Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who
Chapter 10: Expelliarmus
"I mean if something's going to kill you it's nice that it drops you a note to remind you" - The Doctor
After that they didn't have anywhere else they needed to be, so wearily they returned to Shakespeare's room at the Elephant inn.
"The Carrionites disappeared way back at the dawn of the universe." The Doctor explained, a pensive look on his face, "Nobody was sure if they were real or legend."
"Well, I'm going for real." Shakespeare muttered sarcastically.
Amy furrowed her eyebrows, "Why is it that every single lost species of the universe somehow finds it way onto Earth?"
"What can I say?" The Doctor shrugged, "It's a good planet."
"Well what do they want?" Martha asked, looking wide-eyed.
The Doctor turned his attention to her, shrugging, "A new empire on Earth. A world of Bones of blood and witchcraft."
"Lovely." Amy groaned, rolling her eyes. She was far to used to this sort of situation to be seriously worried yet.
Martha frowned, "But how."
"Magic." Amy waved her hands out, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
"Amy." The Doctor scolded, turning to Shakespeare, "I'm looking at the man with the words."
Shakespeare visibly stopped, "Me? But I've done nothing."
"Hold on, though." Martha cut in, looking at Shakespeare with a new light, "What were you doing last night, when that Carrionite was in the room?"
"Finishing the play." Shakespeare shrugged.
The Doctor frowned, "What happens on the last page?"
"The boys gets the girls. They have a bit of a dance. It's all as funny and thought provoking as usual - except those last few lines." He frowned, his eyebrows furrowed, "Funny thing is...I don't actually remember writing them."
"Well that must be it." Amy said, "The Carrionites want to use the globe as a...focus point or a transmitter or something. And they're gonna use the words on his play for the energy."
"It's a weapon." The Doctor cheered, "The right combination of words, spoken at the right place with the shape of the globe as an energy converter! The play's the thing! And yes," The Doctor turned to Shakespeare, giddy, "You can have that."
He rummaged around the room until finally he pulled out what looked like a map of the city.
"What're you looking for?" Amy asked as he unrolled it on Shakespeare's desk.
"All Hallow's Street." The Doctor replied, "It should be nearby, probably right around...there we go." He pointed to it on the map, "There it is. Martha, Amy and I will track the Carrionites down. Will, you get to the Globe. Whatever you do, stop that play!
Shakespeare nodded, "I'll do it." He shook the Doctor's hand, "All these years I've been the cleverest man around. Next to you, I know nothing."
"Oh no." Amy groaned, "Don't do that, he's intolerable as it is."
The Doctor looked overjoyed at being complimented by one of his idols, but Martha just snorted, "Don't complain."
Shakespeare chuckled, "I'm not. It's marvellous. Good luck, Doctor."
"Good luck, Shakespeare." He said before walking over to the door, Amy and Martha following him quickly, "Once more unto the breach!"
Shakespeare laughed, "I like that." He paused, "Wait a minute...that's one of mine."
The Doctor poked his head back around the door, "Oh, just shift!"
Amy was enjoying herself just a bit too much.
Probably because it was so incredibly nice to be on an adventure without the Doctor and Rose having to stop and wait for her to catch up. She was still a bit weak and thin, she'd need to gain a bit of weight to be back to full health, but she no longer felt like she was going to fall over dead.
They turned onto All Hallow's street, and stopped. Amy was breathing heavily as she looked around, all the houses looked the same. Tan walls with the dark wood lining.
"All Hallows Street," The Doctor frowned, "But which house."
"The thing is, though." Martha started, just as out of breath as Amy, "Am I missing something here? The World didn't end in 1599. It just didn't. Look at me - I'm living proof."
"Well." Amy started, looking around, "That either means we save the world - or..."
Martha looked at her nervously, "Or?"
"Oh, how to explain the mechanics of the infinite temporal flux?" The Doctor pondered, "I know! 'Back to the Future'! It's like 'Back to the Future'!
"The film?" Martha looked at him strangely.
