I'm sorry. Fortunately, my next two uploads will be pretty fast, since I'm behind schedule! Points go to people who pick up the references to Classic Who stories spread throughout this story!
Not too happy with how this one turned out, in all honesty. But then, I never am :p
The Seventh Obelisk – Part Three
You have to admit, Alex thought as he gazed at his reflection in Osiris' staff-head, it was quite a way to go. Vaporised by the King of the Egyptian gods.
"I am sorry," Osiris repeated as the staff began to shine even more brightly.
"We'll be having none of that, thank you!" Eleven cried, running into the middle of the scene, Sonic in hand. He pointed it at the staff as he ran, causing the orb on the end of it to crack and crumble slightly. The shine faded away. Amy was rushing along behind him.
"Doctor!" Osiris cried in surprise.
"It'd be nice if you didn't obliterate my only living relative," the Doctor panted, catching his breath.
"Doctor, he ignored my warnings. He was kissing Lady Hathor. I do not want to destroy him, but I have no choice,"
The Doctor chuckled. "Is that it?"
"Doctor, you know that Hathor cannot be permitted to feel love of any kind," Osiris remarked sternly.
"If you think a kiss is a sign of love, then Hathor must love half the people on this train. She only kissed Rory a few minutes ago!"
"What?" Amy, Alex and Osiris all asked together.
Before the Doctor could continue, Osiris shrunk down into his orb of light and sped away from the three of them.
"Nice one. Now you've landed Rory in it," Alex told the Doctor, running after Osiris.
"You can thank me for saving you whenever you like," he replied.
T H E S E V E N T H O B E L I S K
The Doctor, Alex and Amy burst into the carriage and took in the scene before them. Rory was unconscious, sprawled out on the floor. The Brigadier – who, Eleven had told Alex, had returned to Three per his request – and Three himself were stood defensively in front of him and floating about a foot off the ground with his staff raised was Osiris.
"It would also be nice if you didn't kill him," Eleven noted.
"This man has done nothing to you," the Brigadier said in a warning tone, drawing his pistol. "Leave him alone."
"On the contrary, he has endangered the future of this entire planet."
"Oh don't exaggerate," Eleven laughed. "She's doing this on purpose, Osiris. She's trying to take us out, one-by-one. She's forcing you to destroy the only people who're going to help you catch her!"
As the Doctors and the Brigadier tried to reason with Osiris, Alex held back, keeping one hand on Amy's arm. He hadn't forgotten her violent feelings towards Rory.
"I want to hit him… but I want to kiss him," Amy whispered to him, staring intently at Rory's body. "This is weird."
"Maybe she didn't complete the process on you," Alex reasoned. "Maybe she didn't steal all of your love for Rory. And if there's still love there… Think, Amy. Think about all the reasons you love Rory. Why you went for him over any other boy in the universe."
"Amy…" Rory murmured, still half-unconscious.
"Think," Alex said again. "Remember. Prisoner Zero. Fish-vampires in Venice. Old people with eyes in their mouths. Rory the nurse. Rory the Roman. Rory the husband, your husband."
Amy nodded slowly, deep in thought.
"This is the man who waited for you… for two thousand years."
"… and after I'm through here, I must return to destroying Mr Morgan," Osiris was saying, throwing his staff down to the floor in anger. "And if either of you two gets in my way, I shall go back on my word and destroy you both, Doctors. Lady Hathor loves you too, she has shown that."
"Actually, if you want to see love," Alex interrupted, causing all eyes to turn to him. "You want to see this,"
"Stay away from my husband." Amy had appeared in front of Rory in a defensive position. The Doctors and the Brigadier parted as she raised Osiris' staff threateningly. The orb on the end of the staff burst in a shower of green sparks and glass. Osiris, now unarmed and threatened, transformed into his ball and fled. Amy held up the staff in shock, unsure what had happened. "What did I do?" she whispered.
"You did nothing," Alex replied. Four pairs of eyes turned to him. In his hands, he held the Doctor's Sonic Screwdriver. Eleven frowned and frantically checked his empty jacket pockets. "I, however, used the Sonic to shatter the orb. Thought it might scare him off, buy us some time. I believe they call that teamwork, Miss Pond," he smiled at Amy.
"Mrs," Amy corrected, bending down at Rory's side and cradling his head in her hands, attempting to rouse him. While she did, the Doctors, the Brigadier and Alex formed a circle to discuss.
"Fighting off an Egyptian god to protect your husband, not bad," Eleven said appreciatively.
"Now that your friends have bought us some time, Doctor, perhaps we should decide on how we are to act?" the Brigadier said, focussed as always.
"Yes. Yes of course," Three replied. "Though I fear we may not be able to rely on Osiris' help anymore. Or any of the Pantheon for that matter."
"What if we could talk to her?" Eleven pondered. "I could find her a home…"
"What if she got out though?" Alex asked. "Into the world? Made it to… I dunno, say she makes it to the White House. The Oval Office. She'd be perfectly capable of taking the President's compassion for… everyone, for the entire planet. And then he's one button away from nuclear war,"
"Yes, he's got a point," the Brigadier agreed. He turned to Three. "Any ideas, Doctor?"
