Travelling with the Raggedy man

by The Time Lord Oracle

Amy Pond and her cousin Chelsea Willows were 7-years old when the newly regenerated 11th Doctor crashed into their lives. They meet him again when they were adults and they join him in the TARDIS for adventures in time and space. But Chelsea is somewhat wary of the eccentric man-child Doctor, and with cracks popping up all over time and space, it's gonna be an interesting time.

5. Flesh and Stone

Traveliing with the Raggedy Man

Flesh & Stone

Slight warning, there's some swearing later in this chapter.

Everyone recovered from the jump to find themselves sitting on a cold metal floor. "Up!" the Doctor ordered as he jumped to his feet, "Look up!"

"You girls ok?" River asked Amy and Chelsea, who were both sprawled in a heap.

"Nothing broken." Chelsea mumbled as they untangled themselves and stood up.

"Me neither." Amy added, "What happened?"

"We jumped." River replied

"Jumped where?"

"Up, up, look up!" the Doctor ordered everyone

"Where are we?" Amy asked, still not getting it.

"Exactly where we were." River told her

"No, we're not." Amy countered

"Move your feet." the Doctor told Chelsea, who backed up to reveal that she'd been standing on an indentation on the floor. The Doctor then took out his sonic screwdriver and flashed it on the indentation.

"What are we looking at?" Amy demanded, "Explain."

"Oh, come on, Amy, think!" the Doctor replied, "The ship crashed with the power still on, yeah? So what else is still on?"

"Oh, the gravity!" Chelsea realised, seeing that they were standing on the nose of the Byzantium and above them was the cavern where they'd been moments earlier with the Weeping Angels standing there their arms outstretched as if they were reaching for the group.

"One good jump and up we fell." the Doctor elaborated, "Shot out the gravity globe to give us an updraft and here we are!"

"The statues, they look more like Angels now." Octavian noted. And indeed, many of the statues were becoming more recognisable as Weeping Angels, with some even sporting wings again.

"They're feeding on the radiation from the wreckage, draining all the power from the ship, restoring themselves." the Doctor told him, "Within an hour, they'll be an army." Just then, the indentation he was sonicing opened, revealing it to be an airlock leading into a corridor similar to the one River had escaped from earlier. Then the lights on the nose started blowing out. "They're taking out the lights." the Doctor realised, "Look at them, look at the Angels. Into the ship, now, quickly, all of you!" And he slipped into the airlock.

"But how? Doctor!" Amy asked, peering into the airlock to see the Doctor standing upright in the corridor.

"It's just a corridor." the Doctor told her, "The gravity orientates to the floor. Now, in here, all of you. Don't take ya eyes off the Angels. Move, move, move!" And he turned to sonic a keypad on the wall.

Amy, Chelsea and River all jumped into the airlock, followed by the clerics and Octavian brought up the rear. "The Angels, presumably they can jump up too?" he asked the Doctor as the airlock closed behind them.

Then, the lights in the corridor began to flicker. "They're here. Now." the Doctor realised, "In the dark, we're finished. Run!" And everyone sprinted down the corridor towards a bulkhead door which closed before they could reach it.

"This whole place is a death trap." Octavian groaned

"No, it's a time bomb." the Doctor said as he surveyed the door carefully, "Well, it's a death trap and a time bomb. And now it's a dead end. Nobody panic." he told everyone as a pounding sounded outside, clearly the Angels trying to force their way in. "Oh, just me then." the Doctor muttered, "What's through here?"

"Secondary flight deck." River told him, having memorised the ship's deck layouts from her infiltration of it.

"Ok. So we've basically run up the inside of a chimney, yeah?" Amy said, still processing where they were, "So what if the gravity fails?"

"I've thought about that." the Doctor replied

"And?"

"And we'll all plunge to our deaths. See? I've thought about it." He turned to the others. "The security protocols are still live. There's no way to bypass them, it's impossible."

"How impossible?" River asked, looking at him expectantly.

"Two minutes." the Doctor smirked and started tinkering with the wiring inside an access panel in the wall.

Just then, the ship's engines began to power down and the lights began to flicker again. The Humans all looked at the airlock just in time to see it open. "The hull is breached and the power's failing." Octavian warned

The lights flickered again, revealing an Angel's arm reaching in through the open airlock. "Sir! Incoming!" a cleric warned before the lights went out again.

"Doctor, lights!" Chelsea hollered and the Doctor flashed his sonic on the wiring, causing the lights to come back on and reveal four Angels in the corridor.

"Clerics, keep watching them." Octavian ordered, keeping his own weapon aimed at the advancing statues.

"And don't look at their eyes." the Doctor warned, not wanting anyone else to repeat Amy's mistake, "Anywhere else, not the eyes. I've isolated the lighting grid. They can't drain the power now."

"Good work, Doctor."

"Yes, Good. Good in many ways, good you like it so far..."

"So far?" Amy asked, knowing that there was a but coming.

"Well, there's only one way to open this door." the Doctor said, "I guess I'll need to route all the power in this section through the door control."

"Good." Octavian nodded, not seeing any problem with that, "Fine, do it."

"Including the lights." the Doctor clarified, "All of them. I'll need to turn out the lights."

"How long for?" Octavian questioned

"Fraction of a second, maybe longer. Maybe quite a bit longer."

"Maybe?!"

"I'm guessing. We're being attacked by statues in a crashed ship, there isn't a manual for this!"

"Doctor, we haven't got the torches any more." Chelsea reminded, "We're gonna be in the dark!"

"No other way." the Doctor told her. "Bishop?" he called to Octavian, knowing that there was one chance to keep the Angels at bay while the lights were out.

Octavian eyed the Doctor for a moment then turned to River. "Dr Song, I've lost good clerics today. You trust this man?"

"I absolutely trust him." River told him sincerely

"He's not some kind of madman, then?"

"I absolutely trust him."

Octavian moved closer to River, leading her out of earshot of the Doctor. "I'm taking your word because you're the only one who can manage this guy. But that only works so long as he doesn't know who you are." he told her icily, "You cost me any more men, and I might just tell him. Understood?"

