TW: To be fair to Ten, Four hadn't fought in the Time War and had to wipe out his own race.
Gallifrey 22.3: Thank you.
The past viewers watched curiously as the next recording started, wondering what this one would entail.
A shot of the Earth from space was seen. "Life with The Doctor was like this," Amy's voice says and various shots of her and Rory's adventures with The Doctor are seen. "Real life was like this." At Amy and Rory's house, Amy is going through their fridge, throwing away expired food as a message plays on their answering machine. Rory is going through the cabinet under the sink, telling Amy they're out of washing tablets. Amy and Rory are then seen sitting in their backyard, drinking tea. Rory points out they have two lives: real life and Doctor life and real life hasn't been their priority. Amy asks what they do and Rory says they have to choose. They then hear the sound of the TARDIS arriving and agree they don't have to choose today.
"Looks like Amy and Rory are ready to stop then," Wilf noted.
"Kind of expected it. They've been wanting to keep going back home the last few recordings instead of continuing to travel with The Doctor," Jack pointed out.
"We all have to make that decision eventually," Martha mused, thinking back to the moment she had decided she was done traveling with The Doctor.
Various shots of Amy, Rory and The Doctor are seen as Amy's voice says that while they'd become part of The Doctor's life, he'd never become part of theirs. "Except once," Amy and Rory are shown sleeping as downstairs; a black cube appears in the air. "The year of the slow invasion. The time The Doctor came to stay." The cube then floats down onto a table.
"It's those cubes!" Donna exclaimed as the past viewers looked as the screen startled.
"So I guess we're finally going to find out where they came from then," Mickey mused.
"About bloody time," Martha grumbled, the perplexing cubes having been a source of unease for the last several months.
The next day, Brian is shown ringing Amy and Rory's doorbell. Amy and Rory open their bedroom window, drowsily looking down at Brian. Brian pulls out a black cube, asking if they've seen them. Amy and Rory look out and see multiple black cubes covering cars, the street and even windows. Amy and Rory follow Brian out into the street, Brian explaining no one knows what they are, just that they're everywhere. Amy wonders where they came from before looking up and seeing The Doctor examining one. "Invasion of the very small cubes. That's new," The Doctor says.
"I knew he'd be looking into it," Wilf said proudly.
"It's something strange happening on Earth. I'd have been worried if he wasn't," Jack said with a smirk.
"Let's just hope the Spaceman can figure these cubes out," Donna muttered as she glanced at her grandfather worriedly, knowing he'd been examining one for the last several months.
Something which, even without memories, had made Donna uneasy.
Various news channels are talking about cubes, including an interview with Brian Cox. On the TARDIS, The Doctor is examining a cube, telling the Ponds and Brian that the cubes are all virtually identical to each other. Brian begins giving theories about the cubes and The Doctor tells him to stay here and watch the cubes. Amy asks if this is an alien invasion.
"If it is, it's not one I've ever heard of," Jack mused.
"Nothing you've ever come across before?" Martha asked and Jack shook his head.
"As far as I'm aware, no species in the universe has ever employed these kinds of tactic with cubes. Which is what unsettles me," Jack said as he watched the screen uneasily.
"Spaceman, you better figure out what these cubes are," Donna muttered worriedly.
Rory asks if there are life forms inside the cube but The Doctor doesn't know. The Doctor, Amy and Rory exit the TARDIS and step out into Amy and Rory's house, all carrying equipment, The Doctor saying he needs to use the kitchen as a lab. As The Doctor begins filling a pot with water, Rory says he has to go to work. The Doctor is surprised Rory has a job and Rory asks what The Doctor thinks they do when they're not with him. The Doctor says mostly kissing.
"He would think that," Mickey said with a snicker.
"Sounds like my kind of off time," Jack said with a perverted smirk that made them all look at him wearily.
"Down boy," Martha said with a heavy sigh.
Amy explains their jobs and Rory says his shift starts in an hour, asking if Amy has seen his scrubs. Amy directs him towards them. Outside, a car pulls up outside Amy and Rory's house before various men in tactical gear with guns head towards the front door.
"What the bloody Hell is this?" Mickey demanded as the past viewers looked started.
"UNIT. It's UNIT," Martha realized immediately. "I recognize the uniforms, gear and search pattern."
"Why is UNIT going after Amy and Rory?" Jack wondered with narrowed eyes.
"They're not," Jane said to the confusion of the past viewers. "Just keep watching."
As The Doctor and Amy work, The Doctor makes note of how far Amy and Rory have come. Amy reveals she and Rory think that ten years have passed for them since The Doctor reappeared in her life. "Not for you, or for Earth, but for us. Ten years older, ten years of you, on and off."
"Ten years? But that would mean…" Martha trailed off as the realization hit him.
"I guess it makes sense. The Doctor spent the first few trips dropping them off the moment they left; River probably did the same thing after Demon's Run. Plus there's the two years between his first visit and Amy coming along and then again between the second set and this one," Jack mused.
"Still, Amy and Rory lost ten years of their life," Wilf said in disbelief.
"I know I once said I was gonna travel with him forever but this is ridiculous," Donna muttered.
"I guess now we know why Amy and Rory are considering stopping," Jack noted.
The Doctor notes Amy is all grown up now before the men in tactical gear bust down the door. The Doctor and Amy back up as the men rush into the kitchen and The Doctor sees more men in tactical gear standing outside. Rory is then led into the kitchen at gun point, only partially dressed. Amy makes a sarcastic comment before a blond woman walks in, apologizing for the soldier but explains they detected a spike in artron energy at the house.
