A/N: Welcome back to a brand-new chapter, y'all! At this point you'll start to recognize a few scenes from "a good man goes to war," so keep an eye out for those :)
Also, I moved this prequel to "Part 2" in my overall series. Normally you'd think the prequel should be read before the main story (Part 1), but since I will be referencing several things from Part 1 in the epilogue (once it is written), Part 1 should be read before this to avoid spoilers mentioned in the epilogue. Once you read the epilogue (again, it hasn't been written yet, but it will eventually), this will make more sense :)
I am also going to do something different with these few chapters. There will be multiple scenes that will be separated by a "#####" to show a scene-transition. That being said, on with the story :)
TRIGGER WARNING: slight physical and mental harm to an infant (sort of, as those who read Part 1 should know the baby will be fine). There will also be a scene where the Doctor threatens someone with a gun.
Chapter 9: A Good Man Goes to War 2.0
"I wish I could tell you that you'll be loved," River Song recited her mother's speech to her newborn daughter as she cradled her tightly in her arms while walking casually around the Silent Sun Infirmary. "That you'll be safe and cared for and protected. But this isn't the time for lies. What you are going to be, Nova, is very, very brave."
To River, 'Nova' seemed like an appropriate name for her daughter, seeing as she was born on a stolen spacecraft (that which the Silence renamed The Silent Sun) orbiting a literal supernova in the middle of nowhere in Space-Time. It seemed that the Silence had been orbiting the exploding star for quite some time (how long, exactly, River didn't know), and at this point River was beginning to get a sense as to why they've orbited here for so long as well as what they were planning. From what little River could remember, she had noticed that the Silence had put a strong force-field around the entire star, even long after the star had begun going supernova, and appeared to be syphoning off small amounts of its energy into a specific part of the ship, but for what purpose, River didn't know, and she was beginning to sense that she didn't want to find out, now that her baby was finally born; but at the same time she felt like she had a right to know, especially if it involved her newborn daughter.
"Two minutes," Madame Kovarian snarled at her, but River ignored her, glaring spitefully back at her, before whispering once more to her daughter, continuing her—rather, her mother's—speech.
"But not as brave as they all have to be. Because there's someone coming. I don't know where he is, or what he's doing, but trust me…he's on his way. There's a man who's never going to let us down. And not even an army can get in the way…not this time." She walked to a large window overlooking the main floor of the spacecraft at the soldiers marching by. "He's the last of his kind. He looks young but he's lived for hundreds and hundreds of years. And wherever they take you, Nova, or what they'll do, however scared you are, I promise you, you will never be alone. Because this man is your father. He has a name, but the people of our world know him better…as the Doctor."
"Time's up," Kovarian sighed in seeming boredom as she stepped forward with her arms out to take the baby from her captive's grasp.
"No!" River snapped, pulling her child away. "It's not been a full two minutes! Leave her be! Leave her!"
"You're in no position to be making demands, dearie. We will take the child the easy way or the hard way. It's your choice. Now hand her over."
River stepped back. "No! Not until you tell me what you plan to do with her!" At this point, her daughter began to cry loudly in her arms out of fear, and River held her more tightly to her chest in response, trying to calm her.
"It is none of your concern," Kovarian shook her head. "She will not be harmed in any way. Only…improved."
River frowned. "'Improved?' What the hell does that mean? She's already ninety-percent Time Lord; what more could you possibly gain from her? She's only a child—an infant!"
"She won't stay an infant forever," Kovarian replied. "She will eventually grow up to be something much more. And she's no ordinary Time Lord, either, as you and your 'darling Doctor' are well aware. I've heard the stories surrounding the mythical Time Lord 'Deviants,' and I admit I never expected them to actually be true. And now that your little princess—your little 'Nova'—has been revealed to be one herself…" She sniggered at this. "Well, that's just the icing on the cake, but we will make her into so much more. She will be our crowning jewel. Our salvation against the Time Lord plague once and for all."
"You're insane!" River sneered back at her. "I won't let you turn my daughter into a weapon, just like you made me! I'll die before I'd let you anywhere near her!"
"That can be arranged," Kovarian shrugged. "We only needed you until you delivered your child, and now that we have her, you are no longer of any use to us."
