It takes another century for Carlyle and Ashildr to get round to it and decide to get married, officially making the latter Kathy's daughter.
It is within the first half of the 14th century when the Black Death arrives in Europe while they are living in France. Carlyle and Ashildr have three children: Essie, Jean and Rue (their names reflecting the country of their birth). They were unexpected Ashildr had believed she had not wanted children but then she realised how much she loved her daughter. Kathy hoped that as Ashildr's children are not fully human this time round, maybe they would survive but this is lost as while Kathy and Carlyle don't get sick at all and Ashildr does but survives, Kathy's grandchildren do not.
When they fell ill, Kathy soon realised that they did not have all the same genetics that she and Carlyle did when they don't heal the way her and Carlyle do. Even though they have the second Mire medical kit, they ultimately decide not to use it on either of them.
Kathy then Carlyle both individually had a human parent making them partly human, Carlyle more so, as well as Ashildr's human genetics, the children were too human and not enough time Lord or Apalapucia. Ashildr tells Kathy that she will keep this in her diary detailing the loss to remind her to never have any more offspring.
—
It is not long after that Kathy meets someone new.
"Hi, honey." Kathy spins around in her home that she is currently living in Italy. River stands there in a stretchy black outfit and clutches a rolled up piece of paper. Is this the Pandorica/big bang?
"Uuhh hi? River?" Kathy says cautiously. She hadn't met the woman before so she doesn't know how to react.
River smirks softly. "I see your confused. I'm right in thinking this is the first time you're meeting me."
"Yes." Kathy replies slightly relieved they are getting on with it.
"So you already know a lot about who I am already." River says.
"Yeah but probably not everything. I don't know anything about the relationship between us." Kathy wonders how much her presence has changed things but from what River is implying, what she saw in the show holds true and Amy and Rory are still her parents.
"You're right. But I can't tell you anything you don't know." Kathy feels annoyed by her answer but understands.
"Spoilers?"
"Yes."
"How did you know to come to this point in my timeline?" Kathy asks her.
"You told me I do." River tells her smirking.
Kathy rolls her eyes. "Of course I did. Another thing to add to the list."
Carlyle walks in. "Mom who's this?" He asks noticing
"River song." Kathy tells him. "I think I mentioned that she might turn up." She had told him all about her foreknowledge.
"Oh right." He walks up to River holding out his hand. "Carlyle.
River shakes it. "I know."
Kathy snorts. Of course she does. "You should go back to Ashildr, she still needs you."
Carlyle nods. "Right yes. I'm assuming you're leaving for a bit."
"Seems so if River explains."
"Right. Goodbye mom, nice meeting you River." Carlyle turns to leave.
"Nice seeing you again." River winks.
He goes and Kathy turns to her. "How did you get here? Are you in prison currently?"
River smirks. "Yes but I got out then bought a vortex manipulator." She lifts her arm showing it. Kathy raises an eyebrow wondering how she did that.
"Churchill had informed me of a painting by Vincent Van Gough that is a message to the Doctor so I broke out of prison and broke into the royal collection in 5145 and Liz 10 allowed me to take the painting." River explains, showing Kathy the painting by spreading it out on the table. Kathy wonders if she'll meet any of these three historical figures though she knows for certain that she's right about which episodes this is.
"You really need to stop being so illegal." Kathy reprimands her she analyses the painting of the exploding TARDIS. It is somewhat unnerving.
"I wonder who I learnt that from." River remarks. Did she mean Kathy?
Kathy shakes her head. "We need to get the Doctor there." The explosion will and is happening. Getting the Doctor to the right place will save everything.
—
They cannot get hold of the doctor so Kathy makes the decision to deface the oldest cliff face on the oldest planet in the universe – planet one. Really she was being a hypocrite for telling River off for illegal activities then Kathy pulls her into graffitiing.