"It's Kate," Martha said in surprise.
"You know her?" Donna asked curiously.
"Kate Stewart, head of UNIT's Science Division. Not long after the 456 Incident, she took over UNIT," Jane explained. "She's actually the one who delivered the letters I sent to you."
"That makes sense," Jack mused.
"You know her to?" Martha said in surprise.
"Only by reputation. Torchwood and UNIT would work together sometimes, they'd mention Kate," Jack said evasively.
Of course that wasn't the only reason, Jack mused. But why reveal Kate's secret? Wasn't his story to tell anyway.
Kate says they had to check it out because of the cubes and introduces herself. She then pulls out a scanner, using it to detect The Doctor's two hearts. He salutes her and she says she hoped it would be him.
"Still weird to see Boss saluting someone," Mickey noted. "Not bad, just weird."
"Tell me about it," Jack muttered, remembering The Doctor's many rants about his distaste for military personal.
The Doctor wonders when science began running the military and Kate explains she's been adapting UNIT. The Doctor asks what they know about the cubes and Kate explains that, besides determining that they're indestructible by various means, they don't know much. The Doctor is impressed but annoyed, noting all around the world, people are picking up them up and bringing the cubes into their homes. Kate lists all the things people are doing with the cubes, including making twitter accounts for them. "Twitter," The Doctor says darkly.
"He is not wrong about Twitter," Jane mused.
"I take it you don't like Twitter," Martha said dryly.
"The Millennial generation turned it into a cesspool of cyber bullying and blacklisting of anyone who disagreed with them. Honestly towards the end it was a bit like those high school cliques of mean girls in those movies. Do not get me started on Cancel Culture," Jane explained.
"Remind me to delete my account when we get back," Donna muttered.
"Well that's alarming. Almost as alarming as the cubes," Jack noted, wondering if maybe he should've done a bit more research into them.
Kate explains she wants to gather the cubes up and lock them in a secure facility but notes it would take international agreement and cooperation. The Doctor says they need evidence, pointing out the cubes arrived in plain sight, which tells them what? Amy guesses they want to be noticed but The Doctor says they want to be observed, suggesting they do just that, watch the cubes day and night.
"It seems like as good a plan as any," Martha noted and Jane grimaced.
"You'd think," Jane said grimly.
"Let me guess, it goes wrong?" Donna asked dryly but Jane didn't answer. "At this point, not saying anything is as good as saying yes."
The Doctor is then seen lying upside down on Amy and Roy's couch as he stares at some cubes, saying he's been watching them for four days. Amy and Rory sit on either side of The Doctor as he sits up, complaining as Amy points out he wanted to observe them. The Doctor shouts he thought they would do something as he gets up. Rory reminds him to be patient but The Doctor shouts he hates being patient. "Patience is for wimps!"
"He's worse than a kid at Christmas," Mickey said as he barked a laugh.
"From all accounts, Time Lords have never been very good at sitting still," Jack said, smiling slightly at The Doctor's antics.
"Which would explain a whole bloody lot," Donna muttered, fighting the giggle that threatened to burst from her.
The Doctor sits back down, begging them not to make him live like this. Amy snaps at him to go be busy while they watch the cubes. The Doctor quickly runs out to the backyard, where he paints the fence, plays football with himself and cuts the grass before heading back inside and vacuuming the house, to Amy and Rory's annoyance. Once he's finished, The Doctor sits back down and is informed he was gone for an hour.
"He did all that in an hour?" Wilf asked in surprise.
"If he ever gets tired of saving the universe, he'd be perfect for hiring to do your yard work," Martha noted.
"Think that would drive him crazy to," Donna pointed and Martha nodded.
"Probably."
The Doctor heads back into the TARDIS and Amy and Rory follow him. They find Brian still inside and tell him it's been four days. He seems unbothered by this as Rory tells The Doctor he can't just leave. The Doctor says he needs a quick trip to restore his sanity, offering to take them along but they say they can't, as Rory has his job. The Doctor makes a sarcastic comment and Rory, annoyed, says what The Doctor does isn't all there is. Taken aback, The Doctor says to monitor the cubes and call him if anything changes. The Ponds and Brian walk out of the TARDIS, The Doctor looking over his shoulder as the door closes.
"He knows they're ready to quit," Jack realized, recognizing the signs due to having a similar realization regarding Gwen after the Miracle.
"Dad is a lot of things, oblivious is not one of them…most of the time," Jane said with an awkward glance at Martha.
"He keeps coming back though," Martha noted, surprised.
"He never does that," Mickey mused.
"Like I told you, Amy and Rory were very special to him," Jane said with a sad look in her eyes. "He kept going back to them until the day he couldn't."
The look in Jane's eyes chilled them all to the bones and the past viewers looked back at the screen uneasily, realizing something had to happen to cause that to happen. And they really weren't sure they wanted to know what it was.
A news report about the cubes is shown before the recording fast forwards to October. At a party, Amy is congratulating her friend Laura on her engagement. Laura brings up Bridesmaids, pointing out Amy has missed a few things the last year and Amy promises she's there for whatever she needs. At the hospital, Rory is wheeling in a patient as a coworker says that while they love Rory, they don't see him for months. The doctor says they want Rory to work full time, taking him aback. The next day, Rory and Amy are sitting up in bed, revealing they both said yes. Rory wonders if real life just got started and both agree they like it.
