The Time of Angels III

The Maze was a hell of a climb, as Amy so deftly pointed out. The inclines were steep, sloping up and around in a spiral fashion. They circled a large cavern, though, so there was a lot of ground to cover. They moved swiftly, and fortunately most of the path was smooth enough. Callie, though, kept tripping up at every bump due to her refusal to look at her feet. Always look ahead, don't let an Angel catch you off-guard. The only reason she didn't fall flat on her face was her grip on the Doctor's elbow.

"The Maze is on six levels, representing the ascent of the soul. Only two levels to go," River explained. Callie pressed the button on her screwdriver app. She thought the radiation readings were fluctuating weirdly, if she was interpreting the app correctly. They rose the closer the group got to the wreckage, but then would plunge in random intervals. Callie could only assume she was watching the Angels consume the radiation in real time.

"Lovely species, the Aplans," the Doctor commented. The frown on his face said he was getting the same sorts of readings on his screwdriver. "We should visit them sometime."

"I thought they were dead?" Amy asked.

"Time travel," Callie reminded her. Inwardly, she knew she would be happy to never, ever see this planet again. Angels or no Angels.

"Very relaxed people," the Doctor continued. "Sort of cheerful. Well, that's having two heads, of course. You're never short of a snog with an extra head."

"Doctor, Callie, there's something," River said, stalling in her stride. "I don't know what it is."

"Callie?" The Doctor and River looked to her. Callie shrunk under their gaze.

"Two heads, right? They have two heads," She said finally. She crossed her arms over her chest. She figured it had been long enough. They were already in too deep. "So, why don't the statues?"

It would have been comical, watching both of their eyes widen and their jaws drop as they finally realized what was so wrong about this place. It would have been comical if it wasn't so freaking scary.

"Oh," River said.

"Oh," the Doctor moaned. He whipped around, truly seeing just how many single-headed Angels were in the Maze.

"How could we have not noticed?" River hissed. She whirled her head around, staring at the statues that effectively encircled them.

"Low-level perception filter," the Doctor guessed. He scanned the face of a nearby statue, and Callie's fingers itched to yank him away from it. "Or maybe we're thick."

"What's wrong?" Father Octavian asked. His gun was loaded and ready. Not that it would do much good against the horde of Angels. The Doctor gulped. He grabbed at Callie, pulling her so she was half next to him, half behind him.

"Nobody move," he said hoarsely. "Nobody move. Everyone stay exactly where they are."

"I'm sorry," Callie said. She spoke more to the Doctor than the others. His grip on her side tightened. "I should have said something sooner. I should have."

"Said about what?" Father Octavian demanded.

"Bishop, I'm truly sorry," the Doctor said. "We've made a terrible mistake, and now we are all in danger."

"What danger?"

"The Aplans," River said. "They've got two heads."

"Yes, I get that. So?"

"So why don't the statues?" Callie repeated her earlier question louder so everyone could hear. A horrible screeching sounded in her ear. She flinched, her knees buckling from the shock. The Angels were laughing.

"Everyone, over there," The Doctor said, pointing somewhere Callie couldn't see. "Don't ask questions, don't speak."

They all carefully moved into an alcove empty of statues. Still, they were surrounded. The clerics all had their flashlights and guns at the ready and stood on the perimeters.

"Okay, I want you all to switch off your torches," the Doctor continued.

"No!" Callie yelped, snapping her head to look up at him. He looked grim, but determined.

"Just for a moment," he assured her. One by one, the clerics turned their flashlights off. Callie reluctantly turned her off. The room grew dim until only the Doctor's flashlight was left on. "Okay, I'm going to turn off this one, too. Just for a moment."

It was off for less than a second, and yet all of the statues had turned to face the group.

"Oh my god," Amy whispered. "They've moved."

"Stay here," the Doctor told Callie. He wriggled out of her grasp and ran down one of the rows. Immediately, Callie grabbed onto River. Anything that might give a sense of security, or safety.

Never had Callie felt more like a child than she did right then. Clinging to Mommy and Daddy because she's scared of the dark. She didn't make much note of how tightly River clung to her, like she was just as scared. Just as in need of comfort from Mommy.

"They're Angels, all of them," the Doctor declared when he returned. He shone his flashlight so they could see the statues crawling towards them.

"But-" River started, but stopped.

"Clerics, keep watching them," Father Octavian ordered. There was a statue with its arm half-raised behind him, but Callie spotted it in time.

"Father, you need to move," she said softly. He ignored her- or maybe he didn't hear her. It felt like her words were getting stuck in her throat. Like she was choking on them. She tried again, "Father! There's one right behind you."

He startled and moved away. Mercifully, he turned to look at it, and Callie allowed herself to blink.

"Every statue in this Maze- every single one- is a Weeping Angel," the Doctor told them all. "And they're coming after us."

"But there was only one Angel on the ship. Just the one, I swear," River insisted.

"They were here already," Callie said. "They've been here for centuries, dying slowly."

"How?" Father Octavian asked. For once, he actually looked at Callie to answer, instead of deferring to the Doctor.

"The Aplans died out four hundred years ago," she said. "Any idea how?"

