The Angel's Sister: Goodbye.
Amy and Rory ran down a corridor, Amy ahead of her husband. She ran through a door which slid shut behind her, cutting her off from Rory, "NO!" he shouted, "Amy!"
Amy spun around, hearing his cries, and ran back to the door, "No!"
"Amy!" he banged on it, trying to get through.
Amy tried to pry the door open...when a tired...and very familiar...voice called her name. She turned and ran down a corridor to see Rory sitting by a closed door, "Rory?"
Rory jumped up, "Where have you been?!"
"I stepped through that door and it came down here."
"But you've been hours!"
"No, I haven't," she frowned, before realizing what had happened, "It's House, and it's messing with the TARDIS. Come on, back this way."
They ran and House played the same trick, closing the door in front of Rory, cutting them off again, "No!"
Amy turned around again, "No! Oh!" she whacked the door in frustration, not liking this, not liking being away from her husband and alone.
~8~
A mostly constructed TARDIS stood in the middle of the junkyard, two walls meeting in a corner, with a console missing its center. The Doctor was currently trying to find as whole a rotor as he could while Idris wandered around, picking up the last few components as Angel finished soldering a few cables to the main console. She paused though, looking over at the Time Lady when she caught sight of the girl glancing at her from the corner of her eye. She smiled and made her way over to her sister, "What's wrong?"
Angel had to smile at that as well, knowing that the woman would see through any half-truths and whatnot, she'd known her almost as long as the Doctor, "I just...I know you took us where we needed to go," she began, "I knew that right from the start but..." she bit her lip, trying to find the words to phrase her question, "Sometimes I'm not sure why we needed to go there."
Idris laughed, "Because most of the time it wasn't somewhere YOU needed to go, sister."
Angel blinked, "But you said..."
Idris just reached out and took her hand, "I am an old box," she said quietly, "And I have seen SO much. I saw you, I saw you and the Doctor, before you were even born, shining through time. I saw you both and what you would become to each other, what you would mean to each other, how..." she faltered a moment, "How happy you would make each other. Every place I took the Doctor was because of that."
"What do the adventures have to do with that though?" Angel shook her head, confused.
Idris gave her a small smile, "You are my sister, and you mean the Universe to me," Idris whispered, "Every adventure, well, most of them," she corrected herself, thinking of a few key moments where she'd gone where she'd rather not because she knew her sister needed to be there, like Kroptor, "Even from before the War, they were places the Doctor needed to go, people he needed to meet, to become a man who deserved you," Angel's eyes widened at that as Idris reached out and put her hands on Angel's face, "As your sister, I will never ever think that any man is worthy of you, but as the TARDIS, as a being that can see through time, I think that every adventure brings the Doctor one step closer to being just that."
"You brought him to all those places...for ME?" Angel breathed.
"Of course," Idris blinked, speaking simply, tilting her head, "I saw your mind Angel, your thoughts, you were so frightened that you didn't deserve the Doctor, that you weren't worthy of him...really though, it was the reverse," she glanced over to see the Doctor lugging a rotor through the junkyard, "The Doctor has done many things in his life, many things that he isn't proud of, that haunt him, that trouble him, and that are...truly terrible, even before the War," she turned back to Angel, "And HE is the one that doesn't deserve you, but you really DO make him a better man," she stroked Angel's cheeks comfortingly, seeing tears, but more happy tears, in her sister's eyes, "You help him make up for that, and you make him into a man the Universe will cherish. My sister," she sighed, shaking her head, "You have no idea how special you are. You...are worth it."
She looked at Angel gently, that girl...she saw all the potential in the world in he companions, in the Doctor's companions, in the Doctor himself, in every being in the Universe...except herself. It had been one reason for the Doctor, for her approval of him, he always made people see how remarkable they were and her sister needed to see that more than anyone. She knew, with the memory loss and that horrible watery woman, that her sister was suffering, that she was starting to regress to who she used to be, to seeing herself as not all that special at all. And she was NOT going to let that happen, she had been waiting too long to be able to communicate with her sister this way, to be able to tell her how special she was, how worth it, how amazing...something she knew that River woman had done her best (and mostly succeeded) in making Angel forget.
She was determined, before her end came, to have her sister see it again. She wanted her to know why she'd taken the Doctor, besides the fact he was the only Time Lord who such an idiot that he'd steal a TARDIS, she saw the potential for a man who would make her sister infinitely happy. But he needed A LOT of work. It had taken her centuries to get him to the point where he was close to being worthy of her sister, to be the man he was today. Well, not quite today, despite her best efforts...the events she'd seen coming...his amnesia, had still happened.
"You think I'm special?" Angel murmured.
"I think you're fantastic," Idris smiled, tapping Angel on the nose, making her laugh a bit and smile, knowing how much the use of the Doctor's 9th self's favored word would cheer her up.
"Thank you Idris," Angel smiled.
"You're very welcome, sister," Idris winked, before calling over her shoulder to the Doctor, "You'll need to install the time router!"
"How is this going to make it through the Rift?" the Doctor wondered as he came closer with the rather heavy rotor, lowering it into the slot, "Almost done…thrust diffuser…" Idris watched as the Doctor inspected Angel's handiwork, seeing him nodding to himself, pleased with her work, as he always was, "Retro scope…" he glanced at Angel, "Blue thingy…" beaming when he got a smile out of her for that.
"Do you ever wonder why I chose you all those years ago?" Idris asked him as they backed up to look at their handiwork, "The both of you?"
