Terry landed in what appeared to be an Earth hotel reception, and she shrieked.
Eleven yelped, Amy and Rory jumped violently, while the three facing the Doctor and his companions all screamed and waved their objects around in the air. The three were what had startled Terry into shrieking, but as she got over her initial shock she yelled: "Shut up!"
The newcomers stilled, blinking at her as Terry held a hand to her chest, taking deep and calming breaths as soft music played in the background while the Doctor greeted brightly: "Angel!"
"Doctor, hello." Terry nodded, and he asked: "When is this for you?"
"I just came from Nine, when you first found out about this." She gestured to herself, indicating her second regeneration and he nodded. "And before that, I came from the first time Amy met me, with the Atraxi."
Terry fixed her gaze on said redhead as she added severely: "Also; 'are we friends in the future'? Really, Amy?"
The redhead had the grace to look sheepish, but Terry was distracted when the Doctor beamed and declared: "Ah, so then this is okay."
"What's-?" Terry began, before letting out a squeak of surprise as he came up and hugged her before kissing her soundly on the lips.
"I have missed you, my angel." The Doctor announced as he pulled away, Terry gawking at him.
He ignored the look as he turned back to the new faces, gesturing at the female human dressed like a surgeon and wielding a lead pipe, the human male wielding a wooden pole, and an alien with rat-like features on its humanoid body who was waving a white flag.
"Now, we were saying?" The Doctor mused, having already forgotten, and Rory deadpanned: "You were going to fire Amy while you flirted with her."
He nodded at the female doctor, while the Doctor winced and Terry rolled her eyes.
"Oh, Amy, you know he didn't mean it." Terry laughed, and the redhead looked at her friend skeptically.
"You're not jealous that he was flirting with someone else?" She asked and Terry shrugged.
"He's a natural flirt – I'll just get my revenge the next time we run into a hot or clever man." Terry answered. "Not quite sure I'm up for flirting with a woman yet."
"Oi, wait, hot or clever man?" The Doctor interjected with a frown, and Terry nodded.
"I wonder when we'll run into Captain Jack again?" Terry pretended to muse and the Doctor shot her a dark look.
"What?" Terry teased with a grin. "You jealous?"
"Shut up – and I wasn't flirting." He huffed, and Terry rolled her eyes again as she said: "Sure you weren't. Now."
She turned away from the pouting Doctor – despite the very tempting urge to kiss him, he was really adorable when he sulked like a child – and said to the group: "Where were we really?"
"Hang on." The new woman, Rita, interjected with a puzzled frown. "How did you get here?"
"I teleported." Terry answered smoothly. "My teleporter was malfunctioning, and I somehow ended up here. Don't think I can get out, but good thing the Doctor was here."
Terry could feel the Doctor laughing silently behind her, while Rory whispered to Amy: "Er, what's she saying?"
"Shut up, just go with it." Amy ordered, and Rory lapsed into silence as Rita – still looking a little suspicious but satisfied enough to let the topic go – explained: "We just met your… friends."
She said the word hesitantly as she glanced at the Doctor, and Terry said with delightful nonchalance: "Oh, seriously, don't mind my boyfriend."
Terry could physically feel the Doctor puff up proudly at her words, but he deflated as she continued: "He's a bit of an idiot."
"Oi." The Doctor complained, but Terry just gave him a smirk before turning to the rat-like man as she noted: "Also, judging by the almost unreasonable compulsion to surrender," she nodded at the man's white flag, "I'm assuming you're from Tivoli."
"Yes." The alien, Gibbis, agreed calmly. "The most invaded planet in the galaxy. Our anthem is called 'Glory To: Insert Name Here'."
Terry grinned, while the Doctor joined in as he looked at the human male: "You with the face, Howie, you said you were surprised to be back in reception."
"The walls move." Howie explained, pushing his glasses up on his nose in a nervous gesture. "Everything changes."
The Doctor frowned, and he asked: "You, clever one. What's he talking about?"
"The corridors twist and stretch." Rita explained while the Doctor turned and walked off to the side. "Rooms vanish and pop up somewhere else. It's like the hotel's alive."
