TW: Glad you enjoyed it.
The TARDIS hurtles over London as it spins wildly out of control. The Eleventh Doctor was hanging on by his hands to the doorframe, his screwdriver in his mouth. The Doctor pulls himself halfway inside when he hears the ringing of a bell. He looks over his shoulder to see the TARDIS is about to crash into Big Ben.
"Please tell me he's not going to destroy Big Ben. I think the Slitheen attack was enough," Mickey said with a grimace.
"Spoilers," Jane said with a slight grin.
Donna frowned, the word ringing a bell for some reason. But she was distracted from thinking on it too much as she watched the recording.
The Doctor uses his screwdriver to flip a switch on the console and the TARDIS turns sharply, avoiding a collision. The Doctor then pulls himself inside and closes the door. His relief is short-lived, as the TARDIS hits something, which spends it into a tailspin.
"He better get the TARDIS under control before it crashes into something important," Jack said with a frown.
"Haven't you figured it out by now Jack? The TARDIS may not take Dad where he wants to go, but it always takes him where he needs to go," Jane said with a mysterious smile that caused the others to shoot her odd looks.
In a house, a little girl is in her bedroom, praying to Santa Claus. The girl doesn't want dolls or toys. There's a crack in her, she looks over at it briefly before going back to praying. Her Aunt Sharon says its ordinary, but at night she can hear voices coming from it.
Jack frowned, a suspicion forming in his mind. Children saw far more than most adults gave them credit for. His experience with the Rift had taught him that when kids were claiming to hear noises, you paid attention.
"A girl with a crack in her wall? That seems…oddly normal," Martha noted. "Minus the hearing voices thing."
"When children say they hear voices, you pay attention," Jack voiced his thoughts. "Children see more than we give them credit for."
She asks Santa to send someone to fix it when she hears the sounds of the TARDIS followed by a crash from outside. Curiously, the girl goes to her window and pulls back the curtain slightly. She sees the TARDIS, which has crashed into a shed in her yard. The girl thanks Santa.
"Well if that's not a sign from above, I don't know what is," Mickey said in amusement.
"The Lord does work in mysterious ways," Wilf said with a laugh.
The girl is then seen going into her yard, holding a flashlight as she wearily approaches the TARDIS. The remains of the Regeneration Energy has manifested as smoke and the door suddenly pops open as she reaches it. A grappling hook flies out, latching onto a nearby piece of equipment. The girl takes a step back before The Doctor's head emerges and he asks for an apple, to the girl's bewilderment.
"So this is what Boss is like after Regeneration," Mickey muttered.
"Didn't you meet him at Christmas just after he Regenerated last time?" Jack asked confused.
"He spent most of that time unconscious. Plus, we were being invaded by the Sycorax," Mickey pointed out and Jack nodded in understanding.
The Doctor notes he's having a craving, which is new as he climbs out. The girl asks if he's okay and he says he fell into the library and had to climb back up. The girl notes he's wet and he explains he was in the swimming pool, which is in the library at the moment. The girl asks if he's a policeman and The Doctor asks if she called one. When the girl inquires about the crack in her wall, The Doctor falls from the TARDIS onto his knees.
"This happened last time to," Mickey said as Donna, Martha and Wilf looked worried.
"It's par for the course after a Regeneration. Dad just needs some rest. Like Jack dying, it passes," Jane said with a slight grin.
"You can't die?" Wilf asked surprised as he turned to Jack, remembering him mentioning that in the last recording but he'd been too caught up in his guilt to really pay attention.
"Oh I can die, I just come back. I'll tell you a bit more about it after this is over," Jack said with a smirk.
Wolf merely nodded, looking like he was having trouble wrapping his head around this. They always did at first, Jack mused.
The girl asks him if he's okay and he says it's perfectly normal before he coughs, breathing out a stream of golden breath.
"Well that's new," Mickey muttered.
The girl asks if he's alright and he says he doesn't know. He's still cooking, he notes as the remains of his Regeneration Energy coat his hands. He asks if it scares her and the girl say it just looks weird. The Doctor clarifies he meant the crack in her wall. She confirms it does. "Well, no time to lose," The Doctor said as he got to his feet. "I'm The Doctor. Do as I say, don't ask stupid questions, and don't wonder off."
"He always says that," Donna remembered fondly.
"And do we ever listen?" Jack asked with a grin.
"Nope," Martha said happily as they all laughed.
The Doctor turns around and walks into a tree, getting knocked on his back. The girl asks if he's alright and The Doctor says the 'steering is a bit off' in the early days.
"Yeah, I'm sure that's what it is Spaceman," Donna said with a grin.
The scene changes to her kitchen. The girl asks why the TARDIS says police if he's a doctor. The Doctor doesn't answer, taking a bite out of an apple which he immediately spits out. He calls it disgusting.
"But he loves apples!" Martha said shocked as she, Donna and Jack looked surprised.
"Oh, this happens after Regeneration to. New body, new taste buds," Mickey explained, remembering that perplexing Christmas Dinner at the Tylers where he, Rose and Jackie had watched The Doctor attempt to eat his usual favorites.
The Doctor asks for yogurt and the girl goes to her fridge, getting some and bringing it to him. The Doctor opens it, drinks it all before spitting it out, deciding he hates it. "New mouth, new rules," The Doctor explains. The Doctor tells her to fry something, as she's Scottish and she makes bacon. Putting it on a plate, The Doctor tries it before spitting it out, asking if she's trying to poison him.
"She's a little girl who let you into her house and made you food, you could be nicer," Donna snapped at his rudeness.
"To be fair, he did just Regenerate, he's not thinking that well," Jane shrugged. "Not that you're wrong."
The girl the makes some beans, which he spits into the sink, declaring beans are evil.
"He even hates beans?" Wilf said in surprise.
"Wonder what kind of food he will like," Jack wondered.
They then try bread and butter, which The Doctor throws out into the yard, ordering it to stay out.
"He even hates butter bread? He's officially hopeless," Martha said, torn between amusement and exasperation.
The girl opens her fridge, saying they've got carrots and The Doctor asks if she's insane. Going over to the fridge, The Doctor takes out a box of fish fingers and another one of custard.
"He wants fish fingers…and custard," Mickey said in disbelief.
