Chapter Eight:
"The Angel, as far as we know, is still trapped in the ship," said Octavian as they made their way across the grounds. The transport ship had already arrived and the soldiers were busy setting up camp. "Our mission is to get inside and neutralise it. We can't get through up top; we'd be too close to the drives. According to this," he brandished his handheld device, "behind the cliff face, there's a network of catacombs leading right up to the temple. We can blow through the base of the cliffs, get into the entrance chamber, then make our way up."
Scarlett linked her arm with Amy's and they talked amongst themselves as the Doctor replied to Octavian.
"Oh, good."
"Good, sir?"
"Catacombs, probably dark ones," he said sardonically, "Dark catacombs, great!"
"Technically, I think it's called a maze of the dead," said Octavian, as if it didn't sound bad enough the first time.
"You can stop any time you like," the Doctor replied, evidently feeling the same way Scarlett did about the whole idea.
"Excuse me, Sir," said Octavian before he made his way over to one of his clerics. The Doctor waved him off and started to use his sonic on some equipment. When Amy and Scarlett reached the table he was standing at, Amy hopped up to take a seat while Scarlett leaned against it, both of them with their eyes trained on the Doctor.
"You're letting people call you "sir". You never do that," said Amy.
Scarlett nodded in agreement. She did have a bit of a point there.
When it was clear the Doctor wasn't going to answer, Scarlett chimed in, "So, whatever a Weeping Angel is, it's really bad, yeah?"
"Now that's interesting..." said the Doctor, finally turning his attention to the pair of them. "You're both still here. Which part of "Wait in the TARDIS till I tell you it's safe" was so confusing?"
"Ooh, are you all Mr Grumpy Face today?" asked Amy teasingly.
Scarlett would've laughed if the Doctor hadn't started to speak again. His voice was low, as if he were warning them. "A Weeping Angel, Scarlett, Amy, is the deadliest, most powerful, most malevolent life form evolution has ever produced, and one is trapped inside that wreckage and I'm supposed to climb in with a screwdriver and a torch – and assuming I survive the radiation, and the whole ship doesn't blow up in my face – do something clever which I haven't actually thought of yet. That's my day, that's what I'm up to. Any questions?"
While Scarlett felt an immediate fear of the Weeping Angel, Amy didn't seem fazed. Now, Scarlett had known this girl for a long time and she's usually the one who scares easy (Rory even more so), so why was she so afraid while Amy just brushed the information off like she couldn't care less?
"Is River Song your wife?" asked Amy and Scarlett felt a pang of jealousy. She wasn't sure why. She guessed it was because she just found the Doctor physically attractive. Yeah, that must be it. "'Cause she's someone from your future, and the way she talks to you, I've never seen anyone do that. She's kinda like, you know… "Heel, boy!" She's Mrs Doctor from the future, isn't she? Is she gonna be your wife one day?"
"Yes. You're right," he replied and Amy's eyes widened. "I am definitely Mr Grumpy Face today."
Scarlett let out a relieved sigh. She thought he may have meant something else for a minute.
"Doctor?" River's voice broke the silence. "Octavian?"
Amy hopped off of the table and they both followed the Doctor to where River was busying herself.
"Why do they call him Father?" asked Amy.
"He's their Bishop, they're his clerics. It's the 51st Century, the Church has moved on," he shrugged.
They entered the transport ship – a sort of pod-like room – to find River playing with a remote. When they turned, they saw a black and white video on screen of a stone statute. Its body was at an angle and it had its hands over it eyes, almost as if it were shy, or upset.
Scarlett frowned. Could statues even be shy or upset?
"What do you think?" asked River. "It's from the security cameras in the Byzantium vault. I ripped it when I was on board. Sorry about the quality. It's four seconds. I've put it on loop."
Scarlett liked River. Despite the slight jealous feeling she got when Amy asked the Doctor if she was his wife, she still seemed friendly, and kept sending her smiles every now and then. Plus there's that "you might want to find something to hang on to" line, which she still found hilarious.
"Yeah, it's an Angel. Hands covering its face," agreed the Doctor.
"You've encountered the Angels before?" asked Octavian who had now joined them and kept glancing nervously at the screen.
"Once, on Earth, a long time ago. But those were scavengers, barely surviving," he answered.
"It's just a statue," said Amy, wondering what all the fuss is about.
"It's a statue when you see it," River said, causing Scarlett's frown to deepen.
What the hell does that mean?
"Where did it come from?" asked the Doctor who clearly wanted to get this over and done with. Scarlett couldn't blame him. Statues had always freaked her out to no end.
"Oh, pulled from the ruins of Razbahan, end of last century. It's been in private hands ever since, dormant all that time," answered Doctor Song who had sensed Scarlett's nervousness and flashed her another reassuring smile. Scarlett tried her best to return it but it fell after a second or so.
The Doctor shook his head, getting closer to the screen. "There's a difference between dormant and patient."
"What does that mean," Scarlett said, finally deciding to voice her thoughts, "it's a statue when you see it?"
