Katy's head was spinning as she made her way down the long rope ladder into the Aplan Moratorium, grateful when she felt her feet finally hit solid ground. She had never been a fan of heights, but the dizziness stayed with her even after she had stopped moving. Her eyes narrowed as she tried to look around her surroundings, finding nothing but darkness all around her.

"Well, this isn't creepy at all" Katy murmured, hearing the Doctor laugh at her comment from the shadows.

"Do we have a gravity globe?" The Doctor asked, and a matter of seconds later one of the clerics passed him a circular device.

"Where are we?" Amy inquired, as the Doctor fiddled around with the globe in his hands.

"Well, if you happen to be a creature of living stone...the perfect hiding place" The Doctor announced, kicking the globe high in the air where it instantly lit up.

The gravity globe cast a blue light on the vast array of mausoleums above them, slowly decaying due to the ravages of time. Katy's gaze flickered over the dozens of statues that lay on every level, feeling a shiver go down her spine. Something about the stone statues made her want to instantly look away.

"I guess this makes it a bit trickier" Father Octavian stated.

"A bit, yeah" The Doctor nodded.

"A stone Angel on the loose amongst stone statues. A lot harder than I'd prayed for" Octavian sighed, shining his torch over the statues that lay just in front of them.

"A needle in a haystack" River added.

"A needle that looks like hay. A hay-like needle of death. A hay-alike needle of death in a haystack of, er, statues...no, yours was fine" The Doctor rambled, making Katy snort from his ridiculous behaviour.

"Right. Check every single statue in this chamber. You know what you're looking for. Complete visual inspection. One question. How do we fight it?" Octavian questioned.

"We find it, and hope" The Doctor answered, as Katy raised an eyebrow.

"No. Seriously, how do we fight it?" Katy insisted, as the Doctor gave her a half-shrug before going racing off into the maze.

"Don't you just hate him sometimes?" River muttered, as she and Katy shared an amused look.

They continued following the Doctor up the long staircases that had begun to disintegrate, meaning they all had to be careful where they were stepping. The Doctor's quick footsteps were hard to keep up with, an excited look on his face as he looked around in awe at the maze. He would cast a glance over his shoulder every minute or so just to make sure the girls were still close on his heels.

"Have you ever noticed the worse things get, the more excited he is?" Katy huffed.

"Oh, that never changes" River replied, running a hand over her sweaty forehead.

"So...what am I like in the future?" Katy couldn't help but ask, as River shook her head fondly.

"You and I both know I can't tell you anything like that. Spoilers" River reminded her.

"Oh, c'mon. What about a hint? A word you'd use to describe me?" Katy pushed.

"Stubborn?" River suggested, causing Katy to roll her eyes.

"...And you and him? What are you in the future?" Katy insisted, watching as sadness flashed over River's features for just a second.

"I've known the Doctor all my life. He's the most important person to me in the whole universe" River explained, as Katy found she was beginning to wish she hadn't asked.

"Sounds like you really love him" Katy murmured, causing River's footsteps to come to a sudden halt.

"Doesn't everyone?" River responded, giving her a pointed look.

Katy mulled over her words for a moment, thinking of how many people seemed to gravitate toward the Doctor. Rose, Martha, Amy, River...he meant everything to his companions. In only a matter of weeks, Katy herself found it almost impossible to think about life without the Time Lord and his blue box.

"Yes, we are" River exclaimed, shining her torch on the Doctor's face, who seemed very interested in the device in his hands.

"Sorry, what?" The Doctor retorted, pressing a few random buttons.

"Talking about you" River stated, as a smirk grew on Katy's face at the Doctor's dismissive attitude.

I wasn't listening. I'm busy" The Doctor told her, as Katy strolled forward to grab the communicator from his hands.

"The other way up" She corrected, turning the device around before handing it back to him.

"Ah. Yeah" The Doctor nodded, with a sheepish expression.

"So, which one of you is going to be his wife in the future?" Amy inquired, as Katy twisted around to face the redhead with a scandalised expression.

"What?! That's...your...can we focus a little here? Killer angel on the loose, people!" Katy insisted, cheeks tinged red, tongue tripping over her rush of thoughts.

Before Amy could say anything else to have her face resembling that of a tomato, Katy was racing off ahead, muttering a few curses under her breath. The younger girl must have still been reeling from her near-death experience to have thought of something so absurd. It was clear as day to Katy that if the Doctor truly did have a wife in the future, it would be River Song. And that was just something she would have to learn to deal with—

With a groan, Katy rubbed at her right eye which had been stinging for the last few seconds. She ran her palm over her face, feeling as if whatever was in her eye was only burrowing deeper. Pulling away to see if she had dislodged the culprit, Katy let out a gasp when she saw grey dust falling from her fingertips. It almost looked like stone...

"You okay?" The Doctor's voice echoed behind her, as he noticed she had come to a stop.

