Flesh and Stone II

"Alright," the Doctor said slowly. "Alright. Clerics, you listen to whatever Callie tells you. She knows more than you and her directions will, in fact, save your lives. River, Father Octavian, let's move."

The three of them moved quickly through the forest and were soon out of sight. Callie grabbed Amy's hand.

"Angel incoming!" A cleric shouted. Callie swore under her breath.

"Already?"

"Another over here, ma'am," another cleric said. It was the first time they'd addressed her so formally. Perhaps she'd finally earned their respect.

The third, and final, cleric shouted, "The crack- whatever it is- seems to be getting closer."

Callie swore again. Now, with the Doctor and Father Octavian gone, they were expecting her to lead. It was like a child leading another child. But she had no choice.

"Callie?" Amy asked weakly. She sounded like she might cry. Looked like it, too. "Are we going to make it?"

"Hey," Callie said quickly, soothingly. "Of course we are. River and the Doctor are going to get us to safety. We just need to stay ahead of that crack and away from the Angels."

"Sounds easier said than done."

"You're telling me." Looking around, she saw three frozen Angels. "Isn't there a fourth? Be on the watch. Okay, um, we need to move inwards just a tad. Enough that we're clear out of range from the crack. You there, what's your name?"

"Philip, ma'am," he answered.

"Philip, I need you to scout ahead a little. Make sure there aren't Angels hiding so we can get away from the crack." He nodded curtly and walked ahead.

"Callie," Amy whispered, "I'm kind of scared."

"So am I," Callie whispered back. Amy swatted the air before landing a hit on Callie's shoulder. "Ow!"

"You're supposed to comfort me, not say you're scared, too!"

"Well, can't I do both?"

Philip called them up ahead, and carefully they all moved. The clerics all worked together to protect them, keeping their eyes open and ready. Callie kept scanning the trees, though. One more pair of eyes couldn't hurt.

"Amy, I'm sorry about before," she said finally. Amy pressed her lips together, but didn't interrupt. "I- This adventure is really hard. Things have to go a very certain way, or else everything will go wrong and we'll die. I knew you weren't going to get hurt until the countdown got close to zero. I knew we had time."

"But-"

"Let me finish, please," Callie asked. Amy nodded, squeezing her hand in apology. "I knew the Doctor wouldn't believe me- wouldn't understand about the crack until we saw it. And that needed to happen before… Gah, I guess it all doesn't matter. I'm sorry I can't do more to help but I hope the Doctor figures out what he needs to do. If I say it, it'll be too late."

"I know you can't always say everything you know," Amy said. "You and the Doctor have said as much many times already. But I'll trust you, no matter how little you say, okay. Just please- don't say I'm going to die and then not do anything about it."

"I won't, I promise."

Callie spotted the Doctor in the trees. Just like he'd been before, he wasn't wearing his jacket and he looked worse for wear. Callie knew in an instant that it wasn't the same Doctor who'd left them in the forest.

He raised a finger to his lips. She waved at him. A golden flash streaked past behind him, and he sent her a small smile before following it.

"How did the crack appear?" Amy asked after a moment of silence. "In my wall and here? The same crack?"

Callie chose her words very carefully. "One day, there's going to be a big bang. And it'll be so big, so catastrophic, that it will bend the very universe and crack it open. All throughout time and space, it'll appear."

"What do we do?"

"Nothing," Callie answered simply. "There's nothing we can do until the explosion happens. Then we'll do everything we can to set it right."

Amy nodded. "Because that's what we do, right? Travel the universe, righting wrongs and saving the day."

Callie nodded. Thickly, she said, "Yeah, you're right."

One of the clerics- Callie didn't know his name- shouted. Callie whirled around just in time to see his neck snap and him fall to the ground in a lifeless heap. She could have sworn the Angel who killed him was smiling.

"Crispin?" Philip called, but he didn't dare turn around.

"Oh god," Callie gasped.

"What?" Amy asked wildly, turning around even though she couldn't see anything. "What is it?"

"Crispin's dead," Callie whispered. And she hadn't even known his name. She felt like she could throw up, but Amy's hand shook in hers and she knew she had to be brave. For the little girl in Leadworth who was brave for her when she really needed it. In her mind's eye, she saw little Amelia, looking up in wonder at her.

"Ma'am, what do we do?" Philip called over his shoulder. "They're closing in."

Callie didn't know what to do. Who knew how long it would take for the Doctor and River to secure their way out?

"The crack is getting closer!" The other cleric's nerves seeped into his voice.

"We need to move. Philip, lead the way, best you can. You, what's your name?" Callie wasn't about to lose someone else without knowing their name. Never again.

"Pedro, ma'am."

"Pedro, take the rear. Keep us posted on how quickly the crack is advancing. I'll scan for Angels."

"What do I do?" Amy asked.

"You walk as carefully as you can and keep your eyes closed." Callie stressed. "We might need the rest of your countdown, so you can't lose a single second."

"I thought you said I would die if I opened my eyes!"

