"Asher?" River called out after a moment of me listening to the Doctor ramble about birds. "If I might borrow you for a moment."
I turned to look, seeing her holding an injecting needle and begrudgingly separating myself from the Doctor. Listening to him ramble had helped keep my mind off the fact that we were surrounded by stone angels and that I hadn't told them yet. If I tell them, then the angels won't be able to communicate. If they can't talk, then so many things could go wrong… but that means Bob and the other two clerics will die. The Doctor said not to think too hard about it but I… I can't help but feel their deaths will be because of me. Octavian would certainly think so.
"Are you alright?" River asked once I got to where she and Amy were standing in wait and I nodded, swallowing the lump in my throat that built up when she asked if I was okay.
I was still struggling to think about my options but River didn't comment and just held out her hand. I dropped my arm into it and rolled up the sleeve of my hoodie, eyeing a nearby statue as she injected me with whatever vaccine she'd just given Amy.
"No complaining from you then, hm?" River hummed, earning a scowl from Amy, who rubbed at her arm.
"I don't really mind needles," I replied, earning a smile.
"Oh, I know, sweetie." She pat my shoulder as I tugged my sleeve back down. "You'll have quite a few more tattoos next time we meet. I don't mind spoiling that."
I cracked a small smile at her wink as Amy spoke up.
"What about the Doctor? What's he like in the future?" She asked.
"The Doctor? Well, the Doctor's the Doctor," River hummed, earning a scoff.
"Oh. Well, that's very helpful. Mind if I write that down?"
River leaned past us then, speaking to the Doctor as he fiddled with her tablet not too far away. "Yes, we are."
"Sorry, what?" He asked, playing ignorant.
"Talking about you."
"I wasn't listening. I'm busy."
"Ah, the other way up," she replied, making him turn the tablet around as Amy leaned over.
"You're so his wife."
I couldn't help but snort as River smiled.
"Oh, Amy, Amy, Amy. This is the Doctor we're talking about. Do you really think it could be anything that simple?"
"Yup."
"Nope," I said myself, glancing at the two of them. "Nothing is ever simple with the Doctor."
River smirked at me. "Clever as always, Asher. I'm not saying you're right, but you are very good."
I smiled a little back and shrugged, only to jump as there was gunfire back the way we'd come.
"Jesus," I muttered.
I didn't exactly want to go rushing toward the sound, but the Doctor took hold of my hand and pulled me along. The gunfire stopped before we reached the small clearing, where Octavian was snapping at the young man who fired. Bob, my mind idly supplied and I felt that guilt welling up in me again. I must have tightened my grip on the Doctor since he squeezed my hand briefly before going over to confront the two himself. It's the last chance I have to say something but…
I couldn't. Everything in me told me to help Bob, to save him, but the longer I thought it through, the more unprepared I felt for the fallout of those actions. With saving Amy, there were things I could adjust. Three more clerics might be alive—which could be both good or bad—but as far as our chances of getting out of here were concerned, very little would have changed. Without Bob to act as the voice of the angels, there were far too many things that could get altered that would prevent us from escaping. I couldn't take the risk, even if it did tear me up inside.
I couldn't even look back at Bob as we all started up into the maze of statues above, staying silent as Amy questioned River about how stable everything was. Even when they got to the obvious fact that the Aplans had two heads instead of one, I had to bite my tongue to keep from pointing out the single-headed statues. I could tell the Doctor felt he was missing something though, and I silently wondered if what had stopped them from realizing the truth was actually a perception filter or if it was just no one realizing what they were saying.
After a while though, I began to struggle with the hike up and Amy finally mentioned something to them as I breathed a bit heavier. I wasn't used to this amount of effort. That's what I get for falling out of shape. Probably should've seen someone about it and figured out whether it was simply from lack of motivation or depression. I pushed the thought from my mind as River explained where we were in the maze.
"The maze is on six levels, representing the ascent of the soul. Only two levels to go."
"Why six?" I questioned; curiosity and that hint of archaeology pulling itself up out of the back of my mind making me wonder.
"Lovely species, the Aplans," the Doctor hummed, giving me a grin. "We should visit them sometime. I'm sure they'd be able to explain it all to you but experiencing a culture in person is always for the best."
"I thought they were all dead," Amy pointed out as the Doctor scoffed.
