Looking up was painful but she had to. She had to fight it, she had to prove that this was her body. She wouldn't let it take her over and force the Doctor to help it destroy everything. She would not do that.
Gasping with the pain and wincing from the pulsing agony that it was projecting through her body, Andy looked up into the amazed face of the Doctor.
"You're alright!" he sounded overjoyed at this prospect. Andy could barely think with the pain, but she knew enough that when he bounded forward she shouted,
"Don't!" that pulled him up short quickly, but he obviously didn't understand, "Are you bleeding?" she asked, trying to keep her body under control as it tried to force its way back into her body. Again, his expression indicated that he didn't understand. "One drop of blood, remember. It might not…ah," she whimpered as pain spiked through her, "It's trying…to get back through," A quick glance up at the Doctor's face brought the image of a stunned and terrified face. No real help there then.
"It's…still…" At his words Andy felt a small spike of anger, and that was all it needed. She screamed again as its presence consumed her.
"Did you honestly think it was that easy, Doctor? That this little brat," here it mentally gave Andy a kick in the ribs, as she clung for dear life to the chimney tower, determined that she wouldn't be sent back behind the opaque curtain, "could defeat me? I, who saw the swirls of colours that eventually formed into galaxies? I, who have more power than you could dream of Doctor! I, who…" As it had begun to relax into its taunting ways, she spotted the weakness and pounced. She drove herself back into her body, forcing the darkness back again.
"Get away!" she shrieked, when she had control of her mouth again, "Don't touch me. If it can't have me it'll take youuuuu!" It had tried to push back as she had finished speaking and the pain almost made her faint. She had to get away from the village, away from the Doctor. On stumbling legs and wincing with almost every step, Andy stood up, aware of gasps off to her right, but she was in too much pain to see who had made them. She tried to run, but could only manage a faltering hurried walk, nearly collapsing under the pain and having to use stones, trees and often the ground to support her. But each time she fell, her hands and often her knees registered a new pain, a different pain, a pain that had nothing to do with the entity that kept trying to force its way back through, a pain that was almost delightful in the face of the other crippling pain. And so she focused on that, trying to ground herself in her body, trying hard to keep from losing herself.
It was furious. With each step it fought to regain what it considered its rightful territory. Andy pushed it back with every ounce of will she had left, which didn't feel like much. It kept trying to whisper to her as well, trying to tempt her like it did before, trying to intimidate her when that failed. She continued pushing it away, continued ignoring it all.
Finally she couldn't take anymore. She had to rest or her mind was going to explode. She collapsed onto the ground, about half a mile from the village. It was only then that she noticed people had followed her. A group of men from the village, some of them armed with pitchforks and sticks, had followed at a distance. Closer to her, Matros stood staring at her with a peculiar mix of horror and concern on his face. She felt a small surge of love for the man she had hated for the last nine years. His eyes, though horrified, were clear of alcohol and yet he had chosen to follow her, even like this. And closest of all,
"I…told you…to stay away, Doctor," such was the pain of holding it back, she could barely get the words out.
"I won't leave you until it does." This simple sentence, and said with the utmost determination, had it so furious that, out of nowhere, it shot to the surface of her conscience.