"If your eyes are open and you make it down to one, yes," she said. "But you're only at nine. If we need it, you have at least seven seconds of sight."

And so they moved, stumbling over roots and rocks because they never dared look down. Pedro called out that the crack was quickening, and even consumed one of the Angels advancing on them. Philip scanned ahead, telling Callie which way to look when he spotted Angels. It wasn't a perfect system, and with only two effective pairs of eyes the Angels were getting far too close for comfort.

The trees, which gave light as well as oxygen, started flickering. One by one, they started going out. Callie's pulse thundered in her ears, but she bit back her cries. Better that Amy didn't know just how bad it was getting. She'd move quicker with less fear.

Callie's phone began to ring, loud and shrill. Callie dug it out quickly, swiping to answer the unknown number.

"Callie, you all need to move and fast!" The Doctor yelled. "My readings- that crack is gaining speed. It's going to consume the whole planet, you all with it."

"We're trying," Callie said, "but it's kind of hard with Angels all around."

River's voice could be heard in the background, but Callie couldn't make out what she said. "What?" she asked.

"She said stop moving, she's going to try to teleport you lot here," the Doctor told her. Callie called out for everyone to stop.

"The Angels are advancing, ma'am!" Philip called out.

"So is the crack!"

Amy whimpered, crushing Callie's hand in fear.

"We're surrounded, Doctor," she said, voice shaking. "Crack on one side, Angels on the other."

The Doctor swore, a sound she'd never thought she'd hear him make. By now, she could see the crack advancing, and she shuffled Amy over until she bumped into Philip's back.

"There's too many Angels, I can't watch them all," Philip moaned. He shot at one, but it did nothing. He was constantly moving, scanning, trying to watch them all at once. But they were too smart, too spread out. One person physically couldn't see them all. Not even two people could.

"How much longer?" Callie asked the Doctor.

"Just a few more seconds," he promised desperately, "you just need to last a little longer. Please, Callie, you have to!"

Swallowing hard, Callie hung up the phone. There were too many Angels, Philip was right.

"Amy, no time to explain," she said, spinning her until she was facing some Angels. "Open your eyes now!"

Thank the lord, Amy didn't ask questions- she just did as she was told. Her eyes flew open and she started mumbling.

"Eight."

She froze three Angels herself. Philip had four frozen. Callie had two stragglers on the left.

"Seven."

Out of the corner of Callie's eye, she saw Pedro scramble from the crack, but it nabbed him in the end. Philip instinctively adjusted his stance, forgetting there ever was another cleric protecting them.

"Six."

"Come on, come on," Callie muttered over and over. Her eyes burned, but she would not blink.

"Five."

A tingling shot up Callie's legs.

"Four."

The world fizzled around her, and then she was falling into the Doctor's arms. She gasped, throwing her arms around him as she sobbed. Sobbed in relief, in grief, in everything in-between.

"Amy, close your eyes!" She screeched.

"They're shut," River replied breathlessly. "I've shut them."

Callie's sobs ebbed, but her grip on the Doctor didn't loosen. They'd been so close to death, to not existing at all. Far too close for comfort.

"Where's Father Octavian?" Philip asked finally. River, after a horrible pause, had to break the news that Father Octavian had sacrificed himself to save them.

Another casualty. Another death. Another slice on Callie's heart.

An alarm blared above them. No rest for the wicked.

"What's that?" River asked. She helped Amy to her feet, steadying her and guiding her hands to a bar to hold.

"The Angels are draining the last of the ship's power," the Doctor said, "which means the shield's going to release."

In front of them, the bulkhead fell back, revealing a whole host of fully formed Angels. Callie wiped at her eyes and opened them wide. Illuminating them from behind was the crack, its yellowish-white light exactly like the one in the bookstore had been.

God, had that only been yesterday?

One of the Angels held a communicator, signaling its status as Angel Bob. The Doctor held Callie close to himself, half pushing her behind him to shield her.

"The Time Field is coming," Angel Bob said. "It will destroy our reality."

"Yeah," the Doctor sneered, "and look at you all, running away. What can we do for you?"

"There is a rupture in time. The Angels calculate that if you throw yourself into it, it will close, and they will be saved."

"No!" Amy shouted, whipping her head around blindly. "You can't!"

"Yeah, yeah," the Doctor said, ignoring her. "Could do- could do that. But why?"

"Your friends would also be saved," Angel Bob pointed out.

"Well, there is that," the Doctor agreed. Callie slapped his back.

"You're not actually considering it," she snapped.

"I've traveled in time," River cut in. "I'm complicated space time event, too. Throw me in."

"Hell, I'm sure I'm complicated enough to throw myself in," Callie said.

"Don't you dare," the Doctor said fiercely, glaring at her. "Don't you even dare."

"Anyway, the Angels might be complicated enough," she continued, staring him down. Willing him to understand what she was thinking.

Release the gravity, she thought forcefully. They'll fall right into the crack.

And what about us? Callie started when she heard his voice in her head. Her eyes widened, but there wasn't time to freak out, or moan about the headache already forming between her eyes.