"Because I listened?" Angel guessed.
She had always been drawn to that particular TARDIS ever since she could remember. Even as a little girl, when her family would do routine inspections of the museum pieces, she had always heard a gentle hum drawing her in. Whenever she'd worked on the TARDIS, she'd talk to the old box and hums would resound back, in such ways that she was sure the box was communicating. It seemed now she was. And that night, when she'd left the door unlocked, she'd been leaving and just...stopped in the doorway, hearing a soft hum. One would have thought it was a 'goodbye' and, in a way, it was. But she'd just closed her eyes, nodded to herself, and just...left the door unlocked as she whispered goodbye. She hadn't known why she'd left it unlocked, had gotten hell from her father and the curators when the box had been found missing from the repair shop the next morning. She had been the last person to tend to the box, they had it on record, she had been the one who should have locked the door, and she had admitted she hadn't. But she hadn't known why, now though...it seemed she'd subconsciously interpreted the hum to be a request to leave the door open.
And she was so glad she had, if she hadn't...who knew what would have happened, if the Doctor would have gotten caught trying to run away, if he would have taken another box, if he would have even had the same adventures with a different box. That one decision, the end of her time with the box, had been the start of his. And he'd done so much good with the TARDIS, helped the old box see so much of the Universe, which she was pleased to know. She had been serious, the TARDIS, THIS TARDIS, was a treasure, and it didn't deserve to be locked away in a museum.
The Doctor, however, scoffed, "I chose you. You were unlocked."
"Because Angel left me that way," Idris smiled as he turned to face them, "I wanted to see the Universe, so I asked her to leave my door open just so I could steal a Time Lord and run away," the Doctor and Angel stepped back more and walked over to her, "And you were the only one mad enough."
"Right," the Doctor looked at the console, "Perfect, look at that, what could possibly go wrong?"
...and then a piece of the console that the Doctor had stuck on popped off.
"That's fine, that always happens."
Angel sighed, "I'll fix it," and walked off towards the console, scooping up the piece and getting it back into the controls, grabbing her soldering device again.
Idris looked over, biting her lip as Angel always did, seeing the Doctor's gaze had been pulled to Angel once more, the man watching her working away at the console with a soft smile, "She's wonderful, isn't she?" she asked him.
"She's perfect," he murmured, before wincing, "I mean...I mean, she's...she's..."
"Don't," Idris cut in, frowning now at how he was reacting, "Don't take it back," she turned to him, "Doctor...sometimes things slip through for a reason," she told him, reaching out to put a hand on his arm, making him look at her, "It's GOOD that you care for her, it really is."
"Yes," the Doctor nodded, "I know, I...we..." he frowned, blinking, "We look out for each other..."
~oOo~
He turned around a moment later, only to catch a flying object in his arms. Angel clung tightly to him as he hugged her back, feeling her shaking as he tightened his grip.
"Don't you ever do that again!" she shouted, her voice muffled from burying her face in his jacket.
He laughed and pulled back, "I'll try not to."
His smile turned to a frown as he took Angel's face in his hands, seeing the red in her eyes from her tears.
"I thought I'd lost you," she whispered, "Everything is gone. I can't lose you too."
He swallowed hard, pulling her back into a tight hug. He'd been alone for so long, as had she, he realized. If it had been her the Reaper took…he swallowed hard, he didn't want to be alone again either. He didn't ever want to lose her, not again, not after having lost so much already.
"We'll take care of each other," he promised, "Keep each other safe."
~oOo~
Idris smiled, seeing where his mind had gone, seeing him REMEMBER it, "You always have," she agreed, "And you will need to even more in the future," she glanced at Angel and back to him, "Doctor, please, listen to me," she added, serious, "Don't trust River Song."
"Why?" he frowned, glancing between her and where Angel was working unawares, "Does...does she do something to Angel?"
Idris could feel his muscles tighten under her hold, could see his hand clenching into fists and had to smile at how his mind had immediately gone to Angel, if he was reacting this way to just the thought of River doing something to Angel...he couldn't trust the woman much at all. His reaction...it gave HER hope. There was something...interfering with her sight, when it came to the Doctor and his memories, she knew what it was, it was the same thing that had made him forget in the first place, but there was nothing she could do about it till the Doctor himself remembered, if he remembered. She couldn't even come up with the words to convey what had happened either, she couldn't even think of the words she'd been trying to find that entire time. This body, this human mind, was so limited, the words so jumbled and lost, she was struggling just to try and give him this warning.
"If she does, what would you do?" she asked, not giving him a yes or no answer.
The events she'd seen, the events of Lake Silencio, her sister was already tempting time by doing what she would do in the future, and the future was fragile, she had to be careful about what she said. If she gave away too much...the Doctor, this Doctor, with his gaps in thoughts and altered memories, he'd fly off the handle, he'd react, he'd do something without even realizing what he was doing or why. If he killed River Song now, the woman wouldn't be there to save them in the Library.
"I'd protect Angel," he said, looking at Idris, a fire in his eyes.
"You would?"
"With my life," he said quietly, a fierce promise in his voice, "No matter what."