"Then you will be my next host when I leave her body an empty shell. I will torture her mind and break her body until she is unrecognisable to any. I will watch as the winds and stones grind her into the dust that she is. I will survive long after this bitch is dead! And I shall survive in you!" Back behind the opaque curtain, although not by much, Andy fought back with her now conjured body, back to kicking and punching the curtain to let her through. Its anger was too strong, it was like trying to break through iron, but she pummelled at it all the same. Some connection must still have existed because she heard the Doctor say,
"No, you won't. And do you want to know why? Because she won't let you," it scoffed at this, but the Doctor continued, "You're supposed to be all powerful, the scariest thing alive, the deepest darkest being that's ever existed. Well, you're not," Andy wasn't sure in that moment which emotion registered highest, anger or disbelief, however she used it as the opportunity to slip through the curtain and began to climb the chimney tower again "I've seen things that would have even you terrified. I've seen monsters that were supposed to be undefeatable, fought people that had lost all humanity, even escaped the Devil. And I can tell you in this moment that I am still more afraid of them than I will ever be of you," This time anger was definitely prominent. Andy winced at the surge of loathing swept past her, but she clung to herself, willing her being through, "Because do you know what you are? You're an idea. That's all. An idea made manifest. Everything that's wrong with people, human beings, aliens, all of us, that's all you are. You are everything cruel and evil mixed into one and then, that was given a mind. But minds can be tricked, can't they? Of course they can, that's what you've based your entire existence on, being able to trick minds into giving you what you want. Well I'm here to tell you, that even although minds can create the most grotesque and horrid fantasies, the worst tortures, the ultimate weapons; they can also be full of such goodness, such kindness and such caring. They can create stories, music, paintings, love; everything that you can't do or make, they can. And guess which kind of mind you're inhabiting," Throughout this speech, although the pain grew with its anger, Andy had managed to get her conscience into such a position that she could leap forward and take control at any second. And she knew that the Doctor had been helping her do that, by stalling it and giving it something else to focus on. Then, utter agony, as it spoke, using her mouth,
"She was born weak. And the weak do not change." But there was some doubt in its words and Andy clung on tightly to where she was positioned, ready to take back her own body.
"You think she's weak! But even you know that isn't true. You've been in there for nine years, why hasn't Andy gone off her rocker and killed everybody yet? And why is it that the rock-falls only happen in the morning?" Suddenly Andy's mind sharpened. She had wondered that as well, but why was he asking it? There was silence as she thought. But no…surely not!
"It's because you couldn't take her over completely, could you? You can't access her powers at all, can you? That raw power, the power that makes her so great, the power that could tear this world in two, is just out of your reach. You can't absorb her because then she'd lose it, and then she'd be worthless to you. So you stayed in her body controlling what little amount of her power you could while she was sleeping, because that's when her mind was most vulnerable, to create the rock-falls. Giving her a purpose to stick around for, but ostracising her from the town so that she could still feel those feelings that give you your power. The perfect description of a parasite." Anger filled Andy's body, part of it hers, part of it not. But hers was much stronger.
"It was your fault," she screamed in her head, throwing every ounce of will at the entity, "It was your fault that I lived my life like that, your fault I lost everything I had to lose. YOU!" She came back into herself with a huge gasp, as her lungs began working again. She pulled her face up to look at the Doctor, letting him see her green eyes, know that it was her this time.
"It wasn't me?" she dared not believe it. He gave a small smile,
"No, Andy, it was never you." In relief she realised a sigh, but quickly the pain returned. Just because she was in control now, didn't mean that it had gone.
"It was bluffing," she said, just so that the Doctor knew for certain, "Only I can access my powers, it can't."
"I know. But listen, Andy, I can help you." The Doctor said, pulling up his shirt sleeve. Andy stared in complete bewilderment until he pulled out a knife,
"NO!" she screeched, jumping up and away from the Doctor, even as the entity soared forwards, trying to get in control.
"Andy, I've lived longer. I understand that it's just an idea. I can defeat it. I know I can."
"No, I won't let you," and suddenly she was running. Ignoring it, ignoring every impulse and wish to have the pain over with, to just let everything go. It didn't want to lose its chance so it buckled her knees. She cried out as she hit the ground, but looking up, she saw a dark space in front of her. In her rush from the village, she had gravitated towards the mountain. And in front of her was the cave. The cave she had entered nine years ago, called by a fragile voice that had cried for help, that had haunted her ever since. Where it began, and now she would end it. She forced her knees to hold her weight and walked towards it. It tried to stop her, but she fought it with every ounce of will she possessed. She heard voices behind her, but didn't look back until she was inside the cave entrance. The Doctor and Matros stood outside, both sets of eyes pleading with her not to do this. She lifted her hand in warning, Matros took the hint and stepped back, pulling the Doctor with him, as Andy brought a huge stone down over the entrance of the cave, effectively sealing herself, and it, inside.