They struggled to their feet. The certainly weren't on stone anymore. The surface beneath them was artificial.
"Keep looking up." The Doctor ordered as he helped Amy to her feet.
They looked up. "Where are we?" Amy asked.
"Exactly where we were. We jumped up." River said. She pulled Aderyn to her feet.
The Doctor tried to work around Aderyn. But it was impossible. He'd already told her twice to move her feet. But she had been too concerned with looking up. He lifted her up and moved her an inch or so away from where she had originally been stood.
"What am I looking at?" Amy asked.
"We're exactly where we were. Well, near enough. The power is still on so that means the artificial gravity is as well. He shot out the grav globe to provide an up draft." Aderyn said. Amy still looked confused. Aderyn sighed "basically we're currently stood on the hull of the Byzantium. We're technically upside down right now."
"You know, every now and then you sound a lot like the Doctor."
"Occupational hazard," Aderyn responded "They're starting to look more like Angels now Doctor."
"They're feeding on the radiation," The Doctor, who had been crouched down, stood up abruptly as a light on the hull exploded "They're draining the power. Everybody in." He'd opened a hatch that lead to what looked like a corridor."
Amy peered through the hatch "How?"
"Look it's very simple, the artificial gravity will orientate to the floor. We'll be fine." The Doctor slid himself through the hatch, and landed neatly on the corridor floor. One by one the entered the ship. The clerics going through last so they could keep their eyes on the Angels. They closed the hatch behind them.
A door at the far end of the corridor slid shut before they could reach it.
"This whole place is a death trap." Father Octavian shouted.
"No, it's a time bomb. Well, it's a death trap and a time bomb. And now it's a dead end. Nobody panic," There was a loud bang from the closed hatch. "Ok just me then. What's behind this door?"
"Secondary flight deck." River said.
"What if the gravity fails?"
The Doctor turned to Amy. "You're so cheerful. Anyway I've thought of that. If the gravity fails we'll all plunge to our deaths. See I thought about it." He moved to the control panel next the to sealed bulkhead. "The security protocols are still live. There's no way to override them. It's impossible."
"How impossible?" River asked him. The corridor had not been designed to accommodate so many people. It was starting to feel claustrophobic.
"Two minutes." The Doctor said, busying himself once again with the control panel.
There was another bang from the hatch. When they turned it was open. The could see an arm silhouetted against it. The lights flickered.
"The hull is breached." Father Octavian said. The clerics raised their firearms.
The lights flickered again, staying out for a second longer this time. When the lights came back on they were face to face with four Angles and the hatch was closed behind them.
"Okay I have an idea. I can override the security protocol by redirecting the power to this control panel."
"Good then do it." Father Octavian said.
"That includes the lights. All of them."
"Doctor you cannot be serious. We lost the torches, we'll be in total darkness." Aderyn snapped at him.
"Yes I am aware of that thank you." He responded quietly.
River put an arm around Aderyn, covering her mouth before she could snap back "how long for?" she asked.
Amy tried to stifle a smile at the distinctly unimpressed look on Aderyn's face.
"Fraction of a second. Maybe longer. Maybe quite a bit longer?" he shrugged.
Aderyn had managed to wriggle River's hand away from her mouth.
"Maybe? Only maybe?"
"We're being attacked by statues in a crashed ship. There isn't a manual for this." The Doctor shouted at her.
Father Octavian turned to River. "Doctor Song, I've lost good Clerics today. You trust this man?"
"I absolutely trust this man." River replied.
"He's not some kind of madman, then?"
River paused for a second before again saying "I absolutely trust this man."
"We've got your back Doctor." He turned to the clerics "Combat distance, ten feet. As soon as the lights go down, continuous fire. Full spread over the hostiles. Do not stop firing while the lights are out. Shot gun protocol. We don't have bullets to waste."
The Doctor turned to Aderyn and Amy "Aderyn you need to stay close to River. Amy, when the lights go down, the wheel should release. Spin it clockwise four turns."
"Ten." The Doctor and Aderyn exchanged confused glances "No, four." He said to her.
"Yeah four, I heard you."
The Doctor shrugged it off. He had more important things to worry about right now.
"Ready!" he said, plunging the sonic screwdriver into the control panel.
"On my count, then. God be with us all. Three, two, one, fire!" Father Octavian opened fire, the clerics following suit. The lights went out. The bulkhead opened just enough for them to squeeze through, Amy directing River to get Aderyn through first.
"Fall back." The Doctor shouted at the clerics over the sound of the rapid firing.
The Doctor was the last through the bulkhead, somehow navigating his way through backwards, not daring to let the Angels out of his sight.
It was a short run down a short corridor before they reached the secondary flight deck. The Doctor closed the door behind them and ran straight for the controls. There was a thumping on the door they had just closed. Then the wheel started turning. Moving quickly, Father Octavian placed a small device on the door. The wheel stopped turning.
"What did you just do?" Amy asked.
"Magnetized the door. Nothing could turn that wheel now."
Aderyn let out a burst of laughter "They broke through the hull. You really expect that to work?"
"Aderyn you really are a fast learner." The Doctor said to her.
"Well I have to be." she replied.
The wheel started to turn. Though this time it turned slowly.
"You've bought us time. Good. I am good with time." The Doctor said.
They became aware that there were other doors leading into the flight deck as, one by one, the wheels started to turn and the clerics ran to seal the doors.