"I don't care if you kill me. You want my daughter; you'll have to go through both of us—me and the Doctor!"
"Sorry, sweetie," Kovarian said River's signature word in a mocking tone. "As I said, you're in no fit state to give us orders. This is our ship, so we give the orders now. Besides which, we're on a very tight schedule. Give me the child now." She stepped forward again in preparation to snatch the child from River's arms, but River still had some fight in her.
"You still haven't told me what you're doing with her," she said, pulling away again, "what you're doing with that star. That star should be going supernova right about now and blowing the ship up along with it. How have you held it back for so long? What are you doing with its energy?"
Kovarian shook her head and chuckled, "Oh, the star's energy isn't for us. It's for your daughter. Now give her to me now, before I take her from you!" This time she grabbed River by the upper arm, attempting to yank her back to get at her child, who was now squealing like a banshee.
"No!" River screamed, trying to fight her former guardian off of her while defending her child at the same time. "Don't touch her! Leave her!"
Since River was being so difficult, Kovarian decided to use a different tactic and snapped her fingers, signaling for a couple of soldiers to seize River and force her to release her child into the witch's arms.
"No!" River screamed as she attempted to fight off the soldiers holding her captive. "Take your hands off me! Leave my daughter alone! Don't hurt her! Please!"
"As I told you," Kovarian said as she placed the screaming baby into a small cradle on the table that they provided, "we will not harm the child. We need her alive to carry out a task that you were initially destined to carry out yourself. We will make her into the new woman who kills the Doctor—her own father. Like mother, like daughter."
"No!" River yelled as she continued to fruitlessly struggle against her captors. "She won't! She will never become that! I won't allow it, and neither will he!"
"It's not going to matter once our experiments are over and the transfer is complete," Kovarian shrugged carelessly as she closed the flaps over the cradle, drowning out the baby's cries. "She'll be long gone before her 'daddy dearest' arrives to save her. Too bad he won't be around to see his darling daughter grow up…" She then paused before smirking down on River, "And neither will you." She turned to the soldiers as they lifted the cradle into their arms, "Take her to the machine and begin the transfer. We don't have much time until the shield holding back the supernova fails." She finally turned back to River as the soldiers carried her daughter away and out of the room. "Goodbye, Melody…or 'River,' or whatever you call yourself now. Consider this as punishment for failing to kill the Doctor when you should have years ago."
"I didn't fail to kill the Doctor," River snapped weakly as her captors finally released her from their tight grasp, which left some bruising around her arms. "I refused. I would die before I would kill the man I love!"
Kovarian shrugged carelessly at this. "Either way, it no longer matters now. You know, I really had high hopes for you, but you chose to let him live, all because you loved him. So naïve of you. Unlike you, your daughter will succeed in her mission to kill her father."
"And what if she refuses, just as I did?" River spat back. "What will you do to her then?"
Kovarian sniggered before saying, "Oh, it won't come to that, dearie. I'll make sure of it." She then said as she began leaving the room with the rest of the soldiers that accompanied her, "Goodbye, 'Professor,' and don't worry… I'll take very good care of your little Nova while you're gone." At this, the door slid shut, permanently locking River in the Infirmary and leaving her completely alone.
"No!" River screamed as she banged fruitlessly on the door. "Come back with my daughter! Don't hurt her! Give her back! Nova! No!" Eventually she felt too weak to fight any longer, and she slid to the floor and sobbed in her hospital gown at the loss of her child and inability to save her.
#####
Unbeknownst to River, there was hope that she would, indeed, make it out of her predicament alive. Unbeknownst to her, the Doctor was able to find her exact location using the TARDIS scanner, and this time he was able to get a proper result now that River's Flesh body had been disintegrated and her mind was back in her real body. Now, the TARDIS (while invisible so as not to be noticed by the Silence) was parked in orbit around the ship, of course staying clear of the supernova that was slowly—and strangely, to the Doctor—being absorbed into the ship from one side while being kept at bay by a force-field that appeared to be gradually losing its ability to hold. He watched in fascination as well as puzzlement at what the purpose was for this, and he feared that it may have a connection with his newborn daughter, who, he could now sense through his new psychic link, was very afraid and in terrible danger.
His thoughts were interrupted when a name suddenly, and without warning, popped into his head in that very moment:
Nova.
