Chapter Nine: A Friend's Return

Hand-in-hand, Emma and the Doctor walked through the Delerium Archives. Amy walked behind them, dragging her feet. The Doctor had been commenting on the labelling of various exhibits as they went.
"Wrong. Wrong. Bit right, mostly wrong. Oh, I love museums!"
"Yeah, great," said Amy. "Can we go to a planet now? Big spaceship? Churchill's bunker? You promised me a planet next."
"Amy, this isn't any old asteroid. It's the Delerium Archive, the final resting place of the headless monks. The biggest museum ever."
"You've got a time machine. What do you need museums for?"

The Doctor ignored her as he frowned at another incorrect piece of information.
"Wrong. Very wrong. Ooo, one of mine. Also, one of mine." Emma rolled her eyes, leaning against the Doctor's arm.
"Oh… I see!" Amy said. "It's how you keep score."
"Bingo," Emma smiled.

Pausing mid-step, the Doctor peered at a square box. It was surrounded by a case.
"Oh great, an old box," Amy muttered.
"It's from one of the old starliners. A Home Box." He leaned forward, reading the writing.
"What's a Home Box?" Amy asked.
"It's like a black box on a plane," Emma answered. "Except, this one homes. Anything happens to the ship; the Home Box flies home with all the flight data."
"So?"
"The writing, the graffiti," the Doctor murmured. "Old High Gallifreyan. The lost language of the Time Lords. There were days, there were many days, these words could burn stars and raise up empires, and topple gods."
"What does it say?"
"Hello, sweetie…"
"Is it who I think it is?" Emma asked eagerly.
"We'll see."

Within moments, he had the box in his arms. An alarm sounded and they took off towards the Tardis, guards chasing after them.
"We'll never be able to come back here," Emma complained.
"We'll go to a different one," the Doctor promised as the Tardis doors shut behind them.
"But I liked this one."
"I'll make it up to you."
"Why are we doing this?" Amy questioned.
"Because someone on a spaceship twelve thousand years ago is trying to attract my attention. Let's see if we can get the security playback working."

Plugging in the Home Box, the Doctor turned on the scanner. Emma's eyes brightened when she saw River Song.
"The party's over, Doctor Song," said a man. "Yet you're still on board."
"Sorry, Alistair," River shrugged. "I needed to see what was in your vault. Do you know what's down there? Any of you? Because I'll tell you something. This ship won't reach its destination."
"Wait 'til she runs, boys," Alistair said. "Don't make it look like an execution."
"Triple seven five slash three four nine by ten zero twelve slash acorn. Oh, and I could do with an air corridor."

The Doctor was quick to punch in the coordinates.
"What was that? What did she say?" Amy asked.
"Coordinates," Emma replied.
"Like I said on the dance floor, you might want to find something to hang on to."
"Whoo!" cried the Doctor.

Opening the Tardis doors, he held out his hand and River Song grabbed it as she came flying in. She landed on top of them, the two falling backwards.
"Doctor?" Amy asked worriedly.
"River!" Emma cheered.
River grinned at her, then barked an order at the Doctor, "Follow that ship!"

As the Doctor ran to the console, River pulled Emma into a tight, quick hug.
"They've gone into warp drive," River said, hurrying to the Doctor's side. She pressed a few buttons. "We're losing them. Stay close."
"I'm trying."
"Use the stabilizers!"
"River… there aren't any stabilizers," Emma said.
"The blue switches."
"Oh, the blue ones don't do anything," the Doctor said. "They're just blue!"
"Yes, they're blue. Look, they're blue stabilizers."

River pressed them and the Tardis stopped shakily wildly.
"Yeah," the Doctor grumbled. "Well, it's just boring now, isn't it? They're boring-ers. They're blue boring-ers." Emma sighed at his unhappiness.
"Doctor…"
"Fine." He crossed his arms over his chest.
"Doctor?" asked Amy. "How come she can fly the Tardis."
"You call that flying the Tardis? Ha!"