"So is Virginia Woolf. I'm on her bowling team, he countered before speaking about the Aplans again. "Very relaxed, sort of cheerful. Well, that's having two heads, of course. You're never short of a snog with an extra head," he rambled as River paused.
"Doctor, there's something… I don't know what it is."
"Yeah, there's something wrong. Don't know what it is yet, either. Working on it. Of course, then they started having laws against self-marrying. I mean, what was that about? But that's the Church for you." The Doctor looked over at Octavian. "Uh, no offense, Bishop."
"Quite a lot taken, if that's all right, Doctor," the man replied shortly before gesturing ahead. "Lowest point in the wreckage is only about fifty feet up from here. That way."
"The Church had a point if you think about it. The divorces must have been messy," Amy tacked on as I muttered a different factor.
"I was thinking more along the lines of them housing the same body, but it probably depends on their definition of 'self'."
"Oh," the Doctor breathed then, and I wondered if he'd figured it out along with River.
"How could we have not noticed that?" River questioned as the Doctor caught my gaze and I looked away in guilt.
"Low-level perception filter, or maybe we're thick," he answered as Octavian eyed him.
"What's wrong, sir?"
"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."
No, this is my fault. I could have said something earlier. Bob would be alive if I just said something. I grit my teeth keeping my gaze away from everyone and over at a statue instead.
"What danger?"
"The Aplans," River informed the bishop.
"The Aplans."
"They've got two heads."
"Yes, I get that. So?"
"So why don't the statues?" The Doctor finished for him, having everyone understand now as he pointed behind him. "Everyone over there. Just move. Don't ask questions. Don't speak."
The clerics moved under the alcove and I started to go too, until the Doctor grabbed my arm to stop me, his breath ghosting over my ear as he whispered quietly.
"Say nothing of what you know. Very few people know about your foreknowledge and you would probably like to keep it that way," he said before giving my arm a squeeze and letting go. "This isn't your fault."
I swallowed thickly and gave the smallest of nods even though I didn't quite believe him. I still stepped back to join the others as he turned around to face the statues behind us though.
"Okay, I want you all to switch off your torches."
"Sir?" A cleric questioned in concern.
"Just do it," he demanded and everyone did until his was the last light on. "Okay. I'm going to turn off this one too, just for a moment."
"Are you sure about this?" River asked.
"No."
The light flicked off and back on, revealing the statues had all turned in our direction, making Amy suck in a gasp.
"Oh, my God. They've moved."
The Doctor rushed through them to check the passageway we'd just come through. "They're angels. All of them."
"But they can't be," River argued as I lightly argued that point.
"Why not?"
She gave me a worried look but had no real answer as she, Amy, the Doctor and I moved further back down the path to see.
"Every statue in this maze, every single one, is a Weeping Angel. They're coming after us."
"You knew, didn't you, Ash?" River asked, making me offer a small nod.
"I couldn't say anything. I wanted to but… but they need a voice."
That caught the Doctor's attention and he frowned.
"A voice? What do you mean?"
"Never mind that," Amy interrupted. "How are there angels all over the place?"
The Doctor shook his head as we headed back up to where the clerics were left.
"There was only one angel on the ship," River said, voice tight. "I swear."
"Could they have been here already?" Amy suggested as the Doctor looked at River.
"The Aplans. What happened? How did they die out?"
"Nobody knows."
"We know," he countered as Octavian spoke up.
"They don't look like angels."
"And they're not fast," Amy pointed out. "You said they were fast. They should have had us by now."
"Look at them. They're dying, losing their form. They must have been down here for centuries, starving," the Doctor explained.
"Losing their image?"
"And their image is their power. Power… Power!"
"The ship," I explained. "They're feeding off the crashed ship."
He clicked his fingers at me for figuring it out. "All that radiation spilling out the drive burn. The crash of the Byzantium wasn't an accident, it was a rescue mission for the angels. We're in the middle of an army, and it's waking up."
"We need to get out of here fast," River agreed as Octavian remembered the clerics he'd left below.
"Bob, Angelo, Christian. Come in, please. Any of you, come in."
"It's Bob, sir. Sorry, sir."
I winced, unwittingly catching the Doctor's attention once more.
"What's wrong?" He asked and, hesitantly, I glanced at him and repeated what I had said before.
"They needed a voice."