"What did you say, Doctor?" his mother-in-law, clad in a full pirate costume, frowned at him, puzzled at the name he unintentionally said out loud and in front of the entire group.
"Nova…" he repeated, this time intentionally and with a smile, impressed with the name he somehow knew was given to his newborn daughter, more than likely given by none other than her own mother. His smile widened, this thought giving him the confirmation that his wife—his real wife—was still alive.
"'Nova?'" Amy deepened her frown. "You mean 'supernova?' Yeah, we see that, clear as day." She said this last bit while gesturing to the TARDIS screen, which was showing the ship and supernova respectively.
The Doctor shook his head. "No, I mean…" He then paused and sighed, not having the time, nor the patience, to explain the confusion; not when the rest of his family were running out of time themselves. "Never mind. It's not important."
"Seems important to me," Jenny said, nodding toward the screen at the supernova. "Clearly the Silence are doing something to that star. They seem to be sucking its energy out of it; look how it's entering the side of the ship. What do you suppose they're doing with all that energy?"
"I don't know," Rory shrugged through his Roman Centurion armor, "but probably nothing good."
"Perhaps they're extracting its energy to be later used as a weapon against their enemies!" Strax the Sontaran suggested before commenting, "An ingenious tactic, I must admit!"
Jenny frowned at this, replying, "Strax, you do know their enemies are us, right?"
"Of course I know that, boy!" the Sontaran frowned back at her. "I'm not an idiot! I am merely stating the cleverness of their battle tactics!"
"Kinda redundant to be talking about our enemies like that," Rory shrugged again, "like they are the clever ones and we're not."
"That is not what I said!" Strax snapped at him in an offended tone.
"You kinda did, mate," Rory pointed out.
"Yeah, we should be focusing on our own tactics and not theirs!" Amy agreed with her husband, taking his side in the argument that ensued among the group.
Strax frowned at the couple in confusion. "I fail to see why my words aroused such a big problem! As I said, I—"
"Shut up, Strax!" Vastra snapped at him. "It is pointless to continue arguing over this! We should be working together! Professor Song's life is in jeopardy as we speak, and we need to rescue her before things escalate. We've wasted enough time as it is." She then said, turning to the Doctor, "Doctor, would you mind telling us your plan to get inside and rescue your family, if you have a plan?"
However, instead of answering, as well as ignoring the argument between Strax and the Pond-Williams couple, the Doctor was too distracted by the worst-case scenarios that were flooding his mind of what the Silence could be doing with the supernova's energy. Thinking back on Strax's earlier theory, the Doctor thought his theory was very likely—that the Silence could, indeed, be planning to take the energy for themselves, or for someone else, as a weapon against him and his allies. This thought gave him the disturbing feeling like his newborn daughter was the person the Silence were planning to use the star's energy on, and he feared that the energy would either kill her or turn her into something much bigger and deadlier.
"Doctor!" Amy's angry voice interrupted him from his thoughts. "Pay attention!"
"Huh?" he flinched at her sudden outburst. "What was that, Pond? Sorry, I wasn't listening."
"You never do," Rory sighed in response.
"Vastra asked you a question," Amy clarified. "She wanted you to tell us your plan to save our daughter and granddaughter. You do have a plan, right?"
"Of course I have a plan, Pond," the Doctor nodded. "We get in, save River and Nova, and get out. Simple."
"I highly doubt it'll be that simple, Doctor," Vastra admitted, "if at all. We're dealing with the Silence. They never make things simple for anybody, certainly not us. We need to come up with a proper strategy, and seeing as we're dealing with the Silence again, we may need an army."
"No," the Doctor said immediately, shaking his head. "No armies. Not this time."
"Why not?" Jenny asked, puzzled. "The army was quite useful last time. If it weren't for them, we would never have taken control of Demons Run as easily as we did."
The Time Lord nodded. "True, but loads of our members were killed after the fact, during the final battle. Dorium… Lorna… Even Strax. I am not going to risk that happening again. The only army I will accept is you five. You lot are the only army we'll need this time. We won't need anyone else."
"Might I suggest that we contact the army anyway?" Vastra said. "I don't mean that we call them in right away; I mean that we let the survivors know of our situation and to have them await our signal if we were to legitimately need them. In other words, we won't call them in unless we have no other option."
