Doc's Favorite Boyband - Part Four
Much to my surprise, Geoff and Otto took the news of being on a technically alive time machine very well. Either that, or all of their shock was being internalized and would eventually boil up to the surface. They hadn't even seen that it was smaller on the outside yet, so I could only imagine how they'd take that realization. I couldn't worry about them all day though; we still needed to figure out how to get Awsten back. So after giving the guys two thumbs up, and them thankfully returning the gesture, the three of us made our way to the Doctor and Amy at the monitor.
"One of these days, you two. One of these days we're going to go somewhere and nothing bad is going to happen," the Doctor said as he typed commands into the keyboard.
"Oh don't stress too much, Doctor. It's not good for you," Amy replied, fiddling with one of the dials on the monitor, "So, what's our monster of the day?"
"Something I haven't seen in a very long time."
The monitor flashed to life and displayed a seemingly ordinary cloud of smoke. Statistics in English and Circular Gallifreyan flashed onto the screen with a name in bold capital letters crawling across the top of the screen.
"Psionovore?" I read out, "Is that like a plasmavore or something?"
"I'd fit them under 'or something,' Ginny. Plasmavores consume blood. A very tangible substance. Psionovores on the other hand feed on emotions such as fear or anxiety. Far more ambiguous but just as readily available through the universe," the Doctor explained, "Psychic parasites, you see. They don't have any physical forms so they latch onto others and feed on their darkest thoughts."
"So that thing parading around as Awsten," I started, "When it brought up me being scared and that cloud of smoke sent me to the psychic plane… was that?"
"The psionovore coming out for a bite. It's got Awsten for a host and it's going to use him to bring in more food."
"But why Awsten? Why tonight?" Geoff asked, leaning against the guardrail.
"Because nothing gets the emotions rolling quite like a concert," Amy chimed in, "Sure ya get excited and all but what if your ticket doesn't work? What if you can't find a parking spot? Everyone's bumping up against you and unless you've got earplugs the music can be really loud."
"An all you can eat anxiety buffet and it all starts in two hours," the Doctor said grimly, "The moment those venue doors open that psionovore is going to gorge itself on everyone here for the show."
"How do we stop it?" Otto asked.
"We find a way to starve it," the Doctor said, "If we can figure out a way to keep anyone from getting stressed out tonight then we might be able to drive it out of Awsten. Psionovores don't last long without a host or a steady supply of food."
"And how exactly are you planning on keeping everyone in the venue from getting stressed?" Amy asked, "It's not like you can just turn that part of your brain off."
"You're right Amy. But you can ground it by thinking calming thoughts," I said, turning to the Doctor, "It's like you said back in the film world, Doc. A person. A moment. A song." I turned to face Geoff and Otto, "I'm sure y'all hear this a lot already but your music helps out so many people during stressful times. Concerts like these are getaways for so many people, many of them I'm sure are waiting outside right now." I could feel butterflies forming in my stomach again. "So if we need to starve a psionovore, then let's use their favorite people, during one of their favorite moments, listening to some of their favorite songs."
For a brief moment the only sound on the Tardis was the wheezing of the parking brakes. It seemed no one had much of a response for what I'd said, and it was starting to make me worry. Had I said something weird? I looked down at my shoes and started messing nervously with my hair.
"Okay Doc, maybe I should leave the epic speeches and monologues—"
My embarrassment was quickly interrupted when I was lifted into a spinning embrace. I actually ended up laughing a bit given the suddenness of it.
"Oh Ginny you're brilliant!" the Doctor exclaimed mid-spin. He promptly set me back down on my feet and pulled me by the hand further into the Tardis. I recognized the different turns we were taking though and wasn't surprised at all when we ended up at the music room. Turning around briefly while the Doctor opened the door, I was surprised to see Amy, Otto and Geoff running to catch up to us.
"Could we not just break into a sprint without reason when we have guests onboard, Doctor?" Amy asked with a huff while we filed through the doorway, careful not to trip over any extension cords.
"Sorry Amy but music waits for no one!" the Doctor responded, searching hastily through a supply closet, "Now, I know I had it in here somewhere…"
I grabbed a soda from the mini fridge and wordlessly offered one to Geoff and Otto, who both graciously accepted; and as I sat across from them on a beanbag I could see the wheels turning in their heads.
"It's a lot to take in, I'm sure," I said, taking a sip of carbonated goodness, "Just be thankful this place wasn't too far in."
"How big is this place anyways?" Otto asked.
"Very. I wish we had time to give you a full tour but given the circumstances…"
"No worries."
Geoff set his soda down on the coffee table. "So this is what you meant by a typical day for you," he mused, and I nodded.
"Pretty much. We try to travel to places just for fun but things just happen. Like today for instance. We were aiming for a different show of yours but got sent here. Now I'm really glad we were."