Idris nodded, "Good," she told him, squeezing his arm again, "Doctor...everyone's memory...is a mess," she looked at him intently, seeing him actually listening to her, heeding her words, especially after the River remark, not that she had said anything to tell him River would harm Angel...but enough to make him wary of the woman the next time they should meet, "You yourself...you have memories of things you feel like you haven't done, places you never went to," she saw him looking down, thinking on that, and she knew he was recalling the memories of his, the memories she KNEW were wrong, the ones that his own mind had made up to fill the gaps that had been left in forgetting Angel. Events that had happened in his memories, but HADN'T really happened, just...things that had been made up to plug up the holes, memories she knew he felt were wrong despite not knowing how, "Memories that...you remember when you look at Angel, but only...sometimes..." he slowly started to nod, his gaze pulling back to Angel, he'd experienced it just now, remembered something he hadn't and she knew little things slipped through, like Angel's own bonding as a Pilot that he hadn't remembered till it was brought up, "Sometimes it means that time is being rewritten and people think their memories are bad when their memories are fine," she hesitated, "But sometimes...sometimes it's not time, sometimes the memories really ARE bad, sometimes...sometimes it's something else affecting them," the Doctor looked at her, "Memory is a tricky thing, and our memories especially are far more precious than any others, so hold onto them Doctor," she let go of his arm, "Hold onto them as tightly as you can."
The Doctor nodded, looking down again, thinking on her words. He had been aware that, at times, a memory would strike him that had been...fuzzy and cleared, or had just...fallen to the back of his mind or that he hadn't even realized he'd forgotten. Sometimes they faded, but...now he was starting to think he should hold onto them. He had once told Angel that they couldn't be too important if he could forget them so easily but Idris...she was making sense, what if it wasn't that they weren't important, what if it was...something else affecting them.
He didn't like that thought, at all, the idea that something was affecting his memories. He hadn't liked it at all when he'd found out about the Silence and their effect on memory, to think that they were manipulating the events around them with no one aware. And he felt it, he could feel that his memories...weren't 100 percent...right.
"Can you promise me something else Doctor?" Idris asked.
"What?" he looked at her, blinking a bit as he was pulled from his thoughts.
Idris glanced at Angel again, seeing her testing the piece that had broken off, smiling as it stayed stuck and worked, "Watch over her for me," she whispered, feeling tears in her eyes to know that this would be the last time that she could be there for her sister like THIS, "Protect her, keep her safe..."
"Always," he crossed his hearts.
"Thank you," she told him, a moment before Angel turned and smiled at them, shouting, "All finished!"
"Nope, hang on, wait!" the Doctor turned and picked up three red velvet, movie theater ropes as Idris walked back to the console, holding a wire hanger, joining Angel as she quickly looked over the Time Lady's flawless work.
~8~
Amy walked forward, through the slowly darkening corridor, "Amy?" she heard a weak voice call out. She turned the corner to see an older Rory, now a very old man with a long grey beard and grey hair, curled up close to a wall.
"Oh my God," she gasped, kneeling beside him, "Rory?"
"You left me," he whispered, tears in his voice, "How could you do that? How could you leave me?"
"How long have you been here?" she stared at him, feeling tears in her eyes at the ones in his voice.
"2,000 years I waited for you," he banged his head on the wall, hard, "You did it to me again!"
"I didn't mean to. I didn't mean to. I'm sorry," he suddenly lunged at her, making her fall back with a cry. She crab-walked away from him as he scrambled after her, "Rory, what are you doing?"
"They come for me at night. Every single night, they come for me and they hurt me. Amy, they hurt me over and over and over and over..."
"Rory..."
"How could you leave me? How could you do that to me?!" they both stood as Rory shouted at her, she backed away, through a doorway and it closed again, leaving her alone, braced against the door as she sobbed...
~8~
Idris hung the hanger from a hook while the Doctor handed her and Angel the ropes to strap themselves in. He stood looking at the rotor, Idris on his right, Angel on his left, the girls across from each other, all of them ready, "Right," he breathed, "Ok, let's go. Follow that TARDIS!" he pushed a button as Idris caught sight of herself in the mirror before her and began pulling at her face and scrunching it up. The console powered up and sparked, "Oh, come on, there's Rift Energy everywhere, you can do it!" he punched in some codes and tried again but there was nothing, "Ok…diverting all power to thrust…let's be having ya!" he wound something but the console just kept sparking, "Ah! No, no, no, no, no!"
"What's wrong?" Idris asked.
"It's not holding the charge," Angel told her.
"It can't even start!" he muttered, "There's no power!" he looked over to see the woman-TARDIS pulling her lip, "Will you…" and put his hand in front of the mirror, "I've got nothing…"
Idris smiled, "Oh, you idiot. You have what you've always had. You've got me and my sister," she looked at Angel and held out her right hand.
Angel looked at it a moment, confused, before putting her left hand in it. She and Idris kissed one of their fingers, their mouth and eyes glowing gold with Vortex energy before they lightly pressed their fingers to the rotor, powering the device up. The rotor began to move, making the wheezing noise, jolting them as a circle of gold appeared around them and they disappeared.
~8~
Amy walked around another corner, only to stop short at the sight of 'Hate Amy' and 'Kill Amy' and 'Die Amy' scrawled onto the walls in a violent hand. She stumbled back, seeing a skeleton lying on the floor in Rory's clothes.
"No!" she screamed and ran forward, falling to her knees beside the body and sobbing, "No! Rory...I'm so, so sorry!"
Just then Rory, a younger and VERY alive Rory, walked around the corridor behind her, "Amy?"
Amy turned at the sound of his voice and, when she looked back, the body and writing were gone. She pushed herself up, running to Rory and hugging him tightly.