"Well perhaps, if we could get her back into the Obelisk," Three said thoughtfully, stroking his chin.
"She escaped once," Eleven pointed out.
"Take the Obelisk somewhere remote," Alex suggested. "The Sahara. The Australian Outback. The Moon! Somewhere she won't be found."
Eleven looked saddened. "She's still a person, Alex."
"Define 'person'," the Brigadier muttered. "Besides, the plan works, and you'll have to execute it, Doctor." He took his radio out of his pocket and spoke into it. "Benton? I've got another job for you."
T H E S E V E N T H O B E L I S K
"RORY!" Alex roared. "Please, just forget. It. It doesn't MATTER!"
"IT DOES TO ME!" he bellowed back. "I don't care what you think! Will you ever learn that?"
"Will you ever learn to just, SHUT. UP?"
"Oh don't give me that!"
"Give you what?"
"That's the best comeback you could think of? 'Shut up'? Are you that childish?"
"So now you're trying to take the high ground on this one? You want childish? Fine! BIG. NOSE."
Rory lashed out, clipping Alex on his still-sore nose. Alex cried out and nursed it slightly. "Start heading back, I'll follow," he muttered as he did so.
Rory nodded, just slightly. Picking up the act again, he turned and strode arrogantly away towards the next carriage.
"Don't just walk away from me, Rory Williams!" Alex shouted after him. He regained his composure and followed. As he walked, the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. She was near. "I said, don't walk away from me," Alex repeated, seizing Rory's shirt collar from behind to stop him walking further forward. Behind him, Alex heard the carriage door slide shut and lock.
"I think a round of applause for our two lead actors," came Amy's voice. Alex turned and saw Amy clapping cheekily. It was she who had closed and locked the door. The orb of light that was Hathor shuddered slightly, then transformed into the yellow-skinned, blue-haired woman.
"So you were acting?" Hathor asked Alex and Rory. "I was unsure. No matter. I can take your love for each other instead, and have you fight for real," she smiled maliciously.
"Aaaand, link-up," Eleven announced, waltzing into the centre of the carriage from the shadows. He was speaking into his steampunk communicator.
"Link-up," came Three's reply.
"Okay, Hathor. Give it a shot," Eleven smiled, putting an arm around Alex's shoulder. "Grandfather and grandson. Take our love from us."
Hathor frowned. She didn't seem angry. Intrigued, almost. "What have you done?"
"We've set up a damper on this entire carriage, generated by the TARDIS and linked from that to a portable beacon. This," he said cheerfully, taking the Sonic out of his pocket. "Everything you threaten us with. Taking our good and our bad emotions. Even your little transformation trick. They're all manipulation of electrical charges and impulses. And what does a damper do?"
"Cancels them out," Alex said triumphantly, arms folded.
Hathor was now beginning to look angry.
"Bring it in, boys," the Doctor called. The door at the far end of the carriage slid open. Three men in army uniform were hauling in a tall, slim, stone object. An obelisk.
"Alex, Amy, Rory? Allow me to introduce Sergeant Benton and Captain Mike Yates, UNIT's finest. And Hathor… I believe you know what they're carrying?"
"Doctor, please," Hathor smiled. "It took almost the entire Pantheon to force me inside the Obelisk last time. What makes you think you'll be able to do it?"
"Because last time… there was only one of me,"
As the Doctor spoke, a metallic grinding sound filled the room. Eight sets of eyes turned to the corner of the room, where the TARDIS was materialising.
"Whereas this time," Three said, opening the door and striding out. "There are two of us,"
"And our effectiveness is doubled,"
"But you still don't have the technology to force me into a rock!" Hathor cried. "The technology of the Pantheon is far beyond even you! So, if you don't mind…" Arrogantly, her with her nose in the air, she strode across the carriage, heading towards the open door at the far end. She stopped directly beside the Obelisk. She fidgeted on the spot and struggled. "What have you done, Doctors?" she asked angrily. "Let me go!"
"We didn't do anything. The Obelisk is still your prison, you're still inexplicably drawn to it. Besides, the Pantheon aren't the only ones with complicated technology," Eleven reminded her. "Time Lord tech."
"What are you talking about?"
"Look at the Obelisk, Hathor. Really, look." She did so. "It's an inch shorter than it should be."
"What have you done?" she repeated.
"I took a sample of the stone," Three announced, stepping forward. "I analysed it in the TARDIS, and it's really, rather fascinating, the properties it has. It has the ability to reattach and correct itself. If I were to hold the top of the Obelisk near to the main body of it, the Obelisk would fix itself."
"So?" Hathor spat. "It was a mechanism put in place so no-one could break me out!"
"Yes. But after analysing the sample, I reversed the polarity of the neutron flow. These two segments of the same object are now complete polar opposites. If I held the top of the Obelisk to the main body now… do you know what will happen?"
"Stay away from it," Hathor ordered immediately. "Please. I beg you, stay away from the Obelisk. Keep it away."
