Wanderer of Time: Darkness Within

by Tinker16

The powers within have been steadily growing, buying time until the moment of remembrance. The moment swiftly approaches. Wanda's fears are coming to a head as she realizes what has been living inside her has only one purpose in the universe. And it holds no qualms in destroying any who gets in its way, even those who Wanda loves. (Part Three of the Wanderer of Time trilogy)

36. Ch 36: Opening Pandorica

Hello, everyone!

Have all your days/nights been wonderful? I hope so. :)

So, I'm really nervous in what everyone thinks of this chapter. Extremely nervous and anxious. Keeping my fingers crossed and holding my breath until the end of it. Please, enjoy! :)

XxXxXxXx

Chapter 36: Opening Pandorica

Blinking, trying to clear her eyesight of the white spots in her vision, Wanda gazed around, seeing that she was within Eleven's TARDIS. The bright and warm control room with the blanket of warmth surrounding her made her feel relaxed after a long day of tension and stress. Sighing, she ruffled her hair slightly as she walked up the stairs of the console, heading towards the corridor. First things first, she needed a nice long shower and a change of clothes before going off to find out where the Doctor had run to. She did not want the chance to get dragged into another adventure with him and the Ponds, and possibly River, just yet. She needed to rest for a bit before anything else.

Though she wanted to rest before finding anyone, she did find it odd that there was indeed no one around. Where was everyone? Had something happened? Frowning for a second, she shrugged, thinking that maybe they were off somewhere in the TARDIS, playing games or something. So, she ignored her growing anxiety as she went into her room and began to clean herself up. Once showered and changed into her usual outfit of bright coloured tunic, maroon overcoat, capris, and mary janes, Wanda stepped out of her room again, glancing both ways down the corridor. Okay, that really was weird. Normally, when Wanda appeared, and the others were on board and had not realized of her arrival after a long while, the TARDIS would sort of send a signal to the rest in the back, letting them know of the new company that had joined them. Then, as usual, the Doctor would bounce over to greet her with the others in tow. All ready to go on an adventure together.

However, there was no such welcome here. Now Wanda was truly starting to worry as she realized she might have been callous in wanting to wash up and relax. She should have looked for them first. What if they were in trouble? What if they were in grave danger? What if they were dying?! She had to save them! Wanda, with her mind jumping into a panic, ran down the corridor and straight back into the control room. Racing over to the scanner on the console, she began hurriedly typing, trying to find out what had happened to her family. The coordinates came up onto the screen, showing her that the TARDIS was currently at Salisbury Plain, in the 2nd century. Roman Britain. Scanning a bit more, she saw there was a Roman camp not too far away from where Sexy was parked. Would the Doctor and the others be there?

The disgruntled and wary hum of the TARDIS alerted Wanda, making her gaze up to the time rotor in concern.

"What's wrong old girl? Are you all right?" Wanda asked, patting the console in comfort. The scanner in front of her changed, showing her a blinking date. June twenty-six, 2010. Wanda felt her hearts drop with cold dread washing over her. Gulping, she slowly turned off the scanner, shaking as she realized what day with was. Sucking in a deep breath, she made herself be calm, knowing that things would not be that bad this day. Right? Right. Yeah. Should be fine. Everything would be totally fine. It was just the universe going to explode.

Wanda rocked on her feet, feeling her anxiety kicking in again as she knew she was now facing one of the days she had been dreading lately. Though she knew everything (for the most part) went perfectly fine in the show, there was still something about this day that sent dread down her spine. Something . . . off. It could be that much of it—when she tried looking into a possibility of this day—was fuzzy and blank to her. Which meant her timeline was deeply entangled in this adventure. Meaning that anything could happen on this day. Anything that she could not see coming. Even . . . even something horrible that she could not stop.

Her hand began rubbing at her stomach absently, worried for the child within her. Would the growing babe be in danger today? She had already placed the babe into a deadly situation with her against that Heavenly Host. What if she ended up doing it again? Slowly, she wrapped her arms around her stomach, growing a determined expression. She would never let that happen. She would rather die—no wait, dying would be the bad thing. All right. Then she would fight with everything to stay alive, keeping her child alive as well. Her child was precious, and she would do anything to protect . . . her . . . her child. Her and the Doctor's . . . child.

Wanda blinked, slowly letting go of her stomach. Her eyes filled with awe as she stared at nothing in particular as it finally hit her. She . . . she was going to be a mother. Of course, she had always realized this before when she saw the scans from the TARDIS. But . . . it just did not hit her fully yet. Yes, she would admit it now, she had been in brief denial, and a bit frightened as well. It was a huge shock to her. Of course, it was logical to be a little frazzled and unable to comprehend the idea of being pregnant when one never thought they would ever experience something such as this. Such as becoming a mother. Not once did Wanda ever believe she would be a mother someday. First, before meeting the Doctor and falling in love, she never believed she had been meant for love. Then, falling for the Doctor, she had that stubbornness in thinking he was meant for someone else. Meaning, they could never share something like this together.

But now . . .

"I'm going to be a mum," she breathed in awe, sounding as though her breath had left her. Gradually, as she stood in her stunned silence, a warm smile grew on her face. She let out a humourous giggle, feeling giddy. "I'm going to be a mum." A few happy tears leaked down her face as she caressed her stomach. Overjoyed at the idea of her and the Doctor having a child together. Of her carrying their child. She looked up at the time rotor in ecstatic delight. "You're gonna be a grandmother, Sexy!" The TARDIS beeped and blinked her lights around the control room, seeming to celebrate and be merry along with Wanda. The Time Lady giggled more in delight, clapping her hands and jumping around the console in her joyful giddiness. Then, Sexy hummed in a motherly way as if to remind Wanda of what she was meant to do now.

"Right. Gotta tell Theta and the others," Wanda agreed, grinning from ear-to-ear as she raced out of the TARDIS.

She jogged down the hill that the TARDIS was parked on, excited to see Eleven, Amy, and River. She wished Rory were here, too. No wait, she forgot that he was. Perfect! She could tell them all right now and . . . Wanda slowed down her jog, only walking briskly now. Right. No. This was not the best time to tell any of them. Again, bad timing. As she had told Astrid, telling the Doctor something important such as this during a stressful and dangerous adventure would not be good. It would only cause the Time Lord to become emotional. She . . . she would have to wait to tell him after this day was over. As soon as she had the chance, and the right moment, she would tell him. Tell her Theta and her family the good news. At least . . . she hoped it was good news. It was happy for her, but would everyone else see it that way as well?

She was startled when she heard loud galloping of a horse leaving the Roman camp. She spotted Amy, River, and the Doctor all on their own horse, leaving the camp in a fast pace. And Wanda was too far away to call out to them or each the camp in time to catch up. Acting quick, Wanda pulled out her sonic and made it pulse loudly. Doing the same as she had done when her Second self had been dying, she sent a signal to the Doctor's screwdriver, calling to him. She saw him make his horse halt, pulling out his sonic in surprise. Then his eyes widened, seeming to remember another time of that happening. Looking around wildly, he spotted Wanda not too far away, waving at him.

Turning his horse around, he galloped over to her in quick fashion. Amy and River behind him halted their own steads, gazing back curiously as to where the Time Lord would be going.

"Wanda! Just in time!" the Doctor called to his Time Lady, smiling brightly as ever when seeing her again. Wanda beamed, bouncing over to where the Doctor made the horse stop.

"Couldn't leave you on your own, now could I?" she replied cheekily. Reaching down, the Doctor held out his hand to her, helping her up onto the saddle with him. She got behind the Doctor, wrapping her arms around his torso as he kicked the horse into high gear and raced back off where Amy and River were waiting.

"Good to see you, sweetie!" River called, grinning with happiness in seeing Wanda again.

"You too, sweetie," Wanda responded, winking in delight while giggling. Looking over, she saw Amy smiling as well, nodding in hello. All rode quickly now through the plains, racing as fast as they could to their destination.

"So, I'm guessing, after seeing the message from good old Vincent, that we're going to Stonehenge to find Pandorica?" Wanda asked the others loudly over the whipping wind and thunderous galloping of the horses. "To stop the TARDIS from exploding and all that?"

"That's the plan," River stated, being just as loud in her reply.

"The TARDIS is not going to explode!" the Doctor countered crossly. Wanda felt him grow tense as she tightened her arms around him. Rubbing his chest soothingly, she kissed the back of his neck as a sign of reassurance. But it seemed to not relieve his stress as she still felt his hearts pounding away in an anxious beat. Yep, definitely a good thing she did not tell him the news of her pregnancy. Emotional Time Lord plus bad day equals disaster.