"It's a weird feeling, when you realize you can live your own life outside of The Doctor," Martha mused.
"After traveling the universe, it's surprisingly the simple pleasures that bring the most joy," Jack noted. "Which, I think, is exactly what The Doctor wants. To make sure we enjoy life rather than just waiting for him."
"Sounds like him," Donna said with a soft smile.
67 days after the cubes arrived, Brian is setting up a log. Rory briefly interrupts with tea before Brian continues, saying there's been no changes. As Brian turns it off, Rory wonders if Brian watches the cube all the time. Brian explains he watches the footage on fast forward after filming it while sleeping and emailing the results to UNIT. "My middle name is diligence." Rory gives a sarcastic response and Brian defensively says he's doing what The Doctor asked.
"You know, we could have used someone with that kind of dedication at Torchwood," Jack mused, impressed with Brian.
"Brian doesn't have the physical skills to work for Torchwood, but he might have done well at parts of UNIT," Martha mused.
The recording fast forwards to December. At the Hospital, Rory walks up to a boy in his wheelchair, whom he recognizes. Rory rolls the boy passed a young girl, whose eyes briefly glow blue before her cube flashes briefly.
"You all saw that right?" Mickey asked as the past viewers looked at the screen in confused.
"Saw it, still trying to figure out what I just saw," Jack said a bit uneasily.
"It'll make sense later," Jane promised.
In one of the rooms, an old man lies on a bed, reading a book when an orderly walks in wearing a face mask. The man assures the orderly he's already been seen as the orderly passes a cube, which glows.
"That can't be good," Mickey muttered uneasily and Jane grimaced.
"It's not," she said lowly as the past viewers continued to watch, growing more uneasy.
The man explains he's waiting for his prescription as another orderly walks in, closing the curtain. As the orderlies nears him, the man yanks down the mask of one, revealing a hexagon like mouth with teeth. The man screams as a cube glows before the orderlies are seen running down the corridor with a gurney.
"What the bloody were those things?" Mickey exclaimed startled.
"I honestly don't know," Jack said, never having come across something like that. "But they're obviously connected to the cubes somehow."
"What did they want with that man?" Wilf worried, worried for the man.
"Nothing good gramps," Donna muttered as they all watched uneasily.
Various locations are seen with the cubes being used for various things, including golf and paperweights. Some are even shown in trash cans before the recording fast forwards to June. At Amy and Rory's, a barbecue is going on as Amy is on the phone, leaving a message to The Doctor. Amy says it's her and Rory's wedding anniversary when The Doctor walks up behind her with a large bouquet of flowers, wishing her a happy anniversary.
"He even shows up for holidays. Trying not to feel left out in the cold Spaceman," Donna muttered.
"To be fair, if he knew you remembered him, he'd have taken the next TARDIS trip to your address, for what it's worth," Jane told her and Donna sighed.
"I know. Doesn't mean…" Donna trailed off.
"We know," Wilf said gently, placing a hand on his granddaughter's shoulder as they all took a moment, wishing The Doctor could be more present in their lives.
The Doctor leads Amy and Rory to the TARDIS before taking off. The trio step out, Amy and Rory dressed in 19th century clothes as The Doctor reveals he's brought them to 1890 in the Savoy Hotel for their anniversary. The Doctor promises no one will even know their gone and nothing will go wrong.
"One Hell of a gift Doctor," Jack said impressed.
"He knows when our anniversary is, right?" Mickey jokingly asked Martha, who lightly slapped his shoulder with a laugh.
Rory kisses The Doctor on the cheek before The Doctor leaves Amy and Rory alone. The scene then changes to the three of them, Amy and Rory's clothes ruined as The Doctor reveals there was a Zygon ship under the hotel and half the staff were impostors.
"Oh that is so his luck," Jack said with a laugh.
"He's a trouble magnet. No matter where he goes, there's trouble," Donna said, unable to help laughing at The Doctor's expense.
The scene then changes to the trio running under a bed in a room, Amy and Rory bickering about Amy accidently marrying Henry VIII.
Jack burst out laughing as the other past viewers looked at the screen in disbelief.
"How…what?" Martha asked in disbelief.
"That is so their luck," Mickey snickered.
A maid walks into the room and The Doctor sneezes, to Amy and Rory's annoyance. The scene then changes to the party, where Amy and Rory are celebrating with their friends and family. The Doctor awkwardly stands outside the circle when Brian approaches him; having figured out The Doctor took Amy and Rory on a trip. The Doctor tries to deny this but Brian points out Amy and Rory changed clothes. The Doctor admits they were gone for seven weeks.
"Seven weeks, and they just came back from Mercy," Jack noted.
"Oi, they live complicated lives," Donna muttered.
"Trying to balance two worlds. But you can only do so for so long. You have to choose eventually," Martha noted.
Brian asks what happened to The Doctors previous companions. "Some left me. Some got left behind. And some, not many but…some died," The Doctor pauses. "Not them. Not them Brian. Never them."
Unseen to the others, a dark looked crossed Jane's face as she thought of the next recording. Hopefully, it could all be prevented; otherwise she was doing this all for nothing.
Later, The Doctor awkwardly asks Amy if he can stay with her and Rory for a bit. Amy notes it would drive him mad but he promises to be better, admitting he misses them.