The Doctor leaned in to a small radio sitting on the hotel reception desk, switching it off as he murmured: "That's quite enough of that."
"Yeah, and it's huge," Howie interjected, "with, like, no way out."
"Have you tried the front door?" Rory asked, pointing to the door in question, and Terry smiled when Rita deadpanned: "No. In two days it never occurred to us to try the front door. Thank God you're here."
Amy laughed, before quickly stopping as Rory gave her a look, while the Doctor pulled open the hotel's front doors… to reveal a blank wall.
"They're not doors, they're walls." The Doctor mused, and Terry snorted. "Walls that look like doors. Door-walls, if you like, or dwalls. Woors even, though you'd probably got it when you said they're not doors."
"Probably." Terry said lightly, and the Doctor shushed: "Hush, you clever girl. Now, I mean, the windows are-"
He rushed over to the curtains, flinging them open to reveal… more bricks.
"Right," the Doctor announced as he turned around and faced them all again, "big day if you're a fan of walls."
Rory groaned, while Rita interjected: "It's not just that. The rooms have…" she took a deep breath, "things in them."
The Doctor looked over, repeating: "'Things'? Hello! What kind of things? Interesting things? I love things, ask anyone, but not Terry. If you ask her, I love her."
"Moving on." Terry said, raising a brow, as Rita bowed her head, too worried to be amused.
She exchanged looks with her companions, before she explained cryptically: "Bad dreams."
You could almost feel the heavy, ominous weight that her words brought on everyone, Rory and Amy included, and the Doctor raised his brows before he commented: "Well, that killed the mood."
"I think only you were in the mood, Doctor." Terry noted, and he returned: "I'm always in the mood when you're around my angel."
"Ugh, please, no." Rory groaned. "No more sex references, that's what we agreed."
'"I think you just made it a sex reference, Rory." Amy commented, noting the way Terry's eyebrows has shot up while the Doctor winced.
Rory blinked and he muttered: "Oh…"
"Anyway." The Doctor said hurriedly as Terry gave him very arched brows in question. "How did you get here?"
He addressed Rita and her group once more, the two males looking confused by what had transpired but Rita was on top of her game as she explained instantly: "I don't know. I'd just started my shift. I must have passed out, because suddenly I was here."
"I-uh, I was blogging." Howie added, shrugging slightly. "Next thing, this."
They glanced at Gibbis, who added at last: "Oh, I was at work. I'm in Town Planning. We're lining all the highways with trees so invading forces can march in the shade."
Terry's brows shot up, and she was fighting a smile as Rita and Howie grimaced, while the Doctor noted: "Ah."
"Which is nice for them." Gibbis added, and the Doctor and his companions all intoned politely: "Yeah."
Well, the Ponds and Terry were being polite – the Doctor sounded genuinely appreciative.
"Maybe we should 'invade' them, next." Terry said to the Doctor telepathically. "We'd get to walk in the shade, and we could let them be free. Or are they like the Ood, who like to serve? Do they like to be invaded?"
"Hush, Miss Cheeky, I'm busy." The Doctor chided, though he couldn't quite keep the amused smile from his face as he said aloud: "So, what have we got. People snatched from their lives and dropped into an endless, shifting maze that looks like a 1980s hotel with bad dreams in the bedrooms."
The Doctor abruptly pulled a Rubik's cube from his pocket, twirling it around dramatically in his hand as he stated: "Well, apart from anything else, that's just rude."
"Show off." Terry noted, and he wagged a finger at her.
"You are one saucy woman." He proclaimed, and she returned: "I don't hear you complaining."
"Not at all – carry on!" He cheered, linking his arm with hers and strolling along back up the stairs. "Come along, Pond! And the rest of you lot, too."
The group all followed, trailing after the Doctor as he declared: "We'll pop back to the Tardis, I'll do a planet-wide diagnostic sweep, and then we'll have a sing… song."
The Doctor trailed off as he stared at the empty space where the Tardis had once been.
"Remind me in the future to always remind you to run the diagnostic sweep before you leave the Tardis." Terry remarked, and he scowled.