Eventually, they arrived at the location of the famous Stonehenge. The Doctor hopped off the horse first, then let Wanda jumped down into his arms. He held her close for a second, kissing her head, exhaling a long breath. Then he moved away, whipping out his sonic screwdriver to begin hurriedly scanning all the stones around them. Amy and River hopped off their horses as well, walking up to where Wanda stood by a lying stone. The redhead gazed around in interest, finding it strange in seeing how old the Stonehenge already appeared to be. Broken up into some pieces and covered in moss in others.

"How come it's not new?" Amy asked the two women next to her curiously. River pulled out a scanning device from her white parka.

"Because it's already old. It's been here thousands of years," River explained to the companion, continuing to work on the beeping scanner in her hands. "No one knows exactly how long."

"Which means someone had been planning on this for a very, very long time," Wanda mumbled, crossing her arms as she eyed each and every one of the stones around them. Amy glanced at the Time Lady, her mind trying to understand what was happening.

"Okay, this Pandorica thing," Amy spoke up as she walked around, looking at all the stones. She stopped, looking at River now for questioning. "Last time we saw you, you warned us about it, after we climbed out of Byzantium."

"Spoilers," River replied, smirking in cheek as she held up her finger to her lips. Amy rolled her eyes. Seriously, River was just as bad a Wanda about the whole 'spoilers' thing.

"No, but you told the Doctor you'd see him again when the Pandorica opens," Amy disputed, hoping for more set answers from the mysterious woman.

"Maybe I did. But I haven't yet. But I will have." River walked around Amy, continuing on her scans. All the while, Wanda snickered at the bewildered and baffled expression of Amy's as she stared at River's back in disbelief to such an avoiding and confusing answer.

"Amy, Amy, Amy," Wanda said, shaking her head in amusement as she walked up and patted the girl's shoulder, grinning slyly. "You should know by now that River is the Queen of Spoilers. You'll never get a straight answer out of her."

"Like I never get a straight answer out of you?" Amy retorted, almost pouting as she crossed her arms and gave Wanda a side glance.

"Yep!" Wanda beamed, snickering more as Amy rolled her eyes once again.

"I'm picking up fry particles everywhere," River announced once her scans' results came back, flashing brightly on her device. "Energy weapons discharged on this site." The Doctor walked into the centre of the stones, jumping to stand on top of one of the lying boulders. He snapped his sonic green-tipped sonic shut after finishing his own scans, gazing around the area cautiously.

"If the Pandorica is here, it contains the mightiest warrior in history," stated the Time Lord thoughtfully. "Now, half the galaxy would want a piece of that. Maybe even fight over it." He hummed for a second before looking at Wanda. "Wish to give us any sneak peeks?"

Wanda pondered over this, mumbling, "Um . . . sneak peek . . . it isn't what's inside the Pandorica. It is what's meant to be placed in."

"And what exactly is going in the Pandorica?" Amy spoke up in question as she and the rest stared steadily at the Time Lady. Wanda tugged on the back of her hair, wishing she could give a clearer warning. But again, everything was all fuzzy to her. All she knew was what happened on her show. Nothing else to go by. Sighing heavily, shaking her head, Wanda could only give them a shrug as to say she did not know, either.

"Well, then, on a scale of one to ten . . . how bad?" the Doctor asked, hopping down from the centre stone and walking up to Wanda. Keeping his gaze focused solely on her. Wanda began pinching her thumb behind her back.

"I'm sorry, I . . . I really don't know," Wanda whispered. At seeing the Doctor's expression dropping, she held a weak smile as to comfort him. "I'm sure it'll be fine. Just fine. Nothing too bad can happen, right?"

The knowledge of Wanda being uncertain about this day only made everyone's dread and fears worsen.

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It took them until the dark of night before they managed to get the centre stone to open and unveil the hidden chamber down below. A set of stone stairs with old vines growing around the sides led down into the depths of whatever was hidden below. Each of them glanced at one another before the Doctor gingerly stepped down into the darkness. Wanda followed closely behind him, with Amy and River right after her. The Doctor held out his sonic as a light source of them, helping to guide them into the deep darkness of the underhenge. Soon, he found some torches and light them up for usage. He handed one to Wanda and kept another for himself. Holding the torch out in front of him, he walked up to massive, very ancient, doors. Together, he, River, and Wanda pushed the doors open, revealing what was on the other side.

It was the Pandorica. A massive box, made of what appeared to be a mixture of metal and stone, with many strange markings and writing all over the structure of the box. It sat in the very centre of the underground room, on top of a stone flattop. Three beams of moonlight were directed at the box from small holes from above, giving the object an eerie glow. Cobwebs hung from the vines that grew on the ceiling, hanging down all around. The air within the room was stale, making the place feel very old and untouched by time.

"It's the Pandorica," breathed the Doctor, staring at the vast object in front of them in disbelief.

"More than just a fairy tale," River muttered quietly.

"Definitely not a fairy tale," whispered Wanda as she stepped with them towards the box. In the corner of her eye, she saw the Doctor kicking a Cyberman's broken arm on the ground. A very old and dusty arm from long ago. Wanda did not pay attention to this as her sole attention was upon the Pandorica. She could not avert her eyes as she drew closer and closer to it. Finally, she reached out, touching the edge of the box.

A chill went through her. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end and one barrier within shifted. Unsettled by the presence of the Pandorica. It meant nothing but danger. Nothing but capture and entrapment. A prison. A prison for the Doctor. To lock him away from the universe. To lock him away from her . . . forever. Wanda shivered as trepidation went through her. Nothing good was going to come from this day. Nothing good. She just knew it.

"There was a goblin," the Doctor suddenly spoke next to her. Wanda jumped slightly, startled by the sudden presence of the Time Lord standing right behind her. His chest was up against her back as he reached past her, touching the dark box along with her. "Or a trickster, or a warrior. A nameless, terrible thing, soaked in the blood of a billion galaxies. The most feared being in all the cosmos. And nothing could stop it, or hold it, or reason with it. One day it would just drop out of the sky and tear down your world."

Wanda frowned, not liking this description of the Doctor. Why would anyone ever call him something like that? Of course, then again, she had to remind herself that this 'legend' had been spread by the Doctor's many, many mortal enemies. Of course, they would see him as a monster to be locked up. Then again . . . there truly was a lot the Doctor did that many would consider 'monstrous.' But . . . she could never see her Doctor as a monster of any sorts. If anyone was a 'monster' here, it would have to be Wanda herself. She was the one with the Time Vortex running through her. She was the one with some sort of . . . evil thing inside her mind, ready to hurt people around her. She should be the one to be locked up. Not the Doctor. Shaking her head, trying to rid herself of these thoughts and growing guilt. She had enough moments of self-pity in her life. It was time to just put that all aside and focus on keeping her family safe.

"How did it end up in there?" Amy asked curiously, stepping up closer to the Pandorica as she examined it, wondering what kind of horrible monster was held within.

"You know fairy tales. A good wizard tricked it," the Doctor told her. He, briefly, after moving his hand away from the Pandorica, ran a hand up Wanda's arm, giving her shoulder a loving squeeze before walking around to the other side of the box. Wanda let out a breath, stepping back from the large box. River stepped around the Time Lady, beginning to scan the box.

"I hate good wizards in fairy tales," grumbled the woman. "They always turn out to be him." Wanda snorted lightly under her breath.

"You say that like it's a bad thing," replied the blonde girl, grinning cheekily at River.

"It is when the rest of us end up running for our lives," countered River in humour. Amy walked up to the two women, glancing over to see the Doctor wandering around, scanning the room with his sonic. Wanda handed over her torch to the companion, pulling out her own screwdriver to do similar scanning to the Pandorica. Holding out the torch in front of her, Amy stared at the box thoughtfully.

"So it's kind of like Pandora's Box, then?" the companion asked curiously to the group. "Almost the same name." The Doctor, over in a dark corner, paused in step and frowned at the companion, wondering what she was going on about.

"Sorry, what?" he questioned.

"The story. Pandora's Box, with all the worst things in the world in it," Amy explained, holding a small smile on her face as she always loved telling the story. "That was my favourite book when I was a kid." Staring at the ginger, the Doctor held a puzzled, almost uneased, expression. Amy felt uncertain as the Time Lord held this strange look. "What's wrong?"

"Your favourite school topic, your favourtie story," the Doctor listed off of what was happening on this day. Too closely tied in with Amy. "Never ignore a coincidence, unless you're busy. In which case, always ignore a coincidence." He moved around, going right up to the Pandorica again, running his hands up the sides as he examined the stone once more.

