A/N: I'm skipping 'The Girl Who Waited' because I don't really like the episode.
The God Complex
We walked out of the TARIDS and found ourselves in a hotel. There are potted plants and framed photograph portraits hanging on the walls. The Doctor looked around and smiled he ran to the stairwell and looked down. We all followed him and Amy said, "'Let's go to Ravan-Skala,' he says. 'The people are 600 feet tall, you have to talk to them' in hot air balloons and the Tourist Information Canter is made of one of their hats,' he says. I'm sorry, but I don't see any huge hats."
"Amy. Beaky. Annabelle, Teddy," said The Doctor, "This could be the most exciting thing I have ever seen!"
"You're kidding," said Annabelle.
"How can you be excited about a rubbish hotel on a rubbish bit of Earth?" asked Amy
"Because, assembled Ponds & Duncans, this is not Earth," said The Doctor, "This has just been made to look like Earth. The craftsmanship involved... Can you imagine?"
"What? Then where are we?" asked Amy.
"I don't know. Something must have pulled us off course," said Annabelle.
"Look at the detail on that cheese plant!" said The Doctor (deeply inhales a leaf)
"Right, but who would mock up an Earth hotel?" asked Rory.
The Doctor took an apple from a nearby bowl.
"Colonists maybe, recreating a bit of home, like when ex-patriots open English pubs in New York." I said.
The Doctor took a bite of his apple, "Whoever did this, I am shaking his/her hand/tentacle."
Rory was looking at the photographs on the wall, "Have you seen these?" asked Rory, "Look at the labels underneath." I walked over to him as Rory read the labels underneath. Rory was looking a the picture of a Sontaran "Commander Halke, defeat." There was a male human, "Tim Heath, having his photo taken."
Next was a female human, ""Lady Silver-Tear... Daleks." I said. Then another female human, "Paige Barnes, other people's socks."
"Tim Tim Nelson, balloons," said Annabelle. Then she looked at the picure of a cat nun, "Novice Prin, sabrewolves."
'Royston Luke Gold, Plymouth." said Amy, "Lucy Hayward, that brutal gorilla. Doctor, what does it mean?"
"I don't know. Let's find out." said The Doctor. We went down the stairs to the front desk area. The Doctor tapped the bell. Then, three people came around corner, a young Indian woman brandishing a chair leg, a mole-like alien waving a white hanky and a young boy with glasses and black curly hair. "Blimey, that was quick," said The Doctor
"We surrender!" said a mole-like alien shouted, waving a white hanky at us.
"No, it's OK, we're not… We're nice!" said Rory.
"She threatened me with a chair leg," said The Doctor.
"I saw that," I said.
"Who are you?" asked the Indian woman.
"We're back in reception," said the young man.
"We surrender!" said the alien again.
"Never been threatened with a chair leg before!" said The Doctor.
"I find that hard to believe," said Annabelle.
"You're right.. I tell a lie."
Amy looked at Rory, "Did you just say, 'It's OK, we're nice'?"
"OK, I need everyone to shut up now!" said the Indian woman.
"Rita, be careful, yeah?" said the young man.
"Their pupils are dilated," said Rita, the Indian woman, "They're as surprised as we are. Besides which, if it's a trick, it'll tell us something."
"Oh, you're good," said The Doctor, "Oh, she's good. Amy, with regret, you're fired."
"What?"
"I'm kidding," said The Doctor. He looked at Rita and mimed holding a phone and whispered, "We'll talk."
Annabelle looked at the mole-like alien and said, "I take it from the pathological compulsion to surrender, you're from Tivoli."
"Yes, the most invaded planet in the galaxy," said the alien, "Our anthem is called Glory To Insert Name Here."
"And what's your name?" I asked as the young man.
"Howie," he answered.
"Howie, you said you were surprised to be back in reception."
"The walls move, everything changes."
"You, clever one, what's he talking about?" asked The Doctor.
"The corridors twist and stretch," said Rita, "rooms vanish and pop up somewhere else. It's like the hotel's alive."
The Doctor reached over the main desk and switched off the music that had been playing, "That's quite enough of that."
"And it's huge, with, like, no way out," said Howie.
"Have you tried the front door?" asked Rory.
"No, in two days it never occurred to us to try the front door," said Rita sarcastically, "Thank God you're here!"
The Doctor scanned the door with his sonic as Amy laughed at Rita's comment. He opens the doors wide to reveal a white brick wall. "They're not doors, they're walls, walls that look like doors. Door-walls, if you like, or 'dwalls', 'woors' even, though you'd probably got it when you said, 'They're not doors.' I mean, the windows are…" The Doctor walked over to a window and opened the curtains but there was just more wall behind the curtain, "Right, big day if you're a fan of walls."