"Has Hell frozen over?" Mickey asked as the past viewers stared at the screen in disbelief.
"The Doctor just asked to move in. To a normal house," Jack said, not quite comprehending what was happening. "I think we're all hallucinating."
"Not quite, but I can understand why you'd think that," Jane said with a slight smile, understanding that they were having years' worth of knowledge and assumptions smashed to bits.
Her father had scarcely stopped by to see his former Companions after they parted ways. For him to stay with them for an extended period of time was unheard of.
"You were not kidding when you said they were very special to him," Donna muttered, realizing perhaps for the first time how much Amy and Rory had meant to The Doctor.
The recording flashes forward to July. It is 361 days since the cubes arrived. Brian is finishing up his log before falling asleep as he tries to watch the cubes. At Amy and Rory's, The Doctor, Amy and Rory are watching the telly as they eat fish fingers and custard. The Doctor mentions having a restaurant, claiming he invented the Yorkshire pudding.
"Oh come on, now he's just making things up," Mickey said confidently.
"He is, right?" Martha asked uncertainly as she glanced at Jane.
"Honestly can't say for certain. Dad claimed he was responsible for a lot of things, although how much was true or just him messing with someone is hard to say," Jane shrugged.
Brian wakes up, briefly resuming watching the cubes before he falls asleep again. He quickly wakes up with the cube rotates slightly. He stops the camera, telling the cube to do it again.
"You all saw that as well, right?" Wilf asked as the past viewers started.
"If you mean the cube moving, yes," Jack confirmed as he stared at the screen unblinkingly.
"Looks like whatever they are, they're tired of waiting," Mickey muttered as they all watched tense, wondering what was happening.
At Amy and Rory's, Rory is in the kitchen, finishing cleaning up when Amy walks up behind him. They kiss and Amy says The Doctor is on the Wii so she's going for a bath. As Amy leaves, Rory doesn't notice the cube behind him open up before closing. Rory looks over at it briefly before going back to what he was doing.
"They're all activating," Donna realized with dread.
"But why now? Why wait so long?" Jack wondered.
"Spoilers," Jane said with a tight smile.
"Would you stop saying that?" Donna grumbled annoyed as the past viewers watched uneasily.
As The Doctor plays tennis on the Wii, Amy walks into her and Rory's bedroom when she notices a cube glowing. She tries to grab it but needles come out of it and Amy lets go, seeing that it's taken some blood from her palm. It then retracts the needles and beeps like a pulse.
"Did it just take Amy's pulse?" Martha asked in disbelief.
"I think so. But why?" Jack wondered as he narrowed his eyes, not seeing the importance.
"I think it's testing them for something. The Cybermen did something similar on the other world," Mickey explained, although he didn't understand what the cubes were testing for.
Jane was silently impressed, as Mickey wasn't actually that far off in his theory. Her father really didn't give him enough credit.
It the kitchen, the cube opens again and Rory sees it this time. Rory rushes over to it and it closes before opening on the other side. Rory moves to the other side but it closes, to Rory's disbelief. The Doctor is focused on his game when a cube floats up next to him. "Out of the way I'm trying to…" The Doctor trails off as he realizes what's happening. "Whatever you are, this planet, these people are precious to me. And I will defend them to my last breath." The Doctor stares at the cube, wondering if that's all it can do before the cube opens up. A small gun pops out and shoots at The Doctor. He jumps aside before taking cover behind the couch.
"Oi! It has a bloody laser cannon?!" Donna exclaimed as the past viewers looked on in horror.
"We have to get those things off the streets," Martha exclaimed.
"How? Without unrealistic international cooperation, it's basically impossible," Jack said darkly.
"Look, Dad can handle the Cubes. I didn't bring you here to worry about the cubes. Let Dad worry about the cubes," Jane said patiently.
"I hope you're right," Mickey muttered as they all watched uneasily.
The cube floats down and fires between the space between the couch and the floor. The Doctor jumps out of the way before running out of the room. As The Doctor takes cover around the corner, the cube floats over to the telly, which flashes with various images. Rory runs up to The Doctor as Amy runs down the stairs, both sharing their experiences with the cube. The Doctor is excited as Brian walks in, telling them how his cube just moved. The Doctor runs out of the room as Rory gets a call from his coworker, who says people are being attacked by the cubes. Rory promises he'll be right there as at the hospital, the girl holding the cube is seen her eyes glowing again.
"That girl again," Jack muttered.
"I'm more bloody worried about the cubes," Donna grumbled, not understanding how they could do all this.
"They're obviously some kind of sleeper agents. Whatever signal they were waiting for, they got it. I just don't understand what their mission is supposed to be," Mickey said, wracking his brain to figure it out.
"It'll make sense later, don't stress yourself out trying to figure it out," Jane said as she watched the screen silently.
"Easy for you to say," Martha said dryly.
Rory says he has to go into work and Brian offers to go with him. Although annoyed, Rory agrees. He and Amy kiss goodbye, Amy telling him to stay away from the cubes. As Rory and Brian leave, The Doctor walks in with a grin, holding his psychic paper. He tells Amy they're wanted at the Tower of London. At the Tower of London, The Doctor and Amy are led underground by Kate, who tells them every cube activated at the same time. The Doctor is near impressed Kate sent a message to his psychic paper.
"How does she know how to send The Doctor a message?" Martha wondered, warning bells going off in her head.