"So can you open it?" River asked, coming up on the other side of the Time Lord.

"Easily," replied the Doctor, shrugging as if it would be no problem whatsoever. "Anyone can break into a prison. But I'd rather know what I'm going to find first." All three turned together, staring steadily at the blonde Time Lady, who was currently fiddling with her sonic absently in her hands. Wanda blinked, straightening in her posture as she sort of looked over her shoulder, wondering if there was something behind her.

"Uh, w-what is it?" she asked them, holding a wary smile.

"If there's anyone here who would know what's within, it'd be you, sweetie," River said to Wanda.

"I need to know what you know," the Doctor added, walking up to Wanda, keeping his steady gaze on her. "You can't always give out spoilers. I understand that. But this time, I really need to know. What's in the box?"

"I told you already," mumbled Wanda, averting her eyes from his. She felt a pang go through her, wishing she could indeed tell him. To warn him of what would happen to him once his enemies arrived. But . . . she couldn't. It would be very bad spoilers to give. That, and the fact that everything was fuzzy did not help matters. Whatever she had seen off the show might be completely wrong for this adventure, as things did change quite dramatically at times in this universe.

"I need to know, Wanda," the Doctor pressed on for answers.

Wanda sighed heavily, shaking her head in regret. "I'm sorry, but . . . I actually can't tell you because I don't know myself. It's all . . . fuzzy."

The Doctor blinked, apprehension going through him as he knew fuzzy possibilities were never a good sign. Especially for Wanda herself. "Oh."

"Wait, I thought you could see everything?" Amy quizzed the Time Lady, frowning in bewilderment. "No matter what, you could look into the future and all that. Why would your 'future vision' be all fuzzy?"

"When my own timeline is too entangled with the Doctor's and the events of the day, I can't see what exactly is to come," Wanda explained to the companion. "Sure, my timeline is technically always involved in some way. But if I don't play a big key in the adventure, then I can still see most of what is going to happen."

"But if everything involved is directly related to Wanda's life, her timeline, then she can't see anything at all," the Doctor finished for Wanda, sighing in frustration as he wished the Time Lady could give him more information. But he understood when things were too involved in her own time stream, then there was nothing Wanda could do in with foreknowledge. She was just as blind as the rest of them were. River's scanner gave a sudden loud beep, making the rest staring curiously at the woman as she checked over the readings on her device.

"The Pandorica's opening," River told the group. "There are layers and layers of security protocols in there, and they're being disabled one by one. Like it's being unlocked from the inside." Getting closer to the stone box, she pressed her ear to it, as if trying to listen to the many locks unlatching within. The Doctor tensed, eyeing the large box a strange sense of foreboding crept through him.

"How long do we have?" he asked River, walking up to the box as well.

"Hours at the most," said River as she backed away from the Pandorica.

The Doctor held an expression of puzzlement as he stared at the box. "What kind of security?"

River checked over her scanner. "Everything. Deadlocks, time-stops, matter-lines."

This shocked him, making the Doctor stare at the box in awe. "What could need all that?"

"What could get past all that?" River added, appearing just as unnerved as the Doctor by whatever was in the Pandorica.

The Doctor trailed his fingertips along the markings of the box, holding a distant gaze as he examined the stone. "Think of the fear that went into making this box. What could inspire that level of fear?" He stepped right up to the box, pressing his ear up to it as if waiting for the thing inside to speak to him. "Hello, you. Have we met?" Tapping his fingers rapidly the box, he spun around, lifting up a finger and opening his mouth to speak to Wanda.

"I'm not leaving you, Amy, or River," Wanda said quickly, giving the Time Lord a stern look. "You can't send me off just because you're worried about my inability to see the possibilities today. You can't just think for my safety when others need you more. And," she spoke louder, keeping him from speaking as he opened his mouth to argue, "sending me off to the TARDIS or the Roman camp will actually be even more dangerous. So I might as well hang out here with the giant box. Stop being dramatic by trying to send me off for 'my protection' and all that. It's becoming repetitive of you." The Doctor dropped his hand, pouting.

"How did you know I was going to have you leave?" he questioned.

"'Cause I know how you are. Always overprotective," Wanda replied, sticking her tongue out playfully when seeing his pout deepen.

"You always just have to be in danger, don't you?" the Doctor grumbled, stomping over to Wanda to hold tightly onto her hand as both stood in a few feet away from the Pandorica and the companions next to the box.

"So do you," scoffed Wanda, bumping him with her hip. "Don't think I'm not staying just for the danger, either. I'm here to protect you. You know you need me, Spaceman."

Amy held a brow raised, smirking when seeing the disgruntled expression on the Doctor's face, knowing he was frustrated in not getting what he wanted. That, and Amy so knew who was in charge in the Time Lords' relationship. River snickered, bumping Amy lightly in the side with her elbow as the two companions held sly grins. Both finding the overprotective Time Lord to be amusing.

"So, question, how could Vincent have known about it?" Amy asked the Time Lords. "He won't even be born for centuries."

"Easy. That's the work of the stones around us," Wanda pointed out, gesturing to the tall pillars around them that held up the ceiling and the Stonehenge above them. "Great big beacons that send a message out to everyone, everywhere, during any time. Warning to anyone willing to listen, 'The Pandorica is opening.'"

"But what's in there, what could justify all this?" the Doctor questioned in a grumble, frowning as he gazed thoughtfully at the area around them. "Anything that powerful, I'd know about it. Why don't I know?"

"You will know. Or . . . do know already, in some ways," Wanda told him, giving his hand a squeeze. She gazed up at the ceiling warily, knowing by now what was out there waiting for them. "But we can worry about that later. First, we need to get ready. They've arrived now that the message's gone out."

"What?" replied the Doctor in bewilderment, looking alarmed as he suddenly realized what she had said earlier. Everyone, everywhere had gotten the message on Pandorica. "Oh."

"'Oh'? 'Oh,' what?" asked Amy, worried now when seeing the alarmed expression on the Doctor and River's face. As well as the growing fearful look on Wanda's features. River jogged over to a near pillar, pressing her device to the stone.

"Okay. If it is basically a transmitter, we should be able to fold back the signal," River told he hurriedly, working fast on doing just that.

"It's too late for that now," stated Wanda rapidly as she let go of the Doctor's hand, going over to River. "The signal has already stopped itself now that the message has been made clear. And they're already here, so it really doesn't matter what we do to the beacons."

"Who's here?" asked the Doctor swiftly, running up to River and the Time Lady, fearing the worst on what had come to answer the message of Pandorica. "Wanda, tell us who."

"Daleks, Cybermen, Sontarans, Terileptil, Slitheen, Chelonian, Nestene, Drahvin, Sycorax, Haemo-goth, Zygon, Atraxi, Draconian. All in battleships," Wanda listed off in very rapid form, counting on her fingers all the number of species who had come to lock the Doctor up into the Pandorica. She gulped, knowing their odds were thin. Especially for the Time Lord. Looking at everyone, she saw each held their own terrified, alarmed expression.

"Okay. Okay. Think, think, think, think, think," the Doctor began muttering rapidly, hitting himself repeatedly on the forehead as though to jumpstart his mind into action. He held up a finger swiftly. "Ah! We're got surprise on our side. They'll never expect four people to attack their battleships. 'Cause we'd be killed instantly. So it would be a fairly short surprise." He realized instantly what an idiotic idea that was as he shook his head and hit himself on the forehead with his sonic quickly. "Forget surprise. We'll need to start a fight, turn them on each other. That's easy. They're all so cross. No, no, that would never work either. Think, think!" He began slapping his head again, at a complete loss for what they could do. He finally turned back to stare at the Pandorica, flabbergasted that anything that powerful and dangerous could ever draw in that many battle ready creatures from across the universe.

"What are you?" he breathed, speaking to whatever might be lurking within. "What could you possibly be?"

The room around them began to shake as all the battleships drew in closer to their location. Ready to advance. The group hurriedly ran up the stairs, rushing to figure out what to do about their current dilemma. Once outside, they all gazed up to the night sky, frightened by the many lights and sounds of the battleships zooming around overhead. Too many to count or keep track of. The group was outnumbered by a long shot.

"What do we do?" Amy asked fearfully. River walked up to the Doctor, gripping his shoulder tightly.

"Doctor, listen to me. Everything that has ever hated you is coming here tonight," she told the Time Lord tensely. On the verge of grabbing the Time Lady right next to her, and make the rest run far away with them both. "You can't win this. You can't even fight it. Doctor, this once, just this one time, please, you have to run. Take Wanda and run."