He pondered that for half a second before his eyes widened and he rushed over, taking the walkie-talkie from Octavian and ignoring his protests.
"Bob, Sacred Bob, it's me, the Doctor. Where are you now?"
"I'm on my way up to you, sir. I'm homing in on your signal."
"Thing is, Bob, the angels don't just let people escape. Tell me, how did you?"
"I didn't escape, sir. The angel killed me and the others."
The group went silent, tension filling the air at this admission as the Doctor's gaze hardened.
"How are you speaking with me then? How did they kill you?"
"Snapped my neck, sir. Wasn't as painless as I expected, but it was pretty quick, so that was something. You're not speaking with me either, 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."
"So, when you say you're on your way up to us…"
"It's the angel that's coming, sir, yes."
"No way out."
"Then we get out through the wreckage. Go!" Octavian demanded, sending the clerics off first.
"Go, go, go. All of you run," the Doctor said, grabbing me by the hand as well.
He didn't have to say anything for me to know that he was still worried about how I was feeling about all this. I didn't think I could say it properly anyway, so I just squeezed his hand like he had been to reassure me. Still, it felt strange to be so casually holding his hand and I let go to run off after the others as he asked the angel one last thing. He caught up soon enough, giving me an encouraging pat on the back and slowing his pace to run alongside me.
"P-Please tell me I'm smart enough to… to get in shape after this," I panted as we finally caught up with the others.
"Oh, the Tardis is thrilled to have someone using the gym again, I assure you. Lights flickering?" He asked the others who nodded; torches and the gravity globe flicking on and off. "It's the angels. They're coming. And they're draining the power for themselves."
"Which means we won't be able to see them," Octavian pointed out.
"Which means we can't stay here."
"Any suggestions?" River asked as statues started to close in.
"Jump?" I offered, uneasy myself with the angels getting closer and hoping to push things along a bit faster.
"You're joking," River muttered, knowing that I had foreknowledge and probably suspecting that that was exactly what we were going to do.
"Doctor? Can I speak to the Doctor, please?"
I looked over at the Doctor as he lifted the walkie up to respond.
"Hello, angels. What's your problem?"
"Your power will not last much longer, and the angels will be with you shortly. Sorry, sir."
"Why are you telling me this?"
"There's something the angels are very keen you should know before the end."
"Which is?"
"I died in fear."
"I'm sorry?"
"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."
This was the downside of giving the angels a voice. They were able to mock the Doctor, toy with him, and insult him. They were able to make him angry because of me. No. Stop it. The Doctor's right. I… I can't blame myself for every misstep that I take. I can't blame myself for doing my best even if bad things happen.
"What are they doing?" Amy asked then, as River eyed the Doctor uneasily.
"They're trying to make him angry."
"I'm sorry, sir. The angels were very keen for you to know that," the angel apologized, not really meaning it.
"Well then, the angels have made their second mistake because I'm not going to let that pass," the Doctor said tightly. "I'm sorry you're dead, Bob, but I swear to whatever is left of you, they will be sorrier."
"But you're trapped, sir, and about to die."
"Yeah. I'm trapped. And you know what? Speaking of traps, this trap has got a great big mistake in it. A great big, whopping mistake," he practically cheered.
"What mistake, sir?"
The Doctor turned to Amy with a smile. "Trust me?"
"Yeah."
"Trust me?" He asked River who smiled back.
"Always."
"You lot. Trust me?" He questioned the clerics as they announced more angels coming in.
"We have faith, sir."
He then turned to me with a look in his eyes I didn't understand. "Asher, I know it's early for you. I know things are complicated and I'm sure you're still very much uneasy about what's been happening… Do you trust me?"
This had nothing to do with my foreknowledge, I realized. He wasn't asking if I trusted "the Doctor" to get us out of this. If I trusted my knowledge of the show that proved he knew what he was doing. He was asking if I trusted him. If I thought of him as an honest-to-God person who I would be staying with for quite some time. If I trusted him to help me, keep me safe, tell me whatever it was I needed to hear even if it wasn't the full truth. The Doctor wanted to know if I saw him properly and if I truly believed in him.
"Yeah," I breathed with a small nod. "Yeah, I suppose I do."
He grinned and whipped around toward Octavian. "Then give me your gun. I'm about to do something incredibly stupid and dangerous. When I do, jump!"