"Because she grew up on stories of him," Jack said simply, smiling as the other past viewers looked at him in surprise.
"Oi! You clearly know more about her than you're saying, so start talking Immortal Man!" Donna snapped.
"There's no point," Jane interrupted. "It's revealed soon enough anyway. No point in trying to force something out of Jack that you'll find out soon enough."
"Saved by the bell Immortal Man," Donna grumbled as Jack merely smiled cheekily, to the annoyance of the other past viewers.
while Amy jokes that she hopes they aren't being led to her secret base because they know too much. Kate says she has officers trained in beheading. Amy decides she's likes Kate before Kate leads them into a room. Several cubes are in rooms with glass walls; Kate explaining fifty cubes are monitored with more coming in. Kate explains every cube is behaving individually as Amy is started by one shooting out fire.
"And I had one in the house," Wilf said horrified.
"Get rid of it once we get home," Donna ordered and Wilf didn't argue.
Kate explains the different functions of the various cubes while Amy opens a door, revealing a cube playing 'Chicken Dance'. The Doctor plugs his ears as Kate says it's doing it on a loop.
"Now that is just cruel and usual," Jack declared.
"Obviously some kind of torture," Mickey mused.
"To what ends, seeing how many times someone can listen to that bloody song?" Donna wondered.
"I think we'll find out soon enough," Martha noted uneasily.
Kate leads them over to three computers and The Doctor sees the cubes have breached systems from multiple governments. Kate says she's lost but The Doctor assures her not to despair, as her father never did. Kate looks at The Doctor sharply as he chuckles, telling her he'd figured it out upon their first meeting. "When did you drop Lethbridge?"
"Wait you mean she's…" Martha trailed off as Jack chuckled.
"The daughter of the Brigadier," Jack confirmed.
"Bloody Hell," Donna muttered.
"Guess it makes sense how she knows so much about Boss now," Mickey muttered.
Kate explains she didn't want any special treatment, although her father had guided her until the end. "'Science leads' he always told me. Said he learned that from an old friend," Kate notes. The Doctor says they won't let her father or the planet down.
"Sounds like something The Doctor would say," Jack said with a slight chuckle.
The techs receive a signal and say the cubes have shut down again. Kate is in disbelief as The Doctor muses the cubes are dominant. Amy wonders why they shut down and The Doctor says he needs to think and needs air. The Doctor walks off, grumbling about the base as Amy follows after him. Above ground, The Doctor and Amy sit on the ground, The Doctor beating himself up for not having the cubes collected and burned on day 1.
"Even you couldn't have done that Spaceman," Donna said with a sigh.
"And from what Kate said, it wouldn't have helped anyway," Jack noted. "There was nothing he could have done."
"But you know Dad, he has a martyr complex a mile way. A thousand miles wide actually," Jane noted.
Amy assures him no one would listened. The Doctor points out she and Rory are considering stopping going with him. Amy says they don't know, as their lives have changed. "Well, there was a time; there were years when I couldn't live without you. When just the whole 'every day thing' would drive me crazy. But since you dropped us back here, since you gave us this house, you know, we've built a life. I don't know if I can have both," Amy says.
"You can only walk in two worlds for so long," Jack mused.
"They'll have to make a choice sooner or later," Martha agreed.
Jane fought the grimace that threatened to cross her face. They had made their choice, only for Brian to talk them into one last trip. That had been their final mistake and what had caused all this.
The Doctor asks why and Amy explains traveling with him is starting to feel like running away. The Doctor disagrees, saying this is one small piece of a galaxy that is forever expanding and there's so much of it to see. "I'm not running away from things, I am running to them, before they flare and fade forever," The Doctor says. The Doctor assures Amy that it's okay that one day soon, she'll stop, having known for a while they would and Amy wonders why he keeps coming back for them. "Because you were the first. The first face this face saw. And you were sealed onto my hearts, Amelia Pond. You always will be. I'm running to you and Rory before you… fade from me."
"Oh Spaceman," Donna said softly as the past viewers stared at the screen sadly.
"We all have to grow up sometime Doctor. Even you," Jack said with a sigh.
Amy lays her head on The Doctor's shoulder, telling him not to be nice to her as she doesn't want him to be. The Doctor knows she does and she always gets what she wants. The Doctor then realizes the cubes got what they wanted, which is why they stopped. The Doctor and Amy head back down into the base, The Doctor explaining to Kate that the cube scanned all databases and made a complete assessment of earth and its inhabitants. The lights in the base then go out.
"Shit!" Jack swore as the realization washed over the room.
"They learned everything about us. Our weaknesses, our defenses, what can kill us," Martha said horrified.
"And now they're striking. It's the oldest strategy in the world, observe and then attack. And we all fell for it. Fuck," Mickey swore.
The Doctor pulls out his screwdriver, asking if Kate is having issues with the power. Kate says they have backups and they go to investigate. As The Doctor tries to scan the generators, Amy sees the cubes all have a 7 on them. The Doctor rambles for a bit on the possible meaning of 7 before the 7 turns into a 6.
"It's a count down," Donna realized in horror.
"But to what?" Martha wondered uneasily but no one had an answer.
