Flesh and Stone pt. 2
"Sir? Two more incoming."
"Three more over here." Octavian's men continue to call out their sighting of the Angels. Amy is sitting up now with River and myself on either side of her.
"Still weak, dangerous to move her," River says taking the pressure cup off of Amy's arm.
"So can I open my eyes now?" Amy asks.
"Amy, listen to me. If you open your eyes now for more than a second, you will die." River puts her arm around her. "The Angel is still inside you. We haven't stopped it-we've just sort of…paused it. You've used up your countdown. You cannot open your eyes." I reach over and squeeze Amy's hand as her face falls.
"Doctor, we're too exposed here, we have to move on," Octavian says and I turn to look at him.
"We're too exposed everywhere, and Amy can't move, and anyway that's not the plan."
"There's a plan?" River asks incredulously.
"I don't know yet. I haven't finished talking. Right! Father, you and your clerics will stay here, look after Amy. If anything happens to her, I'll hold every single one of you personally responsible-twice. River and Jaz, you and me, we're going to go and find the Primary Flight Deck, which is…" he licks his finger and holds it in the air, "a quarter of a mile straight ahead, and from there we're gonna stabilize the wreckage, stop the Angels and cure Amy."
"How?" River asks.
"I'll do a thing."
"What thing?" I ask.
"I don't know. It's a thing in progress, respect the thing. Moving out!" The Doctor takes a step away but I grab his arm.
"I think I should stay with Amy," I whisper in his ear.
"Amy will be fine. Besides, I trust you more than that Octavian."
"Doctor, I'm coming with you. My clerics will look after Miss Pond. These are my best men, they'd lay down their lives in her protection." The Doctor turns to him.
"I don't need you." River motions me over and I take her seat next Amy. She walks up to the others.
"I don't care. Where Dr. Song goes, I go."
"What?" The Doctor looks between the two of them, "You two engaged or something?"
"Yes. In a manner of speaking. Marco, you're in charge till I get back."
"Sir!"
"Doctor…please, can't I come with you?" Amy pleads.
"You'd slow us down, Miss Pond," Octavian calls over his shoulder.
"I don't want to sound selfish, but you'd really speed me up." The Doctor kneels down in front of her.
"You'll be safer here-we can't protect you on the move. I'll be back for you as soon as I can, I promise."
"You always say that."
"I always come back." HE stands up, "Good luck, everyone. Behave, do not let that girl open her eyes. And keep watching the forest, stop those Angels advancing. Amy, later! River, going to need your computer!" I get up to follow but Amy grabs my arm.
"I'm scared," she whispers clutching tightly to my arm.
"Me too," I whisper in reply.
"I love you," she says as she wraps her arms around me.
"I love you, too," I say.
"Jaz, come on!" the Doctor calls after me. I let go of Amy and run after him.
DWDWDWDWDW
After a few moments of walking the doctor takes his sonic out.
"What's that?" River asks.
"Er, readings from a crack in a wall."
"How can a crack in a wall be the end of the universe?" I ask.
"I don't know, but here's what I think. One day, there's gonna be a very big bang, so big every moment in history, past and future, will crack."
"Is that possible? How?" River asks as she keeps her eyes on the lookout for more Angels.
"How can you be engaged in a manner of speaking?" I ask while nudging her on the shoulder.
"Well…" she look from the Doctor and I to Octavian, "Sucker for a man in uniform." The Doctor takes his sonic and points it at the communicator while Octavian walks over.
"Dr. Song is in my personal custody. I released her from the Stormcage Containment Facility four days ago and I am legally responsible for her until she has accomplished her mission and earned her pardon. Just so we understand each other." The Doctor gives River a look and I wonder what in the world Stormcage is.
"You were in Stormcage?" The communicator beeps.
"What? What is that?" River asks avoiding the Doctor's last question.
"The date, the date of the explosion, where the crack begins."
"And for those of us who can't read the base code of the universe?"
"Amy's time!" I look at the Doctor as I read the date. It's the day we left with the Doctor.
DWDWDWDWDW
We make it to the Primary Flight Deck but can't figure out how to get in. River has a gone pointed into the forest. Octavian gives me his gun and I am pointing it in the forest as well.
"It doesn't open it from here. But it's the Primary Flight Deck-this has got to be a service hatch or something." Octavian kneels down as the Doctor continues to mess with the communicator.
"Hurry up and open it-time's running out," River states.
"What? What did you say? 'Time's running out'-is that what you said?" the Doctor questions. I turn to look at him.
"Yeah, I just meant…" she starts but the Doctor stops her.