"Understood." River swallowed

"Ok." Octavian said curtly, then turned to the Doctor. "We've got your back, Doctor."

"Bless you, Bishop." the Doctor nodded

Octavian turned to his men. "Combat distance, ten feet." he ordered them, "As soon as the lights go out, continuous fire. Full spread over hostiles. Do not stop firing while the lights are out. Shot gun protocol, we don't have ammunition to waste."

The Doctor led Amy and Chelsea over to a wheel on the door "Girls, when the lights go down, the wheel should release. Spin it clockwise, four turns." he instructed

"Ten." Amy nodded

"No, he said four." Chelsea corrected

"Yeah, four. I heard him." Amy waved her off as they took up position by the door.

The Doctor aimed his sonic at the wiring behind an access panel by the door. "Ready!" he called to Octavian

"On my count, then." Octavian said, steeling himself, "God be with us all. Three... two... one." The Doctor switched his sonic on and the lights went out. "Fire!" Octavian ordered and the clerics opened fire, lighting up the corridor with purple energy bolts that kept the Angels back.

"Turn!" the Doctor urged as he and the women heaved at the door wheel.

"Doctor, quickly!" River added

"It's opening, it's working!" Amy cried in relief as the door slid open, then the Doctor ushered her, Chelsea and River through the opening.

"Fall back!" Octavian ordered his men and they all filed back through the door, followed by the Doctor.

The group sprinted down another corridor to another door and the Doctor soniced a control panel, opening the door thus allowing the women and the clerics to get through. "Doctor, quickly!" River hollered and the Doctor ducked through the door just before it closed.

The group found themselves on the secondary flight deck, which was in a state of disrepair with wires sticking out of damaged consoles and debris from the crash and the bodies of a few unfortunate crew members all lying on the floor. A loud banging suddenly sounded on the other side of the door that they'd entered through and Octavian hurried over to it, placing a device on it. "What're you doing?" Amy asked him

"Magnetising the door." he replied, pressing a button on his device and the wheel stopped spinning. "Nothing could turn that wheel now." Octavian declared confidently

"Yeah?" the Doctor raised a brow, and sure enough, the wheel began to spin again, albeit slower.

"Dear God!" Octavian exclaimed

"Ah, now you're getting it." the Doctor said, messing about with an undamaged control console, "You've brought us time, though. That's good. I'm good with time."

"Over there!" Chelsea hollered, seeing the wheel on another door begin to turn.

"Seal that door!" Octavian ordered his second-in-command, "Seal it now!" The cleric complied and magnetised that door.

"We're surrounded!" River realised as the wheel on a third door began to spin too.

"Seal it, seal that door!" Octavian ordered, and another cleric complied. "How long we got?" Octavian asked the Doctor.

"Five minutes, max." the Time Lord replied

"Nine." Amy said randomly

"Five." the Doctor corrected, wandering why Amy had misquoted a number he'd said for the second time.

"Five, right, yeah." Amy shrugged

"Why'd ya say nine for?" Chelsea asked

"I didn't." Amy blinked. She didn't remember saying 'nine'.

"We need another way out of here." River said, getting the Doctor back on topic.

"There isn't one." Octavian said pessimistically

"Yeah, there is." the Doctor said, "Course there is. This is a Galaxy-class ship, goes for years between planet falls. So..." He clicked his fingers and pointed at River, knowing she'd get it, since she'd been on this ship before it crashed. "What do they need?"

"Of course." River breathed, mentally slapping herself for having forgotten about it.

"Of course what?" Amy questioned, neither she or her cousin understanding what they were on about, "What do they need?"

"Can we get in there?" Octavian asked, working it out too.

"Well, it's a sealed unit, but they must've installed it somehow." the Doctor said, going over to the wall on the far side of the room, "This whole wall should slide up." He moved some junk on the floor out of the way. "There's clamps." he grinned, "Release the clamps!" And he flashed his sonic on the clamps.

"Is everyone just gonna keep ignoring us, or are ya gonna tell us what's through there?" Chelsea asked, "What does this ship need?"

"It needs to breathe." River told her as the Doctor finished his sonicing and stepped back.

The bulkhead slid up to reveal lush vegetation and trees on the other side. Both Amy's and Chelsea's eyes widened in awe at the sight. "But that's..." Amy breathed, "That's a.."

"It's an oxygen factory." River smiled

"It's a forest!" Amy stared

"Yeah, it's a forest. It's an oxygen factory."

"And, if we're lucky, an escape route." the Doctor added

"Eight." Amy said randomly, earning puzzled looks from the others.

"What did you say?" River questioned

"Nothing." Amy waved her off

The Doctor got back on topic. "Is there another exit? Scan the architecture." he told Octavian, "We don't have time to get lost in there."

"On it." the Bishop nodded and walked a short way into the forest with a scanner. "Stay where you are until I've checked the Rad levels."

"They have trees." Chelsea murmured, still in awe, "On a spaceship?!"

"Oh, more than trees, much better than trees!" the Doctor grinned, eager for a chance to show off, "You're gonna love this." He walked over to a tree and pulled open a section of bark to reveal fibreoptic circuitry inside the tree. "Treeborgs!" he explained, "Trees plus technology. Branches become cables, become sensors on the hull. A forest sucking in starlight, breathing out air. It even rains. There's a whole mini-climate. It's an eco-pod running through the heart of the ship. A forest in a bottle, on a spaceship, in a maze. Have I impressed you both yet, Amy Pond and Chelsea Willows?"

"Actually, you have." Chelsea admitted

"Seven." was all Amy said

"Seven?" Chelsea furrowed a brow at her cousin's random blurting out of numbers.

"Sorry, what?" Amy shook her head

"You said 'seven.'" the Doctor told her, studying her face carefully. He'd noticed that the numbers Amy kept reciting were in descending order and the intervals between them was getting shorter.

"No. I didn't." Amy protested

"Yes, you did." River told her, but before they could discuss it further, Octavian returned.

"Doctor, there's an exit." he said, "Far end of the ship, into the primary flight deck."