"That is the most disgusting thing I have ever heard," Donna declared in revolution.
"Ew," Martha said disgusted.
"I've had odder things that turned out to be delicious," Jack shrugged while Wilf looked torn between amusement and disgust.
"He actually shared it with me once. It's not bad," Jane admitted and got five incredulous looks that made her laugh.
Later, the two are sitting at the table, The Doctor drinking the custard after finishing his fish fingers as the girl eats ice cream. He wipes the yellow mustache from his mouth as the girl calls him funny. She introduces herself as Amelia Pond, which The Doctor notes sounds like something from a fairy tale. The Doctor asks if they're in Scotland based on her accent and she says they're in England, which she finds 'rubbish'.
"I'm not actually sure whether to be offended by that or not," Mickey admitted.
"She's a little girl who misses home. Also doesn't seem like they've lived there that long, so it might be that she hasn't made any friends yet," Martha pointed out and Mickey shrugged, conceding her point.
The Doctor asks about her parents and Amelia says she only has an aunt, no parents.
"So she's an orphan then," Wilf noted.
"Seems that way," Jacked noted, although something seemed off to him, though he couldn't figure out what just yet.
The Doctor notes he doesn't have an aunt or parents and Amelia says he's lucky. The Doctor asks about her aunt and Amelia says she's 'out'.
"Her aunt just left her there alone?" Martha exclaimed horrified.
She wasn't the only one.
"What kind of guardian leaves a seven year old alone!?" Donna demanded angrily.
"Good God," Wilf said horrified.
"And as usual, social services isn't around when you need them," Mickey scoffed.
"Some people shouldn't be allowed around children," Jack said darkly, thinking guilty of how Alice had held Steven's body.
Why was it that people who should get children had theirs taken away?
The Doctor is surprised Amelia's aunt left her alone and Amelia says she's not scared. The Doctor agrees before bringing up the crack in her wall.
The anger faded for the most part, pushed to the back of their minds as everyone focused, curious about the crack.
The Doctor is shown to Amelia's room and examines the crack in the wall. Amelia says she used to hate apples until her mother carves faces into them, showing him one on her nightstand. The Doctor examines it before pocketing it, going back to the wall. Using his sonic screwdriver, The Doctor realizes it's not a crack in the wall, but a crack in space-time. If they removed the wall, the crack would still be there he explains. The crack is part of two pieces of space and time that should never have touched.
"It's just like the Rift," Jack noted, not seeing Jane's mysterious smile.
"You have no idea," Jane said but didn't elaborate.
"It's an entire world locked away in a crack," Donna mused.
"How do you even understand that?" Mickey asked as he looked at her oddly.
"Like I said, Time Lord knowledge. She's smarter than the rest of you now," Jane chuckled as Donna looked torn between amusement and unease at this prospect.
The Doctor asks if Amelia can hear anything and she tells him about the voice. Hearing the voice, The Doctor picks up a glass of water, dumps it out and presses it against his ear before placing it on the wall. Someone says 'Prisoner Zero has escaped'.
"Not a world, a prison," Jack realized.
"And one that has an escaped prisoner," Martha said uneasily.
"If that crack is anything like the Cardiff Rift, there's only one place that prisoner could gone: out," Jack said as they all realized where he was going with this.
"Prisoner Zero is in the house somewhere," Wilf realized uneasily.
"I guess the TARDIS brought Boss where he needed to go after all," Mickey mused.
Amelia asks what it meant and The Doctor realizes there's a prison on the other side of the wall. The Doctor moves Amelia's dresser, explaining that the wall will shut itself shut before asking if she knows how grownups tell her everything is going to be fine when they want her to feel better. "Everything's gonna be fine," he tells her.
"And I'm sure that's gonna make her feel loads better Spaceman," Donna said sarcastically.
"Well, he never was one for comfort," Martha mused.
The Doctor uses his screwdriver to open the wall. The pair hears the voice again before they see a giant eye. Amelia asks what that was and a shot of light shot towards The Doctor before the crack closes. Amelia asks if that was Prisoner Zero and The Doctor says it was a guard. Pulling out his psychic paper, The Doctor notes that whoever it was delivered him a message. One again, it is 'Prisoner Zero has escaped'.
"Whoever these guards are must be an advanced race, if they have technology strong enough to send a message The Doctor's psychic paper," Jack mused.
"And what does that mean about Prisoner Zero?" Mickey asked but no one had an answer.
"Don't look at me," Jane said when they looked at her. "I'm just here to help you through the ride. You need to see a lot of this for yourselves."
"You are the worst tour guide ever," Martha said dryly and Jane laughed.
The Doctor wonders why they're telling them when he realizes Prisoner Zero escaped through the crack. The Doctor grabs Amelia and leads her out into the hall, realizing he's missing something. Before he can figure it out, they hear what sounds like a loud drum.
"Is that what I think it is?" Martha asked uneasily as she, Jack and Donna tensed.
"The TARDIS Cloister Bell. Something's wrong," Jack said grimly.
"The what?" Wilf asked confused.
"It's basically a Red Alert for the TARDIS," Donna explained. "I guess it was more damaged in the Regeneration than we thought."
The Doctor quickly rushes outside to the TARDIS with Amelia following him. The Doctor explains the engines are phasing out of existence. Amelia is confused as The Doctor explains about the TARDIS and he needs to travel five minutes into the future to fix the engines. Amelia asks if she can come and The Doctor promises as soon as he comes back.
"Is he-is he honestly planning on taking a child with him traveling through space and time? Has he gone mad?!" Donna exclaimed in disbelief as everyone stared at the screen in disbelief.
"I know he can be reckless sometimes and not think things through but this…I don't even know what to call this," Martha said in disbelief.
"He's a dumbo," Donna said as she put a hand to her head, feeling a migraine coming on.
"Unless it's not being reckless. Unless The Doctor has a reason for wanting to take her along," Jack realized.
"Dad has a reason for everything he does. You'll just have to keep watching to see if you figure this one out," Jane said with a grin.
Everyone always promises to come back, Amelia notes sadly. "Am I people? Do I even look like people?" The Doctor asks as he kneels down in front of Amelia. "Trust me. I'm The Doctor."