The Doctor rolled his eyes, "No, the novelization. Yes, the film. Marty McFly goes back and changes history."
"And he starts to fade away." Martha realized, her face getting pale, "Oh my God, am I gonna fade?"
"Maybe." Amy shrugged, before realizing how insensitive she sound and winced in apology, "Sorry."
The Doctor didn't seem as worried about Martha's emotional state though, "The entire future of the human race too. It ends right now in 1599 if we don't stop it. But which house?"
Amy pointed behind the Doctor, "Maybe it's the house with the door that just opened by itself. Very 'come hither' don't you think?"
The Doctor turned and grinned, laughing as they walked towards the door, "Make that witch house." He chuckled, turning back to them with expectant looks.
"That was terrible." Amy supplied him.
The Doctor shrugged and walked into the house.
"Does he do that often?" Martha asked, watching where the Doctor had left with a look of bemusement.
Amy raised an eyebrow, "You mean does he make terrible puns often?"
"No." Martha frowned, "Talk to you like you're..."
"Stupid?" Amy chuckled.
"Yeah."
"Yeah." Amy nodded, smiling at Martha genuinely, "And you'd better get used to it."
The quickly caught up to the Doctor, who looked a little exasperated at them for not keeping up. Amy lightly smacked him around to head at his dirty look.
They walked into a side room where there was a young woman standing, looking calm as can be. Unlike the old hag that they'd seen at the prison, this women was young and very beautiful. Her hair was blond and hung around her face with a slight wave and she had a noble face, her eyes bright and menacing.
"Wait." Amy gapped, looking at the woman. "You were that maid."
The women smirked, but otherwise looked unmoved by Amy's realization. It was so obvious now, she would have been there to kill both Dolly and Lanley, and nobody would've been any the wiser when she just vanished.
"I take it we're expected." The Doctor motioned to her.
The women raised an eyebrow at him, "Oh, I think Death has been waiting for you a very long time."
If the Doctor was startled by her accusation then he didn't show it, only staring her down with equal parts curiosity and threat.
Martha however, looked annoyed and walked forward, "Right then, it's my turn. I know how to do this. I name thee, Carrionite!"
The women gasped as if in pain, only to straighten a second later and look at Martha with a mocking smile.
Martha faltered, looking at the Doctor, "What did I do wrong? Was it the finger?"
The woman looked at her with mock pity, "The power of a name only works once. Observe."
The women raised her hand, and twisted, pointing it at Amy.
"Oh no, you don't." Amy glared, trying to back away.
"This sack of flesh the earth has spawned, I turn and name thee Amy Pond."
Amy groaned as her vision went blurry and she collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
Everything had been going so well too.
"Amy!" Martha cried, running over to the red-head who was laying on the ground. Her medical instinct kicked in and she reached into her neck to check for a pulse. When she found one she sighed in relief and looked over to the Doctor, "She's alive."
The Doctor looked relieved. Martha had noticed that when the witch pointed her finger at Amy the Doctor's eyes had widened in the closest thing to Panic that she'd ever seen from him.
"She's only sleeping." The witch looked annoyed at the fact, "Curious, the name as less impact. She's somehow out of her time." The Witch turned to Martha, looking her up and down with an upturn of her nose. Apparently the witch decided that Martha wasn't worth the effort, something which cause a strange twinge in Martha's gut. Instead the witch turned to the Doctor who was standing semi-protective in front of them, "And as for you, Sir Doctor."
She pointed a finger at him, only to falter.
"Fascinating. There is no name." She looked at him with a slight tilt to her head, "Why would a man hide his title in such despair? Oh, but look..." The witch perked up, looking at the Doctor mockingly, "There's still one word with the power that aches."
Martha half-paid attention, looking between the growing anger on the Doctor's face, to the sleeping form of Amy. She wasn't sure if she should try to wake her up for not.
The Doctor shook his head at the witch, "The naming won't work on me."
"But your heart grows cold." The witch sneered, "The north wind lows and carries down the distant...Rose."