"Oh, good." the Doctor nodded, "That's where we need to go."

"Plotting a safe path." Octavian said, working on his pad.

"Quick as you like." the Doctor urged, knowing that the Angels could break through the doors at any moment.

"Doctor?" Angel Bob's voice came over the communicator, "Excuse me, hello, Doctor? Angel Bob here, sir."

The Doctor flopped down on a chair. "Ah, there you are, Angel Bob." he said nonchalantly, "How's life? Sorry, bad subject."

"The Angels are wandering what you hope to achieve."

"Achieve?" the Doctor said casually, "We're not achieving anything. We're just hanging. It's nice in here, well, apart from the bodies, of course. But apart from that, it's nice. The consoles, comfy chairs, a forest. How's things with you?"

"The Angels are feasting, sir. Soon we will be able to consume enough power to consume this vessel, this world, and all the stars and worlds beyond."

"Well, we have comfy chairs." the Doctor shrugged, "Did I mention?"

"We have no need for comfy chairs."

The Doctor turned to his companions. "I made him say 'comfy chairs.'" he sniggered

Amy laughed while Chelsea rolled her eyes at the Doctor. "Six." Amy suddenly blurted out.

Chelsea promptly snatched the comm from the Doctor. "Alright, Bob, enough messing about. What the hell have ya done to Amy?!" she demanded

"There is something in her eye." Angel Bob replied cryptically

"What is?"

"We are."

"What's he talking about?" Amy questioned, "Doctor, I'm five." Everyone looked at her worriedly and she realised what she'd just said. "I mean... five. Fine." she managed to correct herself, "I'm fine!"

"You're counting, Ames." Chelsea told her

"Counting?"

"You're counting down." the Doctor confirmed, "From ten. You have been for a couple of minutes."

"Why?"

"I don't know." the Doctor said, examining Amy's face carefully. He couldn't see anything physically wrong with her, but he knew that she was experiencing side effects from her earlier mistake.

"What's gonna happen when she reaches zero?" Chelsea asked, dreading the answer.

"I don't know." the Doctor replied, though he knew it wouldn't be good.

"We shall take her." Angel Bob began to monologue, "We shall take all of you. We shall have dominion over all time and space."

The Doctor took the communicator back off Chelsea. "Get a life, Bob." he said flatly, "Oops, sorry again. There's power on this ship, but nowhere near that much."

"With respect, sir, there is more power on this ship than you yet understand."

Then came a loud and horrible screeching sound that echoed around the room, unnerving everyone. "What's that?" River shivered, "Dear God, what is that?"

"They're back!" Octavian realised

The screeching stopped and Angel Bob's voice came back over the comm: "It's hard to put in your terms, Dr Song, but as best I understand it, the Angels are laughing."

"Laughing?" the Doctor questioned

"Because you haven't noticed yet. The Doctor in the TARDIS hasn't noticed."

"Doctor..." Octavian began

"No, wait." the Doctor cut him off, "There's something I've..." He slowly turned to see something familiar. "Missed."

"There, imbedded in the wall, was a glowing W-shaped crack.

"That's... that's like the crack on my wall when we were little girls." Amy whimpered

"What's it doing here?!" Chelsea shivered

"I don't know." the Doctor murmured as he moved closer to the wall.

The room began to shudder violently. "Ok, enough." Octavian said, taking charge again, "We're moving out."

"Agreed." River said, "Doctor?"

"Yeah, fine." the Doctor waved her off as he climbed onto some crates and scanned the crack with his sonic.

"What're you doing?!" River hissed

"Right with you." the Doctor said

"We can't just go and leave you!" Chelsea told him

"Oh, yes, you can." the Doctor said firmly, not taking his eyes off the crack, "Bishop?"

"Miss Pond, Miss Willows, Dr Song, now! Octavian called to the women

River took the two cousins' arms and began to lead them away. "Doctor, come on!" Amy called until they were away down the dirt path.

~8~

Halfway through the forest, the group reached a clearing. Chelsea then saw her cousin stop suddenly. "Amy?" she asked, then she saw that Amy had a strange, almost sickly look on her face, "Ames, what's wrong?"

Amy didn't answer, she just keeled over and curled up in a ball on a tree stump. "Med-scanner, now!" River ordered one of the clerics, who handed her a device similar to a tricorder from Star Trek.

"Dr Song, we can't stay here." Octavian said, "We've got to keep moving."

"Look at Amy." Chelsea told him sharply, "Does she look like she can go anywhere?!"

"We need to wait for the Doctor." River added, setting the med-scanner up on Amy's arm, "He'll know what to do."

"Our mission is to make this wreckage safe and neutralise the Angels." Octavian told them irritably, "Until that is achieved..."

"Father Octavian, when the Doctor is in the room, your only mission is to keep him alive long enough to get everyone else home." River told him sharply, "And trust me, it's not easy. Now, if he's dead back there, I'll never forgive myself, and if he's alive, I'll never forgive him. And, Doctor, you're standing right behind me, aren't you?"

"Oh, yeah." the Doctor's voice came from behind her and she spun round to see him standing there.

"I hate you!" River shook her head at him

"You don't." the Doctor waved her off and turned to Octavian, "Bishop, the Angels are in the forest."

"We need visual contact on every line of approach." Octavian informed his men, who all went to stand on guard.

"How did you get past them?" River asked the Doctor, noticing that he was now missing his jacket.

"Found a crack in the wall and told them it was the end of the universe." the Doctor replied

"What was it?" Amy asked weakly

"The end of the universe." the Doctor said ominously, "Let's have a look, then." He took the scanner and looked at the results.

"So... what's wrong with me?" Amy croaked

"Nothing, Ames." Chelsea reassured her cousin, "You're gonna be fine."

"Everything." the Doctor countered, "You're dying."

"Doctor!" River scolded, while Chelsea gave the Doctor a good smack on the back of the head.

"Ow! Yes, you're right." the Doctor moaned, "If we lie to her, she'll get all better! Right, Amy! Amy. What's the matter with Amelia? Something's in her eye. What does that mean? Does it mean anything?"