"Jump where?" The bishop asked as River groaned and gave me a look.
"I should've known better than to think you were joking."
"Sorry," I said with a shrug.
"Just jump, high as you can. Come on, leap of faith, Bishop. On my signal," the Doctor said, frustrating Octavian.
"What signal?"
"You won't miss it."
"Sorry, can I ask again?" The angel questioned as the Doctor aimed the pistol at the gravity globe. "You mentioned a mistake we made."
"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."
"And what would that be, sir?"
"Me."
"Up. Look up."
"Are you okay?"
"What happened?"
I groaned, ignoring the scattering of voices as I pushed myself upright and flopped onto my backside to rub at my knees. "You know, I'm thirty years old and I don't think my knees are made for this kind of abuse."
The Doctor bounded over beside me with a grin, patting my shoulder. "Thirty years young, Asher. Don't be too hard on yourself. Imagine the state of my knees. Budge up."
I moved out of the way of the hatch so he could sonic it, giving him a small frown. "Yeah, but you cheat. You're what? Nine hundred and something? You start feeling old and you just pop off and redo the whole thing."
"Not necessarily," he huffed, giving me a look. "You think that I'll just go off and regenerate when I'm feeling old?"
"Well, no, but you sure do complain about being old a lot." I gave his leg a small smack. "Your body stays young even when you look old though, so you're definitely cheating."
"Doctor, what am I looking at? Explain," Amy complained and the Doctor rolled his eyes before getting up and standing beside her as she stared up above us—down to where we had been standing a moment ago.
"Oh, come on, Amy, think. The ship crashed with the power still on, yeah? So what else is still on? The artificial gravity. One good jump, and up we fell. Shot out the grav globe to give us an updraft, and here we are."
"Doctor, the statues. They look more like angels now," Octavian pointed out as I leaned back onto my hands.
"We're close to the ship," I offered, "and the longer the ship is here the more they can eat."
"Bingo," the Doctor hummed. "They're feeding on the radiation from the wreckage, draining all the power from the ship, restoring themselves. Within an hour, they'll be an army."
The hatch was opened and a light sparked and went out.
"They're taking out the lights. Look at them. Look at the angels. Into the ship, now. Quickly, all of you."
"How?" Amy questioned as I slipped my feet through the hatch and dropped in after him, getting steadied when I wobbled at the change in orientation.
"It's just a corridor. The gravity orientates to the floor. Now, in here, all of you. Don't take your eyes off the angels. Move, move, move."
I followed the Doctor over to a control panel as he worked on it and the clerics, Octavian, Amy, and River joined us in the corridor. "Anything I can do? Don't like twiddling my thumbs."
"You never do. Busy body, you are," he teased as Octavian hurried over and the hatch closed.
"The angels. Presumably, they can jump up too?"
"They're here, now. In the dark, we're finished," the Doctor informed him as the hatch opposite us started to close. "Run!"
"This whole place is a death trap!" Octavian complained as the hatch closed in front of us and the Doctor went for another control panel.
"No, it's a time bomb. Well, it's a death trap and a time bomb. And now it's a dead end. Nobody panic," he said at the hatch we came in sparked and banged from the angels. "Oh, just me then. What's through here?"
"Secondary flight deck," River said as Amy eyed the other end of the hallway in worry.
"Okay. so we've basically run up the inside of a chimney, yeah? So what if the gravity fails?"
"Yeah, you don't honestly want an answer to that," I said. "Doctor, maybe stop the angels messing with the lights and open the door?"
"The security protocols are still live. There's no way to override them. It's impossible," he said, though he and River got to work.
"How impossible?" She asked him.
"Two minutes and I'll isolate the lighting grid as well so the angels can't drain the power. Excellent thinking, Asher."
"Just trying to help," I muttered, eyeing the hatch uneasily as the lights flickered and some angels dropped into the hall.
"Got the lights," the Doctor announced as the lights stayed on this time. "There's just one problem."
"Problem?" Octavian questioned.
"Well, there's only one way to open this door. I guess I'll need to route all the power in this section through the door control."
"Good. Fine. Do it."
"That includes the lights," I added, earning a look from him. "He said all power."
"Asher's right. Should only take a fraction of a second. Maybe longer… Maybe quite a bit longer."
"Maybe?"