Ignoring him, River moved expertly around the console.
"Okay. I've mapped the probability vectors, done a fold-back on the temporal isometry, charted the ship to its destination, and packed us right along-side."
"Parked us?" Emma repeated. "There is no way we've landed."
"Of course, we've landed. I just landed her, Emma."
"But it didn't make the noise." Confused, Emma looked over at the Doctor.
"What noise?" River questioned.
"You know," stressed the Doctor. He made a wheezing noise and River rolled her eyes.
"It's not supposed to make that noise. You leave the brakes on. Emma, still don't see how you can stay with him these twenty millennium."
"Seven," Emma corrected.
"Oh, you're both still young!" River sent Amy a look. "He's hard to work young, she's always easy."
"Yes, well, it's a brilliant noise," pouted the Doctor. "I love that noise." He headed towards the doors. "Come along, Pond. Let's have a look."
"No, wait!"

Stepping in front of them, River gave the Doctor a cautious look.
"Environmental checks?"
"Oh, yes, sorry." He paused momentarily before opening the door. "Quite right. Environmental checks. Nice out."
"We're somewhere in the Garn Belt. There's an atmosphere. Early indications suggest that…"
"We're on Alfava Metraxis, the seventh planet of the Dundra System. Oxygen rich atmosphere, all toxins in the soft bland. Eleven-hour day, and chances of rain later."

Huffing, River turned to Emma.
"He thinks he's so hot when he does that."
"Because he is," Emma murmured. "And he knows he is." She flushed when the Doctor smirked at her.
"How come you can fly the Tardis?" Amy asked.
"Oh, I had lessons from the very best," River answered.
"Well, yeah," the Doctor said sheepishly.
"It's a shame you and Emma were busy that day," River remarked."Right then, why did they land here?"
"They didn't land," Emma told her.
"Sorry?"
"You should've checked the Home Box. It crashed." River's eyes went wide, and she ran out of the Tardis.

Amy spun to face the Doctor when River disappeared.
"Explain. How is that and how did she do that museum thing?"
"It's a long story and we don't know most of it. Off we go." He closed the Tardis doors, heading back to the console.
"What are you doing?" Amy asked.
"Leaving. She's got where she wants to go, let's go where we want to go."
"Are you basically running away?"
"Yep."
"Why?"
"Because she's from the future, mine and Emma's future."
"Can you run away from that?"
"I can run away from anything I like. Time is not the boss of me. The only thing I can't run from is when Emma and I get into a fight because that would ruin our relationship."
"Is that a planet out there?"
"Yes, of course, it's a planet."
"You promised me a planet! Five minutes?"
"Fine. Five minutes."
"Yes!" She darted out the doors and the Doctor held his hand out to Emma.
"I'm telling you now, that woman is not dragging us into anything."

Leisurely, the two walked outside the Tardis. Emma frowned at the once sleek spaceship that had turned into a burning wreak. It stuck out of a rock carved building.
"What caused it to crash?" asked Amy.
"Not me," River replied.
"Nah, the airlock would've sealed seconds after you blew it," the Doctor said. "According to the Home Box, the warp engines had a phase shift. No survivors."
"A phase shift would have to be sabotaged. I did warn them."
"About what?" Emma asked.

The blonde didn't answer as she continued.
"Well, at least the building was empty. Aplan temple. Unoccupied for centuries." Amy nudged the Doctor.
"Aren't you going to introduce us?"
"Amy Pond, Professor River Song."
"Ah, I'm going to be a professor someday, am I? How exciting. Spoilers!"
"Yeah, but who is she and how did she do that?" Amy pressed. "She just left you a note in a museum."
"Two things are always guaranteed to show up in a museum," said River. "The Home Box of a category four-star liner and sooner or later, him. It's how he keeps score."
Amy laughed, "I know!" "It's hilarious!"
"Look," the Doctor snapped. "I'm nobody's taxi service… except for Emma. I'm not going to be there to catch you every time you feel like jumping out of a spaceship!"
"And you are so wrong. There's one survivor. There's a thing in the belly of that ship that can't ever die."

At her words, the Doctor perked up.
"Now he's listening," River smirked. She held up her communicator to her mouth. "You lot in orbit yet? Yeah, I saw it land. I'm at the crash site. Try and home in on my signal." She looked to the Doctor. "Can you sonic me? I need to boost the signal so we can use it as a beacon." The Doctor did so, an annoyed look on his face.
"Ooooo, Doctor, you soniced her," Amy teased. Emma rested her hand against his chest when he glared at Amy.
"She's jesting," she soothed.

