Flesh and Stone pt. 1
I find myself lying down.
"Up! Look up!" the Doctor says while hopping up. I sit up and look over at Amy.
"You okay?" River asks us. I nod my head.
"What happened?" Amy asks as River goes to help her up.
"We jumped," she replies as Amy gives me a hand up.
"Jumped where?" I ask after standing.
"Up, up, look up!" the Doctor directs again. The doctor takes out his sonic and begins pointing it at the lights.
"Where are we?" Amy asks once she is standing.
"Exactly where we were," River comments while she takes in our surroundings.
"No, we're not." The doctor comes up next to us.
"Move your feet!" We step aside as he continues pointing the sonic at the lights.
"Doctor, what am I looking at? Explain." Amy laments finally getting the doctor's full attention.
"Oh, come on, Amy, think. The ship crashed with the power still on, yeah? So what else is still on?" Finally I realize that we are now standing on the ship and the artificial gravity is keeping us from falling.
"The artificial gravity," I mumble and the doctor smiles at me.
"One good jump, and up we fell," he says this while jumping. "Shot out the grav-globe to give us an updraft, and here we are!" The last part makes it seem like the doctor is proud of himself. I just smirk at him.
"Doctor," Octavian says getting our attention, "the statues, they look more like Angels now." I look up to the angels and see that he is right. The lights start to flicker out.
"They're feeding on the radiation from the wreckage, draining all the power from the ship, restoring themselves. Within an hour, they'll be an army." Amy takes an unconscious step towards me as River also comes to stand closer to us. The lights of the ship flicker again. "They're taking out the lights. Look at them, look at the Angels." He directs us as he gets the hatch open. "Into the ship now-quickly, all of you!"
"But how?" Amy questions as the doctor hops down through the opening. "Doctor!" Amy cries in alarm as she races to peer through the opening.
"It's just a corridor, the gravity orientates to the floor." I hear the Doctor explain to Amy. "Now, in here, all of you, don't take your eyes off the Angels, move, move, move!" Amy is shoved aside as Octavian and his men jump through.
"Okay, men, go, go, go!" Amy and I jump in next followed quickly by River. "The Angels, presume they can jump up too." Octavian states as the hatch door is closed. The lights start to flicker.
"They're here…now. In the dark, we're finished." An alarm blare and the Doctor turns and yells, "Run!" He takes off towards the blast door but it closes.
"This whole place is a death trap!" Octavian yells in frustration.
"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." He looks around at us and realizes he is the only one. "Oh, just me, then." He points his screwdriver at the door and asks, "What's through there?"
"Secondary Flight Deck," River informs us. Clanging on the hull captures our attention as dents start to form.
"Okay, so we've basically run up the inside of a chimney, yeah? So what if the gravity fails?" Amy's question perks my interest.
"I've thought about that."
"And?" I question as I watch River open a side panel and start to unhook something.
"And we'll all plunge to our deaths. See, I've thought about it." Amy's eyes go wide as she looks at me. "Ah, the security protocols are still live. There's no way to override them, it's impossible."
"How impossible?" River questions as she continues her unhooking.
"Two minutes." Just then the power fluctuates and the hatch opens.
"The hull is breached, and the power's failing." Octavian states as Amy grabs hold of the Doctor's arm as the lights go out. He pulls away and heads to the thing River was unhooking. Amy steps over to me and grabs hold of my arm. The lights flicker and an angel appears in the hatch.
"Sir, incoming," one of the men states as the lights flicker out again.
"Doctor, lights!" Amy yells as the Doctor continues to use the sonic on the panel and wires. The lights go out for another second. When they flash back on there are four angels standing in the corridor with us.
"Clerics, keep watching them."
"And don't look at their eyes, anywhere else, not the eyes." The lights stay on as the Doctor informs us, "I've isolated the lighting grid, they can't drain the power now."
"Good work, Doctor," Octavian praises.
"Yes, good, good, good. Good in many ways. Good you like it so far…" The Doctor stops as he turns back to the door blocking our way.
"So far?" Amy questions exasperatedly.
"Well, there's only one way to open this door. I guess I'll need to route all the power in this section through the door control," the Doctor explains while looking at the control panel.
"Good, fine, do it," Octavian directs. The Doctor walks up in front of the group.
"Including the lights. All of them. I'll need to turn out the lights." I groan inwardly at the thought of that.
"How long for?" I question finally.