"I'm guessing. We're being attacked by statues in a crashed ship. There isn't a manual for this," the Doctor complained as Amy spoke up.
"Doctor, we lost the torches. We'll be in total darkness."
"The guns," I pointed out, gesturing to the weapons the clerics had. "Muzzle flare. It'll slow them down a bit if you keep shooting." I glanced over at Octavian nervously. "Though, shooting in a rounded metal tunnel makes me worry about ricochet."
"Nothing to worry about," the man grumbled, eyeing his men. "These weapons were made for being fired within ships. Doctor Song, I've lost good clerics today. You trust this man?"
River nodded. "I absolutely trust him."
"He's not some kind of madman, then?"
I snorted, cracking a smile as even River struggled to answer that without laughing.
"I absolutely trust him."
The Doctor went back to working on the door while Octavian spoke with River, making me frown. I couldn't remember what exactly he'd be saying but I knew it was a threat if not blackmail, so I accidentally tripped and bumped into him.
"Sorry," I muttered, getting a glare from the man as he stepped away.
"Okay, Doctor. We've got your back," he announced.
"Bless you, bishop."
Octavian gave orders to his men then as River smiled and leaned toward me.
"Thank you, sweetie."
I wrinkled my nose at the fond name. "Yeah, well, tell him to shove it up his ass. The Doctor shouldn't care who you are either way and if he says something I'll smack him for it."
She chuckled. "Of course. How could I forget?"
I turned to her at that, knowing that she was practically giving away that I might very well smack the Doctor if he started shit with her, but she just winked as the Doctor called for me. I walked over to where he was working on the door and he offered me a small smile.
"You wanted to help. When the lights go down, the wheel should release. Spin it clockwise four turns. Amy can help."
"Yeah, alright," I hummed, grabbing hold of the wheel on the door as Amy did the same.
"Ready!" the Doctor called out and Octavian nodded.
"On my count, then. God be with us all. Three, two, one, fire!"
I grimaced at the noise of the gunfire and gave the wheel a hard turn. I kept turning until the hatch was open enough for people to squeeze through and I ducked in with the others. We hurried to the next door and moved into the secondary flight deck where we only had a moment of relief before the angels started trying to open the door. Octavian placed a device on it that seemed to stop it, but not for long.
"I forgot how strong they were," I muttered as the wheel jerked ever so slowly.
"Yeah, they're definitely not something you want to mess with," the Doctor hummed, speaking with Octavian as he worked on the panels in front of him. "You bought us time though. That's good. I am good with time."
Another door started to open and a cleric rushed over to put a magnetic lock on it as well.
"Doctor, how long have we got?"
"Five minutes, max."
"We need another way out of here," River pointed out as Octavian shook his head.
"There isn't one."
"Yeah, there is," I said, not realizing that I probably shouldn't have since I wasn't supposed to give away that I knew the future.
I went to try and make up for the slip-up, but the Doctor was ready for it.
"She's right. This is a galaxy-class ship. Goes for years between planet falls. So, what do they need?"
"Of course," River breathed as Octavian understood as well.
"Can we get in there?"
I moved over to where the Doctor was, helping him push some things out of the way. "There are clamps here. We can just open it."
"Whole wall should slide up," the Doctor agreed.
"What's through there? What do they need?" Amy asked.
"Air," I explained, cracking a smile. "Love this bit."
"Yeah, you would," the Doctor replied with a smile as the wall slid up to reveal the grove of mechanized trees.
"But that's… That's a…"
"It's an oxygen factory," River answered Amy as I scoffed.
"Oh, come off it, River. That's a forest. Gorgeous one at that."
"Yeah, it's a forest," she agreed, coming up beside me. "It's an oxygen factory."
I wrinkled my nose. "Doesn't sound as nice."
"Man-made though," she offered with a shrug.
"So call it a mechanized forest. Organic oxygen… thingy. I don't know. I just don't like the word 'factory'."
She chuckled as the Doctor hummed.
"Well, if we're lucky, it's an escape route. Is there another exit?" He asked Octavian. "Scan the architecture. We don't have time to get lost in there."
"On it. Stay where you are until I've checked the rad levels."
"But trees? On a spaceship?" Amy questioned and I shrugged.
"Why not? I think it's brilliant but then again, I've come from a time on Earth where half the planet thinks climate change is a myth."
"Hold on. I thought you came from another universe."
