"Well then," The Doctor sighed heavily, "I think that's all the necessary pre-reading." He paused, cocking his head thoughtfully. "Although maybe not in the right order."
"No change there then." Amy smiled, feeling guilty for chastising the Doctor earlier. She'd been so frustrated with the Time Lord at the time, but realised now just how scared she was. Amy didn't think she'd seen the Doctor stay in one place for so long, just floating around at the back of the room as they watched the Visualiser. It wasn't what she was seeing that was scaring her, but the fact the Doctor wasn't doing anything about it. Perhaps, this time, he really had given up.
"That's not it though, is it?" Rory questioned. "You collected all those things for a reason right? To help Ace? Unless its all one really over elaborate treasure hunt?"
"A-star Rory!" The Doctor congratulated, as he pointed his screwdriver towards the screen, turning away as he did so, before clarifying. "Not the treasure hunt. though that's not a bad idea for when I have a few spare centuries." He zapped the Visuliser once more. "Just one more thing for you to see."
XXXX
Ace sat quietly in the TARDIS, frequently glancing at the small mirror beside her, just to make sure she wasn't ageing anymore. It seemed the Doctor had been right, since he'd taken the TARDIS out of the Time Vortex her aged features hadn't deteriorated anymore. She'd even started to feel a bit better.
"How long do we have to wait, Professor?"
"Not long now Ace." The Doctor replied, his back to her as he ran his eyes over various readouts on the console. "I just need to give things time to catch up."
"What do you mean?"
"Well Ace, I've sent instructions back through time, through the TARDIS' own time stream, telling her where to go, and when." Ace looked puzzled.
"But Professor, how do you know where to send it?"
"Because Ace," he smiled, tapping the side of his head. "I remembered." He turned back to the console, flicking some switches. "That should do. I'll just have to enter back in to the time stream for a moment, so we can synch up."
"Ok Professor." Ace bit her lip, bracing herself, knowing what that meant.
"It's ok Ace." The Doctor said, not turning round, but sensing her anxiety. "It'll only be a moment."
The Doctor threw a lever, jolting the console in to life. The rotor began to rise and fall as the console room shook. The Doctor held on to the console, checking on Ace over his shoulder, who was gripping the arms of her chair tightly, her eyes clamped shut.
"That should do it!" He beamed, pulling the lever back towards him, the TARDIS calming almost immediately. Unlike last time, the cloister bell remained silent. The Doctor smiled at the Time Rotor, knowing his ship knew exactly what was going on.
"What now Professor?" Ace asked weakly, pulling herself to her feet. "Just what've you done?"
"Called in some supplies." The Doctor smiled cryptically, as he headed to a large sideboard, sandwiched between two looming bookcases. "Like I said Ace, I know what we need to defeat the Chronopire and get you back to normal, we just didn't have it."
"So what's changed, Professor?" The Doctor turned, his hand on the large door of the sideboard, a proud look on his face.
"Well," he pulled the door down on its horizontal hinge, opening it. "We didn't have it. Now we do."
Ace peered in to the shelves inside, littered with a few random objects, which meant nothing to her. She didn't know what she'd been expecting, garlic maybe, or a stake, but there didn't seem to be anything useful in there at all.
"Oh." She said, her disappointment obvious. "Is that it?"
"Yes." The Doctor replied indignantly, reaching to the shelf. "This is it." He pulled out a grand mirror, outlined with gold and silver, making a conscious effort not to look in to it.
"A mirror? We already have a mirror, Professor." Ace gestured back to where she had been sitting previously.
"We do." The Doctor nodded, holding the mirror up to Ace's face. "But not one like this."
Ace stumbled backwards as her reflection stared at her. She quickly rushed to the mirror she had been using earlier, looking in to it, her old face appearing in it. Heading back to the Doctor, she looked back to his mirror and smiled at it, her young face, the one she had known so well until a few hours ago, smiled back.
"Unlike that one," the Doctor gestured to Ace's mirror, "this doesn't just show a superficial reflection. This shows the true reflection of something, it's true age." He paused. "It can even stop someone ageing, if you want it enough."
"So that's the plan Professor? Use that to stop me ageing."
The Doctor shook his head. "No Ace, if I did that, you'd never age at all. Ever. I couldn't place that curse on you."
"Then what's it for?"
"The chronopires are ancient creatures Ace, surviving through centuries. This," he shook the mirror slightly, "will show them what they truly are. Could work in our advantage, I think. I believe those creatures must have been some near human once, perhaps reminding them of that will give them a bit of a fright."
"Anything else?" Ace asked, not convinced that a reflection would be enough to defeat the snarling creatures she'd confronted earlier.
"Of course." The Doctor sighed, looking her straight in the eyes. "Ace, you know how I feel about weapons, don't you?"
"Yes." She nodded, wondering where this was going.
"Well then," he placed the mirror back down, and reached for something else, "you'll understand that going out to gather weapons to kill something is one of the last things I'd ever do. Under no circumstances, unless it was absolutely necessary, unless the universe depended on it? And even then, I'd rather talk it all through over a cup of tea."