"It's messing with our heads," Rory whispered in her ear as he held her, "Come on, run," he held her hand firmly as they ran off, him taking the lead.
~8~
The makeshift TARDIS followed the path of the TARDIS towards their Universe, the golden energy everywhere, "Woo!" the Doctor cheered.
"I've got a lock!" Angel reported, "But we need them to lower the shields to get in."
"Can you get a message to Amy?" the Doctor turned to Idris, "The telepathic circuits are online."
"Which one's Amy?!" the woman-TARDIS yelled over the noise, "The pretty one?"
~8~
In the TARDIS, Amy and Rory were climbing up a ladder, when Rory suddenly put a hand to his head getting a sharp pain, "Ah!" he closed his eyes, seeing Idris looking back at him, a bit hazy.
"Rory!" Amy called, "What's wrong?"
"It's like...I'm getting a message…"
"Hello pretty!" Idris called.
"What the hell is that?"
The Doctor appeared in the corner of his vision, "Don't worry, telepathic messaging, no that's Rory!"
"You have to go to the old control room," Idris continued, "I'm putting the route in your head. When you get there use the purple slider on the nearest panel to lower the shields."
"Wait, is Rory the pretty one?" he heard Angel shout from somewhere he couldn't see, breathing a sigh of relief to know she was there and ok.
"Apparently," the Doctor agreed.
"Of course he is," Idris turned to him, "My sister is lovely!"
"What's THAT got to do with anything?"
Idris rolled her eyes, "Rory is her brother, he's my brother too, therefore he must be pretty!"
Angel laughed, "Excellent logic, I completely agree!"
Rory couldn't help but smile at that, especially when the Doctor appeared in the corner of his vision again, pouting.
"You have about 12 seconds before the room goes into phase with the invading matrix," Idris added, "I'll send you the passkey when you get there. Good luck."
The message ended and Rory opened his eyes, "What was that?" Amy called up.
"It was that woman. That mad woman, Angel, and the Doctor."
"The Doctor and Angel?"
"We have to keep going!" Rory told her before climbing again, only to pause.
"What is it? Another message?"
"No, I..." he shook his head, blinking, "I just realized my sister is a spaceship apparently," he laughed, continuing on, stranger things had happened, he'd been erased from time and turned into a living action figure of a Roman soldier, why wouldn't one of his sisters be a bigger-on-the-inside police telephone box that could travel in time?
~8~
"How's he gonna be able to take down the shields anyway the House is in the control room!?" the Doctor called to Idris over the noise.
"I directed him to one of the old control rooms," she replied.
"There aren't any old control rooms. They were all deleted or remodeled."
"She archived them," Angel told him, she'd stumbled across one or two of them when she'd wander the TARDIS halls last year, when she had just...wanted to work on the TARDIS but the Doctor had been in the console room.
"For neatness," Idris nodded, "I've got about 30 now."
"But I've only changed the desktop, what, a dozen times?" the Doctor looked at her.
"So far yes."
"You can't archive something that hasn't happened yet!"
Angel smiled secretly with Idris, all too aware of the capabilities of the TARDIS, "You can't."
~8~
Amy and Rory walked through the corridors, when Amy stopped short, the hall going dark around her, "What happened to the lights?"
Rory looked around but the lights were fine for him, "The lights are fine. It's messing with our heads again," Amy walked forward her arms out to keep from walking into something when Rory heard something, "Ok. Stay there a second."
"What is it? What?"
"Just hang on," he turned the corner.
"Don't leave me. I can hardly see, you idiot!"
"Argh!"
"Rory? Rory?!"
"It's ok, I'm fine," his voice called, just a...hint...of something off about it, "Come towards my voice."
Amy slowly walked forward, "What happened? Where are you?"
"I just banged my head. Just keep coming," Amy kept walking not able to see Rory lying unconscious on the floor, "Reach out your hand," Amy reached out and touched the tentacles of Nephew as he stood before her, his eyes glowing green. Amy screamed and suddenly could see again, Rory, the real Rory, behind her.
"This way!" Rory grabbed her hand and pulled her back, "Come on, run!"
~8~
"We're going!" the Doctor whooped, "You're doing it you sexy thing!"
"See you do call me that!" Idris looked at him, "Is it my name?"
Angel laughed, "If you'd like, sexy girl!"
"Wooo!" Idris cheered as she turned and put her hand on the rotor, sending one last message to Rory.
~8~
"I can see now, Rory," Amy told him as he continued to lead her through the corridors, "I can see."
"It was the Ood thing, Nephew, and it's still coming."
"I know," they stopped at a locked door, "So where is this place?"
"This is where she told me to go. She said she'd send me the pass key!" Rory grabbed his head as Idris sent him another message. He slowly started to repeat the words to Amy as Idris spoke them, "Crimson. Eleven. Delight. Petrichor."
"Petrichor?"
Rory opened his eyes and looked at her, "What do I do? Do I say it? Crimson. Eleven. Delight. Petrichor," nothing happened, "I said it."
"Petrichor. Petrichor..."
"I said it!" he turned and pounded on the door.
"Petrichor. She told you what it meant, the smell of wet dust, remember? So...oh...it's the meaning, not the word."
"The meaning of what?"
"The TARDIS interface is telepathic. You don't say it, you think it."
Rory's eyes widened, seeing Nephew appear at the end of the hall, "It's coming."
