Ch 107

River landed, scraping her arms and legs and hitting her head against the wall. She didn't pause for breath as she jumped to her feet and tried the door. The door was already locked behind her, not budging.

The room seemed just as large as the last but it was hard to tell in the dark. Unlike the last room, this one had a few tiny, low windows. None of them were big enough to climb out of, but they revealed what a appeared to be a space station the size of a city. Whatever building she was in was extremely high up with nothing on the outside to climb down with.

"Now would be a great time for you to show up, Doctor." She muttered under her breath, looking for another way out.

"I'm not the Doctor," came a voice from somewhere in the room. "But I'm the next best thing."

River jumped, completely unaware of the other person until now. She squinted her eyes in the darkness, "Who's there?"

"There's a joke to be made somewhere about talking to yourself," said the voice slowly. A woman stepped into the dim starlight from the window, a woman who looked and sounded exactly like River Song. "But I'm not in a joking mood."

"Neither am I." River looked the woman up and down. "How did you get here?"

"Thrown in for trying to fight, just like you." The other River sighed and crossed her arms. She had scarring wounds all over her body identical to the ones that the Doctor had healed when River had made her way back to the TARDIS after being abducted.

"Right... Um… We need to get out." River didn't have the energy the question the situation too much, just wanting to get on with it. "So: plan. Clearly, the window isn't an option. There are some stones loose in the walls. Any other observations from someone who's been here longer?"

"Those stones are loose because of me. I thought I was... I thought I was the original. The kids—I had to..." The other River shook her head, taking a breath. "When I realized what I was, I started walking." She pointed at the darkness of the room. "I walked for hours. I think? Time isn't right here and this place is so big. I wound up back here but I don't remember turning, just going straight. I tried again, a lot, but always the same result. I think there's something living back there. Something that messing with your head."

"What do you mean, you thought you were the original?" She frowned, "And what about the kids? My- I mean, our kids?"

"I miss them. I want them to be safe, I wanted to get back to them so badly but when I realized I wasn't you... I feel and know all that you do, but I'm not their mother. Not their real one anyways." The other River tried to keep the pain out of her voice. "You saw those chambers a floor down, I presume?"

"Yes, I did." She nodded, "But you..." she looked over the injuries again, "You feel everything they do to me..."

"Not exactly. We split sometime after they tortured us but before you escaped so I still had the injuries. Don't you remember?"

"No, I don't remember anything." She shook her head, "I...when I got back the Doctor had to use his regeneration energy on me."

"That would explain why you don't have these." The clone gestured to some of her scars. "I don't know how I'm alive. I think they put me in that liquid for a while. It's some sort of preservation fluid. And all those tubes on all those people, they lead up to this room."

"Have you been able to figure anything else out? Do you know what they're planning?"

"I have a few hunches and a lot more questions. Like what are those tubes feeding? And why put us in here? They were chanting "punish", am I right? They were for me."

"Yes, they were. I thought they were being dramatic. The tubes... I haven't quite figured out yet..."

"Why would a big empty room be a punishment for us? If they wanted to kill us they would just do it. Theory number one: this room isn't empty. And whatever is in here is what those tubes are feeding." The other River looked to the darkness of the room. "Something big and alive maybe. I couldn't get past the time distortions but, together we might have enough psychic power to make it through?"

"It does hurt to try it." River nodded, "But we both need to concentrate, don't give in to any distractions, no matter how real they feel."

The other RIver nodded in agreement and offered a hand out to River. River took the hand, closing her eyes to concentrate.

Their minds reached out to each other, meeting in a synchronization neither of them had quite felt before. Syncing with the Doctor wasn't difficult, but there were still the occasional rough bits. Syncing with what was essentially herself was familiar and completely new at the same time. They easily submitted to the sync, the two melding as one before reaching out to the darkness.

The other River led them forward, mostly knowing the way to go. The temporal disturbance may have been disorienting, but it was also acting as a landing light for where to go.

They headed right for it.

The closer they got to the disturbance, the more resistance they began to feel. The other River was having troubling keeping focus. Pick a memory, I need something to concentrate on.

