AN: Hello- wow, it's nice, flattering and humbling to learn that my readers are not only far more wise than I, but also still deign to read this story! I mean Omega as in last letter of the greek alphabet- and in Christian tradition, 'the beginning and the end', as in- a sense of doom, finality. I'm afraid I didn't see classic Who, or at least, not much, and wasn't referencing that- sorry to disappoint.
Ok, well done to:Katy-Alice-Cullen, 1 point; missprofessorwho, 1 point; NinjaGirlRebecca, 1 point; and LilyHale21, one point. Please do correct me if I'm wrong, I'm trying to keep on top of this- all of you were right, it was Igor Stravinsky.
This chap's quote:
Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart. And try to love the questions themselves.
Last chap- turns out the place interfering with time is a desolate moon on which stands a white marble city- whose citizens are stuck in a time loop which is now deteriorating as a result of the Doc and Amy's presence. This place is called Omega- and according to the Doctor, that and the fact the Time Loop is deteriorating is a very bad thing. We don't know why yet...
Enjoy!
"What's Omega? And what's so terrible about it?"
The Doctor was running now and Amy had to shout for him to hear as they sped through a forest of columns in the town hall's interior. Shadows slid up the white structures, and a slight chill eased into the building's gut.
"Omega's existence is the problem." The Doctor shouted back, taking a sudden left as he saw something.
Breathless, Amy caught up with him at last- he'd stopped at an intricate panel in the wall, covered with writing Amy couldn't read.
"Isn't that- a little- biased?" She asked between breaths.
Chuckling drily, the Time Lord pointed his screwdriver at the marble- the panel slid up, revealing a complicated looking interface. Amy blinked- the classical theme of the city had served effectively to erase any thought of it possessing some sort of advanced technology. Which was probably the point.
"For once, I can say for certain it is not- considering it was my race who created it- not that they know that." He jerked his head to outside where the people still went through the same repeating actions.
Amy frowned, more confused than before, whilst the Doctor narrowed his eyes at the streams of data and options spewing onto the screen.
"Ok- lets try this." He pointed his screwdriver at the panel again, twisting something on it twice clockwise and once anti clockwise.
Suddenly, a pencil width column of marble slipped out of the wall. On the end, a blue pad- the size of a fingerprint, glowed dimly. Amy felt the TARDIS sluggishly working against the Time Loop and translate at last in her mind. The words blurred into focus and Amy raised her eyebrows.
TIME LORD IDENTIFICATION REQUIRED.
The Doctor stuck his index finger on the pad and flinched, drawing his hand back as something metal shot out and neatly cut through his skin. Sucking his finger he watched the display as the column slid back inside. There were a few seconds of silence, and then the screen flashed and changed. Again, Amy felt the TARDIS translating for her- like an ancient computer on it's last legs.
TIME LORD IDENTITY- CONFIRMED.
The screen flipped- literally swiveling inside the wall. A new interface came up- and even to Amy's inexperienced eyes it looked far more advance than the other, which had clearly been some sort of dummy.
Frowning and tapping commands faster than Amy's eyes could follow, the Doctor concentrated on the new display. There was a series of beeps and a red warning message came up. The Doctor paused in his tapping to read it.
'WARNING: LEVEL THREE INTERFERENCE PREDICTED. COUNTERMAND?'
Long before Amy had even finished reading the message the Doctor had let out a little gasp of agitation, punching the confirm button. There was a flash of blue light, a feeling of spinning and then the Doctor and Amy arrived in a completely different part of the city.
Blinking, they looked around. Nearby, a young girl and boy played catch- they had to be siblings from their near identical features, and couldn't be more than six years old. There were barely any buildings around, and behind the Doctor and Amy a two metre wire fence was hastily constructed around a football field sized area, covered in weird raised symbols and mechanisms.
"What- why are we here?"
The Doctor scanned the area with his screwdriver, looking around quickly whilst the girl and boy kept playing catch.
"Level 3 interference. It means three things happen which cause the security protocol to kick in and Omega to set itself off. This is the predicted site of the first level. And I'm guessing it has something to do with that." He pointed emphatically at the bizarre field.
Pausing to gain her bearing Amy ran to him, grabbing his shoulder.
"Set itself off? Omega's a bomb?"
The Doctor nodded distractedly, eyes frantically searching for anomalies. "Yes."
Spluttering, Amy took this in. "How big? Where? What kind of bomb?"
He laughed a little in the face of the growing tension. "Ooooh. Very big. It's the planet. Well, I'd say this is more of a moon really."
Amy's jaw dropped. "This whole place is a bomb?"
"No." The Doctor frowned, cocking an eyebrow at her in surprise. "Not the city and the people- they came later."
His companion blinked. "They built their city on a bomb."