Amy faced the door, "Quiet!" she closed her eyes, "Crimson. Eleven. Delight. The smell of dust after rain…" she scrunched her face, imagining the words as Nephew approached, "Crimson…" a red flag in the wind, "Eleven…" 11 candles on a birthday cake, "Delight…" laughing at her wedding, "The smell of dust after rain…" a raindrop falling in dirt. As she repeated the words and thoughts, Nephew moved closer, until the doors slid open and they rushed in to see themselves in the TARDIS's previous control room, "What is this place?" Amy looked around as they ran up the ramp, "Another control room?"
"Shields!" Rory ran to the console, not letting himself get distracted as he looked around for the right buttons and switches, "Got it!" he laughed, he could actually recognize quite a few of the controls, which was something, he really loved those lessons Angel had given him, brilliant, brilliant woman!
~8~
"They did it!" Idris called.
"Shields are down!" Angel reported.
~8~
Amy and Rory looked around as the room started to glow green, House taking control, "How did you find this place? It's not on my internal schematics. I had hoped you two could join Nephew as my servants. But you two are nothing but trouble," the door opened and Nephew entered, "Nephew...kill them."
Amy and Rory backed away...when Rory hunched over, getting another telepathic message. Idris appeared in his mind, "We're coming through. Get out of the way or you'll be atomized."
"Where are you coming through?" he asked.
"I don't know."
"Oh, great. Thanks!"
~8~
"It's not going to hold!" Idris shouted.
"Yes it will!" Angel countered, grinning, making Idris smile to see her taking control of their flight. It was one thing to be the ship flying, it was another to be the one flying it, and if anyone could get them in there, it was Angel.
"Woo hoo!" the Doctor cheered, seeing what Angel was doing, what she always did, be amazing!
~8~
"Hold on!" Rory turned to Amy, the two of them grabbing onto a rail and Y-beam while the other console materialized on the ramp.
"Doctor!" Amy shouted, running to the Doctor and hugging him as Angel led Rory to Idris the moment he'd finished hugging her as well.
"Oh, not good," Idris leaned heavily on Angel as she moved the help her, "Not good at all," Rory ran to her other side, "How do you walk around in these things?" Angel and Rory slowly lowered her to sit down.
"We're not quite there yet, just hold on," the Doctor told her before looking at Amy and Rory, "Amy, this is…well…she's our TARDIS. Except she's a woman. She's a woman, and she's our TARDIS."
"She's the TARDIS?" Amy pointed in shock.
"And she's a woman. She's a woman and she's the TARDIS."
Angel laughed, helping Idris up, "Hello," Idris smiled, "I'm…sexy girl."
"Oh…" the Doctor moaned before pointing at them, "Shut up."
"Environment has been breached," House reported, "Nephew kill them all," Amy and Rory looked around for the Ood.
"Where's Nephew?" Rory wondered.
"He was standing right where you materialized…" Amy pointed.
Angel grimaced, "He was...um...redistributed…"
"Meaning what?" Rory looked at her.
"You're breathing him," the Doctor told them as they moved to cover their mouths.
"Aw, come on…" Amy groaned.
"Another Ood we failed to save."
"Doctor, I did not expect you," House remarked.
"Well that's me all over isn't it?" he clapped his hands and moved around the console, "Lovely old unexpected me."
"The big question is, now you're here, how to dispose of you. I could play with gravity…" they all fell to the floor, struggling to get up till it stopped. Amy and the Doctor jumped to their feet while Idris fell, Angel beside her. Rory ran over, checking briefly on Angel, who nodded they were both fine, before he turned to look over Idris, "Or I could evacuate the air from this room and watch you choke," they started gasping.
"You really don't want to do that!" the Doctor managed to get out.
"Why shouldn't I just kill you now?" House let the air in.
"Because then I won't be able to help you. Listen to your engines, just listen to them," Rory put his hand on Idris's throat and looked at his watch, Angel holding her hand, "You don't have the thrust and you know. Right now I'm your only hope for getting out of your little bubble, through the Rift, and into our Universe. And our is the one with the food in it."
"Water…" Idris gasped as Angel stroked her hair, trying to comfort her.
"You just have to promise not to kill us. That's all. Just promise."
"You can't be serious!" Amy gaped.
"Very serious. I'm sure it's an entity of its word."
"Doctor!" Angel called to him, alerting him to Idris's plight.
"She's burning up, she's asking for water," Rory added.
The Doctor moved and knelt at her side as Angel continued to stroke her hair, "Just stay...just a little longer girl," she whispered.
"Not long now," the Doctor agreed, "It'll be over soon."
Idris smiled up at Angel, squeezing her hand weakly, "Always liked it when you called me girl."
She smiled back, tears in her eyes, "And I'm actually rather fond of when you call me sister."
Idris gave a gentle laugh, "Thank you."
Angel sniffled, "For what?"
"Being here, with me," Idris looked up at her, "I don't want to die alone," she squeezed Angel's hand as she swallowed hard, a tear falling, "I was there for you, and now you're here for me."
"What do you me..." Angel began, before blinking, "Oh..." she breathed, realizing what Idris was talking about.
"Oh what?" the Doctor whispered.
"When you were in the Vault," Angel turned to him, "I died...in the TARDIS."
"You weren't as alone as you thought," Idris wheezed, "I was there for you, sister, I was always, and will awlays be, there for you."
Angel looked back down at her, "Likewise," she promised, putting her other hand on Idris's hand, holding it tightly.
"You want me to give my word?" House cut in, "Easy, I promise."