"Different Earth," I hummed, stepping out with the Doctor to look at one of the trees. "No aliens where I'm from. No spaceships falling out of the sky—unless you count our own failed ones. Big, boring, basic planet too busy fighting itself to really bother with the rest of the universe. I wouldn't see anything like this in my lifetime. That's for sure." I pointed at the wiring the Doctor revealed inside the trunk of a tree. "So, how much of this is technology, and how much actual organic plant material?"
He grinned. "Well, 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." He stood up and glanced at Amy behind us. "Have I impressed you yet, Amy Pond?"
She chuckled with a bit of a smile. "Oh, yeah."
The Doctor turned to me then, bumping hips with me. "I'm sure you're thrilled too."
"Course," I replied, smiling myself. "Always interested in new things. New universe means a lot more things to figure out. I'm more of an animal person, honestly, but even I can enjoy some fancy science and technology."
"Doctor," Octavian called out. "There's an exit, far end of the ship, into the Primary Flight Deck."
"Oh, good. That's where we need to go," he chirped, taking my hand and bringing me back into the secondary flight deck.
"Plotting a safe path now."
"Quick as you like."
"Doctor? Excuse me? Hello, Doctor? Angel Bob here, sir."
The Doctor took out the walkie and plopped in a chair as I moved to lean against the nearby console. "Ah. There you are, Angel Bob. How's life? Sorry, bad subject."
"The angels are wondering what you hope to achieve."
"Achieve? We're not achieving anything. We're just hanging. It's nice in here. Consoles, comfy chairs, a forest. How's things with you?" The Doctor glanced at me and I shrugged, not really sure what the angels meant either.
As it was, I'd changed things by preventing Amy from getting the angel in her head, so there was no counting down. No questioning the angels, no countdown, no wasting time on that I suppose. Only thing it changes is a bit later on and—Oh, shit. I forgot. I forgot about the other Doctor. I frowned, ignoring the Doctor's conversation with the angel about comfy chairs and trying to think. Would that change much though? It's his future self going back through her timeline trying to get her to remember something. I honestly don't remember what or what purpose that actually has. It's been too long and it was always a bit messy that bit.
"Should be fine," I breathed, rubbing the back of my neck and hoping that it wasn't too big of a deal if the future Doctor didn't have his little meet-up with Amy.
"With respect, sir, there's more power on this ship than you yet understand," the angel said, catching my attention as there was a screeching sound that echoed through the room.
"What's that? Dear God, what is that?" River complained as the angel answered.
"It's hard to put in your terms, Doctor Song, but as best I understand it, the angels are laughing."
"Laughing?"
"Because you haven't noticed yet, sir. The Doctor in the Tardis hasn't noticed."
The Doctor stood up and Octavian tried to get him to leave but he shushed him. "There's something I've missed…"
He turned and we all followed his gaze to see a bright light shining through a crack in the wall behind us. We hadn't seen it, given how high up it was, though it was also possible it wasn't there when we came in. Still, it certainly got the Doctor's attention and Amy's as well.
"That's… That's… That's like the crack from my bedroom wall from when I was a little girl."
"Yeah," the Doctor breathed as the secondary flight deck shook.
"Okay, enough. We're moving out," Octavian commanded, rushing out with his clerics as River agreed and watched the Doctor who hadn't budged.
"What are you doing?"
"Right with you," he said, getting up onto some boxes to scan the crack with his sonic.
"We're not leaving without you."
"Oh, yes you are. Bishop?"
"Miss Pond, Doctor Song, Miss…" Octavian glanced at me and I just waved him off, heading over toward him but glancing over my shoulder at the Doctor.
"Be careful," I offered him, making him crack a smile at me and nod before I hurried off with the others.
"You know, I love a good nature walk," I muttered, grimacing as I stumbled over a root I hadn't noticed. "But I'm really not in the best shape for this."
"You'll get used to it," River hummed with a smile. "You're not doing too bad for this early though."
I scoffed. "I've been in this universe for all of a day or two. I've not slept, been chased by big ol' green aliens the first day, somehow still have my backpack on—" I adjusted said pack, having long since forgotten about its ever-present weight on my back. "—and am now hiking through a man-made forest being chased by stone angels after hiking up six levels of an Aplan maze." I shot her a look. "You're lucky I don't complain much."