The Doctor paused, considering Vastra's suggestion, before saying, "That…might be acceptable." He then asked, turning to Strax, "Strax, are you still in contact with the army?"
"Always, sir!" the Sontaran smiled like a kid that was just told that he can have candy for dinner.
"Brilliant. Send them our coordinates and a message letting them know of our situation, and tell them that we might need them but we also might not, and I'll have you send a signal for if and when we do need them, but the order will come from me first. You got it?"
"Understood, sir! At your command!" Strax saluted before walking away from the others to forward the message to the army.
"Hang on, can we backtrack a minute, Doctor?" Rory spoke up. "You mentioned another name of someone we're going to save alongside River. Someone named Nova? Who's that? Is she another friend of yours?"
"Or is she our granddaughter?" Amy gasped. "When were you going to tell us that you and Mels came up with a name already?"
"I didn't," the new father lied in self-defense. "It just popped into my head. I don't know where the name came from. I must've been thinking about the supernova, but I shortened it to 'nova' by accident. It's not important."
"It is important because this is our granddaughter we're talking about!" the redhead argued. "Our family! We're family too, Doctor; we have a right to know these things!"
"Ponds, I told you it's not important!" the Doctor snapped back at them. "What's more important is saving her and River, and the longer we stand here arguing about this, the longer they have to suffer in the Silence's clutches! We can't waste any more time! We need to save them now!"
"Agreed," Vastra said, stepping forward and gesturing to the TARDIS screen showing the supernova. "From the looks of the supernova, the force-field around it looks like it will fail very soon—approximately in one hour or less. I suggest we act quickly. What's your plan, Doctor? Surely you've come up with one by now."
The Doctor nodded. "Yes, Vastra, I have." The group gathered around him as he explained. "We'll carry out the same plan we carried out at Demons Run, except this time we won't have an army; as I said, you five are the only army we'll need. If things go south, I'll give Strax the message to send in the army if need be, but hopefully it won't come to that, since I plan to avoid any kind of confrontation this time." This statement made him remember the confrontation with Madame Kovarian at Demons Run, and how 'well' that turned out at the time. He remembered the confrontation giving him no satisfaction whatsoever, remembering how he was tricked by her since long before he and his army arrived, and he hoped to avoid a similar confrontation this time around, all while hoping he wasn't already too late.
Shaking that memory out of his mind, he continued, "Vastra, Jenny, you two find the Main Control Room and take down any and all security measures they might have up and running, and maybe even disrupt whatever they're doing with the star's energy if possible. Strax, you clear a path for everyone so we can be in and out as soon as possible. The Ponds will immediately go to the Infirmary to rescue River and bring her safely back to the TARDIS. Meanwhile, I will find out what the Silence are doing with that star's energy. I have a feeling that whatever they plan to do with all of that energy, it's got something to do with my daughter, and I will stop them before they have a chance. I don't plan on losing my daughter this time."
"Don't worry, Doctor," Rory assured him, patting him gently on the shoulder. "We'll save your daughter."
"Mels too," Amy added.
"Take this," the Doctor said as he handed his sonic screwdriver to them, "in case River is locked up somewhere."
"I'll take it," Amy volunteered as she took it from him and slipped it into her pocket.
"Take this as well," the Time Lord added as he handed Rory River's gun. "River might need it during the rescue."
"Wow," he said as he hesitantly took the gun and attached it to his belt alongside his sword. "You're actually letting us use a gun, Doctor? That's not like you."
"Yeah, I thought you were against anyone using guns," Amy agreed, "or any weapons, for that matter."
The Doctor sighed before admitting, "Trust me, Ponds, I still am, but I make River an exception, only because she's not stupid when it comes to using a gun." At this, he immediately glanced awkwardly toward Strax, who stared back at him with a 'Yo, what about me? I'm perfectly adequate with a gun too' look, and lied, "Eh, Strax too."
"I assure you, sir, I hit my targets between the eyes every time!" Strax said with a smug smile. "It's the most glorious form of combat!"
"Uh-huh, sure it is," Amy said as she exchanged unconvincing glances with the rest of the group.
"Well, now that we have a solid plan," Vastra sighed contently, "I suggest we execute it as soon as possible. As you said, Doctor, we don't have much time."
