book on Roman Britain, a soldier featuring prominently on the cover. Jenny remembered their encounter with the commander. River saw a book on Pandora's Box. In her head, she heard Amy say that it was her favourite book as a child. River and Jenny looked at each other and said in unison, "Oh no..."
The Doctor asked the Vixen, "Where are River and Jenny with the TARDIS?"
The Vixen said into the communicator, "The TARDIS, where is it? Hurry up!"
Jenny's anxious voice came on. "Mum, Dad. Don't raise your voice, don't look alarmed, just listen." The Doctor and the Vixen glanced at each other. Something was wrong.
River said, "They're not real, they can't be. They're all right here in the story book, those actual Romans, the ones we sent you, the ones you're with right now. They're all in a book in Amy's house, a children's picture book."
The Doctor asked, "What are you two even doing there?"
Jenny replied, "It doesn't matter. The TARDIS went wrong."
River asked over the communicator, "Vixen, how is this possible?"
The Vixen said, "Something's using her memories, Amy's memories."
Jenny asked, "But how?"
The Vixen said, "You said something had been there."
River replied, "Yes, there's burn marks on the grass outside, landing patterns."
The Doctor said, "If they've been to her house, they could have used her psychic residue. Structures can hold memories, that's why houses have ghosts. They could've taken a snapshot of Amy's memories. But why?"
Jenny asked, "Mum, who are those Romans?"
The Vixen replied quickly, "Projections. Or duplicates."
River said, "But they were helping us. My lipstick even worked."
The Doctor suddenly had a thought. "They might think they're real. The perfect disguise. They actually believe their own cover story, right until they're activated."
River started, "Vixen, Doctor, that Centurion... It's a trap, it has to be. They used Amy to construct a scenario you'd believe, to get close to you."
The Doctor asked, "Why? Who'd do that? What for? It doesn't make sense."
The two heard sparks. The Vixen asked, "Jenny? River? River, what's happening?!"
River replied, "Don't know, it's the engines. There's something wrong with the TARDIS, like something else is controlling it."
The Vixen said, "You're flying it wrong."
River snapped, "We're flying it perfectly, Vixen. You taught me."
The Doctor asked, "Where are you? What's the date reading?"
Jenny replied, "It's the 26th June, 2010."
The Vixen hissed, "You need to get out of there now! Any other time zone, just go." This was getting bad. Fast.
River said, "I can't break free."
The Doctor said, "Well, then, shut down the TARDIS. Shut down everything!"
Jenny said, "We can't! Someone else is flying it. An external force. We've lost control."
The Vixen asked, "But how? Why?" There was a high-pitched whine. The Doctor and the Vixen covered their ears. The Romans dropped into a bent forward position. The Vixen said, "Listen to me, just land her anywhere. Emergency landing, now. There are cracks in time, we've seen them everywhere, and they're getting wider."
The Romans straightened behind the Vixen and the Doctor. The Doctor said, "The TARDIS exploding is what causes them, but we can stop the cracks ever happening if you just land her!"
River said, "It's not safe."
The Pandorica began to open, two sides sliding away from the closest corner to the cavern entrance. The light shone on the Vixen and the Doctor's faces as the Vixen lowered the communicator. The Doctor asked, "Well, now. Ready to come out, are we?"
The Romans turned in unison and lifted their right hands in front of them.
River's voice came on the communicator, "Vixen, we're down. We've landed."
The Vixen lifted up the communicator. "OK, now both of you, just walk out of the doors. If there's no-one inside, the TARDIS engines shut down. Just get out of there."
Jenny swallowed, "We're going."
The Vixen hissed, "Run!" She and the Doctor walked slowly towards the Pandorica. The fingers of the Roman soldiers' hands flipped downward revealing guns. They marched forward towards the Vixen and the Doctor, who were using their sonic screwdrivers on the Pandorica.
Jenny said nervously, "Mum! Dad! We can't open the doors!"
As the Vixen bent down to pick up the communicator, she saw the Roman soldiers advancing. She jumped up and touched the Doctor's shoulder.
"Amy!"
River and Jenny's pleading voices came up. "Vixen, Doctor, we can't open the doors!"
"Mum, please, we've got seconds!"
The Vixen tried to pull out her sword but two Roman soldiers each held her and the Doctor, leading them away from the Pandorica. The Doctor scoffed, "Plastic Romans. Duplicates, driven by the Nestene Consciousness, eh?"
The Vixen asked, "Deep cover, but what for? What are you doing? What's in there, huh? What's coming out?"
The Nestene duplicates were facing the Pandorica. The Vixen and the Doctor were between them, facing the opposite direction. A soldier announced, "The Pandorica is ready."
The Doctor asked, "What, you mean it's open?"
A Dalek's voice was heard, "You have been scanned. Assessed. Understood. Vixen. Doctor."
The Doctor and the Vixen looked at each other in horror and slowly looked over their shoulder to see a white Dalek. A red and a yellow Dalek soon materialized beside it. The Nestene duplicates turned the Vixen and the Doctor around to face the Daleks.
The Vixen asked, "Scanned? Scanned by what, a box?"
A Cyberman said, "Your limits and capacities have been extrapolated."
The Time Lords looked around for the source and Cybermen appeared followed by Judoon and Sontarans. The Sontaran leader announced, "The Pandorica is ready."
The Vixen and the Doctor asked in unison, "Ready for what?"
The Dalek replied, "Ready for you." The lights dimmed and they saw inside the Pandorica. Amidst the advanced technology were two chairs with restraints. The Vixen and the Doctor tried to pull away from the Nestene soldiers holding them. The soldiers pulled them forward.
Silurians, a Hoix and Roboforms appeared as the Vixen and the Doctor were walked to the Pandorica. Their enemies watched as the Time Lords were forced along the gauntlet towards the Pandorica. They were placed in the chairs within the Pandorica and clamps were placed around their wrists and ankles and a large yoke came down on each of their shoulders. The Vixen and the Doctor's enemies stood at the opening to gloat over his end.
The Doctor asked, "You lot, working together, an alliance... How is that possible?"
The Dalek said, "The cracks in the skin of the universe."
The Sontaran said, "All reality is threatened."
The Cyberman finished, "All universes will be deleted."
The Vixen asked, "What? And you've come to us for help?"
The Sontaran snapped, "No. We will save the universe from you!"
The Doctor asked, "From us?"
The Cyberman said, "All projections correlate. All evidence concurs. The Vixen and the Doctor will destroy the universe."
The Vixen said, "No, no, no. You've got it wrong."
"The Pandorica was constructed to ensure the safety of the alliance." Said the Cyberman.
The Dalek said, "A scenario was devised from the memories of your companion."
The Sontaran said proudly, "A trap the Vixen and the Doctor could not resist."
The Dalek said, "The cracks in time are the work of the Vixen and the Doctor. It is confirmed."
The Doctor said, "No. no, no. Not us, the TARDIS. And we're not in the TARDIS, neither of us, are we?"
The Dalek declared, "Only the Vixen or the Doctor can pilot the TARDIS."
The Vixen pleaded, "Please, listen to us!"
The Dalek said, "You will be prevented."
The Doctor said, "Total event collapse!"
The Vixen begged, "Every sun will supernova at every moment in history. The whole universe will never have existed! Please, listen to me!"
The Cyberman ordered, "Seal the Pandorica."
"No! Please, listen to us! The TARDIS is exploding right now and we're the only ones who can stop it! Listen to me!" The Pandorica slammed shut.
Ooh. Jenny turned up. Yay! Happy Happy reunion… For like five minutes. Please review.