"I know what you meant, hush!" He goes back to his communicator but stops. "But what if it could?"
"What if what could?" I ask dropping my arm for a moment.
"Time. What if time could run out?" The questions goes unanswered as Octavian speaks up.
"Got it! Dr. Song, get through, now. Miss Pond, quickly. Doctor?"
DWDWDWDWDW
River and I make it into the flight deck.
"What is that?" I ask pointing to two identical circular things in the floor.
"That's a teleport," River says rushing forward. I pause at her words.
"A teleport?" I question. "Does it work?"
"No," I sigh in defeat. "But if I can get it working, we can get the others here."
"Can I help?" Before she can answer the Doctor crawls through the opening and closes it.
"There's a teleport! If I can get it to work, we can beam the others here. Where's Octavian?" River says as she continues to work on the teleport.
"Octavian's dead. So is that teleport, you're wasting your time. I'm going to need your communicator." River looks defeated. I put a hand on her shoulder and squeeze it. She smiles gratefully at me before returning to her work.
"Hello!" Amy's frantic voice comes over the communicator. " Please say you're there! Hello!"
"Amy? Amy? Is that you?" the Doctor asks.
"Doctor?" Amy's voice is small and scared.
"Where are you? Are the clerics with you?"
"They've gone. There was a light and they walked into the light. Doctor, they didn't even remember each other."
"No, they wouldn't."
"What is that light?" I ask. The Doctor doesn't even try to push me away from leaning over his shoulder.
"Time running out. Amy, I'm sorry. I made a mistake, I should never have left you there."
"Well, what do I do now?"
"You come to us. Primary Flight Deck, the other end of the forest."
"I can't see! I can't open my eyes."
"Turn on the spot."
"Sorry, what?"
"Just do it, turn on the spot. When the communicator sounds like my screwdriver, that means you're facing the right way. Follow the sound. You have to start moving now. There's time energy spilling out of that crack and you have to stay ahead of it."
"But the Angels, they're everywhere."
"I'm sorry, I really am, but the Angels can only kill you."
"What does the time energy do?"
"Just keep moving!"
"Tell me!"
"If the time energy catches up with you, you'll never have been born. It will erase every moment of your existence. You will never have lived at all." I involuntarily gasp and River throws me a look. "Now…keep your eyes shut…and keep moving!"
"It's never going to work," River states.
"What else have you got?" We both jump at the anger in the Doctor's voice. "River, tell me!" She goes back to working and the Doctor starts pacing. Suddenly clanking can be heard overhead.
"What's that?" I question looking at the ceiling.
"The Angels running from the fire. They came here to feed on the time energy, and now it's going to feed on them." The Doctor says this with a smile before pointing his sonic at the communicator again. "Amy, listen to me, I'm sending a bit of software to your communicator. It's a proximity detector, it'll beep if there's something in your way. You just maneuver till the beeping stops. Because, Amy, this is important, the forest is full of Angels." River turns to give the Doctor a look. "You're going to have to walk like you can see."
"Well, what do you mean?"
"Look, just keep moving."
"That time energy. What's it going to do?" I ask as I watch River get closer to fixing the teleport.
"Er, keep eating."
"How do we stop it?"
"Feed it."
"Feed it what?"
"A big complicated space-time event, should shut it up for a while."
"Like what, for instance?" River chimes in.
"Like me, for instance!" the Doctor yells again frustrated. I high pitched beeping is heard over the communicator.
"What's that?"
"It's a warning. There are Angels round you now. Amy, listen to me. This is going to be hard, but I know…you can do it. The Angels are scared and running. And right now they're not that interested in you. They'll assume you can see them, and their instincts will kick in. All you've got to do is walk like you can see. Just don't open your eyes. Walk like you can see. You're not moving. You have to do this." There is still no indication that Amy is moving. I walk up to the Doctor.
"Give me the communicator," I demand holding out my arm. He gives it to me. "Amy, remember when we were little and we would play that game? One of us would close our eyes and the other would use our voice to lead them through a maze of obstacles."
"Yes, but what does that have to do with anything."
"This is just like that game. This is me leading you, so think of the beeping as my voice." She still stays stationary. "Please, Amy, you have to do this." Finally she starts walking.
"Argh!" We hear her fall. "Doctor! I can't find the communicator! I dropped it!"
"I've got it working," River states of the teleport.
"What are you waiting for?" I ask.
"I can't find it, Doctor!"
River turns on the teleport and Amy flashes into the room.