"And now he's using his 'I'm The Doctor' voice'," Martha muttered. "I swear, he could take a Queen to bed with that voice."
Jane disguised a laugh with a cough. Oh boy was Martha in for a surprise. She honestly couldn't wait for the next recording.
The Doctor then jumps inside the TARDIS with a 'Geronimo' and the doors snap shut. Amelia watches in a bit of wonder as the TARDIS takes off, vanishing into thin air. She then runs back up to her room, packing a small suitcase of clothes and stuffed animals, changing out of her pajamas and into some winter clothes before running back outside. She sits down on the suitcase and begins to wait. Back inside her house, a figure is seen roaming the halls.
"Prisoner Zero," Jack muttered.
"If it gets her away from Prisoner Zero, maybe it's good The Doctor is taking her away," Wilf mused.
When the TARDIS rematerializes in the yard, it is now daylight and Amelia is no longer there. The TARDIS is smoking as The Doctor walks out, calling for Amelia. Not finding her outside, he rushes back into the house. Using his sonic screwdriver to unlock the door, he rushes in, frantically calling for Amelia as he says Prisoner Zero is here. Hearing a creak in the floorboards, The Doctor turns around as someone strikes him in the face with by a cricket bat.
"Well, The Doctor seems to have gotten himself into another mess," Jack muttered.
"So maybe Amelia went back in the house and Prisoner Zero got her?" Martha mused.
"Then who just attacked Boss? Because I doubt Prisoner Zero used a cricket bat," Mickey pointed out.
"I'm sure we'll all learn soon enough," Wilf assured them as they continued watching.
At a hospital, a male nurse leads his supervisor into the coma ward. He informs her that all the patients in the ward suddenly started talking. She is dismissive as he says they called for her. Suddenly, one of the coma patients says 'Doctor'. The supervisor is shocked by this as suddenly, they all begin saying 'Doctor'.
"And that's not creepy at all," Mickey muttered.
"In my experience, when people start calling out for The Doctor, it's never good," Jack noted.
"Especially when they're coma patients," Martha said and Jack nodded in agreement.
Back at Amelia's house, The Doctor comes to, hearing someone talking. Looking up, he sees a young woman dressed like a police officer. He realizes she hit him as she points out he was breaking and entering. The Doctor remembers what happened and tries to jump to his feet only to find she has handcuffed him to the radiator.
"Yep, another mess he's gonna himself into," Martha said.
"I honestly doubt it's that bad," Jack said and they looked at him. "She's not a police officer."
"How can you tell?" Wilf asked curiously.
"Well, I don't know about you Wilf, but in my line of work, I've worked with a lot of police officers. Never had one whose uniform was like that," Jack said, gesturing to his legs. "Not sure what she is, but she's not a police officer."
"So why is she lying to The Doctor?" Martha wondered and Jack shrugged.
"That's the question," he mused.
The woman says she has backup on the way as The Doctor demands to know where Amelia is; explaining the engines failed and he'd gone further than he intended. The woman tells him Amelia hasn't lived here in six months.
"Six months? Oh Spaceman, you and your TARDIS," Donna groaned as the past viewers stared at the screen startled.
"You have no idea," Jane said, wondering how they'd react once the truth really came out.
The Doctor is in disbelief as the woman began to walk away. The Doctor demands to know what happened to Amelia as the woman appears to contact her superiors, telling him they might have information on Amelia Pond.
"So Amelia's missing then. Prisoner Zero might have gotten to her," Martha noted uneasily, the mother in her worrying for the child.
"Maybe, maybe not. There could be a lot of things that happened. And that still leaves Amelia's aunt unaccounted for," Jack pointed out.
Back at the hospital, the superior, identified as Dr. Ramsden, examines the patients and determines they weren't even conscious. The nurse, Rory, tries to bring another incident to her attention by showing her a picture on his phone but she dismisses it and tells him to take some leave. Reluctantly, Rory leaves.
"So it's not just talking coma patients, they've been walking around town?" Donna asked confused.
"And of course a nurse isn't taken seriously. By now, you'd think doctors would learn not to dismiss something so important, especially after everything that happened the last few years," Martha sighed in frustration.
"It's easier to dismiss the impossible. Not everyone is as open minded as you Martha," Jane pointed out gently.
Back at the house, The Doctor demands to speak with whoever lives at the house. The woman says she does, to his surprise. The Doctor asks how many rooms, to her confusion. How many rooms on this floor, he clarifies. When she asks why, he says vaguely it will change her life. She tells him five, counting each one as a demonstration. But there are actually six rooms, he tells her. Look where you don't want to look, he orders, in the corner of her eye. After a moment of hesitation, she turns around and is stunned to see a sixth room.
"Bloody Hell," Mickey exclaimed as most of them stared in shock.
"How is that possible?" Wilf wondered.
"Perception Filter," Jack realized. "A telepathic field that hides things in plain sight. The Torchwood Hub had one before it was destroyed. Prisoner Zero must have been using one to remain undetected from The Doctor earlier."
The Doctor explains that the sixth room was hidden by a perception filter, he'd sensed it before. The woman is in disbelief that it's there as The Doctor explains something is using it to hide and she needs to uncuff him. The woman says she lost the key, to The Doctor's disbelief. The woman approaches the room, despite The Doctor's protests and opens the doors. "Do I have a face no one listens to, again?" The Doctor wonders.
"Oh trust me, that's not a problem anyone has with your face," Jack said flirtatiously.
"You do know he can't hear you, right?" Mickey asked and Jack shrugged.
"Like that's stopped him before," Martha said dryly and Mickey chuckled in agreement.
As she walks inside, The Doctor checks his pocket and finds he's missing his screwdriver. As the woman walks around the room, she finds his screwdriver. The Doctor thinks it rolled under the door as it's revealed to be covered in blue goop on a table.
"Prisoner Zero is definitely still in the house then," Donna noted uneasily.
"With The Doctor tied up and defenseless. This isn't as bad as usual, this worse," Jack said grimly.
"Boss has been in worse situations. He'll be fine," Mickey said with certainty.
The Doctor orders her to get out of there but she ignores him, picking it up. The Doctor frantically tells her to get out as a blue serpent like creature is seen behind the woman.