"Y-yeah. I just...I thought I had something in my eye" Katy mumbled.


Katy's eyes continued to sting the further into the maze they got, a strange pressure growing behind her eyes. As they turned another corner in the endless Aplan temple, she opened her mouth to tell the Doctor how she was feeling but quickly decided against it. He would just insist she retreat to the TARDIS. And if there was one thing she wasn't interested in doing, it was running away.

"The Weeping Angels...they're called that because they hide their faces in their hands, right? Because if they accidentally look at each other it'll trigger their quantum lock? They'd be stuck forever?" Katy suggested, wanting to focus on something else.

"It's the only way I've ever heard of them being defeated" The Doctor nodded.

"What about with their own reflection?" Katy theorised, as the Doctor thought it over.

"It's possible—" His words were cut off by the sound of continuous gunfire, causing the group to rush back to where the rest of their group was.

They found a shaking cleric with his gun still raised in the air, aiming at a statue which was littered with bullet holes. The Doctor surveyed the disfigured statue for a few moments, before deciding it appeared to be harmless. It wasn't the statue they were looking for.

"Sorry, sorry. I thought...I thought it looked at me" The cleric confessed, in an embarrassed tone.

"We know what the Angel looks like. Is that the Angel?" Octavian pointed out.

"No, sir" The cleric shook his head, eyes cast to the ground.

"No, sir, it is not. According to the Doctor, we are facing an enemy of unknowable power and infinite evil, so it would be good, it would be very good if we could all remain calm in the presence of décor" Octavian went on.

"Be fair, this guy looks about fifteen" Katy stated, gesturing to the still-trembling cleric.

"I'm twenty-five" He grumbled, as she shot him a sheepish grin.

"What's your name?" The Doctor asked, approaching the pair.

"Bob, sir" The cleric replied, causing the Doctor to beam.

"Ah, that's a great name. I love Bob" The Doctor exclaimed.

"It's a Sacred Name. We all have Sacred Names. They're given to us in the service of the Church" Octavian explained.

"Sacred Bob. More like Scared Bob now, eh?" The Doctor stated, as Katy coughed loudly, raising her eyebrows up to indicate the Doctor was being rude.

"Ah, good. Scared keeps you fast. Anyone in this room who isn't scared is a moron. Carry on" The Doctor went on, clapping both men on the shoulder.

"He probably didn't mean that to sound quite so offensive" Katy murmured to Octavian, who gave her an unimpressed look.

"We'll be moving up a level in two minutes. You stay with Christian and Angelo. Guard the approach" Octavian ordered Bob, who nodded quickly.

"You see anything...and I mean anything, you run, yeah? There's no honour in dying for no reason. Just do what I say and you'll be alright" Katy mumbled to Bob, who gave her a grateful smile.

As she turned on her heel to follow Octavian, she discovered the Doctor had been listening intently to her words, a beaming grin on his face as he went to walk beside her. She kept glancing at him as they fell into line behind the clerics, finding he was still grinning.

"What?" She frowned.

"You comforted him" The Doctor stated, causing her brows to knit together.

"You're smiling because I comforted some guy?" Katy tried to clarify.

"You act like you don't care, but the truth is, you care more than most" The Doctor explained, in a hushed voice, as if not to embarrass her.

"It was strategic. He's supposed to be guarding the approach. Making him less scared means we're more likely to stay alive" Katy retorted, as the Doctor nodded, mockingly.

"Maybe you just have a soft spot for men named Bob then" The Doctor shrugged, as she nudged him with her elbow, knowing his assumptions were at least half right.

"Eyes on the prize, Doc" Katy insisted, gesturing to the next group of statues in front of them.


Katy blinked rapidly as she did her best to keep up with the group, despite the way her heart was pounding in her chest. Whether it was the impending doom she felt, or something else entirely she wasn't sure...but there was something very wrong. She ran a hand over her face as the pressure in her head got worse and worse. Her eyes snapped open as she felt something dripping down from her nose, reaching up to touch her upper lip to find her fingers were stained with red.

"Are you alright?" River Song's panicked voice called out when she noticed how Katy's nose was bleeding.

"I'm...I'm fine. It's nothing" Katy retorted, rubbing at the blood with the back of her hand.

"It's not nothing. Doctor—" River began, when Katy's hand shot out to grab her arm.

"Don't. Don't tell him. He'll just make me go back. You all need me here and you know it" Katy stated, as River shook her head from side to side.

"God, you were always going to do it, weren't you?" River muttered, under her breath.

"Do what?" Katy frowned.

"I know what you're doing. Never let him see the damage. The problem is...he always knows" River told her, reaching out to rub her sleeve over the smudged blood on her cheek.

"Come on. We should keep going" River exclaimed, holding her arm out for Katy to take.

"I can see why he likes you" Katy smiled, as she linked their arms together, allowing River to haul her forward.