The Doctor says it's a countdown and they have to get humanity away from the cubes, telling Kate to use any means necessary to tell the public that the cubes are dangerous. Amy wonders why the cubes waited this long and The Doctor explains they waited so long to allow people to take them into their ordinary lives so they could profile every inch of earth's existence. And discover how best to attack them Kate realizes. The Doctor heads over to the computer, searching for any trace of the cubes. Not finding any, he says they need to think of all variables, shouting at Kate to get a move on. On a News station, a Newscaster is urging the public to get rid of the cubes as the countdown reaches 4.
"Hurry, please," Martha pleaded as they all watched tense.
This was different than before. Before, they had been seeing things that had already happened. But now they were seeing the future, so the comfort that this had already happened was no longer there.
At the hospital, the staff is gathering the cubes up as Rory urges them to get them as far away as they can. Brian is staring at an IV bag when Rory asks him to get some medical supplies. Brian agrees, heading down a corridor but realizes he doesn't know what he's looking for. Two Orderlies nearly run him over with a gurney and Brian jumps out of the way. He asks them for directions to the supplies cupboard and they stop. Brian repeats himself and they turns around, approaching Brian with syringes. The girl is then shown still holding the cube, which glows.
"No no on," Martha said horrified as the realization hit them.
"They're the orderlies who attacked that old man earlier," Jack said grimly.
"Brian," Wilf said worriedly as they all worried for Brian.
Rory is asking around for Brian. He wanders into the corridor and sees the orderlies wheeling Brian away on the gurney. Rory rushes after them, chasing then towards the lift but isn't in time, the doors closing before he can get there. Rory pushes the button and the doors open but neither Brian nor the orderlies are there. Rory walks into the lift and pushes a button, beating on the walls and the doors close. Rory cautiously touches a wall and it ripples. Rory stares at it in bewilderment before walking through the ripple. Rory then appears on a spaceship.
"Déjà vu," Jack muttered, taken back to the Cybermen teleport from the previous recording set.
"What is it with spaceships and hiding teleports in lifts?" Donna grumbled annoyed.
"Hiding it in plain sight. You'd never think to look for it there," Martha pointed and Donna grumbled but couldn't disagree.
Back at the Unit base, Amy and Kate are trying to convince The Doctor not to go into one of the rooms with a cube but he ignores them, promising to see them afterwards. The Doctor heads inside, setting down in front of the cube. The countdown has reached 2.
"You really are a madman Spaceman," Donna muttered as they all watched uneasily. "I hope you bloody know what you're doing."
"Don't we all?" Martha muttered.
Amy and Kate nervously watch as The Doctor stares at the cube before the 2 becomes 1. After another moment, the countdown reaches 0 and the glow fades. The cubes then opened up. "Geronimo." The Doctor looks inside but, to their disbelief, the cube is empty. Amy wonders if this isn't good but The Doctor snaps it doesn't make sense.
"What?" Donna asked as the past viewers all stared at the screen in disbelief.
"Huh?" Mickey asked in confusion.
"That…cannot be right," Wilf muttered.
"Whoever planted these cubes didn't go through all this trouble for empty cubes. There's more to the cubes than that," Jack said with certainly as he eyed the screen, waiting to see what would happen next.
The Doctor heads back outside and towards the tech, who is monitoring the outside world. The Doctor asks if there's been any change as Kate wonders if they're safe. The Doctor points out every action has been deliberate and drawing attention to the cubes if they're empty doesn't make sense. Amy points to the screen and they see various people falling down on the street. The tech says this is all across the world as The Doctor demands to know how they can be dying. Kate demands information on how the people are infected. The Doctor rambles before crying out, clutching his chest as he falls into a chair.
"Doctor?!" Martha exclaimed worriedly as they all became concerned.
"What's bloody happening?!" Donna demanded.
"It's explained in a minute," Jane said with a grimace.
Amy rushes to The Doctor, asking what's wrong but he doesn't know. An alarm goes off as the tech says there's been a global surge in heart failures and cardiac arrests. The Doctor realizes this is how people are dying before beating on his chest; saying only one heart is working.
"The cubes are killing people," Martha realizes horrified. "They're somehow able to induce heart attacks to the point the heart stops all together."
"You are definitely getting rid of that cube when we get home!" Donna snapped at Wilf, who merely nodded.
"At the moment, I am more concerned about The Doctor," Wilf said as they all stared at the screen worriedly.
Amy rushes over, saying they'll get him to the hospital but he says to take him over to the computers. She pushes him over and The Doctor orders the tech to show the electric patterns in the cubes after they shut down. He does and The Doctor explains the cubes sucked the power out from around them before he cries out in pain. The Doctor explains the cubes are signal boxes and that they hit the nearest heart with a pure electrical surge. They short circuit the heart.
"They sucked all the electricity up around them and then used it as a weapon. They're like the Cybermate, maybe worse," Mickey said grimly.
"So how do they stop them?" Donna wondered worriedly but no one had an answer.
Kate says the scan The Doctor has running has located the transmitter locations. The Doctor looks and sees there are 7 across the world and wonders why the number 7 is important before falling back in his chair with a shout, wondering how humans manage with one heart.
"Considering you're in pain, I'll let you have that one Spaceman," Donna muttered as they all watched worriedly.
Focusing, The Doctor realizes the 7 transmitter locations are wormholes between dimensions and orders the tech to zoom in on the closest one. He does and Amy is horrified to see it's the hospital where Rory works.
"Good, they know where it's out. Now get over there and help Rory and Brian," Donna snapped.
On the spaceship, Rory looks around, seeing people laid up on tables before spotting Brian still on the gurney. Rory tries to go to him but is intercepted by the orderlies, who have removed their masks. One takes a syringe out and approaches Rory.
