CHAPTER 33

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THE THREE RIVERS

Somehow Amy had managed to get the three Melodys to stop attacking each other just long enough for her to dematerialize the TARDIS and get away from the Androgums before they woke up. She definitely didn't want to have to stay on in that nightmare of a place any longer than she had to.

As soon as the TARDIS was back in the Vortex though, things picked up right where they had left off again.

"Why do you get to be the one who gets a Time Lady Amy to travel with? It should have been me. I never even got one who knew who I really was," Mels said to River as she sulked.

"Amy was so lucky about that too. It kept her from having to put up with you even more than she already did. It's a wonder that she didn't leave you to rot in any of those jails that you kept winding up inside," River said.

"I bet you didn't do any better, did you? Look me in the eye and tell me that you never spent any time in a prison," Mels challenged her.

River was silent and Mels smiled in triumph as she said, "I thought so. Not so gabby now are you, Miss High and Mighty?"

River moved so fast that Mels couldn't even see her move and in the blink of an eye she had River's gun pointed right between her eyes. Mels unconsciously gulped as she stared right down the barrel of the gun.

"You're not so gabby now either it seems," River said with a smirk on her face.

"River, take the gun away from her head . . . NOW!" Amy ordered.

Mother and daughter locked gazes for a moment, and the others on the TARDIS could almost see their wills clash. Finally River backed down and lowered the gun.

"You never do allow me to have any fun," River said.

Amy smiled as she joked, "I'm your mother. That's my job."

"I'll testify to that," Sirona said.

"Don't even start with me. I'm still angry at you for almost getting killed," Amy said with a smile as she put her arm around her.

"Well, if it helps you any I wasn't too happy about it myself," Sirona said.

Mels glared at River now as she said, "You're going to pay for that."

"I look forward to seeing you try something and failing miserably at it. I could use a good laugh," River taunted.

Little Melody grabbed Amy's other hand and said in an upset voice, "They're me? How can they be me? They're both so mean."

Amy smiled at her as she said, "They're still you on the inside, Melody. They're not as bad as they seem to be and definitely not as bad as they think they are."

"I resent that," Both Mels and River said at once.

"If there was ever any doubts that they were the same person or not, that should put them to rest," Selene said as her snarkyness seemed to be returning now that Sirona was safe.

"I've never seen Melody acting this dark before," Brian said with concern.

"That's because she's usually nice around you. She likes you," Rory said.

"That was Melody being nice?" Brian asked in disbelief.

"Actually that was Melody on her best behavior," Amy said laughing.

"Now you're seeing her on her not so best behavior," Rory said.

"You mean this isn't her worst?" Brian said with widened eyes.

"Oh, this is so, so far from her worst. Believe me," Amy said.

"I don't like her. I don't want to be her," Little Melody said as she looked at River.

River looked at her guiltily for a moment and turned away as Mels taunted, "Oh, the truth hurts doesn't it? You just can't face her can you? She reminds you of just how far you've fallen."

"Mels, stop it!" Amy said.

"Why? I'm just telling the truth. I know I sure don't want to be her either. The hair alone makes me want to die of shame. No wonder she's so crazy. If my hair and wardrobe looked like that, I'd be mad too in both senses of the word," Mels said.

River started to rush towards her again with murderous intent in her eyes, but she stopped instantly when Little Melody stood between them. The little girl looked at both of her future selves with disdain, and then she shocked each of them by punching them both in the stomach as hard as she could at the same time!

"Melody!" Amy said as she began to have that same sickening headache again.

"They deserve it! They're both great big jerks!" Melody shouted in anger.

"You little brat!" Mels said as she grabbed Melody in a headlock making her scream out in fear.

"Leave her alone," River said.

"Oh, don't tell me you have a soft spot for your old self, Water Girl. I can guarantee you that I don't. You must be getting mellow in your old age," Mels said.

"If you don't let her go, I'll show you just how mellow that I really am," River said in a threatening tone.

"Let her go right now, Mels, or you'll see that River is the least of your worries," Amy said in a scolding voice.

"I didn't know how well off I had it when you didn't know who I was. I'd rather you didn't know," Mels said.