"Doctor." Amy croaked

"Busy." he waved her off

"Scared."

"Course you're scared, you're dying. Shut up." the Doctor said rudely, earning himself another smack off Chelsea. "Ow, stop that!" he moaned

"Stop saying she's dying then!" Chelsea snapped

"What happened?" the Doctor mused, pacing back and forth, "She stared at the Angel, she looked into the eyes of an Angel for too long..."

"Sir! Angel incoming!" a cleric warned Octavian

"And here!" another one called

"Keep visual contact." Octavian ordered them, "Do not let it move."

"Come on." the Doctor slapped his forehead, trying to rack his brain "Come on, wakey, wakey! She watched an Angel climb out of the screen. She stared at the Angel and... and..."

"What holds the image of an Angel is an Angel." Amy croaked

"A living mental image in a Human mind." the Doctor nodded, piecing it together, "We stare at them to stop them getting closer, we don't even blink and that's exactly what they want, cos' as long as our eyes are open they can climb inside. There's an Angel in her mind!" he realised, clapping a hand over his mouth while Chelsea and River both went wide-eyed in horror at the revelation.

"Three." Amy croaked, the face of an Angel visible in her pupils, "Doctor, it's coming, I can feel it. I'm gonna die!"

"Please shut up, I'm thinking." the Doctor waved her off, "Now counting, what's that about?" He pulled out the communicator. "Bob, why're they making her count? he asked, certain he wouldn't like the answer.

"To make her afraid, sir." Angel Bob replied

"Ok, but why? What for?"

"For fun, sir."

A furious Doctor chucked the comm away, hoping it would hit an Angel in the process.

"Doctor, what's happening to me?" Amy whimpered, "Explain."

The Doctor knelt down in front of her. "Inside your head, in the vision centres of your brain, there's an Angel." he told her tactfully, "It's like there's a screen, a virtual screen inside your mind, and the Angel's climbing out of it to..." He swallowed hard. "To shut you off."

"So how do we stop it?" Chelsea asked

The Doctor stood up and resumed his pacing. "If it was a real screen, what would we do?" he rambled, "We'd pull the plug. But we can't just knock her out, the Angel would take over." He remembered the incident aboard the SS. Pentallian. The Angel in Amy's mind was essentially the same as the living sun that had possessed people people during that incident and he knew now with hindsight that when he'd sedated one of of them, he'd accidentally allowed the sun to take him over, so he knew he couldn't make that mistake again.

"Then what?!" Chelsea urged him, "Anytime today!"

"We've got to shut down the vision centres of her brain." the Doctor realised, "We've gotta pull the plug, starve the Angel."

"Doctor, she's got seconds." River warned, checking the med-scanner anxiously.

The Doctor's eyes fell on Chelsea's scarf and he had a brainwave. "Chelsea, I need ya scarf, quick!" he urged.

So Chelsea removed her scarf and handed it to the Doctor, who then tied it over Amy's eyes, blindfolding her. "What're ye doing?!" Amy protested

"I'm sorry, Amy, but it's either this or you sit there with ya eyes shut." the Doctor told her as he finished tying the scarf around her head.

The med-scanner beeped and the readings returned to green. "She's normalising." River gasped in relief, "You did it. You did it!"

"That was close." a relieved Chelsea breathed

"Sir? Two more incoming." a cleric called to Octavian.

"Three more over here." another added.

Chelsea and River helped Amy to sit upright and River removed the med-scanner. "Still weak." she reported, "Dangerous to move her."

"So, can I take this thing off now?" Amy asked hopefully. She couldn't see a thing, not an ideal situation when Weeping Angels were around.

The Doctor knelt down in front of her. "Amy, listen to me. If you take that blindfold off for more than a few seconds, you will die." he told her gravely, "The Angel is still inside you. We haven't stopped it, we've just sort of... paused it. You've nearly used up your countdown. You cannot use your eyes."

"She can't stay blindfolded forever, Doctor." Chelsea pointed out

"I know, I'll find a way to get rid of the Angel permanently, I promise." the Doctor replied, "But for now, she has to stay blindfolded."

"Doctor, we're too exposed here." Octavian cut in, "We have to move on."

"We're exposed everywhere." the Doctor countered, "And Amy can't move. And anyway, that's not the plan."

"There's a plan?" River asked, she and Chelsea sitting either side of Amy to comfort her.

"I don't know yet, I haven't finished talking." the Doctor said, thinking of a plan on the spot, "Right! Father, you and your clerics will stay here, look after Amy. If anything happens to her, I'll hold each of you responsible, twice. Chelsea, River, we're gonna find the primary flight deck, which is..." He licked his finger and turned in a half-circle on the spot, testing the air with his finger. "A quarter of a mile straight ahead. We'll stabilise the wreckage, stop the Angels and cure Amy."

"How?" River questioned

"I'll do a thing." the Doctor replied nonchalantly

"What thing?"

"I dunno, it's a thing in progress. Respect the thing. Moving out!"

"Doctor, I'm coming with you." Octavian told the Doctor, "My clerics can look after Miss Pond. These are my best men, they'd lay down their lives for her protection."

"I don't need you." the Doctor said curtly

"I don't care." Octavian retorted, "Where Dr Song goes, I go."

"What?" the Doctor snorted, looking between River and Octavian, "You two engaged or something?"

"Yes, in a manner of speaking." Octavian answered curtly, then turned to his second-in-command. "Marco, you're in charge till I get back."

"Sir." Marco nodded as Octavian and River started off down the dirt path the Doctor had indicated.

"Doctor, I'm gonna stay here and look after Amy." Chelsea told the Doctor

"Chelsea..." the Doctor began to protest

"Doctor, she's my cousin. I can't just leave her, blind and alone." Chelsea said defiantly, "It's my fault she's in this mess in the first place, so the least I can do is stay with her and keep her company."

"Alright." the Doctor conceded, "But be careful."

"You too." Chelsea nodded and sat back down beside Amy.

