AN: haha, ok, so the Doctor and Amy are going to a regal party to open a star- sounds like fun

Again thanks for all your reviews, I appreciate them so much- they're flattering and incredibly encouraging.

And can I just say thankyou to Ellensdaughter, I Am Spartacus, and JJ- all your reviews are incredibly flattering, and I've been able to express how grateful I am, so here you go :)

Oh, and sorry for making this late- something went funny with the reviews, and I thought no one had reviewed last chap till I checked a different page. Hope you still enjoy this!

Well done, '' for getting the quote- two points to go

This chap's quote:

We are all a little weird and life's a little weird, and when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall in mutual weirdness and call it love

Ok, so they just danced out the TARDIS to poetry…they're 'not' in the L word? Yeah right ;)


As they walked across the crystal, Amy looked at the Doctor, "Doctor, I have a question."

He looked at his companion warily- her dress shimmered in the reflected rainbow light of the star's flames, miles below. He hoped this was about something he could answer, for once, "Good. What about?"

She looked down, at the clear crystal shielding them from the sheer power below.

"How come the crystal isn't melting? I mean, I thought stars could melt everything and break it back into hydrogen?"

He raised an eyebrow, jabbing her in the ribs, "Ooh get you!" He laughed "Where'd you learn that?"

Amy shrugged. "School. Stars were one of the few things that interested me. They reminded me of you. Of course I left before the actual exam…"

He glanced at her sideways, "Why'd you leave?"

She shrugged, "Just…didn't fit in I guess, so…?"

The Doctor wanted to find out more about why she left school, why she didn't fit in. But it wasn't his place. After all he was the one rejecting her….

So instead he shrugged back at her, then grinned cheekily. "Well, this isn't any old crystal. As I said, we're 900,000 lightyears from Earth, and this," he jumped and there was a dull thud where his rubber soles hit the crystal, "is Stiklostalas."

Amy blinked, "Stick-lost-atlas?"

He waved a finger at her, "No, no, alus- Stiklostalas," The Time Lord grinned, "Incredibly heat resistant, but, also furiously reactive. It gets a coating on the surface, a compound of helium and the crystal- still transparent, but rough and unreactive, which is why we're not slipping round everywhere."

Amy blushed, she hadn't even thought about how they were walking quite so easily across the glass smooth surface of the star.

The Doctor continued obliviously, wrapped up in his science, "What's really fascinating though is this particular formation- after a meteorite crashed into the star the molten crystal spread over the star and crystallized, but it crystallized in layers- if you could cut into the surface, you'd be able to inject any chemical you liked and it would seep round the whole star- reacting as it went. It'd take an hour, maybe two, and all this would just…fizzle away."

He'd lost her, but she nodded and raised her eyebrows and hummed where necessary whilst he gesticulated wildly.

Amy nodded to the forest of towers. "And what are they for?"

The Doctor grinned. "Whilst it was molten, the crystal hatched the eggs of a species called the Kupular- and those towers formed around their egg pods. Now they provide a habitat for them and serve to release the excess heat and helium produced by the star, which the Kupular sort of… eat and replace with oxygen." The Doctor beamed in excited delight. "Isn't that incredible? A whole ecosystem born out of a comet and a star!'

Amy just stared at him. "Um, Kupular?"

The Doctor nodded enthusiastically. 'Yes- they're semi-sentient, like dolphins. Well," He stopped himself, frowning and looking at her curiously, trying to figure out how to explain in human terms, "mooore like snakes with butterfly wings," The Doctor stopped himself again, looking at the sky, "weeell….then again…" He shook his head, letting out an exasperated sigh. "It's easier if you just look."

They were closer to the palace now, but not too close. The Doctor reached into his inside pocket and pulled out a large pair of professional looking binoculars. At Amy's expression he explained, "Bigger on the inside."

Amy nodded, though the incredulous expression didn't leave her face as she took the binoculars from him. Where does he get this stuff?

"Oh. I see. Well, that explains everything." Her voice dripped bewildered sarcasm.

The Doctor didn't respond-instead placing his hands on her shoulders and turning her in the right direction. His fingers were warm on her bare skin and there was an air of anticipation radiating from him, electrifying the air. Amy could feel excitement bubbling in her blood as she turned, bringing the binoculars to her eyes and spinning the wheel in the middle a little to focus.

"Oh… Wow."

Her voice was hushed and she spun the wheel a little more, trying to get a closer look. The Kupular were unlike anything she'd ever seen. They had long, muscular, serpentine bodies which varied in shade from midnight blue to scarlet red, and along their spines were rows of lush feathers which matched their bright, luminescent skin.

They had long elegant heads, like goannas, with oval black eyes, but it was the wings that got her. Huge; easily with a wingspan the length of their bodies, which had to be at least 70 meters, their wings were diaphanous and fluttering- multicolored and vibrant, with flashes of gold and silver. Much like butterflies, as the Doctor had said, but on a massive scale, and so beautiful.

"Like…dragons," She said quietly.