"Looks like Rory needs it," Jack pointed out as they all watched, worried for Rory.
"Doctor, hurry," Martha pleaded.
As UNIT enters the hospital, Kate informs The Doctor that they estimate a third of the population has fallen victim to the cubes. The Doctor tells Kate to tell the world, as the attacks could still happen and the world needs her leadership. Kate promises to do her best before heading off with some soldiers before The Doctor is struck by another chest pain. Amy helps The Doctor walk, asking how much longer he'll last with one heart and he says not long.
"Doctor," Wilf said worriedly, a sentiment that was shared by the other past viewers.
"I'd say he needs a Doctor but I doubt anyone on earth could help him," Martha muttered.
"Couldn't someone at UNIT help him?" Mickey asked.
"Maybe, if they had time. But neither they nor The Doctor will stop long enough for that with everything going on," Martha pointed out.
"Spaceman, be carefully," Donna whispered as they all watched uneasily.
They pass the girl with the cube and The Doctor picks up a reading on his screwdriver. The Doctor walks over to the girl, scanning her. Amy is stunned when her face glows blue and The Doctor explains she's an android that's been monitoring everything.
"Another spy. So the cubes weren't meant to be infiltrators then," Jack mused.
"They were, she was merely meant to make sure they doing their job," Jane explained and Jack nodded.
The Doctor shuts her down before collapsing, saying he needs both hearts. Seeing a nearby Defibrillator, Amy grabs it and, despite The Doctor's protests, uses it on him. He screams before jumping to his feet, his other heart now working again. He kisses Amy on the forehead before telling her to never do that again.
"Thank God," Martha said as they all breathed a sigh of relief.
"I think you mean thank Amy," Jack joked.
"Now that The Doctor is fine, they can focus on saving everyone else. Get to work Spaceman," Donna said happily.
They follow the signal of the wormhole to the lift and enter it. They look around before seeing the wall ripple. The Doctor and Amy look at each other and laugh. "Through the looking glass Amelia," The Doctor says, offering her his hand. She takes it and they walk through the wall. They appear on the ship and Amy sees Roy lying on a table, unconscious. The Doctor hands her a Saborian smelling salt, warning her it's been outlawed in seven galaxies. She uses it and Rory wakes up before a shot is fired over him, hitting the wall.
"And of course they find Rory just in time for whoever is responsible for all this to attack," Martha said as they all watched intently.
"Just their luck," Mickey agreed.
The trio takes cover, seeing a figure in a chair. The Doctor orders Amy and Rory to get the others out, the three beginning to wheel Brian out. The figure stares intently and the spot behind them sparks.
"And it apparently can attack them with its mind," Mickey muttered easily.
"Of bloody course. Because why not," Donna groaned.
Amy and Rory wheel Brian out as The Doctor stares at the figure, who notes the cubes seeped into every corner of the earth before he vanishes. The figure reappears a few feet away, now standing. The Doctor walks over to him, saying he thought the Shakri were a myth to keep the young of Gallifrey in their place.
"The Shakri are real?" Jack asked in disbelief.
"Yes and no. It's complicated," Jane shrugged.
"It always," Jack said with a sigh.
"Uh, what's a Shakri?" Mickey asked as the other past viewers looked sot.
"According to legend, a bunch of omnificent beings that supposedly watch over the universe. According to the legend, one day they will come down and pass judgment on the universe," Jack said still in disbelief.
"All legends have some basis in reality Jack," Jane shrugged. "They're not gods, but the Shakri is very real."
"Great. You can drop me off at the nearest psychiatric ward when this is over," Jack said dryly.
"The Shakri exist, in all of time and none. We travel alone and together. The seven," the figure declares. The Doctor notes the craft is connected to earth through seven portals in seven minutes. He wonders why and the figure declares they are serving the tally. The Doctor wonders why earth but the figure explains it's not earth but humans, declaring they will halt the 'human plagues' before it spreads. The Doctor realizes they mean to wipe out humanity before it colonizes in space.
"Xenophobia, of course," Jack said dryly. "All that talk about Gods and it's just a xenophobic race of aliens."
"Not exactly," Jane said and he looked at her in disbelief. "Like I said, not gods. Spoilers."
The Doctor says they thought the cubes were an invasion and the figure, amused, says they only mean to wipe out the human contagion. "Who are you calling a contagion?" Amy asks as she and Rory walk up behind The Doctor. The Doctor is annoyed they came back but Rory points out he should have learned by now.
"By now, you really should know they don't take orders very well Doctor," Martha said with a slight smile.
"If he hasn't by now, he never will," Donna said with a giggle.
Amy asks about the Tally and The Doctor says it's the reckoning or judgment day, adding he's never wanted to find out. The figure claims the Shakri serve the tally, which The Doctor says the tales on Gallifrey called them the pest controllers of the universe. Amy is creeped out as The Doctor defensively points out Little Red Riding Hood. The Doctor notes the Shakri put the cubes on earth so people would take them in, hoping to find something beautiful inside, as humans are creatures of hope. While humans make mistakes, they learn, striving to be greater. The Doctor demands the Shakri put humanity's failures against their achievements throughout time. "I will back humanity against the Shakri every time."
"We may not be perfect, but at our best, humanity is the finest species in the universe," Jack agreed. "I've seen what we're capable of, both at our best and worst. And I would still back humanity against all that threatens it."