"The Doctor is lucky you don't complain much, though I'm sure you will do later on."
I scoffed. "The git probably deserves it. It's his fault I'm constantly running around, I'm sure. That's 'life with the Doctor' or whatever," I mocked with a huff. "There's no chance we can take a break, is there?"
"We've got to keep moving," Octavian said sharply, having overheard me.
"Yeah, figured," I grumbled. "Can I at least have a bit of water?"
River nodded, stopping to dig through her pack and shooting Octavian a look when he scowled at the pause. "We can wait for thirty seconds. We've got to wait for the Doctor anyway."
"Our mission is to make this wreckage safe and neutralize the angels. Until that is achieved—"
River was quick to argue with 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," she said sharply as I leaned slightly to wave at the man behind her. "And, Doctor, you're standing right behind me, aren't you?"
"Oh, yeah," the Doctor hummed with a grin.
"I hate you," River said with a smile.
"You don't. Bishop, the angels are in the forest," he announced and Octavian nodded, turning to order his men.
"We need visual contact on every line of approach."
"How did you get past them?" River asked curiously as she handed me a thermos that I gratefully took, sitting down on a boulder for now.
"I found a crack in the wall and told them it was the end of the universe," the Doctor said with a shrug.
"What was it?"
"The end of the universe," I replied, sipping slowly at the water knowing that I didn't want to be chugging it if we were going to keep walking.
"Sir! Angel incoming!" One of the clerics shouted as another confirmed they had one near them as well.
"Keep visual contact. Do not let it move," Octavian ordered as I got back up.
"We should probably keep moving."
"I agree," Octavian grumbled, moving back toward us. "We're too exposed here. We have to move on."
"We're too exposed everywhere," the Doctor countered. "That being said, you're right. We need to find the primary flight deck which is…" He wet his finger and held it up, spinning before pointing. "A quarter of a mile straight ahead, and from there we're going to stabilize the wreckage, stop the angels, and give Asher a bit of a rest."
I snorted. "Oh, joy."
He lightly bopped my nose, making me scowl, before tugging my hand and getting me back on my feet as I gave River back her water. The clerics took up various positions around and behind our group with Octavian up in the front, the Doctor and River behind him, and Amy and I behind them. The Doctor was fiddling with River's tablet again though, drawing my attention.
"What are you doing?"
The Doctor perked up, waving his sonic. "Inputing the data I picked up on the crack in the wall."
"How can a crack in a wall be the end of the universe?" River asked.
"Don't know, but here's what I think. One day there's going to be a very big bang. So big every moment in history, past and future, will crack."
"Is that possible? How?"
"It's possible," I said, keeping my voice low enough that Octavian and the clerics couldn't hear. "Just depends on what explodes."
The Doctor hummed in thought, before glancing at Octavian. "What's the relationship between you two then?"
River forced a smile. "Well, I'm a sucker for a man in uniform."
Octavian hadn't really cared for that and replied with something a bit more accurate. "Doctor Song's in my personal custody. I released her from the Stormcage Containment Facility four days ago and I am legally responsible for her until she's accomplished her mission and earned her pardon. Just so we understand each other."
"You were in Stormcage?" The Doctor questioned but the tablet beeped, stopping that conversation rather quickly, to River's relief.
"What is that?"
"The date. The date of the explosion, where the crack begins."
"And for those of us who can't read the base code of the universe?"
On the screen was a date. One that made the Doctor frown.
"Amy's time."
Amy got a look as well. "That's the day after I left. What does that mean? Doctor?"
He looked hesitant to answer when there was a rustle of bushes behind us, making me stop. I eyed the trees, quieting my breath and searching for any movement. There wasn't any and when River called my name, I hurried to catch up with the others.
We reached the outer wall to the primary flight deck soon enough and the clerics spread out to face the forest as Octavian eyed it.
"It doesn't open it from here, but it's the Primary Flight Deck. This has got to be a service hatch or something," he said upon finding a small hatch.
"Hurry up and open it. Time's running out."
Something about that wording caught the Doctor's attention.
"What? What did you say? Time's running out, is that what you said?"
"Yeah. I just meant—"
"I know what you meant. Hush. But what if it could?"
"Could what?" Amy asked. "Run out?"