No one answered her.

"The Angels," she answered herself. "And they've been stuck in here without any food since then."

"They don't look like Angels," Father Octavian pointed out.

"And they're not fast. You said they were fast," Amy added nervously. "They should have had us by now."

"Look at them, they're losing their form. Callie's right, they're dying right in front of us," the Doctor said. "Their image is their power."

"The image of an Angel is an Angel," Callie repeated.

"Power," the Doctor murmured. Louder, he shouted, "Power! Don't you see? All that radiation spilling out the drive burn. The crash of Byzantium isn't an accident. It was a rescue mission for the Angels."

He paled. "We're in the middle of an army and it's waking up."

"We need to get out of here, fast," River said sharply. Father Octavian raised his communicator to his lips.

"Bob, are Angelo and Christian with you?" He asked. "All the statues are active. I repeat, all the statues are active."

Bob's voice crackled over the speaker so they could all hear. "I know, sir. Angelo and Christian are dead, sir. The statues killed them, sir."

Callie closed her eyes to hold back the tears. Two men, dead because she let them walk off without properly warning them. Her fault, her fault. She buried her face into River's shoulder to muffle the sob that slipped through her lips.

She was the reason Christian and Angelo were dead. If she'd said something- warned them, regardless of the risk... But it was too late now.

The Doctor grabbed the communicator from Father Octavian's fingers.

"Bob, Sacred Bob," he crooned. "It's me, the Doctor."

"Hey, I'm talking-" Father Octavian objected, but the Doctor waved him off, shushing.

"Where are you now?" He asked Bob.

"I'm on my way up to you, sir. I'm homing in on your signal," Bob replied. Callie shifted uncomfortably.

"Ah, well done, Bob! Scared keeps you fast- told you, didn't I?" The Doctor faked a smile, the pep in his voice. Anything to boost Bob's morale. Callie swallowed a lump in her throat. "Your friends, Bob. What did the Angel do to them?"

"Snapped their necks, sir."

The Doctor paused. "That's odd. That's not how an Angel kills you. They displace you in time." A beat. "Unless they needed the bodies for something."

Father Octavian grabbed the communicator. "Bob, did you check their data packs for vital signs? We may be able to initiate a rescue plan."

"Oh, don't be an idiot," the Doctor snapped. "The Angels don't leave you alive. Bob, keep running. But tell me, how did you escape?"

Bob hesitated. "I didn't escape, sir. The Angel killed me, too."

Callie wiped her eyes, nearly dropping her phone in the process. She hurriedly shoved it back into her bag. God, her heart hurt.

"What do you mean, the Angel killed you?" the Doctor asked quickly. He spared a glance at Callie and visibly tensed.

"Snapped my neck, sir. Wasn't as painless as I expected, but it was pretty quick, so that was something." Bob didn't sound quite so upset about his own death.

"If you're dead, how can I be talking to you?"

"You're not talking to me, sir," Bob explained. "The Angel has no voice. It stripped my cerebral cortex from my body and reanimated a version of my consciousness to communicate with you. Sorry about the confusion."

Slowly, the Doctor said, "So when you say you're on your way up to us…"

"It's the Angel that's coming, sir, yes. No way out."

The Doctor grimaced. Quickly, Father Octavian waved them forward.

"Then we get out through the wreckage. Go, go, go! All of you, run!" River and Callie pulled each other along in the midst of the clerics. Out of the corner of her eye, Callie saw Amy stay behind, her hand gripping a metal railing so tight her knuckles were turning white. The Doctor went over to her, so Callie didn't turn back.

Up ahead, they came to a large opening. Above, the wreckage was visible, still burning.

"Well, there it is. The Byzantium," Father Octavian said. River shook her head.

"It's got to be thirty feet. How do we get up there?" She looked to Callie. "Callie?"

Numbly, Callie said, "The Doctor will find a way."

River nodded. "You're right. It'll be alright." She paused, and for Callie's sake, she added, "It's always alright when the two of you are around. It's when I'm alone that I end up in real trouble."

Callie tried to smile at that, but her lips refused to move from their frown. "Good to know," she replied lightly. "You can always call. I assume you have my number."

"Of course," River responded. "But calls into the Time Vortex can be tricky."

The Doctor and Amy caught up to the rest of them, and so their conversation died. Amy was rubbing her hand, looking disgruntled. As Callie looked where they came, at least four statues froze in their wake. They had been scary close to nabbing Amy.

"The statues are advancing along all corridors," one of the clerics announced. To Father Octavian, "And sir, my torch keeps flickering."

Callie was keenly aware of the statues causing the lights to flicker. Her flashlight had already gone out completely.

"They all do," Father Octavian replied gravely. River pointed up to the gravity globe, which had followed them all the way up to the top of the temple.

"And the gravity globe," she said.

"Yeah, it's the Angels," the Doctor explained. He grabbed Callie's hand once again, his head moving quickly as he worked through possible escape scenarios. "They're coming, and they're draining the power for themselves."

"Which means we won't be able to see them," Callie said finally, in a small voice. The Doctor pulled her close, but she didn't let go of River. They all stood together, scared.

"Which means we can't stay here," he said.