In large letters, it reads "HELLO SWEETIE" with ΘΣ meaning Theta Sigma, the Doctor's nickname, and ΦΓΥΔζ as the co-ordinates at the bottom.
They travel to the correct time 102 AD/CE England and set up camp with a Roman Legion though Kathy knows they are Autons. River uses her lipstick to convince them that she is Cleopatra VII and her sister, the future Arsinoë IV.
—
They had reports that the Doctor had arrived with Amy so they sent a hypnotised soldier to go and take him to their tent.
The Eleventh Doctor, younger than the one she had previously met, walks into the tent with Amy behind him to see River, dressed as Cleopatra, and Kathy, dressed as Arsinoë, being waited on by two servants.
"Hello, sweetie." River greets. Kathy does a little wave trying to cover up how excited she is to meet Amy.
"Kathy! River! Hi." Amy utters in surprise.
"You graffitied the oldest cliff-face in the universe." The Doctor reprimands them.
"You wouldn't answer your phone." Kathy counters.
River claps her hands and the servants leave. She then holds out the scrolled canvas.
"What's this?" The Doctor asks.
"It's a painting. Your friend Vincent." The Doctor snatches the painting and begins to unroll it.
Kathy stands with River following. "One of his final works." The Doctor spreads it out on a table and they all gather to look. "He had visions, didn't he? I thought you ought to know about this one."
They examine the painting.
"Doctor? Doctor, what is this?" Amy questions. "Why's it exploding?"
"It's a warning." Kathy replies. The Doctor sits down, his thoughts heavy.
"Something's going to happen to the TARDIS?"
"It might not be that literal." River says though Kathy knows that is not true. "Anyway this is where he wanted you. Date and map reference on the door sign, see?"
"Does it have a title?" The Doctor asks.
"The Pandorica Opens."
"The Pandorica? What is it?" Amy asks.
"A box. A cage. A prison. It was built to contain the most feared thing in all the universe." Kathy explains to her.
The Doctor paces. "And it's a fairy tale, a legend. It can't be real."
"It is real, it's here and it's opening." Kathy tells him. "And it's got something to do with your TARDIS exploding." The Doctor pulls out local maps.
"Hidden, obviously. Buried for centuries. You won't find it on a map." River tells him.
"No. But if you buried the most dangerous thing in the universe, you'd want to remember where you put it." The Doctor says.
—
They are riding on horses to the Salisbury Plain to Stonehenge. River and Kathy have changed into something a little more "modern".
"Come on. YA!" The Doctor yells.
They run inside. The Doctor uses the sonic screwdriver on some of the stones lying on the ground. River takes out a scanner and types in some information while Kathy uses hers to scan the area. River had given the scanner to her saying that Kathy herself had told her to.
"How come it's not new?" Amy asks.
"Because it's already old. Been here thousands of years. No-one knows exactly how long." Kathy explains.
"OK, this Pandorica thing. Last time we saw the two of you, you warned us about it, after we climbed out of the Byzantium." Amy tells them.
"Spoilers!" River puts a finger to her lips.
"No, but you both told the Doctor you'd see him again when the Pandorica opens." Amy insists.
"Maybe we did. But we haven't yet. But we will have." Kathy says before calling out to the Doctor. "Doctor, I'm picking up fry particles everywhere." River had given her a rundown of how to use it plus she had been doing a bunch of reading since she last saw the Doctor from books in the TARDIS.
"Energy weapons discharged on this site." River adds.
The Doctor stands on a large stone in the centre. "If the Pandorica is here, it contains the mightiest warrior in history. Now, half the galaxy would want a piece of that. Maybe even fight over it." He jumps off the stone and puts an ear to it. "We need to get down there."
—
It is night time by the time they are ready. River places a device on the corner of the large stone. They had placed large standing lights placed around the area.
River walks over to the Doctor and Kathy. "Right then. Ready." River presses a button on her scanner and the rock slides to the side revealing stone steps underneath. The Doctor steps forward as River takes a torch from her pocket and switches it on.