Shrugging, he replied distractedly. "Not knowingly. Come on- where is it?"
Behind them, unnoticed, the boy and girl were getting to the end of their game of catch- the end of their loop. The girl was the closest to the fence, and laughing the boy threw the ball up as high as he could. It arched over the fence and the girl gave a little cry.
The Doctor and Amy turned in synchronization- watching the light ball bounce onto one of the podium like structures. They watched as the little girl ran towards an area in the fence which was beginning to rust and had curled up a little. Even as they ran towards her they saw her struggling underneath- the Doctor gave a shout- she didn't hear…
Then she went straight back to where she'd come from. The Doctor and Amy hurled into the fence- staring disbelievingly at the children. Once she'd got her breath back, Amy heaved a sigh of relief.
"That was close."
The Doctor nodded. "We have to stop it."
Sick of being confused, Amy scowled. "Why? She doesn't get there."
Rolling his eyes, the Doctor spoke as if to a child in his frustration. "The Time Loop is deteriorating because of us. That means they're breaking out of it- and the next thing she does is get under the fence. It's predicted interference- and it's going to happen unless we stop it in," he paused- tapping his watch. " one hundred and sixteen seconds."
"Why a hundred and sixteen?"
Crouching to examine the fence, the Doctor grimaced at the rusting metal- out of place in the marble landscape, looking back over his shoulder at the children.
"Galiffreyan clock. Betade level. One hundred and twenty seconds makes a 'minute'. One hundred and sixteen is the time loop. I'd estimate that as it gets to each new number it'll take three cycles. Which gives us roughly eighteen minutes before this place goes boom, and…one hundred and three seconds until level one interference comes in unless we stop it. Now would you help me?"
His finished on a note mixed with frustration and desperation. Worried Amy crouched next to him, resting her hand reassuringly on his for a moment before examining the fence. "Of course."
The Doctor smiled a little, leaving his hand under hers for a moment longer before glancing back at the children.
"Ok, we can't dig the wire back in- there's no time, and besides, it's this damn marble, so we have to stop her."
"So why not just stop her before she gets here?" Amy asked, curious.
He shook his head vigorously. "No- that would just accelerate the Time loop's deterioration, which we really don't need right now."
Amy nodded, swallowing and glancing back at the children herself. The girl caught the ball and threw it back to her brother.
"Ok, so we stop her after the end of the Time Loop- wait on the other side of the fence and stop her coming in."
"That sort of defeats the point."
Shrugging, the Sot justified her suggestion. "No- maybe she bumps into something by accident- after all, they're just weird shapes to her. If one of us went through, we'd know not to touch anything."
The Doctor paused for a moment, thinking, before he nodded and lifted the loop as far as he could making to go beneath.
A hand grabbed his shoulder as he tried to squeeze through. "I'll do it. It's weird, but I kinda like that jacket."
Chuckling, the Doctor slipped back out with a sigh of relief as Amy wriggled under. He glanced back- the boy was throwing the ball in the air.
Amy got through, standing, and caught sight of the girl running over. She glanced up to see the ball in the air and got ready to stop the child- incredibly aware of the podium sitting silent and enigmatic next to her right foot.
The girl got closer and Amy crouched whilst the Doctor watched tensely. Gently Amy rested her hands on the girl's shoulders, stopping her before she got through the fence. The girl pushed and Amy pushed back, and the child looked up, saw her and gave a little cry of surprise.
Then she vanished back to where she'd come from. Amy had time for a little sigh of relief before physics kicked in, and without the girl's opposing force, she fell forwards. Her hands went out to catch herself and her foot kicked out, touching the podium. The Doctor gave a shout, and a bolt of heat shot through the sole of Amy's shoe.
She cried out and scrambled away, out of the field. The Doctor helped her to her feet, though she could barely put her weight on her right, and they watched- helpless, as the podium spun- generating an angry red force field which covered the rest of the structures.
A round panel in the ground slid up and displayed a small interface.
INTERFERENCE LEVEL 1: ACTIVE.
Amy's eyebrows pulled up and she looked to the Doctor. "I'm sorry."
The Doctor shook his head, wrapping his arms around her. "It's alright. It's not your fault." Blue light enveloped them, taking them to the next site.
They both knew, this time, they had to stop it. And the minutes were ticking away…
Oooh- yes, the gallifreyan clocks were all made up by me- but I know this systems, sorry, as I said, I didn't catch much Classic Who. Hope you like it anyway!
Sooo- what now? What's the next level of interference? If the bomb is the size of a moon, how much damage can it do? If it's gallifreyan- why isn't it in the Time Lock? because of the rift? What does the Doctor know that he's not telling Amy- if he kept this idea secret?
As ever, please do comment, criticise and question- I welcome all feedback,
Thankyou for reading!
Kat