"Fine, ok, I trust you," the Doctor looked back, "Just delete, oh, 30 percent of the TARDIS rooms? You'll free up thrust enough to make it through. Activate sub routine sigma 9."
"Why would you tell me this?"
He stood, "Because we want to get back to our Universe as badly as you do. And I'm nice. You've got Angel to thank for that."
"Yes, I can delete rooms…and I can also rid myself of vermin if I delete this room first. Thank you Doctor. That was very helpful. Goodbye Time Lords. Goodbye little humans. Goodbye Idris!"
There was a bright light that filled the air and they disappeared...
~8~
...to reappear in the main control room in the same positions they disappeared in, "You could do that," the Doctor called, "But it won't work. Angel's brilliant with TARDISes, hardwired a fail safe, living things from rooms that are deleted are automatically deposited in the main control room. But thanks for the lift."
"We are in your Universe now, Doctor," House remarked as the Doctor walked around the console, leaving Angel and Rory with Idris, Amy standing nearby, "Why should it matter to me in which room you die?" Idris gently tugged Rory closer and whispered in his ear as Angel kept an eye on the Doctor a moment, "I can kill you just as easily here as anywhere. Fear me, I've killed hundreds of Time Lords."
The Doctor swallowed, solemn, loathing himself for having to admit this, Angel's words about what he'd done to the Silence ringing in his mind, "Fear me, I've killed all of them."
"I don't understand," Rory whispered to Idris, "There isn't a forest in here," Idris just pulled him down again, Angel glancing at her and back at the Doctor.
"Yeah, you're right, you've completely won," the Doctor looked around, "Oh, you can kill us in oodles of really inventive ways," he glanced at Idris, "But before you do kill us, allow me and my friends, Amy and Rory, to congratulate you on being an absolutely worthy opponent," he pulled Amy over and started clapping with her.
"Congratulations?" Amy looked at the Doctor, confused.
He glanced at Idris as the woman closed her eyes. Angel squeezed her hand and dropped a kiss on to the woman's forehead, "Yup, you've defeated us. Me, Angel, our lovely friends here, and last but definitely not least, the TARDIS matrix herself, a living consciousness you RIPPED out of this very control room and locked up into a human body. And look at her."
"Doctor...she's not breathing," Angel reported to him, trying not to cry, Rory reaching out to take her hand, squeezing it, seeing the tears in her eyes as Idris, another sister, died in front of her, empathizing with her sorrow, recalling what he'd seen at the lake.
"Enough, that is enough," House called as Amy moved to kneel beside Angel, putting an arm around her shoulders to hug her from the side.
"No," the Doctor snapped as he walked around the console, feeling more angry when he heard Angel sniffle, seeing her face scrunch in pain, and he knew where her mind had gone, her sister, her real sister had been killed by a Dalek, died in front of her, and now, the next sister she had, a new sister, one she'd only gotten to know for an hour at most, was dying before her again, it HURT her, and for that...he wanted House to hurt as well, "It's never enough. You forced the TARDIS into a body so she'd burn out safely a very long way away from this control room! A flesh body can't hold the TARDIS matrix and live. Look at her body House."
"And you think I should mourn her?"
"No, I think you should be very, very careful about what you let back into this control room," Idris's mouth opened and golden Vortex energy poured out, "You took her from her home! But now she's back in the box again and she's free!"
Light poured out of her ands streamed around the room, "No!" House called, in pain, as the light invaded, forcing him out, "Doctor! Stop this! Ow! Stop this now!"
"Look at my girl," Angel whispered, looking at the beautiful golden glow swarming around them, seeing it more as the TARDIS's soul being returned than House being attacked, "My beautiful sister..."
The Doctor nodded, "Look at her go! Bigger on the inside!" he watched as the gold beat back the green, "See House…"
"Make her stop!" House snapped.
"That's your problem."
"Ah!"
"Size of a planet but inside you are just so small!"
"Make it stop!"
Idris collapsed, dead, the light gone. Angel closed her eyes before getting up and stumbling away from Amy, falling onto the stairs as she moved to sit with her head in her hands, shaking.
"Finish him off," the Doctor called as he turned to the console, the lights fading.
"No! Don't do this! Ah! Uh! No!"
The Doctor looked up, watching as the green disappeared, the gold slowly fading, leaving the room in darkness. He closed his eyes, knowing it was over, knowing that the TARDIS was back, Idris was gone and...
"Doctor…" Angel called, her voice...echoing. He turned around to see Angel sitting on the steps, her eyes glowing golden before she made herself stand up, blinking, as though confused, "Are you there? It's so very dark in here."
He blinked, stunned, as he realized this wasn't Angel speaking, it was Idris, it was the TARDIS speaking through her, "I'm here," he stepped up to her, staring up at her.
Angel/Idris looked down at him, smiling softly, "My sister is so kind, isn't she? Letting me speak through her again."
"Again?" the Doctor frowned.
"This is not the first time I have used her to speak."
~oOo~
Angel stood before the Emperor of the Daleks, golden energy swirling around her. She blinked, frowning, tears falling from her eyes, "She is angry, her sisters are dead, her planet is destroyed, turned to dust. The Time War ends now."
~oOo~
"I'm thinking all of my true sisters are dead."
~oOo~
"Psychic."
"Thief."
~oOo~
Idris ran at him, pointing at him, "Thief! Thief! You're my thief!"