"Yes Professor."
He span round to face her again, a glowing blue cylinder in his hand, culminating in a coned point.
"I've been gathering weapons. To save you."
"Professor.." Ace started.
"No need, Ace." The Doctor smiled slightly. "I just wanted you to know what I'm doing, and why."
XXXX
"Even back then," Amy smiled, "you'd do anything for us, wouldn't you? For your friends."
"Of course." The Doctor smiled back, before turning away guiltily. "Especially when it's partly my fault."
"Because you took her to that castle?" Rory asked.
"Yes. If I hadn't taken her there, none of this would have happened."
"You can't think like that Doctor." Amy reassured him.
"Yeah, if you hadn't taken us to Wales, I wouldn't have been killed, and wouldn't have ended up as a plastic Roman."
"Don't rub it in." The Doctor said quietly.
"I mean it." Rory said softly. "If that hadn't happened, I wouldn't have been able to guard Amy for centuries. Who knows what may have happened to her then. Never apologise for the experiences and chances you give us, Doctor. We all know the risks."
"Rory's right." Amy added. "I don't know about Ace and all the others, but if they were anything like us it was all worth it."
The Doctor forced a smile, appreciating their words, but not agreeing with them. He wondered if Amy and Rory would have still said that if they'd known what was to come for them.
XXXX
"So what's that thing?" Ace pointed to the glowing object as the Professor rolled it around in his hands.
"The time core from a Chrono-warp drive" He replied non-chalantly. "Or something like that anyway. What do you think it is, Ace?"
"Well, I guess it would have to contain chronon energy, if it was to drive some kind of time engine, right?"
"Correct." The Doctor beamed, pleased that even at a time like this he'd been able to teach Ace something.
"And you said it's a weapon." She took the core from the Doctor, turning it over, looking at the pointed end, as it struck her. "It's a stake! Isn't it?"
"Correct again." The Doctor nodded. "Wood wouldn't be enough, not for these creatures. Pure time energy however.." He trailed off, reaching back in to the sideboard, pulling out a silver box. He held it out to Ace, forgetting how light it was, or perhaps it was because he felt so much younger than the last time he'd held it.
"What's in it, Professor?" Ace said excitedly.
"Why don't you find out?" He said, offering her the box. With it still in her hands, she flicked the latch, before lifting the lid slowly. Flipping it fully open, Ace peered in, spotting the small round seed rolling around the otherwise empty container.
"What is it?" Ace whispered, sure it was something amazing, that she hadn't seen before.
"Oh that?" The Doctor shrugged, holding the box with one hand and reaching in to it with the other "That's just a seed." He glanced at it for less than a second, before flicking it across the console room. "I'd planned on planting it, once." He mused, looking around the TARDIS. "But it just wouldn't go with the architecture, not anymore."
"So what did you get it for? We can't need the box, surely?"
"Ace," The Doctor explained, "that seed has been sat in that box for the past seven hundred years or so. Give or take."
"So?"
"So," he raised an eyebrow, "it's still in exactly the same condition as it was when I first found it. The box, or rather the metal it's made from, conducts time around it, preserving what ever is inside."
"Wow." Ace replied. "So how do we use it? I'm certainly not going to fit in there." She paused, suddenly realising that wouldn't have been the strangest thing she'd experienced lately. "Am I? It's not bigger on the inside, is it?"
"Don't be ridiculous." The Doctor scolded, looking at the ornate detail on the box as he stepped towards the console, reaching underneath for the tool box he kept, just in case of emergencies. Placing the box on the console, he gave it another good look over.
"The Time Lords always did like the superficial." He mused to himself. "So delicate, the patterns so carefully designed and etched."
"Professor." Ace cut in, frustrated. "What re you going to do with it?"
"Well Ace," The Doctor replied, as he placed the box on the TARDIS floor, kneeling over it. "I'm going to hit it with a hammer."
XXXX
"Done!" The Doctor exclaimed triumphantly, holding his creation above his head proudly before holding it out to Ace. She looked at the cross he had constructed from two pieces of the box, the silver metal dented and crooked. Various pieces of the box lay shattered on the floor, the Doctor having attacked it with various antiques tools from the TARDIS toolbox, carving out the shapes and sizes he needed.
"Now then.' The Doctor continued. "I have the TARDIS key to keep them away, but I'll need something for the cross to work from."
"What do you mean?"
"A source of time." The Doctor shrugged. Unable to explain it any better. "Something the metal can conduct and channel. Maybe a watch, or something." He headed over to the sideboard, and started rummaging "I don't remember picking one up though." He muttered to himself, knowing full well he had a Gallifreyan fob watch stored elsewhere. However, if he didn't come back, he didn't want the Chronopires having access to that.
Ace gestured to the multitude of clocks on the mantelpiece.
"You mean none of these will do?"
"Of course not." The Doctor replied indignantly. "Far too big." He bit his lip thoughtfully, before the solution came to him. "Of course. I know I didn't get one in the past, so that means I must do it in the future."