"It's not just that. The rooms have...things in them,' said Rita.
"Things?" said The Doctor as he turned around, "Hello! What kind of things? Interesting things? I love things, ask anyone."
"It's true…" I said, "He is the only person I know that has a Things room…"
"Bad dreams."
"Well, that killed the mood." said The Doctor.
I rolled my eyes, "How did you all get here?" I asked.
"I don't know, I'd just started my shift," said Rita, "I must have passed out, because suddenly I was here."
"I was blogging, next thing, this," said Howie.
"Oh, I was at work" said the Alien, "I'm in town planning. We're lining all the highways with trees, so invading forces can march in the shade."
"Ah," said The Doctor.
"Which is nice for them."
"Yeah... So what have we got? People snatched from their lives and dropped into an endless, shifting maze that looks like a 1980s hotel with bad dreams in the bedrooms." he picked up a Rubik's cube that was sitting on the desk, "Well, apart from anything else, that's just rude."
The Doctor then let us up the stairs as we headed for where we left the TARDIS, "We'll pop back to the TARDIS, I'll do a planet-wide diagnostic sweep, then we'll have a sing song." But, when we got to the floor where the TARDIS was suppose to be it was gone. The Doctor started to feeling around for it in case it had become invisible.
"Where's the TARDIS? You parked it there, didn't you?" asked Amy.
"What's a TARDIS?" asked Howie.
"Our way out," said Rory, "And it's gone." He held his head in his hands.
Just then the music turned back on. "This is bad," I said, "I don't know how bad it is but, I'm pretty sure we are three buses, a long walk and $13 in a taxi from good. Are there any more of you?"
"Joe, but he's tied up right now." said Rita.
"Doing what?" asked Annabelle.
"No, I mean he's...tied up right now."
We found Joe tied up in a chair at one of the tables in the Dining Room. All around him, sitting at every table were identical ventriloquist dummies. They were all laughing, their heads bobbing up and down. But, they all stopped as we walked up to Joe.
"Hello. I'm the Doctor," said my uncle, "These are my nieces, Teddy and Annabelle." he pointed to each of us.
"You're going to die here," said Joe, dreamily.
"Well, they certainly didn't mention that in the brochure," said The Doctor as he got an empty chair and sat down across from Joe.
"Is Joe there?" I asked, "Can I have a quick word?"
"Oh, it's still me, Teddy, but I've seen the light," said Joe, "I lived a blasphemous life, but he has forgiven my inconstancy, and soon...he shall feast."
"Well, you've been here two days, what's he waiting for?" asked Annabelle.
"We weren't ready. We were still raw."
"But now you're what? Cooked?" asked The Doctor.
"If you like. Soon you will be, too." said Joe. I noticed that Joe had a horseshoe tie clip and dice cufflinks, "Be patient. First...find your rooms.
"Our rooms…" said Annabelle.
"There's a room here for everyone, Annabelle. Even you."
"You said you'd seen the light now," I said.
"Nothing else matters anymore. Only him. It's like these things. I used to hate them! They make me laugh now," laughed Joe, "'Gottle o' geer! Gottle o' geer!'" The dummies started laughing again, "You should go. He'll be here soon."
The Doctor gave Joe a smile and stood. He got a hand dolly and slid it under Joe's chair, "I think you should come with me."
We took Joe back to Reception. The music was playing again. The Doctor, Amy, Rory and Rita were standing on the guest side of the counter. Howie, the alien, Joe, Annabelle and I were on the employee side. "Why you four?" asked The Doctor, "That's what I don't understand. Aside from all the other things I don't understand." he turned the music off again.
"What does it matter?" asked the alien, "Sooner or later, someone will come along and rescue us. Or enslave us."
"We need to find the TARDIS," I said, "One thing before we go. If you feel drawn to a particular room, do not go in, and make sure someone else can see you at all times."
"Joe said 'he' will feast," said Rita, "Is there something here with us?"
Joe laughed, "Something to add, Joe?" asked Annabelle.
"Here comes a candle to light you to bed, here comes a chopper to chop off your head. Chop, chop, chop, chop," said Joe.
"Can we do something about him?" asked Howie
Joe started to laugh.
A little while later were all following The Doctor down the hall. The alien was pushing Joe who had his mouth taped shut. The alien said to Joe, "Personally, I think you've got the right idea. Times like this, I think of my old school motto, 'Resistance Is Exhausting.'"
Howie said to Rory, "'ve worked out where we are."
"Hmm?" asked Rory.
"Norway."