~oOo~
The Doctor gasped gently at the memories. Angel/Idris smiled at him, seeing him make the connection, seeing him realize the other times she and her sister had been as one as they were now, "I've been looking for a word, a big, complicated word, one so sad. I found it now. My sister has helped me find it."
"What word?"
"Alive. I'm alive."
"Alive isn't sad."
"It's sad when it's over. I'll always be here," she lifted a hand to Angel's chest, "But this is when we talked. And now even that has come to an end. There's something I didn't get to say to you."
He nodded slightly, looking down, tears in his eyes, "Goodbye."
"No," he looked at her, "I just wanted to say," she smiled tearfully, "Hello. Hello Doctor."
He let out a little laugh, "You already said that, angrily."
She sniffled, "Yes...I'm not sorry for that, you do deserve it, even if you don't know why," she blinked, "Just know...it was so very, very nice to finally meet you."
"Please…" he whispered, "I don't want you to go…" despite her violence towards him, this was still the TARDIS, the box that had been there for both him and Angel, it seemed, throughout most of their lives, he knew Angel wouldn't want to lose the box now either.
Angel/Idris leaned back, closing her eyes as the gold faded from around her, a ghostly whisper of, "Take care of her…" echoed around them before Angel fell forward, the layers of her cardigan falling in front of her. The Doctor quickly caught her by the shoulders, steadying her as she blinked, getting her hearings.
"Doctor?" she looked at him with a frown at his tearful expression before realizing, "She's gone, isn't she?" tears filled her own eyes as the Doctor nodded, letting her go so he could turn to the console and brace himself on it, trying not to let Angel see him cry, knowing it would upset her even more.
Rory stepped over and hugged Angel tightly while Amy went to put an arm around the Doctor in comfort, both companions knowing their Pilots needed them.
~8~
The Doctor was sitting in the harness under the glass floor, wires hanging around him as one sparked, "How's it going under there?" Rory asked, walking down the steps as Amy knelt on the glass floor, watching, Angel sitting on the bottom step to the under-console, watching the Doctor to make sure he didn't blow up the TARDIS, knowing he needed a distraction.
Oddly enough...after her initial sorrow at realizing Idris was gone, she'd felt...at peace. Like...she knew the box was still there, that Idris was still there, that she would always be there. Like she'd promised. The Doctor though, was having a bit of trouble seeing that.
"Eh, just putting a fire wall around the matrix, almost done!" the Doctor remarked.
"Are you gonna make her talk again?" Amy asked.
"We can't," Angel shook her head, that was one thing she was sad about. Her family had spent millennia trying to work out how to get a TARDIS to talk.
"Why not?" Rory moved to sit beside her.
"Spacey wacey, isn't it?" Amy laughed a bit.
"Well, actually," the Doctor explained, "It's because the Time Lords discovered that if you take an 11th dimensional matrix and fold it into a mechanical…" Rory moved over to watch him, crossing two wires that were dangling and making them spark and the Doctor flinch, "Yes, it's spacey wacey!" he pulled his blackened goggles down.
"Sorry," Rory remarked as Angel laughed. The Doctor stood and looked at the wires, "Um, at the end she was talking, she kept repeating something, well two things, and I don't know what they meant…"
"What did she say?"
"'The only water in the forest is the river.' She said we'd need to know that some day. It doesn't makes sense, does it?"
"Not yet."
"And the other thing?" Angel called.
Rory looked at her a moment, "'Angels fall and lose it all.'"
"Is that a sort of rhyme?" Amy called, getting up, "Like a nursery rhyme? It sounds like it might be."
"'Demons run when a good man goes to war," Angel recited, "Angels fall and lose it all, when a good man goes to war,'" she looked up at them, "I think there's more but I don't remember it."
"But why say it?" Rory frowned.
Angel could only shrug when she saw Rory's expression, "Are you alright Rory?"
"No," he admitted as the Doctor turned to him, "I watched her die. I shouldn't let it get to me, but it still does," it was like, he knew he should have a hard time being around Angel, given he'd seen her die as well, but Angel was still there, Idris, the vessel, wasn't. Amy walked down the steps and sat down beside Angel, "I'm a nurse."
"Letting it get to you, you know what that's called?" the Doctor replied, "Being alive. Best thing there is. Being alive, right now, is all that counts. I need to finish," he sat back down in the harness, "2 more minutes and then we're off. The Eye of Orion's restful if you like restful, I could never really get the hang of restful. What do you think dear?" he looked up at the TARDIS.
Angel smiled, closing her eyes as she heard a hum, a rather...clear hum actually, she could almost swear she could make out a whisper in it, "I think she'd like that."
He looked over at her and smiled as Amy laughed, "Look at you three. It's always you two and her isn't it, long after the rest of us have gone. You and your box, off to see the Universe."
"You say that as if it's a bad thing," the Doctor looked at her, "But honestly it's the best thing there is," there was another large spark, "Uh, the House deleted all the bedrooms. I should probably make you two a new bedroom. You'd like that wouldn't you?"
Angel looked up as Rory and Amy whispered to each other, "Ok um," Amy turned to the Doctor, "This time...could we lose the bunk beds?" Angel shook her head, only the Doctor.
"No, bunk beds are cool!" he looked at them, "A bed with a ladder! You can't beat that!" they just gave him a look, "It's your room."