"Prisoner Zero I take it," Martha said uneasily as they all eyed it.
"A multi-Form," Jack muttered and they looked at him oddly.
"What?" Wilf asked.
"A Multi-Form, a shape shifter. That's what it looks like in its true form. I dealt with one once, a long time ago. When I was a…different man," Jack said, remembering back on his time in the Time Agency. "The coma patients seen around town, they're Prisoner Zero, using their forms to remain undetected. It needs a psychic link to maintain its form."
"Explains the coma patients talking in their sleep, Prisoner Zero was watching The Doctor at the house," Donna mused.
"So how do you get rid of it?" Mickey asked and Jack shrugged.
"Like I know, I was part of a team to take it down. The Doctor's a little more outmatched," Jack noted.
The woman says there's nothing there and The Doctor says it's hiding behind the corner of her eye. He tells her not to look at it but she turns around and sees it. It snarls and she screams, running out of the room and slamming the door behind her. She quickly hands him the screwdriver and The Doctor uses it to lock the door before attempting to unlock the cuffs. But the screwdriver is damaged from the goop.
"Oh bloody brilliant! What else could go wrong?!" Donna groaned.
"Anything and everything. It's The Doctor," Jack said sarcastically.
"Is this what usually happens when traveling with The Doctor?" Wilf wonders.
"This is actually pretty tame compared to what usually happens," Martha noted, to Wilf's disbelief.
The woman asks if the door will hold and The Doctor sarcastically remarks that inter-dimensional multi-forms are terrified of wood. Seeing a glow behind the door, the woman asks what it's doing and The Doctor tells her to run, he'll be fine once her backup arrives. But there is no backup. She's not a police officer, she's a kissogram, she reveals as she takes off her hair to reveal long red hair.
"I do hate being right sometimes," Jack said dryly as they all groaned.
"Great. Run Spaceman," Donna said, worried for her best friend.
The door breaks down, revealing a man walking a dog. The woman is shocked but The Doctor tells her to look at their faces. She does and the man suddenly starts to bark, to her confusion. The Doctor explains it's a multi-form shape shifter and laughingly tells her they got the voice wrong. The Doctor is confused about how they got the pattern, as they need a psychic link. The scene flashes briefly to the hospital, revealing one of the coma patients was the form of the man.
"And the coma patients are easy pickings, as their minds are defenseless and easily susceptible to a psychic link," Jack noted. "Like a candy shop for Multi-Forms."
"I think I preferred the Cybermen," Mickey said sarcastically.
The Doctor tells Prisoner Zero that the woman sent for backup. She reminds him she can't and The Doctor says it was clever lie to save them. The Doctor says they're no threat to him without back up. The guard from earlier then broadcasts a message, saying that the house is surrounded. The Doctor points out they're safe now when the guard orders Prisoner Zero to leave or the human residence will be incinerated.
"Why do these kinds of aliens always want to destroy something?" Donnaa groaned.
"Par for the course it seems," Jack noted.
"Martha? Everything okay?" Mickey and they turned to Martha to see she was frowning, looking deep in thought.
"Yeah. This just…it sounds like something that happened just before Davros. 'The Human Residence will be incinerated' was broadcast over every electronic device in the world in every language," Martha mused.
"The same day the earth was locked up in that force field," Jacked remembered. "Looks like we're about to find out what happened that day."
The Doctor tries to use his screwdriver again, tapping it on the floor and it flares to life. The Doctor frees himself and tells the woman to run. They frantically run into the backyard as the woman demands to know what was going on. The Doctor explains the situation as he heads to the TARDIS. To his disbelief, he finds the doors locked as its still repairing itself.
"So he doesn't even have the TARDIS to use either," Martha noted unhappily.
"This could not get worse," Mickey declared.
The woman grabs his arm and tries to drag him away when The Doctor sees the shed he had crashed into has been rebuilt. And it's old. Rushing up to it, he licks it, determining that it's been twelve year since the shed was built, realizing its been twelve years since he first arrived here. The Doctor demands to know why the woman said six months. "Why did you say five minutes?!" she exploded.
"Bloody Hell," Donna muttered as the realization hit them.
"That's Amelia. That's Amelia?" Martha asked in disbelief, turning to Jane, who nodded in confirmation.
"She goes by Amy now, but yeah," Jane confirms.
"Suddenly the year Boss overshot bringing Rose back doesn't seem so bad," Mickey said weakly.
"I know he has a history of not arriving at the right place in the right time, but this is ridiculous," Jack said as he put a hand to his face.
"Imagine how she must feel," Wilf noted.
The Doctor is stunned, realizing the woman was Amelia as she grabs his arm and they run, passing the creature on the way. As they run down the street, The Doctor is still processing that she was Amelia. She coldly tells him he's late. He realizes she hit him with a cricket bat and she points out he's twelve years and four psychiatrists late. She kept biting them because they said he wasn't real.
"She must have thought she'd imagined the whole thing," Mickey realized.
"And years before that, she thought The Doctor just didn't come back and lied to her," Martha said, feeling sympathy for Amy.
"Poor Amy," Donna said sadly.
Spotting an ice cream truck, they realize that's where the voice is broadcasting from. They rush up but the ice cream man doesn't know what's going on either. The Doctor picks up the radio and realizes it's not just the radio; every electronic device is broadcasting the same message. The Doctor rushes towards the first house he sees and Amy follows after him. Inside the house, an old woman is changing the channel but only gets the eye from before broadcasting the message. The Doctor and Amy enter the house. The Doctor claims to be a television repairman as the woman recognizes Amy. It's revealed Amy dresses up as a nurse and nun for her job. The Doctor says Amelia was a great name and Amy coolly says it was a bit fairytale.
"Ouch," Jack noted.
"Boss has his work cut out for him," Mickey noted.
"Yeah, if he wants to regain her trust, he'll have to really prove himself," Martha agreed.
The woman thinks she recognizes The Doctor, which is impossible. Amy explains her job and The Doctor is aghast, saying she was a little girl five minutes ago. Amy calls him worse than her Aunt and he declares he's worse than everyone's aunt.
"These two could be a comedy act," Mickey said amused.
"In all seriousness, a kissogram?" Martha said incredulously.