"Norway?"
"You see, the US government has entire cities hidden in the Norwegian mountains. Earth is on a collision course with this other planet, and this is where they're going to send all the rich people when it kicks off."
"Amazing," said Annabelle.
"It's all there on the internet," said Joe.
"No, it's amazing you've come up with a theory even more insane than what's actually happening."
Just then a door open and a guy dresses like a PE teacher walked out, "Hello." said The Doctor.
"Have you forgotten your PE kit again?" asked the teacher, "Right, that's it, you're doing it in your pants!" He went back into the room he came from and shut the door behind him.
Just then I saw Howie reaching for the door, "Hey! Don't!" I said as I tried to stop him but he had already opened the door. Inside the room were a group of young women. They started to laugh when they saw him.
"Oh, look, girls, it's H-H-H-Howie!" said the first girl.
"What's 'loser' in K-K-K-Klingon?" said a second girl.
Howie backed away from the door, "Shut the d-d...the-the door!" he said. The Doctor did as instructed, then Howie said, "This is just some m-m-messed-up CIA stuff, I-I-I'm telling you."
Annabelle walked up to him and put an arm around his shoulders, "You're right, keep telling yourself that. It's a CIA thing, nothing more." Then we kept walking. We walked up to the next floor and as we walked down the hall The Doctor walked down the hall, feeling the wallpaper, tapping the lights and feeling the plaster where it's been scraped off a low beam.
"Er...guys?" said Rory. I stopped to look at Rory, he was kneeled down to tie his shoe.
I was going to see what he was looking at when Amy said, "Look." I turned to her and saw her picking some papers off the floor. Then, we heard a loud growl. Joe struggled against his bonds. "OK, whatever that is, it's not real, yeah?"
"No, no, I'm sure it isn't," said The Doctor, "But just in case, let's run away and hide anyway. In here." The Doctor opened a door and guided Amy, Howie, and the alien while Rita took Joe into another room. Annabelle and I into one of the rooms. "Rory, come on!" said The Doctor.
"No, this way!" called Rory, "I've found a…"
"Come on!" called Annabelle.
Rory ran into the room. Us Time Lords followed him and we came to a dead stop, "Aiiee!" screamed The Doctor as we saw two Weeping Angels in the room.
"Don't...blink," said Amy as she stared at them
"What?" asked Howie.
The lights flickered and the alien ran into the cupboard. The Angles moved closer to us.
"Get back," said Annabelle as she pulled Amy back away from the Angels.
I looked at the Angels, "Why haven't they got us yet?" I stepped forward and put an finger right though one, "They're not real."
"What?" asked Amy.
"They should have got us by now," I said. I looked at Amy, "Look at me, focus on me. It's your bad dream, that's all."
"I don't even think they're for us." said Rory.
The Alien screamed from the cupboard and slammed the door shut.
Just then we heard a growling from the hall. The Doctor slowly walked to the closed door, "Doctor, what are you doing?" asked Amy.
"I'm sorry, I just have to see what it is. I just have to see." He said as he looked out the peep hole. The rest of us in the room could see a shadow as it passed by, "Oh, look at you... You are beautiful." a second later the Doctor jumped back from the door, "Oh, dear." The Doctor went back to the peephole, "I think it's going after Joe."
"Come to me," we heard Joe call from the hall, "Come to me. Praise him."
The Doctor opened the door and walked out in the hall. The alien came out of the cupboard and we followed The Doctor out in the hall, "Leave him alone!" We turned in the direction my uncle was looking and saw Joe's body being drug around a corner. The Doctor started to run down the hall. Annabelle and I followed him through the maze of halls back to the stairs. We ran up the stairs, "Joe! Joe!" called The Doctor.
We ran down another hall and stopped at a four-way intersection. We looked around not knowing witch way to go, "Joe!" I called. Then I saw one of Joe's cufflinks on the carpet. I picked it up then I felt the halls shift. I turned around and saw Joe kneeling and propped against the wall., "Joe? Joe!" I said as I walked over to him, "Joe! Joe, what happened?" I took Joe's head in my hand and turned it to face me. There was no reaction, so I let Joe's head rest back against the wall.
A short time later, we were back in the dining room. Joe's body was laying on a small dais. We moved the dummies against the wall behind him. The Doctor was scanning the body with his sonic. Amy and I were sitting at the bar. The alien was sitting at a table. Rita was in the kitchen making tea. Annabelle, Howie and Rory were working on barricading the door. Howie and Annabelle rolled one of the tables up to the door and Rory followed them with a chair, "If we can wedge a chair under the door handles, that should stop anything from getting in."