"Lovely species, the Aplans. We should visit them sometime" The Doctor announced, noticing out of the corner of his eye how Katy and River were staying at the back of the group.

"I thought they were all dead?" Amy questioned.

"Amy, you remember you're a time traveller, right?" Katy snorted.

"Oh, yeah" Amy mumbled, blushing lightly.

"They were very relaxed, sort of cheerful. Well, that's having two heads, of course. You're never short of a snog with an extra head" The Doctor exclaimed, as all the colour suddenly drained from Katy's face.

"Of course, then they started having laws against self-marrying. I mean, what was that about? But that's the Church for you. Er, no offence, Bishop" The Doctor grimaced, patting Octavian on the arm with his flashlight.

"Quite a lot taken, if that's all right, Doctor. Lowest point in the wreckage is only about fifty feet up from here. That way!" Octavian told them, ushering the group forward.

They all began walking again, apart from Katy who had gone as still as a statue. A real statue. Not what she had just realised they were surrounded by. She reached out to grab River's arm, pulling the older woman back, her eyes darting around their dark surroundings in a panic.

"Katy? What's wrong?" River questioned.

"Low-level perception filter..." Katy trailed off, before sprinting forward to find the Doctor, as the same realisation finally hit River.

"Oh God" River gasped, before rushing off after Katy.

The Doctor was taken aback as Katy suddenly ran in front of him, putting her hands up to stop him. She had a stricken expression on her face, as she reached out to grab his hand that was holding his flashlight, pulling it up to shine upon the nearest statue.

"Two heads" Katy exclaimed, as the Doctor glanced between her and the statue.

"Two heads? Two...heads. Two heads!" The Doctor shouted, as everyone came to a halt around them, confusion etched on their features.

"What's wrong, sir?" Octavian asked.

"Nobody move. Nobody move. Everyone stay exactly where they are. Bishop, I am truly sorry. I've made a mistake and we are all in terrible danger" The Doctor announced, shining his light down the stone corridor ahead of them, finding even more statues.

"What danger?" Octavian inquired.

"The Aplans. They've got two heads" Katy pointed out.

"Yes, I get that. So?" Octavian retorted, still missing what was right in front of him.

"So, why don't the statues?" The Doctor exclaimed, as Katy instinctively reached out to grab Amy's arm, pulling her away from a statue that was hovering above her left shoulder.

"Everyone, over there. Just move. Don't ask questions, don't speak. Okay, I want you all to switch off your torches" The Doctor told them, backing them all up into a corner, farthest away from the statues.

"Just do it. Okay. I'm going to turn off this one too, just for a moment" The Doctor continued, watching as everyone's lights switched off all around him.

"Are you sure about this?" River questioned.

"No" He replied, with a slight grin.

Katy was surprised when his hand reached behind him a moment later, his palm open. Without thinking too much about it, she intertwined their fingers together, glad to see that no one else had seemed to notice the gesture. Just before he switched off his flashlight, she felt him squeeze her hand, and then there was nothing but darkness. It only lasted for a fraction of a second, but that was all a Weeping Angel needed. Katy jumped back in fright when she found the three statues in front of them had twisted around to face them, their jaws open to reveal sharp teeth.

"Oh, my God. They've moved" Amy gaped.

The Doctor was then rushing off down the corridor they had just come from as if he was oblivious to the danger all around him. Katy was fast on his heels, finding him stopped in front of an Angel that was crawling on the floor toward them, its hand reaching out. Katy gave him a look of disbelief when she saw the excited grin on his face.

"They're Angels. All of them!" The Doctor announced, as Katy slapped him round the back of the head.

"Ow! Back to slapping me again, I see" The Doctor grumbled, rubbing at his sore scalp.

"Don't go running off like that!" Katy complained.

"If you two are just about done, can we discuss the impending danger we find ourselves in?" Octavian insisted, as they both twisted around to face him.

"There was only one Angel on the ship. Just the one, I swear" River Song told them.

"They were already here. What do you think happened to the Aplans?" Katy pointed out, as River's face grew ashen.

"They don't look like Angels" Octavian stated, looking at the disfigured statue that was beside him.

"And they're not fast. You said they were fast. They should have had us by now" Amy went on.

"Look at them. They're dying, losing their form. They must have been down here for centuries, starving Losing their image. And their image is their power. Power. Power!" The Doctor realised, as Katy's eyes doubled in size.

"The crash wasn't an accident" Katy murmured, figuring everything that happened had been the Angel's plan all along.

"All that radiation spilling out the drive burn. The crash of the Byzantium was a rescue mission for the Angels. We're in the middle of an army, and it's waking up" The Doctor explained.

"Bob, Angelo, Christian, come in, please. Any of you, come in" Octavian spoke into his communicator, doing his best to keep the panic out of his voice.

"It's Bob, sir. Sorry, sir" A familiar voice replied.

"Bob, are Angelo and Christian with you? All the statues are active. I repeat, all the statues are active" Octavian warned.