"Right you are, Madame Vastra," the Time Lord nodded in agreement. "I'll extend the TARDIS shields so we don't get immediately shot once we exit the door." He then said as he approached the center console again, "The rest of you know what to do. Strax: clear out any and all Silence members that get in our way. Vastra and Jenny: Main Control Room. Amy and Rory: Infirmary and then immediately back to the TARDIS once you have River. And me—I'm going to find out what the Silence are up to with the supernova and stop them from taking away my daughter."
"All the best of luck to you, everyone," Vastra said. "May the Goddess protect us all."
"We shall stand victorious on the field of battle!" Strax said as he raised his gun.
"Let's get our daughter and granddaughter back," Rory smiled toward Amy, who nodded earnestly back.
"Geronimo," the Doctor mumbled to himself as he set the TARDIS to board the ship.
#####
"Place the child into the machine," Madame Kovarian ordered one of the female soldiers. She watched emotionlessly as the soldier took the crying baby out of the cradle and placed her into the glass compartment of the machine where the star's energy will be inserted, turning the child into the literal 'supernova' that which she was ironically named after.
"Begin the transfer," she ordered again once the box was tightly sealed, blocking out the child's terror-filled screams. She smirked evilly and without remorse as another soldier operating the control panel activated the machine, letting the star's energy flow through a cylindrical tube and into the box, consuming the child with yellow and orange fumes. She watched as the baby's body automatically responded to the star's energy by conjuring a different kind of energy—Regeneration Energy—that seemed to hurt the baby but not kill her, just as Kovarian planned. She couldn't hear the child's screams, but she could visibly see her screaming in agony from her mostly Time Lord body regenerating—rather, the energy was seemingly attempting to heal her body from the burns that the star's energy was causing to her body—plus absorbing the star's energy at the same time, merging with her Regeneration Energy.
Despite the child's cries of pain, Kovarian continued watching while sniggering in triumph that her experiments were working successfully. This child—his child—was to be her new weapon against the Doctor, and nothing was going to stop her from accomplishing this mission. Kovarian would make absolutely sure of it, no matter what it took.
#####
As the TARDIS Team was exiting the space-time ship, while Strax immediately shot at the Silence soldiers that greeted them and chased them away, the Doctor immediately felt an agonizing pain shoot through his mind through his new psychic link.
"Doctor?" his mother-in-law turned to him with concern. "What's wrong?"
"It's my daughter!" he gasped, wincing as he clutched the side of his head. "She's in pain! Something's happening to her, and it's hurting her! I have to find her now!" At this, he immediately began running off down the hallway, putting his own safety aside.
"Doctor—" Amy attempted to protest, but he cut her off.
"I'll be alright!" he said. "Don't wait up for me! Go find River!" He ignored any and all further protests from the group as he sprinted into the bowels of the ship, determined to find whoever was responsible for his newborn daughter's suffering and tear them apart.
#####
"Ma'am!" a soldier ran up to Kovarian from the hallway. "We have a situation! I was just told that the Doctor and his allies have been spotted on board the ship! They seemed to be spreading out on their separate missions, perhaps to sabotage our plans! Permission to terminate them?"
"No," Kovarian shook her head. "Leave the Doctor alive for now, but you may have permission to terminate the others, including the prisoner; we have no use for her anymore." As the soldier ran back into the hallway to pass the message to his associates, Kovarian turned to another soldier operating the machine and ordered, "Terminate the transfer as well. The child has enough energy in her body now; it will be permanently a part of her for the rest of Time, with and without Regeneration. We can resume the other experiments once we return to the base."
"Ma'am, another situation has just come up!" a third soldier said as she monitored the force-field's control over the supernova. "The force-field will fail in approximately ten minutes! We need to evacuate the ship now!"
"We can't terminate now," the soldier operating the machine warned. "The transfer is not yet complete."
"No matter!" Kovarian said. "Take the child out of the chamber and get her to the shuttle, and send someone to go find Nolan while you're at it!"
"But, ma'am, it does matter," a second soldier operating the machine agreed with the first. "Terminating the transfer before completion would be catastrophic to the entire ship and everyone on board. If we open the chamber now, the star's energy will overload the machine, causing it to explode and cause severe harm to all of us and the rest of the ship. Not only that, but the ship also can't leave while the transfer is still in progress. Any attempt to leave our current position or terminate the transfer could risk the force-field to fail much more quickly."