"The underhenge." He mutters. The Doctor takes out his sonic screwdriver and uses it as a torch as they enter.
The Doctor steps out of a narrow passage and uses the screwdriver to light a torch. Kathy goes to the opposite wall and brings a torch over to light it. The Doctor lifts a large board that was acting as a lock across a huge set of doors. With a nod and a smile to River, they push open the doors and find themselves in a cavernous room. In the centre stands a large box with an intricate circular pattern on each side.
"It's the Pandorica." The Doctor utters.
"More than just a fairy tale." River adds.
The Doctor walks forward and steps on something, He looks down to see the arm of a Cyberman. Kathy's eyes flicker around as she knows there is a Cyberman sentry somewhere. The Doctor continues towards the Pandorica and places a hand on it.
"There was a goblin, or a trickster, or a warrior. A nameless, terrible thing, soaked in the blood of a billion galaxies. The most feared being in all the cosmos. And nothing could stop it, or hold it, or reason with it. One day it would just drop out of the sky and tear down your world." The Doctor says as he feels the outer shell of the Pandorica. Kathy winces knowing that the Pandorica story is actually referring to him, it's for him.
"How did it end up in there?" Amy asks.
"You know fairy tales. A good wizard tricked it." The Doctor walks around to the other side of the Pandorica as Kathy hands Amy her torch as she and River take out their scanners.
"I hate good wizards in fairy tales. They always turn out to be him." River complains.
Amy looks around. "So it's kind of like Pandora's Box, then? Almost the same name."
"Sorry, what?" The Doctor calls.
"The story. Pandora's Box, with all the worst things in the world in it." The Doctor puts his torch in a holder then uses the screwdriver on the Pandorica. "That was my favourite book when I was a kid." The Doctor stops and walks over to Amy, a concerned look on his face. "What's wrong?"
"Your favourite school topic, your favourite story. Never ignore a coincidence, unless you're busy. In which case, always ignore a coincidence." The Doctor walks back to Pandorica.
"Yeah I don't think that's wise." Kathy remarks. She looks at Amy worriedly.
"Busy." The Doctor replies.
"So can you open it?" River asks.
"Easily." The Doctor answers. "Anyone can break INTO a prison, but I'd rather know what I'm going to find first."
Kathy looks at her scanner. "We're not going to have to wait long cause it's already opening. There are layers and layers of security protocols in there, and they're being disabled, one by one. Like it's being unlocked from the inside." She places the scanner on the Pandorica.
"How long do we have?" The Doctor asks.
"Hours at the most." River reads from her scanner.
"What kind of security?"
"A bunch." Kathy answers. "Deadlocks, time-stops, matter-lines."
"What could need all that?"
"What could get past all that?" Rivet counters.
"Think of the fear that went into making this box. What could inspire that level of fear?" The Doctor rambles. "Hello, you. Have we met?"
"So why would it start to open now?" River asks.
"No idea. Any hints Kathy?"
"Maybe think about why the signal is being sent out and who can hear it." She replies.
"Hmm good point cause how could Vincent have known about it? He won't even be born for centuries." Amy suggests.
The Doctor takes out the sonic screwdriver once again and uses them on the stone pillars. "The stones! These stones are great big transmitters, broadcasting a warning to everyone, everywhere, to every time zone. The Pandorica is opening!"
"Doctor...everyone, everywhere?" River asks.
"Even poor Vincent heard it in his dreams. What's in there, what could justify all this?" The Doctor ignores her as he rambles.
"Doctor, everyone?"
"Anything that powerful, I'd know about it. Why don't I know?" The Doctor complains.
"Doctor!" Kathy shouts getting his attention. "You said everyone could hear it. So you have to think, who else is coming?"
"Oh."
"Oh? Oh, what?" Amy questions not getting it.