"I know I used to be a temp but come on," Donna said in disgust. "She can do better than that."
"It takes Amy a long time to find herself," Jane said simply.
After using the screwdriver to examine the radio, The Doctor realizes the message is being broadcast to the entire world in every language. Opening a window, he looks outside as Amy asks what he's doing. As a man Amy's age walks in, The Doctor walks up to him, explaining that a planet earth's size would require a medium size starship, which means they'll be here in about twenty minutes. The man realizes who The Doctor is as the woman reveals Amy had told everyone about 'The Raggedy Doctor' as a kid. The Doctor sits on the couch as Amy tells the man, Jeff to shut up.
"She told everyone about him, they must have thought she was mad," Martha said, once more feeling sorry for Amy.
"She must have questioned her own sanity at points," Jack noted.
"That poor girl," Wilf said with compassion.
"I think that's an understatement gramps," Donna muttered.
The Doctor reveals the 'human residence' is the planet and the spaceship is going to destroy the planet in twenty minutes. In space, a shot of a fleet of ships is seen.
"Bloody Hell! Why is it that the first solution is always to destroy the Earth!?" Donna demanded as everyone else looked shocked.
"Because advanced races usually think they can get away with it," Jack said grimly, thinking of the 456.
"Well we're still here, so Boss obviously stopped them somehow," Mickey noted.
"He always does," Jane said with a slight smile.
Amy and The Doctor are then seen walking down the street, Amy explaining all about Leadworth as The Doctor asks if Amy has a car. She doesn't. Seeing a duck pond, The Doctor rushes over, seeing no ducks. The Doctor then falls to his knees, still in pain from his regeneration.
"He's still recovering. He's not at 100%," Jack noted uneasily.
"Unfortunately, we don't have time to wait for him to recover. We need him now," Martha said grimly.
The sky grows dark and the pair look up into the sky, seeing something happening to the sun. The Doctor explains that the aliens have sealed off the earth with a force field and are getting ready to boil the planet, to Amy's alarm.
"Great, just what we need from these guys. Why can't you find some other planet to invade?" Martha grumbled.
"It's not the planet they want. It's Prisoner Zero. They get him, they'll leave," Jack pointed out.
"Still, seems a bit excessive, doesn't it?" Wilf inquired.
"You'd be surprised how many planets use exactly these kinds of tactics," Jack said grimly.
The Doctor gets to his feet, annoyed by people recording the sun with a video phone. Amy asks if he's winding her up and he asks why he'd do that. Amy says he told her he had a time machine and he points out she believed him. Then she grew up, she points out. The Doctor says she never wants to do that before he hits himself in the face as he realizes something. The recording then does a layover of various people taking a picture of the sun. The only person who didn't, Rory, is taking a picture of Prisoner Zero in his man/dog form.
"Looks like this is where Rory comes in," Martha noted.
"And The Doctor learns about the coma patients," Jack agreed.
The Doctor says Amy can either go home and spend time with her loved ones before the planet burns or help him stop it. Angrily, Amy grabs him by his tie, dragging him over to a car as an old man gets out. Grabbing the keys from him, Amy shuts the door on The Doctor's tie and locks it.
"I like her," Donna decided. "Very no nonsense, take charge. I think The Doctor needs someone like that right now."
"Also she's a redhead," Martha teased and Donna shrugged.
"Well, there is that to," Donna said with a grin.
Amy demands to know who he is and he says she knows. He points out the world is ending in twenty minutes and she says he better talk quickly. The old man says he needs his car and Amy tells him to go get coffee. Bewildered, the man does so. The Doctor pulls out the apple Amy had given him, handing it to her. Amy stares at it in disbelief as The Doctor explains he told her the truth and she needs to let him go if she wants the world to survive. But Amy doesn't believe him. The Doctor pleads with her to believe him for twenty minutes, making her look at the apple, pointing out it looks as fresh as the day she had given it to him. And deep down, she knows it's the same one. The Doctor pleads that she believe him for twenty minutes. After a moment, she unlocks the car.
"Well, at the very least, she's giving him the benefit of the doubt," Martha said optimistically.
"Hopefully The Doctor doesn't do anything to screw that up," Jack noted uneasily. "He's good at that. And Amy's trust is fragile at the moment."
"Don't screw it up Spaceman," Donna muttered.
After letting him go, Amy asks what they do. He says stop that nurse and runs across the street, Amy following after him. Reaching Rory, The Doctor takes the phone, asking why he's taking a picture of a man with a dog with what's going on. As Amy reaches them, Rory recognizes her. Amy introduces Rory as a friend. He correcting her, saying he's her boyfriend and Amy adds kind of.
"Doesn't seem like they'll last very long then," Mickey muttered, seeing parallels between them and his relationship with Rose.
Jane remained silent, knowing they'd have to see that the first assumption about Amy's relationship with Rory was wrong. She'd had the same assumption as Mickey at first, but Amy and Rory had proven her wrong.
As The Doctor asks about the man and the dog, Rory realizes who The Doctor is, having thought he was just a story. The Doctor demands to know about the man and the dog and Rory says he can't be there. Rory, in sync with The Doctor, says the man is in a coma. The Doctor feels vindicated as Prisoner Zero barks at them. Rory is in disbelief there's a Prisoner Zero as well. As a ship is seen in the sky, seeming to scan the area, The Doctor notes it's looking for non-terrestrial tech. Like his screwdriver, which he then activates, taking out all the nearby street lamps and setting of every vehicle. As The Doctor blows a nearby phone booth, his screwdriver overloads, imploding and the damaged tool falls to the ground, to The Doctor's horror.
"So now he doesn't even have his screwdriver to use. This day could not get worse for him," Martha said as she and Mickey groaned while Jack grimaced.
"Would everyone stop saying that?! Every time someone does, things get worse. Everyone just shut up!" Donna snapped.
"Us not saying it won't make it stop," Jack noted and she glared at him. "Shutting up now."
The ship flies away as The Doctor frantically tries to point out Prisoner Zero, who seems to vanish into a nearby drain. Amy points this out and The Doctor realizes they need to draw him into the open with only seventeen minutes left. Back at the hospital, Dr. Ramsden is trying to wake the coma patient, who is twitching in his sleep. Above them, Prisoner Zero emerges from a drain in serpent form.