"Run where?" countered the Doctor, holding up his hands to gesture around them. Nowhere for any of them to go. Even if they tried.

"Fight how?" retorted River, very cross that the Doctor would think staying here would be a better option for them. The Time Lord seemed at a loss as he let his arms fall to his sides, thinking rapidly on what they could do.

"Romans!" Wanda exclaimed suddenly, making the other three jump, startled by her bursting voice. She smiled sheepishly. "Sorry. Anyway. The Romans. We can use them. They're the best when it comes to fighting. Right, Doctor?" Thinking this over for a second, the Doctor beamed, knowing it was perfect.

"Yes! We can use them," he agreed, waving an enthusiastic finger. "River, get back to the Romans. Sound the alarm, gather them up, and sending them here. Make sure you get all of them. We need all the arms we can get." In a flash, he grabbed the scanner from the woman and was running back down the stairs, hurrying back to the Pandorica as he began his plans. River scoffed, staring at the retreating Time Lord in dismay and disbelief. Was he really going to let Wanda, himself, Amy, and the rest die? Just like that? What kind of idiot was he? No, no, she had to remind herself. This was the Doctor here. He was the biggest idiot of them all. River glanced over to Wanda when the blonde came up beside her, smiling reassurance.

"Don't worry. The Romans can help," the Time Lady assured the woman.

"Can they really?" Amy asked, staring curiously at the two.

"They're just humans. Better yet, they're a bunch of men who think they're better than everyone else," River retorted, crossing her arms tightly. "What good can they do?"

"Well . . . for starters, there's a certain . . . ah . . .," Wanda glanced at Amy who stood closer to them, knowing by saying this name might cause some problems. After all . . . he was supposed to be dead, and Amy did not remember him at all. Mentioning him in front of Amy might not be the best thing. Stepping closer to River, Wanda motioned a finger, making the woman bend slightly down so that the Time Lady could whisper into her ear. "There's a certain Rory Williams who needs to be here for a certain Amelia Pond."

Stepping back, Wand gave the woman a leveled look. River raised a skeptical brow.

"But I thought he was—," River began to say.

"Not anymore," Wanda stated quickly, not wishing for River to give anything away in front of Amy. River hummed, nodding with a smile.

"All right, then. Off to get us some Romans," she replied, jogging away from the Time Lady and companion to get back to her horse. Ready to set off in finding their army. Amy blinked in confusion, unsure on what just happened.

"Umm . . . what did you say to River to convince her?" questioned the companion.

Wanda gave the companion a sly grin. "Told her to go find you a hot Italian."

XxXxXxXx

Amy walked around the room, lighting up more torches with the one in her hand, creating more light in the room for them. The light did not help get rid of the eerie feeling they all had from the Pandorica. But it at least helped them see better. The Doctor was currently crouched in front of the large stone box, holding an end of a stethoscope to the Pandorica. Listening intently to whatever might be within the box. Wanda sat not too far away from him, leaning her back against the large box as she gazed up distantly at the vine-covered ceiling overhead.

"So what's this got to do with the TARDIS?" Amy asked the Time Lords absently, just letting her mind wander in thoughts and questions.

"Nothing, as far as I know," responded the Doctor, not wishing to think about what they had seen in Vincent's painting of his beloved TARDIS. But the nagging memory of him pulling out a broken piece of the TARDIS from the crack in the universe kept popping into his mind. Reminding him that things might just become far worse than they already appeared to be.

"It has everything to do with the TARDIS," mumbled Wanda, still gazing at nothing in particular while holding a solemn appearance. Amy glanced at the Time Lady while the Doctor halted in his work.

"In Vincent's painting, the TARDIS was exploding. And you mentioned the same thing," Amy said the blonde girl. "Is that really going to happen?" Wanda did not reply. Only continuing to hold her distant gaze at the ceiling. Staying absolutely silent. It made Amy and the Doctor feel worse in the Time Lady's silence. Sometimes, receiving no answer at all spoke a thousand words and created a heavy weight upon them all. Clearing his throat, the Time Lord moved on in examining the Pandorica.

"One problem at a time," he said absently, dismissing Amy's question and Wanda's silent response all together. He stood up, tapping the scanner he had borrowed from River with his sonic as he checked the readings. "There's force-field technology inside this box. If I can enhance the signal . . ."

Wanda tuned the Doctor's ramblings out as she let her mind drift. It was hard for her to concentrate on anything at the moment as her thoughts kept spinning, churning, and processing in rapid form. Everything buzzed through her head, trying to go over every detail of this adventure. Something was amiss. She just knew it. She could almost sense it. There was something very obvious on what was to happen on this day, and she was missing it. But what could it be? What was different?

"Here, Wanda. I think this is yours."

"Huh?" Wanda responded, jerking herself out of her thoughts to blink in confusion at Amy. The companion stood in front of her, holding out a red, velvet, ring box. The lid of the box was open, showing the diamond ring inside. The Doctor tensed when seeing the ring while Wanda blinked some more. "Uhh . . . that's not mine."

"Of course it is," scoffed Amy as she snapped the box closed. "The Doctor said that you two were engaged and all that. I found this in his pocket. This has to be the ring meant for you."

Wanda smiled lightly, finding it funny how rapid the Doctor next to her opened and closed his mouth, seeming unsure on what to say about this current event. She already understood that he knew by this time about their future marriage. And that he had his own ring on the necklace around his neck. She had seen it dangling around his neck many occasions during their moments of 'swimming' and all that. She remembered seeing the ring before during her Second self as well. Which, looking back, her previous incarnation had been completely oblivious to the truth. How silly that she had not realized the true nature of their relationship before now.

Pulling out the necklace from underneath her shirt, she let Amy see the decorative silver ring attached at the end, dangling to show off the symbol of the Doctor's and Wanda's eternal bond.

"See, the thing is, I already have my ring. So that really can't be mine," Wanda told the companion, smiling kindly as she placed the ring back under her shirt. "The question is: who's ring is that, hmm?" Amy frowned heavily, looking back at the red box in bewilderment.

"It's a memory. A friend of ours, someone we lost," offered the Doctor, realizing that Wanda was trying to help the girl remember her Rory. To kick start Amy's mind into realizing the man had existed once, possibly helping the companion move on. Half of him wanted to help the companion remember as well, and the other half was fearful, not wishing to let Amy experience the deep welling grief that was sure to come in recalling her past love. He walked over to Amy, seeing how deeply the girl concentrated on the box in her hand. Seeming to struggle with something going through her mind. He tried grabbing it from her, but she pulled back, still keeping her eyes firmly locked on the box.

"It's weird, I feel . . .," Amy trailed off, unable to explain what she was feeling. "I don't know. Something." Glancing over at Wanda, the Doctor rubbed his hands nervously together while he saw the Time Lady shrug, nodding her head that it was okay to continue. Nodding firmly, he looked back at Amy, knowing this might be the right thing to do after all.

"People fall out of the world sometimes, but they always leave traces," explained the Doctor carefully. "Little things we can't quite account for. Faces in photographs, luggage, half-eaten meals, . . . rings." He watched as Amy shot him a quick gaze of unsettlement, seeming at a loss on what she was feeling or what to think of his words. Then, he saw how she gazed back at the small, red box again, her eyes searching for something that she could not quite grasp. "Nothing is ever forgotten, not completely. And if something can be remembered, it can come back." There was a long pause of silence before Amy abruptly cleared her throat and handed the ring back to the Doctor. Appearing as though she did not wish to gaze upon it any longer. Taking the small box, the Time Lord placed it dejectedly back into his pocket, turning around to the Pandorica once more. Wanda let out a sigh, leaning her head back against the large stone box behind her as she felt disappointed that they could not help the companion remember her nurse sooner. Tapping her hands quickly on her knees, she bounced up from where she sat, turning to face Amy and the Doctor both.

"So, let's quit ignoring the elephant in the room," Wanda said to the two, holding a steady gaze mostly with the Doctor. There was a brief gleeful smile given by the Time Lady. "Ooh. 'Elephant in the room.' I like that one. Hmm. Anyway, moving on." She dropped her smile giving a piercing gaze at Amy that made the companion feel almost uncomfortable from the way those mystic emerald eyes stared at her. "Amy, haven't you ever wondered why your life doesn't make sense?"

Amy blinked in bewilderment, baffled by this as she replied, "Huh? What do you mean?"