"Doctor, we're surrounded. How long have we got." Father Octavian said. He was slowly starting to loose faith in this Doctor man. Every step they took with him seemed to lead them into a different sort of dead end.
"Five minutes max." The Doctor replied.
"Nine."
The Doctor turned to Amy "No five."
"Five. I said five."
"No you said nine." the Doctor said. He paused to look at her.
"We need another way out of here." River said, drawing his attention back to the situation at hand.
"This is a galaxy class ship. Goes for years between planet falls. So, what do they need?"
"Of course." River smiled.
"Of course what?" Aderyn said. She watched the Doctor curiously as he ran up to a wall.
"They need to breathe." River explained.
As they watched the Doctor released several clamps near the floor and the wall raised.
"But that's...I mean that is a.." Amy was too amazed to finish a sentence. She stared open mouthed.
"That's a forest." Aderyn said, articulating what Amy had failed to convey.
"Yeah it's a forest. It's an oxygen factory. Is there another way out through there?" River moved slowly towards the forest.
"Clerics, scan the architecture. We don't have time to get lost in there." Father Octavian strode forward, vanishing into the forest.
"Eight." Aderyn and River turned to look at Amy.
"What did you say?" Aderyn asked.
"I didn't say anything," Amy said. "But trees on a spaceship?" she said to the Doctor.
He walked into the forest " Oh, more than trees. Way better than trees. You're going to love this. Treeborgs. 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. This vault is an ecopod running right through the heart of the ship. A forest in a bottle on a space ship in a maze. Have I impressed you yet, Amy Pond?"
"Seven." Amy laughed.
"You said seven." The Doctor said walking towards her.
"No I didn't."
"Yes you did." River said. She watched Amy carefully.
"Doctor," Father Octavian called from the forest "there's an exit, far end of the ship, into the Primary Flight Deck."
"Then that's where we're going." The communicator in the Doctor's pocket crackled into life.
"Doctor? Excuse me? Hello, Doctor? Angel Bob here, sir."
The Doctor threw himself into the chair by the control panel.
"Ah Angel Bob, how's life? oops. bad subject."
"The Angels are wondering what you hope to achieve."
"Achieve? We're not achieving anything. We're just hanging. It's nice in here. Consoles, comfy chairs, a forest. How's things with you?"
"The Angels are feasting, sir. Soon we will be able to absorb enough power to consume this vessel, this world. and all the stars and worlds beyond."
The Doctor rolled his eyes "Well, we've got comfy chairs, did I mention?"
"We have no need of comfy chairs sir." Angel Bob replied.
The Doctor smiled. "I made him say comfy chairs."
"Six."
The Doctor leapt to his feet "Okay Bob, enough chat. Here's what I want to know. What have you done to Amy?"
"There's something in her eye sir." Came the reply.
"What's in her eye?"
"We are."
The Doctor walked over to her and stared closely at her.
"What's he on about?" she panicked "I'm five. I mean five. I mean I'm fine." She stammered.
"You're counting." Aderyn informed her.
"No I'm not."
"You are and you have been for a couple of minutes." River said.
"We shall take her. We shall take all of you. We shall have dominion over all time and space." Angel Bob said.
"Get a life, Bob. Oops, sorry again. There's power on this ship, but nowhere near that much."
"With respect, sir," the Angel said "There is more power on this ship then you yet understand."
There was a screeching noise that seemed to surround them.
"Dear God what the hell was that?" Aderyn snapped as soon as she was able to take her hands away from her ears.
"It's hard to put into your terms, miss," the Angel explained "but as best I understand it, the Angels are laughing. The Doctor in the TARDIS hasn't noticed yet."
"Noticed what?" The Doctor asked himself. Aderyn, who had been facing away from the forest tapped him gently on the shoulder then pointed "I think it may be that."
The Doctor turned. A long W shaped crack had appeared above the bulkhead. It was widening.
"That's like the crack from my bedroom wall from when I was a little girl." Amy said, her fear rising.
The Doctor pushed a stack of boxes towards it and climbed up to it.
"Two points in space and time that should never have touched." he said under his breath.
"We're moving out." Father Octavian demanded.
"Yeah, fine." The Doctor murmured, scanning the crack with the screwdriver.
"We're not leaving without you." Amy said.
"Yes you are. River?" He didn't need to say anymore.
River picked up Aderyn, throwing her over her shoulder. She slipped her other arm around Amy's waist, lifting her off the floor and carrying them both towards the forest. When they had reached the forest she put them both down and dragged them along beside her.
The Doctor looked at the readout from the scan "Oh that is not good," he said to himself "that's extremely very not good." He turned to follow the others to find himself surrounded by Angels.
"Do. Not. Blink." He leapt of the boxes, weaving quickly between the statues. As he reached the edge of them, a hand grabbed the back of his jacket.
"Why am I not dead?" he said to them. He looked round to see them reaching towards the crack in the wall.
"Good and not so good. Oh, this isn't even a little bit good. I mean, is that it? Is that the power that brought you here? That's pure Time Energy. You can't feed on that. That's the fire at the end of the universe. I'll tell you something else," he wriggled free from his jacket. "Never let me talk." He called back to the Angels as he retreated into the forest.
Amy stopped walking. She swayed on the spot before sitting on a moss covered log. River crouched in front of her. "Amy what's wrong?"
Amy lead down "Four."
"Med scanner now," A cleric handed her one. River attached it to Amy's arm. The readouts where less then comforting. Aderyn looked over River's shoulder "That's extremely not very good." She said.