"It went back to the hospital. But why?" Martha wondered.
"Loose ends," Jack said grimly and everyone realized what was happening.
"My God, all those people," Wilf said horrified.
"Even Dad can't save everyone," Jane said sadly.
Amy asks The Doctor about Prisoner Zero living in her house for twelve years. Multi-forms live for millennia, The Doctor explains. When Amy points out he shows up on the same day the aliens show up, The Doctor explains they're following him to try and find Prisoner Zero. The Doctor demands Rory's phone. Rory reluctantly gives it to him, still having trouble grasping that The Doctor is real, remembering Amy having him dress up as The Doctor.
"So they've known each other for a long time then," Donna noted.
"Since before Dad," Jane confirmed.
As The Doctor searches Rory's phone, he explains the dog is a manifestation of the coma patient's dream. The Doctor needs a laptop and asks Amy about her 'good-looking friend', who Amy says is Jeff, to Rory's frustration. The Doctor tells them to go to the Hospital while he goes to get Jeff's laptop. As Amy and Rory get in Rory's car and head to the hospital, The Doctor arrives at Jeff's house. Opening the door, he finds Jeff on his laptop. He wrestles it from him and opens it, telling Jeff to get a girlfriend.
"The world's going to Hell and he's looking at porn. What a freak," Donna said as they all looked disgusted.
"Sometimes good looks can't hide what a creep someone is inside," Jane said with a grimace.
As Jeff's grandmother walks in, The Doctor explains with everything going on, there will be a video conference between the world's greatest scientists. Within moments, The Doctor finds what he is looking for, hacking into a video call. As the confused scientists wonder who The Doctor he is, he uploads proof of Fermat's Last Theorem, claiming it was his fault it was never finished as he slept in.
"I'm not even surprised," Martha said with a shrug.
"After you travel with The Doctor long enough, you kind of expect things like this," Jack mused.
As The Doctor continues the upload, Amy and Rory arrive at the hospital. Back at Jeff's, The Doctor explains he's writing a 'very clever and tiny bit alive' computer virus. After sending it to the computer of the 'big boys', he tells them to spread it across any electronic service they can. Patrick Moore asks who the lady on the computer was.
"Looks like Boss was right about him. He is a devil," Mickey said, not sure whether to be amused or disgusted.
"Suddenly, he's a lot less impressive," Martha noted.
The Doctor explains that the virus will reset every electronic counter in the world to zero. The Doctor notes they have no reason to trust him, which is why he'll let his 'best man' explain. Jeff is shock when he realizes The Doctor means him.
"So we're relying on a pervert to save the world. We're doomed," Donna said dryly.
"People can surprise you, even perverts," Jack shrugged.
"I'll pass," Martha said sarcastically.
Closing the laptop slightly, The Doctor tells Jeff he'll be a legend in ten minutes, but only if he can make the 'big boys' trust him. "Todays the day you save the world," The Doctor tells the stunned Jeff. The Doctor then runs out and Jeff begins typing on the computer. The door opens and The Doctor tells Jeff to delete his internet history before running back out. At the Hospital, Rory and Amy can't get passed the front desk. Amy calls The Doctor, who tells them to 'look in the mirror'. Confused, they do and Amy realizes she's still dressed as a police officer. As she ties her hair, she tells The Doctor he'll need a car. The scene flashes over to The Doctor, revealing he has stolen a fire truck as he activates the sirens.
"That's one way to get somewhere quickly," Jack noted amused as chuckles of amusement broke out across the room.
"Only the Spaceman could get away with that," Donna laughed.
As Amy and Rory run onto the coma ward, they find it a mess and seemingly deserted. Rounding a corner, they find a woman and two little girls. The woman, thinking Amy is a police officer, tells her about a 'man and a dog' that killed Dr. Ramsden and all the nurses.
"All those poor people," Wilf said horrified as the laughter stopped.
"Unfortunately, we can't save everyone. We try to do save as many as we can, but we're not gods. People will die on our watch. It's something we unfortunately just have to learn to accept," Jack noted.
"Have you?" Martha asked gently as she looked at him and Jack smiled weakly.
"Still working on it."
Amy calls The Doctor, who tells her they need to get out of there. One of the girls starts talking in the voice of the woman.
"Oh bloody Hell!" Martha groaned as they all realized what was happening.
"That's what's dangerous about Multi-Forms. They can hide in any shape and form, if they've had long enough to set up a psychic link," Jack said darkly. "They could be standing right next to you and you'd never know until it was too late."
Amy and Rory fearfully begin backing away as Prisoner Zero realizes he's gotten the mouth wrong again. The woman and girls open their mouths to reveal carnivorous teeth. As The Doctor asks what was happening, Amy and Rory run into a room. Rory closes the doors and put a broom through the handles, locking it.
"That won't hold it for long," Mickey noted uneasily.
"Only thing they can do is wait for The Doctor to get there," Martha said, her tone not much different than her husband's.
As they back away from the door, Amy explains to The Doctor what was happening. The Doctor asks what window they're at, to Amy's confusion but she tells him. Moments later, the door breaks and Prisoner Zero steps inside, noting Amelia never even knew he was there for twelve years. Prisoner Zero taunts her about The Doctor before opening the woman's mouth to reveal her teeth. Amy then gets a text from The Doctor, which says 'duck'. Moments later, they hear the sirens of the fire truck. Amy and Rory duck as the fire truck's ladder breaks the glass of the window. The Doctor climbs up the ladder and jumps into the room, asking if he's late.
"For once, he's right on time," Martha said amused.
"Now let's see what his big plan is," Jack said curiously.
Seeing the clock, The Doctor notes he still has three more minutes. Prisoner Zero asks for what. Ignoring her question, The Doctor tells them they'll be found either way. Prisoner Zero declares the Atraxi will kill them this time, so she's going to watch the fire. The Doctor tells them to come back the way she came but Prisoner Zero says they didn't open the crack.
"So they didn't open the crack?" Mickey asked.
"A Multi-Form? No, it's not nearly powerful enough to open a crack in space-time. More likely it was just in the right place in the right. To make that crack, it would have to be something incredibly powerful," Jack said, silently wondering what could have caused it.