"So we need a watch from the future?" Just how do we get that?"
"Because," the Time Lord explained, "I'll leave one for myself." He started working at the console once again. "Once we get out of this, once I save you Ace, I'll go and buy a watch, and leave it somehere.." He trailed off, flicking through co-ordinates. "Ah yes, of course. Where else?"
XXXX
The Doctor ran across the junkyard, looking back to the TARDIS. He knew he didn't have time for this. Every second he spent, Ace was ageing. He didn't have time to waste. He'd picked this place as he knew he would remember it in the future, the place it had all started, where he had picked up his first human companions.
Heading over to a brick wall, he looked for the tell tale sign of the hiding place he'd used so many life times ago. As much as he loved Susan, she was the most curious girl, so the Doctor had needed somewhere to hide things from her sometimes. He glanced over the wall, spotting the missing cement from around one the bricks, and slid it out slowly. Various pieces of decaying technology lay behind it, rusted metal and strands of wire.
He disregarded it all, looking for the pocket watch. But it wasn't there. He looked around, half expecting another TARDIS to appear, another of his selves to step out and apologise for being late, but it didn't happen. The watch was no where to be seen. The Doctor looked around, his face turned from puzzled to alarmed as time unravelled around him.
XXXX
The Visuliser hissed and sparked as the picture distorted before turning to static.
"That's not how it happened." The Doctor said sadly. "It was there. The watch was there." He stood facing Amy and Rory."I took it back to the TARDIS, went back to that castle and I saved her."
"So because Stevie took the watch, it can't be there for that you to pick up?"
"Yes Amy. More or less." He sighed. "Before she took it, the TARDIS was able to handle the temporal complexity of the event, as long as I dropped it off there at some point. But now, well." He gestured around him.
"Then why didn't you?" Rory furrowed his brow. "Why did you keep hold of it?"
"Well," the Doctor was taken aback. "I bought the watch, like I said I would, but then.." he turned from them, "I got a bit attached to it. I liked it, it went with the outfit. So I thought it could wait a bit longer."
Amy rolled her eyes at him.
"I know!' The Doctor protested. "I always meant to leave it, but I kept getting distracted. Then when it looked like someone was after it, I put it off even more."
"And now it's too late." Rory stated. "That's it?"
"Don't say that." Amy scolded her husband. "That Doctor's got a plan." She turned to him. "Haven't you?"
The Doctor stepped away from them, his Ponds, not daring to look them in the eyes. They were the last in the list of people he'd let down. They had so much faith in him, and now he had to break that.
"No Amy." He said quietly. "There is no plan. There's nothing I can do now."
Rory placed a hand on Amy's shoulder, feeling a chill. He too, deep down, thought the Doctor was going to turn to them with his beaming smile and reel off his complicated plan.
"I'm sorry." The Time Lord said addressing no one in particular. "I'm sorry." He looked around the room, the screen on the Visualiser still hissing with static, as he felt the hold he'd kept on his emotions slip. "It's my fault, and I'm sorry! There's nothing I can do!"
Suddenly, there was a crackle of energy in the room as a figure burst in to existence. Both Amy and Rory's faces lit up as she appeared, the joy they always felt when they saw her daughter.
"River!" Amy exclaimed, rushing over for a hug.
"Hello Mother." River smiled, holding Amy and Rory tightly. "Father." She tuned to the Doctor, who'd started to sulk away, as she moved a strand of hair from her face, as she released her parents. It was one of the things she didn't like about travelling via Vortex manipulator, she'd never found any hairspray that could withhold the force of being launched through time and space. "Looks like I got here just on time." She glared at the Doctor. "Sounds like you've given up sweetie."
"There's nothing I can do." The Doctor pouted, as River stroked one of the TARDIS walls affectionately. "Nothing we can do, nothing you can do." He turned to her. "Nothing. It's done."
"Are you sure dear?" River replied calming, approaching him. "Nothing I can do to help? Nothing at all?"
"Not this time." The Doctor grunted. "This is my mess, and I need to live with the consequences."
"Ooh." River cooed. "That sounds familiar. "Even through all your faces, you don't change that much, do you?"
"What are you talking about?"
"We've been here before you know." River replied, reaching for the Visualiser controls. "Well, not here exactly, but similar circumstances."
"What are you doing?" The Doctor snapped as she set some controls on the screen.
"You really don't remember, do you?" She said cryptically. "I always wondered how well that memory vapour worked, I sometimes wondered if you were just pretending not to remember me each time. Just to break my heart that little bit more."
"River," Rory stepped forward, "What are you talking about?"
She gave him a large smile, before looking to the Doctor, trying to judge his reaction. Had it happened to them yet, she wondered.
"Spoilers." she said with a wink, pressing a final button, "Wouldn't want to ruin the surprise. I'm going to show you."
Amy looked to her daughter and sighed heavily as the screen fired in to life.
"We need to talk about the company you keep Melody, you're starting to sound just like him."