Pocketing her communicator, River pulled out her blue diary.
"We have a minute. Shall we? Where are we up to? Have we done the Bone Meadows?"
"What's in the book?" Amy asked.
"Stay away from it," the Doctor warned.
"What is it though?"
"Her diary."
"Our diary," River corrected.
"Her past, our future," Emma clarified. "Time travel. We keep meeting in the wrong order."

In front of them, four small tornadoes kicked up in the dust and four soldiers appeared.
"You promised me an army, Doctor Song," one of them said.
"No, I promised you the equivalent of an army. This is the Doctor." The man turned to the Doctor.
"Father Octavian, sir. Bishop, second class. Twenty clerics at my command, the troops are already in the drop ship and landing shortly. Doctor Song was helping us with covert investigation. Has Doctor Song explained what we're dealing with."
"No, she has not." Pursing her lips, River crossed her arms.
"Doctor, what do you know of the Weeping Angels?

That evening, the Doctor stared at a fire. Emma was curled up beside him, head on his shoulder. He had sent Amy away hours ago, but he couldn't bring himself to send Emma away. Not after what happened last time.
"The Angel," Father Octavian said. "As far as we know, it is still trapped in the ship. Our mission is to get inside and neutralize it. We can't get through the top; we'd be too close to the drives. According to this…" He held up a screen with a map on it. "… behind the cliff face, there' sa network of catacombs leading right up to the entrance chamber, then make our way up."
"Oh, good," the Doctor muttered.
"Good, sir?"
"Catacombs. Probably dark ones. Dark Catacombs, great."
"Technically I think it's called a maze of the dead."
"You can stop anytime you'd like."
"Father Octavian!" River called.
"Excuse me, sir."

Wrapping his arms around Emma, he pressed a kiss to the top of her head. Amy sat down beside them.
"You're letting people call you sir? You never do that. So, whatever a weeping angel is, it's really bad, yeah?"
"Now that's interesting," he remarked. "You're still here. Which part of wait in the Tardis 'til I tell you it's safe was so confusing?"
"Ooooo, you're all Mister Grumpy Face today," she teased as Emma yawned.
"A Weeping Angel, Amy, is the deadliest, most powerful, most malevolent life form evolution has ever produced, and right now, one of them is tracked inside that wreckage and I'm supposed to climb in after it with a screwdriver and a torch, and assuming I survive the radiation long enough and assuming the whole ship doesn't explode in my face, do something incredibly clever, which I haven't actually thought of yet. That's my day. That's what I'm up to. Any questions?"

Amy nodded quickly.
"Yeah, I've got one. Is River Song your wife? Because she's someone from your future, and the way she talks to you, I've never seen anyone do that. Not even Emma. She's kind of like, you now, heel, boy. She's Mrs. Doctor from the future, isn't she? Is she going to be your wife one day?"
"Yes, you're right. I am definitely Mister Grumpy Face today."
"Doctor! Emma, Doctor!" River called from the drop module. "Father Octavian."
"Why do they call him Father?" Amy asked as the Doctor and Emma stood.
"He's their bishop, they're his clerics. It's the fifty-first Century."

They joined River in the drop module and Emma shivered at the sight of a grainy image of a Weeping Angel. Its back was to them, but none the less terrifying.
"What do you think?" River asked. "It's from the security cameras in the Byzantium vault. I ripped it out when I was on board. Sorry about the quality. It's four seconds. I've put it on loop."
"Yeah, it's an Angel. Hands covering its face," the Doctor answered with a nod.
"You've encountered the Angels before?" Father Octavian asked.
"Once, on Earth, a long time ago. But those were scavengers, barely surviving."
"But it's just a statue," Amy remarked.
"It's a statue when you see it," Emma murmured. "Where did it come from, River?"
"Oh, pulled from the ruins of Razbahan, end of last century. It's been in private hands ever since. Dormant all that time."
"There's a difference between dormant and patient," the Doctor pointed out.
"What's that mean?" Amy asked Emma. "It's a statue when you see it?"
"The Weeping Angels can only move if they're unseen."
"Well, so legend as it," River added.
"No, it's not legend," the Doctor corrected, squeezing Emma's hand. "It's a quantum lock. In the sight of any living creature the Angels literally cease to exist. They're just stone. The ultimate defence mechanism."
"What, being stone?" Amy asked.
"Being stone until your turn your back," Emma whispered.