"Two more incoming!"

"Any suggestions?" River asked, her nerves seeping into her voice. Like Callie, she expected the Doctor to have a way out. Unlike Callie, she also seemed to expect Callie to have an idea. Callie shrunk down until River finally looked away from her.

"The statues are advancing on all sides," Father Octavian reported. "And we don't have the climbing equipment to reach the Byzantium."

"There's no way up, no way back, no way out. No pressure, but this is usually when one of you usually has a really good idea," River said.

"There's always a way out," the Doctor said. Callie's eyes flickered up to the gravity globe.

"Doctor? Can I speak to the Doctor, please?" Bob's voice broke through the air. Dead Bob and his dead voice. Callie shuddered.

"Hello, Angels," the Doctor said. "What's your problem?"

"Your power will not last much longer, and the Angels will be with you shortly," Bob told him. "Sorry, sir."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"There's something the Angels are very keen you should know before the end," Bob said. "Two things, actually."

"Which are?"

"I died in fear."

The Doctor actually stopped his constant scanning, surprised. "I'm sorry?"

"You told me my fear would keep me alive, but I died afraid, in pain and alone. You made me trust you, and when it mattered, you let me down."

The Doctor's grip on the communicator tightened.

"And the other thing, sir," Bob continued. "The Angel wanted you to know- everyone to know- that she knew this would happen. The Golden One, she knew. She let me die, sir. Let all of us die."

Callie's guilt dripped down every bone in her body. She shivered, closing her eyes tightly. Painfully. Tears streamed down her cheeks as Bob continued to speak. The guilt gnawed at her heart.

"She let you walk into our trap, sir," Bob said. "Sorry, the Angels were very keen on you knowing that, sir."

Silence. Callie let out a sob. The remaining clerics stared at her, but she couldn't meet their gazes. Couldn't bare to see the look of betrayal on their faces.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she murmured over and over and over. The clerics shifted around her, clearly distressed and unimpressed.

A new hand rested on her back. Amy.

"What are they doing?" Amy said, her voice hard. Callie's heart squeezed. She couldn't take it if Amy hated her for this, but she couldn't blame her. If it had been an option, she would have forced Amy to stay inside the TARDIS and locked the doors behind her. But Amy had looked in the Angel's eyes. She needed to keep close.

"They're trying to make the Doctor angry," River answered. "The easiest way to do that is to go after what matters to him most."

And clearly, it had worked.

"Well then, the Angels have made their second mistake because I'm not going to let that pass. I'm sorry you're dead, Bob, but I swear to whatever is left of you, they will be sorrier." The Doctor spoke in a quick, clipped sort of way. Rage dripped from his words, though he did not yell. Callie was grateful; her nerves could not have taken yelling after all this.

The Doctor pulled Callie to his chest and kissed the top of her head. There was no time for more comfort than that. (She felt bad that he was comforting her so much, but she needed it so desperately. It was the only thing keeping her breathing.)

"But you're trapped, sir, and about to die," Bob pointed out. The Doctor released Callie and looked up towards the ceiling.

"Yeah, I'm trapped. And you know what? Speaking of traps, this trap has got a great big mistake in it. A great big, whopping mistake."

"What mistake, sir?"

Looking to Amy first, the Doctor asked, "Trust me?"

Amy nodded firmly. "Yeah."

His gaze slid to River. She smirked through her fear, showing a brave face for him. Never let him see the damage, right? "Always."

"Callie?"

She nodded, looking up at his with big doe eyes. "Just do it."

"You lot, trust me?" The Doctor asked the clerics. Father Octavian answered for them.

"We have faith, sir."

"Then give me your gun. I'm about to do something incredibly stupid and dangerous. When I do, jump!" Obediently, Father Octavian handed his gun over to the Doctor. Callie didn't like how it looked, the Doctor holding a gun. But desperate times called for desperate measures.

"Jump where?"

"Just jump, high as you can." He cocked the gun. "On my signal. You won't miss it."

"Sorry, can I ask again?" Bob cut in. "You mentioned we made a mistake."

The Doctor raised the gun to the ceiling above. He aimed it directly at the gravity globe. In one hand, he held the gun. In the other, he raised the communicator to his lips. He spoke lowly, but clearly so the Angels would know the mistake they'd just made.

"Oh, big mistake," he started. "Huge. Didn't anyone every tell you there's one thing you never put in a trap? If you're smart, if you value your continued existence, if you have any plans about seeing tomorrow, there is one thing you never, ever put in a trap."

"And what would that be, sir?"

"Me."

He pulled the trigger and they all jumped into the air.

A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! I certainly enjoyed writing it, though I liked the next couple more :)

I just want to add that I'm a bit disappointed about the amount of reviews on the previous chapter. I can see you all favoriting and following this story, but it's very discouraging to get 130+ views on a chapter and only one review. I'm so grateful to the lovely reader who did review, don't get me wrong! But without at least two or three on a chapter, it makes me not want to post more. That's why this chapter was posted so late, even though it's been written for a while. So please, please just drop a quick review of this chapter to let me know if you liked it! Otherwise we may be in for another week or two wait between chapters.