"Exactly. Cracks. Cracks in time. Time running out. No, couldn't be. Couldn't be. But how is a duck pond a duck pond if there aren't any ducks? And she didn't recognise the Daleks. Okay, time can shift. Time can change. Time can be rewritten. Ah. Oh!"
"Doctor?" I spoke up then, a frown on my face as I looked at the clerics. "Sorry. This might be a stupid question but uh… how many clerics were with us?"
The Doctor frowned, looking around and counting just as Octavian announced he'd opened the hatch.
"Got it."
"Bishop? How many men were here?"
Octavian frowned at the question. "Three. Marco, Philip, and Pedro." He looked at the two remaining clerics and whipped around. "Where's Pedro?"
The other clerics looked and shook their heads as one tried to reach him on a walkie with no response. I realized then what I had missed before and felt incredibly stupid and guilty.
"Oh, no."
"What is it?" River asked as I uneasily looked at the questioning group of people.
"I… as we were walking I paused because I thought I heard something in the forest. I didn't see anything but… but there had been a cleric behind us. He wasn't there. I didn't even realize…"
"Blast," Octavian spat as River placed a hand on my shoulder.
"It's not your fault."
"I know," I muttered, though it didn't help me feel much better about not having realized what had happened.
"We need to get through, now," Octavian demanded and River nodded, starting to herd Amy through first.
"Time can be rewritten," the Doctor muttered, still distracted by what he'd discovered before.
"It shouldn't be," I said quietly and he hummed, not really listening.
"Yes, but it's been happening all around me and I haven't even noticed."
"Doctor, we have to move," Octavian demanded, getting ignored as I hesitantly grabbed the Doctor's shirt and lightly tugged.
"Doctor we really should go."
"The CyberKing. A giant Cyberman walks over all of Victorian London and no one remembers."
"Given how often you end up on Earth smack dab in the middle of an alien invasion and no one remembers that's not much of a surprise," I muttered, tugging again. "Can we not think about this later?"
Octavian headed over as well, annoyed by our lack of movement now that River was also inside the flight deck and he needed to get his men safe too. "We have to move it. The angels could be here any second.
"Never mind the angels. There's worse here than angels," the Doctor brushed off only for the lights to flicker and the sound of two sickening cracks echoed in the half second of silence.
"I beg to differ," Octavian ground out, being the last remaining Church officer alive now.
My gaze was locked onto the fallen bodies of the other two clerics and the two angels hovering over them for a brief moment before turning to look at the one holding Octavian hostage. The feeling of cool stone touching my throat told me that both our positions were similar and the uneasy feeling of dread began to well up in me.
"Let them go," the Doctor demanded sharply, being the only one free to watch the two angels holding us hostage.
"Well, it can't let me go, sir, can it? Not while you're looking at it," Octavian scoffed.
"I can't stop looking at it, it'll kill you."
"It's going to kill us anyway. Think it through. There's no way out of this. You have to leave us."
The Doctor glanced over at me, seeing that I was keeping a firm watch on Octavian's angel. "Can't you wriggle out?"
I reached up to see if I could even get my fingers under the stone hand but with no luck. Even turning around as I had made the skin on my neck feel tight. I probably scraped it. Why the hell didn't I just go in the hatch? I knew the angels were coming. I should've gone.
"It's too tight," I begrudgingly informed him, having an even slimmer chance of escaping when Octavian had an arm around his throat unlike the hand wrapped tight around mine.
"Sir, there's nothing you can do," Octavian pressed as the Doctor grit his teeth, watching both statues once more.
"You're dead if I leave you and I'm sure as hell not leaving Ash."
"Doctor," I scolded, knowing how that must sound to Octavian but either Octavian assumed as much or he simply didn't care about the obvious bias the Doctor held toward me.
"I'm not going," the Doctor repeated firmly and I reached out to grab his arm, scared about the fact that I would die here but knowing I couldn't make him stay.
"Doctor, you can—"
Then, it felt like he jerked away from me. My arm was pulled and I felt the stone around my throat tighten as I was pulled into it, but he hadn't moved and when I blinked, I was falling to the ground. I coughed for a moment, bringing a hand to my throat with a grimace and looking around.
Once again, I had moved somewhere completely different and the school halls—although angel free—were hardly a comforting sight. I scowled, pushing myself up onto my feet, and rubbing at my scraped palms.
"I swear to fucking God, I will murder whatever deity thought this shit would be funny."