River focused in on the first memory that came to mind; She could feel the warmth of the Doctor's body behind her, his arms wrapped around hers, helping to cradle a little baby in her arms. Felix slept soundly, only about a week old, as the Doctor hummed softly to him.

"Told you we could get him to sleep," the Doctor was saying.

"You're right." River smiled softly, watching the sleeping baby, "I don't know why I doubted you.."

He kissed her cheek."I can put him in his cot if you'd like."

"No, no, I want to stay like this for a bit. This is perfect." She hummed, closing her eyes and enjoying the sweet moment.

The other River clung the memory. I remember this. My sweet boy…

You need to focus so we can get back to him.

I miss him. I miss them all so much.

Use that energy to focus then. We have to get through this. River tried to push forward into the dark.

The distortion was quite strong now which meant they were close. It was hard to explain how time felt bent and fast and slow all at the same time. On top of that sensation was a low, warm hum almost like purring.

The Rivers could feel a headache coming on. The air was thick and she just wanted to stop, but she knew it was the distortion trying to distract her.

I think we're close. That hum... I've never heard it before.

I can feel the resistance getting stronger.

They were slowing down as they walked, trying to keep together. They focused on the thoughts of their children, pushing through the storm of distortion.

"River! River, stop!" What sounded like the Doctor's voice could suddenly be heard in the darkness. Both River's stopped in their tracks.

Did you hear that, too? Asked the other River.

Yes, is it really him?

I... I don't know. I've never made it this far before. It could be a trap. It's too dark to see anything!

"River! River, can you hear me?"

I don't know if he made it through with me or if he got left behind on Earth when I was taken.

What if it is him? What if he's hurt?

If it is him, he'll have a psychic imprint that can't be recreated. Remember when the kids got lost on that camping trip and how Freya found everyone?

Yes, I do. I can try and reach out to him, but it could risk weakening our connection.

Not if we try together.

Fine, but let me lead, River insisted. Our psychic imprints may not match, in which case he may not recognize that it's you.

.

Alright. Be careful.

River began to reach out towards where it felt like the noise was coming from, Sweetie?

There was silence for a long moment before two voice screamed in River's head. One sounded just like the Doctor and the other sounded like a beast in pain. RIVER!

River felt her body hit the floor, the pain searing through her skull.

"River!" Both the voices in her head and her copy next to her were calling her name. River groaned, her head aching.

The Doctor's voice rose over the other's in desperate attempt to reach her. "River, I'm here!"

Doctor? Where are you?

In the... In the distortion. His voice sounded weaker by the second. There's a... thing here. A creature. Not them. They're building... it.

Are you alright!? Are you hurt?

Building it... building me... The voice of the new creature and the voice of the Doctor started to blend together with each word. Creation... weapon... using our biology... weapon.

No...no, no, no... River tried to stand.

The other River helped her to her feet. "Did I hear that right? They're building something alive and using him?"

"Yes, we have to get to him! We have to stop them!" Her mind shot out into the darkness again, desperate to get to her husband. A wave of telepathic energy split through the darkness, the will of Rivers' determinations fighting full force.

For a moment, a mental map made itself apparent to River, showing the creature bigger almost as big as the room itself just a few meters ahead. It seemed to be the cause of the temporal issues and somewhere inside it, the Doctor's mind was calling out.

River immediately shared the map with her counterpart before running in the direction of the creature, "Fine the tubes and destroy them!"

The other River gave nod and ran to do her part.

Doctor, Sweetie, just concentrate on me. Focus on this memory. She pushed a memory out towards him as she ran, trying to help him. The memory was of their wedding anniversary when River has told the Doctor she was pregnant with Terra. It had been a day of nothing but joy and dancing.

River stopped when she was right in front of the creature, taking a deep breath and slamming into it. The thing let out its purr-like-humm again but didn't seem too bothered by River. Its skin didn't have any fur and was soft to the touch.

Doctor, I need you to help me. Tell me where you are.

The only response was of the creature growling in her head. Me... I am... I am... This is... I am...me...

River attacked the creature once again, this time yanking out a tube that was connected to its arm. It howled and began to rise, the whole room shaking with its movement.