"I know, sir. Angelo and Christian are dead, sir. The statues killed them, sir" Bob stated, a little too matter-of-factly for Katy's liking.

"Bob, Sacred Bob, it's me, the Doctor" The Time Lord greeted, grabbing the communicator from Octavian.

"I'm talking to—" Octavian started, when the Doctor held his finger up to shush him.

"Yeah, yeah, shut up. Where are you now?" The Doctor said.

"I'm on my way up to you, sir. I'm homing in on your signal" Bob informed them.

"Ah, well done, Bob. Scared keeps you fast. Told you, didn't I. Your friends, Bob. What did the Angel do to them?" The Doctor continued, as Katy came to stand beside him.

"Snapped their necks, sir" Bob murmured, coldly.

"That's odd. That's not how the Angels kill you. They displace you in time. Unless they needed the bodies for something" The Doctor theorised, as a strange ringing sound echoed in Katy's ears.

It sounded like screeching, but there was something else to it...like someone was laughing?

"Bob, did you check their data packs for vital signs? We may be able to initiate a rescue plan" Octavian suggested, as Katy rolled her eyes and grabbed the communicator from the men's hands.

"Oh, don't be an idiot. The Angels don't leave you alive. So, with that in mind...how exactly did you escape Bob? Cause' you don't seem that cut up about your dead friends" Katy suggested, receiving a few moments of silence.

"That's because I didn't escape, ma'am. The Angel killed me, too" Bob clarified, as Katy let out a long sigh.

"What do you mean, the Angel killed you?" The Doctor questioned, taking the communicator back.

"Snapped my neck, sir. Wasn't as painless as I expected, but it was pretty quick, so that was something" Bob went on, making Katy cringe at his bluntness.

"If you're dead, how can I be talking to you?" The Doctor asked.

"You're not talking to me, sir. The Angel has no voice. It stripped my cerebral cortex from my body and re-animated a version of my consciousness to communicate with you. Sorry about the confusion" Bob explained.

"No way out" The Doctor murmured, taking his finger off the communicator button.

"Then we get out through the wreckage. Go! Go, go, go. All of you run" Octavian insisted, gesturing to them to carry on.

Suddenly, the pounding in her head increased tenfold, causing her to almost blackout. Whatever was happening to her was getting worse. And she knew it had something to do with when she looked into the Angel's eyes.

"Doctor?" Katy called out.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming. Just go. Go, go, go" The Doctor told her, all but pushing her forward.

"C'mon" River exclaimed, as she and Amy raced off further into the maze.


Katy did her best to keep up but when her vision started to blur, she was forced to stop, reaching out to clutch onto a nearby stone railing. Her knees trembled underneath her, threatening to give out at any moment. With a shake of her head, she put one foot in front of the other, determined to keep going when she found her hand hadn't moved. The breath caught in her throat when she saw that instead of pale skin, her hand had now turned completely to stone. Katy's heart raced as she tried to pull her limb away from the railing, but it wouldn't budge. She was trapped by her own body.

"Don't wait for me. Go, run" The Doctor stated, as he went to rush past her.

"I can't. I...I really can't" Katy murmured, her tone full of panic.

"Why not?" The Doctor frowned, spinning around to face her.

"Look at it. Look at my hand. It's stone" Katy exclaimed, staring up at him in terror.

"You looked into the eyes of an Angel, didn't you?" The Doctor realised, shining his torch in her eyes.

"I couldn't stop myself. I tried" Katy muttered, more annoyed at herself than with him.

"Listen to me. It's messing with your head. Your hand is not made of stone" The Doctor told her.

"Yeah, I figured that! But still...it doesn't freaking move!" Katy stated, grabbing at her arm with her other hand, tugging as hard as she could, but still nothing worked.

"The Angel is going to come and it's going to turn this light off, and then there's nothing I can do to stop it, so do it. Concentrate. Move your hand" The Doctor insisted, looking down to see his flashlight had started blinking.

"I can't!" Katy retorted.

"Then we're both going to die" The Doctor pointed out, as Katy's forehead wrinkled.

"You're not going to die. Just...just go, okay? I'll figure something out" Katy exclaimed, casting a glance behind her to find two Weeping Angels had crawled onto the floor behind them.

"You really think I'd leave you here?" The Doctor asked, in disbelief.

"You don't have a choice. All those people up there need you. Amy, River. You can't just abandon them!" Katy told him, as he shone his light on the approaching Angels.

"But it's alright for me to abandon you?" The Doctor huffed.

"People have been doing it all my life. So...just go. Run!" Katy cried, as the Doctor shook his head.

"I'm sorry" The Doctor murmured, before letting out a sigh as if riling himself up for something.

"You've got to leave me. It's the right thing to do" Katy replied, despite the way her voice was shaking.

"Oh, no, I'm not leaving you, never. I'm sorry about this " The Doctor mumbled.