Get a grip, she shot back. She reached her hand behind her blindly until she found a metal beam from the desk, nailed to the floor.

"Get a grip," the Doctor repeated out loud, looking over at River and Amy.

"Doctor, I can't let you do this," River insisted.

"River, Amy, Philip," Callie turned to face her. "Get a grip."

Callie saw it on River's face when she finally got it. She praised them for being geniuses (giving Callie far more credit than she deserved) and made sure Amy's grip was secure. She grabbed her own nailed-down-chair-leg, and held on. Philip, just following blindly at this point, did the same.

"Sir," Angel Bob continued, not understanding what they all were doing, "the Angels need you to sacrifice yourself now."

"Thing is, Bob, the Angels are draining all the power from this ship," the Doctor said, grabbing his own railing. "Every last bit of it. And you know what? I think they've forgotten where they're standing. I think they've forgotten the gravity of the situation- and I won't have to do a thing," he mused.

"Night, night," Callie spit out at them.

The artificial gravity cut out and they all fell forward towards the forest, and the crack. The five of them held on for dear life, dangling from their respective metal bars. The Angels, though, had nothing to hold onto. They fell down, into the crack, and out of existence.

Callie's only disappointment was that she couldn't watch them go.

Amy was wrapped up in a blanket, talking to the Doctor. As Philip was the only surviving cleric that had gone into the temple, he was the one in charge when it came to packing up and shipping out. He didn't seem comfortable in his new role, but performed admirably.

Callie stood next to River, who was already in handcuffs and waiting to be beamed back up and shipped back to Stormcage.

"What a hell of a day, huh?" River asked, surveying the temple. The Byzantium was still atop it, still burning. But nothing dangerous was inside anymore. The ominous feeling was gone.

"This definitely won't top my list of best days," Callie murmured. "I can't tell if I messed everything up or made anything better."

"How do you mean?"

"If I remember correctly, none of the clerics made it out of the Byzantium in the episode," Callie explained. "The three died in the temple, and the other four were erased from existence. But now, Crispin and Marco both died. Pedro still got erased. He was so brave, and now no one but us will remember him."

"It's hard, knowing things like you do," River said, repeating a sentiment she'd said before they went inside. "You won't always get things right. Sometimes, you'll make them worse- that's just life. But look. Philip's alive and- well, not exactly well, but he will be. You saved him."

"But I killed Marco and Pedro."

"You kept them in existence," River stressed. She bumped her hip against Callie's gently. "Hey. I know it sucks, but it'll get easier. You'll learn."

And how many people would die before she learned? Callie didn't ask, as the Doctor approached them. He looked wistful, eyeing her handcuffs.

"What now?" He asked.

River nodded towards the sky. "The prison ship's in orbit; they'll beam me up any second. I might have done enough to earn a pardon this time. We'll see."

"Octavian said you killed people," the Doctor said. River didn't deny it.

"I did."

"Who?"

River paused, then said, "My parents- the best people I've ever known." Callie's eyes bulged out of their sockets.

"What?!"

That was not how the show went. River killed the Doctor- or rather, she didn't really but they all thought she did and she was imprisoned for it anyway. But Amy and Rory? How had the story gotten so messed up that she ended up being forced by the Silence to kill them?

"It's a long story, and one you're jumping to conclusions about," River said calmly. "But it can't be told; it has to be lived. The long way 'round. No sneak previews."

"I have so many questions," Callie said.

"You'll get your answers eventually," River promised. She smiled. "Alright, one sneak preview. Doctor, you'll see me again quite soon, when the Pandorica opens."

"The Pandorica? Ha!" The Doctor actually laughed at the thought. Callie was surprised he didn't seem too phased about the 'killing her parents' bit, but perhaps he'd grown to trust her some. "That's a fairytale."

River raised her eyebrows mysteriously. "Aren't we all?"

A bright light encircled her, and she disappeared into the sky, to be locked up once more. Callie hugged herself, feeling chilly even through the Doctor's tweed jacket. In all that, she still wore it.

"Let's get you two into the TARDIS," the Doctor said, placing one hand on Amy's back and the other on Callie's. They all walked into the TARDIS together. Callie rubbed at her temple.

"How's your head?" The Doctor asked.

"It's ebbing," she said. "Uh, that mind thing…"

He smiled. "I can explain. But first, let's take Amy home."

Callie let the Doctor take Amy home on his own. She was exhausted, mentally and physically, and needed to process all she'd been through. The TARDIS, ever the helper, lit the way back to her bedroom. Never had the plain room looked so inviting.

She dropped the Doctor's jacket on the back of her desk chair, along with her backpack, and sat down. She pulled out her journal and began to write.

Yesterday, I fell through a crack in the wall and landed inside a different universe. And that's not the craziest part…

A/N: Another chapter done! I really liked how this chapter came out, and I hope you all do, too! Please let me know in a review. You guys have been doing so well with reviews these past couple chapters, so please keep it up! I'm writing so much because your reviews motivate me. 3