The Doctor straightened suddenly, a look of pain and rage coming over his face, "Oh, big mistake 'cos that name keeps me fighting! The Carrionites vanished! Where did you go?"
The witch apparently didn't think she had anything to lose, "The Eternals found the right word to banish us into the deep darkness."
"And how did you escape?"
"New words." The Witch smirked, "New and glittering from a mind like no other."
Martha gasped, "Shakespeare."
Both the Doctor and the Witch turned to her and she wished that she'd kept her mouth shut. The Last thing she needed was attention on her and Amy.
Speaking of Amy, a low groan came from beneath her. Martha looked down to check on her. She was still unconscious, but Martha could see her eyes moving rapidly beneath her lids.
"His son perished." The witch continued, "The grief of a genius. Grief without measure. Madness enough to allow us entrance."
"How many of you?" The Doctor demanded.
"Just the three." The Witch sneered, "But the play tonight shall restore the rest. Then the human race will be purged as pestilence. And from this world we will lead the universe back to the old ways of blood and magic."
Martha frowned. They'd sent Shakespeare to stop the play, but the way the witch spoke. She sounded so sure of herself that it made Martha's insides squirm.
"Hmm."The Doctor looked distinctly unimpressed, "Bust schedule...but first you gotta get past me." He walked forward until he was face to face with the witch.
"Oh, that should be a pleasure considering my enemy has such a handsome shape." The Witch said, her voice low and seductive. Martha couldn't see the Doctor's face or judge his reaction as the Witch trailed a finger down the side of his face and along his jaw.
"Now, that's one form of magic that's definitely not gonna work on me." The Doctor chided.
"Oh, we'll see." The Witch purred.
She yanked her hand down and the Doctor yelped. Martha looked over to see that the witch was holding a few strands of the Doctor's hair in her hand.
"What did you do?" The Doctor asked curiously, rubbing where she'd yanked out the hairs.
"Souvenir."
Martha looked down at Amy, but then sighed, standing up and moving over to the Doctor, realizing that things were about to get nasty
"Well, give it back!" The Doctor sounded like a child, but dangerous at the same time. Something which impressed Martha to no end.
Suddenly the wooden covering on the window blew open and the witch flew backwards, hovering over the street.
"Well." The Doctor moved over to the windowsill, "That's just cheating."
"She can fly?" Martha gapped, looking down at the street below.
"Behold, Doctor!" The Witch cried, "Men to Carrionites are nothing but puppets."
Martha watching in horror as she pulled out a pale doll, made of cloth and hay. She froze, looking at the Doctor, "Is that a voodoo doll?"
"Well, " The Doctor frowned, "You could call it Voodoo, but I'd call that a DNA replication module."
The Witch wrinkled her nose, "What use is your science now."
Martha could only watch as the witch wrapped the Doctor's hair into the doll, "Um, but if it works like a voodoo dolls, then.."
But it was too late. The witch stabbed the doll with a pin and the Doctor cried out in pain, collapsing to the ground, clutching his chest. Martha couldn't do anything except to lower him to the ground as the witch cackled, flying away.
"Oh my God! Doctor! Don't worry, I've got you." She panicked, looking at his unconscious form. Both Amy and the Doctor were unconscious now. They needed her to do something, something fast.
Se rolled him onto his back and pressed her ear to his chest, listening for a heartbeat. She felt something feint and not in the right spot, and she stopped. Sitting up.
"Hold on, mister. Two hearts?"
The Doctor opened one eye and grinned at her, "You're making a habit of this."She moved to stand up, but nearly fell to the ground, "Aahhh! I've only got one heart." Martha struggled to keep him upright, "How do you people cope? I've got to get the other one started. Hit me! Hit me on the chest!"
Martha shifted him so that one of her arms was free and quickly pounded him on the chest like she'd learnt in school.
"Aahh!" He yelled, clenching his jaw, "Other side!"
"Was'goin'on." A grumbling sound came from the other side of the room. Martha pounded the other side of the Doctor while trying to keep track of Amy, who was obviously coming around.