"I don't care!" Kovarian snapped at them. "The Doctor and his allies can die with the ship and the star's explosion! Get the child out of the chamber now! That is an order!"
The same female soldier that placed the baby into the machine swiftly opened the glass chamber and lifted her out of it. Both the baby and soldier cried in pain from the star's energy burning their skin, but the soldier ignored the pain as she placed the child back into the cradle, and two other soldiers carried her away as the room slowly began to fill with yellow and orange fumes.
"Find Nolan and bring him to the shuttle," Kovarian ordered as she walked with the rest of the soldiers as they evacuated the room, "and alert the rest of the crew to evacuate the ship immediately. We have what we came for now."
#####
'Warning: Systems: critical. Mandatory evac is in session. Please proceed to the nearest escape pod immediately. Ship will self-destruct in five minutes.'
The Doctor ignored the ship's announcement as he continued running through the halls, searching for his lost daughter. He ran into a room with a large machine that was billowing out a thick yellow and orange cloud from the exploding star. From the looks of the room, it looked like it had just been left abandoned minutes ago. He could just barely see the machine overloading with the star's energy, and everything electronic was giving off sparks as the energy spread across the room. He also noticed that the machine held a glass chamber that was large enough to hold a small infant's body inside, and he immediately realized where the pain through his psychic link was coming from: the Silence were clearly doing something to his daughter with the star's energy, and it was causing excruciating pain to her body, burning her skin.
Before he had a chance to react to this sudden thought, he began wincing in pain from the minor burns to his own skin, and he was forced to back into the hallway to prevent any further injuries. And a good thing too, as the machine finally exploded due to the overload just as he managed to escape the star's fumes and seal the sliding door before the energy could spread further around the ship. Unfortunately he couldn't permanently seal the door, as he had purposefully left his sonic screwdriver with his In-Laws to aid in River's rescue.
"You're too late, Doctor!" a soldier sniggered behind him as he pointed a gun at him. "If you're here for your precious princess, Madame Kovarian already took her away! You'll never find her now!"
Luckily, the Doctor was quick to act before the soldier could as he did a swift Venusian Aikido move (thankfully, he still remembered a few moves he'd learned in his third body) to twist the gun out of the soldier's hand and steal it for himself. "What did you do to her?" he growled as he pushed the soldier against the wall with his arm against his throat. "Where are they taking her? Tell me!"
"You won't be getting anything out of me!" the soldier sniggered. "I'd die before I'd betray my madame and my fellow Vokanari!"
The Doctor paused, briefly wondering what the 'Vokanari' were before he shook his head and steered back on topic. "Clearly you've never heard the phrase 'be careful what you wish for!'" he said as he brought the gun up to the soldier's temple.
"You wouldn't!" the soldier sneered at him. "You're a pacifist!"
"Hasn't anyone ever taught you about me?" the enraged Time Lord rolled his eyes. "I change, and not just my body! You best choose your words more carefully; you might regret what you say next!" He then lowered his voice to a deep growl as he shoved the barrel end of the gun harder into the soldier's temple. "I'm going to ask one more time…" he said as he released the safety, "WHERE IS MY DAUGHTER? WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER?"
"As I said, you're too late!" the soldier continued sniggering, ignoring the gun pressed to his head. "The transfer has already been done!"
"'Transfer?'" the Oncoming Storm frowned. "What transfer?" Deep down, he felt like he already knew the answer to the question, but he had to be sure.
"As you may have noticed, we've been syphoning off that supernova's energy and transferring it inside a machine… A machine that would turn your daughter into a literal supernova herself." The soldier chuckled at this. "Funny how she was named after the very thing she will become."
'Nova'… the Doctor thought. Short for 'supernova'… That was what the Silence were doing, he realized. They were experimenting with the supernova's energy, plus his daughter's Time Lord Regeneration Energy, and merging the two together to make his daughter into a literal supernova herself, and they planned for her to use that mixed energy to destroy him—her own father—once she was grown up and fully trained into the assassin that her mother was originally meant to become.
"Where are they taking her now?" he demanded, anxious to stop that from happening.