"No, you don't," River said.

Amy smiled because she could see from Mels' face that it was true.

Mels let go of Melody and said, "Alright, fine. The little brat's free now and she's fine. I didn't touch a hair on her head."

"Jerk," Little Melody said.

"You're the jerk," Mels said.

"No, you are," Melody said.

"Oh, will you two please shut up?! You're both making Selene look sophisticated and mature by comparison," Julia said in aggravation.

"I don't know whether to be insulted or relieved," Selene said sounding conflicted.

"I'd say both," Julia said grinning mischievously.

That was when the TARDIS materialized and started to shake almost immediately. Amy rushed to the monitor to see that they had landed in the middle of a huge warehouse filled with crates stretching as far as the eye could see.

"Wow! It looks just like something out of Indiana Jones," Julia said with excitement.

"It does kind of, doesn't it? I wonder if the Lost Ark is in there," Rory said looking just as excited as Julia.

Amy laughed at him as she said, "You always were obsessed with that movie. It wasn't real you know at least not in this universe."

"You mean it was real in another universe?" Rory asked in amazement.

"Oh, yes. I dated him a couple of times," River said proudly.

Mels looked at her in awe as she said, "That is so . . .! I mean I guess you have to be pretty hard up to have to look for a date in another universe. Then again I guess when you look like you do you have to take what you can get."

"You're secretly impressed, aren't you?" River teased.

"I am not!" Mels protested.

"Yes, you are," River said smirking.

"What's a movie?" Melody asked.

The others looked at her in shock even as Amy realized with horror that Kovarian would never have shown the girl a movie or gave her any type of entertainment in any way. Kovarian only cared about using her to kill the Doctor and wasn't interested in her happiness in the slightest nor did she treat her in any way like a child but only as a weapon.

Amy's hearts fell as she thought about what kind of a horrible life that must have been for her.

"I told you she was stupid," Mels said.

"Shut up! Do you hear me? Just shut up!" Amy screamed completely surprising Mels with her ferocity.

Mels looked shocked and hurt until a guilty Amy said, "I'm sorry. Just don't make fun of her again, okay? You of all people shouldn't do that."

Mels nodded but still looked hurt. River meanwhile looked at her mother with understanding. She knew why she had reacted like that. She also knew that she was blaming herself which she shouldn't do.

River placed a comforting hand on Amy's shoulder even as Melody suddenly opened the TARDIS doors and dashed out. Amy sighed as she raced after her determined to keep her out of trouble.

"Melody Pond, get back in here this instant!" Amy shouted behind her.

"Yeah, that'll work," River said laughing.

"It certainly never worked on me," Mels admitted.

Amy raced outside to see Melody hard at work prying open one of the crates to see what was inside of it. That was when she finally realized just where the TARDIS had taken her.

"Melody, stop! Don't open it!" Amy screamed.

It was too late though. Melody had already opened the box and pulled out a small cute and cuddly looking toy. It looked like a cross between a rabbit and a pink blob. It was definitely the last thing that Amy had expected considering where they were.

"I love it! The whole box is full of them. Can I have one, Mother? Please?" Melody asked as she hugged it to her tightly.

"I love you," the toy said.

Amy almost sighed because it was Melody as a little girl calling her Mother. That really tugged at her heartstrings.

She wanted to tell her that it was okay to keep it, but she knew that there must be something sinister about it despite its appearance. There had to be.

"I'm sorry, sweetie, but you'll have to put it back. If it comes from this place, it has to be dangerous," Amy said.

River now looked around her in horror as she said, "Are we where I think we are?"

"Yes, we are and I'd really like to know what the TARDIS was thinking bringing us here of all places," Amy said in irritation.

"I want to keep the toy, Mother. Why can't I? What's wrong with it?" Melody protested.

"Put it back, stupid! She just said that it was dangerous or don't you listen?!" Mels said.

"Stop calling me stupid!" Melody shouted as she kicked Mels as hard as she could in the backside.

"Ow! I'm going to kill you, you little - !" Mels shouted.

