The Doctor awoke slowly, sighing as he finally regained consciousness. He fell a hard, marble floor beneath him, and also a hard wall, which he leaned against. He opened his eyes, and lept to his feet. Something was wrong. He could feel it. There was something strange about the room he was in. And as he peered closer he found that he was in a small, dark room, with metal walls, a metal floor, and a heavy metal door with only a small rectangle to peer through.
The events leading to his captivity were coming back to him; the vacation, the motel, Amy and Rory, Jedediah…..Oh no, he thought, frantically patting his pockets to see if any little cowboys had happened to get in them. The motel, he remembered. He was still alone at the motel! Worry filled the Doctor as the possibilities of the many different things that could have befallen his small friend. Perhaps he had somehow escaped unnoticed and was seeking help from some person who just might have a good heart. Then he realized there were no people. Not anymore. They were all robots or whatever. The more he thought, the more his fear for the little cowboy grew. Maybe he was now a robot zombie…..or a cyborg….or maybe they killed him….
Suddenly, there was a pounding outside the door, which startled the Doctor. He jumped backwards, then hesitantly made his way towards the door, unsure of what to expect. He cautiously peeked through the opening, and saw to his astonishment none other than Amelia Pond.
"Oh, Amy! You have no idea how great it is to see….." The Doctor began, trailing off when he noticed the unnatural sheen to her body. He took a small step back. "No...no it can't be…" To say he was shaken was an understatement.
"Doctor," Amy said, her robotic voice only adding to the Doctor's fear and growing suspicion. "You are the Doctor."
"Y-Yes, I am. And I would like to know who you are and what you are doing." He demanded, courage in his eyes and voice.
"I am the Intelligence. I am here to replace all of humanity." Was Amy's reply.
"Intelligence?" The doctor questioned, looking a little confused.
"Yes."
After a moment's pause, the Doctor spoke again. "Alright, Intelligence, leave her be and talk to me in your own form."
"I'm afraid that is impossible,"
"How so? Why do you need innocent people as your speaker?"
"Ah, Doctor. You were always a prying one."
"Wait," The Doctor muttered. He then raised his voice. "How do you know that?"
"The Intelligence knows all, sees all, hears all. If you must know, Doctor, I am a super consciousness with knowledge of all space and time."
"Good to know, I'll keep that in mind. Now why do you need her as a speaker?"
"Ah, Doctor, keeping your cool won't help you for long. I know your past, and your future. You will regret."
"You haven't answered my question," Said the Doctor, being as patient and pressing as he could without letting his anger flare. What could this Intelligence possibly know?
"Fine. I will tell you. I am a disembodied consciousness- I have no form. I have control over others, and can make copies of and reanimate the bodies."
"Is that why you speak through her? Because you have no body?"
"Yes."
"So why all humanity? What are you trying to achieve?"
"Prying, Doctor. You are desperate for answers. You are troubled. What troubles you?"
"Why would I tell you?" Asked the Doctor.
"Fair enough. You don't have to tell me you're worried for….your friends."
The Doctor paused, and for a moment was speechless. "How...how did…"
"I know all. You are afraid for your companions, Amy and Rory, and that other who I am prohibited to say. Well, they are in safe hands. Except for that specific one."
"How can they be in safe hands if you don't even have any hands!" The Doctor shot back, now losing his cool. He rammed into the door but it didn't budge."Where are they!?"
"Easy, Doctor. All in good time," Came another voice, a new voice, one that was dark and familiar. It rang in through the walls, like a speaker, the tone one of menacing laughter and malicious foreboding. Though he'd only heard it a few times, he recognized it almost immediately.
"Kahmunrah," He muttered, narrowing his eyes. "What do you want?"
"Nothing much. Just my fair chance at world domination. Which you and the others stole from me, twice."
The Doctor recalled his last meeting with the pharaoh, and the story he'd been told by the miniatures of the evil Egyptian's Smithsonian invasion. He knew Kahmunrah was nothing but trouble. "Why are you working with the Intelligence and what are you after?"
"Did you not here what I just said?" Kahmunrah asked slightly annoyed. "I want world domination. But I can't do that if the world's people….and you Time Lord creatures are always stopping me. So…..I had the Intelligence steal the consciousnesses of all the mortal humans and give them to me. So now, my kingdom is full of souls, and my new kingdom is empty and ready for me to move in. The plan is for me to have control still of the Underworld, and for the Intelligence to have control of the world above. And with the Intelligence as my ally there is nothing that can stand in my way. Except….that tiny, little, annoying cowboy."
At the mention of one of his companions the Doctor stiffened. "Leave him alone!" He demanded, anger in his eyes. "You have already taken one!"
"Oh, I did. The Roman, oh, the poor, poor little Roman. I had to settle for the Roman, though I wanted the cowboy. So now I have the Roman to make him suffer my wrath."
The Doctor didn't answer, and held back all his pain and fear and anger. "Where is Jedediah now?"
"The cowboy? Alive. But not for long."
"Kahmunrah if you so much as lay a finger on him I'll…."
"You'll what? Stop me? How are going to do that?"
"Kahmunrah, you don't realize what you're up against. This cowboy is fierce. He is strong and will stay out of harm's way. If I know him then he'll do everything in his power to free us and bring you to your knees!"
The pharaoh yawned. "A futile attempt to scare me. Perhaps you want….." Kahmunrah's voice trailed off before he spoke again. "WHAT!? HE ESCAPED!?"
The Doctor waited to hear what was causing Kahmunrah's rage.
"Well," The Egyptian said, maintaining his posture. "Apparently the Roman has escaped."
A small smirk formed on the Time Lord's face, and he chuckled slightly. "I warned you about them."
"Fear not," Came the pharaoh's rage tainted voice. "I will catch him once more, and the cowboy as well. Once I have them….the real fun will begin."
With a wicked laugh the Egyptian's voice went silent. Amy, still under the control of the Intelligence, turned and walked away, leaving the Doctor and everything else in silence.