Before either Time Lord could clarify and answer this, a red beam of a weapon shot right over Wanda's shoulder, hitting the Pandorica. More shots rang out, hitting around at random, unable to aim properly at a particular target. The Doctor rushed forward in a panic, grabbing Wanda and jerking her over to hide behind the Pandorica with him. Amy met them behind the box, panting in alarm.

"What was that?" she asked the two hurriedly.

"Okay, I need a proper look," responded the Doctor, formulating a plan quickly. "Got to draw its fire, give it a target."

"How?" questioned Amy.

The Time Lord held a meek smile. "You know how sometimes I have really brilliant ideas?" The Doctor let go of Wanda's hand before she could protest and jumped out from behind the Pandorica. He held his arms out wide. "Look at me, I'm a target!" The beam began shooting right at him, missing him by inches as he ran over to a pillar to hide behind. Wanda went over to the back edge of the Pandorica, holding a greatly disproving face.

"Don't scare me like that, you idiot!" she scolded him. She peeked around the edge, trying to see where the shooting was coming from.

"What is that?" Amy asked the two of them.

"Cyberarm. Arm of a Cyberman," the Doctor answered rapidly.

"Half human, half robot. Mostly robot," added in Wanda in case Amy was still confused on what a Cyberman might be.

"The organic part must have died off years ago, now the robot part is looking for, well, fresh meat," the Doctor continued on in a fast ramble.

The Doctor had Amy run around the other end of the Pandorica to distract the Cyberarm. Giving him time to leap at the arm and disable it with his sonic screwdriver. However, this backfired quickly as the arm instead electrocuted the Time Lord, making him fall to the ground, out cold. Wanda went to run to the Doctor to make certain her husband was all right but halted in her steps when Amy let out a scream. Spinning back around, Wanda saw how the companion struggled against a Cyberhead that had wrapped different wires around the girl and was trying to assimilate her.

"Amy!" Wanda shouted, running over to the ginger. Pulling out her sonic, she made the head let go of Amy and roll backward. Though not before it shot a sleeping dart at the companion. Amy stumbled into Wanda's arms as the drug began to take effect. Unable to get her sonic out again while holding onto Amy around the middle with arms under the girl's, Wanda ended up backing up quickly as the Cyberhead advanced towards them once more, ready to take Amy for its own. Then, the rest of the Cyberman's body came out from a dark corner, marching right for them both after placing back on its head.

"Crap, crap, crap. Not good, not good, not good," Wanda said in a fast mutter, backing up even faster now. Spotting the small, hideaway cupboard of sorts on the other side of the room, she made quick work on getting both herself and stumbling Amy into the tight space, locking themselves within for safety.

"What about the Doctor?" Amy mumbled sleepily, shaking her head to try and keep herself awake. "He's still out there. It'll get him."

"It only wants you," Wanda explained in a breathless haste, flinching every time the door in front of them was slammed upon. "It can't assimilate other alien life. Just humans." Both girls stiffened when the thumping suddenly ceased, making everything go silent. Then, they both let out startled cries when a lethal sword jabbed right through the door in front of them. Creaking open slowly, they saw the Cyberman dead and stuck to the door with a Roman sword through its chest. And in front of them stood a Roman soldier, holding a very cross expression at the Cyberman for daring to hurt his future wife. Wanda beamed upon seeing the man, overjoyed in him being back with them once again.

"Rory!" Wanda exclaimed in delight.

"W-who?" Amy stuttered quietly before passing out altogether. She went limp in Wanda's arms, making the Time Lady buckle a little under the girl's weight. Rory went forward immediately, grabbing Amy and lifting her up into his arms. He stared at her unconscious form with soft eyes, appearing overwhelmed in finally seeing his lover once more. Walking over to a nearby stone bench, he laid Amy down, brushing a red strand of hair out of her face, gazing with nothing but love down at her. Wanda smiled warmly, touched by such a caring scene. The Ponds were back together. Just as they were meant to be.

"Wanda?! Amy?!"

"In here, Doctor!" Wanda called to the panicking Time Lord, assuring him that everything was fine. Walking over to the Centurion crouched down next to Amy, there was a quick pat given on his shoulder as Wanda smiled at him, giving the male companion a merry hug. "Thanks for saving us. You're as brilliant as ever, you hot Italian you."

"W-what?" Rory stuttered in a mixture of bewilderment and laughter.

Wanda shrugged, replying, "It's just something Amy likes to call you." The Doctor and another Roman soldier came into the room a moment later. The Time Lord hurried forward to check over the fallen Amy while grabbing onto Wanda's hand in a tight grasp, not letting go. Once the Time Lord concluded that Amy was fine, just sedated, he turned to the other Roman in the room for questioning. Not even noticing Rory right next to Wanda at all.

"I was just wishing for Romans, good old River. How many?" asked the Doctor.

"Fifty men up top, volunteers," answered Rory instead of the other soldier, clearing his throat to get the Time Lord's attention. The Doctor glanced at him briefly nodding before going over to the dead Cyberman after letting go of Wanda's hand. Though, not before giving her hand a squeeze. The other Roman soldier left after receiving a firm nod from Rory, telling the other man to get back to the others in the main room.

"Fifty? Not exactly a legion," remarked the Doctor.

"Your friend was very persuasive, but it's a tough sell," Rory explained briskly.

"Yes, I know that, Rory," the Doctor said in exasperation. "I'm not exactly one to miss the obvious. But we need everything we can get."

Rory cleared his throat again, eyeing the Time Lord as still the Doctor seemed not to notice who exactly was in the room with him. Wanda began snickering under her breath, shaking her head. Only her Theta would ever be so oblivious to what's right under his nose. No, wait—scratch that. She could be just as oblivious, too. She and Rory both glanced at each other as the Doctor rambled on about the Cyberweapons he had found, why the Cyberman was here, and what might be locked away in the Pandorica.

"Is he ever going to notice?" Rory whispered in a mumble to the Time Lady.

"Just give him a minute," Wanda said, keeping her voice hushed as to not interrupt the Doctor's rambles. "In about three . . . two . . . one . . ."

The moment the Doctor hurried off from the cupboard, they heard the loud clattering of the weapons in the Time Lord's hands falling to the ground. There was a pause of stunned silence for a minute before the Time Lord gradually came back into the cupboard, staring at the Roman next to Wanda in disbelief. Holding an expression of astonishment, slowly the Doctor walked up to Rory, poking the man in the chest very carefully as if checking to make certain the lost nurse was truly real. Rory rocked back on his heels slightly, holding his own look of puzzlement as he and the Time Lord continued to stare at each other. The Doctor moved his finger away from the man's chest, gulping.

"Hello again," the Doctor greeted.

"Hello," Rory nodded, giving a small wave. Blinking for a moment, looking away and then back to the nurse in front of him, the Doctor continued to stare at the man in incredulity.

"How have you been?" the Time Lord asked lightly.

Rory nodded slightly again. "Good. Yeah, good. I mean, Roman." He gestured at his Centurion outfit.

The Doctor nodded lightly as well, before giving a quick shake of his head as if snapping himself out of his baffled daze. "Rory, I'm not trying to be rude, but you died."

"Yeah, I know, I was there."

Shaking his head, the Doctor waved a finger to clarify. "You died and then you were erased from time. You didn't just die, you were never born at all, you never existed."

Blinking for a bit, Rory frowned in confusion at this statement. "Erased? What does that mean?"

"Remember the crack in the wall? Right next to the TARDIS in the Silurian underground caverns?" Wanda spoke up, gaining the two males' attention. "It was a crack through time and space, erasing moments throughout the universe. Plants, animals, objects, events in time, . . . people."

"I was erased . . . from time," Rory replied slowly, seeming at a loss of words on what to feel or think of that. Shaking his head, he let out a long breath. "That—that might actually explain a lot. One minute I died and the next I'm a Roman. Maybe that's why it's all kind of fuzzy." Rubbing his head, the man walked back over to Amy, peering over her again to make certain she was still sleeping peacefully from the sedative. "Did she miss me?" While shifting on his feet, the Doctor glanced quickly at Wanda while she looked at him, raising a brow. Each seemed uncertain on how to explain to the man about Amy losing her memories of her love. However, unlike the Doctor who liked to take the avoidance approach to things, Wanda knew it would actually be much easier to simply get the subject out in the open to avoid any worse turmoil for later. It was going to be heartbreaking for Rory either way, but learning of it sooner than later might help the man get past all that.

"I'm sorry, Rory, but she can't remember you," Wanda told the man softly, walking up to touch his arm to comfort him. "You were erased from time. Meaning that you were never born, making it so no one remembers you."