Just then Rita came in pushing a tea tray, "Help yourself to tea. Guys, tea over here."
Amy looked at the alien, "If it's any consolation, I've met the Weeping Angels, so I know how... In fact, I thought that room was for me."
"Joe was right. Whatever it is in here, it actually wants to kill us. Not oppress us or enslave us, kill us!"
Amy went and sat down with him at the table, "OK, listen... The Doctor and his nieces have been part of my life for so long now, and they've never let me down. Even when I thought they had, when I was a kid and they left me, they came back, they...saved me. And now they are going to save you."
I walked up to Amy and the alien and said quietly, "But don't tell my uncle she said that, because with his ego, the smugness would be terrifying."
Amy stood up and the alien said "Of course, if the Weeping Angels were meant for me, then your room is still out there...somewhere."
Just then Rory walked up to us, "Every time the Doctor gets pally with someone, I have this overwhelming urge to notify their next of kin." Amy laughed and Rory was startled by her reaction, "Sorry. The last time I said something like that, you hit me with your shoe. And you literally had to sit down and unlace it first."
I walked over to The Doctor he had covered Joe's body with a sheet. "What exactly happened to him?" asked Rita as she brought us some tea.
"He died." said The Doctor, as we each took a cup of tea.
"You are a medical doctor, aren't you? You haven't just got a degree in cheese-making or something."
"No!"
"Yes…" I said.
"Well, yes, both, actually," said The Doctor, "I mean, there is no cause, all his vital organs simply stopped, as if the simple spark of life, his loves and hates, his faiths and fears were just…" he sniffed his cup of tea, "taken, and this is a cup of tea."
"Of course, I'm British, it's how we cope with trauma. That and tutting," said Rita.
"But how did you make it?"
"All hotels should have a well stocked kitchen, even alien fake ones. I heard you talking when you arrived. Look, it's no more ridiculous than Howie's CIA theory or mi...or mine.
"Which is?"
"This is Jahannam."
"You're a Muslim!" I said.
"Don't be frightened." said Rita.
"So, you think this is Hell?" as I took a sip of tea.
"The whole '80s hotel thing took me by surprise, though."
"And all these fears and phobias wandering about, most are completely unconnected to us, so why are they still here?" asked The Doctor.
"Maybe the cleaners have gone on strike," said Rita.
"Ha! I like you, you're a right clever clogs. But this isn't Hell, Rita."
"You don't understand, I say that without fear. Jahannam will play its tricks, and there'll be times when I want to run and scream, but I've tried to live a good life, and that knowledge keeps me sane, despite the monsters and the bonkers rooms. Gibbis…" The Doctor gargled with his tea and Rita continued, "..is-is an alien, isn't he?"
"Yeah. Sorry."
"OK... I'm going to file that under 'Freak out about later.'"
Just then Amy came up to us, "Doctor, Teddy, look at this. I found it in a corridor, I completely forgot I had it." Amy handed The Doctor some notes.
He tapped her on the head with them. Amy took a seat next to Rory. Howie was sitting at the same table as Gibbis, Then he leaned against a table and started to read them aloud. "Er... 'My name is Lucy Hayward and I'm the last one left. It took Luke first. It got him on his first day, almost as soon as we arrived. It's funny. You don't know what's going to be in your room until you see it, then you realize it could never have been anything else. I just saw mine. It was a gorilla from a book I'd read as a kid. My God, that thing used to terrify me. The gaps between my worships are getting shorter, like contractions. This is what happened to the others... and how lucky they were. It's all so clear now. I'm so happy. Praise him.'"
"Praise him," said Howie
"What did you just say?" I asked.
"Nothing." said Howie as he tried to fight it, "Praise him!" he clapped his hands over his mouth.
"This is what happened to Joe!" said Gibbis
"God, it's going to come for me now." said Howie.
"You'll lead it right here."
I walked up to Howie, "We won't leave you, I promise, you have my word."
"I don't want to get eaten!" said Howie.
"Howie, calm down!" said Amy.
"He's going to lead it right here!" said Gibbis.
The Doctor held his sonic above his head and activated it. Everyone stopped arguing and put their hands over their ears. The Doctor then turned off his sonic, "Thank you!" said The Doctor.
"Don't you see? He'll lead it right here!"
"What do you suggest?" asked Rita.
"Look, whatever it is out there, it's obviously chosen Howard as its next course," said Gibbis, "Now...tragic though that is, this is no time for sentiment. I'm saying, if it were to... find him, it may be satisfied and let the rest of us go. All I want to do is go home and be conquered and oppressed, is that too much to ask?!" then he sat back down.