Dropping Emma's hand, the Doctor followed River and Father Octavian out of the drop module.
"Anybody need us?" Amy called out. No one replied and she shrugged. Emma went to follow after the Doctor, but Amy grabbed her hand, keeping her in the drop module.
"Amy? What are you doing?"
"I want to see it again."
"Why?"
"I know you're scared, but come on, Emma! I need to see it!"

She looked to the screen, then tilted her head to the side. Emma's eyes widened when she saw the image had changed. The Angel had its face raised from its hands and was starting to peer over its shoulder.
"Doctor Song!" Amy yelled, sticking her head out the door. "Do you have more than one clip of the Angel?"
"No, just the four seconds," River shouted back.

Emma's breathing picked up as she watched the screen. She had merely blinked and now the Angel was staring straight at her. It's hands were completely lowered.
"It's just a video," she muttered to herself, looking away from the screen. "it can't hurt me."
"But you're just a recording, you can't move," Amy said. She tried to pull out the lead to the monitor and Emma screamed when she saw how close the Angel had moved to them.

The door slammed shut and Amy raced over to it. She yanked on the handle, and it didn't budge.
"Doctor!" she yelled. "Doctor!" Emma slid to the floor, wrapping her arms around her head. "Doctor! It's in the room!"
"Amy! Emma!"
"Doctor!"
"Are you alright? What's happening?"
"It's coming through the television!"
"Don't take your eyes off of it. Keep looking. It can't move if you're looking."

Emma kept her head buried in her hands as she tried her best not to cry.
"Emma! Tell me a story. Ummm… why are you so afraid of the Angels?"
"Um… I've known of them for a long time. They were the story that was used to make children behave on Gallifrey. A few years ago, the Doctor and I actually encountered the Angels… He and a friend of ours ended up n 1969 and I ended up alone in 2007. Am, well, umm, I'm not normally alone. Ever. I've been with the Doctor for as long as I can remember. I was about fifteen when I first saw the stars… I think… I can't remember anymore. God, I should've stayed in the Tardis the second River said something."

While Emma talked, Amy fiddled with the remote. She watched the screens and realized there was a blip in the tape. She paid attention to it for a while, then started counting to four. She hit the pause button and the screen buffered, filling the room with static.

The Doctor and River burst through the door as the screen went back.
"I froze it," Amy told the Doctor as he rushed over to Emma. "There was a sort of blip on the tape, and I froze it on the blip. It wasn't the image of an angel anymore. That was good, yeah? That was amazing," River nodded. The Doctor gathered Emma in his arms, allowing her to bury her head into his chest.
"River, hug Amy," the Doctor ordered.
"Why?"
"Because I'm busy!" He kissed the top of her head. "It's okay," he soothed. "It's gone."
"Don't leave me," she whispered. "I promise."

Setting Emma down on her feet, the Doctor wrapped an arm around her waist.
"So, it was here?" River asked. "That was the Angel?"
"That was a projection of the Angel," answered the Doctor. "It's reaching out, getting a good look at us. It's no longer dormant."

An explosion caused Amy and Emma to jump. The Doctor's arm tightened around Emma as Father Octavian's voice called to them.
"Doctor! We're through."
"Okay, now it starts," the Doctor said. He led Emma out of the Drop module, towards the explosion.

When the Doctor stopped Emma at the edge of a large hole that led underground, Emma paled. She struggled out of the Doctor's hold and backed away from the hole.
"Absolutely not," she snapped. "I will do many things for you, Doctor, but climbing through a hole to certain death is not one of those things."

Gently, the Doctor pulled her off to the side as River and her team began descending.
"I'll keep you safe, Emma. Don't you trust me?" She scoffed at the question.
"Of course, I trust you, Doctor. But what if something goes wrong. Can't I just stay with the Tardis?"
"No."
"Why not?" He sighed, rubbing at his head.
"What happens, Emma, if we get separated again? We won't have a Sally Sparrow to save us."
"But I'll be with the—"
"I need you, Emma, please?" he all but begged. "I keep from staying stupid things when you're with me." That got a laugh from her. She shook her head.
"You never keep from being stupid." But she grasped his hand tightly.
"Thank you, Emma. Now, do you want to go first or last?"
"First."
"I'll be right behind you."

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