The guitarist was about to say something, but as he opened his mouth a resounding "Aha!" came from the other side of the music room. We all turned quickly to see the Doctor emerge from the supply closet with a battered looking guitar case covered in all kinds of stickers and decals. He hurriedly brought it over and placed it gently on the coffee table.
"I knew this old thing would come in handy again," the Doctor mused as he unlocked the case, "Had to fill in for George one day when he got sick and I didn't know how to play at the time, so I built this beauty."
"George who?" Amy asked, glancing over the Doctor's shoulder.
"Harrison, I think. Lovely fella. But that's besides the point."
I rose from my seat to look into the now open guitar case; and the moment I laid eyes on its contents a small gasp escaped from me. Resting in the case's soft lining was a Fender Telecaster with a glittering blue body and silver neck with black frets. At first glance the guitar seemed pretty standard aside from the Tardis inspired design, but as my gaze fell to the bottom of the guitar's body I noticed that the off-white pick guard was outlined with several small blue gems.
"It's beautiful," I said, reaching out to remove the guitar from the case. This was my first time seeing the instrument but for some reason it almost felt familiar to me; and despite never having played one before I felt unusually confident with it in my hands.
"The strings are made of a psychic steel found in the Nil System. If you concentrate hard enough on a piece of music then you'll find yourself able to play it without prior experience," the Doctor explained.
"So it's a Telepathic Telecaster?" I asked, absentmindedly messing with the strings.
"If you like. Oh! And one more thing," The Doctor reached into his pocket and handed me a set of elaborate looking earplugs similar to what Geoff and Otto were wearing while hypnotized. "These are inlaid with small crystals from Metebelis Three to enhance the psychic connection and magnify the emotions behind the music."
Furrowing my brow for a moment I set the guitar against the coffee table and pocketed the earplugs. I looked up at the Doctor and met his enthusiasm with my confusion.
"Why are you telling me this?" I asked, before my eyes widened in realization, "No. No, no no no no. Hang on. Are you seriously expecting me to go out there and play a song by myself to starve a cloud of anxiety smoke?"
"No! Not at all Ginny. Not by yourself at least." the Doctor then pointed to Geoff and Otto who were still on the couch. "They're going to join you."
"What?!" we all said in unison. The Doctor raised his hands up in defense.
"Why are you acting so surprised? It was your idea after all!"
"My idea?" I asked
"Use Waterparks' music to drown out any stress in the crowd here for the show and starve the psionovore out of Awsten. Didn't you just say that in the control room?"
"Yeah I suppose that's the less poetic translation, but where does me playing the songs come into play?"
"Well think about it, Ginny. If Awsten's being possessed then who does that leave to sing?"
I felt a weight of nervousness sink into my stomach at the realization. Sure, Geoff or Otto had filled in before when Awsten was on vocal rest, but that still left the frontman to fill in on either guitar or drums. Now that he was entirely out of the equation who did that really leave? Amy didn't know a lot of Waterparks' songs and there was no way on Earth I was going to turn the Doctor loose in front of a bunch of parxies; he'd get torn apart. It seemed as though the fate of God's Favorite Boyband rested entirely on my shoulders, whether I liked it or not.
"Fair point, Doc," I mumbled, pulling the guitar strap over my shoulder and letting the instrument rest against my torso. "There's still one thing we need to figure out though."
"And what's that?"
"How are we going to keep the psionovore from running off in Awsten's body while we starve it?"
The Doctor produced a brass colored dish the size of a dinner plate emblazoned with a variety of green swirling characters. The Tardis eventually translated some of them to "Don't Move," and "Stay Put."
"A psychic snare from Dulkis," the Time Lord said, "If anything walks within a meter radius while activated the snare will immobilize the host and bring the parasite to the forefront of its mind for about seven minutes. That's seven minutes to get Awsten back, you got it?"
"Got it," I said, holding my hand out in the air, "Go team Ginnyparks? No, that's way too on the nose. Forget I said that."
Geoff suddenly rested his hand on top of mine, followed by Otto, then Amy, then finally the Doctor.
"Go team Ginnyparks," Geoff repeated, causing me to blush a bit before giggling slightly.
Our little plan seemed to be forming fairly watertight, all things considered. I hurried over to a computer by the soundboard and began to pull up Waterparks' discography. We'd didn't exactly have time for several full songs, so we had to cherry pick different parts from various tracks. I began to worry we'd run out of time putting a medley together when I had a sudden epiphany. We didn't have to make a medley when we already had one made. Granted it was from a little bit in the future, but hey desperate times right?
"Entertainment 2019?" Otto read the album cover on the monitor, "But we released Entertainment last year."
"Yeah tiny bit of a spoiler, but y'all release this in a few months anyways. Plus, it crams your most recent album as of now into about seven minutes so it's our best bet," I said, allowing the song to play so that they could familiarize themselves with it. If we wanted this plan to succeed, we'd need all the practice with this song we could get.