"Aren't you the one who reminded me that I couldn't kill you or I'd erase myself?" River said in amusement.

"It'll totally be worth it!" Mels said as she chased off Melody who ran screaming from her.

"Stop it you two!" Amy shouted as her head started hurting again.

"Do you need something for the headaches, Mother?" River asked grinning.

"How about a hammer to the head to put me out of my misery?" Amy said with a sigh.

"Oh, no! We need to get out of here," Karen said as soon as she stepped outside the TARDIS.

"Why would your TARDIS come here for? It should be better programmed than that," Oisin said in amazement.

"I think it's been picking up some bad habits from the Doctor's TARDIS. It seems to have developed a will of its own sometimes," Amy said.

"Okay, what's going on? What is it about this place that has all of you so worked up?" Rory asked.

"This is the place where the Time Lords store things that they consider too dangerous. It's a warehouse for things that they want to stay buried and forgotten. So in a way it is kind of like the movie," Amy said.

"What's so dangerous about that toy? It looks harmless," Rory said as he watched Melody run from Mels while still holding it.

"There must be something deadly about it if the Time Lords locked it in here," Amy said.

"That's why I'm trying to get it away from her before we find out what's so dangerous about it. Does anyone feel like maybe helping me out here or are all of you going to just stand around doing nothing all day while I do all the work?" Mels said as she ran by them.

"Leave it up to me," River said.

River pulled out her gun and shot the toy as Melody ran by. It immediately disintegrated in her arms making the little girl scream out in anger.

"You destroyed my new toy!" Melody shouted.

"It was probably something that was going to kill you," River explained.

"You destroyed my toy!" Melody screamed again as she completely ignored her.

"It was dangerous, you dumb kid. At least she finally made herself useful for once instead of standing around looking like a reject from the Doctor's Wardrobe Room," Mels said.

"You take that back!" River said outraged even as Melody started hitting both of them at once.

"I'm not dumb!" Melody screamed as she kicked Mels in the kneecap.

Then she stomped on River's foot as she said, "You destroyed my toy! I never had a toy before! I finally had one and you destroyed it!"

That tore at Amy's heart yet again to hear that Melody had not only grown up without movies but also without toys. She had always mourned what she had lost by not getting to raise her, but she hadn't realized just how much that Melody had lost. She had never had a normal childhood at all. Not in the slightest.

River had missed out on so much, and yet she never complained about it. Not once.

"You'll get more toys in the future, kid. Believe me," River said.

"Yeah but I won't really enjoy them because I'll only be pretending to be a kid at that point," Mels said sadly.

Amy looked at her pointedly as she realized that what she had long suspected about Mels was true. She had either stopped herself from aging or she had made herself into a child again after having already grown up as Mels so that she could fit in with her parents who were still children when she met them. Either way Mels' mind was definitely not that of a child's anymore by the time that little Amelia had met her. River had never talked about any of this, but it all added up since they had last seen Melody in 1969 and didn't meet Mels until the nineties.

Amy was broken out of her thoughts by an entire chorus of tiny voices saying in unison, "I love you. Let me give you a hug! Don't be afraid. It won't hurt. Much."

Everyone looked at the open crate to see that the rest of the toys inside of it were now coming out of it on their own. They didn't look quite so cute and cuddly now though. This time their faces had become fierce and feral as their mouths filled with sharp pointed teeth. To further complete their new fearsome appearance, jagged claws sprang out of their paws. They all came running towards them now with snarls and guttural roars coming out of their mouths.

"Get back to the TARDIS!" Amy screamed.

Everyone turned and ran back to the ship with the killer toys hot on their heels as River shot several of them while providing cover fire for them. They all made it back inside just in the nick of time and quickly shut the doors in the evil creatures' faces.

Amy dematerialized just as they started to hear loud pounding outside. Everyone now sighed in relief as Mels glared at Melody.

"See what you did? That's what you get for not listening to me! Now do you see why I call you stupid?" Mels said as she leaned over to yell right in Melody's face.

Melody promptly proceeded to punch her future self right in the jaw and made River burst out laughing.

"Finally! She's had that coming for some time now," River said with glee.

