The Big Bang pt. 1
After a few moments I open my eyes and look around. All of the soldiers and creatures look like they've aged thousands of years and become fossils.
"Oh, my God," I breathe as I take in my surroundings. I walk up to the Pandorica when a thought strikes me, "Oh, no, Amy." I run for the stairs. "Amy! Amy?!" I call out as I make it to the top of the steps. I look around and see Rory. I run up to him. "Rory?" I question as I take in the sight before me. He looks up at me with tears in his eyes.
"Jaz, I'm so sorry. I killed her."
"You what?!" I exclaim trying to grasp what is going on.
"I couldn't help it. I tried to stop it, but I killed her," he admits remorsefully. "I couldn't help it."
"Oh, Amy," I sigh sinking to the ground next to them.
DWDWDWDWDWDW
We sit looking up at the starless sky.
"So the universe ended. You missed that. In 102 AD. I suppose this means you and I never get born at all. Twice, in my case."
"She would have laughed at that," I comments with a small laugh of my own.
"The Doctor said the universe was huge and ridiculous, and sometimes there were miracles."
"I think we could do with a ridiculous miracle about now." The Doctor appears in front of us wearing a fez and holding a mop.
"Jaz! Rory! Listen, she's not dead. Well, she is dead, but it's not the end of the world. Well, it is the end of the world. Actually, it's the end of the universe." He looks at the mop, "Oh, no. Hang on!" He disappears again.
"Doctor? Doctor!" Rory calls out. He returns without the mop.
"You need to get me out of the Pandorica."
"But you're not in the Pandorica," Rory comments.
"Yes he is."
"Well, I'm not now, but I was back then. Well, back now from your point of view, which is back then from my point of view. Time travel, you can't keep it straight in your head."
"Doctor, you're rambling," I interrupt him.
"Right. It's easy to open from the outside, just point and press." He gives Rory the sonic. "Now go." He disappears and then returns immediately. "Oh, when you're done, leave my screwdriver in her top pocket. Good luck!"
"What do you mean?" Rory yells. I take the sonic from him.
"Come on you big numpty!" I yell over my shoulder as I rush down to the Pandorica.
DWDWDWDWDWDW
I point the sonic at the Pandorica and it opens.
"How did you do that?" the Doctor questions me surprised.
"You gave me this," I reply showing him the sonic. He pulls his out of his pocket.
"No, I didn't."
"You did. Look at it." The Doctor steps out and places our sonics together. There is a spark.
"Temporal energy. Same screwdriver, at different point in its own time stream. Which means it was me who gave it to you. Me from the future. I've got a future, that's nice." He turns to see the fossilized Dalek. "That's not."
"Yeah. What happened to them?"
"History has collapsed. Whole races have been deleted from existence. These are just like after images. Echoes, fossils in time. The footprints of the never were."
"What does that mean?"
"Total event collapse. The universe literally never happened."
"So, how can we be here? What's keeping us safe?"
"Nothing. Eye of the storm, that's all. We're just the last light to go out. Amy. Where's Amy? And Rory?" The Doctor looks at me and I can't answer him. I just motion toward the stairs and head up them.
DWDWDWDWDWDW
"I killed her," Rory says as we approach.
"Oh, Rory!"
"Doctor, what am I?"
"You're a Nestene duplicate. A lump of plastic with delusions of humanity."
"But I'm Rory now. Whatever was happening, it's stopped. I'm Rory!"
"That's software talking."
"Can you help her? Is there anything you can do?" I question the Doctor.
"Yeah, probably, if I had the time."
"The time?!" Rory exclaims angrily.
"All of creation has just been wiped from the sky. Do you know how many lives now never happened? All the people who never lived? Your girlfriend isn't more important than the whole universe." Rory turns the Doctor to face him and then gives him a right hook.
"She is to me!" The Doctor jumps up rubbing his jaw.
"Welcome back, Rory Williams! Sorry, had to be sure. Hell of a gun arm you're packing there. Right, we need to get her downstairs. And take that look off your plastic face. You're getting married in the morning!"
DWDWDWDWDWDW
"So you've got a plan, then?" I question as the Doctor situates Amy in the Pandorica.