"It's OK, I'll stay with Howie," said Rita, "You take the others and go.
"No. We stay together," said Annabelle. She walked over to Gibbis, "Your civilization is one of the oldest in the galaxy. Now I see why. Your cowardice isn't quaint, it's sly, aggressive. It's how that gene of gutlessness has survived while so many others have perished. Well, not today. No-one else dies today. Understand?"
"Yes," mouthed Gibbis.
"Good."
The Doctor walked up to Howie put an arm around his shoulder and led him back to the table., "Howie, any second, it's going to possess you again. When it does, I'm going to ask you some questions. Please try to answer them."
We all sat down at the table, then Howie said, "I hope my mum's all right, she's going to be w-worried." He blinked at his eyes went glassy. What ever had possessed him had taken over.
"Howie... Howie." said The Doctor. "Howie, you're next, we're all dead jealous, so tell us...How do we get a piece of the action? Why isn't he possessing all of us?"
"You guys have got all these distractions," said Howie as he tapped his head, "all these obstacles. It'd be so much easier if you just let it go, you know, clear the path."
"You want it to find you?" asked Amy, "Even though you know what it's going to do?"
"Are you kidding? He's going to kill us all! How cool is that?!"
We all got up from the table and left Howie alone, "It's as I thought, it feeds on fear. Everything, the rooms, Lucy's note, even the pictures in reception, has been put here to frighten us. So we have to resist it. Do whatever you have to, cross your fingers, say a prayer, think of a basket of kittens, but do not give in to the fear."
"OK, but what are we actually going to do?" asked Amy.
"We're going to catch ourselves a monster."
The Doctor, Annabelle and I hid in the Beauty Parlor. We rigged up a speaker to project Howie's voice into the room while Howie stayed safe at reception, duct tapped to a chair. We used the Doctor's sonic like a microphone so we didn't need to use the hotel's PA system. "Bring me death! Bring me glory! My master, my lord, I'm here!" we heard Howie's voice call to the beast, "Come to me. I'm waiting here...for you. He has promised me a glorious death." The Doctor finished lining up a mirror then joined Annabelle and I in the hiding spot, "Give it to me now, I want him to know my devotion." called Howie, "Praise...him. Praise...him."
The Beast then walked into the parlor, Annabelle and I got our first look at the beast. It looked like a Minotaur Amy and Rita closed the door behind the beast, then Amy called out, "Rory, he's in!"
Rory then closed the other door into the beauty parlor. The Doctor then turned the lights off in the room. We could hear the beast knocking things over in the dark. "Let his name...be the last thing I hear. Let his breath on my skin be the last thing I feel." called Howie's voice as the beast turned a chair around to reveal the speaker, "I was lost in shadows, but he found me. His love was a beacon that led me from darkness to light, and now I am blinded by his majesty! Humbled by his glory! Praise…"
The Doctor stood by a speaker on the wall, "That's quite enough of that."
"..him." said Howie. Then, The Doctor pulled the wires from the speaker.
We stayed in the hiding place and used the mirrors to see the beast while we talked to him. "Nothing personal," said The Doctor, "We just think we should take things slowly. Get to know each other. You take people's most primal fears and pop it in a room. A tailor-made hell, just for them. Why?"
The beast grunted and I said, "Did you say "they" take?"
The beast grunted again and Annabelle asked, "Ah, what is that word? The guard? No, the warden? This is a prison? So, what are we? Cell mates? Lunch?"
The beast growled and The Doctor said, as he stepped out of our hiding place, "We are not... Ripe? This is what Joe said. That we weren't ready."
Annabelle and I followed him and we stood behind an aquarium in the beauty parlor, "So, what? You make us ready?" I asked.
The beast growled and Annabelle asked, "You... what? 'Replace'? Replace what? Fear?"
The beast growled and then The Doctor said, "You have lived so long, even your name is lost? You want this to stop. Because you are just... instinct. Then tell us. Tell us how to fight you."
Just then we hear Howie call out, "My master, my lord. I'm here! Bring me death!"
"No, no, no, no!" said The Doctor as the beast swung at the aquarium, breaking the glass.
"Rory, watch out!" I called as us Time Lords backed away from the aquarium.
Amy and Rita opened the doors behind us and Annabelle said, "Stay back!"
The Beast shattered the window in the door that Rory closed. Then he pulled the mop that Rory used to lock the door, "Pond, bring the fish." said The Doctor as we raced out of the beauty parlor.
"What, the fish?" asked Amy, "Oh, the fish!"
We found Rory lying on the floor The Doctor gave him a quick check, "Where did he go?" I asked.
"Somebody hit me," said Rory, "Was it Amy?"