"You do." He admitted sheepishly, grudgingly, and Terry sighed: "Lovely to know that you listen to me about as much as you listen to River."
"River?" He asked in confusion, when Amy arrived behind them and demanded: "Where's the Tardis?"
She and Rory looked around, while the Doctor winced as Amy asked: "You parked it there, didn't you?"
"What's a Tardis?" Howie questioned as he, Rita, and Gibbis came up behind the Ponds, and Rory explained: "Our way out. And it's gone."
He placed his face in his hands, pulling down dejectedly, while Terry glanced up warily as the hauntingly cheerful, almost carnival-like music started playing again downstairs.
"Okay," the Doctor said slowly, "this is bad. At the moment, I don't know how bad, but certainly we're three buses, a long walk and eight quid in a taxi from good."
Amy glanced at the Doctor, brows raised, before looking back at Terry questioningly while the Doctor turned to Rita and asked: "Are there any more of you?"
Howie instantly lowered his eyes, avoiding their gazes, while Rita glanced away before she replied rather evasively: "Joe. But he's tied up right now."
"Doing what?" The Doctor frowned, and Terry explained: "No, Doctor. He's tied up right now."
Rita nodded, and the Doctor's brows shot up in understanding and surprise.
The Doctor peeked inside the restaurant, slowly inching inside while Terry followed him, sticking close to the doors.
She grimaced as she heard all the dolls, which looked like life-sized ventriloquist dummies, laughing their manic little laughter from where they occupied all the chairs in the plush red restaurant. The dolls stopped laughing abruptly, all turning their heads creakily to stare creepily at the Doctor and his companions as they all stepped slowly inside.
Amy and Rory remained by the doors while Terry followed the Doctor as he approached the lone man sitting in one of the only available seats – or rather, tied to the seat.
"Hello." The Doctor greeted as he and Terry slowly approached the man, both ignoring the dolls as they stared at after pair. "I'm the Doctor."
"And I'm Terry Storm." Terry offered, but Joe cut to the chase as he murmured in a low voice: "You're going to die here."
The Doctor raised a brow and he answered casually: "Well, they certainly didn't mention that in the brochure."
He turned away, moving to grab an empty chair as he called: "Is Joe there? Can I have a quick word?"
"Oh, it's still me, Doctor, Miss Storm," Joe answered, "but I've seen the light."
"I've heard that one before." The Doctor sighed to Terry telepathically as he grabbed another chair while placing the first besides Terry.
"Tell me about it." Terry agreed as she settled into the chair while the Doctor brought up his own as Joe continued: "I lived a blasphemous life, but he has forgiven my inconstancy, and soon… he shall feast."
"Well, you've been here two days." The Doctor pointed out as he twirled his seat around so that he could straddle it while facing Joe. "What's he waiting for?"
"We weren't ready." Joe answered ominously, his eyes wide and filled with a crazy glint. "We were still raw."
"But now you're what, cooked?" The Doctor questioned, almost skeptically.
But his tone was deceiving to his sharp eyes that picked up on Joe's horseshoe tie clip and the dice cufflinks on the man's suit, even as Joe said casually: "If you like. Soon you will be, too. Be patient. First, find your room."
The Doctor's eyes slid around to look at the room again as he murmured thoughtfully: "My room."
"There's a room here for everyone, Doctor." Joe explained, still in that eerie tone, as the dolls' heads creaked ominously as they turned to look at each of the companions. "Even you. Even for Miss Storm."
Terry's brows rose, while the Doctor looked at Joe and noted: "You said you'd seen the light 'now'."
"Nothing else matters anymore." Joe murmured. "Only him."
His eyes rolled slightly up to look at the ceiling, before snapping back down to the dolls as he added: "It's like these things. I used to hate them. They make me laugh now."
Terry wrinkled her nose as Joe chuckled madly, before sing-songing: "Gottle o' geer. Gottle o' geer."
He laughed again, the dolls chiming in with him as they laughed in their strange little voices.
"Ugh." Terry thought, and the Doctor replied slowly: "Terry… hint?"
"His 'good-luck' charms." Terry answered, nodding at the same items the Doctor had picked up on before.