"Bit of a plan, yeah. Memories are more powerful than you think, and Amy Pond is not an ordinary girl. Neither is her sister for that matter." He turns and gives me a wink before turning back and placing his hands on Amy's face, "She grew up with a time crack in her wall, the universe pouring through her dreams every night. The Nestenes took a memory print of her and got a bit more than they bargained for. Like you. Not just your face, but your heart and your soul. I'm leaving her a message for when she wakes up, so she knows what's happening." The Doctor steps out and then closes the Pandorica.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. What are you doing?"
"Saving her you numpty," I say backhanding him in the chest.
"Will you stop calling me that?" I just smile and shrug my shoulders.
"This box is the ultimate prison. You can't even escape by dying. It forces you to stay alive," the Doctor informs us.
"But she's already dead," Rory comments.
"Well, she's mostly dead. The Pandorica can stasis-lock her that way. Now all it needs now is a scan of her living DNA and it'll restore her."
"Where's it going to get that?" I ask.
"In about 2,000 years." The Doctor looks around and finds River's bag. He takes something out and puts it on his wrist.
"She's going to be in that box for 2,000 years?!" Rory demands.
"Yeah, but we're taking a shortcut. River's Vortex Manipulator. Rubbish way to time travel, but the universe is tiny now. We'll be fine."
"So hang on. The future's still there, then? Our world?" I question trying to understand.
"A version of it. Not quite the one you know. Earth alone in the sky. Let's go and have a look." He holds out his wrist for us. "You put your hand there. Don't worry, should be safe." I place my hand on it but Rory does not.
"That's not what I'm worried about," he says turning back to the box.
"She'll be fine. Nothing can get into this box." Rory scoffs.
"Well, you got in there."
"Well, there's only one of me. I counted," the Doctor replies as he leans up against the box.
"This box needs a guard. I killed the last one."
"No. Rory, no," I plead.
"Don't even think about it," the Doctor states.
"She'll be all alone," Rory laments.
"She won't feel it," I insist.
"You bet she won't!" he shouts at me. I take a step back.
"2,000 years, Rory. You won't even sleep, you'd be conscious every second. It would drive you mad," the Doctor explains.
"Will she be safer if I stay? Look me in the eye and tell me she wouldn't be safer."
"Rory…" the Doctor tries to evade.
"Answer me!" Rory demands.
"Yes. Obviously."
"Then how could I leave her?" The Doctor gives a half laugh.
"Why do you have to be so…human?" the Doctor questions him.
"Because right now, I'm not," Rory admits. He turns to smile at me. I give him a long hug.
"Come along, Pond," the Doctor says. I walk over and place my hand on his wrist. He starts pushing buttons as he gives some final advice to Rory. "Listen to me. This is the last bit of advice you're going to get in a very long time. You're living plastic, but not immortal. I have no idea how long you'll last. And you're not indestructible. Stay away from heat and radio signals when they come along. You can't heal or repair yourself. Any damage is permanent. So, for God's sake, however bored you get, stay out of…" the Doctor pushes the last button and Rory disappears.
DWDWDWDWDWDW
"Trouble," we appear in a museum face to face with a Dalek.
"Whoa," I say as we turn around.
"Oh! Two of you? Complicated." Standing in front of us is Amy and little Amelia.
"Exterminate!" the Dalek makes its way toward us. "Weapons systems restoring."
"Come along, Ponds," the Doctor says grabbing me and Amy by the hands. Amy grabs hold of little Amelia and we run for it.
"Exterminate!" We run to a dead end.
"What are we doing?" Amy questions as the Doctor looks around.
"Well, we are running into a dead end, where I'm going to have a brilliant plan that basically involves not being in one."
"What's going on?" We hear the night guard question.
"Get out of here. Go! Just run!" I yell at the man.
"Drop the device!" The Dalek turns to the man holding the flash light.
"It's not a weapon. Scan it. It's not a weapon, and you don't have the power to waste," the Doctor insists.
"Scans indicate intruder unarmed."
"Do you think?" The man drops the flash light and shoots the Dalek in the eye.
"Visions impaired! Vision…" The Dalek powers down and we all run toward the man. It's Rory.