Before she could stop him, he had leant down to kiss the back of her hand, causing her to jump back in shock, her hand finally leaving the railing. She continued to gawk at him for a few moments, as her brain slowly caught up with her mouth.

"See? Not stone. Now run" The Doctor insisted, as she clamped her gaping mouth closed.

"What the hell was that?" She mumbled, as he grabbed her arm and dragged her behind him, away from the Angels.

"I kissed your hand, and you're alive. Did I mention that?" The Doctor complained, as Katy's cheeks began to heat up for the second time that day.

"Yeah, thanks. Just don't get any ideas, alright?" Katy said, making the Doctor grin.


Once they made it to the rest of the group, they found they weren't doing much better. The Angels were advancing on all sides, and their flashlights as well as a new gravity globe were all flickering. Within a matter of minutes, they would be dead, and they all knew it.

"There's always a way out" The Doctor said, more to himself than anyone else.

"Doctor? Can I speak to the Doctor, please? There's something the Angels are very keen you should know before the end" Angel Bob spoke up through the communicator, as the Doctor brought the device up close to his face.

"Which is?" The Doctor asked.

"I died in fear" Angel Bob replied, causing the Doctor to frown.

"I'm sorry?" He questioned, taken aback by the creature's harsh words.

"You told me my fear would keep me alive, but I died afraid, in pain and alone. You made me trust you, and when it mattered, you let me down...I'm sorry, sir. The Angels were very keen for you to know that" Angel Bob explained, as Katy stormed forward to grab the communicator from his hands, seeing the despondent look on the Doctor's face.

"You think you're all very fucking clever, don't you? Trying to make him angry so he can't think straight and find a way out for us? Well, clearly you don't know him so well. Because he's gonna' save us, put a stop to every single last one of you, and he's gonna' do all of that in Bob's memory" Katy spat out.

"Anything you want to add?" Katy exclaimed, handing the communicator back to the Doctor, who was grinning proudly at her.

"This trap has got a great big mistake in it. A great big, whopping mistake" The Doctor goaded the Angels.

"What mistake, sir?" Angel Bob inquired, curiously.

"Trust me?" The Doctor asked, looking at Amy and River.

"Yeah" Amy nodded, with a smile.

"Always" River replied.

"You lot, trust me?" The Doctor questioned, turning to Octavian.

"We have faith, sir" The Bishop stated, knowing he had little other choice.

"Katy? Trust me?" The Doctor murmured, as a realisation hit her.

For the first time, without a doubt, she knew she would trust the Doctor with her life.

"I do" She grinned.

"Right, then. I need your gun. I'm about to do something incredibly stupid and dangerous. When I do, jump, high as you can. Come on, leap of faith, Bishop. On my signal" The Doctor announced, surprising Katy with his actions.

"What signal?" Octavian frowned, handing him his handgun, regardless.

"You won't miss it" The Doctor mumbled, aiming his new gun at the gravity globe, as Katy realised what he was about to do.

"Sorry, can I ask again? You mentioned a mistake we made" Angel Bob insisted.

"Oh, big mistake. Huge. Didn't anyone ever tell you there's one thing you never put in a trap? If you're smart, if you value your continued existence, if you have any plans about seeing tomorrow, there is one thing you never, ever put in a trap" The Doctor warned, as he felt Katy place her hand on his shoulder.

"And what would that be, sir?" Angel Bob pushed.

"Me" The Doctor exclaimed, before pulling the trigger, causing the gravity globe to explode and pulling them all up toward the ship above them.

Katy jumped as high as she could in the air, still clutching onto the Doctor's jacket as she felt them flip. A second later, she was colliding with the hull of the Byzantium, her shoulder taking most of the impact. Katy rolled onto her back, finding that the Doctor was lying right beside her, kept close due to her tight grip.

"You okay?" He questioned, earning a quick nod in response.

He was up on his feet a split second later, telling them to look up toward the Angels which were still stuck where they had just been. She could hear Amy asking what had happened, still confused at how they all moved. Katy pushed herself up onto unsteady feet, grateful when she felt a hand clasp around her wrist, helping to steady her. River was staring down at her with concern in her eyes, knowing Katy was getting worse.

"We need to get you into the ship" River advised, as the Doctor used his sonic screwdriver to open up a door to the nearest corridor.

Katy crouched down to jump down into the ship, the gravity instantly orientating to the floor despite the fact that the ship was upside down. She gripped onto the nearest wall, hearing as Octavian began questioning the Doctor, but their voices sounded so far away. River's hands were back on her a second later, pulling her further into the corridor just as a bulkhead door slammed close in front of them.

"Well, shit" Katy sighed.

"Language" The Doctor chastised, edging past her toward the control panel on the door.

"Okay. We've basically run up the inside of a chimney, yeah? So, what if the gravity fails?" Amy inquired.

"I've thought about that" The Doctor nodded.

"And?" Amy insisted, as the Doctor spun around to look at her.