"I'll be back for ya both as soon as I can. I promise." the Doctor told both cousins earnestly.

"You always say that." Amy grunted

"I always come back." the Doctor countered lightly. "Good luck everyone." he addressed everyone, "Behave. Do not let Amy take her blindfold off, and keep watching the forest. Stop those Angels advancing. Amy, Chelsea, later." He patted both cousins on their heads and walked away. "River, gonna need your computer." he said as he disappeared down the dirt path.

"Yeah, later." Amy sighed, nervously fidgeting with her skirt.

"I'm sorry, Amy." Chelsea sighed, putting a comforting arm around her cousin, "If I hadn't have left ya alone with that Angel..."

"Hey, it's not your fault." Amy reassured her, "If you'd stayed, you'd be blind too."

"Maybe not." Chelsea countered, "Maybe Angels can't go inside two people's minds."

Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder, causing her to jump out of her skin. "Easy, Willows. It's only me." the Doctor's voice said from behind her, "Don't turn around."

"For God's sakes, Doctor, are you trying to give us heart attacks?" Chelsea grumbled, "I thought you were going with Dr Song."

"Yeah, I am, I just need to speak to you both quickly." the Doctor replied, "Now, Chelsea, you need to start trusting me. It's never been more important."

"No offense, Doctor, but it's hard to trust you when ya keep swanning off and leaving us." Chelsea countered

"I know, I'm sorry, I am trying to change my ways, I promise." the Doctor replied earnestly.

"Doctor, the crack in my wall, how can it be here?" Amy asked

"I don't know yet, but I'm working it out." the Doctor replied, "Now, listen. Remember what I told you both when you were seven?"

"What did you tell us?" Amy questioned. The Doctor had said a lot of things to them when they were both seven.

"No, no... that's not the point." the Doctor replied, "You have to remember." He kissed both cousins on their heads and walked away.

"Remember what, Doctor?" Chelsea questioned, "Doctor? Doctor?!" She turned around to see that the Doctor had disappeared. "Ah, there he goes again." she grumbled, "Just buggers off and leaves us. And he wants us to trust him?!"

~8~

20 minutes later, Amy was still sat blindfolded on the stump with Chelsea sitting next to her keeping her company. "So, what's happening, Chels?" Amy asked, "Anything happening out there?"

"Nothing new since ya last asked me, Ames." Chelsea replied, "The Angels are still surrounding us."

Just then, the lights began to flicker. "Are you getting this too?" Marco asked one of the other clerics, Philip.

"The trees? Yeah." Philip replied

"What's wrong with the trees?" Amy asked

"Here too, sir." another cleric, Pedro, reported, "They're ripping the treeborgs apart."

"And here." Philip added, "They're taking out the lights."

"What is it?" Amy demanded, not liking literally being in the dark about what was happening around her, "Chelsea, tell me. I can't see."

"None of us will in a moment, Amy." Chelsea replied worriedly, "The Angels're ripping the trees out. They're trying to plunge us into darkness."

And sure enough, the Angels took advantage of the failing light and began to advance. "Angels advancing, sir." the fourth cleric, Crispin, warned.

"Over here, again." Pedro added

"Weapons primed." Marco ordered, "Combat distance five feet. Wait for it!"

"What is it?" Amy demanded, standing up, "What's happening?! Tell me!"

"Just stay here, Ames." Chelsea told her, "I think we're gonna have to leg it in a moment." Then, she saw a bright light suddenly appear out of nowhere in the direction of the secondary flight deck. "Marco, look!" she called, "What's that?"

"The ship's not on fire, is it?" Marco wandered

"It can't be." Pedro replied, turning to look at the light, "The compressors would've taken care of it." He turned back to see that the Angels had disappeared. "Marco, the Angels have gone. Where'd they go?"

"What, the Angels?" Amy questioned

"This side's clear too, sir." Philip reported

"Why would the Angels just clear off like that?" Chelsea muttered thoughtfully.

"There's still movement out there." Marco said, checking his pad, "But away from us now. It's like they're running."

"But why?" Chelsea wandered

"Philip, Crispin, need to get a closer look at that." Marco ordered

"I don't think that's a good idea." Chelsea told Marco, "If that light scared the Angels away, then isn't it best left alone?"

But Marco didn't think so. "Philip, Crispin, you have your orders." he said, and the two clerics in question hurried off towards the light.

"Chelsea, what're you all looking at?" Amy asked, "What's out there?"

"There's this... light, Amy." Chelsea replied, "There's something weird about it. I dunno..." She climbed up onto the stump to try and get a better look.

"It's like, I dunno... a curtain of energy." Marco told Amy, "Makes you feel weird, sick."

"And you think it scared the Angels?" Amy probed

"What could scare those things?" Pedro wandered

Chelsea meanwhile had been studying the light closely and her eyes widened as she had a sudden realisation. "Amy..." she began, "I don't wanna scare ya, but that light's the same shape as the crack in the wall."

Behind her blindfold, Amy's eyes widened too. "It's following us!" she whimpered, "How can it be following us?"

"I don't know." Chelsea said numbly as she climbed down off the stump to comfort her scared cousin.

"Marco, you want me to get a closer look at that?" Pedro asked suddenly

"Go for it." Marco replied, "Don't get too close."

"Hang on, what about the other two?" Chelsea pointed out as Pedro went off towards the light, "Shouldn't we wait for them to get back?"

"What other two?" Marco asked, confused

"The two that you sent off a few minutes ago."

"I didn't send anyone off a few minutes ago."

"Yes, you did." Chelsea insisted, "Philip and Crispin. I saw them going off, I even told ya it was a bad idea."

"Crispin and who?" Marco questioned, and Chelsea could see on his face that he had no idea who they were talking about.

"Philip." Amy said, "Philip and Crispin."

"Girls, there never was a Philip or a Crispin on this mission, I promise you." Marco insisted.

"Yes, there was." Chelsea countered, "I saw them."

"And I heard you." Amy added, "Before you sent Pedro, you sent Philip and Crispin, and now you can't even remember them. Something happened, I don't what, and now you can't even remember them!"