Us Time Lords laughed a little, then we ran off. We ran down the stairs and through the halls until we found Howie's glasses. I picked them up and then we kept running down the hall until we found Howie kneeling on the floor, leaning against the wall. I knelt down and put his glasses in his hand and patted his face. I heard Amy, Rory and Rita running down the hall. I looked up at then and shook my head.
Just then Gibbis appeared at the other end of the hall, "He got free. He overpowered me." Us Time Lords walked back to the others, "It might leave us alone now. Maybe now we'll be safe. Wait!"
We walked back to the stairwell and we saw Howie's picture on the wall. Rory walked up to us and The Doctor asked, "Have you found your room yet?"
"No, no. Is that good or bad?"
"Maybe you're not scared of anything," said Annabelle.
"Well, after all the time I spent with you three in the TARDIS, what was left to be scared of?" said Rory.
"You said that in the past tense," I said.
"No, I didn't," said Rory. As the Doctor leaned against the wall, "You know, Howie had been in speech therapy. He'd just got over this massive stammer. What an achievement. I mean, can you imagine? I'd forgotten, not all victories are about saving the universe."
A little while later, we had moved Howie down to the dining room and laid him next to Joe. Us Time Lords were coming down the stairs while Rita was going up, "Rita! Brilliant! How are you? Not panicking, are you?" asked The Doctor, "Good, good. Because I am literally an otter's toenail away from getting us out of here."
"Why?" asked Rita.
"Excellent question," said The Doctor as we passed her on the stairway, "Excellent question."
I stopped and looked at her, "Why what?"
"Why is it up to you three to save us?" asked Rita, "That's quite a God complex you have there."
I smiled, "It's not a God complex. I looked down and saw Amy placing the fish on a small table by the steps, "We brought them here. They'd say it was their choice, but if you offer a child a suitcase full of candy and they'll take it."
"Offer someone all of time and space and they'll take that, too," said The Doctor, "Which is why you shouldn't. Which is why grown-ups were invented." then we started walking down the stars again.
"All of time and space, eh?" asked Rita.
We stopped and looked back at her," Oh, yeah. And when we get out of this, we'll show you, too."
"I don't know what you're talking about. But I have a feeling you just did it again."
The Doctor smiled and then looked up. I looked and saw what he was looking at it was a security camera, "Right down to the smallest detail," said The Doctor, "Got you, Mr Minotaur."
Then we ran down the stairs and started to look for the Security room. Once we found it, we went inside and saw a wall of monitors, "Oh, you beauty! Come on, big fella. Where are you?"
Just then I saw Rita going through one of the corridors, "Where is she going?" Saw where in the hotel she was, I picked up the phone and dialed the room closest to her, I put the phone on speaker. On the monitor, we saw Rita stop and look at the room door.
"Come on, come on, come on!" Said The Doctor. Rita looked right into the security camera. Then walked in the room.
"Rita, where are you going?" I asked, "Can you take the phone into the corridor? Will it reach?" Rita walked into the hall carrying the phone.
"You started to praise it, didn't you?" asked Annabelle.
Rita nodded, "Rita, come back. Please," I said, "We'll find a way to stop it, I swear to you."
Rita got down on the floor and said, "No, I need to get as far away from you all as possible."
"No, you don't," said The Doctor, "The creature only wants whoever's praising it."
"You'll put yourself in its way?"
"We're coming to get you. Block out the fear and stay focused on your belief."
"The hotel will keep us apart," said Rita, "I could be 50 miles away by now. I want you to do me one last favor, Doctor. I can feel the rapture approaching, like a wave." I saw the beast on one of the monitors. Rita continued, "I don't want you to witness this. I want you to remember me the way I was."
Just then Amy and Rory came in, "What's going on?" asked Amy, "Rita's disappeared." she looked at the monitors, "What's she doing there?"
"Rita. Rita, please. Let us find you." I pleated.
"You all stay where you are," said Rita, "Please, let me be robbed of my faith in private."
"Look," said Rory as he pointed at a monitor.
"Rita," said Annabelle, "Go into the room and lock the door."
"I'm not frightened. I'm blessed," said Rita I'm at peace. I'm going to hang up."
"No, no, no, Rita," said The Doctor.
"Goodbye, Doctor."
"Rita!"
"Thank you for trying."
"Rita, please!" said The Doctor, Then Rita hung up the phone "Please! Please."
I hung the phone up and we watched as Rita stood in the middle of the hall and turned her back the camera. She put her arms out and her head back. Then she turned around and smiled at the Beast as it came up behind her. The Doctor then took out his sonic and turned off most of the monitors except for the one that was in the kitchen. On that screen we saw Gibbis eating the fish.