"And we'll all plunge to our deaths. See? I've thought about it" The Doctor murmured, waving his sonic screwdriver in the air.

"Don't sound too optimistic" Katy groaned, walking over to the control panel on the door, and ripping it open with her hands.

"The security protocols are still live. There's no way to override them. It's impossible" The Doctor suggested.

"How impossible?" River pushed, as Katy quirked an eyebrow in her direction.

"Two minutes" Katy announced, beginning to pull at the wires connecting to the bulkhead door.

"Brilliant. You are brilliant" The Doctor grinned, pressing a kiss to the top of her head before he thought about his actions.

"Second time you've kissed me today. Becoming a bit of a habit" Katy commented, as River's eyes flickered over to the pair.

Just as she opened her mouth to speak, the outer hatch opened, signalling that the Angel's had arrived. Katy did her best to ignore the threat, swapping around the wiring as quickly as she could. It was complicated, but nothing she couldn't handle. All she would need to do was...

"Ah, problem. Big problem" Katy announced, pulling her gaze away from the panel to see four Angel's had entered the corridor.

"A bigger problem than this?" River huffed.

"Well, there's only one way to open this door. I'll need to route all the power in this section through the door control...Including the lights. All of them" Katy gulped.

"How long for?" Octavian asked.

"How long is a piece of string, Octavian? I don't know! It depends on how much power they've already drained through this section. Hopefully not longer than a second. Or...five..." Katy stuttered, as Amy gave her a panicked look.

"Doctor Song, I've lost good Clerics today. You trust this woman?" Octavian questioned.

"I absolutely trust her" River replied, without a second thought.

"She's not some kind of lunatic?" Octavian insisted, as River mulled it over for a moment.

"I absolutely trust her" River repeated, making the Doctor laugh.

"Oi!" Katy complained.

"Alright, combat distance, ten feet. As soon as the lights go down, continuous fire. Full spread over the hostiles. Do not stop firing while the lights are out. Shot gun protocol. We don't have bullets to waste" Octavian announced, as the clerics all lined up in a row.

"Amy, when the lights go down, the wheel should release. Spin it clockwise four turns" The Doctor ordered, moving Amy into place.

"You want to do the honours? Setting fifteen" The Doctor suggested, handing Katy the sonic screwdriver.

"Ten" She nodded, making the Doctor frown.

"What?" He asked.

"I said thanks" Katy clarified, before turning toward the control panel and taking a deep breath.

"God be with us all" Octavian exclaimed, as Katy pressed the button on the sonic and they were plunged into darkness.

The only light came from the muzzle fire of the cleric's guns, which simply ricocheted off the Angel's who inched closer and closer. Katy tried to look at the Angel's to stop them from approaching but it was impossible. Thankfully after a few seconds, Amy had been able to open the bulkhead door and they all started rushing through. Katy stayed where she was still with the sonic screwdriver pointed on the control panel when she felt hands grabbing her waist and tugging her back. Suddenly, there was light all around her and she realised the Doctor had dragged her into the secondary flight deck. She let out a sigh of relief as the bulkhead door shut behind them, separating them from the threat for just a moment.

"Doctor? You can, uh...let go now" Katy pointed out, gesturing to where one of his arms was still wrapped around her waist.

"Yes. Right, good job. Moving on" The Doctor stuttered, his ears turning red as he raced over to the control desk in the middle of the room.

The Angels attempted to turn the wheel locks on the bulkhead doors to the flight deck but were forced to come to a momentary stop when the clerics magnetised the clamps. All that accomplished was to slow them down, as the wheels continued to spin every few seconds. With Katy's adrenaline fading somewhat, she realised just how bad her headache had become, and stumbled forward to hold onto the back of one of the chairs in the room.

"Nine" Katy mumbled, though the group was too busy finding a way out to notice.

She slumped down onto the chair beside her, blinking rapidly as the large metal door on the other side of the room rose. Her forehead wrinkled as what appeared to be a forest came into view. Of course, she realised, where else would they get the oxygen they needed to breathe?

"Makes eight. Sense...it...it makes sense" Katy muttered, with a shake of her head.

"You're going to love this. Treeborgs. Trees plus technology. Branches become cables become sensors on the hull. A forest sucking in starlight, breathing out air. It even rains. There's a whole mini-climate. This vault is an ecopod running right through the heart of the ship. A forest in a bottle on a spaceship in a maze. Have I impressed you yet, Katy Smith?" The Doctor grinned, enjoying the way her name flowed off his tongue.

"Seven" Katy replied, as the Doctor suddenly rushed over to her, worry written all over his face.

"Seven?" He asked.

"I said show off" Katy clarified, as the Doctor's frown deepened.

"No, you didn't" River informed her, as panic began to claw away at Katy.

"Doctor? Excuse me? Hello, Doctor? Angel Bob here, sir" The communicator bleeped, pulling the Doctor's attention away for a moment.