"Can't really remember someone who never existed," mumbled the Doctor absently.

"But don't worry, Amy will remember you. I promise," Wanda added quickly upon seeing despair cross over Rory's face, wanting to assure him that everything would be fine. "And—and she did technically miss you. Even though she doesn't remember you . . . she still cries."

The room began to shake as thunderous clanking sounded off and a whooshing of sorts went through the area, making Wanda unable to say anything more or Rory to ask her what exactly she meant by her words of comfort. The trio ran out of the cupboard to see the Pandorica's markings shifting and moving with a green glow coming from within the box through the small openings forming. It was the final phase of the box unlocking. Soon it would be opened completely, unleashing whatever was inside. Or, at least, that was what the Doctor and the others feared what would happen. Wanda, however, could only feel her fright heighten as she knew the time was drawing closer now. Soon, the box would take in its prisoner to be cast away from the universe. Forever.

The Romans ran outside as the battleships over the Stonehenge seemed to go wild. All anticipating the opening of the Pandorica. Wanda waited with the Doctor inside the chamber of the massive box. Watching with dread the box opening more and more as the Doctor called River on a communicator, instructing the woman to get to the TARDIS and bring it here. He wanted to have as much equipment on his side as possible. Plus, he seemed to think it would be their only escape route in case things were to go wrong.

"What are you?" the Doctor asked the Pandorica for the millionth time that night, continuing to stare at the box carefully with guarded eyes. "They're all here, all of them, all for you. What could you possibly be?"

"Remember, Theta. It's not what's within the box we should be worried about. It's what will be placed in," Wanda reminded him. The Doctor, looking over his shoulder, saw the Time Lady sitting right in the middle of the room. She had her legs crossed, bouncing one of them repeatedly as she stared anxiously at the box.

"And what's going into the box, Wanderer?" asked the Time Lord, walking over to crouch in front of her. He tried getting her to gaze back at him, but she kept staring at the Pandorica. Eyes fearful in their hold on the stone box.

"I can't tell you," Wanda whispered desperately. She finally managed to peel her eyes away from the box, staring at the light green eyes of her Theta instead as she gulped. "Theta, I don't know why, but I feel really, really scared of it. Why do I feel scared?" Humming, the Doctor sat back on his heels, staring in thought at the Time Lady.

"Sometimes the unknown is a scary thing," he finally concluded.

Wanda let out a weary sigh. "I know. I know. I'm being idiotic in letting it get to me." Before the Doctor could counter this remark, assuring her that there was nothing wrong in being scared of the unknown, she bounced up onto her feet, pulling him up with her as she plastered a smile on her face. "Enough of me being a drag. Let's go settle things outside with those incoming ships. I'm sure all the Romans are terrified by now in seeing alien life and all that."

Holding onto River's communicator, the Doctor adjusted the settings for intercom broadcasting as the two Time Lords went up the steps, going back out to the Stonehenge. They stared for a moment in awe at the sight of so many spaceships whizzing about in the sky. Making the air itself shake in the incoming presence of so many deadly species. Wanda walked up onto the grass first as the Doctor turned on the mic of the communicator. He dropped it briefly, making the device screech in an unpleasant tone before hurriedly picking it up again.

"Sorry, sorry, dropped it," the Doctor spoke into the communicator. He hopped onto the centre stone of the grounds as all the Romans turned to stare at him in bewilderment. The Time Lord beamed at them all as well as giving a grin to the spaceships above. "Hello, Stonehenge! Who takes the Pandorica, takes the universe. But bad news, everyone, 'cause guess who? Ha!" The spaceships slowed down in their zooming around, increasing their beaming lights onto the Doctor himself as he held his boyish grin at them all. "Listen, you lot, you're all whizzing about, it's really very distracting. Could you all just stay still a minute? Because I am talking!" Soon, all halted, hovering over the area. Still, it was loud from the noise from the ships themselves, but at least all could stare more equally at the hovering spacecrafts.

The Doctor's boyish grin fell as his face grew more serious as he held an even gaze with the spaceships. "Now, the question of the hour is: who's got Pandorica? Answer: I do. Next question: who's coming to take it from me?" He held out his arms as if daring the first ship to make its move. But none so dared as to move an inch as they kept their blinding lights on the Time Lord. Smirking at the ships, the Doctor spoke again. "Come on! Look at me, no plan, no backup, no weapons worth a damn. Oh, and something else, I don't have anything to lose!" This was, of course, a lie as he did indeed have something very precious to lose. But he was not going to let any of his enemies know that. "So if you're sitting up there in your silly little spaceship, with all your silly little guns, and you've got any plans on taking the Pandorica tonight, just remember who's standing in your way! Remember every black day I ever stopped you! And then, and then, do the smart thing!" He paused for a second, letting his infamous Oncoming Storm gaze reflect outward towards each ship. "Let somebody else try first."

It only took a second before all the ships hurriedly retreated, disappearing back into the dark of space once more. None wishing to make that first move just yet. Though both Time Lords knew they would be back. And perhaps with better plans that their small army would have to counteract. Hopping down from the stone, the Doctor bounced over to Wanda, grabbing her hand and giving it a squeeze as he began instructing the Romans on what he wanted them to do. Wanda could not help the proud smile from forming on her face. She always did love the epic speeches the Doctor would give. They were always . . . fantastic.

She giggled under her breath as they went back into the chamber of the Pandorica. Gathering up with a few Romans as they stood guard around the large box. Rory and the Doctor continued to discuss on what they would do when Amy suddenly walked out of the cupboard, rubbing sourly at her head. The Doctor's eyes darted over to the red headed companion, knowing a dreadful moment was about to occur for Rory the Roman.

"Rory, I'm sorry, you're going to have to be very brave now," the Time Lord said quietly to Rory. Before the man had a chance to reply, Amy came up to the Doctor, not even giving a second glance to Rory in the least.

"My head," groaned Amy in a complaint.

"Just your basic knockout drops," the Doctor assured her, patting her on the head and making Amy wince more. "Get some fresh air, you'll be fine." Wanda skipped over to the girl, linking their arms together.

"Glad you're okay there, girlie. You had us worried there for a minute," she said to Amy, grinning merrily away. Though, the grin was strained as she felt so deeply sorry for Rory, who stared at Amy with such a deep gaze of sorrow. It was heartbreaking for the Time Lady. She knew she would be just as dismayed if the Doctor ever forgot her. It was very much unthinkable. Something that she knew would tear her hearts apart if an occurrence such as that ever happened. Amy blinked as she then suddenly noticed Rory standing there.

"You're the guy, yeah?" she asked him. "The one who did the swordy thing. Well, thanks for the swording. Nice swording." She moved away from Wanda's hold, patting Rory on the shoulder in appreciation before going past him and heading outside. The remaining three stayed silent as a solemn atmosphere took over. Seeing how dismayed Rory appeared to be, Wanda walked over to the man, patting his shoulder in comfort.

"How . . . how could this have happened?" Rory asked quietly, keeping his sad eyes towards the stone steps were Amy had gone. "How can I be alive? Why am I alive? What's the point if she can't even remember me?" Shaking her head firmly, the blonde gripped Rory's shoulder tighter, shaking him lightly.

"Hey. Hey, now, don't talk like that," she replied in a stern voice. "She will remember you. Just . . . just gotta kick start her memory is all." Turning her head, she snapped her fingers lightly, waving for the Doctor to come over to bring her something. The Time Lord frowned, confused on what she was trying to indicate. Wanda sighed, speaking into his mind. He needs the ring, Theta.

What ring? he responded in her mind, baffled.

Amy's ring. she told him. The Doctor made a small 'o' in realizing what she meant in what Rory needed. Pulling out the small red box, he tossed it to her. Wanda caught it in mid-air, holding it out to Rory and saying, "Here. You'll be needing this." Rory blinked in astonishment, taking the velvet box as though he could not believe he was finally seeing it. As though he believed he would never see that tiny, little box ever again.

"But what am I supposed to do?" he asked the two Time Lords, staring at them as if hoping they could guide him through this. "If she can't remember me—."

"But she does, silly. She just doesn't realize it yet," Wanda said, giving him a small smile. "There was one time, after you had, well, been erased, I remember stumbling into her, in the TARDIS kitchen. She was just sitting there, crying. And when I asked her why, she said, 'I don't know. I just know that I'm sad.'" The blonde paused, contemplating this over as she recalled that moment in the TARDIS. A very long time ago from during her Second self. Shaking her head, Wanda moved on. "So, even though she doesn't remember you exactly, she still holds that deep love for you. Love that she knows was lost to her."