"Of course." River presses her scanner against a pillar. "OK, if it is basically a transmitter, we should be able to fold back the signal."
"Doing it." The Doctor uses his sonic on all pillars.
"Doing what?" Amy asks.
"The Stonehenge is transmitting, for a while...so who heard?" Kathy explains to her.
"OK, should be feeding back to you now. River, what's out there? Getting anything?" The Doctor calls.
"Give her a moment." Kathy tells him.
"River, quickly, anything?"
River looks at her scanner stunned. "Around this planet, there are at least 10,000 starships."
"At least?" Amy gapes.
"10,000, 100,000, 1 million, I don't know. There's too many readings."
"What kind of starships?" The Doctor asks.
A Dalek transmission comes through. "Maintaining orbit."
"I obey. Shield cover compromised on ion sectors."
"Daleks. Those are Daleks." Amy says.
"Scan detects no temporal activity."
"Soft grid scan commencing."
"Reverse thrust for compensatory stabilisation."
"Daleks, Doctor." Kathy says. She's scared as she hasn't met any Daleks yet or any of the other aliens that have arrived to defeat the Doctor.
"Launch preliminary armaments protocol."
"Yes, OK. OK, OK, OK." The Doctor paces. "Dalek fleet. Minimum, 12,000 battleships, armed to the teeth. But we've got surprise on our side! They'll never expect three people to attack 12,000 Dalek battleships, 'cos we'd be killed instantly. So it would be a fairly short surprise. Forget surprise."
"Doctor, Cyber-ships." River announces.
"No, Dalek ships, listen to them, those are Dalek ships." The Doctor insists.
"Yes. Dalek ships AND Cyber-ships." Kathy adds.
"Well, we need to start a fight, turn them on each other. It's the Daleks... they're SO cross..."
"Sontaran. Four battle-fleets." River reads.
"Sontarans! Talk about cross, who stole all their handbags?" The Doctor exclaims.
River continues reading from the scanner. "Terileptil. Slitheen. Chelonian. Nestene. Drahvin. Sycorax. Haemo-goth. Zygon. Atraxi. Draconian. They're all here. For the Pandorica."
The Doctor turns to the Pandorica. "What are you?"
The ground begins to shake and the Doctor runs to the stairs, Kathy, River and Amy following. They look up to the sky and see lights from a number of ships flying above them.
"What do we do?" Amy asks.
"Doctor, listen to me! Everything that ever hated you is coming here tonight. You can't win this. You can't even fight it. Doctor, this once, just this one time, please, you have to run." River cries.
"Run where?"
"Fight how?" River counters.
The Doctor takes out binoculars and looks back the way they came. "The greatest military machine in the history of the universe."
"What is? The Daleks? " Amy asks.
"No!" Kathy cries as cheerfully as she can. "The Romans!" The Doctor snaps his fingers in her direction gleefully.
—
Kathy decides to join River in her recruiting. They ride back to the Roman encampment. However, their way into the tent is blocked by two guards.
Once inside, they are being guarded by two soldiers as the commander paces.
"So, I return to my command after one week and discover we've been playing host to Cleopatra and Arsinoë. Who are Egypt. And dead!" The commander exclaims.
"Yeah funny that but I can tell you that had nothing to do with us." Kathy remarks. The ground shakes again as a ship flies overhead.
"The sky is falling, and you make jokes. Who are you?" The commander demands.
"When you fight Barbarians, what must they think of you?" River asks instead of answering.
"Oh, riddles now?"
"Where do they think you come from?"
The commander draws his sword. "A place more deadly and more powerful and more impatient than their tiny minds can imagine."
River pulls out her disintegrator gun and uses it on a cabinet. The commander and guards are stunned and point their weapons at Kathy and River.
"Where do we come from? Your world has visitors. You're all Barbarians now." River declares.
"What is that? Tell me, what?" The commander questions.
"A fool would say, the work of the gods. But you've been a soldier too long to believe there are gods watching over us." River tells him.