What was probably its head swiveled around to look at River. Its eyes were as big as her and there were over a dozen of them on its face, each one gleaming and black. Where it's mouth would have been was the Doctor. He seemed unconscious, attached to the thing with tissues and tendons.

"Doctor!" She shouted, trying to yank on another tube.

The creature grabbed at her with an arm that ended in a gnarled hand. It lifted her up to the Doctor's level, holding her tightly so she couldn't wiggle away.

"Doctor!" She tried to reach out to him, "Doctor, please..."

He opened his eyes as the creature closed its. His eyes were black as well, though he was suddenly trying to struggle free.

"I'm going to get you out. It's going to be alright." She breathed, touching his cheek, trying to project herself into his mind. He stopped struggling at her touch, his eye fading back to their normal color.

I'm here, everything will be alright. I'll get you out and we'll have that snog I promised, She tried to joke.

Hurts... He moaned. Can't... move. It's hacking me. It's taking me over.

Don't let it. Focus on me. Think about me. She looked him over again, trying to find the central connection between him and the creature.

He reached for her, but the point of attachments held him back. There were dozens of them but the biggest junctions were around his head and neck.

Suddenly, River had an idea. She wrapped her hands around the thickest junction, Doctor, I need you to use your respiratory bypass system. Remember when you were teaching Amelia and Freya how to swim? You'd go underwater and show off how long you could hold your breath for and slow down your heart rates. If the Doctor's vitals appeared to be failing, the creature might let him go and look for the next best option, which was her.

He tried to do as she said and triggered his respiratory bypass.

That's it. Good job. She focused her energy on the tendon she was holding onto now, trying to radiate her power and strength, baiting the creature. The tendon snapped and the creature screeched.

A shout from below indicated that the other River was almost through with the tubing.

The Doctor's arm freed and he reached for his wife. She ripped out the next biggest tendon, watching the Doctor get free only making her work harder.

"River..." he groaned. "You have to... you have to get down. It'll take you."

"You need to get out first." She shook her head, snapping another tendon. She could feel something creeping in the back of her mind, tickling her thoughts.

The Doctor's arms slowly came free. He used the extra leverage to his advantage, trying to help free himself, though the disconnection was painful.

"River!" came a shout from below. "I've done all the tubes. Did you find him?"

"Yes! I've got him!" She shouted back, working on another tendon, the tickling starting to cloud her thoughts.

"I see you! Wait, what are you doing? River, it's getting you, you have to get down!"

River couldn't respond, her vision going dark, she could feel the thing taking over her thoughts, filling her mind with darkness.

The other River started climbing up the creature's side to get to them.

Voices from the creature filled River's mind. At first, it was all one roar but soon individual voices could be made out, each one different. It hurt. It hurt so much. The voices pushed on her head, drowning out everything else, so many voices. Thousands of voices. She didn't notice the other River coming.

She couldn't see, couldn't feel, it was only the voices. Each one seemed to be shouting words. They overlapped and blended together, but somehow it was clear that the screams were names. Thousands of names of loved ones and family, thousands of screams to have them back. She wanted to scream too. People had been taken from her too. Her parents. Her children. Her husband. Her body was burning. Her mind screamed louder. Louder than the other voices, drowning them out.

Suddenly something was tearing out of her neck and the other River was above her, clinging for dear life as she ripped the tendril out.

River cried out in pain, clutching at the spot where the tendril has been. Blood spurted over the two of them, but the other River kept pulling, disconnecting every tendon she saw. "Not today, River."

River helped her try and disconnect, though it was painful. Once she was free, she looked between her husband and her other self, "We need to get out of here. We need to shut down the system."

"This thing won't last long without those tubes feeding it," the other Rive said. "Do you think you can climb down?"

"I think so." She nodded, looking to the Doctor, "Can you?"

"...Yes," he answered slowly, staring in bewilderment at the two near-identical copies of his wife.

"We'll explain later, let's go!l" River starred climbing down. The other River and the Doctor clambered after her, dodging limbs and tendrils that grabbed for them.

River grabbed her husband's hand once on the ground. The three of them ran as the beast screamed and clawed at the walls. It was disoriented and weak enough any efforts to go after them were fruitless.