"Don't open your eyes. You're on the Flight Deck, the Doctor and Jaz are here, I teleported you. See? Told you I could get it working." I walk over and put a hand on her arm.
"River Song, I could bloody kiss you," the Doctor says dramatically flipping switches. Amy digs her fingers into the fabric of my jacket.
"Ah, well, maybe when you're older." An alarm blares, "What is that?" Amy puts her arms around me and holds tight.
"The Angels are draining the last of the ship's power. Which means…" He runs over to the wall, "the shield's going to release!" The wall shoots up revealing the angels. "Angel Bob, I presume."
"The time field is coming. It will destroy our reality."
"And look at you all, running away. What can I do for you?"
"There is a rupture in time. The Angels calculate that if you throw yourself into it, it will close, and they will be saved."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, could do, could do that. But why?"
"Your friends would also be saved."
"Well, there is that." River rushes forward before I can pull her back.
"I've travelled in time. I'm a complicated space-time event too, throw me in."
"Oh, be serious! Compared to me, these Angels are more complicated than you, and it would take every one of them to amount to me, so get a grip."
"Doctor, I can't let you do this."
"No, seriously, get a grip."
"You're not going to die here!"
"No, I mean it. River, Amy, Jaz, get a grip."
"Oh, you genius!" River runs over to us.
:Sir, the Angels need you to sacrifice yourself now."
"Thing is, Bob, the Angels are draining all the power from this ship, every last bit of it. And you know what? I think they've forgotten where they're standing. I think they've forgotten the gravity of the situation. Or to put it another way, Angels…" An alarm blares and the screen reads 'Gravity Failing'. I pull Amy's hands and place it on the bars.
"You hold on tight and don't you let go for anything," I whisper in her ear as River does the same next to me.
"Night-night." The gravity fails and we hold on tight to keep from getting sucked into the vortex.
DWDWDWDWDW
"Ah, bruised everywhere," Amy laments once we are outside again.
"Me too," I state. She gives me an incredulous look.
"You didn't have to climb out with your eyes shut."
"Neither did you, I kept saying. The Angels all fell into the time field, the Angel in your memory never existed. It can't harm you now." The Doctor explains this and Amy seems satisfied.
"Then why do I remember it all? Those guys on the ship didn't remember each other."
"You're a time traveler now, Amy. Changes the way you see the universe. Forever. Good, isn't it?"
"And the crack. Is that gone too?" I ask.
"Yeah. For now. But the explosion that caused it is still happening…somewhere out there. Somewhere in time." The Doctor heads over to River as Amy and I follow.
"You, me…" she raises her hands, "handcuffs. Must it always end this way?"
"What now?"
"The prison's ship is in orbit, they'll beam me up any second. I might have done enough to earn a pardon this time. We'll see."
"Octavian said you killed a man."
"Yes, I did."
"A good man."
"A very good man. The best man I've ever known."
"Who?"
"It's a long story, Doctor. Can't be told, it has to be lived. No sneak previews. Well, except for this one. You'll see me again quite soon, when the Pandorica opens."
"The Pandorica. Ha!"
"Oh, Doctor! Aren't we all? I'll see you there."
"I look forward to it."
"I remember it well."
"Bye, River," I say and Amy nods.
"See you, Amy, Jaz. Oh! I think that's my ride."
"Can I trust you, River Song?"
"If you like. But where's the fun in that?" She disappears in a swirl of dust. The Doctor walks towards the water and looks out.
"What are you thinking?" Amy asks coming to stand next to him.
"Time can be rewritten."
DWDWDWDWDW
"I want to go home," Amy states bluntly as soon as we are back in the TARDIS.
"Okay," he replies a little disappointed.
"No, not like that! I just…I just want to show you something. You're running from River." She turns to look at me, "I'm running too."
DWDWDWDWDW
We arrive back in Amy's room. Once we step out, she points to the wedding dress.
"Well!"
"Yeah!"
"Blimey!"
"I know. This is the same night we left, yeah?"
"We've been gone five minutes." Amy walks over to her nightstand and pulls out her engagement ring.
"I'm getting married in the morning."
"Why did you leave it here?" the Doctor asks.
"Why did I leave my engagement ring off as I ran away with a strange man on the night before my wedding?" The Doctor thinks this over for a second.
"Yeah."
"You really are an alien, aren't you?"
"Who's the lucky fella?"
"You met him," I state bluntly.
"Ah, the good-looing one, or the other one?"
"The other one with the big nose," I say before bursting out laughing.
"Jaz, out!" Amy cries pointing at the door. I raise my hands in surrender as I head to my own room.