"Amy?" he questions in surprise.
"Rory…" she states. She takes a moment before sprinting to him.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I couldn't help it, it just happened." I watch the reunion with Amelia as the Doctor checks out the Dalek.
"Oh, shut up," Amy states before kissing him. They break apart and the Doctor runs up to them.
"Yeah, shut up, cos we've got to go. Come on!"
"I waited. 2,000 years, I waited for you," Rory states completely ignoring the Doctor.
"No, still shut up," Amy says before kissing him again.
"And break," the Doctor says.
"And breathe!" I interject ready to be on our way.
"Well, somebody didn't get out much for 2,000 years," he says turning to me. I feel a tug on my arm and look down at Amelia.
"I'm thirsty. Can I get a drink?" she asks.
"Oh, it's all mouths today, isn't it?!" Amy and Rory are still kissing. The Doctor takes the fez and puts it on Amelia's head. She takes it off and shoves it back at him. "The light! The light from the Pandorica, it must have hit the Dalek." The Dalek starts to power up again. "Out, out, out!" The Doctor grabs Amelia's hand and pushes me out the door. Once outside the Doctor turns to Rory. "So 2,000 years. How did you do?"
"Kept out of trouble," he replies.
"Oh." The Doctor looks at the fez and then places it on his head.
"How?" I question him.
"Unsuccessfully." The Doctor grabs a mop and heads for the door.
"The mop!" I exclaim and everyone turns to look at me. "That's how you looked when you gave us the sonic."
"Ah! Well, no time to lose, then." The Doctor pushes a few buttons and disappears. He reappears just as suddenly as he left. "Oops, sorry." He places the mop in the door handles.
"How can he do that? Is he magic?" Amelia questions me. The Doctor reappears.
"Right…let let's go, then." We head up the stairs. "Wait!" he stops and turns to look at us. "Now I don't have the sonic, I just gave it to Jaz 2,000 years ago."
"You told me to put it in Amy's pocket," I relay. The Doctor smiles and disappears again. He comes back.
"Right, then," he reaches in to Amy's pocket and pulls out his sonic. "Off we go! No, hang on. How did you know…to come here?" he questions Amelia. She pulls out some paper.
"Ah, my handwriting." He disappears again and comes back with a drink in his hand. "Ok! There you go, drink up!" he gives it to Amelia.
"What is that? How are you doing that?" Amy questions.
"Vortex Manipulator, cheap and nasty time travel. Very bad for you. I'm trying to give it up."
"Where are we going?" Amy questions again.
"The roof," the Doctor says. We stop in our tracks as a man appears in front of us. He falls down the stairs.
"Doctor, it's you. How can it be you?" I question as we run to him.
"Doctor, is that you?" Amy questions.
"Yeah, it's me. Me from the future," the Doctor admits. The Doctor from the future sits up and whispers something and then falls back to the ground.
"Are you…? I mean, is he…is he dead?" Amy finally questions.
"What? Dead? Yes, yes. Of course he's dead." The Doctor jumps up and starts up the stairs. "Right, I've got 12 minutes, that's good."
"12 minutes to live? How is that good?!" Amy questions.
"Oh, you can do loads in 12 minutes-suck a mint, buy a sledge, have a fast bath." I head up the stairs next to him. "Come on, the roof!" We start to head up but Rory stops us.
"We can't leave you here, dead."
"Oh, good-are you in charge now? So, tell me, what are we going to do about Amelia?" We all look around but she is nowhere to be found.
"Where did she go?" Amy questions.
"Amelia?" Rory calls out.
"There is no Amelia. From now on, there never was. History is still collapsing."
"How can I still be here if she's not?" Amy questions confused.
"You're an anomaly. We all are. We're all just hanging on at the eye of the storm, but the eye is closing, and if we don't do something fast, reality will never have happened. Today, just dying is a result. Now, come on!" He heads up the stairs again.
"He won't die. Time can be rewritten. He'll find a way. I know he will," Amy says looking at me. Rory covers the future Doctor with his coat.
"Move it! Come on!" the Doctor calls out ahead of us. We take off up the stairs after him.