The Doctor's brows furrowed, while the laughter in the room died, and Joe half-warned, half-threatened: "You should go. He'll be here soon."
The Doctor smiled slightly at that, and Terry rose in time with him as the pair stood up, one tall brunette and one petite one.
Terry walked off, grabbing a luggage trolley from the corner of the room, while the Doctor told Joe: "I think you should come with us."
He walked around, taking the trolley from Terry and snapping it under Joe's chair firmly while the madman stared out almost dazedly into thin air.
Terry listened to the eerily cheerful tune playing throughout the reception, while the Doctor stared thoughtfully at the four strangers.
"Why you four?" He asked at last. "That's what I don't understand. Aside from all the other things I don't understand."
He leaned in, firmly switching the music off again while Gibbis demanded anxiously: "What does it matter? Sooner or later, someone will come along and rescue us… Or enslave us."
"Don't say it like it's a good thing." Terry chided, and Gibbis gave her a sheepish look while the Doctor stated commandingly: "First, we find the Tardis. Quick thing before we go."
He looked at the four, and each of his companions as he warned: "If you feel drawn to a particular room, do not go in, and make sure someone else can see you at all times."
"That goes for you, too." He added telepathically to Terry pointedly, and she answered smoothly: "I won't if you won't."
He almost made a face at her, only reigning it in as Rita interrupted in a low voice: "Joe said, 'he will feast'."
The Doctor turned to her, while Terry sighed to herself. She knew the Doctor's curiosity would make him open that damned door later, regardless of their deal – she only hoped he'd have the sense not to enter the room when he did.
"Is there something here with us?"
Terry refocused on the group at Rita's question, rolling her eyes as Joe began to laugh abruptly from his corner.
The Doctor and his companions all slowly turned their heads to look at the madman, the Doctor asking softly: "Something to add, Joe?"
"Here comes a candle to light you to bed." Joe replied, staring right back at the Doctor. "Here comes a chopper to chop off your head. Chop, chop, chop, chop."
Howie finally snapped, and he blurted out in exasperation and fear: "Can we do something about him?"
The group walked onto the first floor, the Doctor looking around at all the décor as they made their way down the hotel hallways. Terry walked behind him, while Gibbis wheeled Joe along behind the Time Lords, the madman's mouth taped shut by a pitiless Terry.
As Gibbis wheeled Joe into a different hallway, he commented: "Personally, I think you've got the right idea. Times like this, I think of my old school motto. 'Resistance Is Exhausting'."
Amy shot the Doctor an incredulous look while Terry stifled a snort, and Howie said suddenly to Rory from the back of the group: "I've worked out where we are."
"Hmm?" Rory questioned, and Howie stated firmly: "Norway."
"Norway?" Rory repeated incredulously, and Howie explained feverishly: "You see, the US government has entire cities hidden in the Norwegian mountains."
As Rory stared at the man in disbelief, Howie continued: "You see, Earth is on a collision course with this other planet, and this is where they're going to send all the rich people when it kicks off."
"Amazing." Rory deadpanned, and Howie answered: "It's all there on the internet."
"No," Rory corrected flatly, "it's amazing you've come up with a theory even more insane than what's actually happening."
Meanwhile, Terry stopped as the Doctor stopped, raising her brow as a man in just his underwear, undershirt, and a whistle around his neck, stepped out from room 158 and right before the Doctor.
The Doctor, faced by the man, greeted lightly: "Hello."
"Have you forgotten your PE kit again?" The man demanded, and everyone looked over in surprise while the Doctor looked confused.
"Right," the man shouted, "that's it, you're doing it in your pants!"
With that, he walked back into the hotel room, slamming the door behind him. Everyone stared, bewildered, but Terry tugged sharply on the Doctor's sleeve. He glanced down as she turned around sharply while calling: "Howie!"
The Doctor spotted the young man as Terry called out, and he called in alarm: "Hey! Don't!"
But it was too late, and Howie had already opened the door to room 155. Terry and the Doctor rushed over, as Howie stared inside at the group of beautiful young women laughing and giggling inside.
"Oh, look, girls." One of them said as she spotted the trio in the doorway. "It's H-H-H-Howie!"