We found Rita's body and put it in the dining room. We went to the bar and sat town in some booths, while The Doctor blew off some steam by breaking stuff. Rory and Amy were in one booth. Gibbis was in another. Annabelle and I were in another. The Doctor joined Annabelle and I after her finished his tantrum. And started to solve the Rubik's cube.
When he finished a short time later, The Doctor said, "OK. It preys on people's fear and possesses them. But Rita wasn't afraid, she was brave and calm. Maybe it's something to do with the people, some connection between the four of you that'll tell me how to fight it."
"Yes. You keep saying that, but you never do," said Gibbis, "And while we wait, people keep dying. And we'll be next!"
"Look, they'll work it out, they always do," said Amy, "Just let him riff and move anything expensive out of his way."
The three of us Time Lords all looked at each other, as we all realized what was happening, "Oh, no. Oh, no, no." said The Doctor.
"What is wrong?" asked Amy.
"It's doesn't want fear," I said, "It wants faith. Not just religious faith, But faith in something."
The three of us stood and walked over to the Gibbis' table, then Annabelle said, "Howard believed in conspiracies, external forces controlling the world."
"Joe had dice cufflinks and a chain with a horseshoe," I said, "He was a gambler. Gamblers believe in luck, an intangible force that helps them win or lose."
The Doctor moved between the Ponds' table and Gibbis' table and said, "Gibbis rejected personal autonomy and is waiting for the next batch of invaders to tell him what to do. They all believe there's something guiding them, about to save them. That's what it replaces. Every time someone was confronted with their most primal fear, they fell back on their most fundamental faith." The Doctor sat on a barstool and rubbed his eyes, "And all this time, I've been telling you to dig deep. Find the thing that keeps you brave. I made you expose your faith. Show them what they needed.'
I walked over to The Doctor, sat next to him and rubbed his back in comfort.
"But why us? Why are we here?" asked Rory.
"It doesn't want you," I said, "That's why it kept showing you a way out. You're not religious or superstitious, so there's no faith for you to fall back on. It wants Amy." I pointed to Amy.
"Me?" asked Amy as she walked over to the bar and sat on The Doctor other side, "Why?"
"Your faith in me," said Annabelle, as she walked over to us, "That's what brought us here."
"But why do they lose their faith before they die and start worshipping..."it"?" asked Rory.
The Doctor stood and walked over to Rory, "It needs to convert the faith into a form "it" can consume. Faith is an energy, the specific emotional energy the creature needs to live. Which is why at the end of her note, Lucy said…"
"Praise him." said Amy.
"Exactly," said The Doctor.
It took a moment for us all to realize what Amy said. We all turned and looked at her. Rory stood up, "No. Oh, please, no."
Then we heard the beast coming. We ran out of the bar and through the halls of the hotel. We could hear the best following us. All of the sudden Amy stopped and turned to face it.
"Amy?" called The Doctor.
"What are you doing?" asked Gibbis.
"He is beautiful."
"Leave her! Just leave her!"
The Doctor and Rory each draped one of Amy's over a shoulder and drugged her down another hall. We ran into a room and were stunned to see young Amelia sitting on her suitcase, waiting and watching for us at the window. Rory tried to hold the door closed and Gibbis got down between the beds. Amy knelt on the floor. "Doctor, it's happening," she said, "Teddy, it's changing me. Annabelle, it's changing my thoughts."
Us Time Lords all knelt down next to Amy, Then The Doctor said, "We can't save you from this, there's nothing we can do to stop this."
"What?"
"We stole your childhood and now we've led you by the hand to your death," said Annabelle.
"But the worst thing is, we knew," I said, "We knew this would happen. This is what always happens." The beast pushed the door open, forcing Rory into a corner in the room.
"Forget your faith in us, "The Doctor said. The Beast growled, "I took you with us because I was vain, because I wanted to be adored," said The Doctor as he stroked Amy's hair, "Look at you. Glorious Pond. The girl who waited for me. I'm not a hero. I really am just a mad man in a box with his nieces. And it's time we saw each other as we really are." He kissed her forehead and The Beasts staggered out the doorway, "Amy Williams." The Doctor tapped her on the chin, "It's time to stop waiting."
Us Time Lords stood up and walked out the door. We watched the beast collapse onto the floor. The lights in the hotel began to flicker. The Doctor knelt beside the beast and stroked it comfortingly, he whispered to it, "I severed the food supply. Sacrificing their faith in me. I gave you the space to die. Shhh, shhh." The hallway disappered and turned into a black room with a lit grid floor. There was an instrument panel on the side of the room. Amy, Rory and Gibbis were there too.