"Until now, that is," the Doctor finished, walking up to the two and smiling as well. Rory looked back down at the ring box again before giving the Time Lords a puzzled look.

"But that still doesn't explain why I'm here," he said to them. Wanda shook her head, letting go of the man's shoulder to wave a hand in dismissal.

"Universe exploding, cracks in time. Big, big banging stuff. Doesn't really matter now. We'll explain later," she told the man. Both she and the Doctor pushed at Rory's back making him start towards the stairs. "Just go to your fiancée."

"Get upstairs," ordered the Doctor. "She's Amy, and she's surrounded by Romans. I'm not sure history can take it." Glancing back at the Time Lords one last time after they were done pushing him, Rory smiled, nodded, and hurried upstairs. Ready to be with Amy once again.

The Time Lords remained standing side-by-side for a moment longer. Staying silent as they each let their hands brush against the other's. Not exactly holding onto each other like they want, but still letting them feel the touching comfort.

"Wanderer, what's going to explode?" asked the Doctor quietly, barely above a breath from the growing fear within him.

"You know the answer already, Theta. You just don't want to think about it," Wanda whispered back softly. She turned, giving his cheek a tend kiss. "We have to be brave ourselves. We're going to be facing something we've never faced before." Both stared slowly at the green, glowing Pandorica, seeing as the box was so close to being opened now. The Doctor gripped the Time Lady's hand suddenly, tensing. A group of Romans came marching down into the chamber with them. There to make certain none would bother the two Time Lords.

Wanda glanced at the Romans warily as the Doctor let go of her hand, going back over to inspect the Pandorica. She listened as he contacted River over the communicator. Asking where the woman was with the TARDIS. Wanda heard quietly through the communicator of River giving the fast explanation of the Romans around them not being real, being a trap for them, learning all of this from the children's books from Amy's room back at her home. Back on the twenty-sixth of June, 2010. Something had used a psychic link with Amy, creating all of this. As for the reasoning why . . .

Fear went through Wanda when she heard the Doctor calling in alarm to River over the communicator when the line suddenly went dead. Something had happened within the TARDIS. The engines had gone haywire, making it so River was lost in a spin and out of touch with the Time Lords. The woman was on her own now. Then, an ear-piercing screech went through the Pandorica chamber, causing everyone to sort of cover their ears and flinch from the pain. The noise seemed to be emitting from the Pandorica itself as the box began to finally open, showing the slow-growing white light from within. Wanda looked over at the Romans once the noise was gone, seeing the deadpan expressions on the men's faces as they slowly rose back up into straight postures. They had all gone limp when the noise had been emitted. But now their primary function had been activated. Hurrying over to the Doctor, she grabbed his hand tightly while he continued to stare at the opening Pandorica. Unnoticing to any of the fake Romans who were beginning to face the Time Lords with blank gazes.

"Well, now. Ready to come out, are we?" the Doctor spoke to whatever was coming out of the Pandorica. Wanda shook her head as she still kept her eyes on the Romans, knowing they were nothing more than plastic this entire time. Even poor Rory.

"Doctor, the Romans," Wanda whispered breathlessly. "They're Autons."

"Huh?" the Doctor responded absently, not really paying attention. Wanda sucked in a breath as the Roman Autons' hands pointed at them and clicked open, aiming their weapons right at the two standing by the Pandorica. The Time Lord next to Wanda shook his head quickly, fiddling with the communicator in his hand. "We need to get in contact with River. Make sure she lands the TARDIS somewhere else and get out of there before it goes off."

"It's too late." Wanda pulled the communicator from him, shaking her head. "I'm so sorry, but it's always been too late. Just, please, let's focus on the Autons for now. Worry about the universe exploding later."

She let out a startled gasp as an Auton suddenly ripped her away from the Doctor, holding her around the waist as she struggled in its grip. The Doctor yelled in anger, running to get her but was held back as more Autons grabbed him as well. They were pulled away from each other and the Pandorica, held by their arms and forced to stare at the massive box before them.

"Plastic Romans. Duplicates, driven by the Nestene Consciousness, eh? Deep cover, but what for? What are you doing? What's in there? What's coming out?" the Doctor muttered rapid questions, still struggling with all his might to get out of their grasps. Or at least get over closer to Wanda. He did not like how they kept him further back from the box than her. As though they wanted her front and centre for some odd reason.

"The Pandorica is ready," one Roman Auton stated, voice holding no emotion whatsoever.

"What do you mean?" questioned the Doctor as he looked at the Pandorica, seeing how it still slowly took its time in opening. The only thing he could make out from within was that blinding white light.

"You have been scanned. Assessed. Understood," came a sudden Dalek voice. A voice that sent chills down the Doctor and Wanda's spine. Three Daleks appeared in the chamber with them, facing the Autons and the Time Lords. The same coloured Daleks that were born during the time of Churchill's bunker. The Doctor began to struggle within the Autons' grasp again, wishing he could grab Wanda and run. Run far away from here as he knew nothing good would come from Daleks around. And still, he saw how the Time Lady a few feet in front of him kept her head held high, staring the Daleks down as though they were nothing. However, he could see her shaking shoulders, knowing she was becoming terrified of what was happening.

"Scanned?" the Doctor questioned the Daleks, hoping they would keep their attention on him instead of her. Maybe he could make it so Wanda could escape and get back to Amy. Wherever the companion might be now. "Scanned by what, a box?"

"Your limits and capacities have been extrapolated," sounded out a Cyberman's voice. The same as the Daleks; three Cybermen appeared into the room, facing the Time Lords. Then, three Judoon, three Sontarans, and even more species. All in threes, with weapons ready and armed as they surrounded the two defenseless Time Lords. The Doctor began to panic as he knew this was not good. Not good at all. He needed to think and think fast if either he or Wanda were to get out of here. Thinking along the same lines, Wanda struggled in the grasp of the Autons holding her, fearing for the Doctor's life as she knew what was coming now. The same thing that had occurred in her show was happening before her. And there was nothing she could do to stop it.

"The Pandorica is ready," barked a Sontaran.

"Ready for what?" responded the Doctor, eyeing all his enemies with a wary gaze.

"Ready for her," replied the white Dalek. The enemies suddenly looked to Wanda, stunning both the blonde and the Doctor. Each of them left speechless. Wanda's jaw dropped as the Doctor's eyes widened in alarm, his mind and hearts panicking in full terror.

"W-what?" Wanda stuttered weakly. She whipped her head to stare forward as the Pandorica emitted a loud hiss, clanking open.

The white light died down, letting all see the large, metal chair within. It had massive clamps and restraints built on it. Ready to tie down its captive and keep them locked up for all eternity. Restraints that hummed loudly as they moved to an open position, ready to take its prisoner. The Autons holding Wanda began to march forward, dragging her along as she jerked in their grasp. Her feet dug into the ground to put up resistance in her impending imprisonment. But it was no use. And all the while, all she could think was: Why? Why? Why?!

"No! What are you doing?! Stop! Stop this!" the Doctor screamed on the top of his lungs, fighting the Autons with all he had as he wished everything to pull Wanda away from them. To save her from whatever their enemies had planned for her. Why? Why was it her?! Why did they want her?! Was it . . . was it because of Alpha? It had to be. That had to be the only reason. Something he had been fearing since the moment he saw the Pandorica. The mightiest warrior in the whole universe, soaked in the blood of galaxies. The only thing that could ever match that description, that he could think of (besides himself) . . . would be the Universe's Weapon.

"Why are you doing this?!" Wanda shouted, mind racing to understand what the logic was behind this. Had it not been the Doctor they were after? It had been in the show. Sure, she had thought beforehand offhandedly that she should be the one to be locked up . . . But she did not actually want that to happen!

"The cracks in the skin of the universe," answered one Dalek.

"All reality is threatened," said a Sontaran.

"All of the universe will be deleted," stated a Cyberman.

"And the only thing that could ever accomplish that, is the legend of the Universe's Weapon. The Alpha Wolf," finished the Dalek.

"We will save the universe from her!" yelled the one Sontaran. "We will put an end to the Universe's Weapon!"

All the enemies scooted closer to her as the Autons forced her to turn around, slamming her into the metal chair. The clamps shut instantly down on her arms, around her waist, and on her shoulders, keeping her locked in place. She shook, trembled, quaked, as she began fearing what they were terrified of. Of her. She was scared of herself. And at that thought, the barrier that had been growling and responding to her terror seemed to die down in a flash. Stunned by her horrified thoughts of what lied within. It almost felt as though . . . the barrier was deeply hurt that she was frightened of it. And in that moment, Wanda felt sorry for whatever might live within her.