"There is, however, a man." Kathy says. "And tonight he's going to need your help."
"Sir?" A voice calls from the entrance to the tent. Rory. Well, plastic Rory but Rory all the same.
"One moment." The commander goes to the entrance to the tent where he holds a whispered conversation with Rory whose face is in shadow. They turn to look at Kathy and River. "Well, it seems you have a volunteer."
—
She doesn't get an option to talk to Rory as he is soon leaving with 50 volunteers to go to the Doctor and Amy.
Kathy stays with River. Maybe she can help, protect her. She knows she can't stop the explosion. She's glad she made this decision as she wouldn't have been able to get out of Stonehenge judging by the ship's surrounding it with their beams of light on it.
Kathy and River watch from a distance on horseback.
River calls the Doctor on her communicator. "You're surrounded. Have you got a plan?"
"Yes! Now hurry up and get the TARDIS here. I need equipment!" The Doctor rudely yells.
River rolls her eyes and rides off with Kathy sniggering behind her. They enter the TARDIS and immediately go about setting the coordinates to take it to the Doctor. It's great how they automatically work well with one another.
"OK..." River pulls the lever and the TARDIS dematerialises with a jolt.
"What's the matter with you?" Kathy questions. Though she kind of knows so she doesn't know why she asked.
The TARDIS continues not behaving for them. River and Kathy take turns in trying to correct her but it doesn't seem to work.
"What are you doing, what's wrong?" River asks.
"Hold on let me…" Kathy tries as they make another attempt at trying to get back on track. Then the TARDIS stops with a jolt.
"OK? You OK now?" Kathy asks but doesn't get a response.
The monitor acts up and River whacks it a few times before leaving. Kathy glances back knowing the monitor will show the location as Earth and the date as 26/6/2010. The moment of the explosion.
—
"She's brought us to Amy's house." Kathy fearfully mutters. She hoped it wouldn't but the explosion seems inevitable. She honestly doesn't know why she tried. Maybe she should've stayed with Amy, the Doctor and Rory?
River holds out her scanner and Kathy holds a torch as they slowly walk towards the door. The scanner begins to beep and Kathy sees alien symbols burned into the grass.
"OK, so something's been here." River murmurs.
"Seems so." Kathy turns to see the door is off its hinges. They share a look before they proceed carefully into the house.
They proceed up the stairs to Amy's room with River's scanner beeping. Kathy sees Amy's childhood "Raggedy Doctor" dolls and- oh my god. Kathy picks up a doll that seems to have her hair colour and skin but is dressed in Tudor clothing but torn. Is this her?
"Amy... Oh, Doctor, why do I let you out?" River asks herself.
"Mmmh…" Kathy hums. She then sees a children's book on Roman Britain, a soldier featuring prominently on the cover, the commander. "Look." She hands it out for River to look.
River then sees a book on Pandora's Box. Amy's favourite book as a child.
"Oh no... Kathy am I right in thinking this is a trap?" River questions.
"Yes. I'm afraid so. I thought we could stop it." Kathy replies sadly.
"We can still try." River declares and they run out of the room.
—
"The TARDIS, where is it? Hurry up!" The Doctor says through the communicator.
"Don't raise your voice, don't look alarmed, just listen." River replies.
"Somethings been here. To Amy's house. And something is going on with the Romans." Kathy quickly explains.
River follows. "They're not real, they can't be. They're all right here in the story book," she flips through Amy's book, "those actual Romans, the ones we sent you, the ones you're with right now. They're all in a book in Amy's house, a children's picture book."
"What are you even doing there?" The Doctor asks.
"The TARDIS brought us here for a reason. I think it's connected but something else is going on." Kathy tells him.
"Doctor, how is this possible?" River asks.
"Something's using her memories, Amy's memories." The Doctor replies.
"But how?"
"You said something had been there." The Doctor says.