"What is it, a minotaur?" asked Amy, "Or an alien? Or an alien minotaur? That's not a question I thought I'd be asking this morning."
"It's both, actually," I said. Us Time Lords walked over to the panel, "Yeah. Here we go. It's a distant cousin of the Nimon. They descend on planets and set themselves up as Gods to be worshipped."
"Which is fine, until the inhabitants get all secular and advanced enough to build bonkers prisons," said The Doctor.
"Correction. Prisons in space," said Rory. I turned and saw him and Gibbis looking through a porthole in the floor.
"Where are the guards?" asked Amy.
"No need for any," said Annabelle, "It's all automated. It drifts through space, snatching people with belief systems and converts their faith into food for the creature."
"See that planet, there?" said Gibbis as he pointed at the porthole.
"Which one?" asked Rory.
"The grey one, there."
"Mmm-hmm."
"That's where I'm from."
"It didn't want just me," said Amy, "So, you must believe in some god or someone, or they'd have shown you the door, too. So, what do Time Lords pray to?"
The Doctor ignored her question, "According to the in-flight recorder, the program developed glitches. It got stuck on the same setting, the fears from the people before us weren't tidied away."
The Beast growled.
"What's it saying?" asked Amy.
"'An ancient creature, drenched in the blood of the innocent, drifting in space through an endless, shifting maze. For such a creature, death would be a gift.'" translated The Doctor. Then he knelt down and put his hand on the beast's, "Then accept it. And sleep well."
The Doctor stood and walked away as the beast growled again. I translated, ""I wasn't talking about myself."" The beast closed it eyes and died.
Then we all walked to the TARDIS that was sitting nearby, "Could I have a lift?" asked Gibbis as The Doctor unlocked the TARDIS, "Just to the nearest galaxy would do."
After dropping Gibbis off at his home world, we landed the TARDIS in a fenced in park across from a row of colorful townhouses. One was soft blue with a TARDIS blue front door. There was also a classic Jaguar E-Type is parked outside.
"Don't tell me," said Amy, "This isn't Earth, that isn't a real house. And inside lives a goblin, who feeds on indecision."
"Nope. Real Earth, real house," said The Doctor as he tossed Amy a set of keys, "Real door keys!"
"You're not serious?" said Amy.
"The car, too?" asked Rory as he walked to the car, "But that's my favorite car," Rory turned toward us, "How did you know that was my favorite car?"
Annabelle smiled, "You showed me a picture of it once and said, 'That's my favorite car.'" then she tossed Rory the car keys.
"Rory, can you give us two minutes?" asked Amy, "Two minutes?"
Rory turned and put an arm around The Doctor and I and pulled us aside. Then he said, "She'll say we can't accept it because it's too extravagant and we'll always feel a crippling sense of obligation." he looked over his shoulder at Amy, "It's a risk I'm willing to take!"
Rory kept staring at the car as he walked in the front door of the house. Amy leaned on the hood of the car and patted next to her, "Hey," she said.
We walked over and leaned next to her, "So... You're leaving, aren't you?" asked Amy.
"You haven't seen the last of us," said The Doctor, "Bad Penny is my middle name! Seriously, the looks I get when I fill in a form…"
"Why now?"
"Because you're still breathing." I said.
"Well, I think this is about the washing-up, personally," said Amy. We all laughed a little sadly.
Us Time Lords stood and walked to the TARDIS. The Doctor said, "I mean, you're right, there's still heaps of stuff out there to look at."
"Do you know, there's a planet whose name literally translates as "Volatile Circus"?" I said as we stood in doorway, "Or maybe there's a bigger, scarier adventure waiting for you in there."
Amy looked at the house and then back at us, "Even so, it can't happen like this," she walked toward us, "After everything we've been through. Everything. You can't just drop me off at my house and say goodbye like we shared a cab."
We met Amy in the middle of the road and Annabelle said, "And what's the alternative? Us standing over your grave? Maybe over your broken body? Over Rory's body?"
Amy hugged her, "If you bump into our daughter, tell her to visit her human mum sometime."
Annabelle hugged her back, "You bet."
Amy moved over to me and we hugged, "Look after Rory." I said.
"And you look after him." said Amy. Then she moved to The Doctor, "You look after them too," She kissed him on the forehead.
"You bet…" he said. Then us Time Lords walked back to the TARDIS and we stopped in the doorway to wave goodbye to Amy.
Amy laughed, cried and waved back. The Doctor closed the door and we headed off. The three of us stood solemnly around at the console, watching the rotor rise and fall.