"Listen, listen. Please, listen to me," Wanda spoke rapidly, pleading to everyone to hear her out. "I may be some kind of weapon of mass destruction and whatnot, but I'm not the one who's going to cause the universe to explode. Not this time around. It's the TARDIS! Someone's rigged it up to explode. It's going to wipe out everything. It's going to end the universe. Please, you have to listen!"

"Listen to her, she's telling the truth!" shouted the Doctor as he yanked at the Autons holding him in the back of the large group of species. "It's the TARDIS, I swear! Alpha's not even activated! Look at her! Do you see the Alpha Wolf?! And Alpha won't destroy the universe because I'm alive. As long as I live, everything's fine." Wanda swallowed at the Doctor's pleading, shivering as she felt the barrier within stir once more. It . . . it did not like him saying its name.

"All projections correlate. All evidence concurs," droned a Cyberman. "The Wanderer will destroy the universe."

"We know of what she's capable of. We know what happened to our Tenth Battle Fleet," growled the one Sontaran, aiming his weapon crossly at Wanda, making her shiver in the Pandorica's seat. "We made this alliance after that. We can't have that happening to the rest of us."

"The Pandorica was constructed to ensure the safety of the alliance," spoke the one Cyberman.

"A scenario was devised from the memories of your companion," said the white Dalek.

"A trap the Doctor could not resist," the Sontaran said smugly, proud of their ingenious plan. "Ensuring that he would bring the Wanderer along with him."

"The cracks in time are the work of the Wanderer," said the Dalek once more. "All scans confirm of Time Vortex energy emitting from the cracks. The same power which the Alpha Wolf will use to destroy the universe."

Wanda jerked in her seat as the Pandorica began to close, creaking closer and closer to shut her off from the universe. To entrap her within for the rest of eternity. Alarm went through her as she twisted as much as she could in the metal seat, shaking her head rapidly.

"Please, listen to me!" she screamed, begging them, pleading to them. "You're all going to die! Every single one of you! You'll have never even existed! Please!" She began hyperventilating as she stared at the Doctor, eyes filled with horror as she knew what would happen to those standing outside the Pandorica. He was . . . he was going to die. Die with the rest of them.

"Bring the Doctor in here with me! Please, I'm begging you!" she beseeched to the large group.

"We have other plans for the Doctor," barked the white Dalek. Wanda let out a cry, shaking her head as she yanked uselessly at her restraints.

"Stop this! Please, stop this!" shouted the Doctor as he struggled with everything he had in the Autons' hold. Even more held onto him as they even had difficulty keeping him restrained. His fears and anger making him strong as he wanted to run to his Wanderer so desperately. He panted as he looked up at Wanda, seeing her tearful eyes as she sobbed in hopelessness. The doors of Pandorica almost upon her now. Almost at a close.

At one last cry, just as the Pandorica closed, Wanda held her watery eyes with the Doctor's own welling irises as they both were screaming in their minds to each other.

"Theta!" she wept out in a plea for his life. The Time Lord's eyes widened, gasping as she spoke out her treasured name for him aloud in front of others for the first time ever in all their years together. An act that told him she was frightened beyond her mind.

And that wide-eyed expression and gasp were the last things Wand heard or saw of her love as the Pandorica finally thundered closed, slamming her into pure darkness.

XxXxXxXx

So . . . what do you all think? Good? Bad? Terrible? The worst thing ever? Please, let me know in a review in what you all think. I would love to know in how I can make things better for the story. And if the chapter was too terrible, then I'll go back and change it for you all. :) For my goal is to bring everyone joy!

Reviewers:

grapejuice101: Yep, and here's another one for you. lol ;) I'm sorry. I just can't help myself. I know, I'm horrible. Hope you liked the new chapter! Take care! Have a brilliant day/night. :)

All The Stories Are True 24601: Yep! It just had to happen. It was just too unfair for Astrid and all those others to have died. Guess it turned out into a very Merry Christmas for the Doctor and Wanda. :) Oh, yes, very soon. Just have to wait for the right time now. ;) Hopefully this chapter didn't leave you too much on edge. haha. I really, really hope that you liked it. Can't wait to see what you think of it. :) Take care!

X-Lisa-Anne-X: Could be. Maybe. Who knows until we get there. lol ;)

FictionalBoysAreBetter: Woo! I know! XD So excited that everyone lived. And for Rickston getting a good punch. haha. Here we are with Eleven this time around. So glad you enjoyed the last chapter! I really hope that you liked this one as well. :) Oh no! I am so sorry about that. I know how it feels in losing a beloved companion. Don't worry about reviewing at all. Though I always do love hearing from you, please just do what makes you happy. I am glad to hear that the last chapter did help you feel a little better. If you ever want someone to talk to, always feel free to PM me. I will always be here for you and all other readers. :) Please, have a wonderful day/night and a beautiful life. Take care and stay safe.

heroherondaletotherescue: Yay! So happy you liked it! Yep, definitely forcing Wanda into that situation. lol ;) As we see in this chapter, she ended up in a very crazy moment in the Doctor's time. Still, no reveal on that pregnancy yet. But hopefully soon! As for a boy or girl, not sure yet. Guess we'll just have to wait to find out. ;) Fingers crossed that you enjoyed the new chapter. Please let me know what you thought about it! Until next time! :D

Momochan77: Woo! I'm happy about that, too! :D I loved them all so much during that adventure. Oh, she jinxed herself horribly. I really hope that you enjoyed the new chapter. Nervous to see what you and everyone else thinks of it. Hope to see you again soon!

alwaystherereading: Yay! Agreed! Yeah, not much for resting there. haha. I'm happy for them, too. I think they make a cute couple. :) He is oblivious to many things. But the reason behind him not noticing the pregnancy will be answered for later. Trust me. ;) Can't wait for when the news gets broken. I really hope that you'll enjoy that adventure when it comes. :) Until next time! Really hope that you enjoyed the new chapter!

bored411: I know. Ugh. Yep, just a crazy. And still no telling him. :( Really hope that the next adventure she goes on will be better than this one. Though, I suppose I should hope more for her being safe after all of this. Also, lots of nervous hoping in you liking the new chapter. :) Can't wait to see what you think of it!

Guest(a): Yep, defintiely jinxed herself. Not the Year That Never Was so far. But that adventure might just be around the corner yet. Hope you enjoyed it!

deadflowerseverymorning: haha Aww, thank you! :) I just can't help myself when it comes to leaving people on the edge. I know not everyone enjoys that, but I'm glad to see that you do. :) Don't worry, we'll be seeing how he'll react very soon now. ;) I'm excited, too! I cannot wait to see what you and everyone else thinks of it. Really hope that you enjoyed the newest chapter. Can't wait to see what you thought of it. :D

PondRiverWilliams: LOL XD Never thought of it that way! That is the perfect way to describe it. Alpha definitely screamed at Wanda every time she got closer to the Doctor. That is now how I will always see it. Thanks for sharing! :D Hope you enjoyed the new chapter!

Victoria: No worries! I know exactly how crazy life can get. Take your time and stick to the more important things in life. This story is not important at all compared to keeping yourself happy and filled with success in life. :) Woo! New review! Always so happy to hear from you! :D All of these questions will actually be answered in later chapters. So just a waiting game now for answers. ;) But, there is a very good question you did ask. With Wanda wandering about. Since the baby is inside of her, it's just like all of Wanda's internal parts. They transport along with her without any effects. Nice and safe. So no worries with that. ;) Again, good question! I think you might be right there with the Doctor being excited. But time will tell when he finds out and how he feels right away. Good eye in seeing how many points Wanda has left with all the companions. :) Though, I will say that Wanda was never there for the whole "Turn Left" adventure. But you have so many lovely theories! I always greatly enjoy hearing what you have to say. It's always so fun to theorize with people. :D Wanda views all companions as close friends, like a family of sorts. Though Rose has always been her absolute best friend in her eyes. No worries on the mixups. I get mixed up myself. Luckily I have a timeline drawn out for Wanda's life. lol ;) Wibbly wobbly, timey wimey gets me all lost if I don't have a timeline. Never worry about asking questions. Even if I can't answer, I'm always happy to reply. And maybe even give sneak peeks. ;) Really, really hope you enjoyed the new chapter! Can't wait to see what you think of it and to hear from you again. Until next time and take care! Enjoy life and college! :D

Here's some Jammie Dodgers for you all! :D Thank you all so much for such a wonderful time in enjoying adventures together. I can't wait for the next!

~Tinker~