Angel got up, "Come on, I'll get the TARDIS to build you one just the way you like," she nudged Rory, "She'd want her pretty brother to be comfortable," which made Rory laugh, two sisters he'd gotten since meeting Angel, a psychic and a spaceship, and he knew he had at least 2 other brothers and 2 sisters to meet, though Rose would be difficult.
"Off you pop," the Doctor encouraged as he put on his goggles.
"Doctor, do you have a room?" Rory looked back at him. Amy just pulled him up the stairs so Angel could set up a room to their specifications, leaving the Doctor to his work.
~8~
The Doctor stood at the console a short while later, Angel sitting on the jump seat, watching him as he tossed a rag down and flashed the sonic against the controls. He paused a moment before leaning against it, "Are you there? Can you hear me?"
There was nothing...until Angel answered.
"Yes," she smiled, looking up at the rotor, feeling it inside her, "Yes she is…and yes she can."
He looked over at her as she smiled at him. He grinned widely and straightened up, "Ok! The Eye of Orion or wherever we need to go," Angel got up with a laugh and pulled a lever, making the Doctor fall onto another lever for balance, but Angel just smiled and pulled another one. He laughed and ran around to set the controls while Angel turned to a keypad, tapping in a code and they were off.
A/N: Can I tie things in or can I tie things in lol :) Did you guys see the hint of 'Idris' speaking through Angel all the way in Series 1? ;) The TARDIS and Angel have had a MUCH stronger relationship than the Doctor ever realized :) I know there wasn't another Idris slap here, but she really got more control of herself and I think it was a sort of progression from anger to annoyance to clarity here. She needed to have an actual meaningful conversation with the Doctor, if she was still the 'mad bitey woman' he might not have listened :( But he DID! And, we'll see his thoughts on all that Idris told him in the next chapter and possibly a little Thella moment to end ;) And did you like the little 'sister bonding' between Idris and Angel, I think the box of all people would know what Angel's going through and know just what to say to really give her her hope back :)
And...now that we're done with Idris...expect the TARDIS POV Spin-off to be up within the next 5-7 days :) I've got a cover all made up, and I just have to think of a title for it and we'll get the TARDIS's POV on Dalek ;)
Just want to apologize for TAOSAT, it'll be updated either very late today or early tomorrow, apparently my computer is going to be taken for a virus check today and with my sister at school with her laptop I won't have a computer to work on editing the next chapter till nearly night :( I'll try to get it edited and up, but I just wanted to warn that it'll probably be tomorrow :(
Some notes on reviews...
Lol, perception filters might be in play, you never know }:)
Yes, Angel will forget at one point in the saga, it's true lol :) I can say that this will always be 11/OC so the relationship will survive, no worries there :) I think Angel's hopeless moment was everything (and the pregnancy emotions) just getting to her, I think everyone has that moment where you feel hopeless and wonder what the point of it is, but you always need just one person to remind you not to give up :) Ironically, it's one of the sources of her hopelessness lol :) I'm very excited for the Ganger chapters too, mostly because we'll see a bit of jealous Doctor coming up when someone of the 'Ganger crew' seems to have a tiny tiny crush on Angel...and then double it when the Doctor's own self is there and both of them want Angel's attention without realizing why ;) Good luck with your story! :)
Nope, Angel can't build a voice thing for the TARDIS :( But I can say there'll be a way coming up in the saga for the TARDIS to communicate, we saw a tiny hint of it in this chapter ;)
Yup, Idris does NOT like River at all, and now that the Doctor knows it goes beyond dislike to distrust, having 2 'psychics' not trusting the woman will definitely make him cautious about her ;) I can say that, after the remembrance moment, we'll find out exactly what happened to make him forget and certain scenes and occurences will make you go OMG! THAT'S WHAT WAS GOING ON!? ...or at least I hope :) It's possible River might have lived it with them, especially if she might have a hand in it }:) Tenses are SO hard! I agree ;) I liked the Percy Jackson books, except for a moment in Sea of Monsters where the author incorrectly explained a myth and completely destroyed quite a few others as a result of it, but other than that, I thought they were very clever :) And I'm actually NOT annoyed with Annabeth's casting in the first movie, with her being brunette as Athena in the actual historical myths is 'dark haired and bright/grey eyed' so really, the movie is more accurate than the books :)
There's no saying they'll both lose their memories at the same time :) It would be interesting to see how the Doctor would react without his memories to Angel forgetting him or with his memories to Angel forgetting him, both would be quite different :) But there's no saying it'll happen with both of them forgetting ;)
Tribbles are adroable :)
I think the Doctor, at that point, is still thinking of her as a mad woman and any ramblings that make no sense with what he knows of the situation he'd just brush off as her being mad or the TARDIS being 'out of it' :) I think it's a bit of both though, he's a bit of an idiot and oblivious :)
That's awesome! Expect a birthday wish tomorrow! :) I hope it'll get your day off to a good start :) All I can say about Angel's own amnesia is that...it'll last forever, but in a way...not that long at all }:)
You would think the TARDIS would know right? :) It was explained just a bit here, that the reason the Doctor can't remember is the reason why the TARDIS can't see what'll happen :) If it was the Doctor's own actions, her psychic connection to his mind might prevent her from seeing if he'll remember since it's his own mind and not an external force. We'll have to wait and see ;)
Oh there will be quite a few small Thella moments to come, especially a very cute one at the end of the next chapter ;)
I can't say when Angel will forget or not }:) I can say though that it might not be Angel that's the cruel one when we get to that chapter, but as for what I mean, we'll have to wait and see ;)