"Fraction of a second, maybe longer. Maybe quite a bit longer."
"Maybe?" Octavian questions scathingly as the Doctor rubs his chin.
"Well, I'm guessing. We're being attacked by statues in a crashed ship-there isn't a manual for this!" The Doctor races back to the door as Amy laments.
"Doctor, we lost the torches, we'll be in total darkness."
"No other way. Bishop…" Octavian turns to River.
"Dr. Song, I've lost good clerics today. You trust this man?"
"I absolutely trust him," River states closing the panel she was messing with.
"He's not some kind of madman, then?" He asks of her and she pauses briefly before answering.
"I absolutely trust him." The Doctor smiles in spite of himself and Octavian gives him a sidelong glance.
"Excuse me," he says as he pulls River to the side. I sneak up behind him and listen in. "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. You cost me any more men, and I might just tell him. Understood?" River catches my eye and I quickly walk away before she answers.
"Understood."
"Okay, Doctor, we've got your back."
"Bless you, Bishop."
"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 men get into formation.
"Amy, Jaz, when the lights go down, the wheel should release. Spin it clockwise, four turns." We move into position as the Doctor stands up.
"Ten," Amy confirms wrongly. The Doctor and I share a glance.
"No, four, four turns," I reiterate and Amy gives me a look.
"Yeah, four, I heard you." River comes up on the other side of me as we ready ourselves.
"Ready!" The Doctor calls out as he turns on his screwdriver.
"On my count, then. God be with us all. Three…two…one…" The lights go out, "fire!" Rapid gunfire starts as River yells.
"Turn!" After much effort, the door budges.
"It's opening, it's working," Amy states excitedly.
"Fall back!" Octavian orders as they start filing through the door. We make it through the door before it closes again. We run down the corridor to another door. This one opens easily and Octavian does a quick sweep of the room before entering.
"Doctor, quickly." River demands as we head through the door. The Doctor runs through right before it closes. We all race up to the control panel in the center of the room. One of the door locks start spinning.
"Doctor!" Amy calls the Doctor's attention to it. Octavian places a device on the door.
"What are you doing?" I ask as he turns it on.
"Magnetized the door. Nothing could turn that wheel now," he explains confidently.
"Yeah?" The Doctor questions sarcastically. The wheel lock starts to turn again.
"Dear God!" Octavian exclaims as he steps back.
"Ah, now you're getting it! You've bought us time, though, that's good, I am good with time." The Doctor and River continue to fiddle with things on the control panel. Amy and I can only watch. Another door starts to unlock.
"Seal that door, seal it now!" Octavian orders. Another door starts to unlock.
"We're surrounded," River states before going back to work.
"Seal it, seal that door."
"Doctor, how long have we got?" I ask and the Doctor thinks for a moment.
"Five minutes, max."
"Nine," Amy says automatically.
"Five," the Doctor corrects her.
"Five, right, yeah."
"Why did you say nine?" I ask and she looks at me confused.
"I didn't." The door locks keep turning.
"We need another way out of here," River says stating the obvious.
"There isn't one," Octavian answers.
"Yeah, there is, course there is. This is a galaxy class ship, goes for years between planet-falls. So what do they need?" The Doctor pauses dramatically waiting for someone to get it.
"Of course," River chimes in.
"'Of course' what? What do they need?" Amy asks but everyone ignores her.
"Can we get in there?" Octavian asks. Amy and I just look at each other.
"Well, it's a sealed unit, but they must have installed it somehow." He rushes up to the wall. "This whole wall should slide up." He looks down and spots something. "There's clamps, release the clamps!" They move the storage bins away from the wall.
"What's through there? What do they need?" Amy questions aloud as realization strikes me.
"They need to breathe," River and I say at the same time. The Doctor finishes undoing the clamps and then he steps back. We all watch as the door starts to lift open.
"But that's…That's a…" Amy tries to find the words but cannot.
"It's an oxygen factory," River states.
"It's a forest," I say gesturing to the trees.
"Yeah, it's a forest, it's an oxygen factory," River says with her hands on her hips. She gives me a sideways glance and a little smirk.
"And if we're lucky, an escape route," the Doctor says. Amy gives an ironic laugh.
"Eight!" River gives me a look before asking.
"What did you say?" Amy turns to look at her.
"Nothing."
"Is there another exit? Scan the architecture-we don't have time to get lost in there." The Doctor goes on as if nothing strange is happening.