"Ah. There you are, Angel Bob. How's life? Sorry, bad subject" The Doctor said, spitefully.

"Six" Katy spoke up, causing everyone in the room to turn to face her.

"What?" She questioned, noticing the sudden attention.

"Okay, Bob, no time for chit-chat. Here's what I want to know. What have you done to Katy?" The Doctor insisted.

"There is something in her eye" Angel Bob announced, causing Katy to stiffen.

"What's in her eye?" The Doctor pushed.

"We are" Angel Bob answered, ominously.

"What's he talking about? Why are you all looking at me like that?" Katy cried, rushing over to the Doctor.

"You're counting down from ten. You have been for a couple of minutes" He told her, in a soft tone, trying his best not to frighten her.

"Counting down to what?" Katy gulped.

"I don't know" The Doctor admitted, that fact alone being enough to terrify everyone in the room.

"With respect, sir, there's more power on this ship than you yet understand" Angel Bob told them, as a sudden screeching sound echoed all around them.

Katy let out a cry of pain, clutching at her head, feeling as if the sound was all around her, swallowing her whole. The Doctor instantly reached out for her shoulders, a panicked expression on his face as he realised there was nothing he could do.

"What's that? Dear God, what is it?" River gaped.

"It's hard to put in your terms, Doctor Song, but as best I understand it, the Angels are laughing. Because you haven't noticed yet, sir. The Doctor in the Tardis hasn't noticed" Angel Bob goaded, as the sound slowly decreased, allowing Katy a moment of respite.

"Wait. There's something I've missed..." The Doctor trailed off, turning around slowly to find a crack streaming with light above the bulkhead entrance.

Katy's gaze followed his, freezing in fear when she recognised the crack. The one that took Rory. Two pieces of time that should have never touched. But all that hadn't happened yet. Did the Doctor even know what it was?

"That's...that's like the crack from my bedroom wall from when I was a little girl" Amy announced, as Katy gave her a look of confusion.

"What are you doing?" River exclaimed, as the Doctor raced forward and pointed his sonic screwdriver toward the crack.

"Enough, we all need to leave. Moving out!" Octavian announced, ushering his clerics into the forest.

"Doctor, don't!" Katy cried, watching as he stood up on a nearby chair so he could get closer to the crack.

"We're not leaving without you" River told him.

"Oh yes, you are. Katy's sick, you need to get her out of here. Now, River" The Doctor insisted, as the older woman pursed her lips, but did as he said, nonetheless.

"No. You don't know what that thing will do if you touch it! I've seen it..." Katy trailed off, when she felt something dripping down her nose.

"Five" She moaned, realising her nose was bleeding once more.

"Leave with me on foot right now, or I'm carrying you" River warned, grabbing her arm and dragging her toward the exit.

"Doctor, come on!" She called back, but allowed River to pull her along, knowing she was becoming more of a liability than anything else.


They had only been walking for a few minutes when Katy's legs finally gave out, and she almost fell onto River Song. The older woman guided her toward a nearby rock to sit down on, feeling how Katy trembled under her touch. She looked even paler than she had done moments ago, her pupils blown wide.

"Four" Katy stuttered, before leaning down to lie against the rock, wanting to do nothing more than sleep.

"Med-scanner. Now!" River called out to a nearby cleric, as he handed her the device.

"Where's the Doctor?" Katy mumbled, quietly, surprised by how badly she wanted him there.

"He'll be here. Just hold on" River soothed, wrapping the med-scanner around her arm.

"Our mission is to make this wreckage safe and neutralise the Angels. Until that is achieved—" Octavian began, when River snapped at him.

"Father Octavian, when the Doctor's in the room, your one and only mission is to keep him alive long enough to get everyone else home. And trust me, it's not easy. Now, if he's dead back there, I'll never forgive myself. And if he's alive, I'll never forgive him. And...Doctor, you're standing right behind me, aren't you?" River realised, twisting around to find him only a few metres away.

The Doctor opened his mouth to reply, but the words died on his tongue when he saw the state Katy was in. He was by her side in an instant, reaching out to touch her shoulder, feeling how cold she was through the army uniform she wore.

"How did you get past them?" River asked.

"Doesn't matter. Let me look" The Doctor exclaimed, gesturing for her to pass him the monitor attached to the med-scanner.

"So, what's wrong with me?" Katy asked, trying not to show her panic.

"Nothing. You're fine" River told her.

"Everything. You're dying" The Doctor contradicted, as River gave him an annoyed look.

"Yes, you're right. If we lie to her, she'll get all better. Right. Katy. What's the matter with Katy? Something's in her eye. What does that mean? Does it mean anything?" The Doctor muttered to himself.

"Doctor. What are we going to do?" Amy asked, watching as Katy's heart rate lowered with every passing second.

"What happened? She stared at the Angel. She looked into the eyes of an Angel for too long" The Doctor ranted, running a hand through his messy hair.