"Pedro?" Marco blinked in confusion

"Yeah, the one who just left." Chelsea told him

"Who's Pedro?"

"Oh, don't tell me ya can't remember him now!" Chelsea groaned, "It's gotta be that light. Pedro was just here and now you've forgotten him."

"There never was a Pedro." Marco insisted, "There's only ever been the three of us here."

"No, there were six of us." Amy countered, "Why can't you remember?"

"Listen, listen. I need to get a closer look at that light, whatever is is. Don't worry, I won't get too close."

"No, don't!" Chelsea protested

"Here, spare communicator." Marco said, handing her a communicator, "I'll stay in touch the whole time."

"No, you won't." Chelsea told him, "That light's done something to the others and it'll happen to you if you go near it."

"There weren't any others!" Marco said stubbornly

"And there won't be any you if you go back there!" Amy shot back

"Two minutes, I promise." Marco said and began to walk away.

"Oh, for God's sakes, just listen!" Chelsea implored him, but it feel on deaf ears and Marco disappeared into the trees, leaving the women alone in the clearing. "Best men, my arse!" Chelsea muttered to herself, perplexed at how unbelievably stupid the clerics were.

"What do we do now?" Amy asked

"I dunno." Chelsea sighed, "I'll see if I can call him." She fiddled about with the communicator and got it working. "Hello? Marco? Can ya hear me? Are ya there?"

"I'm here." Marco's voice answered, "I'm fine. I'm quite close to it now."

"Alright, you've seen it, now come back!" Chelsea urged

"It's weird looking at it." Marco remarked, "It feels really..." He was suddenly cut off by static.

"Feels really what?" Chelsea asked, receiving no answer, "Hello? Are ya there? Marco? Answer me! Marco, are you there?! Hello?!"

"Chelsea, is that you?" a familiar, Northampton-accented called back

"Doctor?" Chelsea gasped in relief, "Never thought I'd say this, but am I glad to hear your voice!"

"Where are you?" the Doctor asked, "Is Amy alright? Are the clerics with you?"

"We're still where ya left us, Doctor. Amy's fine but the clerics are gone. There was a light, it's the same shape as the crack and the clerics walked walked into it. Doctor, they couldn't even remember each other!"

"No. They wouldn't." the Doctor sighed heavily, then Chelsea heard him and River talking to themselves for a moment before the Doctor came back on the comm. "Amy, Chelsea, I'm sorry. I should never have you both there."

"Yeah, a bit late for that now." Chelsea muttered, "Doctor, what do we do now?"

"You both need to come me." the Doctor replied, "Primary flight deck, other end of the forest."

"Yeah, uh, small problem, Doctor. I wasn't looking when you left. I don't know which way it is."

"Your communicator can home in on mine. Just press the button on the bottom and turn on the spot until the red light turns blue." the Doctor instructed

Chelsea pressed the button on the bottom of her communicator and turned on the spot. After turning in a half-circle, the red light turned blue. "Ok, Doctor, I've got a blue light." she said

"Right, that's the way you need to go." the Doctor told her, "You both need to start moving now. There's time energy spilling out of that crack and you have to stay ahead of it."

"But the Angels, they're everywhere!" Amy protested. She couldn't see and Chelsea only had one pair of eyes, so there was a very real risk of walking right into an Angel.

"I'm sorry, I really am." the Doctor said sincerely, "But the Angels can only kill you."

"Only kill us?!" Chelsea huffed as she took Amy's hand and began to lead her in the direction the communicator indicated.

"What does the time energy do?" Amy asked

"Just keep moving!" the Doctor waved her off

"Oh, for God's sake, just tell us!" Chelsea snapped, having had enough of the Doctor being vague and cryptic.

"If the time energy catches up with either of you, you'll never have been born. It will erase every moment of your existence. Neither of you will have ever lived at all. Now, Amy, keep ya blindfold on, and both of you keep moving!" the Doctor urged

"Alright, we're coming." Chelsea swallowed and led Amy down the dirt path.

~8~

The cousins carefully made their way through the forest. It was slow going as even with Chelsea guiding her, Amy still stumbled on the uneven ground. Suddenly, she heard a sharp snapping sound. "What's that?" she breathed

"It's me, I stepped on a twig." Chelsea reassured her

"I wish I could see." Amy sighed. She made a mental vow that if the Doctor somehow managed to get rid of the Angel in her mind, she would never take her eyesight for granted again.

All Chelsea could do was squeeze her cousin's hand reassuringly. "Can't be much further." she said, "The Doctor said earlier it was a quarter mile, so we must be at least halfway by now."

Just then, the Doctor's voice came back over the communicator; "Girls, listen to me. I'm sending a bit of software to your communicator. It's a proximity detector. It'll beep if there's any Angels nearby."

"So what do we do if it goes off?" Chelsea asked

"We'll cross that bridge if we come to it." the Doctor told her, "But for now, keep moving!" And so the cousins continued on their trek through the forest.

A few minutes later, the communicator began to beep. "What's that?" Amy asked nervously as they came to a stop

"I think we've got company." Chelsea swallowed, and sure enough, the lights flickered and Chelsea suddenly saw Angels all around them. "Doctor, we've got Angels!" she said into the communicator.

"Alright, listen to me. This is going to be hard but I know you can both do it." the Doctor replied, "The Angels are scared and running, and right now they're not interested in you two. They know you can see them, Chelsea, and their survival instincts have kicked in. So all you've got to do is keep walking." But neither Amy or Chelsea dared to move. "You're not moving. You have to do this." The cousins still didn't dare move an inch. "Now! You HAVE to do this!"

Chelsea plucked up courage. "Alright, here goes." she murmured, "C'mon, Amy." And so she cautiously led Amy forward past the Angels. One was directly in front of them so they skirted past it, Chelsea keep her eyes on it just in case. They then continued forward, going well until Chelsea suddenly stumbled on something. She looked down to see an exposed root sticking out of the ground. "Amy, be careful." she warned, "There's..." But it was too late.