The Doctor made a noise of dissent. "Mmm, I've met other species closer to your idea of dragons. But they are remarkable aren't they?" He smiled as he watched the shapes in the distance, reflecting on the wonders of the universe presented to him every day. He wondered if he'd ever stop feeling like the luckiest man alive at moments like these…

Amy nodded in agreement, they were certainly remarkable, he'd got it right in one, as he always did. Then she concentrated on just watching the Kupular twist through the sky like nonsensical, bestial ribbons, their mouths opening when they dived over the towers, swallowing the helium from the air.

Their movements were fluid and gentle, and they had no teeth, just large, soft pink tongues, and what looked like gills in the sides of their heads.

In spite of their colossal size, they seemed incredibly graceful, and gentle. She felt a smile creep onto her lips. A bell rang in the palace and the Doctor's head jerked up.

"Oooh, we missed Satu landing in the buffet!" He grabbed her arm, "Come on Pond."

Amy laughed and they ran across the crystal together, reaching the palace as the sounds of a brass band began to seep from the smooth white ceramic walls.

The Doctor reached up and pressed a large red button, claiming it was a doorbell. Whilst they waited for someone to answer, Amy grinned at the Time Lord. "You'll have take me to see them sometime."

He looked at her, tilting his head in slight confusion. "Who?"

She rolled her eyes. "Oh come on- the dragons of course! Real, live dragons! Please?"

The Doctor looked at her, conflicted, thinking about Chrysianti, and Billy. You only really went to the Dragon world if you needed healing, and, secretly, he hoped he'd never need to take Amy. Which reminded him, he still needed to talk to her about Hennink and her scars. Suddenly the thought that she might still be self harming struck him, and he felt a cold hand grab and twist his hearts.

Yes, he had to talk to her about that.

The doors slid open and a pale, shocked looking man dressed in a butler suit stared at them in frank astonishment- clearly bewildered as to where they'd come from or how they'd got there.

The Doctor took out his psychic paper, flipping it open and handing it over. "Hello there fella, we're here for the party."

The butler seemed to take in their dress then, his eyes flickered from the Doctor and Amy to the psychic paper and back again. He smiled nervously, adjusting his own bowtie.

" O-Of course m'Lord, ah, this way please mi'lady."

He bowed and gestured them inside, pulling a lever which slid the doors shut behind them with a pneumatic hiss and led them down a spacious corridor. The walls were mounted by electric imitation candles and the floor was smooth panelled wood.

Amy's eyes were wide and she clung to the Doctor as she surveyed her surroundings. The Time Lord himself, on the other hand, seemed rather relaxed, in spite of the fact that with all its plush furnishings, orchids and 40th century oil paintings-

"It's like a space version of Buckingham palace!" Amy hissed.

The Doctor pressed a finger to her lips as the sound of voices began to echo down the corridor, and a bright light came into view from a wide set of double doors in the side of the hall. Amy frowned and pouted against his hand and the Doctor restrained a laugh.

"Shhh Pond, we have to act regal."

Amy rolled her eyes. "Yeah- but…." She broke off as the Butler pushed the doors open wide and the Doctor hurriedly threw his arm through hers so they were linked at the elbow.

"May I present the Duchess Amelia Jessica, and Duke Jonathon Harry."

With a soft swoosh the doors swung shut behind them and the butler disappeared. In front of them was what looked like some sort of Eastern Ball; the women wore sumptuous silk dresses over loose trousers, their dark hair lacquered and elaborately tied with orchids and lilies; the men wore similar outfits, though some sported more Western three piece suits, with the occasional jewel-colored silk sash.

To the far left of the ballroom, a glamorous and gleaming brass band played beneath one of the five dripping crystal chandeliers, they were led by another, smaller band of string instruments, though unlike any Amy had ever seen. The dancers danced on gleaming mahogany and on the other side of the room to the far right long buffet tables piled high with fantastic fruit lined the eggshell walls.

The only thing that jarred Amy into the surreal reality that she was in the 49th century was the 10 meter long tinted picture window in front of her. It offered a magnificent view of the setting suns, pooling golden light over the star's crystal surface, whose reflection danced with the bright iridescence of the fire below. The view was framed by the crystal mountains and it was eerily, stunningly, breathtaking.

Slowly Amy became aware of the amount of eyes settling on her and the Doctor, who were still stood in the doorway, and felt a cold fist of stage fright clench her stomach. She gripped the Doctor tightly and he glanced at her, surprised.

Then he too noticed the curious stares and beamed a charming, just off kilter grin. He bowed from the waist, pulling Amy into a curtsey as he went down, then raised his head, his voice carrying in rich clipped tones Amy had never heard him speak in through the luxurious ballroom.

"Evening my Lords and ladies," He gestured to the window, "Lovely view."


Aw, the Doc being a gentleman and using that Time Lord upbringing- I couldn't resist. And the poor old butler, I'll bet that came as a shock :P

If you want to know any more about the science, feel free to pm/ask in a review, and do you like the Kupular? I love them, I have to be honest- got all these doodles

I'll tell you in advance something big and bads gonna happen, but you'll have to wait and see,

5 reviews, as ever,

Thanks for reading and reviewing and all your support, I hope you continue to enjoy it!

Kat