"On the back!" The Doctor shouted, ignoring Amy as she popped out from the ground, watching them with a worried look. "On the back!"
"Is his heart out again?" Amy asked, sounding more amused now than worried. Martha wondered just how often his second heart went out.
Martha pushed the Doctor forward and used both hands to pound his back. "Yes." She growled.
"Left a bit."
She huffed, and pounded his back again.
And he jumped up, grinning madly, "Ahh, lovely!"
"What the hell happened?" Amy grumbled, her face contorted in its usual frown as she moved across the room to them, a single hand pressed to her head.
Martha let out a breath, "The witch used some freaky voodoo on the doctor, stopped one of his hearts."
"But we're back in business now!" The Doctor stretched, "Ba-da-boom!" He gave them both strange looks, "Well, what are you standing there for? Come on! The Globe!"
Martha watched him run out of the room, exasperated, but then quickly followed after him.
Amy was still groggy as she wandered after the Doctor, the effects of the witches spell still wearing off. She wasn't entirely sure why she wasn't dead, she hadn't had time to ask before they had been running off after the witches.
"Why are we going to the globe?" Amy yelled as they ran.
"The Witches are there!" The Doctor shouted. The street's were thankfully near empty as the town was either in their homes or at the globe, "There using the play to open a portal, letting the rest of their kind through."
"Great." Amy yelled, looking around. "Are we going the right way?"
"No!" Martha shook her head, looking frustrated.
"Yes!" The Doctor rolled his eyes, running down a side street, only to pause and turn around, "We're going the wrong way."
"I just said that!" Martha groaned, as they turned back ran back the way they'd just came.
"Doctor, I swear to-"
"Oh hush!" He waved his arm back as they ran.
Ahead of them Amy could see the theatre come into as they all stopped, staring at it in horror.
"We're too late." Amy gapped, looking at the cloud of red energy that was slowly opening above the theatre.
Not answering, the Doctor took off. They followed heading to the theatre. They finally arrived, but there was no one around save for a single preacher ranting about the end of the world.
"Stage door!"
They wandered around the side of the globe until they found a door with markings 'actors only.
The Doctor grabbed the handle and tried to pry it open, "It's locked!" He pulled out his sonic and tried it only to growl, "Wood!"
Not waiting for the Doctor to move out-of-the-way Amy steadied herself and raised a single foot, slamming it just above the door handle, and the door slammed open, splintering a bit from the force of the kick.
The Doctor gapped at her, "Good work."
"Go!" Amy yelled, pushing him inside.
He didn't need much more motivation as they ran inside, trying to make their way to centre stage where the action was. On the way they found Shakespeare who was sitting on the ground, looking dazed, and pressing a hand to his head.
"Stop the play!" The Doctor shouted in aggravation to the confused playwright, "I think that was it. Yeah, I said, "Stop the Play."'
"Oi!" Amy shouted, "Leave him be." She crouched down next to him, "What happened."
"I-." He shook his head in confusion, "I must've hit my head."
"Yeah, don't rub it, you'll go bald." The Doctor quipped. Finally the people in the audience realized that the red mass of energy wasn't part of the play and started to scream. The Doctor grinned, "I think that's my cue!"
He ran off and Amy looked down at Shakespeare, "Can you walk?"
He nodded, and Amy and Martha helped him to his feet, the three of them wandered after the Doctor.
They ran on stage. Hundreds of people were trying to leave, but the doors were shut and bolted. Looking up into the stage seating there were three witches, looking to a crystal from which hundred of thousands of Carrionites were flying.
"What do we do?" Amy shouted over the sound of the roaring wind.
The Doctor turned to Shakespeare, "Come on, Will! History needs you!"
"But what can I do?" Shakespeare gapped, looking up at the swirling storm with horror.
"Reverse it!"
"How am I supposed to do that?!"
The Doctor pointed around the globe, "The Shape of the globe gives words power, but you're the wordsmith! The one true genius! The only man clever enough to do it!"