"The cracks in the skin of the universe, don't you know where they came from? You don't, do you?" Prisoner Zero realizes gleefully before switching to a child's voice. "The Doctor in the TARDIS doesn't know. Doesn't know! Doesn't know!" The Doctor sees three minutes had passed as Prisoner Zero switches to the woman's voice. "The universe is cracked. The Pandorica will open. Silence will fall."
"The Pandorica?" Jack said in utter disbelief. "It's a myth, an old wives tale."
"Just like aliens and The Doctor, right?" Jane asked dryly.
"What's the Pandorica?" Donna asked confused as the others all looked at Jack confused.
"An old wives tale. According to the stories, the most evil thing in all the universe was locked away in a prison, the Pandorica. But I never did pay much attention to the story," Jack admitted.
"You might want to start," Jane said with a look that made Jack reevaluate his beliefs about the Pandorica.
Hearing a clicking sound, The Doctor laughs, pointing behind him. Everyone turns to see the clock now reads zero. The Doctor explains that in Jeff's bedroom, his team is working, setting every counter in the world to zero as shots around the world of digital counters meeting zero are seen. The Doctor explains that the Atraxi will begin tracking the source of the virus, Rory's phone, to that location. The Doctor pulls out the phone as the Atraxi ships arrive, swarming the hospital.
"Okay, so he brought them all there. But Prisoner Zero is still a shape shifter," Martha said uneasily.
"Knowing The Doctor, I'm sure he's thought of that," Jack said certainly.
Prisoner Zero points out that they'll never be able to detect them in this form but The Doctor explains that Rory's phone has taken pictures of every form Prisoner Zero has taken. And he's uploading the pictures to the internet now, The Doctor reveals. "Who's the man?!" The Doctor exclaims victoriously only to be met with silence. "Never saying that again."
"Just because you just stopped a Multi-Form and saved the world, I'm gonna let you have that," Jack said with a grin.
"Still, that is never going away," Martha said and Jack chuckled.
"Never," Donna said with a laugh.
Prisoner Zero declares they'll take a new form but The Doctor points out it would take months. But Prisoner Zero has had years. Prisoner Zero begins glowing as Amy falls unconscious. The Doctor and Rory rush to her side, trying to wake her. Rory looks up and calls The Doctor's attention. The Doctor looks up to see it has taken his own form.
"Why would it take The Doctor's form though?" Wilf wondered and Jane grimaced.
"Wait for it," she said, confusing them.
The Doctor is confused until Rory explains that's what he looks like. "It's been a busy day," he says when Rory asks why he doesn't know. The Doctor is confused about why Prisoner Zero took his form until a child Amelia steps into view. "Poor Amelia Pond, still a child at heart. Dreaming of the magic Doctor she knows will return to save her," Prisoner Zero said mockingly. "What a disappointment you've been."
"Ouch," Mickey said with a grimace.
"He really did wreck this girl for life," Martha said sadly.
No one could disagree. It wasn't his fault, but it didn't change what happened.
The Doctor realizes Amy is dreaming about him because she can hear him. Rushing over to Amy, The Doctor urges Amy to remember the room in her house she couldn't see. As Amy flashes back to the room, The Doctor urges her to remember what she had seen. Amy remembers seeing Prisoner Zero, who cries out in anger as they glowed brightly before assuming their true form. The Atraxi locate Prisoner Zero and it is caught in a beam of light. "Silence Doctor. Silence will fall," it hisses before it vanishes.
"Well, at least it's over now," Martha said optimistically.
"Not sure about that," Jack said and she looked over at him in surprise. "Silence will fall. It rings a bell for some reason. I have a feeling this might be just the beginning."
"You have no idea," Jane muttered but didn't elaborate.
They hear the sound of the ships flying away before The Doctor rushes over to the window, looking outside to find them gone. The Doctor pulls out Rory's phone as Rory asks if this means it's over. The Doctor simply pats Rory on the head as he passes. Amy wakes up and Rory makes sure she's alright. As The Doctor is dialing a number, Rory says he did it. "No, I haven't, not yet," The Doctor says to their shock. He explains that he's tracking their signal back and apologizes to Rory about the bill before placing the phone to his ear. "Oi, I didn't say you could go! Article 57 of the Shadow Proclamation, this is a fully established level five planet and you were going to burn it? What? Did you think no one was watching?" The Doctor demanded. "Get back here, now."
"Did-did he just bring back the aliens who just tried to burn the planet back," Donna asked in complete disbelief.
"Well, you know Dad, he always has to make sure people are safe," Jane shrugged.
"Well, curious to see what his new plan is," Jack noted.
The Doctor hangs up, declaring now he's done it. The Doctor walks out of the room, Amy following him as Rory is in disbelief that The Doctor has brought the aliens back. Amy asks where The Doctor is going. At first he says the roof before changing his mind, heading inside a locker room. As Amy and Rory follow him, he explains he needs a decent shirt if he's going to save the world. After finding one to his liking, he tosses some clothes which hit Rory in the face. As The Doctor starts to get undressed, Rory is still processing everything and notes The Doctor is taking his clothes off. The Doctor tells him to turn his back if he's embarrassed. Rory does but notes Amy hasn't moved. He asks if she is and she says nope as she continues watching.
"Well that's…yeah," Mickey said lamely as they all looked uncomfortable.
"Well, Dad did say only to turn around if she was embarrassed. And it's not like Amy was doing anything wrong," Jane shrugged.
"Still, her boyfriend is right there," Donna pointed out.
"The thing about Amy is she keeps people at arm's length most of the time, she doesn't always consider how her actions affect the people she loves. Don't look any deeper into her actions than what this is," Jane advised and Donna shrugged.
"If you say so."