Amy tripped on the root and fell, knocking into Chelsea and they both fell in a heap on the ground. Chelsea hit her head and everything went black.

~8~

When Chelsea came to, she found herself lying on a metal floor with the Doctor standing over her. "Wakey, wakey, Willows." he said, "Let's have a look." He looked into her eyes. "Good, no sign of concussion and there's no broken bones. You've got a wound to the head, though."

Chelsea sat up and looked at her surroundings. She was now in a room similar to the secondary flight deck but much larger. "Where's Amy?" she asked

"I'm here." Amy's voice said, and Chelsea looked round to see Amy being helped off the floor by River. "Wherever here is."

"You're on the primary flight deck." River told Amy, "I teleported both of you." She turned to the Doctor. "See? Told you I could get it working."

"River Song, I could bloody kiss you!" the Doctor laughed as he helped Chelsea up.

"Ah well, maybe when you're older." River smirked and winked at Chelsea, who managed a small smile before touching the spot where she'd hit her head and found blood there.

"Yes, you've got a wound there." the Doctor told Chelsea, "I'll sort it out in a moment."

Suddenly, an alarm blared around the room. "What's that?" River asked

"The Angels're draining the last of the ship's power." the Doctor said, moving to stand behind one of the consoles, "Which means the shield's going to release." And sure enough, the bulkhead slid up to reveal a huge army of Weeping Angels standing in the entrance to the forest, the curtain of time energy just behind them. The Doctor's eyes fell on an Angel holding a cleric's communicator. "Angel Bob I presume?"

"The time field is coming." Angel Bob said, "It will destroy our reality."

"Yeah, and look at you all, running away." the Doctor said coolly, "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."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Could do that. But why?"

"Your friends would also be saved."

"Well, there is that." the Doctor shrugged, apparently considering doing what the Angels wanted.

An alarmed River stepped up to the Time Lord. "I've travelled in time. I'm a complicated space and time event too. Throw me in!" she hollered.

"Oh, be serious!" the Doctor snorted, "Compared to me, these Angels are more complicated than you and it would take everyone of them to amount to me, so get a grip."

"Doctor, ya can't just give in to them and kill yourself!" Chelsea protested

"No, seriously, get a grip." the Doctor told her.

"You're not going to die here!" River continued to argue

"No, I mean it. All of you, get a grip." the Doctor persisted

River was about to continue arguing when she realised exactly what console the Doctor was standing at: the ship's environmental controls, which included the artificial gravity. Suddenly, it clicked for her. "Oh, you genius!" she breathed, "Chelsea, c'mon. Help me get Amy strapped in."

"Sir, the Angels need you to sacrifice yourself now." Angel Bob said

"Thins is, Bob." the Doctor said nonchalantly, "I think the Angels are forgetting where they're standing. I think they've forgotten the gravity of the situation. Or to put it another way, Angels..."

River and Chelsea helped Amy into a chair and River secured Amy in with the seat's restraints. "Whatever happens now, just stay here." she told her, "It'll all be over soon. Chelsea, you hold onto one of those railings and don't let go for anything." So Chelsea moved to a console beside the Doctor and grabbed hold of a handrail while River did the same with the console on the other side of the Doctor.

"Night-night." the Doctor finished and promptly disabled the gravity. The deck tilted sideways and the Doctor, River and Chelsea all held on for dear life as the Angels tumbled through the forest and into the time field. After the last Angel was consumed, the crack on the secondary flight deck snapped shut, leaving no trace of it ever being there.

~8~

A little later, the quartet were back on the beach outside the mortarium. Amy and Chelsea were both sat on a rock with blankets wrapped around them. Amy was no longer blindfolded and was looking out at the grey morning that was breaking out. "Ah, bruised everywhere." she moaned

"Me too, Ames." Chelsea replied, rubbing the spot where she'd hit her head, which had now been bandaged up.

"Me three." the Doctor chimed in from where he was standing beside them.

"Neither of you had to climb out of there blindfolded." Amy shot back

"Neither did you, I kept saying." the Doctor told her, "The Angels all fell into the time field. The Angel in your memory never existed. It can't harm you now."

"Then why do I remember it all?" Amy asked, "Those guys on the ship didn't remember each other."

"You're a time traveller now, Amy. Changes the way you see the universe forever. Good, isn't it?"

"So, is this time energy the reason why Amy doesn't remember the Daleks and I can?" Chelsea questioned

"Yes, you haven't had as much exposure to the time energy as Amy has." the Doctor told her

"And the crack, is that gone too?" Amy asked

"Yeah, for now." the Doctor replied, "But they were caused by an explosion that was big enough to shatter every moment in history and that explosion is still happening... somewhere out there, somewhere in time." Then he walked over to join River who was standing nearby in handcuffs.

"You, me, handcuffs." River remarked, holding up her hands as her handcuffs beeped, "Must it always end this way?"

"What now?" the Doctor asked her

"The prison ship's in orbit. They'll beam me up any second. I might have done enough to earn a pardon this time."

While the Doctor and River talked to themselves, Amy turned to Chelsea. "As soon as River's gone I'm gonna tell the Doctor about the wedding." she said

"About time!" Chelsea smiled and they got up to join the Doctor and River.

"You'll see me again quite soon." River told the Doctor, "When the Pandorica opens."

"The Pandorica, ha!" the Doctor laughed, "That's a fairy-tale."

"Oh, Doctor, aren't we all?" River smirked, "I'll see you there."

"I look forward to it."

"I remember it well."

"Bye, River." Amy spoke up

"See you, Amy." River replied, "You too, Chelsea. Take care, now."

"And you." Chelsea nodded, "Nice meeting you."

Just then, River's handcuffs beeped. "Oh, I think that's my ride."

"Can I trust you, River Song?" the Doctor asked

"If you like, but where's the fun in that?" River laughed, then teleported away with the remaining clerics.

Once she was gone, the Doctor turned and looked out at the sea, contemplating the day's events and revelations. "What're you thinking?" Amy asked him

"Time can be rewritten." the Doctor murmured thoughtfully.