"On it! Stay where are you are until I've checked the rad levels," Octavian orders as he steps out in to the forest.
"But trees? On a spaceship?" Amy says unable to believe what is going on. The Doctor heads into the trees.
"Oh, more than trees, way better than trees. You're going to love this. Tree Borgs…trees plus technology." He pushes the bark of one of the trees to reveal wires and cables. "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 spaceship in a maze. Have I impressed you yet, Amy Pond?" He comes closer to us as Amy contemplates her answer.
"Seven," she answers.
"Seven?" The Doctor questions as he walks up to her. He gives me a concerned look.
"Sorry, what?" Amy questions confused.
"You said seven," the Doctor states looking her right in the eyes.
"No, I didn't," Amy retorts defensively.
"Yes, you did," River confirms.
"Doctor, there's an exit, far end of the ship, into the Primary Flight Deck," Octavian reports.
"Good. That's where we need to go." The Doctor doesn't take his eyes off Amy. She backs away a little freaked out.
"Plotting a safe path now," Octavian continues.
"Quick as you like!" Amy backs up again and runs into the panel. I stand by River watching the whole situation take place.
"Doctor? Excuse me. Hello, Doctor? Angel Bob here, sir." The Doctor heads back to the panel and sits in the command chair.
"Ah, there you are, Angel bob. How's life?" River and I give him a look. "Sorry, 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-console, comfy chairs, a forest. How's things with you?"
"The Angels are feasting, sir. Soon we'll be able to absorb enough power to consume this vessel, this world, and all the stars and worlds beyond."
"Well, we've got comfy chairs, did I mention?"
"We have no need of comfy chairs."
"I made him say 'comfy chairs'!" Amy and I laugh.
"Six," Amy says. I snap my attention to her as the Doctor leaps up.
"Okay, Bob, enough chat. Here's what I want to know. What have you done to Amy?" Amy's face clouds over in confusion.
"There's something in her eye."
"What's in her eye?" I feel her tense beside me as River looks even more concerned.
"We are."
"What's he talking about? Doctor, I'm five." She stops as she realizes what she has just said. "I mean, five." She pauses again as she struggles to say the right word. "Fine! I'm fine."
"You're counting," River states.
"Counting?" she questions in return.
"You're counting down. From ten. You have been for a couple of minutes," I say in a soft one trying not to freak her out.
"Why?" She questions looking at the Doctor.
"I don't know."
"Well, counting down to what?" Her voice is beginning to become frantic.
"I don't know."
"We shall taker her. We shall take all of you. We shall have dominion over all time and space." The Doctor moves back over to sit in the chair. River looks at Amy wearily as Amy grabs hold of my arm.
"Get a life, Bob. Oops, sorry again! There's power on this ship, but nowhere near that much."
"With respect, sir, there's more power on this ship than you yet understand." A high pitched screeching sound resounds from all around us.
"What is that? Dear God, what is it?" River laments.
"They're back," Octavian states as the banging continues on the doors.
"It's hard to put it in your terms, Dr. Song, but as best as I understand it, the Angels are laughing."
"Laughing?" The Doctor questions.
"Because you haven't noticed yet, sir. The Doctor in the TARDIS hasn't noticed."
"Doctor…" Octavian starts but the Doctor stops him.
"No, wait, there's something I've…" The Doctor pauses and turns around, "missed." We all turn around and are confronted with the crack from Amy's bedroom wall. Her grip on my arm tightens.
"That's…that's like the crack from my bedroom wall from when I was a little girl." Amy states as she drags me up to the Doctor with her.
"Yes," the Doctor confirms. The whole structure starts to shake. Amy clings to me to keep from falling over.
"Okay, enough, we're moving out!" Octavian orders.
"Agreed," River states before turning to the Doctor, "Doctor?"
"Yeah. Fine!" He climbs up on one of the storage bins to get closer to the crack.
"What are you doing?" I ask as he points the sonic at the crack.
"Right with you."
"We're not leaving without you!" River states forcefully.
"Oh, yes, you are. Bishop?"
"Miss Ponds, Dr. Song, now!" Octavian orders us from inside the forest. River grabs me by the arm and I drag Amy along with us.
"Doctor, come on!" Amy yells back as we make our way into the forest.
DWDWDWDWDW
We have been walking for a few minutes. Amy has been uncharacteristically quiet and her breathing has become irregular. I start to get worried when she slows down and looks like she is in a trance. She suddenly stops walking.