"Nice speech Jack. I think The Doctor rubbed off on you," Martha teased and Jack shrugged.
"Regardless, you and he are right. We're imperfect, but perhaps that's the beauty of us," Wilf noted.
"Look at you getting all philosophical," Donna teased her grandfather, who merely smiled.
The Shakri laughs, saying the tally will be met and the second wave will be released. Amy is confused and The Doctor explains it's going to release more cubes to kill people. At the hospital, Kate is on the phone, ordering the Secretary General to be informed that their best hope now is people.
"Not very optimistic about that," Mickey muttered.
"We have to believe, when it comes down to it, people will do the right thing," Jack said firmly. "It's something The Doctor does every time he's faced with such a situation. We have to do the same now."
The Shakri scoffs at humanity disdainfully, telling The Doctor he is too late and the tally will be met. He then vanishes and Amy is shocked as The Doctor explains he was never really there, merely the ship's interface.
"So the Shakri…is an AI?" Jack said in disbelief. "I'd like to go to the psychiatric ward now."
Martha pat Jack on the shoulder as he stared ahead at the screen, trying to process all this.
The Doctor then heads over to the controls, trying to use his screwdriver to stop the second wave by disconnecting all the Shakri ships from their portal, leaving them in deep space. But this would leave all the people near the cubes dead.
"OI! That is a terrible plan Spaceman!" Donna exclaimed immediately.
"The Doctor would never do something so stupid. He has a plan, I'm sure of it," Jack said, hoping he wasn't wrong.
"I hope so, otherwise a lot of people are going to die," Martha muttered as they all watched uneasily.
Amy remembers restarting The Doctor's heart and Rory suggests mass Defibrillation. But The Doctor has a better idea: using the cubes to turn people's hearts back on. Amy wonders if that will work and The Doctor says it has to as he uses his screwdriver on the controls. The screen comes alive and The Doctor says they have thirty seconds. The ship rocks and The Doctor realizes using the cubes like this will unleash a wave of energy that will ricocheted through the ship.
"Always a catch," Mickey muttered.
"Still, it's a rather ingenious plan; use the very thing threatening humanity to save it. Well done old friend," Jack said with a smile.
The Doctor tells them to run before taking off and Rory notes he'll miss this before he and Amy follow The Doctor. The ship explodes seconds after the trio jump through the portal, landing back in the lift. All over the planet, the people who had been killed by the cubes get back up. At the UNIT base, Kate's team listens to a newscaster in relief as she explains that that the people who had been victims of cardiac arrest are being nursed back to health.
"Well, as usual, all's well that ends well," Martha noted.
"Yeah," Jane said softly, a sense of foreboding filling her as she remembered what was about to come next.
Later, Kate escorts The Doctor to the limo and says he is as remarkable as her father said, kissing him on the cheek before thanking him. The Doctor calls this new and they laugh before The Doctor checks his watch, realizing he's late for dinner. He holds out his hand before pulling it back before she can shake it. They laugh and The Doctor heads over to the limo, saluting Kate before getting inside.
"The Doctor late for dinner. Will wonders never cease?" Jack mused.
"With him? Unlikely," Martha said with a smile.
At Amy and Rory's that night, The Doctor has dinner with Amy, Rory and Brian. The Doctor says he needs to get going, standing up and throwing his arms around Amy and Rory, assuring them he understand they have lives, which is what makes them so 'fabulously human'. The Doctor says he understand why they don't want to give their lives up but Brian says its him Amy and Rory can't give up, nor should they. "Go with him. Go save every world you can find. Who else has that chance? Life will still be here," Brian says.
Jane fought the grimace that threatened to cross her face. If only Brian hadn't convinced them to keep going. If only.
"So I guess Amy and Rory aren't going to give it up just yet then," Martha noted.
"No, net yet," Jane said with a pained look.
"Jane? Are you alright?" Wilf asked as he noticed the look on her face.
"Fine. I'm fine Wilf, thank you," Jane lied through her teeth.
The past viewers looked at her concerned, easily able to figure out that she was lying. The sense that something was about to happen was not going away. But it was clear Jane wasn't willing to share the truth with them just yet, so they turned back to the screen.
The Doctor offers to take Brian along but he says someone needs to water the plants. "Just bring them back safe."
It was becoming physically painful at this point for Jane not to react at this. But she still did it, for her father's sake.
"So that was the year of the slow invasion, when the Earth got cubed and The Doctor came to stay," Amy's voice says as The Doctor, Amy and Rory are seen heading towards the TARDIS. "It was also when we realized something the Shakri never understood, what cubed actually means." The trio looks back at Brian. "The power of three." Amy and Rory enter the TARDIS and The Doctor nods at Brian. Brian waves before The Doctor follows Amy and Rory inside and the screen goes black.
"Well that was an interesting one," Martha noted.
"Yeah," Jane said softly.
"Something's gonna happen in the next one, isn't it?" Jack asked point blank as he looked at Jane. "The way you reacted at the end of this one…what happens?"
Jane was silent for a long moment as they waited for her answer.
"Brace yourselves. This next one won't be easy," Jane finally said.
The past viewers exchanged frustrated look. But it wasn't like they had expected any real answer from her. So instead of getting angry, they turned back to the screen as the next recording started.
Not the best episode of the season, but the Doctor/Ponds dynamic was as enjoyable as ever.