Three smiled. "Thank you very much. I was unsure what the result would be. You seem to have afforded me with the answer."
"No, I promise you! If those two pieces come into contact with each other, the results will be catastrophic for us both!"
"I'll risk it," Three smiled. He took one last step forward and placed the top of the Obelisk on the top of the main body.
Bang.
The small explosion shook the carriage. Smoke filled the room, and as a result, coughing and spluttering filled it too. The smoke and dust began to settle. Alex picked himself up from the floor and slid open a nearby window to clear the remnants of the smoke. He turned and took in the scene before him. The Obelisk was now fully intact. Hathor was nowhere to be seen – evidently, she was back in the Obelisk. On the other side of the carriage, Three was lying motionless on the floor. Amid the devastation, Eleven was stood near to Three, chuckling.
"That was never going to work," he smiled, picking up a small device from next to Three's body. "It's a regenerated TARDIS. My dematerialisation circuit wouldn't work in yours."
"Doctor, I don't think he can hear you," Rory said, checking Three's body as the nurse he was. He put his cheek against Three's mouth. "He's breathing. He's out cold, but he should be okay."
"He'll be fine," Eleven said, bending down to ruffle Three's grey-white curls. Sparks flew out from between them, causing all around the circle to jump back in surprise.
"What on Earth was that sir?" asked Benton or Yates. Alex wasn't sure which.
"Doctor?" the Brigadier asked, just as confused as Benton, or Yates.
"That was something extremely very not good," Eleven said ominously. "Careless, what am I doing? Makes a lot of sense though…"
"Doctor," Amy said, interrupting his external internal monologue.
Eleven looked up and noticed with genuine surprise that everyone was looking at him. "Sorry. Um. Time energy, that was time energy. Two people, the same person, from two different points in their own time stream touching. It's called the Blinovitch Limitation Effect. And I just discharged a large amount of it, directly by his brain…"
"Will he be okay?" the Brigadier asked, somewhat nervously.
"Yeah, he'll be fine. It normally wouldn't have an effect. He'd been weakened by the energy discharge from that," he explained, waving a hand towards the Obelisk. "He'll experience lacunar amnesia. A kind of short-term memory loss. He won't remember anything from the past few days, probably since the two of you boarded the Express."
"When will he wake?" asked Benton. Or Yates.
"Few hours?"
"Remember though, Doctor," Lethbridge-Stewart said, examining the Obelisk from afar. "You still have to carry out your part of the plan. What will you do with it?"
The Doctor took a deep breath, thinking. "Zero-balanced, dwarf star alloy. Densest material in the universe. She'll never get out of that."
T H E S E V E N T H O B E L I S K
"Take the Doctor back to Mobile HQ, Benton," the Brigadier ordered. He'd used his UNIT credentials to persuade the train driver to stop at the 'nearest possible convenience'. "If he wakes up, tell him that the situation has been averted, but at the cost of a day or two of his memory."
"Yes sir," Benton replied, turning and rushing away to help his men carry the Doctor away.
"Tell me, Doctor," the Brigadier continued, turning to face Eleven, Alex, Amy and Rory. "Will he accept that?"
"Not inwardly," Eleven replied. "But outwardly, yeah. Is that a word? He'll know you'd have a good reason not to tell him the full story."
The Brigadier nodded, chuckling slightly. "And what about you lot now? Axos? Metebelis Three? 1947?"
"Honeymoon," Eleven grinned.
"Honeymoon?"
"Yeah. Honeymoon."
"Brigadier!" called a soldier from outside. He appeared at the door. "Helicopter's leaving in a few minutes, sir."
"Yes, thank you, Private." The man hurried away again. "It seems I have to go then. Wonderful to see you again, Doctor," the Brig said cheerfully, shaking his hand. "Mr Morgan," he continued, shaking Alex's. "Mr and Mrs Pond," he finished.
"Williams," Rory corrected. Amy stood on his foot.
"Goodbye Alistair," Eleven smiled.
"Splendid fellows," the Brigadier said to the Doctor as he turned to leave. "Both of you!"
The Doctor smiled as the Brigadier walked away. "We're not the only one," he murmured as he watched him go. He clapped his hands together. "Now! Centurion, do me a favour, grab the Obelisk and bring inside," the Doctor said, strolling whimsically towards the doors, Amy close behind, chuckling away. Alex smiled, shaking his head in despair.
T H E S E V E N T H O B E L I S K
"I couldn't remember meeting myself," Eleven explained as he coated the Obelisk in liquefied dwarf-star allow, "because I met myself."
"Nope. Not getting it," Rory replied.
"However many years ago, when I was him, I reconnected the Obelisk, I was weakened, my brain was effected by the time energy caused by future me. If we'd never gone to the Express, I'd be able to remember being him and fighting Hathor, clear as day!"
"Right…" Rory murmured, obviously still lost. The Doctor moved on, oblivious.
"So, honeymoon number two! Any preference?"
"I want to go on a cruise," Amy admitted.
"A cruise..?" the Doctor said quietly, in thought. His face split into a grin. "I can do that."