"Amy? Amy, what's wrong?" She continues to stare blankly. River comes up next to me and puts her hands on Amy's shoulders.
"Amy, what's wrong?"
"Four." Amy sits on a rock nearby and holds her head. She then lays down and curls into a ball on the rock.
"Med-scanner, now!" River demands as I life Amy's head from the rock and place it in my lap.
"Dr. Song, we can't stay here-we've got to keep moving," Octavian laments. I shoot him a nasty glare before continuing to run my fingers through Amy's hair.
"We wait for the Doctor," River states as she continues to figure out what is wrong with Amy.
"Our mission is to make this wreckage safe and neutralize the Angels. Until that is achieved…"
"Father Octavian, when the Doctor's in the room, your one and only mission is to keep him alive long enough to get everyone else home. 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." I look up and see the Doctor standing behind her. River picks up on my movement. "And, Doctor, you're standing right behind me, aren't you?"
"Oh, yeah."
"I hate you," she says turning around to look at him.
"You don't. Bishop, the Angels are in the forest."
"We need visual contact on every line of approach." The Doctor runs up to us and starts to look Amy over.
"How did you get past them?" River asks.
"I found a crack in the wall and told them it was the end of the universe."
"What was it?" Amy asks barely above a whisper.
"The end of the universe," he states grabbing the scanner. "Let's have a look, then."
"So what's wrong with her?" I ask.
"Nothing, she's fine," River says placing a hand on my shoulder. The alarms on the scanner start going off.
"Everything, she's dying."
"Doctor!" River scolds him immediately.
"Yes, you're right, if we lie to her, she'll get all better! Right, Amy. Amy, Amy, what's the matter with Amelia? Something's in her eye-what does that mean? Does it mean anything?" The Doctor says this all in one breath.
"Doctor…" Amy starts but the Doctor interrupts.
"Busy!"
"Scared!" she replies quickly.
"Course, you're dying, shut up!"
"Okay, let him think," I whisper in her ear. The Doctor stands up and starts pacing. I swallow the fear rising up inside me.
"What happened? She stared at the Angel, she looked into the eyes of an Angel for too long…"
"Sir! Angel, incoming!"
"And here." Octavian's men call out as they watch our backs.
"Keep visual contact-do not let it move!" Octavian orders.
"Come on, come on, come on, wakey, wakey!" The Doctor taps his head as he continues pacing, "She watched an Angel climb out of the screen, she stared at the Angel, and, and…"
"The image of an Angel is an Angel," I state as realization hits me.
"A living mental image in a living human mind. We stare at them to stop them getting closer, we don't even blink, and that is exactly what they want, cos as long as our eyes are open, they can climb inside. There's an Angel in her mind!" The Doctor covers his mouth with his hands in surprise at his realization.
"Three." The Doctor stands up and takes out the communicator. "Doctor, it's coming, I can feel it. I'm going to die!" Amy starts shaking.
"Please just shut up, I'm thinking. Now, counting what's that about?" He talks into the communicator. "Bob, why are they making her count?"
"To make her afraid, sir."
"Okay, but why, what for?"
"For fun, sir."
"Oh…argh!" The Doctor throws the communicator to the ground.
"Doctor, what's happening to her? Explain!" I demand as Amy continues to shake.
"Inside her head, in the vision centers of her brain, there's an Angel. It's like there's a screen, a virtual screen inside her mind, and the Angel is climbing out of it and it's coming…to shut her off."
"Then what do I do?" Amy asks.
"If it was a real screen what would we do? We'd pull the plug, kill the power. But we can't just knock her out, the Angel would just take over!"
"Then what? Quickly!" I demand.
"We've got to shut down the vision centers of her brain, we've got to pull the plug, starve the Angel."
"Doctor, she's got seconds," River informs us.
"How would you starve your lungs?"
"I'd stop breathing," I say without pause.
"Amy, close your eyes!" the Doctor demands of her.
"No, no, I don't want to," Amy says shaking her head as well.
"Good, cos that's not you, that's the Angel inside you, it's afraid! Do it! Close your eyes!" She turns her head to look at me and I nod my head in encouragement. She squeezes her eyes shut. The scanner beeps rapidly before stopping.
"She's normalizing. You did it! You did it!" River states as we all breathe a sigh of relief. I continue running my fingers through Amy's hair as River rubs my back comfortingly.