"The Weeping Angels can only move if they're unseen," River answered, lifting one shoulder in a shrug. "So legend has it."
"No, it's not legend, it's a quantum lock," said the Doctor. "In the sight of any living creature, the Angels literally cease to exist. They're just stone. The ultimate defence mechanism."
"What, being a stone?" Amy asked.
"Being a stone... until you turn your back."
The Doctor led everyone out of the transport ship. River and Octavian were behind him while Amy and Scarlett brought up the rear, listening to the Doctor ramble. Although unlike his usual ramblings where he was just talking about something he found exciting, this one sounded important.
"The hyperdrive would've split on impact. The whole ship will be flooded with radiation, cracked electrons, gravity storms, deadly to almost any living thing."
"Deadly to an Angel?" Octavian asked hopefully.
"Dinner to an Angel," the Doctor replied.
Oh, of course, Scarlett thought.
"The longer we leave it, the stronger it will grow. Who built that temple? Are they still around?" he continued.
River glanced down at her handheld device. "The Aplans; the indigenous life-form. They died out 400 years ago."
"200 years later, the planet was terraformed. Currently there are six billion human colonists," Octavian finished.
"You lot, you're everywhere! You're like rabbits! I'll never get done saving you," the Doctor said, causing Amy to roll her eyes and mutter "bloody rabbits".
"Doctor Song, with me," said Octavian.
"Two minutes," she started, "Sweetie, I need you."
The Doctor mouthed, "Sweetie?" and Scarlett gave him a slap on the back of his head.
"She means you, stupid!"
"Oh, right, yeah," He nodded, sticking his lower lip out in a pout as he made his way to River, while simultaneously rubbing his head.
"Anybody need us?" Amy asked, throwing her arms out for emphasis.
"Nobody?" Scarlett chipped in.
Nobody replied.
Amy sighed and grabbed Scarlett's hand, walking her over to the transport ship again. "Best stay here. If we cause any trouble, the Doctor will kill us."
Scarlett nodded in agreement. Better to be safe than sorry.
Once they were in, Scarlett glanced at the screen again to see that the clip of the Angel was still showing. She gripped Amy's hand tightly and the ginger frowned. "Hey, what's the matter with you? I've never seen you this scared before."
Scarlett shook her head as she stepped closer to the screen, Amy close behind. "I don't know. You know I've never liked statues. They've always creeped me out."
"Understandable, really. They do look a bit… dodgy."
Scarlett nodded slightly but really she was just too focused on the screen to hear her words properly. "Amy? Has that Angel moved?"
She wasn't sure why she was asking. She knew it had moved. Since the last time they saw it, it had moved its hands away from its face. She really wished it hadn't. Now that they could see its features, it looked even creepier than before.
Amy looked at the footage, obviously noticing the same thing Scarlett had. "Let me ask," she said before sticking her head out of the door. "Doctor Song? Did you have more than one clip of the Angel?"
"No, just the four seconds," she replied, although she sounded like she was distracted, too.
Confused, Amy wandered back inside.
Scarlett had been watching her movements and when she turned back to the screen once more, the Angel had moved again. The brunette inhaled sharply and Amy gasped quietly. The Angel was now facing forward, hands down at its side. Amy and Scarlett bent over and peered closely at the time code. It looped from 11:24 to 11:28 yet the position of the Angel kept changing. They shared a confused look, and neither of them noticed the door shut and lock behind them.
Out of the corner of her eye, Scarlett saw Amy pick up the remote that River had been using previously. She pressed a button to turn the screen off, but it just kept coming back on. She set the remote down and Scarlett continued to peer at the screen.
"You're just a recording," she mumbled, "You can't move."
Glancing down, Scarlett noticed the plug that controlled the screens power. She knelt down to pull it out but it wouldn't budge. "Amy, help me with this," she said, and her friend complied. Even with their strength combined, the plug still wouldn't move.
Sighing in defeat, they stood up and Scarlett let out a gasp, Amy grabbing her arm tightly in fear. The Angel had moved yet again, but this time it wasn't in the middle of the room. Its face was right up to the camera, letting them see it in all its disturbing glory.
"Doctor!" Scarlett yelled, not wanting to look away from the statue. After all, what was it that the Doctor and River had said earlier? "The Weeping Angels can only move if they're unseen." So her logic was that if she kept looking, it wouldn't be able to move, and she and Amy would be safe… Right?
Amy ran to try to open the door and Scarlett – being the complete idiot that she was – turned to watch her. Shaking her head and mentally scolding herself for being so stupid, she quickly turned back to the monitor to see that the Angel's mouth was now open, its teeth on show and in full predatory mode. She let out a quiet whimper and Amy started to press random buttons on the keypad for the door. "It won't open!"
"Doctor!" Scarlett yelled again, slightly louder than last time.
"Doctor!" Amy shouted.
"We'll be fine," Scarlett said, more to reassure herself than Amy. "The Doctor will save us. It's what he does, right?"
Amy didn't answer. She continued to bang her hand against the door while Scarlett tried to come up with a plan. "Okay, on the count of 3, we'll both yell for the Doctor… Got it?"