The soldier smirked. "As I said, Time Lord, you won't be getting anything else out of me! If I have to die right here alongside you and your allies, then so be it; my madame's secret shall die with me!"
The Doctor stepped back, shaking his head. "Forget it! Even if I have to hunt her down myself, I won't rest until she is found and my daughter is safe in my arms! You wish to die, be my guest!" He immediately pointed the gun directly at the soldier's face, highly tempted to shoot, thinking this to be his way to get back at the Silence for everything they've done to him and his family.
However, the more he thought about it, the less satisfied he felt, as simply killing one soldier by his hand wouldn't be worth it, and it wouldn't change what's happened to his daughter and get her back. Instead, he chucked the gun aside—much to the soldier's shock—and said with a regretful sigh, "But no. You're right… I never would. The explosion will take care of that for you. But before you die, know this…" He approached the soldier again and got right into his face as he snarled under his breath, "Once I have my daughter back, I will take Kovarian and the rest of the Silence—'Vokanari,' or whatever you call yourselves now—down, and I won't rest until all of you are gone! Mark my words! You have tormented me and my family for long enough! It ends now!" At this, he ran off down the hallway, now regretting having not called in the army.
'Warning: Systems: critical. Mandatory evac is in session. Please proceed to the nearest escape pod immediately. Ship will self-destruct in three minutes.'
Again, ignoring the announcement, the Doctor spoke to Madame Vastra, saying through an earpiece, "Vastra? Can you hear me?"
"Loud and clear, Doctor!" Vastra's voice replied.
"Change of plan! You, Jenny, and Strax need to return to the TARDIS immediately! The ship's about to blow, and we need to be far away from here before that happens! I'm going to find Amy and Rory and meet you there! Hurry!"
After hearing Vastra's confirmation, he rushed off in search of his wife and In-Laws without another word.
#####
'Warning: Systems: critical. Mandatory evac is in session. Please proceed to the nearest escape pod immediately. Ship will self-destruct in two minutes.'
River Song sat on the floor, curled up into a ball against the door, woefully awaiting her fate…
That was, until the door slid open behind her without warning. She immediately rose to her feet and backed away just as two soldiers came in, each with their guns drawn and pointed at her.
"Where is my daughter?" River snarled at them like a mother bear defending her cub—or lack thereof. "What have you done with her?"
"Nothing that need concern you now, 'River,'" one of the soldiers smirked alongside his comrade as they released the safety on their guns. "Your 'song' has ended!" After making that seemingly intended pun, they prepared to pull the trigger to end her life…
That was, until two swords popped out from the darkness behind them and rose to each of their necks.
"Don't even think about it, dimwits!" River's 'mother bear' snarled as she stepped into the room, strangely dressed in a pirate's costume and holding one of the soldiers at sword-point under his chin. "I'll make sure your song ends before you touch my daughter again!"
"River!" Rory exclaimed as he, dressed in his familiar Roman Centurion armor, entered with Amy, holding his own sword at the neck of the other soldier.
"Mum!" River exclaimed in relief. "Dad!"
"Sorry if our timing was a little too close," her father shrugged as he and his wife pushed the soldiers aside while still holding them at sword-point. "We got a little held up on the way here."
"Not a problem!" River shook her head. "You're here now! What's with the getup?" she asked before snorting to herself. "Let me guess… The Doctor's idea?"
"Actually, it was mine," Amy said. "Thought it'd be a funny idea for us to dress up together. Plus I have my own swords now; I may as well use them in style."
River chuckled. "I…suppose it makes sense. Any chance you have an extra sword on you?"
"No, but the Doctor thought you might prefer this instead," her father said as he side-tossed her Alpha Meson gun to her while keeping his focus on the soldiers.
"My Alpha Meson gun!" River exclaimed excitedly. "Yes, that is much more preferred. Thanks, Daddy Dearest!" She immediately charged her gun.
"What should we do with these numbskulls?" Amy asked, gesturing toward the soldiers.
"Just leave them," River shrugged carelessly. "They're not worth our time…at least, not anymore."
"Not that we have much time anyway!" Rory pointed out. "The ship's about to blow in less than two minutes! We need to get out of here!"
"I'm not leaving without my daughter!" River shook her head. "Kovarian took her from me! We need to get her back!"