Not long after, the trio emerges on the roof, The Doctor now dressed in a dress shirt and trousers. Seeing the Atraxi ship are hovering above the building, Amy questions The Doctor's plan and he explains he wants them to never come back. He will see them now, The Doctor declared and the eye in the center of the ship lowers itself, a beam of energy scanning The Doctor as Amy and Rory watch. The Atraxi realize The Doctor isn't human as he starts tying a tie. The Atraxi asks if this world was important. Tossing a tie back to Rory, The Doctor points out six billion people live there and demands to know if the earth is a threat to the Atraxi. The Doctor repeats the question, tossing another tie to Amy. The Atraxi does a quick scan, a hologram of earth appearing before it determines that it is not. The Doctor demands to know if anyone on earth has committed an Atraxi crime and, after another scan, the Atraxi confirms they have not. The Doctor then asks if this world was protected as he fixes his collar. The Araxi then does a scan, various alien threats, including the Daleks and the Cybermen being shown as The Doctor asks what happened to all of them. The Doctor's various other incarnations are shown. At the image of the Tenth Doctor, The Doctor walks through the hologram, now wearing a bow tie. "Hello. I'm The Doctor. Basically, run." In terror, the Atraxi retreats to its ship before flying off.
"I get it now. Making sure they never come back, out of fear of him," Jack noted. "It's actually a pretty genius plan."
"In the short term maybe," Jane said lowly and they turned to her in confusion. "Fear goes both ways. And fear of Dad is not always a good thing."
"What do you mean by that?" Martha asked in confused and Jane grimaced.
"You'll see," Jane said vaguely.
Hearing the roar of the TARDIS, The Doctor pulls out his key, which is glowing brightly. As Amy wonders if the Atraxi is gone for good, she and Rory look over to find The Doctor gone. The Doctor runs back to Amy's house, to the TARDIS. He uses his key, which works as he opens the doors. "Oh you sexy thing, look at you," The Doctor says as he sees the inside.
"So, should we leave them for a bit or…" Jack joked as they all chuckled.
"A boy and his box," Martha joked.
The Doctor walks inside, closing the door. Seconds later, Amy and Rory arrive just as the TARDIS starts to take off. Amy watches with an unreadable look on her face as the TARDIS disappears before closing her eyes.
"Poor Amy," Donna said, feeling compassion for her.
"Well, there goes that fragile trust," Martha noted sadly.
"He's a dumbo," Donna said firmly.
"He really can be," Jack agreed.
Amelia is seen as a child sitting on her suitcase, still waiting the morning after when she hears the sounds of the TARDIS. She looks up with a smile before Amy wakes up in her bed, hearing the same sound. Jumping out of bed, she rushes over to her window, seeing the TARDIS has materialized in her yard once more.
"Wow, he actually came back," Martha said in surprise.
"Dad may leave a lot, but he always comes back in the end," Jane said wistfully.
Amy heads out to her yard as The Doctor walks out, apologizing for running off. He needed to 'run her in' so he took a jump to the moon and back. Amy is shocked that he's come back and he says he always comes back. She notes he kept the clothes and he says it's a fee for saving the world. When she mentions the bow tie, he says bow ties are cool.
"On him, they work," Jack noted.
"Normally I'd disagree, but he does seem to make them work," Martha agreed.
The Doctor offers to let her come with him, wherever Amy would like to go. Amy reveals that he's been gone for two more years, to The Doctor's surprise.
"How can he be this bad at driving the TARDIS?" Donna asked in exasperation.
"Wait for it," Jane said with a grimace.
"Let me guess, there's a reason the timing is so off?" Mickey asked.
"There's a reason for everything Mickey," Jane said but didn't elaborate.
The Doctor notes Amy has waited fourteen years for him and she's waited long enough. Amy hesitantly says no and he points out she wanted to come fourteen years ago. She grew up, she says. The Doctor promises to fix that, snapping his fingers and the doors to the TARDIS open. Curiously, Amy walks inside, looking around in a bit of awe.
"Wow," Donna said as they all looked at the screen in a bit of awe.
"The desktop is so much…I don't wanna say better but I don't know how else to describe it," Martha said as they all looked at it in awe.
"I know what you mean. I like the current desktop well enough, but there's something special about that one," Jane noted wistfully.
"I'd say," Wilf muttered.
As The Doctor prepares to take off, Amy realizes she's in her nightie. The Doctor assures her he has plenty of clothes in his wardrobe before asking her where she'd like to start. Amy notes he's so sure she's going to come, he agrees and she asks why. Because she's a Scottish girl in an English village, something he can relate to.
"Yeah, he would," Jack noted sadly. "Last of his kind in the universe, alone in the universe."
"Not something that a whole lot of people can relate to," Jane agreed, glancing over at Jack subtly.
Amy asks if he can get her back there by tomorrow morning and he points out it's a time machine. The Doctor asks what happens tomorrow and she says nothing. The TARDIS then pops out a new Sonic Screwdriver. The Doctor picks it up, thanking the TARDIS. He begins inputting the coordinates for their destination as Amy looks around in complete awe. Amy finally ask why her. He dodges the question for a moment before admitting he's been on his own for a while and he's starting talking to himself. He's lonely Amy realizes.
"Oh Spaceman," Donna said softly as they looked at the screen.
"I know how that feels," Jack said wistfully.
"Tell me about it," Jane agreed.
Amy accepts his answer after a moment. The Doctor asks if she's alright, remembering the effect the TARDIS has on people. She says she is, just having trouble grasping that everything he said was true, having believed he was simply a madman with a box. The Doctor tells her that she needs to believe something, as her life may very well depend on it. "I am definitely a madman with a box," The Doctor confirms.
"I think we all figured that out a while ago," Mickey joked as they all laughed.
"It's pretty much the first thing you need to know about life with The Doctor," Martha agreed.
They share a laugh before they take off. The TARDIS vanishes from Amy's yard. The recording pans inside Amy's room. There's a small, wooden version of the TARDIS along with various drawings of The Doctor. And, hanging in her closet, was a wedding dress. The screen goes black.
"Am I seeing things or is that…" Martha trailed off in shock.
"If that's a wedding dress, then I saw it to," Jack said in a bit of disbelief.
"I've heard of young women running out of their wedding, but this is…I don't actually know what this is," Wilf said in shock.
"Just call it what it is. A woman with abandonment issues panicking," Jane said before getting to her feet. "So, who wants lunch?"
And that's the end of that. Hope you all enjoyed the reactions.
I do think Jack, being from the future, would have some knowledge of things like the Pandorica and Multi-Forms, but I'm gonna try not to go overboard with Jack having future knowledge.
So, next chapter will be a break chapter and then we'll get back to the viewing.