She stopped smiling when Mels punched her in the jaw next.

"What was that for? She's the one who hit you!" River said.

"Amy doesn't want me to bother her though so I'm taking it out on you instead. I like that better anyway," Mels said with an evil grin.

"Oh, I am so going to make you pay for that," River said.

"We already know that you won't shoot me so what are you going to do to me, huh? You're just full of a lot of hot air. That's all you are. You're just a big bag of wind. In fact, you're worse than that. You're soft!" Mels said as she smiled at her with an arrogant look on her face.

River's face went bright red with anger as she said, "That's it. You were absolutely right before, Mels. It's going to be completely worth it no matter what happens to me afterwards."

River pulled out her gun and was about to shoot Mels before Amy yanked it out of her hand and gave her such a cold look that even she was scared of her. She knew not to mess around with Amy whenever she gave her that look.

"Sorry," River said.

"You should be. I've had enough of all of you. I'm taking Melody and Mels back to their proper places in the timestream right now and ending this before I completely lose my mind," Amy said in an extremely angry voice.

Amy immediately went to the console to enter in the coordinates to take Melody home. Then she froze.

"Amy?" Rory asked with concern as he saw tears running down her face.

"I can't do it. I can't send her back to that life. I can't. I know what the consequences will be if I don't but I can't. I won't let that happen to her again," Amy said in a voice filled with pain and loss.

"Mother, I'm alright now. You don't have to do this," River said as she put a comforting arm around her.

"I can't," Amy said.

"Amy . . . Mother, it's going to be okay. I promise," Mels said as she joined River in putting her arm around Amy.

"Why are you so sad? Are you okay?" Melody asked with concern as she tugged at Amy's pants leg.

Amy couldn't help but smile a little. The three of them had finally stopped fighting at last and united together in a common goal for the first time. They had all come together to comfort her because they loved her.

"Go ahead. It's going to be fine. I mean I think I turned out pretty well in the end, don't you?" River asked with a warm smile.

Amy nodded through tear-filled eyes as she said, "Yeah, you did. You're the best, Melody."

Mels looked at River with a small smile now as she said, "I guess you're not too bad. I mean you are pretty good with a gun."

"You're not too bad yourself," River said.

Melody smiled at both of them as she said, "Maybe you two aren't too bad either. You still love our mother so you can't be too mean."

"I'm sorry for calling you stupid," Mels said.

"I'm sorry for the punch in the face," Melody said.

"Forget about it," Both River and Mels said at once.

Amy smiled at them all with pride as she said, "My girls. Goodbye, Melody, Mels."

"Goodbye, Mother," Both girls said.

Then River helped them bury their memories of the whole incident, and Amy dropped each of them off at the proper time and place. They would each go back to the Silence with a fake memory of what had just happened of never having found anyone named Sirona or any leads on her that would only go away once they were River.

"I'm glad that's over with. My head was about to explode from all the stress. One of you is enough, Melody. More than enough," Amy said as she embraced River.

"I hate to say it but I agree. Even I was getting tired of me," River said grinning.

"There's still one thing that I don't understand," Oisin said.

"Yes, why did the TARDIS land in that warehouse in the first place?" Karen asked.

"I don't know. I certainly didn't program her to do that. Maybe it just developed some kind of malfunction or it needs a tune-up or something," Amy said.

She didn't really much care at that point. After the day that she had just had, she was more than willing to let the whole thing go.

This was going to turn out to be a huge mistake in the very near future because as the doors to the TARDIS stood open while they were in the warehouse something had gotten into it when their backs had all been turned. It was something that had been hiding there for a long time while it strengthened its powers until the day it could reach out with its mind and force a TARDIS to come to it so that it could escape.

Soon it was going to threaten not just the lives of everyone on board but potentially all of time and space. Amy didn't realize it at the time, but her headaches were only just beginning.

Next: Amy founds out that she has a shape shifting hitchhiker on board who can become anyone and anything and who can play with the minds of others. By the time it gets through with manipulating them, Amy's crew will all eye each other with suspicion as she tries to find out which of them is the intruder before it's too late to stop it from killing them all and seizing the ship.