The girls laughed, while Terry frowned as another pretty brunette mocked: "What's loser in K-K-K-Klingon?"
The girls laughed, and Terry grabbed the doorknob as Howie backed away almost dazedly, and she slammed the door just as Howie stuttered: "Shut the d, d, d, the door."
The Doctor stared at Howie – as did all the group – while the young man fidgeted with his sleeve ends almost twitchily. Noticing all the stares, Howie stammered quickly: "This is just some m, m, messed up CIA stuff, I'm, I'm, I'm telling you."
"You're right." The Doctor agreed swiftly, placing a reassuring arm around the young man and patting him comfortingly. "Keep telling yourself that. It's a CIA thing, nothing more."
The Doctor exchanged looks with Rory, who quickly came over and also placed a firm hand around the traumatized lad. Terry brought up the rear, glancing one last time back at the door to room 155 with dark eyes. But she turned away, right as a low growl sounded from somewhere inside the halls.
On the next floor up, the Doctor examined the décor even more intently than before, running his hands over every nook and cranny.
Amy and Terry meanwhile paused as they came across a few scattered pages, bending down to pick the wrinkled papers up from the floor.
"Doctor." Terry called, and Amy held out the papers as she explained: "Look."
He turned to look, but they all whipped their heads around as something roared menacingly from far ahead. Joe started struggling violently in his seat while the group all slowly started to back away, Amy saying calmly: "Okay, whatever that is, it's not real, yeah?"
"No." The Doctor answered. "No, I'm sure it isn't, but just in case, let's run away and hide anyway."
He flailed his hands before grabbing the two women and hauling them forwards as he ushered quickly: "In here."
"What happened to not going into any rooms?" Terry demanded, and he countered: "I didn't have an inclination for this room, so we're all fine!"
He quickly shoved Amy, Terry, Howie, and Gibbis into the room, and Terry gasped: "Doctor! Rory and Rita!"
The Doctor quickly poked his head back out as he shouted: "Rory, come on!"
"There was a-" Rory began, but the Doctor shouted as Terry turned to look into the room: "Come on!"
"Where's Rita?" Terry asked as Rory ran inside. "Doctor-"
"Aih!" The Doctor yelped as he slammed the door and turned to see what the whole group was staring at.
The two Weeping Angels stood, one frozen with its hands covering its face while the other stood frozen mid-snarl at them.
"Don't blink." Amy muttered firmly as the Doctor and his companions stared at the Angels firmly.
Howie, who didn't know about the Angels, frowned in confusion as he asked: "What?"
The lights flickered, flashing on and off, while Gibbis hid in a nearby cupboard, terrified out of his mind as the Angels slowly came closer, moving in the moments of brief darkness.
"Terry, Amy, get back!" The Doctor ordered, but Terry interjected quickly: "No, Doctor, they aren't real – none of the rooms are actually real."
She focused on Howie as she spoke, willing him to trust her words and to not give in. Even if she knew that his fear wasn't the point, at the end of the day...
"Nothing's real here, look." Terry urged, touching the Angels only for nothing to happen to prove her point, and the Doctor's eyes widened.
"What?" Amy whispered, while Rory glanced at Gibbis, who was cowering away from the Angels.
"It's his bad dream." Rory realized, and Terry nodded.
"Now, we have to hurry and save Rita and Jo-" Terry began, when a loud roar and a heavy stomp sounded from the hallway just outside, cutting her off.
Gibbis shrieked and hid inside his wardrobe, while the Doctor and Terry exchanged quick looks. The Doctor moved slowly towards the room door, and Amy asked warily: "Doctor, what are you doing?"
"I'm sorry, I just have to see what it is." The Doctor answered. "I just have to see."
He peeped through the security peep hole in the door before sucking in a breath.
"Oh, look at you." The Doctor breathed. "Oh, you are beautiful."
The Doctor suddenly flinched away from the door, and Terry whispered: "We're too late."
"Oh, dear." The Doctor agreed.
"What's happening?" Amy demanded, her voice shaking just slightly, and the Doctor explained softly as he peered through the hole once more: "I think it's going after Joe."