"But what words?I have none ready."
"You're William Shakespeare!" The Doctor said with a grin, as if that explain it all. And it did in a strange way.
Shakespeare paused, but then shook his head, "But these Carrionite phrases, they need such precision."
"Trust yourself." The Doctor urged, "When you're locked away in your room, the words just come, don't they? Like magic. Words of the right sound, the right shape, the right rhythm - words that last forever! That's what you do, Will! You choose perfect words. Do it. Improvise!"
Shakespeare stared at the Doctor, taking in his pep talk as he looked around at all the screaming people.
"No pressure." Amy added, giving him a small smile. He grimace at her words, then turned to the Carrionite mass.
His hair whipped around his face and he squinted against the strong light. But All the same he raised a hand, "Close up this den of hateful, dire decau! Decomposition of your witches' plot! You thieve my brains, consider me your toy. My doting Doctor tells me I am not!"
At first Amy wasn't sure if it was working, but the Witches all looked up from the crystal and towards Shakespeare, looks of fear on their faces for the first time.
"Foul Carrionite spectres, cease your show! Between the points..."
Shakespeare paused, and turned to the Doctor or help. The Doctor picked up on this and said, " 7-6-1-3-9-0!"
"7-6-1-3-9-0!" Shakespeare repeated, "And banished like a tinker's cuss, I say to thee..." He stopped, blinking.
He turned to the Doctor, who opened and closed his eyes, not knowing what to say.
Amy ran through her mind, thinking, trying to come up with the right word when another voice entered the fray.
"Expelliarmus!" Martha shouted, looking panicked.
"Expelliarmus!" The Doctor shouted, laughing.
Shakespeare nodded, "Expelliarmus!"
"Good old J.K.!" Th Doctor laughed.
Amy could only watch in shock as it actually worked. The Carrionites started to screams and writhe in pain. The Beautiful woman witch in the middle sneered, "The deep darkness! They are consumed!" And then she started to scream as well.
The glowing mass above them started to twirl until it formed a tornado, pulling and twisting back into the crystal orb. All around the paper scripts of the play started to fly around, getting sucked into the tornado,
"Love labours Won!" The Doctor pointed out, "There it goes."
"Mystery solved." Amy laughed.
Soon the cloud vanished, taking the witches along with the. The crowd below them all started to laugh and cheer, clapping up at the stage. The Doctor looked pleased and took a deep bow.
"They think it was all special effects." Martha gapped.
"Your effect is special indeed." Shakespeare grinned at her, trying one last time.
Martha winced, "It's not your best line."
"I can't believe that worked." Amy shook her head, looking up at the sky, then down to Martha incredulous, "Expelliarmus?"
She blushed, "It was the first thing I thought of!"
"And that's why it worked." The Doctor laughed, "Me and Amy, we were thinking of a word. But you, like Shakespeare, the word just came to you."
Martha shrugged, but looked pleased at the compliment, "Honestly I was just thinking about how...Harry Potter all this was."
"Oh," The Doctor smiled sadly, "Just wait till book seven. I cried."
"Wait till the movie." Amy laughed, "Rory sobbed."
Both her and the Doctor suddenly stiffened, and Amy quickly cleared her throat, looking down at the ground. Martha looked between them curiously, but didn't pry any further.
Amy immediately tried to think of anything else in the world except for Rory. It had been a stupid slip of the tongue, she'd been good for avoiding all thought of him for the last couple weeks.
"i er-" The Doctor pointed to the stands, "I need to get...the thing." And he quickly scurried off.
A/N: One more chapter for The Shakespeare code and then we're onto Gridlock in which I mix things up a bit!
Once again for everyone who's new to my stories I'd like to say that I will not be doing the 50th special in this story, because for the 10th doctor it takes place between Waters of Mars and The End of Time, which is past where I plan to end my story.
Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed my story so far! I love hearing from all you guys! Please feel free to drop by a review with any thoughts, questions or concerns!
Until Next Time,
-Ash