~8~

Presently, the trio returned to the TARDIS and the Doctor piloted the box back into the Time Vortex. "I want to go home." Amy spoke up

"Ok." the Doctor said quietly. It was always hard when a companion left, but he supposed he couldn't blame Amy after everything she'd been through today and he wouldn't be surprised if Chelsea left too, since she didn't seem too particularly keen to be here.

Amy realised what the Doctor thought she meant so she clarified; "No, not like that. I just... I just want to show you something. You're running from River. I'm running from too."

~8~

As soon as the TARDIS had landed in Amy's bedroom in Leadworth, Chelsea went to her room to get changed, her current clothes looking somewhat worse for the wear after her tumble in the forest. The Doctor and Amy meanwhile sat on the bed looking at Amy's wedding dress, which was hanging proudly on the wardrobe door. "Well..." the Doctor remarked

"Yeah." Amy nodded

"Blimey!"

"I know. This is the same night we left, yeah?"

The Doctor checked his watch. "We've been gone five minutes." he confirmed, glad that the TARDIS had co-operated for once and taken them back in the right time.

Amy picked up the ring box from the bedside table and opened it. "I'm getting married in the morning."

"Why did you leave it here?" the Doctor questioned, wandering why Amy hadn't mentioned any of this before. Her own wedding wasn't exactly something she could forget.

"Why did I leave my engagement ring when I ran away with a strange man the night before my wedding?" Amy said rhetorically

"And Chelsea. Don't forget she's been with us too." the Doctor said, not realising what Amy was implying.

"You really are an alien, aren't you?" Amy snorted

"Who's the lucky fella?"

"You've met him."

"Ah, the granny's boy or the other one?" he mimed a large nose

"The other one."

"Well, he was good too." the Doctor shrugged

"Thanks." Amy said, and leaned back on her bed in an obviously flirty pose. "So, d'you comfort a lot of people on the night before their wedding?"

"Why would you need comforting?"

"I nearly died. I was alone in the dark and I nearly died. And it made me think."

"Well, yes, natural. I think sometimes. Well, lots of times."

"About what I want." Amy cut in, "About who I want. You know what I mean?"

"Yeah... no."

"About who I want."

"Oh, right, yeah... no, still not getting it."

"Doctor, in a word, in one very simple word even you can understand..." Amy promptly launched herself at the Doctor, trying to kiss him.

The Doctor leapt to his feet and backed up against the TARDIS. "You're getting married in the morning!" he spluttered

"The morning's a long time away." Amy purred, pressing up against him, "What're we gonna do about that?" She tried to undo his braces.

"Listen to me." the Doctor protested, swatting her hands away, "I'm 906 years old. Do you understand what that means?" He pushed Amy away and fixed his braces.

"It's been a while?"

"No, no, no! I'm 906, and look at me. I don't get old, I just change. You get older, I don't! And this can't ever work!"

But Amy just wouldn't take a hint. "Oh, you are sweet, Doctor. But I wasn't suggesting anything quite so... long term." And with that, she was able to plant a kiss on the Doctor's lips.

"AMY!" a voice yelled, and Amy immediately backed off to see a very angry-looking Chelsea standing in the doorway.

"It-it isn't what it looks like." Amy blustered, realising that she'd been rumbled.

"Then what is it?" Chelsea glowered, looking pretty intimidating despite her 5'4 stature and usually passive nature. "It looks like you're trying to shag another man the night before your wedding. What the hell is wrong with you, you f***ing slag?!"

Amy winced at her cousin's language. "It wasn't like that." she tried to defend her indefensible actions, "I was scared, ok? I needed comforting."

"Since when did comforting mean trying to rape a man we hardly know?!" Chelsea snapped back, "Ya know what, I'm calling Rory. He deserves to know about this." And she pulled out her phone which she'd retrieved from her room while getting changed.

"Oh, Chels, no." Amy protested, "It'll break his heart."

"Huh, you didn't seem too bothered about that a few seconds ago." Chelsea retorted

"Alright, girls, let's just all calm down." the Doctor tried to defuse the awkward situation

"You stay out of this!" Chelsea snapped at him, "If you hadn't shown up again this wouldn't have happened!" She turned to Amy. "I don't believe you. The second I turn my back you're all over the Doctor! You're supposed to be getting married in the morning!"

"In the morning?" the Doctor muttered, having a sudden realisation,

"Doctor?" Amy questioned, glad of the distraction from her furious cousin's ranting.

"It's you. It's all about you. Everything. It's about you."

"What the hell are ya talking about?!" Chelsea growled

"Amy Pond, Chelsea Willows, I don't know why, I have no idea, but quite possibly the single most important thing in the history of the universe is that I get both of you sorted out right now." the Doctor said at warp speed.

"What?!" Chelsea spluttered

"Come on." the Doctor said, opening the TARDIS door and ushering Amy inside. Chelsea stepped in after, still glaring furiously at the both of them. The Doctor glanced back at the clock on the bedside table as it changed from 11:59 25/06/2010 to 0:00 26/06/2010. He swallowed hard, remembering the moment on the Byzantium when he'd found out when the explosion that caused the cracks took place.

o0o

"And for those of us who can't read the base code of the universe?" River asked the Doctor, who was looking at River's computer pad.

"Amy and Chelsea's time." the Doctor said ominously as the pad showed the date 26/06/2010.

o0o

Chelsea was still seething as the Doctor joined them in the TARDIS. She promptly turned on her heel and walked off down the stairs. "Where're you going?" Amy asked her cautiously

"Away from you." Chelsea shot back, "Good f***ing night!" And she disappeared towards the bedroom the TARDIS had provided for her.

Author's notes: And here's another chapter done. This might be my most profane work yet! Still, this chapter gives Chelsea her biggest role so far, as Amy being rendered blind means that Chelsea gets to do most of the talking. It took some head-scratching to work out how to do the scene with the future Doctor, as Chelsea would be able to see that he's wearing his jacket, but I found a way round that problem. So, this chapter ended on quite a sour note, so stay tuned to see if the cousins can resolve their falling out! See ya soon!