"That's what burn marks on the grass outside, the landing patterns, say." Kathy says.
"If they've been to her house, they could have used her psychic residue. Structures can hold memories, that's why houses have ghosts. They could've taken a snapshot of Amy's memories. But why?" The Doctor thinks out loud.
"Who are those Romans?" River asks.
"Projections. Or duplicates." The Doctor lists.
"Autons." Kathy adds.
"But they were helping us. My lipstick even worked." River insists.
"They might think they're real. The perfect disguise. They actually believe their own cover story, right until they're activated." The Doctor argues.
"Doctor, that Centurion..." River holds up a photo of Rory and Amy. Rory is dressed as a Roman soldier.
It wasn't wrong not stopping this though Kathy doesn't know how she could've. Kathy being too afraid to change things massively, going down a certain route gives her certainty that everything will turn out okay.
"It's a trap, it has to be. They used Amy to construct a scenario you'd believe, to get close to you." River says.
"Why? Who'd do that? What for? It doesn't make sense." The Doctor says.
Kathy goes to answer him but the console sparks and the TARDIS shudders.
"River? Kathy? What's happening?!"
"It's the engines. Doctor, there's something wrong with the TARDIS, something else is controlling her." River says.
"You're flying it wrong."
"We're flying it perfectly. The TARDIS taught us." Kathy cries irritably.
"Where are you? What's the date reading?" The Doctor asks rapidly. They check the monitor.
"It's the 26th June, 2010." Kathy says. This confirms it. She immediately tries to get out. Why did she linger so long?
"You need to get out of there now! Any other time zone, just go." The Doctor orders. They try but it doesn't work.
"We can't break free." River replies.
"Well, then, shut down the TARDIS. Shut down everything!" The Doctor orders.
"Didn't you hear, we can't!" Kathy retorts. She flicks multiple switches.
Then she hears a voice. "Silence will fall. Silence will fall." Okay, that's creepy.
"Someone else is flying it. An external force. We've lost control." River tells him after more tries.
"But how? Why?"
Kathy honestly can't remember what was causing the TARDIS to explode but that it just did. There is then a high-pitched whine. The Autons are activating.
"Listen to me, just land her anywhere. Emergency landing, now." The Doctor orders. "There are cracks in time, I've seen them everywhere, and they're getting wider. The TARDIS exploding is what causes them, but we can stop the cracks ever happening if you just land her!"
"It's not safe." River tells him.
"Well, now. Ready to come out, are we?" The Doctor says faintly meaning he's lowered the communicator but also the prison is now opening.
Sparks are flying as Kathy and River attempt an emergency landing, which eventually works.
"Doctor, we're down. We've landed." Kathy tells him.
"OK, just walk out of the doors." He sounds like he's holding the communicator closer again. "If there's no-one inside, the TARDIS engines shut down. Just get out of there."
"We're going." River says.
"Run!"
They run to the TARDIS door. Kathy tries to open the TARDIS door but it won't budge. She grunts in frustration and they run back to the communicator.
"Doctor! Doctor! We can't open the doors!" River cries.
All they hear is the Doctor yelling, "Amy!"
"Doctor, we can't open the doors! Doctor, please, we've got seconds!" River cries into the communicator but there's no response and Kathy can't hear what's being said at the other but she knows that they've got him now.
"River, River!" Kathy cries getting the woman's attention and placing her hands on her cheeks to hold her. "It's okay we'll be okay! The TARDIS will protect us but that doesn't mean we can't try."
Kathy doesn't understand it as she has only just met the woman, but she feels a stronger draw to her than any others from the Doctor who world. It's as if the universe is trying to tell her something.
River nods and they immediately get back to work. Kathy connects the wires as the TARDIS continues to spark and explode. River opens the doors to the TARDIS only to be met by a stone wall.
"I'm sorry, my love." River looks back over her shoulder, to Kathy, who stands in the steps, as the console explodes with a bright light.