"Got it," said Amy nervously.
"One… two," Scarlett started before Amy finished off with a "three."
"DOCTOR!" they both yelled simultaneously.
Scarlett couldn't stop herself. She blinked. And when her eyes opened, she saw the Angel becoming solid in the middle of the room.
"Get back!" yelled Amy, grabbing her arm and pulling the English girl closer to her.
Scarlett took a deep breath before yelling with all she had, "DOCTOR! It's in the room!"
They heard footsteps and then the Doctor's voice yelling, "Scarlett! Amy!"
"Doctor!" said Amy, resorting to punching the keypad again.
"Are you both all right? What's happening?" asked the Doctor, sounding flustered.
"Doctor, it's coming out of the television," Scarlett said, her nerves reaching breaking point. Her eyes were still trained on the Angel's ugly face and she really wished she could look away. She didn't want to have this image in her head forever.
"The Angel is here," added Amy.
"Don't take your eyes off it! It can't move if you're looking!" he replied before having a conversation with someone who the girls assumed to be River.
"Yeah, I'm trying!" Scarlett yelled.
"Don't blink, Scarlett! Don't even blink!" the Doctor replied. He can't – no, he won't – let anything happen to his girls. Not if he could help it.
"Help us!" Amy shouted; fear creeping into her voice.
"Amy! Can you turn it off?"
"I've tried!" she sighed.
"Try again," he said, "but don't take your eyes off the Angel."
"We're not!" Amy shouted.
"Each time it moves, it'll move faster. Don't even blink."
"We're not blinking!" Scarlett answered; having to close one eye at a time to make sure she always had her eyes on the Angel. "Have you ever tried not blinking?"
Amy fumbled for the remote without taking her eyes off the Angel, although she relaxed slightly when she remembered that Scarlett was staring at it, too. She grabbed it and backed away to the door, trying to turn it off again. It didn't make a difference.
"It just keeps switching back on!"
"Yeah, it's the Angel," the Doctor said.
"But it's just a recording," Scarlett said, trying to keep her voice strong and failing miserably.
"No, anything that takes the image of an Angel is an Angel," he answered before turning to talk to River again.
"Doctor, what's it gonna do to us?" Amy asked.
Honestly, Scarlett had been thinking that, too. She had just been too scared of the answer to even bother asking.
"Just keep looking at it. Don't stop looking!"
"Just tell us!" Scarlett said, "Tell us!"
The Doctor grabbed a book he and River had been looking at previously and his eyes widened.
"Girls, not the eyes. Look anywhere but don't look at the eyes."
Now, why did he have to say that? If someone says "don't look", you're obviously going to look. And the fact that I had already been looking there prior to this conversation sort of means that I am royally screwed, Scarlett thought, but didn't dare say aloud.
"The eyes are not the windows of the soul, they are the doors. Beware what may enter there," they heard him say.
"Doctor, what did you say?" Scarlett asked.
"Don't look at the eyes!" he answered.
"No, about images; what did you say about images?"
"Whatever holds the image of an Angel is an Angel," River replied.
Scarlett glanced down at the time code and nodded briefly to herself.
"Amy, when I say 'four', I want you to press the off button again, okay?" Scarlett said. Sure, there was a chance that this wouldn't work, but she had to do something. She couldn't let Amy get hurt and honestly, she didn't really want to die, either.
"But we've already tried –"
"Please! Just do it."
"Okay, okay," she replied, holding the remote in preparation.
"One, two, three," Scarlett kept her eyes on the time code, knowing that Amy would be watching the Angel. And she was right; Amy had her eyes trained on its waist. "Four!" Scarlett finished, once the footage had turned to static.
The image of the Angel froze before turning off and they heard the door opening. Relief flooded through them as River and the Doctor ran in, the latter reaching down to quickly unplug the screen.
"I froze it!" Amy said. "Scarlett found a sort of blip on the tape, and we froze it on the blip. It wasn't the image of an angel any more. That was good, yeah? It was, wasn't it? That was pretty good."
"That was amazing!" River agreed.
"River, hug the girls," the Doctor demanded.
"Why?" Scarlett asked.
"Because I'm busy."
Scarlett rolled her eyes as River pulled the young girls into a hug.
"We're fine!" Amy said.
"You're brilliant," River added.
"Thanks," said Amy as they pulled out of the hug. She threw her arm around Scarlett's shoulder and smiled. "Yeah, we kind of creamed it, didn't we?"
"So it was here? That was the Angel?" River asked the Doctor.
"That was a projection of the Angel. It's reaching out, getting a good look at us. It's no longer dormant."
Outside, the clerics set off an explosion and each of them jumped at the noise.
"Doctor! We're through!" said Octavian from outside.
The Doctor turned to them briefly. "Okay. Now it starts." Then he left to join the soldiers, Amy following closely behind.
Scarlett paused, feeling her eye start to get irritated. Frowning, she lifted her hand to rub it, and found that nothing was there.
River – who was standing at the door – paused. "Coming?"
Scarlett nodded. "Yeah, coming. I just… thought there was something in my eye."