"The Doctor is already on that!" Rory assured her. "He tasked us to get you back to the TARDIS! He'll have your daughter back once we meet back up with him! Come on, we need to go now!"
They prepared to leave as the ship made another announcement: 'Warning: Systems: critical. Mandatory evac is in session. Please proceed to the nearest escape pod immediately. Ship will self-destruct in one minute.'
"Sorry, boys," River said to the soldiers as they stepped out, "but it looks like my song won't be ending anytime soon—pun also intended. But yours will!" At this, she immediately allowed the door to slide shut, and she shot the control panel on the side to keep it sealed permanently, literally sealing the soldiers' fate. "Right," she said, turning to her parents with a curt nod, "let's go!" They began running without a second thought.
On the way back to the TARDIS, they unexpectedly bumped into the Doctor.
"Doctor!" Amy exclaimed in shock that her son-in-law had seemingly come out of nowhere.
"Careful, Doctor! If we had our swords out, we would've run you through!" Rory pointed out.
"Sorry, Ponds!" the Time Lord panted, out of breath. "I was looking for you! River! You're okay!" Upon seeing his wife—his real wife—alive and well, he immediately rushed up to her and gave her a wet smooch on the lips and a giant bear-hug, even twirling her into the air briefly.
"Whoa, easy, Doctor!" Rory spoke up, his nursing instincts kicking in. "She's just given birth! Give her some space!"
"I'm fine," River said as she pulled away from her husband. She then frowned, seeing him empty-handed. "But where's our daughter? Mum and Dad said you'd have her by now!"
Before he could answer, another announcement echoed through the ship: 'Warning: Systems: critical. Mandatory evac is in session. Please proceed to the nearest escape pod immediately. Ship will self-destruct in forty seconds.'
"No time!" he replied after the announcement was finished. "We need to get back to the TARDIS now! The Paternoster Gang should already be there! We have less than a minute before the ship blows!"
"No, Doctor!" River snapped. "I'm not leaving without my daughter!"
"It's too late, River!" the Doctor sighed apologetically. "Kovarian already took her away! I'm sorry! We need to leave now! Come on!" He immediately grabbed River's hand and pulled her along as the Pond-Williams family rushed back to the TARDIS. They, as well as the Paternoster Trio, were able to make it back safety, and the Doctor set the TARDIS to dematerialize and fly away in the nick of time as the stolen Silence ship exploded along with the supernova.
A/N: TO BE CONTINUED!
For those who recognized the beginning segment when River retold Amy's speech to her daughter, just as Amy told that speech to Melody in "a good man goes to war," I of course tweaked it where River was legitimately talking about the Doctor instead of Rory (as well as replacing "Melody" with "Nova"). In "a good man goes to war," of course Amy was talking about Rory, but when I watched that episode for the first time, I legitimately thought she was talking about the Doctor, especially when she described him as "the last of his kind" and "he looks young but he's lived for hundreds of years," but in actuality she was talking about Rory, which really threw me off. It took me a while to understand how those descriptions relate to Rory as well, and I eventually figured out that "the last of his kind" part describes Rory as the last living Roman (a.k.a. The Last Centurion), and the "he looks young but he's lived for hundreds of years" part is a reference to Rory guarding the Pandorica for almost 2000 years as a Nestine duplicate, which helped him retain his young age. In this story, of course River is talking about the Doctor, since he is the father this time, even though the descriptions apply to Rory as well :)
Also, for anyone confused as to how River would remember Amy's speech from that episode, 'offscreen,' Amy told River that story as well as the speech word-for-word, thinking it would be a good idea for River to retell it to her own child one day (since, in this case, it applies to the Doctor as well), which she does in this chapter.
Also, for those wondering who Nolan is, you will find out next chapter :)
As always, friendly reminder that kudos, comments, and favs are appreciated and will keep me motivated to post more often. I see that many of you are reading my works but not subscribing, favoriting, or commenting on them. I always encourage feedback from my readers and enjoy reading about my readers' favorite moments. I'm sure everyone has at least one favorite moment. Please, please, please share them! I would love to talk about them.
Also, friendly reminder that I tend to have a major habit of rewriting things, so be sure to check back every once in a while (maybe even reread the previous chapter or chapters) to keep up to date on any changes I may make or add.
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