"Sir! Angel incoming!" One of the clerics announced, as the Doctor turned to see the Weeping Angels had found them.

"Doctor, my head...it hurts" Katy moaned, clutching at her aching skull.

"I know, I know. Just...I need to think. Why can't I think?" The Doctor cried, appearing more panicked than River had seen him in a long time.

"Doctor, I know you're scared, but you need to focus. She hasn't got long" River told him, her eyes glancing down at the heart rate monitor to see it was barely reading fifty beats per minute.

"Don't you think I know that, River?! I'm not doing this again. I'm not losing you again" The Doctor exclaimed, kneeling in front of her.

"I don't think you're gonna' have much choice" Katy stated, as the Doctor reached out to her, pulling her upright to sit on the rock.

"Wait...you said the image of Angel is an Angel, right?" Amy spoke up, as the Doctor nodded.

"A living mental image in a living human mind. But we stare at them to stop them from getting closer. We don't even blink, and that is exactly what they want. Because as long as our eyes are open, they can climb inside. There's an Angel in her mind!" The Doctor gaped, his hands flying to cover his mouth.

"I...I can feel it. It's coming. Three" Katy murmured, as Amy crouched down beside them, running her hand over Katy's arm in a comforting gesture.

"Counting. What's that about? Bob, why are they making her count?" The Doctor spoke into the communicator.

"To make her afraid, sir" Angel Bob replied.

"Okay, but why? What for?" The Doctor pushed.

"For fun, sir" Angel Bob confessed, as the Doctor went unnaturally still.

His gaze darkened before he let out a shout of anger, throwing the communicator into a nearby tree, practically shaking with fury. The Doctor himself looked like he was on the verge of a panic attack, as he ran a hand over his face, trying to calm his agitated thoughts.

"They're trying to make you angry again. Stop you from thinking. I really need you right now, Doctor" Katy stated, as the Doctor nodded, coming back to her side.

"What's happening to her? Explain" Amy pleaded, biting at her bottom lip.

"Inside her head, in the vision centres of her brain, there's an Angel. It's like there's a screen, a virtual screen inside her mind and the Angel is climbing out of it, and it's coming to shut her off" The Doctor explained, making Katy grimace.

"I guess time will have to be rewritten for all that future we were gonna' have" Katy sighed, as the Doctor shook his head.

"If it was a real screen, what would we do? We'd pull the plug. We'd kill the power. But we can't just knock her out, the Angel would just take over" The Doctor theorised.

"Then what? Quickly. She's got seconds" River warned, looking at the heart rate monitor to see it was hovering around forty beats per minute.

"We've got to shut down the vision centres of her brain. We've got to pull the plug. Starve the Angel. How would you starve your lungs?" The Doctor asked.

"I'd stop breathing" River replied, as an idea struck the Doctor.

"Katy, close your eyes" The Doctor advised, as something about his words caused her chest to tighten.

"No. No, I don't want to" Katy murmured, her hands starting to shake uncontrollably.

"Good, because that's not you, that's the Angel inside you. It's afraid. Do it. Close your eyes" The Doctor insisted, as Katy did her best to blink.

"I...oh God, I can't...I can't close my eyes..." Katy stuttered, straining every muscle in her face, but still, nothing happened.

"You can. It's in your head. It's making you think you can't" The Doctor pushed.

"Here, I'll do it" River exclaimed, reaching out to close Katy's eyes forcibly.

She gasped as Katy's hand suddenly shot out to grab her wrist, wrenching her hand away, none too gently. Katy's bloodshot eyes flickered down as she realised what she was doing, her heart thumping painfully in her chest.

"I...I'm sorry..." Katy mumbled, pulling her hand away from River's bruised skin.

"It's taken over more than just her visual cortex, Doctor" River pointed out.

"There has to be a way. There's always...a way..." The Doctor trailed off, before reaching out to cup Katy's face with both his hands.

"Look at me" The Doctor said, as their eyes connected, his thumb brushing over her cheek.

"It worked before so...just don't hit me, eh?" The Doctor exclaimed, his gaze dropping to her mouth.

All of a sudden, he was leaning forward, his lips pressing against hers softly, causing her eyes to instinctively flutter shut. Katy's heart pounded in her chest, feeling everything around her melt away, apart from his lips on hers. Mindlessly, she reached up to touch his chest, her fingers wrapping around the fabric of his jacket to pull him closer. She pressed her lips more firmly against his, tilting her head to the side to deepen the kiss, able to feel the drum of his heartbeats picked up under her palm. The pair pulled away a moment later to catch their breath, as the Doctor moved his hand to place over her eyes, making sure they stayed shut. Katy could feel the blush that coated her cheeks but was relieved to find her head had finally stopped hurting. The Doctor remained where he was, kneeling in front of her, one hand still cupping her cheek as he tried to calm his frantic hearts.

"Well...that was certainly one way to do it" River mumbled.